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Title:HowtoSpeakandWriteCorrectly
Author:JosephDevlin
ReleaseDate:September,2004[EBook#6409][Yes,wearemorethanoneyearaheadofschedule][ThisfilewasfirstpostedonDecember8,2002][Datelastupdated:September8,2006]
Edition:10
Language:English
Charactersetencoding:ASCII
***STARTOFTHEPROJECTGUTENBERGEBOOKHOWTOSPEAKANDWRITE***
ProducedbyTomAllen,CharlesFranks
andtheOnlineDistributedProofreadingTeam.
HOWTOSPEAKANDWRITECORRECTLY
ByJOSEPHDEVLIN,M.A.
EditedbyTHEODOREWATERS
THECHRISTIANHERALDBIBLEHOUSENEWYORK
Copyright,1910,byTHECHRISTIANHERALDNEWYORK
CONTENTS
CHAPTERIREQUIREMENTSOFSPEECHVocabulary.Partsofspeech.Requisites.
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CHAPTERIIESSENTIALSOFENGLISHGRAMMARDivisionsofgrammar.Definitions.Etymology.
CHAPTERIIITHESENTENCEDifferentkinds.Arrangementofwords.Paragraph.
CHAPTERIVFIGURATIVELANGUAGEFiguresofspeech.Definitionsandexamples.Useoffigures.
CHAPTERVPUNCTUATIONPrincipalpoints.Illustrations.Capitalletters.
CHAPTERVILETTERWRITINGPrinciplesofletterwriting.Forms.Notes.
CHAPTERVIIERRORSMistakes.Slipsofauthors.Examplesandcorrections.Errorsofredundancy.
CHAPTERVIIIPITFALLSTOAVOIDCommonstumblingblocks.Peculiarconstructions.Misusedforms.
CHAPTERIXSTYLEDiction.Purity.Propriety.Precision.
CHAPTERXSUGGESTIONSHowtowrite.Whattowrite.Correctspeakingandspeakers.
CHAPTERXI
SLANGOrigin.Americanslang.Foreignslang.
CHAPTERXIIWRITINGFORNEWSPAPERSQualification.Appropriatesubjects.Directions.
CHAPTERXIIICHOICEOFWORDSSmallwords.Theirimportance.TheAnglo-Saxonelement.
CHAPTERXIVENGLISHLANGUAGE
Beginning.DifferentSources.Thepresent.
CHAPTERXVMASTERSANDMASTERPIECESOFLITERATUREGreatauthors.Classification.Theworld'sbestbooks.
INTRODUCTION
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Inthepreparationofthislittleworkthewriterhaskeptoneendinview,viz.:Tomakeitserviceableforthoseforwhomitisintended,thatis,forthosewhohaveneitherthetimenortheopportunity,thelearningnortheinclination,toperuseelaborateandabstrusetreatisesonRhetoric,Grammar,andComposition.Tothemsuchworksareasgoldenclosedinchestsofsteelandlockedbeyondpowerofopening.Thisbookhasnopretensionaboutitwhatever,--itisneitheraManualofRhetoric,expatiatingonthedogmasofstyle,noraGrammarfullofarbitraryrulesandexceptions.Itismerelyanefforttohelpordinary,everydaypeopletoexpressthemselvesinordinary,everydaylanguage,inapropermanner.Somebroadrulesarelaiddown,theobservanceofwhichwillenablethereadertokeepwithinthepaleofproprietyinoralandwrittenlanguage.Manyidiomaticwordsandexpressions,peculiartothelanguage,havebeengiven,besideswhichanumberofthecommonmistakesandpitfallshavebeenplacedbeforethereadersothathemayknowandavoidthem.
Thewriterhastoacknowledgehisindebtednesstonoonein_particular_,buttoallin_general_whohaveeverwrittenonthesubject.
Thelittlebookgoesforth--afinger-postontheroadoflanguagepointingintherightdirection.Itishopedthattheywhogoaccordingtoitsindexwillarriveatthegoalofcorrectspeakingandwriting.
CHAPTERI
REQUIREMENTSOFSPEECH
Vocabulary--PartsofSpeech--Requisites
Itisveryeasytolearnhowtospeakandwritecorrectly,asforallpurposesofordinaryconversationandcommunication,onlyabout2,000
differentwordsarerequired.Themasteryofjusttwentyhundredwords,theknowingwheretoplacethem,willmakeusnotmastersoftheEnglishlanguage,butmastersofcorrectspeakingandwriting.Smallnumber,youwillsay,comparedwithwhatisinthedictionary!ButnobodyeverusesallthewordsinthedictionaryorcouldusethemdidhelivetobetheageofMethuselah,andthereisnonecessityforusingthem.
Thereareupwardsof200,000wordsintherecenteditionsofthelargedictionaries,buttheone-hundredthpartofthisnumberwillsufficeforallyourwants.Ofcourseyoumaythinknot,andyoumaynotbecontenttocallthingsbytheircommonnames;youmaybeambitioustoshowsuperiorityoverothersanddisplayyourlearningor,rather,yourpedantryandlackoflearning.Forinstance,youmaynotwanttocalla
spadeaspade.Youmayprefertocallitaspatulousdeviceforabradingthesurfaceofthesoil.Better,however,tosticktotheoldfamiliar,simplenamethatyourgrandfathercalledit.Ithasstoodthetestoftime,andoldfriendsarealwaysgoodfriends.
Touseabigwordoraforeignwordwhenasmalloneandafamiliaronewillanswerthesamepurpose,isasignofignorance.Greatscholarsandwritersandpolitespeakersusesimplewords.
Togobacktothenumbernecessaryforallpurposesofconversation
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correspondenceandwriting,2,000,wefindthatagreatmanypeoplewhopassinsocietyasbeingpolished,refinedandeducateduseless,fortheyknowless.Thegreatestscholaralivehasn'tmorethanfourthousanddifferentwordsathiscommand,andheneverhasoccasiontousehalfthenumber.
IntheworksofShakespeare,themostwonderfulgeniustheworldhaseverknown,thereistheenormousnumberof15,000differentwords,butalmost10,000ofthemareobsoleteormeaninglesstoday.
Everypersonofintelligenceshouldbeabletousehismothertonguecorrectly.Itonlyrequiresalittlepains,alittlecare,alittlestudytoenableonetodoso,andtherecompenseisgreat.
Considerthecontrastbetweenthewell-bred,politemanwhoknowshowtochooseandusehiswordscorrectlyandtheunderbred,vulgarboor,whoselanguagegratesupontheearandjarsthesensitivenessofthefinerfeelings.Theblundersofthelatter,hisinfringementofallthecanonsofgrammar,hisabsurditiesandmonstrositiesoflanguage,makehisverypresenceapain,andoneisgladtoescapefromhiscompany.
ThepropergrammaticalformationoftheEnglishlanguage,sothatonemayacquithimselfasacorrectconversationalistinthebestsocietyorbeabletowriteandexpresshisthoughtsandideasuponpaperintheright
manner,maybeacquiredinafewlessons.
Itisthepurposeofthisbook,asbrieflyandconciselyaspossible,todirectthereaderalongastraightcourse,pointingoutthemistakeshemustavoidandgivinghimsuchassistanceaswillenablehimtoreachthegoalofacorrectknowledgeoftheEnglishlanguage.ItisnotaGrammarinanysense,butaguide,asilentsignal-postpointingthewayintherightdirection.
THEENGLISHLANGUAGEINANUTSHELL
AllthewordsintheEnglishlanguagearedividedintoninegreat
classes.TheseclassesarecalledthePartsofSpeech.TheyareArticle,Noun,Adjective,Pronoun,Verb,Adverb,Preposition,ConjunctionandInterjection.Ofthese,theNounisthemostimportant,asalltheothersaremoreorlessdependentuponit.ANounsignifiesthenameofanyperson,placeorthing,infact,anythingofwhichwecanhaveeitherthoughtoridea.TherearetwokindsofNouns,ProperandCommon.CommonNounsarenameswhichbelongincommontoaraceorclass,as_man_, _city_.ProperNounsdistinguishindividualmembersofaraceorclassas _John_,_Philadelphia_.Intheformercase_man_isanamewhichbelongsincommontothewholeraceofmankind,and_city_isalsoanamewhichiscommontoalllargecentresofpopulation,but_John_signifiesaparticularindividualoftherace,while_Philadelphia_denotesaparticularonefromamongthecitiesoftheworld.
NounsarevariedbyPerson,Number,Gender,andCase.Personisthatrelationexistingbetweenthespeaker,thoseaddressedandthesubjectunderconsideration,whetherbydiscourseorcorrespondence.ThePersonsare_First_,_Second_and_Third_andtheyrepresentrespectivelythespeaker,thepersonaddressedandthepersonorthingmentionedorunderconsideration.
_Number_isthedistinctionofonefrommorethanone.Therearetwonumbers,singularandplural;thesingulardenotesone,thepluraltwoor
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more.Thepluralisgenerallyformedfromthesingularbytheadditionof _s_or_es_.
_Gender_hasthesamerelationtonounsthatsexhastoindividuals,butwhilethereareonlytwosexes,therearefourgenders,viz.,masculine,feminine,neuterandcommon.Themasculinegenderdenotesallthoseofthemalekind,thefemininegenderallthoseofthefemalekind,theneutergenderdenotesinanimatethingsorwhateveriswithoutlife,andcommongenderisappliedtoanimatebeings,thesexofwhichforthetimebeingisindeterminable,suchasfish,mouse,bird,etc.Sometimesthingswhicharewithoutlifeasweconceiveitandwhich,properlyspeaking,belongtotheneutergender,are,byafigureofspeechcalledPersonification,changedintoeitherthemasculineorfemininegender,as,forinstance,wesayofthesun,_He_isrising;ofthemoon,_She_ issetting.
_Case_istherelationonenounbearstoanotherortoaverbortoapreposition.Therearethreecases,the_Nominative_,the_Possessive_ andthe_Objective_.Thenominativeisthesubjectofwhichwearespeakingortheagentwhichdirectstheactionoftheverb;thepossessivecasedenotespossession,whiletheobjectiveindicatesthepersonorthingwhichisaffectedbytheactionoftheverb.
An_Article_isawordplacedbeforeanountoshowwhetherthelatteris
usedinaparticularorgeneralsense.Therearebuttwoarticles,_a_or _an_and_the_.
An_Adjective_isawordwhichqualifiesanoun,thatis,whichshowssomedistinguishingmarkorcharacteristicbelongingtothenoun.
DEFINITIONS
A_Pronoun_isawordusedfororinsteadofanountokeepusfromrepeatingthesamenountoooften.Pronouns,likenouns,havecase,number,genderandperson.Therearethreekindsofpronouns,_personal_, _relative_and_adjective_.
A_verb_isawordwhichsignifiesactionorthedoingofsomething.Averbisinflectedbytenseandmoodandbynumberandperson,thoughthelattertwobelongstrictlytothesubjectoftheverb.
An_adverb_isawordwhichmodifiesaverb,anadjectiveandsometimesanotheradverb.
A_preposition_servestoconnectwordsandtoshowtherelationbetweentheobjectswhichthewordsexpress.
A_conjunction_isawordwhichjoinswords,phrases,clausesandsentencestogether.
An_interjection_isawordwhichexpressessurpriseorsomesuddenemotionofthemind.
THREEESSENTIALS
ThethreeessentialsoftheEnglishlanguageare:_Purity_,_Perspicuity_ and_Precision_.
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By_Purity_issignifiedtheuseofgoodEnglish.Itprecludestheuseofallslangwords,vulgarphrases,obsoleteterms,foreignidioms,ambiguousexpressionsoranyungrammaticallanguagewhatsoever.Neitherdoesitsanctiontheuseofanynewlycoinedworduntilsuchwordisadoptedbythebestwritersandspeakers.
_Perspicuity_demandstheclearestexpressionofthoughtconveyedinunequivocallanguage,sothattheremaybenomisunderstandingwhateverofthethoughtorideathespeakerorwriterwishestoconvey.Allambiguouswords,wordsofdoublemeaningandwordsthatmightpossiblybeconstruedinasensedifferentfromthatintended,arestrictlyforbidden.Perspicuityrequiresastyleatonceclearandcomprehensiveandentirelyfreefrompompandpedantryandaffectationoranystrainingaftereffect.
_Precision_requiresconciseandexactexpression,freefromredundancyandtautology,astyleterseandclearandsimpleenoughtoenablethehearerorreadertocomprehendimmediatelythemeaningofthespeakerorwriter.Itforbids,ontheonehand,alllongandinvolvedsentences,and,ontheother,thosethataretooshortandabrupt.Itsobjectistostrikethegoldenmeaninsuchawayastorivettheattentionofthehearerorreaderonthewordsutteredorwritten.
CHAPTERII
ESSENTIALSOFENGLISHGRAMMAR
DivisionsofGrammar--Definitions--Etymology.
InordertospeakandwritetheEnglishlanguagecorrectly,itisimperativethatthefundamentalprinciplesoftheGrammarbemastered,fornomatterhowmuchwemayreadofthebestauthors,nomatterhowmuchwemayassociatewithandimitatethebestspeakers,ifwedonot
knowtheunderlyingprinciplesofthecorrectformationofsentencesandtherelationofwordstooneanother,wewillbetoagreatextentliketheparrot,thatmerelyrepeatswhatithearswithoutunderstandingtheimportofwhatissaid.Ofcoursetheparrot,beingacreaturewithoutreason,cannotcomprehend;itcansimplyrepeatwhatissaidtoit,andasituttersphrasesandsentencesofprofanitywithasmuchfacilityasthoseofvirtue,sobylikeanalogy,whenwedonotunderstandthegrammarofthelanguage,wemaybemakingegregiousblunderswhilethinkingwearespeakingwiththeutmostaccuracy.
DIVISIONSOFGRAMMAR
TherearefourgreatdivisionsofGrammar,viz.:
_Orthography_,_Etymology_,_Syntax_,and_Prosody_.
_Orthography_treatsoflettersandthemodeofcombiningthemintowords.
_Etymology_treatsofthevariousclassesofwordsandthechangestheyundergo.
_Syntax_treatsoftheconnectionandarrangementofwordsinsentences.
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_Prosody_treatsofthemannerofspeakingandreadingandthedifferentkindsofverse.
Thethreefirstmentionedconcernusmost.
LETTERS
A_letter_isamarkorcharacterusedtorepresentanarticulatesound.Lettersaredividedinto_vowels_and_consonants_.Avowelisaletterwhichmakesadistinctsoundbyitself.Consonantscannotbesoundedwithouttheaidofvowels.Thevowelsare_a_,_e_,_i_,_o_,_u_,andsometimes_w_and_y_whentheydonotbeginawordorsyllable.
SYLLABLESANDWORDS
Asyllableisadistinctsoundproducedbyasingleeffortof[Transcriber'snote:1-2wordsillegible]shall,pig,dog.Ineverysyllabletheremustbeatleastonevowel.
Awordconsistsofonesyllableoracombinationofsyllables.
Manyrulesaregivenforthedividingofwordsintosyllables,butthebestistofollowascloselyaspossiblethedivisionsmadebytheorgansofspeechinproperlypronouncingthem.
THEPARTSOFSPEECH
ARTICLE
An_Article_isawordplacedbeforeanountoshowwhetherthenounisusedinaparticularorgeneralsense.
Therearetwoarticles,_a_or_an_and_the_._A_or_an_iscalledthe
indefinitearticlebecauseitdoesnotpointputanyparticularpersonorthingbutindicatesthenouninitswidestsense;thus,_a_manmeansanymanwhatsoeverofthespeciesorrace.
_The_iscalledthedefinitearticlebecauseitpointsoutsomeparticularpersonorthing;thus,_the_manmeanssomeparticularindividual.
NOUN
A_noun_isthenameofanyperson,placeorthingas_John_,_London_, _book_.Nounsareproperandcommon.
_Proper_nounsarenamesappliedto_particular_personsorplaces.
_Common_nounsarenamesappliedtoawholekindorspecies.
Nounsareinflectedby_number_,_gender_and_case_.
_Number_isthatinflectionofthenounbywhichweindicatewhetheritrepresentsoneormorethanone.
_Gender_isthatinflectionbywhichwesignifywhetherthenounisthe
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nameofamale,afemale,ofaninanimateobjectorsomethingwhichhasnodistinctionofsex.
_Case_isthatinflectionofthenounwhichdenotesthestateoftheperson,placeorthingrepresented,asthesubjectofanaffirmationorquestion,theownerorpossessorofsomethingmentioned,ortheobjectofanactionorofarelation.
Thusintheexample,"JohntoretheleavesofSarah'sbook,"thedistinctionbetween_book_whichrepresentsonlyoneobjectand_leaves_ whichrepresenttwoormoreobjectsofthesamekindiscalled_Number_;thedistinctionofsexbetween_John_,amale,and_Sarah_,afemale,and _book_and_leaves_,thingswhichareinanimateandneithermalenorfemale,iscalled_Gender_;andthedistinctionofstatebetween_John_,thepersonwhotorethebook,andthesubjectoftheaffirmation,_Mary_,theownerofthebook,_leaves_theobjectstorn,and_book_theobjectrelatedtoleaves,asthewholeofwhichtheywereapart,iscalled _Case_.
ADJECTIVE
An_adjective_isawordwhichqualifiesanoun,thatis,showsorpointsoutsomedistinguishingmarkorfeatureofthenoun;as,A
_black_dog.
Adjectiveshavethreeformscalleddegreesofcomparison,the_positive_,the_comparative_andthe_superlative_.
The_positive_isthesimpleformoftheadjectivewithoutexpressingincreaseordiminutionoftheoriginalquality:_nice_.
The_comparative_isthatformoftheadjectivewhichexpressesincreaseordiminutionofthequality:_nicer_.
The_superlative_isthatformwhichexpressesthegreatestincreaseordiminutionofthequality:_nicest_.
_or_
Anadjectiveisinthepositiveformwhenitdoesnotexpresscomparison;as,"A_rich_man."
Anadjectiveisinthecomparativeformwhenitexpressescomparisonbetweentwoorbetweenoneandanumbertakencollectively,as,"Johnis _richer_thanJames";"heis_richer_thanallthemeninBoston."
Anadjectiveisinthesuperlativeformwhenitexpressesacomparisonbetweenoneandanumberofindividualstakenseparately;as,"Johnisthe_richest_maninBoston."
Adjectivesexpressiveofpropertiesorcircumstanceswhichcannotbeincreasedhaveonlythepositiveform;as,A_circular_road;the_chief_ end;an_extreme_measure.
Adjectivesarecomparedintwoways,eitherbyadding_er_tothepositivetoformthecomparativeand_est_tothepositivetoformthesuperlative,orbyprefixing_more_tothepositiveforthecomparativeand_most_tothepositiveforthesuperlative;as,_handsome_,_handsomer_,_handsomest_ or_handsome_,_morehandsome_,_mosthandsome_.
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Adjectivesoftwoormoresyllablesaregenerallycomparedbyprefixingmoreandmost.
Manyadjectivesareirregularincomparison;as,Bad,worse,worst;Good,better,best.
PRONOUN
A_pronoun_isawordusedinplaceofanoun;as,"JohngavehispentoJamesand_he_lentittoJanetowrite_her_copywith_it_."Withoutthepronounswewouldhavetowritethissentence,--"JohngaveJohn'spentoJamesandJameslentthepentoJanetowriteJane'scopywiththepen."
Therearethreekindsofpronouns--Personal,RelativeandAdjectivePronouns.
_Personal_Pronounsaresocalledbecausetheyareusedinsteadofthenamesofpersons,placesandthings.ThePersonalPronounsare_I_, _Thou_,_He_,_She_,and_It_,withtheirplurals,_We_,_Ye_or_You_ and_They_.
_I_isthepronounofthefirstpersonbecauseitrepresentsthepersonspeaking.
_Thou_isthepronounofthesecondpersonbecauseitrepresentsthepersonspokento.
_He_,_She_,_It_arethepronounsofthethirdpersonbecausetheyrepresentthepersonsorthingsofwhomwearespeaking.
Likenouns,thePersonalPronounshavenumber,genderandcase.Thegenderofthefirstandsecondpersonisobvious,astheyrepresentthepersonorpersonsspeakingandthosewhoareaddressed.Thepersonalpronounsarethusdeclined:
FirstPerson.M.orF.
Sing.Plural.N.IWeP.MineOursO.MeUs
SecondPerson.M.orF.
Sing.Plural.N.ThouYouP.ThineYoursO.TheeYou
ThirdPerson.M.
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Sing.Plural.N.HeTheyP.HisTheirsO.HimThem
ThirdPerson.F.
Sing.Plural.N.SheTheyP.HersTheirsO.HerThem
ThirdPerson.Neuter.
Sing.Plural.N.ItTheyP.ItsTheirsO.ItThem
N.B.--IncolloquiallanguageandordinarywritingThou,ThineandTheeareseldomused,exceptbytheSocietyofFriends.ThePluralformYouisusedforboththenominativeandobjectivesingularinthesecondpersonandYoursisgenerallyusedinthepossessiveinplaceofThine.
The_Relative_Pronounsaresocalledbecausetheyrelatetosomewordorphrasegoingbefore;as,"Theboy_who_toldthetruth;""Hehasdonewell,_which_givesmegreatpleasure."
Here_who_and_which_arenotonlyusedinplaceofotherwords,but _who_refersimmediatelytoboy,and_which_tothecircumstanceofhishavingdonewell.
Thewordorclausetowhicharelativepronounrefersiscalledthe _Antecedent_.
TheRelativePronounsare_who_,_which_,_that_and_what_.
_Who_isappliedtopersonsonly;as,"Theman_who_washere."
_Which_isappliedtotheloweranimalsandthingswithoutlife;as,"Thehorse_which_Isold.""Thehat_which_Ibought."
_That_isappliedtobothpersonsandthings;as,"Thefriend_that_ helps.""Thebird_that_sings.""Theknife_that_cuts."
_What_isacompoundrelative,includingboththeantecedentandtherelativeandisequivalentto_thatwhich_;as,"Ididwhathedesired,"i.e."Idid_thatwhich_hedesired."
Relativepronounshavethesingularandpluralalike.
_Who_iseithermasculineorfeminine;_which_and_that_aremasculine,feminineorneuter;_what_asarelativepronounisalwaysneuter.
_That_and_what_arenotinflected.
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_Who_and_which_arethusdeclined:
Sing.andPluralSing.andPlural
N.WhoN.WhichP.WhoseP.WhoseO.WhomO.Which
_Who_,_which_and_what_whenusedtoaskquestionsarecalled _InterrogativePronouns_.
_Adjective_Pronounspartakeofthenatureofadjectivesandpronounsandaresubdividedasfollows:
_DemonstrativeAdjectivePronouns_whichdirectlypointoutthepersonorobject.Theyare_this_,_that_withtheirplurals_these_,_those_,and _yon_,_same_and_selfsame_.
_DistributiveAdjectivePronouns_useddistributively.Theyare_each_, _every_,_either_,_neither_.
_IndefiniteAdjectivePronouns_usedmoreorlessindefinitely.Theyare _any_,_all_,_few_,_some_,_several_,_one_,_other_,_another_,_none_.
_PossessiveAdjectivePronouns_denotingpossession.Theyare_my_,_thy_, _his_,_her_,_its_,_our_,_your_,_their_.
N.B.--(Thepossessiveadjectivepronounsdifferfromthepossessivecaseofthepersonalpronounsinthatthelattercanstand_alone_whiletheformer_cannot_."Whoownsthatbook?""Itis_mine_."Youcannotsay"itis_my_,"--thewordbookmustberepeated.)
THEVERB
A_verb_isawordwhichimpliesactionorthedoingofsomething,oritmaybedefinedasawordwhichaffirms,commandsorasksaquestion.
Thus,thewords_Johnthetable_,containnoassertion,butwhentheword _strikes_isintroduced,somethingisaffirmed,hencetheword_strikes_ isaverbandgivescompletenessandmeaningtothegroup.
Thesimpleformoftheverbwithoutinflectioniscalledthe_root_oftheverb;_e.g.love_istherootoftheverb,--"ToLove."
Verbsare_regular_or_irregular_,_transitive_or_intransitive_.
Averbissaidtobe_regular_whenitformsthepasttensebyadding _ed_tothepresentor_d_iftheverbendsin_e_.Whenitspasttensedoesnotendin_ed_itissaidtobe_irregular_.
A_transitive_verbisonetheactionofwhichpassesovertooraffectssomeobject;as"Istruckthetable."Heretheactionofstrikingaffectedtheobjecttable,hencestruckisatransitiveverb.
An_intransitive_verbisoneinwhichtheactionremainswiththesubject;as_"Iwalk,"__"Isit,"__"Irun."_
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Manyintransitiveverbs,however,canbeusedtransitively;thus,"I_walk_ thehorse;"_walk_isheretransitive.
Verbsareinflectedby_number_,_person_,_tense_and_mood_.
_Number_and_person_asappliedtotheverbreallybelongtothesubject;theyareusedwiththeverbtodenotewhethertheassertionismaderegardingoneormorethanoneandwhetheritismadeinreferencetothepersonspeaking,thepersonspokentoorthepersonorthingspokenabout.
TENSE
Intheirtensesverbsfollowthedivisionsoftime.Theyhave_presenttense_,_pasttense_and_futuretense_withtheirvariationstoexpresstheexacttimeofactionastoaneventhappening,havinghappenedoryettohappen.
MOOD
Therearefoursimplemoods,--the_Infinitive_,the_Indicative_,the
_Imperative_andthe_Subjunctive_.
TheMoodofaverbdenotesthemodeormannerinwhichitisused.Thusifitisusedinitswidestsensewithoutreferencetopersonornumber,timeorplace,itisinthe_Infinitive_Mood;as"Torun."Herewearenottoldwhodoestherunning,whenitisdone,whereitisdoneoranythingaboutit.
Whenaverbisusedtoindicateordeclareoraskasimplequestionormakeanydirectstatement,itisinthe_Indicative_Mood."Theboyloveshisbook."Hereadirectstatementismadeconcerningtheboy."Haveyouapin?"Hereasimplequestionisaskedwhichcallsforananswer.
Whentheverbisusedtoexpressacommandorentreatyitisinthe _Imperative_Moodas,"Goaway.""Givemeapenny."
Whentheverbisusedtoexpressdoubt,suppositionoruncertaintyorwhensomefutureactiondependsuponacontingency,itisinthesubjunctivemood;as,"IfIcome,heshallremain."
Manygrammariansincludeafifthmoodcalledthe_potential_toexpress _power_,_possibility_,_liberty_,_necessity_,_will_or_duty_.Itisformedbymeansoftheauxiliaries_may_,_can_,_ought_and_must_,butinallcasesitcanberesolvedintotheindicativeorsubjunctive.Thus,in"ImaywriteifIchoose,""maywrite"isbysomeclassifiedasinthepotentialmood,butinrealitythephrase_Imaywrite_isanindicative
onewhilethesecondclause,_ifIchoose_,istheexpressionofaconditionuponwhich,notmylibertytowrite,depends,butmyactualwriting.
Verbshavetwoparticiples,thepresentorimperfect,sometimescalledthe_active_endingin_ing_andthepastorperfect,oftencalledthe _passive_,endingin_ed_or_d_.
The_infinitive_expressesthesenseoftheverbinasubstantiveform,theparticiplesinanadjectiveform;as"Toriseearlyishealthful."
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"Anearlyrisingman.""Thenewlyrisensun."
Theparticiplein_ing_isfrequentlyusedasasubstantiveandconsequentlyisequivalenttoaninfinitive;thus,"Toriseearlyishealthful"and"Risingearlyishealthful"arethesame.
TheprincipalpartsofaverbarethePresentIndicative,PastIndicativeandPastParticiple;as:
LoveLovedLoved
Sometimesoneormoreofthesepartsarewanting,andthentheverbissaidtobedefective.
PresentPastPassiveParticiple
CanCould(Wanting)MayMight"ShallShould"WillWould"OughtOught"
Verbsmayalsobedividedinto_principal_and_auxiliary_.A_principal_ verbisthatwithoutwhichasentenceorclausecancontainnoassertionoraffirmation.An_auxiliary_isaverbjoinedtotherootorparticiplesofaprincipalverbtoexpresstimeandmannerwithgreaterprecisionthancanbedonebythetensesandmoodsintheirsimpleform.Thus,thesentence,"Iamwritinganexercise;whenIshallhavefinisheditIshallreadittotheclass."hasnomeaningwithouttheprincipalverbs _writing_,_finishedread_;butthemeaningisrenderedmoredefinite,especiallywithregardtotime,bytheauxiliaryverbs_am_,_have_, _shall_.
Therearenineauxiliaryorhelpingverbs,viz.,_Be_,_have_,_do_, _shall_,_will_,_may_,_can_,_ought_,and_must_.Theyarecalled
helpingverbs,becauseitisbytheiraidthecompoundtensesareformed.
TOBE
Theverb_ToBe_isthemostimportantoftheauxiliaryverbs.Ithaselevenparts,viz.,_am,art,is,are,was,wast,were,wert;be,being_ and_been_.
VOICE
The_activevoice_isthatformoftheverbwhichshowstheSubjectnot
beingacteduponbutacting;as,"Thecat_catches_mice.""Charity _covers_amultitudeofsins."
The_passivevoice_:Whentheactionsignifiedbyatransitiveverbisthrownbackupontheagent,thatistosay,whenthesubjectoftheverbdenotestherecipientoftheaction,theverbissaidtobeinthepassivevoice."Johnwaslovedbyhisneighbors."HereJohnthesubjectisalsotheobjectaffectedbytheloving,theactionoftheverbisthrownbackonhim,hencethecompoundverb_wasloved_issaidtobeinthe_passivevoice_.Thepassivevoiceisformedbyputtingtheperfect
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participleofany_transitive_verbwithanyoftheelevenpartsoftheverb_ToBe_.
CONJUGATION
The_conjugation_ofaverbisitsorderlyarrangementinvoices,moods,tenses,personsandnumbers.
Hereisthecompleteconjugationoftheverb"Love"--_ActiveVoice_.
PRINCIPALPARTS
PresentPastPastParticipleLoveLovedLoved
InfinitiveMood
ToLove
IndicativeMood
PRESENTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIloveWelove2ndpersonYouloveYoulove3rdpersonHelovesTheylove
PASTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIlovedWeloved2ndpersonYoulovedYouloved
3rdpersonHelovedTheyloved
FUTURETENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIshallloveTheywilllove2ndpersonYouwillloveYouwilllove3rdpersonHewillloveWeshalllove
[Transcriber'snote:1stpersonpluraland3rdpersonpluralreversedinoriginal]
PRESENTPERFECTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIhavelovedWehaveloved2ndpersonYouhavelovedYouhaveloved3rdpersonHehaslovedTheyhaveloved
PASTPERFECTTENSE
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Sing.Plural1stpersonIhadlovedWehadloved2ndpersonYouhadlovedYouhadloved3rdpersonHehadlovedTheyhadloved
FUTUREPERFECTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIshallhavelovedWeshallhaveloved2ndpersonYouwillhavelovedYouwillhaveloved3rdpersonHewillhavelovedTheywillhaveloved
ImperativeMood(PRESENTTENSEONLY)
Sing.Plural2ndpersonLove(you)Love(you)
SubjunctiveMoodPRESENTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIfIloveIfwelove2ndpersonIfyouloveIfyoulove3rdpersonIfheloveIftheylove
PASTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIfIlovedIfweloved2ndpersonIfyoulovedIfyouloved3rdpersonIfhelovedIftheyloved
PRESENTPERFECTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIfIhavelovedIfwehaveloved2ndpersonIfyouhavelovedIfyouhaveloved3rdpersonIfhehaslovedIftheyhaveloved
PASTPERFECTTENSE
Sing.Plural
1stpersonIfIhadlovedIfwehadloved2ndpersonIfyouhadlovedIfyouhadloved3rdpersonIfhehadlovedIftheyhadloved
INFINITIVES
PresentPerfectToloveTohaveloved
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PARTICIPLES
PresentPastPerfectLovingLovedHavingloved
CONJUGATIONOF"ToLove"PassiveVoiceIndicativeMood
PRESENTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIamlovedWeareloved2ndpersonYouarelovedYouareloved3rdpersonHeislovedTheyareloved
PASTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIwaslovedWewereloved2ndpersonYouwerelovedYouwereloved
3rdpersonHewaslovedTheywereloved
FUTURETENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIshallbelovedWeshallbeloved2ndpersonYouwillbelovedYouwillbeloved3rdpersonHewillbelovedTheywillbeloved
PRESENTPERFECTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIhavebeenlovedWehavebeenloved2ndpersonYouhavebeenlovedYouhavebeenloved3rdpersonHehasbeenlovedTheyhavebeenloved
PASTPERFECTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIhadbeenlovedWehadbeenloved2ndpersonYouhadbeenlovedYouhadbeenloved3rdpersonHehadbeenlovedTheyhadbeenloved
FUTUREPERFECTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIshallhavebeenlovedWeshallhavebeenloved2ndpersonYouwillhavebeenlovedYouwillhavebeenloved3rdpersonHewillhavebeenlovedTheywillhavebeenloved
ImperativeMood
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(PRESENTTENSEONLY)
Sing.Plural2ndpersonBe(you)lovedBe(you)loved
SubjunctiveMoodPRESENTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIfIbelovedIfwebeloved2ndpersonIfyoubelovedIfyoubeloved3rdpersonIfhebelovedIftheybeloved
PASTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIfIwerelovedIftheywereloved2ndpersonIfyouwerelovedIfyouwereloved3rdpersonIfhewerelovedIfwewereloved
PRESENTPERFECTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIfIhavebeenlovedIfwehavebeenloved2ndpersonIfyouhavebeenlovedIfyouhavebeenloved3rdpersonIfhehasbeenlovedIftheyhavebeenloved
PASTPERFECTTENSE
Sing.Plural1stpersonIfIhadbeenlovedIfwehadbeenloved2ndpersonIfyouhadbeenlovedIfyouhadbeenloved3rdpersonIfhehadbeenlovedIftheyhadbeenloved
INFINITIVES
PresentPerfectTobelovedTohavebeenloved
PARTICIPLES
PresentPastPerfectBeinglovedBeenlovedHavingbeenloved
(N.B.--Notethatthepluralformofthepersonalpronoun,_you_,isusedinthesecondpersonsingularthroughout.Theoldform_thou_,exceptintheconjugationoftheverb"ToBe,"maybesaidtobeobsolete.Inthethirdpersonsingularheisrepresentativeofthethreepersonalpronounsofthethirdperson,_He_,_She_and_It_.)
