NAMES. 39 



all subjects which possess these attributes. But it 

 can be predicated only of the subjects. What we call 

 men, are the subjects, the individual Stiles and Nokes ; 

 not the qualities by which their humanity is consti- 

 tuted. The name, therefore, is said to signify the 

 subjects directly, the attributes indirectly; it denotes 

 the subjects, and implies, or involves, or indicates, or 

 as we shall say henceforth, connotes, the attributes. It 

 is a connotative name. 



Connotative names have hence been also called 

 denominative, because the subject which they denote is 

 denominated by, or receives a name from, the attri- 

 bute which they connote. Snow, and other objects, 

 receive the name white, because they possess the 

 attribute which is called whiteness ; James and Ro- 

 bert receive the name man, because they possess the 

 attributes which are considered to constitute humanity. 

 The attribute, or attributes, may therefore be said to 

 denominate those objects, or to give them a common 

 name. 



It has been seen that all concrete general names 

 are connotative. Even abstract names, though the 

 names only of attributes, may in some instances be 

 justly considered as connotative ; for attributes them- 

 selves may have attributes ascribed to them ; and a 

 word which denotes attributes may connote an attri- 

 bute of those attributes. It is thus, for example, 

 with such a word as fault; equivalent to bad or 

 hurtful quality. This word is a name common to 

 many attributes, and connotes hurtfulness, an attribute 

 of those various attributes. When, for example, we 

 say that slowness, in a horse, is a fault, we do not 

 mean that the slow movement, the actual change of 

 place of the slow horse, has any mischievous effects, 

 but that the property or peculiarity of the horse, from 



