Semicolon

“ When ambition asserts the monstrous doctrine of millions made for individuals, their playthings, to be demolished at their caprice; is not the good man indignant?
The semicolon is doing now exactly what the comma did before; but, as commas have intruded into the clause to do the humble yet necessary work of marking two appositions, the original comma has to dignify its relatively more important office by converting itself into a semicolon. ”

“ The semicolon is used in enumerations, as in the last example, in order to keep the parts more distinctly separate. [44]
XXII. When a sentence consists of two or more independent clauses not joined by conjunctions, the clauses are separated by semicolons.
To command a crime is to commit one; he who commands an assassination, is by every one regarded as an assassin.
His knowledge was too multifarious to be always exact; his pursuits were too eager to be always cautious.
If the conjunction "and" were inserted in the last sentence, the comma would be used instead of the semicolon. ”

“ He loves his studies; She performs her duty; We own our faults; Your situation is distressing; I admire their virtues.’"—L. Murray's Gram., 8vo, p. 55. What mode of pointing is best adapted to examples like these, is made a very difficult question by the great diversity of practice in such cases. The semicolon, with guillemets, or the semicolon and a dash, with the quotation marks, may sometimes be sufficient; but I see no good reason why the period should not in general be preferred to the comma, the semicolon, or the colon, where full and distinct sentences are thus recited. ”

“ Formule.—Not proper, because the colon after the word "classes," is not the most suitable sign of the pause required. But according to Rule 3d for the Semicolon, "Words in apposition, in disjunct pairs, or in any other construction if they require a pause greater than that of the comma, and less than that of the colon, maybe separated by the semicolon." ”

“ This apparently doubtful meaning of the comma,171— that is, whether it indicates that “etc.” stands for a modifier, like the preceding ones, or for additional persons,—may be avoided by using “and” after the second semicolon, thus making “etc.” stand for a modifier of Jones, or by the use of a semicolon after “Jones,” thus making “etc.” stand for an additional group or groups.
In such sentences as No. 95, Mr. Wilson and other writers on punctuation suggest the use of a comma before the beginning of the semicolon-divided group. ”

“ In a parenthetical clause preceded by the conjunction 'and,' he uses a comma after the 'and,' not before it as most people do. Before such words as 'yet' and 'but,' he without exception uses a semicolon. ”

“ A reversed semicolon was used as a question mark. Wynkyn de Worde, Caxton’s successor in the printing business in London, used five points in 1509. They were the period, the semicolon, the comma, the “interrogative,” and the parenthesis.
The systematization of punctuation is due mainly to the careful and scholarly Aldus Manutius, who had opened a printing office in Venice in 1494. The great printers of the early day were great scholars as well. For a very long time the chief concern of the printer was the opening of the treasures of ancient thought to the world. ”

“ When a coördinate conjunction is present, and the choice lies between a comma and a semicolon, the semicolon is to be used:—
(a) When the writer wishes the break or separation between the principal clauses to be emphatic.
(b) When the principal clauses are long and already divided into their parts by commas.
2. To separate clauses or phrases from each other in a series of similar phrases or subordinate clauses, when commas would not be sufficient to indicate clearly where each clause or phrase began and ended.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal ”

“ Note that if the second clause is preceded by an adverb, such as accordingly, besides, then, therefore, or thus, and not by a conjunction, the semicolon is still required.
Two exceptions to the rule may be admitted. If the clauses are very short, and are alike in form, a comma is usually permissible:
Man proposes, God disposes. ”

“ A Latin manuscript of the seventh century has a high dot ( ̇) equivalent to a comma, a semicolon used as at present, and a dot accompanied by another dot or a dash to indicate the end of a sentence. A Latin manuscript of the ninth century shows the comma and an inverted semicolon ( [;] ) having a value between the semicolon and colon. Mediæval manuscript pointing, therefore, approximates modern forms in places, but lacks standardization into recognized systems.
The spread of printing brought new needs into prominence. ”

“ To advocate the use of good English both in speaking and in writing, does not necessarily mean that one is a stickler for all the technical rules and eccentricities of the grammarian. Although a semicolon once figured as the essential question in a noted lawsuit in Texas, a person may overlook many of the rules of punctuation and still not cause any great harm to himself or to his associates. A split infinitive may be the bane of an English instructor’s life, but that error does not damn an individual to eternal perdition. ”

“ But these distinctions were not observed in the MSS. In the early vellum codices both the high and the middle point are found. In medieval MSS. other signs, coming nearer to our modern system, make their appearance. In Latin MSS. by the 7th century the high point has the value of the modern comma, the semicolon appears with its present value, and a point emphasized with additional signs, such as a second point or point and dash, marks a full-stop. In the Carolingian period the comma appears, as well as the inverted semicolon holding a position between our comma and semicolon. ”

“ When two groups of words which, standing alone, take, at least conventionally, a comma, or even a semicolon, stand together in some relation to another group or to a single word, this relation may appear more readily if no mark is used between the two groups. We have already discussed such omission between intermediate groups, which are very numerous in both complex and simple language. ”

“ Shelley recked little of the jots and tittles of literary craftsmanship; he committed many a small sin against the rules of grammar, and certainly paid but a halting attention to the nice distinctions of punctuation. Thus in the early editions a comma occasionally plays the part of a semicolon; colons and semicolons seem to be employed interchangeably; a semicolon almost invariably appears where nowadays we should employ the dash ”

“ Do you think he will meet the expectations of his friends? Yes: he has never failed to meet reasonable expectations.
Apparently in the absence of a comprehension of the colon relation between “yes” or “no” and what follows, even careful punctuators seem to prefer the semicolon after these words; and, it may be said, convention thus overrides reason, making the semicolon far more common than the colon for this punctuation.
The conventional punctuation of the sentence is as follows:
56-1. ”

