ELEMENTS OF RHETORIC
AND

ENGLISI-I COMPOSITION
FIRST AND SECOND HIGH SCHOOL COURSES

BY

G. R. CARPENTER
PROFESSOR OF RH ETOR IC AN I> !;;N(;LISI! CO MPOS ITION
IN CO LUMBIA UN IVERSITY

N eln }E!orlt

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
LONDON : MACMILLAN & CO., LTD.
1902

ELEMENTS OF RHETORIC
AND

SERIES OF TEXT- BOOKS ON ENGLISH
BY PROFESSOR G. R. CARPENTER
COLUMBI A UN IVE l\S ITY
PRINCIPLES OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR.

ENGLIS!-I COMPOSITION

For U se

in S eco ndary School s.
ELEMENTS OF RHETORIC AND ENGLISH COMPOSITION. Firs t H ig h School Co urse.

FIRST AND SECOND HIGH SCHO OL COURSES

ELEMENTS OF RHETORIC AND ENGLISH COMPOSITION. Second Ilig li School Co urse.

BY
ELEMENTS OF RHETORIC AND ENGLISH COMPOSITION. F irs t a nd Seco nd 1-ligh Schoo l Courses,
in one \'O lum c.

EXERCISES IN RHETORIC AND ENGLISH COMPOSITION.
A JJ \'ANCED C OURSE.
For Use in
A cad e mics and Co ll eges.

G. R. CARPENTER
PROFESSOR OF RHETORI C /\ NI> EN GLI SH COMPOS ITI ON
IN COLU ~ lil l A UNIVERSITY

STUDIES IN STRUCTURE AND STYLE. To suppl e ment th e precedi ng. lly \V. T. l3 1lEWSTER . Fo r
Use in i\ ca de n1ies and Co ll eges. vVith an Introductio n by G. R. CA Rl'E NTER.
ENGLISH LITERATURE . n y STO PFORD /\ . BROO KE,
J\ T. i\. Wit h additi onal chapters on E nglish literature ( 1832- 1892) and o n Ameri ca n litera ture, by
G. R. C ARPENTER.

N ei.IJ 'Worlt

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD.
1902
All rig hts r eur1Jed

First lliglt .')rhaol Cou rsr .

Bv T1-rn

Second Hig lt S chool Course.

l\ l A c :.11 1.1.AN COMPA N Y .

Bv T1rn

i\1 Acr-.11Ll.AN COM PANY.

ENGLISH COMPOSITION

C o rVRI G HT, 1900,

Bv THE ~ I AO lll.L ,\N CO~ ll'A NV

Fir ~ t editi on in one volume printed Nov ember,
Au g ust, 190 1 ; April, 1902.

1900.

Norbloon 1jlrrna
J. S. Cu shing

& <.;o. - Ucrw ick & Smith
Nurwuud i\Jnss. U .S .A.

5 (I<)<)/,
•.J ,,
1

'

!)

ELEMENTS OF RHETORIC AND

Reprinted

FIRST HIGH SCHOOL COURSE

,/

PREFACE
Tms volume is based on my Exercises in Rltetoric
and Enghslz Compositio1l (high school course), first
published in 1891, which, after passing through six
editions, is now withdrawn from circulation,
In
revising, expanding, and perfecting my earlier work,
I have been gratified to observe how much progress
has been made during this decade in the teaching
of rhetoric: and English composition in the secondary
schools, In 1890 no one felt sure what rhetorical
theories should be put before high school students,
what practice should be given them in composition,
or what relation the combined work in rh etoric and
com position should bear to the study of English
literature. The problem last mentioned has not yet .
been solved satisfactorily.
That we have come to
a fairly definite agreement as to the other two problems is due to the zeal with which teachers of English
are carrying on their work, solving their difficulties
by experience, and to the animated and effective
discussion, throughout the country, of the recommendations of the Committees of Ten and Fifteen
and the Conference on Uniform Entrance Requirements in English.
What teachers seem to have agreed on in regard
to the teaching of rhetoric and composition is largely
this;-

v

Preface

Preface

( 1) Th at th e sam e trainin g should b e given pupils
who ba-ci to co ll crfc
a nd [Jlll)ils who do not.
t-i
(2) Th at the form a l study of rh etori c and compositi on should be begun not later than the second year
of the four-year hi g h school course, and continued
fo r at least two years.
(3) Th at durin g the first of these two courses
pu pils should be train ed in th e choice of word s a nd
the structure o f se ntences a nd paragraph s; th at durin g th e' seco nd co urse they shou ld be briefly trained
in th e main prin ciples of ex position, narration, description, and (perhaps) arg ument.
(4) Th at clurin?; both co urses care should be taken
th at pupil s und e rstand th oroug hly a few main principles and that th ey have abund ant practice in applying them; th at stress be laid on correctness, clearness,
directness, and simplicity of sty le, a nd that correctness be regarded from a liberal point of view, based
on th e actu al practi ce of edu cated and cultivated
Am eri cans in speech a nd writing.
This volume attempts to provide for the work of
th e fir st of th ese two courses. The second volume,
providin g for the seco nd co urse, is in preparation.
In dealin g with this volume I recommend teachers to
pay especial attention to the buildin g of sentences.
It is as poss ible for every boy to learn to make good
sentences as it is for every boy to learn to swim or
skate or set a sna re. All that it requires is patient
in structi on. The tas k may a t times be dreary, but
no acco mpli shment will eventually stand the pupil
in better stead .
My th ank s arc du e to many friends, teachers in

schools of va rious kinds, for suggestions as to the
form and content of this book. As t o the general
principles involved, I take pleasure in acknowledging
my co ntinued indebtedness to th e works of Professor
Barrett W endell of H arva rd University and Professor F. N. Scott of the University of Mic higan. No
inconsiderable part of the rece nt prog ress in teac hing
rheto ri c a nd co mposition is du e to th e influence of
th ese t wo men. One brin gs to hi s task t he skill a nd
insight of the man of letters a nd the ma n of affairs;
the other, th e lea rning and system of the student of
psyc hology a nd philology. Togeth e r th ey have been
instrum e ntal in brin ging a bout a revision, in several
imp orta nt pa rti c ulars, of th e body of conve ntional
rhetorical dogma that had co me dow n to us un chan ged
from the hands of Quintilian and Campbell.
I sh all be greatly obliged to teach ers who will
have the kindness to inform me of a ny points in
which th e volum e needs correcti on, or who suggest
other ways in which it may be im proved.
It is clue to the kindly criticism and suggestions of
teachers usin g my book in its first edition that I have
been able, in this second editi on, to ma ke substantial
changes, adapting it still furth er to th e actual needs
of practi cal school work. Th e chapter on the parag raph has been rewritten and expanded in ord er th at
teachers who prefer to have the p aragraph studied
early in th e course may ta ke up th at subj ect whenever th ey please.
My own judg men t has usually
been in fav or of deferrin g th e for mal study of the
paragraph until t he pupil is th oro ug hly fa mili a r with
sentence structure; but the contrary practice is grow.

vi

•

vu

Preface

viii

ing in favor, and, in many schools, yields excellent
results. It seems prop er, therefore, tha t a t ext book
should be ca pable of use accordin g to either method,
at the option of the instructor. If he wishes to get
his pupils to writing essays as soon as possible, and
especially if the course co mes later th an the second
year of the hi g h sc hool wo rk, it is certainly desirable
th at th e cha pter on paragraphs should be taken up
after Chapter VI, or, ind eed, after Chapter II. I
have also, in Chapter XV, added somewhat to the
treatment of fi g ures.
G. R.

CARPENTER.

CONTENTS
C H .APTE R

PAGE!

I NT ROD UCTION .
CHAPTER II
COMPOSITIONS

.

7

COLUMB I A UN IVERS ITY,

CHAPTER III

N EW YORK CITY,

August,

1900.

I

ENGLISH USAGE

21

CHAPTER IV
INCOR RECT E NG LI SH

CHAPTER V

\.

i:

TH E SENTENCE : ITS GRA~rnIATI CA L STIW CTURE

59

I

CHAPTER V I

,I

i

PUNCTUATION

.

75 •
CHAPTER VII

TH E SENTENCE: ITS RHETOIUCAL STRUCTURE

CHAPTE R VIIJ
TH E

SENTENCE:

ITS

RHETOIUCAL

tinned)

SnwCTURE

(Con131 .

ix

Co1ttmts

x

C l! APTER IX
J'AGE

WORDS: VOCAIJULARY
CHAPTER
\ VORDS: TOO MANY

j

x

ELEMENTS OF RHETORIC AND
ENGLISH COMPOSITION

TOO FEW

CHAPTER X I

166

K IND S OF \ VO IW S
CHAPTER X II

CHAPTER I

18 1

1'AitAC:It1\ l'II S

INTRODUCTION

C H APTER X III

1.

THE \VII OLE Cmil'OS ITION

•

209

DEFIN ITIO N
AN

.I

•

CHAPTER

220

xv
229

F ORCE
CHAPTER XV I

•

ELEGANCE

238

APPE N D IX

I. LI ST OF HOO KS FOR

11. vV01tus F l{EQuENTLY
INDEX

l-1 0 1\I

E READING

~ 1r s usED

RHETORIC. -

2.

THE DEFINITION

ART O F EFFECTIVE COMMUN ICAT ION .

242
244

COMPOS JT! ON. -

EXPLAINED:

3 . THE DEF I NIT ION EXPLAINED:

EXPLA I NED: RHETOR IC I S AN ART.

CHAPTER X IV
CLEARNESS

OF

AN ART OF COMMUN ICA TJON. -

- 5.

- 4.

TllE DEF I N IT ION

RHETORI C A ND ENGL ISH

6 . THE Two SIDES OF OUR WORK. - 7. TH OU GHT

THE BASIS OF EXPRESS ION. - 8. THE HAlllT OF GOOD WRITING
AND GOOD SPEAK I NG . -EXERCISE I.

1. Definition of Rhetoric. - Rhetoric is th e art of
effective co mmunication by means of la ng uage; or,
more simply, it is th e art of expressing, by words,
precisely what we mean.
2. The Definition Explained: an Art of Communi. cation. - First, notice that the art we are to study
involves communication, the telling of so mething to
persons other than ourselves. Simple as is this conception of rhetoric, it is one hard to kee p in mind.
A speaker or writer is often tern ptecl to feel that his
duty is cl one when his thoughts are so expressed th at
B

2

Elem ents of Rlietori"c

[C HA P.~

I

CHAP.

r]

lntrodlfction

.1

he him se lf und erstand s t hem, for ge tting that what is
of real irn portan ce is that the reader or th e hearer
shall und e rstand the m.
3. The Definition Explained : an Art of Effective
Communication . - Seco nd , notice th at rh etoric is the
art of cffrcti11c co mmuni cation by lang uage, the a rt
of ex pr~ss in g precisely w ltat we mean. Th e a rt of
ex press in g- ourselves fa irl y well we have all acquired
already. Eve n a yo un g child can ma ke his thou ghts
a nd fee lin gs known fou g hly. What we are to study
is the a rt by means of which we shall be helped in
convey in g to the mind of a reade r or a h earer as
near! y as possible our exact th oug hts and fe elings,
in ord er that he may und erstand completely wh at
we think and reali ze fully what we feel.
4. The Definition Explained : Rhetoric is an Art. Third, notice that w e call rhetoric a n art, not a
scie nce. Th e meanin gs of these two words often
come very close t ogether, but the main distinction
between them is that sc ience implies knowledge
a nd art implies skjll. Chemistry, for instance, is
an imp ortant science, th e aim of wh ich is an understanding of the co mposition of material thin gs. One
may understand the laws or principles of chemistry
without acq uirin g any skill in their application. The
various branches of engineering, however, as well as
mu sic, dancin g, paintin g, swimming, and many similar kinds of activity, are arts. T he engineer, - to a
very g reat extent, - a nd even the swim mer, - to a
very small extent, - must understand the principles

3

on whi~h their arts rest, and these prin ci pl~s may
be considered as constituting the science of engine€rin g and th e science of s wimmin g ; but t he success of
the practi sing engineer and the practi cal swimmer
depends upon the skill with whi ch they apply these
principles. Now, rhetoric is essentially an art.
In
order to write we ll we mu st, of co urse, fo ll ow-co nsciuus ly or unconscious ly - certain principl es; but
the knowledge of th ese principles is not th e main
thing . The essenti al p art of rhetoric is tha t we
shall act, that we shall acq uire skill in the a pplicati on
of the princip les we study, in the prac tice of the art
we are learning. I
S· Rhetoric and English Composition. - Thou g h
rhetoric
. is essentially an art, it is, to some extent,
a scien ce. In general, we use th e term rh etoric
to include both the principles up on which the art
is based and practice in th e art itse lf. Sometimes
~a~·ticularly when speaking of rhetoric and cornpo~
s1t10n as p a rts of an educational system, we use the
term rh etoric to cover the principles of the art, a nd
the term composition, or E ng lish co mposition, to
cover th e practical exercises by which we acq uire
sk ill in applying these principles. In this sense
1

Scul pt ure, music, paintin g, a nd architect ure are fr equently call ed

fine. arts, beca use they ai m n ot only to express thought or e motion, b ut
to give pleasure to th e ea r or to th e eye. Rheto ri c may be called a
line a rt in so far as bea uty is its objec t, t houg h that is obv iously not
;!ways th e c.~se . . Rh eto~i c. d iffers from th e t ec hni cal or pra cti cal arts,
.g . eng 111ee1111g, 111 that 1t 1s an a rt o f co mmuni cat ion. It differs fr orn
the fin e arts in th a t it co mmuni cates id eas a nd emotions hy means of
lang uage, n ot by means o f lin es, colors, or mus ical sounds.

4

Elements of Rltetoi'ic

[CH AP. I

rh etoric may be called a science, anr composition
ma y be regarded as an art.
In thi::- same sense
rhe.toric is sometimes called form al rhetoric ; that
is, rhetoric consid ered as a set of scientifically
arra nged definitions, rules, a nd principlcs.
6. The Two Sides of our Work. - There are, then,
two sides to our work, - the study of ' efinitions,
rules, and princip les, and the acquiring o · skill in
appl yin g th e m. Both th ese sides a rc imporant, a nd
neith er should be neglected. Th e cases an . ind eed
rare in which a pupil can excel in compositit•n without a clear und erstanding of th e formal ;ide of
rh e tori c ; a nd an understa nding of the formal side
of rh e toric, h owever useful it may be as mental
trainin g , is of little value when compared with skill
in co mpositi on.
7. Thought the Basis of Expression. - The stude nt
must bear in mind tha t thought is the real basis
of ex pression. H e who continues to think clearly
and fo rcibly will, in most cases, succeed in acquiring th e p ower of expressing himself clea rly a nd
forcibly. W e should be wrong were we to lay such .
stress on the study of rhetoric th a t students would
beli eve e xpression more important tha n thought,
or power over words more important th a1~ p~w e r
over ideas. It is thought that is the real baMs of
rh etoric. That which is empty of thought is comparatively worthless, no matter how beautifully it
is expressed. The first and most important step
towards writing is thinking.

CHAP. I)

Introduction

5

8. The Habit of Good Writing and Good Speaking. Few men in any generation can be g reat authors,
because few men have ideas that interest large bodies
of people. But every one should acquire the power
of expressing his thoug hts clearly and forcibly. The
acquiring of this power is larg ely a question of habit,
based at first on intelligent direction. It is the aim
of this book to aid teachers in supplying such direction to pupils in the secondary schools. It must be
kept in mind, however, that the power of writing
well is closely akin to the power of speaking well.
We speak more than we write, and he who can learn
to express himself well orally may be sure that it
will not be .a hard task to acquire a similar habit in
written composition. On the other hand, a person
who allows himself to fall into slovenly ai1d ineffective habits of speech will have great difficulty in
ridding himself of these habits when he turns his
attention to written composition.
EXERCISE I

Write out a nswers to the following questions.
Each answer should consist of at least one complete
sentence.
1. What is an art?
2 . What is a science?
3. Mention
three arts. 4. Mention three sciences. 5. Is rh etoric an
art or a science? 6. What is a fine art? 7. Is rhetoric a
fine art? 8. What seems to you the difference between the
art of a beautiful poem and the art of a beautiful piece of
music? What does the poem include that the music does

6

Elements of Rhetoric

[CHAP. I

Compositions

CHAP. 11]

7

not?

9. Distinguish between rhetoric and composition.
What is grammar? 1 11. What seems to you the
difference between grammar and rh etoric ?
10.

1 Gram mar deals with the mutual relations of words in a sentence.
If these relat ions are in accordance with English custom , we say that
a sente nce is gram matically correct. Rhetoric ass um es, as a rule, that
the se nt ences with whi ch it has to do are grammatically correct, and
conce rns itself wit h th ei r efTcctiveness and beauty, and with th e accuracy
with whi ch th ey expr ess ce rtain ideas. That is, rh etoric asks, with
regard t n a pi ece nf writi ng: do th e wonls mean what the wr iter
intended th em to mean? arc they so put together as t o express in the
b est \Tay the id eas the writer had in mind?

CHAPTER II
COMPOSITIONS
9 . THE

IM PORTANCE

OF

COMPOSITION

WORK. -

10.

How

TO

CHOOSE A SUBJECT.- 11. SUBJ ECTS. FROM THE CO URSE IN ENGLISH

L I TERATURE. -

12.

SUBJECTS

FR OM

O T HER

STUDIES. -

13. SUBJECTS FROM Ho~rn READING · AND FROM LIFE.-14. Too
AM BI T I OUS

SUBJECTS. -

EXERCI SE

2. -

15.

COMPOS ITI ON.- 16. TI-I E US !~ OF CAPITALS
C ISE 3 . -

18.

THE
JN

FORM

TITLES. -

OF

A

EXER -

17. THE FIRST EsSENT I ALS O F A Gooo COM POSJTJON.-

HINTS AS

TO

SPE LLI NG. -

TAN CE OF ACCURACY. -

20.

Ex 1mc1SE

4. - 19. TH E

I MPOR-

PARAGRAP\£S·

9. The Importance of Composition Work. - It is
evident from th e preceding chapter how important it is that work in composition should accompany and supplement work in form al rhetoric. All
the author of this book can do is to put clown in
the clearest way and in the best order possible the
elementary rules and principles of rhetoric, and
to provide good exercises for the application of these
rules. All that the teacher can do, in thi s part of his
work, is to see that the pupil masters the rules and
principles and applies them intelligently in the given
exercises. But the work of app lying principles goes
further tha n this. Each pupil should write a short
composition, - as a rule, a t least twi ce a week, and should there apply, more indepe ndently than in

8

I

Elements of Rhetoric

[CHAP. IL

an exercise, the whole group of principles which he
is studyi ng.I
10. How to Choose a Subject. - In order that composition work be carried on successfully, without
unne cessary labor on the part of the teacher, it is
indi spe nsable tha t the pupil should get accustomed
to choosing his own subjects for compositions. Subjects may be chosen from many sources, as will be
From whatever source the pupil
shown below.
chooses a subject, however, he should make certain
( 1) that he has some definite ideas about the subject,
and ( 2) that he is interested in the subject. It is
impossibl e to write well when one has nothing to say,
and it is very difficult to write well when one feels
that a subject is stupid.
11. Subjects from the Course in English Literature. In many or most schools the course in rhetoric is
carried on at the same time with a course in the
study of selected English classics. Wherever this
is th e case, the pupil can readily find excellent subjects for many of his compositions. If, for example,
he is reading, in such a course, the Sir Roger de .
Coverley Papc1's, he can readily summarize any of
the papers, sketch any one of the characters introduced, make a short biography of Steele or Addison,
write a page on the political parties of the time,
or the coffee-houses, or any similar subject th at would
1 Tue subject of composi tion work will be treated at length by the
author in his Elmzmts of Rlteto1-ic and Englislt Composition, second
high school course.

CHAP.

Compositions

n]

9

naturally be suggested by the class work or by his
own thought.
12. Subjects from Other Studies. - With a little practice, the student will find it no less easy to get good
subjects from the other topics included in his work.
Nothing could be more sensible to write, and few
things more interesting to read, than a pupil's composition b ased on one of the battles so well described
in Ccesar's Gallic Wm', or on an incident in American,
English, or Roman history, or on an experiment or
process or principle in natural science. Wherever in
his school work the pupil feels that he has got hold
of a definite idea, and one that interests him, he can
be pretty certain that he has also got hold of a good
subject for a composition.
13. Subjects from Home Reading and from Life. Many schools supplement their courses in English
literature by prescribing a certain a mount of home
reading in the English classics.I Here again the
student has a wide range of subjects for composition,
particularly as here, when reading more at leisure
and for his own pleasure, h e will feel more at liberty
to write about his own impressions, his likes and
dislikes, - the character in a novel which he admires
most or hates worst, the scenes that are most interesting, the side of the book that is most stupid. Equally
rich in the material it affords for subjects is the field
of the pupil's natural reading, - apart fro m what is
prescribed by the school authorities, - the news1

A typical list is given in the J\ ppendi x, I.

\

Elements of Rhetoric

IO

[CHAP. ll

pa pers, the mag azines, the books of travel, or adventure, or science, to which he turns of his own
accord. Equally rich, too, is the whole field of the
student's actual life. Nothing can be more interesting to read or more pleasant to write about th an
experiences in shooting or fishin g, sports, journeys,
or even the more prosaic sides of life, - the houses
in which we live, th e sights and sounds with which
we are familiar, the little things we do.
14. Too Ambitious Subjects. - It is well, however,
durin g the first year of high school work in rheto- .
ric, to place two limits upon work in composition. It
is best ( r) that a pupil should write only short essays,
rarely exceeding two pages, and (2) that he should
not often und ertak e fictitious narratives. An abundance of practice in short compositions on definite
subjects yields a t first better results th a n long, vag ue,
and rambling a tte mpts at original stories. There
will be ample opportunity later on 1 for longer and
more original work, and the ambitious student will
profit b y restraining his zeal until he has thoroughly
maste r 2d th e elementary principles of th e art.
NoTE. - Students should be encouraged to keep li sts
of good subjects.
EXERCISE 2

Draw up a list of five composition subjects from each
of your school courses, excep t mathematics. 2 . Draw up
a similar li st from each of th e following fields: - (a) your
home rearling, (b) a recent magazine, (c) a rece nt newsI.

1

Sec the second co urse, which supplements th e present vohune.

CHAP. II]

Compositions

II

paper, (d) your last vacation, (e) your last holiday. 3. Draw
up ~.simila r list of interesting subjects for descriptive compos1t10ns from the town in which you live.

15. The Form of a Composition. - In preparing compositions, the student should observe th e following
rules, unless otherwise directed by his instructor : (I) Use paper about eight by ten inches in size.
(2) U se black ink and write leg ibly.
(3) Write only on one side of th e paper.
(4) On the left-hand side of each page leave a
margin of at least one inch.

(5) Npmber each page of your composition, if
there be more than one, in the upper rig ht-hand
corner and put the pages together in the order in
which they are to be read.
(6) Fold the paper once leng thwise. Write at the
top of the outside p age your n a me, the section or
course in which you belong, and the el ate on which
the composition is clue, thus: -

]. Q.

ANDERSON,

Section 4,
October 6, 1898.
For the sake of uniformity and for the convenience
of the instru ctor, this information should be written
on the side of the fold ed theme that corresponds to
the side of a book cover on which th e title is sometimes printed. That is, the crease of th e paper should
be on the left side. Nothing except th is info rmation.
should be written. on the outside of the th eni.e,

Elements of R!tetor£c

12

[CHAP. II

(7) At the top of the first page, and in the middle,
should be written th e title. Each noun, adjective,
and other important word in the title should begin
with a capital letter.
Between the title and the
beginning of the composition there should be a
blank space, equal to at least the space between
two of the lines usually ruled on such paper.
(8) Each line of the composition, except the fir:t
line of a paragraph, should begin at the marg m
mentioned in (4). The first line of each paragraph
should begin about an inch further to the right. By
this means we " indent " a paragraph.
16. The Use of Capitals in Titles. - It is customary
to begin with a capital letter the first word of a title::
and every noun a nd adjective in the title, but not
other words ; e.g. T!te H istorical D evelopment of
Modem Europe. Is not t!te Mortality from Sw:f?ical
Disease Larger titan is Necessavy '? Tlze Glacial or
Post-<r/acial Diversion of t!te Bronx Ri·ver from its
"'
.
.
Old Cliaimcl. When a verb or an adverb is a prominent or importa nt word in the title, it may also be
begun with a capital; e.g. Tcac!ting Requins Knowlcd<re and Skill. How to T each Successfully. Rece71tly the practice of using no capitals in titles,
except for the first word a nd for proper nouns and
adjectives, has been adopted in many library catalogu es and in some periodicals, 1 but it is not, as a
rule to be recommended in composition writing.

'

l

For exam pl e, the Educatio11al Review.

CHAP.

n]

Compositions

13

EXERCISE 3

I. Write a title in the proper place, on a sheet oi
paper of the proper size. Write two or three words
at the beginning of each line on the page, in such a
way as to indicate the proper margin and the proper
indentation of paragraphs.
Fold the composition
properly and indorse it according to the directions
given in § I 5 ( 6).
II. Write, with the proper capitalization, the following titles : r.

The celebrated jumping frog.

2.

Innocents abroad.

3. Sketches, new and old. 4. Punch, brothers, punch, and
other sketches. 5. /\ Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's
court. 6. The spy: a tale of the neutral ground. 7. Does
prohibition prohibit? 8. Shall we annex the Ph ilippines?
9. Poems written and published during the American Revo-

lutionary War, and now republished from the original manuscripts : interspersed with translations from the ancients,
and other pieces not heretofore in print. 10. How to
punctuate correctly. 11. The bibelot: a reprint of poetry
and prose for book-lovers.
12. The child in the house.
13. Where th e battle was fought.
r 4. Shakespeare : a
critical study of his mind and art. r 5. The lost leader.
16. Under the red robe. 17. Essays in little. 18. Plain
tales from the hills. 19. Memories and portraits. 20. The
boy's king Arthur.
21. The days of auld Jan g sync.
22. Under the greenwood tree.·
23. The parting of th e
ways in the foreign policy of the United States. 24. The
bow of orange ribbon.
25. Ballads and barrack-room
ballads. 26. The dangers of imperialism. 2 7. A history
of modern times. 28. The day's work. 29. The seven
30. Eighteenth-century essays.
lamps of architecture.

14

Elements of Rltetoric

[CHAP. 11

31. Goethe's correspondence with a child.

32. What
Katy did at school.
33. Around the world in eighty
days.
34. A little book of western verse. 35. Tales of
mean streets. 36. How to judge of a picture. 3 7. Pride
and prejudice. 38. A literary curiosity from Charles Lamb's
library. 39 . Are the Germans still a nation of ·thinkers?
40 . The future relations of Great Britain and the United
States. 41. San Francisco's struggle for good government.
4 2. Working under water: the story of an amateur pearlfisher.
43. Life in Manila: a trooper's diary. 44. The
Pacific ocean and ·our future there.
45. Mosses from an
old manse.
46. Gray days and gold. 47. A tale of two
cities. 48. The dramatic works of William Shakespeare
from the text of the corrected copies of Steevens and
Malone, with a life of the poet.
49. Appreciations, with
an essay on style. 50. Much ado about nothing.

17. The First Essentials of a Good Composition. Clear handwriting and correct spelling are the first
essentials of a good composition. The pupil who
writes a distinct, leg ible hand and spells correctly
may indeed mak e serious · rhetorical blunders and
express his ideas in a confused way; but he has at
least made sure of two imp ortant and gentlemanly
habits. The pupil who writes a sprawling, indistinct
hand and spells b.adly may indeed be a genius; but
he has acquired two un gentlemanly and wholly useless habits, - habits born, in all but very rare cases,
of indolence; habits which will do much to perplex
his fellow-mortals and make him a laughing-stock
among the m. A little common sense will do much
to change bad hand writing and bad spelling into

CHAP.

u]

Compositions

15

good.
Bad writing may be clue to unavoidable
physical causes, - tremor or stiffness of the muscl es,
for instance ; but it is more likely to be clue to a bad
position, to inattention, or to the use of the sort of
pen, paper, or ink that goes least well with the
writer's physical peculiarities.1 Bad spelling is clue
(I), in rare cases, to defective eyesight; or ( z ), more
commonly, to a deficiency in the writer's power of
visualizing, tha t is, his power of re1~roducing the
form of a word before his mind as if by ac tual sight;
or (3) to a habit of slovenly pronunciation. Those
whose eyes are good and who are good visualizers
commonly spell well. Those whose eyes are defective should wear glasses; those who are poor visual-izers, - as are many of us, including the present
writer, - or who pronounce carelessly, should endeavor to make up for the defec ts or peculiarities
of nature by sheer force of attention, will, reason,
and habit. 2
18. Hints as to Spelling. - A few hints may help
those who have much difficulty in learning to spell
correctly: ( r) Always look through your composition before
1

The new system of backhanded writing is· co nsid erably more legible than the sla nting hand.
2
Th e stude nt's attention should be call ed to the e fforts that
are being made by individuals and by learn ed soci eti es to make
English spelling more uniform and rational.
See th e articl es of
B. E. Smith in Forum, vol. 22, p. 367; and of Professor Lounsbury
in Scribner's, vol. 18, pp. 729, 864; and also Pro fessor J3rander
Matthews's essay on American spelling in his Americanisms and
Briticisms.

16

E lements of Rheto1'ic

[CHAP. II

CHAP. II]

Compositio1ls
I

i

I!

I

1!

II
JiI
I

I

j1

you hand it in, in order to correct any blunders you
may have made. If possible, do this some hours, at
least , after the writing of th e composition. After such
an interva l you are more likely to noti ce your mista kes.
( 2) Have at your desk a good abridged dictionary,
and use it.
(3) If possible, keep a list of th e words you misspell, a nd practise yourself on thern. 1
(4) If you have diffi culty in rememberin g what
words are spelled with ei and what with ie, you
may be h elped by the convenient "rule of thumb"
that, when the two letters are pronounced as ee, .i cir e
comes first according as th e preceding consonant is
neare r i ore in a lphabetical succession. Thus, yield,
siege, c!tief, piece, believe,· but p erceive, receive, concei11e, ceiling. Exceptions are fi eld, financier, leisure,
seize, neit!ter, w eird.
(5) If you have studied L atin, and h ave diffi culty
in remembering whether words are spe lled with ant
or ent, able or ible, notice that, when such words are
derived from the Latin, the English spelling usually
follows th e vowe l of the Latin conjugation; e.g .
adjutant, mendicant,- agent, delinquent, dependent,
I Jn some hi gh sch ools and academies the excellent p lan is followed
of giving the wh ole sch ool each day a five-minute written exercise in
spelling fr om dictation. The words are taken from a spelling-book
or fr om any ordinary p rose work, but lists of words a ctually misspelled
in various writte n exe rcises may ofte n be used to great advantage. If
p ossible, th e exercises sh ould be written on narrow slips of paper with
numbe red lines. Ten words at least can be dictated a nd written, and
the papers collect ed , in five minutes. T he labor of reading the exercises is not g reat, unless there are several hund red pupils.

convenient,- impeccable, mutable, tractable,- f all£ble,
£nvi1lcible.

(6) Notice that" verbs of one syllable, ending with
a single consonant, preceded by a sing le vowel (as
plan), a nd verbs of two or more syllables, ending in
the same manner, and having the accent 011 the last
syllable (as regret), double the final consona nt of the
verb on assuming an additional syllable; as plan,
planned ,- regret, regretted,· but if a diphthong precedes the last consonant (as in foz'n ), or the accent is
not on the last syllable (as in su;J er), the consonant
is not doubled; as foin, foz'n ed ,- suffe1', suffered. " I
Verbs ending in l are usua lly spelled with ll when
an additional syllable is assumed; e.g. traveller (but
paralleled). Many, however, follow W ebster in writing traveler, etc.
EXERCISE 4
1. Describe, in a compositi on of at least five sentences
your .own h~ndwriting, indicating its good and bad points'.
2. Discuss m the class room, under the direction of the
teacher, the handwritings of several members of the cJas
· indi:ating the good and bad points of each hand and su:~
gestmg ways in which it might be changed and improved.
3· In a composition of not less than fi ve sentences answer
the following questions : do you spell chiefly by 'ear b
. by t he visual
.
eye (t.e.
image of the word as it seems' toy
stand out before you in your memory), or by sheer force of
memory, i.e. by remembering the exact order in which the
letters follow each other? 4. E ither at hom e, or in the class
room, - at the convenience of the teacher, - write the fol1 'vVorcester's Dictionary of tlu E11glisli "Lq 11guage, "Rules of
Orthography."

c

I

I
I,

17

18

Elements of Rlutoric

[CHAP. II

lowing words from dictation in groups of ten, fifteen, or
twenty, tak ing only one group a day. T he words include
many of those whi ch young students are likely to use and
likely to misspell.
Abbreviate, abhorrence, accede, accessible, accommodate,
accumu late, acknowledgment, acquaintance, adjutant, adm issible, advantageous, aggravate, agreeable, all ri g ~1t, atbl·e·tics.
Annually, anxiety, ap paratus, assassin, ascertam, auxiliary,
ban ana, battalion, beginning, be nefited, boisterous, bouquet,
bull etin business, casualty.
Cha1;geable, Christian, circuit, civility, cleanliness, colo~1el,
colum n, com memorate, committee, commodity, comparative,
complement, compliment, correlative, corroborate.
Cou nse lor, council, consul, crystallize, curiosity, deference,
definite, depend ence, descenclant, develop, development,
describe, descripti on, despair, disappear.
Disappoint, dissati sfy, divisibl e, eligible, embarrass, e~p~­
ci all y, etc., exaggerate, exceed ingly, excellence, exh1.b1t,
extraordinary, fallibl e, fami li ar, fascinate.
Feign, fid ge ty, finan cier, flannel, forbade, forc ible, foreig1.1er,
forfeit, for ty, fulfil, generally, government, grandeur, guardian,
harass.
H emorrhage, holi day, hugely, humorous, hygiene, hypocrisy , ici cle, illeg ible, imagine, immediately, incessant, incon.
ceivable, incorrigible, incred ible, indictment.
Infl ammation, ingenious, instalment, intercede, mterrogation, irascible, irrelevant, its, judgment, laboratory, languor,
led, lien, li eutenant, likelihood .
Liquefy, liquidate, lose, loose, lullaby, maintenan.ce, m.arriageable, marvell ous, medicine, memorize, mercantile, mileage, milliner, ·mimic, mimicking.
Mini ature, miscellaneous, mischievous, missile, monarchy,
more ove r, necessary, neural gia, ninetieth, noticeable, obeisance, obli ging, occasionally, occurrence, one's.

CHAP. II]

Compositions

Opposite, origin, original, parallel, participle, peaceable,
perseverance, perform, pervade, physician, possessive, positively, precede, preeminent, preferable.
Prej udi ce, principal, principle, privilege, precede, professor, pursue, . recoll ect, reco mmend, reservoir, rhythm,
sacrilege, salable, seize , separate.
Several, siege, sieve, similar, station ary, stationery, sovereign, specialty, stratagem, strategy, succeed, symmetry,
.tangible, thorough, temperam ent.
Till, together, tranquilize, truly, tyranny, until, vacillate,
village, villain, volume.
19. The Importance of Accuracy . - It is worth the
stud ent's while, for two r easons, to make it hi s a mbition to be accu rate in spellin g a nd in similar matters.
First, accuracy in s uch small points will help him
g reatly in all his written work. Spelling be lon gs to
the rudiments of education, a nd it is h a rd to teach
hig her thing s to a pupil not thoro ug hly gro unded in
the rudiments. Second, accuracy in detai ls is a part
of character. W e fee l that we can d epen d upon the
ma n whose knowledge is accurate, and we are apt to
susp ect that the man wh o is slipsh od in details is
intellectually weak. Youth is the tim e to build up
habits of patience, perseverance, a nd accuracy, a nd
the study of Engli sh composition is one of th e best
means t o that end. Third, th e pupil who h as to
m a ke a consciou s effort t o spell correctly mu st n ecessarily be obliged to withdraw a considerable part of
his attention from more importa nt ma tters.
20. Paragraphs. - One furth e r m a tter p ertaining
to the general subject of compositions mus t be con-

20

Elements of R!tetoric

[CHA P . II

sidered . The idea th at printed matter is divided into
paragraphs is famiEar to all, but the youn g writer is
often at a loss to know at what points he should
brea k up his composition into paragraphs. For the
present, it will be sufficient for him to notice that in
the ordinary printed essay the paragraphs average at
least one hundred and fifty words each . This means
that it is usually not worth while to subdivide an idea
that can be stated as a whole in one hundred or one
hundred and fifty words.

CHAP. III]

Engiz"s!t Usage

21

CHAPTER III
ENGLISH USAGE

21.

THE

IMPORTANCE OF

USAGE

IN

LANGUAGB.

- 22 .
- 23.

USAG E , CO LLOQU I AL USAGF: , AN D VULGAR USAGE.
ENG LISH . - 24. LOCAL USAGE. - 26. D ! CT!ONARIES. - EXERCISE

25.
5.

L r rnRARY
Co 1urncT

AUTl-!ORITY AS T O

USAGE.

21. The Importance of Usage in Language. - The
expression of thought by la ng uage involves a ce rtain
relation between two persons or sets of persons, a
speaker or writer on the one hand, and a listener or
reader on the other. It is by words th at thought
is conveyed from one p erson to another. It is plain,
then, tha t whether the exact th oug ht of one person
reaches the eye or ear of a nother person, depends
upon an agreement between them as to th e meanin g of the words used. Now, words have the meanin g th at · usage gives th em. They change from
century to century in force a nd value. It is clear,
th erefore, that it is of the first imp ortance in the
study of rhetoric that we realize what meanin gs, in
our time, are given to words by people with whom
we communicate. It is eq ually clear th at among the
millions of E ng lish-speakin g people scattered over
the face of the g lobe we must expect to find a t least

-------1

22

Elements of R!tetoric

[CHAP. Ill

sli g ht differences o[ opinion as to the meaning or
force of ce rtain E n glish words.
22. Literary Usage, Colloquial Usage, and Vulgar
Usage. - Questions of usage are sometimes hard to
settle, for the reason that usage varies slig htl y with
differe nt localiti es. Th e En g li sh spoken in A ustrali a
or Inclia, th e Engli s h s poken in th e U ni ted S ta tes, a nd
the Eng li sh spoken in E ngla nd , Scotland, or Ireland,
are not prec isely th e same. U sage varies to so me
extent a lso even in th e same locality. In the fir st
pl ace, written Engli sh differs in some slight particula rs from spoken E ng lish.
In co nversati on, for
exam pie, we habitually use such contractions as
do1t' t, s!ta?t' t, an cl 'W01t' t, and ma ny famili a r words
and ex pression s whic h arc rarely fou nd in more di gnifi ed disco urse, or in print. In the second place,
there are many En g li sh words and expressions, such
as lwin't, worser, w hich are not e mployed, even in
conve rsation, by educated speakers. We have, th en,
in a ny g iv e n English-speaking district or country
three kinds of English, each differing to a certain degree from the others : (I) literary English, .
or th e words and co nstruction s used in r eputable
literature; (2) colloquial En gli sh, or the forms which
educated people use in conversation; and (3) what
we may call common or v1tlg ar 1 E nglish, i.e. English used, wh eth er in speech or in writin g, by the
great mass of the un educated, on whom the words
and co n structi ons used in literature have no great
J

From th e Latin vulgus, " crowd."

CHAP. III]

Englislz Usage

23

infl.uence.1 Of these three kinds of E ng lish, the
first vanes least, in differe nt districts or countries,
and the third most.
23. Correct English. - W e call words or expressions
"correct" when th ey arc wid ely used in literature
and conversation by people of intelli ge nce and educati on. 'vVe call words or expressions "inco rrect"
,\rhen th ey are not used by such peop le, and arc
associated m our minds with ig norance or bad
manners. It is obvious, h owever, th at opinions may
frequ entl y differ as to what is correct or incorrect.
Th e distinction is in m any cases a qu es tion of taste,
and some people of good judg ment call incorrec t
what oth ers of equally goo d jud g me nt call correct.
Th ere is a sc hool of rh etoricians and g rammarians,
for example, sometimes called "purists," who take in
such matters the extreme position that certain words
can be considered incorrec t, notwithstanding th e fact
that they are widely used by p eopl e of intelligence
and education. That is, th ey hold that words are not
necessarily correct when used in the meanings given
them in reputable current literature and conversatio n,
1 Vulgar E nglish also includes dialect.
A d ialect, such as Scotch,
is a local form of a language, grea tly at variance with ordinary usage
and spoken th rough out a district. There are a number of dialects in
Great Britain, and there are several fo rms of local speech in Ameri ca, that o f the South ern n egroes, for example, whi ch differs in many particulars from ordinary usage. D ial ecti c ex pressi ons are oft en very beautiful and interestin g, especially wh en they are clear to us by association,
or have been co nsecrated, as it were, by ce nturi es· of local usage.
Vulgar English is som etim es, too, a surv ival of what was in its clay
good literary and colloquial English.

\;

24

Elements of Rhetoric

[CHAP. llI

but on ly in the meanings given them by the most
fastidious writers of th e period. In this book, the
tests of correctness will be construed somewhat more
liberally.
24. Local Usage. - Oftentimes words or expressions perfectly fami liar in one locality, and currently
used th ere by intelli ge nt and educated peo ple, a re not
used throu g hout the co untry, or by other bodies of
Engli s h-s peaking people. In the United States, for
example, we say elc11ato1', baggage, ed itorial, wh ereas
in Great 13ritain th e same ideas are expressed by th e
words lift, luggage, leader. The first set of words
we may call J\me ricanisms; the second, Briticisms.
Simil arly, a n Engli s hm an may say "I fancy" in the
se nse of "think," wh ere a Yankee might say "I
guess," and a Sout herner, "I reckou." It would be
strainin g a p oint to call suc h local expressions inco rrect.
S lig ht diffe rences of this sort often add a
pleasing individuality to local speech. In writing to
the p ublic at la rge, how ever, one should obviously b e
careful not to allow su c h peculiarities to become so
promine nt as to render him laug hable or unintellig ible.
25 . Authority as to Usage. - The student will naturally ask how he can discover whether any particular word is correctly or in correctly used in any
particula r sense. It may be replied that he must
depend upon observation, inquiry, and his own good
sense. Obviously, his first source of information and
authority will be the body of intelligent and educated

CHAP. III]

Enghs!t Usage

25

people with whom he comes in contact. If he follows their usage in matters of language, he cannot
go far astray. A surer test is that of usage in literature. Words or expressions which a number of reputable writers deliberately use can surely not be called
wrong. Dictionaries are also useful, for they are the
great storehouses of English usage. Finally, wh enever usage see ms to differ, one's own taste and sense
must be call ed into p lay. The present writer pleads
for a consid erable degree of tolerance in such matters. If we know what a man means, and if his
usage is in accordance with tha t of a large number of
intellige nt and edu cated people, it cann ot justly be
called incorrect. For lan g uage rests, a t bottom, on
convention or agreement, and what a large body of
reputable p eople recognize as a proper word or a
proper meaning of a word cannot be denied its right
to a place in the Eng lish vocabulary. Particularly
in questions .of pronunciation, where our language
frequently recognizes two usages, we should be careful not to assume that the usage whi ch custom or
taste has made natural to us has any authority beyond
that of local or individual preference.
26. Dictionaries. - The best Englis h dictionaries
for school use are Webster' s, Worcester's, the Century, and the Standard. Each has p eculiarities that
render it particularly valuable; each is a thoroughly
reputable authority. ·w hatever any of them says
as to the pronunciation, mea ning, or use of a word
is sure to be the usage sanctioned by a large body

26

Elements of Rltetoric

of intelli g ent and ed ucated .people. Wherever th ey
differ, al.1 arc likely to be ri g ht; that is to say, whe rev e r usage differs, these dictionaries may differ.
Abrid ged edition s of vVebster's, \Vorcester's, and t he
Sta ndard, especially adapted for the use of pupils,
a rc also iss ued. If possible, on e dictionary should ,
as a matter of convenience, be chosen as a standard
in eac h sc hool.

I

''
CHAPTER IV
INCORRECT ENGLISH

'

.1
27.

NEW \ VORDS. C I SI•: 7 . -

29.

GRAMMAR. P L U R A l.. -

Write out answers to the follow ing questions.
Eac h a nswer should consist of at least two complete se ntences.

Rapid.

2

llurry.

3

Stick for clean ing the plough.

EXERC I SE 6. -

IJ I SJ'U T E I J WO l(IJS. -

31 .

t\R TI C l.lcS. -

32.

28 .

l\'11 sus r .n WO RDS. -

E x l·: l(C I Slc 8. NOUNS :

30.

E XF. 1{ -

I NCO RR ECT

FrJ R ~ I ATll> N

oF T111·:

33. NOUNS : F O RMATI ON ANI> US ES OF Tl! E pqSS ESS I VE.-

34. P IWNOUNS : NOM I NA T I VE AN ll 0 BJl,CTJ VE C A SES. -

35. P RONOUNS: THE l'OSS ESS I VF. CA SE. -

-

37.

PRO NOUNS :

EXE RCI SE 9.

36. RE I. A T ! V ic PRONOUNS.

NU~ I l\E R. - 1 ·'.xE R C I SE l o . -

38.

VERH S :

NUM-

n . - 39 . VER BS : S EQUEN CE OF '(ENS ES. 40. V E RBS : 111ay, can ; lic, 1191,· sit, set; rise , ra.isc. - EXF.R C IS E 12. 41. 0TllF. R COMMON EIUWR S. - EXER C I SE 13. - 42. Shall AND will.
- 43 . S hall A N D w ill I N F UTURE TEN SES. - EXER C I SE 14. - 44 . Shall
AND will I N VERH- l'HRA SES. - Ex l':R C I SE 15. - 45. Snail AND will
I N QUEST I ONS.-EX ER C I SE 16. - 46. Shall A N D will I N DF.Pl':NDE N T
CLAUSES. - EXER C I SE 17 . - 47. l\!I ST AKES I N nrn USE OF shall ANll
will. - E X ERCISE 18.
BE R. -

1. How do words get their meanings ?
2. Do all English-speaking people use the same words in the same senses ?
3. What is the difference between li terary English and colloqui al English ? 4. Between colloqu ial E nglish and vulgar
English? 5. l s it is Item vulgar or colloquial? 6. Is t!tat's
a ci11c!t vu lgar, colloqu ial, or literary? 7. What is a dialec t?
8. I s the language employed in Burns's To a Jlfouse, the
first stanza of which is given below, vulgar, colloquial, or
literary?
"'Vee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie,
0, what a panic's in thy breastie !
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickerin 1 brattle 2 ! .
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murd'ring battle 3 !

l

27

I

EXERCISE 5

9. Give two instances o f disputed usage. 10. How are we
to know when our expressions are correct? r 1. How are
we to decide in disputed cases ?

Incorrect Englisli

CHAP. IV]

[ CHAP. Ill

\

ExE RC I Slc

27. New Worcls. - As language exists for the
purpose of communication, it is plain that a new
word run s a g reat risk of not being und erstood by
the general pub lic. Like novel or strikin g thin gs
in dress or custom, it runs also the risk of seemin g
indecorous or vulgar. Almost every fami ly has in
its private vocab ulary certain words of domestic
manufacture which are understood perfectly by th e
members of th e family, but which wou ld be puzzlin g
to other people. In the same way new words appear
from tim e to time among larger groups of men, and
attain a wide r currency. Sometimes such words arc

Elements of Rhetoric

28

i
t.

[CHAP. IV

caught up by the general public, and made a part of
our ordinary language; sometimes they continue for
a tim e to exist in vulgar or colloquial English, but die
out before gaining even a foothold in literary En g lish.
These new words (technically called ba rbarisms, i.e.
foreign or barbaria n words) are of three kinds : ( 1) vV ords arising as jocose expressions, just as
ni ck names do ; e.g. d1tdc, swipe (college slang),
bulldoze, boycott. 1 Of these examples, dude, which
appeared about fifteen years ago, a nd swipe retain
their place in vul gar and local English; bulldoze
has become established in colloquial English, and
bo)'cott has even reac hed literary usage. Under this
head in g may also be classed many of those violently
fi g urative slang expressions which lend so much color
to colloquial and vulgar English a t the present time,
particularly in America; e.g. cinc!t, grind. Most of
these slang expressions, to be sure, are not based
on words that a re abso lutely new to the langu age,
but th ey g ive to old words such totally new meanings
as to render them practically new.
( 2) vVords m ade n ecessary by new inventions or
circum sta nces; e.g . cablegram, typew1 iter, electrocute.
It should be n oticed that it is acceptance by the
public th at make such words valid. Much objection
was made by scholars, for instan ce, to telegram,
which does not mean, according to the Greek words
from which it is derived, precisely what we wish it to
From Captain Boycott, the first promin ent victi m o f the system.
The first thr ee exam pl cs arc of unknown or uncertain origin.
I

CHAP. IV]

Incorrect English

mean. Telegram has, however, been received into
literary English merely because it was the name
which the people adopted. Cablegram has also
been obj ected to by purists, and has not yet gained
the widest currency in literary English. Electroc?tte,
a word of very recent origin, has not come into
very general favor, partly on account of its false
derivation; 1 but if the method of capital punishment
thus described comes to be regularly used, it is
obvious that some word must be adopted to de signate it; and electromte, in spite of its absurdity, has
as yet no strong rival.
(3) Words employed, as a sort of abbreviation, for
longer and more roundabout English expressions ;
e.g. enthuse, for "grow enthusiastic over"; burg-larize, used of the entering of a house by burg lars;
bm~foist, for "player on the banj o." Such words
are born of good intentions. Th ey cannot, however,
be regarded as belong ing to coUoquial or literary
English, any more than could the obviously impossible words spas, for " g o into sp as ms " ; pol£cemanize, for " guard by a policeman " ; c!tairist, for
"chair-maker."
EXERC ISE 6

I. The following words are all of comparatively
recent orig in. Do they belong to literary, colloquial,
or vulgar usage; that is, do you, on the whole, asso1
Electrocute is form ed on th e bas is of execute, as if cute meatit "to
kill. " l htl cute is merely a fragmen t of th e Latin secutus (compare
persecute), which means " follow."

30

E lemmts of R !1etoric

[CH AP. IV

CHAP. I V]

1. T ypewriter.
2. A combine.
3. Wh eat ena. 4· A
p e rmit. 5. A walk ist. 6. T o wholesale . 7. An exhibit.
8. A faddi st. 9 . An in vite. I O. X-rays. II. Auto-truck.
1 2 . T o pap er-knife a b ook.
13. Artistr y. 14. To ny. i5. To
dyn a mite.
16. T o incept.
17 . T o scrap a car (i.e. to
I 8. A ge nt.
I9· T o e nth use .
se nd it to the scrap -h eap).

II. Th e ita li cized wo rd s in the follow in g se ntences
do not belong to literary E ng li sh. A rc th ey in good
coll oqui a l use ? A n swer Y es or No. If you are in
d oubt, see if you can find the word in a dictionary.
r. \ Vhen it came to busin ess he was a !t11stlcr. 2 . Although hi s huuse hacl been /111rglrrrizcd, he still en!li11sed over
I11· ~ pr'"' l'rr· tc. .) . ·1 1" 1,,~ 1· e t th ~ t rir"drr>ntli nn is as good an

canirr H . 1\'L !\ !:1ck is a t th e fr o nt. 8. H e is a larno us l.itt:>Cballisl.
9. Th e m on ey brq11ested to H arvar d from the
~Luli_ ! 1 !"": :-:; '"~L.__ d1:..! ::;~ ~··=- c ·.-::-:r !~ :-:.:!· ~ 1 ::..1:.::. :~: :·_t .~ . .~! -:::
r .-. ·1 ~ ~ : :·
111 oi or11cer can stop a n clcclric ;vi thin t '.VO rod s.

28. Misused Words. - T o use En glish word s with
m eanin gs w hic h w id e usage has not given the m is
::i.lso a ma r ked di sad vantage in co mmunicati on. S uch
mi suses of word s ( tec hnically called im proprieties) are
of three sorts : ( 1) M e re blunde rs of ig nora nce or careless ness,

31

which consist 111 confu sing wo rd s somewh at simib.r
in fo rm o r sound; e.g. accept a nd c:i:ajJt, affect an cl
effect.
(2) M istakes in En gli sh i<liorn. Acco rdin g to E ngli sh usage certa in words can be used toget her, and
ce rtain words cann ot. We say, fo r in sta nce, " t he
e ffect of a law, " not "th e effect OJ' a la w"; "c harac teri zed OJI," not " characte ri zed wit/1." "Idiom"
strictl y mea ns a usage peculi ar to a s in g le lan g uage,
but it is ge nerally u se d to sig nify the law o f lang uage w hereby ce rta in word s arc reg ularl y used
with eac h othe r, in order to con vey a p a rti cular
meanin g .
(3) Uses of wo rd s \\" ilh mea nin gs whi ch a rc familiar in v ul gar E ng li s h, hut whi ch h:1ve nn t been
recognized in co ll oq ui a l or li tera ry En gl ish : r' ..';"- j>t1r(v
fo r·· pe rson, " as in " tJi,; j1r1r/11 w il li tli c· ta ll li; il ."

ciate th e m with int ell ige nt a nd edu cated people, or
w ith unintellige nt a nd uneducated peo ple ? An sw er
by writin g- the number of each word a nd a ft er it the
word "lite ra ry," "colloqui al," or "vulgar."

lll i1d l!Lc: :\
·.',' 11f
j i'_ 1l t, I I ' 'll \ \" 11 11 I1 ; i.;-; •· l L l L ~l: L lll . ..
-t'· 1 ,.\ 1
t1 1 ~ ~ .::·: nt. .S Tlw r;/f",, (,'/11bbcrs were late . 6. T li e 1Jiggc:st

Incorrect Eng·lis!t

I:

EX!:.P.C I SE 7

ThP it·aiir ·ize rl w ord s an' i1 se rl inrniTe('ti y; thl' word s
111

parenthesis a rc used co rrectly.

Con stru ct ot her

1. H e was doo med to e~rpatiate ( ex pi ate) h is crim es on
th e gallows. 2 . H ow will th e n ew reg11latio 11s rtfrcl (affec t)
you r school ? 3 . H c deprecia ted (dep recated) th e atte m pt
made by th e iast s peaker to exc ite a p rejudi c e again st the
co mpany. 4. Th e observation (obse rvance ) of th ese simple
ru les wou ld have preve nte d all d iffi culty. 5. I a m no t liable
(likely) to have any such good luc k. 6. I had an elegant

L t_H _!!_l.-'. l 'v

i' ;

:LU .

(good ) time. 7. We mu st e!imi7ia le (m ake out) th e truth
Jro lll t hese scatl c red d eta ils.
8. l s th e party ( pe rso n )
t ha t 11·a n ts a c arr iage, dow nstairs o r in his roo m ? 9 . No t
h:l \: i n 1~ :i p r n r il , h(' ll1C r t::' lY £~:.: c:- the boy ~ ~:t _; -/; ~1/ ( ·-:lr?.l)
!T) C'S 5~1[!e .

!O .

I f l?,

r~1 i! s '!.1.1 f.1 S! ( a !in o~() P V f'rV

ti in ~ .

!

l_

~

j

33

•> i r. '1 / 1

E X ERCISE 8

By reference to App endi x IT, asce rtain the va rious

r. /\ft p r

1_, _ L ,

I

I

l ;

ha ll.

I 2 . lt

ra 111 c d reat ( very ) h are!.

29 . Disputed Words. ,. ,

It is often a very delicate

!.

i:; .

·.• ,

u u rse.
1 0 . L' Irst ly .
I d. . l\'Iutu a L Ti:: . i...J"i r' P .

':'

1-;: ! ;:!t :t · 1·

De fi n ite.

,)

! . ~ : :-· : ~ ; ·1: .--.

1

ll

r.

P ~ rh ! ,

T"

Lt •

f \
1 .
I 11>1! I

r z . G uess.

r. G o t.
, (\

•

- • • - - • •• -'· ~ - ·

l ) p ; -..- . -:-

: .: .' . .. .

.._, ~u, 11il .

') - ! '.: 1

13. Lia bl e .
! .O.

Pi n n h .

P :;':~: · : !

,;..

uses ot wo rd s have been r ecog nized in colloq uial
d ll d i i le i cli y E ll t; ;i,, i I.

iJu1ta fr , iu t eX<lllljJle, h a s l.Jeeu

long rega rd ed as a barbarism, but it is a pe rfectly
inte lli g ible wo rd , a nd is not un com mon in coll oquial,
a ncl even in liter ary E ng li sh. A ggravate we are p erfect ly fa miliar with in th e sense of "tease"; but,
th oug h it has long bee n in good loca l use, it can
scarce ly be said to have been admitted in to literary
E ng li sh. It is pl ai n that ma ny suc h cases as these
we a rc n ow di sc uss ing must be acce pted or rejected
on g rounds of perso nal preference. Whenever th e
a cce pted mea nin gs of words are in dispute, th e stude nt is ad vised to obse rve t he usage of reputab le
peop le in conve rsation a nd in co mpos it ion, a nd to
be g ui ded by t heir p ractice as well as by his own
taste. It is especially important that he sh ould not
accuse oth e rs of usin g incorrect E ng lish when t hey
a rc me re ly fo ll owing a nother fo rm of usage, whi ch
has been recogni zed by large numbers of r ep uta ble
peopl e. A list of word s freq uently mi sused is g iven
in App endix II for p urposes of reference.

_..,. ,...
.j<iJ •

...
. .i.!lt: urrcct Ur ::imm.J,r . ~

c.1.-zt 1iitl1 C.u ,

ct ::,

W l; U

i_J S

r hetoric, dep ends upo n usage, althou g h a lmost a ll
poi nts of in fl ection a nd syn ta x are n ow so thoro ug hl y
settled as no t to be in doubt. Commo n fa ults in
gramm ar a re of t wo so rts:-

( I) Faults in tb e fo rm of wo rd s, i. e. in in Accti on ·
'
e.J:. !tis 1l fo r !tis, aiu' t fo r isn' I, cl1tmb fo r climbed.
(2) F a ults in rela tion s between wo rds, i. e. in syntax; e.g . " yo u was" for " you w ere."
T he fo llow ing sectio ns will be fo und t o inclu de a ll
or nea rl y all com mon e r rors in g ram mar. Th ey arc
placed here beca use it is imp orta nt t hat the p upil
sho uld, at the outset, rid him self of th e habit of using
bad gramm ar. E rrors in th e use of single words can
be dealt with at any time, but e rrors in gramm ar disturb th e relations bet ween wo rds or g ro up s of word s,
and are hence of more importance. T he stud ent
should be car efull y tested o n eac h of th e fo llowing
sections. If a ny erro rs of th e kinds th ere in di cat ed
are still found in his speec h or writing, means
D

34

Elements of R!tetor£c

[ CI-IAP. IV

should be employed to convince him that they are
errors, a nd care should be taken to rid him of the
ha bit of empl oy ing th e m.
31. Articles. - The article should not be omitted
wh e n th e sense requires its use; e.g . we should say
" t/1c sec retary and t!te treasurer," n ot "t!te secreta ry
a nd treas urer, " unl ess both offices are supp osed to be
h eld by th e sa me person.
32 . Nouns: Formation of the Plural. - Care should
be tak en to form properly the plural of compound
words, forei g n n ouns, a nd other words which present
sli g ht difficulties.
( 1) It is n atural that forei gn words much used in
Eng lish should make their plurals as E nglish words
do, and this tendency toward uniformity should be
enco uraged as much as possible. From this point
of vie w, we should say band£ts, formulas, mc11zo1-mtdmns, rath er th a n banditti, f onmt!<E, m emoiauda,
th oug h the la tter forms arc all allowable. A few
for eig n noun s, h owever, still retain th eir foreign
plural s; e.g. pl1cno111mou, p!tcno111c1za. Th ese th e stude nt mu st eventually learn by heart, i( he does not
kn ow the lan g uages to which the foreig n words
belon g.
(z) \Nords in which a noun is compounded with
an ad verb or a pre positional phrase, add the plural
sig n to the ori g in al noun; e.g. lookers-on, m en-of<vnr,
so11s-iu-!11w . In the rare compound nouns (all military or judicial titles of French origin) in which a
noun is followed by an adjective, as knight-errant,

CHAP. IV]

Incorrect English

35

ma/or-general, it was formerly the custom to add the
plural sign to the noun; as knig-ltts-ermnt, m11fonge11eral, courts-martial. It is now more usual, however, to treat these noun s without regard to th e
relative value of their corn pon ent pa rts, a nd to add
the plural sig n at the end ; as knigltt-erra11ts, mafoi-gcnerals, co1wt-martials. In several com pound s in
which th e component parts arc both noun s a nd not
easily merged together, such as lm£g-/1t-te1nplar, m anservant, woma11-servaizt, the plural sig n is adcled to
each word; as knigltts-templars, me11-servmits, wo11teitse1~ua11ts. It s hould be added that, thoug h jo?tnteJiman and similar nouns h ave the plurals founteJmzen
and the like, such nouns as Gennan, Norma 11 , Muss1t!man, Ottoman, talisman, are not nouns compounded
with the English word man, and so form th e plurals
Germans, Normans, talismans, e tc.
33. Nouns: Formation and Uses of the Possessive. The possessive singular is formed by adding s, preceded by an apostrophe, to th e nominative singular;
t hus, bo)I, bo)l's. The apostroph e denotes that a
letter is here omitted in s pelling, for the Old English p ossessive added es to the nomin a tive sing ul ar.
Sometimes, when th e singu.lar ends in a hi ssing
so und, we omit the s, especially if the next word also
begins with a hissing sound, adding as the sign of
the p ossess ive only th e ap ostrophe, as in "for J esus'
sake," "for co11science' sa ke," "for old acq11a£11tance'
sake. " It would be rare to find in th e three phrases
just mentioned any other form of the possessive th an

I_

l

11

1
Elements of R!tetoric

I

1

r

[CHAP . IV

that g iven, bnt it is not uncommon to see "Dickcus'
novels, " "/(eats' poems," "Socrates' life," as well as
"Dickcus's novels," "f(cats's poems," etc.
A compound noun forms the possessive sin gular
by adding 's at the encl, as man-of-war's. Names of
firm s a nd similar phrases follow the same principle;
e.g. "Park aud Ti!jord's coffee," "the governor of
K m tuclq's policy."
The possess ive plural is formed by adding 's to
the re g ular plural form, if that does not end in s ; e.g.
m en, m en's. If the plural ends in s, the possessive
adds on!y the apostrophe; e.g. dog s, dogs'.
In prose th e possessive is regularly used only
with nouns denoting persons; e.g. "the man's h ead,"
but "th e top of th e house." But we often use th e
possessives of n euter nouns when the objects they
rep rese nt may easily be regarded as persons; e.g.
"th e sltip' s deck s." Of recent years, particular! y in
America, th e re has been a growing tendency to
employ th e possessive with n ames of cities, countries, colleges, et c.; e.g . "Columbia's crew" for "the
Columbia crew." 1 llut this usage has not yet bee n
accepted in the best literary prose. Whether it be
accepted or not, however, there is no defence for
th e vulgar use of the possessive where there can
·
.
be no idea
o f· possesston;
e.g. "Bosto1t ' s grea t fi re "
for "the g reat fire in Boston."
Suc h constructions as " I see no use in Jo!tn doing
it" for "I see no use in J o/m's doing it" are
1

See Principles of E 11glis!i Grammar, § 155.

CHAP. IV]

Incorrect English

37

incorrect. Here th e noun or pronoun representing the
actor must be in the possessive, not th e objective case.I
34. Pronouns : Nominative and Objective Cases. _
The most co mmon errors und er this h ead are:_
(I) The use of the objective for the nominative
after is, was, etc.; e.g. "I thoug ht it was her."
. ( z) The use of th e nominative for the objective
after a preposition or the predicate obj ec tive; e.g .
"between you and / "; "I supposed it to be she."
(3) The use of w!to for whom or w/wm for who .
e.g. "I gave it to the man who I cho~e. "
'
. ( 4) The use of the wrong case after than" e.g. " he
is older th a n me " for "h e is older than I [am ]."
It should be observed that in such constructions
as " I gave it to the man who they say is the right
one," they say is parenthetical and has no influence
on the construction ; who is the subj ect of is.
It must be borne in mind tha t there is considerable
authority for th e colloquial (not the li'terary) use of
who as an interrogative pronoun in the objective
case, in su ch expressions as "wlto did you see?"
and of me in "it is m e. " 2
EXERCISE 9

I. Form th e plurals of th e followin g nouns: Dwarf, wh arf, handkerchi ef, thi e f, half, beef, money,
valley, soliloquy, yesterday, folly, genus, stratum, phenomenon, hanger-on, break-down, forget-me-not, chief-of-police.
1 Pi-inciples of Englis!i Grammar,§ 125, note 1.
See Principles o.f E11ghslt Gra mmai" §§ 70 and 154.
f{/fiom is
also sancti oned. by usage in such expressions as "Shakspere, than
whom no poet 1s g reater."
2

.~ .

Elements of Rlzeto1'ic

[CHAP. IV

II. Form th e possessive sin g ular and the possessiv e plural of C hild , clog, lady, man-servant, man-of-war, prince, princess.

III. Turn into possessives the nouns us ed with of
in th e fo llowing phrases : A jou rn ey of an hou r a11J thr ee-quarters, the s::d:.uy of
the President of the United States, a portrait of Mr. H owells.

IV. Which pron oun should be used in the followin g sentences ?
1. I had rather it were (!t e, !tim) than (I, me).
2. I was
surprised to find it was (site, Iler). 3. You must U11cl ersta nd th at this is b etwee n you and (I, 111e). 4. I found
nobody there except (li e, !iim) . 5. I found nobod y there
but (lie, !tim) .1 6. I saw no one but (li e, him ).
7. He
said he wonk} never have believed it of (we, us) boys.
8. It was a present to (we, us) girls. 9. Th ey say it was
2
(we, Ifs) .
I O . He was taller than (I, me).
II. You had
rath er b eli eve him than (I, me).
I 2 . He supposed it to
be ( site, !ter).
I3· No one beli eved it to be (I, me) .
I4. No one thought of its being ( s!te, lter).
I5 - It was
clearly (sli e, lter) that started it.
I6. I feel that I a m as

good a man as ( !tc, !tim ).

V . Supp ly wlw, w ltom, or w!ticlt m the following
sent ences : He was a riuiet boy, - I believe was never in mischie f.
She was vexed at th e presence of Tom, - her brother

I.
2.

1

B ut in thii; constrn ction can he treated as a preposition , i.e. "but

him ," or ns a conjuncti on, i.e. "but he [was th ere]." The fonner
is prcfcrnl>lc. See Principles of English Crn111m11r, § 149.
2 ~o m c dc fenrl th e use o f tluw, in such co nstruction s, as a preposi·
ti on, but th e weight of authority favors treating it as a conjunction.

CHAP. IV]

Incorrect English

39

had asked to dinn er. 3. I was delighted to find my old
clog, - I had supposed to be dead . 4. l was d elight ed to
find my old cl og, -· I supposed was dead. 5. Th e wo man
- I ex pec ted to take th e pl ace of a train ed nmse wa s more
of a hindrance than a help. 6. There stood Fran c is they both hate, and - I tho ug ht was not com in.c:. 7. /:ven
Harrv. - she told me she had le ft at home. appea red
sho rtl y after. 8. I am anxious to know - yo u refer to.
9. - was it written by? 1 0 . T insist upon k n;)win g - you
mean. r r. I will give it t9 -ever co mes first. 1 r 2. I will
give it to - ever I choose.

VI. Are th e italicized forms correct?
1. I saw J o!tn driving.
2 . I objec t to J o!i11 's dri ving.
3· I see no se nse in /u'm com ing. 4. I saw /1im lvvkill g
out of the window. 5. What is the use of 711e. sp ending
n1y time here?

VII. Correct the errors in th e following sentences: r. A Yale and Harvard man show the e ffects of different
training. 2 . It is rare to hear of an Atlanti c steamer's loss.
3· Brooklyn's latest murd er is the talk of th e town. 4. I
had not heard of Smith's robbery. 5. This is something
fo r you and I to decide. 6. It makes we poor people
rejoice .

35 . Pronouns: the Possessive Case. - Care should
be taken not to insert the apostrophe in the possessive case of pronouns; e.g. it's, !ter's.
It should be noticed th at wlwse is generally used
as the possessive of w!to, not of wlticlt. That is, we
1 Noti ce that t he a ntecedent is om itted: "I will g ive it to [him]
whoever comes first."

'

l,

40

Elemmts o/ Rhetoric

[CHAP. lV

say, "th e man whose son I know," but "this plan,
the results of wladt are still uncertain."
Whose
is, however, sometimes used as the possessive of
wladt when of wludt would be awkward, or when
the object referred to is easily personified; e.g. "the
mountain whose white peak still g leamed in th e
distan ce. "
36. Relative Pronouns. - Two errors are frequently
committed in the use of relative pronouns: (I) l t is better not to use constructions such as the
followin g : "subjects difficult to comprehend, and
wludt I scarcely venture to treat"; "men ragged in
appearan ce, (mt wlw were nobl e in bearing." Here
and which and but wlto imply a preceding wltzdt and
who. The constructions should be : "subj ects whiclz
are difficult to comprehend, aud wlziclz I scarcely
venture to treat"; "men who were ragged in appearance, but wlw were noble in bearing." Though the
usage objected to is accepted in other modern languages, and has long had a certain au thority even
in Engli sh, it is wise, on the whole, to avoid it.
(2) Wladt should not be used for a fact (or any
similar word) wlticlt; e.g. "he bowed to her in a very
distant manner, wladt showed his bad breeding," for
"an act. wlticlt showed his bad breeding," or "thereby
showing his ill-breeding." It would not be hard to
find some authority for the usage here objected to,
but it is better that the young writer should avoid
using wlziclt unless it has a definite noun or pronoun
as its antecedent.

CHAP. !VJ

Incorrect Englislz

41

37. Pronouns: Number. -Avoid errors in agreement as to number betwee n noun and prono un ; e.g.
"if the public submits to such an irn position, tltey
will regret it." Here public, as the subject of a
verb in the singular, must be taken as a singular
noun, and cannot be refe rred to by a plural pronoun.
Notice, also, that in referring to ever)' one, everybody, any one, etc., the pronoun lte or site is employed, .
according to the context; e.g. "I shall be g lad, gentlemen, to h elp every 01ze of you in whatever project lie
und ertakes," or "I shall be g lad, ladi es, to help ever.J'
one of you in whatever project site undertakes." If the
sex is not determined, we may use (a) the rna,sculine
singular pronoun as covering both genders, or (b) both
the masculine and th e feminine sin g ular pronouns;
e.g. (a)" every one here may ask me any questions he
chooses," (b) "lte or she chooses." (a) is the form
preferred in literary English, unless it is n ecessary to
throw emphasis on th e fact that the statement applies
equally well to both sexes (b). The plural pronoun
referring to c11c1J1 one, etc., is condemned by rh etoricians, and is to be avoided; but it is common in vulgar
and coll oquial speech, and is not infrequent in literary
English.
EXERCISE 10

I. In the following sentences is whose or of wltich
correct?
It was a man wliose nam e I cou ld not remember.
It was a town wliose name I cou ld not remember. 3. It
was a project whose results cou ld easily be imagined.
1.

2.

Elements of Rhetoric

42

j ,.

I.

1·

j

i

I:
I'

\
I

1

I·

I I. In th e following sentences
w!ticlt correct ?

IS

[CHAP. IV

w!tzdt or and

i. Such are a few of the paradoxes one could cite from
his writings and wlzic/z are now before me. 2. When I saw
her again, she was laid up with a fever she had caught at
the camp, and wliic/z proved fatal. 3. It is a subject
not often talked about and w!tic/i I propose now to discuss with you. 4. This is th e best part of the story, which
is full of interest and wlzic/z the reader will not willingly
lay down.
III. Is wlziclt used correctly in the following sentences?
r. He strnck him heavily on the head, whicli caused him
to fall at once. 2 . He cried when the soot got into his
eyes, w!ticli it did every clay in the week.
IV. In the following sentences make sure that
the italicize d pronouns and verbs are in the proper
number: -

11:.·1

'1·

:,i
I

<

r. The committee reports that £t had no difficulty in
ascertaining the facts, but that tlzeJ' wei-e at a loss to know
how to deal with th e facts. 2. This is one of the most
extraordinary sights that /zas 1 .ever been seen. 3. The plan
is one of the bold est that has ever been brought forward.
4. He is one of those good-natured people who let others
alone and /za ve no th ought of interfering with any one else,
as long as no one else interferes with !tim. 5. That night
every one of the crew, except him, were down with the
fever. 6. He took it for granted that everybody near him
were his fri ends. 7. One fine afternoon everybody was on
deck amusing t/zemselves as best they could. 8. Nearly
1

Th.at is the subj ect of Ji.as.

The antecedent of th.at is siglits.

CHAP.

rv]

Incorrect Englislz

43

every one of the compositions had mistakes in them. 9. The
firm lzas se t a good example by dealing fairly with every one
in their emp loy. xo. The assembly expresses its sense of
the loss they !tave mstained.
38. Verbs: Number. - It is sometimes difficult to
decide whether a verb should b e in the singular or
the plural number.
A singular verb is used when the subj ect is singular, or m ay be appropriately regarded as singular;
a plural verb wh e n the subject is plural, or may
appropriately be regarded as plural.
A subj ect may be regard ed as sing ular: -(I) When it is a collective noun; e.g. "the committee makes its report."
( 2) When it is the title of a book ; e.g. "his L £ves
of Celeb1'ated Crimz'nals is sold for four shillings."
(3) When it is co mposed of two or more nouns,
connected by aud or unconn ected, a nd of such a
sort as to be considered as a single idea ; e.g. "his
giant st1'ength and lion bravery was long celebrated
throughout the nation/' "his strengt!t, his bravery,
his fo rtz'tude, was praised alike by the nobles and
commons."
(4) When it is composed of two singular nouns
connected by or or nor; e.g. "!te or his brother is
coming."
On the other hand, it IS also perfectly consistent
with g ood usage : (1) To regard a collective noun as plural when it
is desired to emphasize the individuals that compose

44

I·
i'

Elements of Rhetoric

[CHAP. IV

the g roup ; e.g . "the committee differ as to what
report they shall make."
(?.) T o regard as plural such a book title as Lives
when the singular would be awkward or harsh in
sound; e.g . "Johnson's Lives have long been famous."
(3) T o regard all g roups of noun s as plural when
th ey a re not obviously singular in intent; e.g. "his
great strcngt!t and lion bravery we re," etc., "his
streng t!t, his brm1c1J1, his fortitude were," etc.
Many doubtful cases occur, a nd g rea t latitude of
ch oice is allowed. The only safe g uide is that of
sin g ular or plural meaning.
Of the e rrors illustrated in the following exercise,
two deserve special mention : (I) The use of th e plural after singular nouns
connected by or or 1wr; e.g. "neither his father nor
his moth er are alive."
( 2) Th e use of th e plural after a singular noun
follow ed by as well as, togetlter wit!t, or similar
phrases; e.g . "John, as well as his sister, are coming" ; "John, toge th er with his sister, are comin g ."
Notice that Jolm is the subject of the verb in both th e
examples given.
EXERCISE II

Make sure tha t the italicized verbs are
prope r number.

I·

111

the

1. Th e ir special resort, I hear, are th e small lakes to tl1e
north.
2. To Washington a nd hi s devoted generals are
due the ho nor of having made it possible. 3. In these few
sentences arc to be found the root of the whole matte r.

CHAP. JV]

Incorrect English

45

4. The poetical assoc iations with whic h th e coming of
spring are associated were not, in this case, present.
5. Rattl esnakes sta rt from th e cav ities of the rocks, and
the scream of eag les, soarin g a mong th e whirlw.incl s of
eddying va pors, a111u11mce th at the waters ha ve hurl ed some
bewilclcretl a nimal over the precipice. 6. I learn e(l from
him th at no t a line of th e lectures were written. 7. [ thu s
obtained a reputation for powers of mind a nd bod y whi ch I
could not disprove, and yet whi c h I fe lt w ere und eserved.
8. A life of many years among the roc ks a nd caverns
of the mountains !tave made him sil e nt and reserved.
9. Increase of ease and fa me !tave strength ened his inclination to accep t things as th ey are. 10. Sin ce the
ontbreak of th e war the moral and physical cond ition o f
the soldi ers !1m1e occupied public attention. r I. Both hi s
and the ir safety w ere at th a t time endangered. 12. Be hind
th e house stands a well-stocked l>arn a nd se veral sh eds.
13. His co ndu ct in th e whole matter, toge th er with th e
letters I have received, prt[/7tdice me in his favor. 14. My
son as well as my sister were on th e boat. 15. Neither
my fri end nor hi s sister were in the least a fra id.

39. Verbs: Sequence of Tenses. - The student must
be on hi s g uard a ga in st in co nsisten cies in tenses.
Thus, he must be careful to say, "I sltall be obliged
if you will do it," or "I s!tould be obli ged if you
would do it" ; but not, "I slwll be obli ged if yo u
would do it." Again, he should say, "I expected to
do it, " and not " I exp ected to lta11c done it," because
what he expec ted was "to do it, " and not "to have
clone it."
40. Verbs: nuiy, cnn; li e, ln.1i; .<;if, set; 1•isc,
1·aisc. - ll£aJ1, not can, is used to ask permission; e.g .

Elements of Rhetoric

[CHAP. IV

"may I go ?" Can implies ability; e.g ." can I be of
any service to you ? " "can you get there in time ?"
This distinction, however, is not often observed in
negative statements; e.g. we m:iy answer the question
"11WJ' I go ?" either by "no, you may not," or ' no,
you can not." Th e l:itter is the more usual.
Lie is intransitive. Its principal parts are he, lay,
!ai1!. Lay is transitive. Its principal pa rts are lay,
laid, laid. The statement that lie is used of persons
and lay of things is misleading.
Sz't is intransitive. Its prin cipal parts are sit, sat,
sat. Set is transitive, and does not change its form
in the past tense or the past participle.
Rise is intransitive ; raise is transitive; e.g. "he
rises at seven "; " he raises corn."
EXERCISE 12

I. Why are the italicized forms wrong?

Correct

them.

I1

1.I,
''

I

!'

r. I should be astonished if you succeed in doing anything of the sort. 2. He will be thankful if you would pay
him even a part. 3. If you would take pains enough, you
will succeed. 4. I intended to lzave insistedon it. 5. vVe
ha ppen ed to !tave been present on that occasion.

II. Construct sentences illustrating the use of can,
cannot, 11zaJ1, 11iaJ1 not, and th e present tense, the past
tense, and the past participle of lie, lay, sit, set, riu,
and raise.
41. Other Common Errors. - A void the following
common errors : -

CHAP.

IV]

Incorrect English

47

( 1) Th e adjective instead of the adverb; e.g. " he
discovered it easy " for "he discovered it easily."
(2) The adverb instead of the predicate adjective
after verbs of incomplete predication; e.g. "it sm ells
sweetly" for "it smells sweet." After f eel and fool.:,
however, we are accustomed to use both bad and
badly.
" Look badly" is generally understood to
mean "to look ill" ; "to look bad" mig ht 's ometimes
be understood to be the equivalent of " wicked." In
such cases badly must be regarded as an adjective,
in spite of its termination (compare lowly).
(3) The double negative; e.g. "I didn't see him,
nowhere}' The Old English usage of making a
negative statement emphatic by employing two or
more negative words, has survived only in vulgar
English. In modern literary or colloquial English,
two negatives are equivalent to an affirmative.
(4) Without for unless, as in "I will not go witlzout
you do."
(S) The so-called split infinitive, as in "to tJwrough!y convince." This placing of an adverb or
adverb phrase between the sign of the infinitive (to)
and the infinitive was very uncommon up to twenty
or thirty years ago. Since then the split infinitive,
though violently attacked by purists, has come
to be widely used in colloquial and newspaper
English, and is sometimes employed by writers of
repute. In some cases, it has the distinct advantage
of bringing an adverb into an emphatic position; e.g.
"I wish to thoroughly und erstand the matter." In

Elements of Rltetor£c

I

!

''
I

'I

I

11

[ CHAP. IV

most cases, however, it is exceedingly awkward, and
the pupil is advised regularly to avoid it.
(6) The superlative fo r the comparat ive; e.g. "the
best of the two" for "the better of the two."
( 7) EitltlT or neitltcr for any ; e.g. " either of the
three" for "mty of the three."
( 8) D ifferent tlzan for different from, as in "it
seems different tltim the one I saw yesterday."
( 9) The false position of only, as in " I 01tl_y ; ccei11cd
it yesterday" for " I received it onl_y yesterday."
Onf;1 immediately precedes the word or group of
words th at it modifies.
( 1 o) The position of the correlatives eitltcr--or.
neit ltcr - 1wr, botIt - and, not only- but also, etc.,
as in "he neit!ter offended him 1wr hi s brother " ior
"he offended neitlter him no1' his brother."
(11) Don't fo r doesn't, as in "he don't want to go."
The expression has, however, some authority on its
side, and may possibly be accepted in col!oq1tial
(not in litcrmy) English.
(I 2) A false participial construction ; e.g. "finding him at home, it was decided not to go further,"
for "ji11di11g him at home, we decided not to go
further." See § 53, (3).
( r 3) The preposition /il.:e for the conjunction as; e.g.
"he does not swim like you do " for "he does not
swim as you do." Like is properly used only with
nouns and their equivalents; e.g. "he looked lz'ke
you," but "he looked as you used to look."

