2. But, on surveying the same objects a second time, and recollecting our former acquaintance with them, or their own particular properties, we would not express our sentiments of them in the same language, in which we did at first. Besides referring them to their species, we would now signify the additional ideas of having formerly seen them, and of having been made acquainted with their nature, or distinction; and would therefore employ the following phraseology: the tree, the house, the horse, the man.

Corol. 1. The article a is called indefinite, because it refers the object to its species only, and denotes our conceptions of it no further than the common qualities of the species extend.

2. The article the is called definite, because it discriminates the object to which it is prefixed, from all others, of the same species, and denotes our previous acquaintance with it, or its own particular characteristics.

58. PRONOUNS are the class of words most nearly related to substantive nouns; being, as their name imports, representatives, or substitutes, of nouns.

Illus. I, thou, he, she, it, are pronouns, and they are no other than an abridged way of naming the persons or objects with which we have immediate intercourse, or to which, in discourse, we are frequently obliged to refer.

Corol. They are thence, with substantive nouns, subject to the same modifications of number, gender, and case.

Obs. 1. As the pronouns of the first and second person refer to persons who are present to each other when they speak, their sex must appear, and therefore needs not to be marked by a masculine or feminine pronoun. But as the third person may be absent, or unknown, the distinction of gender there becomes necessary; and accordingly, in English, the third person hath all the three genders belonging to it; he, she, it.

2. In English, most of our grammarians hold the personal pronouns to have two cases, besides the nominative; a possessive or genitive, and an accusative—I, mine, me; thou, thine, thee; he, his, him; who, whose, whom; we, ours, us ; ye, yours, you; they, theirs, them.

59. ADJECTIVES, or terms of quality, such as great, little, black, white, are the plainest and simplest of all that class of words which are termed attributive. (Art. 44. Corol. )

Obs. 1. They are found in all languages; and, in all languages, must have been very early invented, as objects could not be distinguished from one another, nor could any intercourse be carried on concerning them, till names were given to their different qualities.

2. Between adjectives and participles there is no difference, except that the latter, along with their primary signification, denote the additional idea of time. Both serve to notify the qualities or attributes, and to define and illustrate the meaning of substantives.

3. All adjectives which denote qualities susceptible of augmentation or diminution, and almost all the qualities which are so, are susceptible of comparison.

4. Though the degrees of augmentation of which a quality is susceptible may be almost infinite, yet the framers of languages have been content with marking two stages only of these degrees.

5. By the former is signified that of two quantities compared, one is greater than the other; by the latter is understood, that of any larger number of qualities than two compared, one is the greatest among them.

6. The ancient languages express their degrees of comparison, chiefly by adding terminations to the adjectives; the modern languages incline more to signify them by auxiliary words.

60. The VERB is by far the most complex of the whole class of words which are called attributive. The chief characteristic of the verb is action or energy. The combination of ideas which it is thence employed to express, unavoidably renders it the most intricate of all the parts of speech.

Corol. Verbs, therefore, from their importance and necessity in speech, must have been coeval with men's first attempts towards the formation of language. (Art. 54.)

61. Of the various circumstances which must be communicated by the word denoting action, the chief refer to time and manner.

Illus. In relating an action it is requisite to notify whether it is finished, is finishing, or will be finished. And it is no less important to communicate also the manner in which the action has been perform. ed, is performing, or will be performed. Whether the agent operated with deliberation, confidence and resolution, or with embarrassment, hesitation, and suspicion; whether he commanded the performance of the action, or signified only his inclination that it should be performed.

Corol. Hence arose the necessity that the verb along with the sig nification of action, should likewise express time, and that, with the signification of action and time, it should also denote manner. Here, then, we find the origin of moods and tenses.

62. As it was necessary that the circumstances of time and manner should attend the signification of action; the next important step in the formation of language, was, to determine by what means this combined communication should be accomplished.

