iti3i>»rs<«'< GOOD WRITING LEONARD© FUESS CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ENGLISH COLLECTION THE GIFT-OF' PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH tl b Cornell University Library arW37635 Good writing 3 1924 031 787 272 olin.anx Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031787272 GOOD WKITING A MODEEN KHETOKIC BY ARTHUR W. LEONARD AND CLAUDE M. FUESS INSTRUCTORS IN ENGLISH PHILLIPS ACADEMY, ANDOVEB, MASSACHUSETrS n NEW YORK HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY OPTRIGHT, 1922, BY COP? HABCOURT, BBACE AND COMPANY, INC. PRINTED IN THE U. B. A. AUTHORS' ACKNOWLEDGMENTS For permission to use selections from copyrighted works the authors wish to make acknowledgments as follows : Samuel Gom- pers's " The Demands of Labor," The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. LXXXI, January, 1919; Frank Tannenbaum's "Some Prison Facts," Atlantic Monthly, November, 1921; Carlton H. Parker's "The Technique of American Industry," The Atlantic Monthly, January, 1920; J. Travers Jenkins's "A Whale 'Hunt in the Faroes," The Living Age, October 22, 1921; Marie Conway Oemler's "The Purple Heights," The Century Company; J. W. McSpadden's " Shakes- perian Synopses," Thomas Y. Crowell Company; Frederick Palmer's "My Second Year of the War," Dodd, Mead and Company; Joseph Conrad's " Chance," Doubleday, Page and Company; Ira Woods Howerth's " Patriotism, Instinctive and Intelligent," Educational Review (Doubleday, Page and Com- pany) ; Arnold Bennett's " Your United States " and Thomas Hardy's "The Three Strangers," Harper and Brothers; Rafael Sabatini's " Scaramouche," Aldrich's "Letters," and Mary N. Murfree's "The Mystery of Witch-Face Mountain," Houghton Mifflin Company; H. G. Wells's " Italy, France, and Great Britain at War," Franklin K. Lane's "Message of the Flag," Mrs. Franklin K. Lane, The MacmiUan Company; Theodore Roose- velt's "American Ideals and Other Essays," G. P. Putnam's Sons; Charles Richmond Hendersop's "The Social Spirit in America," Scott, Foresman and Company; Henry Van Dyke's "Little Riv- ers " and H. E. Krehbiel's " How to Listen to Music," Charles Soribner's Sons; Helen Howard Taft's " Women in Politics," The Woman's Home Companion. PREFACE In making this book, we have kept in view one main purpose: to aid the student who is learning to speak and write acceptably. In order to accomplish this purpose, we have provided material for the study of those princi- ples of composition which our experience as teachers has led us to believe are essential for his guidance. Our desire to present a practical treatment of the subject has not, however, persuaded us to refrain from discussing at con- siderable length the theory of effective expression. Some teachers of composition are disposed to reduce rhetorical theory to its lowest terms; others wish to abandon it altogether. We have done neither. Believing that rules governing certain matters of speech, and principles gov- erning others, have grown up, under the shaping influence of the best common consent, with the growth of our lan- guage, and should therefore be made familiar rather than feared and shimned, we have thought it best to discuss these rules and principles with necessary directness and com- pleteness. Theory well understood and thoroughly mas- tered, far from impeding practice, makes it surer and more intelligent, even when writing has become an un- conscious process. It has been our aim, in the presentation of the theory, to keep constantly before the student the great ends to be achieved through practice. We have insisted that, no mat- ter what particular purpose he may have in any compo- sition, — to explain, to convince, to tell a story, to reproduce a picture of something which he has seen or iv PREFACE imagined, — he must try to meet at least the three funda- mental requirements of good English, — Correctness, Clear- ness, and Force, — and, if the nature of the subject demands it. Beauty as well. Since these terms seem to us to have the advantage of being easily understood, we have employed them throughout the book; and, since the long- used designations, Unity, Coherence, and Emphasis, the first two of which are not mutually exclusive, are liable to cause some confusion in the student's mind, we have dis- carded them altogether. Whatever loss may result from this break with tradition will, we believe, be fully offset by greater clarification of the whole subject. The book takes for granted that the student has already had a course in composition, in which the essentials of formal and practical grammar, and the most important principles of effectiveness, have been taught, and which-has afforded some training, particularly in Narration and De- scription. Grammar is reviewed, but not more fully than is necessary to ensure a working knowledge of the termi- nology required in the discussion of grammatical errors and the grammatical structure, rhetoric, and punctuation of the sentence. It is made entirely subordinate to practical requirements, and is intentionally ignored where it applies to matters of usage in which nobody ever goes astray. The book is designed as an organized presentation of the subject in its main features from first to last, as a handbook for reference, and as a practice book. In de- termining the most effective order for the explanation of the theory, we have been influenced by two considerations: the desirability of some strictly logical scheme, on one hand, and the actual demands of instruction, on the other. Between these two considerations there is undoubt- edly a conflict. Every teacher is well aware that, however desirable it may be to discuss each point in its proper PREFACE V connection with the whole subject, some things cannot afford to wait. They demand instant attention; they must be looked to at once. These are, for the most part, faults and blemishes that need to be eradicated if constructive teaching is to accomplish its full result. For this reason, immediately after Chapter II, which deals with the fundamental principles of structure common to the whole composition, the paragraph, and the sentence alike, we have placed a chapter which contains, by way of first aid to the young writer, even to one who may be reviewing the subject, certain cautions and directions that should be of value to him at the outset of his course. Many of the matters discussed in this chapter are dealt with more fully elsewhere in their regular place. It is diffi- cult to make such a chapter complete. After one teacher has assembled the errors which, in the light of his own experience, he thinks will probably appear in themes during the first few weeks of the course, it is quite likely that another teacher will remind him that he has been guilty of important omissions. This shortcoming may be freely admitted in advance. Any teacher, however, can without difficulty furnish supplementary material out of his experience with his own classes. Considerations of practical necessity have determined the position of certain other chapters also. Much may be urged in favor of a scheme of arrangement which proceeds from the whole composition to the paragraph, from the paragraph to the sentence, from the sentence to the word. We have departed from this order, however, and from certain other accepted orders frequently followed in books on composi- tion. We have placed the special chapter on the paragraph after the chapter on the word for the reasons that in Chap- ter II the paragraph as a contributing unit in the whole composition has already been touched on, and that the vi PREFACE structural principles governing the paragraph and the whole composition are, in all essential respects, identical. A more detailed examination of the character and function of the paragraph can be postponed without serious loss until after the sentence and the word have been carefully studied. In the treatment of the forms of discourse, we have thrown the greater emphasis on Exposition and Argument. It seems probable that the average student who may use this book has already had more practice in Narration and Description than in the other two forms ; and, moreover, he is likely to have comparatively little use for them in after life except as adjuncts to Exposition and Argument. In his actual contact with other people he is called upon more frequently, perhaps, to explain or convince than to tell a story or to paint a word picture for its own sake. Again with practical considerations chiefly in mind, we have departed from the customary procedure of treating the subject of punctuation from the point of view of the marks themselves, and have treated it, as far ias seemed possible, from the point of view of the structure and thought of the sentence. We have made the simple sentence the point of departure because, obviously, what is true of the internal and terminal punctuation of the simple sentence is, with very little exception, true of any clause of the compound and the complex sentence as well. The number of exercises in the book will, we hope, prove sufficient to afford neicessary practice in the application of the rules and principles explained. A few exercises, carefully selected and arranged, are often better suited for purposes of elucidation and emphasis than a large num- ber which may serve merely to reiterate a point without implanting it more firmly in the student's mind. Besides the theme subjects which appear among the exercises in particular chapters, we have provided a longer list at the PREFACE vii end of the book. Group subjects are, we believe, especially valuable in stimulating interest in sustained writing. In regard to good use in general, we are keenly sensible of the obligation which rests on every teacher of English composition, and on every writer on the subject, to main- tain a liberal attitude toward the changes that are inevi- tably taking place in our living tongue. The fault of " schoolmastering the language," as Professor Lounsbury has called it, is certainly one to be avoided. But, after all, the large body of good use is firmly established, and con- cerning it there can be little reasonable dispute. The region of disputed usage is relatively small. Where there is room for divided judgment, we have preferred the form in favor of which there seems to be the greater weight of authority. In cases of doubt the student should be told frankly that it exists, and should be helped to reach his own opinion. Although the book has to do primarily with writing, we have not lost sight of the great importance of oral speech. There is no very wide difference between the two. They are mutually helpful or hurtful, and the principles gov- erning both are virtually the same. The close relationship between them can easily be kept before the student throughout the course. We have included, however, a spe- cial chapter covering some of the requirements of oral composition as a formal subject. We have had no intention of producing an automatic book. Although we have endeavored to set the principles of composition before the student as clearly and attrac- tively as we could, we have not forgotten that the knowl- edge and personality of the individual teacher, indispen- sable to successful instruction in any subject, are notably so in the teaching of the difficult art of speaking and writing. Rules and principles may too easily become dead names and empty formulas if left to themselves or if set forth by viii PREFACE one who is skeptical or indifferent. Realization is one of the greatest of the ends and aims of education. The realization that in our rich and abundant language we enjoy a great in- heritance, that the opportunity to achieve even a fair mas- tery of its varied sources of expression not only confers a privilege but imposes an obligation, that intelligent study and industrious practice will make such mastery possible — this must come, in large measure, from the conviction and enthusiasm of the teacher, who, whatever textbook he uses, regards it merely as an aid to his own powers. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. The Foundation 1 II. Fundamental Principles of Structure 11 III. Some First Essentials 30 IV. The Structure of the Sentence 50 V. The Grammar of the Sentence 69 VI. The Rhetoric of the Sentence 90 VII. Punctuation 122 VIII. The Word 158 IX. The Structure and Development op the Paragraph 1 84 X. Exposition and Argumentation 217 XI. Narrative and Descriptive Elements 253 XII. The Practice op Oral Composition 273 XIII. Letter Writing 283 Conclusion 298 Suggested Subjects for Themes 303 Index 311 IS GOOD WEITING CHAPTER I THE FOUNDATION What accomplishment can add more to our equipment for life than the gift for clear and forceful expression of our ideas? Man after man has found himself handicapped in his business or profession because he has lacked the ability to put his thoughts into convincing language. Even in our younger days we are called upon now and then in school and in our homes to say or write something for a special occasion; and these demands grow more frequent as we advance in years and acquire wider interests. Un- less we prepare ourselves through careful training to meet such demands, we are sure to regret our neglect. Qualities Needed in Study. — Learning how to write with any degree of skill requires some patience and much in- dustry; but there is no reason why it should be a tedious or a dull pursuit. The primary requisite is the desire to succeed. If we are honestly eager to gain proficiency, we shall soon find ourselves making rapid progress, always profiting by our efforts in proportion as we throw ourselves whole-heartedly into them. Energy, enthusiasm, and per- sistence are bound to bring their due reward. The greatest of men, — Webster, Gladstone, Lincoln, and Roosevelt, — have insisted, and have proved in their careers, that the labor and time spent in the study of English writing are never wasted. 1 2 THE FOUNDATION The Example of Lincoln. — Abraham Lincoln once told a friend of his own burning desire, as a boy, to become a master of lucid English: Among my earliest recollections I remember how, when a mere child, I used to get irritated when anybody talked to me in a way I could not understand. I do not think I ever got angry at anything else in my hfe; but that always disturbed my temper. I can remember going to my little bedroom, after hear- ing the neighbors talk of an evening with my father, and spend- ing no small part of the night walking up and down and trymg to make out what was the exact meaning of some of their, to me, dark sayings. I could not sleep, although I tried to, when I got on such a hunt for an idea until I had caught it; and when I thought I had got it, I was not satisfied until I had repeated it over and over; until I had put it in language plain enough, as I thought, for any boy I knew to comprehend. This was a kind of passion with me, and it has stuck by me; for I am never easy now, when I am handling a thought, till I have bounded it north and bounded it south, and bounded it east and bounded it west. We cannot all, of course, have the genius of Lincoln; but it is within the power of nearly everybody to attain, as a result of thorough study and incessant practice, some- thing of his terseness and clearness of style. The Importance of Clear Thinking. — The best prepa- ration for good writing begins before we have actually put down a word on paper. The written expression of ideas is usually preceded by a period of reflection, during which we have been turning these ideas over in our minds ; unless we have found it possible to do this, we cannot be successful in transmitting them to others. If, then, we really desire to write well, we must first develop, as Lincoln did, the ability to think clearly. Language, the mirror of our thoughts, will present only a vague and distorted image if those thoughts are shadowy in outline. A muddled brain can produce only blurred composition. For these THE FOUNDATION 3 as well as other reasons, we should never start an essay or story without pausing to be certain of what we are about to say. The Need of Training in Writing. — The ideas being finally clear in our minds, we are then ready to consider problems of English composition, the study of which prop- erly commences at the point where we are sure of our thoughts and have resolved to impart them to others. Here we are bound to have trouble unless we have been trained to use words with such skill that our readers will under- stand at once exactly what we mean. The value of high and noble thoughts is much lessened if we cannot embody them in well-chosen language. It is the purpose of this book to suggest some simple yet effective devices, by the aid of which we can successfully communicate our ideas to those around us. First Stages in Self -Expression. — In the progress to- wards the art of self-expression, everybody goes through, up to a certain point, much the same consecutive stages of evo- lution. The most elementary form of intercourse between human beings is doubtless by gesture, by pointing to this or that object, as one does in a foreign country where his own tongue is not understood. The purport of signs may be entirely clear; this may also be true of single words. Babies begin with ejaculations, or emotional sounds, ex- pressive of some discomfort or satisfaction, following these with words of recognition, such as " chair " or " Daddy." Coherent speech results when the child discovers how to put one word with another in such a way as to produce a complete thought. In its primitive form this may be barely a name and an action, such as " John fall " or " Baby hungry." As the intelligence widens, other parts of speech are acquired, until the youth, eager to converse with his parents and playmates, is found to be using not merely phrases but sentences. 4 THE FOUNDATION Correctness. — All this early knowledge the child ac- quires through imitation and develops by practice, just as a young bird learns to fly or a colt to run. Sooner or later, however, he is thrust into contact with a wider circle of society, as a member of which he is made acquainted, both at home and in school, with certain conventions, or rules of language, which older people seem to have agreed in adopting. These rules, which may be grouped under the heads of pronunciation, spelling, punctuation, and grammar, make for what we call Correctness in speech or writing. We attain Correctness by conforming to the standards set by the great body of intelligent and com- petent public opinion in our own country. Pronunciation. — This book deals more with the written than with the spoken elements of language; nevertheless the problems of pronunciation will be discussed at some length in the chapter on oral composition. The significant fact to be noted here is that men and women in various racial or geographical groups have gradually come to sound the same words in approximately the same way. Some such agreement was, of course, essential if there was to be any spoken intercourse between one person and another in the same community. As the environment of the individual man widened, it became necessary that he should be understood in every part of it. In response to this need there developed a standard of pronunciation for entire nations, a standard which has been ^ven authority by dictionaries. There can be no legislative act prescribing the right pronunciation of words; but intelli- gent people long ago recognized the advantage of adhering to some established system within the borders of their own country. Spelling. — Spelling also is what it is because the edu- cated classes have decided, in order to facilitate business THE FOUNDATION 5 and social relations, to standardize the forms of words. If every one spelled as he chose, or varied his spelling as his mood changed, written communication would naturally become rather difficult. Just as men, after many centuries, have seen the advantage of clothing themselves in much the same way and eating much the same kinds of food, so it was inevitable that they should, primarily for the sake of convenience, evolve a system of spelling adapted to their everyday needs. The Standard in Spelling. — Spelling is, however, never absolutely fixed, nor is it, perhaps, desirable that it should be. Chaucer and Shakspere employed forms which, be- cause they have now gone out of fashion, seem to us quite uncouth. In our own time we have seen an asso- ciation of " simplified spellers " spreading propaganda for the " reform " of our English spelling system ; and, if they have failed, it is not because they did not have the weight of argument on their side, but because the majority of responsible people, rightly or wrongly, quietly went on using the familiar spellings and remained indifferent to every appeal to abandon them. In such matters con- servatism, — or inertia, — is a controlling factor. Some changes, however, cannot be thus resisted. Dr. Johnson, in the eighteenth century, could not be budged from musick and honour; in the United States, we, in the twentieth century, prefer music and honor. As in the case of pro- nunciation, the test of accepted usage is the only infallible one to apply, and this can be most readily ascertained from an up-to-date dictionary. Punctuation. — Punctuation is a conventional device, originated with the idea of simplifying written conamuni- cation. The Greeks and Romans employed very little punctuation; our own tendency is to use a good deal. The symbols which are current in our books are entirely arbi- 6 THE FOUNDATION trary, there being no logical reason why the cross should not serve the purpose of the colon, or the circle that of the period. Writers and publishers have hit upon these sym- bols and given them popularity; and they perform their function well. The teacher's duty, in presenting rules for punctuation, is to investigate the practice of reputable printing offices, and to pass this along, to his pupils, as presumably the best usage. Grammar. — Like pronunciation, spelling, and punctua- tion, grammar is the codification of some elementary rules organized by society for its own convenience. We say "It is I" instead of "It is me," because most educated people have agreed to say it that way. In any living language grammar can never be absolutely standardized, for change is one of the most notable signs of life. There is, never- theless, at any selected moment a usage which is practi- cally settled upon among the best publishers, newspaper editors, and authors. The problem is to find out just what that usage is. The reason for using standardized grammar, like that for using standardized spelling or standardized punctuation, is that we believe in the supremacy of law and order. The adoption of any other course would mean intel- lectual anarchy. This book is concerned with grammar, not as an interesting science, — which it undoubtedly is, — but as an aid to good writing. Accordingly many of the more technical points may be passed over ciu-sorily, except when they involve matters in which the average student is likely not to conform to established usage. Importance of These Conventional Requirements. — Any one, whether young or old, who aspires to write English well, must first become familiar with the accepted con- ventions in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. These are mechanical principles regarding which we have prac- tically no choice; we are either in accord with the best THE FOUNDATION 7 current usage, or we are not. The rules outlining this usage have been printed in many textbooks, accessible to everybody. It is assumed that students who are likely to examine this volume have already received some in- struction on such matters; nevertheless some time and space is devoted in these pages to repeating what must already be known, even though it may not always be prac- ticed. It will not be amiss, perhaps, to state here our conviction that no one who carelessly or willfully neg- lects these conventional requirements, — who deviates from the accepted spelling standard, who misplaces or omits marks of punctuation, or who habitually defies the rules of grammar, — can expect to be counted among the good writ- ers. At least approximate correctness in writing must be attained before the other qualities are aimed at. Further Principles of All Art.— Important as Correctness in itself undoubtedly is, there are other principles fully equal to it in significance, — principles applicable specifi- cally to composition, but also, to a greater or less degree, common to all art. Whether we are interested in music, in painting, or in poetry, whatever we produce must be in conformity with the laws of Clearness, Force, and Beauty; that is, we must adopt methods which will make our song or picture or poem clear, forceful, and beautiful. In this book these principles are considered as fundamental, and will be applied to all the units of writing, — even to words, as well as to sentences, paragraphs, and whole compositions. The sooner we understand precisely what is meant by Clearness, Force, and Beauty, and aim deliberately to se- cure them, the quicker we shall be able to write English that meets the requirements of art in general. Clearness. — The object underlying every means of com- munication with others is to convey to them unmutilated the thought that we wish them to receive; and, unless the 8 THE FOUNDATION particular method which we choose results in Clearness, it does not fulfill its piu-pose. If the person whom we are addressing does not understand the idea which we are attempting to present, the fault may possibly lie in his own lack of intelligence, but it is far more probable that the blame should rest with us. If what we say can be misinterpreted, if it is phrased in an ambiguous manner, something is wrong either with ourselves or with our me- dium of expression. Just as certain axioms or postulates lie at the basis of mathematics, so this vital principle of Clearness is the starting point for any sound treatment of English prose composition. Clearness as an Element of Style. — Every good style in English literature, is, first of all, a clear style. Addison, Gibbon, Macaulay, Stevenson — the aim of each of these masters was to make his pages absolutely lucid. In the interesting cases of these writers just named, the styles in many respects vary widely. The peculiarities of Addison are easily distinguished from those of Gibbon; the tone of Macaulay is not to be confused with that of Stevenson. But, however far apart they may be in other respects, the four have this in common, — that they never permit the reader to be troubled by the slightest obscurity. Clearness in School Writing. — Much of the routine criti- cism made by teachers of English composition on the themes submitted to them by their pupils has to do with vague phrasing or illogical structure, — both resulting in lack of Clearness. Students get, perhaps, too much accus- tomed to the familiar queries, " Isn't this idea confused? " or "Have you made your thought perfectly apparent?" But this reiterated caution cannot well be neglected. After all, a very considerable proportion of the difficulties which the instructor confronts week after week in his classes involves problems of Clearness. The apprentice writer can- THE FOUNDATION 9 not do better than to keep always on his desk, printed in glaring capitals, the supreme rule for all good writing, " BE CLEAR." Force. — There are, however, other laws of composition with which we must become acquainted. In ordinary con- versation a person with a weak voice or an unprepossessing appearance may say something which is entirely clear, but which has no effect whatever upon the people with whom he is talking. In the lecture hall it is not suf- ficient for the speaker to be clear in his structure an^ phrasing; unless he is also able to drive home his points with vigor, his audience are likely to scatter or to slumber. So, too, a sentence may be flawless in regard to perspicuity and yet fail utterly in securing the attention of the reader. Force must be joined with Clearness if we expect to be at all convincing in our language. Relation between Clearness and Force. — Clearness and Force as qualities of style are in many respects closely related ; that is, an idea very clearly expressed is often to a great degree an idea forcibly expressed. But mere Clear- ness will not in many instances be a sufficient means of impressing a given idea upon a reader. Forcefulness comes, in general, only with experience, confidence, and matu- rity of mind, and is thus dependent largely on the charac- ter of the writer. A dynamic personality, like Carlyle or Roosevelt, will natvirally express himself in phrases which have the rugged strength of the man behind them. There are, nevertheless, some principles which, when duly apprehended and applied, will serve as guides to a forceful style, and which, therefore, will be touched upon in this book. Beauty. — A third essential to really good writing is Beauty, an attribute more elusive and evidently less easy to delimit than either Clearness or Force. Like Force, it 10 THE FOUNDATION is likely to be a mktter of personality expressed in words, and one can never tell in what strange quarter it may appear. Often a boy with very little gift for clear think- ing or clear expression will show in his writing a rather keen sense of the charm of words, or of delicate rhythms and cadences. Here, too, it is possible for any intelligent student to learn the uses of the common figures of speech, to master the secrets of smoothness and melody, and to employ rhetorical devices which produce the effect of grace. Highly individual Beauty of style can be attained only by the brilhantly endowed genius; but even genius must proceed in accordance with fundamental laws, some of which can be made helpful for younger writers. Importance of These Rhetorical Principles. — These three terms, — Clearness, Force, and Beauty, — as applicable to structure and style in English composition, will be used again and again in this book. The qualities which they denote form the backbone of all good writing. No matter where the discussion wanders, it must inevitably return to these principles as the starting-point for every argument. Of the three, it is obvious that, for practical purposes, Clearness is the one requiring the most constant emphasis. This is a matter which cannot be too often or too earnestly stressed. The doctrine that it is the first obligation of any author to transfer his thought with perfect clarity to the printed page is the key to success in writing, whether the aim be an advertisement or a formal essay. With this warning in mind, we are ready to proceed to the more specific study of the whole composition. CHAPTER II FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE Thought and Structure. ^ The close relation between thought and writing has already been discussed in the preceding chapter. Clear thinking probably plays no more important part in writing than in connection with the structure of the whole composition, whether the composi- tion be a book, a chapter, an essay, or a theme. Struc- tiu-al principles do not belong to the mechanics of writing; they are closely involved in the organization and develop- ment of the thought, and are inseparable from the process. A well-organized composition, like any other well-organ- ized unit, is produced by building up a whole the central purpose of which is served by mutually dependent parts. Therefore the writer is constantly called upon to exercise his best judgment in order to determine the relation of the parts to the whole and to one another. If Clearness, the first essential of good writing, is to be secured, — and, in some degree, Force, — this relation must be uiraiistakable. Moreover, enough must be said on the subject; that is, the central idea and the several ideas that contribute to it must be fully developed. Content the First Requisite of Clear Relation. — Clear relation of the parts of the composition to the main idea and to one another is first of all indicated by the content. The writer necessarily implies to the reader that all the subject matter included within the covers of his book, or within the limits of every chapter, is logically related; that everything has a bearing on the subject and that nothing 11 12 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE included is foreign to his purpose. If the reader finds that this is true, he may proceed with unimpeded understand- ing. If, on the contrary, he discovers details or ideas that have no manifest connection with the subject, his percep- tion of the meaning is clouded and confused. Limitation of the Subject Necessary to Determining Content. — Before the writer can decide what the content of his composition is going to be, he must conceive defi- nitely in his own mind what the character and limits of his subject are. He may have formed this conception completely and finally before he begins the actual process of writing, or he may clarify and restrict, it or amplify it as he proceeds; but, however he forms it, he must form it before he presents his completed work to the reader. He cannot judge what he will include or exclude if he does not see clearly the boimds which confine his subject and his purpose in treat- ing it. Neglect of this important principle is one of the marked weaknesses of unpracticed writers, as observance of it is one of the most effective resources of those who have attained success. It is easy to find in the best writing the evidences that authors have not only sharply marked out the limits of their subject, but have actually informed the reader in advance just what those limits were. "I intend, in this chapter," says Macaulay, at the beginning of Chap- ter III of his History of England, "to give a description of the state in which England was when the crown passed from Charles the Second to his brother." In, the first chap- ter of his book. How to Listen to Music, Mr. H. E. Kreh- biel states the purpose and limitations of his treatment of the subject as they are determined by the class of readers to whom he desires to appeal. " This book," he declares, "has a purpose, which is as simple as it is plain; and an unpretentious scope. It does not aim to edify FUNDAMENTAL PEINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE 13 either the musical professor or the musical scholar. It comes into the presence of the musical student with all becoming modesty. Its business is with those who love music and present themselves for its gracious ministrations in Concert-Room and Opera House, but have not studied it as professors and scholars are supposed to study. It is not for the careless unless they be willing to inquire whether it might not be well to yield the common conception of entertainment in favor of the higher enjoyment which springs from serious contemplation of beautiful things." A brilliant contemporary writer of biography, Mr. Lytton Strachey, in his Eminent Victorians, sets forth at consider- able length the necessity which confronts him of limiting the field, — the history of the Victorian Age, — which is pre- sented to the historian and the biographer: "Concerning the Age which has just passed, our fathers and our grand- fathers have poured forth and accumulated so vast a quan- tity of information that the industry of a Ranke would be submerged by it, and the perspicacity of a Gibbon would quail before it. . . . It would have been futile to at- tempt even a precis of the truth about the Victorian Age, for the shortest precis must fill innumerable volumes. But, in the lives of an ecclesiastic, an educational authority, a woman of action, and a man of adventure, I have sought to examine and elucidate certain fragments of the truth which took my fancy and lay to my hand." In these passages we see enunciated very definitely one of the first principles of clear composition. Whether the principle is clearly announced or not, it should be always operative. It would be a remarkable essay, and, indeed, a remarkable book, that contained all of the material connected with the subject. The subject needs to be restricted. The reasons for restricting it are various, — considerations of time and space at the author's disposal, his own knowledge and 14 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE interest, the knowledge and interest of the reader, and so on. But, whatever the reason for defining it, it must be defined. Phrasing the Title an Aid to Clear Limitation of the Subject. — Frequently the writer can assist himself mate- rially in determining the limits of his subject, and the purpose and spirit of the treatment, by phrasing his title beforehand. To say that such a practice should be fol- lowed imiformly would be to lay down too rigid a guiding principle. But it is always well to keep the value of this helpful means in mind. The title indicates the writer's own peculiar attitude toward his subject, and may suggest much of that attitude to the reader. Some titles are loosely expressed, to be sure, but others are frequently phrased with a good deal of accuracy and suggestiveness. Such a title as What Good Employers Are Doing for the Laborer, for example, is a much more definite guide than the broader title, Employers and Labor. In such significant words as Good and Are Doing we see the marking of definite boundaries. Selection of Material. — When the limits of the subject have been clearly marked in on© way or another, the writer is provided with a test of the value of the material which he is about to select. Here, again, he must use his most careful judgment. The principle of selection and rejection should operate with rigid precision. Much that is inter- esting or important in itself may have nothing whatever to do with the subject under consideration. The writer must resist the temptation to include any material which seems attractive to him merely, on its own account ; he must choose only that which has value on account of the sub- ject. Irrelevant details obscure the treatment of the cen- tral idea which he is developing; relevant ideas, easily discernible as such, help to make it clear. Moreover, FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE 15 among relevant ideas some have more value than others. Those of little importance, if they do not actually obscure the treatment, are negative in character, and certainly do not help to clarify it. Since he cannot choose all, the writer should confine himself to those which produce the most telling effect. In his essay on History, Macaulay, after discussing the impossibility of recording every fact and event, emphasizes the necessity of judicious selection: " No picture, then, and no history, can present us with the whole truth; but those are the best pictures and the best histories which exhibit such parts of the truth as most nearly produce the effect of the whole. He who is deficient in the art of selection may, by showing nothing but the truth, produce all the effects of the grossest falsehood. It perpetually happens that one writer tells less truth than another, merely because he tells more truths. In the imi- tative arts we constantly see this. . . . An outline scrawled with a pen, which seizes the marked features of the coun- tenance, will give a much stronger idea than a bad painting in oils." " To preserve," says Mr. Strachey, in the preface quoted above, " a becoming brevity — a brevity which ex- cludes everything that is redundant and nothing that is significant — that, surely, is the first duty of the biog- rapher." It is also, with certain qualifications, the first duty, or one of the first duties, of the writer on any subject. A sound selective judgment, the power to discriminate be- tween the essential and the nonessential, is not only one of the unmistakable marks of the clear thinker; it is one of the richest resources of the effective writer. Application of These Principles to a Single Whole Com- position. — Having discussed in general these essential principles of limitation of the subject and selection of material, let us apply them concretely to a simple ex- pository composition, which, though short, is complete in 16 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OP STRUCTURE itself. Suppose that a writer who has a wide knowledge of the question of public health wishes to impart to an imperfectly informed class of readers what he knows of the subject. No sooner has he informed his intention to do so, than he finds himself hedged in by certain restrictions. He cannot tell all that he knows or all that he has access to: the space allotted to him is too small, and his readers have not a sufficient background of knowledge to appreci- ate all that he has to say. He must, therefore, limit his subject. He finally decides to treat only one important phase of it: the sources of danger to public health. He may even go so far at this point as to phrase his title in its final form, The Causes of Disease. He is now pre- pared to select his material. But even within the limits he has set himself, or has had set for him, the field is a wide one. He cannot use everything that has to do with the subject: he must confine himself to those details which, in his judgment, are the most significant. He finally decides to discuss four productive sources of illness: the soil, drinking water, food, the atmosphere. But he cannot include even all the details that belong under these four heads; some of them, and no doubt some that are very interesting, must be cast aside. He himself realizes this, and is prepared to say directly to the reader that he can do no more in his present treatment than summarize some of the results of scientific investigations. His subject, in outline, will now present the following aspects: The Causes of Disease 1. Summary of the most important causes; statement of limits of the subject. 2. First cause treated: soil. 3. Second cause treated: water supply. 4. Third cause treated: food. 5. Fourth cause treated : foul air. 6. Conclusion: the lesson that should be learned. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE 17 A considerable number of topics have been omitted; for example, heredity, economic causes, and so forth. These are, no doubt, very interesting in themselves, but he must choose only those which he thinks will best accomplish his purpose. The finished composition is as follows: The Causes of Disease ^ The foes of health creep out of the ground, swim in the drink- ing water, swarm in the food, and sail in the atmosphere. For a complete discussion of the question we refer the reader to the systematic works on the subject, and here only summarize some of the results of scientific investigation. In towns our streets and alleys, whose natural function is to facihtate communication and cleanliness, have often become the agencies of destruction. The earth, the pavements, the gutters are frequently covered with a mud which embalms the bacteria in frosty weather and lets them loose when the sun of spring warms them into life. This mud is a composition of organic matters which would be very useful as a fertihzer in the garden, but becomes deadly when it is out of place. This slush and paste of the street is tracked into houses and brings with it germs of disease and consequent illness. In country places and villages there is a great peril in the sources of drinking water. The filth of the barnyard is drained into the well to poison the family and the cattle. The surface wells are especially dangerous, for they take the organic matter from the surface; and, while the water may be perfectly clear and sparkling, it is deadly as a drink to man and beast. The water supply must be severely questioned in the interest of health. Typhoid fever is communicated by this agency. In 1894 twenty- five of the principal cities of the United States had an average mortahty from typhoid of 39.6 per 100,000 of population. The cities which had the largest mortality from this disease were supplied with a highly suspicious quahty of drinking water. In Chicago the extraordinary outbreak of typhoid in 1889 to 1893 led to the extension of the intake pipe in Lake Michigan to a 1 Adapted from Charles Richmond Henderson's The Social Spirit in America: Scott, Foresman and Company. 18 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE distance of four miles from the shore; typhoid mortality fell from 159.7 per 100,000 in 1891 to 31.4 per 100,000 in 1894. Food and milk, necessaries of life no less important than water, also become vehicles of unfriendly bacteria. The intel- ligent people of our towns and cities are unable to protect them- selves against the ignorance and neglect of dairymen, farmers, and railroad officials. Every town must provide a large force of inspectors and detectives who are under orders to visit all the dairies, milk establishments, groceries, and commission houses which supply food to the population. Often the fever travels a long distance from an infected house in the country. The cans which contain the mUk are lined with disease germs. Vigilance must never close its eyes. The causes of death are hidden in the very means of hfe. In addition to these important causes of contamination, we must give heed to one of the most menacing and widespread means by which disease is communicated, the poison in the very air we breathe. Public buildings, such as courthouses, concert haUs, theaters, where multitudes find entertainment or pursue public business, are frequently so ill ventilated as to be destruc- tive of health. Churches are great sinners in this respect. The thrice-breathed air, robbed of oxygen, left full of the waste products of a thousand lungs, is shut up tightly from the close of Sunday service until the next Sunday morning. The sanctuary smells like a sepulcher. Blessed is the janitor who knows oxygen when he inhales it. Would not the sweet and heavenly flowers of piety thrive more finely in a purer air and a brighter light? The minister's sore throat would not so often annoy the hearers and bring the messenger of glad tidings to an untimely end of service if the church were kept full of pure air as well as of pure doctrine. Such are some of the problems for the social spirit. This brief essay is not a treatise on public hygiene, but a series of illustrations of the need of studying such a treatise and applying its teaching. The people perish from lack of knowledge, and they will not seek the knowledge unless they come to set a higher estimate on the dignity of the body. When we regard our bodies as Paul did, as the " temples of the Holy Spirit," we shall dis- cover that sanitary art is a kind of worship. This composition, brief and simple as it is, is organized in accordance with the principles that we have been dis- FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE 19 cussing. Within the limits prescribed, it is a single and complete whole. Essential material has been included, and irrelevant and unessential material has been excluded. Nothing that does not serve the writer's purpose has been chosen, and nothing of importance that does serve' it has been omitted. If the reader has a sense of something wanting, if he would like to know more than the writer tells him, so much the better for the writer's particular purpose, which is not only to give a simple explanation of some of the most important and most prevalent causes of diseases, but also to stimulate the reader to inquire further into the question. Clear Relation Shown by Arrangement. — Mere content, the inclusion of all that is necessary to the development of a clearly defined subject, is, as we have seen, the first indication of relation between ideas; but it is by no means the only indication. The relation of the various parts can be still further clarified by logical arrangement. This means that certain parts which are more closely related to each other in thought than they are to any others shall be placed as closely together as possible. This principle is of the utmost importance in its application both to a long and elaborate composition and to one of short and simple design. It is said of Macaulay's History that even the least important anecdote or incident is so placed that its relation to the immediate context and to the whole work is unmistakable. Macaulay, of course, possessed an un- usual sense of organization and connection, which he could apply with sureness to a vast amount of material which would have overwhelmed many other writers of less pene- trating discernment. He needed this power in large meas- ure; all writers need it in greater or less measure. In the simple essay we have been considering, for example, it is clear that the principle has been applied from first to last. 20 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE The parts have not been arranged in a haphazard way. There is, evidently, a thought that can best be presented first and one that can be best presented last; and between these two there is a conceivable scheme of arrangement that is probably better than any other. The order of the parts is definitely indicated in the first sentence of the introductory paragraph, and is adhered to throughout the essay. Though a rearrangement of the paragraphs deal- ing with the four sources of danger to health is possible, any good arrangement would probably put the paragraph dealing with food next to the one dealing with water, be- cause the two ideas naturally lie close together in our own minds. The principle varies, — and, being a principle, must vary, — with the circumstances and the nature of the sub- ject. In Exposition the order may be in part chronological and in part proceed from what is familiar to what is un- familiar. In Argument it may move from what is admitted to what has to be established. In Narrative it may be purely chronological. In Description it may be determined by the most striking and less striking details of the picture. But, however flexible it may be in general, the writer must decide upon some consistent plan for whatever composition he may have in hand and follow that plan out to the end. And, if there is a plan which is plainly better than any other, he will be repaid, — though in no other way than by the thanks of his readers, — if he can discover it and adhere to it throughout. The Use of Connective Devices. — But even a logical order, much as it may accomplish in showing the relation between the parts of the composition, may leave some- thing still undone. Mere juxtaposition is often not enough; there is need of closer fusion. Certain words and phrases which serve as a sort of cement to bind contiguous or consecutive ideas together must be used. For example, FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE 21 two ideas, that is, two paragraphs, standing side by side in the composition may have the relation of contrast. The mere fact that they are placed next to each other may not be sufficient to show at once; precisely what the re- lation is. But such a word as but at the beginning of the second, or such a phrase as on the contrary will act as an immediately perceptible signal. The reader can move forward prepared for the general character of what he is to read without undue readjustment of his mind. The same thing is true of such common connective words and phrases as therefore, for this reason, or as a result, and so on. At times whole clauses and even sentences are necessary to make the connection indubitably clear. In the composition which we have been examining, the phrase, " necessaries of life no less important than water," has been employed in the fourth paragraph, and the phrase, "In addition to these important causes of contam- ination," has been employed in the fifth, to remind us of the connection of these paragraphs with each other and with the central idea which is being developed; and at the beginning of the last paragraph an entire sentence, " Such are some of the problems of the social spirit," serves to indicate that the writer has completed his treatment of the main steps of the thought and to imply that he is about to deal with some other, — probably a general, — consideration. These cementing words and phrases may or may not be used, as the occasion requires; sometimes mere contiguity is sufficient to indicate the connection. But when they are necessary, they should be employed without hesitation and without stint, and always with the purpose of showing with absolute clearness the precise connection between the parts in question. Full Development Necessary to Clearness. — If Clear- ness in the whole composition depends upon showing unmis- 22 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE takably the relation of the parts, it depends also upon a sufficiently full development of those parts. Important as- pects of the subject may be chosen, and their connection clearly marked; but if those aspects are slighted in the treatment, vagueness and obscurity will unavoidably result. In this important matter the writer is thrown upon -his own judgment more than in many others; he must find some way of deciding whether or not he has said enou^ to cover the ground; he has no rule to guide him. Practice and training, and studying the reaction he gets from his readers, will be his surest guides. He is often misled by the realization that he himself understands what he means to say. But he must put himself in the place of another who, presumably, does not know so well. ^By rereading the essay on The Causes of Disease, we can easily see that enough has been said on each of the separate topics, and consequently on the whole subject, to present the substance of the thought so that it can be understood. A more diffi- cult subject, or the more difficult ideas involved in this subject, would require fuller amplification. Force in the Whole Composition. — Force in the whole composition means presenting the entire subject in an im- pressive way. Mere Clearness in the presentation will pro- duce a certain amount of Force, for those ideas which we perfectly understand are impressed upon our minds. But mere Clearness may not accomplish all of the desired re- sult. Other means may be necessary in order to secure the strongest effect. The three structural principles that are the agencies of Force in the whole composition are selection, arrangement, and proportional development of the parts. Selection a Principle of Force. — We have seen that, in order to be clear, we must choose only those aspects of the subject which most effectively elucidate it, eliminating all that is irrelevant and nonessential. But nonessentials, FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE 23 which have the negative effect of contributing nothing to Clearness, have the positively bad effect of weakening the total impression. Important aspects, by reason of their very importance, serve to strengthen it. If in the illus- trative composition the possibility of the contamination of springs had been the only instance cited and explained under the head of drinking water, and the more common causes, wells and the larger sources of public water supply, had been ignored, the effect of this particular topic would -have been markedly less. Examination of the treatment of the other sources of contamination will suggest that the less important causes would have been much less im- pressive than those which have been chosen. Arrangement a Principle of Force. — In any composition there are certain places which have a strategic value, so to speak, in coimection with Force. These are naturally the beginning and the end, for the reason that first and last impressions are commonly the strongest. The skillful writer is constantly availing himself of this well-known law, often taking the utmost pains in regard to the manner in which he approaches and leaves his subject. Recall how often, in even your most casual reading, your attention has been arrested and your thought stimulated by what has been said at the beginning or the end of a book, an article, or an editorial. And between these two points in the composition there is an effective order that proceeds step by step from the less important to the more important. This we call the order of climax. The reverse order, which " runs down hill," is correspondingly ineffective. In our model composition notice that the most important thing the writer has to say, the upshot of his whole brief dis- cussion, has been placed at the very last. In what other position in the composition could it have been so effectively said? Similarly, between the introductory and the final 24 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE paragraph, though the difference in relative importance of the four sources of danger may not be so clearly discernible as the difference in importance between the central idea and each of the several steps that develop it, it would be very difficult to suggest a better arrangement. Proportional Development a Principle of Force. — Full development is, as we have seen, necessary to Clearness. It is also, — though, under certain conditions. Force may be secured by compressed statement, — one of the most im- portant requisites of Force. But, since in almost any com- position some ideas are more important than others, full development often takes the form of proportional devel- opment; that is, in the nature of the case, the more impor- tant topics receive fuller treatment than the less important. There is, of course, no rule governing the relative length of parts of the composition; the attempt to state such a rule would find insuflScient support in current usage. But the principle is natural and logical, and, though, like other principles, variable in application, is an instructive guide. Now it happens that in the composition used as the main illustration of this chapter the four sources of danger are of about the same importance, and so the paragraphs are roughly about the same length. In this very uniformity we see the principle of proportion applied, for if even one of the paragraphs had been very much shorter than the others, it would have been disproportionately meager in development. Let us look at the first and the last para- graphs in particular. How can we justify their seemingly disproportionate brevity? We can easily do so on the ground that the preliminary statement of the outline of the subject does not need to be full if the details presented are to be more fully explained later ; expansion in the prelimi- nary statement would involve unnecessary and wasteful repetition. And in the last paragraph an excessively full FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE 25 recapitulation of what has already been set forth in detail would weaken rather than strengthen the desired impression. At this point the chief requirement is to state in compressed form the most important general thought which the writer wishes to fix in the reader's mind. Structural Organization in Relation to Beauty. — Just how good structure and organization of the thought are related to Beauty as a quality of the whole composition is not so clear, at first, as their relation to Clearness and Force. But, though their effect on Beauty may be more subtle and less easily discernible, it is none the less real. In the first place, a perfectly clear and forceful organization of the material as a whole, which leaves the impression that no other way could have improved upon it, gives genuine and conscious pleaisure to the appreciative reader. Mere beauty, simplicity, or appropriateness of design, in a com- position as in a building or a picture, is an undoubted means of exciting pleasure and appealing to the aesthetic sense, apart from matters of detail, such as the choice of words, color, and so on. Moreover, the principle of selection has a very definite relation to the beauty of a piece of writing considered as a whole, for if the writer desires to produce only a beautiful impression, he will be guided by this controlling purpose in selecting only, or chiefly, the most beautiful details. But since the principle of Beauty varies so much in its application to the various kinds of composi- tion, the more definite and complete consideration of its relation to the different types will be reserved until later chapters. Structural Principles Vital to Good Composition. — It is of the utmost importance for successful writing, particularly for clear and forceful writing, that the fundamental prin- ciples of structure and organization discussed in this chapter should be understood, mastered in theory, and conscien- 26 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE tiously applied in practice. They are not principles con- trived by the rhetorician, though they may be interpreted and stated by him. They are inherent in good writing, and cannot be neglected without loss. Successful writers apply them, however unconsciously, and no matter by what names they may call them, to what they write. Some, because of natural aptitude or long training, possess the power to conceive very quickly the ends and the means that they have in view; others, and particularly younger and less practiced writers, need to subject themselves to the disci- pline, sometimes very exacting and severe, of careful and even laborious thought, which, as far as the structure of the whole composition is concerned, means careful and laborious forethought. Some writers are unwilling to sub- mit themselves to this discipline because they believe that the process destroys spontaneity and restrains " inspira- tion " ; that writing offhand while the spirit of creation moves them is the best and only way. It may, indeed, be the best way for some; certainly the best way for you to write is the way in which you can write best, and you ought not to be encumbered by unnecessary processes. But certain processes, contrary to some ignorant beliefs, do not encumber freedom and spontaneity at all; they actually prepare the way for it. " Write in haste and revise at leisure," is an excellent precept as far as it applies; but it fails to tell the whole truth. The truth is that there is a time for cool forethought as well as a time for unre- stricted expression stimulated by creative enthusiasm ; a time for careful prevision as well as a time for careful revision. The making of a certain fine metal ornament pro- ceeds through several definite stages which offer valuable suggestions to the writer. First the design is drawn, with close attention to form and proportion. Then the mold is fashioned in conformity to this design. The drawing of FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE 27 the design and the making of the mold, which constitute the first step in the process, are accomplished, not in haste, but with thoughtful regard to the result to be achieved. When the mold is ready, the metal, heated to the fluid state, is poured in. The filling of the mold is the second stage. When the casting has cooled, and has been removed from the mold, it is right in substance and form, but its surface is rough and dull. It must pass through still another stage. It must be placed upon a lathe and smoothed, upon a burnisher and polished. It can now be accepted as a finished product. Effective writing may well proceed in a similar manner: through the stages of deliberate planning, rapid develop- ment, and painstaking correction. The second stage affords plenty of opportunity for the spontaneous outflow of ideas. The restraints imposed upon spontaneity by the processes of the first stage are no more than are necessary and beneficial, for ideas in a fluid state must be cast in a firm mold if they are to have form and meaning. Once the plan, and free expression of thought within the limits of the plan, have done their important part, the final con- sideration of sentence structure, phrasing, choice of words, punctuation, spelling, and other matters of detail, too close attention to which during the writing of the first draft might act as a serious restriction, may be given without fear of impairing the freshness and naturalness of what has already been written, and with confidence that every touch intelligently added will only serve to smooth and polish the finished work. The main thing is to get the structure of the whole as nearly right as possible at the very beginning; other things will follow at the proper time and in the proper place. Structural Principles in Relation to the Paragraph and the Sentence. — The structural principles which we have 28 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE considered in relation to the whole composition apply also to the paragraph and sentence, and, with a few exceptions in detail, in exactly the same way. Clearness, Force, and Beauty are essential qualities of all three units of thought development and thought expression. Considerations of content, which is determined by limitation and selection, of arrangement, of connectives, of requisite fullness, have as much to do with the paragraph, — which is a compo- sition in little, — and with the sentence as with the larger whole of which these smaller units are the component parts. This will be shown more fully in later chapters; but for the present let it be remembered, as a working basis of procedure, that a grasp of the structural principles govern- ing one means a grasp of the structural principles governing all. EXERCISES I. Limit five of the foEowing subjects so as to make each suitable for treatment in a composition of about four or five hundred words. Write for each of the limited subjects a brief and exact title: 1. The Paris Conference 2. Great Men 3. Junior High Schools 4. The Race Question 5. Lord Kitchener 6. The Conference on the Limitation of Armaments 7. Irish Freedom 8. Shipbuilding 9. Alaska 10. The Beauties of America 11. Immigration 12. Butterflies 13. Railroading 14. The Horse 15. "The City Streets 16. Back Yards FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURE 29 17. Modern American Poetry 18. Florence Nightingale 19. The Victrola 20. Amateur Dramatics 21. Winter Sports 22. Woman and Business II. Select five of the following subjects, and write a paragraph outhne for each. Choose for each paragraph topic a separate and important aspect of the subject. In both the selection and the arrangement of the topics consider carefully the requirements of Clearness and Force: 1. A Question of DiscipUne 2. How a Submarine Submerges 3. What a Girl Scout Learns to Do 4. What a Boy Scout Learns to Do 5. An Educational Movie 6. The Advantages of a College in the Country 7. An Attractive Occupation for a Girl 8. The Violation of Our Prohibition Laws 9. Is a Jazz Band Capable of Producing Music? 10. The Human Characteristics of Some Dumb Animal CHAPTER III SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS Complete or even satisfactory mastery of the rules and principles of writing, that is, of correctness and effective- ness, requires time and practice, and is often the result of slow growth. There are, however, several miscellaneous matters of detail that can be attended to almost imme- diately and that, if not attended to very early, remain as blemishes in the writer's work, even though he succeeds in meeting the other requirements of good composition. Immediate elimination of some of the most obvious faults and conformity to certain usages in the preparation of the manuscript are among the first demands. The student who in his previous courses in English has forgotten, or has failed to learn, some of these important details should read this chapter carefully before he writes his first theme, and should review it until he is perfectly familiar with its contents. COMMON FAULTS TO BE AVOIDED SPELLING Inveterate bad spelling yields only to time, care, and practice. All common misspellings cannot, of course, be noted here, but the following list includes some of the words which are most likely to be incorrectly spelled at the beginning of any year's course: 30 SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS 31 absence occasionally accoTTiTTiodate omitted admissible persuade all right (There is no such word possess as alright) principal (noun or adjective, auxiliary with the fundamental sense " away off to the east "; not of " first " or " chief ") " way off." principle (always a noun, as business in "moral principle") carrying prejudice choose privilege comparatively procedure criticize (or criticise) proceed dealt prove descent pursue description religious despair repetition disappear safety disappoint soliloquies embarrass speech finally studying immediately succeed incidentally surprise its there (adverb) itself till (never 'til) Latin (capital letter) together (no hyphen) led (past tense of lead) too lose tragedy meant until noticeable whose The following rules cover a large number of common misspellings : 1. A monosyllable ending in a single consonant pre- ceded by a single vowel doubles that final consonant before a suffix beginning with a vowel. dragging planned hopping 2. A polysyllable ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel usually doubles the final consonant before 32 SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS a sufiBx beginning with a vowel, if the accent falls on the syllable preceding the sufiBx. preferred occurring omitted If the accent does not fall on the syllable preceding the suflBx, the final consonant is not doubled. benefited traveling profited 3. Words ending in silent e drop the e before a suffix beginning with a vowel, but retain it before a suflSx begin- ning with a consonant. amusing extremely amusement movable Exception. — Words ending with ge or ce retain the e before a suffix beginning with a or o to preserve the soft sound of the consonant. noticeable vengeance stdvantageous 4. A noun ending in y preceded by a consonant changes y to i and adds es to form the plural. A verb formed in the same way makes the same change to form the third person singular indicative. cries replies libraries descries 5. When the sound of the digraph is e, i comes before e except after c. relieve believe siege receive Exceptions: seize weird leisure When the sound of the digraph is not e, 'the digraph is usually spelled ei. heir foreign forfeit SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS 33 6. The names of all compound numbers from twenty- one to ninety-nine inclusive are compound words. When in the slightest doubt as to the spelling of a word, the student should consult a dictionary; above all, he should not use a less accurate or less effective word simply because he is too indolent to acquaint himself with the correct spelling of the word which he knows to be the right one. Such a habit is pernicious. It makes for sloven- liness and a restricted writing vocabulary. GRAMMAR A very common fault in grammar, — a fault due very largely to carelessness, — is the omission of the apostrophe from the possessive case of nouns. A noun regularly adds apostrophe-s ('s) to form the possessive singular and apostrophe only ( ' ) , if the nominative plural ends in s, to form the possessive plural. Apostrophe-s ('s) should be used in the possessive singular of most nouns which end in s in the nominative singular; e. g., Dickens's, Burns's, Silas's, Charles's. The possessive form should be used in such idiomatic phrases as a month's delay, three weeks' vacation, and the like. The possessive case of personal and relative pronouns is formed without the apostrophe; e.g., its, theirs, yours, whose. Agreement. — Agreement between subject and predicate should be carefully observed. The expression, " He don't," is a familiar instance of the lack of such agreement. Often grammatical agreement is obscured after the introductory adverb there or a phrase intervening between subject and predicate. In the following sentences the verbs agree with their subjects: Congress created the District Court, and that, together with the Supreme Court and a Circuit Court of Appeals, makes up the three divisions of our Federal Judiciary. 