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THE

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OF RI-IETORIC

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BY

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ADAMS SHERMAN HILL

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1N HARVARD .UNIVERSITY

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NEW YORK
& BROTHERS PUBLISHERS

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1893

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PREFACE
Fon practical purposes there is no better defmition of
a good style than Swift's , - PROPER WonDs IN PROPER
PLA CES.

Copyright, 1892, by Ao.DIS SHER'dA:< 811,L.
All righlB reserved.

Differ as good writers may in other respects, t hey arc
nil distinguished by the judicious choice and the sk ilful
placing of words. They all aim (1) to use no word that
is not established as a part of the language in the sense
in which t hey use it, and no word t hat does not say
what they wish it to say so clearly as to be understood
nt once, and either so strongly as to com mand attention or so agreeably as to win attention; (2) to put
every word in t he place fixed for it by the idiom of the
lan guage, and by t.110 principles which goYcrn communication between man and man, - the place which gives
the word its exact rnlue in itself and in its r elations
with other words; and (3) to use no more words than
arc necessary to effect the purpose in han d. If it be
trne that these simple principl es und erlie all good writing, they may properly he called Tr-IE FOUNDATIONS OF
RHETORIC.

To help youn g writers to master these principles is
the object of the following pages . They are especially
intended for those who have had some practice in writing, but who h ave not yet learns.!\ to express themselves
well.
ST~Tf UNIVERS\ \l

KENT

LltWl~XI

KENI,

OHIO

iv

PllEF1\ CE

PHEFACE

The Introd uction sets forth as simply, clearly, and
compactly as possi bl e the leading facts of E nglish grammar , includin g dcfmitions of technical terms.
The body of the book is in t h rec Parts. Part I.,
which t reats of W orms, is divided into two books : in
Book 1., proper and improper expressions, arranged for
con r cni cncc in classes that co rres pond to the several
par ts of s peech , arc set side by side; in Book II.,
questions of choice between words equall y proper arc
consiclcrccl.
Part JI., ,,]iich t reats of SENTENCES, is
clividccl into two uook s : in Book I., good and bad
sentences, arranged fo r co1weni encc in chapters that
cor respond to the fi ve importa,nt quali t ies of style,
arc set side by side ; in Book II., questions of choice
between sentences equally proper urc consiclered .
Part Ill. treats of PAR AGRAPHS.
Believing that every one should be encouraged to do
work fo r himself, l ucgin the discussion of every question with an example, - a practice which c1rnbles the
stuclent to discover for himself the rule under which
the exa mple falls. Fo r youn g scholars this is the true
order; for it is the order in whi ch the mind naturally
work s. Jn experience, fac ts come before principles or
rules : induction precedes deduction.
Believing that attention should lie drawn primarily to
good English, I have, in every case in which proper and
improper form s appea r side l>y side, placed the proper
form where it will first catch the eye.
Within the prescribed limits, it is of course impracticable to enumerate all possible departures fr om propriety in the choice of words or in their arrangement.
All that is attempted is to note those which nn practif'ed

v

writers nre mo st lik ely to make. Some of the senteuccs
quoted as warnings arc taken from current uewspa,pcrs,
novels, a,nd other publications that arc likely to fall in
the way of young rea,dcrs and to affect their modes of
exp ression ; but most of t hem come from m anusc ripts
procluced und er t he stress of t he exam ination-roo m or in
the agonies of "composition." 1 ha,-e not deemed it
ad ri sablc to in crease the enorm ous amount of bad Eng1ish already in the world l>y inventin g new varieties, or
by manufacturing new specimens of old varieties.
For ya,luablc assistance in the preparation of t hese
pages, I am indebted to Miss E. A. ·v hthcy, wh o
UJ'OUgh t to the task UllUSUal patience, intelli gence, and
dcrntiou.
'l'o SC\'eral of my colleagues, by wh ose suggestions
and criti cisms I have profited, and to t he a uthors of
various books on the English language which I ham
consu lted, my than ks a rc also due.
A. S. H.
Cambridge, Jllass.
Sept. 27, 1892.

II AnVA!t D UNIVERSITY,

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CONTENrrs

INTRODUCTION
I . Wonos .

II.
JJL

PA OB

.

SENTENCES .

20

PARAGRA P HS

28

PART I.
WORDS
BOOK I.
CHAP.

WORDS AND NOT WORDS

OF Gooo UsE
OF ARTI C L ES •
OF NOUNS . .
OF l'noxo u;-.; s
V. Ov VERns . .

I.
II.
Iff.
IV.

27
32
41

GO
7()

VL Or. ADJE CT!Vf;s A:'\f>
v IT. OF PREPOSITIO:'\S
YJ IT. OF Cox.1uxc noN;;

IX.

Ann:n11;;.

11 8

141
15 2
15()

i\ll SCE LLANEOU B •

BOOK II.
WORDS TO CHOOSE

I. A \VoRJmiG

II.

VO CABULARY

BOOKISH OR LIVING

'VORDS

.

171
173

....._..,.

_____

.....

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----

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS

Vlll

rAGE

CJJAl'.

HI. S1101tT OR LON« W 01ms .

1 7-1

IV. FonEtGN \\'onu s A:su 1'111tA sEs

181
187

V. GF.NERAL OR Sr1·: c1FIC \ ·V on o s .
VI. L1nmAL on F1G u 1tATIVE \\' oHDti

VII.

ix

l'm.:-;c11'LES OF CuorcE

1!)2

197

BOOK II.
SENTENCES TO CHOOSE
CllA.P.

I. Loxo OR
l f.
I I I.

PAGE

285
29G
302

S1101n SENTENCES

l'EHJODIC OH LOO SE SENTEXCES
l'RIXCJPLES OF CHOI CE

P AH,T II.
PART III.
SENTENCES

PARAGHAPHS

BOOK I.

I.
1!.

SENTENCES GOOD AND llAD

IH.

201
203
Connv.cT AND TN cOH RE CT S1rnn;NCES
212
III. CLEA!ll:\ESS.
212
Section I. Importance of Clcarn es;; .
"
II. Clearness as AITected by Cboice of \Vords 213
" III. Clearness as AIIcctctl by Number of ·words 221
225
"
IV. Clearness as AIIccted by Order

I.
II.

IV.

Foncir,

"
"
"

l. Importance of Force
l L Force as AIIcctctl by Choice of vVorus
JTT. Force as AJTectcd by Number of \Vords
lV. Force :i.s Affected hy Order .

II. Earn as Affected Ly Choice of W onls
JU. Ease as Affected Ly Number of Word s
IV. Ease as AJTcctctl by Order
I. Importance of Unity
II. Unity in Point of Form
III. Unity in Point of Substance .

270
270
270
275

I. Importan ce of Ea rn

UNITY

Section

231
231
282
238
241
253
253
254
262
2G4

EA SE .

Section

VI.

Gooo

SENTENCJ(S IX A l'AHJ\GllAP!l
PAHAGHAPH S nY T11EM SE Lv"s

PAIUGRAPil
.
AXD rn SuccEss10N

305
SOG
313

CHARACTEHISTICR OF A Goon SENTEN CJ>

Section

v.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A

INDEX,

327

INTRODUCTION
\ ..

Evm~y English-speaking person should know th e general
terms anu the leadi11g facts of English grammar.

