METHOD

E n g lis h

C om p o s i t i o n

T. W HITING

BANCROFT,

P R O F E S S O R OK R H E T O R IC ANI» KN OI.18H L I T E R A T U R «
IN B R O W N U N IV E R S IT Y .

BOSTON:
PU BLISH ED BY GINN & COM PANY.

1894.

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PREFACE
ÜHHÜU

T

HIS attempt to metlioilize instruction in English Composition
is designed not to supplant text-hooks now in use; but to he

used in connection with them.

Though the logical relations of

Rhetoric are everywhere indicated, yet the discussion is wholly
rhetorical.

The Methods in Explanatory Composition may seem

at first glance to lie excessive; but let them he faithfully tried,
Entered, According to A ct o f Congre«*, in the year 1KÜ4, by

and the results will prove the truth of the aphorism of l ’o p e :
True ease in writing comes from art, not chanci

in the Office o f the Libruriun o f C on gre««, at W aubluglou.

The treatment of the subject of Argumentative Composition is
intended to exhibit the relation in thought between the Deductive
and Inductive processes, and to offer a .simple yet effective way
to utilize the abundant material vliich science is daily offering to
the thinking minds of the age.
Under Practice in Composition a list of Classified Themes lias
been arranged to aid instruction in the work of essay writing.
The plans which follow are offered not as models of excellence,
but as specimens of attainment.

On the last topic discussed the

author has availed himself o f the experience of librarians, who
have long been pleasantly associated with him in the work of
which they treat, and whose efficient cooperation he gratefully
acknowledges.

I. K IN D S O F CO M POSITIO N.
I NT K O I) M OTION —

P a r t F ir s t . — Rhetoric and its R elations................................1
P a r t S econd . — Rules for the Selection o f a Thame. .

.

.

<>

P akt T hihi) . — Construction o f D iscourse.................................. 10
C H A P T E R I .- — •

Explanatory C om position ................................................................ Pi
C lIA P T E R I I . —

S ection F ir st . — Argumentative C o m p o s itio n .......................Ill
S ection S econd . — Argumentative Composition completed 31
C h a în e r III. —Persuasive C o m p o s i t io n .............................................................. 3!)
II. PRA CTICE IN COM POSITION.

P ractice

in

C omrohition —

In

P a r t F ir s t . — (¡encrai Subjects to be Narrowed to Themes 17
P a r t S econd . — Classified T h e m e s ............................................ 17
P a r t T h ird . — Specimens o f Plans o f Themes . . . . .

OH

P a rt F ou rth . — The Delation of Heading to Composition . H’J
S pecimen

oe

R eference L i s

t s

...................................................... 03

K IN D S

OF

C O M P O SIT IO N .

IN T R O D U C T IO N .
PART

FIRST.

KIIKTOUIC A N D ITS UKLATIONS.

1. Rhetoric <leiineil.— Rhetoric may be defined ns
the science or the art of discourse. As a science, it
is a system of laws deduced from a critical study of
standard literary works; as an art, it embraces rules for
the application of its laws to practice both in criticism
and composition.
Discourse is a general term for the communication
of thought by language. The fact that thought, to be
communicated, must be embodied in language, suggests
the intimate relation which Rhetoric sustains to other
kindred sciences. The thought to be communicated
suggests the relation of Rhetoric to Mental Science and
to Logic; the thought embodied in language, its relation
to Grammar.
ti. The Relation of Rhetoric to Mental Science.—

Thought is a mental product. Mental science analyzes
mental phenomena, so that they may be more easily
apprehended. Mental phenomena are classified in two
general divisions: first, the senses and the intellect;
second, the emotions and the will.
Rhetoric recognizes these divisions by basing upon
them the different kinds of composition. There are

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INTRODITTION.

R H E T O R IC A N il ITS R E L A TIO N S.

two kinds of composition addressed to the intellect, and
one to the emotions and the will. By the former we
instruct and convince, by the latter we persuade.

others, Blair and Karnes, dwell upon the beautiful,
exalt the imagination, and make Rhetoric one of the
lino arts. Without going to extremes, the student
should always bear in mind that, the intellectual and
moral elements are essential in true rhetorical success,
and that, unless his imagination is cultivated by famili­
arity with the beautiful in nature, literature, and art,
he will not excel in effective communication of thought.

‘. i. Tli«“ Relation of Rhetoric to I.oj-ic.— Thought,

more precisely considered, is an intellectual product.
Logic is the science which specifically treats of the
laws o f thought. It seeks to unfold the methods by
which the intellect produces thought, and considers
both the internal thought and its external embodiment
in language. Hence logical forms of thought are the
sources of logical expressions o f thought, and these are
the groundwork of grammatical expression.
4.
The Relation of KIi«“t«>ric to («ram inar.-—( i fam­
iliar is th<‘ science which treats of the laws o f expression.
If begins where Logic ends, and, assuming logical forms
of thought, aims to embody them in correct expressions
by the use of language. Rhetoric, begins where Gram­
mar ends, and assuming grammatical expressions, aims
to make them effective. “ Rhetoric," says Dr. Camp­
bell, “ is the grand art o f communication, not of ideas
only, but o f sentiments, passions, dispositions, and
purposes.”
5.
The Relation of Rhetoric to Kthics an«l to TKsflieties. — Rhetoric is also intimately related to Kthics,

or Moral Science, and to .Esthetics, or Science o f the
Beautiful. Some authors, I)r. Whately and his school,
regard Rhetoric as the outgrowth of Logic, discuss the
intellectual element in the science, and almost restrict
it to argumentation ; others, Quintilian and Theremin,
regard Rhetoric as an offshoot of Kthics, enlarge upon
the moral element, and make eloquence a virtue; while

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<>. Style and Composition. — In treating o f effective
expression, Rhetoric comprehends both the form and
the material of the thought. Form is considered under
the subject of Style, and material under the subject of
Composition. We purpose to consider three kinds of
Composition: Explanatory, Argumentative, and Per­
suasive. The principles to be discussed arc specially
applicable to the essay and the oration.
N oth 1. The term Essay signifies a trial or ¡Hoof, amt applies
to any brief paper upon popular themes o f the «lay. Kssays com­
prehend writings ranging from the assigned task of the student to
the productions o f the ablest writers.
A Thesis or Dissertation is an argumentative composition upon
literary or scient ific subjects.
A Disquisit ion is an argumentative compos'd ion, whose theme
is less comprehensive than that o f the dissertation.
An Oration may be explanatory, argumentative, or persuasive.
It differs from the essay both in plan and .structure, as it is
designed to be heard rather than read.
A Disputation, or Debate, is an oral discussion, advancing
opposing views on questions o f morals, religion, polities, etc.
N ote 2. For a distinction between the terms science and art.
see Sir William Hamilton’s Metaphysics, p. 81, Am. ed.
Also
Thomson's Outlines o f the Lutes o f Thouyht, p. *Jd.
Read the Introduction to W hately’s Elemettts o f Ilhetoric, to
Campbell’s Philosophy i f Ilhetoric, and also to Blair's Ilhetoric.

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in t r o d u c t io n

.

IN T R O D U C T IO N .
PART THIRD.

CONSTRUCTION'

OF

DISCOURSE.

A f t e r the selection a m i planning of the theme comes
its development into discourse. Discourse is naturally
divided into principal and subordinate parts. The prin­
cipal parts are the Proposition and the Discussion; the
subordinate parts are the Introduction and the Con­
clusion.

1. The Proposition. — This is the formal statement
of the theme. It should always contain the leading
thought of the discourse expressed in the simplest lan­
guage. It is sometimes stated and sometimes implied
in the theme: hut the sentence, wherever it occurs, that
distinctly sets forth the purpose and scope of the dis­
course, may he regarded as the proposition. Its form
and place will depend upon the kind of composition em­
ployed.
ii. ' ¡ ' l i e D i s c u s s i o n . — This is the methodical devel­
opment of the Proposition. It should grow as naturally
from the leading thought of the discourse as the blade
grows from the seed. This natural growth will be attained
by a carefully arranged ¡dan, which will form the out­
line of the discussion. An imperfect plan will surely
lead to a defective discussion. The specific nature of
the discussion will depend upon the kind of discourse.

CONSTRUCTION OK DISCOURSE.

11

;i. The Introduction. — 'Flic Introduction or l'lxordium is that part of the discourse which prepares the
reader to receive the proposition and the discussion.
An explanatory introduction leads the mind to what is
unknown; a conciliatory introduction prepares the way
for a proposition, which may he opposed. Though lirst
in place, the introduction should he the last to be pre­
pared. In college essays and speeches it should always
be brief, and may sometimes be omitted, when the p r o ­
position' can be clearly and appropriately stated without
it. Lord Bacon says : “ To use too many circumstances,
ere one come to the matter, is wearisome ; to use none
at all, is blunt.”
The first sentence should generally he short, aml seldom
be a limitation. Though we may with propriety employ
the expression of others, we should always endeavor to
begin with our own. The introduction should contain
forcible thoughts, adapted to awaken interest and attract
attention. As the mind of the writer is at this time
free from excitement, he should avoid the use of those
figures of speech which are appropriate to the warmth
of the discussion or the conclusion. A florid introduc­
tion often creates a prejudice which no subsequent
effort, however able, can overcome.
4. The Conclusion. — 'Flic Conclusion or Peroration

is that part of a discourse by which it is properly com­
pleted. It may he employed to repeat the principal
points, to remove doubts or misapprehensions, to ex­
plain difficulties, to enlist the sympathies, to strengthen
the convictions, or to awaken the conscience, it should
be prepared with the greatest care, and never he hastily

m

12

INT RODUCTION.

written at the end of a long silling. It presents an
opportunity for the use of the most elaborate and effec­
tive expressions. The last sentence should generally he
long, and have a beauty of thought and a finish of ex­
pression, that will cause it to linger in the reader’s
mind.
N o t e . Read Adams S. Hill's /Principles o f lOieturic, p. 245. I)«*
M i lie’s Elements o f Rhetoric, p. 5(iS. Day’s Art o f Discourse, ]>. 52.

EXl'JLA N A T O K V CU.M l'( (S IT IO N .

CHAPTER
EXPLANATORY

13

I.

C O M l'O SITIO .V .

T. Explanatory Composition D efined.— Die aim of
this kind of composition is to impart instruction or give
inhumation. This may he done by presenting new
ideas upon a theme, by modifying old ideas, or establish­
ing them by new lacts. Explanatory composition em­
braces all kinds of discourse in which the intellect is
addressed without recourse to arguments or appeals to
the passions. The theme must be so developed as to
attract the attention of the reader, and attention can
be gained only when the theme is clearly presented to
the reader’s mind.
II. Clearness. — A theme is clearly treated when in
its plan and development it is separated from other
themes, or not confounded with them. “ Clearness,”
says Dr. Campbell, “ being to the understanding what
light is to the eye, ought to be diffused av^r the whole
performance.” To secure this quality of style, the
writer must have a clear and distinct comprehension of
the theme. A theme is clearly comprehended when it
can be discriminated from other subjects : it is distinctly
comprehended when the attributes of which it is com­
posed can be specified and described.
N oth . For it discrimination between clear ami distinct, read
Thomson's (hitlines o f the Lairs o f I'houi/ltt , p. «JO, ami Stanley
JeVolt's Elementary Lessons on Loyic, p. f>»{.

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14

ENGLISH COM POSITION.

III. Attributes. — Those marks hy which we recog­
nize a subject, and separate it from other subjects, are
called attributes. Attributes have been logically divided
into various classes, only a few of which are important
in Rhetoric.
Attributes may be divided into: —
(1 ) I ' k c c i .ia k AM> C o m m o n .

A peculiar attribute is one that belongs solely to a
subject. Thus, in the proposition, All scarlet Jiowers are
odorless, odorless is an attribute peculiar to the whole
idass of scarlet flowers. Peculiar attributes are called
properties.
A common attribute is one which belongs to several
subjects. Thus, in the proposition, Man is an oryanized
living briny, oryanized liviny being is a common mark
of man.
Attributes may also be classified as: —
(2 ) E s s e n t ia l ok A c c id e n t a l .

An essential attribute is one which cannot be sepa­
rated from a subject. Thus, in the sentence, Steel is
carbonized iron, carbonized is an essential mark of steel.
An accidental attribute is one which can he separated
from a subject. Polished is ail accidental mark of steel.
The sum or aggregate of the essential attributes of a
subject connotes its specific nature o r essence. The
essence of a subject is ascertained by definition.
IV. Definition. — In this connection it is important

to notice two kinds of definition, logical and rhetorical.
By logical definition we fully enumerate and clearly

P V f«'-^ :

EXPLANATORY

(JUMP« >SIT1< >N

disfinguish from each other all the essential attributes
of a theme. In defining a theme, it is sullicicnt to give
comprehensive attributes without specifying all the
attributes. Thus, it is sullicicnt to define opacity as the
quality of a body which renders it impervious to the
rays of light, without mentioning the attributes of hotly,
impervious ray, and llyht. Logical definition is the
basis of rhetorical, as it denotes the precise meaning,of
the theme. Rhetorical definition may be regarded as
the unfolding of a theme by means of its attributes,
properties, or predicates.1
V. Rhetorical Use of Attributes. — The theme is
first presented to the mind of the writer as a whole.
11is success in developing it will depend upon his ability
to ascertain its attributes. A knowledge of all the
attributes is necessary only where an exhaustive view
of the theme is required. It should be the writer’s aim
to select those attributes which will yield a uniform and
progressive development of the theme. The way in
which these attributes are 'selected and arranged will

V I i. Exposition. — Exposition is that
which the attributes of a theme arc simply
1 In Argumentative ('(imposition tin

cates or predicate attributes.

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iâsï'â

EX 1’ I. AM ATO RY COM POSIT .ON.

<■<IM IN »SITION

order. Exposition may lie eitlier partial dr complete.
Partial exposition develops a theme by means of some
o f its essential attributes, arranged and coordinated by
a common principle of division. Complete exposition
develops a theme by means of all its essential attri­
butes, and the principle o f division will depend upon
the comprehensiveness with which the theme is treated.
The first method is more simple, and, for young
writers, affords in most eases an adequate development
of the theme. The second method is designed for a
thorough treatment, The first will be found better
adapted to popular use, as definite parts are more
readily grasped than comprehensive wholes. The sec­
ond is less susceptible of a definite outline, and should
never be employed unless the writer has a familiar
knowledge of the whole subject.V
I.
V III. Themes in ¡exposition.— Exposition is chiefly
used in unfolding scientific themes; but it may include
any subject, developed according to its rules. As
example of a theme in partial exposition, take ¿tourer»
o f Gorman Dixrontnit. Here the discussion of the sub­
ject. Gorman Dixron/ont is limited by the principle of
division, — Sourer». As an example of a theme in
Complete Exposition, take The lle'xjn o f Quern Anne.
Here the principle of division will vary with the mode
and range of view. Thu first is partial, but definite,
requiring exact knowledge ; the second complete, but
vague, demanding comprehensive powers. The form
and matter of the theme will generally indicate which
o f the two methods is to be employed.

IX . Description aiul Narration. — The attributes
of a theme are either simple or complex. Description
and Narration develop a theme by means of its
complex attributes.
These complex attributes are
integrant parts, which may be resolved into simple
attributes by exposition. For instance, in describing a
landscape, the meadow, hills, streams, rocks, trees, etc.,
appear as complex wholes or integrant parts. The
meadow, when viewed by itself, is a complex whole ;
when viewed in its relation to the landscape, it is an
integrant part. In description and narration these
complex attributes are resolved into simple attributes,
which are familiarly known, but in scientific exposition
they would be resolved by the technical terms of sci­

ence.
X . Themes in Description and Narration. — De­
scriptive themes are developed in their relation to
space ; narrative themes, in their relation to time.
(1 )

i)K.SOHIl*TION.

All natural objects, the conceptions of art, personal
or national character, in fact any complex object may
be described by resolving its complex attributes in
familiar terms. The aim of the descriptive writer
should be to make the object described appear as dis­
tinct to the imagination of the reader as works of
painting or sculpture appear to the eye. Sir Walter
Scott, John Iluskin, and William Black furnish in­
structive examples of this word-painting. By a careful
and discriminating study of objects in nature and art,
and by diligent practice, those naturally adapted to

18

KNGJ,ISIl COM POSITION.

this method will acquire the same facility as the artist
or the sculptor.
(2 )

N a k k .v t i o n .

A theme in Narration is developed l>v delineating the
progress or succession of its events or circumstances,
and forms a narrative, biography, or history. The aim
of the narrative writer should he to make the reader,
as it were, an eye-witness of the event narrated. Thus,
in Tin• Heart of Mid-Lothian, the narrative of Jennie
Dean’s pleading before Queen Caroline for her sister’s
life is so graphically related that the reader is almost
made an eye-witness of the scene.
X I. Kxplicntion. — By this method a theme is un­
folded through one or two of its essential attributes.
'Phis method is abstract rather than concrete, and differs
from the description of an abstract theme, in developing
only one or two of the attributes. By this method the.
attribute* of the. attributex of a theme are discussed;
hence the development, is more difficult than that of the
previous methods. The attributes selected for discus­
sion should he chosen on account of their importance,
and the facility with which they may he developed.
Writers employing this method should he neither ob­
scure nor verbose. “ As a general rule,” says Richard
(¡rant White, “ the higher the culture, the simpler the
style, and the plainer the speech.”
To show how the form of themes in Explication differs
from that of former methods, take the general subject,
Abraham Lincoln, and narrow it. Lexxonx front the L ife
oj Abraham Lincoln would be a theme in Partial Expo­

explanatory

c o m po sitio n

.