ADVERB
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An_adverb_isawordwhichmodifiesaverb,anadjectiveoranotheradverb.Thus,intheexample--"Hewrites_well_,"theadverbshowsthemannerinwhichthewritingisperformed;intheexamples--"Heisremarkablydiligent"and"Heworksveryfaithfully,"theadverbsmodifytheadjective_diligent_andtheotheradverb_faithfully_byexpressingthedegreeofdiligenceandfaithfulness.
Adverbsarechieflyusedtoexpressinonewordwhatwouldotherwiserequiretwoormorewords;thus,_There_signifiesinthatplace; _whence_,fromwhatplace;_usefully_,inausefulmanner.
Adverbs,likeadjectives,aresometimesvariedintheirterminationstoexpresscomparisonanddifferentdegreesofquality.
Someadverbsformthecomparativeandsuperlativebyadding_er_and _est_;as,_soon_,_sooner_,_soonest_.
Adverbswhichendin_ly_arecomparedbyprefixing_more_and_most_;as,_nobly_,_morenobly_,_mostnobly_.
Afewadverbsareirregularintheformationofthecomparativeandsuperlative;as,_well_,_better_,_best_.
PREPOSITION
A_preposition_connectswords,clauses,andsentencestogetherandshowstherelationbetweenthem."Myhandisonthetable"showsrelationbetweenhandandtable.
Prepositionsaresocalledbecausetheyaregenerallyplaced_before_thewordswhoseconnectionorrelationwithotherwordstheypointout.
CONJUNCTION
A_conjunction_joinswords,clausesandsentences;as"John_and_
James.""Myfatherandmotherhavecome,_but_Ihavenotseenthem."
Theconjunctionsinmostgeneraluseare_and,also;either,or;neither,nor;though,yet;but,however;for,that;because,since;therefore,wherefore,then;if,unless,lest_.
INTERJECTION
An_interjection_isawordusedtoexpresssomesuddenemotionofthemind.Thusintheexamples,--"Ah!therehecomes;alas!whatshallIdo?" _ah_,expressessurprise,and_alas_,distress.
Nouns,adjectives,verbsandadverbsbecomeinterjectionswhentheyareutteredasexclamations,as,_nonsense!strange!hail!away!_etc.
Wehavenowenumeratedthepartsofspeechandasbrieflyaspossiblestatedthefunctionsofeach.Astheyallbelongtothesamefamilytheyarerelatedtooneanotherbutsomeareincloseraffinitythanothers.Topointouttheexactrelationshipandthedependencyofonewordonanotheriscalled_parsing_andinorderthateveryetymologicalconnectionmaybedistinctlyunderstoodabriefresumeoftheforegoingessentialsisheregiven:
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Thesignificationofthenounis_limited_to_one_,buttoany_one_ofthekind,bythe_indefinite_article,andtosome_particular_one,orsomeparticular_number_,bythe_definite_article.
_Nouns_,inoneform,represent_one_ofakind,andinanother,_anynumber_morethanone;theyarethe_namesofmales_,or_females_,orofobjectswhichareneithermalenorfemale;andtheyrepresentthe _subject_ofanaffirmation,acommandoraquestion,--the_owner_or _possessor_ofathing,--orthe_object_ofanaction,orofarelationexpressedbyapreposition.
_Adjectives_expressthe_qualities_whichdistinguishonepersonorthingfromanother;inoneformtheyexpressquality_withoutcomparison_;inanother,theyexpresscomparison_betweentwo_,orbetween_one_andanumbertakencollectively,--andinathirdtheyexpresscomparisonbetween_one_anda_number_ofotherstakenseparately.
_Pronouns_areusedinplaceofnouns;oneclassofthemisusedmerelyasthe_substitutes_of_names_;thepronounsofanotherclasshaveapeculiar_reference_tosome_precedingwords_inthe_sentence_,ofwhichtheyarethesubstitutes,--andthoseofathirdclassreferadjectivelytothepersonsorthingstheyrepresent.Somepronounsare
usedforboththe_name_andthe_substitute_;andseveralarefrequentlyemployedin_askingquestions_.
_Affirmations_and_commands_areexpressedbytheverb;anddifferentinflectionsoftheverbexpress_number_,_person_,_time_and_manner_.Withregardto_time_,anaffirmationmaybe_present_or_past_or _future_;withregardtomanner,anaffirmationmaybe_positive_or _conditional_,itbeingdoubtfulwhethertheconditionisfulfilledornot,oritbeingimpliedthatitisnotfulfilled;--theverbmayexpress _command_or_entreaty_;orthesenseoftheverbmaybeexpressed _withoutaffirming_or_commanding_.Theverbalsoexpressesthatanactionorstate_is_or_was_goingon,byaformwhichisalsousedsometimesasanoun,andsometimestoqualifynouns.
_Affirmations_are_modified_by_adverbs_,someofwhichcanbeinflectedtoexpressdifferentdegreesofmodification.
Wordsarejoinedtogetherby_conjunctions_;andthevarious_relations_ whichonethingbearstoanotherareexpressedby_'prepositions.Suddenemotions_ofthemind,and_exclamations_areexpressedby_interjections_.
Somewordsaccordingtomeaningbelongsometimestoonepartofspeech,sometimestoanother.Thus,in"Afterastormcomesa_calm_,"_calm_isanoun;in"Itisa_calm_evening,"_calm_isanadjective;andin"_Calm_yourfears,"_calm_isaverb.
Thefollowingsentencecontainingallthepartsofspeechisparsedetymologically:
_"Inowseetheoldmancoming,but,alas,hehaswalkedwithmuchdifficulty."_
_I_,apersonalpronoun,firstpersonsingular,masculineorfemininegender,nominativecase,subjectoftheverb_see_.
_now_,anadverboftimemodifyingtheverb_see_.
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_see_,anirregular,transitiveverb,indicativemood,presenttense,firstpersonsingulartoagreewithitsnominativeorsubjectI.
_the_,thedefinitearticleparticularizingthenounman.
_old_,anadjective,positivedegree,qualifyingthenounman.
_man_,acommonnoun,3rdpersonsingular,masculinegender,objectivecasegovernedbythetransitiveverb_see_.
_coming_,thepresentorimperfectparticipleoftheverb"tocome"referringtothenounman.
_but_,aconjunction.
_alas_,aninterjection,expressingpityorsorrow.
_he_,apersonalpronoun,3rdpersonsingular,masculinegender,nominativecase,subjectofverbhaswalked.
_haswalked_,aregular,intransitiveverb,indicativemood,perfecttense,3rdpersonsingulartoagreewithitsnominativeorsubject_he_.
_with_,apreposition,governingthenoundifficulty.
_much_,anadjective,positivedegree,qualifyingthenoundifficulty.
_difficulty_,acommonnoun,3rdpersonsingular,neutergender,objectivecasegovernedbythepreposition_with_.
N.B.--_Much_isgenerallyanadverb.Asanadjectiveitisthuscompared:
PositiveComparativeSuperlativemuchmoremost
CHAPTERIII
THESENTENCE
DifferentKinds--ArrangementofWords--Paragraph
Asentenceisanassemblageofwordssoarrangedastoconveyadeterminatesenseormeaning,inotherwords,toexpressacompletethoughtoridea.Nomatterhowshort,itmustcontainonefiniteverbandasubjectoragenttodirecttheactionoftheverb.
"Birdsfly;""Fishswim;""Menwalk;"--aresentences.
Asentencealwayscontainstwoparts,somethingspokenaboutandsomethingsaidaboutit.Thewordorwordsindicatingwhatisspokenaboutformwhatiscalledthe_subject_andthewordorwordsindicatingwhatissaidaboutitformwhatiscalledthe_predicate_.
Inthesentencesgiven,_birds_,_fish_and_men_arethesubjects,while _fly_,_swim_and_walk_arethepredicates.
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Therearethreekindsofsentences,_simple_,_compound_and_complex_.
The_simplesentence_expressesasinglethoughtandconsistsofonesubjectandonepredicate,as,"Manismortal."
A_compoundsentence_consistsoftwoormoresimplesentencesofequalimportancethepartsofwhichareeitherexpressedorunderstood,as,"Themenworkinthefieldsandthewomenworkinthehousehold,"or"Themenworkinthefieldsandthewomeninthehousehold"or"Themenandwomenworkinthefieldsandinthehousehold."
A_complexsentence_consistsoftwoormoresimplesentencessocombinedthatonedependsontheothertocompleteitsmeaning;as;"Whenhereturns,Ishallgoonmyvacation."Herethewords,"whenhereturns"aredependentontherestofthesentencefortheirmeaning.
A_clause_isaseparatepartofacomplexsentence,as"whenhereturns"inthelastexample.
A_phrase_consistsoftwoormorewordswithoutafiniteverb.
Withoutafiniteverbwecannotaffirmanythingorconveyanidea,thereforewecanhavenosentence.
Infinitivesandparticipleswhicharetheinfinitepartsoftheverbcannotbepredicates."Ilookingupthestreet"isnotasentence,foritisnotacompleteactionexpressed.Whenwehearsuchanexpressionas"Adogrunningalongthestreet,"wewaitforsomethingmoretobeadded,somethingmoreaffirmedaboutthedog,whetherhebitorbarkedorfelldeadorwasrunover.
Thusineverysentencetheremustbeafiniteverbtolimitthesubject.
Whentheverbistransitive,thatis,whentheactioncannothappenwithoutaffectingsomething,thethingaffectediscalledthe_object_.
Thusin"CainkilledAbel"theactionofthekillingaffectedAbel.In"Thecathascaughtamouse,"mouseistheobjectofthecatching.
ARRANGEMENTOFWORDSINASENTENCE
Ofcourseinsimplesentencesthenaturalorderofarrangementissubject--verb--object.Inmanycasesnootherformispossible.Thusinthesentence"Thecathascaughtamouse,"wecannotreverseitandsay"Themousehascaughtacat"withoutdestroyingthemeaning,andinanyotherformofarrangement,suchas"Amouse,thecathascaught,"wefeelthatwhileitisintelligible,itisapoorwayofexpressingthefactandonewhichjarsuponusmoreorless.
Inlongersentences,however,whentherearemorewordsthanwhatarebarelynecessaryforsubject,verbandobject,wehavegreaterfreedomofarrangementandcansoplacethewordsastogivethebesteffect.Theproperplacingofwordsdependsuponperspicuityandprecision.Thesetwocombinedgive_style_tothestructure.
MostpeoplearefamiliarwithGray'slineintheimmortal_Elegy_--"Theploughmanhomewardplodshiswearyway."Thislinecanbeparaphrasedtoread18differentways.Hereareafewvariations:
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Homewardtheploughmanplodshiswearyway.Theploughmanplodshiswearywayhomeward.Plodshomewardtheploughmanhiswearyway.Hiswearywaytheploughmanhomewardplods.Homewardhiswearywayplodstheploughman.Plodstheploughmanhiswearywayhomeward.Hiswearywaytheploughmanplodshomeward.Hiswearywayhomewardtheploughmanplods.Theploughmanplodshomewardhiswearyway.Theploughmanhiswearywayplodshomeward.
andsoon.Itisdoubtfulifanyoftheotherformsaresuperiortotheoneusedbythepoet.Ofcoursehisarrangementwasmadetocomplywiththerhythmandrhymeoftheverse.Mostofthevariationsdependupontheemphasiswewishtoplaceuponthedifferentwords.
Inarrangingthewordsinanordinarysentenceweshouldnotlosesightofthefactthatthebeginningandendaretheimportantplacesforcatchingtheattentionofthereader.Wordsintheseplaceshavegreateremphasisthanelsewhere.
InGray'slinethegeneralmeaningconveyedisthatawearyploughmanisploddinghiswayhomeward,butaccordingtothearrangementaveryslight
differenceiseffectedintheidea.Someofthevariationsmakeusthinkmoreoftheploughman,othersmoreoftheplodding,andstillothersmoreoftheweariness.
Asthebeginningandendofasentencearethemostimportantplaces,itnaturallyfollowsthatsmallorinsignificantwordsshouldbekeptfromthesepositions.Ofthetwoplacestheendoneisthemoreimportant,therefore,itreallycallsforthemostimportantwordinthesentence.Nevercommenceasentencewith_And_,_But_,_Since_,_Because_,andothersimilarweakwordsandneverenditwithprepositions,small,weakadverbsorpronouns.
Thepartsofasentencewhicharemostcloselyconnectedwithoneanother
inmeaningshouldbecloselyconnectedinorderalso.Byignoringthisprinciplemanysentencesaremade,ifnotnonsensical,reallyridiculousandludicrous.Forinstance:"Tendollarsrewardisofferedforinformationofanypersoninjuringthispropertybyorderoftheowner.""ThismonumentwaserectedtothememoryofJohnJones,whowasshotbyhisaffectionatebrother."
Intheconstructionofallsentencesthegrammaticalrulesmustbeinviolablyobserved.Thelawsofconcord,thatis,theagreementofcertainwords,mustbeobeyed.
(1)Theverbagreeswithitssubjectinpersonandnumber."Ihave,""Thouhast,"(thepronoun_thou_ishereusedtoillustratetheverb
form,thoughitisalmostobsolete),"Hehas,"showthevariationoftheverbtoagreewiththesubject.Asingularsubjectcallsforasingularverb,apluralsubjectdemandsaverbintheplural;as,"Theboywrites,""Theboyswrite."
Theagreementofaverbanditssubjectisoftendestroyedbyconfusing(1)collectiveandcommonnouns;(2)foreignandEnglishnouns;(3)compoundandsimplesubjects;(4)realandapparentsubjects.
(1)Acollectivenounisanumberofindividualsorthings
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regardedasawhole;as,_classregiment_.Whentheindividualsorthingsareprominentlybroughtforward,useapluralverb;asTheclass_were_distinguishedforability.Whentheideaofthewholeasaunitisunderconsiderationemployasingularverb;asTheregiment_was_incamp.(2)Itissometimeshardfortheordinaryindividualtodistinguishthepluralfromthesingularinforeignnouns,therefore,heshouldbecarefulintheselectionoftheverb.Heshouldlookupthewordandbeguidedaccordingly."Hewasan_alumnus_ofHarvard.""Theywere_alumni_ofHarvard."(3)Whenasentencewithoneverbhastwoormoresubjectsdenotingdifferentthings,connectedby_and_,theverbshouldbeplural;as,"Snowandrain_are_ disagreeable."Whenthesubjectsdenotethesamethingandareconnectedby_or_theverbshouldbesingular;as,"Themanorthewomanistoblame."(4)Whenthesameverbhasmorethanonesubjectofdifferentpersonsornumbers,itagreeswiththemostprominentinthought;as,"He,andnotyou,_is_wrong.""WhetherheorI_am_tobeblamed."
(2)Neverusethepastparticipleforthepasttensenor_viceversa_.Thismistakeisaverycommonone.Ateveryturnwehear"Hedoneit"for"Hedidit.""Thejarwasbroke"insteadofbroken."Hewouldhavewent"for"Hewouldhavegone,"etc.
(3)Theuseoftheverbs_shall_and_will_isarockuponwhicheventhebestspeakerscometowreck.Theyareinterchangedrecklessly.Theirsignificancechangesaccordingastheyareusedwiththefirst,secondorthirdperson.Withthefirstperson_shall_isusedindirectstatementtoexpressasimplefutureaction;as,"Ishallgotothecityto-morrow."Withthesecondandthirdpersons_shall_isusedtoexpressadetermination;as,"You_shall_gotothecityto-morrow,""He_shall_gotothecityto-morrow."
Withthefirstperson_will_isusedindirectstatementtoexpressdetermination,as,"Iwillgotothecityto-morrow."Withthesecondandthirdpersons_will_isusedtoexpresssimplefutureaction;as,"You _will_gotothecityto-morrow,""He_will_gotothecityto-morrow."
Averyoldruleregardingtheusesof_shall_and_will_isthusexpressedinrhyme:
Inthefirstpersonsimply_shall_foretells,In_will_athreatorelseapromisedwells._Shall_inthesecondandthirddoesthreat,_Will_simplythenforetellsthefuturefeat.
(4)Takespecialcaretodistinguishbetweenthenominativeandobjectivecase.Thepronounsaretheonlywordswhichretaintheancientdistinctivecaseendingfortheobjective.Rememberthattheobjectivecasefollowstransitiveverbsandprepositions.Don'tsay"TheboywhoIsenttosee
you,"but"TheboywhomIsenttoseeyou."_Whom_isheretheobjectofthetransitiveverbsent.Don'tsay"ShebowedtohimandI"but"Shebowedtohimandme"sincemeistheobjectivecasefollowingthepreposition_to_understood."BetweenyouandI"isaverycommonexpression.Itshouldbe"Betweenyouandme"since_between_isaprepositioncallingfortheobjectivecase.
(5)Becarefulintheuseoftherelativepronouns_who_,_which_and _that_.Whorefersonlytopersons;whichonlytothings;as,"Theboywhowasdrowned,""TheumbrellawhichIlost."Therelative_that_may
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refertobothpersonsandthings;as,"Theman_that_Isaw.""Thehat _that_Ibought."
(6)Don'tusethesuperlativedegreeoftheadjectiveforthecomparative;as"Heistherichestofthetwo"for"Heisthericherofthetwo."Othermistakesoftenmadeinthisconnectionare(1)Usingthedoublecomparativeandsuperlative;as,"Theseapplesaremuch_more_preferable.""Themostuniversalmotivetobusinessisgain."(2)Comparingobjectswhichbelongtodissimilarclasses;as"Thereisnonicer_life_thana _teacher_."(3)Includingobjectsinclasstowhichtheydonotbelong;as,"Thefairestofherdaughters,Eve."(4)Excludinganobjectfromaclasstowhichitdoesbelong;as,"Caesarwasbraverthananyancientwarrior."
(7)Don'tuseanadjectiveforanadverboranadverbforanadjective.Don'tsay,"Heactednicetowardsme"but"Heactednicelytowardme,"andinsteadofsaying"Shelooked_beautifully_"say"Shelooked _beautiful_."
(8)Placetheadverbasnearaspossibletotheworditmodifies.Insteadofsaying,"Hewalkedtothedoorquickly,"say"Hewalkedquicklytothedoor."
(9)Notalonebecarefultodistinguishbetweenthenominativeand
objectivecasesofthepronouns,buttrytoavoidambiguityintheiruse.
TheamusingeffectofdisregardingthereferenceofpronounsiswellillustratedbyBurtoninthefollowingstoryofBillyWilliams,acomicactorwhothusnarrateshisexperienceinridingahorseownedbyHamblin,themanager:
"SodownIgoestothestablewithTomFlynn,andtoldthemantoputthesaddleonhim."
"OnTomFlynn?"
"No,onthehorse.SoaftertalkingwithTomFlynnawhileImountedhim."
"What!mountedTomFlynn?"
"No,thehorse;andthenIshookhandswithhimandrodeoff."
"Shookhandswiththehorse,Billy?"
"No,withTomFlynn;andthenIrodeoffuptheBowery,andwhoshouldImeetbutTomHamblin;soIgotoffandtoldtheboytoholdhimbythehead."
"What!holdHamblinbythehead?"
"No,thehorse;andthenwewentandhadadrinktogether."
"What!youandthehorse?"
"No,_me_andHamblin;andafterthatImountedhimagainandwentoutoftown."
"What!mountedHamblinagain?"
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"No,thehorse;andwhenIgottoBurnham,whoshouldbetherebutTomFlynn,--he'dtakenanotherhorseandrodeoutaheadofme;soItoldthehostlertotiehimup."
"TieTomFlynnup?"
"No,thehorse;andwehadadrinkthere."
"What!youandthehorse?"
"No,meandTomFlynn."
Findinghisauditorsbythistimeina_horse_laugh,Billywoundupwith:"Now,lookhere,--everytimeIsayhorse,yousayHamblin,andeverytimeIsayHamblinyousayhorse:I'llbehangedifItellyouanymoreaboutit."
SENTENCECLASSIFICATION
Therearetwogreatclassesofsentencesaccordingtothegeneral
principlesuponwhichtheyarefounded.Thesearetermedthe_loose_andthe_periodic_.
Inthe_loose_sentencethemainideaisputfirst,andthenfollowseveralfactsinconnectionwithit.Defoeisanauthorparticularlynotedforthiskindofsentence.Hestartsoutwithaleadingdeclarationtowhichheaddsseveralattendantconnections.Forinstanceintheopeningofthestoryof_RobinsonCrusoe_weread:"Iwasbornintheyear1632inthecityofYork,ofagoodfamily,thoughnotofthatcountry,myfatherbeingaforeignerofBremen,whosettledfirstatHull;hegotagoodestatebymerchandise,andleavingoffhistradelivedafterwardatYork,fromwhencehehadmarriedmymother,whoserelationswerenamedRobinson,averygoodfamilyinthecountryandfrom
IwascalledRobinsonKreutznaer;butbytheusualcorruptionofwordsinEngland,wearenowcalled,nay,wecallourselves,andwriteournameCrusoe,andsomycompanionsalwayscalledme."
Intheperiodicsentencethemainideacomeslastandisprecededbyaseriesofrelativeintroductions.Thiskindofsentenceisoftenintroducedbysuchwordsas_that_,_if_,_since_,_because_.Thefollowingisanexample:
"Thatthroughhisownfollyandlackofcircumspectionheshouldhavebeenreducedtosuchcircumstancesastobeforcedtobecomeabeggaronthestreets,solicitingalmsfromthosewhohadformerlybeentherecipientsofhisbounty,wasasorehumiliation."
Onaccountofitsnamemanyareliabletothinkthe_loose_sentenceanundesirableformingoodcomposition,butthisshouldnotbetakenforgranted.Inmanycasesitispreferabletotheperiodicform.
Asageneralruleinspeaking,asopposedtowriting,the_loose_formistobepreferred,inasmuchaswhentheperiodicisemployedindiscoursethelistenersareapttoforgettheintroductoryclausesbeforethefinalissueisreached.
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Bothkindsarefreelyusedincomposition,butinspeaking,the_loose_,whichmakesthedirectstatementatthebeginning,shouldpredominate.
Astothelengthofsentencesmuchdependsonthenatureofthecomposition.
Howeverthegeneralrulemaybelaiddownthatshortsentencesarepreferabletolongones.Thetendencyofthebestwritersofthepresentdayistowardsshort,snappy,pithysentenceswhichrivettheattentionofthereader.Theyadoptastheirmotto_multuminparvo_(muchinlittle)andendeavortopackagreatdealinsmallspace.Ofcoursetheextremeofbrevityistobeavoided.Sentencescanbetooshort,toojerky,toobrittletowithstandthetestofcriticism.Thelongsentencehasitsplaceandaveryimportantone.Itisindispensableinargumentandoftenisverynecessarytodescriptionandalsoinintroducinggeneralprincipleswhichrequireelaboration.Inemployingthelongsentencetheinexperiencedwritershouldnotstrainaftertheheavy,ponderoustype.JohnsonandCarlyleusedsuchatype,butremember,anordinarymortalcannotwieldthesledgehammerofagiant.JohnsonandCarlylewereintellectualgiantsandfewcanhopetostandonthesameliterarypedestal.Thetyroincompositionshouldneverseekaftertheheavystyle.ThebestofallauthorsintheEnglishlanguageforstyleisAddison.Macaulaysays:"Ifyouwishastylelearned,butnotpedantic,elegantbutnotostentatious,simpleyetrefined,youmustgiveyourdaysandnightstothevolumesof
JosephAddison."Thesimplicity,apartfromthebeautyofAddison'swritingscausesustoreiteratetheliterarycommand--"Neveruseabigwordwhenalittleonewillconveythesameorasimilarmeaning."
Macaulayhimselfisanelegantstylisttoimitate.Heislikeaclearbrookkissedbythenoon-daysunintheshiningbedofwhichyoucanseeandcountthebeautifulwhitepebbles.Goldsmithisanotherwriterwhosesimplicityofstylecharms.
Thebeginnershouldstudythesewriters,maketheirworkshis_vademecum_,theyhavestoodthetestoftimeandtherehasbeennoimprovementuponthemyet,noristherelikelytobe,fortheirwritingisasperfectasitispossibletobeintheEnglishlanguage.
Apartfromtheirgrammaticalconstructiontherecanbenofixedrulesfortheformationofsentences.Thebestplanistofollowthebestauthorsandthesemastersoflanguagewillguideyousafelyalongtheway.
THEPARAGRAPH
Theparagraphmaybedefinedasagroupofsentencesthatarecloselyrelatedinthoughtandwhichserveonecommonpurpose.Notonlydotheypreservethesequenceofthedifferentpartsintowhichacompositionisdivided,buttheygiveacertainspicetothematterlikeraisinsinaplumpudding.Asolidpageofprintedmatterisdistastefultothereader;
ittaxestheeyeandtendstowardsthewearinessofmonotony,butwhenitisbrokenupintosectionsitlosesmuchofitsheavinessandtheconsequentlightnessgivesitcharm,asitwere,tocapturethereader.
Paragraphsarelikestepping-stonesonthebedofashallowriver,whichenablethefootpassengertoskipwitheasefromonetotheotheruntilhegetsacross;butifthestonesareplacedtoofarapartinattemptingtospanthedistanceoneisliabletomissthemarkandfallinthewaterandflounderaboutuntilheisagainabletogetafoothold.'Tisthesamewithwrittenlanguage,thereaderbymeansofparagraphscaneasily
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passfromoneportionofconnectedthoughttoanotherandkeepuphisinterestinthesubjectuntilhegetstotheend.
Throughouttheparagraphtheremustbesomeconnectioninregardtothematterunderconsideration,--asentencedependency.Forinstance,inthesameparagraphwemustnotspeakofahouseonfireandarunawayhorseunlessthereissomeconnectionbetweenthetwo.Wemustnotwriteconsecutively:
"Thefireragedwithfierceintensity,consumingthegreaterpartofthelargebuildinginashorttime.""Thehorsetookfrightandwildlydasheddownthestreetscatteringpedestriansinalldirections."Thesetwosentenceshavenoconnectionandthereforeshouldoccupyseparateanddistinctplaces.Butwhenwesay--"Thefireragedwithfierceintensityconsumingthegreaterpartofthelargebuildinginashorttimeandthehorsetakingfrightattheflamesdashedwildlydownthestreetscatteringpedestriansinalldirections,"--thereisanaturalsequence,viz.,thehorsetakingfrightasaconsequenceoftheflamesandhencethetwoexpressionsarecombinedinoneparagraph.
Asinthecaseofwordsinsentences,themostimportantplacesinaparagrapharethebeginningandtheend.Accordinglythefirstsentenceandthelastshouldbyvirtueoftheirstructureandnervousforce,compelthereader'sattention.Itisusuallyadvisabletomakethefirst
sentenceshort;thelastsentencemaybelongorshort,butineithercaseshouldbeforcible.Theobjectofthefirstsentenceistostateapoint_clearly_;thelastsentenceshould_enforce_it.
Itisacustomofgoodwriterstomaketheconclusionoftheparagrapharestatementorcounterpartorapplicationoftheopening.
Inmostcasesaparagraphmayberegardedastheelaborationoftheprincipalsentence.Theleadingthoughtorideacanbetakenasanucleusandarounditconstructedthedifferentpartsoftheparagraph.Anyonecanmakeacontextforeverysimplesentencebyaskinghimselfquestionsinreferencetothesentence.Thus--"Theforemangavetheorder"--suggestsatonceseveralquestions;"Whatwastheorder?""towhomdidhe
giveit?""whydidhegiveit?""whatwastheresult?"etc.Thesequestionswhenansweredwilldependupontheleadingoneandbeanelaborationofitintoacompleteparagraph.
Ifweexamineanygoodparagraphweshallfinditmadeupofanumberofitems,eachofwhichhelpstoillustrate,confirmorenforcethegeneralthoughtorpurposeoftheparagraph.Alsothetransitionfromeachitemtothenextiseasy,naturalandobvious;theitemsseemtocomeofthemselves.If,ontheotherhand,wedetectinaparagraphoneormoreitemswhichhavenodirectbearing,orifweareunabletoproceedreadilyfromitemtoitem,especiallyifweareobligedtorearrangetheitemsbeforewecanperceivetheirfullsignificance,thenwearejustifiedinpronouncingtheparagraphconstructionfaulty.
Nospecificrulescanbegivenastotheconstructionofparagraphs.Thebestadviceis,--Studycloselytheparagraphstructureofthebestwriters,foritisonlythroughimitation,consciousorunconsciousofthebestmodels,thatonecanmastertheart.
ThebestparagraphistintheEnglishlanguagefortheessayisMacaulay,thebestmodeltofollowfortheoratoricalstyleisEdmundBurkeandfordescriptionandnarrationprobablythegreatestmasterofparagraphistheAmericanGoldsmith,WashingtonIrving.
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Aparagraphisindicatedinprintbywhatisknownastheindentationoftheline,thatis,bycommencingitaspacefromtheleftmargin.
CHAPTERIV
FIGURATIVELANGUAGE
FiguresofSpeech--DefinitionsandExamples--UseofFigures
In_FigurativeLanguage_weemploywordsinsuchawaythattheydiffersomewhatfromtheirordinarysignificationincommonplacespeechandconveyourmeaninginamorevividandimpressivemannerthanwhenweusethemintheirevery-daysense.Figuresmakespeechmoreeffective,theybeautifyandemphasizeitandgivetoitarelishandpiquancyassaltdoestofood;besidestheyaddenergyandforcetoexpressionsothatitirresistiblycompelsattentionandinterest.Therearefourkindsoffigures,viz.:(1)FiguresofOrthographywhichchangethespellingofaword;(2)FiguresofEtymologywhichchangetheformofwords;(3)FiguresofSyntaxwhichchangetheconstructionofsentences;(4)Figuresof
Rhetoricortheartofspeakingandwritingeffectivelywhichchangethemodeofthought.
Weshallonlyconsiderthelastmentionedhereastheyarethemostimportant,reallygivingtolanguagetheconstructionandstylewhichmakeitafittingmediumfortheintercommunicationofideas.
FiguresofRhetorichavebeenvariouslyclassified,someauthoritiesextendingthelisttoauselesslength.ThefactisthatanyformofexpressionwhichconveysthoughtmaybeclassifiedasaFigure.
Theprincipalfiguresaswellasthemostimportantandthoseoftenestusedare,_Simile,Metaphor,Personification,Allegory,Synechdoche,
Metonymy,Exclamation,Hyperbole,Apostrophe,Vision,Antithesis,Climax,Epigram,Interrogation_and_Irony_.
Thefirstfourarefoundedon_resemblance_,thesecondsixon_contiguity_ andthethirdfive,on_contrast_.
