PUN 



they are parted by a comma : as, " Hus- 

 band, wife, and children ;" " open, ge- 

 nerous, sincere ;" " to read, mark, learn ;" 

 " to live soberly, righteously, and godly," 



Where the connection of the different 

 parts of a simple sentence is interrupted 

 by necessary adjuncts, either to the sub- 

 ject or to the verb, the separation is gene- 

 rally marked by a comma : as, " To rouse 

 mankind, when sunk in ignorance or su- 

 perstition, and to encounter the rage of 

 bigotry, armed with power, required the 

 utmost vehemence of zeal, and a temper 

 daring to excess." 



The semicolon is used for dividing a 

 compound sentence, and hence it occurs 

 most generally in cases where the comma 

 has preceded, and a greater pause is ne- 

 cessary : as, * Tribulation workelh pa- 

 tience ; and patience, experience ; and 

 experience, hope." " He knew how to 

 conciliate the most enterprising spirit, 

 with the coolest moderation ; the most 

 obstinate perseverance, with the easiest 

 flexibility ; the most severe justice, with 

 the greatest lenity : the greatest rigour 

 in command, with the greatest affability 

 of deportment ; the highest capacity and 

 inclination for science, with the most 

 shining talents for action." In each of 

 these examples the first clause forms a 

 complete sentence, and what is expressed 

 in it is understood in those which follow. 



The colon divides a compound sentence 

 into parts less connected than those which 

 are separated by a semicolon. It may be 

 properly applied in the three following 

 cases : 



1. When a member of a sentence is com- 

 plete in itself, but is followed by some 

 supplemental remark, or further illustra- 

 tion of the subject : as, * The knowledge 

 of nature is only half the task of a poet: 

 he must be acquainted likewise with all 

 the modes of life." 



2. When several semicolons have pre- 

 ceded : as, " Those who propagate evil 

 reports frequently invent them ; and it is 

 no breach of charity to suppose this to be 

 always the case; because no man who 

 spreads detraction would scruple to pro- 

 duce it : and he who should cliff use poi- 

 sons in a brook would scarce be acquitted 

 of a malicious design, though he should 

 allege that he received it of another 

 who is doing the same elsewhere." 



3. Where an example, a quotation, or 

 a speech is introduced : as, " He was 

 often heard to say : ' I have done with 

 the world." 



The period is employed to separate sen- 



PUR 



tences which are not connected in con- 

 struction ; but it may be sometimes ad- 

 mitted, though they are joined by a co- 

 pulative or disjunctive conjunction : as, 

 "In passing judgment upon the charac- 

 ters of men, we ought to try them by the 

 principles and maxims of their own age, 

 and not by those of another. For, al- 

 though virtue and vice are at all limes 

 the same, manners and customs vary 

 continually." 



Besides the points which mark the 

 pauses in discourse, there are others, 

 which denote a different modulation of 

 voice in correspondence to the sense. 

 These are, 



The interrogation point . . ? 

 The exclamation point . . . ! 



The parenthesis ( 



The interrogation and exclamation points 

 are sufficiently explained by their names : 

 they are indeterminate as to their duration, 

 and may in that respect be equivalent to 

 a semicolon, a colon, or a period, as the 

 sense requires. They generally mark an 

 elevation of the voice. 



The parenthesis is a clause introduced 

 into the body of a sentence without affect- 

 ing the construction. It marks a moderate 

 depression of the voice, and may be mark- 

 ed with every point which the sense would 

 require, if the parenthetical characters 

 were omitted. It ought to terminate 

 with the same kind of stop which the mem- 

 ber has that precedes it ; and to contain 

 that stop within the parenthetical marks : 

 as, " He found them asleep again ; (for 

 their eyes were heavy ;) neither knew they 

 what to answer him." 



PUNICA, in botany, a genus of the 

 Icosandria Monogynia class and order. 

 Natural order of Pumaceae. Myrti, Jus- 

 sieu. Essential character : calyx five-cleft, 

 superior ; petals five ; pome many-celled, 

 many-seeded. There are two species; 

 vix. P. granatum, common pomegranate 

 tree, and P. nana, dwarf pomegranate 

 tree; with several varieties, which are 

 cultivated rather for the beauty of their 

 scarlet-coloured flowers than for the fruit, 

 which seldom arrives to any perfection in 

 this country, so as to render it valuable. 



PUR auter lie, where lands, &c. are 

 held by another's life. See ESTATE. 



PURCHASE, signifies the buying or ac- 

 quisition of lands or tenements with 

 money, or by deed or agreement ; and 

 not obtaining it by descent, or hereditary 

 right. 



PURITANS, a name given to the Pro- 

 testant exiles who returned to England 

 upon the accession of Queen Elizabeth, 



