The ble forms are contemplated, are assumed, viz., time and space. To these he assigns a strictly subjective reality. The truth of geometrical axioms rests on the necessity and universality of our intuitions of space in its three dimensions; and these intuitions lie at the ground of all human experience. The understanding is held to have four fundamental modes of conception:-1. Quantity; 2. Quality; 3. Relation; 4. Modality, or manner of existence. third and highest faculty-the reason, consists in the power of forming ideas to which the actual world has no adequate correspondents. The deficiencies of our speculative reason he conceives to be supplied by the moral faculty, the object of which is to determine-not what is, but what ought to be. Kant argues that obligation is not mere feeling; and that in our moral nature we must seek for the only valid foundation of the belief in God, the immortality of the soul, and a future state in which the demands of the practical reason shall be realised. 55-Aconite. B. F. M.-This name is misapplied by some modern poets, being described in situations and conditions in which the wolfsbane, or true aconite, would not grow. It is a perennial plant, with a smooth, erect stem rising to the height of three or four feet, bearing dark blue flowers, in a long cylindrical spike at the top. The calyx resembles a corolla in colour, consisting of five unequal divisions, the uppermost being helmet or hood-shaped, and concealing the petals. The leaves bear some resemblance to those of the crowfoot, to which natural order (ranunculaceae) the aconite belongs. It can hardly be said to be a native of England, but grows wild on the banks of the Teme, in Herefordshire, and in many other places. It was cultivated in English gardens in 1596. Its native habitat appears to be the Alpine regions of Europe. The poets fabled that Aconite sprang from the foam of the monster Cerberus, when dragged to light by Hercules; and it is mentioned by Ovid (Metamorphoses, lib. vii.) as the principal ingredient in the draught prepared by Medea for the destruction of Theseus. There are, indeed, few spontaneous productions of nature which surpass it in poisonous virulence, hence it has been held to be synonymous with all that is deadly in the vegetable world; hence the allusion in Shakspere, Henry IV., Pt. 2, Act 4, Sc. 4. Willis, in the work entitled De Anima Brutorum, cap. xii., p. 494, relates the case of a man who ate some aconite leaves in a salad, and died mad in a few hours afterwards. Mathiolus describes the horrible deaths of two criminals upon whom the effects of the leaves were tried. And in the Philosophical Transactions, vol. xxxviii., a case of poisoning by aconite is published at considerable length. The popular impression that idiotcy results from eating aconite appears to rest upon strong testimony. The poisonous properties of the Ranunculaceæ seem, however, to be dissipated by heat. It is species of aconite which is used by the natives of northern India for the poisoning of their arrows; it is named by them bish, or visha, and is, perhaps, one of the most fatal vegetable poisons with which we are acquainted. The poisonous principle in all the species is the alkaloid named aconitine, which has been used in medicine as a local application for the cure of tic douloureux. (See Dr. Turnbull's Treatise, 1834.) 57-East India Company. M. V. This association originated from the subscriptions (trifling in amount) of a few private individuals. It gradually became a commercial body, with gigantic means; and next, by the force of unforeseen circumstances, assumed the form of a sovereign power, while those by whom it was directed continued, in their individual capacities, to be without power or political influence, thus presenting an anomaly without a parallel in the history of the world. The company was formed in London, in 1599, when its capital, amounting to £30,000, was divided in one hundred and one shares. In 1600 the adventurers obtained a charter from the crown, under which they enjoyed certain privileges, and were formed into a corporation for fifteen years, with the title of "The Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading to the East Indies." Under this charter, the management of the company's affairs was entrusted to twenty-four members of a committee, chosen by the proprietors from among their own body; and this committee was renewed by election every year. The first adventure of the association was commenced in 1601. In the month of May, in that year, five ships, with cargoes of merchandise and buliion, sailed from Torbay, to India. The result was encouraging; and between 1603 and 1613 eight other vogages were performed, all of which were highly profitable, with the exception of the one undertaken in the year 1607. In the other years the clear profits of the trade varied from one hundred to two hundred per cent. upon the capital employed. The charter of the company was renewed for an indefinite period in 1609, subject to dissolution, on the part of the government, on giving three years' notice to that effect. In 1611 the company obtained permission from the Mogul to establish factories at Surat, Abmedabad, Cambya, and Goga: in consideration of which permission it agreed to pay to that sovereign an export duty upon all his shipments at the rate of three-and-a-half