Before I begin to lay down rules for
reading, it will be necessary to take notice of the several points or
marks used in printing or writing, for resting or stopping the voice,
which are four in number, called
1. The Comma
(,)
|
3. Colon
(:) |
| 2. Semicolon
(;) |
4.
Period (.) |
These points are to give a proper time for breathing when you read, and
to prevent confusion of sense in joining words together in a sentence.
The
Comma stops the reader's
voice till he can tell
one,
and divides the lesser parts of a sentence. The
Semicolon divides the greater parts
of a sentence, and requires the
(2)
reader to pause while he can count
two.
The
Colon is used where the
sense is
complete, and not the sentence, and rests the voice of the reader till
he can count
three.
The
Period is put when the
sentence is ended, and requires a pause while he can tell
four.
But we must here remark, that the
Colon
and
Semicolon are frequently
used promiscuously, especially in our bibles.
There are two other points, which may be called marks of affection; the
one of which is termed an
Interrogation,
which signifies a question being asked, and expressed thus (?); the
other called an
Admiration or
Exclamation, and marked thus
(!). These two points require a pause as long as a period.
We have twelve other marks to be met with in reading, namely,
1. Apostrophe
(’)
|
7.
Section (§
)
|
2.
Hyphen (-)
|
8. Ellipsis
(―)
|
3. Parenthesis ( )
|
9. Index
(☞)
|
4.
Brackets [ ]
|
10. Asterisk (*)
|
5. Paragraph
(¶ )
|
11.
Obelisk (†)
|
6.
Quotation (“)
|
12.
Caret (^)
|
Apostrophe is set over a word
where some letter is wanting, as in
lov'd.
Hyphen joins syllables and
words together, as in
pan-cake.
Parenthesis includes something
not necessary to the sense, as,
I
know that in me (that is in my flesh)
liveth, &c.
Brackets include a word or words
mentioned as a matter of discourse,
(3)
as,
The little word [man]
makes a great noise, &c.
They are also used to enclose a cited sentence, or what is to be
explained, and sometimes the explanation itself.
Brackets and
Parenthesis are often used for each other
without distinction.
Paragraph
is chiefly used in the bible, and denotes the beginning of a new
subject.
Quotation is
used to distinguish what is taken from an author in his own
words.
Section shews
the division of a chapter.
Ellipsis
is used when part of a word or sentence is omitted, as p―ce.
Index denotes some remarkable
passage.
Asterisk
refers to some note in the margin, or remarks at the bottom of the
page; and when many stand together, thus ***, they imply that
something is wanting, or not fit to be read, in the author. The
Obelisk or
Dagger, and also parallel lines
marked thus (||), refer to something in the margin. The
Caret, marked thus (^), is made use
of in writing, when any line or word is left out, and wrote over where
it is to come in, as thus,
had
A certain man two sons:
^
Here the word
had was left out, wrote over, and
marked by the
Caret where to
come in.
It may also in this place be proper to mention the crooked lines or
Braces, which couple two or three
words or lines together that tend to the same thing; for instance,
(4)
This is often used in poetry, where
three lines have the same rhyme.
The other marks relate to single words, as
Dialysis or
Diæresis, placed over vowels
to
shew they must be pronounced in distinct syllables, as
Raphaël. The
Circumflex is set over a vowel to
carry a long sound, as
Euphrâtes.
An
Accent is marked thus
(á), to shew where the emphasis must be placed, as
negléct; or to
shew that the consonant following must be pronounced double, as
hómage. To these
may be added the long ( ¯) and short ( ˘) marks, which denote the
quantity of syllables, as wātĕr.
RULES
FOR READING.
When you have gained a perfect knowledge
of the sounds of the letters, never guess at a word on sight, lest you
get a habit of reading falsely. Pronounce every word
distinctly. Let the tone of your voice be the same in reading as
in speaking. Never read in a hurry, lest you learn to
stammer. Read no louder than to be heard by those about
you. Observe to make your pauses regular, and make not any
where the sense will admit of none. Suit your voice to the
subject. Be attentive to those who read well, and remember to
imitate their pronun-
(5)
ciation. Read often before good judges, and thank them for
correcting you. Consider well the place of emphasis, and
pronounce it accordingly: For the stress of voice is the same
with regard to sentences as in words. The emphasis or force of
voice is for the most part laid upon the accented syllable; but if
there is a particular opposition between two words in a sentence, one
whereof differs from the other in parts, the accent must be removed
from its place: for instance,
The
sun shines upon the just and upon the unjust. Here the
emphasis is laid upon the first syllable in
unjust, because it is opposed to
just in the same sentence, without
which opposition it would lie in its proper place, that is, on the last
syllable, as
we must not imitate the
unjust practices of others.
