250 Miscellaneous Observations. particular emphasis, der Faust Goethes. But at the same time they would say die Einwohner der Stadt^ die Grbsse des Hauses^ die Furcht des Todes : Werther begins his first letter with was ist das Herz des Menschen^ and closes the second with ich erliege unter der Gewalt der Herrlichkeit dieser Erscheinungen. In phrases of this kind if the usual order is inverted, it gives the style an elevated cast : nor is such an inversion common except in poetry, where, as in En- glish, it is very acceptable, because, as the genitive in some measure defines the word it is attacht to, it serves in lieu of the article. The general principle by which the order of the words in such cases is regulated, is the same in German and English : the less important leads the way, the more impor- tant, as in a procession, follows. Thus for example, if we take the opening of Paradise Lost — Of mans first disobe- dience^ and the fruit Of that forbidden tree — it is evident that, had Milton written Of the first disobedience of man^ and that forbidden tree'^s fruity his meaning would have been different from what it is : he now calls on the Muse to sing of man's first act of disobedience, as distinguisht from all his other acts, and of the fruit of that for- bidden tree, as distinguisht from that of all other trees: whereas the other arrangement of the words would have laid the stress on man as distinguisht from other beings, and on the fruit as distinguisht from the rest of the tree. Hence such expressions as the Paradise lost of Milton^ the Principia of Newton^ to which I objected in the last Number (p. 678) on the score of inelegance, are faulty also on another count : except where there is a special purpose to challenge attention for the author, rather than for the work. When the work is the main object, it ought to stand last. It is ex- ceedingly thoughtless therefore to say, as most of our gram- marians do, Mr Crombie for instance (p. 256)^ that '-'the geni- tive case is generally resolvable into the objective with the preposition of: as the king'^s sceptre^ or the sceptre of the king^ his head^ or the head of him. r as if any creature that had a notion of speaking English could ever say, the eocecii- tioner cut off the head of him. Indeed one might pronounce pretty confidently that no people under the sun was ever so devoid of all power of analysing its thoughts, as to 2;o on for
