2. To separate clauses or phrases from each other in a series of similar phrases or subordinate clauses, when commas would not be sufficient to indicate clearly where each clause or phrase began and ended.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its power in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their happiness.
Exercise 146.—(1) Find three sentences in which the principal clauses are separated by the semicolon. (2) Write three such sentences of your own composition. (3) Write three sentences in which the semicolon is used to separate similar phrases or subordinate clauses in a series. Let the sentences be of your own composition.
100. The Colon.—The colon indicates that what follows it is an explanation or specification of what precedes it. It is used:—
1. To introduce a list, a quotation, or an explanatory proposition. When the explanation begins a new paragraph, a dash is usually placed after the colon, as in the second sentence of this section.
He provided himself with the following books: Worcester's dictionary, a Latin grammar, an atlas, and a Bible.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that, etc. [See example under § 99, 2 above.]
He read, on a marble tablet in the chapel wall opposite, this singular inscription: "Look not mournfully into the past."
2. In a compound sentence in which the principal clauses are not connected by a conjunction, to show that the following clause explains or illustrates the preceding clause.
I am no traveler: it is ten years since I have left my village.
The general refused to believe him: the risk was too great.
3. After such phrases of address as Dear Sir,[2] Ladies and Gentlemen, etc.
Exercise 147.—I. Write five examples of your own composition of (1); five of (2); and three of (3).
II. Explain the use of the semicolons and colons in the following:—
1. Sin has many tools; but a lie is the handle which fits them all.
2. In Bryant's To a Waterfowl, we find the following lines:—
"He who, from zone to one,
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone,
Will lead my steps aright."3. Speech is silver; silence is gold.
4. There are three great virtues: faith, hope, and charity.