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(고급 영작문 비결) How to Write Clearly by Edwin A. Abbott
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How to Write Clearly.
RULES AND EXERCISES
ON
ENGLISH COMPOSITION.
BY THE
REV. EDWIN A. ABBOTT, M.A.,
HEAD MASTER OF THE CITY OF LONDON SCHOOL.
THE AUTHOR'S COPYRIGHT EDITION.
BOSTON:
ROBERTS BROTHERS.
1883.
University Press: John Wilson & Son.
Cambridge.
PREFACE.
Almost every English boy can be taught to write clearly, so far at least as clearness depends upon the arrangement of words. Force, elegance, and variety of style are more difficult to teach, and far more difficult to learn; but clear writing can be reduced to rules. To teach the art of writing clearly is the main object of these Rules and Exercises.
Ambiguity may arise, not only from bad arrangement, but also from other causes—from the misuse of single words, and from confused thought. These causes are not removable by definite rules, and therefore, though not neglected, are not prominently considered in this book. My object rather is to point out some few continually recurring causes of ambiguity, and to suggest definite remedies in each case. Speeches in Parliament, newspaper narratives and articles, and, above all, resolutions at public meetings, furnish abundant instances of obscurity arising from the monotonous neglect of some dozen simple rules.
The art of writing forcibly is, of course, a valuable acquisition—almost as valuable as the art of writing clearly. But forcible expression is not, like clear expression, a mere question of mechanism and of the manipulation of words; it is a much higher power, and implies much more.
Writing clearly does not imply thinking clearly. A man may think and reason as obscurely as Dogberry himself, but he may (though it is not probable that he will) be able to write clearly for all that. Writing clearly—so far as arrangement of words is concerned—is a mere matter of adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and auxiliary verbs, placed and repeated according to definite rules.[1] Even obscure or illogical thought can be clearly expressed; indeed, the transparent medium of clear writing is not least beneficial when it reveals the illogical nature of the meaning beneath it.
On the other hand, if a man is to write forcibly, he must (to use a well-known illustration) describe Jerusalem as "sown with salt," not as "captured," and the Jews not as being "subdued" but as "almost exterminated" by Titus. But what does this imply? It implies knowledge, and very often a great deal of knowledge, and it implies also a vivid imagination. The writer must have eyes to see the vivid side of everything, as well as words to describe what he sees. Hence forcible writing, and of course tasteful writing also, is far less a matter of rules than is clear writing; and hence, though forcible writing is exemplified in the exercises, clear writing occupies most of the space devoted to the rules.
Boys who are studying Latin and Greek stand in especial need of help to enable them to write a long English sentence clearly. The periods of Thucydides and Cicero are not easily rendered into our idiom without some knowledge of the links that connect an English sentence.
There is scarcely any better training, rhetorical as well as logical, than the task of construing Thucydides into [Pg 7]genuine English; but the flat, vague, long-winded Greek-English and Latin-English imposture that is often tolerated in our examinations and is allowed to pass current for genuine English, diminishes instead of increasing the power that our pupils should possess over their native language. By getting marks at school and college for construing good Greek and Latin into bad English, our pupils systematically unlearn what they may have been allowed to pick up from Milton and from Shakespeare.
I must acknowledge very large obligations to Professor Bain's treatise on "English Composition and Rhetoric," and also to his English Grammar. I have not always been able to agree with Professor Bain as to matters of taste; but I find it difficult to express my admiration for the systematic thoroughness and suggestiveness of his book on Composition. In particular, Professor Bain's rule on the use of "that" and "which" (see Rule 8) deserves to be better known.[2] The ambiguity produced by the confusion between these two forms of the Relative is not a mere fiction of pedants; it is practically serious. Take, for instance, the following sentence, which appeared lately in one of our ablest weekly periodicals: "There are a good many Radical members in the House who cannot forgive the Prime Minister for being a Christian." Twenty years hence, who is to say whether the meaning is "and they, i.e. all the Radical members in the House," or "there are a good many Radical members of the House that cannot &c."? Professor Bain, apparently admitting no exceptions to his useful rule, amends many sentences in a manner that seems to me intolerably harsh. Therefore, while laying due stress on the utility of the rule, I have endeavoured to point out and explain the exceptions.
The rules are stated as briefly as possible, and are intended not so much for use by themselves as for reference while the pupil is working at the exercises. Consequently, there is no attempt to prove the rules by accumulations of examples. The few examples that are given, are given not to prove, but to illustrate the rules. The exercises are intended to be written out and revised, as exercises usually are; but they may also be used for vivâ voce instruction. The books being shut, the pupils, with their written exercises before them, may be questioned as to the reasons for the several alterations they have made. Experienced teachers will not require any explanation of the arrangement or rather non-arrangement of the exercises. They have been purposely mixed together unclassified to prevent the pupil from relying upon anything but his own common sense and industry, to show him what is the fault in each case, and how it is to be amended. Besides references to the rules, notes are attached to each sentence, so that the exercises ought not to present any difficulty to a painstaking boy of twelve or thirteen, provided he has first been fairly trained in English grammar.
The "Continuous Extracts" present rather more difficulty, and are intended for boys somewhat older than those for whom the Exercises are intended. The attempt to modernize, and clarify, so to speak, the style of Burnet, Clarendon, and Bishop Butler,[3] may appear ambitious, and perhaps requires some explanation. My object has, of course, not been to improve upon the style of these authors, but to show how their meaning might be expressed more clearly in modern English. The charm of the style is necessarily lost, but if the loss is recognized both by teacher and pupil, there is nothing, in my opinion, to [Pg 9]counterbalance the obvious utility of such exercises. Professor Bain speaks to the same effect:[4] "For an English exercise, the matter should in some way or other be supplied, and the pupil disciplined in giving it expression. I know of no better method than to prescribe passages containing good matter, but in some respects imperfectly worded, to be amended according to the laws and the proprieties of style. Our older writers might be extensively, though not exclusively, drawn upon for this purpose."
To some of the friends whose help has been already acknowledged in "English Lessons for English People," I am indebted for further help in revising these pages. I desire to express especial obligations to the Rev. J. H. Lupton, late Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, and Second Master of St. Paul's School, for copious and valuable suggestions; also to several of my colleagues at the City of London School, among whom I must mention in particular the Rev. A. R. Vardy, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Before electrotyping the Fourth and Revised Edition, I wish to say one word as to the manner in which this book has been used by my highest class, as a collection of Rules for reference in their construing lessons. In construing, from Thucydides especially, I have found Rules 5, 30, 34, 36, 37, and 40a, of great use. The rules about Metaphor and Climax have also been useful in correcting faults of taste in their Latin and Greek compositions. I have hopes that, used in this way, this little book may be of service to the highest as well as to the middle classes of our schools.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Punctuation is fully discussed in most English Grammars, and is therefore referred to in this book only so far as is necessary to point out the slovenly fault of trusting too much to punctuation, and too little to arrangement.
[2] Before meeting with Professor Bain's rule, I had shown that the difference between the Relatives is generally observed by Shakespeare. See "Shakespearian Grammar," paragraph 259.
[3] Sir Archibald Alison stands on a very different footing. The extracts from this author are intended to exhibit the dangers of verbosity and exaggeration.
[4] "English Composition and Rhetoric," p. vii.
CONTENTS.
| PAGE | |
| Index of Rules | 11-13 |
| Rules | 14-40 |
| Short Exercises | 41-63 |
| Continuous Exercises—Clarendon | 64-70 |
| " " Burnet | 70-73 |
| " " Butler | 74-75 |
| " " Sir Archibald Aliso | 76-78 |
INDEX OF RULES.
I. CLEARNESS AND FORCE.
WORDS.
1. Use words in their proper sense.
2. Avoid exaggerations.
3. Avoid useless circumlocution and "fine writing."
4. Be careful in the use of "not ... and," "any," "but," "only," "not ... or," "that."
4 a. Be careful in the use of ambiguous words, e.g. "certain."
5. Be careful in the use of "he," "it," "they," "these," &c.
6. Report a speech in the First Person, where necessary to avoid ambiguity.
6 a. Use the Third Person where the exact words of the speaker are not intended to be given.
6 b. Omission of "that" in a speech in the Third Person.
7. When you use a Participle implying "when," "while," "though," or "that," show clearly by the context what is implied.
8. When using the Relative Pronoun, use "who" or "which," if the meaning is "and he" or "and it," "for he" or "for it." In other cases use "that," if euphony allows. Exceptions.
9. Do not use "and which" for "which."
10. Equivalents for the Relative: (a) Participle or Adjective; (b) Infinitive; (c) "Whereby," "whereto," &c.; (d) "If a man;" (e) "And he," "and this," &c.; (f) "what;" (g) omission of Relative.
10 a'. Repeat the Antecedent before the Relative, where the non-repetition causes any ambiguity. See 38.
11. Use particular for general terms. Avoid abstract Nouns.
11 a. Avoid Verbal Nouns where Verbs can be used.
12. Use particular persons instead of a class.
13. Use metaphor instead of literal statement.
14. Do not confuse metaphor.
14 a. Do not mix metaphor with literal statement.
14 b. Do not use poetic metaphor to illustrate a prosaic subject.
ORDER OF WORDS IN A SENTENCE.
15. Emphatic words must stand in emphatic positions; i.e., for the most part, at the beginning or the end of the sentence.
15 a. Unemphatic words must, as a rule, be kept from the end. Exceptions.
[Pg 12] 15 b. An interrogation sometimes gives emphasis.
16. The Subject, if unusually emphatic, should often be transferred from the beginning of the sentence.
17. The Object is sometimes placed before the Verb for emphasis.
18. Where several words are emphatic, make it clear which is the most emphatic. Emphasis can sometimes be given by adding an epithet, or an intensifying word.
19. Words should be as near as possible to the words with which they are grammatically connected.
20. Adverbs should be placed next to the words they are intended to qualify.
21. "Only"; the strict rule is that "only" should be placed before the word it affects.
22. When "not only" precedes "but also," see that each is followed by the same part of speech.
23. "At least," "always," and other adverbial adjuncts, sometimes produce ambiguity.
24. Nouns should be placed near the Nouns that they define.
25. Pronouns should follow the Nouns to which they refer, without the intervention of any other Noun.
26. Clauses that are grammatically connected should be kept as close together as possible. Avoid parentheses. But see 55.
27. In conditional sentences, the antecedent or "if-clauses" must be kept distinct from the consequent clauses.
28. Dependent clauses preceded by "that" should be kept distinct from those that are independent.
29. Where there are several infinitives, those that are dependent on the same word must be kept distinct from those that are not.
30. The principle of Suspense.
30 a. It is a violation of the principle of suspense to introduce unexpectedly at the end of a long sentence, some short and unemphatic clause beginning with (a) "not," (b) "which."
31. Suspense must not be excessive.
32. In a sentence with "if," "when," "though," &c., put the "if-clause," antecedent, or protasis, first.
33. Suspense is gained by placing a Participle or Adjective, that qualifies the Subject, before the Subject.
34. Suspensive Conjunctions, e.g. "either," "not only," "on the one hand," &c., add clearness.
35. Repeat the Subject, where its omission would cause obscurity or ambiguity.
36. Repeat a Preposition after an intervening Conjunction, especially if a Verb and an Object also intervene.
37. Repeat Conjunctions, Auxiliary Verbs, and Pronominal Adjectives.
37 a. Repeat Verbs after the Conjunctions "than," "as," &c.
38. Repeat the Subject, or some other emphatic word, or a summary of what has been said, if the sentence is so long that it is difficult to keep the thread of meaning unbroken.
39. Clearness is increased, when the beginning of the sentence prepares the way for the middle, and the middle for the end, the whole forming a kind of ascent. This ascent is called "climax."
40. When the thought is expected to ascend, but descends, feebleness, and sometimes confusion, is the result. The descent is called "bathos."
40 a. A new construction should not be introduced unexpectedly.
41. Antithesis adds force and often clearness.
42. Epigram.
43. Let each sentence have one, and only one, principal subject of thought. Avoid heterogeneous sentences.
44. The connection between different sentences must be kept up by Adverbs used as Conjunctions, or by means of some other connecting words at the beginning of the sentence.
45. The connection between two long sentences or paragraphs sometimes requires a short intervening sentence showing the transition of thought.
II. BREVITY.
46. Metaphor is briefer than literal statement.
47. General terms are briefer, though less forcible, than particular terms.
47 a. A phrase may sometimes be expressed by a word.
48. Participles may often be used as brief (though sometimes ambiguous) equivalents of phrases containing Conjunctions and Verbs.
49. Participles, Adjectives, Participial Adjectives, and Nouns may be used as equivalents for phrases containing the Relative.
50. A statement may sometimes be briefly implied instead of being expressed at length.
51. Conjunctions may be omitted. Adverbs, e.g. "very," "so." Exaggerated epithets, e.g. "incalculable," "unprecedented."
51 a. The imperative may be used for "if &c."
52. Apposition may be used, so as to convert two sentences into one.
53. Condensation may be effected by not repeating (1) the common Subject of several Verbs; (2) the common Object of several Verbs or Prepositions.
54. Tautology. Repeating what may be implied.
55. Parenthesis maybe used with advantage to brevity. See 26.
56. Brevity often clashes with clearness. Let clearness be the first consideration.
CLEARNESS AND FORCE.
Numbers in brackets refer to the Rules.
WORDS.
1. Use words in their proper sense.
Write, not "His apparent guilt justified his friends in disowning him," but "his evident guilt." "Conscious" and "aware," "unnatural" and "supernatural," "transpire" and "occur," "circumstance" and "event," "reverse" and "converse," "eliminate" and "elicit," are often confused together.
This rule forbids the use of the same word in different senses. "It is in my power to refuse your request, and since I have power to do this, I may lawfully do it." Here the second "power" is used for "authority."
This rule also forbids the slovenly use of "nice," "awfully," "delicious," "glorious," &c. See (2).
"The boundless plains in the heart of the empire furnished inexhaustible supplies of corn, that would have almost sufficed for twice the population."
Here "inexhaustible" is inconsistent with what follows. The words "unprecedented," "incalculable," "very," and "stupendous" are often used in the same loose way.
3. Avoid useless circumlocution and "fine writing."
"Her Majesty here partook of lunch." Write "lunched."
"Partook of" implies sharing, and is incorrect as well as lengthy.
So, do not use "apex" for "top," "species" for "kind," "individual" for "man," "assist" for "help," &c.
4. Be careful how you use the following words: "not ... and," "any," "only," "not ... or," "that."[5]
And. See below, "Or."
Any.—"I am not bound to receive any messenger that you send." Does this mean every, or a single? Use "every" or "a single."
Not.—(1) "I do not intend to help you, because you are my enemy &c." ought to mean (2), "I intend not to help you, and my reason for not helping you is, because you are my enemy." But it is often wrongly used to mean (3), "I intend to help you, not because you are my enemy (but because you are poor, blind, &c.)." In the latter case, not ought to be separated from intend. By distinctly marking the limits to which the influence of not extends, the ambiguity may be removed.
Only is often used ambiguously for alone. "The rest help me to revenge myself; you only advise me to wait." This ought to mean, "you only advise, instead of helping;" but in similar sentences "you only" is often used for "you alone." But see 21.
Or.—When "or" is preceded by a negative, as "I do not want butter or honey," "or" ought not, strictly speaking, to be used like "and," nor like "nor." The strict use of "not ... or" would be as follows:—
"You say you don't want both butter and honey—you want butter or honey; I, on the contrary, do not want butter or honey—I want them both."
Practically, however, this meaning is so rare, that "I don't want butter or honey" is regularly used for "I want neither butter nor honey." But where there is the slightest danger of ambiguity, it is desirable to use nor.
The same ambiguity attends "not ... and." "I do not see Thomas and John" is commonly used for "I see neither Thomas nor John;" but it might mean, "I do not see them both—I see only one of them."
That.—The different uses of "that" produce much ambiguity, e.g. "I am so much surprised by this statement that I am desirous of resigning, that I scarcely know what reply to make." Here it is impossible to tell, till one has read past "resigning," whether the first "that" depends upon "so" or "statement." Write: "The statement that I am desirous of resigning surprises me so much that I scarcely know &c."
4 a. Be careful in the use of ambiguous words, e.g. "certain."
"Certain" is often used for "some," as in "Independently of his earnings, he has a certain property," where the meaning might be "unfailing."
Under this head may be mentioned the double use of words, such as "left" in the same form and sound, but different in meaning. Even where there is [Pg 16]no obscurity, the juxtaposition of the same word twice used in two senses is inelegant, e.g. (Bain), "He turned to the left and left the room."
I have known the following slovenly sentence misunderstood: "Our object is that, with the aid of practice, we may sometime arrive at the point where we think eloquence in its most praiseworthy form to lie." "To lie" has been supposed to mean "to deceive."
5. Be careful how you use "he," "it," "they," "these," &c. (For "which" see 8.) The ambiguity arising from the use of he applying to different persons is well known.
"He told his friend that if he did not feel better in half an hour he thought he had better return." See (6) for remedy.
Much ambiguity is also caused by excessive use of such phrases as in this way, of this sort, &c.
"God, foreseeing the disorders of human nature, has given us certain passions and affections which arise from, or whose objects are, these disorders. Of this sort are fear, resentment, compassion."
Repeat the noun: "Among these passions and affections are fear &c."
Two distinct uses of it may be noted. It, when referring to something that precedes, may be called "retrospective;" but when to something that follows, "prospective." In "Avoid indiscriminate charity: it is a crime," "it" is retrospective.[6] In "It is a crime to give indiscriminately," "it" is prospective.
The prospective "it," if productive of ambiguity, can often be omitted by using the infinitive as a subject: "To give indiscriminately is a crime."
6. Report a speech in the First, not the Third Person, where necessary to avoid ambiguity. Speeches in the third person afford a particular, though very common case, of the general ambiguity mentioned in (5). Instead of "He told his friend that if he did not feel better &c.," write "He said to his friend, 'If, I (or you) don't feel better &c.'"
6 a. Sometimes, where the writer cannot know the exact words, or where the exact words are unimportant, or lengthy and uninteresting, the Third Person is preferable. Thus, where Essex is asking Sir Robert Cecil that Francis Bacon may be appointed Attorney-General, the dialogue is (as it almost always is in Lord Macaulay's writings) in the First Person, except where it becomes tedious and uninteresting so as to require condensation, and then it drops into the Third Person:
"Sir Robert had nothing to say but that he thought his own abilities equal to the place which he hoped to obtain, and that his father's long services deserved such a mark of gratitude from the Queen."
6 b. Omission of "that" in a speech reported in the Third Person.—Even when a speech is reported in the third person, "that" need not always be inserted before the dependent verb. Thus, instead of "He said that he took it ill that his promises were not believed," we may write, "'He took it ill,' he said, 'that &c.'" This gives a little more life, and sometimes more clearness also.
7. When you use a Participle, as "walking," implying "when," "while," "though," "that," make it clear by the context what is implied.
"Republics, in the first instance, are never desired for their own sakes. I do not think they will finally be desired at all, unaccompanied by courtly graces and good breeding."
Here there is a little doubt whether the meaning is "since they are, or, if they are, unaccompanied."
That or when.—"Men walking (that walk, or when they walk) on ice sometimes fall."
It is better to use "men walking" to mean "men when they walk." If the relative is meant, use "men that walk," instead of the participle.
| (1) "While he was (2) "Because he was |
} | Walking on | { | (1) the road, (2) the ice, |
} | he fell." |
When the participle precedes the subject, it generally implies a cause: "Seeing this, he retired." Otherwise it generally has its proper participial meaning, e.g. "He retired, keeping his face towards us." If there is any ambiguity, write "on seeing,"—"at the same time, or while, keeping."
| (1) "Though he was (2) "Since he was (3) "If he is |
} | Struck with terror, | { | (1) he nevertheless stood his ground." (2) he rapidly retreated." (3) he will soon retreat." |
8. When using the Relative Pronoun, use "who" and "which" where the meaning is "and he, it, &c.," "for he, it, &c." In other cases use "that," if euphony allows.
"I heard this from the inspector, who (and he) heard it from the guard that travelled with the train."
"Fetch me (all) the books that lie on the table, and also the pamphlets, which (and these) you will find on the floor."
