Obs. To combine so many important articles in one word, required a degree of ingenuity, which nothing could supply but the discernment and experience of ages.

64. Experience, doubtless, proved that the division of time into present, past, and future, was not sufficient for the purposes of communication.

Illus. 1. The fleeting nature of present time made any subdivision of it both difficult and unnecessary; hence, all polished languages have, in any mood, one tense only appropriated to express present time.

2. A similar opinion seems to have guided the construction of languages for expressing future time, which, including a long duration, was divisible into parts; but the total ignorance in which mankind are involved concerning actions that may take place in that period, must have divested them of all disposition to mark differences of future time, or to provide language with tenses for that purpose. Hence, all polished languages, except the Greek, have also been contented with one tense expressive of future time. The paulo post futurum of the Greeks is a specimen of their ingenuity to cultivate and improve their language, rather than as requisite for the communication of knowledge, since by this tense they intended to signify that the action was future, but would not be long so, because the time of its execution would quickly arrive.

3. The past, then, is the time which the framers of all languages have been chiefly anxious to subdivide. Most of the actions which could be the subject of discourse or writing, must have taken place in past time; and to render the accounts of them more conspicuous and intelligible, it must often have been requisite to specify the progress, or stages of their execution. Hence the various divisions of past time, and the different tenses significant of them with which all languages, even the most imperfect, abound. Of polished languages, the least complete, in this respect, have three divisions:

First, a pluperfect tense, by which is signified that the action is finished, and that some time has intervened since it was completed. Secondly, a perfect, which denotes that the action is finished, but that very little, or no time has elapsed since its completion.

Thirdly, an imperfect, which signifies that the action had been going on, but had not been completed. The language of ancient Rome possessed only these tenses significant of past time.

4. But the Greek language, the English, and the French, besides these tenses, employ another, which the Greeks called an aorist, and which denotes only that the action is completed, without distinguishing in what division of past time the completion took place, or whether the execution was pluperfect, perfect, or imperfect.

5. In the usual course of speaking and writing, this state of an action frequently occurs; and, therefore, a tense adapted to express it, is of singular convenience and advantage. When the completion of the action is the only circumstance of consequence to be communicated, the proper tense to be employed is the aorist. The Latin language hath its ambiguous amavi, but the sense of the context only enables the learner or the reader to discover whether it denotes the aorist inoa, j'aimai, I loved; or the perfect past лeçilηza, j'ai aimé, I have loved.

65. The use of moods is to denote the manner in which an action is performed, together with the dispositions and feelings entertained by the agent relative to its perform

ance.

Illus. 1. The capital views of an action relative to manner or mood, refer either to its actual performance, or to the power, inclination, or obligation of the agent to perform it; or to the authority or right of the agent to entreat or command the performance; or, finally, to the exhibition of the action, without any consideration of the agent, or of the sentiments that he may entertain concerning the perform

ance.

2. These circumstances comprehend every general view of an action, that human affairs can well be supposed to suggest. For,

First, the agent may either possess power, inclination, or obligation, to perform the action, and actually perform it.

Ör, Secondly, he may possess power, inclination, or obligation, to perform the action, and without being able to put them in execution.

Or, Thirdly, he may have a right, or authority, to entreat or command the power or inclination of some other agent to perform the action.

Or, Finally, the situation of the action may require only its bare exhibition, without any regard to the capacity, the duty, or the performance of the agent.

Corol. Hence, from these views, we readily discern the origin of the four moods of verbs commonly employed by polished languages. 1. The indicative denotes the actual performance of the action. 2. The subjunctive expresses the power, inclination, or obligation of the agent to perform the action, but leaves the performance to be decided by circumstances not yet come into existence; on account of which it is called the conditional mood.

3. The imperative exhibits the agent as entreating or commanding the performance of the action.

4. The infinitive represents the action in general, without connexion with any agent, or reference to him, or any powers or dispositions depending upon him.

Illus. I. I write is an indicative assertion, because it denotes an action in actual performance.

