INTRODUCTION Thought-Connectives There are certain words that express the great essentials of human thought, as objects, qualities, or actions; these are nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Such words must always make up the substance of language. Yet these are dependent for their full value and utility upon another class of words, the thought-connectives, that simply indicate relation; these are prepositions, conjunctions, relative pronouns and adverbs. If we compare words of the former class to the bricks that make up the substance of a wall, we may compare those of the latter class the thought-connectives-to the mortar that binds the separate elements into the cohesion and unity of a single structure. The value of these connectives may be clearly manifested by simply striking them out of any wellknown paragraph and showing the barrenness and confusion that result. Thus by the omission of the thought-connectives, the first sentence of the Declaration of Independence becomes a mere cipher, capable of many meanings, and needing a key for its interpretation, while by the restoration of the thought-connectives the meaning becomes luminous, as in the following: "The course human events becomes necessary one people dissolve the political bands have connected them another, assume the powers the earth the separate equal station the laws nature nature's God entitle them, a decent respect the opinions mankind requires they should declare the causes impel them the separation." "When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." Such an example shows the great importance of prepositions and other connectives as the means of binding words into sentences. Without such helps all speech would be made up of brief, isolated, and fragmentary statements. statements. The movement of thought would be constantly and abruptly broken. Much would need to be guessed at; much would, after all, be doubtful or obscure; while the mental difficulty involved in following such statements would render them practically valueless. For easy, effective, and pleasant reading or hearing, the mind needs to have the connections of thought clearly indicated from point to point. The path of discourse may be steep, winding, or even intricate, but should always clearly show enough of forward reach to leave the traveler in no doubt where to set his foot. Prepositions, conjunctions, relative pronouns and adverbs are the ever-recurring finger-boards that point the thought onward, or enable it on occasion to retrace its way, and make all clearer and surer by turning backward *NOTE. For the connective force of it in such use see INTRODUCTORY PARTICLES in the Addenda, pp. 315, 316. |