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EXERCISE TO BE WRITTEN.

Separate these short sentences by means of semicolons, in accordance with the Rule and Remarks (p. 125):

:

He is poor perhaps his plans have been defeated he finds it difficult to provide for the exigencies of life sickness is permitted to invade the quiet of his household long confinement imprisons his activity.

When we read a classical poet, we feel as if we had entered a marble temple, where a cool silence reigns a few quiet statues gleam around us, pure and naked a few short inscriptions tell of the deeds of heroes all is calm, grand, and simple, to the highest perfection of art.

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods
There is a rapture on the lonely shore
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar.

The world is fair around thee the bright and blessed sun shineth on thee the green and flowery fields spread far, and cheer thine eye, and invite thy footstep the groves are full of melody ten thousand creatures range freely through all the paths of nature: but thou art not satisfied as they are.

Genius, mental power, has surrounded your homes with comfort it has given you the command of the blind forces of matter it has cxalted and consecrated your affections it has brought God's immeasurable universe nearer to your hearts and imaginations it has made flowers of paradise spring up even in poor men's gardens.

It is pleasant to be virtuous and good, because that is to excel many others it is pleasant to grow better, because that is to excel ourselves it is pleasant to mortify and subdue our lusts, because that is victory it is pleasant to command our appetites and passions, and to keep them in due order within the bounds of reason and religion, because that is empire.

Saints have established our religion by their lives martyrs have confirmed it by their deaths hypocrites have added strength to it by their dissimulation tyrants have purified it by their persecutions infidels have corroborated it by their opposition the arrows of its enemies have served for its protection the resistance which it has met with from the combined wit and genius and malice of mankind have brought forth those illustrious and immortal defences which establish its truth upon the basis of demonstration.

RULE V.

Lists of Words, Phrases, and Numbers.

A semicolon is put before as, viz., to wit, namely, i. e., or that is, when they precede an example or a specification of particulars, or subjects enumerated; and also between these particulars, when they consist each of a disjunct pair of words, or of a single word or phrase but slightly connected with the others.

EXAMPLES.

1. Many words are differently spelled in English; as, "Inquire, enquire; jail, gaol; sceptic, skeptic."

2. To Greece we are indebted for the three principal orders of architecture; namely, the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian.

3. De Quincey's Philosophical Writers, 2 vols. Vol. 1. Hamilton; Mackintosh; Kant; Herder; Richter; Lessing. Vol. 2. Bentley; Parr.

REMARK.

When as, namely, that is, &c., with the terms after them, are used parenthetically, they should be preceded only by a comma; as, "The word 'reck,' that is, care, denotes a stretching of the mind.” "Of the three cardinal virtues, namely, faith, hope, and charity, the greatest is charity." See pp. 64, 72.

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ORAL EXERCISE.

Say why semicolons are used in the following sentences : —

The inseparable preposition pre is derived from the Latin præ; as in " prefix, prejudice, predetermine."

Some men distinguish the period of the world into four ages; viz., the golden age, the silver age, the brazen age, and the iron age.

Logicians say that the operations of the mind are three; namely, 1. Simple apprehension; 2. Judgment; 3. Discourse, or reasoning. Our duties to individuals are classed under four heads; viz., as arising from affinity; friendship; benefits received; contract.

Find the increase in the population from 1790 to 1800; to 1810; 1820: 1830; 1840; 1850; from 1800 to 1810; 1810 to 1850.

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SECT. III. THE COLON.

The COLON [:] is used in a sentence between parts less connected than those which are divided by a semicolon, but not so independent as separate, distinct

sentences.

REMARK S.

a. It is to be regretted that some grammarians have expressed a wish to discard the use of the colon, and that others have ventured even to expel it from their systems of punctuation. But, though in former times it was common to employ this point where the semicolon or the period might have been more serviceable, there are in composition well-ascertained cases in which the insertion of the colon tends to bring out the idea of a writer with greater facility. The truth of this remark may be tested by a comparison of the sentences which will now be exhibited to illustrate the proper use of the colon, with those which have been cited in pp. 113-28 in exemplification of the semicolon, and with others, of a different character. requiring the period, which will be treated of in the next section.