A_Simile_(fromtheLatin_similis_,like),isthelikeningofonethingtoanother,astatementoftheresemblanceofobjects,acts,orrelations;as"Inhisawfulangerhewas_like_thestorm-drivenwavesdashingagainsttherock."Asimilemakestheprincipalobjectplainerandimpressesitmoreforciblyonthemind."Hismemoryislikewaxtoreceiveimpressionsandlikemarbletoretainthem."Thisbringsouttheleadingideaastotheman'smemoryinaveryforcefulmanner.Contrast
itwiththesimplestatement--"Hismemoryisgood."Sometimes_Simile_isprostitutedtoalowanddegradinguse;as"Hisfacewaslikeadangersignalinafogstorm.""Herhairwaslikeafurze-bushinbloom.""Hewastohisladyloveasapoodletoitsmistress."Suchburlesqueisneverpermissible.Mere_likeness_,itshouldberemembered,doesnotconstituteasimile.Forinstancethereisnosimilewhenonecityiscomparedtoanother.Inorderthattheremaybearhetoricalsimile,theobjectscomparedmustbeofdifferentclasses.Avoidtheold_trite_ similessuchascomparingaherotoalion.Suchwereplayedoutlongago.Anddon'thuntforfarfetchedsimiles.Don'tsay--"Herheadwas
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glowingasthegloriousgodofdaywhenhesetsinaflambeauofsplendorbehindthepurple-tintedhillsoftheWest."Itismuchbettertodowithoutsuchasimileandsimplysay--"Shehadfieryredhair."
A_Metaphor_(fromtheGreek_metapherein_,tocarryoverortransfer),isawordusedto_imply_aresemblancebutinsteadoflikeningoneobjecttoanotherasinthe_simile_wedirectlysubstitutetheactionoroperationofoneforanother.If,ofareligiousmanwesay,--"Heisasagreatpillarupholdingthechurch,"theexpressionisa_simile_,butifwesay--"Heisagreatpillarupholdingthechurch"itisametaphor.Themetaphorisabolderandmorelivelyfigurethanthesimile.Itismorelikeapictureandhence,thegraphicuseofmetaphoriscalled"word-painting."Itenablesustogivetothemostabstractideasform,colorandlife.Ourlanguageisfullofmetaphors,andweveryoftenusethemquiteunconsciously.Forinstance,whenwespeakofthe_bed_ofariver,the_shoulder_ofahill,the_foot_ofamountain,the_hands_ofaclock,the_key_ofasituation,weareusingmetaphors.
Don'tusemixedmetaphors,thatis,differentmetaphorsinrelationtothesamesubject:"Sinceitwaslaunchedourprojecthasmetwithmuchopposition,butwhileitsflighthasnotreachedtheheightsambitioned,weareyetsanguineweshalldriveittosuccess."Hereourprojectbeginsasa_ship_,thenbecomesa_bird_andfinallywindsupasa_horse_.
_Personification_(fromtheLatin_persona_,person,and_facere_,tomake)isthetreatingofaninanimateobjectasifitwereanimateandisprobablythemostbeautifulandeffectiveofallthefigures.
"Themountains_sing_together,thehills_rejoice_and_clap_theirhands."
"Earth_felt_thewound;andNaturefromherseat,_Sighing_,throughallherworks,gavesignsofwoe."
Personificationdependsmuchonavividimaginationandisadaptedespeciallytopoeticalcomposition.Ithastwodistinguishableforms:(1)whenpersonalityisascribedtotheinanimateasintheforegoing
examples,and(2)whensomequalityoflifeisattributedtotheinanimate;as,a_raging_storm;an_angry_sea;a_whistling_wind,etc.
An_Allegory_(fromtheGreek_allos_,other,and_agoreuein_,tospeak),isaformofexpressioninwhichthewordsaresymbolicalofsomething.Itisverycloselyalliedtothemetaphor,infactisacontinuedmetaphor.
_Allegory_,_metaphor_and_simile_havethreepointsincommon,--theyareallfoundedonresemblance."IrelandislikeathorninthesideofEngland;"thisissimile."Ireland_is_athorninthesideofEngland;"thisismetaphor."Onceagreatgiantsprangupoutoftheseaandlivedonanislandallbyhimself.Onlookingaroundhediscoveredalittlegirlonanothersmallislandnearby.Hethoughtthelittlegirlcouldbe
usefultohiminmanywayssohedeterminedtomakehersubservienttohiswill.Hecommandedher,butsherefusedtoobey,thenheresortedtoveryharshmeasureswiththelittlegirl,butshestillremainedobstinateandobdurate.Hecontinuedtooppressheruntilfinallysherebelledandbecameasathorninhissidetoprickhimforhisevilattitudetowardsher;"thisisanallegoryinwhichthegiantplainlyrepresentsEnglandandthelittlegirl,Ireland;theimplicationismanifestthoughnomentionismadeofeithercountry.StrangetosaythemostperfectallegoryintheEnglishlanguagewaswrittenbyanalmostilliterateandignorantman,andwrittentoo,inadungeoncell.Inthe"Pilgrim'sProgress,"
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Bunyan,theitineranttinker,hasgivenusbyfarthebestallegoryeverpenned.Anothergoodoneis"TheFaerieQueen"byEdmundSpenser.
_Synecdoche_(fromtheGreek,_sun_with,and_ekdexesthai_,toreceive),isafigureofspeechwhichexpresseseithermoreorlessthanitliterallydenotes.Byitwegivetoanobjectanamewhichliterallyexpressessomethingmoreorsomethinglessthanweintend.Thus:wespeakoftheworldwhenwemeanonlyaverylimitednumberofthepeoplewhocomposetheworld:as,"Theworldtreatedhimbadly."Hereweusethewholeforapart.Butthemostcommonformofthisfigureisthatinwhichapartisusedforthewhole;as,"Ihavetwentyheadofcattle,""Oneofhis_hands_ wasassassinated,"meaningoneofhismen."Twenty_sail_cameintotheharbor,"meaningtwentyships."Thisisafinemarble,"meaningamarblestatue.
_Metonymy_(fromtheGreek_meta_,change,and_onyma_,aname)isthedesignationofanobjectbyoneofitsaccompaniments,inotherwords,itisafigurebywhichthenameofoneobjectisputforanotherwhenthetwoaresorelatedthatthementionofonereadilysuggeststheother.Thuswhenwesayofadrunkard--"Helovesthebottle"wedonotmeanthathelovestheglassreceptacle,buttheliquorthatitissupposedtocontain.Metonymy,generallyspeaking,has,threesubdivisions:(1)whenaneffectisputforcauseor_viceversa_:as"_Grayhairs_shouldberespected,"meaningoldage."Hewritesafinehand,"thatis,handwriting.
(2)whenthe_sign_isputforthe_thingsignified_;as,"Thepenismightierthanthesword,"meaningliterarypowerissuperiortomilitaryforce.(3)Whenthe_container_isputforthethingcontained;as"The _House_wascalledtoorder,"meaningthemembersintheHouse.
_Exclamation_(fromtheLatin_ex_,out,and_clamare_,tocry),isafigurebywhichthespeakerinsteadofstatingafact,simplyuttersanexpressionofsurpriseoremotion.Forinstancewhenhehearssomeharrowingtaleofwoeormisfortuneinsteadofsaying,--"Itisasadstory"heexclaims"Whatasadstory!"
Exclamationmaybedefinedasthevocalexpressionoffeeling,thoughitisalsoappliedtowrittenformswhichareintendedtoexpressemotion.
Thusindescribingatoweringmountainwecanwrite"Heavens,whatapieceofNature'shandiwork!howmajestic!howsublime!howawe-inspiringinitscolossalimpressiveness!"Thisfigureratherbelongstopoetryandanimatedoratorythantothecoldproseofevery-dayconversationandwriting.
_Hyperbole_(fromtheGreek_hyper_,beyond,and_ballein_,tothrow),isanexaggeratedformofstatementandsimplyconsistsinrepresentingthingstobeeithergreaterorless,betterorworsethantheyreallyare.Itsobjectistomakethethoughtmoreeffectivebyoverstatingit.Herearesomeexamples:--"Hewassotallhisheadtouchedtheclouds.""Hewasasthinasapoker.""Hewassolightthatabreathmighthaveblownhimaway."Mostpeopleareliabletooverworkthisfigure.Weare
allmoreorlessgiventoexaggerationandsomeofusdonotstopthere,butproceedonwardtofalsehoodanddownrightlying.Thereshouldbealimittohyperbole,andinordinaryspeechandwritingitshouldbewellqualifiedandkeptwithinreasonablebounds.
An_Apostrophe_(fromtheGreek_apo_,from,and_strephein_,toturn),isadirectaddresstotheabsentaspresent,totheinanimateasliving,ortotheabstractaspersonal.Thus:"O,illustriousWashington!FatherofourCountry!Couldyouvisitusnow!"
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"MyCountrytisofthee--Sweetlandofliberty,OftheeIsing."
"O!Grave,whereisthyVictory,O!Deathwhereisthysting!"ThisfigureisverycloselyalliedtoPersonification.
_Vision_(fromtheLatin_videre_,tosee)consistsintreatingthepast,thefuture,ortheremoteasifpresentintimeorplace.Itisappropriatetoanimateddescription,asitproducestheeffectofanidealpresence."Theoldwarriorlooksdownfromthecanvasandtellsustobemenworthyofoursires."
ThisfigureismuchexemplifiedintheBible.ThebookofRevelationisavisionofthefuture.TheauthorwhousesthefiguremostisCarlyle.
An_Antithesis_(fromtheGreek_anti_,against,and_tithenai_,toset)isfoundedoncontrast;itconsistsinputtingtwounlikethingsinsuchapositionthateachwillappearmorestrikingbythecontrast.
"Ringouttheold,ringinthenew,Ringoutthefalse,ringinthetrue."
"Letusbe_friends_inpeace,but_enemies_inwar."
Hereisafineantithesisinthedescriptionofasteamengine--"Itcanengraveasealandcrushmassesofobduratemetalbeforeit;drawout,withoutbreaking,athreadasfineasagossamer;andliftupashipofwarlikeabaubleintheair;itcanembroidermuslinandforgeanchors;cutsteelintoribands,andimpelloadedvesselsagainstthefuryofwindsandwaves."
_Climax_(fromtheGreek,_klimax_,aladder),isanarrangementofthoughtsandideasinaseries,eachpartofwhichgetsstrongerandmoreimpressiveuntilthelastone,whichemphasizestheforceofalltheprecedingones."Heriskedtruth,heriskedhonor,heriskedfame,heriskedallthatmenholddear,--yea,heriskedlifeitself,andfor
what?--foracreaturewhowasnotworthytotiehisshoe-latchetswhenhewashisbetterself."
_Epigram_(fromtheGreek_epi_,upon,and_graphein_,towrite),originallymeantaninscriptiononamonument,henceitcametosignifyanypointedexpression.Itnowmeansastatementoranybriefsayinginproseorpoetryinwhichthereisanapparentcontradiction;as,"Conspicuousforhisabsence.""Beautywhenunadornedismostadorned.""Hewastoofoolishtocommitfolly.""Hewassowealthythathecouldnotsparethemoney."
_Interrogation_(fromtheLatin_interrogatio_,aquestion),isafigureofspeechinwhichanassertionismadebyaskingaquestion;as,"Does
Godnotshowjusticetoall?""Ishenotdoingrightinhiscourse?""Whatcanamandounderthecircumstances?"
_Irony_(fromtheGreek_eironcia_,dissimulation)isaformofexpressioninwhichtheoppositeissubstitutedforwhatisintended,withtheendinview,thatthefalsityorabsurditymaybeapparent;as,"BenedictArnoldwasan_honorable_man.""AJudasIscariotnever_betrays_afriend.""Youcanalways_depend_uponthewordofaliar."
Ironyiscousingermainto_ridicule_,_derision_,_mockery_,_satire_
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and_sarcasm_._Ridicule_implieslaughtermingledwithcontempt; _derision_isridiculefromapersonalfeelingofhostility;_mockery_isinsultingderision;_satire_iswittymockery;_sarcasm_isbittersatireand_irony_isdisguisedsatire.
Therearemanyotherfiguresofspeechwhichgivepiquancytolanguageandplayuponwordsinsuchawayastoconveyameaningdifferentfromtheirordinarysignificationincommonevery-dayspeechandwriting.Thegoldenruleforallisto_keeptheminharmonywiththecharacterandpurposeofspeechandcomposition_.
CHAPTERV
PUNCTUATION
PrincipalPoints--Illustrations--CapitalLetters.
LindleyMurrayandGooldBrownlaiddowncast-ironrulesforpunctuation,butmostofthemhavebeenbrokenlongsinceandthrownintothejunk-heapofdisuse.Theyweretoorigid,toostrict,wentsomuchinto_minutiae_,
thattheyweremoreorlessimpracticaltoapplytoordinarycomposition.Themanneroflanguage,ofstyleandofexpressionhasconsiderablychangedsincethen,theoldabstrusecomplexsentencewithitshiddenmeaningshasbeenrelegatedtotheshade,thereislittleofprolixityorlong-drawn-outphrases,ambiguityofexpressionisavoidedandtheaimistowardterseness,brevityandclearness.Therefore,punctuationhasbeengreatlysimplified,tosuchanextentindeed,thatitisnowasmuchamatterofgoodtasteandjudgmentasadherencetoanyfixedsetofrules.Neverthelesstherearelawsgoverningitwhichcannotbeabrogated,theirprinciplesmustberigidlyandinviolablyobserved.
Thechiefendofpunctuationistomarkthegrammaticalconnectionandthedependenceofthepartsofacomposition,butnottheactualpauses
madeinspeaking.Veryoftenthepointsusedtodenotethedeliveryofapassagedifferfromthoseusedwhenthepassageiswritten.Nevertheless,severalofthepunctuationmarksservetobringouttherhetoricalforceofexpression.
Theprincipalmarksofpunctuationare:
1.TheComma[,]
2.TheSemicolon[;]
3.TheColon[:]
4.ThePeriod[.]
5.TheInterrogation[?]
6.TheExclamation[!]
7.TheDash[--]
8.TheParenthesis[()]
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9.TheQuotation[""]
Thereareseveralotherpointsormarkstoindicatevariousrelations,butproperlyspeakingsuchcomeundertheheadingofPrinter'sMarks,someofwhicharetreatedelsewhere.
Oftheabove,thefirstfourmaybestyledthegrammaticalpoints,andtheremainingfive,therhetoricalpoints.
The_Comma_:TheofficeoftheCommaistoshowtheslightestseparationwhichcallsforpunctuationatall.Itshouldbeomittedwheneverpossible.Itisusedtomarktheleastdivisionsofasentence.
(1)Aseriesofwordsorphraseshasitspartsseparatedbycommas:--"Lying,trickery,chicanery,perjury,werenaturaltohim.""Thebrave,daring,faithfulsoldierdiedfacingthefoe."Iftheseriesisinpairs,commasseparatethepairs:"Richandpoor,learnedandunlearned,blackandwhite,ChristianandJew,MohammedanandBuddhistmustpassthroughthesamegate."
(2)Acommaisusedbeforeashortquotation:"ItwasPatrickHenrywhosaid,'Givemelibertyorgivemedeath.'"
(3)Whenthesubjectofthesentenceisaclauseoralongphrase,acommaisusedaftersuchsubject:"ThathehasnoreverencefortheGodIlove,proveshisinsincerity.""Simulatedpiety,withablackcoatandasanctimoniouslook,doesnotproclaimaChristian."
(4)Anexpressionusedparentheticallyshouldbeinclosedbycommas:"Theoldman,asageneralrule,takesamorningwalk."
(5)Wordsinappositionaresetoffbycommas:"McKinley,thePresident,wasassassinated."
(6)Relativeclauses,ifnotrestrictive,requirecommas:"Thebook,whichisthesimplest,isoftenthemostprofound."
(7)Incontinuedsentenceseachshouldbefollowedbyacomma:"Electricitylightsourdwellingsandstreets,pullscars,trains,drivestheenginesofourmillsandfactories."
(8)Whenaverbisomittedacommatakesitsplace:"Lincolnwasagreatstatesman;Grant,agreatsoldier."
(9)Thesubjectofaddressisfollowedbyacomma:"John,youareagoodman."
(10)Innumeration,commasareusedtoexpressperiodsofthreefigures:"Mountains25,000feethigh;1,000,000dollars."
The_Semicolon_marksaslighterconnectionthanthecomma.Itisgenerallyconfinedtoseparatingthepartsofcompoundsentences.Itismuchusedincontrasts:
(1)"Gladstonewasgreatasastatesman;hewassublimeasaman."
(2)TheSemicolonisusedbetweenthepartsofallcompoundsentencesinwhichthegrammaticalsubjectofthesecondpartisdifferentfromthat
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ofthefirst:"ThepowerofEnglandreliesuponthewisdomofherstatesmen;thepowerofAmericauponthestrengthofherarmyandnavy."
(4)TheSemicolonisusedbeforewordsandabbreviationswhichintroduceparticularsorspecificationsfollowingafter,suchas,_namely,as,e.g.,vid.,i.e.,etc._:"Hehadthreedefects;namely,carelessness,lackofconcentrationandobstinacyinhisideas.""Anislandisaportionoflandentirelysurroundedbywater;asCuba.""Thenamesofcitiesshouldalwayscommencewithacapitalletter;_e.g._,NewYork,Paris.""Theboywasproficientinonebranch;viz.,Mathematics.""Nomanisperfect;i.e.,freefromallblemish."
The_Colon_exceptinconventionalusesispracticallyobsolete.
(1)Itisgenerallyputattheendofasentenceintroducingalongquotation:"Thecheershavingsubsided,Mr.Bryanspokeasfollows:"
(2)Itisplacedbeforeanexplanationorillustrationofthesubjectunderconsideration:"Thisisthemeaningoftheterm:"
(3)Adirectquotationformallyintroducedisgenerallyprecededbyacolon:"Thegreatoratormadethisfunnyremark:"
(4)Thecolonisoftenusedinthetitleofbookswhenthesecondaryorsubtitleisinappositiontotheleadingoneandwhentheconjunction _or_isomitted:"Acoustics:theScienceofSound."
(5)Itisusedafterthesalutationinthebeginningofletters:"Sir:MydearSir:Gentlemen:DearMr.Jones:"etc.Inthisconnectionadashveryoftenfollowsthecolon.
(6)Itissometimesusedtointroducedetailsofagroupofthingsalreadyreferredtointhemass:"Theboy'sexcusesforbeinglatewere:firstly,hedidnotknowthetime,secondly,hewassentonanerrand,thirdly,hetrippedonarockandfellbythewayside."
The_Period_isthesimplestpunctuationmark.Itissimplyusedtomarktheendofacompletesentencethatisneitherinterrogativenorexclamatory.
(1)Aftereverysentenceconveyingacompletemeaning:"Birdsfly.""Plantsgrow.""Manismortal."
(2)Inabbreviations:aftereveryabbreviatedword:Rt.Rev.T.C.Alexander,D.D.,L.L.D.
(3)Aperiodisusedonthetitlepagesofbooksafterthenameofthebook,aftertheauthor'sname,afterthepublisher'simprint:_American
Trails_.ByTheodoreRoosevelt.NewYork.ScribnerCompany.
The_MarkofInterrogation_isusedtoaskorsuggestaquestion.
(1)Everyquestionadmittingofananswer,evenwhenitisnotexpected,shouldbefollowedbythemarkofinterrogation:"WhohasnotheardofNapoleon?"
(2)Whenseveralquestionshaveacommondependencetheyshouldbe
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followedbyonemarkofinterrogationattheendoftheseries:"Wherenowaretheplaythingsandfriendsofmyboyhood;thelaughingboys;thewinsomegirls;thefondneighborswhomIloved?"
(3)Themarkisoftenusedparentheticallytosuggestdoubt:"In1893(?)GladstonebecameconvertedtoHomeRuleforIreland."
The_Exclamation_pointshouldbesparinglyused,particularlyinprose.Itschiefuseistodenoteemotionofsomekind.
(1)Itisgenerallyemployedwithinterjectionsorclausesusedasinterjections:"Alas!Iamforsaken.""Whatalovelylandscape!"
(2)Expressionsofstrongemotioncallfortheexclamation:"Charge,Chester,charge!On,Stanley,on!"
(3)Whentheemotionisverystrongdoubleexclamationpointsmaybeused:"Assisthim!!IwouldratherassistSatan!!"
The_Dash_isgenerallyconfinedtocaseswherethereisasuddenbreakfromthegeneralrunofthepassage.Ofallthepunctuationmarksitisthemostmisused.
(1)Itisemployedtodenotesuddenchangeintheconstructionorsentiment:"TheHeroesoftheCivilWar,--howwecherishthem.""Hewasafinefellow--inhisownopinion."
(2)Whenawordorexpressionisrepeatedfororatoricaleffect,adashisusedtointroducetherepetition:"Shakespearewasthegreatestofallpoets--Shakespeare,theintellectualoceanwhosewaveswashedthecontinentsofallthought."
(3)TheDashisusedtoindicateaconclusionwithoutexpressingit:"Heisanexcellentmanbut--"
(4)Itisusedtoindicatewhatisnotexpectedorwhatisnotthenaturaloutcomeofwhathasgonebefore:"Hedelveddeepintothebowelsoftheearthandfoundinsteadofthehiddentreasure--abutton."
(5)Itisusedtodenotetheomissionoflettersorfigures:"J--nJ--s"forJohnJones;1908-9for1908and1909;MatthewVII:5-8forMatthewVII:5,6,7,and8.
(6)Whenanellipsisofthewords,_namely,thatis,towit_,etc.,takesplace,thedashisusedtosupplythem:"Heexcelledinthreebranches--arithmetic,algebra,andgeometry."
(7)Adashisusedtodenotetheomissionofpartofawordwhenitis
undesirabletowritethefullword:Heissomewhatofar----l(rascal).Thisisespeciallythecaseinprofanewords.
(8)Betweenacitationandtheauthorityforitthereisgenerallyadash:"Alltheworld'sastage."--_Shakespeare_.
(9)Whenquestionsandanswersareputinthesameparagraphtheyshouldbeseparatedbydashes:"Areyouagoodboy?Yes,Sir.--Doyoulovestudy?Ido."
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_MarksofParenthesis_areusedtoseparateexpressionsinsertedinthebodyofasentence,whichareillustrativeofthemeaning,buthavenoessentialconnectionwiththesentence,andcouldbedonewithout.Theyshouldbeusedaslittleaspossiblefortheyshowthatsomethingisbeingbroughtintoasentencethatdoesnotbelongtoit.
(1)Whentheunityofasentenceisbrokenthewordscausingthebreakshouldbeenclosedinparenthesis:"Wecannotbelievealiar(andJonesisone),evenwhenhespeaksthetruth."
(2)Inreportsofspeechesmarksofparenthesisareusedtodenoteinterpolationsofapprovalordisapprovalbytheaudience:"Themassesmustnotsubmittothetyrannyoftheclasses(hear,hear),wemustshowthetrustmagnates(groans),thattheycannotriderough-shodoverourdearestrights(cheers);""IfthegentlemanfromOhio(Mr.Brown),willnotbeourspokesman,wemustselectanother.(Avoice,--GetRobinson)."
Whenaparenthesisisinsertedinthesentencewherenocommaisrequired,nopointshouldbeusedbeforeeitherparenthesis.Wheninsertedataplacerequiringacomma,iftheparentheticalmatterrelatestothewholesentence,acommashouldbeusedbeforeeachparenthesis;ifitrelatestoasingleword,orshortclause,nostopshouldcomebeforeit,butacommashouldbeputaftertheclosing
parenthesis.
The_Quotationmarks_areusedtoshowthatthewordsenclosedbythemareborrowed.
(1)Adirectquotationshouldbeenclosedwithinthequotationmarks:AbrahamLincolnsaid,--"Ishallmakethislandtoohotforthefeetofslaves."
(2)Whenaquotationisembracedwithinanother,thecontainedquotationhasonlysinglemarks:Franklinsaid,"Mostmencometobelieve'honestyisthebestpolicy.'"
(3)Whenaquotationconsistsofseveralparagraphsthequotationmarksshouldprecedeeachparagraph.
(4)Titlesofbooks,picturesandnewspaperswhenformallygivenarequoted.
(5)Oftenthenamesofshipsarequotedthoughthereisnooccasionforit.
The_Apostrophe_shouldcomeunderthecommaratherthanunderthequotationmarksordoublecomma.ThewordisGreekandsignifiesaturningawayfrom.Theletterelidedorturnedawayisgenerallyan_e_.Inpoetry
andfamiliardialoguetheapostrophemarkstheelisionofasyllable,as"I'veforIhave";"Thou'rtforthouart";"you'llforyouwill,"etc.Sometimesitisnecessarytoabbreviateawordbyleavingoutseveralletters.Insuchcasetheapostrophetakestheplaceoftheomittedlettersas"cont'dforcontinued."Theapostropheisusedtodenotetheelisionofthecenturyindates,wherethecenturyisunderstoodortosavetherepetitionofaseriesoffigures,as"TheSpiritof'76";"Iservedinthearmyduringtheyears1895,'96,'97,'98and'99."Theprincipaluseoftheapostropheistodenotethepossessivecase.Allnounsinthesingularnumberwhetherpropernamesornot,andallnounsinthepluralendingwith
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anyotherletterthan_s_,formthepossessivebytheadditionoftheapostropheandtheletter_s_.Theonlyexceptionstothisruleare,that,bypoeticallicensetheadditional_s_maybeelidedinpoetryforsakeofthemetre,andinthescripturalphrases"Forgoodness'sake.""Forconscience'sake,""ForJesus'sake,"etc.Customhasdoneawaywiththe _s_andthesephrasesarenowidiomsofthelanguage.Allpluralnounsendingin_s_formthepossessivebytheadditionoftheapostropheonlyasboys',horses'.Thepossessivecaseofthepersonalpronounsnevertaketheapostrophe,asours,yours,hers,theirs.
CAPITALLETTERS
_Capitalletters_areusedtogiveemphasistoorcallattentiontocertainwordstodistinguishthemfromthecontext.Inmanuscriptstheymaybewrittensmallorlargeandareindicatedbylinesdrawnunderneath,twolinesforSMALLCAPITALSandthreelinesforCAPITALS.
Someauthors,notablyCarlyle,makesuchuseofCapitalsthatitdegeneratesintoanabuse.Theyshouldonlybeusedintheirproperplacesasgiveninthetablebelow.
(1)Thefirstwordofeverysentence,infactthefirstwordinwritingofanykindshouldbeginwithacapital;as,"Timeflies.""Mydear
friend."
(2)Everydirectquotationshouldbeginwithacapital;"Deweysaid,--'Fire,whenyou'reready,Gridley!'"
(3)Everydirectquestioncommenceswithacapital;"Letmeaskyou;'Howoldareyou?'"
(4)Everylineofpoetrybeginswithacapital;"Breathesthereamanwithsoulsodead?"
(5)Everynumberedclausecallsforacapital:"Thewitnessasserts:(1)Thathesawthemanattacked;(2)Thathesawhimfall;(3)Thathe
sawhisassailantflee."
(6)Theheadingsofessaysandchaptersshouldbewhollyincapitals;as,CHAPTERVIII--RULESFORUSEOFCAPITALS.
(7)Inthetitlesofbooks,nouns,pronouns,adjectivesandadverbsshouldbeginwithacapital;as,"Johnson'sLivesofthePoets."
(8)IntheRomannotationnumbersaredenotedbycapitals;as,IIIIIIVXLCDM--1,2,3,5,10,50,100,500,1000.
(9)Propernamesbeginwithacapital;as,"Jones,Johnson,Caesar,MarkAntony,England,Pacific,Christmas."
Suchwordsasriver,sea,mountain,etc.,whenusedgenerallyarecommon,notpropernouns,andrequirenocapital.Butwhensuchareusedwithanadjectiveoradjuncttospecifyaparticularobjecttheybecomepropernames,andthereforerequireacapital;as,"MississippiRiver,NorthSea,AlleghanyMountains,"etc.Inlikemannerthecardinalpointsnorth,south,eastandwest,whentheyareusedtodistinguishregionsofacountryarecapitals;as,"TheNorthfoughtagainsttheSouth."
Whenapropernameiscompoundedwithanotherword,thepartwhichisnot
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apropernamebeginswithacapitalifitprecedes,butwithasmallletterifitfollows,thehyphen;as"Post-homeric,""Sunday-school."
(10)WordsderivedfrompropernamesrequireaCapital;as,"American,Irish,Christian,Americanize,Christianize."
Inthisconnectionthenamesofpoliticalparties,religioussectsandschoolsofthoughtbeginwithcapitals;as,"Republican,Democrat,Whig,Catholic,Presbyterian,Rationalists,FreeThinkers."
(11)Thetitlesofhonorable,stateandpoliticalofficesbeginwithacapital;as,"President,Chairman,Governor,Alderman."
(12)Theabbreviationsoflearnedtitlesandcollegedegreescallforcapitals;as,"LL.D.,M.A.,B.S.,"etc.Alsotheseatsoflearningconferringsuchdegreesas,"HarvardUniversity,ManhattanCollege,"etc.
(13)Whensuchrelativewordsasfather,mother,brother,sister,uncle,aunt,etc.,precedeapropername,theyarewrittenandprintedwithcapitals;as,FatherAbraham,MotherEddy,BrotherJohn,SisterJane,UncleJacob,AuntEliza.Father,whenusedtodenotetheearlyChristianwriter,isbegunwithacapital;"AugustinewasoneofthelearnedFathersoftheChurch."
(14)ThenamesappliedtotheSupremeBeingbeginwithcapitals:"God,Lord,Creator,Providence,Almighty,TheDeity,HeavenlyFather,HolyOne."InthisrespectthenamesappliedtotheSaviouralsorequirecapitals:"JesusChrist,SonofGod,ManofGalilee,TheCrucified,TheAnointedOne."AlsothedesignationsofBiblicalcharactersas"LilyofIsrael,RoseofSharon,ComfortressoftheAfflicted,HelpofChristians,PrinceoftheApostles,StaroftheSea,"etc.PronounsreferringtoGodandChristtakecapitals;as,"Hiswork,TheworkofHim,etc."
(15)ExpressionsusedtodesignatetheBibleoranyparticulardivisionofitbeginwithacapital;as,"HolyWrit,TheSacredBook,HolyBook,God'sWord,OldTestament,NewTestament,GospelofSt.Matthew,SevenPenitentialPsalms."
(16)ExpressionsbasedupontheBibleorinreferencetoBiblicalcharactersbeginwithacapital:"WaterofLife,HopeofMen,HelpofChristians,ScourgeofNations."
(17)ThenamesappliedtotheEvilOnerequirecapitals:"Beelzebub,PrinceofDarkness,Satan,KingofHell,Devil,IncarnateFiend,TempterofMen,FatherofLies,HaterofGood."
(18)Wordsofveryspecialimportance,especiallythosewhichstandoutasthenamesofleadingeventsinhistory,havecapitals;as,"TheRevolution,TheCivilWar,TheMiddleAges,TheAgeofIron,"etc.
(19)Termswhichrefertogreateventsinthehistoryoftheracerequirecapitals;"TheFlood,MagnaCharta,DeclarationofIndependence."
(20)Thenamesofthedaysoftheweekandthemonthsoftheyearandtheseasonsarecommencedwithcapitals:"Monday,March,Autumn."
(21)ThePronoun_I_andtheinterjection_O_alwaysrequiretheuseofcapitals.Infactalltheinterjectionswhenutteredasexclamationscommencewithcapitals:"Alas!heisgone.""Ah!Ipitiedhim."
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(22)All_noms-de-guerre_,assumednames,aswellasnamesgivenfordistinction,callforcapitals,as,"TheWizardoftheNorth,""PaulPry,""TheNorthernGael,""SandySanderson,""PoorRobin,"etc.
(23)Inpersonification,thatis,wheninanimatethingsarerepresentedasendowedwithlifeandaction,thenounorobjectpersonifiedbeginswithacapital;as,"ThestarryNightshookthedewsfromherwings.""Mild-eyedDayappeared,""TheOaksaidtotheBeech--'Iamstrongerthanyou.'"
CHAPTERVI
LETTERWRITING
PrinciplesofLetter-Writing--Forms--Notes
Manypeopleseemtoregardletter-writingasaverysimpleandeasilyacquiredbranch,butonthecontraryitisoneofthemostdifficultformsofcompositionandrequiresmuchpatienceandlabortomasteritsdetails.Infactthereareveryfewperfectletter-writersinthe
language.Itconstitutesthedirectformofspeechandmaybecalledconversationatadistance.Itsformsaresovariedbyeveryconceivabletopicwrittenatalltimesbyallkindsofpersonsinallkindsofmoodsandtempersandaddressedtoallkindsofpersonsofvaryingdegreesinsocietyandofdifferentpursuitsinlife,thatnofixedrulescanbelaiddowntoregulateitslength,styleorsubjectmatter.Onlygeneralsuggestionscanbemadeinregardtoscopeandpurpose,andtheformsofindictingsetforthwhichcustomandprecedenthavesanctioned.
