fight for wives and children, but for lands and plunder:
therefore they are heroes!
The mark of exclamation keeps up the semblance of seriousness which is
of the essence of irony.
XXXVII. The mark of exclamation is placed after the statement of some
absurdity.
He has been labouring to prove that Shakespeare's plays were
written by Bacon!
To him the parliamentary vote was a panacea for all human
ills, and the ballot-box an object as sacred as the Holy
Grail to a knight of the Round Table!
The same reason applies to its use after such sentences as after
ironical statements.
XXXVIII. The mark of exclamation may be placed after any impressive or
striking thought.
The Angel of Death has been abroad throughout the land: you
may almost hear the very beating of his wings!
It may be doubted whether the mark of exclamation is in such cases of
any great service; for the impressiveness of a sentence ought to
appear in the sentence itself, or to be given to it by the context.
There is a real danger, as the style of many people shows, in thinking
that punctuation is intended to save the trouble of careful
composition. In putting the mark after pure exclamations, usage is
more or less uniform; with regard to impressive sentences, we are left
entirely to our own discretion.
XXXIX. When a sentence contains more than one exclamation, sometimes
the mark of exclamation is placed only after the last, sometimes it is
placed after each of them, the test being whether or not they are in
reality, as well as in form, several exclamations. (Compare Rule
XXXI.)
Though all are thus satisfied with the dispensations of
Nature, how few listen to her voice! how few follow her as a
guide!
What a mighty work he has thus brought to a successful end,
with what perseverance, what energy, with what fruitfulness
of resource!
THE DASH
XL. The chief purpose of the dash is to indicate that something is
left unfinished. Accordingly, it marks a sudden, or abrupt, change in
the grammatical structure of a sentence.
When I remember how we have worked together, and together
borne misfortune; when I remember--but what avails it to
remember?
And all this long story was about--what do you think?
"We cannot hope to succeed, unless----" "But we must succeed."
Note that it is the long dash that is used at the end of a sentence.
The full stop is not added where the dash marks an unfinished
sentence. But it is common to add the point of interrogation or the
mark of exclamation.
XLI. The dash is used to mark a faltering or hesitating speech.
Well--I don't know--that is--no, I cannot accept it.
XLII. An unexpected turn of the thought may be marked by the dash.
He entereth smiling and--embarrassed. He holdeth out his
hand to you to shake, and--draweth it back again. He
casually looketh in about dinner-time--when the table is
full. He offereth to go away, seeing you have company--but
is induced to stay.
French history tends naturally to memoirs and anecdotes, in
which there is no improvement to desire but that they
were--true.
XLIII. When the subject of a sentence is of such length, or of such
complexity, that its connexion with the verb might easily be lost
sight of, it is sometimes left hanging in the sentence, and its place
supplied by some short expression that sums it up. A dash follows the
subject when thus abandoned.
Physical Science, including Chemistry, Geology, Geography,
Astronomy; Metaphysics, Philology, Theology; Economics,
including Taxation and Finance; Politics and General
Literature--all occupied by turn, and almost simultaneously,
his incessantly active mind.
The colon is sometimes used in such cases; but the dash seems
preferable, as it is the point that marks a change in the structure of
a sentence.
XLIV. The dash is sometimes used instead of brackets before and after
a parenthesis.
This was amongst the strongest pledges for thy truth, that
never once--no, not for a moment of weakness--didst thou
revel in the vision of coronets and honour from man.
XLV. The dash is sometimes used instead of the colon, where the word
"namely" is implied, but is not expressed.
The most extreme example of such theories is perhaps to be
found in the attempt to distribute all law under the two
great commandments--love to God, and love to one's
neighbour.
In this sentence, however, the colon is preferable. (See Rule XXVI.).
The dash should be used for this purpose only when it is necessary to
use the colon in the same sentence for other purposes.
XLVI. The dash is used in rhetorical repetition; for instance, where
one part of the sentence, such as the subject, is repeated at
intervals throughout the sentence, and the rest of the sentence is
kept suspended.
Cannot you, in England--cannot you, at this time of
day--cannot you, a House of Commons, trust to the principle
which has raised so mighty a revenue?
XLVII. A dash following a full stop occurs between the side-heading of
a paragraph and the paragraph itself.
