CHAPTER XVI
THE ADVERBIAL CLAUSE OF CONCESSION
=Function.=--In the compound sentence,--“The whale is not a fish, but we speak of the ‘whale fishery,’” we have joined two thoughts which are opposed to each other, but we have made them of equal importance. Now, if we wish to make one of them more prominent, and at the same time indicate that it is true in spite of the other, we construct our sentence as follows,--“The whale is not a fish _though_ we speak of the ‘whale fishery.’”
Here the main thought is _the whale is not a fish_, and by the form in which we have expressed the other thought, we have shown not only that there is an opposition between the two thoughts,--which was likewise shown in the compound sentence,--but also that it is strange that the two thoughts are true at the same time when they seem mutually contradictory. This second sentence is complex, and the dependent proposition is an adverbial clause of concession. It does not necessarily indicate that two thoughts are opposed to each other; sometimes they only stand in contrast; as, “While (= _though_) his fame rests on his Meditations, as that of David rests upon his Psalms, he yet rendered great military service to The Empire.”--_Lord._
We may define a concessive clause as one that concedes or grants something in contrast or opposition to what is expressed in the principal proposition. It modifies a verb or a verb with modifiers. It varies but little in function, the slight variations being indicated by the choice of the introductory word.
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=Introductory Word.=--1. _Though_ or _although_. This is the conjunction oftenest used; indeed, all the other words or phrases used are more or less equivalent to it in meaning. _Albeit_ was formerly much used, and we occasionally find it in poetry now, but it is very seldom used in spoken English or in ordinary prose composition.
2. _Whether_.--This word with its correlative _or_ is used when we wish to say that a thing is true in spite of two other facts or conditions which are contrary to each other; as, “The balconies are always charming, _whether they hang high over the streets or look out upon the canals_.”--_Howells._
3. The indefinite pronouns _whoever_, _whatever_, _whichever_; the adjectives _whatever_ and _whichever_; and the adverb _however_. These words signify that the clause is to be taken in its widest possible application; as, “_Upon whatever career you may enter_, intellectual quickness, industry, and the power of bearing fatigue are three great advantages.”--_Huxley._ Here the clause means,--though you may enter _upon any career whatsoever_.
4. _No matter._--This phrase together with the adverb _how_ is a frequent substitute for the connective _however_. It emphasizes the scope of the clause and thus makes the opposition between the principal proposition and the clause seem greater; thus, “The guns can be fired in any direction, _no matter how the ship is lying_.”
5. _While._--In some sentences this is nearly equivalent to _though_; in others it carries with it an idea of time as well as concession; thus, “Both Charles himself and his creature Laud, _while they abjured the innocent badges of popery_, retained all its worst vices.”--_Macaulay._
6. _If_.--When the adversative relation between the two propositions is perfectly clear without being indicated by the connective, _if_ or _even if_ may be employed in the place of _though_. A concessive clause so introduced must not be confounded with the clause of condition. In the latter _if_ can be changed to _provided_; in the former _if_ is equivalent to _though_; for example, “_If the scenery failed to charm_, the names of places did not fail to astonish us.”--_Bolles._
7. _Notwithstanding_ or _notwithstanding that_.--The former of these is more frequently met with as a preposition introducing a concessive phrase and meaning about the same as _in spite of_; thus, “_Notwithstanding the increasing illness of his sister_, he was able to enjoy some cheerful society.”--_Ainger._ But sentences like the following are not uncommon,--“_Notwithstanding the wind was favorable to each alike_, both vessels had deviated from the direct line and were steering toward a common center.”--_Cooper._
8. A common form of the concessive clause is one in which an adjective, a verb, an adverb, or a noun comes first, followed sometimes by _though_, oftener by _as_. This order of words arises from our desire to make prominent or emphatic some particular attribute; as, “_Strange as it may appear_, even the baron’s jokes seemed only to render him the more melancholy.”--_Irving._ Here the attribute _strange_ is emphasized. That such a clause is only an ordinary clause of concession transposed for a special purpose, with as substituted for _though_, becomes evident by comparing it with the clause in the following,--
“Thy brow, _Glorious in beauty though it be_, is scarred With tokens of old wars.”--_Bryant._
Transposing this clause to the natural order, we have, “though it be glorious in beauty.”
In sentences containing a concessive clause the principal proposition is sometimes introduced by _yet_, a correlative of the connective in the clause. _Yet_ is often used when the clause comes first and is long. It is useful in calling attention to the fact that the concession has all been stated, gathering it up, as it were, into one word before the principal statement is made.
Exercise 17
Dispose of all concessive clauses in the following sentences.
1. The Icelanders say that “Iceland is the best land the sun shines on,” though the sun scarcely shines enough to melt the ice in summer.--_Munger._
2. No man, whatever his sensibility may be, is ever affected by Hamlet or Lear, as a little girl is affected by the story of poor Red-Ridinghood.--_Macaulay._
3. If they were unacquainted with the works of philosophers and poets, they were deeply read in the oracles of God. If their names were not found in the registers of heralds, they were recorded in the Book of Life. If their steps were not accompanied by a splendid train of menials, legions of ministering angels had charge over them.--_Macaulay._
4. And, again, while the Greeks rightly despised mechanical arts as much as the Egyptians, they did not make the fatal mistake of despising agricultural and pastoral life.--_Ruskin._
5. Well-advanced as Hepzibah was, she could not remember when Uncle Venner had not gone up and down the street, stooping a little and drawing his feet heavily over the gravel or pavement.--_Hawthorne._
6. On whichever side of the border chance had thrown Joanna, the same love to France would have been nurtured.--_De Quincey._
7. Energetic men, whether they work or whether they play, put their strength into the work and their strength into the play.--_Ruskin._
8. Darwin misses no step that the slow but tireless gods of physical change have taken, no matter how they cross or retrace their course.--_Burroughs._
9. Though the cause of Evil prosper, yet ’tis Truth alone is strong; And, albeit she wander outcast now, I see around her throng Troops of beautiful, tall angels, to enshield her from all wrong. --_Lowell._
10. Thought is thought, howe’er it speak or spell itself.--_Carlyle._
11. She would not marry a coward or a braggart even if he were the owner of ten thousand acres.--_Lord._
12. Father Salvierderra always said that it was a duty to look happy, no matter how much we might be suffering.--_H. H._