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By Rev. E. A. ABBOTT, M.A., and Prof. J. R. SEELEY,
M.A. Part !.-Vocabulary. Part IL-Diction. Part
III.- Metre. Part IV. - Hints on Selection and Arrangement. Appendix. 16mo. Price $1.50.

PREFACE.

From the London A tlrenteum.
The object of this book is evidently a practical one. It is intended for ordinary
use by a large circle of readers; and th ough designed principally for boys, may be
read with advantage by many of more advanced years. One of the lessons which
it professes to teach," to use the right word in the right place," is one whi ch no
one sh ould despise. The accomplishment is a rare one, and many of the hints
here g ive n are truly admirable.
From

l~r.e

Soutliern Revi'ew.

The study of Language can never be exhausted. Every time it is looked at by
a m;m of real ability and culture, some new phase s tarts into view. 'T he origin
of Language j its relat ions to the mind; its history; its laws ; its development;
its struggles; its trium phs; its devices; its puzzles ; its ethics, - every thing
about it is full of interest.
Here is a deli ghtful boot~ , b y two men of recognized authority, - the head
~la ster of London School, and the Professor of :Mocler'n History in th e University
of Cambridge, the notable author of '' Ecce H omo." The book is so comprehensive in its scoPe that it seems almost miscellaneous. It treats of the vocabulary
of the English Lanp; u;tge; Diction as appropriate to this or that sort of compo-aition; selection and arguments of topics; Metre, ancl an Appendix on Logic.
All this in less than three hundred pages. 'Vithin this space so many subjects
cannot be treated exhaustively i and no one is, unless we may except :M etre, to
"-'hich abou t eighty pages arc devoted, and about which all seems to be said that
is worth saying, - possibly more. But on each topic some of the best things are
1:aid in a very stimulating way. The student will desire to study more th oroughly
the subject into which such pleasant openings are here given; and the best prepared teacher will be thankful for the number of striking illustrations gathered up
to his h'nd.
The abundance and freshness of the quotations makes the volume very attractive reading, without reference to its didactic value.

Tms book is not intended to supply the place of an English
Grammar. It presupposes a knowledge of Grammar and of
English idiom in its . readers, and does not address itself to
foreigu ers, but to those who, haviug.already a familiar lmowledge of English, need help to write it with taste and exactness.

Some degree of knowledge is presumed in the reader;

nevertheless we do not presume that he possesses so much as
to render him incapable of profiting from lessons.

Our object

is, if possible, not merely to interest, but to teach; to write
lessons, not essays, - lessons that may perhaps prove interesting to some who have passed beyond the routine of school
life, but still lessons, in the strictest sense, adapted for school
classes.
Aiming at practical utility, the book deals only with those
difficulties which, in the course of teaching, we h:we fo und to
be most common and most serious.

For there are many

difficulties, even when grammatical accuracy has been attained, in the way of English persons attempting to write

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and speak correctly.

First, there is the cramping restriction

of an insufficient vocabulary; not merely a loose and inexact

viii

PREFACE.

PREFACE.

ix

apprehension of many words that are commonly used, and

over examination papers, will admit that this is a danger to

a consequent difficulty in using them accurately, but also a

which beginners are very liable.

total ignorance of many other words, and an inability to use

tion to shrink with a senseless fear from usi11g a plain word

them at all ; and these last are, as a rule, the very words
which are absolutely necessary for the comprehension and

twice in the same page, and often from using a plain word at
all. This unmanly dread of simplicity, and of what is called

ex pression of any thought that deals with something more

"tautology," gives rise to a patchwork made up of scraps

than the most ordinary concrete notions.

Again, there is the tempta-

There is also a

of poetic quok'ttions, unmeaning periphrases, and would-be

very common inability to appreciate the differences between

humorous circumlocutions, - a style of all styles perhaps the

words that are at all similar.

most objectionable and offensive, which may be known and

Lastly, where the pupil has

studied L atin, and trusts too much for his knowledge of Eng-

avoided by the name of Fine Writing.

lish words to his knowledge of their Latin roots, there is the'

the clanger of obscurity, a fault which cannot be avoided

possibility of misderiving and misunderstanding a word, owing

without extreme care, owing to the uninflected nature of our

to ignorance of the changes of letters introduced in the process
of derivation; and, on the other. hand, there is the clanger of

language.
All these difficulties and dangers are quite as real, and

misunderstanding and pedantically misusing words correctly

require as much attention, and are fit subjects for practical

derived, from an ignorance of the changes of meaning which

teaching in our schools, quite as much as many points

a word almost always experiences in passing from one lan-

which, at present, receive perha ps an excessive attention in

guage to another.

some of our text-books.