per cent. The functions of government were first exercised by the company in 1624, when authority was given to it by the king, to punish its servants abroad, either by civil or martial law; and this authority was unlimited in extent, embracing even the power of taking life. A rival association was formed in 1636, but, after two years competition, was united with the former company, and the new company assumed the title of "The United Joint Stock." In 1652 the company obtained license for carrying on unlimited trade throughout the province of Bengal, without payment of duties. The first factory of the English was at Bantam, in Java, established in 1602. At the close of the seventeenth century the three presidencies, Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, were distinguished, as they still are; but it was not till 1773 that Bengal became the seat of the supreme government. The first occasion on which the company was brought into hostile collision with any of the native powers of India occured in the beginning of 1664. A serious dispute arose in Parliament upon the powers of the company in 1666. In 1682-3 a project was set on foot for the establishment of a rival company, but it did not obtain the sanction of government. A new charter, to have effect for twentyone years, was granted in 1693. The home government of the company consists of-first, the court of proprietors; second, the court of directors; and third, the board of control. The board of control consisted, formerly, of six privy councillors; and the chancellor of the exchequer, and principal secretaries of state, were, by virtue of their office, members of the board; but, by an act passed in 1793, this became no longer necessary. By an act of Anne's Parliament, the company had the exclusive right of trading to all places eastward of the Cape of Good Hope, to the Straits of Magalhaens; and these privileges were confirmed by successive acts of Parliament till 1814, but were afterwards modified. In 1833, the charter was renewed for twenty years, but by an act which took away from the company the right of exclusive trading to its own territories, or to the dominions of any native power in India or China, and threw the whole open to the enterprise of individual merchants. QUESTIONS REQUIRING ANSWERS. 5-Quotation Latin. C. M.-From what authority is the following quotation:-"Tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur ab illis?" 6-College of Preceptors. A. P.-What are the necessary steps for a young schoolmaster to adopt to obtain the diploma of the College of Preceptors! QUESTION ANSWERED. 3-Primitive Language. P.-The Rev. Thomas Hartwell Horne, in his Introduction to the Critical Study of the Scriptures, states that "the Hebrew is the most ancient language in the world; at least, we know of none that is older." He acknowledges that we have no certain proof that it was the language of our first parents, yet considers that it is not improbable that it was the general language of men at the dispersion, and that it appears to be the original of all the languages which have since arisen in the world. He adds-Various circumstances combine to prove that Hebrew is the original language, neither im proved nor debased by foreign idioms." The Rev. J. Parkhurst, in the preface to his Hebrew Lexicon, asserts that the language communicated to the first man was no other (as to the main structure of it) than that Hebrew in which Moses wrote. Mr. Welsford, in his ingenious Essay on Language, quotes Bentley's argument in his Dissertation upon Phalaris, to the effect that the names of persons and places mentioned in Scripture before the Deluge being Hebrew, proves that language to have been the primitive one; but, on the other hand, he shows that both Arabic and Sanscrit names are found in Scripture st that time, and therefore either of these might, according to Bentley's reasoning, be considered the primitive language. Mr. Welsford also adduces proofs of not less than seven languages, viz. Coptic, Sanscrit, Arabic, Persic, Turkish or Mongol Tartaric, Syriac, and Greek, being old as the Hebrew of the oldest books in the Bible; and brings forward Sir W. Jones's opinion that the primitive language is lost. Who shall decide when doctors dis agree?-R. A. W. ENGLISH GRAMMAR. ETYMOLOGY-continued. CHAPTER III.-THE ADJECTIVE. 134. THE adjective denotes something relating to the noun, which distinguishes it from other things of the same kind, as, a black horse. The word "black" distinguishes the horse spoken of from other horses that are not black.-(See the definition and examples, Par. 22, &c. p. 6.) 1.-Different Kinds of Adjectives. 135. There are six leading varieties of adjectives-common, possessive, demonstrative, numeral, verbal, and proper. 136. The common adjective denotes quality; as, a good man, such things, a sweet apple: "Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors." 137. The possessive adjective denotes possession; as, My book, our house: "Full fathoms five thy father lies; Of his bones are coral made." There are nine possessive adjectives—my, thy, his, her, its, our, your, their, and whose. They are sometimes called possessive adjective pronouns, and several of them are used as pronouns; that is, for nouns. When used as an adjective, the possessive adjective has a noun along with it, which it qualifies, as in any of the preceding examples. When used as a pronoun, there is no noun along with it; as, I saw her (pronoun, objective case); that book is his (pronoun, possessive case.) 138. The words mine and thine are sometimes used instead of my and thy; chiefly in poetry, before a word beginning with a vowel, as in the quotation from Cymbeline, (Par. 123.) 