see, a. The name of any action may be used without any mention of the agent. Thus, we may speak of the simple fact of walking or moving independently of any specification of the walker or mover. B. That, when actions are spoken of thus indefinitely, the idea of either Person or Number has no place in the conception; from which it follows that the so-called Infinitive Mode must at once be Impersonal, and without the distinction of Singular, Dual, and Plural. y. That, nevertheless, the ideas of Time and Relation in space have place in the conception. We can think of a person being in the act of striking a blow, of his having been in the act of striking a blow, or of his being about to be in the act of striking a blow. We can also think of a person being in the act of doing a good action, or of his being from the act of doing a good action. This has been written to show that Verbs of languages in general are as naturally declinable as Nouns. What follows will show that the Verbs of the Gothic languages, in particular, were actually declined, and that fragments of this declension remain in the present English. INFLECTION OF THE INFINITIVE MODE. § 274. The inflection of the Verb (in its Impersonal or Infinitive form) consisted, in full, of three cases: a Nominative (or Accusative), a Dative, and a Genitive. The Genitive is put last, because its occurrence in the Gothic language is the least constant. I. In Anglo-Saxon the Nominative (or Accusative) ended The en, in words like strengthen, is a Derivational termi nation, and not a representation of the Anglo-Saxon Infini tive inflection. The Anglo-Saxon Infinitive inflection is lost in the present English, except in certain provincial dialects. II. In Anglo-Saxon the Dative of the Infinitive Verb ended in -nne, and was (as a matter of Syntax) generally, perhaps always, preceded by the Preposition to: III. The Genitive ending in -es occurs only in Old HighGerman and Modern High-German, plâsannes, weinnenes. § 275. With these preliminaries we can take a clear view of the English Infinitives. They exist under two forms, and are referable to a double origin: 1. The Independent form. This is used after the words can, may, will, and some others; as, I can speak; I may go; I shall come; I will move. Here there is no Preposition, and the origin of the Infinitive is from the form in -an. 2. The Prepositional form. This is used after the majority of English Verbs; as, I wish to speak; I mean to go; I intend to come; I determine to Here we have the Preposition to, and the origin of the Infinitive is from the form in -nne. Expressions like to err=error, to forgive=forgiveness, in lines like move. "To err is human; to forgive, divine!" are very remarkable. They exhibit the phenomenon of a Nominative Case having grown not only out of a Dative, but out of a Dative plus its governing preposition. See § 27,5. THE NUMBER OF MODES. § 276. Not only Languages differ as to the number of Modes which, by general consent, are attributed to them, but Grammarians differ as to the number of modes which should be attributed to the same language. As Modes represent the conceptions and affections of the mind, they might be as varied and extended as those affections. There might be the Indicative, the Subjunctive, the Potential, the Optative, the Imperative, Infinitive, Vocative, Precative, Interrogative, Causal, Reflective, &c. Modes are defined by Priscian, "Modi sunt diversæ inclinationes animi, quas variæ consequuntur declinationes verbi." Modes represent the different feelings of the mind, to which feelings the varied inflections of the verb are adapted. It is said that the Arabic has thirteen Modes, the Russian seven, the Sanscrit six, the AngloSaxon four, the same number which some of the most re R spectable Grammarians have assigned to the English as received by inheritance from the mother tongue. See § 269. THE PARTICIPLES. § 277. A PARTICIPLE is a Verbal Adjective, differing from other adjectives by carrying with it the idea of time. It is so called from the Latin praticeps, partaking, because it partakes of the nature of the Verb and the Adjective. There are two participles: the Present, called, also, the Imperfect and the Active participle; as, Loving; and the Past, called, also, the Perfect and Passive participle; as, Loved, written. Besides these, there are certain forms called Compound participles; as, Being loved; having loved; having been loved. The last two forms are often called the COMPOUND PErfect. In Anglo-Saxon the participle, like the adjective, was declined; In English, like the adjective, it is not declined. THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE. § 278. The PRESENT PARTICIPLE ends in-ing, and expresses the continuance of an action, state, or being; as, He was loving; they were sleeping. = 1. In Anglo-Saxon the forms are -and and -ande; as, bindand, bindande binding. Like the Latin participle in -ns, it was originally declined. In all the Nor e languages, ancient and modern, the -d is preserved. In some of the mod ern provincial dialects of England, strikand and goand are said for striking and going. In the Scotch of the modern writers we find the form in : "The rising sun o'er Galston muirs Wi' glorious light was glintin; The hares were hirplin down the furs, 2. This Participle as, A loving friend. often has the nature of an Adjective; It also becomes an Adverb, by receiv ing the termination ly; as, Lovingly; and admits of comparison; as, More lovingly, most lovingly. 