Il a passé par dedans ou par de- | He has passed within or without hors la ville. Il avait de l'eau par dessus la tête. the town. The water was above his head. from under the rubbish. In the conversation on the preposition, I have shown in what circumstances dessus, dessous, dedans, dehors, might be used singly and without any complement; to this, in order to avoid repetition, I now refer. FOURTH. Durant and pendant denote a duration of time, with this difference, that durant is applied to what lasts any unlimited time; and pendant, generally, to what lasts but a short time-EXAMPLES: Nos ennemis ont resté en quartiers d'hiver durant la campagne. Il est dangereux de sortir de chez soi pendant les grandes chaleurs. Our enemies have remained in winter quarters during the campaign. It is dangerous to go out of one's house during the dog-days. Le régal fut fort honnête; Durant is the only preposition that can be placed after its complement, as in the following phrases: On lui fait une rente sa vie durant. Il a été absent six ans durant. They pay him an annuity during his life. He has been absent for six years. The words proche, près, hors, require the preposition de after them. The only cases in which it may be suppressed are in directions to places, or in conversation.-EXAMPLES: Il loge proche le palais. A monsieur un tel, près le Cimetière des Innocens, à Paris. He lodges near the court-house. To Mr. such-a-one, near the Cemetery of the Innocents, at Paris. Cette maison est située hors la This house is situated out of the Never make use of vis-à-vis in the sense of envers, à l'égard, &c. as a great many French people do: and instead of saying, Les torts que j'ai vis-à-vis de vous: say, Les torts que j'ai envers vous, ou | My acting wrong towards you, or à votre égard, with regard to you. Let vis-à-vis express physical relations only; as, Il demeure vis-à-vis de mes fe- | He lives opposite to my windows. nêtres. SEVENTH. In prose, prefer avant de to avant que de; but, in poetry, the measure will fix the choice. Ciel, ouvre-moi la tombe avant de m'avilir: EIGHTH. Many people mistake the preposition près for the adjective prét, m. prête, f.; hence a gross counter-sense results; as, when they say, Il était prêt à tomber, for Il était près de tomber; since prêt à, signifies disposé à, ready to; and près de, signifies sur le point de, upon the point of, near. LESSON THE TWENTY-THIRD. ON THE ADVERB. RULE I. The adverb must be, in general, placed in a sentence before the adjective or participle which it modifies.-EXAMPLES: On est aisément intéressé par des | We are readily attracted by various aspects divers, lorsqu'on entre dans la carrière de la fortune; mais lorsqu'on est arrivé aux plus hautes places, les plaisirs de T'imagination finissent avec elles. -Tels on croit voir ces navigateurs qui, après avoir vainement! essayé de s'ouvrir un passage aux extrémités du monde, retournent tristement sur leurs prospects, when we enter into the career of fortune; but, when we have reached the highest preferments, the pleasures of imagination are at an end. Such we may fancy those navigators, who, after having vainly tried to open to themselves a passage to the extremities of the world, return sadly on their track, view pas, et considèrent d'un œil morne et languissant les divers spectacles de la nature dont ils avaient été si vivement frappés, lorsque naguère ils traversaient les mers, l'esprit vivement ému par la curiosité et par l'espé rance. ing, with a melancholy and languid look, the various scenes of nature by which they had been struck in so lively a manner, when, not long before, they crossed the seas with a mind strongly agitated by curiosity and hope. OBSERVATION. There are circumstances in which taste alone can direct the proper use of the adverbs of manner, which may be placed either before or after the adjective. Thus, we may say, with equal propriety, ouvertement ambitieux, César était ou ambitieux ouverte ment. Cæsar was openly ambitious. RULE II. The adverb, in general, is placed immediately after the verb, in its radical tenses; or between the past participle and the auxiliary, in its compound tenses.-EXAMPLES: C'est le destin des choses humaines | It is the fate of human things to de n'avoir qu'une durée courte et rapide, et de tomber aussitôt dans l'éternel oubli d'où elles étaient sorties.