An adherence to this rule would remove much ambiguity. Thus: "There was a public-house next door, which was a great nuisance," means "and this (i.e. the fact of its being next door) was a great nuisance;" whereas that would have meant "Next door was a public-house that (i.e. the public-house) was a great [Pg 18]nuisance." "Who," "which," &c. introduce a new fact about the antecedent, whereas "that" introduces something without which the antecedent is incomplete or undefined. Thus, in the first example above, "inspector" is complete in itself, and "who" introduces a new fact about him; "guard" is incomplete, and requires "that travelled with the train" to complete the meaning.
It is not, and cannot be, maintained that this rule, though observed in Elizabethan English, is observed by our best modern authors. (Probably a general impression that "that" cannot be used to refer to persons has assisted "who" in supplanting "that" as a relative.) But the convenience of the rule is so great that beginners in composition may with advantage adhere to the rule. The following are some of the cases where who and which are mostly used, contrary to the rule, instead of that.
Exceptions:—
(a) When the antecedent is defined, e.g. by a possessive case, modern English uses who instead of that. It is rare, though it would be useful,[7] to say "His English friends that had not seen him" for "the English friends, or those of his English friends, that had not seen him."
(b) That sounds ill when separated from its verb and from its antecedents, and emphasized by isolation: "There are many persons that, though unscrupulous, are commonly good-tempered, and that, if not strongly incited by self-interest, are ready for the most part to think of the interest of their neighbours." Shakespeare frequently uses who after that when the relative is repeated. See "Shakespearian Grammar," par. 260.
(c) If the antecedent is qualified by that, the relative must not be that. Besides other considerations, the repetition is disagreeable. Addison ridicules such language as "That remark that I made yesterday is not that that I said that I regretted that I had made."
(d) That cannot be preceded by a preposition, and hence throws the preposition to the end. "This is the rule that I adhere to." This is perfectly good English, though sometimes unnecessarily avoided. But, with some prepositions, the construction is harsh and objectionable, e.g. "This is the mark that I jumped beyond," "Such were the prejudices that he rose above." The reason is that some of these disyllabic prepositions are used as adverbs, and, when separated from their nouns, give one the impression that they are used as adverbs.
(e) After pronominal adjectives used for personal pronouns, modern English prefers who. "There are many, others, several, those, who can testify &c."
(f) After that used as a conjunction there is sometimes a dislike to use that as a relative. See (c).
9. Do not use redundant "and" before "which."[8]
"I gave him a very interesting book for a present, and which cost me five shillings."
In short sentences the absurdity is evident, but in long sentences it is less evident, and very common.
"A petition was presented for rescinding that portion of the bye-laws which permits application of public money to support [Pg 19]sectarian schools over which ratepayers have no control, this being a violation of the principle of civil and religious liberty, and which the memorialists believe would provoke a determined and conscientious resistance."
Here which ought grammatically to refer to "portion" or "schools." But it seems intended to refer to "violation." Omit "and," or repeat "a violation" before "which," or turn the sentence otherwise.
(a) Participle.—"Men thirsting (for 'men that thirst') for revenge are not indifferent to plunder." The objection to the participle is that here, as often, it creates a little ambiguity. The above sentence may mean, "men, when they thirst," or "though they thirst," as well as "men that thirst." Often however there is no ambiguity: "I have documents proving this conclusively."
(b) Infinitive.—Instead of "He was the first that entered" you can write "to enter;" for "He is not a man who will act dishonestly," "to act." This equivalent cannot often be used.
(c) Whereby, wherein, &c., can sometimes be used for "by which," "in which," so as to avoid a harsh repetition of "which." "The means whereby this may be effected." But this use is somewhat antiquated.
(d) If.—"The man that does not care for music is to be pitied" can be written (though not so forcibly), "If a man does not care for music, he is to be pitied." It is in long sentences that this equivalent will be found most useful.
(e) And this.—"He did his best, which was all that could be expected," can be written, "and this was all that, &c."
(f) What.—"Let me repeat that which[9] you ought to know, that that which is worth doing is worth doing well." "Let me repeat, what you ought to know, that what is worth doing is worth doing well."
(g) Omission of Relative.—It is sometimes thought ungrammatical to omit the relative, as in "The man (that) you speak of." On the contrary, that when an object (not when a subject) may be omitted, wherever the antecedent and the subject of the relative sentence are brought into juxtaposition by the omission.
10 a'. Repeat the Antecedent in some new form, where there is any ambiguity. This is particularly useful [Pg 20]after a negative: "He said that he would not even hear me, which I confess I had expected." Here the meaning may be, "I had expected that he would," or "that he would not, hear me." Write, "a refusal, or, a favour, that I confess I had expected." See (38).
11. Use particular for general terms.—This is a most important rule. Instead of "I have neither the necessaries of life nor the means of procuring them," write (if you can with truth), "I have not a crust of bread, nor a penny to buy one."
Caution.—There is a danger in this use. The meaning is vividly expressed but sometimes may be exaggerated or imperfect. Crust of bread may be an exaggeration; on the other hand, if the speaker is destitute not only of bread, but also of shelter and clothing, then crust of bread is an imperfect expression of the meaning.
In philosophy and science, where the language ought very often to be inclusive and brief, general and not particular terms must be used.
11 a. Avoid Verbal Nouns where Verbs can be used instead. The disadvantage of the use of Verbal Nouns is this, that, unless they are immediately preceded by prepositions, they are sometimes liable to be confounded with participles. The following is an instance of an excessive use of Verbal Nouns:
"The pretended confession of the secretary was only collusion to lay the jealousies of the king's favouring popery, which still hung upon him, notwithstanding his writing on the Revelation, and affecting to enter on all occasions into controversy, asserting in particular that the Pope was Antichrist."
Write "notwithstanding that he wrote and affected &c."
12. Use a particular Person instead of a class.
"What is the splendour of the greatest monarch compared with the beauty of a flower?" "What is the splendour of Solomon compared with the beauty of a daisy?"
Under this head may come the forcible use of Noun for Adjective: "This fortress is weakness itself."
An excess of this use is lengthy and pedantically bombastic, e.g., the following paraphrase for "in every British colony:"—"under Indian palm-groves, amid Australian gum-trees, in the shadow of African mimosas, and beneath Canadian pines."
13. Use Metaphor instead of literal statement.
"The ship ploughs the sea" is clearer than "the ship cleaves the sea," and shorter than "the ship cleaves the sea as a plough cleaves the land."
Of course there are some subjects for which Metaphor should not be used. See (14 a) and (14 b).
"In a moment the thunderbolt was upon them, deluging their country with invaders."
The following is attributed to Sir Boyle Roche: "Mr. Speaker, I smell a rat, I see him brewing in the air; but, mark me, I shall yet nip him in the bud."
Some words, once metaphorical, have ceased to be so regarded. Hence many good writers say "under these circumstances" instead of "in these circumstances."
An excessive regard for disused metaphor savours of pedantry: disregard is inelegant. Write, not, "unparalleled complications," but "unprecedented complications;" and "he threw light on obscurities," instead of "he unravelled obscurities."
14 a. Do not introduce literal statement immediately after Metaphor.
"He was the father of Chemistry, and brother to the Earl of Cork."
And was lieutenant to the Earl of Mar."
14 b. Do not use poetic metaphor to illustrate a prosaic subject. Thus, we may say "a poet soars," or even, though rarely, "a nation soars to greatness," but you could not say "Consols soared to 94½." Even commonplace subjects may be illustrated by metaphor: for it is a metaphor, and quite unobjectionable, to say "Consols mounted, or jumped to 94½." But commonplace subjects must be illustrated by metaphor that is commonplace.
ORDER OF WORDS IN A SENTENCE.
15. Emphatic words must stand in emphatic positions; i.e. for the most part, at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. This rule occasionally supersedes the common rules about position. Thus, the place for an adverb, as a rule, should be between the subject and verb: "He quickly left the room;" but if quickly is to be emphatic, it must come at the beginning or end, as in "I told him to leave the room slowly, but he left quickly."
Adjectives, in clauses beginning with "if" and "though," often come at the beginning for emphasis: "Insolent though he was, he was silenced at last."
15 a. Unemphatic words must, as a rule, be kept from the end of the sentence. It is a common fault to break this rule by placing a short and unemphatic predicate at the end of a long sentence.
"To know some Latin, even if it be nothing but a few Latin roots, is useful." Write, "It is useful, &c."
So "the evidence proves how kind to his inferiors he is."
Often, where an adjective or auxiliary verb comes at the end, the addition of an emphatic adverb justifies the position, e.g. above, "is very useful," "he has invariably been."
A short "chippy" ending, even though emphatic, is to be avoided. It is abrupt and unrhythmical, e.g. "The soldier, transfixed with the spear, writhed." We want a longer ending, "fell writhing to the ground," or, "writhed in the agonies of death." A "chippy" ending is common in bad construing from Virgil.
Exceptions.—Prepositions and pronouns attached to emphatic words need not be moved from the end; e.g. "He does no harm that I hear of." "Bear witness how I loved him."
N.B. In all styles, especially in letter-writing, a final emphasis must not be so frequent as to become obtrusive and monotonous.
15 b. An interrogation sometimes gives emphasis. "No one can doubt that the prisoner, had he been really guilty, would have shown some signs of remorse," is not so emphatic as "Who can doubt, Is it possible to doubt, &c.?"
Contrast "No one ever names Wentworth without thinking of &c." with "But Wentworth,—who ever names him without thinking of those harsh dark features, ennobled by their expression into more than the majesty of an antique Jupiter?"
16. The subject, if unusually emphatic, should often be removed from the beginning of the sentence. The beginning of the sentence is an emphatic position, though mostly not so emphatic as the end. Therefore the principal subject of a sentence, being emphatic, and being wanted early in the sentence to tell us what the sentence is about, comes as a rule, at or near the beginning: "Thomas built this house."
Hence, since the beginning is the usual place for the subject, if we want to emphasize "Thomas" unusually, we must remove "Thomas" from the beginning: "This house was built by Thomas," or "It was Thomas that built this house."
Thus, the emphasis on "conqueror" is not quite so strong in "A mere conqueror ought not to obtain from us the reverence that is due to the great benefactors of mankind," as in "We ought [Pg 23]not to bestow the reverence that is due to the great benefactors of mankind, upon a mere conqueror." Considerable, but less emphasis and greater smoothness (19) will be obtained by writing the sentence thus: "We ought not to bestow upon a mere conqueror &c."
Where the same subject stands first in several consecutive sentences, it rises in emphasis, and need not be removed from the beginning, even though unusual emphasis be required:
"The captain was the life and soul of the expedition. He first pointed out the possibility of advancing; he warned them of the approaching scarcity of provisions; he showed how they might replenish their exhausted stock &c."
17. The object is sometimes placed before the verb for emphasis. This is most common in antithesis. "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?" "Some he imprisoned, others he put to death."
Even where there is no antithesis the inversion is not uncommon:
"Military courage, the boast of the sottish German, of the frivolous and prating Frenchman, of the romantic and arrogant Spaniard, he neither possesses nor values."
This inversion sometimes creates ambiguity in poetry, e.g. "The son the father slew," and must be sparingly used in prose.
Sometimes the position of a word may be considered appropriate by some, and inappropriate by others, according to different interpretations of the sentence. Take as an example, "Early in the morning the nobles and gentlemen who attended on the king assembled in the great hall of the castle; and here they began to talk of what a dreadful storm it had been the night before. But Macbeth could scarcely understand what they said, for he was thinking of something worse." The last sentence has been amended by Professor Bain into "What they said, Macbeth could scarcely understand." But there appears to be an antithesis between the guiltless nobles who can think about the weather, and the guilty Macbeth who cannot. Hence, "what they said" ought not, and "Macbeth" ought, to be emphasized: and therefore "Macbeth" ought to be retained at the beginning of the sentence.
The same author alters, "The praise of judgment Virgil has justly contested with him, but his invention remains yet unrivalled," into "Virgil has justly contested with him the praise of judgment, but no one has yet rivalled his invention"—an alteration which does not seem to emphasize sufficiently the antithesis between what had been 'contested,' on the one hand, and what remained as yet 'unrivalled' on the other.
More judiciously Professor Bain alters, "He that tells a lie is not sensible how great a task he undertakes; for he must be forced to invent twenty more to maintain one," into "for, to maintain one, he must invent twenty more," putting the emphatic words in their emphatic place, at the end.
18. Where several words are emphatic, make it clear which is the most emphatic. Thus, in "The state was made, under the pretence of serving it, in reality the prize of their contention to each of these opposite parties," it is unpleasantly doubtful whether the writer means (1) state or (2) parties to be emphatic.
If (1), "As for the state, these two parties, under the pretence of serving it, converted it into a prize for their contention." If (2), write, "Though served in profession, the state was in reality converted into a prize for their contention by these two parties." In (1) parties is subordinated, in (2) state.
Sometimes the addition of some intensifying word serves to emphasize. Thus, instead of "To effect this they used all devices," we can write "To effect this they used every conceivable device." So, if we want to emphasize fidelity in "The business will task your skill and fidelity," we can write "Not only your skill but also your fidelity." This, however, sometimes leads to exaggerations. See (2).
Sometimes antithesis gives emphasis, as in "You do not know this, but you shall know it." Where antithesis cannot be used, the emphasis must be expressed by turning the sentence, as "I will make you know it," or by some addition, as "You shall hereafter know it."
19. Words should be as near as possible to the words with which they are grammatically connected. See Paragraphs 20 to 29. For exceptions see 30.
20. Adverbs should be placed next to the words they are intended to affect. When unemphatic, adverbs come between the subject and the verb, or, if the tense is compound, between the parts of the compound tense: "He quickly left the room;" "He has quickly left the room;" but, when emphatic, after the verb: "He left, or has left, the room quickly."[10] When such a sentence as the latter is followed by a present participle, there arises ambiguity. "I told him to go slowly, but he left the room quickly, dropping the purse on the floor." Does quickly here modify left or dropping? The remedy[11] is, to give the adverb its unemphatic place, "He quickly left the room, dropping &c.," or else to avoid the participle, thus: "He quickly dropped the purse and left the room," or "He dropped the purse and quickly left the room."
21. "Only" requires careful use. The strict[12] rule is, that "only" should be placed before the word affected by it.
The following is ambiguous:
"The heavens are not open to the faithful only at intervals."
The best rule is to avoid placing "only" between two emphatic words, and to avoid using "only" where "alone" can be used instead.
In strictness perhaps the three following sentences:
(1) He only beat three,
(2) He beat only three,
(3) He beat three only,
ought to be explained, severally, thus:
(1) He did no more than beat, did not kill, three.
(2) He beat no more than three.
(3) He beat three, and that was all he did. (Here only modifies the whole of the sentence and depreciates the action.)
But the best authors sometimes transpose the word. "He only lived" ought to mean "he did not die or make any great sacrifice;" but "He only lived but till he was a man" (Macbeth, v. 8. 40) means "He lived only till he was a man." Compare also, "Who only hath immortality."
Only at the beginning of a statement = but. "I don't like to importune you, only I know you'll forgive me." Before an imperative it diminishes the favour asked: "Only listen to me." This use of only is mostly confined to letters.
Very often, only at the beginning of a sentence is used for alone: "Only ten came," "Only Cæsar approved." Alone is less ambiguous. The ambiguity of only is illustrated by such a sentence as, "Don't hesitate to bring a few friends of yours to shoot on my estate at any time. Only five (fifteen) came yesterday," which might mean, "I don't mind a few; only don't bring so many as fifteen;" or else "Don't hesitate to bring a few more; no more than five came yesterday." In conversation, ambiguity is prevented by emphasis; but in a letter, only thus used might cause unfortunate mistakes. Write "Yesterday only five came," if you mean "no more than five."
22. When "not only" precedes "but also," see that each is followed by the same part of speech.
"He not only gave me advice but also help" is wrong. Write "He gave me, not only advice, but also help." On the other hand, "He not only gave me a grammar, but also lent me a dictionary," is right. Take an instance. "He spoke not only forcibly but also tastefully (adverbs), and this too, not only before a small audience, but also in (prepositions) a large public meeting, and his speeches were not only successful, but also (adjective) worthy of success."
23. "At least," "always," and other adverbial adjuncts, sometimes produce ambiguity.
"I think you will find my Latin exercise, at all events, as good as my cousin's." Does this mean (1) "my Latin exercise, though not perhaps my other exercises;" or (2), "Though not very good, yet, at all events, as good as my cousin's"? Write for (1), "My Latin exercise, at all events, you will find &c." and for (2), "I think you will find my Latin exercise as good as my cousin's, at all events."
The remedy is to avoid placing "at all events" between two emphatic words.
As an example of the misplacing of an adverbial adjunct, take "From abroad he received most favourable reports, but in the City he heard that a panic had broken out on the Exchange, and that the funds were fast falling." This ought to mean that the "hearing," and not (as is intended) that the "breaking out of the panic," took place in the City.
In practice, an adverb is often used to qualify a remote word, where the latter is more emphatic than any nearer word. This is very common when the Adverbial Adjunct is placed in an emphatic position at the beginning of the sentence: "On this very spot our guide declared that Claverhouse had fallen."
24. Nouns should be placed near the nouns that they define. In the very common sentence "The death is announced of Mr. John Smith, an author whose works &c.," the transposition is probably made from a feeling that, if we write "The death of Mr. John Smith is announced," we shall be obliged to begin a new sentence, "He was an author whose works &c." But the difficulty can be removed by writing "We regret to announce, or, we are informed of, the death of Mr. John Smith, an author, &c."
25. Pronouns should follow the nouns to which they refer without the intervention of another noun. Avoid, "John Smith, the son of Thomas Smith, who gave me this book," unless Thomas Smith is the antecedent of who. Avoid also "John supplied Thomas with money: he (John) was very well off."
When, however, one of two preceding nouns is decidedly superior to the other in emphasis, the more emphatic may be presumed to be the noun referred to by the pronoun, even though the noun of inferior emphasis intervenes. Thus: "At this moment the colonel came up, and took the place of the wounded general. He gave orders to halt." Here he would naturally refer to colonel, though general intervenes. A conjunction will often show that a pronoun refers to the subject of the preceding sentence, and not to another intervening noun. "The sentinel at once took aim at the approaching soldier, and fired. He then retreated to give the alarm."
It is better to adhere, in most cases, to Rule 25, which may be called (Bain) the Rule of Proximity. The Rule of Emphasis, of which an instance was given in the last paragraph, is sometimes misleading. A distinction might be drawn by punctuating thus:
"David the father of Solomon, who slew Goliath." "David, the father of Solomon who built the Temple." But the propriety of omitting a comma in each case is questionable, and it is better to write so as not to be at the mercy of commas.
26. Clauses that are grammatically connected should be kept as close together as possible. (But see 55.) The introduction of parentheses violating this rule often produced serious ambiguity. Thus, in the following: "The result of these observations appears to be in opposition to the view now generally [Pg 27]received in this country, that in muscular effort the substance of the muscle itself undergoes disintegration." Here it is difficult to tell whether the theory of "disintegration" is (1) "the result," or, as the absence of a comma after "be" would indicate, (2) "in opposition to the result of these observations." If (1) is intended, add "and to prove" after "country;" if (2), insert "which is" after "country."
There is an excessive complication in the following:—"It cannot, at all events, if the consideration demanded by a subject of such importance from any one professing to be a philosopher, be given, be denied that &c."
Where a speaker feels that his hearers have forgotten the connection of the beginning of the sentence, he should repeat what he has said; e.g. after the long parenthesis in the last sentence he should recommence, "it cannot, I say, be denied." In writing, however, this licence must be sparingly used.
A short parenthesis, or modifying clause, will not interfere with clearness, especially if antithesis he used, so as to show the connection between the different parts of the sentence, e.g. "A modern newspaper statement, though probably true, would be laughed at if quoted in a book as testimony; but the letter of a court gossip is thought good historical evidence if written some centuries ago." Here, to place "though probably true" at the beginning of the sentence would not add clearness, and would impair the emphasis of the contrast between "a modern newspaper statement" and "the letter of a court gossip."
27. In conditional sentences, the antecedent clauses must be kept distinct from the consequent clauses.—There is ambiguity in "The lesson intended to be taught by these manœuvres will be lost, if the plan of operations is laid down too definitely beforehand, and the affair degenerates into a mere review." Begin, in any case, with the antecedent, "If the plan," &c. Next write, according to the meaning: (1) "If the plan is laid down, and the affair degenerates &c., then the lesson will be lost;" or (2) " ... then the lesson ... will be lost, and the affair degenerates into a mere review."
