श्रेय और प्रेय मार्ग क्या?

    श्रेय और प्रेय क्या है? इसके उत्तर में यमराज नचिकेता को कठोपनिषद के दूसरी बल्ली के दूसरे श्लोक में कहते हैं।-

श्रेयश्च प्रेयश्च मनुष्यमेतस्तौ संपरीत्य विविनक्ति धीरः ।

श्रेयो हि धीरोऽभि प्रेयसो वृणीते प्रेयो मन्दो योगक्षेमाद् वृणीते ॥१'२'२॥

    श्रेय और प्रेय [ परस्पर मिले हुए-से होकर ] मनुष्य के पास आते हैं। उन दोनों को बुद्धिमान् पुरुष भली प्रकार विचार कर अलग-अलग करता है। विवेकी पुरुष प्रेय के सामने श्रेय को ही वरण करता है; किन्तु मूढ़ योग-क्षेम के निमित्त से प्रेय को वरण करता है ॥ २ ॥

यहां यमराज नचिकेता से कहते हैं, कि यह श्रेय और प्रेय संसार में सभी को मिलते हैं, उन दोनो पर सिर्फ बुद्धिमान ही अच्छी प्रकार से चिंतन विचार करने में समर्थ होता है, परस्पर मिले हुए से मतलब श्रेय और प्रेय एक जैसे ही हैं, लेकिन जब बुद्धिमान व्यक्ति होता है, तो वह श्रेय को अलग कर लेता है, और प्रेय को त्याग देता है, क्योंकि विद्वान विवेकी व्यक्ति श्रेय को प्रेय से अधिक श्रेष्ठ समझता है, इसलिए वह प्रेय को श्रेय से हिन मान कर श्रेय का ही वरण करता है, अर्थात श्रेय के मार्ग का अनुसरण करता है। जबकि जो मंदबुद्धि मूढ़ जन साधरण लोग हैं, योग क्षेम के निमित्त प्रेय का वरण करते हैं। अर्थात संसार में किसी वस्तु का संग्रह करना और उसकी रक्षा करना, या फिर यह कह सकते हैं, की पहले बीमारी को खुब विकसित कर लो फिर उसका इलाज कराओ। जब की श्रेय मार्ग का पथीक जो होता है वह वीमारी को पैदा होने के कारण को काट देता है, अर्थात वह अपनी बुद्धि से यह निर्णय करने में समर्थ होता है कि संसार की प्रत्येक वस्तु की प्राप्ती और उसका परीणाम शाश्वत सुख का कारण नहीं है। इसलिए वह श्रेय का वरण करता है। अर्थात ऐसा कार्य करता है, जिसको एक बार करके अपने जीवन के परम उद्देश्य को प्राप्त करने में समर्थ होता है। जबकि प्रेय मार्ग का वरण करने वाले जिनको यहां पर मंद बुद्धि कहा है वह ऐसा कार्य करते हैं, जिससे उनको उसका परीणाम शाश्वत रूप से उनके जीवन की समस्या का समाधान नहीं प्रस्तुत करता है, इसलिए उनको बार बार अपनी एक ही समस्या का समाधान करना पड़ता है।

    श्रेय वह है, जो मानव के जीवन की सारी समस्या का समधान प्रस्तुत करता है, वह आध्यात्मिक, दैवीक, भौतिक, जबकी प्रेय मानव का केवल भौतिक समस्या का समाधान करता है, इसलिए यहां पर बुद्धिमान उनको कहा गया है, जो तीनो प्रकार की समस्या का समाधान एक ही जीवन में करने के लिए पुरुषार्थ करते हैं, जबकि मुढ़ उनको कहा गया है, जो अपने जीवन की केवल एक भौतिक समस्या के समाधान के लिए ही बार बार जीवन को और मृत्यु का वरण करते हैं। अर्थात जन्म लेते हैं, मरते हैं, यह दोनो संसार में सबसे बड़े दुःख हैं, और इससे हर प्राणी बचना चाहते है, या फिर बचने के लिए इस पृथ्वी पर निरंतर संघर्ष करता है। इसमें सफल वही होता है, जो बुद्धिमानी पुर्वक कर्म को करता है, अर्थात केवल भौतिक समस्या के समाधान के लिए सिर्फ प्रयास नहीं करता है, यद्यपि वह आध्यात्मिक और दैविक समस्या का भी ध्यान रखता है। अर्थात उनसे संबंधित समस्या का समाधान अपने इसी जीवन में करता है।

