THE SEMICOLON.
Rule I. Long Sentences.—When the smaller divisions of sentences are separated by commas, the main divisions should be separated by semicolons.
EXAMPLES.
“Sheridan, Pitt, and Fox all drank hard and worked hard; they were all great in the councils of the nation, but not one could rule his own household.”—London Athenæum.
“Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong;
Was every thing by starts, and nothing long.”—Dryden.
“Nor is it always in the most distinguished achievements that men’s virtues or vices may be best discerned; but very often an action of small note, a short saying, or a jest, shall distinguish a person’s real character more than the greatest sieges, or the most important battles.”—Plutarch.
Rule II. Expressions Complete in Themselves.—Short expressions, complete in themselves but slightly connected in meaning, may be separated by semicolons.
EXAMPLES.
“We do not want precepts so much as patterns; an example is the softest and least invidious way of commanding.”—Pliny.
“It is a beautiful thing to model a statue and give it life; to mould an intelligence and instil truth therein is still more beautiful.”—Hugo.
“There are on every subject a few leading and fixed ideas; their tracks may be traced by your own genius as well as by reading.”—Sheridan.
REMARK.
When as introduces an example, a semicolon should be placed before and a comma after it.
Rule III. Series of Expressions.—When several clauses follow each other in succession, having a common dependence on some part of the sentence, they should be separated from each other by semicolons, and from the clause on which they depend, by a comma.
EXAMPLE.
“If such men will make a firm and solemn pause, and meditate dispassionately on its importance; if they will contemplate it in all its attributes, and trace it to all its consequences, they will not hesitate to part with trivial objections to a constitution, the rejection of which would, in all probability, put a final period to the Union.”—Hamilton.
REMARK.
Commas may be used instead of semicolons, when the clauses are short; as, “When public bodies are to be addressed on momentous occasions, when great interests are at stake, and strong passions excited, nothing is valuable in speech farther than it is connected with high intellectual and moral endowments.”—Webster.
GENERAL REMARK.
When the members of a sentence seem to be loosely connected, they are frequently separated by semicolons.
EXAMPLES.
“Honest name is goodly; but he that hunteth only for that, is like him that hath rather seem warm than be warm.”—Sir Thomas Wyatt.
“Some blemishes may undoubtedly be detected in his character; but the more carefully it is examined, the more will it appear sound in the noble parts.”—Macaulay.
Some writers use commas in the examples given above in preference to semicolons, and usage varies so much among our best writers that it is impossible to lay down a general rule that will be applicable in all cases. If it is desirable to indicate a somewhat close connection between the members of a sentence, a comma should be used; if the connection is slight, it is better to use a semicolon.