RULE IV.

Short Sentences slightly Connected.

When several short sentences follow one another, slightly connected in sense or in construction, they should be separated by a semicolon.

EXAMPLES.

1. Stones grow; vegetables grow and live; animals grow, live, and feel. 2. Every thing grows old; every thing passes away; every thing disappears. 3. She presses her child to her heart; she drowns it in her tears; her fancy catches more than an angel's tongue could describe.

REMARKS.

a. Without instituting any comparison between the merits of a concise and a diffuse style of composition, — which, indeed, is out of our province, - we may observe, that a printed page, when crowded with short sentences, and having, in consequence, a great number of capitals and large spaces, is offensive to the eye. As a matter of taste, therefore, as well as of propriety, it is recommended, that, wherever a number of short successive sentences are evidently allied to one another in thought, expression, or construction, as in the examples under the rule, semicolons be substituted for full points.

b. In poetry very often occur short sentences which could not be separated by a full point, without destroying the connection which subsists between them; for, hampered by the peculiar structure of verse, and more attentive to the fineness of his thoughts, the harmony of his numbers, and the appropriateness of his imagery, than to any regular train of ideas, the poet is frequently obliged to omit the connecting and disjunctive particles, so useful in prose composition in knitting together parts of sentences which are closely related in sense, and in separating those which are distinct. Especially in the more common kinds of verse, consisting of stanzas regularly formed, as used in songs, ballads, and hymns, it is better to point the sentences, of which they consist, with semicolons or colons, according to their various relations, except where the distinctions in thought and expression are prominent; for, in all such cases, periods must be used.

c. When, in a series of short sentences, each particular is constructed exactly alike, and the last is preceded by the conjunction and, the separation may be indicated by a comma, instead of a semicolon, agreeably to the rule on page 98; as, "The pride of wealth is contemptible, the pride of learning is pitiable, the pride of dignity is ridiculous, and the pride of bigotry is insupportable."

ORAL EXERCISE.

What is the reason for the insertion of semicolons in these sentences? — The wind and rain are over; calm is the noon of day; the clouds are divided in heaven; over the green hill flies the inconstant sun. The old men sit at their doors; the gossip leans over her counter; the children shout and frolic in the streets.

There is good for the good; there is virtue for the faithful; there is victory for the valiant; there is spirituality for the spiritual.

The evidences of religion have been collected; its doctrines have been elucidated; the attacks of its enemies have been repelled; the morals of its professors, upon the whole, have been purified.

When a writer reasons, we look only for perspicuity; when he describes, we expect embellishment; when he decides or relates, we desire plainness and simplicity.

The Christian orator speaks the truth plainly to his hearers; he awakens them; he shows them their impending danger; he excites them to action.

The temples are profaned; the soldier's curse resounds in the house of God; the marble pavement is trampled by iron hoofs; horses neigh beside the altar.

The epic poem recites the exploits of a hero; tragedy represents a disastrous event; comedy ridicules the vices and follies of mankind; pastoral poetry describes rural life; and elegy displays the tender emotions of the heart.

Full many a gem of purest ray serene

The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear;
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.

We pay no homage at the tomb of kings to sublime our feelings; we trace no line of illustrious ancestors to support our dignity; we recur to no usages, sanctioned by the authority of the great, to protract our rejoicing. No: we love liberty; we glory in the rights of men; we glory in independence.

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 exalted 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 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.

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.

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.

REMARKS.

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."