27. Fundamental law :-Every sentence must contain at least one independent Predicate. A form of words may contain several subjects and predicates, and yet not be a sentence; as, "That he had frequently visited the city in which he was born,"-which, though containing two distinct predicates, is not a sentence. The connective "that" implies the dependence of the clause it introduces upon some other clause, as "He said," "I have heard," "It is true." Hence the essential predicate must be independent. Exercise 1. Complete such of the following expressions as are not sentences :— 1. A design which has never been completed. 2. The honour of having been the first to welcome His Royal Highness: 3. The author having suddenly died, and left his work unfinished. 4. No sooner was William seated on the throne, than seeming to have lost all his former popularity. 5. He is taller, stronger, wiser. 6. That the king was ignorant of the real circumstances; that he had not examined the warrant which he had signed, and was therefore not responsible for the proceeding. 7. The Prince, when he saw the hopelessness of his cause, turned and fled. 8. The artist being of opinion that a national recognition, through intelligible symbols, of the great principles by which the patriot was actuated from first to last, is the only fitting way to do honour to his memory. 9. For which reasons I shall endeavour to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality. 10. The most illustrious benefactors of the race being men who, having risen to great truths, have held them as a sacred trust for their kind, and have borne witness to them amidst general darkness. 11. Seeing that the varnish of power brings forth at once the defects and the beauties of the human portrait. 12. How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust. 28. Expansion. An element of a sentence is said to be expanded when it is changed from a word to a phrase, or from a phrase to a clause, without introducing any new idea; as, 18 COMPOSITION IN PROSE. [BOOK I. Exercise 2. Expand the words printed in italics in the following sentences into phrases :* 1. The girl sang sweetly. 2. Lying is one of the meanest of vices. 3. The grateful mind loves to consider the bounties of Providence. 4. Walking is conducive to health. 5. Very brave soldiers fell at Bannockburn. 6. The husbandman's treasures are renewed yearly. 7. Cromwell acted sternly and decidedly when it was necessary to do so. 8. Error is human; forgiveness, divine. 9. Idleness prevents our true happiness. 10. Delay is always dangerous. 11. His indolence was the cause of his ruin. 12. Leonidas fell gloriously at Thermopylae. Exercise 3. Expand the words printed in italics in the following sentences into clauses: 1. Quarrelsome persons are despised. 2. We manure the fields to make them fruitful. 3. The contented man is always happy. 4. The manner of his escape is a profound mystery. 5. Some persons believe the planets to be inhabited. 6. The appearance of a prince possessing so much virtue and personal grace, was the signal for universal rejoicing. 7. Truly wise philosophers are even rarer than very learned scholars. swered contemptuously, believing himself to have been insulted. one doubts the roundness of the earth. 10. His guilt or innocence is still uncertain. 11. The sea, having spent its fury, became calm. 12. The 8. He anpeople, seeing so many of their townspeople fall, were exasperated beyond 9. No all sense of danger. 13. The battle having been concluded, the general began to estimate his loss. 14. The barricade being forced, the crowd immediately rushed out. 29. Contraction. This process is the reverse of expansion, and may be performed 1. By converting a principal into a subordinate clause, or 2. By omitting, in a compound sentence, elements common Exercise 4. Contract the following sentences, by converting one or more of the principal clauses into subordinate clauses, or into phrases :— *For the proper connectives, see ? 15. 1. He descended from his throne, ascended the scaffold, and said, "Live, incomparable pair." 2. I took them into the garden one summer morning, and shewed them two young apple-trees, and said, “My children, I give you these trees." 3. The light infantry joined the main body, and the enemy retired precipitately into Lexington. 4. Just give me liberty to speak (condition), and I will come to an explanation with you. 5. He was a worthless man (cause), and therefore could not be respected by his subjects. 6. He arrived at that very moment (nega. tive condition), or I should have inevitably perished. 7. Egypt is a fertile country, and is watered by the river Nile, and is annually inundated by it; and it thus receives the fertilising mud which is brought by the stream in its course, and derives a richness from the deposit which common culture could not produce. 