6. A colon is put at the end of a clause complete in sense, when something follows which tends to make the sense fuller or clearer. (See Rules 9 and 13.)
There is yet another sphere for the electric motor to fill: that of street railway propulsion.—N. A. Review; April, 1888.
In free states no man should take up arms, but with a view to defend his country and its laws: he puts off the citizen when he enters the camp; but it is because he is a citizen, and would continue to be so, that he makes himself for a while a soldier.—Blackstone’s Commentaries, Book I., Ch. 13.
7. The last of several clauses that introduce a concluding remark or sentiment should be followed by a colon, if the preceding clauses have been punctuated with semicolons.
A pickpocket in every car; a cheat at every station; every third switch on the road misplaced; the danger of being hurled from the track, and then burned alive: these considerations prevent my traveling on the railroad of which you speak.
OBS. 2. In examples like the above, a very common and perhaps better method is to put a comma and dash in place of the colon. The colon is neater, but more old-fashioned. (See second example under Rule 10.)
8. The colon is commonly used whenever an example, a quotation, or a speech is introduced.
The Scriptures give us an amiable representation of the Deity in these words: “God is love.”
OBS. 3. Modern writers, instead of the colon, mostly use the semicolon, dash, or period. Our first example, under Rule 9,—with a colon substituted for the semicolon,—might with propriety have been placed under Rule 6. We prefer the semicolon, however; {p98} and if the word for were inserted in the example mentioned, the colon would be inadmissible:
“Let there be no strife between theology and science; for there need be none.”
In reprinting old works, the colon should be carefully retained, as essential to a clear understanding of them.
The colon is generally placed after as follows, the following, in these words, thus, or any other word or phrase which formally introduces something; and when the matter introduced forms a distinct paragraph, the colon may or may not be followed by a dash, as the style of the author or office may require.
9. When two or more clauses of a sentence are not so closely connected as to admit the use of a comma, a semicolon is used.
Let there be no strife between theology and science; there need be none.
Wisdom hath builded her house; she hath hewn out her seven pillars; she hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.
10. When a number of particulars depend on an introductory or a final clause, such particulars may be separated from each other by a semicolon.
There are three difficulties in authorship: to write anything worth the publishing; to get honest men to publish it; and to get sensible men to read it.
To present a general view of the whole Vedic literature; to define its extent; to divide it into well-distinguished classes of writings; to portray the circumstances of their origin, and the stage of cultural development which they represent; and to explain the method of their preservation and transmission to us,—were some of the objects which Müller had in view. {p99}
11. Loosely connected clauses of a sentence should be separated by semicolons, if those clauses or any of them are subdivided by commas.
As the rays of the sun, notwithstanding their velocity, injure not the eye by reason of their minuteness; so the attacks of envy, notwithstanding their number, ought not to wound our virtue by reason of their insignificance.
OBS. 4. In the first sentence of the following example, a comma between the clauses is sufficient, because there are no points in the clauses; but the second sentence may serve to illustrate Rules 11 and 12:
As there are some faults that have been termed faults on the right side, so there are some errors that might be denominated errors on the safe side. Thus, we seldom regret having been too mild, too cautious, or too humble; but we often repent having been too violent, too precipitate, or too proud.
12. When two clauses not closely dependent on each other, are connected by but, for, and, or some similar connective, they are separated by a semicolon.
I will not be revenged, and this I owe to my enemy; but I will remember, and this I owe to myself.
A wise minister would rather preserve peace than gain a victory; because he knows that even the most successful war leaves nations generally more poor, always more profligate, than it found them.
Ingratitude in a superior is very often nothing more than the refusal of some unreasonable request; and if the patron does too little, it is not unfrequently because the dependent expects too much.
13. Phrases are often set off by a semicolon, viz.:
a. Explanatory phrases.
There remain to us moderns, only two roads to success; discovery and conquest.
b. Participial and adjective phrases. {p100}
I have first considered whether it be worth while to say anything at all, before I have taken any trouble to say it well; knowing that words are but air, and that both are capable of much condensation.
These roads are what all roads should be; suitable for light carriages, and for heavy-laden wagons.
c. Any phrase, especially if elliptical, or if divisible into smaller portions by commas.