10

sition. The Life o f Abraham Lincoln, :i theme in Nar­
ration. The Character of Abraham Lincoln, a theme in
Abstract Description. The Ifonesty of Abraham Lincoln,
a theme in Explication.
Abstract Description and
Explication may sometimes intersect. Thus Hume’s
account of the character of Henry VIII. is explicative,
while that of Froutle is descriptive. In brief, when the
attributes are abstract and comprehensive, and addressed
to the mind, the method is explicative; when the attri­
butes are concrete and specific, and addressed to the
eye, the method is expositive, descriptive, or narrative.
As further examples of themes in explication, take
The Utility to Flowers of their Beauty, and The Future
of the Literary Calliny.
X II. Comparison. — Comparison is that method ol
Explanatory Composition which sets forth the resem­
blances or contrasts indicated by the theme. When the
complex attributes which constitute the theme are to
be compared or contrasted, they should first be resolved
into simple attributes by one of the previous methods,
then the simple attributes should be directly compared
or contrasted. Thus the comparative theme. Talent
and Genius, may be developed by first describing
Talent, then Genius, and then contrasting the two.
As an illustrative example of a comparative para­
graph, take the following from Dr. Johnson’s Compar­
ison of Pope and Dryden, in his L ife o f P ope: “ Poetry
was not the sole praise of either; for both excelled like­
wise in prose; but Pope did not borrow his prose from
his predecessor. The style of Dryden is capricious and
varied; that of Pope is cautious and uniform. Dryden

20

K N O U S I I COMI-OSITION.

observes the motions of his own miiul; Pope const,rains
his own mind to 11 is rules of composition. Dryden is
sometimes vehement and rapid; Pope is alwavs smooth,
uniform, and gentle. Dryden's page is a natural field,
rising into inequalities, and diversified by the varied
exuberance of abundant vegetation ; Pope’s is a velvet
lawn, shaven by the scythe, and levelled by the roller.”
'fake another example from the Laron of Colton, an
author who carries the comparative style to excess.
“ A prodigal starts with ten thousand pounds, and dies
worth nothing; a miser starts with nothing, and dies
worth ten thousand pounds. It has been asked which
has had the best of it? 1 should presume the prodigal:
he has spent a fortune, but the miser has only left one;
he has lived rich to die poor; the miser has lived poor
to die rich; and if the prodigal quits life in debt to
others, the miser quits it still deeper in debt to himself.”
X I I I . Selection and Arrangement o f M aterials.—

When the theme has been chosen, the materials obtained
by reflection and reading should be selected and the
method determined. All materials not connected with
t he t heme must be rigidly excluded, and those employed
should be so arranged in the general order of time,
place,and importance, that the composition may present
to the mind one harmonious whole.
N o tk . Bead Hill’s Principles o f Uhctoric, Part II., Book I.;
David J. Hill’s Sconce oj /!/irtnrir. Book II., I.aws of Idea, three
chapters; De JM¡lie’s /elements tj lihvtoru\ Part IV ., Method.

COM POSITION.

CHAPTER
A lU ïU M K X T A T IV K
SECTION

II.

CO M PO SITIO N .
FIRST.

1. Argumentative Composition Defined.— The aim
of this kind of composition is to induce or modify
belief by means of arguments. In explanatory com­
position the theme was a single term, either simple or
complex, developed hy an attribute or attributes; in
argumentative composition two or more terms consti­
tute the theme, and this is developed by a predicate or
predicates. The terms constituting the theme form a
proposition. A proposition is a statement comparing
two terms with the view of reducing them to unity,
or of deciding that they cannot be so reduced. Thus,
in the proposition, Knowlethje its power, we compare
the subject term, Knowlethje, with the predicate term,
power, so as assert or prove the power o f knowlethje,
and thus unite the two terms in one complex term.
Argumentation is the means by which this reduction is
effected.
II. Methods of Argumentation. — There are two

principal methods of argumentation : first, deductive ;
second, inductive. Both methods may be either formal
or material. Formal or rhetorical deduction or induc­
tion applies to the form of the proposition ; material or
scientific applies to the matter. Thus, from a formal
point of view, the proposition may be regarded as con-

I

oo

E N G L IS H

C O M P O S IT IO N .

listing of two terms, the subject ;ind the predicate;1
materially, it is regarded as a statement which is either
true or false.
III.
Klictoricnl Deduction and Induction.— Re­
garding the proposition as made up of two terms, the
subject and the predicate, the current of thought may
be directed either from subject to predicate, or vice
verm. When the argument is directed from subject to
predicate, it is deductive; when it is directed from
predicate to subject, it is inductive. In illustration of
these two currents of thought, take a simple argumen­
tative analysis of the following proposition : —
A mnclnh/e is pincer.
(1 ) D e d u c t iv e : Subject to predicate.
K n o w l e d g e : a. increases the pleasures o f life.
b. brings advantages.
c. enables one the better to discharge the
duties o f life.
d. prevents weariness.
e. elevates the mind.
/ . procures the respect o f others.
T h erefore, K now ledge is power.
(2) I n d u c t i v e : Predicate to subject,.
Lo oi c a i . Fo r m : All knowledge is some p o w e r.1
2
P o w e r consists i n :
a. liealth o f body.
It. discipline o f mind.
c. force o f character.
(l. enlarged resources.
e. com prehensive views.
/ . extended influence.
All these, as results, may be traced to K n ow led g e; hence,
K now ledge is power.
1 In this ease the copula is assumed.
2 This limitation is required that we may limit our inductive analysis to
the power that is coextensive with knowledge.

Kigigly

A R G U M K N T A T IV R COM POSITION.

16

In order to show the relation which these two rhetori­
cal methods sustain to each other, let us arrange this
plan in another torin : —
nereitHcsthe pleanur<*aof life,

Health o f body.

hinga advantages . . . . /
•hi.tlilcs the hotter to din- /
charge the dutit-Hof life . j
‘revents weariness . . . .

D iscipline o f m ind.

ilevates the miiul . . . .

( .’om prehensive views.

WinstheresjKietof others . .

Exten ded inlluence.

Force o f character.
Enlarged resources.

This diagram will serve to show that deductive and
inductive arguments taken together, constitute, as it
were, a complete circuit of thought. Some propositions,
however, admit the use of only one of the methods.
For instance, in the proposition, The >»ml is immortal.
the argument must of necessity he wholly deductive.
Let us take another proposition : —
A ;/ ria d tu rc is a son err of civiliza tion .1

(1) V)i:i>ecriVK: S u b je ct to predicate.
A uu icui .t c u k :
a. weans man from a nom adic life.
It. draw s bis mind away from sneh custom s as love o f bunt
in;;, etc.
c. accu stom s liiin to regulate his activity a ccord in g to tin*
dem ands o f the season and the temperature.
d. brin gs tranquility to the mind.
e. makes him better acquainted with the pow ers o f nature.
f. enables him to acquire more m ethodical habits o f life.
H ence, A griculture is a source o f civilization.
1 Adapted from Zander’s Outlines o f Composition.

KXCiLISH COM IM»S1TION.

24

(2 ) I x m v n v i-: : Predicate to subject.
C I V I L I Z A T I O N CONSI STS I N :

o.
h.
r.
</.
e.
f.

ii set tied mode o f li fe.
turning the resources o f nature to man’s advantage.
love o f order ami regularity.
love o f dom estic life.
acquaintance with his own capabilities.
desire fo r laws to give security to life, person, and property.

These elements o f civilization as effects, may be traced to A gri­
culture as a cau se; hence, Agriculture is a source o f civ il­
ization.

This proof may also l>t‘ arranged to show the relation
ol the two methods: —
W ean* man from a nom adic /

t T urning d ir re«ouree» of naI
lure lo mail’d advantage.

tiring* tranquility to tin- mind.

I.ove o f dom edtic life.
.\i-i|iiainlance with Inn ow n
capaliilitieri.
l>e*ire lor Iawn to give hitii
rily to life, pernon, and
properly.

N oth . The rhetorical method of argumentation is the easiest
and m ost natural m ode o f proof, provided tin; proposition is
expressed in a logical form . For effective use o f this m ethod a
thorou gh kn ow ledge o f the logical proposition is required so that
the relation between the subject and predicate may be understood.
For elem entary practice, however, the exam ples given above and
those to loi low may afford an adequate presentation o f the subject..
T h e reason for grouping the tw o kinds o f argum ents around a
circle or an ellipse is to show that deductive and inductive argu­
ments, taken together, constitute a com plete circuit o f proof.

A U G U M K N TATIVH GOMPOSITION.

2b

IV. Scientific I eduction anil Deduction.

(1 ) Take the following proposition: 1 Five points
which have heal observed in the orbit of the planet Marx
are situated in the arc of an ellipse.
The faet stated in the predicate of this proposition,
is referred to some cause or combination ol causes.
This reference is known from the Law of Universal
Causation, stated by Mill as follows: “ Every phenome­
non is related in a uniform manner to some phenomena
that eo-exist with it, and to some that have preceded,
or will follow it.” So far as we know the combination
of causes which determines the position ol the planet
is the attraction of the sun, and the continued effects
of the initial velocity. But whenever this combination
o f causes and no other is in operation, the same effect
will invariably follow. This sequence is known lmm
the Law of Nature’s Uniformity, which may be stated
as follows: “ When similar antecedents and no other
are introduced, similar consequents will invariably fol­
low.” lienee, it may be inferred that all other points
in the orbit of the planet Mars are situated in an ellipse,
and that in all future revolutions a similar orbit, will be
described. This is a simple illustration of Scientific
Induction.
It will be carefully noted that the cur­
rent of thought is directed from predicate to subject.
(2 ) Take the proposition : The scarlet ¡/eranium is
odorless.
We know by previous induction that all scarlet
flowers are odorless. The geranium in question is a
scarlet flower; hence, the scarlet geranium is odorless.
from Fowlrr's ht tlurtirr Lm/ir.

26

KN’ G I,rS II COM P O S IT IO N .

Here the current of thought or emirs«! of argument
is directed from the subject, “ all scarlet flowers,” and
we argue from the general to the particular from all
scarlet (lowers to the scarlet geranium, by virtue of the
Deductive Law: “ Whatever is true of a class is true
of each individual of that class.” This is a simple
illustration of Scientific Deduction. Here also let the
direction of the current «if thought In* carefully noted.
V. The Two Methods Contrast«*«!. — Then! is a
marked difference between these two methods of arerumentation, lly the Deductive Method the current of
thought is directed from subject to predicate, from a
general law to a particular fact, from cause to effect,
from condition to conclusion, from reason to consequent.
By the Inductive Method the current of thought is
directed from predicate to subject, from a particular
fact to a general law, from effect to cause, «'tc.V
I.

VI. I>«'<luctiv<* Argunumts Classified. — These are
divided into two classes: (1 ) The Positive.
(2 ) The Probable.
V II. Tin* I’ ositiv«*. — The sole cause of an effect,
the only condition of a conclusion, and the sufficient
reason of a consequent are positive arguments.
Whately says: “ As far as any cause, popularly speak­
ing, has a tendency to produce a certain effect, so far
its existence is an argument for that effect. If the
cause lie fully sufficient and no obstacle intervene, the
effect in question follows certainly, and the nearer we
approach (to ) this the stronger the argument.”

A U (iU M K N T A T IV K COM POSITION.

For example, if the night is clear and calm, and the
atmosphere is moist, we inter that the dew will tall.
If the sun shines on a foggy morning, we infer that
all traces of mist will soon disappear.
If either Nero or the early Christians were responsible
for the burning of Rome, we infer from the emperor's
character that he instigated that infamous deed.
V III. The Probable. — When arguments come short
o f absolute certainty they are called
As the
probable argument approaches the certainty of the posi­
tive, it is called jdaumible. “ Probability,” says Camp­
bell, “ is a light darted on the object from the proofs;
plausibility is a native lustre, issuing directly from the
object. The former is the aim of the historian, the
latter of the poet.” For example, in the last war be­
tween France and Germany, the thorough discipline of
the German troops, the knowledge, skill, and experience
of their officers, made if highly probable that they
would be victorious.
IX .

Inductive Arguments Classified.— Those in­

clude the Sign1 and the Example. By the Sign we
argue from part to whole;1
2 by the Example we argue
from part to kindred part. As an instance of the Sign
argument, the sailor from the increasing blue of the
water infers the increasing depth ol the ocean. In the
trial of the Knapp brothers at Salem, for the murder of
Mr. White, Mr. Webster argued, from the fact that the
house had been entered without violence, that the mur­
1 Tli« <TT)fxtiuv of Aristotle.
2 This argument forms a connecting link between Deduction and Induc­
tion, as the current of thought may he directed either way.

28

ENGLISH COM POSITION.

derers must have conspired with someone within. As
an instance of the example, we argue that, as tin is a
good conductor of furnace heat, zinc, another wm-radiatini/ metal, will also he a good conductor. Also, the
naturalist, having discovered the constituents ui a given
plant, infers that another ol the same species will have
the same constituents.
X . Sign

Arguments Subdivided.— These may he

subdivided as follows: —
(1 ) Arguments from Testimony.
(2 ) Arguments from the Calculation of Chances.
(?V) The Cumulative Argument.
A I. Arguments from Testimony. —- These arc a
species of sign, in which the current of thought is
directed from the consequent or fact to he proved to
the reason or means of proving it. Thus, in a trial for
forgery, the facts to he proved are consequents o f the
preceding facts of the forgery, or, in other words, the
commission of the crime is the sole reason of the facts
adduced, lienee, an argument naturally deductive,
when used as testimony, would he regarded as a conse­
quent and formally considered inductive. To illustrate
this somewhat dillicult feature of the nature of testi­
monies, the facts in evidence as to the previous char­
acter of the forger may he regarded as consequents of
the crime as an antecedent.
X I I . Testimony and Authority. — We should he
careful to discriminate between Testimony ami Author­
ity. Testimony is evidence concerning matters of fact;
Authority is evidence concerning matters of opinion.

AltG U M E N T A T IV I', COM POSITION.

29

Iii estimating the value of testimony, we consider the
trustworthiness of the witness, anil the probability ol
the fact attested; in c o n s u ltin g authority, we depend on
the knowledge or Indict ot the witness, his accuracy
and his judgment. Both kinds ot evidence are em­
ployed in civil and criminal courts and in argumenta­
tive writings.
X I I I . The Calculation of Chances. — The aim of
this argument is to determine the probability of the
occurrence of an uncertain event. The term “ proba­
bility” as here used is equivalent to chance or expecta­
tion. Chance is the degree of belief with which we
expect the occurrence of one or more from two or more
uncertain events. Uncertain events are those in which
we discern no law to determine the occurrence of one
rather than another. The movement of thought is not
from a single consequent to a single antecedent, nor
from a consequent to a number of antecedents, each or
a llo t which may determine i t ; but from one or more
oi a number of consequents to one or more of a num­
ber ol antecedents. W e may thus pass from certainty
against the occurrence of an event, through a series of
fractional degrees of probability, to certainty that an
event will happen.
X I V . Tlie Law of Calculation.— In a case of sim­
ple probability the law ol' calculation is thus stated :
r i t e probability of the occurrence of an uncertain event
is represented by the number of chances favorable to
an event divided by the whole number of chances.
Thus, the chance of drawing an agate from a bag con­

30

kn uu sh

c o m p o s it io n

.

taining four agates and live marbles would lie fourninths, or lour in favor to live against.
N o t e . T he .student may consult T h om son 's Outlines o f the Lutes
o f Th outfit, 1.. lilt". Am. K d .; Wluitely'.s /Clements o f Jlheturie, l ’ai t
I.. Chap. II.. tj a ; and Venn's l.o fte o f I'httnee.

X V . The Cumulative Argument. — 'litis may he
regarded ¡is a resultant arising from the combination id'
sign arguments. These tire separately of little weight,
but, when united in a cumulative series, irresistibly tend
to prove a proposition. For example, to prove that
Sir Philip Francis was the author of the Letters of
“ Junius,” the following arguments are adduced: —
lie wrote a similar band.
lie made similar mistakes in correcting proof-sheets.
lie made the same anomalous use of words.
He employed similar figures.
He ceased to write at the same time.
These arguments, though separately of little value,
when combined, irresistibly tend to prove that Sir
Philip Francis and “ Junius," who agree in so many
points, must be one and the same person.
N o t h . See H ill’s Principles o f Rhetoric, p. 11)8.

A R U U M E N T A T IV H C O M P O S IT IO N

CHAPTER
SECTION
A ltflU M U N T A T I VK

COM PLETED.

31

II.

SECOND.

COM POSITION' C O M P U T E D .

I. Arguments from E xam ple. — In these argu­
ments the current of thought is directed first from part
to kindred part, and second from part to whole. There
are two sub-divisions: —

(1 ) That in which many objects (parts) resemble each
other in few properties.
(2 ) That in which few objects (parts) resemble each
other in many properties.
Representing these like parts as subjects, and their
properties as predicates, we may have : —
(a ) The case in which few predicates may be
affirmed of many subjects.
(?<) The case in which many predicates may be
affirmed of few subjects.
The first is called the argument from Induction ; the
second, the argument from Analogy.I.
I I . Induction. — In induction the current of tbought
is first from part to like part, and second from part to
whole. For instance, the chemist, by experiment, ascer­
tains that soda, when subjected to tlie voltaic current,
yields the metal Sodium ; he then, by another experi­
ment, ascertains that potash, when subjected to the same

P>2

K N C U S I I COMPOSITION.

current, yields Potassium. He tlion infers that another
alkali, or even an alkaline earth, subjected to the same
current, will yield its kindred metal, lint the chemist
can draw this inference only on grounds which are
equally applicable to all alkalis and alkaline earths when
subjected to the same circumstances, and he can make
the same assertion of any alkali or alkaline earth, and
hence o f all. Thus it is evident that. Induction is an
inference both of the unknown from the known, and of
the general from the particular.
I I I . I n d u c t i v e . M e t h o d s . 1 — To ascertain the cause
of any phenomenon, the scientist endeavors to separate
that cause from all its accompaniments. To effect this
separation, the following methods are employed : —

( « ) The Method of Agreement. — If two or more
eases of a phenomenon under investigation have but
one circumstance in common, that circumstance is the
cause (or the e(fect) of the phenomenon. For instance,
whatever the difference in race or in personal character,
a residence in the tropics is accompanied by a weaken­
ing of body or mind, or of both; hence, extreme heat
is a cause oi the deterioration of the human race.
(//) The Method o f Difference. — If a case where a
phenomenon occurs and a ease where it does not occur
agree in every circumstance but one, this one occurring
only in the first case, this circumstance is the cause, or
a part of the cause, of the phenomenon. Thus we
know that heat is the only cause of the conversion of
Adapt'*«] fro m H aiti's /,/»»/<>.

A HO I'M E N T A T IV K (' (>M l’<ISITIO N

COM

ri.KT KI >.

ice into wilier, because water and ice agree in every
circumstance but this.
(<•) The. Method of Residues. — Withdraw from
any phenomenon the part, which previous induction
lias shown to be the effect of a certain cause or certain
causes, and the residue of the phenomenon is the effect
of tiie remaining cause or causes. I lie following in­
stance is taken from Bain's lihvtorir : Knowing the
sentiments and views of three men in a partnership of
four, we can allow for the actions that would result
from them; and if there be anything left unexplained,
we attribute that to the fourth.