28. Dependent clauses preceded by "that" should be kept distinct from those that are independent.
Take as an example:
(1) "He replied that he wished to help them, and intended to make preparations accordingly."
This ought not to be used (though it sometimes is, for shortness) to mean:
(2) "He replied ..., and he intended."
In (1), "intended," having no subject, must be supposed to be connected with the nearest preceding verb, in the same mood and tense, that has a subject, i.e. "wished." It follows that (1) is a condensation of:
(3) "He replied that he wished ..., and that he intended."
(2), though theoretically free from ambiguity, is practically ambiguous, owing to a loose habit of repeating the subject unnecessarily. It would be better to insert a conjunctional word or a full stop between the two statements. Thus:
(4) "He replied that he wished to help them, and indeed he intended," &c., or "He replied, &c. He intended, &c."
Where there is any danger of ambiguity, use (3) or (4) in preference to (1) or (2).
29. When there are several infinitives, those that are dependent on the same word must be kept distinct from those that are not.
"He said that he wished to take his friend with him to visit the capital and to study medicine." Here it is doubtful whether the meaning is—
"He said that he wished to take his friend with him,
(1) and also to visit the capital and study medicine," or
(2) "that his friend might visit the capital and might also study medicine," or
(3) "on a visit to the capital, and that he also wished to study medicine."
From the three different versions it will be perceived that this ambiguity must be met (a) by using "that" for "to," which allows us to repeat an auxiliary verb [e.g. "might" in (2)], and (b) by inserting conjunctions. As to insertions of conjunctions, see (37).
"In order to," and "for the purpose of," can be used to distinguish (wherever there is any ambiguity) between an infinitive that expresses a purpose, and an infinitive that does not, e.g. "He told his servant to call upon his friend, to (in order to) give him information about the trains, and not to leave him till he started."
30. The principle of suspense. Write your sentence in such a way that, until he has come to the full stop, the reader may feel the sentence to be incomplete. In other words, keep your reader in suspense. Suspense is caused (1) by placing the "if-clause" first, and not last, in a conditional sentence; (2) by placing participles before the words they qualify; (3) by using suspensive conjunctions, e.g. not only, either, partly, on the one hand, in the first place, &c.
The following is an example of an unsuspended sentence. The sense draggles, and it is difficult to keep up one's attention.
"Mr. Pym was looked upon as the man of greatest experience in parliaments, | where he had served very long, | and was always a man of business, | being an officer in the Exchequer, | and of a [Pg 29]good reputation generally, | though known to be inclined to the Puritan party; yet not of those furious resolutions (Mod. Eng. so furiously resolved) against the Church as the other leading men were, | and wholly devoted to the Earl of Bedford,—who had nothing of that spirit."
The foregoing sentence might have ended at any one of the eight points marked above. When suspended it becomes:—
"Mr. Pym, owing to his long service in Parliament in the Exchequer, was esteemed above all others for his Parliamentary experience and for his knowledge of business. He had also a good reputation generally; for, though openly favouring the Puritan party, he was closely devoted to the Earl of Bedford, and, like the Earl, had none of the fanatical spirit manifested against the Church by the other leading men."
30 a. It is a violation of the principle of Suspense to introduce unexpectedly, at the end of a long sentence, some short and unemphatic clause beginning with (a) " ... not" or (b) " ... which."
(a) "This reform has already been highly beneficial to all classes of our countrymen, and will, I am persuaded, encourage among us industry, self-dependence, and frugality, and not, as some say, wastefulness."
Write "not, as some say, wastefulness, but industry, self-dependence, and frugality."
(b) "After a long and tedious journey, the last part of which was a little dangerous owing to the state of the roads, we arrived safely at York, which is a fine old town."
Exception.—When the short final clause is intended to be unexpectedly unemphatic, it comes in appropriately, with something of the sting of an epigram. See (42). Thus:
"The old miser said that he should have been delighted to give the poor fellow a shilling, but most unfortunately he had left his purse at home—a habit of his."
Suspense naturally throws increased emphasis on the words for which we are waiting, i.e. on the end of the sentence. It has been pointed out above that a monotony of final emphasis is objectionable, especially in letter writing and conversation.
31. Suspense must not be excessive. Excess of suspense is a common fault in boys translating from Latin. "Themistocles, having secured the safety of Greece, the Persian fleet being now destroyed, when he had unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the Greeks to break down the bridge across the Hellespont, hearing that Xerxes was in full flight, and thinking that it might be profitable to secure the friendship of the king, wrote as [Pg 30]follows to him." The more English idiom is: "When Themistocles had secured the safety of Greece by the destruction of the Persian fleet, he made an unsuccessful attempt to persuade the Greeks to break down the bridge across the Hellespont. Soon afterwards, hearing &c."
A long suspense that would be intolerable in prose is tolerable in the introduction to a poem. See the long interval at the beginning of Paradise Lost between "Of man's first disobedience" and "Sing, heavenly Muse." Compare also the beginning of Paradise Lost, Book II.:
Outshone the wealth of Ormuz and of Ind,
Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand
Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold—
Satan exalted sat."
with the opening of Keats' Hyperion:
Far sunken from the healthy breath of morn,
Far from the fiery noon and eve's one star—
Sat grey-haired Saturn, quiet as a stone."
32. In a long conditional sentence put the "if-clause," antecedent, or protasis, first.
Everyone will see the flatness of "Revenge thy father's most unnatural murder, if thou didst ever love him," as compared with the suspense that forces an expression of agony from Hamlet in—
"Ghost. If thou didst ever thy dear father love—
Hamlet. O, God!
Ghost. Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder."
The effect is sometimes almost ludicrous when the consequent is long and complicated, and when it precedes the antecedent or "if-clause." "I should be delighted to introduce you to my friends, and to show you the objects of interest in our city, and the beautiful scenery in the neighbourhood, if you were here." Where the "if-clause" comes last, it ought to be very emphatic: "if you were only here."
The introduction of a clause with "if" or "though" in the middle of a sentence may often cause ambiguity, especially when a great part of the sentence depends on "that:" "His enemies answered that, for the sake of preserving the public peace, they would keep quiet for the present, though he declared that cowardice was the motive of the delay, and that for this reason they would put off the trial to a more convenient season." See (27).
33. Suspense[13] is gained by placing a Participle or Adjective that qualifies the Subject, before the Subject.
"Deserted by his friends, he was forced to have recourse to those that had been his enemies." Here, if we write, "He, deserted by his friends, was forced &c.," he is unduly emphasized; and if we write, "He was forced to have recourse to his enemies, having been deserted by his friends," the effect is very flat.
Of course we might sometimes write "He was deserted and forced &c." But this cannot be done where the "desertion" is to be not stated but implied.
Often, when a participle qualifying the subject is introduced late in the sentence, it causes positive ambiguity: "With this small force the general determined to attack the foe, flushed with recent victory and rendered negligent by success."
An excessive use of the suspensive participle is French and objectionable: e.g. "Careless by nature, and too much engaged with business to think of the morrow, spoiled by a long-established liberty and a fabulous prosperity, having for many generations forgotten the scourge of war, we allow ourselves to drift on without taking heed of the signs of the times." The remedy is to convert the participle into a verb depending on a conjunction: "Because we are by nature careless, &c.;" or to convert the participle into a verb co-ordinate with the principal verb, e.g. "We are by nature careless, &c., and therefore we allow ourselves, &c."
34. Suspensive Conjunctions, e.g. "either," "not only," "on the one hand," add clearness.—Take the following sentence:—"You must take this extremely perilous course, in which success is uncertain, and failure disgraceful, as well as ruinous, or else the liberty of your country is endangered." Here, the meaning is liable to be misunderstood, till the reader has gone half through the sentence. Write "Either you must," &c., and the reader is, from the first, prepared for an alternative. Other suspensive conjunctions or phrases are partly, for our part; in the first place; it is true; doubtless; of course; though; on the one hand.
35. Repeat the Subject when the omission would cause ambiguity or obscurity.—The omission is particularly likely to cause obscurity after a Relative standing as Subject:—
"He professes to be helping the nation, which in reality is suffering from his flattery, and (he? or it?) will not permit anyone else to give it advice."
The Relative should be repeated when it is the Subject of several Verbs. "All the pleasing illusions which made power gentle and obedience liberal, which harmonized the different shades of life, and which, by a bland assimilation, incorporated into politics the sentiments that beautify and soften private society, are to be dissolved by this new conquering empire of light and reason."
36. Repeat a Preposition after an intervening Conjunction, especially if a Verb and an Object also intervene.
"He forgets the gratitude that he owes to those that helped all his companions when he was poor and uninfluential, and (to) John Smith in particular." Here, omit to, and the meaning may be "that helped all his companions, and John Smith in particular." The intervention of the verb and object, "helped" and "companions," causes this ambiguity.
37. When there are several Verbs at some distance from a Conjunction on which they depend, repeat the Conjunction.[14]
"When we look back upon the havoc that two hundred years have made in the ranks of our national authors—and, above all, (when) we refer their rapid disappearance to the quick succession of new competitors—we cannot help being dismayed at the prospect that lies before the writers of the present day."
Here omit "when," and we at once substitute a parenthetical statement for what is really a subordinate clause.
In reporting a speech or opinion, "that" must be continually repeated, to avoid the danger of confusing what the writer says with what others say.
"We might say that the Cæsars did not persecute the Christians; (that) they only punished men who were charged, rightly or wrongly, with burning Rome, and committing the foulest abominations in secret assemblies; and (that) the refusal to throw frankincense on the altar of Jupiter was not the crime, but only evidence of the crime." But see (6 b).
37 a. Repeat Verbs after the conjunctions "than," "as," &c.
"I think he likes me better than you;" i.e. either "than you like me," or "he likes you."
"Cardinal Richelieu hated Buckingham as sincerely as did the Spaniard Olivares." Omit "did," and you cause ambiguity.
38. If the sentence is so long that it is difficult to keep the thread of meaning unbroken, repeat the subject, or some other emphatic word, or a summary of what has been said.
"Gold and cotton, banks and railways, crowded ports, and populous cities—these are not the elements that constitute a great nation."
This repetition (though useful and, when used in moderation, not unpleasant) is more common with speakers than with writers, and with slovenly speakers than with good speakers.
"The country is in such a condition, that if we delay longer some fair measure of reform, sufficient at least to satisfy the more moderate, and much more, if we refuse all reform whatsoever—I say, if we adopt so unwise a policy, the country is in such a condition that we may precipitate a revolution."
Where the relative is either implied (in a participle) or repeated, the antecedent must often be repeated also. In the following sentence we have the Subject repeated not only in the final summary, but also as the antecedent:—
"But if there were, in any part of the world, a national church regarded as heretical by four-fifths of the nation committed to its care; a church established and maintained by the sword; a church producing twice as many riots as conversions; a church which, though possessing great wealth and power, and though long backed by persecuting laws, had, in the course of many generations, been found unable to propagate its doctrines, and barely able to maintain its ground; a church so odious that fraud and violence, when used against its clear rights of property, were generally regarded as fair play; a church whose ministers were preaching to desolate walls, and with difficulty obtaining their lawful subsistence by the help of bayonets,—such a church, on our principles, could not, we must own, be defended."
39. It is a help to clearness, when the first part of the sentence prepares the way for the middle and the middle for the end, in a kind of ascent. This ascent is called "climax."
In the following there are two climaxes, each of which has three terms:—
"To gossip(a) is a fault(b); to libel(a'), a crime(b'); to slander(a''), a sin(b'')."
In the following, there are several climaxes, and note how they contribute to the clearness of a long sentence:—
"Man, working, has contrived(a) the Atlantic Cable, but I declare that it astonishes(b) me far more to think that for his mere amusement(c), that to entertain a mere idle hour(c'), he has created(a') 'Othello' and 'Lear,' and I am more than astonished, I am awe-struck(b'), at that inexplicable elasticity of his nature which enables him, instead of turning away(d) from calamity and grief(e), or instead of merely defying(d') them, actually to make them the material of his amusement(d''), and to draw from the wildest agonies of the human spirit(e') a pleasure which is [Pg 34]not only not cruel(f), but is in the highest degree pure and ennobling(f')."
The neglect of climax produces an abruptness that interferes with the even flow of thought. Thus, if Pope, in his ironical address to mankind, had written—
Go, measure earth, weigh air, and state the tides;
Go, teach Eternal Wisdom how to rule"—
the ascent would have been too rapid. The transition from earth to heaven, and from investigating to governing, is prepared by the intervening climax—
Correct old Time, and regulate the Sun;
Go, soar with Plato to th' empyreal sphere,
To the first good, first perfect, and first fair."
40. When the thought is expected to ascend and yet descends, feebleness and sometimes confusion is the result. The descent is called "bathos."
"What pen can describe the tears, the lamentations, the agonies, the animated remonstrances of the unfortunate prisoners?"
"She was a woman of many accomplishments and virtues, graceful in her movements, winning in her address, a kind friend, a faithful and loving wife, a most affectionate mother, and she played beautifully on the pianoforte."
Intentional bathos has a humorous incongruity and abruptness that is sometimes forcible. For example, after the climax ending with the line—
Pope adds—
40 a. A new construction should not be introduced without cause.—A sudden and apparently unnecessary change of construction causes awkwardness and roughness at least, and sometimes breaks the flow of the sentence so seriously as to cause perplexity. Thus, write "virtuous and accomplished," or "of many virtues and accomplishments," not "of many virtues and accomplished;" "riding or walking" or "on foot or horseback," not "on foot or riding." In the same way, do not put adjectives and participles, active and passive forms of verbs, in too close juxtaposition. Avoid such sentences as the following:—
"He had good reason to believe that the delay was not an accident (accidental) but premeditated, and for supposing (to suppose, or else, for believing, above) that the fort, though strong both by art and naturally (nature), would be forced by the treachery of the governor and the indolent (indolence of the) general to capitulate within a week."
"They accused him of being bribed (receiving bribes from) by the king and unwilling (neglecting) to take the city."
41. Antithesis adds force, and often clearness.—The meaning of liberal in the following sentence is ascertained by the antithesis:—
"All the pleasing illusions which made power(a) gentle(b) and obedience(a') liberal(b') ... are now to be destroyed."
There is a kind of proportion. As gentleness is to power, so liberality (in the sense here used) is to obedience. Now gentleness is the check on the excess of power; therefore liberal here applies to that which checks the excess of obedience, i.e. checks servility. Hence liberal here means "free."
The contrast also adds force. "They aimed at the rule(a), not at the destruction(a'), of their country. They were men of great civil(b) and great military(b') talents, and, if the terror(c), the ornament(c') of their age."
Excessive antithesis is unnatural and wearisome:—
"Who can persuade where treason(a) is above reason(a'), and might(b) ruleth right(b'), and it is had for lawful(c) whatsoever is lustful(c'), and commotioners(d) are better than commissioners(d'), and common woe(e) is named common wealth(e')?"
42. Epigram.—It has been seen that the neglect of climax results in lameness. Sometimes the suddenness of the descent produces amusement: and when the descent is intentional and very sudden, the effect is striking as well as amusing. Thus:—
(1) "You are not only not vicious, you are virtuous," is a climax.
(2) "You are not vicious, you are vice," is not climax, nor is it bathos: it is epigram.[15]
Epigram may be defined as a "short sentence expressing truth under an amusing appearance of incongruity." It is often antithetical.
| "The Russian grandees came to court dropping pearls |
{ | and diamonds," climax. and vermin," epigram. |
| "These two nations were divided by mutual fear |
{ | and the bitter remembrance of recent losses," climax. and mountains," epigram. |
There is a sort of implied antithesis in:—
"He is full of information—(but flat also) like yesterday's Times."
"Verbosity is cured (not by a small, but) by a large vocabulary."
The name of epigram may sometimes be given to a mere antithesis; e.g. "An educated man should know something of everything, and everything of something."
43. Let each sentence have one, and only one, principal subject of thought.
"This great and good man died on the 17th of September, 1683, leaving behind him the memory of many noble actions, and a numerous family, of whom three were sons; one of them, George, the eldest, heir to his father's virtues, as well as to his principal estates in Cumberland, where most of his father's property was situate, and shortly afterwards elected member for the county, which had for several generations returned this family to serve in Parliament." Here we have (1) the "great and good man," (2) "George," (3) "the county," disputing which is to be considered the principal subject. Two, if not three sentences should have been made, instead of one. Carefully avoid a long sentence like this, treating of many different subjects on one level. It is called heterogeneous.
44. The connection between different sentences must be kept up by Adverbs used as Conjunctions, or by means of some other connecting words at the beginning of each sentence.—Leave out the conjunctions and other connecting words, and it will be seen that the following sentences lose much of their meaning:—
"Pitt was in the army for a few months in time of peace. His biographer (accordingly) insists on our confessing, that, if the young cornet had remained in the service, he would have been one of the ablest commanders that ever lived. (But) this is not all. Pitt (, it seems,) was not merely a great poet in esse and a great general in posse, but a finished example of moral excellence.... (The truth is, that) there scarcely ever lived a person who had so little claim to this sort of praise as Pitt. He was (undoubtedly) a great man. (But) his was not a complete and well-proportioned greatness. The public life of Hampden or of Somers resembles a regular drama which can be criticised as a whole, and every scene of which is to be viewed in connection with the main action. The public life of Pitt (, on the other hand,) is," &c.
The following are some of the most common connecting adverbs, or connecting phrases: (1) expressing consequence, similarity, repetition, or resumption of a subject—accordingly, therefore, then, naturally, so that, thus, in this way, again, once more, to resume, to continue, to sum up, in fact, upon this; (2) expressing opposition—nevertheless, in spite of this, yet, still, however, but, on the contrary, on the other hand; (3) expressing suspension—undoubtedly ... but;[Pg 37] indeed ... yet; on the one hand ... on the other; partly ... partly; some ... others.
Avoid a style like that of Bishop Burnet, which strings together a number of sentences with "and" or "so," or with no conjunction at all:
"Blake with the fleet happened to be at Malaga, before he made war upon Spain; and some of his seamen went ashore, and met the Host carried about; and not only paid no respect to it, but laughed at those who did." Write "When Blake &c."
45. The connection between two long sentences sometimes requires a short intervening sentence, showing the transition of thought.
"Without force or opposition, it (chivalry) subdued the fierceness of pride and power; it obliged sovereigns to submit to the soft collar[16] of social esteem, compelled stern authority to submit to elegance, and gave a dominating vanquisher of laws to be subdued by manners. But now (all is to be changed:) all the pleasing illusions which made power gentle and obedience liberal, which harmonized the different shades of life, and which, by a bland assimilation, incorporated into politics the sentiments that beautify and soften private society, are to be dissolved by this new conquering empire of light and reason." If the words italicized were omitted, the transition would be too abrupt: the conjunction but alone would be insufficient.
FOOTNOTES:
[5] For, at the beginning of a sentence, sometimes causes temporary doubt, while the reader is finding out whether it is used as a conjunction or preposition.
[6] It should refer (1) either to the Noun immediately preceding, or (2) to some Noun superior to all intervening Nouns in emphasis. See (25).
[7] So useful that, on mature consideration, I am disposed to adopt "that" here and in several of the following exceptional cases.
[8] Of course "and which" may be used where "which" precedes.
[9] "That which," where that is an object, e.g. "then (set forth) that which is worse," St. John ii. 10, is rare in modern English.
[10] Sometimes the emphatic Adverb comes at the beginning, and causes the transposition of an Auxiliary Verb, "Gladly do I consent."
[11] Of course punctuation will remove the ambiguity; but it is better to express oneself clearly, as far as possible, independently of punctuation.
[12] Professor Bain.
[14] The repetition of Auxiliary Verbs and Pronominal Adjectives is also conducive to clearness.
[15] Professor Bain says: "In the epigram the mind is roused by a conflict or contradiction between the form of the language and the meaning really conveyed."
[16] This metaphor is not recommended for imitation.
BREVITY.
46. Metaphor is briefer than literal statement. See (13).
"The cares and responsibilities of a sovereign often disturb his sleep," is not so brief as "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," where the effect of care on the mind is assimilated to the effect of a heavy crown pressing on the head.
47. General terms are briefer, though less forcible, than particular terms. Thus: "He devours literature, no matter of what kind," is shorter than, "Novels or sermons, poems or histories, no matter what, he devours them all."
47 a. A phrase may be expressed by a word.
"These impressions can never be forgotten, i.e. are indelible."
"The style of this book is of such a nature that it cannot be understood, i.e. unintelligible."
