tive; it is impossible to divide it from the verb by

a pause.

EXAMPLES.

This ring he holds

In most rich choice, yet in his idle fire
To buy his will it would not seem too dear,
Howe'er repented of. Ibid.

In this example, the adverb howe'er must necess sarily be classed with the verb it precedes, and, consequently, a pause must be placed at dear.

To trace the ways

Of highest agents, deem'd however wise. Milton.

Here the word however modifies the adjective wise, and therefore is more closely united with it than with the verb deem'd: and if this union be not intimated by a short pause at deem'd, the sense will be a little ambiguous; as we shall not know whether these agents are extremely, or only moderately wise. But when this word is used conjunctively, that is, when we may supply its place by substituting nevertheless, notwithstanding, yet, or still, a pause ought always

to follow it.

EXAMPLES.

In your excuse your love does little say,

You might howe'er, have took a fairer way. Dryden. Here the word howe'er is used conjunctively, and a pause after it is highly necessary.

I do not build my reasoning wholly on the case of persecu tion; however, I do not exclude it.

A

Atterbury.

pause in this sentence at however, manifestly fixes and regulates the sense of it.

Rule XI. Whatever words are put into the case absolute, commonly called the ablative absolute, must be separated from the rest by a short pause.

EXAMPLES.

If a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt or die, the owner thereof not being with it, he shall surely make it good. Old Testament.

Here the owner thereof not being with it, is the phrase called the ablative absolute; and this, like a parenthesis, must be separated from the rest of the sentence by a short pause on each side.

God, from the mount of Sinai, whose grey top
Shall tremble, he descending, will himself
In thunder, lightnings, and loud trumpets' sound
Ordain them laws. Milton.

Here, he descending, neither governs nor is governed by any other part of the sentence; and is said to be in the ablative absolute, and this independence must be marked by a short pause before and after the clause.

Rule XII. Nouns in apposition, or words in the same case, where the latter is only explanatory of the former, have a short pause between them, either if both these nouns consist of many terms, or the latter only.

EXAMPLES.

When first thy sire, to send on earth
Virtue, his darling child, design'd;

To thee he gave the heav'nly birth,

And bade thee form her infant mind. Gray.

Here the word Virtue, and the following member, may be said to be in apposition, and must be divided by a short pause.

If the two nouns are single, no pause is admitted; as, Paul the apostle; King George: but if the latter consists of many terms, a short pause is necessary; as, Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles; George, king of Great-Britain, France, and Ireland.

The reason of this seems to be the same with that which permits us to pause between a substantive and adjective in an inverted order, when the latter has adjuncts that form a class; for when nouns are in apposition, the latter, by qualifying the former, has the nature of an adjective, and is therefore subject to the same laws of punctuation.

Rule XIII. Who, which, when in the nominative case, and the pronoun that, when used for who, or which, require a short pause before them.

EXAMPLES.

A man can never be obliged to submit to any power, unless he can be satisfied, who is the person, who has a right to exercise it.

Locke.

To which, their want of judging abilities, add also their want of opportunity to apply such a serious consideration as may let them into the true goodness and evil of things, which are qualities, which seldom display themselves to the first view. South.

You'll rue the time,

That clogs me with this answer. Shakespeare.

Nothing they but dust can show,

Or bones, that hasten to be so.

Cowley.

Saints, that taught, and led the way to Heav'n. Tickel.

Rule XIV. When that is used as a casual con-junction, it ought always to be preceded by a short pause.

EXAMPLES.

It is not, that I love you less
Than when before your feet I lay,
But to prevent the sad increase

Of hopeless love, I keep away. Waller.

Forgive me, that I thus your patience wrong. Cowley.

The custom and familiarity of these tongues do sometimes so far influence the expressions in these epistles, that one may observe the force of the Hebrew conjugations. Locke.

There is the greater necessity for attending to this rule, as we so frequently find it neglected in printing: for fear of crowding the line with points, and appearing to clog the sense to the eye, the ear is often defrauded of her unquestionable rights. I shall give two instances, among a thousand that might be brought, to shew where this is the case.

I must therefore desire the reader to remember that, by the pleasures of the imagination, I mean only such pleasures as arise originally from sight. Spectator, No. 411.

It is true, the higher nature still advances, and by that means, preserves his distance and superiority in the scale of being; but he knows that, how high soever the station is of which he stands possessed at present, the inferior nature will at length mount up to it, and shine forth in the same degree of glory. Spectator, No. 111.

In these examples, we find the incidental member succeeding the conjunction that is separated from it by a pause; but the pause which ought to precede this conjunction is omitted: this punctuation runs through our whole orthography, and is the more culpable, as the insertion of the pause after that, where it is less wanted than before, is more apt to mislead the reader than if he saw no pause at all.

Rule XV. Prepositions and conjunctions are more united with the words they precede than with those they follow; and, consequently, if it be neces-. sary to pause, the preposition and conjunction ought to be classed with the succeeding words, and not with the preceding.

EXAMPLES.

A violent passion, for universal admiration, produces the most ridiculous circumstances, in the general behaviour, of women of the most excellent understandings.

As it has been formerly remarked, (p. 35.) we may pause four times in this sentence, if necessary,

;

without in the least hurting the sense: that is, at passion, admiration, circumstances, and behaviour but, if instead of pausing at these words, we were to pause at the words for, produces, in, and of, which are the words immediately succeeding, we shall soon perceive to which words the prepositions naturally belong.

Homer and Hesiod intimate to us how this art should be applied, when they represent the Muses as surrounding Jupiter, and warbling hymns about his throne.

In this example, the conjunction as, and the copulative and, in the last clause, must necessarily be classed with the succeeding, and not the preceding words.

I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

Old Testament.

Here the conjunction except, naturally associates with the latter part of the sentence, and requires a short pause before it.

This let him know,

Lest, wilfully transgressing, he pretend
Surprisal. Milton.

In this example the conjunction lest is very properly separated from the preceding words by a short pause at know, and as the parenthetick words wilfully transgressing come between the conjunction, and the pronoun to which it belongs, the conjunction has very properly a pause both before and after it.

People expect in a small essay, that a point of humour should be worked up, in all its parts, and a subject touched upon, in its most essential articles, without the repetitions, tautologies, and enlargements, that are indulged to longer labours.

Spectator, No. 124,

In this sentence the preposition up is separated from in, because it enters into the composition of the verb