Substance of Lectures on the Ancient Greeks, and on the Revival of Greek Learning in Europe (Volume 1) (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1821. Excerpt: ... LECTURE XIV. The Verb--1. Of the different species, and of the forms of the Verb--2. Of Person and Number, and of impersonal Verbs--3. of the Tenses of the Verb--b. Of the Moods of the Verb--The Participle--The Adverb--The Preposition--The Conjunction--The Interjection. If all nature existed merely, and if, at the same time, every part of it were constantly without energy, or action, or motion, then there would be no employment for sentient beings, and consequently no use for speech or language. But, as we perceive the universe to be not more remarkable for its existence, than for the motion or animation with which it abounds, and as language is the method by which we mutually communicate our notions of that existence, and of those energies, actions, and motions, it is necessary that such language should possess--not only a distinct class of words, for denoting the names of different existing objects, (which class of words grammarians have called nouns), and likewise other distinct classes, which serve to define those nouns, or to denote their qualities and properties, their connections and mutual relations, (as articles, prepositions, and others); but there must be in language also a separate class of words, for denoting either the existence of objects merely, or, along with that existence, the energies or operations, the movements or exertions, of those objects, To such a class of words grammarians have given the general name of Verb. And because the verb is employed to perform such a various and complicated function, and is in a manner the soul of language, it has justlybeen regarded as the most important part of speech, and therefore called by the Greeks; that is, the.thing spoken, or, the word, by way of eminence. And, for the same reason, the Lati...