=Of= signifies divided, separated, or parted.  “The ship is off the coast.”  “I am bound off, and you are bound out.”  “A part of a pencil,” is that part which is separated from the rest, implying that the act of separating, or offing, has taken place.  “A branch of the tree.”  There is the tree; this branch is from it.  “Our communication was broken off several years ago.”  “Sailors record their offings, and parents love their offspring,” or those children which sprung from them.[7] “We also are his offspring;” that is, sprung from God.[8] In all these, and every other case, you will perceive the meaning of the word, and its office will soon appear essential in the expression of thought.  Had all the world been a compact whole, nothing ever separated from it, we could never speak of a part of it, for we could never have such an idea.  But we look at things, as separated, divided, parted; and speak of one thing as separated from the others.  Hence, when we speak of the part of the earth we inhabit, we, in imagination, separate it from some other part, or the general whole.  We can not use this word in reference to a thing which is indivisible, because we can conceive no idea of a part of an indivisible thing.  We do not say, a portion of our mind taken as a whole, but as capable of division.  A share of our regards, supposes that the remainder is reserved for something else.

=Out=, out_er_ or utter, outer_most_ or utmost, admits of the same remark as in.

* * * * *

In this manner, we might explain a long list of words, called adverbs, conjunctions, and prepositions.  But I forbear, for the present, the further consideration of this subject, and leave it for another lecture.

LECTURE VII.

ON ADJECTIVES.

Adjectives.—­How formed.—­The syllable ly.—­Formed from proper nouns.—­The apostrophe and letter s.—­Derived from pronouns.—­ Articles.—­A comes from an.—­Indefinite.—­The.—­Meaning of a and the.—­Murray’s example.—­That.—­What.—­“Pronoun adjectives.”—­Mon, ma.—­Degrees of comparison.—­Secondary adjectives.—­Prepositions admit of comparison.

We resume the consideration of Adjectives.  The importance of this class of words in the expression of our thoughts, is my excuse for bestowing upon it so much labor.  Had words always been used according to their primitive meaning, there would be little danger of being misunderstood.  But the fact long known, “Verba mutanter”—­words change—­has been the prolific source of much of the diversity of opinion, asperity of feeling, and apparent misconstruction of other’s sentiments, which has disturbed society, and disgraced mankind.  I have, in a former lecture, alluded to this point, and call it up in this place to prepare your minds to understand what is to be said on the secondary use of words in the character of adjectives.