Theprinciplesofletter-writingshouldbeunderstoodbyeverybodywhohasanyknowledgeofwrittenlanguage,foralmosteverybodyatsometimeorotherhasnecessitytoaddresssomefriendoracquaintanceatadistance,whereascomparativelyfewarecalledupontodirecttheir
effortstowardsanyotherkindofcomposition.
Formerlytheilliteratecountryman,whenhehadoccasiontocommunicatewithfriendsorrelations,calledintheperipateticschoolmasterashisamanuensis,butthishadonedraw-back,--secretshadtobepouredintoanearotherthanthatforwhichtheywereintended,andoftentheconfidencewasbetrayed.
Now,thateducationisabroadintheland,thereisseldomanyoccasionforanypersontocallupontheserviceofanothertocomposeandwriteapersonalletter.Veryfewnow-a-daysaresogrosslyilliterateasnottobeabletoreadandwrite.Nomatterhowcrudehiseffortmaybeitisbetterforanyonetowritehisownlettersthantrusttoanother.Even
ifheshouldcommence,--"deerfren,iliftupmypentoletyenothatihovebeensikforthepast3weeks,hoppingthiswillfindyethesame,"hisspellingandconstructioncanbeexcusedinviewofthefactthathisintentionisgood,andthatheisdoinghisbesttoservehisownturnwithoutdependinguponothers.
Thenature,substanceandtoneofanyletterdependupontheoccasionthatcallsitforth,uponthepersonwritingitanduponthepersonforwhomitisintended.Whetheritshouldbeeasyorformalinstyle,plainorornate,lightorserious,gayorgrave,sentimentalormatter-of-fact
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dependuponthesethreecircumstances.
Inletterwritingthefirstandmostimportantrequisitesaretobenaturalandsimple;thereshouldbenostrainingaftereffect,butsimplyaspontaneousout-pouringofthoughtsandideasastheynaturallyoccurtothewriter.Wearerepelledbyapersonwhoisstiffandlaboredinhisconversationandinthesamewaythestiffandlaboredletterboresthereader.Whereasifitislightandinaconversationalveinitimmediatelyengageshisattention.
Theletterwhichiswrittenwiththegreatestfacilityisthebestkindofletterbecauseitnaturallyexpresseswhatisinthewriter,hehasnottosearchforhiswords,theyflowinaperfectunisonwiththeideashedesirestocommunicate.WhenyouwritetoyourfriendJohnBrownetotellhimhowyouspentSundayyouhavenottolookaroundforthewords,orstudysetphraseswithaviewtopleaseorimpressBrowne,youjusttellhimthesameasifhewerepresentbeforeyou,howyouspenttheday,whereyouwere,withwhomyouassociatedandthechiefincidentsthatoccurredduringthetime.Thus,youwritenaturalanditissuchwritingthatisadaptedtoepistolarycorrespondence.
Therearedifferentkindsofletters,eachcallingforadifferentstyleofaddressandcomposition,neverthelessthenaturalkeyshouldbemaintainedinall,thatistosay,thewritershouldneverattemptto
conveyanimpressionthatheisotherthanwhatheis.Itwouldbesillyaswellasvainforthecommonstreetlaborerofalimitededucationtotrytoputonliteraryairsandemulateacollegeprofessor;hemayhaveasgoodabrain,butitisnotaswelldevelopedbyeducation,andhelacksthepolishwhichsocietyconfers.Whenwritingaletterthestreetlaborershouldbearinmindthatonlytheletterofastreet-laborerisexpectedfromhim,nomattertowhomhiscommunicationmaybeaddressedandthatneitherthegrammarnorthedictionofaChesterfieldorGladstoneislookedforinhislanguage.Stillthewritershouldkeepinmindthepersontowhomheiswriting.IfitistoanArchbishoporsomeothergreatdignitaryofChurchorstateitcertainlyshouldbecouchedintermsdifferentfromthoseheusestoJohnBrowne,hisintimatefriend.Justashecannotsay"DearJohn"toanArchbishop,nomorecan
headdresshiminthefamiliarwordsheusestohisfriendofeverydayacquaintanceandcompanionship.YetthereisnogreatlearningrequiredtowritetoanArchbishop,nomorethantoanordinaryindividual.Allthelaborerneedstoknowistheformofaddressandhowtoproperlyutilizehislimitedvocabularytothebestadvantage.Hereistheformforsuchaletter:
17SecondAvenue,NewYorkCity.January1st,1910.
MostRev.P.A.Jordan,ArchbishopofNewYork.
MostRev.anddearSir:--WhilesweepingthecrossingatFifthAvenueand50thstreetonlastWednesdaymorning,IfoundtheenclosedFiftyDollarBill,whichIamsendingtoyouinthehopethatitmayberestoredtotherightfulowner.IbegyouwillacknowledgereceiptandshouldtheownerbefoundItrustyouwill
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notifyme,sothatImayclaimsomerewardformyhonesty.Iam,MostRev.anddearSir,
Veryrespectfullyyours,ThomasJones.
Observethebrevityoftheletter.JonesmakesnosuggestionstotheArchbishophowtofindtheowner,forheknowsthecoursetheArchbishopwilladopt,ofhavingthefindingofthebillannouncedfromtheChurchpulpits.CouldJoneshimselffindtheownertherewouldbenooccasiontoapplytotheArchbishop.
Thisletter,itistrue,isdifferentfromthatwhichhewouldsendtoBrowne.Neverthelessitissimplewithoutbeingfamiliar,isjustaplainstatement,andisasmuchtothepointforitspurposeasifitweregarnishedwithrhetoricand"wordsoflearnedlengthandthunderingsound."
Lettersmaybedividedintothoseoffriendship,acquaintanceship,thoseofbusinessrelations,thosewritteninanofficialcapacitybypublicservants,thosedesignedtoteach,andthosewhichgiveaccountsofthedailyhappeningsonthestageoflife,inotherwords,newsletters.
_Lettersoffriendship_arethemostcommonandtheirstyleandformdependuponthedegreeofrelationshipandintimacyexistingbetweenthewritersandthoseaddressed.Betweenrelativesandintimatefriendsthebeginningandendmaybeinthemostfamiliarformofconversation,eitheraffectionateorplayful.Theyshould,however,neveroversteptheboundariesofdecencyandpropriety,foritiswelltorememberthat,unlikeconversation,whichonlyisheardbytheearsforwhichitisintended,writtenwordsmaycomeundereyesotherthanthoseforwhomtheyweredesigned.Therefore,itiswellnevertowriteanythingwhichtheworldmaynotreadwithoutdetrimenttoyourcharacteroryourinstincts.Youcanbejoyful,playful,jocose,giveventtoyourfeelings,butneverstooptolowlanguageand,aboveall,tolanguagesavoringin
theslightestdegreeofmoralimpropriety.
_Businessletters_areoftheutmostimportanceonaccountoftheinterestsinvolved.Thebusinesscharacterofamanorofafirmisoftenjudgedbythecorrespondence.Onmanyoccasionslettersinsteadofdevelopingtradeandbusinessinterestsandgainingclientele,predisposepeopleunfavorablytowardsthosewhomtheyaredesignedtobenefit.Ambiguous,slip-shodlanguageisadetrimenttosuccess.Businesslettersshouldbeclear,concise,tothepointand,aboveall,honest,givingnowrongimpressionsorholdingoutanyinducementsthatcannotbefulfilled.Inbusinessletters,justasinbusinessconduct,honestyisalwaysthebestpolicy.
_Officialletters_aremostlyalwaysformal.Theyshouldpossessclearness,brevityanddignityoftonetoimpressthereceiverswiththeproperrespectforthenationallawsandinstitutions.
Lettersdesignedtoteachor_didacticletters_areinaclassallbythemselves.Theyaresimplyliteratureintheformoflettersandareemployedbysomeofthebestwriterstogivetheirthoughtsandideasagreateremphasis.ThemostconspicuousexampleofthiskindofcompositionisthebookonEtiquettebyLordChesterfield,whichtooktheformofaseriesofletterstohisson.
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_Newsletters_areaccountsofworldhappeningsanddescriptionsofceremoniesandeventssentintothenewspapers.Someofthebestauthorsofourtimearenewspapermenwhowriteinaneasyflowingstylewhichismostreadable,fullofhumorandfancyandwhichcarriesonealongwithbreathlessinterestfrombeginningtoend.
Theprincipalpartsofaletterare(1)the_heading_orintroduction;(2)the_body_orsubstanceoftheletter;(3)the_subscription_orclosingexpressionandsignature;(4)the_address_ordirectionontheenvelope.Forthe_body_ofaletternoformsorrulescanbelaiddownasitaltogetherdependsonthenatureoftheletterandtherelationshipbetweenthewriterandthepersonaddressed.
Therearecertainruleswhichgoverntheotherthreefeaturesandwhichcustomhassanctioned.Everyoneshouldbeacquaintedwiththeserules.
THEHEADING
The_Heading_hasthreeparts,viz.,thenameoftheplace,thedateofwritingandthedesignationofthepersonorpersonsaddressed;thus:
73NewStreet,
Newark,N.J.,February1st,1910.Messr.GinnandCo.,NewYorkGentlemen:
Thenameoftheplaceshouldneverbeomitted;incities,streetandnumbershouldalwaysbegiven,andexceptwhenthecityislargeandveryconspicuous,sothattherecanbenoquestionastoitsidentitywithanotherofthesameorsimilarname,theabbreviationoftheStateshouldbeappended,asintheabove,Newark,N.J.ThereisanotherNewarkintheStateofOhio.Owingtofailuretocomplywiththisrulemanylettersgoastray.The_date_shouldbeoneveryletter,especiallybusiness
letters.Thedateshouldneverbeputatthebottominabusinessletter,butinfriendlylettersthismaybedone.The_designation_ofthepersonorpersonsaddresseddiffersaccordingtotherelationsofthecorrespondents.Lettersoffriendshipmaybegininmanywaysaccordingtothedegreesoffriendshiporintimacy.Thus:
MydearWife:MydearHusband:MydearFriend:MydarlingMother:MydearestLove:DearAunt:DearUncle:
DearGeorge:etc.
Tomarkalesserdegreeofintimacysuchformaldesignationsasthefollowingmaybeemployed:
DearSir:MydearSir:DearMr.Smith:DearMadam:etc.
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ForclergymenwhohavethedegreeofDoctorofDivinity,thedesignationisasfollows:
Rev.AlbanJohnson,D.D.MydearSir:orRev.anddearSir:ormorefamiliarlyDearDr.Johnson:
BishopsoftheRomanandAnglicanCommunionsareaddressedas _RightReverend_.
TheRt.Rev.,theBishopofLongIsland.orTheRt.Rev.FrederickBurgess,BishopofLongIsland.Rt.Rev.anddearSir:
ArchbishopsoftheRomanChurchareaddressedas_MostReverend_andCardinalsas_Eminence_.Thus:
TheMostRev.ArchbishopKatzer.MostRev.anddearSir:
HisEminence,JamesCardinalGibbons,ArchbishopofBaltimore.MayitpleaseyourEminence:
ThetitleoftheGovernorofaStateorterritoryandofthePresidentof
theUnitedStatesis_Excellency_.However,_Honorable_ismorecommonlyappliedtoGovernors:--
HisExcellency,WilliamHowardTaft,PresidentoftheUnitedStates.
Sir:--
HisExcellency,CharlesEvansHughes,GovernoroftheStateofNewYork.
Sir:--
HonorableFranklinFort,GovernorofNewJersey.
Sir:--
ThegeneralsalutationforOfficersoftheArmyandNavyis_Sir_.Therankandstationshouldbeindicatedinfullattheheadoftheletter,thus:
GeneralJosephThompson,CommandingtheSeventhInfantry.
Sir:
RearAdmiralRobertAtkinson,CommandingtheAtlanticSquadron.
Sir:
ThetitleofofficersoftheCivilGovernmentisHonorableandtheyareaddressedas_Sir_.
Hon.NelsonDuncan,
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SenatorfromOhio.
Sir:
Hon.NormanWingfield,SecretaryoftheTreasury.
Sir:
Hon.RupertGresham,MayorofNewYork.
Sir:
PresidentsandProfessorsofCollegesandUniversitiesaregenerallyaddressedas_Sir_or_DearSir_.
ProfessorFergusonJenks,Presidentof..........University.
Sir:orDearSir:
PresidentsofSocietiesandAssociationsaretreatedasbusinessmenandaddressedas_Sir_or_DearSir_.
Mr.JosephBanks,PresidentoftheNightOwls.
DearSir:orSir:
DoctorsofMedicineareaddressedas_Sir:MydearSir:DearSir:_ andmorefamiliarlyMydearDr:orDearDr:as
RyersonPitkin,M.D.Sir:DearSir:MydearDr:
OrdinarypeoplewithnodegreesortitlesareaddressedasMr.andMrs.andaredesignedDearSir:DearMadam:andanunmarriedwomanofanyageisaddressedontheenvelopeasMissSo-and-so,butalwaysdesignedintheletteras
DearMadam:
ThepluralofMr.asinaddressingafirmis_Messrs_,andthecorrespondingsalutationis_DearSirs:orGentlemen:_
InEngland_Esq._isusedfor_Mr._asamarkofslightsuperiorityandinthiscountryitissometimesused,butitispracticallyobsolete.
CustomisagainstitandAmericansentimentaswell.Ifitisuseditshouldbeonlyappliedtolawyersandjusticesofthepeace.
SUBSCRIPTION
The_Subscription_orendingofaletterconsistsofthetermofrespectoraffectionandthesignature.Thetermdependsupontherelationofthepersonaddressed.Lettersoffriendshipcanclosewithsuchexpressionsas:
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Yourslovingly,Yoursaffectionately,Devotedlyyours,Everyours,etc.
asbetweenhusbandsandwivesorbetweenlovers.SuchgushingterminationsasYourOwnDarling,YourownDoveyandotherpetandsillyendingsshouldbeavoided,astheydenoteshallowness.Lovecanbestronglyexpressedwithoutdippingintothenonsensicalandthefarcical.
FormalexpressionsofSubscriptionare:
YoursSincerely,Yourstruly,Respectfullyyours,
andthelike,andthesemaybevariedtodenotetheexactbearingorattitudethewriterwishestoassumetothepersonaddressed:as,
Verysincerelyyours,Veryrespectfullyyours,Withdeeprespectyours,Yoursverytruly,etc.
Suchelaborateendingsas
"Inthemeantimewiththehighestrespect,Iamyourstocommand,""Ihavethehonortobe,Sir,YourhumbleServant,""Withgreatexpressionofesteem,IamSincerelyyours,""Believeme,mydearSir,Everfaithfullyyours,"
arecondemnedassavoringtoomuchofaffectation.
Itisbettertofinishformalletterswithoutanysuchqualifyingremarks.IfyouarewritingtoMr.Ryantotellhimthatyouhaveahouseforsale,afterdescribingthehouseandstatingthetermssimplysign
yourself
YourobedientServantYoursverytruly,Yourswithrespect,JamesWilson.
Don'tsayyouhavethehonortobeanythingoraskhimtobelieveanything,allyouwanttotellhimisthatyouhaveahouseforsaleandthatyouaresincere,orholdhiminrespectasaprospectivecustomer.
Don'tabbreviatethesignatureas:_Y'rsResp'fly_andalwaysmakeyoursexobvious.Writeplainly
Yourstruly,_JohnField_
andnot_J.Field_,sothatthepersontowhomyousenditmaynottakeyoufor_JaneField_.
Itisalwaysbesttowritethefirstnameinfull.Marriedwomenshouldprefix_Mrs._totheirnames,as
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Verysincerelyyours,_Mrs._TheodoreWatson.
Ifyouaresendingaletteracknowledgingacomplimentorsomekindnessdoneyoumaysay,_Yoursgratefully,_or_Yoursverygratefully,_inproportiontotheactofkindnessreceived.
Itisnotcustomarytosignlettersofdegreesortitlesafteryourname,exceptyouarealord,earlordukeandonlyknownbythetitle,butaswehavenosuchtitlesinAmericaitisunnecessarytobringthismatterintoconsideration.Don'tsignyourself,
Sincerelyyours,ObadiahJackson,M.A.orL.L.D.
Ifyou'reanM.A.oranL.L.D.peoplegenerallyknowitwithoutyoursoundingyourowntrumpet.Manypeople,andespeciallyclergymen,arefondofflauntingaftertheirnamesdegreestheyhavereceived_honoriscausa_,thatis,degreesasamarkofhonor,withoutexamination.Suchdegreesshouldbekeptinthebackground.Manyadeadheadhasthesedegreeswhichhecouldneverhaveearnedbybrainwork.
Marriedwomenwhosehusbandsarealivemaysignthehusband'snamewiththeprefix_Mrs:_thus,
Yourssincerely,_Mrs._WilliamSouthey.
butwhenthehusbandisdeadthesignatureshouldbe--
Yourssincerely,_Mrs._SarahSouthey.
Sowhenwereceivealetterfromawomanweareenabledtotellwhethershehasahusbandlivingorisawidow.Awomanseparatedfromherhusbandbutnota_divorcee_should_not_signhisname.
ADDRESS
The_address_ofaletterconsistsofthename,thetitleandtheresidence.
Mr.HughBlack,112SouthgateStreet,Altoona,Pa.
Intimatefriendshaveoftenfamiliarnamesforeachother,suchaspetnames,nicknames,etc.,whichtheyuseinthefreedomofconversation,
butsuchnamesshouldnever,underanycircumstances,appearontheenvelope.Thesubscriptionontheenvelopeshouldbealwayswrittenwithproprietyandcorrectnessandasifpennedbyanentirestranger.Theonlydifficultyintheenvelopeinscriptionisthetitle.Everymanisentitledto_Mr._andeveryladyto_Mrs._andeveryunmarriedladyto _Miss_.Evenaboyisentitledto_Master_.Whenmorethanoneisaddressedthetitleis_Messrs.__Mesdames_issometimeswrittenofwomen.Ifthepersonaddressedhasatitleitiscourteoustouseit,buttitlesnevermustbeduplicated.Thus,wecanwrite
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RobertStitt,M.D.,butneverDr.RobertStitt,M.D,orMr.RobertStitt,M.D.
InwritingtoamedicaldoctoritiswelltoindicatehisprofessionbythelettersM.D.soastodifferentiatehimfromaD.D.ItisbettertowriteRobertStitt,M.D.,thanDr.RobertStitt.
InthecaseofclergymentheprefixRev.isretainedevenwhentheyhaveothertitles;as
Rev.TracyTooke,LL.D.
Whenapersonhasmoretitlesthanoneitiscustomarytoonlygivehimtheleadingone.ThusinsteadofwritingRev.SamuelMacComb,B.A.,M.A.,B.Sc.,Ph.D.,LL.D.,D.D.theformemployedisRev.SamuelMacComb,LL.D.LL.D.isappendedinpreferencetoD.D.becauseinmostcasesthe"Rev."impliesa"D.D."whilecomparativelyfewwiththeprefix"Rev."areentitledto"LL.D."
Inthecaseof_Honorables_suchasGovernors,Judges,MembersofCongress,andothersoftheCivilGovernmenttheprefix"Hon."doesawaywith_Mr._ and_Esq._ThuswewriteHon.JosiahSnifkins,notHon.Mr.JosiahSnifkinsorHon.JosiahSnifkins,Esq.Thoughthisprefix_Hon._isalsooften
appliedtoGovernorstheyshouldbeaddressedasExcellency.Forinstance:
HisExcellency,CharlesE.Hughes,Albany,N.Y.
InwritingtothePresidentthesuperscriptionontheenvelopeshouldbe
TothePresident,ExecutiveMansion,Washington,D.C.
ProfessionalmensuchasdoctorsandlawyersaswellasthosehavinglegitimatelyearnedCollegeDegreesmaybeaddressedontheenvelopesbytheirtitles,as
JonathanJaneway,M.D.HubertHouston,B.L.MatthewMarks,M.A.,etc.
Theresidenceofthepersonaddressedshouldbeplainlywrittenoutinfull.Thestreetandnumbersshouldbegivenandthecityortownwrittenverylegibly.IftheabbreviationoftheStateisliabletobeconfoundedorconfusedwiththatofanotherthenthefullnameoftheStateshouldbewritten.Inwritingtheresidenceontheenvelope,insteadofputting
itallinonelineasisdoneattheheadofaletter,eachitemoftheresidenceformsaseparateline.Thus,
Liberty,SullivanCounty,NewYork.
215MinnaSt.,SanFrancisco,California.
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Thereshouldbeleftaspaceforthepostagestampintheupperrighthandcorner.Thenameandtitleshouldoccupyalinethatisaboutcentralbetweenthetopoftheenvelopeandthebottom.Thenameshouldneitherbetoomuchtorightorleftbutlocatedinthecentre,thebeginningandendatequaldistancesfromeitherend.
Inwritingtolargebusinessconcernswhicharewellknownortopublicorcityofficialsitissometimescustomarytoleaveoutnumberandstreet.Thus,
Messrs.Seigel,CooperCo.,NewYorkCity,
Hon.WilliamJ.Gaynor,NewYorkCity.
NOTES
_Notes_mayberegardedaslettersinminiatureconfinedchieflytoinvitations,acceptances,regretsandintroductions,andmodernetiquettetendstowardsinformalityintheircomposition.Cardetiquette,infact,hastakentheplaceofceremoniouscorrespondenceandinformalnotesare
nowtherule.Invitationstodinnerandreceptionsarenowmostlywrittenoncards."Regrets"aresentbackonvisitingcardswithjusttheoneword_"Regrets"_plainlywrittenthereon.OftenoncardsandnotesofinvitationwefindthelettersR.S.V.P.atthebottom.TheselettersstandfortheFrench_repondezs'ilvousplait_,whichmeans"Reply,ifyouplease,"butthereisnonecessitytoputthisonaninvitationcardaseverywell-bredpersonknowsthatareplyisexpected.Inwritingnotestoyoungladiesofthesamefamilyitshouldbenotedthattheeldestdaughterofthehouseisentitledtothedesignation_Miss_withoutanyChristianname,onlythesurnameappended.ThusiftherearethreedaughtersintheThompsonfamilyMartha,theeldest,SusanandJemina,Marthaisaddressedas_Miss_Thompsonandtheothertwoas_Miss_SusanThompsonand_Miss_JeminaThompsonrespectively.
Don'twritetheword_addressed_ontheenvelopeofanote.
Don't_seal_anotedeliveredbyafriend.
Don'twriteanoteonapostalcard.
Hereareafewcommonforms:--
FORMALINVITATIONS
Mr.andMrs.HenryWagstaffrequestthe
honorofMr.McAdoo'spresenceonFridayevening,June15th,at8o'clocktomeettheGovernoroftheFort.19WoodbineTerraceJune8th,1910.
Thisisaninvitationtoaformalreceptioncallingforeveningdress.HereisMr.McAdoo'sreplyinthethirdperson:--
Mr.McAdoopresentshiscomplimentsto
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Mr.andMrs.HenryWagstaffandacceptswithgreatpleasuretheirinvitationtomeettheGovernoroftheFortontheeveningofJunefifteenth.215BeaconStreet,June10th,1910.
HereishowMr.McAdoomightdeclinetheinvitation:--
Mr.McAdooregretsthatowingtoapriorengagementhemustforegothehonorofpayinghisrespectstoMr.andMrs.WagstaffandtheGovernoroftheFortontheeveningofJunefifteenth.215BeaconSt.,June10th,1910.
Hereisanoteaddressed,saytoMr.JeremiahReynolds.
Mr.andMrs.OldhamathomeonWednesdayeveningOctoberninthfromseventoeleven.21AshlandAvenue,October5th.
Mr.Reynoldsmakesreply:--
Mr.ReynoldsacceptswithhighappreciationthehonorofMr.andMrs.Oldham'sinvitationforWednesdayeveningOctoberninth.WindsorHotelOctober7th
or
Mr.ReynoldsregretsthathisdutiesrenderitimpossibleforhimtoacceptMr.andMrs.Oldham'skindinvitationfortheeveningof
Octoberninth.WindsorHotel,October7th,
Sometimeslessinformalinvitationsaresentonsmallspeciallydesignednotepaperinwhichthefirstpersontakestheplaceofthethird.Thus
360PineSt.,Dec.11th,1910.DearMr.Saintsbury:Mr.JohnsonandIshouldbemuchpleasedtohaveyoudinewithusandafewfriendsnextThursday,thefifteenth,athalfpastseven.
Yourssincerely,EmmaBurnside.
Mr.Saintsbury'sreply:
57CarlyleStrandDec.13th,1910.DearMrs.Burnside:LetmeacceptveryappreciativelyyourinvitationtodinewithMr.Burnsideandyou
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onnextThursday,thefifteenth,athalfpastseven.Yourssincerely,HenrySaintsbury.Mrs.AlexanderBurnside.
NOTESOFINTRODUCTION
Notesofintroductionshouldbeverycircumspectasthewritersareinrealityvouchingforthosewhomtheyintroduce.Hereisaspecimenofsuchanote.
603LexingtonAve.,NewYorkCity,June15th,1910.
Rev.CyrusC.Wiley,D.D.,Newark,N.J.MydearDr.Wiley:Itakethelibertyofpresentingtoyoumyfriend,StacyRedfern,M.D.,ayoungpractitioner,whoisanxioustolocateinNewark.Ihaveknownhimmany
yearsandcanvouchforhisintegrityandprofessionalstanding.Anycourtesyandkindnesswhichyoumayshowhimwillbeverymuchappreciatedbyme.Verysincerelyyours,FranklinJewett.
CHAPTERVII
ERRORS
Mistakes--SlipsofAuthors--ExamplesandCorrections--ErrorsofRedundancy.
Inthefollowingexamplesthewordorwordsinparenthesesareuncalledforandshouldbeomitted:
1.Filltheglass(full).
2.Theyappearedtobetalking(together)onprivateaffairs.
3.Isawtheboyandhissister(both)inthegarden.
4.Hewentintothecountrylastweekandreturned(back)yesterday.
5.Thesubject(matter)ofhisdiscoursewasexcellent.
6.Youneednotwonderthatthe(subject)matterofhisdiscoursewasexcellent;itwastakenfromtheBible.
7.Theyfollowed(after)him,butcouldnotovertakehim.
8.Thesamesentimentsmaybefoundthroughout(thewholeof)thebook.
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9.Iwasveryilleveryday(ofmylife)lastweek.
10.Thatwasthe(sumand)substanceofhisdiscourse.
11.Hetookwineandwaterandmixedthem(both)together.
12.Hedescended(down)thestepstothecellar.
13.Hefell(down)fromthetopofthehouse.
14.Ihopeyouwillreturn(again)soon.
15.Thethingshetookawayherestored(again).
16.Thethiefwhostolemywatchwascompelledtorestoreit(backagain).
17.Itisequally(thesame)tomewhetherIhaveittodayortomorrow.
18.Shesaid,(saysshe)thereportisfalse;andhereplied,(sayshe)ifitbenotcorrectIhavebeenmisinformed.
19.Itookmyplaceinthecars(for)togotoNewYork.
20.Theyneednot(to)calluponhim.
21.Nothing(else)butthatwouldsatisfyhim.
22.WheneverIrideinthecarsI(always)finditprejudicialtomyhealth.
23.Hewasthefirst(ofall)atthemeeting.
24.Hewasthetallestof(all)thebrothers.
25.Youarethetallestof(all)yourfamily.
26.WheneverIpassthehouseheis(always)atthedoor.
27.Therainhaspenetrated(through)theroof.
28.Besidesmyuncleandaunttherewas(also)mygrandfatheratthechurch.
29.Itshould(ever)beyourconstantendeavortopleaseyourfamily.
30.Ifitistrueasyouhaveheard(then)hissituationisindeedpitiful.
31.Eitherthis(here)manorthat(there)womanhas(got)it.
32.Whereisthefire(at)?
33.Didyousleepinchurch?NotthatIknow(of).
34.Ineverbefore(inmylife)met(with)suchastupidman.
35.(For)whydidhepostponeit?
36.Because(why)hecouldnotattend.
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37.Whatageishe?(Why)Idon'tknow.
38.Hecalledonme(for)toaskmyopinion.
39.Idon'tknowwhereIam(at).
40.Ilookedin(at)thewindow.
41.Ipassed(by)thehouse.
42.He(always)cameeverySunday.
43.Moreover,(also)wewishtosayhewasinerror.
44.Itisnotlong(ago)sincehewashere.
45.Twomenwentintothewood(inorder)tocut(down)trees.
Furtherexamplesofredundancymightbemultiplied.Itisverycommoninnewspaperwritingwherenotalonesinglewordsbutentirephrasesaresometimesbroughtin,whichareunnecessarytothesenseorexplanationofwhatiswritten.
GRAMMATICALERRORSOFSTANDARDAUTHORS
Eventhebestspeakersandwritersaresometimescaughtnapping.Manyofourstandardauthorstowhomwehavebeenaccustomedtolookupasinfalliblehavesinnedmoreorlessagainstthefundamentalprinciplesofgrammarbybreakingtherulesregardingoneormoreoftheninepartsofspeech.Infactsomeofthemhaverecklesslytrespassedagainstallnine,andstilltheysitontheirpedestalsoffamefortheadmirationofthecrowd.Macaulaymistreatedthearticle.Hewrote,--"That_a_historianshouldnotrecordtriflesisperfectlytrue."Heshouldhaveused_an_.
Dickensalsousedthearticleincorrectly.Herefersto"RobinsonCrusoe"as"_an_universallypopularbook,"insteadof_a_universallypopular
book.
Therelationbetweennounsandpronounshasalwaysbeenastumblingblocktospeakersandwriters.Hallaminhis_LiteratureofEurope_writes,"Nooneasyethadexhibitedthestructureofthehumankidneys,Vesaliushavingonlyexaminedthemindogs."ThismeansthatVesaliusexaminedhumankidneysindogs.Thesentenceshouldhavebeen,"Noonehadasyetexhibitedthekidneysinhumanbeings,Vesaliushavingexaminedsuchorgansindogsonly."
SirArthurHelpsinwritingofDickens,states--"Iknewabrotherauthorofhiswhoreceivedsuchcriticismsfromhim(Dickens)verylatelyandprofitedby_it_."Insteadof_it_thewordshouldbe_them_toagree
withcriticisms.
Hereareafewotherpronominalerrorsfromleadingauthors:
"SirThomasMooreingeneralsowritesit,althoughnotmanyotherssolateas_him_."Shouldbe_he_.--Trench's_EnglishPastandPresent_.
"Whatshouldwegainbyitbutthatweshouldspeedilybecomeaspooras _them_."Shouldbe_they_.--Alison's_EssayonMacaulay_.
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"IfthekinggivesusleaveyouorImayaslawfullypreach,as _them_thatdo."Shouldbe_they_or_those_,thelatterhavingpersonsunderstood.--Hobbes's_HistoryofCivilWars_.
"Thedriftofallhissermonswas,topreparetheJewsforthereceptionofaprophet,mightierthan_him_,andwhoseshoeshewasnotworthytobear."Shouldbethan_he_.--Atterbury's_Sermons_.
"Phalaris,whowassomucholderthan_her_."Shouldbe_she_.--Bentley's _DissertationonPhalaris_.
"KingCharles,andmorethan_him_,thedukeandthePopishfactionwereatlibertytoformnewschemes."Shouldbethan_he_.--Bolingbroke's _DissertationsonParties_.
"WecontributedathirdmorethantheDutch,whowereobligedtothesameproportionmorethan_us_."Shouldbethan_we_.--Swift's_ConductoftheAllies_.
Inalltheaboveexamplestheobjectivecasesofthepronounshavebeenusedwhiletheconstructioncallsfornominativecases.
"Let_thou_and_I_thebattletry"--_Anon_.
Here_let_isthegoverningverbandrequiresanobjectivecaseafterit;thereforeinsteadof_thou_and_I_,thewordsshouldbe_you_(_sing_.)and_me_.
"Foreverinthishumblecell,LettheeandI,myfairone,dwell"--_Prior_.
Here_thee_and_I_shouldbetheobjectives_you_and_me_.
Theuseoftherelativepronountripsthegreatestnumberofauthors.
EvenintheBiblewefindtherelativewronglytranslated:
WhomdomensaythatIam?--_St.Matthew_.
WhomthinkyethatIam?--_ActsoftheApostles_.
_Who_shouldbewritteninbothcasesbecausethewordisnotintheobjectivegovernedbysayorthink,butinthenominativedependentontheverb_am_.
"_Who_shouldImeetatthecoffeehouset'othernight,butmyoldfriend?"--_Steele_.
