How to parse. ...

Par. 437, 438.] ADJECTIVE PHRASES.

251

437 " Of." When a name is given to a place, the
name being regarded as the name of a person, and
the town, land, castle, &c., as belonging to the person, the Preposition " of " was used in early times
to denote the relation between the two -
(1) "The city of London; " " the isle of Wight;"
"river of Cydnus" (Shakspeare); "the lake of
Gennesareth."
Hence, in the same way, " of " is used after other
words denoting a class, to prepare the way for the
particular name of the individual: -
(2) "The month of May;" " the hour of three;"
"the feast of Tabernacles; " the year of
Jubilee;" "the name of George; " "the cry
of' breakers!';" " the play of' Hamlet';" " the
art of medicine;" " the element of fire;" "the
virtue of resentment."
438 It is not so easy to explain -
(3) " He is a jewel-of-a man."
(4) " This scamp-of-a coachman."
Probably " of" is here partitive, as in " What
sort, kind, of man is he? " The " man " is the class;
the "sort" or "kind" is a part of the class, and
therefore is naturally followed by the partitive
" of." The answer to this question will necessarily
be some part of the class " man:" he is " a good
sort, bad sort, rascally sort, precious sort, of man;"
hence, for shortness, " He is a rascal, or jewel, of
man."