SEC. II. ACCENT.

Accent, in general, is that greater stress which is laid on one syllable of a word in comparison with another. It is employed to promote ease of articulation, to distinguish different parts of speech having the same form, and to express opposition of thought. Hence, as it subserves any one of these ends, it may be denominated articulatory, discriminative, or rhetorical.

ance.

1. Articulatory Accent.

Articulatory accent is either primary or secondary: the first, distinguished from the last, by appearing at an earlier stage in the formation of words, by being indispensable to all words of more than one syllable, and by being produced by a more forcible utterA word never has the secondary accent until it contains three or more syllables; and it may have three, four, and even five syllables, without having the secondary accent in a degree to attract notice; as in relative, communicative. The greater force of the primary may be observed in such words as estimated, recommendation, heterogeneous.

But few general rules can be given to determine the place of the accent. Many that are prescribed as such, have exceptions as numerous as the words which they embrace. The limited number subjoined, are mainly drawn from Webster.

1. Monosyllables, though they may be pronouced with force, are necessarily without accent: comparison of one syllable with another being involved in the very nature of

accent.

2. Dissyllables submit to no general rule of accentuation whatever; as may ascertained by testing those rules which Walker, Murray and others apply of words.

be readily

this class

3. Trissyllables, derived from dissyllables, usually retain the accent of their primitives; as ín poet, poetess; pleasant, pleasantly; gracious, graciously; relate, related; polite, politely, politest.

4. Words of four syllables also, derived from dissyllables, generally retain the accent of their primitives; as in collectible from collect; serviceable from service; virtuously from virtue; dictionary from diction; fancifulness from fancy.

5. In all cases, the preterit and participles of verbs retain the accents of the verbs. 6. Words ending in tion, sion, tian, cious, tious, cial, tial, tiate, tient, cient, have the accent on the syllable preceding that termination; as motion, aversion, christian, avaricious, adventitious, commercial, geometrician, substantial, negotiate, patient, ancient.

7. Words of more than two syllables, ending in ty, have, for the most part, the accent on the antepenult; as entity, liberty, gratuity, propriety, prosperity, insensibility.

8. Trissyllables ending in ment, for the most part, have the accent on the first syllable; as complement, detriment; but to this rule there are many exceptions, and particularly nouns formed from verbs; as amendment, commandment.

Words ending with cracy, fluous, ferous, fluent, gonal, gony, machy, loquy, mathy, meter, nomy, ogy, pathy, phony, parous, scopy, strophe, vomous, tomy, raphy, have the accent on the antepenultimate syllable; as democracy, superfluous, odoriferous, mellifluent, diagonal, cosmogony, logomachy, obloquy, polymathy, barometer, economy, theology, apathy, euphony, oviparous, aeroscopy, apostrophe, ignivomous, duatomy, geography.

Such is a brief statement of the rules of accentuation which possess any value.

2. Discriminative Accent.

This, as I have already observed, is employed to distinguish different parts of speech having the same form: principally nouns

and verbs, but in a few instances nouns and adjectives; as in the following list, which I obtain from Mr. Walker.

This is a temporary accent, or, perhaps more properly speaking, the customary accent transferred from its place to another syllable, to express opposition of thought.

Examples.

1. He must increase, but I must decrease.

2. What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? 3. Consider well what you have done, and what you have left undone.

4.rruptible must put on incorruption; and this mortal must put on immortality.

5. The difference in this case, is no less than betwixt decency and indecency betwixt religion and irreligion.

6. In the suitableness or unsuitableness, the proportion or disproportion of the affection to the object which excites it, consists the propriety or impropriety of the consequent action.

7. Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended, is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that be might fill all things.

CHAPTER II.

PUNCTUATION.

WHAT I have to say, under this head, rests on the following propositions:

1. That our language comprises a limited number of sentences, having each a peculiar and uniform construction by which they may be always and easily recognised:

2. That all sentences of the same construction, should, in strict propriety, be punctuated, without regard to their brevity or length, in the same manner:

3. That the punctuation should always coincide with the delivery; so that the one may be a guide to the other; or, rather, so that the construction of a sentence may determine the punctuation and the delivery at the same time:

4. That every departure from the proper punctuation, by which the latter is brought in conflict with the delivery, should be systematic; that is to say, should be for reasons which apply to all cases of the same kind; so that the design of the change in punctuation may be, in every case, obvious, and the proper delivery retained notwithstanding.

In the remarks which follow, I purposely refrain from entering on the details of punctua tion: nothing more being necessary at present, than the general rules which determine the proper use of the different pauses, and so prepare the way to understand the classification and description of sentences on succeeding pages. Their special application, I deem it best to reBerve until the subject of structure shall be under consideration.

Pauses are employed for three purposes:

1. To mark divisions of sense;

2. To indicate the nature of the sentence; and
3. To denote unusual construction or significance.

SEC. I. PAUSES WHICH MARK DIVISIONS OF SENSE.

I. THE COMMA.

The comma is properly employed, only, in separating the members of a sentence, making imperfect sense until the end is reached; or containing only one proposition.

As a pause, it suspends the voice, in unimpassioned reading or speaking, sufficiently long to draw breath: under the influence of emotion, its time is indefinite.