CHAP.

rv]

Incorrect Englislz

49

EXERCISE 13

Correct the ita licized errors in the following sentences:1. He would have laid there till now if we hadn't helped
him up. 2. Can 1 have the key to your room, or shall .l
ask th e janitor for it? 3. The st1tdio's artistic owner is
famous among her friends. 4. If it don't come before five,
I shall have to go for it myse lf. 5. fla ve eit!ter o[ you a
copy of this morning's paper? G. It is just as good, if not
better, tlian 1 any other Lraml in th e market. 7. I have no
rlo11bt bnt wlwt 2 he meant to !tave told you so long ago.
8. Ez•eiJ' intelligent student ought to use t!teir inOu ence in
behalf of such a scheme. 9. The olrl method is quite ditfaC11t in character titan that now in use. ro . He knew, as
even a boy younger than !1im wonlcl have kn own, that he
was only admitted on certain conditions. r 1. Freeing himself with a great effort, the blow was warded off, and Harold
escaped l!_Q.hanned. r 2. We are very careful w!to we let in
the club, for we want to ke ep it very select. 13 . A house
built in frosty weather, or wludt has bad bricks and mortar,
is likely to be da mp. 14. He reads his speeches lzlle a
curate reads the lessons. 15. But I am sure that cveiy one
likes it, whether t!1ey saw it by day or night. lG. All around
the room is a wainscoting of cherry wood and wludt extends
halfway up to the ceili ng. 17. Eac!t of these windows are
hung with blue and old-gold draperies. 18. Alone stai1ds
Andover's paper, on a height to wh ich only four of the co llege journals have attained. 19. I said I would not go
wit/tout he promised to pay all my expenses. 20. After a
time, she with her Aunt and a guide and Quentin are sent
away to a castle. 2 r. A woman who voted differently titan
1 Notice that if n ot better is parentheti ca l, and that as good than is
not an English idiom.
2 A possible construction.
Doubt but or doubt that is preferable.
E

,

'

i

I

r

ll
'lI

!
I

d'

f '

i·
''

,I

50

Elements of Rltetoric

[CHAP. IV

her husband did wou ld be an exception . 22 . Brandy sets
in moti on th e fun ctions of the body th at fat igue or emotion
have paralyzed. 23 . \Ve have the most highly wrought state
of individualism of all other countries on the face of the
globe. 24. To fitlly understand the position of the Acadians, we must go back and examine the previous forty
years. 2 5. All Nova Scotia or Acadia, comprehended within
its ancient boundaries, as also the city of Port Royal, were
ceded to the English. 26. She said that she had la in the
book on th e table. 2 7. Four voted in the negative and one
member was absent, wlwm it is claimed by the opposition
would have:: also voted in the negative. 28. I won't go
without one of the servants comes. 29. Neither Senators
Dawes nor Hoar we1·e in their seats to-cl ay. 30. She was
smalle r in stature than either of her three sisters. 3 I. He
set d own again. 32 . This is a phenomena common to an
immense number o f diseases. 33. The seventeenth century
evidently had a differeizt notion of books and women than
that whi c h flouri shes in the nineteenth. 34. Other people
have troubl es, I suppose, as well as me.
35 . Iago was
Othello's a nc ie nt and in whom he placed the greatest confid ence . 36. In intellectual and moral strength Maggie
Tulliver is what George Eliot was ; in physical beauty she
is what George E liot would have chosen to lzave been.
3 7. Hospitality was one of Addison's characteristics, and he
rarely m et a fri end but what he asked him to his lodgings
to have a talk over a bottle of wine. 38. The wealth of the
man y make a very little show in statistics; the wealth of the
few make a great show in statistics. 39. Th ere are points
where in m y mind Wordsworth reaches as lu/;lt, if not lugl1er,
th an any other poet of his time. 40. Presidents McCosh
and E liot, each of whom was a member of the unive rsity
crew of t!t eir colleges, excelled in athletics. 41. Charlemagne patronized not oizly learned men, but also established

CHAP .

rv]

Incorrect Eng!z'sh

51

educational institutions. 42. M rs. Jones, who is now eightyfou r, gave her firs t ball more than sixty years ago, at her
house in Bowling Gree n, w!tic!t 0hows the rap id grow th o f
th e city. 43 . A convent, a lunatic asylum, or a husbandeit/ter will do. 44 . One alum nce recently pledged $5000
for impro veme nts in th e opportunities for physical cul tu re
at Vassar, on condition that $5000 should be rai sed by
others. 45. He conside red it his duty to remonstrate with
a woman whom he plainly saw was very much out of place
there. 46. Moliere's plot and idea is often taken from other
writers, w!tic!t he d ocs not attempt to d eny . 47. Language
of that sort, p rofane and illiterate, and wludt I ain ashamed
to repeat, could have been used only by a me m.ber of a very
low strata of society. 48. The t!te11 monarchies are strongly
in :;ontrast with the now democratic governments. 49. A
more startling p!tenome11a than this upturn ed strata has
never been observed in geolog)l's whole history. 50 . Much
l'.s I had hoped to lzave seen him, he don't see m to iii the
/ ·ast regret missing me. 51. N either his father nor ' he were
willing to have anything to do with a man who treated them
so shamefully.
5 2. I neither atte mpted to conceal from
myself nor from him that the enterprise would be a dangerous one. 53. H e had two son-in-laws. 54. Give me three
spoonsful. 55. H e owes six mont!ts interest. 56 . It was a
threeJ1ears course. 57. Mens' shoes mended here. 58. The
history of the epoch centres on the li ves of llte !ting a11d
queen. 59. Mine is larger than your's. ..Jo. She forgot
!ter's but brought tlzeirs. 61. There are three phec:s open
to me, but I don't care for eit!ter of them. 62. This is the
man as saw the fire first. 63. Can I go this afternoon?
64. He left it laying on the ground. 65 . How fin ely you
look. 66. How sweetlj1 it sm ells. 67. H e went a different
way tita n I did . 68. Why don't he co me ? 69 . How sadly
they must have felt.
70. N either of them are coming.

52

11

Elements of Rltcloric

[ CHAP. IV

71. Neither toil nor grief have kill ed him. 72· Nothing
but misfortunes a10ait me. 73. I don't believe that he said
any more than he expected to !tave said. 74. He can choose
whoever he pleases. 75. Everybody has gone except you
and I . 76. !:Vito did you see? 7 7. Between you and I,
I can't understand it. 78. There is no sense in me going.
79. Is there any chance of the legislat1tn passing such a
bill? So. I told those w!to I met. 81. A bacteria cannot
be seen with the naked eye. 82 . It was an interesting
phenome1la . 83. A lieutenant and captain were wounded.
84. Sugar's rise was not unexpected. 85. It is not !ter's.
86. Th e fire totally destroyed the building, whose contents
alone were worth half a million dollars . .
I never knew
him to behave himself so bad. 88. She looked beautifully.
89. Ca?l I borrow your pencil? 90. I laid down for a while.
91 . He was found lap.ng on the ground. 92. Set clown
here. 93. I sat th e child on the grass. 94. I won't have
nothing to say to you. 95. It was a conception founded
mainly on his earlier work and wlzzdt presents him as a
refined and idylli c poet. 96. The writer, himself a scholar,
and wl1ose long and devoted labors have added to scientific
knowledge, den ies the fact. 97. A witness who the lawyer
expected to be present was kep t away. 98. Sh e was engaged to a man whom they say is very wealthy. 99. No
one has come except you and I.
roo. No one but
officers wei·e allowed inside the lines. IOI. Patience, as
we ll as knowledge, are required in such an und ertaking.
102 . Neith er the office r nor his companion were allowed to
enter. 103. Every one should attend to t!teir own affairs.
104. I shou ld b e obliged to you if you will help me in this
matter. 105 . Th e roads are bad and the weather disagreeable, wl1ic/1 accounts for his absence.

87.

i

~

I

:'
I

j

"

42. Shall and w'ill. - Sim!! and will are used with
the infinitive to form (I) the future tenses of all verbs,

CHAP. IV]

Incorrect Englislt

53

and ( 2) verb-phrases of various kinds. The distinction between sltall and will 'in the future tenses a nd
in these verb-phrases is a very delicate one, and
should b e carefully studied. The failure to make
the distinction is generally regarded as a sign of imperfect education, though it is common among intelligent and educated people in the United States,
Sc_o tland, and Ireland, and is by no means unkn own
in England. Indeed, some philologists affirm that
the distinction is an artificial one, and cannot be expected long to survive, in all its rigor, even in literary
English. The student can, however, easily master
the main differences betwee n the uses of slwll and
will, if they are not already familiar to him, a nd it is
his duty to do so.
43. Shall and will in Future Tenses. - The future
tenses al~ all verbs employ s!tall in th e first perso n,
and will in the other two persons; e.g. "/or we sl1all
go," ";1ou, !te, or t!tcy will go." This is the invariable
usage in all expressions d enoting merely a future
state or action. It should be noticed that " I s!tall
go " does not mean "I am resolved to go" ; it is merely
equivalent to "I am going." "He will go " does not
mean "he is willing to go"; it is merely equivalent to
he is going."
EXERCISE 14

In which of the following sentences are s!tall and
will used in forming future tenses?
i. I shall come if possible.
2 . I will be there.
3. You
shall not go. 4. You will come, I hope. 5. He shall not

54

Elements of Rhetoric

[CHAP. IV

go, I say. 6. He will be here by night. 7. They shall
start early. 8. I will make no attempt of the sort. 9. I
shall do nothing of th e sort. 10. They will have a long
journey.
44. 8luill ancl will in Verb-phrases. - Shall and will
arc used to form verb-phrases in which the origin'1.!
meanings of slw!l 1 (obligation) and will (inclination)
are prom ine nt. In these verb-phrases th e use of
shall a nd will is exact ly the opposite of th a t in the
future te nses ; that is, 11Jill is used with the first person, shall with the second an d third perso ns. "I will
go," then, is equivalent to "I intend to go"; "J101t
shall go" or "th eJ' s/wll go" is equivalent to "you or
they are obliged to go ."
The distinction between the meaning of shall and
w£ll in th e future tense and their meaning in verbphrases is shown in the following table : 11

FUTURE TENSE

I shall come
You will come
He will come
We shall come
You will come
They will come

It

I am going to come.
You are going to co me.
He is going to come.
We are going to come.
You are going to come.
They are going to come.

CHAP. IV]

Incorrect Englislz

55

VERB-PHRASES

I will co me
I want to come.
You shall co me
You must co me.
He shall come
He must co me.
' Ve will come
'Ve want to come.
You must co me.
You shall come
They shall come = They must come.
EXERCISE 15

In Exercise 14 substitute " going to" for slzall and will
when they a re used in future tenses, and "must" or "intend
to" when they are used in verb-phrases.

45. Shall ancl w'ill in Questions. - In questions of
the first person w£ll is not used . W e say "shall we
go ?" but not "will we go?"
'vVe m ay use will,
howev_er, when the verb is, as it were, quoted from a
preceding affirmative state ment; e.g. "we will go,
won't we?" In questions of the second and third
persons either shall or will is used, according to the
a nswer expect ed.
"Sita!! yo u go?" implies the
a nswer "I shall (not)."
" Will you go?" implies
the answer " I will (not)."
EXERCISE 16

Insert slzall or will : It may assist the pupil to bear in mind th at slw!l, wheth er in a
futur e te nse or a verb-phrase, impli es that the speaker is in control o[
the action expressed by th e verb. It can be used, th en, only (I) when
he speaks of his own action, that is, in the first person; and (2) when
be commands.
I

1. - - we go if it rains?
2. - - you beli eve me if
I tell you? 3. - - the prisoner succeed in escaping?
4. The question before us for decision is, - - the prisoner
be discharged ? 5. - - you be there? 6. - - you
meet me there? 7. - - you be able to come? 8. ~

Elem ntts rf Rlu:toric
we ask him to dinner?
not you ask him?

I

i
f

I

'I'

I' I
I

9. - - not yo u help me ?

[ CH AP. IV
IO. - -

46. Shrill and will in Dependent Clauses. - In a
d ependent cla use representing a quotation, sltall or
will is used acco rding as slmll or will would be used
if the wo rd s were ac tua ll y qu oted.
We write, fo r
in sta nce, "l say th at h e will co me," i.e. "l say,
' he wi ll co me."' But we may write, "b e says th a t
he s ha ll co me" or "he says tbaf he will co me," with
a differe nce in meaning. In "he says tha t he shall
co me," shall com e is a future tense, fo r the meanin g
is " he says, ' I shall come.' " In "he says that h e
will co me," will com e is a verb-phrase, for the mea ning is, "he says, 'I will co me .'"
It s h ould be
notice d that a clau se is fe lt to represent a quotation
whe n it (oll ows St1)1, !lti1ll, declare, m aiutain, lt0pe,
fm r, and si mila r words.

CHAP.

rv]

Incorrect E ng-fis!t

57

declarative sentences; i .e. "if I a m not careful, I will
fa ll" ; that is, "if I am not careful, I inte nd to fall. "
( 2) The use of will for shall in q uestions of the
first person ; e.g. " will I g o ? " that is, " do I intend
to go ?" - a question which is absurd, b ecause no
one but the q uestioner can know his own intention .
(3) The use of will for sltall in d ep endent cla uses
of th e kind described in § 46; e.g. " I fear that I will
n ot b e able to go," "he fears that he will n ot be a ble
to go," which mean, "I fear th a t I do not inte nd to
be able to go," "he fears that h e d oes not inte nd
to be able t o go."
It should be noticed that p eople who h ave spok en
the la nguage from infancy a lmost never use slta!L
incorrectly fo r wzll.
Th eir mistakes are al most
invari a bly in the use of wz'll for slwll.

I

EXERCISE 18

11.1
EXERCISE 17

Inse rt slta!l or will : \Ve reply that we - - be glad to accept th e invitation.
2. H e says he - - not beli eve us.
3. Th e priso ner thinks
that he - - succeed in escaping. 4. Th e prisoner fears
that he - - not escape. 5. He doubts wheth er he - be able to come.

I. Are shall and will used correc tly in the fo llowing sentences?
r. We have decided that we will not be able to go.

1.

47. Mistakes m the Use of shall and will. - Th e
m ost co mm on mistakes in the use of sltall and will
arc th e fo ll ow in g : -

(I) The use of w ill for sltall in the first person m

It is likely that I wzll be gone before you return .
3. Wzll we attack the city to-night? 4. The Ameri cans
' will be interested to learn from what sources our navy has
bee n increased. 5. I do hope that you will be present.
6. I fear that we s!tall not arrive in time . 7. I hope that
we s!tall not be late. 8. He dec lares that he will not go
under any circumstances. 9. You will do nothing of the
sort. 1 IO. I fear that I will not return alive.
2.

I

A polite way of expressing a command.

Elements of Rlzetoric

58

[CHAP. IV

59

Tlze Sentence

CHAP. V J

II . In clauses referring to th e future, slzould and
would arc used precise! y like s!tall and will.1 Are
th ey used correctly in th e following sentences ?

'

I

, I

1. I would li ke to hear his opinion.
2. I was afraid that
we would fr eeze to death. 3. If we had to fight again
soon, it is not likely that we would have trouble in obtaining
recruits. 4. I fe ared that we sltould not arrive in time.
5. I ho ped that we wo1tlrl be in time. 6. They said that
they wo11/d not come. 7. T!f7011ld you go if you were I?
8. Sl1ou!d you go, under the c ircumstances? 9. Under
the c ircu rn stances he slzould certainly not risk a dollar.
10. In these days women would be happy at home.

CHAPTER V
THE SENTENCE: ITS GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE

48.

OUR

METHOD

CLAUS le,

OF

AND TJIE

49.

PRO C EDURE. -

PHRA SE. -

THE

EX!l!< C I SE 19. -

PLEX, AND COM l'OUND SENTENCES. PLE X

No matter what you say, I - - not go another
step. 2. By to-morrow morning I - - be far away. 3. I
not li sten to you.
4. I - - be glad to have you
come. 5. You - - not go: that was his ex plicit commaml. 6 . You - - be sixteen to-morrow. 7. You - not go, I hope, under any circumstances. 8. You - - go,
or yon - - he sorry for it.
9. Thou - - not steal.
ro. We - - be there at eight. 1 x. We - - be th ere at
eight, I promise you.
12. We - - be late, he says.
13. Unless th ey are foo ls, they - - not go on any such
errand . 14 . It is my intention that they - - start at
once. 15. - - we join them? 16. - - not we go too?
17. - - they be allowed to enter? r 8. - - you be
all owed to enter? 19. - - you joi n us?

DA1'1"NTAL

COM POUND

S io:N TF:NCES. -

ERRORS

THE

IN

TllE

CO~ l ­

ANALY SI S OF COM-

EXER C I SE

CON STRUCTION

OF

22. -

53.

FUN-

SENTENClcS. -

EXF.RC I SE 23.

1.

1 Should is also used lo express duty or obligation, as in "he really
should go" ; and would to express habitual action, as in "he would
ofte n go."

ANO

S I Ml'l.E,

EXERC I SE 20.-51. ANALYSI S

OF SIMl'Llc SENTENCES.-EXERC I SE 2 r.-52.

III. In the following sentences should s!trrll or
will be used? \tVhy? If both forms could be used,
state what th e diffe rence in meaning would be.

SEN TEN C E,

50.

\

48. Our Method of Procedure. - The principles of
rhetoric are of , two sorts, - those that concern the
choice of words and those that concern the arrangement of word s. We shall assume for some little time
that the pupil chooses the words b est suited for his
purpose, and confine ourselves for the moment to
helping him to arrange his words in the most effec- .
tive manner. Later we shall return to th e matter of
the choice of words.
49. The Sentence, the Clause, and the Phrase. - It
is impossible to und erstand the rhetorical principles
that govern the arrangenient of words without having clearly in mind the grammatical principles that
govern sentence-structure. It is of the utmost importance that the pupil should b e able to analyze
sentences readily, di stin guishing modifiers from the

60

JI
I

Elements of R !tctoric

[CHAP. V

word s or phrases th ey modify, a nd subordinate
c la uses from principa l cla uses. In order to ma ke
sure th;it th e pupil is fully acquainted with the
pro cess of a na lysis, some time must be spent in
rev iew ing ce rta in esse nti a l parts of English g rammar, h q:;innin g with th e following points: ( 1) G ro up s of word s co ntaining a subj ect and a
pre cl icate a rc call ed cla uses; e .l[. tliat lu: should be
t!tcre; if lu: comes; w!toever !te is .
(2) !\ prin cip a l, or ind ependent, clause is one
that m a kes by itself a complete statemen t; e.g. I
s/tafl l[O.
(3) A subordinate, or dependent, clause is one th at
is meanin g less unless associated with a principal
clause ; r .J:J'. if I go.
(4) A senten ce must contain at least one principal
clause ; ex. "If he co mes, I shall leave th e room."
(S) Group s of words th a t do not contain a subject
and a predicate arc ca lled phrases; e.g. at last, to concl11dc tlz c matter.

I,

(6) Gro up s of words, whether clauses or phrases,
may be classified as equivalent to n oun s verbs
adjectives, a nd adve rbs. For example, i~ "tlw;
!te slw11!d be tltcre surprises me g reatly," th e ita licized 'vorcls for m a noun-group, the subject of the
verb surprises; in "he could lta ve gqne," a verbg roup , of which lte is th e subject; in "the w? tch
t!tat I boi(i;·ltt," an adj ective-gro up , modifyin g watclt;
in "I stru ck him by accident," a n adverb-group,
modifyi ng stmcl.:.

CHAP. VJ

61

The S entence
EXERCISE 19

I. In the following passage the words in certain
groups are connected by hyphens. Tell which groups
are phrases and which clauses.
"Within-our-beds awhile we heard
The wind that-round-the-gables-roared,
With now-and-then a ruder shock,
Which-made-our-very- bedsteads-rock.
We heard the loosened clapboards tost,
Th e boardnails snapping in-th e-frost ;
And on us, through-the-unplastered-wall,
Felt the light sifted snowflakes fall.
But sleep stole on as-sleep-will-do
When-hearts-are-light and [when ]-life-is-new.
-

vV lllTl'!ER :

Snow-Bound.

II. In the following sentences pick out (a) the
phrases, (b) the subordinate clauses. 1 Are they
equivalent to nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs?
1. That you were there is well known.
2. Bunyan has
told us, with very pardonabl e vanity, that in New E ngland
· his dream was the daily subject of the conversation of
thousands. 3. He who hesitates is lost. 4. There I saw
a sight that can be better described than [it can be J
imagined. 5. The spot where I stood I remember distinctly. 6. As he walked on, he stopped his song. 7. If
you are responsible for it, I advise you to be careful.
8. Seeing the hill, he stopped. 9. It is hard to understand you.
I lf furth er practice be necessary, a simil ar exercise may be base<l
on any of the passages q uotecl elsewhere in the volume.

62

Elements of R!tetor£c

[CHAP. V

II I. Construct ( r) three sentences consisting each
of only one clause ; ( 2) three consisting each of one
principal and two subordinate clauses; ( 3) three consisting each of two principal and two subordina te
cla uses.

I

I

'

50. Simple, Complex, and Compound Sentences. Se ntences may be classified, according to their form,
as (r) simpl e, (2) comple x, or (3) compound.
(1) A simple sentence contains only a single sta tement, co mmand, or question; e.g. (a) "the rain is
falling;" (b) "rain and hail were pouring down;"
(c) "it thunders and lig htens terribly." It should be
noti ced th a t in a simple sentence th ere may be more
than one subject, as in (b); more than one predicate,
as in (c); or eve n both, as in (d), "the rain and hail
began in an instan t and poured clown incessantly."
Even in the last case, however, the form of a simple
statement is prese rved, for each subject appli es to
each verb, and vice 11crsa.

CHAP.

v]

Tlze Seute11ce
EXERCISE 20

I. Are the followin g sentences simple, complex, or
compound? In the complex and compound se ntences,
point out the principal and subordina te clauses.
"In th e short action and pursuit, the French lost fifte en
men, killed, wounded, and taken. Of the remainder, some escaped within the city, and others fl ed
across th e St. Charles to rejoin their comrades who had
been left to guard the camp. The pursuers were recalled
by sound of trumpet; the broken ranks were formed afresh,
and the English troops withdrawn beyond reach of the cannon of Quebec. Bougainville, with his corps, arrived from
the upper country, and, hovering about their rear, threatened
an attack ; but when he saw what greeting was prepared for
him, he abandoned his purpose and withdrew. Townshend
and Murray, the only general officers who remained unhurt,
passed to the head of every regiment in turn , and thanked
the soldi ers for the bravery they had shown; yet the trium ph
of the victors was mingled with sadness, as the tidings went
from rank to rank that Wolfe had fallen."
l~undred

-

11
I
I

!

(2) A complex sentence contains one simple or
principal statement, command, or qu estion, and one,
or more subordinate clauses; ex" "the rain fell so
fast th at we were drenched throug h before we could
reach home."
(3) A compound sentence contains two or more
principal statements, frequently united by conjunctions ; e.g. " the rain descended, and the flood s came,
and the winds blew." Each principal statement may,
however, be modified by subordinate clauses.

PARKMAN:

Compiracy of Pontiac.

II. Write three complex sentences; a compound
sentence with two principal clauses, each of which
is modifi ed by a subordinate clause; a nd two other
compound sentences.
51. Analysis of Simple Sentences. - To analyze a
simple sentence it is necessary to find ( r) the subj ect,
(2) the predicate, (3) the object or predicate complement, (4) th e modifiers of the subject, (S) the modifi ers of the predica te, ( 6) the mod ifiers of the object
or predicate complement. Modifi ers of the subject,

Elclllc1tts of R!tcto1' ic

[ CHAP. V

th e object, or th e predicate co mplement mu st be
ad jcc li val, a nswe rin g th e question "wh a t kind of, "
a nd may be a dj ectives, ad jec tive-phrases, or adjectiveclauscs. Modifi e rs of th e predicate must be adverbial , a nswerin g the question" how, " "when," "wh e re,"
"to what d egree," or "what for," etc., a nd may be
a d ve rb s, adverb-p hrases, or ad verb-clauses. Th e
a na lysis of a sentence may be performed me ntally,
or indi ca ted on p aper by some conve ni ent a rra ngement of lines or col umns.
Take, for e xa mp le, the se nte nce, "Above th e leve l
bit of timber to th e eas t a vast dome of pale, und azzlin g- go ld was ri sing , si lently and swiftly." Here
( 1) the subj ect is dom e, ( 2) the predicate was risi1lg·;
th e re is (3) no objec t. The subj ec t is modifi ed by
(4) the article a, the adj ec tive 1mst, an d th e adjecti ve-phrase of . .. gold. The predicate is mod ifi ed
by ( S) the adverbs silently and swift(y, an d by th e
adve rb-phrase above the level bit of timber to the cast.
Thi s ad ve rb-p hrase may be furth er a nalyzed into the
fo llowin g parts : (a) th e preposition above ; (b) its
obj ec t·, th e noun bit; (c) th e modifi ers of bit, viz. t he
a rti c le t!tc, th e adj ective le1fl·l, the two adjec tivephr;1scs of timber a nd to the cast .
T hi s a na lys is may be graphically represented in
the fo llowi ng ma nn er, by placing th e subj ec t, predicate, a nd objec t in se pa ra te co lumns. The modifi ers
of eac h arc pl aced direc tly below it.

CHAP .

v]

Tltc S c1ttcuce

SUBJEC..1'

PREDICATE

OBJECT

dome

was rising

1l01lC

Adj ectives : a, vas t
Adj ective-p hrase:
of .
gold

Adverbs: silent ly,
swiftly
Adv erb-ph rase:
above the level
bit of timber to
the east

none

Anoth er convenient me th od of rep resenta tion is
th e following, in which adj ec tives, a dj ec tive-phrases,
adverbs, a nd adverb-phrases are placed on oblique
lin es joining the words or phrases th ey modify .
was r ising

There is so me clanger that the p upil will learn to
depend too much on graphi cal represe n tations of
ana lysis. These meth ods are often convenient m
dealin g with intricate sentences, but th e student
should mak e it his ambition to acquire the power of
holding in his mind the mutual rela tions of the parts
l'

66

Elements of Rhetoric

[CHAP.

V

of a sentence. He will find it of great advantage in
the study of rhetoric and literature and of the grammar of other languages.
EXERCISE 21

Show, by one of the methods explained on page 65,
the structure of the following simple sentences: -

,I
.,

'11

1. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or
unavoidable. 2. vVith all his reflective habits, he never
made up his mind on a subject. 3. His adherents accounted
for this by the astonishing magnitude of his ideas. 4. He
was exactly five feet six inches in height, and six feet five
inches in circumference. 5. He daily took his four stated
meals, appropriating exactly an hour to each. 6. "Proceed,
culprit," said the Governor, twirling up his mustaches.
7. They sun themselves in the great man's light, and feel
it to be their own element. 8. They cast the dignity of
man from their downtrod selves upon the shoulders of a
hero, and will perish to add one drop of blood to make
that great heart beat, those giant sinews combat and conquer. 9. The world-wide swell of solemn music, with the
clang of a mighty bell breaking forth through its regulated
uproar, announces his approach. 10. He comes, - a severe,
sedate, immovable, dark rider, waving his truncheon of universal sway, and passing along the lengthened line on the
pale horse of the Revelation.

52. Analysis of Complex and Compound Sentences. Complex sentences differ from simple sentences in
having a clause or clauses as modifiers of the subject,
predicate, or object. Take, for example, the complex sentence, "Then he rented an upstairs tenement,

CHAP. VJ

The Sentence

in which his family lived on terms of equality and
the greatest intimacy with the family of the landlord
occupying the ground floor, until he could buy or
build a house for himself, the upper story of which
could in time be rented." Here lze is the subject, not
modified; rented is the predicate, modified only by
t!ten; teue11lent is the object, modified by the adjectives an and upstairs, and the adjective-clause which
takes up the remainder of the sentence. The main
structure of the sentence is so simple that it need not
be represented by any scheme. The final clause,
however, is intricate, and its analysis may be represented as follows : SUBJECT AND MODIFIERS

PREDICATE AND MODIFIERS

family

lived

Pronoun (possessive Adverb-phrases: ( 1) on terms of
equality and the greatest intimacy;
case, with force of
adjective) : his
( z) with the family of the landlord
Adverb-clause: (3) until he could
buy or build a house for himself

This graphical scheme so far makes clear the intricacy of the long adjective-clause that we can see further that in (2) family is modified by the participial
adjective-phrase ocmpying the ground floor, and that
in (3) house is modified by the adjective-clause the
upper story of which could in time be rented.

68

E lements of Rhetoric

[CHAP: V

Th e sa me a nalysis may also be shown as follows: -

n

~ -------- -rn nt<'( [- - - - ---------ten em ent

~r

0

""

::>'

o·
!:>'

CHAP .

v]

The S entence

th e links b etween the lines a re placed the connec tin g
words or phrases.
Compound sentences ca n b e cliviclecl at once into
th e sim p le or co mpl ex senten ces th a t co mpose them.
Th ese simple or complex sentences can then be
treated in the ways described a bove.
EXERCISE 22

Sh ow, by th e meth od explained on pages 66-68,
the structure of the following sente nces : -

he-- - ------- - ---- co ul d huy or build ------------- - - - h ouse
~
~'

-$'
'<::-

~<,

st or y--- ---- - ---------------coulll be rented

"The boy, who was staggering und er the weight of his
melodious instrument, had b een expec ting thi s command,
and without waiting for the midshipm an to co mmunicate
th e order, he co mmenced that short rub-a-d ub air, that will
at a ny tim e rouse a thousand men from th e deepest sl eep,
and cause them to fly to their means of offence with a common soul. The c rew of the And had bee n coll ec ted in
gro ups studying th e appea rance o f the e nemy, c racking th eir
jokes, a nd waiting only for thi s usual order to re pair to th e
guns; a nd at the first tap of the dmrn, th ey spread with
steadiness to the different parts of the little vessel, wh ere
their various duties called them. The cannon were surround ed by small parti es of vigoro us a nd. athl etic young
men; th e few marines were drawn up in array with muskets;
th e offi cers appeared in th eir boarding-caps, with pistols
stuck in their belts, and naked sabres in th eir hands."
-

Adj ective-cla uses and adverb-clauses are placed on
lower lines p arallel with the principal clause. On

COOl.'ER :

The P ilot.

53. Fundamental Errors in the Construction of Sentences. - Now that the pupil, by prac tice in analysis, has refreshed his knowledge of th e relation of
part to part in simple, complex, and compound sen-

70

Elements of R!tetoric

[ CHAP. V

tences, he ca nn ot fail to understand the nature of
certain fundamental errors. These errors are of four
so rts : ( I) errors in th e construction of principal
c la uses; (2) er rors in the construction of subordinate
clauses; (3) errors in the relation of participial
phrases to th e words or phrases they modify;
(4) e rrors in th e re lation of princip a l clauses to each
other in co mpound sentences.
( 1) A co mmon erro r in the writing of th e ig norant
is th e omi ssion of (a) th e principal verb, or of (b) the
wh ole principal clause; e.g . (a) "Business training,
in th a t it gives the editor an insight into the financia l
workin gs of a paper, with its possible income and its
natura l expe nses." ( b) "When, at the encl of his
journey, covered with dust and completely exhaus ted,
the messenger stood a t th e foot of the low hills th at
separa ted the city from the sea."
It is, however, wholly proper to omit th e verb when
(a) it can be read ily supplied by the mind from the
co ntext, or wh en (b) the g roup of words is rather
an exclamatory p hrase than a principal clause; e.g.
(a) "First [le t us co nsider], the points on the other
side." ( b) "At las t. " "To be sure." " A shout, a
wi ld rush , a stru ggle, and the fort was taken."
( 2) Writers not trained in th e log ical a nd grammatical a nalysis of sentences frequently destroy the
sense of sub ordin ate clauses by omitting essential
words or co nfu sin g different constructions; c1;.
(a) "It is proposed by General Garcia when eac h
soldier leaves th e service he shall obtain a certi-

CHAP .

v]

The Sentence

71

fi ecl statement of the amount of money clue h im."
(b) "Althoug h havin g been open less than a week,
th e gy mn as ium is already an es tablished factor in
th e student's life."
In (a) a t!tat before when is
essent ial to th e sense and th e g r amm ati cal structure.
In ( b) the writer confounds !tav ing· been open and
alt!toug!t it !tas bee1t open.
(3) Participial phrases so metim es are made, g rammaticall y, th e modifiers of nouns or other words to
which they do not logically r ela te; e.g . "Running
as fast as possible, th e burning building was at last
reac hed. " H er e, gramma tically, the building app ears
to be the thing that was running.
The sentence.
should read, " Running as fast as possible, t!tey at last
reached the burning buildin g ." Co mp are § 3 I ( r 2).
(4) A funda mental error, likew ise, is that which
we may call th e "comma senten ce." When two or
more principal clauses occur in th e same sentence,
they must, as a rul e, be conn ected by conjunctions or
separated by semicolons or colons. Th ey should not
be separated by commas. For example : -[ Correct.] "He was allowecl to have no counsel in his
defe nce , and his request to see Bonaparte was again
refu sed ."
[ Correct.] "He was allowed to have no counsel in his
defe nce ; his request to see Bonaparte was again refus ed ."
[Correct.] "He was allowed to have no counsel in his
defence : even his request to see his broth er, who was a
lawyer, was sternly refu sed." 1
I F or th e d if£erence in
§§ 56 and 57.

e ffe~.t

betwe en a semicolon and a colon, see

72

E lements of R lte!oric

[ CHAP. V

[Incorrect.] " He was allowed to have no counsel in his
d cfcncc, e v ~ n hi s request to see his brother, who was a
lawye r, was sternl y refu sed."

;

I

I

I
I

I

,I
:1

Th e p rac ti ce of separating by commas prin cipal
clau ses in a compound se ntence is allo wable, howeve r, in a se ries of co mparatively simple cla uses
similar in co nstruction ; e.g. "I came, I saw, I
co nq uered. " " T he birds sang sweetly, the river
rippl ed by, the cloud s sail ed on. "
Not hin g, excep t habit ual bad spellin g, can give a
stro nge r impress ion of illiteracy th an th e use of th e
co mm a in separating cl auses which eith er should be
made i11d ep e11dc11t se ntences, or, if they can be consid e red as belong in g to th e same se ntence, should be
se parated by se mi co lons. Th e fault is p articula rly
comm on a mong stud ents who have not profited by
th eir in struction in g rammar.
EXERCISE 23

O n th e b asis of wha t is stated in the preceding
sec ti on, correct orally the mistakes in the fo llowing
sentences: 1 . Although having been open fo r less than one week,
the gy mnasium is an established factor in the stu de nt's life.
2 . Th e cause is obvi ous, recentl y some liquor- sellers were
arrested and th e chi ef of the tri be wanted to testify again st
th em. 3. The climate of Porto R ico is comparati vely good,
bette r, indeed, than th at of Cuba, conse quently it will become
a favorite resort during the winter fo r American tourists.
4. 1t is tru e tha t last year's F reshmen had to do various

CH A P .

v]

T!te Sentence

73

foo lish things and a few dran k milk besides, but they always
put up a good fight, in fac t they drank milk because they
were held clown and th e fluid poured in . S. We are glad
to note th e liberal policy th e authori ties have adopted in
laying clown a set of rules for the u se of the gy mn asiu m, yet
there is one regulation whi ch should certainly be put into
for ce, this is requiring visitors to keep off the floor. 6. But
there is really no more reason for selecting that da te than
many others, take the tw elfth of August when th e Ameri can
flag was raised over H onolulu, or furth er back to when
Alaska was purchased, or furth er still to the elate of the
acq uiring of T exas.· 7. T he season has been a di sgrace
both to the president of the League and to the men who
took part in the games, hardly a day has passed without
rowdyism. 8. F rom this tim e on he Imel a seri es of confli cts wi th the French. Until now, old and a captive, he
has come to th e end of his ac tive career. 9. T hus the
story ends, as many do, " they were marri ed and lived
happy ever after." 1 0. The Maules were a fa mil y of woodchoppers, the father very often turn ed an honest penn y by
his clever use of the hammer and the saw. 1 i . This U niversity is cramped fo r room. Since, in the first p lace, it has
not got room enough fo r a large do rmitory, whi ch is one
of the elements of a coll ege life.
1 2 . Imaginin g a weak,
effeminate, simple man, a good idea of Pri ce is obtain ed .
13. A thorough coward, and, on the whole, a fellow to be
piti ed.
14. H aving always felt a deep interest in as tronomical inquiries, and without knowledge of th e resul ts of
Newton and Laplace, this question was investigated by myself
r 5. The advantages of this compu lsory
and by my staff.
physical course are, I 1.ni ght say, almost self- evide nt, whil e
th ey were down at 49 th Street, they had no gymnasium ,
and th e phys ical educati on was entirely neglected. r 6. Th e
fellows as a result took but little exercise, in fac t most of

74

Elements

ef

Rhetoric

th e m took absolute ly none. q. A ma n without any con
science, almost an assassin, one who delighted in cru elty
and hesitated to do nothing so long as it would benefit himself. 18. It was not until I had finished the book wh en I
could lay it down.
19. I now come to my third point,
being th e qu estion of economic development.
20 . At the
game, however, th ere is a large crowd of anxious spec tators
wh o are watc hing for a lively scrap, the more roughness a nd
brutality tha t is shown, the more the fun and th e mo re th e
excitement for those look ing on.
2r. In th e old cane ru sh
everybody took part, each one looked out fo r him self a nd
enj oye d an exhilarating good sport.
2 2. Losing my way
in the forest, it was dinner-time when I reached home.
23 . There are se veral cha nges that should b e made in th e
Freshman course. That the entrance examination should
be so conducted as to require only the subjects whi ch the
student intend s to pursue during his college ed ucation.
24. Take any of th e large uni ve rsiti es, snch as Yale or Harvard, we find that they cove r many times more gro und than
Columbia d oes.
25 . This year many of the o ld favorites
have again entered th e ring also many new men. Among
the latter several Freshmen fr om whom · grea t things were
expected. 26 . Catching the train at last, it seemed that his
trials were ended.

Punctuation

CHAP. VI]

[ CHAP. V

75

CHAPTER VI
PUNCTUATION
54.

THE THEORY
C I SE

24 . -

OF

PUNCTUATION. -

56. TH E SE MI CO L ON. -

-EXERC ISE

26. - 58.

55.

T !I E

PERlOD. -

EXERC ISE 25. -

Tim COMMA . -E:\ IO: R<' ISF.

EXER-

57 . T l lE COLON.
27. -

Ql l F.STI ON MA IUC - 60. Til l•: E XC l.J\~ I ATI ON POI NT. -

59.

61.

TIIE

PAREN -

TH ESES AND B RACKET S.- 62. THE DASH . - 63 . Tl!E AP OSTROPHE.
-

64. QUOTAT I ON MARKS. -

65 . ITA LI CS. -

66. THE

J-IYPHEN.-

E XE RC ISI!: 2 8. -67. CAPITALS. -EXERC I SE 29.

~ '

54. The Theory of Punctuation. - Punctuation is a
system for indicating, by various points, the grammatical structure of written lang uage. A period,
for instance, shows that a group of words constitutes
a declarative sentence. In punctuating, the student
should bear in mind that his object is to divide words
into groups according to their gramma tical relations.
55. The Period. - The p e riod is used (I) to mark
th e e ncl of sentences, or ( 2) to show that a letter or
combination of letters is not a real word but an
abbrev iation. With regard to the use of the period
to mark the end of a sentence, it is only n ecessary
to say that the failure to indicate the close of a sentence in this way is a plain sign of illiteracy. See
§ 53 (4). Th e pupil is already familiar with common
abbreviations of English word s, a nd he will have
little or no difficulty in ascertainin g t he meanin g of
any with which he is not yet acquainted. With abbre-

Elemmts of Rltetoric

[ CHAP.

vr

via tions of fo reig n words he may have more diffi c ulty~
In the fo llowing list are g iven those he should certain! y be able to understand and use. The list also
in cludes a few abbreviations of English words.

l·

A.R. o r B.A. (Latin, Artium
B accalait1 ·eus), Bache lor of
/\rts.
.
A.D. (Latin, am10 rlo111ini),
in . th e year. of our Lord.
ad Ii b. ( Latm , at! !ibit1i111 ),
at pJ easure.
/\.J\'f. (Latin, Arti1t111 Jl!lagis ler) or M.A., Master of
Arts.
ret. (Latin, relate), aged.
a.rn. (.I .atin, ante mcridiem),
before noon.
n.c., before Christ.
B.S., llac helor of Sc ience.
C.E., C ivil E ngin eer.
C f. ( 1.atin , confer) , co mpare.
C.0.D., collec t on deli ve ry.
D .C. L. , Doctor of Civil Law.
D. D., Doctor of Divinity.
Dele ( Latin, meaning" erase"),
a term used in correcting
proof.
D.c:. (Latin, dci gra tia), by
th e grace of God .
l>.V. ( Latin , deo volente),
God willing.

Ie.g.

(Latin, cxempli gra tia),
for example.
etc. (Latin, etcetera), and so
forth.
H .R.1-1., His R oyal Highness.
ibid . (Latin, ibidem, "in the
sam e place" ), a term used
in footnotes, in reference
to a: book just mentioned.
i.e. (Latin, id est), that is.
inst. (Latin, 111cnse insta11te),
the present month.
LL.B. 1 (Latin, L egttm Baccalaureus), Bachelor of
Laws.
LL.D ., Doctor of Laws.
M. (Latin, 11u,,·idies ), noon.
M. (French, J1£onsimr), Mr.
M.A., Ma ster of Arts.
M.D. (Latin, Medici11 re D octor), Doctor of Medicin e.
Mgr. (French, A£onseigneur),
an ecclesiastical title.
Mlle. (French, A£ademoise!le), Miss.
MM. (French, A£essieurs) ,
used as the plural of l'vl.

1 Th e do ubl e letter denotes that the word was in the plural.
l\lS. a nd MSS.

Cf.

CllJ\l'.

vr]

Pu1lct 1tation

77

Mme. (French, Madame), P.S. (Latin, post scnptum),
Mrs .
postscript.
M.P., Member of Parliament. Q.E.D. (Latin , quod erat
MS., manuscript.
demons trand111n),
which
MSS., manuscripts .
was to be proved .
Ph.D. (Latin, Pliilosop!u«:e q .v. (Latin, quod vide), which
D octor) , Doctor of Philsee.
osophy.
sculp. (Latin, sci1lpsit), he
N.B. (Latin, nota bene), mark
sculptured or engraved it.
well.
S.P.Q.R. (Lalin , Sena/us
pinx. (Lati n, pinx:it), he
Pop1tlusq11e R omamts), th e
painted it.
Senate and the Roman
p.m. (Lati n, p ost meridiem),
people.
after noon.
stet. (Latin , "let it stand"),
p.p.c. (French, pour prendre
used in proof or MS.
co11ge ), to take leave.
ult. (Latin, ultimo ), las t
month.
pro tem . (Latin, pro tempore) ,
vicl. (Latin, vitle ), see.
for th e time being.
prox. (Latin, p roximo) , next viz. (Latin, videlicet), to wit,
month.
namely.
EXERCISE 24

Construct sentences illustrating the use of the abbreviations mentioned in the preceding section .

56. The Semicolon. - Semicolons have two uses : (r) To separate the principal clauses in a compound sentence, when no conjunction is used. When
a conjunction is used, the se paration is frequ ently
marked by a comma ; but a semicolon (as in this
sentence) is sometimes used when th ere is a more
decid ed break between the parts of th e sentence, or
when the sentence is long and contains many commas.

E!enze1lts of R!tetoric

(CHAP. VI

(2) To separate clauses or phrases from each other
in a series of similar phrases or subordinate clauses,
when commas would not be sufficient to inclic~te
clearly where each clause or phrase began and ended.
Examples : ( r) He rece ived only ten guin eas for this ~ tately, vigorous poem; but the sale was rapid and the success complete.
There was now a sound be hind me like a rushing blast;
I heard the clatter of a tho usand hoofs ; and countless
throngs ove rtook me.
W hen his men had thus ind em nified themselves, in some
degree, for their late reverses, Cortes called them again
und er th eir banners_; a nd, after offering up a gratefu l
ack nowledgment to the Lord of Hosts for th eir miraculous
prese rvation, they r enewed their march . across the now
deserted va ll ey.
(2) We bo ld these truths to be self-evident: that all
men a re c reated equal; that they are endowed by their
C reator with inh e rent and inalie nable rights; that among
these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happ iness; that
to secure t hese rights governments are instituted amo ng
men, d eriving th e ir just powers from the consent of the
governed ; that whenever any form of government becomes
destructive of these ends, it is the right o f the people to
a lte r or to abolish it, and to institute new governme nt, lay ing
its foundations on such p rin c iples and organi zing its powers
in such fo rm, as to them shall seem most lik ely to effect
their happiness.
EXERCISE 25

( 1) Find fi ve sentences in wh ich the principal cla..ises
are separated by semicolons. ( 2) Find fiv e sentences _in
which se mi colo ns a re used to separate a series of similar
phrases or subordinate cl am.e~.

CHAP . VI]

P mzc tua tion

79

57. The Colon. -The colon indicates that w hat
follows it is an explanation or specification of what
p recedes it. It is u sed : ( 1) To introduce a list, a quotation, or an explanatory propos1t10n. When th e quotation or proposition
begins a new paragraph, a dash is usually placed after
the colon, as in the second sentence of this section.
(2) In a compound sentence in which the princip al
clauses are not connected by a conj unction, to show
that the following clause explains or illustrates th e
preceding clause.
1
(3) After such phrases of address as D eai' Sir,
Ladies and Gcntlemell, etc.
Examples: ( 1)
H e provided himself with the foll owing books :
Worcester's dictionary, a Lat in grammar, a n atlas, and a

l3 ibl e.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that, etc.

See

example under § 56 ( 2) above.
He read, on a marble tablet in the chapel wall opposite,
this sin gular inscription: "Look not mournfully into the
past."

( 2) I am no traveller: it is ten years since I have left
my village.
The general refused to believe him : the risk was too
great.
EXERCISE 26

Find fiv e examples of (1) , five of (2), and three of (3).
I At th e b eginning of a letter, Dear Sir may be fo ll ower\ hy (1) a
cnnma, ( z) a com ma and a dash , o r (3) a colnn . It sho uld never be
(o! lowetl hy a se rni colon. (3) is mo re fo rmal than (2) and (r).

80

l

Elements of Rlzetoric

[ CHA P . VI

58. The Comma. - As we have seen, th e period is
used to close a declarative sentence, and the semi·
colon and colon to mark off the g reater divisions of
a senten ce. The office of the comma is to point off
the smaller divisions of a sentence. It is used in th e
following ways : ( r) In a co m pound sentence, to separate th e different clauses, when there is not a sufficient break
in th e thou g ht to ma ke a semicolon necessary. See
above, § 56 (I).
He rested him se lf in the Chancellor's room till the debate
comm enced, ancl then, leaning on his two relatives, he
limned to his seat.
His exertions redeemed his own fame, but they effected
little for his country.

(2) To separate the different parts of a compound
predicate, unless the connection between them is
very close.

CHAP.

vr]

Punctuation

81

If you are wise, you will tru st him implicitly.
Although I saw him, I could not wait.
I would not stop until he called out to me.

(4) To mark off a relative clause th a t does not
actually restrict the meaning of its antecedent. Notice th e difference between (a) "he sent me the very
book which I wanted," and (b) "he se nt me your
book, which I shall be glad to return to you." In
(a) th e relative clause is equivalent to an adjective,
limiting boo/.:. In (b) th e relative clause is equivalent
to an additional principal clause, " and I shall be
glad to return it."
He sympathized with the distress of the race from which
he sprang.
He was welcomed by loud huzzas, in which the very
magistrates of the city joined.
The union, which a few months before had seemed all
powerful, was now dissolved.
The only bond of union which remained was now dissolved. (Notice the difference between this sentence and
the preceding.)

The slightest particulars of that clay were remembered,
and have been carefull y recorded.
He lost the thread of his discourse, hesitated, repeated
the same words several times, and was so confused that, in
speaking of th e Act of Settlement, he could not recall the
nam e of the E lectress Sophia.
I see and hear you.

(5) In general, to indicate the beginning and encl
of a group of words, whether a phrase or a clause,
which is so long or important that it is necessary that
the mind should regard it separately.

(3) In a co mpl ex sentence in which the dependent
clause precedes, to separate the dep endent clause
from the principal cla use. When the depend ent
clause follows, the comma is, as a rule, not n eeded.

Within the fort and its precinct, the English exercised,
by permission of the native government, an extensive
authority, such as every great Indian landown er exercised
within his own domain.
The natives, who composed a considerable part' of these
G

82

Ele11tmts of Rlietoric

[ CHAP . VI

littl e ga rri sons, had not ye t been trained in the discipline of
Europe, and were armed, so me with swords and shi elds,
so me with bows and arrows .
Proceed ing in thi s way, they subdued the insurge nts.

(6) To ma rk off adve rb-p hrases when th ey open
a sente nce, or a re n ot close ly co nn ected with the
co ntext.
Short adverb-p hrases occurrin g in th eir
usual places a nd closely connected with the context
a rc, however, not marked off by com mas.
On hi s arrival in E ngland, he found himself an object of
ge ne ral interest a nd ad mi ra tion.
With rare d elicacy, he refused to receive this token of
g ra ti t11cle.
Th e case was heard, acco rd ing to the usage of th e time,
before a commi ttee of the wh ole house.
From a c hild he had hated the E ngli sh.
H e re fu sed with e mphasis this token of gratitude.

(7) To mark off adverbs and adverb-ph rases whi ch
have a co nnective fo rce. Notice the difference betw ee n (a) "you see, then, tha t you h ave been misled,"
and (b) "you then saw that you had been misled."
Thi s, o n the othe r hand , was his purpose.
My mi ss ion, too, is one of peace.
He recalled, however, hi s moti ve.

(8) To mark off worcls or ph rases (a) in direct
addre ss or (b) in app os ition. Notice, howev er, that
in expressions lik e "the E mpero r William," vVillirmt
is rather a noun limited by Empei-or than a noun in
a ppositi on with Emperor.

CHAP. VI]

Punctuat£on

(a) I do not understand you, sir.
I apologize, ladies and gentlemen, for my appa rent discourtesy.
(b) His romantic novel, the Castle o/ Otra11to, is now
unread.
He is like me in this, tha t he cannot resist entreaty.

( 9) To separate similar words or phrases used, in a
series, in the same cons truction, and n ot joined by
conjunctions.
It was done quickly, n eatly, artistically.
It was clon e qu ickly and neatly.
He was a bi g, hearty, happy fellow.
The horse was a quiet, sensible old beast. [Here quiet
and sensible limit old beast, not beast alone. ]
He was gay and jovial, gloomy and despondent, as th e
weather indicated .

If the members of th e series are joined by conjunctions, com mas are unnecessary. vVh en, however,
a conjunction joins the last two members of the
series, the com ma is e mployed.1
Bread and butter.
She was good and true and b eautiful.
They visited Rome, Florence, a nd Venice.

(ro) T o separate the subject from the predicate,
but only wh en it would oth er wise be hard for th e
reader to understand the construction of the sentence.
I The usage o f ma ny writers and publi she rs, however, is to omit
comm as in such cases; that is, th ey pre fer "a, band c" to " a, b, and c."
The latter usage , as desc ribed above, is foll owed in this book.

Elmzents of Rltetoric

[CHAP. VI

Whatever is, is.
The tat tered soldi ers who were finall y rescued from a
danger so pressin g and so extraordinary, numbered scarcely
a hundred.

(I I) T o indi cate the omission of words logically
neces sary to the construction.
On e was tall ; the oth er, short.
Ad mission, twenfy-five cents.

(I 2) Before a direct quotation.
formal use of the colon, § 57 , 1.

See the more

He kept crying, "On ! on ! "
As he fell, he heard so me one say," T here goes another."

( 13 ) In dates, addresses, as in the followin g
examples : -

Jan. 1, 1899.
Dr. C. H. Sm ith, Salem, Essex County, Mass.1
EXERCISE 27
l . . Find. three se ntences illu strating each of th e uses
clescn becl 111 th e llrecediDg section . 2 . c 1·ve reasoDs 1r or
th e pu nctuation o f the extract on pages 1 24_ 12 6. 3 . Write
a short J~assage from di ctation, paying espec ial attenti on to
pun ctuatwn.

59. The Question Mark. - The question mark is
placed at the encl of every direct questi on. It is not
us ed with indirect questions .
1

On an e n:elope it is becoming customary to omit all punctuation
at the e11Ll of Im es, except periods after abbreviations.

CHAP. VI]

Punctuation

85

Shall I go ?
I ask you, " Shall I go ?"
I asked whether I should go.

60. The Exclamation Point.- The exclamation point
is used after exclamatory words, phrases, and sentences. When an exclama tory sentence begins with
an interj ection, it is usually sufficient to place a
comma after the interjection a nd to reserve the
exclamation point until the end of th e sentence.
When a n une mph atic interjection begins a declarative senten ce, it is frequently possib le to omit the
exclamation poin t entirely. As a rule 0 is used
only in vocative expressions.
Help ! You rascal ! Be off with you !
Ah, yciu are back again !
Oh, what a mess I have made of it !
Oh, I d idn't see you.
Hear me, 0 King ! Oh ! I am wounded !

61. Parentheses and Brackets. - Parentheses are
used to inclose explanatory matter wh ich is incle-·
pendent of the g rammatical construction of the
sentence.
Brackets have the same gene ral office,
but a re ge nerally used only to inclose co rrec tions,
explanati ons, or similar matter, int roduced by the
author into the statement of some one else.
Prescott ( 1796-1859) was a brilliant historian.
It is sa id (and I can believe that it is true) that many
still believe in witches.
It was at that moment [ ro A.M.], the colonel goes on to
say, that his superior officer [G eneral Smith] met him.

86

Elements of Rltetoric

[CHAP. VI

62. The Dash. - The dash is used to indicate a
sudd en change in thoug ht or construction.
Two
dash es have the general effect of parentheses.
Yes - no - I scarcely know what to say.
You were saying that l suppose - but why should I tell you?
His father, his moth er, his brothers, his sisters, - all are
cl ead.
. At last he succeeded in opening the box and found in
1t - nothing.
He had two constant motives - love of man and love
of God.
The two motives - love of man and love of God_ were
constant.
. 6.3. The Apostrophe. - The apostrophe is used ( r) to
111c11c~t c the omission of a letter or le tte r~, (z) in
forrn'.n g the possessive case, and (3) (sometimes) in
formm g the plurals of letters and figures.
i

iI

Don't, shan't, o'er, John's, horses', his abc's.
64. Quotation Marks. - Double inverted commas
in.clicatc. th at the incl osed matter is a quotation.
Srnglc mvcrtccl commas indicate a quota tion within
a quotation. Double qu otation marks are also some. times used to indicate the title of a book, magazine,
or newspaper, or the name of a .ship. See also § 6s.
"To be or not to be. "
"Sir," said I, "you in sult me."
word ".coward" has never been applied to me.
. 1111S' was h~s reply: "I tell you that he said only last
mght, You Will never see me again .'"
This " li isto ry of English Li terature " is worth reading.
The wreck of the "Polar Star."

1:1i:

CHAP.

vr]

Punctuation

65. Italics. - The term "italics" refers to a special
kind of type used in printing; thus, italics. Ordinary type is referred to as "roman." In writing, a
single line drawn underneath a word is understood
to be the equivalent of italics. Ita lics arc used for
( l) words especially emphasized, (2) words from a
foreign la ng uage, and, sometimes, as in this volume,
(3) names of books, newspapers, magazines, and
ships.

Sec § 64.
To his amazement, he saw j1Jotprints.
The carriage rolled away from the porte-coc/1ere.
His History of Englislt Literature.
The wreck of the Polar Star.

66. The Hyphen. - The hyphen is used as follows: (1) Between the parts of some compound words,
so1l-i1l-law, simple-ltea:·ted, vicc-p~esidmt. With regard
to many words, usage varies. The tendency is to
omit th e hyphen and write the words as one, e.g.
football, lwrsccar. Compound numerals and fractions
retain the hyphen, e.g. twc7tty-nine, one lumdred and
tliirtJ1-first, two-t!tirds .
(2) To separate two vowels which are not pronounced together, e.g. pre-cnzi11ent, co-operation. The
di~resis is frequently used for the same purpose,
e.g. prei!m incnt.
(3) To mark the division of ·a word at th e end of
a line. Usage varies as to the way in which many
words shall be divided. The subject can be best
studied by noticing the practice of good printers.

88

Elements of R!teto1'ic

[ CHAP. VI

The pupil may bear in mind, h owever, (a) that
he shou ld not divid e words of on ly one sy ll able;
(b) t hat he should be g uid ed by pro nunciati on ;
(c) that syllables should beg in, if possible, with a
co nso na nt. For example, pltotog -raplty , Napo-leo?t,
litera-ture.
EXERCISE 28

Find, or make up, three illustrations each of proper uses
of th e qu estion mark, th e exclamation point, parentheses,
brackets, th e das h, das hes, th e apostrophe, double quotation mark s, single quotation marks, italics, the hyphe n.

67. Capitals. - The pronoun I and th e interjection
0 arc writte n with capital letters. Capital letters
a re used a t the beg innin g of words as fo ll ows: (I) The first word of a sentence, a lin e of poetry,
and a direct q uotation-:
Cap itals arc used in various ways .
" l\faki ng his m s tic reed of song
A wea pon in th e war wi th wrong."
His last words were : "Mother is coming."
"Ru n," he saiJ, "there is sti ll tim e."

( 2) Na mes and titl es of the D eity and p erso nal
pron ouns refe rrin g to Him, c .g~ the Almighty, the
H oly !Jpirit, I pray tliat He will azd me.
(3) Proper nouns and adjectives, including na mes
of streets, th e month s, th e days, races, sects, parties,
nations, and parts of the country . For example,
J olm Smith , Broadway, iVcw York C£ty, Fcbntm)',
Su?tdaJ1, Christmas, Iudian, bpiscopahan, Democrat,

CHAP. VI]

Punctuatio1l

English, the Soutlz. Notice that ncgro and gypsy a rc
not b egun with capital letters.
(4) Personal titles, whenever th ey a re equivalen t
to prop er nouns.
In co mpound titles, eac h part
begins with a capital.
The President and the Governor of R hode I sland are here.
The Attorney-General of the U nited States.

For titles of books, see § 16.
( 5) Perso nified nouns, and names of great events
or bodies of men.
"While sallow Autumn fills thy lap with leaves."
It was a cool day in autumn. 1
At the beginning o f th e R evolutionary War.
While the Legislature is sitting.
EXERCISE 29

I. Construct sentences co ntainin g 111 all twenty
words that should b e begun with cap ita l letters.
II. Which words in th e following sentences should
begin with capitals ? Why ?
1. He added, with a look of curi os ity, "you must be a
2. "I like," said he, " to li e down upo n th e
stranger."
grass." 3. In 182 7 he entered the se nate, serving th ere
until the pres ident appointed him secretary of state. 4. At
length I reached fourth stree t. 5. It was easter morning.
6. H e has always voted the republican ti cket. 7. There are
more negroes in the south than in the west. 8. No one
imagined th at he would make a good emperor. 9. The
king died on tuesday. 1-0. I shall see yo u this summer.
1 Noti ce that th e nam es o f the seasons do not begin with capitals
unless they are p ersonified.

Elements of R!tetoric

[CHAP. Vll

CHAPTER VII
THE SENTENCE : ITS RHETORICAL STRUCTURE
68.

R ll ET O HI CJ\l. S T RU CT U R I·: A QUF.ST I ON O F J UDGMENT J\N D TA STE.
-

69 .

T11ro: !'IR ST

E SS l-:N Tl 1\ I.:

Tll E

G RAi\IMATI CAL

S T RUCT URE

M UST HE Ev 11n: NT. -

70. \ .\! J[ F.N Tll E G RAMMA TI CA L S T RU CTU RE

JS MOST

71.

E V l lJEN T. -

ST RUCTI ONS. SEN TENC E

EXERC ISE

MUST

S im T EN C IC. -

NOT

30 . -

BE

TOO

FO R
72.

AVO IJJI NG

I N TRI CATE ' CON-

Tl! E SECOND

L ON G. -

E SSENTI A L :

73 . T HE

74. A SER I ES OF S H ORT SENTEN CEs . -

LONG S EN T EN CE. A S TO TH E

RU LE

G OOD

75. TH E GOOD

76. TU E BJ\D L O NG SENTENCE. -

LENG TH

OF SEN TENCES. -

A

S H ORT

77.

EXERCI SE 3r. -

RU LE

78. T l! E

E FFECTI V E U SE O F S ll O RT AND L ONG SEN T ENCES I N COi\ llJI N AT IO N . -

EX E RC ISlc 32. -

79 . TH E T HIRD

EsSEN TI A L:

OF T H E SENTENCE SllO U LD OFT EN STl MU L 1\ TE T H E

T H E FO RM
R EAD ER. -

80 . TI U': PER l OV l C S ENTEN CE AND TH E L OOSE SENT ENCE :
NITIO NS. -

E XER CI SE 33· -

P ER I OD I C. -

ExERC ISf: 3-l· -

l~X ERC I SE 35 . -

GOO D

L OOSE

TllO U<' ll'I'
86.

IN

82. Tll E Goon P E RIODI C S E NTf:NCE.

TH E BA D Pf:RlOD I C S F.NT f: NCE. -

SEN T EN CE. -

EVEN

Tll E BAD

83.

Tl!E

EXE RCI SE
L OOS!':

L OO SE SEN T ENCE. -

36. -

85.

Sf:NTENCE. -

EXERC I Sf:

OF

OF

37. -

R ULE AS

E XERC I SE 39.-

88. Tll E FOURTl l E SS ENT I J\ I.: P ARA LLE L STRUCTU R E. 89.

84. TH E

S US l' f:NSlON

EXERC I SE 3 8. -87.

T O T l IE PERI O DI C A ND T lrn L OOSE S E N T ENCE. 40 . -

DE FI -

81. H ow TO MA K E A LOOSE SENTENCE

EXERCISE

RUL E AS TO PARA LLEL STRUCTU RE.- 90. Tll E VALU E

]MI TAT l ON. -

EXERC I SE

4 r. -

91.

! M lTATl \T E

P RACTI CE

IN

S l':N T ENCE B U lLDl NG.-EXERC I SE 4 2.-92. SUMM A RY. - EXE RC l SE43.

.I

68. Rhetorical Structure a Question of Judgment and
Taste. - In th e precedin g ch apter we discu ssed the
laws o.f g ramm atical construction, - la ws which, to
insure correctn ess, must be foU owPd in every se ntence.
But se nte nce s may be grammatically correct a nd ye t
be obscure or in e ffec tive. vVe must now see how

CHAP . VII]

Tlte S e7ttence

91

senten ces may not only be correct but satisfy the
judg ment and the t aste.
69. The First Essential: the Grammatical Structure
must be Evident. - The essential parts of a senten ce
a re, grammatically, the subj ect a nd the predicate. It
must not be forgotten th at these parts of a sente nce
are essential to its grammar 0 11 ly because they a rc
essential to its th ought vVith ve ry few e xcepti ons,
all thoug hts tha t a re e xpressed in la ng uage must be
expressed in just this way, - by a n asse rtion made
by means of a verb a bout a so mething which is
represented by a noun or. its equivalent. It is th e refore of the utmost importan ce that sentences sh ould
be constructed in such a way th at th ese essenti al
p arts - the subj ect a nd the predicate - shall stand
out clearly, for they are the p arts on which th e
thou g ht chiefly depends and to which the mind
mu st be mainl y directed.
70. When the Grammatical Structure is most Evident. - It is ob vious that the mos t satisfactory sentence, from this p oint of view, is the simple sentence.
In the simple sentence, unless there a re ma ny modifyin g phrases, it is almost impossible fo r the subj ec t
and the predicat e not to stand out clea rly. N ext in
order come th e short complex senten ce and th e short
compound sentence; and last th e more intricate co mplex a nd compound se nte nces. As a n illustration of
th e value of the mo{·e sim p le sente nce-fo rm s in ma king thoug ht clear, n otice the ease with which th e mind
grasps th e essential ele ments of th e thoug ht in

I.

l

1

I

92

Elcmeuts of Rlzetoric

[ CHAP . VII

(a) below, a nd th e diffi culty, cqmp aratively speakin g,
with which the same process is carried on in (b).

, I

(a) " Such language, in letters th e most private, never
mean t to be seen by other eyes than those to which they
were ad dressed, gives touching testimony to th e since re
pi ety of hi s [Willi am of Orange's J character. No man was
ever more devoted to a high purpose, no man had ever
more ri ght to im;igin e himself, or less in clination to pronou nce
him self, entrusted with a divine mission. There was nothing of the charlatan in his character. His nature was true
and stead fas t. No narrow-minded usurper was ever more
loyal to his own aggra ndizement th an this large-hearted
man to the cause of oppressed humanity. Ycl it was inevitabl e th at baser minds should fail to recognize his purity.
Whil e he ex hau stc tl his life for the emancipatio n of a people,
it was easy to ascr ibe all hi s struggles to the hope of fo unding a dynasty. It was natural for grovelling natures to
search in the gross soi l of self-interest for the sustaining
roots of th e tree beneath whose branches a nation fou nd
its shelter. What could th ey comprehend of living fountains and of heavenly dews?"
-

MuTLEY :

Tlie Riu of the Dutc!t R epublic.

( b) "Auth ors shall be ranked here [in the process ion of
life], who m some fr eak of Nature, making game o f her
poor children, had imbued with the confidence of gen ius,
and stro ng desire o f fame, but has favored with no corresponding power; and others, whose lofty gifts were unaccompani ed wi th the facu lty of expression, or any of th at
earthl y mac hin ery, by which ethereal endowment must be
manifested to mankind. All these, therefore, are melancholy laughing-s tocks. Next, here are honest and wellintenti oned persons, who by a wan t of tact - by inacc urate
perceptions - by a distorting imagination- have been kept

.CH AP.

vu]

T!te Senteuce

93

continually at cross purposes with the world , and bewildered
upon the path of life. Let us see if they can confine themselves within the line of out.. procession. ln this class, lik ewise , we must assign places to those who have encountered
that worst of ill success, a higher fo rtune th an their auiliti es
could vindicate; writers, actors, painters, th e pets of a <lay,
but whose laurels wither unrenewecl am id their hoary hair ;
politi cians, whom so me mali cious contingency of affairs
has thru st into conspicuous station , where, whil e the world
stands gaz ing at th em, the dreary consciou sness of imbecility makes th em curse th eir birth hou r. "
-

HA WTttuRNE:

i11osses Ji'om an Old llfanu.

71. Rule for avoiding Intricate Constructions. - Th e
foll owing rule will b e of great service to th e inexperien ced writer in helpin g him to avoid intricate
constructions: Until you have attained considerable skill in framing sentences , use only simple sentences, and complex and compound
sentences in which there are only one or two subordinate
clauses.
EXERCISE 30

The following sentences are intricate.
R ewrite
th em, expressing th e same ideas in shorter sentences,
more simple in structure.
[The first sentence, for exampl e, may be changed as
follows: "Where the slopes came together to form a basi n,
the water lay in the hollow of the rocks. The lake was at
first concealed by the clouds th at hung over the surface.
As the process went on, however, it came into view in the
clear light of the sun."]
1. As the process went on the lake, whi ch had at first
been concealed by clouds hangin g over the surface of the

94

Elements of Rhetoric

[CHAP. VII

water that lay in th e holl ow of th e rocks, where th e slopes
came toge th e r lo form a basin , came into vi ew in th e clear
li ght o f th e sun. 2. Th e men, thinkin g it stran ge that they
sho uld ha ve forgotte n one of such evident autho ri ty, dressed
as he was in th e o ffi cial costume of the d ay and bearing a n
im pos in g loo kin g sta ff which suggested official di g nity,
t urn ed as id e and began to converse wit h each other in low
ton es. 3. Th ey urged him to react th e a r ticle he had just
writte n, th ough it had not been prepared fo r j11 st s11 ch an
a11cli ence, th e o ld tra it that hi s fri ends always coun ted on
o f d o ing wh a tever he thou ght others wished was once more
sho wn.
4. And here let me cautio n persons gro wn old i11
active business, not ligh tly, not without weighing the ir own
resources - sin ce th e re may be clan ger in it - to fo rego
th e ir cll stomary e mployment all at once . 5. Am ong the
stra nge fan c ies he had at th e beginning of his freed om fan c ies strange a nd rariou s and unaccountable as a re our
dreams and th e vi sions of the nig ht which come to us without di scove rab le cause , tho llg h psychologists te ll us that
eac h o ne reall y has its cause, was the beli ef that he had
a lready spent a lo ng tim e in searchin g fo r the missing pape rs.
6. Wh en we fir~ t looked up, we saw approaching a man
wh ose g rave face and heavy eyes be tokened th e seri ous
th ollght whi ch is, if not th e provin ce, at least th e habit, o f
such schola rs as li ve within the limi ts o f the university town ,
he had a book in his hand , however, and with his e ves fi xed
on this was quite un co nscious of our presence. ·7. l'vlu ch
as she had been di s posed to like him she could not think
without ange r, hardly without contempt, o n tha t eas in ess of
tempe r, that want o f prope r resol11tion, tha t now made him
not only serve his designing friend s, but eve n sacrifi ce his
own in clinations, harml ess as these were to th eir hap pin ess .
8. \\' ealth is not a sign o f a ristocracy, on th e co ntrary the
true aristocratic element, the best bred and refi ned, who

CHAP. , vn]

Tlte Smtence

95

come from a good old stock which has endured and been
strength ened throu gh yea rs a nd cent11ri es, are seldom ro lling in ri c hes, it is th ose who suddenl y become ri c h th at
forc e th emselves before th e publi c a nd call themselves th e
aristocracy.
9. To be a bl e to write a cl ear, truthful, and
logical essay ; to be able to d eli ve r it in a mas t erl y way
befo re a learn ed a nd critica l body of men a nd wom en is
o ne o f th e greatest pleasures wh ic h helps to pay a man fo r
h is man y hard-spe nt hours acq uir in g the th oughts o f great
me n whil e pu shing as ide the cha ff of lesse r me n. 1 o. Bein g
the younger s6 n of an E ngli shm an o f title, it would have
been co nsid ered below hi s ra nk to have e ngaged in the
hono rab le branches o f mercantile or comm ercial interests
fo r whi ch he was well suited ; he had tr ied 11nsnccess fully
th e various professions whi ch offered to him , a nd having no
patrimony he fell into a mod e of li fe wh ic h, th ough kindly
and simple in character, had noth ing broad or e nn oblin g
in it a nd so became dwarfed and narrow. I I. During
l\IIa rn cr's early life, he belonged to a r elig iolls sect whose
be li efs were entirely fo reig n to t hose o f a n inh abitant o f
New E ngla nd; practising his relig io n in everything h e d id,
whi ch is qu ite foreign to the ave rage Ya nkee far me r, who
on Su nday goes to church with hi s fami ly, a nd becomes
apparently thorou ghly reli gious, but o n Mo nday, or rather
as soon as his store suit is off, he beli eves in the sm vival of
th e fittest, and does not scruple to stick a man with a brokend own horse or if need be to sell woode n nutm egs. 12 . But
the go vernment wh ich has protected us so far, which has
guarded our interests, encouraged o ur end eavors, avenged
our wro ngs, which has gro wn and grown g reat throu gh all
th e cha nges that have come to us in our history- which
to be sure is not of long duration but still has las ted for
more th an a century - wi ll not fa il us now. 13. A paragraph is one di stin ct part o f a story that is composed of

Elements of Rltetorz"c

J

~I
j

CHAP.

[ CHi\P . V II

o ne o r mo re sentences, all of whi ch relate to the ge neral
th o11g hl treated by the par:1graph, but which is di st inc t from
th e thoughts expressed in the other paragra phs of the story.
14 . Th e e lements too have to be co nsidered, for li ght
obj ec ts can be pho tograph ed be tter on a du ll day th a n th ey
can on a bright day, as also in the case of dark obj ects whi ch
tak e a be tter pi cture on a bright day than on a dark day.
15. Th e engi1we rs wished to be absolutely sure of the safety of
the stru ctures th ey des ig ned, and since there were few physical measure ments that had been mad e with mathematical accuracy, they, cal cul ating th e strongest possible strains that
co11IJ be brou ght to bear upon their structures by ordinary
forces, mul tiplied th e result by six, and made th e bridge or
building stro ng enough to bear th e sixfold load. 16. T hen
the pil es of snow a nd ice, littering the stree ts uncared for
by an in e ffi cie nt fo rce of stree t-cleaners under a c rim inally
neg li ge nt Superin te nd ent of Street-cleaning, bred th e ge rms
a nd spread th e d isease whic h has become so prevalent a nd
distas teful to New Yorkers - grippe. l 7. What better
co11ld be clone for th ose weary and world-worn spirits ? for him whose caree r of pe rpetual actio n was impeded a nd
ha rassed by th e ra rest of his powers and the richest of his
acquire ments? - for another who had tJ1rown hts ard ent
hea rt fro m earli est yo uth into th e strife o f poli tics, and now,
perci1 :tn cc, bega n to suspect that one li fetime is too brief
for the accomplisme nt of a ny lofty aim ?- for h er o n wh ose
fe minin e natme had been imposed th e heavy gift of intellec tu a l powe r, suc h as a strong man might have stagge red
11nde r, and wit h it the necessity to act upon th e wo rld?in a wo rd, fo r a ny body, th an to throw the spell of a tranquil spirit ove r him? 18. It was no other than that unive rsall y acc redited charac ter so constantl y re ferred to in all
seaso ns o f intense co l ~ or heat ; he th at remembers the hot
Sunday and the cold Friday; the witn ess of a past age whose

vu]

Tlie Sentence

97

nega ti ve re mini scences find the ir way in to every newspap er,
yet whose a ntiqu ated a nd dusky abode is so overshadowed
by accumu lated yea rs and crowded ba c k by modern edifices
that no ne but the Man of Fancy cou ld have discovered it,
in sho rt, that twin brother of Time a nd g rcat-grand sire of
Mankind , and hand-and-glove assoc iate of a ll forgotten me n
and things - th e Old est Inha bitant. 19. In the a fternoon
my fri end asked me if I should like to take a walk ; of
co urse I was delighted with the proposal a nd we had soon
startccl, as we went a long the hi gh way I was surprised to
find th a t from every hedge or fe nce there were two or three
heads p eering out that I feared had ev il desig ns upon my
fri end which I at o nce me ntioned to him but he did not
see m to b e ve ry much conce rn ed about hi s safety. 20. The
tin y income that was gain ed by re nting one of the unused
apa rtments to a daguerreotype artist who had lately co me
to town, in suffi cient as it was to meet even the mod est
require ments that were needed by s11 ch a simple woman as
the Miss Hepzibah th at we have seen, had to be increase d
by the opening of a small store.

t .

'

72. The Second Essential : A Sentence must not be
too Long. - In order to impress a reader favorably,
a sentence must n ot be too lon g . The different
effects produced by long and by s hort sentences will
be disc ussed in th e fo llowing sections.
73. The Good Short Sentence. - S hort se nte nces are
most natural and effective when we a re trea ting a
subj ect simply and rapidly. Th e virtue of the s hort
sentence is tha t it g ives one's writin g simplicity a nd
rapidity of movement, as may be seen from the firs t
passage quoted in § 70.
H

•h

':

I

t
I

E lements of R!tetoric

[ CHAP. VII

CHAP.

vn]

T lze Sentence

99

74. A Series of Short Sentences. - A succession of
ve ry s hort a n d ve ry simple sentences, h owever, has
th e e ffect o f a passage fro m a c hild's p ri mer.
T he
th o ugh t seem s t o m ove o n onl y by je rks a nd star ts,
a nd t he r ead e r is ta n ta lized b y getting o nl y a small
par t of a n id ea a t a t ime. Notice the effect o f s uch
a s u ccessio n of se n ten ces in the following passage,
t a ke n fro m a n a b r idged transla tion of Victor H ugo's
Ni11c!J1- T!trce: -

75. The Good Long Sentence. - The a d vantage of
the long sentence is tha t b y it we are a ble to state in
the sam e breath, as it were, or a t least in the sam e
gram mati cal unit, a co rn p le te id ea, with a ll its necessary m odifica ti ons.
T h e fo llowin g se ntences, fo r
example, a lthoug h con side r a bly longer th a n th ose
which one wo uld u s ua lly wri te, wo uld h a ve disti nctly
lost in fo r ce had they b ee n b rok e n up in t o shorter
sentences : -

"They lay cl own sid e by side on th e seaweed bed. T he
beggar fell asleep immedi ately. T he marqui s, although ve ry
tired, remain ed thinking d eeply fo r a few moments. To lie
on th at bed was to li e on the ground. H e cou ld hear a
strange buzzing und ergrou nd. We know th at sound stretches
do wn in to th e de pths; he cou ld hear the noise of bells. T he
tocs in was still sou nd ing. T he marquis fell asleep. It was
dayli ght when he ::twoke. The beggar was standing 11 p not in the de n - bu t without, on the sill. T he su n shone
upon his face. H e ind icated a point in the hori zon. 'I am
go ing th::tt way.' He po in ted in the opposite di rectio n.
'Go you thi s way. ' A mome nt ::tfte r, he di sappeared amo ng
the trees. T he marquis arose and departed in the direction
whi ch he h::ttl indi cated .
" It was that charming hour call ed in the old Norman
peasan t di :tl ec t 'th e so ng-sparro w of the clay.' T he fin ches
and th e hedge-sparrows fl ew chi rping about. Th e marq ui s
p::tssecl out o f th e thicket ::tncl fo unrl himself at the fo rk of
the road, marked by th e sto ne cross. T he placa rd was still
there . He remembered th:i.t there was some th ing at the
botto m whi ch he Juel not been ::tble to read the evc:nin g
hcfore. He we nt up to the pedestal of the cross. U nder
the signature th ere were yet two other lines in small characters."

(a) " On this qu esti on of prin ciple, while actual suffe ring
was ye t fa r off, they raised th eir flag against a power, to
which, fo r purposes of fo reign conques t and subjugation,
R ome, in th e height of her glory, is not to be compared, a power which has clotted ove r the snrface of the whole globe
with her possess ions and military posts, whose morning dru mbeat, fo ll owing the sun, and keeping co mpany with th e hours,
circles the earth with one co ntinuous and unbroken strain of
th e martial airs of E ngland. "
-

DANIEL vVEBSTER :

Tiu Presidential Protest.

( b) "Let their last feeble and lingering glance rath er
behold th e gorgeous ensign of the republic, now know n and
honored th ro ughout the earth, still fu ll high advanced, its
arms and tro phies stream ing in th eir original lu stre, not a
strip e erased or polluted, no r a single star obscured, bearing
fo r its motto, no such miserable in te rrogatory as ' Wh at is
all thi s worth?' nor those other words of delu sion and fo lly,
' Liberty firs t a nd Unio n afterwards '; bu t everywhere,
spread all over in characters of li ving light, blazing on all
its ample fo lds, as they float ove r the sea and over th e lan d,
and in eve ry wind un de r the whole heavens, that other
se ntim ent, clear to every true J\n1erican heart, Liberty and
Union, now and fo r eve r, one and inse parable ! "
-DANIEi. \ •V E BSTER :

Second Sfetclt on Foote's Resolu tion.

IOO

Elements of R!tctoric

[CHAP. VI I

76. 'l'he Bad Long Sentence. - Unless, however,
one's hand is skilfu l, the long sentence is lik ely
either to be obscure or to impress the reader with
its length and intricacy. The following quaint sentence from Cotton Mather's Mag-naha ( 1 702 ), for
examp le, would nowadays be broken up into several
sente nces : "In June next ens11ing, a great thunder-storm arose ou t
of the northwest ; after which (the hemisphere being serene),
about an hour l>cfore sunset a ship of like dimensions with
the aforesaid, with her canvas and colors abroad (though
the wind [was] northernly), appeared in the air coming up
from our harbor's mouth, which lies southward from th e town,
seemingly with her sails filled under a fresh gale, holding
her course north, and continuing under observation, sailing
against the wind, for the space of half an hour."

77. Rule as to the Length of Sentences. - In general,
the long sentence should be used with great moderaOften unnecessarily compli cated, it overtion.
strains the attention of the reader, who at the end
of the sentence can sometimes scarcely remember
what the beginnin g was. The inexperienced writer
will profit by observing the following rule: -'Unless for very good reasons, do not allow a sentence to
exceed thirty words.
EXERCISE 31

I. vVrite a composition of about ten sentences, in
whic h most of the sentences shall not contain more
than twenty words, but in which one sentence shall
be considerably longer.

