RECAPITULATORY EXERCISE ON ARTIicles.

Note. The following Exercise being intended to recapitulate all the preceding Rules, 1 have been obliged to divide it, on account of the great number of references it contains.

PART THE FIRST.

A taste for philosophy slackens all the ties which bind men to society. By repeated observations on mankind, a philosopher learns to estimate them according to their just value: he soon confines to himself those sentiments of esteem and general benevolence which virtuous men entertain for their fellow-creatures. He is neither a father, nor a citizen, nor a man; he is a philosopher.

The authors of those times, under the pretence of detecting the errors of paganism, have plunged into the depths of erudition. Instead of adhering to the simplicity of the gospel and the faith of the apostles, they have endeavoured at wit and learning.

Pericles had great talents and taste. He adorned Athens with excellent works of sculpture, with stately buildings, and master-pieces in several arts; yet, it is not clearly determined whether Pericles was a good magistrate; for, in the management of states, the grand point is not to raise statues, but to govern men.

Learn, Mr. Philosopher, that it is too late for reflection when the folly is committed. I could have listened to your arguments with great pleasure, when I mentioned the affair to you; but, now, your speculations are unseasonable.

Lewis of Orleans, the son of the famous regent, having lost his wife, a princess eminent for her fine qualities, retired to a small apartment in the abbey of St. Genevieve, and devoted the remainder of his life to pious practices, always rising at four o'clock in the morning, spending several hours in prayer, fasting rigorously, and often pouring water into his wine, under a pretence to cool it, but, indeed, through a principle of mortification.

Those sovereigns who do not destroy mankind, obtain the title of just only strange and dangerous custom! the fatal effect of prejudice! Men have bestowed the name of great on those who supply the place of pestilence and famine.

Where are now the great empires of the world and their great imperial cities? Rome itself, the great city, the empress of the world, what is become of her now? She is wiped away from the face of the earth, and buried in everlasting oblivion.

Ventidius having been a mule-driver in the early part of his life, became a soldier afterwards. He distinguished himself by many glorious achievements, and Cæsar raised him through several dignities to those of consul and pontiff.

If you consult dervises, they weary you with passages from the holy Alcoran, without minding that you do not speak to them as a true believer, but as a man, as a citizen, and as the father of a family.

That promise revived my hopes; and without considering the dangers to which I exposed myself, by daring to appear in Argos, where I had been outlawed, and declared an enemy to. the state, I set out for that city.

PART THE SECOND.

The men and their wives, the youths and their mistresses, sat in a circle, staring at the musician, who kept them laughing for a great part of the evening with his stories, which he enlivened occasionally with tunes upon the guitar.

I am not jealous of the applause you have so justly deserved. If the superiority of your merit could inspire me with sentiments of envy, they would soon be changed into a violent desire of emulating your talents.

I congratulate you on so magnanimous a resolution. You are going to starve as a true martyr for liberty. I admire you, though I have not the courage to imitate you.

The senate and the people agreed to send deputies to sue for peace: the most respectable characters, senators, consuls, priests, augurs, undertook this embassy by turns.

The august image of truth has ever been present to my mind. O holy truth, thou hast been the sole object of my veneration! From the reflections I have made on the various events which have come to my knowledge, I have learnt this important maxim of morality, to fly, as much as it is in my power, from situations which would make my own interest contrary to that of another man.

Nature herself dictated the reply of that barbarian, to whom a Roman citizen was extolling the magnificence of the

5

Circus, and of its games. "Have the Romans," asked the good man, "neither wives nor children ?"

Those who aspire to places under government are obliged to prove that there have been neither Heretics, Jews, nor Mahommedans, in their family for four generations.

We often rashly condemn those actions which are the most praise-worthy; but, when truth at last breaks forth, what we called austerity, ferociousness, and obstinacy, appears to have beea firmness of soul, intrepidity, and noble spirit.

If I wished to answer my enemies, I should be obliged to go through all my works from one end to the other, book by book, page by page, line by line, in short, almost word by word; I must write large volumes; and, after all, who would read them?

In his general conversation the prince is cautious and circumspect; but, at his table, he delivers the most curious lectures on his domestic delicacies; and, as Solomon formerly discoursed of all the herbs, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop on the wall, so he begins with a champignon, and ends with the wild boar, the glory of his forests.

OF SUBSTANTIVES,

RULE I.

