them took absolutely none. 17. A man without any con science, almost an assassin, one who delighted in cruelty. and hesitated to do nothing so long as it would benefit himself. 18. It was not until I had finished the book when I could lay it down. 19. I now come to my third point, being the question of economic development. 20. At the game, however, there is a large crowd of anxious spectators who are watching for a lively scrap, the more roughness and brutality that is shown, the more the fun and the more the excitement for those looking on. 21. In the old cane rush everybody took part, each one looked out for himself and enjoyed an exhilarating good sport. 22. Losing my way in the forest, it was dinner-time when I reached home. 23. There are several changes that should be made in the Freshman course. That the entrance examination should be so conducted as to require only the subjects which the student intends to pursue during his college education. 24. Take any of the large universities, such as Yale or Harvard, we find that they cover many times more ground than Columbia does. 25. This year many of the old favorites have again entered the ring also many new men. Among the latter several Freshmen from whom great things were expected. 26. Catching the train at last, it seemed that his trials were ended.

CHAPTER VI

PUNCTUATION

54. THE THEORY OF PUNCTUATION. 55. THE PERIOD. — EXERCISE 24.56. THE SEMICOLON. — EXERCISE 25.-57. THE COLON.

EXERCISE 26.58. THE COMMA. EXERCISE 27. - 59. THE QUESTION MARK.-60. THE EXCLAMATION POINT.-61. PARENTHESES AND BRACKETS. — 62. THE DASH. -63. THE APOSTROPHE, – 64. QUOTATION MARKS. — 65. ITALICS. —66. THE HYPHEN. EXERCISE 28.-67. CAPITALS. EXERCISE 29.

Punctuation is a

54. The Theory of Punctuation. system for indicating, by various points, the grammatical structure of written language. A period, for instance, shows that a group of words constitutes a declarative sentence. In punctuating, the student should bear in mind that his object is to divide words into groups according to their grammatical relations. 55. The Period. The period is used (1) to mark the end of sentences, or (2) to show that a letter or combination of letters is not a real word but an abbreviation. With regard to the use of the period to mark the end of a sentence, it is only necessary to say that the failure to indicate the close of a sentence in this way is a plain sign of illiteracy. See § 53 (4). The pupil is already familiar with common abbreviations of English words, and he will have little or no difficulty in ascertaining the meaning of any with which he is not yet acquainted. With abbre

viations of foreign words he may have more difficulty. In the following list are given those he should certainly be able to understand and use. The list also includes a few abbreviations of English words.

D.G. (Latin, dei gratia), by Mlle. (French, Mademoi

1 The double letter denotes that the word was in the plural. Cf. MS. and MSS.

Mme. (French, Madame), | P.S. (Latin, post scriptum), Mrs.

postscript.

demonstrandum),

M.P., Member of Parliament. Q.E.D. (Latin, quod erat

MS., manuscript.

MSS., manuscripts.

was to be proved.

which

Ph.D. (Latin, Philosophia q.v. (Latin, quod vide), which

Doctor), Doctor of Philosophy.

N.B. (Latin, nota bene), mark well.

pinx. (Latin, pinxit), he painted it.

p.m. (Latin, post meridiem), after noon.

p.p.c. (French, pour prendre

congé), to take leave. pro tem. (Latin, pro tempore), for the time being.

see.

sculp. (Latin, sculpsit), he

sculptured or engraved it. S.P.Q.R. (Latin, Senatus Populusque Romanus), the Senate and the Roman people.

stet. (Latin, "let it stand"),
used in proof or MS.
ult. (Latin, ultimo), last

month.

vid. (Latin, vide), see.

prox. (Latin, proximo), next viz. (Latin, videlicet), to wit,

Construct sentences illustrating the use of the abbreviations mentioned in the preceding section.

56. The Semicolon. Semicolons have two uses : (1) To separate the principal clauses in a compound sentence, when no conjunction is used. When a conjunction is used, the separation is frequently marked by a comma; but a semicolon (as in this sentence) is sometimes used when there is a more decided break between the parts of the sentence, or when the sentence is long and contains many commas.

(2) To separate clauses or phrases from each other in a series of similar phrases or subordinate clauses, when commas would not be sufficient to indicate clearly where each clause or phrase began and ended. Examples:

(1) He received only ten guineas for this stately, vigorous poem; but the sale was rapid and the success complete.

There was now a sound behind me like a rushing blast; I heard the clatter of a thousand hoofs; and countless throngs overtook me.

When his men had thus indemnified themselves, in some degree, for their late reverses, Cortes called them again under their banners; and, after offering up a grateful acknowledgment to the Lord of Hosts for their miraculous preservation, they renewed their march across the now deserted valley.

(2) We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their happiness.

EXERCISE 25

(1) Find five sentences in which the principal clauses are separated by semicolons. (2) Find five sentences in which semicolons are used to separate a series of similar phrases or subordinate clauses.