Welsh Journals

506 Old Price s Remains. (there is), are the only exceptions I can think of. But, how well babies get on without it! " Baby good," " baby tired," &c, are understood by every one ; which proves that, even in English, this habit of constantly inserting it, is merely idiomatical, and not essential. I afterwards (i.e., about February 14, 184-8) learnt that, in parables, as Matt xiii. 37-39 ; or in symbols, as Rev. iv. 5, and v. 6-8 ; or quotations, as Matt xii. 7 ; this verb is supposed to be used in a peculiar sense, such as to "represent" or "to mean." Now, observe that if this were not, from its very nature, purely a question of words; i.e., if it only concerned the sense of some detached pas¬ sages, it might seem idle to enquire whether " I am the door," should be paraphrased ' I [figuratively] am the door'; i.e., I represent the door; or 'I am the [figurative]— door'—' I am the [antitype] door,' or the like ; thus tran- ferring the peculiarity from the verb, to the following noun. But, where the only question before us is about the meaning of the verb word ii/u, this discussion is not an idle one, but simply ft? the point. In safe hands, the meaning of individual passages, may sometimes (as above) be not in the least affected by qualifying the verb "is" or "am," (z>.,the "copula in any form,) rather than the nouns, (" predicates,") " door," "body," in the propositions (I am the door.' ' This is my body/ And, of course, nothing is more true than that the exact meaning of many other sentences may be preserved sometimes, though you change EVERY NOUN and VERB in those sentences. But, if once you decide that the verb iifu of ITSELF shall not always signify " to be," but sometimes " to mean," " to represent," &c, I think it would introduce such a revolution in language and thought, that no assertion, divine or human, would have any fixed value. The innumerable instances which might be quoted,