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Je serai docile et fidèle à vos ordres.

Il se plaint et s'ennuie de tout.

because connaître and publier both govern in a direct manner; because docile and fidèle equally require the preposition d-and re plaindre and s'ennuyer the preposition de.

But we cannot say,

C'est par la vertu qu'on chérit et qu'on tient à ses devoirs sans effort. C'est par la vertu qu'on aime et qu'on se platt dans ses sacrifices. Je fus très-sensible et très-mécontent de ce procédé.

because we cannot say, chérir à ses devoirs, as we say, tenir à ses devoirs-aimer dans ses sacrifices, as, se plaire dans ses sacrificestrès-sensible de ce procédé, as, très-mécontent de ce procédé. We must, in that case, have recourse, to y and en, or to pronouns, and say, for instance:

C'est par la vertu qu'on chérit ses devoirs et qu'on y tient sans effort.

C'est par la vertu qu'on se plaît dans ses sacrifices et qu'on les aime. Je fus très-sensible à ce procédé et j'en fus très mécontent.

The following phrase is incorrect:

I s'est trompé lui-même et tous ceux qui l'ont cru.

It should be,

Il s'est trompé et a trompé avec lui tous ceux qui l'ont cru;

because the verb être cannot supply the place of the verb avoir in that case.

The following phrase is incorrect:

Il se vint présenter et dire qu'il n'était point coupable.

It should be,

Il vint se présenter et dire qu'il n'était point coupable; because we cannot say il se vint dire, as we say, il se vint présenter.

The following phrase is incorrect:

Il s'est attiré l'estime publique, et rendu célèbre,

It should be,

Il s'est attiré l'estime publique, et s'est rendu célèbre;

because se meaning, in the first instance, à soi, aud, in the second, soi, cannot be at the same time both a direct and an indirect complement.

SECOND.-When the same word has several particular complements, coupled together by a conjunction, they should be expressed by words of the same species; hence the following modes of construction are incorrect:

Il aime le jeu et à danser.

Il se plaît au spectacle et à se promener.

Je crois vos raisons bonnes et que vous le convaincrez.

They should be,

Il aime le jeu et la danse.

Il se plaît au spectacle et à la promenade.

Je crois que vos raisons sont bonnes et que vous le convaincrez.

THIRD. When a word has several different complements, the shortest should be expressed first: we are to say,

Le temps seul assure au génie des hommages et des partisans. Le roi ne confie pas à des incrédules le commandement de ses al. mées et de ses flottes.

And not,

Le temps seul assure des hommages et des partisans au génie. Le roi ne confie pas le commandement de ses armées et de ses flottes à des incrédules.

The reason of this mode of construction is, that, if the shortest were not placed first, it would be separated from the verb by a complement expressed by many words, which would weaken the connection between the verb and the shortest complement:-But, should the complements be of equal length, the direct complement comes first.

Il faut prêcher la diligence aux paresseux et la modération aux emportés.

Le roi ne confie pas le commandement de ses armées à des hommes qui sont sans religion.

LESSON THE NINETEENTH.

ON THE PARTICIPLE PRESENT.

RULE I. The participle present is always indeclinable; that is to say, it ends invariably in ant, whether relating to a noun of the masculine or feminine gender, or to a noun singular or plural.-Ex

AMPLES:

Les hommes alliant le courage à | la prudence sont rares-et les femmes joignant les grâces de leur sexe aux vertus et aux talens du nôtre sont encore plus

rares.

Men,uniting courage to prudence, are rare-and women, joining the graces of their own sex to the virtues and talents of ours, are still more rare.

Et c'est là que fuyant l'orgucil du diadême,
Lasse de vains honneurs et me cherchant moi-même;
Aux pieds de l'Eternel je viens m'humilier.

RULE II.-When the participle present, by qualifying an object, completes a verb at the same time, it is generally preceded by en, which answers in English to by, in, or while. The participle present is a complement to the verb, whenever it expresses a means, circumstance, or the mode of the action expressed by the verb.-EXAMPLES: We have obtained peace by making great sacrifices.

Nous avons obtenu la paix en fe- |
sant de grands sacrifices.
On acquiert plus de gloire en dé-
fendant qu'en accusant ses con-
citoyens.

Il mourut en déjeúnant.
Diogène dit un jour en dinant
avec ses amis: 6 mes amis ! il
n'est plus d'amis.

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A man acquires more glory by defending than by accusing his fellow-citizens.

He diedwhile eating his breakfast. One day Diogenes said, while he dined with his friends: O my friends! there is no longer any friendship.

