we were to place the fame points between the nominative and the verb in the following fentence, The lengthening day is followed by the ftrengthening cold; we should feel an impropriety at placing even a comma at day, though we fhould not perceive the leaft at actually paufing as long between the parts of this, as between thofe of the former fentence. The only method, therefore, of marking this neceffary pause to the ear, without hurting the connection between these parts of a fentence to the eye, would be to adopt the hyphen; this always fhews a neceffary connection of fenfe, and at the fame time a clear diftinction of parts different from the distinction and connection exhibited by the comma; and this feems the point wanting to render our punctuation much more definite and complete.

A want of this distinctive, and at the same time connective mark, has made many writers, particularly those who have expreffed themfelves with more than common delicacy and precifion, adopt a dash between parts intimately connected, to fhew the fenfe is to be continued, and the paufe lengthened at the fame time. Sterne is the most remarkable for the use of this dash; and it must be owned, that in him it often conveys infinite meaning: but where used too often, as in thofe fwarms of modern writers of novels, who affect to write like Sterne; or where ufed improperly, and when the common points would give more precision to the fenfe, as we fometimes find even in Sterne himfelf; in this cafe, I say, it may be reckoned among one of the greatest abufes of modern orthography.

Sterne's dashing may be called a fpecies of rhetorical punctuation; but the dafh may and ought to be used grammatically, when there is fuch an order of the words as to induce the reader to run the fenfe of one member into another, from which it ought to be separated.

EXAMPLE.

After the Prince of Orange had got poffeffion of the government of England-Scotland and Ireland remained still to be fettled. Macpherson's Hiftory of England.

The punctuation of the eye, and that of the ear, being thus at variance, and the latter being the principal object of this effay, it may not be useless to attempt to give a general idea of the principles of that punctuation which really exifts in correct and elegant speaking, but which has hitherto been left entirely to the tafte and judgment of the reader.

C

Theory of Rhetorical Punctuation.

Ir may be obferved, that paufing is regulated

by two circumftances; one is, conveying ideas diftinctly, by feparating fuch as are diftinct, and uniting fuch as are affociated; the other is, forming the words that convey thefe ideas into fuch claffes, or portions, as may be forcibly and easily pronounced: for this reason, when the words, from their fignification, require to be diftinctly pointed out, that is, to convey objects diftinguifhed from each other, however frequent and numerous the paufes may be, they are neceffary; but if words connected in fenfe, continue to a greater extent than can be eafily pronounced together, and at the fame time have no fuch diftinct parts as immediately fuggeft where we ought to paufe, the only rule that can be given is, not to feparate fuch words as are more united than thofe that we do not feparate.

But it may be demanded, how fhall we know the feveral degrees of union between words, fo as to enable us to divide them properly?- To this it may be anfwered, that all words may be diftinguished into thofe that modify, and those that are modified*: 'the words that are modified are the nominative, and the verb it governs ; every other word may be faid to be a modifier of these words: the noun and verb being thus diftinguifhed from every other, may be one reafon, that, when modified, they fo readily admit a pause between them; because words that are feparately modified may be prefumed

*Buffier Grammaire, p. 60.

to be more feparable from each other than the words that modify and the words modified. The modifying words are themselves modified by other words, and thus become divifible into fuperior and fubordinate claffes, each clafs being compofed of words more united among themfelves than the feveral claffes are with each other. Thus in the fentence, The paffion for praife produces excellent effects in women of fenfethe noun paffion, and the verb produces, with their feveral adjuncts, form the two principal portions, or claffes, of words in this fentence; and between thefe claffes a paufe is more readily admitted than between any other words: if the latter clafs may be thought too long to be pronounced without a paufe, we may more eafily place one at effects than between any other words; becaufe, though produces is modified by every one of the fucceeding words, taken all together, yet it is more immediately modified by excellent effects, as this portion is alfo modified by in women of fenfe; all the words of which phrafe are more immediately modified by the fucceeding words than the preceding phrafe, produces excellent effects, is by them.

But what, it may be faid, is the principle of unity among thefe claffes; and by what marks are we to judge that words belong rather to one clafs than to another? To this it may be answered, that the modifying and the modified words form the firft or larger claffes; and the words that modify thefe modifying words, and the modifying words themselves, which are neceffarily more united with each other than with those they modify, form the fmaller claffes of words. Upon these principles we may divide

the sentence laft quoted; and upon the fame principles we may account for the divifion of the following.-A violent and ungovernable paffion for praise the most universal and unlimited, produces often the most ridiculous confequences in women of the most exalted understandings.-When I say, a violent and ungovernable paffion, I may paufe at violent to diftinguish it from ungovernable, but not at ungovernable, because it immediately modifies paffion; but when I fay, for praife, the most univerfal and unlimited, I must pause at paffion, to fhew the greater connection between the words praise and universal and unlimited than between these and passion; the latter clafs thus fecured, by a pause, from mixing with the former, it is fubject to fuch divifion as its ftructure requires; the fubftantive praise, coming before the modifying words, is feparated from them by a paufe, not becaufe fuch a paufe is neceffary the better to understand the connection between them; for had the modifying word been fingle, it would not have admitted a paufe ; but because the two modifying words, univerfal and unlimited, form a clafs by themselves, fufficiently united to the word praise to detach it from paffion, and fufficiently distinct from it to be separated by a comma. But it may be asked, why does not the fame claffification take place in the former part of this fentence, with refpect to the two adjectives, violent and ungovernable, and the fubftantive, paffion? It may be answered, that a pause of diftinction is admitted at violent; but if we were to pause at ungovernable, the two modifying words would feem to form a clafs, before the word modified by them is expreffed or understood; whereas, in the fucceeding part