SweetFreedom Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH?
1) AN HISTORICAL SKETCH? Why not "A HISTORICAL SKETCH"? I've noticed that Darwin also said "a brief sketch", in which he used "a", not "an".
2) Does "Passing over allusions to the subject" mean "bypassing/avoiding the mentioning about the subject"?
3) What does "lib.2, cap.8, s.2"stand for?
Context:
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF OPINION
ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES, PREVIOUSLY TO THE
PUBLICATION OF THE FIRST EDITION OF THIS WORK.
I will here give a brief sketch of the progress of opinion on the
Origin of Species. Until recently the great majority of naturalists
believed that species were immutable productions, and had been
separately created. This view has been ably maintained by many
authors. Some few naturalists, on the other hand, have believed
that species undergo modification, and that the existing forms of
life are the descendants by true generation of pre existing forms.
Passing over allusions to the subject in the classical writers
(Aristotle, in his "Physicae Auscultationes" (lib.2, cap.8, s.2), after
remarking that rain does not fall in order to make the corn grow,
any more than it falls to spoil the farmer's corn when threshed out
of doors, applies the same argument to organisation; and adds
(as translated by Mr. Clair Grece, who first pointed out the
2) Does "Passing over allusions to the subject" mean "bypassing/avoiding the mentioning about the subject"?
3) What does "lib.2, cap.8, s.2"stand for?
Context:
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF OPINION
ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES, PREVIOUSLY TO THE
PUBLICATION OF THE FIRST EDITION OF THIS WORK.
I will here give a brief sketch of the progress of opinion on the
Origin of Species. Until recently the great majority of naturalists
believed that species were immutable productions, and had been
separately created. This view has been ably maintained by many
authors. Some few naturalists, on the other hand, have believed
that species undergo modification, and that the existing forms of
life are the descendants by true generation of pre existing forms.
Passing over allusions to the subject in the classical writers
(Aristotle, in his "Physicae Auscultationes" (lib.2, cap.8, s.2), after
remarking that rain does not fall in order to make the corn grow,
any more than it falls to spoil the farmer's corn when threshed out
of doors, applies the same argument to organisation; and adds
(as translated by Mr. Clair Grece, who first pointed out the
Top answer
SweetFreedom 1) AN HISTORICAL SKETCH? Why not "A HISTORICAL SKETCH"? I've noticed that Darwin also said "a brief sketch", in which he used "a", not "an".
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SweetFreedom1) AN HISTORICAL SKETCH? Why not "A HISTORICAL SKETCH"? I've noticed that Darwin also said "a brief sketch", in which he used "a", not "an".Since the first syllable is unstressed and the 'h' is weakly aspirated, many speakers choose 'an' over 'a'. Only an editor of text to be published can override such a decision.
SweetFreedom
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