Читать книгу The Etymology and Syntax of the English Language Explained and Illustrated онлайн

52 страница из 93

“Happy the man whose cautious feet shun the broad way that sinners go.”

Here, “happy that man” would express the same idea. The Latins accordingly employed the demonstrative word ille; beatus ille, “happy the man.”

What, then, is the difference between the and that? To ascertain this, let us inquire, in what cases the is employed, and whether that can be substituted in its stead.

The word the is employed,

1st, When we express an object of eminence or notoriety, or the only one of a kind in which we are interested, as, “the king,” when we mean “the king of England.” “He was concerned in bringing about the revolution,” when we mean the revolution in this country. “Virgil copied the Grecian bard,” or “Homer.” “I am going to the city,” when I mean “London.” In none of these cases can we substitute that for the, without laying a particular emphasis on the subject, and implying that its character is there described in contradistinction to some other of the same species. Thus, “he was concerned in that revolution, which was accomplished by the English barons.” “He copied that Grecian bard, who disputes the claim of antiquity with Homer.”