Words like stone, tree, man, &c., denote certain objects which constitute a class including an indefinite number of individuals. To any of these the name may apply. It cannot, however, apply to an object belonging to a different class. It is nonsense to call a tree a stone, or a stone a tree. Each name applies to the individuals of a certain group, and, as it cannot be applied otherwise, it is an invariable

name.

All names, however, are not invariable. The word I, for instance, is variable. It changes its meaning with the person speaking. When William says I, it means William; when John says I, it means John. So, again with you—it denotes the person to whom I happen to be speaking at the moment: but the next moment I may alter its meaning by speaking to some one else. The same applies to that, this, these, and several other words.

If a mother say I, it means a mother and a female; if a father say I, it means a father and a male. Even if an inanimate object be personified and be supposed to speak about itself and to say I, it means that inanimate object. It denotes the speaker, whoever he may be; but it is not the invariable name of any speaker whatever. Or, it denotes the object spoken of, whatever it may be; but it is not the invariable name of any object whatever. The word this means a table, when the speaker is talking of tables, a dog when he is talking of dogs, &c.

§ 66. To recapitulate

Speech consists of (1) Commands, (2) Questions, and (3) Assertions or Statements.

The combination of words by which these are effected is called a Proposition.

Propositions which convey commands are called Imperative, as-Do this,-Do not delay,-Walk.

Propositions which convey questions are called Interrogative, as—What is this?—Who are you?—Is it here?

Propositions which convey statements or assertions are

called Declaratory, as-Summer is coming,-I am here,This is he.

Declaratory Propositions are the commonest in dis

course.

In respect to their structure, Propositions (as we have seen, § 53-58) consist of Terms and Copulas.

Terms are of two kinds, Subjects and Predicates.

The Subject is the term by which we indicate the person or thing concerning which the statement is made or the question asked.

The Predicate is the term by which we express what we declare, ask, or command.

There is no Subject without its corresponding Predicate; no Predicate without its corresponding Subject; and without both a Subject and Predicate there is no such thing as a Proposition.

Without Propositions there are no Questions, Commands, or Declarations; and without Questions, Commands, or Declarations, there would scarcely be such a thing as Language. The little which there would be. would consist merely of exclamations like Oh! Ah! Pish, &c.

In Declaratory Propositions the Subject precedes the Predicate. We say Fire is hot, rather than Hot is fire.

In Interrogative Propositions the Predicate precedes the Subject; as What is this? rather than This is what?

In Imperative Propositions the name of the Subject is usually suppressed; e. g. we say, Shut the door, instead of Shut thou the door. No difficulty, however, arises from the suppression, since the person spoken to is the Subject.

DETAILS OF ETYMOLOGY.

COMPOSITION.

§ 67. Composition takes place when two separate words are joined together so as to form a single compound one; as day-light, day-star, nut-brown, heart-whole, foot-sore.

DERIVATION.

§ 68. When a word is changed by the addition of some new sound, or by the change of one previously existing, it is said to be a derived word, or to exhibit an instance of derivation. Thus

A little consideration shows that this list could easily be enlarged. At present, however, it is enough to show that, whilst Composition consists in the addition of one whole word to another whole word, Derivation consists in the addition of parts of words to whole ones.

§ 69. Certain Derivations are called Inflections. They constitute what is called the Accidents of the Noun and Verb. The full meaning of this will be seen as we proceed. Meanwhile we may state that—

1. The Inflection of a Noun is called its Declension ; Nouns being Declined.

2. The Inflection of a Verb is called its Conjugation ; Verbs being Conjugated.

§ 70. NOUNS IN RESPECT TO THEIR ACCIDENTS OR

DECLENSION.

The Accidents of the Noun are (1) Gender, (2) Number, (3) Case, (4) Degree, this last being peculiar to Adjectives. The conversion, too, of a Cardinal Number into an Ordinal, as when we derive four-th from four, is generally treated as an Accident. The chief Accidents, however, of the Noun are the first three.

§ 71. Gender.-Difference of sex expressed by different words. The words boy and girl, father and mother, brother and sister, uncle and aunt, horse and mare, are the names of living beings of different sexes; boy, father, brother,

uncle, horse, being the names of males: whilst girl, mother,

sister, aunt, mare, are the names of females.

Here objects of different sexes are expressed by wholly different words.

$72. Difference of sex expressed by composition.-The words of the next list are somewhat in a different condition.

Here objects of different sexes are expressed by partially different words, and the result is a compound.

$73. Difference of sex expressed by derivation.-The words in the first column are the names of males, those in the second of females.

Here the names of females are formed from those of males by the addition of the syllable ess; and the result is a Derivative.

We may now add to any of the words that have gone before, some such word as good, bad, brave, &c.; and say α good father, a good mother, a brave boy, a brave girl, a fierce lion, a fierce lioness, a good actor, a good actress. Having done this, we remark that the words good, bad, brave, &c., whether joined to words like actor and lion, the names of male objects, or to words like actress or lioness, the names of female objects, are precisely the same. We use the words good and bold in speaking of males, and we use the same

words in speaking of females. Now, although this is the case in English, it is not the case with all languages. In many languages the word bold, or good, would take one form when it denoted males, and another when it denoted females. In the Latin language vir means man, mulier means woman, and bon- means good. Now, if the Latin language were like the English, the Romans who spoke it would have said bon vir = good man; bon mulier = good woman. But as the Latin is unlike the English, they did not say so. The Latin phrase is bon-us vir=good man, bon-a mulier = good woman; that is, the letter -a is added if the substantive be the name of a female, and the letters -us are added if it be the name of a male. Again, if the English language were the same in this respect as the Latin, we should say, good-us man good man (bonus vir), good-a woman (bona mulier). This difference between the English and Latin must be kept in mind.

=

Again. If we wish to speak of more lions or of more fathers than one, we say lion-s, father-s; that is, we add the letter -s to the word lion and father. And if we wish to speak of more lionesses or mothers than one, we do just the same; that is, we add the letter -s to the words lioness and mother. In other words, whether the substantive be the name of a male, or the name of a female, the letter added is one and the same, viz. the letter -s. So also we say, the father's son, and the mother's son ; the lion's whelp, and the lioness's whelp: that is, whether the word be the name of a male or a female, we add s indifferently. All this is different in the Latin. In that language domin-us means a master, and domin-a means a mistress; domin-i means of a master, domin-æ of a mistress; domin-i means masters, domin-æ mistresses. Now the last letters of the words domin-a and domin-i differ; and they differ, because one word is the name of a male, and the other the name of a female. If the English language were the same in this respect as the Latin, we should say lion-i for lions, and