I did confess...”
Richard II.
“Add (this) ere I last received.”
When but means be out, or without, it should, says Mr. Tooke, be preceded by a negative; thus, instead of saying, “I saw but John,” which means, “I saw John be out,” we should say, “I saw none but John,” i.e. “none, John be out,” or “had John been out,” or, “John being excluded.” This, observes the ingenious author, is one of the most faulty ellipses in our language, and could never have obtained, but through the utter ignorance of the meaning of the word but (bot).
Yet, from the imperative of getan, “to get.”
Still, from stell or steall, the imperative of stellan, ponere, “to suppose.”
Horne Tooke observing that these words, like if and an[116], are synonymous, accounts for their equivalence by supposing them to be derived from verbs of the same import. His mode of derivation, however, appears at first hearing to be incorrect: the meaning of the conjunctions have little or no affinity to that of the verbs. Mr. Tooke himself does not seem perfectly satisfied with its truth. Both these conjunctions are synonymous with “notwithstanding,” “nevertheless;” terms, the obvious meaning of which does not accord with verbs denoting “to get,” or “to suppose.” I am inclined, however, to think that Tooke’s conjecture is founded in truth. If I say, “he was learned, yet modest,” it may be expressed, “he was learned, notwithstanding this, or this being granted, even thus, or be it so (licet ita esset) he was modest;” where the general incompatibility between learning and modesty is conceived, not expressed, the expression denoting merely the combination of the qualities in the individual mentioned. Notwithstanding indirectly marks the repugnance, by signifying that the one quality did not prevent the co-existence of the other; yet or still supposes the incompatibility to be sufficiently known. This derivation is rendered the more probable, as the word though (thof, grant) may be substituted to express the same idea, as “though (grant) he was learned, he was modest;” which is equivalent to “he was learned, yet (this granted) he was modest.” Hence many repeat the concessive term, and say, “though he was learned, yet he was modest.”
Unless. Mr. Horne Tooke is of opinion that this exceptive conjunction is properly onles, the imperative of the verb onlesan, to dismiss; thus, “you cannot be saved unless you believe;” i.e. “dismiss your believing, and you cannot be saved,” or, “you cannot be saved, your believing being dismissed.”
Lest is contracted for lesed, the participle of the same verb, onlesan or lesan, signifying “dismissed;” as, “Young men should take care to avoid bad company, lest their morals be corrupted, and their reputation ruined;” that is, “Young men should take care to avoid bad company, lest (this being dismissed, or omitted) their morals be corrupted,” &c.