"Itisanotherpatternofthisanswerer'sfairdealing,togiveushintsthattheauthorisdead,andyetlaythesuspicionuponsomebody,Iknow
not_who_,inthecountry."--Swift's_TaleofaTub_.
"MysonisgoingtobemarriedtoIdon'tknow_who_."--Goldsmith's _Good-naturedMan_.
Thenominative_who_intheaboveexamplesshouldbetheobjective _whom_.
Thepluralnominative_ye_ofthepronoun_thou_isveryoftenusedfortheobjective_you_,asinthefollowing:
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"Hiswrathwhichwillonedaydestroy_yeboth_."--_Milton_.
"Themoreshamefor_ye_;holymenIthought_ye_."--_Shakespeare_.
"Ifeelthegalesthatfrom_ye_blow."--_Gray_.
"Tyrantsdread_ye_,lestyourjustdecreeTransferthepowerandsetthepeoplefree."--_Prior_.
Manyofthegreatwritershaveplayedhavocwiththeadjectiveintheindiscriminateuseofthedegreesofcomparison.
"Oftwoformsofthesameword,usethefittest."--_Morell_.
Theauthorherein_trying_togivegoodadvicesetsabadexample.Heshouldhaveusedthecomparativedegree,"Fitter."
Adjectiveswhichhaveacomparativeorsuperlativesignificationdonotadmittheadditionofthewords_more_,_most_,ortheterminations, _er_,_est_,hencethefollowingexamplesbreakthisrule:
"Moneyisthe_mostuniversal_incitementofhumanmisery."--Gibbon's _DeclineandFall_.
"The_chiefest_ofwhichwasknownbythenameofArchonamongtheGrecians."--Dryden's_LifeofPlutarch_.
"The_chiefest_andlargestareremovedtocertainmagazinestheycalllibraries."--Swift's_BattleoftheBooks_.
Thetwo_chiefest_propertiesofair,itsgravityandelasticforce,havebeendiscoveredbymechanicalexperiments.--_Arbuthno_.
"Fromthesevariouscauses,whichingreateror_lesser_degree,affectedeveryindividualinthecolony,theindignationofthepeoplebecamegeneral."--Robertson's_HistoryofAmerica_.
"The_extremest_partsoftheearthweremeditatingasubmission."--Atterbury's_Sermons_.
"Thelastareindeed_morepreferable_becausetheyarefoundedonsomenewknowledgeorimprovementinthemindofman."--Addison,_Spectator_.
"Thiswasinrealitythe_easiest_mannerofthetwo."--Shaftesbury's _AdvicetoanAuthor_.
"Ineverywellformedmindthisseconddesireseemstobethe_strongest_ ofthetwo."--Smith's_TheoryofMoralSentiments_.
Intheseexamplesthesuperlativeiswronglyusedforthecomparative.Whenonlytwoobjectsarecomparedthecomparativeformmustbeused.
Ofimpossibilitytherearenodegreesofcomparison,yetwefindthefollowing:
"Asitwasimpossibletheyshouldknowthewords,thoughtsandsecretactionsofallmen,soitwas_moreimpossible_theyshouldpassjudgmentonthemaccordingtothesethings."--Whitby's_NecessityoftheChristianReligion_.
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Agreatnumberofauthorsemployadjectivesforadverbs.Thuswefind:
"Ishallendeavortolivehereafter_suitable_toamaninmystation."--_Addison_.
"Icanneverthinksovery_mean_ofhim."--Bentley's_DissertationonPhalaris_.
"Hisexpectationsrunhighandthefundtosupplythemis_extreme_ scanty."--_Lancaster'sEssayonDelicacy_.
Thecommonesterrorintheuseoftheverbisthedisregardoftheconcordbetweentheverbanditssubject.Thisoccursmostfrequentlywhenthesubjectandtheverbarewidelyseparated,especiallyifsomeothernounofadifferentnumberimmediatelyprecedestheverb.Falseconcordsoccurveryoftenafter_either_,_or_,_neither_,_nor_,and _much_,_more_,_many_,_everyone_,_each_.
Hereareafewauthors'slips:--
"Thetermsinwhichthesaleofapatent_were_communicatedtothepublic."--Junius's_Letters_.
"Therichnessofherarmsandapparel_were_conspicuous."--Gibbon's _DeclineandFall_.
"Everyoneofthisgrotesquefamily_were_thecreaturesofnationalgenius."--D'Israeli.
"Heknowsnotwhatspleen,languororlistlessness_are_."--Blair's _Sermons_.
"Eachofthesewords_imply_,somepursuitorobjectrelinquished."--_Ibid_.
"Magnus,withfourthousandofhissupposedaccomplices_were_put
todeath."--_Gibbon_.
"Nonationgivesgreaterencouragementstolearningthanwedo;yetatthesametime_noneare_soinjudiciousintheapplication."--_Goldsmith_.
"_There'stwo_or_three_ofushaveseenstrangesights."--_Shakespeare_.
Thepastparticipleshouldnotbeusedforthepasttense,yetthelearnedByronoverlookedthisfact.Hethuswritesinthe_LamentofTasso_:--
"Andwithmyyearsmysoul_beguntopant_Withfeelingsofstrange
tumultandsoftpain."
HereisanotherexamplefromSavage's_Wanderer_inwhichthereisdoublesinning:
"Fromlibertyeachnoblerscience_sprung_,ABaconbrighten'dandaSpenser_sung_."
Otherbreachesinregardtotheparticiplesoccurinthefollowing:--
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"Everybookoughttobereadwiththesamespiritandinthesamemannerasitis_writ_"--Fielding's_TomJones_.
"TheCourtofAugustushadnot_wore_offthemannersoftherepublic"--Hume's_Essays_.
"Mosestellsusthatthefountainsoftheearthwere_broke_openorcloveasunder."--Burnet.
"Afreeconstitutionwhenithasbeen_shook_bytheiniquityofformeradministrations."--_Bolingbroke_.
"Inthisrespecttheseedsoffuturedivisionswere_sowed_abundantly."--_Ibid_.
Inthefollowingexamplethepresentparticipleisusedfortheinfinitivemood:
"Itiseasy_distinguishing_therudefragmentofarockfromthesplinterofastatue."--Gilfillan's_LiteraryPortraits_.
_Distinguishing_hereshouldbereplacedby_todistinguish_.
Therulesregarding_shall_and_will_areviolatedinthefollowing:
"Ifwelookwithintheroughandawkwardoutside,we_will_berichlyrewardedbyitsperusal."--Gilfillan's_LiteraryPortraits_.
"IfI_should_declarethemandspeakofthem,theyshouldbemorethanIamabletoexpress."--_PrayerBookRevisionofPsalmsXI_.
"IfI_would_declarethemandspeakofthem,theyaremorethancanbenumbered."--_Ibid_.
"Withouthavingattendedtothis,we_will_beataloss,inunderstandingseveralpassagesintheclassics."--Blair's_Lectures_.
"Weknowtowhatcauseourpastreverseshavebeenowingand_we_ willhaveourselvestoblame,iftheyareagainincurred."--Alison's _HistoryofEurope_.
Adverbialmistakesoftenoccurinthebestwriters.Theadverb_rather_isawordveryfrequentlymisplaced.ArchbishopTrenchinhis"EnglishPastandPresent"writes,"It_rather_modifiedthestructureofoursentencesthantheelementsofourvocabulary."Thisshouldhavebeenwritten,--"Itmodifiedthestructureofoursentences_ratherthan_theelementsofourvocabulary."
"Sofarashismodeofteachinggoesheis_rather_adiscipleofSocratesthanofSt.PaulorWesley."ThuswritesLeslieStephensofDr.
Johnson.Heshouldhavewritten,--"SofarashismodeofteachinggoesheisadiscipleofSocrates_rather_thanofSt.PaulorWesley."
Theprepositionisapartofspeechwhichisoftenwronglyusedbysomeofthebestwriters.Certainnouns,adjectivesandverbsrequireparticularprepositionsafterthem,forinstance,theword_different_ alwaystakesthepreposition_from_afterit;_prevail_takes_upon_; _averse_takes_to_;_accord_takes_with_,andsoon.
Inthefollowingexamplestheprepositionsinparenthesesaretheones
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thatshouldhavebeenused:
"Hefoundthegreatestdifficulty_of_(in)writing."--Hume's _HistoryofEngland_.
"Ifpolicycanprevail_upon_(over)force."--_Addison_.
"Hemadethediscoveryandcommunicated_to_(with)hisfriends."--Swift's_TaleofaTub_.
"Everyofficeofcommandshouldbeintrustedtopersons_on_(in)whomtheparliamentshallconfide."--_Macaulay_.
Severalofthemostcelebratedwritersinfringethecanonsofstylebyplacingprepositionsattheendofsentences.ForinstanceCarlyle,inreferringtotheStudyofBurns,writes:--"Ourowncontributionstoit,weareaware,canbebutscantyandfeeble;butweofferthemwithgoodwill,andtrusttheymaymeetwithacceptancefromthosetheyareintended_for_."
--"forwhomtheyareintended,"heshouldhavewritten.
"Mostwritershavesomeoneveinwhichtheypeculiarlyandobviouslyexcel_in_."--_WilliamMinto_.
Thissentenceshouldread,--Mostwritershavesomeoneveininwhichtheypeculiarlyandobviouslyexcel.
Manyauthorsuseredundantwordswhichrepeatthesamethoughtandidea.Thisiscalledtautology.
"Notwithstandingwhich(however)poorPollyembracedthemallaround."--_Dickens_.
"Ijudgedthattheywould(mutually)findeachother."--_Crockett_.
"....ashavingcreateda(joint)partnershipbetweenthetwoPowersin
theMoroccoquestion."--_TheTimes_.
"Theonlysensibleposition(thereseemstobe)istofranklyacknowledgeourignoranceofwhatliesbeyond."--_DailyTelegraph_.
"LordRoseberyhasnotbudgedfromhisposition--splendid,nodoubt,--of(lonely)isolation."--_TheTimes_.
"MissFoxwas(often)inthehabitofassuringMrs.Chick."--_Dickens_.
"Thedeck(it)wastheirfieldoffame."--_Campbell_.
"Hehadcomeuponemorning,aswasnow(frequently)hiswont,"
--_Trollope_.
ThecounsellorsoftheSultan(continueto)remainsceptical--_TheTimes_.
Seriously,(andapartfromjesting),thisisnolightmatter.--_Bagehot_.
Togobacktoyourowncountrywith(theconsciousnessthatyougobackwith)thesenseofdutywelldone.--_LordHalsbury_.
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The_Peresviet_lostbothherfighting-topsand(inappearance)lookedthemostdamagedofalltheships--_TheTimes_.
Counseladmittedthat,thatwasafairsuggestiontomake,buthesubmittedthatitwasborneoutbythe(surrounding)circumstances.--_Ibid_.
Anotherunnecessaryuseofwordsandphrasesisthatwhichistermedcircumlocution,agoingaroundthebushwhenthereisnooccasionforit,--savetofillspace.
Itmaybelikenedtoapersonwalkingthedistanceoftwosidesofatriangletoreachtheobjectivepoint.Forinstanceinthequotation:"PopeprofessedtohavelearnedhispoetryfromDryden,whom,wheneveranopportunitywaspresented,hepraisedthroughthewholeperiodofhisexistencewithunvariedliberality;andperhapshischaractermayreceivesomeillustration,ofacomparisonheinstitutedbetweenhimandthemanwhosepupilhewas"muchoftheverbiagemaybeeliminatedandthesentencethuscondensed:
"PopeprofessedhimselfthepupilofDryden,whomhelostnoopportunityofpraising;andhischaractermaybeillustratedbyacomparisonwithhismaster."
"Hislifewasbroughttoaclosein1910atanagenotfarfromtheonefixedbythesacredwriterasthetermofhumanexistence."
Thisinbrevitycanbeput,"Hislifewasbroughttoacloseattheageofseventy;"or,betteryet,"Hediedattheageofseventy."
"Thedaywasintenselycold,socoldinfactthatthethermometercreptdowntothezeromark,"canbeexpressed:"Thedaywassocoldthethermometerregisteredzero."
Manyauthorsresorttocircumlocutionforthepurposeof"padding,"thatis,fillingspace,orwhentheystrikeasnaginwritinguponsubjectsofwhichtheyknowlittleornothing.Theyoungwritershouldsteerclearof
itandlearntoexpresshisthoughtsandideasasbrieflyaspossiblecommensuratewithlucidityofexpression.
Volumesoferrorsinfact,ingrammar,dictionandgeneralstyle,couldbeselectedfromtheworksofthegreatwriters,afactwhicheloquentlytestifiesthatnooneisinfallibleandthattheverybestisliabletoerrattimes.However,mostoftheerringinthecaseofthesewritersarisesfromcarelessnessorhurry,notfromalackofknowledge.
Asageneralruleitisinwritingthatthescholarisliabletoslip;inoralspeechheseldommakesablunder.Infact,therearemanypeoplewhoareperfectmastersofspeech,--whonevermakeablunderinconversation,yetwhoareignorantoftheveryprinciplesofgrammarandwouldnotknow
howtowriteasentencecorrectlyonpaper.Suchpersonshavebeenaccustomedfrominfancytohearthelanguagespokencorrectlyandsotheuseoftheproperwordsandformsbecomesasecondnaturetothem.Achildcanlearnwhatisrightaseasyaswhatiswrongandwhateverimpressionsaremadeonthemindwhenitisplasticwillremainthere.Evenaparrotcanbetaughttheproperuseoflanguage.Repeattoaparrot.--"Twoandtwo_make_four"anditneverwillsay"twoandtwo _makes_four."
Inwriting,however,itisdifferent.Withoutaknowledgeofthe
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fundamentalsofgrammarwemaybeabletospeakcorrectlyfromassociationwithgoodspeakers,butwithoutsuchaknowledgewecannothopetowritethelanguagecorrectly.Towriteevenacommonletterwemustknowtheprinciplesofconstruction,therelationshipofonewordtoanother.Therefore,itisnecessaryforeverybodytounderstandatleasttheessentialsofthegrammarofhisownlanguage.
CHAPTERVIII
PITFALLSTOAVOID
CommonStumblingBlocks--PeculiarConstructions--MisusedForms.
ATTRACTION
Veryoftentheverbisseparatedfromitsrealnominativeorsubjectbyseveralinterveningwordsandinsuchcasesoneisliabletomaketheverbagreewiththesubjectnearesttoit.Hereareafewexamplesshowingthattheleadingwritersnowandthentakeatumbleintothispitfall:
(1)"Thepartitionwhichthetwoministersmadeofthepowersofgovernment_were_singularlyhappy."--_Macaulay_.
(Shouldbe_was_toagreewithitssubject,_partition_.)
(2)"Oneatleastofthequalitieswhichfititfortrainingordinarymen _unfit_itfor_training_anextraordinaryman."--_Bagehot_.
(Shouldbe_unfits_toagreewithsubject_one_.)
(3)"TheTibetanshaveengagedtoexcludefromtheircountrythosedangerousinfluenceswhoseappearance_were_thechiefcauseofour
action."--_TheTimes_.
(Shouldbe_was_toagreewith_appearance_.)
(4)"Animmenseamountofconfusionandindifference_prevail_inthesedays."--_Telegraph_.
(Shouldbe_prevails_toagreewithamount.)
ELLIPSIS
Errorsinellipsisoccurchieflywithprepositions.
Hisobjectionandcondoningoftheboy'scourse,seemedtosaytheleast,paradoxical.
(Thepreposition_to_shouldcomeafterobjection.)
Manymenofbrilliantpartsarecrushedbyforceofcircumstancesandtheirgeniusforeverlosttotheworld.
(Somemaintainthatthemissingverbaftergeniusis_are_,butsuch
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isungrammatical.Insuchcasestherightverbshouldbealwaysexpressed:as--theirgenius_is_foreverlosttotheworld.)
THESPLITINFINITIVE
Eventhebestspeakersandwritersareinthehabitofplacingamodifyingwordorwordsbetweenthe_to_andtheremainingpartoftheinfinitive.Itispossiblethatsuchwillcometobelookeduponintimeastheproperformbutatpresentthesplittingoftheinfinitiveisdecidedlywrong."Hewasscarcelyable_to_even_talk_""Shecommenced _to_rapidly_walk_aroundtheroom.""_Tohave_really_loved_isbetterthannot_tohave_atall_loved_."Intheseconstructionsitismuchbetternottosplittheinfinitive.Inevery-dayspeechthebestspeakerssinagainstthisobservance.
InNewYorkCitythereisacertainmagistrate,amemberof"the400,"whoprideshimselfonhisdictioninlanguage.Hetellsthisstory:Aprisoner,afaded,batteredspecimenofmankind,onwhosehaggardface,deeplylinedwiththemarksofdissipation,therestilllingeredfaintremindersofbetterdayslongpast,stooddejectedbeforethejudge."Whereareyoufrom?"askedthemagistrate."FromBoston,"answeredtheaccused."Indeed,"saidthejudge,"indeed,yoursisasadcase,andyetyoudon'tseem_to_thoroughly_realise_howlowyouhavesunk."Theman
staredasifstruck."Yourhonordoesmeaninjustice,"hesaidbitterly."Thedisgraceofarrestfordrunkenness,themortificationofbeingthrustintoanoisomedungeon,thepublicityandhumiliationoftrialinacrowdedanddingycourtroomIcanbear,buttobesentencedbyaPoliceMagistratewho_splitshisinfinitives_--thatisindeedthelastblow."
ONE
Theindefiniteadjectivepronoun_one_whenputinplaceofapersonalsubstantiveisliabletoraiseconfusion.Whenasentenceorexpressionisbegunwiththeimpersonal_one_thewordmustbeusedthroughoutinallreferencestothesubject.Thus,"Onemustmindone'sownbusinessif
onewishestosucceed"mayseemprolixandawkward,neverthelessitistheproperform.Youmustnotsay--"Onemustmindhisbusinessifhewishestosucceed,"forthesubjectisimpersonalandthereforecannotexclusivelytakethemasculinepronoun.With_anyone_itisdifferent.Youmaysay--"Ifanyonesinsheshouldacknowledgeit;lethimnottrytohideitbyanothersin."
ONLY
Thisisawordthatisapitfalltothemostofuswhetherlearnedorunlearned.Probablyitisthemostindiscriminatelyusedwordinthelanguage.Fromthedifferentpositionsitismadetooccupyinasentence
itcanrelativelychangethemeaning.Forinstanceinthesentence--"I _only_struckhimthattime,"themeaningtobeinferredis,thattheonlythingIdidtohimwasto_strike_him,notkickorotherwiseabusehim.Butifthe_only_isshifted,soastomakethesentenceread-"Istruckhim_only_thattime"themeaningconveyedis,thatonlyonthatoccasionandatnoothertimedidIstrikehim.Ifanothershiftismadeto-"Istruck_only_himthattime,"themeaningisagainalteredsothatitsignifieshewastheonlypersonIstruck.
Inspeakingwecanbyemphasisimpressourmeaningonourhearers,butin
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writingwehavenothingtodependuponbutthepositionofthewordinthesentence.Thebestruleinregardto_only_istoplaceit _immediatelybefore_thewordorphraseitmodifiesorlimits.
ALONE
isanotherwordwhichcreatesambiguityandaltersmeaning.Ifwesubstituteitforonlyintheprecedingexamplethemeaningofthesentencewilldependuponthearrangement.Thus"I_alone_struckhimatthattime"signifiesthatIandnootherstruckhim.Whenthesentencereads"Istruckhim_alone_atthattime"itmustbeinterpretedthathewastheonlypersonthatreceivedablow.Againifitismadetoread"Istruckhimatthattime_alone_"thesenseconveyedisthatthatwastheonlyoccasiononwhichIstruckhim.Therulewhichgovernsthecorrectuseof_only_isalsoapplicableto_alone_.
OTHERANDANOTHER
Thesearewordswhichoftengivetoexpressionsameaningfarfromthatintended.Thus,"Ihave_nothing_todowiththat_other_rascalacrossthestreet,"certainlymeansthatIamarascalmyself."Isentthedespatchtomyfriend,butanothervillaininterceptedit,"clearly
signifiesthatmyfriendisavillain.
Agoodplanistoomitthesewordswhentheycanbereadilydonewithout,asintheaboveexamples,butwhenitisnecessarytousethemmakeyourmeaningclear.Youcandothisbymakingeachsentenceorphraseinwhichtheyoccurindependentofcontextualaid.
ANDWITHTHERELATIVE
Neveruse_and_withthe_relative_inthismanner:"ThatisthedogImeant_andwhich_Iknowisofpurebreed."Thisisanerrorquitecommon.Theuseof_and_ispermissiblewhenthereisaparallelrelative
intheprecedingsentenceorclause.Thus:"ThereisthedogwhichImeantandwhichIknowisofpurebreed"isquitecorrect.
LOOSEPARTICIPLES
Aparticipleorparticipialphraseisnaturallyreferredtothenearestnominative.Ifonlyonenominativeisexpresseditclaimsalltheparticiplesthatarenotbytheconstructionofthesentenceotherwisefixed."John,workinginthefieldalldayandgettingthirsty,drankfromtherunningstream."Heretheparticiples_working_and_getting_ clearlyrefertoJohn.Butinthesentence,--"SweptalongbythemobIcouldnotsavehim,"theparticipleasitwereislyingaroundlooseand
maybetakentorefertoeitherthepersonspeakingortothepersonspokenabout.ItmaymeanthatIwassweptalongbythemobortheindividualwhomItriedtosavewassweptalong.
"Goingintothestoretherooffell"canbetakenthatitwastheroofwhichwasgoingintothestorewhenitfell.Ofcoursethemeaningintendedisthatsomepersonorpersonsweregoingintothestorejustastherooffell.
Inallsentenceconstructionwithparticiplesthereshouldbesuch
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clearnessastoprecludeallpossibilityofambiguity.Theparticipleshouldbesoplacedthattherecanbenodoubtastothenountowhichitrefers.Oftenitisadvisabletosupplysuchwordsaswillmakethemeaningobvious.
BROKENCONSTRUCTION
Sometimesthebeginningofasentencepresentsquiteadifferentgrammaticalconstructionfromitsend.Thisarisesfromthefactprobably,thatthebeginningislostsightofbeforetheendisreached.Thisoccursfrequentlyinlongsentences.Thus:"Honesty,integrityandsquare-dealingwillbringanybodymuchbetterthroughlifethantheabsenceofeither."Heretheconstructionisbrokenat_than_.Theuseof _either_,onlyusedinreferringtooneoftwo,showsthatthefactisforgottenthatthreequalitiesandnottwoareunderconsideration.Anyoneofthethreemeaningsmightbeintendedinthesentence,viz.,absenceofanyonequality,absenceofanytwoofthequalitiesorabsenceofthewholethreequalities.Eitherdenotesoneortheotheroftwoandshouldneverbeappliedtoanyoneofmorethantwo.Whenwefallintotheerrorofconstructingsuchsentencesasabove,weshouldtakethemapartandreconstructtheminadifferentgrammaticalform.Thus,--"Honesty,integrityandsquare-dealingwillbringamanmuchbetterthroughlifethanalackofthesequalitieswhicharealmost
essentialtosuccess."
DOUBLENEGATIVE
ItmustberememberedthattwonegativesintheEnglishlanguagedestroyeachotherandareequivalenttoanaffirmative.Thus"I_don't_know _nothing_aboutit"isintendedtoconvey,thatIamignorantofthematterunderconsideration,butitdefeatsitsownpurpose,inasmuchastheuseofnothingimpliesthatIknowsomethingaboutit.Thesentenceshouldread--"Idon'tknowanythingaboutit."
Oftenwehearsuchexpressionsas"Hewas_not_askedtogive_no_
opinion,"expressingtheveryoppositeofwhatisintended.Thissentenceimpliesthathewasaskedtogivehisopinion.Thedoublenegative,therefore,shouldbecarefullyavoided,foritisinsidiousandisliabletoslipinandthewriterremainunconsciousofitspresenceuntiltheeyeofthecriticdetectsit.
FIRSTPERSONALPRONOUN
Theuseofthefirstpersonalpronounshouldbeavoidedasmuchaspossibleincomposition.Don'tintroduceitbywayofapologyandneverusesuchexpressionsas"Inmyopinion,""AsfarasIcansee,""Itappearstome,""Ibelieve,"etc.Inwhatyouwrite,thewhole
compositionisexpressiveofyourviews,sinceyouaretheauthor,therefore,thereisnonecessityforyoutoaccentuateoremphasizeyourselfatcertainportionsofit.
Moreover,thebig_I's_savorofegotism!Steerclearofthemasfarasyoucan.Theonlyplacewherethefirstpersonispermissibleisinpassageswhereyouarestatingaviewthatisnotgenerallyheldandwhichislikelytomeetwithopposition.
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SEQUENCEOFTENSES
Whentwoverbsdependoneachothertheirtensesmusthaveadefiniterelationtoeachother."Ishallhavemuchpleasureinacceptingyourkindinvitation"iswrong,unlessyoureallymeanthatjustnowyoudeclinethoughby-and-byyouintendtoaccept;orunlessyoumeanthatyoudoacceptnow,thoughyouhavenopleasureindoingso,butlookforwardtobemorepleasedby-and-by.Infactthesequenceofthecompoundtensespuzzleexperiencedwriters.Thebestplanistogobackinthoughttothetimeinquestionandusethetenseyouwould_then_ naturallyuse.Nowinthesentence"Ishouldhavelikedtohavegonetoseethecircus"thewaytofindoutthepropersequenceistoaskyourselfthequestion--whatisitI"shouldhaveliked"todo?andtheplainansweris"togotoseethecircus."Icannotanswer--"Tohavegonetoseethecircus"forthatwouldimplythatatacertainmomentIwouldhavelikedtobeinthepositionofhavinggonetothecircus.ButIdonotmeanthis;ImeanthatatthemomentatwhichIamspeakingIwishIhadgonetoseethecircus.Theverbalphrase_Ishouldhaveliked_ carriesmebacktothetimewhentherewasachanceofseeingthecircusandoncebackatthetime,thegoingtothecircusisathingofthepresent.Thiswholeexplanationresolvesitselfintothesimplequestion,--whatshouldIhaveliked_atthattime_,andtheansweris"togotoseethecircus,"thereforethisisthepropersequence,andtheexpressionshouldbe"Ishouldhavelikedtogotoseethecircus."
Ifwewishtospeakofsomethingrelatingtoatime_prior_tothatindicatedinthepasttensewemustusetheperfecttenseoftheinfinitive;as,"Heappearedtohaveseenbetterdays."Weshouldsay"Iexpectedto_meethim_,"not"Iexpected_tohavemethim_.""Weintended _tovisityou_,"not"_tohavevisited_you.""Ihopedthey_would_ arrive,"not"Ihopedthey_wouldhave_arrived.""IthoughtIshould _catch_thebird,"not"IthoughtIshould_havecaught_thebird.""Ihadintended_togo_tothemeeting,"not"Ihadintendedto_havegone_ tothemeeting."
BETWEEN--AMONG
Theseprepositionsareoftencarelesslyinterchanged._Between_hasreferencetotwoobjectsonly,_among_tomorethantwo."Themoneywasequallydividedbetweenthem"isrightwhenthereareonlytwo,butiftherearemorethantwoitshouldbe"themoneywasequallydividedamongthem."
LESS--FEWER
_Less_refersisquantity,_fewer_tonumber."Nomanhas_less_virtues"shouldbe"Nomanhas_fewer_virtues.""Thefarmerhadsomeoatsanda _fewer_quantityofwheat"shouldbe"thefarmerhadsomeoatsanda
_less_quantityofwheat."
FURTHER--FARTHER
_Further_iscommonlyusedtodenotequantity,_farther_todenotedistance."Ihavewalked_farther_thanyou,""Ineedno_further_ supply"arecorrect.
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EACHOTHER--ONEANOTHER
_Eachother_referstotwo,_oneanother_tomorethantwo."JonesandSmithquarreled;theystruckeachother"iscorrect."Jones,SmithandBrownquarreled;theystruckoneanother"isalsocorrect.Don'tsay,"Thetwoboysteachoneanother"nor"Thethreegirlsloveeachother."
EACH,EVERY,EITHER,NEITHER
Thesewordsarecontinuallymisapplied._Each_canbeappliedtotwooranyhighernumberofobjectstosignify_everyone_ofthenumber _independently_.Everyrequires_morethantwo_tobespokenofanddenotesallthe_persons_or_things_taken_separately_._Either_ denotes_oneortheotheroftwo_,andshouldnotbeusedtoincludeboth._Neither_isthenegativeofeither,denotingnottheother,andnottheone,andrelatingto_twopersons_or_things_consideredseparately.
Thefollowingexamplesillustratethecorrectusageofthesewords:
_Each_manofthecrewreceivedareward.
_Every_manintheregimentdisplayedbravery.
Wecanwalkon_either_sideofthestreet.
_Neither_ofthetwoistoblame.
NEITHER-NOR
Whentwosingularsubjectsareconnectedby_neither_,_nor_useasingularverb;as,"_Neither_John_nor_James_wasthere_,"not_were_ there.
NONE
CustomHassanctionedtheuseofthiswordbothwithasingularandplural;as--"None_is_soblindashewhowillnotsee"and"None_are_ soblindastheywhowillnotsee."However,asitisacontractionof _noone_itisbettertousethesingularverb.
RISE-RAISE
Theseverbsareveryoftenconfounded._Rise_istomoveorpassupwardinanymanner;asto"risefrombed;"toincreaseinvalue,toimproveinpositionorrank,as"stocksrise;""politiciansrise;""theyhaverisen
tohonor."
_Raise_istoliftup,toexalt,toenhance,as"Iraisethetable;""Heraisedhisservant;""Thebakerraisedthepriceof_bread_."
LAY-LIE
Thetransitiveverb_lay_,and_lay_,thepasttenseoftheneuterverb _lie_,areoftenconfounded,thoughquitedifferentinmeaning.The
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neuterverb_tolie_,meaningtoliedownorrest,cannottaketheobjectiveafteritexceptwithapreposition.Wecansay"He_lies_ontheground,"butwecannotsay"He_lies_theground,"sincetheverbisneuterandintransitiveand,assuch,cannothaveadirectobject.With _lay_itisdifferent._Lay_isatransitiveverb,thereforeittakesadirectobjectafterit;as"I_lay_awager,""I_laid_thecarpet,"etc.
Ofacarpetoranyinanimatesubjectweshouldsay,"Itliesonthefloor,""Aknife_lies_onthetable,"not_lays_.Butofapersonwesay--"He_lays_theknifeonthetable,"not"He_lies_----."_Lay_beingthepasttenseoftheneutertolie(down)weshouldsay,"He_lay_onthebed,"and_lain_beingitspastparticiplewemustalsosay"Hehas _lain_onthebed."
Wecansay"Ilaymyselfdown.""Helaidhimselfdown"andsuchexpressions.
Itisimperativetorememberinusingtheseverbsthatto_lay_means_todo_something,andtoliemeans_tobeinastateofrest_.
SAYSI--ISAID
_"SaysI"_isavulgarism;don'tuseit."Isaid"iscorrectform.
IN--INTO
Becarefultodistinguishthemeaningofthesetwolittleprepositionsanddon'tinterchangethem.Don'tsay"Hewent_in_theroom"nor"Mybrotheris_into_thenavy."_In_denotestheplacewhereapersonorthing,whetheratrestorinmotion,ispresent;and_into_denotes _entrance_."Hewent_into_theroom;""Mybrotheris_in_thenavy"arecorrect.
EAT--ATE
Don'tconfoundthetwo._Eat_ispresent,_ate_ispast."I_eat_thebread"meansthatIamcontinuingtheeating;"I_ate_thebread"meansthattheactofeatingispast._Eaten_istheperfectparticiple,butoften_eat_isusedinstead,andasithasthesamepronunciation(et)of _ate_,careshouldbetakentodistinguishthepasttense,I_ate_fromtheperfect_Ihaveeaten_(_eat_).
SEQUENCEOFPERSON
Rememberthatthe_first_persontakesprecedenceofthe_second_andthe _second_takesprecedenceofthe_third_.WhenCardinalWolseysaid_Ego
etRex_(IandtheKing),heshowedhewasagoodgrammarian,butabadcourtier.
AMCOME--HAVECOME
"_Iamcome_"pointstomybeinghere,while"Ihavecome"intimatesthatIhavejustarrived.Whenthesubjectisnotaperson,theverb_tobe_ shouldbeusedinpreferencetotheverb_tohave_;as,"Theboxiscome"insteadof"Theboxhascome."
