Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-06-13

1 Here is an Instance where we can nn-
| derstand the writer's ignorance, or
strictly speaking, the confusion in his
mind between two different construc
lions. Tho place IN our version where
this particular error is found IL In those
passages OF the gospels where Christ
is represented as asking the opinion or
His disciples ms to the view entertained
of Him by people in general and by
themselves In particular. Whom do
mon say that / amp" IL tho question as
IL appears I'm Matthew. This may be
taken as the representative of all the
six Instances OF the occurrence OF the
construction. Its employment was due
to no lnadvertence. II liz essentially
the same in the account as found IN
each or the first three gospels, 1t must
accordingly have received the assent
of all the scholars engaged In the pre-
paration OF the Authorized Version. The
same error liz found not unfrequcntly
now In the writings of men who can
hardly plead haste as an excuse and
sometimes not even carelessness Tho
construction has been occasionally EN-
ployed by authors OF some iepute who
have clearly resorted to II deliberately.
For example: it appears so regularly in
the writings OF Bret Harte that II IL
manifest that he took especial pains II
make use OF 1t under the impression
that 1t was the only proper thing to do.
Sentences like the two following turn
up constantly In his tales.
THE revelation came from people
whom he was conscious were the infer
Tors of himself and his Wife
The young companion of the doctor
whom she learned was the doctors fac
tor"
In all such cases the error arises from
mingllng of which has been brought
about by the Intervention of clause
containing another verb, 1t would
never be made II one simple fact were
kept In mind, The verb to be takes
the Same case after 1t as before it. If
one of the finite lenses be used, both
the subject and the subject predicate
are necessarily in the nominative. Ir
II be the infinitive which is employed.
1t IL the accusative that must appear
in both instances, or, to adopt Eng
fish grammatical terminology, the OBJ
Jective. No one would think of asking
such question as, Whom am II" Yet
It is thing of this very sort which Is
done In the passage quoted from Mat
thew; and 1t is done because the two
subjects had been separated by an in
tervening verb. On the other hand,
1t would have been dramatically cor
rect, even IL rather unusual, to put the
question In this form, Whom do men
say me TO be?"-Professor Thomas II.
Lounsbury, in Harper's Magazine for
June.
Alex. Dumas In fact, Dumas has UNI
a Teacher doubtedly taught the
or History. history of France to
thousands who would
otherwise have had little concern with
IT. And his characters live. Catherine
de- Medici and her sons. Louis XIV,
Mazarin the Duo de Richelieu, Marie
Antoinette-we know them as we know
people whom we meet every day: In
one sense, perhaps. not at all; but in
another sense, intimately, Great ac-
tions call for large background, which
should be handled with the wide sweep
of the scene painter. not with the cur
ious minuteness of the artist In minia-
lures. The very abundance of these
characters, the vastness of the canvas
helps the reality. and In this matter
of amplitude Dumas and Scott show
their genius. and triumph over the
petty concentration of later imitators
Nor are the characters wholly or main
ly of Dumas own invention less vivid
than those historical: for Dumas learn