I.
WORDS

The Perts of Speech. - A child who is beginning to talk
does not say "I wa nt my mamma; " " I like to h ear tha t
dog bark;" "The monkey-man has come with his organ."
H e merely says "mamrna," "bow-wow," "monkey -man."
The single word h e uses call s attention to the person 01·
thing th at h e is thinking of, but it does not express a complete thought. To say anything definite which is not a
command or an entreaty, two words, at least, are needed .
.When I say "Hero barks,'' I mean that what barks is
called "Hero,'' and that what "Hero" does is to "bark."
H ens c;ickle.
Snow fe ll.

Chan ticleer cro ws.
Truth prcniil s.

We see at a glance that the first word in each of these
examples differs in kind from the second word . The first
names somethin g ; the second asserts something about the
thing named. Words which na me things are called NouNs;
words which assert or declare somethiug about the things
named are called Vim.Bs.
1

PARAGRAPHS
Chapter I.

CHARACTERISTI CS OF A GOOD PARAGRAPH
SENTENCES h ave thus far been mainly considered as if
each stood by itself. Thr~y have sti ll to be considered in
the context, - that is, in their relations to one a nother, and
in their relations to paragrapl1 s, the larger wholes of which
they form parts.
As tho ideal sentence is that in which well-chosen words
are so arranged that they co nstitute an effec tive whole, so tho
ideal paragraph is that in which well-constrncted sentences
are so arranged that t hey co nstitute an effecti vc whole.
The ideal paragraph, like the ideal sentence, has Jive
merits: 1. It fulfils the requirements of good use : it lias
CORRECTNESS.
2. It is easy to understand: it has CLEAnNESR.
3. It is so framed as to produce a strong impression on
the reader: it has FoncE.
4. It is so framed as to be agreeable to the ear: it l1 as EASE.
5. It deals with but oue subj ect, and treats it from bnt
one point of view : it has UN I.TY.
In a paragraph which possesses th ese merits, each sent ence is as closely connectell with every other as th e natu re
of language permits, and all the se ntences t::tken t ogether
are practically one in form and in substa11co.
vVe h ave, then, to consider (1) how t o arrange and connect sentences in a paragraph; and (2) what a par:i,graph
is, in itself, and in its relations with other paragraphs.

30G

SENTENCES IN A PARAGHAI'Il

l 'AR,\ GilAPIJS

307

By beginning the second sentence with " In that spot,"
we pnt those wo rds first which arc most closely co nncctccl
with th e first sentence.

Chapter II.
.i

S lm TE NCES

IN

A l'ARAGRAPH

Fro.m Sentence to Sentence. - A paragraph sh ould be so
c.onst
. r uctctl. as t o .e nable rL reade r to ge t f't·o1n sentence to
se utcnce with as ltttlc fri ction as poss ible.
I.

II.

.lust as I was p11llin g o n my
hoo U' lit e nin e 0'1· loc k lwll rairrr.
" Th e re I " l c ried , " th at scrv~s
w e rig h t for ly in g alicu."

T he nine o'clock Loll r a ng jnst
as 1 wa s pullin g 011 my Loots.
"'The re," r i:;aitl , " tliat serves UlC
rig h t for ly in g in bed I"

Tli c• firs t sc 1L t<' 11ce nn<kr II . is so framed as t
t
•td [ "
Jl'
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0 COllllCC
. , , <i
pu m g on my boots" with the e l
t'
" '1'! 1<·. 1 ,, ·
xc ama 10n

t]1 r.

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.. . . ..

\\,I S l<

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111 t.J1r sn:OIHl S<' ll tc ll Ce

,iJJ.) l':tlJvi]
I.

Thn 11 ~ h

La 11 >n n11 e is the c:ip i·
t :ii ,, f Ii 1l' ( ' : lll I•" ' ,,f \ ':i 111 1, it is a
<in:ill

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1111L }1y lJ 1ic S Ol lll t l

:-:rnall :is it i, . it

tril ·~ 111 :111p1 ';ir ('Yf'll ~m:tll c r.

\\' Ji n 1·n ~s ' ]1 e eve]

•· ~ · " "
of LIJe uel l.

·' • a,ma

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1011

H.
L:111 s:inn c 1,; a rni:tll ph<:c
thrn1 .~ h it. is t he C'apita l of t he
111 " 11 of \': 11 1d
11 i< s111 all a11<!
;·..iii tr ie > lo :1ppc:1r •·1en s111 :11!1·r.
0

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. J:y. e11ili11 g tl11• fir s !; sr n f:t' JJ ('<~ l\·it li. " S
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f,
:l ll <1 1IP11l ~('•,,
Jill ( l ti
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'~'.11111111I '.; t !11 · 'r' « () 1td i1il lt "~1w
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\\ ·., nr 0 n<'1r n n P r n1l nf 11" •
l:ik .. , c n•l :il tl1 e exlrc mc left th e
hill :lj>J11·u:iclt es ncar eEt to t h e
poin t of oliser rnt.ion.
Tn tli nt
spfl t it i8 alm os t 1lark , a ncl no thing can b e di st.in g ni shccl.

ll .

I.

II.
\\'" er(' n r·:ir one v11d .,£Li ll•
1:ike, and at the extr eme left tho
h ill a pproach es neares t t.hc poi nt
of obse rvation. J t is a lmm:t dark
in th at ~ po t anti nothing can be
di stin g uish ed.

ev e ry
]lic hnrcl so n
Before
B efor e
lticlrnrd so n, ever y
Ame r ican arch itect l iad buil t
A mc rican a r chit ec t lnd built
hi s houses of n othin g hut sh a rp
h is h ou ses w it h so m:rny sha rp
a ngles, h a rt! ~t m ig h t lin es, arn l
:tn glcs, h a rd stra ig h t lin es, and
fl::tt su rfac es u nti l our a r chit ec fl at surfaces, t ha t our archilec·
turc t,h reate nerl to become a8 ture thrcate netl t o b ecome ns
fo rm al as t he li feless cryst:ils oE formal as the lifeless crystals of
r o('k cavern s . A ve ry ~oo< I exnm·
r ock c:tvcrn s. OE tl1i s harsh slyle
pie
of t hi 8 h an:h styk is to lie se en
the ll e me nwn.y Gy mnasi11m is a
in th e ll c mc nwa.y Gy mn asium.
ve r y good exampl e .

"Of this h arsh style" points uack to the first sentence.
Other exampl es arc I.

IT.

\ Vhe nc1·cr t,li e sin gin g a t
Vl'' hcncrnr the sin g in g at ch ur ch
chnreh
was unu sually good , the
h ad been unu sually gout!, th e
sin gl' rs were a few uig hts lat er
singe rs were, a few ni gh ts later,
packed i nt o a sle igh in ch a rge
p acked inLn a sleigh in ch a rge
uf so me jull y lnl or, :u1d allow ed Lo
uE su me jull y Lutu r, a nti all owed
use thPi r \'o ic1 ·s wi th Jr. ,:s r<.>st.raint
tn 11«' tl wir 1·oi1·<'s with less r <'th a n u su:1l. Th e p1Pa'<t11 (e,: t. and
Etra.int. than usual. One nf t hof:c
at t he sa111e Li111 e the s;ul1kst
cho ir sk i:.,'.h -ridcs is Lhe pleasa ntml' mor y of my sc hoo l-day s is
est a.ntl at t he rn111c ti llle the f: a<I·
one of tho,:c cl1 o ir ,:leigl1r idcs.
dc;;t memory of my s«h nol-rla.p.
l\ y !hi ' l i111 c a fL•W !l:ik es of
J\ .1 · il1i .' Li 111 u a f ,•.w ll:ik c;: u[
"1H>ll' we re fallin ~. and it 1ya,:
SllPW "·er(' f:d li ll'..!. :1 1111 it W:l~
g r on·ing cold er. Th e tu lor a hrny s
g rowing colde r . Ch illccl by t.hc
call ed th e boys to ord er when we
Jong dr ive, a nd hung ry a s well,
p nsseu th rou gh to wn s; but bei ng
we were so qui e t whe n we entered
hun g ry, and c h ill e<l hy the Jong
South britl ge that we did not h ave
driv e, we were quit e orrl erly wh e n
to be call ed to ord e r by the t utor,
as we u suall y were when going we e ntered So ut hbrid ge .
through a tow n.