(c/) The Method of Concomitant Variations.— A

phenomenon which varies in any manner whenever
¡mother phenomenon varies in some particular manner,
is either a cause or an effect of that phenomenon, or is
causally connected with it. Thus, in the thermometer
every sensible increase or decrease of temperature is
accompanied by a sensible increase or decrease ul vol­
ume of mercury in the tube. Hence, we conclude that
the volume of the mercury is invariably dependent on
the temperature of the atmosphere, or, in other words,
increase or decrease of heat is the cause of increase or
decrease of volume.
IV . Analogy. — Analogy is an imperfect induction,
by means of which we can argue from part to kindred
part, but not from part to whole. If two objects re­
semble each other in having certain properties, and one
of these objects possesses a property which we do not
know that the other possesses, we argue thal the second
does possess this property, because ¡1 resembles the (irst

34

KN< 1I.ISH COMPOSITION.

in having tlie other properties. Or we may make
several assertions or predications of two subjects, and
argue that another assertion or predication, which we
know to he true of the first, and do not know to be
true ot the second, is true of the second by reason of
the truth of the previous predications. For instance,
Mr. Fox argued that, however bad the rulers of the
French devolution may have been, they were no worse
than their predecessors ; for their measures were carried
out upon Bourbon principles, and after the Bourbon
manner. Yet, as the Fnglish never scrupled to treat
with the Bourbons on account of the latter’s rapacity, so
they ought not to refuse to fivat with the Republican
imitators of the Bourbons.
On the other hand, if two objects are dissimilar, we
may argue that, if one of them possesses a certain
property, the other does not, on account of their dis­
similarity. Thus, on account of the dissimilarity be­
tween the earth and the moon, we mav argue that the
latter is not inhabited.
Y . The Value of Analogy. — The value of this
argument depends on the ratio of the ascertained re­
semblances to the ascertained differences, and to all the
properties of the objects compared. If the resemblances
are numerous, the differences few, and if we are ac­
quainted with a sufficient number of properties in the
objects compared, the argument may be forcible; but if
the ascertained differences almost equal the resem­
blances in number, and there are in the compared
objects properties with which we arc unacquainted,
tiie argument mav be weak.

A lí<il'M KNTA TI VK C O M r o S I T I O N

OOMI'I.KTHI).

3ñ

VI. Examples Itistinguislicil.— Examples used for
proof should lie carefully discriminated from those em­
ployed for illustration. The former are logically related
to the subject; the latter may have but little logical
connection with the subject.
Illustrative examples
may be introduced into all essays and orations to relieve
the tedium of discourse. Imaginative examples are
as useful as real, both for proof and illustration, pro­
vided they are probable and natural.
VII. Refutation. -A u important feature ot argu­
mentative composition is the refutation of arguments
opposed to the proposition we advance. If these argu­
ments are strong and properly adduced, we should en­
deavor to meet them with stronger proots. II they are
inadmissible they should be so regarded ; if they are
specious or illogical, they should be exposed and set
aside. To be a successful disputant, one needs a familiar
knowledge of logic or the art of reasoning, a thorough
study of the best argumentative writers, and constant
practice.

1

!

VIII. Fairness. — Whether tlie object of the argu­
mentative writer is proof or disproof, fairness should
characterize all bis arguments. The simple statement,
of an honest man is more convincing than the oath of a
deceiver.
lie who unfairly maintains a proposition
will sooner or later make an impression, either that lie
has a bad cause, or that the cause lias a had advocate.
If prejudice against a speaker once gets possession ot
an audience, he will lose his cause however eloquent he
may be.

8<>

ENGLISH COMPOSITION.

IX. ( sc of Artfiiiucnts.— Arguments should never
he employed unless absolutely needed, as lime is too
valuable to waste in trying to prove what every one
assumes. It lias not unfrequently happened that un­
questioning faith lias given way to doubt from unwise
attempts to prove a statement, which had been confi­
dently accepted as true. I.)r. Campbell says: “ By
proving, the speaker supposes it questionable, and, by
supposing, actually renders it so to his audience; he
brings them from viewing it in the stronger light of
certainty to view it in the weak*er light of probability;
in lieu of sunshine, he gives them twilight."’
Only those arguments should be employed which
bear directly upon the point to be proved, and tend to
induce conviction. As, in former times, arrows shot
wildly into the air were often returned by practised
archers with deadly precision; so arguments loosely
employed may be turned by wily opponents to the ruin
of a cause.
X . Arrangement of Arguments. — Arguments
should be so arranged that one may lead directly to
another, and an unbroken connection be maintained
from first to last. Beginning with the less forcible, they
should gradually increase in strength until the closing
proof is irresistible. Weak arguments may sometimes
be preceded and followed by strong, but into a brief es­
say or oration no weak argument should be introduced.
If valid arguments are wanting, it is far better to employ
illustrations, since a forcible illustration is more convinc­
ing than a weak argument.

AltGlJM KNTA TI V K COMPOSITION

X I.

COM l'l.KTKI >.

37

I’ Ijiii of an Argumentative Discussion.

T iik m k : The United Ktut.es G overnm ent .should not restrict
Chinese Immigration.

I n t . : Ilensons for enacting the law.
Dis.:

(1) D kocctivh : Kuliject to predicate.
a. All men are created free and equal.
I). All men are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.
c. All have the right to engage in any labor which does not
conflict with the laws o f the land.
<1. All arc entitled to the results o f their labor.
r. Competition is the life o f trade.
f. Foreigners may eventually become citizens.
(2 ) I.NPCtTiVK: Predicate to subject.

a. America an asylum for all.
h. The Chinese are peaceable and law-abiding.
r. T he Chinese are industrious and th rifty.

d. The Chinese are docile and tractable.
e. Their religion is no worse than infidelity.
/ . They are not open violators o f law.
Therefore, the United States Government should not restrict
Chinese Immigration.
Con . : The law restricting Chinese immigration should be re­
pealed.

This plan may he arranged to show that the two
methods of argumentation constitute a circuit, or logi­
cal whole, of proof: —

KNC/LIRIT COM IN >SIT!ON.
A ll m en nre created free and )
equal.
\

A m erica an asylum for all.

A ll m en are entitled to life, )
liberty, and the pursuit o f j
happiness.
)

i T h e <’liinese are peaceable
/
and law -abiding.

A ll m en have the right to <n- )
gage in any labor which ,
does not contllet with law. )

S 'They

/

are
thrifty.

industrious

and

A ll are entitled to the re- )
Milt« o f their labor.
)

I

C om petition
trade.

\

t T h eir religion is no worse
(
than infidelity.

F oreign er» m ay eventually I
be co m e citizen».
i

i T h e y are not open violator»
I
o f law.

in the life o f J

\ T h ey are d o c ile and tract
able.

X I I . Argumentative Introduction and Conclu­
sion. -The introduction should he devoted to the con­

sideration of opposing arguments unless they are to be
met in detail, to banishing all prejudices, and preparing
the hearer for a favorable reception of the proposition
and discussion. The proposition should not he stated
at first, if it is one that will probably he received with
opposition or distrust.
The conclusion may be best devoted to repeating the
strong points of the argument, and to endeavoring in
the fewest words to banish doubt, and enforce the truth
upon every mind.

1’ KU.SU A SiI V 1C COM POSITION.

CHAPTER

III.

1>K US U A SIV K COMPOSITION’ .

I. Persuasive Composition Defined. -

The aim of

Persuasive Composition is to influence tlie will by
means of motives. Tlie aim of Explanatory Composition was to impart instruction, of Argumentative to
create conviction, while that of Persuasive Composition
is to induce action by influencing the will.
II. Influence of the W ill. — “ In order that the will
may be iniiueneed,” says Whately, “ two things are
requisite; viz., that the proposed object should appear
desirable, and that the means suggested should be
proved conducive to the attainment of that object.”
An object cannot be made to appear desirable until it
has been fully explained, nor can the means of attain­
ment be proved adequate without arguments: so that
Persuasive Composition depends upon Explanatory and
Argumentative. It is only when interest has been
awakened, and conviction produced, that the emotions
and passions are aroused which induce activity of the
will.
III. P rineiides of Action. — The mind is so consti­
tuted that it has principles which excite activity, and
also different principles which regulate that activity.
The first may be called Sources of Human Action ;
and the second, Guides of Human Action. The first

40

KNfil.lSH

COMPOSITION.

include Instinct, Munition, Desire, A fleet ion, and Pas­
sion. Tlie second comprehend Reason, o ra regard to
wluit is advantageous, and Conscience, or a le<rard to
wliat is right.
i V . Persuasion; An Appeal to tlie Principles of
Unman Action. — Explanatory or argumentative com­

position may show or prove to the mind that it ought
to act; hut the will must he aroused to make it act.
The principles of human action move the will, and the
will moves to action. Persuasion is the method by
whieh these principles are employed, and we may
group them under the general term, — emotions. The
writer must have the emotions lie wishes to excite, and
then his inspiration will move his readers. This fact
leads us to consider both the emotions of the speaker
and those of his audience.
V. Kiiiiiliiins of tlie

Speaker;

Sincerity. — 'Flic

persuasive speaker cannot succeed without real feeling,
lie may not always show it ; hut when the induré of
the occasion permits him to yield to the sway of his
emotions, he must be careful to shun exaggeration.
As Ilamlet says lo the player: “ In tlie very torrent,
tempest, and, as I may say, whirlwind of your passion,
you must acquire and beget a temperance whieh will
give it smoothness." Yet, if in the drama, the actor
must be so absorbed in his part as to lose, so far as
possible, 1iis own personality, how much more must tinorator have those emotions, whieh he seeks to inspire
in the hearts of his hearers.
VI. Itcpression. — There are occasions where the
speaker should repress his feelings. By so doing he

may ¡ironso tlio passions <>1 liis audience, as llioy natu­
rally hoooinc indignant at his apparent want of fooling
liixiii a theme which they think demands so much emo­
tion. lie must carefully guard against arousing their
indignation to such a degree as to weaken that sym­
pathy which should always exist between him and his
hearers, as upon this depends all persuasive lorce.
VII. Sym pathy.—
—The persuasive speaker must win
and retain the sympathy of his audience, lie must not
be so in advance of their feelings, nor so opposed to
them, nor so behind them as to lose their good-will.
By gaining their respect and their sympathy he can
command their attention and secure their obedience.
V III. Opposition. — It may sometimes be as neces­

sary for the persuasive speaker to excite opposition
against another, as to awaken sympathy in his own
behalf. One way of doing this is, to depreciate his
opponent's knowledge, abilities, or character; yet, per­
sonalities should never be resorted to even in selfdefence. A better method is to employ Innuendo, or
else use Irony or Sarcasm. By far the best way is to
discuss themes solely in their relation to the point at
issue, and under no circumstance, however base the
assault may be, condescend to reply to personal attacks.
“ The unjust epithet,” says Ilolyoake, “ is as the boom­
erang, which comes back, striking them who throw it:
those who have the strong patience have found that
exactness, cogency, and manifest fairness were a greater
¡lower for conviction than outrage.”
IX . Feeling's of ¡»n Audience. — Reid delines feel­
ing as the internal act or emotion which produces a

i

42

K N C M S tI

C O M P O S IT IO N .

consciousness of pleasure or pain.
The persuasive
speaker aims to excite pleasurable or painful feelings,
as these are the principles of human action. Feeling
makes one brotherhood of the whole human family.
" The craving for sympathy,” says Hare, “ is the common
boundary line between joy and sorrow.” The speaker
will learn to employ different motives with different
audiences, but the adaptation of the means to the end
is always the same.
X . The I’se of Motives. — “ lly motive,” says Jona­
than Edwards, “ I mean the whole o f that which moves,
excites, or invites the mind to volition, whether that be
one thing singly or many things conjunctively. Many
particular things may concur and unite their strength
to induce the mind, and when it is so, all together are,
as it were, one complex motive.” From a rhetorical
point of view the motives employed in persuasive com­
position are cither explanatory, argumentative, or induc­
ing proper. Explanatory motives are used to unfold
the nature of the subject, and present its claims to the
attention of the hearer. Convincing motives bring the
theme home to the heart and conscience by presenting
the necessary proofs. Inducing motives drawn from the
principles of action, classified above (III.), tend to inlluence the will to act in view of the theme presented.
X I . Persuasive Oratory. — The orator, by thus ex­
citing the emotions of an audience, may arouse such
enthusiasm as to make them willing to undergo hard­
ship even in a bad cause; or he may quiet the angry
feelings o f a mob by the pacifying influence of his
words. As the leader of an orchestra brings out at

P E ltS U A S IV E COM POSITION.

43

tin; right moment not only tlie light melody but also
the deep harmony of his instruments, so the orator, by
appropriate thoughts, well-adapted tones of voice, and
suitable gestures, develops both the mirth and sorrow
of the audience.
XII.

Plan of a Theme in Persuasion.

T h em e : The Im portance o f Mental D iscipline.
(1) I ntroduction : The untrained mind.
(2) D iscussion :
f
A.

E xplanatory M otives

B.

Convinc . no M otives

C. I nducin '«. M o t iv e s

a.
b.

to develop the mental powers.
to enable the mind to acquire
knowledge.

1 r- kn,,w’ « I « “ is l,ow ‘,r'
t </. power brings Influence.
j c. influence brings honor
j
cinolnincnt.
( / . h onor brings fam e.

and

Conclusion : A good name immortal.
N o t e . The plan in Persuasive Composition will vary accord­
ing to the theme. In the discussion of some, themes no explana­
tory motives will he needed; in tin; treatment o f oilier themes no
argumentative motives may lie reipiired; and there are other
themes in the development o f which neither explanatory or argu­
mentative motives may he necessary. The discussion lit Persua­
sive Composition is therefore more varied than in the other kinds.

X I I I . The Persuasive Introduction :in<l Conclu­
sion .— The persuasive introduction should always in­

dicate that the speaker is calm and self-possessed.
However exciting the theme, he should he so complete
a master of the occasion as to he entirely at his ease.
A few direct statements within the range of the dullest
comprehension should prepare the way for the discus­
sion.

'Flie persuasive conclusion should he impassioned,
and may sometimes be vehement. Here the speaker
should gather together all his motives into a few im­
pressive periods, and by a thorough acquaintance with
rhetorical rules and an unconscious obedience to them,
should attract till by his naturalness and case. As the
iniluence of the orator is the greatest of human powers,
his preparation should be most careful and complete.
Mere brilliancy of effort may dazzle for a while, but
continued toil is the surest precursor of genuine suc­
cess.

fes

II.
P R A C T IC E

IX

C O M P O S IT IO N .

*;

a n sa c i

__

— i.„.

tissas

•'fiÎWÎMl. ...

PART

FIRST

G E N E R A I, SU BJECTS TO BE N A R R O W E D
TH EM ES.

m. Literature. Wealth. Self-Control. Benevoliolars.
Extravagance.
Immigration.
Gold.
Genius.
Character.
Authorship.
Liberty.
Nature. Danger. Method. Society. Labor.
Competition. Adversity. Colonists. Exposiidice. Ivanhoe. Irving’s “ Sketch Book.” Art.
Self-Reliance.
liasselas. America. Colonel
Middlemarch. Travel.
N o t e . In courses o f instruction in which themes are not
assigned by instructors, it is an agreeable and instructive exercise
to place oil the board a general subject and have the class by sug­
gestion narrow the subject into various themes. The themes thus
produced can be then assigned to different divisions, and the work
o f composition varied.

PART

SECOND

C L A SS IF IE D TH EM ES

I. Tlicmes in Partial Exposition

Advantages o f Recreation.
Pleasures of Literature.
Sources of National Wealth.
Benefits o f Self-Control.
Modern Methods o f Benevolence.
Responsibilities of Scholars.
- .'Î - v i4 'S

48

CLASSIFIED THEMES.

American Tendencies to Extravagance.
Evils of Immigration.
Uses of Gold.
Uses of Public Libraries.
Infirmities of Genius.
Excellences of the Puritan Character.
Miseries of Authorship.
Blessings of Liberty.
Pleasures in Contemplating Nature.
Dangers that Threaten our Republic.
Advantages of Method.
Distinctions in Society.
Rewards of Literary Labor.
Struggles for Civil Freedom.
Advantages of Competition.
Uses of Adversity.
Grievances of the American Colonists.
Distinguishing Traits in Colonial Character.
Benefits derived from the National Exposition.
Evils of Prejudice.
Historic Features in Scott’s “ Ivanhoe.”
Personal Characteristics in Irving’s “ Sketch Book.”
Uses o f Art.
Evidences of American Progress.
Advantages of Self-Reliance.
Moral Lessons from “ Rasselas.”
Evidences of Decline in America.
Elements of Moral Excellence in the Character of Colonel
Neweome.
Social Faults Illustrated in “ Middleman;!).”
Benefits of Travel.
Changes of Fashion.
Causes of National Decline.
Social Dangers from the Working Classes.

C L A SSIF IE D TH EM ES.

Lessons of Contentment from the “ Vicar of Wakefield.”
Moral Traits in .Jewish Character as Delineated in “ Daniel
Deronda. ”
( ! limpses of Old Dominion Life from “ The Virginians.”
Perils of Colonial Life as Indicated by Cooper.
Attractive Features in the Philosophy of Hypatia.
Illustrations of Anglo-Saxon Character Drawn from “ Ivan hoe.”
Causes of Commercial Decline.
Advantages of a National Bankrupt, Law.
Peculiarities of the Lake Poets.
Provincial Characteristics as Illustrated in “ Old Town Folks.”
Natural Traits in the Character of Wilkins Micawber.
Claims o f the Indians to Government Protection.
Prospects o f the Revival of Business.
Evils o f Emigration.
Characteristics of the English Novel.
Incentives to Literary Exertion.
Reforms Suggested in “ Oliver Twist.”
Heroic Features in the Character of Quentin Durward.
Benefits of Industry.
Evils of Idleness.
Summer Sports in the Country.
Winter Amusements in Cities.
Shop Windows at Christmas Time.
Habits of Economy.
Advantages of Travel.
Temptations o f Riches.
Dangers of Trades Unions.
Benefits of Application.
Friendships of Literary Men.
Advantages o f Muscular Exercise.
Physical and Moral Perils of Muscular Exercise.
Methods of Ventilation.
Effects of Machinery upon Manual Labor.

1

! f>d

r fl
■
;i|

oO

CLASSIFIED THEMES.