(OBS. 5. In speaking or in writing, we “almost always leave out some of the words which are necessary to a full expression of our meaning. This leaving out is called the ellipsis.”)
John Milton; born Dec. 9, 1608; completed Paradise Lost, 1665; died Nov. 10, 1674.
14. Repeated words or expressions; three or more serial terms; two unconnected serial terms,—are separated from each other by the comma.
a. Repeated words or expressions.
Shut, shut the door.
Give me back, give me back the wild freshness of morning.
b. Three or more serial terms.
Shakspeare, Butler, and Bacon have rendered it extremely difficult for all who come after them to be sublime, witty, or profound.
The firm of Smith, Longman, Jones, Llewellyn, & Co.
But some printers, while observing the above rule in general, except the names of firms and railroad companies; which, in their publications, appear as follows: {p101}
The firm of Longman, Jones, Llewellyn & Co.
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé R. R. Co.
c. Two unconnected serial terms.
He had a keen, ready wit.
OBS. 6. The second example under a (“The inside and outside, the what and the why,”) furnishes an illustration of the mode of punctuating terms joined in pairs.
OBS. 7. Style sometimes requires the omission of the comma before and, or, nor, when one of these connectives precedes the last term of a series: as “Shakspeare, Butler and Bacon have rendered it extremely difficult for all who come after them to be sublime, witty or profound.” But when the words are all in the same predicament, the comma should be inserted; e. g.,—if you wish to state that three certain persons are wise, you would point thus:
But if Richard and John are the Solons, and you wish to inform Thomas of that fact, you would point thus:
So, in the first example under b, if it is desired to qualify the three adjectives by the phrase “in the highest degree,” the comma after witty must stand: “in the highest degree sublime, witty, or profound.” But if that phrase is intended to apply to sublime only, the pointing should be thus: “in the highest degree sublime, witty or profound.”
15. Phrases, clauses, and words, inverted, or otherwise not in their natural position, generally require to be set off by a comma.
Into this illustrious society, my friend was joyfully received.
When we quarrel with ourselves, we are sure to be losers.
To satisfy you on that point, I will make a short argument.
Roe, Richard. Doe, John.
OBS. 8. The exceptions to this rule are numerous. If the first and last words of a passage are related (for him the summer wind murmured); if the inverted phrase be brief, and can be read in close connection with what follows (in youth we have little sympathy with the misfortunes of age); or if the principal clause is itself inverted (In the center of the common rises a noble monument),—the comma is usually omitted.
OBS. 9. In long lists of proper names, as Directories, etc., it is usual to omit the comma, although the names are transposed, and to print thus:
16. When the principal sentence is broken to receive an incidental or parenthetic expression, a comma is placed at the break, and another at the end of the inserted clause.
Rulers and magistrates should attempt to operate on the minds of their respective subjects, if possible, by reward rather than punishment.
Some writers, in a vain attempt to be cutting and dry, give us only that which is cut and dried.
It is known to every physician, that, whatever lazy people may say to the contrary, early rising tends to longevity.
OBS. 10. The former comma is frequently omitted. Especially is this the case when the previous part of the sentence has required commas. Liberal pointing would omit the comma after “where,” in the above example. And in the following sentence, from General Marcy’s “Ramblings in the West,” note the omission of the comma after “and,” and from the parenthetic clause “it was believed”:
This, with the destruction of our trains, consumed the greater part of our winter supplies, and as they could not be replenished from the Missouri River before the following June, General Johnston, the commander, determined to send a detachment directly over the mountains to New Mexico, from whence it was believed supplies could be obtained earlier than from farther east. {p103}
Notice, also, the omission of the comma after “and” and “but,” in the following paragraphs:
He left college; and forsaken by his friends, he took refuge with the parliament party.—Marsh, Eccl. Hist.
The written law is sufficient to decide this case; but inasmuch as the irregularity in question is a fertile source of disputes, the case has been deemed worthy of insertion.—Cavendish.
(The most common parenthetic expressions are at least, at most, accordingly, as it were, beyond question, consequently, doubtless, furthermore, generally speaking, in the mean time, on the other hand, etc.)
