I.

It seems to me, that[1] when the animalcules, which form the corals at the bottom[2] of the ocean, cease to live, their[3] structures adhere to each other, by virtue either of the glutinous remains within, or of some property in salt-water. The interstices being[4] gradually filled up with sand and[5] broken pieces of coral washed by the sea, which also adhere, a mass of rock is at length formed. Future[6] races of these animalcules erect their habitations upon the rising[7] bank, and[8] die, in their turn to elevate this monument of their wonderful labours.

[1] ‘that when the animalcules ... cease to live’. This clause may be briefly rendered by saying: ‘that after the death (+Absterben+, n.) of the animalcules’. To translate the last noun, form a diminutive of +Tier+.

[2] +Meeresboden+, m.

[3] ‘their — salt-water’. Use the following order of words for rendering this passage: ‘their little houses (dim. of +Haus+) either through the in them contained glutinous remains (+Überreste+) or through some (+irgend eine+) property of the salt-water held together are (Pres. of the Passive Voice)’.

[4] When the =Present Participle= is used to denote a =logical cause= from which we may draw an inference, it must, by the help of the conjunction ‘+=da=+’, be changed into a finite verb, i.e. one with a personal termination, thus:—

The interstices being _gradually filled up_ with sand, a mass of rock is at length formed.

+Da nun die Zwischenräume allmählich mit Sand ~ausgefüllt werden~, so wird aus dem Ganzen endlich eine Felsenmasse gebildet.+

The tense in which the verb is to be used, must always be determined by the context.

[5] and — sea, +und mit vom Meere herangespülten zerbröckelten Korallen+; it is a matter of course that the verbs must follow this passage.

[6] The following generations.

[7] ‘to rise’, here +sich erheben+. Present Participles used attributively are inflected like adjectives. Bank = reef.

[8] ‘and die — labours’, translate ‘and die to (S. 19, N. 7) contribute also in their turn (+ihrerseits+) to the elevation (+Erhöhung+, f.) of this monument of their admirable work (+Arbeit+, f.)’.

_Section 31._

FORMATION OF A CORAL-ISLAND.