    यहां दो प्रकार के व्यक्ति हो गए, दोनो कर्म करते हैं, और कर्म के फलों का ज्ञान रखते हैं, एक संसारी भौतिक जो वस्तु दिखाई देता है, उसको सत्य मानकर उसके उपभोग और उस पर स्वामित्व के लिए संघर्ष रत हैं, जो प्रेय मार्ग के पथिक हैं, दूसरा वह है, जो सिर्फ संसार दिखाई देने वाली वस्तु की सत्ता नहीं मानता है, वह इससे भिन्न जो वस्तु हैं वह उसको भी देखता है, पहला वह स्वयं को देखता है, अर्थात अपनी आत्मा का अध्ययन करता है, मतलब वह अपनी आध्यात्मिक समस्या का समाधान करने के साथ अपने मन आदि इन्द्रियों का भी ध्यान रखता है, उनका अध्ययन करता उनका साक्षात्कार करता है। इस प्रकार से वह संसार की वस्तु के यथार्थ का साक्षात्कार करता है, और उनको अपनी आत्मा और अपनी आत्मा का साक्षात्कार करने वाले साधन मन आदि ज्ञानेन्द्रिय और कर्मेन्द्रिय का भी साक्षात्कार करता है, अर्थात जो बुद्धिमान व्यक्ति या जिसको विवेकी कहा गया है, वह अपने इसी जीवन में अपने मुख्य जीवन का परमउद्देश्य को प्राप्त करने में सफल होता है, अर्थात वह समाधि को सिद्ध करता है। बुद्धिमान इसलिए कहा गया है, क्योंकि वह एक साथ तीन वस्तु को समझने में समर्थ होता है, जिसको हम आत्मा, शरीर और संसार कहते हैं, दूसरी तरफ उन मनुष्यों को मुर्ख कहा गया है, जो केवल संसार को सत्य मानते हैं, इसमें ही रमे रहते हैं, वह अपनी शरीर को पुरी तरह से उपयोग करना नहीं जानते हैं, और ना ही अपनी आत्मा के बारे में जानने में समर्थ होते हैं, की शरीर क्यों धारण किया है। इसलिए उन्हें मुर्ख कहा गया है।

    इस प्रकार से हम यह कह सकते हैं, कि मुर्ख और विद्वान दो प्रकार के मनुष्य हैं, जो मुर्ख हैं वह प्रेय मार्ग का अनुसरण करते हैं, और जो विद्वान हैं वह श्रेय मार्ग का अनुसरण करते हैं।

अब यह प्रश्न खड़ा होता है, कि कौन मुर्ख है, और कौन विद्वान हैं तो इसको भी निश्चित कर दिया गया यमराज के द्वारा जो केवल भौतिक वस्तु का ही चीन्तन करता है, और केवल उनको ही सत्य मान कर अपने जीवन की पुरी शक्ति को व्यय करके खाली हो जाता है, अपने जीवन को इस पृथ्वी पर समाप्त कर देता है। अर्थात मृत्यु को उपलब्ध होता है। जिसके कारण फिर से उसको मां गर्भ को धारण करना होगा और मल मुत्र के कुण्ड में 9 माह तक रहना होगा। फिर मां के गर्भ के बाहर आने पर भी संसार में स्वयं के अस्तित्व की रक्षा के लिए संघर्ष करना होगा। संघर्ष जब करना ही तो बुद्धिमाना के साथ किया जाए, जिससे बार इस मल मुत्र के भण्डार में न रहना पड़े। जो इस बात को समझ जाता है, वही बुद्धिमान या विद्वान यहां माना गया है। इसके विपरीत जो कार्य करता है वह मुर्ख माना गया है। आगे यमराज इसीविषय का विस्तार करते हैं। और ब्रह्मविद्या का प्रतिपादर करते हैं। क्योंकि यह ब्रह्मविद्या सिर्फ उन्हें ही उपलब्ध होती है, जो श्रेय मार्ग के वरण कर्ता होते हैं। जो प्रेय मार्ग के पथिक होते हैं, वह ब्रह्मविद्या के अधिकारी नहीं होते हैं, अर्थात वह इस ब्रह्मविद्या को समझने में पूर्णतः असमर्थ होते हैं।

क्योंकि वह संसारी नस्वर वस्तु को शाश्वत मान कर उसमें रमण करते हैं, जिसके कारण वह स्वयं भी जो वास्तव में उसको भी भुल जाते हैं, उनको स्वयं का ज्ञान नहीं हैं इसलिए वह मुर्ख और अज्ञानी कहें गए हैं। और जो स्वयं को जानते हैं वह ज्ञानी विद्वान विवेकी है, वहीं आगे चल कर ब्रह्मविद ब्रह्मज्ञानी बनने में समर्थ होते हैं।

मनोज पाण्डेय

अध्यक्ष ज्ञान विज्ञान ब्रह्मज्ञान

 

COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE FORMS.

 

Use of the comparative degree.