.308

l'AUAGRArllS

SENTENCES IN A I'ARAGHAPII

I.
In the wonls of Carl Sc hurz,
Jl enry Clay (lid 11ot try "to trim
hi s sail to th e winu, to truc kle
lo th e opini ons of ol hers, to carry
wat er on both should er s." T o
1hi s c:rn se hi s lack uf success ma y
he cl11 ctl y r.ttrilml cu.

II.
H e nry Clay did not try, to use
th e words o[ Schu rz, "to trim
11is sail to tl1 c wii1<l , tu truekle
to tl1c op in ion of others, to can·r
water on both shoulu e rs. " Jli·~
l:i ck of success may be alt riLu tcd
ch icll y to tl1is ca use.

bc ~1~~ 11ten cc .shoulll grow. out of the sentence which comes
l antl rn to t hat win ch comes af ter· i' t 'l 'Iie iiu ·s t part
I l ,l it
s ion t ook backwa rd, the la.st part forwa rd.
L

r.

•

Ir.

T o an Am e ri ca n who has re::t(l
T o a n Am eri can wh o ha s rend
"Tom B ro wn a t Rtw bv" tli e "Tom .Brow n at Hughy, " th e
r elatiu11 s hctweP n t he "'b~;s an< ! relations betwee n th e boys and
the mas ter s at St. P ete r 's woulcl maste rs at St. l'ctcr 's would be
11
he a surpri se. In th is sc hool the surprise. None of th e old .time
wh ole sc heme of moral a11<l in tel- " a ntago ni sm betwee n tcachl' r
lectual I minin g r ests on the fa ct a nd pupil " exi sts : and on th is
t ha t tl1 e tra tli tional "antago ni sm fac t t he whole sc heme of moral
betwee n teac her a ncl pupil." cl ocs and in tell ectual t rainin g r es ts.
not. <' Xist.
Sonwtimes the mono tony of
Somet im es th e monotom· of
s~ l1 ool li fe was va ri ed by holid ays
sehool li fc was varie(I hy holi;lap,
g1r c n to the boys as a r eward fo r g rn.ntcd to th e boys as a r c w:inl
good hehaYior . Thi s r ewa rd of for good belHwi or. l . had th e
merit came oft e n tu th e elmrch good for tun e to belong to the
choir ( to which I had the goou church choir,_ goo<! fo r tun e I
fort un e to belong) in the shape call it becau se t.hc choir wa~
of sleigh-rides a nd supper s.
ofte n treated to slcig hriu es and
supper s.

In these passarres a
.· · a11ywn. tte n,th ere i s n othin •~in
thcs
l ·
" .. s~ugrn
ec~nl sentence which clearly indicates th::iJ .t J ,, ,
co unectwn with th e first 'f l .
" , i ias a n.)
"Tl .
.
ie word s "In thi s school" and
u s reward of merit" supply th e mi ssin g links.
"

I.

309

II.

There cn.n be li ttle doubt that
Th ere can be little doubt that
the time will come when immi- th e time will come whe n innnigrat ion into thi s coun try mu st be g ration in to thi s cou nt ry mu st be
further r es tri cted ; bu t the re ar c, furth er i·cs triclcd, bn t th ere arc,
in my op inion, t wo strong reasons in 111y opinion, two ~ l.r o n g r easo ns
why th at tim e has not yet co me .
wh y t.hn.t time is not yet come, There is a por- itivc a rg 111nc nt a11<l
a positil' c a nd a ncgatil' c one.
The p o~ i ti ve r eason is, tltat th e a ncgatire argu ment. The im miiin1ni gra nts arc a direct grtin to grrtnfs a rc a. dircel gain to t hi s
th e co u n t l'y, fo r th ey a re neces- cou nt ry ; an d whil e their prese nce
sary to develop its industries is neccss:u y t.o de velop il s ina nd its resources. The ncgati vc d ustr ies a nd its rcsourccs, th ey
r easo n is, that the immi g r:u1 ts a l'C a re not har111fnl to J\ rn e ri crt n innot ha nn [11l to Ame rican inst.it11- stitutions, nor do th ey compe te
ti ons, a nd <lo not compete in juri- injuri ously wi th th e A merican
la borer.
ously with the A meri can blmrcr.

In t hi s passage as originall y wr itten, the seco nd sentence
h as n o apparent connecti on wi th wh:-it precedes or with
what foll ows. T o make t he co nnection of t hough t plain , it
·is necessary to make several cha nges in a rrange ment a nd to
s upply miss in g links.
I.
A few day s ago, g reat con sternation was c reatell in our neighborhood by t he 11nacco11ntable
behav ior of a strnn ge dog, - a
gr ea t shaggy anim al, that made
hi s fir st a ppearan ce one afternoon as it was growin g dark.
F or some tim e h e stood in the
street, howli ng mournfu ll y, and
then walked slow ly and sad ly
round the corn Cl' arnl out of sigh t.
·whil e he was utterin g hi s ghostly
howls, the old wom en who live in

11.
Great co nstc rn:i tinn was causc<l
in our neighborhood a [cw days
ago by tl1 e 1111accotm trtble hcha"ior of a stran ge dog. One
afte rn oon as it wa s grow in g da rk
th e great sh aggy a nim al a ppcrtr c<l ,
stood howlin g rnour n[11ll y m th e
street for some t ime, th en w::d ke(l
slow ly a nd sad ly out of si::r11 t
arounu the corn er.
Direc tl y
rtcr oss the street fr om onr house
is a " Home for Aged 'Vomcn ."
' Vhi le the clog was 11l teri ng his

310

P AHAGRAfiIS

SENTE NCES IN A l'ARAGHAPli

I.

II.

th e "Home fo r Aged 'Vomcn, "
oppo8itc o ur ho11 sc, stood at th e
wind ows waLchin g him.

gh ostly unreasonable h o wl~ tho
old wom e n stooLl a t th e wind ows
watchin g.

In this passage as ori ginally wr itten, every sente nce
stanus n,part from every other. T o rn n,k c th e connection of
thought pbin, it is necessary to chan ge the order of \YOnls
in almost e very lin e and to rcco nstrnct every sentence.
I.