17. Words or phrases expressing contrast, or emphatically distinguished, and terms having a common relation to some other term that follows them, require the comma.
a. Contrast or notable difference.
His style is correct, yet familiar.
I asked for money, not advice.
’Twas fat, not fate, by which Napoleon fell.
Although Prince Hohenlohe was far more specific in pointing out what ought to be avoided than in showing what ought to be done, yet there could be no mistaking the course which the government was intending to pursue.
They are charitable, not to benefit the poor, but to court the rich.
OBS. 11. Two contrasted words having a common dependence, and connected by but, though, yet, or as well as, should not be separated; as, There are springs of clear but brackish water.
b. Terms having a common relation to a succeeding term.
Ordered, That the Committee on Banking be, and they hereby are, instructed to report a bill. {p104}
That officer was not in opposition to, but in close alliance with, thieves.
OBS. 12. Some proof-readers, however, omit the second comma, when but a single word follows the latter proposition; as, “Many states were in alliance with, and under the protection of Rome.” The better method is to insert the point. “[Bonner was] an accomplished Italian, and probably also a Spanish, scholar.”—Froude.
18. Correlative terms, or expressions having a reciprocal relation, are separated by a comma.
The farther we look back into those distant periods, all the objects seem to become more obscure.
The more a man has, the more he wants.
As he that knows how to put proper words in proper places evinces the truest knowledge of books, so he that knows how to put fit persons in fit stations evinces the truest knowledge of men.
It is not so difficult a task to plant new truths, as to root out old errors.
Where MacDonald sits, there is the head of the table.
Cincinnatus and Washington were greater in their retirement, than Cæsar and Napoleon at the summit of their ambition; since it requires less magnanimity to win the conquest, than to refuse the spoil.
OBS. 13. Sometimes when that, and generally when as or than, so that or such that is used, the connection is too close to admit the comma.
Cromwell’s enemies say that he always fought with more sincerity than he prayed.
Your house is larger than mine.
Paper is not so good as gold.
The old gentleman is so infirm that he can scarcely move.
He told such a story that we were all deceived by it. {p105}
19. Words used in direct address, and independent and absolute words, with what belongs to them, are separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.
Q. You say, Mr. Witness, that you were present?
A. Yes, sir.
Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes.
My son, give me thy heart.
At length, having fought the good fight, he left the world in peace.
To confess the truth, I was in fault.
Richard Roe, his father being dead, succeeded to the estate.
Silence having been obtained, the speaker went on with his remarks.
20. The clauses of a compound sentence may be separated by a comma when the connection is too close for the semicolon.
The winds roared in the woods, and the torrents tumbled from the hills.
Hasten to your homes, and there teach your children to detest the deeds of tyranny.
It has, by some grammarians, been given as a rule, to use a comma to set off every part of a compound sentence, which part has in it a verb not in the infinitive mode.
OBS. 14. A dependent clause should be separated by a comma, unless closely connected.
It argues a defect of method, when an author is obliged to write notes upon his own works.
Unless we hurry to the beach, the tide will overtake us.
Whatever reception the present age may give this work, we rest satisfied with our endeavors to deserve a kind one.
When the Tartars make a Lama, their first care is to place him in a dark corner of the temple.
OBS. 15. If a clause beginning with as, because, if, wherever, how, lest, than, that, when, where, whether, while, why, or any {p106} adverb of time, place, or manner, follows a clause with which it is closely connected in sense, it is not set off by a comma: “He went away when the boat left.” “We love him because he first loved us.” “He will pay if he is able.” “Tell me whether you will return.”
OBS. 16. An infinitive phrase closely connected with what it modifies, should not be set off by a comma; as, “We use language to express our thoughts.” “Nouns do not vary their endings to denote certain cases.” But if the infinitive phrase is preceded by in order, or if it is remote from what it modifies, it should be set off by a comma. “He collected a great many young elms from various parts of England, to adorn his grounds.” “If dissimulation is ever to be pardoned, it is that which men have recourse to, in order to obtain situations which will enlarge their sphere of general usefulness.”
