GRAMMAR. 



guage, viz. that amongthe ideas connect- 

 ed with a word, that which was originally 

 of primary importance becomes, by acci- 

 dental circumstances in the mode of ap- 

 plication, secondary only, and sometimes 

 by degrees is altogether lost from the 

 view of the mind, giving place to o.thers, 

 with which, from some cause or other, 

 the word has been associated. 



40. We now proceed to lay before our 

 readers some specimens of the deriva- 

 tions and explanations given by Mr. H. 

 Tooke. That is frequently termed a con- 

 junction; it is sometimes termed a pro- 

 noun ; we class it with the restrictives : 

 but under whatever name it is known, its 

 use and signification is the same. The 

 differences supposed to be perceived in 

 them arise simply from unnoticed ellip- 

 ses or abbreviations of construction. If it 

 Be remembered that that was originally 

 applicable to nouns of both numbers, no 

 difficulty will be found by any intelligent 

 reader in analysing sentences in which it 

 occurs as a pronoun : in cases where it is 

 used as a conjunction, the following an- 

 alyses will serve as a sufficient clue. "I 

 wish you to believe that I would not hurt 

 a fly." Resolution ; I would not hurt a 

 fly, I wish you to believe that (assertion.) 

 " Thieves rise by night that they may cut 

 men's throats." Resolution : Thieves may 

 cut men's throats, (for) that (purpose) 

 they rise by night, -//"(formerly written 

 gif) is merely the imperative of the 

 Gothic and Anglo-Saxon verb gifan, to 

 give In Scotland and the northern coun- 

 ties of England gin is used in place of if; 

 and gin is merely the past participle given 

 abbreviated. Hence, " I will read */(or 

 gin) you will listen, means, give (or this 

 giveii) that you will listen, I will read : 

 and it cannot be unknown to the classical 

 reader, that the imperative da is used in 

 exactly the same manner. Jin, now near- 

 ly obsolete, is the imp. of anan, to grant. 

 Useless (formerly sometimes written onles) 

 is the imp. of (w/esfw, to send away. From 

 alesan comes the imperative else; and 

 from lesan the past participle lest ; both 

 verbs meaning the same with onlesan. 

 From the same source <jome less and least, 

 the privative termination less, the verbs 

 loosen, loose, lessen, &c. Yet is the impera- 

 tive of getan, to get ; and still, of stillan, 

 to put. Though (in some counties still 

 pronounced thaf, */*>/,) is the imperative 

 ofthafiav, to allow or grant. But is now 

 corruptly employed for two words, 6ot 

 and but t - hot is the imperative for botan, to 

 boot, to add, in order to supply a deficien- 

 cy ; but, of been-uta-n, to be-out, and has 



the same signification as without. B*it 

 properly requires a negative in construc- 

 tion with it, as I saw none but him ; but it 

 is often omitted, as, 1 saw but two plants; 

 Without is the imp. of ivyrthan-utan, to be- 

 out. And as the imp. of anan-ad, to heap, 

 or add. Formerly four different sets of 

 words were used where now since is used, 

 and it is now taken four ways: 1. For 

 siththan, sithence, or seen and thencefor- 

 wards , as, It has not been done since the 

 reign of John. 2. For syne, sene, or seen ; 

 as, Did George II. live before or since that 

 example ? 3. For seand, seeing, seeing- as, 

 or seeing that,- as, 1 should labour for 

 truth, since no effort is lost. 4. Forsiththe, 

 sith, seen-as, or seen-that; as, Since death 

 in the end takes from all. Sithence and 

 sith were in good use till the time of the 

 Stuarts. So and as are articles meaning 

 the same as, it, that, or which. .4s he sows, 

 so he will reap, with the ellipses supplied, 

 is, (In) what (manner) he sows, (in) that 

 he will reap, or evtn without supplying 

 them, What he sows, that he will reap. 



41. Prepositions, to use the ideas of 

 Mr. Tooke, are necessary in language, 

 because it is impossible to have a distinct 

 complex term for each different collection 

 of ideas which we have occasion to put 

 together in discourse. By the aid of pre- 

 positions, complex terms are prevented 

 from being indefinitely numerous, and are 

 used only for those collections of ideas 

 which we have most occasion to use. 

 This end is thus answered ; we either 

 take that complex term which includes 

 the greatest number, though not all of 

 the ideas we would communicate, or else 

 that which includes all and the fewest 

 more ; and then by the help of the prepo- 

 sition we either make up the deficiency 

 in the one case, or retrench the super- 

 fluity in the other : so, a house with a par- 

 ty wall ; a house without a roof. Other 

 relations are declared by prepositions ; 

 but they have all meanings of their own, 

 and are constantly used according to those 

 meanings. JFi/Aisthe imperative of toith- 

 an, to join : sometimes of -vyrthan, to be ; 

 in which case it is exactly the same with. 

 by. Through or thorough is the Gothic 

 substantive dauro, or the Teutonic thu- 

 ruh, and like tfeem means door, gate, pas- 

 sage ; so, through the air, is, passage the 

 air, or the air being the passage or medi- 

 um. From is the Anglo-Saxon noun/nnrc, 

 beginning, source, author. Of this word 

 Harris produces three examples, which 

 he considers as proving that it is used in 

 three different relations, viz. detached 

 relation, quiescence, and motion, the last 



