PUNCTUATION hi the art of dividing written or printed coin pnaition into sentences and clauses, by points or stole, so as to indicate the closer or more remote connection of the several parts. It serves to eluchLate the sense, and thus also assists the delivery, since the latter must have reference to the grammatical construction.
The elements of a system of punctuation are di.seoverable in ancient times. Aristotle mentions the subject in his' Rhetoric' (iii. 5) ; Jerome, in tho 4th century, attended to the punctuation of the sacred books which he revised ; about the middle of the 5th century, Eutludine published an edition of the four Gospels, and afterwards of the Acts, and of all the apostolic Epistles, in which he divided the New Testament into stichoi (IrrIxo4), or lines, regulated by the sense, so that each Lennir.ated where some pause was made in the reading ; and in the Alexandrine manuscript, which may be referred to the 4th or 5th century, we find riot only a break at the end of each para graph, but stops inserted, though sparingly, in the body of the sentences.
The invention of the modern system of punctuation luta been attri buted to Aristophanea, a grammarian of Alexandria ; but the subject was very imperfectly understood till the close of the 15th century, when the learned Venetian printers, the Miumtii, increased the number of the signs, and established some fixed rules which have been so generally adopted, that we may regard them as the inventors of the present system.
The points used in English composition are : The comma, marked thus , The period, or full atop .
The semicolon The note of interrogation I The colon The note of admiration ! to which may be added the dash —, the apostrophe ', and the paren thesis ( ).
It is considered that the proper length of the pause at a comma is while we may count one ; at a semicolon, tiro ; at a colon, three ; and at a period, fear. But it will be easy to show that there is frequently a much greater separation of the sense, and that there ought therefore to be a longer pause at some commas than at others. Thus in the following sentence there should evidently be a longer pause after instance, than after candour, fortitude, charity, and generosity, though these words are all followed by the same mark of grammatical punctuation, namely the comma : " The qualities of candour, fortitude, charity, end generosity, for instance, are not in their own nature virtues ; and if ever they deserve the title, it is owing only to justice, which impels and directs them." The form and structure of sentences are so various, that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to Lay down rules for punctuation which shall meet every case which can occur. The following may serve as a general guide.
I. The comma is used, 1. To throw together such similar parts of speech as are joined in pairs by the conjunction and.
2. To separate the several members of a series, that is, a succession of similar words or members.
3. To separate from the rest of the sentence such clauses as are added by way of explication or illustration, or such as are really paren thetical, though they may not be so marked.
4. To separate from the rest of the sentence words in the vocative case.
5. In many cases to separate the relative and the antecedent.
6. To separate from the rest of the sentence such clauses as are introduced by a connective, conditional, or exceptive particle, or by an adverb of time or place; and to separate antithetical clauses, and such comparative clauses as are introduced by the adjectives like, better, by the conjunctions at, so, than, by the adverbs how much, snore, oftener, unless the comparative member at the end be short.
II. The semicolon is used when a longer pause is required than at a comma, but when the sense is imperfect, and needs some other member to render it complete. Or it is used for dividing a compound sentence into two or more parts, which are not so closely connected as those which are separated by commas only, nor yet so independent and per fect as those which admit a colon : thus " Life, with a swift though insensible course, glides away ; and liko a river which undermines its banks, gradually impairs our state."
" As there is a worldly happiness which God perceives to be only disguised misery ; as there arc worldly honours which in his estimation are a reproach ; so there is a worldly wisdom which in his sight is foolishness." III. The co/on maybe inserted 1. When a member of a sentence is complete in itself, but is followed by some additional remark or illustration of the subject : thus ' Do not flatter yourself with the idea of enjoying perfect happiness : there is no such thing in the world." " Keep close to thy business : it will keep thee from wickedness, poverty, and shame." 2. When several semicolons have preceded, and when a longer pause is necessary in order to mark the connecting or concluding sentiment : thus " A divine legislator uttering his voice from heaven ; an almighty governor stretching forth his man to punish or reward ; informing its of perpetual rest prepared hereafter for the righteous, and of indig nation and wrath awaiting the wicked : these are the considerations which overawe the world, which support integrity, and which cheek guilt" 3. A colon is generally placed at the close of the words which introduce an example, a quotation, a Raying, a speech, or a narrative : thus " The Earl of Chatham made an excellent speech, from which time following is a brief extract : ' I know that the conquest of British America is as impossibility.'" IV. The period or full stop is placcal at the end of a sentence, that is, at the cud of such an assemblage of words as present a complete and independent sense : thus " Truth is the basis of every virtue." "The Latin tongue is now called a dead Language, because it is not spoken as the mother tongue of any nation." In smile sentences an additional clause is included, which does not modify the preceding: thua " The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." These are called loose sentences.
V. The note of interrogation, as its name implies, is placed at the end of every question.
The Spaniards place this mark also at the beginning of interrogative sentences; and it must be acknowledged that in some cases this is an advantage, as it suggests to the reader from the first the tones of voice which are suitable.
VI. The note of exclamation or admiration is placed at the end of such words or clauses as express any strong passion or emotion of the mind.
The dash should be used sparingly : it is introduced with propriety where a sentence or dialogue breaks off abruptly ; where the sense is suspended, and continued after a short interruption ; where a significant pause is required; where there is an unexpected turn in the sentiment, or a sort of epigrammatic point ; when a sentence consists of several clauses which form the nominative to a verb following, or lead to a conclusion or inference, and it is desirable to assist the eye more readily than by semicolons; and in some cases to indicate an ellipsis.
The apostrophe shows the omission of a letter, as iu form'd, e'en, e'er, used chiefly in poetry; and in the genitive case, as man's, boys, both in prose and poetry.
The parenthesis marks a clause, which should contain some necessary information, or a useful remark, introduced into the body of a sentence indirectly, but which might be omitted without doing injury to the sense of the construction.
It has been remarked above, that one use of the points is as a guide to reading ; but it must not be supposed that those which are usually inserted even in well punctuated books are sufficient for this purpose. But the pauses required in good and impressive reading or speaking belong to elocution, and will be found treated of under ORATORY.