GRAM M A R. 



ciatcd efFeft time prefenl, i. d time prcfeht, not abfolutc, but 

 re/alhc. Thus, / am luriUng, i. e. I am now writing ; I 

 was WTJting, i. e. I was writing at the time then prefent. 

 And, in general, the participle is delincd by the concomitant 

 verb in the fentcnce which may be either prefent, paft, or 

 future. If the verb be pail, it marks the pall time as then 

 prefent ; if future, it marks the future as hereafter prefent. 

 And thus is refuted the opinion of Mr. Tooke, that there 

 is no adfi^natlon of tlmt; m the prefent participle. But as 

 he iTiay pronounce this argument a mere evafion, I will 

 illuilrate it by a parallel inllance in Greek. The fubjimc- 

 tive verb Tu.l<f, rv4-r-, &c. is thought to be ihcjir/l aorl/l ; 

 but it is really the Jitjl future; and this is proved by its figni- 

 fication as well as by analogy, for in all inllanccs this ex- 

 prefles a future time, not indeed abfolutely fo, but future 

 in regard to another verb connefted with it in the feiitence. 

 For example, " and they alked him, faying, if it be lawful 

 to heal on the fabbath-day, that they might aceufe him,'' 

 U:t, Ko-zny ,on--ii(Tit. To accuie him was their end in a&ing, 

 and in regard to that aft was future, though now long pall. 

 Fnially, things whicli aft in conlequencc of afting, acquire 

 a difpof.thju to aft, juft as bodies when moved have a ten- 

 dency to move. Repetition, moreover, imparts to the aft- 

 ing quality additional llrength, protenlion, and permanence. 

 To exprefs it with the propenlicy and vigour thus attained 

 by ufe the participial termination kv in Greek is added to a 

 noun or to an adjeftive, which, as receiving an additional 

 meaning, is called an augmentalt've. Thus, sijjjv, fpcaking, 

 means alfo one who is prone to fpeak, which is the cha- 

 rafter of the fcoffer or diffemblcr ; aTraim, deceiving, one 

 given to deception, a great deceiver ; kk'.o; xxkiv, more 

 luicked, increafiitg in •wickednefs. And from this the Italians 

 have derived one way of augmenting their nouns. Hence, 

 owT falooii, (a great hull), balloon, and, perhaps, poltroon, 

 the augmentative of paltry. 



The f erfeft, or pail participle, is certainly derived, as Mr. 

 Tooke rcprefents, from the pail tenfe. — Amamt, amavitus, 

 amatus ; — doc nit, dccuitus, doSus ; — legit, hgitus, legtus, i.c- 

 lus ; — audivit, I'udivitus, aiiditus. Us, wliicli is the Greek 

 '/--, is added to the third perfon as the analogical termina- 

 tion of nouns, to (liew that the verb is now abllrafted into 

 <4 verbal noun, denoting the effeft of tiie aftion. Accord- 

 ingly amatus, dofftis, ledus, auditus, and the like, are every 

 <ine cither abllraft nouns of the fourth dcclenfion, or ver- 

 bal adjeftives coalefcing with another noun. And here 

 we (hall quote a paflage from the lincyclopa;dia Tritan- 

 niea, (p. 86.) to Ihew into what errors grammarians have 

 fallen, by not having attended to the nominal character of the 

 participle : " From thefe obfervations and examples," fays 

 the writer, " we (ball be able to underlland the two ufes of 

 llie adjeftive. ]t is either employed to njlrid or modify a 

 general term ; or the abllraft fubllantive contained in the ad- 

 jetlive is modilied by the noun with which, in the concrete 

 or adjeftive form, tiiat abftraft fubllantive is joined. The 

 firll-may be called the dirett, the fecond the inverfe accepta- 

 tion of adjeftives. Livy, fpeaking of the abolition of the 

 regal authority at Rome, fays ; " Regnatura ell Roms: ab 

 urbe condita ad ULeratam annus ducentos ([uadraginta qua- 

 tuor :" Monarchy fublliled at Rome, not from the city built 

 (which would convey no meaning,) but from the building of 

 the city, to its deliverance. Both the participles condita 

 and itbcratam are here ufed inverfely, /. e. the abllraft fub- 

 ftantives contained in condita and liberatam are modified 

 and reftrifted by the fubllantives urbe and urlem, with 

 wliich they unite. Again, Ovid, fpeaking of the conteil 

 between Ajax and Ulyiles for tlie arms vf Achilles, has 

 thefe lines ; 



" Qui licet eloquio fidum quoquc Nellora vincat 

 Haud tamen efficiet, defertum ut Neflora crimen 

 Nullum cfl'e rcor.'' 



Here alfo the adjeftive or participle defertum is taken in- ■ 

 verfely, and the general notion of deferlion contained in it is 

 modilied or rendered particular, by being joined with the fub- 

 llantive Nejlora. The meaning of the paflTage is, " I will 

 never be induced to believe, that the defertion of Neftor was 

 not a crime." Were defertum to be taken direftly as an ad- 

 jeftive, modifying its fubllantive, the fentence mull be tranf- 

 lated, " I cannot believe that Nellor defertcd was not a 

 crime." But it is evident that this is nonfenfe ; as Nettor, 

 whether deferted or not deferted, could not be a crime.'' 



This writerwas ledby Mr. H. Tooke toconlider every ad- 

 jeftive as a noun in its nature : lie then makes a difcovery in 

 which he feemingly blames himfelf, \i'liich is this : inllead of 

 the adjeftive qualifying its noun ; the noun inverfely quali- 

 fies its adjeftive ! This able writer would not have ufed 

 this language, if he had trulled to his own underllanding, 

 and had not allowed himfelf to be mifled by his guide. 

 The participles condita and liberatam, though they here coa.« 

 lefee with another noun, iUU retain their original charaftcr of 

 a fubllantive, and the hillorian has apprized his readers of this 

 charafter by the collocation, where condita is rendered promi- 

 nent and emphatic by fuccecding the qualified urbe. The 

 fame oblervation applies to defertum Neflora, whicli is cquiva- - 

 lent to defertionem Nfloris. 



As the pall participle exprefTes the effeft of an operation, . 

 it has been called i\\c pajjive participle ; but whfn the fubjeft 

 of an operation is a moral agent, that effeft is habit, or a 

 voluntary principle of action. And thus it is, that the per- 

 feft participle often expreffes or implies aftion ; as, adrni- 

 ratus, having admired ; locutus, having fpoien. Sometimes in 

 Greek and Latin it conveys a reflex lenfc ; aijlratus mem- 

 bra, having projl rated his limbs ; ir!— ^-lu/uiio,- tia^^sXioF, having 

 the gofpel entrujled to me. And lallly, as the perfeft par- 

 ticiple is derived from a pall verb, and, as it fignifies an ef- 

 feft already produced, it points to time pall; neverthelefs, as 

 that effeft is a habit or power capable of aftion, it implies 

 time prefent, and thus the pall particij)le, comprehending 

 both tnues, anf« ers to the denomination of perfect prefenl. 



The Origin and Properties of Prepojitions. 



Mr. Harris defines a prepofition to be a part of fpeecli, 

 devoid itlelf of fignificalion, but fo formed, as to unite two 

 words that are figniticant, and refufe to coalefce or unite of . 

 themlelvts. This definition is undoubtedly erroneous, and has 

 beenjuftly cenfured by Mr. H. Tooke. We venture, how. 

 ever, to affirm, that the account given by the lalUmentioned 

 writer, is by no means fuch as a philofophcr, who accurately 

 underftood his fubjeft, would give of prepofitions. " As tiic 

 ncceffity, fays he, vol. i. p. 319. of the article, or of fome equi- 

 valent, follows from the impofiibilily of having in langu.ige a 

 dillinft name or particular term for each particular indivi« 

 dual idea ; fo docs the neceflity of the prepijitjon, (or of lonie 

 equivalent invention) follow from the impolfibility ol having 

 in language a diilhic't complex term for each dilfcrcnt tol- 

 hltion of ideas, which we may have occaQon to put together 

 in difcourie. The addition or fubtraction of any one idea, 

 to or from a coUeftion, makes it a difierent colitition : ar/d if 

 there were degrees of impofiibihty, it is ftill more impc.lCbie 

 to ufe in language a different and dillinft complex term fvj ■ 

 each different and dillinft eoUcftioii of ideas, than it is to u'c , 

 a dillinft particular term for each particular and individual 

 idea. To u'.pply, therefore, the place of the complex terms 

 which are wanting in a language, is the prepofition employ-, 