21. A word or phrase used in apposition, to explicate or illustrate a previous word or phrase, should be set off by commas; but if the words in apposition constitute a single phrase or a proper name, they should not be separated.
a. Comma required.
Johnson, that mighty Caliban of literature, is held up to view in the pages of Boswell.
The alligator, or cayman, is found in the Orinoco.
Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, was eminent for his zeal and knowledge.
If the position of the terms in apposition is reversed, commas are required.
The apostle of the Gentiles, Paul, was eminent for his zeal and knowledge.
That old last century poet, Crowley, sings thus.
b. Comma not required.
Johnson the lexicographer completed his dictionary in seven years. {p107}
We the undersigned agree to pay the sums set against our names respectively.
Jeremy the prophet commanded them that were carried away to take of the fire, as it hath been signified.
I Paul have written it with mine own hand.
The poet Chaucer lived in the reign of Richard II.
Sir John Walpole understood two grand secrets of state: the power of principal, and the weakness of principle.
22. A simple sentence usually requires no point except the period at the end of it.
Count Bismarck has preserved a pleasant intimacy with his old preceptor.
OBS. 17. When the subject is a clause ending with a verb, or with a noun that might be mistaken for the nominative, a comma should be inserted before the predicate.
That winter campaigns are undertaken, shows a desire to kill the Indians.
Captain Smith’s obedience to orders, issued in his promotion.
Every year that is added to the age of the world, serves to lengthen the thread of its history.
He that gives a portion of his time and talent to the investigation of mathematical truth, will come to all other questions with a decided advantage over his opponents.
In the following sentence, a comma after “them” might not be improper (for we once heard a reader place a pause after “attacked”),—but we shall not attack one of General Sherman’s sentences, lest we “get the worst of it.”
During this campaign hundreds if not thousands of miles of similar intrenchments were built by both armies, and as a rule whichever party attacked one of them got the worst of it.—Memoirs Gen. W. T. Sherman.
OBS. 18. Whether a comma should be inserted after the verb to be, when that verb is followed by an infinitive clause which might by transposition be made the nominative, is a question on which the best authorities differ.
First Method.—The highest art of the mind of man is to possess itself with tranquillity in the hour of danger. {p108}
Second Method.—The highest art of the mind of man is, to possess itself with tranquillity in the hour of danger.
We are of opinion that usage is in favor of the omission of the comma, as in the following examples:
The proposed object of the Union Dictionary is to comprehend at once all that is truly useful in Johnson, Sheridan, and Walker.—Thomas Browne.
The grandest of all conditions is to be at once healthy and wise and good.—D’Arcy Thompson.
OBS. 19. When the subject is an infinitive phrase, the better method is not to separate it; as, “To be totally indifferent to praise or censure is a real defect in character.” Still there is excellent authority for inserting a comma, thus: “To be totally indifferent to praise or censure, is a real defect in character.” In sentences of this kind we advise the proof-reader to omit the comma unless the author is uniform in the insertion of it.
OBS. 20. Some grammarians set off by a comma the predicate, when it refers to separated nominatives preceding it; as, “The benches, chairs, and tables, were thrown down.” And, again, we find this example given: “Veracity, justice, and charity, are essential virtues.” So, in the ordinances of the City of Boston, “if any person or persons shall roast any cocoa,” without having complied with certain conditions, “he, she, or they, shall forfeit and pay for every such offense,” etc.,—a comma appearing after they, although a conjunction precedes it. But the weight of authority is against separating the last noun or pronoun of such compound subject from the verb when the conjunction is used. The last quotation, above given, should read, “he, she, or they shall forfeit,” etc.
23. A comma should be placed before or after a word or phrase, to associate it with the group to which it belongs, if, without the comma, the sentence would be equivocal; and generally, a comma may be inserted wherever its use will prevent ambiguity.
This man, only cared to lay up money.
This man only, cared to lay up money.
Whoever lives opprobriously, must perish.
The first maxim among philosophers is, that merit only, makes distinction. {p109}
The delight which I found in reading Pliny, first inspired me with the idea of a work of this nature.—Goldsmith.
My communication was offered and refused.
My communication was offered, and refused on account of its length.