CHAP.

vu]

Tlze Sentence

IOI

II. Break up each of the following long sentences
into two or more short sentences : The weather has to-day the feeling of early spring,
while only last Wednesday it was clear and crisp, a typical
winter clay; the sky was clear, a good brisk breeze was
blowing, and everywhere there were signs of hurrying
bundles of humanity, to-clay there seems to be little life in
the air, the sky is clouded over, and people go about their
work in a . half-listless, langu id fash ion . 2. This kind of
weather takes people un prepared for they dare not change
their weight of clothing and thu s they go about feeling
uncomfortable all clay, food is liaule to spoil Lecause merchants and buyers are not prepared, disease germs are bred
in such weather, and we see what troul>le and inconvenience
one bad clay will put a whole city to. 3. If you take about
twenty pieces of zinc and place them in the pickle-bottle
and cover them with the acid, putting .th e cork in snugly,
bubbles of gas, driving out the water which was already in
the flask, will soon fill the bottl e in the basin. 4. If he
should ever be upon the water and through some accident
or carelessness be thrown into the water, unless he had near
at hand a friend that could swim, his life would not be worth
much; and his friend, if he could not swim, would have the
sorrow of seeing him drown, and would then wish for a
know ledge of the art of swimm ing.
5. Good influence,
right thought, true feeling, would seen1 almost of necessity
to be obliged to lie in pools here and there upon the great
expanse of human life, wherever they found the most sensi tive and susceptible minds; great districts of humanity
being totally unreached, instead of the great broad fields
being watered through and through. 6. After that I had
accomplished and fin.i shed divers histories, as well of contemplation as of other historical and worldly acts of great
conquerors and princes, and also certain books of ensamples

"'

1.

. \'

102

Elements of Rlzeto1'ic

[CHAP . VII

and doctrine, many noble and divers gentlemen of this
realm of E ngland came and d emanded wherefore that I
have not made and imprinted the noble history of the
Saint Greal, and of th e most renowned Christian kin g, first
and chief of the three best Christian kings, King Arthur,
whi c h ought most to be remembe red amongst us Englishmen befor e all other Chri stian kin gs ; for it is notoriously
kn own through th e universal world, th at there be nine
worthy a nd th e best that ever were, that is to wit three
Paynims, three J ews, and three Christain men. 7. The
said noble gentlemen instantl y required me to imprint the
history o f the said noble kin g and conrJ11 eror King Arthur,
and of his kni g hts, with th e history of th e Saint Greal, and
of th e death and ending of the said Arthur ; affirming that
I ought rather to imprint his ac ts and noble feats than of
Godfrey of Boloin e or any of th e other eig ht, consid ering
that he was a man born within this realm, and king and
emp ero r of the same; and that there be in French d ivers
a nd ma ny noble volum es of bi s acts, and also of his knights.
8. It was a g reat pleasure to receive your letter, I have just
read it over again for I had forgotten the name of the p eople
yo u me t at th at lun cheon, but now as I think of it . again,
I l>elieve th ey are the very same famil y I met two winters
ago at Lakewood when I was th ere so long. 9. Miss Toosey
used to sit on the left-ha nd sid e of the chnrch in a pew
which had bee n rented by her for many years, and wh ich
being directl y in front of th e church-wardens' seat, where
th ese t wo officials sat, was within easy reach of their long
tithin g-rods, th ough Miss Toosey was fa r from dread ing
any touch of th em. 10. For the rest, res pecting religions,
gove rnments, sciences, arts, you will find that on the whole
yo n can know nothing, judge nothing ; th at th e best you
can d o, even though you may be a well-educated person,
is to be silent and strive to be wiser every clay, and to

CHAP.

r

vn]

Tlze S entence

understand a little more of the thoughts of others, which
so soon as you try to do hon estly you will di scover that the
th oughts even of th e wisest are very little more tha n pertinent questions. r 1. Ruskin says that a news paper may be
proper at breakfast tim e, but it is not reading for the whole
clay, and, though bound up in a volum e, a book which gives
such a pleasant account of the inns and roads and weather
las t year at such a place o r gives the real circumstan ces of
certain events, however valuabl e for occasional reference,
may not be in the r eal sense of the word a "book" a t all,
for a b ook is not a talked thing but a written thing an d
written with a view of permanence . 12 . vVe dro ve first to
Daytona along a beautiful river-road - we thought that was
rather nice but th e climax was reached when we crossed the
H alifax and came home on the beach, whi ch was a most
wonderful sight, the moonlight streaming clown, the ocean
roari ng, on one side within a few fee t of us and high sandbanks on the other. r3. We have had one lesson in bi cycl e
riding and expect to try again next wee k, didn 't make
much of a success of it and really don't ca re about learning,
as we wouldn't care for it north, but every on e rides here,
the roads seem speci all y mad e for it, and we are advised on
all sid es to learn. 14. My nex t and las t example shall be
that under-value r of money, the late Provost of Eton College,
Sir H enry Walton - a ma n with whom I have often fi shed
and conversed, a man whose forei gn employments in the
service of this nation, and whose experi ence, learning, wit,
and cheerfulness mad e his com pany to be esteemed on e
of the delights of mankind ; this man, wh ose very approbation of angling were sufficient to co nvince any modest
censurer of it, this man was also a most cl ear lover and a
frequ ent practicer of the a rt of a ngling ; of which he would
say, "'Twas an employ ment for his idl e tim e, which was
then not idly spent; for angling was, after tedious study,

Elements of Rheto ric

" II
!
I

l;

[CHAP. V il

a rest to hi s mind, a cheerer of his spirits, a div erter of sadness, a calmer of unqui et thoughts."

78. The Effective Use of Short and Long Sentences in
Combination. -- It is often wise to fo llow up and compl e te s h o rt pithy sentences of s ta tem e nt or assertion
with lon ger sente n ces of explanation, illu stra tio n, or
limitat io n, a nd to s um up a long se nten ce or a se ries
of lon g se nte n ces in on e or two sh ort se nte n ces.
Notice h o w s kilfully this is done in the following
e xtracts from Maca ulay's Essay on H ampden : - .
(a) "\Ve have read this book with great pleasu re, though
not exactly with that kind of pleasure which we had expected.
\Ve had hoped that J ,o re! N ugent would have been able to
coll ect, from family papers and local traditions, much new
and interesting information respec ting the life and character
of the renown ed leade r of th e Long Parliament, the first of
th ose great Engli sh commoners whose pla in addition of
IV[ister has, to our ears, a more majestic sound than the
proudest of feucla.l titles. In this hope we have bee n disappointed; but assuredly not from any want of zeal or
dili ge nce on th e part of the noble biographer."
( b) "Hampd en d etermined to leave E ngland. Beyond
th e .'\ tlanti c Ocean, a few of the persecuted Puritan s had
form ed, in the wild ern ess of Conn ecticu t, a settlement whi ch
has since beco me a prosperous commonwealth, and whi ch,
in spite of th e lapse of tim e and of th e change of gove rn ment, still retains something of th e charac ter given to it by
its first founders."
(c) "The tide of public affairs was even now on the turn.
Th e king had resolved to change the ecclesiastical constituti on of Sco tland, and to introduce into the public worship
of th at kingd om ceremoni es which the great body of the
Scotch regarded as popish."

CIIAP.

vu]

Tlze S entence

105

(d) "Ch:irlcs had now a las t chan ce o f rega ining th e
affection of hi s peop le. If he could have reso lved to give
hi s confid ence to the leaders of the moderate party in th e
House of Commons, and to regulate his proceedings by
their adv ice, he might have been, not, indeed, as he had
been, a d espot, but the powerfu l and respected king of a
free people. The nation might have enj oyed liberty and
re pose und er a government with Falkland at its head,
checked by a constitutional oppositio n uncler the conduct
of Hampden.
It was not necessary that, in order to
accompli sh this happy encl, th e king should sac rifice any
part of his lawful prerogative, or subm it to any co nditi ons •
inconsistent with his dignity. It was necessary only that he
should abstain from treachery, fro m violence, from gross
breach es of the law. This was all that th e nati on was then
disposed to require of him. And eve n this was too much."
(e) "What was his purpose ? Is it possibl e to believe
that he had no definite purpose, that he took th e most
im portant step of his wh ole reign with out having fo r one
moment considered what mi ght be its effects ? Is it possible
to believe that he went merely for the pur pose of mak ing
himself a laughing-stock; that he intended, if he had found
th e accused members, and if th ey had refu sed, as it was
th eir ri ght and duty to refu se, th e submission whi ch he
illegall y d emanded, to leave the House wi th out bringing
th em away ? If we rejec t both these suppos iti ons, we mu st
beli eve, ;i.ncl we certainly d o beli eve, that he went full y
determin ed to c;i.rry hi s unlawful d es ig n into effec t by
violence, and, if necessary, to shed th e blood of th e chi efs
of th e Opposition on th e very fl oo r of th e Parlia ment
House ."
EXERCISE 32

I. Write three short co mpositio ns of s ix sentences
each. L e t the first b eg in with short sente nces and

I06

:.

Elements of Rhetoric

[CHAP. VII

close with a long sentence. Let the second beg in
with a comparatively long sentence and close with
short sentences. Let th e third combine 10110"
and
b
short se ntences in whatever way the writer pleases.
II. Find in your reading several examp les to
illustrate the principle stated m the preceding
section.
79. The Third Essential: the Form of the Sentence
should often Stimulate the Reader. - Loose structure
tend s to fatigue the mind; periodic structure ten ds
to stimulate the mind. On the student's knowledge
of this principle, and on his skill in applying it,
depen ds to a great degree his success in writing
forcible English.
80. The Periodic Sentence and the Loose Sentence :
Definitions. - In a periodic sentence the gram matical
structure is not complete until at the very end. This
is equivalent to saying that a p eriodic sentence does
not make sense until the last word is reached. In a
loose se nte nce there is at least one place before th e
encl where the grammatical structure is complete.
Examplcs:( a) "A perfectly healthy sentence, it is true, is extre mely
rare." [Periodic: sentence is the subject; is is the verb.
As the verb is one of incomplete predication, a nd requ ires
rare to com pl ete the construction, the grammatical structure
is conclud ed only with th e last word of the sentence.].
(b) "Fo r the most part we miss th e hue and fragrance
of the th ought; as if we could be satisfied with the clews of'
the m orning or evening without th eir colors, or the heavens
without their azure." [Loose : we is the subject, miss the

CHAP.

vn]

Tlze Sentence

107

verb, and !me the object. With lzue the grammatical structure of the sentence is complete.]
(c) "There, too, hung a tattered a nd shrivelled roll J 1
of canvas, which on inspection proved to be the forcibly
wrought p icture of a clergyman, in wig, band, a nd gown,
holding a Bible in his hand." [ Loose: the grammatical
structure is completed by roll. The sentence could be
brought to a stop at that point and still make a co mplete
stateme nt. J
(d) "The original had been pastor I of the parish more
than a century ago, a fri e nd of Whitefield, and almost his
equal in fervid eloquence ." [Loose: pastor completes the
grammatical structure, th ough the phrase rif tlzc paris!t may
be considered as necessary to the sense. In that case the
sentence is loose after paris!i. J
(e) "The beams and rafters, roughly hewn, and with
strips of bark still on them, and the rnde maso nry of the
chimneys, made the garret look wild I a nd uncivili zed an aspect unlike what was seen elsewh e re in the quiet
and d ecorous old house ." [ Loose : wild compl etes the
grammatical structure.]
(/) " How ge ntly, too, did the sight of th e Old Manse,
best seen from the river, oversh adowed with its willow and
all environed abo ut with th e fo liage of its orchard and
avenue, - how gently did its gray, hom ely aspect rebuke
the speculative extravagances of the clay." [J'eriodic: th e
grammatical structure closes wi th ex fl·m'rrgances, but the
final phrase is virtually indi spensable to th e se nse .]
(g) " Under an absolute despotism, such as that of the
Sultan of Morocco or the Khalifa of the Sudan, und er which
all property is held only at th e will of the rul er, a nd every
distinction or public station proceeds solely from him,
I In these and othe r examples of senten ce-structure, we shall use a
vertical line to in dicate th e spot at whi ch a sentence becomes loose.

E lemm ts of R!tetorZc

108

[ CH.l\P. VII

and may be at any moment withdrawn by him, a kind of
eqttality may exist a mong all the subj ects of the d espot."
[Periodic.]
EXERCISE 33

In the passage qtto ted o n pages
are loose and which periodic ?

124-126,

which sentences

81. How to make a Loose Sentence Periodic. - The
followin g e xampl es will show how simple a ma tter it
usually is to mak e a loose sentence pe ri odi c : L OOS E

PEIUODIC

H e had a n urmsuall y ha ppy
life, in spite of some g ri evous
disappointments and bereavem ents.
H e had ta ught himself how
to be idl e elegant! y, bu t he
had never plann ed how to
ea rn hi s own livin g.
I closed the door behind
me so ftl y and sped swiftly
d own th e street.
Still he pressed forward,
waving hi s sword a nd cheering his soldi ers to the a ttack,
but a third shot lod ged deep
within his breas t.
Aba ndo n your plan or
comply with my wishes .
Th e soldier was brave and
he was discreet.

In spite of so me gri evous
di sappointments and bereavements, he had an unusually
happy life.
Though he h ad taught himself how to be idle elegantly,
he had never planned how
to earn his own living.
Closing the door behind
me softly, I sped swiftly
clown the stree t.
As he still pressed forward ,
waving his swo rrl and cheering his soldiers to the attack,
a third shot lodged deep
within his breast.
E ithe r a bandon your pl an
or co mpl y with my wi shes.
Th e soldi er was no t only
brave but discreet.

CHAP.

vu]

T!te Smteuce
EXERCISE 34

I. Cha nge the fo llowing loose sente nces into
periodi c sentences, ta king such sli g ht liberties with
the se nse as is necessary for that purpose : I. After the second ni ght a t Goli ad, Benj a min and I
started to make the re maind e r of th e jo urn ey alo ne. 2. We
reached Corpus C hristi just in tim e to avo id " ahse nce
with o ut leave. " 3. We met no one - no t eve n an .Indi a n
----:--- durin g the re111a ind er of om journ ey, exce pt at San
Pa tric io. 4. A new se ttl e ment had been st;i rted th e re in
our abse nce of th ree wee ks, indu ce d poss ibly by th e fac t
tha t th e re were houses a lread y built, whil e th e proximity o f
troo ps gave protec ti on against the Indians. 5. O n the
eve ning of th e first day out fr om Goliad we heard th e most
un earthly howling of wolves, directl y in our front. 6. The
prairie g rass was ta ll and we could not see th e beasts, but
the sound indicated th a t th ey were near. 7. To my ear it
a ppeared that there must h ave been enough to d evour our
party,'h orses a nd all, a t a sing le m eal. 8. The part of O hio
that I ha il ed from was not thi c kly se ttled, but wolves had
been driven out long before I left. 9 . Be nj amin was fro m
Indi ana, still less popul ated, wh ere th e wolf ye t roa med over
th e prairies. 10. H e und erstood th e nature of th e animal
and th e capacity of a few to make be li eve th ere was a n
unlimited number of th e m. r I. H e kep t on toward s th e
noise, unmoved . 12. I fo llowed in hi s trail , lacking mo ral
courage to turn back and join our sick companion . 1 3. If
Benj a min had proposer! returning to C: oliacl, I should no t
onl y have " second ed the mo tion" but have $t1 ggestecl th at
it was ve ry hard-hearted in us to leave Aug ur sic k th e re in
th e first place; but Benj amin did no t propose turning bac k.
1 4. Fin ally he did speak, a nd asked me : "Grant, ho w
many wolves do you think there a re in that pack ? "

I IO

Elements of R!tetoric

[CHAP. VII

15. I knew wh ere he was fr om, and suspected that he
thought I shou ld overestimate the number.
16. I determin ed to show my acquai ntance with the animal by
puttin g the estimate below \vhat possibly could be correct,
and answered : "Oh, about tw enty," very indifferently.
17. He smi led and . rode on. 18. In a minute we were
close upon them , and before th ey saw us. 19. There were
just t wo of th e m after all.
20. They were seated upon
th e ir haunc hes, with their mouths close togeth er, and they
had made . all the noise we hacl been hearing for the past
2 r. I have often· thought of this incident
ten minutes.
since, when I have heard the noise of a few d isappointed
politician s who had deserted their associates.
22 . Th ere
are always more of the m before they are counted.

II. C hange the following periodic sentences into
loose sentences : r. Wh en we consid er th e magnitude of the prize we
contended for, t he doubtful nature of the contest, and the
favorab le manner in which it has terminated, we shal l find
the greatest possibl e reason for gratitude a nd rejoicing.
2. The c iti ze ns of America, pl aced in the most envia ble
conditi on, as the sole lords and propri etors of a vast tract
of co ntinent, comprehencling ;:di the various so ils and climates of the world, and abo und ing with all the necessaries
a nu conve ni ences of life, are now, by the late satisfactory
pacification , acknowledged to lie possessed of absolute fr ee dom and inde pe nd ency. 3. \\lhicheve r statement we receive, the sum , comliined with that obtained at Caxamalca ,
mi ght well have sati sfi ed the cravings of the most avaricious .
4. The sudd en influ x of so mu ch wealth, and that, too, in
so tran sferable a form, among a party of reckless adventurers
little accustomed to the possession of money, had its natural
effect.

CHAP.

vu]

Tlze Sentence

III

82. The Good Periodic Sentence. - The advantage
of the periodic sentence is that its essential characteristic - the suspension of the sense - serves to
excite the attention and interest of the reader. For
this purpose, it is eno ugh that the structure be
periodic, whether the sentence itself be long or short.
Examples:-

l

I

(a) "The eloquent voice, o n which the souls of the
listen ing audience had bee n borne aloft as on the swelling
waves of the sea, at length came to a pause."
-

1-IAWTil.ORNE:

7'/u Scarlet Letter.

(b) "When in the course of human events it becomes
necessary for one people to di ssolve the political bands
which have connected them with another and to assume
among the powers of the earth the separate and equal
station to whic h the laws of nature and of nature's God
entitle them, a decen t res pect to the opinions of mankind
requires that they should declare the causes w.hich impel
them to the separation."
-

JEFFERSON:

Declaratio11 o.f Indepmdmet.

(c) "Every one has heard the story which has gone the
rounds of New England, of a strong and beautiful bug which
came out of the d ry leaf of an old table of apple-tree wood,
which had stood in a fanner's kitchen for sixty years, first in
Connecticut, and afterward in Massachusetts, - from an
egg deposited in the living tree many years earli er still, as
appeared by counting the annual layers beyond it; which
was heard gnawing out for several weeks, hatched p erchance
by the heat of an urn. 1 Who d oes no t feel his faith in a
resurrection and immortality strengthened by hearing of
1 This sentence and th e following arc loose and are here quoted
only to make clear the thought of t he thir<l sente nce.

112

Elements of R hetoric

[CHAP. VJ!

this ? Who knows what beautiful and winged life, whose
egg has bee n buri er! for ages und er many co nce ntri c laye rs
of woode nness in th e d ead dry life of society, deposited a t
first in th e alburnum of the gree n and living tree, which has
bee n g radually converted into the se mblan ce of its we ll sea soned tomb, - heard perchance g nawing out now fo r
years by the asto nished fami ly of ma n, as they sat rou nd
the festive board, - may unexpectedly come forth from
amidst society 's most trivial and handselled furniture, to
enjoy its perfect summ er life at last ! "
- TH OREAU :

fVa!den.

( d ) "And, 0 my brethren, 0 kind and affectionate
hearts, 0 loving fri end s, should you know a ny one whose
lot it has been, by writing or by word o f mouth, in so me
d egree to help you thus to act ; if h e has ever told you
what you knew a bout you rselves, or what yon did not kn ow ;
has read to you your wa nts or fe elings, a nd co mforted yon
by the ve ry reading; has made you feel that there was a
high er life than thi s daily one, and a brighter world than
that you see; or encouraged you, or sobered you, or opened
a way to th e inquiring, or soothed the perplexed; if what he
has said or don e has ever made you take interest in him,
a nd fee l well inclined towa rds him; remember such a one
in time to co me, though you hear him not, and pray for
him , th a t in all things he may know God's will, a nLl at all
times he may be ready to fulfil it. "
-

N E WM A N :

The Ptwti11g of fihmds.

EXERCISE 35

Write a composition of fi ve sentences which shall each
be a t least twenty words in length and periodic in structure.

83. The Bad Perioclic Sentence. - The long peri odi c
senten ce is inappropriate when it is obscure or merely

CHAP .

vu]

T!t.e Se?ttence

113

produces a po mpous effect. In (a), for example, th e
g ra mmatical co nstru ctio n is so lon g held in suspense
that the reader has diffi c ulty in g rasp ing th e sense
ln (b) th e words so long reserved for the climax a rc
unworthy of. th eir place, a nd arc la ug hable rather
than impressive.
(a) " l\foch as a story which, passing from mouth to
mouth, a nLl securing a slight exaggerati on a t each repetition, comes round to the original narrato r in a fo rm scarce ly
to be recognized; so, by a little improper influence on the
part of the land-own ers, a littl e favoritism o n the part of
me mbe rs of Parliament, a little intriguing of lawyers, a little
manceuvring by contractors and engin eers, a li ttle self-seeking o n the part of directors, a little understatement of estimates a nd overstatement of traffi c, a little mag nifying of
the evi ls to be avoided and the bene fits to be gained, it
happe ns that sharehold ers are betrayed into ruinous undertakings by grossly un true re prese ntations, without any one
being guilty of more tha n a small porti on of th e fraud."
(b) "Through great, low-lying fi eld s of golden grain , over
which th e evenin g breezes swep t with im petuous, light feet,
blend ing the radia nt yellow of th e corn and the bright blood red of th e poppi es in a glori ous arabesq ue of gold and
gree n and scarlet, past dark- gree n woods a nd ge ntly rising
knolls of grassy green, a way round moss-li che ned bowld ers
topped by d ark-green firs, through which gleamed the red
berry o f the rowan, circling round towe ring crags, from
whose frowning peaks ivy- mantled rnins of hoary cas tles stood
out bodily against the glorious autumn sky, the river stole."

84. The Good Loose Sentence. - Th e loose se ntence
lac ks all pomposity of structure a nd is a ppropriate in
sim ple, unaffected writi ng, especially in narrative.

I 14

Elements of Rhetoric

[CHAP. VII

The thought runs along easily and naturally. The
writer makes his principal statement first, instead of
reserving it for the encl, and is then at liberty to
expand, define, limit, or illustrate it by successive
phrases or clauses. The following illustrations show
how well adapted the loose sentence is to ordinary
uses: r. "At a little before ten, the British could see that Mont-

I

I
·1

I

,I

calm was preparing to advance, and, in a few moments, all his
troops appeared in rapid motion. 2 . They came on in three
divisions, shouting after the manner of their nation, and
firing heavily as soon as they came within range. 3. In the
British ranks, not a trigger was pulled, not a soldier stirred;
and their ominous composure seemed to damp the spirits
of the assailants. 4. It was not till the French were within
forty yards that the fatal word was given, and the British
muskets blazed forth at once in one crashing explosion.
5. Like a ship at full career, arrested with sudden ruin on
a sunken rock, the ranks of Montcalm staggered, shivered,
anti broke before that wasting storm of lead. 6. The smoke,
rolling along the field, for a moment shut out the view; but
wh e n the white wreaths were scattered on the wind, a
wretched spectacle was clisclosecl; men and officers tumbled
in heaps, battalions resolved into a mob, order and obedie nce gone ; and when the British muskets were levelled for
a second volley, the masses of the militia were seen to cower
and shrink with uncontrollable panic. 7. For a few minutes,
th e French regulars stood their ground, returning a sharp
am! not in effectual fire. 8. But now, echoing cheer on
cheer, redoubling volley on volley, trampling the dying and
the dead and driving the fugitives in crowds, the British
troops advanced and swept the field before them. 9. The
ardor of the men burst all restraint. 10. They broke into

CHAP.

vn]

The Sentence

II5

a run, and with unsparing slaughter chased the flying multitucles to the gates of Quebec. 11. Foremost of all, the
light-footed Highlanders clashed along in furious pursuit, hewing down the Frenchmen with their broadswords, and slaying
many in the very ditch of the fortifications. 12. Never was
victory more quick or more decisive."
-

PARKMAN:

Conspirncy of Pontiac.

EXERCISE 36
I. Mark with a single line the spots at which the sentences
quoted in the preceding section become loose. 2. Write a
speech of about ten sentences in length. Be careful that
each sentence rings well, - that it satisfies your taste as you
read it aloud. 3. Mark the place at which each sentence
in your theme becomes loose.

85. Suspensioi1 of Thought even in the Loose Sentence. -- Even in the loose sentence, however, the
interest is often stimulated by partly periodic structure. This is clone in four ways: (I) By dividing the p!trascs that modify the subject
and predicate in a simple sentence, and placing one
or more of them in a periodic position. Compare,
for instance, the two forms of the same sentences
given in (a) and (b) below.
(a) I. "In a long ramble of the kind on a fine autumnal
day, Rip had unconsciously scrambled to one of the highest
parts of the Kaatskill Mpuntains. 2. Panting and fatigued,
he threw himself, late in the afternoon, on a green knoll.
3. From. an opening between the trees he could overlook
all the lower country for many a mile of rich woodland."
(b) I. Rip had unconsciously scrambled to one of the
highest parts of the Kaatskill Mountains in a long ramble

116

Elemmts of Rltetoric

[ CHAP. VH

of the kind on a fin e autumnal day. 2. He threw himself,
late in the afternoon, on a green knoll , panting and fati gued.
3. He could overlook all the lower country for many a mile
of ri c h woodland from an opening between the trees.

( 2) By placing one or more clauses in a periodic
p osition, a llowing other phrases or clauses t o fo ll ow
th e princi pal s ta tem ent.
N o tice, for insta nce, the
ita li cized cla uses in the following sente nces: 1. As lie was abo1tf to descend, he heard a vo ice from
a distance, holl oin g, "lZip Van Winkle ! R ip Van Winkle. "
2. 117/ule Goven10r Jlianco, or "t/1e one-armed," !tept up a
show ef 111llita1y stale in the Alltambra, he became nettled
at th e reproaches co ntinually cast upon his fortress, o f being
a nes tling- place o f rogues. 3. Wll eu wzil1in l t fi;w J•arrls
of t/1 e cover, he fitt ed an arrow to th e bow with the utmost
care, whil e the a ntl ers moved, as if their owne r had snuffed
an enemy in th e tainted air.

(3) 13y insertin g parent!tetical phrases or cla uses
in pe riodic pos iti ons. Compare the t wo for ms of th e
sam e se nte n ces g ive n below: 1. ll is tru e, ind eed, that in th e beginning we aim ed not
at independence. 2. Th e war, then, must go on. 3. Let
me not, however, lose the hi storian in the man. 4. These,
l say lo myself, are hut frail memori als of mi ghty men.
5. J\ lrearly, as I obsc rve<l at the close of my las t book, th ey
had awake ned the allention of the mother-country.
I. It is tru e that in the beginning we aimed not at independ ence, ind eed . 2 . The war must go on, then. 3. Let
me not lose th e historian in the man, however. 4. Th ese
are but frail memorials of mighty men, I say lo myself.
5. Already they had awake ned the attention of the moth ercountry, as I observ ed at the end of my las t book.

CHJ\P.

vn]

Tlte Sentence

I I

7

(4) By g iving a p e ri odic form to one or m ore of t h e
m e mbers of a compound se nte n ce. A comp oun d
senten ce must n ecessarily be loose, but its membe rs
m a y b e fully or partly periodic. In the fo llowing
exa mpl es the p eriodic part of each m e mber is prin te d
in ita li cs : I. Tlwug!t mtltei' sl1y and distntsif11l of I/tis 11ew aq1tai11tance, R ip complied with his usual alac ri ty; and 1mtt11ally
re/ievi11g one anot!ter, t/1ey clambered up a narrow gully,
apparently the dry bed of a mountain torrent. 2 . B a11i.rli ed,
monover, by tile pitiless E11gli.rl1 perscc11tio11 , tltc P 111ita11s,
exiles and poor in a foreign la11tl, a col/J11y in f-£olla //(l before
lite)' were a colony in America , were compelled to se{/-gover11 111ent, to a co mmon sympathy and support, to bearing one
anoth er's burdens; and so, by tl1e stern experience of act1tal
life, t!tey were trained in the virtues most essential for the
fulfilm ent of their august but unimagin ed d estiny. 3. Eady
i11 t!te centmy a score of settlements beyo11d tile Alleglw11ies
boi-e th e 1tame of Salem, th e spot wh ere fi rst in Ameri ca the
Puritans of Massachuse tts Hay set foot; and i11 lite dawn of
t!te R evol1ttion lite ltun ters in tlte remote valley of t!te Elk/torn, llean'ng t/1e news of t/1e i9t/1 ef April, called t!teir camp
L exi11gton.

EXERCISE 37
I.
Find, from your own reading, three instances of th e
empl oy ment of each of tb e fou r meth ods <lcsc ribed in th e
preceding section. 2. Construct fiv e o th er instan ces of
the employment of each method. 3. Write a compositi on
of about ten loose sentences, in each of which one at least
of the methods is employed.

86 . The Bad Loose Sentence. -

As h as been shown

in the preceding sections, th er e is no objection, in

I

18

Elements of Rltetor£c

[CHAP. VII

th e abstract, to the use of the loose sentence. As a
rule, howeve r, it is at its best when it is not entirely
lo ose, - when it is partly periodic in its structure.
It is likely-to be at its worst when it is entirely loose,
-when the grammatical structure is completed early
in the se nte nc e, and all the rest is a mere series of
comp le mentary phrases a nd clauses, as in the following example : I saw clearly a large deerJ, who was feeding q ni etlyJ, when
he was cl istnrlied by the noise of a twig J, which was broken
by the tread of my fri end !, who had acco mpanied me aga inst
my wil l o n this trip J, which was the las t I could make!, for
my vacation was drawing to a close .
EXERCISE 38

Reconstruct th e fo llowing loose sentences : ,,.

r. Some people would not think of go ing into a gy mnasium unl ess th ey were compell ed, nor would they exe rcise
th eir bodi es, pre ferring to stay in th e house a nti take life
easy. 2. The students liegin to study about October first
and work pretty hard till Christmas, wh en comes a much
needed rest, as both the bra in a nd th e eyes have beco me
tired by that tim e. 3. Perhaps he might have chosen to
belong to that schoo l without a master, in the hope of being
at least original, sin ce there were no works of art to imitate
nor rules to follow, - that is, if he could have revoked his
life and prearranged his d es tiny. 4. Yesterday the sun was
as bright and warm as any one coulcl wish, for th e siin was
out bright and the a ir was as warm as early spring, in fac t
it reminded one of spring very muc h, in as much as the walking was exceptionally mudd y, the frost co ming out of the
ground. 5. It is absolutely necessary for the pupi ls to have

CHAP.

vn]

Tlze Sente7tce

Il9

som e exercise after sitting still all day, in order to prese rve
their health , for is not hea lth th e basis of a ll life ? 6. Of
course health with out knowledge would ma ke a ma n helpless also, so the combina tion of th e two, health and know ledge, should be looked to in the schools to make sure that
th e pupils get a proper amount of it. 7. Two old lad ies
co me first, a rm in ar m, stooping slightl y, walking very slowly,
carrying small black parasols. 8. A co mpara ti ve ly you ng
man has just passed escorting an old lady, ev id ently moth er
and son ; a pleasant sight to see a man strong and proud
helping his mother to worship in her o ld age in th e hou se
of God. 9. Nex t co mes along a widow, hy he r dress and
careworn fac e, ge ne rally near th e las t, because of her manifold duti es at home; she can scarcely spare th e time.
10. /\nd so th ey come until the walk is d eserted and :i.11 is
qui et, until, even a t this di sta nce, J. hear t he swell of the
orga n, a nd the sound of th e singe rs te lIs me that the se rvice
has begun .
l r.
When Sund ay morning co mes people
usu all y think of going to church if the weat he r is good a nd
th ey feel lik e it. 12 . Th ey w;ilk along le isurely Lo th eir
churches and go in one by one at first un til Lhe service is
nearly ready to begin when the p eo ple co me in great crow ds
to c hurch. 13. On th e ocea n we have those huge, swift,
palatial stea mships, an outco me of th e old -fashioned sa iling
vessels, which made ocean travel tedi ous and a dan gero us
und e rtaking, so that co mparatively few eve r ve ntured to
cross th e sea. 14. \~/ h e n th e farm ca me into Han k's possession he was disheartened at findin g it mo rtgaged, thinking he would never b e abl e to raise it, so he did not work
it systematically, consequently the profits we re smal l, but
ti1ey sufficed for his wa nts, so he was contented. 15. No w
eject all a ir from the tire, inj ec t some ceme nt by means of
the tool acco mpanying th e repair kit, d raw out the tool a nd
forc e in the rubber plug shaped like a mu shroom, bead first,

!20

Elcmc11ts uf R!tetor£c

[ CHAP. VII

by mea ns of a pa ir of pincers which ge nerally accompany
the re pair kit.

87 . Rule as to the Periodic and the Loose Sentence. vVc arc now in a pos ili on lo s um up th e re s ul ts of our
discuss iun of the pe riodi c and the loose sentence in
the followin g rule: -Give force to your sentences by making a large proportion
of them periodic, either as a whole or in part.
EXERCISE 39

I

i,

I

,·

1'
I

I .

1. C hoose, from yo ur own reading, ten sentences whi ch
seem to yon pa rti cul a rl y ll'ell made. State wh eth er each is
wholly peri odi c, partl y periodic, or wholl y loose. 2 . Write
a co mposition of a\Jont ten sentences, payi ng parti cular
attentio n to their form. State, at th e end of the composition, whe ther eac h se nte nce is wholly periodic, partly
peri odi c, or wh olly loose.

88. The Fourth Essential: Parallel Structure. - We
have see n that it is well fr equ ently to stim ulate th e
read er's mind by th e use of th e periodic form. It
is a lso well to mak e the read er's task easier and hi s
pl eas ure g reater by expressing sim ilar ideas in similar
ways. The mind naturally expects that clauses or
phrases w hi ch are parall el in th ought shall be p a rallel in form. It is better to write "girls that whistle
and he ns that crow," or "whistling girls and crowing
hen s," than "girls that whistle and crowing hens."
The kind of sentence-b uildin g in which similar ideas
are ex pressed in similar forms may be called parallel,
or balanced structure. It is well illustrated in the

CHAP.

T!te Sentence

vu]

121

followin g sentences, in which the beg inning of eac h
of: a set of parallel phrases or clauses is indic ated by
the same number : "If ignorance and corruption and intri gue ( r) control
the primary meeting and ( 1) ma nage th e conve nti on a nd
( 1) di ctate th e nomination, th e fau lt is ( 2) in the honest
and intellige nt workshop and offi ce, ( 2) in the li brary and
the parlor, (z) in the c hurch and th e school. (3) When
these are as constan t and fa ithful to th e ir pol iti cal rights as
th e slums and the grog-s hops, the poo l-rooms and the
kennels; (3) when th e educated, industriou s, temperate,
thrifty c itizens are as zealous and prompt and unfailing in
politi cal activity as the ignorant a nd venal and mischievous,
or (3) when it is plain that they cannot be roused to t heir
duty, then, but not until then - if ig norance and corruption
always carry the clay- there can be no honest question
that th e republic has· failed. But let us not be deceived.
While good men sit at home, (4 ) not knowin g tha t th ere
is anything to be done, nor (4) caring to know ; (4) cultivating a feeling that politi cs are tiresom e and dirty, and
politicia ns vulgar bulli es and bra voes ; ( 4) half persuaued
that a republi c is the conte mptible rule of a mob, and (4)
secretly longing for a splendid and vigoro us despotism then reme mber (5) it is not a gove rnm ent mas tered \Jy
ignora nce , it is a government betrayer! by intelligence;
(S) it is not the victory of th e slums, it is the surrender of
the schoo ls ; (5) it is not th at bad men are brave, but that
good m en are infidels and cowards."
- G. \V.

CURTI S :

The l'11blic Duty of Fduca!ed 1lf en.

Sentences like those just quoted, in which parallel structure predominates, and one part of which
is bala nced, as it w ere , against another part, are
frequently called balanced sentences.

122

Elements of Rltetorie

[CHAP. VII

CHAP.

EXERCISE 40

I. Find, from your own reading, five sentences 111
which the structure is noticeably parallel.
II. \\Trite a short .composition, of which five senten ces shall be noticeably parallel in structure.
III. In the following sentences, make phrases and
cla uses that arc parallel in thought parallel also in
form : -

l .
l

.1

I. The physical training a man gets in this as in football
makes him stron g, and teaches him perseverance, stabi lity,
and how to think quickly. 2. Automobiles and bicycles
are slowly c rowding out the horse and carri:1ge, for people
find th e m less trouble, less expensive, and of much greater
speed. 3. The on ly exercise these chi ldren get is walking
twice a day the few short blocks to school and the games
on Saturdays and at recess time . 4. A few years ago the
cars were drawn by horses, they were badly lighted, kerosene-o il lamps were used , poorly heater! by a stove in the
middl e of the car, am! extremely uncomfortable. 5. The
gymnasium also gives a marked advantage to Columbi a and
its students, since the physical development of its students
is in c reased, their intellectual powers are bettered, and consequently their progress in their studies. 6. After the middle of the week, the terrible strain and want of sleep begin
to show vis ible effects in the hallucinations which the men
have and by their crazy actions in general. 7. So we drove
alon g, on one side th e ocean roaring within a few feet of us,
and hi gh sanclb:rnks on the other. 8. To live a quiet peasant girl in the little village of Domremy, to find herself at
the head of victorious legions, marching on to victory, and
then death at th e stake, - this was the history of Jeanne
D'Arc. 9. Hoping to finish the work in a short time and

I

I
l

'I

It

l
f

i

t

vn]

T!te Sentence

123

also that it might not be call ed fo r, he put off writing his
theme until th e day before it was due . 10. Much space is
given to a review of a new book publi shed by so rn e Western
house and which we have not seen mention ed elsewhere .
I I. After a ll is it not strange that nobl e and mov ine; deeds
make so littl e perm a nent impression upon us, and how
qui ckly we really forget their occurrence. I 2. The suggestion has been made that it is prac tically im.possible for a
man to pre pare e ight goorl sermons each month, a nd let him
limit himself to a single effort. 13. Th e nurse moved about
th e room swiftly, with out noi se, ancl deftl y. 14. Thinking
that he shou ld !incl Mary at the house, and in the ex pec tation of arranging matters satisfactori ly, George strolled in
leisurely fashion up the street. 15. One of the girls ran
down the street, called "Fire ! " as she passed the group of
loungers, and a faint puff of smok e was seen ri sing from the
schoolhouse.

89. Rule as to Parallel Structure. add another rule to our li st: -

We may now

Add to the clearness and force of your sentences by making
frequent use of parallel structure.

90. The Value of Imitation. - 'vVc have now carefully explained several methods by which sentences
may be made clear and effective. The pupil who
has mastered th e theory of these methods will be
greatly helped in this fundamental element of his
composition work. He will also be greatly helped by
reading over and over again a pleasing passage from
a good writer, getting in bis mind the sound and
rhythm of th e sentences, and then trying to imitate,
in a general way, that sound and that rhythm.

.

124

Elemmts of Rlzetoric

[CHAP. Vll

CHAP.

EXERCISE 41

Read a loud, several times, the fo llowin g narrative
of Braddock's defeat, th e n write, ( r) a composition of
about ten sentenc es on the march, (2) one on the ambuscade, (3) one on the defeat. Do not hesitate to
use Parkrnan 's words or phrases, from time to time,
in the fir st composition, if necessary. In the second
ancl third compositions use your own words to a
greater ex te nt. Try to make all your sentences
"rin g" in the same way that Parkman's do.
"It was past noon or a day brightened with the clear sunlight o r a11 1\rn eri can mid summer, when th e forces of Braddock bega n, for a seco nd time, to cross the Monongahela,
at th e fordi ng-place wh ich to this day bears the name of
their ill-fated leader. Th e sca rl et columns of th e Brit ish
reg11hr:.; , corni' letc in martial appointment, the rude backwood s111 c11 with sho1ild ered rifl es, the trains of artillery and
the white -topped wago!1s, moved on in long procession
throu gh the shallow current, and slowly mounted the opposing bank. l\'len were th ere whose names have become
historic. Gage, who, twenty years bter, saw his routed
battalions reco il in disorder from before the breastwork on
Bunker Hill; Gates, th e future conqueror of Burgoyne;
and one destined to a hi gher fame, - George Washington,
a boy in years, a man in cairn thought and self-ru ling
wisdom.
"With steady and well-ordered march, the troops advanced into th e great labyrinth of woods which shadowed
the eastern borders of the river. .Rank after rank vanished
from sight. The forest swallow ed them up, and the silence
of th e wild erness sank down once more on the shores and
waters of the Moiwngahela.

I

rr

vu]

T!te Sentence

125

"Several engineers and guides and six light horse men
Jed the way; a body of grenadiers under Gage was close
behind, and the army followed in such order as the rough
ground would permit, along a narrow road, twelve feet wide,
tunnelled through the dense and matted foliage. There
were flanking parties on either side, but no scouts to scour
the woods in front, and with an insane confidence Braddock
pressed on to meet his fate. The van had passed the low
grounds that bordered the river, and were now ascending a
gently rising ground, where, on either hand, hidden by thick
trees, by tangled undergrowth and rank grasses, lay the two
fatal ravines. Suddenly, Gordon, an engineer in advance,
saw the French and Indians bounding forward through the
forest and along the narrow track, Beaujeau leading them
on, dressed in a fringed hunting-shirt, and wearing a silver
gorget on his breast. He stopped, turned, and waved his
hat, and his French followers, crowding across the road,
opened a murderous fire upon the head of the British
column; while, screeching their war-cries, the Indians
thronged into the ravines, or crouched b ehind rocks and
trees on both flanks of the advancing troops. The astonished grenadiers returned the fire, and returned it with good
effect; for a random shot struck down the brave Beaujeau,
and the courage of the assailants was staggered by his fall.
Dumas, second in command, rallied them to the attack;
and while he, with the French and Canadians, made good
the pass in front, the Indians from their lurking places
opened a d eadly fire on the right and left. In a few moments, all was confusion. The advance guard fell back on
the main body, and every trace of subordination vanished.
The fire soon extended along the whole length of the army,
from front to rear. Scarce an enemy could be seen, though
the forest resounded with th eir yell s; though every bush
and tree was alive with incessant fl ashes ; though the lead

126

I

l

i

I

Elcmmts of Rhetoric

[ CHAP. VII

fl ew like a hailstorm, and the men went down by scores.
Th e regu lar troops seemed bereft of their senses. They
hu dd led together in the road like flocks of sheep; a nd
happy did he think himself who could wedge his way into
th e mid st of the crowd, and place a ba rrier of human fl esh
between his life a nd the shot of the ambus hed marksmen.
Many were seen eage rl y loading their muskets, a nd then
firin g them in to th e air, or shooting their owi1 comrad es in
the insanity of their terror. The office rs, fo r th e most part,
displayed a conspi cuous gallantry; but threats and co mmands were waste d alike on the panic-stricken multitude.
It is said tha t at the outse t Braddock showed signs of fear;
but he soon recovered his wonted intrepidity. F ive horses
were sho t umler him, a nd fiv e times he mounted afres h.
H e stormed a nd shouted, and, while the Virgini ans were
fi g hting to good purpose, each man be hind a tree, like the
Indians themse lves, he ord ered them with furious menace
to form in platoons, where the fire of the ene my mowed
them clown lik e grass . At length, a mortal shot sil enced
him , a nd two provin cials bore him off the fi eld . Wash ington rode throu gh th e tumult calm and undaunted . Two
horses we re kill ed und er him , and four bu ll ets pierced his
clothes; but his hom was not come, and he escaped
without a wound.
Ga tes was shot through th e body,
a nd Gage also was seve rely wounded.
Of eig hty-six
officers, onl y twent y-three remained unhurt ; and of twelve
hundred soldiers who crossed the Mo nongahela, more
than seven hundred were killed and wounded.
None
suffered more severely tha n the Virginians, who had displayed throughou t a degree of courage and stead in ess
which put the cowardice o f the regu lars to shame. The
havoc among them was terri ble, for of their whole number
scarcely one-fifth left the field alive."
-

PARKMAN:

The Conspiracy of Pontiac.

CHAP. VII]

Tlte S entence

127

91. Imitative Practice in Sentence Builcling. - Pupils
may get exce llent practice in senten ce buildin g by
putting toge ther in th eir own way th e rough elements
obtained by the analysis of a well-constructed senten ce, and then comparing their results with th e
original. These, for instance, are the e leme nts of
which was made the openi ng sentence in the extrac t
from Parkman quoted in the preceding section. To
put these together for oneself ancl then to compare
th e res ult with the original is to gain a real insight
into the balance and rhythm a nd force which that
great author gave to every sentence he wro te.
It was past noon.
The
clay was brightened with the
clear sunshine of an Ame rican midsummer. The forces
of Braddock began to cross
the Monongahela.
It was
for the second time. It was
at t he fo rd ing-place which
to this cl ay bears the na me
of their ill-fated leader.

It was past noon of a day
brightened with the clear
sun light of a n American midsum mer, when the forces of
Braddock began, for a second
time, to cross the Mo nongahela, at the fordi ng-place
whic h to thi s clay bea rs the
name of their ill-fated leade r.

EXERCISE 42

I. Bring to the class room a copy of a thoroug hly
well-constructed sente nc e, c hosen from yo ur own
reading, a nd an analysis, similar to that given in the
first column above, of the same sentence. The members of the class should th en exc ha nge a nalyses, a nd
spend five or six minutes in framin g th em into sen-

Elements of Rlutoric

1 28

CHAP. VII]

[CI-I J\P. Vll

1

Parkman, Co11sfi ra t)' of l'on tioc, chapte r 3.

129

92. Summary. - What has bee n said in this ch apter
may be summarized thus. A we ll -con structed sente nce
must, as a rule, have th e followin g c haracteristics: ( l ) Its structure shou ld be evident.
(2) In ma ny cases its structure should be p artly
or wholly periodic.
(3) In many cases some of its parts should be
parallel in form.

ten ces. The ori g inal senten ces should the n be read
a nd th e results compared . Th e purpose of thi s
exe rcise is to e nco urage the pupil to lea rn sentence
stru cture by imita tion, - an excelle nt method.
II. Con struct good sen tences from the analyses
g ive n be low 1 : 1. It was a n evil hour for Canada.
Samuel de Champlain
d e parted from the ha ml et of Q uebec. H e went to fo llow a
war-party of Algonq uins against their ha ted ene my, the
I roq uois. It was the twenty-eighth o f May, 1609. 2. H e
ascend ed th e So rel. H e passed the rapids at Chambly.
H e embarked on the lake whi ch bears his na me. He
steered so uthward with his savage associa tes, toward the
rocky prom onto ry of Ti co mleroga. With him were two
French a tte nd ants. 3. They moved with all the precauti on
of lndi :u1 warfare. At length they d escri ed a ba nd of the
lroqu ois. Th ey we re approac hin g th rough the gloo m. T hey
we re in th eir large canoes of elm-bark. Night was closi ng
iii.
4. Th e di scovery was mutual. It was announced by
wild ye lls fro m either sid e. 5. The Iroqu ois has te ned to
th e sho re. All ni ght long th e fo rest resound ed with th eir
di sco rcL111t war- so ngs and fi erce whoops of defi a nce. 6. Day
dawn ed . Th e fi ght bega n. 7. Th e Iroquois bound ed from
tree to tree. Th ey pressed fo rw;ird to the attack. Cham pb in advan ce d from among the Algonquins. He stood full
in sight before them, with his strange attire, his shining
breastplate, a nd features un li ke their own. They saw the
fl ash of hi s arqu elJllse. Th ey beheld two of their c hi efs fa ll
d ead . Th ey coulJ not contain their terro r. Th ey fl ed fo r
shelter into the d epth s of the wood. 8. The Algo nquins
pursued . They slew many in the fl ight. The vi ctory was
complete .

T!te Selltence

EXERCISE 43

',

I. W rite three compositions of about te n sen tences
eac h, exp laining , in your own words, the three points
mention ed in th e precedin g section.
II. Correct and improve the fo llowing sentences: 1. H ere weary travellers lay asid e their burdens, here
careworn toilers forget th e duti es of the workaday world ,
here students, weary of the endl ess search fo r kn owledge,
put asid e the thoug ht of bookish lo re, a nd this is the place
where all are young and happy. 2. H e still went to the
post-office ev ery clay from fo rce of habit, a nd wishing to
persuade himse lf tha t he had not quite lost hope. 3. Ye t
the dec ision had been rendered a nd he knew his fa ilure an d
tha t his rival was triumphant. 4. H e returns the slide to
the camera with the air of a man who has co mpleted a hard
task, just as if he did not kn ow the picture was not good
and the baby must be brought agai n to sit for its picture.
5. The foregoing is the smallest part of the work for the
photographer, as the picture has yet to be d eveloped and
printed, which is th e most difficult a nd slowest part of
the operation. 6. It is best to be d ependent on no one
at any time, and especially in time o f clanger; especially is
this true for the man who cannot swim, as he has to leave
himself to the mercy of others, and in case of shipwreck.

K

Elemmts of Rhetoric

CHAP.

[CHAP. Vll

promptness is the only thing that will save, for as that old
proverb says, the m an who hesitates is lost. 7. Th e a mbitio n of a great co nq ueror to widen his domini ons never
allows him to take hi s ease until there are no la nds left to
conquer, yet he kn ows not why.
8. Silas Marn er was a
man with promine nt, short-sightell brown eyes, and mu ch
bent. 9. You may be sure tha t however good you ma y be,
you have faults; that however dull you may be, you can
find out some of them; and tha t even if they are slight
you had better try to cure them. 10 . The writer became
acquainted with his genial host, and smoking one of his good
Havanas, and while he sipped a glass of Tokay, heard all
about the opening of the cafe. r r. This a nd mu c h more
he told of the beginning, a nd of to what proportions his
venture had grown, but we had not long to talk. 1 2 . The
ba mboo is used in a va ri ety of ways, - building mate ri al,
cooking ute nsil s, eate n, the fibr es twisted into rope, and
many others.
I .3 · He was popula r enough, for he was
one of those taking fellows, yo ung, good -look in g, :rnd
that had lots of money. r4. His writings covered many
fi eld s, -criti cism, history, scientifi c, philosophi cal, biography. 15 . Asid e from learning to swim because of th e
healthy exe rcise and the enjoyment there is some thin g more
to be consid ered, and that is that on ly once in your life
may th e art be n ecessary, but that one time may save your
life.

vrn]

Tlte Smtcuce

131

CHAPTER VIII
THE SENTENCE: ITS RHETORICAL STRUCTURE (cvntinued)
93 . Tllfo: F IFTI! E SS ENTIAi.:
ST ANCE:

T OO MUC JI

L ACK

rw

UNITY

EX l ·'. RC ISE 4 4. -

I N SU B-

95 .

LACK

OF UNITY JN FORM. -

96. I NTR I CATECONST RUCTI ON.- 97. C IIAN(;E

OF CONST IWCTIO N. -

98 . TH E UNJTY OF TIU: COM l ' LE X Sf.N TE NCE.

-EXE RC I SE 45. /'

UN ITV.- 94.

I N A SEN Tl·'.NC E. -

ERC I SE
101.

46. -

100.

99.

THE S I XTH

THE

SEVENT H

l NCO l! ERENCE.- 102.

T I ON . -

ESSEN TI A L:

E~lPllA S I S.- J:i:X-

Ess 1·:NT I AI. :

COHERENCE. -

I NCOHERENCE DUI': TO

Ex~~ RCISE 47. -- 103.

TllE USE OF REFEREN C E v\TORDS OR CON J UNCTl<>NS. REFERE NC E:
T I ON:
-

PRONOUN S. -

PARTICJPLES. -

EXERCI SE 4 9. -107.

106.

FALSIC

! N COllEREN C E DUE TO A

EXERC I SI'

48. -

P os r-

FAULT I N

104.

FA LSE

105. FA I.SE CO NNEC-

FALSE CONN IDCTI ON :

SUMMA RY. - E x 1m C ISE

CONJUNCTIONS.

50.

93. The Fifth Essential: Unity. - A sentence has
unity when it expresses clearly a sin g le id ea, excluding all th at does not have directly to do with th at
idea. In the following passage, for instance, it is
evident that th e first, second, and third sentences
each ma ke a distinct point as to the character of a
certain m orning, and the fourth and fifth sentences
each a distinct point with r egard to th e actions of th e
author.
"·wh en I awoke in the mornin g, a brilli an t autumnal sun
was shining in at my window. , The merry song of birds
mingled swee tly with the sound of ru stlin g leaves and the
gurgle of the brook. The vintagers were going forth to
their toil; the win e press was bu sy in the shade, and the

132

Elenzm ts of Rl1etoric

[ Cl-TAP. V III

clatter of th e mill kept time to th e miller's song. l lo ite red
abo ut th e village with a feelin g of calm d elig h t. I was unwilling to leave th e seclusion of th is sequ estered h a ml e t ; but
at leng th , with re luctant step, I took th e c ross-ro ad th roug h
th e vi neyard, a nd in a moment the little village hacl sunk
again , as if by e nc hantm ent, into th e bosom of th e earth."
-

..

94. Lack of Unity in Substance: too much in a Sentence. - Sometim es the substance of a senten ce lacks
unity ; it con sists of two th oug hts rather th a n one.
Notice th e followin g examples : -

I

I

L ONG FELLOW : Outi·e- Jlfer .

I

(a) [Bad.] T he perpendic ula r h eight of th e falls is fifty
feet ; th e imm e nsity a nd awfuln ess of the scene make us
marvel at th e ha ndi wo rk of th e Creator.
[Here a re two
ideas : ( r) th a t the falls a re fifty fee t hi g h ; ( 2) that th e
sce ne is ex traordinari ly im press ive. These two id eas :i re
no t d e p en de nt o n eac h other : th e fa lls may b e fifty feet
hi gh, a nd s til l not awfu l.]
(a) [<:oocl .J The perp end icular height o f the faff is fift y
fee t. Th e imm ensity a nd awfu lness o f the scen e ma ke us
m a rvel at the h a ndiwo rk of the C reator.
(a) [C ood .J Although the perpendicula r height o f th e
fa ll s is o nly fi fty feet, th e imm ensity a nd awfu ln ess o f th e
sce ne ma ke us marve l at th e handiwork of th e C reato r.
[H e re th e re is onl y oae idea: that, in spite o f th e fact th:i t
th e fa ll s a rc not very hi gh, the sce ne is im p ressive. ]
(b) [ Bad.] It is just a yea r since th e fo undations we re
laid, a nd the cos t of the whole build ing a nd its fnrni shings is fiv e lrnndred thousand d ollars. [Here th e re :ire two
ideas : ( r) that th e bui ld ing was comple ted in a certain time;
( 2) th at it cost a ce rtain amount. Th ese two ideas a re not
dep e ndent on each othe r and do n ot belong in th e same
sentence.]

CHAP .

vmj

The Sentence

133

( b) [Good .] It is just a year since the fo undati o ns we re
laid. T he cost o f th e wh ole building a nd its fu rnishings is
fi ve hundred thousand d ollars.
( b) [ Good. ] Alth oug h o nly a yea r has passed si nce th e
fo und a ti o ns of the bui ldin g we re bid, fi ve hundrecl th ousand
doll ars have already bee n expe nded on it. [He re th e re is
only o ne idea. ]
( c) [ Bad.] This discovery of Harvey's is perh a ps the
most importa nt tha t h as eve r been made in th e scie nce of
medi cine, the next a t which we shall look b eing that of
resp irat io n. [ Two ideas.]
( c) [ Good. ] This d iscove ry of H arv ey 's is perh a ps the
m os t importa nt that has ever bee n made in th e scien ce
of medicine. The n ext a t whic h we shall look is tha t of
resp iration .
EXERCISE 44

Rewrite the fo llowing se ntences, takin g care that
eac h of you r sentences co ntains only one i11ain idea,
and th a t th at stands out plainly: r. It was the fun eral of an old m a n, _o nce g rea t as his
nobl e face showed, but in th e latte r years of hi s li fe hi s
miml had go n e bac k to th e tim e whe n his m othe r cared
for him. 2. Then eve ry o ne began teas in g th e m a nd te lli ng
others to hit th e m, a nd the p eople call ed Beelzeb ub, th e
head man of the fair, a n<l he came q ui c kly a nd co mm anded
some of hi s best fri e nds to have th e trave lle rs beate n, covered with mud, and put in to a cage where e very o ne co uld
see a nd ta unt the m, and all th e while Beelze bub sat look ing
at th e m a nd la ug hed . 3 . Wh en Odysseus heard thi s, h e
was very a ng ry and walked with ve ry lo ng strid es toward th e
palace; whe n he got th e re he we nt in a nd put on hi s IJ es t
clothes, and took a bag o f salt, a nd we nt o ut a nd harn essed

134

Elc11tcnts of R!tetoric

[CHAP. VJJI

an ox and a n ass toge ther to a plm1gh, a nd t hen he began
to plollgh the sand, scattering salt on eac h furro w. 4. \Ve
a re gbd to note the very li beral poli cy the auth orities have
ad o pted in not lay ing down a set o f mi es and restr ictions
for th e use of our new gy mnasill111 , yet th ere is one reg ulatio n whi c h we fee l shollld certa inly be pllt in for ce _; th is is
the reqllirin g o f the boys to take shower bat hs befo re e nte rin g th e swimming pool.
5. For the nex t few yea rs the
Coll ege has pl e n ty o f room, but if we look far into the
fu lure 11·e sh alI sec that the grounds wi ll soon be co1·e red,
th en whe re shall 1Yc go fo r more ro o m? 6. During th e
co ll ege year th e re are in all about th irty clays vacat io n,
whi c h whe n add ed to the Slimm e r vaca ti on, leaves little
more th :rn ha If a yea r fo r coll ege work , which is e ntirely
too sho rt a time fu r th e im portant work of a co llege studen t
to be d o ne in. 7. T o m, though in love with l.Zose him se lf,
has co nspired to bring the m toge th er again, showing his
love to be entirely nobl e and d isinter es ted. 8. There a re
fin e bits of d esc rip tion throll ghout, wh ich take the place
o f ill llstratio ns, a nd in style it may be compared with any
o f Scott's wo rks. 9. The main pur pose is to see how fa r
o ne can rid e dur ing seve n consecllti ve days, thlls it usual ly
tllrn s o ut that th e best-tra in ed man a nd on e who has the
ha rdi est constitutio n, will win . IO . Thi s sta tement will appeal to most perso ns; fo r the bare sight o f the competitors
a t th e encl o f the race will convince in mos t cases the
loo ker-o n tha t this style of racing is not human, and tha t it
d oes not prom ote cycle-raci ng, but that it is brutal and
d egradi ng. . 1 J. I\ com.petition li ke the six-day races, in
whic h ski ll or abi li ty has no pa rt, but in which ex haustion
a nd fati gue d ecide the winner, can no more be called a
spo rt fit for th e present ce ntury than bull-fighting or six-day
foot races, and hence ought to be aboli shed. 12. O f course
the excitement was much more intense in a cane rush as

CHAI' .

vm]

T!te Scntcnce

135

every one pa rticipated, therefore as the excite ment increased,
the co ntes tants became wild, a nd th us o ften things were dou e
which wou ld not be clone in a less excit in g co ntest. 13 . 'J'h eir
d esce nt was along a narrow and win d ing pa th, from which
the T eng is could be di stinc tly seen ; not onl y the lake was
seen by the C hinese sold iers, howeve r, but also th ousand s
and eve n m illi ons of huma n be in gs we re seen rushing into
th e shall ow water, and mad ly drinking the polluted liqu id .
14. Sudden ly becoming ala rmed, however, he turn ed toward
th e gate; it was too late, it was shnt. I5. His eldest so n,
Geo rge, was very unfortuna te, trave lling all aro und th e contine nt in search of a li ving, being a t utor, se rvant, a nd sellin g
himse lf for a slave. 16. All these instrum ents tend to exe rci se the body, but wh at is mo re necessary tha n all these
gy mnastics is obedience . i 7. Th ere are a g reat many
objections raised to this plan; it wi ll certainly increase th e
taxes; some of our statesmen d ecl a re that we shall soon
d evelop into a power, and that if we have a standing a rm y,
we shall not stop at the Philippin es, but seek o th er colo ni es.
18. Th at rorn anti cisrn is more interesting th an th e realism
wh ich is prevalent, I gra nt ; but it see ms to me that the
realism of which we think is on ly superficial, a nd naturally
the d iscussion or narratio n of th e co mmo n wi ll be interesting, bnt the point whi ch I wish to make is th at if th e inner
li ves of the majo rity of the human race were disclosed, we
should have rom ances and even traged ies in abundan ce .
19. T he entire grounds of tbe uni ve rsity consists of a comparative small number of acres, whic h a re covered by a few
of the necessary buildings, but the most necessary part of
th e college, the campus, is lackin g. 20 . We only hope that
the money resulting from th e sale of the property may be
employed in the p urchase of th e large fi eld opposite the
li brary, a nd with dormitori es erecte<l in each corner of it,
do no t doubt but that a ve ry great increase of students will

Ele1!le!lts of Rlietoric

[ c ll AI'. VI II

b e noti cea ble next ye:ir. 2 1. At th e g iven signal a wres tle
b eg:in for the maste ry of th e stick and with eac h man trying
to kee p both feet o n the gro und and both ha nd s on th e
s ti ck th e re w:is not likely to be :iny perso nal clanw ge .
22. ]\[any o f om wil d a nimals a re nocturn a l in th eir hab its,
a nd b11t se ldo m leave th eir lair dur ing the d ay tim e, therefor e it would he quite a task fo r na turalists to asce rtain
th e ir se cre t ha bits, reso rtin g to all the secrecy imag inable .
23 . H e wis hed now to claim he r as hi s brid e, a nd we nt to
her father' s court to inquire of her whereabo uts, and o n
be ing told th at she had se t up a wo man 's coll ege, the Prin ce
with tw o fri e nds, Florian a nd Cyril, we nt in searc h of he r.
24 . I )r. l'rirnrose was a prosperous vica r, with all th e necessities and ma ny o f th e lt1 x11ri es of life an d was acc t1 stom ed
to ta ke th ings easy, until one clay wh en his fo rtun es sucld e nl y fail ed, a nd he was left almost pennil ess, wi th a family,
accusto med to hav in g alm ost eve ryth ing th ey cl cs irecl, o n
his ha nd s to supp ort. 25 . But th e fami ly o f th e Vicar of
/Va/.:efield was one o f th e b es t contented am ong th e mse lves, in prospe rity and adversity that co uld be found an ywh e re, so that they see med to have perfect fa ith in th e
state m e n t th a t th e ri ghteo us are n ever forsa ken.

95. Lack of Unity in Form. - Sometim es the f orm
of a sentence lac ks unity; the matter expressed
constitutes a sin gle idea, but the form does not
all ow the idea to appear clearly and definitely.
This may be clu e to one of several ca uses.
96. Intricate Construction. - See also § 69. Compare th e pairs of sentences below. In the form er
of eac h pair th e stru cture is so intricate that the
unity of the id ea is obsc ured; in the latter the
structure is s implified, and unity is secured.

CHAP. Vlll]

T!t e Scnlcnce

137

(a) [Bad.] Earl y in th e mo rnin g of l\fay 1 , lo ng b efor e su nrise, Admiral Dewey, with hi s Oee t o f eig ht ships,
consistin g o f th e Olympia, whic h was th e Oagship, the
Boston, th e Petrel, the Co11cord, the Plu/ailclj,/1i1i, th e .Hal!i111ore, the Rale(i;lt, and the reve nu e c utter JlfcC11/log/1,
silently e nte red th e harbo r of Ma nil a, and was no t d etec ted
by the Spania rds until h e was we ll past th e fo rts g ua rdin g
the entrance .
[This sentell ce tr eats of a sing le id e:i,
Dewey's enterin g th e ha rbo r of Ma nila; but th e re a re so
many d eta ils to be sta ted that the ce ntral fac t is o bsc ured.
In suc h cases it is be tte r to cli.vide th e id ea into severa l
smaller ideas, and to express each clea rly a nd simply 111
a sente nce.]
(a) [ Good .] Long b efore sunrise on the mo rnin g of
May r, Adm iral D ewey sil e ntl y e nte red th e ha rbo r o f MaHis fleet consisted of eight shi ps, e tc . Not until
nila.
he was well past the forts g uardin g th e en trance did th e
Spaniard s d e tect him.
( b) [Bad. J However, thi s <l e feat was no dishonor to
Cervera, as he did the most manly thin g to do under th e
circumsta nces, a nd even th o ug h he is ce nsm ed by hi s own
countryme n hi s co nduc t will always be consid e red with admiration a nd res pect, a nd he will hold a n ho nored place
in th e hearts of the justice-lov ing p eople aga inst who m he so
bravely fought.
(b) [ Good.] Howeve r, d efea t was to Cervera n o di shonor. Under the c irc um stan ces, he die\ th e most manl y
thin g th e re was to do . Eve n tho ug h he is ce nsured by hi s
ow n country men, his co nduct will always be consid e red with
ad miration, a nd be will hold, e tc.

97. Change of Construction. - Unless the thoug ht
makes it necessary, it is un wise to c ha nge the construction in the course of a complex or compound

Elements of Rl1ct01'ic

CHAP. VIII]

[ CHAP . VI 11

se nte n ce.
If th e se n ten ce con cerns A, and A is
th i:: subj ect of the firs t clause, let A, and n ot som e
ot h e r p e r son or thing , b e the subj ect of the oth er
cla use or clauses.
Notice the diffe ren ce in th is
res pect b etween th e sentences in each of the p ai rs
b e low. Compa r e § 88 , o n parall e l s truc ture .
(11) [l~ad . J Sudd enl y she th ought she heard something
m ove behind her, but nothing could be see n.
(a) [Good.] Sud de nly she thought she heard something
move behind her, lmt she could see nothing.
(b) [Bad.] J\ fte r showing thi s remarkable p rod uction,
th ese words were once more pointed out, and th e pce t
offe red to expbin th em.
(b) [ Good .] After showing th is remarkable produ ction,
the p oe t pointed out these words, and offered to explain th em.
98 . The Unity of the Complex Sentence. -

It shou ld

b e n oti ced that the comp lex sente nce , which necessari ly h a s only a sin g le p rin c ip al ve rb, h as n a tura lly
m ore unity than a co mpound senten ce, w hi ch mu s t
have a t leas t two principa l v erbs, a nd h ence must
includ e at least two s ta te m ents.
EXERC ISE 45

R e write th e fo ll ow in g se nten ces, impro ving th em
as mu ch a s p ossible: 1 . J\ dee p sense o f obligation to my country and an
American's duty to d efend an in sulted , threatenecJ, and
strn gglin g J\m eri can colony, planted as ri ghteously and
firml y on the No rth Pacifi c Isles as our pil grim fathers
establi shed themselves on P lymouth Rock, d emand that I

/

'
l

T!te S entence

1.39

sh all make an answer to the astounding misreprese ntati ons
and untruths of Commiss ion er Ul ount' s report on Hawaiian
affairs, a copy of which I first obtain ed with cJiffi cnlty,
Saturd ay ev enin g, November 25. 2. Most of my men were
marri ed, and had famili es of fron1 fiv e to fourteen children
after d isc hargin g those men on a Saturday ni ght when th e;
would receive their pay, their wives would come to me wi th
one child on th eir :urn and :rnot:h er tugging at th eir dress
and ask me with tea rs in their eyes, wh at their hu sbands
were discharged for, anll th e li ttl e babi es would look at me
as if I was robbing th em of th eir bread ancl butter, th ey
told me that tlie ir hu sban ds worked so long for me and that
they never worked anywhere else, it would be the cause of
breakin g up th eir little home and se para ting their li ttle
family, which I found to be tru e, as in a short while th ere
was a Gerry Age nt at my offi ce and would ask me about
fam ily so and so, I would tell him th ey were a good fam ily,
but times were ve ry hard and I had to let him go.
3. Hobson offered a plan wh ich he th ought wonld sett le
th e matter, and thi s was the plan; to blow 11p th e Merrimac
in orcJer to obstru ct the pass:ige of Cerve ra's fl eet. 4. Dr.
McCosh was a Scotchman by birth, and befo re he ca me to
this country he had achi eved wides pread fame as a phil osophi cal writer, an organizer of th e Free Church, and a
professor in Quee n's College, Belfast, where he wrote his
I 11t1titions of t!te Mind h ul11ctively .111ves11:r;ated whi ch gave
He
him a leacJ in g position as a metaph ysical writer.
came to this country in 1868, hav in g bee n elected pres id ent
of Princeton Coll ege, whi ch position he held until 1888,
wh en he retired ow ing to his age, and D r. Patton was elected
as his successor. 5. Mr. T aylor was qu estion ed in regard
to the accuracy of the statement co ntain ed in the despatch
yes tercby from San Sebasti an to th e T emps of Pari s, purporting to give the substance of the interview whi ch took

140

E lements of Rltctoric

[ CHAP . VJll

place o n Sunday last betwee n :Ministe r Woodford and th e
D uke of T e tua n, t he Spa ni sh Ministe r of Foreign J\ffairs, in
whi c h Ge neral Wood fo rd is said to have insisted upon the
necessity of terminating the war in Cuba, a nd to have
d ecbred that if it is not termirni.ted by the end of October
the United Sta tes will fee l justifi ed in ta kin g measures to
sec ure the in depe ndence of Cuba. 6. O n investigation it
\\'aS fo und that the hoppe rs were attacked by a small blue
ny, with whi te wings, whi ch depos ited seve ral eggs on the
ho ppe r th at soon hatcheLl small white worm s, whi c h a te the
ho p pe rs' vitals a nd killed th em. 7. Hut fortun e changed,
and i\li ss 1-l epziba h fo und herself, after so many years of
pe nury a nd wa nt, snu gly e nsconced in a large esta te with
pl enty to last her th ro ughout her mo rta l life, a nd to leave lo
her relat ives a nd those who had bee n kind to her while
li ving e nough to make the m co mfortabl e while th ey re ma in ed
o n eart h. 8. F irst he was very muc h co nfused at the terri ble whir a nd turmoi l, whi ch used to ma ke him alm ost
speechl ess ; he g raduall y overcame thi s weakn ess, however. 9. I:u t there a re numerous exam ple of iellows who
have fo und, a fte r spending the first fe w weeks in neglecting
th e ir studi es, that it pays to keep up to the standi ng of th e
class; fo r i ~ is a fte r onl y a few weeks when he is obliged to
take examinations, a nd, th en, whe n he has fail ed in passing
th e m, he is confronted with an enorm ous amo unt of wo rk in
ord er to regain hi s los t standing. 1 0. And they seem to
know th e subj ects which th ey teach, the fac t which has most
we ight with me, fo r, a lthough I canno t bear a disagreeable
teac he r, a teacher wh o does not understa nd th e thing he is
supposed to teach is fully as objec tionable, if not more so.
11. It is mo re lik ely in most cases that they have no comma nd ove r the ir vocabulari es, and whe n th ey wish to talk at
le ng th th ey beg in ve ry nicely, but wh en th ey have travelled
along smoothly until their vocabularies are exhausted they

CHA P.

vm]

Tlte Sentence

begin to fill in th e unpl easant gaps with halting expressions,
"do n' t yo u know," am! o thers, just as use less . I 2 . H is li fe
has been a stran ge one; o nce a pri soner, he was he ld in
great estee m, and upo n th e d eath of hi s mas te r, succee ded
to his estates a nd power.
13 . Gladstone's g reatn ess involves many nobl e qu aliti es, a nd c hi ef a mo ng th ese q ualiti es
is his perseverance, to which is cl ue hi s greatness as a statesman. r 4. The Pres ident d id not wish fo r war ; mos t of th e
people did ; a nd a fte r a long tim e of d ebati ng Co ngress
decid ed tha t wa r there must be, a nd Mr. McK inl ey sent out
a call fo r volunteers. 1 5. Great Brita in canno t o ffer a
marke t fo r the sugar of th e West Indi an colo ni es while th e
contin ent pays a bounty o n the best sugar produced in he r
countries, thus offerin g it to G reat Brita in a nd th e world for
next to nothing, unl ess she imposes a heavy duty on sugar
imported fro m the continent, or induces th e contine nt to
withdraw th e bounty.

99. The Sixth Essential : Emphasis. - In a wellmade se ntence t he more impor tant pa rts s houl d be
so p laced as to occ upy co nsp icuo us or e mph a tic
pos1t10ns. Th e emp ha tic positions are, especially,
th e beginnin g and the encl, eith er of a sen tence or
of a cla use.
Comp are th e follo win g examples : ( a ) [ Bad .] His wife, a hard wo man of the wo rl d, never
cared for him, and the expression o n her face was one more
of joy a nd reli e f th an of sorrow a nd remorse as she loo ked
at him for the las t time. [Here it is no t tl1e las t time tha t is
im portant, but joy and relief. ]
(a ) [Good.] His wi fe, a hard woman of the world , never
cared fo r him, a ml the express ion o n her face, as she looked
at him fo r the las t tim e, was one less of sorrow a nd re morse
than of joy a nd relief.

Elcmmts ·of Rhetoric

[ CHAP. Vll l

(b) [Bad.] Th e interest one takes in this novel centres
in th e stirrin g times and events there set forth mo re than in
a nything else.
( b) [Coocl.J Th e interest one tak es in this novel centres, more than in anything else, in the stirring times and
events th ere set fo rth.
(c) [Bad .]
Arcite manages to escape a nd become
employed in th e king's service so he could see E mil y.
In the meantim e l'alamon is trying to escape a nd fin ally
succeeds .
( c) [Goocl.J In order to see Emily, Arcite manages to
escape and become employed in the kin g's service. Pala-.
mon, in the meantim e, succeeds in escaping.
EXERCISE 46

R ewrite the follow ing sentences, correcting or impro vin g th e emp hasis in eac h: I. Far mo re impo rtant is thi s local election, which will
show whethe r we are to retain the power tha t we have gained
by so mu ch toil, th an the national election. 2. At last, he
was found in a travelling theatrical company, by his father.
3. From this I think that it would have been much more
adv isable if the n ew site of Columbia had been bought in
some othe r part of the state, whe re land is of less expense
- say, at Irvingto n or so mewhere on Long I sla nd. 4. What
fnn th ey would have in keeping their dignifi ed bea ring and
also a proper adjustment of th e cap and gown, wh en the
wind was whistlin g between build ings as it is thi s morning,
for in stance . 5. No longer payi ng any a ttention to th e approac h of the Russians, they rush clown into th e l::tk e crazed
by th e heat. 6. He th erefore urged that a new calculation
be made, sin ce th e latest one is incorrec t, inco mplete, and
unsatisfactory in many ways .

\ .

CHA P.

vm]

The Seutmce

100. The Seventh Essential : Coherence. - Last of
a ll , it is essential to a well-m ade sentence that th e
relation s between th e parts of th e se nte nce shall
be clearly indicated. vVh en the parts of a sentence
arc so placed tha t th eir rela tion t o eac h oth er is
clearly evident, a nd whe n eac h part s uppl ements
the other p arts in thou gh t a nd fo rm, we say that
the sente nce is coherent, - that is, that it is a
wh ole made up . of well-a djusted parts.
101. Incoherence. - In cohere nce, or Jack of proper
ad ju stme nt in the parts of a sen te nce, is clu e to
one of two causes : ( 1) a fault in th e p lacing of
the p;:uts; or (2) a fault in th e u se of word s that
bind the parts of a sentence togeth er, or that refer
from one part of a sentence to a nothe r, - that is,
a fau lt in the use of conjun ctions or pronouns.
· 102. Incoherence due to False Position. - The first
great cause of incohe re nce is the fa lse position of
( 1) words, (2) phrases, and (3) clauses. The principle involved is in each case the . same, - namely,
t ha t, in a n uninflec ted lang uage like E ng lish, we
depend la rgely upon the positi on of word s, phrases,
and clauses, for our knowledge o:f th eir relations. The
par ts of a se nte nce th at a re th e most closely re lated
in thought mu st, as a rule, stand n eares t each other.
Examples : -

(ar [Bad. ] The exercises hard en not only the muscles
but also tra in the min d.
(a) [Good.] Th e exe rcises not only harden the muscles
but also train th e mind.

144

Elements of R!tetoric

[CHAP. V III

(b) [Bad.] There have been several 111ass-mcf'li11gs helJ
in the gy mnasium fo r this purpose, wltic!t have been largely
attenJed.
(b) [Good.] Seve ral mass-meetings, which hav e been
large ly attended, have been held in the gymnasium for this
purpose.
(c) [Bad.] Tin horns were blown by youths in th eir
teens, with the wi!Jest enthu siasm, all of w!tom were 1111ablc
to volf' .

(c) [Good.] Tin horns were blown, with the wildest
enthusiasm, by youths in their teens, all of whom were
unabl e to vote .
EXERCISE 47

Improve the follovving sentences: I. Wh en we reached the Oregon, I alighted from the
rowboat and climbed up the side of the war-ship, which was
swinging a t anc hor, by a sort of ladde r.
2. A war-ship
see ms to the visitor a miniature world, which acts of its own
accord , with eve rything for the welfare a nd comfort of its
occupa nts aboard, bent on destruction.
3. So me plan
must be ag reed on by which questions that may be submitted
to the conventi on, of jurisdiction, shall be d ec id ed . 4. Wh en
throu gh her course in th e gy mnasiu m, the stude nt not only
is healthy L11t also is agi le and graceful.
5. If th e voters
throughout the state would conside r this, they would reali ze
th e necessity of not only voting down the governor but the
whole ballot.
6. In voting for Smith they are neither
helping th e Democrats nor the Republicans.
7. At a
dinner of famous literary men and journalists who had
wo n d istinction, given by two prominent publi shers, I
met the author I admire most.
8. It is, therefore, reasonable to suppose that in the near future it will not be
n ecessary to instruct college students in the first rnJi-

CHAP.

vm]

T!te S e?ttence

145

ments of their native language, matters wh ic h they should
have mastered long ago, as in the past.
9. There is a
very promising lot of candidates who are trying for the
crews, both the Freshman and 'Varsity.
10. Theseus, the
kin g of Athens, was returning home after many vic tories
with his wife.

103. Incoherence due to a Fault in the Use of Reference Words or Conjunctions. - We have seen how th e
false position of words, phrases, or clauses may
· destroy the sense or effectiveness of the sentence by
obscuring the re lat ion between th e var ious parts of
the sentence.
It now remains to be seen how a
simila r res ult is broug ht about by false reference a nd
fa lse connection, i.e. by a clumsy or incorrect use of
pronouns and conjunctions.
104. False Reference : Pronouns. - The following
examples illustrate incoherence clue to faults in the
use of pronouns : (a) I-I e told th e coachm an that he would be the d eath
of him if he did not take care what he was auout and mind
what he said.
[Does lte refer throughout to the same
person or to different persons?]
( b) Description plays very little part in the book, and
tltose that do occur are not interesting. [ Tlt0se what?]
(c) If an individual or a corpo ra tio n had managed an
undertaking as this has been managed, tltC)' would have been
Jiscred ited years ago. [To what p lural noun can tltey refer?
Cf§ 37.J
(d) The most important question that has ever come
up for debate, to wlticlt the majority is opposed, and from
wlticlt the workingman shrinks, is this. [ /,Vlticlt is too far
from its antecedent. Corrected: The most important quesL

Elcmmts of Rhetoric

[ c H ,\P. VIII

tion th a t has eve r co m e up for d ebate, a qu esti o n to whi ch
th e m ajo rit y is o pposed, and from whi c h th e workin g man
shrink s, is this.]
EXERCISE 48

Co rrect the following se nte nces : H e proposed a glass o f soda wate r, to wh ic h I asse nted .
Th e J11errimac having bee n strippe d o f eve ryth in g exce pt
h er m ac hin e ry, two torp ed oes were placed und er he r h11ll ,
whi c h wo uld sink th e ship .
3. H ere we re lo ng plank s,
placed across ho rses, which were used as mess-tables. 4. A.
fe w yea rs a go I h ::uJ from fift y to sixty me n worki ng for me
and now I have o nl y te n, whic h sho ws th e fa lling off o f trade.
5. His wife had a d eadl y fear of snakes, whi ch no p e rs11 as ion
co uld dimini sh.
6. The re is n o d o ubt that th e U niv e rsity
shoultl have mor e land. Th ey sh ould bu y th e n ex t block.
7. F o r a fa mil y suc h as was that o f Dr. Primrose to co me
d ow n to a lmost nothing and yet kee p up their pride a nd
spirits, is inc re dibl e.
8. i\gain whil e block adi ng ha rbors
she was fr eq ue ntly call ed up o n to d e fend h e rse lf ;i ga inst
9. No
forts a ncl gunboats, whi ch she alw:i ys did galla ntl y.
se mblance of a slip occurred in the case o f any one o f us,
tho ug h had it occu rred the wo rst co nseque nces co n kl h;ird ly
h av e b ee n avo ided.
10. Once raised to th e di zzy hei ght
o f abso lute power, the use that was m ad e of it cl e pc nd ccl
1.

2.

sole ly o n th e c h a rac te r o f th e e mp eror.

