Whether at war or at peace, there we were, a standing menace to all earthly paradises of that kind.—Lowell.
These idols of wood can neither hear nor feel.—Prescott.
Both the common soldiery and their leaders and commanders lowered on each other as if their union had not been more essential than ever, not only to the success of their common cause, but to their own safety.—Scott.
Things to be watched.
In these examples it will be noticed that nor, not or is the proper correlative of neither; and that all correlatives in a sentence ought to have corresponding positions: that is, if the last precedes a verb, the first ought to be placed before a verb; if the second precedes a phrase, the first should also. This is necessary to make the sentence clear and symmetrical.
Correction.
In the sentence, "I am neither in spirits to enjoy it, or to reply to it," both of the above requirements are violated. The word neither in such a case had better be changed to not ... either,—"I am not in spirits either to enjoy it, or to reply to it."
Besides neither ... or, even neither ... nor is often changed to not—either ... or with advantage, as the negation is sometimes too far from the verb to which it belongs.
A noun may be preceded by one of the correlatives, and an equivalent pronoun by the other. The sentence, "This loose and inaccurate manner of speaking has misled us both in the theory of taste and of morals," may be changed to "This loose ... misled us both in the theory of taste and in that of morals."