_Extent and Boundaries._--England (including Wales) is
bounded on the north by Scotland; on the west by the Irish
Sea, St George's Channel, and the Atlantic Ocean; on the
south by the English Channel; and on the east by the German
Ocean.
XLVIII. When we place after a quotation the name of the author from
whom it is taken, the full stop and the dash are used in the same way.
"One touch of nature makes the whole word
kin."--_Shakespeare._
XLIX. The dash is sometimes used in place of, or in addition to,
other points, in order to indicate a pause greater than usual.
Now where is the revenue which is to do all these mighty
things? Five-sixths repealed--abandoned-sunk--gone--lost for
ever.
The highest rank;--a splendid fortune;--and a name, glorious
till it was yours,--were sufficient to have supported you
with meaner abilities than I think you possess.
There is seldom any reason for the use of double points. In the last
example they cannot be said to be of any real service. But the dash
may sometimes be rightly employed in addition to the full stop, in
order to mark a division of discourse midway between the sentence and
the paragraph. Even Cobbett, who abhors the dash, permits it to be
used for this purpose. The report of a conversation is often printed
in this way.
BRACKETS (OR THE PARENTHESIS.[1])
L. When a clause not strictly belonging to a sentence is thrown in, so
to speak, in passing, the clause is enclosed within brackets.
[Footnote 1: It seems better to use the term "brackets" both for the
curved and for the square brackets. "Parenthesis" can then be kept to
its proper use, as the name for the words themselves which form the
break in the sentence. We may note that in like manner the terms
"comma," "colon," "semicolon," originally signified divisions of a
sentence, not marks denoting the divisions. "Period" meant a complete
sentence; and it still retains the meaning, somewhat specialized.]
It is said, because the priests are paid by the people (the
pay is four shillings per family yearly), therefore they
object to their leaving.
In full confidence of this unalterable truth, I now (_quod
felix faustumque sit_) lay the first stone of the Temple of
Peace.
Over and above the enclosing brackets, a parenthesis causes no change
in the punctuation of the sentence that contains it; in other words,
if we were to omit the parenthesis, no change ought to be necessary in
the punctuation of the rest of the sentence. The comma is inserted
after the parenthesis in the first example, because the comma would be
needed even if there were no parenthesis.
In the second example, there would be no comma before "lay," if there
were no parenthesis; accordingly the comma is not to be inserted
merely because there is a parenthesis. A parenthesis is sufficiently
marked off by brackets.
Observe also that the comma in the first example is placed after, not
before, the parenthesis. The reason for this is that the parenthesis
belongs to the first part of the sentence, not to the second.
LI. A complete sentence occurring parenthetically in a paragraph is
sometimes placed within brackets.
Godfrey knew all this, and felt it with the greater force
because he had constantly suffered annoyance from witnessing
his father's sudden fits of unrelentingness, for which his
own habitual irresolution deprived him of all sympathy. (He
was not critical on the faulty indulgence which preceded
these fits; _that_ seemed to him natural enough.) Still
there was just the chance, Godfrey thought, that his
father's pride might see this marriage in a light that would
induce him to hush it up, rather than turn his son out and
make the family the talk of the country for ten miles round.
Note that the full stop should be placed inside, not outside, the
brackets.
LII. Where, in quoting a passage, we throw in parenthetically
something of our own, we may use square brackets.
Compare the following account of Lord Palmerston: "I have
heard him [Lord Palmerston] say that he occasionally found
that they [foreign ministers] had been deceived by the open
manner in which he told them the truth."
"The _Leviathan_ of Hobbes, a work now-a-days but little
known [and not better known now than in Bentham's time], and
detested through prejudice, and at second-hand, as a defence
of despotism, is an attempt to base all political society
upon a pretended contract between the people and the
sovereign."--_Principles of Legislation._
To use the square brackets in this way is often more convenient than
to break the inverted commas and to begin them again. But in the case
of the word _sic_--where it is inserted in a quotation to point out
that the word preceding it is rightly quoted, and is not inserted by
mistake--the ordinary brackets are used.
"The number of inhabitants were (_sic_) not more than four
millions."