105. False Connection: Participles.-As th e adjective
fo rm of the verb, th e participle mu st modify a noun
or its equivalent. A pa rticipial phrase or cla use is
th us co nnected with th e rest of the sentence by th e
parti ciple. Incoh erence may occur in the fo ll owing
way s : ( i ) The participle may not modify grammatically

CHAP.

vm]

Tlte Sentence

147

th e noun or pronoun whi ch it should modify accordin g to th e sense. See § 53 ( 3 ).
(2) The nominative absolute with a participle is
so metim es used in E ng li sh, with the force of a causal
clause, 1 but it is n ot nearly so comm on as in L atin,
a nd should be used spa rin g ly.
It is particularly
aw kward when it follows th e prin cip al clause; e.g.
"!VI Y teachers in this n ew school were first-c lass
instru ctors, two !tm1ing- !tad a call within the last two
years to teac h in colleges."
106. False Connection : Conjunctions. - I 11 no way
can the sense or structure of a se ntence be made in ore
in coheren t than by an inde finite use of connectives.
The pupil shou ld ma ke s ure, especially in complex
sentences, that the r elations between th e clauses arc
clearly indicated. H e should be particu la rly 011 hi s
g uard again st the careless use of th e r.elative adverb
so.2 So is properly used to introdu ce a clau se of
result ; e.g. "I sent him word early so [o r so tltat ]
he could get away in time." It is a lso so metim es
used, especial] y in conversation, with th e force of
''consequently"; e.g .. "I did not find him, so I went
1
For exa mple, "Th e sun h av ing long sin ce su nk in the west, we
returned haslil y home. "
2
. too often loosely usecl . Jt is certai nl y best used to
. . Wh
' 11i.e is
tnd1 cate t.hat two processes a re go ing on at the same Lim e; e.g . "I
wtll do th is wlule yo u are doing t hat." lt may also have th e sense of
"alt
· .hough
. " ,· e"
"'" " w !.tt·1e I b e 1·1eve yo u, I ca n scarce ly rea li ze t hat yo u
arc tell111g the truth. " It is least well used when it is merely equivaknt l o " and" or " hut ," o r when it may be om itte d wit hout clian!Ting
0
th e sense·' CO'
. us, ·w;.u·le S
•
·o · "Oli via
c
\\,as i.J u1'·t
s c 1o
. o plu.a was quiet and
reserved."

Elcmmts of Rlletoric
on.

[ CHA P. Vlll

]Jut there is so stro ng a feeling tha t so is

loosely u sed when it d oes not plainly introduce .a
cla use of r esult that car eful write rs r egularly avoid
it in t h e constru ction illustrated ab ove, preferring

" As [or sinceJ I did not find him, I went on. "
EXERCISE 49

Co rrect

th e

incohcrcncc o [

the following sen-

1: -

tences
1 • In both countri es the law of society demanJs th at
only a few be permitted to prosper whil e the great "other
half" must struggle for a mere existence.
2. In reply to
your letter of th e 27th in regard to roast bee f, we first
began packing it twenty-five years ago.
3. Answering
your question in regard to fo reig n ingredients and scraps
bein g used in putting up this meat, will say that .'~e. used
4· 1 his asnothing but good, wholesome, sound bee f.
sured her that she was being watched, so very slow ly she
5. In th e citi es all is uncertainty, therefore
left the room.
money is not invested, and busin ess is not transacted , so
men have no work.
6. The " gy m" proper is on th e
ground fl oor, taki ng up half th e oval; the other ha.If bein g
give n up to d ress ing rooms. 7. One afternoo n, while walkin g along a business avenue, my attention was attrac ted .hy a
crowc.I 8 . Th e time is short, so I will confine myself entirely
to important matters . 9. The chief opinion among newspaper editors was that the bill was har mful to the press,
whil e politicians thought it would benefit the public. 10. He
had been empl oyee\ to assist in arranging the house for it's
mistress and had co ntrived this hiding-place for the purl T o do this it will som etim es be necessary t o make the st ructure
para 11 c l ( see § 88) , or to recast the thought in two or more sentences.

Clfi\1.'.

vm]

Tile Sentence

149

pose of rifling my aunt's strong box when everybody in th e
hou se should be asleep, having secreted him self there.
rr. The school is easy of access, being near to th e station.
12. Having bee n informed that th e Spanish fleet was hugging the coast of Spain, and that a large arm y was to be
sent to Cuba, it became the Admi ral's duty to return to
Havana.
13. After his marriage to my aunt he graduall y
dwindl ed away, my aunt's mind being too much for him.
14· The a thl etic grounds being several mil es distant is a
great drawback. 15 . The resu lt aimed at not only was to
make England the manufacturin g centre of the world, but
also that th ese products should be carried in English ships.
16. Th e principal products which th eir ships brought to
E ngland were timber, tallow, and hides, from the Daltic
regions, and from Norway they brought pitch and fish.

107. Summary. - What has been said in this ch a pte r may b e summarized thus. A well-constructe d
sentence must have the following characteristics: ( 1) Its parts, when take n toge ther, must express one,
and only one, idea (Unity).
( 2) Its parts must be so arranged that the important parts
will stand in prominent places (Emph asis).
(3) Its parts must be so shaped and arranged that their
relation to each other, both in form and in sense, is perfec tl y
clear (Coherence).
EXERCISE 50 (Review)

Correct or improve the following sentences: r. She lived alone in the House of the Seven Gables,
with small means and having too much pride to accept
assistance.
2. Owing to the fact that the company will
appear in many new places next season with the exception
of a new cover and a few additions, there is little change

150

I

I

Elcmeuts of Rltetoric

[CHAP. Vlll

from the pamphlet used during last season . 3. The psalms
of Dav id breath e forth the sweetest spirit of a ntiquity; but
go to the opera and see what men have lowered music to.
4. After havin g visited all the publishers in th e c ity, who
each in turn to ld him that his poem was n ot wo rth publi shing, in a m a nn er whic h was far from b ei ng poli te, so he
had to do it himself.
5. When o nce people begin to say,
'' to-mo rrow will d o," they are very apt to forge t it or have
somethin g happen to prevent them on th e othe r d ays, a nd
it is not n ecessary to show to eve ry upright m:in in th e
state that this election is one of momentous i111portancc
and it is th e ir duty to reg ister, for th ey cannot vote wit hout
d oing it.
6. I sugges t three esse ntials for a rh eto ri c co urse .
All can be easily in stituted. A co mpete nt instru c to r, a o ne7. S till the end
ho m course, and consultations on essays.
soug ht cann ot be reached until efficient te ac he rs are foun d ,
as rul es and regulati ons are only one third, th e teacher
may b e cons id e red a nothe r th ird, and th e stude nt the
remaining third in the process of education.
8. Nothin g
ha ppe ned of impo rta nce a ft e r that, until n ea rly two months
later. Then th e battl es of San Juan Hill a nd El Caney, th e
great naval victory of Santiago and finally the capture o f S:i nti:i go itself.
9. \V e went to the fire down the st reet in th e
o ld sto re nex t to the Gardner h ouse th at has been e mpty
so lo ng, out ever ythin g was qu ie t again Ly the tim e we got
th e re and we had to come home, which was jus t what we
mi ght have expec ted, for it's always our luck .
10. It
shou ld b e known th a t the limits of the Paris Ex posi tion
grounds are fix ed by inflexible boun daries - streets, ave nu es,
bou levards, busin ess houses and private resid e nces - and
a re situated in th e centre of th e city, thus m aking it impossilJle to extencl th e gro unds in order to secure mo re space
with whi ch to satisfy the demands of a for eig n country, so
that the addition al a llotment of space made to th e United

CHAP . VIII]

T!te Sentence

States - aft e r the whole a mount had been apportion ed
out to th e various nati ons of th e earth - required more
than an ordinary effort upon the part of the French exposi tion authorities, and d e monstrates th e ir generosity and
good feel ing toward us as a n ation.
r I. The first two
na med on ly went to th e top: the o th e rs re mained b elow.
12. H e not only lent me his carri age, out also hi s horses .
13. A fe w individuals have headed th e move me nt fro m the
first a nd give n it consistency and di g nity, a mong wh om I
can me ntion none more influ e ntial than our honored presi14. He often recalled the first time that he drove
d ent.
over thi s b eautiful country with his wife who has sin ce go ne
to heaven in a bu ggy.
15. I studi ed th e lives of th ese
authors a nd the works of each, but s pending most o f my
time on Mi lton and Shakespeare.
16. I re memlJer seeing
hi m in 1860 whe n he was a mere c hild a nd that e ven th e n
his p eculia r charac teristi cs we re already well d eveloped.
r 7. And we res p ectfully request Lad ies a nd Gentleme n
intending to purc hase to a ll ow us the privilege of trying o n
a pair; to see a nd feel this shoe upon th e foot, is to make
a customer for us.
18. Henry Smith, atto rney for th e M errimac valley navi gation company, stated in behalf of that
company the olJj ections to th e proposed IJuoy, and the
co nst ru c tion of a ferni er pi er was stre nu o usly advocated by
him.

Elements of RJu to1'ic

[ CHAP. IX

CHAPTER IX
WORDS: VOCABULARY
108 . PL AN

OF

PR OC 1mu 1rn. -

VOCAHLl l.1\RY. -

109. 'l' I IE

EX TE N T

O F TllE E.NG L! Sll

110 . T llE I N !>I V llJlJA I. VOCABlJl.1\RY. -

TO l NC lrnAS I·: TILE l. N LHVllJ UA L VuCA llULARV. -

111. ll uw

E XE RC I SE

51.

108. Plan of Procedure. - Now that we have seen
how words a rc arranged in sentences, we must
noti ce what kind s of words are mos t serviceable.
109 . The Extent of the English Vocabulary. - W e
have already see n th e cl ange rs atte ndin g the use of
wo rd s that arc not, strictly speakin g, English words,
and th e use of words in senses not properly E ng lish.
But other points a bout words still remain to be co nsidered. Gra nted th a t all our words are English and
arc usecl in prop e r E nglish senses, what sort of words
shall we use, - of what words shall our vocabularies
consist? En g li s h has, by the accide nts of history,
a total vocabulary of more th a n three hundred th ousand words. T o the primitive Anglo-Saxon of our
Germanic a ncestors were first added, by sl ow degrees,
words from th e Celtic, the Danish, and th e Latin.
Th e co nqu est of E ngland by the Normans - Scandinavi a ns who spo ke French - resulted in th e ad dition of a lar brre French vocabulary to the horn cl y
treas ures of th e Anglo-Saxon tongue - and created

CHAP. IX ]

Words: Voca{m/rwy

153

our E ng lish lang uage . A nd then, as civilization
grew, and as knowledge of antiquity an d interco urse
with other nations increased, came new ideas and
experiences, new arts and sciences, and a multitud e
of new words from L atin and Greek, as well as from
Italian, Spanish, P ortug uese, Dutch, Hebrew, Arabic,
Hindustani, P ersia n, Malay, and other lan g uages.
With a vocabulary so lar ge a nd ri ch as that of E nglish, what are we to do ? In this chaos of stran ge
and familiar words, how are we to pick and choose?
110. The Extent of the Inclividual Vocabulary. When we examine th e situation, however, we find
th at no one knows or uses all these three hundred
thousand words, a ny more th an he knows or m akes
friends with all the peop le in the city· where he lives.
Even Shakspere's vocabulary had not more th an
fi ftee n thousand words, a nd th at of Milton, and th at
of the English Bible, is each less th an seven th ousand.
vVe need not be ambitious, then, to kn ow or use a ll the
words in the dictionary. What we should try to do is
to increase our vocabularies until they are adequate to
our needs ; and that, it is to be feared, th ey are not
now. Communication of som e sort can b e carried
on with even a very small number of words. A
forei g ner may manage to make known his ordinary
wants with scarcely more th an a hundred; the average
vocabulary of the Italian op era is said to be less than
a th ousand. But a small stoc k of words is a cruel
limitation on one's thinking, a nd es pec ially on one's
talking or writing. To have only a few words at our

Ii

I

I

154

Elements of Rltetor£e

[ CJ-IJ\P. IX

co mm and means that we have curtailed ourselves m
m uch tha t makes life worth li ving, - in freshness
a nd keenness of sensation, a nd in breadth a nd de pth
of thou g ht. Th e diffe rence between a wide-awake,
e ner ge tic ma n, wit h an acute, well-di sciplin ed mind,
an d a dull or stupid man, is la rgely d ue to a state of
mind of wh ich the best sig n is a limited or hackneyed
vocabulary. The dull man does not di sc rimin ate ;
he lum ps a d ozen thin gs together under o ne name :
a ll things which a rc at a ll alike are to him exactly
a like. He docs not trouble himself to di stin g uish
among th em . N i'ce, ji1le, good, for instan ce, do cl uty
for a sco re of adj ec tives with more special mea1~in gs.
111. How to Increase the Individual Vocabulary. T he fo llowin g advice will aid students in enlargin g
their vocabu la ries: ( 1) If possible, get a so und elementary know led ge
of Latin, not on ly because th e study of L ati n trains
the mind, but because Latin is the basis on whic h
a la rge numb er of importa nt E ng lish words is for med.
( 2) Use new words, even if it takes an effort to do
so, until they beco me fami liar to you.
( 3) R ead as much as yo u can in good English
a uth ors of all kind s. R ead carefu lly; do not sk ip or
pass li g htly over words the meanin gs of which you
on ly half know or do not know a t all.
(4) In all your writing try to exp ress yourselves
exactly; rea li ze what it is whi ch you want to express,
and do not be sati sfi ed un til you have found th e word
or words th a t ex pres s yo ur mea ning adequate ly.

CHAP . IX]

Words: Vocab11 !ary

155

(5) Beware of usin g the same words too consta ntly.
A hackneyed vocabulary, or the careless a nd unnecessary r epetition of a word in a sing le sentence or in
several successive sentences, detracts greatly from the
force of what you wr ite.
(6) ·w rite freq uently. It is by use that a vocabulary grows rich and k eeps vig orous.
(7) Have a goo d di ctio nary by yo u and use it frequently.1
EX ERCISE SI

I. Read carefully th e fo llowing passage, underscoring the words with whi ch you are not so fa miliar
as to use them na turally . M ake s ure of the meaning
of these words, and construct sentences which will
illu strate their use.
" Although as boys we had been even intimate assoc iates,
yet I reall y kn ew li tt le of my fri end. His reserve had been
a lw::iys excessive and hab itual. I w::is aware, howeve r, that
his very ancient fami ly had bee n noted, tim e out o f mind,
1 H'orresler's D i ctio11ai-y, the f71/cr11atio11a/, th e Ce11t111y, an d the
Stm1dard arc th e h es t E ng lish dicti unari es for ordin ary use, a nd at

least one o f th em sh o uld be access ible in every schoo l library. Th e
Ce11IW)' has the advantage o f gi1· ing a numb er o f exampl es und er each
word, illustrati ng th e prec ise se nse whi ch usage gives to it. This pla n
is full uwed muc h more cb.borate ly in t he larg est a nd best di ct ionary u l
t he b.nguagc, th e 1Yl'7o !•:11.~lislt !)irtio11111y. Th e g reat si7.c n f this
work, which after ma ny yea rs of labor st ill remains in co mplete, prevents it from hein[! us ed large ly by you nge r st ud ents, hut it is lo he
hoped th at t each ers will sec that th ci r school li braries and tow n libraries poss ess it , a nd from tim e to tim e re fe r pupi ls to it, with a view to
giv in g th em a clea r idea of t he extent and rnriety of th e English
vocabul ary, and th e num ero us shades uf meaning to whi ch usage g ives
a uthority.

Elcmc1tts of Rl1ctoric

CHAP. IX]

[ CHA P. IX

fo r a peculi ar se nsibility of temp eram ent, displaying itself,
th ro ugh long ages, in man y works of exalted art, and manifested of late in repeated deeds of mu nificen t yet unobtrusive charity, as well as in a passionate devotio n to the
intricacies, perhaps even more than to the orthodox a nd
easi ly recogni zalJle beauties, of musical science. I had
learn ed, too, the ve ry re markable fac t that the stem of the
Us her race, all time-honored as it was, had put fort h a t no
peri od any e nduring branch ; in other words, that the entire
family lay in the direct line of descent, a nd had always, with
very trifling and very temporary variation, so lain. It was
this de fi ciency, I consicl erecl , while running over in thought
th e perfect keeping of the character of the pre mises with
th e accreditetl characte r of the people, and while specul ating
upon th e possible influ ence whi ch · the one, in the long lapse
of cen turies, mi ght have exerc ised upon the other - it was
thi s d efi ciency, perhaps, of collateral issue, and the co nse. fjllcnt undeviating transmi ss ion from sire to son of the patrimony with th e na me, which had, a t length, so identified the
two as to merge the ori ginal title of the estate in the q uai nt
a nd equivo cal a ppellation of the 'House of U sher' - an
appe llation whic h seemed to includ e, in th e minds of the
peasantry who used it, both the fam ily and the family
mansion." - Pw: : The Fall of the J/o we of Usher.

I I. Criticise the vocabulary of the following passages : ( a) "The wind eve n took up the sand and gravel, and
carri ed it away with the snow. On the side it piled up the
snow till the houses were almost covered . up. No one
ventured out, eve n on snow-shoes; but the wind came in
wh ere it could, and sifted in the fin e snow abo ut windows
and under doors : and the snow that came clown the chimneys melted and stained the walls."

Words : Vocabulary

157

( b) "The n ext step is to put this photograph into words.
Care should be used in the selection of words. A few wellselected, expressive words are a great d eal more valuable in
d escription than two or three pages of words that are not
forcible, and not c haracteristic of th e subject."
( c) It is not of that class of writing that finds a lasting
place in literature that I a m speaking, fo r that is a ttai nable
by few a mong us ; but of writing that, while not necessarily
possessing an elegant a nd artistic literary fini sh, is neve rtheless capable of conveying to its read ers in a straightforward
and simple mani1e r the idea that we wish them to gras p.

III. Choose at random a page from an unabridged
dictionary, and notice ( I) how many of th e words
there defined you know th e meanin g of, ancl (2) how
many you actually use in speec h or composition.

n

Elements of R!tetoric

[ CHAP. X

CHAP.

x]

Wo 1'ds : Too Matt)',· T oo Few

159

(a) One hundred dentists sat in Derkeley Hall last night
and li stened to a paper by D r. Smi th on the subj ec t of the
development of the enamel in the teeth.
( b) In Berkeley Hall last night Dr. Smith lectured to
one hundred dentists on the development of the enamel.
CHAPTE R X
WORDS : TOO MANY; TOO FEW
112. Too MANY WoP.DS. - 113 . H ow T O SECURE
114. Too FEW Woims. -115. THE SCA L E Ol"
EXERC ISE 52. - E XE RCISE 53·

C m tl' ACT N F.,s. CO~!l'U :; ITI ON. -

112. Too Many Words.-One of the most important
principles of rhetoric is also one of the m ost obvious:
we sh ould n ot use more words tha n those which
expr ess our meaning adequately. Obvious as it is,
this princip le is one of the hardest to put into practi ce. The h abit of writing compac tly, of goin g
strai g ht to th e point, of saying ju st what one has to
say a nd th en of stoppin g, is not easy to acq uire.
Th e opposite and more frequ ent habit, the vi ce of
usin g too many words, usua lly appears in one of
three for ms : ( I) Urc!css repetition of a n idea, as in th e fo ll ow in g
senten ce, "H ence th e 1mi11ersal testimony whi ch a ll
the nati ons of the earth have conspired to give to
som e few works of geniu s." H ere the relative clause
mere ly repeats the id ea of universal.
(2) Useless woi'ds, wh ich, thoug h not r epeatin g any
preceding thou g ht, add nothin g to th e sense. For
example, (a) can, by the omission of superflu ous
words, be r ed uced to ( b).

(3) Useless details, or proh-i:ity.
Prolixity is
most easily illustrated by the rambling story, in
whi ch unnecessary facts obsc ure the real p oint.
113. How to Secure Compactness . - Compactness m
writing is to be secured chiefl y by keeping upp ermost in mind the p recise point wh ich the writer
wishes to make. 1 To this end, a ny piece of writing
should be carefully planned, so as to avoid useless
deto urs. Econo my of time for both the reader and
the writer demands that the writer should sti ck
cl osely to his point, and should reach it by simple
a nd n atural steps. If prolixity can be avoided, mere
wordiness can be easily dealt with by the combined
effo rts of the teacher and the pupil. vVhen, h owl The followin g verses from th e Atlanta Constitution co ntain the
prope r dogma in a somew hat unco nve nti onal for m : -

"\\Then yo n've got a thing to say,
Say it! D on't take half a day .
W hen your tale's got littl e in it,
Crow<l th e wh ole thin g in a minute.
Life is short - a neetin g va por;
D on' t yo u fi ll the wh ole blamed p aper
' \Ti th a ta le whi ch, a l a pinch,
Could be corn ered in a n in ch!
Boil her dow n unti l she sim mers;
P olish h er until she glimmers.
Whe n you've got a t hin g to say,
Say it! D on 't take h alf a day."

160

Ekmmts of Rltctoric

[ C l l i\P. X

ever, a th eme is proli x, the best thing to do with it is
to destroy it. Correction will not h elp it mu ch.
114. Too Few Words. - Young writers are often as
lik e ly to use too fe w words as too many. It is not,
of co urse, sunl cicnt to state what you mean in a bare,
clisco nn cctcd fas hi on ; yo u mu st be sure that yo ur
reade r uncl c rst~rncl s yo u full y, and for th at purpose
yo u mu st acid, hy way of ex pl anation, illustration, or
expansion, w ha teve r details a re necessary to make
your whole mea ning- quite clear. "Brevity," said an
olcl and ex pe ri enced lawyer, "is sometimes ove rrated .
The number of a man's words should be lik e the
len g th of a b lank et, - enoug h to cover the bed and
to tu c k in bes id es."
In the fol lowin g examples (a) represents a statement of fact so in complete that its bearin g is not
easily seen ; (b) is the same statement in an expanded
a nd more com prchensible form: -

11

(a) "Presi<l ent Eliot has entered upon a crusade, whi ch,
I think, is a step in th e right direction. He proposes th :i t
certain of th e la nguages be commenced before entering the
high sc hool, so that on e ntering college one will have finished all prelimin:iry work on them."
(b) "Preside nt Eliot has started a movem ent which is, I
think, in th e right d irec tion. He has proposed, in a recent
articl e a nd in several addresses before ed ucational bodies,
th at th e pupi l should beg in the study of one or perhaps two
fo reign langu ages- French, German, Latin, or Greek -in
th e g ramma r school, at least a yea r before entering the high
school. J3y the time he enters the high school, then, the
student will have finished much of the elementary work in

CHAP.

x]

Words : Too l /lla1ty ;

Too Few

161

the languages which h e, or hi s pare nts for him, shall have
chosen. Before he leaves the high sc hool he wi ll, under
this system, have obtain ed suc h a mastery over them as to
read th em, to understand th em wh en spoken, and to express
him self, to a certain degree, in th em."

115 . The Scale of Composition. - Faults with regard to th e number of words arc ofte n caused by
fail ure to notice the sca le on whi ch a pi ece of writing
is to be clone. The battle of Bunker Hill can be
described in a sentence or in te n th ousand words.
In treatin g a ny s ubj ect it is impo rtant that we should
notice the physical limits of our work, that is, to what
space we are restricted. With tb csc limits in mind it
is usually not difficult to decid e into how much detail
.it is necessary to g o in any g iv en part of our essay.
EXERCISE 52

Rewrite the fo llowing passages in fewer word s : 1. What th e outcome of th e Peace Confe rence will be is
as yet a matter of doubtfu l co nj ecture, but one thing is sure,
and tha t is th a t th e conference will gain time fo r the Czar.
2. England has been acknowledged fo r the pas t fo ur or fi ve
centuries to be the ruler of th e ocean, the greatest naval
power in the world; and indeed th is see ms to be true.
3. After long weeks of waitin g, afte r ma ny nights passed in
sleep less watc hfuln ess, the Spani sh neet fina ll y stea med forth
on a day in the early part of Jul y wh en the sun was sending
down his rays with all th e fi erceness of a tro pic climate.
4. The Confederacy had been very successful in its warfare
011 the sea, a nd with th e introd uctiou of th e M errimac it
had almost turned the fortun es of the South against the
M

162

1·

Elements of R!tctoric

[ CJIAP. X

North . Hitherto all th e vessels of both sides had been
made of wood with no protection against shot or shell.
But when the Jlfcrrimac was turn ed o ut with its protec ting
coat of iron, it was well-n igh invincible, and none of th e
ordinary wooden war-ships had any chance against it. It
d estroyetl some of the No rth 's fin est vessels, and every one
trembl ed at what it might clo.
5. Th e library owns many
costly aml valuable works which are not shown except by
spec ia l permiss io n.
6. O n F ebru ary 15 , 1898, while our
battle-ship Maine was anchored in Havana har bor, it was
bl own up and ll estroyed , a nd nearly two hunclrecl a nd fifty
sai!ors a nd men o n board lost their Jives.
7- Prior to
Burke's speech fo r m:rny yea rs th e American people had
resented and objec ted to many bills which the English
l'a rli a ment ha<.\ passed relative to th e American colonies,
until it reached its culminating point in revolution and th e
loss to l"".nghnd of th e American colonies. The Nav iga ti on
Act, the Sta mp Ac t, th e tax on tea, the ·Bosto n Port Bill,
and lastly the rinartering of troops in America, irrita ted and
aroused the people to th e sense of their wron gs, until ,
pressed a nd opp ressed beyond all endurance, they revolted,
a nd after years of struggle won their independence . 8. This
d e feat ruined th e Spani sh power, and from this time it
stead il y declined.
9. E llsworth climbed to the tower or
roo f and captured the Oag, a nd th e men proceeded down
th e stairs, when they met on the landing the owner of the
fl ag, who, with out a word of warning, shot Ellsworth d ead
th rough the heart with a shot-gun which he carried in his
hand . Thus in th e very beginning of wh a t promised to be
a glo rious Ji fe Ellswo rth was cut off in the prime and health
of manhood.
TO. O n th e other hand, the firin g of the
gu ns of the Constillftion was excelle nt, and almost every
sho t took effect. T he masts of the Guerrierc we re in a
tottering condition, and some of them fell, dragging the

CHAP. X

J

vVords: Too Matt)' ; Too Few

Gtteniere up, so that she came alongside of the Co11stitution .
1 r. Finally, when the smoke had at las t cleareu,
a nd the roar of the cannon had ceased, and the terribl e
sil enc.e, brok en o nly by the lapping of the waves and groa ns
of clyrng men, seemed to e nwrap everythin g, the fl ee t of the
Spani ards, once so proud a nd mig hty, lay scattered along
th e roc~<-str e wn beach, with their sid es rent with gap ing
holes, dismantl ed, and smoki ng where the American shells
had ignited their woodwork.
.EXERCISE 53

Increase the number of words in the following passages until the th oug ht is adeq uately expressed: [ SUGGESTIONS. - r. The short stateme nts seem unrelated :
supp ly connections a nd amplifying phrases to show that the
coloni es were ready for freedo m because (a) th ey no longer
needed the protection of E ngland, which had been n ecessary in tim e of war; and ( b) England had n eglected to
main tain strong royal auth ority, and had perm itted popular
government.
2. Show tha t in 1775 it was necessary to
decide on a policy of colonia l governme nt (sentences 1 and
2) '. a nd prepare for the statement of B urke's a ttitude by
tellmg wh at alternatives were presented. 3. \~'hat is meant
hy "rather condensed "? Wha t connection is th ere between
the brevi ty of the prescribed sonne t- form and the kind s
of themes for which it is most used? 4. We are not told
tha t the Spanish Ar mada leaves the E ng lish coast. Make
less ab rupt transitio11 to "th e harbo r of Calais."
5. Show
the reJa t'ion of the parenthetical clause to th e assertion.
6. Show fully the rela tion of cause and effect existing between th e co nditi ons of im prisonm ent and the death of
th e prisoners. 7. Where were the fo rtifications built and
why did Colonel Prescott stop to build them on B~nker

Elements

of Rl1eto1'ic

[C ll AP. X

[Jlreecl's J Hill? These questions occur to one who reads
th e paragraph. 8. I\ilake definite the inference th at th e
retenti on of the same ministers in office for so long a time
shows their great in flue nce over the king.]
r. The coloni es were in a state ripe for fre edom. The
French and Indian Wars were over. The colonies felt no
need of England for protection. They had bee n neg lec ted •
Their governments were chiefly popu lar.
by E ngland.
2. Burke's speech was given to the E nglish Parliamen t in
the year 1775· Th e time had co me when so me gove rnment mu st be decided upon for the coloni es, and Burke
did hi s best to persuade Parliamen t toward reconcili ati on.
3. The sonnet is a short poem consisting of one stanza of
fourtee n lines. It is usually rather condensed, on account
of its d efi nite limits. It is often used for subjective poetry,
and is useless fo r any narrative . 4. The fl eet was fi rst
sighted from the English coast on July 19, 1 588. The
E nglish ships sent out to intercept th e Spanish vessels were
so mu ch lighter and smaller that th ey wou ld ge t aro und a
large Spani sh ship like a flock of king-birds aro und an eagle,
a nd after destroying her would go afte r anothe r. J\nd so it
continued for some time, the Spaniards sustaining severe
losses . Then when the Spanish fleet was in the harbor of
Calais, the E ngli sh sent fire-ships against it, and almost
5. The subj ect on which he was goi ng to
destroyed it.
speak was a very im portant one - it was just a week before
the battle of Lexington - as the American colonies were
very valuable possessions. 6. H is ord ers were carried out.
The poor men were thrown into a dungeon about for ty fee t
square . T he windows were small ; it was the height of th e
Indian summer ; and when the guards came back in the
morning only twenty-three prisoners out of one hundred
7. On hi s way to Charlesand forty-three were left alive.
town, Colonel l'rescott came to a hill, called Bunker Hill,

1;

CHAP.

x]

Vflords: Too Ma11;1; Too Few

which sloped clown ge ntly to the south. All that night, anrl
til l eleven the next day, he kept hi s men at work building
fortifications. 8. George III. was reall y king only in name,
for he was rnled by his ministers. He had had six ministers in office twenty years.

[CHAI'. XI

Elements of R!tetoric

166

CHAl'TER XI
KINDS OF WORDS

116.

L ONG

vVClRJIS
ME N T

vVO llDS
ANll

AN D

L 1\TI N

JN EN(;J.J Sll.

S II OR T

v\IQRl>S. -

- 119.

\VORll S. -

118.

THE

117.

A NGLO -SAi_<ON

ANGLO-SA X ON

TllF. LATIN ELEMENT I N

1, u :-

J<'. N (;J.J Sll. -

120. Tl!E C 11 0J C E HF.TWEEN TIIE T WO ELF.MENTS. - f-. X FR CI S ~:
5.1. - 121. S JMl'l.E \VO RDS AND J\FFECTED \VO RDS. - E X l·'. RC I SE 55·
- 122. Sl'EC I FI C OR DEF I N ITE Wo1ws. - EXERCISE 56.

116. Long Words and Short Words. - Lon g words
should not b e used because th ey are lon g words, nor
short words mere] y because they are short. If the
word you want to express your meaning exactly is a
lon g wo rd, use it, but do not hunt for lon g and pompous words. As a rul e, say what you have to say. as
simpl y as poss ible, preferrin g, for the sake of brevity,
short words to long words.
Notice, for in stan ce, the sim plicity and direc tness
of the following passage, an effect largely produced
b y the use of short words : -

I'.

t

Ii

"And when th ey told it to Jotham, he went and stood in
th e to p of Mount Ge ri zim, and lifted up his voice, and cried,
a nd sa id unlo th em, H eark en unto me, ye men of Shechem,
th :it Goel may heark en unto you. The trees went forth on
a time to anoint a kin g over th em ; and th ey said unto th e
olive tree, Rei gn th ou ove r us. But the olive tree said unto
th e m, Should ! leave my fatness, wherewith by me th ey honor
God and man, and go to be promotell over the trees? And

CHAP.

xr]

Kinds of vV01,ds

the trees said to th e fi g tree, Come thou, and re ign over us.
But th e fi g tree said unto them, Shou ld .l. forsake my swe etness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over th e
trees ? Then said th e trees unto th e vine, Come thou, and
reig n over us. And th e vine said unto th em, Should I leave
my win e, whi ch chee reth Cod anrl man, and go to be promoted over tb e trees ? Then said a ll th e trees unto th e
bramble, Corne thou, a nd reig n over us. And th e bramble
said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me kin g ove r you,
th e n come and put your trust in my shadow: a nd if not, let
fire come out of the bramble, and d evo ur the cedars of
Lebanon." - .fudg~s ix. 7- 15.

117. Anglo-Saxon Words and Latin Words. - Closely
connected with the difference in effec t betw een short
words and lon g words is that between words of
Anglo-Saxo n ori g in and words of Latin or igin. Of
th e difference between th ese tw o kinds of words it is
essential that th e pupi l sho uld have a clea r idea.
118. The Anglo-Saxon Element in English. - The
original inhabita nts of Eng land belonged to th e
Celtic race, we re called Britons, and spoke a lan g uage
so mew ha t like \Nelsh. They were conquered by the
R omans, who made Britain a province of th e Roman
Empire, built roads and towns, and carried on minin g and a considerable comm e rce. The g reat bulk
of the Celtic popul ation, however, was uninflu enced
by Roman civilization , ancl only sli g ht traces of Latin
were left in the Briti sh language. In the fifth century, when th e R oman milita ry occupation ceased,
th e island relapsed into its previous condition of barbarism, and was in the course of a century overrun

168

Elemmts of Rltetoric

[ CllJ\I'. X I

a nd conquered by three closely a llied Low Ger man
tribes,- th e Jutes, th e Saxons, and the A ng les.
Th e Britons were drive n into the west a nd north of
th e is land . Those who re ma in ed under Eng li sh rul e
were ma de slaves. T he different dialects spoken by
th e conquering trib es th en became the lang uage of
th e country. Anglo-Saxon or Old .E ng li sh is the
E ng lish used before the French-speaki ng Norm ans
co nqu ered th e isla nd and changed the lang uage so
radically. It belongs to the T eutonic fa mily o ( lang uages a nd is c losely ak in to th e languages of the
Germans, Dutc h, a nd Scandin av ia ns.
119. The Latin Element in English. - The Norman
co nquerors of E ng la nd (e leventh ce ntury) we re Scandin avia ns by orig in , but they had been for a ce ntury
a nd a h alf settled in North France, had inte rm a rri ed
with th e peop le of the co un t ry, and spo ke a dia lect
of the Frenc h lan g uage. For a century a nd more
after th e settling of th e Normans in Engla nd, th ere
were two lan g uages spoken there, - French by the
Normans, Engli sh by th e native E nglish pop ul ati on.
Gradually, howeve r, th e two parts of the pop ul ati on
became less distin ct, a nd the two la ng uages we re
fused into on e. Th e new En g lish which th e a malgamated population spoke we call Middle Eng li sh,
because it is the second of the three g reat hi stori ca l
divi sions of th e language, i. e. Old En g lish, Middle
English , and Modern English. Middle E ng lish is
m ost familiar to us throu g h Cha ucer, who wrote in
the fo urteenth century, and was th e greatest write r of

C l:lJ\ P.

Xl]

K inds of Wiwds

the pe ri od. Middl e E ngli sh is di stin g uished from
O ld Engli sh by the loss of some o( the old er forms
of infl ection and by th e additi on of a very la rge number o( words de rived from th e French. Th e importance of this last fac t is g reat. Thoug h our la ng uage
is the English lang uage, there are more words in it
of fo reign than of E ng lish ori g in. Many of th ese
words come di rectly from t he Lati n, which h as h ad a
st rong influence on English, but a n even g reate r number co me to us indirec tl y, th rou g h the French , whic h,
on account of th e supremacy of th e Norma ns and on
acco unt of th e close relations fo r centuries between
France and England, exercised a very powerfu l influence on th e English vocabulary. Now, the F renc h
vocabulary comes, in great measure, from the L atin ,
so that the maj ority of English wo rd s are directly or
indirectly of L atin origin. In s uch a sentence, for
instan ce, as "the m ajority of secondary schoo ls do
not prepare pupils for entrance to college," 11urjon"ty,
scconda?JI, sc!tools, pn-pare, p1117ils, ctttrancc, collcg-c, a ll
come, directly or indirectl y, from the Latin. The
sma ller words, however, such as we use in a lm ost
every sente nce we make, - tltc, for, !!tat, a7td, b11t,
for in stance, - as we ll as a la rge number of o ur co mmon, home ly words, a rc of nati ve origin. In the lin e,
" It was th e schoon e r Hesperus that sail ed th e wintry
sea," fo r example, a ll the worcls, except I-lcsjlcrus, a re
native E ng li sh words.
120. The Choice between the Two Elements. - Th ere
is a prevalent th eory th a t we s hould as far as p as-

E le11tents of R!tetoric

170

II
I

[CHAP . XI

CHAP .

xr]

K inds of Words

171

sible use word s of A nglo-S axon rather tha n of L a tin
ongm. The for mer a re, a s a r ul e, short, h omely,
comm on words, and are especially a ppro pri ate in
sim p le wri tirig , th at deals with p lain, ta ng ible m a tters. The la tter a re freq uently lon ger, Jess .h omely
in t h eir associa tions, a nd are p eculiarly a dapted to
elabora te or precise di sti nctions of th oug ht . N either
class s hould b e used to excess, a nd neither ca n be
n eg lec ted .
The p eculi ar e ffec t of sim p licity a nd stren g th th at
com es from the use of A ng lo-Saxon words is perhaps
b est s h own b y the fo llowing extract from Bunyan's
P ilgrim's Progress, in which by far the g reater part
.of the words a re of An g lo-S axon origin : -

had neith er power to fi ght or fly. 1 Then said F aint-heart,
Deli ver thy purse. But he making no haste to do it 2 (for
he was loth to lose hi s money) , Mistrust ra n up to him,
and thrusting his hand into his pocket, pulled out thence a
bag of silver. Then he 3 cried out, Thieves ! T hi eves !
With that Guilt, with a great club th at was in his' hand,
struck Li ttl e-faith on the head, and with that blow fell ed
him fl at to the ground, where he lay bleeding as one that
would bleed to death . All thi s while the thi eves stood by.
But, at last, they hearing 4 that so me were upon the road,
and fearing lest it should be one Great-grace, that dwells in
the city of Good-confidence, th ey be took themselves to
their heels, and left this good man to shift for him self.
Now, after a while, Little-faith came to himself, and, getting
up, made shift to scrabble on his way. This was the
story.' " -BUNYA N : Pilgrim's Progress.

" Th en sai d Christian to his fellow, ' Now I call to remembrance that which was told me of a thing that hap pened to
a good man hereabo ut. The name of the man was Littl efaith, but a good man,1 and he dwelt in the town of Sincere.
Th e thing was this : At the entering in at this passage, there
co mes clown from Broad-way Gate a lane called Dead Man's
Lane, - so called because of the murde rs that are commonl y clone there ; and this Little-faith , going on pilgrimage,
as we do now, chanced to sit clown th ere, and slept. Now
there happened, at th at time, to come clown the lane, from
Broad-way Gate, three sturdy rogues, and their names were
Faint-heart, Mistrust, and Guilt (three brothers) , and th ey,
espying Littl e-fai th where he was, came galloping· up with
full speed. Now th e good man was just awake fro m his
slee p, and was getting up to go on his journey. So they
came up all to him , and with threatening language bid him
stand. At this Littl e-faith looked as white as a clout, and

The opposite effect, a n e ffec t of di g ni ty a n d
grande ur, is illustrated by the p assage from P oe
quoted on p age s 155, 15 6. Th e long word s th ere
e mpl oyed are m ostly words of L a tin orig in, as indeed
are m ost of the lon g words in our la n g uage. A
h appy b alance b e tween th ese t wo effects, - b oth of
which are sec ured, as we h ave seen, b y th e use of
differe nt p arts of the Engli sh voca bulary, - may be
seen in th e p assage q uoted on pag e 1 24. It is s uch
a vocab ula ry, conta ining b oth t he vig orou s A n g loSaxon w ords a nd the m ore son orous L a tin words,
tha t the student is advised to acq ui re.

l

\Ve should write nowadays, " but he was a good man ," etc.

1
2
3

4

" Power neither to fi ght nor ny."
T his const ru cti on is now rarely tisecl.
The pronoun is ambig uous.
See note 2 , above.

See p. 147.

Elemmts of R!tctoric

172

[ CHAP. XI

EXERCISE 54

I. With the ass is tance 0£ the teacher, find the
w o rd s of Latin orig in in the followin g passage.

Ca n

you think of a ny words of Anglo-Saxon ori g in that
a r e nea rly synonymous?
" But the fi erce old hag began to ge t ang ry ancl show a
glimpse of her di aboli c nature (like a snake's head, pee ping
with a hi ss out o f her boso m) , at this pusillanimous behavior
of the thing whic h she had take n the trouble to put toge ther.
"'Puff away, wretch ! ' cri ed she, wrathfully. 'Puff, puff,
puff, th ou thin g of straw and emptiness ! thou rag o r two !
th ou meal bag! t hou pumpkin head ! thou nothing t Where
shall I find a name vil e enough to call thee by? Puff, I say,
and suck in th y fa ntastic life along with th e smoke; else I
snatc h the pipe from thy mouth and hurl thee where that
reel coal came fr om.' " - H AWTllOR NE: Feathertop.

C ll AI' . X I]

Ki11ds of Wimls

" It had long see med to me that th e great vice of Ameri can
writing a nd speaking was a studi ed wa nt of simplic ity, that
we were in d ange r of co ming to loo k o n our mother-to ngue
as a d ead language, to b e sought in th e g rammar and
d iction::iry rathe r than in the heart. . . . While the schoolmas ter hns bee n bu sy starching our la nguage and smoothin g
it nat with th e mangle o f a supposed class ical a11tho rily, th e
newspape r re liorter has been do ing even more harm li y
stre tch ing a nd swelling it to suit hi s occasions. A doze n
years <1go 1 began a list, which I have added to from tim e to
tim e, of some of the changes whi ch may be fairly bid at hi s
doo r. I g ive a few of the m as showing th eir te nd ency, all
th e mo re dangerous that the ir effect, lik e that of so me
poisons, is inse nsibl y cumula ti ve, and that they are sure a t
l::ist of effec t among a people whose chi ef read ing is th e
da il y pa per. I give in two columns the old style and its
modern equivalent.
0 1.D STYLE

II. Chose ten common names of tools or farm
imple m ents.
orig in ?

Are th ey o f L a ti n or An g lo-Saxon

Are the n ames of the parts of speec h of

L a tin or Anglo-Saxon orig in? Why?
121. Simple Words and Affected Words. -

Was hanged.
Wh en the halte r was pu t
round hi s n eck.

A freq ue nt

vice of young or untrained writers is that so m e times

i\ great crowd came to see.

t ec hni cally kn own as "fine writing," that is, the
h abit of writin g a b out plain m a tters in a n affec te d
m a nn e r. It h as its roots in a mistaken id ea that in
order to produce a n y impressi o n we must write with
great s olemnity or pompos ity.

The followin g extract

Great fire .
Th e fire spread.
!louse burn ed .
The fire was gc•t und er.

from Lowell' s preface to th e Biglow Papers will g ive
th e b est idea of wha t "fine writing" is, how com m on
it is, a nd how absurd it is : -

173

Man fe ll.

NEW STYLE

Was Ja1111ched into eterni ty .
v\lh en the fatal noose was
adjusted about th e neck of
the unfortunate vi c tim of his
own unbridled passions.
A vas t concourse was assembled to witn ess.
D isastrous confl ag ration.
Th e co nflagra ti on extended
its devastating caree r.
Edifi ce consumed.
Th e prog ress o f the devouring element was arrested.
lnc.livi<lual was precipitatec.l.

174

Elements of R.!1etoric

A horse and wago n ran
against.

Th e fright ened horse.
Sent for the doc tor.

The mayor o f th e c ity in
a short speech welcomed.

I shall say a few words.

Began hi s answer.
Asked him to dine.
J\ bystand er advised.

He died.

[ CllAP. XI

A valuable horse attac hed
to a vehicle driven by J. S.,
in the employment of J. B.,
collided with.
The infuriated animal.
Callee\ into requisiti on the
services of the family physician.
The chie f magistrate of the
metropolis, in well-chosen
and eloquent lang uage, frequ ently interrupted by the
plaudits of th e surging 111\Iltitu<l e, offi cially tendered the
hos pi ta!ities.
I shall, with your pennission, beg leave to offer some
brief observations.
Comm enced hi s rejo inder.
T endered him a banqu et.
One of those omn ipresent
characters who, as if in pursuance of some previous arrange ment, are certain to be
encountered in th e vicinity
wh en an accident occurs,
ve ntured the suggestion .
He deceased, he passed
out of existence, hi s spirit
quitted its earthly habita tion,
winged its way to eternity,
shook off its burden, etc."

This list of Lowell's, drawn up many yea rs ago,
still holds good; the fault he ridicules is still preva-

CHAP. XI]

Kinds of W01,ds

175

lent, and is especially characteristic of the lower
grades 0£ American speech and co mposition.
EXERCISE 55

What are the equivalents in plain English 0£ the
followin g passages?
r. "'I am under the impression,' said Mr. Micawber,
'that your peregrinations in this me tropolis have not as yet
been extensive, and that you might have some diffi c ulty in
penetra ting th e arcana of th e Modern Babylon in th e direction of th e City Road - in short,' said Mr. lVlicawber, in
another burst of co nfidence, 'that you might lose yourself.
- I shall be happy to call this eve ning, and instal you in
the knowledge of the nearest way.'"
2. Ex-Prize Fighte r John L. Sullivan, at present posing
before the dazzling footli ghts as one of the heroes in an
interesting dramatic performance, was te ndered a rece ption
in th e City of Shoes last night tha t ought to make him a
pronounced success in the dram ati c world.
3. Tremont Temple was fill ed from gall ery to pla tform
yesterday with all th e pedagogues of Middl esex County.
4. Cheer after chee r rent the air as th e R epubli ca n
nomin ee, the successful aspirant for. Senatorial hono rs,
ascended the platform and, with his fac e wreathed in smiles,
bowed his acknowledgments.
5. Her li the, willowy figure, mirror-like eyes, and ivo ry
teeth, toge th er with her profuse ly luxuriant, dee p auburn
tresses, made her a pretty Juli et, and secured her a grand
ovation.
6. Those present were mostly prominent business gentlemen, who all say that they had an elegant time. Previous
to the festivities the ba nd discoursed sweet mu sic. The
exercises themselves finished as they had commenced, with

176

E lements of Rlwtoric

[ Clli\1' . X I

a collation a nd a bri ef performance in the shape of blu e fire
a nd roman candles.
7. In New burypor t, the place of his nativity, he engag ' d
in commerce, erec ted a res id ence, and attained a high
degree of popularity among hi s fellow-townsmen .
8. i\s the bri ght porti on of the moon dimini shed, th ose
who could view th e spectacle from an elevati on cou ld perce ive the wate rs of the bay, that glittered so gayly in the
earli er eve ning, assu me a darker hue, the lights of the c ity
shin e out more bri ghtly, and th e faint stars that had shrnnk
fro m sight in the prese nce of the queenly moo n, now
spark le as if pleased at their unexpected opportunity.
9. Tremont Temple presented yesterday afte rn oon a
wo nd e rful scene, fill ed as it was, with an imm ense audience
of men and women, gathereJ to hear Lady He nry So merse t,
th e fl ower of Eng l ~uid' s Christian womanhood, preach lo
the grea t dual conve ntion of the World's and the National
Woman's C hristian T emperance U ni on its annua l sermon.
1 0. "Th e representati ves of the Republicans of the
U nited States, asse mbl ed in general conve ntion 0 11 the
shores of the Mississippi River, th e everlas ting bond of an
ind estru ctible repul.Jlic, whose most glorious cha pter of
hi sto ry is the record of the R epublican party, congratula te
th eir countrym en on th e majesti c marc h of th e natio n
und er the banners inscribed with the principles of our
pbtform in 1888, vindicated by victory at the polls, and
prosperity in our fi elds, workshops, and mines, a nd make
th e fo llo wing d eclarati on of princ iples ." 1
l 1. The bar-room of the Commercial Hotel a t an early
1

Co ntrast th e a bove, fro m a rh etor ical point of view, with th e following: "The re prese ntati ves of t he 1Jcmocrat ic party o f th e United
States, in Nat io na l Co nventi on assemb led, do reaffirm th ei r all egiance
to th e principles o f th e party as fo rmulated by J e ff erso n, and cxcmpli ·
li ed by th e lo ng a nrl illu stri ous lin e of hi s successors in O c111 ocrn li c
lead e rship fr om Mad iso n tu Cleveland ."

Kiuds of Words

CH AP . Xl]

177

hour yesterday mo rnin g was enli ve ned by as a nimated an
event known as a "scrn.p " as has occurred in so me tinie .
One o f th e parti c ipa nts app reciated at th e finish that a
lemon-squee ze r was a great deal harde r than his head,
which was ge nerously c ut, while the wi eld er of the acidulou s
weapon pa id for am usin g himse lf with it by getting ado rned
with a pair of woe- hu ed opti cs. The other casualties we re un important, a nd no police court vengea nce has been invoked.

122. Specific or Definite Worcls. -- Words rela ting
to a la rge class of objects, e.g. bird, !torse, a re so metim es called ge ne ric or ge neral (fro m the Lalin,
gcn11s). Wo rd s relating to a sin gle objec t or to a
co mparatively small class of objects, e.g. robin, my
cr11ur1J1 bird Peter, colt, tlte old gray mare, arc call ed
specific (Latin, species). It should he noticed th at
writing is more vivid when s pecifi c words a rc used,
fo r then the mind is furni shed wit h a more definite
picture. The differen ce betwee n general a ncl spec ifi c
term s is thu s the same, at bottom, as t ha t be tween a n
essay dealing with an a bstract p rincipl e, e.g. with the
theory of evolution, and a no ve l dealin g with particular perso ns and even ts. The more dc fi nite writing is,
up to a certain point, the more it is, as a rule, likely
to b e understood and re me mb erecl.
N otice, for insta nce, the following descripti on: " i\ great roofless palace crowned the hill , a nd the marble
of th e courtyard s a nd th e fount ai ns was split a nd stained
with red and gree n, and the ve ry cobblestones in th e courtya rds where the king's elep hants used to live had b een
thrust up and apart by grass and yo ung trees. From the
palace you could see the rows a nd rows of roofless houses
N

Elements of R!tetoric

[cI-I AP. XI

that made up the city, look ing like empty honeycombs fille<l
with blackness; the shapeless block of stone that had been
an idol in the square whe re four roads met; the pits and
dimpl es a t street corners where the public wells once stood,
a nd the shattered domes of the temples with wild figs
sprouti ng o n their sides." - KJPLING: T!te 7,,ngle Book.

Change the spec ifi c terms here to general terms, change Fooflcss to ltalf-dcmolislzed, lzill to elevation,
marble to stone, etc. , and you will notice how much
the passage has lost in vividness.
EXERCISE 56

I. Compare, in point of effectiveness, the two desc ri ptions fo llowin g . Note th at both mention substantiall y the same features of the scene.
1. I\ great number of bearded men, in dark garments and
old-fashio ned hats, intermixed with wom en, some barehead ed and others covered , was asse mbled in front of a
wooden edifice which had a heavy door of wood and metal.
z . A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments,
a nd gi·ay, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with wom en,
some wea rin g hoods and some bareheaded, was assembled
in front of a wooden ed ifice, the door of which was heavily
timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes.

II. S ubstitute general terms for th e specific noun s
and verbs italicized. What is the effect? Are there
other specific words in this passage ?
"Sand-strewn caverns, cool and deep,
Wh ere the winds are all asleep;
Wh ere the spe nt lights quiver and gleam ,
Where th e salt weed sways in the stream,

Kinds of Words

CHAP. XI]

179

Where the sea-beasts, ranged all round,
Feed in the ooze of their pasture -ground ;
·where the sea-snakes coil and twine,
Dry their mail and bask in the brine,·
Where great whales come sailing by,
Sail and sail, with unshu t eye,
Ro und the world for eve r and aye."
-

AR N OLD :

The Forsal.:en 1lfen11rm .

III. Point out the specifi c words in the following
descrip tions. Try to ana ly ze, as far as possible, their
effect.
1. "The su n was going clown on the Carquinez woods.
The few shafts of sunlight that had pierced their pillared
gloom were lost in un fat homable d epths, or splintered th eir
ineffectual lances on the enormous trunks of th e redwoods.
For a time the dull red of their vast columns, and the dull
reel of their cast-off bark wh ich matted the echoless aisles,
still seemed to hold a faint glow of the dyiDg day. Bu t
even this soon passed. Sight and color fled upwards. The
dark interlaced tree-tops, that had all day made an impenetrable shade, broke into fir e here and there; their last spires
glittered, faded, and went utterly out. A we ird twilight
that did not come from th e outer world, but see med born of
th e wood itself, slowly filled a nd possessed the aisles. The
straight, tall, colossal trunks rose dimly lik e columns of upward smoke. The few fallen trees stretched their huge
length into obscurity, a nd seemed to li e on shadowy trestles.
The strange breath that filled these mysterious vaults had
neither coldness nor moisture ; a dry, fra grant dust arose
from tl~e noiseless foot that trod their bark-strewn floor;
th e aisles might have been tombs, the fall en trees enormous
mummies; the silence the solitude of a fo rgotten past."

-

BRET HARTE :

In t!te Cai-quinez Woods .

Elements of R lzctoric

180
2.

[ C lli\I'. XI

CHAP.

Paragraplzs

xu]

"The charm ed sunset linge red low adown
In the rel! west: tlno' mountain-clefts th e dale
Was seen far inland , and the yellow down
Bordered with palm, a nd many a winding vale
And meadow, set with slender -galingale:
A land where all things always seemed the sa me !"
- T ENNYSON:

CHAPT ER XII

The Lotus-Eaters.

IV. Give five specific terms that fall under eac h
of the general terms given below: 1 -

PARAGRAPHS
124. T H E I MPORTANCE 01' THE P A RATHE PAR AGRA l'll HY ITSE L F. - 126. UNITY, l~ M ­

123. PLAN OF PROCEDURE. GRAl' ll. PHAS IS,

Sound; ship ; country ; fiction ; art.

125.
AN D

COHERENCE. -

U N ITY . -

EXE RCISE 57. -

TEN CE. -

131.

The animal came toward him from the woods. 2. Some
form s of art were helped by the spiri.t o f the sixteenth century. 3. People we nt into the building.

CUN N ECTI YES. -

1

For example, light: gleam, twinkle, nash, glare, glow.

UN IT Y.- 128.

134. CU l !ER ENCE: THE
136. CO H ERENCE:

EXERC ISE 58. -

PLA N . -

TllE

TEST

OF

130 . Tl! E T O PIC S r: N -

THE SUMMARY SENTENCE. -

ME NT OF Tl! E PARAG RAP H. -

VI. Select from your own readin g several passages in which specifi c term s are used effective ly,
and one passage or more in which general term s arc
used with better effect than specific words would
have.

127 .

129 . EMP l! AS I S. -

V. Rewrite th e fo llowing sentences, usin g specifi c
terms instead of genera l: i.

181

132. Tl!E DEVELOP133. CO ll ERENCE. -

135 . COHER ENCE: S EQU E NCE.-

CONNECT I VES. -

137.

LA CK OF COl!ERENCE :

E XE RCI SE 59·

123. Plan of Procedure. - We have now seen the
necessity of choosing satisfactory words and the
necessity of combining them into correct a nd pleasing
sentences. It remains for us to learn how sentences
may be combined into paragrap hs, and paragrap hs
into longer compositions. The word, the sentence,
th e paragraph, and the whole compositi on may be
properly regarded as an ascending series. A sentence
combines words ; a paragraph, senten ces ; and a whole
compositi on, paragraphs.
124. The Importance of the Paragraph. - From one
point of view, a paragraph is a gro up of se ntences in
which a sing le topic is developed. But as a paragrap h is usually one of a series of paragrap hs,
together constituting a whole co mp os iti on, it is, from
another point of view, a logical division of a larger

182

Elements of R!tetoric

[ CHAP. Xll

topic, treated separately. When we see a parag rap h,
therefore, we suppose that the sentences in it arc
placed together because we can thus best understand
a nd appreciate the logical development of the author's
thought.
125. The Paragraph by Itself. - We shall sec later
(Chapter XIII) what principles govern the paragraph
when it is a logica l part of a larger piece of writing-.
We arc now concerned with the parag raph standi ng
by itself. If we turn to the editorial page of a good
newspaper, we shall see that there are several sli'O rt
articl es there of a paragraph each. These one-paragraph ed itorials will serve as good examples of paragraphs complete in themselves.
They are rcaJ\y
little essays. Each bas as its basis a single definite
idea, and this idea, omitting all unnecessary details,
it expresses in not more than two hundred words
or so.
The idea thus expressed must be a
simple one, - a single point, in fact, which the
writer thus impresses clearly on the reader's mind.
If we compare these one-paragraph editorials wit h
the more imp ortant ed itorials, or "leaders," whi ch
consist usually of several p aragraphs, we shall und erstand how important it is that larger id eas, or ideas
involvin g several "points," each of which needs
separate explanation or discussion, should be expressed in a series of paragraphs rath er than in a
single paragraph. At this stage in his training it is
necessary that, so far as possible, the student should
confine his compositions to single paragraphs, each

CHAP.

xn]

Paragraphs

complete in itself, trying in each to make one point
and one point alone, and to make that point so clear
and striking that one cannot help understanding its
meaning and appreciating its force. 1
126. Unity, Emphasis, ancl Coherence. -In discussing
the arrangement of words in a se ntence, we made use
of three p rin ciples of composition, - unity, emphasis,
:mcl co herence. These three principl es apply equally
well to the paragraph, or, indeed, to any pi ece of
writing which may be considered as complete in
itself. Unity demands that words be so arranged as
to express a single idea; emph asis, that they be so
arranged as to give prominence to th e more important
parts of the idea; coherence, that they be so arranged
that their mutual relations can be clearly and quick ly
recognized. In other words, every piece of good
writing must centre about a single point (unity); that
point must stand out clearl y (emp hasis) ; all the
n ecessary details b earing on the point must be so
arranged and bound togeth er that they shall form a
chain, as it were, of thought (coherence).
127. Unity. - Unity demands that a paragraph
express a single idea.
Examples: (a) "It is evident that the United States Government does
not intend to let the claim against Turkey fall into abeyance
through Jack of energy. Another despatch has bee n sent
to our Minister at Constantinople, asking him to urge more
1

After

stuclyin~

this se cti on the stud ent should do Lhe writ ing

retjt1ircd in Exercise 57, part I.

E!nncnts of R!tetoric

[ C H AP . X II

p ositi ve ly t1 po n th e St1l tan th e necessity of making a fo rm al
and dir ect repl y to our requ est fo r pay men t. Mea nwhil e
th e Porte has again app roached th e U nited States with a
p ro posit ion to p ay th e $ 1 00,0 00 in d irectly a m\ b y a su bt erfn ge ; I'v lr. C ra mp, th e shi plmild er, has bee n o fferer\ repair
co ntrac ts on two o l,\ Turk ish warshi ps at a hi gh p rice, with
th e 11n clers ta11 d ing that he shou ld pay th e $rno,ooo (o r less)
cla irn ed by th ose whose property was des t roye d d ming th e
Arin e ni :rn ri ots. Naturall y, onr Gove rnm e nt altoget her d eclin es to sanctio n such a proceedin g; in tim e Turkey may
lea rn that th e Uni ted States is n ot concerned so mnch fo r
th e co mpa ratively s111 all s11m of mo ney in vo lved as fo r the
pt1bli c ack now.ledgment that Am eri can c iti ze ns have Lee n
ill-trea ted a nd d eserve ind emnity and repa ration ."
-

Tlte Outlook, Jun e

2, 1 900.

( /J) "The e ffect o f th e n ews o f l\fafcking 's 1 relief on th e
o rd in aril y so ber, phl eg matic Lond oners was re 111 ark abl c.
Th e str ee ts iverc insta ntl y thronged with multitud es wav ing
fl ags, r. hce rin g, a nd sin ging. All ni ght lung a n<l the day
fo llow in g g reat cro\vd s sur ro un de d a nd serenad ed the royal
reside nces - Buckin gham Palace, Marlborough H ouse, and
S t. Tames's Palace- toge ther with Colonel Baden -Powell 's
res i ~le n ce, C hart e rh ouse School, whe re h e was edu cated,
an d th e JVla nsion H ouse, th e offi cia l reside nce o f the J .on l
l\.J ayor. Th e d.is p lay o f enthu siasm was greater eve n th a n
that which g ree ted th e news o f th e relief o f Lad ysm ith ; th e
sce nes were unprecedented in th e annals of th e metropolis.
T he event was also re membered reli giously ; on Saturday a
solemn T e Deum service was held at St. Paul 's Cathedral,
an d o n Sun day th e nati onal anthem and hymn s o f th ank sgiving were sung in every church ."
1

T lte Outlook, !lfay 26, 1900.

Sec page 36.

C HA P .

xn]

P aragrap hs

(c) "It was a burning hot d ay. Ya n was wanderin g in
pnrsui t o f birds a mong th e e ndl ess groves a ncl glades o f th e
San d hill wild erness a bout Carbe rry. T he wat e r in th e
numerous ma rshy p onds was warm wi th th e sun heat, so Yan
c11t across to th e trail spring, the o nl y p lace in th e country
wh ere he might find a cooling <l rink. As h e stoo ped bes id e
it, his eye fell on a sm all hoof-m ark in the mud, a sharp and
elegant trac k. H e had n eve r see n one like it befo re, bu t it
gave h im a thrill, for he kn ew a t once it was t he t rac k of a
wi ld dee r."
-

SET ON -T! IOMPSON ,

Tiu Trail oj t!te Sandhill Stag.

T he first exa mple treats of a de ma nd macl e on
Tu rk ey by the United S ta tes; t he seco nd, of th e
ent hu sias m in Eng la nd a t th e r elief of M afekin g ;
t he third, of a boy 's first sig ht of a deer 's trac k. Th e
first a nd seco nd exam ples are one-paragraph editor ia ls. A ll treai: a sin g le idea with g reat de finite ness.
128. The Test of Unity. - A paragrap h has u nity,
as a ru le, if it ca n be summ ed up in a sin gle se ntence.
T he parag raph s quoted in t he p recedin g sec tion, fo r
instance, can be summ ed u p as fo llows: (a) This is the sta tus of th e clai m o f the U ni te d Sta tes
aga inst Turke y.
(b ) Th e r eli e f of Mafekin g was thu s enthusiast icall y cele\Jrated in Lo nd o n.
(c) U nd er such c ircumstances th e young hun te r first saw
th e track o f a d eer.

It will be fo und imp ossible, or a t least exceedin g ly
diffi cult, to s um up a ny of the fo ll ow in g pa rag rap hs
in a single sentence: (r ) "O f all the uncert a in and capri c ious p owe rs whi ch
rul e o ur earthly d estin y, Fortun e is c hie f. Who h as n ot

186

Elemen ts of R lzctoric

CH AP.

[ CHAP . XII

heard o f th e poor bein g raised np , and th e ri ch be in g laid
low? Alexande r th e G reat said he envied D iogenes in his
tub, because Di ogenes could have n othin g less. We need
not go far fo r an instance of fo r tune. Who was so great as
N icholas, th e Czar of all the Russia ns, a year ago, a n<l now
he is fa ll en, fall e n from hi s hi gh estate, without a fri e nd to
grace hi s obseqni es. Th e Tnrks a re th e fin est spec im ens of
th e huma n race, ye t th ey too have experi e nced th e vicissitllcles of fo rtune . H orace says th at we should wra p omse lves
in our vir tue when fo rt ll ne changes. Napoleo n, too, shows l!S
how little \\·e ca n rely on fort nn c ; but bi s fal!lts, great as th ey
we re, a rc b eing rerlee mecl by hi s n ephew, Lou is Napo leon,
wh o has show n himself ve ry differe nt fro m what we expected,
th ough he h;1s neve r 'ex pl ain ed how he came to swear to th e
Co nstitu ti o n, an d then mountecl the imperial t hro ne. Fro m
a ll thi s it appea rs th at we should rely on fo rtun e o nl y whil e
it re ma ins, - recoll ectin g th e words of the thes is, fii;1ks
.f(ll'/111111 111!/ m'il l; and that, above all, we shou Id ever cu ltivatc those vi rt ues whi ch will never fa il us, and whi ch He
a sure basis o f respectability, a nd will profit us here and
hcrea fter." 1
(2) J\ hi gh-sc hool education, to be thorough, mu st give
full play to the p rin ciple of election in stud ies. A cast-i ro n
curri c ulum ind uces shall owness, rushing pupils fr om subj ect
to subj ect wi thout all owi11g time to maste r any. B ut the
course mus t b e a n electi ve syste m, no t a confused mass.
Let each stu de nt's subjects be a lli ed, so that each may aid
th e oth er in tra ining the min d. Again , a n electi ve system
works bad ly if th e pri vilege is acco rded to p upils before
th ey are intellectually of age . Then again a n electi ve
system of studi es has the great adva ntage of unit y.
( 3) Front de Bowf's castle of T o rquilstone, not ve ry far
1 A lrnrl csq uc o f a schoolboy's theme on " Fortun e Aids th e Brave"
(Fortes fart 111uz adjuvat) , in New man 's Idea of a U11iversit.y.

..
;

r
~

i

/l

'I
t
l

xn]

P aragraphs

from Ro th er wood, was on e of the old feu dal castl es of E ngland . I t was large a nd massive, and ap peared to have bee n
built more for strength th an beauty. It was flanked by high
wall s, and at tbe co rn ers we re large towers. Aro und th e
castle was a moat whic h could be crossed at two places :
one a t the front, where there was a portculli s a nd d rawbridge, so ge neral in the cas tles of the tim e; th e other at a
small plank which crossed the m oat a t t he rea r a nd could
easily be pulled across .
In side was a la rge hall surroun ded by several sma ller
o nes. Tbe castle also had some d ungeo ns fo r priso ners.
( 4) Of a ll Sco tt's novels of adve nture Ivan/toe seems to
me to be by far the best, bo th in its power to bold the
reader's attention a nd in its accu rate descrip tion of th e
tim es.
A volum e could be written on t he good qu aliti es of th e
book, but I will speak o nl y of one thin g of small impo rta nce which struc k me very fo rc ibly in readi ng the story.
T his is th e fi tness of the na mes whi ch Scott gives his c haracte rs. T ake I va nh oe, fo r insta nce, th e name of the hero
of th e story. Ivanhoe , by its smoo thn ess, always suggests
to me courtesy a nd polished manners; by its swing, co urage
a nd nobi lity.
T he n ' Va mba and G urth sugges t the jester a ml th e
peasant. Curth sounds roug h a nd hars h, while Wa mba
see ms to me to have a li g ht, merry sound.
( 5) On e o f the most brilliant engagements of th e late war
was th e ba ttle of San J uan.
H ere it was tha t onr regulars and volun tee rs alike exhibited their das hing co m age a nd supe rb mili tary disc iplin e.
After several skirmishes with the ene my, our troops had
ad vanced from Sibo ney to th e foo t of San Juan hill.
T here they were give n a short rest, and, supplied with
three days' rations, they ad vanced.

188

Elements of Rhetoric

[ CHAP. XII

K ill ed and wo1111<led fell on all sides, while the deadly
Ma11 se r rin es of th e enemy co ntinu ed to belch forth th eir
infe rn al torrent of steel ; the air was filled with th e shri eks
a nd groans of the wound ed; army surgeons and R ed C ross
nurses flitted he re and there; and above all this tnmult,
now and again , so und ed the mighty roar of the dynamite
g1111 in charge of th e Rough Rid ers.
L\t le ngth the summit was reached, anrl our men occupied
th e tre nches whic h had lately bee n fill ed with Span iard s.
Our vic tory was co mpl ete.

CHAP.

xn]

Pamgmplts
EXERCISE 57

I. C lip fro m a good d aily o r week ly n ewspap e r t wo
on e-parag raph ed itorials of about two hundre d w o rd s
eac h, a nd one e ditor ia l of severa l parag raphs. 'vVrite ,
in a s in g le se nte n ce, b e low eac h of the o n e-p a rag- rap h
e ditori a ls, w h a t see m s to yo u th e s ub st:rn ce o l lh c
parag ra ph.

D o th e sa m e for eac h of the p a ra g rap hs

in th e lo nger e ditoria l.
II. Express, in sin g le sente n ces, the th o ug ht of

Th e fir st of th ese extracts is typical of th e ra m blin g o ne -parag rap h co mposi ti o n which a n in e xperie n ced o r ind o le nt writer m ay produ ce, simply because
h e d ocs n o t fo r ce hi s thoug hts to centre th emse lves
a b o ut a s in g le id ea.

The second rep r esents a s li g htly

hi g he r stage of acco mpli s hm e nt.

Here th e writer

h as a d e finite to pic in mind, but has no one d e finite
p oint to make r egarding it.

The third extract, co n-

stitutin g a s h o rt compositio n o n T o rquil s to n e, the
castle whic h plays so large a part in Scott's I va nhoe,
h as unity , as a w h ole, for it d eals with tha t o n e subjec t.

Th e w rite r blunders, h owever, in n o t putting

a ll t h a t h e writes into a sin g le paragraph.

It w o uld

b e perfec tly p ossible, of co urse, to write a t le n g th
abo ut the castle, p rese nting , in various paragraphs,
va rio us p o ints con cerning it; but he re his one object
is to g ive a brie f ge ne ral d escription of the c astle,
a nd th e re is n othing to gain in isola tin g two min or
fa c ts from th e m a in body of th a t d escripti o n.

S imi-

la rly, the fourth a nd fifth extracts should each consist
of a s ingl e paragraph.

eac h o f th e fo ll ow in g p aragra ph s.

U nd e r eac h of

th ese se nte n ces jot cl ow n ro ug hl y the d e ta il s w hic h
the aut h or u s es in t r eatin g the topic in q u estion.
(a) "On ente rin g th e am phith eatre, 1 ne w o bj ec ts of ivoncler prese nted themse lves. O n a level spo t in th e ce ntre
was a co mpany of odd-lookin g personages playing at nin epins. Th ey were dressed in a quaint, oi1tlandi sh fas hi on ;
so me wo re short d ouble ts, oth ers jerkin.-, with long kni1'es in
th eir belts, a nd most of the m had enorm ous b reeches, of
simi lar style with that of the gu ide's. Th eir visages, too,
were peculiar; one had a large beard, broad face, and small
piggish eyes; the face of a nother see med to consist entire ly
of nose, and was surmounted by a white sugar- loaf ha t se t
off with a little reel cock's ta il. Th ey a ll had beards, of
variou s shapes and colors. T he re was o ne who seemed to
.be the commantler. H e was a stou t o ld ge ntle man, with
a weat her-beate n cou ntena nce; he wore a lace d d oublet,
broad belt and ha nge r, high-crown ed hat a nd feat her, red
stockin gs, and high-heeled shoes, with roses in them. Th e
whole gro up reminded Rip of the fi gm es in a n old F le mish
painting, in the parlor of Domini c Van Shaick, the village
1 Sec page 48 ( 12).

E!cmmls of Rltctoric

[ CHJ\ I' . XII

CHAP.

xu]

P aragrap!ts

parson , :rncl which 1 had been brought over from Ho lland at
th e time of the settlement." - IR VI NG: Rip Van Winkle .2

spot, every fault I found upon exam ination to have been
committed respecting the vi rtu e upon that day."-Ibid.

(b) "It was abon t the time I conceiv'd the bold and
arduou s proj ect of arri ving at moral perfection. I wi sh'll to
liv e with out comm ittin g any fau lt a t any time; I would conqu er all that nat11ral inclination, c ustom, or company might
lead me into. As I kn ew, or thought I knew, what was
ri ght and wron g, I did not see why I might not always do
th e one and ilvo id th e other. But I soon found I h::id undertak e n a task more dilli c11lt than I had imag in ed. While my
care was employ'll in gua rdin g agai nst one fault, I was oft en
surpri sed by another ; habit took the adva ntage of inattention ; inclination was sometim es to o strong for reason . I
conclud ed, at length, that the mere specu lative convi ction
that it was our interest to be completely virtuo us was not
suffici ent to prevent our slipping ; and that th e contrary
habits must be broke n, and good ones acquired and established, before we can have any depe ndence on a steady,
un iform rec titude of conduct. For this purpose I th erefore co ntrived the following method."

( d) " Parkman's descriptions seem like the reports of an
eye-witness. The realism is so strong that the author seems
to have come in person fresh fro m th e scenes he describes,
with th e smoke of the ba ttle hovering about him and its
fi erce li ght glowing in his eyes . Parkman did not fee l ready
to write until he had vi sited nearly all the localiti es that form
the sce nery of hi s story, and stud ied the m with the patience
of a surveyor a nd th e disce rnin g eye of a landscape painter.
His love of nature ad ded kee n zest to th is sort of work. . To
slee p unde r th e open sky was hi s deli ght, and his books
fairly reek with the fragran ce of pine woods ."

-

FRANKLIN:

Autobiography.

(c) "I made a littl e book, in whic h I allotted a page for
eac h of the virt11 es. I rul'd each page with red ink, so as to
have seven columns, one for each clay of the wee k, markin g
each co lumn with a le tter for the day. I cross'd th ese columns with thirteen red lines, markin g the beg inning of each
lin e wit h the first letter of one of th e virtu es, on whi ch line,
a nd in its proper column, I might mark, by a little black
1

Sec§ 36 ( t ).
For example : In th e amphith eatre R ip fou nd a company of oddlook in g, riuaintl y dressed peop le. Th e details are, roughl y, these: Saw
odd-loo kin g peopl e p lay in g nin e pins. Quaintly dressed. Q ue er look·
ing. Th e commander. All looked like old Dutch paintings.
2

-

./>

J O!lN F I SKE:

Francis Pa 1·k111a11.

(e) "Over all emotion he [the Indian] throws the veil of
an iron self- control, originating in a p eculiar form of pride,
and foster ed by rigorou s d isc ipline fr om childhood upward.
He is trained to conceal passio n, and no t to subdue it.
The inscrutable warrior is a ptly imaged by the hackneyed
fi gure of a volcano covered with snow ; a nd no man can
say when or wh ere the wild-fire will burst forth. This shallow
self-mas tery serves to give di g ni ty to publi c d eliberati on, and
harmon y to soc ial life. Wrangling and quarrel arc strange rs
to an Indi an dwelling; and while a n assembly of the a ncient
Gau ls was gar rnlous as a co nvocati on of magpi es, a Roman
senate might have taken a lesson from the grave sole mnity
of an Indian council. In th e midst of hi s family and fri e nds
he hid es affec tions, by na ture none of th e most tender, under
a mask of icy coldn ess; and in th e torturing tires of his
enemy the haughty sufferer maintains to the las t his look of
grim defi ance." - PARKMAN: Conspiracy of Pontiac.

III. Find five topics, each of wh ich can be appropriately treated in a single paragrap h. Indicate the

E!cmmts of Rltetoric

[ C llA P. XII

d e tails w hich you wo uld use in treating each of th ese
t opi cs.
IV. D ev elop, in a sin gle paragraph, th e lin e of
th oug ht indicated wit h regard t o at least one of t he
topics in Il I.1
129. Emphasis. - In the buildin g of a paragra ph
th e p r in ciple of e m p hasis g uides us in so a rra ng in g
sente nces th a t wh a t is im porta nt in th oug ht b eco mes
pro min e nt to th e eye or car. Th e imp ortant th oug ht
can b e m ad e prom ine nt in several ways: ( 1) By sta tin g early in t he paragraph , ancl thu s
givin g p ro min e n ce to yo ur sta te ment, w hat pa rt
of yo ur subj ec t you a rc to t reat; i.e. b y th e top ic
sente n ce.
(2) B y d evo ting the last sen ten ce of a parag raph
to a s tate m e n t of th e po in t of th e wh ole p a ragrap h,
i.e. b y t he s umm ary se nte nce.
( 3) By b ein g caref ul to give t o v a rious d eta il s
th eir re la tive importan ce, i.e. by g ivin g the m a in id ea
its proper d evelopm e nt .
130. The Topic Sentence. - Nothin g co uld b e more
natural to a th oug htful writer th a n th e use nf th e
to pi c se nte n ce . It forn.ishes so clear a g uide to t he
ma in th oug ht of a p aragraph t hat one wh o is co nsulting a c hap te r or essay fo r som e pa rtic ula r fac t ca n
us uall y, if th e p a ragrap h s are well made, discove r by
g la n cin g a t t h e b eginnin g of a p ar agra ph whe re to
fi n d th a t whi c h h e see ks. It is es pec ia lly valua bl e
l lt is suggcst.c rl t h at t h e pu pi l con timtc this exe rcise until h e i ~
th oro ug hl y fr11 uili ar with t he process.

CH A P.

xn]

P aragraplts

19 3

in writing th at consists ?f a sin gle paragrap h, wh e re
it is absolutely essential th at, at the very outse t, th e
read er sh oul d receive a t least a b road hint as to
wha t he m a y expect to find treated b elow. See, for
illustration, th e ext rac ts (a) a nd (b) quoted in § 127.
E xam ples : (a ) W e s!wuld probably be s?f.rprised if we ttnderstood
!tow very little people really know a/lout t!te Bible anrl wltat
is l7l 1t.
[Top ic Sentence.] We deceive omselves regarding our own knowledge ; Th e sacred Book has lain so long
on our tables, and we are so fa mili ar with its ou tside look,
th at we ge t a vague idea that we have read it. But if we
really brought ourselves to th e point, we should be amazed
at our own inabili ty to tell even th e sim plest of its stories
rightly. An d we imagin e sometimes that all th e rest of th e
world know more abo ut the Book than we do ; but every
now and th en something gives us a glim pse of what they do
kn ow, and we are startled at th e imperfectn ess and carelessness of th eir kn owledge of the ri chest and most familiar
and most important Book in all the wo rld . Th ere are many
of you who are eage r for eve ry new book, who are anxious
if each Saturday night does not find yo u read up to th e line
of the week's new li terature, who probably never read the
graphic, brilliant, stirring story of Saul, th e fir st King of
Israel, in all yo ur lives. We circulate the Bibl e by th e
million. So me parts of it we read as a religious duty.
But th ere are whole books of it tee ming with in terest which
few of us ever touch. One so metim es fee ls that so me day
or other a great in crease of the spiritual power of th e Bible
will come with wh at will be almost a re-di scove ry of its
literary attractiveness. When peopl e break through the
strange feeling whi ch has gathered aro und it that it is dull
and unreal, and find that it is th e most interesting Book in
0

Elements of R!tctoric

194

[ CHAP . Xii

all the world , th en they will be open for its deeper power
to lay hold upon their consciences and hearts. "
-

l'IULl.Il'S J3ROOKS:

An Evil Spirit fr om tlte L oni.1

(b) " As a lyric poet, Sltelley, 011 !tis own ground, is easily
gna t. [Topi c Sentence.] Some of th e lyri cs are pnrely
personal; some, as in the very finest, the Ode to t!te 11il'st
Wind, mingle toge ther personal fee ling and proph etic hope
for mankind. Some are lyri cs of pure n::i ture; some are
d edicated to the rebuk e of tyranny and the cause of liberty ;
ot hers uelong to the indefinite passion he called love, anti
others are written on visions of those ' shapes tlwt ha11nt
Tho11ght's wild ern esses.' Th ey fo rm togeth er th e most sensitive, the most imaginative, and the mos t musical, b11l
th e least tangible lyrical poetry we possess."
-

S TOl'l'ORD A. BROO K E :

English Literal11re.2

It d oes n ot, of course, fo llow tha t ever y paragrap h
must b egin with a topic sente nce.
It is indeed
us ually sufficie nt, especially in n a r rative , for the Arst
sentence to b e of a sort that will give some cl e w t o
what fo llows. 3

CHAP.

xn]

Paragrap!ts

131. The Summary Sentence. - Th e summary sen·
t e n ce is no less n a tura l or effective than the topic
sentence. If in rapid rea ding we look a t the b eg innings of p arag raphs, to see what they a r e going
to be a bout, we a lso look at the ends, to see in brief
what they contained.
Examples: (a) "I should ve ry imperfectly execute the task which
I have undertaken if I were merely to treat of bat tles and
sieges, of the rise and fall of ad ministrations, of intri gues in
the palace, and of d ebates in th e parli ament. It will be my
end eavor to relate the history of th e people as well as the
hi story of the governm ent, to trace th e progress of useful
and ornamental ar ts, to d escri be the rise of religious sects
and th e changes of literary tas te, to portray th e manners of
successive generations, and not to pass by, with neglect, even
the revolutions which have taken place in dress, furniture,
repasts, and public amuse ments. I s!tall cl1ee1f1tllj• bear tlte
reproaclz of ltaving descended below t!te dig11ity of !tisto1y if
I can succeed in placing /Jefore tlte Englz's/1 (lf tlte 11ineteent/1
centu1y a true picture of tlte life of tltei1- ancestors."
-

1 Th e fo ll owi ng are th e opening sentences of the two fo ll ow in g
paragraphs : ( 1) "Sa ul 's li fe, as it is told to us in th e first Book of Sam uel, is
th e perfect ion o f a tragedy." (2) " Th e ve rse wh ich l h ave la kc n for
o ur t ~ xt this ln o rning co ntains one state1ne nt abo ut th is trag ical histury
u f K in g Sau l wh ich well deserv es ou r stud y. " Th ese are hulh lupi c
se nte nces.
i The next parngraph begin s with a not her topi c se nte nce : - " ,\s
th e poe t of natu re h e (Shel ley) had th e sa me idea as \Vordswurth , Lh at
n at ur e wa s ali ve; b ut whil e \Vonlsworth m ade t he act ive pr in ci pl e
1
which lili ed and 111 ade nalurc to he Thought, Shell ey made il l ,uv c."
3 At this point th e pu pi l sho uhl do the writing indi cate d in E xercise
58, parts I, II , III, and 1V.