 

428. The comparative degree of the adjective (or adverb) is used when we wish to compare two objects or sets of objects, or one object with a class of objects, to express a higher degree of quality; as,—

 

Which is the better able to defend himself,—a strong man with nothing but his fists, or a paralytic cripple encumbered with a sword which he cannot lift?—Macaulay.

Of two such lessons, why forget

The nobler and the manlier one?

—Byron.

 

We may well doubt which has the stronger claim to civilization, the victor or the vanquished.—Prescott.

 

A braver ne'er to battle rode.—Scott.

 

He is taller, by almost the breadth of my nail, than any of his court.—Swift.

Other after the comparative form.

 

429. When an object is compared with the class to which it belongs, it is regularly excluded from that class by the word other; if not, the object would really be compared with itself: thus,—

 

The character of Lady Castlewood has required more delicacy in its manipulation than perhaps any other which Thackeray has drawn.—Trollope.

 

I used to watch this patriarchal personage with livelier curiosity than any other form of humanity.—Hawthorne.

 

Exercise.

 

See if the word other should be inserted in the following sentences:—

 

1. There was no man who could make a more graceful bow than Mr. Henry.—Wirt.

 

2. I am concerned to see that Mr. Gary, to whom Dante owes more than ever poet owed to translator, has sanctioned, etc.—Macaulay.

 

3. There is no country in which wealth is so sensible of its obligations as our own.—Lowell.

 

4. This is more sincerely done in the Scandinavian than in any mythology I know.—Carlyle.

 

5. In "Thaddeus of Warsaw" there is more crying than in any novel I remember to have read.—Thackeray.

 

6. The heroes of another writer [Cooper] are quite the equals of Scott's men; perhaps Leather-stocking is better than anyone in "Scott's lot."—Id.

 

Use of the superlative degree.

 

430. The superlative degree of the adjective (or adverb) is used regularly in comparing more than two things, but is also frequently used in comparing only two things.

 

Examples of superlative with several objects:—

 

It is a case of which the simplest statement is the strongest.—Macaulay.

 

Even Dodd himself, who was one of the greatest humbugs who ever lived, would not have had the face.—Thackeray.

 

To the man who plays well, the highest stakes are paid.—Huxley.

 

Superlative with two objects.

 

Compare the first three sentences in Sec. 428 with the following:—

 

Which do you love best to behold, the lamb or the lion? —Thackeray.

 

Which of these methods has the best effect? Both of them are the same to the sense, and differ only in form.—Dr Blair.

 

Rip was one of those ... who eat white bread or brown, whichever can be got easiest.—Irving.

 

It is hard to say whether the man of wisdom or the man of folly contributed most to the amusement of the party.—Scott.

 

There was an interval of three years between Mary and Anne. The eldest, Mary, was like the Stuarts—the younger was a fair English child.—Mrs. Oliphant.

 

Of the two great parties which at this hour almost share the nation between them, I should say that one has the best cause, and the other contains the best men.—Emerson.

 

In all disputes between States, though the strongest is nearly always mainly in the wrong, the weaker is often so in a minor degree.—Ruskin.

 

She thought him and Olivia extremely of a size, and would bid both to stand up to see which was the tallest.—Goldsmith.

 

These two properties seem essential to wit, more particularly the last of them.—Addison.

 

"Ha, ha, ha!" roared Goodman Brown when the wind laughed at him. "Let us see which will laugh loudest."—Hawthorne.

 

Double comparative and superlative.

 

431. In Shakespeare's time it was quite common to use a double comparative and superlative by using more or most before the word already having -er or -est. Examples from Shakespeare are,—

 

How much more elder art thou than thy looks!—Merchant of Venice.

 

Nor that I am more better than Prospero.—Tempest.

 

Come you more nearer.—Hamlet.

 

With the most boldest and best hearts of Rome.—J. Cæsar.

 

Also from the same period,—

 

Imitating the manner of the most ancientest and finest Grecians.—Ben Jonson.

 

After the most straitest sect of our religion.—Bible, 1611.

 

Such expressions are now heard only in vulgar English. The following examples are used purposely, to represent the characters as ignorant persons:—

 

The artful saddler persuaded the young traveler to look at "the most convenientest and handsomest saddle that ever was seen."—Bulwer.

 

"There's nothing comes out but the most lowest stuff in nature; not a bit of high life among them."—Goldsmith.

 

THREE FIRST OR FIRST THREE?

 

432. As to these two expressions, over which a little war has so long been buzzing, we think it not necessary to say more than that both are in good use; not only so in popular speech, but in literary English. Instances of both are given below.

 

The meaning intended is the same, and the reader gets the same idea from both: hence there is properly a perfect liberty in the use of either or both.