Another case may be mentioned in which the square brackets are used:
where in the passage quoted some words have been lost, and are filled
in by conjecture. Prof. Stubbs quotes from one of the Anglo-Saxon
laws:
"If ceorls have a common meadow, or other partible land to
fence, and some have fenced their part, some have not, and
[strange cattle come in and] eat up the common corn or
grass, let those go who own the gap and compensate to the
others."
INVERTED COMMAS
LIII. When we quote without any change the words of another person,
they are enclosed within inverted commas. If they are quoted in the
indirect form, or if we quote merely the substance, and neglect the
exact words, inverted commas are not used.
Thereupon the mob bursts in and inquires, "What are you
doing for the people?"
Thereupon the mob bursts in and inquires what you are doing
for the people.
He says: "There is no property of any description, if it be
rightfully held, which had not its foundation in labour."
He frequently calls them "absurd," and applies to them such
epithets as "jargon," "fustian," and the like.
The last sentence might be written without inverted commas. By using
them we call special attention to the fact that these were the words
actually employed, and are not simply words like them.
So, in a passage quoted in the indirect form, if part be quoted
exactly, it is placed within inverted commas.
The Duke of Portland warmly approved of the work, but justly
remarked that the king was not "so absolute a thing of
straw" as he was represented in it.
Words referred to simply as words are either placed within inverted
commas or put in italics.
The word "friendship," in the sense we commonly mean by it,
is not so much as named in the New Testament.
LIV. When a quotation is interrupted, as in the report of a
conversation, each continuous part of the quotation is enclosed within
inverted commas.
"Pardon me, madam," answered Henry, "it was of one Silas
Morton I spoke."
LV. When a quotation occurs in another quotation, single inverted
commas are used for the former.
"What have you done?" said one of Balfour's brother
officers. "My duty," said Balfour firmly. "Is it not
written, 'Thou shalt be zealous even to slaying'?"
Some writers use the single commas in ordinary cases. For the inner
quotation they would then use the double commas.
LVI. A word that is not classical English, or is used in a sense in
which it is not classical English, is either enclosed within inverted
commas or italicized.
Those that have "located" (_located_) previous to this
period are left in undisputed possession, provided they have
improved the land.
Before long, Beckey received not only "the best" foreigners
(as the phrase is in our noble and admirable society slang),
but some of "the best" English people too.
Foreign words are always italicized. (Rule LXIV.)
LVII. The titles of books, of essays, and of other compositions; the
names of periodicals; and the names of ships, are either enclosed
within inverted commas or italicized.
In these "Miscellanies" was first published the "Art of
Sinking in Poetry," which, by such a train of consequences
as usually passes in literary quarrels, gave in a short
time, according to Pope's account, occasion to the
"Dunciad."
The "Emily St Pierre" (or _Emily St Pierre_), a British
ship, was captured on the 18th March, 1862.
It appeared in the "London Gazette" (or _London Gazette_).
The names of periodicals and of ships are more often written in
italics than enclosed within inverted commas.
LVIII. If a quotation contains a question, the point of interrogation
stands within the inverted commas.
In a voice which was fascination itself, the being addressed
me, saying, "Wilt thou come with me? Wilt thou be mine?"
LIX. If an interrogative sentence ends with a quotation, the point of
interrogation stands outside the inverted commas.
What does this honourable person mean by "a tempest that
outrides the wind"?
Observe how in the example given under Rule LV. the point of
interrogation stands within the double inverted commas, but outside
the single inverted commas.
LX. If an interrogative sentence ends with a quotation which is itself
interrogatory, the point of interrogation is placed outside the
inverted commas.
Hast thou never cried, "What must I do to be saved"?
The reason is, that the question to be answered is not the quoted
question, but "hast thou never cried?" No writer has been bold enough
to insert two points of interrogation.
LXI. The last three rules apply also to exclamatory sentences.
(1) But I boldly cried out, "Woe unto this city!"
(2) Alas, how few of them can say, "I have striven to the
very utmost"!
(3) How fearful was the cry: "Help, or we perish"!
LXII. Where an interrogative sentence ends with a quotation of an
exclamatory nature, or an exclamatory sentence ends with a quotation
of an interrogative nature, it seems better to place at the end both
the point of interrogation and the mark of exclamation, the one
inside, the other outside, the inverted commas.