The words "of such a nature that" are often unnecessarily inserted. See the extract from Sir Archibald Alison.
48. Participles can often be used as brief (though sometimes ambiguous) equivalents of phrases containing Conjunctions and Verbs.
"Hearing (when he heard) this, he advanced." See (7) for more instances. So "phrases containing conjunctions" means "phrases that contain conjunctions." "This done, (for, when this was done) he retired."
Sometimes the participle "being" is omitted. "France at our doors, he sees no danger nigh," for "France being" or "though France is."
49. Participles and participial adjectives may be used like Adjectives, as equivalents for phrases containing the Relative.
"The never-ceasing wind," "the clamouring ocean," "the drenching rain," are instances. The licence of inventing participial adjectives by adding -ing to a noun, is almost restricted to poetry. You could not write "the crannying wind" in prose.
50. A statement may sometimes be briefly implied instead of being expressed at length. Thus, instead of "The spirit of Christianity was humanizing, and therefore &c.," or "Christianity, since it was (or being) of a humanizing spirit, discouraged &c.," we can write more briefly and effectively, "Gladiatorial shows were first discouraged, and finally put down, by the humanizing spirit of Christianity." So instead of "The nature of youth is thoughtless and sanguine, and therefore &c.," we can write, "The danger of the voyage was depreciated and the beauty of the island exaggerated by the thoughtless nature of youth."
Sometimes a mere name or epithet implies a statement. "It was in vain that he offered the Swiss terms: war was deliberately preferred by the hardy mountaineers," i.e. "by the Swiss, because they were mountaineers and hardy." "The deed was applauded by all honest men, but the Government affected to treat it as [Pg 39]murder, and set a price upon the head of (him whom they called) the assassin." "The conqueror of Austerlitz might be expected to hold different language from the prisoner of St. Helena," i.e. "Napoleon when elated by the victory of Austerlitz," and "Napoleon when depressed by his imprisonment at St. Helena."
Caution.—Different names must not be used for the same person unless each of them derives an appropriateness from its context. Thus, if we are writing about Charles II., it would be in very bad taste to avoid repeating "he" by using such periphrases as the following: "The third of the Stewarts hated business," "the Merry Monarch died in the fifty-fourth year of his age," &c.
51. Conjunctions may be omitted. The omission gives a certain forcible abruptness, e.g. "You say this: I (on the other hand) deny it."
When sentences are short, as in Macaulay's writings, conjunctions may be advantageously omitted.
Where a contrast is intended, the conjunction but usually prepares the way for the second of the two contrasted terms: "He is good but dull." Where and is used instead of but, the incongruity savours of epigram: "He always talks truthfully and prosily." "He is always amusing and false."
51 a. The Imperative Mood may be used for "if."
"Strip (for, if you strip) Virtue of the awful authority she derives from the general reverence of mankind, and you rob her of half her majesty."
52. Apposition may be used so as to convert two sentences into one.
"We called at the house of a person to whom we had letters of introduction, a musician, and, what is more, a good friend to all young students of music." This is as clear as, and briefer than, "He was a musician, &c."
53. Condensation may be effected by not repeating (1) the common subject of several verbs, (2) the common object of several verbs or prepositions.
(1) "He resided here for many years, and, after he had won the esteem of all the citizens, (he) died," &c. So, (2) "He came to, and was induced to reside in, this city," is shorter than "He came to this city, and was induced to reside in it."
Such condensation often causes obscurity, and, even where there is no obscurity, there is a certain harshness in pausing on light, unemphatic words, such as to, in, &c., as in the first example.
54. Tautology.—The fault of repeating the same word several times unnecessarily is called tautology, e.g.:
"This is a painful circumstance; it is a circumstance that I [Pg 40]much regret, and he also will much regret the circumstance." But the fault is not to be avoided by using different words to mean the same thing, as, "This is a painful event; it is a circumstance that I much regret, and he also will greatly lament the occurrence." The true remedy is to arrange the words in such a manner that there may be no unnecessary repetition, thus: "This is a painful circumstance, a circumstance that causes me, and will cause him, deep regret."
The repetition of the same meaning in slightly different words is a worse fault than the repetition of the same word. See, for examples, the extract from Sir Archibald Alison, at the end of the book. Thus "A burning thirst for conquests is a characteristic of this nation. It is an ardent passion that &c." Other instances are—"The universal opinion of all men;" "His judgment is so infallible that it is never deceived," &c.
55. Parenthesis may be used with advantage to brevity.
"We are all (and who would not be?) offended at the treatment we have received," is shorter and more forcible than the sentence would have been if the parenthesis had been appended in a separate sentence: "Who, indeed, would not be offended?"
Extreme care must, however, be taken that a parenthesis may not obscure the meaning of a long sentence.
56. Caution: let clearness be the first consideration. It is best, at all events for beginners, not to aim so much at being brief, or forcible, as at being perfectly clear. Horace says, "While I take pains to be brief, I fall into obscurity," and it may easily be seen that several of the rules for brevity interfere with the rules for clearness.
Forcible style springs from (1) vividness and (2) exactness of thought, and from a corresponding (1) vividness and (2) exactness in the use of words.
(1) When you are describing anything, endeavour to see it and describe it as you see it. If you are writing about a man who was killed, see the man before you, and ask, was he executed, cut down, run through the body, butchered, shot, or hanged? If you are writing about the capture of a city, was the city stormed, surprised, surrendered, starved out, or demolished before surrender? Was an army repelled, defeated, routed, crushed, or annihilated?
(2) Exactness in the use of words requires an exact knowledge of their meanings and differences. This is a study by itself, and cannot be discussed here.[17]
FOOTNOTES:
[17] See English Lessons for English People, pp. 1-53.
EXERCISES
For an explanation of the manner in which these Exercises are intended to be used, see the Preface.
A number in brackets by itself, or followed by a letter, e.g. (43), (40 a), refers to the Rules.
Letters by themselves in brackets, e.g. (b), refer to the explanations or hints appended to each sentence.
N.B..—(10 a) refers to the first section of Rule (10); (10 a') to the Rule following Rule (10).
1. "Pleasure and excitement had more attractions for him than (a) (36) (37 a) his friend, and the two companions became estranged (15 a) gradually."
(a) Write (1) "than for his friend," or (2) "than had his friend," "had more attractions than his friend."
2. "(a) He soon grew tired of solitude even in that beautiful scenery, (36) the pleasures of the retirement (8) which he had once pined for, and (36) leisure which he could use to no good purpose, (a) (30) being (15) restless by nature."
(a) This sentence naturally stops at "purpose." Also "being restless" seems (wrongly) to give the reason why "leisure" could not be employed. Begin "Restless by nature...."
3. "The opponents of the Government are naturally, and not (a) (40 a) without justification, elated at the failure of the bold attempt to return two supporters of the Government at the recent election, (b) (10 a') which is certainly to be regretted."
(a) "unjustifiably." (b) Write, for "which," either (1) "an attempt that &c.," or (2) "a failure that &c."
4. "Carelessness in the Admiralty departments has co-operated with Nature to weaken the moral power of a Government that particularly needs to be thought efficient in (a) (5) this[Pg 42] respect, (b) (29) to counterbalance a general distrust of its excessive desire (c) (47 a) to please everybody in Foreign Affairs."
(a) Write "the Navy." (b) Instead of "to" write "in order to," so as to distinguish the different infinitives, (c) "obsequiousness."
5. "(a) He was sometimes supported by Austria, who, oddly enough, appears under Count Beust to have been more friendly to Italy than (37 a) France, (30) in this line of action."
(a) Begin with "In this line of action." Why? (b) Write "than was France" or "than France was."
6. "There was something so startling in (a) (5) this assertion, (a) (4) that the discoveries of previous investigators were to be (b) (47 a) treated as though they had never been made, and (4) that one who had not yet (47 a) attained the age of manhood had superseded the grey-headed philosophers (8) who had for centuries patiently sought after the truth, (4) that (a) (5) it naturally provoked derision."
(a) "This," "that," and "it," cause a little perplexity. Write "The startling assertion that the discoveries...." (b) "ignored." (c) "a mere youth," "a mere stripling."
7. "One of the recommendations (on which very (a) (26) (47, a) much depended) of the Commission was that a council in each province should establish smaller councils, each to have the oversight of a small district, and (b) (37) report to a central council on the state of Education in (c) (5) it."
(a) Write "cardinal recommendations." Derive "cardinal." (b) Write, either (1) "and should report," or (2) "and to report." (c) Write "in its province," or "district."
8. "At this (a) (1) period an (b) (11) event (c) (1) transpired that destroyed the last hopes of peace. The king fell from his horse and died two hours after the fall (d) (30), which was occasioned by his horse's stumbling on a mole-hill, while he was on his return from reviewing his soldiers."
(a) What is a "period"? (b) Express the particular kind of event ("accident"). (c) What is the meaning of "transpired"? (d) Transpose thus: "While the king was on his return ... his horse ...; the king fell and &c." The cause should precede the effect.
9. "He determined (c) on selling all his estates, and, as soon as this was done (40 a), to (c) quit the country, (a) (33) believing that his honour demanded this sacrifice and (40) (40 a) in (b) the hope of satisfying his creditors."
(a) Begin with "Believing that &c." (b) "hoping thereby to satisfy &c." (c) "to sell" or "on quitting.".
10. "He read patiently on, Leading Articles, Foreign Correspondence, Money Article and all; (a) (43) during which his father fell asleep, and he (b) went in search of his sister."
Point out the absurdity of "during which" applied to the last part of the sentence. (a) "Meanwhile." (b) Insert "then."
11. "The general was quite (a) (1) conscious (40 a) how treacherous were the intentions of those who were (b) (49) entertaining him, and (40 a) of the dangers from which he had escaped (15) lately."
(a) Distinguish between "conscious" and "aware." (b) "entertainers."
12. "If certain (a) (11) books had been published a hundred years ago, there can be no doubt that certain recent (b) (11) historians would have made great use of them. But it would (c) (15 b) not, on that account, be judicious in a writer of our own times to publish an edition of the works of one of these (b) (11) historians, in which large extracts from these books should be incorporated with the original text."
(a) "Mrs. Hutchinson's Memoirs." (b) "Mr. Hume." (c) Add at the end of the sentence, "Surely not."
13. "He made no attempt to get up a petition, (32) though he did not like the new representative quite so well as (a) (37 a) his colleagues."
(a) "as did his colleagues" or "as he liked his colleagues."
14. "Though he was (a) (15) obstinate and (15) unprincipled, yet he could not face an angered father (15 a) in spite of his effrontery."
(a) Begin with "Obstinate."
15. "He was known to his country neighbours (a) (15) during more than forty years as a gentleman of cultivated mind, (40 a) whose principles were high, (40 a) with polished address, happy in his family, and (b) (40 a) actively discharging local duties; and (40 a) among political men, as an honest, industrious, and sensible member of Parliament, (40 a) without (c) eagerness to display his talents, (40 a) who (10 g) was stanch to his party, and attentive to the interests of those whose (d) (47 a) representative he was."
(a) "During more &c.," is emphatic, and affects the latter as well as the former half of the sentence: hence it should stand first. (b) "in the discharge of." (c) "not eager." (d) Condense into one word.
16. "The poor think themselves no more disgraced by taking bribes at elections than (a) (37 a) the rich by offering them."
(a) Write (1) "Than the rich think themselves disgraced," or (2) "Than they think the rich disgraced."
17. "We are told that the Sultan Mahmoud, by his perpetual wars, (a) (41) and his tyranny, (a) (41) had filled his dominions with (b) (1) misfortune and (c) (11) calamity, and greatly (d) (11) diminished the population of the Persian Empire. This great Sultan had (e) (50) a Vizier. We are not (f) (55) (15) informed whether he was a humorist or an enthusiast, (g) but he pretended (h) that he had learned from (i) (11) some one how to understand the language of birds, so that he (j) (5) knew what was said by any bird that opened its mouth. (k) (44) One evening he was with the Sultan, returning from hunting. They saw a couple of owls which (10 g) were sitting upon a tree (l) (8) which grew near an old wall out of a heap of rubbish. The Sultan said (6) he should like to know what the two owls were saying to one another, and asked the (m) Vizier to listen to their discourse and give him an account of it. The Vizier, (n) (31) pretending to be very attentive to the owls, approached the tree. He (o) returned to the Sultan and said that (6) he had heard part of their conversation, but did not wish to tell him what it was. (p) (5) He, not (q) (31) being satisfied with this answer, forced him to repeat everything the owls had said (20) exactly. (r) (44) (5) (6) He told (5) him that the owls were arranging a treaty of marriage between their children, and that one of them, after agreeing to settle five hundred villages upon the female owl, had prayed (6) that God would grant a long life to Sultan Mahmoud, because as long as he reigned over them they would never want ruined villages. The story says (s) that (t) (5) he was touched with the fable, (30) and (s) that he (a) (39) from that time forward consulted (15) the good of his people, and that he rebuilt the towns and villages (v) which had been destroyed."
(a) "abroad ... at home." (b) "ruin." (c) "desolation." (d) "half unpeopled." (e) "The Vizier of &c." (f) "We are not informed" is emphatic, and therefore should be inverted, "whether he was, &c., we are not informed." (g) "but he" will be omitted when "the Vizier" is made the subject of "pretended." (h) "Pretended" once meant "claimed," "professed." Write "professed." (i) "a certain dervish." (j) Introduce a new subject that you may substitute "Vizier" for "he," thus: "so that not a bird could open its mouth, but the Vizier knew &c." (k) "As he was, one evening, &c." (l) Note that the tree is represented as growing out of ruins. This is in accordance with the story of the mischief Mahmoud had done. (m) Omit this. (n) "Suspense" is out of place in a simple narrative like this; the sentence therefore ends with "owls." (o) "Upon his return." (p) "The Sultan" (q) "would not be satisfied." (r) "You must know then, &c." (s) Omit. (t) "so touched ... that." (u) end with "people." (v) Addison here uses[Pg 45] "which" probably because of the preceding "that." We have to choose between sound and clearness. "Which" implies that all the villages in the country had been destroyed, whereas the country had been only (see above) "half unpeopled."
18. "Though this great king never permitted any pastime to interfere with the duties of state, which he considered to be superior to (54) all other claims and of paramount importance, and (a) (37) kept himself so far under control that he allowed no one pursuit or amusement to run to any excess, yet he took (54) great pleasure in the chase, of which he was (b) (2) excessively (54) fond, and for the purposes of which he created several large parks of considerable (54) magnitude."
(a) Either repeat "though," or else strikeout the first "though" and begin a new sentence after "excess." (b) Point out the contradiction between "excessively" and what precedes.
19. "To inundate (a) (11) their land, to man their ships, to leave their country, with all its miracles of art and industry, its cities, its villas, and its (b) (11) pastures buried under the waves (c) (11); to bear to a distant climate their (d) (11) faith and their old (e) (11) liberties; to establish, with auspices that (10 a) might perhaps be happier, the new (f) (11) constitution of their commonwealth, in a (g) (11) foreign and strange (h) (11) land, in the Spice Islands of the Eastern Seas, (38) were the plans which they had the spirit to form."
(a) Introduce "dykes." (b) Introduce something peculiar to the Dutch, e.g. "canals," "tulip gardens." (c) "of the German Ocean." (d) The Dutch were Calvinists. (e) The country was in old times "Batavia," so that "Batavian" would be a fit epithet to denote what the Dutch had inherited from their forefathers. (f) "Stadthaus," the German for "town-hall." (g) "other stars." (h) "strange vegetation."
20. "During twenty years of unexampled prosperity, during (a) which the wealth of the nation had shot (14 a) up and extended its branches on every side, and the funds had (14 a) soared to a higher point than had been ever attained before, (b) (15) speculation had become general."
(a) Omit. (b) Begin a new sentence: "This, or Prosperity, had increased the taste for speculation."
21. "At that time (a) (16) a mere narrow-minded pedant (for he deserves no better name) had been set up by the literary world as a great author, and as the supreme (b) critic, alone qualified to deliver decisions which could never be (b) reversed upon (15 a) the literary productions of the day."
(a) End with " ... one who was—for he deserves no better name—a mere narrow-minded pedant." (b) "Which could never be reversed" can be expressed in one word; or else "the supreme ... reversed" may be condensed into a personification: "a very Minos of contemporary criticism."
22. "With the intention of fulfilling his promise, and (40 a) intending also to clear himself from the suspicion that attached to him, he determined to ascertain how (40 a) far this testimony was corroborated, and (a) (40 a) the motives of the prosecutor, (b) (43) who had begun the suit last Christmas."
(a) "what were." (b) Begin a new sentence, "The latter &c.," or "The suit had been begun &c."
23. "The Jewish nation, relying on the teaching of their prophets, looked forward to a time when its descendants should be as numerous as the heavenly (11) bodies, and when the products (a) (11) of the earth should be so increased as to create an abundant (54) plenty, when each man should rest beneath the shade of his own (a) (11) trees, and when the instruments (11) of war should be converted to the (11) uses of peace."
(a) Mention some "products," "trees" of Palestine.
24. "He replied (32), when he was asked the reason for his sudden unpopularity, that he owed it to his refusal to annul the commercial treaty, (a) (8) which (10 a') gave great displeasure to the poorer classes."
(a) Point out the ambiguity, and remove it by (8) or (10 a').
25. "I saw my old schoolfellow again by mere accident when I was in London at the time of the first Exhibition, (19) walking down Regent Street and looking in at the shops."
Point out and remove the ambiguity.
26. "He remained in the House while his speech was taken into consideration; which (52) was a common practice with him, because the debates amused his sated mind, and indeed he used to say (a) (6 b) that they were sometimes as good as a comedy. His Majesty had certainly never seen a more (17) sudden turn in any comedy of intrigue, either at his own play-house or the Duke's, than that which this memorable debate produced."
(a) "and were sometimes, he used to say, as good &c."
27. "The Commons would not approve the war (20) expressly; neither did they as yet condemn it (20) expressly; and (a) (18) the [Pg 47]king might even have obtained a supply for continuing hostilities (19) from them, on condition of (b) redressing grievances connected with the (c) administration of affairs at home, among which the Declaration of Indulgence was a very important (d) (15 a) one."
(a) Write "they were even ready to grant the king &c." (b) Use the verb with a subject, (c) Condense all this into one adjective, meaning "that which takes place at home." (d) End with a noun, "importance," or "foremost place."
28. "Next to thinking clearly, (a) (5) it is useful to speak clearly, and whatever your position in life may hereafter be it cannot be such (54) as not to be improved by this, (b) so that it is worth while making almost any effort to acquire (c) it, if it is not a natural gift: (d) it being an undoubted (d) fact that the effort to acquire it must be successful, to some extent at least, if (d) it be moderately persevered in."
(a) "Next in utility ... comes speaking clearly—a power that must be of assistance to you &c." (b)" If, therefore, you cannot speak clearly by nature, you &c." (c) "this power." (d) Omit "fact;" "for undoubtedly, with moderate perseverance &c."
29. "It (a) (38) appears to me (15) a greater victory than Agincourt, a grander triumph of wisdom and faith and courage than even the English constitution or (b) liturgy, to have beaten back, or even fought against and stemmed in ever so small a degree, those basenesses that (c) (10 a) beset human nature, which are now held so invincible that the influences of them are assumed as the fundamental axioms of economic science."
(a) Begin with "To have beaten &c.," and end with "liturgy." (b) Repeat for clearness and emphasis, "the English." (c) "The besetting basenesses of &c."
30. "The (a) (2) unprecedented impudence of our youthful representative reminds us forcibly of the unblushing and (54) (40) remarkable effrontery (c) (which (26) he almost succeeds in equalling) of the Member for St. Alban's, whom our (b) (1) neophyte (b) (1) alluded to, in the last speech with which he favoured those whom (47 a) he represents, (19) as his pattern and example."
(a) Show that "unprecedented" is inconsistent with what follows. (b) What is the meaning of "neophyte," "alluded to"? (c) Begin a new sentence, "Our young adventurer &c.," and end with "and he almost succeeds in equalling his master."
31. "The (a) (1) veracity of this story is questionable, and there is the more reason for doubting the (a) (1) truth of the narrator, because in his remarks on the (1) observation of the Sabbath he [Pg 48]distinctly (a) (1) alludes to a custom that can be shown never to have existed."
(a) Distinguish between "veracity" and "truth," "observation" and "observance." Show the inconsistency between "allude" and "distinctly."