Illus. One of two methods, it seems, must have been adopted; either to vary the terminations of the verb, or to conjoin with it auxiliary words, so as to convey these additional circumstances. The former of these methods, with a mixture of the latter, in the passive form of their verbs, was employed by the Greeks and Romans. The latter method, with a mixture of the former, in the active form of their verbs, has been adopted by the English, the French, and the Italians.

63. The structure of the verb was rendered still more complicated, because it was found requisite that along with the signification of action, time, and manner, it should also denote person and number, to adapt it for corresponding with the persons and numbers of nouns and pronouns with which it might be connected.

Obs. To combine so many important articles in one word, required a degree of ingenuity, which nothing could supply but the discernment and experience of ages.

64. Experience, doubtless, proved that the division of time into present, past, and future, was not sufficient for the purposes of communication.

Illus. 1. The fleeting nature of present time made any subdivision of it both difficult and unnecessary; hence, all polished languages have, in any mood, one tense only appropriated to express present time.

2. A similar opinion seems to have guided the construction of languages for expressing future time, which, including a long duration, was divisible into parts; but the total ignorance in which mankind are involved concerning actions that may take place in that period, must have divested them of all disposition to mark differences of future time, or to provide language with tenses for that purpose. Hence, all polished languages, except the Greek, have also been contented with one tense expressive of future time. The paulo post futurum of the Greeks is a specimen of their ingenuity to cultivate and improve their language, rather than as requisite for the communication of knowledge, since by this tense they intended to signify that the action was future, but would not be long so, because the time of its execution would quickly arrive.

3. The past, then, is the time which the framers of all languages have been chiefly anxious to subdivide. Most of the actions which could be the subject of discourse or writing, must have taken place in past time; and to render the accounts of them more conspicuous and intelligible, it must often have been requisite to specify the progress, or stages of their execution. Hence the various divisions of past time, and the different tenses significant of them with which all languages, even the most imperfect, abound. Of polished languages, the least complete, in this respect, have three divisions :

First, a pluperfect tense, by which is signified that the action is finished, and that some time has intervened since it was completed.

Secondly, a perfect, which denotes that the action is finished, but that very little, or no time has elapsed since its completion.

Thirdly, an imperfect, which signifies that the action had been going on but had not been completed. The language of ancient Rome possessed only these tenses significant of past time.

4. But the Greek language, the English, and the French, besides these tenses, employ another, which the Greeks called an Aorist, and which denotes only that the action is completed, without distinguishing in what division of past time the completion took place, or whether the execution was pluperfect, perfect, or imperfect.

5. In the usual course of speaking and writing, this state of an action frequently occurs; and, therefore, a tense adapted to express it, is of singular convenience and advantage. When the completion of the action is the only circumstance of consequence to be communicated, the proper tense to be employed is the Aorist. The Latin language hath its ambiguous amavi, but the sense of the context only enables the learner or the reader to discover whether it denotes the aorist pianoa, j'aimai, I loved; or the perfect past repíλnua, j'ai aimé, I

have loved.

65. The use of moods is to denote the manner in which an action is performed, together with the dispositions and feelings entertained by the agent relative to its perform

ance.

Illus. 1. The capital views of an action relative to manner or mood, refer either to its actual performance, or to the power, inclination, or obligation of the agent to perform it; or to the authority or right of the agent to entreat or command the performance; or, finally, to the exhibition of the action, without any consideration of the agent, or of the sentiments that he may entertain concerning the perform

ance.

2. These circumstances comprehend every general view of an action, that human affairs can well be supposed to suggest. For,

First, the agent may either possess power, inclination, or obligation, to perform the action, and actually perform it.

Or, Secondly, he may possess power, inclination, or obligation to perform the action, and without being able to put them in execution.

Or, Thirdly, he may have a right, or authority, to entreat or command the power or inclination of some other agent to perform the action.