34 SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS The accusation, accompanied by a full bill of particulars, is very hard for him to face. There has been annoyance and expense in connection with this enterprise that have taxed our patience beyond endurance. Inconsistent number in collective nouns is one form of lack of agreement. A collective noun may be singular if the group it names is thought of as a simple unit, and plural if the members of the group are thought of sep- arately; but it cannot properly be singular in one part of a sentence and plural in another. Such a sentence as this, therefore, is incorrect: The committee have spent several days considering the matter referred to them, but is ready to present a final report to-night. It should read: The committee has spent several days considering the matter referred to it, but is ready to present a final report to-night. Omission of Necessary Words. — Words necessary to the sense of the sentence should not be omitted. In the fol- lowing sentences the words in parentheses should be sup- plied in order to make the structure and the meaning complete: At the twenty-fifth anniversary of the close of the Civil War, the blue and (the) gray mourned the country's common loss. The president and (the) general manager of the company should have been more progressive in their business pohcy. The United States has risen to (the position of) the third naval power in the world. Adjectives Used for Adverbs. — Though some adverbs have the same form as their corresponding adjectives, in most cases the forms are different. Such grammatical errors as the use of real for very and some for somewhat are entirely unwarrantable. SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS 35 The sentence, " I was real sick this morning, but feel some better this afternoon," should read, " I was very sick this morning but feel somewhat better this afternoon." Correct Form with " Different." — According to Ameri- can usage, the correct word to use after different is not than, but from. Even though awkwardness may occasion- ally result, say, " This is different from that," or, " This is different from what I expected," or, " He acted differ- ently from the way he used to act." British usage sup- ports the preposition to in such constructions, but American usage has not yet adopted it. Possessive with Verbal Noun. — A modifying noun or pronoun preceding the verbal noun ending in ing should be in the possessive case. Write, " We can see no valid ob- jection to their ratifying the treaty," not, " We can see no valid objection to them ratifying the treaty." Write, " We can see no valid objection to the Senate's ratifying the treaty," not, " We can see no valid objection to the Senate ratifying the treaty." " Less " and " Fewer." — Less, which is singular, refers to quantity; fewer, which is plural, refers to number. Do not say, " The less mistakes I make now the less trouble I shall have in the future," but, " The fewer mistakes I make now the less trouble I shall have in the future." " Most " and " Almost." — The adverb most, character- istically used as the sign of the superlative, means " in the greatest degree." It should not be confused with almost, which means " nearly." " Most everybody you meet nowa- days has an automobile," is wrong; "Almost everybody you meet nowadays has an automobile," is right. Errors in Sentence Structure. — Dependent clauses and phrases, except in a few special instances, should not be separated by a period and a capital letter from the main clauses or words on which they depend. Customary offend- 36 SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS ers against this rule are clauses beginning with relative pronouns, the conjunctions that, so that, and because, and words and phrases in apposition. In each of the following examples the sentence elements divided by the period should be united: The Principal gave me an opportunity to state my case fully. Which was, after all, no more than I was entitled to. We have succeeded in proving that the plan wiU not work. That those who offer it are not really sincere in their offer. That those to whom it is offered do not want it. He had worked almost without ceasing on his essay for two days. So that by the second night he had lost all power to judge between the good and the bad in it. The third member of the party was apparently a foreigner. A strapping fellow with a threatening eye and a truculent air. The word like, which is quite correct as an adjective, a preposition, or an adverb, is not fully established in the United States as a conjunction uniting two clauses. In the first of the two sentences below substitute as for like; in the second substitute as if. Under the lashings of the storm the sea acted like I imagine a beast furious with pain would act. When he looked back over the past, it seemed lik&^ those care- free days of his youth had never been. ' x- A very common error in the structure of the complex sentence consists in the repetition of the subordinating con- junction that in the same subordinate clause. The error is obscured by the insertion of another dependent clause within the that-clause; thus: He felt sure that, if he could make the'outer end of the harbor, that he could bring the ship in to safety. (Omit the second that.) SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS 37 PUNCTUATION The Comma Fault. — Two clauses of a compound sen- tence joined without a close coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, neither, nor, for) should be separated by a semicolon. The use of a comma here constitutes the so-called " conuna fault," or " sentence error." This rule applies even when one of the coordinating conjunctive ad- verbs, such as so, therefore, thus, yet, and connectives of like value are used. In the following sentences the comma would be insufScient: These devoted people had but one principle on which to form their conduct; they knew of but one law by which to guide their lives. That hour of vision remained a joyful inspiration through all his years of struggle and victory; yet it was too terrible for him to wish to experience it again. The Comma with Conjunctions. — The clauses of a com- pound sentence, when joined by any close coordinating conjunction, should usually be separated by at least a comma. This is particularly true when the omission of a comma before and might result in ambiguity, as in. the sentence, " He had known many an hour of distress and disappointment had been his constant bedfellow," in which the omission of the comma causes it to appear at first that disappointment is the object of the preposition of, whereas it is the subject of had been. Omission of Terminal Punctuation. — The period at the end of declarative sentences, and the question mark at the end of interrogative sentences, are often omitted through sheer oversight. Attention to such details as these is im- perative in the interest of good workmanship. The Period with Abbreviations. — The period should be used at the end of nearly all authorized abbreviations; 38 SOME FIEST ESSENTIALS for example, a.d., Maj., Rev. It should not be used after colloquial abbreviations, such as Doc, gym, exam, and so on. Faulty Punctuation of Series. — A comma should not be placed between the last adjective of a series and the noun which it modifies unless the adjective is used parentheti- cally after other adjectives in the same series; e.g.: A warm, strong, steady breeze blew from the southwest. This is the finest and best, and, indeed, the only, way to treat a man who has won so many deserved honors. Misplaced Marks. — No mark of punctuation, except the apostrophe, quotation marks, the dash, and the first mem- ber of the marks of parentheses, should be placed at the beginning of a line. Hyphens and commas are the chief offenders against this rule. IiIISCELLANEOUS Content of the Sentence. — Ability to write excellent sentences, in which ideas are properly related, is one of the last achievements of the writer. Nevertheless, even before the student has mastered the finer points of sentence writing, he can easily learn to avoid such obvious faults in content as the following: 1. The ship was three thousand tons heavier than any pre- viously built, and the officers' quarters were placed forward. The two statements in this sentence have no connection with each other. They should be written in separate sen- tences. 2. The disadvantages of the system are apparent on the face of the proposition, for, if there is any embezzlement or corruption in any of the various departments of the city, it is almost impos- sible to lay the blame on any one man, and therefore corruption will go on in the government unchecked and unheeded, because, SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS 39 if a man thinks he is able to steal without being detected, he will continue to do so whenever he is tempted. This sentence is excessively long and rambling: though some of the ideas contained in it are related and consec- utive, it passes along from one to another until the main thought is lost in a number of statements. The sentence should be divided into two or three. 3. I was making my way slowly back to the hotel. It was time for tea. I was touched on the arm by a young French priest. I recognized him as one to whom I had spoken earlier in the day. Here closely related ideas have been improperly sep- arated. They should be combined in some such way as this: Making my way slowly back to the hotel for tea, I was touched on the arm by a young French priest to whom I had spoken earlier in the day. Reference. — Exact reference of personal, relative, and demonstrative pronouns to their antecedents sometimes taxes the writer's skill considerably; the worst forms of confused connection, some of which produce ludicrous ef- fects, are easily avoidable. 1. One prize puppy which his owner values at $200 is of a rich reddish brown shade. His parents have always been remarkably successful in training young dogs, his father having taught several to perform the most astonishing tricks. The substitution of the words The owner's for his at the beginning of the second sentence will make the reference unambiguous. ' 2. The legal advisers of the directors, who have not always been equipped with the requisite legal knowledge, have in this case counseled very wisely. 40 SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS The change of the phrase 0/ the directors to the posses- sive form and placing it before legal will make the meaning unmistakable. 3. He tried repeatedly without success, which at last com- pletely discouraged him. In this sentence, which might be read as referring to success, but has no definite antecedent at all. It refers, loosely to some substantive idea suggested by the whole preceding statement. Rephrasing eliminates the diflQculty : His repeatedly unsuccessful attempts at last completely dis- couraged him. 4. Both the Vikings and the Normans were considered very daring seamen in their time, and yet they very seldom went out of sight of land. This was because they had to do their cooking on shore. In spite of this, we know that the Vikings visited " Vineland," or Labrador, coining by way of Iceland and Green- land. The demonstrative this in the second sentence, though the reference and phrasing leave something to be desired, is not very objectionable. In the third sentence, however, this seems to refer to the fact that the Vikings and the Normans had to do their cooking on shore. Recasting both sentences will improve the connection: Both the Vikings and the Normans were considered very dar- ing seamen in their time, and yet they very seldom went out of sight of land. They could not venture far, because they had to do their cooking on shore. We know, however, that, in spite of the usually restricted range of their voyages, the Vikings visited " Vine- land," or Labrador, coming by way of Iceland and Greenland. A rather frequent form of careless reference consists in the use of a plural pronoun for a singular antecedent; e.g.: As an object of sport the pheasant has hardly had fair play. They have been hunted in season and out of season until they have been almost exterminated. SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS 41 Participial and verbal noun phrases should be made to refer exactly to the nouns or pronouns to which their action is ascribed. In each of the following sentences the fault can be corrected by the insertion of the logical subject: Driving around a sharp turn into the open square, a large crowd of boisterous merry-makers immediately surrounded us. Driving around a sharp turn into the open square, we were immediately surrounded by a large crowd of boisterous merry- makers. After scanning the sea for some time with his glass, a large whale was descried by the lookout on the starboard quarter. After scanning the sea for some time through his glass, the lookout descried a large whale on the starboard quarter. The adjective due is frequently misused in a loose ad- verbial connection. Like the participle, it should be gram- matically attached to some definite noun or pronoun. In the first of the following sentences it is used incorrectly; in the second and third, correctly: I got behind in my work, due to the trouble I had had with my eyes. My getting behind in my work was due to the trouble I had had with my eyes. I got behind in my work, a misfortune due to the trouble I had had with my eyes. The first sentence in a composition should not refer to the title as its antecedent. The following form is ob- jectionable: FORMS OP MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT This question presents some aspects that are not familiar to the ordinary student of pubUc affairs. 42 SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS If necessary, repeat the words of the title: The question of the forms of municipal government presents some aspects that are not famiUar to the ordinary student of public affairs. Repetitions. — Unnecessary repetitions of words and phrases can usually be detected by reading the composition aloud before the final draft is made. Recurring words, sounds, and sentence forms which escape the eye are often detected by the ear. I went yesterday with Father to the Art Museum. After we had gone to the gallery of the Old Masters and seen everything of interest there, we went to the gallery of Ancient Sculpture and saw some famous reproductions of famous old sculpture, which I had often seen in photographs. I enjoyed the experi- ence very much, and I am very glad I went, for I had never seen so much fine painting and sculpture before. We moved steadily and painfully upward, up to the rocky peak of the mountain. He wanted to go somewhere where he could work in imdis- turbed quiet. Two forms of sentence are used in excess by many young writers: the compound sentence in which the second clause is introduced by so and the complex sentence in which a causal clause following the main clause is introduced by as. Either of these sentence forms is acceptable if used with discrimination and restraint. Good writers employ them sparingly. If a student finds in his work too many sentences like the following, he can easily recast the first type by changing the structure and the second by the sub- stitution of some other causal connective. We had the whole day before us; so we moved on at a leisurely pace. Having the whole day before us, we moved on at a leisurely pace. SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS 43 The expert could not give an immediate answer, as he did not have all the facts before him. The expert. could not give an immediate answer, for he did not have all the facts before him. Abbreviations. — Certain abbreviations are to be strictly avoided; such as the following: Ampersand (&) for and, except in the names of firms and companies. F. M. Morse & Co. is correct. Etc. Use and so forth, and so on, or and the like. Arabic numbers below one hundred. Such forms as " 10 men were all they could muster " are bad. Changes in Tense. — The tense in a sentence or a para- graph should change only in accordance with a change in time. Careless and meaningless changes of tense are par- ticularly apt to occur in compositions on literature. Either the present or the past, with the proper perfect tenses, may be used, but one or the other should be used consistently. The following is a typical instance of mixed tenses: While Macbeth was in Duncan's chamber engaged in the act of murder, Lady Macbeth comes on the stage. She teUs how she has drugged the grooms' possets. When Macbeth comes in again, he is so overcome with the horror of what he has done that she can ' hardly control him. He refused to carry back the daggers and smear the grooms with blood; so she had to do it instead. At this exciting moment came the knocking at the gate. "Shall " and " Will."— The various uses of shall and will are discussed fully on page 80. Until these uses can be reviewed in detail, the student should keep in mind that in all main declarative clauses shall and should are used with the first person to express future time, and will and would to express volition or determination. Therefore do not say, " I will be delighted to see the ocean again," or " I would like to be in the mountains in October." 44 SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS General Tone of the Composition. — The general tone of expression in the composition, though it should not be too formal and bookish, should not be marred by ex- cessively familiar or slangy colloquialisms, unless, of course, they have the purpose, as in narrative dialogue, of char- acterization or local color. Such bad diction as this, " After the play within the play Hamlet felt that it was really up to him to get into action against King Claudius," is unpardonable, and can easily be corrected by the substi- tution of simple and dignified language. Extremely trite and hackneyed phraseology is likewise objectionable. It is difiicult to raise one's style above the commonplace and still keep it simple and natural; this belongs to the fine art of writing. But time-worn phrases like " His remarks were punctuated by loud laughter " or " They are enjoying a period of well-earned rest," which have been too often abused for you to abuse them, will add freshness to your style by the sheer force of omission. Triteness and mechanical expression often mar the begin- nings and endings of students' compositions. A pervading type of first sentence in a narrative theme is this: " One day last summer Dad and I decided to take a trip up the Allagash River." Expositions too often begin in this timid fashion, "In this composition I will try to show," or with the superfluous information, " This is indeed a difiicult question." If you have such a bad habit, reform it alto- gether. Do something enjoyable for once without deciding; take for granted some degree of ability in yourself and some degree of intelligence in your reader. Try to give some originality to your opening sentences. The Title. — Three requisites of a good title are brevity, accuracy, and attractiveness. Modern usage is averse to long titles. A misleading title, which does not give the SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS 45 reader at least some suggestion of the content of the composition, is bad, unless it is designed to produce some particular himiorous or rhetorical effect. As a rule, Ex- position and Argument do not offer so much opportunity for attractively phrased titles as is offered by Narrative; but even the title of an exposition or an argument does not need to be entirely barren of some stimulus to the reader's imagination or curiosity. The qualities of brevity, ac- curacy, and attractiveness are found in such expository titles as The Romance of the Air or The Mystery of the Soaring Hawk. The Outline. — For the ordinary theme of about four or five hundred words the outline may be very simple, indi- cating the topic of each paragraph in a phrase, a clause, or a sentence, without subheadings. For a longer compo- sition a more detailed outline may be required. Of all topic designations the simple sentence is often the most satisfactory ;■ if the substance of a paragraph can be tersely expressed in a single statement without the conjunction and, the paragraph probably does not contain any irrel- evant ideas. Each topic should represent a clearly separate and important division of the thought of the composition, and should not overlap any other. The sum total of the topics in the outline should exactly equal the sum total of the paragraphs in the theme, except in the case of dialogue paragraphs, which cannot be separately indicated in the outline. Such loose designations as " Introduction " and " Conclusion," unaccompanied by more definite statements, are not to be commended, for the reason that they too often signify that the writer has not really made up his mind as to the exact content and purpose of the paragraphs in question. If an introduction serves a real purpose, and is not merely a group of sentences beginning " doubtfully and far away," its purpose can be expressed in definite 46 SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS language. Similarly, a conclusion which is not a mere appendage can usually be summed up in a few accurate words. THE MANUSCRIPT Ink and Paper. — Themes should be written in black ink on white paper, ruled or unruled as the student or the teacher may prefer. One of the most suitable kinds of paper is the familiar "theme paper," which has a red marginal line at the left. Unless specific directions are given to the contrary, only one side of the paper should be used. Penmanship. — The student who is habitually addicted to slovenly and illegible handwriting should have his man- uscript typewritten. In most cases, however, there is no need of resorting to such an expedient. Poor penmanship is largely the consequence of bad habit confirmed by indo- lence and self-complacent indifference. A little self-disci- pline will work rapid and satisfactory results. This self- discipline is a moral obligation. Illegible manuscripts are an imposition on the theme reader, who shows remarkable self-restraint if he does not return them unread. The Title. — The title should be written about an inch and a half from the top of the first page; if the paper is ruled, on the first line. It should have even spaces on both sides; an unevenly spaced title produces an unfavor- able impression at the very outset. The first word of the title and every important word following, — that is, every word except articles, prepositions, and conjunctions, — should begin with a capital letter. There should be no period at the end. The title needs some other mark of differentiation from the text besides spacing and capitals; it should be underscored with two straight lines or one wavy line to indicate small capitals or bold face type, SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS 47 such as are used for printed titles in books and magazines. The title should not be italicized (underscored with one straight line) or, unless it is itself a quotation, set be- tween quotation marks. Italics or quotation marks are prop- erly used for literary titles only when they appear in a written or printed context. The Outline. — If an outline accompanies the theme, it may be written beneath the title on the first page or on a separate sheet of paper. Some theme readers may pre- fer to have it placed immediately under the title, for they can see almost at a glance the main headings of the com- position without turning to another sheet. An outline so placed should be separated from the title and from the body of the composition by the space of at least a single line. Arabic or Roman numerals may be used to number the topics. The following simple outline will serve as a model: The Value of Scouting to the Commukitt I. Introduction: the purpose of scouting is to be of service to the community. II. Scouting improves relations with the home. III. Scouting improves relations with the school. IV. Scouting improves relations with the church. V. Scouting improves relations with the state. Spacing in the Text. — Every paragraph should be in- dented about one inch. The left-hand margin of the text should be about an inch and a half in width. It should be very even, and, if the paper is ruled with a marginal line, should be kept close to that line. Sentences should not be crowded end to end, but should be distinctly and uniformly separated. Though the right-hand margin is necessarily somewhat irregular, it should be kept as straight as possible. In no case should words be written 48 SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS up to the very edge of the paper, or run up and down, to avoid division into syllables. Syllabification. — When division into syllables is neces- sary to insure proper spacing, it should conform to es- tablished practice. Some diflBcult cases must be settled by reference to a good dictionary; but a few simple rules, which are easy to learn and remember, cover the most common: 1. Never divide a word of one syllable. 2. Never separate the termination ed unless it is pro- nounced as a distinct syllable; e. g., disappoint-ed but not displeas-ed. 3. Prefixes are separate syllables; e. g., ab, ad, be, de, dis, ex, in, inter, pro, un, and so on. 4. Distinctly recognizable terminations are separate syllables; e. g., ed, ing, cial, cious, tion, tious, jul, ness, ly, and so on. 5. Two consecutive vowels or consonants (including double consonants) separately pronounced belong in separate syllables; e. g., vi-o-lent; pre-eminent; hack-neyed; op-tic; mat-ter. 6. A single consonant following a single long vowel or diphthong is separated from it; a single consonant following a single short vowel, except in the case of terminations, is joined with it; e. g., pro-pose; prop-osition; pre-jer; pref-erence; condi-tion. The Indorsement. — The indorsement should be written on the outside of the last sheet, preferably on the face which has the folded edge to the left, so that the manu- script will open, like a book, from left to right. The items of the indorsement include the name of the writer, SOME FIRST ESSENTIALS 49 the name or the number of the course or section, the date, and, if desired, the title; as follows: English Four Section A The Federal Judiciary Horace D. Handley September 25, 19 — The date should be written out in full, not in such ab- breviated form as this: 9/^25/'22. CHAPTER IV THE STRUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE The Sentence Described. — The sentence, our smallest complete unit of speech, is a highly flexible form, ranging from two words to two hundred or more, and susceptible 'of extraordinary variations. Reduced to its lowest terms, it consists merely of two words, a subject (noun or pro- noun) and a predicate (finite verb) , mechanically isolated from the context and expressing a complete thought. In its more elaborate type it may cover an entire page, using several subsidiary phrases and clauses and embracing a number of related ideas. The variation is extreme be- tween a short statement like "J.ohn is tired" and a sen- tence such as the following: So when I entered my booklined rooms and heard the kettle sing its comfortable song on the hearth, and reflected that I had a few letters to write, an interesting book to turn over, a pleasant Hall dinner to look forward to, and that, after a space of talk, an undergraduate or two were coming to talk over a leisurely piece of work, an essay or a paper, I was more than ever inclined to acquiesce in my disabilities, to purr like an elderly cat, and to feel that while I had the priceless boon of leisure, set in a framework of small duties, there was much to be said for life, and that I was a poor creature if I could not be soberly content. — A. C. Benson: On Growing Older. In both cases, however, the essential elements are present: the subject and the predicate, the complete thought, and the mechanical isolation of the unit, indicated in a visible way 50 THE STRUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE 51 by the capital letter at the beginning of the first word and the terminal punctuation at the close of the last. The Sentence and the Clause. — A clause, like a sen- tence, contains always a subject and a predicate, but it is invariably joined with another clause. To put the matter paradoxically, there can be no one clause unless there are two clauses. The same group of associated words may thus be either a clause or a sentence, depending entirely on whether the group is mechanically isolated or not. Examples John went riding, but his sister refused to go. (Clause) John went riding. (Sentence) As the storm approached, the wind became cold. (Clause) The wind became cold. (Sentence) Independent and Dependent Clauses. — A traditional and convenient classification of clauses divides them into two groups, — independent (main) and dependent (subor- dinate), — concerning which not a few loose statements have been made by grammarians. Broadly speaking, an independent clause is one which, with its introductory connective, may stand as a separate sentence; a dependent clause is one which under no circumstances may stand, with its introductory connective, as a separate sentence. Examples The officer protested, but Captain Kidd hoisted the black flag. The officer was there when Captain Kidd hoisted the black flag. In both these illustrations, the second clause will, if the connective be omitted, make complete sense. In each one, also, the connective implies some other statement with which the words Captain Kidd hoisted the black flag 52 THE STRUCTUEE OF THE SENTENCE are associated, but showing a relation of contrast and when a relation of time. In the first case, however, the clause in question, so far as current usage is concerned, may stand alone with its introductory connective and be considered a complete sentence; in the second case, this is not the fact. The test is simply whether the clause in question can, or can not, when set aside with its intro- ductory connective, pass as a complete thought. Dependent Clauses. — Dependent (subordinate) clauses have in practically every case the function of some single part of speech, either the adjective, the adverb, or the noun. An examination of the part played by the clause in the sentence as a whole will enable us readily to clas- sify it. Examples What he does is exceedingly interesting. (Here the clause, being the subject of the verb is, is known as a noun, or substantive, clause.) I know the man who is with him. (The italicized clause describes the noun man, and is, therefore, an adjective clause.) He came when I called. (Here the italicized clause answers a question of time, and, modifying the verb came, is designated as an ad- verbial clause.) Dependent clauses are nearly always introduced by conjunctive forms, such as relative pronoims, subordinating conjunctions, or conjunctive adverbs. Examples He lives in the house which is nearest the street. (Relative Pronoun) If he comes, I will tell him. (Subordinating Conjunction) I cannot tell how he will take it. (Conjunctive Adverb) THE STRUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE 53 Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Clauses. — It is well, perhaps, to point out here a distinction, useful throughout the study of composition, between restrictive and non- restrictive clauses. A restrictive clause, as its name implies, is one which restricts, limits, or narrows down the meaning of some general word, like hoiise or mem or friend. Examples This is the house in which I live. He is the man who did it. I wrote in the hope that I might dissuade him. It is a time when all good people should be in bed. I am going where we shall all be safe. A non-restrictive clause, on the other hand, is one which states an additional fact regarding an antecedent which is already specific and definite. Examples This is the Hotel Belmont, in which I have lived all winter. He is Mr. William H. Taft, who has been named as Chief Justice. I propose to go to Los Angeles, where the climate is always warm. Be at the station at quarter past ten, when the train arrives. It will be noticed that, in the illustrations given above, the non-restrictive clauses are set off from their context by commas, the restrictive clauses being not thus punctu- ated. The logical reason for this distinction will be readily apparent: a non-restrictive clause can usually be omitted without impairing the clearness of the important idea in the sentence; a restrictive clause, however, cannot be left out without injuring the thought of the sentence of which it is a part. In cases of doubt, the surest test is to examine the word which the clause in question modifies: if this noun or pronoun is specific and definite, the ensuing clause 54 THE STRUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE is non-restrictive; if it is a general word, the clause is of the restrictive type. Phrases. — Phrases and clauses are similar in that they are both groups of related words, and are, in turn, the units of which sentences may be made. Both, moreover, are used on occasions as modifying elements in the sentence, thus fulfilling an important function in grammar. The phrase differs from the clause chiefly in the fact that it contains no finite verb, and can never, therefore, ex- press a complete thought. A phrase may sometimes be exceedingly long and complicated, but it can always be reduced to the use of a single part of speech, — an adjec- tive, an adverb, or a noun. It is on this basis that a common classification of phrases is made. Examples He went to his house on the Mil. (Adjectival) He went wp the hill. (Adverbial) Rushing across the field, he snatched up a weapon. (Adjectival) To do this is more than I can endure. • (Noun) What has just been said concerns only the use of phrases. So far as th^r make-up, or structure, is concerned, we can make another helpful classification into three groups: prepositional, participial, and infinitive. Examples He ran with great speed. (Prepositional) Entering the house, he did what he could. (Participial) To accomplish the task was beyond his power. (Infinitive) Phrases and Clauses. — It is especially important to re- member, as a guide in sentence building, that every phrase, taken as a whole, has a use as a single part of speech. Not infrequently, moreover, phrases and clauses have the THE STRUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE 55 same approximate value in sentences. Participial phrases, for instance, are often interchangeable with dependent clauses, without detriment to the Clearness or Force of the sentence. Examples Strolling slowly across the street, he entered the drug-store. When he had strolled slowly across the street, he entered the drug-store. Notice that, in these two examples, the punctuation is the same. Incomplete Sentences. — A too frequent blunder with inexperienced writers is to use phrases or dependent clauses as if they were sentences, beginning them with capitals and ending them with some terminal mark of punctuation. Examples Before him lay the open sea. A stormy sea, lit by a clear, cold moon. (In this case we have a group of words without a finite verb, — an important typical case of a detached appositive. The substitution of a comma after opeji sea is a simple method of correcting the error.) He was moving on without much sense of direction. In jact, completely ignorant of his whereabouts. (Here is a phrase, without any verb form whatever. The period after direction should be replaced by a comma.) He had but one fetish, power. And one pride, his line. (This illustration, taken from a recent popular novel, shows the fault in its most flagrant form. Here there is no reason whatever why the italicized five words should be set off by themselves. Joined with the sen- tence which precedes them, they lose none of their effectiveness.) 56 THE STRUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE Worst of all, Dumnaya is making a decent man of him; and he will ultimately be saved from perdition through her training. Which is manijestly unfair. (In this passage, which closes Kipling's story "Yoked with an Unbeliever," we have what is obviously a relative clause, standing by itself as if it were actually a sen- tence. It happens that this was one of Kipling's tricks of style, especially in his younger days as a writer. It is a practice which, in spite of his high authority, cannot yet be called good usage, and the wise student will do well to avoid it. The trained master can break rules which it is absolutely necessary for the apprentice to obey.) Except in the case of exclamations, questions, and an- swers to questions, the best current usage does not allow sentences which do not contain both a subject and a predicate, and do not express a complete and separate thought. Compound Subjects and Predicates. — Under certain conditions the subject of a sentence may include two or even more separate nouns or pronouns; the predicate also may have more than one verb. In such cases we have what is called a compound subject or a compound pred- icate. Examples Helen is coming. Helen and her friend are coming. Helen is coming and will stay for the afternoon. Helen and her friend are coming and will stay for the afternoon. Helen, Mary, and Lucy are coming this afternoon, going on to Pittsfield this evening, and then taking a train for New York. In the last two of the examples given above, the sen- tences are still of the simple type, but they contain both compound subjects and compound predicates. Possibilities of the Simple Sentence. — A simple sen- tence, through the inclusion of a large number of word or THE STRUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE 57 phrase modifiers, may extend to a considerable length and include many related ideas. The following illustra- tions will show how such a sentence may be built up. Examples The Indian ran on. The Indian ran on, seeming to gather renewed energy with each stride and mounting the steep slope with great bounds. Without losing a second or pausing to glance at his pursuer, the Indian ran on, seeming to gather renewed energy with each stride and moimting the steep slope with great bounds of almost superhiunan length and vigor. As a matter of fact, it would be quite feasible to put all our thoughts into simple sentences without in any way confusing our readers or hearers. It is sometimes difficult, however, to show in simple sentences the relative value of our ideas or to indicate the precise relationship between them. A style composed entirely of simple sentences would seem to us childish and immature. The adult mind requires for self-expression larger and more complex units. Never- theless it will not do to neglect the possibilities of the simple sentence as a means of lending variety to an English style. The Compound Sentence. — When two or more simple sentences are united, — whether or not they are joined by coordinating conjunctions, — we have what is known as the compound sentence. Children, as we have seen, be- gin by speaking simple sentences, uttering each idea as fast as it enters their minds. At a somewhat higher stage of intellectual growth, it becomes natural for them to join one thought with the one which follows it, without, how- ever, discriminating as to the relative value of the parts. With the child, the process of composing compound sen- tences is hardly more difficult than that of building simple 58 THE STRUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE sentences. A mere and to link two ideas together, and the next step in expression has been taken. Examples Father gave me some money. I am going to buy a book. I hope he will let me buy some skates too. Father gave me some money, and I am going to buy a book, and I hope he will let me buy some skates too. Each of the independent clauses in a compound sentence may, like a simple sentence, have a number of modifying elements, made up of either words or phrases; thus a compound sentence may be very long and comprehensive Examples We chmbed the bank, and the guide ran ahead. Having crossed with much difficulty the shaky plank bridge over Henshaw River, falling in huge torrents far below, we chmbed slowly up the bank on the other side, and the guide, strangely expectant and hopeful, ran ahead, though burdened with our belongings, to get our bearings from the top of a tall pine. Conjunctions in Compound Sentences. — It is not at all unusual to have compound sentences in which no con- junctions are used between the independent clauses. Examples John took the road along the valley; Henry tried the path ap the hill. Walking to the end of the street, the stranger waved his arms and shouted to his friend; the latter merely glanced up, and proceeded on his way. More often, however, a conjunctive element is used between independent clauses. The elements so employed THE STRUCTUEE OF THE SENTENCE 59 are designated as coordinating conjunctions, and, as such, are divided into three classes: simple, adverbial, and cor- relative. Examples Simple Conjunctions: and, but, {or, or, neither, nor. Conjunctive Adverbs: so, thus, then, however, nevertheless, therefore, yet, consequently, still, notwithstanding. Correlative Conjunctions: either-or, neither-nor, whether-or. The conjunctions of these three classes make up the great body of connectives used to join parts of equal rank in the sentence. It is worth remembering that the coordinating conjunctions, except the few in the first group (simple conjunctions) and in the third group (cor- relatives), belong under the broad heading of conjunctive adverbs. This distinction will be of value in the later discussion of punctuation. The Principle of Coordination. — The principle of co- ordination has to do more, perhaps, with the compound sentence than with any other type. It provides merely that only sentence elements of equal, or approximately equal, value should be made parallel in structure; that is, in a compound subject or a compound predicate or a compound sentence, the coordinating conjunctions must always link together words or phrases or clauses of the same general form or importance in the sentence. The practical application of the principle of coordination will be postponed to the chapter on The Rhetoric of the Sen- tence; but it may be well considered whenever there are compound elements to be arranged. The Complex Sentence. — When the child, in the normal evolution of his mind, has reached the point not only where two or more ideas occur to him almost simultaneously but also where he realizes the desirability of indicating the relative value of those ideas, he finds a new type of sen- 60 THE STRUCTUEE OF THE SENTENCE tence exceedingly helpful. Discovering that there are some ideas which, although interesting and significant, should nevertheless be subordinated to others still more significant, he can, as we have already indicated, turn to the simple sentence, with its phrase modifiers; but it will not be long before even this will seem inadequate. It is then that he is ready to utilize the complex sentence, — the type which includes, besides the indispensable main clause, at least one dependent clause. The Value of the Complex Sentence. — The opportuni- ties for variety of expression are even greater in the com- plex sentence than in either the compound or the simple sentence. Numerous modifying elements, both of phrases and clauses, may be introduced, all clustered around the central thought in the independent clause. The matiu-e mind, searching for a medium through which it can become articulate, finds the complex sentence suflBiciently varied to meet nearly every demand. For the same reason, the writing of complex sentences is a task which requires no small degree of skill and experience. Conjunctions in the Complex Sentence. — ^ Nearly every subordinate clause is introduced by a connective, joining it logically and grammatically to the main clause on which it is dependent. These connectives, which are of various types, have been classified roughly as follows: Relative Pronouns: who, which, what, that. Interrogative Pronouns: who, which, what. Conjunctive Adverbs: when, whenever, where, whence: Interrogative Adverbs: why, where, how. Subordinating Conjunctions: because, if, although, unless, as, until, before, after. There are thus numerous conjunctive forms which may be used to introduce a subordinate clause. A study of them and their meanings will show that they supply a THE STRUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE 61 word for every mood or degree of expression likely to be required. The Compound-Complex Sentence. — The most elabo- rate and flexible sentence type is that in which the writer may include any number of clauses, both inde- pendent and dependent. This form, called the compoimd- complex sentence, has all the advantages that go with simple, compound, and complex sentences, with the addi- tional quality of being perhaps better adapted than any one of these to the expression of a long and intricate thought. The problems of its construction are not sub- stantially different from those already faced in the com- pound and in the complex sentence. The Principle of Subordination. — With the principle of coordination, already briefly treated, must be mentioned another principle, perhaps even more important, the nature of which has already been suggested. It involves the comparison and discrimination between different ideas, and the placing of them in the form and position to which their relative values entitle them. Ordinarily called subordination, it is a device for indicating in an easily discernible way the relative importance of various thoughts, logically connected but of different degrees of significance. Even in the simple sentence, it is frequently desirable to show distinctions of this kind. Let us suppose, for instance, that we have in mind several ideas, all grouped around a central figure: John was on the hill. John called out. John wished to attract our attention. We can readily see the advisability of putting these to- gether in one sentence, but it will never do to make them of equal importance. A moment's reflection gives us a 62 THE STRUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE clue to their relative importance, with the result that we produce the following simple sentence: Standing on the hill, John called out to attract our attention. From the original three ideas, we have here evolved a participial phrase, an independent clause, and an infinitive phrase. Subordination in the Compound, Complex, and Com- pound-Complex Sentences. — A still more complicated but no less convincing illustration may help to emphasize the need of subordination as a principle of style. Let us assume that distinct ideas come to our minds as follows: The chauffeur saw me. His name was Charles. His car was a Packard. His car swerved. I jumped aside. I jumped rapidly. I might have been badly injured. By joining these simple sentences together in the crudest way, without any consideration except of the order in which they occurred to the writer, we get: The chauffeur saw me, and his name was Charles, and his car was a Packard, and his car swerved, and I jumped aside, and I jumped rapidly, and I might have been badly injured. It need no philosopher to see that, of the seven ideas thus ex-pressed, not all are of the same force. If, now, we attempt to differentiate between the more important and the less important statements and to indicate their logical relationship, we shall get a result like the following: As Charles, the chauffeur, saw me, his Packard swerved, and, but for my rapid jump aside, I might have been badly injured. What has happened? From the seven statements with which we started, we have produced a dependent clause, THE STRUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE 63 an appositive, an independent clause, a prepositional phrase, and a second independent clause. The number of words required has been diminished from thirty-four to twenty-two. By applying the principle of subordination, we have, furthermore, brought order out of what was a mere jumble of ideas. Subordination in Practice. — Through this process of subordination, it is often possible to express a fairly im- portant thought in a phrase, or even in a single word. Compactness secured without omitting essential thoughts is usually an advantage to style. No better training in writing can be secured than by taking a number of related ideas like those presented in the illustration above, and making experiments with them in sentence building. The Loose Sentence. — Practice in applying the princi- ples of coordination and subordination soon makes the student acquainted with another distinction, — that be- tween loose and periodic sentences. A loose sentence is one which, at some place before the actual close, may be terminated and still express a complete thought. It will be noticed at once that every compound sentence is, by definition, a loose sentence, for it may close at the end of the first independent clause. Examples He strode off and soon arrived at the bridge, where he stood looking over, apparently a picture of dejection. The boat turned slowly over; then, with a shght quiver, it passed from our vision. Most English sentences are loose in structure; indeed it is frequently very difficult so to phrase an idea that the suspense will continue to the last word. The danger of the loose sentence lies in the temptation which it offers to 64 THE STEUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE straggle on, adding new elements which contribute nothing to the total effect. The Periodic Sentence. — The periodic sentence, in con- trast, is not grammatically or logically complete until the last word has been reached. Examples Quickly rushing from the house, he dashed, with headlong speed, through the drifted snow. Far and wide, from city to city, even from ocean to ocean, he roamed. Periodic sentences require skillful planning and careful attention to subordination. The writer, when he opens his sentence, must have an eye on the conclusion, and is obliged, therefore, to make sure that his minor sentence elements are not misplaced. Inexperienced writers, prone to employ the loose sentence too freely, and often led astray by the desire to insert additional clauses in a sentence already complete, should be encouraged to devote more study to the periodic type. Here, too, a caution must be added that an overuse of the periodic sentence, such as that in the essays of Dr. Johnson, makes a style seem artificial and heavy. Practice in Sentence Building. — Building sentences, when accepted frankly as a game in which it is the object of the player to make the best possible unit from diverse elements, is far from a dull pastime. It does, however, involve some hard work. Every man who has success in writing wins it, as in any contest, through incessant and thoughtful labor': "He, while his companions slept, Was toiling upwards in the night." By mastery of the general principles and by regular prac- tice, any intelligent person can attain a considerable degree THE STRUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE 65 of proficiency. The keeping of a diary, the writing of letters, the construction of daily themes are all helpful; but it is the ambition of the student which is, in every case, the driving force. When once that desire is aroused, the ultimate attainment of a style clear and forceful, if not distinguished, is inevitable. EXERCISES I. In the following sentences, explain the use of each itahcized clause : 1. We love him for what he is. 2. He bought the house while I was away. 3. He told me that he wovld do it. 4. She is one who always does her best. 5. He dies as he wished to die. 6. I do not know when he will arrive. 7. No one can teU where he has gone. II. In the following sentences, point out and punctuate the restrictive and non-restrictive clauses: 1. There in the distance was Marshal Foch who had just arrived in the stadium. 2. He climbed one of the high ridges which sloped towards the south. 3. He arrived home at one-fifteen when all good citizens are usually asleep. 4. The front benches are reserved for those who have sons on the team. 5. He was telling a story about the tall girl that we met yesterday. 6. Anybody who goes regularly to the theatre soon begins to think that he is a competent critic. 7. He lifted his hands which were scarred with years of arduous labor to heaven with a beseeching gesture. 8. Get up and speak to that man who will teU you all about it. 9. He arrived soon at Mantua where Virgil was bom. 66 THE STRUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE ni. Point out and classify the phrases in the following ejrtracts: 1. And so I sit, while the clock on the mantel-piece ticks out the pleasant minutes, and the fire winks and crumbles on the hearth, till the old gyp comes tapping at my door to learn my intentions for the evening. 2. Out of the noise of cannon and trumpets, he was in the act of passing into this still country bordering on the grave, where men sleep nightly in their grave clothes, and, hke phantoms, communicate by signs. 3. There came to him the oddest feeling that he had been there before, peering through blossoms at these staring paths and shuttered windows. 4. The midnight stars watched over the mission. Framed by the cross-shaped window sunk deep in the adobe wall above the entrance, a mass of them assumed the form of the crucifix, throwing a golden trail full upon the Lady of Loreto, proud in her shining pearls. IV. The following extracts are taken from students' themes. Criticize the sentence structure in each: 1. He was now about to enter a new field of life. The broader life beyond school and college. 2. There are several bad characters in the play. Claudius being one of the worst. 3. A satyr was an animal with the head of a man and the body of a goat. Very repulsive to look at. 4. The bonus will be paid only to non-commissioned officers. Furthermore only to those who make application for it. 5. He added that he had never been near the mob. Which was probably true. V. Classify the following sentences as simple, compound, com- plex, or compound-complex: 1. A light flapped over the scene, ,as if reflected from phosphorescent wings crossing the sky, and a rumble filled the air. 2. At last the bells ceased, and with their note the sun with- drew. 3. He came rambling down the grassy road, his pack on his back and his fiddle under his arm, and called out to the little children standing in the doorways. THE STRUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE 67 4. I do not know how long it was before I scrambled on to the tree to which I found myself clinging. 5. On the morning of which I write, the air was far more smnmery than I have ever known it in the Engadine in August. 6. He rose slowly, turning his head wearily from one side to another, and then, picking up his hat and coat, hmped forward into the darkness, with no guide but the half- veiled stars. 7. Below, the red front of the rectory gleamed with a warm tint in the midst of grass-plots, flower-beds, and fir-trees, with an orchard at the back, a paved stable-yard to the left, and the sloping glass of greenhouses tacked along a wall of bricks. 8. He may wander far from its walls, he may visit it but rarely, but it stands there in peace and glory, the one true and real thing for him in mortal time and in whatever lies beyond. VI. Try to see how many different types of sentences may be built from each of the following suggested groups of ideas: 1. An Esquimau dog was there. The dog rose. The dog was of the finest and wildest breed. The dog stretched itself at the fire. The dog opened its eyes at the two men. The dog's eyes were red. The dog went to the door. The dog sniffed at the cracks. 2. Jim stood on the deck. His eyes were sad. He was thinking of his English home. A sailor accosted him. The sailor was sullen. Jim ignored him. The man grew insulting. Jim felled him to the deck. 3. The honor system has never been tried in our school. It has had success elsewhere. It had good features. It may possibly be tried in our school next year. It ought to be successful in our school. 4. It is snowing. I must go to school. I must put on my rubbers. I catch cold easily. VII. Classify the following sentences as loose or periodic. Change each, if possible, into the opposite form. Of the two, which is preferable? 1. On he ran, through mud and water, marsh and plowed land, until he came to his cabin. 68 THE STRUCTUEE OF THE SENTENCE 2. A draft of air, fanned from forward by the speed of the ship, passed steadily through the long gloom between the high bulwarks. 3. Marvelous though the vision was and brief though it was to be, he could not pause. 4. Through many centuries and in many climes, this custom, weird though it is, has never lost popularity. 5. He swam on, until all feeling seemed to have left his limbs and every nerve was numb. 6. With his rifle on his shoulder and his rations tucked away in his belt, he was prepared to meet whatever emergency might arise. CHAPTER V THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE The study of English grammar from an historical or scientific point of view, — interesting and profitable though it may be, — is better suited to colleges and universities than to secondary schools. In this book, then, grammatical problems are considered only in so far as they relate to current speech and writing, the object here being to ascer- tain and summarize the best practice in disputed questions of usage. No attempt will be made to do more than to warn students how to avoid common errors and thus to talk and write with some degree of correctness. Necessity of Grammatical Rules. — All grammar, like all spelling and punctuation, is a matter of common agree- ment, and therefore of convention, — or, if we prefer a simpler word, of fashion. What we chose to call gram- matical laws are actually principles of procedure in obeying which people of various races and countries have come generally to concur. What we term rules are based on the language habits of cultivated people, especially of the best authors. We follow the established procedure in grammar from motives of convenience, economy, and logi- cal consistency. If each person evolved and maintained a peculiar grammatical system of his own, we should soon be without a recognized standard, and communication be- tween people would shortly become difiBcult, if not im- possible. The Importance of Using Good Grammar. — The habit- ual use of poor granamar, — and by poor we mean unau- 69 70 THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE thorized, — is, therefore, while not a lapse in morals, at least a failure to conform to established custom. That grammatical blunders are the result of either carelessness or ignorance does not excuse them. A man who is honest, unselfish, and high-minded may choose to say " I ain't got nothin' " ; but, if he does, he forfeits his right to a place in cultured society. Imagine, for instance, what would be said in the newspapers of a President of the United States or a Supreme Coiu't Judge who said in public "between you and I " or " I seen him do it." Pride and self-respect, — to say nothing of other motives, — should lead every- one to wish to uphold a high standard of usage in grammar. The Development of the English Language. — The Eng- lish language has not always been as it is to-day. In its origin it was what is now known as a synthetic language, — that is, a language like Latin, with many declensions and conjugations, expressing changes in meaning by corre- sponding alterations in the forms of word. Some of these terminations have survived to our own time. In the course of many centuries, however, so large a proportion of these inflected forms have been abandoned that English has gradually become an analytic language; that is, like French, it employs prepositions and various arrangements of words in the sentence to express the relation of ideas formerly brought out by case endings and inflections. How We Determine Parts of Speech. — In many other languages, for instance, it is possible, by merely examining the form or ending of any given word, to determine the part of speech under which it should be classifled. In English, on the contrary, we must consider primarily its relationship to other parts of the sentence. Let us take, for example, the word fast. If we are asked to look at it without any context and to tell to what part of speech it belongs, we shall naturally be a bit puzzled how to THE GRAMMAR OF THE' SENTENCE 71 answer. In the sentence " He ran fast," it obviously modi- fies the verb ran, and is, therefore, an adverb. In " It was a fast race," fast governs the noun race, and must accord- ingly be classed as an adjective. A devout churchman says " My fast will begin to-morrow," and we realize that fast may also be a noun ; or he may vary his remark with " I shall fast when Lent opens," in which case fast has be- come a verb. In these examples it is clear that, in order to determine the part of speech imder which a given word should be grouped, we must examine, not the form or ending of the word, but its position and use in the sentence. The Case Endings of Nouns. — The same method of analysis must be resorted to in English to determine the case of any noun. In Latin or in German it is usually not difficult to state the construction of a noun after looking sA, its spelling; we know, for instance, that tubam is in the accusative singular and that tubarum is in the genitive plural. In English, however, nouns, except in the pos- sessive, have no case endings. There are still case uses; but the word hoiose may be the subject of a verb, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition, and still remain precisely the same in form. Only through studying its relationship to other words can we discover whether it is used as subject or as object. The Case Endings of Pronouns. — In certain pronouns we have a genuine survival of the old method of inflection, but here only three cases remain, — the nominative, the possessive, and the objective (accusative). The personal pronoun / has also the possessive form my {mine) and the objective form me, the use being in these instances reasonably clear from the structure of the word. These pronouns are, however, exceptional in this respect to-day; moreover the old dative and ablative cases have com- 72 THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE pletely vanished in the course of a thousand years, leaving in their places only prepositional phrases. The Present Tendency in Language. — Indeed, although we can never predict with any certainty the course which a living language will take, the trend in English for some centuries has been towards the elimination of inflected forms, and the process is not yet altogether complete. Even to-day the distinction between who and whom is not so carefully observed as it used to be, and there are other indications that the tendency is still towards the simplification of syntax. This is not the place, of course, to treat in detail the evolution of the English language. The function of the grammarian or the teacher is merely to search out and codify the changes that have been going on, and to record the best current usage. . He may approve or regret these developments, but in either case he is practically powerless to resist the spirit of the age. Fundamental Terminology. — In any discussion of good usage in grammar, it is necessary to employ certain techni- cal terms, with the meanings of which every student should be familiar. It is assumed here that pupils know the dis- tinctions between the various parts of speech, such as nouns and verbs ; that they can use without confusion such words as phrase, clause, subject, object; and that they understand the difference, let us say, between tense and case, or between gender and number. More difficult terms will be explained in the course of this chapter. With this knowledge as a basis, we are now ready to establish a few principles which will act as guides in correcting com- mon blunders in grammar. A few of these have been briefly touched upon in Chapter III, bi;t their repetition here will not be amiss. These principles are based solely on the best usage in the United States at the present time. THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE 73 I. A Subject and Its Predicate Should Always Agree in Number No principle of grammar is more entirely logical than this; yet it is frequently violated because writers, as a result of words or phrases intervening between subject and predicate, become confused. It is not always easy to re- member, especially in rapid speech, that phrases beginning with with, together with, as well as, and including do not affect the number of the noun to which they are joined; for example, " General Pershing, with all his staff officers, was in camp this morning." It is sometimes forgotten that when either-or or neither- nor connect singular subjects, the following verb must also be singular. Examples Neither sickness nor fatigue is able to keep Viim from his desk. Neither the Secretary of State nor the Ambassador was prompt in justifying his indiscretion. Collective nouns used as subjects often present difficul- ties which are not easy to solve. Generally speaking, a collective noun should take a singular verb when the group of objects or persons which it includes is considered as forming a single unit; it should take a plural verb when the group is viewed as a number of individual objects or persons. Thus we say, " The jury was moved as if by a common impulse under the spell of the lawyer's appeal " ; but, on the other hand, " The jury were now free to depart, each member to his own room." There are frequently cases in which either singular or plural is apparently cor- rect; but whichever form may be first decided upon, it is all-important to preserve consistency throughout the sebtence. 74 THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE EXERCISE In the following sentences choose the correct form of the verb, giving your reasons for the selection: 1. Precisely at seven o'clock Marshal Jofire, with the receiv- ing party, which consists of a number of prominent citizens, enter (enters) the parade ground. 2. Either Henry or his brother were (was) standing on that deck a moment ago. 3. He told me that in his town there was (were) a golf club, a glue factory, a public park, and a beautiful new town hall. 4. The nature of my duties require (requires) my attendance at every, session. 5. A package of fruits and candies were (was) sent me before the voyage. 6. The mob was (were) dissolved in tears after the speech of the condemned criminal. 