Lennie, Pinneo, and perhaps others,) we nominally reverse the order of time in respect to the events, and egregiously misapply both terms.
OBS. 4.--Though the participle in ing has, by many, been called the Present participle, it is as applicable to past or future, as to present time; otherwise, such expressions as, "I had been writing,"--"I shall be writing," would be solecisms. It has also been called, almost as frequently, the Active participle. But it is not always active, even when derived from an active verb; for such expressions as, "The goods are selling,"--"The ships are now building," are in use, and not without good authority: as, "And hope to allay, by rational discourse, the pains of his joints tearing asunder."--Locke's Essay, p. 285. "Insensible of the designs now forming by Philip."--Goldsmith's Greece, ii, 48. "The improved edition now publishing."--BP. HALIFAX: Pref. to Butler. "The present tense expresses an action now doing."--Emmons's Gram., p. 40. The distinguishing characteristic of this participle is, that it denotes an unfinished and progressive state of the being, action, or passion; it is therefore properly denominated the IMPERFECT participle. If the term were applied with reference to time, it would be no more objectionable than the word present, and would be equally supported by the usage of the Greek linguists. I am no more inclined to "innovation," than are the pedants who, for the choice here made, have ignorantly brought the false charge against me. This name, authorized by Beattie and Pickbourn, is approved by Lindley Murray,[303] and adopted by several of the more recent grammarians. See the works of Dr. Crombie, J. Grant, T. O. Churchill, R. Hiley, B. H. Smart, M. Harrison, and W. G. Lewis, published in London; and J. M. M'Culloch's Grammar, published in Edinburgh; also some American grammars, as E. Hazen's, N. Butler's, D. B. Tower's, W. H. Wells's, the Sanderses'.
OBS. 5.--The participle in ed, as is mentioned above, usually denotes a completion of the being, action, or passion, and should therefore be denominated the PERFECT participle. But this completion may be spoken of as present, past, or future; for the participle itself has no tenses, and makes no distinction of time, nor should the name be supposed to refer to the perfect tense. The conjugation of any passive verb, is a sufficient proof of all this: nor is the proof invalidated by resolving verbs of this kind into their component parts. Of the participles in ed applied to present time, the following is an example: "Such a course would be less likely to produce injury to health, than the present course pursued at our colleges."--Literary Convention, p. 118. Tooke's notion of grammatical time, appears to have been in several respects a strange one: he accords with those who call this a past participle, and denies to the other not only the name and notion of a tense, but even the general idea of time. In speaking of the old participial termination and or ende,[304] which our Anglo-Saxon ancestors used where we write ing, he says, "I do not allow that there are any present participles, or any present tense of the verb." [305]--Diversions of Purley, Vol. ii, p. 41.
OBS. 6.--The Perfect participle of transitive verbs, being used in the formation of passive verbs, is sometimes called the Passive participle. It usually has in itself a passive signification, except when it is used in forming the compound tenses of the active verb. Hence the difference between the sentences, "I have written a letter," and, "I have a letter written;" the former being equivalent to Scripsi literas, and the latter to Sunt mihi literæ scriptæ. But there are many perfect participles which cannot with any propriety be called passive. Such are all those which come from intransitive or neuter verbs; and also those which so often occur in the tenses of verbs not passive. I have already noticed some instances of this misnomer; and it is better to preclude it altogether, by adhering to the true name of this Participle, THE PERFECT. Nor is that entirely true which some assert, "that this participle in the active is only found in combination;" that, "Whenever it stands alone to be parsed as a participle, it is passive."--Hart's English Gram., p. 75. See also Bullions's Analyt. and Pract. Gram., p. 77; and Greene's Analysis, or Gram., p. 225. "Rebelled," in the following examples, cannot with any propriety be called a passive participle:
"Rebelled, did I not send them terms of peace, Which not my justice, but my mercy asked?"--Pollok, x, 253.
"Arm'd with thy might, rid Heav'n of these rebell'd, To their prepar'd ill mansion driven down."--Milton, vi, 737.
