Exception 1. When one of the connected words is accompanied by an adjunct which does not belong to the other, a comma is usually placed between them; as,

Not only threats, but even blows, succeeded. 'Twas certain he could write, and cypher too. — He went out, and said to the people.

EXERCISES.

Write and punctuate the following sentences, agreeably to the exception:

-

The orator wished his sentiments to be understood and impressed on the minds of his auditors. - Brown was a poet and a philosopher also. He spoke and developed the following plan. The man and not the woman was present at the meeting. Morality and even religion itself is degraded by the use of unmeaning terms.

Exception 2. When the conjunction or stands between two words or phrases, the latter of which is synonymous with the former, or explanatory of it, they may be separated by a comma from each other, and, when they stand in the relation of nominative, from the verb which follows; as,

The gulf, or bay, is dangerous.

REMARK. - When the last word is not explanatory of the other, the first admitting before it the word either, expressed or understood, the comma should be omitted; as, "Libertines call religion either bigotry or superstition." -"You must be [either] mad or foolish."

EXERCISES.

Referring to the preceding rule, and to the last exception, write the following sentences, and point those only which contain an explanatory word or phrase: –

You certainly must be insane or mad. want of inquiry was the occasion of his abandon the hope of success. - Milton too words or terms of art. Come or send. or inlet.

-Want of judgment or error.—

-He or I must

frequently uses technical

We saw a large opening

- Is the goodness or the wisdom of the Divine Being more manifest in this his proceeding? - The argument is in favour of wisdom or a cultivated intellect. - Virtue or vice predominates in every mind.

RULE IV.

WORDS IN PAIRS.

When words follow in pairs, a comma is put between each pair, and also after the last, when the sentence is unfinished; as,

Hope and fear, pleasure and pain, diversify our lives. · - Truth is fair and artless, simple and sincere, uniform and consistent. - - Whether we eat or drink, labour or sleep, we should be moderate.

EXERCISES.

Write and point the following sentences :—

A wise man observes and listens reads and reflects. - We ought to be humble and moderate in opinion vigilant and attentive in conduct. Interest and ambition honour and shame friendship and enmity gratitude and revenge are the prime movers in public transactions. In an eclogue there must not be any thing rude or vulgar nothing finical or affected nor any thing subtle or abstruse. Friendship is cool and deliberate sedate and temperate steady and discreet. The avaricious man contrives or labours praises or depreciates misleads or overreaches just as his present interest dictates.

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RULE V.

TWO WORDS, OF THE SAME PART OF SPEECH, NOT CONNECTED BY A CONJUNCTION.

Two words, of the same part of speech, without a conjunction between them, are separated by commas from each other; and, if nouns, from the other portions of the sentence to which they belong; as,

Thomas is a plain, honest man. Every thing that the earth produces, is decomposed. — Reason, virtue, answer one great aim. Exception 1.- When two nouns come together as a compound, whether so written or not, or when the former partakes of the nature of an adjective, they are not separated by commas; as,

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's man-servant, nor his maidservant. The Salford Mechanics' Institution is held in York Buildings, at Victoria Bridge.

Exception 2. When two adjectives are joined together without a conjunction, and the first of which qualifies, not only the noun, but the other adjective, no commas are used; as,

The emperor possessed a beautiful white horse.

Exception 3. When, without a conjunction, one adverb is followed by another, the former qualifying the latter, commas are unnecessary; as,

The part was remarkably well performed.

REMARK. It not unfrequently happens also, that two prepositions or conjunctions come together, without requiring any separation by a marked pause; as, "He walked up towards the hill."-"The pupil of a docile disposition not only loves, but also venerates, his preceptor." But, in respect to the former example, it may be observed, that the first preposition forms part of the verb walked, which is compound, and would, in some languages, be expressed by a single word; and, as to the latter, that the conjunctions but and also are so closely connected in sense as to be inseparable in construction.

EXERCISES.