If.

lbil roa<b arc su bj ec t no t only
to a ' '<'ry lo1"c kirnl o f fed eral
supervi sion b ut a lso t o the laws
of the fo rty·four Slat.cs. As the ir
interests arc sec ured th rong lt
leg islation, th ey a rc, of necess ity,
in poli t ics.
l\l cr e assent to p ropositions
sig nifi es ve ry litt le ; for p roposil ions d o not pnt a ma n's heart
i11 t.h c righ t pl :icc . ·wh a t we
wan t is no t ri ght thinkin g, l111 t
right action ; not creeds, but life.
" ' hen dogma is compl etely
withdrawn, every form of r elig ion fall s to the ground. D ogma is th e bone and sine w of
r eli gion .

lbilroads arc of ncc<'ss ity in
Th e ir interests arc
p olitics.
scc nrcd
through
legislati on.
Th ey a rc s ubj cet not only to I\
very l oo~e kind of F ederal s111wr.
vi sion lint a lso to the la ws of th e
41 states.
' Vhat we wan t is righ t action,
n ot ri ght thinking - life, not
creed s. It sig nifi es very lil tle to
assent to propos iLi0ns ; th ey do
not put a man' s !wart in tho
right place.
D ogma is the bone and sin ew
of a ny form of r eli gion. When
it is comple tely withdrawn, crcry
r elig ion fall s to th e ground.

In these passages as ori ginally written, th e serious fault
is that there is no real progress from sentence to se ntence.
In the passages as amended there is an evoluti on of th ought·
both in fact and in appearance, the sentences form a climax.;

Change in Point of View. - A writer should never change
his point of view without good reason.
1

See page 2'19.

I.
Attackin g l\fa ssana next d ay,
'Valker ga in ed the fir st plaza.
\Vhen, h owe ver, h e p crceivc<l lhat
he could not, without g reat loss
of li fe, ge t p ossession of the oth er
plazas by a ssault, he b egan a
rcg uhr and slow approach.

311

II.
The next llay 'Valker attack ed
l\fassana, and g ain ed Lhe fil' st
pl az:t. Bu t t o get p ossession in
a like mann er of th e other plazas
would have n ecess itated gl'cat loss
of li fe . R ecog ni zing tliis, li e beg an a r eg ular an<l slow :LJIJll'Oac h.

In thi s passage as origin all y written, the subject of the
first sentence is "Walke r," of the second " to get possession," etc., and of the third " he," - that is, vv~ilk cr
again. Hy forcin g the reader to cl1 ange hi s point of view
tw ice, this arrange ment impos es unnecessary labor upon
11im.
Other examples are I.
\ Val tcr Camp's story in yesterd ay's " G lobe" gave me a new
a n<l fav orable impress ion of this
great Yale authori ty on foo t-ball.
It was happy in t he bl endin g of
cnterla inm cnt with in struction,
excelle nt in purpose and wi th a n
If it be true
excellent moral.
that a man must h a re in himself th e quali ties h e portrays, it
follows th at the qualitieR of
hon or and uprigh t ness of purpos.e, so ma rk ed in the h ero of
\Val tcr Cam p's stor y, mu st be
in Walter Ca mp. H e is, it is
mani fe st, much more than an
athlete : h e is a m:i.n.

II.
I o btained a ne w a nd fa vorabl e impre ss ion of \ Valter Camp,
t.hc g l'e:it Yale au tl1 oril-.y on football , fr om hi s sto ry in ycsLc l'd :1y's
Globe. The a bility to wril c a
stor y wi th snc h a n excell e n t purp ose, such a good mol'al , s uch a
happy blendin g of e nte rtainme nt
ant! instl'nction , r cciuil'cs in th e
author the possession of the qua li ties h e portrays . Ex prcss ion is
th e cor relative of impression. A
ma n cannot ex press wha t is not
Th c reforc th e r1ua lin him se lf.
itics of honor a nd u pri gh t ncsR of
purpose which wer e so m arked
in the hero of " ' a lter Camp' s
story , mu st be in "'Valtcr Camp
him self.
It is pla in) y cv id e n t
that he is a man, not on ly an
at,hlctc but a man.

i

I1
I

I
I

312

l'AUAGUAl'llS

I.
Landing near San Juan <lei
Sur, they made for two days and
ni ghts forc ed marches, through
a pel ting storm, over wretched
roads. Jn all- including a small
troop of native soldiers - th ey
numbered one hundred and
sixty-five men.
This little force marched on
Rivas, whi ch was held by six
hundred men, made a brave
charge, and drove the Serviles
through the narrnw streets of
the town to the P laza.

llY THEMSELVES A ND IN SUCCESSION

313

II.
L anding near San Juan de!
Sur they made for two days anti
nigh ts fo rced marches lhrnugh
a pelting sto rm orcr wretched
road s. vVith them hurried a s111all
troop of native soldiers making
in all a forc e of 165 men. Wai ting their attack in Rivas were
60 0 men.
The Ameri cans cha rged bra\'Cly and drnve the Ser viles throur;h
the narrow streets of the town to
the Plaza.

These passages as originally written show the serious dis·
advantages of changing the point of view.
Jlfalw the transition FIWJ\I SENT ENCE TO SENTENCE as pi.am
as poss1Ue.
B eware of changi11 g the roINT OF VIEW.

Chapter III.
PARAGRAPHS llY THEJ\ISELVES AND J N SUCCESSION

What a Paragraph Should Contain. - One way of showin g
what a paragraph is, is to show what it is not.
Mr Darcy was invited by Ur Bingley to make l1im a visit at his
place.
It happened that, early one morning, E li zalicth Benn et had taken
a walk, anti on her way had visited th e l\iugleys.
H erc she met l\lr Darcy, and at fir st sight took a di slike to him.
Sbc took cold on accou nt of her walk aud was uot ab le to go home
for two <lays; so her sister came a nd tonk care of her.
The sister of Bingley wanted to marry l\rr llarcy on account of
his money, although she could not con sid er herself poor.
It seems tlrnt ]\fr Darcy was strnck at th e fir st sigh t Ly the handsome face of E li zaLeth a nd Mr Bingley also was not slow to acknowledge that he li kc<l Jan e, Eli zalict.h•s siste r.
Soon after the malady was c11rcd , the sis ters rcLurn erl home.
In a few days l\Ir Dennet invited J\lr Darl'y a 11 ~l Bingly to a
dinn er.
Herc ;ilrn ]\fr Darcy showc<l a desire for Elizal>ctl1 s company.
At t.his time t.hcrc was quatrcd at Longbourn a reg iment.
This was a very pleasing add ition to the pleasu res of the Dennet's,
for th ere was always some entertainiment going on, in which they
ge nerally took part.
A Mr ' Yiekbam m~ulu his appearan ce here in orde r to joi n the
regiment.
H e was very handsome, and could kee p 11p a li vely conversation so
that he was lik e<! by everyone, es peciall y the Den nets.
One driy Mr Darcy with ]\fr Bingley were riding thr ou~h Longbonrn when th ey met the Denncts who were with l\Ir \ Vickham .
As soon n.s \ Vickham sriw Darcy he turn ed colour and passed on.
Elizabeth noticed this and related it to her sister and they two had a
great amount of gos, ip ove r th e e1·ent.
14