The general rule for knowing which is the emphatical word in a
sentence, is,
to consider the design
of the whole; for particular directions cannot be easily given,
excepting only where words evidently oppose one another in a sentence,
and those are always
emphatical.
So frequently is the word that asks a question, as,
who,
what,
when, &c. but not always.
Nor must the emphasis be always laid upon the same words in the same
sentence, but varied according to the principal meaning of the
speaker. Thus, suppose I enquire,
Did my father walk abroad yesterday?
If I lay the emphasis on the word
father,
it is evident I
(6)
want to know whether it was
he,
or
somebody else. If I lay it upon
walk, the person I speak to will
know, that I want to be informed whether he went on
foot or rode on
horseback. If I put the
emphasis upon
yesterday, it
denotes, that I am satisfied that my father went abroad, and on foot,
though I want to be informed whether it was
yesterday, or some time before.
RULES
TO READ VERSE.
There are two ways of writing on a subject, namely, in
prose and
verse.
Prose is the common way of writing,
without being confined to a certain number of syllables, or having the
trouble of disposing of the words in any particular form.
Verse requires words to be ranged
so, as the accents may naturally fall on particular syllables, and make
a sort of harmony to the ear: This is termed
metre or
measure, to which rhyme is
generally added, that is, to make two or more verses, near to each
other, and with the same sound; but this practice is not absolutely
necessary; for that which has no rhyme is called
blank verse.
In metre the words must be so disposed, as that the accent may fall on
every
second,
fourth, and
sixth syllable, and also on the
eighth,
tenth, and
twelfth, if the lines run to that
length. The following verse of ten syllables may serve for an
example:
(7)
The
mónarch spóke, and stráit a múrmur
róse.
But
English
poetry allows of frequent variations from this rule, especially in the
first and second syllables in the line, as in the verse which rhymes
with the former, where the accent is laid upon the first syllable.
Lóud
as the súrges, whén the témpest blóws.
But there are two sorts of metre, which
vary from this rule; one of which is when the verse contains but seven
syllables, and the accent lies upon the
first,
third,
fifth, and
seventh, as below:
Cóuld we, whích we
néver cán,
Strétch our
líves beyónd their spán;
Beáuty líke a
shádow flíes,
Ánd our yóuth
befóre us díes. |
The other sort has a hasty sound, and
requires an accent upon every third syllable; as,
'Tis the vóice of the
slúggard,
I heár him compláin,
You have
wák'd me too soón, I must slúmber
agáin. |
You must always observe to pronounce a verse as you do prose, giving
each word and syllable its natural accent, with these two
restrictions:
First, If
there is no point at the end of the line, make a short pause before you
begin the next.
Secondly,
If any word in a
(8)
line has two sounds, give it that which agrees best with the rhyme and
metre; for example the word
glittering
must sometimes be pronounced as of three syllables, and sometimes
glitt'ring, as of two.
The
USE of CAPITALS, and the different LETTERS used in PRINTING.
The names of the letters made use of in printed books are distinguished
thus: The round, full, and upright, are called
Roman; the long, leaning,
narrow letters are called
Italic;
and the ancient black character is called
English. You have a specimen as
follows, viz.
The
Old English is seldom
used but in acts of parliament, proclamations, &c. The
Roman is chiefly in vogue for books
and pamphlets, intermixed with
Italic,
to distinguish proper names, chapters, arguments, words in any foreign
language, texts of scripture, citations from authors, speeches or
sayings of any person, emphatical words, and whatever is strongly
significant.
The use of capitals, or great letters, is to begin every name of the
Supreme Being, as
(9)
God, Lord, Almighty, Father, Son, &c. All proper names of men
and things, titles of distinction, as King, Duke, Lord, Knight, &c.
must also begin with a capital. So ought every book, chapter,
verse, paragraph, and sentence after a period. A saying, or
quotation from any author, should begin with a capital; as ought every
line in a poem. I and O, when they stand single, must always be
capitals; any words, particularly names or substantives, may begin with
a capital; but the common way of beginning every substantive with a
capital is not commendable, and is now much disused.
Capitals are likewise often used for ornament, as in the title of
books; and also to express numbers, and abbreviations.
