CORNELL UNIVLRSITY LIBR; ENGLISH C:OIJ,ECTION (\.:'Rb'8shining on the armor in the gallery, making mimic suns on bossed sword-hilts and the angles of pol- ished breastplates. Yes, there are sharp weapons in the gallery. There is a, dagger in that cabinet ; she knows it well. And as a dragon-fly wheels in its flight to alight for an instant on a leaf, she darts to the cabinet, takes out the dagger, and thrusts it into her pocket, etc. — George Eliot : Mr. Oilfil, ch. xiii. The following stands midway between dynamic descrip- tion and description by stages : The house had that pleasant aspect of life which is like the cheery expression of comfortable activity in the human countenance. You could see, at once, that there was the stir of a large family within it. A huge load of oak-wood was passing through the gateway, towards the out-buildings in the rear ; the fat cook — or probably it might be the housekeeper — stood at the side-door, bargaining for some turkeys and poultry which a countryman had brought for sale. Now and then a maid-servant, neatly dressed, and now the shining sable face of a slave, might, be seen bustling across the windows in the lower part of the house. At an open window of a room in the second story, hanging over some pots of beautiful and delicate flowers — exotics, but which had never known a more genial sunshine than that of the New England autumn — was the figure of a young lady, an exotic, like the flowers, and beautiful and delicate as they. Her presence imparted an indescribable grace and faint witchery to the whole edifice. — Hawthobne: Seven Gables, ch. xiii. The approach of the boats in The Lady of the Lake (ii. xvi.) is an interesting study. Is it dynamic description ? Or is it genuine narrative with the effect of description ? 44, Sketch ; Suggestion. — Where ample details are not 76 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIO. positively required, it is always possible, and usually ad- visable, to abridge the description into a sketch. The best writings are full of such sketching, in which the writer gives only the salient points or features. In fact, the abil- ity to sketch effectively is sure evidence of a writer's power ; e. g. : Noble Mansion ! There stoodest thou, in deep Mountain Amphi- theatre, on umbrageous lawns, in thy serene solitude ; stately, massive, all of granite ; glittering in the western sunbeams, like a palace of El Dorado, overlaid with precious metal. Beautiful rose up, in wavy curvature, the slope of thy guardian Hills : of the greenest was their sward, embossed with its dark-brown frets of crag, or spotted by some spreading solitary Tree and its shadow. — Caeiyle : Sartor Mesartm, ii. ch. v. From the classic writings we may select this : A thousand fires burnt brightly ; and round each Sat fifty warriors in the ruddy glare ; Champing the provender before them laid. Barley and rye, the tethered horses stood Beside the cars, and waited for the morn. Iliad, viii. 562 (Derby's translation). Compare this with Carlyle, § 97. Somewhat longer, but still a sketch, is the following : A very ancient woman, in a white short gown and a green petticoat, with a string of gold beads about her neck, and what looked like a night-cap on her head, had brought a quantity of yarn to barter for the commodities of the shop. She was probably the very last person in town who stiU kept the time-honored spinning-wheel in constant revo- lution. It was worth while to hear the croaking and hollow tones of the old lady and the pleasant voice of Phoebe mingling in one twisted thread of talk, etc. — Hawthorne : Seven Gables, ch. v. That it is a sketch will be evident if we contrast it with the following full-length portrait: She had on a light dress which sat loosely about her figure, but did not disguise its liberal, graceful outline. A heavy mass of straight jet- black hair had escaped from its fastening and hung over her shoulders. Her grandly-cut features, pale, with the natural paleness of a brunette, had premature lines about them, telling that the years had been length- DESCRIPTION. 77 ened by sorrow, and the delicately-curved nostril, which seemed made to quiver with the proud consciousness of power and beauty, must have quivered to the heart-piercing griefs which had given that worn Idok to the corners of the mouth. Her wide-open black eyes had a strangely fixed, sightless gaze, as she paused at the turning, and stood silent before her husband. — Geokge Eliot : Janets Repentance, ch. iv. By Suggestion is here meant the introduction of such traits and terms as lead the reader easily and naturally to think out the rest. The writer puts the reader in a con- templative mood ; e. g., the description of the philosopher at the North Cape on a June midnight: Silence as of death, for midnight, even in the Arctic latitudes, has its character : nothing but the granite cliffs ruddy-tinged, the peaceable gurgle of that slow-heaving Polar Ocean, over which in the utmost North the great Sun hangs low and lazy, as if he too were slumbering. Yet is his cloud-couch wrought of crimson and cloth-of-gold ; yet does his light stream over the mirror of waters, like a tremulous flre-pillar, shooting downwards to the abyss, and hide itself under my feet. In such moments. Solitude also is invaluable ; for who would speak, or be looked on, when behind him lies all Eiu-ope and Africa, fast asleep, ex- cept the watchmen ; and before him the silent Immensity, and Palace of the Eternal, whereof our Sun is but a porch-lamp. — Carlyle: Sartor Resarlvs, ii. ch. viii. Another highly suggestive passage is this : We know not how to characterize, in any accordant and compatible terms, the Eome that lies before us ; its sunless alleys, and streets of palaces ; its churches, lined with the gorgeous marbles that were orig- inally polished for the adornment of pagan temples ; its thousands of evil smells, mixed up with fragrance of rich incense diffused from as many censers ; its little life, deriving feeble nutriment from what has long been dead. Everywhere, some fragment of ruin suggesting the magnificence of a former epoch; everywhere, moreover, » Cross — and nastiness at the foot of it. As the sum of all, there are recollections that kindle the soul, and a gloom and languor that depress it beyond any depth of melancholic sentiment that can be elsewhere known. — Hawthorne : Marhle Faun, i. ch. xii. Coleridge's Ancient Mariner is all sketch and suggestion; hence its peculiar charm and power. a* 78 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 45. Figurative Language.— How description may be aided by figurative language is readily learned from ex- amples. The usual figures are simile, comparison, meta- phor, and personification. Thus : Even as it was, a change grew visible ; a change partly to be regret- ted, although whatever charm it infringed upon was repaired by an- other, perhaps more precious. She was not so constantly gay, but had her moods of thought. . . . Her eyes looked larger and darker and deeper; so deep, at some silent moments, that they seemed like Artesian wells, down, down, into the im^TOfe.^HAWTHORNE : Seven Gables, ch. xii. Wonderfully expressive is the following metaphor in Webster's apostrophe to Lafayette: Fortunate, fortunate man ! With what measure of devotion will you not thank God for the circumstances of your extraordinary life I You are connected with both hemispheres and with two generations. Heaven saw fit to ordain that the electric spark of liberty shoiUd be conducted through you from the New World to the Old, etc. — Webster : Bunker Hill. Carlyle's description of the vanity of the two Bos wells, father and son, so different in kind, is remarkable for its graphic humor: Old Auchinleck had, if not the gay, tail-.spreading, peacock vanity of the son, no little of the slow-stalking, contentious, hissing vanity of the gander ; a still more fatal species. — Carlyle : BosweWs Johnson. The value of personification, i. e., giving to inanimate objects the properties of life, may be learned from Haw- thorne's description of the trees in the Villa Borghese ; the impression of hoary antiquity is deepened by the iron- ical " only a few years ago " : The ilex trees, so ancient and time-honored were they, seemed to have lived for ages undisturbed, and to feel no dread of profanation from the axe any more than overthrow by the thunder-stroke. It had already passed out of their dreamy old memories that only a few years ago they were grievously imperilled by the Gaul's last assault upon the walls of Eome. As if confident in the long peace of their lifetime, they as- sumed attitudes of indolent repose. They leaned over the turf in pon- derous grace, throwing abroad their great branches without danger of DESCRIPTION. 79 interfering with other trees, thoagh other majestic trees grew near enough for dignified society, but too distant for constraint. — Haw- thorne : Marble Faun, i. ch. viii. 46. Epithet. — By this is meant an adjective indicating some quality or at^ibute which the writer regards as cha- racteristic of the person or thing described. The term may be extended to include a noun or noun-phrase hav- ing the effect of a characteristic adjective. Classical stu- dents are familiar with the Homeric epithets: "well- greaved " Greeks ; " white-armed " Juno ; " blue-eyed " Minerva, etc. Folk-poetry is full of such conventional epithets, which have lost nearly all their original signif- icance and become mere tags or labels. Modern literature discards conventional epithets, and employs only such adjectives and phrases as really distinguish the person or object. Among modern prose-writers Carlyle is the one most given to epithets. Thus, in a letter to Emerson he sums up his description of Daniel Webster in the clause, " I have not traced as much of silent Berserkir rage, that I remember, in any other man." The epithet marks Web- ster's force of suppressed passion. Emerson, in reply, describes Carlyle as having " thirsty, portrait-eating, por- trait-painting eyes." Carlyle's use of epithet is excessive ; it often amounts to nicknaming. He incessantly speaks of the very stout Countess of Darlington as the " cataract of tallow ;" her opposite, the Duchess of Kendal, as the " Maypole, or lean human nailrod ;" political economy is "Ihe dismal science." Every reader of David Copperjield will remember Uriah Heep's use of the word " 'umble ;" also the application of " respectable," " respectability," to Littimer, in ch. xxi. In Coleridge's Ancient Mariner (211) " the star-dogged Moon " is most striking. Note also : " I stole from court, . . . Cat-footed thro' the town," Tenny- son's Princess, i. 103; or Lady Blanche's eye, "A lidless watcher of the public weal," iv. 306. The happy use of epithet is a badge of ability; one 80 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETOB.IO. must have a keen eye and the gift of language, also sound taste. It is dangerous ground for the young writer. 47. Generalized Description. — This is analogous to gen- eralized narration (§ 34). In it the writer delineates a particular group or assemblage, not as it actually appeared on a certain occasion, and only then, but as it may have appeared on any one of a number of occasions ; e. g., this account of the famous weekly " Punch " dinners : On Wednesday evenings the celebrated hebdomadal dinner is held, when the contents of the paper for the following week are discussed and determined. Upstairs the sacred function is held, in a room reached by an ancient and rather crazy staircase. Sir Joseph Paxton and a lady — the wife, I believe, of one of the publishers — are said to be the only strangers who ever were admitted to witness this esoteric celebration. The " table " — at which only the staff, and not even the regular outside contributors, have any right or chance to sit — is then surrounded by the gentlemen of the stafiF, artists and writers, presided over by the editor, and supported with more or less regularity by Mr. Bradbury and Mr. William Agnew, the proprietors. As a piece of furniture this hospit- able but rather primitive board is not of much account, being of plain deal, oblong in shape, with rounded ends. But its associations render it a treasure among treasures ; for at this table every man upon the staff from the first has carved his name with a penknife ; and here may be seen the handiwork of those so many of whom are on England's roll of fame, as well as that of others who, with less of genius, have still a strong claim on the gratitude and the recollection of the people. The editor, as I have said, presides ; should he be unavoidably absent, an- other writer — usually, nowadays, Mr. Arthur a Beckett — takes his place, the duty never falling to an artist. Mr. Burnand — who as a, president is believed to excel all previous editors, as Mr. Frederick Leighton sur- passes all past P. E. A.'s — invites suggestions, listening, weighing, and, with rare tact and art, "drawing" his staff as well as any artist upon it could. Dinner is over and the cloth is removed before the business of the evening is touched upon. Jokes, laughter, and discussion are the order of the evening. On the editor's right sit Mr. Tenniel, Mr. Du Maurier, Mr. Sambourne, Mr. Purniss, and Mr. Eeed; and then there are Mr. k Beckett, Mr. Milliken — one of the most talented, as he is one of the most modest men upon the paper — Mr. (Anstey) Guthrie, Mr. Lucy ("Toby"), and Mr. Lehmann.— G. S. Layard: lAJe and Letters of C. S. Keene. DESCRIPTION. 8i How are we to classify the description of an object, one of hundreds or thousands, all alike, e. g., a rifle, a watch, a sewing-machine ? Is it an ordinary description, or a gen- eralized ? Or is it exposition ? Whatever theoretical an- swer we may give, we shall not err practically if we treat it as an ordinary description, for the reason that, in the describing, we start from one individual object and deline- ate it just as we see it. Our delineation is not influenced by the circumstance that it wiU fit all others. The de- scribing is concrete, not general. For Extpository Description see § 54. CHAPTER VII. EXPOSITION. 48. Exposition may be characterized as that form of composition in which the writer discusses, not a single object or event, but objects or events in their general as- pects, or inculcates a general principle, or defines a general term. Thus, to write of the death of a certain person is de- scription or narration ; but to write upon death in general is exposition. To delineate the features of a certain man is description ; to tell wherein man in general differs from other animals is exposition. It is also exposition to ex- plain the working of a steam-engine or to set forth the advantages of punctuality. Text-books of science, history, literature, are expository ; so are essays. In text-books and essays, it is true, we often find descriptive or narrative passages, but the book or essay is in the main expository. Its aim is to acquaint us with the general truths of science or history, or with the general relation of an individual to his times ; e. g., Macau- lay's essay on Warren Hastings, although it contains a good deal of narration and description, is, as a whole, an exposition of the policy of Hastings, his services to Eng- land, and his position in the history of the world. As descriptive and narrative passages occur in writings that are essentially exposition, so expository passages occur in writings essentially description or narration. Such an expository passage usually embodies a passing reflection or meditation ; it moralizes, as we say, upon the 82 EXPOSITION. 83 persons described or the events narrated. A very grace- ful example is in the scene where Donatello calls upon Miriam in her studio and finds her " busied with the femi- nine task of mending a pair of gloves " : There is something extremely pleasant, and even touching — at least, of very sweet, soft, and winning effect — in this peculiarity of needle- work, distinguishing women from men. Our own sex is incapable of any such by-play aside from the main business of life ; but women — ^be they of what earthly rank they may, however gifted with intellect or genius, or endowed with awful beauty — have always some little handi- work ready to fill the tiny gap of every vacant moment. A needle is familiar to the fingers of them all. A queen, no doubt, plies it on oc- casion ; the woman-poet can use it as adroitly as her pen ; the woman's eye, that has discovered a new star, turns from its glory to send the pol- ished little instrument gleaming along the hem of her kerchief. ... A vast deal of human sympathy runs along this electric line, stretching from the throne to the wicker-chair of the humblest seamstress, and keeping high and low in a species of communion with their kindred beings, etc. — Hawthorne : Marble Faun, i. ch. 5. Even a general proposition (assertion), which is in strict- ness something to be proved (see § 63), is usually first expounded, that the reader may clearly perceive the pre- cise point to be proved. Thus, whoever undertakes to persuade us that " fortune favors the bold " should first explain what he means by " fortune " and by " bold ;" for by fortune some persons might understand mere " luck," others " providence ;" " bold " might mean " venturesome," or again, "knowing the danger, but not shrinking from it." In discussing a general moral theme the writer fre- quently goes beyond exposition, and proceeds to apply and enforce his teaching for the reader's personal improve- ment. This is the practice in sermons, which are usually the exposition of Christian doctrine. The various processes of exposition proper may be summed up under three heads : Definition, Classification, General Statement. 84 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. Definition. 49. Defining an object means separating it from all other objects by marking the boundary-lines ; e. g., a tele- scope is said to define accurately when it enables us to see clearly the lines of a heavenly body. A photograph is poor in definition when the Hnes are faint or blurred. In rhetoric and logic we define a term when we distinguish it from every other term. Defining, in the strict sense, is extremely difficult, too difficult for those who have not mastered logical methods, for it is essentially logical in its procedure. It consists in stating the genus and the difiierentia, i. e., the class to which the object defined belongs, and the peculiarities which differentiate it from everything else of that class. Thus, Ruskin defines architecture as ; " The art which so disposes and adorns the edifices raised by man for whatsoever uses, that the sight of them contributes to his mental health, power, and pleasure." — Ktjskin : Seven Lamps, eh. i. In other words, building (" edifice ") is the genus ; man's pleasure is the differentia. Science, especially mathematics and physics, abounds in rigorous definitions ; e. g., " a circle is a plane figure contained by one line everywhere equidistant from a point within called the centre," i. e., plane figure is the genus, radius-measurement the differentia. In the sciences which deal with life defining is some- times less easy, the dividing-line is less readily appre- hended. Huxley {Lay Sermons, ch. v.) thus defines the class Mammalia as " all animals which have a vertebrated skeleton and suckle their young." In ch. xii. he defines a horse as an animal having: "1. A vertebral column; 2. Mammas ; 3. A placental embryo ; 4. Four legs ; 5. A sin- gle well-developed toe in each foot provided with a hoof; 6. A bushy tail ; 7. Callosities on the inner sides of both the fore and the hind legs." EXPOSITION. 85 In human affairs the difficulty of defining increases in proportion ^s we pass from the material to the spiritual, until at last definition — in any just sense — becomes an impossibility. We may readily define a " minor " to be " a person of either sex who has not attained the age at which full civil rights are accorded." But to frame a legal definition of " property " is much less easy. To define " church," i. e., not the building, but the association of per- sons for religious purposes, is perhaps impossible. Cath- olics and Protestants would not agree, nor would any two Protestant denominations agree wholly. " Literature," " eloquence," " poetry," are not to be defined. The young reader need not hesitate to admit that he uses words which he is unable to define. These words are not always abstract terms ; on the contrary, they may be quite concrete. Certainly the average boy would be puz- zled were he unexpectedly called upon to define " knife," " pencil," " floor," " room." Still harder would he find "lesson," " question," " answer." How can the young learn to use terms ? To this it may be ans'V^ered that it is the office of education in general, and not of any one instructor alone, to teach the accurate use of terms. Every department of knowledge has its own terminology, and every student who masters the subject masters the terms, with or without formal definition. Thus, one who reads poetry diligently will acquire a sense of its significance, even although he will never be able to translate that significance into a definition. A few practical suggestions may be helpful : 1. Consult dictionaries constantly, but remember that no dictionary is quite complete or perfect. Frequently the best part of a dictionary is in its quotations from good authors, illustrating the shades of meaning of a word. 2. In reading, note carefully whether the author uses the same word in different senses in different places. If he does, try to express the difference. H 86 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND REETOBIC. 3. Consult teachers and other persons of experience, and get them to suggest an explanation or correct any misuse of a term. 4, In writing, attach a definite meaning to each term, and carefully avoid using it in any other sense in that composition. 50. Loose or Indirect Deflnition. — The sense of an in- definable term may be conveyed indirectly. Thus, Swift defined style to be " proper words in their proper places." Coleridge improved upon this : The definition of good Prose is — proper words in their proper places ; of good Verse — the most proper words in their proper places. The propriety is in either case relative. The words in prose ought to ex- press the intended meaning, and no more ; if they attract attention to themselves, it is in general a fault. . . . But in verse you must do more ; there the words, the media, must he beautiful, and ought to attract your notice.— S. T. Colekidge : Tahk Talk, ii. 214. Emerson characterized eloquence as " a taking sovereign possession of the audience ;" De Quincey ( Works, x. 92) wrote : " By eloquence we understand the outflow of pow- erful feelings upon occasions fitted to excite thenf." (See also Webster, § 58.) Matthew Arnold {Essays in Criticism, p. 36) defined criticism to be " a disinterested endeavor to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought in the world." This does not distinguish criticism from learning, on the one hand, or firom teaching, on the other. But it relieves criticism from the charge of being mere negative fault-finding, and shows it to be a positive and beneficial accomplishment. Classification. 51. Under this head is included Division, and also Partition. An understanding of the process of Classifloation may be got from its application in natural history : I have hitherto spoken as if the lobster were alone in the world, but, EXPOSITION. 87 as I need hardly remind you, there are myriads of other animal organ- isms. Of these, some, such as men, horses, birds, fishes, snails, slugs, oysters, corals, and sponges, are not in the least like the lobster. But other animals, though they may differ a good deal from the lobster, are yet either very like it, or are like something that is like it. The cray- fish, the rock lobster, and the prawn, and the shrimp, for example, how- ever different, are yet so like lobsters, that a child would group them as of the lobster kind, in contradistinction to snails and slugs ; and these last again would form a kind by themselves, in contradistinction to cows, horses, and sheep, the cattle kind. But this spontaneous grouping into " kinds " is the first essay of the human mind at classification, or the calling by a common name of those things that are alike, and the arranging them in such a manner as best to suggest the sura of their likenesses and unlikenesses to other things. Those kinds which include no other subdivisions than the sexes, or various breeds, are called, in technical language, " species." The Eng- lish lobster is a species, our cray-fish is another, our prawn is another. In other countries, however, there are lobsters, cray-fish, and prawns, very like ours, and yet presenting sufficient differences to deserve dis- tinction. Naturalists, therefore, express this resemblance and this di- versity by grouping them as distinct species of the same " genus." But the lobster and the cray-fish, though belonging to distinct genera, have many features in common, and hence are grouped together in an assem- blage which is called a " family." More distant resemblances connect the lobster with the prawn and the crab, which are expressed by put- ting all these into the same "order." Again, more remote, but still very definite, resemblances unite the lobster with the wood-louse, the king-crab, the water-flea, and the barnacle, and separate them from all other animals ; whence they collectively constitute the larger group or " class," Q-ustacea. But the Cfnistacea exhibit many peculiar features in common with insects, spiders, and centipedes, so that these are grouped into the still larger assemblage or "province" Artieulala; and, finally, the relations which these have to worms and other lower animals are expressed by combining the whole vast aggregate into the " sub-king- dom " of Annulosa.—Uvxij^Y (vi.), p. 101. In other words, we include all the common English lob- sters in one species, the American lobsters in another spe- cies ; all the species of lobster in the world we sum up in the genus Lobster ; the genus lobster and the genus cray- fish we sum up in the family Homaridse; this and kindred 88 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. families we sum up in the wder Decapods ; this and kin- dred orders we sum up in the class Crustacea ; and so on until we reach the sub-kingdom of Annulosa. Division is classification reversed. Thus we divide the animal kingdom into sub-kingdoms, each sub-kingdom into provinces, each province into classes, each class into orders, and so on until we reach the species. With spe- cies, classification and division proper end ; we have only- varieties and individuals left. Partition is the breaking up of an individual into its component parts. Thus a horse may be partitioned (dis- sected) into its bony skeleton, muscles, internal organs, outward covering (hair), etc. The species " horse," i. e., the ordinary domestic horse, is classified in one and the same genus with the ass and the zebra. In loose popular language " divide " and " division " are very frequently used when " partition " is really meant. This is much to be regretted, but the habit can scarcely be overcoine now. At all events, the young reader should learn to appreciate thoroughly the fundamental difiference between partition and classification-division. In science, biological or physical, the criteria for classify- ing and dividing are in nature itself ; they may therefore be determined exactly and applied rigorously. In ex- pounding them we must give them as we find them, with- out altering or abridging. Thus, Tait, discussing the avail- able sources of terrestrial energy, classifies them as : First (potential). 1. Fuel (including wood, coal, zinc, for galvanic battery, etc.). 2. Food of animals. 3. Ordinary water-power. 4. Tidal water-power. Second (kinetic). 1. Winds. 2. Currents (ocean-cur- rents). 3. Hot springs and volcanoes. He then adds cautiously : There are other very small sources known to us, exceedingly small; but these I have named include our principal resources. — Tait : Recent Advances, vii. p. 160. Having thus classified them, he proceeds to show that EXPOSITION. 89 almost all are to be traced back to solar radiation. The conclusion is that terrestrial energy, all but a very small part, is due to the rays of the sun. 52. Cross-Division. — In matters of human invention and in purely spiritual matters rigorous classification, like rigorous definition, becomes difficult and almost impossi- ble; e. g., the government of the United States is divided into three factors : legislative, executive, judicial. But, in- asmuch as the chief executive, the President, has also, by virtue of his veto, a direct share in law-making, he must be classified — to that extent — with Congress. On the other hand, the Senate, through its right of rejecting presidential appointments, has a share in executing the law. Still fur- ther, the Senate and House, through the right of impeach- ment, are invested with judicial functions. This overlapping of division-lines is technically called Cross-Division. The tendency to cross-division exists in all classification which does not rest upon scientific criteria. The young reader can test this for himself. If he is a member of a large school, let him classify all the scholars. He may group them by school classes, in alphabetical or numerical order ; he may group them according to sex, if the school is mixed ; he may group them according to scholarship, into poor, fair, good ; or into boarders and day-scholars. These several groupings would cross each other. The reader can further test his ability to classify, by grouping the persons of his acquaintance, the books that he may see in a library, the studies that he may pursue. Gbnbeal Statement. By general statement is here meant the setting forth of a general phenomenon, law, relation, or idea. 53. General Phenomenon. — A very good statement of one is this: H» 90 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BEETOBIC. But sound, like light, may be reflected several times in succession, and as the reflected light under these circumstances becomes gradually feebler to the eye, so the successive echoes become gradually feebler to the ear. In mountain regions this repetition and decay of sound pro- duces wonderful and pleasing effects. Visitors to Killamey wUl remem- ber the fine echo in the Gap of Dunloe. When a trumpet is sounded at the proper place in the gap, the sonorous waves reach the ear in suc- cession after one, two, three, or more reflections from the adjacent clifis, and thus die away in the sweetest cadences. There is a deep cul-de-sac, called the Ochsenthal, formed by the great cliflls of the Engelhorner, near Eosenlaui, in Switzerland, where the echoes warble in a wonderful manner. The sound of the Alpine horn also rebounding from the rocks of the Wetterhorn or the Jungfrau, is in the first instance heard roughly. But by successive reflections, the notes are rendered more soft and flute- like, the gradual diminution of intensity giving the impression that the source of sound is retreating further and further into the solitudes of ice and snow. — Tyndall : Sound (i.), p. 17. A remarkable phenomenon of insect-life is this : This remarkable instinct was first discovered in the Formica (Poly- erges) rufescens by Pierre Huber, a better observer even than his cele- brated father. This ant is absolutely dependent on its slaves ; without their aid, the species would certainly become extinct in a single year. The males and fertile females do no work of any kind, and the workers or sterile females, though most energetic and courageous in capturing slaves, do no other work. They are incapable of making their own nests, or of feeding their own larvae. When the old nest is found in- convenient, and they have to migrate, it is the slaves which determine the migration, and actually carry their masters in their jaws. So ut- terly helpless are the masters, that when Huber shut up thirty of them without a slave, but with plenty of the food which they like best, and with their own larvae and pupae to stimulate them to work, they did nothing ; they could not even feed themselves, and many perished of hunger. Huber then introduced a single slave (F. fusca), and she in- stantly set to work, fed and saved the survivors ; made some cells and tended the larvae, and put all to rights. — Darwin : Origin of Species, oh. viii. p. 216. The general phenomena of man's social and spiritual life are far more difficult to state fully and accurately. The difficulty is twofold. First, the facts and data upon EXPOSITION. 91 which to generalize are very hard to get. Second, we are apt to approach such questions in a spirit of prejudice. The historian, for instance, is apt to sympathize with one of two conflicting parties in the past because of its resemblance, real or assumed, to his own party in the present. There is even a third source of error. In writing that is literary rather than scientific the writer is often de- sirous of writing effectively, as it is called. He seeks to produce by his manner a deep impression on the reader, and in so doing often overstates, sometimes even mis-states, his facts. The following presentation of literary Bohemia in the first half of the eighteenth century is an example : As every climate has its peculiar diseases, so every walk of life has its peculiar temptations. The literary character, assuredly, has always had its share of faults : vanity, jealousy, morbid sensibility. To these faults were now superadded the faults which are commonly found in men whose livelihood is precarious, and whose principles are exposed to the trial of severe distress. All the vices of the gambler and of the beggar were blended with those of the author. The prizes in the wretched lottery of book-making were scarcely less ruinous than the blanks. If good fortune came, it came in such a manner that it was almost certain to be abused. After months of starvation and despair, a full third night or a well-received dedication filled the pocket of the lean, ragged, unwashed poet with guineas. He hastened to enjoy those luxuries with the images of which his mind had been haunted while he was sleeping amidst the cinders and eating potatoes at the Irish ordinary in Shoe Lane. A week of taverns soon qualified him for another year of night-cellars. Such was the life of Savage, of Boyse, and of a crowd of others. Sometimes blazing in gold-laced hats and waistcoats; sometimes lying in bed because their coats had gone to pieces, or wearing paper cravats because their linen was in pawn ; some- times drinking Champagne and Tokay with Betty Careless ; sometimes standing at the window of an eating-house in Porridge Island, to snufi' up the scent of what they could not aflTord to taste : they knew luxury ; they knew beggary ; but they never knew comfort. — Macaitlay : Bos- well's Johnson. There is undoubtedly much truth in the above. But every thoughtful student will suspect that it is also highly overwrought. Overstatement is, in fact, the prevalent 92 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIC. blemish in Macaulay's method. Matthew Arnold touches upon it lightly but firmly when he says : I remember hearing Lord Macaulay say, after Wordsworth's death, when subscriptions were being collected to found a memorial of him, that ten years earlier more money could have been raised in Cambridge alone, to do honour to Wordsworth, than was now raised all through the country. Lord Macaulay had, as we know, his own heightened and telling way of putting things, and we must always make allowance for it. — Matthew Arnold : Preface to Wordsworth's Poems. The ability to see clearly and state fairly is a matter of sober temperament and philosophic inquiry rather than of mere knowledge. The following passage illustrates Matthew Arnold's own method, in comparison with Ma- caulay's : One of these [inconveniences] is, certainly in English public life, the prevalence of cries and catchwords, which are very apt to receive an application, or to be used with an absoluteness, which do not belong to tliem ; and then they tend to narrow our spirit and to hurt our practice. It is good to make a catchword of this sort come down from its strong- hold of commonplace, to force it to move about before us in the open country, and to show us its real strength. Such a catchword as this : The state had better leave things alone. One constantly hears that as an absolute maxim ; now, as an absolute maxim, it has really no force at all. The absolute maxims are those which carry to man's spirit their own demonstration with them ; such propositions as : Duty is the law of life; Mam, is morally free, and so on. The proposition : The state had bet- ter leave things alone, carries no such demonstration with it ; it has, there- fore, no absolute force ; it merely conveys a notion which certain people have generalized from certain facts which have come under their ob- servation, and which, by a natural vice of the human mind, they are then prone to apply absolutely. Some things the state had better leave alone, others it had better not. Is this particular thing one of these, or one of those ? — that, as to any particular thing, is the right question. — Matthew Abnold : A French Eton, p. 472. See also A priori, % 74. The following is in a lighter vein : At almost every step in life we meet with young men . . . for whom we anticipate wonderful things, but of whom, even after much and care- ful inquiry, we never happen to hear another word. The effervescence EXPOSITION. 93 of youth and passion, and the fresh glows of the intellect and imagina- tion, endow them with a false brilliancy which makes fools of them- selves and other people. Like certain chintzes, calicoes, and ginghams, they show finely in their first newness, but cannot stand the sun and rain, and assume a very sober aspect after washing-day. — Hawthorne: Seven Qahles, ch. xii. 54. Expository Description. — Attention was called in § 46 to generalized description. The generalizing process may be carried to such length that the composition ceases to be description, and becomes exposition. Irving's paper entitled " John Bull," in the Sketch-Book, is an instance. The following passage will suffice for illustration : John Bull, to all appearance, is a plain, downright, matter-of-fact fel- low, with much less of poetry about him than rich prose. There is little of romance in his nature, but a vast deal of strong natural feeling. He excels in humor more than in wit ; is jolly rather than gay ; melan- choly rather than morose ; can easily be moved to a sudden tear, or sur- prised into a broad laugh ; but he loathes sentiment, and has no turn for light pleasantry. He is a boon-companion, if you allow him to have his humor and to talk about himself, and he will stand by a friend in a quarrel with life and purse, however soundly he may be cudgelled. — Irvinq : John BvU. A comparison of the above with the descriptions of Queen EHzabeth (§ 38) and Master Simon (§ 12) will make the difference felt. The difference between John Bull and the generalized description of the Punch-dinner (§ 47) is less obvious, but is nevertheless real. The writer of the Punch-dinner is trying to describe one place and one set of persons, but he makes his description applicable to more than one occasion; whereas Irving's John Bull is not intended to be the portrait of any one Englishman, or even to be applicable directly to any one, but is the gen- eralization of all that Irving read and observed of EngHsh character. It is like a composite photograph. 55. General Law.— The process of expounding a gen- eral law is illustrated by Tait's statement, based upon Newton's Prindpia, of the law of gravitation : 94 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. Every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a, force whose direction is that of the line joining the two, and whose magnitude is directly as the product of their masses, and in- versely as the square of their distance from each other. — Tait : Prop, of Matter (vii.), p- HO. The phenomenon is thus measurable, directly according to mass, inversely according to distance. A law of biological science — viz. the measurable circu- lation of the blood — is thus stated : The friction in the minute arteries arid capillaries [connecting the arteries with the veins] presents a considerable resistance to the flow of blood through them into the small veins. In consequence of this resistance, the force of the heart's beat is spent in maintaining the whole of the arterial system in a state of great distention ; the arterial walls are put greatly on the stretch by the pressure of the blood thrust into them by the repeated strokes of the heart; this is the pressure which we spoke of above as blood-pressure. The greatly distended arterial system is, by the elastic reaction of its elastic walls, continually tending to empty itself by overflowing through the capillaries into the venous system ; and it overflows at such a rate, ihatjiist as rmieh blood passes from the arteries to the veins during each systole and its succeeding diastole as enters the aorta at each systole. — Foster: Physiology, ch. iv. §119- 56. In human affairs — politics, history, ethics, literature, etc. — it is far more difficult to formulate general laws. Much, indeed, that is popularly called " law " is in strict- ness no law at all, but merely the statement of a phenom- enon that occurs frequently, perhaps usually, but not in- variably. Thus, not a few of the laws of political econ- omy are nothing more than statements of general tend- encies. They operate "in the long run," but not in every single case. Therefore we cannot count upon them as we count upon the law of gravitation. E. g., men usually buy where they can buy cheapest ; but there are excep- tions; one man may have certain prejudices or habits which lead him to one shop rather than another. The " laws " that we read in our statute-books are not laws, but statutes, i. e., the expression of the will of the EXPOSITION. 95 people through its legislature. And, like every other ex- pression of will, they can be recalled, i. e., repealed. E. g., the Silver Bill was merely the will of Congress that so much silver should be bought every year by the Treasury. When repealed in 1893, it ceased to be the national will. Many of the so-called laws in historical writings are only hasty and untrustworthy generalizations; e. g., the following : Thierry, in Iiis " History of the Gauls," observes, in contrasting the Gaulish and Germanic races, that the first is characterized by the in- stinct of intelligence and mobility, and by the preponderant action of individuals ; the second, by the instinct of discipline and order, and by the preponderant action of bodies of men. — Matthew Arnold: A French Eton, p. 481. Even were the above true, it would scarcely be a law, but rather a general phenomenon. Besides, our knowledge of the Gaulish race is altogether too meagre for such sweep- ing induction. The popular belief in self-betrayal, " murder will out " (see § 68), is set forth by Webster in one of his great im- aginative efforts : Meantime the guilty soul cannot keep its own secret. It is false to itself; or rather it feels an irresistible impulse of conscience to be true to itself. It labors under its guilty possession, and knows not what to do with it. The human heart was not made for the residence of such an inhabitant. It finds itself preyed on by a torment which it dares not acknowledge to God or man. A vulture is devouring it, and it can ask no sympathy or assistance, either from heaven or earth. The secret which the murderer possesses soon comes to possess him ; and, like the evil spirits of which we read, it overcomes him, and leads him whither- soever it will. He feels it beating at his heart, rising to his throat, and demanding disclosure. He thinks the whole world sees it in his face, reads it in his eyes, and almost hears its workings in the very silence of his-thoughts. It has become his master. It betrays his discretion, it breaks down his courage, it conquers his prudence. When suspicions from without begin to embarrass him, and the net of circumstances to entangle him, the fatal secret struggles with still greater violence to burst forth. It must be confessed, it will be confessed ; there is no ref- 96 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND SBETOBIC. uge from confession but suicide, and suicide is confession.