32. "It (a) (5) is a most just distribution, (10 a) which the late Mr. Tucker has dwelt upon so (b) largely in his works, between pleasures in which we are passive, and pleasures in which we are active. And I believe every attentive observer of human life will assent to (c) this position, that however (d) grateful the sensations may occasionally be in which we are passive, it is not these, but the latter class of our pleasures, (8) which constitutes satisfaction, (e) (38) which supply that regular stream of moderate and miscellaneous enjoyments in (10 c) which happiness, as distinguished from voluptuousness, consists."
(a) "There is great justice in &c." (b) Omit "so." (c) "admit." (d) Not often now used in this sense. (e) Repeat the antecedent, "I mean those (pleasures) &c."
33. "The prince seemed to have before him a limitless (54) prospect of unbounded prosperity, carefully (33) trained for the (a) tasks of the throne, and stimulated by the (a) pattern of his father, (b) who (43) breathed his (3) last suddenly at the age of sixty-two, just after the conclusion of the war."
(a) Find more appropriate words. (b) Begin a new sentence.
34. "On his way, he visited a son of an old friend (a) (25) who had asked him to call upon him on his journey northward. He (b) (5) was overjoyed to see him, and (c) he sent for one of his most intelligent workmen and told (d) him to consider himself at (e) his service, (30) as he himself could not take (f) him as he (g) wished about the city."
(a) If you mean that the "son" had "asked him," write "An old friend's son who;" if you mean that the "friend" had "asked him," write "He had been asked by an old friend to call, on his journey northward, upon his son. Accordingly he visited him on his way." (b) Use, instead of he, some name meaning "one who entertains others." (c) Use participle, (d) "The man." (e) "the stranger's." (f) "his guest." (g) Write "could have wished" to make it clear that "he" means "the host."
35. "Tillotson died in this year. He was exceedingly beloved both by King William and by Queen Mary (43), who nominated Dr. Tennison, Bishop of Lincoln, to succeed him."
36. "(a) The entertainment was arranged with a magnificence that was (b) perfectly stupendous and (c) most unprecedented, and [Pg 49]which quite kept up his Lordship's unrivalled reputation for unparalleled hospitality, and, thanks to the unequalled energy of Mr. Smith, who is rapidly becoming one of the most effective toast-masters in the kingdom, the toasts were given with a spirit quite unexampled on occasions of this nature; and indeed we were forcibly reminded in this respect of the inimitable entertainment of three years ago (2)."
(a) Omit most of the epithets, or soften them down. Point out the contradictions in the sentence as it stands. (b) Write "a remarkable magnificence that quite &c.," thus dispensing with the following "and." (c) Show that "most" is superfluous.
37. "If we compare Shakespeare with the other dramatic authors of the Elizabethan era, his wonderful superiority to them in the (15) knowledge of human nature is what (15 a) principally strikes us."
38. "The prince found himself at once in sore perplexity how to provide himself with the commonest comforts or even necessaries of life, when he landed on this desolate coast, being (33) accustomed to luxury."
39. "This make-shift policy recommended itself to the succeeding ministers (a) (50), both because they were timid and because they were prejudiced, and they were delighted to excuse (b) (13) themselves by quoting the example of one who (c) (34) had controlled the Liberals and humoured the Conservatives, (37) commended himself to the country at large by his unfailing good-humour, and (d) (44) (37) done nothing worthy of the name of statesman."
(a) "to the timidity and prejudices of &c." (b) "shelter themselves behind." (c) "while he had at once." (d) "had yet done."
40. "William Shakespeare was the sun among the lesser lights of English poetry, and a native of Stratford-on-Avon (14 a)."
41. "(15 b) I think, gentlemen, you must confess that any one of you would have done the same (32), if you had been tempted as I was then, placed starving and ragged among wasteful luxury and comfort, deliberately instigated to acts of dishonesty by those whom I had been taught from infancy to love, (a) praised when I stole, mocked or punished when I failed to (15 a) do (b) so."
(a) Insert another infinitive beside "love." "Love" produces "obedience." (b) Repeat the verb instead of "do so."
42. "So far from being the first (54) aggressor, he not (22) only refused to prosecute his old friend when a favourable opportunity [Pg 50]presented itself for revenging himself thus upon him, but also his friend's adviser, John Smith. Smith (a) at all (23) events suspected, if he did not know of the coming danger, and had given no information of it."
(a) If "at all events" qualifies "Smith," the sentence must be altered. "Yet, however innocent his friend may have been, at all events Smith suspected...." If the words qualify "suspected," place them after "suspected."
43. "It is quite true that he paid 5s. per day to English navvies, and even 6s., (19) in preference to 2s. 6d. to French navvies."
44. "Having climbed to the apex of the Righi to enjoy the spectacle of the sun-rise, I found myself so incommoded by a number of illiterate individuals who had emerged from the hotel for a (a) (1) similar purpose, that I determined to quit them at the earliest practicable period; and therefore, without stopping to partake of breakfast, I wended my way back with all possible celerity." (3)
(a) "the same."
45. "You admit that miracles are not natural. Now whatever is unnatural is wrong, and since, by your own admission, miracles are unnatural, it follows that miracles are wrong." (1)
46. "Who is the man that has dared to call into civilized alliance the (a) (41) inhabitant of the woods, to delegate to the (a) Indian the defence of our disputed rights?
(a) Insert some antithetical or other epithets.
47. "A (a) very (11) small proportion indeed of those who have attempted to solve this problem (b) (19) have succeeded in obtaining even a plausible solution."
(a) State what proportion succeeded, or, if you like, what failed: "not one in a hundred." (b) Begin, "Of all those that &c."
48. "To be suddenly (a) (47 a) brought into contact with a system (8) which forces one to submit to wholesale imposture, and to being (40 a) barbarously ill-treated, naturally repels (a) (15 a) one."
(a) Write, either (1) "Collision ... causes a natural repulsion," or (2) "When brought into contact ... one is naturally repelled," or (if "ill-treatment" is emphatic), (3) "One is naturally repelled by collision with &c."
49. "We annex a letter recently addressed by Mr. ——'s direction to the Editor of the ——, in contradiction of statements, equally untrue, which appeared in that periodical, and (a) (9) which the editor has undertaken to insert in the next number.... I [Pg 51]am sure that all must regret that statements so (b) (51) utterly erroneous should have (c) (23) first appeared in a publication of such high character."
(a) What the writer intended to express was that the editor had undertaken to insert, not the "statements," but the "contradiction." (b) Omit either "so" or "utterly." (c) "appeared first," or, "for the first time."
50. "This is a book which (10 a) is short and amusing, which (10 a) can be easily (a) understood, which (10 a) is admirably adapted for the purpose for which it (b) was (54) written; and (10 e) which ought to be more popular than the last work which (10 a) was published by the same author."
(a) Express "which can be understood" in one adjective. (b) "Its purpose."
51. "When thousands are left (19) without (40) pity and without (40) attention (19) on a field of battle, amid (40) the insults of an enraged foe and (40) the trampling of horses, while the blood from their wounds, freezing as it flows, binds them to the earth, and (40) they are exposed to the piercing air, it (15 a) must be indeed a painful scene."
The whole sentence must be remedied by (40).
52. "(a) The youth was naturally thoughtful, and disposed (19) besides by his early training—(31) which had been conducted with great care, the object of his parents being to pave (14) his way as far as possible over the stormy (14) sea of temptation and to lead him into the harbour of virtue—to a sincere (b) (1) remorse (19) for the (b) (1) crimes that he had committed in the sight of heaven, and also for his recent (b) (1) sin in breaking the laws of his country."
(a) First state the reasons for his being "disposed." "The youth was naturally thoughtful; moreover, his early training had been conducted with great care by his parents, whose &c. .... He was therefore disposed &c." (b) What is the difference between "remorse" and "repentance," between "sin" and "crime"?
53. "(a) One day (54) early in the morning, the general was approached by a messenger, (30) in the midst of the entanglements and perplexities which had unexpectedly surprised him, when the perilous hour of (54) danger was at hand, and (37), in spite of their promises, even the tribes that were well disposed (54) and friendly, were threatening to desert him, and (54) leave him to face the enemy (b) (23) alone."
Condense the sentence by omitting some of the italicized words, e.g. (a) "Early one morning." (b) Though there is no real ambiguity (unless a wrong emphasis is placed on "enemy"), yet, in strictness, "alone" ought to qualify "enemy." Write therefore, "alone in the face of the enemy."
54. "A man (a) (10 d) who neglected the ordinary duties of life, and, immersed in study, devoted himself to grand plans for the benefit of mankind, (b) (44) and refused to provide for the wants of those dependent on him, and suffered his aged relatives to become paupers because he would not help them, (c) would, in my opinion, (34) be a bad man, and not altogether (d) (40 a) without hypocrisy."
(a) "If a man." (b) "if he refused," or "while he refused." (c) "such a man" or "he." (d) "to some extent a hypocrite."
55. "I cannot believe in the guilt of (a) one (b) (10 e) who, whatever may have been said to the contrary, can be shown, and has been shown by competent testimony proceeding from those who are said to have carefully examined the facts, in spite (23) of many obstacles, to have resisted all attempts to (29) induce him to leave his situation, (c) (29) to consult his own interests and to (29) establish a business of his own."
(a) "his guilt;" (b) (1) "for, whatever &c.... it can be shown by &c.... that, in spite of &c., he resisted." Or (2) insert "in spite ... obstacles" between "have" and "carefully." (c) (1) "for the purpose of consulting ... and establishing." Or (2) write "and to consult his own interests by establishing &c."
56. "We must seek for the origin of our freedom, (a) (37) prosperity, and (a) (37) glory, in that and only (b) that[18] portion of our annals, (30) though it (c) is sterile and obscure. The great English people was (d) then formed; the notional (e) disposition began (d) then to exhibit those peculiarities which it has ever since (e) possessed; and our fathers (d) then became emphatically islanders, (f) in their politics, (a) feelings, and (a) manners, and (30 a) not merely in their geographical position."
(a) Repeat the Pronominal Adjective, (b) Express the emphatic "only that" by beginning the sentence thus: "It is in that portion of our annals &c." (c) Omit. (d) "It was then that &c." (e) Use words implying something more marked than "disposition," and more forcible than "possessed;" in the latter case, "retained." (f) Repeat "islanders."
57. "(a) He was the universal (54) favourite of (54) all (8) who knew him, and cemented many friendships at this period, (a) (33) (moving in the highest circle of society, and, as he (b) (50) had a (4 a) certain property, being independent of the profits of literature), and soon completely extinguished the breath of slander which at the outset of his career had threatened to sap the foundations of his reputation."
(a) Begin "Moving in &c." (b) "rendered independent of ... by &c." Show that Rule (14) is violated by the metaphors.
58. "The outward and material form of that city which, during the brief period which (10 a) is comprised in our present book, reached the highest pitch of military, artistic, and literary glory, was of this (a) (15) nature. The progress of the (b) (5) first has been already traced."
(a) Begin the sentence with "Such was." (b) By "the first" is meant "military glory."
59. "The detachment not only failed to take the fort, (30) spite of their numbers and the weakness of the garrison, but also to capture the small force that was encamped outside the town, and was, after some sharp fighting, driven back with inconsiderable loss."
Point out the ambiguity. Remedy it by inserting either "which," or "the assailants."
60. "(a) (b) Believing that these reforms can only (c) (21) be effected as public opinion is prepared for them, and that (5) this will be more or less advanced in different localities, the Bill of the Association, (a) (31) which has been for a (3) considerable period in draft, and will be introduced in the next Session of Parliament, provides for placing (d) (3) the control in regard to the points above-mentioned in the (3) hands of the ratepayers of each locality; the power to be exercised through representative Licensing Boards to be periodically elected by them."
(a) Place the parenthesis first, as an independent sentence: "The Bill of the Association has been ... Parliament." (b) What noun is qualified by "believing?" Write "In the belief." (c) "effected only so far as they are in accordance with public opinion, which &c." (d) "it, or, the Bill provides that the ratepayers ... shall receive control ... and shall exercise this control."
61. "I think they are very (1) nice persons, for they kept me amused for a long (a) (11) time together yesterday by their (1) nice stories all about what they (b) have experienced in Japan, where they had been for (a) ever so long, and (c) (43) where they said that the natives ripped up their (d) (5) stomachs."
(a) Mention some time. (b) "experiences" or "adventures." (c) "among other things, they told us &c." (d) "their own."
62. "To contend for advantageous monopolies, which are regarded with a dislike and a suspicion (a) which daily (10 a) increases, (30) however natural it may be to be annoyed at the loss of that which one has once possessed, (15 a) is useless."
(a) A compound adjective can be used, including "daily."
63. "Upon entering the rustic place of entertainment to partake of some refreshment, my nerves were horrified by lighting on a [Pg 54]number of boisterous individuals who were singing some species of harvest song, and simultaneously imbibing that cup which, if it cheers, also inebriates; and when, banished from their society by the fumes of the fragrant weed, I wended my way to the apartment which adjoined the one in which I had hoped to rest my weary limbs, I found an interesting assortment of the fairer sex, who were holding a separate confabulation apart from the revels of their rougher spouses."
Write "village inn," "next room," &c., for these absurd circumlocutions. See (3).
64. "When Burgoyne was born, in 1782, Napoleon and Wellington were both boys (11)."
Napoleon studied at Brienne, Wellington at Eton. Mention this, and, in order to imply the boyhood, call Wellington "Arthur Wellesley."
65. "An honourable friend of mine, who is now, I believe, near me—(38) to whom I never can on any occasion refer without feelings of respect, and, on this subject, (36) feelings of the most grateful homage; (38) whose abilities upon this occasion, as upon some former ones, are not entrusted merely to the perishable eloquence of the (a) day, but will live to be the admiration of that (a) hour when all of us are mute and most of us forgotten: (b) (38) has told you that prudence is (52) the first of virtues, and (52) can never be used in the cause of vice."
(a) Though "of the day" is a recognized expression for "ephemeral" or "transitory," yet to use "day" for a short time, and "hour" for a longer, is objectionable. Write moment for day. Else write future for hour. (b) "—this gentleman has told &c."
66. "To see the British artisan and his wife on the Sabbath, neat and clean and cheerful, with their children by their sides, (a) (19) disporting themselves under the open canopy of heaven, is (15) pleasant."
(a) There is no reasonable ground for mistaking the sense here, as the context makes it clear; but since Lord Shaftesbury was questioned whether he meant disporting to qualify "artisan and his wife" or "children," write "and, by their sides, their children disporting &c."
67. "Even if (a) it were attended with extenuating circumstances, such conduct would deserve severe reprobation, (b) and it is the more called for because it would seem that (c) it was the intention of the author of the crime, in perpetrating (e) it, to inflict all the misery that was possible, upon his victim." See (5).
(a) Omit "it were." (b) "which." (c) "to have been." (d) Express "author of the crime" in one word. (e) Use the noun.
68. "The (a) (1) observance of the heavenly bodies must have been attended with great difficulties, (b) (30) before the telescope was (a) (1) discovered, and it is not to be wondered at if the investigations of astronomers were often unsatisfactory, and failed to produce complete (a) (1) persuasion, (30) (15, a) under these disadvantages."
(a) What is the difference between "observance" and "observation," "discover" and "invent," "persuasion" and "conviction"? (b) Begin "Before &c."
69. "He plunged into the sea once more, (30) not content with his previous exertions. After a long and dangerous struggle, he succeeded in reaching a poor woman that was crying piteously for help, and (a) (35) was at last hauled safely to shore."
(a) Point put and remedy the ambiguity by inserting "he" or by writing "who," according to the meaning.
70. "Sir John Burgoyne himself, face to face with Todleben, became (a) (1) conscious of the difference between the fortifications of San Sebastian and of Sebastopol, (b) which (10 e) was (c) (12) very weak compared with Metz or Paris."
(a) What is the exact meaning of conscious? (b) Avoid the relative, by repeating the name, with a conjunction, (c) "weakness itself."
71. "Upon Richard's leaving the (c) stage, the Commonwealth was again set up; and the Parliament which Cromwell had (a) broken was brought together; but the army and they fell into new disputes: so they were again (a) broken by the army: and upon that the nation was like to fall into (b) (11) great convulsions."
(a) Modern Eng., "broken up." (b) "violently convulsed." (c) It is a question whether this metaphor is in good taste. The meaning is that Richard "retired from public life." It might be asserted that Richard, the Commonwealth, the Parliament are regarded as so many puppets on a "stage." But this is extremely doubtful. Make Parliament the principal subject: "When Richard retired ... and when the Commonwealth &c.... the Parliament was ... but, falling into a dispute with &c., it was...." See (18) and (43).
72. "What a revolution in the military profession! He began with (a) (11) unnecessary formality, and (b) (11) inefficient weapons, and ended with (c) (b) (11) greatly improved fire-arms."
(a) "pig-tail and pipe-clay." (b) "Six-pounders and flint-locks" are now inefficient compared with "twenty-four-pounders and breech-loaders." (c) Something is wanted antithetical to (a), perhaps "loose drill" or "open order."
73. "Children fear to go in the dark. Men fear death in the same way. The fear of children is increased by tales. So is the fear [Pg 56]of death. The contemplation of death, as the 'wages of sin,' and passage to another world, is holy and religious. The fear of it, as a tribute due unto nature, is weak. In religious meditations on death there is sometimes mixture of vanity and of superstition."
Insert connecting adverbs or conjunctions. See (44).
74. "I have often heard him reiterate (54) repeatedly that he would never again, if a safe (54) and secure path was open to him, prefer the perilous (54) road of danger, however alluring (54) and attractive the latter might be."
75. "I thought in my dream that when my friend asked me whether I did not observe anything curious in the conduct of the pigeons, I (a) (4 a) remarked that if any one of the birds was so bold as to take an atom from a heap of grain in the midst of them, (31) (which (b) a detachment guarded, and which, being continually increased and never eaten, seemed useless), all the rest turned against him and pecked him to death for the (c) (50) action."
(a) Point out the ambiguity. (b) This should come earlier in the sentence, and not as a parenthesis. "I noticed a heap of grain in the midst of them, guarded by ... Being continually ..., to all appearance, useless: yet." (c) "theft."
76. "If this low view of the royal office becomes generally adopted, then sovereigns who (8) have always hitherto commanded the respect of Englishmen will by degrees fall into disrespect."
Point out the ambiguity. Show how it might be removed (a) by punctuation, (b) by altering "who."
77. "I struck the man in self-defence. I explained this to the magistrate. He would not believe me. Witnesses were called to support my statements. He committed me to prison. He had the right to do this. It is a right that is rarely exercised in such circumstances. I remonstrated."
See (44). Insert conjunctions or connecting adverbs.
78. "He attained a very distinguished position by mere (15) perseverance and common sense, which (52) (10 a) qualities are perhaps mostly underrated, (30) though he was deficient in tact and not remarkable for general ability."
79. "Vindictiveness, which (a) (50) is a fault, (b) and which may be defined as anger (10 a) which is caused not by sin nor by crime but by personal injury, ought to be carefully distinguished [Pg 57]from resentment, which (a) (50) is a virtue, (b) and which is anger (49) which is natural and (c) right caused by an act (d) which is unjust, because it is unjust, (30 a) not because it is inconvenient."
(a) "The fault of vindictiveness;" "the virtue of resentment." (b) Omit (c) "Right" cannot be used as an adjective, but "righteous" can. (d) "an act of injustice."
80. "(a) He told his friend that (a) his brother was surprised that (a) he had given so small a contribution, for (a) he was (b) (12) a very rich man, in spite of (a) his recent losses and the bad state of trade, (19) (30) compared with himself."
(a) Use (6). (b) What Asian king was proverbial for wealth?
81. "(a) (15 b) It must be indeed wrong to (a) crucify a Roman citizen if to (b) (32) slay one is almost parricide, to (b) scourge him is a monstrous crime, and to (b) bind him is an outrage."
(a) "What must it be ...?"
(b) See (40).
82. "The universal (54) opinion of all the citizens was that the citadel had been (15) betrayed, (30) having been captured in broad daylight by a very small number of the enemy, and those unprovided with scaling ladders, and admitted by a postern gate, (15 a) and much wearied by a long march."
In any case "betrayed" must come at the end of a sentence. The sentence may be converted into two sentences: "The citadel had been captured.... Naturally therefore ...;" or, "The opinion ... for it had been captured...." Else, if one sentence be used, write "As the citadel had been captured &c."
