198. There is in adjectives, especially, a great risk of ambiguity, when they are not joined to the substantives to which they belong. (Illus. 5. p. 111.)

Illus. 1. This hazard arises, in our language, from our adjectives having no declension, by which case, number, and gender are distinguished. Their relation, therefore, is not otherwise to be ascertained than by their place. (Illus. § II. p. 64.)

Example. "God heapeth favours on his servants ever liberal and faithful."

Analysis. Is it God or his servants that are ever liberal and faithful? If the former, then the sentence should run thus; " God, ever liberal and faithful, heapeth favours on his servants." If the latter, then "God heapeth favours on his ever liberal and faithful servants," or "his servants who are ever liberal and faithful."

Illus. 2. Two or more adjectives are sometimes made to refer to the same substantive, when, in fact, they do not belong to the same thing, but to different things, which, being of the same kind, are expressed by the same generic name.

Example. "Both the ecclesiastic, and the secular powers concurred in those measures."

Analysis. Here the two adjectives, ecclesiastic and secular, relate to the same substantive, powers, but do not relate to the same individual things; for the powers denominated ecclesiastic are totally different from those denominated secular. This too common idiom may be avoided either by repeating the substantive, or by subjoining the substantive to the first adjective, and prefixing the article to the second as well as the first.

Correction." Both the ecclesiastic powers, and the secular concurred in those measures," or, "Both the ecclesiastic powers, and the secular powers;" but the former is perhaps preferable.

199. The construction of substantive nouns is sometimes ambiguous. (Illus. 4. p. 111.)

Example 1." You shall seldom find a dull fellow of good education, but (if he happen to have any leisure upon his hands) will turn his head to one of those two amusements for all fools of eminence, politics or poetry."*

Analysis. The position of the words politics or poetry makes one at first imagine, that along with the term eminence, they are affected by the preposition of, and construed with fools. The repetition of the to after eminence would have totally removed the ambiguity.

Example 2. "A rising tomb the lofty column bore."t

Analysis. Did the tomb bear the column, or the column the tomb ? But this fault is frequent, in the construction of substantives, especially in verse, when both what we call the nominative case and the accusative are put before the verb. As in nouns those cases are not distinguished either by inflection, or prepositions, so neither can they be distinguished in such instances by arrangement.

200. Ambiguity in using the conjunctions.

Example. "At least my own private letters leave room for a politi

*Spectator, No. 43.

† Pope's Odyssey, Book 12.

cian, well versed in matters of this nature, to suspect as much, as a penetrating friend of mine tells me.”

Analysis. The particle as, which in this sentence immediately precedes the words a penetrating friend, makes frequently a part of these compound conjunctions as much as, as well as, as far as. It will, therefore, naturally appear, at first, to belong to the words as much, which immediately precede it. But as this is not really the case, it ought to have been otherwise situated; for it is not enough that it is separated by a comma, these small distinctions in the pointing being but too frequently overlooked.

Correction. "At least my own private letters, as a penetrating friend of mine tells me, leave room for a politician well versed in matters of this nature to suspect as much."

201. Sometimes a particular clause or expression is so situated, that it may be construed with different members of the same sentence, and thus exhibit different meanings. (Illus. 8. p. 112. and Art. 151.)

Example. "It has not a word but what the author religiously thinks in it."

Al

Analysis. One would at first imagine the author's meaning to be, that it had not a word which the author did not think to be in it. ter a little the place of the last two words, and supply the ellipsis, and the ambiguity will be removed.

Correction." It has not a word in it, but what the author religiously thinks it should contain."

202. The squinting construction, another fertile source of ambiguity, is, when a clause is so situated in a sentence, that one is at first at a loss to know whether it ought to be connected with the words which go before, or with those which come after.

Example. "As it is necessary to have the head clear, as well as the complexion, to be perfect in this part of learning, I rarely mingle with the men, but frequent the tea tables of the ladies."+

Analysis. Whether, "to be perfect in this part of learning, is it necessary to have the head clear as well as the complexion;" or, "to be perfect in this part of learning, does he rarely mingle with the men, but frequent the tea tables of the ladies?" Which ever of these be sense, the words ought to have been otherwise arranged.

*Guardian, No. 4. Guardian, No. 10.

t Construction loucks, it is called by the French.

11

CHAPTER VII.

OF THE UNINTELLIGIBLE.

203. UNDER the article precision, Chapter IV. of Book II., but more particularly in Illus. 6. Art. 181, it was observed generally, that a speaker may express himself obscurely, and so convey his meaning imperfectly to the mind of the hearer. In Chapter VI. of this book, it was shewn, that he may express himself ambiguously, and so, along with his own, convey a meaning entirely different. In this Chapter, we shall shew that he may even express himself unintelligibly, and so convey no meaning at all. This fault arises,

1st. From great confusion of thought, accompanied with intricacy of expression: (Art. 121. Illus.)

2dly. From affectation of excellence in the diction: 3dly. From a total want of meaning.

First. The unintelligible from confusion of thought. 204. Language is the medium through which the sentiments of the writer are perceived by the reader. (Art. 181.) And though the impurity, or the grossness of the medium, will render the image obscure or indistinct, yet no purity in the medium will suffice for exhibiting a distinct and unvarying image of a confused and unsteady object.*

Illus. There is a sort of half-formed thoughts, which we sometimes find a writer impatient to give the world, before he himself is fully possessed of them. Now, if the writer himself perceive confusedly and imperfectly the sentiments, which he would communicate, it is a thousand to one, the reader will not perceive them at all.

Example 1. In simple sentences, Sir Richard Steele, though a man of sense and genius, was a great master in this style; speaking of some of the coffee-house politicians, "I have observed," says he, "that the superiority among these, proceeds from an opinion of gallantry and fashion."

