Methinks he seems no better than a girl;
As girls were once, as we ourself have been.
—Tennyson.
Origin of these reflexives.
95. The question might arise, Why are himself and themselves not hisself and theirselves, as in vulgar English, after the analogy of myself, ourselves, etc.?
The history of these words shows they are made up of the dative-objective forms, not the possessive forms, with self. In Middle English the forms meself, theself, were changed into the possessive myself, thyself, and the others were formed by analogy with these. Himself and themselves are the only ones retaining a distinct objective form.
In the forms yourself and yourselves we have the possessive your marked as singular as well as plural.
Use of the reflexives.
96. There are three uses of reflexive pronouns:—
(1) As object of a verb or preposition, and referring to the same person or thing as the subject; as in these sentences from Emerson:—
He who offers himself a candidate for that covenant comes up like an Olympian.
I should hate myself if then I made my other friends my asylum.