English

A Figure of Syntax is an intentional deviation from the ordinary construction of words. The principal figures of Syntax are five; namely, El-lip'-sis, Ple'-o-nasm, Syl-lep'-sis, En-al'-la-ge, and Hy-per'-ba-ton.


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Ellipsis.

Ellipsis is the omission of some word or words which are necessary to complete the construction, but not necessary to convey the meaning. Such words are said, in technical phrase, to be understood; because they are received as belonging to the sentence, though they are not uttered.

Of compound sentences, a vast many are more or less elliptical; and sometimes, for brevity's sake, even the most essential parts of a simple sentence, are suppressed; as,

"But more of this hereafter."-Harris's Hermes, p. 77.

This means, "But I shall say more of this hereafter."

"Prythee, peace."-Shak.

That is, "I pray thee, hold thou thy peace."

There may be an omission of any of the parts of speech, or even of a whole clause, when this repeats what precedes; but the omission of mere articles or interjections can scarcely constitute a proper ellipsis, because these parts of speech, wherever they are really necessary to be recognized, ought to be expressed.

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Of the article.

"A man and a woman."

"The day, the month, and the year."

"She gave me an apple and a pear, for a fig and an orange."-Jaudon's Gram., p. 170.

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Of the noun.

"The common law and the statute law."

"The twelve apostles."

"The same man is he."

"One book of my books."

"A dozen bottles of wine."

"Conscience, I say; not thine own conscience, but the conscience of the other."-1 Cor., x, 29.

"Every moment subtracts from our lives what it adds to our lives."-Dillwyn's Ref., p. 8.

"Bad actions mostly lead to worse" actions.-Ib., p. 5.

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Of the adjective.

"There are subjects proper for the one, and not proper for the other."-Kames.

"A just weight and a just balance are the Lord's."-Prov., xvi, 11.

True ellipses of the adjective alone, are but seldom met with.

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Of the pronoun.

"Leave thou there thy gift before the altar, and go thou thy way; first be thou reconciled to thy brother, and then come thou and offer thou thy gift,"-Matt., v, 24.

"Love ye your enemies, bless ye them that curse you, do ye good to them that hate you."-Ib., v. 44.

"Chastisement does not always immediately follow error, but it sometimes comes when it is least expected."- Dillwyn, Ref., p. 31.

"Men generally put a greater value upon the favours which they bestow, than upon those which they receive."-Art of Thinking, p. 48.

"Wisdom and worth were all that he had."-Allen's Gram., p. 294.

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Of the verb.

"The world is crucified unto me, and I am crucified unto the world."-Gal., vi, 14.

"Hearts should not differ, though heads may, differ."-Dillwyn, p. 11.

"Are ye not much better than they" are?-Matt., vi, 26.

"Tribulation worketh patience; and patience worketh experience; and experience worketh hope."-Romans, v, 4.

"Wrongs are engraved on marble; benefits are engraved on sand."-Art of Thinking, p. 41.

"To whom thus Eve, yet sinless" spoke.-Milton.

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Of the participle.

"That being o'er, they part."

"Animals of various natures, some adapted to the wood, and some adapted to the wave."-Melmoth, on Scripture, p. 13.

"His knowledge being measured to his state and place, His time being a moment, and a point being his space."-Pope.

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Of the adverb.

"He can do this independently of me, if not independently of you."

"She shows a body rather than a life; A statue, rather than a breather."-Shak., Ant. and Cleo., iii, 3.

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Of the conjunction.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, and joy, and peace, and long suffering, and gentleness, and goodness, and faith, and meekness, and temperance."-Gal., v, 22.

The repetition of the conjunction is called Polysyndeton; and the omission of it, Asyndeton.

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Of the preposition.

"It shall be done on this very day."

"We shall set off at some time in next month."

"He departed from this life."

"He gave to me a book."

"We walked through a mile."

"He was banished from the kingdom."-W. Allen.

"He lived like to a prince."-Wells.

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Of the interjection.

"Oh! the frailty, oh! the wickedness of men."

"Alas for Mexico! and alas for many of her invaders!"

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Of phrases or clauses.

"The active commonly do more than they are bound to do; the indolent commonly do less" than they are bound to do.

"Young men, angry, mean less than they say; old men, angry, mean more" than they say.

"It is the duty of justice, not to injure men; it is the duty of modesty, not to offend them."-W. Allen.

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Pleonasm.

PLEONASM is the introduction of superfluous words; as,

"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it."-Gen., ii, 17.

This figure is allowable only, when, in animated discourse, it abruptly introduces an emphatic word, or repeats an idea to impress it more strongly; as,

"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."-Bible.

"All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth."-Id.

"There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down."-Id.

"I know thee who thou art."-Id.

A Pleonasm, as perhaps in these instances, is sometimes impressive and elegant; but an unemphatic repetition of the same idea, is one of the worst faults of bad writing.

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Syllepsis.

SYLLEPSIS is agreement formed according to the figurative sense of a word, or the mental conception of the thing spoken of, and not according to the literal or common use of the term; it is therefore in general connected with some figure of rhetoric: as

"The Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us, and we beheld his glory."-John, i, 14.

"Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them."-Acts, viii, 5.

"The city of London have expressed their sentiments with freedom and firmness."-Junius, p. 159.

"And I said to backsliding Israel, after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me; but she returned not: and her treacherous sister Judah saw it."-Jer., iii, 7.

"And he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder."-Mark, iii, 17.

"While Evening draws her crimson curtains round."-Thomson, p. 63.

"The Thunder raises his tremendous voice."-Id., p. 113.

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Enallage.

Enallage is the use of one part of speech, or of one modification, for an other. This figure borders closely upon solecism; and, for the stability of the language, it should be sparingly indulged. There are, however, several forms of it which can appeal to good authority: as,

"You know that you are Brutus, that say this."-Shak.

"They fall successively, and successively rise."-Pope.

"Than whom who a fiend more fell is nowhere found."-Thomson.

"Sure some disaster has befell" befallen.-Gay.

"So furious was that onset's shock, Destruction's gates at once unlock" unlocked.-Hogg.

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Hyperbaton.

Hyperbaton is the transposition of words; as,

"He wanders earth around."-Cowper

"Rings the world with the vain stir."-Id.

"Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you."-Acts, xvii, 23.

"'Happy', says Montesquieu, 'is that nation whose annals are tiresome.'"-Corwin, in Congress, 1847.

This figure is much employed in poetry. A judicious use of it confers harmony, variety, strength, and vivacity upon composition. But care should be taken lest it produce ambiguity or obscurity, absurdity or solecism.