Injuries of Stimulants.
Evils of Centralization.
Advantages of Modern Inventions.
Uses of Coal.
Sources o f Corruption in Civil Ollices.
Elements of Success in Life.
Dangers of the French Republic.
English Ideas of America.
Traits of Moral Rectitude in the Character of Sir Gibbie.
Sketches of English Scenery from the ' ‘ Idylls of the King.”
Peculiarities of fjiieen Elizabeth as represented in “ Kenil­
worth.”
Elements of Popularity in the Character of Sir Roger de
Coverley.
Fallacies of Free Trade.
Wrongs of the English Workingmen as Portrayed in “ Alton
Locke.”
Personal Traits of Byron in “ Cliilde Harold.”
Moral Defects in the Character of Coriolanus.
Benefits of Mechanical Exhibitions.
Improvements in Agriculture.
Causes of Nihilism in Russia.
Methods of Reform in the Civil Service.
Scenes of London Life from the 44 Fortunes of Nigel.”
Admirable Traits in the Character of Deerslayer.
Impressions of English Society from 44 Felix Ilolt.”
Hardships of the New England Settlers.
Washington’s Discouragements in the Revolutionary War.
Perils of Aerial Navigation.
Persecutions of the Jews.
Incidents of the Author’s Life in Dickens’ Novels.
Elements of Modern Progress Attributable to Christianity.
American Impressions of English Life.
Evidences of Progress in Household Art.

CLASSIFIED THEMES.

51

Early Struggles of Phillip Beaufort.
Popular Prejudices against Education.
Dickens’ Caricature;» of English Schools.
Commercial Facilities resulting from Inventions.
Irving’s Representations o f the. Dutch Settlers.
Defects of English Colonial Rule.
II.

Themes in Narration and Description.

Autumn Days in the Country.
The First New England Thanksgiving.
The Field Sports of England.
The Natural Advantages of the United States.
The Perils of Frontier Life.
Social Customs of the Last Century.
The Old Fashioned Corn-lmsking.
The Puritan Sabbath.
The Sinking of the A l a b a m a .
The Lord Mayor’s Show.
Pope’s Garden at Twickenham.
Historic Memories of Ilolyrood.
The Leaning Tower at Pisa.
The Wayside Inn.
Raphael’s Cartoons : a . Paul Preaching at Athens.
b . The Miraculous Draught of Fishes.
The Eve of St. Agnes.
The Siege of Vicksburg.
The Battle of the Boyne.
Wordsworth at Grasmere.
The Rural Life of Cowper.
Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford.
Gertrude of Wyoming.
The Deserted Farm.
The Yule-tide.
Bartholomew Fair.

I
52

CE ASS 1KIEI) TH EM ES.

Voltaire at, Forney.
The Battle of Hastings.
The Falls of Niagara.
The Battle of Klothien.
Raphael’s “ Transfiguration.”
Guido Reui’s “ David with the Head of Goliath.”
The Character of Richard the Lion-hearted.
Fronde’s “ Henry V III.”
The Battle of Bannockburn.
The Siege of Yorktown.
The Massacre at Fort Griswold.
The Field of the Cloth of Gold.
Raleigh’s Visit to Spenser.
Milton’s Life at Cambridge.
The Imprisonment of James I. of Scotland.
The Mysteries at Chester.
The Battle of Liitzen (1813).
The Siege of Saragossa.
The Battle of Trenton.
The Surrender of Burgoyne.
The Gypsies in “ Guy Mannering.”
The Ilall of Eblis ( “ Vathek” ).
Sir Walter Scott’s Fenolla (“ Pcvcril of the Peak” ).
The Signing of the Magna Charts.
The Holy Coat of Treves.
The Battle of Trafalgar.
The Battle of Hurston Moor.
Peter the Great in England.
The Festival o f Shrove Tuesday.
The Sicilian Vespers.
Jennie Dean’s Journey to Loudon (“ Heart of Mid-Lothian” ).
Tiie Battle of Naseby.
The Martyrdom of Joan of. Arc.
The Siege of Rochelle.

D EASSIK IED TH EM ES.
A Spanish Bull-fight.
The Shrine of St. James at Compost,ella.
The Battle of the Nile.
The Veiled Prophet of “ Lalla Rookli.”
The Mystery Play at Monaco.
The Carnival at Rome.
The Spanish Armada.
The Tower of London.
The Battle of Bosworth.
The Yule-tide.
The C o n s t it u t i o n and the C u e r i e r r e .
A Roman Triumph.
Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill.
The Massacre of St. Bartholomew.
Farragut at New Orleans.
The Battle of Monmouth.
The Massacre of Wyoming.
Bryce’s Ascent of Mount Ararat.
The Discoveries at Mycena*.
The Home Life of Charlotte Bronte.
Parliamentary Eloquence in the 18th Century.
The Statue of Meinnon.
Industrial Migration.

The Sensational Novel.
Academic Patriotism in the American Revolution.
Early English Pilgrimages.
Windsor Castle.
The Ruins of Kenilworth.
The Battle of Malvern Hills.
The Children’s Crusade.
The Battle o f Balaklava.
Irving’ s Visit to Abbotsford.
The Bombardment of Copenhagen.
Da Gama’s Voyage to India.

54

CLASSIFIED

THEMES.

The Suez ('¡innl.
The Alhambra.
The Battle of Fredericksburg.
The Execution of John Brown.
The I C e a r m n je and the A In /ja m a .
The Roman Catacombs.
The Siege of Rouen.
The Battle of Leipsie (1815).
The Popish Plot (J(>7K).
The Siege of Antwerp (157(1).
T h e Gunpowder P lot (1(>0<">).
A Barricade at Paris.
Banishment, of the Aeadians.
The Bombardment of Tripoli.
The Kremlin of Moscow.
The Siege of Lucknow (Sepoy Rebellion. 1858).
Garibaldi’s Retreat from Rome (1848).
The Battle of Otterburn (1388).
The White Lady of A venel (“ The Monastery” ).
Rescue of the Yaudois.
Franklin’s Mission to England (1700).
Palace of the Vatican.
III. Themes in Explication.

The
The
The
The
'Flic
The
The
The
The

Perseverance of Columbus.
Industry of Sir Walter Scott.
Old Age of Milton.
Poverty of Goldsmith.
Wealth of Samuel Rogers.
Decline of Monarehial Power in Europe.
Personal Character of Lord Bacon.
Patriotism of Milton.
Naturalness of Burns.

CLASSIFIED THEMES.

Education the Nurse of Liberty.
Steam as a Motive Power.
Autumn the Symbol of Death.
The Child the Father of the Man.
The Influence of Climate 141011 Character.
The Courage of Edith Christison.
The Power of True Manhood.
Civil Government a Burden.
Exile as a Mode of Punishment.
“ The Pilgrim’s Progress” the Fruit of Runyan’ s Life.
The Youth of Shakespeare.
The Ilumble Origin of Great Men.
Agriculture the Foundation of Manufactures.
The Descriptive Power of Sir Walter Scott.
Scottish Life in the Poetry of Burns.
The Idea of Art in Horner.
The Individuality o f Shelley.
The Youth of Schiller.
The Moral Character of Cromwell.
The Satirist a Historian of his Times.
“ Conscience, the Oracle of God.” Byron.
Poetry as a National Power.
Action the Test of Character.
The Friendship of Byron and Shelley.
The Power of Early Impressions.
Necessity the Mother o f Inventions.
“ Words the Fortresses o f Thought.” Sir W. Hamilton.
Bryant as a Poet of Nature.
Sincerity as an Element o f Success.
Employment Essential to Health.
Washington as a Civilian.
Moral Tendency of the Physical Sciences.
The Style of Macaulay.
The Style of Fronde.

OO

56

C L A S S IF IE D T H E M E S.

The Style o f Washington Irving.
Charles Sumner’s Loyalty to Principle.
Wordsworth the Poet of Contemplation.
Southey’s Descriptive Power.
Pope as a Satirist.
Patience the Soul of Peace.
Memory the Nurse of Hope.
Cooper’s Representation of Indian Character.
Tennyson’s Love of Nature.
The Beauty of Kuskin’s Style.
The Ingenuity o f Benvenuto Cellini.
The Statesmanship of Richelieu.
Macaulay’s Political Honesty.
Luther’s Moral Courage.
The Genuineness of Ossian’s Poems.
Music as an Amusement.
Improvement the Idol of the Age.
Ridicule as a Test of Truth.
Lord Macaulay as a Reader.
The Sensitiveness of Keats.
Surrounding Influences as Means of Culture.
'I’lie Ministry of Physical Science.
Moral Earnestness in Character.
The Style of Dryden’s Prose.
Sir Walter Scott’s Analysis of Character.
Shakespeare as a Humorist.
Thomas Hood as a Moralist.
The Wit of Charles Lamb.
'Pile Perseverance of James Watt.
Macaulay’s Prejudice.
Cant of the Puritans.
Courtesy as a Moral Virtue.
Cowpor’s Love of Country Life.
Naturalness as a Trait of Character.

CLASSIFIED THEMES.

j

James Boswell as a Biographer.
Curiosity as an Incentive to Labor.
Prejudice a Ilinderance to Progress.
Buskin’ s Championship of Turner.
The Sanity of Hamlet.
Milton’s Love of Music.
The Wisdom of Toleration.
The Spirit of Modern Criticism.
Imagination the Guide to Discovery.
The Statesmanship of Burke.
The Supernatural in Shakespeare.
Lord Jeffrey’s Criticism of Wordsworth.
The Mental Influence of Great Events.
Eloquence the Painting of Thought.
Truth the Standard o f Excellence.
The Value of Personality.
Quietness as a Power.
The Decline of Good Manners.
Pope Representative o f Classical Art.
Controversy Contributive to Progress.
Art Indicative of Progress.
The Influence of Caricature.
Poetry Conservative o f the Beautiful,
The Literary Influence o f Speculative Thought.
The Reality of Duty.
Charles Kingsley as a Moralist.
Discontent an Incentive to Inquiry.
The Obligation of Citizenship.
The Mission of Genius.
Literature Indicative of National Progress.
Duty as a Motive.
The Sentimentalism of Cowper.
The Perseverance of Palissy.
The Utility of Art.

57

58

C L A S S IF IE D

THEM ES.

George Stephenson's Honesty and Determination.
Cardinal Richelieu's Ambition.
Cow per as a Letter-Writer.
Webster’s Defence of the Constitution.
The Wit and Eloquence of Curran.
Cervantes the Soldier and the Writer.
The Politeness of Lord Chesterfield.
The Courage of Lord Nelson.
The Cynicism of La Rochefoucauld.
The Misanthropy of Carlyle.
Cheerfulness as a Duty.
Absenteeism in Ireland.
The Generalship of Washington.
Lafayette’s Devotion to the Cause of the American Colonies,
llayard Taylor as an Observer.
The Political Administration of John Calvin.
The Generalship of Wallenstein.
Hugh Miller’s Acquirement of Science.
The Imperialism of Louis XIV.
Carlyle’s Conception of Heroism.
The Simplicity and Purity of Longfellow’s Style.
The Energy of Luther.
Thorcau’s Experiment at Walden.
(¡rote as a Student of History.
The Personal Influence of Arnold of Rugby.
The Financial Ability of Alexander Hamilton.
Josiah Wedgewood as Inventor and Manufacturer.
Wordsworth’s Conception of Poetry.
The Fickleness of Miss Romavne ( -‘ Slnindon llells” ).
Anthony Trollope’s Method of Literary Work.

CLASSIFIED THEMES.

f>9

IV. Themes in Comparison.

Natural and Acquired Ability.
The Comparative Value of Iron and Cold.
Foreign and Domestic Commerce.
The Cavalier and the I’uritan.
Waterloo and Sedan.
The Stage Coach and the Locomotive.
The Uses and Abuses of Fashion.
Capital and Labor.
Ambition the Spur of Noble Minds, the land and Aim of
Weak Ones.
Use and Beauty.
“ 'Fhe young live forwards in hope, the old live backwards
in memory.”
“ Subtility may deceive you, integrity never will.”
“ As there is no worldly gain without some loss; so there is
no worldly loss without some gain.”
Philadelphia 1770 and 1K70.
“ When bad men combine, the good must associate.”
Resolution and Action.
Painting in Colors and Words.
War and Arbitration.
“ Be wdsely worldly ; but not worldly wise.”
The Sea-side and the Mountains.
Ashistiel and Abbotsford.
“ God made the country and man made the town.”
Roger Wildrake and Oliver Cromwell.
Helen and Andromache.
“ A heart to resolve, a head to contriv e, and a hand to
execute.”
Where the law ends, tyranny begins.
“ Deep vers’d in books, and shallow in himself.”
Mabel and Wcnna Rosewarne ( “ The Three Feathers” ).

GO

CLA SSIFIE D TH EM ES.

Raphael's Cartoons: The Death of Ananias, and Klymus
struck with Blindness.
The Trouvore and the Troubadour.
The Slave and the Freedman.
Cant and Sincerity.
Diana Vernon and Helen MacGregor ( “ Rob R oy” ).
Affectation and Naturalness.
Solitude and Society.
Criticism and Invention.
“ Travel for the young is a part of education, for the old, a
part of experience.”
“ lie who would be good must have either a faithful friend
to instruct him or a watchful enemy to correct him."
Spelling and Pronunciation.
Gwendolen and Mirali ( “ Daniel Deronda” ).
Genius and Talent.
Romance and Reality.
“ The Pen is mightier that the Sword.”
“ Charms strike the sight; but merit wins the soul.”
The Duke of Oxford and tin* Duke of Burgundy, from
“ Anne of Gelerstein.”
“ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars ; but in ourselves,
that we are underlings.”
Impulse and Habit.
Sentiment and Reason.
Popularity and Fame.
Harold the Saxon ¡mil William the Norman.
Rebecca and Rowena.
Limited and I’ niversal Suffrage.
“ A sorrow’s crown of sorrow is remembering happier things.”
“ lie who would be great in the eyes of others must learn to
be nothing in his own.”
The Irish Landlord and his Tenant.
Plagiarism and Originality.

C L A S S IF IE D TH EM ES.

til

Mary and Eleanor Leavenworth (from the “ Leavenworth
Case ” ).
Henry and ( icorge Warrington (from “ The Virginians” ).
Thought and Expression.
Wit and Humor.
Practice and IInbit.
“ Hotter lifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay.”
Systems and Ideas.
The Cavalier and the Covenanter ( “ Old Mortality ” )Minna and Brenda ( “ The Pirate” ).
The Statesmanship of Hamilton and Jefferson.
Sir Launcelot du Lac and Sir Galahad as Types of Chivalrie
Character.
The Jansenist and the Jesuits.
The Guclphs and the Ghibellines.
Angus and the Scotch Laird ( “ White W ings” ).
Humor and Sentiment in the Essays of Elia.
Extravagance and Thrift.
Lexington and Fort Sumter.
Jonas Chnzzlcwit and Tom Pinch.
Familiarity and Reserve.
The Prose of Johnson and Macaulay.
Judgment commands, but resolution executes.
Madge and Nan Boresford ( “ Beautiful Wretch ” ).
“ Beauty is truth, truth beauty.”
Saladin and Richard Plantagenet.
Dromio of Ephesus and Dromio of Syracuse.
Confusion and Order.
Falsehood and Truth.
Danger and Protection in Cities.
The Ladv Francis and Marion Fay.
George Roden and Lord Hampstead.
(1 uinevere and Elaine.

Leo X. and Martin Luther.

62

CLA SSIFIED TH EM ES.

Argyle iind Montrose ( “ Legend of Montrose” ).
Renée and .Stéphanie from “ Hut yet a Woman.”
Lights and Shadows from Vanity Fair.
Judgments ol' Literary Criticisms by A. Trollope and Matthew
Arnold.
Archibald Leslie and Jack Melville from 1Hack’s “ Yolande.”
The Vaudois and the Huguenots.
Judas Maccabams and Charles Martel.

V. Themes in Argumentation.

Is labor a blessing?
Are the fine arts favorable to morality?
Will Chinese immigration endanger our civilization?
Should Polygamy be abolished in Utah?
Should Capital Punishment be abolished?
Should a man be qualified to vote if he cannot read ?
Should there be a legal rate of interest?
Should fish be caught with a seine?
Should there be universal sulfrage in the United States?
Do luxuries become necessities?
Are Intellectual Pleasures the Noblest?
Should eight hours constitute a day's labor?
“ The apparel oft proclaims the man.”
“ The more oue knows, the more one can perform.”
“ Procrastination is the thief of time.”
“ Style is the dress of thoughts.”
Self-control is true freedom.
“ Deviation from nature is deviation from happiness.”
Can a country be free without free trade?
Should church property be exempt from taxation?
Would Communism be beneficial to modern society?
Corrupted freemen are the worst of slaves.

c l a s s if ie d

th em es

.

i >3

The path of virtue is the path of peace.
Are the Insane responsible for criminal acts?
“ Those that think must govern those that toil.”
Would Harmony in human beliefs lie desirable?
“ Our antagonist is our helper.”
Ought military schools to be encouraged ?
Opposition gives opinion strength.
A cultivated mind is necessary to render retirement agreeable.
Should education be made compulsory?
Is an exclusively vegetable diet healthful?
Should Turkey be maintained as an independent power?
Is Charles Dickens a caricaturist?
Has Free Trade been advantageous to Great Britain?
Was Macaulay’ s criticism of Robert Montgomery justifiable ?
Do trades-unions tend to promote the best interests of the
workingmen ?
Is he truly rich who desires nothing?
“ The force of character is cumulative.”
“ We make ourselves more injuries than are offered us.”
Was Macaulay’s criticism of Croker justifiable ?
Should High Schools be maintained at public expense?
Was Aaron Burr a traitor?
Was Oowper a sentimentalist?
“ To be truly eloquent is to speak to the [impose.”
AVas Thackeray a cynic?
Should parochial schools be established in the United States?
AVas the seizure of Silesia by Frederic the Great ju s tifia b le ?
Will the fame of Charles Dickens be enhanced by the publi­
cation of his letters?
Is a change in Knglish orthography desirable?
AVas King William responsible for the massacre of Glencoe?
Is Literature indicative of national progress?
Is it desirable to make science popular?
Is the English government responsible for Irish misrule?

f>4

C L A S S IF IE D T i l KM ES.

Arc the Navigation laws of the United States opposed to the
interests of American shipping?
W a s M ary (.¿neon o f S cots accessory to the murder o f I)arnley?

Was the execution of André unjust?
“ O ne is m ore than a m ultitude.”

“ The situation of man is the preceptor of his duty.”
Should the standing army of the United States be increased?
Should Irish agitators be imprisoned by the English Govcrninent?
Should the Scotch Covenanters have refused to take arms for
William III.?
Should the United States Government permit foreign capital­
ists to construct a canal on American soil?
Was the Banishment of the Acadians a political necessity?
Should office-holders lie assessed for the expenses of a party
campaign ?
Had England a right to interfere in the affairs of Egypt?
Is our Government responsible for the education of the freedmen of the South ?
Was the judgment of Macaulay biased by personal antip­
athies?
Does the air of large cities neutralize malaria?
is oratory declining?
Should the United States Government adopt the Postal
Telegraph System?
Is national indebtedness a national safeguard?
Should the inventor monopolize his invention?
Should cremation supersede burial?
Is Fox-hunting a demoralizing sport?
Was Lord Clive’s civil administration in India serviceable to
the crown?