— Webster : Murder of White. The following statement of the fundamental law of civil society, although somewhat abstruse, deserves attention : If civil society be the offspring of convention, that convention must be its law. That convention must limit and modify all the descriptions of constitution which are formed under it. Every sort of legislative, judicial, or executory power are its creatures. They can have no being in any other state of things ; and how can any man claim, under the conventions of civil society, rights which do not so much as suppose its existence ? Eights which are absolutely repugnant to it ? One of the first motives to civil society, and which becomes one of its fundamental rules, is, that no man should be judge in his own cause. By this each per- son has at once divested himself of the first fundamental right of an uncovenanted man, that is, to judge for himself, and to assert his own cause. He abdicates all right to be his own governor. He inclusively, in a great measure, abandons the right of self-defence, the first law of nature. Man cannot enjoy the rights of an uncivil and of a civil state together. That he may obtain justice, he gives up his right of deter- mining what it is in points the most essential to him. That he may secure some liberty, he makes a surrender in trust of the whole of it. — Burke: Befleetions, p. 65. 57. General Relation. — By relation is meant here the connection between two things, the influence exerted by one upon the other. Thus, we may speak of the relation between the United States and England, and this relation we may discuss in its bearing upon politics, trade, literature, science, religion, etc. Again, we may discuss the general relation between man and wife, between parent and child ; or the relation between the citizen and the State, or between man and his Creator. The most general relation is that of cause and effect. It exists both in nature and in human society, and when demonstrated in nature it is susceptible of strict scientific exposition. E. g., Tyndall explains the blue of the atmo- sphere to be caused by the reflection of light from ex- tremely minute particles: EXPOSITION. 97 Small in mass, the vastness in point of number of the particles of our sky may be inferred from the continuity of its light. It is not in broken patches, nor at scattered points that the heavenly azure is revealed. To the observer on the summit of Mont Blanc the blue is as uniform and coherent as if it formed the surface of the most close-grained solid. A marble dome would not exhibit a stricter continuity. . . . Everywhere through the atmosphere those sky-particles are strewn. They fill the Alpine valleys, spreading like a delicate gauze in front of the slopes of pine. They sometimes so swathe the peaks with light as to abolish their definition. This year I have seen the Weisshorn thus dissolved in opalescent air. By proper instruments the glare thrown from the sky-particles against the retina may be quenched, and then the moun- tain which it obliterated starts into sudden definition. Its extinction in front of a dark mountain resembles exactly the withdrawal of a veil. It is the light then taking possession of the eye, and not the particles acting as opaque bodies, that interferes with the definition. By day this light quenches the stars ; even by moonlight it is able to exclude from vision all stars between the fifth and the eleventh magnitude. It may be likened to a noise, and the stellar radiance to a whisper drowned by the noise. — Tyndall : FragmffnU (vii.), p. 149. A causal relation in human affairs is less easy to ex- pound. Occasionally, but not often, we may discern a cause without apparent effect. More commonly we are puzzled by an effect without assignable cause. Even where we plainly discern both cause and effect, we may fail to state the ratio very exactly ; e. g., there is, beyond doubt, a connection between poverty and crime, but this relation cannot be formulated as exactly as the corre- sponding relation between bad food and certain kinds of disease. For a specimen of effect without assignable cause the reader may study Webster's speech in the celebrated Ken- niston case. One Major Goodridge alleged that he had been attacked and wounded and robbed of a large sum of money while travelling at night, and charged the Ken- niston brothers and some other men with the crime. Web- ster defended successfully his clients by his sharp cross- examination of Goodridge, in which he involved the latter 7 I 98 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIC. in many contradictions. In his speech to the jury he touched upon the absence of motive: But, on the threshold of the inquiry, every que puts the question, What motive had the prosecutor to be guilty of the abominable conduct of feigning a robbery ? It is difficult to assign motives. The jury do not know enough of his character or circumstances. Such things have happened, and may happen again. Suppose he owed money in Boston, and had it not to pay ? Who knows how high he might estimate the value of a plausible apology ? Some men have also a whimsical ambi- tion of distinction. There is no end to the variety of modes in which human vanity exhibits itself A ^tory of this nature excites the public sympathy. It attracts general attention. It causes the name of the prosecutor to be celebrated as a man who has been attacked, and, after a manly resistance, overcome by robbers, and who has renewed his re- sistance as soon as returning life and sensation enabled him, and, after a second conflict, has been quite subdued, beaten and bruised out of all sense and sensation, and finally left for dead on the field. It is not easy to say how far such motives, trifling and ridiculous as most men would think them, might influence the prosecutor, when connected with any expectation of favor or indulgence, if he wanted such, from his cred- itors. — Webster : Defence of Kennistons. It may be observed that had Webster been trying to con- vict Goodridge, instead of trying to exculpate his clients, he would undoubtedly have failed. It will be noticed that Webster uses the word " motive." This is the correct designation of those impulses which urge a person to the doing of an act. The word " instrument " or " agency " is used to desig- nate the person or thing by means of which a result is produced. A railroad, e. g., is an instrument or means of communication. In writing upon the benefits of railroads we undertake to state the good results that come from using them. We may in Hke manner state the benefits of the telegraph, of the telephone, etc. 58. General Idea.— The word " idea," as here used, in- cludes not only mental impressions (ideas proper), but also mental states and qualities and powers, which cannot be strictly classified and defined. EXPOSITION. 99 E. g., memory, as a faculty of the mind, can be defined by the psychologist. But mercy is not susceptible of definition. Yet that it can be successfully expounded is evidenced by Portia's speech, Merchant of Venice, iv. sc. 1. Two definitions, loose and indirect, of eloquence have been given (§ 50). The following is Webster's weU-known indirect exposition of it : When public bodies are to be addressed on momentous occasions, when great interests are at stake, and strong passions excited, nothing is valuable in speech farther than as it is connected with high intellect- ual and moral endowments. Clearness, force, and earnestness are the qualities which produce conviction. True eloquence, indeed, does not consist in speech. It cannot be brought from far. Labor and learning may toil for it, but they will toil in vain. Words and phrases may be marshalled in every way, but they cannot compass it. It must exist in the man, in the subject, and in the occasion. Affected passion, intense expression, the pomp of declamation, all may aspire to it ; they cannot reach it. It comes, if it comes at all, like the outbreaking of a fountain from the earth, or the bursting forth of volcanic fires, with spontaneous, original, native force. The graces taught in the schools, the costly orna- ments and studied contrivances of speech, shock and disgust men, when their own lives, and the fate of their wives, their children, and their country, hang on the decision of the hour. Then words have lost their power, rhetoric is vain, and all elaborate oratory contemptible. Even genius itself then feels rebuked and subdued, as in the presence of higher qualities. Then patriotism is eloquent; then self-devotion is eloquent. The clear conception, outrunning the deductions of logic, the high purpose, the firm resolve, the dauntless spirit, speaking on the tongue, beaming from the eye, informing every feature, and urging the whole man onward, right onward to his object, — this, this is eloquence ; or rather, it is something greater and higher than all eloquence, — it is action, noble, sublime, godlike action.— Webster : Adams and Jefferson. All such definition and exposition, when examined, will be found to consist either in stating what the idea is not, or in enumerating the effects produced by an indefinable force, or in using an illustrative parallel (analogy). By means of analogy Emerson defines the orator, saying of him that he plays upon his audience as a musician plays 100 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIG. upon the keys of a piano. St. Paul expounds charity negatively : Charity suffereth long and is kind ; charity envieth not ; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil ; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth. — 1 Cor. xiii. 4. 59. Mixed Exposition. — Nearly all expository writing may be put under one or the other of the three 'heads, Definition, Classification, and General Statement, although the dividing-lines are not always to be sharply drawn. Occasionally we meet with a passage that seems too com- posite to be put under any one head; e. g., the passage from Darwin (§ 21). Here the author begins by sketching in the most general way a bit of animated nature. This is partly generalized description, partly the exposition of a group of phenomena. Then follow the laws which ac- count for the phenomena. At last, the moral emotions evoked by the sight of varying life under unvarying laws. The numerous experiments mentioned in works of sci- ence are, in the main, tests or arguments to prove or dis- prove certain views. Yet they are also expositions of the phenomena under examination. Furthermore, by giving each step in the experiment in chronological order they assume the form of narration. PoPULAE Exposition — The Essay. 60. Thus far Exposition has been taken in its strict sense. But the term is also used in a loose popular sense to designate that mode of writing in which the writer un- dertakes to give a summary of his views upon a matter of public interest. In this sense an exposition is practi- cally an Essay ; e. g., Macaulay's essays on the OivU Dis- abilities of the Jews, on Mill, on Bentham, on the Utilitarian Theory of Government. These essays just named are a mix- ture of exposition and argument. The essay on Lord Bacon is in part biography, in part an exposition of Ba- EXPOSITION. 101 con's doctrines. The essay on Chatham is for the most part biographical and historical narrative and description, but with some exposition. The young reader should not let himself be confused by mere words. Thus Tyndall denominated one of his books, Fragments of Science, a " series of detached essays, lectures, and reviews." He used the word here in its original sense of a trial or attempt, and meant thereby that he was trying to give the reader a brief expository outline of the doctrines of physical science. On examination, the book is found to be scientific exposition pure and simple, but adapted to the unprofessional reader. An essay by Macaulay and one by Tyndall are thus quite different in substance ; but in form they are alike to the extent that they are both short popular attempts, rather than complete treatises. Essays of the Macaulay kind may be called, by way of distinction, literary essays. 61. The varieties of Literary Essay are too numerous and too heterogeneous for systematic treatment. Only a few of the most striking can be mentioned here. The Conversational or Personal Essay is a rambling discourse upon men and books and events. It has no principle of unity other than the individuality of the writer. If that is sufficiently important and attractive, we are glad to put ourselves under its influence. For the influence of any strong character helps to form our own character, independently of any positive knowledge we may gain by the way. The writings of Montaigne are often cited as examples of the personal essay. Many of the " Spectator " papers are in this line ; they introduce the personality of Addi- son or Steele, giving the writer's polite jest at the foibles and follies of society. Many of De Quincey's writings, also are personal essays. They acquaint us with his physical and mental traits, with his opinions, his esti- mates of his friends, and theirs of him. In fact, De Quin- 102 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETOBIC. cey found it impossible to exclude himself wholly from anything that he wrote, even from such didactic or critical writings as those upon Rhetoric and Style. The Didactic Essay is an attempt to treat in a popular manner some question of popular interest, e. g., in finance, politics, public morals, jurisprudence, without obtruding the writer's personality. It is substantially exposition, but exposition unsystematic and suited to the comprehen- sion of the unsystematic reader. Most of the magazine and review articles of the present time are of this kind. They are necessarily sketchy, raising many questions, per- haps, but answering only a few, and in general stimulating the reader's curiosity rather than satisfying his desire for knowledge. The Critical Essay is an attempt to apply the canons of art to recent productions, and to inform thereby the reader as to their merits. Much valuable literature has come to us in this shape. Thus Lessing's Hamburg Dramaturgic, which began as a series of semi-weekly criti- cisms upon the plays and actors of the Hamburg stage, soon developed into the most suggestive exposition of dramatic art in general. Matthew Arnold's papers. On Translating Homer, while they dealt nominally with the insufi&ciencies of certain traDslators, old and new, of Homer, in reality developed a theory of the hterary value of Homeric poetry. But usually the critical essay, like the didactic, is too short and too unsystematic to give wholly satisfying information. CHAPTER VIII. ARGUMENTATION. 62. Argumentation is the most difficult kind of com- position. It is, in fact, too difficult for the young and im- mature. To deal with it profitably, one should be familiar with the general principles of Logic, i. e., with the Syllo- gism, the relation of Cause and Effect, Analogy, the nature of Evidence, the processes of Induction and Deduction. At least all these branches are involved in the study of the general theory of argumentation, although in actual life each profession makes especial use of one branch, so that the individual member of the profession acquires technical facUity in the use of the methods peculiar to it. Thus the lawyer, as lawyer, is trained in the (Court) rules of Evi- dence, see § 70 ; his argumentation is chiefly in the line of Analogy, or of deduction from Definitions, see §§ 72, 73. The mathematician uses almost exclusively the process of Deduction from Definitions and Axioms, see § 69. The scientist uses Induction and Deduction, see § 68. In the present work nothing is attempted beyond indi- cating briefly the various classes of arguments, their re- spective values, and the uses to which they may be put. Enough is given to enable the young reader to follow a line of argumentation and estimate approximately its force and its weakness. General Pbatuees. 63. Argumentation is an attempt to prove or disprove a proposition. By proposition is meant an assertion which is or may be drawn up in the form : A. is B., e. g., " Every 103 104 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIC. man is the architect of his own fortune ;" " Men are re- sponsible for their opinions ;" " N. owes M. $5000 on a promissory note ;" " N. is guilty of the crime of having murdered M." Each of the above propositions is an assertion to be es. tablished. The means by which it is established are called Arguments or Proofs. In legal proceedings the term proof is used to designate the testimony of witnesses, documents (such as wills or deeds), and other matters of fact ; while the term argument is restricted to the inferences drawn from such data by the advocate (lawyer) on one side or the other. But in non-legal reasoning this distinction is not observed. Any fact, any form of words, used to es- tablish a proposition, may be called indiscriminately a proof or an argument. The verb "to prove" is used without distinction. In formal logic (and mathematics) the proving of a proposition beyond the possibility of doubt is called a Demonstration. For practical purposes we may classify arguments ac- cording to the principle of Certainty and Probability, or according to the principle of General and Particular. The classes cross each other, see §§ 51, 67. Certainty and Probability. 64. The first step in understanding argumentation is to learn the difference between an argument which establishes the proposition with certainty, and one which establishes it only to a varying degree of probability. The difference is that between science on the one hand, and the great body of historical, political, and legal reasoning on the other. The term Certainty is used here in two senses: a. Absolute certainty, the opposite of which is incon- ceivable, e. g., in mathematics, the demonstration that the angles at the base of an isosceles triangle are equal. b. In physical and biological science, that practical cer- tainty which is obtained through repeated induction and ARGUMENTATION. 105 deduction and tested by repeated experiments until it becomes an unquestioned rule. The difference between scientific argumentation and lit- erary (or legal) is illustrated by the following quotations : If beautiful objects had been created solely for man's gratification, it ought to be shown that before man appeared there was less beauty on the face of the earth than since he came on the stage. Were the beau- tiful volute and cone shells of the Eocene epoch, and the gracefully sculptured ammonites of the Secondary period, created that man might ages afterwards admire them in his cabinet? Few objects are more beautiful than the minute siliceous cases of the diatomacese ; were these created that they might be examined and admired under the higher powers of the microscope ? The beauty in this latter case, and in many others, is apparently wholly due to symmetry of growth. — Dabwin: Origin of Species, ch. vi. Darwin's argument that beauty of form existed prior to, and therefore independent of, the creation of man is ap- parently unanswerable. In the rest of the paragraph he discusses in like manner beauty of color. One of the proofs that radiant heat and radiant light are the same thing, or only variations of the same thing, is thus given: The radiant heat from the sun goes along with the light from the sun, and when you shut one off, — put a screen so as to intercept the one, — the other is intercepted at the same time. In the case of a solar eclipse, you have the sun's heat as long as you see the smallest portion of the sun's disc. The instant the last portion of the disc is obscured, the heat disappears with the light. That shows that the heat and light take not only the same course, but also the same time to come to us. If the one lagged ever so little behind the other, — if the heat disap- peared sooner than the light, or the light sooner than the heat, — it would show that though they both moved in straight lines, the one moved faster than the other ; but the result of observation is that we find, so far as our most delicate measurements show, that heat and light are simultaneously intercepted. — Tait : Becent Advances, ch. viii. The above may be contrasted with Macaulay's attempt to prove that Sir Philip Francis was the author of the "Junius" letters: 106 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIC. Was he the author of the "Letters of Junius" 7 Our own firm be- lief is that he was. The evidence is, we think, such as would support a verdict in a civil, nay, in a criminal proceeding. The handwriting of Junius is the very peculiar handwriting of Francis, slightly dis- guised. As to the position, pursuits, and connections of Junius, the following are the most important facts which can be considered as clearly proved: first, that he was acquainted with the technical forms of the Secretary of State's office ; secondly, that he was intimately acquainted with the business of the War-office ; thirdly, that he, during the year 1770, attended debates in the House of Lords, and took notes of speeches, particularly of the speeches of Lord Chatham ; fourthly, that he bit- terly resented the appointment of Mr. Chamier to the place of Deputy Secretary at War ; fifthly, that he was bound by some strong tie to the first Lord Holland. Now, Francis passed some years in the Secretary of State's office. He was subsequently chief clerk of the War-office. He repeatedly mentioned that he had himself, in 1770, heard speeches of Lord Chatham ; and some of these speeches were actually printed from his notes. He resigned his clerkship at the War-office from re- sentment at the appointment of Mr. Chamier. It was by Lord Holland that he was first introduced into the public service. Now, here are five marks, all of which ought to be found in Junius. They are all five found in Francis. We do not believe that more than two of them can be found in any other person whatever. If this argument does not settle the question, there is an end of all reasoning on circumstantial evidence. — MacaitI/AY : Warren Hastings. So far from settling the question, Macaulay left it where he found it ; perhaps he, rather ohscured than illuminated it, see § 75. Certainly the drift of present opinion is against identifying Francis with Junius.* 65. Without going into the -remote field of history, we may contrast (practical) certainty with mere probability (of a high order) by a slight every- day test. If we observe plants, e. g., potato-vines or tomatoes, growing in straight lines that cross each other at regular intervals, we infer that they have been planted there by human agency, and we could not seriously entertain any other explanation. But when we observe the flag flying over the Capitol at * See London Athensmm, Aug. 11, 25, Sept. 8, 1888; Dec. 14, 1889; June 28, Aug. 9, 1890 ; Jan. 24, 1891 ; March 17, 24, 1894. ARGUMENTATION. 107 Washington and infer that Congress is in session, our in- ference is not certain, but only highly probable. The con- nection between the sitting of Congress and the flying of the flag is merely a variable human custom. It is always possible that the flag-keeper may have run up the flag through mistake, or may have forgotten to lower it after adjournment. Or perhaps the flag is flying in honor of some national holiday. Huxley, one of the acutest of reasoners, has expressed himself in a paragraph which has been much quoted and sometimes misunderstood : So, the vast results obtained by Science are won by no mystical fac- ulties, by no mental processes other than those which are practised by every one of us in the humblest and meanest afiairs of life. A detect- ive policeman discovers a burglar from the marks made by his shoe, by a mental process identical with that by which Cuvier restored the ex- tinct animals of Montmartre from fragments of their bones. Nor does that process of induction and deduction by which a lady, finding a stain of a peculiar kind upon her dress, concludes that somebody has upset the inkstand thereon, differ in any way, in kind, from that by which Adams and Leverrier discovered a new planet. — Huxley (v.), p. 78. This is truth, but not the whole truth. Huxley's chief motive was to strip induction and deduction of the mys- tery in which they had been wrapped, and make it clear that scientific brains do not differ essentially from ordi- nary brains. Yet there is a line of division between Cu- vier and the detective, between the lady with the stained dress and Adams and Leverrier. Cuvier inferred from the osseous structure of the Montmartre fragments that the fossil animal to which they belonged must have had a skeleton of a certain type. But the detective who fits a peculiar shoe into a peculiar foot-print merely fastens sus- picion on the owner of the shoe. It is quite possible that the shoe may have been worn by some one else ; a link is thus wanting in the chain of evidence. The lady guesses, with ofi"-hand plausibility, that the stain on her dress has been made by ink ; to prove that it is ink, she must resort 108 handbook: of composition and bhetobig. to microscopic or chemical analysis. Adams and Leverrier proved the existence of Neptune as the only possibility of reconciling the aberrations of Uranus with the law of gravitation. 66. This question of certainty and probability is not speculative, it has great practical value. Trials at law, involving the property, reputation, and even the lives of men and women, are decided by proofs which are not in themselves perfectly conclusive, but only probable. The direct testimonj' of witnesses may be erroneous or false ; circumstantial evidence, apparently conclusive, may have more than one flaw. Not even the so-caUed confession of an accused person is perfectly conclusive : instances have occurred in which an innocent person has incriminated himself for peculiar reasons. It is precisely because of this element of uncertainty that law-trials exhibit such perplexities. For instance, in the celebrated Kenniston case, see § 57, the Kennistons would probably have been convicted but for Webster's ingenuity in cross-examining the principal witness, Goodrich. The evidence against them seemed so strong that several lawyers declined to undertake the defence. Webster was induced to under- take it only at the last moment, and in response to a strong personal appeal. Matters of legislation and finance also rest upon argu- ments that are far from conclusive. The utmost that can be said in favor of certain proposed measures is that they will probably work well in one country because they have worked fairly well in another. But until they have been actually tested for a number of years we cannot be sure. General and PARTictrLAR. 67. In argumentation we may start from a general and infer a particular ; conversely, we may start from one or more particulars and infer a general. Thus, in the cases given in the beginning of § 65, we start from a particular ABOUMENTATION. 109 phenomenon (peculiar form of growth, flag flying) and infer a general cause (human agency), or an antecedent general condition (Congress in session). On the other hand, when we observe the thermometer at zero we know that the temperature is very low, and we infer from this low temperature (as a cause) that standing water must be freezing (particular phenomenon). If, at the trial of A. for the murder of B., witnesses testify that A. had fre- quently expressed intense hatred of B., we infer from this hatred (as a motive) the probability, greater or less, that he may have committed the murder (particular act). In criminal trials it is usually needful to establish some mo- tive or inducement for committing the offence in question, e. g., jealousy, revenge, desire of money, etc. This neces- sity is due to the popular assumption, see § 69, that a man does not commit a crime without some special motive. Proving the existence of the motive does not directly prove the accused to be guilty, but merely removes the improb- ability arising from the absence of all motive. See re- marks on Webster's defence of the Kennistons, § 57. Observe how these four simple cases exemplify the state- ment (end of § 62) that the two methods of classification cross each other. It is believed that this presentation of arguments ac- cording to the principle of Certainty-Probability and General-Particular will be more intelligible to the young student than the usual classification, viz.. Antecedent Probability, Sign, and Example. Antecedent Probability corresponds in the main to the inference from general to particular ; Sign, to the inference from particular to gen- eral. Example will be treated later, in connection with Analogy, §§ 71, 73. A few terms, frequently used in argumentation, need separate explanation. 110 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. Induction — ^Deduction, 68. Induction is, loosely speaking, the process of infer- ring a general from particulars. But in science the term is employed in a very restricted sense. We speak of sci- entific induction only when the inference amounts to a general law, or a general cause; perhaps also when the inference amounts to what may be called an empiric gen- eral fact. Thus, the law of gravitation, quoted in § 55, is an induction of the highest order. When we see streams and ponds frozen, we infer that the temperature has been below 32°. By Empiric. Fact is meant that two phenom- ena are always found associated, so that when we see one we expect to see the other, although no direct causal re- lation between the two has been established. Thus, in zoology, the presence of occipital condyles is uniformly associated with the presence of mammse and warm red blood, and this general fact is treated as a quasi induction. Hence, when the remains of a new animal are discovered, exhibiting such condyles, the zoologist infers, by deduc- tion, that the animal belonged to the class Mammalia. Deduction is the converse of induction. Given a law, or a cause, we infer particular phenomena previously un- known. Thus Franklin, having proved by induction that electricity and lightning are identical, made the deduction that lightning might be diverted from buildings by using a metal rod. Newton, having established the law of grav- ity (§ 55), made the deduction that the attractive force ex- erted by a sphere equal to the earth in size upon a body outside of it is the same as if the whole mass of the earth were contracted to a point at its centre. That is, the centre of the earth is the starting-point from which to measure. Our confidence in scientific inductions and deductions rests in our ability to verify them by repeated experiments. Newton's law of gravity is put to a practical test every day ARGUMENTATION. Ill in every astronomical calculation. His deduction relating to the centre of the earth was tested by numerous observa- tions upon the movements of the moon. Every lightning- rod is a verification of Franklin's deduction. But deductions from empiric facts are never quite cer- tain in the strictest scientific sense. Fresh discoveries may reveal exceptions. Thus, until 1824, it was supposed that the circulation of the blood was always in one definite and invariable direction : But in that year M. Von Hasselt, happening to examine a transpar- ent animal of the class of Ascidians, found to his infinite surprise that after the heart had beat a certain number of times it stopped and then began beating the opposite way, so as to reverse the course of the cur- rent, which returned by and by to its original direction. — HtrXLEy (v.), p. 86. Another empiric fact is the absence of teeth in birds. This is so constant that until 1872 it was supposed that teeth and feathers never occurred in the same animal. A naturalist, discovering remains of an unknown animal with teeth, would have inferred, prior to 1872, that it could not belong to the class of birds. But in that year Prof. 0. C. Marsh discovered in Western Kansas fossil re- mains of birds with clearly defined teeth, and proposed to constitute them as a sub-class, the Aves Dentatse or Odon- tomithes, in three distinct orders. A further empiric fact, which now promises perhaps to become a genuine induction, is the connection between the Aurora Borealis, magnetic storms, sun-spots, and the move- ments of Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and Mars. Assumption. 69. Much, perhaps the greater part, of argumentation rests ultimately upon assumption. In its highest form an assumption is called an axiom, i. e., a self-evident proposi- tion • e. g.-i that two things . equal to the same thing are 112 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIO. equal to each other, that the whole is greater than a part, that matter is indestructible. Many of the assumptions that we hear in every-day life are the expression of the common experience of men, and vary greatly in their probability. Thus, the proposition that all men are mortal, or the proposition that every man is a mixture of good and bad, that every man is liable to err, etc. Such assumptions are usually called viaxinis. But the popular belief that " murder will out " (see § 56) is scarcely a maxim. It is interesting to study the history of one great polit- ical assumption. The opening sentence of Lincoln's Get- tysburg address runs thus : Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this con- tinent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposi- tion that all men are created equal. The assertion of the Declaration of Independence, that all men were created free and equal, was certainly a much debated proposition until the great war of 1860-65. But now, for American affairs at least, it is a political and legal axiom. Yet, for many other parts of the world, notably ■Africa and some of the East Indies, it is still an open question. Our belief in what we read in books and newspapers is largely an assumption that the writers are truthful and know what they write of. Were we to demand proof of everything that we read, we should come to a stand-still. In law there are various assumptions, sometimes called presumptions, e. g., the rule that a child under seven years of age is incapable of committing crime. This particular presumption is denominated " conclusive," i. e., it does not admit of any argument to the contrary. But the presump- tion that a man accused of crime is innocent until proved guilty is not at all conclusive. It merely amounts to say- ing that the burden of proof rests upon the prosecution. In popular speech presumption is used loosely to desig- ARGVMENTATlOIf. 113 nate an indeterminate amount of probability or improb- ability, e. g., the presumption that snow will fall in New York in winter, but not in New Orleans. In general there is always a presumption against what is not. Thus, until 1866, there was a presumption against the successful lay- ing of an Atlantic cable. Much later there was a like pre- sumption against talking by electricity (telephone). There is still a presumption against flying machines. One legal assumption, or presumption, calls for especial study — viz. the law of Testimony. Testimony and Authority. 70. Testimony is usually classified as an argument from a " sign " (see end of § 66). This view is not philosoph- ical, it fails to discriminate between a statement and our acceptance of it. If we believe what a certain witness says, we accept his statement as a fact, it is to us a fact, as if we ourselves had seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears. And this fact is usually a sign, i. e., an in- dividual fact from which and similar facts we infer a cause or motive. But why do we accept the statement as true ? No theory of the " sign " will give an answer. To find one we must assume that men in general tell the truth, and that this individual witness is peculiarly qualified to tell the truth. Without such assumption there can be no tes- timony. In fact, society itself, we may boldly say, could 'npt subsist without truth-telling; a community of liars would go to pieces. But as testimony rests upon assumption, we are always free to reject it for valid reasons, i. e., we may show that the witness was imperfectly informed, or inaccurate, or even untruthful. The special qualifications of a witness may be summed up under two heads : a. His ability to observe accurately. 6. His disposition to tell truly. 114 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIG. These two qualifications are tested : a. By cross-examining him. 6. By comparing his statements with those of other wit- nesses. Cross-examination proper is possible only in a law-trial. After the witness has testified, in direct examination, in an- swer to questions put to him by counsel for the side that has summoned him, the counsel for the other side cross- examines him. That is, the adverse counsel plies him with questions likely to bring out every defect or inaccuracy in his statements, or to lead him to contradict himself. The following is from the trial of Lord Gordon for trea- son, 1781. The principal witness against the accused was William Hay, who professed to give a fuU and true ac- count of the rioting in the streets of London. When cross-examined by Mr. Kenyon, Hay involved himself in numerous contradictions and absurdities. Thus: Q. How do you know it was the same person you saw in the fields? Were you acquainted with him ? A. No. Q. How, then? A. Why, he looked like a brewer's servant. Q. What, were they not all in their Sunday clothes ? [A previous statement by the witness.] A. Oh ! yes, they were all in their Sunday clothes. Q. Was this man with the flag then alone in the dress of his trade ? A. No. Q. Then how do you know he was a brewer's servant ? — After a long pause, in which the witness seemed to be on the point of running out of court — A. Because there was something particular in the cut of his coat, the cut of his breeches, and the cut of his stockings. — ^Baeeb : Argumenta- tion, p. 115. In addressing the jury Lord Erskine quoted this re- markable break-down, with the caustic comment : " Gen- tlemen, you will not, I am sure, forget, whenever you see a man about whose apparel there is anything particular, to set him down for a brewer's servant." ARO UMENTA TION. 115 In a debated question of history, which may turn upon the accuracy of a statement written by some person long since dead, cross-examination is impossible. The student can only examine the statement minutely, to see if it is consistent with itself at all points, and compare it with the generally accepted data of history. We must admit, once for all, that the sifting of historical evidence is extremely difficult, and that many of its problems will remain un- solved. The present tendency is to reject all tradition and to accept only the recorded statements of persons contem- porary with the events. The general credibility of a witness is enhanced by va- rious circumstances, e. g. : a. In a law-suit, by the gravity of the occasion, and by the taking of a solemn oath, "with heavy penalties at- tached. b. By reputation in the community at large for intelli- gence and honesty. c. By the concurrent testimony of other witnesses. d. By stating something contrary to his own interests. Authority. — Usually a witness testifies only to matters of fact, i. e., to what he has seen or heard. But occasion- ally, even in law-suits, he is called upon for his opinion, e. g., in suits for infringement of patent-rights, in trials for murder by poisoning, etc. Especially in the identification of signatures to legal documents. When the alleged writer of the signature, the proper person to identify it, is dead, some other person familiar with his writing, e. g., a bank- cashier, may be called upon to certify that the signature is in his judgment genuine. Testimony of this kind is technically called expert testi- mony. Authority is more general in its application than expert testimony. It is not restricted to law proceedings. All men are in the habit of resorting to authority. Thus we consult a dictionary for the spelling or meaning of a word, an encyclopaedia for the general facts of a man's 116 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. life, a text-book for the rules and principles of a science. Our acceptance of the authority rests on the assumption that a scholar who has made special studies in the subject is trustworthy. We ourselves have not the time for such special study ; besides, we have no reason for doubting the book. Analogy. 71. Most of the reasoning in the affairs of human life is by way of Analogy. We may regard analogy as a non- scientific practical induction-deduction, or inferring from resemblances. A simple example is this : A. sells to B. on credit ; the ground of his confidence is, perhaps, the cir- cumstance that B. has already paid him several times for similar articles. From this he infers a permanent willing- ness and ability in B., i. e'., a general principle applicable to this particular instance. Or, if A. and B. have not had as yet any dealings, A. may know that B. belongs to a class in the community which is in the habit of paying debts, and apply this general principle. In analogical reasoning certainty is never attainable, but only probability. This should be constantly borne in mind in following political and historical discussions, which are nearly always maintained by arguments based upon analogy. Thus, if we analyze the arguments by which a states- man advocates a given measure, we shall usually find them to turn upon the observation that similar measures have been profitably adopted in a similar condition of affairs in the previous history of his nation, or of some other nation constituted like his. But similarity is not identity. Were the present condition and the previous condition identical (which they never are), the inference would be scientifically conclusive. But as the conditions are only similar, the inference is only one of probability, and this probability becomes higher the closer the similar- ity approximates to identity. ARGUMENTATION. 