Liften to the affectionate counfels of your parents; treasure up their precepts; respect their riper judgments; and endeavour to merit the approbation of the wife and good *.

The epic poem creates admiration; tragedy forces tears from us; comedy makes us laugh; and pastoral produces gentle and pleasing senfations t.

PERCIVAL, Moral Tales.

FORMEY on the Belles Lettres, §5+

£ 6 CHAP.

T

CHAP. IV.

Of a coLON.

HIS word in Greek fignifies a mem

ber, or a large divifion of a period. It is used when the preceding part of the fentence is complete in its conftruction; but is followed by fome additional remark or illuftration, naturally arifing from the foregoing member, and immediately depending on it in fenfe, though not in fyntax.

EXAMPLES.

THE well-bred man defires only to please: the coxcomb wifhes to fhine.

Do not flatter yourself with the idea of perfect happiness: there is no fuch thing in the world.

An

An ordinary reader does not relish what is fublime it does not affect him.

Nothing is made in vain : every thing has its use.

He was one of the nobleft works of GOD: he was an honest man.

Only good and wife men can be friends: others are but companions.

Rebuke thy fon in private: public reproof hardens the heart.

Study to acquire a habit of thinking: no study is more important.

The path of truth is a plain and fafe path: that of falsehood is a perplexing maze.

No man should be too pofitive: the wifeft are often deceived.

An idle man is a monster in the creation : every thing around him is active.

Virtue is too lovely to be concealed in a cell the world is her fcene of action.

Time is not the only mafter of experience: books inftruct.

Admiration is commonly the effect of grofs ignorance great admirers are generally great fools.

2. The colon feems to be used with propriety, where a CONJUNCTION is not expreffed, but UNDERSTOOD. A conjunction, in the middle of the foregoing fentences, would form a clofer connection, and require a femicolon. For inftance:

THE well-bred man defires only to pleafe; but the coxcomb wishes to fhine.

Do not flatter yourself with the idea of perfect happiness; for there is no fuch thing in the world.

An ordinary reader does not relish what is fublime; because it does not affect him.

4

3. Two

3. Two or three colons are used by some writers in one fentence.

EXAMPLE.

WERE all books reduced to their quinteffence, many a bulky author would make his appearance in a penny paper: there would be scarce any fuch thing in nature as a folio: the works of an age would be contained on a few fhelves not to mention millions of volumes, that would be utterly annihilated *.

This punctuation feems to be inaccurate. The fecond and third clauses are intimately connected with the first, and require only two semicolons. The fourth alone is an additional claufe, naturally arifing from the former; but not abfolutely depending in fyntax on any preceding member. The only place therefore, where a colon ought to be admitted, is after the word Shelves.

ADDISON, Spect, No 124.

It