C LA SSIFIE D TH EM ES.

VI.

65

Themes in Persuasion.

Feeling the Soul of Eloquence.
The Literary Influence of Sir Walter Scott.
The Moral Influence of Charles Dickens.
On Living for one’s self.
The Execution of Sir Walter Raleigh.
The Purity of Washington Irving.
English Morality in the days of Charles II.
Human Nature in Shakespeare.
The Moral Influence of Addison’s S p e c t a t o r .
The Importance of Forming Correct Habits.
Accuracy as a Test o f Character.
Truthfulness as an Element of Manhood.
“ The Harvest of a Quiet Eye.”
Earnestness as an Element of Character.
The Importance of a High Aim in Life.
The Power of Ideas.
“ Moderation is the silken string running through the pearl
chain of all the virtues.”
“ Read not books alone, but men.”
“ He is below himself that is not above an injury.”
Education the Nurse of Liberty.
Thackeray as a Moralist.
The True Artist a Student of Nature.
Enthusiasm an Element of Success in Life.
Dean Swift as a Satirist.
“ If solid happiness we prize,
Within our breast this jewel lies.”
The Power of Kindness.
The Purifying Influence of Poetry.
The Nature of True Eloquence.
The Importance of Classical Studies.
The Value of Character.

CI.ASSlKIK I) TIIEMKS.

The Bigolry of Skepticism.
Tlie Habit of Reading.
Dickens’ Fidelity to Nature.
Milton's Use o f Figurative Language.
•‘ Occupation the Scythe of Time.”
The Formation of Character as the True Aim in Life.
The Importance of Concentration.
The Lust of Wealth.
“ From labor, health, from health, contentment springs,
Contentment opes the source of every joy.”
'• Man the Minister and Interpreter of Nature.”
The Choice of a Profession.
The Influence of Fashion.
The Power of Sympathy.
The Culture of Marcus Aurelius.
Schiller’ s *' Robbers” Illustrative of his Life.
Pascal as an Argumentative Writer.
The Genius of Calderon.
Napoleon’s Military Genius.
The Statesmanship of Alexander Hamilton.
Bulwer’ s Conception of Life.
Humanity as a Trait of Character.
Thu Advantage of Good Manners.
( Concentration of Thought.
Clearness a Characteristic of Truth.
“ The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteoilsucss ;
but of every one that is hasty only to want.”
The Culture of Kmotion.
The Ambition of Cardinal Wolsey.
The Literary Patriotism of Bryant.
The Practice of Economy as a Duty.
The Political Sincerity of Cromwell.
Moral Estimate of Alexander the Great.
The Literary Value of Antiquarian Discoveries.

C I.A SSIK IK l) TIIKMKS.

t'.T

The Mission ofUlfihis.
The Desirability of :m International Copyright.
Pascal’s Devotion to Science.
Gladstone’s Political Integrity.
Sir Walter Scott’s Commercial Honesty.
Charles Kingsley as a Moralist.
Hume’s Defence of the Stuarts.
Lord Byron's Sympathy with Greece.
Citizenship as a Bight and a Duty.
Cowley’s estimate of Cromwell.
Carlyle's Hatred of Pretence.
The Insecurity of Thrones in Europe.
Reticence as a Moral Obligation.
The Importance of a Determined Purpose.
Deronda’s Advice to Gwendolen.
Reverence as a Moral Virtue.
Apathy as a Defect of Character.
The Self-Conceifof David Llewellyn ( “ The Maid of Skcr” ).
The Policy of Warren Hastings.
The Sincerity of Charlotte Corday.
Cosmo Warlock’s Self-Denial.
Modern i'Esthcticism in Art and Poetry.
Puritan Hostility to Art.
Enthusiasm as a Duty.
The Duplicity of Charles I.
Lord Byron’s Attitude toward Society.
The Development of Self-Control.
Prejudice of the English against Handel the Composer.
Patriotism of the Earl of Chatham.

68

S P E C IM E N S O F

PLAN S OF THEM ES.

PART THIRD.

SPECIM ENS OF PLAN S OF THEM ES.

I- Plans of Thornes in Partial Imposition.
1 hkmk : Persecutions of (hr .lews in the. Middle Ayes.
I.

II.

III.

I N T. : Crimes o f which they were accused.
1. Usury.
2. Dealing in Magic.
•>. Hostility to Christianity.
D is.: A. Bodily Persecutions.
a. Burning.
h. Massacre.
B. Deprivation of Property.
e. By confiscation.
//. By destruction.
C. Banishment.
e. To particular sections of «¿¿ties.
f. To foreign countries.
C on .: Survival of the race in spite of persecution.
T ukmk : Ifickens* Caricatures o f Bnylish Schools.

I.

II.

III.

I n t . : Truthfulness of Dickens' pictures.

Dis. : A. Reason of the existence of these schools.
B. The Teachers as Proprietors.
a. Their Objects.
h. Their methods of accomplishing them.
C. Consequent condition of the pupils.
c. ( )f Dr. Blimber.
d. Of Mr. Creakle.
e. Of Mr. S<jueers.
I). Other schools.
f . The village school in “ The Old Curiosity Shop.
y. Dr. Strong’s school.
C o n . : R e fo r m s e ffe cte d b y D ic k e n s ’ C aricatu res.

SPECIMEN'S OK PLANS OF TH EM E8.

(ill

T heme : /Curly Struggles o f /'lulli/i Unnfurl.
I. [ NT.: Interest in follow in g the portrayal of the struggles anil
passions o f our feliow-inan.
If.

1)18.: A . Early training preparation for 1iI

/!.

Death of Father.
a. False position in which lie is left.
b. Labors to support his mother.
C. Death of Mother.
c. Assumes the guidance and protection of
brother.
d. Consequent struggles.
n. Separation of his brother.
e. Effects.
f. Resorts to the company of (lawtrey.
g. Remarks upon (lawtrey’s life and character.
E. Life with (lawtrey.
h. Dissatisfaction with that life.
i. Resolution to sever his connection with Gawtrey.
III. C on .: Final Triumph.

T h e m e : Popular Prejudices against Higher Education.

I.

11.

III.

Int . : Progress in Education.
D is .: A. Prejudice ol those who object to the taxation of all
for the higher education of a few.
D. Prejudice of the Rich.
a. W ho do not wish to be taxed.
b. W ho are aristocrats.
C. Prejudice o f those who think that the higher educa­
tion elevates the pupil above his place.
D. Prejudice of the poorer and more ignorant.
E. Prejudice caused by faults inherent in the system.
E. Prejudice of men of reputation.

C o n .:

T h e M eed o f H ig h e r E d u c a tio n .

;

70

a

wmm

SPECIM ENS O F P L A N S OF T H E M E S .

T

i ik m e

: Evidences o f Progress in Household Art.

D is .: A.
1!.
C.
]>.
1C.

OF FLA N S

OF TH EM ES.

71

p la yin g clo se b y , as fountains on ly play in I t a ly ; the birds
singin g in the jo y o f open in g sp rin g, and the calm and soft,

I. I n t . : The Present. Revival in Art.
II.

S P E C IM E N S

The variety of resource of the modern decoration.
Its employment o f trained artists.
Its trutlifdim *ss.
Its adaptability to its subject.
Its true, feeling.

III. C on .: Household art the exponent, of individual culture.

M editerranean beatin g gently like the pulsations o f a peace­
ful heart against the low tideless sh o re ?

N o w ords can c o n ­

vey p erfectly the richness and the softness o f the scene, but
would an accurate and minute accou n t o f each tree and clum p
and sh elv in g bank d o an y b e lte r?

O u g h t we to say : “ T here

are lirst llli'J orange trees in a garden o f h a lf an acre, then a
je t d ’ eau six feet h igh, then .”>00 yards o f slope, d escen d­

II.

l ’ l a n s o f T h e m e s in N a r r a t i o n a n d D e s c r i p t i o n .

In ail

Kssay on the M orals o f Literature, M iss C ob be

in g a t the incline o f tw o fe e t in a hundred, on a lim estone
s o i l ; the grass is unfitted for h ay, the trees o f no value as
tim ber, but worth som ew hat as fu e l’ ?

the latter class o f description may be desira ble, i f we want,

an d that o f the writer.

Sh e says : “ T h e pen no m ore than the

to purchase the hom e and garden to which it. refers ; but it

pen cil should aim at a m ere reproduction o f material f a c t ;

is not literature, but business, — a su rveyor’ s or valuator’ s

but sh ou ld render that and .something m ore.

report,

A fine land­

n ot a piece o f

literary o r

artistic com p osition ."

sca p e painter gathers up all the features o f his scen e in his

H en ce a narrative or descriptive plan should present sug­

m ind, and throws them on his can vas glorified and in dividu al­

gestive incidents or progressive features o f the theme.

ized : s o that as he saw that m ountain, o r forest, oth ers may

writer, h avin g acqu ired his m aterials through observation or

The

see it h enceforth forever.

A s we ail kn ow , this is produced

readin g, should en deavor to form a mental or even a visual

b y no servile cop y in g o f every rock or tree, every blade o f

im age o f the ob jects described ; for w ithout this his work will

g ra ss, ev ery leaf o f the w ood.

lack origin ality.

the author as to the painter.

. . . A ll this m ust a p p ly to
IIis business is first to obtain

T heme:

a v ivid and true im pression an d then so to ex p ress it as shall
best con v ey the same to the reader.
Is this to be don e best
by a record o f sensations and ideas produced by the scen e,
o r by a d ry literal catalogue o f o b je cts and fa cts ? Sh all,

I. I nt .:

K r e n d tn nj M o s ca te.

Importance o f the K rendili in deseript n lis Id Russia.
/,’. G en era l di-script ion o f in te r io r.

C. buildings around the “ Square of the Cathedrals."
«. Cathedral o f the Assumption.
6. Cathedral o f the Annunciation.
c. Cathedral o f Si. Michael.
d. ’Lower of the Ivan Veliki and the (¡real Bell.
I). General description o f the other buildings in the

g la d e s to the sea, the deep shadow s o f the ilex lyin g heavy
on the g rou n d , and the stone-pines standing ou t in lovely
ou tlin es against the sky and dazzlin g waters, and palm s and
ora n ges and cypresses blending with the blossom in g ap ricot
a n d alm on d in m asses o f g loriou s c o lo rin g ; o f the fou ntain s

Tin

II. Ills.: .1. Walls and gates.

fo r in stan ce, the [»resent writer describe the view b efore her
e y e s, b y telling o f gardens slop in g dow n through gra ssy

.;5*,xd-.

It is »¡nit»* clear that

draw s an adm irable com parison between the work o f the artist

Kremlin.
III.

C o n . : V e n e r a t io n f o r t i n i K r e m lin .

t ,:

111.

it. Attack on the outposts.
e. Preparations ami movements o f the Scots.
/ . Meet ini;' of the forces.
Death of Douglas.
h. The Victory.
C on .: Bravery displayed in the battle.
T heme : The White Laity o f Avenel.

I.
11.

III.

I nt . : The supernatural in Literature.
D ts.: A . Her appearance to Father Philip.
it. Her appearance to the children of (1 lendearv.
C. Her appearance to the Sub-Prior and Christie.
I). Her api>earanee to Halbert (liendinning.
a. First time. h. Second time. c. Duel.
1C. Her appearance to Mary Avenel.
/■’. Her appearance to Edward (liendinning.
a . Her appearance to Tibh and Martin.
It. Her npjtcurancc to Edward.
C on .: Her peculiar nature.
I n e.m t:: liesciu: o f the Vuiiiluis.

I.
II.

III.

I n t . : Minor events in History.
D is .: A . Brief history of the Vaudois.
1!. The Plot.
a. Its disclosure.
h. Consternation aroused.
Its effect upon the soldiers.
c. Their march to the village.
</. Their arrival.
e. The rescue.
C on .: Subsequent struggles o f the Vaudois.

flP E C IM K N S O F

P L A N S O F T IIK M K S .

III. Plans o f Themes in Kxplication.
T h k m k : Webster's l)(fence, o f the Constitution.

I.

I nt . : The estimation in which Mr. Webster is held by the
American people on account ot his defence ot
Constitution.

II. D is.:
a.
I h.
c.
f Ability to defend
d.
I the Constitution
e.
A. -j as shown in his
f
I character and liab­
le its o f life.
l

Independence o f mind.
Love of justice and truth.
Persistency and straightforwardness.
Course of study and reading.
Superior knowledge of common law.
W ith range o f view, which enabled
him to see measures in their most
remote relations, and to detect fal­
lacies where others were unable to
see them.

Those
qualities
I called into active
IS. 'j operation in deI fence of the Coll­
in stitution.

<j. Bv those who sought to abridge and
by those who tried to transcend the
power of the Constitution.

Occasions
on
which he defended
the Constitution.

Against a bill to transfer trial for
treason from the civil to the mili­
tary courts.
In opposition to the President's veto,
favoring a bill to apply the rev­
enue to internal public improve­
ments.
Against the expressed opinions of
Col. Ilavne. and the South.
Against the doctrine of nullification.
With reference to the President’s
prerogatives.I.

f

C.

III. C on .: The value of Mr. Webster’s services to the United
States.

W Ê Ê È

S P E C IM E N S OK

ê ê ê ïÆ

ü

S

P L A N S OK T H E M E S.

T h e m e : The Personal h jluen ce o f A mold o f lluyby.

I. I nt.: Rugby ami Arnold.
: A. Energy.
a. As a student.
b. As a preacher.
c. As a writer.
B. Heroism.
<1. Boldness in expressing his convictions.
e. Fearlessness he fore his superiors in power.

IL D is.: A . Arnold as a teacher.
a. H is strictness.

b. 11is sympathy for dull pupils.
B. His Moral Inline nee.
c. Religion.
d. Love o f Truth.
e. Faithfulness to work.
C. Interest in his pupils.
f A t school.
y. After leaving School.

III. C o n . : His sincerity insured his success.

T hkme : Anthony Trollope's Method o f Literary Work.

III. C on .: Ilis pupils’ respect and love.

I. I n t . : General belief that authors must feel a special in­
spiration.
II.

D is .: A. Trollope’s object in assuming authorship.
B. His method of working.
11is characters.
D. IIis moral purpose in writing.I.

IV. Plans o f Themes in Comparison.
T h e m e : donas Chuzzleirit and Tom Pinch.

III. C on .: An instance of a business author.
I. I n t . :

Character determ ined by the cultivation o f good or
had traits.

T iif.mk : Thoreaus Experiment at Walden.
I. I NT.: Brief account of his experiment.
II.

His.: A. Evils o f such a life.
a. Its inconsistencies.
In its narrowing tendencies.
c. Its selfishness.
B. Benefits of such a life.
d. Physical health.
e. Study of Nature.
f Leisure to follow a chosen pursuit.

III. C on .: Thoreau’s Life at Walden in contrast with the fast
life of Americans in general.

IL D is.: First, donas Clmz/.lewit.
Cunning.

f Gloomy.
' Impulsive.

¿Cours.!.

'•

Mr

O.vetous.

ç U nprinciple 1.
( '.
Mora l

<

j Hrutai.
; T re ac le T o

^ C o w a r d lv .

ii-K.i*
US

Second, Tom l’ inch.
t

(Sunny.

Social ; Wi,,,,i"K< He fined.

1H. C on .:

¡,

Mental

^ Sïini.l.--

l;il,enl1'

' Generous.

f1

Moral

ç l ’ pright.

| 'T‘,mh*r-hearted.

j Failliful.
^ C ou rag eou s.

I he Lesson we draw from each.

r. ;

iui

11)

SPKFIMKNS OF FLANS OF THKMKS.
T h k m k : Li(fh(s find Shftdow s fr o m “ V m uhf I'u ir.

I.
II.

I nt . : Light and shade in Vanity Lair.
I )is .: A . Becky Sharp.
d.

Her selfishness and avarice.

b. Her firmness of character.
B. Amelia Sedlcy.
c. Her unselfishness.
d. Iler want o f self-reliance.
C. Comparison.
J)

Joseph Sedlev.
e. His resjM'etability.
f IIis weakness.

E. Kawdon Crawley.
tj. 11is reckless inode o f life.
//. 11is t rue manliness.
F. Comparison.
(J. George Oshorne.
i. 11is thoughtlessness.
j . His inconstancy.
II. 'William Dobbin.
11is honesty.

/. 11is kindness.
/. Comparison.
III. C o n . : Power and truth o f the whole picture.

T il KM k : Hr/u f m u l SU'jjItanie.
I. I NT. F e atu re s of th e novel.
II. l)is. : A . B ence.
a. H e r e arly life.
b. H er d esire to e n te r a cloister.
c. H e r love.
B . S tep h an ie.
d. I Ier early life.
e. 1Ier love.
/ ’. H er desire to e n te r a cloister,
i l l . C o n .: C om parison of th e ir lives.

-ia&ï:

S P tiC IM K N S OK

Th

k

:

I. I n

t

k m

IL

III.

PLAN S

O F TH KM KS.

J ut h/ me nts o f L iterary C riticism by A nth ony
M a t the. to A rnold.

i
7

roilojie am i

: Abundance o f Litoralmv at the present day.

.

D is.: A . Trollope’s judgment.
a. 'The present criticism, — the best.
b. Practicality of his ideas.
B. Arnold’s judgment.
e. Ideas, the chief concern of criticism.
//. Criticism to point to high ideals.
C o n . : Superiority of Arnold’s judgment.

Tu k m

k

:

Judas Afaccubœus and Charles Martel.

1.

A.

Syrian 'I yranny.
B. Mattatili as.
C. Maccaha us.

' a.
b.
c.
d.

A})pointment.
Military Genius
Statesmanship.
Personal Traits.

II.
A.

Mahometan Invasion.
'a. Birth and Parentage.
b. Military Genius.
B. Charles Martel. c. Statesmanship.
d. Personal Traits.

III.
Com parison o f the two.
C o n . : Results com pared.

1

SPK C IM KNS O F

V.

PLAN S OF THEM ES.

P l a n s o f T l i o i n o s in A r ^ i i i n o n t a H o i i .

N o t k . — These arc not specimen-; o f actual working plans o f assays;
but only productive currents o f thought or trains of investigation, designed
to adapt rhetorical instruction to the ever-widciuiitf researches of modern
science.
T

i i k m e

:

The Inve.utor should nionnjiolize his invention,

I. I n t . : The «nullities o f a true in v en tor.
In iln ctivc.

< A patent -right enaldea all iu! ventor to make improxe( lllelila in Ida m aterial.
, A patent -rip'lit drawn the itt \ tent ion of eom|M'tltora and
f
inducen other inventora
' and patenUi.
f T he product of a m an’n brain
inanm ueb individual prop-, ertV an tile |K»nm*nnion of
landn, building«, and perf nonal property.
{ In faking out a patent the
< inventor mnknn know n to
I
the world all Ida proecnaea
5 lor other pernoiin to uae
I graluitounly alter the ex( Iii rat ion of hin patent.