Write and point the following examples, in accordance with the preceding rule:

Philosophy religion tend to promote just and honourable views of the Creator of the universe. - We are fearfully wonderfully made. A bragging cowardly fellow may impose upon people that do not know him. Where'er we tread, 'tis haunted holy ground. The apprentice is a very sharp active youth. - A hardy honest peasantry are the glory of an agricultural country. - John is a tall muscular man.- Ambition envy will occupy our minds, unless we can possess ourselves with sobriety. Their indefatigable systematic attention to the daily press is quite admirable. - Would that the promotion of knowledge were pursued more systematically more generally!

Referring to the exceptions, explain why the following sentences are unpointed:

That innocent young man was left in captivity. — Locke was a celebrated modern philosopher. The orphan was exceedingly well provided for. Fanny is the name of the lap-dog. — Some village Hampden here may rest.—World-history is a German idiom, signifying the history of the world. Scott excels as a fiction-writer.

RULE VI.

WORDS EMPHATICALLY REPEATED.

A word, phrase, or short clause, emphatically and immediately repeated, is separated by a comma; as, Turn ye, turn ye: why will ye die?—I will overturn, overturn, overturn it. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned.

REMARK.

In the latter example, the words thee only are, on account of their parenthetical nature, separated by commas from the context.

EXERCISES.

Write and point the following sentences :—

Woe woe woe to the inhabitants of the earth. — Comfort ye comfort ye my people.—If I were an American as I am an Englishman while a foreign troop was landed in my country, I never would lay down my arms: never never never! Good Hubert Hubert throw thine eye on that young boy. - Lend lend your wings: I mount I fly. My prize my beauteous prize I will resign.— Turn frequently turn to the memorable pages of English history, and consider the illustrious characters of your ancestors.

RULE VII.

CONTRASTED WORDS OR PHRASES.

When words or phrases are placed in opposition to each other, they generally require to be distinguished by a comma; as,

Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull;
Strong, without rage; without o'erflowing, full.

Benevolence is not merely a feeling, but a principle; not a dream of rapture for the fancy to indulge in, but a business for the hand

He was a great poet but a bad man.-Religion dwells not in the tongue but in the heart. Many persons gratify their eyes and ears instead of their understandings. Religion does not require a

gloomy but a cheerful disposition. - Evening is the time to review, not only our blessings but our actions. She was sensible but not

assuming; humble but not mean; familiar but not loquacious; reli

gious but not gloomy.

The teacher is only strict not severe.

False delicacy is affectation not politeness.

Contrasted faults through all their manners reign;

Though poor luxurious; though submissive vain;
Though grave yet trifling; zealous yet untrue;
And even in penance planning sins anew.

Virtue is of intrinsic value and good desert and of indispensable obligation; not the creature of will but necessary and immutable; not local or temporary but of equal extent and antiquity with the Divine Mind; not a mode of sensation but everlasting truth; not dependent on power but the guide of all power.

RULE VIII.

NOUNS AND PRONOUNS IN APPOSITION.

Words put in apposition — that is, signifying the same person or thing - are generally separated by commas; as,

Brutus killed Cæsar, him who had been his friend. - Augustus, the Roman emperor, he who succeeded Julius Cæsar, is variously described. Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, was eminent for his zeal and knowledge.

Exception. Nouns or pronouns in apposition, when not accompanied with adjuncts, do not require a comma between them; as,

I myself did it. - The poet Milton wrote excellent prose.

EXERCISES.

Write, in the order in which they here stand, the following sentences; pointing those to which the rule applies, and omitting the commas in such as accord with the Exception:—

He himself is the person who said it. — The island of Mona now Anglesea was the chief seat of the Druids. Homer the greatest poet of antiquity is said to have been blind. James the coachman went out early. - Augustus the Roman emperor was a patron of the fine arts. - The emperor Augustus was a patron of the fine arts. Constantinople the capital of Turkey is finely situated on the European side of the Bosphorus. The emperor Antoninus wrote an excellent book.. Cicero was oppressed by a new affliction the death of his beloved Tullia. - Spenser the poet lived in the reign of Elizabeth the Queen of England.