8. Thomas à Becket completed his education abroad, and returned to England; he entered the church, and rapidly rose to the grade of Archdeacon. Exercise 5. Contract the following complex into simple sentences: 1. As he walked towards the bridge, he met his old friend the captain. 2. When he had spoken for two hours, the member resumed his seat. 3. The ground is never frozen in Palestine, as the cold is not severe. 4. The choice of a spot which united all that could contribute either to health or to luxury, did not require the partiality of a native. 5. There are many injuries which almost every man feels, though he does not complain. 6. Socrates proved that virtue is its own reward. 7. Cromwell followed little events before he ventured to follow great ones. 8. When darkness broke away, and morning began to dawn, the town wore a strange aspect indeed. 9. After he had suppressed this conspiracy, he led his troops into Italy. 10. The ostrich is unable to fly, because it has not wings in proportion to its body. Exercise 6 Contract the following sentences, by omitting elements common to different clauses: 1. Plato was a great philosopher, and Aristotle also was a great philosopher. 2. Death does not spare the rich, and as little does death forget the poor. 3. In his family he was equally dignified and gentle, in his office he was equally dignified and gentle, in public life, also, he was equally dignified and gentle. 4. The hyena is a fierce animal, the hyena is a solitary animal, and the hyena is found chiefly in the desolate parts of the torrid zone. 5. Baptism is a sacrament of the Christian Church, and the Lord's Supper is a sacrament of the Christian Church. 6. The sun shines on the good, and the sun shines equally on the bad. 7. Of all vices, none is more criminal than lying; of all vices, none is more mear that Iving and of all vises, none is more ridiculous th mt aftred was wist, and Alfred was good: Alfred was a grant etnolar (no: on!”), and Alfred was one of the greatest kings whom the WOTL 11s ever seeli. BU. Inlargement. An element of a sentence is said to be enlarged when there is added to it a new worú, phrase, or clause, expressly at additional idea, 6. g. :— 1. (impie A prudent man is respected. 2. Inlarged. A prudent man is most respected by his fellow when he is also generous. Exercise 7. Inlarge the folioring sentences by the addition, of attrimitive words to the nouns, of modifinine words or phrases to the verbs, or secondary objects when required in the sensi 4. Have you ever considered the wonderful structure The ra, resolved to give battle 1. He had just completed his work (time). 2. It was not known (place) until (time). 3. We are often so beset by temptation (effect). 4. The righteous shall flourish (likeness). 5. Government has offered a reward for the rebel (concession). 6. He will succeed succeeded (condition). 7. He would have (condition). 8. He will have succeeded before next (condition). 9. He will not succeed - (condition, nega (con May, son). 13. The king fitted out an expedition (compari (concession) (reason) than 16. Man is 17. I would not grant his request 31. Substitution is the process of writing in the place of one word or phrase, another of the same, or similar, meaning, e. g. :— 1. The favourers of the ancient religion maintained that the pretence of making the people see with their own eyes was a mere cheat, and was itself a very gross artifice, &c. 2. The adherents of the old faith held that the pretext of making the people see for themselves was a mere subterfuge, and was itself a very vulgar trick, &c. Exercise 9. Substitute for the words printed in italics in the following passages others equivalent to them in meaning . 1. The friends of the Reformation asserted that nothing could be more absurd than to conceal, in an unknown tongue, the word of God itself, and thus to counteract the will of heaven, which, for the purpose of universal salvation, had published that salutary doctrine to all nations; that if this practice were not very absurd, the artifice at least was very gross, and proved a consciousness that the glosses and traditions of the clergy stood in direct opposition to the original text dictated by supreme intelligence; that it was now necessary for the people, so long abused by interested pretensions, to see with their own eyes, and to examine whether * This exercise is intended merely to illustrate the process of substitution, which is subsequently more fully treated; and to test the extent of the pupil's vocabulary, rather than its accuracy, which will be considered in Part I. chap. VI., on the Selection of Words. The teacher may extend the exercise at pleasure, either by passages chosen from subsequent exercises, or from a historical or other text-book. |