SYSTEMATIC ORDER OF PARSING.
The order of parsing an ADJECTIVE, is—an adjective, and why?—compare it—degree of comparison, and why?—to what noun does it belong?—RULE.
That great nation was once powerful; but now it is feeble.
Great is an adjective, a word added to a noun to express its quality—pos. great, com. greater, sup. greatest—it is in the positive degree, it expresses the quality of an object without any increase or diminution, and belongs to the noun "nation," according to
RULE 18. Adjectives belong to, and qualify, nouns expressed or understood.
Was is a verb, a word that signifies to be—neuter, it expresses neither action nor passion, but being or a state of being—third person singular, because its nominative "nation" is a noun of multitude conveying unity of idea—it agrees with "nation," agreeably to RULE 10. A noun of multitude conveying unity of idea, may have a verb or pronoun agreeing with it in the singular.
Powerful is an adjective belonging to "nation," according to Rule 18. Feeble belongs to "it," according to Note 1, under Rule 18. Is is a neuter verb agreeing with "it," agreeably to Rule 4.
"Bonaparte entered Russia with 400,000 men."
Four-hundred-thousand is a numeral adjective of the cardinal kind, it is a word used in counting, and belongs to the noun "men," according to Note 2, under Rule 18. Numeral adjectives belong to nouns, which nouns must agree in number with their adjectives.
If, in parsing the following examples, you find any words about which you are at a loss, you will please to turn back, and parse all the foregoing examples again. This course will enable you to proceed without any difficulty.
More is an adverb. Of and to are prepositions, governing the nouns that follow them in the objective case.
EXERCISES IN PARSING.
A benevolent man helps indigent beggars. Studious scholars learn many long lessons. Wealthy merchants own large ships. The heavy ships bear large burdens; the lighter ships carry less burdens. Just poets use figurative language. Ungrammatical expressions offend a true critic's ear. Weak critics magnify trifling errors. No composition is perfect. The rabble was tumultuous. The late-washed grass looks green. Shady trees form a delightful arbor. The setting sun makes a beautiful appearance; the variegated rainbow appears more beautiful. Epaminondas was the greatest of the Theban generals; Pelopidas was next to Epaminondas.
The first fleet contained three hundred men; the second contained four thousand. The earth contains one thousand million inhabitants. Many a cheering ray brightens the good man's pathway.
NOTE. Like, Worth. The adjective like is a contraction of the participle likened, and generally has the preposition unto understood after it. "She is like [unto] her brother." "They are unlike [to] him." "The kingdom of heaven is like [likened or made like] unto a householder."
The noun worth has altogether dropped its associated words. "The cloth is worth ten dollars a yard;" that is, The cloth is of the worth of ten dollars by the yard, or for a, one, or every yard.
Some eminent philologists do not admit the propriety of supplying an ellipsis after like, worth, ere, but, except, and than, but consider them prepositions. See Anomalies, in the latter part of this work.
REMARKS ON ADJECTIVES AND NOUNS.
A critical analysis requires that the adjective when used without its noun, should be parsed as an adjective belonging to its noun understood; as, "The virtuous [persons] and the sincere [persons] are always respected;" "Providence rewards the good [people,] and punishes the bad [people.]"
But sometimes the adjective, by its manner of meaning, becomes a noun, and has another adjective joined to it; as, "the chief good;" "The vast immense [immensity] of space."
Various nouns placed before other nouns, assume the character of adjectives, according to their manner of meaning; as, "Sea fish, iron mortar, wine vessel, gold watch, corn field, meadow ground, mountain height."
The principle which recognises custom as the standard of grammatical accuracy, might rest for its support on the usage of only six words, and defy all the subtleties of innovating skeptics to gainsay it. If the genius and analogy of our language were the standard, it would be correct to observe this analogy, and say, "Good, gooder, goodest; bad, badder, baddest; little, littler, littlest; much, mucher; muchest." "By this mean;" "What are the news." But such a criterion betrays only the weakness of those who attempt to establish it. Regardless of the dogmas and edicts of the philosophical umpire, the good sense of the people will cause them, in this instance, as well as in a thousand others, to yield to custom, and say, "Good, better, best; bad, worse, worst; little, less, least; much, more, most;" "By this means;" "What is the news?"