2. I may write is subjunctive, because it denotes disposition or capacity only, and communicates nothing with respect to perform

ance.

3. I have written is indicative, because it denotes performance already past.

4. I might have written is subjunctive, because it communicates part, capacity, inclination, or obligation, but signifies nothing about performance.

5. Write thou is an imperative, because it does not necessarily infer performance, and imports nothing more than that the action of writing should be performed.

66. Theory of moods. In the present and past tenses, therefore, the indicative denotes performance; the subjunctive, intention or disposition;-the imperative is susceptible of no time but the present, when it also expresses dis

position. But, in respect of future time, even the indica tive cannot denote performance; and the subjunctive must be destitute of this tense altogether.

Illus. 1. For, as an action can have no real existence till the time of its execution arrive; so language can express nothing concerning it, but the present views and dispositions of the agents, who may foretell performance, or promise to perform. I shall write is signifi'cant only of prediction or intention, the execution of which must be future; and therefore, in the future tense, the indicative approaches the nature of the subjunctive and imperative, and expresses chiefly disposition. The main difference between them seems to be this, that the future of the indicative, along with the signification of disposition, conveys something positive or affirmative with regard to execution, If the two other moods imply at all the execution of the dispositions which they denote, they hold it forth as altogether contingent or conditional.

2. All the sentiments which can exist, or be expressed, relative to future actions, must refer either to the views of them which the agent formerly entertained, or now indulges. Of the appearances which these actions will assume when they come into existence, or of the sentiments which will be entertained concerning them, he can know nothing; and, therefore, these appearances and sentiments can neither be the subjects of thought nor of language. Hence, since past and present intentions and dispositions are the only circumstances with which we either are or can be acquainted, it is evident that a mood, limited to express intention and disposition, cannot admit a future tense, because no ideas of future intentions and dispositions exist in the mind of man, which it may communicate.

3. The tense I shall have loved, commonly called "the future of the subjunctive," has no participation with the usual import of the other tenses of that mood; for it is expressive of no sentiment that is future and conditional as to its execution, but is equally positive and affirmative with I shall love, the tense commonly called the future of the indicative. They both signify intention relative to future action; and the only difference between them is, that, taking the execution of both to refer to some fixed point of time, the action of the former will be finished, when the action of the latter will be finishing.

67. THIS THEORY of the moods, then, gives to the indicative seven tenses, and to the subjunctive not more than four.

Illus. 1. The indicative will exhibit PRESENT TIME, denoted by the tenses present, and perfect present; as, I love, I have loved-gilio, πɛgiàηza—amo, amavi: PAST TIME, by the imperfect and pluperfect tenses, I was loving, I had loved-¿qilεor, inεikηxe—amabam, amaveram: FUTURE TIME, by the tenses styled the future of the indicative, and the future of the subjunctive, I shall love, I shall have loved-pilnow, ginoqui-amabo, amavero: and the whole of past time denoted by the Aorist, I loved-içinoa.

2. The subjunctive will exhibit PRESENT TIME, divided into present and perfect present; as I may love, I may have loved-gia, qizar -amem, amaverim; and PAST TIME divided into perfect and pluperfect, I could love, I could have loved-amarem, amavissem.

68. Tenses and moods, in the Greek and Latin languages, are generally discriminated by different inflexions of the verb; in the modern languages they are chiefly denoted by AUXILIARIES.

Illus. 1. The auxiliaries of the indicative mood are, have, had, shall, will.

Have and had mark time; the former denoting that the action is finished just now; the latter that some interval has elapsed since it was completed.

Shall and will express futurity, but with it some affection or disposition of the agent. Thus, in the first person, shall barely foretells, or predicts performance; as, I shall walk; "hereafter I am to perform the action of walking." Will implies promise or engagement; I will walk; "I am determined hereafter to walk." In the second and third persons, these auxiliaries exchange their additional significations; and shall denotes promise or engagement; as, thou shalt read: will expresses futurity; as, he will run that is to say, according to promise or engagement, "thou shalt read;" and " he will hereafter run."