Analysis. This sentence, considered in i'self, evidently conveys no meaning. First, it is not said, whose opinion, their own, or that of others; secondly, it is not said what opinion, or of what sort, favourable or unfavourable, true or false, but in general an opinion of gallantry and fashion, which contains no definite expression of any mean

* The distinctions in some departments of this Grammar of Rhetoric, are so nice, that they differ not i a kind, but in degree, from one another; yet, if the intermediato steps, by which we have passed from one to the other, be removed, we shall at onco perceive how necessary they were to a full development of the art. Without attend

ing to this remark, they who have but superficially glanced at this chapter, would be ready to consider it a reposition of the article precision; yet is it totally distinct, as very little sagacity may soon discover.

† Spectator No. 49.

ing. With the joint assistance of the context, reflection and conjecture, we shall perhap; conclude that the author intended to say, that the rank among these politicians, was determined by the opinion generally entertained of the rank in point of gallantry and fashion that cach of them had attained.

Example 2. Of a complex sentence, which conveys indeed the dull est species of the unintelligible. "The serene aspect of these writers, joined with the great encouragement I observe is given to another, or, what is indeed to be suspected, in which he indulges himself, confirmed me in the notion I have of the prevalence of ambition this way.'

Analysis. Was it the serene aspect of these writers that confirmed him in the notion he had of the prevalence of ambition? And if so, was the prevalence of this ambition a prevalence to obtain, or to preserve a serene aspect? or to become writers?" Again, was great encouragement given to another man to a33ume a serene aspect, if he had none, or to preserve it if he had such a thing? Joined to the great encouragement given to another to do what? "In which he indulges himself." In what? this encouragement, or a serene aspect? In short, the writer talks downright nonsense, for the sentence admits not of decomposition.

205. Secondly. The unintelligible from affectation of excellence. In this there is always something figurative; but the figures are remote, and things heterogeneous are combined.

Example 1. In a simple sentence. The Guardian, speaking of meekness and humility, says, "This temper of soul, keeps our understanding tight about us."t

Analysis. This is an incongruous metaphor. The understanding is made a girdle to our other mental faculties; for the fastening of which girdle, meekness and humility serve as a buckle.

Example 2. Yet when that flood in its own depths was drowned,
It left behind it false and slippery ground.‡

Analysis. The first of these lines is marvellously nonsensical. It informs us of a prodigy never heard of before, a drowned flood; nay, which is still more extraordinary, a flood, that was so excessively deep, that after leaving nothing else to drown, if turned felo-de-se, and drowned itself. And doubtless, if a flood can be in danger of drowning itself, the deeper it is, the danger must be the greater. So far, at least, the author talks consequentially. The first line itself has no meaning; but the author intended to say, "When the waters of the deluge had subsided."

Example 3. In a complex sentence. "If the savour of things lies cross to honesty, if the fancy be florid, and the appetite high towards the subaltern beauties and lower order of wordly symmetries and proportions, the conduct will infallibly turn this latter way."§

Analysis. Here we have lofty images and high sounding words, but where shall we find the sense? The meaning, where there is a meaning, cannot be said to be communicated and adorned by the words, but is rather buried under them. The French critics call this species

*Guardian, No. 1. † Ibid. † Dryden's Panegyric on the Coronation of Charles II. Characteristics, Vol. III. Misc. II. ch. 2.

of writing, or of figure, galimatias; the English called it bombast; and we may properly define it the sublime of nonsense.

Example 4. "But what can one do? or how dispense with these darker disquisitions, and moon-light voyagers, when we have to deal with a sort of moon-blind wits, who, though very acute and able in their kind, may be said to renounce day-light, and extinguish, in a manner, the bright visible world, by allowing us to know nothing beside what we can prove, by strict and formal demonstration."

Analysis. It must be owned, that the condition of those wits is truly deplorable; for though very acute and able in their kind, yet being moon-light blind, they cannot see by night; and having renounced day-light, they will not see by day; so that, for any use they have of their eyes, they are no better than stone blind. It is astonishing, too, that the reason for rendering a moon-light voyage indispensable, is, that we have moon-blind persons only for our company, the very person which, to our ordinary understanding, would render such a voy age improper.

O! quanta species, inquit, ast cerebrum non habet.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE VARIOUS SPECIES OF THE UNINTELLIGIBLE.

206. THE UNINTELLIGIBLE, from want of meaning in the writer, proceeds from vacuity of thought. Here the sentence is generally simple in its structure, and the construction easy.

Illus. Let us contrast this with the unintelligible proceeding from confusion of thought, accompanied with intricacy of expression. In this last, you hesitate at certain intervals, and retrace your progress; finding yourself at a loss in the terms, and at a loss for the meaning, you then try to construe the sentence, and to ascertain the signification of the words. By these means, and by the help of the context, you will possibly come at last at what the author would have said. In the unintelligible, from want of meaning, provided words glaringly unsuitable are not combined, you proceed without hesitation or doubt. You never suspect, that you do not understand a sentence, the terms of which are familiar to you, and of which you perceive distinctly the grammatical order. But if, by any means, you are induced to think more closely on the subject, and to peruse the words a second time more attentively; you will then begin to suspect them, and at length discover, that they contain nothing, but either an identical proposition, which conveys no knowledge, or a proposition of that kind, of which you cannot so much as affirm, that it is either true or false. Sometimes pompous metaphors, and sonorous phrases, are injudiciously employed to add dignity to the most trival conceptions; sometimes they are made the vehicles for nonsense. In madmen there is as great a variety of character, as in those who enjoy the use of their reason. In like

* Characteristics, Vol. III. Misc. IV.