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PASTTENSE--PASTPARTICIPLE
Theinterchangeofthesetwopartsoftheirregularorso-called_strong_ verbsis,perhaps,thebreachoftenestcommittedbycarelessspeakersandwriters.Toavoidmistakesitisrequisitetoknowtheprincipalpartsoftheseverbs,andthisknowledgeisveryeasyofacquirement,astherearenotmorethanacoupleofhundredofsuchverbs,andofthisnumberbutasmallpartisindailyuse.Herearesomeofthemostcommonblunders:"Iseen"for"Isaw;""Idoneit"for"Ididit;""Idrunk"for"Idrank;""Ibegun"for"Ibegan;""Irung"for"Irang;""Irun"for"Iran;""Isung"for"Isang;""Ihavechose"for"Ihavechosen;""Ihavedrove"for"Ihavedriven;""Ihavewore"for"Ihaveworn;""Ihavetrod"for"Ihavetrodden;""Ihaveshook"for"Ihaveshaken;""Ihavefell"for"Ihavefallen;""Ihavedrank"for"Ihavedrunk;""Ihavebegan"for"Ihavebegun;""Ihaverang"for"Ihaverung;""Ihaverose"for"Ihaverisen;""Ihavespoke"for"Ihavespoken;""Ihavebroke"for"Ihavebroken.""Ithasfroze"for"Ithasfrozen.""Ithasblowed"for"Ithasblown.""Ithasflowed"(ofabird)for"Ithasflown."
N.B.--Thepasttenseandpastparticipleof_ToHang_is_hanged_or _hung_.Whenyouaretalkingaboutamanmeetingdeathonthegallows,say"Hewashanged";whenyouaretalkingaboutthecarcassofananimal
say,"Itwashung,"as"Thebeefwashungdry."Alsosayyourcoat"_was_ hungonahook."
PREPOSITIONSANDTHEOBJECTIVECASE
Don'tforgetthatprepositionsalwaystaketheobjectivecase.Don'tsay"Betweenyouand_I_";say"Betweenyouand_me_"
_Two_prepositionsshouldnotgovern_oneobjective_unlessthereisanimmediateconnectionbetweenthem."Hewasrefusedadmissiontoandforciblyejectedfromtheschool"shouldbe"Hewasrefusedadmissiontotheschoolandforciblyejectedfromit."
SUMMON--SUMMONS
Don'tsay"Ishallsummonshim,"but"Ishallsummonhim."_Summon_isaverb,_summons_,anoun.
Itiscorrecttosay"Ishallgeta_summons_forhim,"nota_summon_.
UNDENIABLE--UNEXCEPTIONABLE
"Mybrotherhasanundeniablecharacter"iswrongifIwishtoconveythe
ideathathehasagoodcharacter.Theexpressionshouldbeinthatcase"Mybrotherhasanunexceptionablecharacter."An_undeniable_characterisacharacterthatcannotbedenied,whetherbadorgood.Anunexceptionablecharacterisonetowhichnoonecantakeexception.
THEPRONOUNS
Verymanymistakesoccurintheuseofthepronouns."LetyouandIgo"shouldbe"Letyouand_me_go.""Letthemandwego"shouldbe"Letthem
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andusgo."Theverbletistransitiveandthereforetakestheobjectivecase.
"Giveme_them_flowers"shouldbe"Giveme_those_flowers";"Imean _them_three"shouldbe"Imeanthosethree."Themistheobjectivecaseofthepersonalpronounandcannotbeusedadjectivelylikethedemonstrativeadjectivepronoun."Iamasstrongas_him_"shouldbe"Iamasstrongas_he_";"Iamyoungerthan_her_"shouldbe"Iamyoungerthan_she_;""Hecanwritebetterthan_me_"shouldbe"HecanwritebetterthanI,"forintheseexamplestheobjectivecases_him_,_her_ and_me_areusedwrongfullyforthenominatives.Aftereachofthemisappliedpronounsaverbisunderstoodofwhicheachpronounisthesubject.Thus,"Iamasstrongashe(is).""Iamyoungerthanshe(is).""HecanwritebetterthanI(can)."
Don'tsay"_Itisme_;"say"_ItisI_"Theverb_ToBe_ofwhichisisaparttakesthesamecaseafteritthatithasbeforeit.Thisholdsgoodinallsituationsaswellaswithpronouns.
Theverb_ToBe_alsorequiresthepronounsjoinedtoittobeinthesamecaseasapronounaskingaquestion;Thenominative_I_requiresthenominative_who_andtheobjectives_me_,_him_,_her_,_its_,_you_, _them_,requiretheobjective_whom_.
"_Whom_doyouthinkIam?"shouldbe"_Who_doyouthinkIam?"and"_Who_dotheysupposemetobe?"shouldbe"_Whom_dotheysupposemetobe?"TheobjectiveformoftheRelativeshouldbealwaysused,inconnectionwithapreposition."Whodoyoutakemefor?"shouldbe"_Whom_do,etc.""Whodidyougivetheappleto?"shouldbe"Whomdidyougivetheappleto,"butaspointedoutelsewheretheprepositionshouldneverendasentence,therefore,itisbettertosay,"Towhomdidyougivetheapple?"
Aftertransitiveverbsalwaysusetheobjectivecasesofthepronouns.For"_He_and_they_wehaveseen,"say"_Him_and_them_wehaveseen."
THATFORSO
"Thehurtitwasthatpainfulitmadehimcry,"say"sopainful."
THESE--THOSE
Don'tsay,_Thesekind;thosesort_._Kind_and_sort_areeachsingularandrequirethesingularpronouns_this_and_that_.Inconnectionwiththesedemonstrativeadjectivepronounsrememberthat_this_and_these_ refertowhatisnearathand,_that_and_those_towhatismoredistant;as,_thisbook_(nearme),_thatbook_(overthere),_these_ boys(near),_those_boys(atadistance).
THISMUCH--THUSMUCH
"_This_muchiscertain"shouldbe"_Thus_muchor_so_muchiscertain."
FLEE--FLY
Thesearetwoseparateverbsandmustnotbeinterchanged.Theprincipal
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partsof_flee_are_flee_,_fled_,_fled_;thoseof_fly_are_fly_, _flew_,_flown_._Toflee_isgenerallyusedinthemeaningofgettingoutofdanger._Tofly_meanstosoarasabird.Tosayofaman"He_hasflown_fromtheplace"iswrong;itshouldbe"He_hasfled_fromtheplace."Wecansaywithproprietythat"Abirdhas_flown_fromtheplace."
THROUGH--THROUGHOUT
Don'tsay"Heiswellknownthroughtheland,"but"Heiswellknownthroughouttheland."
VOCATIONANDAVOCATION
Don'tmistakethesetwowordssonearlyalike.Vocationistheemployment,businessorprofessiononefollowsforaliving;avocationissomepursuitoroccupationwhichdivertsthepersonfromsuchemployment,businessorprofession.Thus
"Hisvocationwasthelaw,hisavocation,farming."
WAS--WERE
Inthesubjunctivemoodthepluralform_were_shouldbeusedwithasingularsubject;as,"IfI_were_,"not_was_.Rememberthepluralformofthepersonalpronoun_you_alwaystakes_were_,thoughitmaydenotebutone.Thus,"_Youwere_,"never"_youwas_.""_IfIwashim_"isaverycommonexpression.Notethetwomistakesinit,--thatoftheverbimplyingacondition,andthatoftheobjectivecaseofthepronoun.Itshouldread_IfIwerehe_.Thisisanotherillustrationoftheruleregardingtheverb_ToBe_,takingthesamecaseafteritasbeforeit; _were_ispartoftheverb_ToBe_,thereforeasthenominative(I)goesbeforeit,thenominative(he)shouldcomeafterit.
AORAN
_A_becomesanbeforeavowelorbefore_h_muteforthesakeofeuphonyoragreeablesoundtotheear._Anapple_,_anorange_,_anheir_,_anhonor_,etc.
CHAPTERIX
STYLE
Diction--Purity--Propriety--Precision.
Itistheobjectofeverywritertoputhisthoughtsintoaseffectiveformaspossiblesoastomakeagoodimpressiononthereader.Apersonmayhavenoblethoughtsandideasbutbeunabletoexpresstheminsuchawayastoappealtoothers,consequentlyhecannotexertthefullforceofhisintellectualitynorleavetheimprintofhischaracteruponhistime,whereasmanyamanbutindifferentlygiftedmaywieldsuchafacile
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penastoattractattentionandwinforhimselfanenviousplaceamonghiscontemporaries.
Ineverydaylifeoneseesillustrationsofmenofexcellentmentalitybeingcastasideandonesofmediocreorinsomecases,little,ifany,abilitychosentofillimportantplaces.Theformerareunabletoimpresstheirpersonality;theyhavegreatthoughts,greatideas,butthesethoughtsandideasarelockedupintheirbrainsandarelikeprisonersbehindthebarsstrugglingtogetfree.Thekeyoflanguagewhichwouldopenthedooriswanting,hencetheyhavetoremainlockedup.
Manyamanhastopassthroughtheworldunheardofandoflittlebenefittoitorhimself,simplybecausehecannotbringoutwhatisinhimandmakeitsubservienttohiswill.Itisthedutyofeveryonetodevelophisbest,notonlyforthebenefitofhimselfbutforthegoodofhisfellowmen.Itisnotatallnecessarytohavegreatlearningoracquirements,thelaborerisasusefulinhisownplaceasthephilosopherinhis;norisitnecessarytohavemanytalents.Onetalentrightlyusedismuchbetterthantenwronglyused.Oftenamancandomorewithonethanhiscontemporarycandowithten,oftenamancanmakeonedollargofartherthantwentyinthehandsofhisneighbor,oftenthepoormanlivesmorecomfortablythanthemillionaire.Alldependsupontheindividualhimself.IfhemakerightuseofwhattheCreatorhasgivenhimandliveaccordingtothelawsofGodandnatureheisfulfillinghisallottedplaceintheuniversalschemeof
creation,inotherwords,whenhedoeshisbest,heislivinguptothestandardofausefulmanhood.
Nowinordertodohisbestamanofordinaryintelligenceandeducationshouldbeabletoexpresshimselfcorrectlybothinspeakingandwriting,thatis,heshouldbeabletoconveyhisthoughtsinanintelligentmannerwhichthesimplestcanunderstand.ThemannerinwhichaspeakerorwriterconveyshisthoughtsisknownashisStyle.Inotherwords _Style_maybedefinedasthepeculiarmannerinwhichamanexpresseshisconceptionsthroughthemediumoflanguage.Itdependsuponthechoiceofwordsandtheirarrangementtoconveyameaning.Scarcelyanytwowritershaveexactlythesamestyle,thatistosay,expresstheirideasafterthesamepeculiarform,justasnotwomortalsarefashioned
bynatureinthesamemould,sothatoneisanexactcounterpartoftheother.
Justasmendifferintheaccentandtonesoftheirvoices,sodotheydifferintheconstructionoftheirlanguage.
Tworeporterssentoutonthesamemission,saytoreportafire,willverballydifferintheiraccountsthoughmateriallybothdescriptionswillbethesameasfarastheleadingfactsareconcerned.Onewillexpresshimselfinastyle_different_fromtheother.
Ifyouareaskedtodescribethedancingofared-hairedladyatthelastcharityballyoucaneithersay--"TherubyCirce,withtheTitianlocks
glowingliketheoriflammewhichsurroundsthegoldengodofdayashesinkstorestamidthecrimsongloryoftheburnishedWest,gaveadivineexhibitionoftheTerpsichoreanartwhichthrilledthesoulsofthemultitude"or,youcansimplysay--"Thered-hairedladydancedverywellandpleasedtheaudience."
Theformerisaspecimenoftheultrafloridorbombasticstylewhichmaybesaidtodependuponthepomposityofverbosityforitseffect,thelatterisaspecimenofsimple_natural_Style.Needlesstosayitistobepreferred.Theothershouldbeavoided.Itstampsthewriterasa
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personofshallowness,ignoranceandinexperience.Ithasbeeneliminatedfromthenewspapers.Eventhemostflatulentofyellowsheetsnolongertolerateitintheircolumns.Affectationandpedantryinstylearenowuniversallycondemned.
Itisthedutyofeveryspeakerandwritertolaborafterapleasingstyle.Itgainshimanentrancewherehewouldotherwisebedebarred.Oftentheinterestofasubjectdependsasmuchonthewayitispresentedasonthesubjectitself.Onewriterwillmakeitattractive,anotherrepulsive.Forinstancetakeapassageinhistory.Treatedbyonehistorianitislikeadesiccatedmummy,dry,dull,disgusting,whileunderthespellofanotheritis,asitwere,galvanizedintoavirilelivingthingwhichnotonlypleasesbutcaptivatesthereader.
DICTION
Thefirstrequisiteofstyleis_choice_of_words_,andthiscomesundertheheadof_Diction_,thepropertyofstylewhichhasreferencetothewordsandphrasesusedinspeakingandwriting.Thesecretofliteraryskillfromanystandpointconsistsinputtingtherightwordintherightplace.Inordertodothisitisimperativetoknowthemeaningofthewordsweuse,theirexactliteralmeaning.Manysynonymouswordsareseeminglyinterchangeableandappearasifthesamemeaningwereapplicable
tothreeorfourofthematthesametime,butwhenallsuchwordsarereducedtoafinalanalysisitisclearlyseenthatthereisamarkeddifferenceintheirmeaning.Forinstance_grief_and_sorrow_seemtobeidentical,buttheyarenot._Grief_isactive,_sorrow_ismoreorlesspassive;_grief_iscausedbytroublesandmisfortuneswhichcometousfromtheoutside,while_sorrow_isoftentheconsequenceofourownacts._Grief_isfrequentlyloudandviolent,_sorrow_isalwaysquietandretiring._Grief_shouts,_Sorrow_remainscalm.
Ifyouarenotsureoftheexactmeaningofawordlookitupimmediatelyinthedictionary.Sometimessomeofourgreatscholarsarepuzzledoversimplewordsinregardtomeaning,spellingorpronunciation.Wheneveryoumeetastrangewordnoteitdownuntilyoudiscoveritsmeaningand
use.Readthebestbooksyoucanget,bookswrittenbymenandwomenwhoareacknowledgedmastersoflanguage,andstudyhowtheyusetheirwords,wheretheyplacetheminthesentences,andthemeaningstheyconveytothereaders.
Mixingoodsociety.Listenattentivelytogoodtalkersandtrytoimitatetheirmannerofexpression.Ifawordisusedyoudonotunderstand,don'tbeashamedtoaskitsmeaning.
True,asmallvocabularywillcarryyouthrough,butitisanadvantagetohavealargeone.Whenyoulivealonealittlepotservesjustaswellasalargeonetocookyourvictualsanditishandyandconvenient,butwhenyourfriendsorneighborscometodinewithyou,youwillneeda
muchlargerpotanditisbettertohaveitinstore,sothatyouwillnotbeputtoshameforyourscantinessoffurnishings.
Getasmanywordsasyoupossiblycan--ifyoudon'tneedthemnow,packthemawayinthegarretsofyourbrainsothatyoucancalluponthemifyourequirethem.
Keepanotebook,jotdownthewordsyoudon'tunderstandorclearlyunderstandandconsultthedictionarywhenyougettime.
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PURITY
_Purity_ofstyleconsistsinusingwordswhicharereputable,nationalandpresent,whichmeansthatthewordsareincurrentusebythebestauthorities,thattheyareusedthroughoutthenationandnotconfinedtooneparticularpart,andthattheyarewordsinconstantuseatthepresenttime.
Therearetwoguidingprinciplesinthechoiceofwords,--_gooduse_ and_goodtaste_._Gooduse_tellsuswhetherawordisrightorwrong; _goodtaste_,whetheritisadaptedtoourpurposeornot.
Awordthatisobsoleteortoonewtohavegainedaplaceinthelanguage,orthatisaprovincialism,shouldnotbeused.
HerearetheTenCommandmentsofEnglishstyle:
(1)Donotuseforeignwords.
(2)Donotusealongwordwhenashortonewillserveyourpurpose. _Fire_ismuchbetterthan_conflagration_.
(3)Donotusetechnicalwords,orthoseunderstoodonlybyspecialists
intheirrespectivelines,exceptwhenyouarewritingespeciallyforsuchpeople.
(4)Donotuseslang.
(5)Donotuseprovincialisms,as"Iguess"for"Ithink";"Ireckon"for"Iknow,"etc.
(6)Donotinwritingprose,usepoeticalorantiquatedwords:as"lore,e'er,morn,yea,nay,verily,peradventure."
(7)Donotusetriteandhackneyedwordsandexpressions;as,"onthejob,""upandin";"downandout."
(8)Donotusenewspaperwordswhichhavenotestablishedaplaceinthelanguageas"tobugle";"tosuicide,"etc.
(9)Donotuseungrammaticalwordsandforms;as,"Iain't;""hedon't."
(10)Donotuseambiguouswordsorphrases;as--"Heshowedmeallaboutthehouse."
Tritewords,similesandmetaphorswhichhavebecomehackneyedandwornoutshouldbeallowedtorestintheoblivionofpastusage.Suchexpressionsandphrasesas"Sweetsixteen""theAlmightydollar,""UncleSam,""Onthefence,""TheGloriousFourth,""YoungAmerica,""Thelords
ofcreation,""Therisinggeneration,""Theweakersex,""Theweakervessel,""Sweetnesslongdrawnout"and"chiefcookandbottlewasher,"shouldbeputontheshelfastheyareutterlywornoutfromtoomuchusage.
Someoftheoldsimileswhichhaveoutlivedtheirusefulnessandshouldbepensionedoff,are"Sweetassugar,""Boldasalion,""Strongasanox,""Quickasaflash,""Coldasice,""Stiffasapoker,""Whiteassnow,""Busyasabee,""Paleasaghost,""RichasCroesus,""Crossasabear"andagreatmanymorefartoonumeroustomention.
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Beasoriginalaspossibleintheuseofexpression.Don'tfollowintheoldrutbuttryandstrikeoutforyourself.Thisdoesnotmeanthatyoushouldtrytosetthestyle,ordoanythingoutlandishoroutoftheway,orbeaninnovatorontheprevailingcustom.Inordertobeoriginalthereisnonecessityforyoutointroducesomethingnovelorestablishaprecedent.Theprobabilityisyouarenotfittodoeither,byeducationortalent.Whilefollowingthestyleofthosewhoareacknowledgedleadersyoucanbeoriginalinyourlanguage.Tryandclotheanideadifferentfromwhatithasbeenclothedandbetter.Ifyouarespeakingorwritingofdancingdon'ttalkorwriteabout"trippingthelightfantastictoe."ItisovertwohundredyearssinceMiltonexpresseditthatwayin"_L'Allegro_."You'renotaMiltonandbesidesoveramillionhavestolenitfromMiltonuntilitisnownolongerworthstealing.
Don'tresurrectobsoletewordssuchas_whilom_,_yclept_,_wis_,etc.,andbecarefulinregardtoobsolescentwords,thatis,wordsthatareatthepresenttimegraduallypassingfromusesuchas_quoth,trow,betwixt,amongst,froward_,etc.
Andbewareofnewwords.Beoriginalintheconstructionandarrangementofyourlanguage,butdon'ttrytooriginatewords.LeavethattotheMastersoflanguage,anddon'tbethefirsttotrysuchwords,waituntilthechemistsofspeechhavetestedthemandpassedupontheirmerits.
Quintiliansaid--"Prefertheoldestofthenewandthenewestoftheold."Popeputthisinrhymeanditstillholdsgood:
Inwords,asfashions,thesamerulewillhold,Alikefantastic,iftooneworold:Benotthefirstbywhomthenewaretried,Noryetthelasttolaytheoldaside.
PROPRIETY
_Propriety_ofstyleconsistsinusingwordsintheirpropersenseandasinthecaseofpurity,goodusageistheprincipaltest.Manywordshave
acquiredinactualuseameaningverydifferentfromwhattheyoncepossessed."Prevent"formerlymeanttogobefore,andthatmeaningisimpliedinitsLatinderivation.Nowitmeanstoputastopto,tohinder.Toattainproprietyofstyleitisnecessarytoavoidconfoundingwordsderivedfromthesameroot;as_respectfully_and_respectively_;itisnecessarytousewordsintheiracceptedsenseorthesensewhicheverydayusesanctions.
SIMPLICITY
_Simplicity_ofstylehasreferencetothechoiceofsimplewordsandtheirunaffectedpresentation.Simplewordsshouldalwaysbeusedin
preferencetocompound,andcomplicatedoneswhentheyexpressthesameoralmostthesamemeaning.TheAnglo-Saxonelementinourlanguagecomprisesthesimplewordswhichexpresstherelationsofeverydaylife,strong,terse,vigorous,thelanguageofthefireside,street,marketandfarm.ItisthisstylewhichcharacterizestheBibleandmanyofthegreatEnglishclassicssuchasthe"Pilgrim'sProgress,""RobinsonCrusoe,"and"Gulliver'sTravels."
CLEARNESS
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_Clearness_ofstyleshouldbeoneoftheleadingconsiderationswiththebeginnerincomposition.Hemustavoidallobscurityandambiguousphrases.Ifhewriteasentenceorphraseandseethatameaningmightbeinferredfromitotherwisethanintended,heshouldre-writeitinsuchawaythattherecanbenopossibledoubt.Words,phrasesorclausesthatarecloselyrelatedshouldbeplacedasneartoeachotheraspossiblethattheirmutualrelationmayclearlyappear,andnowordshouldbeomittedthatisnecessarytothecompleteexpressionofthought.
UNITY
_Unity_isthatpropertyofstylewhichkeepsallpartsofasentenceinconnectionwiththeprincipalthoughtandlogicallysubordinatetoit.Asentencemaybeconstructedastosuggesttheideaofonenesstothemind,oritmaybesolooselyputtogetherastoproduceaconfusedandindefiniteimpression.Ideasthathavebutlittleconnectionshouldbeexpressedinseparatesentences,andnotcrowdedintoone.
Keeplongparenthesesoutofthemiddleofyoursentencesandwhenyouhaveapparentlybroughtyoursentencestoaclosedon'ttrytocontinuethethoughtorideabyaddingsupplementaryclauses.
STRENGTH
_Strength_isthatpropertyofstylewhichgivesanimation,energyandvivacitytolanguageandsustainstheinterestofthereader.Itisasnecessarytolanguageasgoodfoodistothebody.Withoutitthewordsareweakandfeebleandcreatelittleornoimpressiononthemind.Inordertohavestrengththelanguagemustbeconcise,thatis,muchexpressedinlittlecompass,youmusthitthenailfairlyontheheadanddriveitinstraight.Gocriticallyoverwhatyouwriteandstrikeouteveryword,phraseandclausetheomissionofwhichimpairsneithertheclearnessnorforceofthesentenceandsoavoidredundancy,tautologyandcircumlocution.Givethemostimportantwordsthemostprominent
places,which,ashasbeenpointedoutelsewhere,arethebeginningandendofthesentence.
HARMONY
_Harmony_isthatpropertyofstylewhichgivesasmoothnesstothesentence,sothatwhenthewordsaresoundedtheirconnectionbecomespleasingtotheear.Itadaptssoundtosense.Mostpeopleconstructtheirsentenceswithoutgivingthoughttothewaytheywillsoundandasaconsequencewehavemanyjarringanddiscordantcombinationssuchas"Thoustrengthenedstthypositionandactedstarbitrarilyandderogatorilytomyinterests."
Harsh,disagreeableverbsareliabletooccurwiththeQuakerform_Thou_ ofthepersonalpronoun.Thisformisnownearlyobsolete,theplural _you_beingalmostuniversallyused.Toobtainharmonyinthesentencelongwordsthatarehardtopronounceandcombinationsoflettersofonekindshouldbeavoided.
EXPRESSIVEOFWRITER
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Styleisexpressiveofthewriter,astowhoheisandwhatheis.Asamatterofstructureincompositionitistheindicationofwhatamancando;asamatterofqualityitisanindicationofwhatheis.
KINDSOFSTYLE
Stylehasbeenclassifiedindifferentways,butitadmitsofsomanydesignationsthatitisveryhardtoenumerateatable.Infactthereareasmanystylesastherearewriters,fornotwoauthorswrite_exactly_ afterthesameform.However,wemayclassifythestylesofthevariousauthorsinbroaddivisionsas(1)dry,(2)plain,(3)neat,(4)elegant,(5)florid,(6)bombastic.
The_dry_styleexcludesallornamentandmakesnoefforttoappealtoanysenseofbeauty.Itsobjectissimplytoexpressthethoughtsinacorrectmanner.ThisstyleisexemplifiedbyBerkeley.
The_plain_styledoesnotseekornamentationeither,butaimstomakeclearandconcisestatementswithoutanyelaborationorembellishment.LockeandWhatelyillustratetheplainstyle.
The_neat_styleonlyaspiresafterornamentsparingly.Itsobjectistohavecorrectfigures,puredictionandclearandharmonioussentences.
GoldsmithandGrayaretheacknowledgedleadersinthiskindofstyle.
The_elegant_styleuseseveryornamentthatcanbeautifyandavoidseveryexcesswhichwoulddegrade.MacaulayandAddisonhavebeenenthronedasthekingsofthisstyle.Tothemallwritersbendthekneeinhomage.
The_florid_stylegoestoexcessinsuperfluousandsuperficialornamentationandstrainsafterahighlycoloredimagery.ThepoemsofOssiantypifythisstyle.
The_bombastic_ischaracterizedbysuchanexcessofwords,figuresandornamentsastoberidiculousanddisgusting.Itislikeacircusclown
dressedupingoldtinselDickensgivesafineexampleofitinSergeantBuzfuz'speechinthe"PickwickPapers."Amongothervarietiesofstylemaybementionedthecolloquial,thelaconic,theconcise,thediffuse,theabrupttheflowing,thequaint,theepigrammatic,theflowery,thefeeble,thenervous,thevehement,andtheaffected.Themanneroftheseissufficientlyindicatedbytheadjectiveusedtodescribethem.
Infactstyleisasvariousascharacterandexpressestheindividualityofthewriter,orinotherwords,astheFrenchwriterBuffonveryaptlyremarks,"thestyleisthemanhimself."
CHAPTERX
SUGGESTIONS
HowtoWrite--WhattoWrite--CorrectSpeakingandSpeakers
Rulesofgrammarandrhetoricaregoodintheirownplace;theirlawsmustbeobservedinordertoexpressthoughtsandideasintherightway
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sothattheyshallconveyadeterminatesenseandmeaninginapleasingandacceptablemanner.Hardandfastrules,however,cannevermakeawriterorauthor.ThatisthebusinessofoldMotherNatureandnothingcantakeherplace.Ifnaturehasnotendowedamanwithfacultiestoputhisideasintopropercompositionhecannotdoso.Hemayhavenoideasworthytherecording.Ifapersonhasnotathoughttoexpress,itcannotbeexpressed.Somethingcannotbemanufacturedoutofnothing.Theauthormusthavethoughtsandideasbeforehecanexpressthemonpaper.Thesecometohimbynatureandenvironmentandaredevelopedandstrengthenedbystudy.ThereisanoldLatinquotationinregardtothepoetwhichsays"Poetanasciturnonfit"thetranslationofwhichis--thepoetisborn,notmade.Toagreatdegreethesameappliestotheauthor.Somemenaregreatscholarsasfarasbooklearningisconcerned,yettheycannotexpressthemselvesinpassablecomposition.Theirknowledgeislikegoldlockedupinachestwhereitisofnovaluetothemselvesortherestoftheworld.
Thebestwaytolearntowriteistositdownandwrite,justasthebestwayhowtolearntorideabicycleistomountthewheelandpedalaway.Writefirstaboutcommonthings,subjectsthatarefamiliartoyou.Tryforinstanceanessayonacat.Saysomethingoriginalabouther.Don'tsay"sheisveryplayfulwhenyoungbutbecomesgraveasshegrowsold."Thathasbeensaidmorethanfiftythousandtimesbefore.Tellwhatyouhaveseenthefamilycatdoing,howshecaughtamouseinthegarretand
whatshedidaftercatchingit.Familiarthemesarealwaysthebestforthebeginner.Don'tattempttodescribeasceneinAustraliaifyouhaveneverbeenthereandknownothingofthecountry.Neverhuntforsubjects,therearethousandsaroundyou.Describewhatyousawyesterday--afire,arunawayhorse,adog-fightonthestreetandbeoriginalinyourdescription.Imitatethebestwritersintheir_style_,butnotintheirexactwords.Getoutofthebeatenpath,makeapathwayofyourown.
Knowwhatyouwriteabout,writeaboutwhatyouknow;thisisagoldenruletowhichyoumustadhere.Toknowyoumuststudy.Theworldisanopenbookinwhichallwhorunmayread.Natureisonegreatvolumethepagesofwhichareopentothepeasantaswellastothepeer.Study
Nature'smoodsandtenses,fortheyarevastlymoreimportantthanthoseofthegrammar.Booklearningismostdesirable,but,afterall,itisonlytheoryandnotpractice.ThegrandestallegoryintheEnglish,infact,inanylanguage,waswrittenbyanignorant,so-calledignorant,tinkernamedJohnBunyan.Shakespearewasnotascholarinthesenseweregardthetermto-day,yetnomaneverlivedorprobablyeverwilllivethatequalledorwillequalhimintheexpressionofthought.Hesimplyreadthebookofnatureandinterpreteditfromthestandpointofhisownmagnificentgenius.
Don'timaginethatacollegeeducationisnecessarytosuccessasawriter.Farfromit.Someofourcollegemenaredead-heads,drones,parasitesonthebodysocial,notaloneuselesstotheworldbutto
themselves.Apersonmaybesoornamentalthatheisvaluelessfromanyotherstandpoint.Asageneralruleornamentalthingsservebutlittlepurpose.Amanmayknowsomuchofeverythingthatheknowslittleofanything.Thismaysoundparadoxical,but,nevertheless,experienceprovesitstruth.
Ifyouarepoorthatisnotadetrimentbutanadvantage.Povertyisanincentivetoendeavor,notadrawback.Bettertobebornwithagood,workingbraininyourheadthanwithagoldspooninyourmouth.Iftheworldhadbeendependingontheso-calledpetsoffortuneitwouldhave
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deterioratedlongago.
Fromthepitsofpoverty,fromthearenasofsuffering,fromthehovelsofneglect,fromthebackwoodcabinsofobscurity,fromthelanesandby-waysofoppression,fromthedingygarretsandbasementsofunendingtoilanddrudgeryhavecomemenandwomenwhohavemadehistory,madetheworldbrighter,better,higher,holierfortheirexistenceinit,madeofitaplacegoodtoliveinandworthytodiein,--menandwomenwhohavehalloweditbytheirfootstepsandsanctifieditwiththeirpresenceandinmanycasesconsecrateditwiththeirblood.Povertyisablessing,notanevil,abenisonfromtheFather'shandifacceptedintherightspirit.Insteadofretarding,ithaselevatedliteratureinallages.Homerwasablindbeggarmansinginghissnatchesofsongforthedoleofcharity;grandoldSocrates,oracleofwisdom,manyadaywentwithouthisdinnerbecausehehadnotthewherewithaltogetit,whileteachingtheyouthofAthens.ThedivineDantewasnothingbetterthanabeggar,houseless,homeless,friendless,wanderingthroughItalywhilehecomposedhisimmortalcantos.Milton,whoinhisblindness"lookedwhereangelsfeartotread,"wassteepedinpovertywhilewritinghissublimeconception,"ParadiseLost."ShakespearewasgladtoholdandwaterthehorsesofpatronsoutsidetheWhiteHorseTheatreforafewpenniesinordertobuybread.Burnsburstforthinnever-dyingsongwhileguidingtheploughshare.PoorHeinrichHeine,neglectedandinpoverty,fromhis"mattressgrave"ofsufferinginParisaddedliterarylaurelstothewreathofhisGerman
Fatherland.InAmericaElihuBurritt,whileattendingtheanvil,madehimselfamasterofascoreoflanguagesandbecametheliterarylionofhisageandcountry.
Inotherfieldsofendeavorpovertyhasbeenthespurtoaction.Napoleonwasborninobscurity,thesonofahand-to-mouthscrivenerinthebackwardislandofCorsica.AbrahamLincoln,theboastandprideofAmerica,themanwhomadethislandtoohotforthefeetofslaves,camefromalogcabinintheOhiobackwoods.SodidJamesA.Garfield.UlyssesGrantcamefromatanyardtobecometheworld'sgreatestgeneral.ThomasA.Edisoncommencedasanewsboyonarailwaytrain.
