ENGLISH GRAMMAR
WITH CHAPTERS 01'

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{

COMPOSITION, VERSIFICATION, PARAPHRASING,
AND PUNCTUATION

BY

J. M. D.

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....,L_EIDHN,

M.A.

Pllonssoa op Tmt Tm:oaT,

HtSTORT, AND PaAc'1'tc11 oJ' EntJcATIOll
Ill TJIII Ul!UYJIB~ITY OJ' BT. ;4-1">BllW8, 8cOTLAIOI

BOSTON, U.S.A.,

D. C. HEATH

PUBLISHERS.

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llARVARD COLLEGE LI BRARY
BY EXCl1. NGE

\P R ~v 1940

PUBLISHER'S NOTICE.

present volume is the first part of the author's "English
Language - Its Grammar, History, and Literature." It comprises
the department of Grammar, under which are included Etymology,
Syntax, Analysis, Word Formation, and History, with a brief outline of Composition and of Prosody.
The second part includes the History of the English Language
and the History of English Literature. The two may be had
separately or bound together. Each constitutes a good one year's
course of Englis~ study. The first part is suited for high schools;
the second, for high schools and colleges.
The book, which is worthy of the wide reputation and ripe experience of the eminent author, is distinguished throughout by
clear, brief, and comprehensive statement and illustration. It
is especially suited for private students or for classes desiring to
make a brief and rapid review, and also for teachers who want
only a brief text as a basis for their own instruction.
_ THE

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Copyright, 188i,
BT D . C.

HEATH &

Co.

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PREFACE.

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Tme book provides sufficient matter for the four years
of study required, in England, of a pupil-teacher, and also
for the first year at his training college. An experienced
master will easily be able to guide his pupils .in the selection
of the proper parts for each year. The ten pages on the
Grammar of Verse ought to be reserved for the fifth year
of study.
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It is hoped that the book will also be useful in Colleges.
Ladies' Seminaries, High Schools, Academies, Preparatory
and Normal Schools, to candidates for teachers' examinations and Civil Service examinations, aud to all who wish
for any reason to review the leading facts of the English
Language and Literature.
Only the most salient features of the language have been
described, and minor details have been left for the teacher
to fill in. The utmost clearness and simplicity have been
the aim of the writer, and he has been obliged to sacrifice
many interesting details to this aim.
· The study of English Grammat\_is becoming every day
more and more historical - and necessarily so. T)lere are
scores of inflections, usages, construction~, idioms, "Which
cannot be truly or adequat.ely explained without a refere~c-=;. ~ ·:

.......

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vi

PREFACE.

to the past states of the language -

to tee time when it
was a synthetic or inflected language, like German or
Latin.
The Syntax of the language has been set forth in the
form of RULES. This was thought to be better for young
Jearners who require firm and clear dogmatic statements of
fact and duty. But the skilful teacher will slowly work up
to these rules · by the interesting process of induction, and
will-when it is possible-induce his pupil to draw the
general conclusions from the data given, and thus to make
rules for himself. Another convenience that will be found
by both teacher and pupil in this form of rules will be that
they can be compared with the rules of, or general statements about, a foreign language - such as Latin, French,
or German.
It is earnestly hoped that the slight sketches of e History of our Language and of its Literature may not only
enable the young student to pass his examinations with
success, but may also throw him into the attitude of mind
of Oliver Twist, and induce him to "ask for more."
The Index will be found useful in preparing the parts of
each subject; as all the separate paragraphs about the
same subject will be found there grouped together.
J.M. D. M.

CONTENTS.
PART L
PAGE
LA.NGUJ.GE

1

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ORTHO GRJ.PHY

5

ETTKOLOGY

8
9

NOUNS •

VERBS •

23
28
34

J.DVERBS

5 7'

PREPO SITIONS

58

CONJ UNCTIONS

60
60
61

PRONOUNS
ADJECTIVES

. -.

INtERJEcTIONS
WORDS A.."D THEIR FUNCTIONS

64

SYNTAX

()-!,

NOUN

64

NOKINATIVE CASE
OBJECTI VE CASE

67
68

DATIVE CASE

69

SSE SSIVE CAS E

71

J.DJECTIVE
PRONOUN

._

VERB

74
76
83
83

) J.DVEllB
•' PIUIPOSITION

84

CONJUNCTION

CJ.UT!ON8 IN THE ANALYSIS OF COKPLEX SENT E NCES

86
87
87
88
97
103
107

'r-HE KAPPING O UT OF COMPLEX

109

ilJ.LYBIS
BIXPLE llENTENCE
FORKS OF SENTENCES
PJ.RTS OF THE llENTENCE
1'0KilUTIVE OF ADDRESS
COMPLEX SENTENCE

SENTENCES

COMPOUND SENTENCE •

111

00-0RDINJ.TE SENTENCES

112

PJ.RENTllBTIOJ.L SENTENCES

115

wo,~D-BUILDING .A.ND DER!VJ.TION
• COMPOCKD lllOCN8

116

116

viii

CONTENTS.