PARAGRAPHS

BY THEMSELVES AND IN SUCCESSION

The next lime E lizabeth met \Yickham sh e enquirc<l of him when
he aml lllr D a rcy ha<l met before.
lle told her a story that threw a Llark li ght on Mr Darcy a nd
mrulc him self 011t as a very wron ged man.
'J'his was believed by all who heard of it until! \Vi ckbam eloped
with L ydia Benn et leaving great many <lebts behin<l him.
These l\.Ir Darcy paid an d fo und out where the eloped couple were
stay in g, and reported his find to l\.Ir Dennet's brother.
Thi s transaction was fou nd out by Elizabeth, wh o immed iately had
to admit to her sister that she liked l\lr Darcy more than ever.
This soon grew in to love which fin ally resul tc1l in her marraigc.I

passed on the other side of the street. "Then yo u arc blameless,' '
said the Ca<li, a nd the girl wa s se nt fo r . " I atlmit,'' said she, " that
I am pretty, but that's not my faul t; a nd if my blue t11ni c at tracted
the mason's attent ion, the <lyc r, not 1, is r cspo11 sil>le." " That 's gootl
logic,'' s:tid t he jutlge , " let t he dye r be calle d ." T he dyer ca me an<I
p leatled g uil ty. "Take the wrcte h," saitl the Carli , tu the thief," a ntl
hang him fr om liis ow n tl oor-post." The peo ple ap pl a udetl thi s wi se
sentence :rnd hurri ed ofI to carry it out. Soo n Ll1 L'Y retur11 cLI and
r e ported t hat the dyer was too tall to be hun g fro11 1 hi s door-post.
"Fintl a short tly er aml ha ng him in steatl " sai1l the Catli, with a
ya.v i1 ; " let j ustiec be cl one though th e hcaYe ns fall."

It is h a,rcl to say which is worse, - the fa ult exempl ifi ed
in this essay, that of makin g nea,rly every se utenco "a
pa,ragraph by itself, so that a page, except for its un tidiucss,
mi ght be taken from a pr imer," 1 or th e fault of omrnming a
wh ole essay into a single paragraph, a,s is done in tho essay
which follows.

\ iVell told as this famikir story is, it lu:_;es much by bein g
put into a single p aragraph. Muc 11 of it is dialogue, aml
clearness requires that each speech of each speaker in a rlialogne shoulcl make a se pa rate paragraph. In t he absence
of this means of rapidly co nnectin g each s peech with the
speaker, a reader's eye allll mind arc soon tirecl by the
acldit io1ial effort unnecessar ily imposed upon him. Some
space is sa,vecl, but more time is lost.

314

T he oriental method of adm inisterin g justice, in day s go ne by, is
neatly tr aves tied in ri. li ttl e stor y of whieh I have r ecently seen
scYer al versions. As a bu rglar was t ryi ng to break in lo th e house
of a citize n of Ca ir o, t.h c fram e-work of the scco ml story wimlow to
whi ch he clun g, gave way arnl he rell to the street, breakin g a leg.
L impin g before the Ca<li, he indi gnantly dcmantl e<I that th e own er
of the house be punished. "Yon shall have justice," saitl th e j11di;r.
The owner br ing summ onetl clai111 c1l that tl1 e nceitl ent was due to th e
poor wood-work an<l that th e car pente r no t he w:ts to blame. "That
so und s r easonable," said th e Ca.J i, " let !he carpente r be called."
Th e carpenter ad mittctl that th e wi111low was defect i,·e "but how
co ulLl I <lo any better," said he, "when tl1 c maso n-work was out of
plumb?" "To be sure," r cpliccl the j11cl gc am! he sent fo r tho
mason. The maso n co11ld not deny that the co ping was crookc11.
Ile ex pbinetl th at while he was placing it in position , hi s atte nti on
was tli stractetl from hi s work by a pretty girl, in a blue tuni c, who
1 T hi s co mposition, whi ch was wr itten in th e examination room by n
candidate for admi ssion to llananl College, is copied fr om a paper on
"The Ilar v::ud Adm ission Examination in English " by Professor L. ll.
R BRIGGS (The Academy : Syracuse, September, 1888).

315

l J.

J.

I t is not th e intcll ei:tu:tl pa rt
1t is not t.be intell ectual par t
of men, th ey urge, t hat cl irec ts of men, they urge, tha t directs
the co urse of their li ves. I t is the course of their li ves. It is
not their opinions but their their charactr r , not their op incharacter.I
ions. 1 B ut how wid e of the mar k
H ow wide of th e mark thi s thi s pop11hr prepossession is.
popular prepossession is ! T o One' s opinions very co mmonly
ascertain a man's opi nions on grow out of 01rn 's character, and
certain subj ects is often one of it is ofte n one of the bes t mod es
the be.s t modes of detec tin g hi s . of detecting the cha ra cter to asclrn.ractcr; for, usually, opinions ccrlain, on certain subj ec ts, the
opi nions.
grow out of character.

The thong ht in this passage consists of t wo parts, (1) the statement or"a proposition, and (2) the answer to it.
I

See page 240.

31G

PARAGRAP HS
IlY THEMSELVES AND IN SUCCESSION

Obviously en.ch pa.rt shoulcl be p ut into a sepn.mtc pn.rag raph, as it woukl be if the t wo sicles of t he argument were
p resented in tli e fo rm of a dialog ue.
l.
Blankborough is a small count ry vill age of Massachu se tts,
about thir ty mi les fr om Boston.
I t con sisl s of little more th:rn a
few scatter ed wooden houses,
ow ned by N e w E ngla nd fa rm er s ;
but h:ivin g a trul y A mer ic:in idea
of its ow n ill1por tan co, it has
selectmen, co r o n e r ~ , a nd nota ryp ublics e nough fur a tow n three
ti mes its size.
In the mi ddle of th e vi ll age,
.on a li ttle ri se of bnd, sta nds a
br ick tow n-lrnll , alm ost large
enough to conta in all the citizens' houses toge ther. Oppos ite
thi s enorm ou s stru ct ure r ises a
large sold iers' monument, on
which are six na mes an d a long
de<li cation. N car by stand s t he
in c,·itablc "meetin g-house," with
its whi te steeple tow erin g proudly over a modest li ttle E piscopal
church by its sid e.

] I.
Bla nkborough is a litt le country village of nfas s a c hu se t t~,
about thirty miles from Boston .
It is li ttle more tha n a ~o ll cc t i o n
of scattered wooden houses,
ow ned by typical N cw E nglatH l
fa rmer s ; bu t h :iving a t ru ly
A merica n idea of its own ill1 portan cc it provides sclcc tmr n, coroner s, a nd notary publi cs enough
fo r a tow n three t im es its si ze.
A br ick town-h all , alm ost la rge
enough to contain all the cit izens'
h ouses, stands on a li ttle ri se of
land in the miLhllc of the vi ll agr,
an<l is fronted by a large soldiers'
monu ment on whi ch a rc six
n ames and a long dedica ti on.
N ear hy stand s th e inevitable
"mccting-l1 ousc," the wl1i tc slc()pl c of whi ch tow e rs proudl y over
a modest li ttle Ep isco pal church
by i ts side.

Tl 11· ~~··111 ' r :1 l 1l <· c:rri pt io11 o f T~ l :111 ld H1 ri ; 11 g li propr rl y fo rm s
one paragraph; t he de tailed accoun t of t he buildiugs iu the
centre of the village, another.
I.
H enry Clay was born A pril
12, 1777, in H anover Coun ty,
V irgini a. H is fam ily bi<I no
clai m to illustrious pedi gree, but

IL
H enry Clay was born on April
12th, 1777, in H a nover Conn1.1·,
Vi rginia. Hi s family Yrns d i ~ tin ­
g ui shcd for sterling worth , vir tur ,

IL

I.
was di stiu guished fo r in teg ri ty,
virtue, a nd ste rlin g wortl1 .1 l nlicr itin g few wor ldl y adv a ntages,
be alone, li ke N apoleon , was " Lhc
a rchitect of hi s for tune."
Hi s father, J oirn Cb y, was a
·Ba ptist clergy ma n, who w as remarkab le, etc.

