ADDRESS TO THE ALMIGHTY.—­POPE.

  What conscience dictates to be done,
    Or warns me not to do,
  This teach me more than hell to shun,
    That more than heav’n pursue.

TRANSPOSED.

O God, teach thou me to pursue that (the thing) which conscience dictates to be done, more ardently than I pursue heaven; and teach thou me to shun this (the thing) which conscience warns me not to do, more cautiously than I would shun hell.

TRIALS OF VIRTUE.—­MERRICK.

  For see, ah! see, while yet her ways
    With doubtful step I tread,
  A hostile world its terrors raise,
    Its snares delusive spread. 
  O how shall I, with heart prepared,
    Those terrors learn to meet? 
  How, from the thousand snares to guard
    My unexperienced feet?

TRANSPOSED.

For see thou, ah! see thou a hostile world to raise its terrors, and see thou a hostile world to spread its delusive snares, while I yet tread her (virtue’s) ways with doubtful steps.

O how shall I learn to meet those terrors with a prepared heart?  How shall I learn to guard my unexperienced feet from the thousand snares of the world?

THE MORNING IN SUMMER.—­THOMPSON.

  Short is the doubtful empire of the night;
  And soon, observant of approaching day,
  The meek-eyed morn appears, mother of dews,
  At first, faint gleaming in the dappled east,
  Till far o’er ether spreads the wid’ning glow,
  And from before the lustre of her face
  White break the clouds away.

TRANSPOSED.

The doubtful empire of the night is short; and the meek-eyed morn, (which is the) mother of dews, observant of approaching day, soon appears, gleaming faintly, at first, in the dappled east, till the widening glow spreads far over ether, and the white clouds break away from before the lustre of her face.

NATURE BOUNTIFUL.—­AKENSIDE.

  —­Nature’s care, to all her children just,
  With richest treasures, and an ample state,
  Endows at large whatever happy man
  Will deign to use them.

TRANSPOSED.

Nature’s care, which is just to all her children, largely endows, with richest treasures and an ample state, that happy man who will deign to use them.

NOTE. What, in the second example, is a comp. rel.  The antecedent part is gov. by teach understood; and the relative part by to feel expressed. To shun and to pursue, in the third example, are in the infinitive mood, gov. by than, according to a NOTE under Rule 23. Faint and from, in the 5th example, are adverbs.  An adverb, in poetry, is often written in the form of an adjective. Whatever, in the last sentence, is a compound pronoun, and is equivalent to that and who.  That is an adj. pron. belonging to “man;” who is nom. to “will deign;” and ever is excluded from the sentence in sense.  See page 113.  Parse these examples as they are transposed, and you will find the analysis very easy.

ADDITIONAL EXERCISES IN PARSING.