Horne Tooke’s Theory of the Particles
This theory derives great strength from analizing the words called conjunctions. It will perhaps surprize those who have not attended to this subject, to hear it asserted, that the little conjunction if, is a verb in the Imperative Mode. That this is the fact can no more be controverted than any point of history, or any truth that our senses present to the mind. If is radically the same word as give; it was in the Saxon Infinitive, gifan, and in the Imperative, like other Saxon verbs, lost the an; being written gif. This is the word in its purity; but in different dialects of the same radical tongue, we find it written gife, giff, gi, yf, yef, and yeve. Chaucer used y instead of g.88
“Unto the devil rough and blake of hewe
Yeve I thy body and my panne also.”
Freres Tale, 7204.
But the true Imperative is gif, as in the Sad Shepherd. Act 2. Sc. 2.
——“My largesse
Hath lotted her to be your brother’s mistress
Gif she can be reclaimed; gif not, his prey.”
This is the origin of the conjunction if; and it answers, in sense and derivation to the Latin si, which is but a contraction of sit. Thus what we denominate the Subjunctive mode is resolvable into the Indicative. “If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments,” is resolvable in this manner; “Give, (give the following fact, or suppose it) ye love me, ye will keep my commandments.” Or thus, “Ye love me, give that, ye will keep my commandments.” But on this I shall be more particular when I come to speak of errors in the use of verbs.
An is still vulgarly used in the sense of if. “An please your honor,” is the usual address of servants to their masters in England; tho it is lost in New England. But a word derived from the same root, is still retained; viz. the Saxon anan, to give; which is sometimes pronounced nan, and sometimes anan. It is used for what, or what do you say; as when a person speaks to another, the second person not hearing distinctly, replies, nan, or anan; that is, give or repeat what you said. This is ridiculed as a gross vulgarism; and it is indeed obsolete except among common people; but is strictly correct, and if persons deride the use of the word, it proves at least that they do not understand its meaning.
Unless, lest and else, are all derivatives of the old Saxon verb lesan, to dismiss, which we preserve in the word lease, and its compounds. So far are these words from being conjunctions, that they are, in fact, verbs in the Imperative mode; and this explanation serves further to lay open the curious structure of our language. For example:
“Unless ye believe ye shall not understand,” may be thus resolved; “Ye believe; dismiss (that fact) ye shall not understand.” Or thus, “Dismiss ye believe, (that circumstance being away) ye shall not understand.” Thus by analizing the sentence we find no Subjunctive mode; but merely the Indicative and Imperative.
“Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,” is resolvable in the same manner: “Kiss the Son, dismiss (that) he will be angry.” Else is used nearly in the same sense, as in Chaucer, Freres Tale, 7240:
“Axe him thyself, if thou not trowest me,
Or elles stint a while and thou shalt see.”
That is, “If thou dost not believe me, ask him thyself, or dismissing (omitting that) wait and thou shalt be convinced.”
Though, or tho, commonly called a conjunction, is also a verb in the Imperative Mode. It is from the verb thafian or thafigan, which, in the Saxon, signified to grant or allow. The word in its purity is thaf or thof; and so it is pronounced by many of the common people in England, and by some in America.
“Tho he slay me, yet will I trust in him,” may be thus explained; “Allow (suppose) he should slay me, yet will I trust in him.” That this is the true sense of tho, is evident from another fact. The old writers used algife for although; and its meaning must be nearly the same.
“——Whose pere is hard to find,
Algife England and France were thorow saught.”
Rel. An. Poet. 115.
Since is merely a participle of the old verb seon, to see. In ancient authors we find it variously written; as sith, sithence, sin, sithen, &c. and the common people in New England still pronounce it sin, sen or sence. Of all these, sin or sen, which is so much ridiculed as vulgar, comes nearest to the original seen.89 This explanation of since unfolds the true theory of languages, and proves that all words are originally derived from those which are first used to express ideas of sensible objects. Mankind, instead of that abstract sense which we annex to since, if we have any idea at all when we use it, originally said, seen the sun rose, it has become warm; that is, after the sun rose, or that circumstance being seen or past. We use the same word now, with a little variation; but the etymology is lost to most people, who still employ the word for a precise purpose, intelligible to their hearers.