317

a ntl inl eg ri ty; but laid no claim
t.o illu striou s peJi g rcc. 1 Hy bir th
he r eceil' cd few world ly adva ntages, a nd lik e Na polcon "he
alone was t he architect of hi s
for tun e." lli s fat her, J oh n Clay,
was a Bapt ist clergy ma n, who
was r ema rkable e tc.

A statem ent of the general facts relating to Clay's birth ,
::w ccstry, :mu circumstances belongs in one pn.ragra ph; a
detailed acco un t of his fat her's ca reer in a nothe r.
A fu r t her advau tagc of t he division of thi s passage into
t wo parag rn.phs is that it puts t he emphat ic wo rds " n. rchit ect of h is fo rtune " in a pro minent position. \ Vhat li as
already been said about t he acl vantn.ge of e11 d i11 g a sentence
with a strong expression 2 applies, wit h t cnfo1d fo rce, to t he
ending of a paragrnph . \ Vords so pheecl seem to stancl
ont from the page.
JI.
I.
For my G. theme, l hal'e writt en a stor y from real life, in wh ic h
I h ave tried, so far a s possible, to
su p press the ideal, in order to
streng the n the r eal.
Jn 111y hero I h ave uepictc1l not
a rr' n1ark ahh· lnvahl<> cha rart<' r ,
but a sim ple every-day ve teran of
the poorer cb ss wi th no s t ro n ~
vi rtues to enlist the r c:idcr 's
~ y m pathi c s . In Mary, the other
pr in cipal ch ar acter , I have tr ied
to r eprese nt a thri fty, loveless,
outspoken housewife, wi th a
t ru thful but sha rp tong nc, whi ch
1

Sec page 249.

F or my G. the me I h ave '1'ri tten a story taken from r eal life.
l have t ri c1l so far as possibl e to
suppre;;s tl1 c ideal for the sak e of
str engthenin g the r eali sm of it.
J\ly hero I h :tve dc pieted as a
not r <:m:trkahh · lovable> " h aractcr hnt :i si111 pie e ve ryday veteran oE th e poorer class;
h as
no strong vir tues to enlist t he
r eader's sympathi es. Mary, the
other princ ip:i.1 cl1 aractc r, is a
th rift y, loveless outs poke n h onccwifc. I t is th e cuttin g t rn lh nf
her r ema rks t ha t e ventu all y

he

2

Sec page 243.

BY TIIEMSELVES AND IN SUCCESSION

318

l'AHAGHAPllS

I.

I.
eventually driYe ~ the oil! man lo
hi s death.
·1n the fir st part o[ t he t hcni e
I ha Ye " stood in with" t he old
man, :u:s11 min g acq naint·anee with
hi ,; fee lin gs allll t houghts. 1n
th u S<'co1ul part., taki 11g t he landlady' s point of view, l ha\'C pu t
the old man a t a d istance, beyontl the circle of sy111pathy, my
object lieing, of cou rse, lo r eprese nt the old ma 11's lo11cli11 ess
in the world , - a loneliness which
is emphasized by the somewhat
id eal speech at th e cnu of Part I.
1I', with all thi s a rra.y uf r ealism, I sueccccl in winnin g my
r eader's sy mpathy a nd holtl in(T
hi s attc nti o1i, l shall consid er m;
sl ory s11cecssfnl.

JI.
driv e t he old vete ra n to hi ~
death. Throu gh t he fir st parL
the writer has "stood in with" t he
olcl ma n, ass umed ac1 p1 ai ntan ce
with hi s fee lin gs and thought s.
1n t l.1c ~eco n d, he takes the poi nt
o[ n e w o[ t he landla<ly pnttin"
t he old man at a <li stancc, out of
the ei rele o[ sympathy. This is,
of co urse, to prese nt th e old
ma n's lonelin ess in the ,rnrld.
The somewhat it.lea! speech aL
the c n<l of l'art I . has its rairn n
d_'ctrc in the fact that it e mph asizes an d stre ngt hens thi s loneliness . J f with all t hi s array of
r calis111 I sueccetl in n-ctt inr• nir
r eader's sy mpath y a r~tl holtl in;,
hi s attention, I shall co nsitl e7.
my story successful.

. In this passage as originnJl y written, the train of th ought
~~ ; 10 t easy t.o foll ow; . hut the difH culty cli sn.ppcars wlr en

1' . passage

is broken rnto fo ur pn.r:igraphs. The first of
fou r speaks of t he gener::iJ p1::m of t he story; th e SPetl , of t he chn.rn.etcrs represented . the t hi1·cl of tl " tl '
· t f ·
·
.
'
,
k n.u 1or s
o view
th e hrst and in the second pn.rt · and t he
onrt h, of th e prohn.hility of hi s success.
'

~lne

rOlll

lll
T.

T he "Fable for Cri tics " is one
of the p or m ~ of t ho Jato l\ Tr.
L owell with whi eh the public is
most familiar . In cas \' ver se
whi
1 ch fl ows on, nm-er sta~n
.-, atin n-,J ,,
0 isl:ru ctccl by no rh r me howe,·cr
<lifTi cult., it gin's hr icf, willy cri-

II.
Th e Fable for Cri tics is one of
t.he porms of t.he ln.tc J\ lr. L owell
with whi ch the publi c is m o~t
familiar.
In easy verse 'vhi ch
fl ows on, never lrnltin g, halk cil
hy no rh y me h owever diffi cult it
g ives bl'icf, witty critiques 'of

319

II.

poets then !l otcworthy .
Th e
t iqucs of poets the n noteworthy.
passages which in terest us the
The passages which relate to
most nowa<l ays arc th ose which
E mer son, \V hit tier, H awthorn e,
r elate to Emerson, \\' bi ttie r,
Lon gfellow, H olmes, and L owe ll
ll:twthorn c, L ongfe llow, I Loi mes,
hin1 scH in te res t us most no waanc.l Lowell him scH, a ut hors wl1osc
days ; fo r the lustr e of these
lustre is as bright now as eve r ;
a uthors is as bright now as crcr.
but t here a r c oth er writer s
Othe rs who are decmc1l worth y
deemed worth y uE a pl ace iu thi s
of a pl:tcc in this catalogue ar c,
cat.alug He who a rc hanlly more
tu the prese nt. ~c n crntion, ha rdl y
t han names to t.h e presm1t gl'.nCmo re t.han n;uncs .
or th ese last one o[ the best rati ou . Of these one o[ th e bes t
examples is Jam es :Fenimore
e xampl es is ,James Fenimore
Cooper. I n hi m we l1:1ve a nov- Cooper.
ll ere we haYe a noveli st of th e
elist of the oh! school, o ne who
old school, one who rap i11l y atr a pidl y attai ned popularit y both
t ained popul:tri ty hoth he re an d
her e a nd ttbroad, wo n the fl atteral!l'o:ul, " ·on th e fhtt.tcring titl e
in g t itle of " The A me rican
of "The Ameri can Scott" an d
Scott," and was cou nted the best
was consicl erc1 \ the bes t novelist
novelist th at up to hi s time
America h ad yet pro1lucct.1 , b ut
America h ad prodH cccl, lm t '" ho
wh o dared in the heigh t o[ hi s
wa.s, when he died , one o[ the most
pop11bri ty to c riticise hi s nativ e
cordiall y ha.tc1l mr n in th e co un Jami in some r es pects a nd di c1l
try, becau se, in t111~ hl' i~h t of hi s
one of th e most co rdially h a ted
popul:u·ity, he dared to cri ticise
men in t.hc cou ntry.
hi s nati ve l:tnd.