NOTE I. By imperfect sense, I mean sense imperfect according to the author; for a sentence may be so constructed that the first half or the first quarter of it, if considered apart from what follows, would of itself make perfect sense, and consequently demand, in conformity to the rule, some pause different from the comina; but, if considered with reference to the author's intention, the sense is imperfect, until what follows, be subjoined. Observe this sentence: "We came to our journey's end, at last, with no small difficulty, after much fatigue, through deep roads, and bad weather." Take any part of this sentence terminating with a comma, and, if you look no farther than that part, you will have perfect sense, but not the perfect sense of the author: what follows the comma being absolutely necessary to the completeness of his thought; as much so, as if the sentence were written thus: "At last, after much fatigue, through deep roads and bad weather, we came, with no small difficulty, to our journey's end." This is unquestionably a better construction than the other, but the parts are not more closely allied, nor more indispensable to the completeness of the author's thought than before. What then is the difference between the two forms of construction? None with regard to the author, and none, consequently, with regard to the use of the comma. The difference between them respects the hearer or reader exclusively; and that difference is this the first at no point raises an expectation of any thing to follow; the second excites and keeps up such an expectation until the close of the sentence is reached.

NOTE II. That the sense is imperfect according to the author, may be known by several circumstances. It is imperfect

1. When a subject, or nominative case, with its adjuncts, governs no verb; as, "John, who was with me."

2. When, if a period should be inserted at a given point, (as at either of the divisions in the following sentences,) verbs and nouns would be left without government, adverbs have nothing to qualify, and adjectives have no agreement; as "He invaded the country fought three battles and took twelve cities. They built the house with an auger a saw and a hammer. God made man | erect | free intelligent | immortal. He was heard painfully and impatiently." The part of the sentence, succeeding the period at any of the points indicated by the perpendicular mark, would be unintelligible. 3. When a preposition with its government, would express no relation; as in note 1st: We came to our journey's end at last | with no small difficulty | sc.

4. When the first part of a sentence implies the remainder: having a word in it which raises an expectation of another about to follow; as, as-so, when-then, where -there, if-then, in examples 9, 10, 11, and 12 of proper use below.

NOTE III. The sentence or proposition may be expressed declaratively or interrogatively; as, "Did we not come, at last, to our journey's end, with no small difficulty, sc. sc. ?"

NOTE IV. By a proposition, it may be sufficient to say here, is meant that assemblage of words, or members, which is necessary to a complete thought; in other words, a proposition is a series of words expressing a complete thought. (See Class.)

NOTE V. When I say, the comma as a pause suspends the voice, &c. &c., I mean to intimate that the comma does not necessarily represent a pause, but simply designates the place where, if necessary, a pause may be made where the relation of the words is not so close, but that, if necessary, they can be separated long enough to take breath, or to produce some rhetorical effect, without injury to the sense. The pause should, if possible, be limited to those commas which mark principal or leading divisions of imperfect sense; inasmuch as its frequent repetition, together with the peculiar inflexion connected with it, tends to monotony.*

* Sunt aliquando et respiratione quædam moræ etiam in periodis; ut in illa, in cætu vero populi Romani, negotium publicum gerens, magister equitum &c., multa membra habent. Sensus enim sunt alii atque alii, et sicut una circumductio est, ita paulum morandum in his intervallis, non interrumpendus est contextus; et è contrario, spiritum interim recipere sine intellectu moræ necesse est quo loco, quasi surripiendus est.-Quinc.

1. Examples of the proper use of the Comma.

1. Industry, good sense and virtue, are, as a general thing, essential to health, wealth and happiness.

2. Uncommon expressions, strong flashes of wit, pointed similes, epigrammatic turns, especially when they recur too frequently, are a disfigurement rather than any embellishment of discourse.

3. His dashing spirit, unused to control, and above submission to the loss of fortune, health and tranquillity, finishes the career of glory with a pistol.

4. But it appears to me, that the exhibition of the first magistrate, and of great statesmen, in caricature, must contribute to diminish or destroy that reverence which is always due to legal authority and established rank, and confessedly conducive to the most valuable ends of human society.

5. Destitute of education, and without a true friend to guide them, they turned out unfortunately, ran away from their trades, entered into low situations in the army and navy, married imprudently, or died early of intemperance.

6. Rural employments are certainly natural, amusing and healthy.

7. What is it you call eloquence? Is it the wretched trade of imitating that criminal, mentioned by a poet in his satires, who balanced his crimes before his judges with antithesis?

8. And where is the man that has not foibles, weaknesses, follies and defects of some kind? And where is the man that has greater virtues, greater abilities, more useful labors, to put into the opposite scale against his defects, than Dr. Johnson?

9. As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. 10. When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

11. Where the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

12. If a more perfect union was formed, if justice was administered, if domestic tranquillity was secured, if the common defence was provided for, if the general welfare was promoted, it was all for the attainment of this end.

13. That faith which is one, that faith which renews and justifies all who possess it, that faith which confessions and formularies can never adequately express, is the property of each alike.

Let the student carefully observe the difference of structure in these thirteen sentences. The first six differ in nothing but length: the next four comprised in No. 7 and 8 are interrogatives: the three succeeding consist, each of them, of two parts, beginning with correlative words; as-so, when-then, where-there: the one marked No. 12 does not differ from those marked 9, 10, 11, except in having one of the correlative words understood, and in having a series of members in the first part: the last sentence, No. 13, is unlike the first six only in having a series of members at the beginning: all of them, however, agree in this; that they contain simply one proposition, or a sentence of which the sense is complete only when the end is reached.