First three, etc.

 

For Carlyle, and Secretary Walsingham also, have been helping them heart and soul for the last two years.—Kingsley.

 

The delay in the first three lines, and conceit in the last, jar upon us constantly.—Ruskin.

 

The last dozen miles before you reach the suburbs.—De Quincey.

 

Mankind for the first seventy thousand ages ate their meat raw.—Lamb.

 

The first twenty numbers were expressed by a corresponding number of dots. The first five had specific names.—Prescott.

Three first, etc.

 

These are the three first needs of civilized life.—Ruskin.

 

He has already finished the three first sticks of it.—Addison.

 

In my two last you had so much of Lismahago that I suppose you are glad he is gone.—Smollett.

 

I have not numbered the lines except of the four first books. —Cowper.

 

The seven first centuries were filled with a succession of triumphs.—Gibbon.

 

ARTICLES.

 

Definite article.

 

433. The definite article is repeated before each of two modifiers of the same noun, when the purpose is to call attention to the noun expressed and the one understood. In such a case two or more separate objects are usually indicated by the separation of the modifiers. Examples of this construction are,—

With a singular noun.

 

The merit of the Barb, the Spanish, and the English breed is derived from a mixture of Arabian blood.—Gibbon.

 

The righteous man is distinguished from the unrighteous by his desire and hope of justice.—Ruskin.

 

He seemed deficient in sympathy for concrete human things either on the sunny or the stormy side.—Carlyle.

 

It is difficult to imagine a greater contrast than that between the first and the second part of the volume.—The Nation, No. 1508.

With a plural noun.

 

There was also a fundamental difference of opinion as to whether the earliest cleavage was between the Northern and the Southern languages.—Taylor, Origin of the Aryans.

 

434. The same repetition of the article is sometimes found before nouns alone, to distinguish clearly, or to emphasize the meaning; as,—

 

In every line of the Philip and the Saul, the greatest poems, I think, of the eighteenth century.—Macaulay.

 

He is master of the two-fold Logos, the thought and the word, distinct, but inseparable from each other.—Newman.

 

The flowers, and the presents, and the trunks and bonnet boxes ... having been arranged, the hour of parting came.—Thackeray.

The not repeated. One object and several modifiers, with a singular noun.

 

435. Frequently, however, the article is not repeated before each of two or more adjectives, as in Sec. 433, but is used with one only; as,—

 

Or fanciest thou the red and yellow Clothes-screen yonder is but of To-day, without a Yesterday or a To-morrow?—Carlyle.

 

The lofty, melodious, and flexible language.—Scott.

 

The fairest and most loving wife in Greece.—Tennyson.

Meaning same as in Sec. 433, with a plural noun.

 

Neither can there be a much greater resemblance between the ancient and modern general views of the town.—Halliwell-phillipps.

 

At Talavera the English and French troops for a moment suspended their conflict.—Macaulay.

 

The Crusades brought to the rising commonwealths of the Adriatic and Tyrrhene seas a large increase of wealth.—Id.

 

Here the youth of both sexes, of the higher and middling orders, were placed at a very tender age.—Prescott.

Indefinite article.

 

436. The indefinite article is used, like the definite article, to limit two or more modified nouns, only one of which is expressed. The article is repeated for the purpose of separating or emphasizing the modified nouns. Examples of this use are,—

 

We shall live a better and a higher and a nobler life.—Beecher.

 

The difference between the products of a well-disciplined and those of an uncultivated understanding is often and admirably exhibited by our great dramatist.—S. T. Coleridge.

 

Let us suppose that the pillars succeed each other, a round and a square one alternately.—Burke.

 

As if the difference between an accurate and an inaccurate statement was not worth the trouble of looking into the most common book of reference.—Macaulay.

 

To every room there was an open and a secret passage.—Johnson.

 

Notice that in the above sentences (except the first) the noun expressed is in contrast with the modified noun omitted.

 

One article with several adjectives.

 

437. Usually the article is not repeated when the several adjectives unite in describing one and the same noun. In the sentences of Secs. 433 and 436, one noun is expressed; yet the same word understood with the other adjectives has a different meaning (except in the first sentence of Sec. 436). But in the following sentences, as in the first three of Sec. 435, the adjectives assist each other in describing the same noun. It is easy to see the difference between the expressions "a red-and-white geranium," and "a red and a white geranium."

 

Examples of several adjectives describing the same object:—

 

To inspire us with a free and quiet mind.—B. Jonson.

 

Here and there a desolate and uninhabited house.—Dickens.

 

James was declared a mortal and bloody enemy.—Macaulay.

So wert thou born into a tuneful strain,

An early, rich, and inexhausted vein.

—Dryden.

For rhetorical effect.

