IS'J4 *] Observations concerning tli 



Riate (Jo1j?i \\ as written to hy William) ; 

 but tiio converse oflliese sentences will 

 require tlie nnuns si>^nif>iiiif the agent, 

 subject, oWject, &.C. Other nontis in 

 ijompound sentences are re!;ar.le(i col- 

 laterally, and their relations (chitfly 

 associatinsi the ideas of position, source, 

 medium, &c.) :ire iiiiirked by preposi- 

 tions. In the sentence — William sent 

 John :i letter, Wiiliam is the aijent of tlie 

 state denoted by sent, and letter is the 

 affected sul)ject. What case is John 

 in ? The ellipsis occasions the relations 

 to be obscured ; but, if the preposition 

 tu he inserted, Jolin will be seen as ac- 

 cusative of the sul)iect reg^arded as 

 Hllectc<l by the tendency of the energy 

 of the ap;'ent, and letter as accusative of 

 the subject allected by the predieati^d 

 state sent. It will hence be toleral)ly 

 plain, I tiiiniv, that the case of a noun is 

 not dependent on a verb, or a preposi- 

 tion ; but strictly on the relations asso- 

 ciated widi the conception denoted by 

 the noun ; tlie verb shows the slate pre- 

 dicated of the accusative case ; and the 

 preposition shons tlie relation which fiie 

 ■direcliou of the state bears to the con- 

 nected noun (agent or subject). 



Some writers argue, that the simple 

 noun, or nominative, is not » vase. Con- 

 ceptions are signified only by some one 

 of the forms called cases, iiicliifling the 

 nominative; of which forms, l!ie nomi- 

 nativecxpressing the agent of (he opera- 

 tive state, was the simple form, an<l 

 Jience used simply to name a person or 

 thing. 



I'lioso who call it a case, contend, 

 that every expression of a conception in 

 speech is a declension, or falling away 

 (they mean evidcnily a varying) of the 

 simple conception in the mind, which, 

 regarded by itself, is without reference 

 to either action, quiescence, or relation. 

 That, prior to any assertion concerning 

 tlie king, the mind nmst have a concep- 

 tion of him as a person; and that, when 

 mention of the king, or any reference to 

 liim, is made, the conception declines 

 (varies) from its primary simplicity ; 

 consequently, the expression may be 

 regarded as declining or falling away 

 (varying) from the pure noun. 



It is projier, before I conclude, to refer 

 to what many grammarians call the 

 CASE Ansoix'TE. I Cannot Consider that 

 any such case exists; but am of opi- 

 nion, that the readers of this will bo 

 convinced, that all such phrases as 

 shame being lost, all virtue is lost, — he 

 being dead yet speaketli, — Jesus also 



f Cases of English Nouns. 491 



being bfiplizetl and praying, — the m^n 

 being admitted to hail, the court ad- 

 journed, — ^ju.stice considered the sen- 

 tence was mild, &e. will be found ellip- 

 tical, and need only Ihe full construction 

 for all the irregularity to disappear. 

 Our countryman, William Grocin, when 

 he gave first those forms of English 

 speech, now called tenses, &c. of verbs, 

 as corellalive to the tenses of the Latin 

 and Greek verbs, did not apply the 

 form in ing, so often called particijiial ; 

 hence Murray, and others who employ 

 bis forms only, are often unable to unra- 

 vel any intricacy connected with the 

 forms in inf/, erl, though Pulcbourn docs 

 so well exemplify their nature and ap- 

 pliciition. On m}- plan of c;ises, and 

 of tl'.ree tenses, (present, progressive, 

 and past,) the two latter iiaving some 

 form of the connective verb in construc- 

 tion, the case absolute will not be 

 found. Shame is nominative of the 

 .ilfected subject, and by being is con- 

 nected with the state lost, in this sen- 

 tence the past tense of the verb luse, and 

 not an adjective, as Murray pcrhaj>s re- 

 gards it. In — he being dead, &c. the 

 nominative of the aflected subject is 

 similarly connected with the completed 

 state dead; but the word die Iiaving a 

 particular form for adjection, the adjec- 

 tive form is employed. He being drunk 

 — is a [)hrase of similar formation ; and 

 this will be admitted, I think, by all per- 

 sons who consider that the latter form is 

 further varied for ])ositivc adjection — a 

 di-unken man, — a dead body. In the 

 sentence from Luke iii. 2L Jesus is 

 evidently nominaiive, of the affected 

 subject of the state baptized, and of the 

 agent of the stale /»«?/«;/</. Justice('6e!)i^^ 

 considered, &c. will appear similar. 

 The man being admitted, Stc. It will 

 scarcely be requisite to mention, that 

 every noun employed to indicate 

 agency, or quiescence, has the state 

 (signified by a verb,) connected. In 

 this sentence, the state is regarded as 

 completed ; yet, by the progressive 

 form of ie, is connected with the aflected 

 sui)jcct in the nominative man ; and 

 this form will signify |)resent existence 

 of the completed state, as a [iroperty, or 

 quality affecting the subject. 



As I am well awaie that accurate 

 views of the many peculiarities which 

 afie(t onr language, can be obtained 

 only from close examination and consi- 

 deration, I have submitted these re- 

 marks to your numerous readers ; and, 

 as it is probable some of Ibem have 



mads 



