a vague object, which is not sufficiently specified to know its gender and number.

EXAMPLE.

Ce qui flatte est plus dangereux What flatters is more dangerous que ce qui offense, than what offends

Ce, joined to the relative pronouns, qui, que, dont, and quoi, has, in some instances, a construction peculiar to itself. Both ce and the relative pronoun that fol lows it, form, with the verb which they precede, the subject of another phrase, of which the verb is always être. Now, être may be followed by another verb, an adjective, or a noun.

When être then is followed by another verb, the demonstrative ce must be repeated, as,

Ce que j'aime le plus, c'est d'élre What I like most, is to be seul, alone.

When followed by an adjective the demonstrative is not repeated, as,

Ce dont vous venez de me parler What you have been mention est horrible, ing to me is horrid.

When it is followed by a substantive, the demonstrative may either be repeated, or not, at pleasure, except in the case of a plural, or a personal pronoun. Thus,

we may say,

Ce que je dis, est la vérité, or, What I say is the truth.

c'est la vérité,

Though the former is best. Ce qui m'indigne, ce sont les injustices, qu'on ne cesse de faire,

Ce qui m'arrache au sentiment qui m'accable, c'est vous,

But we must say, What provokes me, are the injuries which are continually committed.

What alleviates the grief that oppresses me, is you.

Most of these rules contribute to the elegance of the language.¶

TEXERCISE.

1. What is astonishing is not always what is pleasing.

(1) Is astonishing, étonner; is pleasing, plaire.

There are two ways of employing celui. In the first it is followed by a noun, or pronoun preceded by the preposition de.

Celui de vous qui, &c.

EXAMPLES.

Whichever of you that, &c.

brother.

Cette montre ressemble à celle de That watch is like that of your votre frère, In the second, it is followed by qui, que, or dont, as,

Celui qui ne pense qu'à lui seul dispense les autres d'y penser,

Votre nouvelle est plus sûre que celle qu'on débitait hier,

He who thinks of nobody but bimself, excuses others from thinking of him.

Your intelligence is more authentic than that which was circulated yesterday.

In these two cases it is applied both to persons and things.

In the latter of these instances, celui is sometimes omitted, and this turn gives strength and elegance to the expression, as,

Qui veut trop se faire craindre, se He who wishes to make himself fait rarement aimer; too much feared, seldom makes himself beloved.

2. What the miser thinks least of, is to enjoy his riches.

3. What pleases us in the writings of the ancients, is to see that they have taken nature as a model, and that they have painted her with a noble simplicity.

4. What that good king has done for the happiness of his people, deserves to be handed down to the latest posterity.

*

5. What constitutes poetry is not the exact number and regu lar cadence of syllables: but it is the sentiment which animates every thing, the lively fictions, bold figures, and beauty and variety of the imagery: it is the enthusiasm, fire, impetuosity, force, a something in the words and thoughts which nature alone can impart.

6. What we justly admire in Shakspeare are these characters always natural and always well * sustained.

7. What keeps me attached to life, is you, my son, whose tender age has still need of my care and advice.

(2.) What, (that to which ;) miser, avare.

(3.) As a, pour.

(4.) Deserves, être digne; to be handed down, être transmis ; latest, la plus reculée.

(5.) Constitutes, faire; exact, fixe; lively, vif; imagery, image, pl. ; a something, un je ne sais quoi; words, parole; impart, donner.

(6.) We, on; justly, avec justice; natural, dans la nature; sustained, soutenu. (7.) Keeps attached, attacher; care, advice, pl.

Ceci and cela apply only to things; however, in the familiar style, custom authorises us to say, in speaking of one person individually, or of many collectively; cela est heureux! cela croupit dans la fange; cela est gueux et fier, &c.t

CHAP. VI.

PRONOUNS INDEFINITE.

Though on may generally be considered as a masculine pronoun, as in the phrase, on n'est pas toujours maître de ses passions, there are however occasions in which it is evidently feminine, as, on n'est pas toujours jeune et jolie it may likewise be followed by a plural, as, on se battit en désespérés ; est-on des traîtres ?

This pronoun must be repeated before all the verbs

+ EXERCISE.

1. Whichever of you shall be found to excel the others both in mind and body, shall be acknowledged king of the island.

2. There are admirable pictures; these are after the manner of Rubens, and those after the manner of Van-Huysum.

3. Why are the statues of the most celebrated modern sculptors, notwithstanding the perfection to which the arts have been carried, so much inferior to those of the ancients?

4. He whose soul, glowing, as it were, with divine fire, shall represent to himself the whole of nature, and shall breathe into objects that spirit of life which animates them, those affecting traits which delight and ravish us, will be a man of real genius.

