Blair Collection > Treas leabhar Gaedhilge

IDIOMS. 55
be quite familiar in all its forms to the learner.
[n Section II. the idioms in connection with
the position of the Adjective, the Nominative
case, and Verb, the Genitive case, the De-
monstrative pronoun, &c, shall be dealt with.
SECTION I.
IDIOMS OF *oo fceiú.
i. The verb *oo beiú, with the preposition
M]\, on, gives rise to several idiomatic forms
of expression.
All the conditions of the body, the state of
the feelings, of the soul, of the mind, are
Gaelic said to be on a person (x>o beic
Mfi) ; as the primary and secondary qualities,
namely, form, figure, length, width, colour,
heat, cold, and all the modal changes and affec-
tions might be said to be on the subject in
which they reside.
As colour is on the matter coloured, so, in Gaelic, one
apposes that passion, anger, hate, love, and the like, are o?i
the soul. These traits are modifications, so to say, of the
soul ; others, like sickness, health, cold, heat, &c, are on
he body.
Hence, a Gaelic speaker addresses his neighbour not bv
saying, as in English, are you cold ? or as in French, have
you cold ? but in this wise, is co'd on thee ? is anger on
thee ? Sec