What does "for" mean here? Failed to understand it

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Context:

On this day in 1776, in his first speech before British Parliament since the leaders of the American Revolution came together to sign of the Declaration of Independence that summer, King George III acknowledges that all was not going well for Britain in the war with the United States .
In his address, the king spoke about the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the revolutionary leaders who signed it, saying, "for daring and desperate is the spirit of those leaders, whose object has always been dominion and power, that they have now openly renounced all allegiance to the crown, and all political connection with this country." The king went on to inform Parliament of the successful British victory over General George Washington and the Continental Army at the Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776, but warned them that, "notwithstanding the fair prospect, it was necessary to prepare for another campaign."

More:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/king-speaks-for-first-time-since-independence-declared

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Type: Question • Score: 4 • Views: 773 • Replies: 17

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View best answer, chosen by oristarA

@oristarA,

"For" in this case means "because".

1 Reply

@musya,

musya wrote:

"For" in this case means "because".

If it means because, what is the subject of the sentence?

1 Reply

@oristarA,

The quote begins in mid-sentence. We don't know what the subject is.

1 Reply

@Lustig Andrei,

No, I take that back. The sentence is awkwardly constructed. In fact it consists of at least three separate clauses, each of which could be a kind of mini-sentence.

Quote:

"for daring and desperate is the spirit of those leaders, whose object has always been dominion and power, that they have now openly renounced all allegiance to the crown, and all political connection with this country."

The phrase you are concerned with however is this: for daring and desperate is the spirit of those leaders,

It could be rewritten this way: "Because the spirit of those leaders is daring and desperate." Then 'spirit' is the subject.

2 Replies

@Lustig Andrei,

Yes, you are right. "The spirit" is the subject. In this sentence inversion is used (i.e. the word order ir reverse). It is done on purpose by the author because the next clause starts with the word "whose" which refers to the word "leaders".

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@Lustig Andrei,

Lustig Andrei wrote:

No, I take that back. The sentence is awkwardly constructed. In fact it consists of at least three separate clauses, each of which could be a kind of mini-sentence.

Quote:
"for daring and desperate is the spirit of those leaders, whose object has always been dominion and power, that they have now openly renounced all allegiance to the crown, and all political connection with this country."

The phrase you are concerned with however is this: for daring and desperate is the spirit of those leaders,

It could be rewritten this way: "Because the spirit of those leaders is daring and desperate." Then 'spirit' is the subject.

That is, "for" has been used awkwardly here. You can delete it if you were the king?

1 Reply

@oristarA,

The use of "for" is archaic and is used in such a way by the literary art of our wisest men.

1 Reply

@One Eyed Mind,

One Eyed Mind wrote:

The use of "for" is archaic and is found used in such a way by the literary art of our wisest men.

Would you like to name at least one example?

1 Reply

@oristarA,

"When we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy things have any permanent and absolute existence, for petty fears and petty pleasures are but the shadow of the reality."

Henry David Thoreau

1 Reply

@One Eyed Mind,

One Eyed Mind wrote:

"When we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy things have any permanent and absolute existence, for petty fears and petty pleasures are but the shadow of the reality."

Henry David Thoreau

This usage of "for" is as common as dirt around the English world. Could we really consider it an equal to the usage that George had made? The structure "for petty fears and petty pleasures are but the shadow of the reality" only serves as an additive to the main sentence, while George's serves as the main sentence itself.

1 Reply

@oristarA,

The problem is not "For".

The problem is "That" in the sentence: "that they have now openly renounced all allegiance to the crown, and all political connection with this country."

Take out "That", then tell me how it sounds.

1 Reply

@One Eyed Mind,

One Eyed Mind wrote:

The problem is not "For".

The problem is "That" in the sentence: "that they have now openly renounced all allegiance to the crown, and all political connection with this country."

Take out "That", then tell me how it sounds.

The problem is that "Can we take out a word from a king's formal speech at the parliament"? George at age 10 said himself "A boy in England born, in England bred." He had begun systematically learning science very young. He should have known the importance of being accurate in language.

1 Reply

@oristarA,

What does him being king have to do with grammatical vomit?

As I always say, Man does not wear wisdom.

1 Reply

@One Eyed Mind,

One Eyed Mind wrote:

What does him being king have to do with grammatical vomit?

As I always say, Man does not wear wisdom.

Do you really think that an English-born, English-bred, well-educated man like George can be so awkward in English language, while "family letters show that he could read and write in both English and German, as well as comment on political events of the time"?

1 Reply

@oristarA,

Yes.

King.

Wise man.

War lord.

Pope.

Everyone makes mistakes.

Especially bad ones, like this for an example. Good catch, Ori.

0 Replies

@oristarA,

No idea why history.com used the "for".

Other source uses the "so" - which seems to be correct since the earliest sources quote George so

Belsac, W.: Memoirs - The reign of George III, vol. I, Dublin, 1796

1 Reply

@Walter Hinteler,

What do you know, Walter.

My idea works.

Your idea works.

Which one is correct?

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What does "for" mean here? Failed to understand it

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