b. On the other hand, some writers are accustomed to insert colons between clauses or phrases, where, both from the construction and the sense, semicolons should be used. Thus, in a work recently published, which, though remarkable for the excellence of its thoughts and the beauty of its style, is very inaccurately punctuated, the larger portions of the following passages are separated by the colon, instead of the semicolon: "There are sorrows that affect a more private sphere of action: and these, too, have their appropriate compensations." ""We must not violate the first principles of eternal reason: we must not disregard those instinctive promptings of our spiritual nature which are as much fundamental realities of our being, and as essential conditions of all truth, as the principles of reason itself: and, in our earnest efforts to find out God and understand his ways, we must admit no view inconsistent with the highest notion that we can form of a perfect Spirit."

RULE I.

Two Clauses not joined by a Conjunction.

A colon should be put after a clause that is complete in itself, but is followed, without a conjunction, by some remark, inference, or illustration.

EXAMPLES.

1. Virtue is too lovely and useful to be immured in a cell: the world is hor sphere of action.

2. Nor was the religion of the Greek drama a mere form: it was full of truth, spirit, and power.

8. In business there is something more than barter, exchange, price, pay. ment: there is a sacred faith of man in man.

REMARK S.

a. The chief difference between this rule and that on page 113 is, that the semicolon is used between two clauses when they are united by a conjunction, and the colon when the particle is omitted. Thus,

Avoid affectation; for it is a contemptible weakness.
Avoid affectation: it is a contemptible weakness.

In many cases, however, the insertion of the connective would injure the beauty or force of the sentiment, as in the examples under the rule.

b. When the conjunction is omitted between clauses having only one verb, a semicolon is preferable, because, by the ellipsis of the verb, the portions of the sentence are dependent in their construction, and more closely allied; as, "The path of truth is a plain aud safe path; that of falsehood, a perplexing maze." — See page 104.

c. Two clauses, of which the former raises the expectation of the latter, or which express a comparison or a contrast one with the other, but without the use of a connecting word, are subject to the rule; as, " Anger is like rain: it breaks itself upon that on which it falls." "Cowards die many times: the valiant never taste of death."

d. Conformably also to the rule, a colon is put after the adverbs yes, no, or after the vocative case when following them, if they are equivalent to a sentence answering a question previously asked or implied; as, "Will he pretend to say that this is an offensive war, –

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a war of conquest? Yes: the gentleman has dared to make this assertion, and for reasons no less extraordinary than the assertion itself." "Can Rolla's words add vigor to the virtuous energies which inspire your hearts? No: you have judged, as I have, the foulness of the crafty plea by which these bold invaders would delude you." These words are, indeed, often found with a mark of exclamation after them; but they are merely abbreviated, though forcible, modes of expressing approval or denial, and have the signification of the sentence, "I emphatically answer in the affirmative," or "in the negative."

e. When placed at the beginning of several sentences, to all of which they refer, the adverbial words again, once more, in conclusion, and the absolute phrases to proceed, to conclude, &c., which have the import of clauses, may be distinguished by a colon; as, " To sum up all: My friends, the time is short. We are as guests in a strange land, who tarry but one night. We wander up and down," &c.

ORAL EXERCISES.

After reciting the Definition of the colon, mention why that point is inserted in the following sentences : —

Harbor no malice in thy heart: it will be a viper in thy bosom.
Men's evil manners live in brass: their virtues we write in wator.
Be on thy guard against flattery: it is an insidious poison.
Do not insult a poor man: his misery entitles him to pity.
Never flatter the people: leave that to such as mean to betray them.
Endeavor to excel: much may be accomplished by perseverance.
Study to acquire the habit of thinking: no study is more important.
Reading is but an instrument: education is to teach its best use.
To rule one's anger is well: to prevent it is better.

The word must be spoken: we want more justice, and less charity.
It is a miserable thing to live in suspense: it is the life of a spider.

There is no mortal truly wise and restless at the same time: wisdom is the repose of the mind.

A human heart throbs beneath the beggar's gabardine: it is no more than this that stirs with its beating the prince's mantle.

The present life is not wholly prosaic, precise, tame, and finite: to the gifted eye, it abounds in the poetic.

To be free, to have the mind of a freeman, is not to consider liberty as a privilege which a few only are to enjoy, and which, like

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