MACAULAY :

llistOJ y of England.

(b) "Into this federation our Saxon ancestors were now
admitted. A regular co mmuni cation was o pened between
our shores and that part of E uro pe in whi ch th e traces of
ancie nt power and poli cy were yet di scern iule. Many nobl e
monuments whi ch have since been destroyed or defac ed sti ll
retained th eir pri stine magnifice nce; and travell ers, to whom
Livy and Sallust were unintelligible, might gain from the
Roman aqueducts and temples some faint notion of Roman
history. . . . The islanders retu rned, with mv e d eeply impressed on their half-opened min ds, and told the wondering
inhabitants. of the hovels of London and York that near the

ElcmC1lts of Rltetoric

( CHAP. X II

grave of St. Pe ter a mighty race, now extinct, had pi led up
buildings which wo uld never be dissolved till the Judgment
Day. .I ,ea rning follow ed in the train of C hristia nity. The
poetry an d elo<Juence of th e Augustan age was assiduou sly
stnd ied in rvrercian and No rthumbrian monaste ri es. 'l'he
names of Bede and Alcu in were justl y celebrated thro ughout
Emope. SNc!t was t!te sl1ilc of 01tr cou11t1y w!tcn, in lit e
?1,i11t!1 centmy, /1egmi tltc last great migration of 11ortlien1
barbarians." - Ibid.

( c) "In J 89 T there was o ne student enrolled in a coll ege
of the liberal a rts and sciences for evei·y 1363 inhabitants
of the U nited Sta tes. Cou nting five persons to a family ,
this mea ns tha t one fam il y in every 272.6, th e cou ntry over,
contributed to th e co ll ege popu lation. Of course, in some
sec tion s of the country th e ratio was much less. In l\iiassachuse tls, for example, th ere was one college stud ent for
every 858 o f population, o r one for every 17 r.6 families.
In Iowa th e proportion was one to 908 perso ns, or 18 1.6
famili es; in Utah, one to 789 p erson s, or r5 7.8 families .
Th ese stat istics, read in relation to the vast extent of the
terri tory of the U nited States and to the heterogeneousness
of its pop ul ati on of 70,000,000, are a mple proof, if proof
were needed, that the coll ege is a very fam ili ar [eatme 111
i\m erican life, and that it sup pli es the educational needs of
th e people to a re markable d egree."
-

Hun .1m : The /lfet1ni1'IJ of Educntio11 .

It does not, of co urse, follow that every paragrap h

should close with a summary sentence. Indeed, th e
summary sentence, especially in narrative, is the exception rather than the rule. Whenever a paragraph
is s hort, and the thought is easy to follow, a summary
sentence is scarcely necessary, nor is it n ecessary
when the paragraph begins with a topic sentence.

CHAP.

xn]

Paragf'ap!ts

197

It is sufficient for the purposes of emphasis that th e

paragraph end with a striking state ment. 1
132. The Development of the Paragraph. - The main
object to be ke15t in mind in th e making of a goo d
paragraph is th at the chief idea shall sta nd out clearly.
This result is partly attained by th e use of the topic
sentence or the s ummary sentence or both. But it
can be fully a ttained only when the facts or details
contained in the bod y of the paragrap h aid in the
process. Notice, in the examples given belo w, how,
after the topic is stated, the writers go on to explai n,
illustrate, or prove it, until the reader has no difficulty
in apprehending the principle involved.
(a) "We have always thought it strange that, while the
history of the Spanish empire in America is familiarly known
to all the nations of Europe, the great actions of our countrymen in the E ast should, even among ourselves, exc ite little
interest. [A typical example follows.]
Eve ry schoolboy
knows who imprisoned Montezuma, and who strangled Atahualpa.2 But we doubt wh eth er one in ten, even among English
ge ntlemen of highly cultivated minds, can tell who won th e
battle of Buxar, who p erpetrated the massacre of Patna,
whe ther Sujah Dowlah rul ed in Oucle or in Travancore, or
whether Holkar was a Hindoo or a l\fossulman. [Th ere follows an explanation of the reason why a knowledge of th e
first set of facts is less importa nt or significant tha n that of
1 Here the pupil should do the writing indicated in Exerc ise 58,
parts V, VI, and Vil.
2 Macaulay was prone to believe that "every schoolboy" might co nfidently be expected to know almos t eve rythin g. Dut Prescott's c ntranci ng Conquest of iVIex£co and Conquest of Peru were, shortly a fl er
Macaulay wrote, more widely read than now.

Elements of Rhetoric

[ CHAP. Xll

the seco nd .] Yet the victori es of Cortes were gained o·•er
savages who had no letters, who were ignorant of the use of
metals, who had not broken in a single animal to labo r, who
wieicled no b etter weapons than those which could be made
011t of sticks, flints, and fish-bones, who regarded a horsesoldi er as a monster, half man and half beast, who took a
harqn ebnsier for a sorcerer, able to scatter th e thund er a nd
light nin g of the ski es. The people of India, wh e n we subdued them, were ten times as num erous as th e Am eri cans
whom the Spani a rd s vanq uished , and were at th e sa me time
q uite as hi ghl y civilize d as the victor ious Spaniard s. They
had reared citi es larger and fairer than Saragossa or T oledo,
and buildings more beautiful and costly than th e cathedral
of Seville. Th ey coulcl show banke rs richer th an th e richest
firm s of Barcelona or Cadiz, viceroys whose spl endor far smpassed that of Ferdinand th e Catholi c, myriads of cavalry
and long trains of artill ery which would have as tonished th e
Great Captain. [A re petition of the main id ea follows, with
the indication of another reason why E nglishm en shou ld
know abou t India, - namely, that its conquest was the work
of their own cou ntrymen.] It mi ght have been expected
that every Engli shman who tak es any interest in any part
of hi sto ry would be curious to know how a handful of his
countrymen, separated from their home by an imm ense
ocean, subjugated, in the course of a few years, one of the
greatest em pi res in the world. [ A summary sentence follows. ] Ye t, unless we greatly err, this subj ect is to most
read ers, not only insipid, but posi tively di stas teful."
-

MA CAULAY :

Lo,-d' Clive.

(b) "Perhaps the fault lies partly with th e hi storians.
[Two exampl es foll ow.] l\fr. Mill's book, though it has nndoubteclly great and rare merit, is not sufficiently animated
and picturesq ue to attract those who read for amuseme nt.
Orme, inferior to no English historian in style and power of

CHAP.

xn]

Paragraplts
'

199

painting, is minute even to tediousness . In one volume he
allots, on a n average, a closely printed quarto pag e to th e .
events of every forty-eight hours. The consequence is th at
his narrative, though one of the most authentic and one of
the most finely written in our language, has never b een very
popular, and is now scarcely ever read." -Ibid.

f

(c) "Ordinary criminal justice knows nothing o f set-off.
[ A general principl e has been stated: th ere fo llows a sentence
of explanation. J The grea test desert ca nnot be pl eaded in
answer to a charge of th e slightest tra nsgression. [ i\n
example follows. J If a man has sold beer on Sunday
morning, it is no d efence that he has saved the life of a
fellow-creature at the risk of his own. [Another example
follows . J If he has ha rn essed a Newfo undla nd dog to his
littl e c hild's carri age,1 it is no defence that he was wounded
at Wa terloo. [But this principl e does not a pply to our
judgment of certain men.] But it is not in th is way that
we ought to deal with men who, raised far above ordinary
restraints, and tried by far more than ord in ary tem ptati ons,
are entitl ed to a more than ordinary measure of indulgence.
[ An explanation of this modifi ed principl e foll ows.] Such
men should be judged by th eir contemporaries as they will
be judged by posterity. Their bad ac tions ought not, indeed,
to be called good ; but their good and bad acti ons ought to
be fairly weighed ; and if on the whole the good preponclera te, the sentence ought to be one , not merely of acquital,
but of approbation. [Illustra tions follow.] Not a sin gk
great ruler in history can be absolved by a judge who fi xes
hi s eye inexorably on one or two unjustifiable acts. Bru ce
th e deliverer of Scotland, Mauri ce the d elivere r of Germany ,
William the deliverer of Holland, his great descendant th e
deliverer of England, Murray the good regent, Cosmo the
1

This appears to have bee n co ntrary to E nglish law.

200

Elcmmts of R!tetoric

[ CH/IP. XII

father of his country, H enry the Fourth of France, l'eter
the Great of Russia, - how would the best of th em pass
such a sc rutiny ? [A summary sentence follows. J History
takes wid er views; and the bes t tribunal for grea t politi cal
cases is the tribunal which anticipates the verdict of history."
- !bid.

(ti) " Ind eed om affairs are in a bad condition. I do
ass ure th ose ge ntle men who have prayed for wa r, and have
obtained th e bl ess in g they ha ve sought, that they are at this
instant in ve ry great straits. The abused wealth of thi s
coun try continues a littl e longer to feel its di ste mp er. J\s
ye t they, and th eir German allies of twenty hireling stales,
have conte nded o nly with the unprepared strength of our
own infant coloni es . But Ameri ca is not subdued. No t
one unattac ked vill age which was originally adve rse throu ghout that vast continent, bas yet submitted from love or
terror. You li ave the ground you encamp on ; a nd you
have no more. Th e cantonm ents of your troops and your
dominions a re exactly of the same extent.
You spread
devastation, but yo u do not enlarge the sph ere of authority."
-Buiurn: Lettei· to the Sheriffs o/ JJristol.
EXERCISE 58

I. Find, in the extracts quoted rn this book, three
parag raphs beginnin g with topic sentences.
II. Find, in a newspap er, five parag raphs, each
comp lete in itself, beginning with topic sentences. ·
III. Write five topic· sentences on which paragraphs may be developed, adding after each notes of
th e deta ils which you would use .
IV. Develop at least one of these paragraphs. 1
1 This exercise should be repeated until the pupil is familiar with
the process.

CHAP.

xn]

P aragrap!ts

201

V. Find, in th e extracts quoted in this book, three
paragraphs ending with summary sentences. Do
they also begin with topic sentences?
VI. Find, in a n ewspaper, five one-paragraph editorials ending with summary sentences. Do they
also begin with topic sentences?
VII. After jotting clown the fac ts which might
form the basis of a paragrap h, write a summary sent ence, and then the p arag raph itself.I
VIII. After reading carefu lly th e extracts quoted
in the preceding section, write a parag rap h on "A
Bicyclist's Opinion of the Roads in this Vicinity,"
taking care to state, in illustration or proof, a sufficient number of facts to make your meaning stand
out clearly.
IX. Make a list of five or more similar topics of
local interest or importance. One topic of this sort
should then be assigned to eac h member of th e class,
as a subject for a single parag raph, to be written im promptu or handed in later. 1
133. Coherence. - Unity of the paragraph implies
that the writer bas determined specifically the subjectmatter of each paragraph; emphasis, that he has
made prominent what is most imp ortant in it; cohe·
rence prescribes an orderly and logical connection
and structure of thought within th e paragraph. If
a paragraph be co he rent, th e reader not only will
understand in general the writer 's point, but will
1 This exercise should be rep eated, at th e pleasure of the instructor,
until the stud ent is familiar with the process .

Eleme1lts of Rhetoric

202

( CHAI' . Xl\

appreciate in det ail the process of thought by whi ch
it bas been devclopecl.1 To gain coherence in the
structure of parag raphs three hints may be fo und
valu abl e : ( 1) Build your paragraph on some plan.
(2) Notice, as yon write, just what you h ave said
in eac h sentence, a nd decide what stateme nt must
n ecessarily fol low in ord er that your full th oug ht
may be broug ht out.
(3) Use freely conjun ctions and conjun ctive
phrases, such as tlw11glt, wltile, ILCnce, accordi11g-fy,
yet, notwitlzstrmding, tl!creforr, 0 1t the one lza11d,
on t!tc otlzcr lw11d, 011 t!te contrary, for, indeed, b11t,
and, moreover, lwwe11er, etc. Such words bind togeth e r sentences a nd parts of senten ces, and help
to ma k e sty le co he rent and logical.
134. Coherence : the Plan. - That the main thou ght
of a pa ragraph s hould be broug ht out clearl y we have
seen in§ 1 32 . vVe must now notice how th at t hought
may b e developed systematically. It is often possible so to divid e a subject th at the reader may kn ow
a t th e ou tset th at it co nsists of t wo, or three, or four
parts, which will be co nsidered in regular order.
Notice the fo ll owing exam pies : l

"E\'ery man , as he walks th rough th e streets, may eo ntri\'e lo jot

d ow n a n ind e pend e nt th nug-ht ; a sho rt-h a nd me m uranclmn u f a g reat

tru th. . . . Sta ndi ng on one leg, yo u may accomplish this. Th e
labor of co mposition begins when you have to put your separate threacl s
of th ought into a loo m: to weave th em in to a co nti nu ous whole ; to
co nn ec; t, to introdu ce th em; to hl ow th em out or expand th em ; to
carry th e m to a cl ose." - lJE <~ U I NC EV : /c.'ss11y on Style.

CHAP.

xn]

Parag raphs

203

(a) "Two general facts in regard to language become
apparent as the effect of the Co nques t. · 01le is, tha t though
the na tive tongue continued to be spoken by th e great majority of the population, it went out of use as the language
of high culture. It was no longer ta ught in the schools. It
was no longer employed a t the court of the king, or the
castles of th e nobles . It was no longer used in judicial
proceedings; to some extent eve n it ceased to b e recognized in th e services of the church. This displacement was
probably. slow at first; but it was clone effec tu all y a t las t.
The second fact is, that, after the Conquest, th e educated
classes, wheth er lay or ecclesiastical, preferred to write eith er
in Latin or French, the latter steadily tendi ng to become
more and more the language of literature as well as of polite
society. We have, in consequence, th e singu lar spectacle
of two tongues Oourishing side by side in th e same country,
and yet for centuries so utterly di stinct and independent
tha t neither can be said to have exerted muc h direct appreciable influence upon the other, th ough in each case the
indirect influence was great."
- LOUNSB URY :

IIistory vj the English L1111g1111ge.

(b) "As it happens there is a de partment of literature
.. in whi ch we can also declare four c hronological periods,
the one follow in g the othe r anJ Oowe rin g from it. This is
the art of fi cti on. In the beginning ftction dealt with th e
Impossible, - with wond ers, with myste ri es, with the supernatural ; and th ese are th e stapl e of the Arabia1l Nigltts, of
Greek romances li ke the Golden Ass, and of ta les o f c hi va lry
lik e A111adis of Gaul. In the seconll stage th e me rely ImproLable was substituted for th e frankly impossibl e; and
the hero we nt through adve ntures such as might befall anybody, but in quantity far more tha n a re li ke ly to ha ppen to
any single man, unless hi s name were G il Blas or Quentin
Durward, Natty Bumppo, or cl'Artagna n.
The n in the

204

E lements of Rlzetoric

[ CHAP. X I!

course of years t he I mprobable was supersed ed by the
Probable; and it is by their ad ro it presentati on of the Probabl e th at l3::tl zac and Thac keray hold their hi gh pl aces in the
history of the art. But the craft of th e novelist dill not
come to its climax with th e mas te rpieces o f Balzac and of
Th ack eray; its development continued pe rfo rce, and there
arose story-tell ers who preferred to deal rather with the
In evitable than with the Probable onl y. Of this fo urth stage
of th e evoluti o n of fi cti on perhaps the most salient examr les
a re the Scarlet L rtter of H awth orne a nd the Ro1110/1i of
Geo rge E li ot, the Smol.:e of Turgenieff, and the Anna K arl:11 i1w of T olstoi. "-13RAN IJ ER MATnrnws : Aspects of Firtiou.

Wh e n it is not necessary - a nd it usually is n ot to divide the subjec t into numbered points, it is always
p oss ible to arra nge th e details in a succession of
orderly group s, as in th e followin g illustration : "Th ere are, fur therm ore, certain great ad vantages which
th e pulpi t orator has over oth er speake rs. T he themes
whi ch he treats are, fo r th e audi ence he addresses, paramount to any oth er ; they deal not with cesthetic appreciation, or with earthly rights, but with the most mo mentous
q uestio ns of human condu ct and a future life. The buildin g in whi ch he speaks is specially adapted for the purpose
fo r whi ch it is used . In a material way th e aco ustics and
the seating arran ge ments are as nearl y perfect as th ey can
be made ; no inclement weather or ill-li ghted auditorium
can lessen th e effect of the discourse . In a higher se nse,
th e stained wind ows, the music, th e decorati ons of the
chancel add spiritu ality and reverence to th e scene. Jn
additi o n to this, th e preac her knows just wh en, unde r what
circumstances, a nd lo wh om he will make his address. N o
on e can take hi s tim e or interrupt him, and nothing can
happen to vex or make irn pati ent h is congrega tion. In

CHAP .

P arag-rap !ts

xn]

205

short, nearl y every condition which makes up two of the
three essentials of oratory - the subj ect and the occasion the pulpit orator has a t his command."
- R. C.

R I NGWA LT :

illfoden 1. American Oratory.I

135. Coherence : Sequence. -

Often it will not be
possible to divide the topic reserved fo r a p articular
parag raph into set p arts, or grou ps of fac ts. Th e
writer must th en fall bac k, for pur poses of coheren ce, on th e logical sequence of th oug ht. H e mu st
present the various detail s which he wishes to introdu ce in such an order that one sh all lead directly to
another.
E xa mple : -·
"A E nropean cannot spend an evening in an American
d rawing-room without perceiving th a t th e a ttitude of men to
women is not that with which he is famili ar a t home. Th e
average E uropean man has usuall y a slight sense of co ndescensio n wh en h e talks to a woman on seri ous subj ects.
Even if she is his superior in intellect, in charac ter, in social
rank, he thinks that as a man he is her superior, and consciously or unconsciously talks clown to her. She is too
much acc ustomed to this to rese nt it, unl ess it becomes
tastelessly palpable. Such a no tio n does not cross a n American's mind. H e talks to a woman just as he would to a
man, of course with more d efere nce of mann er, a nd with
a proper regard to the top ics likely to inte rest her, but
giving her his intellectual best, address ing her as a p erson
whose opinion is unde rstood by both to be worth as much as
his own. Simil a rl y a n American lady does not expect to
have conversation made to her. It is just as much her duty
1 At this point the pupil should do the work indicated in Exe rcise
59, parts I and II.

t :

206

Elements

of R!tetoric

[CHAP. XII

or pleasure to lead it as the man's is, and more often than
not she takes th e burden from him, darting along with a gay
vivacity which puts to shame his slower wits."
-

BRYCE :

7/te American Commoiiwenll!t.

136. Coherence : Connectives. - The log ica l seque nce
of d etails may ofteri be made more clear by the use of
connectives and reference words, as in the following
example: -

" In fact, the private schools for boys are, generall y
speaking, not regarded with much respect in Germany.
Nor is there, for tltat matter, any great reason why they
should be, chi efly because there is no place for them in the
gen eral scheme of ed ucation. There are, to be sure, a considerable number of parents who do not wish to se nd their
sons to the gym nas ium or other large public schools before
they are twelve or thirteen years old; but except fo r these
very young boys, the pupi ls in the private schools are alm ost
exclusive ly those who cannot find a place in the public
schools; that is, they are hopeless dunces, or fore igners, or
boys wh o, having left th e gymnasium for the realschulc, or
vice versa, are attend ing a private school as the best available means of effecting the transiti on. T!tis last class is,
ltowcvcr, very small, leaving for the private schoo ls few
pupils except small children, dunces, and foreign ers. T/1is
state of things is easily accounted for by the fact that th e
teachers in th e public schools are not, like those of th e
private scho()ls, directly dependent upon th eir pupils for
th eir support, but are appointed by government authority.
T!tcir discipline is, tltrrefore, likely to be better, bei ng admini stered without fear or favor on account of the comparative security of th eir tenure of offic e . . It must also be borne
in mind that the gy mnasia, realschul en, and realgymnasia,
though not actually fr ee schools, are very nearly so, the

CHAP. XII]

P aragraplzs

207

charge for tuition being merely nomin al, while th e private
schools must support themselves from the price of tuition."
137. Lack of Coherence : Connectives. -

Lack

of

coherence occurs : (I) When not e n oug h connectives are used.
See
§ 13 3 ( 3).
(2) When wrong co nn ectives a re used. And, also,
and so are not good se nte11ce connectives. And is
generally used to connect parts of a sentence, a nd
should be used sparingly at the begin ning of sentenc es. To e mploy it frequ ently is to g ive our
writing the effect of a child's prattle. Also is n ot
commonly used at the beginning of sentences; e.g.
it is awkward to write, "Also I gave him a quarter."
It is bette r to write, " I also gave him a quarter."
So is a very weak connective (see § 106), and, thoug h
much used colloquia lly at the b eginnin g of sentences,
should in writing be avoided in thi s position.
EXERCISE 59

I. Make plans for the treatm ent of three topics,
the details with regard to each of which ca n b e divid ed
into three or four numbe red groups, as in extracts (a)
and (b) in §I 34. Write one of these p aragrap hs .1
II. Make pl a ns for the treatment of three topics,
t he d etails with regard to each of which may be
gro uped in an orde rl y fashion, as in extract (c) in
§ I 34. Write one of th ese paragrap h s.
l Thi s exe rcise, and those indi cated in parts JI and IV, should be
r epeated until the pupil is thoroughly ram iliar with the process.

208

Elc1llmts of Rheto1-ic

[CH/\ P. XII

CHAP.

xmJ

III. Find two paragraphs in which connectives
are used with skill.
IV. Criticise the composition of one of your classmates, pointing out the places where, if at all, his
work is lacking in coherence, and showing how the
fault cou ld be rem edied.

Tfte vV!tole Composition

CHAPTER XIII
THE WHOLE COMPOSITION
138. THE WIIOLE COM l'OS ITI ON. -

139. UN ITY. -

141. CO llEIU::NCE.-Ex1mc 1SE60. PLA N . -

143 . TllE SECOND STAGE:

FORMULA FOR A COMPOS ITI ON. -

140. EMP llJ\ SI S. -

142. T lllO: F IRST STAGE: TllE
TllE

DETJ\11.S. -

144.

'J'tn:

E x 1mc1 SE 61.

138. The Whole Composition. -Following our ascending scale (see § 123), we now come to th e largest unit
of style, -- the whole composition, - by which we
mean a long theme, a book, a chapter of a book, a
speech, a sermon, or any other combination of paragraphs developing a single larger idea. Let us apply,
first, to the whole composition the three principles o(
unity, emphasis, and coherence which we have already
applied to the sentence and to the paragraph.
139. Unity.-The principle of unity prescribes that
the unit or element which is under consideration -in
this case the whole composition- shall concern one,
and only one, subject, a nd that there shall be in it
no extraneous matter. Th ere are several hints which
will help the student in applying this principle.
(1) Choose a subject about which you know something, or can find out something. Avoid such vague
and unnatural subjects as "The P leasures of Spring,"

210

Elcmc11ts of Rltctoric

[CHAI'. XIII

"Th e Evils of \Na r, " "U nity is Stre ngth," or " Virtue
is its Ow n R eward," in regard to which it is scarcely
poss ible fo r a yo un g man to hav e kn ow led ge or to
feel inte rest. vVrite within th e limits of your nwn
experi e nce, write earn estly, a nd it will n ot be hard to
st ic k to the s ubj ect which you have prop osed for
yourself.
(2) L imit your subject rigidly. Choose a small,
definite subject, and try to treat it thoro ug hl y. With
a large or ill-determined subject the temptati ons l-<J
stray aside arc mu ch g reater. As the topi c for a
short essay, for in stan ce, "Abraham Lincoln" is be tter than " A merica n States me n." Dette r than the
forme r wo u Id be "Lincoln as Preside nt " ; and even
furth er restricti on mi g ht be advantageo us.
(3) Be sure th a t your title suggests your subj ect.
l f, fo r instan ce, your essay is an acco unt of th e way
in w hi c h a hummin g-bird fed her youn g and ta ug ht
th e m to fly, yo ur title sh ould not be "A Wid ow
and Twins," but something which will indi cate to
th e reade r wh at th e subj ect-matter really co ncern s.
Pla in, spec ific titles, fo r instan ce, are "On th e Study
of Geography, " "Rowing at Oxford," "vVh at th e
So uth ern Negro is doin g for Himself," " Class ica l
Lite rature in Translation. " Ue sure, too, that yo ur
title is n ot a mere catchp enny, sensational headin g,
suc h as are co mmon in certain ne wspapers.
(4) Th e subj ect once definitely determin ed, and a
plain, appropria te title chosen, be sure that every
sentence and every paragraph have a distinct bear·

CHAP.

xm]

Tlz e Wlzo!e Composition

211

ing on that subject and come rig htfully under that
title.
140. Emphasis. - In the wh ole co mposition emphasis prescribes that impo rtant ideas should occupy
prominent places. With this result in view th e
writer should bear in mind the foll owing hints : (r) Treat at length what is imp orta nt or significant. Pass rapidly over or omit entirely what is
relatively unimportant or insig nificant. Many a
theme, for instance, which purp orts to g ive an account of a day's fishin g is spoiled beca use the writer ,
expends four-fifths of his time and sp ace in relatin g
how h e got up a nd off in the morning, an d leaves
oniy a remnant of the m for the more important p art
of his n arrative. Ma ny a the me on the life of N a poleon, or some other historical character, has pro ~ed
worthless beca use the writer h as was ted his streng th
on the insig nificant de tails of his subj ect' s childh ood,
instead of economizin g rigo rously on time a nd space
in order to state adequa tely the important facts of
his manhood and great career.
( 2) Let your beginning indicate clearly what your
subject is, and how you mean to treat it. The two
fo ll owin g examples will show plainly how explicit
such indications may properly be : (a) "I purpose to write the hi story of E ngland from th e
accession of King James the Second clown to a time wh ich
is within the memory of men still living. I shall recount the
errors whi ch, in a few month s, alienated a loyal gentry and
priesthood from the H ouse of Stuart. I shall trace th e course

2 12

Elements of R!tetoric

[CHAP. XIII

of that revoluti on which t erminated th e Jong struggle betwee n
our sove reigns and th eir parli aments, and bound up togeth er
the ri ghts of th e people and th e title of th e reignin g d ynasty.
I shall relate how the n ew settlement was, durin g many
troubled years, successfull y defended against for eign a nd
d o mestic en emi es; how, under that settlement, th e a11thority
of law and th e securi ty of property were found to be co mpatibl e with a libe rty of d iscussion and o f incli vid11 al ac tion
neve r be for e kn ow n ; how, from the auspi c ious uni on o f orde r
and fr eedom, sprang a p ros perity o f which th e annals of
hnman affairs harl furnished no exa mple ; how our co untry,
fro m a stat e o f ig no minious vassal age , rapidly rose to the
place o f umpire among Eu ropean powe rs; how her opul ence
and her martia l glory grew togeth er ; how, by wise ancl
resolute good faith , was gradually established a publi c c redit
fruitful o f marvels which to the states men of any fo rm er :ige
would have seemed incredible ; how a gigantic commerce
g:we birth to a mari tim e power, co mpared with which eve ry
0th Pr m~ritin1 e !)ower. ancient or modern, sinks into insignifi cance; how Scotland, after ages of enmity, was a t iength
uni ted to E ngla nd , not merely by legal bonds, but b y indissoluble ties of interest a nd affection; how, in America, the
Briti sh coloni es rapidly became far mi ghtier and wealthi er
th an the realms which Cortez and Pizarro had add ed to the
do minions of C harl es the F ifth ; ho w, in Asia, Bri tish ad venturers found ed an empire not less splendid a nd more
durable than tha t of Alexander."
- MACAULAY: History of l'.11g!a 11 rl.

(b) "For twe nty-six years the neg ro has hacl hi s free dom,
and now th e qu estion is, What use has he mad e o f it? I
have just return ed from an ex tend ed trip throu gh th e South,
a rranged and made solely for th e purpose o f ge tting an
answer to the (tu estion , What is the colored man d oing for
himself? I have travelled throu gh Virginia, the Carolinas,

CHAP. X III

J

T!te Wlwle Comf!osition

213

Geo rgia, Alaba ma, Mississippi , L ouisiana, returnin g through
T ennessee, the Di stric t of Columbia, and Marylan d . In the
course .o f this j ourney, covering thirty- fiv e hundred miles, I
have v1s1ted schools, coHeges, and indus trial institutions in
most o f the la1ie ce ntres of the South , from Baltimore to
Ne w Orleans. I have go ne through th e l:llac k Belt, inspec ted
th e ag ricultural di stri cts, visited farm s a nd cabins, a nd have
see n every phase o f negro life, from the d estituti on of the
one-room cabin to the ho mes of th e co mfo rtabl e a nd prosperous, and every d egree o f social standing, fro m the convic ts
Ill the chain -gang in the N ew Orl eans Parish Prison and the
B irmingha m mines to ministers, lawye rs, d octors, and ba nk ers
o n the top round o f th e social ladd er. As a res ult o f this
observa tion a nd ex pe ri ence, I have so me clearly d efin ed impress!o ns and som e interesting evid ence as to what the negro
is d o mg for himself."
- BA1muws : What the Sottthern N egro is doing for ffimself
(~\

T,nnk no le ss r a r efolly to th e e nd th::in to the

beginning. He sure th at the reader leaves your wo rk
with a clear idea of what your main p oints are.
"To sum up, then, the facts whi ch show what the negro
is d oing for him self, it is clear that th e new ge nerati on o f
A fri c-~.m e ri ca n s is anima ted by a progressive spirit. Th ey
a re r~1 s m g a nd foll owing th eir o wn lead ers. Th ey are rapidl y
copy111g the orga nic, industrial, and administrative features
of white society. Th ey have di scovered that industrial re d e mptio n is not to be found in legislati ve and political
measures. In spite of op pressive ttsury and extorti o n, the
colo red man is buying farm s, accumulating property, estab~i s hin g. himself in trad e, learnin g the mechanic arts, d evising
mvent1 ons, and e ntering the professions. Edttcatio n he sees
to b e the pathway to prosp erity, and is making imm ense
sacrifices to secure it. He is passin g into the higher slates

214

Elem ents of Rhetoric

[ CHA I'. X III

of social evoluti on. In religion, the ' old-tim er ' is giving
way to the educated preacher. Relig ion is beco ming more
ethical. The colored p eopl e are do ing mu ch to take ca re
of their own unfortunate classes . Th e coop erative sp irit is
slowly spreadin g through trades-uni o ns, build in g assoc iati ons,
and benevo.lent guilds. In no way is the co lored man doing
more for lrnn self than by silentl y a nd steadil y d evelop ing a
se nse of self-resp ect, new capacity fo r se lf-su pport, antl a
prid e in his race, whi ch, more th an anything else, secure fo r
him the respect and fra ternal feeling of his white neighbors."
-1/Ji cl.

141. Coherence. - Cohere nce of the whole co mp os iti on is s trict! y analogous to co herence 0£ the
sente nce and of the parag raph . We mu st bind our
word s together log ically into sentences, our se ntences
togeth er log ically into parag raphs, and our parag raph s toge th er logically into th e whole co mpositi on.
The only qu ality indispe nsable in serious writin brr is
order. A s th e chief aim 0£ all composition is usua lly
to tell the reader so mething whic h h e presum ably did
n ot know before, it is obvi ous that to impa rt to him
this new in fo rma tion we mu st b egin whe re we a nd the
reader have so me knowledge in common, a nd th en
lead him by consecutive logical stages to th a t w hi ch
he is to und ersta nd. F or that p urpose it is absolutely
n ecessa ry that our work be carefully plann ed. 'Ne
ca n no more write successfully with out a definit e
co nception 0£ wh at th e structure of our composition
is to b e, than an,architect ca n build without h aving in
mind a well-defined a nd well-organized stru cture.

CHAP. XIII]

T!te vV!tole Composition

215

EXERCISE 60,

I. Select five small definite subj ects ; tell why you
think you have sufiicient information to write on th em
or how you propose to obtain the n ecessary information; choose a n app rop ria te title for eac h subj ec t.
II. What fa ult do you find with the following
subj ects for short the mes : Heat. Light. Sound . Mineral Deposit. P hotography.
The Future of our R epublic. Harvard U niversity. Yo uth's
Bes t Lesson. The Circle . . Proverbs of the World. The
Indians. History. Literature.

S uggest in each case modifi cati ons that would
ma ke the subj ect a suitable one.
III. Examine th e titles a nd head-lines in severa l
current newsp ap e rs in order to see wheth er th ey
suggest or represent the substan ce of th e a rticles
adequately and without vulgarity.
IV. Criticise in p oint of emphasis and coheren ce
the foll.owing theme, and indicate the plan on which
it should be rewritten: A

C RU ISE IN A

y ACHT

Living on a large river, with the ocean very near, makes
yachting very handy for me. T wo weeks at least of my
summ er holidays are spent on board a yacht. This last
summ er I cruised down the D elaware and outside the Capes
as far as Barn egat.
'
Two boy friends, the captain, the cook, and myself composed the crew.
We started one dismal Sunday with a howling east wind
p

2 16

E!cm wts of R!tetoric

[C! IA I.' . X III

that took us down th e ri ve r at stea mboat speed. Th at night
it was ve ry foggy, so we had to keep blowing a horn every
half-minu te. Blow ing a fog- horn is no joke, and after kee ping it up half an hour yo ur hear! fee ls all mouth.
T o cook in rough weather is di ffic ult and funn y. Th e
cook generall y spills the co ffee clown somebody's neck, and
hurl s the steak at yo ur head .
Rat her than cook anything we lived on dried bee f and
crac kers for two days .
Th e next cl ay it cleared off, and whil e we we re anchored
fo r dinner a poli ce boat came up and ord ered us away. \Ve
had unin te ntionall y anchored over some oyster beds and
were taken fo r pirates.
Th e sixth or seve nth day out it rain ed, and drenched us
all so th at we had lo take our clothes off to dry th em.
Om fi ve pairs of tro users were dangling in the air when
a stro ng puff of wind came and see med to pi ck them off the
line one at a tim e, and walk away with th em. ' ·Ve wore
blankets th e rest of th e cruise, and when we got back to the
wh a rf we sent a small boy to a store to buy us some ove rall s.
The next cruise I take will be with two pairs o f trousern
at least.

142. The First Stage : the Plan. - The fir st sta~e in
th e planning of a good piece of writin g, - a sc hoo l
co mpos ition, fo r in stance, - is th e p rep arati on of a
ro ug h pl a n or skele ton th at shall indi cate th e few
m ain p oints. The fo llowing '"ill serve as illustrations : ( 1) Subj ect:
really a m fond
with it. Point
:My fon d ness for

My Fondn ess for th e Sea.
Po int I. I
o f the sea.
Point I I. Early assoc iations
Ill. Later associations with it.
Point IV.
it leads me to make certain plans.

CHAP .

xm]

T lze W/10/e Compositio1t

2 17

( 2) Subject : A T ypical Day in my Summer Vacati on.
I. G eneral circumstances.
II. Forenoo n.
Ill. AfterV. General effects on my health
noon.
IV. E vening.
and happin ess.
(3) Subj ect: H ow to Swim. I. I mportance of learnI V.
ing. II. General principles. Ill. T he clog stroke.
Th e breast stroke . V. Other stro kes. VI. P leasure and
benefit d eri ved from swimming.

143. The Second Stage : the Details.- Th e n ext stage
in the pla nning of a co mposition is the fillin g o ut of
this roug h sc he me, a nd determini ng about how much
space sha ll be g iven to eac h head.
(1) Subj ect : My Fondness for th e Sea.
I. 1 really am fon d of th e sea. A good many pe0ple say
they are. They merely like to sit on the piazza o f a seashore hotel or go out on a sailboat for a fo renoon. I like
it winter and summer, in storm and sunshine. Enj oy li vin g
on it or by it. Partly clue to the fact th at I like fishing,
sailing, swimming. Partly to my associations with the sea.
[ 100 words.J
I I. I was born by the sea. I lived by it. Father a seacaptai n. How I learned to swim and sail a boat. Friends
I had among sailors. [ 150 words .]
III. Late r I made several long coasting trips and once
crossed the ocean on a sailing-vessel. [1 50 words. ]
IV. The consequ ence is that I am so attac hed to th e sea
that I really feel homesick when away from it. I am going
to be a lawye r and shall probably have to live in th e city.
But I mean to have as much to do with th e sea as possible.
Pe rhaps make a specialty of marin e law. At any rate, a
cottage at the seashore, as soon as I can afford it, and a
good sailboat. [ 2 00 words.J

218

Elements of R!tet01·ic

[CHAP. XII!

(2) Subject: A Typical Day in my Summer Vacation.
I. We always spend the summer at the seashore. H ouse
large, and I am allowed to have at least one guest all th e time.
Good sailing on the harbor. Good sailboat. Three objects
I have in summer: to have all the fun I can, to get plenty
of exe rcise, and to do two hours of reading each day. This
is how I arrange it. [150 words.]
II. Up at 6 in morning. Get cook to give me a cup of
coffee. Reading clone by time rest of fami.ly are ready for
breakfast. Usually sail until 12, then go in bathing. Dinner
at I. [100 word s.]
lII. Loaf rouml for an hour or two. Father likes to have
me play a game of chess with him. At 3 we row over to
town for the mail, then take a long walk along the beach.
[ 100 words .]
IV. After supper somebody reads a good novel aloud;
or we tell stori es, or sing, or play games ; or, sometimes, if
it is moonlight, go rowing. Get to bed early. [ roo words. J
V. The result is that at the encl of the summer I am
always in good condition, and hav e had the very best of
times. Last summ er I gained fifteen pounds. I read
Motley 's Rise of lite Dutc!t R epublic, and Prescott's Co11r;1tcst of Peru.
This winter I have not had a single clay of
illness . [125 words. ]

After such a rou g h plan has been mad e and the
main details jotted down under each head, there is
nothing to do except write a first draft of the co mposition. Success in an essay lies largely in th e plan111ng .
144. The Formula for a Composition. - It seems absurd to speak o( a formula for a composition, a nd yet
there is one very simple and natural way of arrang-

CHAP.

xm]

T!te Wlwle Composition

219

in g material for a short essay. It is very frequ ently
employed by expe rienced writers, and young writers
should be familiar with it and use it. It is this: state in the first paragraph what the general subject
is and what the heads arc under which you will take
it up; take up the heads in that order, giving to each
a paragraph or a gro up of paragraphs; in a concluding paragraph show what light you have thrown on
the subject.
EXERCISE 61

I. Draw up a plan for a composition of about a
thousand words, in at least five paragraphs, addin g
the details under each head. Write the first paragraph, the last paragraph, and the first sentence of
each of the other parag raphs.
II. Criticise the plan of a composition by one of
your classmates.

Elc111e11ts of R!tetor£c

220

[ CH A I'. X IV

CHAPT ER XIV
CLEARNESS
1 45.

Tll E Q UA l.ITl lCS OF S T YLE. -

N l •'.SS. -

147.

146.

JI O\V T O SECURE C i. EA R-

C l.l •'. 1\l<N l •'.SS I S NO T l'R ECI S Jn N. -

SECU J{[ N(; C LE ARN l·'.SS. <> F C LE ARNESS. -

149.

148 .

DE V I CES H> J<

F'J C;JJl<ES O F S l 'EEC ll FO i< TllJo'. SAKE

E X ER C I SJ;; 62. -

150.

LACK

01' C Ll<'.AHNESS. -

EXERC I SE 63 .

145. The Qualities of Style. - We have studi ed th e
word, the se nte nce, the parag raph, a nd th e wh ole
co mposition, a nd noti ced bow the lesser units may be
most e ffectu a lly combin ed. 'vVe must now go a step
farth er, a nd ask ourselves what, in genera l, are the
ways in whi ch we most desire to affect a reade r, or,
in other words, what the quali ties a re which a good
sty le should have.
F irst of a ll, evidently, it is indispensable th at the
writer sho uld so express him se lf that th e reader sha ll
und erstand him; second , th e writer must h old the
read er 's a ttenti on, and in one way or another interest
a nd move him ; third, the reader must find him self
p leased or satis fi ed, so far as hi s taste is concern ed,
wit h wh at he reads. A sty le, then, should have, first,
c lea rness - th e quality of bein g comprehensib le;
second, force - th e quality of interesting or movin g;
third, elcga nce -- the qu a lity of ple:i.sin g or sati sfy in g
the taste. Th e student will observe tha t clearness is

CHAP.

xrv]

Clearness

22I

a matter of the intellect; we may understa nd without
being moved. Force appeals to the e motion s. Writing that is strong , forcib le, sometim es moves us when
we do not fully und ersta nd it. E legance appeals to
the taste. Writing that is bea utifully polished may
a lso please us when it is not wholly clear to us a nd
does not mo ve .u s deep ly . It is, therefo re, not necessary th a t g ood writin g shall possess a ll three of th ese
qualities at the same time. W e shall treat them
separately.
146. How to .secure Clearness. - O bviously, t he first
thing necessary to make others understand what we
mean is to unde rstand ourse lves what we mea n. Until
we have first mastered o ur own thoug hts th ere is little
c hance that we ca n express the m c learly. vVe should
di strust, therefore, our kn ow ledge of a ny ma tter,
simple or complex in nature, unless we a rc a ble to
give to ourselves or to others a plain a nd strai g htforward account of it. W e must cultivate at a ll
h azards the h abit of looking for the gist, o r what we
roug hly call "the long a nd sh ort," of a matter, and
practise ourselves in a ll our work in exp ressing sim ply
and naturally the substance of the information we
have acquired.
147. Clearness is not Precision. - We must be careful, however, to distin g uish clearness from precision
or tec hnical acc uracy. A dressma ker's de sc ription
of a new gown would perhaps pu zzle a ma n as much
as his acco unt of a base-ball ga me or a yac hting
race mig ht bewilder a wo ma n. An e ngin ee r' s tec h-

222

E!cmmts of Rhetoric

[CHAP. XIV

CHAP.

nical description of a machine might be perfectly
clear to one man and abso lu tely obscure to anoth er,
thou g h both were equally intelligent and equ ally well
educated. Obv iously, clearness is a rela tive matter,
dep endin g upon th e a udien ce or th e reader which the
speaker or th e writer addresses. To write clearly,
th en, we mu st n eve r lose sig ht of those for who m
we a rc writin g.
A man with special knowled ge
must be a ble to co mmuni cate with those who share
hi s knowlcd g-e, in s uc h tec hni cal la ng uage that they
will be in no d oubt concerning the smallest deta il.
He should, on the other hand, be able to communicate with men expert in other arts or sciences, but
un s kill ed in hi s. In either case th e manne r of procecl ure is cl i ffcre nt : in th e one, precise and technical;
in the ot her, more general, la rge ly untec hni cal. Both
method s we s hould cultivate ; but a g reat deal of our
suc cess in writing depends on never confusing th em.
Th e fo llowing extracts illustrat e (a) precision as
di stin g uish ed from (b) clearness in treatin g subjec ts
whi ch can be approached from both points of
view:(a) "In my time it som etim es took all ha nds-a ship' s
compa ny of thirty souls - to close ree f the fore and main
topsa il s one after th e other. 1 have seen the whole watc h
't:iiling on' to th e ree f tackl es, and sc:ircely able to make
'two bl ocks ' of th em. I have seen the topsail with the
yard o n the cap blow ing up blarlder-sha ped, hard as cast
iron, with men on th e cloths dancing a nd stamping to bring
the ree f-band down to the grip o f th e fellows on the yard,
with a seaman at the weather e:iring shrieking to the captain

xrv]

Cleanzess

223

on the poop to luff ancl shake it out of her, the captain
meanwhil e, with a sull e n nod, 'holding on all ,' fearin g not
only the weight of a green sea a board, but the loss of half
th e me n off th e yard should he put th e helm down by a
spoke o r two. As with th e studd ing-sa il so with th e single
to psail; the age of reefin g in th e full old sense of that wo rd
is ove r _; a nd let those who co ntemplate the ocean as a
career be thankful that it is so ."
-

W . CLA RK Ru ss 1,: LL: Tlte Life of t!te Jlferrlumt Sailor.

(b) "\Ve all know th at if we' burn' chalk, th e result is
quicklim e. Chalk, in fact, is a compound of Gl rbonic-acid
gas a nd lim e; and when you make it ve ry hot, the carboni c
acid flies away and the lime is left. By this method of procedure we see the lime, but we do not see the carbonic
acid. If, on the other hand, you · were to powder a little
chalk and drop it into a good d eal of vin egar, th ere would
be a great bubbling and fi zzing, and fin all y a cl ear liquid, in
whi ch no sign of chalk wo uld a ppear. H ere you see the
carbon ic acid in the bu bbles; th e lim e, di ssolved in th e
vinegar, van ishes from sight. There a re a great many
other ways of showing that chalk is essentially nothin g but
carbon ic acid and quicklime. Che mi sts enunciate th e result o f all the experim ents which prove this, by stating that
chalk is almost wholly composed of ' carbonate of lim e.' "
-

·r

H UXLEY :

On a Piece o.f Cltalk.

148 . Devices for Securing Clearness. - If being clear
merely means that we succeed in ma kin g the person
or p ersons for whom we write understand what we
mean, and if, as is evid ent, we address in a lm ost all
our writing a certain fi ction called the average man,
we h ave yet to see what dev ices we can, .i n general,
use in a task which, thoug h often difficult, may well

224

F!emmts of R!tctoric

[ C ll ;\i '. X I V

a rou se one's g reatest in te rest and a mbition. J\mon g
m a ny d evices t hree s uggest the mselves.
( 1) Decide just what you can expect yo ur rcacl c r
to know a lready of th e matter und er treatm e nt, a nd
m a ke it a rule to go as steadily as poss ible fro m what
is kno wn toward that w hi ch is unkn own .
(2) As you proceed in yo ur task of informin g the
reader, ta k e care that by summaries, by di agrams,
b y ma ps or plans, or by illustrations or anec dotes,
yo u take the read er a long with yo u, so to speak, in
eac h s ucccssi vc ste p.
(3) Avoid, on th e one hand, unexpla ined techni ca l
tcrn1 s, of w ha teve r so rt, and, on t he other, exp ress ions
so vag ue as to be a lm ost meaning less.
149 . Figures of Speech for the Sake of Clearness. W e s peak fi g urative ly when we speak, as . it were, by
figures o r p arables; i.e. when we do not state facts in
th e ir plain fo rm s. F ig ures of speech arc exp ress ions
th at r ep resent one fac t by means of a noth er. Th ey
arc of two main kinds : (1) those that call one t hing
by t he na me of another, e.g. "he is a !£o1t" (a brave
man ), a nd (2) those that assert that a thing is lik e
some thing else, e.g. "he fo ug ht like a lio1t" (bravely).
Th e first a re ca lled metaph ors; the second, sim iles.
Fi g ures of speec h are ge nerally employed for the
sa ke of force, but they often ad d also to clearness;
a nd similes, in particula r, are often employed for th e
sake o[ clearn ess a lone. Notice, fo r instance, the fo llowing d escripti on of a lava stream, in w hich the
fi g ures of sp eec h a re printed in italics: -

CHAP.

xiv]

Cieantess

22 5

"Out of a cave of slag a nd cind ers in the Lbck hill sid e
rushes a golden rive r, now ing like honey, an d yet so tough
that you cannot thrust a stick into it, a nd so heavy th a t
grea t stones (if you throw them on it) Ooat o n the top, and
are carri ed down like corks o n wa te r. It is so hot that you
cann ot stand near it more than a few seconds; hotter,
perhaps, tha n any fire you ever saw : but, as it fl ows, th e
o utsid e of it cools in the air, an d gets cove red with slags
and cind ers, so methin g like those wludt )'Olt may see tlt1'own
out of furnaces i11 t!1e Blad Country of Stalfordrltz're . . . .
The stream slides do wn glens a nd fill s th e m up; clown th e
beds of streams, dr ivin g off th e water in hi ssing steam ; a nd
sometim es (as it did in Icela nd a few years ago) fall s over
some cliff, turni ng what had bee n a water-fall into a fire-fall,
and fi lli ng up the pool Lelow with blocks of hva sudd enly
cooled, with a clang a nd roar like !hat of chains sltaken or
brazeu vessels beaten, whi ch is heard mil es a nd miles away. "
- KI NGS LEY:

Jlfadam flow a nd Lady vV!ty.

EXERCISE 6 2

Exam ine two edito ri als in a good newspaper a nd write a
composition on the tlev ices employed th erein to secure clearness.

150. Lack of Clearness. -The fa ults oppos ite to
clearness into whi ch we n at ura lly fa ll a re tec hni cally
known as ambig uity, vag ueness, and obsc urity. An
a mbi g uous word may be un de rs tood in either of
two senses; an a m hi g uous sentence is so fram ed
that it may have either of two meanings; a vag ue
state ment is one w hich is not s ufficiently precise
to yield to the r eader any definite meanin g; an
obscure sentence is simply uninte lli gible. A ll s uch
faults are easily remedied when they occ ur in iso-

226

Elements of Rhetoric

[CHAP. XIV

lated cases : a mbi g uity and vag ueness m ay both be
avoided by the use of words so de finite as to shut
out a ll oth e r possible meanings; obscurity is frequently mere ly clu e to an undu e co mplexity of exp ression. But the most frequent temptation not to be
clear th at besets young writers is a lazy habit of
thinking, which does not lead to abso lute obsc uri ty,
or eve n to any puzz ling ambi guity, but which re sults
in a hopeless ly vague manner of writin g. Be expli cit, he sp ec ific, be definite, is a ma in principle alike
of good t hinkin g a ncl of good writing.
The following examp les illu strate vagueness: (a) Sil as Marner is firs t seen in Lantern YarJ. [The
opening sentence o f a co mposition on George E liot's
Silas J11an1er. Hy whom was he " first see n "? Detter:
"At the opening of th e story Silas Marn er was li vi ng at
Lantern Yard ." No tice that the pass ive voice is necessarily
more vague than the active voice. J
(b) I think that the natural choice o f one reading Qlfcntin Dlfrwarri would be the hero himself. [Why should one
" choose" at all? Be tter: "The reader of Quentin IJwwa rrl
naturall y pre fers the hero to any of the other characters .
This is because, etc." ]
( c) Th ere had been a severe easterly storm fo r several
clays, an d we d etermined to take th e yac ht and go down to
Gardiner's I sland to shoot snipe. [This is the entire
introJu ction to a narrati ve concerning severa l clays' shooting. Th e reader has necessarily many questions to ask,\Vh en was thi s ? What season of th e year? Wh ere ? Who
are "we" ? \ Vhat yac ht ? Where is Gardiner's Island? ]
(d) I was ri ding through a strip of woods on my horse .
I t was a n id eal night, and th e road was a favor ite one. [An

CHAP.

Clearness

xrv]

227

introduction to a ghost story. A long strip of woods? Dense
woods ? What tim e of night was it? What sort of an ideal
ni ght was it? With wh om was the road a favorite? T he
writer has obviously missed his chance of creating a good
situation for a ghost story.]
Jvly

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BOSTON

(e) When a person is about to visit a stran ge pl ace he
usually has form ed an id ea of what he supposes the place to
b e lik.e. Som etimes he is disappointed and so metimes not,
for tl~e place usually turns out to be different from th e id ea
he had form ed of it. When l started for Boston J had
fo rmed an idea of the city as I supposed it to be, but I was
agreeably surprised when it turned out to be contrary to my
expectations.
Arri ving here somewhat early in th e morning, not many
people were stirring, and I th erefore had ample tim e to
look around the city. Th e impression which Boston made
upon me was a very good one, and I took a liking to the
city at once.
One thing which pleased me very much was th e vari ed
style of architecture. The style is not so monotonous as it
is in New York, where one may walk many blocks and see
one house built like another. But one thing seemed rather
strange, and that was the irregn lari ty with wh ich the streets
are built. A stranger need only walk a few minutes and he
hardly can find his way back again. But one gets used to
this after a short tim e. Anoth er thing which made a favorable impression upon me were th e suburbs o~ Boston. T hese
are real.ly beautiful, and a person will have to hunt around a
long time before he can find th eir equals.
The longer I remain in Boston the more I like the city.
[It was impossible to gain from this any but th e vaguest
idea of what the writer's first impressions of J)oston were.]

228

Elements of R!tetoric
EXERCISE

[ CHAP. X IV

CHAP.

xv]

Force

229

63

I. C riticise a co mp ositi on by one of your classmates, pointing out every point where it is unn eces-

sarily vague.
II. Write a short co mpo sition on your first impressions of some city or town, avoiding vagueness.

CH APTER XV
FORCE
151.

FORCE. -152. DEVI CES FO R S ECUR I NG FORCE:

153. - DEV JCES FOR SEC UR ING FORCE:
EXERCISE 64 .

EMPHASIS. -

F I GURES OF SPEECH. -

151. Force. - If clearness, the intellectual quality
of style, presupposes above all, on the part of the
writer, clear a nd sound thinking, force, th e emotional
quality, de mands sympathy a nd earnestness. T o move
th e reader t o laug hte r or tears, to affect his acts or
his condu ct, to inspire or repress any of hi s emotions,
or constantly to hold his attenti on, is an art too delicate fo r us to analyze or describe here. What we
can be certain of, how ever, is that, in th e writing
each one of us is in evitably called upon t o do cl ay
by clay, our work will be stro ngest when ( I) we are
most in sympathy with those we are addressing, and
(2) when we have th e most hearty interest in what
we write. If we would not have our words fall without effect, we mu st take pains to carry the reader with
us emotionall y as well as intellectually. T o acco mplish this, interest and sympathy are th e main qualities necessary. What interests us deeply will surely
not be without a similar effect on others; when we

Elements of Rhetoric

[CHAP. XV

ca n put ourselves into sympathy with our readers it
will n ot often b e diffi cult to bring th e m into sympathy
with us. To attain a forcib le sty le, however, we mu st
not fo rg et th at th ere is still another requisite, - co nsta nt practice. M e re strength of thou ght or of feeling
docs not make a good writer any more than mere
brute strength, wit hout th e ready suppleness th a t
comes from thoroug h training, makes a good at hl ete.
If we ~ re wise we s hall never let a day of our lives
pass. without writin g something, long or short, and
writing it as well as we can. Practice tells; and a
letter, a leaf in a note-book or a diary, even a teleg ram, m ay . be so well co m posed that it sensibly or
in se nsibly leads us a step furth e r in one of the most
importa nt of our duties, - that of so mastering the
art of thinking out into language that good methods
of expression b eco me habitual.
152. Devices for Securing Force : Emphasis. - We
must glance at two devices for securing force. The
first, that of emphasis, is already familiar to us (cf.
§§ 99, 129, and 140) , and we need scarcely spend
further time on it than to remark the obviousn ess of
th e fact that arrang ing the parts of a composition in
the order of relative strength and importance adds
g reatly to th e force of what one writes. Climax and
antithesis (from Greek words meaning , r espectively,
"ladder" and "putting over against," i.e. contrast),
are special forms of e mph asis.
In climax, statements a re made in an ascending
scale, - according to the interest or importance of

Force

CHAP. xv]

each, -the stron gest, or most impressive, last. A
good instance is the first paragra ph of the extract
from Parkman on page 124. H ere a general statement of the fording of the Monongahela is fo llowed
by a particular stateme nt as to the troops present ; thi s
by a statement th at there were individuals present in
whom we a re deeply interested; and this by t he mention of Gage, Gates, - and finally W as hing ton.
In antithesis, opposite statem ents are placed side
by side, and gain force by contrast, as in the following example: " But perhaps to people who live crowded together in
closely-built cities the life of a I\fount Dese rt family seems
solitary and dreary. Th ey cannot bear th e newsboys' and
hucksters' cries, th e rattl e of ve hi cles and clatter of hoofs
on stone pavements, the buzz and rumbl e of electric cars,
and the screaming of factory whistles. Th ey cannot see
the thronged street and the gay shop windows, the electri c
lights, the grand houses, and the publi c monum ents. They
cannot ride on street-cars, parade on Main Street or Fifth
Avenue, and visit at pleasure th e clim e museum, th e clog,
cat, horse, or baby show, or the negro minstrels. Th ese,
indeed, are some of the sights, sounds, and social privil eges
which are denied to a rural and seaboard population. Still
th ey have compensations. They hear th e loud monotone
of the surf on the outer islands, the splash of the waves
on th e inn er beaches, the rushing of the brook, the cawing
of crows, the songs of robin s and thrushes, and th e rustling
of the leaves in the bre eze. They see the sky, the sea,
the woods, the ponds, and the hills in all the varying lights
and shadows of summ er and winter, morning and evening,
sunshine and storm.''
-

Q

PRESlllENT ELIOT:

Tlte Forgotten Jl fillions.

232

E !cmmts of R!tctoric

[ CHAP . X V

153. Devices for Securing Force : Figures. - The
seco nd de vice fo r sec uring for ce is the use of fi gures of sp eech.
W e h ave already seen (§ 149)
how the simile and th e me taph or may b e used fo r
th e sake of clearness. Th ey are much more fregu ently used fo r the sa ke of fo rce, and it will be
observed that nothing is more na tural th a n the instinctive e mploy ment of fi g ures fo r this purpose.
Notice, fo r instance, th e following exam ples: (a ) T he German princes, anxious to narro w the prerogative of their !tcad, the emperor, were the natural allies of
the pope, whose spiritual t/wnders, more terribl e than their
own lances, coulJ enable them to depose an aspiring
monarc h.
(b) i\sce tic ism of this sort is like tlu insumnce wltic!t a
man pa)'S 011 !tis !to11se and goods. The man who has daily
inured himself to habits of concentrated a ttention and selfd enial in unnecessary things, will stand like a tower when
everything roc ks aro und him, and wh en his softer fellowmortals are winnowed ltl<e cltajf in t!te blast.
( c) G ood manners are essentially a disposition whi ch
moulds conduct. Th ey can be fe igned, ind eed, as gilt
counterfeits gold, and plate silver. But the clearest glass
is not diamonll. A man may smile and smile and be a
villain.
( d ) " Th en felt I like some watcher of th e ski es,
When a new planet swims into his ken ;
Or like stout Cortez - wh en with eagle eyes
He stared at the Pacific, and all his men
Look' d at each oth er with a wild surmise Silent up on a peak in Dari en."
KEATS :

On fii'rst Looking into C!wpman's f-lomer .

CHA P .

XV]

Force

23 3

Th e real function of fi g ures of speech is to stimulate the mind by awakening fresh associations.
When we say, " Her eyes were brig ht an d her hair
dark," we arouse in the mind of the reader only a
fa miliar train of thoug ht connecting " eyes " with
"brig ht things " and " h air " with "dark things."
vVhen, however, W ord sworth says, "I ler eyes as stars of tw il ight fair;
L ik e twili ght's too h er d usky hai r,"

h e stimulates our fa ncy by a wakening unusual and yet
fittin g trains of ideas.
F ig ures should, as far as possible, arise in the mi nd
of th e wri ter spontan eo usly.
Th e inexperienced
writer will, h owever, n eed to k eep in mind the followin g advice : ( 1) F igures should arouse appropriate associations.
Wh en, for instance, Wordsworth describes a maiden as
" i\ violet by ::t mossy stone
Half-hi dden fr om t he eye !
Fair ::ts ::t star when only o ne
l s shinin g in th e sky,"

he uses fi gures whi ch im p ress us wi th her modesty and
beauty. Q uite th e opposite, however, is the case in th e
fo llow ing lin es by an o ld Ne w E ngland wri ter in the praise
of a pi ous cle rgy man: "J\ li vi ng, breat hin g Bible; t abl es where
I3oth cove nants n.t large cn g ravc n were;

Gospel arnl law in bi s hea rt h ad each its column;
H is h ead ::i.n index to t he sacred volu me ;
l lis very n ame a t it le-page; an< \ next
His life a com mentary on the t ext.

234

Elements of Rhetoric

CHAP.

[CHAP. XV

0, what a monum ent of glori ous worth,
vVhen, in a new edit ion, he co mes forth,
\'Vith out erratas, may we think he' ll be
In leaves and cove rs of eternity." 1

Here the train s of th ought aroused are, under the circumstances, more ludicrous than impressive .
( 2) Similarly, fi gures should not confuse several incongruous trains of thought, as in the following "mixed"
figures : (a) Italy is a narrow tongue of land, the backbo11e of
which is formed by the Apen nines.
(b) H e 1111ravellcd all th ese obsmrities and with hi s
p enctmli11g illustrations tltrew ligltt on a ll these unparalleled
co111plicatio11s.
We should be careful also not to jumble together plain and
figurativ e lang uage, as in the often quoted remark that a
certain sc ientist was "the father of chemistry and broth er to
th e .Earl of Co rk."
(3) The charm and value of fi gures depend largely
upon th eir freshn ess ; they throw new light, as it were, on
the subj ect. We mu st be careful, therefore, to avoid fi gures
so often used and well worn that they have become meaningless. Slang, too, which is largely figurative in character,
is effective und er ce rtain circumstances, because of the
startling trains of thought which it awakens . It is ineffective wh en these trains of thought involve vulgar associations,
or when it has passed into a merely conventional and meaningl ess form of expression.

Th e ancient rhetoricians distinguished many forms
of expression besides similes and metaphors, but th e
general feeling now is that it is not necessary to
1 From a poem on J ohn Cotton by Denjam in Woodbridge ( 1607-75) ,
in Stedman and l lutchin son's Library rf A111eri cnn Literatu re, vol. i,
page 360. Quoted also in vVcnd ell 's E 11glislt Composition.

/>

xv]

Force

23 5

attempt minute discrimination in such matters. It is
worth while, perhaps, to call the pupil's attention to
the fi gures called meton omy and synecdoche, 1 and to
the forms of expression called p ersonification and
apostrophe. Metonomy is applied to the use of a
sign for the thing signified, as in" fire and sword" for
" war," the " cross and the crescent" for " Christians
and Mohammedans." Synecdoche is applied to th e
use of a part for th e whole, as wh en we speak of
"hands" for "workmen." The t erms are, however,
scarcely to be distin g uished, and the student need
have only a general conception of th eir meaning and
force . Personification is referrin g to inanimate or
imaginary things as if they were alive, as in "Quick,
thy tablets, Memory"; apostrophe is the tec hnical
term for an address, in poetry or impassioned prose,
as in "Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll ! "
It is interesting, moreover, to notice that many familiar
words and expressions are figurative in essence, as,
for example, "under-standing," "awakening a train
of thought."
EXERCISE 64

I. Analyze a strong newspaper editorial, showing
how the writer contrives to give force to his remarks.
II. Criticise the following composition as regards
emphasis: It was on a very warm summer's afternoon when we went
to the shore. While seated on the beach watching the surf
bathers, the heavy black clouds began to gather and the
1 Meton omy and synec dochc a rc fr om Greek words meaning literally
"change of name" and "understanding together."

Elements of Rltctoric

[CHAP. XV

distant roll of thunder soon sent the many pleasure seekers
away from th e beach. The lightning now began to flas h,
and we were forc ed to mak e a hasty retreat for the hotel.
The storm now set in with all its fury, and onr attention
was soon attracted to a small sailing ve.ssel tossing up am!
clown upon th e waves. Its on ly occupant appeared to be an
eld erly man, and every now and th en the wind would make
his cries for help more audible. J\t length two of t he Life
Saving C rew rushed to the shore, jumped aboard th eir boat,
and with some difficulty rescued him am! brought him
ashore.

III. Distinguish force from clearness. Mention,
if possible, a pi ece of writing which has one of th ese
qualities without the ot her. vVhat kinds of words
and what kinds of sentences have, as a rule, the most
force?
IV. Define the metaphor, the simile. Find five
striking metaphors; fi ve strikin g sim iles. · To what,
in eac h case, do they owe their effect?
V. In a set of th e co mposition s you have written,
note just what fi g urati ve la ng uage you have employed.
Is it, in any in stan ce, ineffective? Why?
VI. Analyze a doze n current slang ex pressions,
noting wh ether they are similes or meta phors. Under what circ um stances are the figures of speech
involved ap propriate ?
VII. Note the figures of speech in one of your
favorite poem s, and determine what effect each has
on the reader.
VII I. Criticise the figures of speech in the following passages : -

CHAP.

xv ]

Force

237

(a) He flung aside th e mask and showed the cloven foot.
(b) The hero ic Spani sh gunn ers had no defence but bags
of cotton joined to their own courage.
(c) The secretary said that the keynote of the government' s poli cy was wrapped in obscurity.
(rl) If the Roman toga has bee n l>eclragglecl in the !11th
and the mire of the centuries, surely th e cloak of se natorial
comtesy has heen used to hid e the infamy a nd th e corruption
whi ch has di shonored anrl di sgraced a body wh ich was once
the proudest in the bncl. The cloak o f se natorial courtesy
has beco me a stenc h in the nostril s and a byword in the
mouths of all hon est citizens of the land.

Elements of Rl1etoric

[CI-lAP. XV I

CHAPTER XVI
ELEGANCE
154 . ELEGANC!l. -

155. PRl'.PARAT!ON

TENTI ON TO DETAILS.

- 157.

OF

MANUSCR I PT.-156.

AT-

GOOD TASTE.- 158. CONC LUSIO N.

154. Elegance. - With a little care we sh all distinguish the zestheti c quality of style, elegance, from
clearness, the intellectual, and force, the emoti onal
quality of style. A book may be clear and yet dull;
it may, under some circumstances, be strong or interesting and yet not a ltogether clear; and it may be
clear a nd interesting, and still unpleasant or unsatisfac tory to the taste. vVork that is thoroughly pleasing, thorou g hly satisfactory to the taste, we shall call
elegant ,· not of course in the vulgar and local sense of
the word,1 but in its truer meaning, indi cating something which is so select or so finely adapted to its uses
tha t it comp letely sati sfi es the taste. Such a quality
must obv iously be determined rather by the particular circum stances of a given piece of composition
than by any generalization. The following hints,
however, may h elp us in many cases.
155. Preparation of Manuscript. - Nothing is so sure
to displease eve n the most benevo lent reader as bad
manuscript. vVhat is worth doing at all is worth
1

E.g. as in the incorrect expression, "an elegan t time."

CHAP.

xvi]

Elegance

239

doing with care, and care includes at least a plain
hand, good spellin g, adequate punctuation, and neatness of general appearance.
He who h abitually
forces another to read slovenly manuscript is answerable for a grave di scourtesy.
156. Attention to Details. - Elegance, however, p rescribes something more than neat and careful manuscript; it prescribes a scrupulous care with regard
to the details of style. This imp lies, not fussiness,
but a constant effort to say what one has to say
adequately, not so much with regard to form, as with
regard to what the form is b ut the shadow of - the
substance. Awkwardness, crabbedness, or mawkishness of style, no less than sheer vulgarity, all alter the
very stuff of the writer's thoug ht, a nd hinder him in
his task of communication. Here, as elsewhere, practice tells. Care begets ease ; earnest attention to the
sound of the words one writes and to their rhythm
and balance produ ces at last a smoothly flowing style;
accuracy of thoug ht and feeling tends to the development of taste, and good taste is at the root of what we
call elegance.
157. Good Taste. - Good taste forbids above all
what is usually called "smartness." Whatever we
h ave to say should be said simply, directly, quietly,
without affection, bombast, or bravado. As an example of bad taste notice the following letter: DEAR Sms: Once again as Father Time hobbles up to
the finishing post at the end of ano th er short year, and turns
the sand-glass in his weary and wrinkled hand, and gives the

Elem ents of Rltetoric

[CHA P. XVl

scythe a twist over to the other shoulder, we turn refl ectively
to the clays that he has mown off the fi eld of eternity since
last we addressed you, and our musings a nd ponderings are
of a very pl easant nature. The old ge ntle man has dealt
kindly by ns ; he has permitted us to carry on the work we
had hewn ont in th e sphere which we specially considered
worthy of be tter consideration; he has allowcll the sun of
prosperity to cast its warming beams over our heads, and
our hands and h earts have been strengthened anew Ly the
praises and encouraging words he has caused our fri ends to
utter for the work we are striving to do.
Still, notwithstanding all this, we arc not yet satisfied .
Yon have neve r given - - - - a tri al. Surely th e Canadian trade is worth something to you. Will you give us
something this year? \Ve are not parti cular as to th e size o f
the space. \Ve want you represe nted in our columns.
Respectively yours,
THE - - Pu BLTSHING Co.

158. Conclusion. -A word must be said, in conclt1sion, about the models a student should have before
him. There is such a thin g as aiming too high. De
Quincey a nd Landor and Bacon and Addison a nd a ll
the so-called classics are no doubt such great models
of English style that a persistent and intelligent study
of them will b e of the g reatest advantage alike to the
young and the old writer. But it is a fact of experience,
to which teac hers of English composition will testify,
th at it is by no means every youn g student who has
imag inati o n and literary skill enough to discover what
is really admirable in th e style of men who wrote and
thought generations or centuries ago. For the bulk
of a class, it is, perhaps, to be questioned whether

CHAP.

xvr]

Elcgaucc

familiarity with the works and style of a good con.
temporary essayist - Mr. J ohn Fiske, fo r instance,
or any of the score of g ood writers who contribute
to th e best A merican and E ng lish periodicals - is
not more advantageous than the usual disheartenin g s tudy o [ the g reat masters. Such me n may n ot
be g rea t stylists, but they arc safe mod els for any
boy or yo ung man. Th e virtues that make their
writing prai seworthy he can scarcely h elp understanding a nd appreciating , a nd th ese virtues, like
those o[ the good citizen, arc not inimitable or inaccessible, but within the reach of whoever thinks and
feels clearly, broadly, and fin ely.

Append1~~

APPENDIX
I

LIST OF BOOKS FOR HOME READING
Tim following typical list is that of the Conference
on Uniform Entrance Requirements in En glish:-

i\cldi son and Steele : Selections (especially Sir l<.oger de
Cove rley). .!Eschylus: i\gamcmnon ('Fitzgerald's translation) ; Prome the11s Bound (Mrs. Browning's translat ion ).
1\rabian Nig hts. 1\rn old (lVlaUhew) : Bald e r Dead; Sohrab
and Rustum. i\u sten: Emma; Pride and Prejudice . Baco n : Essays. Bal lads: Selection from English a nd Scottish.
Bible (King Ja mes' Version). Blackmore: Lorna Doane.
Boswell : Life of J ohnson. Browni ng : Balaustion' s i\dventure; Selections from Poems . Bryant : Poems. Bulfin ch :
J\gc of Fable. Bulwe r : Last of the Barons; Last Days
of l'o mpeii. Bunyan : Pil grim's Progress. Burke: On Conciliation with Am eri ca. Burney: Evelina. Burns: Selecti ons. l lurroughs: Selected Essays. Byron : Chilcle Harold;
Selectcll .l'oc ms. Carl yle : Essay on Burns; Heroes and
Jl cro Worship; Past and Present. Carroll : Alice in Won·
d crla nd; Throu gh the Looking G lass. Ce rvantes : Don
Qui xote. Chauce r: Prologue and Kn ight's Tale. Coleridge:
Poems. Cooper : Leatherstocki ng T ales ; The Pi lot; The
Spy. Cowpe r : T.c ttors. Curtis : Prue and I; The Duty of
Educated Men. JJana: Two Years before the Mast. Dante.
242

I

I
I

I

243

Defoe : Robinson Crusoe. D e Q uincey: Opium Eater ;
Selections. Dickens : David Copperfi eld ; N ic holas Nickle by; Pickwick; T ale of Two Citi es. Dryden: J\bsalom
:rnd J\chitoph el ; Al exand er's Feast; Palamon and Arcite.
Edgeworth : Belinda. George E li ot : Adam Bede; Romola;
Scenes of Clerical Life ; Silas JVl.arner. E merson : Essays;
Poems. Foster: J.ife of Goldsmith. Franklin : Autobiography. Froissart: Chronicles. Gaske ll: Cranford. Goethe :
Faust, Part I. Goldsmith : DeserteJ Village ; Traveller;
V icar of Wakefield. Gray : E legy; Lette rs. Green: Short
History of the English People. E. E. Hale: Man without
a Co untry. J-fawth orn e: I-louse or th e Seven Cables; Marbl e Faun; Scarl et I .ctte r; Twi ce Toki T alcs . H erodotus.
Holmes: Autocrat of the Breakfast Tabl e; Selecti ons from
Poems. Homer. 1-1 ugh es : T om Brown's School Days.
Irving : Alhambra ; Kn ickerbocke r's Hi story of New Yo rk;
Lire of Columbu s; Life of Was hingto n; Ske tch Book; Tales
of a Trave ller. Jo hnso n : Rasselas. Keats: Poe ms. Kingsley: Hypatia; Water Babies; Westward H o ! K ipling:
Jungle Books. Lamb: Essays of Elia; T ales from Shakespeare. Landor: Selections from th e Imaginary Conversati ons. Lincoln : G ettysburg Speech ; Second lnaugm al Address. Lockhart: Life of Scott. Longfe llow: Courts hip of
M il es Standish; Ev:mgeline ; Hiawatha; Tales of a Wayside
Inn. Lowell : Biglow Papers; Poems. Macaulay: Essays;
Lays of Ancient Rome. Malo ry: K ing Art hur. i\fand evill e.
Marco Polo. M ilton: Camus; I1 Penseroso; L'All egro;
Lycicl as; Paradise Lost. Montaigne : Selected Essays.
Motl ey: Rise of the Dutch R epubli c. Newman : Idea of
a U niversity. Palgrave: Gold en Treasury, F irst Seri es.
Parkman: Conspiracy of Pontiac; Mo ntcalm and Wolfe.
Percy: R eliques . Plato: Apology of Socrates; P hredo;
Phreclrus. P lutarch: Lives. Poe : Poems; T ales. Pope :
Essay on Man ; Rape of th e Lock . Reade : C loister and

Appendix

Appendix

the H earth. Prescott: Conquest of Mexico; Conquest of
Peru. Ruskin : K ing of the Golden River; Sesame and
Lili es; Selections. Scott: Abbot; I va nhoe ; Ke nilworth :
Lady of the Lake; Lay of the Last Minstrel ; M:urnion ;
Old Mortality; Q uentin Dnrward ; Tali sman; Woochtock.
Shakespeare : As Yon Like lt ; Hamlet; Julius C::esar ; K ing
Lear; Macbeth ; Merchant of Ven ice; Midsumm er N ight's
Dream; T emp est; Twelfth N ight ; the plays conce rn ed
with E nglish hi story. Shelley : Selections. Sophocles : Antigone ; CEdipns King (J ebb's or Plumptre's translatio n).
Spense r : Faerie Q nce ne. Stevenson : David Balfour ; Dr.
J ekyll and Mr. Hyde; Kidnapped; Poems; Treasure
Island. Stowe : Uncle Tom's Cabin. Swift: Gulliver's
Travels. T acitus : Agricola; Germania. Taylor, Bayard :
Vi ews Afoot. T enn yso n: Poems. Thac keray: Engli sh
Humorists; Henry Esmond; Pendennis; Four Geo rges;
N ewcomes; Vanity Fair. Thoreau: Walden. Thucydides
(Jowett's translation). Trevelyan: Life of Macaulay. Tyn da ll: Homs of .Exercise in the Alps. Webster: F irst
Bunker Hill Oration ; Plymouth Oration. White: Natural
History of Selborn e. Whittier: Snow-Bound; Tent on th e
Beach. Wordsworth : Selections.

words are appropriately used in familiar conversation th at would be inapprop ri ate in serious writing
intended for the general public. He suggests also
that pupils recognize that there is such a thing as
"divided usage." Th at is, that many me n of scholarship and education approve words a nd uses of words
which are not approved of by men of equal scholarship and education.]

244

II

WORDS FREQUENTLY MISUSED
[This list contains words which young students
frequently mi suse. The writer suggests that pupils
learn to distin g ui sh between literary usage and
colloquial usage, and to understand that many

245

Accept. Sometimes confused with except. We accept a
prese nt; we except some one from a general statement.
Admire. Used for "like" : "I should admire to go."
[Vulgar.]
Affect. Sometimes confused with effect. Pain affects us
unpleasantly. We effect a result when we bring it abo ut,
Aggravate. See page 3 2.
Ain't, as in" I ain't goin g." [Vulgar.]
Allow. "I allowed (declared) that I wouldn't go ." Used
only in certain parts of the country.
Allude does not mean " to mention,'' but "to touch on in
passing."
Among. We go among the trees; between two trees.
Animalculre. Th e singular is a11i111alc1tle or animalc1tltt111;
th e plural, animalcula.
Anybody else's. The possessive of anybody else is either
a?t)ibody else's or anJ1borly's else. The former has been
much objected to by some critics, but is perfectly correct.
Any place. A vulgarism for anywltere. The same mistake
occurs with regard to e11ery place and same place,
Anywheres. A vulgarism for anywltere. The same mi stake
occurs with regard to e11C?ywltere and somewliere.
As . As is a relative pronoun in "such as I saw I liked" ;
that is, "I liked those wlticlt I saw." It is now used in

254

Appendix·

preterites or two past p:i rticiples, of which one is a little
more co mm only used than another; e.g. " be di11Cfl
(dove)," " he was !ta11ged (hung) fo r murd er." The
lists of principal parts in most grammars are inco mplete
and mislead ing. Co nsult a good dictionary wheneve r
yo u are in do ubt.
Sit, set. See page 46.
Some. No t to be used as an adverb, as in "I am soJ/le
better," nor with quite, as in "I have quite soJ/le
books."
Stop. It is proper to say that we stopped at an inn for
supper, or for the night, or for a wee k, and th en continu ed
our journey. But the purists are right in preferri ng staJ'
unless th e intention is merely to indi cate a break in a
journey; e.g. " I a m sta)'i11g (not stopping) for th e p resent
at the Hotel St. George."
Team. A set o f an imals or men, not a horse and wagon.
Telegram . See page 29.
These kind or sort. An old-fashioned expression, now almost or qu ite a vulgarism.
Transpire. To escape from secrecy, to ooze out; not sim ply
to happe n or to occur.
Very. Voy is not properl y used alone with passive partic iples; i.e. we say "I was ve1y glad to see him," but "J
was ve1y 11111clt pleased to find him at home."
Ways. A colloqui alism or vulgarism ; e.g. "I am going a
ways furth er."
Whatever. Improperly used as an interrogative pronoun;
e.g. " w ltate11cr do yo u mean by com ing here?"
Wire. See Telegram, Cablegram, Automobile, 'Phone, etc.
One of the words forced upon the language by modern
inventions. It should be noticed that this word, like
'pl1011e, has remain ed in commercial and colloquial use,
without reaching literary use.

SIGNS SU GGESTE D FOR USE IN CORRECTING COMPOSITIONS

MS. -Bad man uscript.
Sp. - Bad spe ll ing.
p. -Faul t in pun ctuation.
cap. - Fault in th e use o r a cap ital letter.
1, 2 , 3, etc. - vVords, clauses, or se ntences to he rearranged 111 conforrn ity with th e numbe rin g.
J - Passages within brackets to be omitt'cd.
I - Against a clause, se ntence, or paragrap h in curable by correction,
and requiring to be recast.
x - Some fau lt too obv ious to require parti culari zing .
B. - Barbarism.
J. - Impropriety.
vV.-Wordy.
Words.
l l. - lli g hnown or in natcd.
V. - Vague.
S. - So.lecism.
L. - Stru cture too loose.
U. -Lacks unity.
Sentences.
E. - Emp hasis lackin g or wrongly placed.
)
C. - Structure in co herent.
, - Pro per place fo r a paragraph.
No, - Improper pl ace fo r a paragraph.
, U.-Lacks unity.
Parag raphs.
~[ E. - E m phas is lacking or wrongly placed.
)
, C. - Structure i ncohcre nt .
T. U. - Lacks unity.
}
T. E . - E mphasis lackin g or wro ng ly placed.
Wh ole Th eme.
T. C. - Structure in cohere nt. .
0 ., A., V.-Obscure, ambig uous, vag ue,
F. - F eebl e.
M. - Misuse of meta ph ori cal language.
K .-Awkward, ugly, or unpl easing.

255

257

Index

INDEX
[The numbers refer to pages]

I.

SUBJECTS TREATED

Ahhrev iation s, 76.
Acc uracy, i111porta ncc o f,
Adjccl i\'c for adverb, 47.

Clim ax, 230.
IC),

Co he re nce, or se nte nce, 143-9; of
paragra ph, 201-6; o f whole
co mposit ion, 2 14.

239.

A d verb r11r adjec ti ve, 4 7.

A rnhig uity, 145, 225 .
J\mcrica 11is111s, 24 .
Anal ysis of simple senten ces, 63;
co mplex and compo und sen tences, 66.
Anglu-<..;ax on, 167.
An tit hes is, 23 1.
Apostrophe ( nmrk of pun ctuation),
86 ; ( form of ex pr c~sin n ), 235.
Art, an art delin cd, 2; line arts,
3·
Article, 34.
J\ ulhilrity as to usage, 24.
Barb:uism s, 28 .
Brack ets, 85.

Colon, 79.
Comma, So.
Compos iti ons, subj ects for, 8- 10,
209; form o f, 11 - 12 ; first esse nti als of a good composition, 14;
scale of composit ion, 161. See
also fVhole Composition.
Conjuncti ons, use of, 202.
Cons tructi on o f sc nlc nccs, intri-

cate, 136; chan ge of, 137.
Correlatives, position o f, 48.
Dash, 86.
D iale ct, 23.
D ictionari es, 25, 155.