With regard to the using of adjectives and other qualifying words, care must be taken, or your language will frequently amount to absurdity or nonsense. Let the following general remark, which is better than a dozen rules, put you on your guard. Whenever you utter a sentence, or put your pen on paper to write, weigh well in your mind the meaning of the words which you are about to employ. See that they convey precisely the ideas which you wish to express by them, and thus you will avoid innumerable errors. In speaking of a man, we may say, with propriety, he is very wicked, or exceedingly lavish, because the terms wicked and lavish are adjectives that admit of comparison; but, if we take the words in their literal acceptation, there is a solecism in calling a man very honest, or exceedingly just, for the words honest and just, literally admit of no comparison. In point of fact, a man is honest or dishonest, just or unjust: there can be no medium or excess in this respect. Very correct, very incorrect, very right, very wrong, are common expressions; but they are not literally proper. What is not correct, must be incorrect; and that which is not incorrect, must be correct: what is not right, must be wrong; and that which is not wrong, must be right. To avoid that circumlocution which must otherwise take place, our best speakers and writers, however, frequently compare adjectives which do not literally admit of comparison: "The most established practice;" "The most uncertain method;" "Irving, as a writer, is far more accurate than Addison;" "The metaphysical investigations of our philosophical grammars, are still more incomprehensible to the learner." Comparisons like these, should generally be avoided; but sometimes they are so convenient in practice, as to render them admissible. Such expressions can be reconciled with the principles of grammar, only by considering them as figurative.
Comparative members of sentences, should be set in direct opposition to each other; as, "Pope was rich, but Goldsmith was poor." The following sentences are inaccurate: "Solomon was wiser than Cicero was eloquent." "The principles of the reformation were deeper in the prince's mind than to be easily eradicated." This latter sentence contains no comparison at all; neither does it literally convey any meaning. Again, if the Psalmist had said, "I am the wisest of my teachers," he would have spoken absurdly, because the phrase would imply, that he was one of his teachers. But in saying, "I am wiser than my teachers," he does not consider himself one of them, but places himself in contradistinction to them.
Before you proceed any farther, you may answer the following
QUESTIONS NOT ANSWERED IN PARSING.
What is the distinction between a noun and an adjective?—By what sign may an adjective be known?—Are participles ever used as adjectives?—Does gender, person, number, or case, belong to adjectives?—How are they varied?—Name the three degrees of comparison.—What effect have less and least in comparing adjectives?—Repeat the order of parsing an adjective.—What rule applies in parsing an adjective?—What rule in parsing a verb agreeing with a noun of multitude conveying unity of idea?—What Note should be applied in parsing an adjective which belongs to a pronoun?—What Note in parsing numeral adjectives?
QUESTIONS ON THE NOTES.
Repeat all the various ways of forming the degrees of comparison, mentioned in the first five NOTES.—Compare these adjectives; ripe, frugal, mischievous, happy, able, good, little, much or many, near, late, old.—Name some adjectives that are always in the superlative, and never compared.—Are compound adjectives compared?—What is said of the termination ish, and of the adverb very?—When does an adjective become a noun?—What character does a noun assume when placed before another noun?—How can you prove that custom is the standard of grammatical accuracy?
PHILOSOPHICAL NOTES.
ADNOUNS.
Adnoun or Adjective, comes from the Latin, ad and jicio, to add to.
Adnouns are a class of words added to nouns to vary their comprehension, or to determine their extension. Those which effect the former object, are called adjectives, or attributes; and those which effect the latter, restrictives. It is not, in all cases, easy to determine to which of these classes an adnoun should be referred. Words which express simply the qualities of nouns, are adjectives; and such as denote their situation or number, are restrictives.
Adjectives were originally nouns or verbs.
Some consider the adjective, in its present application, exactly equivalent to a noun connected to another noun by means of juxtaposition, of a preposition, or of a corresponding flexion. "A golden cup," say they, "is the same as a gold cup, or a cup of gold." But this principle appears to be exceptionable. "A cup of gold," may mean either a cup-full of gold, or a cup made of gold. "An oaken cask," signifies an oak cask, or a cask of oak; i.e. a cask made of oak; but a beer cask, and a cask of beer, are two different things. A virtuous son; a son of virtue.
The distinguishing characteristic of the adjective, appears to consist in its both naming a quality, and attributing that quality to some object.
The terminations en, ed, and ig (our modern y,) signifying give, add, join, denote that the names of qualities to which they are postfixed, are to be attributed to other nouns possessing such qualities: wood-en, wood-y. See page 37.
Left is the past participle of the verb leave. Horne Tooke defines right to be that which is ordered or directed. The right hand is that which your parents and custom direct you to use in preference to the other. And when you employ that in preference, the other is the leaved, leav'd, or left hand; i.e. the one leaved or left. "The one shall be taken, and the other (leaved) left."
Own. Formerly a man's own was what he worked for, own being a past participle of a verb signifying to work.
