How to parse. ...

Par. 425, 426.]

t" THE."

245

"The " is used before names that are regarded
not so much as names as epithets, e.g. -
"The Thames (river);" "the Atlantic (ocean);"
" the Mediterranean (sea); " " the (range called)
Chilterns; " "the (district known as) Crimea,
Tyrol, Netherlands,1 Levant, Palatinate."
"The" is omitted before names of towns, countries, and isolated mountains, all of which may be
regarded as individuals requiring "proper names,"
e.g. "Paris," "England," "Snowdon," " Saddleback."
"The" in "the Rigi," "the Matterhorn," "the Schreckhorn," &c., is probably of foreign origin.
425 "The" is the old Demonstrative and Relative
Pronoun "by how much " and " by so much " (see
Par. 344) in(1) " The sooner he leaves, the better for everybody."
426 There is no fixed rule as to repeating "the "
between two Nouns, both of which are intended to
be defined. Compare -
"He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea," St.
Matthew, viii. 26, with St. Luke viii. 25, " IHe
commandeth even the winds and water."
"The" is perhaps more often omitted than inserted, provided the omission causes no ambiguity:
(1) " The prince and princess are expected; " " During the first and second centuries."
1 "The Netherlands " = " The Low Lands."