3. This Participle also becomes a NOUN, and admits the articles; as, "The burning of London in 1666." "There was a leaning to popery." In this capacity it takes the plural form; as, "The overflowings of the Nile." 4. "It is to be observed, also, that in English there are two Infinitives: one in ing, the same in sound and spelling as the Participle Present, from which, however, it should be carefully distinguished; e. g., 'Rising early is healthful,' and it is healthful to rise early,' are equivalent. Grammarians have produced much needless perplexity by speaking of the participle in 'ing' being employed so and so, when it is manifest that that very employment of the word constitutes it, to all intents and purposes, an infinitive, and not a participle. The advantage of the infinitive in ing is that it may be used either in the nominative or in any oblique case; not, as some suppose, that it necessarily implies a habit; e. g., 'Seeing is believing; there is glory in dying for one's country.'" While Whately thus proposes to class the Present Participle with the Infinitive Mode, Kühner classes the Infinitive Mode with the participles. In the present state of philology the common classification may be conveniently adhered to. THE PAST PARTICIPLE. § 279. The PAST PARTICIPLE, called, also, the Perfect, or the Passive Participle, has different terminations, according as it comes from the Strong Conjugation or the Weak Conjugation. For the meaning of the terms strong and weak, see § 291. I. The participle in -en; as, Spoken. In the Anglo-Saxon, the participle formed from verbs in the strong conjugation always ended in -en; as, bunden. In English, this -en is often wanting; as, bound; the word bounden being antiquated. Words, when the -en is wanting, may be viewed in two lights: 1. They may be looked upon as participles that have lost their termination; 2. They may be considered as preterites with a Participial sense. 1. In all words in which the Vowel of the Plural differs from that of the Singular in Anglo-Saxon, the Participle takes the Plural form; as, Drank, drunk, drunken. 257. To say I have drunk, is to use an ambiguous expres See § To say I have drank, To say I have drunk sion, since drunk may be a participle minus its termination, or a Preterite with a Participial sense. is to use a Preterite for a Participle. en, is to use an unexceptionable form. In all words with a double form, as spake and spoke, brake and broke, the participle follows the form in o; as, Spoken, broken. Spaken, braken, are forms not in the language. There are degrees of laxity, and to say the spear is broke is better than to say the spear is brake. 2. These two statements bear upon the future history of the Preterite. That of the two forms sang and sung, one will, in the course of long usage, become obsolete, is nearly certain; and as the Plural form is also that of the participle, it is the Plural form that is most likely to be the surviving one. 3. As a general rule, we find the participle in -en wher ever the preterite is strong; indeed, the participle in -en may be considered the strong Participle, or the participle of the Strong Conjugation. Still, the two forms do not always coincide. In mow, mowed, mown; sow, sowed, sown, and sev. eral other words, we find the Participle Strong, and the Preterite Weak. 4. In the Latin language the change from s to r, and vice versa, is very common; as in the forms honor, honos; arbor, arbos. Of this change we have a few specimens in English. The words rear and raise, as compared with each other, are examples. In Anglo-Saxon a few words undergo a similar change in the Plural Number of the Strong Preterites. Céose, I choose; ceas, I chose; curon, we chose; gecoren, chosen. This accounts for the Participial form forlorn, or lost. In "The piercing air Burns frore, and cold performs the effect of fire." Paradise Lost, b. ii., we have a form from the Anglo-Saxon, gefroren = frozen. II. The participle in -d, -t, or -ed; as, Loved, left, looked. In Anglo-Saxon it differed in form from the Preterite, inasmuch as it ended in -ed or -t, whereas the Preterite ended in |