Page:Collier's Cyclopedia of Commercial and Social Information.djvu/16

4 Of these predicates, since they so nearly resemble those of paragraph (2), we only need to observe, that the nouns are used without prepositions to modify their meaning ; and the word "a" (before "scholar"), contracted from "an," is a numeral, and merely means "one," but in what we may call a somewhat general way. The remarkable character of these sentences lies in the subjects, which, as we can perceive at the first glance, are verbs with objects,—and yet are not accessory sentences, since no assertions are made. This form of the verb, with the preposition "to" prefixed, differs entirely from the forms we have seen employed in the predicates. Grammarians distinguish all verbs used in this last-named way, as being in the indicative mood; and those with "to" before them as being in the infinitive mood. They are, in fact, as we see, used like nouns, only, being verbs, instead of attributives to define them, they have objects to complete them. 11. Some of these objects are in forms which we have already noticed; "time" and "judgment" are like "particulars" 7 paragraph (3), the direct objects of the action of the verbs they follow; "in studies" represents, by a very natural metaphor, that of place, the peculiar circumstances of the action spoken of; "for ornament" precisely resembles the "for delight," &c., of paragraph (1); but the object, "by their rules," expresses the means by which the action of the verb is accomplished. "Them," we see, is a pronoun, as it stands for the word "studies;" and it is the direct object of the verb "use;" it is one of the very few words in our language which have two forms, one employed when it is a subject, "they," and another when it is an object, as we find it here, "them." Here are also two objects belonging to the class of words called adverbs, "much" and "only," both of them expressive of the manner in which the action of the verbs they follow is performed; and the first of them has the adverb "too" prefixed, for the purpose of intensifying the meaning of "much."

The first object has the words "too much" prefixed, as an attribute;"too" being here, as in the instance last noted, an adverb expressive of intensity; but "much," what is termed an indefinite numeral, expressing quantity merely in a general way. There is another of the series with an attributive prefixed, "their rules;" but of this we have spoken in connexion with paragraph (2).

12. We find the next paragraph (5) rather complex, as this arrangement of it shows:

In the first part of this paragraph we find the same pronoun used as a subject, which we have just seen in its objective form. Grammarians call these different forms cases; and that now before us, the nominative or subjective case; that in the last paragraph, the accusative or Objective case.

13. The first predicate and object are in the same form as several we have seen above; but the second predicate is quite new to us. It signifies that "experience perfects studies," just as "they perfect nature;" but we find what should be the subject following the predicate, and the real object in the place appropriated to the subject; the form of the predicate, too, is changed, and a preposition is inserted between it and the word "experience." We must admit, however, that the passage would lose immensely in compactness, vivacity, and force if it were written thus: "Tiky perfect nature, and experience perfects them; so that the reason for using this peculiar form is manifest. It is distinguished by grammarians thus: When the agent of the verb is the subject, the verbal form employed is called active; but when the immediate object of the verb is the agent, the form employed is called passive. And in our tongue all passive forms, called passive. And in our tongue all passive forms, just as in this instance, consist of that form of the verb which grammarians call the perfect participle—a form resembling an adjective in this, that it can be used as an attributive; but also partaking of the nature of a verb, inasmuch as the notion it conveys is modified so as to express the completeness of the action. The object following this verb here expresses the means by which what is spoken of the subject is effected; as we have seen before. How the two sentences are combined by the conjunction, so that one subject serves for both, we need not more particularly point out. 14. "For," prefixed to the second part of the