Owen — Revision of Pronouns. Ill 



It appears accordingly that there is in "Apples which are 

 ripe'' no element which is not at least inferred from "Ripe ap- 

 ples." Any difference between them is then explained by a 

 purely formal word-ellipsis. Grammar, therefore, is right in 

 ranking the relative clause as equivalent to an adjective. The 

 informational relative clause and the informational adjective 

 agree in the nomination of a term betweeen which and a term 

 of the principal clause a relation is recognized, and either 

 actually or inferentially asserted. The restrictive relative clause 

 and the restrictive adjective agree in the nomination of a term 

 between which and a term of the principal clause a relation is 

 recognized, but neither actually nor inferentially asserted. 



When a minimal thought, consisting of two ideas and their 

 relation, is increased by the service of one of its terms as simul- 

 taneous term of another thought, the latter thought or increment 

 may, as has been shown, appear in several forms of expression. 

 Of these the relative clause has been seen to be peculiarly ef- 

 fective, when the functions of the simultaneous factor in differ- 

 ent thoughts are themselves conspicuously different. It is also 

 of the utmost convenience in the lack of single words or phrases 

 to express a required meaning. For the relative allows the de- 

 tailed formulation of a thought complete, being in this particu- 

 lar no wise inferior to a sentence. ]^ow, a sentence is the em- 

 bodiment of the powers of speech. Whatever power of expres- 

 sion, therefore, resides in a language may be utilized in the rel- 

 ative clause. To illustrate, wanting a servant, and in particu- 

 lar one distinguished from others by the thorough currying of 

 horses, and having no adjective to express this conception, I say 

 that "I want a servant who curries horses thoroughly." In this 

 particular case I might indeed do measurably well by using the 

 virtually adjective phrase "distinguished by thorough currying 



the indicative mood. The modal value of tlie latter is accordingly equivocal ; 

 the forms entitled by English Grammar indicative mood should rather be 

 designated as indicative-subjunctive. In other languages such inconsistency may 

 be explained by the supposition that this modal distinction has sometimes proved 

 a bit too subtle for the average mind, the type of mind by which, of necessity, 

 linguistic usage has mainly been determined. Sometimes the irregularity may 

 be placed to the account of a common inability to let well enough alone, which 

 reveals itself not only in formally double assertion (e. g., "I believe that he Is 

 honest," which says no more than "I believe him to be honest"), but also in for- 

 mally double negation (e. g., He isn't honest I don't think). 