117 The value of analogy, therefore, depends upon the de- gree of its approximation to identity. To ensure a reason- able degree, two practical rules should be observed : a. Discover as many points of resemblance as pos- sible. b. Examine closely the points of difference and show that they are accidental, i. e., not essential to the present question. These rules are easy to formulate, but they are not easy to apply. History and politics are full of examples of false analogy, due to the violation of a or 6 ; sometimes, of both. That is, the reasoner does not get together enough points of resemblance, or he overlooks points of serious difference. E. g., it is poor reasoning to infer that, because the body suffers when the heart is enlarged, there- fore a nation is enfeebled when the capital city increases rapidly in population. The resemblance between the heart and the city is too shght, too fanciful. It is also false analogy to argue that an absolute government is the best, by comparing it to the control that a father exercises over his children. The weakness lies in overlooking two points of difference : the one, that when we think of a father we really mean a good and wise father, whereas an absolute ruler may be neither good nor wise ; the second, that men are not children. Another weak argument, but much less obvious, is this. To increase the quantity of wheat, coal, iron, etc. in a given community, is to increase the productive capacity of the community ; therefore, to double the amount of gold and silver in circulation is to increase the productive capacity. The argument overlooks at least one funda- mental difference between coal and gold. Coal is of ser- vice only as it is consumed ; the more of it consumed, the greater good to the consumer and to the community. But gold is not consumed ; it merely circulates from hand to hand. Increasing the amount circulated does not increase 118 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIO. the production of other articles, but merely lowers the standard by which they are priced. On the other hand, the argument advanced by Lord Chatham for removing the English troops from America, 1775, is sound : This resistance to your arbitrary system of taxation might have been foreseen. It was obvious from the nature of things, and of mankind ; and, above all, from the "Whiggish spirit flourishing in that country. The spirit which now resists your taxation is the same which formerly opposed loans, benevolences, and ship-money in England; the same spirit which called all England " on its legs," and by the Bill of Eights vindicated the English Constitution ; the same spirit which established the great, fundamental, essential maxim of your liberties, thai no suijea of England should be taxed but by his own consent. The points of resemblance were unmistakable : similarity of character between the Americans and the English, based upon descent ; similarity between the attempts of Charles I. and George III. to extract money by taxation without the consent of the taxed, voted by their representatives ; similarity in the form and methods of resistance in 1642 and 1775. Argumentation in Law. 73. Argumentation in law-proceedings is merely a spe- cial variety of analogy. It consists in applying an old and well-established definition to a new case, or in apply- ing to a new case the principle involved in former cases. Definition.— See § 49. Many legal rights, obligations, and relations have been defined by the law of England and the United States, sometimes by a statute, more often by a series of decisions rendered by the courts in early times. Even where a definition is embodied in a statute, examination frequently shows that the statute has copied or imitated closely some old decision of the courts. Cer- tain of these definitions are so precise as to admit of rigor- ous logical deduction. Especially is this true in the law of real property. Such terms as " estate," " heir," " heir ARGUMENTATION. 119, of the body," " fee simple," " remainder," are applied by the courts with almost mathematical precision. In crimi- nal law also many o£fences have been defined most pre- cisely by statute, such as arson, counterfeiting, burglary, and the like. An instance of the application of an ancient definition is to be found in the well-known trial of Lord Gordon for treason, see § 70. Lord Gordon had assembled an im- mense multitude in St. George's Fields, London, to pro- ceed thence to the Parliament House with a petition for the repeal of a bill in favor of the Catholics. The petition was presented to the House of Lords by Lord Gordon as member, and was rejected. The multitude thereupon be- came disorderly, and, being instigated by professional criminals, attacked and destroyed several Catholic chapels. Things grew rapidly worse, for several days London was in possession of the mob, until the riot was put down by soldiers called in from various military posts. Lord Gordon was arraigned for high treason, and de- fended by Mr. Kenyon and Mr. Erskine. The prosecution contended that any attempt to coerce the legislature by numbers and violence was high treason. This was not disputed. Also that Lord Gordon's overt acts might fairly be construed as such an attempt. It was upon this second point that the case really turned. It was proved by many witnesses that Lord Gordon's acts and language had always been peaceable, that he had entreated the multitude, after presenting the petition, to disperse to their homes. Er- skine, citing the definition of treason given in the statute of Edward III., as consisting either in an attempt to com- pass the death of the king or in levying war against him in his realm, showed that premeditated open acts of violence, hostility, and force were essential to the idea of levying war, as held by previous decisions. Therefore, since the. accused had never advocated nor intended violence, on the con- trary, had urged orily peaceful measures, his acts could 120 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIC. not possibly be construed into treason. And so the jury decided in their verdict. 73. Case-Law.— The larger part of adjudication, espe- cially in civil trials, consists in following the method tech- nically known as case-law. The method is one of Anal- ogy, § 71. E. g., a dispute arises between A. and B. about the ownership of certain property. When the facts have been ascertained by Testimony (see §70), the next step is to get together several cases, already decided, in which the state of facts is similar. From these cases a general principle is elicited, running through them all and deter- mining them all. This principle is then applied to the new case in question. The theory is simple. But to apply it one must have a mind legally trained. There is usually danger of over- looking some fact essential to the analogy. The previous cases may rest, let us say, upon five essential facts, of which only four are found in the present case. Or, con- trariwise, the previous cases may rest upon only four facts, while the present case may embody a fifth fact which gives it a difierent character. Only a legally trained mind is able to perceive clearly what facts are essential. Apart from facts, the untrained mind has the greatest di£Biculty in detecting the general legal principle under- lying a number of cases which are only similar, and not identical. The superficial and minor points of difierence are bewildering. In conclusion it may be said that as Induction and De- duction in science rest upon the assumption (which is not an axiom, see § 69) that nature works with unvarying uni- formity, so the administration of justice rests upon the assumption that courts shall decide uniformly. That is, a legal principle, once adopted and applied in a number of cases, shall be applied to all new cases offering a simi- lar state of facts. The assumption is expressed in the phrase stare decisis, " abide by things decided." ARGUMENTATION. 121 Some Special Terms. 74. A few special terms used in argumentative writing call for explanation: 1. A priori; a posteriori. — By the former of these terms is meant reasoning from general to particular (antecedent probability), see § 67. E. g., seeing the barometer fall, we infer atmospheric disturbance, and from this we conjecture a probable rain-storm. From the well-known disposition of a man we conjecture that he may have committed a certain offence. Frequently a priori is applied as a term of reproach to a would-be argument which assumes a gen- eral rule without attempting to verify it, and then applies it to a particular case. An example is the popular catch- word, " The State had better leave things alone," see § 63. A posteriori is substantially reasoning from particular to general. 2. A fortiori designates an argument which shows that the case in question is stronger or more probable than one already conceded to be sufficiently so. E. g., " If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar : for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen." 1 John iv. 20. In substance the argument is one of analogy, the appli- cation of a general principle. 3. Dilemma. — This consists in showing that a proposi- tion has only two sides, each of which is untenable. E. g., Burke, in attacking the (now abolished) imprisonment for debt in the discretion of the creditor, argues thus : If in- solvency is not a crime, why punish it at all with impris- onment ; if it is a crime, why leave the punishment to the judgment of an irresponsible citizen, the creditor ? Thrown into the form of a Syllogism (§75, 2), the argument would be : Insolvency is either a crime or not a crime. If it is a crime, it should not be punished by the creditor. If it is not a crime, it should not be punished at aU. L 122 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETORIG. 4. Eeductio ad absurdum. — This consists in showing that a general principle, used for establishing a certain proposition, may be used with equal force to prove another proposition clearly absurd. E. g., Sidney, in his Defense of Poesy, combats the argument that poetry should not be tolerated because it has sometimes been used for improper ends, by showing that other arts have been equally abused. Thus medicine, the healing art, has been employed by the poisoner. Therefore, as we do not condemn all doctors because some have been malefactors, so we need not con- demn all poets because some have written immoral poems. In general, the argument from abuse is always exposed to a red/uctio ad absurdum, unless it can be shown that the abuse is inherent in and inseparable from the use. 5. Argumentum ad hominem. — This consists in trying to invalidate an argument by impugning the character of the person advancing it. Usually the attack takes the form of a personal retort, and is, of course, worthless ; e. g., when we object to a proposed reform because the per- son advocating it is not in our opinion a good man. Or when we reject advice because the person giving it is not free from blame. The reform may be salutary, the advice may be sound, for all that. Not infrequently the term is loosely used to designate an appeal to the sympathy of the hearer or reader, rather than to his reason ; e. g., an appeal to national, local, poUt- ical, or religious prejudices. Practical Suggestions. 75. Some of the difficulties encountered in studying argumentative writing may be overcome by observing a few practical hints: 1. Terms. — The greatest care should be taken to ascer- tain the exact meaning of every term essential to the argu- ment. AU writers, old as well as young, are given to using words carelessly. Therefore, since very few words in any ARGUMENTATION. 123 language are wholly free from ambiguity, there is nearly always danger of employing a given word in one sense in one place and in a different sense in another place. ' Al- though many terms cannot be defined (see § 49), it is the duty of the writer to attach, in his mind, a definite and fixed sense to each term, and it is the duty of the reader to ehcit that sense. E. g., if we are discussing the proposi- tion that the annexation of Hawaii would be for the best interests of the United States (conceding the willingness of the Hawaiians to be annexed), we should determine precisely what is meant by annexation. Does it mean in- corporation into the United States as a regular State, or does it mean acquisition of an outlying and dependent territory ? Also, what are the best interests of the United States in such a matter? Another proposition might be this : Theatrical entertain- ments are injurious to morality. What is included under theatrical here ? Only pubhc entertainments for money ? Or private amateur theatricals, as well ? Are operatic per- formances included ? And what morality is in question ? That of the spectators, of the actors, or both ? 2. Syllogism. — Deductive reasoning is reducible to the form of a syllogism, i. e., two propositions, technically called premises, and a conclusion. As soon as an argu- ment is thrown into this shape it may be analyzed logic- ally, and its truth or error becomes self-evident. One form of syllogism is this : All A. is B. ; C. is A. ; therefore C. is B. ; or, all men are mortal, John is a man, therefore John is mortal. The forms of the syllogism are too numerous ■ and complicated to be treated here. But those most in use are easily understood. For an example see § 131. The reader should try to reduce every argument that he reads to a syllogistic form, if possible. For it is in this form that he can most readily detect any lurking error. Thus : Interference with another man's business is illegal ; underselling is an interference with another man's busi- 124 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. ness ; therefore underselling is illegal. Every sound mind will perceive at a glance that here the term interference is used'in two diiFerent senses. Such a blunder in syllogizing is technically called a fal- lacy. Nearly all fallacies appear absurd when presented thus bluntly. But in actual writing they are concealed, even from the writer himself, in the mass of sentences and paragraphs. An argument from Macaulay has been cited (§ 64). Certain of his statements of fact are now rejected, notably the identification of handwriting. Disregarding this, and considering only the five other points, we may draw them up syllogistically thus: Junius must have combined [m his own person'] all these points ; Francis did so combine them ; therefore Francis is Junius. But Ma- caulay overlooked and failed to prove the implication of the italicized clause, in his own person, although it is an essential part of his major premise. Was it necessary that the unknown writer signing himself Junius should have derived all his knowledge of facts and forms from his own experience ? Modern investigators say not. The facts and forms might have been communicated to him by other men. Indeed, the present hypothesis seems to be that Junius was merely the obscure mouthpiece of other and greater men, who supplied him with the necessary data. PART II. EXPRESSION IN GENERAL. 76. The individual manner in which a truly able writer expresses himself is called his "style." Thus we speak of the style of Shakespeare, of Tennyson, of Macaulay, of Carlyle. This manner is so individual, so peculiar, that it cannot be taught, nor even defined, though it may be recognized and appreciated. Being the outcome of a mature mind, it presupposes definite principles and aims in life, a diligent study of men and things and books, and a no less diligent practice of the art of writing. If, by eliminating the individual element, we try to learn the principles and rules which have been followed by good writers in general, we deal no longer with Style proper, but with Style in a lower sense ; to use a safe term, we deal with Expression. The principles and rules of Expression, taken in their totahty, are numerous, compli- cated, and do not admit of rigorous classification. In fact, the study of expression is endless, as will be evident to every one who glances at the treatises upon rhetoric which have been written since the days of Aristotle. Nev- ertheless, from the tangle of so-called systems we may dis- engage two general truths. The one is, that poetry has its own modes of expression, differing perceptibly from those of prose. To quote Coleridge's aphorism, poetry has a different logic from prose. Therefore it is scarcely feasible, certainly inadvisable, to discuss the modes of poetry in a book designed for young writers of prose. The other truth L» 12S 126 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETORIO. is this : Although many qualities may be desirable in prose — e. g., such qualities as wit, humor, pathos, etc. — there are only three general qualities indispensable in all prose. These are Clearness, Force, Propriety. That is to say, we have a right to demand of every writer that he shall express himself clearly, forcibly, and in good taste. More than this we may not demand, except of those who aspire to be authors by eminence. The present work, ac- cordingly, treats only of these three qualities. CHAPTER IX. CLEARNESS. 77. Clearness as a feature of the general structure of a composition has been already touched upon in the chap- ters upon Paragraphing. Thus clearness wiU result from the careful observance of the rules of Unity and Sequence. See §§ 3, 5, and extracts there quoted. See also §§ 8-13 on the Echo, Connectives, Topic-Sentence, etc. as devices for securing clearness, and §§ 17, 18 on Paragraph-Echo and Link-Paragraph. In the present chapter attention is called to clearness as resulting from the right choice of words and from the right framing of simple sentences. 1. Single Words. 78. In a language so composite as English the difficulty of choosing our words rightly is very great — perhaps greater than in any other language. We have in the last four or five centuries changed our pronunciation thor- oughly; we have changed our spelling almost as much. We have confounded in sound and in form words differ- ing widely in origin and in meaning. We have lost many native words that would have been intelligible from their mere form, and have replaced them with foreign words which, to the uneducated, are almost, if not quite, unin- telligible. E. g., we pronounce aisle, isle, island, with the same long t-vowel. The first comes from the French aUe, " wing," a word without s ; the second, from the French tie (eariier isle), in whicb the s has long been silent; the third is an 127 128 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. old English word without s, originally l-land (Ig-land), " water-land." Similarly, boU, " ulcer," is of English ori- gin ; boil, " to heat," is French. Compare also curry, the East Indian name of a sauce, with the verb to curry a horse. Sometimes the same word is used in opposite senses ; e. g., mortal, as in " mortal man," certain to die, and " mortal wound," certain to kill ; or " capital punish- ment " and " a capital speech." Nervous sometimes means " strong," sometimes " weak." The naturalist hesitates to speak of " big-brained " and " little-brained " animals, and prefers the terms madrencephalous and micrencephalous. To account for the oddities of our English vocabulary is the task of the philologist. The ordinary writer and reader can only accept the facts and make the best of them. To achieve even moderate success in the ready and correct use of English words, one must be painstak- ing and persevering. A few practical suggestions will be of help. 79. Use of Dictionaries. — See Definition, § 49. At the present day some good dictionary should be always access- ible to every scholar, and the constant use of one should be required of every scholar. The teacher who suffers his class to use words in ignorance of their meaning, or to pass them over unheeded in reading, neglects the plainest duty of the profession. In a general way it may even be asserted that the chief aim of education is to teach the correct use of words. For it is through words that the greater part of our knowledge is given and received. The study of one word at a time is necessarily slow. The acquisition of a vocabulary may be hastened by studying words in groups and noting the effect of differ- ent prefixes and suffixes. E. g., there are such groups as envi-ous, envi-able; contemptu-ovs, contempt-ible ; master-ful, master-ly ; un-interested, dis-interested ; ac-ddent, in-cident; luxurirous, luxuri-ant. Every teacher should find it both easy and profitable to arouse the scholar's attention to CLEARNESS. 129 these and similar groups. There are also special books for the study of prefixes and suffixes and groups of words from a common stem. 80. Good Reading. — The surest way to learn the cor- rect use of words Hes in the conscientious reading of good literature. At one time, indeed, this was the only way. Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, had no dictionaries Uke ours. They acquired their vocabulary chiefly through reading and conversation. In their day, it is true, the language had not yet been swelled with its present mass of scientific terms ; it was more restricted, more within the grasp of a person of average education. We who have larger needs cannot dispense with dictionaries. But we still can do, in a measure at least, as the earlier writers did: we can learn our literary words and phrases from our predecessors as they learned their words from their predecessors. Words which we acquire directly from a good writer make a definite impression and are retained in the mem- ory. They have a vitality which is lost in the columns of a dictionary. When we repeat them in our writing we feel that we are safe, because we are acting under the best guidance. The student should note the significance of Macaulay's words, e. g., in § 3, " domineering passion ; " holdly and fairly investigating ;" " inclined to scepticism and fond of paradox " (an exact description of one side of Johnson's character). Attention has already been called to De Quincey's choice of words, § 6. In Hawthorne, § 8, note the " tramp of his ponderous boots ;" " response ;" " choleric in temperament." In Coleridge, § 9, note " perti- nent " (also used by him, § 3) ; " linked strain ;" " adher- ing." In Burke, § 9, note " conservation and correction ;" " dissolve the fabric " (an echo of Prospero's speech. Tem- pest, iv. 1). In the first passage from Irving, § 12, note "redoubtable;" "rat of a pony;" "rusty tail;" "' times." 9 .!> 130 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETORIO. Through attentive reading we learn to master not only- single words, but also peculiar phrases. An instance is the expression to curry favor. Here no other noun can be substituted ioi favor. To write, " Johnson went to London to curry friends there," is to make one's self ridiculous. The phrase means simply to gain the favor of a person by flattery. Its history is very curious. To read thoroughly a few books by good authors is bet- ter than to read a large amount carelessly and without dis- crimination. Irving's Rip Van Winkle, Sleepy HoUow, and the Christmas papers, one of Scott's romances, one of Hawthorne's, one by Dickens, an essay or two by Ma- caulay, will, if thoroughly studied, supply a vocabulary ample enough for the needs of the ordinary prose-writer. Irving and Hawthorne, being Americans and .writing usually upon American subjects, are peculiarly suited to American pupils. Their words and phrases are clear and simple and chosen with scrupulous care. 81. Blunders in the Use of Words. — To mention and correct all the blunders possible in the use of English words would be an endless task. But attention should be called to certain classes of blunders. (1) Using a word which does not properly bear the meaning which the writer wishes to convey. E. g., trans- pire, in the sense of " happen." The verb transpire right- fully means " to become known." Aggravate, which means " to make worse " — as when we say that a person aggra- vates an offence by making a lame excuse for it — is inis- used in the sense of " provoke, irritate," as in the phrase, " his manner was aggravating." Liable, which means ex- posed to a certain unpleasant contingency, is misused in the sense of " likely," as in the phrase, " Shall I be liable to find him at home?" Demean' is misused in the sense of " degrade, debase," by confusion with the English ad- jective " mean ;" in reality it comes from the French de- CLEARNESS. 131 mener, and properly means " to conduct one's self," either badly or weU according to the accompanying adverb. To stop, in the sense of to stay, is a common blunder. Properly used, to stop means to arrest a certain movement ; e. g., " Stop talking !" " I stopped at your oflBce on my way up town." To stay means to remain in one place or condition for a considerable time ; e. g., " I stayed a month in London," but " I stopped over night in Albany on my way to Chicago." The following expressions are not cor- rect : " He is stopping away from home." " Where are you slopping f" (i. e., where are you rooming, in which hotel are you ? The older form was : Where are you lodged ? But this sounds archaic. Where are you staying? is better than Where are you stopping f) (2) Confounding words which have some resemblance and come from the same stem, but differ in meaning. E. g., reverend, meaning entitled to veneration, and rever- ent, paying veneration to; relic, a remnant, a memorial, and relict, a woman whose husband is dead, a widow. The confusion of expect and suspect is almost chronic in Amer- ica ; one hears it from the lips of persons otherwise well educated. Yet the difference is marked. Expect means to look forward to something as likely to happen in the fu- ture ; suspect, to conjecture the existence of something in the present or the past. Thus, " I expect him to arrive at three o'clock ;" but, " He is, I suspect, not diligent." 06- seroation is sometimes confounded with observance; accepta- tion with acceptance. (3) Ambiguous Words. — A truly ambiguous word is one which has two distinct meanings, coming from different sources and coinciding in form. There are not many such words in the language. One is curry, mentioned in §§ 78, 80. Another is defer, meaning " to submit to," from the Latin de-ferre, and defer " to put off," from dis-ferre. Thus we say, " I defer to your judgment in this matter," and " I will at your request, defer making the attempt for the 132 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. present." A third is let. The Anglo-Saxon Ixtan, "to permit " (compare modern German lasseri), and the Anglo- Saxon lettan, " to hinder " (compare modern German ver- letzen), have coalesced in our modern English. But the " hinder " verb is now almost obsolete ; it survives in the law phrase " without let or hindrance," in Hamlet's speech (i. sc. 5), " Unhand me, gentlemen ; By heaven, I'll make a ghost of him that lets me," and in the lawn-tennis term let, applied to a served baU that strikes the top of the net in passing into the receiving court. Usually a so-called ambiguous word is one which started with only one primary meaning, but has devel- oped in the course of time many secondary meanings, some of which are liable to confusion. An example is overlook. We overlook a person in the sense of watching him closely ; we also overlook a person in the sense of fail- ing to see him at all. Another is money, used sometimes in the sense of coin or its paper equivalent, sometimes in the sense of credit, loans, etc. When the stock-market reports money as scarce, the meaning is that borrowers have difficulty in finding lenders ; the amount of actual money — i. e., coin, or bank-notes — in the country may not have diminished at all. Theory, which properly means the formal summing of all that we actually know upon a subject (see Coleridge, § 3), has acquired " the vulgar sense of a mere fiction of the imagination," a visionary scheme or untried project. Many undefinable terms (see §§ 49, 50) are used so in- cessantly and so carelessly that the reader is often puzzled to catch the writer's sense. Among such terms are nature, liberty, democratic, republican, radical, conservative, etc. In writing, one should attach a definite meaning to every in- definable term, and adhere to that meaning throughout the composition. 82. Precision. — This is clearness intensified to the ut- inost. We are precise when, instead of using a word OLEABNESS. " 133 wEich might convey our meaning fairly well, we use a word which conveys it absolutely, so that nothing can be added or subtracted. Precision is all-important in scien- tific and technical writing. Each branch of science has its own set of terms, which are used as rigorously as the mathematician uses his algebraic signs. E. g., an ordinary writer may use the word heart-beats, but the physiologist uses systole and diastole (see Foster, § 55). In ordinary writing hole or opening would be good enough, but the anatomist uses the terms perforation and foramen. Note also mammee, placental embryo, callosities, in Huxley, § 49. Even in writing which is for the general rather than for the professional reader precision is a desirable quality. Yet writers of high rank differ not a httle in this respect. Among the poets Byron and Scott are less precise than Wordsworth and Shelley, Longfellow and Whittier less precise than Lowell and Bryant. Among prose-writers Macaulay is less precise than Carlyle and De Quincey, Irving and Addison than Hawthorne and George Eliot. Precision is sometimes necessary, and is always desir- able, provided it be not misapplied or carried to excess. It is necessary in writing professionally upon a professional subject. E. g., throwing is generally enough, but in de- scribing a ball-game we must distinguish throwing from pitching. Usually sword is sufficient, but in certain situ- ations we should have to specify broadsword, or sabre, or cutlass, etc. Usually it is enough to call the earth round; to call it spherical is to approach precision ; but to be truly precise, we should describe it as a sphere flattened at the poles. One general caution may be given. Do not be- precise out of place; i. e., when writing upon a non-technical subject do not use technical terms which you cannot as- sume to be readily intelligible to the ordinary reader. For if the reader is forced to puzzle out the meaning, he will probablj' look upon the writer as obscure. E. g., De Quin- M 134 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIC. cey writes : " In the twinkling of an eye I came to an oda- mantine resolution." The adjective has here a very precise shade of meaning, but this nicety is lost upon nearly every one of De Quincey's readers. Unalterable or not to be shaken would have been more practical. Occasionally the most precise language is justifiable for an ordinary event. Thus the crowd gathered around a dog-fight is described as: A crowd annular, compact, and mobile, a crowd centripetal, having its eyes and its heads all bent downwards and inwards to one common Here the use of such exact terms produces an intention- ally ludicrous effect. 2. The Sentence. 83. A sentence is clear when the order of words and phrases is such that the reader has no difficulty in follow- ing the movement of the writer's thought. Nearly two thousand years ago, Quintilian uttered the dictum: "It is not enough to be understood ; make sure that you cannot possibly be misunderstood."* Unfortunately, the dictum is only an exhortation. It is not a working rule : it fails to teach us how to make ourselves clear. The quality of clearness, so desirable and so valuable, is to be obtained only at the price of close thinking and incessant self- correction. In order to make self-correction most effective, the writer must acquire the habit of criticizing his own writing as if it were the work of another person — some- thing in which he is to find an error at every turn. Pope's adage, reversed, would be a safe motto : Whatever is, is wrong. Self-correction is literally justice without mercy. Usually there is no serious difficulty in arranging the * A free rendering of the Latin: Non ut inteUegere possit, sed ne omnino poBSit non intellegere, curandum.— vili. oh. li. CLEARNESS. 135 cardinal words of the sentence — i. e., the noun-subject, the verb, and the noun-object. The difficulty occurs in placing those words and phrases which modify or qualify the main assertion, and in the use of pronouns. 84. Pronouns. — Since a true pronoun is a substitute for a noun, the logic of grammar demands that the noun for which the pronoun is substituted, the antecedent, should be the noun immediately preceding the pronoun. Any other reference is faulty. K g. : Thus I have given you my opinion, as well as that of a great major- ity of both houses here, relating to this weighty affair ; upon which I am confident you may securely reckon. The which refers grammatically to affair, but the writer (Swift) intended it to refer to opinion. He would have escaped the blunder by using the phrase upon which opinion. Two other words occur to me which are very commonly mangled by our clergy. One of these is covetous and its substantive covetousness. These refers grammatically to clergy; in sense, to wards. The change to one of these words would have made every- thing clear. The farmer went to his neighbor and told Aim that his cattle were in his field. What are the antecedents of the italicized words ? Pre- sumably the cattle are the neighbor's and the field is the farmer's. But grammatically the field also is the neigh- bor's. John found the key, locked the door, and went away, putting il in his pocket. Put the door in his pocket ? The pronoun it is often used without sufficient regard to its different functions. These are three : * * We may even add a fourth, the impersonal object it; e. g. : Come, and trip it as you go On the light fantastic toe.— Milton: L' Allegro. 136 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIO. 1. The impersonal subject ; e. g., It rains. 2. It used pleonastically at the beginning of the sen- tence ; e. g., It is a true saying, that, etc., which is the same as, The saying is true, that, etc. 3. It referring to a definite antecedent ; e. g., I have read the book and like *<• We should be on our guard against using it in more than one of these functions in the same sentence ; e. g. : Quinine is a powerful tonic ; it (2) is best not to use it (3) too freely. The sentence may be amended in various ways ; e. g., Qui- nine is a powerful tonic, and should not be used too freely. Or, Quinine, etc. ; it should not be used too freely. Or, We should not use it, etc. Frequently it is used as if there were an antecedent, when in reality there is none expressed. E. g. : Whenever the queen travels, it is duly announced in the newspapers. Here we should say, the event, or the fact, is announced. 85. Who, which ; that.— Of late years, American text- books of grammar and rhetoric have advanced the doc- trine that who and which are to be used only when the sense is co-ordinative ; when the sense is restrictive, that is to be preferred. The relative pronoun is co-ordinative when it is equivalent to a conjunction plus a demonstra- tive pronoun.* E. g. : But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. Here which is co-ordinative, equivalent to and. this (life). The peace that was now made, which is known as the peace of West- phalia, made some important changes in Europe. Here that is restrictive, defining the particular peace; which is co-ordinative. Further examples are : The train that has just passed is the limited. (Eestrictive.) Your train, which is the limited, is one hour late. (Co-ordinative.) * See Genung, Practical Elements of Bhetoric, p. 127. GLEABNESS. 137 He gave a reward to the man that brought the news. (Eestrictive.) The man, who had been standing all this while, fell to the ground. (Co-ordinative.) The advocates of the above doctrine admit several ex- ceptions. Thus, if the demonstrative that is used in the antecedent clause, it should not be used in the relative clause; e. g., That book which I lent you. Nor should that be used after a preposition in the relative clause ; e. g., The book of %ohich I have been speaking. . This distinction between who or which and that, although it is insisted upon by teachers of high authority, is not sustained by the practice of the best prose- writers of this century in England. . E. g. : Some domineering passion which prevented him from boldly and fairly investigating. — Macattlat, g 3. The storm which I had outlived, ... the premature sufferings which I had paid down.— De Quincey, § 6. Persons who owed as little as himself to education. — Macauiat, ? 8. On grounds which, in sincerity, you believe to be true. — De Quin- cey, \ 10. Laud was the only species of property which, in the old time, carried any respectability with it. — Colerid&e, ? 15. The only guest who is certain . T . to find his way. — Hawthorne, ?18. Chatham sleeps ... in a spot which has ever since been appropriated to statesmen. — Macaulay, g 21. But there is another memorial of Edgar Tryon, which bears a fuller record, etc. The man who has left such a memorial, etc.— Geoegb Eliot, ? 21. The most exalted object which we are capahle of conceiving. — Dak- win, § 21. The prevalence of cries and catchwords whixh are very apt to receive an application, or to be used with an absoluteness, which do not belong to them. It merely conveys a notion which certain people have generalized from certain facts.- Matthew Arnold, § 53. M* 138 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIO. The above examples indicate a marked, and perhaps a growing, tendency to favor who and which, and to restrict that to the office of a demonstrative pronoun. As for the assumed need of clearness in discriminating between who or which and that, it does not appear to have occurred to Macaulay, De Quincey, Coleridge, George Eliot, Matthew Arnold. The only prominent writer who seems to favor that is Carlyle ; perhaps his use of it is a Scotticism. The general device for designating a co-ordinative rela- tive clause is to enclose it in commas (see § 131). E. g. : My father, who was a young man at the time and knew some of the persons involved, has often told me this story. A restrictive relative clause need not be thus punctuated, and is not, according to the practice of the best proof- readers. E. g. : Poems are separated one from another which possess a kinship of sulgect or of treatment far more vital and deep than the supposed unity of mental origin which was Wordsworth's reason for joining them with others. — Matthew Arnold : Poems of Wordsworth, Preface, p. xii. 86. Modifiers. — Under this head are here included not only adverbs proper but phrases expressive of time, place, manner, and the like. The following are constant sources of confusion: Only (not only — but also); at least; at all events; either — or; than (not adverbial expressions, but treated here for convenience). Only is properly placed immediately before the word or clause which it qualifies ; e. g. : He is only eighteen. He arrived only yesterday. Only he knows of this. This position is the proper one for not only— hut also : The lightning struck not only the tree but also the bam. But in a very simple sentence only — modifying the subject CLEARNESS. 139 or the object— may follow it without causing confusion; e. g. : He only is left. I saw him only. In the following much-discussed passage from Addison : By greatness I do not only mean the bulk of a single object, but the largeness of a whole view, the whole structure is faulty, and cannot be remedied by merely transposing only. Addison really meant to say : By greatness I mean, not so much the bulk of any single object, as the largeness of a whole view. It is also to be kept in mind that only is now frequently used in the sense of but, however, and in this sense always stands at the beginning ; e. g. : You may tell this if you wish ; only do not mention my name. Than. In such phrases as : I like peaches better than apples. Henry is older than William, there is no ambiguity. But : William likes Henry better than James is ambiguous. It may mean either that W. likes H. bet- ter than he likes J., or that W. likes H. better than J. Ukes H. To avoid ambiguity such forms of comparison must be written out in full, as : William likes Henry better than he likes James; or, William likes Henry better than James likes him. Even this emendation might not pass with the hypercrit- ical, who would declare he, him, to be ambiguous. But the ordinary reader would be satisfied. For the writer who really meant to say that William likes Henry better {han Henry likes James ; or, William likes Henry better than James likes WiMiam, would be careful to say so. 140 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIC. At least ; at all events. These are placed just after the words which they modify. Thus: He at least is ready, means that he is ready, though the others may not be; but He knows how to read at least, means that he can read, but perhaps cannot sing. Either — or should immediately precede that which they modify. Thus : You can either go or stay at home, is correct. But it is faulty to write : You can either go to New York or to Boston. It is better to write : You can go either to New York or to Boston. Misrelated Participle. — This is a participle which fails to indicate the noun (or pronoun) with which it is really connected. E. g. : Mentioning this fact to my friend, he replied, etc. Here the only noun (pronoun) with which mentioning can be grammatically connected is friend (he). To make both sense and grammar, the wording should be : When I mentioned this fact to my friend, he replied, etc. ; or, On my mentioning this fact, etc. Such faulty constructions are common in rapid writing. They are due to careless mechanical imitation of legitimate constructions, like : Mentioning this fact to my friend, I was surprised to hear him reply. where mentioning and I are correctly related ; or, My friend mentioning this fact to me, I replied, etc., where the first clause is a correct absolute construction. 87. Dislocation of Clauses.— Frequently a clause cor- CLEARNESS. 141 rect in itself is put in the wrong place, thereby producing confusion and sometimes absurdity. E. g. : At her mother's death Harriet was left wholly dependent upon her elder sister, who five years before had married George, for counsel and support. At first sight this reads as if we were called upon to com- miserate the elder sister for having married a husband for the sake of counsel and support. But the writer really meant to say: At her mother's death Harriet was left — for counsel and support — wholly dependent upon her elder sister, who, etc. Clauses introduced by if, unless, though (althougK), are frequently ambiguous. The ambiguity may be avoided, if the writer will bear in mind that the condition expressed in such words remains in force as long as the construction is unchanged. Therefore do not introduce if, unless, etc. in a continuous construction unless you wish to let the condi- tion remain in force. E. g. : The fire will spread, if the engines do not come soon, and much prop- erty will be destroyed. Here and continues grammatically the condition ; if the engines do not come, if much property will be destroyed. The awkwardness is easily cured : If the engines do not come soon, the fire will spread and much prop- erty will be destroyed. It would be impossible to classify all the blunders due to misplacing clauses. They are of every conceivable variety. E. g. : Passengers are requested to purchase tickets before entering the cars, at the company's office. He was asked to.play a solo on the violin, of Ms mm composing. No rules can be devised against blunders like these. Only one general caution may be of help — namely, to treat every modifying clause upon the a ^priori assumption, § 74, that it is out of place until it is clearly shown to be in 142 SANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND MSETORIO. place. The root of the evil lies in the natural disposition to write as we speak. But this disposition is dangerous unless controlled. In conversation we rely upon gestures, and especially upon the intonations of the voice, to make our meaning clear. These aids disappear, of course, in writing. Here we must rely solely upon the written or printed sign. Common sense, therefore, should teach us to put the signs close together only when the thoughts ex- pressed by them are closely connected. CHAPTER X. FORCE. Force as a quality of paragraph-structure has been treated by imphcation in Chapters II.