139. The word own is frequently joined to a possessive adjective, to render it emphatic; as, My own book; his own house; "thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I; yea, thine own lips testify against thee." 140. The demonstrative or pointing-out adjective, points out some particular object or objects; as, The man who is writing; this tree; that house. The words the, this, that, with their plurals these and those,) yon, yonder, other, and another, may be viewed as lemonstrative adjectives. "On yonder rock reclining;"-not that door-the other loor. 141. The word the is called by some grammarians the definite article, but it is now nore usually considered as a sort of imperfect demonstrative adjective, indicating that we refer to some particular object or objects already alluded to, or about to be alluded o, but less definitely and less emphatically than when we say this or that. This refers to something near or last mentioned; that to something more remote or first mentioned. The word that is sometimes used as a different description of pronoun called relative, and sometimes as a conjunction. 142. The numeral adjective denotes something relating to number in the object spoken of; as, ten men, many boys, the second place, the eleventh part. There are three descriptions of numeral adjective-cardinal, ordinal, and indefinite. 143. The cardinal numeral adjective denotes how many there are of the objects, as, me, two, fifteen, a hundred. The ordinal numeral adjective is used to show the order of succession of the object, or what part it is of something, as, first, second, fifteenth, hundredth. There are other numeral adjectives which express number definitely, but do not belong to either of these classes-double, triple, threefold, fourfold. VOL. I.-NO. IV. E 144. The indefinite numeral adjective refers to number, but indefinitely as denotes either the exact number or the exact object referred to, as, a, an, any, all, every, many, some, several, few, only, no, each, either, neither, another, both. "A" and "an" are considered to have been derived from ane or one, and originally to have been used simply to indicate one. 145. The word "a" is called the indefinite article, and becomes "an" before a vowel sound, as, an animal, an hour, an hospital. But we say, a house, a hair, a youth, a unit, many a one. The indefinite article denotes one of the objects spoken of, but without specifying anything particularly about it. The difference between the definite and indefinite article may be observed in the following sentence :-" Give me a bookthe book I was reading last night." Here, "a book," means one book, but any one whatever; "the book," means one particular book, indicated by what follows. 146. Each, every, either, and neither, are sometimes called distributive adjectives or distributive pronouns. Each of these is considered as being in the singular number, and has a singular noun or verb; either is applied to one of two; neither equivalent to not either. 147. Words ending in ing or ed are often used as adjectives, and these, along with some others, are called verbal or participial adjectives; as, A pleasing tale, a running stream, a learned man, a broken column. 148. Some adjectives are formed from proper nouns, as, English, French, American. These ought to begin with a capital letter. They may be termed proper adjectives. 149. Occasionally, nouns are used as adjectives; as, A gold ring, a silver fork, an iron bar, bar iron. ""Blessed 150. Sometimes adjectives are used as nouns, as, "Blessed are the meek,' are the merciful." It is supposed that in such cases there is a noun understood; but it seems better to consider an adjective used in this manner as a real noun, being the name of a class. The numeral adjective one is also frequently used as a noun; as, "" One would not think so," meaning any person in general; and it even has a possessive case, like a noun, as, "One ought to know one's own mind." In this it resembles the French on, which is used in a similar manner. One is also used as a noun along with the adjectives any, every, no. 2. Inflections of Adjectives. 151. The only adjectives inflected to express number are this and that, which take these and those in the plural; other, which takes others in the plural; and one and another, which have a possessive case formed in the usual manner; these three words may then be considered as nouns "Teach me to feel another's woe." 152. The English adjective is not inflected for gender, nor for case. In these points it is much simpler than the adjectives of several other languages. The French adjective is inflected for gender and number; the Latin adjective for gender, number, The following examples illustrate the differences in these languages as to and case. number and gender in the adjective: 153. But the English adjective is inflected to express different degrees of the quality which it denotes. These different degrees of qualities are called degrees of comparison, and are usually considered as being three in number, called, the positive, comparative, and superlative degrees. Some adjectives do not admit of comparison; because they express qualities or circumstances that cannot be increased or diminished; as the possessive, demonstrative, and numeral adjectives, and a few others. "A man cannot be more honest than another; every man who is not honest must be dishonest." -Cobbett. 