 

438. The indefinite article (compare Sec. 434) is used to lend special emphasis, interest, or clearness to each of several nouns; as,—

 

James was declared a mortal and bloody enemy, a tyrant, a murderer, and a usurper.—Macaulay.

 

Thou hast spoken as a patriot and a Christian.—Bulwer.

 

He saw him in his mind's eye, a collegian, a parliament man—a Baronet perhaps.—Thackeray.

 

VERBS.

 

CONCORD OF VERB AND SUBJECT IN NUMBER.

 

A broad and loose rule.

 

439. In English, the number of the verb follows the meaning rather than the form of its subject.

 

It will not do to state as a general rule that the verb agrees with its subject in person and number. This was spoken of in Part I., Sec. 276, and the following illustrations prove it.

 

The statements and illustrations of course refer to such verbs as have separate forms for singular and plural number.

Singular verb.

 

440. The singular form of the verb is used—

Subject of singular form.

 

(1) When the subject has a singular form and a singular meaning.

 

Such, then, was the earliest American land.—Agassiz.

 

He was certainly a happy fellow at this time.—G. Eliot.

 

He sees that it is better to live in peace.—Cooper.

Collective noun of singular meaning.

 

(2) When the subject is a collective noun which represents a number of persons or things taken as one unit; as,—

 

The larger breed [of camels] is capable of transporting a weight of a thousand pounds.—Gibbon.

 

Another school professes entirely opposite principles.—The Nation.

 

In this work there was grouped around him a score of men.—W. Phillips

 

A number of jeweled paternosters was attached to her girdle.—Froude.

 

Something like a horse load of books has been written to prove that it was the beauty who blew up the booby.—Carlyle

 

This usage, like some others in this series, depends mostly on the writer's own judgment. Another writer might, for example, prefer a plural verb after number in Froude's sentence above.

Singulars connected by or or nor.

 

(3) When the subject consists of two or more singular nouns connected by or or nor; as,—

 

It is by no means sure that either our literature, or the great intellectual life of our nation, has got already, without academies, all that academies can give.—M. Arnold.

 

Jesus is not dead, nor John, nor Paul, nor Mahomet. —Emerson.

Plural form and singular meaning.

 

(4) When the subject is plural in form, but represents a number of things to be taken together as forming one unit; for example,—

 

Thirty-four years affects one's remembrance of some circumstances.—De Quincey.

 

Between ourselves, three pounds five shillings and two pence is no bad day's work.—Goldsmith.

 

Every twenty paces gives you the prospect of some villa; and every four hours, that of a large town.—Montague

 

Two thirds of this is mine by right.—Sheridan

 

The singular form is also used with book titles, other names, and other singulars of plural form; as,—

 

Politics is the only field now open for me.—Whittier.

 

"Sesame and Lilies" is Ruskin's creed for young girls.—Critic, No. 674

 

The Three Pigeons expects me down every moment.—Goldsmith.

Several singular subjects to one singular verb.

 

(5) With several singular subjects not disjoined by or or nor, in the following cases:—

 

(a) Joined by and, but considered as meaning about the same thing, or as making up one general idea; as,—

 

In a word, all his conversation and knowledge has been in the female world—Addison.

 

The strength and glare of each [color] is considerably abated.—Burke

 

To imagine that debating and logic is the triumph.—Carlyle

 

In a world where even to fold and seal a letter adroitly is not the least of accomplishments.—De Quincey

 

The genius and merit of a rising poet was celebrated.—Gibbon.

 

When the cause of ages and the fate of nations hangs upon the thread of a debate.—J. Q. Adams.

 

(b) Not joined by a conjunction, but each one emphatic, or considered as appositional; for example,—

 

The unbought grace of life, the cheap defense of nations, the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprise, is gone.—Burke.

 

A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a loss of wealth, a loss of friends, seems at the moment unpaid loss.—Emerson

 

The author, the wit, the partisan, the fine gentleman, does not take the place of the man.—Id.

 

To receive presents or a bribe, to be guilty of collusion in any way with a suitor, was punished, in a judge, with death.—Prescott.

Subjects after the verb.

 

This use of several subjects with a singular verb is especially frequent when the subjects are after the verb; as,—

 

There is a right and a wrong in them.—M Arnold.

 

There is a moving tone of voice, an impassioned countenance, an agitated gesture.—Burke

 

There was a steel headpiece, a cuirass, a gorget, and greaves, with a pair of gauntlets and a sword hanging beneath.—Hawthorne.

 

Then comes the "Why, sir!" and the "What then, sir?" and the "No, sir!"—Macaulay.

For wide is heard the thundering fray,

The rout, the ruin, the dismay.

—SCOTT.

