PREPOSITIONS, so called because they are commonly _put before_ the words
to which they are applied, serve to connect words with one another, and
to shew the relation between them.
One great use of Prepositions in English, is to express those relations
which in some languages are chiefly marked by Cases, or the different
endings of the Noun.
Most Prepositions originally denote the relation of Place, and have been
thence transferred to denote by similitude other relations. Thus, _out_,
_in_, _through_, _under_, _by_, _to_, _from_, _of_, &c. _Of_ is much the
same with _from_; “ask _of_ me,” that is, _from_ me: “made _of_ wood;”
“Son _of_ Philip;” that is, sprung _from_ him. _For_, in its primary
sense, is _pro_, _loco alterius_, in the stead, or place, of another. The
notion of Place is very obvious in all the rest.