5. He that judges of others by himself, is liable to many mistakes.

6. He that is easily offended, discovers his weak side, and affords his enemies an opportunity of taking advantage of it.

7. He who loves none but himself, deserves not to be loved by others.

(1.) Be found to excel the others, on juger vainqueur; both in, et pour (repeated.

(2.) There are, voilà de; picture, tableau; are after, être dans; manner, genre.

(3.) Are, (to be placed before so much inferior ;) have been carried, (active voice,) with, on; inferior, au-dessous.

(4.) Glowing with, enflammé de; as it were, pour ainsi dire; the whole of tout; sha'l breathe into, répandre sur ; affecting, touchant; delight, séduire; real, vrai. (5.) By, d'aprés ; liable, exposé; mistake, meprise. (6.) Is offended, s'offenser; weak side, faible; affords, fournir à; of taking advantage, profiter

of a sentence, and refer to one and the same subject. Thus, the sentence,

On croit être aimé et l'on ne nous aime pas.

is incorrect; it should be,

On croit être aimé et l'on ne l'est pas.

Quiconque is generally masculine, however it is feminine, wher speaking of, or to females, as, quiconque de vous, Mesdames, &c. Though, perhaps, celle de vous, &c. is preferable.‡

Chacun, though always singular, may be followed, sometimes by son, sa, ses, and sometimes by leur, leurs, which, in many instances, is embarrassing.

There is no difficulty in those phrases where chacun is not contrasted with a plural number; for then son, sa, ses, must be used, as,

Donnez à chacun sa part;
Que chacun songe à ses affaires,

Give to each his share.

Let every one mind his own business.

RULE. In phrases where chacun is contrasted with a plural to which it refers, son, sa, ses, must be employed, when chacun is placed after the regimen ; but

EXERCISE ON PRONOUNS INDEFINITE.

1. Do you sincerely think, said Emily to Lucilla, that when women are sensible and pretty, they are ignorant of * it: no, they know it very well: but if they are watchful over their character, they are not proud of these advantages.

2. We are not slaves, to receive such treatment.

3. Do you know what they do here? They eat, they drink, they dance, they play, they walk, in a word, they kill time in the gayest manner possible.

4. Whoever of you is told enough to slander me, I will make him repeat it.

5. Whoever of you is attentive and discreet, shall receive a reward that will flatter her.

(1.) Sincerely, de bonne foi; Emily, Emilie; women, on; they, on; know, savoir; watchful over, jaloux de; character, réputation; are proud, s'enɔrgueillir. (2.) We, on; slaves, (des) esclaves ; to receive, pour essuyer de. (3.) They, on ; in the gayest manner, le plus gaiment; possible, (that they can). (4.) Is, ind-7; to slander, pour médire de; it (of it.)

(5.) Is, ind-7; that will, fait pur.

leur, leurs, must be used, when chacun is placed before

the regimen.

EXAMPLES OF son, sa, ses.

Remettez ces médailles chacune

en sa place, Les hommes devraient s'aimer, chacun pour son propre intérêt,

Return those medals each into its proper place.

Men ought to love one another, each for his own interest.

EXAMPLE OF leur, leurs.

Les hommes devraient avoir, chacun pour leur propre in. térêt, de l'amour les uns pour les autres,

Men ought for their own interest, to have an affection for each other.

REM. In phrases where chacun is contrasted with a plural, there are two senses, the collective and the distributive. When chacun is placed after the regimen, the collective sense expressed by the plural is finished; and the distributive chacun acts separately the part of each individual: but when chacun precedes the regimen, the collective sense remaining incomplete, must be carried on to the end; and then the pronoun which follows chacun is put in the plural, as,

La reine dit elle-même aux députés, qu'il était temps qu'ils s'en retournassent chacun chez eux.¶

Personne, used as a pronoun, is always masculine ;

¶ EXERCISE.

1. Go into my library, and put the books which have been sent back to me, each into its place.

2. They have all brought offerings to the temple, every one according to his means and devotion.

3. Thierry charged Uncelanus to carry his orders to the mutineers, and to make them retire each under his colours.

4. Each of them has brought his offering, and fulfilled his religious duty.

5. Had Ronsard and Balzac each, in his manner of writing, a 'sufficient degree of merit to form after them any very great man in verse and in prose?

6. After a day so usefully spent, we went back, each to our own home.

(2.) Offerings, offrande.

(3.) To carry, aller porter; mutineers, mutin; colours, drapeau.

(4.) (They have brought each their, &c.) fulfilled, remplir.

(5.) Manner of writing, genre; a sufficient degree, assez; merit, bon; any, un. (6.) Day, journée; went back, retourner; to, chez; our own home, (pron personal.)