ORAL EXERCISES.

Assign the reason, as given in the eighth Rule, for the insertion of commas in the following sentences:

A contract, to be valid, must be for some legal object or purpose.
Every passion, however base or unworthy, is eloquent.

Some men are refined, like gold, in the furnace of affliction.
It is mind, after all, which does the work of the world.
Nature, through all her works, delights in variety.

The ship leaps, as it were, from billow to billow.

A spiritual nature, to grow in power, demands spiritual liberty.
The ocean, in its mighty heavings, makes you serious.
Dismiss, as soon as may be, all angry and wrathful thoughts.
But, if education cannot do every thing, it can do much.
Let us send light and joy, if we can, to every one around us.
Man, in his highest mood of thought, aspires to God.
There, where knowledge ceases, faith should strongest prove.
Take your lot, as it is assigned you, without murmuring or complaint
Christianity, in the highest sense, is the religion of sorrow.

Why, according to the Rule or the Remarks (pp. 64, 65), are the parenthetical expressions in the following sentences pointed or unpointed? —

Thou knowest, come what may, that the light of truth cannot be put out.

Of nothing may we be more sure than this, that, if we cannot sanctify our present lot, we could sanctify no other.

The travellers set out early, and, before the close of the day, arrived at the destined place.

But, in the formation of character, we know that man is to lay its foundations for himself.

Yet, after leaving school, Cowper threw away the next twenty or thirty years of his life almost in doing nothing.

We can sometimes trace extraordinary skill in the liberal arts to the existence of a quarry of fine marble.

Civilization, which on the whole has never gone backward, is new-shaped and modified by each particular people.

The greatest of all human benefits, that at least without which no other benefits can be truly enjoyed, is independence.

Burke and Paine were incarnations of the spirits whose conflict has for ages divided the world.

EXERCISE TO BE WRITTEN.

Punctuate the parenthetical expressions, except those to which Remark e, p. 65, will apply:

A single hour in the day steadily given to the study of an interesting subject brings unexpected accumulations of knowledge. (Rule.) Benevolence is on whatever side we may contemplate the subject' a godlike virtue. (Rule.)

True it is, that were we cast from birth into solitude we should grow up in brutal ignorance. (Rule, and Remark d.)

Excellence is in any position almost the infallible result of the determination to excel. (Rule.)

"The virtuous man" it has been beautifully said "proceeds without constraint in the path of his duty." (Remarks c, e.)

In Dante for the first time in an uninspired bard the dawn of a spiritual day breaks upon us. (Rule.)

A people should honor and cultivate as unspeakably useful that literature which calls forth the highest faculties. (Rule.)

Simple truths when simply explained are more easily comprehended I believe than is commonly supposed. (Rule, and Remark c.) I would stamp God's name and not Satan's upon every innocent pleasure. (Rule.)

Fanaticism in its ill sense is that which makes a man blind to perceive the falseness of an error. (Rule.)

Cursed be the verse how well soe'er it flow

That tends to make one worthy man my foe. (Rule.)

I maintain, that as knowledge, extends the range of all imagery is enlarged; and what is far more important that the conception kindles by the contemplation of higher objects. (Remarks c, d.)

The love of the beautiful and true like the dewdrop in the heart of the crystal remains for ever clear and liquid in the inmost shrine of man's being. (Rule, and Remark e.)

Numerous instances there have been as every reader knows of those who have thrown down every obstacle in the way of their mental elevation. (Remark c.)

Without fairness of mind which is only another phrase for disinterested love of truth great native powers of understanding are perverted. (Rule.)

We cannot see an individual expire though a stranger or an enemy without being prompted by compassion to lend him every assistance in our power. (Rule, and Remark e.)

RULE IX.

Vocative Words, Phrases, and Clauses.

A word or an expression, denoting a person or an object addressed, is separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.

EXAMPLES.

1. Antonio, light my lamp within my chamber.
2. Take these two savages to your care, Charon.
3. Boast not, my dear friends, of to-morrow.

REMARKS.

a. When the terms or expressions in a direct address indicate awe, wonder, or any other strong emotion, it is better to use after them the note of exclamation; as, "My sister! O my sister!"

b. For the punctuation of the personal pronoun in a vocative expression, see page 42, Remark j.

ORAL EXERCISE.

