comma before and after 'but' [conjunction]: might be, but as yet

  • No.

    If you reduce what you're reading thus:

    From "...but as yet having been kept unspotted from the world..."

    To "...but as yet unseen by the world..." it should become clearer.
     
    In English style, commas are preferably avoided, unless the sentence is unclear or if there is a chance of being misunderstood.

    In English, a comma is used to introduce a natural break [or pause] to the flow of a sentence, where not to do so would allow the sentence to be overly long [rambling] and/or become unclear. It also affords the reader an idea of where the author has intended to place slight emphasis.

    Whilst I take your point about an over-preponderance of punctuation use can render the reading of a sentence a somewhat staccato affair, conversely, a diluted use or lack of it can reduce the sentences in prose to a guessing game: Joyce's Finnegans Wake is a splendid example of the latter case in point; and a piece of work from which he even dismisses the apostraphe from the title.
     
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    "Lucre those bills might be, but as yet having been kept unspotted from the world, not of the filthy sort."



    Shouldn't there be a comma between "but" and "as"?

    And why?

    The previous poster is correct that no comma is needed. However, in this case, the use of a comma where you indicated is just a stylistic choice; one could put a comma there without it being incorrect.
     
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