Theexamplesofthesemenareincentivestoaction.Povertythrustthem
forwardinsteadofkeepingthemback.Therefore,ifyouarepoormakeyourcircumstancesameanstoanend.Haveambition,keepagoalinsightandbendeveryenergytoreachthatgoal.AstoryistoldofThomasCarlylethedayheattainedthehighesthonortheliteraryworldcouldconferuponhimwhenhewaselectedLordRectorofEdinburghUniversity.Afterhisinstallationspeech,ingoingthroughthehalls,hemetastudentseeminglydeepinstudy.Inhisownpeculiar,abrupt,crustywaytheSageofChelseainterrogatedtheyoungman:"Forwhatprofessionareyoustudying?""Idon'tknow,"returnedtheyouth."Youdon'tknow,"thunderedCarlyle,"youngman,youareafool."Thenhewentontoqualifyhisvehementremark,"MyboywhenIwasyourage,Iwasstoopedingrinding,grippingpovertyinthelittlevillageofEcclefechan,inthewildsof[Transcriber'snote:Partofwordillegible]-frieshire,
whereinalltheplaceonlytheministerandmyselfcouldreadtheBible,yetpoorandobscureasIwas,inmymind'seyeIsawachairawaitingformeintheTempleofFameanddayandnightandnightanddayIstudieduntilIsatinthatchairto-dayasLordRectorofEdinburghUniversity."
AnotherScotchman,RobertBuchanan,thefamousnovelist,setoutforLondonfromGlasgowwithbuthalf-a-crowninhispocket."Heregoes,"saidhe,"foragraveinWestminsterAbbey."Hewasnotmuchofascholar,buthisambitioncarriedhimonandhebecameoneofthegreat
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literarylionsoftheworld'smetropolis.
HenryM.StanleywasapoorhousewaifwhoserealnamewasJohnRowlands.HewasbroughtupinaWelshworkhouse,buthehadambition,soherosetobeagreatexplorer,agreatwriter,becameamemberofParliamentandwasknightedbytheBritishSovereign.
Haveambitiontosucceedandyouwillsucceed.Cuttheword"failure"outofyourlexicon.Don'tacknowledgeit.Remember
"Inlife'searnestbattletheyonlyprevailWhodailymarchonwardandneversayfail."
Leteveryobstacleyouencounterbebutasteppingstoneinthepathofonwardprogresstothegoalofsuccess.
Ifuntowardcircumstancessurroundyou,resolvetoovercomethem.Bunyanwrotethe"Pilgrim'sProgress"inBedfordjailonscrapsofwrappingpaperwhilehewashalfstarvedonadietofbreadandwater.ThatunfortunateAmericangenius,EdgarAllanPoe,wrote"TheRaven,"themostwonderfulconceptionaswellasthemosthighlyartisticpoeminallEnglishliterature,inalittlecottageintheFordhamsectionofNewYorkwhilehewasinthedireststraitsofwant.Throughoutallhisshortandwonderfullybrilliantcareer,poorPoeneverhadadollarhecould
callhisown.Such,however,wasbothhisfaultandhismisfortuneandheisabadexemplar.
Don'tthinkthattheknowledgeofalibraryofbooksisessentialtosuccessasawriter.Oftenamultiplicityofbooksisconfusing.Masterafewgoodbooksandmasterthemwellandyouwillhaveallthatisnecessary.Agreatauthorityhassaid:"Bewareofthemanofonebook,"whichmeansthatamanofonebookisamasterofthecraft.ItisclaimedthatathoroughknowledgeoftheBiblealonewillmakeanypersonamasterofliterature.CertainitisthattheBibleandShakespeareconstituteanepitomeoftheessentialsofknowledge.Shakespearegatheredthefruitageofallwhowentbeforehim,hehassowntheseedsforallwhoshallevercomeafterhim.Hewasthegreatintellectual
oceanwhosewavestouchthecontinentsofallthought.
Booksarecheapnow-a-days,thegreatestworks,thankstotheprintingpress,arewithinthereachofall,andthemoreyouread,thebetter,providedtheyareworthreading.Sometimesamantakespoisonintohissystemunconsciousofthefactthatitispoison,asinthecaseofcertainfoods,anditisveryhardtothrowoffitseffects.Therefore,becarefulinyourchoiceofreadingmatter.Ifyoucannotaffordafulllibrary,andashasbeensaid,suchisnotnecessary,selectafewofthegreatworksofthemasterminds,assimilateanddigestthem,sothattheywillbeofadvantagetoyourliterarysystem.Elsewhereinthisvolumeisgivenalistofsomeoftheworld'smasterpiecesfromwhichyoucanmakeaselection.
Yourbrainisastorehouse,don'tputuselessfurnitureintoittocrowdittotheexclusionofwhatisuseful.Layuponlythevaluableandserviceablekindwhichyoucancallintorequisitionatanymoment.
Asitisnecessarytostudythebestauthorsinordertobeawriter,soitisnecessarytostudythebestspeakersinordertotalkwithcorrectnessandingoodstyle.Totalkrightlyyoumustimitatethemastersoforalspeech.Listentothebestconversationalistsandhowtheyexpressthemselves.Gotoheartheleadinglectures,speechesand
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sermons.Noneedtoimitatethegesturesofelocution,itisnature,notart,thatmakestheelocutionistandtheorator.Itisnot_how_aspeakerexpresseshimselfbutthelanguagewhichheusesandthemannerofitsusewhichshouldinterestyou.Haveyouheardthepresentdaymastersofspeech?Therehavebeenpasttimemastersbuttheirtonguesarestilledinthedustofthegrave,andyoucanonlyreadtheireloquencenow.Youcan,however,listentothecharmoftheliving.Tomanyofusvoicesstillspeakfromthegrave,voicestowhichwehavelistenedwhenfiredwiththedivineessenceofspeech.PerhapsyouhavehungwithraptureonthewordsofBeecherandTalmage.Boththrilledthesoulsofmenandwoncountlessthousandsovertoalivinggospel.Bothweremastersofwords,theyscatteredtheflowersofrhetoricontheshrineofeloquenceandhurledveritablebouquetsattheiraudienceswhichwereeagerlyseizedbythelatterandtreasuredinthestorehouseofmemory.Bothwerescholarsandphilosophers,yettheywerefarsurpassedbySpurgeon,aplainmanofthepeoplewithlittleornoclaimtoeducationinthemodernsenseoftheword.SpurgeonbyhisspeechattractedthousandstohisTabernacle.TheProtestantandCatholic,Turk,JewandMohammedanrushedtohearhimandlistened,entranced,tohislanguage.SuchanotherwasDwightL.Moody,thegreatestEvangelisttheworldhaseverknown.Moodywasnotamanoflearning;hecommencedlifeasashoesalesmaninChicago,yetnomaneverlivedwhodrewsuchaudiencesandsofascinatedthemwiththespellofhisspeech."Oh,thatwaspersonalmagnetism,"youwillsay,butitwasnothingofthekind.It
wastheburningwordsthatfellfromthelipsofthesemen,andtheway,themanner,theforcewithwhichtheyusedthosewordsthatcountedandattractedthecrowdstolistenuntothem.Personalmagnetismorpersonalappearanceenterednotasfactorsintotheirsuccess.Indeedasfarasphysiquewereconcerned,someofthemwerehandicapped.Spurgeonwasashort,podgy,fatlittleman,Moodywaslikeacountryfarmer,TalmageinhisbigcloakwasoneofthemostslovenlyofmenandonlyBeecherwaspassableinthewayofrefinementandgentlemanlybearing.Physicalappearance,assomanythink,isnotthesesametotheinterestofanaudience.DanielO'Connell,theIrishtribune,wasahomely,ugly,awkward,ungainlyman,yethiswordsattractedmillionstohissideandgainedforhimthehostileearoftheBritishParliament,hewasamasterofverbiageandknewjustwhattosaytocaptivatehisaudiences.
Itiswordsandtheirplacingthatcountonalmostalloccasions.Nomatterhowrefinedinotherrespectsthepersonmaybe,ifheusewordswronglyandexpresshimselfinlanguagenotinaccordancewithaproperconstruction,hewillrepelyou,whereasthemanwhoplaceshiswordscorrectlyandemployslanguageinharmonywiththelawsofgoodspeech,lethimbeeversohumble,willattractandhaveaninfluenceoveryou.
Thegoodspeaker,thecorrectspeaker,isalwaysabletocommandattentionanddoorsarethrownopentohimwhichremainclosedtoothersnotequippedwithalikefacilityofexpression.Themanwhocantalkwellandtothepointneedneverfeartogoidle.Heisrequiredinnearlyeverywalkoflifeandfieldofhumanendeavor,theworldwants
himateveryturn.Employersareconstantlyonthelookoutforgoodtalkers,thosewhoareabletoattractthepublicandconvinceothersbytheforceoftheirlanguage.Amanmaybeable,educated,refined,ofunblemishedcharacter,neverthelessifhelackthepowertoexpresshimself,putforthhisviewsingoodandappropriatespeechhehastotakeabackseat,whilesomeonewithmuchlessabilitygetstheopportunitytocometothefrontbecausehecanclothehisideasinreadywordsandtalkeffectively.
Youmayagainsaythatnature,notart,makesamanafluentspeaker;to
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agreatdegreethisistrue,butitis_art_thatmakeshima_correct_ speaker,andcorrectnessleadstofluency.Itispossibleforeveryonetobecomeacorrectspeakerifhewillbutpersevereandtakealittlepainsandcare.
Attheriskofrepetitiongoodadvicemaybehereemphasized:Listentothebestspeakersandnotecarefullythewordswhichimpressyoumost.Keepanotebookandjotdownwords,phrases,sentencesthatareinanywaystrikingoroutoftheordinaryrun.Ifyoudonotunderstandtheexactmeaningofawordyouhaveheard,lookitupinthedictionary.Therearemanywords,calledsynonyms,whichhavealmostalikesignification,nevertheless,whenexaminedtheyexpressdifferentshadesofmeaningandinsomecases,insteadofbeingcloserelated,arewidelydivergent.Bewareofsuchwords,findtheirexactmeaningandlearntousethemintheirrightplaces.
Beopentocriticism,don'tresentitbutratherinviteitandlookuponthoseasfriendswhopointoutyourdefectsinorderthatyoumayremedythem.
CHAPTERXI
SLANG
Origin--AmericanSlang--ForeignSlang
Slangismoreorlesscommoninnearlyallranksofsocietyandineverywalkoflifeatthepresentday.Slangwordsandexpressionshavecreptintooureverydaylanguage,andsoinsiduously,thattheyhavenotbeendetectedbythegreatmajorityofspeakers,andsohavebecomepartandparceloftheirvocabularyonanequalfootingwiththelegitimatewordsofspeech.Theyarecalledupontodosimilarserviceastheordinarywordsusedineverydayconversation--toexpressthoughtsanddesiresand
conveymeaningfromonetoanother.Infact,insomecases,slanghasbecomesousefulthatithasfaroutstrippedclassicspeechandmadeforitselfsuchapositioninthevernacularthatitwouldbeveryhardinsomecasestogetalongwithoutit.Slangwordshaveusurpedtheplaceofregularwordsoflanguageinverymanyinstancesandreignsupremeintheirownstrengthandinfluence.
Cantandslangareoftenconfusedinthepopularmind,yettheyarenotsynonymous,thoughverycloselyallied,andproceedingfromacommonGypsyorigin.Cantisthelanguageofacertainclass--thepeculiarphraseologyordialectofacertaincraft,tradeorprofession,andisnotreadilyunderstoodsavebytheinitiatedofsuchcraft,tradeorprofession.Itmaybecorrect,accordingtotherulesofgrammar,butit
isnotuniversal;itisconfinedtocertainpartsandlocalitiesandisonlyintelligibletothoseforwhomitisintended.Inshort,itisanesotericlanguagewhichonlytheinitiatedcanunderstand.Thejargon,orpatter,ofthievesiscantanditisonlyunderstoodbythieveswhohavebeenletintoitssignificance;theinitiatedlanguageofprofessionalgamblersiscant,andisonlyintelligibletogamblers.
Ontheotherhand,slang,asitisnowadays,belongstonoparticularclassbutisscatteredalloverandgets_entre_intoeverykindofsocietyandisunderstoodbyallwhereitpassescurrentineverydayexpression.Of
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course,thenatureoftheslang,toagreatextent,dependsuponthelocality,asitchieflyisconcernedwithcolloquialismsorwordsandphrasescommontoaparticularsection.Forinstance,theslangofLondonisslightlydifferentfromthatofNewYork,andsomewordsintheonecitymaybeunintelligibleintheother,thoughwellunderstoodinthatinwhichtheyarecurrent.Nevertheless,slangmaybesaidtobeuniversallyunderstood."Tokickthebucket,""tocrosstheJordan,""tohopthetwig"arejustasexpressiveofthedepartingfromlifeinthebackwoodsofAmericaorthewildsofAustraliaastheyareinLondonorDublin.
Slangsimplyconsistsofwordsandphraseswhichpasscurrentbutarenotrefined,norelegantenough,tobeadmittedintopolitespeechorliteraturewhenevertheyarerecognizedassuch.But,ashasbeensaid,agreatmanyuseslangwithouttheirknowingitasslangandincorporateitintotheireverydayspeechandconversation.
Someauthorspurposelyuseslangtogiveemphasisandspiceinfamiliarandhumorouswriting,buttheyshouldnotbeimitatedbythetyro.Amaster,suchasDickens,isforgivable,butinthenoviceitisunpardonable.
Thereareseveralkindsofslangattachedtodifferentprofessionsandclassesofsociety.Forinstance,thereiscollegeslang,politicalslang,sportingslang,etc.Itisthenatureofslangtocirculatefreelyamongallclasses,yetthereareseveralkindsofthiscurrentformof
languagecorrespondingtotheseveralclassesofsociety.Thetwogreatdivisionsofslangarethevulgaroftheuneducatedandcoarse-minded,andthehigh-tonedslangoftheso-calledupperclasses--theeducatedandthewealthy.Thehoydenofthegutterdoesnotusethesameslangasmyladyinherboudoir,butbothuseit,andsoexpressiveisitthattheonemightreadilyunderstandtheotherifbroughtincontact.Therefore,therearewhatmaybestyledanignorantslangandaneducatedslang--theonecommontothepurlieusandthealleys,theothertotheparlorandthedrawing-room.
Inallcasestheobjectofslangistoexpressanideainamorevigorous,piquantandtersemannerthanstandardusageordinarilyadmits.Aschoolgirl,whenshewantstopraiseababy,exclaims:"Oh,isn'theawfully
cute!"Tosaythatheisverynicewouldbetooweakawaytoexpressheradmiration.Whenahandsomegirlappearsonthestreetanenthusiasticmasculineadmirer,toexpresshisappreciationofherbeauty,tellsyou:"Sheisapeach,abird,acuckoo,"anyofwhichaccentuateshisestimationoftheyoungladyandismuchmoreemphaticthansaying:"Sheisabeautifulgirl,""ahandsomemaiden,"or"lovelyyoungwoman."
Whenapoliticiandefeatshisrivalhewilltellyou"itwasacinch,"hehada"walk-over,"toimpressyouhoweasyitwastogainthevictory.
Someslangexpressionsareofthenatureofmetaphorsandarehighlyfigurative.Suchare"topassinyourchecks,""toholdup,""topullthewooloveryoureyes,""totalkthroughyourhat,""tofireout,""togo
backon,""tomakeyourselfsolidwith,""tohaveajagon,""tobeloaded,""tofreezeonto,""tobarkupthewrongtree,""don'tmonkeywiththebuzz-saw,"and"inthesoup."Mostslanghadabadorigin.Thegreaterpartoriginatedinthecantofthieves'Latin,butitbrokeawayfromthiscantofmalefactorsintimeandgraduallyevolveditselffromitsunsavorypastuntilitdevelopedintoacurrentformofexpressivespeech.Someslang,however,cantraceitsoriginbacktoveryrespectablesources.
"Stolenfruitsaresweet"maybetracedtotheBibleinsentiment.
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Proverbs,ix:17hasit:"Stolenwatersaresweet.""Whatareyougivingme,"supposedtobeathoroughAmericanism,isbaseduponGenesis,xxxviii:16.Thecommonslang,"abadman,"inreferringtoWesterndesperadoes,inalmosttheidenticalsensenowused,isfoundinSpenser's_FaerieQueen_,Massinger'splay_"ANewWaytoPayOldDebts,_"andinShakespeare's_"KingHenryVIII_."Theexpression"toblowon,"meaningtoinform,isinShakespeare's_"AsYouLikeit_.""It'sallGreektome"istraceabletotheplayof_"JuliusCaesar_.""Allcryandnowool"isinButler's_"Hudibras_.""Piousfrauds,"meaninghypocrites,isfromthesamesource."Toothin,"referringtoanexcuse,isfromSmollett's"_PeregrinePickle_."Shakespearealsousedit.
Americahashadalargeshareincontributingtomodernslang."TheheathenChinee,"and"Waysthataredark,andtricksthatarevain,"arefromBretHarte's_TruthfulJames_."NotforJoe,"aroseduringtheCivilWarwhenonesoldierrefusedtogiveadrinktoanother."NotifIknowmyself"haditsorigininChicago."What'sthematterwith----?He'sallright,"haditsbeginninginChicagoalsoandfirstwas"What'sthematterwithHannah."referringtoalazydomesticservant."There'smillionsinit,"and"Byalargemajority"comefromMarkTwain's_GildedAge_."Pulldownyourvest,""jim-jams,""got'embad,""that'swhat'sthematter,""gohireahall,""takeinyoursign,""dryup,""humpyourself,""it'sthemanaroundthecorner,""puttingupajob,""puta
headonhim,""nobacktalk,""bottomdollar,""wentoffonhisear,""chalkitdown,""stavinghimoff,""makingitwarm,""droppinghimgently,""deadgone,""busted,""counterjumper,""putuporshutup,""bangup,""smartAleck,""toomuchjaw,""chin-music,""topheavy,""barefootedonthetopofthehead,""alittletoofresh,""championliar,""chiefcookandbottlewasher,""bagandbaggage,""asfineassilk,""nameyourpoison,""diedwithhisbootson,""oldhoss,""hunkeydorey,""holdyourhorses,""galoot"andmanyothersinuseatpresentareallAmericanismsinslang.
Californiaespeciallyhasbeenmostfecundinthisclassoffigurativelanguage.TothisStateweowe"gooffanddie,""don'tyouforgetit,""roughdeal,""squaredeal,""flushtimes,""poolyourissues,""gobury
yourself,""godrownyourself,""giveyourtongueavacation,""abadegg,""goclimbatree,""plughats,""DollyVardens,""wellfixed,""downtobedrock,""hardpan,""paydirt,""peteredout,""itwon'twash,""slugofwhiskey,""itpansoutwell,"and"Ishouldsmile.""Smallpotatoes,andfewinthehill,""softsnap,""allfired,""goldurnit,""anup-hilljob,""slick,""shortcut,""guessnot,""correctthing"areBostonisms.Theterms"innocent,""acknowledgethecorn,""barkupthewrongtree,""greatsnakes,""Ireckon,""playing'possum,""deadshot,"hadtheiroriginintheSouthernStates."Doggoneit,""thatbeatstheDutch,""youbet,""youbetyourboots,"sprangfromNewYork."Stepdownandout"originatedintheBeechertrial,justas"brain-storm"originatedintheThawtrial.
AmongtheslangphrasesthathavecomedirectlytousfromEnglandmaybementioned"throwupthesponge,""drawitmild,""giveusarest,""deadbeat,""ontheshelf,""upthespout,""stunning,""giftofthegab,"etc.
Thenewspapersareresponsibleforalargepartoftheslang.Reporters,staffwriters,andeveneditors,putwordsandphrasesintothemouthsofindividualswhichtheyneverutter.NewYorkissupposedtobetheheadquartersofslang,particularlythatportionofitknownastheBowery.Alltransgressionsandcorruptionsoflanguagearesupposedto
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originateinthatunclassicsection,whilethetruthisthatthelawsofpoliteEnglishareasmuchviolatedonFifthAvenue.Ofcourse,theforeignelementmincingtheir"pidgin"EnglishhavegiventheBoweryanunenviablereputation,buttherearejustasgoodspeakersofthevernacularontheBoweryaselsewhereinthegreatercity.YeteveryinexperiencednewspaperreporterthinksthatitisincumbentonhimtoholdtheBoweryuptoridiculeandlaughter,sohesitsdown,andoutofhiscircumscribedbrain,mutilatestheEnglishtongue(hecanrarelycoinaword),andblamesthemutilationontheBowery.
'Tisthesamewithnewspapersandauthors,too,detractingtheIrishrace.MenandwomenwhohaveneverseenthegreenhillsofIreland,paintIrishcharactersasboorsandblunderersandmakethemsayludicrousthingsandusesuchlanguageasisneverheardwithinthefourwallsofIreland.'TisverywellknownthatIrelandisthemostlearnedcountryonthefaceoftheearth--is,andhasbeen.Theschoolmasterhasbeenabroadthereforhundreds,almostthousands,ofyears,andnowhereelseintheworldto-dayistheking'sEnglishspokensopurelyasinthecitiesandtownsofthelittleWesternIsle.
Currentevents,happeningsofeverydaylife,oftengiverisetoslangwords,andthese,afteratime,comeintosuchgeneralusethattheytaketheirplacesineverydayspeechlikeordinarywordsand,ashasbeensaid,theirusersforgetthattheyoncewereslang.Forinstance,the
daysoftheLandLeagueinIrelandoriginatedtheword_boycott_,whichwasthenameofaveryunpopularlandlord,CaptainBoycott.Thepeoplerefusedtoworkforhim,andhiscropsrottedontheground.Fromthistimeanyonewhocameintodisfavorandwhomhisneighborsrefusedtoassistinanywaywassaidtobeboycotted.Thereforetoboycottmeanstopunishbyabandoningordeprivingapersonoftheassistanceofothers.Atfirstitwasanotoriouslyslangword,butnowitisstandardintheEnglishdictionaries.
Politicsaddtoourslangwordsandphrases.Fromthissourceweget"darkhorse,""thegraymareisthebetterhorse,""barrelofmoney,""buncombe,""gerrymander,""scalawag,""henchman,""logrolling,""pullingthewires,""takingthestump,""machine,""slate,"etc.
Themoneymarketfurnishesuswith"corner,""bull,""bear,""lamb,""slump,"andseveralothers.
Thecustomofthetimesandtherequirementsofcurrentexpressionrequirethebestofustouseslangwordsandphrasesonoccasions.Oftenwedonotknowtheyareslang,justasachildoftenusesprofanewordswithoutconsciousnessoftheirbeingso.Weshouldavoidtheuseofslangasmuchaspossible,evenwhenitservestoconveyourideasinaforcefulmanner.Andwhenithasnotgainedafirmfootholdincurrentspeechitshouldbeusednotatall.Rememberthatmostallslangisofvulgaroriginandbearsuponitsfacethebendsinisterofvulgarity.Oftheslangthatisofgoodbirth,passitbyifyoucan,foritislikea
broken-downgentleman,oflittlegoodtoanyone.Imitatethegreatmastersasmuchasyouwillinclassicalliterature,butwhenitcomestotheirslang,drawtheline.DeanSwift,thegreatIrishsatirist,coinedtheword"phiz"forface.Don'timitatehim.Ifyouarespeakingorwritingofthebeautyofalady'sfacedon'tcallither"phiz."TheDean,asanintellectualgiant,hadalicensetodoso--youhaven't.Shakespeareusedtheword"flush"toindicateplentyofmoney.Well,justremembertherewasonlyoneShakespeare,andhewastheonlyonethathadarighttousethatwordinthatsense.You'llneverbeaShakespeare,therewillneverbesuchanother--Natureexhaustedherselfinproducing
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him.Bulwerusedtheword"stretch"forhang,astostretchhisneck.Don'tfollowhisexampleinsuchuseoftheword.Aboveall,avoidthelow,coarse,vulgarslang,whichismadetopassforwitamongtheriff-raffofthestreet.Ifyouarespeakingorwritingofapersonhavingdiedlastnightdon'tsayorwrite:"Hehoppedthetwig,"or"hekickedthebucket."Ifyouarecompelledtolistentoapersondiscoursingonasubjectofwhichheknowslittleornothing,don'tsay"Heistalkingthroughhishat."IfyouaretellingofhavingshakenhandswithMr.Rooseveltdon'tsay"Hetippedmehisflipper."Ifyouarespeakingofawealthymandon'tsay"Hehasplentyofspondulix,"or"thelonggreen."Allsuchslangislow,coarseandvulgarandistobefrownedupononanyandeveryoccasion.
Ifyouuseslangusetherefinedkindanduseitlikeagentleman,thatitwillnothurtorgiveoffensetoanyone.CardinalNewmandefinedagentlemanashewhoneverinflictspain.Beagentlemaninyourslang--neverinflictpain.
CHAPTERXII
WRITINGFORNEWSPAPERS
Qualification--AppropriateSubjects--Directions
Thenewspapernowadaysgoesintoeveryhomeintheland;whatwasformerlyregardedasaluxuryisnowlookeduponasanecessity.Nomatterhowpoortheindividual,heisnottoopoortoaffordapennytolearn,notalonewhatistakingplacearoundhiminhisownimmediatevicinity,butalsowhatishappeningineveryquarteroftheglobe.Thelaboreronthestreetcanbeaswellpostedonthenewsofthedayasthebankerinhisoffice.Throughthenewspaperhecanfeelthepulseofthecountryandfindwhetheritsvitalityisincreasingordiminishing;hecanreadthesignsofthetimesandscanthepoliticalhorizonforwhat
concernshisowninterests.Thedoingsofforeigncountriesarespreadbeforehimandhecanseeataglancetheoccurrencesintheremotestcornersofearth.IfafireoccurredinLondonlastnighthecanreadaboutitathisbreakfasttableinNewYorkthismorning,andprobablygetabetteraccountthantheLondonersthemselves.IfadueltakesplaceinParishecanreadallaboutitevenbeforethecontestantshaveleftthefield.
Thereareupwardsof3,000dailynewspapersintheUnitedStates,morethan2,000ofwhicharepublishedintownscontaininglessthan100,000inhabitants.Infact,manyplacesoflessthan10,000populationcanboastthepublishingofadailynewspaper.Therearemorethan15,000weekliespublished.Someoftheso-calledcountrypaperswieldquitean
influenceintheirlocalities,andevenoutside,andaremoney-makingagenciesfortheirownersandthoseconnectedwiththem,bothbywayofcirculationandadvertisements.
Itissurprisingthenumberofpeopleinthiscountrywhomakealivinginthenewspaperfield.Apartfromtheregulartoilerstherearethousandsofmenandwomenwhomakenewspaperworkasideissue,whoaddtidysumsof"pinmoney"totheirincomesbyoccasionalcontributionstothedaily,weeklyandmonthlypress.Mostofthesepeopleareonlypersonsofordinary,everydayability,havingjustenougheducationtoexpress
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themselvesintelligentlyinwriting.
Itisamistaketoimagine,assomanydo,thatanextendededucationisnecessaryfornewspaperwork.Notatall!Onthecontrary,insomecases,ahigh-classeducationisahindrance,notahelpinthisdirection.Thegeneralnewspaperdoesnotwantlearneddisquisitionsnorphilosophicaltheses;asitsnameimplies,itwantsnews,currentnews,interestingnews,somethingtoappealtoitsreaders,toarousethemandrivettheirattention.Inthisrespectveryoftenaboycanwriteabetterarticlethanacollegeprofessor.Theprofessorwouldbeapttousewordsbeyondthecapacityofmostofthereaders,whiletheboy,notknowingsuchwords,wouldprobablysimplytellwhathesaw,howgreatthedamagewas,whowerekilledorinjured,etc.,anduselanguagewhichallwouldunderstand.
Ofcourse,therearesomebrilliantscholars,deeply-readmenandwomeninthenewspaperrealm,but,onthewhole,thosewhohavemadethegreatestnamescommencedignorantenoughandmostofthemgraduatedbywayofthecountrypaper.SomeoftheleadingwritersofEnglandandAmericaatthepresenttimestartedtheirliterarycareersbycontributingtotheruralpress.Theyperfectedandpolishedthemselvesastheywentalonguntiltheywereabletomakenamesforthemselvesinuniversalliterature.
Ifyouwanttocontributetonewspapersorenterthenewspaperfieldasameansoflivelihood,don'tletlackofacollegeoruniversityeducationstandinyourway.Ashasbeensaidelsewhereinthisbook,someofthegreatestmastersofEnglishliteratureweremenwhohadbutlittleadvantageinthewayofbooklearning.Shakespeare,Bunyan,Burns,andscoresofothers,whohavelefttheirnamesindeliblyinscribedonthetabletsoffame,hadlittletoboastofinthewayofbookeducation,buttheyhadwhatispopularlyknownas"horse"senseandagoodworkingknowledgeoftheworld;inotherwords,theyunderstoodhumannature,andwerenaturalthemselves.Shakespeareunderstoodmankindbecausehewashimselfaman;hencehehasportrayedthefeelings,theemotions,thepassionswithamaster'stouch,delineatingthekinginhispalaceastruetonatureashehasdonethepeasantinhishut.Themonitorwithinhisown
breastgavehimwarningastowhatwasrightandwhatwaswrong,justasthedaemoneverbythesideofoldSocrateswhisperedinhisearthecoursetopursueunderanyandallcircumstances.Burnsguidingtheploughconceivedthoughtsandclothedtheminalanguagewhichhasnever,norprobablyneverwillbe,surpassedbyallthelearningwhichartcanconfer.Thesemenwerenatural,anditwastheperfectionofthisnaturalitythatwreathedtheirbrowswiththenever-fadinglaurelsofundyingfame.
Ifyouwouldessaytowriteforthenewspaperyoumustbenaturalandexpressyourselfinyouraccustomedwaywithoutputtingonairsorfrills;youmustnotapeornamentsandindulgeinbombastorrhodomontadewhichstampawriterasnotonlysuperficialbutsilly.Thereisnoroomforsuchintheeverydaynewspaper.Itwantsfactsstatedinplain,
unvarnished,unadornedlanguage.True,youshouldreadthebestauthorsand,asfaraspossible,imitatetheirstyle,butdon'ttrytoliterallycopythem.Beyourselfoneveryoccasion--nooneelse.
NotlikeHomerwouldIwrite,NotlikeDanteifImight,NotlikeShakespeareathisbest,NotlikeGoetheortherest,Likemyself,howeversmall,Likemyself,ornotatall.
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Putyourselfinplaceofthereaderandwritewhatwillinterestyourselfandinsuchawaythatyourlanguagewillappealtoyourownideasofthefitnessofthings.Youbelongtothe_great_commonplacemajority,thereforedon'tforgetthatinwritingforthenewspapersyouarewritingforthatmajorityandnotforthelearnedandaestheticminority.
Rememberyouarewritingforthemanonthestreetandinthestreetcar,youwanttointeresthim,tocompelhimtoreadwhatyouhavetosay.Hedoesnotwantadisplayoflearning;hewantsnewsaboutsomethingwhichconcernshimself,andyoumusttellittohiminaplain,simplemannerjustasyouwoulddoifyouwerefacetofacewithhim.
Whatcanyouwriteabout?Whyaboutanythingthatwillconstitutecurrentnews,someleadingeventoftheday,anythingthatwillappealtothereadersofthepapertowhichyouwishtosubmitit.Nomatterinwhatlocalityyoumaylive,howeverbackwarditmaybe,youcanalwaysfindsomethingofgenuinehumaninteresttoothers.Ifthereisnonewshappening,writeofsomethingthatappealstoyourself.Weareallconstitutedalike,andthechancesarethatwhatwillinterestyouwillinterestothers.Descriptionsofadventurearegenerallyacceptable.Tellofafoxhunt,orabadgerhunt,orabearchase.
Ifthereisanyimportantmanufacturingplantinyourneighborhood
describeitand,ifpossible,getphotographs,forphotographyplaysaveryimportantpartinthenewsitemsofto-day.Ifa"great"manlivesnearyou,onewhosenameisonthetipofeverytongue,goandgetaninterviewwithhim,obtainhisviewsonthepublicquestionsoftheday,describehishomelifeandhissurroundingsandhowhespendshistime.
Tryandstrikesomethinggermanetothemoment,somethingthatstandsoutprominentlyinthelimelightofthepassingshow.Ifanotedpersonage,somefamousmanorwoman,isvisitingthecountry,itisagoodtimetowriteuptheplacefromwhichheorshecomesandtherecordheorshehasmadethere.Forinstance,itwasopportunetowriteofSuluandthelittlePacificarchipelagoduringtheSultan'stripthroughthecountry.IfanattemptismadetoblowupanAmericanbattleship,say,intheharborof
Appia,inSamoa,itaffordsachancetowriteaboutSamoaandRobertLouisStephenson.WhenManuelwashurledfromthethroneofPortugalitwasaripetimetowriteofPortugalandPortugueseaffairs.Ifanygreatoccurrenceistakingplaceinaforeigncountrysuchasthecrowningofakingorthedethronementofamonarch,itisagoodtimetowriteupthehistoryofthecountryanddescribetheeventsleadinguptothemainissue.Whenaparticularlysavageoutbreakoccursamongstwildtribesinthedependencies,suchasarisingoftheManobosinthePhilippines,itisopportunetowriteofsuchtribesandtheirsurroundings,andthecausesleadinguptotherevolt.