7. The team was (were) ready to rush on the field. II. A Pronoun Should Always Agree in Number with Its Antecedent This also is a principle of grammar based upon the most elementary common sense, but that fact does not prevent its being often neglected. Much of the trouble arises in connection with words like each, every, anyone, and others which, when used as antecedents, are invariably singular. The sentence, " Let every one do what they want to " is clearly wrong because the plural pronoun they refers to a singular antecedent one; the proper form is, " Let every one do what he wants to." The inconsistency of the original expression can be readily detected on paper, but is not so easily avoided in speech. Another too com- mon source of confusion is a sentence like " She is one of those girls who has always done her best to succeed," in which the writer, uncertain as to the antecedent of the relative pronoun who, has incorrectly made it singular. THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE 75 Actually, as an investigation will show, the pronoun who refers specifically to girls, and, being plural, should nat- urally take the plural verb form have. The sentence should read, "She is one of those girls who have always done their best to succeed." EXERCISE In the following sentences, determine which of the alternative forms is correct, giving your reasons for your choice: 1. A man will generally get along better if they are (he is) told what to do. 2. We agreed not to let any one else brmg his (their) clothes into that room. 3. Everybody should do what he (they) can to prevent the candidate's election. 4. He is one of those athletes who are (is) always getting injured. 5. He does not know a single girl in the hall, and, even if he did, she (they) would not care to dance with such an awkward fellow. 6. When each wife had given her husband a ring, they (she) demanded it back from him. III. The Cases of Pronouns Should not Be Confused It has already been pointed out that only with pronouns is there any distinction of form in the English language between the nominative and the objective cases. A mis- conception of the case of a noun will pass without comment in any written composition; a similar mistake with regard to a pronoun will result in embarrassment to the writer. It is of the utmost importance to watch the cases of all pronouns, and thus to be sure of the construction which they have in the sentence. The use of the forms myself, himself, and similar words to cover up lack of knowledge regarding the correct form, — I or me, and he 76 THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE or him, — is not justifiable. Forms like myself have only two legitimate uses, reflexive and intensive. Thu^ an interesting situation occurs in sentences like " Give it to whoever is elected," in which the nominative form whoever should be used, the rule being that the case of a relative pronoun is determined by its con- struction in the clause which it introduces, — not by any word or words outside of it. Whoever, in the sentence above, is the subject of the verb is elected, and should, accordingly, be in the nominative case. EXERCISE In the following sentences, determine which of the alternative forms is correct, giving your reasons for your choice: 1. She told John and I (me) that we might go. 2. They awaited the coming of Montezuma, whom (who) they firmly believed would appear some morning in the place of the sun. 3. He was a man whom (who) we thought had many quali- fications for success. 4. He is not so tall as I (me). 5. She tried to extort money from Lucy and we (us) who were in the audience. IV. The Antecedents of All Relative Pronouns Should Be Usually Definite Nouns or Pronouns Most grammarians state dogmatically that the practice of using a phrase, or clause, or the thought contained in a phrase or clause, as the antecedent of which should be condemned. In the sentence, "He tried to do his best, which is greatly to his credit," the relative form which refers, not to any specific word, but to an idea which must be inferred by the reader. In a case of this kind there can be no doubt that the sentence would be THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE 77 better rephrased, as, " The fact that he tries to do his best is greatly to his credit." There are instances, however, in which this faulty construction cannot be avoided with- out producing a very awkward result. The best procedure is to supply a specific antecedent whenever possible, re- membering that good usage still favors an explicit ante- cedent for every relative pronoun. V. The Noun or Pronoun to Which a Participle Refers Should Always Be Definite and Unmistakable A participle, or verbal adjective, combines the functions of two parts of speech. As a verb, it may, if it is transitive, take an object, and it may always be modified by any adverbial element, whether word, phrase, or clause. As an adjective, it must limit some specific noun or pronoun. If it does not do so, or if it modifies grammatically a word to which it does not refer logically, it is called a " dangling participle," sometimes a " hanging participle." The fault is illustrated in a sentence like " Walking up the dock front, a ship went by," in which the participle walking, referring logically to some person not mentioned, seems to modify grammatically the noun ship. A blunder of this kind may be corrected in one of several ways: by inserting the proper noun or pronoun for the participle to modify; by change of the participial phrase to a dependent clause; or by a complete revision of the sentence. The sentence quoted above can easily be changed to read, " As I walked up the dock front, I saw a ship go by," or, " Walking up the dock front, I saw a ship go by." 78 THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE EXERCISE In the following sentences, point out the errors and correct them: 1. While trying to transport the boat across the river, it was unfortunately overturned. 2. Being a peculiar sort of a boy, the students could not endure having him join in their games. 3. On inquiring, she told him where he was. 4. Looking back at El Capitan, its sharp vertical front was projected against far blue foot-hills. 5. The day had been very hot, making it seem almost like late July. VI. Distinguish between the Uses of the Comparativft and of the Superlative Forms of the Adjective The best present usage favors the comparative form of the adjective when only two objects or persons are men- tioned. The sentence^ " This is the larger of the two boxes," is, therefore, correct, and the use of largest instead of larger would not be approved. The superlative is properly- used only when more than two objects or persons are com- pared, as in the case, "He is the tallest of my three brothers." VII. Pronominal Adjectives Should Always Agree in Num- ber with the Nouns or Pronouns Which They Modify The notable instance in which this perfectly clear rule is frequently broken is in a sentence like " I do not care for those sort of things," or " I do not know how to work at these kind of examples." The fault, which is not im- common even among well-educated persons, is the result of gross carelessness or indifference. Both kind and sort are singular nouns, taking always a singular adjective. There is no exception to this rule. THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE 79 VIII. The Distinction between Adjectives and Adverbs Should Be Carefully Observed There has been noticed in the United States a steadily- increasing tendency to confuse adjectives with adverbs, and to use one for the other as if they were interchange- able. We find several cases, indeed, where an adjectival form has almost displaced an adverb, as, for instance, with the word slow, which is now frequently employed as an adverb, — "Drive slow." There is still, however, no jus- tification in good usage for the use of bad for badly or of some for somewhat, or for such sentences as " The book was praised by the then editor, Horace Greeley." Careless people also are likely to substitute wrongly an adverb for a predicate adjective, as in the following: "The rose smells sweetly," " The house looks beautifully," or " The wall feels harshly to my touch." One convenient test is to try the sentence with some form of the verb be or seem in place of the original predicate. If the verb be or seem can be thus substituted without altering the meaning of the sentence, the adjective form is correct. The applica- tion of this simple test will show that the sentences given above should read: " The rose smells sweet," " The house looks beautiful," and " The wall feels harsh to my touch." IX. The Double Negative Should Be Avoided There are four so-called negative adverbs, — hardly, scarcely, only, and but, — which, when used with not, re- sult in a construction called the double negative, permis- sible in some languages but not correct in English. This fault, which is one of the commonest which otherwise fas- tidious people often . commit, is illustrated in the sentence, " He hasn't but two examinations," in which the writer, if taken literally, actually expresses the opposite of what 80 THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE he is trying to say. Among other examples are the follow- ing: " He hasn't but three dollars," " He couldn't hardly say a word," "He couldn't scarcely crawl into his seat," " We cannot find but four cases of a similar construction in Latin."" It is evident that the omission of the first negative form, — not in each of the examples given, — will make the sentences correct, the first one reading rightly, " He has but three dollars." X. Transitive Verbs Should not Be Confused with Intran- sitive Verbs The difference between transitive verbs, — which may take a noun or pronoun object, — and intransitive verbs, — which never take an object, — is ordinarily so manifest as to require no comment. There are, however, three pairs of verbs which are often confused, especially in speech: lie (to recline) and lay, sit and set, and rise and raise. Of these forms, lie, sit, and rise are intransitive, and are never rightly used with an object. Careless or ignorant writers, however, sometimes make the serious blunder of producing sentences like, " I laid down for a nap " ; or, " Come and set with me a while." It takes only a few minutes to learn the principal parts of these verbs so that they will never be forgotten. Present Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle to lie lay lain to lay laid laid to sit sat sat to set set set to rise rose risen to raise raised raised XI. Discriminate between " Shall " and " Will " The uses of shall and will, although carefully distin- guished in most books on grammatical structure, have in THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE 81 recent years been much confused, even in the works of reputable writers. In this book an attempt will be made to give, in compact form, a summary of what seems to be the best usage in this country at the present time. In all direct statements, shall is used in the first person to denote simple future time, and in the second and third persons to express determination on the part of the writer. I shall be able to get up to-morrow. You shall do what I say. He shall not remain here any longer. The rule for will is equally explicit; that it is employed in the first person to express purpose or determination, and in the second and third persons to express futiue time. I wUl do what I please. You will never be able to get there. He will not win the race. In other words, shall and will, in direct statements, are definitely contrasted in their uses. In direct questions, either shall or will is used, depending on the answer which is expected. Shall you bring guests? Ans. I shall bring guests. WUl you take this woman to be your wedded wife? Ans. I will. Generally speaking, the forms should and would,— -the past tense forms of shall and will, — follow the same rules as shall and will. I should not be surprised to see him. (Futurity) I would never agree to such terms. (Determination) You would not be able to cross the river. (Futurity) In indirect statements, few people make any effort to conform to any established principle; but the best current usage provides that, in either indirect statements or indirect questions, the form of shall, mil, should, or would agrees 82 THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE with the form which would naturally be employed in the corresponding direct statement or question. He says that he shall be elected president. This corresponds to the direct statement, " I shall be elected president," expressing simple futurity. He says that he will not take the oath. This corresponds to the direct statement, " I vxill not take the oath," expressing determination. The manager said that the goods should not be returned. This corresponds to the direct statement, " The goods should not be returned." He asked whether the prisoner would keep out of further trouble. This corresponds to the direct question, " "Will (would) you keep out of further trouble?" to which the answer is expected, " I will (would) ." There are other uses of these words, which, because of their special or exceptional nature, should also be briefly mentioned. Shall is occasionally used in the third person to express prophecy, as in the sentence, " There shall be a new heaven and a new earth." Will is used in the second and third persons to express a polite command, as in the sentence, " Captain Freeman will command the first platoon." Should is used to express duty or obligation, as in the sentence, "Every woman should take pains to get regis- tered." Would is often employed to denote habitual action, as in the sentence, "He would sometimes spend all day in doing nothing but whittle." THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE 83 Would is also used to express a wish, as in the sentence, " Would that we had been able to go." EXERCISE Insert the proper forms in the blank spaces in the following sentences, using shall, will, should, or would: 1. We start early and avoid the rush. 2. He never succeed in what he is undertaking. 3. If you were in my place, you obey the order? 4. you be present at the dinner this evening? 5. My father told me that he advance me the money. 6. In this crisis every able-bodied man shoulder a rifle. 7. He says that he be obliged to beat a retreat. 8. You bring in these blanks properly made out for the next lesson. 9. you promise to obey the laws of the United States? 10. Sometimes she stay in bed all day, reading and sleeping. 11. I break loose from my bonds; no one pre- vent me. 12. He feared that he not be able to meet his appoint- ment. 13. My mother said that she not allow me to go to the dance. 14. we grant the petition of the prisoner? 15. we be blamed if we refuse to meet your demands? 16. I promised that I be there in good season. XII. The Proper Order of Tenses Should Be Observed in Verbs In spite of the fact that the absurdity of an abrupt change from a present to a past tense is perfectly evident, the mistake is often carelessly made. Such a sentence as " He went down to the end of the car and tries to buy a newspaper " illustrates the ludicrous result of such a sudden shift in point of view. There are, however, cases which are less obvious, and which require, perhaps, some 84 THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE explanation. It is important to remember that the time expressed by the verb in any dependent clause or comple- mentary infinitive is determined by its relatioji, in point of time, to the verb in the main clause of the sentence. I intended to do it yesterday. Here the present infinitive is used, because the action which it denotes follows the action of the verb intended. If he had considered the matter carefully, he would not have needed to spend so much money. Here the present infinitive is used for the same reason as in the sentence above. He cannot achieve success unless he is willing to work. Here the present tense form is agrees with the present tense form cannot in the main clause. For the most part, the present tfense is followed by either the present, the future, or the perfect tense. The past tense is followed by the past or the pluperfect. He can pay his debts if he has any good luck at all. He would pay his debts if he had any luck at all. He promises that he will go. He promised that he would go. We have done no more than it was our duty to do. XIII. Words Essential to the Meaning Should Not Be Omitted In the course of conversation or of rapid writing it often happens that we omit certain words which are really necessary if the sentence is to be entirely clear. In the sentence, " He is as fast if not faster than his brother," we have a characteristic illustration of this fault; the blunder will be apparent if we leave out the words if not faster. In cases of this kind the omission must be supplied, or the sentence must be revised to remove the error. THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE 85 EXERCISES Point out the fault in each of the following sentences, and show how it may be corrected: 1. He finished the race in much the same way he begun it. 2. Although our lesson was not as hard, we found it less interesting than it was the day before. 3. Arrange the topics as the headings are. 4. He will execute the task as carefully as he has former ones. 5. He hked to go fishing and often caught a good many. XIV. Mixed Constructions Should Be Avoided It is a wise principle in writing that, when there are two or more ideas of equal value, each dependent upon a main idea, the subordinate ideas should be expressed in the same general way, — that is, either by participial phrases, or by relative causes, or in some manner to indicate the parallel- ism of the dependent ideas. A typical example is the sen- tence, " There are two obstacles to his getting a commission: that he is over thirty-five years old and his having weak eyes." Here the two ideas following the colon are evidently of about the same importance, and each is dependent on the first, or main clause, " There are two obstacles to his getting a commission." In the sentence as it stands, however, one of the dependent ideas is in a dependent clause, the other in a gerund phrase. If we express both in the same general way, we get a result as follows : " There are two obstacles to his getting a com- mission: that he is over thirty-five years old and that he has weak eyes." Another illustration is the sentence, " Glen wondered at the height of the buildings, most of which were of five or six stories, and what the ladders were for." In this sentence it is apparent that " Glen " wondered at two things, evidently intended to be of equal signifi- cance; yet one is put in a prepositional phrase, the other 86 THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE in a relative clause. The sentence should, of course, read somewhat as follows: " Glen wondered at the height of the buildings, most of which were of five or six stories, and tried to think what the ladders were for." The rule that a relative clause should be paralleled only with another relative clause also belongs under this heading. In the sentence, " Suddenly there appeared on the scene a tall nervous fellow, with a gorgeous imiform and who flourished a highly polished sword," the two expressions " a tall nervous fellow " and " who flourished a highly polished sword " are wrongly paralleled. This error, usually called the and who or and which construc- tion, can easily be corrected either by omitting the and or by so remodeling the sentence as to make the dependent ele- ments parallel. The sentence thus altered would read either " a tall nervous fellow, with a gorgeous uniform, who flourished a highly polished sword " or "a fellow who was tall and nervous and who flourished a highly polished sword." EXERCISE Point out the errors in the following sentences, indicating the reason for each correction: 1. There is no medicine so beneficial nor which can be taken regularly with less dangerous results. 2. He said that he would march forward and for us to do what we could while he was gone. 3. Beyond the river extends a broad stretch of meadow covered with grass and which displays in this season a scene of wonderful beauty. XV, The Accepted Usage in Conjunctions Should Be Observed While the word like is frequently used as a conjunction, especially by uneducated people, it has not yet been ac- cepted by the best authorities and should not be employed THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE 87 by writers who are aiming at Correctness. Sentences such as " I feel like I was sick " and " He acts like he was tired " have at present no justification in good usage. Forms like without, except, and directly are also improperly used as conjunctions, as in the following sentences: Without you spend more money on the barn, it will never last out the winter. Except you take your heavy overcoat, you wOl be cold. I will follow you directly the car stops. In cases like this, it is impossible to explain by what psychology language takes a given course. The proper form in the first and second sentences is unless, which is just as short and easy to speak as either without or except; yet, from some inexplicable perverseness, many people fall into the habit of using the form which is distinctly wrong, — that is, which has no justification in good magazines or books. Other Fundamental Errors. — There are, no doubt, other blunders which are fairly common but which have not been mentioned under any of the fifteen headings given above. No effort is being made in this chapter, how- ever, to present an all-inclusive list of faulty construc- tions in grammar. The object has been merely to call attention once more to certain palpable mistakes against which every apprentice writer needs to be constantly on his guard. EXERCISE The following sentences are illustrations of some conspicuous blunders perpetrated by students preparing for college. Criticize each sentence, make the necessary corrections, and explain your reason for each change in sentence form: 1. A person could insult me in any way they pleased, and I would do nothing about it. 2. This phrase is spoken by Polonius when he is talking to 88 THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE Ophelia about Hamlet loving her, and how he wishes to have no more dealings with him. 3. Much can, and has been, said on both sides of the question. 4. Oftentimes such titles are simply used to attract people to the theaters even if the picture has no connection with it. 5. Young men are appreciating that school work is to help them and not something to get out of as much as possible. 6. One evening, on coming out of the bank, two unkempt and rough-looking fellows accosted me. 7. Pondering at length on the problem, the task before him seemed more and more difficult. 8. This is the man's hat who you met at my house last evening. 9. He hopes some one will write a verse about him the way he is about Edward King. 10. Having studied until about thirty years old, his father decided to send him abroad to complete his education. 11. He, with a boy, kill nearly all the savages who have come there. 12. Henry is a stalwart lad, and his sisters gharming girls. 13. Let's you and I see what we can do. 14. He is one of those boys who is constantly trying to annoy the teacher. 15. The welfare of the workers are not helped by these kind of strikes. 16. Within half an hour every one in the building had gone out from their offices. 17. Act like you would if you was at home. 18. Directly the minister arrived he laid down for a short rest. 19. He seems to me well-bred and to have an excellent education. 20. We must realize that there are more places that we should not speed than there are places that we should speed. 21. She meets Mr. Russell in almost the same spot as he had once before. 22. The new student did pretty good in his lessons at first. 23. He could not tell us who the work was done by. 24. He suggested that they wait patiently, and maybe their scourge will be lifted. 25. It is better to buy a Reo than to wish you had. THE GRAMMAR OF THE SENTENCE 89 26. The expense of such a road was small in comparison with any of block pavement and could be kept in repair at small annual cost. 27. Dull and monotonous in color, there are, however, certain elements of picturesqueness in this lower zone. 28. There is one strong argument against moving pictures, which could be easily remedied. Among the poor in the slums of a city, it encourages stealing. 29. Early that morning Captain Green, accompanied by seven troopers, were guarding a party of settlers who were on their way to WiUiamsburg. 30. There would be no reason for keeping a navy if both nations knew that the other had no navy with which to attack them. 31. When the negro was given this, the natural thing hap- pened which invariably does when a reform is brought too quickly into effect. 32. He asks Horatio if he had noticed it. Horatio said he did. 33. Both lost their weapons at the same time, and, by chance, picked up his opponent's. CHAPTER VI THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE Discussion of Correctness Now Completed. — We have now dwelt at some length on the importance of mastering the essentials of Correctness as laid down in the rules for good usage in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Until the student has learned to conform with reasonable care- fulness to the best usage in these respects, it is injudicious to discuss with him any of the further principles of style. Now, however, that the treatment of the mechanical details of Correctness in the sentence is finished, the moment has come to take up the study of methods for securing those qualities of literary art mentioned in an earlier chapter, — the qualities of Clearness, Force, and Beauty. Significance of Clearness, Force, and Beauty. — These three terms, — Clearness, Force, and Beauty, — jhave been chosen in this book because they indicate in simple wording those qualities of style which are of most importance in actual composition. Every one will concede the desir- ability of making every spoken or written idea as clear as possible. It is no less obvious that we wish to impress our thoughts vigorously upon the minds of our listeners. Nor can we escape the instinctive desire to frame our conceptions in a pleasing and attractive form. If we have any interest at all in writing, we are deeply concerned with the discovery and presentation of any devices which will enable us to make our sentences clear, forceful, and beautiful. 90 THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 91 The Ideal at Which We Aim. — It is in trying in some degree to reach this high standard that the personality of the writer has its real opportunity for expression. In dis- cussing these rhetorical qualities, it is no longer possible, — as in the case of spelling, — to lay down certain authorita- tive rules, codified in dictionaries and observed by every one in the cultured classes. In seeking Clearness, Force, and Beauty each individual writer will naturally evolve methods of his own, and will thus eventually attain his own peculiar and distinctive style. He will soon discover, however, that there are a few fundamental principles which must be understood in writing as in music or painting, and which cannot be violated with impunity. He will be wise indeed if he has learned these principles thoroughly before he undertakes to experiment on his own account along lines fitted to his character. CLEARNESS Value of Clear Thinking. — Once again let it be empha- sized that clear thinking must precede clear writing. No one can produce a clear sentence without having first thought out with some care what he wishes to say. Many students, when asked to hand in a theme, start in compo- sition by scribbling down the first idea which enters their heads, continuing the process in unsystematic fashion until the required pages are filled. It is not surprising that such work is frequently rambling and obscure. The selection of material for a sentence, paragraph, or essay is fully as inaportant as its arrangement; and even the arrangement can to some extent be effected before the task of writing has been actually begun. Clearness and the Content of the Sentence. — It is certain that the choice of ideas to be included in a sentence 92 THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE has a marked result on its clearness. In the ordinary course of writing, several ideas force themselves on the writer's mind at once, and he has the very difficult problem of determining just which ones shall be placed together and which ones shall be kept apart. At this point he soon recognizes the principle that the presentation of two or more unrelated thoughts in the same sentence is bound to confuse and perplex the reader. A simple sentence pre- sents, of course, fewer problems of this sort than either the compound or the complex sentence, but the same general rule covers all three: that a sentence should contain no idea which is not related clearly to the main thought. A sentence like " Henry J. Potter, who was six feet, three inches high, died yesterday of pneumonia " illustrates in a ludicrous way the consequence of placing together two ideas which have only the remotest logical connection. Compound sentences are, because of their construction, peculiarly liable to this fault, especially when they follow the chronological order of narration so common with children and uneducated adults. Unless such sentences produce a single definite impression, they are defective so far as Clearness is concerned. The Sentence Too Short for Clearness. — Considered with the context, as every sentence properly should be, a sentence may be too short for Clearness, — that is, it may be placed next to sentences which have ideas properly belonging to itself, and which, therefore, should be joined with it. This situation frequently occurs when several very short sentences are placed together, all bearing in some way on one idea. In such cases singleness of impres- sion may be very much helped by uniting the sentences into one compact whole, taking care always to apply the principle of subordination already discussed in a preceding chapter. As an illustration of the point, take the following THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 93 sentences: " He rushed up the narrow staircase to the attic room. There he found disorder everywhere. It seemed as if some ruthless beast had been bent on destruction." Here are three sentences, all devoted to a phase of the same main thought. Rightly linked together, they will read: " Rush- ing up the narrow staircase to the attic room, he found dis- order everywhere, as if some ruthless beast had been bent on destruction." Each of the three sentences by itself was too short for Clearness. Joined, the three make a distinct unit, entirely clear to any reader. In determining just how long a sentence should be and what it should include, the writer has an opportunity to show his common sense and skill in estimating rhetorical values. Clearness and the Arrangement of Sentence Elements. — The matter of Clearness, however, is far from being merely a question of short and long sentences, or of single- ness of idea. A group of five words, such as " I only have three dollars," may just as surely fail to be clear as a sentence covering an entire page. A skillful writer, on the other hand, will take as his material a series of phrases and clauses, and, by dexterous management, so interweave them one with another that, no matter how long the result- ing sentence may be, it will throughout be entirely lucid. Clearness is, to a large extent, dependent upon the careful indication of the relationship between the various elements of a sentence; and, when this relationship is rightly indi- cated, the sentence should not be obscure. The problem is not unlike a puzzle: here before us are certain words, phrases, and clauses, which it is our business so to place with reference to one another that the connection between them will be understood without the slightest difficulty. If the reader has to pause here and there to trace out a relation- ship or finds himself in doubt as to the reference of some phrase, then we have failed to fulfill our function. 94 THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE The Position of Modifying Elements. — Let us begin the discussion with the simplest possible illustration. There are in most sentenced two types of elements, — those which are main and those which are modifying, or subordinate. These subordinate elements are invariably of two kinds, — adjectival and adverbial, — and are dependent upon certain main elements with which they are closely asso- ciated in the thought of the sentence. Every adjective element, whether short or long, must be related to some noun or pronoun; every adverb element belongs with some verb, adjective, or other adverb. These are fundamental principles of grammar, familiar to every student of this book. If, now, a sentence is to be clear, there must never be any doubt in the reader's mind as to what noun element a given adjective governs or limits. If, furthermore, a participle, — an adjective form, — is used, the relation- ship between it and the noun or pronoun which it logically modifies must be so evident as to be unmistakable. With an adverbial phrase or clause the principle is precisely the same. All this is simply a matter of position, or of the arrangement of parts. The rule is definite: no modi- fying element should be so far removed from the element which it modifies as to produce ambiguity. Examples Henry has only bought one book. (In this sentence the adverb only plainly modifies the adjective one, and should be placed, therefore, next to it; i.e., " Henry has bought only one book.") The bottle in the house on the shelf needs refilling. (Here the adjective phrase on the shelf is misplaced. It actually modifies bottle, and should be placed as near as possible to that word; i.e., "The bottle on the shelf in the house needs refilling.") The young girl, although she longed to go to the dance, as is so often the case, was unable to find any one to take her. THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 95 (The dependent clause, as is so often the case, has evidently an ambiguous reference, and may govern either longed or was unable. It should be placed so that its reference will be clear; i. e., " The young girl . . . was, as is so ojten the case, unable to find any one to take her.") The application of this great principle for securing Clear- ness is largely a matter of training, or habit. A well-built sentence is in some respects like a dissected picture in which each separate piece has a place where it fits. The problem is to find that place. Only an extreme exigency should persuade us, while writing a sentence, to withdraw an adjective from its noun or an adverb from the verb which it governs. EXERCISE Correct the errors in the following sentences, giving your reason for each correction: 1. He looked at his secretary as he finished his work in a reproving manner. 2. It was practically completed when he saw it through his persistent efforts. 3. After receiving his appointment, he told his students of the honor he had received by means of a circular letter to each. 4. He was only able to break through by using a heavy ax. ,■ 5. The boys looked out and saw the principal coming through the small pane of glass in the door. 6. The engineers had to drag the debris from the highway, which had slid down the mountain. The Reference of Pronouns. — There are, in addition to the modifying elements, certain other parts of speech the misuse of which may easily result in ambiguity, — that is, in an expression which is doubtful or uncertain in meaning. Every pronoun is, by definition, a substitute for some noun, and should at once convey to the mind of the reader an impression of the noun for which it stands. If it does 96 THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE not do this, there is evidently some failure in Clearness which must be explained. There must always be for every pronoun an explicit and certain word to which it refers. Often a question of grammar enters into the problem. Examples He told John that he was too ill to go. (In this case the. pronoun he may refer either to the speaker or to John. There are three methods of clearing up the sentence : use the former or the latter; repeat the noun; or put the statement into direct discourse. The ' last method is probably the simplest and clearest; e.g., He said to John, " I am too ill to go.") Congress has passed a bill forbidding beer; everybody was eager for it. (In this sentence the pronoun it seems grammatically to refer to beer; logically, however, it refers to bUl.) EXERCISE Correct the errors in the following sentences, giving your reason for each correction: 1. When the baby is done with the bottle, it must be un- screwed and laid in a cool place. 2. When he ordered the colonel to surrender, he replied that he could enter the fort as soon as he was able to capture it. 3. He wonders if a person can be forgiven for a crime if they retain the benefits of that crime. 4. A person who has no need of a friend can easily obtain them. 5. Ireland does not know when they will be separated from the mother country. Reference of Participles and Verbal Nouns. — A com- mon cause of lack of Clearness is in connection with the use in the sentence of participles and verbal nouns (gerunds). Every participial phrase must refer gram- THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 97 matically to the noun or pronoun with which it is logically- connected. The usual faults occur either because the participle is left without a governing substantive or because it is made to refer grammatically to a word which it does not actually modify. The so-called " loose," or "dangling," participle is altogether too frequent in the average student's theme. Examples • The appearance of the town is very attractive, having wide shaded lawns and spreading elms. (The participle having logically modifies town but is made grammatically to modify appearance.) Not being able to buy tickets, there were very few people present. (The participle being is left " hanging,'' there being no word in the sentence for it to modify. EXERCISE Point out the error in each of the following sentences, and indicate your reason for making a correction: 1. While thus occupied in thought, my attention was diverted by a noise in the thicket at my right. 2. Being such an unusual person, his friends soon began to joke about his queer ways. 3. Having visited all the mines in the vicinity, there was nothing more to do. 4. The latest make of automobile is heated, permitting the occupants to be warm even in the coldest weather. Consistency of Structure. — We have a right to expect in any good sentence a certain consistency of plan and expression. A writer who does not maintain the point of view with which he started, or who indulges in sudden shifts of tense or voice, is sure to confuse the minds of his readers. The tense of verbs, for example, should 98 THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE change only when the time changes, and a uniformity of tense sequence should under all conditions be pre- served. The mood of the verb, once adopted, should be kept unless there is an evident reason for the alteration. An example of poor construction will be found in the sentence, " We gazed about us in the forest, and the sweet note of a bird was heard from a neighboring tree," in which the unjustifiable change from the active to the passive voice is a plain violation of the principles of Clear- ness. Parallelism of Structure. — A similar failure in con- sistency is found sometimes in cases where two sentence elements have the same grammatical dependence, but are placed in different constructions. The sentence, " He said that he was going downtown for a few minutes and not to wait for him," illustrates this fault. The two elements dependent on the verb said are of equal value; yet one is placed in a dependent clause, — that he was going down- town, — and the other in an infinitive phrase, — not to wait for him. In situations like this, phrase should be coordinated with phrase and clause with clause. EXERCISE Correct the following sentences, giving your reasons in full for each correction: 1. I realized how far I had gone and the many dangers which would confront me before the next day dawned. 2. Athletics teach a boy quickness, obedience, and what to do in an emergency. 3. He determined on crossing the ocean as soon as possible and to make an effort to reach Paris before his father left. 4. Not being exactly sure as to the date and as he had told me nothing of his plans, I tried to get in communication with his office. THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 99 Omission of Necessary Words. — Not infrequently a student, writing hastily or carelessly, omits a word or words which are absolutely necessary to the clear expression of the idea of the sentence. To the writer of the sentence the thought seems so plain that he forgets the need of putting it into language which is not ambiguous. It is difficult to give a rule which will cover every instance of this sort, but such obscurity can always be removed by supplying the words required to make the sense perfectly clear. Examples I soon found myself as unpopular with the teacher as the pupils. (This sentence as it stands is susceptible of two dif- ferent interpretations; the insertion of the word with after the second as removes the ambiguity, and makes the statement perfectly clear.) Before long I learned to know the postmaster and storekeeper of the little village. (Here there is some justifiable doubt as to how many persons the writer really learned to know; the insertion of the article the before the word storekeeper shows that two persons are intended.) EXERCISE Make the necessary corrections in the following sentences, giving your reason for each change: 1. The results were precisely the same as our earUer attempt. 2. When eighteen years of age, we moved to the city of Toledo, where I entered an automobile factory. 3. He was promoted from an ordinary clerk to manager of the sales department. It is, perhaps, unnecessary to add that in conversation many words are frequently left out which, in formal writ- ing, would be retained. One hears among the most cul- 100 THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE tivated people such ellipses as these: — " Riding to-day? " " No, walking." Here the sense is perfectly understood by both speakers, and a fuller expression of the ideas in- volved would probably seem pedantic. Common sense should always be applied to situations where any doubt is in our minds. Coordination and Clearness. — Coordination, as a tech- nical term in composition and rhetoric, has already been broadly defined as the joining, with or without a con- junction, of two or more sentence elements which are approximately equal in importance and have similar structure. So far as the silnple sentence is concerned, coordination is a factor in such forms as the compound subject, the compound predicate, and the compound ob- ject, — in fact, whenever two or more elements are linked either by coordinating connectives or by association together in a series. It is essential for the Clearness of the simple sentence that only elements which have some definite logical relation to one another should be thus coordinated. Examples The tall old man and the little dark woman are often seen together. (In this simple sentence we have an illustration of coordination ia a compound subject, the two nouns man and wom/m being joined by and.) We abandoned the hunt and started for home. (This is a case of coordination in a compound predi- cate. There is usually a question in situations hke this as to whether a verb element like abandoned should be coordinated or subordinated. The appUcation of the principle of subordination would make the sentence read, "Abandoning the hunt, we started for home." The Only safe method of reaching a decision is to ascertain the logical relationship between the two ideas expressed in abandoned and started.) THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 101 We passed men with dented hats, women with bedraggled bonnets, and children looking tired and irritable at the end of the long day. (Here the three noun elements, — men, women, and children, — are associated in a series and coordinated as objects of the verb saw.) An example of poor coordination in the simple sentence occurs in a case like " Henry J. Dawson made a huge fortune in the Klondike, and lost his first wife in the influenza epidemic of 1918." Here the two verbs, made and lost, comprise the two parts of a compound predicate, but there is no logical connection whatever between them. Coordination in the Compound Sentence. — In the com- pound sentence, problems of coordination must, of course, be frequently confronted, but the principle is precisely the same as in the simple sentence. To obtain the central idea from a compound sentence of two or more independ- ent clauses, one must usually infer that idea from the coordinate statements in those clauses, taken together. There are several types of compound sentence in which the coordination is ordinarily quite satisfactory. Examples The two older men tried with all their might to move the door; then Henry also threw his weight against it. (In this example each clause makes an equal contribu- tion to the impHed idea centering around the attempt to move the door. This form of relationship between the clauses is often found in compound sentences.) He was generous enough in small matters, but he could never be induced to part with any very large sum, even to a worthy cause. (Here one clause is contrasted with another, thus pro- ducing an antithesis. The main idea is sufficiently clear.) One can never tell what he will do: he has a decidedly com- plex personality. (In this sentence the clauses have a relation implying cause and effect; one, in a sense, explains the other.) 102 THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE Cases are sometimes found in which two ideas are, according to good current usage, properly coordinated, even though one of the ideas is logically dependent upon the other. Thus, in the sentence, " Follow the path to the right, and you will come to the next town," the first clause is logically equivalent to the dependent clause, " If you fol- low the path " ; established usage, however, supports the compound sentence form. It is, of course, highly impor- tant, from the standpoint of Clearness, that the rela- tionship between elements thus coordinated should be unmistakably clear, and that each should furnish its share towards the thought of the sentence as a whole. The Use of Connectives. — Connectives are, as we have seen, far from being indispensable in the compound sen- tence. The logical relationship between clauses may be so easily recognized that the assistance of conjunctions is not necessary. In the majority of instances, however, some form of connective is required, and, in such cases, care must be taken to see that the conjunction is properly used. The choice of the wrong form may be disastrous to the clearness of the sentence. Examples The lecturer delivered his discourse in an enthusiastic way, but all agreed that he was very interesting. (In this case a contrasting conjunction does not ex- press the correct relationship; and should be substituted for but.) The road was in good condition, and our car swept, along at a rapid pace. (Here we have two clauses, the first of which evidently expresses an idea contributory to the idea in the second. The two clauses should not be coordinated, but the first idea should be made dependent on the second; as, " The road being in good condition, our car swept along at a rapid pace.") THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 103 Although the school has wretched old buildings, the expenses are moderate. (In this complex sentence, the concessive conjunction although fails completely to express the relationship between the two ideas; some coordinating conjunction will obviously bring out more accurately the correct relationship.) Clearness in the Compound Sentence. — From what has been said in connection with coordination, it will be de- duced that it is not always an easy matter to secure Clearness in a compound sentence. The impression left by such a sentence should be that of a single definite idea. There are, however, so-called compound sentences in which one thought follows aimlessly after another, without any real attempt at coordination, and in which, therefore, the impression received by the reader is far from single. In such cases a change from the compound to the complex form is generally an improvement. The compound sen- tence, so far as Clearness is concerned, is, from its very make-up, an exceptionally difficult form to manage, and the young writer will do well, without avoiding it entirely, to try his hand more frequently at either the simple sen- tence, with modifying elements, or the complex sentence, with its variety of subsidiary phrases and clauses. Subordination as an Aid to Clearness. — Subordination, a device to fix our attention on one central idea to which other ideas are contributory, is decidedly an aid to Clear- ness. In the simple sentence the principle of subordination expresses the important idea in the subject and predicate, with the various dependent ideas in modifying elements, — participial phrases, nominative absolute expressions, verbal nouns, infinitives, and prepositional phrases. In the complex sentence, the practice follows the same gen- eral plan. The main idea belongs in the independent clause; the subordinate ideas go into the dependent clause 104 THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE and other modifying elements. Rightly followed out, the principle of subordination is one of the most important factors in securing Clearness of style. EXERCISE With the following sentences in each group as a basis, arrange a sentence, paying attention to the principles of coordination and subordination: 1. The day was becoming very hot. We had no shelter whatever from the sun. We stepped aside into a grove of pine trees. We wished to get cool. 2. My brother is lazy. He does not prepare his lessons. He will not be promoted to the next grade. My sister is younger. She is very industrious. She will go ahead of my brother. 3. I enjoy a good play. There is no theater nearer than Syracuse. This is twenty-two miles away. There is no night train back to my town. I do not often go. 4. My room is on the fourth floor of the apartment house. I can look out over the river. The elevator runs day and night. I never have trouble in getting upstairs. 5. The horses dashed onward. Their eyes were glowing with excitement. The spirit of the race was in their hearts. Each wished to win. It seemed a shame that any had to lose. 6. Macbeth was a valiant warrior. He was ambitious. His wife abetted him in his ambition. He could not resist tempta- tion. He slew his king. He gained the crown for himself. Miscellaneous Obstacles to Clearness. — There are nu- merous cases of defective structure, resulting in ambiguity or lack of Clearness, in which the application of common sense will accomplish more than the obedience to any so- called rule. The constant emphasis on rules may in the end be unprofitable in that it leaves too little to the stu- dent's personal judgment. Often a careless choice of words or a thoughtless inattention to position will have the most ludicrous consequences. THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 105 Examples The cornborer is causing immense damage among the neigh- boring farmers. (The imphcation of this sentence, as it stands, that the cornborer is attacking persons, is decidedly humorous, but is an unfortunate perversion of the idea which the writer had in mind.) My father agreed to let us go to China for a wedding present. (Here no arrangement of elements will clear up the ambiguity; there must be a complete revision before Clearness can be established.) To correct such palpable blunders as these, the student must rely on his intelligence rather than on any regulation laid down by a textbook. If the sentence under considera- tion does not say precisely what is intended, if it falls into ambiguity or vagueness, it must be rebuilt. To fail in securing. Clearness is to fail in the purpose of language, — to express thought. EXERCISE Point out and correct any cases of lack of Clearness in the following sentences: 1. This teacher gave us instruction in mathematics, and something in the way of Uterature was attempted. 2. He doesn't think he ought to kill the king with his sword unpurged. 3. Ophelia could not be made a stronger character by Shakspere because if he did he would have weakened Hamlet's part a great deal. 4. Mary pondered over her experience and the curious glance which her father had given her for many days. 5. Suddenly, Hamlet remembers that sometunes a person is so greatly moved if they see before them the acting out of 3ome story in which they are implicated. 6. Although he was beyond middle age, he had accumulated a fortune. 106 THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 7. These foreigners have been employed mostly around the machine-shop and as servants. 8. He carried in his hand a long flexible stick, about thirty inches long and one in diameter. 9. By doing what we did yesterday, very few people will discover where we are going. 10. Furthermore this bonus will only be paid to those who make appUcation for it. 11. In reply to a Royalist document, despite of orders to the contrary from his doctors, who feared for his sight, he became bUnd. 12. Besides keeping the students in touch with the graduates, the graduates themselves hke to get the paper and keep in touch with the school. 13. Salmon fishing is good sport, although it requires much skill. 14. I either expected to find him wandering around the fields or in the cottage near the woods. 15. The boys went squirrel shooting, but were unable to get any. 16. Glancing down the long paved street, an old Colonial church is seen. 17. He was compelled to abandon the home that he loved for a time. 18. The fishing-rod, which was constructed of bamboo, was beautifully ornamented with metal, and had a very interesting history. 19. Once out of the thickly settled districts, a wide and level boulevard stretched out before us, known as the Lafayette Turnpike. 20. After extinguishing the lights, the room was in total darkness. 21. The diagram told us the required measurements and how to begin with the construction. 22. We are told that a family has been discovered every member of which has six fingers and six toes on each hand and foot. 23. My good marks were due partly to my own brightness and partly because my mother was the teacher. 24. I can't ever remember to have had a more disconcerting experience. THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 107 FORCE Force in Speaking. — Force is that quality of style which makes a distinct and enduring impression upon the mind of the reader. We all have noticed how some people, in the course of informal conversation, stress certain words by slow or vigorous enunciation, or by energetic gestures. A good public speaker is continually accenting his signif- icant points, or passing indifferently over minor ones. Possibly he may repeat a passage which he considers espe- cially noteworthy. These are merely oratorical devices, adopted almost unconsciously by any talker who is in earnest and who is trying to convey his own enthusiasm to others. The Limitations of the Writer. — It is unnecessary to stress the fact that a writer is shut off from the use of many of these resources. Voice modulations and cadences, so effective in speech, are for him not available; on paper he can neither make gestures nor emphasize his arguments by his facial expression. He has before him simply a blank sheet of paper, on which his words must be written. How, under these limitations, can he secure Force of style? The Use of Italics. — One device, it is true, is within his scope, — he can underline or italicize significant words or phrases. But this practice, even though justified by the high authority of Queen Victoria, is generally among seri- ous writers considered as evidence of weakness or inex- perience. It is rightly believed that other methods of obtaining Force are less violent and equally effective. The excessive use of underlining or of italics should not be tolerated in good writing. Force and Arrangement. — The problem of securing Force in the sentence is chiefiy one of arranging the vari- ous elements. In a simple sentence, without modifiers. 108 THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE there are, of course, no difficulties to meet. " Henry will go " or " The girl is ill " can be written in no other way. When we come, however, to longer and more complicated sentences, we are at once confronted with questions of struc- ture. It is these which must now be considered. The Psychology of Public Speaking. — A little elemen- tary psychology may, perhaps, be of assistance at this point. In any lecture or public address, the speaker usually has, consciously or unconsciously, two aims: to catch at once the attention of his audience and to close in a manner which will leave a strong impression upon their minds. He knows that, unless he can arouse the interest of the people in front of him at the very start, he will never succeed in keeping them alert; and he is equally sure that he must reserve his most telling arguments until his con- clusion. He does not place less important elements wherethey will stand out, but tries to put them in an inconspicuous position, usually somewhere in the middle of his discourse. Principles of Force in the Sentence. — On a much smaller scale the same psychological principle, if applied with discretion, may be used in the written sentence. An element for which Force is desired should be placed either at the beginning or at the end, — preferably the latter. Weak and unimportant phrases should be " tucked away," so to speak, in the middle of the sentence, where they will be unlikely to arouse attention. Connective elements, like however, on the contrary, and likewise, belong, quite prop- erly, in positions where they will not seem obtrusive. Examples They told me that he was not the man to do it, however. (This is a case of a sentence which evidently weakens towards the close. By the device of transposing the word however to the middle of the sentence, we make the statement far more forceful; i.e., "They told me, how- ever, that he was not the man to do it.") THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 109 He rushed forward and won the battle after batthng with his adversary for an hour more or less. (Here is an illustration of a very feeble conclusion, which may, however, be easily strengthened by putting the important fact at the end; i.e., " He rushed forward, and, after battling valiantly with his adversary for an hour more or less, won the battle.") Force in the Periodic Sentence. — In any form of artis- tic expression, — whether a landscape or a pageant or a sentence, — it is invariably the abnormal or unusual which first attracts the eye. If, therefore, we shift an element of a sentence from its normal position, the transposed element is by that very fact made more forceful. The sud- den wrenching of a phrase from its natural place will al- ways make it stand out in a more conspicuous way. It is for this reason that the periodic sentence, with its method of delaying the important verb until the end, is often sin- gularly effective as a means of gaining Force. Held thus in suspense, the reader awaits the completion of the sen- tence idea with eagerness, and is struck with the power of the verb which makes the thought entirely clear. An excellent illustration is the sentence, " Faster and faster, gathering fresh impetus with each stretch of straight and unimpeded road, he dashed along." Climax in the Sentence. — Whenever we have in a sen- tence a series of words, phrases, or clauses in the same construction, we are obliged to consider the problem of their arrangement. It is quite natural that we should prefer to place them in the order of their importance, the least important first and the most important last. Such arrangement of similar elements is said to secure climax, and is one of the best-known rhetorical devices. 110 THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE Examples He lost his book, his dog, and his wife. He was seized, tortured, and left to die. Not infrequently, when a humorous effect is desired, the usual order for climax is reversed. Example Reputation, wealth, even his old fishing jacket, seemed sud- denly to have disappeared. Repetition as an Aid to Force. — Often in conversation we find ourselves repeating a significant word or phrase, hoping in this way to impress it upon the minds of those who are listening to us. Precisely the same kind of device is effective, if used judiciously, in any form of written composition. The repetition of a word in certain circum- stances serves to give it added emphasis, with the result that it stands out as the most conspicuous portion of the sentence. Examples He stood and gazed into the dense fog, — gazed and gazed until he seemed like an immovable part of the room. What we need is peace: peace which will bring quiet to our homes, peace which will revive industry, peace which will preserve the lives of our young men. Repetition as Detrimental to Force. — There is, how- ever, a kind of repetition frequently found in the work of young writers which gives the effect of weakness. It is often due to a meager vocabulary or to an unwillingness to search out synonyms. Such sentences as the following reveal the crudity of this kind of repetition: THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 111 Examples John hunted for his hat, but could find no hat at all in the corner where he had left his hat. The artist recognized that it was a scene which he had seen not long before. Proportional Development an Aid to Force. — It is frequently possible in a sentence of some length to assist Force by giving one thought a larger proportional devel- opment than another and thus making it seem more sig- nificant to the reader. The danger in such cases is that, because of undue expansion of an idea, the emphasis which might have been obtained by terseness and compactness will be lost. There are situations, however, in which addi- tional space will really bring out the vital point. Example Of his faults we can speak but lightly; of his virtues, — his generosity, his cheerfulness, his courage, his loyalty, and his honesty,' — we cannot refrain from saying more. The Test of Reading Aloud. — The infallible method of determining to what extent a sentence is forceful is to read it aloud in a natural voice and manner, and to observe what portions of the thought seem to stand out above the others. Unless the significant idea seems to make itself felt without any undue stress of tone, the sentence is probably in need of rebuilding. In a really forceful sen- tence, the important point is readily gathered from the structure alone, and no additional strain of voice empha- sis is required. 112 THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE EXERCISE Point out respects in which the following sentences lack Force, and make the necessary changes: 1. My cousin's house is by far the most interesting, as it contains many fine specimens of antique furniture. 2. I might possibly have been disposed to make some in- quiries at another time. 3. This panic would work hardships on the soldiers very similar to the ones they are enduring now as well as the rest of the people. 4. A man is worth knowing well if he is worth knowing at all. 5. The history of France was the history of Europe for more than twenty years. 6. A serious automobile accident took place near the rail- road station in Fitchburg last Sunday afternoon at three o'clock. 7. The opposing argument was met in a forceful manner by the members of the university debating team. 8. He is well known for his patriotism, his fine business principles, and his excellent handwriting. 9. As I said before, up to the present moment no great damage has been done. 10. He turned to his friend and told hun of his misfortunes in a pathetic manner. 11. He believed that he could, win his way by the help of heaven and the use of his strong right arm. 12. We had heard that there was danger in trying to cross the stream, but we had never had any trouble before to speak of. 13. All along the river valley the land is used for growing vegetables except in a few barren spots where the rock has cropped out. 14. Our particular section of the train was smashed into pieces, having gone from the rails into the freight building by the side of the track. BEAUTY Importance of Beauty in the Sentence. — Of the three chief qualities of style in the sentence, the last to be considered is Beauty, the rarest and probably the most THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 113 difficult to attain. Certainly far more elusive than either Clearness or Force, it is correspondingly less easy to ana- lyze and describe. In some respects it is the expression of the personality of the writer, revealing what is pictur- esque and original in his character. It is found occasion- ally in writing which is decidedly lacking in Clearness and Force; on the other hand, many accomplished and trained authors, familiar in theory with all the laws of prose composition, never succeed in making Beauty a featiu-e of their own work. Variety as a Source of Beauty. — The importance of the separate word as a means of contributing to Beauty of style will be discussed more fully in another chapter. We are concerned here rather with structural devices which serve to make sentences attractive to the eye and to the ear. First of all, perhaps, is the matter of variety, for monotony in sentence structure is one of the deadliest foes of charm. To succeed in gaining variety, it is essential not only that we should be acquainted with the countless different types of sentences but also that we should delib- erately seek to use them in whatever we undertake to write. The ways in which the basal elements of words, phrases, and clauses may be combined are inexhaustible, and one who loves language can never become tired of trying new forms and experimenting with unusual methods of expression. We have, let us say, an idea which may be put in a word, a prepositional phrase, a participial phrase, or in any one of many types of dependent clauses; which one from all these shall we choose as that which will clothe our thought in the most pleasing as well as the effective way? Nothing is more profitable than constant practice in framing sentences; indeed, writing which has the most charm is that over which the author has labored without ceasing. 114 THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE EXERCISE Analyze the following sentences, pointing out how different elements are used to secure variety: 1. An Esquimau dog, of the finest an^ yet wildest breed, stretched itself at the fire, opened its red eyes at the men, and then, slowly rising, went to the door and sniffed at the cracks. 2. As he emerged from the shadow and crossed the strip of moonlight, she perceived that he carried a pair of weU-filled saddle-bags which he at once flung across the animal's back. 3. As she pulled on her rubber boots, Theodora, who always planned to get to school before the doors were opened, decided to allow ten minutes extra that morning. 4. Passing from the profoundest sleep to the most alert wake- fulness with the same ease that had accompanied the reverse operation, he looked at his watch, found that the hour-hand had shifted again, put on his hat, took the lamb in his arms, and carried it into the darkness. 5. Eating his last slices of bread and ham, and drinking from the bottle of cider he had taken the precaution to bring with him, he got into the lonely wagon. Here he spread half of the hay as a bed, and, as well as he could in the darkness, pulled the other half over him by way of bed-clothes, covering himself entirely, and feeling, physically, as comfortable as ever he had been in his life. 6. Over all this the clouds shed a uniform and purplish shadow, sad and somewhat menacing, exaggerating height and distance, and throwing into still higher relief the twisted ribbons of the highway. 7. A few steps farther, and I saw a whole hillside gilded with the sun; and still a Uttle beyond, between two peaks, a center of dazzling brilliancy appeared floating in the sky, and I was once more face to face with the big bonfire that occupies the kernel of our system. 