-IV. A due observ- ance of the principles of Unity and Sequence, a careful use of the Subject-Sentence, and a proper adjustment of each paragraph to its predecessors and successors, wiU impart force to the composition as a whole. In the present chapter Force is treated with regard to the single sentence. And, as in the chapter upon Clear- ness, attention is directed, first, to the choice of words, next, to the sentence-structure. 1. Single Woeds. 88. No rule can be given for choosing words with a view to force. A philologist might even be disposed to deny that any single word is in itself strong or weak, and to as- sert that its strength or weakness is the result of its fitness or unfitness in the particular sentence. E. g., when we characterize Webster's Dartmouth College speech as "a pmoerful argument," we are certainly foircible. But to speak of some one as "powerful weak," or "powerful mean," is anything but forcible.* When Pope writes : Our author, happy in a judge so nice, he uses the strongest adjective available in the circum- stances. But when the ordinary speaker says, " We had a nice time," he is decidedly weak. The following also is weak : * This use of powerful as an adyerb, equivalent to very, is not uncommon In certain districts of the United States. 143 144 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIO. A very nice way to preserve the relation between paragraphs is to make one paragraph echo the preceding. Here nice is tame. "An efficient way" would have been far more expressive. If we say that the rush of water at Niagara is tremendoiis, we are forcible ; but if we say that a certain player in a foot-ball game had a tremendous fall, we exaggerate and are consequently weak. But, as a practical matter, apart from philological theory, there are certain words which the usage of the best English writers has reserved for uncommon situations. Such words, therefore, we may classify for practical purposes as forcible. They are words descriptive of the truly great achievements of the human mind, expressive of the strongest emotions, applicable to the worst faults and noblest virtues; such words as superb, magnificent, awful, terrible, heroic, tragic, etc. To use one of these words in a commonplace situation is to weaken the impression by wasting our resources. We are like a man who uses a sledge-hammer for driving in tacks. Courage may be courage without being sublime; a railroad bridge may be skilfully built without being stvr pendous; a violent and painful death may be sad without being tragic; dishonesty may have serious consequences without being a gigantic fraud ; a man may live in a hand- some house and yet not occupy a palatial mansion. , We should never forget that force is not absolute, but only relative. If to express a grand thing grandly is good writing, it is no less good writing to express a simple thing simply. This ability to express the simple things simply is characteristic of the best writers in every language, and is to be learned from them. Force, even more than clear- ness, is a matter of sound literary tradition. We may perhaps catch the general meaning of a word from its dic- tionary definition, but we cannot learn to estimate its force by this means. We are to bear in mind also that of all the parts of speech the one most liable to abuse is the adjective. For FORCE. 145 the adjective expresses qualitj^, and quality usually admits of numerous shades or gradations. E. g., shall we describe a woman as pretty, or as beautiful? As charming, or &s fas- cinating, or as bewitching ? Shall we describe a mountain range as tall, or as lofty, or as towering ? Is physical pain severe, or is it excruciating ? Carlyle, when not vituperating, is singularly forcible in his choice of adjectives. Thus note § 44, first extract, noble, umbrageous, serene, stately, massive, wavy, guardian, embossed; second extract, ruddy-tinged, slow-heaving, tremu- lous. In Stanley, § 37, note multitudinous irregularities. Perhaps the word is an echo of Lady Macbeth 's " multi- tudinous seas ;" Stanley is said to have taken a copy of Shakespeare with him on his march. In Green, § 38, note dauntless courage, amazing self-confidence, impetuous will. In Hawthorne, §38, unmalieable cast; in §41, ominous shadow, league-long strides, majestic landscape ; in § 42, aris- tocratic flowers, plebeian vegetables. In De Quincey, § 43, unpretending cottage, eternal tea-pot, tenure so perishable. In George Eliot, § 43, pale meteor, gleaming eyes, bloodless lips, mimic suns, bossed sword-hilts. Additional examples can be gathered from the other extracts. 89. Abused Words and Expressions. — Certain words and expressions, good in themselves, are worn threadbare with excessive use and abuse. Thus women are given to describing things agreeable or disagreeable as lovely or hor- rid; the nearest masculine equivalents are fine, or awfid, and swell. In England a thing is done in good or bad form; in America, in good or bad style. Certain professions and classes favor certain terms to excess ; e. g., a judge or a lawyer is always learned; in surgery a bold and success- ful operation is brilliant. The average congressman chaTW- pions or else antagonizes a measure. Every person is apt to fall into the excessive use of cer- tain words, either through carelessness or through unfa- 10 N 146 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. miliarity with the resources of the language. No rule, of course, can be given for correcting such individual faults. But the following suggestion may be helpful. Read your composition carefully and repeatedly, noting the number of repetitions. If they seem too numerous, ask yourself whether it is not possible to remedy the fault, either by employing synoayms or by changing the structure of the sentences. The latter expedient is especially to be recom- mended. It breaks up monotony, and monotony is a standing hindrance to force. Apart from special and individual abuses, there are cer- tain general ones. Very ; so; such a. How much very is abused may be learned by comparing a few pages of ordinary composition with the numerous extracts quoted in §§ 2-75. In these extracts very occurs only 16 times in all — viz. 3 in Haw- thorne, § 36 (the passage is light conversation and suited to persons like Hepzibah and Clifford) ; 1 in Hawthorne, § 44 (also in a light vein) ; 1 in Hawthorne, § 48 ; 2 in Hux- ley, § 51 ; 1 in Tait, § 51 ; 1 in Macaulay, § 64 ; 1 in Addison, § 4 ; 1 in Addison, § 28 ; 1 in Goldsmith, § 15 ; 1 in De Quin- cey, § 18 ; 1 in De Foe, § 43. In Irving, § 12, " the very witching time," and in Green, § 38, " the very air," the word retains its original sense of real, really, and is not a mere intensive adverb. Certainly the example set by good writers should teach moderation. Such. Properly used, such is not an intensive, but a cor- relative. It is properly used by Dickens, §41, "smcA a strange scene . . . that I could," etc., and by George Eliot, § 21, where we are to supply the ellipsis, " such a monu- ment," viz. as that of Edgar Tryon. A similar ellipsis is to be supplied in Lowell, § 11, " such worldly wisdom," viz. as the Devil's. To employ such as a mere intensive, in the sense of very, highly, etc., e. g., " This is such an interesting book," is to misuse language and speak tamely rather than forcibly. FORCE. 147 So. This is either a demonstrative, equivalent to thus, or a correlative. Note the correct use by Landor, § 15, and De Quincey, § 6, " so then." The sentence, " This book is so interesting," is as bad as the other sentence, " This is such an interesting book," and for the same reason. 90. And. This word is misused and abused without the slightest regard to its true office. Especially is it used out of place at the beginning of sentences and paragraphs. Good writers seldom begin a sentence, and scarcely ever begin a paragraph, with and. In the extracts, §§ 2-75, there is not one paragraph beginning thus, and there are only 6 sentences, viz. 3 in De Quincey, § 67 (beginning of the third section of the quotation), § 43 (the whole passage is in a jocular vein), § 31 (an instance of repeated struc- ture) ; 1 in George Eliot, § 43 ; 1 in Hawthorne, § 11 ; 1 in Macaulay, § 21. In the following passages and is superfluous within the sentence : " and when you shut one off," Tait, § 64. " and, finally, the relations," Huxley, § 51. In Stanley, § 37, and is used too frequently. On the other hand, in Carlyle, § 44, observe the boldness due to the omission of the copula; and occurs only once, and there it is indispensable. .For correct and forcible use oiand see Shelley, §41, and Dickens, § 42. Faulty use of and results from a wrong conception of the word. Let us first consider what the word is not. a. And is not the universal copula, but only one out of many. h. It is not properly used to mark any and every stage in the writer's thinking, or to mark any and every change in structure. c. It is not the proper copula for expressing subordina- 148 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETORIC. tion, or the relation of cause and effect, time and place, or the sequence in which one action grows out of another. On the contrary, the sole legitimate use of and is to mark addition or co-ordination. Observe, in Hawthorne, § 38, " They now went down stairs, where Phoebe . . . took the most active part," etc., how aptly the relation of place (and time) is indicated by where. An ordinary slip-shod writer, using and instead of where, would have missed the point. The following is a specimen of newspaper tameness : In other years Senator Anthony's crisp and pungent paragraphs in the journal were very notable and influential, amd his paper was one of the half-dozen leading journals in New England.* Why could not the writer have expressed cause and effect? Thus: In other years Senator Anthony, hy his crisp and pungent paragraphs, made the journal one of the, etc. School and college writing overflows with and. Often the word is useless, or worse than useless. Failing to state what the writer really has in mind, it makes the whole expression limp. The best working rule for both scholar and teacher would be to reject every and that fails to demonstrate its right of being. The scholar should be asked if he is trying to express some relation of cause, time, place, or the like. If he is, he should be required to rewrite the sentence. (See § 93.) 91. But. Since this word expresses some opposition or contrast, it is not properly used to express a mere change in the direction of thought. Yet even good writers thus misuse it. The following is correct and normal : Practice and training may bring me more into rule ; but at present I am as useless for regular service as ... a Don Cossack. * Quoted in Genung's Practical BMoHc,p. 184. FORCE. 149 Here hut contrasts at 'present with m future (implied al- though not expressed in the first sentence). The following is improper : But above all let" us not be influenced by any angry feelings, etc Here hut expresses no contrast whatever ; it merely intro- duces the last in a series of thoughts or considerations, all of the same kind. And would be correcter. The most forcible expression, however, would be the simple, unin- troduced, Ahove all. It must be admitted that writers of high rank begin sentences, and occasionally paragraphs, with but; e. g., Irving, § 35 (third extract). The practice is not to be commended to the young, who will do better to acquire the habit of keeping the word out of so prominent a place. Macaulay is a dangerous example in this respect. His use of but, although it can scarcely be called incorrect, is certainly excessive. E. g. .• The immoral English writers of the seventeenth century are indeed less excusable than those of Greece and Borne. But the worst English writings of the seventeenth century are decent, compared with much that has been bequeathed to us by Greece and Eome. Plato, we have little doubt, was a much better man than Sir George Etherege. But Plato has written things at which Sir George Etherege would have shuddered. Here the reader is jerked backward and forward from contrast to contrast. The impression made upon him is that of fitfulness, rather than of sustained power. Macau- lay would have stated his views more clearly, and at the same time more convincingly, had he written after this fashion : The immoral English writers of the seventeenth century, though less excusable indeed than those of Greece and Borne, are nevertheless more decent. Thus Plato, who was, we have little doubt, a much better man than Sir George Etherege, has written things at which Sir George would have shuddered. 150 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 2. The Sentence. 92. Position; Balance. — The significant places in a sentence are the beginning and the end, especially the end. If the writer puts his leading thought in one or the other of these places, he will make his sentence forcible. An example much quoted in illustration of this is the following : On whatever side we contemplate Homer, what principally strikes us is his wonderful invention. Observe also De Quincey, § 17 : In glided . . . not my fair sister, but my bronzed Bengal uncle. The concluding sentence in Macaulay, § 21, is forcible ; also the conclusion in Gibbon, § 25. Most remarkable of all is the conclusion of the long sentence in De Quincey, §31: From the silence . . . roar of his voice. On the other hand, in the first part of the same extract from De Quincey, note the emphasis due to position at the beginning of a sentence : "Here was the map," " The horse" ''He, of all the party," " The little carriage," " The young man," " But his was the steadiness." In the extract from the Outiook, § 3, note the emphasis of the clauses, " By the power," " He it is." In Irving, § 9, " Even the critics." In. Green, § 38, " Of womanly reserve." In Carlyle, § 44, "Beautiful," "of the greenest." Balance. This consists in making the clauses equal, or nearly equal, in length and weight, and in making the parts of speech in one clause correspond to the same parts in another clause ; e. g., Johnson's reply to Lord Chester- field: The notice which you have been pleased to take of my labors, had it been early, had been kind ; but it has been delayed till I am indifferent and cannot enjoy it ; till I am solitary and cannot impart it ; till I am known and do not want it. FORCE. 151 Note how the several clauses balance each other. Also the correspondence of early and kind ; of indifferent, solitary, and known; of enjoy, impart, and ward. In Macaulay, § 3, note the correspondence of great pow- ers and low pr^udices; of best parts and worst parts; oi gigan- tic elevation and dwarfish littleness. A sentence in which the emphatic word or phrase comes at the beginning is frequently an inverted sentence ; e. g., " By the power," Outlook, § 3 ; "Of womanly reserve," Green, § 38. One in which the emphatic word or phrase comes at the end is called a periodic, or suspended, sentence. E. g. : On whatever side we contemplate Homer, what principally strikes us is his wonderful invention. Whether this be owing to an obstinate perseverance in error, or to a religious adherence to what appears to me truth and reason, it is in your equity to judge. — Btjbke : CoTieiliation, p. 163. Beligion, always a principle of energy, in this new people is in no way worn out or impaired. — Bubke : CcmcUiation, p. 180. Other hope, in studying such books, we have none. — Caelylb : Biog- raphy. A writer who uses periodic sentences habitually or fre- quently is said to have a periodic style. It is not advisable to use inverted, balanced, or periodic sentences too frequently. They become mannerisms and weary the reader^ Hence Johnson's style is commonly re- ' garded as wearisome. Even Macaulay's, by reason of its excessive use of antithetic balance, is losing somewhat of its hold upon the reading public. Too many sentences like this : The Puritans hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectator. make one also suspect that the words may have been chosen, not because they convey the truth exactly, but because they strike the ear. (See § 116.) 152 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. Loose Sentences. If it is undesirable that expression should be too periodic, it is equally undesirable that it should be too loose. A loose sentence is one which ends in a modifying or in a conditioning clause ; e. g. : We came to our journey'B end at last. How much is this worth for exportation, if gold is at a premium of fifty per cent. ? There can be no objection to such writing in moderation ; it gives a relief from the tension of periodic sentences. Yet, in any case, to end a sentence with a number of modifiers makes it limp badly ; e. g. : We came to our journey's end at last, with no small difficulty, after much fatigue, through deep roads and bad weather. This can be improved in various ways ; e. g. : At last, after much fatigue, through deep roads and bad weather, we came, with no small difficulty, to our journey's end. Here all the modifiers are retained, merely arranged in a different order. But why retain so many ? Every writer must trust somewhat to his reader's imagination. There is no need of saying more than this : Worn out with deep roads and bad weather, we came at last to our journey's end. 93. Unity and Stability of Structure. — By this is here meant that the grammatical relation of subject, verb, and object is not unnecessarily changed. Note, in Burke, § 5 (second extract), how the structure is maintained through- out the long sentence : " The objects are to secure," etc. The sense of strength produced by such a sentence is due to the ease and precision with which the reader is able to follow the writer. The thought unfolds, itself without haste and without break. Contrast the following : Carlyle is particularly happy in the choice of illustrative figures of speech, and they give clearness and vigor to his style. Here the reader's mind is forced to jump from one sub- ject and verb (^Carlyle is) to another (they give); see re- FORCE. 153 marks on and, § 91. TLe expression would be bettered, but not wholly cured, by substituting which for and they. But to be truly forcible, the sentence should be re-written, perhaps thus : By his peculiarly happy choice of illustrative figures of speech Car- lyle gives to his style clearness and vigor. The following is weak : Seeing the venomous reptile so near her, she started back, shuddered, and a low tremulous cry mas vitered. Only a slight change is needed: "and vitered a low tremulous cry."* In the following : So closely is the individual citizen connected with the government that any one of us, old or young, who may think of some plan by which the welfare of the people would be promoted, may form his ideas into a bill and send it to his representative in Congress, and it may be enacted into a law of the land. the subject shifts from any one may to it may. The force would be increased by restoring the first subject ; e. g., and send it (better, the bill) to his representative . . . and get it enacted, etc. In the following quotation the grammatical structure is not changed, but nevertheless the form of expression is unnecessarily varied, producing a discouraging sense of tameness : As distinctly as Mr. R is at the head of the men, so is Miss W the premier lady player. Why could not the writer have said simply at the head of the ladies f Besides, premier is a French affectation (see § 105), and lady is not the correlative of mam, but oi gentle- man. Compare such tameness with Macaulay's direct boldness : Homer is not more decidedly the first of heroic poets, Shakespeare is not more decidedly the first of dramatists, Demosthenes is not more decidedly the first of orators, than Boswell is the first of biographers. * Genung, Outlines of Shetoric, p. 203. 154 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIG. We cannot learn too soon or too thoroughly that similar- ity of thought implies similarity of expression. To vary the expression without changing the nature of the thought is mere vacillation. Unity does not imply that the sentence has only one subject and one predicate. A sentence may have two or more subjects, or two or more predicates, and yet be strictly a unit, provided the several clauses be correlated and mu- tually dependent. Thus a Complex or a Compound Sen- tence is no less unified than a Simple Sentence. E. g. : The stranger gazed about the room. (Simple.) -He valued his royal crown chiefly because it was composed of precious metal. (Complex.) Once upon a. time there lived a very rich man and he had a little daughter. (Compound.) * By Unity is meant such an arrangement of the parts of a sentence that they form one organized whole, and make upon the mind one homogeneous impression. 94. Brevity. — This is the prime requisite of force. By brevity is meant the avoidance of Tautology, Pleonasm (Redundancy), and Circumlocution. Tautology consists in repeating, with a mere change of wording, what has been said already. Thus, when Tillot- son writes : The arts of deceit and cunning do continually grow weaker and less effectual and aerdceahle to them that use them. he is tautological ; deceit is the same as cunning, effectual is the same as serviceable. The bill was carried unanimously by the votes of all present. is an example of gross tautology. Johnson's couplet in The Vanity of Human Wishes, Let Observation, with extensive view. Survey mankind from China to Peru, has been frequently cited ; extensive view, mankind, from * Harper and Burgess, Inductive Studies in English Orammar, p. 52. FORCE. 155 China to Peru, all express the same thought, viz. exten- sively. Writers unfamiliar with Greek and Latin are apt to be tautological in coupling a word of classical with one of na- tive origin; e. g., boldness and avdacity, prominent and leading. Sometimes the tautology, if less obvious, is none the less actual ; e. g. : An air of settledness and abiding, which is very reposeful to the spirit of man in these restless days, although this tranguU atmosphere has its dangers too. Here tranquil atmosphere says nothing essentially different from air of settledness. The thought might be expressed briefly : An air of . . . days, yet which has its dangers too. Pleonasm (Redundancy) consists in using wholly super- fluous words ; e. g. : They returned back again to the same city from whence they had come forth. Here the five italicized words are pleonastic. Also : The boy had his pockets fuU of a great many apples. The house was densely crowded vjith an immense number of •people. In the following the pleonasm is less obvious : His family were very urgent for him to go to Margate. Urgent scarcely needs very (§ 89), and were urgent for him to go is lame. A simple structure would have been more forcible : His family urged him to go to Margate. Certain words and phrases are frequently pleonastic; e. g., the present participle being, and there is, there are : Being content with deserving a triumph, he refused the honor of it. There is nothing which so soon perverts the judgment. There are many persons who deny this. The above sentences would be improved by omitting the italicized words. 156 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIO. The words persms and people are frequently pleonastic, as in the phrases many persons, few people, etc. Circumlocution. The nature of this fault is best ex- plained by a few examples. In circumlocution the mn becomes the lamp 0/ day, or the radiant orb of day; women become the fair sex or the gentler sex; teeth become dental organs; a man hung for murder becomes a mulefactor launched into eternity. When a child is born, it is ushered into existence. When a barn is burned, it is consumed by the devouring element. An English poet of the eighteenth century converted the humble caterpillar into: The crawling scourge that smites the leafy plain, and other poets of his day achieved similar feats. Cir- cumlocution was in truth a fashion of eighteenth-century poetry. In our nineteenth century the poets at least are usually free from the vice, but the prose-writers, all but the very best, are not. Many an author whose talent and training should have kept him safe has been misled by the evil example of " padded " sensational newspaper articles. Long words and indirect phrases appear in the eyes of the multitude more elegant than short direct expression. Yet the true principle abides, that the short and direct is the strong. When a man works in the garden, he uses a spade or a hoe; in the field he uses a phugh or a harrow. The census, it is true, sums up these and like tools under the head of Agricultural Implements. But the census does not aim at force; rather at comprehensiveness. Much patient care is needed to eradicate the present vice of circumlocution. We should scrutinize closely all that we read, cultivating thereby the gift of detecting and condemning long empty phrases. Still more closely should we scrutinize all that we write. We should not let a sentence pass until we are satisfied that it is reduced to its most direct and simplest terms (see § 124). FORCE. 157 95. Climax.— This, like the balanced clause (§ 92), is forcible when used in moderation. A well-known exam- ple is Csesar's boast, " Veni, vidi, vici," rendered by Shake- speare, in Oymbeline, ''came, and saw, and overcame." Cicero, declaiming against Verres, employs the climax : To bind a Boman citizen is an outrage ; to scourge him is an atro- cious crime ; to put him to death is almost a parricide ; but to put him to death by crucifixion — what shall I call it ? In De Quincey, § 6, note the force of the conclusion : Fortitude more confirmed, resources of a maturer intellect, allevia- tions . . . from sympathizing affection. In Webster, § 56 : He thinks the whole world sees it in his face, reads it in his eyes, and almost hears its workings in the very sUende of his thoughts. Anti-climax, i. e., putting the weaker thought or senti- ment last, is to be avoided except in humorous writing. There is more danger of anti-climax with only two stages than with a greater number. E. g. : Such a derangement . . . must have reduced society to its first ele- ments and led to a direct collision of conflicting interests. The above is not only anti-climactic, but pleonastic. When society is reduced to its elements, what is there left? There is no need of calling elements _^rs<. Collision and conflict are also tautology, and the collision may be assumed to be direct. The entire sentence should be recast : Such a derangement must have led to a conflict of interests and (eventually) reduced society to its elements. A famous example of effective impromptu anti-climax, ironical in its effect, is found in Patrick Henry's speech : Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third- interrupted by the speaker's cry of " Treason ! treason !" and George the Third — may profit by their example. The following also is good : * * Quoted In A. S. Hill's Principles of Rhetoric, p. 135. O 158 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. When George tte Fourth was still reigning over the privacies of Windsor, when the Duke of Wellington was prime minister, and Mr. Vincy was mayor of the old corporation in Middlemarch, etc. — Geobge Eliot : Middlemarch, ii., oh. xix. 96. Sustained Eflfeot. — Brevity is wholly compatible with an occasional long sentence well constructed. (For alternation of long and short sentences in the Paragraph, see § 6.) The opposite of brevity is not many words, but useless words, verbiage. A long sentence perfectly clear in its grammatical relations, stating each position precisely and fully, summing up details for a general effect, has always been recognized as the completest embodiment of power. E. g. : As long as our sovereign lord the king, and his faithful suhjects the lords and commons of this realm, — the triple cord which no man can break ; the solemn, sworn, constitutional frank-pledge of this nation ; the firm guarantees of each other's being and each other's rights ; the joint and several securities, each in its place and order, for every kind and every quality of property and of dignity, — as long as these endure, so long the Duke of Bedford is safe, and we are all safe together : the high from the blights of envy and the spoliation of rapacity ; the low from the iron hand of oppression and the insolent spurn of contempt, — Burke : A Letter to a Noble Lard, etc. If discord and disunion shall wound it [American Liberty], if party strife and blind ambition shall hawk at and tear it, if folly and mad- ness, if uneasiness under salutary and necessary restraint, shall succeed in separating it from that Union by which alone its existence is made sure, it will stand in the end by the side of that cradle in which its in- fancy was rocked ; it will stretch forth its arm with whatever of vigor it-may still retain over the friends who gather round it ; and it will fall at last, if fall it must, amidst the proudest monuments of its own glory, and on the very spot of its origin.— Webster : Reply to Hayne. To get the full effect of Webster's eloquence, one should read the numerous short abrupt sentences immediately preceding the above. The secret of success in passages like these from Burke and Webster lies in the impression which they create of the writer's or speaker's ability to maintain a protracted FORGE. 159 sequence of thought and emotion. As in the physical, so also in the spiritual world, endurance is an acknowledged measure of strength. 97. Historical Present. — This is a device for giving, if not exactly force, at least vivacity to a narrative. It pre- supposes in the writer a vivid imagination, by the opera- tion of which past events seem to be actually present. Within proper limits the device is effective. But these limits are usually transgressed by the young, who change from past to present and back to past without motive or justification. E. g. : The Bomans now turn aside in quest of provisions. The Helvetians mistook the movement for retreat. They pursue and give Csesar his chance, etc.* At last the long-looked-for spring appeared . . . and we gladly gave up . . . winter amusements for our out-of-door sports. Again we glide in our swift shells . . . again we play ball . . . and take long evening strolls and sit by the open window, etc. t School and college compositions and examination papers swarm with blunders like the above. The writers seem to look upon the historic present as an indispensable ingre- dient in all narration, something to be forced in when other resources fail. They are evidently not aware that it is an ingenious device, requiring the utmost tact. The evil will be greatly diminished by the observance of a few practical rules. 1. The historical present presupposes a vivid imagina- tion. Are you sure that you possess such an imagination ? Are you really aglow over this particular passage, do you actually have a vision of the action and the actors ? If you entertain the slightest doubt on these points, refrain from the present and keep to the soberer and safer pre- terite. 2. Do not mix up preterite and present in the same * Genung, Practical Shetonc, p. 113. t A. S. Hill, Foundations of Bhetoric, p. 97. 160 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. paragraph. A good illustration of the observance of the rule is the extract from The Outlook, § 3. 3. Introduce and dismiss the historic present with some words of explanation. Dickens, who is much given to the device, is usually careful to mark the transitions. Thus, in giving a generalized narrative (see § 34) of Da- vid's life soon after the mother's second marriage, he begins : * Let me remember how it used to be, arid bring one morning back again. I come into the second-best parlor after breakfast. . . . My mother is ready for me at her writing desk, etc. And so on for two pages, all in the present tense. Then the end is marked: It seems to me, at this distance of time, as if my unfortunate studies generally took this course, etc. — Dickens : David Copperfdd, i. oh. It. The whole ceremony of David's wedding with Dora (ii. ch. XV.), is narrated in the present; it is in form a retro- spective vision. Another writer much given to the device is Carlyle. His French Revolution is especially characterized by it. For most readers it is overdone, creating the impression of a mere vision rather than of sober historic actuality. The following extract, from Carlyle's article on Doctor Francia, is a sample of his more moderate style ; it is a description of an army-march across the Andes : Wayworn sentries with difficulty keep themselves awake ; tired mules chew barley rations or doze on three legs ; the feeble watch-fire will hardly kindle a cigar ; Canopus and the Southern Cross glitter down ; and all snore steadily, begirt by granite deserts, looked on by the Con- stellations in that manner. With this compare the extract from Homer, § 44. The final clause, in that manner, exemplifies Carlyle's fondness for loose sentence-structure, § 92. » Quoted in Genung's Practical Shetoric, p. 113. CHAPTER XI. PROPRIETY. By Propriety of expression is here meant the avoidance of whatever might offend a reader of cultivated taste. Under this general heading are two sections: Purity, or the avoidance of incorrect words and phrases ; Euphony, or the avoidance of what is harsh to the ear. PXJKITY. 98. The vocabulary of every language contains certain expressions which are not admissible in good writing. Some of them are positively bad; others are merely under suspicion, not being fully recognized by literary authorities. The young writer should avoid both classes. English, to be standard, should have three properties. It should be national, present, reputable ; national, as op- posed to local or provincial ; present, as opposed to obso- lete ; reputable, as opposed to newly-coined or vulgar. National. — In England there are certain local modes of speech, an inheritance from the remote past, which are called dialects. Thus, there is the Yorkshire dialect, the Lincolnshire dialect, etc. But the local differences of English speech in the United States, although recogniz- able, do not quite constitute dialects in the strict philo- logical sense of that term. Perhaps they may be called provincialisms. But, under whatever name, these local peculiarities are to be avoided in writing.* It is not good * There can be no objection, of course, to such compositions as Lowell's Bige- low Papers, the stories by Charles Egbert Craddock, TMcle Remus, and the like, compositions which profess to reproduce the speech of a certain district. 11 O* 161 162 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. expression to say : he conducted well, for he conducted him- self well ; or powerful tired, for very tired. At times there is difficulty in deciding what is a provincialism. Thus, in the United States, of the two words bucket and pail, one is favored in the West, the other in the East. Both words are old, being found in the language before the Norman Conquest, and both are used in literature. Neither one is likely to become obsolete as long as The Old Oaken Bucket and Jack and Gill are known to boys and girls. In England, by reason of the literary ascendency of London, Oxford, and Cambridge, it is not difficult to draw the line between national and dialectic. The speech of the educated classes in the capital and in the two univer- sity towns is the national speech. In the United States, where there is less centralization and greater commercial and political rivalry, we must be less confident. Never- theless, we can scarcely err in accepting as standard the diction of that long line of noted writers which began with Irving and ended with Holmes. Between England and the United States there is a differ- ence of vocabulary. In England an elevator is called a lift; a railroad is a railway; the rails themselves are called metals ; the cars are carriages ; the ticket-office is the booking- office ; the train is not switched but shunted ; baggage is called luggage; our baggage-checks are not in use in England, but the English name for them is brasses; the engineer of a train is the engine-driver, and the fireman is the stoker. A store is usually called a shop ; twenty-five is usually five-and- twenty. Instead of betting, an Englishman usually lays a guinea, a shilling, etc. In these and hundreds of similar divergences of vocabu- lary it would be pedantry or Anglomania to urge Ameri- cans to substitute the foreign term for the native. The latter has become sanctioned through long use, literary, legal, and commercial. Only one word of the above seems to call for the change, viz. engineer. Such a designation PROPRIETY. 163 ought to be reserved for the professional man who designs structures, the civil engineer. The man who merely drives an engine ought not to be called engineer. 99. Present. — Obsolete words and phrases are not often a source of danger to the prose- writer. Very few at the present day would be tempted to use -perchance, peradven- twe, haply fox perhaps; eke for ako; verily for truly, really; in sooth for in truth. The verb eke, in the phrase to eke out, is still current. Furthermore is hardly to be treated as ob- solete, or even as obsolescent.* Hight, swain, wight are permissible only in humorous prose. Thou, thee, thine, verbal forms of the second person sin- gular, and verbal forms of the third singular in -eth, are now used only in poetry or in prose of an exalted cast. Thus Carlyle : Poor wandering, wayward man ! Art thou not tried, and beaten with stripes, even as I am. ... O my Brother, my Brother I Why cannot I shelter thee in my bosom and wipe away all tears from thy eyes ? Forgotten, only-begotten, ill-gotten (gain), still retain the -en; but the uncompounded gotten, occasionally heard, sounds quaint or affected. Worn, formed after the anal- ogy of bom, torn, etc., has supplanted the earlier and cor- recter weak form weared. The diction of the King James Bible translation and of Shakespeare having become the common property of all English-speaking persons, we are familiar with many words and phrases that have ceased to be current. We should be on our guard, therefore, against imitating them in our own writing. To echo the archaisms of Shake- speare suggests literary pedantry, to echo biblical archa- isms suggests religious pedantry. 100. Reputable. — Newly-coined words are sometimes called Neologisms. This term, however, designates also the employment of a well-established word in a novel * So treated in Genung, Praelical Rhetoric, p. 39. 164 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. sense. The present and succeeding sections treat of Neologisms and also of words borrowed from foreign languages. Neologisms in General. No precise rule can be given for the use or avoidance of neologisms. Some of them, e. g., the verb enthuse, or predicate in the sense of affirm, predict, are so crude and barbarous as to fall under the head of vulgarisms or slang. Others deserve at least respectful treatment, and still others will doubtless become standard English. It is impossible to predict the fate of a neologism. But there are one or two tests by which we may estimate its chances of survival. First, is it formed according to the analogy of other words of its class ? Second, does it sup- ply a real want, or does it merely duplicate another word already established? Thus, since the substitution of electricity for hanging in capital punishment, the need has arisen of a new term for the new method. Various neologisms have been proposed, chiefly electrocide and electrocute. Electrocide looks like homi- cide, regicide, tyrannicide, but there is a fundamental differ- ence. Whereas the last three mean the killing (or killer) of a man, of a king, of a tyrant, electrocide is intended to mean killing by means of electricity. Thus the formation is not analogous. Electrocution is still worse. It looks like execution; but this latter is not compounded of exe- and -cution: it goes back ultimately to the Latin ex-sequi. Moreover, electrocide, when used at all, is used as a verb, from which is formed the past participle electrocided. What then shall be the noun ? Shall it be dectrocision ? This would wrongly suggest the analogy of ex-dsion, " cutting out." Both neologisms seem doomed* to failure. An interesting example of recent coinage, one likely to remain, is the verb boycott. It is formed from the name of a Captain Boycott, the person to whom the now famil- iar process was first applied, about 1880. PBOPBIETY. 165 The formation of new compound words is controlled by one general principle, viz. that both parts of the compound should be of the same language. Thus in telegram, both tele- and -gram are Greek; the same is true of telegraph. But in cablegram the cable- part is French ; therefore the compound is objectionable. Yet there are a few old words compounded from differ- ent languages; e. g., piecemeal, made up of the French piece and meal, from the Anglo-Saxon mselum, a dative plural used to forth adverbs of manner. Certain classes of neologisms should be treated sepa- rately. 101. Verbs Formed from Standard Nouns. E. g., to cable, to wire, to umpire, etc. Fastidious critics object to all or nearly all such verbs. This is scarcely justifiable. If the verb to telegraph, i. e., to send a message by means of the telegraph, has become good English only in the last thirty or forty years, it is hard to see why to cable, in the sense of to send a message by cable, should not be equally rec- ognized. It meets a practical demand. But there is less need of to wire; it is a mere doublet of to telegraph. Shall we say, "B. umpired the game impartially"? Most critics reject the verb to umpire. But, in the present craze for athletic sports, the word is likely to become standard. It is convenient ; Hke battery, for pitcher and catcher. In legal speech, to referee a case is fairly estab- Hshed; certainly, "to deed away property," "the property was deeded to A.," are no longer questioned. But to clerk, to clerk it, in the sense of to act as clerk, will scarcely be accepted. To seulp, i. e., to model a statue, is unpardon- ably vulgar. To suicide and to duel are stiU rejected by the fastidious, with a possible chance of acceptance. To burglarize has no such chance. To interview will probably last as long as the practice itself. 102. Abbreviations. Some have already established them- 166 BANDSOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BSETORIQ. selves; e. g., mob, from mobile vulgus; cab, from cabriolet; hack, from hackney. But in general the language is intol- erant of abbreviations. Photo for photograph has not been accepted. Such abbreviations as gents, pants, prof, (for pro- fessor), doc. (for doctor), cap. (for captain), an invite (for invitation), a combine (for combination), diff. (for differ- ence), are hopelessly vulgar. Postal for postal card and editorial for editorial article are fairly established in this country ; in England the terms are post-card and leader. (See § 98.) Exam, and prelim, are still college slang. Abbreviations like isn't, doesn't, didn't, I'll, he'll are per- missible in conversation, but not in writing, except such writing as reproduces conversation. Don't (for does not), ain't, shan't, won't are not permissible at all. 103. Useless Words. These are to be rejected because they are useless ; many of them are also formed incor- rectly. Among the useless and incorrect are iUy, firstly, thusly. The persons who use such spurious adverbs forget that ill, first, thus are already adverbs. Muchly is also vulgar. Some years ago there was a craze in the United States for nouns in 4st, to designate the doer of an act. The ter- naination is proper in certain Greco-Latin and French formations, e. g., thaumaturgist, revolutionist, druggist, chem- ist, etc., but is wholly improper in native words, the termi- nation of which should be -er. Yet, although the language had already an ample supply of -er nouns, the craze did not stop until it had produced the monstrosities walkist, talkist, fightist, skatist, etc. But the craze is dying out, and the monstrosities are dropping one by one into oblivion. 