Beconstantlyonthelookoutforsomethingthatwillsuitthepassinghour,readthedailypapersandprobablyinsomeobscurecorneryoumay
findsomethingthatwillserveyouasafoundationforagoodarticle--something,atleast,thatwillgiveyouaclue.
Becircumspectinyourselectionofapapertowhichtosubmityourcopy.Knowthetoneandgeneralimportofthepaper,itssocialleaningsandpoliticalaffiliations,alsoitsreligioussentiments,and,infact,alltheparticularsyoucanregardingit.Itwouldbeinjudiciousforyoutosendanarticleonaprizefighttoareligiouspaperor,_viceversa_,anaccountofachurchmeetingtotheeditorofasportingsheet.
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Ifyougetyourcopybackdon'tbedisappointednoryetdisheartened.Perseverancecountsmoreinthenewspaperfieldthananywhereelse,andonlyperseverancewinsinthelongrun.Youmustbecomeresilient;ifyouarepresseddown,springupagain.Nomatterhowmanyrebuffsyoumayreceive,benotdiscouragedbutcallfreshenergytoyourassistanceandmakeanotherstand.Iftherightstuffisinyouitissuretobediscovered;yourlightwillnotremainlonghiddenunderabushelinthenewspaperdomain.Ifyoucandeliverthegoodseditorswillsoonbebeggingyouinsteadofyourbeggingthem.Thosemenareconstantlyonthelookoutforpersonswhocanmakegood.
Onceyougetintoprintthebattleiswon,foritwillbeanincentivetoyoutopersevereandimproveyourselfateveryturn.Goovereverythingyouwrite,cutandslashandpruneuntilyougetitintoasperfectformaspossible.Eliminateeverysuperfluouswordandbecarefultostrikeoutallambiguousexpressionsandreferences.
Ifyouarewritingforaweeklypaperrememberitdiffersfromadailyone.Weeklieswantwhatwillnotaloneinterestthemanonthestreet,butthewomanatthefireside;theywantout-of-the-wayfacts,curiousscrapsoflore,personalnotesoffamousoreccentricpeople,reminiscencesofexcitingexperiences,interestinggleaningsinlife'snumberlessby-ways,inshort,anythingthatwillentertain,amuse,instructthehomecircle.Thereisalwayssomethingoccurringinyourimmediatesurroundings,
somecuriouseventorthrillingepisodethatwillfurnishyouwithdataforanarticle.Youmustknowthenatureoftheweeklytowhichyousubmityourcopythesameasyoumustknowthedaily.Forinstance,the _ChristianHerald_,whileavowedlyareligiousweekly,treatssuchsecularmatterasmakesthepaperappealtoall.Onitsreligioussideitis _non-sectarian_,coveringthebroadfieldofChristianitythroughouttheworld;onitssecularsideitdealswithhumaneventsinsuchanimpartialwaythateveryone,nomattertowhatclasstheymaybelongortowhatcreedtheymaysubscribe,cantakealiving,personalinterest.
Themonthliesofferanotherattractivefieldfortheliteraryaspirant.Here,again,don'tthinkyoumustbeanuniversityprofessortowriteforamonthlymagazine.Many,indeedmost,oftheforemostmagazinecontributors
aremenandwomenwhohaveneverpassedthroughacollegeexceptbygoinginatthefrontdoorandemergingfromthebackone.However,forthemostpart,theyareindividualsofwideexperiencewhoknowthepracticalsideoflifeasdistinguishedfromthetheoretical.
Theordinarymonthlymagazinetreatsoftheleadingquestionsandissueswhichareengagingtheattentionoftheworldforthemoment,greatinventions,greatdiscoveries,whateverisengrossingthepopularmindforthetimebeing,suchasflyingmachines,battleships,sky-scrapers,theopeningofmines,thedevelopmentofnewlands,thepoliticalissues,viewsofpartyleaders,charactersketchesofdistinguishedpersonages,etc.However,beforetryingyourskillforamonthlymagazineitwouldbewellforyoutohaveagoodapprenticeshipinwritingforthedaily
press.
Aboveallthings,rememberthatperseveranceisthekeythatopensthedoorofsuccess.Persevere!Ifyouareturneddowndon'tgetdisheartened;onthecontrary,lettherebuffactasastimulanttofurthereffort.Manyofthemostsuccessfulwritersofourtimehavebeenturneddownagainandagain.Fordaysandmonths,andevenyears,someofthemhavehawkedtheirwaresfromoneliterarydoortoanotheruntiltheyfoundapurchaser.Youmaybeagreatwriterinembryo,butyouwillneverdevelopintoafetus,nottospeakoffullmaturity,unlessyou
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bringoutwhatisinyou.Giveyourselfachancetogrowandseizeuponeverythingthatwillenlargethescopeofyourhorizon.Keepyoureyeswideopenandthereisnotamomentofthedayinwhichyouwillnotseesomethingtointerestyouandinwhichyoumaybeabletointerestothers.Learn,too,howtoreadNature'sbook.There'salessonineverything--inthestones,thegrass,thetrees,thebabblingbrooksandthesingingbirds.Interpretthelessonforyourself,thenteachittoothers.Alwaysbeinearnestinyourwriting;goaboutitinadeterminedkindofway,don'tbefaint-heartedorbackward,bebrave,bebrave,andevermorebebrave.
Onthewide,tentedfieldinthebattleoflife,Withanarmyofmillionsbeforeyou;LikeaheroofoldgirdyoursoulforthestrifeAndletnotthefoemantrampo'eryou;Act,actlikeasoldierandproudlyrushonThemostvaliantinBravery'svan,Withkeen,flashingswordcutyourwaytothefrontAndshowtotheworldyou'rea_Man_.
Ifyouareofthemasculinegenderbeamaninallthingsinthehighestandbestacceptationoftheword.Thatisthenoblesttitleyoucanboast,higherfarthanthatofearlorduke,emperororking.Inthesamewaywomanhoodisthegrandestcrownthefeminineheadcanwear.Whenthe
worldfrownsonyouandeverythingseemstogowrong,possessyoursoulinpatienceandhopeforthedawnofabrighterday.Itwillcome.Thesunisalwaysshiningbehindthedarkestclouds.Whenyougetyourmanuscriptsbackagainandagain,don'tdespair,northinktheeditorcruelandunkind.He,too,hastroublesofhisown.Keepupyourspiritsuntilyouhavemadethefinaltestandputyourtalentstoalastanalysis,thenifyoufindyoucannotgetintoprintbesurethatnewspaperwritingorliteraryworkisnotyour_forte_,andturntosomethingelse.Ifnothingbetterpresentsitself,tryshoemakingordiggingditches.Rememberhonestlabor,nomatterhowhumble,iseverdignified.Ifyouareawomanthrowasidethepen,sitdownanddarnyourbrother's,yourfather's,oryourhusband'ssocks,orputonacalicoapron,takesoapandwaterandscrubthefloor.Nomatterwhoyouaredosomethinguseful.
Thatoldsophistryabouttheworldowingyoualivinghasbeenexplodedlongago.Theworlddoesnotoweyoualiving,butyouoweitservitude,andifyoudonotpaythedebtyouarenotservingthepurposeofanall-wiseProvidenceandfillingtheplaceforwhichyouwerecreated.Itisforyoutoservetheworld,tomakeitbetter,brighter,higher,holier,grander,nobler,richer,foryourhavinglivedinit.Thisyoucandoinnomatterwhatpositionfortunehascastyou,whetheritbethatofstreetlaborerorpresident.Fightthegoodfightandgainthevictory.
"Aboveall,tothineownselfbetrue,And'twillfollowasthenighttheday,Thoucanstnotthenbefalsetoanyman."
CHAPTERXIII
CHOICEOFWORDS
SmallWords--TheirImportance--TheAnglo-SaxonElement
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Inanotherplaceinthisbookadvicehasbeengiventoneverusealongwordwhenashortonewillservethesamepurpose.Thisadviceistobeemphasized.Wordsof"learnedlengthandthunderingsound"shouldbeavoidedonallpossibleoccasions.Theyproclaimshallownessofintellectandvanityofmind.Thegreatpurists,themastersofdiction,theexemplarsofstyle,usedshort,simplewordsthatallcouldunderstand;wordsaboutwhichtherecouldbenoambiguityastomeaning.Itmustberememberedthatbyourwordsweteachothers;therefore,averygreatresponsibilityrestsuponusinregardtotheuseofarightlanguage.Wemusttakecarethatwethinkandspeakinawaysoclearthattheremaybenomisapprehensionordangerofconveyingwrongimpressionsbyvagueandmistyideasenunciatedintermswhichareliabletobemisunderstoodbythosewhomweaddress.Wordsgiveabodyorformtoourideas,withoutwhichtheyareapttobesofoggythatwedonotseewheretheyareweakorfalse.Wemustmaketheendeavortoemploysuchwordsaswillputtheideawehaveinourownmindintothemindofanother.Thisisthegreatestartintheworld--toclotheourideasinwordsclearandcomprehensivetotheintelligenceofothers.Itistheartwhichtheteacher,theminister,thelawyer,theorator,thebusinessman,mustmasteriftheywouldcommandsuccessintheirvariousfieldsofendeavor.Itisveryhardtoconveyanideato,andimpressiton,anotherwhenhehasbutafaintconceptionofthelanguageinwhichtheideaisexpressed;butitisimpossibletoconveyitatallwhenthewordsinwhichitisclothedareunintelligibletothelistener.
IfweaddressanaudienceofordinarymenandwomenintheEnglishlanguage,butusesuchwordsastheycannotcomprehend,wemightaswellspeaktotheminCopticorChinese,fortheywillderivenobenefitfromouraddress,inasmuchastheideaswewishtoconveyareexpressedinwordswhichcommunicatenointelligentmeaningtotheirminds.
Longwords,learnedwords,wordsdirectlyderivedfromotherlanguagesareonlyunderstoodbythosewhohavehadtheadvantagesofanextendededucation.Allhavenothadsuchadvantages.Thegreatmajorityinthisgrandandgloriouscountryofourshavetohustleforalivingfromanearlyage.Thougheducationisfree,andcompulsoryalso,verymanynevergetfurtherthanthe"ThreeR's."Thesearethemenwithwhomwehaveto
dealmostinthearenaoflife,themenwiththehornypalmsandtheironmuscles,themenwhobuildourhouses,constructourrailroads,driveourstreetcarsandtrains,tillourfields,harvestourcrops--inaword,themenwhoformthefoundationofallsociety,themenonwhomtheworlddependstomakeitswheelsgoround.Thelanguageofthecollegesanduniversitiesisnotforthemandtheycangetalongverywellwithoutit;theyhavenoneedforitatallintheirrespectivecallings.Theplain,simplewordsofeverydaylife,towhichthecommonpeoplehavebeenusedaroundtheirownfiresidesfromchildhood,arethewordswemustuseinourdealingswiththem.
Suchwordsareunderstoodbythemandunderstoodbythelearnedaswell;whythennotusethemuniversallyandallthetime?Whymakeaone-sided
affairoflanguagebyusingwordswhichonlyoneclassofthepeople,theso-calledlearnedclass,canunderstand?Woulditnotbebettertouse,onalloccasions,languagewhichthebothclassescanunderstand?Ifwetakethetroubletoinvestigateweshallfindthatthemenwhoexertedthegreatestswayoverthemassesandthemultitudeasorators,lawyers,preachersandinotherpubliccapacities,weremenwhousedverysimplelanguage.DanielWebsterwasamongthegreatestoratorsthiscountryhasproduced.Hetouchedtheheartsofsenatesandassemblages,ofmenandwomenwiththeburningeloquenceofhiswords.Heneverusedalongwordwhenhecouldconveythesame,ornearlythesame,meaningwithashort
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one.Whenhemadeaspeechhealwaystoldthosewhoputitinformforthepresstostrikeouteverylongword.Studyhisspeeches,gooverallheeversaidorwrote,andyouwillfindthathislanguagewasalwaysmadeupofshort,clear,strongterms,althoughattimes,forthesakeofsoundandoratoricaleffect,hewascompelledtousearatherlongword,butitwasalwaysagainsthisinclinationtodoso,andwherewasthemanwhocouldpaint,withwords,asWebsterpainted!Hecouldpicturethingsinawaysoclearthatthosewhoheardhimfeltthattheyhadseenthatofwhichhespoke.
AbrahamLincolnwasanotherwhostirredthesoulsofmen,yethewasnotanorator,notascholar;hedidnotwriteM.A.orPh.D.afterhisname,oranyothercollegedegree,forhehadnone.HegraduatedfromtheUniversityofHardKnocks,andheneverforgotthissevere_AlmaMater_ whenhebecamePresidentoftheUnitedStates.Hewasjustasplain,Ijustashumble,asinthedayswhenhesplitrailsorpliedaboatontheSangamon.Hedidnotusebigwords,butheusedthewordsofthepeople,andinsuchawayastomakethembeautiful.HisGettysburgaddressisanEnglishclassic,oneofthegreatmasterpiecesofthelanguage.
Fromthemerefactthatawordisshortitdoesnotfollowthatitisalwaysclear,butitistruethatnearlyallclearwordsareshort,andthatmostofthelongwords,especiallythosewhichwegetfromotherlanguages,aremisunderstoodtoagreatextentbytheordinaryrankand
fileofthepeople.Indeed,itistobedoubtedifsomeofthe"scholars"usingthem,fullyunderstandtheirimportonoccasions.Agreatmanysuchwordsadmitofseveralinterpretations.Awordhastobeinuseagreatdealbeforepeoplegetthoroughlyfamiliarwithitsmeaning.Longwords,notaloneobscurethoughtandmaketheideashazy,butattimestheytendtomixupthingsinsuchawaythatpositivelyharmfulresultsfollowfromtheiruse.
Forinstance,crimecanbesocoveredwiththefoldsoflongwordsastogiveitadifferentappearance.Eventhehideousnessofsincanbecloakedwithsuchwordsuntilitsoutlineslooklikeathingofbeauty.Whenabankcashiermakesoffwithahundredthousanddollarswepolitelytermhiscrime_defalcation_insteadofplain_theft_,andinsteadofcalling
himselfa_thief_wegrandioselyalludetohimasa_defaulter_.Whenweseeawealthymanstaggeringalongafashionablethoroughfareundertheinfluenceofalcohol,wavinghisarmsintheairandshoutingboisterously,wesmileandsay,poorgentleman,heissomewhat_exhilarated_;oratworstwesay,heisslightly_inebriated_;butwhenweseeapoormanwhohasfallenfromgracebyputtingan"enemyintohismouthtostealawayhisbrain"weexpressourindignationinthesimplelanguageofthewords:"Lookatthewretch;heisdeaddrunk."
Whenwefindapersonindownrightlyingwecoverthefalsehoodwiththefinely-spuncloakoftheword_prevarication_.Shakespearesays,"arosebyanyothernamewouldsmellassweet,"andbyasimilarsequence,alie,nomatterbywhatnameyoumaycallit,isalwaysalieandshould
becondemned;thenwhynotsimplycallitalie?Meanwhatyousayandsaywhatyoumean;callaspadeaspade,itisthebesttermyoucanapplytotheimplement.
Whenyoutrytouseshortwordsandshunlongonesinalittlewhileyouwillfindthatyoucandosowithease.Afarmerwasshowingahorsetoacity-bredgentleman.Theanimalwasledintoapaddockinwhichanoldsow-pigwasrooting."Whatafinequadruped!"exclaimedthecityman.
"Whichofthetwodoyoumean,thepigorthehorse?"queriedthefarmer,
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"for,inmyopinion,bothofthemarefinequadrupeds."
Ofcoursethevisitormeantthehorse,soitwouldhavebeenmuchbetterhadhecalledtheanimalbyitssimple;ordinaryname--,therewouldhavebeennoroomforambiguityinhisremark.Heprofited,however,bytheincident,andnevercalledahorseaquadrupedagain.
Mostofthesmallwords,thesimplewords,thebeautifulwordswhichexpresssomuchwithinsmallboundsbelongtothepureAnglo-Saxonelementofourlanguage.Thiselementhasgivennamestotheheavenlybodies,thesun,moonandstars;tothreeoutofthefourelements,earth,fireandwater;threeoutofthefourseasons,spring,summerandwinter.Itssimplewordsareappliedtoallthenaturaldivisionsoftime,exceptone,asday,night,morning,evening,twilight,noon,mid-day,midnight,sunriseandsunset.Thenamesoflight,heat,cold,frost,rain,snow,hail,sleet,thunder,lightning,aswellasalmostallthoseobjectswhichformthecomponentpartsofthebeautiful,asexpressedinexternalscenery,suchasseaandland,hillanddale,woodandstream,etc.,areAnglo-Saxon.Tothissamelanguageweareindebtedforthosewordswhichexpresstheearliestanddearestconnections,andthestrongestandmostpowerfulfeelingsofNature,andwhich,asaconsequence,areinterwovenwiththefondestandmosthallowedassociations.Ofsuchwordsarefather,mother,husband,wife,brother,sister,son,daughter,child,home,kindred,friend,hearth,roofandfireside.
Thechiefemotionsofwhichwearesusceptibleareexpressedinthesamelanguage--love,hope,fear,sorrow,shame,andalsotheoutwardsignsbywhichtheseemotionsareindicated,astear,smile,laugh,blush,weep,sigh,groan.NearlyallournationalproverbsareAnglo-Saxon.Almostallthetermsandphrasesbywhichwemostenergeticallyexpressanger,contemptandindignationareofthesameorigin.
WhatareknownastheSmartSetandso-calledpolitesociety,arerelegatingagreatmanyofouroldAnglo-Saxonwordsintotheshade,faithfulfriendswhoservedtheirancestorswell.Theseself-appointedarbitersofdictionregardsomeoftheAnglo-Saxonwordsastoocoarse,tooplebeianfortheiraesthetictastesandrefinedears,sotheyare
eliminatingthemfromtheirvocabularyandreplacingthemwithmongrelsofforeignbirthandhybridsofunknownorigin.Fortheordinarypeople,however,themaninthestreetorinthefield,thewomaninthekitchenorinthefactory,theyarestilltriedandtrueand,likeoldfriends,shouldbecherishedandpreferredtoallstrangers,nomatterfromwhatsourcethelattermayspring.
CHAPTERXIV
ENGLISHLANGUAGE
Beginning--DifferentSources--ThePresent
TheEnglishlanguageisthetonguenowcurrentinEnglandandhercoloniesthroughouttheworldandalsothroughoutthegreaterpartoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica.ItsprangfromtheGermantonguespokenbytheTeutons,whocameovertoBritainaftertheconquestofthatcountrybytheRomans.TheseTeutonscomprisedAngles,Saxons,JutesandseveralothertribesfromthenorthernpartofGermany.Theyspokedifferentdialects,but
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thesebecameblendedinthenewcountry,andthecompositetonguecametobeknownastheAnglo-Saxonwhichhasbeenthemainbasisforthelanguageasatpresentconstitutedandisstilltheprevailingelement.ThereforethosewhoaretryingtodoawaywithsomeofthepurelyAnglo-Saxonwords,onthegroundthattheyarenotrefinedenoughtoexpresstheiraestheticideas,areunderminingmainpropswhicharenecessaryforthesupportofsomeimportantpartsintheedificeofthelanguage.
TheAnglo-Saxonelementsuppliestheessentialpartsofspeech,thearticle,pronounofallkinds,thepreposition,theauxiliaryverbs,theconjunctions,andthelittleparticleswhichbindwordsintosentencesandformthejoints,sinewsandligamentsofthelanguage.Itfurnishesthemostindispensablewordsofthevocabulary.(SeeChap.XIII.)NowhereisthebeautyofAnglo-SaxonbetterillustratedthanintheLord'sPrayer.Fifty-fourwordsarepureSaxonandtheremainingonescouldeasilybereplacedbySaxonwords.ThegospelofSt.JohnisanotherillustrationofthealmostexclusiveuseofAnglo-Saxonwords.Shakespeare,athisbest,isAnglo-Saxon.Hereisaquotationfromthe_MerchantofVenice_,andofthefifty-fivewordsfifty-twoareAnglo-Saxon,theremainingthreeFrench:
Allthatglittersisnotgold--Oftenhaveyouheardthattold;Manyamanhislifehathsold,Butmyoutsidetobehold.
Guilded_tombs_dowormsinfold.Hadyoubeenaswiseasbold,Younginlimbs,in_judgment_old,Youranswerhadnotbeeninscrolled--Fareyouwell,your_suit_iscold.
ThelinesputintothemouthofHamlet'sfatherinfierceintenseness,secondonlytoDante'sinscriptiononthegateofhell,haveonehundredandeightAnglo-SaxonandbutfifteenLatinwords.
ThesecondconstituentelementofpresentEnglishisLatinwhichcomprisesthosewordsderiveddirectlyfromtheoldRomanandthosewhichcameindirectlythroughtheFrench.TheformerwereintroducedbytheRoman
Christians,whocametoEnglandatthecloseofthesixthcenturyunderAugustine,andrelatechieflytoecclesiasticalaffairs,suchassaintfrom _sanctus_,religionfrom_religio_,chalicefrom_calix_,massfrom _missa_,etc.SomeofthemhadorigininGreek,aspriestfrom_presbyter_,whichinturnwasadirectderivativefromtheGreek_presbuteros_,alsodeaconfromtheGreek_diakonos_.
ThelargestclassofLatinwordsarethosewhichcamethroughtheNorman-French,orRomance.TheNormanshadadopted,withtheChristianreligion,thelanguage,lawsandartsoftheRomanizedGaulsandRomanizedFranks,andafteraresidenceofmorethanacenturyinFrancetheysuccessfullyinvadedEnglandin1066underWilliamtheConquerorandanewerabegan.TheFrenchLatinismscanbedistinguishedbythespelling.Thus
SaviourcomesfromtheLatin_Salvator_throughtheFrench_Sauveur_;judgmentfromtheLatin_judiclum_throughtheFrench_jugement_;people,fromtheLatin_populus_,throughtheFrench_peuple_,etc.
ForalongtimetheSaxonandNormantonguesrefusedtocoalesceandwereliketwodistinctcurrentsflowingindifferentdirections.Normanwasspokenbythelordsandbaronsintheirfeudalcastles,inparliamentandinthecourtsofjustice.Saxonbythepeopleintheirruralhomes,fieldsandworkshops.Formorethanthreehundredyearsthestreamsflowedapart,butfinallytheyblended,takingintheCelticandDanishelements,andas
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aresultcamethepresentEnglishlanguagewithitssimplesystemofgrammaticalinflectionanditsrichvocabulary.
ThefatherofEnglishproseisgenerallyregardedasWycliffe,whotranslatedtheBiblein1380,whilethepaternallaurelsinthesecularpoeticalfieldaretwinedaroundthebrowsofChaucer.
BesidestheGermanicandRomanic,whichconstitutethegreaterpartoftheEnglishlanguage,manyothertongueshavefurnishedtheirquota.OfthesetheCelticisperhapstheoldest.TheBritonsatCaesar'sinvasion,wereapartoftheCelticfamily.TheCelticidiomisstillspokenintwodialects,theWelshinWales,andtheGaelicinIrelandandtheHighlandsofScotland.TheCelticwordsinEnglish,arecomparativelyfew;cart,dock,wire,rail,rug,cradle,babe,grown,griddle,lad,lass,aresomeinmostcommonuse.
TheDanishelementdatesfromthepiraticalinvasionsoftheninthandtenthcenturies.Itincludesanger,awe,baffle,bang,bark,bawl,blunder,boulder,box,club,crash,dairy,dazzle,fellow,gable,gain,ill,jam,kidnap,kill,kidney,kneel,limber,litter,log,lull,lump,mast,mistake,nag,nasty,niggard,horse,plough,rug,rump,sale,scald,shriek,skin,skull,sledge,sleigh,tackle,tangle,tipple,trust,viking,window,wing,etc.
FromtheHebrewwehavealargenumberofpropernamesfromAdamandEvedowntoJohnandMaryandsuchwordsasMessiah,rabbi,hallelujah,cherub,seraph,hosanna,manna,satan,Sabbath,etc.
ManytechnicaltermsandnamesofbranchesoflearningcomefromtheGreek.Infact,nearlyallthetermsoflearningandart,fromthealphabettothehighestpeaksofmetaphysicsandtheology,comedirectlyfromtheGreek--philosophy,logic,anthropology,psychology,aesthetics,grammar,rhetoric,history,philology,mathematics,arithmetic,astronomy,anatomy,geography,stenography,physiology,architecture,andhundredsmoreinsimilardomains;thesubdivisionsandramificationsoftheologyasexegesis,hermeneutics,apologetics,polemics,dogmatics,ethics,homiletics,etc.,areallGreek.
TheDutchhavegivenussomemodernseaterms,assloop,schooner,yachtandalsoanumberofothersasboom,bush,boor,brandy,duck,reef,skate,wagon.TheDutchofManhattanislandgaveusboss,thenameforemployeroroverseer,alsocoldslaa(cutcabbageandvinegar),andanumberofgeographicalterms.
Manyofourmostpleasingeuphonicwords,especiallyintherealmofmusic,havebeengiventousdirectlyfromtheItalian.Ofthesearepiano,violin,orchestra,canto,allegro,piazza,gazette,umbrella,gondola,bandit,etc.
Spanishhasfurnisheduswithalligator,alpaca,bigot,cannibal,cargo,
filibuster,freebooter,guano,hurricane,mosquito,negro,stampede,potato,tobacco,tomato,tariff,etc.
FromArabicwehaveseveralmathematical,astronomical,medicalandchemicaltermsasalcohol,alcove,alembic,algebra,alkali,almanac,assassin,azure,cipher,elixir,harem,hegira,sofa,talisman,zenithandzero.
Bazaar,dervish,lilac,pagoda,caravan,scarlet,shawl,tartar,tiaraandpeachhavecometousfromthePersian.
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Turban,tulip,divanandfirmanareTurkish.
Drosky,knout,rouble,steppe,ukaseareRussian.
TheIndianshavehelpedusconsiderablyandthewordstheyhavegivenusareextremelyeuphonicasexemplifiedinthenamesofmanyofourriversandStates,asMississippi,Missouri,Minnehaha,Susquehanna,Monongahela,Niagara,Ohio,Massachusetts,Connecticut,Iowa,Nebraska,Dakota,etc.InadditiontothesepropernameswehavefromtheIndianswigwam,squaw,hammock,tomahawk,canoe,mocassin,hominy,etc.
TherearemanyhybridwordsinEnglish,thatis,words,springingfromtwoormoredifferentlanguages.Infact,Englishhasdrawnfromallsources,anditisdailyaddingtoitsalreadylargefamily,andnotaloneisitaddingtoitself,butitisspreadingallovertheworldandpromisestotakeintheentirehumanfamilybeneathitsfoldserelong.ItistheopinionofmanythatEnglish,inashorttime,willbecometheuniversallanguage.ItisnowbeingtaughtasabranchofthehighereducationinthebestcollegesanduniversitiesofEuropeandinallcommercialcitiesineverylandthroughouttheworld.InAsiaitfollowstheBritishswayandthehighwaysofcommercethroughthevastempireofEastIndiawithitstwohundredandfiftymillionsofheathenandMohammedaninhabitants.ItislargelyusedintheseaportsofJapanandChina,andthenumberofnatives
ofthesecountrieswhoarelearningitisincreasingeveryday.ItisfirmlyestablishedinSouthAfrica,Liberia,SierraLeone,andinmanyoftheislandsoftheIndianandSouthSeas.ItisthelanguageofAustralia,NewZealand,Tasmania,andChristianmissionariesareintroducingitintoalltheislandsofPolynesia.ItmaybesaidtobethelivingcommerciallanguageoftheNorthAmericancontinent,fromBaffin'sBaytotheGulfofMexico,andfromtheAtlantictothePacific,anditisspokenlargelyinmanyoftherepublicsofSouthAmerica.Itisnotlimitedbyparallelsoflatitude,ormeridiansoflongitude.ThetwogreatEnglish-speakingcountries,EnglandandtheUnitedStates,aredisseminatingitnorth,south,eastandwestovertheentireworld.
CHAPTERXI
MASTERSANDMASTERPIECESOFLITERATURE
GreatAuthors--Classification--TheWorld'sBestBooks.
TheBibleistheworld'sgreatestbook.Apartfromitscharacterasaworkofdivinerevelation,itisthemostperfectliteratureextant.
LeavingouttheBiblethethreegreatestworksarethoseofHomer,Dante
andShakespeare.ThesearecloselyfollowedbytheworksofVirgilandMilton.
INDISPENSABLEBOOKS
Homer,Dante,Cervantes,ShakespeareandGoethe.
(Thebesttranslationof_Homer_fortheordinaryreaderisbyChapman.Norton'stranslationof_Dante_andTaylor'stranslationofGoethe's
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_Faust_arerecommended.)
AGOODLIBRARY
Besidestheworksmentionedeveryoneshouldendeavortohavethefollowing:
_Plutarch'sLives_,_MeditationsofMarcusAurelius_,_Chaucer_,_ImitationofChrist_(ThomasaKempis),_HolyLivingandHolyDying_(JeremyTaylor), _Pilgrim'sProgress,Macaulay'sEssays,Bacon'sEssays,Addison'sEssays,EssaysofElia_(CharlesLamb),_LesMiserables_(Hugo),_HeroesandHeroWorship_(Carlyle),_Palgrave'sGoldenTreasury_,_Wordsworth_,_VicarofWakefield_,_AdamBede_(GeorgeEliot),_VanityFair_(Thackeray), _Ivanhoe_(Scott),_OntheHeights_(Auerbach),_EugenieGrandet_(Balzac), _ScarletLetter_(Hawthorne),_Emerson'sEssays_,_Boswell'sLifeofJohnson_,_HistoryoftheEnglishPeople_(Green),_OutlinesofUniversalHistory,OriginofSpecies,Montaigne'sEssays,Longfellow,Tennyson,Browning,Whittier,Ruskin,HerbertSpencer_.
Agoodencyclopoediaisverydesirableandareliabledictionaryindispensable.
MASTERPIECESOFAMERICANLITERATURE
_ScarletLetter,Parkman'sHistories,Motley'sDutchRepublic,Grant'sMemoirs,Franklin'sAutobiography,Webster'sSpeeches,Lowell'sBigelowPapers_,alsohis_CriticalEssays_,_Thoreau'sWalden_,_LeavesofGrass_ (Whitman),_Leather-stockingTales_(Cooper),_AutocratoftheBreakfastTable_,_BenHur_and_UncleTom'sCabin_.
TENGREATESTAMERICANPOETS
Bryant,Poe,Whittier,Longfellow,Lowell,Emerson,Whitman,Lanier,AldrichandStoddard.
TENGREATESTENGLISHPOETS
Chaucer,Spenser,Shakespeare,Milton,Burns,Wordsworth,Keats,Shelley,Tennyson,Browning.
TENGREATESTENGLISHESSAYISTS
Bacon,Addison,Steele,Macaulay,Lamb,Jeffrey,DeQuincey,Carlyle,ThackerayandMatthewArnold.
BESTPLAYSOFSHAKESPEARE
Inorderofmeritare:_Hamlet_,_KingLear_,_Othello_,_AntonyandCleopatra_,_Macbeth_,_MerchantofVenice_,_HenryIV_,_AsYouLikeIt_, _Winter'sTale_,_RomeoandJuliet_,_MidsummerNight'sDream_,_TwelfthNight_,_Tempest_.
ONLYTHEGOOD
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Ifyouarenotabletoprocurealibraryofthegreatmasterpieces,getatleastafew.Readthemcarefully,intelligentlyandwithaviewtoenlargingyourownliteraryhorizon.Rememberagoodbookcannotbereadtoooften,oneofadeterioratinginfluenceshouldnotbereadatall.Inliterature,asinallthingselse,thegoodaloneshouldprevail.
EndofProjectGutenberg'sHowtoSpeakandWriteCorrectly,byJosephDevlin
Poster'sNote:thewords"encyclopoedia","insiduously",and"Synechdoche"arethusintheoriginalprinting,aaarethespacesbetween"B.A."&c."Insiduously"and"Synechdoche"arevalidvariantspellings.
***ENDOFTHEPROJECTGUTENBERGEBOOKHOWTOSPEAKANDWRITE***
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