Do you remember who it was that wrote
"Whatever England's fields display,
The fairest scenes are thine, Torbay!"?
How much better to cease asking the question, "What would he
have done in different circumstances?"!
Where inverted commas are not used, it seems sufficient to have only
one point, which must be the one required by the whole sentence, not
by the quotation.
Do you remember the passage where Burke alludes to the old
warning of the Church--_Sursum corda_?
ITALICS
LXIII. Words to be specially emphasized may be put in italics. In
writing, the substitute for italics is underlining.
What, it may well be asked, can the interests of the
community be those of--I do not say _an_ individual,
but--_the_ individual?
The voice can unmistakably indicate what are the emphatic words; but
italics, only a feeble substitute, ought not to be used unless every
other means of emphasizing fail. Many writers of authority have
strongly, and very justly, condemned the too frequent use of them.
Double underlining in letter-writing need not be here adverted to. If
the person to whom one writes a letter is likely to read it without
appreciation or care, one is entitled to adopt any means that will
ensure attention. But if double underlining is allowable only on this
ground, general rules are obviously of no use.
LXIV. Words from a foreign language which have not become classical
English words, are written in italics.
The slightest _double entendre_ made him blush to the eyes.
Knowledge of French is a _sine quâ non_.
When foreign words become English, they are no longer italicized.
Among such words are: rationale, aide-de-camp, quartette, naïve,
libretto. It is often a matter of discretion to say whether a word is
so far naturalized that it should be written in the ordinary way.
LXV. Names of newspapers and magazines, and names of ships, are
generally written in italics; as the _Times_, the _Fort-nightly
Review_, the _Great Eastern_.
THE HYPHEN
LXVI. The hyphen is used between the component parts of some compound
words.
Paper-knife; book-keeping; coal-pit; water-carrier;
printing-press; sea-water; man-of-war; now-a-days; high-art
decoration; good-looking.
There is no rule to distinguish the compound words that take a hyphen
from those that do not. If one be in doubt about a particular word,
the best thing to do is to refer to a dictionary.
LXVII. When one syllable of a word ends with a vowel, and the next
syllable begins with the same vowel, the hyphen is placed between the
syllables to indicate that the two vowels do not form a diphthong,
that is, that they should not be pronounced together.
Co-operative; co-ordinate; pre-eminently; re-establish;
re-echo.
In the same way the hyphen sometimes ensures that two consonants shall
be pronounced separately; as in "book-keeping," "shell-less,"
"cock-crow," "sword-dance."
LXVIII. As a rule, a hyphen should not be placed after a simple
prefix: "contravene," "preternatural," "hypercritical," "bilateral."
To this there are some exceptions:
(_a_) "Anti-religious," "ultra-liberal," "semi-lunar," "co-eval." In
these words the pronunciation is more clearly marked by inserting the
hyphen. Compare "antiseptic," "antinomian," "ultramontane,"
"semicircle."
Perhaps among these exceptions should also be included such words as
"pseudo-critic," "non-ego," "non-existent." Compare "pseudonym," where
the prefix is contracted, and "nonentity." Words like "pre-eminent,"
divided for the same reason, have already been noted.
(_b_) "Re-creation," "re-mark." The hyphen distinguishes the
etymological meaning of these words as distinguished from their
derived and ordinary meaning.
(_c_) "Pre-Norman," "anti-Darwinian," "philo-Turk." If the
capital-letter be retained where a prefix is put to a proper name, the
hyphen is obviously necessary.
LXIX. When a number is written in words and not in figures, the words
making up the number, if there be more words than one, are in certain
cases separated from each other by the hyphen.
The numbers to which this rule applies are the cardinal and the
ordinal numbers from twenty-one and twenty-first to ninety-nine and
ninety-ninth inclusive. The hyphen is used also when the words are
inverted; as "four-and-thirty," "six-and-fortieth."
LXX. Fractional parts written in words are separated in the same way,
a hyphen being placed between the numerator and denominator; as
"two-thirds," "three-sixteenths."
But if the word "part" or the word "share" follows, the hyphen is not
used; as "two third parts."
LXXI. Several words may be joined by hyphens, in order to indicate
that they are to be read together.