Q. I. How is the English genitive formed by the addition of an s; such as, PETER's book, THE BOY's hat, A KING'S palace, construed in French?

kat

A. I. It comes after the noun on which it depends; which noun must have the article definite: Therefore, the foregoing sentences will be construed thus :-The book OF PETER, the OF THE BOY, the palace OF A KING; Le livre DE PIERRE, le chapeau DE L'ENFANT, le palais D'UN ROI. If the genitive, in English, is preceded by a or an; as in the last sentence, it will sometimes come after the noun on which it depends, with the preposition de only, and that noun will have the article indefinite.-Ex. Un palais DE ROI. This construction is gene.

rally used, when the genitive serves to shew the kind or species of the next substantive; in which case it may often be resolved into an adjective; as, a kingly palace, instead of a king's palace. I must also observe, that, in many instances which cannot be made dependent on rules, it will be better to use the general construction, though the genitive may be considered as shewing the kind or species of the following substantive.* 4. II. If the noun on which the genitive depends is likewise followed by the preposition of, or any other rendered in French by de, it will, in most instances, be necessary to give the sentence another turn.-Ex. A disdainful smile expressed THE DUKE'S CONTEMPT OF THE HYPOCRITE; Un sourire mêlé de dédain fit voir LE MÉPRIS QUE LE DUC AVAIT POUR CET HYPOCRITE; or, Le duc fit voir par un sourire mêlé de dédain comBIEN IL MÉPRISAIT CET HYPOCRITE. Except, when the nouns joined by the preposition of form an indivisible sense. -EX. THE GENERAL'S PRESENCE OF MIND saved the army; LA PRÉSENCE D'ESPRIT DU GÉNÉRAL sauva l'armée. Have you read THE ABBÉ MILLOT'S HISTORY OF GREECE? Avez vous lu L'HISTOIRE DE GRÈCE DE (OU par) L'ABBÉ MILLOT?

Q. II. What is the construction of the French sentence, when the genitive is not followed by the noun on which it depends-Ex. His influence was greatly superior TO THE FRENCH KING'S.

A. I. When the noun on which the genitive depends has been expressed before; as in the above sentence, it is supplied by a demonstrative pronoun. His influence was greatly superior TO THAT OF THE FRENCH KING; Son influence était bien supérieure à CELLE DU ROI DE FRANCE.

A. II. If the noun on which the genitive depends is understood; as it happens in mentioning places sufficiently known

*Note. When a substantive, serving to name a part of the body or any thing belonging to it, and being nominative to a tense or the verb to be, is preceded by a genitive, the sentence may be construed literally, or turned with the verb avoir, instead of être. The genitive becomes then a nominative to that verb, and the noun, which in the English sentence was nominative to the verb to be, is made an accusative.-Ex. THAT CHILD'S MOUTH IS the prettiest I ever saw; LA BOUCHE DE CET ENFANT EST la plus jolie que j'aie jamais vue; or, cET ENFANT A LA PLUS JOLIE BOUCHE que j'aie jamais vue.

Ex. The cathedral stands in the middle of the city, und, AFTER ST. PETER'S, is the most considerable building; the noun understood in English, must be expressed in French-La cathé drale est au centre de la ville. C'est, APRÈS L'ÉGLISE DE ST. PIERRE, le bâtiment le plus considérable. When the word house is understood after a genitive, it is often rendered by the preposition chez.-Ex. She left MRS. WHITFIELD's about eleven at night, Elle partit DE CHEZ MADAME WHITFIELD sur les onze heures du soir.

Note. When the genitive depends on the verb to be, in the sense of to belong, that genitive becomes a dative in French.— Ex. This hat is THE GENTLEMAN'S, Ce chapeau est à MONSIEUR. Observe, that appartenir is more generally used than étre. The construction will be the same for those sentences in which the verb to be may be supposed to be understood,→ Ex. I cannot bear the idea of seeing you ANOTHER'S, that is, BEING ANOTHER'S; Je ne saurais supporter l'idée de vous voir À UN AUTRE.

Q. III. What is the construction of the French sentence, when the genitive, formed by the addition of an s, is likewise preceded by the preposition of?-Ex. A soldier of THE KING'S.

A. This double genitive, chiefly used in cases which suppose the existence of a plurality of persons, or things of the same kind, generally means one of.-Ex. One of the soldiers of THE KING, Un des soldats DU ROI; but the sense will be the same in French, if you say, un soldat DU ROI; and this construction will, in most cases, be preferable.

Q. IV. When two substantives, the first of which serves to shew the matter, species, or property of the other, make, as it were, a compound word; such as SILK stockings, the PARLOUR door, what is their construction in French ?

A. I. Their order is to be altered thus, stockings OF SILK, the door OF THE PARLOUR; des bas DE SOIE, la porte DE LA SALLE. When the first substantive is taken in a particular and determinate sense; as in the second example, it will have the article definite, besides the preposition de.

A. II. When, upon the order of the two substantives being inverted in English, the sentence requires one of the prepositions with or for, they must be joined by the preposition à, instead of de. Ex. The POWDER mills, that is, the mills FOR POWDER; les moulins à POUDRE: STONE fruit, that is, fruit WITH STONE, du fruit à NOYAU. But instances will