 

(c) Joined by as well as (in this case the verb agrees with the first of the two, no matter if the second is plural); thus,—

 

Asia, as well as Europe, was dazzled.—Macaulay.

The oldest, as well as the newest, wine

Begins to stir itself.

—LONGFELLOW.

 

Her back, as well as sides, was like to crack.—Butler.

 

The Epic, as well as the Drama, is divided into tragedy and Comedy.—Fielding

 

(d) When each of two or more singular subjects is preceded by every, each, no, many a, and such like adjectives.

 

Every fop, every boor, every valet, is a man of wit.—Macaulay.

 

Every sound, every echo, was listened to for five hours.—De Quincey

 

Every dome and hollow has the figure of Christ.—Ruskin.

 

Each particular hue and tint stands by itself.—Newman.

 

Every law and usage was a man's expedient.—Emerson.

 

Here is no ruin, no discontinuity, no spent ball.—Id.

 

Every week, nay, almost every day, was set down in their calendar for some appropriate celebration.—Prescott.

Plural verb.

 

441. The plural form of the verb is used—

 

(1) When the subject is plural in form and in meaning; as,—

 

These bits of wood were covered on every square.—Swift.

 

Far, far away thy children leave the land.—Goldsmith.

 

The Arabian poets were the historians and moralists.—Gibbon.

 

(2) When the subject is a collective noun in which the individuals of the collection are thought of; as,—

 

A multitude go mad about it.—Emerson.

 

A great number of people were collected at a vendue.—Franklin.

 

All our household are at rest.—Coleridge.

 

A party of workmen were removing the horses.—Lew Wallace

 

The fraternity were inclined to claim for him the honors of canonization.—Scott.

 

The travelers, of whom there were a number.—B. Taylor.

 

(3) When the subject consists of several singulars connected by and, making up a plural subject, for example,—

 

Only Vice and Misery are abroad.—Carlyle

 

But its authorship, its date, and its history are alike a mystery to us.—Froude.

 

His clothes, shirt, and skin were all of the same color—Swift.

 

Aristotle and Longinus are better understood by him than Littleton or Coke.—Addison.

Conjunction omitted.

 

The conjunction may be omitted, as in Sec. 440 (5, b), but the verb is plural, as with a subject of plural form.

 

A shady grove, a green pasture, a stream of fresh water, are sufficient to attract a colony.—Gibbon.

 

The Dauphin, the Duke of Berri, Philip of Anjou, were men of insignificant characters.—Macaulay

 

(4) When a singular is joined with a plural by a disjunctive word, the verb agrees with the one nearest it; as,—

 

One or two of these perhaps survive.—Thoreau.

 

One or two persons in the crowd were insolent.—Froude.

 

One or two of the ladies were going to leave.—Addison

 

One or two of these old Cromwellian soldiers were still alive in the village.—Thackeray

 

One or two of whom were more entertaining.—De Quincey.

 

But notice the construction of this,—

 

A ray or two wanders into the darkness.—Ruskin.

 

AGREEMENT OF VERB AND SUBJECT IN PERSON.

 

General usage.

 

442. If there is only one person in the subject, the ending of the verb indicates the person of its subject; that is, in those few cases where there are forms for different persons: as,—

 

Never once didst thou revel in the vision.—De Quincey.

 

Romanism wisely provides for the childish in men.—Lowell.

 

It hath been said my Lord would never take the oath.—Thackeray.

Second or third and first person in the subject.

 

443. If the subject is made up of the first person joined with the second or third by and, the verb takes the construction of the first person, the subject being really equivalent to we; as,—

 

I flatter myself you and I shall meet again.—Smollett.

 

You and I are farmers; we never talk politics.—D. Webster.

Ah, brother! only I and thou

Are left of all that circle now.

—Whittier.

 

You and I are tolerably modest people.—Thackeray.

 

Cocke and I have felt it in our bones—Gammer Gurton's Needle

With adversative or disjunctive connectives.

 

444. When the subjects, of different persons, are connected by adversative or disjunctive conjunctions, the verb usually agrees with the pronoun nearest to it; for example,—

 

Neither you nor I should be a bit the better or wiser.—Ruskin.

 

If she or you are resolved to be miserable.—Goldsmith.

 

Nothing which Mr. Pattison or I have said.—M. Arnold.

 

Not Altamont, but thou, hadst been my lord.—Rowe.

 

Not I, but thou, his blood dost shed.—Byron.

 

This construction is at the best a little awkward. It is avoided either by using a verb which has no forms for person (as, "He or I can go," "She or you may be sure," etc.), or by rearranging the sentence so as to throw each subject before its proper person form (as, "You would not be wiser, nor should I;" or, "I have never said so, nor has she").

Exceptional examples.