In this }Jassn.ge n.s origina1ly written, the sentence, "0£
these one of the b est examples is Jn.mes F enimore Cooper,"
com es at th e encl of a pn.rag rn.ph which spen.ks of other
American authors; but it evidently belongs at th e beginnin g of the next paragraph, which deals with Cooper himself.
From Paragraph t o Paragraph. - A good writer h elps his
reader t o get from paragraph to pn.rri.grn.ph, n.s from sent ence to sentence, with as little friction as possible.

320

PARAGRAPHS

II.
Neg ro<>s " ·ere in t rollu ced int o
a ll t he othe r co lon ics 50011 after
their fo ttn <l:LI iun, at the des ire
of, 1 or at least with the co nsent
of 1 the co loni sts.
'\Tl
,. ia t was the cau se of this
· I gro wth of sb l'Cry ?
rnp tL

'l'h e first p:iragraph as origim ll y \rri ttcn end s with a
r eference t~ th e circum stances a tte11ding the introdu ctio;1
of n ~grocs rn to t he coloni es ; lmt it is t he fact of i11 trod.uct10n, n o ~ th ese circum stances, which leads to the
t wn asked rn the succeell1'11 0cr paragraph.
qucsI.

II.

Ilis style was brig ht, sp nrklin "',
nm! in cisi\·e, a111l h is writin 0•~s
were nlw ays wholeso ui e.
Tl.ti s las t quali ty wa s do 11 1Jtl, •ss
d.11c in p ar t to hi s ge nuin e p a.,s1on for outd oo r li fe i for the
eyes of a ma n who lo\·es to fa ce
the opennc~s of sea and sky mu st
be tolc rnl1ly c lear.

Ilis sty le was b righ t sparklin"'
and in cisive, a nd hi s writin 0.,.~
alw nys whol e~o me.
D onbtl css hi s ge nuin e pa~ s ion
f~r 0111.tloor li fe l1 elp cd to gi\·e
lum t lu s la st fjlialil y. A ma n's
eyes mu st I.Jc tolera l.Jly clea r if h e
can love to face tl1 c openn ess of
sea and sky.

In thi.s l~~ssage as ori g in :illy wri tten, th e \\·ord s "this
las t q11::tl1ty, wJ11 ch point back to the fi. t
.
1
at the encl of th fi . t
.
u s pawgrap i , st[tntl
e ll S se ntence of th e seconLl
In the
pass:ige as a1netH1 cd, these words are so 1 l .
. .
p accL as to make
the co nnectio11 p l·<Lill
I.

IT.

These g ri cvnn ces cannot he
reformed 1Jy rnnp
· I e p ron.chin "'
0
and protesting agai nst thcm
such a s is inllnl"'cd
in el'cry d'«J'.'
0
1

Th ere can be no r eform b\•
s im~l c preaching an ll protest in g
agnmst th ese "'ricva nce• as is
done C\·ery d~" 11,0t ~;II~ b;·

Sec p age 2G5.

~

-

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

...

BY TllE.MSELVES A...~ D lN SUCCESSION

I.
At th e des ire of tl1 c coloni sf.s,
or, at least, wi th t heir . co nsen t,
negrocs were introd 11ccd into a ll
th e other colonies soo n afte r their
foundat ion.
What was th e cause of 'I
·
• us
r ap id 0"rowth of sl'1Vc1·y?
' '

...

_

..

.

,_ __

321

IL

I.
not 01Jly by ne wsp:1pers a nd ministers but a lso by p olit ieia ns when
they arc canrnssi ng for th eir
party, and promisin g wh at th ey
neve r inte nd lo perform . ScJ111c
more cfkctual rem edy mu st be
resorted lo.
A ction is necessary, - ac tion
IJy the sch olar, wh ose advantages
over th e ig norant man arc too
ol.Jvious to !Jc cn nmc ratcd. llc
mu st oppose those who by clever
ma nage men t and bribery arc asce ndin g, step hy step, to hi gh
puulic oflicc, wh ere their inflne ncc will I.Jc exe rcised for evi l.

newsp apers ancl mini sters I.Jut
al so by politici:1ns wlH' n they a rc
canvassin g for th eir pnrt.y a nd
promising what they ne ver int e nd
t o perfo rm . Some 111orc e IT ectunl
r emedy must Le r esorted to.
The advantages wh ich a sc hol;tr
h as o\·e1· a n ig nora nt man arc
too obvious to I.Jc enum er ated ;
a nd so lie mn st I.Jc the one to
insti tute a r eform , not by simpl e
preaching but by action ; he must
oppose those who by cle \'Cr mana gement a.nil bril,cry a.re a sccn1lin g, step hy slc p , to l1i gh pnhli c
offi ce wh ere the ir influe nce wi ll
be exerc ised for ev il.

'l'h is pass:igc, ori gi11 ally written as a si11 g1c p:iragraph ,
naturally di vi des itself in to t wo, - the first settin g fort h th e
uselessness of talk, the second the importance of action.
By brin gin g "these grieva.nces" to the beginnin g of the
fir st para.gra.ph, we sh ow its connecti on with th e precedin g
paragraph (n ot quoted). Dy beginnin g t he second paragraph with "action," we indicate the suLj ect of thi s paragraph, [tnd at t he same t ime suggest an antithesis 1 wit h the
"preaching and protesting" spoken of in the fi rst.
II.

I.
P sych ology tells us that when
nil I.Jut 011e of the aYcnucs t o the
brnin - h earin g, sight, etc. h ave been cut off, a n icl cn conveyed by th e one r emainin g ~w e­
n ue is in ten se.
This fact expla ins why one
1

14*

l'sych ology tell s us th at when
a ll th e avenues to t11c IJrain, hearitl"' , sigh t, e tc., h ave wi th
one exception been cut oIT, any
id ea co nveyed by the one r emain·
in g a \·cnue i ~ very inten se. I
sup pose, then, that tl1is fact ex-

Sec page 248.

BY THEMSEL YES AND IN SUCCESSION

322

323

PAHAGRAPHS

J.
can read more und erstand ingly
late at night; fo r then there is
nothing, or next to nothing, to
attract eye or c:ir. Then not
only the unclcrstandin g but also
th e inmgination is at its strono-cst. Then pictures mad e by tl7c
memory a rc as stron;; as those of
reality, and ped 1rips stronger ; for
they ill ea!izc the rc:il. Often,
too, they arc as pleasant as r eal
pictures would be.
For those who cn.nn ot fo rm
these mcntril pictures I am heartily sorry. If, as is sometimes said,
the abili ty to form th em fad es as
ed ucation ad van ccs, I pray never
to be fully educated.