Raw m aterial is of liitle value I
in it* natural condition. \
Hefore patenta wen* leaned .
the inventor wan obliged /
to keep I•ih invention an i
nee re l an poaniblc.
T h e man who revives or .
bring« into general use a (
loat or abandoned art in a t
public benefactor.
A t the beat the bolder of a "J
uaeful invention eat» ob- j
tain but a very nmaii 1
am o uni f»>r wh.u in of in- ]
estim able value to the |

public.

J

i l l . C o n .: Tradednarks, copyrights, and patent-rights arc the. levers
that enable poor men o f skill to resist tin* tyranny o f capital.
T

iif.MK:

'The United States ( lorcrnment should udojtt the
Post(d Teleffrnjfh System.

I. I NT. : The system has been successfully tried in other countries.
II. D is.: Deductive.

Inductive.

A telegraph ayatem nhould
! be for the good of the

T h e U nited State« govern- »
m ent in for the good of [
the m any.
»
T he w ill of the ¡»copie in au- I i 11
prem e.
\j
whollld he ill the haitdn of J- | r
the governm ent.
)
T h e governm ent revenue* ) \
nhould com e from eon : \ i)
veidenceB.
)
Cirdat m onopolien tend to / \
m onarchy.
S
ill.

('O N .:

The

b e n e fits

that

t

ir \
r

\T he ayatem in
} the people.

dem anded by

( 'Plie

ayatem in a mean«
. for tlie com m unication of
thought.
« T he nynicm would he a great
/ source of revenue.
t T he preaent ayatem in a
( grinding monopoly.
l

/>' /
/•:

ft

/

would accrue

fro m

th e

system .

S P E C IM E N S O F

7'J

FLAN S OF THEM ES.

T h k m k : That Cremation should supersede BurialJ

I. I n t . :

M odes o f disposing o f the dead.
Inductive.

II. D is.: Deductive.

I Inhum ation retards the processes of N ature.
Cnhealthful effects of burial.

< 'm n a t i o n ;i hhi.**l h n a t u r e .

)

C r e m a t io n h a s n o u n h e n lth - /
till e f f e c t s .
i

D esecration of graves.

1 >c h c c r a t i o n in i m p o s s i b l e .
K v iln o f p r e m a t u r e c r e m a li o n c o m p a r a t iv e l y s lig h t .

H orrors of prem ature burial.

)
)

C r e m a tio n if g c n c r u lly a d n p t* (
e d m ig h t h o in e x p e n s iv e .
{

E xpense of inhum ation.

( ’ r e m a l i o n a g r e e a b l e tO B en ti* }
m enu
i

Burial revolting to sentim ent.
\ Buried body entirely disap
(
pears.

Fart o f crem a ted b o d y m a y }
be p reserv ed.
i

III. C on . : Crem ation should he adopted.

till T O K irA I.

1» i - . s i '

m

(•; o i

TIN-:

T ltlA l.

KOU TIIE M ANSLAl'OII 1El: o|
T

h e m e

:

o b

C

i .i

» i : < ; }•;

\V.

C

o n

.,

jo in

C H KISTorifKlt W ll. i u\.

That George U r . Congdon is guiltg o f the murder o f
( 'hristopher Wilcox.
PR O S E C U TIO N . 1

W ilcox a mild, peaceable m an.
Congdon tin abusive m an.

/

} Congdon sails near W ilcox’s
w harf.

A

1
i r \

/U

Congdon steals W ilcox’s 1
scallop shells.
)
c
Congdon uses insulting Ian- }
uuage to W ilcox at every .
opportunity.
)
r
Congdon exhibits a pistol at /
O akland Bench.
\
Congdon threatens to take / \
/••
the life of W ilcox.
i
V

V

(V

i f

r

KJ
/

Congdon calls to W ilcox.
W ilcox comes tip to Cone/ don’s boat.
\

Congdon renew s his abuse.

1

VCongdon fires four bullets
j into the body of Wilcox.
\ W ilcox dies at the hands of
i
< oiigdon.

1 From the nature of the them e, the tw o currents of thoughts are almost identical.

i£\i,

J

S P E C IM E N S OF

PLAN S

S P E C IM E N S

OF TH EM ES.

T iik m k :

George Ji . Congdon is not guilty o f the murder oj' Christopher Wilcox.
DKKKNCE.

I.

Congdon an inoffencdvo man.

W ilcox calls to ( 'oiigdon.

W ilcox an abusive man.

S W ilcox approaches Cong
I
ilon’s boat.

Congdon had num erous dif- \
tic ill lien w ith W ilcox.
i

W ilcox assaults ( 'ongdon.

C ongdon was in constant \
fear of W ilcox.
}
W ilcox had accused Cong- )
don of stealing ids scallop >
shells.
)
W ilcox had assaulted Cong- /
don.
i

\ ( ’ongdon lire« four bullets
into W ilcox’s body.
i W ilcox dies next m orning
\ in conseipience of these
( w ounds.
Congdon acted in self-defence.

T. IXT. : Prejudice against, tile subject arising from tin* spirit of
the age.
II. D o . :
I Fx M o t Keverencc, the just appreciation of
i a. that which is great and good.
r,
,,
,
,
f
is obligatory. .
/>. ( ON. Mo. - b. Such appreciation
11
( r. Discharge of obligation is moral virtue.
il. True reverence is ennobling in its influence.
c. Kcverciice essculial to tin* highest type, of
I
character.
III. C o n . : The duty of cultivating reverence.
T i ik m k : Patriotism o f the V ari o f Chatham.

I. I n t . : 11is early life.
II. D is.:
A . Ex. Mo.
a. Character of Chatham.
'b . He was above bribery.
c. He was a defender of the rights of the
B. C on . M o .
people.
d. He sought the liest, interests of the eountrv.
C. Tno . M o .
e. He rescued his countrymen from ruin.
III. C on .: He died at the post o f duty.

OF

THEM ES.

T h e D evelop m en t i f S elf-C on trol.

I n t . : Power o f the mind.

a. Prevalence of intemperanee.
In Temptation through the appetites.
c.
Supremacy of t he mind.
k (/. Necessity of pure tastes,
j e. Morals guide the mind.
( f . Morals the foundation of character

)

B ererenre its a M oral Virtue.

P I .A N S

II. D is.:

111. C o n . : Personal control of moral character.

T i ik m k : Puritan Hostility to Art.

V I. Plans o f Thornes in Persuasion.

T iik m k :

OF

I.

I n t . : Art at the present day.

If. Dis. : Hostility arising from Puritan character.
.4. Ex. M o.

( a. Hatred o f Koine.
i b. Opposition to the Anglican church.
I c. Peculiarity of their religious tenets.

Hostility actually shown against
f il. Music.
B. Con. M o. ^ e. Painting.
I f Sculpture.
III. C oil.: Evil effects of this hostility.

R ELATIO N OF HEADING TO COMPOSITION.

PART

THE

RE LA TIO N

FOURTH.

OF READ ING TO COM POSITIO N.

I. The Student's Access to the College Library.
I*y It. A . G

u il d ,

L L .T

Librarian of lirown (University.

I ) kah S i u : In accorda n ce with y o u r request, I herewith
su bm it a b rief statem ent o f the use o f the colleg e library by
the students o f Drown University.
It was early my con viction , and an ex p erien ce o f forty
years as a librarian has on ly served to confirm it, that the
b o o k s o f a colleg e library should be so arranged, as to allow
the students to con su lt and handle them freely .

C a ta logu es,

h ow ever necessary and accessible, and how ever carefu lly and
sk ilfu lly prepared, can never take the place o f the b ook s
th em selves, in a collegiate institution.

It requires, m oreover,

n o sm all degree o f know ledge and

patien ce to con su lt a

m odern cata logu e o f a large collection o f b o o k s .

H en ce,

the President o f H arvard C ollege, at a recent m eeting o f the
A m erica n

Library A ssocia tion ,

facetiously rem arked, that

alth ough hr might claim to be as intelligent as the ordin ary
frequ enters o f a library, he did not know en ough to use a
rand cata logu e.
Entertaining such views in regard to the use o f a colleg e
library, it was but natural that 1 should em b od y them , as I
diil. in the original suggestions which 1 was perm itted to
m ake to the architects o f our present library bu ildin g, erected
through a bequest o f the late John C arter B row n , and d e d i­
cated in 1R78.

T h e result is open sh elves, where the b o o k s

can be readily handled by all, and quiet, w ell-lighted alcov es,
with con v en ien t tables and seats, inviting to study and re­
search.

R E L A T IO N OF READ IN G TO COM POSITION.

83

T h e library com prises at the present tim e a b ou t sixty
thousand standard w orks, in g o o d and substantial bindings.
N o t a few o f them are rare and costly b ook s.

L e t me state

in b rie f the manner in which they are classified, arranged,
and ca ta log u ed.

Y o u will thus have m y ideas o f the use o f

a co lleg e library in general.
from the sou th .

T h e en tran ce to the building is

T h e centre is a read in g -room , thirty-five

feet square, m ade octagon al on the floor b y fou r large tables
fo r period ica ls, with octagon al galleries above.

It is lighted

b y fou r large w in dow s ab ove the galleries, and by sixteen
sm aller w indow s in the d om e.

B eh in d these tables, in the

sou th -w est, south-east, and north-east corn ers, are shelves
con tain in g seven hundred b o o k s o f referen ce, classified as
H istory , S cien ce, and Literature, and in cluding encyclopae­
dias, g azetteers, dictionaries o f

various kin ds, gram m ars,

le x ico n s , g lossaries, and the like.

In the north-w est corn er

is the chargin g and receivin g d esk, and the card catalogue
in draw ers.

H ere, also, are helps o f various k in d s:

B oole's

In d e x to P eriod ical L itera tu re; T h e A m erica n C atalogue,
with su b ject, author, and title e n tr ie s ;

N oy es’ A nalytical

and C lassed C atalogu e o f the B rooklyn L ib ra ry, with tw entyfive thousand

referen ces

review a rticle s ;

to essays, collected

w orks, and

C utter’s C a ta logu e o f the Library o f the

B oston A them eum , in cluding author and s u b je c t ;

Jew ett’s

C atalogu e o f the B oston P u blic L ibrary ; C atalogu es o f the
B od leian Library, L on d on L ib ra ry, British M useum , Royal
Institution, A s to r L ibrary, P eab od y Institute Library, Bil­
lin gs’ In d ex-C ata log u e o f the Su rgeon G en era l’s Library at
W a sh in g ton , etc.

H ere, also, are the m ore com m on bibliog­

raphies o f A llib o n e , E b ert, Barliier, B oh n , Brunet, C ollier,
H e Bure, D ibdin , K ngelm ann, K liip fel, L ow n d es, P etzhold t,
Q uaritch, Seh w eigcr, S ch w ab, and W h eeler.
T h e w est w ing, which is o cta g on a l in form , contain s tw entyfour a lcov es, eight on each floor, and is d ev oted to H istory,

*4

RELATION OF REAKINO TO COMPOSITION.

in clu d in '' T h e o lo g y .

O ver the w in dow s in ouch alcove are

in scribed in plain «'ilt letters the general classification o f the
b o o k s , as follow s :

b ib lica l Literature, T h e o lo g y , Religious

H is to ry , b iog ra p h y , V oyages and T ra v els, A m erican
tory , English H istory, G eneral H istory.
d ev oted to

Scien ce.

T h e classifications

H is­

The north w ing is
are :

Ju rispru ­

d en ce, P olitical S cien ce, P h ilosoph y, N atural H istory, M ed i­
cal S cien ce, U seful and Fine A r ts , M ath em atics, Chem istry,
and P h ysics.

T h e east wing is d ev oted to Literature.

classification s

are :

bibliograp h y

and

Literary

The

H istory,

P h ilo lo g y , G reek and Latin C lassics, C ollected W ork s, E ng­
lish and Am erican Literature, F oreign Literature, P eriodicals.
S p ecial periodicals, like Sillim an’s Jou rn a l, Jalin ’ s Jnhrbueher, A n n aies dc Clhm ic, Revue de r'A reh ilcctu re, A n n als o f
N atural H istory. M agazine o f A m erican H istory, etc., are
p la ced in the a lcov es appropriated to the departm ents which
they represent.
It would be well to give these tw en ty -fou r classifications
in d etail, but I fear I have already e x ceed ed m y lim its.
professors

The

and students, let me state, very readily learn

where to g o for book s, and, in m ost ca ses, they find what
they w ant w ithout assistance.

T h e card cata logu e, which is

fo r the librarian esp ecia lly, and not fo r general use, answers
the qu estion , “ H ave you a certain b o o k ? ”

It is in tw enty-

fou r parts, accordin g to the classification enum erated, and is
m ade, as such catalogues usually are, accord in g to author and
su bject.

It thus answers another qu estion , “ W h at books

have you on a given su b je ct?"

Eventually it w ill be supple­

m ented b y a general index o f names o r authors.

In closin g,

I m ay a d d, that the themes for the classes in R hetoric and
E nglish Literature are left on the library table, the librarian
o r his assistant indicating the m ost im portant articles and
b o o k s in the library to which the students may refer for
aid.

RE L A T I O N OK KKAIflNO TO COMROSITION.

8o

A fte r an exp erien ce in the new library building o f six
years, during w hich the use and circulation o f the hooks has
been m ore than d ou b led , and on ly tw o volu m es, and those
not im portan t, have been lost, I am satisfied that the true
way to use to ad vantage a college library, is to have the
book s classified and arranged upon som e sim ple plan, and to
have the shelves and alcov es op en and free.
Y ou rs very truly,

RKbBEN A. GUILD,

L ib r a r ia n .

Hltowx U n i v e r s i t y ,
May 4, 1S84.

II.

T h e Y o u n g W r i t e r ’ s I so o f a L i b r a r y .

B y W ii.u a m

W

hen

K. Ko m t k k , L i b r a r i a n

o f t h e I ' u b l i c L ib r a r y , fr o r itlc v r .? , /{./.

we find ou rselves involuntarily adm iring the work

o f som e writer w hose use o f b ook s and libraries, for the pur­
pose o f this w ork, m ust n ecessarily have been lim ited, what
are the literary qualities which s o com m and our adm iration ?
O ne o f tw o sets o f con d ition s will p roba bly be found to exist.
E ith er the occa sion w hich inspired the utterance was one o f
striking sign ifican ce or

im pressiveness, in which case the

literary qualities m ost ap parent are natural vigor, native
sim plicity, and unaffected eloquen ce ; o r. on the other hand,
it is som e ex p ression o f the highest and deepest experiences
o f human life , o r portraiture o f human ch a ra cter, in which
case the work will be ch a ra cterized by keenness o f insight,
by d elica cy o f im agination, and

by consum m ate creative

geniu s.
A n instance o f the form er description might be
L in co ln ’ s A d d re s s at G etty sb u rg . T h e latter m ight be illus­
trated by W o rd sw o rth ’ s “ O de to D u ty.”

In either on e o f

these in stan ces, the consultation o f a library can hardly be
regarded as o f direct service or benefit.

SC)

KKLATION OK KKADINO TO COMPOSITION.

Obviously, however, this fact will linvc little weight in
helping UN to u generalization as to the needfulness (or the
reverse) of such consultation by writers in general. To sav
that some writers have, without the use of books, struck tinhighest note of success in literary achievement, and that
therefore we should use no books, is to leave out of account
the fact that in both the instances cited, the methods of
expression lie far aside from the track of the ordinary writer.
Of the great numbers of young men who are each year seri­
ously training themselves in the art of expression, not one in
a thousand will ever attain world-wide distinction by his
creative genius, either in fiction or poetry. To a still smaller
number will that supreme opportunity ever come, of gather­
ing up into a few sentences the significant expression of an
historic epoch.
Of a far different nature are the tasks which lie before the
great majority of these young writers, as their life-work. In
their respective professions of law. theology, or journalism,
they are to carry conviction to the minds and hearts of their
fellow-men. As scientific investigators they arc to express
the results of their researches in clear, convincing, wellordered statements. As interpreters of the principles of
technical science, whether medical, mechanical, or otherwise,
they are to express with unerring accuracy their knowledge
of details, based on an exhaustive familiarity with the sub­
ject. As historical writers, they will use those methods of
expression which will most perfectly represent the results of
impartial and conscientious investigation. As writers deal­
ing with problems of highest moment, whether political,
social, psychological, or moral, they will, by language at
once simple, concise, and forcible, convey to their readers
the weighty conclusions which they have reached.
In short, while the instances at first cited are concerned
almost wholly with the general and the abstract, these latter

R E L A T IO N

OK

K K A D IN O

T O COM P O S IT IO N .

