S93 



OBSERVATIONS ON THE 



" is that peculiar differential circumstance which, added to the 

 " definition of a Noun, constitutes the Verb ?" In ano- 

 ther part of his work, he refuses to the infinitive mood of the 

 verb the character of a noun, altliough it appears to be the 

 mere name of the idea contained in the verb. The infinitive 

 mood, indeed, is connected with some of the words in a sen- 

 tence in a manner differing a little from other nouns ; but in 

 more important points of syntax it agrees with them. Mr 

 TooKE, however, appears to have considered the radical use of 

 the infinitive mood as the same with that of tlie verb as dis- 

 tinguished from the noun, and not as, in this respect, analo- 

 gous to the noun itself It is difficult to reconcile this doc- 

 trine, not only with other doctrines of Mr Tooke, but with one 

 obvious fact in language itself, — that, wherever the infinitive of a 

 verb occurs, an additional Verb will serve the purpose of com- 

 pleting a sentence, but the addition of a Noun will not. If 

 we take the infinitive of the Verb " to deceive," we never 

 can complete a sentence by adding the Noun " man," " friend," 

 or " stranger :" but we can completie one by adding the Verb 

 " dishonours." " To deceive dishonours," is a complete sen- 

 tence, though not an elegant one. It is not easy to form 

 even a probable conjecture what views Mr Tooke could enter- 

 tain of the Verb, in strict consistency with other doctrines 

 which he advances. 



The theory adopted by some grammarians wliohav^ availed 

 themselves very fully of the improvements of Mr Tooke is, that 

 the proper business of language is afeirmation or assertion ; 

 that all sentences, when analysed, are resolved into assertions ; 

 that assertion is the connecting of one idea with another ; and 

 that the office of the verb is to serve as the sign of connection 

 betwixt different ideas. The Substantive Verb is, in this theo- 

 ry, considered as the only pure verb, and all other verbs are 

 supposed to be made up of the Substantive Verb and a Noun. 