104. Misused Words. Thus far only new formations have been discussed with regard to their probable ac- ceptance or rejection. In the present section old well- established words are discussed in their misapplication. Sometimes the misapplication is common in the United States, sometimes it is local. PROPRIETY. 167 To fix, which properly meaus to fasten or make perma- nent (as when the photographer fixes his negative), is misused in the sense of to mend or repair ; even in the sense of to put in order, as in the phrase " to fix up things." Mad, properly meaning insane, is misused in the sense of angry. Leave and let are discriminated in good English ; but from the uneducated one often hears the expression, "Leave me be." To allow, in the sense of to declare or assert, is perhaps Western rather than Eastern. But to claim, in the same improper sense, is heard in both sec- tions. Properly, to allow is to grant or concede, and to claim is to demand as a right. To confess, which properly means to state explicitly one's own shortcoming, is often misused, even by writers who should know better, in the general sense of to admit or concede something which may be either good or bad, in one's self or in others ; e. g., "It must be confessed that a small college offers certain advantages which a large university cannot offer." When an enthusiastic undergraduate asserts that his college is the peer of American colleges, he intends to say that it is the best; in reality he says merely that it is one of many equal in rank and excellence. To materialize, which properly means to put into mate- rial form, or to assume material form, is misused in the sense of to make one's appearance, or simply to come. " He was invited, but failed to materialize " is downright ' slang. Also, " he failed to put in an appearance." Calculated, in the sense of likely, is not elegant, although it has the sanction of Goldsmith and Hawthorne. To favor, in the sense of to resemble, "John favors his father," is provincial. Plenty, as an adverb, e. g., "plenty good enough," is ungrammatical. Some, for somewhat, slightly, as in " I was some tired," is slang. In the use of certain verbs with the reflexive pronoun there seems to be a difference between England and the United States. In England the correct form is, " The Ohio 168 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. empties itself into the Mississippi ;" but with us few writers, if any, would hesitate to say, " The Ohio empties into the Mississippi." On the other hand, many writers in Eng- land use trouble without the reflexive, e. g., " What the public may think, I do not greatly trouble to learn," where- as the usual American phrase would be " trouble myself." " He qualified himself for ofiice by taking the oath " is the only acknowledged form in England and also among care- ful American writers. But the form without the reflexive is evidently gaining ground with us. He conducts, for he conducts himself, is still provincial. The use and disuse of the reflexive pronoun is a ques- tion for English historical grammar rather than for rhet- oric. It is extremely diflBcult and has not yet been adequately treated. 105. Foreign Words. The excessive use of foreign words is a symptom either of pedantry or of snobbishness, or at least of unfamiliarity with the resources of the mother tongue. At one time cultivated writers and speakers in England and America were much given to quoting Latin words and phrases and trite passages from Cicero, Virgil, and Horace. The fashion has died out, but its place has been taken by the fashion of French words and expressions. Mrs. Smith prefers to be Madame S. ; if she desires to give her maiden name, she is nk Jones. One's betrothed is a fiance or fiancie (if the genders are not confounded). To be pres- ent at a ceremony is to assist. A matter of course is some- thing that goes without saying. The influenza that has troubled the world so much of late is the grippe, or still worse, la grippe. A street urchin is a gamin. It would be easy to multiply examples; the society- columns of the newspapers overflow with them. Occa- sionally we get even an Italianism, as when a noted states- man passing his vacation at his country residence is described as making his villegiatura. PROPRIETY. 169 Foreign words have already been naturalized by the thousand. There can be no objection to the naturaliza- tion of many more, provided the newcomers are genuine additions and do not merely supplant older and better terms. Thus it is proper to call the peculiar Australian weapon by its foreign name of boomerang, our language not having a native equivalent. The same may be said of hundreds and thousands of Anglo-Indian, Australian, or South American names of things foreign to England and North America. In the United States many Indian words have become current, e. g., succotash, wampum, sachem, totem, etc. Furthermore, every language has certain abstract terms which defy translation, e. g., the French esprit, the German Gemuth. A writer discussing French or German manners is permitted to use such words in moderation. But in discussing Anglo-American manners we should be able to express the thoughts back of such words by approaching the subject from the Anglo-American side. Even in writ- ing upon foreign matters, the excessive use of foreign phraseology is a sign of the writer's poverty of expression. Authors thoroughly conversant with two countries and their literatures, like P. G. Hamerton in his essays upon life in France, have no serious difficulty in keeping the languages separate. The purity of Hamerton's English is in marked contrast with writing of this sort : As a result, it [Conway's book on Climbing in the Himalayas] has a freshness, a pleinairiste buoyancy and atmosphere, usually conspicuous by their absence in works of the kind. Pldnairiste may be a perfectly legitimate French adjec- tive from plein air, " open air." But would not open-air have answered as an English equivalent? And if so, what is the difference between air and atmosphere f Doubtless the writer of the above believed that he was penning some- thing briUiant and " incisive." In reality he would have P 170 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBW. been more expressive, and also more English, had he writ- ten simply : has an open-air freshness and buoyancy. 106. In strictness, grammar is a study independent of rhetoric. But a few inaccuracies, which are on the border liae, may be mentioned here. Some sort of a, what sort of a, etc. The a is superfluous. The indefinite article points to a single object, whereas in such expressions we are trying to generalize, and should therefore say, " What sort of book have you ?" etc. Those sort of. This is still worse, yet one hears it fre- quently in conversation ; e. g., " AU those sort of things." The only grammatical phrasing is, "All that sort of thing." They, them, their in the singular construction. The ex- pressions they say, they do, and the like, in which they is an indefinite pronoun standing for persons in general, are perfectly grammatical and well established. But it is not correct to use they as the pronoun for anybody, somebody. A signal blunder of this sort is made by Ruskin, § 22 : What wits anybody had became available to them again. Why did not Ruskin write him? There seems to be a reluctance in certain writers to use the singular pronoun, because it must specify gender, whereas the plural is ambiguous. But such reluctance is mere squeamishness. English and all other languages have always employed the masculine for both genders. E. g. : Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth ? Are not his days also like the days of a hireling? One, as an indefinite pronoun, equivalent to the French on, the German man, is less used in the United States than in England ; e. g., " One does not often hear Wagner's music perfectly rendered." But what possessive adjective are we to use with one ? And may we change from one to PBOPBIETT. 171 another pronoun in the same sentence ? In England the proper expressions are: If (me wishes to hear "Wagner's music perfectly rendered, me must attend the Baireuth festival. One should be careful in choosing one's friends. In the United States usage is less strict;- we hear and read, in such constructions, ''he must attend," "to friends." The English usage is more consistent. Oleft Infinitive. By this is meant the insertion of an ad- verb or modifying clause between to and the infinitive. The construction is condemned by many grammarians and rhetoricians. Yet it is found in some of our best prose-writers ; e. g., " to fairly unite " (Matthew Arnold) ; "to ardently desire" (Sydney Smith); "to barely rise" (Cardinal Newman); "to first take" (George Eliot).* There seems to be no valid objection to the moderate use of the cleft infinitive, especially if the adverbial expression be short and simple. But " to fashionably and carelessly look in at Tattersall's " is evidently newspaper English. Shall, will. To discriminate properly between these ex- pressions of futurity is at times puzzling. The root of the diflSculty lies in the circumstance that neither verb had a future sense originally. Our language began without a future tense. " I shall do " meant I am under obligation to do ; "I will do " meant I intend to do. And traces of these original meanings still survive in each verb. Thus, " Thou shalt not steal " means Thou art under obligation to God not to steal ; " I will succeed " means that I am resolved to succeed. But in England since the sixteenth century shall, as an expression of simple futurity, has be- come almost restricted to the first person, and will has be- come the future for the second and third persons. Hence the future paradigm, " I shall go, he will go, we shall go, they will go," etc. Yet it is perfectly correct to say, " If * See F. Hall, Nation, April 13, 1893. 172 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. you satisfy me, I will reward you handsomely.'' Here vM expresses both futurity and purpose. To say, " He shall go, you shall go," implies confidence on the part of the speaker that the person spoken of or addressed cannot do otherwise than go. Observe the pro- priety and confidence of this assertion : " You shall forgive me — I will compel it," and the absurdity of this : " I will drown, if nobody shall help me." In America the usual error consists in using I will, we will, for / shall, we shall, where the idea is that of mere fu- turity. E. g. : By starting at once we vM have time enough. If I give satisfaction to my employers, I vM get an increase of salary. I will go to Chicago next week. [Nine times out of ten the form expresses merely expectation or probability.] Hence the direction : Learn to use I shall, we shall, and re- frain from I mil, we will, unless you wish to state a clearly- perceived purpose. At one point the usage of England is inconsistent, viz. in the interrogative form : " Shall you go to town next week ?" instead of " Will you." Various explanations have been attempted, but they do not explain. Americans can only accept the form as a fact hard to reconcile with the other fact that the same Englishmen say: "You will be there, will you not?" The conditional forms should and would are not quite parallel with the indicative shall and will. As mere con- ditionals, I should, he would, correspond to I shall, he will, i. e., they observe the distinction between the first person and the second and third. But, in addition to this, should is used in all three persons to express an obligation or a supposition ; e. g., " I should write " may either mean I ought to write, or it may be the mere conditional cor- responding to I shall write, or it may be a supposition, as in these three sentences: PROPRIETY. 173 I should write home. (Obligation.) I should write home to-day, if I had the time. (Condition.) Should I write at once, the letter would get there in time. (Suppo- sition.) He should write home. (Obligation.) He would write home to-day, if he had the time. (Condition.) Should he write at once, the letter would get there in time. (Sup- position.) Would is also used idiomatically in all three persons, to express habit, in such phrases as, ^^ I would often say," " He would often say." May, can. These words are frequently confounded, although the distinction is clear. Can denotes physical or mental ability, as, " I can walk," meaning I am able to walk ; " I can sing," mean- ing I know how to sing. May expresses contingency, wish, permission, as, " The young may die, but the old must," " May you live long and happily !" Consequently, in asking permission to do something, the proper word is may. E. g. : Father, please, may I take the horse this afternoon ? May I have the pleasure of your company ? Euphony. As here employed, the term denotes the avoidance not ■only of harsh combinations of sound but also of awkward constructions. 107. Words correct in themselves do not perhaps com- bine smoothly. E. g. : J can candidly say, etc. I confess with humilily the dMlity of my judgment. In order to protect himself against such blunders the writer should acquire the habit of reading his manuscript aloud. The above are easily remedied ; e. g., Let me can- didly say ; • • • the weakness of my judgment. P* 174 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETOBIO. The letter s, especially in such combinations as sp, st, sk, produces harshness when it occurs too frequently. E. g. .- After the most straitest seel of our religion. They sometimes so swathe the peaks with light as to abolish their definition.— Tyndall, § 57. This might be changed to : At times they swathe the peaks with light so (effectually) as to abol- ish their definition. In general, the number of consonants should not be dis- proportionate to the number of vowels. E. g. : What strange vamped comedies. — Goldsmith. In strange vamped there are only two vowel to nine conso- nant sounds. Another blunder to be avoided is the repetition of a sound in words of diflferent-meaning, with the effect of an unintentional pun. E. g. : In the twinkling of an eye I came to an adamantine resolution. — De Quincby, ? 82. An ambition of being foremost at a horse course. — Goldsmith. Was course for race common in Goldsmith's day ? The great poets are strict observers of the principles of euphony. Occasionally, it is true, there is a harsh line in Shakespeare, Milton, Tennyson. But nearly always this harshness is intended to correspond to the underlying thought or sentiment. E. g. : The nimble, wild, red, wiry, savage king. — Tennyson : Sarold, iv. 1. Here the halt necessary between every two adjectives makes the sneer more pointed. Prose-writers, as a class, are less observant of euphony, partly because their sense of beauty is less acute, partly because they write for the eye rather than for the ear. Even an author who is both poet and prose-writer, Gold- smith for instance, may forget his poetical instincts when writing prose, and put together such a phrase as " horse PROPRIETY. 175 course," a phrase which the same Goldsmith would not have used in The Deserted Village. But the prose-writer is not excused from obeying the simpler rules of euphony. Although his writings are chiefly for the eye, they may be read aloud ; and if they contain harsh or absurd combi- nations of sound, they will offend the ear. 108. Certain chronic blunders may be noted. One con- sists in heaping up adverbs in -ly and participles, or par- ticipial nouns, in -ing. E. g. : They worked equaUy assiduoasJy. It is hecoming more puzzlmy than ever. These are easily changed to : " with equal assiduity ;" " it becomes," etc.* Another chronic blunder is the overuse of hut (see § 91). When a traveller in Egypt writes to a London newspaper : But these coins are but a part of the treasures discovered at, etc. we can afford to be lenient with him, on the ground that letters of travel are usually written in haste and without careful revision. When George Eliot, however, writes, in Silas Marner, ch. xii. (paragraph-ending) : But her arms had not yet relaxed their instinctive clutch ; and the little one slumbered on as gently as if it had been rocked in a lace- trimmed cradle. But the complete torpor came at la.st ... [a long paragraph ending with the sentence] . . . But presently the warmth had a lulling effect and the little golden head sank down on the old sack, and the blue eyes were veiled by their delicate half-transparent lids. But where was Silas Marner while this strange visitor had come to his hearth ? . . . we must protest energetically against such abuse. On the other hand, the desire to avoid awkward repeti- tion should not lead us into the error of merely varying words without changing the sense. E. g. : » A. S. Hill, Fowndalums of Bhetcrk, p. 256. 176 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BBETOBIC. What is true of New York is likewise to le found in Boston. John tried to milk one cross cow while the men were ai work on the other animals. Why not write directly and boldly : What is true of New York is true also of Boston. John tried to milk one cross cow while the men were milking the other corns. Great writers repeat nouns, adjectives, and verbs with a view to clearness, directness, and force. It is only the timid and ignorant who believe it necessary to vary the expression without changing the thought. Note the fol- lowing repetitions: Coleridge, § 3 — theory. Macaulay, § 3 — best parts of his mind, worst parts of his mind. De Quincey, § 10 — sometimes. Burke § 13 (second extract) — when; mode; all Iheir; ground of. De Quincey, § 31— from, as from. Macaulay, § 5B— faults. Matthew Arnold, § 53 — catchword; absolute, absolutely; demonstration ; certain. Matthew Arnold, § 66 — instinct; preponderani action. Webster, § 56 — confessed, confession. Burke, § 56 — convention. Webster, § 57 — motive. St. Paul, § 58 — charity. Burke, § 126 — grown, growth; increased, increase. [The change from recondj^able to to reconcUeable with is in Burke a blemish.] CHAPTER XII. FIGURATIVE EXPRESSION. 109. Figurative expression may be loosely defined (see § 50) to be a deviation from the literal, straightforward way of statement. It is not correct to assert that the deviation is always intentional, for the sake of a definite effect, since many of the commoner figures are employed by speakers and writers unconsciously. E. g., when we say that the kettle boUs, for the water in the kettle, or when we say that a man smokes his pipe, for the tobacco in the pipe, we are using the figure technically called metonymy. When we describe a fleet as consisting of thirty sail, or a factory as employing one hundred hands, putting the part (sail, hand) for the whole (ship, man), we are using syn- - echdoche. But we are quite unconscious of speaking figuratively. Rhetoricians have expended much ingenuity in classify- ing the numerous figures. But their efforts bave scarcely brought much practical gain to the practical writer. In the first place, the rhetorical classifications are not logical, but admit of cross-division (see § 52). E. g. : Streaming grief his faded cheek bedewed. Here streaming grief stands for tears, i. e., cause for efi"ect (metonymy). And to speak of grief (or tears) as stream- ing is metaphor, or at least simile. Additional instances of figures that can be classified under more than one head are noted in the following sections. In the next place, although a poet or a prose-writer may employ figures more or less consciously, he does not em- 12 "7 178 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIO. ploy them with conscious regard to the definitions and groupings of the rhetorician. The following classification, which does not lay claim to theoretical perfection, will enable the student to under- stand and estimate the more usual figures at least. We may group figures in two general classes: first, a class in which the figurative language changes the nature or relations of the actual object ; second, a class in which the language changes the attitude of the speaker or writer toward the object. The first may be called Objective ; the second, Subjective. Objective Figures. 110. Ssmechdoohe ; Metonymy ; Hyperbole. — In these figures there is a change in the immediate surroundings of the actual object to be represented. In Synechdoche : a. A part is put for the whole, or the whole for a part. b. An individual is put for the class, or the class for an individual. E. g. : a. A fleet of thirty sail {sail for ship). Paid my price in paltry gold ((/old for certain coin made of gold). b. Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest {Milton for poet in general). He went to his rest (for he died; general for individual). In Metonymy: a. Cause is put for efifect, or effect for cause, b. Substance for quality (property), or quality for substance, c. Sign for thing signified, d. Time for per- sons or events, e. Place for persons or events. E. g. : a. Oray hairs should be respected (for old age). b. The mn dries the ground (for the heat of the sun). Wealth counts its cattle (for wealthy men). To be young was very heaven (for happiness). His Majesty (for the king) ; his Otranx (for the Auhe) ; your Monorr (said to a jvdge), and many similar forms. o. The crescent receded before the a'oss (for Mohammedanism and d. We have much to learn from classical antiquity (for Greeks and Momdns). FIGURATIVE EXPRESSION. 179 e. The bench, the bar, the pvlpit {ioT judges, lawyers, preachers). All Europe and Asia fast asleep (Carlyle, ? 44 j for the inhabitants of Europe and Asia). In Hyperbole the object (or its action) is magnified or diminished. Herein hyperbole is more akin to synech- doche than to any other figure ; e. g., Milton, describing the altercation between Death and Satan, says daringly : So frowned the mighty combatants that Hell Orew darker at their frown. — Paradise Lost, ii. 719. The following is a diminishing hyperbole : The front garden was no bigger than a napkin. As a genuine figure, hyperbole can scarcely be said to exist, except in combination with simile, comparison, metaphor, personification, or some other figure. E. g. : Behind them, like a giant of league-long strides, came hurrying the thunderstorm. — Hawthorne, ? 41. Her eyes . . . seemed like Artesian wells, down, down into the infinite. — Hawthokke, ? 45. Hyperbole is always exaggeration ; but not every exag- geration is hyperbole. There is no hyperbole if the^grMra- tive element is lacking. Thus De Quincey's "eternal tea- pot " (§ 43) is humorous exaggeration, but not hyperbole. Also the entire passage from Macaulay (§ 53) is exaggera- tion in general, and the assertion that " all the vices of the gambler and of the beggar were blended with those of the author " is a specific exaggeration. But the language is not at all figurative. In hyperbole, moreover, the writer not only knows that he is distorting the truth, but even counts upon the reader's detecting the trick and allowing for it. Thus : On this particular afternoon, so excessive was the warmth of Judge Pyncheon's kindly aspect that (such at least was the rumor about town) an extra passage of the water-carts was found essential, in order to lay the dust occasioned by so much extra sunshine 1 — Hawthorne, Seven Gables, ch. viii. 180 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. Here Hawthorne even anticipates the reader's disbelief by making, in the parenthetical clause, a sham apology. Whereas Macaulay, in § 63, is unconscious of exaggera- tion and really believes his estimate to be in every respect true and acceptable to the reader. Viewed with reference to this element of transparent m- sincerity, Hyperbole might perhaps be treated as a form of Irony (§ 115). 111. Simile ; Comparison ; Contrast. — In these figures we change, not the nature or immediate surroundings of the object, but its relations. Simile is the briefest and also the commonest of figures. It consists in likening the object to another object of a dif- ferent class. E. g. : He is as strong and courageous as a lion. He is a lion in strength and courage. They melted from the field, as snow, When streams are swoln and south winds blow, Dissolves in silent dew. — Scott : Marmion, vi. xxxiv. Whereof our sun is but a porch-light. — Cablyle, § 44. Like a pale meteor. ... As a dragon-fly wheels in its flight.— Gbobge Eliot, | 43. Our story, like an owl bewildered. — Hawthoenb, § 27. A little old rat of a pony. — Irving, § 12. Like a frost-bitten leaf in autumn. — Ikving, J 12. Comparison differs from Simile in being more extended and carried farther into detail. Thus, the long concluding sentence in Macaulay (§ 3) is a comparison of Johnson to the genie of the bottle. Note also the comparison of Whig and Tory to man and serpent (Macaulay, § 18), and Haw- thorne's comparison of a moral in a story to a pin run through a butterfly (§ 24). Contrast may be characterized as a simile reversed, i. e., one object is illustrated by means of its difference from an- other. E. g. : FIGURATIVE EXPRESSION. 181 SucK a conqueror no streams of blood accompany ; in his train are no desolated fields. as a description of the victory of truth over error. In Simile and Comparison, as figures of speech, the two objects likened to fach other cannot belong to the same class. If they do, we have what is called a real compari- son, and not a figure. Thus, to say of a person that he sings like a nightingale is a real comparison, for both men and birds belong to the class of singing animals. So also to say of a man that he is as strong as Hercules is merely likening one human being to another. But when we say that music is " Kke the memory of joys that are past," we use a simile. 112. Metaphor; Allusion. — In Metaphor we directly substitute the action of one object for that of another. The two objects are so completely identified that we think only of the substitute and forget the original. E. g. : Heaven saw fit to ordain, that the electric spark of liberty should be conducted, through you, from the New "World to the Old. — Webster, US- Time had ploughed his venerable front. The croaking and hollow tones of the old lady, and the pleasant voice of Phoebe, mingling in one twisted thread of talk.— Hawthokne, § 44. Agitation frozen into rest by horror. — De Quincey, ? 31. Held in holy passion stUl, Forget thyself to marble. — Milton : II Penseroso. Thralia [i. e., Mrs. Thrale], a bright papilionaceous creature, whom the elephant [i c, Johnson] loved to play with and wave to and fro upon his trunk. — CaeIjY1.e : EoswelPs Johnson. Our aery [i. e., the royal family] buildeth in the cedar's top, And dallies with the wind and scorns the sun.— Bichard III., i. 3, 264. Metaphor is the figure by eminence of poets and of those prose-writers who stand nearest to the poets. Its boldness and directness give to it a peculiar force. Alliision may be called a metaphor in disguise ; e. g. : The self-seeking will betray his friend or brother with a Judas-kiss. 182 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIG. The Ariel [Johnson's spiritual nature] finds itself encased in the coarse hulls of a Caliban [Johnson's body]. — Cablyle: Boswell's Jokmon. Even in scientific writing of a popular cast allusion is not out of place ; e. g. : This is a new kingdom of science, this embryology, but you have to enter it through a strait gate and » narrow way. For here, unless a man stoop his head, he will bruise it ; unless he enter silently, he will learn nothing. It is not nature revealed in a strong wind, or an earth- quake, or a fire ; it is the still small .voice of the growing cells he must train his ears to hear. — Parkee, ch. v. p. 69. 113. Personification consists in attributing to inanimate objects the properties of animate. E. g. : The giant monster is charmed into repose. — Ibving, ? 10. A Tudor School'd by the shadow of death.— Tennyson, § 38. One meek yellow evening. — Caklyle : Sartor Resartus, ii. ch. i. Oxford Street, stony-hearted stepmother. — De Quincey, ? 6. Armour rusting in his halls On the blood of CliflTord calls : "Quell the Scot," exclaims the Lance — " Bear me to the heart of France " Is the longing of the Shield. WoBDSWORTH : Brougham Castle. One of the most striking personifications is this, in Shakespeare's Sonnet xxxiii. : Full many a glorious morning have I seen Flatter the mountain-tops with sovereign eye. Kissing with golden face the meadows green. Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy. Note also the personification of the ilex trees in Haw- thorne, § 46. When freshly used, i. e., as the invention of the 'writer, personification is one of the most forcible figures. But many personifications have become so trite as to lose their force. Thus, when we speak of the sun as he, or of the FIGURATIVE EXPRESSION. 183 moon as she, we are not conscious of using figurative lan- guage. Death has been personified for so many centuries that Tennyson's " shadow of death " scarcely attracts at- tention. The same may be said of "the groaning of mighty trees," Stanley, § 23, and " the deep tones of the old church clock proclaimed that it was six o'clock," De Quincey, § 3. Subjective Figures. 114. Vision ; Apostrophe ; Prosopopeia. — In Vision the past, the future, or the remote is treated as if present in time or in place. Thus Cicero narrates one of the acts of cruelty of Verres : The unhappy man ... is brought before the wicked prsetor. With eyes darting fury, and a countenance distorted with cruelty, he orders the helpless victim of his. rage to be stripped and rods to be brought, etc. Even more graphic is the following, from Webster's speech on the murder of Captain Joseph White : The assassin enters, through the window already prepared, into an unoccupied apartment. With noiseless step he paces the lonely hall, etc. In the above passages Vision does not differ essentially from the Historic Present, § 97, though the speaker's in- tensity renders the scene dramatic. But where the future or the remote is made present, we cannot speak of historic present. Much of the book of Ezekiel is a vision of the remote and the future. So also is the book of Revelation. Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained are in parts vision, and the Pilgrim's Progress is wholly an allegorical vision (see § 117). Among modern prose-writers Carlyle is noted for his use of vision. In his historical writings he incessantly repre- sents himself as present at the events, mingling with the actors as one of them, overhearing their words, divining their thoughts, and announcing their future acts. Thus, 184 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BRETOBIG. he recounts one of the stages in the Parliamentary war against Charles I.: Basing is black ashes, then : and Langford is ours, the garrison " to march forth to-morrow at twelve of the clock, being the 18th instant." And now the question is, Shall we attack Bennington or not? Apostrophe consists in addressing the absent as if present, or in addressing some one who may be actually present, but who is not the regular object of address. Cicero is much given to this figure. More than once in his speeches to the Senate he turns aside from the Senate to address Catiline ; e. g. : If now, Catiline, I should order you to be seized and put to death, etc. Webster, in his Bunker Hill oration, turns aside from the main audience to apostrophize the survivors of 1775, present at the oration : Venerable men ! you have come down to us froni a former genera- tion. and Lafayette, also present : Sir. . . . The occasion is too severe for the eulogy of the living. But, sir, your interesting relation to this country, etc. The most remarkable passage, however, in the oration is that which commemorates General Warren, who fell at the battle of Bunker Hill. It is a combination of vision and apostrophe. At first Warren is summoned in vision, in the third person ; he is then apostrophized directly in the second person : But ah ! Him I the first great martyr in this great cause I Him ! the premature victim of his own self-devoting heart ! Him ! the head of our civil councils, and the destined leader of our military bands, whom nothing brought hither but the unquenchable fire of his own spirit I Him ! cut oflC by Providence in the hour of overwhelming anxiety and thick gloom ; falling ere he saw the star of his country rise ; pouring out his generous blood like water, before he knew whether it would fer- tilize a land of freedom or of bondage ! — how shall I struggle with the emotions that stifle the utterance of thy name ! Our poor work may FIGURATIVE EXPRESSION. 185 perish ; but thine shall endure ! This monument may moulder away ; the solid ground it rests upon may sink down to a level with the sea ; but thy memory shall not fail I Wheresoever among men a heart shall be found that beats to the transports of patriotism and liberty, its aspi- rations shall be to claim kindred with thy spirit I In Prosopopda the speaker personates another. The fig- ure is rarely used in modern speech. It occurs in Cicero, e. g., where Cicero introduces Milo as if speaking through his (Cicero's) lips : Attend, I pray, hearken, O citizens ; I have killed Publius Clodius, etc. On another occasion prosopopeia is combined with per- sonification; the Republic is the speaker and addresses Cicero : What are you doing? Are you suffering him [Catiline] whom you have found to be an enemy ... to leave the city ? . . . Will you not order him to be imprisoned, condemned, and executed ? 115. Irony; Doubt; Interrogation. — Irony is a figure in which the literal signification of the words of the speaker or writer is the direct opposite of his real thought. E. g. : No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. — Job zii. 2. Well, this is our poor Warwickshire peasant [Shakespeare] . . . whom Sir Thomas Lucy, many thanks to him, was for sending to the treadmill. — Carlyle : Heroes and Hero Worship. A gentleman [the Devil] of so much worldly wisdom, who gives such admirable dinners, and whose manners are so perfect. — Lowell, J 1 1. In one of his outbursts Cicero calls Verres, who was a monster of rapacity, "the upright and honest praetor." Note also the ironical use of honorable in Anthony's speech, Julius Csesar, iii. 2. And see Hyperbole, § 110. In Doubt the writer afiects to be uncertain, in order to win greater confidence from the reader through sympathy. The reader, readily solving the doubt, is flattered into be- 186 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. lieving that he is really coming to the aid of the writer. Thus : I am not sagacious enough to discover how this despotic sport . . . can be discriminated from the rankest tyranny. — Bubke, J 13. The reader, also unable to discriminate the sport from tyranny, is flattered by the reflection that Burke's sagacity is not. superior to his own. See also Webster, § 206. But, O grief I Where hast thou led me ? I perhaps speak this Before a willing bondsman. — Jtdms Caesar, i. 3, 112. Cassius knows where he is, and is certain that his inter- locutor, Casca, is no bondsman. But he pathetically calls upon Casca to help him out of an affected perplexity. In Interrogation a confident assertion or denial is put in the form of a question. E. g. : Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker ? — Job iv. 17. Or Portia's speech to Brutus : Think you I am no stronger than my sex. Being so father'd and so husbanded? — Julius Cossar, ii. 1, 297. Interrogation of this sort is common, even in ordinary conversation. 116. Antithesis ; Oxjonoron. — Antithesis can scarcely be called a figure. It changes nothing in the nature or rela- tions of the object, or in the writer's attitude to the object, but is merely an attempt to heighten the contrast between two objects or ideas by placing them close together in the sentence. E. g. : The Puritans hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectator. — Macaulay : Comic Dramatists. (See J 92.) And be these juggling fiends no more believed. That palter with us in a double sense ; That keep the word of promise to our ear, And break it to our hope. — Macbeth, v. 8, 21. FIGURATIVE EXPRESSION. 187 Oxymoron has more of the nature of a true figure. It consists in coupHng words that are incompatible in their ordinary literal sense. It might be called a logical hyper- bole. E. g. : His honour rooted in dishonour stood, And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true. Tennyson : Lancelot and Elaine. Oxymoron is frequent in Elizabethan English. E. g. : This senior-junior, giant dwarf, Dan Cupid. Lmiils Laboi's Lost, iii. 1, 182. Beautiful tyrant, fiend angelical I Dove-feathered raven ! wolvish-ravening lamb ! A damned saint, an honourable villain ! Romeo and Juliet, iii. 2, 75. At present the figure is rarely used. 117. Allegory; Parable; Fable. — These are classified in some text-books of Rhetoric among the figures of speech. But they are not forms of expression, they are forms of literature, see § 1, note. In particular, they are forms of story-telling. A Parable is a short story invented to embody a certain moral teaching. It is very short, without detail, and has only one or two characters ; e. g., the parable of the Prodi- gal Son, Luke xv. 11-32. The characters, although in- vented, are not sj^mbolic, but representative, i. e., they stand for real men and women. A Fable, in the sense of an animal fable, is also a story invented to teach a moral. The characters are animals talking and acting like men and women. Sometimes, however, both animals and human beings are introduced. Examples are the fables of the Hare and the Tortoise, the Lion and the Mouse, the Ass and the Lap-dog, Burns's poem of The Twa Dogs. A fable may be of some length, as Dry den's Hind and Panther, in which the hind stands for the Roman Catholic Church, and the panther for the Church of England. An Allegory is harder to characterize. It has at least 188 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETOBIC. three features : it is a story, though not necessarily a short one ; it has a very obvious moral ; its personages are sym- bolic rather than representative, i. e., they stand, not so much for possible human beings, as for traits of human character. The best known English allegory is Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. It is introduced in the form of a vision : , As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a cer- tain place where was a den, and laid me down to sleep ; and as I slept I dreamed a dream. I dreamed and behold I saw a man clothed with rags, etc. The man is Christian, who symbolizes the converted soul in its progress from doubt and sin to heavenly bliss. His neighbors are Obstinate and Pliable, his counsellor is Evangelist. He is much troubled by Mr. Legality and Mr. Worldly- Wiseman, etc. The story is too familiar to require further illustration. The student is merely re- quested to note that each personage bears the label of some virtue or some vice. The Morality Plays of early English literature are in the main dramatized allegories. Thus, Skelton's play of Magnificence, written in the times of Henry VIII., symbol- izes youthful extravagance. Magnificence, misled by Folly and Fancy, despite the remonstrances of Liberty, Felicity, and Measure. In adversity Magnificence is visited by Poverty, Despair, and Mischief, but is rescued by Good Hope, Redress, Sad Circumspection, and Perseverance. Uses of Figurative Expression. 118. Figures may be used either for Clearness or for Force ; but chiefly for Force. . In truth, only one figure, simile-comparison, can be said to have the general effect of promoting clearness. Other figures stimulate more than they enlighten. They impose more labor upon the reader's imagination, though at the same time they in- crease its activity. FIGURATIVE EXPRESSION. 189 Simile and comparison promote clearness by illustrating something obscure or unfamiliar by means of something better known. Thus we make oratory more intelligible when we say that the orator plays upon his hearers as a musician plays upon the keys of a piano. Macaulay's comparison of the two great parties to a man and a ser- pent (§ 18) makes the condition of English politics in the eighteenth century more concrete and visible. Metaphor, in distinction from simile, is a figure of force, not directly of clearness. Thus, when the dying York exclaims to the dead Suffolk: Tarry, my cousin Suffolk 1 My soul shall thine keep company to heaven: Tarry, sweet soul, for mine, then fly abreast. — Henry V., iv. 6, 17. our intellect must first reduce the metaphor of one bird waiting for another, until the two may fly abreast, into the simile of two souls flying to heaven like two birds abreast, before the figure becomes intellectually clear. But the dramatist's genius supplies us with the energy for making such a reduction the afiair of an instant. Usually a figure is employed to elevate the object. But in humorous and satirical writing the effect is often inten- tionally degrading. Thus, compare : The quality of mercy is not strained, It droppeth, as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. — Merchant of Venice, iv. 1, 181. The sun had long since in the lap Of Thetis taken out his nap ; And, like a lobster boiled, the mom From black to red began to turn. Butler : Hvdibras, ii. 2, 31. Pbactical Suggestions. 119. 1. What are the criteria of a good figurative ex- pression ? It " should naturally grow out of the subject ; 190 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. it should be pictorial, so as to substitute a symbol for a verbal sign; fresh enough to give the reader a pleasant surprise, but not so strange as to startle him ; in harmony with the purpose and tone of the composition; and as brief as is compatible with clearness."* This statement, at once clear and comprehensive, could scarcely be improved, except perhaps by substituting the word Image (or picture) for symbol. The following sugges- tions are in good part a practical enforcement of the sev- eral requirements. 2. A figure should not present too much detail nor be long drawn out. Perhaps Macaulay's comparison (§ 18) ofifends in these respects. Certainly, when Young says of old age that it should : Walk thoughtful on the silent, solemn shore Of that vast ocean it must sail so soon ; And put good works aboard ; and wait the wind That shortly blows us into worlds unknown. the exhortation to put good works aboard immediately sug- gests boxes and bales and other articles of an ordinary mercantile cargo. Contrast this with Tennyson's Qrossing the Bar, in which the bar, the tide, the twilight, and the Pilot, briefly hinted, are all congruous and dignified, with- out a suggestion of the worldly. 3. Avoid mixed figures ; e. g. : I bridle in my struggling muse with pain, That longs to launch into a bolder strain. In the first line the muse is figured as a horse; in the second, as a ship. The shot of the enemy mowed down our ranks with frightful rapid- ity. On every hand men and horses lay in universal carnage, like scattered wrecks on a storm-beaten shore. First the men are mowed down, then they are shipwrecked. * A. S. Hill, The Principles c^f Bhetoric, p. 98. FIOURATIVE EXPRESSION. 