portions such as that after the first, and before the last semipede. thus with the year Seasons return, but not to me returns Day" or the sweet approach of even or morn. Here the cæsura after the first semipede Day, stops us unexpectedly, and forcibly impresses the imagination with the greatness of the author's loss, the loss of sight. No sooner had th' Almighty ceas'd, but all The multitude of angels, with a shout Loud" as from numbers without number" sweet As from blest voices uttering joy.— There is something very striking in this uncommon cæsura, which suddenly stops the reader, to reflect on the importance of a particular word. We shall close the subject, with an example containing the united powers of many of the principles which have been explained. Dire was the tossing" deep the groans" Despair" And over thěm triumphant death" his dárt" Many of the rules and observations respecting Prosody, are taken from "Sheridan's Art of Reading;" to which book the Compiler refers the ingenious student, før more extensive information on the subject. PUNCTUATION. PUNCTUATION* is the art of dividing a written composition into sentences, or parts of sentences, by points or stops, for the purpose of marking the different pauses which the sense, and an accurate pronunciation require. The Comma represents the shortest pause; the Semicolon, a pause double that of the comma; the Colon, double that of the Semicolon; and the Period, double that of the colon. PUNCTUATION is a modern art. The ancients were entirely unacquainted with the use of our commas, colons, &c.; and wrote not only without any distinction of members and periods, but also without distinction of words: which custom continued till the year 360 before Christ. How the ancients read their works, written in this manner, it is not easy to conceive. After the practice of joining words together had ceased, notes of distinction were placed at the end of every word. This practice, with some variation, continued a considerable time. As it appears that the present usage of stops, did not take place, whilst manuscripts and monumental inscrip * As punctuation is intended to aid both the sense, and the pronunciation of a sentence, it could not have been exclusively discussed under the part of Syntax, or of Prosody. The nature of the subject, its extent and Importance, and the grammatical knowledge which it presupposes, have induced us to make it a distinct and subsequent article. tions, were the only known methods of conveying knowledge, we must conclude that it was introduced with the art of printing. The introduction was, however, gradual: all the points did not appear at once. The colon, semicolon, and note of admiration, were produced some time after the others. The whole set, as they are now used, came to be established, when learning and refinement had made considerable progress. As the several articulate sounds, the syllables and words, of which sentences consist, are marked by letters; so the rests and pauses, between sentences and their parts, are marked by points. But though the several articulate sounds, are pretty fully and exactly denoted by letters of known and determinate power; yet the several pauses, which are used in a just pronunciation of discourse, are very imperfectly expressed by points, For the different degrees of connexion between the several parts of sentences, and the different pauses in a just pronunciation, which express those degrees of connexion according to their proper value, admit of great variety: but the whole number of points, which we have to express this variety, amounts only to four. Hence it is, that we are under a necessity of expressing pauses of the same quantity, on different occasions, by different points; and more frequently, of expressing pauses of different quantity by the same points. From this view of the subject, it is evident that the doctrine of Punctuation must be very imperfect. Few precise rules can be given, which will hold, without exception, in all cases; but much must be left to the judgment and taste of the writer. On the other hand, if a greater number of marks were invented, to express all the possible, different pauses of pronunciation; the doctrine of them would be very perplexed and difficult, and the use of them would rather embarrass than assist the reader. It remains, therefore, that we be content with the Rules of Punctuation, laid down with as much exactness as the nature of the subject will admit: such as may serve for a general direction, to be accommodated to different occasions; and to be supplied, where deficient, by the writer's judgment. The precise quantity or duration of each pause cannot be defined; for it varies with the time of the whole. The same composition may be rehearsed in a quicker or a slower time; but the proportion between the pauses should be ever invariable. In order more clearly to determine the proper application of the points, we must distinguish between an imperfect phrase, a simple sentence, and a compound sentence. An imperfect phrase contains no assertion, or does not amount to a proposition or sentence: as, "Therefore; in haste; studious of praise.' A simple sentence has but one subject, and one finite verb, expressed or implied: as, "Temperance preserves health." A compound sentence has more than one subject, or one finite verb, either expressed or understood; or it consists of two or more simple sentences connected together; as, "Good nature mends and beautifies all objects;" "Virtue refides the affections, but vice debases them." In a sentence, the subject and the verb, or either of them, may be accompanied with several adjuncts: as, the object, the end, the circumstance of time, place, manner, and the like: and the subject or verb may be either immediately connected with them, or mediately; that is, by being connected with something which is connected with some other, and so on: as, "The mind, unoccupied with useful knowledge, becomes a magazine of trifles and follies." Members of sentences may be divided into simple and compound members. See See page 215. |