struction. The meaning may be correctly expressed
thus: "He mentions _that Newton wrote_ a commentary." "Mr. Dryden makes a
very handsome observation on _Ovid's writing a letter_ from Dido to
AEneas."--_Spect._, No. 62; _Campbell's Rhet._, p. 265; _Murray's Key_, ii,
253. Here the word _writing_ is partly a noun and partly a participle. If
we make it wholly a noun, by saying, "on _Ovid's writing of_ a letter," or
wholly a participle, by saying, "on _Ovid writing_ a letter;" it may be
doubted, whether we have effected any improvement. And again, if we adopt
Dr. Lowth's advice, "Let it be either the one or the other, and abide by
its proper construction;" we must make some change; and therefore ought
perhaps to say; "on _Ovid's conceit of writing_ a letter from Dido to
AEneas." This is apparently what Addison meant, and what Dryden remarked
upon; the latter did not speak of the letter itself, else the former would
have said, "on _Ovid's letter_ from Dido to AEneas."

OBS. 10.--When a needless possessive, or a needless article, is put before
the participle, the correction is to be made, not by inserting _of_, but by
expunging the article, according to Note 16th to Rule 1st, or the
possessive, according to Note 5th to Rule 4th. Example: "By _his_ studying
the Scriptures he became wise."--_Lennie's Gram._, p. 91. Here _his_ serves
only to render the sentence incorrect; yet this spurious example is
presented by Lennie to _prove_ that a participle may take the possessive
case before it, when the preposition _of_ is not admissible after it. So,
in stead of expunging one useless word, our grammarians _often_ add an
other and call the twofold error a _correction_; as, "For _his_ avoiding
_of_ that precipice, he is indebted to his friend's care."--_Murray's Key_,
ii, 201. Or worse yet: "_It was from our_ misunderstanding _of_ the
directions _that_ we lost our way."--_Ibid._ Here, not _our_ and _of_ only,
but four other words, are worse than useless. Again: "By _the_ exercising
_of_ our judgment, it is improved. Or thus: By _exercising_ our judgment,
it is improved."--_Comly's Key in his Gram._, 12th Ed., p. 188. Each of
these pretended corrections is wrong in more respects than one. Say, "By
exercising our _judgement, we improve it_" Or, "Our _judgement_ is improved
by _being exercised_" Again: "_The loving of_ our enemies is a divine
_command_; Or, _loving our enemies_ [is a divine command]."--_Ibid._ Both
of these are also wrong.