sumed, with Sanctius and others, that the infinitive is often very indeterminate in its tenses, since we say volo legere, and volui legere, and Terence says, cras mihi argentum dare se dixit, and Virgil, Progeniem sed enim Trojano a sanguine duci audierat, yet we may safely give it as a general rule, that the tense of the verb, which is used in the infinitive, must be determined by the time of its action or state, relatively to the former verb. Thus when Cicero says, vidi enim, (nam tu aberas,) nostros inimicos cupere bellum; cupere is present in relation to the time when he saw that they wished for war, and therefore it is put in the present, and cannot be said, as some grammarians would affirm, to be used for cupivisse. Had it been cupivisse, it would have had a reference to that wish of the enemy as existing prior to the vidi, which is a sense not intended to be conveyed. Sed abunde erit ex iis duo exempla retulisse. The circumstance of having produced these two examples is antecedent in time to the former verb: it would, therefore, not have been so correct, and the meaning would have been quite different, if we had said referre.

1. On that day, there was much speaking on our side, and my words seemed to make a strong impression on the senate.

2. I knew there had existed men of the first celebrity for learning and wisdom in the state.

3. When he heard that the enemy had declared war, and understood, at the same time, that they ravaged the neighbouring states.

4. The wisest philosophers maintained that there was only one God (unum esse Deum).

OF THE

ORDER OR ARRANGEMENT OF WORDS.

The order or arrangement of words is either fixed or arbitrary; that is, words must either retain the same invariable order which the ancients have assigned them, or will chiefly depend upon the natural succession of our ideas.

These words, for instance, are always placed in the beginning of a sentence, nam, at, verùm, sed, quarè, quamobrem, and si, nisi, etsi, quanquam, quia, quoniam, cùm; except in a few cases, where, if these words occur, they will claim the first place; as, qui nisi, quòd si, qui quia, tu si, &c.

On the contrary, enim, verò, autem, quoque, quidem, are always used after one or two words, but generally after the first word of a sentence.

But we both magnify future evils by our dread of them, and aggravate present calamities by our unavailing sorrows, and choose rather to throw the blame on the nature of things than on our own

errors.

Etenim, itaque, ergò, denique, tandem, are used either as the first or second words.

1. A debauched and intemperate young man will undoubtedly, if he live, transmit weakness and infirmities to his latter days.

2. Let us then suffer ourselves to be exercised, and perhaps cured, by this wholesome discipline.

Ne quidem are elegantly separated by one or more words coming between them, generally by that or those words on which the stress of the restriction is laid; as,

He is offended not even with the smallest trifle: Ne minimá quidem re offenditur.

1. So far are you from having perused all those books, that you have not even read one.

2. The poor are sometimes so destitute of necessaries, that they have not even enough to clothe themselves.

3. Hence it follows, that if one body is not driven by another, they cannot each touch one another.

The parts of a compounded word may be elegantly divided by some other word coming between the parts; as, rem verò publicam amisimus.

1. You will do me a very great favour, if you will give me an opportunity of showing the high regard I entertain for you; as I wish, by every means in my power, to satisfy our love and friendship.

2. Since you postpone all things to silver (argento post omnia ponis).

Nullus and nunquam are elegantly divided, principally when coming with the conjunctions et, nec or neque; as,

Any evil can never happen to a good man: Nec enim unquam bono quidquam mali evenit.

There is nothing which I desire more than to speak to you; for I have no leisure to write to you, and no messenger ever comes near

me.

When two words are joined together by a conjunction, some other word, having a reference to them, will be elegantly placed between them; as,

A rural and rustic voice delights some men: Rustica voz et agrestis quosdam delectai.

O Brutus, we are attempting quite a difficult and arduous task; but nothing is difficult to a lover; and I love and have always loved your genius, your pursuits, and your principles.

Antè, priùs, pòst, and postea, are elegantly separated from quàm; as,

I shall sooner forget my own name, than the benefits which you have conferred upon me: Nomen meum priùs obliviscar, quàm quæ apud me collocâsti beneficia.