83. "This author surpassed all those who were living (a) at the same time with him in the forcible (b) manner in which he could address (c) an appeal to the popular sympathy, and in the ease with which he could draw towards (a) himself the hearts of his readers."
(a) Express in one word. (b) "force with." (c) Omit.
84. "This great statesman was indeed a pillar of commerce, and a star in the financial world. He guided or impelled the people from the quicksands of Protection and false political economy to the safe harbour of Free Trade; and (a) (14 a) saved the country several millions."
(a) It would be well to literalize the preceding metaphors. Else the literal statement must be changed into a metaphor.
85. "The ministers were most unwilling to meet the Houses, (a) (43) (51) because even the boldest of them (though their counsels were lawless (15) and desperate) had too much value for his[Pg 58] (b) (11) personal safety to think of resorting to the (c) (12) unlawful modes of extortion that had been familiar to the preceding age."
(a) Begin a new sentence with "Lawless and desperate though their counsels had been &c." (b) "neck." (c) Insert some of these unlawful modes, "benevolences, ship-money, and the other &c."
86. "We will not (a) (15) pretend to guess what our grandchildren may think of the character of Lord Byron, as exhibited in (15 a) his poetry." No writer ever had the whole eloquence of scorn, misanthropy, and (a) (15) despair (15 a) so completely at his command. That fountain (b) (12) of bitterness was never dry."
(a) "We will not pretend to guess" and "despair" are intended by the author to be emphatic. (b) "Marah."
87. "The captain asked to be allowed fifty men, a supply of food, and one hundred and fifty breech-loaders. (44) The general replied coldly that he could not let his subordinate have (a) (4) anything that he wanted. (44) The captain was forced to set out (34) with an insufficient force, spite of the superabundance of soldiers doing nothing in the camp (34), and with every obstacle put in his way by a general who from the first had resolved not even to give him ordinary assistance, (b) (10 a') which the captain had for some time anticipated."
(a) Point out and remove the ambiguity. (b) Write, according to the meaning, " ... assistance that" or " ... a resolution that."
88. "I am a practical man, and disbelieve in everything (8) which is not practical; theories (a) which amuse philosophers and pedants have no attractions for me, (30) for this reason."
(a) What difference in the meaning would be caused by the use of "that" for the second "which"?
89. "Yet, when that discovery drew no other severity but the (11 a) turning (a) him out of office, and the (11 a) passing a sentence (b) condemning him to die for it (31) (which was presently pardoned, and he was after a short confinement restored to his liberty), all men believed that the king knew of the letter, (c) (43) and that (6 b) the pretended confession of the secretary was only collusion to lay the jealousies of the king's (d) (11 a) favouring popery, (e) (43) which still hung upon him, (30) notwithstanding his (e) writing on the Revelation, and his (e) affecting to enter on all occasions into controversy, (e) asserting in particular that the Pope was Antichrist."
(a) "expulsion from." (b) "a pretended sentence to death—a pretence that was soon manifested by his pardon and liberation." (c) Begin a new sentence: "'The secretary's pretended confession,' it was said, 'was &c.'" (d) "the suspicion that the king [Pg 59]favoured Popery." (e) The juxtaposition of the two verbal nouns, "writing" and "affecting," with the participle "asserting," is harsh. Write, "For, notwithstanding that he affected controversy, and attacked the Pope as Antichrist in his treatise on the Book of Revelation, the king was still suspected."
90. "The opinion that the sun is fixed was once too (a) (1) universal to be easily shaken, and a similar prejudice has often (b) rendered the progress of new inventions (15 a) very slow, (19) arising from the numbers of the believers, and not (36) the reasonableness of the belief."
(a) Write "general." Show the absurdity of appending "too" to "universal." (b) What single word can be substituted for "rendered slow"?
91. "The rest of the generals were willing to surrender unconditionally, (30) depressed by this unforeseen calamity; (4) only the young colonel, who retained his presence of mind, represented to them that they were increasing the difficulties of a position in itself very difficult (19) (15, a) by their conduct."
92. "To (a) (31) an author who is, in his expression of any sentiment, wavering between the (b) demands of perspicuity and energy (of which the (c) (40 a) former of course requires the first care, lest (40 a) he should fail of both), and (37) doubting whether the (d) phrase which (8) has (e) the most force and brevity will be (f) readily taken (g) in, it may (h) (3) be recommended to use both (d) expressions; first, (h) to expound the sense sufficiently to be clearly understood, and then (i) to contract it into the most compendious and striking form."
(a) Write "When an author &c." (b) Can be omitted. (c) Assimilate the constructions: "Of which the former must, of course, be aimed at first, lest both be missed." (d) Use "expression" or else "phrase" in both places. (e) Assimilate the construction to what follows; write "that is most forcible and brief." (f) Insert "also." (g) "understood." (h) "let him use ...; first let him expound." (i) Omit.
93. "When I say 'a great man,' I not (22) only mean a man intellectually great but also morally, (38) who (8) has no preference for diplomacy (a) (23) at all events which (10 a) is mean, petty, and underhanded to secure ends which (8) can be secured by an honest policy equally (20) well, (38) who (8) does not resemble Polonius, (b) who prefers to get at truth by untruthful tricks, and (b) who considers truth a carp which (10 g) is to be caught by the bait falsehood. We cannot call a petty intriguer great (c), (30) though we may be forced to call an unscrupulous man by that (15 a) name."
(a) "at all events no preference." (b) Why is who right here? If you like, you can write, "does not, like Polonius, prefer ... and consider." (c) End with "we cannot give the name to a petty intriguer."
94. "I regret that I have some (a) (3) intelligence which (10 a) is of a most (3) painful nature, and which I must tell you at once, though (b) I should like to defer it on (c) (40 a) account of your ill-health, and because (c) (40 a) you have already had many troubles, and (40 a) owing to the natural dislike which (8) a friend must always feel to say that (10 f) which is unpleasant. Many old friends in this district have turned against you: I scarcely like to write the words: only (21) I remain faithful to you, and I am sure you will believe that I am doing that (10 f) which is best for your interests."
(a) "news." (b) In a letter these words should remain is they are; but if a period is desired, they must (30) come last, after "unpleasant." (c) Write "because of your ill-health ... and the troubles ... and because of...."
95. "The general at once sent back word that the enemy had suddenly appeared on the other side of the river, and [(35) or (37)] then (a) retreated. (b) It was thought that (b) it would have shown more (c) (1) fortitude on his (3) part if he had attacked the fortifications, (d) which were not tenable for more than a week at all events. Such was the (54) universal opinion, at (23) least, of (54) all the soldiers."
(a) Point out the ambiguity. (b) "It was thought he would have shown &c." (c) Distinguish between "fortitude" and "bravery." (d) What would be the meaning if "that" were substituted for "which"? It will be perhaps better to substitute for "which," "since they."
96. "A notion has sprung up that the Premier, though he can legislate, cannot govern, and has attained an influence which renders it imperative, if this Ministry is to go on, that (a) it should be dispersed."
(a) Who or what "has attained"? Write "and this notion has become so powerful that, unless it is dispersed...."
97. "Those who are habitually silent (a) (3) by disposition and morose are less liable to the fault of exaggerating than those who are habitually (a) (3) fond of talking, and (40 a) of (a) (3) a pleasant disposition."
(a) Each of these periphrases must be condensed into a single adjective.
98. "This author, (a) (31) though he is not (b) altogether (c) guiltless of (b) occasional (c) faults of exaggeration, which are to be found as plentifully in his latest works as in those which he (d) published when he was beginning his career as an author, yet, notwithstanding these (e) defects, surpassed all those who were living[Pg 61] at the (f) same time with him in the clear (g) manner in which he could, as it were, see into the feelings of the people at large, and in the power—a power that indeed could not be (f) resisted—with which he drew (f) toward himself the sympathy of those who (f) perused his works." See (54).
(a) Convert the parenthesis into a separate sentence. (b) One of these words is unnecessary. (c) One of these is unnecessary. (d) Condense: "his earliest." (e) Omit these words as unnecessary. (f) Express all this in one word. (g) "clearness with."
99. "Among the North (a) (23) American Indians I had indeed heard of the perpetration of similar atrocities; but it seemed intolerable that such things should occur in a civilized land: and I rushed from the room at once, leaving the wretch where he stood, with his tale half told, (30) horror-stricken at his crime."
(a) Make it evident whether the speaker once lived among the North American Indians, or not, and show who is "horror-stricken."
100. "His (1) bravery under this painful operation and the (1) fortitude he had shown in heading the last charge in the recent action, (30) though he was wounded at the time and had been unable to use his right arm, and was the only officer left in his regiment, out of twenty who were alive the day before, (19) inspired every one with admiration."
Begin, "Out of twenty officers &c.... Though wounded &c.... he had headed." "The bravery he had then shown and...."
101. "Moral as well as (41) other considerations must have weight when we are selecting an officer (a) that (10 b) will be placed in a position that will task his intelligence (b) (18) and his fidelity."
(a) The repetition of "that" is objectionable. Use "to fill." (b) "and" can be replaced by some other conjunction to suit what precedes.
102. "It happened that at this time there were a few Radicals in the House who (8) could not forgive the Prime Minister for being a Christian."
Point out the difference of meaning, according as we read "who" or "that."
103. "It cannot be doubted (15 b) that the minds of a vast number of men would be left poor shrunken things, full of melancholy and indisposition, and unpleasing to themselves, if (32) there were taken out of men's minds vain opinions, false valuations, imaginations as one (a) would, and the (15 a) like."
(a) The meaning (which cannot easily be more tersely expressed than in the original) is "castles in the air," "pleasant fancies."
104. "God never wrought a miracle to refute atheism, because His ordinary works refute it. (a) A little philosophy inclines man's mind to atheism: depth in philosophy brings men's minds back to religion. (44) While the mind of man looks upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest in them; (44) when it beholds the chain of them confederate and linked together, it must needs acknowledge a Providence. (44) That school which is most accused of atheism most clearly demonstrates the truth of religion."
(a) Insert a suspensive conjunction. See (34).
105. "The spirit of Liberty and the spirit of Nationality were once for all dead; (a) (5) it might be for a time a pious duty, but it could not continue always expedient or (c) (15) (18) profitable to (b) (13) mourn (c) (15 a) for their loss. Yet this is the (b) (13) feeling of the age of Trajan."
(a) Omit. (b) "To sit weeping by their grave;" "attitude." (c) Notice that "expedient or profitable" are emphatic, as is shown by "yet" in the next sentence. Make it evident therefore, by their position, that these words are more emphatic than "to mourn &c."
106. "(a) If we ask (15 b) what was the nature of the force by which this change was effected, (a) we find it to have been (b) the force that had seemed almost dead for many generations—(38) of theology."
(a) Omit these words. (b) Begin a new sentence: "It was a force &c."
107. "I remember Longinus highly recommends a description of a storm by Homer, because (a) (5) (c) he has not amused himself with little fancies upon the occasion, as authors of an inferior genius, whom he mentions, (b) (15 a) have done, (30) but (c) because he has gathered together those (d) (1) events which are the most apt to terrify the imagination, and (35) really happen in the raging of a tempest."
(a) "The poet." (b) Omit "have done" and write "like some authors." (c) Suspend the sentence by writing "the poet ... instead of ... has." (d) What is the word for "that which happens around one, or in connection with some central object?"
108. "To have passed (a) (3) in a self-satisfied manner through twenty years of office, letting things take their own course; to have (b) sailed with consummate sagacity, never against the tide of popular (c) judgement; to have left on record as the sole title to distinction among English ministers a peculiar art of (d) sporting with the heavy, the awful responsibility of a nation's destiny with the jaunty grace of a juggler (11) (e) playing with his golden ball; to have joked and intrigued, and bribed and (f) deceived, [Pg 63]with the result of having done nothing (g), (h) either for the poor, (h) or for religion (for (i) which indeed he did worse than nothing), (h) or for art and science, (h) or for the honour or concord or even the financial prosperity of the nation, (38) is surely a miserable basis on which the reputation of a great (15) statesman can be (k) (15 a) founded."
(a) "complacently." (b) "Sail" implies will and effort: use a word peculiar to a helpless ship, so as to contrast paradoxically with "sagacity." (c) Use a word implying less thought and deliberation. (d) With is too often repeated; write "bearing" so as to introduce the illustration abruptly. (e) "tossing." (f) Use a word implying a particular kind of "deceit," not "lying," but the next thing to "lying." (g) Insert the word with a preceding and intensifying adverb, "absolutely nothing." (h) Instead of "either," "or," repeat "nothing." (i) The parenthesis breaks the rhythm. Write "nothing, or worse than nothing." (k) "to found."
109. "A glance at the clock will make you (1) conscious that it is nearly three in the morning, and I therefore ask you, gentlemen, instead of wasting more time, to put this question to yourselves, 'Are we, or are we not, here, for the purpose of (1) eliminating the truth?'"
110. "The speech of the Right Honourable member, so far from unravelling (14) the obscurities of this knotty question, is eminently calculated to mislead his supporters (a) (8 a) who have not made a special study of it. It may be (b) (23) almost asserted of every statement (8) which he has made that the very (1) converse is the fact."
(a) The meaning appears to be, not "all his supporters," but "those of his supporters who:" the convenience of writing "his supporters that" is so great that I should be disposed to use "that." (b) "Every," not "asserted," requires the juxtaposition of "almost."
111. "The provisions of the treaty which (8) require the consent of the Parliament of Canada await its assembling."
Point out the meaning conveyed by which, and by that.
112. "Mrs. Smith demonstrated (26), in opposition to the general dictum of the press, that (a) there had been a reaction against woman's suffrage, that there had really been a gain of one vote in the House of Commons."
(a) Substitute "instead of," and erase the second "that."
113. "The practice of smoking hangs like a gigantic (14 a) cloud of evil over the country."
FOOTNOTES:
[18] That which treats of the thirteenth century.
CONTINUOUS EXERCISES.
CLEARNESS.
The following exercises consist of extracts from Burnet, Butler, and Clarendon, modernized and altered with a view to remove obscurity and ambiguity. The modernized version will necessarily be inferior to the original in unity of style, and in some other respects. The charm of the author's individuality, and the pleasant ring of the old-fashioned English, are lost. It is highly necessary that the student should recognize this, and should bear in mind that the sole object is to show how the meaning in each case might have been more clearly expressed.
Occasionally expressions have been altered, not as being in themselves obscure or objectionable, but as indicating a habit of which beginners should beware. For example, in the extract from Burnet, he is often altered, not because, in the particular context, the pronoun presents any obscurity, but because Burnet's habit of repeating he is faulty.
These exercises can be used in two ways. The pupil may either have his book open and be questioned on the reasons for each alteration, or, after studying the two versions, he may have the original version dictated to him, and then he may reproduce the parallel version, or something like it, on paper.
Lord Clarendon.
The principal faults in this style are, long heterogeneous sentences (43), use of phrases for words (47 a), ambiguous use of pronouns (5), excessive separation of words grammatically connected together (19).
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(44) It will not be impertinent nor unnatural to this (50) present discourse, to set down in this place the present temper and constitution of both Houses of Parliament, and (34) of the court itself, (30) that (5) it may be the less wondered at, that so prodigious an alteration should be made in so short a time, and (37) the crown fallen so low, that it could neither support itself nor its own majesty, nor those who would (47 a) appear faithful to it. |
And now, in order to explain, as far as possible, how so prodigious an alteration could take place in so short a time, and how the[19] royal power[Pg 65] could fall so low as to be unable to support itself, its dignity, or its faithful servants, it will be of use to set down here, where it comes most naturally, some account of the[20] present temper and composition, not only of both Houses of Parliament, but also of the court itself. |
(Here follows a description of the House of Lords.)
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In the House of Commons were many persons of wisdom and gravity, who (7) being possessed of great and plentiful fortunes, though they were undevoted enough to the court, (19) had all imaginable duty for the king, and affection to the government established (47 a) by law or ancient custom; (43) and without doubt, the major part of that (54) body consisted of men who had no mind to break the peace of the kingdom, or to make any considerable alteration in the government of Church or State: (43) and therefore (18) all inventions were set on foot from the (15) beginning to work upon (5) them, and (11) corrupt (5) them, (43) (45) by suggestions "of the dangers (8) which threatened all that was precious to the subject (19) in their liberty and their property, by overthrowing (47 a) or overmastering the law, and (47 a) subjecting it to an arbitrary (47 a) power, and by countenancing Popery to the subversion of the Protestant religion," and then, by infusing terrible apprehensions into some, and so working upon their fears, (6 b) "of (11 a) being called in question for somewhat they had done," by which (5) they would stand in need of (5) their protection; and (43) (45) raising the hopes of others, "that, by concurring (47 a) with (5) them (5) they should be sure to obtain offices and honours and any kind of preferment." Though there were too many corrupted and misled by these several temptations, and (19) others (40 a) who needed no other temptations than from the fierceness and barbarity of their (47 a) own natures, and the malice they had contracted against the Church and against the court; (43) yet the number was not great of those in whom the government of the rest (47 a) was vested, nor were there many who had the absolute authority (13) to lead, though there were a multitude (13) that was disposed to follow. |
In the House of Commons there were many men of wisdom and judgment whose high position and great wealth disposed them, in spite of their indifference to the court, to feel a most loyal respect for the king, and a great affection for the ancient constitutional government of the country. Indeed, it cannot be doubted that the majority had no intention to break the peace of the kingdom or to make any considerable alteration in Church or State. Consequently, from the very outset, it was necessary to resort to every conceivable device for the purpose of perverting this honest majority into rebellion. With some, the appeal was addressed to their patriotism. They were warned "of the dangers that threatened [all that was precious in] the liberty and property of the subject, if the laws were to be made subservient to despotism, and if Popery was to be encouraged to the subversion of the Protestant religion."[Pg 66] The fears of others were appealed to. "There was danger," so[21] was said, "that they might be called to account for something they had done, and they would then stand in need of the help of those who were now giving them this timely warning." In others, hopes were excited, and offices, honours, and preferments were held out as the reward of adhesion. Too many were led away by one or other of these temptations, and indeed some needed no other temptation than their innate fierceness and barbarity and the malice they had contracted against the Church and the court. But the leaders of the conspiracy were not many. The flock was large and submissive, but the shepherds were very few. |
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(44) (30) Mr. Pym was looked upon as the man of greatest experience in parliaments, where he had (50) served very long, and was always (50) a man of business, (7) being an officer in the Exchequer, (43) and of a good reputation generally, (30) though known to be inclined to the Puritan party; yet not of those furious resolutions against the Church as the other leading men were, and (44) wholly devoted to the Earl of Bedford, who had nothing of that spirit. |
Of these, Mr. Pym was thought superior to all the rest in parliamentary experience. To this advantage he added habits of business acquired from his continuous service in the Exchequer. He had also a good reputation generally; for, though known to be inclined to the Puritan party, yet he was not so fanatically set against the Church as the other leaders. In this respect he resembled the Earl of Bedford, to whom he was thoroughly devoted.[Pg 67] |
(Here follow descriptions of Hampden and Saint John.)