8. Eight hundred men and women with faith and hopes, with affections and memories, they had collected there, coming from north and south and from the outskirts of the East, after tread- ing the jungle paths, descending the rivers, coasting in praus along the shallows, passing through suffering, meeting strange sights, beset by strange fears, upheld by one desire. THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 115 The Beauty of Sound. — There are some fortunate people who have instinctively a sense of the melody of words. Tennyson, we are told, used to repeat over and over certain Latin phrases which seemed to him exquisitely modulated. Even the apprentice writer should be able to develop some appreciation of what is called cadence or rhythm, the more or less regular rise and fall of the voice. He may not be able to achieve any of the subtleties of sound, but he can at least avoid any marked harshness or cacophony, and, by exercising patience, he may even approach to something like Beauty. The best test of the quality of sound is the human voice, and reading aloud will quickly reveal any roughness in the composition. Before he hands in a theme, every student should read it over to himself. It will be unusual if he does not discover some lack of harmony which must be altered if it is not to offend the ear. Figurative Language. — Figurative language, properly used, is decidedly an aid to Beauty in the sentence. The speech of even illiterate people is filled with phrases which cannot be taken literally, but which come unconsciously and naturally to their lips. Such figurative expressions, bringing in comparisons or contrasts with other objects, scenes, or people, may be merely suggested or may be carried out carefully in detail. Coleridge's line in The Ancient Mariner, " At one stride comes the Dark," gives, in a single prepositional phrase, a touch of mysteri- ous and oppressive personality to nattue. Figurative ex- pressions are more common, of course, in poetry than in prose; but even in prose they are used freely to make an idea clearer or more forceful. Lideed it is their true func- tion in prose to illuminate thought, not to decorate it. A 116 THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE good figure of speech can never be labored or strained; it must seem to grow with perfect fitness and ease out of the idea in the mind of the writer. THE FORMAL FIGURES OF SPEECH There are certain formal figures of speech, known to rhetoricians for many centuries, with which every student should become familiar. Simile. — A simile is an expressed comparison of two objects different in all respects except the one in which they are compared. It usually includes a definite word of comparison, either like or as. "Silvery dun moths, fluttering in from the dark garden, kept vibrating, like spun shillings, over a jade-green bowl of crimson roses." " Red as a rose was she." Metaphor. — A metaphor is like a simile, except that the resemblance is implied, or the two objects of comparison are identified. " He was the black sheep of the family." " The press is a blind old cat yowling on a treadmill." The difference between a simile and a metaphor can be readily illustrated by the two simple forms, " She was pale as a lily " and " She was a pale lily among the rosy cheeks around her." In the first, the word as makes the comparison quite definite between the girl and the lily; in the second, the girl is identified with the lily itself. Her voice was like the murmur of the brook. (Simile) Her voice was the murmur of a brook in June. (Metaphor) He stood his ground as an ancient oak resists the storm. (Simile) He was an oak in the clutch of the storm of calumny around him. (Metaphor) THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 117 Personification. — Personification, like simile and meta- phor, is based on the comparison of one object with another; it is a figure of speech in which life is attributed to some inanimate object or abstract idea. " The morning stars sang together." " Sport, that wrinkled Care derides, Or Laughter, holding both his sides." Apostrophe. — Apostrophe is a figure of speech in which inanimate objects are addressed as if they were persons, or in which absent persons are called upon as if they were present. It is seldom used except under the influence of strong emotion, and is rarely found in present-day prose. " Unmufile, ye faint stars; and thou, fair moon, That wont'st to love the traveller's benison, Stoop thy pale visage through an amber cloud." Hyperbole. — Hyperbole is simply a strongly exaggerated statement, made for rhetorical effect with the purpose of producing impressiveness. " And I will luve thee still, dear, .1 Till a' the seas gang dry." " He ran hke hghtning down the road." Metonymy. — Metonymy is a figure of speech in which an object is called by the name of something closely related to it. The bayonets marched on. {Bayonets is used for the men who carried them.) Have you read Browning? {Browning is used for the books which he wrote.) " for a beaker full of the warm South! " {South is used instead of the wine which will call up memories of the South.) Synecdoche. — Synecdoche, closely allied to metonymy, indeed, by some rhetoricians considered to be merely a 118 THE EHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE subdivision of metonymy, — is specifically a figure of speech in which a part is named for the whole, or a whole for a part. The farmer owns fifty head of stock. Fifty sails moved on into the conflict. Figurative Language as an Element of Prose Style. — Figurative expressions, as we have said, are more com- mon in poetry than in prose, but good prose is frequently sprinkled with them in profusion. Often a single word will hint at a complete figure. Some of our commonest phrases are essentially figurative; e.g., " a flash of cleverness," "a burning shame," " surrounded by red tape." It is the dis- tinction of a truly original writer that his language is constantly allusive, full of interesting references and com- parisons, always appearing but never quite reaching a fully developed figure of speech. The following selections from current prose writing illustrate this kind of figurative language: "The city alive with signs, smoke, posters, windows; falling, rising, flinging its chimneys and streets against the sun, wound itself up into crowds and burst with an endless bang under the far-away sky." "Above Earth's twin vestments of sound and scent, the blue enwrapping scarf of air, that wistful wide champaign, was spanned only by the wings of Freedom." " The warm evening, the repose of a well-ordered community, the stillness of the country, the softly stepping night stealing upon the heels of a sun-flooded day, burdened with the fragrance of the hills and flower gardens, met him gratefully, engulfing, caressing him." THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 119 EXERCISE Point out and name the figures of speech in the following sentences : 1. " Hope enchanted smiled, and waved her golden hair, And longer had she sung; — but, with a frown, Revenge impatient rose." 2. "He thought of the sun as a pilgrim walking over the barren floor of an empty cathedral." 3. " She was waiting, her dark eyes smiling, still as a flower on a windless day." 4. " Scepter and crown Must tumble down." 5. " Mountains on whose barren breast The laboring clouds do often rest." 6. " A noise like of a hidden brook In the leafy month of June." 7. He heaved one portentous sigh, that seemed to shake the room. 8. " From his obscure haunt Shrieked Fear, of Cruelty the ghastly dame. Feverous yet freezing, eager-paced yet slow." 9. " Dear native Brook ! wild Streamlet of the West ! " 10. " And as he plucked his cursed steel away, Mark how the blood of Caesar followed it." 11. He was evidently a Judas in our midst. 12. His lyre stirred the passions of the listeners thronged around him. 13. " Life is the rose's hope while yet unblown; The reading of an ever-changing tale; The light uphfting of a maiden's veil." 14. " A man of one virtue and a thousand crimes.'' 15. " Was this the face that launched a thousand ships And burnt the topless towers of Ilium ? — Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.'' 16. " Down his wan cheek a briny torrent flows." 17. " The moon, like a gardenia in the night's buttonhole." 120 THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE EXERCISE Name the figures in the following sentences and comment upon their effectiveness: 1. "A sort of track appeared and began to go down a break- neck slope, turning like a corkscrew as it went." 2. " The young moon, recurved, and shining low in the west, was Uke a slender shaving thrown up from a bar of gold, and the Arabian Sea, smooth and cool to the eye like a sheet of ice, extended its perfect level to the perfect circle of a dark horizon." 3. "They sat in the stem shoulder to shoulder, with the skipper in the middle, like three dirty owls, and stared at me." 4. " He was a stalwart negro, older than the pyramids, with gray wool on a face that reminded me of Brutus, and a second afterwards of the late King Cetawayo." 5. "We heard, far down Exchange Street, the clatter of the pianola in the Markley home, and saw the high windows glowing Uke lost souls in the night." 6. " In the West the sea of sunken fire draws back; and the stars leap forth and tremble, and retire before the advancing moon, who slips the silver train of cloud from her shoulders, and, with her foot upon the pine-tops, surveys heaven." 7. " The little skylark went up above her, all song, to the smooth southern cloud lying along the blue; from a dewy copse dark over her nodding hat the blackbird fluted, calling to her with thrice mellow note; the kingfisher flashed emerald out of green osiers; a bow- winged heron travelled aloft, seeking soli- tude; a boat slipped toward her, containing a dreamy youth; and still she plucked the fruit, and ate, and mused, as if no fairy prince were invading her territories, and as if she wished not for one, or knew not her wishes." 8. " John Hopkins sought to inject a few raisins of conversa- tion into the tasteless dough of existence." The Value of Originality. — In the use of figures of speech, as in the application of every rhetorical device, it is important to avoid that which is commonplace. It is too often felt in schools that originality is suspicious, pos- sibly incompatible with real virility. A study of English THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE 121 literature will show, on the contrary, that it is the most audacious figures, like Byron, or Burns, or Carlyle, who are most eager in the quest for Beauty. Even in business communications Beauty counts more than is ordinarily supposed; and certainly, for the man who desires to give full expression to himself and his ideals, it is of the utmost importance. The danger is that we may fall into the trite repetition of the phrases of others. If we can keep from this pitfall, if we can allow our own selves to have full expression, our writing will benefit correspondingly. CHAPTER VII PUNCTUATION Reasons for Punctuation. — Broadly speaking, marks of punctuation are used for two reasons: to aid Clearness and to conform to established convention. Some marks are essential to perfect Clearness; some, though not essential, are helpful ; and some, again, are of no help at all. In the sentence, " Everybody wished to contribute some money for the project of raising a fund for the disabled soldiers made a universal appeal," the omission of the comma after money causes the group of words from jor to soldiers to be read as phrases depending on project, whereas it is, of course, a clause, of which made is the predicate. Inserting a comma at the proper place would insure the correct reading of the sentence in the first in- stance. In the sentence, " This poet has a quality which distinguishes him from all his contemporaries: he combines an almost commonplace simplicity of language with a lofty nobility of thought," the colon is preferable to a semicolon after contemporaries because it gives the signal that the second clause will contain a more definite ex- planation of the general statement in the first. On the other hand, the very form of the sentence, " Why should anyone who did not have a chance to fight in the war be reluctant to pay his share of the taxes incurred by the war? " shows that it is a direct question. The question mark at the end is superfluous as far as Clearness is concerned. One prob- ably does not see the mark until he is fully aware of the character of the sentence. Yet the mark should not be 122 PUNCTUATION 123 omitted. Convention, that is, accepted practice, demands it, and conformity to convention is a quite sufficient reason for it. The same thing is true of other marks in certain places: they are used because it is customary to use them. But, whether marks of punctuation are essential to Clear- ness or not, most of them are closely connected with the thought or the structure of the sentence, and should be learned in that connection. It is more logical to discuss in one place the various marks, — commas and semicolons, for example, — which a certain sentence element requires than to reverse the process and consider all the different sentence elements, — words, phrases, and clauses,- — with which a certain mark is used. The mark is for the sen- tence element, not the sentence element for the mark. Punctuation is either internal, comprising marks used within the sentence, or terminal, comprising those used at the end. Internal punctuation separates the parts of a single clause or the clauses of a single sentence; terminal punctuation separates sentences. A large part of internal punctuation has to do with the elements within the simple sentence or within a single clause, and appHes in the same way to the simple sentence and to any clause of a compound or a complex sentence. Terminal punctuation is the same for simple, complex, and compound sentences. Therefore, in this chapter, the internal and the terminal punctuation of the simple sentence will be discussed first. Then all that will remain to be considered will be the punctuation required when two clauses are joined. THE SIMPLE SENTENCE Coordinate Elements. — Two long coordinate elements of any kind, united by a conjunction, are separated by a comma. These coordinate elements include compound 124 PUNCTUATION subjects, predicates, and objects, and coordinate adjective and adverbial phrases. The low murmur of the distant surf breaking on the outer shore of the island, and the' sighing of the breezes in the tops of the pines, stirred the most delightful emotions in Oswald's breast, and reminded him of his happy boyhood spent by the sea. Having no resources of his own to call upon, and knowing no one of any influence in that vast city, he could only with the greatest difficulty keep from falling into despair. If the coordinate elements united by a conjunction are short, no punctuation is necessary. A soldier or a sailor would obey the order first and think about it afterward. Three or more coordinate elements forming a series are punctuated as follows: If they are short and united by conjunctions, no punctua- tion is used, for the primary purpose of the comma in a series is to mark the omission of the conjunction. Joy and temperance and repose Slam the door on the Doctor's nose. If all the conjunctions are omitted, a comma takes the place of each omitted conjunction. He recalled with regret the suspicion, the mutual accusations, the irreparable loss of a valued friendship. According to the best usage in America, if only the last conjunction is retained, the comma is preferably retained with it. A sense of beauty, a sense of humor, and a sense of honor constitute an admirable equipment for Ufe. PUNCTUATION 125 If two members of a series united by a conjunction com- bine to express one idea, — substantive, adjectival, or adverbial, — they are not separated by a comma. The brilliant display of banners, the martial music, the gUtter of arms, the marching and the countermarching — all these sights and sounds inspired us with patriotic fervor. In an apparent series of adjectives used without con- junctions, an adjective that modifies not only the noun but also the entire expression that follows is not separated by a comma. The adjectives in this construction do not constitute a real series in the strict sense of the term; that is, they are not all coordinate modifiers of the noun, as is shown by the fact that no conjunction can be inserted without altering the sense. He wore a shabby fur overcoat. The beautiful new brick Georgian mansion recently built on the outskirts of the village is an exact copy of an historic house in England. Note. — A comma should not be placed between the last adjective of a series and the noun which it modifies unless the adjective is used parenthetically. Wrong: — The broad, level, dusty, plain mercilessly reflected the burning rays of the sun. Right : — The broad, level, dusty plain mercilessly reflected the burning rays of the sun. Right: — The dissatisfied, intriguing, and, for that matter, even the openly treasonous, elements in the country were quickly pacified and rendered loyal by the young Prince's extraordinary diplomacy. If the members of a series are unusually long or inter- nally punctuated with commas, they are separated by semicolons. 126 PUNCTUATION His library consisted of few books: a leather-covered Bible, its pages soiled and tattered from years of prayerful reading; a copy of Shakspere's plays, with marks and comments in the margins of the philosophical passages; and an early edition of Robinson Crusoe, probably the only fiction worthy of his interest. The colon, which in general suggests details to follow, is used to separate the members of a series from the formal summary that precedes them (as in the foregoing example). The colon is often supplemented by the dash. The dash is used to separate such details from a formal summary that follows (as in the sentence beginning, " The brilliant dis- play of banners — ") . Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Elements. — A thorough knowledge of the distinction between restrictive and non- restrictive elements will solve a great many problems of punctuation, for these two kinds of elements are very conunon in every structural type of sentence. The dis- tinction between them depends primarily on the antecedent word to which they are attached and not on any peculiarity in the structure of the elements themselves. The function of each is different, but this function is determined in each case by the character of the antecedent word. A restric- tive word or phrase is one that makes more definite an antecedent that without it would be vague and incom- plete. A non-restrictive element is one that gives ad- ditional modification to an antecedent word already definite in itself. For example, in the expression, " Any man with a spark of pity in him would have been moved by the sight," the subject. Any man, would, if unmodi- fied, be vague and ' incomplete, and might even warrant us in challenging the truth of the whole statement. But the phrase, with a spark of pity in him, makes the otherwise vague antecedent word more definite. On the other hand, in the sentence, "The Constitution, with PUNCTUATION 127 all her battle-lanterns lit, sailed majestically out of the har- bor," the subject, The Constitution, designates a particular ship without the aid of a single additional word. The phrase, with all her battle-lanterns lit, does not serve to tell more definitely just what ship is meant; it merely gives an additional descriptive detail. Types of antecedent words that are modified by restrictive words and phrases are those which have attached to them such indefinite pro- nominal adjectives as all, each, every, no, some, few, and the like, that is, any word that by its sense implies vague- ness and lack of definite limitation. Types of antecedent words that are modified by non-restrictive words are proper nouns (as in the illustrative sentence given above), and, in general, any kind of antecedent word that without further modification designates with sufficient definiteness which particular one is meant. In the simple sentence restrictive and non-restrictive elements include participial, preposi- tional, and infinitive phrases, adjectives used singly, in pairs, or in series, and appositives used with or without the explanatory conjunction or. When it is desired to give special force to an appositive, the dash is used instead of the comma. Non-restrictive elements are set off by commas; restrictive elements are unpunctuated. Restrictive Elements Any one passing the house at night would have supposed it unoccupied. A person of the slightest cultivation ought to know something of the Spectator papers. His behavior was a thing to wonder at rather than to pity. He stood like a man distraught. The writer of an exposition should discriminate carefully between things familiar and unfamihar, between things known and unknown. 128 PUNCTUATION Henry the Fowler and Henry the Lion were German sovereigns. NonrrestricUve Elements The village pohceman, passing the house at night, heard sus- picious noises within. Lord Dunraven, at a loss to see his next step, fell back upon subterfuge. Amid this group Lange, fat and lumpy, held forth in his most pompous strain. My elder brother, the physician in charge of the General Hospital, has had to relinquish a large private practice. Very sincerely yours, Henry J. Hopkins. The fuselage, or body, of the aeroplane has to be made very light. Parenthetical Elements. — Another large class of ele- ments requiring punctuation are parenthetical elements. They are of two kinds, those standing at the beginning or the end of the sentence and those standing within the context. The latter class will be discussed in this section. Parenthetical elements of this kind are those inserted be- tween elements of the sentence which, in a close construc- tion, would be contiguous; as, subject and predicate, copulative verb and predicate complement, verb and object, introductory conjunction and the subject which follows. The general, in spite of his recent blunder, was admired and trusted by every soldier in the brigade. This is, or at least was, the most important manufacturing center of the state. The old librarian once knew, but has since forgotten, the name of every book in the library. But, in spite of his recent blunder, the general was admired and trusted by every soldier in the brigade. PUNCTUATION 129 A particular class of parenthetical elements is comprised in the modal adverbs which are used, not as modifiers of any particular word, but as connectives between one sen- tence and another. These modal adverbs may be either single words or phrases; as, moreover, however, on the other hand, in spite of this recent mistake, and so forth. Words and phrases that are strongly parenthetical are separated by commas and dashes or by parentheses. This speech, — the orator's first utterance on the public platform, — produced a remarkably favorable efi'ect. The famous scientist, Darwin (Erasmus, not Charles), was the author of The Botanic Garden. Absolute and Grammatically Independent Elements. — The participle and the infinitive used absolutely, and words and phrases which are grammatically independent, are set off by commas. Grammatically independent ele- ments include a large number of modal adverbs and modal adverb phrases which do not modify any single word in the sentence, but serve to show the character of the statement as a whole and to connect it with the preceding sentence. His temper grown cooler, he was able to look at the matter with a saner judgment. Not to dwell too long on a rather disagreeable issue, I should like to call the attention of my critics to one obvious inconsist- ency in their position. However, let that go without comment. As a matter of fact, we did not know of any such person. When absolute and grammatically independent elements occur within the context of the sentence, they are paren- thetical. 130 PUNCTUATION Introductory Elements. — Introductory participial and verbal noun phrases, and all other introductory phrases that are clearly equivalent in sense to introductory de- pendent clauses, are set off by a comma. Knowing the Prime Minister to be a man of quick decision, the country expected to learn the outcome of the conference in a few days. After seeing what the American Army had accomplished in France in construction work alone, we were filled with a quite justifiable pride. Really to understand the character of the Southern negro, you must watch him at his daily toil. Any long introductory phrase may be set off by a comma. Ordinary short phrases, such as phrases of time and place, require no punctuation. At the end of a dull, cloudy day in late November, he was crossing the moors alone. Last week I saw him again. Very much like grammatically independent elements are modifiers that are separated at some distance by the context of the sentence from the v?ords they modify ; such elements, not being grammatically connected with the words next to which they stand, are separated from these words by commas. He cleared a space and built a rude log hut in the heart of the forest, in the hope of founding the beginnings of a great pioneer city. Direct Address. — Nouns and pronouns in direct address are set off by commas. My dear fellow, you don't begin to understand the obstacles m our way. Look here, you; what's all this fuss about? PUNCTUATION 131 Questions and Exclamations. — The interrogation mark and the exclamation mark may be used within the context of the sentence. If the whole expression is one exclamation or question, the mark is used only at the end. What do you call this? a solution or a new problem? This is astounding! impossible! If my admiring parents could only see me now! The exclamation mark may be used in conjimction with the comma. 0, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! What has been said about the internal punctuation of the simple sentence applies, with only the slightest exceptions, to the internal punctuation of the compound and the com- plex sentence, any clause of which is, in its internal struc- ture, almost exactly like the simple sentence. We now need to consider the marks of punctuation that should properly be used between the clauses of the compound or the complex sentence. THE COMPOUND SENTENCE Punctuation as a Substitute for the Conjunction. — If two clauses forming a compound sentence are united with- out a conjunction, the semicolon is used between them. The time for discussion and debate has long since passed; the time for effective action has now arrived. The use of a comma in this place sometimes constitutes a very serious fault. It is true that some practiced writers allow themselves considerable liberty here, preferring the comma to the semicolon, particularly if the connection be- 132 PUNCTUATION tween the two clauses is very close. But for the novice this usage is not to be commended. The writer who habitu- ally substitutes the comma for the conjunction as he passes from clause to clause is liable to substitute it for the period also as he passes from sentence to sentence ; thus, " We must prove ourselves their friends upon the terms of equality and honor, we cannot be friends upon any other terms than upon the terms of equality, we cannot be friends at all except upon terms of honor." For this reason the fault, which is commonly called " the comma fault " or " the comma blunder," is sometimes quite accurately designated as " the sentence error." If the clauses are very short and closely connected, or if they form a series, the last two members of which are united by a coordinating conjunction, the comma may take the place of the omitted conjunction. I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance Among my skimming swallows; I make the netted sunbeams dance Against my sandy shallows. I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three. I have fought my fight, I have finished my task, and I leave the result to the judgment of time. If the clauses are united by one of the coordinating con- junctive adverbs, such as yet, consequently, therefore, so, accordingly, and similar words, which are not close coor- dinating conjunctions, the semicolon is preferable to the comma. He is our commander; therefore he is to be obeyed without question. If the second clause used without any connecting word serves as a more definite explanation of a general statement PUNCTUATION 133 in the first, the colon is preferable to the semicolon. Note the difference in relationship between the clauses indicated in the two following sentences: The evil men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones. Our course is beset with the gravest dangers: the evU plot- tings of our avowed enemies and the suspicions of our professed friends menace us at every turn. A clause without a connective is set off by dashes or parentheses when it is inserted within another clause. In the year 1745 — this occurred before the beginning of the period we are discussing — MacDougal raised a force of fierce clansmen along the border. In the year 1745 (this occurred before the beginning of the period we are discussing) MacDougal raised a band of fierce clansmen along the border. Clauses United by Coordinating Conjunctions. — Even when two or more clauses are united by one of the close coordinating conjunctions, and, but, neither, or, nor, and for, they may be separated by a semicolon if they are long or if they are internally punctuated by commas. The difference in ideals between these peoples proceeds from certain marked differences in their governments; and to the de- fense of our own, achieved by the loss of so much blood and treasure, matured by the wisdom of our most enlightened citi- zens, and insuring us unexampled good fortune, this nation is whole-heartedly devoted. If long coordinate clauses form a series, and the last two are united by a coordinating conjunction, either the comma or the semicolon may be used, both where the conjunction is omitted and where it is retained. Reading too much may seriously impair one's power of assimi- lation; writing too much may make him sUpshod in composition; and talking too much may cause him the loss of all his friends. 134 PUNCTUATION Two long clauses not internally punctuated may be separated by a comma when the conjunction is used. I have often pondered over the dangers incurred by the ex- plorers of this great wilderness, and I have often exulted over the greatness of their devoted lives. If the clauses are short and there is a slight break in the thought between them, a comma is used with the con- junction. The break in thought is often indicated by a change of subject, a contrasting conjunction, or the con- junction neither or nor. Our fathers framed a wise constitution, and this constitution has endured. The world will take little heed of our efforts, but it will pay- great regard to our successes. We cannot withhold their reward on the ground of incom- petence, nor can we withhold it on any ground. We cannot refuse their representatives recognition, neither can we recognize them as the envoys of an independent and sovereign power. In general, it is safe to put at least a comma before a close coordinating conjunction which unites two clauses; but two short clauses united by and or or, particularly if they have the same subjects, require no punctuation with the conjunction. I said it and I believe it to be true. I believed it or I would not have said it. THE COMPLEX SENTENCE Introductory Clauses. — Introductory clauses, that is, subordinate clauses that precede the main clauses to which they are grammatically attached, are set off by commas, PUNCTUATION 135 particularly if they are long. If they are very short, no comma is necessary. Although my Northern friends believe our Southern negroes to be maltreated, cowed, and overworked, yet they also beheve them to be cheerful, contented, and happy. Whatever may have been the causes that produced this present situation, the situation is in itself most deplorable. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing aU the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that. When the next day dawned we were off the island. A long clause subject may be separated from its verb by a comma. That he should suddenly profess to be friendly to every one hitherto regarded as his enemy, was a circumstance that could not help arousing suspicion. Coordinate Dependent Clauses. — Two long dependent clauses which are coordinate with each other are separated by a comma even if they are united by a coordinating conjunction. Though the professor had spent a lifetime in studjdng the subject, and though he was supposed to be the highest authority in his particular field, he had never seen this interesting speci- men before. Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Clauses. — Restrictive and non-restrictive clauses in the complex sentence are punctuated in precisely the same way as restrictive and non-restrictive words and phrases in the simple sentence. Such clauses include relative clauses introduced by who, which and that; relative clauses introduced by when and where; and appositive clauses introduced by the subordi- 136 PUNCTUATION Dating conjunction that. Relative clauses introduced by when and where must be carefully distinguished from mere time clauses introduced by the same conjunctions. The latter are adverbial and are not attached to any noun or pronoun antecedent; the former are adjectival and are attached to some noun or pronoun. Restrictive Clauses The only person whom he knew in that vast city was a ragged httle boy. He saw in the crowd a face which reminded him of his father's. Do not discard the things that are true for the things that are merely new. At the season when all men's thoughts are lifted up toward an ideal of brotherly sjonpathy, charity seemed to be one of the most common of human feelings. We looked a long time for some place where we might pitch our camp. The hope that he might ever see his desires accomplished was completely dashed by the letter in his hand. Non-restrictive Clavses The present Prime Minister of England, who came into office during a time of bitter faction and struggle, has shown a re- markable power of conciliating some of his most violent enemies. This bit of chalk in my hand, which I picked up on the top of the cliff over there, could tell you a marvelous story of the growth of this earth. At precisely nine o'clock at night on January 25, when the whole city seemed asleep, the fire alarm rang out with its voice of terror. At the corner of Pine and Harley Streets, where he kept a shop for the sale of small wares, the old man spent most of his Ufe for fifty years. PUNCTUATION 137 The closing thought in your lecture, that the great sea power of the British Empire is not a right but a means of self- preservation, is discussed at length in an article in this morning's paper. Other Subordinate Clauses in the Normal Position. — Besides restrictive and non-restrictive clauses, other sub- ordinate clauses in the normal position, that is, after the main clauses which they modify, are sometimes punctuated and sometimes not, according to the closeness of their relation to their antecedent clauses. Some of these are illustrated below. The punctuation of certain other types will have to be learned in each specific case. Subordinate clauses introduced by for, and by so that used with the sense of a single conjunction, are set ofl with a comma. No man can predict the future with any certainty, for the course of events is changing too rapidly to afford any basis of conjecture. AU the plans for the campaign were made in detail a year in advance, so that everything was in readiness when the first orders were issued. Any subordinate clause separated by the context from the particular word which it modifies, or any clause which, if unpunctuated, would be ambiguous in its modification, is set off by a comma. He stood for the liberation of slaves and for the humane treatment of all that were oppressed, when his associates and colleagues accepted enslavement and oppression as a necessary part of the natural scheme of the universe. The witness did not wish to tell the whole truth, because he knew that, if he told it, he might seem to impUcate some perfectly innocent people. 138 PUNCTUATION Subordinate clauses of result introduced by so — that separated by the context, and subordinate clauses in in- direct course introduced by that, are not separated by a comma. The climate of the region was so severe that a man tm- accustomed to it could not survive for twenty-four hours. The last speaker of the evening said that he had been re- quested to confine himself to a few general remarks. Parenthetical Clauses. — Any of the types of clauses which are set off by a comma when they follow the main clause are parenthetical if they come within the context of the sentence; such clauses are set off by commas at both ends. The governor of the city, who had lived through one insur- rection, had been perfectly convinced that he could never live through another. Dependent Clauses in a Series. — A series of dependent clauses used as the subject, object, or predicate of a verb, as an appositive, or as an adverbial modifier is separated by commas if short and by semicolons if long. That the plan is just, that it is practicable, that it has stood the test of experience, can be estabhshed without a long argument. Out of these four years of devastating warfare we should have learned once for all that the agencies of destruction cannot be perfected much further without danger of exterminating the race; that the forces of hatred, once liberated, rage far beyond the bounds of savage frenzy; that, if reason and justice and humanity are not to prevail, the world is doomed. Ambiguous Constructions. — The use or the omission of a comma often helps the reader to distinguish at once the difference in sense between the same word used as a prepo- sition, an adverb, or a conjunction. PUNCTUATION 139 However difficult this may seem at first, it is really very easy if you consider it closely. However, difficult as this may seem at first, it is really very easy if you consider it closely. And yet, notwithstanding, the terms of our agreement must not be made known to the pubhc. And yet, notwithstanding the terms of our agreement, must we not consider the interest which the pubhc has at stake? And yet, notwithstanding the terms of our agreement must not be made known to the public, we must let the pubhc know that we have reached some basis of final settlement. The government provided generous rewards for those who had risked their lives and fortunes in the defense of their country. The government provided generous rewards, for those who had risked their lives and fortunes in the defense of their country richly deserved some substantial recognition. I was not able to find anyone but John. I was unable to find anyone, but John may be more success- ful in his search. Broken Canstructions. — Broken and incomplete struc- ture is indicated by the dash. Notices — talking of notices, you've never had one, except one to quit from your landlady, poor woman! Henry ought to be — oh, there he comes now! They expected to sail southwest for four thousand miles, locate the treasure, and then — ! Omitted Words. — The omission of words easily supplied by the context is usually not denoted by any mark of punctuation. When, however, the predicate verb omitted from the second clause of a compound sentence is the same 140 PUNCTUATION as the predicate of the first clause, a comma may take its place. Here is a book I have long wanted to read. The moving picture houses drew large crowds of people; the regular theaters, very few. Explanatory Words and Phrases. — Explanatory words and phrases, such as namely, as, for example, that is, and equivalent abbreviations, such as viz., e.g., i.e., are pre- ceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma when the details which they introduce close the sentence. If the de- tails come within the context of the sentence, the explana- tory words, phrases, or abbreviations are preceded by a comma or a comma and a dash. A sonnet consists of fourteen lines of iambic pentameter verse; for example, Milton's well known sonnet, On His Blindness. The penult of predecessor, — that is, the last syllable but one, — takes the main accent. Dates and Headings. — The parts of a date and of a letter heading are separated by commas. The salutation may be followed by a colon or a colon and a dash, and, in informal letters, by a comma or a comma and a dash. Springfield, Massachusetts, December 29, 1921. Messrs. Bigelow, Kennard and Company, Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Dear Sirs: The heading and the address of a letter may be written without terminal punctuation. PUNCTUATION 141 Springfield, Massachusetts December 29, 1921 Messrs. Bigelow, Kennard and Company Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts Dear Sirs: Quotation Marks. — Quotation marks are used to inclose the following: the titles of books, poems, essays, and the like when they appear in a context ; words used in a special sense; words and phrases used as such for the purpose of illustration; and direct quotations. They should not be used with indirect quotations. Quotations within quota- tions are set off with single marks. The reverse of this pro- cedure is preferred by some publishers and printers, but is not supported by general usage. If the quotation con- sists of two or more paragraphs, the marks are placed at the beginning of every paragraph and at the end of the last. I have just read a novel called " The Young Enchanted," by Hugh Walpole. This " power of prophecy " the old man is so fond of harping on is nothing better than blind conjecture. The word " this " in the preceding sentence is a demonstra- tive adjective. The speaker said some very striking things: "There is no body of our people ... as highly useful Uves in the country as in the city. "The government must cooperate with the farmer ... is also of immediate importance. "There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country . . . fertile lands lying along its lower length." The Punctuation of Dialogue. — In the punctuation of dialogue three special places require particular considera- 142 PUNCTUATION tion in connection with the so-called introductory words " he said," " I replied," and their variants, according as these words precede, follow, or are interpolated within the quoted speech. When the introductory words precede the quotation, either the comma or the colon is used after them. The semicolon is never properly used in this position. Finally Martin said slowly, "I really cannot answer that question." Then Horace added: " You conducted yourself well. It was a very hard situation for you, too." When the introductory words follow the quotation, one of the following marks is used: a comma after a phrase, a clause, or a complete declarative statement; a mark of interrogation or exclamation as in unquoted matter ; a dash or three periods to indicate an incomplete statement. "I am certain you will do your best," Martin assured him. "Do you feel so certain of that?" Carson replied. "Positively certain! " answered Martin, with a sincere ring of confidence in his voice. " Oh, well, my best ..." Carson said slowly. "May not be very much," Martin interrupted him. "That is what you were going to say; but I know better. If you will only believe a little in yourself, you can see this thing through." Introductory words inserted within a quoted speech are followed by a comma if they separate the parts of a single clause or two clauses united by a coordinating or a subor- dinating conjunction; by a semicolon if they separate two clauses not united by a close coordinating conjunction, or two clauses so united and internally punctuated by com- mas (one or both) ; by a period if they separate two sen- tences. PUNCTUATION 143 " A day or two ago," I said, " you wouldn't have talked like this." " A day or two ago I wouldn't have talked like this,'' he replied, " because I didn't feel like this. It's different now," " Yes, it's different now," I agreed; " it's a good deal different. Still that's no reason for such a complete face-about." "It's a very good reason," he persisted; "and, what's more, my friend, it gets better every time I think that, to say nothing of my personal feeUngs in this business, there's a small matter of principle involved." The position of marks of punctuation in respect to quo- tation marks varies in quoted speech. The comma, the question mark, the exclamation point, the dash, and the period always stand inside the marks of quotation; the semicolon stands outside. The examples of dialogue just given illustrate these variations. In quoted speeches which, strictly speaking, are not dialogue, marks of interrogation and exclamation stand inside the quotation marks only if the quoted matter is a question or an exclamation. Would it not astound you to have him turn on you suddenly and say: "The government ought to keep out of this business; it has not a particle of right to interfere " ? Italics. — Italics (indicated in manuscript by a single straight line drawn underneath the word) are used in the titles of magazines, books, and so forth (in most cases in preference to quotation marks) ; in words and phrases regarded merely as such; in foreign words and phrases not assimilated with the language; and in words and phrases on which special stress is laid. For the last pur- pose they should be employed sparingly. I have just read a novel called The Young Enchanted, by Hugh Walpole. In the preceding sentence have is an auxUiary verb. 144 PUNCTUATION The de facto government of the revolutionists has been able to maintain itself successfully for two months. It is easy to see why a man should meet trouble bravely when it comes; but why he should seek it is a mystery. The Apostrophe. — The apostrophe is used to denote the omission of a letter or letters from a word, to form the possessive case of nouns and of some indefinite pronouns, and to indicate the plurals of numbers, letters, and signs. "Boy, tell me how many 'taters 's in dis yer bag, 'n' Ah'll give you bofe o' dem." " Two." "G'way, chile; somebody done tol' you how many 'taters 's in dis bag." The occurrence has been called to everyone's attention. How does Llewellyn pronounce all the I's in his name? Capital Letters. — The correct practice of capitalizing the first word of every sentence and of every line of poetry is too familiar to need comment and illustration here. Other words that begin with capital letters are the following: 1. The first word of a direct quotation consisting of a sentence or more. If the first word of a quotation is not the first word of a sentence, it begins with a small letter. Many years ago the philosopher Archimedes said: "Give me a place to stand, and I wiU move the earth." He has lost his customary cheerfulness and buoyancy of late; it seems to him that his " way of life is fallen into the sere, the yellow leaf." 2. The first word and all words thereafter, except articles, prepositions, and conjunctions, of the title of a PUNCTUATION 145 book, a magazine, an essay, a story, or a theme, miless the entire title is printed in capitals. My grandmother knew her Bible almost by heart. When I read The Man Who Stayed to the End, I was thrilled with the self-sacrificing heroism of the chief character. 3. Proper nouns. A proper noun differentiates the person or thing which it names from every other in the same class. A complete list of proper nouns would be very long. It would include, among many others, the names of: organizations, political parties, and religious sects; countries and geographical regions (not mere directions or points of the compass) ; races (except negro and gipsy) ; days and months (but not of seasons, unless personified) ; noted historical events, epochs, and documents; days and periods set apart for ceremonial observance; and personi- fications. Oddfellows; Liberals; Baptists; Roman CathoHcs; the North- west; the East; the Orient; the Occident; Caucasian; the Great War; the Reformation; the Bill of Rights; Thanksgiving; Good Friday; Lent; Freedom. With little exception, the adjectives corresponding to proper nouns are also capitalized. American; English; Irish; Democratic; Southern; Latin. All substantive parts of a hyphenated proper noun are capitalized. Attorney-General; Sergeant-at-Arms. Names and designations of the Deity are capitalized. Some prefer to capitalize pronominal designations only when they occur in the nominative or the objective case. 146 PUNCTUATION Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory. Remember, Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving kind- nesses. A personal title is capitalized when it is used with the name of the person designated or when there is no other proper name for that person in the context. The committee in charge of the celebration invited General Pershing to review the parade. The General gladly consented. The Prince made a triumphal progress through the country. Words denoting relationship (except Mother and Father used without a possessive pronoun) are capitalized only when they are attached to the names of persons. I am occupying the same room that Father and Uncle Henry occupied when they were here at college. I am occupying the same room that my father and my imcle occupied when they were here at college. In general, in proper noun phrases, either both terms or the distinguishing term only may be capitalized, accord- ing to individual taste. If the common noun term is re- peated without the distinguishing term, it may begin with a small letter. Johnson went to Pembroke College, Oxford. Once, when I visited the college, I was shown his room over the gateway. Some names are correctly regarded as proper nouns only when they denote particular persons, groups, and so on; otherwise they begin with small letters. Within the next few days the President will address Congress on the important matter of the tariff, on which the Government is expected to have a wise constructive poUcy. PUNCTUATION 147 The legislative function of the government of the United States is vested in a congress consisting of a senate and a house of representatives. The executive function is vested in the representatives, president EXERCISES Insert marks of punctuation wherever necessary in the follow- ing sentences. Give the reason for each mark you use. I 1. The discomfort of not being warm enough and the dispiriting effect of the grim sky without and the shabby sur- roundings within were manifest in a general impression of melancholy and apprehension. 2. In his solitary walks through the woods the young natu- ralist had learned many of Nature's secrets not disclosed to some older observers and particularly many of the habits of bird and beast invaluable to him in later years. 3. After a period of long and heated discussion of the ques- tion and in the midst of a clamorous debate on the most im- portant phase of it the assembly was abruptly broken up by the soldiers. 4. Spring and summer came and went without bringing relief to the besieged garrison. 5. The wearing of this solemn black suits admirably with grief and gloom of spirit deepens sadness accentuates woe almost produces a lasting melancholy. 6. The other was a stout little Chinese boy in a padded dark blue silk coat a black cap with a big red button blue trousers and white stockings. 7. We gazed about upon a wondrous picture the blue sky above under it an expanse of red roofs in the background a stretch of sparkling sea. 8. Dissatisfaction with the present state of affairs lack of confidence in those responsible for them and the hope of being able to improve our condition these are the main reasons for our opposition. 9. I pointed out the recklessness of entrusting his house to a watchman already twice caught asleep at his post. 148 PUNCTUATION 10. The teacher gave us a list of books to be read outside of class. 11. Charles the King and Charles the private individual in his hours of relaxation seemed like two different persons. 12. Marcia finding the situation puzzling promptly decided to forget it. 13. The Earl of Chatham without a single qualification for high public trust was made First Lord of the Admiralty. 14. Puck or Robin Goodfellow is a merry sprite in A Mid- summer Night's Dream. 15. William even in those days of brilliant mihtary leaders showed conspicuous talents in the field. 16. The political writers were almost without exception men absolutely controlled by party motives. 17. The plans however must be tested carefully to determine their practical value. 18. Speaking generally it is safe to heed our first judgment in matters of moral conduct. 19. The auditorium was dazzling with spectators of both sexes the men clad in dark velvet set off with brilliant sashes the women in a variety of bright silks. 20. However this does not tell the whole story. 21. Instead of being a space glaring in the sunlight reflected from an expanse of white togas the hollow of the amphitheater was a dingy area of brownish black under a lowering canopy of sullen cloud. 22. To decide the question justly we need more facts. 23. In a week the country will be relieved of its suspense. 24. You unsuspecting innocent any plausible fellow seems to be able to take you in. 25. Let me tell you you critics of our policies a few more things to enlighten you. 26. When can we meet again to-morrow or the day after 27. How I should like to be in England now 28. Ah but that would bring ruin upon the cause 29. The audience seldom applauded even the leading actors they never applauded the subordinate members of the troupe. 30. The storm caused almost incalculable damage it broke some of our finest old trees beyond repair it tore down the tele- phone and electric light wires it even caused the roofs of houses to fall in. PUNCTUATION 149 31. I knew he had some imperative reason for coming to us at that hour yet I refrained for a time from asking him his errand. 32. Fortunatus's ventures all prospered his profits poured in and the income from his heritage increased. 33. There has not been an important philanthropical move- ment I believe I am right in saying this in which this generous man has not had some practical interest. 34. The evident way to proceed is to go directly to the people or lacking the courage so to take our destinies in our hands we can conjecture the course likely to meet their approval. 35. Some in their conversation desire to draw forth the best in the thought of others some wish to utter the best in their own minds and others have no purpose except to be commended for their wit. 36. His accusers must have had very definite knowledge of his part in the conspiracy or they would not have dared to brave the consequences of charges unproved against him. 37. The preface is in the author's best manner and the notes are models of conciseness and accuracy. 38. Bo-bo was strictly enjoined not to let the secret escape for the neighbors would certainly have stoned them for a couple of abominable wretches. 39. You can go or stay it is a matter of indifference to us. 40. After some months had passed I was given more hberty and was allowed to drive out and see my friends. 41. Whatever you intend to do act with caution. 42. However insincerity and deceit may seem to win favor for the moment they are doomed to discovery and contempt at last. 43. That real affection casts out rivalry and enmity com- pletely is one more reason for giving thanks to the human heart by which we live. 44. He was the kind of patriot who makes a noise in time of war and goes about his selfish business in times of peace. 45. There could be no other time when we could speak so openly no other place where we could gain the hearing of so many people. 46. The mere suggestion that people should support the measure met with a hearty response. 47. It is well to have in mind the warning of Dr. Johnson 150 PUNCTUATION who said that we are never to believe a man when he runs him- self down. 48. Such an attitude does not seem possible in this enlightened age when intelligent people are endeavoring to free themselves of the taint of race prejudice. 49. Let us read the opening passage of Scene VI Act I of Macbeth where Duncan describes Macbeth's castle. 50. He spent a year in reading the Bible and various books on religious subjects so that he was fairly well equipped to enter into a discussion on theological questions. 51. The soldier declared that he loved the imprisoned captain so much that he was glad to risk his own life to save him. 52. Come early if you wish to get a seat. 53. A man like the Prime Minister if he is surrounded by influential supporters and has really the favor of Parliament can become supreme. 54. The point is after all hardly worth serious consideration. 55. And what was of much greater importance the populace could not be depended on for support. 56. While his schemes were confounded while his predictions were falsified while the coalitions which he labored to form were faUing to pieces while the expeditions which he sent forth were ending in rout and disgrace his authority over the country was constantly becoming absolute. 57. I was horrified to realize all of a sudden that those who had made most of me had always envied me in secret that to a man they hated me that each and all would use every effort to ensure my ruin and that I had to face the accusation of perjury. 58. If he could have conjured up one friend of influence in that hour or if he could have detected in the crowd before him a single facial expression indicating sjonpathy he would have had a small spark of hope within him. 59. Whether we grant all that is asked or whether we grant some demands now and reserve some for the future our dis- position to yield will be interpreted as evidence of fairminded- ness and magnanimity. 60. Besides this secret we must keep to ourselves. 61. We shaiU have to cheer you up to counsel you and to intervene in your behalf as clever an advocate as any in the state. PUNCTUATION 151 62. When I was traveling through the Balkans but I think I'd better not tell that story for it might prove embarrassing to some of the officials concerned. 63. You feel like saying like saying well what do you feel like saying? 64. All you have to do is to touch a match to this fuse and then The subsequent occurrence you may not have a chance to recount. 65. We can know some things entirely some only in part. 66. A capital letter is used at the beginning of every sen- tence e g His zeal for the cause of humanity and justice had its reward. 67. The most influential part of the community that is the most energetic but by no means the most intelligent part suc- ceeded in getting the measure passed. 68. Walnut HHls Cincinnati Ohio June 16 1922 Franklin Simon & Company Fifth Avenue New York Dear Sirs Very truly yours II 1. I wore my heaviest overcoat and my thickest gloves and felt perfectly comfortable in the sharpest weather. 2. His good friends among the valets and chamberlains and secretaries kept him informed as to the effect of his petition upon the highest officials. 3. The truth came out in a haphazard tangle of unfinished sentences interruptions fresh starts questions answers explana- tions and reexplanations. 4. The silence deep already after the sunset grew oppres- sive with the approach of night. 5. It is in itself a convincing reason not to mention several others. 152 PUNCTUATION 6. In this little cabin on the edge of the wilderness the old trapper had lived in almost uninterrupted solitude for many years. 7. He seems to have been gifted with a fertile invention so it is not at all surprising that he has produced such a labor- saving device as this. 8. The company was formed of men who brought with them various kinds of the most valuable experience that is of men who had been presidents and general managers of other highly successful corporations. 9. The judge could hardly acquit the fellow on the evidence neither could he feel justified in pronoimcing a severe sentence. 10. What is the chief danger that threatens our civihzation 11. The magistrate suspected and later was able to prove the existence of a secret plot among the discontented peasants. 12. I raised myself on my elbow hstening intently. 13. How can the poor pedestrian feel safe in these days of speeding and skidding 14. The directors found that the stock was not being gener- ally subscribed for consequently they were compelled to abandon the project of forming the company for the time being. 15. It is a commendable kind of philosophy which tries to make the best of a bad job. 16. I'll cross it though it blast me. 17. His eldest brother Earl of Chatham had means barely sufficient to support the digiiity of the peerage. 18. Silent and tense we hstened. 19. An approving vote was obtained from the Committee of Ways and Means and a bill evidently prepared with undue haste and greeted with many sarcastic comments was presented to the House. 20. My utmost persuasion was required to induce him to go to the PubUc Baths which he had previously frequented every afternoon. 21. After my return from college my parents indulged me more than ever and made me feel my own importance to an absurd degree. 22. The audience I among them were awe-struck and fasci- nated by the tragic spectacle. 23. None fears any punishment for resistance all fear the reproach of cowardice. PUNCTUATION 153 24. The great author hated to be questioned on any matter whatever and his friends were always taking occasion to question him. 25. The opposition will freely grant your first argument that an army of some kind is necessary to maintain order within the state. 26. France has I think reached the point where the more or less willing cooperation of victor and vanquished is seen to be necessary. 27. He might when elected take the power of the assembly into his own hands. 28. Though thus clad as in time of peace and walking all the way on foot he was hedged about by his faithful six hundred every man stepping alertly helmet plumes waving helmets glit- tering shields gleaming spear points a-sparkle kilt-straps flapping a grim advertisement of irresistible power. 29. But on the other hand what we do will have a lasting result. 30. What I saw makes me regard as perfectly just the common praise of him which I heard on almost every tongue. 31. They made a striking picture as the seconds withdrew and they faced each other the Enghshman thickset and burly the Frenchman tall lithe and graceful. 32. After he had made aU his own elaborate preparations for the journey and while he was waiting for his companions to get together their few simple belongings he engaged in conversa- tion with the landlord of the inn. 33. The poor servant could not think of himself only of the dangers that threatened his beloved master. 34. The merchant bought no more gems though he talked gems as much as previously even more and took great pride in showing visitors over his coUeotion. 35. Here as he lay nursing himself the ubiquitous Mr. Holt reappeared and stopped a whole month at Mons where he not only won over Colonel Esmond to the King's side in politics that side being always held by the Esmond family but where he endeavored to reopen the controversial question between the Churches once more and to recall Esmond to that religion in which in his infancy he had been baptized. 36. The quarrel whatever it was I heard the scandal but indeed shall not take the pains to repeat in this diary the trumpery coffee-house story caused a good deal of talk. 154 PUNCTUATION 37. Horace therefore was a frequent visitor at my home and I saw him almost every day. 38. The Opposition consisted of two parties which had once been hostile to each other and which had been very slowly and as it soon appeared very imperfectly reconciled but which at this juncture seemed to act together with cordiality. 39. We felt confident that they in turn would do all in their power to advance our cause. 40. Everyone ought even in times of intense excitement to preserve a cool and unbiased judgment. Ill Insert quotation marks and marks of punctuation in the following dialogue: The Lieutenant by way of beginning the conversation agree- ably asked Rebecca how she liked her new place My place said Rebecca coolly how kind of you to remind me of it It's a tolerably good place the wages are pretty good not so good as Miss Wirt's I believe with your sisters in Russell Square How are those young ladies not that I ought to ask Why not Mr Osborne said amazed Why they never condescended to speak to me or to ask me into their house whilst I was staying with Ameha but we poor governesses you know are used to slights of this kind My dear Miss Sharp Osborne ejaculated At least in some families Rebecca continued You can't think what a difference there is though We are not so wealthy in Hampshire as you lucky folks of the City But then I am in a gentleman's family good old English stock I suppose you know Sir Pitt's father refused a peerage And you see how I am treated I am pretty comfortable Indeed it is rather a good place But how very good of you to inquire IV Place the question mark and quotation marks properly in each of the following sentences: How are you going to answer a man who says to you Why should I keep the law I am not under any obligation to keep it PUNCTUATION 155 I think I would answer Why aren't you under the same obhga- tion as everybody else in a country in which the people's repre- sentatives make the laws Use the necessary quotation marks or italics in the following sentences : 1. I received a copy of the High School Review in this morn- ing's mail. 2. Even the regular movie fans had nothing to suggest in the way of improving the character of the films. 3. The word fast may be a noun an adjective a verb or an adverb. 4. After a slight disturbance in the state matters speedily got back to the status quo ante. 5. There was one thought that the speaker particularly im- pressed upon our minds that there was a wide difference between the cause which produced the present policy and his reason for supporting it. VI Insert the apostrophe wherever it is necessary in the following sentences : 1. Weve fought with many men acrost the seas, An some of em was brave an some was not: The Paythan an the Zulu an Burmese: But Fuzzy was the finest o the lot. We never got a ha porths change of im: E squatted in the scrub an ocked our orses, E cut our sentries up at Sua^im, An e played the cat and banjo with our forces. — Kipling: Fuzzy Wuzzy. 2. He was very tired at the end of the days work. 3. He has gone away on a six months leave of absence 4. The Government has just purchased three million dollars worth of equipment for the soldiers. 5. The Joneses motor boat will meet us at the wharf and take us out to the island. 156 PUNCTUATION VII Supply capital letters wherever they are necessary in the following sentences: 1. I am very fond of the quotation from Hamlet there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. 2. After a long silence he opened his ponderous and marble jaws in a brief speech of explanation. 3. You seem to have a different opinion of Hardy's novels since you read far from the madding crowd. 4. In troubled times high street has been lined with bayonets. 5. Grave doctors were in the habit of talking very Cicero- nian treason in the theater, and undergraduates drank bumpers of Jacobite toasts. 6. Of four successive chancellors of the university, one had notoriously been in the pretender's service. 7. Cambridge has therefore been especially favored by the hanoverian princes: George the first had enriched her library; George the second had contributed munificently to her senate house. Bishoprics and deaneries were showered on her children. Her chancellor was newcastle, the chief of the whig aristocracy; her high steward was hardwicke the whig head of the law. 8. We derive some of our political rights from magna charta. 9. The pioneers who helped to open the great northwest were men of hardy temper. 10. The postmaster-general has done much to reform our postal service. 11. The jews worshiped no other god than jehovah, god of Israel. 12. The revival of learning is not exactly synonymous with the renaissance. 13. who, doomed to go in company with pain, and fear, and bloodshed, miserable train! turns his necessity to glorious gain. 14. When the estabhshment of the revolutionary tribunal was first proposed he joined himself with men who strongly objected to that measure. 15. The minister had no religious prejudice: catholic and protestant were aUke to him if they were men of integrity and ability. PUNCTUATION 157 16. The republic was beginning to meditate conquests beyond the alps and the rhine. 17. The emperor is taller by about the breadth of my nail than any of his court. 18. Hahfax was sent in the following year to carry the decorations of the order of the garter to the electoral prince of hanover. The prince acknowledged the honor in his most gra- cious manner. 19. When I saw my father with his new fishing kit, I had to laugh outright; but dad, who is rather proud of his skiU as an angler, didn't see the joke. 20. Whether a government is a republic in form or not, whether it has a president or a king at the head, it can be very democratic; take, for example, the government of great britain. 