191 4. Do not couple closely the figurative and the literal, unless you wish to be humorous. E. g. : Boyle was the father of chemistry and brother to the Earl of Cork. Or this from Dryden : I was sailing in a vast ocean, without other help than the pole-star of the ancients, and the rules of the French stage. Ocean and pole-star are figurative; rules of the French stage is a literal statement. 5. Avoid worn-out similes. It is scarcely worth the while to say that a woman is as red as a rose, or as pale as a lUy, or as pure as snow, or to describe the waves as mountain-high, or a horse as running with the swiftness of the wind. 6. Let your similes and comparisons be spontaneous; do not use a simile because you think you ought to, but because you feel yourself impelled to. It has been often observed that the happiest similes are employed by two classes of persons diametrically oppo- site: the uneducated, and the highly educated.* The uneducated, i. e., children, rustics, savages, are naive. They speak only of what they have seen and felt. When they liken one object to another, it is because the likeness is evident, and the two objects are familiar to all men. For example, one need not be a philosopher to appreciate the Indian name of whiskey, fire-water. Technical figures, also, are highly expressive to the initiated, as when short- stop fumbles a hot grounder, or when No. 4 catches a crab. On the other hand, highly-trained writers have their own peculiar gift of vision. They detect likenesses which the ordinary mortal overlooks, but which are none the less actual. Hence they are at once original and forcible. But the immature writer, having a vague idea that similes are somehow desirable, hunts for them. Or he * For a skilful treatment of this point see Wendell, English Composition, p. 255. 192 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. half-remembers them, as they have been used by some original writer, and applies them inaptly to a different relation. Hence the advice to use very few similes. Nine out of ten can be well spared. PART III. SOME PRACTICAL FEATURES OF COMPOSITION. Invention and Expression, as treated in Chapters I.- XII., are the essentials of prose composition. But there are certain practical features which require special treat- ment. CHAPTER XIII. PREPARING A COMPOSITION. 120. The term Composition may be applied to any piece of writing, whether long or short, whether compli- cated or simple. Thus any one of the independent para- graphs quoted in Chapter III. is no less a composition than Carlyle's Frederick the Great, a work in several vol- umes, each volume divided into books, chapters, sections, and paragraphs. In the present chapter, however, the term Composition is employed in the usual high-school and college sense, to denote a piece of writing which may vary in length from 600 words to 1600 or 2000 words, and which is to embody the knowledge, views, and feelings of a young writer upon a subject within the range of school and col- lege life or study. Whether the writing be actually called a composition, or an essay, does not matter. Neither does it matter, for 13 E 193 194 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOEIO. the present chapter, whether the subject be chosen by the writer or assigned to him by the teacher. Assuming that the scholar has got his subject and has thought it over in a general way, how shall we direct him to write out his thoughts in a composition ? FOEMULATING THE SuBJBCT. 121. The first direction is this : Formulate your subject in a complete and clearly-worded sen- tence, before you begin to write. Every subject is elastic: not only may it be treated briefly or at length, but it may also be treated under one or another of numerous aspects. The writer, then, before writing, should first determine the particular aspect. E. g., the subject in general may be : Camping in the Adirondadcs. The writer is supposed to have passed some weeks in the region. 1. He may narrate the more striking incidents of his trip, from the time he entered the region until he left it. 2. He may give in detail the incidents of a single day in the woods, as a sample of his tent-life in general. 3. He may describe tlie prominent features of lakes and rivers, woods and mountains. 4. He may mention the peculiarities of fishing or of hunting in the Adirondacks. 5. He may discuss the gain to body and mind from such a trip. Or, the social features of such close compan- ionship. From the above, and other similar aspects which may suggest themselves, the writer should select that one which suits him best, as the one upon which to concentrate his thinking powers, and should formulate it in a sentence. Thus: PBEPAEING A COMPOSITION. 195 In this composition I am going to describe the lakes, woods, etc. in the Adirondacks. A sentence of this sort, written down, Avill be the writer's guide throughout his work, will be his working formula. He need not insert it in his composition ; still less need he take it for the title. But the sentence, the formula, he should have constantly before his eye and his mind. In a composition of more than usual length, say of 2500 or 3000 words, the writer might combine all, or most, of the above-mentioned aspects. He should, in that case, draw up his formula more carefully, somewhat in this fashion : I am going to narrate a three weeks' trip in the Adirondacks, telling where I went, describing some of the scenery, giving in detail the inci- dents of one day as a sample of the life, and stating facts enough to justify the conclusion that the trip has done me good. Here the description would be subordinate to the narra- tive, and the two together would lead up to the conclusion. Instead of narration or description, the subject may be in exposition ; e. g. : The University Extenswn Movement. Here the writer may treat : 1. The impulse to the movement, and its history: when and where it started, who started it ; what methods were first employed ; what changes introduced in methods and subjects. 2. Difference between England and the United States ; advantages of England. 3. Actual operation of the movement in the city in which the writer resides. 4. Character of the persons engaged in giving and re- ceiving instruction. 5. Possible effect of the movement upon high schools and colleges. 196 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETOBIG. In a long composition these several aspects might be combined. Thus : I shall mention what gave rise to the movement, the persons who began it, their methods, the changes introduced, the spread of the move- ment to America, and the present outlook here. It is quite possible that the above formulation might not suit any one'writer. It is not offered here as a model, but only as a suggestion Nevertheless some such formula should be clearly present to the writer before he begins to write. Working Plan. 122. The directions for a working plan are these : 1. Having formulated your subject, think out the de- tails or items, jotting down each one on a separate slip of paper. This jotting down need not always be in the form of a complete sentence ; usually a catch-word will be enough ; e. g., for a composition upon the Adirondacks : Difficult crossing stream ; heavy rains. Thick moss on trees at . Mysterious noises in woods after sunset. Curious outline of mountain. Big catch of trout, Saturday. M. [the guide] making coffee and roasting potatoes. For a composition upon University Extension : Heard lecture on ancient Greek life ; lantern slides, buildings and costumes. How many miles must travel to deliver his lectures ; easier in England? Difference between hearing lecture on Virgil, and reading Virgil in school. 2. Having thus jotted down recollections and ideas, read over the slips and sort them into groups, putting into one group, those slips which naturally go together. Each group will constitute a paragraph, the separate jottings being the items of the paragraph ; see § 7, 3. Then/ormtitoe the sub- PREPARING A COMPOSITION. 197 stance of each paragraph into a sentence, like the formula for the whole composition, § 121. 3. After all the paragraphs are formulated, prepare a Working Plan, by writing at the top of a sheet of paper the formula of the whole composition, and below, in suc- cession, the formula of each paragraph, in the order which — after careful reflection — seems best. Remember that in Narration and Description the form- ula of a paragraph is not necessarily the Topic-Sentence. Not even in Exposition is it always such a sentence. But in Exposition it would at least suggest one. (See §§ 11, 12.) This process of formulating the subject, then jotting down numerous items, grouping these into paragraphs, formulating each paragraph, and lastly drawing up a working plan, is necessarily slow. Certainly the first at- tempt will cost time and effort. But with every fresh composition the task will become lighter, until — after the fourth or fifth composition — the young writer perceives that he is acquiring a certain skiU in formulating and outlining. But, whether slow or rapid, the process is the only sure means of curing the chronic fault of school and college composition, the lack of unity, order, coherence, and pro- portion. Every teacher of English knows that the ordi- nary composition, even if correct in grammar and diction, is rambling. The writer does not start off promptly, he is difiuse where he ought to be concise, or meagre where he ought to amplify, he omits necessary statements, and ends with a limp. All these evils can be traced back to one source : the writer has undertaken to compose without a plan. The cure, therefore, will consist in training him to form a plan. One feature, especially, of good writing can be brought out with the aid of a good working plan, namely, Proportion. The writer, we may assume, is about to de- scribe the lakes, rivers, woods, and mountains of the Adi- rondacks, in a composition of 600 words. Shall he treat 198 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. all four parts of the subject alike, giving to each 150 words? Or may he, by grouping together the lakes and rivers, reduce the number of parts to three, and give to each 200 words ? Or may he introduce another variation, by giving 150 words to the mountains and 250 to the woods? Such questions can be answered only by the writer himself, and his answer will depend upon the range of his personal knowledge and the bent of his personal tastes. But, in any case, it is his duty to raise the ques- tions and to answer them. And he should answer them arithmetically : Given so many hundred words for a whole composition in four, six, eight, nine paragraphs, how many words shall I apportion to each sepa- rate paragraph, according to my estimate of its relative importance ? The First Draught. 123. Having prepared his working plan, the scholar is now to fill out his first draught. Here the following sug- gestions may be of service : 1. Use ruled paper, the lines pretty far apart. Also leave an ample margin, perhaps of two or two and a half inches. This will give space for corrections and insertions. 2. Before beginning a paragraph, read over the items which make up its substance. Having these fresh in mind, write out the paragraph rapidly. At least, do not linger over words and phrases, but be satisfied with put- ting your thoughts in tolerably coherent shape. Your present aim is to compose the paragraph as a whole, rather than to perfect each clause and sentence. It is a safe method to plan deliberately (§ 122) ; to write rapidly, with impetus (§ 123) ; to review with minute care (§ 124). Revision. 124:. When the whole composition is rough-draughted, lay it aside for a day or two, if possible. An intermission. PREPARING A COMPOSITION. 199 if only of a single day, enables the writer to approach the task of revision in the proper mood. While writing is a creative act, implying energy, concentration, warmth, not to say enthusiasm, revision, on the contrary, is critical, and calls for coolness and circumspection. The writer is to revise his work in a judicial spirit, approving or rejecting his own words and phrases as impartially as if he were judging the work of another person. In revising each paragraph, try to employ the Echo, § 8 ; Connectives, § 9 ; Repeated Structure, § 10 ; Topic-Sen- tence, §§ 11-13. Also try the Paragraph-Echo, § 17. In revising sentences, scrutinize sharply every and and hut, §§ 90, 91 ; careless writers use them twice as often as they should. Also scrutinize the Historic Present, § 97. Pay especial attention to Stability of Structure, § 93. Bear in mind that the striking places in the sentence are the beginning and the end, especially the end. Hence the exhortation : End with words that deserve distinction* In general, guard against redundancy. If the working plan has been carefully prepared, according to § 122, there ought not to be any marked redundancy of matter. But redundancy of expression is a common vice. Old or young, experienced or inexperienced, we are all given to using too many words. Hence the constant duty of learn- ing to condense. But, since condensation cannot be taught by rule, each clause and sentence must be reduced in its own way. The following device, if employed with caution, may be helpful. In rough-draughting (§123), use more words than you are entitled to ; e. g., if the number of words allowed for the whole composition is 600, use 800, or per- haps even 900. But use them, of course, with the con- scious effort to avoid redundancy, i. e., try to say with * WendeU, English Compoaittion, p. 103. 200 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIC. them as much as possible. Then, in revising, you will know that there are 200 words, or 300, which must be eliminated. This will be a definite object. In revising, scrutinize every adjective and adverb, to make sure that it truly adds something to the expression. Also weigh every two terms coupled by and, to see if one or the other may not be rejected. The word very is usually superfluous. EsJ)ecially acquire the art of weeding out phrases and clauses (see § 94). E. g. : As we look into Salem House we see the system of schooling which was in use during the days when Dickens was a boy. We see as we look in at the doom the principal, holding a recitation, etc. This can be condensed, and also improved in structure : As we look [Looking] in at the door of Salem House, we see the sys- tem of schooling in use [vogue] when Dickens was a boy. We see the principal holding a recitation, etc. His appearance had that wholesome plainness about it which at once dispelled suspicion. This would be better as : His appearance was of that wholesome plainness which at once dis- pelled [dispels] suspicion. Refusing all money consideration, they [Portia and Nerissa] would only accept the rings. Why consideration ? And only should stand after accept. Certain it is that he [Ichahod] mourUed his steed with an air of despond- enoy and rode out through the gateway crestfallen and deeded. This is great unkindness to Irving. The writer would have done better with a simpler expression : Certain it is that he rode away crestfallen. He was so worked up and excited that, etc. A man of mean and low principles. Her position was by no means of an enviable character. As we were on our way here we saw a man who was drunk [a drunken man]. P you look from the tower you will see the whole city. The reason why Socrates was condemned to death was because of his unpopularity. JPBEPABINQ A COMPOSITION. 201 Introduotion and Conclusion. 125. It is not easy to lay down precise rules for the em- ployment of paragraphs of Introduction and Conclusion. Are they always necessary ? The ordinary text-book of rhetoric seems to teach that they are. Thus : Every theme, when complete, consists of three parts— the Introduc- tion, the Discussion, and the Conclusion.* Another term for the Discussion is the Body of the dis- course. There are grave objections to the doctrine as thus put. The whole theory of Introduction and Conclusion, in fact, is applicable to the preparing of orations, public dis- courses, essays, books, and other matter for print, rather than to the writing of school and college compositions. (See §§ 20, 21, 206.) In a paper of 600 or 800 or even of 1000 words there is little or no room for a formal beginning and ending. The scholar wiU do better to content himself with his working plan, first draught, and revision, securing thereby the ad- vantages of simplicity and directness. If the paper is to contain 1500 words or upward, espe- cially if it is to treat of a subject at all complicated, in- volving something more than mere narration or description, the writer should consider whether he can make his treat- ment really more effective by means of an introduction and a conclusion. In other words, the writer should judge for himself, and not follow blindly a mere text-book rule. In any case the Introduction should be nothing more than the Subject-formula (§ 121), cast into a brief para- graph of forty or fifty words. E. g., Irving introduces his description of Christmas in England thus : * Williams, Camposniion and Rhetoric, p. 271 ; see also D. J. Hill, Elements of Rhetoric and Composition, p. 16. On the other hand, see the caustic remarks of Wendell, English Composition, p. 167, upon the impulse " to preface something in particular by at least a paragraph of nothing in particular, bearing to the real matter in hand a relation not more inherently intimate than that of the tuning of violins to a symphony." 202 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. In the preceding paper I have made some general observations on the Christmas festivities of England, and am tempted to illustrate them by some anecdotes of a Christmas passed in the country ; in perusing which I would most courteously invite my reader to lay aside the aus- terity of wisdom, and to put on that genuine holiday spirit which is tolerant of folly and anxious only for amusement. — Ibving : The Stage- Coach. The Conclusion should be a summing-up and applica- tion. Thus Irving ends his Christmas descriptions with two paragraphs. In the first he answers the supposed objection : " To what purpose is all this ; how is the world to be made wiser by this talk?" with the assertion that his object is not to instruct, but to please. This goes back directly to the paragraph of intro- duction, quoted above. Then comes the final paragraph : What, after all, is the mite of wisdom that "I could throw into the mass of knowledge ; or how am I sure that my sagest deductions may be safe guides for the opinions of others ? But in writing to amuse, if I fail, the only evil is my own disappointment. If, however, I can, by any lucky chance, in these days of evil, rub out one wrinkle from the brow of care, or beguile the heavy heart of one moment of sorrow ; if I can now and then penetrate through the gathering film of misan- thropy, prompt a benevolent view of human nature, and make my reader more in good-humor with his fellow-beings and himself, surely, surely I shall not then have written entirely in vain. — Irving : I%e Christmas Dinner. From Irving, as a i*epresentative author not too far above the reach of the ordinary student, one lesson at least can be learned, namely, to make introductions and conclusions direct, specific, to the point. But, since the young writer is too apt to turn them into a mere exhibi- tion of glittering generalities and commonplace, we are perfectly justified in saying to him : If you cannot make them as they should be, omit them altogether. 126. Link-Paragraph. — The nature of this is discussed and illustrated in § 18. In a short composition there is PREPARING A COMPOSITION. 203 scarcely room for one. But in a composition of some length, e. g., one that seems to require an introduction and a conclusion, such a paragraph may be a desirable feature. By means of it the writer can sum up the details of de- scription or of narration before passing to a different part of the subject. It is especially useful in exposition and in argument, as a means of summing up phenomena point- ing to a common cause, or causes operating toward a com- mon result. In addition to the quotations in § 18, the fol- lowing deserves careful study. In it Burke sums up the six causes or sources of the peculiar spirit of liberty in America, sketching briefly that spirit in its outward mani- festations. The first sentence of the succeeding paragraph is also given here, to exhibit Burke's manner of passing to a fresh aspect of his subject : Then, sir, from these six capital sources : of Descent ; of Form of Government ; of Keligion in the Northern Provinces ; of Manners in the Southern ; of Education ; of the Eemoteness of Situation from the First Mover of Government; from all these causes a fierce Spirit of Liberty has grown up. It has grown with the growth of the people in your Colonies, and increased with the increase of their wealth ; a Spirit that, unhappily meeting with an exercise of Power in England, which, however lawful, is not reconcileable to any ideas of Liberty, much less with theirs, has kindled this flame that is ready to consume us. I do not mean to commend either the Spirit in this excess, or the moral causes which produce it, etc. — Bttbke : OoneilitUion, p. 184. The Title. 127. The most prolific source of error among young writers is the confusion of Subject (see § 121) and Title. The Subject is the main thing, and the Title is, in strict- ness, only an after-thought, a label or name, convenient for distinguishing one composition from another. Frequently, perhaps usually, the title is not even a com- plete sentence, but only a phrase, a word or two, a proper name. This is exemplified in the following list of titles, taken from about forty high-school compositions submitted 204 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. in competition for the same prize : Woman's Work, Munici- pal Government, The White Oily, Our Birds, Forestry, Our Debt to Holland. Many of the compositions betrayed the writer's inability to distinguish between subject and title. He, or she, had written upon the title, instead of first formu- lating the subject. Hence lack of purpose, coherence, and force. The papers upon The miite City, as might have been expected, were the most incoherent. Everything connected in any way with the great Chicago exhibition was apparently regarded as legitimate. Yet one writer, at least, drew the line between description and exposition. Evidently he had formulated his purpose: I will first describe those objects which impressed me most, and then I will state what I learned from them about our country's present and prospective greatness. His composition, ac- cordingly, was methodical. The only serious defect in its structure was the absence of link-paragraphs, a feature peculiarly desirable in writing upon a subject which is without organic unity. The following directions can be safely commended to aU writers, young or old : - 1. Complete your composition according to the method taught in §§ 121-126. 2. When it is completed, prefix — as Title — a short phrase suggestive of the real subject. E. g., in the list cited above, the composition entitled Our Birds might have been named, more suggestively, Habits of the Undomesticated Birds of New York; the one upon Forestry might have been named The Need of the Study of Forestry in America. In general, the scholar should not try to follow the lead of poets, novelists, and other imaginative writers in their choice or invention of titles. Sights and Insights may do for Mrs. Whitney's volume of travels; Aftermath, for a volume of Longfellow's poems ; Sartor Resartus, for Car- lyle's memorable essay ; Prxterita, for Ruskin's autobiog- PREPARING A COMPOSITION. 205 raphy. But such titles are too fanciful for the young. The prime duty of youth is to learn to be direct and ex- plicit. Fancy, if genuine, will find its expression soon enough in after-life. s CHAPTER XIV. PUNCTUATION. Punctuation is the art of using certain signs with a view to making the grammatical or rhetorical construction more obvious to the eye. Under Punctuation is here included the use of Capitals and Italics; also Word- Breaking. The more usual signs of punctuation proper may be classified in two groups. In the first group are the Notes of Interrogation and Exclamation, the Period, Colon, Semi- colon, and Comma. In the second, the Dash, Parenthesis, Bracket, and Marks of Quotation. Interrogation — Exclamation. 128. The sign of Interrogation is to be placed at the end of every direct question ; e. g. : "Why do you neglect your duty? Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock ? — 1 Cor. ix. 7. Where be your gibes now ? your gambols ? your songs ? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar ? — Hamkt, v. 1, 179. Note, in the last quotation, the sign of interrogation placed after the relative clause, " that were ... on a roar." After an indirect question the sign of interrogation is not used, but the ordinary sign of punctuation. E. g. : He demands to know why you neglect your duty. Hamlet asks where poor Yorick's gibes are now, his gambols, songs, flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar. 206 PUNCTUATION. 207 The sign of Exclamation is placed after a strong ejacu- lation or clearly-marked vocative case. E. g. : Alas, poor Yorick I How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts 1 — Ps. Izxxiv. 1 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion ! — Ps. liii. 6. The use of the (!) is much less subject to rule than the use of the ( ? ). The King James Bible translation is not consistent in its use of ( ! ). E. g. : Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me : Lord, be thou my helper. —Ps. XXX. 10. It may be doubted, in fact, whether any two books agree, or any one book is perfectly self-consistent. Thus, compare : If you do not fall in with this motion, then secure something to fight for, consistent in theory and valuable in practice. If you must employ your strength, employ it to uphold you in some honourable right, or some profitable wrong. — Bubkb : American Taxation, p. 152. with the same thought, more passionately expressed : Do you mean to tax America, and to draw a profitable revenue from thence ? If you do, speak out ; name, fix, ascertain this revenue ; settle its quantity ; define its objects ; provide for its collection ; and then fight when you have something to fight for. If you murder — rob ! if you kill — take possession ! and do not appear in the character of mad- men, as well as assassins, violent, vindictive, bloody, and tyrannical, without an object. But may better counsels guide youl — BrBKB: American Taxation, p. 154. The punctuation would have been more consistent thus: If you do, speak out I Name, fix . . . and then fight when you have something to fight for 1 The best advice that one can give to the young is to be very sparing in the use of the sign of exclamation. Use the sign only when you are fiilly conscious that your feeling is intense, or that you are directly addressing some person or some personified object. A composition dotted over with (!) is evidence of mental hysteria ; to correct such 208 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIC. writing is, for the sober-minded teacher, a personal griev- ance. A vocative form, if not strongly felt, or if inserted in the body of the sentence, is usually marked off with commas (see § 133). E. g. : Eing out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light ; The year is dying in the, night ; King out, wild bells, and let him die. — In Mem., cvi. The principle of distinction between and Oh is that precedes the vocative, whereas Oh precedes a strong gen- eral wish. Compare Lord of hosts with Oh that the salva- tion, etc., quoted above. The distinction, however, is less observed in America than in England, and even in Eng- land is not observed rigorously. Period— Colon — Semicolon, 129. The Period is used to mark the end of a completed sentence that is not an interrogation or a strict exclama- tion. Thus : A soft answer turneth away wrath : but grievous words stir up anger. — Prov. XV. 1. By completed sentence is meant one that is rhetorically, and not merely grammatically, complete. The above proverb illustrates the distinction. A soft answer turneth aioay wrath is grammatically complete ; but it does not fully express the fundamental thought, namely, the contrast between gentleness and petulance. The period is also used to mark the abbreviated form of a word ; e. g., Mr., Mrs., p. (for page), pp. (pages), LL.D. (Legum Doctor), D.D. (Doctor of Divinity), W. or Wm. (William), etc. Names of States are frequently abbrevi- ated, e. g., N. Y., Pa., Mass., Mo., etc. But nicknames are not treated as abbreviations. Thus, Ned, Will, Tom, etc. ; Cantab, Oxon (to designate students PUNCTUATION. 209 of Cambridge and Oxford), Japs ; consols (for consolidated loan of the British government). Colon; Semicolon. — These signs mark the larger sec- tions of a complete sentence that is not simple in its structure. The distinction between period and colon and between colon and semicolon cannot be formulated precisely. It is best learned from examples. Thus, in the proverb quoted above: A soft answer turneth away wrath : but grievous words stir up anger. the Colon marks the balancing of the first clause by the second. In the following passage : The Greeks may be said to be the most artistic nation in the world, in the sense that art covered so large a proportion of their whole per- sonality : it is not surprising to find that they projected their sense of art into morals. — Moulton : Shakespeare, p. 44. the clause introduced by the colon is a corollary of the preceding clause. It would have been better, however, to connect the two more closely by means of then : " it is not surprising, then, to find," etc. The colon is now frequently used to introduce a direct quotation, or a statement (of some length) in apposition or in definition. E. g. : Salarino adds: "I would it might prove the end of his losses." — MOTJLTON : Shakespeare, p. 78. Here the colon-clause is a direct quotation. In the fol- lowing : The title of the present study is a paradox : that Shakespeare makes a plot more complex in order to make it more simple. — MouiTON : Shakespeare, p. 74. the colon-clause defines the paradox. In the following : Rhetoric is based upon the following sciences: Logic, which deals with the laws of thought ; Grammar, which presents the facts and rules of correct language ; and Esthetics, which investigates the principles of beauty. — Scott and Denney : Paragraph- Writing, p. 245. 210 HANBnoOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETOBIQ. the colon-clause is an appositive enumeration of these " sciences." For the use of the comma in introducing a quotation, see § 133. The Semicolon introduces the several independent members of a compound sentence, when these members resemble each other in structure, but differ in thought, and cannot be sufficiently marked by commas. E. g. : His [Boswell's] fame is great ; and it will, we have no doubt, be last- ing ; but it is fame of a peculiar kind, and indeed marvellously resem- bles infamy. — Macattlay : Boswell's Johnson. History was, in his [Johnson's] opinion, to use the fine expression of Lord Plunkett, an old almanac ; historians could, as he conceived, claim no higher dignity than that of almanac-makers ; and his favour- ite historians were those who, like Lord Hailes, aspired to no higher dignity. — Macaulay : Boswell's Johnson. The semicolon is especially used for marking the mem- bers of a series of statements, when these members are independent clauses and not mere phrases. E. g. : Philosophers assert that nature is unlimited in her operations ; that she has inexhaustible treasures in reserve ; that knowledge will always be progressive. It will be observed that in Macaulay's long description of Burke (§ 5) the several items mentioned in illustration of Burke's knowledge (sections 1 and 2), although stated in mere phrases and not in independent clauses, are marked by semicolons. This is in consequence of the unusual length and monotonous structure of the descrip- tion; commas here would not have distinguished the items sufficiently. But in the following Macaulay's punc- tuation is normal : These things were in themselves an education, an education emi- nently fitted, not, indeed, to form exact or profound thinkers, but to give quickness to the perceptions, delicacy to the taste, fluency to the expression, and politeness to the manners. — Macaulay: BomeU's Johnson. PUNCTUATION. 211 Here semicolons after perceptions, taste, easpressian, would be improper. The semicolon is gradually supplanting the colon for marking balanced clauses. In the proverb : A soft answer turneth away wrath : but grievous words stir up anger. the most modern punctuation would prefer a semicolon after wrath. Comma. The use of the Comma is — to all writers — somewhat of a puzzle. This perplexity is the result of two causes : 1. The lack of perfectly uniform rules or usage in cer- tain cases. 2. A growing disposition to disuse the comma in cases where it was formerly used. Books printed fifty years ago have more commas to the page than books printed to-day. The following directions will meet all the important cases that arise in ordinary writing. 130. Ellipsis (Omission), Series. — The omission of any part of speech necessary to the full grammatical construc- tion is indicated by a comma. E. g. : Homer was the greater genius ; Virgil, the better artist. Here the comma takes the place of the omitted was. Aristotle, Hamilton, and Mill are authorities in logic. Here the comma before Hamilton marlcs the omission of and. It will be observed that the comma is also used after Hamilton, although the and is not omitted. This is the custom in punctuating a series of terms, phrdses, or clauses. It is not strictly logical, but perhaps it may be regarded as a device to prevent the reader from coupling the last two terms in one, as if (1) Aristotle, (2) Hamilton and Mill, joint authors of one particular book or system of logic. If in the above sentence, the and is used throughout, the punctuation is: 212 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETORIC. Aristotle and Hamilton and Mill are authorities in logic. If the and is omitted altogether, the punctuation is : Aristotle, Hamilton, Mill, are authorities in logic. Here the introduction of a comma after Mill is not log- ical : it breaks the direct grammatical connection of sub- ject and verb. But the usage is uniform. In such sentences as : Virtue, religion is the one thing needful. no comma is put after religion. The two terms do not con- stitute a series, but are essentially one term, as the singular is indicates. The case is really one of Apposition (§ 131). Where words or phrases occur in pairs, each pair is marked off with commas. E. g. : I take thee to my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance. In the above it is to be observed that in the clauses for better for worse, for richer for poorer, there is an omission of and or or. This omission would ordinarily require a comma. But the introduction of one here would mar the general symmetry of the punctuation. The sequence of thought in the whole sentence is so close (all the clauses after wife express one thought, namely, the manner in which the husband is to have and to hold his wife) that semicolons are not possible. The following is more normal : The poor and the rich, the weak and the strong, the young and the old, have one common Father. 131. Co-ordination ; Apposifion.— In § 85 attention is called to the distinction between the restrictive and the co-ordinative uses of the relative pronoun. In the present section the principle is laid down and illustrated that all co-ordivnfive clauses, whether pronominal or adverbial, are marked off by commas, while restrictive clauses are not. E. g. : PUNCTUATION. 213 John, who happened to be in the garden at the time, saw the carriage drive up. John was in the garden, where he had been since breakfast, when the carriage drove up. At this critical juncture, when England was threatened by a coalition of European powers, Hastings was fortunately at the head of affairs in India. The above are co-ordinative. The following are restric- tive, and therefore do not take commas : We have not time to enumerate all the other men of weight who were attached to the government. This monument marks the spot where General fell. The time was approaching when our island was to be assailed. The difference between co-ordination and restriction is one of principle, and demands close thinking. The scholar will apprehend the difference by bearing in mind that a co-ordinative clause merely repeats without modifica- tion the thought expressed in the antecedent. E. g. : In practical life, where we have to act, the formation of judgments is a necessity. In art we can escape the obligation. — Moulton : Shake- speare, p. 7. Where merely repeats practical life, as will appear if we formulate the expression in a syllogism (§ 75) : 1. In order to act we must form judgments. 2. We have to act in practical life. 3. Therefore in practical life we must form judgments. Observe the difference between the above and the fol- lowing sentence: Venice is a city where the people can do without horses and car- riages. Where does not merely repeat dty; on the contrary, it modifies and defines Venice to be one particular city, and is not applicable to every city. If the wJiere were really a mere repetition, we should have the syllogism : 214 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. In a cHy people do without horses and carriages. Venice is a eiiy. Therefore the people of Venice do without horses and carriages. The fallacy is self-evident. It will be of practical help to remember that the relative pronoun after a proper name or other personal designation is always co-ordiiiative, for the reason that personal desig- nation marks the individual and does not admit of real definition or restriction (see §§ 49, 51). E. g. : John, who happened to be in the garden at the time, saw the carriage drive up. In this particular narrative there is only one John. The arrest was pronounced unlawful by the Court of Common Pleas, in whwh Chief Justice Pratt presided, and the prisoner was discharged. — Macaulay : Ghatham (second essay). There is only one Court of Common Pleas in England. Joanna, whose poverty suggested to her simplicity that it might be the costliness of suitable robes which caused the demur, asked them if they fancied God, who clothed the flowers of the valleys, unable to find raiment for his servants. — De Qtjincey {Joan of Arc), v.. 405. There is only one Joan of Arc ; there is only one God. Where, however, a proper name is not used as a genuine proper name, but — by Synechdoche, § 110 — is merely rep- resentative of a class, there the following clause is restric- tive and is without comma. E. g. : Oh for some Hampden who might teach us to resist oppression. In Gray's Elegy: Some village Hampden, that, with dauntless breast, The little tyrant of his fields withstood. the comma before that is eighteenth-century punctuation rather than nineteenth. Hampden stands for those who resist oppression. Apposition is merely a variety of co-ordination. E. g. : The chief work of Chaucer, the Canterbury Tades, suggested to Long- fellow the plan of the Tales of a Wayside Inn. PUNCTUATION. 215 The greatest of poets nmong the ancients, Homer, like the greatest among the moderns, Milton, was blind. John Chapman, Doctor of Medicine. John Chapman, M. D. In certain short phrases the comma is omitted, the ap- position being scarcely felt as such. E. g. : Paul the apostle was a man of energy. Sponsor the poet lived in the times of Queen Elizabeth-. The brothers Wesley. On the other hand, we punctuate with a comma : Paul, an apostle of Jesus ChriKt by the will of Qod. Paul, the groat apostle of the Gentiles, was a man of energy. Spenser, the author of the Faery Queen, died in 1699. Hidney's Arcadia was written for the entertainment of his sister, the Countess of Pembroke. 133. Intermediate, Detached, Transposed Ezpres- Bions. — Without attempting to define the class, or to state all its varieties, we may indicate the general prin- ciple, by meann of examples. Certain words and phrases, not modifying any particular word, but (lualifying the sentence as a whole, are followed by a comma when* they begin the sentence. When they Btand in the body of the sentence they arc preceded and followed by a comma. The following is a list of such phrases most in use : in short, in truth, as it happens, in brief, in fact, as it were, in fine, in reality, after all, in a word, no doubt, you know, to be brief, to be sure, of course. The single words most in use are : then, however, too, therefore, namely, perhaps, consequently, indeed, finally, accordingly, moreover, But it is to bo borne in mind that many of the above phrases and words admit of two constructions, i. e., they 216 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIO. may modify the sentence as a whole, or they may qualify only a part of the sentence or only a single word. In the latter case they are not marked by commas. Observe the difference in each pair of sentences in the following Hst : On this statement, (hem,, you may rely. I believed you then ; now I do not. I thought, ifiO, that you were discontented. I thought that yoif were too discontented. He promised, howeoer, to reform. Sowever much he promised, he did little. Mournful, in truth, is it to behold what the business called " History," in these so enlightened and illuminated times, continues to be. — Oab- LYLE : BosweWs Johnson. God is a Spirit : and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. — John iv. 24. Certain other words, standing detached at the beginning of the sentence and modifying it as a whole, are marked by commas. E. g. : Wdl, do as you think best. Why, you are quite mistaken in this. Yes, your conjecture is right. — No, you are in error. Again, let us consider the consequences of thi» conduct. (Here again means m the next place, and does not denote repetition.) With the above contrast the following : Woe unto you when all men speak well of you. Why do you mistake my meaning ? Again he fell to the ground (i. e., a second time). The following clauses are transposed and intermediate : His father, they say, is an eminent lawyer. Be diligent, I beseech you, in the pursuit of knowledge. In the usual order of words these would read, without punctuation : They say that his father is an eminent lawyer. I beseech you to be diligent in the pursuit of knowledge. Many expressions are marked by commas, either because they are abridgments of some fuller form (see § 131) or PUNCTVA TION. 217 because, without commas, the sense might not be per- fectly obvious. E. g. : Some men are refined, like gold, in the furnace of affliction. Man, m his higher moods, aspires to God. In Dante, for the first time in an uninspired hard, the dawn of a spirit- ual day breaks upon us. A contract, to be valid, must be for some lawful object. 133. Vocative and Absolute Expressions; Quotations. — Vocative expressions, in the body of the sentence, are preceded by a comma. They are also followed by a comma, if the exclamation-point is not used (see § 128). E.g.: Eing out, wild bells, to the wild sky. Hail, Okingl An Absolute clause is marked off by commas. E. g. : Shame lost, all virtue is lost. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst. A state of ease is, generally speaking, more attainable than a state of pleasure. A Quotation of inconsiderable length is frequently in- troduced by a comma, instead of a colon (see § 129). E. g. : Macaulay has observed, " Minds differ as rivers differ.'' 134. Condition, Concession, and Correlation. — Clauses expressing a condition or a concession, or introducing a correlation of some length, are marked by commas. E. g. : If you would succeed in business, be honest and industrious. The tree will not bear fruit in autumn, unless it blossoms in the spring. However base or unworthy, every passion is eloquent. Whatever be his faults, he is still a promising scholar. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Sometimes the terms of condition are omitted. E. g. : Classical studies, regarded merely as a means of ealture, are deserving of careful attention. T 218 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. This is equivalent to, if they are regarded, etc. Brief expressions of dependence and correlation do not need a comma. E. g. : You may go when you please. He is almost as tall as his father. A clause beginning with the conjunction that, or with the to-infinitive, is not usually introduced by a comma. Eg.: He went abroad that he might have better opportunities of study. I find that Darwin's Origin of Species is an interesting but difSouIt book. He went abroad to study. But the comma is used when the that-claMse or the to- infinitive is separated from the antecedent expression on which it depends. E. g. : He visited all the provinces of the empire, that he might see for him- self the condition of the people. In order that, in order to, are still usually introduced by a comma. E. g. : He went abroad, in order that he might recover his health. There is a disposition, however, to punctuate in order that and in order to like the simple that and the simple to- infinitive. E. g. : Shakespeare makes a, plot more complex in order to make it more simple. — MouLTON : Shakespeare, p. 74. That is, the comma is used only when the dependence is seriously interrupted. E. g. : Shylock's conduct was intelligible only on the supposition that he was keeping up to the last moment the appearance of insisting on his strange terms, in order that before the eyes of the whole city he might exhibit his enemy at his mercy, etc. — Moulton : Shakespeare, p. 65. Dash. 135. The proper use of the Dash is to mark a change or an interruption (and transposition) of the sentence-struc- ture. E. g. : PUNCTUATION. 219 Was there ever a bolder captain of a more valiant band ? Was there ever — but I scorn to boast. The four greatest names in English poetry are among the first we come to — Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, MUton. In the first of the above the structure is entirely changed ; is, in fact, left incomplete. In the second it is interrupted and transposed ; Chaucer, etc. would , normally follow poetry. The Dash is also used to mark a rhetorical summing-up, either with or without contrast. E. g. : He was witty, learned, industrious, plausible, — everything but honest. You have given the command to a person of illustrious birth, of an- cient family, of many virtues, but — of no experience. The great men of Rome, her beautiful legends, her history, the height to which she rose, the depth to which she fell, — these make up one half of our student's ideal world. Sometimes the Dash is used to detach a clause and give it rhetoriccd prominence. E. g. : To Anderson — a young man of vivid fancy — everything in Italy was a delight. When we look up to the first rank of genius — to Socrates and Plato, to Bacon and Leibnitz and Newton — we find they are men who bow before the infinite sanctities which their souls discern. All these uses of the Dash are sanctioned by the com- mon practice of writers and printers. But there is a fur- ther use, to which the sober-minded object, as liable to dangerous abuse ; namely, the dash as a universal sign of humor, wit, sarcasm, of every feeling, in short, which is not quite strong enough to require the sign of exclama- tion. In the hands of certain writers, notably Dickens and Carlyle, the dash thus becomes a sign of elocution (see §138). Eg.: He had no malice in his mind — No ruffles on his shirt. The good woman was allowed by everybody, except her husband, to be a sweet-tempered lady — when not in liquor. 220 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETORIC. My part in them has much matter for regret — for deep regret, and deep contrition, you well know. — Dickens. Whom I so respect and honour — whom I so devotedly love.— Dickens. A perennial thing, this same popular delusion ; and will — alter the character of the language. — Cablyle. Mankind sail their life-voyage in huge fleets, following some single whale-fishing or herriiig-fishing commodore ; keep no reckoning, on)y keep in sight of the flagship — and fish. — Cablyle. What may be tolerated in Dickens or Carlyle, soon be- comes, in writers of less experience, intolerable. The teacher should do his utmost to check the abuse, by call- ing upon his scholars to account for every dash employed. If they are unable to give some cogent reason, he should require them to change the punctuation. Too much strict- ness in this direction is safer than too little. A purely technical use of the dash is to mark the omis- sion of a word, part of a word, figures, etc. E. g. : We reached the town of , where we found a good inn. The town of D is not far ofi". Matt. ix. 1-6 (i. e., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). Parenthesis — Bracket. 136. Sometimes the Parenthesis is called the Round Bracket; then the Bracket proper is called the Square Bracket. The Parenthesis is used to enclose words or clauses which, although they are an expression of the writer's thought, do not form a part of the grammatical structure of the sentence E. g. : The Egyptian style of architecture (see Dr. Pocock's work) was ap- parently the mother of the Greek. The writer gives us to understand that his opinion is based upon Pocock's work. He might have thrown the reference into a foot-note. Pride, in some disguise or other (often a secret to the proud man himself), is the most ordinary spring of human action. PUNCTUATION. 221 At the present day the disposition is to restrict the pa- renthesis to cases Uke the above, in which the parenthet- ical thought is obviously detached from the grammatical structure of the main sentence. But formerly the paren- thesis was used for clauses which are now marked by commas or by dashes. E. g. : The wonders of this man's life exceed all that (he thinks) is to be found extant.— De Foe : Mobinsm Omsoe (Preface). If, sir, we incline to the side of conciliation, we are not at all embar- rassed (unless we please to make ourselves so) by any incongruous mix- ture of coercion and restraint. — Burke : Ooncilialion, p. 162. But all who read (and most do read) endeavour to obtain some smat- tering in that science.— Burke : Gonciliation, p. 182. The Bracket (Square Bracket) marks the insertion of matter which is not the expression of the writer himself, but is supplied by some one else,, critic or editor. E. g. : I am now as well as when you was [were] here. This means that the original writer wrote was, which the person editing or quoting would correct to were* In printing texts which are imperfect or illegible in the original, the editor may insert in brackets words or letters which, in his opinion, stood, or should have stood, in the original. Such bracketed insertions are called conjectural restorations or emendations. E. g. : And all his lands and goods [be] confiscate. — 3 Henry VI., iv. 6, 55. The [be] is a conjectural restoration made by Malone. The practice of newspapers is to use the parenthesis for matter not in the text. E. g. : My lords, I am amazed at his lordship's declaration (hear, hear). Th,e (hear, hear) are not uttered by the speaker, but by his hearers. After the lucid explanation by the last speaker (Mr. Brown), I feel that I can add very little. * You was occurs frequently in eighteenth-century English authors, where you refers to an antecedent in the singular. 222 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETORIC. Here (Mr. Brown) is inserted by the reported to inform the reader who is meant by speaker. In such cases the bracket would be more consistent. It has been used in the present book. See [the lieutenant- governor], Hawthorne, § 8. Quotation. 137. There are two ways of quoting a statement made by another person : the direct, and the indirect. In Direct Quotation we give, not only the thought, but the very words. And we enclose the words in " ". E. g. : Burke, in his speech on Conciliation with America, p. 177, said : " First, sir, permit me to observe that the use of force alone is but tem- porary. It may subdue for a moment ; but it does not remove the neces- sity of subduing : and a nation is not governed, vrhich is perpetually to be conquered." A quotation within a quotation is enclosed in ' '. E. g.: Burke, in his speech on Conciliation, p. 212, said : " This competence in the Colony Assemblies is certain. It is proved by the whole tenour of their Acts of Supply, in which the constant style of granting is ' an aid to his Majesty ;' and Acts granting to the Crown have regularly for near a century passed the public offices without dispute.'' The phrase an aid to his Majesty is quoted by Burke from the acts in question. Occasionally a quotation, if it be short and from a well- known text, is not marked with " ", but italicized. E. g. ; This point is the great Serbonian bog, Setwixt Damiata and Mount Casius old, Where armies whole have sunk. I do not intend to be over- whelmed in that bog, though in such respectable company. — Burke : Conciliation, p. 196. Burke is quoting from Paradise Lost, ii. 592, and not with perfect accuracy. Milton's text reads : that Serbonian bog. If a direct quotation is given in an independent para- graph, printed in different type, it is usually not enclosed in " ". Thus, in the present book, the illustrative extracts PUNCTUATION. 223 are without these signs. A quotation within the extract is enclosed in " ". E. g. : " Would you examine me as a witness against myself?" was the ques- tion by which many times she defied their arts.— De Quikcey {Joan of Arc), V. 404. In quoting directly we should reproduce the exact phraseology, spelling, and punctuation of the original.* Corrections or additions we may either enclose in brackets (§ 136) or append in foot-notes. Indirect Quotation consists in reproducing the thought of another person in the wording of the writer. E. g. : Socrates said that he believed the soul to be immortal. Such quotation is given without " ". A direct quotation would be : Socrates said : " I believe that the soul is immortal." Indirect quotation demands great care on the part of the person quoting. It is; in fact, a kind of translation, in which the new words, as in translating from a foreign lan- guage, may suggest a different shade of meaning. Thus some one may have said : I [William] slept last night from ten to seven o'clock. This might be quoted indirectly, with sufficient accuracy : WiUiam said that he slept nine hours last night. But it would not be accurate in this form : William said that he had a long a-nd refreshing night's rest. The nine hours may have been refreshing, or they may not. To say that they were is to add something hot in the original. Accuracy in quoting indirectly cannot be taught by rule. * In a few of the extracts in the present book slight changes have been made. E. g., in g 8 words have been italicized for the purpose of marking the Echo. So. also, in gg 9 and 10 the Connectives and Topic Sentences have been italicized. And De Foe's spelling, except in g 139, has been modernized. The quotations from Shakespeare are in the spelling and punctuation of the Clar- endon Press editions, wherever these editions are available. 224 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETORIO. It requires a clear perception of the original, together with earnestness of purpose and a good command of language. Every answer to an examination-question is, in substance, an indirect quotation : the scholar reproduces, in his own wording, his understanding of the original. The answers, as all teachers know, reveal every grade of error, from a total misunderstanding of the original to a mere blunder in the choice or order of words. Only one suggestion can be given for preparing a com- position. If you doubt in the least your ability to quote indirectly, quote directly. Practical Remarks. 138. 1. Do not confound Punctuation with Elocution. This error, which has already been touched upon in § 135, works injuriously in two opposite directions : the writer is tempted to think that emphatic expressions must be punc- tuated; conversely, that punctuated expressions must be emphatic. But, in reality, punctuation is — in the main — logical ; whereas elocution is emotional. The two prin- ciples are better kept apart. When the king says : My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. — Samlet, iii. 3, 97. words and thoughts are for the elocutionist fully as promi- nent as the comma after up. In the phrases : " Yes, sir,'' " No, sir," we disregard the comma and pronounce : Yessir, Nosir. In the sentence : The great use of books is to rouse us to thought. we mark the emphasis as if the line were divided thus : The great use of books | is | to rouse us | to thought. Whoever will follow, printed text in hand, the delivery of a familiar Shakespearean passage by an accomplished actor, will learn once for aU the difference between deliv- ery and punctuation. 2. Acquire facility in the use of the period, semicolon, and comma; they constitute, with the interrogation-point, the PUNCTUATION. 225 indispensable routine. The following blunders are chronic : a. The writer uses a comma where the sense demands a period. 6. He puts down a comma whenever he pauses to col- lect his thoughts or hesitates for a word. c. He uses a comma at the beginning of co-ordinative and intermediate expressions (§§ 131, 132), but forgets to put it at the end also. d. He seems to be totally ignorant of the use of the semicolon. e. She (for this blunder is more noticeable among girls and women) uses the dash as a universal sign for comma, semicolon, period, or to express hesitation or emphasis (see § 135). The following passage, reproduced from an examination- paper in EngHsh, exhibits most of the masculine blun- ders: After the Queen had eaten some of the poisoned food she immediately became sick and fell into a stupor. Catherine Seyton, who had also eaten some became sick, but she had not eaten enough to harm her, and immediately alarmed the household, They summoned, an old lady Mag- delen Graeme who had sold Dryfesdale an almost harmless poison which would only produce sleep and weakness [!]. The above demonstrates that weakness of expression is the outcome of weak thinking. The following passages show the feminine dash : Suddenly, some one among the Persians shouted loudly " Eustum 1" Sohrab — , surprised, startled, was so moved with emotion that he could not defend himself — Then the sound of a galloping horse smote his listening ear — nearer and nearer it came — faster and faster fell the blows on Ichabod's horse — then with a lunge away he started. Up the hill — down again — nearer and nearer to that fatal bridge flew Ichabod and his pursuer. . . . With one last cry he flung himself from his horse, and was never seen in that part of the country any more — it was supposed that the headleas horseman spirited him away. 15 226 handbook of composition and beetobic. Capital Letters — Italics. 139. Capitals. — The first letter of a word should be a capital, if the word is : 1. The first word after a period, or the first in a para- graph, chapter, or line of poetry. , Also, the word immediately after an exclamation or in- terrogation should begin with a capital, if the sense of the exclamation or interrogation is grammatically complete. Kg.: Was there no help in their extremity 7 It seemed strange that there should be none, with a city round about her. But in a long-continued question, made up of many phrases or clauses following exactly the same form, of inter- rogation, the intermediate parts do not begin with capitals. Compare the questions in Hamlet and in 1 Cor. ix. (§ 128) with the following, in which the form is varied : What is civilization ? Where is it ? What does it consist in ? How is it defined? By what sign is it known ? 2. The name or title of God, e. g., Jehovah, Creator, etc. 3. The name of a person, place, country, etc., e. g., Shakespeare, London, England. 4. The pronoun I and the interjection 0. 6. The technical designation of a prominent historical event or political party or measure, e. g. : the Civil War, Republican, Democrat, Populist, the Revolution, the Sil- ver Bill. 6. The first word of a direct quotation. E. g. : Plutarch says, " Lying is the vice of slaves.'' But this rule is not strictly observed in very recent books. E. g. : Dr. Johnson ... is confident enough to prophesy : " poetry may sub- sist without rhyme, but English poetry will not often please." — MouL- TON : Shakespeare, p. 14. 7. A title of office or of honor, e. g. : President Cleve- PUNCTUATION. 227 land, Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales, Lord and Lady Byron, the Mayor of New York, General Sherman, etc. 8. Clauses separately numbered, even though they form parts of a continuous sentence. E. g. : The writer asserts, 1. That Nature Is unlimited in her operations ; 2. That she has inexhaustible treasures in reserve. Without numbering, the above would be punctuated : The writer asserts : first, that Nature is unlimited in her operations ; second, that she has, etc. 9. Titles of printed works or chapters of works. Some- times they are also given in italics (see § 140). K g. : The plot of ^s Tou Like It is wound up in a quadruple marriage. Have you read The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table ? One of Charles Eeade's brightest stories is Love Me Little, Love Me Long. How far have you got in Sartor Eesartus? I have just read the chapter entitled The Everlasting No. 10. In expository writing (see Ch. VII.) a term when first introduced or defined is frequently spelled with a capital. E. g. : A Pronoun is a word used instead of a noun. See also § 6 of the present book : Some authorities upon the paragraph have mentioned additional features — viz. : Selection, Proportion, Variety. This expository use of capitals is not obligatory; it is merely a practical convenience. If not moderate, it be- comes tiresome. Occasionally a strongly-marked personification is capi- talized. E. g. : And Freedom shrieked as Kosciusko fell. In general, the young writer should restrict his use of capitals to cases 1-9 above, mastering them thoroughly. The use of capitals, small caps, and the like, in print- ing title-pages, chapter-headings, etc., pertains to book- making rather than to composition proper, and is too technical for the present work. 228 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIC. Among modern writers Carlyle makes himself offensive by his extravagant use of capitals. In certain passages in some of his latest writings almost every prominent noun is thus marked. This is contrary to modern policy, which reserves the sign of distinction for words of distinc- tion. Carlyle's capitals are, in fact, a reversion to the prac- tice of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and early eighteenth centuries. Thus : Thus doing, your name shall florish in the Printers shops. Thus doing, you shall be of kin to many a Poeticall Preface. Thus doing, you shalbe most faire, most rich, most wise, most all : you shal dwel vpon Superlatiues. — Sidney : Defence of Poesy, ed. 1595. All the infections that the Sunne suckes vp From Bogs, Fens, Flats, on Prosper fall, etc. Tempest, ii. 2, 1, folio of 1623. And though a Linguist should pride himself to have all the Tongues that Babel cleft the world into, yet, if he have not studied the solid things in them as well as the Words & Lexicons, he were nothing so much to be esteemed a learned man, as any Yeoman or Tradesman competently wise in his Mother Dialect only. — Milton: TractaU on Edneaiion, ed. 1673. When this Wall was finished, and the Out-side double fenrfd with a TurfF-Wall rais'd up close to it, I perswaded my self, that if any People were to come on Shore there, they would not perceive any Thing like a Habitation. — De Foe : Bobinson Crusoe, p. 89. If you do not, you Man or you Nation, love the Truth enough, but try to make a chapman-bargain with Truth, instead of giving yourself wholly soul and body and life to her, Truth will not live with you. Truth will depart from you; and only Logic, 'Wit' (for example, 'London Wit'), Sophistry, Virtil, the JSsthetic Arts, and perhaps (for a short while) Book-keeping by Double Entry will abide with you.— Caklyle: Frederick tlie Oreat, Book iii., ch. viii. Italics. 110. Italics are marked in writing by underscoring the word or words. Their use is not governed by precise rules; but there are three general cases: 1. To mark a foreign term still felt to be foreign. E. g. : PUNCTUATION. 229 Butj in other respects, he was a man comme il faut However his mornings might be spent, his soirSes were elegant, etc. — De Quincey (Ih: Samuel Parr), v. 28. 2. To quote the title of one composition in the body of another, or to quote a brief passage in a foreign language, sometimes in the English language. E. g. : In the Merchant of Venice our interest is at the beginning fixed upon Antonio, etc. — Moulton : Shakespeare, p. 67. " De mortuis nil nisi bonwm " : — This famous canon of charity (" Con- cerning the dead let vs have nothing but what is kind and famuraile") has furnished an inevitable occasion for much doubtful casuistry. — De Qtjtncey {Dr. Samuel Pan-), v. 11, note. 3. To mark words which are emphatic or prominent. Kg.: Such a suggestion moreover makes the whole play [Julius Caesar] one complete wave of popular fickleness from crest to crest. — Moulton : Shakespeare, p. 189. The use of italics in case No. 1 is now almost regular, though some writers prefer, for Latin at least, quotation- marks, e. g., "modus operandi." In case No. 2 some writers use both italics and quo- tation-marks ; other writers use neither device; others, again, use one or the other. E. g. : We may justly regard " Paradise Lost " as one of the noblest monu- ments of human genius. We may justly regard Paradise Lost as, etc. We may justly regard "Paradise Lost" as, etc. We may justly regard Paradise Lost as, etc. The last form seems to be the one most favored at present. As to case No. 3, the young are urgently advised to be very sparing in the use of italics. It is much better to underscore not at all than to underscore too much. Un- derscoring, like the dash (§ 135), is employed to excess by women, especially in letter-writing. E. g. : " My dear Major Pendennis," the letter ran, " I beg and implore you to come to me immediatdy" — very likely, thought Pendennis, and 230 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETOBIG. Steyne's dinner to-day — "I am in the greatest grief and perplexity. My dearest boy, who has been hitherto everything the fondest mother could wish, is grieving me dreadfiMy" etc. — Thackeeay : Peaden/mt, ch. i. Wobd-Bbbaking. 141. As here used, the term does not include the numerous techn^al rules according to which a word is apportioned between the end of one line and the begin- ning of the next in a printed page. Those rules concern the printer only, and not the writer as writer. When the writer, on approaching the end of a manu- script line, sees that there is not space enough for the whole of the next word, without crowding, what shall he do? 1. He may leave the remaining space blank, beginning the word on the next line. 2. Or he may break, i. e., divide the word between the two lines. Instead of trying to tell the young writer exactly when and how he may break, it is far safer to tell him when Twt to break. Hence a general warning : jff you are in the slightest uncertainty, do not break, but begin the word on the next line. The following are special warnings : 1. Never break a monosyllable. 2. Do not break short dissyllables, such words as any, able, upon, about, master, lion, real, spirit, tyro. 3. Do not break any word in such a way as to begin the second line with the syllables -el, -er, -ic, -al, 4ng, -ly, and the like. Perhaps even -dom is undesirable. 4. Make your breakings etymological, i. e., in accordance with the composition of the word. Thus, the following breakings are good: arch-angel, resent-ment, looking-glass, circum-scribe, trans-port, false-hood. PUNCTUATION. 231 The following are bad, at least in writing : angel-ic, nation-al, look-ing, complete-ly, port-er, cruel-ty. Writing can always be slightly contracted or expanded without attracting attention. The writer, therefore, by adjusting his characters to any given line, can always avoid the problem of breaking. A httle closer writing in the middle of the line will enable him to get in such a syllable as -ic or -ty at the end. A little looser writing will save him jfrom the temptation of ending with a- and be- ginning with bout, round, or lone ; will also spare him the necessity of considering whether ex-amine is good. Even a blank space at the end of the line is decidedly better than an awkward breaking. CHAPTER XV. READING AND COMPOSITION. 142. In the present section a few preliminary questions are discussed. 1. What should be the allowance of time for English in the high school ? A generous but not excessive allowance would be one daily exercise for at least three years.* This allowance will not appear excessive, if we consider that the course is to include the appreciative study of certain rep- resentative works in prose and poetry, the mastering of a text-book of composition, and a .large amount of writing, with careful correction. The object of the course is to train pupils in the art of writing well. To write well means : To spell correctly, to discriminate in the use of words, to arrange words in proper grammatical relation, to group sentences in a para- graph organized around a central thought or opinion, to co-ordinate half a dozen or more paragraphs so as to indicate, approximately at least, some evolution of the thinking faculty, f Evidently, to secure all these ends there must be inces- sant practice in writing : let us say two paragraphs, each of 150 or 200 words, every week. For the advantages of paragraph-writing, see § 16. But an occasional essay of 600 to 1000 words is indispensable, being the only means of instruction in paragraph-grouping. See Ch. XIII. 2. What is the true function of a text-book of compo- sition — the present book, for instance — in the English course ? * An exercise is here reckoned at forty-five minutes. If a full hour is given, the number of weekly exercises may be reduced to four, t The School Bevievi, January, 1894, p. 88. 232 READING AND COMPOSITION. 233 First, to enable the student to interpret English litera- ture more intelligently and more systematically than he could otherwise. The so-called rules of rhetoric being nothing more than the formal systematic statement of principles observed, consciously or unconsciously, by good writers, the text-book of composition and the literature studied ought to be mutually helpful. The text-book ought to awaken the student's attention to the features of expression and invention in the literature; on the other hand, the literature ought to corroborate the state- ments of the text-book. Second, to furnish the student with a standard by which to test his own writing systematically, to view each process of the art in its relation to the other processes. The text-book of composition should be the constant companion of writing, not a substitute for it. To attempt to dispose of the art of- composition in a twelve weeks' term of daily recitations, without written exercises, is merely to waste time. A term-examination upon rules and definitions, e. g., upon the figures of speech, is no test of one's ability to write. Such ability can be demon-' strated only by writing several consecutive pages, neatly and correctly expressed, upon a given subject. The text- book, being, like the Latin grammar, merely a practical means to a practical end, should be in constant use until the end is attained, i. e., until the scholar is so familiar with principles, rules, and directions that he applies them unconsciously in his own writing, fi-om sheer force of habit. The lessons should be as short as possible, and the doctrine of each lesson should be apphed practically both in reading and in writing. Each topic of the book should be reviewed month by month throughout the course. 143. In what way should writing be taught? The best way, perhaps the only satisfactory way, is to teach it in direct connection with reading. 234 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BSETOBIO. The object of the following sections of this chapter is to indicate the connection somewhat in detail. In the pres- ent section a few general points are discussed in advance. 1. Reading should be an essential feature in high-school training. The high-school course is complained of as being too arid. It is all hard brain-work, gerund-grinding and mathematical formulae. There is no culture in it, no quickening of the soul. Granted the defect, the remedy lies in the careful appreciative study of good prose and poetry as an embodiment of the general culture of our English-speaking race. Certain books are to be read, not for the opportunity they offer of memorizing names and dates, but for their liberalizing, humanizing influence upon the spirit of the reader. They are to be a source of pleasure. 2. But good reading is not to be merely a source of pleasure. It should combine the useful with the agree- able; it should be the means by which we enlarge our vocabulary and learn to discriminate shades of meaning (see § 80). What is called Denotation and Connotation (§§ 162-165) can be mastered only by means of careful reading. 3. Good reading is also the most general antidote for the malaria of vulgarity and slang to which we are incessantly exposed. In learning to appreciate what is noble and re- fining in literature, one acquires a dishke of the ignoble and degrading, whether in speech or in conduct. One is initiated into the proprieties of life, conforms-^in some slight measure at least — one's own modes of thought and expression to literary ideals. However slight this con- formity may be, it is an incalculable gain. 4. Reading yields an inexhaustible supply of subjects for composition. These subjects may be of two general kinds : one,, in which the scholar is merely required to state, in a paragraph or two, his recollections of wha,t he has read ; the other, in which he is asked to state his own BEADINO AND COMPOSITION. 235 views upon what lie has read. Each kind of writing gives to the reading a definite aim, not in the least incompatible with the scholar's enjoyment of the book read, but still independent of it. Besides, we are to bear in mind that writing, like other arts, is in its earlier stages an imitative process. The young will write well in proportion as the words and phrases and general treatment which they have studied in some great author become thoroughly familiar to them and are merged insensibly in their own forms of expres- sion. They will learn to see, to feel, to think, they will acquire a sense of action, of power, of proportion, by esti- mating these gifts and qualities in Irving or in Tennyson, in Macaulay or in Shakespeare. The following sections are not offered as a programme, as a system which must be followed rigorously. They are merely suggestions of the various ways in which books may be studied with a view to composition. Every teacher can best judge for himself how far he is able to go in any one direction with the means and opportunities at his disposal. But some study and some composition along each of the lines here indicated will be within the capacity of every school, and wUl, it is confidently be- lieved, prove more helpful than the practice of assigning subjects unconnected with school reading. Exercises in Nabeation and Description. 144. It is not always easy to draw the line sharply in ordinary writing between narration and description (see §§ 32, 33), nor is it always advisable to make even the attempt. In the present chapter the vaguer terms account, recmmt, relation, relate, are employed in cases where the distinction is not to be dwelt upon. To the thoughtful critic it is a matter of surprise that narration and description are so inconspicuous among the subjects for composition proposed in the ordinary school 236 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. text-books. By far the larger share of attention is given to subjects in exposition, either alone or in connection with argument. Yet a 'priori one would suppose that narrating and describing were the forms most useful to the young, in training their perceptions, and that the more abstruse and difficult processes of expounding and arguing, except in. the simplest forms, might be reserved for maturer years. In the following sections the subjects have been taken in the main from books read, or likely to be read, in schools which con- form to the so-called New England College programnie. But the books themselves are accessible to all. 145. Rip Van Winkle, 1. [First twelve paragraphs in Irving.] In a paragraph of 200 words, describe the good and the bad traits in Eip's character (see § 38), his relations to his wife, to his neighbors. 2. [Following sight paragraphs, from : " In a long ramble," to : " On waking he found himself."] In a paragraph of 150 or 200 words, recount his adventures with the mountain spirits. 3. [Next four paragraphs, from: "On waking," to: "As he ap- proached the village."] In a paragraph of 150 words, relate Kip's awaking. Avoid historical present (§ 97). 4. In two paragraphs, 150 words each, relate Eip's return to the vil- lage, and the puzzling evidences of change. 5. In two paragraphs, 150 words each, give an account of his recog- nition ; describe his son and his daughter. 146. Sleepy Hollow. 1. In one paragraph, 100 words, describe Ichabod's outward appear- ance. 2. Describe his character. 3. Give, in 150 words, an account of him in the school-house. 4. Describe, in 200 words. Van Tassel's house and farm. 5. Describe, in 150 words, Ichabod on Ounpowder. 6. In two paragraphs, 150 words each, give an account of the supper at Van Tassel's. READING AND COMPOSITION. 237 7. In two paragraphs, 150 words each, relate the ride home : a. To the point where Ichabod meets the horseman. 6. The rest. 147. The Angler. Since Fishing is a favorite subject for school-composition, it may be worth while to examine Irving's treatment of the subject, in. the Shetch-Book. 1. Number each paragraph in the margin. For convenience the beginning of each paragraph is here given : (1) It is said (11) He had been (2) One of our (12) I found that (3) Our first essay (13) There is certainly (4) How smoothly (14) I cannot forbear (5) For my part (15) On parting (6) I recollect (16) His family (7) But, above all (17) I found him (8) In a morning's (18) How comforting (9) I thought that (19) On inquiring (10) I soon fell (20) He was a (21) I have done 2. Paragraph-Structure. (l)-(7) relate Irving's experience in America, with a knot of friends ; (8)-(21), his subsequent experience in England. (5) second half; note the historical present. (9) first half; is the account of the veteran's methods dynamic description ? (9) latter part; would the last three sentences have been better as a separate paragraph ? (10) show linking efiect. (14) why is this made a separate paragraph? (15) compare Hawthorne, H 42, 43; Dickens, \ 41. (21) how does this go back to (1) ? 3. Peculiar words and expressions. Note : (1) suspect; verge of summer. (2) perplexed; inconveniences. (3) velvet margin; lavish unheeded beauties [compare Gray's Elegy] ; impending banks [compare overhanging banks (9)]. (4) vagrant brook. (5) tortoise [what is the usual name in the U. S. ? which is cor- rect?] ; plumping m. 238 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. (8) throws itself; might let you [quotation in note]. (13) brimming along; vagary; transiently. (16) brabbling. The following expressions call for criticism : (1) " I recollect studying . . . and moreover that we were all," etc. — This violates the principle of unity and stability, § 93. It might be improved : " I recollect that I studied . . . and moreover that we were." " As soon as the weather was auspicious and that the spring began to melt." — This use of that, instead of repeating as soon as, is old-fashioned, occurring tfot infrequently as late as the eighteenth century ; see Matz- ner, Englische Orammatik (2d ed.), iii. 420. In modern syntax we say merely : " and the spring began." (8) " former storms, but present fair weather." — Compare De Quin- cey, § 6. (15) " A hammock was slung from the ceiling, which," etc. — See ? 84. How might the construction be improved ? (13) Eepunctuate the first sentence, using the dash. 4. Note the (intentional) vagueness of the title (see § 127). The Anghr may stand for Irving himself, for the Don (2), for the urchin (6), for the veteran (8), or for any devotee of rod and line (21). Are the titles : The Wife; The Widow and her Son ; The Stage Coach ; The Pride of the Village, equally vague? 5. Compare the American brook (3, 4) with the English (9, 13) ; compare the latter with the description in Tennyson's The Brook. The Angler is slight in substance ; it contains no striking scenes, like those in Rip, or Sleepy Hollow. But it reveals an equal mas- tery of the technique of writing, and by reason of its very sim- plicity and quiet tone it is peculiarly available for minute dissec- tion. The teacher might, with considerable profit, require his pupils to state the subject of each paragraph, to distinguish nar- rative and description, and to pick out the scattered bits of ex- position. 148. Silas Mamer. 1. Paragraph-Structure.— In g 7 it is stated that George Eliot is not careful in her paragraphing. The following are instances. 1. In chapter iv. the sale and killing of Wildfire, Dunstan BEADING AND COMPOSITION. 239 Cass's walk back to Eaveloe, and Ms entering Mamer's cottage are all told in one long paragraph, three pages in length. This should be broken up into at least three paragraphs : a. From : " Keating rode up now," to : " road in which Wildfire had fallen." 6. From: "Wildfire had fallen,'' to: "see that it was a, handsome whip." c. From : " handsome whip," to : " that Marner was not there." Eeconstruct the above in three paragraphs of 50, 150, 150 words respectively. 2. In chapter ii. the fourth paragraph, beginning: "But at last," and ending : " in the gathering gloom," introduces the rise of the spirit of avarice in Marner. The next two paragraphs relate his healing of Sally Gates and its effect in intensifying his isolation. The seventh paragraph : " Gradually the guineas, the crowns," resumes the subject of his avarice. How might the connection between the fourth and the seventh para- graphs have been made more direct and obvious? (See § 18.) 2. Character- Description. — The story offers many opportunities in this line. E. g. : 1. The character of Marner at Lantern Yard ; at Eaveloe, before the adoption of Eppie ; after the adoption. 2. The moral weakness of Godfrey Cass, chapters iii., ix., xiii., xv. Its punishment, chapters xviii., xix. 3. Description of natural objects. 1. Mamer's cottage, chapters iv. and xvi. 2. The Cass mansion, chapters iii. and xvii. 4. Narration. 1. Mollie's walk and death, ch. xii. 2. Eetarding effect of ch. vi.; note the echo ("ghostly," "ghosts") from ch. vi. to ch. vii. 5. Topic Sentences. 1. In ch. i. note the beginning of the description of Eaveloe : " And Eaveloe was a village where many of the old echoes lingered." George Eliot thus gives the character of the village, before going into the de- tails of its outward appearance. 2. In ch. vii., the middle paragraph, beginning: "This strangely novel situation," is a link. iTote the sentence: "Our consciousness rarely registers the beginning." 240 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIO. 3. In ct. ix., last paragraph, note the sentence : " Favorable Chance, I fancy, is the god." 149. Merchant of Venice. In writing upon poetry, especially upon poetry of such high order as Shakespeare's or Tennyson's, it is advisable to make one's own prose sober, plain, and explicit, to re- produce the thought of the original, without trying to echo the peculiar style. 1. Describe the character of Antonio, i. 1, 3 ; ii. 8 ; iii. 2, 3 ; iv. 1 ; V. 1. 2. Of Portia, i. 2 ; iii. 2 ; iv. 1 ; v. 1 ; note the alternation of spright- liness and seriousness. 3. Relate Bassanio's choice of casket, using the historical present. Is there any connection between his character, or profession in life, and his choice? 4. What justification has Jessica for running away, ii. 3, 5, 6 ? 5. Narrate the trick with the rings, giving every essential feature, and avoiding the historical present. Julius Csesar. 1. Account of the storm, i. 3, introducing Casca, Cicero, and Cassius, and using the historical present. 2. Account of the killing of Csesar, iii. 1, avoiding historical present. 3. Character of Brutus, i. 2 ; ii. 1 ; iii. 1 ; iii. 2 (speech) ; iv. 3 ; v. 5. 4. Character of Portia, ii. 1 ; ii. 4 ; iv. 3. 5. In what sense is Casca " a professional politician," knowing the habits and disposition of each one of his associates and utilizing them for his own ends ? * The answering of this will necessitate a careful study of all the scenes in which he figures. Macbeth. 1. Narrate the unbroken series of Macbeth's successes, ending in the murder of Banquo ; the unbroken series of failures, beginning with the escape of Fleance. (Moulton, Shakespeare, p. 127.) * See Moulton, Shakespeare, p. 182. In writing upon Cassius one student made the extraordinary statement that " Cassius wsis a professional politician and made a paying business of it " ! Evidently he had caught Moulton's epithet in some indirect way and connoted it (see 1 163) in the sense of " ward-heeler " or " wire-puller." READING AND COMPOSITION. 241 2. Account of the interviews with the witches, i. 3 ; iv, 1. How are the witches' words an ironical deception of Macbeth ? Compare v. 8, line 20. 3. Setarding effect of the porter scene, ii. 3. (Compare De Quincey, On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth, x. 389.) 4. Compare the storm, ii. 3, 4, with the storm in Julius Csesar. 150. The Princess. The character of the Princess herself is too complex to be treated by any except very apt scholars. But the following or similar subjects are within the range of all. [The line-numbers refer to Eolfe's edition. Boston ; Osgood, 1885.] 1. Eecount the story, i. 1-200, using the third person and avoiding the historical present. 2. Character of Psyche, ii. 91 ; 171-296; v. 68-107 ; vi. 192-277. 3. Account of the geological excursion, iii. 152-iv. 132. 4. Lady Blanche's speech, iv. 273-339. 5. The Princess's letter, v. 364-428. 6. Character of Prince Arac. 7. Character of Cyril. 151. Macaulay's Life of Johnson. [The page-numbers refer to Thurber, Select Ensays of Macavhy. Bos- ton ; AUyn & Bacon, 1892.] 1. Sketch Johnson's personal appearance, pp. 55, 56, 97. 2. His character and habits, pp. 56-59, 63, 69, 73, 79. 