Ele ga nce, 220, 238-41; preparati on of Ms., 238; attenti on tu
Cap itals, 88; in titl es, I 2.
details, 239; good taste, 239 .
Ca>es. Sec 1Vomiiwtive, Objective, Emphasis, in the sentence, 141-2;
l'osses.sive .
in the paragraph, 192-201; in
Clause, 60.
t he whole co mpos iti on, 211-14 .
Clearn ess, 220- 28; how sec ured, Exclamation point, 85.
Briticisms, 24.

no t pr ec is io n, 22 r ; 1 leviccs for sec urin g, 223; figures

22 1 ;

for sake of, 224; lack of, 225.

Fig ur es of sp eec h, 2 24, 232-7.
" Fin e writing," I 72.

256

Force, 220, 229-37; devices for Parentheses, 85.
securin g, 230- 7; emphasis, cl i- Part ici pi al con>truct ion, false, 48,
71, 146.
max, a ntith esis, 230 ; figures for
Period , 75.
th e sake of, 232.
Pcrso nilication, 235.
Grammar, how differe nt fr om Phrase, 60.
rhetori c, 6; inco rrec t, 33-48; I'lan, of the parag raph, 202; of
the whole compos iti on, 216.
grammati cal structure of the
Plural of nouns, 34·
sentence, 59- 72.
Possessive, o f nouns, 35; use o f,
36; o f pronouns, 39.
Hyphen, 87.
Imp ropri eties, 30.
]nlinitivc, split, 47.
Itali cs, 87.
Lati n, words derived from, 168.
Metaph ors, 224, 232.
Metonomy, 235.

I'rcc ision, 22 I.
r ro no uns, no 1nin at ive a nd o bj ec ti ve
cases uf, 17; pt 1sscss ivc case of,

39; 1111111licr of, 41 ; false reference, 145 .
l'u11ctuation, 75.
Q ualities of style, 220.

See Clear-

ness, F01·ce, / •.'lcga n ce.

Q 11 cst ion mark, 84.
Negative, doubl e, 47.
QL10tation marks, 86.
Nominative case o f pronouns, 37;
nominati ve absolute, 147 .
Rh etori c, defin ed, 1; d efinition exNouns, plural of, 34; possessive
plained, 1-3.
o f, 35·
Number of pron oun s, 41; of verbs,
Science, a, dclltH:: d, 2 .
43·
Se mi co lon, 77.
Se ntence, 60; si mpl e, colllpl ex, and
O bj ecti ve case o f pronouns, 37.
co mpoun d, 62; a nalys is of si mO bsc urity, 225.
pl e, 63; analysis of cun1plex
Om ission of verb or principal
and compoun d, 66; fun dame ntal
cl ause, 70.
errors in th e constructi u11 o f, 69;
" comm a sentences," 71; g ramParagraphs, ind entation of, I 2;
gene ral in stru ctio ns co ncernin g,

tnatical structure evide nt in, 9 1-

19; importance of, 181 ; th e
paragraph by itself, 182; unity
o f, 183; test of unity of, 185;
emph asis in, 192; topic sentence

3; le ngth o f, 97-104; per iodi c
and luose, 106-20; parallel

in, 19 2; sun1mary se nte nce in,

195 ; development o f, 197;
coherence in, 201; lack of coh ere nce in, 207.

s

structur e in , 1 20-3; val ue o f
imitatio n in co nstruditi n, 123 ;

unity of, 13 1-8; emphasis in,
141-2 ; coh ere nce in , 143-9;
top ic se ntence , I 92; summary
se ntence, 195.

Iudex

Index

gar, 22; correct, 23; local, 24;
Sequ en ce of tenses, 45.
authority as to, 24.
S im ile, 224, 232.
Sp ell ing , h ints as t o, 15- 17.
Structure of th e sentence, gram- Vagueness, 225.
mati cal, 59- 72; rh etorical, 90- Verbs, number o f, 43; sequence
of tenses, 45; omission o f, 70.
149.
Subjects fo r compositions, 8-rn, Vocabulary, ex tent of th e English,
152; extent o f th e indi vidual,
209.
153 ; how to increase the indiSumm ary sentence, 195.
I 54.
vidual,
Synecdoche, 235.

I I. WORDS SPECIAL LY COMMENTED ON

T enses, sequence of, 45.
T itles, capitals in, 12; for compositions, 210.
Topic sentence, 192.
Unity, of sentence, 131; of paragraph, 183; o f the whole com p osition, 209.
Usage, importance of, in la nguage,
2 1; literary, col loq uial, and vul-

Whole composition, 209-19; unity
of, 209; emphasis in, 2 1 l ; co heren ce in, 214; plan o f, 2 16;
detai ls o f, 217; formu la for, 218.
\ Vords, new, 27; misused, 30; dis puted , 32; too man y, 158 ; too
few, 160; long and sho rt, 166;
Anglo-Saxo n and Latin, 167;
simple a nd affected, 172 ; specifi c or definite, 177.
\Vritin g, " fine," 172.

1\ cce pt, 31, 245.
Admire, 245.
Affe ct, 31, 245.
Aggravate, 32.
A in't, 33.
All ow, 245.
All ud e, 245.
Am ong, 245.
Anima lculx , 245.
1\n yhody else's, 245.
Anywheres, 245 .
As, 245.
Assist at, 246.
Autom obi le, 246.
Autot ru ck, 246.
Avocat ion, 246.
Badly ( bad), 47.
Baggage, 24.
Balan ce, 246.
Banjoist, 29.
Ue have, 246.
Heing built, 246.
lletwee n, 246.
Both, 246.
Boycott, 28.
Hu cket, 250.
Bull doze, 28.
Burglar ize, 29.
But, 38.
Cab legram, 28, 29, 247.
Calc ul ate, 247.
Can, 46.

Cin ch, 28.
Claim, 24 7.
Clumb, 33.
Combin e, 247.
Commen ce, 247.
Comp lcck d, 24 7.
Compleme nt, 24 7.
Co mp lim e nt, 247.
Corporal, 247.
Cor po rea l, 247.
Cou ncil , 24 7.
Co unsel, 24 7.
D ead ly, 247.
D ea thl y, 2-17.
Definite, 247.
Definit ive, 247.
D e mea n, 24 7.
Depot, 248.
Diff e re nt, 48.
Di scove r, 248.
Donate, 32.
Don' t, 22, 48, 248.
Drive, 248.
Dude, 28.
Each oth e r, 248.
Eat, 248.
Edito ri a l, 24, 248.
Effect, 245.
E ithe r, 48.
El cctiv,c, 248.
El ectri c, 248.
E lectrocute, 28, 29.

259

260

Elega nt, 238.
El cvalnr, 24.
E111i gra nt, 249.
Endmsc, 249.
Enthu se, 29.
l''. very hody ( th ey) , 41.
i-: ,ccccli ngly, 249.
Ex ce pt, 245.
\•'.,cc pli <J nal, 249.
E'ce pt:i onahlc , 249.
E xce ssive ly, 249.
Exp"siti on, 249.
F a cl or, 249.
Fa ncy, 24.
Feature, 249.
Fetc h , 249.
Fewer, 25r.
Fir e, 249.
Vi rsll y, 249.

Fi ,, 249.
Fle e , ll uw, Oy, 249.
Gent, 249.
Gc 11t lc111 ;, n, 249.
C ivc upn n, 250.
(; o t, gPU c n, 250.
(;r ind , 2X. 250 .

Guess, 24, 250.
Gums, 250.
1h d n't ou.gh t, 250.
I !ain 't, ha in't gut, 22, 250.

1 ler 's, 39 .
I l ire , 250.
1l i>' n, 33.
I lud , 250.
l l o111c, 25n.
l I ousc, 2 50.
I lo w, 250.
J111111i gr:1 nt, 249.
lrn lividual , 251.
In o ur midst, 25 I.

I ndex

!ndcx
Into, 25 I.
I nvent, 248.
Invite, 25 I.
lt's, 39·
Lady, 249.
Latest, last, latter, 251.
Lay, 46.
Len.d cr, 24.
Lea rn, 25 1.
Lease, let, 25 I.
Leave, 25 I.
r .css, 2 51.
Liable, 251.
T.ie, 46.
Lift, 24.
Like, 48.
Likel y, 25 1.
l.oan, 25 I.
1.ot, lots, 2 5 I.
Luggage, 24.
Major ity, 252.
Materi ali ze , 25 2.
i\fay, 46.
Mc, 37·
Most, 252.
Mutual, 252.
Ne ith er, 48.
N ice , 252.
On e, 252.
O ne a nother, 248.
Onl y, 48.
On to, 252.
Oral, 252.
Overshoes, 252.
!'ail, 250.
Party, 31, 252.
'!'hone, 252.
Pit cher, 252.
Pl enty, 252.

Plurality, 252.
Posted, 252.
Practicable, 253.
P ractical, 253.
Pronounce d, 253.
Propose, 253.
Proven, 253.
Purpose, 25 3.
Quite, 253.

I

Raise, 46, 253.
Real, 253.
Receipt, recipe, 253.
R eck on, 24.
Recolle ct o f, 253.
R ememher of, 253.
Residence, 253.
R esume, 253.
R id e, 253.
Right, 253.
Rise , 46, 253.
Ruhbers, 250.
Sang, sung, 253.
Se t, 46.
Sh al l, 52-57.
Should, 58.
Si t, 46.
Su, 147.

Some, 254.
Stay, 254.
Stop, 254.
Swipe, 28.
Team, 254.
Telegram, 28, 29, 254.
Than , 37.
The, 34.
Th ese kind , 254.
Transpire, 254.
Typewrit er, 28.
Verbal, 252.
Very, 254.
Was (you), 33 .
Ways, 254.
Whatever, 254.
Wh ich (a nd ), 40.
W hi ch ( fact), 40.
Whi le, 147.
Who (whom), 37.
Wh ose (o f which), 39.
W ill, 52-7.
Wire , 254.
With out, 47.
\ Vorsc r, 22.

Would, 58.

261

Index

lndtx

262

Newm an , Parting of Friends,
Idea of a University, I85.

III.

Longfellow, Outre Mer, 131.
Coo per, The Pilot, 69.
Curtis, Th e Publi c D uty of Ed u- Lounsbury, History of th e E ngli sh
Langu age, 203.
cated Men, I21.
Lowell, Biglow Papers, I73·
De Quin cey, Essay on Style,

202.

Macaulay, History of England,
195, 21 I ; Hampden, 104; Lord
Cli ve, 197, 198, 199.
Mather, Magnalia, 100.
Fiske, Francis Parkman, I91.
Matthews, Brander, Aspects of
Franklin, Autobiography, 190.
l'ict ion, 203.
Harte, Bret, In the Carqu inez Motley, Rise of the Dutch Republic, 92.
Woods, 179.

Eli ot, Th e Forgotten Millions, 231.

Seton-Thompson, The Trail of the
Sand hill Stag, 185.

Parkman, Conspiracy of Po ntiac, Tennyson, the L otus-Eaters, I8o.
63, 114, 124, 191.
Thoreau, Walden, I I 1.
Poe, Fall of the House of Usher,
I55·
vVebster, Th e Presidential Protest,
99; Seco nd Speech on F oote's
Rin gwalt, Modern American OralZesolution (Reply to Hayne ) ,
tory, 204.
Russell, Th e Life of the Merchant
99·
Whittier, Snow-Bound, 6I.
Sailor, 222.

WORKS FROM WHICH ILLUSTRATIVE EXTRACTS ARE TAKEN

Arnold, The Forsake n Merman, Hawthorn e, Mosses from an Old
Manse (The Procession of Life),
1.78.
92, (Feat hertop), 172; The
Scarl et Letter, I I 1.
Barrows, What th e So uth ern
Negro is Doing for Himself, Ilugo, Nin ety-Three, 98.
Huxley, On a Piece of Chalk, 223.
212, 213.
Bible (Jndges), 166.
Brook e, E nglish Literature, I94·
Irving, Rip Van Winkle, I89.
Brooks, .An Evil Spirit from the
Lortl, 193.
Jeffers on, Declaration of IndeBryce, Th e American Commonpendence, I I 1.
wealth, 205 .
Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, 170 .
Keats, On First Looking into
Burke, Letter to the Sheriffs of
Cha pman's H omer, 232.
Bristol, 200.
Kingsl ey, M.adam How and Lady
Burns, To a Mouse, 26.
Why, 225 .
Butler, The Meaning of Educa- Kipling, The Jungle Book, I77·
tion, 196.

I 12;

I'

ELEMENTS OF RHETORIC AND
ENGLISH COMPOSITION

SECOND HIGH SCHOOL COURSE

PREFACE
· THE recent rapid increase in the study of English in the
high school has made it necessary to provide for two years
of formal instruction in rhetoric and English composition.
The consensus of opinion is that during the first of these
courses pupils should be trained in th e choice of words and
in the structure of sentences and paragraphs, and given as
,.

much practice as possible in simple writing, usually in essays
consisting of only a paragraph each.

As time has gone by,

the system of instruction in these matters has become more
and more definite. The older method s, with th eir intricacy
of classification and multiplicity cif mies and exceptions,
have been displaced by a comparatively simple and uniform
method, the essence of which is the conception of the essay
as a structure, -

th e build ing up of an id ea by the grouping

together of words in sentences and of sentences in paragraphs.

This rnethod has the advantages of simplicity and

definiteness, and by means of it the part of rhetoric th at
has bee n indicated can be taught, and taught thoroughly,
in a year.
There remains the second course, with regard to which
there is growing up a similar consensus of opinion that in it
pupi ls should be trained in the main principles of description, narration, exposition, and, perhaps, argument and perv

Preface

Pnface

vi
suasion .

It is for a course of this kind that the present

volume is designed.

It may follow any good text-book in

Vil

selection of illustrative extracts and in the preparation of
exercises.

I take pleasure also in ack nowledging my

th e elements of rhetoric; but it should be preceded by a

obliga tions to the teachers who have kindly informed me

It will

of points in the preced ing volume whic h needed correction,

prove, I hope, of special value to th e large class of stu-

or have suggested other ways in whi ch it could be made

d ents who do not pursue their education farth er than the

more serviceable.

year's instruction of some sort in that subject.

G. R. CARPENTER.

hi gh school or acad emy, and are thus often forc ed to
concl ud e th eir

study of compositio n before th ey have

obtain ed from it all th e training which they need, both for
th e d evelopm ent of their powers of expression and for
th e prope r und erstand ing and app reciation of literature.
With regard to th e particular methods e mpl oyed, I n eed
onl y say ( 1) that I have tried to lay clown no principles that
were not ac tually fo ll owed, as a rule, by men of le tters; and

( 2) that I have refrained throughout from introducing fine
po in ts o r subtle distinctions.

·w hat th e yo ung stud ent needs

is th e main principles of composition .

The lesser or finer

points he could not understand at this stage in his instruction, and, if he could understand them, the knowledge would
be more of a hind rance than a help.
It is unlikely that all the exe rcises indicated can b e take n

up in any one school.

The teacher is invited to select those

exercise s or those parts of exercises that are best suited to
hi s purposes.

The chapter on composition in verse has

bee n added to me et the needs of ·schools that include that
subj ect in th eir course .
lVTy special thanks are due to Miss Jeannette B. Gillespy,
recently a teacher in the Horace Mann School, and now
assistant in English in Barnard College, for help in the

CO L UM BIA UNIVERSITY,

NEW YORK C ITY,

August, i 900.

CONTENTS
C HAPTER I
I NTRODUCTION

CHAPTER lI
IvlrNoR Fo1 i ~ 1 s OF Co~ 1J>OS !TJON

9

CH APTER llI

44

DESC RIPTIO N

CHAPTER IV

68

NARRATION

CHAPTER V
EXPOSITION

93
CHAPTEl{ VI

A RG U ~IE NT A N D PEH SU J\ S ION

Cl

.

•

107

L\PTEJ: \ TII

COMPO SI TION IN VERS E

12 1

INDEX

139

\

ELEMENTS OF RHETORIC AND
ENGLISH COMPOSITION

CHA PTE R I
INTRODUCTION
1.

A R EVIEW OF RH ETOR I CAL PR INCi l' Lf<:s . - 2. T H E A RT OF CoMPOS IT!ON. - 3 .

ESSAYS. - 4 . l{EAD I NG AND CO MPOS ITION.

1. A Review of Rhetorical Principles. -This volume
is in tended to g uide students in t heir fi rst syste matic
a tte mpts at serious writin g on a scale larger t ha n th at
of th e single paragrap h. W e must ass um e, th e refo re, that they h ave previously bee n trained in the
sim ple prin ciples th at lie a t th e bas is of all good
composition. In some cases, youn g peop le have
stumbled on these p rinciples fo r th emselves in their
own instinctive efforts to exp ress th eir thoug hts; in
oth ers, their a ttention has b een called to th em by
skilful t eachers, who have assisted the m in t heir
efforts by hints and p recepts that have revealed to
them the princip les und erl ying th e art.
I n m ost
cases, however, as is pro per, the pupil has received,
B

2

Elements of R!tcloric

[ CHAP. I

by the middle of hi s hig h school course, some systemati c in structi on in these matters throu g h the study
of a text-book under the direc tion of his teacher. \Ne
mu st n ow, before going furth er, summarize the results
of this alm ost indispensable preliminary instruction.
W e shall follow closely the rhetorical system explain ed in th e author's First Higlt Sc/tool Course in
this subj ec t; but th ere is so g reat a uniformity in the
mind s of teache rs a nd writers as to th e principles
involve d, that th e fo llowing summary will indicate, it
is hoped, th e esse ntial elements in any go od textbook on formal rhetoric.
It is ob vious that a writer's main purposes in composition a re ( r) that what he writes should be understood by th e reade r; (2) th at what he writes should
impress the reader forcibl y; a nd (3) th a t what he
writes should impress th e reader favorably, i.e. impress him by the neatness and acc uracy and skill
with which the author has accomplished his task.
The three great qualities of good composition may,
th erefore, be said to be clearness, force, and elegance.
W e shall be aided' in securing the se qualities of
style if we regard each piece of writing as a mechanism co m posed of several parts. Let us call a piece
of writin g th at is complete in itself a whole composition. This usually consists of a group of paragrap hs.
Each paragraph is, moreover, a group of sentences,
and each sentence is a gro up of words. We must,
th en, secure the qualities at which we aim either

CHAP.

1]

lntroductz'on

3

( 1) by the choice of words, or ( 2) by the g rouping of
words in, sentences, or (3) by the gro uping of senten ces i11 paragraphs, or (4) by th e gro uping of parag raphs ih a whole composition.1
The theory of the word is simple. Th oug h the
c hoice of words may show the utmost art, the elementary principles controlling choice a re easily understood. Th ey are (I) th a t a word must be in g ood
E n glish use (i. e. not a ba rbarism ), under pe nalty of
offending the reader's tas te or bein g unintelli g ibl e to
him; (2) th at it must be used in th e se nse usually
ascribed to it, under penalty of producin g th e same
result; (3) tha t it must be the word best fitted, by its
leng th, its d erivation, and its g reater or less definiteness of meaning, to play its p art in the expression of
a · given id ea, awakenin g not unpleasant or inco ng ruous associations, but th ose most in h a rmony with the
object in view.

Turnin g now to laws governing g roups of words,
the student should re member (r) tha t the grammatical stru cture of a sentence should stand out clearly,
and (2) th at a sentence may by its leng th and form
- whether periodic, loose, or balanced - be more or
less effective under given circumstances. H e shou ld
further bear in mind three principles that govern not
on ly the gro upin g of words in a senten ce, but the
grouping of sentences in a paragra ph, a nd the group1 Th e whole composition may in som e cases, o f course, be a sing le
parag raph, complete in itself; the paragraph may, in rare instances,
consist of a sin g le se ntence; a nd it is within the bounds o f possibility
that th e senten ce sl1 ould cons ist of a sin g le word.

4

E !cmmts of Rl1cton·c

CHAP. I]

[ CJJAP . I

in g of paragrap hs in a whole compos ition. These
are unity, emp has is, and coh erence.
U nity dema nd s that words be so a rranged as to express one
id ea in a sentence, and one alone; e mp hasis, th at
th ey be so arra nged as to g ive prominence t o the
more important parts of the idea; coherence, that
they be so arranged that th eir mutual rela ti ons can
be easil y a nd clearly und erstood. S imilarly , in a
paragraph, the sentence gro upin g (a nd, in a whole
compositi on, the paragrap h groupin g) must provide
for a sin gle idea, for th e throwing of stress on the
main point, a nd for the conn ection of thou ght.
S uc h is the sim ple th eory which lies at the basis of
good writing . It may be stated in different ways,
bu t the esse nce re mains much the same. Men may
write we ll without havin g reali zed th at th ey are followin g principles much li ke t hese, th e knowledge or
rea li zation of whic h th ey had acq uired by imitation
or practice; but such cases arc n ot co mm on, a nd he
is fort unate who can learn the principles of t he art
in yo uth a nd in the regular co urse of fo rm al instru ction, where hi s teacher and his classmates, by
precept and criticism a nd discussion, can help him
to apprec iate and to maste r them . These principles,
moreover, sh ould be taken as suggestions of th e truth,
rather th an as final statements of truth ; they should
not be accepted as rigid dogmas, capabl e of demonstration, but as the generalizations of writers of skill
a nd experi ence, tested by the practice of many men
of many kinds.

)'

In trod11 ct£on

5

2. The Art of Composition .~ W hile masterin g th e
ele ment ary and prelimina ry t heory of rhetoric ju st
summari zed, th e p upil has doubtless had much practice in actual composition. This fir st co urse of st udy
over, he should go on, usuall y in the work of his final
yea/ at sc hool, with systematic in struction in what
may be call ed the a rt of co m position, as di stin g ui shed
from his p revious work in w hat is usually called fo rmal
rh etor ic. It is thi s systemati c st ud y of the ar t of
composition wh ich we are now beginning . \Ve s hall
see what kind s a nd fo rms of writin g most frequ entl y
occu r, and discuss the principles which govern success
in eac h of th ese forms . We shall also st ud y good models, a nalyze un successful attempts,- t o see wherein
they fail,- an d ourselves make many trials. At th e
end of the year we sho(tld eac h be able to und erstand
what are the main p rincip les to be consid ered in all
of the c hief kind s of writin g, a nd to produ ce so methin g charac teristic a nd interesting in each of them.
We s hall thus be fitted not on ly to g ive better ex pression to our more mature thoug hts now and in years
to come, but to enj oy more k ee nly the written expressions of the tho ug hts of others, and to v~lue them
more at their true worth.
3. Essays. - The student should have no fear of
essay-writing . From th e work of th e precedin g year
h e has learned to c hoose hi s word s with fair correctness, to fr ame a good sentence and a good paragraph,
a nd to see in general the way in whi ch longer compositions should be built up. He can therefore approach

6

Elements of Rhetoric

[CHAP. I

hi s present work without dread or nervousness. Of
course, his brain has not reached maturity, and be
cannot be expected to write with the ease and vigor
of an old er man. But the thoughts of youth are full
of freshness, frankness, and charm, and, if he puts
hi s mind on hi s work, there is nothing he will write
which will not be heard or read with interest by his
teacher and his classmates. A ll that he needs to do
is ( r) to write a neat, clear hand; ( 2) to keep up the
habits of clear and definite statement which he acquired in bis prev ious work; (3) to choose a subject
in which he is interested, and (4) to write frankly what
he thinks abo ut it. Good subjects abound. There is
the whole course of his school work and his out-ofschool experience from whic h to draw. \iVhat interests him will interest others, and he will be surprised
to find that he himself can be interested in almost any
subject which lies within the realm of his knowledge.
He shou ld always write with th e thought of his hearers uppermost in bis mind.
How, he must keep
asking him self, can I best make them understand
this, believe this, or see what I describe or narrate?
A word of advice, too, as to th e preparation of an
essay may be of service. Choose first the s ubj ect,
and let the choice be made a day or two in advance,
if possib le. If several subjec ts occur to you, take
the one wh ic h, after a short deliberation, seems best,
but do not try first one and then anot her, thereby
wasting time and strength. The subject chosen, keep
it in mind at odd moments ancl think what in general

CHAP. I]

I ntrodttc tion

7

it is that you will say. When th e time for composition comes, make firs t a little plan, paragraph by
paragraph, jotting down in eac h section notes of the
details you expect to use there, and, if there be time,
defer the actual writing until another sitting. When
you again take up your plan, read it over carefully,
altering it if necessary, and then, as rapid ly as possible, wr~te the whole essay. At a third sitting, again
look over your work, correcting and polishing it, and
make a clean copy of it. If you can, look again over
this copy, after an interva l, before handing it in, to
make sure that you have made no minor error. If
the co mp osition is very short, it may be done at a
sittin g, but in th at case much the same course of
procedure should be follow ed. Above all, do not
worry over your writing. Keep your head clear,
avoid postponing your task until the last moment,
and do your best. If your teacher or your classmates
criticise your work severely, take their comments
calmly and thankfully. ·what you wish to learn is
how to tell others what you know, and if others do not
understand you or feel the force of what yo u say, you
should be interested in knowing why and how you
have failed. It may be added that you will be the
gainer if you can read your work privately to a frien d
before submitting it to your teacher a nd classmates.
Ask him whether he un derstands fully the point you
mean to make. If be docs not, find out why, and
mend your work accord in gly. You will also be helped
by reading your work aloud to yourself after you have

I

8

E lcmmts of R lzctoric

[ CHAP. I

finish ed it, makin g sure that it sounds well, a nd by
cultivating, in ge neral, the habit of realizin g, as you
write, how th e worcls wo uld so und if spoken .
4. Reading ancl Composition. - The readin g of good
b ooks will help ever y youn g writer. H e should be
acc ustomed to readin g- of va rious sorts-readin g for
sheer pleasu re a nd amusem e nt, as in l va11/1or, 'lite
Last of tlic 11!ol1icm1s, or Trms11u Island; reading
for information co mbin ed with pl eas ure, as in S tanley's i!1rouglt tl1c Dark Co11tincnt or Prescott' s C01tq11est of J11c.nco; readin g for the trainin g of the
mind a nd th e taste, as in th e school work in E ng lish
literature. Except when carried away by excitement,
as is n atural a nd prop er in th e story of adventure,
h e shou ld read with care, with suffi cient slowness to
catch the full forc e a nd valu e of the writer's words,
ancl to beco me familiar with th e sw in g of his style.
H e should not necessarily try to imitate with closeness what he reads. Th e good author writes with a
subtlety, ch arm, and deli cacy beyond th e reach of
a boy, on diffe rent subjects, with greater experience
a... nd knowled brre ' on a la rrrer
scale. The student
b
should feel th e stimulus of what he reads, and be
th ereb y uncon sciously th e better writer; but when
he comes to put his own thou ghts on paper, he will
in ge neral do well to express th em in the way most
nat ural to him - sim ply, plainl y, frankly, as is appro·
priate to his youth and character.

·cHAP. n]

Minor Form s of Compositio11

9

CHAPTER II
MINOR FORMS OF COMPOSITION
5.

E x 1rnc 1s F. 1. - 6. Ex AMl NJ\Tl ON P AP ERS. - Ex7. 'l'RA NS LAT1t' N. - l•: xER CIS E 3. - 8. PA RAPHR AS E. 4. - 9. J .1·:TT l·: Rs . - 10. T11E Ess EN 'l'JJ\T. PRI NC ll ' LE. -

NoTE·HOO K S. rm c r s E 2. E XER CJSE

11. PJ\l'ER J\ N ll l N K.- 12. Tll E E NV J•: l.OP J•:. -

t
l

TH E

JlEGINN J N<.

15. LF.l ' l'E Rs

O F J\ LET'l'ICR . -

14.

Tll E

EX I·: l{C IS I·: 5 . END. -

r N T ll E T1111rn r rnsoN.- Ex 1mc1sE

l ll>IW OF TH E L ET l'ER. -

Ex 1mc1s E

8. -

13.

EXEl{CJS E

7. - 16.

6.

T11E

17. LETT ERS I N LITERA·

T URE.

5. Note-books. - No one will learn to write well
who does not r egard all pieces of composition as
alike worth y of careful attention. 'vVe m ay, of
cou rse, jot down addresses or memoranda on the
back of an old e nvelope without much concern as
to the form of our express ion ; and in taking rough
notes of a lect ure it is sufficient to put clown only
such words as will best recall to our ow n mind s
a few hours later what were the speaker's main
id eas. But it is a nother ma tter when what we write
is intended for the eye of another, or even when it is
to be preserved for our own perm a nent use. In such
cases care and skill are n ecessary. Noti ce, for example, the fo llowing extracts from a student's laboratory note-book in physics, written expressly for the
information of his instructors or examiners: -

"11

IO

Elements of Rhetoric

CHAP. II]

[CHAP. II

( 1) The ivory balls rebounded the greatest distance.
Showin g that ivory was the most elastic substance of the
three . The n th e wooden balls rebounded the next longest
di stan ce, showing that wood was the sec ond most elastic
substance of th e three. Then the rubber was the least
elas ti c of the three.
( z) I took a long glass tube and put one encl in water
and th e other in my mouth . By expa nding my lungs, the
air was rarefi ed a nd the ' water rushed into th e tube. lf
you close one end with your fin ger, the water will not fl ow
out a t the other, because the outside pressure is too great.
As soon as th e fin ger is removecl, th e water will fl ow out, as
on one encl th ere is gravitation and air pressure, while on
the oth er is o nl y air pressure.
[Here the omiss io n of th e verb in the second sentence ,
of ( 1), and the ge neral a wkward ness of construc tion
throug hout both ( 1) and ( 2), produ ce an impression of
ignora nce and carelessness, even when the facts are in
th emselves correct. J

An even worse fault in note-books than that of
careless composition is that of careless thinking a nd
th e muddl ed exp ression dependent thereon. Notice
the co mplete abse nce of thi s fa ult in th e fo ll ow in g
set of notes, made from a n interesting article by Mr.
C harles Fran cis Adams, on th e battle of Bunker
Hill, in the Amcricmt Historical R eview for April,
1896:T he success of th e Ameri can cause was due to luck.
I .uc k-a "balancing of blund ers" - turned the occupation
of Breed's Hill to American ad vantage.
( a ) American blt1nders- forces put into a trap. Cut
off from mainland by Charlestown Neck. On lowe r ground

f

Minor Forms , of Composition

I I

than Bunk er Hil l. Original plan, to for tify Bunker Hill and
high land on mainland sid e of Charl estown Neck. T his
would have secured command of Boston and kept communi cation ope n with main forces .
(b) British blund ers - failure to take advantage . Proper
course, occupation of the N eck by the Briti sh. Ameri cans
must th en either fi ght again st heavy odds or su rrend er.
R esult of the surrend er or defeat, de moralization of the
patriot army. furt her a ttack by British on Americans
near Cambridge . Both th ese co urses urged by Clinton but
di sregarded . Actual course - Bree d's Hill stormed fr om
th e front; Am e ricans driven ou t of the.ir own trap back to
the mainl a nd. Gen eral result - just what should have been
d esired (forestalling of British on Bunker Hill, drawing of
fire), but wh at could not be res ult of p lan an d in sight.
(c) Luck shown in th e Ameri can co mmander. Prescott
a fi ghter; moved to Breed's Hi ll, thus bring ing on the
engage ment there; kept the militia under control through
two c harges by Br itish.
(rl) Luck shown in the fact t hat ammun ition fa il ed before
a third repulse . If t he British had been repul sed again,
undoubtedly th e nex t clay they would have a ttac ked the
Am ericans in the rear and fo rced a surrender. Presco tt
wi shed the next day to return to the trap ; no realization
of his luck.
EXERCISE I

I. Rewrite extrac ts ( 1) and ( 2) in § 5.
II. Criticise, und er the d irecti on of the instrnctor, your
own note-books, or those of your classmates, from th e point
of vi ew of clear and adequate ex press ion.
III. Write a paragra ph, based on your own experi e nce,
on the main things to be borne in min d in keeping a good
note- book in history, or chemi stry, o r E ngli sh literature.
IV. Take rough notes of a sermon, lecture, or address.

12

Elements of Rlzetor£c

[ CHAP. JI

R ev ise th em, with th e pmpose of indi ca tin g, in two or three
hundred words, th e speaker's plan and the substance of what
he said.
Nu n :. -Th e foll owing referen ces to easily accessi\Jle period ical literature will indicate good subj ects for exercises in
note- taking : With section headin gs: Th e Advantages of the Nicaragua Canal, Capt. A. S. C rowninshi eld , U.S.N., Cmt1t1y
Jlfaga zi11c, January, 1899. -Th e l'ararnount Power of the
P acifi c, John Barrett, JVorllt American R eview, August, 1899 .
Short artic les : Th e Goal in Ed ucation, Ed itor's Table,
Pop11!ar .Science J1fo11t/11j', Nove mber, 1898.-- The Causes
of Spain's Decad ence , I bid. - Th e Cuban as a Labor
Probl em, \V. \V. Howard , Cwt111y, August, 1899.
Longe r Articles : Why We Won at l\'I anila, L ieutenant
B. A. l' iske, U. S.N., Cent111J", Nove mb er, 1898. - T he Philippine Islands ;md American Capital, J. Russell Smith,
Pop11!<1r S cience J) fon t/t~JI, J anuary, 189 9. -A Trained Colonial C ivil Service, Professo r E. G. Bourne, JVo rl!t American
R c7Jicw, Octo\Jer, 1899. - Hi storical Causes of the Present
War in South Afri ca, R ight Honorable James Bryce, Nort!t
American R eview, December, 189 9. - So me N eglected Aspects of th e R evolutionary War, C. K. Adams, Atla11tic
Jlfo11t!tlj', August, 1898. - The Deve lopment of Olll' Foreign
Poli cy, Horace W. Fi sher, I bid. - Bi smarck as a National
Type, Ku no Francke, I bid. - Our Government of Newly
Acquired Territory, Carl Evans Boy d , Atlantic Mont!tl)',
December, 1898.

6. Examination Papers. - Nowh ere is skill in Engli sh co mpositi on more of serv ice than in a written
examination . The pupil h;is before him blank p;iper.
By marks up on that paper he must convince a nother

CHAP.

n]

Minor Forms of Composition

13

person, frequently on e who is not acq ua inted with his
previous work or c haracter, that he understands thoroughly the principles involved in certain questio ns.
Unless the answers co nsist largely of elates or formul;;e, here is a situation that mu st be fac ed and conquered by knowledge of facts, united with skill in
stating facts . The p upil mu st write a cl ear ha nd;
he must spell correctly; his senten ces mu st be fairly
short, a nd always to the point; he mu st write concisely and definitely. It wou ld obvi ously be abs urd,
in most cases, t o s pend precious time on mere p oli sh
of diction, but th e writer is usually rewarded for his
pains who forms th e habit of usin g, und e r such circum stan ces, eve ry de vice that leads to clea rness and
accuracy of thoug ht a nd express ion.
Notice, for example, the followin g answers to th e
question, "vVhat qu a liti es do cs Burke, in hi s Sj>ccclt
on Concil iation, a ttribute to the American colonists ;
to wha t causes were they due?"
( 1) Burke said that the colonists were a liberty-loving
people, and that th ey were mostly all lawye rs.
H e said th ere we re more of Bl ackstone's books sold in
America than in England . These qualiti es he said were clu e
to their ancestors, the English race. H e said that an Englishman was the unfittest p erson to argue an American into
slave ry.
Of course this las t statement favored Burke immensely in
his argument, as another Englishman could not contrad ict
him nor any one else.
[N ote, first, that this does not full y answer eith er part of
the question; second, that the points mentioned are not so

'I

'j

I!
,/t·
·l

:j

,I

I
I,.
I

I!1 I
!I
I! .

1

,1

I.
''

I

14

i:

I!

Ii
Iii
f'!
!I

II
Ii

!I
. i

E!mzmts of R!tetoric

[ CHAP. I!

exp ressed as to show the ir relati on to each oth e r, a nd to
th e quest io ns ; and , thin] , th a t such ma tte rs as sentence
structure a nd paragrap h struc ture are n eglected.]
( 2) Burke d esc ribes t he colo ni s ts as a strai ghtforwa rd,
p eace- lovin g p eople; fo nd of justi ce and fill ed wit h a spir it
of incl e p encle nce, whi c h h e asc rib es to six causes : th eir
o ri g in , b eing m ai nl y E nglishmen, form o f gove rnm e nt, th e
reli g io n in the no rth e rn colo ni es, the c ustoms in th e so uthe rn, th eir ed ucatio n, a nd th e di stance of the colonies from
th e mothe r cou ntry.
[This an swe r is good in substance, bu t fau lty in fo rm .
No te th e irreg ul a r and in co nsistent use of comm as and se micolo ns; th e awkll'arcl strn cture of the second pa rt of th e
se nte nce; and th e loose and amb iguous use of the p ossessive
"their" a nd th e rela tive "which."]
(3) Characteri sti cs : love of liberty, shrewdness, foresight.
Causes : colo nial asse mbli es ; distance from Engla nd;
En glish tlesce nt ; fo rm of religio n (north) ; slave ry ( south);
numbers.
(4) Burke a tl"rihutes to the co loni sts these f]Ualitics: a
fi e rce love of li be rty , c haracterized by a d esire for selfgnvernrnent: a n indomita ble perseve ran ce, which has made
th e m mas te rs of th e Ame rica n fo res ts, a nd has inc reased
Jisli er ies and co mm e rce to a marvellous extent; a n affection
for th e mo th e r co untry whi ch will continue as long as they
fee l th P.ir interests to be o ne with he rs. Th ese qnaliti es
we re due tu the d rsrrnt of t·h e coln1fr;ts from l'\n c:li shnwn ;
to th e popular forms of gnvernrncnt: tn th e religion n f th e
no rth e rn colo ni es ( nea rly all \\ Crc lli ssL' ntin g, an d reli g iolls
JilJe rty is fol lo wed by desi re for political li ber ty) ; lo slaver y
in th e so uthe rn co lo nies (wh e re th e re is slavery, lrcc 111 c n arc
more j ealo us of th eir fr eedom tlian in countri es wh e r e C\' CT-Ybody is fre e); to th r~ number of lawy e rs and the spirit of

15

Minor Forms of Composition

CHAP . II]

inquiry and smartn ess o f d e ba te acq11i red thro ugh know ledge
of law; to th e d ista nce of th e colo nies fr o m the ho me governm ent ( in parts remot e fr om the seal of gove rnm ent th ere
must be lax ity a nd more freedo m, in ord e r that th e rule r
may go ve rn a t all ).
[The u se of a tabular form in (3) is p erfectly clear, a nd
has the advantage of co mpactn ess. In this case, ho weve r,
th ere is over-contle nsati o n. /\s a m e morandum ( 3) is admirabl e; as a n exa minat ion a nswe r it is less satisfactory
than (4), whi ch, while clear in form , is also full eno ug h to
show intellige nt und e rstandi ng of th e points enumerated.]
EXERCISE 2

I. Criticise , und er th e directio n of the in stru cto r, exami nat io n papers written by yourse lf or yo ur c b ssmates, from
th e point of view of clea r :111d ad equate exp ression.
II. vVri te a thorou ghl y good answe r to a r111 es lion se t by
the instructor. The q uest io n. it is sui::Qested . shou ld be
suc h that a n ade(]Uate answer must co nsist o f aL>o-cTt two
hundred words, and rn11sl" be c1rcf1 1ll y t•L11111cd .

j

7. Translation. - Sehob.rs ancl men of letters agTcc
that th ere e:i.n sea reclv li e heller pr:1ct i c1~ in c11111position than tran slation .1 lt is n ot long :i. ~ n th:it
in m:iny nf th e best ; \ mcric:in sch on ls it 11·: 1'' t Ii i~
c 11 stnm tn exclud e rh e t oric :i n<l compnsit inn ent ire ly

from the cunicul1 1m . s11pplyi11s it:' pl:HT li_v 1·:11Tl11l
and unceasin g drill i11 ural and wrillc 11 translali1111
i

l It 1s to h e hllpt'd LliaL lli L· qwknt \\il l. :i.t Iii .-.; ~· 1)J\\"•'11i1_-11 ,·,· . lll~l k L'.

fri ends \\'ith
such as tlw
I .t':1!',

:1nil

th1_' ll lCU l\. )l 11 ] 1Jt. ;lll' l r;1111 1 •\ l"

S U lllC 1_1f

ver~i1Hh ll ! tltt'

\lyt·r s :

(lr

!h y d t~ n~

th(·

!/i, 1J. li y

f ·11:11H1 1;11 1.

I•\'

l'.11\l"! wr

J" w:1i<..; \i
l'" !w ,
:111 d

~-1"';71."' iri,

li v

Cemtr1~1',

l 1y C'a ry, T. ~, n ~~r, · ll· ~ w . l';u-..;·•11 ..:, nn ·l N··· il·'IL

ul

l·r t!t.1 !. li_v 1;:n·:n·! T :1\· l· ·r ;

t r :111 .I i!i,,11...:,

<l!H!

Ii \

! , :1n~~ :

I . ;1 1 i:~ .
1·1

tlie

11f t l1c /11·,-,.;;u·

;•·

16

!I,
I,

Elcmmts of R!tetoric

fr o m th e cl ass ic la ng uages . It is not to b e d e ni ed,
m or eover, th at, roundabout and cumbrou s as this
m ethod is, it was in mos t cases successful.
At
prese nt the pupil should welcome opportunities
to trans late fr o m a nother la n g uage into E ng li s h.
The diffe ren ces be twee n th e fo rm s o f ex pression in
th e t wo ton g ues, the in ev itable co nfu sio n in the
mind, a t first, of two train s of associatio n, re nder
th e t as k a diffi cult one ; but he will find pleasure
a nd pro fit in proportion to hi s success.
Th e real object of transla ti on is to reprod uce rn
on e la n g uage, fo r th e informati on or pleas ure of
th ose who arc famili a r with it, what has been sai d
or written in an other tong ue. As a rule, moreover, it
is th e fact s and ideas of th e foreign write r th a t mu st
b e re produ ced . Th e form s of expression w hich he
u ses a rc of va lue onl y in presen t in g th ose id eas cl early
t o the mind of the t ranslat o r, whose bu siness it is to
prese nt th ose id eas in En g li s h, for example, in whateve r for m will mak e th em clearest to English readers.
Th e g reates t st umblin g-bloc k to the yo un g transla to r is for eig n idi o m. A lite ra l tran sla tion fro m one
lan g uage to another lea d s us almost at once into
abs urdities. Noti ce, for e xampl e, th e fo ll ow in g- list
of ex pressions, wh olly un- Eng lish in ch aract er, which
a ri se naturall y from a lite ral r en d e ring of fo reig n
idi oms: Literal Translation
What to do ! (French)
Clad in buskins with respect to her feet.

( Latin)

Eq11ivalc11t in Englisli
What should he do !
H er feet shod with buskin s.

Mi7tor Fonns of Composition

CHAP . HJ

[ c nAP. II

l

He permits easily to deal
with him. (German)
Make the door open.
(G erman)
T o him it aches in the
head. (Italian)
T o whom does he wish it?
(French)
Th ey se t th e camp, a place
having been selected. (Lat in)
Try, of grace, to go .
(French)
A few having bee n kill ed,
they threw th e rest into confusion. (Latin)

17

H e is easily dealt with.
Open the door.
Hi s head aches.
Against whom has he a
grud ge ?
Hav ing chosen a spot,
they encamped there.
Try, I beg of you, to go.
T hey kill ed a few, and
threw the rest into confusion.

A stumbling-block scarcely less g r eat is th e difference be tween la n g uages in point o f ord er of words
a nd se nte nce-structure. Notice, for example, th e differenc e betwee n th e two ve rsion s g ive n be low of a se ntence fro m C e sar' s Gallic Hl ar (i, 39).
( 1) Whil e for a few days he was delay in g at Vesonti o for
th e sake of gra in and suppli es, because of the inquiri es
of om men, and th e remarks of th e Gauls and th e traders,
who declared that th e Ge rmans were of great size, of
in credi ble va lor and sk ill in arms (oftentim es, they said ,
they themse lves mee ting with these we re not abl e to hear
eve n th eir countenances and th e kee n glances of th eir
eyes), such fear sudd enly took possession of all the army
as disturtJecl not sli ghtly th e mind s and soul s of all.
( 2) \Vhil e he was waitin g at Vcso nti o a few days for
grain and supplies, om men learn ed, throu gh their own
inquiries and the remarks of th e Gauls and the traders,

c

Elements of R!tetorie

18

CHAP. II]

[ CHAP. II

In translating verse, the student must show his appreciatio n of poetry by turning it, not into bald prose,
but into prose which has, if possible, grace a nd case,
and which preserves so mething of th e spirit of th e
origina l.
Compare, in this resp ect, the fo llowing
excellent version of lin es 511 ff. of Book 24 of the
Iliad, with a student's ig norant and unp oetical rcnJ eriu ;.:; : 1 -

were n o t a li ttle di sturbed.

diffi c ult pi ece of Latin prose.
(1) " I-l ow ma ny writers of hi:; affa irs was that g rea t /\lcx~8i il tn h:1 ve had with him ! Awl h e nc vcrthcicsc;,

:iw !n

wh f' n he resto red th e tomb of Achilles in Sigeu111 : he s:iys,

() fn rl11n :1tP vo 11 tli . who found I lolll c r lh e he rald of yo11r
v8 ln r I 1\nd in truth. l 'o r 1111lc:;s that l!iad wou ld sl~l!ld
fort h , the same tomb , wh ich had covered Lile bod y of this
o ne, also would

11
i'l

ii
i

I

CO \ T r up

his na me. "

(~) "Hmv nun v perso ns .is Alexand e r th e C real repo rted
to [i ;:ivr' carri ed a lo ng with him t<> wrile his lii .,Lury ! 1\11d yet,
wh en he o;Luud by th e tnm li of .'\ c hill Ps :i t Sig;e 11111 . ' I lappv
yonth,' he ni e.! , ' ,.,.iJ., , .. 11 ld l111J :.1. llomcr t o )il :urin thy

19

fam e ! ' And what he said was true; for had it not been
for th e I liad, hi s ashes a nd hi s fame had bee n buried in the
same tomb." -Translation by W 1LI .1 A~l DUNCAN.

th a t th e Germans were of grea t size, a nd of inc redible
va lo r a nd s kill in wa rfare. O ft entim es, said the Gau ls, th ey
th e mselves, when mee tin g th e Ge rm ans, we re no t able to
!Je;u the sig ht of the ir co unte na nces a nd th e kee n gla nce
o f th e ir eyes. Because of th ese reports suc h fear to ok
p ossess io n o f all the a rm y tha t the minds a nd souls of all

Afte r maste rin g, in a g iven passage, th e d ilh culties
that s prin g from differences in idiom and differe nces
in se nte nce-s tructure, t he student must do hi s best to
g ive- t·n hi :~ ve rsion the same general tone whi c h a n
En~ li sh c nmposil uJ11 0£ th e s;i mc ;.;o rt wuLtld kL ve. It
is p e rh:l]'" "r ci rr r ly necessary to add th a t thi s mu st be
d one with ou t lk1i:11L i 11~ :in y fur t hn th:in i-:: :ihsnl11 te ly
necessary from th e actual exp ressions of th e text.
Tb e illustraliu11s b e lo w - a boy's translation of a
p assage from secti on 2 1 of Cicero's Arcltias, a nd a
b ette r vers ion o [ th e same - show the wid e difference between a bad a nd a good translation of a not

Minor Forms of Composition

(i) "A nd Ac hilles we pl fur hi s

vw 11

faLl 1er, and

11uw

aga in !or l'atro klns, ;i nd 1·hl' ir mn;rn wcnt i1p thrn11g lin'l t tiic

i

•

t
•

i

i

'
!

hOll:il'. l: 11l 1y:1 c 11 nol 1k ,\r·iii\k , 11:1>1 c:i li -,l i 1·il l1i111 111 1ii
lam ent, :ind the d esir e th e reo f d c p:::.rtcd lro m hi s heart ;rnd
lim bs, s1r:1 ightw:1v he ~pr :1ne>; frnrn h i,; '(':11 :i nd r:ii, 1·d th· · ,, \,j
m:rn by hi s ha nd, pity ing hi s ho:1r .v hl·:11l ;111.\ h";1r .v l1e:1rd '
and s1):i.ke unto him win ged wnrd s a nd s ~id: ' 1\h. li:1pl<- ,;s 1
many ill thin gs ve ril y th o u hast c ndmed in th y heart I low
durst thou CO !lle alone lo Lh c s hips uf Lh e Ac ha ia11s alld to
mee t th e ercs of the m:in who !nth sbin f11 ll rn:i111· of thy
1Jra1e so ns? of iron verily is ti\\· h1·an. l>1 L, ,,11 1«. 1·h ,·11, , 1:1
th ee o n a scat. a nd ll' C 1Yill kl t>llr ,;nrrtn1·s Ji,· '! 'lid i11 <ll lr
he.1rts. for all n11r p:ii n, l(i r no :11·:1il (' (l l\)('111 or· (hill la1m·nt.
Thi s is 1h 1'. lo1 1· h~t th e 1~ nil s have s111111f,q· 111i sn :1l1I" 11 i1·n. 1l i: tl
they should live 111 pain ; yet thc·n1 s1· h·cs :ir1· '"'''""ks,; .'"
'

- T ra 11."ilaliu n lJ _v

L 1\i\"i; ,

L1 ... \

I·-.

and

.\ Jy1.-.1.: :; .

( z ) "J\fo reove r , 1\chill cs l:11n c ntcd tilt' f:1tll<'r :ind th e n
aga in l 'a lrokl()s, a nd lh c l:i111c11ti11g nf Ll1t; 1n 11·c11i. \ :irusc)

,,
I

'

~f

Elcmmts of R!ietoric

20

CHAP. 11]

[ C HA P. 11

Minor Forms of Composition

impression that the full effect of verse can actually
be obtained in prose. It is hard, too, to put verse
into simple prose, and th e young writer who do cs
much paraphrasing runs th e risk of acquiring a somewhat inflated and unn atural style.
On the other
hand, paraphrase, like translation, forces the writer
Lu ;;rasp his a ulltur's meaning corn plctcly, anc.i t o set
about finding the best ways of reproducing it in
another form. On the \Vhole, the practice of paraphrasin g shou ld not be neglect ed, especially in connecti on with th e stucly of Shaksperc. where the
student is greatly ben e fited by slopp in g to make sure
of the exact sense of what he reads.

throu ghout th e house . Moreove r, when godlike Achille~
had s;i.tisfie d himse lf with weer ing, to him from hi s ha ir
cam e sweat ancl fr o m hi s limbs, and immedia te ly he rose
from his seat ancl took th e o ld m an by the ha nd gray b eard
a nd g ray h ead, a n1.l ad dressing him, he s pak e winged words:
'O wr e tc h ed o ne , ind eed you have many bad thin gs in yo ur
h ea rt. How d id you e ndure to go alo ne to the ships of the
Ac h::eans in the eyes of a man who kill ed for you many a ud
no bl e sons. T he re is a heart of iron to you. But come
sil duwn un your chai r, and let us a llow sorrows to lie firmly
For not any deed is of
in ou r h earts although gri eving.
c hill wee ping, fo r thus th e gods allot to wretched mortals to
live so rrowing, but th ey th e mselves are without care. ' "
EXERCISE 3

I. If yon are stud ying a foreign language, m ake a list
of fi ve or m ore idi o ms, ad din g th eir eq uivalents in good

.E xamples: -

Fngli sh.
U. If you are studying a foreign language, fin d three
sen te nces so diffe rent from Engli s h in th eir structure that
th ey must b e e ntirely recast. Then turn th e m into good

"Upo n my head they placed a fruitl ess crown,
1\nd pm a h:irren sceptre in my g ripe:,
Th e nr e tn be 'nc1ir·li'cl 'l'ilh ;111 1111lin1.·;il hand,
No son of min e s1wf'.ecd in g. Tf't· he so,
For Danquo's iss11e have T filed 1nv 111ind:
For th e m th e grac ious Dunca n have l murcler'd;
Put ra nco rs in the vessel o f my peace
Onl y for them; ;ind min e e tern:il jf'we l
{ ;i\·e n to the common cnc nw of m .1 11.
To mak e them ki n.~s . th e seed or I \;UJ< J llO kin~s I
Rather than so, uirnc . f:1Lc . i11tti th('. li,,t,
And champion m e to th e utterance ! "

Englis h.
111. As a third exe rcise, - which should be, if possible,
rep eated seve ra l times, - it is suggested that th e instructor
in one of the foreign l :rngu ~ges he ~sked to cooperalc with
th e instru ctor in English in selecting passages s11 it;il>ic for
transbtion, and in c riti cisin g and correcting the ve rsions
handed in.

8. Paraphrase. -

Closely akin to translation is the
exe rcise kn ow n as paraphrase, by which is meant the
turnin g into clear and definite prose of a piece of
verse or of intricate or impass ioned prose.
The
exercise has its dangers. One may easi ly get the

21

II

t

l

-1'f<ll·hd1l, Ill. i.

(1) They gave m e a valueless crown, \vith little po11er in
my h:1nd to he t;iken 8w;iv h v nn f' n nt nf 11w line . Tf it is
so, J have worried my mind for l\anq11o's "hil d ren. I have
kill ed Duncan for th e m, also 1111tting s11:1kcs into the \·csscl

.,
'11:.

':I:
I~

'. "

Ii

ii

' ' \~

:: q
l'
::. ii'·
'.

;

'

·]
\~

' ~
.. ~

22

Elements of Rltetoric

[CHAP. II

of my peace for th em. My precious ability h as been lost
only in order to make the descendants of Banquo km gs.
H..ather than have thi s, I would go into the li st to champion
my utte rance.
(z) They have placed a fruitless crown upon my head,
and have given me a barren . sceptre. This has been
wrenched from me with an unlineal hand, si nce no son of
mine succeeds me. If this be so, l have put ran cors in
the vessel of my peace only for them. I have ril ed my
mind for Banqu o's ·sons, and for them I have murdered the
grac ious Duncan. It seems that I have given my etern;i l
j ewel to the co mmon enemy of man , just to make ~h e sons
o f Banquo kin gs. If so, I would r:ithe r call fate mto th e
list, and have it c ha mpi on me to the utterance .
( ) The crown is for me alone; no heir of min e will
3
succeed me, but one who is no relation. If the prophecy
is tru e, I have committed murd er for the benefit of Banquo's
desce ndants; destroyed my peace for them ; given my soul
to th e dev il for oth er men. Rather than let this be, I will
oppose fate to the bitter end.
( 4 ) Th ey put a crown upon my head, but it carr_ies with
it no promise of succession; they put a sceptre mto my
hand, but, thou gh I hold it as firmly as I may, it shall be
torn from me by one who is no descendant of mine. My
son shall never succeed to my kingship. If thi s be so, it
is not for my own sons but for the sons of Banquo that
J have defiled my mind with wicked ambitions and imaginin gs. For th em I have murdered Duncan, whom I knew
to be noble and kindly; for them- only for them - I have
made myself li ve in discord with myself ; and I have given
to the devil the common e ne my of man, my priceless and
immortal s01:l - not that I might purchase glory and happiness for my own line, but that th e seed of Banquo, the
children of my inferior, might be kings ! Rather than sub-

CHAP. II

J

111inor Forms of Composition

23

mit without a struggle, I call fate itself into th e lists to fight
against me - a chall enge to final, mortal combat !
[Herc the failures a re of va ri ous kinds. The first attempt shows lack of comprehensi on, on the write r's part,
of the actual language of the text and of the fi gurative
expressions employed. The second s imply changes the
form from verse to prose, without a ny esse ntial c hange in
th e language. In the third, the writer has understood the
th ought but has merely made an abstract o f it, without
bringing out the ideas impli ed in the ori ginal. Th e fonrth
is a good piece of paraphra;,e. I'fote that it not o nly translates the obscure or unu sual language of the original, but
also tries to folio\\" out the ideas iuq il ic: d i11 ,uc:lt 1>u1d, a~
"gripe,"" wrenc h'd," "_gracious," a nd to indi cate th e implied an tith esis betwee n the " e te rnal jewel" given as pri ce
and the purchased result-" the seed of Hanrp10 ki'ngs. "]
EXERCISE 4

I. Write a paraphrase of the following passage
from Jlfacbet!t (IV. i.) : -

"Time, thou anticipat'st my dread exp loits;
Th e fli ghty purpose ne ve r is o'ertook,
Unless the deed go with it: from this moment
The very firstlin gs of my heart shall be
The firstlings of my hand. And even now,
To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and clone:
The castle of Macduff I will surprise;
Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o' th e sword
His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls
That trace him in hi s line. No boasting like a fool:
This deed I'll do before this purpose cool:
But no more sights ! "

ii I
'

I' ,
/1

rI:,.
'I

r
!

I

f

i

,,
'.

[l3e sure that you understand (a) the language of the

I

24

Elcmmts of Rhetoric

[ CHAP. II

passage, (b) the circumstances und er which th e lin es were
spoken . ·w hy is each one of these points important?
Notes on th e passage : anticipate here means prevent;
flig!tty means flJ•i11g; trace means follow (how does it
come to have this meaning?) ; firstlz'11g means, literally,
first-born (what does it mean here?) . What is impli ed in
the phr:i sc , "from thi s moment"? Is th e same thought
suggested elsewhere in th e lin es quoted? What is the
allusion in "Dut no more sights"?
2 . Select from th e literature th at you are studying
some passage which see ms to yo u suitable fo r paraphrase. vVhy does it seem to you to be suitable for
this exercise ?
3. Make such su ggestions and annotations as
would aid anothe r person to parap hrase the passage
you have selec ted.

9. Letters. - Th e letter is obviously th e form of
composition most frequently used, and that in which
skill is most indispensable. A business man often
is ob lig ed to write or dictate thirty or forty letters,
or even more, in a sin gle day, and eve ry one
who has muc h to do with people must find it co nvenient or d es irabl e to communicate frequ ently with
others in writin g . It is very important, therefore,
th at eac h student should think carefully over th e
various sides of the subject of letter writin g , understand the main principles involved, and attain a certain amount of skill by actual practice. Certainly no
work he does in his school course will stand him in
better stead in the affairs of life.

CHAP. II]

ll!finor Forms of Comfosition

25

10. The Essential Principle. - The essential prin ciple involved in letter writin g is simp ly thi s: Every
letter a man writes is hi s person al representative, and
must be so designed tha t it will convey informa tion,
or give expression to feelings and sentiments, with the
sa me courtesy a nd effective ness wh ich h e would emp loy if hi s inte rvi ew with the person addressed were
carried on directly by conversation, and n ot indirectly
by writin g.
11. ;paper and Ink. - B usiness lette rs may be writte n on large pape r, about ten inc hes by eight in size.
Perso na l letters s hou ld be written on paper of a more
convenie nt for m, - usually less than seven in ches 111
length, by ab out four in width. 1 Lined paper is
rarely employ ed for letters of any description, inasmuch as it seems to show th at t he writer is so unskilled in penmanship as to n eed the aid of a ruled
lin e. 2 The paper used in personal letters should be
I On a fou r-page sh eet o f such p aper, one may, if th e letter exceeds
a page, use pages I a nd 3, th ough some wri ters sp read the sheet a nd ,
to save b lottin g, use pages 1 a nd 4. If the letter excee ds two pages,
one may use pages I, 2, a nd 3, or I , 3, and 2. ln the latter case, the
lines on page 2 follow th e length o f the paper. If the letter exceeds
three pages, on e may adopt the order I , 2 , 3, 4, or 1 , 3, 2, 4. Th e least
co nfusin g order for th e read er is always the best. If th e letter exceeds
one shee t, eac h sh eet should lie numbered. " Crossing" a page, or
writin g on it twice, o nce up a ncl down th e page a nd once across, is a
most a nn oyin g practi ce.
2 \.Yi thin th e author's knowledge, a yo un g ma n was rece ntly refused
a n excell ent position because h is letter of app li cation was on ruled
paper. T he employe r dec ided, qu ite pro perl y, that one so d eficie nt in
knowledge of the customary practi ce in such matte rs wou ld he deficie nt a lso in his knowledge of men an d social customs in ge neral.

26

Elements of RJtetori"c

[CHAP. II

white or delica tely tinted. Business letters may be
dict ated and typewritten, but th e personal letter,
which is a substitute fo r one's own visit or call,
cann ot lig htly b e turned over to oth er hands. Black
ink is used almost inva riably. Any other color seems
t o imply- as d oes the use of perfumed paper affectation on the part of the writer.
12. The Envelope. - It is a matter of the first imp ortance tha t a letter should reac h its destination
promptly. On th e envelope, therefore, all the informati on (the na me 1 a nd address) necessary for that
purpose should be written in a legible hand, e.g.

171"'.

re.

JJ. Wcit,ne;J,
J I 0 @aiv dtud

lfci4f-IY1£l
reo-11/11,,

It is b ecomin g m re cu stomary o omit all punctuation at the encl of lines on envelop es, except
th e period after abbreviations, but many conti nue to
place co mm as at the end of eac h line except the
last, which they close by a period. In general, it is
best to use as fe w abbreviations as p ossible.2
1 The first a nd mi ddl e nam es are sometimes written in full ; more
nsuall y the fir st na me alone is give n in full ; or both th e fir st and
mid dle names a re indicated by ini tials. If the person add resse d has
n o midd le nam e, th e first name should he writte n in full .
2 Names o f states are usua lly abbrev iated.
" Street " is also freque nt ly abbrev iated. " Aven ue" it see ms helter to write in full. T he
p un ctili ous wri te r, espec iall y in personal letters, avoids all that mi ght
g ive the impress ion of haste. lt is ce rta inly un pleasant, for instance,

CHAP. II]

Mi1lor Forms of Composition

27

It is also important that th e name should b e
n ot only definitely, but courteo usly, stated. W omen
should be addressed as Mrs. or Miss. In addressin g
a ma rried woma n, it is customa ry to use her husband's initials.. T o use her own ordina rily implies
tha t she is a widow. Men should usually be addressed as Mr. 1 A fi rm may be addressed as Messrs.
Clergym en, physicians, men holdin g political or judicial office, and offi cers in colleges a nd unive rsities,
and in the army a nd the navy, a re addressed as R ev.,
Dr., H on., Prof., Col. , etc. Wh en a man may be addressed in several ways, the form most suitable fo r
the oc casion should be chosen. Th eodore Roosevelt,
for example, could be addressed as Mr. , Esq.,
H on., Col., or Dr., 2 or, at present (1 900), Governor.
Punctilious writers are inclined to use Mr. or Esq.
in all p ersonal letters, even to t hose who would
naturally be addressed· in oth er ways. 3 A person al
letter to a college p rofessor would thu s be addressed
to Mr. F. C. Brown; an official letter, on the other
hand, to Prof. F . C. Brown.
to be addresse d as fo llows: Pro f. G. Carpe nte r, Col. Uni v. , co r. Boulevard and I 16 St., N . Y. City.
1 ln E ng land a nd in parts of th e United Stales, particul arl y in a nd
aro und Roston, it is custo mary to use Esq. with prec isely th e same
for ce with whi ch M r. is used. elsew here. In ge neral, Am eri can usage
tends to restrict Esq. to lawye rs or me n o f promin ence in th e community (and especial ly to men of mi dd le age or older) who have no
other t itl e.
2 Th at is, Doctor of Laws (LL. D.)
3 Excepting cl ergymen and p hysic ia ns, pe rh aps because it is diffi·
cult as a rule to disassociate either class fr om its p ro fessional d uties.

' IU~
I
Elcmc1tts of Rltetoric

28

[ CHAP. II

CHAP. 11]

Minor l'orms of Co111positio1t

29

i.

pleasingly indi cate the relation between the writer
and the receive r.
(I) The place and date should, as a rule, alw ~ tys
be indicated. for th e co nvenience of the pe rso n adtlressed, " ·6 · 501 \V,~s t l l _jlh Slreel, New Y urk C ily ,

~-

J1111 c ::>n. innn.

EXERCISE 5

What is the proper for m of :superscription on the
envelope of a letter to: The l\i[ayor o f New York City?
The Pre'; id ent of C orne ll Fni'.'"rsitv. Tth~r~ ;>
3. The firm o f Stern Brothers, dry goods merehilnt·s, nt
23 rd Street, New Yo rk City?
4. Helen A. Brown, the widow of William J. Brown,
li ving on Euclid Ave nu e, C leveland, 0 . ?
5. The eld est Miss Warre n, of Washington, D. C., muuLier 419 New York Avenue?
6. H e r s ister, 1\1111 a Warren?
7. Both j\ [iss Warren and her yo un ge r sister?
8. A doctor in your own town?
9. Th e wife of a clergy man in your own town?
1 o. M iss Grace Mortimer, visiting he r friend , Mrs. E . J.
Sand ford, at Th e Beeches, L exington, Kentucky?

1

13 . The Beginning of a Letter. - The Romans were
logical in beginn ing letters with th e name of the
se nde r, e.g. "Marcus Tullius Cicero to Caius Julius
C<esar," for on receiving a letter our first desire
obviously is to know from whom it comes. Business
firms and organ izations suppl y the same need by
their letter-he ads, but in gene ral the modern custom
is to put the name at th e end rath~--"i!':...­
bcg inning.
At the beginning of a letter, accordin g to modern
usage, come ( 1) the place and date, and ( 2) the nam e
of th e person to whom the letter is sent, with such
accompanying words as shall most courteously and

Th". 11s110l r' 11 st.,..,m is

tn

p11 1· t·lwm

bot h at th e beg innin g of th e letter, on th e ri.c; ht nf
the page. So me wr ite 1·s, especial Iy i 1t J l<..:rs()11<tl kltcrs, put the cb.tc at the encl o[ the letter, on the left
of the sig nat ure, - a practice that has the disadvantage of separatin g the place and th e elate, wh ic h it
is conve ni ent to ha vc togeth er [or refere nce.
(2) In busin ess letters the name and add ress of
the receiver arc usually put at lhe beg innin g, though
th ey are sometimes put at the encl, to the left o[ the
sig nature. Even in personal lette rs, it is ofte n wise
to follow the !alter meth od, w hi ch do cs n ot savo r
undu ly of formality , and which pro vides a m e~111s of
identifying the prop er own er of the letter in case it
sho uld fall into t he wrong h a nd s.
\ Vhether the n ame a nd th e address of th e rece iver
a re stated or n ot, th e lette r prope r should beg in
with Sir (exceedingly formal), My cl ear Sir (form :i.l),
D ear S ir 1 (a Ii ttle less formal, perh:i.ps ), Dea r l\'I r.
Smith ( less forma l), Dear S mith, Dear J ohn, etc.
Madam co rres ponds to S ir, a ncl may be use d in
add ress in g e ither married or unm a rried women.
" Friend Smith " is a form of salutati on not now
l Jn addressin g a firm or g roup of indi viduals, one 1nay say Dear
Sirs, or Gentlemen.

,I
111111

!llJ

!!HIJ·I=
11111

: : iji;i
· 11.,i

...... ..

,'. ! ~ H~ :

' l'';

. ; ; d ;:i

; _1;. w,,~
; : :1111·
iI 11
. 1

; ''11I
I

I

1

i'

'llt

[I" I

I

iI
'I

30

Elements of R!tetoric

[CHAP. lI

used, perhaps because we find it hard to think of
fric11d as an adj ective.
14. The End. - Letters should be closed in an appropriate and courteous fashion, e.g. Very truly
yours (t he usual bu siness form), Respectfully yours,
Cordially yours, Faithfully yours, Affectionately
yours, etc. It is only necessary to ad d: ( 1) That in any case, this closing formula should
begin with a capital letter. It was formerly the custom to begin with a capital lette r every word in it,
but this practice is less and less commonly followed.
Th e " yours" should, as a rule, not be omitted.
(2) That the closing formu la must be appropriate to the relations between the sender and the
receiver.
(3) That the closing formula is often woven in, as it
were, with a closing sentence, e.g. Give my love to
your moth er, and believe me, Faithfully yours; or,
With many thanks for your kindness, I am, my dea r
Sir, Faithfully yours. Care should be taken that this
sentence is properly constructed, e.g. n ot as in the
following : Hopin g to hear from you soon, believe
me, Faithfully yours. Here the participle !toping
must, from the point of view of grammar, moClify the
subj ect of believe ; but that would make nonsense.
(4) Except in intimate personal letters, the name
should be signed in the form in which the writer p refers to be addressed, e.g. John J a mes Smith, John
J . Smith, etc. An unmarried woman should prefix
[Miss J to her signature when writing to strangers.

CHAP. II]

111'inor Forms of Composition

31

A married woman should, under the same circumstances, unless she wishes to be addressed by her
own first name or initials, add at the left her husband's name. For example, Mrs. Smith signs herself,
Very truly yours, Martha J . Smith, and writes, at the
left, Mrs. John J . Smith; or, if a widow, Very truly
yours, [Mrs. ] Martha J. Smith.
EXERCISE 6

Write the proper forms for the beginnings and the
endings of the following letters : From a boy at Lawrenceville Academy to his father.
From the same boy to his elder brother, who is a
student at Yale University, New Haven.
3. From a publishing house to one of its patrons.
4. From a student to the principal of his school.
5. From one schoolboy to another.
6. From one lady to ano th er who is an utter stranger.
7. From a lady to a casual acquaintance.
8. From yourself to a business house.
9. From a country-house, The Beeches, where you are
staying, to a friend in Li ttle Rock, Arkansas.
10. From a girl living in New York to the mother of one
of her friends.
1.

2.

15. Letters in the Third Person. - A curious, but
on the whole convenient, custom has arisen of making formal invitations, and similar announcements or
requests, as impersonal as possible. The form of
such communications can best be understood from
the examples given below, which will give a general
idea of the customary forms, though individuals, as

Elemmts

32

of

Rl1etoric

[ c l-IAP. 11

Jlfinor Forms of Co111jiositio1t

CHAP. 11]

wel l as co mmunities, (liffe r with r egard to minor
deta il s. Note th at in a ll no stateme nts are maue in
th e first a ncl second 1 perso ns, and that abbreviations,
a nd all forms of ex pression that would imply h aste
or familiarity, are sedulously avoided.

33

(3)
}Ji,. l1101"ll11-1,,,&'1, n<;i,&& 11-(,iJ, ina6. (,C(,t11 to- a u ,vjv l
t/1,e,

i,nv-Uu.twn of- J/71_,. f.A .-rul 7/hrv. 7-D<AlCf.A,lf!-& fov

J'iA'.cfci y &v&ninq, ,Pan1w. ty tli e.· tliC.u {.
I J ;i/1a·1n01g,lf J>a,J:, ,

Exan1plcs; (r)
(;ii &

i~11nciJi,m-0i, Lvl,&w. VI/

·i&qn&a.CQ. l/; & f,·frco 111t cf 1,1c111

o. t C{4,

(4)

210-e,i 1:i,71
l"r ·J!!

~' 1111"/

:1-wt-Cftli, C0iMV1(,aC R uvjv.C!,on,

on W u{n&"l-cln 1,1· E-V-&nCn9 1 l71o.y t/1-t; l/1-(,"l.c{,
{urni, &u;lit 1(,n.t!,C t &11" o' @;Code
If 7 2 !Bw-ad cll1.u.L
R. Q;. v-. fa-.s

lJL /]'fo1 ll1-nt-i,
I

!

i
1
}

a &@;e,fot.;, w . [{,/i, foluiMii,&
7711". a11"cl l1-7UJ;. dcvl1,f Cdc{' Q, l.nv [ 0:1 C!,on,,
lo- c{lnll e. i,
011" ,!Ji,(,c{a,11 &1.<&n W1-Cj, Ja,mw 1.y ti; & tli l't..·c{,
_f
I
"
'
f
' "
/ ..
aA.na,Ufr?J,C!
~h Q.-6 1! &11.- if UO@;!V .

(2)
(5)

1111". 0,,1-z,d l71UJ; . cfteljuiib1-i WaUa@;&
'1,&cf!1 t.f.{Jl

o~

1J1ui,. UJ(,CCuMn

tli& ;u,e{';(},,'J/1,(,1;{'; 4

.1J1". l71odl1·n&'l,

1

Q;

:!Ii&

M11i,fo0,,1Vlf

o-n <iAu{1.-v11 &v01-iwu11 Janu,a,Vlf
a.t nln& o-' @;Coelv.

t/i.t;

.L<nc{

flC,,,,1,l;,1

lnt,!J,!J,&rv @ef.A,vlv
at 1!0111,t;

tkw{,

:f,u&fUWAt aft&'i,11-00-ntJ, W1" d~(nnaVlf .
11/--5I l77rid lMJn av-&nu&.

1 Jn in vitat ions wh ic h arc wholl y engrave r! or printed th e seco nd
perso n is n ccc~s::uil y use d (r.g . " yo ur company," etc.), in as much as
th e n ame o f eac h perso n add ressed co uld not be inse rted.
2 Oft en writte n in letters ( Fort y-•cvcn) .
8 F or rrj>o11rlrz si'I 1•m1s plait. Th e phrase "the favo r o f an answer
is requ ested" (o r perh aps the less grace ful " please reply") is oft en,
and with good reaso n, used in stead o f the for e ign word s.
4 The writer may su arran ge th e length of th e lin es as to give th e
p age a pleasing appearance, ur, as in (3), ma ke th em all of the same
length .

I

I!
I

l
I

'I

(6)
711UJ.fi, WM'i,Wu7lon
~w& t/1-a,l C(, fv L&V-lO /(,Q; t;n9a Cj&11L&11-t
'l?uvk&Q; it l11i,foo(J;f),[(J_Ct; {o'l, 1/01, lo- c1uvjv t
771'1,Q;. Halt' fl; !,,w(t,d(,o 1/;

fc•i,

e1l

ne..li.wn

on :flin't..fU~1 !{}_@;lof;.&1" tlv& l-wdfUi.
D

Elements of R!tetoric

34

C H AP.

[ CHAP. II

EXERCISE 7
1. ·wr ite, in proper form, JV[rs. A. W. Mo rton's invitation
to Mr. am! M rs. E rnes t L. Seacroft to dine with her on
Thursday next, at eight o'clock.
2 • Wrile a n acceptance to the fo regoing invitation ; a

regre t.
.
.
3 . For the tru stees of th e U ni ve rsity of lV[1nnesota, Mmncapolis, invite the Presid ent of th e U ni versity of C hi cago
to he pr esent at th e lay ing of a co rner-stone .
4 . M iss Ed ith All en is givi ng a card party fo r he r fri end
:Mi ss l\fargaret Roge rs. Write her invitation to Miss Mary
Simpson, and Miss Sim pson's regrets.
.
5. In vite 1\'lr. and Mrs. George Whiting to a n eve nmg
recepti on at whi ch th ere is to be dancing afte r ten o'clock.
Write th e ir acceptance.
6. The graduating class of yo ur high school are send ing
out invitatio ns for their class-day exercises. How should
the invitations he worded?
7. l\ li ss And erso n invites Mrs . Carl Andrews to a formn l
lnncheo n a week from Tuesday. Write the invitation, and
M rs. Andrews's reply.

16. The Body of the Letter. - With regard to the
bo dy of a letter the following advice is worth h eed in g : ( 1 ) Be co urteous.
Even in business letters, which
mu st n at urall y in many cases fo ll ow set fo rm s, there
is no need of omittin;; words necessciry tn th e sense
or to th e sy ntax.1 Be concise, but not-unless you
wis h to rebuke yo ur correspo ndent - curt.
1

E.g. Yours of 4th rec ., and co ntents n oted.

C. 0 . D. on receipt of order.

Resp'y,

vVill ship goods
SMITH

& J ONES.

I

ll]

Minor Forms of Compositiou

35

( 2) In a bu siness le tter b e sure that you have
made yo ur meanin g perfectly clear with out un due
words.
(3) In a p erso nal letter, w ritten fo r th e sake of
friendship, make sure that yo u show your friend th
best a nd most cntertamm g sic c of yo u. Write much
as yo u would ta lk, a nd tell what you thin k your
friend wo uld like to k now.
(4) Take pains about the appeara nce o f what yo u
write. Take pains a lso about the effect of what
you write. Try to write with case a nd r;1ce.
(5) There is a curren superstition that it is
"wron g" to beg in a letter with .!. Pay no attent ion
to .i t. T wo times ou t of three you will fin d it most
n atura l to begin your Jetter with I, ju st as yo u wo uld
find it equally natural to beg in a conversati on in the
same way. Avoid , however, in writin g, an undue
use of th e first perso n, ju st as yo u wo uld in conversation.
(6) Notice letters written by others which a rc good
either because of the skill with which they m a ke
state ments of fac t or business, or because of the skill
with which the writer has transferred his own individuality to his pages, and entertain ed, informed, or
stimulated you as he co uld have done by his spoken
words.
In the examples given below ( r) r ep resents a
formal personal letter to a stran ger, ( 2) a business
letter, (3) a n official letter, and (4), ( 5), an d (6) personal letters of various deg rees of intimacy.
• I
I
1 •

Elements of Rltetoric

[ CHAP. II

CHAP . ll]

M i11or Forms of Comj1ositiu1t
(3)

(1)

l l ARl' A RD UN I V ER SIT Y,

170 MAIN STREET,

CA~ll\R II H :I ·:,

P oRT J.A N 11 , i\ [ A JN E,

Jun c

28,

1900•

.A:fy dear Sir, I ta ke th e liberty of inqumng wheth e r yo u can tell me
if I can find in this country a copy o f the first editi o n
( 1722 ) of D efoe's I'!agNe in London. I have co nsulted th e
catalog ues o f a ll the la rge lib raries, a nd have co mmunicated
with several o f th e la rges t collec to rs of rar e b ooks, but have
so far not succeed ed in findin g a ny trace of th e vo lum e I
wa nt. It occurr ed to me th a t your interes t in D efoe a nd
yo ur famili a rity wi th th e p e ri od mi ght, pe rh a ps, have led you
to a knowl ed ge o f th e fac ts in th e case .
vVith excuses fo r trou bling yo n about so small a ma tter,
I a m, with great res pect,
Faith fully yours,
THOMAS

J.

B ROWN .

H . K . S MITH,
Yale U ni ve rsity.

J' HOI'ESSOR

2 6, 1897 .

S1R: I d esire to tes tify tha t D r. Willi a m T . H a rris has
do ne admirable wo rk as Commi ssio ne r o f E du c:itio n, a nd
th at h e is th e best-qua lifi ed p erso n fo r th e o ffi ce in th e
U nited Sta tes, by reaso n o f hi s natural cap ac it y, hi s studi es
a nd tra in ing, a nd hi s ex peri e nce. Th e re po rts whi ch he
has publi shed a re fa r the best th a t have eve r p roceed ed
fro m th e Burea u o f Edu cati o n, a ncl th ro ugh hi s ex tr:1.0rdina ry industry anti ve ry intellige nt sup e rvisio n, th ey have
bee n iss ued with a rap idity a nd p ro m ptness ll eve r befo re
a tta in ed. All th e teache rs a nd ed ucato rs o f th e eou ntry
e:i rn es tl y d esi re th a t he sho uld he retain ed as Co mmi ss ione r
of E d ucati o n, a nd th a t th e sala ry a ttac h ed to hi s o ffi ce
should be mad e m ore co mme nsura te with its di g nity a nd
impo rta nce .
I a m, sir, wi th res pect, yo ur obedi ent se rva nt,
C H ARLES

\·

\V . E u oT, Prcsirlent.

(4)
2 13 W. 8]Tll ST.,
N Ew Y o RK CI TY,

Jun e 28,

66

A pril

To t!te Presidmt of t!te United Stales: -

(2)

T11 E MACMI LLAN

37

1900_.

Co.,

F IFTH AVENUE.

.Dear Sirs, Will you have th e k indness to send me, by the Manha tta n D e li very Compa ny, the boo ks indi cated on th e
e nclosed li st, c ha rgin g th e m to my account? /\s I am
leav ing th e city fo r th e summ er o n M ond ay n ext, I shall
be o bli ged if you would take pain s to have the m reach me
by Sa turday a fte rnoon , th e 30 th, a t the lates t.
V ery truly yours,

R.

J.

s~ 11n1.

I will gladl y co m e o n Thursd ay,
unl ess so me thin g un expec ted should thrust itself into th e
space betwee n. Thoreau is to he a t my ho use, as he is
e ngaged to lecture he re o n \V edn esd <1y eve nin g; and I s hall
t:ike th e libe r ty to brin g him with m e, un less he have sc rnYo u wo uld find him we ll
ples a bout intruding o n you.
wo rth kn o win g ; h e is a ma n of th o ug ht a nd o ri gin ality, with
a ce rtain iro n -poker- ishn ess, a n un co m promi sing stiffn ess in
his me nta l c haracte r whic h is inte res tin g, th oug h it g rows
rather wearisome o n close and fr eq ue nt acqu:iinta nce . I
s hall be ve ry glad to see E ll e ry C ha nning, - gladd er to see
you.
Your fri e nd,
D EA R

L ONGFE LLOW:

NATH.1. HAWTH ORNE.

I I'.

I

I
I

I

l

~

1'

Elements of R!tetorie

[ CllAP. II

CHAP. II]

(S)
LONGFELLOW TO HIS FAT H E R

DECE~ !BER

5,

1

1824.

From Samuel Longfellow's Life of Henry /Vadswo1·t/i. Io11g/ellow.