 

445. The following illustrate exceptional usage, which it is proper to mention; but the student is cautioned to follow the regular usage rather than the unusual and irregular.

Exercise.

 

Change each of the following sentences to accord with standard usage, as illustrated above (Secs. 440-444):—

1.

And sharp Adversity will teach at last

Man,—and, as we would hope,—perhaps the devil,

That neither of their intellects are vast.

—Byron.

 

2. Neither of them, in my opinion, give so accurate an idea of the man as a statuette in bronze.—Trollope.

 

3. How each of these professions are crowded.—Addison.

 

4. Neither of their counselors were to be present.—Id.

 

5. Either of them are equally good to the person to whom they are significant.—Emerson.

 

6. Neither the red nor the white are strong and glaring.—Burke.

 

7. A lampoon or a satire do not carry in them robbery or murder.—Addison.

 

8. Neither of the sisters were very much deceived.—Thackeray.

9.

Nor wood, nor tree, nor bush are there,

Her course to intercept.

—Scott.

 

10. Both death and I am found eternal.—Milton.

 

11. In ascending the Mississippi the party was often obliged to wade through morasses; at last they came upon the district of Little Prairie.—G. Bancroft.

 

12. In a word, the whole nation seems to be running out of their wits.—Smollett.

 

SEQUENCE OF TENSES (VERBS AND VERBALS).

 

Lack of logical sequence in verbs.

 

446. If one or more verbs depend on some leading verb, each should be in the tense that will convey the meaning intended by the writer.

 

In this sentence from Defoe, "I expected every wave would have swallowed us up," the verb expected looks forward to something in the future, while would have swallowed represents something completed in past time: hence the meaning intended was, "I expected every wave would swallow" etc.

 

Also in verbals.

 

In the following sentence, the infinitive also fails to express the exact thought:—

 

I had hoped never to have seen the statues again.—Macaulay.

 

The trouble is the same as in the previous sentence; to have seen should be changed to to see, for exact connection. Of course, if the purpose were to represent a prior fact or completed action, the perfect infinitive would be the very thing.

 

It should be remarked, however, that such sentences as those just quoted are in keeping with the older idea of the unity of the sentence. The present rule is recent.

 

Exercise.

 

Explain whether the verbs and infinitives in the following sentences convey the right meaning; if not, change them to a better form:—

 

1. I gave one quarter to Ann, meaning, on my return, to have divided with her whatever might remain.—De Quincey

 

2. I can't sketch "The Five Drapers," ... but can look and be thankful to have seen such a masterpiece.—Thackeray.

 

3. He would have done more wisely to have left them to find their own apology than to have given reasons which seemed paradoxes.—R. W. Church.

 

4. The propositions of William are stated to have contained a proposition for a compromise.—Palgrave

 

5. But I found I wanted a stock of words, which I thought I should have acquired before that time.—Franklin

 

6. I could even have suffered them to have broken Everet Ducking's head.—Irving.

 

INDIRECT DISCOURSE.

 

Definitions.

 

447. Direct discourse—that is, a direct quotation or a direct question—means the identical words the writer or speaker used; as,—

 

"I hope you have not killed him?" said Amyas.—Kingsley.

 

Indirect discourse means reported speech,—the thoughts of a writer or speaker put in the words of the one reporting them.

Two samples of indirect discourse.

 

448. Indirect discourse may be of two kinds:—

 

(1) Following the thoughts and also the exact words as far as consistent with the rules of logical sequence of verbs.

 

(2) Merely a concise representation of the original words, not attempting to follow the entire quotation.

 

The following examples of both are from De Quincey:—

Indirect.

 

1. Reyes remarked that it was not in his power to oblige the clerk as to that, but that he could oblige him by cutting his throat.

Direct.

 

His exact words were, "I cannot oblige you ..., but I can oblige you by cutting your throat."

 

Indirect.

 

Her prudence whispered eternally, that safety there was none for her until she had laid the Atlantic between herself and St. Sebastian's.

 

Direct.

 

She thought to herself, "Safety there is none for me until I have laid," etc.

Summary of the expressions.

 

2. Then he laid bare the unparalleled ingratitude of such a step. Oh, the unseen treasure that had been spent upon that girl! Oh, the untold sums of money that he had sunk in that unhappy speculation!

Direct synopsis.

 

The substance of his lamentation was, "Oh, unseen treasure has been spent upon that girl! Untold sums of money have I sunk," etc.

 

449. From these illustrations will be readily seen the grammatical changes made in transferring from direct to indirect discourse. Remember the following facts:—

 

(1) Usually the main, introductory verb is in the past tense.

 

(2) The indirect quotation is usually introduced by that, and the indirect question by whether or if, or regular interrogatives.

