r names of intire ideas, with the
additional ideas of their mode of existence and of time; but the
participles suggest only the noun, and the mode of existence, without
any idea of time; as whipping, or whipped. The infinitive moods of
verbs correspond in their signification with the participles; as they
also suggest only the noun, or name of the thing spoken of, and an
idea of its mode of existence, excluding the idea of time; which is
expressed by all the other moods and tenses; whence it appears, that
the infinitive mood, as well as the participle, is not truly a part of
the verb; but as the participle resembles the adjective in its
construction; so the infinitive mood may be said to resemble the
substantive, and it is often used as a nominative case to another
verb.

Thus in the words "a charming lady with a smiling countenance," the
participle acts as an adjective; and in the words "to talk well
commands attention," the infinitive mood acts as the nominative case
of a noun substantive; and their respective significations are also
very similar, as whipping, or to whip, mean the existence of a person
acting with a whip.

In the Latin language the verb in its simplest form, except the
infinitive mood, and the participle, both which we mean to exclude
from complete verbs, suggests four primary ideas, as amo, suggests the
pronoun I, the noun love, its existence in its active state, and the
present time; which verbs in the Greek and Latin undergo an uncounted
variation of termination, suggesting so many different ideas in
addition to the four primary ones.

We do not mean to assert, that all verbs are literally derived from
nouns in any language; because all languages have in process of time
undergone such great variation; many nouns having become obsolete or
have perished, and new verbs have been imported from foreign
languages, or transplanted from ancient ones; but that this has
originally been the construction of all verbs, as well as those to
whip and to love above mentioned, and innumerable others.

Thus there may appear some difficulty in analyzing from what noun
substantive were formed the verbs to stand or to lie; because we have
not properly the name of the abstract ideas from which these verbs
arose, except we use the same word for the participle and the noun
substantive, as standing, lying. But the verbs, to sit, and to walk,
are less difficult to trace to their origin; as we have names for the
nouns su