OBS. 21. We recently met with this last sentence, pointed as follows: “My communication was offered and refused, on account of its length”; but it is not easy to see why the length of a communication should be assigned as the reason for having offered it.
“Every favor a man receives in some measure sinks him below his dignity.”—Goldsmith.
OBS. 22. A comma should have been placed after receives.
24. No comma is put between two words or phrases in apposition, following the verbs think, name, make, consider, and others of a similar meaning.
They made him their ruler.
They called him captain.
They saluted him king.
I esteem you my friend.
Believing him an honest man, we elected him treasurer.
We constituted our Secretary a depositary of German books.
I consider him a gentleman.
OBS. 23. Of the terms in apposition, one is the subject, and the other the predicate, of to be, understood (“They made him to be their ruler”). The rule might, therefore, be worded thus: When, of two terms in apposition, one is predicated of the other, no comma is required.
25. In a compound sentence, the comma is often inserted where a verb is omitted.
In literature, our taste will be discovered by that which we give; our judgment, by that which we withhold.
Wit consists in finding out resemblances; judgment, in discerning differences. {p110}
In the pursuit of intellectual pleasure lies every virtue; of sensual, every vice.
Sheridan once observed of a certain speech, that all its facts were invention, and all its wit, memory.
OBS. 24. But sometimes the comma is not inserted: especially when the style is lively; when the clauses have a common relation to something that follows; or when they are connected by a conjunction.
Could Johnson have had less prejudice, Addison more profundity, or Dryden more time, they would have been well qualified for the arduous office of a critic.
The Germans do not appear so vivacious, nor the Turks so energetic, as to afford triumphant demonstrations in behalf of the sacred weed.
The boat was tight, the day fine, the bait tempting, and the fishes hungry.
26. A short quotation, a remarkable expression, or a short observation somewhat in manner of a quotation, is set off by the comma.
Plutarch calls lying, the vice of slaves.
It hurts a man’s pride to say, I do not know.
Cicero observed to a degenerate patrician, “I am the first of my family, but you are the last of yours.”
An upright minister asks, what recommends a man; a corrupt minister, who.
There is an old poet who has said, “No deity is absent, if prudence is with thee.”
They tell me here, that people frequent the theater to be instructed as well as amused.
The old proverb, “Too much freedery breeds despise,” is now rendered, “Familiarity breeds contempt.”
OBS. 25. When the introductory clause is short, the comma may be omitted; as “Charles Fox said that restorations are the most bloody of all revolutions.”—“Madame de Staël admits that she discovered, as she grew old, the men could not find out that wit in her at fifty, which she possessed at twenty-five.” {p111}
27. Numbers are divided by the comma into periods of three figures each.
The distance of the sun from the earth is usually stated at 95,000,000 miles.
OBS. 26. In a number expressing the year of an era, the comma is not used; as, July 4, 1876. In tabular work it is very neat and convenient to omit the comma, as in the following example:
The number of letters in 1600 lbs. of Pica is as follows:
| a | 17000 | |
| b | 3200 | |
| c | 6000 | |
| d | 8800 | |
| e | 24000, | etc. |
OBS. 27. In some offices the style requires all numbers less than 1,000 to be expressed in words; 1,000 and upwards in figures. Some printers insert the comma before hundreds, only when five figures or more occur.
28. Restrictive phrases or clauses are not set off by the comma.
He reviewed such regiments as were armed with Enfield rifles.
They flatter the vanities of those with whom they have to do.
Attend to the remarks which the preacher is about to make.
Bishop Watson most feelingly regrets the valuable time he was obliged to squander away.
A false concord in words may be pardoned in him who has produced a true concord between such momentous things as the purest faith and the profoundest reason.
“He is known by his company” is a proverb that does not invariably apply.
Cattle which live in herds, are subject to various diseases. {p112}
OBS. 28. Adjective elements which are simply descriptive, and not restrictive, should be set off by commas; thus:
Cattle, which live in herds, are subject to various diseases.
The first verse of the fourteenth chapter of Job, in the King James Bible, reads:
Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.
The Douay Bible reads:
Man born of a woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries.
The Protestant Episcopal Burial Service points correctly:
Man, that is born of a woman, hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery.