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EXAMPLES.

1. A woman sensible, gentle, well educated, and religious.

2. In a letter, we may advise, exhort, comfort, and request.

Exception. But Frederick was too old and too cunning to be caught, and the ambitious and far-seeing Catharine had ulterior views of her own.

RULE III.

When words in the same construction are joined in pairs by a conjunction, they are separated in pairs by a comma; as, "Hope and fear, pleasure and pain, diversify our lives."

EXAMPLE.

A Christian spirit may be manifested either to Greek or Jew, male or female, friend or foe.

RULE IV.

Expressions in a direct address, the Nominative Absolute, the Infinitive Absolute, the Participle Absolute, and words like hence, besides, first, are separated by commas from the body of the sentence; as, "Come hither, Hubert;""His father dying, he succeeded to the estate;" "To do her justice, she was a good-natured, reasonable woman;" "Properly speaking, he is guilty of falsehood;" "Besides, the issue is doubtful."

EXAMPLES.

1. John, will you obtain the work from the library? 2. The city being taken, we fortified it with great care. 3. To speak confidentially, he has ruined himself.

RULE V.

Nouns in Apposition, when accompanied with adjuncts, and Nouns attended by Participles or Adjectives with dependent words, are separated by a comma; as, "Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, was eminent for his zeal and knowledge;" "The king, approving the plan,

put it in execution;" "But he, anxious to refer the cause to arbitration, refused."

Exception. But if such nouns are single, or form only a proper name, they are not divided; as, "Paul the Apostle suffered martyrdom.'

99.

EXAMPLES.

1. That distinguished patriot, Benjamin Franklin, was at the court of St. Cloud.

2. Humboldt, the great philosopher, resides at Berlin. Exception. Wellington the statesman died in 1851.

RULE VI.

When sentences contain correlative words, and have each a nominative and a verb expressed, they are separated by a comma; as, "Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith."

Exception. But when the correlative expressions be long to one and the same sentence, the comma should be omitted; as, "How much easier is it to get wisdom than gold!"

EXAMPLES.

1. As virtue is its own reward, so vice is its own punishment.

2. How much easier is it to go with the popular current, than it is to oppose public opinion!

Exception. The child in the humble walks of life is as richly gifted as in the highest. See WILSON, p. 73.

RULE VII.

Words placed in opposition to each other, or with some marked variety, require to be distinguished by a comma; as, "Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull."

EXAMPLES.

1. The goods of this world were given to man for his occasional refreshment, not for his chief felicity.

2. It is the province of superiors to direct, of inferiors to obey.

RULE VIII.

A remarkable expression or short observation, somewhat in the manner of a quotation, should be marked with a comma; as, "It hurts a man's pride to say,

don't know."

EXAMPLES.

I

1. Vice is not of such a nature that we can say to it, Hitherto shalt thou come, and no farther.

2. We are strictly enjoined, "not to follow a multitude to do evil."

RULE IX.

Relative Pronouns generally admit a comma before them, except when closely connected with the antecedent; as, "He preaches sublimely, who lives a sober, righteous, and pious life;" "Self-denial is the sacrifice, which virtue must make."

EXAMPLES.

1. The gentle mind is like the still stream, which reflects every object in its just proportion and in its fairest colors.

2. He, who is good before invisible witnesses, is eminently so before the visible.

RULE X.

When an Infinitive Mode or a sentence is a subject, but is placed after the verb, it has generally a comma before it.

EXAMPLES.

1. It ill becomes good and wise men, to oppose and degrade one another.

2. Charles's highest enjoyment, was to relieve the distressed and to do good.

RULE XI.

When a verb is understood, a comma may often be properly introduced; as, "From law arises security; from security, curiosity; from curiosity, knowledge."

EXAMPLES.

1. If spring put forth no blossoms, in summer there will be no beauty, and in autumn, no fruit. So if youth be trifled away without improvement, manhood will be contemptible, and old age miserable.

2. As a companion, he was severe and satirical; as a friend, captious and dangerous; in his domestic sphere, harsh, jealous, and irascible.

RULE XII.

Adverbs and adverbial phrases, in certain constructions, are followed by a comma, and, in some cases, are also preceded by a comma; as, "First, I shall state the proposition, and, secondly, I shall endeavor to prove it."

EXAMPLES.

1. On the other hand, be not self-confident.

2. His high reputation, undoubtedly, contributed to his success.

RULE XIII.

A simple member of a compound sentence must be distinguished by the comma; as, "To improve time while we are blessed with health, will smooth the bed of sickness."

If, however, the members of a compound sentence are very closely connected with each other, the comma is unnecessary; as, "Revelation tells us how we may obtain happiness.

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EXAMPLES.

1. If we delay till to-morrow what ought to be done to-day, we overcharge the morrow with a burden which belongs not to it.

2. If the wind sow not corn, it will plant thistles.

RULE XIV.

When a verb is expressed in one member of a compound sentence, and understood in another member, its place in the latter is supplied by a comma; as, “The

wise man considers what he wants; the fool, what he abounds in."

EXAMPLES.

1. Passion overcomes shame; boldness, fear; and madness, reason.

2. War is the law of violence; peace, the law of love.

THE SEMICOLON (;).

§ 544. The SEMICOLON is placed between the members of a sentence which are not so closely connected as those which are separated by a comma.

1. A semicolon is put between two parts of a sentence when these are divided, according to the preceding rules, into smaller portions.

2. A semicolon is placed between two clauses, one of which is explanatory of the other.

3. Short sentences slightly connected are separated by a semicolon.

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EXAMPLES.

1. "We can not give a distinct name to every distinct object which we perceive, nor to every distinct thought which passes through the mind; nor are these thoughts, or even these objects, so entirely distinct to human conception as many persons are apt to imagine. If I see a horse to-day, and another horse to-morrow, the conceptions which I form of these different objects are indeed different in some respects, but in others they agree."

2. Life with a swift, though insensible course, glides away; and, like a river which undermines its banks, gradually impairs our state.

3. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger

resteth in the bosom of fools.

4. We may compare the soul to linen cloth; it must be first washed to take off its native hue and color, and to make it white; and afterward it must be ever and anon washed to preserve and keep it white.-SOUTH.

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