Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1857-05-08
fFor he IntenIFeneer.l
ssTHE POFT,s IDEA ),

Nessrs Editors III certainly ssconsider II no
more than right that yopr intelligent CORES
pOndent PaTgl.ss should offer as many criticisms
as he chose upon former criticisms of mime
PaFtus Will, however, pardon me, when CON
fsss that his criticisms have notconvinced me Of
any alleged error, nor have they given me any
different opinion Of sthe poets idea" He reit-
crates the theory of ~, ]. E. s'that the idea in
tended was that the mountains produce the
AhadeS y and so Arm is he in his Faith that he
! thinks there can be mo doubt Of this. Let us
see.
You will observe that Plrrm has not found
any grammatical error in my translationof the
disputed sentence Indeed, may venture to
say, he cannot Il VII thus be seen, at least
/ that my he right. On tho other hand,
think that can show error, both in the gram
NAUTICAL government and in the conception of
1.-THE poets idea The rule, or more pfoRerly
J the exception to rule, cited with which as
/ sure PdrruS was well acquainted,) fs-"The
dative of the possessor is governed by substan-
Etives denoting the thing possessed Under this
rule Tor exceptionl he HloHti6Gs strictly in
/ the sense of genitive. In other words, he
considers the genitiYe to have been changed for
Z the d.,tiye Now mark Billions (Lat Gram.
7 $40, obs. .. }, from whom he quotes, observes
upon this rule that "therc are but few instances,
however, in which the genitive under that rule
| 1.-THE rule that one substantive governs another
in the genitive.) could with prOprety he chang
ed for the dntiVe-" There are but feis instan-
ces," then, in which the construction given by
ParsuS is allowed, and it would seem little
rash, at least, to give it such one, especially
when it will admit of another, to which as yet
no exception has been taken. '10n the other
hand, he continues sswhen the dative is used,
the geaitiFe Geould fitil to express, so precisely,
| the idea intended" But would 1t fail, in this
| case, according to Pareus' translation? Ger
tainiy not; because the genitive (n1ORtium)
| soouId express precisely the same idea that he
makes the dativc asontibus to express. could
makes this still more clear hy quoting further
authority, but space prohibits.
Pfrrus slightly uisunderstands the coDstruc-
ton formerly given hy me did not give it the
same that found fault with in ". govern
| naOntibus by the adjective, cOnreE0, Cand HOk by
the noun cdeumind.l And here, Iohserve, ! am
at issue with him. Certain adjectives govern
the dative, among these are expressly mentioned
several adjectives compounded of con. Thus,
in the sentence meas sibi coRsciT Tecti, the add
Elective c0asclG, and not the substantive mems
agreeing with it, governs the datiye sim. Hence,
the substantive need not necessarily be the gov
erning word. '"Ehe datiSe under this rule" says
Billions ''like the gsHitire under Rule X, is
used to limit the meaning Of the adjective to a
particular object end, tn tnhie6 ths quality,
erpresSei By Il, isdireated." Now. to what Ob-
ject is the quality expressed by the adjective
cORrezg directed? To the shades" or E'clOuds?'
,
must be to the ''mountains," because this is the
only other substantive in the sentance. PdrcUs
own translation gives color to this theory, for
he certainly would have us understand the slopes
Of the mountains and not of any other object
LhaVe thus shown, that upon grammatical
principles, Parr1s' translation is incorrect, whilst
that given by myself is entirely consistent with
grammatical rules. Unjust therefore still believe
my5own to be as near as can be, literal trans
lation, to wit: 'tAs long the clouds shall en-
circle the rounded peaks of the mountains"
Assuming this to be correct, the image in the
therivers, which he had just been contemplat.
ing, and raising them alOft to the SUBMITS Of
mountains, covered perhaps with eternal snow
and eucircied continually with the clouds of
heaven, and associating his heros praises with
the sublime idea, caught from this eloquent
spectacle Of nature, he exclaims: $50 long as
these majestic clouds shall hover around the
lofty peaks Of these mountains, shall thy name
and thy honor remain" That's, they shall be
eternal. TvT1RE