Assign the reason for the insertion of commas in the following sentencos : — Sir, I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your long-expected letter. I am obliged to you, ladies, for the kindness you have shown. Come hither, Moor. What would you, Desdemona? From childhood, seignior, you have been my protector. Idle time, John, is the most ruinous thing in the world. Come, companion of my toils, let us take fresh courage.

All hope abandon, ye who enter here. — I am, dear madam, yours.

EXERCISE TO BE WRITTEN.

Punctuate these sentences in accordance with the above Rule :

Continue my dear James to make virtue your principal study.
Acquire my daughters the habit of doing every thing well.
Descend from heaven Urania. You weep good Ethelbert.
Sir the declaration will inspire the people with increased courage.
This my lords is a perilous and tremendous moment.
Verres what have you to advance against this charge?

Morning is the best time to study my beloved children.

Thou who despisest the outward forms lose not the inward spirit.

RULE X.

Adjectival, Participial, and Absolute Phrases.

Adjectival, participial, and absolute phrases are each separated by a comma from the remainder of the sentence.

EXAMPLES.

1. Awkward in his person, James was ill qualified to command respect. 2. Cradled in the camp, Napoleon was the darling of his army. 3. Having approved of the plan, the king put it into execution. 4. Peace of mind being secured, we may smile at misfortune

5. To speak candidly, I do not understand the subject.

6. Generally speaking, the conduct of that man is honorable.

REMARKS.

a. The first three examples show the punctuation of adjectival and participial phrases, each of these being separated by a comma from the clause which follows, and with which it is associated. The next three severally exhibit that of phrases containing the nominative, the infinitive, and the participle absolute; so called because they are grammatically independent of the rest of the sentence in which they occur.

b. The phrase which begins the following sentence may be treated as an example of the imperative absolute, and should therefore be pointed as the other independent phrases: "Take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again."

c. The nominative absolute when used pleonastically, or the expression to which it belongs, is also divided by a comma from what follows it; as, "The captain, I hope he will not act thus.” "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."

d. Though followed by a participle, a nominative, if it be the sub.. ject of a verb, is not absolute or independent. In this construction, a comma should be inserted both before and after the participial phrase; as, "He, being dead, yet speaketh." See p. 50, c.

e. All the phrases referred to, when used intermediately or parenthetically, are enclosed by commas; as, "James, awkward in his person, was ill qualified to command respect." See p. 64.

f. The objective absolute or independent is subject to the same kind of punctuation; as, " Alfred, than whom a greater king never reigned, deserves to be held up as a model to all future sovereigns."

g. If placed at the end of the sentence, such phrases should each be preceded by a comma; as, "His conduct is honorable, generally speaking." But elegance or perspicuity of style will seldom permit this change of position in phrases used independently.

h. In respect, however, to those adjectival and participial phrases before which a relative pronoun, in its restrictive sense, is understood, the comma should be omitted. See p. 59, j, second example; and p. 60, k, last example.

i. The absolute phrases, to proceed, to conclude, &c., when placed at the beginning of a paragraph, to the whole of which they refer, are better pointed with a colon.

ORAL EXERCISES.

Recite the tenth Rule, which lays down the principle for inserting commas in the following and similar sentences:

Shame being lost, all virtue is lost. He being dead, we shall live.
Speaking in round numbers, he made fifty thousand dollars.
Crowded in filth, the poor cease to respect one another.

To confess the truth, I was greatly to blame for my indiscretion.
We being exceedingly tossed, they lightened the ship.

Partial in his affections, he was ill fitted to acquire general love.
H. Tooke having taken orders, he was refused admission to the bar.
The sun having risen, we departed on our journey.

His father being dead, the prince succeeded to the throne.
Raising his head from the earth, man looks before and after.
Incensed with indignation, Satan stood unterrified.

How do the Remarks apply to the punctuation of the following sentences? Regard him as you may, I think that he is a dangerous man. Timothy Taylor, may he always thus act and speak!

We, being exceedingly tossed, lightened the ship.

The prince, his father being dead, succeeded to the throne.

This is, to say nothing worse, highly reprehensible.

His conduct, generally speaking, is highly honorable.

We set out in the journey of life, full of spirit and high in hope.
The lady was agreeable, being formed with the qualities that we love.
We may smile at misfortune, peace of mind being secured.
Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst.
I never sought an opportunity of meeting him, to tell you the truth.
Let them attend, all they who feel interested in this great subject.