Des trompeuses grandeurs le sage se console:
En cultivant en paix les arts, la vérité,
Il ennoblit son être et sert l'humanité.

Le peuple ailé des bois, s'essayant dans les airs,
D'un vol timide encor rase les champs déserts.
Il s'anime, il s'égaie, et d'une aile hardie
Il s'élance, en chantant, vers l'astre de la vie.

Il dompte, en se jouant, ce taureau menaçant
Qui résiste avec crainte et cède en mugissant.

Pauvre Didon? où t'a réduite

De tes maris le triste sort?
L'un, en mourant, cause ta fuite;
L'autre, en fuyant, cause ta mort.

There are many cases in which the participle qualifying and completing all at once, is not preceded by the preposition en; as in the following phrase:

Comment voulez-vous que, n'étu- | How can you expect, without studiant pas, on devienne savant? dying, to become learned?

Etudiant both qualifies and completes: it is as if there were, Comment voulez-vous que, lorsqu'on n'étudie pas, on devienne

savant?

NOTE, in general, that whenever, without en, the sense would be equivocal or ambiguous, this word must be expressed.

RULE III. When a participle present is employed, solely to qualify a substantive, and not to complete a verb, it ought not to be preceded by the preposition en; and it accomplishes this, when it can be rendered by qui, and the indicative of the verb; which construction is generally preferable to the participle present, especially if the participle present have a reference to a noun acted upon by the preposition à.-EXAMPLES:

J'ai vu votre frère courant, ou qui |

courait, à toutes jambes. Apercevez-vous les matelots ramant, ou qui rament, vers la côte?

C'est une femme aimant, ou qui aime, son mari.

I saw your brother running at full speed.

Do you perceive the sailors rowing towards the coast?

She is a woman that loves her husband.

In the first place, courant merely qualifies the noun frère, and does not at the same time complete the verb j'ai vu ; because we may say, j'ai vu votre frère qui courait à toutes jambes.

By placing en, therefore, before courant, the sense of the phrase would be changed. The participle would qualify the pronoun je, and would complete, at the same time, the verb, j'ai vu-j'ai vu votre frère en courant à toutes jambes; that is to say, j'ai vu votre frère, lorsque je courais à toutes jambes.

As you might be apt to impose gender or number on the participle present, as beginners often do, owing to many adjectives ending in ant,* such as charmant, obligeant, souffrant, &c. which assume gender or number, as the nouns to which they are subject require it, it is ne

• Of all the participles in ant, only those of the neuter or stationary verbs may vary. Thus we may say, Une humeur répugnante à la mienne-une étoffe approchante de la vôtre. But this rule is far from being general, as one could not say, des filles travaillantes à la terre; des personnes arrivantes de campagne. We might find, in some of our best poets, instances of participles present, both of active and stationary verbs, made variable; but this licence has not been fully sanctioned by usage.

cessary for me to establish the material difference which exists between the real participle present and the adjective in ant.-The former is a verb, because either it has a complement or it expresses a circumstance of time; and the latter has no complement, at least direct, and expresses no circumstance of time.

It is true, that these adjectives were formerly participles present, and were then liable to gender or number, as may be noticed in some law terms; such as les gens tenans notre cour; la rendante compte: but, as the French language has since acquired a fixed character, by which the participle present is rendered invariable, we must conform to it. In a word, to distinguish the participle present from the adjective, which has the same termination, it suffices to know, that the verb être connects itself well with the adjective ending in ant, but cannot, by any means, with the participle present.

Je suis prévenant. We may say Tu es charmant.

Il est séduisant.

(Je suis lisant.

We cannot say Tu es vendant.
Il est servant.

Almost every grainmarian admits, besides the participle present of a gerund, which is in reality only the participle present preceded by the preposition en. This denomination appearing to me, after mature consideration, quite superfluous, I have not adopted it. I conclude this account of the participle present by observing, that ayant and étant very seldom admit before them the preposition en.

LESSON THE TWENTIETH.

ON THE DECLINABILITY OR INDECLINABILITY OF THE

PAST PARTICIPLE.

Master. The question, when the past participle of a verb is declinable or when it is indeclinable, involves many difficulties; as even the first-rate grammarians appear divided among themselves on some of its points, while they have all supported their opinions by very ingenious reasons Our opinion on this subject will, I think, be found conforinable to reason, and our principles adequate to the solution of the difficulties alluded to. If I do not always impart my motives for adopting one opinion and rejecting another, it is merely owing to the long process of reasoning necessary to support my docrine; as I could not presume to adopt an opinion, different from

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