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Par. 302-304.] PUNCTUA TION.

189

and should therefore (unless uttered very passionately; Par. 313) be marked off by Commas:"Your conduct, Thomas, surprises me."
302 VI. In all the above Examples the principle is
the same, that the Comma denotes separation from
the grammatical adjunct. But sometimes tile Comma
denotes the omission of the grammatical adjunct:
" To carp is easy; to criticize, difficult."
303 VII. IWhen a Subject is a lengthy Phrase, it is
often separated from the Verb by a Comma, especially when the Subject-Phrase contains some Noun
that might at a hasty glance be supposed to be the
Subject of the Verb. The object of the Comma is
to indicate that not the word immediately preceding
the Verb, but the whole of thepreceding phrase is the
Subject of the Verb:(1) " To resent injuries inflicted on the weak and helpless,
is the duty of all."
(2) " That he made a very great mistake, is clear."
304 VIII. A Comma is sometimes employed when a
statement or speech is introduced as the Object of a
Verb, to mark a pause before the statement. But
this is scarcely necessary or justifiable, except where
the statement is in Apposition to a previous Noun:
(1) "Who does not know the well-known proverb,
that seeing is believing?"