How to parse. ...

Par. 368-37I.]

c" OF."

219

368. From meaning " resulting from," "of" comes to
mean (9) on account of," (10) "because of ":
(9) "I accuse him of treason."
(10) "He is glad of success, afraid of death."
369 Hence, from meaning " that which comes from, has
to do with, belongs to; or concerns," " of" has come
to mean " concerning," " about ": -
(11) " What of John? Tell me of his adventures."
(12) "I am going of1 an errand."
Lastly, from meaning " about," it comes to mean
"' as regards ":(13) "Light of foot." " Hard of heart."
370 Only in vernacular English is " of " now used for
"during," a use that springs naturally from the
meaning "coming from," " belonging to," i.e. " in,"
or "on ":
(14) "I can't get up of a morning."
(15) "Of a sudden."
But this was once more common. Compare
Shakspeare's -
" My custom always of the afternoon."
371 Since the action comes of, or from, the agent, "of"
may be, and once was, commonly used where we
use "by ": -
(16) " He was despised and rejected of men."
1 This might be explained by (8) "as the result of."