The result of all this non-understanding

Lastly, there is

To use the right word in the right

or slovenly half-understanding of words is a habit of slovenly

place is an accomplishment not Jess valuable than the knowl-

reading and slovenly writing, which when once acquired is

edge of the truth (carefully recorded in most English

very hard to shake off.

Grammars, and often inflicted as a task upon younger pupils)

Then, following on the difficul ties attending the use of

that the plural of cfternb is cherubim, and the feminine of

words, there are others attending the choice and arrange ment

bull is cow.
To smooth the reader's way through these difficulties is

of words.

There is the danger of falling into "poetic prose,"

of thinking it necessary to write " steed" or " charger" in- .

the object of the first three Parts of this book.

stead of " horse," "ire" instead of " anger," and the like ;

connected with Vocabulary are considered first.

and every teacher, who has had much experience in looking

d~nt is i11troduced, almost at once, to Synonyms.

Dimculties
The stuHe is

"i
I

I
.1

PREFA CE.

taught how to define a word, with and without the aid of its

endeavors to dissipate that excessive and vulgar dread of
· J1, toge tiier ,v1'tl1 a fondn ess for misplaced
tautology wIuc

synonyms.

H e is shown how to . eliminate from a word

wha tever is not essential to its . meaning.

The processes of

pleasantry, gives rise to the vicious style described above.

D efinitiow and Elimination are carefully explained: a system

It gives some practical rules for writing a long sentence

or scheme is laid down which he can exactly fo llow; a nd

clearly and impressively; and it also examines the difference

examples are subjoined, worked out to illustrate the method
A system is also given by which

between slang, conversation, arnl written prose. Both for
translating from foreign languages into English, and for

the reader may enlarge his vocabulary, and furnish himself

writing original English composition, these rules have b~en

easily and naturally with those general or abstract terms

used in teaching, and, we venture to think, with encouragmg

which are often misunderstood and misused, and still more

results.
A Chapter on Simile and Metaphor concludes the subject

which he is to pursue.

'J

xi

PREFACE.

X ·

often not understood and not used at all.

Some information

is also given to help the reader to connect words with their

of Diction.

roots, and at the same time to caution him against supposing

a great deal of confusion in speaking and writing, and still

that, because he knows the roots of a word, he necessarily

more in reading and attempting to understand the works of
· 1 E ngl·ish authors ' arises from the inability to
our c1ass1ca
.t ral meaniug conveyed in a Metaphor. The
express ti ie 1i e
.
f the principle of Proportion to the explanat10n
. t'
appl1ca 10n o
. .
..
1\11"
h
been found to dissipate much of tlns conof .1JJ.etap or 1rns
fusion. The youngest pupils readily learn how to " e~p~nd
. t its Simile." and it is really astomshmg
a M etapI1or m o
'
to see how many difficulties that perplex young heads, and
.
Id
es too vanish at once when the k ey of
sometimes o
on
• •
More importaut still, perhaps, is
. ,, . api)lied
" expansion is
·
.
the exactness of thought introduced by tlus method. The
·1 l
that if he cannot expand a metaphor, he does
pup1 rnows
,
't All teachers will admit that to force a
not un d erstand 1 ·
pupil to see that he does not understand any thing is a great

knows the meaning of the word itself.

Exercises are inter-

spersed throughout this P art which can be worked out with,
or without, an English Etymological Dictionary,1 as tho
nature of the case may require.

The exercises have not

been selected at random; many of them have been subjected
to . the practical test of experience, and have been used in
class teaching.
The Second Part deals with Diction.

It attempts to illus-

trate with some detail the distinction- often ig nored by those
who are beginning to write English, and sometimes by others
also -

between the Diction of Prose, and that of .P oetry.

It

I An Etymological Dict.ionary is necessary for pupils studying tho
First P art. Chambers's or Ogilvie's· will answer the purpose.

"\Ye have found, in the course of teaching, that

xii

PREF.AOE.

PREFAOE.

stride of progress.

