Did his praisers think so too?
"It is correct to say, _The man eats, he eats_; but we cannot say, _The man dog eats, he dog eats_.

Why not?
Because the man _is here represented_ as the possessor, and dog, the property, or thing possessed; and the genius of our language requires, that when we add _to the possessor_, the _thing_ which _he_ is represented as possessing, _the possessor_ shall take a particular form to show ITS case, or relation to the property."-- _Ib._, p.
52.
THE PRESENT TENSE.--"This tense is sometimes applied to represent the _actions_ of persons _long since dead_; as, 'Seneca _reasons_ and _moralizes_ well; An HONEST MAN IS the noblest work of God.'"-- _Ib._, p.
138.
PARTICIPLES.--"The term _Participle_ comes from the Latin word _participio_,[10] which signifies to _partake_."-- "Participles are formed by adding to the verb the termination _ing, ed_, or _en_.

_Ing_ signifies the same thing as the noun _being_.

When _postfixed_ to the _noun-state_ of the verb, the _compound word_ thus formed expresses a continued state of the _verbal denotement_.

It implies that what is meant by the verb, is _being_ continued."-- _Ib._, p.78.