Scène VII

16. Quelle étrange chose que, What a strange thing . . . is ; or, What a strange power a word lias ! Note the omission of the indef. article a, an betvveen an adj. and a noun. Cf. such a thing = une telle chose ; such a person = telle personne ; on such a day = tel jour. Que in this phrase is what Condillac called an adjectif conjonctif ; it really represents the absent verb ; it is not a relative pronoim, since

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it cannot reprcsent a noun ; nor a coiijniiction, since it does not imite two separate parts of a phrase, but stands in tlie middle of au indivisible wliole ; it niiist not be contbunded with the conjunction que, wliich leads from one idea to another, e.tj. ' Pourfiuoi je le demande ? ô ciel ! le puis-je croire Qu'on ose des fureurs avouer la plus noire ' (Racine, fyhigénie, iv. 6).

ScfeXE YIII.