writing is, for the sober-minded teacher, a personal griev ance. A vocative form, if not strongly felt, or if inserted in the body of the sentence, is usually marked off with commas (see § 133). E. g.: Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.-In Mem., cvi. The principle of distinction between O and Oh is that O precedes the vocative, whereas Oh precedes a strong general wish. Compare O Lord of hosts with Oh that the salvation, etc., quoted above. The distinction, however, is less observed in America than in England, and even in England is not observed rigorously. PERIOD-COLON-SEMICOLON. 129. The Period is used to mark the end of a completed sentence that is not an interrogation or a strict exclamation. Thus: A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. -Prov. xv. 1. By completed sentence is meant one that is rhetorically, and not merely grammatically, complete. The above proverb illustrates the distinction. A soft answer turneth away wrath is grammatically complete; but it does not fully express the fundamental thought, namely, the contrast between gentleness and petulance. The period is also used to mark the abbreviated form of a word; e. g., Mr., Mrs., p. (for page), pp. (pages), LL.D. (Legum Doctor), D.D. (Doctor of Divinity), W. or Wm. (William), etc. Names of States are frequently abbreviated, e. g., N. Y., Pa., Mass., Mo., etc. But nicknames are not treated as abbreviations. Thus, Ned, Will, Tom, etc.; Cantab, Oxon (to designate students of Cambridge and Oxford), Japs; consols (for consolidated loan of the British government). Colon; Semicolon.-These signs mark the larger sections of a complete sentence that is not simple in its structure. The distinction between period and colon and between colon and semicolon cannot be formulated precisely. It is best learned from examples. Thus, in the proverb quoted above: A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. the Colon marks the balancing of the first clause by the second. In the following passage: The Greeks may be said to be the most artistic nation in the world, in the sense that art covered so large a proportion of their whole personality: it is not surprising to find that they projected their sense of art into morals.-MOULTON: Shakespeare, p. 44. the clause introduced by the colon is a corollary of the preceding clause. It would have been better, however, to connect the two more closely by means of then: “it is not surprising, then, to find," etc. The colon is now frequently used to introduce a direct quotation, or a statement (of some length) in apposition or in definition. E. g.: Salarino adds: "I would it might prove the end of his losses."MOULTON: Shakespeare, p. 78. Here the colon-clause is a direct quotation. In the following: The title of the present study is a paradox: that Shakespeare makes a plot more complex in order to make it more simple.-MOULTON: Shakespeare, p. 74. the colon-clause defines the paradox. In the following: Rhetoric is based upon the following sciences: Logic, which deals with the laws of thought; Grammar, which presents the facts and rules of correct language; and Esthetics, which investigates the principles of beauty.—Scott and DenneY: Paragraph- Writing, p. 245. the colon-clause is an appositive enumeration of these "sciences." For the use of the comma in introducing a quotation, see § 133. The Semicolon introduces the several independent members of a compound sentence, when these members resemble each other in structure, but differ in thought, and cannot be sufficiently marked by commas. E. g.: His [Boswell's] fame is great; and it will, we have no doubt, be lasting; but it is fame of a peculiar kind, and indeed marvellously resembles infamy.-MACAULAY: Boswell's Johnson. History was, in his [Johnson's] opinion, to use the fine expression of Lord Plunkett, an old almanac; historians could, as he conceived, claim no higher dignity than that of almanac-makers; and his favourite historians were those who, like Lord Hailes, aspired to no higher dignity.-MACAULAY: Boswell's Johnson. The semicolon is especially used for marking the members of a series of statements, when these members are independent clauses and not mere phrases. E. g.: Philosophers assert that nature is unlimited in her operations; that she has inexhaustible treasures in reserve; that knowledge will always be progressive. It will be observed that in Macaulay's long description of Burke (5) the several items mentioned in illustration of Burke's knowledge (sections 1 and 2), although stated in mere phrases and not in independent clauses, are marked by semicolons. This is in consequence of the unusual length and monotonous structure of the description; commas here would not have distinguished the items sufficiently. But in the following Macaulay's punctuation is normal: These things were in themselves an education, an education eminently fitted, not, indeed, to form exact or profound thinkers, but to give quickness to the perceptions, delicacy to the taste, fluency to the expression, and politeness to the manners.-MACAULAY: Boswell's Johnson. Here semicolons after perceptions, taste, expression, would be improper. The semicolon is gradually supplanting the colon for marking balanced clauses. In the proverb: A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. the most modern punctuation would prefer a semicolon after wrath. COMMA. The use of the Comma is-to all writers-somewhat of a puzzle. This perplexity is the result of two causes: 1. The lack of perfectly uniform rules or usage in certain cases. 2. A growing disposition to disuse the comma in cases where it was formerly used. Books printed fifty years ago have more commas to the page than books printed to-day. The following directions will meet all the important cases that arise in ordinary writing. 130. Ellipsis (Omission), Series.-The omission of any part of speech necessary to the full grammatical construction is indicated by a comma. E. g.: Homer was the greater genius; Virgil, the better artist. Here the comma takes the place of the omitted was. Aristotle, Hamilton, and Mill are authorities in logic. Here the comma before Hamilton marks the omission of and. It will be observed that the comma is also used after Hamilton, although the and is not omitted. This is the custom in punctuating a series of terms, phrases, or clauses. It is not strictly logical, but perhaps it may be regarded as a device to prevent the reader from coupling the last two terms in one, as if (1) Aristotle, (2) Hamilton and Mill, joint authors of one particular book or system of logic. If, in the above sentence, the and is used throughout, the punctuation is: Aristotle and Hamilton and Mill are authorities in logic. If the and is omitted altogether, the punctuation is: Aristotle, Hamilton, Mill, are authorities in logic. Here the introduction of a comma after Mill is not logical it breaks the direct grammatical connection of subject and verb. But the usage is uniform. In such sentences as: Virtue, religion is the one thing needful. no comma is put after religion. The two terms do not constitute a series, but are essentially one term, as the singular is indicates. The case is really one of Apposition (§ 131). Where words or phrases occur in pairs, each pair is marked off with commas. E. g.: I take thee to my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance. In the above it is to be observed that in the clauses for better for worse, for richer for poorer, there is an omission of and or or. This omission would ordinarily require a comma. But the introduction of one here would mar the general symmetry of the punctuation. The sequence of thought in the whole sentence is so close (all the clauses after wife express one thought, namely, the manner in which the husband is to have and to hold his wife) that semicolons are not possible. The following is more normal: The poor and the rich, the weak and the strong, the young and the old, have one common Father. 131. Co-ordination; Apposition.-In § 85 attention is called to the distinction between the restrictive and the co-ordinative uses of the relative pronoun. In the present section the principle is laid down and illustrated that all co-ordinative clauses, whether pronominal or adverbial, are marked off by commas, while restrictive clauses are not. E. g.: |