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In A_Treatise_of_Human_Nature, of David Hume, it is written:

For if truth be at all within the reach of human capacity, it is certain it must lie very deep and abstruse: and to hope we shall arrive at it without pains, while the greatest geniuses have failed with the utmost pains, must certainly be esteemed sufficiently vain and presumptuous.

I gathered that the usage seems to be to lie deep instead of to lie deeply. Why does an adjective follow the verb lie instead of an adverb? Is lie here a linking verb? Would the phrase It is certain it must lie very deeply and abstrusely. be incorrect?

John Smith
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Yes, it is a linking verb in your quotation:

CONDITION [linking verb] to be in a particular state or condition - lie empty/open/hidden etc.

  • The book lay open on the table.
  • The town now lay in ruins. (Longman)

Lie very deeply and abstrusely, would not be incorrect grammatically, but it would change the meaning of the sentence: While deep and abstruse are predicative adjectives modifying the subject (truth), deeply and abstrusely would describe the way in which the action of lying is performed, that is, it would modify the verb, it would not describe the subject.

Moreover, the use of lie + deeply as an action verb is less common than lie + deeply + participle, where lie is again a linking verb and deeply modifies the past participle that follows it:

Here's an Ngram that sheds some light on this: enter image description here

fev
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