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Show uS Particles. -Bbok III. CHAP. VIr. Of Particles. §. r. U Elides Words, which are nanirs of Icleas in the Mind, ti1ere .1) are a great m1ny others that are made ufe of, to ·flgnific the conn~xion that the Mtnd gtves to Ideas, or Propojitions, oNe ·witb anotber. The Mind, in communicating with others, does not only need flgns of the !dear 1t has then before 1t, but others alfo, to thew or intimate fame particular action of its own, at that time, relating to thofe !dear. This it does feveral ways; as, lr, and Is not, are the general marlcs of the Mind affirming or denying. But belides affirmation,or negation, without which: there IS .n Words no Truth or Falfhood, the Mind does, in declaring its · Sennn'lcnts to others, conneCt, not_ only. the parts of Propolitions, but "'hole Sentences one to another, With thetr feveral Relations and Dependencies, to make a coherertt Difcourfe. §. ~- The Words, whereby it lignifieswhat tonnexion it gives to the feveral Affirmations and Negations, that 1t unites in ortc corttinued Reafoning or Narration,are generally call'd Part icier: and 'tis in the rightufe of thefe,that more ~articularly confifls the clearnefs and beauty of a good Stile. To rlunk well, 1t ts not enough, that a Man has 'I dear clear and diflinct in his Thoughts, nor that he obferves the agreement, or difagrccment of fome of them ; bur he mufl thmk m train, and obferVe the dependency of his Thoughts and Reaf?nings, one upon another: And ro exprcfs well fuoh methodical and rmonal Th?ughts, he mull: have words ro f!m• ~hat Connex1on, R_eflr~Ehon, Di/fmchon, Oppojitid11 , Empbajir, &c. he !'1ves W each refpeet1 v~ part of bu Difcot~rfe. To miflake in any of thefc, ts to puzzle, mflead of mformmg Ius Hearer : and therefore it is thai thofe \Vords, whicl1 are not truly, by themfclves, the names of any 'ueas, are offuch conflant and tndifJ>enftble ufe in Lartguage, and do fo much <ontnbute to Mens well expreiiing rhcmfelves. §"}· Thi• part of Grammar h~s been, perhaps,, as much neglected, as fome others over-diligently cultivated. TIS eafle for Men to wrirr, one aft<r another, of Cafer and Genders, Mood1 and 7olj'eJ, Gerund,- and Su· pmes: In thefe and the hke, there has been greot diligence ufcd: and Parucles themfelves, m fome Languages, have been with crreat thew of exaetncfs, ranked into their fcvm) orders. llut rh~ugh P~tpojitionr and Con;u?Eltom, &c. are names well known.m Grammar, and the Particles contamed under them, car~ fully ranked mto their diflinet fubd ivifions;yet Ire who would fl1ew the nght ufe of Particles, and what figni ficancy and force they have,mufl rake a httle more pams,cnter into his own Thoughts, and obfer1ve mcely_ the feveral Poflures of his Mind in difcourfing. ~- 4· Ne1rher IS 1tenongh, for rhe expbining of thefe Words, ro render them, as IS u(uallym DiCtionanes, by Words of another Tongue which came nearcfl tothctr figntfication: For what is meant by them is common-' ly as lmJ to be undcdlood in one, as another Language. They arc oil marks of fom~ Afl,on, or lnttm:!tton of the Mind; and therefore to under· fiand then: nghtly, the fcvcraL views, pofiures, fland s, turns, limitations, and cxcepnons, and feve_ral other Thoughts of rhc Mind for which we have Cither none, or very deficient Names, arc diligent!; ro be fludied. Of thefe, there arc a great vanery, much exceeding the number of p". t ides, that inofl Langu.iges have ro exprefs rhem by : one! therefore iris 1 not Chap. VII. Particles. not to be wondrcd, that trtofl of thefe PartiCles have divers, and fomeilmes almofl oppofite lignifications. In the Hebrew Tongue, there is a Particle conlifling but of one lingle Letter, of ~vhicli there are reckoned up, as! remember, fcv~nty, I am fure above fifty fcverallignifications. ~- 5· B V 7 is a Parciclc,none more familiar in our Language.: and he that fays it is a difcretive ConjunCtion, and tliat it anfwers_ Sed in Latin, or Mai< in French , thtnlts he has fuffictently explatned it. Brit yet tt fecms to me to intimate feveral relations, the Mind gives io the feveral Propofiriorts or Parts of them, which it joins by this monofyllable, Firfl, B V T to fay >to more: Here it intimates a aop of the Mind, in the courfe it was going, before it came to the end of it. Secondly, fj4w B v r tiVO Planetr : Here it !hews, that the Mind limits the fenfc to what is cxptdfed, with a negation of all other. Thirdly, lou pray l B V T it is not tbat G 0 D would bring you to tbe lm R~ligi~"' . _ . _ • Fourthly, Ev 7 thdt ht! would_ confirm you m ) 'Our olvn: The firfl of thcfe BV 7 S intimates a fuppolitwn, tn the Mtnd, arrometlung other· 'Wife t hat1 it flmuld be; the latter thews, that the Mind makes a direct oppofttion_between that, and whot goes before 1t. _ _ . fifthly, All Animalr have fenfe ; B V T a Dog '! ~n. Ammal: Here tt lignifies little more, but thot the latter Propofitton 1S JOtned to the former, as the Minor of a Syllogifm. · §. 6. To thefe, I doubt not, might be added a great many_ other lignifications of this Particle, if it were my bufinefs to examine it in its full latitude, and confider it in all the places it is to be found : \\>hich if one lhould do I doubt, whether in all thofe manners it is made ufe of, it would defervc the title of Difcretive, which Grammarians give ro it. But I intend not here a full explication of this fort of Signs; the in fiances I have given in this one, may give occ:ifion to refleCt upon their ufe and force in Language, and lead us mt? the contemplauon offeveral_.J).Cttons of our Minds in difcourling, ·which tt has found a way to mttmote to others by thefe Particles, fome whereof conil:antly, and others in certain conflruttions, have the fenfe of a whole Sentence cootain'd in them. CHAP. VIII. Of .Abflra8 and Concrete Terms. §. r. T He ordinary Words of Language , and our cmmilon ufe of . them, would have given us light into the nature of our Ideas, 1f they had been but conlidered with attentiOn The Mmd, as has been fh.own, has a power to abflratt its Ideas, and fo they become E!fences, general Effences, whereby the Sorts of Things are diflingui~1ed: Now each abflraet Itfea being diflinet, fo that the one ca~ never be the other, the Mmd will, by irs intuitive !\now ledge, percetve their dtffcrence; and therefore in Propolitions, no two whole !dear can ever be affirmed one of another. This we fee in the common ufe of Language, wluch pennies not anJ two a6jlrac1 Wordr, or Name,- of abj/rall !dear, to be affirmed one of another. For how near of kin foever they ~ay feem to be, and how certain fo~ver it is, that Man is an Animal, or rational, or wlute, yet 229 |
