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ELLIPSES. after as, but, ere, if

If:

“I am more serious than my custom; you
Must be so too, if (you must or intend to) heed me.
”

See "must," 314.

“I yet beseech your majesty
If (it is) for (i.e. because) I want that glib and oily art
. . . That you make known, &c.
”

“O, if (you be) a virgin
And your affection (be) not gone forth, I'll make you
The queen of Naples.
”

“Haply you shall not see me more, or if (you see me),
(You will see me) A mangled shadow.
”

This is a good Greek idiom. So

“Not like a corse: or if, not to be buried,
But quick, and in mine arms.
”

In the following hypothetical sentence there is a curious ellipsis:

“Love, loving not itself, none other can.
”

i.e. "if a man does not love his own flesh and blood he cannot (love) a stranger."

A Shakespearean Grammar. Edwin Abbott Abbott. London and New York. Macmillan and Company. 1870.

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This text was converted to electronic form by professional data entry and has been proofread to a medium level of accuracy.

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