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It was generally believed that these three persons, with the other three lords mentioned before, were of the most intimate and entire trust with each other, and made the engine which (47 a) moved all the rest; (30) yet it was visible, that (15) Nathaniel Fiennes, the second son of the Lord Say, and Sir Harry Vane, eldest son to the Secretary, and Treasurer of the House, were received by them with full confidence and without reserve. |
These three persons, with the three peers mentioned before, were united in the closest confidence, and formed the mainspring of the party. Such at least was the general belief. But it was clear that they also admitted to their unreserved confidence two others, (45) whom I will now describe,—Nathaniel Fiennes, second son of Lord Say, and Sir Harry Vane, eldest son of the Secretary, and Treasurer of the House. |
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The former, being a man of good parts of learning, and after some years spent in New College in Oxford, (43) of which his father had been formerly fellow, (43) that family pretending[23] and enjoying many privileges there, as of kin to the founder, (43) (19) had spent his time abroad in Geneva and amongst the cantons of Switzerland, (30) where he improved his disinclination to the Church, with which milk he had been nursed. From his travels he returned through Scotland (52) (which[24] few travellers took in their way home) at the time when (5) that rebellion was in bud: (30) (43) (44) and was very little known, except amongst (5) that people, which conversed (47 a) wholly amongst themselves, until he was now (15)[Pg 68] found in Parliament, (30) (43) (44) when it was quickly discovered that, as he was the darling of his father, so (5) he was like to make good whatsoever he had for many years promised. |
Nathaniel Fiennes, a man of good parts, was educated at New College, Oxford, where[22] his family claimed and enjoyed some privileges in virtue of their kindred to the founder, and where[22] his father had formerly been a fellow. He afterwards spent some time in Geneva and in the cantons of Switzerland, where[22] he increased that natural antipathy to the Church which he had imbibed almost with his mother's milk.[24] By a singular coincidence, he came home through Scotland (not a very common route for returning travellers) just when the Scotch rebellion was in bud. For some time he was scarcely known beyond the narrow and exclusive circle of his sect, until at last he appeared in Parliament. Then, indeed, it was quickly discovered that he was likely to fulfil even the fond hopes of his father and the high promise of many years. |
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(5) The other, Sir H. Vane, was a man of great natural parts[25] (45) and of very profound dissimulation, of a quick conception, and of very ready, sharp, and weighty expression. He had an (50) unusual aspect, which, though it might naturally proceed from his father and mother, neither of which were beautiful persons, yet (19) made men think there was somewhat in him of extraordinary: and (52) his whole life made good that imagination. Within a very short time after he returned from his studies in Magdalen College in Oxford, where, (43) though he was under the care of a very worthy tutor, he lived not with great exactness, (43) he spent some little time in France, and more in Geneva, and, (43) after his return into England, (38) contracted a full prejudice and bitterness against the Church, both against the form of the government and the Liturgy, (43) which was generally in great reverence, (15 a) even with many of those who were not friends to (5) the other. In his giddiness, which then much displeased, or seemed to displease, (30) (43) his father, who still appeared highly conformable, and exceedingly sharp against those who were not, (5) he transported himself into New England, (43) a colony within few years before planted by a mixture of all religions,[26] which disposed the professors to dislike the government of the Church; who (30) (43) (44) were qualified by the king's charter to choose their own government and governors, under the obligation, "that every man should take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy;" (30) (43) (5) which all the first planters did, when they received their charter, before they transported themselves from hence, nor was there in many years after the least scruple amongst them of complying with those obligations: so far men were, in the infancy (15) of their schism, from refusing to take lawful oaths. (45) He was no sooner landed there, but his parts made him quickly taken notice of, (26) and very probably his quality, being the eldest son of a Privy-councillor, might give him some advantage; insomuch (51) that, when the next season came for the election of their magistrates, he was chosen their governor: (30) (45) (43) in which place he had so ill fortune (26) (his working and unquiet fancy raising and infusing a thousand scruples of conscience, which (5) they had not brought over with them, nor heard of before) (19) that he unsatisfied with them and they with him, he retransported himself into England; (30) (43) (44) having sowed such seed of dissension there, as grew up too prosperously, and miserably divided the poor colony into several factions, and divisions and persecutions of each (15 a) other, (30) (43) which still continue to the great (54) prejudice of that plantation: insomuch as some of (5) them, upon the ground of their first expedition, liberty of conscience, have withdrawn themselves from (5) their jurisdiction, and obtained other charters from the king, by which, (30) (43) in other forms of government, they have enlarged their plantations, within new limits adjacent to (5) (15 a) the other.their plantations, within new limits adjacent to (5) (15 a) the other. |
Fiennes' coadjutor, Sir H. Vane, was a man of great natural ability.[25] Quick in understanding and impenetrable in dissembling, he could also speak with promptness, point, and weight. His singular appearance, though it might naturally proceed from his parents, who were not noted for their beauty, yet impressed men with the belief that he had in him something extraordinary, an impression that was confirmed by the whole of his life. His behaviour at Oxford, where he studied at Magdalen College, was not characterized, in spite of the supervision of a very worthy tutor, by a severe morality. Soon after leaving Oxford he spent some little time in France, and more in Geneva. After returning to England, he conceived an intense hatred not only against the government of the Church, which was disliked by many, but also against the Liturgy, which was held in great and general reverence. Incurring or seeming to incur, by his giddiness, the displeasure of his father, who at that time, beside strictly conforming to the Church himself, was very bitter against Nonconformists, the young Vane left his home for New[Pg 69] England. This colony had been planted a few years before by men of all sorts of religions, and their differences[26] disposed them to dislike the government of the Church. Now, it happened that their privilege (accorded by the king's charter) of choosing their own government and governors was subject to this obligation, "that every man should take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy." These oaths had been taken, not only by all the original planters, on receiving their charter, before leaving England, but also for many years afterwards, without exciting the slightest scruple. Indeed, scruples against lawful oaths were unknown[27] in the infancy of the English schism. But with the arrival of Vane all this was changed. No sooner had he landed than his ability, and perhaps to some extent his position, as eldest son of a Privy-councillor, recommended him to notice: and at the next election he was chosen Governor. In his new post, his restless and unquiet imagination found opportunity for creating and diffusing a thousand conscientious scruples that had not been brought over, or ever even heard of, by the colonists. His government proved a failure: and, mutually dissatisfied, (45) governed and governor parted. Vane returned to England, but not till he had[Pg 70] accomplished his mischievous task, not till he had sown the seeds of those miserable dissensions which afterwards grew only too prosperously, till they split the wretched colony into distinct, hostile, and mutually persecuting factions. His handiwork still remains, and it is owing to (15) him that some of the colonists, on the pretext of liberty of conscience, the original cause of their emigration, have withdrawn themselves from the old colonial jurisdiction and have obtained fresh charters from the king. These men have established new forms of government, unduly enlarged their boundaries, and set up rival settlements on the borders of the original colony. |
FOOTNOTES:
[19] The original metaphor uses the crown as a prop, which seems a confusion. Though the metaphor is so common as scarcely to be regarded as a metaphor, it is better to avoid the appearance of confusion.
[20] We sometimes say, briefly but not perhaps idiomatically, "the then sovereign," "the then temper," &c.
[21] The personality of the tempters and organizers of the conspiracy is purposely kept in the background.
[22] The relative is retained in the first two cases, because it conveys the reason why Fiennes was educated at New College; and in the third case, because the increased "antipathy" is regarded as the natural consequence of the residence in Calvinistic Geneva.
[23] Claiming.
[24] An insinuation of sedition seems intended.
[25] This sentence is a preliminary summary of what follows.
[26] If "which" is used here according to Rule (8), the meaning is, (a) "and their differences;" if it is used for "that," the meaning will be, (b) "all religions that were of a nature to dispose &c." I believe (a) is the meaning; but I have found difference of opinion on the question.
[27] The following words appear to be emphatic, bringing out the difference between the infancy and the development of schism.
Burnet.
The principal faults in Burnet's style are (a) the use of heterogeneous sentences (see 43); (b) the want of suspense (see 30); (c) the ambiguous use of pronouns (see 5); (d) the omission of connecting adverbs and conjunctions, and an excessive use of and (see 44); and (e) an abruptness in passing from one topic to another (see 45). The correction of these faults necessarily lengthens the altered version.
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And his maintaining the honour of the nation in all foreign countries gratified the (1) vanity which is very natural (50) to Englishmen; (30) (43) of which he was so (15) (17 a) careful that, though he was not a crowned head, yet his (40 a) ambassadors had all the respects paid them which our (15) kings' ambassadors ever had: he said (6 b) the dignity of the crown was upon the account of the nation, of which the king was (50) only the representative head; so, the nation being the same, he would have the same regards paid to (41) his ministers. |
He also gratified the English feeling of self-respect by maintaining the honour of the nation in all foreign countries. So jealous was he on this point that, though he was not a crowned head, he yet secured for his ambassadors all the respect that had been paid to the ambassadors of our kings. The king, he said, received respect simply as the nation's[Pg 71] representative head, and, since the nation was the same, the same respect should be paid to the[28] nation's ministers. |
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Another[29] instance of (5) this pleased him much. Blake with the fleet happened (50) to be at Malaga before he made war upon Spain: (44) and some of his seamen went ashore, and met the Host carried about; (44) and not only paid no respect to it, but laughed at those who did; (43) (30) (51) so one of the priests put the people upon resenting this indignity; and they fell upon (5) them and beat them severely. When they returned to their ship (5) they complained of (5) this usage; and upon that Blake sent a trumpet to the viceroy to demand the priest who was the chief (1) instrument in that ill-usage. The viceroy answered he had no authority over the (15) priests, and so could not dispose of him. Blake upon that sent him word that he would not inquire who had the (1) power to send the priest to him, but if he were not sent within three hours, he would burn their town; (43) and (5) they, being in no condition to resist him, sent the priest to him, (43) (44) who justified himself upon the petulant behaviour of the seamen. (44) Blake answered that, if (5) he had sent a complaint to (5) him of(5) it, (5) he would have punished them severely, since (5) he would not suffer his men to affront the established religion of any place at which (5) he touched; but (5) (6) he took it ill, that he set on the Spaniards to do (5) it; for he would have all the world to know that an Englishman was only to be punished by an Englishman; (43) (44) and so he treated the priest civilly, and sent him back (30), being satisfied that he had him at his mercy. |
The following instance of jealousy for the national honour pleased him much. When Blake was at Malaga with his fleet, before his war with Spain, it happened that some of his sailors going ashore and meeting the procession of the Host, not only paid no respect to it, but even laughed at those who did. Incited by one of the priests to resent the indignity, the people fell on the scoffers and beat them severely. On their return to the ship the seamen complained of this ill-usage, whereupon Blake sent a messenger to the viceroy to demand the priest who was the instigator of the outrage. The viceroy answered that he could not touch him, as he had no authority over the priests. To this Blake replied, that he did not intend to inquire to whom the authority belonged, but, if the priest were not sent within three hours, he would burn the town. The townspeople being in no condition to resist, the priest was at once sent. On his arrival, he defended himself, alleging the insolence of the sailors. But the English (50) Admiral replied that a complaint should have been forwarded to him, and then he would have punished them severely, for none of his sailors should be allowed to affront the established[Pg 72] religion of any place where they touched. "But," he added, "I take it ill that you should set on your countrymen to do my work; for I will have all the world know that an Englishman is only to be punished, by an Englishman." Then, satisfied with having had the (50) offender at his mercy, Blake entertained him civilly and sent him back. |
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Cromwell was much delighted with (5) this, (43) and read the letters in council with great satisfaction; and said he (6) hoped he should make the name of an Englishman as great as ever that of a Roman (15 a) had been. (44) The States of Holland were in such dread of (5) him that they took care to give him no sort of umbrage; (43) (44) and when at any time the king or his brothers came to see their sister the Princess Royal, (23) within a day or two after, (5) they used to send a deputation to let them know that Cromwell had required of the States that (5) they should give them no harbour. |
Cromwell was much delighted with Blake's conduct. Reading the letters in council with great satisfaction, he said, "I hope I shall make the name of an Englishman as much respected as ever was the name of Roman." Among other countries the States of Holland were in such dread of Cromwell that they took care to give him no sort of umbrage. Accordingly, whenever the king or his brothers came to see the Princess Royal their sister, they were always warned in a day or two by a deputation that Cromwell had required of the States to give them no harbourage. |
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Cromwell's favourite alliance was Sweden.[30] (44) Carolus Gustavus and he lived in great conjunction of counsels. (44) Even Algernon Sydney, (10 a) who was not inclined to think or speak well of kings, commended him (5) to me; and said he (5) had just notions of public liberty; (44) (43) and added, that Queen Christina seemed to have them likewise. But (44) she was much changed from that, when I waited on her at Rome; for she complained of us as a factious nation, that did not readily comply with the commands (47 a) of our princes. (44) All Italy trembled at the name of Cromwell, and seemed under a (1) panic as long as he lived; (43) his fleet scoured the Mediterranean; and the Turks durst not offend him; but delivered up Hyde, who kept up the character of an ambassador from the king there (23) (43), and was brought over and executed for (5) it. |
The free kingdom of Sweden was Cromwell's favourite ally; not only under Charles Gustavus, with whom he was on most confidential terms, but also under Christina. Both these sovereigns had just notions of public liberty; at least,[Pg 73] Algernon Sydney, a man certainly not prejudiced in favour of royalty, assured me this was true of Gustavus. He also held the same opinion of Queen Christina; but, if so, she was much changed when I waited on her at Rome; for she then complained of the factious and unruly spirit of our nation. All Italy, no less than Holland,[31] trembled at the name of Cromwell, and dreaded him till he died. Nor durst the Turks offend the great (50) Protector whose fleet scoured the Mediterranean; and they even gave up Hyde, who, for keeping up in Turkey the character of ambassador from the king, was brought to England and executed. |
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(44) (11 a) The putting the brother of the king of Portugal's ambassador to death for murder, was (11 a) carrying justice very far; (43) since, though in the strictness of the law of nations, it is only the ambassador's own person that is exempted from (4) any authority (47 a) but his master's that sends him, yet the practice has gone in favour of all that the ambassador owned (47 a) to belong to him. (41) (44) Cromwell showed his good (11) understanding in nothing more than in seeking[32] out capable and worthy men for all employments, but most particularly for the courts of law, (43) (30 a) (10 a) which gave a general satisfaction. |
In another instance of severity towards foreigners—the execution of the brother of the Portuguese ambassador for murder—Cromwell carried justice very far. For, though in strictness the law of nations exempts from foreign jurisdiction the ambassador alone, yet in practice the exemption has extended to the whole of the ambassador's suite. Successful abroad, Cromwell was no less successful at home in selecting able and worthy men for public duties, especially for the courts of law. In nothing did he show more clearly his great natural insight,[Pg 74] and nothing contributed more to his popularity. |
FOOTNOTES:
[28] The meaning is "his, and therefore the nation's, ministers." There is a kind of antithesis between "the nation" and "the nation's ministers."
[29] No instance has yet been mentioned.
[30] The thought that is implied, and should be expressed, by the words, is this: "Cromwell's favourite ally was a free country."
[31] The remarks about Christina are a digression, and Burnet is now returning to the respect in which Cromwell was held by foreign nations.
[32] He not only sought, but sought successfully. That "find" is not necessarily implied by "seek out" seems proved by the use of the word in the Authorized Version, 2 Tim. ii. 17: "He sought me out very diligently, and found me."
Bishop Butler.
The principal faults in this style are (a) a vague use of pronouns (5), and sometimes (b) the use of a phrase, where a word would be enough (47 a).
| ORIGINAL VERSION. | PARALLEL VERSION. |
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Some persons, (15) upon pretence[33] of the sufficiency of the light of Nature, avowedly reject all revelation as, in its (47 a) very notion, incredible, and what (47 a) must be fictitious. And indeed (32) it is certain that no revelation would have been given, (32) had the light of Nature been sufficient in such a sense as to render (5) one not[35] wanting, or useless. But no (15 b) man in seriousness and simplicity can possibly think it (5) so, who considers the state of religion in the heathen world before revelation, and its (5) present state in those (11) places (8) which have borrowed no light from (5) it; particularly (19) the doubtfulness of some of the (12) greatest men concerning things of the utmost (11) importance, as well as the (15 a) natural inattention and ignorance of mankind in general. It is (34) impossible to say (12) who would have been able to have reasoned out that whole system which we call natural religion, (30) in its genuine simplicity, clear of superstition; but there is certainly no ground to affirm that the generality could. (44) If they could, there is no sort of probability that they would. (44) Admitting there were, they would highly want a standing admonition to remind them of (5) it, and inculcate it upon them. And further still, were (5) they as much disposed (47 a) to attend to religion as the better sort of men (15 a) are; yet, even upon this supposition, there would be various occasions for supernatural instruction and assistance, and the greatest advantages (50) might be afforded (15 a) by (5) them. So that, to say revelation is a thing superfluous, what there (47 a) was no need of, and what can be of (47 a) no service, is, I think, to talk wildly and at random. Nor would it be more extravagant to affirm that (40 a) mankind is so entirely (40 a) at ease in the present state, and (40 a) life so completely (40 a) happy, that (5) it is a contradiction to suppose (40 a) our condition capable of being in any respect (47 a) better.—(Analogy of Religion, part ii. chap. 1.) |
Some persons avowedly reject all revelation as [34]essentially incredible and necessarily fictitious, on the ground that the light of Nature is in itself sufficient. And assuredly, had the light of Nature been sufficient in such a sense as to render revelation needless or useless, no revelation would ever have been given. But let any man consider the spiritual darkness that once (41) prevailed in the heathen world before revelation, and that (41) still prevails in those regions that have not yet received the light of revealed truth; above all, let him mark not merely the natural inattention and ignorance of the masses, but also the doubtful language held even by a Socrates on even so vital a subject as[36] the immortality of the soul; and then can he in seriousness and sincerity maintain that the light of Nature is sufficient? It is of course impossible to deny that some second[36] Aristotle might have reasoned out, in its genuine simplicity and without a touch of superstition,[Pg 75] the whole of that system which we call natural religion. But there is certainly no ground for affirming that this complicated process would have been possible for ordinary men. Even if they had had the power, there is no probability that they would have had the inclination; and, even if we admit the probable inclination, they would still need some standing admonition, whereby natural religion might be suggested and inculcated. Still further, even if we suppose these ordinary men to be as attentive to religion as men of a better sort, yet even then there would be various occasions when supernatural instruction and assistance might be most beneficially bestowed. Therefore, to call revelation superfluous, needless, and useless, is, in my opinion, to talk wildly and at random. A man might as reasonably assert that we are so entirely at ease and so completely happy in this present life that our condition cannot without contradiction be supposed capable of being in any way improved. |
FOOTNOTES:
[33] "To pretend" once meant "to put forward," "maintain."
[34] It has been suggested, however, that by "in its very notion incredible," is meant "inconceivable."
[35] "Wanting" is used for modern "wanted."
[36] This use of the particular for the general would be out of place in Butler's style, but it adds clearness.
BREVITY.
Sir Archibald Alison.
The following extract exhibits examples of tautology and lengthiness. The "implied statement" (50) can often be used as a remedy, but, more often, the best remedy is omission.
| ORIGINAL VERSION. | PARALLEL VERSION. |
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The Russian empire is (50) a state of (54) such vast strength and boundless resources, that it is obviously destined to make a great and lasting impression on human affairs. Its (50) progress has been slow, but (5) it[37] is Russian Empire has not, like the only on that account the more likely to be durable. (5) It has not suddenly risen to greatness, like the empire of Alexander in ancient (19) (31), or that of Napoleon in modern, times, from the force of individual genius, or the accidents of (54) casual fortune, but has slowly advanced, and (40 a) been firmly consolidated (15) during a succession of ages, from the combined influence of ambition skilfully directed and energy (15 a) perseveringly applied. |
Russia, with her vast strength and boundless resources, is obviously destined to exercise on the course[Pg 76] of history a great and lasting influence. The slowness of her progress only renders her durability more probable. The Russian Empire has not, like the empires of Alexander the Great and Napoleon, been raised to sudden greatness by the genius of individuals or the accidents of fortune, but has been slowly enlarged and firmly consolidated by well-guided ambition and persevering energy,[38] during a long succession of ages. |
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The extent and fertility of the Russian territory are such (54) as to furnish facilities of increase and elements of strength which no nation (47 a) in the world enjoys. European Russia—that is, Russia to the westward of the Ural Mountains—contains a hundred and fifty thousand four hundred square marine leagues, or about one million two hundred thousand square geographical miles, being ten times the surface of the British Islands, which contain, including Ireland, one hundred and twenty-two thousand. Great part, no doubt, of this immense (54, see below) territory is covered with forests, or (40 a) lies so far to the north as to be almost unproductive of food; but no ranges of mountains or arid deserts intersect the vast (54, see above) extent, and almost the whole, excepting that which touches the Arctic snows, is capable of yielding something for the use of man. The (3) (54) boundless steppes of the south present (54) inexhaustible fields of pasturage, and give birth to those nomad tribes, in whose numerous and incomparable horsemen the chief defence of the empire,[39] as of all Oriental states, (15 a) is to be found. The rich arable lands in the heart of the (54) empire produce an (2) incalculable quantity of grain, capable not only of maintaining four times (5) its present inhabitants, but affording a vast surplus for exportation by the Dnieper, the Volga, and their tributary streams, (30) which form so many (54) natural outlets into the Euxine or other seas; (44) while the cold and shivering plains which stretch towards Archangel and the shores of the White Sea are (48) covered with immense forests of fir and oak, furnishing at once (54)[40] inexhaustible materials for shipbuilding and supplies of fuel. (54) These ample stores for many generations will supersede the necessity of searching in the (14 a) bowels of the earth for the purposes of (54) warmth or manufacture. |
The extent and fertility of her territory furnish unparalleled facilities for the increase of her population and power. European Russia, that is, Russia to the west of the Ural Mountains, contains one million two hundred thousand square geographical miles, or ten times the surface of Great Britain and Ireland. This vast territory is intersected by no mountain ranges, no arid deserts; and though much of it is rendered almost unproductive of food either by the denseness of forests, or by the severity of the northern winter,[Pg 77] yet almost all, except that part which touches the Arctic snows, is capable of yielding something for the use of man. The steppes of the south present an inexhaustible pasturage to those nomad tribes whose numerous and incomparable horsemen form the chief defence of the empire. The rich arable lands in the interior produce grain enough to support four times the present population of the empire, and yet leave a vast surplus to be transported by the Dnieper, the Volga, and their tributaries, into the Euxine or other seas. Lastly, the cold bleak plains stretching towards Archangel and towards the shores of the White Sea, and covered with immense forests of oak and fir, furnish materials for shipbuilding and supplies of fuel that will for many generations supersede the necessity of searching for coal. |
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Formidable as the power of Russia is from the vast extent of its territory, and the great and rapidly increasing number of its (54) subjects, (5) it is still more (5) so from the military spirit and docile disposition by which they are (54)[41] distinguished. The prevailing (54) passion of the nation is the (54) love of conquest, and this (54) ardent (54) desire, which (54) burns as (54) fiercely in them as democratic ambition does in the free states of Western Europe, is the unseen spring[42] which both retains them submissive (54) under the standard of their chief and impels their accumulated forces in ceaseless violence over all the adjoining states. The energies of the people, great as[43] the territory they inhabit, are rarely wasted in internal disputes. Domestic grievances, how great soever, are (54) overlooked in the thirst for foreign aggrandizement. (15) In the conquest of the world the people hope to find a compensation, and more than a compensation, (15 a) for all the evils of their interior administration. |
Much as we may dread Russia for the vastness of her territory and of her rapidly[Pg 78] increasing numbers, there is greater cause for fear in the military spirit and the docility of her people. A burning thirst for conquest is as prevalent a passion in Russia as democratic ambition in the free states of Western Europe. This passion is the unseen spring[42] which, while it retains the Russians in the strictest discipline, unceasingly impels their united forces against all adjoining states. The national energy, which is as great as the national territory, rarely wastes itself in disputes about domestic grievances. For all internal evils, how great soever, the Russians hope to find a compensation, and more than a compensation, in the conquest of the world. |
FOOTNOTES:
[37] Apparently "it" means, not "progress," but the "Russian empire."
