Thus the form tao means indifferently to tear away,
to reach, to cover, flag, corn, to lead, road, &c. And
the form 1%, jewel, dew, to forge, vehicle, to turn
aside, road. How then discover the sense ? Usually,
by a method which is a trifle childish but very accurate,
the Chinese determine the sense by placing two syn-
onyms in juxtaposition ; the one certifies the other.
T(M> and In have each one several significations, but
taX) followed by Zm can only mean " road." The gram-
matical value of these syllables in the proposition is
determined by their respective positions. Ta, involving
the notion of height, will be adverb or adjective before
a word ; after it, a verb or an abstract noun : ta jin,
a tall man ; jin ta, the man grows, or the man is tall,
or the height of the man. In the same way chen will
mefin by turns virtue, virtuous, to approve, well.