><7

instances arc closely related to what is concrete and specific.
In such a view of the ease, plainly, recourse will most natur­
ally be had to hooks ; for in books lie the concrete results of
previous investigation in the same fields. Some intelligent
use of a library, in fact, becomes, under these circumstances,
almost absolutely essential.
Some “ intelligent use,” let us repeat.
It requires but
little reflection to see that libraries may be put to a use, in
connection with the labor of writing (whether of books or
other forms of composition, it matters not), which is the
reverse of beneficial. Books and articles, for instance, have
been ‘ •manufactured” from other books, by mere use of the
scissors, the material being transferred bodily. Scarcely
less mechanical is the wholesale copying of another author,
which sometimes is made to serve a writer in place of origi­
nal work. Nor is that process but little preferable to these
palpable offences, by which the writer slavishly follows the
thought, though not the language, of the author before him,
and produces a paraphrase where he should have written an
essay. Yet, when these quite obvious sins against a correct
literary method have been condemned as the wrong way, it
by no means remains that any other one way can be named
as “ t he right way.” In no one method, in fact, should the
young writer be taught to proceed in unbroken, unvaried
succession. The forms of thought are not one, but many.
The forms of expression are not one, but various.
The
methods of consulting books, in like manner, are not one,
but vary with the methods of literary expression required.
Certain conditions which should be observed when an histori­
cal theme is chosen, are by no means applicable in connection
with a theme in literary exposition. Other features, like­
wise, which are essential when the theme is one in narration,
will not serve the purpose if the method is that of persuasion.
Let us look into this matter with a little more detail. Let it

R E L A T IO N

OF

III’. AIM NO T O C O M P O S IT IO N .

lie assumed that a student lias undertaken llie preparation of
ail essay on this subject, - “ Tile Insanity of Hamlet.” Ik;
lias not been limited, by bis instruetions, to any one theory
of interpretation, and is free to present whatever view shall
recommend itself to him as the correct one. Obviously, he
must, in the lirst place, settle in his own mind what that
view is ; in the second place, he must, by careful analysis,
arrive at an outline statement of it; in the third place, he
must adduce such arguments as will give weight to his con­
clusions when presented to his readers ; and, in the fourth
place, he must, by comparison of his work with what has
already appeared on the same subject, provide against the
possibility of any mortifying inaccuracies or misrepresenta­
tions.
In the lirst stage of his work, hi1 will have little occasion
to consult anything but the play of “ Ilamlet” itself. It is
a determined and concentrated study of Shakespeare’s drama,
and of that alone, which will put him in possession of a con­
ception of this character which he may honestly call his own.
Nevertheless, it is by no means unlikely that he will, in the
course of this study, meet with problems, and encounter
queries, which carry him into the field of psychology and of
mental pathology. T.et him make a note o f these queries,
and, when the time comes, let him consult tin1 printed author­
ities on these subjects. Next. let him undertake to put his
thoughts on paper, in the proper order of arrangement; sup­
plying, or, at, least, indicating, the arguments on which his
views rest. He may raise the objection that lie is not ready
for this y e t; that he is not even quite sure in his own mind
what his view of the matter is, in all its details. Neverthe­
less, let him begin to write, and, as an accomplished master1
of literary methods has recently pointed out, the mental pro-

cesses which the very act of writing sets in operation, will
prove one of the very best and most effective means of clari­
fying his ideas, of discovering what is actually in his mind,
and of giving it a formal arrangement. Not that he will be
wholly satisfied with what he has written. He certainly will
not be. Blit he has it now in tangible form, which admits
of correction and modification.
Now is the time for him to compare his exposition of the
subject with what has been written by others. (dancing
over his memorandum of books cited, he sees that the ques­
tion has been treated by such an authority on the technical
details of insanity as Dr. Henry Maudsley, in his “ Body
and Mind,” and Dr. Isaac Ray, in his “ Mental Pathology” ;
and also by such masters of Shakespearian criticism as Gervinus and lilrici. Ilis attitude in approaching them is that
of a man who has his own opinion, but is willing to be
instructed. The result of his comparison will probably be
that in some instances he finds his position fully corroborated
and confirmed by these other writers; that in others his
positions are opposed by a theory, which, even upon mature
consideration, he does not find himself disposed to accept;
and that in still others the error and fallacy of his conclu­
sions are so clearly pointed out that he has not a moment’s
hesitation in acknowledging the fact. lit! is now ready to
make the revised copy of his essay, into which he, of course,
incorporates all the modifications which have successively
been suggested to him.
It needs no argument to show that if he had reversed the
process, and had read his authorities first, and then written
his essay, the result would have been exceedingly likely to
prove an ingeniously constructed paraphrase of these writers’
language, but his work would have lacked the stamp of
originality and real merit.
Nor is the labor thus employed serviceable for the purpose

1

|

KKAIHNG TO COM POSITION.

I.

:.-;i

of this one essay alone.
It lias a far wider value, inasmuch
as the practice thus gained in successive theme-writings
comes gradually to put the young writer in secure possession
of the method itself. Years afterwards, while pursuing his
duties as a civil engineer, perhaps, he is called upon to pre­
sent a report on the practical hearing of some mechanical
principle. Should he lie able to put in operation the method
which he had thus acquired early in life, who can doubt that
the results would be of the highest value?
Let us now glance at an instance where a very dilferent
method will be called into service. The student, we will
suppose, has the subject of “ Social Life among the AngloSaxons” assigned him for an essay. Obviously, here is
something to be treated which cannot bo wholly “ evolved
from his inner consciousness,” nor yet derived from an ex­
amination of an}' one book alone. None the less, the student
will find that before he opens a single volume he will do well
to place his note-book before him, and make a mental inven­
tory of his ideas on the subject. It is impossible that he
should not have already read some book, or some article, or
in various ways acquired some information which bears upon
the subject. If so, let him note (1) the titles of these works
in one place, and ( 2 ) in another the heads of the subject, as
outlined by his present knowledge. These are the two nuclei,
from which he will develop, little by little, a working bibliog­
raphy of the subject, and a minute analysis. "With the
meagre analysis which bis present limited information sup­
plies, he will not for a moment be satisfied, and will at once
begin the examination of his authorities for farther material.
In like manner, lie will not remain satisfied with this brief
list of authorities, but will begin immediately to extend it.
And this at once opens the question : What use shall he
make o f the bibliographical helps furnished by others? In
general, it may be said that where a man has been driven by

K K I jA T I O N

OK K E A I H N t t

TO COM POSITION.

<n

force of (•¡rcumstances to construct his own list of authorities,
it is of infinitely greater value to him than one which he lias
received only at second hand. Hut life is so short, and the
demands on one’s time are so exacting, that the majority of
men will perhaps consider that individual research on their
part, in each particular instance, is as much out of the ques­
tion as it is for each man to verify personally every one of
the items of news which his morning paper brings to him.
lie will, therefore, gladly avail himself of other men’s labors
in 'his field, as supplementary to his own. Let him, however,
ob&jrve these few points, in constructing his own jiibliograpliy : (1) Let him, in making his successive additions
to it, take care that they slip into their proper order, so far
as possible, in an outline analysis corresponding to that
adopted for the essay itself. ( 2 ) Let him form the habit
of looking for bibliographical material in what mav not la*
regarded as the usual places,— in citations introduced into
the body of a work ; in foot-notes ; and at the end of articles
in cyclopaedias and biographical dictionaries. (:$) Let him
early acquire the instinct of discrimination and selection.
By this means a long list of authorities (like that of ;>2
pages, at the end of Furness’s •“ Ilanilet” ) will no longer
prove formidable, but merely suggestive.
Suggestiveness, in fact, is the preeminent consideration
which he may well keep in view throughout all his consulta­
tion o f authorities and collection of material. He does not
— or at least should not— propose to construct a mere
p r& cis of what other men have written.
He is to discuss tinsubject on its merits, drawing upon his own powers of reason
and discrimination, and desirous only of getting at the facts
in question.
In both of the instances which have just been examined in
detail, it is of the highest importance to consult tin; library’s
resources on the subject, before finally writing out and mak-

92

liK l.A T I o N

OK

U K A D 1N G T O C O M P O S IT IO N .

injr public one’s mvn dismission of any tlieme.
Of the
thousands of applications for patents which conic up before
the patent commissioner at Washington every year, compar­
ison proves an astonishing large percentage unsuccessful, not
because they do not represent patient and ingenious industry,
but because some other patentee has previously entered his
invention o f that precise contrivance. An examination of
the records of patent issues is therefore an almost indispen­
sable prerequisite. In like manner, the writer who has care­
fully constructed his own exposition of this or that subject,
in literature, history, science, or art, needs to consult the
published literature of the subject, lest he should be found to
have unwittingly followed in the precise track of some pre­
vious writer. For the undergraduate student, whose theme
will probably remain in manuscript, this may not be of so
vital consequence, but. should he over reach the point where
he proposes to put his discussions in print, it is of peremp­
tory importance.
The true attitude of the young writer towards helps fur­
nished by others has already been indicated. It is for the
student himself to guard against abusing their beneficent
assistance. Should he feel that all the work has been done
for him, and that lie has nothing to do for himself, so pal­
pable a misconception is strongly to be regretted and avoided.
Hut there can, perhaps, he no more effectual safe-guard
against this error than for the student to acquire very early
that' attitude towards the use of books, in the study of
literature and history, which has been aptly described as that
of “ the laboratory method.” (liven a topic for investiga­
tion ; given, also, the sources of information ; there are two
factors in the process. The third factor is the acquirement
of the method, which shall be of permanent service in all
the student’s subsequent dealings with books. IIow is this
method to be acquired? Uy practice.
“ The student in

R E L A T IO N OF R E A D IN G TO OOMI'OSITHtN.

93

chemistry,” says an accomplished modern teacher in history. 1
“ must handle and break test-tubes for himself, must burn
his own fingers, before he grasps the spirit of the science.”
lie who is to use books and libraries as effective tools in his
literary work, must handle the books themselves; learn their
varying values; acquire the art o f instinctively getting at the
essence of a book; familiarize himself with the respective
utility of the index, the table of contents, the title-page, the
preface, the foot-notes; become accustomed to penetrate
beyond compends and summaries, to the original sources of
information ; in short, come to make the books yield him all
that they are capable of yielding. The student with such a
conception of the use of books will be in no danger of look­
ing to some one else to do the work for him.
In our American conception o f college education, as gen­
erally held, a chief value of its work is considered to be the
groundwork which it lays for the student’s own successful
prosecution of studies in after life. Certainly there could be
no more appropriate and significant instance of this benefit,
than in the intelligent familiarity which the student thus
early acquires with the use of books and libraries.
III. Specimen o f ltefereiice Cists furnished l>y the
Public. Library, Providence, TI.I.
Milton's Services to the English Commonwealth.

far the most comprehensive consideration o f this is to
be found in “ The Life of John Milton, Narrated in Connec­
tion with the Political, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History
o f Ilis Time.” by David Masson, —-particularly volumes 2-;>•
Successive volumes of Masson are reviewed in T h e N a t i o n ,
v. 3. p. 3Mf» ; v. 13, p. 1)1 ; v. 17, p. 1Go ; v. 2(1, p. 342 ; v.
By

31, p. If».
1 Professor Kmerton of Harvard College (“ Methods of Teaching
History,” j>. 104.)

REL AT IO N OF It JOA DIN*. I» > CO MPOSITION.

b4

See also Forster's " Statesmen oi' the ( 'ommonweal! h.”
Also

Milton."

11v Mark

i’nttison

( ■■ Faigiish Men of

1a*) ! ere " ) .
S^SSSSS
fr
gpi1— aH
w
i

A l s o “ M i l t o n , ” 1>v S t o p f o rd A .

i’m oke.

See iilso '¡'¡line's •• History of Kuglisti 1,¡teniture,” voi. 2 .

«I ' i
fiM l i

I'U
TTtiTPiwrijW
ir^viigiKiistH
iTOdrUux ; u
J.J
■

-

--, ,
gim

|--.i
■:

IliilSISIPiiilfrS ni

a ;Ii{j
;
--------------------- ET.i -lif.yjya
salii.

Clarendon's ■■ History oi'tin* Kclndlion."
Ranke’s “ History o f England in the Seventeenth ( 'entnrv,”
I lallam’s “ CoMs'diiUoual Ilisiory oi England."
See also the ' ' Essays oi Ahrahant C on lev ( p. RìO—I * t );
¡liso Cowley’s “ Discourse Concerning Cromwell ” ; also the
“ Conversation Between Cowlev ami Milton. Touching the
(I real Civil W a r,” by Lord Mucuiiibiy (in Macaulay*.^ “ ICsuy.v
v. 1) ; also Macaulay's essav on Milton ' ( in his •• Kssavs.
V. 1).
See also “ Oliver Cromwell's 1.etters and Specchi ‘a," editi
by Thoiims Carlyle,
A lso (fiiizot’ R “ Oliver { ‘rnmwcll. f *
A recent, very intelligent treat meni, is {‘o mni in k■The Fa
l'lie First T w o Stuarts
diner.
See also Mr. Gardiner's
he series, “ Fpiorhs of
and the Puritan Revolution’ ’ ( ii
History " ) ,
a l s o his ‘ ■ 1 )e] vat es. on
A lso Forster's “ Sir John Flint
tlm (¡rand Rcnionstrnnee ” : also I ‘ • ! i ist ones i ami p.jnglaphical Essays.’ ’
See also Godwin’s
History of the Commonwealth."
Neal’ s “ History o f the Puritans.”
There is an essay on the “ Character and Writings o f Miltoil,” in the “ W o r k s ” o f William Ellery Clmnning.
There is a very suggestive essay hv .lohn Roheit Seeley,
on “ The Polities and Poetry o f M ilton ” (in his volume,
“ Roman imperialism, ami oUier Essays }.
T w o o f Milton’s most noteworthy political writings ( “ Eikonoklastes,” and *• The Defence o f the People o f England,”
are in his “ Prose Murks, v. 1.

»•SÊfi

¡NI) EX .

I
Emotions of the speaker. It).

1
ì
I
1

Agreement, Method of, 32.
Analogy, XX.
Argumentative
composition
fined, 21.

I

Arguments from example, XI.
Arguments from testimony, 2H.
Arguments, Use of, Xt>.
Arrangement of arguments, .'•<>.

Explanatory methods, 15.
Explication, is.

Attributes, 11.
Attributes, Khetorieal use of, 15.
A udieltee, T111 i>• V., P.

Fairness, XX.
Feelings of an a udie-ece, } 1.

v>

i
a
Ì

de­

<’alrulation. I .aw of, 20.
('bailees. Calculation of, 20.
Clearness,
Classi lira I ion of at t ri lui tes, lì.

I
i
3

i

Comparison, lit.
( '.onelusion, 11.
<'oneiiisii.il. Argumentative. Xs.
Conclusion, 1'ersua.sive. 44.
ConeonIitant variai ions,
Meliniti
t’ umiliai ive argument, XO.

i
3

Essay defined, Note 1, 5.
Examples di-I iiiguisln-d, XX.
Explanatory com posit ion defined, IX.

Exposition, 15.

Ceneral subjects to h<* narrowed to
themes, 47.
Iml net ion, X1.
Inductive arguments elassilu-d, 27.
Inductive methods. X‘J .
Influence of t he will, ¿1».
IIII roduet i. >11 . 11.
Introduction and eonelus'mn, Argu­
mentative, xs.
M'ihods of arguni'-ntat ion. 21.
MissCobbes comparison, 7 0 .

Debate des.-ribe,]. No(o 1. 5.
Narration aiel description, 17.

-a

J>ed lieti ve argument classi tin l, 2* ».
Definition, 14.

I

Description and narration. 17.
I Mficrenee, Method of, X2.
Directions for reading. Note 2. 5.

( Invasion, Kulc IV., P.
<ip]>osition. 11.
<»ration described. Note 1. X.

I

Discourse, X.
Discussion, 10.

a
if

;î
ii-

Disputation described. Note 1, 5.
DD(| U Ci ! ion described. Note 1, X.
Dissertation described. Note 1,5.
Distinction between terms S> i, /,, ,•
and Art, Note 2, 5.

Persuasive composition defined. XP.
Persuasive introduction and eonelusion,
P'-rsnasi ve orate try. 42.
Persuasion an appeal 1«» the prin­
ciples of human action, 40.

96

IN DEX.

Plan of theme, Rule II., 0.
| Scientific, induction and deduction,
25.
Plan of an argumentative discus­
sion, .'17.
Selection and arrangement of ma­
terials, 20.
Plans of themes in argumentation,
78
Sign arguments subdivided, 2H.
Plans of themes in narration and
Sincerity, 40.
description, 70.
Specimen of reference lists, 03.
Plans of themes in comparison, 75.
Style and comimsition, 5.
Plans of themes in partial exposi­
Sympathy, 41.
tion, OH.
Tabular forms of themes, 7, 8.
Plans of themes in explication, 73.
Testimony and authority, 28.
Plan of theme in persuasion, 4.3.
Themes in description and narra­
Plan of themes in persuasion, HO.
tion, 17.
Positive arguments, 20.
Themes in argumentation (L ist),02.
Principles of action, 30.
Themes in narration and descrip­
Probable arguments, 27.
tion (List), 51.
Proposition, 10.
Themes in comparison (List), 50.
Themes in explication (List), 54.
Refutation, ¿5.
Themes in partial exposition (List),
Relation of reading to composition,
47.
82.
Themes in exposition, 10.
Relation of rhetoric to grammar. 4.
Themes in persuasion (List), <»5.
Relation of rhetoric, to ethics and to
Thesis defined, Note 1, 5.
aesthetics, 4.
Two method•<contrasted, 20.
Relation of rhetoric to mental sci­
Use of motives, 42.
ence, it.
Unity of theme, Rule I., 0.
Relation of rhetoric to logic, 4.

.

Repression, 40.
Residues, Method of, 33.
Rhetorical deduction and induction,

22.
Rhetoric defined, 3.

Value of analogy, 34.
Variations concomitant, Methods
of, 33.
Writer’s capability, Rule III., 0.

H IG H E R

ENGLISH.

The Practical Elements of Rhetoric.
By J ohn F. G knuno , Ph.I)., Professor of Rhetoric in Amherst (College.
lihno. Cloth, xiv + 48J pages. Mailing price, $1.40; for intro«I., !?1.2T>.

rjMIE treatment is characterized l>y good sense, simplicity, origi­
nality, availability, completeness and ample illustration.
It is throughout constructive and the student is regarded at
every step as endeavoring to make literature. All of the literary
forms have been given something of the fulness hitherto accorded
only to argument and oratory. No important principle has been
presented without illustrations drawn from the usage of the best
authorities.
Oenung’s Rhetoric, though a work on a trite subject, has aroused
general enthusiasm by its freshness and practical worth. Among
the many leading institutions that have introduced it are Welles­
ley, Smith, Vassar Colleges ; Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt.,
Northwestern Universities ; and the Universities of Virginia,
North Carolina, Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas, Michigan.
C. F. Richardson, Prof, o f English,
Literature, hart mouth College, and
author of a History o f American
Literature : I find it excellent both
in plan and execution.
Miss M. A. Jordan, Prof, o f Rhet­
oric, Smith College, Northampton,
Mass, : The critic is conscious of a
feeling of surprise as he misses the
orthodox dulness. The analysis of
topics is clear, the illustrations arc
pertinent and of value in themselves,
the rules are concise and portable.

T. W. Hunt, Prof, o f Eng. Litera­
ture, Princeton College, Princeton,
N. J .: It impresses me as a philo­
sophic and useful manual. I like
especially its literary spirit.
W. H. Magruder, Prof .o f English,
Agricult unit and Mechanical C o lle g e
o f Mississippi: For clearness of
thought, lucidity of expression, apt­
ness of illustration, — in short, for
real teaching power, — I have never
seen this work equalled.

A Handbook o f Rhetorical Analysis.
Studies in Style ami Invention, designed to accompany the author’s
Practical Klcmerits o f Rhetoric. liy J ohn F. (I knuno. Ph.D., Fnv
feasor of Rhetoric, in Amherst College. 1‘Jmo. Cloth, xii + •"•<>*» pages.
Mailing Price, $1.2T>; Introduction and Teachers’ Price,

rpiIIS handbook follows the general plan of the larger text-book,
being designed to alternate with that from time to time, as
different stages of the subject are reached.
J. H. Gilmore, Prof. o f Rhetoric, \ C. L. Ehrenfeld, Prof. English,
University o f Rochester, X .Y .: This | Wittenberg College, Springfield,
strikes me as a very significant at- Ohio: Its actual use in class work
tempt, to open a road that college has continued my former favorable
students especially need to travel.
I judgment of it.