21. Praise ye the lord all ye his people! Lift up your voice and praise ye him! CHAPTER VIII THE WORD Changes in the English Vocabulary. — Like every organism which is truly alive, our English language is con- stantly undergoing changes, losing in some respects, gaining in others. In specific inflections and declensions it may seem to vary but slightly from one decade to another; nevertheless a gradual evolution, especially in vocab- ulary, is imperceptibly but steadily going on, so that the standard at any given period is different from what it was a generation before. Old forms which have become useless or unpopular are being cast off; familiar words, through some inexplicable process, develop new meanings; and alien phrases mysteriously appear before us, are assim- ilated, and become bone and sinew of our speech. Obsolete Words. — If we examine casually the text of the First Folio of Shakspere's works, published in 1623, we shall meet on every page words which have practically vanished from our language, or are, at least, meaningless, to-day, to all but scholars. In a well-known play like Hamlet, for example, we find cautel, beteem, mazzard, de- lated, tarre, — expressions which no one in our time would think of using, and which seem like words from a foreign tongue. In Milton's II Penseroso (1634) forms like dight and rebecks need an explanation for the modern reader. Such words we describe as archaic, or obsolete ; for all prac- tical purposes they have had their day and ceased to be. They are interesting now mainly as relics of a bygone era. Alterations in Meaning. — There are also some old words which, although they still remain in fairly common 158 THE WORD 159 use, have undergone a transformation in meaning through the course of years. A knave in the fourteenth century was merely a boy ; to-day he is a notorious rascal. Villain, once used to mean a peasant or serf, is a term now applied to any evil person, even of the higher social classes. Meat, once food of any kind, is now only flesh. A gossip, formerly the sponsor of a child at a christening, is to-day a purveyor of idle, even scandalous, talk. New Words. — It is equally obvious that a large number of words have been added to the language since the time of Chaucer. Progress in civilization, especially in the shape of discoveries and inventions, has required the exten- sion of our English vocabulary. Automobile, movie, ra- dium, phonograph — these are words which would have been unintelligible to Addison or Abraham Lincoln, but with which every child in our homes is well acquainted. Neces- sity of one kind or another demands the appropriation of forms from other languages or the creation of words for practical purposes. Any widespread or international move- ment, like the recent World War, leaves behind it in the language a more or less permanent deposit. A living tongue tends to adjust itself by degrees to changes in con- ditions or to progress in thought. In spite of the protests of pedantic persons, who prefer a frozen language to one which is fluid, English has retained its flexibility, and has met with ease the demands made upon it by a complex society. Our Speaking Vocabulary. — The great bulk of our words, however, including most of those required in carrying out our daily duties, remains much the same from one age to another. Love and hate, war and peace, home and mother have endured, except for slight alterations in spelling, since the days of our Anglo-Saxon forbears. Words like these make up the solid foundation, or sub- 160 THE WORD stratum, of our speech. With two or three hundred such words in his vocabulary a man can carry out most of the business of life, — can secure food and shelter, express his joy or pain, and keep up social relations with his fellows. These constitute what may be called the minimum " speak- ing vocabulary," and represent language reduced to its lowest terms. The Writing Vocabulary. — When a child or a grown person begins to put his thoughts on paper, a new mental vista opens out before him, and he finds it necessary to use words which he did not need in everyday conversation with his friends. As a natural step in progress, his emo- tions and thoughts become more complex, and he is obliged, in order to express them with any completeness and ac- curacy, to resort to unaccustomed phrases. In this way his vocabulary gradually increases until he has hundreds of words at his command. The Reading Vocabulary, — A further development takes place when he is led to reading and is confronted in books with words which he does not understand, and which he must look up if he expects to comprehend fully what the author is trying to say. At best, no one man, however learned, can possibly know beyond a fraction of the more than three hundred thousand words in an unabridged dic- tionary. Milton, we are told, used eight thousand, Shak- spere, fifteen thousand words. The average intelligent man to-day may perhaps use three or four thousand words ; but he undoubtedly knows the meanings of at least as many more. It is an interesting study to test the extent of our vocabularies by opening a dictionary at random and seeing how many words on any given page we can clearly define. All education is, in a sense, the process of con- fronting new experiences, and consequently of adding new words to our store. THE WORD 161 Advantages of a Large Vocabulary. — The larger one's vocabulary, generally speaking, the greater one's efficiency in writing. With a plain saw, ax, and hammer a work- man may produce a rough sort of chair, capable of support- ing the weight of a human being; but to make a piece of furniture which will be both permanent and beautiful, he requires a number of other instruments, each with a limited but still important function. The better a man's literary tools, the finer will be his product; indeed, it is not unfair to test a man's culture by the vocabulary which he habit- ually employs. CORRECTNESS The Test of Correctness. — The first question which any student is likely to ask about a word is simply, " Is it cor- rect? " With most common words, such as table and carpet and road, there is no problem of this kind involved ; but, as soon as we move into a wider sphere of thought, there are issues to be determined. Correctness, so far as writing is concerned, is entirely a matter of good usage. " It is," said Professor Lounsbury, " the practice and consent of the great authors that determines correctness of speech." In order to ascertain whether a given word is correct, we must consult the best writers in magazines and books, and the printing rules of the most reputable pub- lishing houses. The Decision of the Public. — There is, however, no one body of authorities in either England or America suf- ficiently powerful to admit or reject in itself any specified word. The development of language follows in some cases no recognizable law and can be controlled by no dictator. More than once words against which scholars have pro- tested have in the end found their way to general accept- ance. Writers of volumes on rhetoric frequently attempt 162 THE WORD to guide public opinion by printing lists of words which are, or, in their judgment^ ought to be, taboo; but only too often the rhetorician lives to see the object of his dis- approval accepted in the aristocratic circles of speech. For years, for instance, teachers have protested against the use of like as a conjunction, as in the sentence, " It looks like it would rain." Yet this form, originally a Southern provincialism, has gradually reached the outskirts of re- spectable company, and can even be found to-day in the work of not a few authors of some repute. Fifteen years ago, human, — used as a noun in place of human being, — was condemned by all good authority; but quite re- cently a professor of English in a first-class college spoke of humans as contrasted with animals. The fact is that, whether we like it or not, the acceptance and adoption of a new word depends on factors which cannot be accurately predicted, even by those thoroughly acquainted with the history of language. The Difference in Standards. — There is the further complication that there are various confusing stand- ards to be considered. There is, for example, a marked divergence between the vocabulary of formal literary writ- ing and that of intimate conversation. Even the most dignified and fastidious of men will, when he is chatting with friends in his club, lapse into colloquialisms. Abbre- viations, like don't and aren't, which would not be allowed in the Atlantic Monthly, are not out of place in dinner- table conversation, where not to use. them would seem at times stilted and pedantic. The language is rich in idioms for which a suitable place can be foimd, but which are not everywhere in equally good taste. Common sense is indispensable in coming to a decision in cases where there is genuine doubt. The Three Requirements of Correctness. — An eminent THE WORD 163 Scotch authority, Dr. Campbell, in his book. The Philoso- phy of Rhetoric, long ago laid down the principle that a word, to be correct, must meet the requirements pf Present Use, National Use, and Reputable Use. The division thus established has become traditional with rhetoricians, and will, therefore, be followed here as a basis for determining the correctness of words. Present Use. — From the practical point of view, the test of Present Use is, for the apprentice writer, not of especial importance. Very few persons nowadays are likely to revive obsolete words or to lapse into the abandoned idioms of a past century. When students use words like welkin, forsooth, or per adventure, it is seldom without a full consciousness of their archaic quality and an attempt to employ them for humorous effect. The average school or college youth is quite content to stand by the vocabulary of his own period. With new words, however, the situa- tion is not quite the same. Some, like camouflage, found their way, in the rapid pace of war times, straight into the language without any opposition. Others, like burgle (meaning burglarize), have sought an entry for years, but without success. Normalcy, with the powerful backing of a President of the United States, is, in spite of certain grotesque features, to-day lingering on the boundary line of respectability. Among the absolutely necessary new words of the last quarter-century may be found chauffeur, aviator, garage, hangar, monoplane, suffragist, and others, not one of which is questioned now even by any purist. There is no rule which can be laid down as iron-clad, but, in general, a student will not go far wrong to avoid words which have not been fully sanctioned by the best authority. " In words, as fashions, the same rule will hold; Ahke fantastic, if too new, or old: Be not the first by whom the new are try'd, Nor yet the last to lay the old aside." 164 THE WORD Our English vocabulary as it stands is so rich and varied that the questioning of proposed new words can result in no hardship. National Use. — Dr. Campbell's discussion of National Use is of far less significance now than it was when he wrote. The railroad and the automobile, the. telephone and the moving picture, have brought the various sections of even a country as large as ours closer and closer together. Fashions in dress are much alike in the cities between the Atlantic and the Pacific; business men from Maine and Nevada, Texas and Minnesota, are meeting as frequently to-day as those from Boston and Philadelphia did a' cen- tury ago ; speech is so standardized that an American from Portland, Maine, can talk with a citizen of Portland, Oregon, without either one's finding a flaw in the other's pronunciation or vocabulary. Provincialisms, — that is, expressions peculiar to one district or locality, — do still exist, but they are few in number, and seldom, except in dialect stories, find their way into books. School Localisms. — In schools and colleges, as in most partly isolated communities, there is a tendency to develop a kind of local language, usually akin to slang. Of this, Kipling gives excellent examples in his well-known Stalky and Co., describing the life of boys in an English school. In the United States, students of this age are fond of abbreviations, such as " exam" " Prof," " dorm," " con," and " pro." One pupil is ai " plugger," another a " sport " ; an easy course is a " soft snap " or a " cinch " ; to go away is to "beat it"; to "flunk" an "exam" is to get " stung " and may possibly result in being " fired." Until human nature has altered profoundly, it will be impossible to eradicate this kind of " little language " from school con- versation. It is, however, self-evident that it should not be tolerated in any form of careful writing, and that it is out of place except among the small group of initiated. THE WORD 165 Americanisms and Briticisms. — While in most respects books published either in England or the United States are read without difficulty in both countries, the two great English-speaking nations do show a tendency to diverge to some extent in their vocabularies, — rarely, however, to an extent which need confuse any intelligent American. From the practical point of view, it is only an eccentric pupil in our high schools who will be tempted to use the British luggage-van for the American baggage-car, or to say lift for elevator or reel of cotton instead of spool of thread. In comparison with the language as a whole, moreover, these differences are slight, and, except for an occasional idiomatic peculiarity, the conversation and formal diction of the cultured classes in London or in New York does not vary to any marked degree. Hawthorne and Ruskin, Robert Frost and John Masefield, write the same language. Technical Language. — Any trade or profession or sport naturally evolves its own specialized vocabulary of tech- nical words, intelligible only to those engaged or interested in that particular business or pastime. Most of these terms are entirely serious in their origin, having been created to fill a definite need. Frequently such words give the precise differentiation desired by specialists in that field. From a practical standpoint, the young writer is not likely to be led far astray by such expressions. It should be his care, however, to avoid using any words which are not likely to be understood everywhere, by any representative of the general public. Highly technical language should be reserved for discussions carried on by specialists. Reputable Use. — Far more important for the average student than the problems of Present Use and of National Use, are those involved in what Dr. Campbell called Repu- table Use. There are some cases in which the issue can be readily settled; " It's a swell joint" is quite obviously 166 THE WORD the remark of a person without refinement or high ideals in language. There need be no argument in cases like this. There are, on the other hand, words like joy-ride which seem to keep within the pale of good usage; and there are terms like grafter which have the approval of even the most fastidious. The sole standard of judgment in these and similar cases is whether or not they have been accepted by writers and speakers of good reputation. This stand- ard, as we have seen, may vary considerably from decade to decade, but there is, at any given time, usually a con- sensus of opinion which may be determined by observation and study. Slang. — One of the constant dangers to good speech and writing lies in the prevalence and popularity of slang, — that " vagabond language, always hanging on the out- skirts of legitimate speech." Just how slang originates and spreads has never been clearly explained ; it seems at times to develop, like the ballad, by a kind of communal in- stinct, and to make its way through the force of mob psychology. Like fashions, it comes and goes, and no one seems to be able to explain either its vogue or its disap- pearance. In some of its forms it has a metaphorical picturesqueness which makes it, when heard for the first time, seem vivid and expressive. Words like jlivver, bunk- slinger, lounge-lizard, flapper, and vamp have a humorous connotation which sometimes gives them a widespread use. Such slang is constantly coming and going. Occasionally a phrase will become idiomatic, and make its way into reputable circles; more often, it will simply die away, as the wind passes at the close of a summer afternoon. In our own time we have watched such expressions as " you kid! " " I should worry," and " I'll tell the world " sweep the cotmtry like a tidal wave. Used by every comedian on the vaudeville stage and in every comic section of the THE WORD 167 Sunday paper, they arouse the vain wrath of grammarians ; and then, almost without notice, they are heard no more. The Danger of Slang. — It is the business of a good writer, without being priggish or pedantic, to be exceed- ingly cautious with regard to slang. After all, it is ephem- eral; the slang of 1890 is quite different from the slang of 1922; and, if we use slang in our writing, we shall not be understood by another generation. Furthermore it is not in good taste. Cultured people do not use it, and it never makes its way into the best periodicals. Its innate vul- garity leads refined persons to avoid it as they would chew- ing gum or wearing gaudy clothes. The Worst Variety of Slang. — There is, however, a special variety of slang which is less ephemeral, and con- sequently far more insidious in its influence. It is made up of commonplace words employed by persons with meager vocabularies to express a multitude of sensations. Such words are the deadly foes of precision in speech. We happen at this moment to be in the midst of a glorifica- tion of the little word some, which is being used as an adjective to describe any deviation, good or bad, from the normal standard; thus, if we keep our ears open, we may hear of " some girl," " some crime," " some day," " some artist," " some preacher," " some pudding," the exact degree of emotion being indicated by the spoken em- phasis on the magic word so7ne. There is no object, institu- tion, or person to whom this word may not be applied successfully, particularly if the right modification of the voice be given. We all know people to whom everything displeasing is bum or punk or rotten, and everything attrac- tive great or bully. Such words as these are the battered coins of speech, — their engraving marred, their outlines roughened, but still passing current from hand to hand as real money. Slang of this kind is the outgrowth of a 168 THE WORD poverty-stricken vocabulary. Through its use, language is reduced to a few elementary sounds, and approximates the means of communication resorted to by beasts, with whom a bark or a whinny seems to be sufficient to indicate a feeling. Slang. — The slang of to-day has usually vanished within a few months or years, and may never reappear. Any list of slang expressions, therefore, is quickly made out-of-date through the mere passage of time. Among these noted as current at this moment, however, a few may be listed. Examples of Slang Wiz Swipe Nifty Buttinski Pinch .Swell Bug-house Hellion Classy Nutty Crab Hooch On the bum Off his hooks I'll say it is Off his base Bunk Attaboy Peacherino Beaut Hot stuff Barbarisms. — Slang is placed by some writers under the general head of barbarisms, — words and phrases not ac- cepted by good society. Barbarisms include many types of words, some of them of long standing like ain't and hain't, others of more recent origin like enthuse or to sui- cide. Some of them, closely resembling legitimate words, are used through ignorance, like I might of done it or alright. Solecisms. — Akin to barbarisms are solecisms, — viola- tions of correct grammatical usage, indicating careless- ness, bad language habits, or actual illiteracy. Such ex- pressions, it has been rightly said, " bid defiance to all considerations of good taste." No one with a sense of pride or a tinge of culture will be likely to retain them in his vocabulary. THE WORD 169 Examples of Barbarisms and Solecisms Gents Sort of cold Fall off of the roof Those kind of men He don't know it Disremember Cut it out It's a bird Firstly Photo Complected He cabbaged the coin He's hitting it up Unbeknownst Pants Undoubtably Warn't I'd just as leaves Idiomatic Expressions. — It is not always easy to dis- tinguish accurately between these incorrect forms and cer- tain idioms which, although apparently not in accord with established grammatical principles, do, nevertheless, ac- quire through the agreement of good writers the stamp of correctness. In Hamlet, we find the hero saying to Guild- enstern, "Do the boys carry it away?," — an expression which is the precise equivalent of our modern " Did they get away with it? " Vigorous phrases like " Go to it! " or " I have made good " have been used on occasions very effectively by public men. Many of them are full of expressiveness, and have contributed to the strength of the language. Play safe I had rather go Hold on! Brace up! Come along! Examples of Current Idiom A clean sweep Break the ice From hand to mouth Spin a yam Drive slow! Low bridge! Heads up! Carry on! Show your hand Stand pat Slang and Idiom. — The distinction between what is slang and what is accepted idiom is often difficult to make, even by recognized students of language. A good diction- ary, preferably of the unabridged type, should always be at hand for consultation, and is, if up to date, usually sufiicient to settle nearly every question of good usage. 170 THE WORD It may possibly be wanting in authoritative comment on the latest slang phrases ; but the average intelligent person needs no counsel on most of these as they arise. The dictionary and a little common sense, mingled with good taste, will be adequate to all but the rarest emergency. Improprieties. — When a reputable English word is em- ployed in the wrong sense, we have what is called an impropriety, — as in the cas^of the American woman trav- elling abroad, who said that, of all her experiences, the most interesting was hearing the " French pheasants sing the mayonnaise." There are numerous words in the English language which are confused, as in the sentence "He learned me how to do it " (in which taught is the word intended) or " Here comes a bunch of my friends " (in which group is clearly the right word). Such errors can be eliminated only by careful attention to the precise meanings of words, assisted by frequent consultation of the dictionary. EXERCISE Distinguish accurately the meanings of the following words and expressions : Accept — except Balance — remainder Affect — effect Begin — inaugurate Aggravate — annoy — provoke Beside — besides Allude — refer — elude But that — but what Allusion — illusion Can — may Alternative — choice Censor — censure Among — between Character — reputation Anticipate — expect Claim — assert Anxious — eager Continual — continuous Any — some (as adverbs) Correspond to — correspond Appreciate — be pleased with with Avenge — revenge Council — counsel Avocation — vocation Couple — pair — ^two Badly — very much Courage — fortitude THE WORD 171 Credible — creditable — cred- ulous Decided — decisive Demean — behave Depot — station Depreciate — deprecate Differ from — differ with Discover — invent Disinterested — uninterested Due — because of Economic — economical Elegant — fine — splendid — dehghtful Element — feature — factor Emigrate — inamigrate Eminent — prominent Enormity — enormousness Famous — notorious Female — woman — lady Fewer — less Fix — mend — adjust Funny — strange Got — must Guess — suppose — think — imagine Hanged — hung Has got — has Healthy — healthful Imply — refer Individual — party — person Inside of — within (time phrase) Instant — instance Liable — hkely — apt Locate — settle Lots — plenty Majority — plurality — most Mad — angry Most — almost Mutual — common Nice — good — pleasant Observance — observation Oral — verbal Per cent — percentage Pitiful — pitiable Plenty — somewhat Posted — informed Predominate — dominate Raise — rear Real — very Respectively — respectfully Ride — drive Show — chance — opportu- nity So — as Something — somewhat Start — begin State — say Stimulant — stimulus Stop — stay Sure — surely Transpire — happen Treat — treat of — treat with Way — away — ways Common Improprieties. — Among the more common im- proprieties found among inexperienced writers, the following should have special attention: (I heard the Reverend Mr. I heard Rev. Jones give a sermon. Jones give a sermon.) The mob degenerated into a near riot. (For nearly into a riot) 172 THE WORD He was plenty fast enough. (For quite fast enough) He was sick, due to his incessant labors. (For because oj) He was sort oj tired. (For rather) The castle was 300 years old. (For three hundred) PUes of people were waiting to see him. (For o large number) CLEARNESS Importance of Clearness, Force, and Beauty in Words.— In choosing words, Correctness is the first, if not the most important, quality to seek for. A style which is not correct must be condemned without any further examination. And yet it is no less true that the vocabiilary of any written theme may meet every requirement thus far mentioned in this chapter, and still be completely ineffective. Effective- ness of style is secured, not only by selecting words which are correct, but also by using those which exactly fit the demands of the thought so far as Clearness, Force, and Beauty are concerned. In discussing these principles, it is frequently difiicult to separate one sharply from the others; a clear word is usually forceful, and often beau- tiful; mere Force contributes much to both Clearness and Beauty. What applies to the securing of one of the three qualities will frequently be applicable to all. With* this preliminary caution, it will be possible to outline a few rules which serve as guides to the inexperienced writer. The Danger of Hackneyed Words and Phrases. — Clear- ness in words is mainly a matter of precision, of choosing the form which exactly designates the idea in our minds. If we listen to the conversation of any group of average people, we shall find that it is made up, in part at least, of trite and worn expressions, used because the speakers are too indifferent to make the extra effort in- THE WORD 173 volved in searching out words which accurately fit their thoughts. There are certain words which are invariably overworked, — awfully, fierce, fine, nice, gorgeous, good. It is words like these, — words of a very general character and scope, — which relieve the human mind of the neces- sity of thinking and of making careful discriminations. In conversation, perhaps, they do serve a purpose, when there is no time to think out just the word that is required. In formal writing, however, they indicate a slovenly method of composition, and they unquestionably detract from the clarity of the sentences. Some Threadbare Phrases. — There are certain phrases so worn by constant use that they have lost whatever picturesqueness they once possessed. Among some of the most overdone of these expressions are the following: Red-blooded youth Large and enthusiastic audience Pale as death Pronounced success Partook of Ught refreshments Festive board Rosy dawn 1009o American Dewy eve Paternal ancestor Point with pride Entered into rest Assembled multitude Made the supreme sacrifice To make the night hideous Father Time Downy couch Murmuring brook Briny deep Silvery stream Misguided youth Native element Equal to the occasion Retraced his steps View with regret The pale moon Contrast this conventional kind of writing with that of a man who seeks deliberately to make his words fresh and unspoiled. " A cornfield in July is a sultry place. The soil is hot and dry; the wind comes across the lazily murmuring leaves laden with a warm, sickening smell drawn from the rapidly growing, broad- flung banners of the corn. The sun, nearly vertical, drops a 174 THE WORD flood of dazzling light upon the field, over which the cool shad- ows run, only to make the heat seem the more intense." — Garland: Among the Corn-Rows. " He . . . used all the hair-oil he possessed upon his usually dry, sandy, and inextricably curly hair, till he had deepened it to a splendidly novel color, between that of guano and Roman cement, making it stick to his head like mace around a nutmeg, or wet seaweed round a boulder after the ebb." — Hardy: Far from the Madding Crowd. General and Specific Words. — There is a noticeable difference in Clearness between words which are general and words which are specific. Weapon, for instance, may apply to any number of objects of offense and defense, and there- fore has a wide scope of reference. Rifle, as a particular kind of weapon, is more limited in its application; while Winchester 30-30 repeater is altogether specific. Sound is a general and inexact term, for which, on occasion, numerous specific terms may be substituted; as, for example, clang, purr, rustle, roar, whistle, murmur, crash, ring, rattle, mutter, howl, wail. We say that a man walks along the street; but the action is far more precisely described if we say that he struts, or loiters, or rushes, or staggers, or strides. The Importance of Using Specific Words. — Both general and specific words are, of course, required in writing, and neither group could be discarded without irreparable disaster to the language. Much of our daily intercourse with our fellows is carried on in general terms, and without them it would be difficult to keep up any sustained communication with others. The constant use of general words, on the other hand, makes for vagueness and dullness. If one ex- pects to attain vividness in writing, he must rely on the specific word and phrase. Consider, for instance, the ef- fectiveness of the italicized words from the following: THE WORD 175 " He bolted out, vermin-like, from the long grass growing by a depression of the ground. I beUeve his house was rotting near by, though I've never seen it, not having been far enough in the direction. He ran towards me upon the path; his feet, shod in dirty white shoes, twinkled on the dark earth; he pulled himself up, and began to whine and cringe under a taU stove- pipe hat. His dried-wp little carcass was swallowed up, totally lost, in a suit of black broadcloth." — Conrad: Lord Jim. " Outside, nature, as it seemed, was trembling lightly in all its nerves, so that belated herons were disturbed from the freshly frozen pool, and on tardy wings swept away into the night and to the south; and a herd of wolves, trooping by the hut, passed from a short easy trot to a long, low gallop, devouring, yet fearful too." — Parker: Three Commandments in the Vulgar Tongue. Accuracy of Specific Words. — It is diflScult to present an accurate description without employing specific words. To say " I felt good this morning " is, after all, hardly a step in the analysis of emotion; but to use one of the ad- verbs, cheerful, jolly, mirthful, boisterous, exuberant, or elated is to sketch a more clear-cut picture. Consider, as another example, the possible variations offered by the word man. It may properly be applied to countless persons of the male sex, and affords no opportunity for precise differ- entiation. By contrast, let us examine some illustrations of specific description of some one man: "A ahght wisp of a fellow." I — Sabatini : Scaramouche. "A sturdy youth with a red face and a little budding flaxen moustache." — Philpotts: The Three Brothers. " An ebon pillar of tradition seemed he, in his garb of old- fashioned cleric." — Beerbohm: Zuleika Dobson. 176 THE WORD "There was a man named Bronckhorst — a three-cornered, middle-aged man in the army — gray as a badger, and, some people said, with a touch of comitry-blood in him." — Kiphng: The Bronckhorst Divorce Case. The Specific Word as a Help to Style, — The more willing and eager a writer is to make the quest for the precise word, the more distinguished will be his style. So rich is our language in words, so well-supplied with specific terms, that no one need be balked in his hunt for just the shade of meaning he desires to put on paper. In the two cases of Stevenson and Kipling, it was their marvellous mastery of words which first aroused the admiration of the public. Notice the character of the description in the following "A tanned and sallow autumn landscape, with black blots of fir-wood and white roads wandering through the hills." — Stevenson: Travels with a Donkey. " The dense wet heat that hung over the face of the land, like a blanket, prevented all hope of sleep in the first instance. The cicalas helped the heat; and the yelling jackals the cicalas. It was impossible to sit stUl in the dark, empty, echoing house and watch the punkah beat the dead air." — Kiphng: The City of Dreadful Night. EXERCISE Name as many specific words as possible to replace the following general words: dog building hotel servant tree mountain room book fish FORCE The Weakness of Superfluous Words, — Nothing detracts more from the force of a sentence than the use of an ex- cessive number of words to express an idea. Conciseness, THE WORD 177 directness, and brevity are always effective in driving a point home to any reader or hearer. Some people, how- ever, are garrulous, or talkative, by nature, and cannot restrain themselves from what we call verbosity, — a superfluity of words in the sentence or paragraph. Other varieties of the same fault are tautology, — the repeating of a thought; redundancy, — the use of needless words and phrases; prolixity, — the quality of being excessively minute in details; and diffuseness, — the unnecessary am- plification of an idea or subject. But, however defined or named, the character of the fault is the same in each in- stance, and the only cure lies in removing without mercy all superfluous elements. Examples The occasion on which we have this afternoon assembled is utterly and entirely unique. (In this sentence the meaning of the word unique is not understood by the writer. It is a word which cannot be compared and which represents an absolute quality without the assistance of strong adverbs like utterly and entirely.) Boswell's Life of Johnson is one of the most famous and best- known biographies in the world. (This is an example of tautology, the word best-knovm being superfluous.) After lying all night speechless, silent, and unconscious, the victim slipped quietly and noiselessly into that bourne from which no traveler returns. (This is verbosity. The sentence may be improved by the omission of the many superfluous words.) Simplicity as an' Aid to Force. — Simplicity and natural- ness in the choice of words are always more foroeful 178 THE WORD than affectation or fine writing. Many young writers like to " show off " on paper, by adopting a pompous or grandiloquent style, unfitted to the subject. The English of the King James Version of the Bible is an illustration of the force of simplicity: " In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Nothing could be less pretentious and yet more effective than this simple phraseology, unadorned by adjectival modifiers. The student should remember that it is not the noisy or the bombastic man that makes the deepest impres- sion. Just as in public speaking the orator with the quiet earnest manner can move all hearts, so in writing the direct style of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is more moving than the ornate periods of the other speaker with Lincoln on the same day, Edward Everett. BEAUTY The Connotation of Words. — Every word, especially every noun and adjective, has a definite denotation, calling to mind the object or person to which it directly refers. This meaning is limited in scope. The word table, for instance, brings up an image of a piece of furniture with four legs, intended to support some object or objects. Deno- tation is merely, then, what the word literally means. Connotation, on the other hand, is the power the word has to arouse associated ideas. There are some words which have a significance of the most romantic kind, — such words as desert or pirate or lonely. Such words, rich in connotative force, are always effective in producing Beauty of style. THE WORD 179 The Power of Association. — Some years ago a group of critics were asked to select from English poetry the passages which to them had the most magical touches. Among the five selections upon which all agreed was the following: " Perhaps the self -same song that found a path Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home, She stood in tears amid the ahen com; The same that oft-times hath Charmed magic casements, opening on the foam Of perilous seas in faery lands forlorn." — Keats: Ode to a Nightingale. It is difficult to emphasize too strongly the effect of words like magic casements, perilous seas, and faery lands forlorn, with their rich connotations, in producing the magical effect desired. The same may be said of certain stanzas in Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, among them the following: "The Sun's rim dips; the stars rush out: At one stride comes the dark; With far-heard whisper, o'er the sea, Off shot the spectre-bark." Here almost every important word brings some weird or mysterious impression to the mind of the reader. The student will profit by seeing which words in the following group have a really interesting connotation for him: gloomy tropical bhzzard alluring arctic knight desolate purple tourney ghost sultry mariner galleon oasis tomb Figurative Language. — With connotative words belong figurative expressions of every kind, for both contribute 180 THE WORD to Beauty of style. We have already in a previous chapter discussed the figures of speech and given examples of the most important. Every really attractive style, however, is filled with words which, while not exactly meeting the full requirements of any given figure of speech, are, nevertheless, full of allusion, sometimes hinting at a comparison, sometimes faintly veiling a contrast. Formal and elaborate similes or metaphors are out of place in such prose, but the figurative word, if properly selected and used, will always make for Beauty. The effect of such words can best be shown by some passages from modern authors : " A great dark cloud mth an untidy edge rose massively out of the depths and curtained off the tender blue of approaching dusk." — Bennett: The Old Wives' Tale. "The river had stolen from the higher tracts and brought in particles to the vale all this horizontal land; and now, exhausted, aged, and attenuated, lay serpentining along through the midst of its former spoils." — Hardy: Tess of the D'Urbervilles. " The clear fresh water, burnished with sunrise, sparkled against his arrowy prow; the soft deep shadows curled smiling away from his gliding keel. Overhead soUtary morning unfolded itself, from blossom to bud, from bud to flower." — Meredith: The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. "The river betrayed itself only when the swift current of a ripple broke through the white surface in long, irregular, grayish blurs." — Howells: A Modern Instance. Euphony. — Not merely the connotation and the mean- ing of words is helpful to Beauty; the sound of words is also one of the significant elements of style. In poetry the device of onomatopoeia, — the adaptation of sound to THE WORD 181 sense, — is frequently employed, as in Tennyson's famous lines, " The moan of doves in immemorial elms, And murmuring of innumerable bees." In prose this is naturally less often used, but the skillful writer takes good care not to offend the ear by any weak repetition of sound or by any discordant phrase. The sentence, "He did not care to be seen on the scene," illustrates the danger of repetition of sound. General Suggestions Regarding the Choice of Words. — Finally, if we wish to master in any degree the secret of correct and effective writing, we must devote care and time to the study of words. In reading, we should never let an unfamiliar word slip by without looking it up in a dictionary to ascertain its precise meaning. The study of synonyms, — that is, of words of the same approximate meaning, like annoy and irritate, — and of antonyms, — that is, of words of almost precisely the opposite meaning, like pull and push, — is of great value in building up a vocabulary. EXERCISE Give as many synonyms as possible for each of the following: calm restrain foUy brave gratify level interesting agree inquisitive culpable catch alliance generous try credible indolent beg dangerous industrious excuse hint The History of Words. — George Herbert Palmer has recommended to apprentice writers the adoption of two new words a week, and the practice is one which is bound 182 THE WORD to be helpful, especially if, in each case, the origin and development of the words are investigated. It will be ex- ceedingly profitable, for instance, to search out in a dic- tionary, or in any available source, the history of the following words: soliloquy pagan bedlam curfew candidate suicide erring linguistic dogmatic pastor orthodox ineffable plebeian optimistic raglan ostracize potential brougham mentor mackintosh mob cadaverous aristocracy boycott biscuit capricious occasional meander umbrage community abominable blackguard hyacinth poet monologue sandwich incandescent infant derby tantalize perennial stoical echo mercurial sacrilegious The Use of Words. — Having once learned the mean- ings of words, we are then wise if we improve every opportunity to use them in our speech and writing. Not long ago a distinguished American statesman employed, in one of his addresses, the word fructify, an unusual word not often heard on the public platform; but he introduced it with such skill that it completely illuminated the idea which he was expounding, and aroused favorable comment from even the hardened reporters in the front row. A great headmaster of an American school was in the habit of translating a passage from Caesar's Commentaries " how the battle eventuated " ; and there are many of his pupils living who have never forgotten the lesson in ac- curacy taught them by their teacher's insistence on exactly the right word. It is this hunt for the correct, the in- THE WORD 183 evitable, word which makes the difference between fair writing and good writing. For every idea there is a suitable word or phrase, for which we, as ambitious writers, must search. The path to success in writing is no flowery road ; it is filled with pitfalls and there are many temptations to leave it for a smoother route; but, followed to the end, it yields a rich reward. CHAPTER IX STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARAGRAPH Definition of the Paragraph. — A paragraph is a sen- tence or a group of sentences dealing with a single topic. In its characteristic and far more frequent form it is a group of sentences which develop a topic. The paragraph may, and often does, stand quite alone, being a complete composition in itself, as in a brief editorial, a compressed book review, a short letter, a one-page theme, or even, as in the following example, a brief address: Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedi- cate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, hving and dead, who strug- gled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion, — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, — that this nation, under God, shall have 184 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 185 a new birth of freedom, — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. — Abraham Lincoln: Gettysburg Address. A paragraph may be also an integral part of a longer composition. But whether the developing type of paragraph is entirely isolated or constitutes one of the steps in the progression of a larger thought, it is, in effect, a short composition, and is therefore governed by the same laws of structure that control the whole composition. It must be perfectly clear and sufficiently forceful, and, if the nature of the subject matter permits, may well possess some qualities of Beauty. Within its narrower scope, the principles which we have previously discussed, of limitation, selection, arrangement, the use of connectives, and adequate development, apply to it as strictly and as definitely as they apply to a book or a theme. In the whole composition the main steps by which the central idea is built up and carried forward to a conclusion are the paragraphs; in the paragraph the main steps are the sentences. In order that the paragraph in its entirety may be clear, the relation of these component sentences to one another and to the topic must be clear also. Sentences expressing ideas not bearing on the central thought, or sentences badly arranged and poorly connected with each other, impair the purpose which the writer has in view. The following selection from Macaulay's History of England exemplifies in its application to a single paragraph every principle of structure that is considered in Chapter II in connection with the whole composition: It was by the highways that both travelers and goods gener- ally passed from place to place; and those highways appear to have been far worse than might have been expected from the degree of wealth and civilization which the nation had even then attained. On the best lines of communication the ruts 186 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH were deep, the descents precipitous, and the way often such as it was hardly possible to distinguish, in the dusk, from the un- enclosed heath and fen which lay on both sides. Ralph Thoresby, the antiquary, was in danger of losing his way on the great North road, between Barnby Moor and Tuxford, and actually lost his way between Doncaster and York. Pepys and his wife, traveling in their own coach, lost their way between Newberry and Reading. In the course of the same tour they lost their way near Salisbury, and were in danger of having to pass the night on the plain. It was only in fine weather that the whole breadth of the road was available for wheeled vehicles. Often the mud lay deep on the right and the left; and only a narrow track of firm ground rose above the quagmire. At such times obstructions and quarrels were frequent, and the path was some- times blocked up during a long time by carriers, neither of whom would break the way. It happened almost every day that coaches stuck fast, until a team of cattle could be procured from some neighboring farm to tug them out of the slough. But in bad seasons the traveler had to encounter inconveniences still more serious. Thoresby, who was in the habit of traveling between Leeds and the capital, has recorded in his Diary such a series of perils and disasters as might suffice for a journey to the Frozen Ocean or to the Desert of Sahara. On one occa- sion he learned that the floods were out between Ware and London, that passengers had to swim for their fives, and that a higgler had perished in the attempt to cross. In consequence of these tidings he turned out of the highroad, and was con- ducted across some meadows, where it was necessary for him to ride to the saddle skirts in water. In the course of another journey he narrowly escaped being swept away by the inundation of the Trent. He was afterward detained at Stamford four days, on account of the state of the roads, and then ventured to proceed only because fourteen members of the House of Commons, who were going up in a body to Parliament with guides and numerous attendants, took hiin into their company. On the roads of Derbyshire, travelers were in constant fear of their necks, and were frequently compelled to alight and lead their beasts. The great route through Wales to Holyhead was in such a state that, in 1685, a viceroy, going to Ireland, was five hours in traveling fourteen miles, from Saint Asaph to Conway. Between Conway and Beaumaris he was forced to STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 187 walk a great part of the way; and his lady was carried in a litter. His coach was, with much difficulty, and by the help of many hands, brought after him entire. In general, carriages were taken to pieces at Conway, and borne, on the shoulders of stout Welsh peasants, to the Menai Straits. In some parts of Kent and Sussex none but the strongest horses could, in winter, get through the bog, in which, at every step, they sank deep. The markets were often inaccessible during several months. It is said that the fruits of the earth were sometimes suffered to rot in one place, while in another, distant only a few miles, the supply fell short of the demand. The wheeled carriages were, in this district, generally pulled by oxen. When Prince George of Denmark visited the stately mansion of Petworth in wet weather, he was six hours in going nine miles; and it was neces- sary that a body of sturdy hinds should be on each side of his coach, in order to prop it. Of the carriages which conveyed his retinue, several were upset and injured. A letter from one of the party has been preserved, in which the unfortunate courtier complains that, during fourteen hours, he never once alighted, except when his coach was overturned or stuck fast in the mud. The Content. — In this long paragraph the content is perfectly clear. The first reason why it is clear is evi- dently that the author has very definitely limited the topic to the badness of the roads in Great Britain in 1685. This limitation once determined, nothing has been admitted into the paragraph which does not aid, directly or in- directly, in developing the topic. A large number of de- tails has been included, but it is easy to imagine, on the other hand, a large number that has been excluded. Those that have been chosen have each a striking effect in helping to make clear the central thought. Each is significant. None is really superfluous in connection with the author's design. The Topic Sentence. — The limitation of the topic is definitely indicated to the reader, and no doubt was in- dicated to the writer, by a topic statement at the very 188 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH beginning, " and those highways appear to have oeen far worse than might have been expected from the degree of wealth and civilization which the nation had even then attained." Such topic statements may be made in a part of a sentence or in a separate sentence, or they may not be made at all. Some writers use them very freely; some, much less freely. The need or desirability of using them varies with the character and diflBculty of the subject matter. They are often a great aid to Clearness and Force in Exposition and Argument, and even in Description they help in centering attention on the picture which the writer desires to present to the reader's imagination. They are at their best when they represent the writer's instinctive effort to compress into concise form what he has appre- hended in an instant of clear seeing. They vary in char- acter: at times a topic sentence is a mere summary of the content of the details of the paragraph; again, it merely points to the central idea that the writer wishes to present to the reader in the paragraph. The best position for the topic sentence is at the beginning or at the end of the para- graph, though it is frequently found within the context. Narrative paragraphs, because of the looser character in general of their content, cannot be so easily summed up in a single sentence. Arrangement of the Sentences. — It will probably require more than a casual glance at the paragraph just quoted to discover how carefully the sentences . have been arranged with reference to some principle of order. Though the arrangement is not rigid, it is perfectly definite and con- sistent. Sentences and groups of sentences progress from the introductory statements through the divisions, " the undistinguishable ways," " mud," " floods," "slowness of travel," " expedients resorted to for overcoming the diffi- culties," to the last detail, the experience of Prince George STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 189 of Denmark's party, which reminds us of not one, but several, of the obstructions already described. And even within these distinct groups of sentences a clear order is observed in passing from one to another, as in the sub- division on the slowness of travel. This principle of ar- rangement, so clearly displayed in this long paragraph, is equally applicable in practice to all paragraphs, even if they consist of only two or three sentences. Whatever the basis of arrangement may be, — chronological, from left to right, from top to bottom, from striking details to less striking details, from the familiar to the unfamiliar, from what is granted to what is not granted, — it must, at all events, be logical, and should be carefully kept in mind from the beginning of the paragraph to the end. The Use of Connectives. — Besides arranging his ma- terial in accordance with a definite and consistent scheme, Macaulay has used connective devices freely. Sometimes, as in the case of the sixth and the seventh sentences, no connective words or phrases are necessary; but more fre- quently they strengthen the connection, and in such cases are employed with considerable variety, as the necessity appears, comprising the single word but, used to denote contrast, such phrases as at such times, in consequence of these tidings, the personal pronoun he referring to Thoresby, and even the complete transitional sentence, " But in bad seasons the traveler had to encounter incon- veniences still more serious." With this example in view as a suggestion, we may) summarize the most important connective devices which may be employed to secure close connection between the sentences in a paragraph: 1. The simple coordinating conjunctions, and, but, or, nor, neither, and for. {Either is used only correlatively with or and joins, not sentences, but parts of one sentence.) These simple conjunctions always stand at the beginning of the sentence. 190 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 2. Coordinating conjunctive adverbs, such as however, more- over, therefore, consequently, and many others. These may stand at the very beginning of the sentence or, if it is desirable for other reasons to place them less prominently, within the context. 3. Personal and demonstrative pronouns and pronominal adjectives, such as he, they, that, those, and so on. These may stand either at the very beginning of the sentence or within the context. 4. The same noxm repeated, as, for example, the noun way, used in three consecutive sentences in Macaulay's paragraph. Repetition may be used not merely because it is difficult to find pronouns to refer to preceding nouns without ambiguity, but with definite intent, for the reason that sheer repetition serves to keep the thought before the reader, on the principle that the repeated words and phrases form a sort of common bond between the sentences. This device is to be used with caution. 5. Phrases containing reference words; as, for these reasom, after this long delay. 6. Clauses containing reference words; as, When this resvlt had been satisfactorily accomplished, or Odious as the law was, it was administered with a rigor that extracted the last resources of cruelty from it, or (a coordinate clause) Cruelty, however, was not this man's only passion: he loved money, and used the most unscrupulous means to secure it. 7. Similarity of sentence form and sentence cadence. Repeti- tion of sentence forms, like repetition of specific words and phrases, is a kind of connective device. It is neither so obvious nor so fre- quently employed as the other devices, and is likely to be a matter of instinctive feeling rather than of conscious adherence to a rhetorical principle. Full Development Necessary to Clearness. — Apart from considerations of mere relationship between the component parts, that is, the sentences, of a paragraph, full develop- ment of the idea is essential to Clearness. It is necessary to include, not only relevant and important details, but enough of such details to " cover the ground." Three or four essential details may accomplish the purpose as far as they go, and yet leave unsaid much that ought STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 191 to be said. Fullness is, of course, a relative and flexible term; the paragraph we are examining is very full, though not more full than many paragraphs in whole books ; other paragraphs, in shorter compositions or dealing with simpler subject matter, may well be much shorter without sacrifice of completeness. Force in Paragraphs Aided by Selection. — The para- graph on bad roads is very vivid and impressive; it is an excellent specimen of vigorous writing. Its vigor is the result, in no small degree, of the striking details that have been selected for presentation. Not one of them is uninteresting or trivial; every one of them holds the reader's attention and helps to impress the main idea upon his mind. Take two sentences at random for an illustration: " It was only in fine weather that the whole breadth of the road was available for wheeled vehicles. Often the mud lay deep on the right and the left; and only a narrow track of firm ground rose above the quagmire." These, like other details elsewhere in the paragraph, are in themselves so striking that they serve to make a strong impression. Force in Paragraphs Aided by Arrangement. — The position of the sentences in the paragraph has a great deal to do with the force of the impression which they convey. The position of the topic statement at the very beginning, as in the case of the clause, " and those highways appeaj to have been far worse than might have been expected from the degree of wealth and civilization which the nation had even then attained," is a very substantial assistance to the writer's purpose of impressing his main idea upon his reader. An even more emphatic position is at the very end : here a strong detail, a sentence, or a group of sentences reminding the reader directly or indirectly of the thought of the paragraph may be very effective. Two or three 192 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH sentences of this sort close Macaulay's treatment of the topic. Between the two positions already mentioned there is very often a sequence from the less important to the more important. In one place, for example, well along toward the end of his paragraph, Macaulay says, " But in bad seasons the traveler had to encounter difficulties still more serious." A description of these difficulties follows. Force in Paragraphs Aided by Proportional Develop- ment. — In the paragraph on bad roads Macaulay de- votes roughly about twice as much space to the serious difficulties of travel as to those which he regards as less serious. In a short paragraph there is not much oppor- tunity for the proportional development of details; the writer would have to measure his space with the greatest nicety in order to judge of the advantage of two or three sentences over one. And too careful a consideration of this principle might descend to a merely mechanical opera- tion which would restrict rather than assist the writer. Nevertheless, in paragraphs of considerable length, such as the student may from time to time be called upon to write, proportional development undoubtedly has a place. For example, if two contrasting ideas or an illustration and its concrete application should be presented in the same paragraph, insufi^cient or excessive treatment of either one might result in weakness. If this principle is made one's guide instead of one's master, it will be productive of very satisfactory results. Force Aided by Repetition. — Sustained repetition of the idea in other words, as well as the mere repetition of the same word, will aid very materially in securing Force. If a thing said once is emphatic, a thing said several times becomes more emphatic, if it can be so skillfully repeated that the effect is not wearisome. The mere multi- plication of similar details, as in the paragraph before us, STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 193 is one type of this sort of repetition. Other types may consist in the actual restatement of the same idea in care- fully reworded phrases and sentences. Such repetition calls for skill and practice, but is by no means beyond the reach the student who is learning to write. Beauty in Relation to the Paragraph. — What has been said concerning Beauty as a structural principle in rela- tion to the whole composition need not be more fully treated or illustrated in this, discussion of the paragraph. Simplicity, directness, symmetry and balance, selection, — in fact, every means which secures the effect of Beauty of design, — are as proper and desirable in the smaller unit of thought-development as in the larger. THE PARAGRAPH IN RELATION TO THE WHOLE COMPOSITION Twofold Function of the Paragraph. — We have seen that the paragraph may be properly regarded as a rela- tively complete composition in itself and that, when so regarded, it is subject to the laws governing a whole com- position. But, like other organisms, it not only follows the laws of structure and life within itself, but must perform a definitely assigned task in connection with some object outside of itself. The paragraph on bad roads is but one of many that make up a long chapter on The State of England in 1685; it develops an important aspect of the subject, and could not be sacrificed without loss. Contri- bution to the development of a larger subject is the characteristic function of the paragraph, for, though com- pletely isolated paragraphs have their uses, they are not so common as contributing paragraphs. Related and Unrelated Paragraphs. — It is obvious that all paragraphs included in a properly organized compo- 194 STRUCTUEE OF THE PARAGRAPH sition are related to one another in greater or less degree; otherwise they would not appear in the composition at all. It is equally obvious that some are more closely related to one another than others. Some topics which constitute separate steps in the development of a larger subject could not under any conditions be combined in one paragraph; others might be combined or separated as the circum- stances required. The problem of separate or com- bined treatment of related paragraphs is one of the most difl&cult connected with sound paragraphing. The most casual consideration will in most cases be sufficient to show that two unrelated topics belong apart; but it requires some degree of discriminating judgment to determine whether related topics belong apart or together. In an- swering this question it is of the first importance to keep in mind that, in the whole composition, the paragraph is a group of sentences developing a topic that is not only single but important also, whether its importance be a matter of Clearness or of Force. Good paragraphing does not consist merely in setting off by indentation every separate or sharply defined division of the thought. Such procedure leads to overparagraphing and may be very bad indeed. Many sharply defined divisions of the thought are no more than mere subdivisions of more important and more in- clusive topics, and therefore should be included under those topics. If, however, they are of sufficient importance for separate treatment, or if, because of their difficulty or the amount of material they furnish, they require fuller de- velopment, they should be separated and marked off by indentation. The reason for so separating them does not lie in their being merely separate steps in the thought, but in their being separate and important steps. This twofold requirement is the key to the difficulty of para- graphing related topics. STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 195 But let us clarify these principles by applying them to particular cases. In the following summary of the plot of Shakspere's Richard III, each paragraph gives the substance of the action of a single act. Manifestly every paragraph is of the unrelated type; that is, no two of the paragraphs could properly be combined into one: I. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, resolves to obtain the crown of England, notwithstanding the fact that he is not in the direct line of succession. He aims a secret blow against his brother Clarence, who is involved by him in a quarrel with their brother King Edward IV, and immured in the Tower, where he is shortly afterwards murdered. Gloucester next seeks to strengthen his cause by suing for the hand of Lady Anne, which he wins in the very presence of the corpse of her father-in-law, Henry VI, dead at his hands, and despite the fact that her husband had also been slain by him. II. King Edward, in declining health, seeks to foster peace in his realm. He dies, and his young son Edward, Prince of Wales, is summoned to London to be crowned. Before he ar- rives, Gloucester, who is made lord protector, finds means to weaken the prince by imprisoning and afterwards executing three noblemen of the latter's party. III. Richard meets the prince and his younger brother in London, and under pretext of assigning them a lodging imprisons them in the Tower. Lord Hastings, a powerful nobleman, faith- ful to the royal line, is beheaded, also by Richard's orders. The Duke of Buckingham upholds Gloucester, and is largely instru- ment.al in obtaining for him the coveted crown. IV. Buckingham, however, hesitates when the new King, Richard III, desires at his hands the hves of the two princes; and he is further disaffected by the king's refusal to grant him a certain earldom previously promised as a reward for his sup- port. He accordingly forsakes Richard and seeks to unite his strength with that of Henry, Earl of Richmond, who is taking up arms against the usurping monarch. Buckingham is taken prisoner and soon afterwards put to death. The two boy princes are assassinated in the Tower; and Queen Anne is secretly put to death in order to leave Richard free for an alliance with the heiress of York, Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV, for whose hand he sues to her mother. 196 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH V. In the meantime Richmond has invaded England and encounters Richard's forces at Bosworth Field in Leicestershire. The king, though disquieted on the preceding night by visions of his many slain victims, fights desperately; but his forces are defeated and he himself is slain by Richmond. The victor is recognized as King Henry VII, and by marriage with EUzabeth of York brings to a close the long contention between the rival houses of York and Lancaster. — McSpadden: Shakespearian Synopses. In the foregoing selection, the problem of paragraphing is very simple. In the following, however, it is more complex on account of the presence of both related and unrelated topics: 1. In the course of a December tour in Yorkshire, I rode for a long distance in one of the pubhc coaches on the day preceding Christmas. The coach was crowded both inside and out with passengers who, by their talk, seemed principally bound to the mansions of relations or friends to eat the Christmas dinner. It was loaded also with hampers of game and baskets and boxes of delicacies; and hares hung danghng their long ears about the coachman's box, presents from distant friends for the impending feast. I had three fine rosy-cheeked boys for my fellow-passengers inside, full of buxom health and manly spirit which I have observed in the children of this country. "They were returning home for the hoUdays in high glee, and promising themselves a world of enjoyment. It was delightful to hear the gigantic plans of the little rogues and the impracticable feats they were to perform during their six weeks' emancipation from the abhorred thraldom of book, birch, and pedagogue. They were full of anticipations of the meeting with the family and household, down to the very cat and dog; and of the joy they were to give their little sisters by the presents with which their pockets were crammed; but the meeting to which they seemed to look forward with the greatest impatience was with Bantam, which I found to be a pony, and according to their talk pos- sessed of more virtues than any steed since the days of Buceph- alus. How he could trot! how he could run! and then such leaps as he would take — there was not a hedge in the whole country that he could not clear. STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 197 2. They were under the particular guardianship of the coach- man, to whom whenever an opportunity presented they addressed a host of questions, and pronounced him one of the best fellows in the world. Indeed, I could not but notice the more than ordinary air of bustle and importance of the coachman, who wore his hat a little on one side, and had a large bunch of Christmas greens stuck in the buttonhole of his coat. He is always a personage full of mighty care and business, but he is particularly so during this season, having so many commissions to execute in consequence of the great interchange of presents. And here, perhaps, it may not be unacceptable to my imtraveled readers to have a sketch that may serve as a general representa- tion of this very numerous and important class of functionaries, who have a dress, a manner, a language, and air, peculiar to themselves, and prevalent throughout the fraternity; so thai wherever an English stage coachman may be seen, he caimot be mistaken for one of any other craft or mystery. 3. He has commonly a broad, full face, curiously mottled with red, as if the blood had been forced by hard feeding into every vessel of the skin; he is swelled into jolly dimensions by frequent potations of malt liquors, and his bulk is still further increased . by a multiplicity of coats, in which he is buried like a cauli- flower, the upper one reaching to his heels. He wears a broad- brimmed, low-crowned hat; a huge roll of colored handkerchief about his neck, knowingly knotted and tucked in at the bosom; and has in summer time a large bouquet of flowers in his button- hole — the present, most probably, of some enamored country lass. His waistcoat is commonly of some bright color, striped, and his small clothes extend far below the knees to meet a pair of jockey boots which reach about halfway up his legs. 4. All this costume is maintained with much precision; he has a pride in having his clothes of excellent materials; and notwithstanding the seeming grossness of his appearance, there is still discernible that neatness and propriety of person which is almost inherent in an Englishman. He enjoys great conse- quence and consideration along the road; has frequent con- ferences with the village housewives, who look upon him as a man of great trust and dependence; and he seems to have a good understanding with every bright-eyed country lass. The moment he arrives where the horses are to be changed, he throws down the reins with something of an air and abandons the cattle to the care of a hostler, his duty being merely to drive from 198 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH one stage to another. When off the box his hands are thrust into the pockets of his greatcoat, and he rolls about the inn yard with an air of the most absolute lordhness. Here he is generally surrounded by an admiring throng of hostlers, stableboys, shoe- blacks, and those nameless hangers-on that infest inns and taverns and run errands and do all kinds of odd jobs for the privilege of battening on the drippings of the kitchen and the leakage of the taproom. These all look up to him as to an oracle, treasure up his cant phrases, echo his opinions about horses and other topics of jockey lore, and above all endeavor to imitate his air and carriage. Every ragamuffin that has a coat to his back thrusts his hands in the pocket, roUs in his gait, talks slang, and is an embryo " coachey." 