Page:The grammar of English grammars.djvu/437

 or unconnected aphorisms; and thus, by various forms of dependence, to give to discourse such continuity as may fit it to convey a connected train of thought or reasoning. The skill or inability of a writer may as strikingly appear in his management of these little connectives, as in that of the longest and most significant words in the language.

"The current is often evinced by the straws,   And the course of the wind by the flight of a feather;    So a speaker is known by his ands and his ors,     Those stitches that fasten his patchwork together."--Robert F. Mott.

OBS. 3.--Conjunctions sometimes connect entire sentences, and sometimes particular words or phrases only. When one whole sentence is closely linked with an other, both become clauses or members of a more complex sentence; and when one word or phrase is coupled with an other, both have in general a common dependence upon some other word in the same sentence. In etymological parsing, it may be sufficient to name the conjunction as such, and repeat the definition above; but, in syntactical parsing, the learner should always specify the terms connected. In many instances, however, he may conveniently abbreviate his explanation, by parsing the conjunction as connecting "what precedes and what follows;" or, if the terms are transposed, as connecting its own clause to the second, to the third, or to some other clause in the context.

OBS. 4.--However easy it may appear, for even the young parser to name the terms which in any given instance are connected by the conjunction, and of course to know for himself what these terms are,--that is, to know what the conjunction does or does not, connect,--it is certain that a multitude of grammarians and philosophers, great and small, from Aristotle down to the latest modifier of Murray, or borrower from his text, have been constantly contradicting one an other, if not themselves, in relation to this matter. Harris avers, that "the Conjunction connects, not Words, but Sentences;" and frames his definition accordingly. See Hermes, p. 237. This doctrine is true of some of the conjunctions, but it is by no means true of them all. He adds, in a note, "Grammarians have usually considered the Conjunction as connecting rather single Parts of Speech, than whole Sentences, and that too with the addition of like with like, Tense with Tense, Number with Number, Case with Case, &c. This Sanctius justly explodes."--Ib., p. 238. If such has been the usual doctrine of the grammarians, they have erred on the one side, as much as our philosopher, and his learned authorities, on the other. For, in this instance, Harris's quotations of Latin and Greek writers, prove only that Sanctius, Scaliger, Apollonius, and Aristotle, held the same error that he himself had adopted;--the error which Latham and others now inculcate, that, "There are always two propositions where there is one Conjunction."--Fowler's E. Gram., 8vo, 1850, p. 557.

OBS. 5.--The common doctrine of L. Murray and others, that, "Conjunctions connect the same moods and tenses of verbs, and cases of nouns and pronouns," is not only badly expressed, but is pointedly at variance with their previous doctrine, that, "Conjunctions very often unite sentences, when they appear to unite only words; as in the following instances: 'Duty and interest forbid vicious indulgences;' 'Wisdom or folly governs us.' Each of these forms of expression," they absurdly say, "contains two sentences."--Murray's Gram., p. 124; Smith's, 95; Fisk's, 84; Ingersoll's, 81. By "the same moods, tenses, or cases," we must needs here understand some one mood, tense, or case, in which the connected words agree; and, if the conjunction has any thing to do with this agreement, or sameness of mood, tense, or case, it must be because words only, and not sentences, are connected by it. Now, if, that, though, lest, unless, or any other conjunction that introduces the subjunctive, will almost always be found to connect different moods, or rather to subjoin one sentence to another in which there is a different mood. On the contrary, and, as, even, than, or, and nor, though they may be used to connect sentences, do, in very many instances, connect words only; as, "The king and queen are an amiable pair."--Murray. "And a being of more than human dignity stood before me."--Dr. Johnson. It cannot be plausibly pretended, that and and than, in these two examples, connect clauses or sentences. So and and or, in the examples above, connect the nouns only, and not "sentences:" else our common rules for the agreement of verbs or pronouns with words connected, are nothing but bald absurdities. It is idle to say, that the construction and meaning are not what they appear to be; and it is certainly absurd to contend, that conjunctions always connect sentences; or always, words only. One author very strangely conceives, that, "Conjunctions may be said either always to connect words only, or always to connect sentences, according to the view which may be taken of them in analyzing."--Nutting's Gram., p. 77.

OBS. 6.--"Several words belonging to other parts of speech, are occasionally used as conjunctions. Such are the following: provided, except, verbs; both, an adjective; either, neither, that, pronouns; being, seeing, participles; before, since, for, prepositions. I will do it, provided you lend some help. Here provided is a conjunction, that connects the two sentences. 'Paul said, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.' Here except is a conjunction. Excepting is also used as a participle and conjunction. Being this reception of the gospel was so anciently foretold.'--Bishop Pearson. Seeing all the congregation are holy.'--Bible. Here being and seeing are used as conjunctions."--Alexander's Gram:, p. 50. 'The foregoing remark, though worthy of some attention, is not altogether accurate. Before, when it connects sentences, is not a conjunction, but a conjunctive adverb. Provided, as cited above, resembles not the verb, but the perfect participle. Either and neither, when they are not conjunctions, are pronominal adjectives, rather than pronouns. And, to say, that, "words belonging to other parts of speech, are used as conjunctions,"