RULES OF POSITION.

CLASS I.

RULES RESULTING FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF

WORDS.

RULE 1.

AN Infinitive Noun (if it be governed) is usually placed somewhere before the word which governs it.

RULE 2.

A noun in an oblique case is commonly placed before the word which governs it; whether that word be a verb, or another noun; an adjective, or participle.

RULE 3.

Dependent clauses, as well as single words, are placed before the principal verb, on which such clauses do mainly depend.

RULE 4.

The verb is commonly placed last in its own clause.

RULE 5.

Prepositions usually precede the cases governed by

them.

CLASS II.

RULES RESULTING FROM THE AGREEMENT OF

WORDS.

RULE 6. First Concord.

The verb is usually placed after its nominative case, sometimes at the distance of many words.

The adjective or participle is commonly placed after the noun or pronoun, with which it agrees.

The relative is commonly placed after the antecedent, with which it agrees.

RULE 9. Third Concord.

The relative is placed as near to the antecedent as possible.

Adverbs are placed before rather than after the words to which they belong.

Adverbs are in general placed immediately before the words to which they belong; no extraneous words coming between them.

RULE 12.

Igitur, autem, enim, etiam, are very seldom placed first in a clause or sentence. The enclitics, que, ne, ve, are never placed first.

RULE 13.

Tamen is very often and elegantly placed after the first, second, or third word of the clause in which it stands.

RULE 14.

Connected words should go together; that is, they may not be separated from one another by words that are extraneous, and have no relation to them.

RULE 15. Cadence.

The Cadence or concluding part of a clause or sentence should very seldom consist of monosyllables.

RULE 16.

So far as other rules and perspicuity will allow, in the arrangement and choice of words, when the foregoing ends with a vowel, let the next begin with a consonant; and vice versa.

RULE 17.

In general a redundancy of short words must be avoided.

RULE 18.

In general a redundancy of long words must be avoided

RULE 19.

In general, there must be no redundancy of long

measures.

RULE 20.

In general, there must be no redundancy of short

measures.

RULE 21.

The last syllables of the foregoing word must not be the same as the first syllables of the word following.

RULE 22.

Many words, which bear the same quantity, which begin alike or end alike, or which have the same cha racteristic letter in declension or conjugation, (many such words) may not come together.

THE RULES OF POSITION, WITH THEIR EXCEPTIONS EXEMPLIFIED.

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RULE 1.

"AN Infinitive Noun (if it be governed) is usually placed somewhere before the word which governs " it."

EXAMPLES.

1. Amor misceri cum timore non potest.
2. Dari bonum quod potuit, auferri potest.
3. Eripere telum, non dare irato decet.

EXCEPTIONS.

1. When the ear informs that the infinitive noun would sound better after the word which governs it, to gratify the ear, place it after, as Cicero has done in the following instance:

"Nolo enim cujusquam fortis atque illustris viri ne minimum quidem erratum cûm maximâ laude conjungere."

If Nolo had been set after conjungere, according to the present and fourth Rules, the cadence would have been spoiled by a dactyl and spondee being there formed, where in prose such a measure must never be admitted; what is the proper cadence of an Heroic verse may well begin, but must never conclude a sentence in prose, the solemn harmony of prose requiring cadences of another sort; and by rules may be learned, what is proper to the one as well as to the other.

2. To avoid a concurrence of vowels, the infinitive may sometimes follow the word that governs it; as, "Bonus puer amat intelligere," rather than intelligere

amat.

The reason of which is, that a concurrence of vowels is apt sometimes to impede the voice, by causing a very unpleasant hiatus or opening of the mouth, and suspending for a while the organs of speech, so as to make them labour in their office, as any one may sensibly perceive in reading aloud this line of Ovid,

"Omne solum forti patria est, ut piscibus æquor."

The difficulty of uttering patria est is felt; the movements of the tongue in getting through the ia-e are so very awkward; and therefore this concurrence of vowels is thus condemned by Quinctilian (whose opinion, to support my own, for the learner's assurance, I shall quote on many occasions) Tum vocalium concursus: qui cum accidit, hiat et intersistit, et quasi laborat oratio.

RULE 2.

"A Noun in an oblique case is commonly placed "before the word which governs it, whether that "word be a verb or another noun, an adjective or par"ticiple."

EXAMPLES.

1. Beneficia dare qui nescit, injustè petit.
2. Amicos res optimæ pariunt, adversæ probant.
3. Fortunam citius rapias, quàm retineas.

4. Inopi beneficium bis dat, qui celeriter dat.

5. Data fideireminiscitur. Vehementer irá excanduit. 6. Mens futuri præscia. Patri similis. 7. Amor et melle et felle est fæcundissimus.

EXCEPTION.

The exception to this rule is as that to the foregoing. To facilitate the utterance, or to gratify the ear, the word governed may be set after that which governs it; and the ear is thus oftentimes gratified, when the word governed being longer than that which governs it, is therefore set after it; as we shall see hereafter.