5. Perhaps it may be owing to the pleasing serenity that reigned in my own mind that I fancied I saw cheerfulness in every countenance throughout the journey. A stage coach, how- ever, carries animation always with it, and puts the world in motion as it whirls along. The horn sounded at the entrance of a village produces a general bustle. Some hasten forth to meet friends; some with bundles and bandboxes to secure places and in the hurry of the moment can hardly take leave of the group that accompanies them. In the meantime the coachman- has a world of small commissions to execute. Sometimes he deUvers a hare or pheasant; sometimes jerks a small parcel or newspaper to the door of a pubUc house; and sometimes, with knowing leer and words of sly import, hands to some half- blushing, half-laughing housemaid an odd-shaped billet-doux from some rustic admirer. As the coach rattles through the village every one runs to the window, and you have glances on every side of fresh country faces and blooming, giggling girls. At the corners are assembled juntos of village idlers and wise men, who take their stations there for the important purpose of seeing company pass; but the sagest knot is generally at the blacksmith's, to whom the passing of the coach is an event fruitful of much speculation. The smith, with the horse's heel in his lap, pauses as the vehicle whirls by; the cyclops around the anvil suspend their ringing hammers and suffer the iron to grow cool; and the sooty specter in brown paper cap, labor- ing at the bellows, leans on the handle for a moment and permits the asthmatic engine to heave a long-drawn sigh, while he glares through the murky smoke and sulphurous gleams of the smithy. — Washmgton Irving: The Sketch Book. STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 199 The first paragraph of this section describes chiefly the schoolboys, who are among the passengers on the coach. Paragraphs two, three, and four describe a typical coach- man. Paragraph five develops the topic stated in the sen- tence, " A stage coach, however, carries animation always with it, and puts the world in motion as it whirls along." Paragraphs one and five are of the unrelated type; that is, the topics which they develop are so clearly distinct from the others that they ought not to be combined. Para- graphs two, three, and four, on the other hand, are of the related type: together they describe one person, the typical stage coachman. Paragraph two presents a few general details about him; paragraph three pictures his personal appearance and dress; paragraph four gives an impression of his personality and behavior. These three aspects of the man, since they are all so closely related to one topic, might, under certain conditions, have been treated in a single paragraph ; Irving has quite properly treated them in three. What, then, are the considerations which determine whether such closely related subdivisions had better be com- bined or separately treated? We cannot frame any rigid rule to guide us, for paragraphing is not subject to rigid rules ; but we can derive a principle that is almost as sure a guide as a hard and fast rule would be. If Irving had had much less detail to present in each subdivision, so that the whole description of the coachman might have been about as long as one of the adjacent paragraphs, he might well have presented it in a single paragraph. But if he had put all that he has said into a single paragraph, that paragraph, measured by the scale of the others, would have been too long and, moreover, would probably have imposed too great a strain on the reader's attention. If, on the other hand, he had written a group of only two or three sentences on each subdivision, each group would have been too short for a paragraph. 200 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH Before attempting to see more clearly why the de- scription of the coachman is well paragraphed, let us re- mind ourselves again that, in general, a good paragraph develops a single and important topic, or division of the subject matter of the whole composition. If the descrip- tion were writtein in one paragraph, the paragraph would be too long, not only because it would be out of proportion to the others, and might, moreover, tax the reader's atten- tion unnecessarily, but also because it would develop, not a single important division, but three important divisions of the subject. If, however, much less detail were given under each topic, whether because the subject did not furnish more or because the importance of the topic did not require more, then all three topics ought to be combined under some such larger heading as " A Description of the Stage Coachman." They ought to be so combined for the reason that, if each stood as a separate paragraph, the, paragraphs would be too short; each would deal with a topic which, though single, would not be sufficiently impor- tant to be set off by indentation. Only two of the methods considered, then, are good; the compressed treatment of the related topics in one paragraph and the expanded treat- ment in three paragraphs. For this particular description, with its full detail, the last method is the best. The Principle of Related Paragraphs Definitely Stated. — From this conclusion we may derive a general principle which, though usage in this matter is by no means exactly standardized, will be found applicable to most cases that may occur: Two or more related topics should be combined in one paragraph if they are comparatively unimportant or furnish comparatively little material; they should be separated and developed if they are important or furnish sufficient material for a full paragraph. Just how long a full paragraph should be is again a matter of comparison. STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 201 The paragraph from Macaulay's History, which is made up of several related subdivisions, is as long in itself as the average weekly theme; but it is part of a long chapter, which, in turn, is part of a long book. The scale of the whole is much larger than that which guides the student in any of his work. If each of the six or seven sub- divisions were set off by indentation, the result would be overparagraphing. Similarly, in a student's composition, a related paragraph of two or three sentences detached from one or ten or twelve on the same general topic is probably too short, and, if it does not warrant fuller development, had better be combined with the longer paragraph. In general, separate treatment of related topics demands full treatment. It should be noted, however, as an excep- tion, that, for the sake of greater Clearness or Force, related subdivisions ma,y be separately indented. Compare the paragraphing in the following selections: 1. The American Federation of Labor expects governments — national, state, and local — to adopt every measure necessary to prevent unemployment. During the period of reconstruction every wage earner should be afforded the opportunity of suitable employment and an income and sustenance sufficient to enable him, without the labor of mother and children, to maintain him- self and family in health and comfort and to provide a compe- tence for old age with ample provision for recreation anl good citizenship. Governments should (1) prepare and inaugurate plans to build model homes for the wage earners; (2) establish a system of credits whereby the workers may borrow money for a long term of years at a low rate of interest to build their own homes; (3) encourage, protect, and extend credit to volun- tary, non-profit-making, and joint-tenancy associations; (4) exempt from taxation and grant other subsidies for houses con- structed for the occupancy of their owners; (5) relieve munic- ipalities from the restrictions preventing them from undertaking proper housing plans; (6) encourage and support the erection and maintenance of houses where workers may find lodging and nourishing food during the periods of unemployment. — Samuel Gompers : The Demands oj Labor. 202 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 2. To attain them the workers must be assured that they are guaranteed and encouraged in the exercise of their right to organize and associate with their fellow workmen in the trade unions and deal collectively with employers through such repre- sentation of their unions as they may choose, for their improved economic and industrial conditions and relations. Perhaps the following might be regarded as a summary of demands to be satisfied in the pending readjustment of condi- tions : No wage reduction. No lengthening of the working day. Opportunity for suitable, regular, remunerative employment. A workday of not more than eight hours; a work week of not more than five and a half days. Protection for women and children from overwork, under-pay, and unsuitable employment. Increased opportunity for both education and play for children. The elimination of private monopolies, and protection from the extortions of profiteers. The final disposition of the railroads, telegraph, telephone, and cable systems to be determined by the consideration of the rights and interests of the whole people, rather than the special privi- leges and interests of a few. Comfortable, sanitary homes and wholesome environment, rather than elaborate improvements of no special benefit to the masses of the people. Heavier taxation of idle lands, to the end that they may be used for the public good. A government made more responsive to the demands of justice and the common good by the adoption of initiative and referen- dum measures. In a word, any and all measures shall be taken tending toward constant growth and development of the economic, industrial, political, social, and humane conditions for the toilers, to make hfe the better worth living, to develop all that is best in the human being, and to make for the whole people a structure wherein each will vie with the other in the establishment of the highest and best concepts and ideals of the human family. — Samuel Gompers: The Demands oj Labor. STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 203 When two or more related topics are designated by one topic sentence, the topic sentence may be included as a part of the first. / wUl admit that a very good case can be made out in javor of some other objects of natural affection. For example, a fair apology has been offered by those ambitious persons who have fallen in love with the sea. But, after all, this is a formless and disquieting passion. It lacks solid comfort and mutual con- fidence. The sea is too big for loving, and too uncertain. It will not fit into our thoughts. It has no personality because it has so many. It is a salt abstraction. You might as well think of loving a ghttering generality like " the American woman." One would be more to the purpose. Mountains are more satisfying because they are more indi- vidual. It is possible to feel a very strong attachment for a certain range whose outline has grown famiUar to our eyes, or a clear peak that has looked down, day after day, upon our joys and sorrows, moderating our passions with its calm aspect. . . . Trees seem to come closer to our life. They are often rooted in our deepest feelings, and our sweetest memories, like birds, build nests in their branches. . . . — Henry Van Dyke: Little Rivers. Types of Related and Unrelated Topics. — Though the writer must exercise his own judgment in every particular case to determine which topics are related and which un- related, he will be assisted by the knowledge that certain types are usually related and others unrelated. For ex- ample, a general idea and a concrete illustration are related ideas, and may be treated together or apart according as the treatment is compressed or expanded. The same is true of two ideas which are compared or contrasted, or of a cause and its effect. On the other hand, paragraphs of introduction, transition, and conclusion are usually un- related in respect to any of the paragraphs that develop the body of the composition, and should be separately in- 204 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH dented. Usage differs, however, in respect to short intro- ductory and concluding statements touching the subject matter of the whole composition. Some writers separate them; others incorporate them in paragraphs dealing with the first or last steps in the development of the subject. First and Last Paragraphs. — Students are sometimes taught that every composition should contain an intro- duction and a conclusion. This is by no means the case. A large number of short compositions, and even long ones, do not require any formal introductions or conclusions at all; they simply begin with the first paragraph and end with the last. Of course these paragraphs should be skillfully written so as to attract attention at the be- ginning to what the writer has to say or to emphasize it at the end ; often such paragraphs call for greater skill than some stereotyped introductions a'nd conclusions. Many good novels and short stories begin and end with dialogue, often with a single effective speech. A simple explanation or argument may begin with the first important integral step in the presentation of the matter in hand. There is a difference between such beginnings and endings and formal introductions and conclusions. The purpose of an introduction is to introduce, and of a conclusion to conclude. A formal introduction may vary in character. It may give the necessary history on which a narrative is based; it may tell the reader why the writer was moved to write on the subject at all; it may state beforehand an idea to be elucidated or a case to be proved. If it does any of these things, or things like them, because it needs to do them, it serves a genuine purpose and has a deserved place in the composition. Otherwise it is wholly su- perfluous and should be discarded. Similarly, a formal conclusion may, among other things, summarize or reemphasize the central- idea that has already been pre- STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 205 sented in detail. The essential character of the introduc- tion or the conclusion is to be found in the fact that each is concerned with some matter of the whole composition rather than with any detail, whereas a first or a last para- graph is concerned merely with an important detail. This distinction should be clearly understood, for habitual ad- diction to the mechanical and unnecessary writing of formal introductions and conclusions has proved the pitfall of many an earnest but untrained writer. The Paragraphing of Dialogue. — In general, in dia- logue each person's speech is set off in a separate para- graph, whether the speech be long or short. Besides the quoted speech, the dialogue paragraph may contain also such words as " he said," " she replied," and the like, and the author's narrative or descriptive comment on the accompanying action. If a speech occurs at the end of a paragraph of narrative or description, it may be sepa- rately indented. The captain's gaze became thoughtful. And now the con- fession was over, the iron-bound feeling of PoweU's throat passed away, giving place to a general anxiety which from his breast seemed to extend to all the hmbs and organs of his body. His legs trembled a little, his vision was confused, his mind became blankly expectant. But he was alert enough. At a movement of Anthony he screamed in a strangled whisper: " Don't, sir! Don't touch it." The captain pushed aside Powell's extended arm, took up the glass and raised it slowly against the lamplight. The hquid, of very pale amber colour, was clear, and by a glance the captain seemed to call PoweU's attention to the fact. Powell tried to pronounce the word, " dissolved," but he only thought of it with great energy which, however, failed to move his lips. Only when Anthony had put down the glass and turned to him he recovered such a complete command of his voice that he could keep it down to a hurried, forcible whisper — a whisper that shook him. "Doctored! I swear it! I have seen. Doctored! I have seen." 206 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH Not a feature of the captain's face moved. His was a calm to take one's breath away. It did so to young Powell. Then for the first time Anthony made himself heard to the point. "You did! . . . Who was it?" And Powell gasped freely at last. " A hand," he whispered fearfully, " a hand and the arm — only one arm — like that." He advanced his own, slow, stealthy, tremulous in faithful re- production, the tips of two fingers and the thumb pressed together and hovering above the glass for an instant — then the swift jerk back, after the deed. " Like that," he repeated growing excited. " From behind this." He grasped the curtain and glaring at the silent Anthony flung it back disclosing the forepart of the saloon. There was no one to be seen. — Joseph Conrad: Chance. If dialogue is merely a contributing detail of the de- velopment of a narrative, descriptive, expository, or argu- mentative topic, it is not separately indented; as in the following illustration: Other houses, as has been seen, provide good meals for their employees at cost price. This house, then, will provide excellent meals, free of charge ! It will install the most expensive kitchens and richly spacious restaurants. It will serve the dehcate repasts with dignity. "Does all this lessen the wages?" No, not in theory. But in practice, and whether the management wishes or not, it must come out of the wages. " Why do you do it? " you ask the departmental chief, who apparently gets far more fun out of the contemplation of these refectories than out of the contemplation of premiums received and claims paid. " It is better for the employees," he says. " But we do it because it is better for us. It pays us. Good food, physical comfort, agree- able environment, scientific ventilation — all these things pay us. We get results from them." He does not mention horses, but you feel that the comparison is with horses. A horse, or a clerk, or an artisan — it pays equally well to treat all of them well. This is one of the latest discoveries of economic science, a dis- covery not yet universally understood. — Arnold Bennett: Your United States. STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 207 Summary of the Chapter. — We have seen that para- graphs may be isolated, that is, complete in themselves, or contributing, that is, having each its share in the development of a larger subject. Whether a paragraph is isolated or contributing, it is, in effect, a short com- position in itself, and, as such, is subject to the structural laws governing a whole composition. Contributing para- graphs are of two general kinds, related and unrelated. The former must stand alone; the latter may or may not be combined. In general, they should be combined unless, by reason of their importance or the fullness of their detail, they require full development in accordance with the general scale of the composition. Introductory, transitional, and concluding paragraphs are of the un- related type; paragraphs containing comparisons, con- trasts, and illustrations are of the related type. Dialogue paragraphs follow a definite rule rather than the more flexible principles governing paragraphs of other types. EXERCISES I Develop any one of the following sentences into a composition of one paragraph: 1. The door of the inn opened suddenly, and a flying figure flashed forth, only to be swallowed in the surrounding darkness. 2. The house had all the pathos of a human habitation fallen into decay. 3. The crowded street brought home to me with painful force the age-old contrast between wealth and poverty. 4. " No man liveth unto himself alone." 5. " Loan oft loses both itself and friend." 208 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH II How have Clearness, Force, and Beauty been secured in the following paragraph? Comment specifically , on selection and arrangement of ideas and the use of connective devices: A public spirit so lofty is not confined to other ages and lands. You are conscious of its stirrings in your souls. It calls you to courageous service, and I am here to bid you obey the call. Such patriotism may be ours. Let it be your parting vow that it shall be yours. Bolingbroke described a patriot king in England; I can imagine a patriot president in America. I can see him indeed the choice of a party, and called to administer the government when sectional jealousy is fiercest and party passion most inflamed. I can imagine him seeing clearly what justice and humanity, the national law and the national welfare require him to do, and resolved to do it. I can imagine h\m patiently enduring not only the mad cry of party hate, the taunt of " recreant " and " traitor," of " renegade " and "coward," but what is harder to bear, the ama,zement, the doubt, the grief, the denunciation, of those as sincerely devoted as he to the common welfare. I can imagine him pushing firmly on, trusting the heart, the inteUigence, the conscience of his countrymen, healing angry wounds, correcting misunderstandings, planting justice on surer foundations, and, whether his party rise or fall, Ufting his country heavenward to a more perfect union, pros- perity, and peace. This is the spirit of a patriotism that girds the commonwealth with the resistless splendor of the moral law — the invulnerable panoply of States, the celestial secret of a great nation and a happy people. — George William Curtis: The Public Duty of Educated Men. Ill Paragraph the following selection. Does each paragraph in the revised form represent a separate and important division of the thought? Comment on the arrangement of ietails for Clearness and Force, and the use of connectives, within each paragraph. Point out the topic sentences: There are many reasons why I am opposed to the idea of a Woman's Party. In the first place, it is utterly impractical. STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 209 Women at present are the apprentices of politics. They have to learn all the tricks of the trade, all the rules of the game. Who is to teach them, except men? If women go off to play by themselves, they will accomplish nothing except mistakes; they will be like the reform party, which, through sheer ignorance and lack of experience, often throws away the fruits of the victory it has gained at the polls. Then, although a Woman's Party never could swing the women's vote in any one direction, it would be most undesirable that a Woman's Party should do such a thing. On all our most important issues men and women ought not to divide on sex lines. Even if the majority of women should be in favor of some specific piece of legislation, opposed by the majority of men, some men would be sure to agree with the women, and the two groups had better go together. Nothing would do more to develop sex antagonism — an antisuffrage bogy which hardly has shown its head in this country — than a Woman's Party, an organized militancy based on sex. It cannot be too strongly emphasized that women need to work with men. The defects of each group are offset by the good qualities of the other. I have spoken of the weaknesses of women, but men have theirs, too. If the leaders of women are so idealistic that in straining their eyes after lofty theories they stub their toes on lowly facts — on the other hand, men are too much bound by traditions and precedents, by humdrum materialism. Women can learn much from men in the technique of politics, in the devising of " court-proof " legislation, in making it effective after it is passed, in managing public finances. Women, never- theless, can do much, if they will, to counteract one of the worst defects in men's working out of our system of government — the omnipresent professional pohtician. From the days of Andrew Jackson we have left the running of our country largely in the hands of the professional politicians, men who went into pohtics to make a living or because they had an ax to grind. What we need, more than anyt,hing else, is the public-spirited citizen who will take the responsibility of watching the workings of government machinery between elections, the disinterested critic who is not an office seeker. As a class, the men best fitted for this role are far too busy to fill it. But I believe it can be filled most effectively by the public-spirited, intelligent, high-minded women who have the leisure and an enormous amount of unused energy. As a start to taking such a real part in politics, women should join one of the two big political parties, and join now. 210 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH They should have a share in making the next political platforms. The independent woman, the " mugwump," should not be deterred by the fact that neither party is precisely to her liking; there, again, the theoretical bent of her mind, her longing for a counsel of perfection, is hkely to mislead her. We all have to work with the tools provided for us. The thing to do is to pitch in and try to make the platform of the party we choose more truly representative of our opinions. — Helen Herron Taft: "Women in Politics: a Chance for a Broader Education." The Woman's Home Companion, April, 1920. IV Which paragraphs in the following selection are unrelated? Which are closely related? Have related topics which have been separately treated been developed with sufficient fullness in relation to the scale of the composition? The whaling steamer is a small but strongly built ship of from 80 to 90 feet in length. Its distinguishing marks are the crow's nest fitted up on the solitary mast and the harpoon gun in the bows. The harpoon, to which a rope is attached, is shot out from a small cannon fixed right up in the bows of the steamer. Coiled on a pan in the bows is about 40 fathoms of a specially strong and light rope — the foreganger. From this pan or plat- form the rope passes aft to a winch situated in front of the bridge. This winch is useful in hauUng in the whale when dead. Most of the whales captured at the Faroes are taken within the 100-fathom line, in less than a day's steaming from the islands. As soon as the steamer approaches the whaling-grounds, a man mounts into the crow's-nest and sweeps the sea in all directions with a pair of strong binoculars. The first sign is usually the spouting, when the cry of "Hval, hval," puts everyone on the qui vive. The captain, an expert whaler of wide experience in many seas, readily distinguishes the species by the form of the spout. The first school, a small group of sei whales, is passed contemptuously by, our captain explaining that, although he has shot thousands of whales, only three have been of this species. Soon his patience is rewarded, and toward midnight a solitary blue whale of enormous proportions is seen lazily disporting himself. Although there is no darkness in these latitudes at this time of the year, the captain, who is also a marksman, does STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 211 not care to risk a shot at so valuable an animal until the morn- ing is sufficiently advanced to make the shot a practical certainty. On this occasion his luck is in, and a heart-shot kiUs the leviathan with scarcely a quiver. The whale is now speedily hauled alongside, and the tail-flukes are cut off, in order to facilitate towing to the station. A steel tube is next stuck into the abdomen and air pumped in to keep the whale afloat, the orifice being stuffed with oakum when the tube is extracted. The harpoon is left in the carcass until the whale is on the flensing platform. With such a valuable catch the steamer makes off post-haste for the whaling-station. When a finner is killed, the steamer will frequently tow the body and kill another whale, and catches up to five finners are made by a steamer on a single cruise. As the steamer passes up the fiord to the station, the Faroe men get wind of the catch, and, as they are particularly fond of the flesh of the blue whale, they hurry along with their canoes for a supply of the meat, which is salted down in barrels for the winter. I found the fresh meat of the blue whale quite good, like tender beefsteak, but perceptibly sweeter. — J. Travers Jenkins: A Whale Hunt in the Faroes. Why is the second form of the following composition by a student better paragraphed than the first. In making your criticism, keep in mind the principles of related and unrelated topics and of proportional development. The Gallant Defender of the General Armstrong Samuel Chester Reid was born in Connecticut in 1783. His father was a naval officer. Samuel entered the navy at eleven years of age, became a midshipman, and gained much experience as sailing master. At the outbreak of the War of 1812, he was commissioned captain, receiving command of the General Armstrong, a small privateer, in the fall of 1814. After running the blockade of the British ships off Sandy Hook, he stood across the Atlantic and, seeking provisions, entered the harbor of the Uttle town of Horta on the island of Fayal, one of the Azores. Few there are to-day who, looking at this little 212 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH whitewashed town with its comical fort, realize that within a few rods of that fort the most gallant defense ever made against overwhelming odds took place. That very day, a squadron of British ships entered the harbor. Of course the neutrality of the island should have been respected, but Reid saw by their actions that the British were contemplating an attack, and moved his ship close in-shore. It seemed madness to attempt resistance, but Reid evidently purposed just that: he rigged up a rope net aU round the ship, one not easy to cut or climb over. Every move was as clear under the bright moon as though it were day. A surprise attack by four boats was severely repulsed by the guns before the British even reached the Armstrong. The com- modore, angered, sent, after a short delay, about four hundred men in all the boats he had. There were only ninety men on the privateer. There ensued a furious struggle for nearly an hour; the British fought valiantly, but not one even set foot on the deck of the ship: the delay necessary to make their way past the surrounding net subjected them to a terrible slaughter by pike, cutlass, and pistol. It is said that upward of two hundred British were killed, as compared to two killed and seven wounded on the American side. Furious at this severe and. bloody defeat, the British commo- dore determined to open fire with his broadsides, regardless of what the shots might do to the houses of the town. A brig advanced to the attack, but well-directed fire beat her off. Realizing that he could not withstand the broadsides of the en- tire squadron, and having fought his vessel to the last gasp, Reid aimed his " Long Tom " down the hatch, shot a hole through the ship's bottom, and set fire to her. Then he rowed ashore with the flag on his arm as the Armstrong sank in a blaze of glory. He fortified himself in the town and was unmolested by the British. It ia exceedingly interesting to note the importance of this engagement aside from the fact that it was an unparalleled example of heroism against odds. The British squadron was on its way to join the expedition against New Orleans, but so many had been killed or wounded that a ship had to be sent back to England and the squadron was delayed at Fayal seven days, holding back the expedition just that length of time. STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 213 Since Andrew Jackson came on the scene just three days before the British arrived, it is surely not too much to say that the victory of New Orleans was due to the stubborn defense of the little privateer. In return for his heroism, Reid was received with great acclaim in America and was appointed harbor master of New York. After the war, he made himself prominent in various ways. He possessed a strong inventive talent and in- vented and erected the first marine telegraph. His system of land telegraphy, by which he could send a message from Wash- ington to New Orleans in two hours' time, far surpassed any then in use and was before Congress for adoption when the Morse system of electric telegraphy was invented. It is impor- tant to note that he devised the flag, adopted in 1818, which we now have. After many years out of the navy, he reentered in 1842, and retired in 1856. He died in 1861, his last words being, " Now I shall solve the great mystery of life." n The Gallant Defender of the General Armstrong Samuel Chester Reid was born in Connecticut in 1783. His father was a naval officer. Samuel entered the navy at eleven years of age, became a midshipman, and gained much experience as saihng master. At the outbreak of the War of 1812, he was commissioned captain, receiving command of the General Armstrong, a small privateer, in the fall of 1814. After running the blockade of the British ships off Sandy Hook, he stood across the Atlantic and, seeking provisions, entered the harbor of the little town of Horta on the island of Fayal, one of the Azores. Few there are to-day who, looking at this little white- washed town with its comical fort, reahze that within a few rods of that fort the most gallant defense ever made against over- whelming odds took place. That very day, a squadron of British ships entered the harbor. Of course the neutrality of the island should have been respected, but Reid saw by their actions that the British were contemplat- ing an attack, and moved his ship close inshore. It seemed madness to attempt resistance, but Reid evidently purposed just that: he rigged up a rope net all round the ship, one not easy to cut or cUmb over. Every move was as clear under the bright moon as though it were day. 214 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH A surprise attack by four boats was severely repulsed by the guns before the British even reached the Armstrong. The com- modore, angered, sent, after a short delay, about four hundred men in all the boats he had. There were only ninety men on the privateer. There ensued a furious struggle for nearly an hour; the British fought vaUantly, but not one even set foot on the deck of the ship: the delay necessary to make their way past the surrounding net subjected them to a terrible slaughter by pike, cutlass, and pistol. It is said that upward of two hun- dred British were killed, as compared to two killed and seven wounded on the American side. Furious at this severe and bloody defeat, the British commo- dore determined to open fire with his broadsides, regardless of what the shots might do to the houses of the town. A brig advanced to the attack, but well-directed fire beat her off. Realizing that he could not withstand the broadsides of the en- tire squadron, and having fought his vessel to the last gasp, Reid aimed his " Long Tom " down the hatch, shot a hole through the ship's bottom, and set fire to her. Then he rowed ashore with the flag on his arm as the Arinstrop.g sank in a blaze of glory. He fortified himself in the town and was unmolested by the British. It is exceedingly interesting to note the importance of this engagement aside from the fact that it was an unparalleled example of heroism against odds. The British squadron was on its way to join the expedition against New Orleans, but so many had been killed or wounded that a ship had to be sent back to England and the squadron was delayed at Fayal seven days, holding back the expedition just that length of time. Since Andrew Jackson came on the scene just three days before the British arrived, it is surely not too much to say that the victory of New Orleans was due to the stubborn defense of the little privateer. In return for his heroism, Reid was received with great acclaim in America and was appointed harbor master of New York. After the war, he made himself prominent in various wajfs. He possessed a strong inventive talent and invented and erected the first marine telegraph. His system of land telegraphy, by which he could send a message from Washington to New Orleans in two hours' time, far surpassed any then in use and was before Congress for adoption when the Morse system of electric telegraphy was invented. It is important to note that STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH 215 he devised the flag, adopted in 1818, which we now have. After many years out of the navy, he reentered in 1842, and retired in 1856. He died in 1861, his last words being, " Now I shall solve the great mystery of Ufe." VI Are separate paragraphs required for the dialogue in the follow- ing passage? The tramp, tramp, tramp of the men could be heard as they crept down the distant halls Silence fell upon the chapel — a hard silence, a feeling of horror, suppression, and distortion per- vaded the air and filled it with something of infinite sadness. I turned my head to look at my wife, and the tears were run- ning down her cheeks — tears that would not be controlled. When the last sound had died down, a keeper appeared at one of the doors, nodded his head, and the guardian at our back said, " We can go now." I asked if the men had to attend chapel. He said, " Yes, prayers is good for them." I have been haunted by the chapel service. Never before had I seen any- thing quite so humiliating, inhuman, and sterile. — Frank Tan- nenbaum: "Some Prison Facts." The Atlantic Monthly, Novem- ber, 1921. VII Divide the following dialogue into paragraphs: The room was so silent — though there were more than twenty people in it — that nothing could be heard but the patter of the rain against the window-shutters, accompanied by the occa- sional hiss of a stray drop that fell down the chimney into the fire, and the steady puffing of the man in the corner, who had now resumed his pipe of long clay. The stillness was un- expectedly broken. The distant sound of a gun reverberated through the air — apparently from the direction of the county- town. " Be jiggered ! " cried the stranger who had sung the song, jumping up. "What does that mean?" asked several. "A prisoner escaped from the jail — that's what it means." All listened. The sound was repeated, and none of them spoke but the man in the chimney-comer, who said quietly, "I've often 216 STRUCTURE OF THE PARAGRAPH been told that in this county they fire a gun at such times; but I never heard it till now." " I wonder if it is my man? " murmured the personage in cinder-gray. " Surely it is ! " said the shepherd involuntarily. " And surely we've zeed him! That little man who looked in at the door by now, and quivered like a leaf when he zeed ye and heard your song! " "His teeth chattered, and the breath went out of his body," said the dairy- man. "And his heart seemed to sink within him like a stone,'' said OUver Giles. "And he bolted as if he'd been shot at," said the hedge-carpenter. " True — his teeth chattered, and his heart seemed to sink; and he bolted as if he'd been shot at," slowly summed up the man in the chinmey-corner. — Thomas Hardy: The Three Strangers. CHAPTER X EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION Four Kinds of Writing. — In accordance with some of their individual characteristics and their separate pur- poses, we distinguish four fundamental types of compo- sition, Exposition, Argumentation, Narration, and De- scription. Although we make this distinction rather sharply for convenience in discussing the characteristics of these various types, we very rarely find any one type entirely by itself. One may contribute to another as a subordinate part, and often one merges into another by imperceptible degrees. Description is almost inevitably a part of a narrative of any considerable length; Nar- ration and Description occur in Exposition; all three may be used in developing an argument. A single chapter in a novel, or a single short story, may consist of narrative passages, descriptions of scenes, and explanations of the motives that actuate certain persons. The real basis of classification is the dominating form or the dominating purpose of each type. The dominating form is easily recognizable in its main features, whatever the character of the contributing elements may be, in a story, an ex- planation, or an argument. The dominating purpose is perhaps more easily discernible; the purpose of Nar- ration is, on the whole, to tell a story, of Description to reproduce a picture, of Exposition to make intelligible something that was not understood, of Argument to change opinion, or convince. Each type, though it seldom 217 218 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION exists separately, has certain individual characteristics and certain characteristic means by which its dominant pur- pose may be accomplished. These characteristics will be discussed in this and the following chapter. Exposition Defined. — Exposition is that form of writ- ing or speaking the purpose of which is to make clear to the reader or the hearer something that he does not al- ready understand. It is formal and sustained explanation. It imparts knowledge; it clears up difficulties; it enables a person to see what he has never been able to see before. Such titles as those often given to books of popular science, the object of which is to make the difficult seem easy, — Let Me Ex-plain, How It Is Done, How It Is Made, and the like, — suggest its true character. The Importance of the Form. — Exposition is one of the most widely used and most important kinds of writing and speaking. No one who speaks or writes at all can get along without it. It is employed, though very infor- mally, no doubt, in ordinary conversation, by even the least educated and the most illiterate. Everybody has some idea that he wishes to elucidate for the benefit of himself or another person. The coach on the athletic field, the student in the class room or in the examination room, the teacher at the desk, the public speaker on the platform, the people's representative in the legislative halls — every- body, from the fan on the bleachers to the President in the White House, uses this unescapable form of discourse. Moreover, a careful study of its resources, and a sus- tained and painstaking use of it in continued practice, offer one of the most valuable kinds of self-cultivation. Such study and practice tend to produce clear, and, at best, profound thinking, train in the habit of clear ex- pression, and discover invaluable stores of knowledge. The importance of Exposition cannot easily be overestimated. EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 219 Clearness the First Requisite. — It is hardly necessary to call attention to the fact that the first requisite of Exposition is Clearness. Whatever other qualities it may have, an explanation must be clear. An explanation that does not explain is often more confounding than igno- rance itself. The relation between the ideas and the full development of essential and difficult ideas cannot be slighted or slurred over without serious detriment to the end in view. Sentences must be firm in structure, and the choice of words exact. Limitation and Selection. — Limitation of the subject and selection in Exposition are determined by several con- siderations of vital importance. In the first place, the writer must confine himself to what he himself un- doubtedly knows and clearly understands. This ought to be an axiom too obvious for comment, but it is fre- quently ignored, even by some writers of established repu- tation. A little knowledge and a little understanding are all well enough, provided that the writer stays within their limits. Even within those limits the essentials should be as far as possible mastered. The exposition must not be more ambitious than acquaintance with the subject warrants. On the other hand, half-knowledge may give an excellent advantage as a starting point, particularly if the writer is interested in what he already knows. Equipped with a certain amount of information and aware of the significance of it, he is well qualified for further research. He is under the direction of a fairly competent guide. All that he reads in addition can be related to and coordinated with what he already knows. In the second place, the writer, in limiting his subject and selecting his material, — and, too, in shaping his pres- entation, — should consider his reader. What would be clear to one class of readers would be unintelligible to 220 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION others, and what would enlighten some would strike others as idle and superfluous. The opening sentences of Kreh- biel's How to Listen to Mmic, already quoted on page 12, indicate how definitely a writer may adapt the presenta- tion of his ideas to the knowledge and understanding of those for whose benefit he is writing. It is no doubt true that some writers who are masters of their subjects and are possessed with the desire to give expression to what they know put forth the best that is in them according to the best of their power with little or no regard to any special reading public. This is certainly one way, and a very good way. But in most cases the writer cannot dis- regard the capacities of his readers if he is desirous of making himself understood. In the third place, the writer should take special pains in selecting those features of the subject that are the most illuminating. In any form of writing the selection of the most significant aspects is one of the great necessities; but in Exposition it takes a particular turn. Sometimes a single well-chosen fact or phenomenon will, if carefully studied in relation to itself and all its implications, reveal more than all the others connected with the subject. Huxley, explaining why he chose a piece of chalk as the theme of one of his scientific lectures, said, " But in truth, after much deliberation, I have been imable to think of any topic which would so well enable me to lead you to see how solid is the foundation upon which some of the most startling conclusions of physical science rest. A great chapter of the history of the world is written in chalk. . . . Let me add that few chapters have a more profound significance for ourselves. I weigh my words well when I assert that the man who should know the true history of the bit of chalk which every carpenter carries about in his breeches pocket, though ignorant of all other EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 221 history, is likely, if he will think his knowledge out to its ultimate results, to have a truer, and therefore a better, con- ception of this wonderful universe, and of man's relation to it, than the most learned student who is deep-read in the records of humanity and ignorant of those of Nature." Some of the commonest objects can speak with revealing tongues. The flat stone skipped along the surface of a quiet pond or a kite flying in the air can tell much of the scientific principles relating to the flying of heavier-than- air machines, and a study of either might well constitute the major part of a composition on this fascinating subject. In general, there are certain typical parts of an ex- position which may offer a guide to selection. The im- portant steps in a process, the various applications of an idea or a principle, — how it works in this case and in that, — the several parts of a machine, the various uses to which a mechanical device may be put for the simpli- fication of labor, and so on, suggest themselves as natural, outstanding features of things that need to be explained. Arrangement in Exposition. — Though there is no set scheme of arrangement in Exposition, there are certain types of order that may be followed to advantage, one for one subject, one for another. The basic order is from the simple to the complex, from the familiar to the unfamiliar. Mr. Cleveland Moffat, explaining why a monorail car will run on a single track without tipping over, begins with a very familiar object, the gyroscopic top, with which many people have played in their childhood. Of course, the top itself needs to be explained, — why it stands up at all, and why, the harder it is pushed on one side, the harder it resists the pressure. But the mere behavior of the top is a matter of more or less common knowledge, and affords an excellent starting point for further explanation of the theory involved and of its application to the monorail car. 222 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION Often, for the sake of Clearness, it is better to depart from this typical order ; it may be more advantageous, as in the explanation of a process, to follow an order that is funda- mentally chronological. But even within this chronological order, certain details may be explained in the order of the easiest first and the hardest last. One order is not neces- sarily the best or the only one ; the scheme of arrangement must be decided on in accordance with the nature of the subject and the writer's conception of the most effective method of presentation. The Value of an Outline. — Because clear relationships are so essential in Exposition, the writer will often be repaid by making a full outline, in which the main headings and sub-headings are closely indicated. In this way he is able to observe and decide which parts are co- ordinate and which subordinate, and just where each main and subordinate part can be most effectively placed. Any simple scheme of lettering and numbering will aid in show- ing the connection; as, for example, the use of capital letters for the main divisions, of small letters for the divisions subordinate to these, of mmibers for even more minor details, and so on. With suggestive indentations, the outline, which in its typical form is familiar to most students, will have some such form as this: A a b 1 2 B a b c 1 2 3 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 223 And so on, covering the entire subject matter. Such an analysis, though it may take considerable time in advance of the actual process of writing, is likely to save much work in recasting. The Use of Connectives. — In some types of writing many connective devices may prove a hindrance rather than a help. Often in rapid narrative, for example, where the action moves swiftly, it is well to use only the simplest and briefest connectives, and as few of those as possible. Too many are obstacles in the path of the reader when he is eager to get forward with the story. But in Exposition, where rapidity is not the first thing to be desired and Clearness is the chief object, connective devices may be used with a great deal of freedom, always, of course, with the purpose of making the connection between paragraphs and sentences unmistakable. Such words as therefore and so, and such phrases as on this account and at this point, are frequently demanded to accomplish what mere juxtaposition of the parts would fail to do. Notice how freely connective words and phrases are used in the following passage: So, from his own standpoint, it is beyond all question the wise thing for the immigrant to become thoroughly Americanized. Moreover, from our standpoint, we have a right to demand it. We freely extend the hand of welcome and of goodfellowship to every man, no matter what his creed or birthplace, who comes here hon- estly intent on becoming a good United States citizen like the rest of us ; but we have a right, and it is our duty, to demand that he shall indeed become so, and shall not confuse the issues with which we are struggling by introducing among us Old-World quarrels and prejudices. There are certain ideas which he must give up. For instance, he must learn that American life is incompatible with the existence of any form of anarchy, or, indeed, of any secret society having murder for its aim, whether at home or abroad ; and he must learn that we exact fuU religious toleration and the complete separation of Church and State. 224 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION Moreover, he must not bring in his Old- World race and national antipathies, but must merge them into love for our common country, and must take pride in the things which we can all take pride in. He must revere only our flag; not only must it come first, but no other flag should even come second. He must learn to celebrate Washington's Birthday rather than that of the Queen or Kaiser, and the Fourth of July instead of St. Patrick's Day. Our political and social questions must be settled on their own merits, and not complicated by quarrels between England and Ireland, or France and Germany, with which we have nothing to do : it is an outrage to fight an American political campaign with reference to questions of European politics. Above all, the immigrant must learn to talk and think and be United States. — Theodore Roosevelt : American Ideals and Other Essays. Full Development Necessary. — Special pains must be taken to tell the whole of the essential truth. The in- tricate parts of a machine or the nature and application of some difficult principle must not be passed over lightly; at times some obscure point must be elaborated through several related paragraphs, even in a fairly short com- position. The writer must form careful judgments regard- ing the parts that require full and detailed development. When enough is not said, no amount of logical organization will make up for the deficiency. When enough has been said about the difficult parts, the simpler parts depending upon them can be handled with less detail. Force in Exposition. — In Exposition the principle of Force should be applied in such a way as to make the most essential ideas, on which the subordinate ideas depend, stand out sharply in the reader's mind. All the means of securing Force hitherto considered, — proportional develop- ment, the order of climax, skillful repetition, compressed statement, — have their special uses here. One means in particular, however, is especially effective in Ex- position in securing both Clearness and Force, — the use of EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 225 concrete illustration. The student who reads the works of notably successful expository writers will see that they have employed this means abundantly. Types of Illustrations. — Three important types of con- crete illustration are the typical instance, literal com- parison or contrast, and figurative analogy. These three kinds of illustration are widely used and so productive of clear and strong effects in writing that careful attention to them will be amply repaid. 1. The Typical Instance. — A general law is ob- servable in particular objects or phenomena which act uni- formly in accordance with it. Conversely, when this gen- eral law is explained, the particular facts or phenomena will naturally be cited. They may be cited in large numbers, or one of them, representative of the entire class, may be brought forward as an example. Either method is good; sometimes the citation of a single typical instance will be more illiuninating and impressive than the citation of a dozen or more. Of course, the writer must be certain that the particular case selected is really representative of a large class or the class under discussion. Suppose you were attempting to illustrate the general law that rays of light passing into a denser medium from one less dense are bent, or refracted. You might use the common case of the stick, which, half in and half out of the water, appears to be broken. Or if you were trying to show that high explosive shells will do as much damage to a warship if they are dropped in the water alongside as they would if dropped directly upon the deck, you might cite the sinking of the Ostfriesland. You might make an even more sustained use of a single case. You might show how the juvenile court works by asking your reader to accom- pany a single boy, to whom you might even give a definite name, through his experiences from the time when 226 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION he was arrested until the time when he has fulfilled the terms of his probation. Again, you might present an array of typical instances in order to reinforce the desired effect. Note how in the following passage the general statement is reinforced by a specific instance: The minute subdivision of industrial production, and the adaptation of the automatic machine, more than any other single characteristic, defines American production. It determines the intelligence and sex of the worker, demands the temperamentally acquiescent, and finds self-assertion and trade-unionism im- possible with " efficiency." What is this technique ? What kind of a worker has it demanded and obtained? . . . An eyewitness at the stockyards describes a scene in one of the large packing-houses. "A month ago," he says, "we stood with a superintendent in a room of the canning department. Down both sides of a long table stood twenty immigrant women; most of them were visibly middle-aged and mothers. ' Look at that Slovak woman,' said the superintendent. She stood bending slightly forward, her dull eyes staring straight down, her elbow jerking back and forth, her hands jumping in nervous haste to keep up with the gang. These hands made one simple precise motion each second, 3600 an hour, and all exactly thei same. ' She is one of the best workers we have,' the superintendent was saying We moved closer and glanced at her face. Then we saw a strange contrast. The hands were swift, precise, intelligent. The face was stolid, vague, vacant. 'It took a long time to pound the idea into her head,' the superintendent continued, ' but when this grade of woman once absorbs an idea she holds it. She is too stupid to vary. She seems to have no other thought to distract her. She is as sure as a machine. For much of our work this woman is the kind we want. Her mind is all on the table.' " The article from which this selection is taken, " The Technique of American Industry," by Carleton H. Parker, the Atlantic Monthly, January, 1920, is filled with concrete instances used to illustrate the subject. 2. LiTEKAL CoMPAEisoN AND CONTRAST. — Comparison EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 227 or analogy, and contrast are also widely employed by expository writers to secure Clearness and Force. The value of comparison in securing Clearness depends upon the fact that the object or the idea with which the com- parison is made is already familiar to the reader. With the aid of the writer he then quickly makes the connection with the idea which is being explained. For example, a man who wished to explain to a young boy why smoke goes up the chimney took an iron nut and dropped it into a glass of water. The heavy object, sinking immediately to the bottom, displaced the water, which rose and flowed over the rim of the glass. " Now," said the man, " the cold air outside the chimney is heavier than the warm air within, just as the iron nut is heavier than the water. The cold air descends through the open top, just as the nut descended from the top of the glass, and forces the lighter warm air upward exactly as the iron forces up the water." This simple experiment, used to illustrate a difficult theory, is typical, in its main features, of resources abundantly drawn upon by writers of all grades who desire to present explanations in the clearest and most forceful way. Often showing the differences between two ideas or two objects will serve to make clear the one less understood. Here, as in the case of comparison, the object or idea with which the contrast is drawn is presumably more familiar than the one being explained. A writer who is telling of the difficulties of educating tiie people of the Philippines first reviews the record made by the United States in edu- cating the Cubans. In the next paragraph he presents a contrast which accentuates the difiiculties that he is dis- cussing. " The Philippines," he says, " presented a vastly different proposition. Situated ten thousand miles away—" and so on. 3. Figurative Comparison. — More often than des- 228 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION ultory reading would lead one to believe, analogy in Ex- position takes the form of a figure of speech, that is, a prose simile or a prose metaphor. These figures of speech are used, not primarily for adornment, but for Clearness chiefly, and also for Force. They are frequently not chosen by the writer deliberately ; they occur to him in an instant. They are the result of an instinctive tendency that we all have, in greater or less degree, to see things in terms of something else. Essential resemblances impress them- selves upon the imagination; unessential differences are disregarded, for, if the unessential differences were stressed, the striking parallel would be seriously impaired. These figurative comparisons appear in every form of writing; in no form, perhaps, are they more effective as a means of securing Clearness and Force than in Exposition. Even in conversation, one often hears a speaker say when he is attempting to explain or argue, " Why, putting the ballot in the hands of an ignorant person is just like putting a loaded weapon in the hands of a child," or " It's just like this or that." The spiritual truths of the parables are sometimes expressed in this form: "For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country." Macaulay, trying to explain that poetry declines with the advance of civilization, says : " Poetry produces an illusion on the eye of the mind as a magic lantern produces an illusion on the eye of the body. And, as the magic lantern acts best in a dark room, poetry effects its purpose most completely in a dark age. As the light of knowledge breaks in upon its exhibitions, as the outlines of certainty become more and more definite, and the shades of proba- bility more and more distinct, the hues and lineaments of the phantoms- which the poet calls up grow fainter and fainter." This is a striking use of a simile, — for it is just as much a simile as if it had appeared in a poem, — and is EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 229 one of a very great many that this writer, who is noted for the Clearness and Force of his style, employs, sometimes with extraordinary aptness. An extended examination of the works of many prose writers will show how figurative is the language in which they write. In the following ex- tract notice that figures of speech are woven into the very texture of the paragraph: The American tariff had not yet come into operation, and every wheel was turning, every oven baking; and through a drifting veil of smoke the sloping sides of the hills with all their fields could be seen sleeping under great shadows, or basking in the light. A deluge of rays fell upon them, defining every angle of Watley Rocks and floating over the grasslands of Standon, all shape becoming lost in a huge embrasure fiUed with the almost imperceptible outhnes of Wever Hills. — George Moore : A Mummer's Wife. Personification. — A particular form of figure based on essential resemblance is personification. It is probably most familiar in poetry, but is often found in prose also, and at times, like the simile and the metaphor, even in con- versation, as in the following tribute of a soldier to the accomplishment of one of the tanks in the Great War: " Of all the double-dyed, ridiculous things, was the way that Creme de Menthe person took the sugar factory! " said a Cana- dian, who broke into a roar at the recollection of the monster's antics. "Good old girl, Creme de Menthe! Ought to retire her for hfe and let her sit up on her haunches in a cafe and sip her favorite tipple out of a barrel with a garden hose for a straw — which would be about her size." — Frederick Palmer : My Second Year of the War. This humorous personification has a striking force and vigor; and Force and vigor, — and. often Beauty also, — may be secured by the use of personification in its proper place in Exposition and Argument. How deeply has one 230 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION thought expressed in this form engraved itself on the minds of generations of readers and hearers: 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; beareth all things, beheveth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. In modern expository and argumentative prose we find such instances as these: Patriotism, therefore, so far as it is instinctive, is impulsive, Wind, unreasoning, and irreflective. It thrills, it hurrahs, it boasts, it fights and dies without calmly considering what it is all about. It resents a fancied insult without stopping to ascer- tain whether it is real. It flies to the defense of the supposed interests of its group without inquiring whether the interests are worthy or the danger is actual. It is blind patriotism and springs from the emotional side of the mind. It differs in no essential respect from the impulse of the tiger to defend its young, or from that of the wild cattle of the prairie to defend the herd. It is easily aroused and easily " stampeded." — Ira Woods Howerth : " Patriotism, Instinctive and Intelligent," Educational Review, vol. — , June, 1912. Then came a great shout from The Flag : " The work that we do is the making of the flag. I am not the flag; not at all. I am but its shadow. " I am whatever you make me, nothing more. " I am your belief in yourself, your dream of what a People may become. " I hve a changing Ufe, a hfe of moods and passions, of heart- breaks and tired muscles. " Sometimes I am strong with pride, when men do an honest work, fitting the rails together truly. Sometimes I droop, for then purpose has gone from me, and cynically I play the coward. Sometimes I am loud, garish, and full of that ego that blasts judgment. " But always I am all that you hope to be and have the courage to try for. EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 231 " I am song and fear, struggle and panic, and ennobling hope. " I am the day's work of the weakest man and the largest dream of the most daring. " I am the Constitution and the courts, statutes and the statute makers, soldier and dreadnaught, drayman and street sweep, cook, counselor, and clerk. " I am the battle of yesterday and the mistake of tomorrow. " I am the mystery of the men who do without knowing why. " I am the clutch of an idea and the reasoned purpose of resolution. " I am no more than what you believe me to be, and I am all that you believe I can be. " I am what you make me, nothing more.'' — Franklin K. Lane: Message oj the Flag. A Figure Based on Exaggeration : Hyperbole. —A figure of speech based, not on similarity, but on exaggeration, is hyperbole. This is a means of securing Force by over- statement, usually recognized without difficulty as such. Like the other figures we have been discussing, it has its root in a common instinct of expression often noticed in the conversation of persons who desire to say things vigor- ously. Such utterances, frequently inelegant, as " He went up in the air," " I nearly dropped dead when I heard it," or " He was simply bursting with indignation," are familiar instances of this rather pervasive form of speech. In formal writing hyperbole is more characteristic of poetry than of prose, but it occurs in prose, particularly in emotional passages, and often with striking effect. The examples below illustrate its effectiveness in both kinds of writing: The Hyrcanian desert and the vasty wilds Of wide Arabia are as throughfares now For princes to come view fair Portia: The watery kingdom, whose ambitious head Spits in the face of heaven, is no bar To stop the foreign spirits, but they come. As o'er a brook, to see fair Portia. — Shakspere. 