40 J- A. Fontaine, 



is very doubtful. It would be too long a task to review fully, 

 one after the other, the authors that have written on that 

 subject. The question has been fully examined by Gessner 

 {JaJirbiick fur romaiiische und cnglische Spraclic iind Litera- 

 tur, XV, p. 201) and by A. Mercier {De V Histoire des parti- 

 cipes francais). Gessner is the one author who seems to have 

 treated the debated question more fully than any other. The 

 principal thing to be considered in this author's work, and by 

 far the most important (Mr. Gessner himself calling it the 

 "Kernpunkt" of the whole question), is the assertion that 

 the reflexive pronoun accompanying the verb is in the accu- 

 sative, and yet not the direct object of the verb. Mr. Gess- 

 ner tries to illustrate his theory for the German language by 

 selecting as an instance two expressions, one refiexive and 

 the other active, and showing that the former is more vivid 

 than the latter, describing more intensively the actual situation 

 or feeling of the subject. Who will deny that the refiexive 

 pronoun adds a mild, poetical meaning to the verbal expres- 

 sion } But at the same time, Mr. Gessner tries to prove that 

 logically the reflexive pronoun, though in the accusative, is 

 not the direct object of the verb. Let us take two French 

 sentences directly representing those given by Gessner in 

 Grerman : — 



// craiiit le da7iger ; 

 II s'effraye du danger. 



In both cases, he says, danger is the direct object of the verb ; 

 accordingly the reflexive pronoun cannot be the direct object 

 ly^ dieser Accusativ kein Object ist''). As far as the meaning 

 is concerned, nothing is changed in adopting that view, and 

 Mr. Gessner is right ; but if we take into consideration the 

 syntactical connection, he is wrong. If I say simply, Get 

 homnie s effraye facilcmcnt, undoubtedly we have to consider 

 the reflective se as being the direct object of effrayer, just 

 as the first personal pronoun me would be in Get Jiornme 

 m ejfraye. 



Now if to our first sentence cet Jioinme s' ejfraye, I add du 

 danger, will these few words change the relation of the reflex- 



70 