[38] Not "energy," but "a long succession of ages," needs to be emphasized.
[39] There is nothing in the context that requires the words, "as of all Oriental states."
[40] If they were really "inexhaustible," the "necessity of searching in the bowels of the earth" would be "superseded," not for "many," but for all generations.
[41] The words can be implied, and besides they are expressed in the following sentence.
[42] The metaphor is questionable; for a "spring," qua "spring," does not retain at all; and besides, "a passion" ought not to "burn" in one line, and be a "spring" in the next.
[43] The meaning appears not to be, "great as" (is), i.e. "though the territory is great."
THE END.
ENGLISH LESSONS
FOR
ENGLISH PEOPLE.
BY
THE REV. EDWIN A. ABBOTT, M.A.,
HEAD MASTER OF THE CITY OF LONDON SCHOOL;
AND
J. R. SEELEY, M.A.,
PROFESSOR OF MODERN HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE.
"It is not so much a merit to know English as it is a shame not to know it; and I look upon this knowledge as essential for an Englishman, and not merely for a fine speaker."—Adapted from Cicero.
BOSTON:
ROBERTS BROTHERS.
1883.
University Press: John Wilson & Son,
Cambridge.
TO THE
REV. G. F. W. MORTIMER, D.D.,
Prebendary of St. Paul's Cathedral, late Head Master of the City of London School.
Dear Doctor Mortimer,
We have other motives, beside the respect and gratitude which must be felt for you by all those of your old pupils who are capable of appreciating the work you did at the City of London School, for asking you to let us dedicate to you a little book which we have entitled "English Lessons for English People."
Looking back upon our school life, we both feel that among the many educational advantages which we enjoyed under your care, there was none more important than the study of the works of Shakspeare, to which we and our school-fellows were stimulated by the special prizes of the Beaufoy Endowment.
We owe you a debt of gratitude not always owed by pupils to their teachers. Many who have passed into a life of engrossing activity without having been taught at school to use rightly, or to appreciate the right use of, their native [Pg iv]tongue, feeling themselves foreigners amid the language of their country, may turn with some point against their teachers the reproach of banished Bolingbroke:—
Than an unstringed viol or a harp,
Or like a cunning instrument cased up,
Or, being open, put into his hands
That knows no touch to tune the harmony;
Within my mouth you have engaoled my tongue,
Doubly portcullis'd with my teeth and lips,
And dull, unfeeling, barren ignorance
Is made my gaoler to attend on me.
I am too old to fawn upon a nurse,
Too far in years to be a pupil now.
It is our pleasant duty, on the contrary, to thank you for encouraging us to study the "cunning instrument" of our native tongue.
Our sense of the benefits which we derived from this study, and our recollection that the study was at that time optional, and did not affect more than a small number of the pupils, lead us to anticipate that when once the English language and literature become recognized, not as an optional but as a regular part of our educational course, the advantages will be so great as to constitute nothing short of a national benefit.
The present seems to be a critical moment for English instruction. The subject has excited much attention of late years; many schools have already taken it up; others are [Pg v]on the point of doing so; it forms an important part of most Government and other examinations. But there is a complaint from many teachers that they cannot teach English for want of text-books and manuals; and, as the study of English becomes year by year more general, this complaint makes itself more and more distinctly heard. To meet this want we have written the following pages. If we had had more time, we might perhaps have been tempted to aim at producing a more learned and exhaustive book on the subject; but, setting aside want of leisure, we feel that a practical text-book, and not a learned or exhaustive treatise, is what is wanted at the present crisis.
We feel sure that you will give a kindly welcome to our little book, as an attempt, however imperfect, to hand on the torch which you have handed to us; we beg you also to accept it as a token of our sincere gratitude for more than ordinary kindnesses, and to believe us
Your affectionate pupils,
J. R. SEELEY.
EDWIN A. ABBOTT.
Messrs. Roberts Brothers' Publications.
ENGLISH LESSONS FOR ENGLISH PEOPLE. By Rev. E. A. Abbott, M.A., and Prof. J. R. Seeley, M.A. Part I.—Vocabulary. Part II—Diction. Part III.—Metre. Part IV.—Hints on Selection and Arrangement. Appendix. 16mo. Price $1.50.
From the London Athenæum.
The object of this book is evidently a practical one. It is intended for ordinary use by a large circle of readers; and though designed principally for boys, may be read with advantage by many of more advanced years. One of the lessons which it professes to teach, "to use the right word in the right place," is one which no one should despise. The accomplishment is a rare one, and many of the hints here given are truly admirable.
From the Southern Review.
The study of Language can never be exhausted. Every time it is looked at by a man of real ability and culture, some new phase starts into view. The origin of Language; its relations to the mind; its history; its laws; its development; its struggles; its triumphs; its devices; its puzzles; its ethics,—every thing about it is full of interest.
Here is a delightful book, by two men of recognized authority,—the head Master of London School, and the Professor of Modern History in the University of Cambridge, the notable author of "Ecce Homo." The book is so comprehensive in its scope that it seems almost miscellaneous. It treats of the vocabulary of the English Language; Diction as appropriate to this or that sort of composition; selection and arguments of topics; Metre, and an Appendix on Logic. All this in less than three hundred pages. Within this space so many subjects cannot be treated exhaustively; and no one is, unless we may except Metre, to which about eighty pages are devoted, and about which all seems to be said that is worth saying,—possibly more. But on each topic some of the best things are said in a very stimulating way. The student will desire to study more thoroughly the subject into which such pleasant openings are here given; and the best prepared teacher will be thankful for the number of striking illustrations gathered up to his hand.
The abundance and freshness of the quotations makes the volume very attractive reading, without reference to its didactic value.
Sold by all booksellers. Mailed, postpaid, by the Publishers,
ROBERTS BROTHERS, Boston.
PREFACE.
This book is not intended to supply the place of an English Grammar. It presupposes a knowledge of Grammar and of English idiom in its readers, and does not address itself to foreigners, but to those who, having already a familiar knowledge of English, need help to write it with taste and exactness. Some degree of knowledge is presumed in the reader; nevertheless we do not presume that he possesses so much as to render him incapable of profiting from lessons. Our object is, if possible, not merely to interest, but to teach; to write lessons, not essays,—lessons that may perhaps prove interesting to some who have passed beyond the routine of school life, but still lessons, in the strictest sense, adapted for school classes.
Aiming at practical utility, the book deals only with those difficulties which, in the course of teaching, we have found to be most common and most serious. For there are many difficulties, even when grammatical accuracy has been attained, in the way of English persons attempting to write and speak correctly. First, there is the cramping restriction of an insufficient vocabulary; not merely a loose and inexact [Pg viii]apprehension of many words that are commonly used, and a consequent difficulty in using them accurately, but also a total ignorance of many other words, and an inability to use them at all; and these last are, as a rule, the very words which are absolutely necessary for the comprehension and expression of any thought that deals with something more than the most ordinary concrete notions. There is also a very common inability to appreciate the differences between words that are at all similar. Lastly, where the pupil has studied Latin, and trusts too much for his knowledge of English words to his knowledge of their Latin roots, there is the possibility of misderiving and misunderstanding a word, owing to ignorance of the changes of letters introduced in the process of derivation; and, on the other hand, there is the danger of misunderstanding and pedantically misusing words correctly derived, from an ignorance of the changes of meaning which a word almost always experiences in passing from one language to another. The result of all this non-understanding or slovenly half-understanding of words is a habit of slovenly reading and slovenly writing, which when once acquired is very hard to shake off.
Then, following on the difficulties attending the use of words, there are others attending the choice and arrangement of words. There is the danger of falling into "poetic prose," of thinking it necessary to write "steed" or "charger" instead of "horse," "ire" instead of "anger," and the like; and every teacher, who has had much experience in looking [Pg ix]over examination papers, will admit that this is a danger to which beginners are very liable. Again, there is the temptation to shrink with a senseless fear from using a plain word twice in the same page, and often from using a plain word at all. This unmanly dread of simplicity, and of what is called "tautology," gives rise to a patchwork made up of scraps of poetic quotations, unmeaning periphrases, and would-be humorous circumlocutions,—a style of all styles perhaps the most objectionable and offensive, which may be known and avoided by the name of Fine Writing. Lastly, there is the danger of obscurity, a fault which cannot be avoided without extreme care, owing to the uninflected nature of our language.
All these difficulties and dangers are quite as real, and require as much attention, and are fit subjects for practical teaching in our schools, quite as much as many points which, at present, receive perhaps an excessive attention in some of our text-books. To use the right word in the right place is an accomplishment not less valuable than the knowledge of the truth (carefully recorded in most English Grammars, and often inflicted as a task upon younger pupils) that the plural of cherub is cherubim, and the feminine of bull is cow.
To smooth the reader's way through these difficulties is the object of the first three Parts of this book. Difficulties connected with Vocabulary are considered first. The student is introduced, almost at once, to Synonyms. He is [Pg x]taught how to define a word, with and without the aid of its synonyms. He is shown how to eliminate from a word whatever is not essential to its meaning. The processes of Definition and Elimination are carefully explained: a system or scheme is laid down which he can exactly follow; and examples are subjoined, worked out to illustrate the method which he is to pursue. A system is also given by which the reader may enlarge his vocabulary, and furnish himself easily and naturally with those general or abstract terms which are often misunderstood and misused, and still more often not understood and not used at all. Some information is also given to help the reader to connect words with their roots, and at the same time to caution him against supposing that, because he knows the roots of a word, he necessarily knows the meaning of the word itself. Exercises are interspersed throughout this Part which can be worked out with, or without, an English Etymological Dictionary,[44] as the nature of the case may require. The exercises have not been selected at random; many of them have been subjected to the practical test of experience, and have been used in class teaching.
The Second Part deals with Diction. It attempts to illustrate with some detail the distinction—often ignored by those who are beginning to write English, and sometimes by others also—between the Diction of Prose, and that of Poetry. It [Pg xi]endeavors to dissipate that excessive and vulgar dread of tautology which, together with a fondness for misplaced pleasantry, gives rise to the vicious style described above. It gives some practical rules for writing a long sentence clearly and impressively; and it also examines the difference between slang, conversation, and written prose. Both for translating from foreign languages into English, and for writing original English composition, these rules have been used in teaching, and, we venture to think, with encouraging results.
A Chapter on Simile and Metaphor concludes the subject of Diction. We have found, in the course of teaching, that a great deal of confusion in speaking and writing, and still more in reading and attempting to understand the works of our classical English authors, arises from the inability to express the literal meaning conveyed in a Metaphor. The application of the principle of Proportion to the explanation of Metaphor has been found to dissipate much of this confusion. The youngest pupils readily learn how to "expand a Metaphor into its Simile;" and it is really astonishing to see how many difficulties that perplex young heads, and sometimes old ones too, vanish at once when the key of "expansion" is applied. More important still, perhaps, is the exactness of thought introduced by this method. The pupil knows that, if he cannot expand a metaphor, he does not understand it. All teachers will admit that to force a pupil to see that he does not understand any thing is a great [Pg xii]stride of progress. It is difficult to exaggerate the value of a process which makes it impossible for a pupil to delude himself into the belief that he understands when he does not understand.
Metre is the subject of the Third Part. The object of this Part (as also, in a great measure, of the Chapter just mentioned belonging to the Second Part) is to enable the pupil to read English Poetry with intelligence, interest, and appreciation. To teach any one how to read a verse so as to mark the metre on the one hand, without on the other hand converting the metrical line into a monotonous doggerel, is not so easy a task as might be supposed. Many of the rules stated in this Part have been found of practical utility in teaching pupils to hit the mean. Rules and illustrations have therefore been given, and the different kinds of metre and varieties of the same metre have been explained at considerable length.
This Chapter may seem to some to enter rather too much into detail. We desire, however, to urge as an explanation, that in all probability the study of English metre will rapidly assume more importance in English schools. At present, very little is generally taught, and perhaps known, about this subject. In a recent elaborate edition of the works of Pope, the skill of that consummate master of the art of epigrammatic versification is impugned because in one of his lines he suffers the to receive the metrical accent. When one of the commonest customs (for it is in no sense a license) of English poets—a custom sanctioned by Shakspeare,[Pg xiii] Dryden, Milton, Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, and Tennyson—can be censured as a fault, and this in a leading edition of a leading poet of our literature, it must be evident that much still remains to be done in teaching English Metre. At present this Part may seem too detailed. Probably, some few years hence, when a knowledge of English Metre has become more widely diffused, it will seem not detailed enough.
The Fourth Part (like the Chapter on Metaphor) is concerned not more with English than with other languages. It treats of the different Styles of Composition, the appropriate subjects for each, and the arrangement of the subject-matter. We hope that this may be of some interest to the general reader, as well as of practical utility in the higher classes of schools. It seems desirable that before pupils begin to write essays, imaginary dialogues, speeches, and poems, they should receive some instruction as to the difference of arrangement in a poem, a speech, a conversation, and an essay.
An Appendix adds a few hints on some Errors in Reasoning. This addition may interfere with the symmetry of the book; but if it is found of use, the utility will be ample compensation. In reading literature, pupils are continually meeting instances of false reasoning, which, if passed over without comment, do harm, and, if commented upon, require some little basis of knowledge in the pupil to enable him to understand the explanation. Without entering into the details of formal Logic, we have found it possible to give pupils some few hints which have appeared to help them.[Pg xiv] The hints are so elementary, and so few, that they cannot possibly delude the youngest reader into imagining that they are any thing more than hints. They may induce him hereafter to study the subject thoroughly in a complete treatise, when he has leisure and opportunity; but, in any case, a boy will leave school all the better prepared for the work of life, whatever that work may be, if he knows the meaning of induction, and has been cautioned against the error, post hoc, ergo propter hoc. No lesson, so far as our experience in teaching goes, interests and stimulates pupils more than this; and our experience of debating societies, in the higher forms of schools, forces upon us the conviction that such lessons are not more interesting than necessary.
Questions on the different paragraphs have been added at the end of the book, for the purpose of enabling the student to test his knowledge of the contents, and also to serve as home lessons to be prepared by pupils in classes.[45]
A desire, expressed by some teachers of experience, that these lessons should be published as soon as possible, has rather accelerated the publication. Some misprints and other inaccuracies may possibly be found in the following pages, in consequence of the short time Which has been allowed us for correcting them. Our thanks are due to several friends who have kindly assisted us in this task, and who have also [Pg xv]aided us with many valuable and practical suggestions. Among these we desire to mention Mr. Joseph Payne, whose labors on Norman French are well known; Mr. T.G. Philpotts, late Fellow of New College, Oxford, and one of the Assistant Masters of Rugby School; Mr. Edwin Abbott, Head Master of the Philological School; Mr. Howard Candler, Mathematical Master of Uppingham School; and the Rev. R. H. Quick, one of the Assistant Masters of Harrow School.
In conclusion, we repeat that we do not wish our book to be regarded as an exhaustive treatise, or as adapted for the use of foreigners. It is intended primarily for boys, but, in the present unsatisfactory state of English education, we entertain a hope that it may possibly be found not unfit for some who have passed the age of boyhood; and in this hope we have ventured to give it the title of English Lessons for English People.
FOOTNOTES:
[44] An Etymological Dictionary is necessary for pupils studying the First Part. Chambers's or Ogilvie's will answer the purpose.
[45] Some of the passages quoted to illustrate style are intended to be committed to memory and used as repetition-lessons.—See pp. 180, 181, 212, 237, 238, etc.
ON THE RIGHT USE OF BOOKS.
A Lecture. By William P. Atkinson, Professor of English and History in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 16mo. Cloth. Price 50 cents.
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HOW TO PARSE.
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"The Rev. E.A. Abbott, whose books, 'English Lessons for English People,' and 'How to Write Clearly,' have been accepted as standard text-books on both sides of the ocean, has added another work to his list of sensible treatises on the use of English. It is called 'How to Parse,' and is best described by the further title, 'An Attempt to apply the Principles of Scholarship to English Grammar, with Appendices on Analysis, Spelling, and Punctuation.' The little book is so sensible and so simple that the greater number of its readers will perhaps forget to observe that it is profoundly philosophical also, but it is so in the best sense of the term."—N. Y. Evening Post.
"Of all subjects of study, it may be safely admitted that grammar possesses as a rule the fewest attractions for the youthful mind. To prepare a work capable of imparting a thorough knowledge of this important part of education in an attractive and entertaining form, to many may appear extremely difficult, if not impossible; nevertheless, the task has been accomplished in a highly successful manner by Edwin A. Abbott, Head Master of the City of London School, in a neat little volume entitled 'How to Parse.' The author has succeeded admirably in combining with the exercises a vast amount of useful information, which impacts to the principles and rules of the main subject a degree of interest that renders the study as attractive as history or fiction. The value of the book is greatly increased by an excellent glossary of grammatical forms and a nicely arranged index. The work deserves the attention and consideration of teachers and pupils, and will doubtless prove a highly popular addition to the list of school-books."—N.Y. Graphic.
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GOETHE'S
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"The poem itself is bewitching. Of the same metre as Longfellow's 'Evangeline,' its sweet and measured cadences carry the reader onward with a real pleasure as he becomes more and more absorbed in this descriptive wooing song. It is a sweet volume to read aloud in a select circle of intelligent friends."—Providence Press.
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HOW TO PARSE. An Attempt to Apply the Principles of Scholarship to English Grammar. With Appendixes on Analysis, Spelling, and Punctuation. 16mo. Cloth. Price, $1.00.
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Transcriber's Notes
Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible, including obsolete and variant spellings, various font sizes and other inconsistencies.
The transcriber made the following changes to the text to correct obvious errors:
1. p. 90, "inpugned" —> "impugned"2. p. 51, to qualify "enemy. —> to qualify "enemy."
It is common to have footnotes referenced multiple times in the text.
Advertisements for Dr. Abbott's other works published by Roberts Brothers have been moved from the front of the book to the end.
