RULE XII.—­PRONOUNS.

When a Pronoun has two or more antecedents connected by and, it must agree with them jointly in the plural, because they are taken together:  as, “Minos and Thales sung to the lyre the laws which they composed.”—­STRABO:  Blair’s Rhet., p. 379. “Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided.”—­2 Sam., i, 23.

   “Rhesus and Rhodius then unite their rills,
    Caresus roaring down the stony hills.”—­Pope, Il., B. xii, l. 17.

EXCEPTION FIRST.

When two or more antecedents connected by and serve merely to describe one person or thing, they are either in apposition or equivalent to one name, and do not require a plural pronoun; as, “This great philosopher and statesman continued in public life till his eighty-second year.”—­“The same Spirit, light, and life, which enlighteneth, also sanctifieth, and there is not an other.”—­Penington.  “My Constantius and Philetus confesseth me two years older when I writ it.”—­Cowley’s Preface.  “Remember these, O Jacob and Israel! for thou art my servant.”—­Isaiah, xliv, 21.  “In that strength and cogency which renders eloquence powerful.”—­Blair’s Rhet., p. 252.

EXCEPTION SECOND.

When two antecedents connected by and are emphatically distinguished, they belong to different propositions, and, if singular, do not require a plural pronoun; as, “The butler, and not the baker, was restored to his office.”—­“The good man, and the sinner too, shall have his reward.”—­“Truth, and truth only, is worth seeking for its own sake.”—­“It is the sense in which the word is used, and not the letters of which it is composed, that determines what is the part of speech to which it belongs.”—­Cobbett’s Gram., 130.

EXCEPTION THIRD.

When two or more antecedents connected by and are preceded by the adjective each, every, or no, they are taken separately, and do not require a plural pronoun; as, “Every plant and every tree produces others after its own kind.”—­“It is the cause of every reproach and distress which has attended your government.”—­Junius, Let. xxxv.  But if the latter be a collective noun, the pronoun may be plural; as, “Each minister and each church act according to their own impressions.”—­Dr. M’Cartee.

OBSERVATIONS ON RULE XII.

OBS. 1.—­When the antecedents are of different persons, the first person is preferred to the second, and the second to the third; as, “John, and thou, and I, are attached to our country.”—­“John and thou are attached to your country.”—­“The Lord open some light, and show both you and me our inheritance!”—­Baxter. “Thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.”—­Numbers, xviii, 1.