“ If it is desirable to indicate a somewhat close connection between the members of a sentence, a comma should be used; if the connection is slight, it is better to use a semicolon.
THE COLON. Rule I. Long Sentences.—When the smaller divisions of sentences are separated by semicolons, the main divisions should be separated by a colon.
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EXAMPLES.
“Emulation is a dangerous passion to encourage, in some points, in young men; it is so linked with envy: if you reproach your son for not surpassing his school-fellows, he will hate those who are before him.”—Sheridan. ”

“ The Comma (,) the semicolon (;) the colon (:) the period, or fall stop (.) the note of interrogation (?) the note of exclamation (!) the parenthesis () and the dash (—) [.] "—Bullions, E. Gram., p. 151; Pract. Les., p. 127. "The modern punctuation in Latin is the same as in English. The marks employed, are the Comma (,) ; Semicolon (;) ; Colon (:) ; Period (.) ; Interrogation (?) ; Exclamation (!) ."—Bullions, Lat. Gram., p. 3.
"Plato reproving a young man for playing at some childish game; you chide me, says the youth, for a trifling fault. Custom, replied the philosopher, is no trifle. ”

“ In early Irish and English MSS., separation of words is quite consistently followed; and in these the common mark of punctuation was the full point, while to denote the final stop or period one or two points with a comma (..,) were used.
Contractions were much used in ancient MSS. to save time and labor. Some of these were denoted by a semicolon ; as b; = bus; q; = que; vi; = videlicet,—this character, in cursive writing, readily became a z, whence we have our viz = videlicet.
The Roman numerals in ancient texts were placed between full points; e.g., .CXL., to prevent confusion. ”

“ Do not join independent clauses by a comma.
If two or more clauses, grammatically complete and not joined by a conjunction, are to form a single compound sentence, the proper mark of punctuation is a semicolon.
Stevenson's romances are entertaining; they are full of exciting adventures. ”

“ Children are often told to pause at a comma while they might count one; at a semicolon, one, two; at a colon, one, two, three; at a period, one, two, three, four. This may be of some use, as teaching them to observe the necessary stops, that they may catch the sense; but the standard itself is variable, and so are the times which good sense gives to the points. As a final stop, the period is immeasurable; and so may be the pause after a question or an exclamation. The first four points take their names from the parts of discourse, or of a sentence, which are distinguished by them. ”

“ Comma is also used before independent propositions introduced by og and, and before single words connected by men but. Before complete sentences introduced by men but, semicolon is used. Sig mig, hvad du har gjort! Tell me what you have done! Den Ring, som jeg havde paa Fingeren, er kommet bort the ring I had on the finger has been lost. ”

“ The immediate result of that would be that what before could be left to the reader to do for himself (i. e., the supplying of the words have sought knowledge in each member) will in presence of the semicolon require to be done to the eye by commas, and the sentence will run:
Mathematicians have sought knowledge in figures; philosophers, in systems; logicians, in subtilties; and metaphysicians, in sounds. ”

“ We have only to ask ourselves how far the but, for, and and relations extend. Do the marks so group the words as to indicate the sense relations by the grouping? Of course they do not, as is shown by the difference in the groupings. In No. 24 neither semicolon shows how far the for or the but relation extends; and therefore neither mark is an efficient sign-board. If challenged for a meaning, neither could give the reader an intelligent answer. ”

“ Or, if the two statements together form a unit of thought, combine them (1) by a comma plus a conjunction, (2) by a semicolon, or (3) by reducing one of the statements to a phrase or a subordinate clause.
Wrong: The town has two railroads, it was founded when oil was discovered. Right: The town has two railroads. It was founded when oil was discovered. Wrong: The speed of the car seemed slower than it really was, this was due, no doubt, to the absence of all noise. [Here are three commas. The reader cannot quickly discover which one marks the great division of thought.] ”

“ Though the colon is of Greek origin, the practice of writing it with two dots we owe to the Latin authors, or perhaps to the early printers of Latin books. The semicolon was first used in Italy, and was not adopted in England till about the year 1600. Our marks for questions and exclamations were also derived from the same source, probably at a date somewhat earlier. The curves of the par enthesis have likewise been in use for several centuries. ”

“ Here a ready writer would be very apt to prefer one of the following phrases: "When a semicolon or two have preceded,"--"When one or two semicolons have preceded,"--"When one or more semicolons have preceded." ”

“ If expressed, this conjunction is either “and” or “or”; if not expressed, it is practically always “and.”
It is a quite common practice to use a comma before the final “and” in a series requiring semicolons between the preceding groups. This punctuation often leaves the reader in doubt as to whether the “and” completes a group or ends the series; therefore the better punctuation is to use a semicolon before the final “and” in such a series.
The value of grouping is further shown in the following sentence:
9. ”

“ Woodberry and Forman (1892) print In a neat, etc.
4. Stanzas 70 3, 4; 71 1. These form one continuous clause in every text save the editio princeps, 1832, where a semicolon appears after around (70 4) .
5. Our punctuation follows that of the Hunt manuscript, save in the following places, where a comma, wanting in the manuscript, is supplied in the text:—gay 47; came 58; waken 122; shaken 123; call 124; number 152; dwell 163; thou 209; thee 249; fashion 287; surprise 345; free 358. A semicolon is supplied after earth (line 131) . ”

“ It aims to lighten the task of instructor and student by concentrating attention (in Chapters II and III) on a few essentials, the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated. In accordance with this plan it lays down three rules for the use of the comma, instead of a score or more, and one for the use of the semicolon, in the belief that these four rules provide for all the internal punctuation that is required by nineteen sentences out of twenty. ”