It is difficult to exaggerate the value of

a process which makes it impossible for a pupil to delude
himself iuto the belief that he understands when he does not
understand.

xiii

Dryden, Milton, vVordsworth, Byron, Shelley, and T ennyson
_can be ceusured as a fault, and this in a !em.ling edition of a
leading poet of our literature, it must be evident that much
·still remains to be done in teaching English Metre. At pres-

Metre is the subject of the Third Part. The object of. this
Part (as also, in a great measure, of the Chapter just men-

ent this Part may seem too detailed.

tioned belonging to the Second Part) is to enable the pupil
to read English Poetry with intelligence, interest, and appreciation. To teach auy one how to read a verse so as to mark

more widely diffused, it will seem uot detailed enough.
The Fourth Part (like the Chapter on :Metaphor) is con-

the metre on the one hand, without on the other hand con-

treats of the different Styles of Composition, the appropriate

verting the metrical line into a monotonous doggerel, is not so

subjects for each, and the arrangement of the subject-matter.

easy a task as might be supposed.

w·e

Many of the rules stated

Probably, some few

years hence, when a knowledge of English :Metre has become

cerned not more with English than with other languages. It

hope that this may be of some interest to the general

in this Part have been found of practical utility in teaching

reader, as well as of practical utility in the higher classes of

pupils to hit the mean.

schools.

Rules and illustrations have there-

It seems desirable that before pupils begin to write

fore been given, and the different kinds of metre and varieties

essays, imaginary dialogues, speeches, and poems, they should

of the same metre have been explained at considerable length.

receive some instruction as to the difference of arrangement

This Chapter may seem to some to enter rather too much
·
into detail. We desire , I1owever, to urge as an explanation
that in all probability the study of English metre will rapid!;

in a poem, a speech, a conversation, and an essay.
An Appendix adds a few hints on some Errors in Reason-

assume more importance in English schools. At present,
very little is generally taught, and perhaps known, about

book; but if it is found of use, the utility will be ample

1n· a recent elaborate edition of the works of

meeting insta11ces of false reasoning, which, if passed over
without comment, do harm, and, if commented upon, require

this subject.

Pope, the skill of that consummate master of the art of
epigrammatic versification is inpugned because iu one of his

ing.

Tl;is addition may interfere with the symmetry of the

compensation.

In . reading ·literature, pupils are continually

When one

some little basis of knowledge in the pupil to enable him
to understand the explanation. \ Vithout entering into the

of the commonest customs (for it is in no . sense a license)

uetails of formal Logic, we have found it possible to give

of Euglish poets - a custom sanctioned by Shakspeare,

pupils some few hints which have appeitred to help them.

lines he suffers the to receive the metrical accent.

xiv

. PREFACE.

PREFACE.

The hints are so elementary, and so few, that they cannot
possibly delude the youngest reader into imagining that they

aided us with many valuable and practical

xv

suggestions.

Among these we desire to mention l\fr. Joseph Payne, whose

They may induce him here-

labors on Norman French are well known; Mr. T. G. Phil-

after to study the subject thoroughly in a complete treatise,

potts, late F ellow of N ew College, Oxford, and one of the
Assistant Masters of Rugby School; l\lr. Edwin Abbott,
Head l\faster of the Philological School; l\fr. Howard

are any thing more than hints.

w~ien he has leisure aud opportuuity; but, in any case, a boy

Will leave school all the better prepared for the work of life

~vhate~er

that work may be, if he knows the meaning 0 /
inditcttan, and has been cautioned against the error, post /we,

ergo propter hoc. No lesson, so far as our experience in
teaching goes, interests and stimulates pupils more ·than this;
and our experience of debating societies, in the higher forms
of schools, forces upon ns the conviction that such lessons
are not more interesting than necessary.
Questions on the different paragraphs have been added at
the end of the book, for the purpose of enaLiing the student
to test his knowledge of the contents, and also to serve as
home lessons to be prepared by pupils in classes.1
A desire, expressed by some teachers of experience, that .
these lessons should be published as soon as possible, has
rather accelerated the publication. Some misprints and other
inaccuracies may possibly be found in the following pages,
in consequence of the short time whiC'h has been allowed us
for correcting them. Our thanks are due to several friends
who have kindly assisted us in this task, and who have also
1 Som~ of the passages quoted to illust.rate style are intended to.
be committed to memory .and used as repetition-lessons._ See pp.
180, 181, 212, 237, 238," etc.

Candler, Mathematical Master of Uppingham School .; and
the Rev. R. H. Quick, one of the Assistant Masters of
Harrow School.
In conclusion, we repeat that we do not wish our book to
he regarded as an , exhaustive treatise, or as adapted for the
use of foreigners.

It is intended primarily for boys, hut,

iu the present unsatisfactory state of English education, we
entertain a hope that it may possibly be found not unfit for
some who have passed the age of boyhood; and in this hope
we have ventured to give it the title of English Lessons for
English People.

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