3. Sketch of the Johnson Club, p. 83. 4. Johnson's household, pp. 86, 87. 5. Account of the Dictionary, pp. 68, 69, 74, 75, 81. Studies in Paragraphing. The advantages of gaining an insight into the mechan- ism of composition can scarcely be over-estimated. One learns thereby that composition is not haphazard, but methodical. One also un-learns the crude notion that writing goes by inspiration. Nothing could be more instructive than Macaulay's method in his second essay on the Earl of Chatham. The first half of the essay is here analyzed systematically. 16 V 242 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. Maoaiolay's Chatham. [The text here followed is that of O. A. Lester. New York ; May- nard & Co. Figures not enclosed in parentheses designate the text- page ; figures enclosed in parentheses designate the paragraph-number. This paragraph-numbering is not in the text, but has been supplied for the present purpose.] 152. Ratio of Pmagraph to Page. In this first part, pp. 9-62 {= 53 pp. exactly), there are 80 para- graphs in all, long and short. This ratio of 80 : 53 exemplifies the modern practice of making the average paragraph-length less than the page. That is, the eye rests, on the average, at least once in every page on the typographical break occasioned by paragraphing. Besides, in the text here followed nearly every page of text is shortened by foot- notes. Were these removed, and the pages of full length, the page- breakings would be somewhat more numerous. 153. Long Paragraphs. By a long paragraph is here meant one that exceeds a page (= about 320 words). The longs number nineteen, viz. : (14) = pp. 17, 18 (49) = pp. 41, 42 (26) = pp. 23, 24 (52) = pp. 43, 44 (29) = pp. 25, 26 (55) = pp. 45-47 (31 ) = pp. 27, 28 (56) = pp. 47, 48 (33) = pp. 29, 30 (57) = pp. 48, 49 (35) ^ pp. 31, 32 (58) = pp. 49, 50 (39) = pp. 33, 34 (61) = pp. 51, 52 (40) = pp. 35, 36 (73) = pp. 57, 58 (46) = pp. 38-40 (76) = pp. 59, 60 (78) = pp. 60, 61 (14), the partition of powers between Pitt and Newcastle, is men- tioned, § 19, 1. The longest is (46), relating Pitt's resignation. Of every one of these long paragraphs (in fact, of every paragraph in the whole essay) it can be confidently asserted that it observes the principles of Unity and Sequence (?§ 3, 5). The subject can be stated in a short sentence, around which the details are grouped eflfectively. Every student should be required to test this, by formulating two or three of the longer paragraphs. Thus (55) : Party spirit revives and attacks Bute as a royal favorite. Observe that this is suggested in a topic-sentence, p. 46, line 1109 : BEADING AND COMPOSITION. 243 " He was a favorite ; and favorites have always been odious in this country." 154. Short Paragraphs. The following are distinctively short . (2) = p. 9 (44) = p. 38 (3) = p. 10 (47) = p. 40 (7) = p. 13 (54) = p. 45 (10) = p. 15 (63) = p. 53 (16) = p. 19 (65) = p. 53 (17) = p. 19 (66) = p. 54 (18) = p. 20 (67) = p. 54 (23) = p. 22 (70) = p. 55 (24) = p. 22 (74) = p. 58 (25) = p. 22 (75) = p. 59 (36) = p. 32 (77) = p. 60 (38) = p. 32 (79) = p. 61 (42) = p. 37 (80) = p. 62 The following are evidently link-paragraphs: (3), (7), (16), (24), (36), (44), (54), (65), (75), (77), (79), (80). Each of them, by a brief retrospective or a brief prospective glance, facilitates the transition from one part of the general subject to the next. Paragraph (5), the Malebolge comparison, is quoted, | 18 ; it is not distinctively short. Paragraph (80) : "We are inclined to think, on the whole, that the worst administra- tion which has governed England since the Eevolution was that of George Grenville. His public acts may be classified under two heads, outrages on the liberty of the people, and outrages on the dignity of the crown." had it ended with Grenville, would have been a mere detached state- ment, like the quotation from Matthew Arnold, § 2. But the second sentence, summing up in advance Grenville's blunders under two gen- eral heads, makes it a genuine link. The student should be required to explain the linking in several of these short paragraphs. It is also worth while to notice the alternation of long and short paragraphs. Further, the series of longs : (55), (56), (57), (58), and the three series of shorts: (16), (17), (18) ; (23), (24), (25) ; (65), (66), (67). 244 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIC. 155. Paragraph- Echo ; Topic Sentence. A few striking instances of Echo (S 17) are here noted : (2), " We left Pitt." (24), "Thus there was absolutely no opposition," echoes "not one of the malcontents durst lift." (40), p. 42, " Such were the views of the Duke of Bedford." (50), " The session drew towards the close." (54), " Some of these objects." (64), p. 53, "That succor." (69), p. 55, " In this step." (73), "This vaunting was premature." The opening of (68), p. 54, is interesting. The preceding paragraph, relating the system of wholesale bribery employed by Fox, ends with the sentence : " The lowest bribe . . . was ... for two hundred pounds." (68) opens: " Intimidation was joined with corruption," Had Macaulay written : With [this] corruption was joined intimidation, he would have echoed more plainly. But his purpose, doubtless, was to make the intimidation as prominent as possible. Topic Sentences are equally conspicuous. Only a few are here noted; (4), p. 10, " Each . . . the representative of a great principle." " Both were thrown into unnatural situations." (5), p. 11, " Each creature was transfigured into the likeness of its antagonist." " Each [party] gradually took the shape and color of its foe." (10), p. 15, " To frantic zeal succeeded sullen indifference." (26), p. 24, " Thus, during many years, the Kings of England were objects of strong personal aversion." (27), p. 24, " He [George II.] was not our countryman." (29), p. 26, " He [George III.] was emphatically a King, the anointed of heaven." 156. De Quincey's Revolt of the Tartars. De Quincey's method is in marked contrast with that of Macaulay. [The text here followed is that in Masson's Edinburgh edition, 1890, vii. pp. 368^21.] READING AND COMPOSITION. 245 1. Ratio of Paragraph to Page. — In the 54 pages there are only 46 paragraphs. The De Quincey page containing about twenty-five per cent, more matter than the Maoaulay page, it is evident that Macaulay paragraphs twice as frequently. 2. Short Paragraphs.— There are only 5, namely, at pp. 379, 386, 390, 404, 408. Not one of them is very short ; the shortest, at p. 404, con- tains 74 woi-ds. 3. Long Paragi-aphs. — Some are excessively long. The two longest are : pp. 406-408 ; pp. 414r-416 ; each contains about 1000 words. The paragraph at pp. 376-378 is almost as long ; several other paragraphs measure two pages, or very nearly. 4. Unity and Sequence. — These principles are observed in De Quin- cey's paragraphs, despite their length. The very long paragraph, pp. 406-408, is centred around Weseloff, his rescue of the khan, and his escape to Eussia. Pp. 414r-416 relate the terrible fighting around and in the lake of Tengis. There is no serious digression anywhere. 5. Paragraph-Echo; Topic Sentence. Echo is not frequent. We may note : p. 369, " This triple character." p. 379, " With this magnificent array." p. 379, " These splendid achievements." p. 386, " Among these last." Topic Seintefnces, as might be expected, are not conspicuous in such long paragraphs. But at least one may be pointed out here. It is the conclusion of the narrative proper, the carnage at the lake of Tengis, p. 410 : " The spectacle became too atrocious ; it was that of a host of luna- tics pursued by a host of fiends." 6. Comparison of De Quincey and Macaulay. — The comparison is neces- sarily unfavorable to De Quincey ; his paragraph-structure must be pro- nounced unwieldy. Each of his very long paragraphs might easily have been broken up into two or three, greatly to the reader's comfort. The student should be required to restate one or another of these long pas- sages in a group of short paragraphs of his own. In doing this he is to bear in mind that the paragraph-unit is not a fixed, mathematical unit, but something elastic, something which may be condensed, or ex- panded, or modified, in his reasonable discretion.* * See Scott and Denney, Paragraph- Writing, pp. 93-106. 246 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. An apt illustration is Maoaulay's presentation of the several Whig connections and their respective shares in the Pitt-Newcastle adminis- tration. Macaulay might have put the entire subject into one long paragraph (which, after all, would not have been as long as many in De Quinoey), of which the distribution of offices among the Whigs would have been the central thought. But he has followed the oppo- site and much more practical method of giving to each connection a paragraph of its own. Thus (17) treats of the Newcastle connection; (18) is a very short link; (19) treats of the Grenvilles; (20), the Bed- fords; (21), Murray and Fox ; (22), the remaining Whigs. Few readers will hesitate to give the preference to Maoaulay's method of building up a group of short co-ordinate paragraphs. [A word of caution may not be out of place. De Quincey's narra- tive is not to be accepted as sober history ; it is highly colored and even distorted. His distances, 2000 miles from the Wolga to the Torgai, 2000 more from the Torgai to Lake Tengis, are Impossible ; they should be reduced one-half. The river Jaik is now called the Ural. The final resting-place of the fugitives was on the upper Ily, near the Chinese military post of Kuldja. Tengis must be for Tengheez, another name of Lake Balkash. But it is not a fresh-water lake (p. 413) ; and the carnage there is enormously exaggerated. The dramatic appearance, of the Chinese emperor on the scene must be pure fiction. See Schuyler, Turkestan, ii. 172; also, "Across Asia on a Bicycle," Century Magazine, August, 1894.] Exercises in Exposition and Abgument. Exposition and Argument are usually so intimately as- sociated, not to say intermingled, in actual discussion that no attempt is made in the present chapter to keep them separate. Excellent opportunities of studying these forms are offered in Burke's speech on Conciliation with the Golcmies and Webster's first oration on The Bunker Hill Monument. 157. Burke's Conciliation. Burke's speech is a model in its exposition of general facts and principles, in close reasoning, in practical sense, in the force and purity of its expression, and, above all, in its skill in '•' winding into the subject like a serpent." It should be studied with minute BEADING AND COMPOSITION. 247 care. Three months would not be an excessive allowance of time. The following topics merely suggest the proper method of study. [The text here followed is that of E. J. Payne's Select Works of Burke, 2d ed. Oxford ; Clarendon Press, 1892, i. 161-234.] 1. Subjects for Composition. 1. Burke's statement of the object of his speech, pp. 165, 166. 2. His exposition of the material resources of the colonies, in popu- lation, commerce, agriculture, fisheries, pp. 168-176. 3. Objections to the use of force, pp. 177, 178. 4. Exposition of the character and temper of the colonists, pp. 178- 184. The summing-up paragraph is quoted, § 126. 5. Three, and only three, ways of dealing with the colonies. Objec- tions to the first two. Pp. 187-195. 6. Plea for deciding the whole controversy in the spirit of practical expediency, rather than as a matter of strict legal right, pp. 195-197. 7. Fundamental propositions, by the adoption of which the present dispute will be disposed of, pp. 209-216. Several of the above topics might be expanded into an essay of two or three paragraphs. The student might also be required to show wherein Burke's statements were confirmed by subsequent events. 2. Paragraph-Length. — In the structure and grouping of his para- graphs Burke is fully equal to Macaulay, perhaps even superior. This speech contains 141 paragraphs in 72 pages, each page contain- ing about 340 words. There are only 14 paragraphs which can be called long, /. e., measuring a full page or upward, viz. : pp. 172-174 ; 175, 176; 178-180; 180, 181; 182, 183; 184-186; 196, 197; 201-203; 211, 212; 215, 216; 221-223; 226, 227; 229, 230; 231, 232. Not one is conspicuously long. On the other hand, short paragraphs are numerous. Many are ex- tremely short, summing up, linking, or otherwise marking some quick transition of thought. The nervous strength and directness of some of these short paragraphs may be compared with the sustained dignity of the longer ones. Especially noteworthy is the single-sentence paragraph, p. 189 : "Adhering, Sir, as I do, to this policy, as well as for the reasons I have just given, I think this new principle of hedging-in population to be neither prudent nor practicable." It is almost epigrammatic in its condemnation of the "hedging-in" landr-policy. It does not violate the principle laid down in § 2, for it is a genuine link, marking the transition to the next subject, namely, the attempt to arrest colonial commerce. 248 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 3. Echo ; Topic Sentence.— Herein also Burke is admirable. Only a few striking examples need be pointed out. Note the ending of the first paragraph : "We are therefore called upon, as it were by a superior warning voice, again to att«nd to America ; to attend to the whole of it together; and to review the subject with an unusual degree of care and calmness." This announces the general theme. Note the echo in the first sentence of the following paragraph : " Surely it is an awful subject ; or there is none so on this side of the grave." Because it is such an awful subject, the orator has conscientiously tried to master it. This is the substance of the paragraph, ending with the pointed remark : " I really did not think it safe, or manly, to have fresh principles to seek upon every fresh mail which should arrive from America." Not only does the remark characterize the orator's own conscientious method, it is also a covert thrust (see § 165) at the lack of method in many of those whom he is addressing. A striking instance- of repeating the topic sentence (see ? 13, p. 25) occurs m the long paragraph, pp. 221-223. Near the beginning of the paragraph, at the top of p. 222, we read : " It is besides a very great mistake to imagine that mankind follow up practically any speculative principle, either of government or of freedom, as far as it will go in argument and logical illation." Compare this with p. 223 : " Man acts from adequate motives relative to his interest ; and not on metaphysical speculations." 158. Webster's Bunker Hill. Webster's oration is easier, in most respects, than Burke's speech. It is much shorter ; it is in the line of exposition and exhortation, rather than of argument. It presupposes no more knowledge than ought to be possessed by every American, and its general principles are few and readily grasped. Every student should be required to make an outline of the whole, reducing the substance of each successive paragraph to a sentence. [The text here followed is that of A. J. George, Sdect Speeches of Daniel Webster, Boston ; Heath, 1893.] BEADING AND COMPOSITION. 249 1. Paragi-aph-Length. — There are 44 paragraphs in 25 pages. The long paragraphs are only three: pp. 123, 124; 126, 127 ; 129-131. 2. Unity and Sequence in the paragraph are carefully ohserved. 3. Paragraph-Echo is less evident than in Maoaulay and Burke. 4. Topic Sentences are easily recognizable. Thus the concluding para- graph answers the question : What is the present duty of Americans ? The answer is double : first, to build upon the foundation of independ- ence already laid; second, to cultivate the spirit of union. These thoughts are expressed in the topic sentences, p. 145 : " Our proper business is improvement. Let our age be the age of improvement." and, just before the close : "Let our object be, Oub Country, Our Whole Country, and NOTHING BUT OUR COUNTRY." 5. Link-Paragraphs. — Many of the short paragraphs are noticeable for their linking effect. E. g., the first half of p. 125 sums up the material changes in Amer- ica since 1775; the remainder of the page, a separate paragraph, touches upon the material changes in Europe ; the first paragraph of p. 126 refers to the spiritual progress of both continents. Then comes the link, in which the orator recalls his hearers to the actual scene before them, and reminds them of the circumstance that they have now, in their very midst, survivors of the battle itself. This leads on to the well-known apostrophe in the next paragraph : " Venerable Men !" Equally noticeable is the paragraph near the bottom of p. 133. After having stated, in two paragraphs, the impressions created throughout the world by the news of the battle of Bunker Hill, the orator intro- duces the link : " Information of these events, circulating throughout the world, at length reached the ears of one who now hears me. He has not forgot- ten the emotion which the fame of Bunker Hill, and the name of Warren, excited in his youthful breast." This leads on to the apostrophe to Lafayette, in the next paragraph : " Sir, we are assembled to commemorate," etc. The change here from the third person, he, his, to the second person is little less daring than the like change in the apostrophe to Warden, quoted in ? 114. Which passage in the oration is the best, would be an idle ques- 250 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. tion. But certainly the paragraph pp. 123, 124 is unsurpassed for its skilful blending of exposition and feeling. The orator con- fronts the question: What is, after all, the real object, the real good, of the monument? He answers, that the erection of such a monument is at once a high privilege and a sacred duty. The topic sentence, top of p. 124 : " We rear a memorial of our conviction of that unmeasured benefit which has been conferred on our own land, and of the happy influences which have been produced, by the same events, on the general interests of mankind." expresses the ruling thought of the paragraph. But this is imme- diately followed by the sentence : " We come, as Americans, to mark a spot which must forever be dear to us and our posterity." as the concomitant expression of the ruling sentiment. Miscellaneous School-Composition. In many schools the scholars are required to write de- scriptions of objects in the vicinity, narratives of their own invention, and letters. The practice is excellent. It trains the perceptive faculties and gives a touch of reality to the study. Yet, in view of the general truth that the earlier stages in the art of writing must always be largely imitative, we may question the propriety of treating these exercises as wholly original, i. e., without regard to models. 159. In Description the scholar is required to examine for himself some public building, e. g., a large factory, an opera-house, a shop exhibiting a considerable variety of goods, or some remarkable object in the landscape, and to describe what he has seen. But certainly before beginning to compose, probably even before beginning to examine, the scholar should be required to read carefully the description of a similar object by some writer of acknowledged ability. He will be stimulated thereby ; he will also acquire a serviceable vocabulary and train his powers of observation. BEABINQ AND COMPOSITION. 251 The highly idealized descriptions in the great poets are not available for such a purpose. But the writings of travelers and of novelists of the better class abound in concise and graphic descriptions that are not above the range of young scholars. Irving, Hawthorne, Dickens, and George Eliot will supply models of description for almost every situation in ordinary human experience. The imitation here proposed is not to be slavish or me- chanical. The scholar is not to compose with his Irving or his Dickeus or his George Eliot or his Hawthorne be- fore him, to copy off their phrases and reproduce their turns. He is merely to put himself under the influence of his models, to learn from them how to observe. On this point there can be only one rule : Having used and profited by your models, put them aside before beginning to compose. 160. In Narration the scholar 'is required to recount some incident in his own experience, or some (unpub- lished) story.. Here, as in description, it is advisable to first study the methods of skilful narrators. Irving and Dickens are safe models. So also is Hawthorne, when not moralizing, or describing at too great length. At any rate, the thread of narrative in Hawthorne is easily regained. But George Eliot as a simple narrator is open to criticism. Not only are her expository moralizings (see § 48) too nu- merous and too long, but she frequently neglects to make the thread of the narrative perfectly obvious (see § 27). Scott would be a good substitute. In his prose descrip- tions he is apt to be heavy. But his intense personal vi- tality seldom fails to make itself felt in narrative passages. 161. Letters.— The term letter has a wide range, from a postal card with a few words on the back, up to a long and formal disquisition upon the gravest problems, e. g., Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France (nearly 300 pages of print, in the form of a letter to a young friend in Paris). But for school purposes we need consider only 252 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIC. two kinds: Letters of Business and Letters of Friend- ship. In letters of all kinds the address (on the envelope) should be explicit and formal : explicit, in stating all that is needed for ready transmission through the mails ; for- mal, in giving only the exact title of the person, firm, or corporation addressed. To put upon an envelope, which may be read by servants, letter-carriers, post-oflBce clerks, and other persons, anything in the nature of a nickname, personal allusion, or the like is a gross breach of etiquette. An address cannot be too formal. Neither can it be too legible. The recipient of a letter may puzzle out its con- tents, especially if he is familiar with the handwriting. But the writer has no excuse for wasting the time of hard-driven post-otRce clerks. A few specimen addresses are given in the Supplement. The address of a postal card does not differ from that of a closed envelope. For the back of the card, which is equally exposed to view, the rule is : Write nothing but facts. If possible, state things in such a way as to leave them unintelligible to all but the person addressed. Re- frain scrupulously from all expressions of relationship, friendship, or other personal matters. Express no opin- ions. If possible, sign with initials rather than with the full name, or — still better — omit the signature altogether. Letters of Business. — Among these are here included notes of invitation, acceptances, and regrets. The characteristics of a business letter are brevity, ex- treme clearness, and the observance of certain forms. A few specimens are given in the Supplement. A business letter may demand great care in the compo- sition, e. g., if the money interests involved are large, or if the business itself is complicated, or if the personal rela- tions are peculiar. In aU such cases it is well to prepare a working plan, of the kind set forth in § 122. E. g., let us imagine the writer to be an applicant for a certain po- BEADING AND COMPOSITION. 253 sition. After formally addressing the person, or firm, he may mention how he happened to hear of the vacancy. Then, in a succession- of short paragraphs, perhaps num- bered, he may state his various qualifications for the po- sition and introduce his references. Finally, in a con- cluding paragraph, he may give his general assurances of interest and good will. A letter thus drawn up catches the eye of the reader, and predisposes him in favor of the writer, apart from the merits of the application itself. Letters of Friendship. — These comprise every variety of subject: news, details of every-day life, expressions of opinion and feeling. The contents may be narrative or descriptive in form, or expository, or even argumentative and persuasive. The only general principle of unity in letter-writing, as in the personal essay (§ 61), is found in the individuahty of the writer. It is this stamp of indi- viduality which makes the letters of certain persons in- teresting. Most letters are short and unimportant, and without any unity of subject. Yet even the shortest and most unim- portant letter can be orderly. Although the writer need not prepare an elaborate working plan, as if for a formal composition, he should, before writing, jot down very briefly the headings of the subjects that he thinks of mentioning. If his letter is in answer to another, he should re-read this and note the questions raised in it. Having all his headings thus jotted down, he can group them in his mind, and treat them in the order which seems most natural. Each subject may be treated in a separate paragraph. As a rule, no paragraph in an ordinary letter should be longer than half a page, or perhaps two-thirds of a page. The usual fault in private letters is that they run through page after page in utter confusion of subject and without the slightest pause. The reader is expected to pass from the weather to cooks or want of cooks, to whooping-cough, W 254 HANDBOOK OP COMPOSITION AND RBETORIC. the latest dancing party, Miss 's engagement, the ball- game, mamma's headaches, and the newest fashion in hats, all in an unbroken series of sentences where half the commas should be periods' and all the dashes should be commas. To make one's private letters too systematic and studied is to run the risk of appearing pedantic. But this extreme is easily avoided. All that is demanded of the letter- writer is a little order, some care in putting together things that belong together, in other words, some congruity. Prudence cannot be impressed too strongly upon all letter- writers. Avoid extreme expressions of opinion or of feeling. Many a remark which might pass unnoticed in conversation becomes glaring in written form. Do not take too much for granted in the reader. A remark, inoffensive if uttered in a pleasant tone and accompanied by a smile, may read harsh at a distance, in black and white ; even between the most intimate friends a certain amount of re- serve is needful. Do not commit yourself on paper. Letters sometimes fall into the wrong hands and may be cited against you. All these warnings may be summed up in one : Write down nothing that you are not prepared to stand by at all times and in every situation. It is to be regretted that there is no collection of letters adapted to school use. The Four Centuries of English Let- ters, edited by W. B. Scoones (American reprint by Harper & Bros.), is good in its way, but is too bulky and involves too much study of literary history. What is needed is a small collection, not over 200 pages, containing a careful selection of the brightest and easiest letters of such authors as Dickens, Hawthorne, Macaulay, De Quincey, Thack- eray, Scott, George Eliot, Irving, etc. With the aid of such a collection the student could compare the familiar epis- tolary style of each author with his formal style. READING AND COMPOSITION. 255 Denotation and Connotation* 162. Nothing in the general process of composition is more dependent upon habits of careful reading than the gift of denoting and connoting properly. What is meant by these terms ? To answer the question adequately we must first consider the relation of human speech to the human mind. Language, spoken or written, is at best only an imper- fect means of communication. Comparatively few words state exactly the thought or feeling of the writer, and com- paratively few are capable of awakening the identically same thought or feeling in the mind of the reader. When the word does convey exactly the writer's mental state, we say that it denotes perfectly, or that its denotation is perfect. For the purposes of a simple text-book like the present we may group words, with regard to their capacity of de- notation, in three general classes: 1. Proper names; 2. Terms of science; 3. Words of every-day life, words used in ordinary conversation or in books written for the gen- eral public, the terms of literature, in short. Proper names, whether applied to persons, to lower animals, or even to inanimate objects, are perfect in denotation, e. g., Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare, George Washington, the racing-horse Eclipse, the steam- ship Campania. The terms of science also denote, or should denote, per- fectly. It is the chief duty of science, in fact, to secure perfect denotation ; and a science is exact in proportion to the denotative precision of its terms. Tlius mathematics and mathematical physics are exact sciences. Chemistry * The best treatment of this subject is in Wendell, English Composition, espe- cially pp. 68-74 ; 90 ; 148 ; 241, 242 ; 271 ; 285. But Prof. Wendell goes too far in treating connotation as fundamentally an element of force. After all, conno- tation is only a new and perhaps more convenient term tot suggestion. In sug- gesting we usually economize effort ; and economy is of course a gain of power. But sometimes we may suggest too much, and that is just the opposite of force. 256 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND ttHETOBIO. is perhaps a trifle less exact in its terminology. Biology, still less ; the terms " animal," " plant," " cell," " microbe," etc. are less rigorous than " sine," " tangent," " gravitation." But of scientific terminology in general we say that its proper function is denotation. The terms of literature, our ordinary nouns, adjectives, and verbs, are seldom strictly denotative. We are often conscious that they do not state exactly and fully what is in our mind, and we are never quite sure that the hearer or reader will apprehend them in our sense. When one boy says to another : " I am studying very hard," does the word study mean exactly the same process to both boys ? And how is the degree in hard to be measured ? When one lady says to another : " I have a bad headache to-day," how is the friend to sympathize intelligently, unless she herself has had a touch of the same ailment ? Even the most precise terms of every-day life — terms which, in law for instance, are strictly denotative, such words as father, mother, husband, wife — have not the same actual signif- icance for any two persons. 163. Putting the problem in the form of a general state- ment, we may say that, while in every ordinary word of ordinary life there is a core of meaning, a central idea, so to speak, which cannot be exactly expressed, but which ought to be invariable, and which ought to be intelligible to all persons, yet around this central idea are clustered various secondary ideas which are different for each per- son. This capacity of association in the word we call its Connotation.'^ One or two examples will suffice for illustration. We all use constantly the word " church." Its denotation is twofold : first, a building of some sort ; second, an organ- ization of which the building is the visible embodiment. Let us first consider the church as a building. Can the * In Logic the term may have a quite different sense. See Jevons, Elemeniary Lessons in Logic, Lesaon V. BEADING AND COMPOSITION. 257 word have the same connotation for any two persons ? To a Roman the word may suggest St. Peter's or fifty other magnificent edifices; to a Parisian, Notre Dame or the Madeleine; to a Londoner, St. Paul's or Westminster Abbey. To a rural American it may suggest nothing more than a structure of pine, painted white, with a shingle roof. Next, how is it with the church as an organ- ization? To a Roman Cathohc the church is a vast hie-- rarchy, an organization in which the clerical element has exclusive control. To an Anglican the church is also a hierarchy, theoretically all-powerful, but practically under the control of a parliament of which the members may be Jews and Dissenters. To an American Congregation- alist the church is an association of independent local organizations in which the laity have a direct share in the administration. Is it possible to indicate the connotation of the word " gentleman " ? When we describe an acquaintance as " a perfect gentleman," are we able to state, even to ourselves, all the ingredients which make up the perfect compound ? And can we be at all sure that those who hear or read us will have the same compound in mind ? A " dude " may be said to be a man who is unnecessarily particular in dress and manners, who makes a parade of etiquette. But there are localities in which the natives would set down as a dude a man who insisted upon the exclusive use of his own towel and hair-brush. In one connection the word " dinner " may mean the plainest possible meal of meat and potatoes. In another it may mean an elaborate ban- quet, with music and toasts and speeches. Even proper names have their connotation. George Washington meant to the Englishman of 1794 a very diflferent being from the George Washington who is recog- nized by the Englishman of 1894. To the average French- man Prince Bismarck means one kind of man; to the average German, quite another. When we speak of Julius 17 W* 258 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. Caesar, do we have in mind the dissolute young patrician, or the great general, or the great legislator, or the unscrup- ulous political intriguer ? 164. The ultimate secret of success in writing — in liter- ary writing as distinguished from strictly scientific — lies in connotation. In strict science the less connotation the better: the business of scientific exposition is to denote objects and phenomena. But in writing that is to secure the personal sympathies of the ordinary reader there can scarcely be too much connotation, provided it be of the right sort. Connotation is a secret. It cannot be taught, as sen- tence-structure and paragraph-structure are taught ; it can be learned only through dose and patient observation of the manner of the best writers. Good writing, in this respect, is like good manners : to acquire the art, one must keep good company. Herein lies the fundamental importance of lit- erary models in every course, however brief, of training in composition. Let us consider, e. g., the two adjectives " sovereign " and " kingly." In meaning they do not differ essentially. But their use is quite different. Thus Milton, in the sonnet On His Blindness, says of God : his state Is Mngly ; thousands at his bidding speed, And post o'er land and ocean without rest. whereas Shakespeare (see § 113) says of the dawn : Full many a glorious morning have I seen Flatter the mountain-tops with sovereign eye. Apart from metre, to interchange the adjectives in the above passages would spoil the poetry. Another pair of words interesting for their connotation are " woman " and the much-abused " lady." The student has only to ask himself whether these terms are not hap- pily discriminated by Hawthorne in § 48 and by De Quin- BEADING AND COMPOSITION. 259 cey in § 31 ; whether an interchange would not have marred the effect. A recent hook upon field-sports is entitled: Ladies in the Field. Here Ladies is necessary; Women in the Field would have suggested hay-raking or hop-picking. In the quotation from De Quincey, § 3, could fire-place or chimney be substituted for " hearth " ? In Addison, § 4, would washerwoman be quite as apposite as " laundress " ? In Macaulay, § 5 (3), would vivid have been as apposite as " lively " ? " Ponderous " and " heavy " ought to be equiv- alent ; yet we could scarcely substitute the second for the first in Hawthorne, § 8. In § 10, could Irving have writ- ten " the insufferable din "? Had Lowell, § 11, used some other expression for "smack," would his sarcasm have been as keen? 165. Connotation, taken in a still broader sense, is a property even of sentence-structure and paragraph-struc- ture. This is true of the figures known as Climax and Anti-Climax (§ 95), Irony, Doubt, Interrogation (§ 115), and of the peculiar mode of expression called Hint, or Innuendo. In Climax (and Anti-Chmax) the terms denote merely an enumeration ; but, as a series, they connote also a rising or falling scale of merit. In Irony, Doubt, Interrogation, the denotation is the direct opposite of the connotation. An amusing story is told of an old-time New Englander, whose obituary notice ran thus : * His English was purified by constant study of the best models : the English Bible, Shakespeare, Addigon, and Fisher Ames. The worthy writer of the notice intended merely to denote the favorite reading of the deceased. But, unfor- tunately, his phraseology connoted something more. In Hint, or Innuendo, the writer stops short of a full * Wendell, p. U3. 260 HANDBOOK OF COMPOSITION AND BHETOBIC. and explicit statement, but says just enough to arouse the reader's imagination to supply what is suppressed. A good example is in George Eliot's Silas Marner, the chapter entitled Conclusion : Miss Priscilla Lammeter was glad that she and her father had hap- pened to drive up ... just in time to see the pretty sight. They had come to keep Nancy company to-day, because Mr. Cass had had to go away . . . for special reasons. That seemed a pity, for otherwise he might have gone ... to look on at the wedding feast, etc. The special reasons for Mr. Cass's absence, the reasons that made his absence much more of a pity than it seemed to the unsuspecting Miss Priscilla, are not given. But the reader of the story will easily divine them. The following is' from Matthew Arnold's translation of Heine : She scolds so sharp, that often her husband snatches his whip, and rushes down here, and gives it to the dogs and to the poor little boys. But his Majesty has expressed his disapproval of such proceedings, and has given orders that for the future his nephews are to be treated differ- ently from the dogs. He has determined no longer to intrust the disci- plining of his nephews to a mercenary stranger, but to carry it out with his own hamds. — Matthew Aenold : Seinrich Seine, p. 165. The relation of his Majesty, Pedro the Cruel, to his two nephews being like that of Richard III. to the two little princes in the Tower, we can imagine the change of treat- ment. The execution of Sydney Carton, in A Tale of Two Cities, is equally noticeable : She [the little seamstress, Sydney's prison companion] goes next be- fore him — is gone ; the knitting- women [at the foot of the guillotine] count Twenty-two. " I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord ; he that believ- eth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live : and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." The murmuring of many voices, the upturning of many faces, the pressing of many footsteps in the outskirts of the crowd, so that it swells forward in a mass, like one great heave of water, all flashes away. Twenty-three. BEADING AND COMPOSITION. 261 The student who has learned what connotation is in general will have no difficulty in finding additional exam- ples in his reading. To search for connotation is, in fact, one of the chief duties and pleasures in reading ; it brings the reader in touch with the writer. Whether we can use connotation eflfectively in our own writing will depend mainly upon the degree of our imagination. Only one general rule can be laid down : Make sure that your words and sentences do not suggest a meaning which you do not wish to convey. m ^' MODEL TEXT-BOOKS, ?5 CHASE & STUARTS CLASSICAL SERIES. COMPEISING First Year in Latin, A Latin Grammar, A Latin Reader, Caesar's Com,mentaries, First Six Books of MneiA, Virgil's Eclogues and, Oeorgics, Cicero's Select Orations, Horace's Odes, Satires, and Epistles, Selections from Horace, with Lexicon, Sallust's Catiline et Jugurtha, Cicero De Senectitte, et de Amicitia, Cornelius JTepos, Cicero's Select Letters, Cicero de Officiis, Cicero's Tusculan Disputations, Cicero de Oratore, Juvenal, Terence, Tacitus, Ovid, Pliny, Livy. 4 A SERIES OF TEXT-BOOKS ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. By JOHN S. HABT, LL.D., LfUe I^qfessor (if Rhetoric and of the Miglish Language in the College of New Jersey. The Series comprises the following volumes — viz. : Language Lessons for Beginners, Elementary English Grammar, English Grammar and Analysis, First Lessons in Composition, Composition and Rhetoric. Hart's Composition and Rhetoric is more generally in use throughout the country than any other work on the subject. Prof. Moses Coit Tyler says of it : " In the transition from grammar to what may be called the mechanics of literary workmanship, we are obliged to insist upon a particular text-book— Hart's ' Composition and Ehetoric' — sim- ply because that book is the only one as yet in the market which deals so fully and so well with the topics which we desire to emphasize. " Its Practical Character is one of its most valuable features. Bhetoric is an art as well as a science, and no text-book for the class-room is of much value which is not well furnished with " Examples for Practice." In this respect, this book is far ahead of any other work of the kind. Its Adaptability to all grades of schools is another feature of value. It is equally in place in the graded school, the acad- emy, the female seminary, and in the higher institutions of learning. The Thousands of Schools of every grade, in all sections of the country, in which this book is being used, not only with satisfaction, but with enthusiasm, testify to its merit. Unless peculiarly meritorious, no book could possibly attain the wide- spread popularity which has been accorded to this manual. Easy Lessons in Natural PWlosophy. For children. By Edwin J. Houston, A. M. Intermediate Lessons in Natural Philosophy. By Edwin J. Houston, A. M. Elements of Natural Philosophy. For Schools and Academies. By Edwin J. Houston, A. M. Elements of Physical Geography. New Edition. By Edwin J. Houston, A. M. Houston's New Physical Geography is the realization of what a text-book on this subject should be. It is a book that will gladden the hearts of teachers an* pupils. It is concise, com- prehensive, up to the times, and in every respect an ideal text-book. Great care has been taken to avoid the mistake, common to most books of its class, of crowding both text and maps with a mass of technical detail which simply confuse and bewilder the pupil. As a working text-book for class-room use, Houston's New Physical Geography stands to-day at the head of the list of similar works, and is practically without a peer. Christian Ethics ; or. The Science of the Life ot Human Duty. A New Text-Book on Moral Science. By Rev. D. S. Geegoey, D. D., Late President of Lake Forest University, Illinois. Practical Logic ; or. The Art of Thinking. By Eev. D. S. Gkegoey, D. D. Groesbeck's Practical Book-Keeping Series. By Prof. John Geoesbbck, Late Prin. of the Crittenden Com- mercial College. In Two Volumes — viz. : College Edition, for Commercial Schools, Colleges, etc. School Edition, for Schools and Academies. An Elementary Algebra. A Text-Book for Schools and Academies. By Joseph W. Wil- son, A. M., Late Professor of Mathematics in the Philadelphia Central High School. The Crittenden Commercial Arithmetic and Business Manual. Designed for the use of Teachers, Business Men, Academies, High Schools, and Commercial Colleges. By Professor John Geoebbeck, Late Prin. of Crittenden Commercial College. A Manual of Elocution and Beading. Founded on Philosophy of the Human Voice. By Edwaed Beooks, Ph. D., Late Prin. of State Normal School, Millers- ville, Pa. 3