154. The positive degree simply denotes the presence of the quality, without comparison with any other object; and is expressed by the adjective in its radical form; as, A hard stone, a good boy, a little girl. 155. The comparative degree denotes the presence of the quality in a higher degree than in some other object with which it is compared; as, A harder stone, a better boy, a less girl. It is used when we contrast two objects, or when we compare one with several others taken together; as, This is the better of the two; this is better than any in the lot. 156. The superlative degree denotes the presence of the quality in the highest degree, and is used when we compare three or more objects; as, The hardest stone, the best boy, the least girl. 157. The adjoining figure illustrates the degrees of comparison: "we see a thick octavo volume on the table; that may be considered as a big book; the quarto is bigger; the folio is the biggest of the three. They all possess the quality of bigness, but in different degrees. We see a little girl, one who is less, and another the least of the three. They all possess the property of being little, but in different degrees. 158. The comparative degree of the adjective is usually formed by adding r to the positive if it ends in e; changing y preceded by a consonant into ier; and adding er in other cases; as, wise, wiser; happy, happier; great, greater. 159. The superlative degree of the adjective is usually formed by adding st to the positive if it ends in e; changing y preceded by a consonant into iest; and adding est in other cases; as, wisest, happiest, greatest. 160. When the positive ends in a single consonant, preceded by a single vowel, the consonant is doubled in the comparative and superlative, as, hot, hotter, hottest. Where there are two vowels, the consonant is not doubled, as in neat, neater, neatest. 161. Adjectives of two syllables not ending in y, and of more than two syllables, are usually compared by placing more before the positive to form the comparative, most to form the superlative; as, more wonderful, most useful, more proper, most correct, more rapid-not rapider. 162. The positive is sometimes made to express an inferior degree of the quality. by affixing ish, as green, greenish; white, whitish, (the e being omitted when the positive ends in e,) and also by placing the words less or least before it, as, less useful, least injurious. 163. Where a degree of some quality has to be expressed, which is not conveyed exactly by any of the three degrees of comparison, the adverbs, much, very, rather, by far, too, &c., are called in to assist in denoting with more precision the degree required. The words "a little" are also used adverbially for this purpose. 164. The following adjectives deviate from the general rules in the formation of the comparative or superlative, or both of them. 165. The Pronoun, as we have explained in Par. 30, &c., pp. 7, 8, is a word used for or instead of a noun, and continues the application of the noun to the succeeding parts of the sentence more conveniently than by repeating it. 1. Different kinds of Pronouns. 166. There are three kinds of pronouns, personal, relative, and interrogative. 167. The personal pronouns are, I, thou or you, he, she, it. The first of these is always written as a capital letter. 168. I, refers to the person speaking. It is the word by which he names himself or herself, as the subject of the sentence; as, I saw him, I read the book. the pronoun of the first person. It is called 169. Thou or you, refers to the person to whom we are speaking; as, Thou lovest him; you did well. It is called the pronoun of the second person. 170. Thou is seldom used-the plural you, being generally substituted. The verb with which it is used takes the plural form, even when the sense is singular; as, You are a good boy. 171. He, she, and it, denote some person or thing spoken of, not the speaker or person spoken to; as, He is there; she came; it could not be found. These are called pronouns of the third person. 172. The relative pronoun refers to some noun or pronoun in the same sentence, called its antecedent, because it usually goes before the relative pronoun, (also called its correlative,) and after which it may follow immediately or closely; as, The man who called yesterday. The relative pronouns are who, which, that, and as. 173. Who is applied only to persons; which is used for neuter objects, or the lower animals; that is applied to any kind of objects; as is used chiefly after the word "such," and may be applied to any description of objects. Examples: This is the book which I found; this is the dog that bit him; give him such payment as will reward him liberally; "A long low distant murmur of dread sound, Such as arises when a nation bleeds." "In the Persian we have precisely the same comparative, behter, with exactly the same signification, regularly formed from its positive, beh, good."-Wiseman. |