lay at the entire (long) side of the enemy." In the expression, "I heard no one speak besides Demosthenes," besides is a preposition, connecting no one and Demosthenes; and the analysis is, "I heard no one speak in such a position as to be at the side of Demosthenes." The word besides, connecting two prepositions, is explained on the same principle. 2. Care should be taken not to class till, until, since, &c. &c., among the prepositions. Nothing can be more unphilosophical than to call till, in the expression “I did not see him till yesterday," a preposition, merely because the noun yesterday follows it. Such a view goes no further than the surface, yesterday being evidently a noun, the subject of the verb came, or some such word understood; and till, an adverb of time, resolvable into the compound prepositional phrase," Up to the time at which." 3. In the expression, "I will not let thee go until thou bless me," no respectable grammarian would call until a preposition, but rather an adverb resolvable as above. In the chapter on the classification of words, it was said to be of little importance comparatively under what classes words were reduced, provided a thorough understanding of their meaning and usage were arrived at. It is well, however, if words are to be classed at all, that they should be classed properly, and not according to the view presented on the surface by the position they may happen to occupy in certain abbreviations and conventionalisms. It has been suggested, moreover, in this dissertation on the preposition, that all words, if their meaning and functions were properly looked into, may possibly be classed, in all varieties of position, under the same head. Of the truth of this theory, the word since, referred to in Observation 2, affords, as far as it goes, an illustration. In the sentence, "I did not see him since yesterday," since appears to be of a class altogether different from since in the following, "I did not go, told me since you I should not find you at home." In the first expression, since evidently refers to time; in the last, it expresses a cause why the act did not take place spoken of previously. And yet no two things can be more identical than the meanings and powers of the word since in both sentences; the since of the latter being resolvable into "from the time at which ;" and the act of not going, so to speak, is spoken of as lasting throughout the time included between the time of being told, &c. &c., and the time of the assertion, " I did not go ;" and so the reason of not going, expressed by since, and the time of not going, expressed by since, play into each other-in other words, the time and the cause are expressive each of the other, as in the following sentence will appear more clearly: "Israel has never regained her position as a nation since she filled up the measure of her sins," wherein the cause of her not regaining, &c. &c., and the entire time throughout which the effect of such cause is witnessed, have an evident connection, and so are expressible by one and the same particle. : 4. Except, frequently laid down amongst the prepositions, is manifestly a verb in the imperative or other mood, having for its subject I, or thou, or ye, according to circumstances; as in the expression, "No one, except Alexander, would have dared such things," wherein the subject of except is I, or thou, or ye, indiscriminately. 5. Of the words during, biding, notwithstanding, &c. &c., notice will be taken in that part of syntax which will treat of the case absolute. 6. Prepositions, as well as a literal or natural sense, have also a non-literal or figurative sense. Under is a preposition. We say, "The horse is placed under his load," wherein under is used in the natural sense to connect the words horse and load together; the load acting as an impediment to the horse in his attempt at going forward, we use the word under in a figurative sense, to express an obstacle in the way of men in the attempt to do what they like, and say, "A man is under a master;" "He labours under great difficulties," &c. &c. 7. Be, for, mis, un, dis, &c. &c., as in the words bestride, forgive, misdirect, unnatural, disobey, have been called inseparable prepositions, from the fact of their being always used in composition with other words. The particles in question, and the words with which they are used, form compound words; but why the particles simply should be denominated prepositions, is a question difficult of solution. QUESTIONS ON THE PREPOSITION. In what particular does a preposition resemble an adverb? Shew by examples what class of words the preposition combines with. Define a preposition, and shew from what peculiarity thereof it derives its name. In what does the efficiency of the term peg, as applied to this class of words, consist? Illustrate the answer by examples. What characteristic of the preposition causes it to be easily known? Under what circumstances are the same words said to be sometimes adverbs and sometimes prepositions? Give a list of such words as this is capable of being said of. Shew that