Hand-book of punctuation

by William Johnson Cocker

1. When the particulars are preceded by a colon, they are usually separated from each other by semicolons, as in the examples given above.

2. If the particulars are not introduced by thus, following, &c., they should be preceded by a semicolon; as, “Grammar is divided into four parts; Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, and Prosody.”

3. When the particulars are preceded by a semicolon, they are usually separated from each other by commas.

4. Sometimes a comma and dash are used instead of a semicolon; as, “Grammar is divided into four parts,—Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, and Prosody.”

GENERAL REMARK.

The colon is used by some writers to separate short expressions that are complete in themselves, but slightly connected in meaning.

EXAMPLES.

“But men are men: the best sometimes forget.”—Shakespeare.

“It [the Seine] is the wash-tub and summer bath-tub of its citizens; it was the birthplace of Paris, and it is too often the grave of her children.”—Lippincott’s Magazine.