232 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION I saw the lightning's gleaming rod Reach forth, and write upon the sky The awful autograph of God. — Joaquin Miller. All hearts turn first to the Fathers of the Republic. Their venerable forms rise before us, in the procession of successive generations. They come from the frozen rock of Plymouth, from the wasted bands of Raleigh, from the heavenly com- panionship of Penn, from the anxious councils of the Revolution, — from all those fields of sacrifice, where, in obedience to the spirit of their age, they sealed their devotion to duty with their blood. They say to us, their children, " Gease to vaunt what you do, and what has been done for you. Learn to walk meekly and to think humbly. Cultivate habits of self-sacrifice. Never aim at what is not right, persuaded that without this every possession and all knowledge will become an evil and a shame." As the boy advances to youth, he is fed like Achilles, not on honey and milk only, but on bear's marrow and lions' hearts. He draws the nutriment of his soul from a literature whose beautiful fields are moistened by human blood. — Charles Sumner: The True Grandeur of Nations. Hyperbole is to be scrupulously distinguished in practice from careless or intentionally misleading overstatement of a fact or an idea. One is a legitimate rhetorical device; the other is a reprehensible distortion of the truth. When rightly employed, rhetorical overstatement is very im- pressive, but the excessive use of it weakens rather than strengthens the effect. The following descriptive paragraphs, which are funda- mentally expository in purpose, since the author is en- deavoring to give the reader a clear impression of a certain sort of people, illustrates the use in prose of all the figures we have been considering. It contains similes, metaphors, personification, and hyperbole: EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 233 It wasn't a pleasant house, being of a dingy, bilious-yellow complexion, with narrow window eyes, and a mean slit of a doorway for a mouth; not sinister, but common, stupid, and uninteresting. If one should happen to be a house-psychologist, one would know that behind the Nottingham lace curtains looped back with soiled red ribbons, was all the tawdry, horrible junk that clutters such houses, even as mental junk clutters the minds of the people who live in them. One knew that the people who dwelt in that house didn't know how to live, how to think, or how to cook; and that if by any chance a larger life, a real thought, or a bit of good cooking confronted them, they would probably reject it with suspicion. . . . The outside of the house hadn't lied; the inside matched it. Mr. Champneys found himself staring and being stared at by the usual crayon portraits of defunct members of the family, — at least he hoped they were defunct, — the man with a long mule face and neck whiskers; and opposite him his spouse, with her hair worn like mustard-plasters on the skull. " Male and female created He them." Placed so that you had to see it the moment you entered the door, on the white-and-gold easel draped with a silkoline scarf trimmed with pink crocheted wheels, was a virulently colored landscape with a house of unknown architecture in the foreground, and mother-of-pearl puddles outside the gate. Mr. Champneys studied those mother-of-pearl puddles gravely. They hurt his feelings. So did the golden oak parlor set upholstered in red plush; and the rug on the floor, in which colors fought like Kilkenny cats; and a pink vase with large purple plums bunched on it; and the figured wall paper, and the unclean lace curtains, and the mantel loaded with sorry plunder, and the clothespin butterflies. It was a hot and dusty room. The smell of bad cooking of countless miserable meals eaten by men whose digestion they would ruin, clung to it and would not be gainsaid. Mr. Champneys thought the best thing that could happen to such houses would be a fire beginning in the cellar and ending at the roof.^ Narration and Description in Exposition. — Narration and Description are very freely employed in Exposition. 1 Taken from Marie Conway Oemler's The Purple Heights by permission of the publishers. The Century Company. 234 EXPOSITION AND AEGUMENTATION Some expositions, like explanations of processes or his- tory, are predominantly in the narrative form. The dis- tinction between Exposition and Description pure and simple is rather difficult to make. It is really determined by the fact that puce Description deals with a single object, whereas expository Description deals with a particular object typical of a class. Such expository Description may be either precise and technical or very picturesque and informal, as in the following examples: The Parsons turbine, which at present holds the field, consists of a large horizontal steel drum, mounted on a shaft, and re- volving inside a cylindrical casing. The latter is " stepped," or has its diameter increased suddenly at intervals towards the exhaust end. Between drum and casing is a space, to give room for rows of blades fixed to the drum and casing alternately. The length of the blades is very carefully adjusted, so that no actual contact may take place between fixed and moving parts, though the gap is made as large as possible to prevent leakage of steam past the ends of the blades. — Archibald WiUiams: Let Me Explain. They [the tanks] are like large slugs with an underside a little like the flattened rockers of a rocking horse, slugs between 20 and 40 feet long. They are like flat-sided slugs, slugs of spirit, who raise an enquiring snout, hke the snout of a dog-fish, into the air. They crawl upon their beUies in a way that would be tedious to describe to the enquiring speciaUst. They go over the ground with the sUding speed of active snails. Behind them trail two wheels, supporting a flimsy tail, wheels that strike one as incongruous as if a monster began kangaroo and ended doll's perambulator. (These wheels annoy me.) They are not steely monsters; they are painted the drab and unassuming colors that are fashionable in modern warfare, so that the armor seems rather like the integxunent of a rhinoceros. At the sides of the head project armored cheeks, and from these stick out guns that look like stalked eyes. That is the general appearance of the contemporary tank. — H. G. WeUs: Italy, France, and Britain at War. EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 235 Sentence Structure in Exposition. — In general, two types of sentence structure are suitable for Exposition: the short simple or compound sentence for compressed statement of important general ideas, and the closely knit complex sentence, in which subordinate relationships are carefully observed. Note the effectiveness of each type in the following passage, in which Macaulay is explaining the feelings of Garrick, the actor, and Dr. Johnson for each other: Sudden prosperity had turned Garrick's head. Continued adversity had soured Johnson's temper. Johnson saw, with more envy than became so great a man, the villa, the plate, the china, the Brussels carpet, which the little mimic had got by repeating, with grimaces and gesticulations, what wiser men had written; and the exquisitely sensitive vanity of Garrick was galled by the thought that, while all the rest of the world was applauding him, he could obtain from one morose cynic, whose opinion it was impossible to despise, scarcely any compliment not acidulated with scorn. Yet the two Lichfield men had so many early recollections in common, and sympathized with each other on so many points on which they sympathized with nobody else in the vast population of the capital, that, though the master was often provoked by the monkey-like impertinence of the pupil, and the pupil by the bearish rudeness of the master, they remained friends tiU they were parted by death. — Macaulay: Life of Samuel Johnson. Diction in Exposition. — For the sake of Clearness, the diction of Exposition should, on the whole, be as simple and direct as possible. For the technically trained reader technical words are the most direct and economical means of expression, because a single technical word often conveys to one who understands it a meaning that would require many sentences of definition and explanation for a person less informed. It is obvious, on the other hand, that technical terms should be used only when necessary in 236 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION writing that is intended for persons without special knowl- edge, and when used should be explained as simply as the nature of the ideas they represent will allow. In general, it should be remembered that those words are best that convey the sense with the least resistance, and that those are the worst that impose the greatest obstacles to under- standing. ARGUMENT Relation between Exposition and Argument. — The close relation between the various types of speaking and writing has been commented on in the first section of this chapter. The similarity of Exposition to Argument is, on the whole, very close, so close, indeed, that frequently one cannot be distinguished from the other. If we remember that the chief purpose of Exposition is to make one understand and that the chief purpose of Argument is to make one believe, we can easily see that both purposes may be accomplished at the same time by the same piece of writing, for failure to believe is often the result of failure to understand. Clear- ing up difficulties means clearing up doubts. Two persons reading the same book or article may be differently af- fected by it. One was ignorant; the other, skeptical. One learned something he did not know ; the other believed some- thing he had formerly questioned. Both readers saw a new light, and each turned it to a different account. The author, of course, did not have to change a single detail of structure, a single method of presentation, or a single word in order to produce the different results. In his long speech on Conciliation with America Edmund Burke, be- fore he presents his main arguments in support of his position that England ought to concede to the colonies and that the concession ought to consist in allowing them to return to their former method of taxing themselves in their EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 237 own assemblies, consumes a great deal of time in explaining the nature of the object, — that is, the character and cir- cumstances of the colonists, — for which Parliament is to legislate. This explanation is not part of his direct proof; he intends to base his direct proof upon it. Nevertheless he cannot escape the fact that for some of his hearers it is very convincing proof, — a proof of the contention that the American colonies are so rich and prosperous that they are well worth fighting for. Realizing that this conclusion will be drawn, he pauses in the midst of his exposition, like the good debater that he is, in order to refute his opponents. Since Exposition and Argument are so closely allied, everything that has so far been said in this chapter regard- ing Exposition applies substantially to Argument. General considerations of the structure of the whole composition, the paragraph, the sentence, and the use of words are, in the main, true of one as of the other. There are, however, some matters of special detail that require particular notice. Limitation and Selection in Argument. — In limiting his subject and selecting his material, the writer, must, of course, as in Exposition, confine himself to what he knows or can easily acquire and relate to what he knows. He should do more than this: he should confine himself to what he really believes. One argument in favor of debat- ing, that it trains the debater to argue with equal facility and skill on either side of a question, has been stressed too much. The practice of presenting specious arguments which one knows to be false may be excellent mental gymnastics and give thorough training for certain forms of special pleading in the legal profession or the legislative chamber, but, if indulged in to excess, it tends to undermine sound in- tellectual and moral judgment. Express your own convic- tion as clearly and as forcibly as you know how; say what 238 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION you yourself believe, and not merely what you think you have the cleverness to make somebody else believe. Do not be specious and insincere; speciousness and insincerity are pretty easily detected in the long run, as the force of genuineness and sincerity are sure, sooner or later, to be recognized. You ought, however, to give legitimate consideration to your readers' attitude toward the question. If you know beforehand how much he believes of the case you are pre- senting, all the better for your argument. It is a waste of time and energy to plead for what will readily be granted without a word from you. Sometimes, after one has read a good part of an argument, he will say: " Of course; I admit all that, but there are several impor- tant points that have not been touched on at all. What about those? " He will probably smile at the futil- ity of your attempt to convince him where he does not require convincing. Always keep before you the points about which there is disagreement, and select those argu- ments, aimed at the reader's reason or against his preju- dices, that will tend to bring about agreement. No argument is well organized that does not include a discussion of one or more points on the other side of the case. Almost every question has two sides. As long as you leave unrefuted some of the strong points against your position, no matter what your affirmative arguments may be, your case is weak and unestablished. Indeed, a half-dozen or more proofs in support of a position may lose their weight because of a single strong contention against it which remains unrefuted. Burke had a keen sense of the arguments that might be urged against him. He did not wait until they had been urged; he anticipated his opponents; he brought up the points himself in order that he might refute them. EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 239 In general, select the strongest and most telling argu- ments and let the rest go. Do not feel called upon to present everything that could be possibly be said in sup- port of your position. A few unanswerable or not easily answerable proofs will do more to bring about con- viction in your reader's mind than a great array of triv- ialities. Hit a few strong blows, not a hundred feeble ones. The Title. — A closely phrased title will do much in defining the points at issue. Except in formal debate, — and we are not discussing that form of Argument in this chapter, — it is better not to phrase the title in the form, " Resolved, That . . . " ; but there is frequently an advantage in letting the title show very distinctly that the question you are discussing is one under dispute. In Behalf of the Laboring Man, for example, indicates more clearly than Some of Labor's Problems that the writer intends to argue for a certain position. Arrangement in Argument. — In general, schemes of arrangement which are suitable for Exposition are suitable for Argument also. In particular, one good form of ar- rangement proceeds from what is already conceded as true to what is not, provided, of course, that what is admitted is not proved again, but is merely touched on or briefly re- viewed as a point of departure. Another closely similar type advances from what may be easily proved to what is more difficult. In certain circumstances, however, it is ad- visable to establish the most difficult point as soon as pos- sible, and then to clear up the minor difficulties. In order to secure Force, the arguments should be presented in the order of their importance, with the strongest at the end. Beginnings and Endings. — The first paragraph of an argmnent may be simply an elaboration of a part or the whole of the first point, or it may take the form of an introduction. Such an introduction may consist of a defi- 240 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION nition or explanation of the question, including certain terms to be used, may briefly review the history of the case, may emphasize its practical importance, or may sum- marize in advance the main points to be proved. None of these things should be done, however, imless it serves the purpose of stimulating interest or of insuring a clearer understanding of the argument that follows. Similarly, the last paragraph may be. merely the final argument or it may be a formal conclusion, summarizing the points that have been presented, emphasizing their importance, and so on. The Brief. — The full outline of the argument, showing the relation between the main and the subordinate points, is called the brief. It does not differ substantially from the full outline used in Exposition, except that, in addition to letters and figures, the connective for is liberally em- ployed, as in the following example: I. The first plan of dealing with the colonists, to change the spirit of resistance by removing the causes, is impossible, for — A. The growing population, the first cause, cannot be checked, for — 1. The means proposed for checking it, the withholding of land grants, cannot be appUed, for — (a) There is already enough land in private hands to supply the needs of the colonists for a long time to come. (b) The colonists would occupy the lands without grants. B. The prosperity of the colonists can be arrested, but such a course would be inexpedient, for — England would be rendering them unserviceable to herself in order to render them obedient. 1. EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 241 C. The colonists' love of liberty, the third cause, is un- alterable, for the six causes that have produced it can- not be eradicated: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Illustration in Argument. — In Argument illustration is a very important means of clarifying and reinforcing proof, and may be part of the proof itself. Its use for the latter purpose must be very guarded, however, for it is easy to mistake the mere illustration of a point for proof in support of it, and there is a distinct difference between the two. The Typical Instance. — As in Exposition, every typi- cal instance cited must beyond all doubt be typical. It must not be an isolated instance, or one of a few, which may be very exceptional when related to the large mass of facts that bear on the case. The writer ought to say directly, or at least be prepared to show, that the fact or facts he is citing can be duplicated again and again. Inability to do this convicts him of hasty generalization, one of the most pernicious faults in Argument or, for that matter, in any process of logical thinking. Next in futility to the person who, merely because he says several times that a thing is so, expects you to believe it, is the person who makes broad, sweeping statements on the basis of a single fact. It is difficult to determine which has the greater power to darken counsel and make the judicious grieve. Just what hasty generalization is may be more clearly understood if we consider briefly the nature of the syllo- gism. The syllogism is the brief statement of a proof in 242 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION the shape of a formula. It consists of three terms, a major premise, a minor premise, and the conclusion drawn from both. The major premise consists of the statement of a general truth ; as, for example, " All rulers are fallible." The minor premise consists of a particular statement re- lated to the general statement preceding it; as, " King Wil- liam is a ruler." The conclusion of this syllogism would take the form, " Therefore King William is fallible." Everybody knows, of course, that in Argument and Exposi- tion reasoning processes are not often expressed or even carried on in accordance with this formula. Yet the for- mula may be of a great deal of value in testing conclusions. Now, the major premise, — that is, the general statement, — should, if it is true, be based upon a very large number of ascertained and well tested facts. Hasty generalization occurs when the thinker or writer tries to erect his own major premise without having observed or tested his facts at all. In its worst form it is often based on a single obser- vation. Americans are very justly irritated — and not infrequently amused — by English travelers who, after spending six hurried weeks in the United States, go home and write a book on the characteristics of the country and the people, or who, having heard a piece of slang or an uncommon, localism, are fond of quoting it with the remark, " As the Americans say." Be very careful about the imdeniable truth of your major premise. Do not be too quick to say that all small towns are deadening to the intellect simply because you have had an unfortunate ex- perience within the confining limits of your own native place. There may be others that you know not of. This lack of knowledge may be your misfortune rather than your fault; but make an earnest endeavor to find out. A look about you may prove to be extremely enlightening. In the same way, make certain that the particular case EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 243 ypu are dealing with is included under the general state- ment of the major premise. One form of hasty generalization is seen in the readi- ness of some loose thinkers to adopt and apply catchwords, such as " conservatism " or " socialism " and the like, with- out knowing what such terms mean or imply. In opposing a certain movement, a man may be heard to say, " I have no patience with it; it is merely conservative." Well, what of it? The major premise implied is something like this, " All conservative movements or policies are subversive of human progress." But this is not true. Conservatism io sometimes very bad, but it is sometimes very good. It may contribute to human progress because it does conserve some of the most valuable achievements of human en- deavor. Be very cautious about trying to kill a good idea by attaching to it what you think is a bad name. Such reasoning is often of the most shallow type. Comparisons. — There is likewise a danger to clear and sound Argument in the use of comparisons. The great weakness in an analogy, based literally on precedent or figuratively on essential resemblance, is that the points of dissimilarity are more significant than the points of likeness. If you are trying to prove that a free political democracy would produce stability in the government of Mexico because it has been successful in this country, be sure to take into account the difference between the two peoples. Be sure, in any argument from experience or precedent, that the essential conditions are the same; if they are not, in history and character, your argument goes to pieces. Similarly, a figure of speech that has great value in making an idea clear, may have no value at all in proving its truth. In the passage recently cited from Macaulay, for example, the figure of the magic lantern admirably 244 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION clarifies and emphasizes the theory that the images of poetry appear more vivid in a dark than in an enlightened age, for the imagination readily seizes the essential out- ward features of the similitude. But the simile has no value whatever as proof. There is, after all, no essential connection between the two cases which the reason can accept as valid. Certainly one is not true because the other is true. On the other hand, the figurative analogy used in the following passage really has the value of proof, because the reason accepts the essential points of resem- blance, just as it accepts the validity of the literal com- parisons that follow. Macaulay is arguing that, though Addison had advised Pope not to recast the Rape of the Lock, and though Pope, disregarding Addison's advice, pro- duced in the revised work a brilliantly successful poem, nevertheless Addison's advice was good. Now there can be no doubt that Pope's plan was most ingen- ious, and that he afterwards executed it with great skill and suc- cess. But does it necessarily follow that Addison's advice was bad? . ... If a friend were to ask m whether we would advise him to risk his all in a lottery of which the chances were ten to one against him, we should do our best to dissuade him from running such a risk. Even if he were so lucky as to get the thirty -thousand- pound prize, we should not admit that we had counseled him ill; and we should certainly think it the height of injustice in him to accuse us of having been actuated by malice. We think Addison's advice good advice. It rested on a sound principle, the result of long and wide experience. The general rule un- doubtedly is that when a successful work of ima^ation has been produced, it should not be recast. We cannot at this moment call to mind a single instance in which this rule has been transgressed with happy effect, except in the instance of the Rape of the Lock. Tasso recast his Jerusalem. Akenside re- cast his Pleasures of the Imagination and his Epistle to Curio, Pope himself — emboldened, no doubt, by the success with which he had expanded and remodeled the Rape of the Lock — made the same experiment on the Dunciad. All these attempts failed. Who was to foresee that Pope would, once in his life, be able EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 245 to do what he could not himself do twice, and what nobody else has ever done. — Macaulay: Essay on Addison. Beauty in Exposition and Argument. — In some types of Exposition and Argument there may seem to be very little room for the element of Beauty. Yet even the most prac- tical or technical of subjects furnish opportunity for regu- larity, order, and completeness of design and organization, which, as has already been said, are in themselves elements of Beauty. Moreover, there is a very large class of subjects, both for Exposition and Argument, which are in themselves beautiful, and the fitting treatment of which must also have marked characteristics of Beauty. There is use for Argu- ment and Exposition in the imaginative and aesthetic field. As a matter of fact, a large body of lyric and dramatic poetry is essentially expository, and employs some of the methods used in prose Exposition and Argument; as, for ex- ample, figurative language and sustained simile and meta- phor. The poet embodies a general truth, expresses his own thought and feeling, or interprets a character. The follow- ing poem by Shakspere is just as much an exposition or an argument as if the idea were less beautifully expressed in plain prose: Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove; O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark, That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not time's fool, though rosy hps and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come; Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved. 246 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION Much prose, — even expository and argumentative prose, — is closely akin to poetry, in the use of words of beautiful connotation, figurative suggestion, and melodious sound, in the expression of ideas in strikingly appropriate similes and metaphors that appeal to the imagination, and even in the almost regular rhythm of sentences. Note some of these qualities in the following passage from Ruskin: Have you ever considered what a deep understanding there lies, or at least may be read, if we choose, in our custom of strewing flowers before those whom we think most happy? Do you sup- pose it is merely to deceive them into the hope that happi- ness is always to fall thus in showers at their feet? — that where- ever they pass they will tread on herbs of sweet scent, and that rough ground will be made smooth for them by depth of roses! So surely as they believe that, they will have, instead, to walk on bitter herbs and thorns; and the only softness to their feet will be of snow. But it is not intended they should believe; there is a better meaning in that old custom. The path of a good woman is indeed strewn with flowers; but they rise behind her steps, not before them. " Her feet have touched the mead- ows, and left the daisies rosy." — Ruskin: Sesame and Lilies. Expository and argumentative prose tends to grow beau- tiful when the thought is touched with emotion, and emotion is likely to be the result of sincere conviction. Even what is apparently commonplace subject matter may have the power to stir feeling in the writer, and this feeling will produce occasionally a passage written in a style strongly contrasting with the prosaic context. The following pas- sage is part of Burke's exposition of the prosperity of American industries; in a part of the context he deals with figures and statistics in the most direct and unadorned manner. Yet notice the quality of his style here: Whilst we follow them [the colonial whale fishermen] among the tumbling mountains of ice, and behold them penetrating into EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 247 the deepest frozen recesses of Hudson's Bay and Davis's Straits, whilst we are looking for them beneath the Arctic circle, we hear that they have pierced into the opposite region of polar cold, that they are at the antipodes, and engaged under the frozen Serpent of the south. Falkland Island, which seemed too remote and romantic an object for the grasp of national ambi- tion, is but a stage and resting-place in the progress of their victorious industry. Nor is the equinoctial heat more dis- couraging to them than the accumulated winter of both the poles. We know that whilst some of them draw the line and strike the harpoon on the coast of Africa, others run the longi- tude and pursue their gigantic game along the coast of Brazil. No sea but what is vexed by their fisheries; no climate that is not witness to their toils. Neither the perseverance of Holland, nor the activity of France, nor the dexterous and firm sagacity of English enterprise ever carried this most perilous mode of hardy industry to the extent to which it has been pushed by this recent people; a people who are still, as it were, but in the gristle, and not yet hardened into the bone of manhood. The possibility of giving beautiful form and expression to what he writes is quite within the range of the student. Even in simple expository and argumentative subjects a certain amount of Beauty is inherent, and a little thought will make its possibilities quite apparent. Such familiar subjects, for instance, as Some Contemporary Poetry That I Like, or The Attraction of the Wdods in Winter, or In Defense of Old-Fashioned Music, afford plenty of opportu- nity to display the charm of personality and the sense of what is really fine. Of course, the quality of Beauty is not a quality that can be forced. The impression that it is something mechanically attached to a piece of writing by way of extraneous adornment is one of the most fatal to effective work. It must be, or at least seem, spontaneous and an integral part of the complete whole. No one should appear to be laboring to be fine. But often one's appre- ciation of what is fine in one's subject, — an appreciation that may be the outcome of a studious consideration of 248 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION it, — will awaken an enthusiasm that needs no forcing or conscious shaping in order to find appropriate expression at the appropriate place. The Proper Use of Sources of Material. — Every kind of writing requires, in greater or less degree, the use of what someone else has written. Books and magazines must fre- quently be consulted to clarify and enlarge one's own knowledge or to give stimulus to one's ideas. Such sources of material and suggestions should be used with the utmost care: acknowledgment of the writer's debt to others should be freely made. This can be done in various ways: by means of quotation marks, by such expressions as " William James says in his The Social Value of the College-Bred . . . ," or by footnotes. Even important ideas which have been com- pletely reexpressed in the writer's own words should not be used without some recognition of the original source if the writer is entirely or for the most part dependent upon them for what he has to say. EXERCISES Write an exposition of several hundred words on one of the following subjects: 1. Democracy in High Schools 2. Life in a Medieval Monastery 3. What Is a Cathedral? 4. How a Moving Picture Is Taken 5. How to Right a Canoe in the Water 6. The Quahties that Account for the Success of Some Contemporary Novel 7. The Quahties that Account for the Success of Some Emi- nent Man or Woman of To-day 8. Why a River Changes Its Course 9. Some New Devices for Safeguarding Automobiles 10. How to Learn to Write on a Typewriter by the " Touch " Method EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 249 11. How an Intelligence Test Is Applied 12. An Electrical Washing Machine 13. How an Etching Is Made 14. What Is Free Verse? 15. How a Treaty Is Negotiated and Ratified. II Make a list of four or five general ideas of importance with which you have become familiar through your reading or your conversation with other people. Select one of these ideas, and in a composition explain it and show some of its significant applications to modern life. An example of such a general idea is the effect of the motor truck on transportation. Ill It is frequently worth while to write a series of related com- positions on a group of subjects in some particular field. The development of such a series, in addition to giving valuable training in composition, enlarges and confirms the writer's knowl- edge of a broad subject with which he may already be somewhat familiar j and in which he already has some interest. Choose one of the group subjects below and develop it in a series of themes; or write on a similar list of your own. Scouting 1. The Purpose of Scouting 2. How the Scout Program Is Presented 3. Holding the Older Boy 4. Adult Leadership and Support 5. Value of the Program to the Community C. Some Significant Results of Scouting Radio Telegraphy and Telephony 1. Historical Development of Radio Telegraphy 2. Transmitting Apparatus 3. Receiving Apparatus 250 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 4. Radio Telephony 5. Commercial Application of Radio Telegraphy 6. The American Radio Relay League Armies 1. The General History of Armies 2. Army Organization 3. Present-Day Armies 4. The French Army 5. The German Army 6. The United States Army IV Reduce each of the following statements to a syllogism. Show whether or not each major and minor premise is obviously true. 1. This team is sure to win against us to-day because it is a college team. 2. Coming from a little suburban town as he does, he un- doubtedly has a narrow outlook on life. 3. The congressman should be deprived of his seat in the House. He has been guilty of using corrupt means in securing his election. 4. This scheme smacks of trade-unionism. That is all I want to hear about it. 5. We ought not to impose the responsibilities of the chair- manship on Mr. Evans, who is in his eighty-fifth year. Which of the following propositions can best be supported by the citation of typical instances, and which by the use of analogy? 1. Water is a conductor of electricity. 2. There is a big difference between being eminent and being merely prominent. 3. Even a strong man's life reaches its highest point of vigor and service and then dechnes to feebleness and ineffec- tiveness. EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 251 4. Many a person of great natural talent is compelled by circumstances to spend his days in obscurity. 5. It is safe to say that the proposed system of student government will work in this school. VI Why is the reasoning faulty in the following statements? 1. The western colleges and universities are superior to those in the East. I ought to know, for I graduated from a western college myself. 2. You needn't tell me that anybody ever reads Vanity Fair for pleasure. I waded through it once, and there's nothing in it. 3. Women ought not to have the vote, because they cannot fight in defense of their country. 4. He has no conscientious scruples about smuggling things in from Europe. He says everybody does it. 5. There's no use in your preparing for this examination. The last time you reviewed the subject, you failed. VII Write an argument on one of the following subjects. If the statement of the subject is too long for a suitable title, phrase your own title. Choose whichever side of the question you can support with conviction. 1. The student who is modest and retiring frequently has the best kind of school spirit. 2. The jitney bus is superior to the trolley car as a means of transportation in towns and cities. 3. Our schools should hold a summer session. 4. Submarines should be abolished as an instrument of war- fare. 5. Popularity in school and college is more harmful than beneficial. 6. The general efficiency of educational institutions would be greatly increased if " outside interests " should be eliminated. 252 EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENTATION 7. Every American boy and girl should have a thorough course in the history of the United States. 8. A Woman's party should not be formed in the United States. 9. The citizen of a democracy is under special obligations to keep the law of the land. 10. Education should not consist merely in training for an occupation. 11. A woman should not seek employment in positions which can be filled by men. 12. A good many Americans need to be Americanized. 13. Free verse is not poetry. 14. "Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds." 15. Peace tests patriotism no less than war. vni Draw up a group of subjects for Argument similar to those given on pages 249-50; e.g., a series of letters to your school paper advocating some change or reform. Arrange these subjects in the best order. Develop each into a theme of several hundred words. CHAPTER XI NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS Narration and Description Defined. — ^As the previous chapter has brought out, the dividing line between Exposi- tion and Argumentation, or Narration, and Description, is seldom sharply marked, one of these forms being rarely found in literature completely independent of the other three. It is feasible, of course, to discuss any one of them as if it were always a separate type, but in practice it is not so simple to effect its isolation. In nearly every dis- tinct unit of composition, however, some one aim dominates the author, by discovering which we may class his work as expository, argumentative, narrative, or descriptive. We have dwelt at some length on the principles under- lying the first two of the four groups; it is now the right moment to deal with those elements of writing which are primarily narrative or descriptive. The essential distinc- tion is readily understood: Narration is devoted to telling a story; Description, to reproducing a picture of some ob- ject, scene or being. Only too often the two are so inex- tricably blended that the process of disentanglement is as futile as it is difficult. Narration and Description in Our Daily Lives. — The narrative instinct in man was certainly one of the earliest of his attributes to develop, and Ruth, the Odyssey, and Beowulf only confirm what we know from other researches, — that the teller of tales had a recognized place in primi- tive society. Even in the twentieth century we spend no small portion of our waking hours in chatting about our 253 254 NAREATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS own adventures or listening to those of our friends. At the dinner-table we talk over the various incidents of the day: the boys and girls have something to tell about their classroom experiences; the parents have stories to relate to the assembled family. The newspapers which we read every morning and evening are filled with narra- tives from the first page to the last. But Narration of this kind is usually informal and seldom prolonged. It is not often that any one of us, young or old, under- takes to write down any elaborate narrative. The short story and the novel are left to professional writers. The average man at his daily routine has much of Argumenta- tion and Exposition to carry on in his correspondence; but the need of constructing a carefully built story or of presenting a detailed description does not often arise. From the practical point of view young writers are ill- advised who devote overmuch attention to these highly specialized forms. Nevertheless the short story and the novel, the biography and the history, as types of Narrative, are so common among us that they cannot be neglected, even though we may never aspire to be actual producers of them. Further- more, a pleasant approach to English composition may be made by allowing young writers to begin with narrative subjects, in which, as a rule, they are more interested than in those of an expository kind. For these reasons, as well as others, it would be unwise not to touch briefly on the essential features of Narration. Varieties of Narration. — Narratives are of many kinds, from the most trifling incident or humorous anecdote to an elaborate accoimt of the universe, like Mr. Wells's Outline of History. They may vary in length from the four-line joke to the four- volume biography. They may be ficti- tious, like Dickens's David Copperfield, or true, like Roose- velt's account of his own life. They may cover in scope NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS 255 just one small town or city, or, like Milton's Paradise Lost, the realms of Heaven, Earth, and Hell. Wherever a story of any kind is told, there we have Narration. The Essentials of Narration, — Whatever its type, each narrative has certain features which cannot well be omitted. There must be the characters, about whom the story is being told; there must be the setting, or background against which the characters are reflected; and there must be the plot, which gives the events of the action. In Ste- venson's The Sire de Maletroifs Door, the characters are Denis de Beaulieu (the hero), Blanche (the heroine), and the Sire de Maletroit (the villain) ; the setting is the interior of the Sire de Maletroifs castle; and the plot carries the relations of the hero and heroine, in a period from midnight to dawn, from indifference and suspicion to romantic love. The Characters. — There can be no story, whether of fact or fiction, without a central figure or figures. Whether it be Sindbad or Robin Hood, Satan or Beowulf, David Cop- perfield or Beatrix Esmond, the great dog in Jack London's Call of the Wild or the different animals in Kipling's Jungle Book, there must be somebody or something about whom or which the action is woven. The skill of the narrator will be tested in the methods by which he chooses to bring these characters before the reader. Thomas Hardy, for instance, opens his novel Far from the Madding Crowd with a description of the hero, Gabriel Oak: " When Farmer Oak smiled, the corners of his mouth spread until they were within an unimportant distance of his ears, his eyes were reduced to mere chinks, and diverging wrinkles ap- peared round them, extending upon his countenance like the rays in a rudimentary sketch of the rising sun." There follow five moderately long paragraphs of personal description and character analysis, at the close of which the reader may be presumed to be sufficiently well ac- 256 NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS quainted with the principal male figure in the novel. This leisurely plan is possible, of course, only in a tale of some length; in a brief narrative, such as the average student is likely to be asked to write, the description of the char- acters must be very short, or else introduced from time to time in the course of the action. O. Henry, for example, begins one of his typical short stories with this portrayal of his heroine: " Miss Medora resembled the rose which the autumnal frosts had spared the longest of her sister blossoms. In Harmony, when she started along to the wicked city to study art, they said she was a mad, reckless, headstrong girl. In New York, when she first took her seat at the West Side boarding-house, the boarders asked: 'Who is that nice-looking old maid?'" In a very much condensed narrative, where the characters are slighted and the plot is the important feature, there may be no special effort to sketch the people concerned. Most narrative, however, is ineffective without good char- acter drawing, and, because of this. Description is likely to assume a prominent position in any artistic story whether short or long. The Setting. — The setting in any novel also gives an opportunity for Description, for it is this background against which the characters move, and it may affect their lives profoundly. The entire first chapter of Hardy's The Return of the Native is assigned to a description of Egdon Heath, the great stretch of barren land on which the main actors in that dramatic story have their little day. The setting may play only an incidental part in the narrative, but somehow we must be informed whether it is Arabia or Kansas, Sixth Avenue or the Rue de Rivoli. The inn in the opening chapters of Stevenson's Treasure Island, the Edinburgh of Scott's The Heart of Midlothian, the Paris of Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities — all these NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS 257 are essential to the development of their respective stories. Notice how frequently in the newspapers the reporters take pains to sketch with scrupulous care the spot where a robbery or murder has taken place; this they do instinc- tively, realizing that the reader will wish to visualize the crime, and can do so only by being made familiar with the setting. The Plot. — The plot has to do entirely with action, with a series of events, the arrangement of which is deter- mined by the narrator. These events are, as in all writing, the result of a careful selection by the author from a wealth of material, either imaginative or real. The choice of this material is based on a number of factors: the limitations of the subject, the point of view of the writer, the public for which the narrative is intended (whether children or adults, for instance) , and the precise aim which the author has in mind. The process of this selection has been discussed at some length in Chapter II, and need not be dealt with again. It should be suggested here, however, that the method of Narration is a decidedly important matter. If the story, for instance, is told in the first person, like Defoe's Robinson Crusoe or Thackeray's Henry Esmond, the events narrated must be limited to those which come within the personal knowledge of the narrator; if it is related by a third person, outside the story, gifted with supposed omniscience, as in Kipling's Kim or Dickens's Pickwick Papers, much more may be included. Another interesting method is to have the events recounted, at least in part, by various figures concerned in the story; this is the plan followed in Wilkie Collins's Moonstone and Stevenson's Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. Clearness in Narration. — The three rhetorical prin- ciples of Clearness, Force, and Beauty, with which we have already had so much to do, are applicable no less to the 258 NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS narrative than to any other form of writing. Clearness in story-telling, for instance, requires that there shall be a sharply outlined plot from which all irrelevant details shall be excluded; that nothing shall be kept which does not contribute to the movement of events towards the climax; and that every step in that progress shall be made entirely evident. When the material, — the content, — has been selected, the next step is the problem of arrangement. The simplest method in Narrative is that of more or less rigid chronological order, the system usually followed in history and biography; the author merely places the details which he has already chosen, watching out to see that the course of time is carefully followed. Another scheme of arrange- ment, often more convincing in a novel, is that which moves from cause to effect, emphasizing not so much the passage of hours as the outgrowth of one situation from another. No small amount of skill is involved in indicating clearly just how one act produces certain consequences. Clearness in Transition. — It is especially important in Narration to see that the elements of transition are prop- erly handled. If the chronological order is followed from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph, mere juxtaposition will sometimes be sufficient; but the wise writer will resort to the connective devices mentioned in Chapter II, and thus guide his readers on their way through the book. Still more difficult is the achievement of clear transition when the method is that of progressing from cause to effect; here every action must grow logically out of what has gone before. Force in Narration. — Force in Narration, as in the other forms of discourse, is based largely upon the selection of material, its proper development, and its effective arrange- ment in the story. By giving the correct proportionate treatment to various elements in the plot, the writer can NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS 259 focus the reader's attention on what is significant in any train of events. It is important in Narration, especially in the short story, that the opening should arouse interest, and induce the reader to turn on to the next page. Avoid, particularly, trite and commonplace introductions, such as: " Last Sunday being a warm and pleasant spring day, three friends and I decided to take a walk." Some writers are peculiarly adept in the art of leading readers on. Consider, for example, the following narrative openings: " The Frenchman beside me had been dead since dawn. His scarred and shackled body swayed limply back and forth with every sweep of the great oar as we, his less fortunate bench- fellows, tugged and strained to keep time to the stroke." — Farnol : Black Bartlemy's Treasure. " ' One thousand dollars,' repeated Lawyer Tolman, solemnly and severely, ' and here is the money.' Young Gillian gave a decidedly amused laugh as he fingered the thin package of new fifty-dollar notes." — 0. Henry: One Thousand Dollars. " Shakespeare says something about worms, or it may be giants or beetles, turning if you tread on them too severely. The safest plan is never to tread on a worm — not even on the last new subaltern from Home, with his buttons hardly out of their tissue-paper, and the red of sappy English beef in his cheeks. This is a story of the worm that turned." — Kiphng: His Wedded Wife. The Element of Suspense. — Force in Narration is also dependent largely on the proper management of suspense; that is, saving the most dramatic portion of the story until the end. In detective tales or plays this method has always been employed with good effect: various clues are un- covered, different " suspects " are investigated, the reader being left all the time in doubt as to the real criminal; 260 NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS then, as a consequence of some quite unexpected turn of events, the true robber or murderer is exposed. In Haw- thorne's Ethan Brand the expectancy of the reader is main- tained until the last paragraph, in which the bones of Ethan Brand " were crumbled into fragments." To disclose all the secrets in the early pages of a story is to leave noth- ing to lure the imagination, and the book in which this policy has been adopted will remain dusty and unopened on the library shelf. Force and Proportion. — Force in Narration may also be secured by assigning the right proportional treatment to main and minor elements. Nothing will more seriously weaken a Narrative than long paragraphs devoted to un- important and uninteresting events. In blocking out the plan for a story, attention must be given to the amount of space which can be allowed to the various incidents. If they are introduced merely to develop the character of some person concerned in the action, they need not have extended treatment; if, however, they have a direct bear- ing on the plot, it may be wise to deal with each one in detail. Everything depends on the plan and purpose of the writer, who will be judged, as he knows, by the effect which he produces. As the conception of the plot takes form in his mind, he will, if he is skillful, detect instinc- tively any marks of weakness in his outline, and will make any necessary alterations before the final draft is com- pleted. Force Achieved through Striking Treatment. — It lies in the power of any trained writer to gain Force through striking treatment of any incident or character. Par- ticularly vigorous or graphic language, an unusual amount of space or detail, a dramatic position towards the close of the book — any one of these devices is bound to produce the effect of Force. Thomas Hardy's Far from the Mad- NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS 261 ding Crowd, for instance, impresses the reader as a series of spectacular episodes, each one carefully led up to and brought to its appropriate climax. Description and Ex- position are frequently blended with Narrative when atten- tion is to be centered on a certain phase of the plot. Beauty in Narration. • — Beauty in Narration, as in every other form of composition, is an intangible quality, the secret of which is often difficult to lay bare. The choice of material, the arrangement of details, the selection of words and phrases — all these, of course, may blend to make a narrative artistically complete and beautiful. Sometimes, as in Poe's Fall of the House of Usher, the mere use of language will suffice to make a story alluring; again, as in Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, the presenta- tion of a single noble character will give charm to the whole novel. In the finest narrative writing the author has succeeded, through the power of his personality, in welding plot, setting, and characters into a perfect unit, the symmetry of which is in itself a thing of beauty. History and Biography. — History and biography, or any phase of either, are largely varieties of Narrative. Indeed the process of constructing any form of history or biography is analogous to that employed in writing fic- tion, except for the fact that the writer, dealing as he is with a single period or a single man, is more strictly con- fined within a definite field of ideas. In fiction, he is bounded only by the range of his imagination; in biog- raphy, he is limited by being able to treat only of the actual incidents within a given period of time. Rhodes, in writing his History of the United States from 1850 to 1877, confined himself, by his title, to events in a speci- fied country in a specified era. If we forget this pre- liminary difference, — which is, in practice, of very little importance, — the principles applicable to prose fiction are 262 NAERATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS equally applicable, in most respects, to either history or biography. The author must first select his material, taking into consideration his own purpose, the scope of his work, and the reading public which he is addressing. He must then proceed to organize this material in the most effective way, complying with the rules for Correctness, Clearness, Force, and Beauty, Mr. Lytton Strachey's Queen Victoria, an admirable example of contemporary biography, illustrates this method: the selection, from an immense quantity of material, of certain facts which seemed important to the author; the arrangement of these facts in a picturesque and appealing way; and the use of a style peculiar to the biographer and calculated, through its tone of deliberate irony as well as its charm of phrasing, to arrest and retain the attention of the reader. The mere recounting of events in chronological order, without trying to relate them to certain tendencies or movements, is the worst kind of Narrative, whether in fiction, biography, or history. EXERCISES I. Write a newspaper account of some robbery which has taken place in your town or city. II. Write a short life of any well-known American author, — Poe, Holmes, Longfellow, Hawthorne, Emerson, Whittier, Irv- ing. Try to avoid a mere chronological Ust of incidents. III. Write an account, in the first person, of some interesting adventure which you have had. Try to make your opening attractive, and be sure to save your climax until the end. IV. Write, in the third person, a story of school fife. V. Write an account of some dramatic episode in American history, such as The Capture of John Andre, The Battle of Bunker Hill, The Purchase of Alaska, or The Election of Hayes as President. NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS 263 VI. Give the outlines of plots which will suit the foUowing titles : 1. "Man Overboard! " 6. Paid in Full 2. Caught in the Act 7. A Useless Bribe 3. An Unexpected Arrival 8. A Voice from the Clouds 4. Bread upon the Waters 9. The Parson's Predicament 5. Revenge is Sweet 10. The Lost Will VII. One of your friends accidentally hits another with a snowball in the eye, injuring him severely. Write the story of the incident: 1. From the point of view of the thrower of the snow- ball 2. From the point of view of the victim 3. From the point of view of a bystander VIII. Write, in three hundred words, the story of the plot of some well-known modern novel, such as Churchill's The Crisis or Wister's The Virginian. IX. Write a section of your autobiography, covering your life up to the age of ten. X. Write a Narrative in which the character of the principal figure changes from bad to good as the result of an accident. The Aims of Description. — The object of Description, considered as a separate form of writing, is to present a picture of what the author sees, or wishes us to see, in some object, scene, or living being. Exposition and Descrip- tion are often closely allied: Exposition, however, usually portrays an object as one of a class; Description aims to separate an object from the class to which it belongs. It is thus the purpose of Description to show certain respects in which a given house or mountain or man is different from other houses or mountains or men. There are dis- tinguishable two specific types of Description, each easily recognized: one has a merely practical value, conveying information which will enable us to identify some object 264 NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS or person; the other attempts to arouse in the reader some emotion or state of mind. The first can be found in the descriptions of criminals prepared in the police courts, or in the architect's proposals for a building; the second includes any artistic picture in words of an aspect of nature or a product of man's genius. As an illustration of the first, consider the following newspaper advertise- ment: Gentleman's Estate: twelve miles out, in residential town, 22 acres, % heavily wooded; bordering on beautiful pond; attractive 14-room house, with three baths; stables. Suitable for sanatorium or home. By way of contrast notice the effect produced by the following paragraph, also a description of a dwelling: It was a long low cottage, with a hipped roof of thatch, having dormer windows breaking up into the eaves, a chimney standing * in the middle of the ridge and another at the further end. The window-shutters were not yet closed, and the fire and candle- light within radiated forth upon the thick bushes of box and laurestinus growing in clumps outside, and upon the bare boughs of several codlin-trees hanging about in various distorted shapes, the result of early training as espaliers combined with careless climbing into their boughs in later years. The walls of the dwelling were for the most part covered with creepers, though these were rather beaten back from the doorway — a feature which was worn and scratched by much passing in and out, giving it by day the appearance of an old keyhole. Practical Description. — In practical Description, in- tended to give an absolutely faithful representation of de- tails with photographic accuracy, the chief requisite is com- plete truth to the original. The reproduction must be exact in every particular. The writer must get his facts through unimpeachable sources, and then present them without comment to the reader. This sort of Description can be managed by any honest and unimaginative mind. NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS 265 Artistic Description. — Artistic Description attempts to do in words what a painter tries to do in colors' — not to give an exact reproduction, like a photograph, but to show us the scene as it appears to him, modified by his per- sonality. In this kind of Description, details may be eliminated and measurements avoided, the sole object being to produce an impression or to arouse an emotion. It is this type of Description in which we are mainly interested here. The Selection of Material. — As in all forms of com- position, the writer must first select his material, choosing from the mass of details at his disposal those which best answer his purpose. In order to obey the laws of Clear- ness, he will assemble this material around some particular impression, so that the effect will be distinct and sharp. Notice how, in the following paragraph, everything is based on the word still in the first sentence: She was the central figure of a still landscape. The midday sunshine fell in broad effulgence upon it; the homely dun-colored shadows had been running away all the morning, as if shirking the contrast with the shadows of the golden light, until nothing was left of them except a dark circle beneath the wide-spreading trees. No breath of wind stirred the leaves, or rippled the sur- face of the little pond. The lethargy of the hour had descended even upon the towering pine-trees growing upon the precipitous slope of the mountain, and showing their topmost plumes just above the frowning, gray crag, — their melancholy song was hushed. The silent masses of dazzling white clouds were poised motionless in the ambient air, high above the valley and the misty expanse of the distant, wooded ranges. — Murfree: Taking the Blue Ribbon at the County Fair. Here, again, is a paragraph in which the central theme, although expressed in no single word, is color: She was in the emerald heart of a world of coral-pink. Softer than scarlet, more glowing than pink, the earth lay suf- 266 NAERATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS fused, tinted like the embers of a dying fire. Gradually the plains became one rose; deep purple lowered in the sky, orange and gold and pearl; yet still the marvel and the richness of the rose claimed them' and won them all, won them into its heart. — Linn: The Girl at Duke's. The Point of View. — Clearness also requires the main- tenance of a predetermined point of view. If the writer places himself at a certain spot, gazing in a certain direction, he must take good care not to include in his de- scription any details which are not visible from his place of vantage. A person imagining himself at the- foot of Mount Monadnock, for instance, cannot, without arousing a smile, give a picture of the scenery on the opposite side of the range ; nor can he, standing on a hotel piazza, under- take to describe the trampled flowers along a path barely visible two miles away. The writer must aim at con- sistency in descriptions; and this means simply that he must use ordinary common sense. Clearness in Arrangement. — The arrangement and or- ganization of the material, when it has once been selected, is a problem largely of making the description clear to the reader. If there are any transitions, the move from one step to another must be rightly indicated, so that it may be fol- lowed without any shock to the sense of logical development. Many writers begin, as in some of the paragraphs already quoted, by giving a general impression, which they then proceed to sketch more elaborately in specific details. In the following paragraph, the first sentence makes a general statement, which is then developed by explanatory matter: Day came in with a shudder. White mists lay thinly over the surface of the plain, as we see them more often on a lake; and though the sun had soon dispersed and drunk them up, leaving an atmosphere of fever heat and crystal pureness from horizon to horizon, the mists had still been there, and we knew that this paradise was haunted by killing damps and foul ma- NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS 267 laria. The fences along the hne bore but two descriptions of advertisement: one to recommend tobaccos, and the other to vaunt remedies against the ague. At the point of day, and whUe we were all in the grasp of that first chill, a native of the State, who had got in at some way station, pronounced it, with a doctoral air, " a fever and ague morning." — Stevenson: Across the Plains. Generally speaking, whatever naturally impresses the writer is impressive to the reader, and the order of details should, therefore, be that which the observer notes. Force in Description. — Force in Description is a matter both of arrangement and of choice of words. Force may be secured by insisting on details which help to build up the single impression desired; it may also be obtained by the use of well-chosen phrases. Here is a paragraph devoted to producing the impression of the commonplace: At first sight, by the side of Mentone, San Remo is sadly prosaic. The valleys seem to sprawl, and the universal olives are monotonously grey upon their thick clay soil. Yet the wealth of flowers in . the fat earth is wonderful. One might fancy oneself in a weedy farm flower-bed invaded by stray oats and beans and cabbages and garlic from the kitchen-garden. The country does not suggest a single Greek idea. It has no form or outline — no barren peaks, no spare and difficult vegeta- tion. The beauty is rich but tame — valleys green with oats and corn, blossoming cherry-trees, and sweet bean-fields, figs coming into leaf, and arrowy bay-trees by the side of sparkling streams: here and there a broken aqueduct or rainbow hung with maiden- hair and briar and clematis and sarsaparilla. — Symonds: The Cornice. Beauty in Description. — In Description, more perhaps than in any other form of composition, the choice of words will determine the Beauty of the writing. It is here that the fresh and original adjective, the effective noun or verb, will give color and charm to the sentence, 268 NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS and create the emotion desired. The following examples will show how rightly chosen words will illumine a de- scription: Beautiful women in silken fluttering gowns, bright flowers holding the mantilla from flushed awakened faces, sat their im- patient horses as easily as a gull rides a wave. The sun beat down, making dark cheeks pink and white cheeks darker, but those great eyes, strong with their own fires, never faltered. — Atherton: The Pearls of Loreto. A huge mass of red and rusty metal lay in the cool embrace of the green field. Swiftly I hurried down the hillside, and as .1 came nearer I saw that it was indeed, as I had thought, the engine. Tarnished and twisted, he lay there, all his might and beauty departed from him. His iron flanks were streaked with rust; his great wheels, which had thundered so mightily across the hills, hurling him, a fierce black comet, down into the plains where the great cities lie, were turned impotently to the empty blue. And I saw that a butterfly had alighted on the rim of the rusty smokestack, and was lazily opening and shutting its purple wings — graceful, unconscious, and indifferent. — The Atlantic Monthly : " The Discontented Engine." The wind had dropped. The clouds had rolled from the zenith, and ranged in amphitheatre with distant flushed bodies over sea and land. Titanic crimson head and chest rising from the wave faced Hyperion falling. There hung Briareus with deep-indented trunk and ravined brows, stretching all his hands up to unattainable blue summits. Northwest the range had a rich white glow, as if shining to the moon, and westward, streams of amber, melting into upper rose, shot out from the dipping dusk. — Meredith: The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. In such passages as these, figures of speech fulfill their proper function of lending a rich and ever-changing Beauty to a writer's style. Often the mere sound of melodious vowels will make a description have an added charm; or one word, magical in its connotation, will make a scene unforgetable. NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS 269 Character Sketches. — Character sketches, — which come properly under the head of Description, — should aim to deal with mental and moral qualities, not simply with ex- ternal appearances. A mere enumeration of physical characteristics may be entirely misleading and inadequate. A student who was asked to describe a friend of his father's wrote this paragraph: Henry J. Rolfs was about 176 pounds in weight, and was five feet, seven inches, in height. His eyes were brown, his nose of the aquiline variety, and his chin rather square and heavy. He wore a faded blue serge suit and a rusty derby hat. On his feet were dark tan shoes, and in his hand he carried an umbrella. This is an inventory rather than a character sketch; after reading it, we know nothing whatever of the personality of the man " Rolfe." He may be a banker or a brick- layer, a clergyman or a criminal. Compare this descrip- tion with the following passage, intended to give a distinct impression of a fighting spirit: His brows, shghtly lined upward at the temples, converging to a knot above the well-set straight nose; his full gray eyes, open nostrils, and planted feet, and a gentlemanly air of calm and alertness, formed a spirited picture of a young combatant. — Meredith: The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. Sometimes a skillful writer, realizng the value of general impressions, will describe his characters only in a broad way, leaving us to imagine the details. This is the method of Thomas Hardy in the following paragraph: The chief — almost the only — attraction of the young woman's face was its mobility. When she looked down sideways to the girl she became pretty, and even handsome, particularly that in the action her features caught slantwise the rays of the strongly colored sun, and set fire on her lips. 