in, on, &c. &c. are capable, in all circumstances, of being classed as prepositions. Give a list of prepositions. What are inseparable prepositions? Give a list thereof. What are compound prepositions? Give the analysis of the following: instead-of, outside-of, round-about, besides. Shew that till, until, since, are not prepositions, but adverbs, by examples. Give a list of such prepositions as may be used in a figurative sense; and give examples of the literal and figurative application of each. What part of speech is except? Give examples. Point out the adverbs and prepositions in the following sentences : : "By a series of criminal enterprizes the liberties of Europe have been gradually extinguished." "Where is a ruin to be found so mournful and so complete, as that which the moral aspect of Judah now presents to our view ?" "Here finished He, and all that He had made ON THE CONJUNCTION. THE Conjunction, as its name implies, (con together, and junctus joined,) is a word used to connect individual words together, and also one proposition to another. In the expression," Four and eight make twelve," the words four and eight are connected by the particle and, which is called a conjunction. So also in the expression," John and James went to London," and connects not the individuals John and James, but the two propositions into which the foregoing is resolvable, viz., "John went to London," and "James went to London." Conjunctions, therefore, are used, in many cases, to shorten language, and, by forming a connecting link, cause two propositions to appear but one. Conjunctions are like prepositions, in that they cannot form any of the essential parts of propositions, and are wholly destitute of inflection. They are so far unlike prepositions, as that they never govern a case, whereas the preposition does. It has been said, under the head " Preposition," that prepositions shew the place where things are; this is the characteristic of the preposition as distinguished from the conjunction, which, in like manner as the preposition, connects individual words. In the expression, "The boy and the girl are in the garden," and and in are connecting particles; and is the conjunction connecting the two propositions, "The boy is," and "the girl is," without any reference to the locality of either; in is the preposition connecting boy and girl, as the subject of two distinct propositions, with the word garden, the place where the boy and girl are to be found. Conjunctions are divided usually into two classesCopulative and Disjunctive. In the expressions, "John and James placed the sack in the waggon;" "You or I must go to town"-and and or are conjunctions, but of different functions; and unites John and James, and shews that the assertion is made equally of both; or also unites you and I, but shews that the assertion is not made of both equally; that is, that the two individuals united thereby are not to perform the act expressed by the verb. This is the characteristic difference between the copulative and disjunctive conjunction. The following are the conjunctions in most ordinary use: Copulative-And, also, both. Disjunctive-But, either, neither, nor, or. According to the previous explanation of the terms copulative and disjunctive, as applied to conjunctions, the foreoging would appear the only conjunctions in the language. Besides these, however, there are a great many particles so connecting words and propositions in one way or another, as to appear more properly classified under this head than any other. The following are of this kind :-- 1. Although, though, still, yet. 2. As, because, for, since. 3. If, unless. 4. Lest. 5. Than. 6. That. Although and though are equivalent in meaning; so are still and yet. The two former, moreover, are so invariably connected with the two latter, that they are called relative and correlative terms. They are found in two distinct propositions. The former are used when a difficulty is asserted as existing in the way of the performance of the act expressed in the latter clause, thus, "Though the day was unpromising, we yet took a walk into the country." Hence the two former are called the antecedents, and the two latter the consequents, this being the order in which the particles must follow each other when both are expressed. Sometimes, however, the consequent is suppressed, and then the order of the clauses may be inverted; as, "We took a walk, though the day was unpromising." As, because, for, since: these may be called conjunctions of causation, being used, when conjunctions, to express a cause for some occurrence of which it is asserted that it has taken place. If, unless these may be called hypothetical conjunc tions, being used to express generally the condition on which something will take place. The latter contains in it a negative; as, "Unless you come, I will not go,"=" If you do not come," &c. &c. Lest: this is used in the commencement of a clause, when in the preceding one some act is announced as having been performed for the purpose of preventing something taking place, spoken of in the clause commenced |