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190

HINTS ON [Par. 305, 306.

(2) " Some people seem scarcely aware of this principle, that all men are better contented to make
progress in small matters than to remain at a
stand in great."
Where the Noun in Apposition intervenes between the Verb and its Object, the Comma is justifiable on the principle stated above, Par. 294; where
there is no intervening Noun, the Comma is unjustifiable.
305 IX. It has been seen, from Example (5) in
Par. 298, that, when the same Object follows
several Verbs, the Comma is not inserted after the
last Verb; but, when the same Object follows
several Prepositions, the Comma is inserted after
the last Preposition:
(1) "I am desirous of, and earnestly hoping for, an
amicable settlement."
(2) " I am sent by, and acting as the representative
of, a large number of my fellow-citizens."
The reason is that a Verb, being a more emphatic word
than a Preposition, allows a greater stress to be laid upon
it, and a longer pause after it. The Preposition, not allowing this, requires the aid of a Comma to denote the necessary pause. The purpose of the pause is to summarize, as
it were, what has preceded, and to indicate that the Object
is the Object not of the last Preposition alone, but of all
the Prepositions.
306 Omission of the Comma. -I. When (1) an
Adverb follows its Verb, or when (2) a subordinate