s unchanged, always in the indicative mood,
present tense, agreeing with the _first_ person singular. _Is_ is also
unchanged, in the same mood and tense, agreeing with the _third_ person
singular. _Art_, in the singular, is the same as _are_ in the plural.
_Was_ and _wast_, are the same as _were_ and _wert_ in meaning, being
derived from the same etymon. _Be_, _being_, and _been_, are changes of
the same word. _Be_ was formerly extensively used in the indicative
present, but in that condition it is nearly obsolete. _Were_ was also
used in the singular as well as plural, especially when coming before
the agent; as, "were I to go, I would do your business." But it is now
more common to have _was_ correctly used in that case. But, as one
extreme often follows another, people have laid _were_ quite too much
aside, and often crowd _was_ into its place in common conversation; as
"we _was_ (were) there yesterday." "There _was_ (were) five or six men
engaged in the business." This error appears to be gaining ground, and
should be checked before it goes farther.

The combination of these different words was produced by habit, to avoid
the monotony which the frequent recurrence of one word, so necessary in
the expression of thought, would occasion: the same as the past tense of
_go_ is made by the substitution of another word radically different,
_went_, the past tense of _wend_ or _wind_. "O'er hills and dales they
_wend_ their way." "The lowing herd _wind_ slowly o'er the lea." _Go_
and _wend_ convey to our minds nearly the same ideas. The latter is a
little more poetical, because less used. But originally their
signification was quite different. So with the parts of the verb =to
be=. They were consolidated as a matter of convenience, and now appear
in their respective positions to express the idea of being, life, or
existence.

I have said this verb expresses the highest degree of action. I will
now attempt to prove it. I should like to go into a labored and critical
examination of the words, and trace their changes thro various
languages, was it in accordance with the design of these lectures. But
as it is not, I shall content myself with general observations.

_I am._

This word is not defined in our dictionaries. It is only said to be
"_the first person of to be_." We must look for its meaning some where
else. It is a compound of two ancient words, _ah_, _breath_, to
_breathe_, life, to _live_, _light_, to _light_; and