39

losophers, that "nothing but Nature can qualify a man for
knowledge." .
Whether Nature has given me any capacity for knowl edge
or not, she has at a ny rate give n me a ve ry strong predilecti on for literary pursuits, and I a m almost co nfid ent in
beli eving th at, if I can ever rise in th e world, it must be by
the exe rcise of my talent in th e wi de fi eld of literature.
With such a beli e f, I must say that I a m un willin g to engage
in th e stud y of law.
H e re, then, see ms to be the starting-point: and I think
it best for me to float out into the world t1p on th a t tid e and
in that c hannel whic h will the soonest brin g me to my d estined port, and no t to stru ggle agains t both wind and tide,
and by attempting what is imposs ible lose everything.

1

I take thi s early opportunity to write to yo u, because
wish to know full y yo ur inclinat ion with regard to th e profession I am to pursue wh en I leave coll ege .
For my part, I have already hin ted to yo u what would
best pl ease m e. I want to spe nd one yea r at Cambri dge
for th e purpose o f reading hi story, a nd o f becomin g familiar
with the best authors in po lite literature; whil st at th e sa me
tim e I can be acqu iring a kn ow ledge of the Itali an language,
without an acqua intance with whi c h l shall be shut out from
o ne of the most beautiful departments o f lette rs. Th e
F re nc h I mean to understand p retty thorou gh ly befo re I
leave college . After leaving Cambri dge, I wou ld attac h
myself to some literary periodi cal publication, by whi ch I
could mainta in myself and still enjoy the advan tages of
reading . Now, I do not think that there is anyt hin g visionary o r chim eri cal in my pla n thus far. The fact is - and
I will not disguise it in th e least, fo r I think I ought not
- the fac t is, I most eagerly aspire after futur e em inence in
lite rature; my wh ole soul burns most ardently for it, and
every ea rthly thoug ht centres in it. There may be something visionary in !!tis, but I fl atter myself that I have prud ence enough to kee p my enthusiasm fr o m defeating its own
objec t by too great has te. Surely, th ere never was a better
opportunity offered for the exertion of literary tal ent in our
own country than is now offered . To be sure, most of our
literary men thus far have not been professed ly so, until th ey
have stud ied and entered the prac tice of Theology, Law, or
Medicine. But this is ev id entl y lost time. I do believe
that we o ught to pay more attention to the opin io n o f phi-

Minor Forms of Composition

/'

(6)
Gu m Housic, N .Il.,
July IO, 1890.
DEAR

Tmr, -

I may safely assum e that by this time you a nd B. are
past the peri ls of the d ee p, a nd safely domi cil ed in the
Q ua rtier Latin, or some oth er equa ll y d electable section of
ancient Lutetia. And I suppose that you arc living a somewha t busier a nd more en terta ining ki nd of life than I am
up here, stu ck in betwee n Mt. Was hington and Mt. something e lse, without six other peo ple in the house within
ten years of my own age. It is so far th e most dead-andalive so rt of place, considerin g a ll the circumstances, that I
have ever been in. The society is consid ered to be the
best in the mountains, whi c h means the best in Boston,
which again means that I have been here a wee k and have
ha rdly made a speaking acquaintance .
I have been introduced to just two people, one of whom
has since left the house. T he re is one young fellow of

!·'I

40

E lcmmts of R !tetoric

[ C ll /\ I'. 11

twe nt y o r so who m I fe lt wa rrant ed in addressing wilh o ul
a n int ru du c ti o n, and who d ocs we ll enoug h to go wa lking
and play te nni s with; and o n his ::i cco unt his pare nts ( by
th e wa y, th e who le thr ee o f th e m si t at the same tab le with
11 s, th e ycnm g rn a 11 opposite me, the mo th e r bes id e me)
have spok e n a "good mo rnin g," o r so methin g o f th e so rl.
twi ce e ac h. Th e re is a yo un g marri ed co upl e wit.h :rn old
m a id siste r a nd a ve ry li1-c ly hoy . Th e ::1Jo res:1id boy has
m:id e my acr1u a i11ta ncc , am! th e o ld m aid is trying lo. i\
Trini ty professo r is o ne of the two to who m I was int ro du ced; .L tri ed to start him o n the markin g sys te m, e tc .,
a nd was succee din g fairl y we ll whe n h e left. Th e fa n1il y
with who m J a 111 li vin g co mpri ses fi ve pe rso ns, a nd there
a rc o nl y th ree p eo pl e with wh o m a ny of t he m exc ha nge a
wo rd b eyo nd o rdin a ry c ivili ti es . Th e fami ly who sit ::it o ur
ta ble, rn e11tionc J a bo1·e, see m neve r lo speak with a1 1y one
whate ver.
W e ge t up Lo breakfast at e ig ht, sit round til l te n, wh e n
l go to wo rk with m y pupil , fini sh at tw e lve, s it ro und till
two, eat dinn e r, s it round till seve n, eat su ppe r, sit ro und
t.ill l>e <ltim e, go to bed , ge t up at e ight a nd rep eat th e
prog ra mm e. Th e a rriY al a nd de parture of coaches is ::i b out
th e o nl y e xc ite me nt. Th ere are plenty of excu rsi('n s, a nd
th e fi sh in g is good ; bu t th e wh im o f Mr. C. to ':ave o m
wo rk cx:tctl y in th e middl e o f lhe d ay lets me out o f C\'erythin g o f the ki nd exce pt Sund ays, when I suspect it is no t
exac tly "good fo rm." Neve rtheles':, yo un g B ro wn a nd I
we nt u p to Tuc kc nn a n's Rav ine yes terd ay, and I e nj oyed it
hu ge ly. O ne o f th e me n di scovered a rock behind th e
ho use which h e a nn oun ced as a p etrified tree. It was very
ev id e n tly b laste d fro m a whole led ge just lik e it nea r l.J y,
but ev e ry o n e in th e ho use had to go out a nd loo k at it,
a ncl th e <l isc ussion furni she d ma teri al for a rippl e of inte res t
whi c h lasted all clay. You can judge by tha t what the style o f

C HAP . ll]

lltfinor For111s of Co m/ositio ll

41

li fe he re mus t b e. \V e a re to hav e a Le nni s cour t nex t week,
says th e m::i n in th e office; l.Ju t so a rc we Lo have va ri ous
ot he r thin gs at that tim e, suc h as wate r in th e bathroo m, a
li ght in the e levato r, a nd hoo ks in our bedroo ms ( close ts
ar e unkn ow n, a nd th e o nl y place to ha ng up a nyt hin g is th e
Ooo r) . Th e who le affair is li ke ge ttin g th e mitte n, o r fa llin g
o n th e ice - greatly am us ing L ..iuts id c rs, but ra th e r ha rd
o n th e vic tims.
G ive m y love to B., a nd look fo r a le tte r wit h my Ue rlin
address abo ut th e fift ee nth o r O c to ber. If you thi nk th e re
is a c han ce of hi ttin g me wit h a n :111 swc r to thi s be fvre
Se pte mbe r 10, se nd o ne to the addr ess a t th e head of thi s
shee t.
As eve r yours,

E . S.

D UNCAN .

EXERCISE 8
I. Write to a school fri e nd, in vitin g he r to tak e lun c he on
with a n oil! class ma te of he rs at yo ur ho me. Jk specifi c
as to date a nd ho ur.
2. Write to a lecture r who is to address yo ur hi g h
sc hool lite rary socie ty, tha nking hi m fo r his wi llin g ness
to co me, a nd g ivin g him informa ti o n as to the locati o n of
th e sc hool, the a rra nge men ts for hi s rece ptio n, e tc ., e tc .
3. Write a no te o f tha nks fo r a boo k rece ived ::i s a
birthday g ift.
4. App ly to a bus in ess house fo r a p os ition as ste nograph er. Sta te yo ur qu a lifi cations trn cl reco mm encl:i ti o ns.
5. Write to th e prin cipal o f your sc hoo l, ::isk in g fo r th e
use of roo m No. 319, o n " ' ecln esd ay aft e rn oo n, fo r a class
mee tin g.
6. Write a le tter o f int rod uc ti o n to your cle rgy m a n fo r
one o f your fri e nd s.
7. Write a lette r o f recomm e ndat io n for a se rvant ; fo r

42

Elements of R!tetoric

[ CIJAP. II

a boy who wishes to obtain a position as bookk eepe r in a
retail dry- good s house.
8. Write to your teacher a note of excuse for ta rdiness.
9. Write a no te, to be signed by your moth er, askin g
the prin c ipal o f yo ur school to give yo u a wee k's leave of
absence because of your illn ess.
10. \Vrite a note of apology for having failed to kee p an
appointm ent with a fri end. Ex pla in how you were cl elaye<l,
and arrange for another mee ting.
1 r. \Vrite to a classmate, ·a nnoun cing his elec ti on to a
class o ffi ce .
J 2 . \Vrite a lette r to som e member o f your family who
has bee n a way fro m home fo r a wee k. T e ll her what th ings
of inte rest to her have occurred during her a bse nce .
J 3. \Vrite
to a fri end whom you have just been
visiting.
14. In vite yo ur cousin to visit you fo r two wee ks. Set
th e d a te o f hi s o r her visit, give informati on conce rnin g
routes, tim e o f trains, etc., and make arrange me nts for
meet ing him o r li er.
15. Write to a n intima te fri e nd wh o is abroad, a nd wh o
is spec ially inte rested in so me one of th e fo llowing topi cs :
sc hoo l a ffairs, literary matters, local politics, social events,
ll1ll SIC.
1 G. Write to your family from som e place whi ch yon
have visited.
r 7. Write, for the bulletin board, a notice of the m~eting
of a society or class.

CHAP.

n]

Minor Forms of Composition

43

serving h ow th ey gave fr eshness, interes t, a nd vi gor
to what they wrote, eve n on trivial subj ects ; the
good taste they displayed; and th e degree to which
they revealed th eir character. In the eightee nth
century the most interesting collection s of En g lish
letters are those written by Sir Ri cbarcl Steele, T.ore!
Ches terfi eld, and Benj a min :rra nklin. In thi s ce ntury alm ost every g reat auth or in En gland a nd
America has left an entertaining corresp ond ence,
whi ch has n ot been long in findin g its way into print.
The student will perh a ps be mos t drawn by th e le tte rs of L ongfellow, L owell, and Stevenson- to mention only three out of many.

.

.1,i.
'~

1;,
11t'

"'''! I I
~

i I

:i

' 11 ·

'ifr
i I
'I
,1

'I

I
I

I
I

,,!

17. Letters in Literature.-The student is advised
to loo k up at his conveni enc e on e or more of the
g reat Eng li sh lette r-writers. H e sh ould n ot necessa ril y use th em as models, but he may pro fit by ob-

II .

• "I

Elements of Rlteto1ric

44

[CHAP. Ill

CHAPTER III
DESCRIPTION
18. T1rn VAR 1011s ](1 N 11 s !lF PR <> s r:
o F l h :sr: 1rn'T10N . l •:n: RCJ SE 9 . -

21. S 1·:u :r;T1<• N ANIJ S11 ra:i s rn> N. -

22. S lJ(;r; 1°:sT 10N (co NT JN UE D). IN

Co ~ 11 ·o s 1T1 nN . - l9 .

2 0 . 1'1.AN, ll Kri\ 11.s, AN ll P u l N T
0

Ex1·:J<C I S1': 11. -

uF

T11r-: ADI
\111-:w. -

Ex 1·:J<CJS I•: 10.23. DESCIUL'T JON

J ,JT E RATURL

18. The Various Kinds of Prose Composition. - The
forms of pro se co mposition with w hich wc arc most
fam ili ar are the nove l, the short story, the essay, the
biog rap hy, th e boo k of travels , th e serm on, the play,
etc., an cl, if we c hose, we mi g ht take these up one by
o ne, di sc ussin g th e p rinciples applicable to eac h. The
di sadvantages of such a meth od would be tw ofold:
( 1) th e young wr iter s hould not, a t this stage in hi s
prog ress, attempt to co mp ose n ovels, books of travel,
play s, o r serm ons, and mu ch of our inquiry wouhl
he nce be ill-tim ed; and (2) several of the forms mention ed have mu ch in co mmon, - the nove l antl th e
biog rap hy for exampl e, both bein g narratives, - and
we s hould thus be co nstantl y retrac in g our steps. It
is wisest, th e refore, to treat only th e few kind s of co mposit ion w hi ch a rc, as it were, elements, and of whi ch
a ll the ot he rs may be regard ed as composed by a
process of combinatio n.
We may say roug hly that th ere are only fi ve such

C~i\P. JU

J

D escription

45

kinds of writing. In all prose composition we try
either ( l ) to reproduce in th e mine.ls of others a
picture of persons or things like that existing in our
own . mine.l s (Desc ription); or (z) to reproduce in the
minds of ot hers a picture of a series of events like that
present in our own minds (Narrative); or (3) to explain or expound to others, in a systematic way, what
we th in k (Ex position); or (4) to convince other s of
the truth of what we believe (Argument); or (S) to
persuade oth ers to do wha t we wis h (Persuasion).
19. The Aim of Description. - In descripti on th e
aim of the writer is to reproduce, in the mind of
another, a p ict ure as like as p oss ible to one existing
in his own mind. T hi s can be done in two ways, (r) by giving details, one by one, in an orderly fashion,
until th e total picture is built up; or (2) by c hoosing
details that will s uggest othe rs, and thus, as it were,
conjure up th e im ages desired.
20. Plan, Details, and Point of View. - Let us first
conside r the method that makes use of many details,
arra nged in a n orde rly fas hion. R ead carefully th e
fo llowing extracts, notin g th e total picture which
ari ses in your mind as th e resu lt of eac h.
(1) " C HJ.MNEvSwwr. - Length,5to5.4 5 in ches. About
a n inch shorter th an th e E ngli sh sparrow. Long wings make
its le ngth ap pear greate r. Deep soo ty gray; throat of a
triA e light er gray. Wings extend a n inch a nd a half beyond
the even tai l, which has sharply pointed and elas tic qui lls,
whi ch se rve as props. Feet a re mu scul a r and have exceedingly sharp claws." - BLANC ll AN : Bird Ne~~!tbors .

Elc111c11ts of Rltetoric

[ CHAP. IH

(2 ) " Geo rge Was hing ton may be described as being as
strai ght as an Indian, meas urin g six fee t two in ches in his
stoc kings, a nd we ighing r 75 po unds wh en he took his scat
in th e H ouse o f Burgesses in q59. Hi s frame is padd ed
with well -d e velo ped mu scles, indicatin g great streng th. I li s
bones a nd jo ints arc large, as a re hi s feet a nd hands. H e is
wid e-s ho ulcl ercd , hut has not a dee p or round chest; is nca twa istccl , but is b rn:id ac ross th e hips, and has rath er long
legs and arm s. Hi s head is well-s haped th ough not large,
a nd is g race fu 11 y po ised on a supe rb neck. A large and
straig ht rath er th an promin ent nose ; blu e-gray penetratin g
eyes, whi ch a re wi dely se parated a nd overhun g by a hea vy
b ro w. Hi s face is long rath er th an broad, with hig h round
chee k-bones, a nd te rmin ates in a good firm chin . H e has
a cl ear th oug h rath er a co lorless pa le skin , whi c h burns wi th
th e sun. A pl eas ing, benevolent, though a co mm anding
coun te nance, d a rk brow n hair, whi c h he wears in a cue. JI is
mot1th is large, a nd ge nerall y firml y close d, but from tim e to
tim e di scloses so me de fecti ve teeth. Hi s features a rc regula r and placid, with all th e muscles of hi s face un de r perfect
control, th ot1 gh infl ex ible and ~x pr essive of d ee p fee ling wh en
aroused by e mo tion. In conversation he looks yo u full in
the fa ce, is d e liberate, d efe rential, a nd engaging. Hi s voice
is ag reeable ra th er tha n stron g. His de m eanor at all times
co m posed a nd dignifi ed ."
-Q uoted fr om George N urse in

F O RD' S

The Tnte George /V11 sh in.i;to11 •

( 3) "Th e scene [ on entering New Yo rk H a rbor] is among
th e fin est th at th e eye can look up on. T o the ri ght ha nd is
the Lon g I sla nd shore, handso mely shade d, with pretty \·illas
and hamlets p cepitig out fr om th eir scree ns of fo li ~ge . On
th e le ft ha nd th e hills of Sta te n Island ris e mu ch higher,
crown ed wi th no ble mansions, while bustling villages lin e th e
edge of the bay. T be water presents a co nstantly c hanging
pa norama. T all, white-sailed ships, swiftly moving, snorting

CHAP. III]

D escription

47

and puffin g tu gs, great mklike ferr y-boats, o f uniqu e style ,
lookin g like houses built on rafts, large and stately steamboats with cabins tie r above tier, grace ful pl easure yac hts,
tall-m asted and broad -sail ed schooners, fl o till as of barges
and lighte rs, with fl ee ts o f vessels anc ho red, representing a ll
nationalities, are scattered over th e wide ex panse . A bac kground is fo rm ed by the distant c iti es, and th e steamer moves
northward towards the statu e o f Li be rty o n Becl loe's I sla nd,
and th e c lu ster o f green foli age fla nke d by the ro und buikling o f Castl e Gard en in Battery Park."
-A Visit to the States. A R ep rint o f L ette rs from th e Spec ial
Correspo nd ent of the Londun T im es.

(4) "The city o f Granad a lay in th e ce ntre of th e kingdom, she!tered as it were in the lap o f the Sierra Nevada, or
cha in of snowy mountains. It cove red two lofty hills, and a
d eep vall ey that di vides the m, throu gh whi c h flows th e rive r
Darro. One of these hills was crowned by the ro yal palace
and fo rtress of the Alha mbra, capable o f cont a ining fo rty
th ousand men within its walls a nd towe rs. . . . Oppos ite
to th e hill on whi ch stood th e Alham bra was its ri val hill , on
th e summit o f whi ch was a spacious pl a in , covered with
houses, and c rowd ed with inhabita nts. It was command ed
by a fortr ess called the Alcazaba. The d ec livities and skirts
of th ese hills were covered wi t h houses to th e num ber o f
seventy thousand, separated by narr ow stree ts and small
squares, accord in g to the custo m o f Moo ri sh citi es. The
houses had interior courts a nd gard ens, re freshed by fo untains and runnin g streams, and set out with oranges, citrons,
and pomegrana tes; so tha t, as th e edifi ces of the city rose
above each o th er on th e sides of th e hills, they presented a
mingled appearance o f city a nd grove, Llelightful to the eye.
Th e whole was surrounded by hig h wall s, three leagues in
circuit, with twelve gates, and fortifi ed by a thousand and
"thirty towers." - IR VING : Conquest of Cnwnrln .

Elc111mts uf Rlicloric

CHi\l'. lll]

[ c 11 1\I '. Ill

(S) "In ali New Engbncl th e re is no pl easant e r I. ow n tl1:1n
Portland, in th e slate o f Maine. Built up on a pe ninsula in
Casco Bay, it looks d o \rn upo n th e wate rs fr o 111 a ce ntral
rid ge, a nd at eac h e nd rises into a hill. Th e eas tern o ne o f
th ese co mmand s a n enchantin g vi ew down the bay a nd orcr
its wood ed is lands.
From th e wes tern h eight e x.Le nd s a
c ha rming p rosp ect ove r low la nds and a tid e -ri ve r ind e nt ed
with many shady coves, far away to the hili-ra 11gcs \rh osc
summits li e :i lo ng th e ho rizon. Hi ghes t o f these is th e pea k
of i\It. Washin g to n, so me sev e nt y mil es a way as th e bird
Oi es, so ftly Lin e in summ e r, in winter dazzling white , in the
no rth wes t. Th e str ee ts arc shad ed with a rc hin g e lms, und er
whi c h o ne gets glimpses of th e water, a nd ar c coole d in
s11mme r b y th e sea- breezes. Th e houses, o f wood o r b ri c k,
s tand mostl y apart fr o m eac h o th e r in g ree n ya rd s a nd ga rd e ns. On th e o utsk ir ts of th e tow n are fi elds a nd pastures,
and a pre tty pi ece o f woods- a g rove o f oaks - lo ng known
as D ee rin g 's Woods; now, Ly g ift o f its inh eritors, prese rv ed
a s a park." - S/\~ 1 1 1 1-:1. LoN1 :Fi-:1.1.u\V: l.ije of !!. IV. l.011.gji·llo;v.
(G) " i\11 visito rs to Cambrid ge arc fami li a r with th e spa c io us o ld - fashi o ned hcrn se [Cr:tig ic I I ouse 1, pain tee! in ye ll ow
;iml white, wh ic h stan d s far ba c k fro m Brattle Stree t o n the
ri g ht, as one goes from Harvard Square to l\'Iount Aubmn.
/\ g:1teway in th e oddly p atte rn ed fe nce op en s t hrough a
lil ac he d ge in to th e lo ng wa lk, a t the e ncl of whi c h, up low
Oig hts o f ste ps, th e house sta nd s o n its grassy te rraces . Its
ample front o f two sto ri es ex te nd s, in cludin g th e b roa d
verandas, to a wiclth of m ore than e ighty feet. There arc
large clumps o f lila c bushes upon th e g reensward, and on
th e le ft an age d and lo ft y elm tree throws its shad ows up on
th e house , a nd sig hs for its co mpa nion, kill e cl ma ny years
ago by canke r worms and too vi goro us pruning . An !tnlinn
ba lustrade a lo ng th e first terrace is a late additi o n; Lut th e
roof is crowned with a simil ar railin g of the old day s. Be-

I

D cscriptiu1t

49

twee n the tall white pilasters which mark th e width of th e
ha llway, th e front do o r s till re tains th e brass knocke r whi c h
a·nn o unced many a visito r to th e a nc ie nt hospitaliti es, a nd
whi c h eve n now occa s io nall y a nswe rs to th e hand o f a
strange r, o r the s ma ll boy wh o d ocs not sec the mod e rn
be ll-knob, and whose wcrncler is duly ro used by th e c umbrou s old loc k, with its k ey th a t mi g h t h ave b elonged to a
Hastii e. In the white- wa inscoted ha ii is a ha ndso me staircase, with lnoad, lo w ste ps, a nd v::n io 11 sly twi sted b:ilu ste rs.
On th e le ft ope ns th e drawin g -roo m , which, with its d ee p
wind o w-seats, its arc hed r ecesses, its m arLl e mantel surm ounted Ly a broa d pa nel se t in a n arch itectural frame,
re ma ins a fine specime n of a ' colon ia l ' inte ri o r. Oppos ite
lo thi s is a s imil ar room, of mu c h si1t1plc r, l1ul sli ll sub; La nti a l styl e, - in a ll th e la te r ye ars th e poet's study. Beyond
is a s pac io us apa rtm e nt no w used as a lib rary, whose windows c ommand th e garden and gro und s. Above are the
chambers, whose broad fir eplaces are framed in old-fashioned
Dutc h til es." - /bid.
( 7) "\Vhen he w:1s within th e g:ik, l.ill,., rt s:1w thrre
b roa d road s be fo re him , stre tc hin g d o wnwa rd from th e hi g he r
Janel ou which th e city wall was Luilt. Vas t and magnificent , Const;111ti1wple lay a t hi s fPP t, a ri c h di sorder of
pa laces and churches a nd towe rs. On th e le ft, the qui e t
wate rs o f th e G old e n H o rn made a b road , blue pat h to m ee t
th e Jlos ph o rus in th e hazy di sta nce b e for e him ; o n th e
right, th e Sea of Marmo ra was d azz ling white und e r the
m o rnin g sun, wh e re its mirror-like re Oec ti o ns cou ld be see n
between th e tow e rs of th e sea-wall. . . . Far befo re him ,
and, as it see med, near th e e ncl of th e c entral street, a dom e
rose above the leve l of the surro undin g city, rai sing its
gold e n cross to th e d ee p sky. With out h esitation, Gilbe rt
chose that road and followed it."
-

E

CR/\ \VFORD:

Via Crucis.

Elcmnzts of Rhetoric

50

[CHAP. Tll

(8) "The plateau sudd enly breaks upon a prec1p1tous
declivity, and Orvieto, till that moment un see n, appe:irs
crowni ng a rocky height which ri ses solita ry and abrupt
from a deep vall ey. So narrow is the vall ey that, from th e
point wh ere lh e plateau breaks, the city seems alm ost within
musket- shot. But the perfect isolation of the mountain
upon which it stands, no spur or ridge connec ting it with
those that li e nearest to it, makes the approach to the city
slow and difficult, and gives to it a peculiar and striking
characte r of inaccessibility. Th e truncated oval cone of an
extinct volcano, the height lifts itse lf with almost perpe nd icular sid es for more than seve n hundred fee t, ri sing from th e
valley lik e a solitary islet of rock. . . . The city 1rith it s
gray walls set upon the topmost edge of the scarped reddi sh
cliff, with th e towers of its c hurches and the gal.Jles and pinnacles of its cath edral showing cl ear against th e sky, and
shining with various color in the sun light, looks like a hasreli ef cut on the smooth face of the rock. Near behind it,
half encirclin g it, li es an un even range of brown ~ nd purpl e
mountain s, as if to shut it out from the world in a seclusion of its own. The lowe r slopes of the height are rich
with vin eyards, fa rm s, and wide-spread convents set dee p in
trees. The little Pagli a winds throu gh the gree n vall ey on
its way to the Tiber, and vanishes amon g the hills . . . Th e
city loses some thing of its apparent beauty, as, after the
long ascent to its gates, one enters its dark and dirty street>.
I ts walls are too big for it, for it h:1s shrunk since th ey wt; re
liui It. lts palaces are mostly dese rted, more th an one of
its old churches is neglected, an a ir of decay pervad es it,
sav e only in th e square on which its cathedral stand ;;,
wh ere its ancient splendor remain s undimini shed, and seems
eve n more brilliant than of old, from con trast with the
surrounding changes of decline-''
-

NORTON:

}1/otes of Travel and Study i11 Italy .

CHAP. III]

D escription

51

In these excellent descriptions there are several
points worthy of especial notice: (a) Particularly in the first three extracts the language is simple. Indeed, in none of them except (7)
and (8) is there any attempt at richness of s tyle. A
good picture can, then, be produced in the mind of
the reader merely by the clea r and orde rly statement
of d e tails, without resortin g to nieans for ma king the
picture impressive. You should feel that, by care
and thought, you can write as g ood descriptions as
have the authors of the first six extracts.
(b) In each of the extrac ts there is a distinct plan.
In (I), the author, who is purposely writing in the .
form of n otes or memoranda, mentions successively
th e size, color, wings, and tail of the bird. In (2),
Washington's size, fra me, h ead, and face are taken
up in the order mention e d . In (3), the scene on
the right is first described; then those on the left,
arou nd, and ahead.
(c) In (3), (6), (7), and (8), there is not only an
obvious plan, but a n obvious "point of view, " and
this expression must b e taken in its literal sense, as
indicating the position of the spectator, and not his
mental attitude. In (3), the spectator is supposed to
be on the deck of a steamer entering N cw York
Harbor; in (6), he approaches the Longfellow house
from in front; in (7), he vie ws Constantinople from
an emin ence; in (8), he describes the hill-town of
Orvieto, first as seen from a distance, and then as he
enters it.

!

!.i ;.
:·i.

"

I
it "

1'

., .

i

I

"'
'I'
dI
I
'1

I.
'I

T

I

II

,,

I

I

'I ·u

52

Elements of R!tetoric

[ C HAP . 111
CHAP. Ill]

D escrip tio?t

53

EXERC I SE 9

I. Select fr om your own reading a t least two d esc ripti o ns
whic h clea rly show pla n. Can you de termin e th e write r's
p oint of view?
II. Write, with especial re ference to plan and to accuracy
o f d e ta il, o ne- parngra ph d esc riptio ns of
(a) A bird, a nim al, or pla nt.
( /,) A bu ilding, e.g. th e school building, th e tow n hall.
C hoose a ln1i lclinrr fami liar to you r class mates. If necessa ry,
m ake a spec:ial surv ey of it to ver ify yo ur d etails.
( c) A sce ne, fr om so me definite point of view, e.g. fro m
a hi ll ; fr om a wind ow ; fro m a d efinit e point in a street or
sq ua re . Do no t fail to make yo ur point of vi e w an d your
plan o f d esc ripti o n qu ite clear.
(d ) Your town, or som e p art o f it . Ee careful not to
lose your ge ne ral plan in too man y d etails.
(e) So me perso n know n to the class. Try to kee p th e
pi ctur e a ltogeth er accurate a nd to m ake it full , but nvo id a ny
indicat io n of pn so nal feeling o r b ias. T est your d esc ri pt ion
by see in g ho w many o f th e class k now whose po rtrait it is
a nd ;ire willing to acce pt it as fo ir.
III. D escri be th e same obj ec t from two differe nt points
o f view; e.g . a bui ldin g as see n from th e fro nt a nd fro m th e
rear ; a tow n seen from a distan ce a nd from a point near hy;
a city see n fr o m a houseto p o r a steeple, and fr o m a street
be low your hi gh point of obse1vation.
I V. Write a descripti on seve ral paragraphs in len gth,
kee ping your pla n quite cl ear, but und e r each ge ne ral d i\·isio n of yo1ir plan giving enoug h de tails to make your pic ture
fu ll.

21. Selection and Suggestion. - Th e ;:um o f a ll the
ex trac ts qu ot ed in the precedin g section was ' to produc e in the r ead er's mind a clear pic ture.

Few or

n o n e of th e m atte mpte d t o aro u se o ur e m otio ns a nd
to m a k e u s r ea li ze the b eauty or p o we r of a partic u la r
sce n e.

Let us turn n ow to a n o th e r sort of descriptio n,

th a t w hic h , b y a rtful select ion of d e t a ils a nd by s u ggesti o n s of various so rts, attempts t o put us into a
g iven m ood with r egard to a g iven p erso n or scene.
R e ad carefully th e fo llowing ex trac t s, n o tin g w h a t
pic ture is broug ht before yo ur mind by each, an d
what yo ur f eelin g is r egarding it: -

( r ) " Standin g, Sir Arnold was scarce ly o f medium height,
bu t se;i ted he was not noliceably small ; a nd , lik e ma ny men
o f short stature, he bestowed a co nstant ;rnd th oug h tfu l care
upon his p erso nal a ppeara nce, whic h resulted in a so rt of
pe rm a ne nt compensati o n.
His d a rk bea rd was c ut to a
point, and so care full y clipped as to re mind o ne o f those
s moothly clipped tr ees rep rese nti ng peacocks a nd drago ns,
whi c h have bee n the d eli g ht of th e Italia n gard e ner eve r
since th e days of fl iny. H e wore hi s ha ir neith e r lo ng no r
sho rt, but th e sil ky loc ks we re carefu ll y parted in th e mid dl e
and s mo oth ed back in ri ch dark waves . Th ere was so mething a lm ost irri tat in g in th eir unnatu ral smoo thn ess, in the
pe rfec t trans pare ncy of th e ma n's h ealthy oli ve complex io n,
in the mo uselike sleekn ess of h is lo ng a rc hin g eye brows,
and in th e p e rfect self-satisfactio n a nd confid e nce of hi s
rat her in solent reddi s h-brown eyes.
Hi s strai g ht, rou nd
throat, well proporti o ned , we ll set upon hi s shou ld ers, a nd
transparently smoo th as his ow n fo reh ead, was th rown into
relief by the exqui site gold embroide ry that edged th e shirt
of fi nes t Fle mi sh lin e n. H e wo re a close- fittin g tunic o f fin e
scarlet cloth , wi th tig ht sleeves slig htly turneu back to display his shapely wri sts; it was gath e red to his wa ist by a
splendid sword-belt, made of linked an d enam elled plates

I

I' "

I'

'

11

54

Elements of Rltctoric

[ CHA P. Ill

of silver, th e work of a sk illed Byzantin e arti st, each plate
represe nti ng in rich colors a littl e scene from th e life and
passio n o f C hri st. The straight cross-hilted sword stood
leaning :1gain st th e wall near the great chimn ey- piece, but
th e dagger was still a t the belt, a marvel of workmanship, a
wonder of temper, a triumph of Eastern art, wh en alm ost
all art was Eas tern. The hilt of solid gold , eight-sid ed and
notched, was cross-chisell ed in a d elicate b11t dee p design,
picked out with rou gh gems, se t with cunnin g irregularity;
th e g uard , a holl owed di sk of steel, graven and .inla id in go ld
with K ufl c c haracters; the bbd e, as long as a man's arm
fro m th e elbow to th e wrist-joint, forged of steel a nd silve r
by a smith of lh rnascus, well- bala nced, slend er, with deep
bl ood- chann els scored on each side to within four fingers of
the thrice-hard e ned point, that could prick as delicately as
a nee dl e or pi erce line ma il lik e a sp ik e driven hy a sledgeha mm er. The tuni c fell in fo lds to the kn ee, and th e close flttecl cloth hose were of a rich da rk brown. Sir Arnold
wo re sho rt riding-boots of dark purple leather, having th e
to ps work ed ron nd with a fin e scarlet laci ng; but th e spurlea th ers were of th e same color as th e boot a nd the spurs
themselves of steel, small, sharp, unorname nted, a nd workman like." - CRAWFORD: Via Cntcis.
[Here th e aut hor's a im obviously is, by the careful selection of de ta ils, both to acqllaint us with the form, features,
and at tire of the vill a in of his story, and to arouse in us distru st and di slike for one so poli shed in his mann ers and so
p ettily perfect in his garb.]

( 2) "It was, as I have said, a line autumnal clay. The sky
was clear a nd se rene, and na ture wore that rich and gold en
livery whi ch we always associa te with the id ea of abundance. The forests had put on their sober brown and yellow,
while some trees of the tenderer kind had been nipped by

CHAP. III]

Desc1'iption

55

the frosts into brilliant dyes of orange, purple, and scarlet.
Streaming files of wild ducks began to make th eir appearance high in th e air; the bark of the squirrel mi ght be
heard from the groves of beech and hi ckory nuts, and th e
pensive whis tle of th e quail a t interva ls from the neighboring stubble-field.
"The small birds were tak ing thei r farewell hanq 11 ets.
In th e fuln ess of their revelry th ey flu tte red, chirpin g and
froli cking, from bush to hush and tree to tree, ca priciol!s
from the very profusion a nd vari ety arou nd them. There
was the honest cock -robi n, the favorilc ga rn c of strijJling
sportsmen, with its loud , querulou s note; a nd the twitterin ba
blackbirds fl ying in sabl e clouds; and t he golcl e1Hvinged
woodpecker, wi th his crimson crest, hi s b roa d black brrorrref
b
and spienclid plu1uage; and the ced:ir bird, with its rerl-tipt
wings and yello w-tipt ta il , and its li tt le mnn teirn cap uf
f:alhers; and th e bl11 e jay, th at noisy coxco mb, in hi s gay
li ght blu e coat and white underclothes, screa min g and chatterin g, noddin g and bobbing and bowing, and pretend ing to
be on good terms with every songs ter of the grove."
J

- I l(Y J,\t::

I egelld o.f .Vcr:py !follow .

[ Note the definiteness o f th e d etails used, and the d egree
to whi ch our imaginations are stimulated b)' color so und
'
'
and motion. J

(3) "Ichabod was a suitable fi gure for such a steed. He
rode with short stirru ps, whi c h brought his kn ees nearly up
to th e pommel of his sadd le; hi s sharp elbows stuc k out
like grasshoppers' ; he carried his whip perpendi cularly in
his band, like a sceptre, ancl as his horse jogged on, th e
motion of his arms was no t unlike the fl a pp ing of a pa ir of
wings. A small wool hat rested on th e top of his nose, for
so his scanty strip of forehead might be call ed ; and the
skirts of his black coat fluttered out almost t o the horse's

56

Elements uf Rhetoric

[CllAI'. Ill

tail. Suc h wa s th e app earance o f Ichabod anr l hi s steed as
th ey sha mbl ed o ut of the ga te of H a ns Va n Ripp e r. " -.!/>id.
[ Co mpa re thi s with ( 1), and note that thi s is a ho ld o ntlin e sketc h, g ivin g us a di stinct impress io n o f Jchah ud's
a wkwarclness and rn sti c i ty. J
(4) " l'r e tly soo n it d a rk ened up, a nrl began to th unde r
:uHl li g hte n ; so th e birds was ri g ht. abo ut it. 1l ir ectly it
beg un to rai 11 , a nd it rained lik e a ll fur y, too, a nd I nc,· e r
sec th e wind bl o w so . lt was o ne of these regul a r summ e r
sto rm s. ]t \\'rnild ge t so d a rk th at it looked a ll blu e bl ac k
n1 1ts id e, and lovel y; a nd th e r:1in wou ld thrash a lo11 g b v so
thi c k that the t rees off a li ll le ways loo ked dim a nd s pid erwe bh y; a nd he re \YOttl d come a bl as t o f wind th at wo11l d
be nd th e tr ees d ow n a nd turn up th e pa le und e r side o f th e
leaves; an d th e n a pe rfec t ripp e r o f a g ust wou ld fo ll o w
a lo ng a nd set th e bra nches to tossin g their a rm s as if t.h c y
was jn st wild ; a nd nex t, wh en it was just abo11t the hli1est
a nd IJl:t c kest -jrt / it was as bright as glo ry, a nd you' d
ha ve a littl e g lim pse o f tree- tops a -plung ing abo ut a1yay off
yo nd e r in th e sto rm, hundr ed s of ya rds furth e r than you
~01 tld sec befo re_; dark as sin aga in in a second , and no w
yo u 'd h ear th e thund e r let go with a n aw ful c rash, and th e n
go rumb lin g, g n11111ilin g, tumblin g do wn th e sky towa rd s th e
und e r s id e o f the wo rld , like ro ll ing e mpty ba rr e ls down sta irs
- wh e re it's lo ng s ta irs a nd they boun ce a good d eal, you
kn ow ." - ~ ! 11 1<1< T IYll l N : Tlte .•J,h•mlures rfll11c/.:lefia1y f-i1111 .
[ Tn thi s d esc ripti o n o f a thnncJ e rstorm see n fro m a cave,
it will be n ote d wilh wh:tt ~; kill I\lr. C le mc 11s, speak ing
ll 1ruu g li Lli e li1 » v f a n un ed ucated but acute boy, uses
sound, co lo r, and m otion to make us realize th e impressive ness o f th e sce ne .]
(5) "The re had been a hes itating fall of snow in the
morning, but b efo re noon it had turned to a wild and fitful

CHAP.

m]

D csrriptiou

57

rain that had fin a ll y m odifi ed itself into a clinging mist as
eve ning drew nea r. Th e heavy snow-stor m o f th e last wee k
in J a nu ary had le ft th e st reets hi g h o n bo th s ides wi th bank s
th a t tha wed sw iftl y whe never th e sun came ou t aga in , the
wate r runnin g from th e m into th e broad g utters, a nd th e n
fr eezing ha rd at ni g ht, whe n th e co ld wind swe pt across th e
c ity. Now, :1t ni gh t. f:111 , a fter a mu ggy da y, a s ic ke nin g sl1 1sh
has sp read itself treac hero usly ove r a ll th e c ross in gs. Th e
sho p-g irls go ing ho m e ha<l to pic k th e ir way cauti ously fr o m
corn er to co rne r und e r th e iro n pill a rs su ppo rting th e sta ti o n
of th e e levated ra ilroad. Train fol lowed train overh ead, eac h
close on th e o th er' s h ee ls ; a nd c lo ud s o f stea m swirled d ow n
as t.h c e ng in es came to a ful l sto p with a shrill g rindin g of th e
b rak es . Fro m th e ske le to n spans of the e levated road mo isture dripped o n th e ca bl e-cars belo w; as th ey rumbl eJ a lo ng
with the ir be lls c la nging sha rpl y wh e n th ey n eared th e c rossings . The a tmosphere was thi c k with a cla mp haze; and
th er e was a h alo about eve ry ye llow glo be in the windows of
th e ba r-roo ms a t the fou r co rn e rs o f th e ave nu e. More fr equ e nt, as th e di sm al day wore lo a n e nd , was the hoarse a nd
lugu brious tootin g of the fe rry-bn;i ts in tlw Fast Hi vf' r."
-

BR AN l >E R J\l ,\TrII l(ll'S: 011t/i11 ts

1:

l·t
' j'

t
I: ·{ I

• i,

~

j ' .

di

~ 1i iii

1

n/ L oral Color.

1H

[ No te that he re a scen e in a particular c ity is d escrili ed
und e r such cond iti o ns o f the atmosph e re as to put th e
r eader into a certain m ood , a nd to awaken in hi s mine]
man y assoc ia tion s co nn ected with th e sam e c ity-o r s imil::ir
citi es - under suc h c irc um stances. J
(6) "Even wh e n he was b e in g li o ni ze r! in London he had
h eld before him his cl rea m of peace :1nd <111ict - th e lo ng,
white, dusty Ind ia n road, printed a ll ove r with bare fee t,. the
incessant, slow-moving traffic, a nd th e sharp -sm ellin g wood
smoke c urling up und e r th e fi g trees in th e twilight, where
th e wayfarers sit a t the ir evening meal. "
-

Kll'LlNC::

Secon d Jungle Boo!.-.

I

I'l i·l·

~ fj

1

i\\l
.
.

;

.

~

I''

t·!

;;·;;:

i

I Ii

; ~ 1·I
I i.

Ii 'I!'! II
'''

HI

,\· !I"'l

;Hi .
:·;I:
i

\ iii
I

Ill
;

~

.

' !!I!
I

)

ft I

Elc111mts

of Rltctoric

[ CH AP. llI

CHAP. III]

D escription

59

( 7) "It was a windl ess night.
Th e katydids and an occasional c ricket were the only sounds R ob could hear as he
stood beside his team and strained his ears to li sten. At
lo ng intervals a little breeze ran through th e corn like a swift
se rpe nt, bringing to the nostrils th e sappy smell of th e growing corn. Th e horses sta mped uneasily as the mosquitoes
settled on their shining limbs. The sky was full of stars, but
the re was no moon." -GARLAND: 11/'a in. 7i-avelled Roads.

peopled with ugly old shadows pi ously dozin g, spitting, and
begging - was to plunge in to a fi ery river, and sw im for
life to the nearest strip of shad e. So, with people lou nging
and lying wherever shade was, with but little hum of tongues
or barking of dogs, with occasional ja ngling of di scord ant
church-bells, and rattling of vicious elm ms, Marseilles, a fact
to be strongly smelt and tas ted, lay broiling in the sun
one day ." -D1cKENS : LittleDorrit.

[In each of these descriptions the author suggests far more
than that which he actually states.]

[Here the obj ect was to reproduce the effect of intense
heat. Note the variety of m eans by which that result is
accomplished . Th e cla nger in such at tempts to secure a
marked effe ct by throwin g grea t emphasis on one trait or
characteristic in a person or object, li es in the fact that
exaggeration may easily end in a complete di storti o n of
what we feel to be the true facts of the case. Such a result
rarely pleases us, except in caricature, where the exagge ration of de tail brings out, with striking forc e and usually with a
humorous intent, traits which imply do m inant characteristics.]

( 8) "The universal stare made the eyes ache. Towards
the distant line of Italian coast, indeect, it was a little reli eved by li g ht clouds of mist, slowly rising from th e evaporation of th e sea; but it soft ened nowh ere else. Far away
th e staring roads, deep in dust, stared from the hill side,
stared from th e hollow, stared from the interminable plain.
Far away th e dusty vines overhanging waysid e cottages, and
the mon oto nous wayside avenues of parched trees without
shade, drooped beneath the stare of e:-trth and sky. So did
the horses with drowsy bells, in long files of carts, cree ping
slowly toward s the interior; so did their recumbent drivers,
when they were awake, whi ch rarely happen ed; so did the
exhausted laborers in the fi elds. Everything th at lived or
grew was oppressed by the glare; except the lizard, passing
swiftly over rou gh stone walls, and the cicala, chirping his
dry, hot chirp, like a rattle. The very dust was scorched
brown, and something quivered in the atmosphere as if the
air itself were panting.
"Blinds, shutters, curtains, awnings, were all closed and
drawn to kee p out the stare . Grant it but a chink or keyhol e, :-tnd it shot in like a white- hot arrow. The churches
were the fre es t from it. To come out of the twilight of pillars
and arches - drea mily clotted with winking lamps, dreamily

( 9) "The one com mon note of all this country is the
haunting prese nce of th e ocean. A great, faint sound of
breakers follows you hi gh up into the inland canons ; the
roar of water dwells in th e clean, empty rooms of Monterey
as in a shell upon the chimney ; go where you will you have
but to pause and listen to hear the vo ice of the Pacific.
You pass out of th e town to th e so uthwes t, and mount th e
hill among pine woods . Glade, thicket, and grove surround
you. You follow winding, sanel y tracks tha t lead nowhither.
You see a d ee r; a multitud e of quail ari ses. But th e
sound of the sea still follows you, as you advance, like
that of wind among the trees, only harsher and strange r
to the ear; and when at length you gain th e summit, out
breaks on every hand and with freshened vigor, that same
unending, distant, whispering rumble of the ocean; for now

I.

l'i

i.

't

J

..l , /

60

E!cmmts of R!tctoric

[CHAP. III

you are on th e top of Monterey peninsula, and the noise no
longer onl y moun ts to you from behind along th e beach
towards Santa C ru z, but from your right also, round by
C hina to wn a nd Pin os lighthouse, and from down befor e you
to the mouth of th e Carmello River. T he wh ole woodland
is begirt with thund ering surges. Tbe silence that imm ediately surro und s you wh ere you sta nd is not so much broke n
as it is haunted by this distant, c ircling rumor.
It sets
your senses upon edge ; you stra in yo ur attention ; you arc
c learl y and unu sually conscious of small soun ds nea r at hand ;
you walk listenin g like an Indian hunter ; a nd that vo ice of
th e Pac ifi c is a sort of di squieting company to you in your
walk." - ST 1':VEN SON : //C1"oss tlic Pla ins.
[Here th e .rep eated re fere nces to th e sound of th e snrf
add to the pi c ture the element of the sea , whi c h p erh a ps
stand s out all the more distinc tl y because it is d esc ribed
implicitly, by suggestion, and not explicitly.]
( 10 ) "They made a strange blending of splendor and
shabbin ess. Clear-skinned men and bright-eyed women
cl rove up in vic torias th at showed more dust than paint ; a
servant in gorgeous li ve ry was on the box, and th e stuffing
was comin g out of the horse's collar. Th e whi te men a nd
women wore white, as befitted th e freshness of th e go lden
mo rning; eve n generals and co lonels showed no oth er color
than th e ribbons o n th eir breasts. The dark blue a nti gold
o f naval uniform s and court dress, the epaul ettes of the \'cry
consuls, looked dull in the shimmer of th e snn . B11t th e
rich natives p aid for all. Th ey shone in th e gath erin i-(
c rowd like rainbows. Th ere were women in purpl e a nd
yellow-g reen draperi es, servants in flamin g scarl e t, mas ters
ablaze with bullion and jewels. Nothing was too r~spl e nd c nt
for the ir modes ty or too incong ru ous fo r th eir tas te. /I.
black gown like a clergyman 's, a spectacled face under a

i
1
•I
j'l

·•

CHAP. III]

Descriptio1l

61

black oilcloth cap- its shape like two hats, one bala nced
upside clown on top of the oth er - only threw up th e neighboring butterfly in a p eaked turban of vermili on a nd gold, a
ring in his ear with a .bloated bunch of pearls and emeralds,
strings of pearls round his neck, and a gold-e mbroid ered
muslin blouse which died away - alas ! - below the waist into
shrunken pyjamas, no soc ks, and broken elastic-sided boots,
with frayed tabs flapping moodily behind him. n esicl e this
vision of radiance you c ould lrnrclly see th e puff-c he eked,
moist-eyed gentleman in a fr ock-coat and a deerstalker ;
and th e eagle-n osed yellow youth in blue-striped fl annels
was barely saved fro m extin ction by th e green and crim son
embroidery on hi s purpl e velvet smoking-cap. Every race ,
every creed, every color, eve ry style, - th e raj ah with his
diamonds and th e thin-l egged sweeper outside in the street,
- they grouped th emselves to present on th e threshold of
India a living epi tome of th e hundrecl-heacl ed incongruities
that swarm within ." - G. Vv. S T EEVENS : In India.
[Notice the effects of (a) contrast a nd ( b) climax.]
EXERCISE 10

I. Select five descriptions which give you clear pictures.
Try to have the m as different as poss ibl e.
Do they suggest more th an is ex prcssccl, or are they d e finite in de tail? If they are suggesti ve , can you d etermine
what d etails or wha t phrases most aid in suggestion? What
senses are appealed to in each descri pti on ?
II. [In writin g the descriptio ns of thi s group, try to
convey th e impression that th e person o r sce ne desc ribed
has mad e upon you - not by telling th e e ffect, but by mentioning th e details that stru ck you most forc ibly. Try to
bring b efor e your own mind th e perso n or sce ne, and see
what details stand out clearly in your mental picture; then

62

Elements of R!tetorz"e

["CHAP. III
CHAP.

make these detai ls clear in your description. D escribe
nothing that yon have not seen or exper ienced. J
r. 'Vrite two one-paragraph desc riptions oi persons or
of the same person. Let the first give on ly the most striking details; the second full details. Use color-words, similes, or any device which has power to suggest, but avoid
straining after effect.
2. Describe a street scene a definite place at a definite tim e. !\fake th e description rather full. Think what
things really constitute th e picture in your mind. Does it
depend on color? light and shade ? noise? movements of
passers-by? od or?
3. In lik e manner d escribe a house or church; a scene
in the country.
4. What things seem to you most assoc;jated with a hot
clay in the country? In the city? With a co ld day? Write
a paragraph describing either th e city or the country (a
definite p lace) on a day in winter or in summer, and mention the details associated with th e heat or th e cold . [ No te
that sonncls, smell s, etc., may convey these impressions.
See the d escription of th e heat in Marseilles quoted from
Little Don-it, on page 58.J
5. Write a d escripti ve paragraph in which the sense of
smell h elps to snggest a scene, e.g. a d escription of some
place o n th e Fourth of Jul y; the seashore ; a spring morning; a peanut vender.
6. Write a description based on contrast between the
conditi o ns inside a house during a storm and those ou tside ;
between some building or stree t as it is now and as it used
to be; between some plac-e or stre et as it is at night anu
as it is in the daytim e.
7. Write a desc riptive paragraph in which yo u suggest
color without actnally using definite color-words, such as
"red," "brown."

rn]

Descnptz"on

8. What place or time seems to yon the quietest of all
you can re membe r? Were t here any sounus? If so, what
were they? Describe the scene, trying to give the impression of stilln ess . Write a description (one p::iragraph) of
any scene you please, emphasizi ng some other impression
than stillness.
9. Describe a person's app earance, trying through your
descripti on to suggest his character.
ro. Wr ite bri ef descriptions of several of the following
things, tryin g to select just those details which will call up
the picture and the impression made by th e object described: a building; a town (general impression) ; a summer storm; a forest; a stree t in winter ; a railway station;
a garden. Adel other topics if you choose.
22. Suggestion (continued). -The r e are three ways
in particular in which the mind can be in cited by
suggestion to build up a picture for itself.

(1) \Ve may say tha t the thing which we wish to
describe is like something else with which the reader
is familiar, or w hic h will impress him strongly in the
way we desire, as in the following illustrations : (a) "Along the level flo or of sand and gravel cast up by
the mighty lake, the city has swelled and pushed, like a pool
of quicksilver, which, poured out on a fl at plate, is ever
undulatin g and altering its borders, as it eats its way farther
into the desert expanse. Railr'oacl lin es, like strands of a
huge spider's web, run across t he co ntinent in all directions
wilfully, strenuously centring in this waste spot, the swamp;
corner of a great lake." - lIERRJCK : The Gospel of J'i-eedom.
(b) "Young John Chinn was decanted at the veranda
of the vVuddars' lonely messhouse from the back seat of a
two-wheeled cart, his gun-cases cascading all round him.

Elements of R!tcloric

[ C ll J\ 1' . 111

Th e slend er littl e hookey-nosed boy looked fo rl orn as a
strayed goat." -- l\.11 ·1.1 Nc; : Th ,· 'lii111/, of his , /11 a stors.

(r) "Tlien there rose 11 p. with a rattl e, as stra ight as
a n arrow, a littl e white-haired wize ned ape o f a man, with
medal s a nd ord ers on bis tunic." - !bid.

(2) Insteall o[ tl csc ribin f_; a pe rso n or scen e, we
m ay say what it docs. K nowin g ~ h e act, th e mind
will te nd to frame for itse lf the picture of th e perso n
of whom suc h a n act wou ld be characteri st ic, or the
scene with which we should naturally associate such
an act.
(a) "I n short, I-Ia r thover was a gra nd place, and Sir
J ohn a gra nd o ld man, whom even M r. Grim es respected;
for not o nl y cou ld he send iVIr. Grimes to prison when he
cl esc rvcJ it, as ht: did once o r tw ice a week; not o nly did
he own a ll the land around for mi les ; not only was h e a
jo ll y, ho nest, se nsible sq11ire as ever kept a pack of hounds,
who would d o wh at he thou ght right b y bis neighbors, as
we ll as ge t wha t he thought ri ght for himse lf ; but what
was more, he weighed full fiftee n stone, was nobody knew
how man y in ches rou nd the chest, and could have thrashed
i\ fr. G rim es hi mself in fair fi ght."
-

K INGS LEY:

(3) W e may also he lp the mine! to make its own
pi ct ure by telling how so me one was a ffec ted by t he
person or scene. The stock il lu stration of thi s is t he
passage in the third b ook of th e Iliad, where H omer,
in stead of describing Helen in detail, shows th a t,
even in the midst of the disastrou s siege, the aged
Trojan s, scarcely sensible to woman's charm s, did
not marv el that so g reat a war shou ld have its ca use
in her beauty. The followi n g illu strati on, however,
is a lso good. By sh owing h ow the sea acted (compare the precedin g examp le) and the e ffec t upon the
narrator, the a uthor helps the read er to imagine how
it looked.
"The I ·:hrpa11iola was rolling scnppcrs und er in the ocean
swell. The boo ms were tearin g at th e blocks, th e rudd e r
was banging to and fro, a nd th e wh ole shi p creaking, groa ning, and jumping li ke a rnanufac to ry. I had to clin g ti ght
to th e backstay, a nd the world turn ed g idd il y before my
eyes; fo r th ough I was good enough sailo r when th ere was
way on, this standin g st ill and bein g ro ll ed abo11 t like a
bottle was a thin g I neve r learne(l to sta nd without a qualm
or so, above all in the morn ing, o n an e mpty sto mac h."
-

STE V l~NS ON :

'l1 -et1Sure /;ia11d.

The f;Vater -Babies.

( /1) "Th e roosters were calling near and far, in many
keys an cl tun es. Th e dogs were barking, cattle-bells were
ja nglin g in the wood ed pastures, and as th e you th passed
farm -houses, li ghts in th e kitchen windows showed that th e
women were astir abou t breakfast, and the sou nd o f voices
a nd the tapping of curry-combs at the barn told that the
men were at th e ir morning chores."
- ( ; AR l.AN ll:

Dcscnf tio1t

CHAP. 111]

1lfain-7'ra11el!ed R oads.

EXERCISE II

I. Try to find , at leas t one il lu stra tion of d escri ption
whi ch ga ins for ce th ro ugh refe rence to : 1. What things are like.
2. What things do.
3. What effect things have on th e spectator.
II. r. It is sometimes said th at eve ry pe rson rese mbles
some animal. Do you know any one o f whom this is strikF

66

Elements of R!tctoric

[ CHAP. Ill

ingly true ? Do you know any one who resembles or suggests a hi stori cal or publi c character? Can yo u write a
description whic h shall gain cl earness fro m mention of such
a li keness?
2. Imagin e yomself describing to a stran ger some rather
oddly shaped building you know, the plan of so me tow n, th e
shape of a certa in hill , or the course of a river. Co11 \cl yo u
make a ny of th ese descripti ons c learer by comparison to
some well -kn o wn obj ect, c.g-. a mathema tical solid, a letter
of th e alp habet? Write the descriptio n you would give. He
carefu l not to force a likeness, for the m ere sake of writing
so meth ing .
3. Think abo ut some person who m you like - of you r
own age or old e r as you choose . What a re the things in his
o r her c harac ter t hat you adm ire most? H o w have you
see n th ese tra its shown? Can you su m up the ac tions in
a few se ntences so that th ey may suggest th e character of
your fri e nd?
4. In li ke manner descri be some machine; a storm ; a
drou ght ; a wilcl animal. Suggest its size or force or
de li cacy by d escribing wh at it does.
5. If you were to go into a theatre at th e very end of a
performance, d o you think you could juuge from th e appearance and acti ons of th e audience wh ethe r the pl ay had been
tragic o r a mu sing ? What thin gs might help you to jud ge.
6. D oes th e attitude and ex press ion of people e nterin g a
cathedral or c hurch convey a ny impression of the effect th e
c hurch has - of sole mnity, beauty, e tc.?
7. ' \/r ite :t short description, givin g the impress ion of so me
pl ace or thing by telling of the effect it produces on the .
spectators.

23. Description in Literature. - It is important that
the student s hould, profiting by the instruction given

CHAP. III]

Description

67

in the first part of this chapter, learn to describe persons, objec ts, and sce nes by t he orderly g roupin g of
definite details. It is not to b e expec ted tha t he will
attain muc h skill in th e art of d esc ribing by sug gestion that has been so fully illustrated in the second
part. People differ widely in th eir natural a bility in
this respect. It is to be hoped, h owever, that whethe r
the student acq uires skill in th e process or not, he will
learn to appreciate the value of. description by this
means. To it literature - and esp ecially poetry owes much of its charm, a nd he who learns to love
lite rature and to a ppreciate th e art revealed in it is an
educated man, whatever else he knows or is ig norant
of. It is suggested, th erefore, that th e student, in his
daily readin g of good literature, kee p his eyes open
for desc ription. He wi ll not often find it stand in g
by itself, for it is a necessary adjunct of narrative.
Wherever it occurs, let him try to reali ze vividly the
picture it presents and t o j ucige how successful it is
in its attempt. By ta king account in this way of the
effect of literature upo n him, he will learn to value it
more justly - to cherish good literature and to und ersta nd, to a great extent, the difference between good
literature and bad .

lr

i \

'!

11

··!'. !i'}'
1:

1:

'I,,1,i

I'
11·

·:j I,
!i

I"

I

l
I

'

I

II

'

i'

'I'I

.,

,,

'I

68

Elcmmts of Rl1eton·c

[ CHAP. IV

CHAPTER IV
NARRATION
24.

NA RRAT ION . T ORS. -

- 28 .

25. Tll E

EXERC ISE 1 2 . -

E SS ENT IA i.

ELl':n lE NTS. -

1\ c T1<1 N : IN S 11 0RT N11 R1<ATI V1·:s. -

A i ni OF A NARRA 'l'I VE. ExER C IS J·:

15.- 31.

OF A N ARR ATI V E. -

26. T1rn

AC-

27 . T11E C JR CUJ\lS'l'ANC ES.-EX EH CISE
30 .

EXERC ISE

14. -

29.

13.

T11E

A CT ION: I N Lu m; 1m NARRi\Tll' ES. -

N 11RRAT1v1-: IN

L rrERATURE. -32.

SuMn lARY

EXERC ISE 1 6 .

24. Narration. -Much of our compositi on, as well
as of our conversation, consists of narration. The
a im of n a rration is simply to produce in the reader's
mind im ages of a series of real or im aginary events,
and to co mm ent, if n ecessary, on their cause, impo rta nce, or relati on to each other. Th e reader, with
th e eye of th e imagin ation, sees what th e n a rrator
says h as tak e n place , much as if he were watchin bcr
the ever-c han gin g pictures of a kin etosco pe. Th e
n arrator, unlik e th e kinetoscope, is powerless to ma kc
us rea lly sec with our own eyes that which actuall y
happen ed; h e can, on the other ha nd, do three thin gs
which the kinetoscope cannot: he can selec t, from a
se ri es of acts, those which see m to him most sicrnifio
cant ; he can a t will t ransport th e reader from one
scene to anoth er, or from one part of a scen e to
another; a nd he can, if he chooses, continually add
comments which express his judg ment of the impor-

.~

CHAP. IV ]

iVan-ation

· tance or relation of th e various acts. Macaulay's
H istory of E ugland,' Boswell's Life of Jolmson,
Franklin's Autobiogmp!t)t, Sco tt's l van!toe, T ennyson's Idylls of t!te King , a nd Milton's Pamdise L ost
are typical narratives.
25 . The Essential Elements. - Three elements are
essentia l to n a rrative : ( r ) the actors in the events
t o be menti oned; (z) th e circumsta nces und er whi ch
they act; (3) the ac ts or events th e mselves. The
value a nd the interest of good narra tive depe nd
u pon our understa ndin g clearly ( 1) who the persons
were who did such a nd such th ings; (z) under what
circum stan ces of cause or effect or e nviron ment they
did them; (3) what were the things whic h th ey did.
26. The Actors. - It is important, in almost any
n arra tive, that we should have a clear impression of
the cha racter, and often of the appearance, of t hose
who ta ke part in it. Sometim es, of co urse, in very
simple n a rratives - such, for example, a s .!Esop's
Fables - we are satisfi ed with the state ment th at the
actors .in the tale a re merely a fox a nd a stork or a
man, knowing th a t, to get the effect of the story, all
th at we need to do is to keep in mind the gen eral
cha racteristi cs which all foxes or storks or me n have
in common. But if th e narrative is more th an the
merest fab le or parable, it owes in all probability
much, or at least part, of its effect to th e knowledg e,
on the p art of the reader, that it was to persons of
such and such a sort tha t such and such . thin gs ha ppened. In a composition on " How We Climbed Mt.

Eleme11ts of R!tetoric

[ CHAP. IV

Washin g ton, " for example, the wh ole point of the
narrative m ay come from th e fact that "we" were
women, or that one of us had a weak ankle, or
was fat, or lazy, or venturesome. One of the great
c harms of narrativ e, too, lies in its g iving a series of
clea r or v ivid pi ctures. A dull historical work often
describ es th e char acter of the actors s ufficiently well
for us to und erstand wh y und er such and s uch circ um sta nces th ey did such a nd suc h thin gs. It is
dull because it does not a ll ow us to form di stin ct
im ages of th e looks and way s of th e pe rsons involved, a ncl th us to see them d.i stinctly b efore us as
they tak e th e ir parts in th e series of events related.
As has bee n shown in th e preceding chapter,
inform ation as to th e a ppearance - and even of the
c haracte r - of persons is sometim es conveyed, indirectl y, by s uggestion, and es pec ially by infe rence
. fr om wha t th ey do. It is often wise, however, at
th e ve ry outse t of a narrative to g ive, plain ly and
clear ly, such inform ation of this kind as is absolutely
necessary for the proper a pprecia tion of what fo llows. A good illustration of thi s meth od is to be
found in extrac t ( r ), on page 53, from Mr. Crawfo rd 's Via Crncis. H ere the author evidently feltwhat is ind eed the fact-t hat a great part of the
effect of the n arrative wou ld be lost if the reader did
not obtai n, as early as possibl e in th e story, a distinct
con ce ption of th e app earance an d bearing of one at
least of th e chief actors. Hi s desc ription deals largely
with the physical cha racte ri stics of the person, but

CHAP. IV]

Narration

71

throu g hout runs the implication th at the mental characteristics are closely a llied. Of the illustrations
given below, (1) a nd (3) deal largely with men tal
characteristics ; ( 2) introduces ,one of th e famous
heroes of romance by callin g attention to hi s g reat
size a nd his h armless va nity; (4) takes the menta l
and physical characteristics, both of U ncle R emus
and the little boy, a nd of 13rer Fox and Brer Rabbit,
largely for g ranted.
( 1) "England's one hope lay in the character of her
Quee n. Elizabeth was now in her twenty-fifth year. l'ersonally she had more than her mother's beauty; her fi gure
was commanding, her face long but quee nly and intelli gent,
her eyes qui ck and fin e. She had grown up amidst th e
libe ral cu lture of H enry's court a bol d horsewo man, a good
shot, a gracefu l dancer, a skill ed mu sician , and an acco mplished scholar. She studied every morning th e G reek
Testam ent, and followed this by th e trage dies of Sophocles
or orations of D emosthenes, a nd could 'rub up her rusty
Greek ' at need to bandy pedantry with a Vice-Chancell or.
But she was far from being a mere pedan t. The new literature whi ch was sprin ging up arou nd her found constant
welcome in her court. She spoke Italian and French as
She was familiar with
fluently as her mother-tongue.
Ariosto and T asso . Even amid st the affectation and love
of anagrams and pu eril ities whi ch sulli ed her later yea rs,
she li stened wi th d elight to the Fae?y Queme, and fo un d
a smile for ' Master Spenser' when he a ppeared in her
presence. Her moral temp er recall ed in its strange co ntrasts th e mixed blood within her veins. She was at once
the daughter of Henry and of Anne Boleyn. F rom her
father she inherited her frank and hearty address, her love

72

E !em m ts

of R/1etoric

[ CHAP. IV

o f po pularity and o f free intercourse wi th the people, her
d auntl ess courage, and her a maz ing self-confid ence. j fer
h a ~sh , ma nlike vo ice, her impetu ous will, her pride, her
furi o us ontlrn rsts o f a nge r, came lo her wi th her Tu do r
bl ood.
She rated grea t nobl es as if th ey we re sc hoolboys ; she met th e i nso leuce o f Essex with a box on th e
ear;. she woukl break now an d the n in to the gravest d eli bera l1 0 11 s to swea r at her ministers like a fi shwife. But
strange ly in co n trast with the viole nt oH tl ines o f her T ud or
temper stood lh e sensuous, se lf- indnlge nt natme she d eri ved fr o m i\ nn e Boleyn. Spl end or and pleasure were with
Eli zabeth lh e ve ry a ir she lnc:ith ed. J fer de lig h t was to
move. 111 pe rp etua l progresses from castle to castle t hro ugh
a se ri es o f go rgeo us pageants, fan c ifu l and ex travaga nt as
a caliph 's dream. She loved gayety a nd laugh te r a nd wit ~
A happy retort or a fin is hed co mplim ent never fa iled to
win he r favo r. She hoard ed jewe ls. H er dresses were
innum erab le. H er vanity remain ed , even to o ld age, the
va ni ty o f a coq uette in her teens. No ad ulatio n was too
ful so me fo r he r, no fl attery of her beauty too gross."
-

G](t:EN : .

Short /Jisto1y of the English. People.

(z ) "1Y i\rtagnan, rallying a li ttl e from hi s first surpris e,
had now tim e to stu dy the dress a nd ex pression o f those
aro un d him. In th e mi ds t of th e most anima ted g ro up was
a mu ske tee r o f g reat height, o f a haug hty countenance
and so fant as ti cal a cos tume as to attract ge neral attention'.
H e did no t wear his uniform cloak, but a coat o f celestial
bl.u e, fad e~ and worn, but trimm ed with embroidery, which
g l~tte red like gold fi sh in a sunlit stream. A Jon g mantle of
cnmson velve t hung gracefull y fro m his shoulde rs, revealing
tl~e fr o nt a lone o f his spl endid belt, from which d epended
l11s enormous rapi er. Thi s mu sketeer, wh o was but just off
g uard, coughed occasionall y with a ffecta tion, a nd co mplained
o f having caught cold. H ence, a s he averred, he had put on

N arration

CH AP. IV]

73

hi s cloak. Whil e he was talking loud ly :i nd p ro udl y curling
hi s mu stache, eve ry one aclmirecl the e lll bro icl erecl be lt, and
D 'i\ rtag na n more th::m a ny one else."
-D1n 111s : 'l'h e Th rre 1llwfrtars .
(:~ ) " F or some moments H ale remain ed silent.
H e was
a c ivic-bred man, wi th an in tense love o f law and o r ~l e r ; th e
kin d o f man who is the first to take th at law a nd ord er into
his own hand s when he does not fin d it existing to p lease
him . H e had a Bosto ni an's respec t fo r respec tab ility, traditio n, a nd pro pri ety, but was wi lling to face irregularity a nd
imp ro pri ety to crea te o rd e r else wh ere. H e was fo nd o f
nat ure with th ese limitations, neve r quite tru sting her unguided instin cts, and fi nd ing her as a n instructress g reatly
infe rio r to Ha rvard Un iversity, t hough possibly not to
Co rn ell. Wi th rbu ntless ente rpri se am! energy he had bu il t
a nd stocked a char ming cottage fa rm in a noo k in th e Sierras,
whence he opposed , like th e lesse r E ng li shm an that he was,
hi s ow n tastes to th ose o f the a li en \V est. I n the present
insta nce he fe lt it in cumbent upo n him, not onl y to assert
his principles, but to ac t upo n them with hi s usua l e nergy.
H ow fa r he was im pell ed by th e ha lf-co nte m ptuo us pass iveness o f his co mpani ons it woul d be di fric ul t to say."
-

B RET H ART E:

Suow- Bound at Eagle's.

(4) " On e evening rece n tly, the lady whom U ncle Remu s
calls 'M iss Sally ' missed her li t tl e seven-year-old boy.
Mak ing search fo r him through the house a nd th ro ugh tl1e
ya rd, she heard the soun d of voices in the old ma n's cabin ,
a nd , lookin g throu g h the windo w, saw th e child sitting by
U ncle Re mus. His head rested again st th e o ld man's arm ,
a nd he was gazing with an express io n o f the most intense
interest into the roll gh, wea th er-b eate n face that beamed so
kindly upon him. This is what 'Miss Sall y 1 heard : "' B imeby, one clay, ~ r te r 1\re r Fox bin d oin ' all clat he

74

Elements of Rltetoric

CHAP.

[ CHAP. IV

cou ld fer ter ketch Brer Rabbit, en Brer Rabbit bin cloin'
all he could fer to keep 'im furn it, Brer Fox say to hisse'f
dat he'd put up a game on Brer Rabbit, en he ain't mo'n
got de wnds out'n hi s mouf twel Brer Rabbit come a lopin'
up de big road, look in' des ez plump, en ez fat, en ez sassy
ez a Moggin boss in a barley patch.' "
-

HARRIS:

Unc!t Rwzus.

EXERCISE 12
I. Describe a historical character at some period of
his career, in su ch a way as to make his actions at that
time seem consistent and natural, e.g. Charles I, Oliver
Cromwell, George Washington, Napoleon, Andrew J ackson,
General Gordon, Frederick the Great.
2. A boy is abo ut to start out from a country town to try
his fortune in the city. Describe him.
3· Describe the man who stops a runaway horse.
4. A girl who has had money is called home from boarding-school by her father's failure in business. Describe the
girl in such a way that we may judge how she will take the
change in her circumstances.
5· A woman, whose farm is heavily mortgage d, and who
cannot get money, goes to ask the holder of the mortgage, a
notoriously keen bu siness man, for an extension of time.
Describe the two characters.
6. The "lucky" boy in a school has got into some sort
of trouble and goes to explain to the principal. Decide for
yourself just 'w hat the situation is and what the outcome is
to be. Then describe the man and the boy.
. 7.. In like manner describe five other characters, real or
1magmary. Let the class judge what each one of them
would do under circumstances which you outline.
8. Find two or three good descriptions of the same sort,
from narratives with which you are acquainted.

I'

rv]

Narration

75

27. The Circumstances. - We understand the full
meaning of events, and are able to picture them vividly
to ourselves, not only when we see that th e actors
are men and women of certain de finite characteristics, but when we can similarly realize the situations
in which they act, the e nvironment which influences
them, - when, in short, we have in our minds a clear
picture of the circumstances. And, as th e proverb
goes, circum stances alter €ases. The mood of a
winter day is not that of a summer clay. The atmosphere, so to speak, of an Oriental tale is different
from that of one the scene of which is laid in N ew
York. Julius Ccesar and Napoleo n may have been
actuated by much the same motives, but we cannot
write effectively of either without showing that his
career was modified in many ways by peculiar historical and social conditions. Illustrations occur at every
hand, and the pupil cannot fail to notice th e m in
any narrative with which he is familiar. It will be
sufficient for our present purposes to refer on ly to
the extract on page 56 from Mr. Brander Matth e ws's
Outli1les of Local Color, wh e re the circumstances
described g ive the incidents verisimilitud e and have
a distinct bearing on the plot of th e story. Of the
extracts given below, ( r) shows the histori cal setting; ( z) gives in detail the physical circumstances,
introducing a tale in which everything turns on the
loneliness and gloom of the place described. The
student should also reread extract (4) in the preceding section, where, both in the story itself and in the

Elements of R!tetoric

[ CHAP. IV

story within th e story, th e circumstances are left
alm ost entirely to th e imagination.
( r ) "Such b e ing our c hi ef scene, th e date o f our sto ry
re fe rs to a p eriod toward the e ncl o f th e reig n of Ric ha rd I,
wh e n hi s re turn fro m his long captiv ity had b ecome a n
eve nt ra th e r wished tha n ho ped for by hi s despairing sub jects, who were in th e mean tim e subj ec ted to every species
of subo nlinate op press ion. The no bl es, wh ose power had
become exo rbita nt durin g the re ig n o f Ste phe n, a nd who m
th e prud e nce of l I e nry th e Seco nd had scarce r edu ced
to so me d eg ree o f subj ect io n to the crown , had now resum ed th eir anc ie nt li ce nse in its utm ost ex te nt, d esp ising
th e fee bl e inte rfe re nce of the Englis h Counc il of State, fortifying th e ir castles, increasing th e num ber of their depe nda nts, red uc in g all arou nd th e m to a s tate o f vassalage, a nd
stri vin g, by e very mea ns in th e ir power , to place themselves each at the head o f such fo rces as mig ht e nab le him
to m a ke a figure in the nat io na l co nvulsio ns whi ch appeared
to be impe nding."-Scorr: Ivault oe.
"During th e whol e of a du ll, d ark, an d soundless day in
th e a utumn o f th e year, whe n th e clouds hun g oppressively
low in fo e heave ns, I had been passing a lone o n h o rsebac k
through a sin g ul a rl y dreary tract of country, a nd a t le ng th
fo und m yself, as the shad es of even ing drew on, within
vie w o f th e melancho ly House o f Us her. I know not how
it was - but, with the first glim pse of th e building, a se nse
o f insufferab le g loom pe rvaded my spirit. I say insu ffe rable,
fo r the fee ling was unre li eved by a n y of that half- pl easurau le, because poetic, se ntiment with whi c h the min d usua lly
rece ives eve n th e s tern es t natural im ::i.ges of th e desolate or
t errib le . I looked 11 po n the scene before m e - upo n the
m e re house, a nd the si mple la ndscape features of th e
domain - upo n th e blea k wall8 - upon the vacant, eyelike

CHAP.

rv]

77

Narration

win dows- up on a few rank sed ges-a nd u po n a few white
trunks o f d ecayecl tre es - wiLh an utter d e pression of sou l
which I can co mpa re to no ea rthl y se nsation more prope rl y
than to the after -d ream o f the reveller upo n op ium - th e
bitter lapse into eve ryday life - the hideo us dropp ing o f
t he ve il. The re was a n ic in ess, a sinkin g, a sic ke ning of Lh c
h ea rt - a n unr edee med drearin ess of th o ug ht 1whi c h no
aoadin " o f th e im ag inatio n co uld to rture into a ught o f th e
0
0
.
subli me. W hat was it - I paused to thin k - what was It
th at so unnerv ed m e in th e co nte mplati o n o f th e House of
Ushe r ? Jt was a m ys te ry ;i ll in sn luhle; no r co uld l g rap ple
with th e shadowy fa nc ies that c rowd ed up o n me as I po n cl e recl. . . . It was possibl e, J re Oecterl, th at a me re diffe rent a rra ngeme n t of th e part ic ul a rs o f th e scene, o f th e
detai ls o f th e p icture, wo11 ld 1.Je su ffi c ie nt to m od ify, or perhaps to ann ihilate, its ca pac it y for so rro wfu l impressio n, a nd,
acting up on this id ea, I re in ed m y ho rse to th e prec 1p1 to us
brink of a black and lurid tarn th a t lay in unrufn e cl lu st re
by the cl we lli ng, a nd gaze d clown - b ut with a shu dde r
more thrilling th a n before - upon the re m odell ed a nd mverterl im ages of the gray sedge, a nd the ghas tl y tree-stern s,
a nd the vacant a nd eye like wind ows ."
-

POE :

The fill/

o/ the

/Jouse of Ushe r .

EXERCISE 13
1 . G ive th e hi sto ri cal se tt in g of so me battle, - th e eve nts
whi c h o ne mu st know in o rde r to und e rstand th e battl e itsel f.
2 . D esc ri be th e place in whi ch so me battle occ urr ed.
. Describ e, e ith e r fu ll y o r by a fe w sugges ti ve sente nces,
3
th e place o r c irc um sta nces und e r whi c h the sto ri es suggested

in Exercise I 2, 2- G, a re e nacted.
. Give a n appropri ate settin g for a ghost story; fo r a
4
sto ry of ca mp life; fo r th e sto ry of a b usi ness "deal "; for
the story of a C hristmas party.

Elcmm/s of Rltctoric

[ CHAP. IV

5. Select, from the li st in Exercise I 2, two situati ons in
whi ch the story might begin without c haracter-description or
"setting." Write beginnings fo r th ese stories.
28. Action in Short Narratives. - In short narrati ves,- espec ia ll y in those of only a sing le paragraph
or two parag r;ip hs, - th c actors and the circumstances
ca n he very bri e fl y di s posed of. U nless in exceptional
cases, no m or e than a fifth of th e sp ace ca n b e devoted to the m. Usually a sentence or two will s uffi ce.
Th ese on ce indi cated wit h s uffici e nt clearness and
d e finit e ness, om ma in bu s in ess lies with the m ost importa nt e lement - th e action . Certain events are to
be r eco unte d, and thi s is best d o ne in the s implest a nd
m ost stra ig htforwa rd mann er possible, k ee pin g in the
mind t he fo ll ow in g po ints: ( 1) Omit a ll in c id e nts th at h ave not a direct bearin g
0 11 the p oint of the narra ti ve.

(2) In ge neral , fo ll ow the c hronological orde r of
events.
(3) Work toward a climax.
The following illustrations, whic h are purpose ly of
th e simpl est kind, are scarcely n ecessary, for good
m ode ls arc to be found on every hand. B efor e atte mptin g lo nger na rrati ves, the student should mak e
s ure th ;it h e is a ble, in ;i sin g le p a r agrap h of t wo or
three hundre d words, to relate an anec dote or incid e nt, or to g ive a biographical sketch, with simplicity,
clearness, definite n ~ss, and force.
( r) "During th e reign of Charlemagne, there arose a g rea~
dispute at Cologne concerning the election of a bishop . The

CHAP.

IV]

Narration

79

emperor hea rd so much of it that he determined to go himself to decide the difficulty and appoint such a bishop as
should seem best to him. He went without a ret inu e, and
as he reached Konigsdorf, the bell called the people to
hear mass. The pious monarch dismou nted, and entered
the church. Wh en the servic e was ended, he approached
the priest to give him a piece of gold as an offering. Thi s the
priest re fu sed, say in g that he had no need of such money,
and th at it was not the custom of hi s church to rece ive it.
'But,' he added , 'you have the appearance of a hunter, and
if you will give me a hid e from a sta g or roe, you will do a
good work, for my mass-book is in sad need of a binding.'
This simplicity and earnestness impressed th e emperor, and
he resolved to remember the pri est. ·w h en he was come to
Cologne, he summoned th e clergy, and told th em he would
himself appoint the new bi shop. Each party a ttempted to
influence him in its favor, and large sums of money were
paid him to secure hi s interest. The gold he ordered to be
used to pay the debts of th e bishopric, and at length he told
them that they had endeavored in vain to IJribe him, and
that he found none so worthy as the poor priest of Konigsdorf, for he d espised gold, and seemed intent only upon
his mass-book. H e had therefore determined to make him
bishop. The astonishment of th e pri est was great wh en he
Iearnecl the high dignity to which he was call ed ; but he
possessed the grace of Goel, and by it was in structed how to
conduct himself in his new office, and th e name of Bishop
H ild e bold is still remembered in Cologne, where he founded
St. Peter's, on the same spot on wh ich the present cathedral
stands.''
-

CLEMENT :

I,
I

A I-Iandbook of Legendary and Mj,thological Art.

( z) " In Boston the British troops made themselves sti ll
more unpopular. There was soon a quarrel between them
and the boys, for the soldiers used to beat clown the snowI'

So

Elements of R!tdorie

LC ll i\P.