Or, Finally, the situation of the action may require only its bare exhibition, without any regard to the capacity, the duty, or the performance of the agent.

Corol. Hence, from these views, we readily discern the origin of the four moods of verbs commonly employed by polished languages. 1. The indicative denotes the actual performance of the action.

2. The subjunctive expresses the power, inclination, or obligation of the agent to perform the action, but leaves the performance to be decided by circumstances not yet come into existence; on account of which it is called the conditional mood.

3. The imperative exhibits the agent as entreating or commanding the performance of the action.

4. The infinitive represents the action in general, without connection with any agent, or reference to him, or any powers or dispositions depending upon him.

Illus. 1. I write is an indicative assertion, because it denotes an action in actual performance.

2. I may write is subjunctive, because it denotes disposition or capacity only, and communicates nothing with respect to perform.

ance.

3. I have written is indicative, because it denotes performance already past.

4. I might have written is subjunctive, because it communicates part, capacity, inclination, or obligation, but signifies nothing about. performance.

5. Write thou is an imperative, because it does not necessarily infer performance, and imports nothing more than that the action of writing should be performed.

66. Theory of moods. In the present and past tenses, therefore, the indicative denotes performance;-the subjunctive, intention or disposition ;-the imperative is suscepible of no time but the present, when it also expresses dis

position. But, in respect of future time, even the indicative cannot denote performance; and the subjunctive musť be destitute of this tense altogether.

Illus. 1. For, as an action can have no real existence, till the time of its execution arrive; so language can express nothing concerning it, but the present views and dispositions of the agents, who may foretell performance, or promise to perform. I shall write is significant only of prediction or intention, the execution of which must be future; and therefore, in the future tense, the indicative approaches the nature of the subjunctive and imperative, and expresses chiefly disposition. The main difference between them seems to be this, that the future of the indicative, along with the signification of disposition, conveys something positive or affirmative with regard to execution. If the two other moods imply at all the execution of the dispositions which they denote, they hold it forth as altogether contingent or conditional.

2. All the sentiments which can exist, or be expressed, relative to future actions, must refer either to the views of them which the agent formerly entertained, or now indulges. Of the appearances which these actions will assume when they come into existence, or of the sentiments which will be entertained concerning them, he can know nothing; and, therefore, these appearances and sentiments, can neither be the subjects of thought nor of language. Hence, since past and present intentions and dispositions are the only cireumstances with which we either are or can be acquainted, it is evident that a mood, limited to express intention and disposition, cannot admit a future tense, because no ideas of future intentions and dispositions exist in the mind of man, which it may communicate.

3. The tense I shall have loved, commonly called "the future of the the subjunctive," has no participation with the usual import of the other tenses of that mood; for it is expressive of no sentiment that is future and conditional as. to its execution, but is equally positive and affirmative with I shall love, the tense commonly called the future of the indicative. They both signify intention relative to future action; and the only difference between them is, that, taking the execution of both to refer to some fixed point of time, the action of the former will be finished, when the action of the latter will be finishing.

67. THIS THEORY of the moods, then, gives to the indicative seven tenses, and to the subjunctive not more than four.

ses,

Illus. 1. The indicative will exhibit PESENT TIME, denoted by the tenses present, and perfect present; as, I love, I have loved-pinéce TeQiana-amo, amavi: PAST TIME, by the imperfect and pluperfect tenI was loving, I had loved-pixECV, ÈXEPIXYKEIV—amabam, amaxeram: FUTURE TIME, by the tenses styled the future of the indicative, and the future of the subjunctive, I shall love, I shall have loved-qianow, ginoque -amabo, amavero: and the whole of past time denoted by the Aorist, I loved-işıanoa.

2. The subjunctive will exhibit PRESENT TIME, divided into present and perfect present; as, I may love, I may have loved-gia, sinus ―amem, amaverim; and PAST TIME divided into perfect and pluper fect, I could love, I could have loved-amarem, amavissem.