-Mais, votre église, grand Dieu! mais, le chefd'œuvre admirable de votre sagesse et de votre miséricorde envers les hommes ; mais, votre empire, maître souverain des cœurs! n'aura point d'autres bornes que celles de l'éternité. -Tout nous échappe, tout disparaît sans cesse autour de nous, c'est une scène sur laquelle, à chaque instant, paraissent de nouveaux personnages qui se remplacent; et de tous rôles pompeux qu'ils ont si bien joués, pendant le moment qu'on les a vus sur leur théatre, il ne leur reste à la fin que le regret de voir finir la représentation et de ne se trouver réellement que ce qu'ils sont devant vous. ces have but a short and fleeting duration, and then to fall into that eternal abyss whence they came. -But your church, great God! but the admirable master-piece of your wisdom and of your mercy to mankind; but your empire, sovereign master of all hearts! will have no limits but those of eternity.-Every thing flies from us: all continually vanishes around us; it is a scene on which every instant new performers appear and succeed one another; and, out of all the pompous parts they play so well, during the short period they are seen on the stage, nothing remains to them, in the end, but regret to see the conclusion of the drama, and to find themselves only what, in your eyes, they are. EXCEPTION. In the compound tenses of verbs, we may, however, sometimes place the adverb either before or after the past participle. Custom alone will direct in that respect; thus, we may say, equally well, Les femmes l'ont prodigieusement | The women have prodigiously gâté, ou l'ont gâté prodigieuse- spoiled him. ment. We place, either before or after the verb, the adverbs of order and rank, and those which denote time in a determinate manner; thus we may say, Nous devons faire, premièrement, | We ought, first, to do our duty; notre devoir; secondement, cher- secondly, seek lawful pleasures. cher les plaisirs permis. Aujourd'hui il fait beau; il pleu-To-day it is fine weather; it will vra, peut-être, demain. rain, perhaps, to-morrow. On servit d'abord la soupe et le The soup and bouilli were served bouilli, ou d'abord on servit up first. là soupe et le bouilli. OBSERVATIONS. FIRST. Davantage, which many people are apt to confound with plus, and use for it, is, by no means, an expression synonymous with plus; the following particularly distinguishes it from that expression. 1st. It will admit neither the preposition de, nor the conjunction que, after it; do not say, therefore, Si je reste ici j'aurai davantage de plaisir. Instead of it, in the above, use plus; thus: Si je reste ici, j'aurai plus de plai- | If I stay here, I shall have more pleasure. He is more beloved than you. 2d. It is always placed after the word which it modifies, and answers, in English, to the more, when the more is not to be repeated; say, therefore, Il en sera aimé davantage-(and He will be the more loved for it. not) Il en sera davantage aimé. 3d. It is never construed with an adjective; therefore, do not say, Il est davantage prudent, ou pru- | He is more wise. dent davantage. 4th. It can never be used in the sense of le plus (the most), as it is done by many French; therefore, do not say, De toutes les fleurs d'un parterre, la rose est celle qui me plaît De toutes les fleurs d'un parterre, plus. Of all the flowers of a parterre, the rose pleases me most. SECOND. Autant and aussi are often confounded, in familiar discourse, as synonymous expressions. Some French people, for instance, say, Pierre est autant riche que Jacques; or, Pierre est riche autant que Jacques. While they should say, Pierre est aussi riche que Jacques. | Peter is as rich as James. Should it be required to establish a comparison between two qualities, we should also make use of aussi; as, Il est aussi avare que soupçon- | He is as avaricious as suspicious. neux, In order that autant may be substituted for aussi in the above phrase, it must be placed between the two adjectives, and followed by que; as, Il est avare autant que soupçon- | He is as avaricious as suspicious. neux. L'Anglais, indépendant, et libre autant que brave, Des caprices de cour ne fut jamais esclave. Mais, Hélenus, sensible autant que généreux, Autant que may also serve as a connexion between two phrases; as, Je l'estime autant que je l'aime. I esteem him as much as I love him. When autant serves to compare the merit of two actions expressed by the infinitive of two verbs, we must not fail of joining the prepo sition de to the que which precedes the second action. Hence, the following phrases, where this preposition is omitted, are incorrect: Il vaut autant écrire que parler. que différer. |