But has two distinct meanings, and two different roots. This is evident to any person who attends to the manner of using the word. We say, “But to proceed;” that is, more or further. We say also, “All left the room, but one;” that is, except one. These two significations, which are constantly and insensibly annexed to the word, will perhaps explain all its uses; but cannot be well accounted for, without supposing it to have two etymologies. Happily the early writers furnish us with the means of solving the difficulty. Gawen Douglass the poet, was cotemporary with Chaucer, or lived near his time, was Bishop of Dunkeld in Scotland, and probably wrote the language in the purity of his age and country. As the Scots in the Low Lands, are descendants of the Saxons, in common with the English, and from their local situation, have been less exposed to revolutions, they have preserved more of the Saxon idiom and orthography than their southern brethren. In Douglass we find two different words to express the two different meanings, which we now annex to one; viz. bot and but. The first is used in the sense of more, further or addition; and the last in the sense of except or take away.
“Bot thy work shall endure in laude and glorie,
But spot or falt condigne eterne memorie.”
The first Mr. Horne derives from botan, to boot, to give more; from which our English word boot, which is now for the most part confined to jockeys, is also derived; and the other from be utan,90 to be out or away. That these etymologies are just is probable, both from old writings and from the present distinct uses of the word but. This word therefore is the blending or corruption of bot and beut, the Imperatives of two Saxon verbs, botan and beutan.91
And is probably a contraction of anan, to give, the verb before mentioned; and ad, the root of the verb add, and signifying series or remainder. An ad, give the remainder.
The word with, commonly called a preposition, is likewise a verb. It is from the Saxon withan, to join; or more probably from wyrth, to be, or the German werden, devenir, to be. The reason for this latter conjecture, is that we have preserved the Imperative of wyrth or werden, in this ancient phrase, “woe worth the day;” that is, woe be to the day. The German verb, in its inflections, makes wirst and wurde; and is undoubtedly from the same root as the Danish værer, to be. But whether with has its origin in withan, to join, or in werden, to be, its sense will be nearly the same; it will still convey the idea of connection. This will plainly appear to any person who considers, that by is merely a corruption of be, from the old verb beon; and that this word is still used to express connection or nearness; “He lives by me;” “He went by me;” that is, he lives be me.
This verb be was formerly used in this phrase; be my faith, be my troth; that is, by my faith, as in Chevy Chace.92 We still find the same verb in a multitude of compounds, be-come, be-yond, be-tween, be-side, be-fore. Thus we see what are called prepositions, are mere combinations or corruptions of verbs; they are not a primitive part of language, and if we resolve this phrase, he went beyond me, we shall find it composed of these words, he went, be, gone, me; yond being nothing but the participle of go.
Will my grammatical readers believe me, when I assert that the affirmation yea, or yes, is a verb? That it is so, is undeniable. The English yea, yes, and the German ja, pronounced yaw, are derived from a verb in the Imperative Mode; or rather, they are but corruptions of aye, the Imperative of the French avoir, to have. The pure word aye, is still used in English. The affirmation yea or yes, is have, an expression of assent, have what you say.93
That all the words, called adverbs, are abbreviations or combinations of nouns, verbs and adjectives, cannot perhaps be proved; for it is extremely difficult to trace the little words, when, then, there, here, &c. to their true origin.94 But excepting a few, the whole class of words, denominated adverbs, can be resolved into other parts of speech. The termination ly, which forms a large proportion of these words, is derived from the Saxon liche, like.
“And as an angel heavenlich she sung.”
Chaucer, Cant. Tales, 1057.