2. The auxiliaries of the PRESENT of the subjunctive are may and can; and of the PERFECT, might, could, would, should.

May and can denote capacity or ability; as, I may write, I can read. Might and could express the perfect time of may and can; and like them are significant of ability or capacity; but the execution depends on circumstances which have not yet come into existence. Thus, "I might see him," and " I could tell him," express that my capacity to see and tell him is complete, and I only wait for an opportunity to put it in action.

Would denotes inclination, should obligation, but the performance hangs upon some incident or power, not under the control of the agent; as, "I would read, if I had a book;" "I should walk, if I had leave."

3. The auxiliary to be, usually called a substantive verb, because it is confined to the signification of existence only, is generally and naturally an auxiliary of the passive form of the verb. In this case it is always attended with the perfect participle of the same form; as, "I am loved,"-" I have been loved,"" I shall be loved." But added to the present participle of the active form, and supported by the other auxiliaries, there is not a mood or tense of the active form of the verb, which to be may not denote; as, "I am loving,"- "I may be loving," -"Be thou loving,"-To be loving," are expressions equivalent to, I love, I may love, love thou, to love.

69. The INFINITIVE MOOD requires no agent to be prefixed or understood in the form of a nominative. The infinitive, thus disengaged from all connexion with person or number, and significant of action in general, without consideration of any agent, approaches the nature of a substantive noun, and in all languages is frequently substituted in its place. The infinitive, farther, used as a substantive, is nearly equivalent to the present participle, employed in the

same manner.

Example. Thus to hear is nothing more than the action of hearing; and every such participle, in English, may be converted into a substantive, by prefixing one of the articles, the usual characteristics of substantives. (Art. 57.)

Obs. 1. The occasions on which it is requisite to express action without reference to any agent, are very numerous, and the use of the infinitive is of course very frequent. Its relation to the other moods is similar to that of abstract substantives to the adjectives from which they are formed; as, goodness from " good." (Art. 59. Obs. 2.) But good denotes a quality inherent in the particular substance to which it is applied; and goodness expresses a quality common to all the substantives to which it is competent to apply the adjective.

2. In like manner, the finite moods exhibit always some action, performed by an agent, either specified or understood as the nominative to the verb. The infinitive denotes the action, without reference to any particular agent; but the action is practicable only by the agents who may be made nominatives to the finite moods.

Thus, as goodness denotes a quality common to all objects that are good; so to read denotes an action which can be performed by all agents who have learned letters.

3. The infinitive also, like the participle, retains so much of its verbal quality, in denoting action, as to be susceptible of time; and it possesses variations to express the three great divisions of past, present, and future. It seldom, however, introduces a sentence, but depends most commonly on some verb that precedes it; hence the time which it assumes, is to be reckoned from that of the antecedent verb. 4. Taking, then, the time of the antecedent verb, as a fixed point, in computing the time of the infinitive, we employ the present, the past, or the future tense, according as the action which it denotes happens to be the same, of prior, or of posterior time to that of the antecedent verb; as, "I am happy to see him,"- "I am happy to have seen him," "I am happy to be about to see him."

70. OF THE ADVERB. The chief use of the adverb, as its name imports, is to modify the verb. The circumstances of action, expressed by tenses and moods, are all of a nature too general to be sufficient for the purposes of communication. It is often necessary to be much more particular in ascertaining both the time and the manner, but particularly the place of the action. The important office of the adverb, is to accomplish these ends.

Illus. 1. Though tenses display a great degree of ingenuity in their formation, they rarely descend farther than to denote performance in past, present, or future time. But we find it necessary to be often much more minute, and to signify whether the action was done yesterday, lately, long ago; or is to be done now, immediately, instantly; or will be done quickly, presently, hereafter; or will be repeated often, seldom, daily, once, twice, thrice.

2. All the circumstances communicated by moods are of a very general nature. The indicative expresses performance only; the subjunctive and imperative denote bare intention or disposition; while the infinitive scarcely descends farther than the name of the action, without specifying its nature.