"His _arm only_ was bare," there is no adverb; and, where
he afterwards speaks of the latitude allowable in the placing of adverbs,
alleging, "It is indifferent whether we say, 'He bared his _arm only_;' or,
'He bared _only_ his arm,'" the word _only_ is an adjective, in one
instance, if not in both. With this writer, and some others, the syntax of
an adverb centres mainly in the suggestion, that, "_It's_ propriety and
force depend on _it's_ position."--_Ib._, p. 147. Illustration: "Thus
people commonly say; '_I only_ spoke three words:' which properly implies,
that _I_, and _no other person_, spoke three words: when the intention of
the speaker requires: 'I spoke _only three_ words; that is, _no more than
three_ words.'"--_Ib._, p. 327. One might just as well say, "I spoke three
words _only_." But the interpretation above is hypercritical, and contrary
to that which the author himself gives in his note on the other example,
thus: "Any other situation of the adverb would make a difference. 'He
_only_ bared his arm;' would imply, that he did _nothing more than_ bare
his arm. '_Only_ he bared his arm;' must refer to a preceding part of the
sentence, stating something, to which the act of baring his arm was an
exception; as, 'He did it in the same manner, _only_ he bared his arm.' If
_only_ were placed immediately before _arm_; as, '_He_ bared his _only
arm_;' it would be an adjective, and signify, that he had but one
arm."--_Ib._, p. 328. Now are not, "_I only spoke three words_," and, "_He
only bared his arm_," analogous expressions? Is not the former as good
English as the latter? _Only_, in both, is most naturally conceived to
belong to the verb; but either may be read in such a manner as to make it
an adjective belonging to the pronoun.

OBS. 28.--The term _not but_ is equivalent to two negatives that make an
affirmative; as, "_Not but_ that it is a wide place."--_Walker's
Particles_, p. 89. "_Non_ quo _non_ latus locus sit."--_Cic. Ac._, iv, 12.
It has already been stated, that _cannot but_ is equal to _must_; as, "It
is an affection which _cannot but_ be productive of some
distress."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 461. It seems questionable, whether _but_
is not here an adverb, rather than a conjunction. However this may be, by
the customary (but faulty) omission of the negative before _but_, in some
other sentences, that conjunction has acquired the adverbial sense of
_only_; and it may, when used with that signification, be