HIG HKIt ENGLISH.

9

Outlines of Rhetoric.
Embodied in Rules, Illustrative Examples, and a Progressive Course of
Prose Composition. Ry *Ioiin l'\ (Jknuno, Professor of Rhetoric In
Amherst College, llimo. ( ’ loth, viii -f- 331 pages. Mailing price,
$1.10; for introduction, $1.00.

{ i KNllNii’S Outlines is in no sense a condensation or adaptation
of the author’s 44Practical Elements of Rhetoric,” hut an
entirely new hook prepared for a different field after a long and
careful study of its ]>eouliar needs. The hook is designed for use
in high schools, academies, and seminaries, and for elementary
courses in colleges.
Great care has been devoted in the “ Outlines ” to giving the
principles in such plain and simple language that the pupil will
not fail to understand; and such is its clearness that even begin­
ners will find many of the deeper principles of expression, «as well
as the simpler, both lucid and interesting.
From beginning to end the principles of rhetoric are condensed
into brief, well-worded rules, such as can be easily carried in the
memory. This, a unique feature of the present hook, will enable
the student to carry the whole science of rhetoric in very small
and very usable compass.
Reginning with sentences to he corrected, compositions to lx*
rewritten, problems to he worked out, it goes on by degrees to
work that is more originative, all needed directions being given
by means of notes and references, until by the time the student
has gone through the hook he has exemplified all the great
processes of composition, from choice of words up to the planning
and working out of complete essays of his own.
In every pari the endeavor is made to develop and foster that
contriving, originative spirit which every young j>ersou has in
doing what interests him, and which every writer must have
in order to bring anything to pass.
All the parts of the hook are so «arranged as to he easily found
and consulted ; and the Appendix contains, arranged in alpha­
betical order, a large body of words and phrases that a writer
ought to heed if he would conform his work to good usage.

H I G H E R - ¡ Í / 1G L I 8H .

11

Minto’s Manual of English Prose Literature.
Designed mainly to show characteristics of style, lly W il l ia m Min to ,
M.A., Professor of Logje and English Literature in the University of
Aberdeen, Scotland. 12mo. Clotn. 5M pages. Mailing price, 31.06;
for introduction, 3 1 .50.

rpiIE main design is to assist in directing students in English
composition to the merits and defects of the principal writers
of prose, enabling them, in some degree at least, to acquire the one
and avoid the other. The Introduction analyzes style: elements
of style, qualities of style, kinds of composition. Part First gives
exhaustive analyses of De Quincey, Macaulay, and Carlyle. These
serve as a key to all the other authors treated. Part Second takes
up the prose authors in historical order, from the fourteenth cen­
tury up to the early part of the nineteenth.
Hiram Corson, Prof. English Lit­
erature, Cornell University : With­
out going outside of this book, an ear­
nest student could get a knowledge
of English prose styles, based on the
soundest principles of criticism, such
as he could not get in any twenty
volumes which I know of.
Katherine Lee Bates, Prof, o f
English, Wellesley College: It is of
sterling value.
John M. Ellis, Prof, o f English
Literature, Oberlin College : I am
using it for reference with great in-

terest. The criticisms and comments
on authors are admirable— the best,
on the whole, that I have met with
in any text-hook.
J. Scott Clark. P rof, o f Rhetoric,
Syracuse University: We have now
given Minto’s English Prose a good
trial, and I am so much pleased that
I want some more of the same.
A. W. Long. Wofford College, Spar­
tanburg, S .C .: I have used Minto’s
English Poets and English Prose the
past, year, and am greatly pleased
with the results.

Minto’s Characteristics of the English Poets,
from Chaucer to Shirley.
By W illiam M into , M.A., Professor of I/igic and English Literature
in the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. 12mo. Cloth, xi + 382 pages.
Mailing price, $1.65; for introduction, $1.50.

College Requirements in English.
Entrance Examinations.
By Rev. A rthur W entworth E aton , B.A., Instructor in English in
the Cutler School, New York. 12mo. Cloth. 74 pages. Mailing
price, DO cents; to teachers, 80 cents.

HIGHER EN G LISH .

Selections in English Prose from Elizabeth to
Victoria.

1580-1880.

By J ames M. G a r n e t t , Professor of the English Language and Liter­
ature in the University of Virginia. 12nio. Cloth, ix-f-701 pages.
By mail,
for introduction, §1.50.

rjMIE «elections ¡ire accompanied by sucli explanatory notes as
have been deemed necessary, and will average some twenty
pages each. The object is to provide students with the texts
themselves of the most prominent writers of English prose for
the past three hundred years, in selections of sufficient length to
be characteristic of the author, and, when possible, they are com­
plete works or sect ions of works.
H. N. Ogden, West Virginia Uni­
F. B. Gummere, Prof, o f English,
versity : The book fulfills my expec­ Jluverforil College: I like the plan,
tations in every respect, and will the selections, and the making of the
become an indispensable help in the book.
work of our senior English class.

Macaulay's Essay on Milton.
Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by H e r b e r t A. S m i t h , Instructor
in English in Yale University. 12mo. Paper.
pages. Mailing
price,
cents; for introduction,
cents.

CONVENIENT and well-edited edition of Macaulay’s masterly
essay on Milfon. The introduction and notes are esj>ecially
valuable to students.

DeFoe’s History o f the Plague In London.
Journal of the Plague Year.
Edited by B yron S. H urlku t , Instructor in English in Harvard
University. l'Jmo. Cloth.
pages. Mailing price,
cents; for
introduction,
cents.

rpilE book is intended to meet the requirements of students pre­
paring to take the college entrance examinations, and to
supply a convenient edition for general use.

Biography.

Phillips Exeter Lectures.

By Rev. P hill ips B rook s , T).D. 12mo.
price, 12 cents; for introduction, 10 cents.

Paper,

.‘to pages.

Mailing

H IG H E R EN G LISH .

The Art o f Poetry :
The Poetical Treatises of Horace. Vida, and Boileau, with the trans­
lations by Howes, Pitt, and Soame.
Edited by A l b e r t S. Cook , Professor of the English Language and
Literature in Vale University. 1*2mo. Cloth, lviii -* .105 pages. Mailing
price, $1.25; for introduction, S I.12.
Bliss Perry, Prof, o f English,
Princeton College : The fullness and
accuracy of the references in the
notes is a testimony to his patience

as well as his scholarship. . . .
I
wish to express my admiration of
such faithful and competent editing.

She!ley’s Defense of Poetry.
Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by A lbert S. Cook , Professor of
English in Yale University. 12mo. Cloth, xxvi
HO pages. Price
by mail, 00 cents; for introduction, 50 cents.
John If. Genung, Prof, o f Rhetoric,
Amherst College: By his excellent
editions of these three works, Pro­
fessor Cook is doing invaluable
service for the study of poetry. The
works themselves, written by men
who were masters alike of poetry
and prose, are standard as litera­

ture; and in the introduction and
notes, which evince in every part the
thorough and sympathetic scholar,
as also in the beautiful form given
to the books by the printer and
binder, the student has all the help
to the reading of them that he can
desire.

Cardinal Newman’s Essay on Poetry.
With reference to Aristotle’s Poetics. Edited, with Introduction and
Notes, by A l b e r t tS. C o o k , Professor of English in Yale University.
8vo. Limp cloth, x ■+•50 pages. Mailing price, .'15 cents; for intro­
duction, 50 cents.

Addison's Criticism s on Paradise Lost.
Edited by A l b e r t S. C o o k , Professor of the English Language and
Literature in Yale University. P2mo. Cloth, xxvi-f - 200 pages.
Mailing price, $1.10; for introduction, $1.00.
Y. D. Scudder, instructor in Eng­ he welcome as an addition to our
lish Literature, Wellesley College : It store of text-hooks.
seems to me admirably edited and to

“ What is P o e try ? ”

Leigh Hunt's Answer to

the Question, including Remarks on Versification.
Edited by A l b e r t S. C o o k , Professor of the English Language and
Literature in Yale University. 12mo. Cloth. KM pages. Mailing
price, 00 cents ; for introduction, 50 cents.
Bliss Perry, College o f New Jer­ prove to the teacher one of the most
sey, Princeton, N.J. : Professor useful volumes in the series it repre­
Cook’s beautiful little book will sents.

14

B IG H E t EN GLISH .

The Beginnings o f the English Rom in tit Monemeni.
A Study in Eighteenth Ceil urv Literature.
By W illia m L yon
P h e l p s , I’ h.I)., Instructor ii English Literature, Yale. University.
Limo. Cloth. viii-t-li*2 pagi . Mailing price, $1.10; for introduc­
tion, $1.00.

rjM IIS book is a study o f li ' germ s o f English Romanticism
between 1725 and 1705.
V o other work in this field has
ever been published, hence 1lie rt s*iHs givun here are all the fruit
o f first-hand investigation.

The. b x d r discusses, with abundant

references and illustrations, the various causes that brought about
th e transition o f taste from Classicism to R om a n ticism — such as
the SjMMiserian revival, the influence o f M ilton ’s m inor poetry, tho
love o f mediaeval life, the revival o f ballad literature, the study of
N orthern m yth ology, etc.

It is believed that this book is a con­

trib u tion to our know ledge of English literary h isto ry ; and it
w ill be especially valuable to advanced classes o f students who
are interested in the developm ent o f literature.
Archibald MacMechan, Professor j K'nr/lish, Harvard University: Alt
o f K/if/lish, Dalhousiv. Colleyr, Ilal- : along I have thought it among the
i f ax, X . S .; It is a valuable cunt ri- most scholarly and suggestive books
lmtion to the. history of English ! «>f literary history. . . .
It is cerliterature in the eighteenth century, j tainlv based on an amount of origB arrett Wendell, Professor of |inal study by no means usual.

Studies in the Evolution o f English Criticism.
By L a UKA J o h n s o n W ylik , Graduate Student of English in Yale
University. 1-m o . Cloth.
pages. Mailing price, $
for introduction, $
rjM IE critical principles o f Drvden and C oleridge, and the con­
dition s on w hich the evolution o f

their opposite theories

depended, arc the subjects chiefly discussed in this book.

The

classical spirit is first traced from its b egin nin gs in the sixteenth
cen tu ry to its adequate expression b y D ry d e n ; the preparation
for a m ore philosophic criticism is then sought in the widening
sym path y and know ledge o f the eighteenth century ; and, finally,
C olerid ge's criticism is considered as representing the reaction
against the philosophy o f the preceding school.

HIGHKlt ENGLISH.

A Primer o f English Verse.
By H i r a m C o r s o n , Professor of English Literature in Cornel] Univer­
sity. 12nio. Cloth. iv + 232 pages. By mail, $1.10; for introduction,

$1.00.

rjMIE leading purpose of this volume is to introduce the student.
to tlie lesthetie and organic character of English Verse — to
cultivate his susceptibility to verse as an inseparable part of poetic
expression. To this end, the various effects provided for by the
poet, either consciously or unconsciously on his part, are given for
the student to practice upon, until those effects come out dist inctly
to his feelings.
J. H. Gilmore, Prof, o f English,
University of Rochester: It gives a
thoroughly adequate discussion of
the principal forms of English verse.
The University Magazine, New
York: Professor Corson has given
us a most interesting and thorough
treatise on the characteristics and

uses of English metres. He dis­
cusses the force and effects of vari­
ous metres, giving examples of usage
from various poets. The hook will
be of great use to both the critical
student and to those who recognize
that poetry, like music, is constructed
on scientific and precise principles.

Analytics of Literature.
A Manual for the Objective Study of English Prose and Poetry. By
L. A. S u k r m a n , Professor of English Literature in the University of
Nebraska. P2mo. Cloth, xx + 4UH pages. Mailing price, $1.40; for
i ntrod action, $ 1.25.

rjMIIS hook was written to embody a new system of teaching
literature that lias been tried with great success. Tin* chief
features of the system are the recognition o f elements, and insuring
an experience o f each, on the part of the learner, according to the
laboratory plan. The principal stages in the evolution of form
in literature are made especial subjects of study.
Edwin M. Hopkins, Instructor o f
English, University of Kansas: I
am delighted with the fruitful and
suggestive way in which he has
treated the subject.
Bliss Perry, College o f New Jer­
sey, Princeton, N.J. : 1 have found

it an extremely suggestive hook. . .
It has a great deal of originality and
earnestness.
Daniel J. Dorchester, Jr., Prof, of
Rhetoric and English Literature,
Poston University: Ii is a very use­
ful book. I shall recommend it.

H IG H E R

E N G L IS H .

ATHENJEUM PRESS SERIES.

'

ISSIJKO UMUCK T i lK G E N E R A L EMTORM I11* OK
P rofessor G eorge Lyman K ittrkihsk, o f J/urvurd University,
ANI >

P rofessor C. T . W inchester , o f Wesleyan University.

|T is proposed to issue a series of carefully edited works in
English Literature, under the above title. 'Phis series is in­
tended primarily for use in colleges and higher schools ; hut it
will furnish also to the general reader a library of the best things
in English letters in editions at once popular and scholarly. The
works selected will represent, with some degree of completeness,
the course of English Literature from Chaucer to our own times.
The volumes will be moderate in price, vet attractive in apj»earance, and as nearly as possible uniform in size and style. Each
volume will contain, in addition to an unabridged and critically
accurate text, an Introduction and a body of Notes. The amount
and nature of the annotation will, of course, vary with the age
and character of the work edited. The notes will be full enough
to explain every difficulty of language, allusion, or interpretation*
Full glossaries will be furnished when necessary.
The introductions are meant to he a distinctive feature of the
series. Each introduction will give a brief biographical sketch of
the author edited, and a somewhat extended study of his genius,
his relation to his age, and his ¡»osition in English literary history.
'I'he introductory matter will usually include a bibliography of
the author or the work in hand, as well as a select list of critical
and biographical hooks and articles. S ee also Announcem ents.

Sidney's Defense of Poesy.
Edited with an Introduction and Notes by A lbert S. Cook, Professor
of English in Yale University. l ’Jmo. Cloth, xlv + lO.i pages. l»y
mail, IK) cents; for introduction, «so cents.

William Minto, Lute Prof, o f Lit­ in every sentence of the Introduction
erature, University of Aberdeen; It and Notes, and the paper of ques­
seems to me to he a very thorough tions is admirable a sa guide to the
and instructive piece of work. The thorough study of the .substance of
interests of the student are consulted i the essay.

HIGHKK ENGLISH.

17

Ben Jonson’s Timber: or Discoveries
Made upon Men and Matter, as they have Flowed out of his Daily
Readings, or had their Reflux to his Peculiar Notions of the Times.
Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by F elix E. S< ukllim ;. Profes­
sor in the University of Pennsylvania, llinio. ( ’ loth, xxxviii -f- 1(M>
pages. Mailing price, IK) cents ; for introduction, K() cents.

rpiIIS is the first attempt to edit a long-neglected English classic,
which needs only to he. better known to take its place among
the best examples of the height of Elizabethan prose. The intro­
duction and a copious body of notes have been framed with a
view to the intelligent understanding of an author whose wide
learning and wealth of allusion make him the fittest exponent of
the scholarship as well as the literary style and feeling of his age.
Edward Dowden, Prof, o f English,
Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland : It
is a matter for rejoicing that so valu­
able and interesting a piece of liter­

ature as this prose work of Jonson
should be made easily accessible, and
should have all the advantages of
scholarly editing.

Selections from the Essays o f Francis Jeffrey.
Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by L ew is E. G a t e s , Instructor in
English in Harvard University. 12mo. Cloth, xlv -f- 21.i pages. By
mail, $1.00; for introduction, IX) cents.

qMiE selections are chosen to illustrate the qualities of Jeffrey’s
style and his range and methods as a literary critic. The
introduction gives a brief sketch of the history of Reviews in
England down to 1802 and suggests some of the more import­
ant changes in critical methods and in the relations between critic
and public which were brought about by the establishment of the
Edinburgh R e v iew .
This volume is especially valuable for classes
that are beginning the independent study of literary topics and
methods of criticism.
H. Humphrey Neill, Prof, o f Eng­
lish, Amherst College: It will sur­
prise many lay readers in English
literature to find that the writings of
one now counted a back number in
literature are so full of interest, and
even of modern spirit. The intro-

duction is well done. The third
section is especially valuable and
interesting to the readers of modern
periodicals; and the whole book
stands well beside the other contri­
butions to the study of literature
now issuing from your press.

II Ki l l E li

E N G L IS H .

Old English Ballads.
{Selected and edited, with Notes and Introduction, hy Professor F. B.
( j U M M K K K of llavcrford College. TJiuo. Cloth.
*
pages. By
mail,
cents; for introduction,
cents.

rjMIK aim has been to present the best of the traditional English
and Scottish ballads and also to make the collection repre­
sentative. The texts are printed with no “ improvements” what­
soever, and but few changes in arrangement. The (¡est of Robin
Hood is given entire, not only for its intrinsic merits, but to assist
in the study of epic development. The pieces have been arranged
by subject, but not divided into groups or classes. The glossary
will be found full, but simple. Philological details have been
given only when the explanation of the passage rendered them
necessary. The notes have been prepared according to the same
principle, — the elucidation of the text and the thought. The intro­
duction presents a tietailed study of popular poetry and the views
of its chief critics, with notes on metre, style, etc.

Selections from the Poetry and Prose o f Thomas
Gray.
Edited, with Introduction and Notes, b y W m . L y o n P h k l p s , Instructor
in English Literature at Vale College, llimo. ('loth.
pages.
By mail,
cents; for introduction,
cents.

r r ilis volume contains all of tin* poems of (¡ray that are of any
real interest and value, and the prose selections include the
Journal in the L akes entire, and extracts from his Letters of auto­
biographical and literary interest. The Introduction, besides
containing a Life of (¡ray, a Bibliography, etc., gives a summary
of his historical significance, with a critical review of his work.
A special feature will be an article on ( ¡ r a y s Knotrlcihje. o f N orse,
by Professor Kittredge of Harvard. The text is taken directly
from the original editions, and is printed entire with scrupulous
accuracy. The Notes on the Poems explain every doubtful or
obscure passage, all allusions to historical or literary matters, and
give the most important parallel passages with exact references.
The Notes on the Prose are very brief, and simply explanatory.
This volume of (¡Lay. besides being adapted for the general reader,
will l»e especially useful in schools and colleges.

\

i