The I-believe-of-Eastern-derivation monosyllable "Bosh."
Additional restrictions were advocated in the cases of
mothers-of-young-children employed in factories.
As this last sentence stands, the hyphen is really the only means of
making it perfectly clear that those who are referred to as employed
in factories are the mothers, not the children. Hyphens are sometimes
used in cases like the following: "A never-to-be-forgotten event,"
"peace-at-any-rate principles." They are almost invariably used in
"well-to-do," "alack-a-day."
LXXII. The prefix "a" before the gerund is followed by a hyphen.
They went a-hunting.
I lay a-thinking.
Note that "agoing" is not divided.
LXXIII. When a word is divided at the end of a line, part of the word
being in the next line, a hyphen is placed after the part at the end
of the line.
So far as rules can be given for the division of the word, it may be
said:
(_a_) The division must be at the end of a syllable. The syllable
according to etymological derivation, and the syllable according to
pronunciation, are not always the same. In case of conflict the
pronunciation is to be the guide.
(_b_) The part in the next line should, if possible, begin with a
consonant. An examination of a number of words will show that this is
only another way of saying that we should be guided by pronunciation.
(_c_) Double letters are divided; as "at-tract," "profes-sion,"
"dif-ficulty."
The following examples are given consecutively from a book taken at
random. This seems the best way of illustrating the rule:
Con-fidently; investi-gated; some-thing; institu-tion;
diffi-culty; at-tractions; exclu-sively; kins-man;
self-organized; en-tangled; col-lective; intermis-sion;
ma-terials; chan-cellor; col-lege; indus-trious; sub-ject;
his-tory; con-dition; Low-landers; or-ganization;
re-cognized; in-famous.
Some selected examples may be also given:
Resem-blance; hum-ble; se-cond; trans-lator; justifi-able;
east-ern; endea-vour.
THE APOSTROPHE
LXXIV. The apostrophe is used to indicate that some letter or letters
of a word are left out.
"E'er" for "ever," "can't" for "cannot," "don't" for "do
not," "'gin" for "begin."
The apostrophe is not used when the word, though contracted in the
middle, retains its original pronunciation; as "Dr." or "Mr." But it
is used where the contraction is at the end of the word: "tho',"
"Peterboro'."
LXXV. The apostrophe marks the possessive case of nouns. The following
rules determine where it is to be placed:
_Nouns in the singular number--_
(1) The letter "s" is added, and the apostrophe is placed before it.
The king's abode. A patriot's reward.
(2) If the nominative singular of the noun ends in "s," another "s" is
not added if the repetition of hissing sounds would be displeasing to
the ear. The apostrophe is then placed at the end of the word.
Hercules' club. Augustus' dignity.
Words of one syllable follow the first rule: "James's share." Some
words of two syllables follow the first rule, some the second: "the
princess's birthday"; "Francis' style."
This distinction is sanctioned by usage. But it may judiciously be
disregarded. In speaking we almost entirely ignore it. Why should we
trouble ourselves with it in writing?
_Nouns in the plural number--_
(1) The apostrophe is placed after the "s" of the plural.
Boys' clothing. Our friends' troubles.
(2) If the plural do not end in "s," an "s" is added, and the
apostrophe is placed before it.
Men's opinions. The children's pleasure.
LXXVI. The apostrophe is used before the "s" of the plural when single
letters are used as words.
Mind your p's and q's.
He does not dot his i's nor cross his t's.
MARKS OF ELLIPSIS
LXXVII. When, in the middle of a quotation, a part is omitted, several
asterisks or several full stops are placed in a line to mark the
omission.
Clarendon makes the following remark about Lord Falkland:
"Yet two things he could never bring himself to whilst he
continued in that office, that was to his death; for which
he was contented to be reproached as for omissions in a most
necessary part of his place. The one, employing of spies, or
giving any countenance or entertainment to them. * * * The
other, the liberty of opening letters, upon a suspicion that
they might contain matter of a dangerous consequence." (One
sentence omitted.)
"The French and Spanish nations," said Louis XIV., "are so
united that they will henceforth be only one.... My
grandson, at the head of the Spaniards, will defend the
French. I, at the head of the French, will defend the
Spaniards."