RULE III.—When any member comes between the verb and the objective or accusative case, it must be separated from both of them by a short pause. EXAMPLE. I knew a person who possessed the faculty of distinguishing flavours in so great a perfection, that, after having tasted ten different kinds of tea, he would distinguish without seeing the colour of it the particular sort which was offered him. RULE IV. When two verbs come together, and the latter is in the infinitive mood, if any words come between, they must be separated from the latter verb by a pause. EXAMPLE. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer Note. When the verb to be is followed by a verb in the infinitive mood, which may serve as a nominative case to it, and the phrases before and after the verb may be transposed, then the pause falls between the verbs. EXAMPLE. The greatest misery is to be condemned by our own hearts. RULE V.-When several substantives become the nominative to the same verb, a pause must be made between the last substantive and the verb, as well as after each of the other substantives. EXAMPLE. Riches, pleasure, and health become evils to those who do not know how to use them. RULE VI.-If there are several adjectives belonging to one substantive, or several substantives belonging to one adjective, every adjective coming after its substantive, and every adjective coming before the substantive except the last, must be separated by a short pause.* EXAMPLES. 1. It was a calculation accurate to the last degree. 2. A behaviour active supple and polite, is necessary to succeed in life. 3. The idea of an eternal uncaused Being, forces itself upon the reflecting mind. 4. Let but one brave great active disinterested man arise, and he will be received, followed, and venerated. Note. This rule applies also to sentences in which several adverbs belong to one verb, or several verbs to one adverb. EXAMPLES. 1. To love wisely rationally and prudently, is, in the opinion of lovers, not to love at all. 2. Wisely rationally and prudently to love, is, in the opinion of lovers, not to love at all. RULE VII.-Whatever words are in the ablative absolute, must be separated from the rest by a short pause both before and after them. EXAMPLES. 1. If a man borrow aught of his neighbour, and it be hurt or die the owner thereof not being with it he shall surely make it good. 2. God, from the mount of Sinai, whose grey top In thunder, lightnings, and loud tempests' sound No pause is admitted between the substantive and the adjective in the inverted order, when the adjective is single, or unaccompanied by adjuncts. -Thus, in this line, They guard with arms divine the British throne The adjective divine cannot be separated by a pause from the substantive arms. RULE VIII.-Nouns in opposition, or words in the same case, where the latter is only explanatory of the former, have a short pause between them, either if both these nouns consist of many terms, or the latter only. EXAMPLES. 1. Hope the balm of life, soothes us under every misfortune. 2. Solomon the son of David and the builder of the temple of Jerusalem, was the richest monarch that reigned over the Jewish people. Note. If the two nouns are single, no pause is admitted; as, Paul the apostle; King George; the Emperor Alexander. RULE IX. When two substantives come together, and the latter, which is in the genitive case, consists of several words closely united with each other, a pause is admissible between the two principal substantives. EXAMPLE. I do not know whether I am singular in my opinion, but, for my own part, I would rather look upon a tree in all its luxuriancy, and diffusion of boughs and branches, than when it is cut and trimmed into a mathematical figure. RULE X.-Who, which, when in the nominative case, and the pronoun that, when used for who or which, require a short pause before them. EXAMPLES. 1. Death is the season which brings our affections to the test. 2. Nothing is in vain that rouses the soul: nothing in vain that keeps the ethereal fire alive and glowing. 3. A man can never be obliged to submit to any power, unless he can be satisfied who is the person who has a right to exercise it. Note. There are several words usually called adverbs, which include in them the power of the relative pronoun, and will therefore admit of a pause before them; such as, when, why, wherefore, how, where, whether, whither, whence, while, till or until: for when is equivalent to the time at which; why, or wherefore, is equivalent to the reason for which; and so of the rest. It must, however, be noted, that when a preposition comes before one of these relatives, the pause is before the preposition; and that, if any of these words is the last word of the sentence, or clause of a sentence, no pause is admitted before it: as, "I have read the book, of which I have heard so much commendation, but I know not the reason why. I have heard one of the books much commended, but I cannot tell which," &c. It must likewise be observed, that, if the substantive which governs the relative, and makes it assume the genitive case, comes before it, no pause is to be placed either before which, or the preposition that governs it. EXAMPLE. The passage of the Jordan is a figure of baptism, by the grace of which the new-born Christian passes from the slavery of sin into a state of freedom peculiar to the chosen sons of God. RULE XI.—Pause before that, when it is used for a EXAMPLE. It is in society only that we can relish those pure delicious joys which embellish and gladden the life of man. RULE XII.-When a pause is necessary at prepositions and conjunctions, it must be before and not after them. EXAMPLES. 1. We must not conform to the world in their amusements and diversions. 2. There is an inseparable connexion between piety and virtue. Note 1.-When a clause comes between the conjunction and the word to which it belongs, a pause may be made both before and after the conjunction. Note 2.-When a preposition enters into the composition of a verb, the pause comes after it. EXAMPLE. People expect in a small essay, that a point of humour should be worked up in all its parts, and a subject touched upon in its most essential articles, without the repetitions, tautologies, and enlargements, that are indulged to longer labours. RULE XIII.—In an elliptical sentence, pause where the ellipsis takes place. EXAMPLES. 1. To our faith we should add virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 2. The vain man takes praise for honour, the proud man ceremony for respect, the ambitious man power for glory. RULE XIV.-Words placed either in opposition to, or in apposition with each other, must be distinguished by a pause. 1. The pleasures of the imagination, taken in their full extent, are not so gross as those of sense, nor so refined as those of the understanding. 2. Some place the bliss in action, some in ease: RULE XV. When prepositions are placed in opposition to each other, and all of them are intimately connected with another word, the pause after the second preposition must be shorter than that after the first, and the pause after the third shorter than that after the second.* EXAMPLES. 1. Rank, distinction, pre-eminence, no man despises, unless he is either raised very much above, or sunk very much below, the ordinary standard of human nature. 2. Whenever words are contrasted with, contradistinguished from, or opposed to, other words, they are always emphatical. As those classes of words, which admit of no separation, are very small and very few, if we do but take the opportunity of pausing where the sense will permit, we shall never be obliged to break in upon the sense In the examples annexed to this rule, the prepositions, as they are emphatic, are printed in italics, and the pause comes after them. |