Restrictive. Some restrictives, in modern times, are applied only to singular nouns; such as a or an, another, one, this, that, each, every, either. Others, only to plural nouns; as, these, those, two, three, few, several, all. But most restrictives, like adjectives, are applied to both singular and plural nouns: first, second, last, the, former, latter, any, such, same, some, which, what.
Numerals. All numeration was, doubtless, originally performed by the fingers; for the number of the fingers is still the utmost extent of its signification. Ten is the past participle of tynan, to close, to shut in. The hands tyned, tened, closed, or shut in, signified ten; for there numeration closed. To denote a number greater than ten, we must begin again, ten and one, ten and two, &c.
Twain, twa-in, twa-ain, twa-ane, is a compound of two (twa, twae, twee, twi, two or dwo or duo) and one (ane, ain, an.) It signifies two units joined, united, aned, or oned. Twenty (twa-ane-ten) signifies two tens aned, oned, or united. Things separated into parcels of twenty each, are called scores. Score is the past participle of shear, to separate.
The Ordinals are formed like abstract nouns in eth. Fifth, sixth, or tenth is the number which fiv-eth, six-eth, ten-eth, or mak-eth up the number five, six, or ten.
Philosophical writers who limit our acceptation of words to that in which they were originally employed, and suppose that all the complicated, yet often definable, associations which the gradual progress of language and intellect has connected with words, are to be reduced to the standard of our forefathers; appear not to have sufficiently attended to the changes which this principle of association actually produces. As language is transmitted from generation to generation, many words become the representatives of ideas with which they were not originally associated; and thus they undergo a change, not only in the mode of their application, but also in their meaning. Words being the signs of things, their meaning must necessarily change as much, at least, as things themselves change; but this variation in their import more frequently depends on accidental circumstances. Among the ideas connected with a word that which was once of primary, becomes only of secondary importance; and sometimes, by degrees, it loses altogether its connexion with the word, giving place to others with which, from some accidental causes, it has been associated.
Two or three instances will illustrate the truth of these remarks. In an ancient English version of the New Testament, we find the following language: "I, Paul, a rascal of Jesus Christ, unto you Gentiles," &c. But who, in the present acceptation of the word, would dare to call "the great apostle of the Gentiles" a rascal? Rascal formerly meant a servant: one devoted to the interest of another; but now it is nearly synonymous with villain. Villain once had none of the odium which is now associated with the term; but it signified one who, under the feudal system, rented or held lands of another. Thus, Henry the VIII. says to a vassal or tenant, "As you are an accomplished villain, I order that you receive £700 out of the public treasury." The word villain, then, has given up its original idea, and become the representative of a new one, the word tenant having supplanted it. To prove that the meaning of words changes, a thousand examples could be adduced; but with the intelligent reader, proof is unnecessary.
QUESTIONS ON THE PHILOSOPHICAL NOTES.
How are adnouns divided?—What constitutes the true character of an adjective?—What are the signification and denotement of the terminations, en, ed, and ig?—What do left and own signify?—Name the three ways in which restrictives are applied.—How was numeration originally performed?—What is said of twain, twenty, score, and the ordinal numbers?—What is said of the changes produced in the meaning of words, by the principle of association?
EXERCISES IN FALSE SYNTAX.
NOTE 9, under RULE 18. Double Comparatives and Superlatives should be avoided; such as, worser, lesser, more deeper, more wickeder, &c.: chiefest, supremest, perfectest, rightest; or more perfect, most perfect, most supreme, &c.
Virtue confers the most supreme dignity on man, and it should be his chiefest desire.
He made the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night.
The phrases "most supreme," and "chiefest," in the first sentence, are incorrect, because supreme and chief are in the superlative degree without having the superlative form superadded, which addition makes them double superlatives. They should be written, "confers supreme dignity," and, "his chief desire."
We can say, one thing is less than another, or smaller than another, because the adjectives less and smaller are in the comparative degree; but the phrase "lesser light," in the second sentence, is inaccurate. Lesser is a double comparative, which, according to the preceding Note, should be avoided. Lesser is as incorrect as badder, gooder, worser. "The smaller light," would be less exceptionable. You can correct the following without my assistance. Correct them four times over.
The pleasures of the understanding are more preferable than those of imagination or sense. The tongue is like a race-horse, which runs the faster the lesser weight it carries. The nightingale's voice is the most sweetest in the grove. The Most Highest hath created us for his glory, He was admitted to the chiefest offices. The first witness gave a strong proof of the fact; the next more stronger still; but the last witness, the most stronger of all. He gave the fullest and the most sincere proof of the truer friendship.