1. You know, that at a certain time I went to Metapontus with you, and that I never retired to my host before I had seen the very place and the house where Pythagoras had spent his life.

2. I shall answer, that Cæsar, if I know him well, will consult your honour before his own interest.

3. It becomes a wise man to try every thing by words and persuaon, before he has recourse to arms.

Quàm placed between two words may be more elegantly put before the comparative; as, Amicitia quàm pecunia delectat ampliùs: except when it comes with magis and potiùs, which it should immediately follow.

1. Hence friendship seems to originate from nature, rather than from weakness.

2. More people study to obtain riches than virtue.

3. Good men are always more suspected by tyrants than bad men ; for virtue is always very formidable to them.

When the English words the other, or another, are rendered by a repetition of the same substantive to which it refers, or two words occur in the same sentence, one of which is derived from the other, they must closely follow one another; as, One love is expelled by another, as one spike is removed by the other: Amore amor, ut clavus clavo, truditur.

As also two words having a contrary signification, if they are opposed to each other, give greater elegance to the sentence, if no other word intervenes between them, as thus their opposition becomes more evident; as,

They, who wish to appear learned in the sight of fools, appear fools in the sight of the learned: Qui stultis eruditi videri volunt, stulti eruditis videntur.

1. One wedge drives in the other.

2. One hand washes the other.

3. The rashness of the son verified the wise saying of the father. 4. For how is it, that old age creeps upon youth faster than youth on childhood?

5. Friends take the greatest delight in the society of friends.

6. That is called a civic crown which a citizen presents to the citizen, by whom he has been preserved, as a pledge of his safety, and of the preservation of his life (testem vitæ, salutisque perceptæ).

7. You covet money and reject virtue.

8. Despair and necessity render even the timid brave.

When, for the sake of brevity and elegance, alius, alius, or, diversi, diversi, each in their proper cases, are used for me man this, and another man that; different people this, and different people that; as, One man says this, another that, Alius aliud dicit; they must closely follow each other. And so alius aliò, or aliorsùm, for one man to one place, another to a different place; and alius, aliundè, for one man on this side, the other on that side.

1. One patron has defended my cause with much more zeal than the other.

2. They were disputing across the river, one on this side, the other on that side.

Alius, alius, signifying some and other, will be separated; and if we speak of only two, the adjective alter will be used instead of alius.

1. Some men we see, who excel in swiftness for the course, others in strength and vigour for wrestling.

and

2. One of whom has betrayed the army, and the other has sold it.

The pronoun quisque is generally placed after suus, sibi, se; and when it is joined to superlatives and comparatives, as it were a substantive with its adjective, or coming with numeral and cardinal nouns, it should always be placed after them; as, Suum cuique pulchrum est.

1. Every man loves his own verses best.

2. Such is the alarming situation of affairs (usque adeò undique turbatur), that every man dreads his own destiny.

3. Every seventh day is dedicated to sacred purposes.

4. Every good (optimus) scholar thinks so.

On the contrary, the possessive pronouns meus, suus, &c. are generally placed after their substantives; as, pater meus; except when an adjective or a preposition is added to the substantive, and then the possessive is usually placed first.

1. Our love towards you is very conspicuous.

2. I only beg of you, that you will substitute me in the place of Hirtius, both on account of your love for me, and my respect for you. (Though, as Quintilian remarks, there is no great certainty in these exceptions, as they depend wholly upon the perspicuity and harmony of the sentence.)

Observe, likewise, that a pronoun primitive is elegantly placed between the pronoun possessive and the substantive with which it agrees; as,

Your labour is profitable to me: Tuus mihi labor prodest.

1. Our studies delight him greatly.

2. Your letters were brought me at a time when I could not but receive the greatest comfort from them; for your intimacy is by no means unpleasing to me (mihi dulcissima est).