s not the only meaning which
attaches to _have_. It assumes a more important rank. It can be traced,
with little change in form, back thro many generations. It is the same
word as _heave_, originally, and retains nearly the same meaning. Saxon
_habban_, Gothic _haban_, German _haben_, Latin _habeo_, French _avoir_,
are all the same word, varied in spelling more than in sound; for _b_ in
many languages is sounded very much like _v_, or _bv_. It may mean to
_hold_, _possess_, _retain_, _sway_, _control_, _dispose of_, either as
a direct or _relative_ action; for a man sustains relations to his
actors, duties, family, friends, enemies, and all the world, as well as
to his possessions. He _has_ a hard task to perform. He _has_ much pain
_to suffer_. He _has_ suffered much unhappiness.

I _have written_ a letter. I _have_ a written letter. I _have_ a letter
_written_. These expressions differ very little in meaning, but the verb
_have_ is the same in each case. By the first expression, I signify that
I have _caused_ the letter to be _written_; by the second that I have a
letter on which such action has been performed; and by the third, that
such written letter stands in such relation to myself.

I _have written_ a letter and sent it away. _Written_ is the past
participle from _write_; as an adjective it describes the letter in the
condition I placed it; so that it will be defined, wherever it is found,
as my letter; that is, some way _related_ to me.

We can here account for the old _perfect tense_, which is said, "not
only to refer to what is _past_, but also _to convey an allusion to the
present time_." The verb is in the _present_ tense, the participle is in
the _past_, and hence the reason of this allusion. I _have_ no _space
allowed_ me to go into a full investigation of this word, in its
application to the expression of ideas. But it is necessary to _have_ it
well _understood_, as it _has_ an important _service entrusted_ to it;
and I hope you will _have_ clear _views presented_ to your minds, strong
enough to _have_ former _errors eradicated_ therefrom.

If you _have_ leisure _granted_, and patience and disposition equal-_ed_
to the task, you have my consent to go back and read this sentence over
again. You will find it _has_ in it embodied much important information
in relation to the use of _have_ and the perfect tense.

LECTURE XIII.

ON VERBS.

Person and number in the agent, not in the action.--S