IV

hills th at the bo ys had hea ped np o n the Comm o n . After
;i ppealing in va in to the ca pta in, th e boys finall y went to
C ovc rn o r Cage a nd complain ed. ' \Vh a t ! ' he said, 'have
yo ur fathers h ec n teac hin g you rebe lli on, a nd se nt yo u he re
to ex hibit it?' 'Nobo d y se nt us, Si r, ' sa id o n e o f th e boys.
' \V e have n eve r injured no r insulte d your troops ; hut th ey
hav e trodd e n d 01n1 our sno11·-hill s <111(\ broken th e ice o n our
skatin g grou nd . \\T c co mplained, a nd they ca lled us you ng
re bels, a nd to ld us to he lp ourse lves if we cou ld. \\Tc told
th e captains of this a ncl they la ugl1 ccl at us. Yeste rd ay o ur
wo rk s were d es troy e d the third tim e, and we will b ear it no
lo nge r. ' Th e gove rn o r sa id with surpri se to one o f hi s officers, 'The ve ry c hildre n he re draw in a love of li be rty with
th e a ir th ey brea th e. Vou may go, my brave \Joys, a nd be
ass ure d, if my tro o ps trouble you aga in they sha ll be
puni she d.' " - 1111 ;r;1 NS<JN : Yo11 11g Folks' J!istory of the U11;tcd States.
(3) " I will illustrate this [the fac t that th ere is a ce rtain
r edeemin g noble ness in th e physical horrors of warfa re] by
o ne m o re a n ecd ote from the same ca mpaig n, to whi c h allus io n has a lready be e n mad e-Sir C har les Napier 's campaign
ag;iinst th e rohbe r trib es o f Uppe r Scinde.
"/\ d e tac hm ent o f troops was marching alo ng a vall ey, th e
c li ff<; ove rha ng ing whi c h we re c res ted by th e e ne my. /\
sergeant-, with eleve n men , cha nced to become separated
from th e rest by taking the wrong sid e of a r::iv in e, which
t hey ex p ected soo n to termin ate, bnt whi c h sudd e nl y d ee pe ned into a n impassable c has m. Th e offi cer in co mmand
s ignall e d to th e party an ord er to re turn . Th ey mistook the
sig nal fo r a co mm a nd to c ha rge ; th e brave fe llows a nswered
with a c h eer, a nd c ha rged. At the summ it of the steep
mountain was a tri angular platform, de fended by a breastwork , b e hind whi c h were seve nty o f th e foe. O n th ey we nt,
c harging up o ne of those fearful p:tths, e leve n ag::iins t seve nty.
Th e contest co uld not long be d ou btful with such odds.

Narratio1l

CHAP. IV]

81

O ne a ft e r a nother th ey fell ; s ix 11 po 11 the s pot, the re maind er
hurl ed bac kwards; but not until th ey had s lain n early twi ce
th e ir own number.
"Th ere is a c ustom, we a re told, a m o ngs t th e hillsme n,
th a t when a g reat c hi e fta in o f th e ir ow n fall s in battl e, hi s
wrist is bo nnd with a thread e ith e r o f red or g ree n, th e re d
denotin g th e hi ghes t ra nk.
/\ cco rd in g to custom , th ey
s tripped t he d ead , and thr ew th e ir bodi es over th e pre c ipi ce.
\ Vh c n th e ir com r::icl es rn me, th ey fo1111d th e ir co rpses st;i rk
a nd gas hed; hu t round both wr ists of every Briti sh h ero was
twineLl the red thread ! " - 1' . W. J ~u11ER TSON : Lectures.
E XER CISE 14

\Vrite s ho rt na rra ti ves on the fo llow in g top ics, co ntinuin g
th e exe rc ise u nti l t he process is th o roug hly familiar : ( 1) A local inc id e nt, based, if necessary, o n inform a ti o n
tak en from• a local newspa pe r; 1 ( 2) a rece nt eve nt of
nat io nal impo rtan ce, based on in fo rm at ion obtain ed in a
simila r way; (3) an anecdote; (4) an incid ent ii1 your ow n
expe ri e nce ; ( 5) a s ho rt bi ogra phy, based 0 11 t he data co ntain ed in a book of re fe re nce; ( G) a n inc ide nt na rrated in
so me book you a re reading.

29. The Aim of a Narrative. - vVhatcver the cha racte r or subject of t he narrative is, the write r wil I do
well to cons id er wh at his aim is in co mposin g it. He
may decide t o g ive a simple, di spassionate record of
th e facts, or a record tb a t shall show th e causes of
certain events, or t hrow lig ht on wh at mu st res ult from
th em; or one th a t s hall point toward a moral, or be
as picturesque or strikin g as possible. vVhichever
I Use the facts stated, but p ut th e m, so far as possible, into your
own words.

G

11

I

82

Elements of Rhetoric

[CI-TAP. JV

aim he chooses he should keep clearly in mind, modifying his statements - though never departing from
the truth - with this encl in view.
30. Action in Longer Narratives. - After the pupil
has beco me familiar with the writing of narratives of
two to three hundred words in length, he is ready to
atte mpt work somewhat larger in scope. As a rule,
he is advised not to try to compose imaginary stories,
but to stick, so far as possible, to history, biograp hy,
and facts derived directly from his own experience.
It does n ot lie in the nature of things for young
people to set deliberately to work to create a world
of acti on outsid e their own experience, though if the
desire to do so comes naturally to one, it vvill do him
no harm occasiona lly to g ratify it, provided that he
bears in mind th at he has at this stage of his education other duties fa r more important.
The writing of longer narratives does not differ in
any mark ed way from that of other kinds of composition. Th e fo llowin g advice may, however, be profitab ly kept in mind: ( r) Look well to your plan. (See F£rst Hig !t
S chool Course, Chapter X III.) D ecide on the main
divisions of your subject before you b egin actual
co mposition. If, for example, you contemplate an
account of the ascent of Mt. vVashington, in one
thou sa nd words, you might settle on this plan: r. The party and the circumstances.
2. The ascent.
3. Th e summit.

CHAP. JV]

Narration

4. The descent.
(Note under each head the details you wish to
use.)
( 2) M ake sure of th e proper proportion 111 your
work. If, for example, the point you wan t most t o
bring out in yo ur account of the trip up and clown
Mt. Was hin gton is an in cident that occ urred durin g the descent, subordi nate everyt hing else to that.
Your first paragrap h mig ht then contain a ll the
n ecessary introductory ma tter, - the party, the circumstances, th e ascen t, the summit, - leaving th e
body of the essay fo r th e important or inte restin g
incident. Be carefu l, also, to leave out unim po rtant
details, and to render th e less necessary de tails as
un conspic uous as possible. (See First 1-fzg!t Sclwol
Course, § r40.)
(3) Work toward a climax.
(4) Avoid conventional expr essions, such as, "vVe
then r et urn ed, having had a m ost enj oyable trip."
EXERCISE 15

Write at least three narratives of several paragraphs each, selectin g th e subjects, if no oth ers
occur to you, from the following li sts : HISTORY. r. The charge of the Light Brigade . 2. The
battle of Stony Point. 3. The battle above the clouds.
4. Sheridan's ride. 5. The Boston tea-party. 6. A heroine
of history. 7. An incident of the - - \Var. 8. Xenophon's march to the sea. 9. One of Cresar's campaigns.
10. A biographical sketch of - - .

Elements of R!tefor£c

[ CHAP. IV

PERSONA L E XPF.RIE NC E. I. My trip t o - - .
2. Wh y I
was la te. 3. The first mon ey I ever earned . 4. Catchin g
the train. 5. The sto ry of a fi shing p::irty. G. Our c lass
elections. 7. Th e best llay I ev e r had.
8. A base- b::ill
game. 9. The hi story o f our club. 10. A story th a t was
to ld me. Ir . J\n attemp t th at failed . r 2. The sto ry o f a
haunte d ho use . 1. 3. The hying of a co rn e r-stone.
lVfiscm.LANEOUS. - r. Th e a utobiogrnph y of a book.
2. The sto ry of the se wing mac hine.
3. A fabl e .
4. A
Th a nksgiving sto ry. 5. H ow th ey kept M e m o ri al Day.
G. How I broke a ha bit. 7. The s tory of my fe ll ow-passe nge r. 8. Why l quarrelle d with - -. 9. Our burglar.
10. H ow Jim
sto pped th e trai n.
1 r. A vill::ige fir e.
12. Wh a t stopped th e school cloc k.
13 . How we wo n th e
race .
T 4.
My expe ri ence as a job -hun te r.
15. Mrs.
Smith's bargain. 16. A C hri stmas in th e country. 17 . Th e
beginning of the war. 18. An unfamili ar story of a famous
m a n.

31. Narrative in Literature. - In prose literature
description rare] y stands by itself, and comm only
appears as an adjun ct to so me oth er kind of composition. Narrative, h owever, has n ecessarily been,
since literature began, the most n atural form of
speech or writin g, whether in prose or in ve rse. The
most famous fo rm of p oe tical narrative is the ep ic,
represented by the Iliad, the OdysseJ1, th e ./Eneid,
and Paradise Lost. Several other nam es, which it
is not n ecessary to menti on h ere, arc given to shorter
forms of n a rrative in verse. Narrative in prose may
be divided, according to whether it is based on fact
or on fancy, into the two main classes of history and
fiction . 1-listory includes biog raphy and auto biog-

CHAP .

rv]

Narration

85

raph y, and fiction may roughly be said to co nsist
of th e novel an d th e short story. 1
·w ith history th e earnest youn g stude nt is advised
to ma ke his acquaintance as early as possible. l lc
should not be satisfied with summ aries, abstracts, or
text-b oo ks. H e should acq uire a passion for hi sto ri ca l works of the more solid, perman e nt, a nd auth orita tive sort, especially with those of such masters
as Motley, Prescott, Parkman, Macaulay, and J o hn
Fiske. Th e writings of th ese men an d of men like
th ese he should r ead ca refully a nd slowly, chapter by
chapter, realizing, so far as he can, the meaning and
bearing of what h e reads, and, without bein g a p ri g
or a peda nt, appreciating the fact that one of the best
equipments for life is the knowl edge of what has bee n
going on in the world. In th.is way he will acq uire
not only useful inform ation, but a deg ree of rea l
pleasure th at cannot always be ob ta in ed from fi cti on.
Prose fi ction has for many ce nturi es proved its
value in entertaining, instru ctin g, and stimulatin g the
lrnm an mind, and it seems improb abl e th a t its power
should ever grow less. Young folks a rc not likely
to need much introdu ction to it, for it presents itself
to us at every hand. It may be wise, however, to
say a few words as to its forms, and to caution ourselves in one or two particulars.
Novels can be classif1ed in various ways, accordin g as they follow different meth ods in dealing with
I For th e essential distincti on betwee n t he two, sec Mr. Brander
Matthews's essay, in Pen and .Ink, on "The rhilosophy of the Short
Story."

,I

86

Elements of Rhetoric

[CHAP. JV

the materials on which they are based, or according
to the materials on which they are based. Any
elaborate clasd1cation of prose fiction is unn ecessary
here, but it will be interesting for the student to
notice that the kinds of fiction most spoken of nowadays are the historical, the romantic, tbe realistic,
and the ethical. The historical novel is best represented by Scott, who was followed by Bulwer-Lytton
in England, - to mention but one, - Coope r in
America, Dumas in France, and others in every
European nation. It is an open question sometimes,
and one often discussed, how far such works of the
imagination are valuable as history, but it is clear
that books like hian!toe, the Last Days of Pompeii,
and the T!trec lWusketeers have been loved by several
ge nerations of young people, -and often scarce ly
·less by their elders, - and are likely long to continue
in our affections. The romantic novel, which is often
historical in character, but which includes also the
novel of adventure, attempts to present the more
stirrin g and picturesque sides of life, as is done in
the novels of Victor Hugo, Bret Harte, Charles Dicke ns, and Stevenson, to choose authors widely different
in many respects. The realistic novel tries to present
life as it actually is, especially on its more prosaic
and unemotional sides, as in the works of ] ane
Austen, Mr. Howells, and Mr. Jam es. The ethical
novel, or the novel with a purpose, such as U1lcle
Tom's Cabin, or any one of the later works of George
Eliot, tries to represent life in such a way that cer-

CHAP.

rv]

Narration

tain moral or ethical inferences can be drawn from
the imaginative facts presented. Many are the dis. putes among novel readers and novel writers as to
the relative merits of the forms just mentioned.
The romanticists think realistic novels are stupid,
the realists think that romantic novels are untrue to
life, and often both agree in belaborin g the unfortunate writers who wish to teach by th eir n ovels, declaring that moral instruction is wholly incomp atible
with the aims of any art. Th e young or unsophisticated reader will scarcely need to be told th at these
various parties are all wrong and all right, and that
the laws of art and the approval of the public favor all
forms almost equally. Each is good in its own way .
The student should not p ermit himself to read
novels to the exclusion of works of more solid information. He should read good novels, as well as oth er
good books, with care, not skimming their pages for
the plot; and he should endeavor to educate his own
taste. A novel is good or bad for one or both of two
::-easons, - first, because the author has succeeded or
failed in producin g the effect he wishes to make upon
the reader's mind; and, second, because the view of
life which he presents is likely to m ake men and
women more noble, more sympathetic, more human,
more alive to the vital qualities in character and in
action, or just the reverse. 1
1 It is sugges ted that, at this point, if tim e all ows, the class discuss
a number of nove ls or stories known to th em. \Vith regard to each
they may ask : Of what kind or class is it and what arc its chief merits ?

·!'h
I

I

88

E!r 111 mts {If R!ictoric

[ CH 1\ P. IV

32. Summary of a Narrative. - It is a use ful, th oug h
by no means a sim ple, exercise to su mm ari ze in na rrative fo rm a n ovel or a story. This can , of co urse, be .
d one on a ny sca le requ ired. In a se ntence, fo r in stan ce, one co ul d g ive so me id ea of the co ntents of
h•rrnltot'. Ivanhoe, we co uld say, ~L di sinherited Saxn n
kni g ht, ret urn s from a cru sade in th e time of Ric hard I to find hi s kin g impri soned and the No rm a ns
eve ryw he re in powe r ; but with tb e help o f a kw
faithful Saxo n fo ll owe rs, of Rob in Hood an d h is
Saxo n yeo men, a nd of a beaut iful Jcwess, R eb ecca,
he s ucceeds, a fter many adve nt ures, in ove rco min g
hi s Norm a n e ne mi es, a nd winnin g hi s Saxo n brid e.
\Nith g reate r space at co mm and , a co rrespondin g ly
g rc; tte r numb er of details can be g iven, as in th e
fo ll owing illustrations:-

( 1) "Dr. J r!.: 1'11 and Jlfr . l f,wlc, by Robert Louis Stevenso n, is a psychologic ro mance ill ustrating t he co mplex qu ality
o f ma n's nat ur e. T he sce ne is L o n<lo n. D r. J ekyll is a ph ysic i:rn o f pos iti on and good character, a p ortl y, kin dl y man .
I 11 hi s yo uth, howeve r, he showed th at he had strong capac iti es fo r ev il, which h e succeed ed in sup pressing fo r years.
Hi s profess ional tas tes lea d him to ex p erim ent in dru gs, and
he hi ts on one wh ereby he is chan ged phys icall y, so th at hi s
lowe r nat ure rece ives an extern al dress. H e beco m es Mr.
Hyd e, a pale, mi ss hape n, rep ulsive creature of evil and violent passio ns. /\ga in and again D r. J ekyll effects th is c hange,
a nd g ives hi s bad sid e more and more p ower. H is fri end
Utte rson, a lawyer, is puzzled by J eky ll 's will in favo r of
Hyde, a nd seeks to unrave l the mystery. Th e brutal murder of Sir Danve rs Carew, which is traced to Hyde, who o f

CHAP. IV ]

Narration

· course disappears, add s to th e myste ry anrl horror. At las t,
by th e 'a id of letters le ft b y Dr. L an yo n, another of I)r.
J ekyl\ 's fr iend s, to whom h e has revealed th e secre t, a nd who
is ki lled by the di scovery, th e strange facts ::i re e xposed .
Utterso n b reaks in to J eky ll's laboratory on ly to find H yde,
1
who has just take n his own life, and J ek yl\ is go ne foreve r."
( ) " In C)'1«WO de B c1gerac th e autho r has p resc ntell .a
2
clear p ict·11re o f a n intensely loyal man, - a man loyal to his
country, to the wo man he loves, a nd to hi s fri end, eve n when
th at loyalt y costs him his ow n happ in ess . /\ s the n ame of
the pl ay sugges ts, t hi s one fi gure stand s out in bold relie f,
a nd about it grou p th emselves th e other charac te rs. 1rnlee cl ,
th ey sometimes pale in to insignificance h efo rc . th e st rong
p ersonali ty o f the h ero, who, brave and d e fi a nt in ba ttl e, is
wi lli1w to suffer complete self-effaceme nt for the ha pp in ess o f
th e w~man h e adores. Cyrano is in love wit h hi s co usi11 R oxa ne but conscions of his outward unatt ractive ness, hes ita tes
to i'evea'l the depths o f his passio n. H e finds th at she has
b ecome att racted by a yo un g cad e t who has bea uty but littl e
intellect. Thi s lover, C hristi an, is th e o pposite o f Cy r:1110,
a nd whe n Roxane appeals for a id to her co usin , he resolves
not onl y to protect C hri sti on , as she as ks, but to try to make
him the bri lliant man she thinks him. H e puts a ll his talents
at th e serv ice o f C hristia n, writes his lett ers, teach es him
p oeti c p hrases, and succeeds so we ll in the d ece ptio n th:it
h e br ings to li ght the tru e wo manlin ess o f Roxane, and she
loves, not Chri stian's beauty, but the so ul that shin es m the
letters. The k nowled ge of this wake ns C hristia n to a reali zation o f hi s tru e pos iti on, and he refuses to accept bli nd ly
th e love to whi ch he has no ri gh t. H e bids Cyran o te ll all,
and for o ne brief mom ent ha pp iness seems wit hin Cy rano's
reach. But C hristian is k illed in batt le, and loyalty to his
l

Quoted fr om Library of t!tc /1Vorld's /Jest /_itaa lure, Vu!. 30.

i

L
:'

II
90

Elem mts of R!tetoric

[ CHAP. IV

d ead fri end seals Cyrano's li ps. H e streng thens Roxane's
be li e f in C hristian's ability and tale nts. He him self remains
simpl y Roxane's help fu l, cheerful friend, unti l, as he is dying,
he a ll ows th e last letter he wrote in Christian's name, a nd
whi ch, as C hri stian's, had been treasured by Roxane, to speak
again a farewe ll to her, - this time hi s own."
(3) "Tlte Live1:v of I£011or,t like I.Zngit TV)'1111e and
Ric/tar'! Carucl, treats of R evo lutionary tim es in Ame rica.
Th e sce ne is laid with General Burgoyne's army du ring
its invasio n of New York and subsequent de tenti on at
Ca m bridge, wh ere the be trothed o f a yo ung Oxon ian li ves.
Th e narra ti ve deals es pecially with hi s lj 1tes t of her.
"Robe rt Hea th erin gton, just from Oxford , gets himself
ap po inted to Ge nera l Burgoy ne's staff, ostens ibly to fi ght
fo r hi s kin g, but rea ll y to le nd succor to his betrothed,
Doro thy Vaug hn, who, residing at Cambridge with her
fat her, is an adh erent of th e 'king. Among th e reg imental
offi ce rs in ( :e ncral Burgoy ne 's a rm y is R aoul Wi lde, forme rl y a playma te of R obert's, but now a wild, di ssolute
fello w, who hopes to win Dorothy 's affection . Robert
1-J eatherin gto n, ow ing to th e suspic ious co ndu ct of Raou l
Wild e, throug h whose means he had lost money at cards,
is no t o n good term s with Wild e. However, th ey ge t along
without clashing until afte r th e taki ng of Ti co nderoga. J\t
thi s place Captain H eath erin gton is captured by J\ meri can
woods me n, a nd confined in a cabin , where he ove rh ears a
British of-fice r betray pl ans to an American mi litiaman.
H is sm prise is great when, peering thro ugh a crac k in the
wall, he recogni zes the traitor as Raou l Wi lde. Captain
H eatherin gto n subsequently escapes to the British camp.
1

Tiu f.i veiJ• of I lonor; a Tale of Certain of the .K ing's Ad·
hercn/s i11 America. By Mark Lee L uther. In Lippi11cott's Jlfaga 2i1u
for N ovcmbcr, i 899.

CHAP. JV]

Nm·ration

91

Before reportin g th e treaso n to Ge neral Burgoyne, Heatherington, out of memory of his boyhood days, gives \•Vilcle a n
opportunity to reach the American lines . Aft er thi s episode
there fo llows the se ries of Bri tish defeats culmina ting in the
su rrende r of Burgoyne. Then, in accorda6ce with the
treaty, the British, und er the charge of Ameri can offi cers,
are tra nsported to Cambridge to embark for JO: nglancl . In
thi s town th ey are kept for months, becau se th e Contin ental
Congress fa iled to carry out the p rov isions of the treaty of
Saratoga.
"In Cambridge, Fl eatherin gto n is afford ed the opportu . nity for which he had end ured the seve re tri als and hardshi ps of the campaign. All th e to ils, all the privatio ns, all
th e sli ghts of. the co mmanding officers, the ignom in y of
defeat, are forgott e n in th e chance he now has for renewing
his love for Dorothy Vaughn. The Vaugh ns, who have
remained true to K ing George, are threatened tim e and
again with the wrath of the mob. C hi ef amo ng the instigato rs of th e rabble is Raou l Wi lde, who has beco me a
spy in the patriotic arm y. After the proverbial roughn ess
of the course of true love Captain H eath erin gto n wins
Dorothy. Just as Ju dge Vaughn has bl essed the betroth ed
couple th e Ii"ouse is attac ked by the mob. Jud ge Vau ghn,
Captai n Heatherington, and Dorothy meet them a t the
head o f the sta irs. A hand-to-hand encounter betw een
Captai n Heath erin gton and Raou l is immin ent whe n th e
ve nerable jud ge, after d eno un cing Fhe mob and calling upon
God to save his king, fa lls back d ead from heart disease.
Th e m ob, overawed by th e spectacle, re tire in sil ence.
Shortl y after, Captain Heatherin gton a nd Dorothy a re ma rried, and when th e form er is exchanged they return to
E ngland. Raou l ·wi ld e, afte r a checkered career, drifts
to Paris, where he is gu illotined during the reign of te rror."

I

I"

·I

I
I

I

92

E lc11Zrnts

ef

R hetorz"c

[ CHAP. IV

CHAP.

v]

E xposition

In a surnm:t ry, wheth er of one or. of. .seve 1a
· 1 parag rap hs, th e fo llowin g hints may be kept in mind: _
( 1) Beg in, if poss ible, by a statement of th e purpose,· the main ac tors, and the circumstances.
(2) Th en ta ke up the acti on, omitting a ll incide nts
th at do n ot bear on th e main pl o t.
(.)) If th e su mm a ry pe rmits more than one p a ragra ph of some lengt h, ta ke the ac tion in one parag ra ph up to a so rt of cri sis, s uc h as you would find
at the e ncl of a n ac t in a pl ay. Then co ntinue or
conclud e th e ac ti on in another p arag raph .

. (4) Use past tenses, prefe rably, throu g hout ; or,
yo u c ho ose, use present te nses ; but do not unless
it is really necessary, use both.
'
(5) Try to keep to th e spirit of the original.
(6) Try to bring o ut th e purp ose of th e-a uthor.
1[

EXERCISE 16
1. In a si ngle pa ragrJph give a summary of a farnili a r or
re ce nt pi ece o f ri c tion.
.

2·

J 11 a sin gle para g rap h summarize, from an hi sto ri cal

work, an account of a battle.
3· In seve ra l paragraphs summari ze a n ove l o r a n hi stori ca l work ; a p lay.

93

CHAPTER V
EXPOSITION
33.

Exl"0s 1TIO N . FAl l l.TS

IN

34.

l\1ETll<JI!

F X l"<>SITI O N. -

IN

E x 1·os rr1 '>N . -

l': X ER C I SI•:

17.

-

36.

35.

Tl!E

C11 ~ 1 ~ 1 " N

E X l 'OSITORY

0

S U MMARY.-Ex1mc 1s 1·: 18.

- 37.

C Rrr I CI SM. -

1::x ERCI SE 19.

33. Exposition. - Next to narrati on, expositi on 1s
ce rtainly th e mo st natural form of human expression,
- for exposition is simp ly explan a tion, and the exp lan a tion or elucid a tion of our id eas occupies, after the
narra ti on of what we have seen or heard or experienced, the greate r part of our speech and our written
composition. W e use exposition when we set fo rth
our id eas on p olitics or th e weather, when we ex plai n
how bread is baked or bicycles are manufactured,
wh en, in short, we ex plain or ex pound 1 any co nceivable idea. Exposition is thus definitely distin g ui shed
fro m narra tion. vVith description it is in certain circum stan ces closely co nnected. W e someti mes speak
of desc ribing a mac hine - a n a utom ob ile, for example - or of describing a man 's charac ter. In each
case we certainly give the phy sical details in such a
way that the reader can make a mental pi cture of the
object concerned, an d what we write is thus in a way

~'

I

1 vVc have, unfortunately, no E ngli sh verb of the same meaning
cognate with th e noun expos iti on ; th at io, we do not say we " expose"
a subje ct, but that we ex plain or expound it.
I

!

I

94

Elements of R!tctoric

[CHAP. V

desc ri ption. Dut we are also ex plainin g th e idea of
the a utomobile, so to speak, and th e t heory of th e
character; th at is, we a re g ivin g such details about.
eac h th a t the reader will und erstand th e pla n on
whi ch the mac hin e is built, a nd will, in the case of th e
man's cha racter, be prepa red, fro m a proper com prehe nsio n of its various clem ents, to understand why,
with s uch a nd suc h a ph ys ical structure, he may be
ex pected to act in such and such a way. It is better,
th en , to call , technicall y, a piece of writing description
whe n its chi ef object is simpl y to build up in th e
reader 's mind a pi cture of pe rsons or objec ts ; and to
class as expositi on a pi ece of writin g tbat mak es use of
ph ys ical de tail s in ord er that the reader may understand the theory or plan wh ich und e rli es th ese de t a il s~
34. Method in Exposition. - Examples of expos ition
a re at our hand s on eve ry sid e. Our tex t-books, the
contents of our books of reference, th e ed itorials in
our n e wspapers, the a rticles in our magaz in es (exce pt
of co urse th e sto ri es), th e books we read (with the
same excepti on of novels and history), are largely or
·w holl y expository in c haracter. It will not be ne cessary, then, to g ive a deta iled account of procedure in
a for m of wri ting so thoro ug hl y fami li ar, esp ec iall y
as alm ost a ll th e previous in struction the stud en_t has
receive d in rh etoric has dealt, exp licitly or implicitly,
with the prin ciples involved in exposition. In general, howeve r, it may be said that clea rness is the one
essential. The reader must und ersta nd the writer's
id ea. In order that he may do so, it is obvious that

CHAP.

v]

Exposition

95

an exposition should usually begin with som e statement that will g ive a clew to the main idea. That is,
it should begin with an introductory or topic sentence.
Once the r eader has caught sig ht of the main t opic,
and understands what, in gen eral, the author wishes
t o discuss, he will naturally want to know what plan
the author means to follo w in hi s exp lanation . After
the introductory sentence or sentences, therefo re, it is
often worth wh ile to give so me hint as to th e pla n or
structure of the essay, thou g h 'vv hc n the essay is short
this is frequently not necessa ry.
Now that th e reader und e rstand s w hat the mam
idea of the essay is, a nd es pecially if he can see how
in general it is to be di sc ussed, he is prepared to
listen p atiently to the body of th e essay - the explanation itself. If the expos ition is on ly a sin gle paragraph in leng th, the write r should simply bear in mind
the ordinary principl es of paragraph stru cture; if the
exposition is longe r, it mu st fo ll ow the precise ly
similar prin cipl es ap plied to th e whole composit ion.
It is often well to close with a summary sentence or
a summary paragraph.
Almost a ll the illustrations m Chapters XII and
XIII of th e precedin g volum e will serve as good
mod els of expository parag raphs, a nd it is scarcely
necessary to add others, parti c ularly as th e student
may find them for himself in the editorials of a ny
good newspaper.
For convenience' sake, however,
the following short th e me is g iven . It h as the merit
of being perfec tly simp le and adequate in structure

96

Elements of R!tetoric

[ CHAP. V

CHAP.

and expression, with out be ing, as a model, beyo nd the
reach of the youn g writer's ambition. The sub ject
is the diverse effect of hot weather, in New York
City and in Ohio, on two differe nt persons.
"A fri end of min e le ft ce ntral Oh io te n or twelve years
ago, and came to li ve in one o f th e sulinrhs of New York .
Since th en we have had fr eq uent discussions as to th e comparati ve merits and evi ls of th e climate th ere a nd here.1
lVl y fri end, loo king bac k, thinks that the summers used to
be far pl easanter in her olcl ho me than t hey are here; sh e
thinks the hea t was not so intense a nd not so lo ng co ntinueJ,
a nd above a ll no t so humid. Here, she says, the neighboring sea keeps the a ir so lad en with mo isture that the re is
no reli ef fr o m the oppress ive heat, and all exertion is a ri sk.
And, besid es, eve ry on e here is fill ed with rac kin g rh e umati c
pa ins. llut I. beli eve that her fond memory reta in s o nl y th e
agreeabl e impress ions, and that she r ecalls only th ose d ays
when she conk! do pl easant thin gs.
"She forg e ts th at th ere we ge nerall y ha ve in th e earl y
summer many days, som etim es seve ral wee ks, of :1lmosl
tropi cal weather, whe n eve ry aftern oo n or eve ning brings a
thund er- sto rm ; wh en th e showers, so eage rl y looked forw:ml to cool th e air, only leave us gasp ing a nd pe rspirin g in
a fri ghtful stea m bath; when it seems impossibl e not on ly
to fol low an y active occupa ti on but even to enclnre life
any longe r. Later in th e summer, in Angnst and Se pte mber, com es th e long drought. Th e stal e a ir, drifting laz il y
up fro m th e south and west over th e great stretch es of th e
Mi ssissippi Va ll ey, has no monntain s and no sea, not eve n a
lake, to pmify and freshen it, and it see ms to be utte rl y d ead.
This is th e time wh en ni ght brings no reli e f. Wha t little
1 Throug h o ut the essay, " here" re fer; to New York a nd "th ere"
to O hio.

\

v]

Exposition

97

breeze there may be in the d ay tim e, always drops a t sunset.
The a ir is stifling and breathless . No one attempts to go to
bed before midnight, and even th en it is only for a little
rest of the tired eyes and mu scles, and with no hope of refreshin g sleep. Th e grass is parched and brown; the
leaves hang dry and clusty on th e trees; and all the people
look worn a nd hagga rd, and their voices sound thin and
irritabl e.
"But here we are, my fri e nd and I, each defam in g her
own c lim a te. D oes this mean anythin g? My friend says
that when she goes bac k to clear old Oh io, th e torturing
rheum atic twin ges entirely leave her. So. does the langnor.
During he r last vi sit west, whi ch was in hot June weather,
she could kee p going at hig h pressure all clay long, and not
feel as tired as she does here with slig ht exertion .. But I
find th e same thing here. Even whil e I perceive the lrnmiclity, I d e tec t a bracing quality in th e air, which I think
must be clue to the salt of the sea. I go about from one
encl of New York to the oth er, even in the middle of the
d ay, when at home, with the the rm o meter at nine ty, I
should not ve nture out of the door.
"Can it be that, in th e monotony of everyday life, we g row
over-sensitive to bodily disco mforts and exaggerat:.: them
all? That und er the st imulati o n of change of scene and
change of occupation, in a word, of renewed interest, we
rise superior to trifles or forg et th em altoge ther? I think
this must b e th e tru e explanation."
[Here it should be noticed that, in the first paragraph,
the first two se ntences are introdu c tory. As the third sentence beg ins with "my fri end think s," we take it for granted
that we are to hear first one side of the question and then
the other, and do not need any furth er hint as to the plan
to be employed in the di scussion.
The plan followed is simple. The remainder of the first
H

98

Elc111mts of Rl1ctoric

[ CHAP. V

parag ra ph is el evated to th e fri e nd's co nce pti o n of th e diffe re nce in clim a te ; th e second to th e auth o r's concep ti o n ;
th e third to th e fac t that th e differe nce in opini on is du e to
a diffe re nce in sensati on, a nd th e fourth to a possible explanation of that differe nce .]

35. Common Faults in Exposition. -The comm on
fa ults in expo siti on arc: ( 1) An in t roclucti on th at 1s too lon g or not s ufficie ntly d e finite , as in th e following from an ess ay on
th e use of words of Anglo-Saxon orig in : "Th e la test co nc lusions of scie nce te nd towa rd a unit y
whi c h co mpre he nds th e wides t and m ost co m p lex di versi ty.
Th e c he mi st of to-d ay find s th at ma ny of th e el e me nts so
call ed in ea rli e r sta ges o f th at science are in fac t hut m od ifi ca ti o ns o f o n e esse nti a l e le me nt, to whi c h th ey h:\\·e no w
bee n traced. Indeed, many c he mi sts ho ld th a t th e re is
rea ll y but o ne primal substa nc e, o f which ::di th e e le me nt s
a re co mpo ne nt pa rts. In li ke ma nn er sc ie n ti sts re fer th e
va ri ous forces to o ne e le mentary energy, work in g throug h
o ne subtl e, a ll -pe rva din g medinm, which, for lac k of a bette r
nam e, th ey call ether."
[ 11 e re it is plain that th e writer has was tetl his wo rd s.
Th e re ca n b e no real p arall el betwee n th e ph ys ica l sc ie nces
a nd languages, and if th ere were, it co uld sc:i rccly he in
pl:i ce he re . The write r is to tell us a bou t th e nse o f wo rd s
of i\11 g lo-S:1xo n o ri g in, a nd he shou ld begin };ya clea r s tatem e n t th a t wonlcl ind icate just what part o r side of th e topic
he is to d isc nss .J

(2) Abse nce of a definite pla n, or a d efinite lin e
tho ug ht in t he body of th e ex posi ti on, as in the
foll ow in g illu strations. The first is th e co nc lu sion of

o[

CHAP.

v]

Exposition

99

the essay from w hi ch we h ave just quoted the intro·
duction; the seco nd is an essay on public parks m
N ew Y ork : ( 1) ''Wha t is tru e m physica l sc ience is equally true in
th e science o f la ngu age. lt has bee n sta ted that the gradu ::il
droppin g o f inO ec ted forms in th e process of the form a tion
of the English to ng ue from many som ces, so far from be in g
a backward move m ent fro m th e h ig hly inOccte Ll L a tin o r
Gree k, rea ll y s ho ws g reate r p e rfect io n . J\ tid e o f reac ti o n
from an undue es timati o n, a nd :i n ::i lmost se rvile foll o win g,
of Latin and Greek as p e rfe c t mod e ls, has bee n setting in
for so me tim e with inc reasin g fo rce . :Many of us, wh ose
ed ucatio n has bee n large ly m ad e up of th e study of th ese
d ead lang uages, a t th e ex p e nse o f a n ad equate knowl ed ge
of our own Eng li sh :rn rl a profi c ie ncy in its ' use, have a t
leng th awak e ned to find th at this o ne-sided trainin g has
ac tually unfitted us fo r th e use of p ure a nd s imple E ng li sh.
Not only has o ur study of Latin itse lf te nd ed to this r es ult,
but the la rge proporti o n of word s of L.'.ltin o ri g in that
usuall y e nte rs into th e m a ke-up of tex t-boo ks and a ll tec hnical writing h ave leLl us to read a nd think in these Latinized forms to such a n ex tent th at it has beco me diffi c ult for
us to express o urselves in a ny oth er terms; we 11n consc io11sly
and habitua lly use th e vocabula ry in whi c h we have bee n
L et a p erso n atte mpt to write a p age o n a ny
schooled.
subj ec t witho nt th e use of word s of La tin o ri g in, and he will
soon reali ze how la rge ly they e nte r into ou r l:ing uage . (To
go n o fart he r, this p a p er witnesses to the d iffi c ulty of writing
with o ut th e m.)
"Ta ke so m e of L ord T e nnyso n's poet ry, :rnd no te h ow
stron g and exp r essive, ho w natura l a nd pure, is the Engli sh,
which has m a ny words of Saxo n but few of Latin o ri gin.
''Tis the hi ghes t a rt whi c h co nceals art.' Th e re is n ee d a nd
call to-<l a y for English pure a nd pl;1in , no t only that it

:. di; .
~

100

E lem ents of Rlzetoric

CHAP.

[ CHA P. V

E xposit ion

IOI

th e other. The larger parks a re so far removed fr om th e
poor th at th ey ca nno t go, so what is their use?
"London has its parks all ove r, whe re the poor as well as
rich can go; in fac t, they are more fo r th e poor tha n ri ch. "
[In neith er of these essays, it will be noti ced , does anything like a plan exist. Each subj ec t is interestin g, each
essay suggests several lin es of thought ; bu t in neith er is
th e thoug ht so arranged that the reader can grasp it
readily. ]

may Le unde rstood th e better by simple folk , bnt that it
may Le itself better because simple r. No t th at o ne should
go to th e extreme of trying to avoid the use of words of
J ,atin origin altogethe r, - they have bee n mad e pa rt o f our
lang uage, a nd must be used to a large ex tent, - but let th e
te nd enc y be to wa rd that which is most plain a nd simple nearl y always th e J\ nglo-Saxon.
" Wherever t he choice is presented betwee n words of
J\ nglo-Saxon a nd Latin source, le t the for me r have t he
prefere nce."
( 2) " New Yo rk has som e of th e largest pu bli c parks
which exist. O f course one mu st exclude in his recko ning
suc h places as Yell owstone Park in Wyo ming a nd the Ga rd e n of the Gods in Co lorado, as th ey are too vast to Le
in cl ud ed in th e list of parks .
"Unlik e Lo ndo n, the Ne w York parks are almos t a ll in a
Lunc h. We have Ce nt ral Par k, whi c h is bounded by 59 th
a nd r 1 o th streets on the sou th and no rth respectively, and
on th e east and west by 5th a nd 8th ave nues. Brya nt
l'ark a t 42d Street a nd 6th Avenue, a nd Morn ings ide,
Ri ve rside, a nd Mo unt Morris parks, these th ree bein g the
most north e rl y parks on th e island. H ere are fi ve pa rk s,
the largest in Ne w Yo rk City, wi thin a c ircle o f about two
a nd o ne-half miles rad ius . There a re several min or parks
on ly a block or so in size, whic h are situated fa r downtown , so th at th e poor peopl e may obtain so me pl easure.
But these a re few a nd far betwee n. Th e c ity offic ials in
lay ing out th e parks have not consid ered th e p oo r. The
ri ch a re reall y th e onl y ones who reap a ny be nefit from
th ese parks a nd grounds.
Th e poor man wh en he
goes into a p ark likes to wand er at will a mong the bushes
and trees,· but he may not. Th e parks la id out, as th ey
were, several years ago, have had tim e to assum e pleasing contrasts, - shad y nooks o n one sid e, brig ht lawns on

v]

EXERCISE 17

,I'

Write six or more expository essays - some of o ne paragrap h, some longe r - o n to pi cs a pproved by th e in struc tor.
If necessary, th ey may be take n from the list give n below.
Many of th e essays shoul d, if possible, be read aloud in
class, and freely di scussed there. In li ste ning to th e essays
eac h stud ent should as k himse lf : "Do I u1idersta nd fr om
the outset what poin t the write r is d iscuss ing ? Is the d isc ussion well pl anned? I s it c lear ?" J\ nd in wr iting he
shou ld remember th at the same audi ence will be askin g
th e same qu estions wi th regard to his work.
r. Wh at is b im etallism? 2. The sig nificance of th e battle of - -. 3. Mode rn railway syste ms. 4. So me com5. Wh y a
mo n applicatio ns of the th eory o f the lever.
base-ball curves. 6. Th e Geo rge Juni o r R e pu bli c. 7. Th e
E ngli sh colonial system. 8. H ow a P res id ent is elec ted .
9. The meaning of th e markin gs of flowe rs. 10. O ur immigration laws. II : The kinds of money in use in the United
Sta tes. I2. The curri culum of o ur school. I 3. The ad va ntages and disadvantages o f mi lita ry tra inin g. 14. Th e m eaning of civil rights.
15. T he object of th e - - Society.
16. Som e artistic q ualities in th e work of - - . I 7. 1~7 h at
is a novel?
I 8. The education o f our India n tribes.

102

Elcmmls of Rlteloric

[CHAP. V

19. Birds of this neighborhood. 20. Volcanoes and earthquakes.
21. The advantages of this year's
bicycles.
2 2. Some causes of change in the natural features of this
locality.
23 . Industries controlle.cl by the government.
24. What is municipal control? 25. The· organizati on of
a labor union.
26. The Nicaragua Canal. 27. Roman
architecture. 28. The work of William Morris. 29 . The
character of the . recent magazines. 30. Our coast defence.
3 r. Methods of character delineation, as shown in - - .
32 . Oth er topics for the literature study of the school, such
as descriptions of nature in - - ; the meaning of dramatic
climax, etc.

36. The Expository Summary. - There is scarcely
any better or simpler practice for the unskilled writer
than the attempt to summarize the thought of a
somewhat lo ng piece of expository work. It cannot
be clone su ccessfully unless the re ader has grasped
th e dominant thought of the book, and m a de it
complete ly his own. The student is advised, in and
out of sc hool, to practise himself in this kind of
e xposition, until he is able, without difficulty, to g ive
a fri e nd in a few words, eith er spoken or written,
the main thought of any essay or volume which he
has read. The proc ess does not differ from that
used in ordinary exposition. It is best to begin with
a sentence stating clearly th e main topic of discussion in the hook, and then to go on to explain this
topic in an order] y fashion.
The following illustration, 1 which is merely a careful
I A sum111 ary o f th e hook menti oned, taken from the Librmy of
the 1-Vorld's B est L iterature.

CHAP. V]

Exposition

103

and sensible piece of work, will show what lies in the
power of any intelligent and industrious writer: "America and t!te Americans, from a Frenclt Point of
, View, is a swift external judgme nt of civili zation as seen in
the United States of to-day. The spectator, whose knowledge appears too intim ate to be that of a foreign er and a
tourist, passes in review the streets, hotels, railroads, newspapers, politics, schools, homes, children, habits of thought,
and manners and customs of social life, chiefly in the
larger cities and watering-places of the country. He sets
clown naught in malice, even if he extenu ates nothing. In
the mirror which he holds up the candid American sees
himself at full length, as a very imperfectly civilized person,
extravagant and superficial, placing far too much value on
money and the material things of life, and far too little
on genuine refinement and culture. The book is extremely
entertaining, and the remler who takes it up in the proper
frame of mind will not only read it through, but be apt to
make the comment of Benedick, 'Happy are tli ey who bear
their detractions, and can put them to mending.' "
[Here, in less than one hundred and fifty words (for
the last sentence is more criticism than summary), the
writer has given an excellent idea of the general character
and contents of what is apparently an exceedingly interesting and surprising book. If more space had been
all owed him, he would undoubtedly have gon e on to show, in
the same orderly way, what, in each of th e particular fields
mentioned, makes the author of the book summarized
think that we are semi-civilized.]
EXERCISE 18

vVrite several expos itory summaries, - some of one paragraph, others longer. Subj ects may be chosen from current
literature, - particularly from articles in the Forum, Nort/1

Elements of Rltetor£c

[CHAP. V
CHAP.

Ame1·ican Review, Atlantic 1Jfonthl_y, R eview of R eviews,
etc., - or from standard volumes in the school library.

37. Criticism. - Criticising a book is even a greater
pleasure - and better practice - tha n summarizing
it, for it invo lves not on ly a sound knowledge of the
:ontents of the book, but so und judgment in weigh~ng the. contents. The critic's first duty, especially
111 trcatmg a new book, with which the public he
add resses is wholly un familiar, is to give the reader
a fai rl y definite id ea of the conte nts. His second
duty is to record his opinion as to the skill and faithfuln ess with which th e aut hor has perfo rmed his
task. A thi rel cl uty, in many cases, is t o record his
opinion as to whether in his judgment the task was
worth attemptin g .
The illustrations given below,
though obviously the work of skilled h ands, a re not
beyond the reasonab le ambition of the young writer.
It s hould be noticed that in ( 1) the critic scarcely
att~mpts to .pass judgment on the book, except by
sayrng that rt b elongs to the class of books that are
always worth reading; and th at in (2) the critic not
only thinks th at the author h as not performed his
work well in this particular case, but that h e would
h ave done better to attempt work of a wholly different sty le.

I:

•I
I

(I) R ecollections of a Lifetime. By General Roeliff Brinkerhoff. Illustrated . The Robert Clarke Co., Cincinnati. 5~ x 8tr in. 448 pages. $2.
"The autobiography of a man of parts and power is
always worth reading,· especially so wh en he has lived

v]

Exposition

105

through eventful periods and has been closely connected
with men of large influence on th e course of even ts. Such
a man is General Brinkerhoff, in early life a tutor at General
Jackson's family residence in Tennessee, a leading organizer of the Republican party in 1856 and of the Liberal
Republican movement in 1872, an officer in the Civil
War, and since 1878 a leader in the department of philanthropy which is concerned with charitable and correctional
institutions. Among his personal experiences one therefore
find s many historical incidents before unpublished, and personal notices of men whose place and fame confer interest
on all matters of record concerning them. Among these
such men as Hayes and GarfielJ, Chase and Blaine, close
fri ends of General Brinkerhoff, have a prominent place in
his memoranda. Of more importance is the record of general progress in dealing wi th the clepenclent, defective, and
criminal classes, which appears in his notes of travel in that
interest through many countries. A deeply religious sp irit,
both broad and earnest, characterizes the writ~r, and has
left its impress on the book." - The Outlook, July 14, 1 900.

( 2) T!te I sle of t!te Winds. By S. R . Crockett. Doubleday
& McClure Co., New York. Si- X 7t in. 446 pages.
$ r.50.
"Mr. Crockett has now been before the public as a novelist for six or seven years ; in thi s tim e he bas vvrittcn (including the present story and another volume annou nced to
appear at once) no less than twenty books, most of which
are full-fledged novels, or about three a year. We may
divide this enormous literary output into two general classes :
the one containing charmingly written and delightfully
humorous studies of Scottish character and feeling, of which
Tlze Stickit Mi11ister's Love Story, pri nted lately in 771e
Outlook, is a good example, and to which Tlte Lilac Sttn-

106

Elements of Ril.ctoric

[CHAP. V

br11111ct and K it K enner(y, in part a t least, also belong;
the other inclu d ing se mi-historical stories of adventu re and
ro ma nce, of whi c h Tile R aiders is th e best example. To
our taste, Mr. Crockett's work is vas tly superior in th e first
class of novels described as compared with the second.
Lively as are his books of adventure, they show marks of
has te and carelessness, a nd often desce nd to m ere blooda ncl- thund er sensatio nalism. That horrors can be fou nd in
hi story on whi c h to base the fi ctitious h on ors does not in
th e leas t affect th e critic ism. Tl1e I rle of tlte f!T/z'11rls is too
crammed with crim e to be entertaining. In short, the
book is one whi ch no o ne would think of re reading. Its
subject is a novel one for Mr. Crocke tt, but not particularly
nove l oth e rwi se; the hero is kidnapped a t ALercl een a rter a
c hildhood in whi ch he sees hi s fath er murder his gra ndfat her a nd witnesses oth er cheerful incide nts o f the kind,
and is taken to Ameri ca, wh ere he escapes from pirates,
falls under th e power of th e Inqui sition, a nd, after many
ha rrow ing experi e nces, return s to Scotla nd and ove rth rows
the vill anous machinations of hi s enemies. "
-

Tl1e Outlook, June 23, 1900.

EXERCISE 19

Write several criticisms of books, - some of one paragrap h, so me longe r. T he subjects may be chosen fr om
c urre nt literature or from books conn ected with the school
work.
2 . If time allows, write one or two short criti cisms of
plays, pictures, or buildings (from the point of view of
architecture).
I.

Ar<rztment
a?td P ersuasio1t
0

CH AP. Vl]

CHAPTER VI
ARGUMENT AND PERSUASION
38 .

J\1u;UMENT

A ND

P1mS UJ\SIUN . -

39.

Tim

STATEMENT

OF

TllE

40

MrrH O ll O F 1'1mu l" - 41. IJ1FFI CU l.T Y u F
l'RV l'OS!T!O N. .
"
'
. .. :
- 42
T111 •: ll 1' 1EF.
OBTA I N I N< ; An sv 1. UTE PRou v. l ,x 1.. Rc 1s 1.. 20.
.
•..
. '
43 ' [' I! !' EXPA NSI ON lJ !,. T ll E l \R ll•'. F. - 44 . l 111'.
l~X l •'. RC I SIC 2 1. . .
" .
·
C rn NG OF AUTHOR IT I ES. 45 . Tim SVLLVGI S1'! AN IJ ITS J'A_1n s . Ex 1; RCI SE

22. -

46.

PERSUAS ION . -

EximCJSE

23. -

47 .

EXPOS I-

T I ON , i\RGU1'!ENT, /\N il 1' 1•: RS UASION JN LIT ERAT URIC.

38. Argument and Persuasion. - Fina ll y, we must
take up the t wo forms of prose compos ition in whi_ch
the writer's aim is not to a muse the reader or gwe
him information, but to ind uce him to espouse a certa in belief, or to perfor m certa in acts. Writing that
attempts to co nvince the reader by logica:l_ proo f, we
call arg ument; writin g that atte mpts to '.ncluce th.e
r eader to do so mething, we call per~u~s1 o n .. _It ~s
ar g ument w hen we try to prove t hat 1t 1s a_c1t1zen s
duty to vote a certain ticket; it is pe rsu as10~ when
we try to induce him to vote th at ti cket. W ith reasonable men, argument is by far the g reater pa rt of
persuasion; but even th e most _reasonable people
so metimes need to be appealed to m oth er ways than
by a rg um ent b efore they ac tuall y <lo what they know
is log ically rig ht or just.

ro8

Elemeuts

ef

Rlteto1'ic

[CHAP. VI

39. The Statement of the Proposition. - There can
be 11 0 good argum ent when th e proposition in question .is not clearly defined . You cannot convi nce the
read c.;r when h e does not understand precisely wha t
it is whi ch yo u wish him to believe. It is nec essa ry,
th e n, in the fir st place, to use ca re in framin g your
proposit ion. Do n ot state that yo u a re proving th a t
fo reig n lan g uages should be taught in the hi g h school,
when yo u mean that German and Frenc h should be
co mpul so ry studi es in th e hi g h sch oo l; or th at a ll
states s hould establis h free professional sc hools, wh en
you refer on ly to profess ional sc hools in law a nd medicine, but not in theology or other profess ions. In the
secon d place, explain in yo ur introdu ction, if n ecessary, a ny spec ia l mea nin g yo u are givin g to the terms
you e mploy in y our prop ositi on. If yo ur propos ition is
th at Aaro n Burr was g uilty of treaso n, g ive th e read er
fair warnin g that yo u mean morally g uilty, not legall y
g uilty. If yo ur proposition is that Lat in s hould be a
compul so ry st ud y in th e hig h sch ool, he sure to state
suc h necessary limitati ons as that, for example, yo u
nica n onl y so many yea rs of Latin , a nd that yo u do
not mean to in clud e ma nu al trainin g hi gh school s.
Oth erwi se, yo u may find too late th at the r eader
th oug ht yo u had a diffe rent encl in vi ew.
40. Method of Proof. -- Th e meth od of proof in
arg um e nt is precise ly simil ar to th at ord in arily employed in geom etry. It is desired to prove that such
an a ng le, let us say, is equal to a noth er angle. After
lookin g at the problem, we say that this can be shown,

CHAP. VI]

Arg1tment and P crslfasion

rog

provid ed th at it is true t hat two oth er angles are equal
to each other, and th at thi s can be shown provided
that somethin g else be proved true, and so on until
we r each facts that are eith er self-ev id e nt or h ave
been already establi shed. Similarly, in argum ent, we
have a de finite proposition, by no means self-evi dent,
of the truth of whic h we wish to convin ce the reader.
W e can logically do so on ly by show in g him that,
from certain other points which h e already b elieves or
can be broug ht to believe, th e propositi on in question
can be inferred.
T o prove a proposition to the satisfaction of a
reader or hearer, it is always n ecessary to reaso n from
· facts or p rin cipl es which he accepts as true. If, for
example, I wo uld prove to you that it rained las t
nig ht, it mi g ht not be suffi cient to sh ow yo u that this
morning th e g rass is soaked, because th at mi g ht have
been caused by a heavy fall of clew ; nor perh aps t o
show yo u that water is stand in g in a pail left out of
doors, because the pail mi g ht not have been e mpty the
ni brrht hefo .re ' or mi ba ht h ave been used sub sequ ently.
It wou ld be necessa ry to show y ou t races of th e ra in
which yo u wo uld accept as settlin g th e m atter.
Eve n wb en one is logicall y convinced t hat a proposition is true, he may n ot be inclin ed to acce pt it until
his objec ti on s have bee n ex plained away. I may see
every reaso n to believe you whe n yo u say th at th er e
was a heavy thunder-storm last ni g ht, a ncl yet h esitate
to acknowledge myself conv inced so lon g as I cannot
understand why I was not awakened by it. If, how-

I 10

E!e111cnts of R!tctoric

[ CH AP. VI

ever, yo u sh ow me t he re a rc no t onl y indubitable
traces of s uc h a st orm , that yo u a nd ot he rs heard it,
ancl that I did not beca use m y wind ows wer e closed,
and I was so fati g ued as to slee p with unu s ua l soundness, I ca n t he n 110 longe r r efuse t o be conv in ced.
41. Difficulty of Obtaining Absolute Proof. - P a rti c ularl y if th e r ead e r is so mew h;tt obstinate, o r in s ists on
c omp le te proo f of a propo s ition , it is often diffi c ult to
co n v inc e him. If, fur example, I s hould atte mpt to
co n vin ce y o u that Mr. A has tub e rculos is of th e
lun gs, ancl s h o uld proceed tu in fe r that fro m his co ug h,
o r other s imilar sy mptom s, yo u mi g ht prope rl y r e pl y
th at these s ig ns mi g ht b e du e to ot her ca uses. If I
s ho uld a rg ue that yo un g Dr. B said th a t Mr. A had
tube rc ulos is, yo u mi g ht perh a ps still re ply t ha t yo un g
d oc tors ha ve before now been in e rror. If I s ho uld
argue that Dr. C, a n ac knowledged ex pe rt in suc h
matte rs, g a ve th e sa me verdict, you mig ht poss ibly refu se to be co n vin ced until yo u heard the
p ositive s tate me nt from Dr. C's own lip s. Even then

CH AP . VI]

Arg 1tlllc1tt a1td P crsuasio1l

loss of life , on me.re ly circumstanti a l ev id e nce.

Ill

Eve n

if it is proved th at he was seen to h ave co mmitted th e
crim e in qu est io n, th e sceptic al mind, whe n g rea t
issues a rc in vo lve d, m ay feel fo rced to admit th e p ossibility of mistaken id e ntity, or conspi racy a m o ng th e
witn esses.
If s uc h be th e g reat diffi c ulty in obtainin g a b so lu te
proo f in qu es lion s of exist in g or rece nt fact, it is obvio us how d oubtful mu st be the validity o f atte mpted
proo f when th e a ll eged fa c ts upon whic h t he propositio n is base d arc ce nturies old , or wh e n the prop os iti o n
de als not with facts, but with opinion s. In qu esti ons
o f p o liti c~t.I o r p e rson a l el hi cs, for exa mple, it is ofte n
poss ibl e th a t th e ri g ht lies on both s id es of a di s pute d
qu estion, ;rnd t hat a bsolute p roof is not to b e sec ure d.
From s uc h co n s id eratio ns we m ay dra w sever a l
in fere n ces of importance fo r th e st ud e nt ·: ( 1) Do n ot s upp ose for a n in sta n t that yo u arc
lik e ly to a rri ve at the fin a l truth u pon in tri cate mat-

it is co nce ivable that, if yo u were vitall y inte reste d in

t e rs, espec ially th ose which lie beyond yo ur pow e r,
and, o[ thi s c lass, parti c ularly those d ep e nd e nt for

lh c matte r, yo n s ho uld refuse your be lie f until yo 11
h a d w ith yo ur ow n eyes see n und e r th e mi croscope
th e tube rc ulos is germ , whi c h to yo ur own kn ow ledge
h a d b ee n d e ri ved from the s putum of th e patient, an d
co n v in ce d yourself by furth er inves tigati o n that, so
far as human sc ie nce h a s gone, that germ is infallibl y
present und e r s uc h conditions, a nd o nl y und er s uc h
co nditi ons . S irnilarly, a jury fr equ e ntly hes ita tes to
condemn a pri so ne r to se vere punis hment, s uch as the

th e ir solution upon temperam e n t, taste, o r poli cy.
Y o u m ay , a nd perh a ps should , have yo ur id eas on
suc h subj ects, a nd , if so, it is wo rth yo ur while to
und er stand yo ur reaso n s for h oldin g th e m.
But
b eware o f b e li ev in g th at a noth e r is wrong b ec a use
yo u a re s ure that yo u a rc ri g ht.
An old pro verb
run s, de g;11stilms non disp11taud11111 rst, one must n ot
arg ue o n questio n s o f p e rso nal taste.
F or exampl e,
one could not convince another that Byron was a

CHAP.
112

Elements of Rl1etoric

vr]

A 1:gu11zent and P ersuasion

113

[ CHAP . VI

greater poet than Shelley, or vVhi ttier than Longfellow, any more than one could convince another
th at Aunt Sara h's app le pies were better than Aunt
J a n e's, unl ess in the one case the two were wholly
agree:] as to what constituted greatness in a poet and
how 1t co uld be measured, and, in the other, as to
what constituted goodness in apple pies and how it
co uld be meas ured. In both cases personal taste or
temperament would play a large part. In the same
way,. many. q uestions of ethics, r eligion, and politics
are 1mposs1blc of exac t solution, because disputants
have wholly irreco ncil able beliefs with r egard to the
principles invo lved.
(z) In questions of the kind referred to above
exposition is often more powerful than a rgu ment'.
·w hether it is wise to prohibit by law th e use of alco hol.i c drinks, except in sickness, is, fo r examp le,
a pomt that thoughtful people so metim es disagree
a bout. To arg ue positively co ncerning the question,
th~ugh o~ te n proper and necessary, frequently leads
to ill feelmg a nd simil a r bad effects. If I, believinc:r
.l
b
w1t1 a ll my heart in prohibition, were to attempt to
p rove log ica ll y to a n eq ually positive ·frie nd on th e
ot her side that he was utterly wrong, I mi g ht, under
0 1.·d in a~·y circum stances, simply succeed in prejudicing
111111 still furth er again st my case.
On the other hand
I mi gh t succeed in p artly convincing him were I
:ay: ."This is the way I feel about the matter. My
id ea .1s that the duty of the state lies in this direction
and I am convinced that such a nd such a law could

t~

be adopted with advantage. To be sure, we should
run th e risk of such and such evi ls, and I acknowledge
that you have much ev idence that points in that direction, but," etc. Once an opponent can und erstand
th at yo u are logical in yo ur judg ment, g ranti ng your
point of view, he is forced to see that he differs from
you, not so much in the point actually under di scussion, but with regard to more fundamental principles,
and is thus brought face to face with the real ground
oE differe nce. vVon by your courtesy, honesty of
mind, and ch arity, he is predisposed in yo ur favor.
(3) In set or formal argum e nts or debates, try to
make th e subject one th a t rests on fact rather than on
op inion.
(4) In wr itten argument, keep in mind a ty pical
opponent, and do not regard anythin g as eviden t or
obv ious or proved, unless you feel sure that he would
agree with you in thin kin g so. Remember th at you
must convince by a process oE reason in g, - a seri es
of steps, - and there is no use in passing from one
step to a nother unless a fair-minded oppone nt would
grant yo u that step . If th e step in question is a point
oE fact, substanti ate it by an a uth ority.
If yo ur a uthority is a man of rep utati on, an expert in th at subject, his tcstirnony should hold, unl ess another equally
good authority states th e oppos ite.
(5) Accustom yourself to the idea th a t not many
things can be proved absolutely and to the satisfaction
of everybody. Usually, all one can do is to have the
g reater probability on his side.

I

14

E!c111cnls <!f Rlirtoric

[ C IIAP. VI

(6) Be fair- mincl ecl a nd tell th e truth. It is better
to have no proof at all th an to prete nd to ha ve p roof.
EXERCISE 20
1. Find fi ve subj ects, qu es ti o ns o f fact, th a t you thin k
yo u co uld, afte r p roper im1uiry, write a satis fa c tory a rgu ment
0 1i.
Sta te, in a se ntence, what you think now your position
wo uld h e o n eac h o f th ese f}U es ti ons.
2. Indi cate fi ve interes tin g subj ec ts whi ch involve pe rso nal
opin ion o r tas te to suc h a d eg ree th at you would no t fe e l
ju stifi ed in argu ing on th e m. Why ?

42. The Brief. - In atte mptin g to p rove a g iven
propositi on, th e first th ing to do is to mak e a n orderly
and logical plan of the steps yo u mean to take in
your argum ent. This p la n is us uall y called a bri ef.
I t should indicate so clea rly the p rocess of thou g ht
w hi ch yo u mean to adopt that a reader co uld ag ree
that, if yo u cou ld su bs tantiate eac h of t he steps
there stated, he wo uld be willing to ac kn ow ledge
t hat yo u had proved yo ur point.
S uppose, fo r example, that yo u wi s hed to prov e t hat.
t he North men discove red A me rica abo ut IOOO A.D.
You r brief mi g ht then run as fo llows: 1 l. Th e Norse medi::eval hi s to rian s state that about 1000
A.n. ce rta in Norse sa il ors fou nd, to th e so ullmes t o f (;ree nla ml, a bncl whi ch th ey c:tll ed Vi ne bnd . This account is
wo rth y of c rede nce because
( r) It is g ive n as history, not as fi ction.
( 2) It is rebtecl o r r eferred lo in m a ny No rse books of
histo ry, ela tin g fro m contemporary tim es on.
1

T h e r ca so ni ng is taken rrom th e int e resting a n cl co nv111 c 111 g acco unt in l\'lr. J o hn Fiske 's Discovery of America , Yul. I, pp. 148-226.

C H AP. VI]

A1~t;1tmcnt

a7!d I',-r.rnasion

I I

5

l [. Tt is no t unn atural that th e No rthmen sho uld have
d iscove red the coast o f No rth 1\ mer ica , because
( r ) They we re o f a rov ing di spos itio n, good seame n, and
had vessels capable o f ta king long voyages, as is shown i>y
(a) Their voyages to Constantin o p le a nd th e \Vhite Sea,
etc.
(b) By th e fact th a t th ey had se ttled in Ic e land , a nd
(c) Th a t th ey had settled in CreenLrnd and exp lo red
Baffin !lay.
( 2) Th e se ttle rs in G ree nland h ad a motive in exploring
for and visiti ng new coasts, fo r the sake of
(11) Wood , whi c h was scarce in C rec nla11d and Lee land ,
and whi c h th ey need ed fo r ship -l1uildi11g, and
(b) Barter with th e nat ives.
(3) The r elati ve positi o n o f the n o rth eas te rn coast o f
No rth Amer ica is suc h tha t ships co uld c:is il y be dr iven
th e re from the vic inity of Cree nl a nd by no rth c:i st g: il es an d

: I

,I

c urre nts.

..!

·'I

I 1f. The accou nts given o f Vi nela nd obv iously refer to
th e No rth 1\ m cri ca n coast, bec;rnse
( 1) Vineland was said lo he sou thwest o f Crcc nlan d,
a nd
(2) T he stateme nts regardin g th e c ha racte r o f th e cuast,
th e vege tat io n, a nim a ls, a nd inh:ibitants co uld apply o nl y
to th e Amer ican coast, fo r the na rra ti ve speaks o f
(a) Sho rte r cl ays.
( /1) Corn .
(c) G rap es.
(ti) Inh a bita nts co rres ponding acc ura tely to th e India ns.

ii
i~
11

1•

IV . If the accoun t had be e n th e wo rk o f imagination,
th e na rra tors wo uld in all proba bility have, as was co mmon,
p eop led th e la nd with drago ns, unico rn s, and sim ilar ma rvels, instead of wh ic h th ey refe r throu g hout to obj ec ts a nd

ji
,)

I'
11

I

0

!

I

-,'

116

Elem ents of Rlzetoric

[CHAP. VI

incid ents of wl1ich a knowl edge must have been gained by
observation rather than by the imagination.
[N ote that I , II, III, and IV are all reasons why the
p ro position in q uestion is true, and that if we believe I , II,
III , and IV; we must believe the main prop os iti on. T he
problem, then, is, by use o f ·ev ide nce, to prove I , II, III,
and I V. lf ( 1) and ( 2), un de r I, are true, we can regard
[ as true. Po int lI is more intricate. vVe can scarcely
beli eve th at, unl ess we are convinced o f th e truth of ( 1) ,
( 2), and ( 3); and we can scarcely b eli eve (1 ) , unless we
believe (a), (b), and (c) . T he essence of th e proof, then,
comes clown to th e establishing of ce rtain facts from which
in ferences may be drawn . Th e brief could be extended to
show th e proo f of th ese fac ts, bu t enough has bee n clone
to show the cand id read er that our logical process is correc t, and th at all he needs to attend to is th e evidence
bro ught fo rward to subs tantiate the points already menti oned .]
EXERCISE 21

D raw up several bri efs on subj ects approved by th e instructor. They may, if necessary, be chosen from the li st
give n on page 11 8. So far as possible, they should be
qu estions of fact rath er th an of opinion.

43. The Expansion of the Brief. - When th e brief
has bee n criticised a nd app roved by th e in structor,
th e writin g of th e a rg um ent itse lf is a simpl e, th oug h
often a tedious, m atter. In structure arg um ent does
not differ fr om expositi on. Th e write r should t ake
pains to n~ ake the meaning of the proposition perfectly clear, should indicate wh at general line of
proof h e means to . a dopt, and then, slowly a nd

CH AP. VI]

A rgunzcnt and P ersuasion

117

clearly, develop, point by p oint and ste p by step.
his p rocess of reasonin g .
44. The Citing of Authorities. - Unless th e instructor prefers so me other meth od, th e a uth ority
fo r every important statement in a n ar g ument should
be given in a fo otnote. The usual fo rmula is thi s :
Fiske's T /1e Amen.can R evol11tion, V ol. I, p p. 297304.
45. The Syllogism and its Parts. - Th e student h as
alrea dy learn ed t~ reason correctly by co mm on sen se,
exp erience, a nd th e study of m ath emati cs. It is not
necessary, fo r general pur poses, th at he stud y .l ogic,
whic h deals with th e theory of reaso nin g; b ut the
meaning of certa in terms in logic w hi ch are often used
in arg um ent should be clear t o him . Wh en we reason,
we infe r or deduce a third state ment or proposition
from t wo sta te ments a lready accepted as true. For
e'x ample, if we believe th at x = y, a nd th at y = :::, we
conclude that x = z . If we believe that a ll bird s have
win gs, and th at a canary is a bird, we conclud e th at
a canary has wings. If we believe th at th e N orthrn en settled in a land th ey called Vin eland, and that
V ineland can b e identified as Rh ode I sland , we conclude tha t the N orthm en settled in R hode I sland.
Th e two p ro positi ons we a ccep t a re called premises.
Th e third which is deduced from th e m is ca lled the
conclu sion. Th e three togeth er for m a syllogism.
Eac h premise states a relation between tw o things,
called term s, a nd the two pre mises must ha ve one
t erm in common, or no conclusion could b e rea ched.

II8

Elements of Rhetoric

[CHAP. V1

CHAP. VI]

Thus, in the syllogism, "All men are mortal; John is
a man; therefore.John is mortal," th e first premise .
states a relation between "men " and "mortality,"
the second between "] ohn" and "men." The common term, or middle term, is "man," and because it
appears in both premises we are able to state a relation between "John" and "mortality." The process
is precisely the same as in algebra.
EXERCISE 22

After completing satisfactorily Exercise 2 r, the student
should expand at least one of his briefs . The resulting
argument will probably be one thousand words in length, if
not longer. It should be written carefully, with an eye to
the strict logic of th e thought as well as to accuracy and
ease of expression.
The subjects given below are merely suggestions. Very
few students will have sufficient information to discuss
thoroughly questions involving a close knowledge of economics, politics, or public affairs. As a rule, it is better to
choose suJ;>jects such as r or l 9, in which the student's information on local affairs will be of service to him. Subjects like 14 are of course mere matters of opinion, but
some classes will enjoy and profit by the discussion of them. ·
r. Physical training should be compulsory in public
schools. 2. The "eight-hour day" should be enforced.
3. The United States needs a greater navy. 4. ·woman's
suffrage should be established. 5. The civil service system
should be abolished. 6. Macaulay's estimate of Steele
(in the Essay on Addison) was unjust. 7. The term of
supreme court judges should be limited. 8. Shakspere
did not write the plays attributed to him. 9. The ancient
languages - Latin and Greek - should not be required for

1.

Argu ment and Pci-s11asion

[ 19

admission to college . 10 . - - should li e :rnn C'X(' d 1<> the
United States. r r. Th e Unitecl States should ado pl a fr eetrade policy. 12. Cabot shou ld be recognizeJ as th e Jiscoverer of America.
l 3. Major AnJre shou ld no t have
been executed. 14. Thackeray is a greater noveli st than
Scott.
r 5. The President should L>e elected by direc t
popular vote. 16. Science should be. studied in th e hi gh
school. q. Greece has clone more than Rome for mod ern
civilization. 18. Capital punishment should L>e aboli shed.
19·· \!Ve should have a school pap er. 20. Th e "honor
system" should be used in examinations. 2r. The present
distribution of vaca tion periods is not satisfactory. 22. The
study of current events should form a part o f th e school
work.
23. High school secret societies should not be
allowed. 24. An athl etic -freld should L>e g iven us l>y the
school board. 25. Re citation periods should be a n hour
26. The weekly holid ay should L>e c ha nged
in length.
from Saturday to Monday. 27. The c iti ze ns of this tow n
28. The wa ter
should not be taxed to support - - .
supply system should be improved . 29. The paving o f our
streets with as phalt would be unwise.
30. The town
should be' lighted by electricity.

46. Persuasion. - Persuasion pa rta kes of the nature
of both arg ument and exposition. In hi s e ffort to
induce th e reader to enter on a certain lin e of ac ti on,
the writer attempts partly to convince him that such
a line of action is logical und er th e circumstances,
partly to indu ce him to underta ke it because it ca n be
shown to be for his interest, or pleasure, or for th e
we lfare of others. No hard and fast principl es or
rules can b e laid clown on the subject. Usually it is
well to begin with a clear state ment of th e action

120

Elements of R!tctoric

[CHAP. VI

desired, and then to give, one by one, th e c hi ef reasons
why the reader should adopt that line of action, and
to answer possible objections, ending with whatever
reasons seem, under the circu mstances, most potent.
Or, one may begin by drawing a vivid picture of an
existing situation, show that nothing else than a
certain action would solve the problem, and close by
urging that action upon the reader.

CHAP.

vn]

Composition in Verse

121

:.\

1:! I'.

·. 1·1

jrl

i \
1

'i r
.:.1
It

CHAPTER VII

'i i
'IIit·

COMPOSITION IN VERSE
48. COMPOSITION

IN VE!{SE. -49.

ACCENTS

I
1·

,f

IN VERSE. -

50. LINES
:1111:

AND FEET.-EXERCJ S ll 2 4 . -51.

EXERCISE 23

Jhe class should first prepare, under the direction of the
instructor, a list of a do~e n or more questions of local or
general importance, of the same c haracter as those suggested
under Exercise 22. On one of these each student shouJd
write an essay of several hundred words, in which be should
a ttempt to persuade the members of the class to accept a
certain line of thought, or adopt a certain line of ac tion.

47. Exposition, Argument, and Persuasion in Litera-'
ture.-Argument and persuasion often occur together
in literature; each is necessarily often min gled with
exposition. In most writing that is not fictio.n, all
three will be found . Argument may perhaps be best
studied in the great speeches of Burke and Webster;
persuasion in these also, and in less celebrated
addresses, such as the speeches of Wendell Phillips,
or the sermons of Phillips Brooks; exposition in the
famous English and American essayists of the nineteenth century.

ING A CCENT. 26. -

54.

CAO:SURA
EXERCISE

Ex 1mc 1si,; 25.-53. KINDS OF LINES.- EXEl\CISE

DJFF ERF.N 'l'
OR

F1':ET

IN

V ERS E-PAUSE. - 5 6 .

27. -

EXERCISE 28. -

KINDS OF FEET.-52. !!OVER-

57.

STANZAS. -

nrn

SAME

FAMOUS

LINE. -

ENGLISH

58 . FAMOUS

55.

Tim

i\I n1rns. -

ENGLISH

S T ANZAS.

59. TH E SONNET. - 6 0. FRENCH F ORMS OF VERSE.

48. Composition in Verse. - In verse composition,
or poetry, all th e kinds of writing which we have
discussed are represented, thou g h argument, on account of its more abstract nature, occurs only rarely.
The essential characteristics of poetry, however, cannot be ,properly understood by reference to narration,
description, exposition, argument, and persuasion.
Whether the element of narrative or that of description is the more prominent in a poem, the meth od
and the aim are the same - th e appeal to the e motions of the reader rather than to his understandin g .
This appeal is made in two ways: (I) by the sound
of words; ( 2) by the associations connected with
tht;m. In the first respect the poet is a musician.
He chooses words of such a sort as to gratify the
ear; he cpmbines them so that their accents fall at
regular intervals; and at regular intervals he may also

.I,

I.~

I~

11•
I~

Ill

~

IiIi.
I~

I

l:

.

138

Elements of Rltetor£c

[CHAP. VII

of Chicago, from which the following sonnet is
taken:-

INDEX

"The cows come loitering through the lane,
And from the branches round about is heard,
Bidding the last good night, the chirp of bird,
As sunset glories round the farm-house wane.
Then, when the last rays sink into the west,
Homeward with joy the laborer bends his way,
Where peace awaits him till another day
Shall break. All nature softly sinks to rest.

(The numbers refer to pages)

I.

Feet, 125.
Fiction, 84.
Force, 2 .
French forms of verse, 138.

Accents in verse, 123.
Anapest, l'Z"J. '
Argument, distinguished from persuasion, 107; statement of the
proposition, 108; m ethod o f proof,
108 ; difficulty of obtaining absolute proof, no; questions o f taste
or Opinion, 111; the brief, 114; expansion of the brief, n6; citing of
authorities, n7; the syllogism and
its parts, n7.

And as the evening thus doth gather round
Within the cherished folds of her embrace
The struggling world, all torn by storm and strife,
So doth my soul at close of day feel bound
By tender power unseen, and gains a grace
To bear the toils that lead to higher life."
60. French Forms of Verse. - If time allows, the
class desires the pleasure, and more weighty matters
of English instruction are not too pressing, a
few entertaining days may be spent in the study of
several of the old French forms of verse which have
recently been naturalized, as it were, in Englishthe ballade, the rondeau, the triolet, etc. They are
somewhat mechanical forms, intricate in their structure, having for the composer the attraction of a
puzzle to be solved, but, at their best, full of the
charm of cleverness, delicacy of feeling, and the
ingenuity of art. Models will be found in the poems
of Mr. Austin Dobson and Mr. Edmund Gosse, and
detailed rules of construction in The Rilymester
(Appleton & Co.).

SUBJECTS TREATED

Hexameter, dactylic, 132.
History, 84.
Jamb, l'Z"J.
Lette rs, 24.
Lines, 125; kinds of, 129.
Metre, 123, 124; famous English
metres, 132.

Ballade, 138.
Ballad measure, 134·
Bla nk verse, 132.
Brief, in argument, II4 ff.

Narration, 68 ; essential ele ments of,
6g; ac tors in, 69; circum sta n ces
in, 75; action in short na rrati ves ,
78; aim of a narra ti ve , 81 ; action
in longer narratives, 82 ; n<l rrative
in literature, 84; s ummary of a
narrativ e, ·88.
Note-books, 9.
Novels, 85.

Cresura, 131.
Catalectic or cut-off verse, 126.
Clearness, 2.
Coherence, 4.
Composition, art of, 5.
Couplet, 133·
Criticism, 104.

7

Ode, 134·
Dactyl, 127.
Paragraph, 2; theory of, 3.
Dactylic hexameter, 132.
Description, 44; aim of, 45; descrip- Paraphrase, 20.
tion by orderly arrangement of de- Persuasion, 119.
tails , 45 ff.; by suggestion, 52 ff.; Poetry, 121.
in litera ture, 66; distingui shed Proof, method of, 108; difficulty of
obtaining absolute, no.
from exposition, 93.
Quatrain, 132.
Elegance , 2.

i::;~~si:·d~ice

I

'

with regard to the
writing of, 5.
Examination p apers. 12.
Exposition , 93; m ethod in, 94; common faults in, 93; expository summary, 102 i criticism, 104

12
Rhythm, 3·
Se ntence , 2; theory of, 3·
Sonnet, 136.
Spondee, 129 .
Stan za, 132; famous English stanzas,
133·

139

Index

ELEMENTS OF .RHETORIC AND
ENGLISH COMPOSITION.

Story, short, 84.
Unity, 4.
Summary of a narrative, 88; of an
Verse, composition in, I2I; accents
exposition, 102.
in, 123.
Syllogism, II7.
Verse-pause, 131.
Translation, 15.
Trochee, 127.

FIRST HIGH SCHOOL COURSE.

By GEORGE R. CARPENTER,
Col111nbi'a University.

12mo.

Whole composition 2· theory of, 3.
Words, 3.
' '

II.

RECENTLY ADOPTED BY

Kipling, Jun gle Book, 57; The Tomb
of his Ancestors, 63, 64 .
Cicero, Archias, translated by Duncan, 18.
Longfellow, H . W., Leite~ to his
Clemens, The Adventures of HuckleFather, 38.
berry Finn, 56.
.
Longfellow, S., Life of H. W. LongClem ent, H a ndbook of Legendary
fellow, 48,
and Mythological Art, 78.
Library of th e World's Best LiteraCrawford, Via Crucis, 49, 53 .
ture, 88, 102•.

Eliot, L etter to the President, 37.

In Prefaralion.

Northampton, Mass., Burnham School.
Norwa1k, Conn., Miss Mead's School.
Providence, R .I., High School.
Danbury, Conn., High School.
New York City, Teachers' College.
Los Angeles, Cal., High School.
Binghamton, N.Y., High School.
College of Idaho.
Montclair, N.j., High School.
St. Louis, Mo., Washington University.
Elizabeth,
Pingry School.
Baltimore, Md., City Schools.
H oboken, N .. , Stevens School.
Waban, Mass., Windsor Hall School.
Fall River, Mass., High School.
New,,Yor~,Ci~~l~1~rb1~1 dr~~l;::~!· School.
Mt. Vernon, Ind., High School.
Pottstown, Pa., Hill School.
Boston, Charlestow n High School.
Pittsburgh, Pa., High School.
"
Roxbury Hi17h School.
Dayton, 0., S t. l\1ary's Institute.
"
l\1iss Hersey s School.
Umversity of South Dakota.
Andove r, Mass., Phillips Academy.
University of Texas.
Springfield, Mass., High School.
Hyde Park, Vt.
Palmer, Mass., High School.
Toronto Globe : -The plan of the author is to teach one thin g at a time, and to
teach that one thing well. His directions as to how rhetoric should be studied, and
the use to be made of standards and au thorities, are exceeding ly valuable, a nd well
calculated to help the attentive reader to make the best use of his advan tages for
· acquiring power of expression. . . . It is an excellent exemplification of the new
methods of educat.ion suited to the closing years of the nineteenth century.

Blanchan, Bird Neighbors, 45.

Fitzgerald, Omar Khayyam , 134·
Ford, The True George Washington , 46.

Price 75 cents, net.

SECOND HIGH SCHOOL COURSE.

ILLUSTRATIVE EXTRACTS

Dickens, Little Dorri!, 58.
Dumas, The Three Musketeers, 72.

Cloth.

N.J.,

Matthews, Outlines in Local Color,
56.
Norton, Notes of Travel and Study
in Italy, 50.

Outlook, The, 104, 105.

Garland , Main-Travelled Roads, 58, Poe, The Fall of the House of Usher
64.
77·
•
Gray, 134.
Green, A Short History of the Eng- Robertson, F. W., Lectures, So.
lish People, 71.
Scott, Ivanhoe, 76; 134·
Shakspere, Macbeth , 21, 23 ; 137•
Harris, Uncle Remus, 74.
Harte , Bret, Snow-bound at Eagle's, Spenser, F aerie Queene, 133.
Steevens, In India, 6o.
73·
Hawthorne, Letter to Longfellow, 37. Stevenson, Across the Plains, 59;
Treasure Island, 65.
H errick, The Gospel of Freedom, 63.
Higginson, Young Folks'-History of
·T ennyson, The Princess, 131; In
the United States, 79.
Memoriam, 134.
Hom er, The Iliad, transl ated by
Times, The London, Correspondent
Lang, Lea f, a nd Myers, 19.
of, 46.
Irving, Th e Conquest of Granada, Twain, Mark, The Adventures ol
Huckleberry Finn, 56.
47; Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 55,
56.
Whitman, 124.
Keats, 137·
Whittier, 133·
Kingsley, The Water-Babies, 64.
Wordsworth, 135·

7

EXERCISES IN RHETORIC AND
ENGLISH COMPOSITION.
ADV AN CED COURSE.

By GEORGE R. CARPENTER,
Colttmbz'a University.

12mo.

Cloth.

Price $1.00, net.

Unive rsity of Chicago.
Wabash College,
Swarthmore College.
Drury College.
Southwest Kansas College.
Bowdoin College.
Columbian Universiry.
University of Texas.
University of South Dakota.
Packer Institute.
Wellesley Colle ~e.
Hcidleberg University.
University of Minnesota.
Western Maryland College.
"It is a ~a rk of a pre-eminently practical character. Its arran gement is admira·
hie, its prese nt at ion of essential facts lucid, its examples well chosen and interesting .
It is handsomely bound, and altogether one of the most useful college manuals of
rhetoric that have yet appeared."

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY,
66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK.