We have in a few words retained the original pronunciation, as Godlike; but in strictness of speech, there is no difference between Godlike and Godly.95
Notwithstanding it is evident that conjunctions, prepositions, and adverbs are not original and necessary parts of speech, yet as species of abbreviations, or compound terms to express assemblages of ideas, they may be considered as very useful, and as great improvements in language. Every person, even without the least knowlege of etymology, acquires a habit of annexing a certain idea, or certain number of ideas to unless, lest, yes, between, and the other particles; he uses them with precision, and makes himself understood by his hearers or readers. These words enable him to communicate his ideas with greater facility and expedition, than he could by mere names and affirmations. They have lost the distinguishing characteristics of verbs, person, time, and inflection. It is therefore convenient for grammatical purposes, to assign them distinct places and give them names, according to their particular uses. Such of these old verbs as exhibit some connection between the members of a discourse, may be properly denominated conjunctions. Others, that are used to show certain relations between words and are generally prefixed to them, may be well called prepositions. A third species, which are employed to qualify the sense of other words, may, from their position and uses in a discourse, be denominated adverbs. But the foregoing investigation is necessary to unfold the true principles on which language is constructed, and the philosophical enquirer is referred for a more general view of the subject, to Mr. Horne Tooke’s Diversions of Purley.
The verb or word is so called by way of eminence; the ancient grammarians having considered it as the principal part of speech. The noun is however entitled to the precedence; it is of equal importance in language, and undoubtedly claims priority of origin. Philosophy might teach us that the names of a few visible objects would be first formed by barbarous men, and afterwards the words which express the most common actions. But with respect to names of abstract ideas, as they are usually called, they not only precede the formation of the verbs which represent the action, but it often happens that the same word is used, with a prefix to denote the action of the object to which the name is given. For example, love and fear are the names of certain passions or affections of the mind. To express the action or exertion of these affections, we have not invented distinct terms; but custom has for this purpose prefixed the word do or to, which, in its primitive sense, is to act, move, or make.96 Thus I do love, or do fear, are merely, I act, love, or act, fear; and to love and to fear in the Infinitive, are act, love, and act, fear.
To confirm these remarks, let it be considered that formerly do and did were almost invariably used with the verb; as I do fear, he did love; and the omission of these words in affirmative declarations is of a modern date. They are still preserved in particular modes of expression; as in the negative and interrogative forms, and in emphatical assertions.
The present hypothesis will derive additional strength from another circumstance. Grammarians allege that the termination of the regular preterit tense, ed, is a corruption of did. If so, it seems to have been originally optional, either to place the word did, which expressed the action of the object, before or after the name. Thus, he feared, is resolvable into he fear did, and must be a blending of the words in a hasty pronunciation. But it was also a practice to say he did fear, which arrangement is not yet lost nor obscured; but in no case are both these forms used, he did feared; a presumptive evidence of the truth of the opinion, that ed is a contraction of did. Indeed I see no objection to the opinion but this, that it is not easy on this supposition, to account for the formation of did from do. If did is itself a contraction of doed, the regular preterit, which is probable, whence comes ed in this word? To derive ed in other words from did is easy and natural; but this leaves us short of the primary cause or principle, and consequently in suspense, as to the truth of the opinion. Yet whatever may be the true derivation of the regular ending of the past time and perfect participle of English verbs, the use of do, did and to before the verb, is a strong evidence, that at least one class of affirmations are formed by the help of names, with a prefix to denote the action of the objects expressed by the names. I fear, therefore, is a phrase, composed of the pronoun I, and the noun fear; and the affirmation, contained in the phrase, is derived from the single circumstance of the position of the name after I. I fear is a modern substitute for I do fear; that is, I act, fear; all originally and strictly nouns. But by a habit of uniting the personal name I with the name of the passion fear, we instantly recognize an affirmation that the passion is exerted; and do, the primitive name of act, has become superfluous.