'When she plodded on in the shade of the hedge, silently thinking, she had the hard, half-apathetic expression of one who deems anything possible 270 NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS at the hands of Time and Chance, except, perhaps, fair play. The first phase was the work of Nature, the second probably of civilization. — Hardy: The Mayor of Casterbridge. When we have read this description, we know practically nothing about the young woman's features; yet we know more about her appearance than we could gain from a multitude of trivial measurements. One of the most graphic descriptions in the English language is the picture of the dying Queen Elizabeth in Green's Short History of the English People: No outer triumph could break the gloom which gathered round the dying Queen. Lonely as she always had been, her loneliness deepened as she drew towards the grave. The states- men and warriors of her earlier days had dropped one by one from her Council-board; and their successors were watching her last moments, and intriguing for favor in the coming reign. Her favorite. Lord Essex, was led into an insane outbreak of revolt, which brought him to the block. . . . Her own England, the England which had grown up around her, serious, moral, prosaic, shrank coldly from this brilliant, fanciful child of earth and the Renascence. She had enjoyed hfe as the men of her day enjoyed it, and now that they were gone she clung to it with a fierce tenacity. She hunted, she danced, she jested with her young favorites, she coquetted and scolded and froUcked at sixty-seven as she had done at thirty. . . . But death crept on. Her face became haggard, and her frame shrank almost to a skeleton. At last her taste for finery disappeared, and she re- fused to change her dresses for weeks together. . . . Gradually her mind gave way. She lost her memory, the violence of her temper became unbearable, her very courage seemed to forsake her. She called for a sword to lie constantly beside her, and thrust it from time to time through the arras, as if she heard murderers stirring there. Food and rest became alike distasteful. She sate day and night propped up with pillows on a stool, her finger on her Up, her eyes fixed on the floor, without a word. If she once broke the silence, it was with a flash of her old queen- liness. When Robert Cecil asserted that she " must " go to bed, Jhe word roused her like a trumpet. "Must!" she exclaimed; NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS 271 "is must a word to be addressed to princes? Little man, little man! thy father, if he had been alive, durst not have used that word." Then as her anger spent itself, she sank into her old dejection. " Thou art so presumptuous," she said, "because thou knowest I shall die." She rallied once more when the mimsters beside her bed named Lord Beauchamp, the heir to the Suffolk claim, as a possible successor. " I will have no rogue's son," she cried hoarsely, " in my seat." But she gave no sign, save a motion of the head, at the mention of the King of Scots. She was in fact fast becoming insensible; and early the next morn- ing the life of Ehzabeth, a hfe so great, so strange and lonely in its greatness, passed quietly away. In this paragraph it is evident that Narration and De- scription have been inextricably mingled to produce the sketch of the Queen: an anecdote reveals a trait of char- acter; a sharp retort shows that she is still herself. Yet the impression which the reader receives is clear and unified, and the picture is perfectly drawn. A character sketch in which no narration of any kind is employed is well illustrated in a passage from Joseph Conrad, portraying a South American adventurer: On one side. General Montero, his bald head covered now by a plumed cocked hat, remained motionless on a skylight seat, a pair of big gauntleted hands folded on the hilt of a sabre standing upright between his legs. The white plume, the coppery tint of his broad face, the blue-black of his moustaches under the curved beak, the mass of gold on sleeves and breast, the high shining boots with enormous spurs, the working nostrils, the imbecile and domineering stare of the glorious victor of Rio Seco had in them something ominous and incredible; the exaggeration of the cruel caricature, the fatuity of solemn masquerading, the atrocious grotesqueness of some military idol of Aztec conception and European bedecking, awaiting the homage of worshippers. — Conrad : Nostromo . Summary. — The repetition in this chapter of certain basic precepts already emphasized in preceding sections 272 NARRATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS of this book cannot fail to be noticed. The fact is that the art of writing is founded on some primary laws, ap- plicable to all forms of composition; and that in each form the problem is to make these laws operative, or to adjust them to slightly altered needs. In producing the narrative and descriptive passages which we are called upon to prepare in our everyday lives, it is above all important not to forget these salient points : to choose our material with care, to arrange it with discretion, and to phrase our ideas in language which is fresh and effective. Only thus shall we attain that Clearness, Force, and Beauty which represent the goal of all our endeavors. EXERCISES > I. Describe (a) a forest in midsummer; (6) the same forest in midwinter. II. Write a character sketch, about three hundred words in length, of some historical figure; e.g., Richard I, Henry VTII, Cromwell, Andrew Jackson, Robert E. Lee, Grover Cleveland. III. Write a description of a masked ball as seen by (a) a pleasure-loving girl; (6) an old man out of work; (c) one of the musicians. IV. Write sketches of the following: A Tramp A Farmer A Hand-organ Man A Chinese Laundryman A Clerk in a Drug Store A Prosperous Banker A Kindergarten Teacher A Nurse V. Write brief descriptions of each of the following, paying especial attention to your point of view and the details which you present: A Deserted House A Palace A Seaside Cottage A Hotel A Fisherman's Cabin A Bungalow VI. Write a character sketch of some contemporary public man. CHAPTER XII THE PRACTICE OF ORAL COMPOSITION Reading Aloud. — Reading aloud, a custom which, in a more leisurely period, was fairly popular in cultured homes, has been gradually falling into a kind of disuse. In these days of constant hurry and endless pressing duties, the family as a group seldom have time for gathering round the fireside and enjoying this quiet form of diversion. The present situation is sometimes unfortunate, for practice in reading aloud is unquestionably one of the most profitable features in any system of education, either within or out- side school walls. Through it, a man gets used to the tones of his own voice, thus acquiring self-confidence in talking to others. As a result of the intelligent comment of critics, he learns how to correct faulty pronunciation and the indistinct enunciation of words. So, too, he develops an appreciation of sound, of those subtle cadences which so frequently slip by unnoticed in the hasty perusal of a book. He gains, finally, through this kind of reading a new approach to literature, simply through the fact that the mere process of reading aloud, compelling him to go rather more slowly than he might otherwise do, allows time for the phrases of the author to sink into his mind. It has been rightly maintained that one of the best tests of a student's understanding of a book is the skill and feeling with which he reads its passages aloud. Testing Our Own Writing. — So, too, we can try the quality of our own writing in no better way than by reading it aloud to otuselves, even at the risk of arousing 273 274 THE PRACTICE OF ORAL COMPOSITION suspicions as to our sanity. It will be extraordinary in- deed if we do not discover in the coiu-se of the process some hitherto unnoticed cacophony, some harshness of expression, which our good taste will wish to have re- moved. Crudities which we slip by in silent reading loom up conspicuously when the sentence is read aloud. It is even more helpful to read our work to people who are competent to correct our notable faults. Thus the reading of a composition in a classroom before the teacher will usually result to our great benefit. Mispronimciations of common words can then be corrected in season; the careless enunciation so prevalent in our country to-day can be improved; and any marked defects in emphasis or tone can be pointed out. The Need of Oral Composition. — Even more valuable, from a utilitarian aspect, is training in what has been called oral composition, — an exercise less pretentious, but quite as useful as the elocution, so-called, of a quarter of a century ago. Oral composition is simply the process of speaking an orderly and well-constructed story or essay or argument instead of writing it on paper. Standing on our feet before an audience, we speak our ideas, fol- lowing out exactly the same principles of Correctness, Clearness, Force, and Beauty to which we have been ac- customed to adhere in our written themes. It is true that not so much can be expected in oral composition as in carefully prepared written work. The speaker cannot avoid some embarrassment entailed in facing a group of listeners; he has, once the word or phrase has been spoken, no opportunity for revision; and he has no time to ponder ' over the precise word for a given idea. Practice and ex- perience, however, will make these difiiculties seem less terrifying, and he will soon gain skill in the important art of thinking on his feet, — an art which to some men and women has always remained a mystery. THE PRACTICE OF ORAL COMPOSITION 275 Simple Subjects for Oral Composition. — In aiming at proficiency in oral composition, it is wise to begin in a simple way, with subjects taken from our own personal- experiences and requiring, therefore, memory rather than logical development. We are all in the habit of relating incidents in our daily lives, bits of romance or adventure which have left a vivid recollection on our minds. Let us choose, in our early experiments, topics with which we are familiar, and thus be sure that we shall have an abundance of material. The following brief list of titles may offer suggestions which will be helpful as we set about our task: A Coasting Party The Masquerade Dance Catching My Largest Fish A Tramp up the Mountain How the Canoe Tipped Over The Fire at Night My Fall Through the Ice The Meanest Thing I Ever Did Shopping for Christmas How We Won the Game It will be advisable to select some narrative subject for practice, and to proceed from this to topics of an expository nature, requiring more careful thought. The Method of Preparation. — Once having chosen our title, — which should be assigned or selected at least a full day in advance, — we can proceed with our prepara- tion, following closely all the rules which have been laid down in the discussion of written composition. We must, first of all, make a survey of our available material, taking pains to select the details which contribute to the develop- ment of the story and will prove entertaining to the auditors. Then come the problems of arrangement, to secure Clearness and Force, and of transition. Here a brief outline may be prepared, covering the important topics to be discussed and written on a card about three by five inches, which can be held in the hand without being too conspicuous. The notes on this may be of the 276 THE PRACTICE OF ORAL COMPOSITION crudest kind, but they must assist the speaker in keeping to his story. An example of such an outline, written out hastily on the first topic given above, is here illustrated: A Coasting Party Dinner at My House Cold Starlight Night Helen Suggests Coasting The Start The Tip-over The Successful SUde Others Come Out The Long Walk Home Warming up Before the Fire The Welsh Rarebit to Close the Evening The selection and organization of material having been completed, it is then advisable to think out and practice the best methods of presenting the story through effective wording and sentence structure. No effort should be made, however, to memorize any portion of the oral composition. The Method of Delivery. — When called upon by the teacher or presiding officer, the speaker should proceed to the platform before the class, where he can face the members. He should stand erect, in a good firm posture, — not in a slouching attitude, or with his hands in his pockets, or with his body leaning awkwardly against a desk. He should then speak in a clear voice, with careful enunciation and with as much ease as he can muster, consulting the card-outline whenever it seems necessary to do so. It is a good practice to look the audience directly in the eyes, or, at least, to move one's eyes from one face to another, so that each hearer will feel that he is being directly addressed. Any marked affectations or attempt at pompous utterance will be sure to react unfavorably on the audience. Monotony in delivery may be THE PRACTICE OF ORAL COMPOSITION 277 avoided by varying the force and pitch of the voice, and by changing the position slightly to indicate transitions. It is especially important to talk slowly and distinctly. Most speakers talk too rapidly, and it is far better to go to the opposite extreme than to run the risk of not being under- stood. We should be careful, of course, not to fall into the common errors of sentence structure and phrasing, and should frame each sentence, so far as possible, in our minds before actually speaking it. EXERCISE I. Pronounce the following words in a clear distinct voice. If you are unfamiliar with the pronunciation, look it up in some standard dictionary: poem survey history column undoubtedly different exquisite sacrilegious vaudeville new duty elm real address creek despicable illegible roof pastoral accessory deficit influence stomach deaf Effectiveness in Delivery. — To be really impressive, a speaker must show, in his manner and presence, the quali- ties of directness, sincerity, and earnestness. Unless he is genuinely interested in what he is trying to impart, he will certainly fail to interest his audience. A stream can rise no higher than its source, and an indifferent or in- sincere attitude will throw a chill over everyone within the speaker's hearing. Whatever his native endowment in charm or vigor, he can at least do his best to meet the standard set for him. Descriptive Subjects. — Descriptive subjects in oral composition are rather more difficult than those of a nar- rative character, chiefly because the arrangement of ma- 278 THE PRACTICE OF ORAL COMPOSITION terial cannot be chronological but must be built around one or more central conceptions. In oral composition, the first step in Description is to state definitely what these con- ceptions are. If our subject is, for instance, The Old Barn, we can group our impressions around such words as loneli- ness, gloom, disrepair, or ruin, and make the details which we have in mind fit one of these words. In this way it is possible to make an orderly description without wandering far from the topics on your card. Some suggested subjects may be given here: A Sunrise from the Mountain The Castle from the Highway Top ■ The Front of Some Cathedral A Flock of Geese A Storm at Sea The Ancient Elm The Grand Canyon The Ice Storm The Birthplace of Some Great A Geyser Man A Store Window A Ferry Boat Expository and Argumentative Subjects. — The attain- ment of some skill at Narration and Description leads naturally to the attempt at subjects which require, not so much an accurate memory as well-developed logical facul- ties, and which demand, therefore, training in thinking on one's feet. The best expository subjects with which to begin are those in which the speaker tries merely to ex- plain some process or to justify some course of action, — to do, in other words, precisely what all successful business men are compelled to do many times a day in interviews with purchasers or discussions at board meetings. Con- fidence and experience are essential factors of success in this kind of oral composition. Someone at the dinner table says, " What do you think, Mr. Jones, of the present conditions in Ireland? " Instead of replying rather fatu- ously, " Well, they don't look very good " or " I can't make much out of them," you will wish to give an answer THE PRACTICE OF ORAL COMPOSITION 279 which has some completeness ; and, if you have been rightly- trained, such an answer can be readily advanced. This is oral composition in practical use. The Preparation for an Expository Subject. — The preparation for expository subjects is not markedly dif- ferent from that demanded by other forms of oral com- position. The familiar steps of limitation of subject, choice and arrangement of material, and careful phrasing must, of course, be successively taken up. In Exposition, however, it is frequently necessary to consult reference books or magazines in order to secure essential infor- mation. Care should be taken in such cases that the phrase- ology of other writers is never borrowed without a definite statement of the obligation; and the sources from which important facts have been obtained should always be specifically enumerated. In other words, a writer's work is his own, just as his chairs and his desk are his own; and it is equally unethical to appropriate either his rugs or his original ideas. It is especially important in Exposition and Argument that one advance in thouglit should grow out of another, and that transitions between sentence and sentence, and paragraph and paragraph, should be so dexterously brought about that the listener will never be confused. In a written composition, the reader has the privilege of re- turning, if he so desires, to a previous section, and going over it once more to refresh his memory of what has been said; in oral composition, the audience have no such re- source to fall back on, but are entirely at the mercy of the speaker. If the latter fails to make an occasional re- capitulation, if he does not completely clarify every idea, then the victims of his eloquence will soon be floundering helplessly, without a chance of reaching shore. The fol- lowing suggested topics will offer practice in oral com- position: 280 THE PEACTICE OF ORAL COMPOSITION The Billboard Nuisance How to Prevent Tuberculosis How to Get Ready for a Trip Abroad The Manufacture of Cloth (Soap, Shoes) A Peculiar Foreign Custom Taking Care of a Motor Boat My Future Occupation The Character of Some Great Man How to Be a Good Salesman The Process of Tanning Leather The Need of Good Roads The Moral Influence of " Movies " Illustrated Talks. — In schools where a lantern is avail- able, lectures illustrated by slides or mounted cards will prove a pleasing diversion. Any student can collect ma- terial from photographs or magazine illustrations and use them to explain a subject. Sketches of the different phases of machinery motion can actually be made and thrown on the screen. There are manufacturers who supply sets of slides or mounted cards on various subjects at a comparatively small cost. The stimulus offered by the pictures will arouse the best in the speaker, and the audience will be correspondingly interested. Some sub- jects which have been found to work well in practice are here given: The Working of a Gasoline Engine The Wonders of the Yellowstone National Park How a Telephone Operates A Ride Through the White Mountains Building a Bridge The Operation of a Submarine The Panama Canal The Work of Some Painter or Sculptor The Operation of a Machine-gun The Grand Canyon The Old Missions of CaUfornia THE PRACTICE OF ORAL COMPOSITION 281 Argumentation. — When a measure of argument is in- troduced into oral composition, we are likely to have a debate, with one member of the class pitted against an- other. The general principles involved in the presenta- tion of an argument on paper have been sufficiently out- lined in a previous chapter, and need not be reiterated here. When it comes to oral delivery, the speaker must be careful to use the utmost tact in trying to convince his audience, for civility and courtesy will win a hearing when browbeating will utterly fail. A judicious amount of persuasion is worth hour after hour of bullying as a means of gaining one's end. A justifiable device in any debate is the anticipation of an opponent's argument, and the refutation of it, even before your own argument is complete. Subjects for oral Argumentation should not be too abstruse. It is far better to select topics on which you have already some information, and in which you have some practical interest. Should Fraternities Be Allowed in High Schools? Does Student Government Work? Shall the Honor System in Examinations Be Established? Is Government Ownership of Railroads Desirable? Is Free Speech Always to Be Permitted? Should the Submarine Be Abandoned as an Instrument of Warfare? Is Domestic Science a Valuable Study in High Schools? Should Simplified English Spelling Be Adopted in Secondary Schools? General Principles. — As in written work, the student should make a careful preparation for every exercise in oral composition, consulting the reference books in the library for helpful material and making sure that he has covered all important sources. When he stands before the audience, he ought to feel at ease with regard to the in- formation at his disposal and the method of presentation 282 THE PRACTICE OF ORAL COMPOSITION which he proposes to use. He can then, freed from these restrictions, devote his attention, while on his feet, to the mental arrangement of his thoughts in phrases and sen- tences. Any public speaker can, it is true, gain somewhat in smoothness by memorizing his address; but he loses correspondingly in spontaneity. The effect of extempo- raneousness is of immense value in impressing an audience, and the orator who appears to be carried away by the impulse of the moment will invariably secure a hearing where the more polished speaker will fail. Value of Oral Composition. — At the present moment oral composition is one of the most popular features in many school courses in English. It can also be one of the most useful ; but only if high standards are maintained and careful preparation required. If the attention of the audience is insisted upon under all conditions, this will stimulate the speaker. A further method of arousing am- bition is through prize contests, or asking the class to vote each day for the one whom they consider to be the best contestant. Just so long as the work of oral composition is carried on in a systematic and serious way it will accom- plish excellent results, and will justify its inclusion in the curriculum. CHAPTER XIII LETTER WRITING Letter Writing in Everyday Life. — In the life of the average man or woman, letter writing is the form of prose composition most often practised. Very few persons, comparatively speaking, have either the desire or the ability to produce poetry, short stories, novels, essays, biographies, or histories; but we are all obliged, in the course of our daily household or office routine, to carry on no small amount of correspondence of a social and business nature. There is thus a vast mass of prose writing being sent through the mails every twenty-four hours: letters from sons to parents, from one friend to another, from guest to hostess, from manufacturer to consumer. Some business houses send out hundreds of letters in a single day, each one differing in subject slightly from the others. Most of this writing is quite ephemeral and is soon consigned to the waste-basket or the fire; but each letter thus destroyed has been, however insignificant, a bit of prose composition, and, as such, has required some thought and some elementary training in writing. From the practical aspects of composition nothing in this book is more worth discussing than the basic principles of letter writing. Varieties of Letters. — Nearly all letters may be classi- fied for convenience under one of two great heads, — formal and familiar. The formal letter is the type used, for the most part, in business dealings, in conventional social communication, and in correspondence with those whom we know but slightly if at all, — in short, in all letters where the aim is of a definite kind, like replying 283 284 LETTER WRITING to a request, or giving and seeking specific information. Into such letters the writer puts little of his personality, being content, as a rule, to confine himself to the matter under immediate consideration. The familiar letter, on the other hand, is essentially an expression of individ- uality, without any ulterior motive. In it, the writer is really chatting, in a friendly way, on paper, just as he would have done under other circumstances with his friend in an easy chair by the fireside, telling echoes of gossip, exchanging reminiscences and hopes, and feeling under no restraint. In such letters the writer actually visualizes his correspondent, and makes a point of pleasing and diverting him. The difference between the spirit of formal and of familiar letters is that between a man dressed up in a frock coat and silk hat at a public ceremony and the same man, comfortably clad in knickerbockers and an old cap, on his way to his favorite fishing resort in the backwoods. Mechanical Details. — It is but showing ordinary courtesy to our correspondent, whoever he may be, to use unruled white or cream- colored paper, of good quality and con- venient size, to write legibly in good ink and with careful attention to the rules for Correctness in spelling, punctua- tion, and grammar, to fold the letter sheet with some regard to its shape, and, in general, to preserve neatness and order in all the details. Good taste in matters like this is no less important than in our personal appearance, and many a position has been lost by a failure on the part of the applicant to meet these simple requirements. Conventional Requirements. — There are in any letter well-defined sections the form for which has received a certain sanction from established custom and should, there- fore, be followed unless there is an excellent reason for not doing so. These sections are called, in common usage, the heading, the address, the salutation, the conclusion, and the superscription. The body of the letter, containing LETTER WRITING 285 the message itself, must also conform to some of the speci- fications of good society. The Heading. — The heading is that portion of the letter to be first written, and contains the date and place of writing. Occupying usually the upper right of the page, it includes either two or three lines, the first one or two being devoted to the address of the writer and the third to the date of composition. If abbreviations are employed, they should be properly punctuated; but no punctuation is needed at the end of the line. Examples Dunkirk, New York April 1, 1903 482 E. St. George St. Philadelphia, Pa. Aug. 14, 1916 The use of printed or engraved letter-heads of various kinds has been gradually growing more popular, even in familiar correspondence. In such cases the type of stationery will usually determine the position of the date. A common practice is to place it at the lower left of the last sheet, on a line below the Signature of the writer. The Address. — The address, giving the title, name, and location of the person or firm to whom the letter is being sent, is put at the upper left of the first page, on a line just below the heading and just above the body of the letter. It gives substantially the same information as that placed as a superscription on the outside of the envelope, and is merely an additional precaution to ensure the letter's reaching the proper destination. The address is usually omitted in a familiar letter. The Salutation. — The salutation is an introduction to the body of the letter, and may vary from the highly formal " Sir " to the very intimate " Dearest Mother," 286 LETTER WRITING the type chosen depending, of course, on the degree of intimacy to be expressed. Such forms as " Gentlemen," " Sirs," or " My dear Sir," are ordinarily employed in business correspondence ; the more friendly expressions, like " My dear Mr. Jones " or " Dear Mary," may be used in letters of a personal character. The punctuation following the salutation may be left largely to the writer's individual taste, although it is generally considered that the colon or the colon and the dash represent a more formal relation- ship than the comma or the comma and the dash. It may be noted that the semicolon is never used after the salutation. Examples of Addresses and Salutations Messrs. Jones, Heath, and Wells 888 North St., Chicago, 111. Gentlemen: — Mr. J. Waldo Brown Northfield, Ohio My dear Sir: — The Body of the Letter. — The body, or main section, of the letter should begin on the line below the salu- tation, and should be indented like the usual paragraph in a theme. It should follow, broadly speaking, the structure of any piece of prose composition, having the customary margin on the left and the regular indentation for the opening lines of paragraphs. The tone of the body of the letter will be reserved for later discussion in this chapter. The Conclusion, — The conclusion of most letters has two parts, — the so-called complimentary close and the signature. The complimentary close is a kind of leave- taking, depending in its form, like the salutation, upon the relationship between the writer and his corre- spondent. It is placed at the right of the sheet, about LETTER WRITING 287 two lines below the concluding sentence of the body of the letter. It may range in fervor from the formal " Yours truly " or " Respectfully yours " to the less restrained " Sincerely yours " and " Cordially yoiirs " and the very intimate " Affectionately yours." Following the compli- mentary close and about two lines below it is the signa- ture, placed usually slightly to the right. In business letters it is now a sensible practice to place the signature in typewritten form in parentheses just underneath the true signature of the writer, thus removing the difBculties frequently resulting from poor penmanship. The ques- tion of capitalization and punctuation is not here one of great moment, but it is not the best practice to capitalize any word in the complimentary close except the first; the complimentary close is itself usually followed by a comma. Examples Very truly yours, Charles W. Moore Affectionately your friend, Mary Ellen Shaw Typical Forms. — Typical forms of letters, including all except the body, are here given: 189 Genesee Street Dr. Charles S. Brown Harrisburg, Pa. My dear Sir : — Dear Marie^ — Utica, New York Dec. 8, 1919 Very truly yours, Henry S. Crosby Boxford, Mass. June 17, 1921 Affectionately yours, Carl 288 LETTER WRITING EXERCISE Write out the proper heading, address, salutation, and con- clusion to be used in the following letters: 1. To the Eastman Kodak Company, ordering a camera. 2. To your congressman, asking him to vote for a certain bill. 3. To your roommate of last year. 4. To your former pastor. 5. To your uncle. 6. To the President of the United States, asking for an auto- graph. The Superscription. — The superscription, placed on the outside of the envelope, should provide all the information necessary to bring the letter safely to its proper recipient. It should, therefore, be perfectly legible, especial attention being paid to the clearness of street numbers. Generally speaking, the fewer abbreviations the better, except in established forms like " St." and " Dr." The best usage to- day omits any punctuation except that required in abbrevia- tions. The name and address of the writer are often written, or, in business letters, printed, in the upper left-hand cor- ner of the envelope, in order that the letter may be returned if it cannot be delivered. J. H. Case Groton, Mass Mr. Garl H. Anderson Springfield Ohio LETTER WRITING 289 Business Letters. — The object of a business letter being to discuss some particular subject, that subject should be taken up at once in a clear, direct way, without any circum- locutions or useless preliminaries. The best business letters to-day are confined to a single point, this practice being of great assistance in filing correspondence. Civility and refinement are now looked upon as indispensable by the most reputable firms; the omission of pronouns or other parts of speech, the excessive use of abbreviations, and the employment of stock phrases have no justification in good usage. The following are examples of faults to be avoided : " In reply to your letter of the 13th inst., will say that youi order is 0. K." " Yours of the 8th rec'd & contents noted." There are, of course, certain standardized openings foi business letters which serve a purpose, and consequently arie employed by good writers. Among them are the fol- lowing: " In reply to your letter of September 1, regarding the pro- motion of your friend, Mr. Henry W. Bond, I will say that we have decided to grant your request." " Answering your communication of April 15, on the subject of the further extension of your loan, we are unable to see any reason for further concessions on the part of our firm." Such openings refer at once to the subject under discussion, call attention to the earlier correspondence, and are thus very helpful in making the ensuing sentences clear. Slang or undignified language invariably creates a poor impression in a business letter. It will be found that the most progressive business houses pay careful attention even to minor details of the firm's correspondence insisting that only the best stationery shall be used and that every letter going out under their signature shall be dignified and courteous. Good grammar, accurate punctuation, and cor- 290 LETTER WRITING rect spelling are, of course, considered as indispensable. Not long ago an investigation was carried on of the corre- spondence of one hundred representative American business houses, as taken from their daily files. It was foimd, as might have been surmised, that the standing of the firms could be judged with some certainty merely from the external appearance of the letters, and that this estimate was usually confirmed by a glance at the contents. In the correspondence of the better commercial houses there were no incomplete sentences, no crude abbreviations, and no meaningless stock expressions. It is true that different houses had different rules in the details of form and ar- rangement; but most of the letters were very much to the point and couched in language of a polite and tactful kind. Furthermore, each firm preserved an absolute consistency in its rules for usage in punctuation and structure. The time is rapidly approaching when no firm will dare to ignore the advertising which comes directly and indirectly from neat well-constructed letters produced by its employees. Examples Akron, Ohio January 3, 1922 Messrs. Crane and Henry 314 Hampton St. Bridgeport, Conn. Gentlemen : — Will you kindly send me full information, covering par- ticularly quality, durability, and price, regarding the various kinds of letter paper manufactured by your firm? I am par- ticularly interested in a heavy-weight cream-colored paper re- cently sold by you in a large order to Mr. John R. Martin, of Columbus, Ohio. If you have any special offer to make on this paper in large quantities, I may find it possible to purchase a considerable amount. Very truly yours, H. Kendall Brown LETTER WRITING 291 Lewis and Lewis Dry Goods and Supplies Abbeville, La. Mr. Frank P. Blair Macon, Georgia My dear Sir, — We have received with regret your complaint in your letter of May 17 regarding the quality of green velour sent to you in response to your last order. We are making a careful examina- tion into the matter, to find out where the responsibility lies, and you may be sure that we shall spare no pains in tracing the error to its source. In the meantime we are forwarding to you this morning, by American Express, 100 yards of forest green velour of the quality which you desired, and we trust that this will reach you in good condition. We are exceedingly sorry that you should have been disappointed in our previous shipment. Yours truly, Lewis and Lewis May 19, 1918 EXERCISES 1. Write a letter to a firm of pubhshers, complaining that a set of books sent to you has gone astray. 2. Write a letter to a newspaper agency, ordering five maga- zines for the coming year. 3. Write a letter to an automobile company, making inquiries about a new type of car just put on the market. 4. Write a letter from a salesman to the shoe company by which he is employed, explaining the reason why his sales have been so few in a certain section. 5. Write a reply from the shoe company, giving special in- structions to the salesman. 6. Write a letter to a banking firm, applying for a position in the bank. 7. A young man just discharged from the army, where he has been promoted from private to second lieutenant, seeks a position in an automobile company. His only experience has been in driving motor trucks. Write his letter of application. 292 LETTER WRITING 8. Write a letter recommending a young college student for a Rhodes scholarship. 9. Write a letter introducing to a clergyman in Kansas City a young friend of yours who is about to move there from the East. Formal Letters in the Third Person. — Invitations to social functions may be of various kinds, from the in- formal and intimate note asking a guest to a simple dinner to the elaborately engraved invitation to a large ball. The informal note can be easily managed by any one who understands the principles of letter writing, its expression depending entirely on the temperament of the writer. The formal invitation and its reply, however, are prescribed by rigid social etiquette, a book on which sub- ject should be consulted in case of embarrassment. Typical examples of the formal type of invitation, with the appropriate replies, are given below: Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Mixter request the pleasure of Mr. James W. Brown's company at dinner on the evening of Friday, March the eleventh, at seven-thirty o'clock. 14 Central Park West March the second 72 West End Avenue New York City March 3, 1922 Mr. James W. Brown accepts with pleasure the kind invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Mixter for dinner on the evening of Friday, March eleventh, at seven-thirty o'clock. James W. Brown 72 West End Avenue New York City Mr. James W. Brown regrets his inability to accept the kind invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Mixter for dinner on the evening of Friday, March eleventh. March 3, 1922 LETTER WRITING 293 The Familiar Letter. — The so-called familiar letter, unlike the various types of business letters with which we have been dealing, should be a revelation of person- ality. In such a letter the interest centers, as in a lyric poem, around the author himself, his likes and dislikes, whims and fancies. The best familiar letter writers, — men like William Cowper, Edward Fitzgerald, and Robert Louis Stevenson, — fill pages with gossip about themselves, their thoughts, their aspirations, and the trivial incidents of their daily lives. Such men are, of course, careful to adapt their letters to their correspond- ents, taking pains to include only topics which each would be likely to use or enjoy in conversation. In litera- ture so spontaneous and unstudied as the familiar letter, any stiffness of style or formality of structure destroys the personal touch. Above all, such letters must be absolutely sincere, without any traces of self-consciousness, compla- cency, or smugness. Only men and woman with interesting personalities can expect to produce artistic letters. The best advice for the average man is to be entirely natural, to write just as he thinks and feels, without any attempt at affectation or pretense. Except in respect to Correct- ness, the letters of one highly original writer can hardly be a model for another ; yet the letters of such a man may help us by giving us a clue as to how we may express our own personalities. Examples The following letter from Thomas Bailey Aldrich to William Dean Howells shows how gracefully it is possible for one man to thank another for a delightful visit: 294 LETTER WRITING Ponkapog, Mass. Dec. 13, 1875 Dear Howells, — We had so charming a visit at your house that I have about made up my mind to reside with you permanently. I am tired of writing. I would like to settle down in just such a comfortable home as yours, with a man who can work regularly four or five hours a day, thereby reUeving one of all painful apprehensions in respect to clothes and pocket-money. I am easy to get along with. I have few unreasonable wants and never complain when they are constantly suppUed. I think I could depend on you. Ever yours, T. B. A. P. S. I should want to bring my two mothers, my two boys (I seem to have everything in twos), my wife, and her sister. In the following letter Robert Louis Stevenson answers a request from a small boy for an autograph: Vailima, Upolu, Samoa November 28, 1891 Dear Sir, — Your obliging communication is to hand. I am glad to find that you have read some of my books, and to see that you spell my name right. This is a point (for some reason) of great difficulty; and I believe that a gentleman who can speU Stevenson with a V at sixteen should have a show for the Presidency before fifty. By that time " I, nearer to the wayside inn," predict that you will have outgrown your taste for autographs, but perhaps your son will have inherited the collection, and on the morning of the great day will recall my prophecy to your mind. And in the papers of 1921 (say) this letter may arouse a smile. Whatever you do, read something else besides novels and newspapers; the first are good enough when they are good; the second, at their best, are worth nothing. Read great books of literature and history; try to understand the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages; be sure you do not understand when you LETTER WRITING 295 dislike them; condemnation is non-comprehension. And if you know something of these two periods, you will know a httle more about to-day, and may be a good President. I send you my best wishes, and am yours, Robert Louis Stevenson Author of a vast quantity of little books Cautions Regarding Familiar Letters. — In the familiar letter it is very easy to fall into certain blunders, due chiefly to indolence or lack of originality. The opening should never hel trite or commonplace, like those of so many schoolboy letters: " It is a snowy afternoon, and there is nothing to do outdoors; so I thought I would drop you a few hnes to tell you how I am getting on." " I take my pen in hand to say a few words about my experi- ences in camp at Jacksonville." It is useless to burden a reader with sentences w'hich really contribute nothing to the thought and are put in for want of anything else to say. So, too, in the con- clusion there is exactly the same problem. Just as some people find it difiicult to leave a room without an awk- ward step or a stmnble over a rug, so there are those who cannot leave off writing without falling into banalities: " The church bell is ringing now for vespers, and I must close." " As I can think of no more at present, I am obliged to stop. Good-by." Try, in a familiar letter, to avoid what everybody says, and to approach a subject from a new point of view. The Value of Practice. — The constant practice which most students are likely to have in familiar letter writing makes it possible for any one who really desires to improve his style, to train himself in self-expression. There are 296 LETTER WRITING always letters to be written, and, the more pains we take with them, the sooner will success in English composition be achieved. It ought to be said, in concluding this brief discussion, that in few ways are men judged more accu- rately than by their letters. Business houses, knowing this, are quite ready to reject or accept an applicant for a posi- tion on the strength or weakness of his letter. Slovenliness, inaccuracy, disorder, carelessness, rudeness, vulgarity, and lack of neatness have their evident consequences in letters as well as in dress. From the practical viewpoint, it will amply repay any young man to devote some attention to the first principles of letter writing, and to endeavor con- scientiously to eliminate his weaknesses. Last of all, he should remember that written words have a certain per- manency. When he speaks, his words die on the air; when he writes, the words are down in black and white, it may be for many, many years. He should take care, therefore, that he never puts into his letters any thoughts of which he may later be ashamed or any opinions which will later be used against him. It behooves us all to be sure that we do not in haste allow to be preserved for posterity our weaknesses, our meannesses, and our un- lovely characteristics. Rather let us be sure that we show in letters our true ideals and our better natures. EXERCISE 1. Write a letter to a friend ill in a hospital, describing what has been going on in school during the preceding three weeks. Remember always the character of your correspondent, and tell him only news that will really interest him. 2. Write a letter to your brother describing your plans for the coming summer vacation. 3. Write a letter to your chum, asking him to visit you during the Christmas holidays and describing the inducements which you can offer him. LETTER WRITING 297 4. Write a letter to an older friend, who has been very kind to you, congratulating him on his promotion to the presidency of a large bank. 5. Write a letter to your father, telling him of your experi- ences on a recent trip. 6. Write a short note to an aunt who has just sent you a fine present on your birthday. 7. Write a letter to your school paper, complaining of the poor cheering at the football games. 8. Write an application for a position as messenger in a bank during the coming summer. 9. Write to some important personage, asking for his auto- graph. Be sure to show courtesy in making the request. 10. Write to some well-known person, asking him to speak before your club. 11. Send an order to a pubhshing house for a list of books. CONCLUSION At the close of these pages of discussion about English composition, it may be helpful to suggest a program which a young man or woman should follow in learning to write. Each person, it is true, will go forward in his own individual way, paying attention to criticism and profiting by his mistakes, for, as has often been said, " Failure is the only highroad to success." But experienced authors, in reflecting on their own ■ difficulties, have pointed out that there are certain phases of training through which every beginner must pass if he aspires to realize even a lowly ambition. These authors are emphatic in stating that the path to skill in writing is never royal and easy; that it is, on the contrary, usually beset by obstacles and annoyances. They believe, however, that the reward is ample compensation for the labor which the apprentice has to undergo. Reading. — One of the avenues to good writing is through good reading. " Reading," said Sir Francis Bacon, " maketh a full man." No better advice can be offered to a boy or girl than to roam at large through the literature of our own and other nations, finding out the best that has been known and thought in the world. But we should read, not solely for information and aimless pleasure, but for inspiration. Each of the brilliant masters of English prose style, — Addison, Defoe, Hazlitt, Ruskin, Newman, Pater, and the others, — has some particular excellence which can be learned only \hrough a diligent perusal of his works. We can admire in Swift his incisive and in- comparable directness; in Carlyle, his picturesque rugged- 298 CONCLUSION 299 ness and vigor; in Macaulay, his smoothness and lucidity; in the English Bible, that simplicity and dignity which make a model for any noble English style. An essay like Stevenson's Books Which Have Inf,uenced Me shows how even a boy's reading may become part later of the man's life. It is important, however, that the books should be good books, and that they should be read systematically and thoughtfully, not as the mere pastime of an idle hour. Study. — Parallel with reading should go study of the principles of writing; indeed reading is often likely to be futile unless we have acquainted ourselves with the technique of literary art. It has been \he purpose of this book to present ample material for this kind of in- vestigation; and the student who has gone carefully through the various chapters ought to find it easier to understand, for instance, the merit of such essayists as Addison or Irving. We may marvel at the ease with which an automobile motor operates in crowded traflBc or up a steep grade; but we never really comprehend its workmanship until we have taken it apart and examined the accuracy with which one section is fitted into another. The understanding of the theory of writing is essential if we wish ourselves to appreciate the great prose writers. Practice. — In the third place, we must be regular and unceasing in our practice of writing; in other words, we must put into operation what we have already been studying in theory. The two processes are, of course, quite different. It is one matter to read a manual on the pitching of curve balls; it is another to appear in a suit on a base- ball diamond and attempt to carry out instructions. No- body ever developed literary genius solely through the reading of volumes on English composition. With this study must go constant practice with pen and ink, like that which a musician maintains with his violin or a 300 CONCLUSION painter with his brushes and colors. It is fortunately not difficult or irksome to form the habit of doing some writing every day. It may be advisable to start, perhaps, with a deliberate attempt to imitate some specific author whose style we respect, — Matthew Arnold or Rudyard Kipling or Lytton Strachey. Much may be accomplished through the keeping of a diary or the preparation of letters. Stevenson, in describing his own apprenticeship, provides an example for young writers: All through my boyhood and youth, I was known and pointed out for the pattern^ of an idler; and yet I was always busy on my own private end* which was to learn to write. I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in. As I walked, my mind was busy fitting what I saw with appropriate words; when I sat by the roadside, I would either read, or a pencil and a penny version-book would be in my hand, to note down the features of the scene or commemorate some halting stanzas. Thus I lived with words. And what I thus wrote was for no ulterior use, it was written consciously for practice. It was not so much that I wished to be an author (though I wished that too) as that I had vowed that I would learn to write. This was a proficiency that tempted me; and I prac- ticed to acquire it, as men learn to whittle, in a wager with myself. From training such as this came Treasure Island and Virginibus Puerisque; and, although our hopes may be less ambitious than those of Stevenson, his are the methods through which we can best learn to write. Originality. — As the fruition of reading, study, and practice, we are warranted in expecting that our own characteristic manner of expression will some day become apparent. It will plainly never do for us to become the ab- ject slaves of some one author's style; in some way we must evolve a style of our own. It has been said, not without truth, that there is no way to be original but to be born so ; but it is equally undeniable that whatever individuality CONCLUSION 301 we have, even though it be small, will be expressed the better because we have considered the theory of writing and have pursued the system advocated by the great masters. The last stage in composition has been reached when our own style has been developed, — correct, clear, forceful, and in some degree beautiful, — and has become so much a part of ourselves that we write instinctively in a certain tone, and with a sureness that only long training can give. A Fable. — The process of learning to write is well illustrated by an analogy drawn from the art of fencing and suggested by some incidents in Rafael Sabatini's recent romance Scaramouche (Houghton Mifflin Com- pany, 1921). The hero, Andre-Louis, was in Paris, taking lessons in swordsmanship from the eminent maitre, M. des Amis. The young pupil made rapid progress, which immensely flattered and astounded the older teacher. He would have been less flattered and more astounded had he known that at least half the secret of Andre-Louis's amazing progress lay in the fact that he was devouring the contents of his master's library, which was made up of a dozen or so treatises on fencing by such great masters as La Bessiere, Danet, and the syndic of the King's Academy, Augustin Rousseau. To M. des Amis, whose swordmanship was all based on practice and not at aU on theory who was indeed no theorist or student in any sense, that little library was merely a suitable adjunct to a fencing-academy, a proper piece of decorative furniture. The books themselves meant nothing to him in any other sense. He had not the type of mind that could have read them with profit nor could he understand that another should do so. Andre- Louis, on the contrary, a man with the habit of study, with the acquired faculty of learning from books, read these works with enormous profit, kept their precepts in mind, critically set ofi those of one master against those of another, and made for him- self a choice which he proceeded to put into practice. As a consequence of this persistent study and practice, Andr^-Louis began to think, and soon produced certain 302 CONCLUSION theories of his own, based on the treatises of the experts, but entirely new in fencing. Eventually, indeed, he tried out his theories with such good effect that he became more skillful than his instructor, M. des Amis; but Andre- Louis's cleverness was due " far more to M. des Amis' library and his own mother-wit than to any lessons re- ceived." At last M. des Amis died, and Andre-Louis took his place as director of the fencing academy. One day, while teaching a pupil, Andre-Louis fell into a fit of abstraction; when the mood left him, he found that he had been carrying on his instruction without intermission, the action of his brain and arm having become almost reflexive and me- chanical. Without bestowing a thought upon what he was doing, his wrist and arm and knees had automatically performed their work, like the accurate fighting-machine into which incessant practice for a year and more had combined them. So in the end, the skill which he had acquired by unin- terrupted meditation and labor became automatic, and he was able to continue his teaching almost without any attention to the next thrust or guard. The Lesson. — Precisely the same development takes place in any writer who is advancing in his craft. Through steady and well-selected reading he becomes familiar with good literature and forms good taste; by the study of the theory of writing, he learns the rules for Clearness, Force, and Beauty of style, and by actual composition he gains the self-confidence without which success is impossible. Then, perhaps, may come the day, when, profiting by this mingling of reading, study, and practice, he will find that he has created a style all his own, a style which has be- come so much a part of himself that he uses it almost without thinking, just as Andre-Louis wielded the rapier tybich was the tool of his art. SUGGESTED SUBJECTS FOR THEMES The subjects which follow are intended, in general, to be used as the basis for themes of between three hundred and five hundred words in length. Most of them require very little special research work on the part of the writer, but are drawn from the student's personal experience or reading: Exposition The Enemies of Trees The Bill-board Nuisance The Effect of Boy Scout Training How Ice Is Harvested from Ponds Learning to Swim How to Keep an Automobile in Good Condition The Habits of Snakes Keeping Sidewalks Clear of Snow The Difficulties of a Telephone Girl How to Make a Dynamo Digging Clams How to Make a Bed How to Make Maple Sugar How an Automobile Tire Is Made Constructing a Tennis Court The Qualities of a Forceful Public Speaker How to Make the " Movies " Better The Thermos Bottle What Makes a Beach Sandy The Habits of Turtles The Possibilities of a Motorcycle Haying How to Learn Wireless Telegraphy Making a Phonograph Record How to Read Aloud How to Build a Campfire 303 304 SUGGESTED SUBJECTS FOR THEMES Operating a Washing Machine Clay-modeling Books I Have Outgrown The Lesson of the American Flag The Pleasures of Idleness The Knowledge to Be Gained from Historical Novels The Operation of an Elevator Argiunentation Shall Capital Punishment Be Abolished? Shall America Have Old Age Insurance? Ought the United States to Retain the Philippines? Should Compulsory Chapel in Colleges Be Abandoned? Should Chinese Immigration Be Allowed? Should Spanish Be Substituted for French in our Schools? Should the United States Join the League of Nations? Should Simphfied SpeUing Be Adopted by Public Sch6ols? Should Manual Training Be Made Part of the Curriculum in every High School? Should the President of the United States Be Ineligible for Re- election? Should Domestic Science Be Taught in High Schools? Are Moving Picture Shows Harmful to Children? Character Sketches King Arthur Launcelot James Boswell John Milton Robinson Crusoe Byron Stevenson Long John Silver Nancy Lammeter Sidney Carton Some Living Statesman Some Character in Contemporary Fiction Roderick Dhu Whittier Robert Bums Beatrix Esmond SUGGESTED SUBJECTS FOR THEMES 305 Some Teacher of Yours Some Distant Relative My Dog My Pony My Cat A WeU-bred Girl A Sailor Our Family Doctor A Pullman Porter A Tramp My Chum People Who Bore Me My Aunt Our Cook The Clever Chaperone The Baby Nextdoor An Interesting Family An Army Sergeant The " Plugger " My Canary The Foreigner Any Character from a Play by Shakspere Oliver Goldsmith Description An Abandoned Orchard A Street in the Slums A Water-fall A Hot Summer Day A Snowy Winter Morning New York from Brooklyn Bridge The Old Oak A Field of Wheat A Mountain in January A Country Graveyard A Rough Road An Old Steamboat The Hayloft of the Bam A Thunder-storm A Drug Store A Cathedral A Modern Gymnasium 306 SUGGESTED SUBJECTS FOR THEMES A Forest Fire The Top Drawer in My Desk A Small Boy's Trousers Pocket A Snake's Nest Walden Pond Mount Washington Pike's Peak Lake Louise Our Attic My Father's Study A Street on Sunday Morning A Sickroom A Balky Horse An Island in the Lake Moonlight in Camp The Audience at the " Movies " Narration How I Bought a Horse My First Visit to the Theatre My Accident How I Got Even with My Brother How I Won the Medal Why I Stayed Home from the Dance How I Went on the Wrong Train My First Telegram The Automobile Accident Lost after Dark A Dive from the Raft Custer's Last Fight The Monitor and the Merrimac The Burning of Our National Capitol A Dialogue between a Farmer and His Hired Man A Trip to New York Shooting the Rapids How Jim's Horse Won First Prize Group Subjects In addition to the subjects named below, suggestions may be found in such books as Fulton's National Ideals and SUGGESTED SUBJECTS FOR THEMES 307 Problems (Macmillan, 1918) and Speare and Norris's Vital Forces in Current Events (Ginn and Co., 1920) . How TO Play Baseball 1. The Catcher 2. The Pitcher 3. The Infielder 4. The Outfielder 5. The Batter 6. The Baserunner The Flood Tide of Immigration 1. The Irish Immigrants 2. Our German-Americans 3. The English in America 4. The Russian Jews of the United States 5. The " Hodge-Podge " at EUis Island Moths and Butterflies 1. Comparison of Moths and Butterflies 2. Life of a Moth (Samia Cecropia) 3. The King of the Poets {Citheronia Regalis) 4. The Sulphur Butterfly (Common Sulphur) 5. The Camberwell Beauty (Vanusa Antiopa) Railroads 1. Railroading as a Profession 2. The History of the Railroad 3. Government Ownership of Railroads 4. The Problem between Employees and Employers on the Railroad 5. The Future Possibilities of the Railroads Heroes of our Navt 1. The Founder of Our Navy 2. The Commander of Old Ironsides 3. " Don't Give Up the Ship " 308 SUGGESTED SUBJECTS FOR THEMES 4. The Gallant Defender of the General Armstrong 5. The Conqueror of Japan 6. The Hero of the Spanish War Salmon 1. How Salmon Are Caught 2. Preparing Salmon for the Can 3. Putting Salmon in the Can 4. The Vacuum Can SeaUng Machine 5. Cooking Salmon in the Cannery 6. What Happens to the Cooked Canned Salmon Minute Rocks 1. River Pebbles 2. Sea Pebbles 3. Glacial Pebbles 4. River Sand 6. Sand of the Sea Camping 1. Choosing a Camp Site 2. Preparing the Site for Use 3. The Program of the Day 4. The Kitchen and the Detail Work 5. Means of Keeping the Boys Entertained 6. Tearing up Camp Alaska 1. Old Alaska 2. Alaska's Mineral Values 3. Agriculture, Forests, and Game in Alaska 4. Alaska's Fisheries, Sealing, and Fur Industry 5. Government and Modern Improvements In the Maine Woods 1. Lumbering in the Maine Woods 2. Logging down the AUagash River 3. A Pulp Mill 4. The Life of a Lumber-jack 5. Character of the People of the Maine Woods SUGGESTED SUBJECTS FOR THEMES 309 Hiking 1. Equipment for Hiking 2. Battle Fields by Night 3. Seeing Washington for a Dollar 4. Along the Potomac 5. Through Southern Maryland 6. Seven States in Seven Days Tennis 1. Playing Tennis for the First Time 2. Match Play 3. The Davis Cup Matches 4. Famous Men Players 6. Famous Women Players 6. The Growth of the Modem Game Fabming 1. Causes of the Present Farm Labor Problem 3. How the Farm Labor Problem Is Being Solved in New England 3. A Decade's Change in Farm Machinery 4. Motorizing New England Farms 5. Cooperative Buying and Selling Associations of New England Farmers 6. Development of Agricultural Education in New England Navies 1. History of the Development of Navies 2. Organization of the British Navy 3. History of the United States Navy through the War of 1812 4. History of United States Navy from War of 1812 to the Present Day 5. Historical Naval Strategy and Tactics 6. Modem Naval Strategy and Tactics The Disarmament Conference 1. The Obstacle to Be Overcome to Secure Disarmament 2. The Far East Problem 3. The Japanese Problem 310 SUGGESTED SUBJECTS FOR THEMES 4. England on Disarmament 5. France at the Conference 6. The Conference and Its Decisions Athens and its Environs 1. The Acropolis of Athens To-day 2. Marathon 3. Ancient Corinth 4. Minor Objects of Interest in Athens 5. A Few Specimens in the Athens Museum 6. Athens from Mt. Lycabettus Submarines 1. The First Submarines 2. The Submarine in the Civil War 3. The Argonaut 4. The Interior of a Submarine 5. Submarine Warfare 6. The Future of the Submarine Propessionai, Baseball 1. Popularity of Baseball 2. Types of Players in the Leagues 3. The Stars of the Present 4. The Trading of Players 5. The Past Year's Review 6. The Recently Past World Series INDEX (The references are to pages.) Abbreviations, 43; punctuation of, 37 Absolute elements, punctuation of, 129 Adjectives for adverbs, 34, 78-79 Adverbs, 79 Agreement, 33-34, 72-73, 74, 78, 217 ff., 253-4 Aldrieh, 294 Americanisms, 165 Ambiguity, 138 Ambiguous constructions, punc- tuation of, 138 Analogy, 227-8, 243-4 Antecedent, 76 Archaic words, 158 Argument, 20, 236 ff., 278, 281 Arrangement, 19, 23, 107; of sentences, 188, 221, 239 Atherton, 268 Atlantic Monthly, 268 Barbarisms, 168 Beauty, 9, 25, 90, 112 ff.; in De- scription, 126-7; in paragraphs, 193; in words, 178 ff. Beerbohm, 175 Beginnings and endings, 204-5, 239 Bennett, A., 206 Bible, 178, 230 Biography, 261 Brief, the, 240 Broken constructions, punctua- tion of, 139 Burke, 246-7 Business letters, 289 ff. Campbell, Dr., 163, 164, 165 Capital letters, 144 ff. Case endings, 71 Changes in tense, 43 Characters, 255 Character sketches, 269 Choice of words, 181 Comparisons, 226-8, 243-4 Clauses, 51, 134, 135 Clearness, 7-8, 10, 90, 91 ff.; in compound sentence, 103; in words, 172 ff.; in Narration, . 257-8, 266 Clear thinldng, 2, 91 Climax, 109 Coleridge, 115, 179 Colon, 126, 132, 133, 140, 142 Comma, 37-38, 123 ff. Comma fault, 37, 132 Comparative and superlative de- grees, 78 Compound predicate, 66 Compound sentence, 57 ff., 101, 103 Compound-complex sentence, 61 Complex sentence, 59 ff. Conclusions, 204-5 Conjunctions, 68, 60, 86, 133 colon a substitute for, 132 comma a substitute for, 132, semicolon a substitute for, 37, 131 Connectives, 20-21, 102, 189-90, 223 Connotation, 178-9 Conrad, 175, 206-6, 271 Consistency of structure, 97-8 Content, 11-14; of paragraph, 187; of sentence, 38-9, 91 Coordinate elements, punctua- tion of, 123-126, 133^, 135 Coordination, 59, 100, 101 Coordinating conjunctions, 133 Correctness, 4, 161 ff. Curtis, G. W., 208 311 312 INDEX Dash, 126, 129, 139 Dates, punctuation of, 140-1 Delivery in oral composition, 276-7 Dependent clauses, 51-52; punc- tuation of, 134^7 Description, 10, 217, 253-4,263, 277-8 Development, 21, 24, 190, 224 Dialogue, 205-6; punctuation of, 141-3 Diction, 235 Dictionary, 160, 170, 182 Different, 35 Diffuseness, 177 Direct address, punctuation of, 130 Double negative, 79 Due to, 41 Each, 74 English language, 70 Errors, common, 30 ff. Euphony, 180 Exclamations, punctuation of, 131 Explanatory words, punctuation of, 140 Exposition, 20; 217 ff., 278 Familiar letters, 293-6 Eamol, 259 Fewer and less, 35 Figurative language, 115 ff., 118, 179 ff. Figures of speech, 115 ff. Force, 9, 22-25, 90, 107 ff.; in Description, 267; in Exposi- tion and Argument, 224; in Narration, 258 ff. Formal letters, 292 Full development, 21-2, 190-91, 223 Garland, 173 General words, 174, 175, 176 Gompers, Samuel, 201-2 Grammar, 6, 33 ff., 69 ff. Grammatically independent ele- ments, punctuation of, 129 Green, 270 Hackneyed words, 172 Hardy, 174, 180, 255, 256, 269 Henderson, C. R., 17 Henry, O., 256, 259 History, 261 Howells W D., 180 Howerth, 1 "W., 230 Huxley, 220 Hyperbole, 117, 231 Hyphen, 38 Idiom, 169 Illustrations, 225-8, 241-5 Illustrated talks, 280 Improprieties, 170 Incomplete sentences, 55 Independent clause, 51 Indorsement, 48-9 Interrogation mark, 131 Introductions, 204r-5 Introductory elements, punctua- tion of, 130, 134r-5 Irving, W., 196-8 Italics, 107, 143 Keats, 179 Kipling, 56, 176, 179, 259 Lane, F. K., 230-231 Less and fewer, 35 Letter writing, 283 ff. Letters, address, 285; body, 286; complimentary close, 286-7; heading, 285; punctuation of, 140-141; salutation, 285; su- perscription, 288 Limitation of the subject, 12-14, 219, 237 Lincoln, 2, 178, 184r-5 Linn, 266 Loose sentences, 63 Macaulay, 15, 19, 185-7, 235 Manuscript, 46 ff. Mechanical details in letters, 284 Meredith, G., 180, 268, 269 Metaphor, 116, 227-9 Metonymy, 117 Milton, 255 Miscellaneous obstacles to Clear- ness, 104r-5 Mixed constructions, 86-6 Moore, G., 229 Most and Almost, 35 Murfree, 266 INDEX 313 Narration, 217, 253 ff.; in Ex- position, 233 National use, 164 Non-restrictive clauses, 53, 126 Non-restrictive elements, punc- tuation of, 126, 135-136 Obsolete words, 158 Oemler, Marie C, 233 Omitted words, 34, 84-5, 99; punctuation of, 139 Oral composition, 4, 273 ff. Originality, 120, 300-301 Outline, 45, 47, 222, 240, 276-6 Palmer, Frederic, 229 Palmer, G. H., 181 Paragraph, 27-28, 184 ff. Parallelism of structure, 98 Parentheses, 129, 133 Parenthetical elements, 128, 138; punctuation of, 128-9, 138 Parker, C. H., 226 Parker, G., 175 Participles, 77, 96-7 Parts of speech, 70 Period, 37 Periodic sentence, 64, 109 Personification, 117, 229 Philpotts, 175 Phrases, 54 Plot, 257 Point of view, 266 Possessive case, 33, 35 Practice an aid to writing, 299-300 Present use, 163-4 Prolixity, 177 Pronominal adjectives, 78 Pronouns: 74 ff.; case of, 75, 95 96 Pronunciation, 4, 273, 277 Proportion, 260 Proportional development, 24, 111 Provincialisms, 164 Public speaking, 108 Punctuation, 5-6, 38, 122 ff. Questions, punctuation of, 131 Quotation marks, 141 Reading an aid to writing, 298--9 Reading aloud, 111, 273 Redundancy, 177 Reference, of pronouns, 39-40, 76-7; of participles and verbal nouns, 41 Related and unrelated paragraphs, 193-205 Relative pronouns, 76 Repetition, 42, 110 Reputable use, 165 ff. Restrictive elements, 63; punc- tuation of, 126, 135-136 Rhetoric of the sentence, 90 ff. Roosevelt, 264 Ruskin, 246 Sabatini, 175 School locahsms, 164 Selection, 14-15, 16, 219, 237, 265 Semicolon, 37, 125, 131, 133, 138, 140 Sentence building, 64r-5 Sentences, 91 ff. ; too short for Clearness, 39, 92-3; too long for Clearness, 38, 92 Sentence structure, errors in, 35 ff., 50ff.; in Exposition, 235 Series, punctuation of, 38, 124r-6, 138 Setting, 255-6 Shakspere, 195, 231, 245 Shall and mil, 43, 58, 80 ff. Sunile, 116, 278-9 Simple sentences, 56-7, 123 Simphcity, 177 Slang, 166 ff. Solecisms, 168 Sources of material, 66-7; proper use of, 248 Specific words, 174 ff. Spelling, 6, 30-33 Stevenson, 176, 255, 257, 266-7 Strachey, Lytton, 13, 16, 262 Structure, principles of, 11 ff., 25-8 Study an aid to writing, 299 Subject and predicate, 72 Subjects for oral composition, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281 Subjects for themes, 303 ff. Subordinate clauses, punctuation of, 134r-7 Subordination, 48, 61 ff., 103 Sumner, Charles, 232 Superfluous words, 176 314 INDEX Suspense, 259 Syllabification, 48 Symonds, 267 Synecdoche, 117 Tautology, 177 Teclmioal language, 165 Tennyson, 181 Tenses, 43, order of, 83 Titles, 14, 16, 44r-5, 46-47, 239 Tone of composition, 44 Topic sentence, 187-8, 203 Typical instance, 225-6, 241-3 Usage, 161 ff. Use of words, 182 Van Dyke, H., 203 Variety, 113 Verbal nouns, 35, 96 Verbs, 80, 83 Vocabulary, 158 £f. Wells, H. G., 234, 254 Williams, A., 234 Words, 158 ff.