II.
plains why one can read more
understandingly, late at night ;
for the sound s ham all go ne, nnJ
there is no new sigh t to nttrnct
the eyes. Surely, then one c:m
best "fade away into th e fore st
di m." The imagination is as
strong as tl ie r eali ty wonl<l be.
P erhap s !t is stronger; for with
most of us a memory picture is
an idealistic picture. Jt is oft en
as pleasant; and I am sorry fo r
those who cannot form tl 1oso
men tal pictures. The ab ilit y to
do so fades, they say, as education adrnnces. Then let mo
never be full y educated.

Thi s passage . as originally written puts into a singlo
paragraph what is much more clearly expressed in three _
th~ first statin g what "psychology tells us," the sec~ud
us111g what "psychology t ells us" to explain ce rtain common phenomena, t he t hird making a personal applicati on
of what has been said in the second.
'.'This fact" at the beginning of the second paragraph
pomts back to th e first; "For those who cannot for m these
m~ntal pictures" at the beginnin g of the third para graph
pomts back to the second.
J.
F inall y, if eccentricity has
always, and in every com munity,
been a matter of reproach, it is
not proper to say that any parti cular society which is intolerant
of ecce ntricity is not in a whole-

II.
F inally, if eccentrici ty has
always, and in e1·ery community, bee n a matter of reproach,
it is not proper to say that any
particul ar society is not in n
wholesome state 1.iecausc intole-

I.
some state ; for every quality is
r elative, and a society cannot be
altogether wh olesome or the r everse any more than it can be
wholly civili zctl or wh oll y l.iarbarous. Mill's statement, then,
is not true.
E ven if true, was the statement
worth makin g? 'l'V 011\d it not be
much better if the leadin g minds
of the cb y (antl J\Jill certainly
was one of them) would cease
dcchiming again st the essential
qu ali ties of society, and would
condescend. to the h111111.ilc office
of correcting particular abuses? 1

II.
rant of eccentricity; for every
quality is relative, a nd all societies ca n be neither wholesome
nor the opposi t~ any more than
they crin all be ci\'ilizccl or rill
bar barous; hence l\lill's statement is not tru e.
I wou ld adtl here, as a li ttle
moral, that it wou ld. be much
better if the leadi ng mind s of
the day (a111l 1\Jill ce rtainly was
one of thc111) would condescend
to the humble sta.tion of correcting par ticul ar ahn sl'S, and cease
declai min g a.gnin st. the esse ntial
<1u:tl ities oi socicty. 1

In this passage as originally written, th ere is nothing to
connect the second paragraph with the first. In the passage as revised, the missin g link is supplied.

n.

I.

For wh rit do we value N ewFor what do we valne Newman?
\ Vlrn t wris hi ~ grcn.t service
mn.n? vVh at was his great service to those of us who have no to those of us who ha l'e no part
part or lot in th e faith of his com- or lot in the fa ith of hi s own
munion? \ Vhat was his contri- communion? \ Vhat was his conbu tion to the stock of ideas whi ch tribution to th e stock of ideas
is the common possession of the which is the co mmon posrn,sion
world? Is there nothin ;; beyond of the world ? I s there nothin g
an exalted ch aracter am! a bcan- 1.icyoml an cxril tccl elmrrictcr arn l
tiEul life for which Newmrin is a beautifu l life for whi ch Newrnan is perm anently memorable?
perm a nently memorable?
These questions not a few of Not a few of his :idmirers, I susN ewm an's admirers woulcl , I sns- pect, wonlcl he somewhat hard
pect, find it somewhat difficult to put to it to an swer.
i

Sec page 249.

324

PARAGRAPIJS

IlY Tf!EM:SELVES AND IN SUCCESSION

This passage n:i.turally divides itself in to two paragraphs, - one askin g certain questions, the other cl we lling
upou t he difficulty of a nswering t hem.
The words "These questions," at the begin ning of th1:
second paragraph point back to the first paragraph. They
supply the missing link betweeu wl1 a t precedes and what
follows.

I.

II.

H efc rence is ofte n ma<lc to
People oft e n r efe r to " th e
"the child 's in1 :1gin atio n," as if all
ch ild's imagi nat ion " as if all
childre n were Crj11 aily g ifted wilh
children were g iitctl wi th the
the p ower of personify i11g obj ects
same g reat powe rs of p erso nifiand of clia11g i11g in fa ncy t heir
cation of ohjccts a nd fa ncied
ow n perno11ali ty. This supposichanges of pel'So na li ty. Thi s is
tion is a ltogether too sweepin g ;
altogether too s we('pin g; 111a11y
for many children 11avc so little ch iltl rcu ha ,·e so li ttle that th ey
imagin ation that they look at
look at eve rythin g from a see,·erything from a se verely pracverely practical point of view,
ti cal point of vie w, a nd many
a nd man y others wlr o join in
others who join in ga mes in whi ch
ga mes wher e im ng in a.tion plays
imagi nation plays a g reat part do
a g reat pa.rt, do so almost enso al mo~t ent irely in im ita tion of
t irely in imitation of their playth eir play m ate~.
mates.
Th e re are children, however,
1u some cl1il<lrcn tl1 e des ire to
wh o do not imitate oth e r~, but who
"pla.y th<'y are somebody else"
have illla.gin ation, the real actor's
begins at a very ea.rly age. It is
in stin ct, - as whe n a boy says to
not merely imitation but the r ea l
hi s brother," Play you're a hor se,
actor' s in stinct wh e n a boy sa.ys
a nd I 'II tlrivc you." ' Vitl1 some,
to hi s brothe r " Play you 're a
this !les irc to play they a.re
horse and I 'II dri ve you."
somethin g or somebody else begi ns a t a very early age.

In th is passage as origin ally written, the connection Lr.
tween t he second paragraph and the first is far from plain.
By r e-arra nging the second paragraph, and by in serting
"however,'' we s how wl1 at the connection really is.

Make every paragraph a UN I T .
ll1u1ce the transition FlWM l'Al~AGHAP II
plain as poss'ible.

325

TO l'AltA GnA PII

as

\Ve have seen th at a paragraph is somethin g more t han a
sentence and something less than an essay ; and tlmt it is
an importan t means of markin g the natural divis ions of
a com position, and th us making it easier fo r a reader to
understand the composition as a whole. \ Ve h ave see n
th at in an ideal paragrap h t he sentences fit into one :i.notl1 er
as closely as the nature of langm1ge permits, and that taken
t ogether tbey constitute a whole. \ Ve h ave seen, too, tliat
an ideal paragraph beg in s with t he word or words t hat ~re
mos t closely connected with what precedes, and ends w~tlt
the word or words that are most closely connected with
what follow s.
If a paragraph complies with these funcbment:i.l requirements it matters not whether it contain one sentence or
twent~. In prLragraphs, as in sentences, differenc~s in s ubject matter and in mann er of presentation 1.10cessanly res ult
in differences of form; in paragraphs as m se ntences, the
principle of unity faithfully appli ed leads to variety.
To write a sin gle sentence in \rl1i ch proper words shall
be in proper places is no sli ght t ask; to write a sin gle paragraph that shall be good at all points is far fron: e~sy: but
to write a succession of paragraphs that shall fulhl all th ~
cond ition s of excellence is what few students of th e a rt of
composition can expect to accomplish .. It is_onl y ~y ?onst:i.nt pr:i.ctice under intelligent a nd st1mnl atrn g cr1t1c 1sm,
and by constant study of the best work of t he bes t a uthors,
that even moderate s uccess can be achieved.