 

(3) Verbs in the present-tense form are changed to the past-tense form. This includes the auxiliaries be, have, will, etc. The past tense is sometimes changed to the past perfect.

 

(4) The pronouns of the first and second persons are all changed to the third person. Sometimes it is clearer to introduce the antecedent of the pronoun instead.

 

Other examples of indirect discourse have been given in Part I., under interrogative pronouns, interrogative adverbs, and the subjunctive mood of verbs.

 

Exercise.

 

Rewrite the following extract from Irving's "Sketch Book," and change it to a direct quotation:—

 

He assured the company that it was a fact, handed down from his ancestor the historian, that the Catskill Mountains had always been haunted by strange beings; that it was affirmed that the great Hendrick Hudson, the first discoverer of the river and country, kept a kind of vigil there every twenty years, with his crew of the Half-moon, being permitted in this way to revisit the scenes of his enterprise, and keep a guardian eye upon the river and the great city called by his name; that his father had once seen them in their old Dutch dresses playing at ninepins in a hollow of the mountain; and that he himself had heard, one summer afternoon, the sound of their balls, like distant peals of thunder.

 

VERBALS.

 

PARTICIPLES.

 

Careless use of the participial phrase.

 

450. The following sentences illustrate a misuse of the participial phrase:—

 

Pleased with the "Pilgrim's Progress," my first collection was of John Bunyan's works.—B. Franklin.

 

My farm consisted of about twenty acres of excellent land, having given a hundred pounds for my predecessor's goodwill.—Goldsmith.

 

Upon asking how he had been taught the art of a cognoscente so suddenly, he assured me that nothing was more easy.—Id.

 

Having thus run through the causes of the sublime, my first observation will be found nearly true.—Burke

 

He therefore remained silent till he had repeated a paternoster, being the course which his confessor had enjoined.—Scott

 

Compare with these the following:—

A correct example.

 

Going yesterday to dine with an old acquaintance, I had the misfortune to find his whole family very much dejected.—Addison.

Notice this.

 

The trouble is, in the sentences first quoted, that the main subject of the sentence is not the same word that would be the subject of the participle, if this were expanded into a verb.

 

Correction.

 

Consequently one of two courses must be taken,—either change the participle to a verb with its appropriate subject, leaving the principal statement as it is; or change the principal proposition so it shall make logical connection with the participial phrase.

 

For example, the first sentence would be, either "As I was pleased, ... my first collection was," etc., or "Pleased with the 'Pilgrim's Progress,' I made my first collection John Bunyan's works."

 

Exercise.—Rewrite the other four sentences so as to correct the careless use of the participial phrase.

 

INFINITIVES.

 

Adverb between to and the infinitive.

 

451. There is a construction which is becoming more and more common among good writers,—the placing an adverb between to of the infinitive and the infinitive itself. The practice is condemned by many grammarians, while defended or excused by others. Standard writers often use it, and often, purposely or not, avoid it.

 

The following two examples show the adverb before the infinitive:—

The more common usage.

 

He handled it with such nicety of address as sufficiently to show that he fully understood the business.—Scott.

 

It is a solemn, universal assertion, deeply to be kept in mind by all sects.—Ruskin.

 

This is the more common arrangement; yet frequently the desire seems to be to get the adverb snugly against the infinitive, to modify it as closely and clearly as possible.

Exercise.

 

In the following citations, see if the adverbs can be placed before or after the infinitive and still modify it as clearly as they now do:—

 

1. There are, then, many things to be carefully considered, if a strike is to succeed.—Laughlin.

 

2. That the mind may not have to go backwards and forwards in order to rightly connect them.—Herbert Spencer.

 

3. It may be easier to bear along all the qualifications of an idea ... than to first imperfectly conceive such idea.—Id.

 

4. In works of art, this kind of grandeur, which consists in multitude, is to be very cautiously admitted.—Burke.

 

5. That virtue which requires to be ever guarded is scarcely worth the sentinel.—Goldsmith.

 

6. Burke said that such "little arts and devices" were not to be wholly condemned.—The Nation, No. 1533.

 

7. I wish the reader to clearly understand.—Ruskin.

 

8. Transactions which seem to be most widely separated from one another.—Dr. Blair.

 

9. Would earnestly advise them for their good to order this paper to be punctually served up.—Addison.

 

10. A little sketch of his, in which a cannon ball is supposed to have just carried off the head of an aide-de-camp.—Trollope.

 

11. The ladies seem to have been expressly created to form helps meet for such gentlemen.—Macaulay.

 

12. Sufficient to disgust a people whose manners were beginning to be strongly tinctured with austerity.—Id.

 

13. The spirits, therefore, of those opposed to them seemed to be considerably damped by their continued success.—Scott.