WORD-BUILDING AND DERITATIOS -

Continued.

COMPOUND VERBS
COMPOUND ADVERBS

,

PREFIXES AND SU FFIXES
ENGLISH PREFIXES

,.

LATIN PREFIXES
GREEK PREFIXES
ENGLI SH SUFFIXES
LATIN AND FRENCH SUFFIXES

120
123
126
128
134
UI

GREEK SUFFIXES
WORD-BRANCHING

1'.A.&W

117
118
118
119

COMPOUND ADJECTIVES

143

•

ENGLISH ROOTS

144

LATIN ROOTS

147
152
154
158
161
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GREEK ROOTS •
WOJtDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OF PERSONS
WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OF PLACES
W011>8 DISGUISED JN FORM
WORDS THAT HAVE CHANGED IN MEANING

PART II.
COMPOSITION
PUNCTUATION
YIGURES OF SPEECH
PA.IU.PHIUS!S G
PROSODY
EXERCISES

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EX.UIINATION QUESTIONS

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187
189
192
194
207
243

HINTS ON CQMEOSITION.
1. Composition is the art of putting sentences together.
(i) Any one can make a sentence; but every one cannot make a !CD·
tence that is both clear and neat. "\Ve all speak and write sentences
every day ; but these sentences may be neat or they may be clumsythey may be pleasant to read, or they may be dull and heavy.
(ii) Sir Arthur Helps says: "A sentence should be powerful in it!!
substantives, choice and discreet in its adj ectiv es, nicely correct in its
· verbs ; not a word that coulcl be added, nor one which the most fastidious would ve~ture t o ·suppress; in order, lucid ; in sequence, logical;
in method, perspicuous."

2. The manner in which we put our sentences together is
called style. Thi.it style may be good or bad; feeble or vigorous;
clear or obscure. The whole purpose of style, and of studying
style, is to enable us to present our thoughts to others in a clear,
forcible, and yet graceful way.
"Style is but the order and the movement that we put into our
thoughts. If we bind them together closely, compactly, the •tyle becomes firm , nervous, concise. If they are left to follow each other
negligently, the style will be diffuse, slipshod, and insipid."-BUFFON.

3. Good composition is the result of three things : (i) clear
thinking; (ii) reading the best and most vigorous writers; imd
(iii) frequent practice in writing, along with careful polishing of
what we have written.
(i) We ought to read diligently in the best poets, historians, &nd
essayists,-to read over and over again what strikes us as finely or nobly
or powerfully expressed,-to get by heart the most striking passages in
a good author. This kind of study will give us a large stock of appropriate words and striking phrases ; and we shall never be at a loi8 for
the right words to expresa our own &eDSe.

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COMPOSITIO~,

PUNCTUATION, ETC.

Ben Jonson says : " For a man to write well, there &re required
three necessaries : let him read the best authors ; observe the best
speakers ; and have much exercise of his own style."

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(ii) "My mother forced me, by stea<ly daily toil, to learn long chapters
of t he Bible by heart ; as well as to read it every syllable through, aloud,
hard names and all, from Genesis to t he Apocalypse, about once a -year:
and to that discipline,-patient, accurate, and resolute,-! owe, not only
a knowledge of the book, but much of my general power of taking pains,
and the best part of my taste in litcmture. " - JOH:" RusKIN.
(iii) But, though much reading of the best books and a great deal of
p_ra.ctice iu composition a.re the only means to attain a good and vigorous
style, there are certain directions-both general and special-which may
be of use to the young student, when he is beginning.

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GENERA

DIR-EG!l'!GNS.

4- We must know the subject fully about which we are going
to write.
(i) If we are going to tell a story, we must know all the circumstances;
the t rain of events that led up to the result; the relations of the persona
in the story to each other ; what they said ; and the outcome of the
whole at the close. These considerations guide us to·

a short
skeleton of what you are going to write about.
(i) Archbishop Whately says: "The more briefl y this is done, so that
it does but exhibit clearly the heads of the composition, the better; because it is important ttJ.at the whole of it be placed before the eye and
mind in a small compass, and be taken in, as it were, at a glance ; and it
should be written, t herefor.e, uot in sente;.ces, but like a table of con tents.
Such an out line should not be allowed to fetter the writer, if, in the
course of the actual composit ion , he find any reason for deviating fro"!
his original pla.n,-it should serve merely as a. track to mark out a path
for him, not as a groove t o confine him."

(ii) Cobbett says: "Sit down to write what you have thought, and
n ot to think what you shall write."

5. Our sentencea must be written in good English.
Good English is simply the English of the best ;Hiters ; and we can
only learn what it is by reading the books of these writers. Good writel'I!

177

GENERAL DIRECTIONS.

of the present century are such authors as Charles Lamb, Jane Austen,
Scott, Coleridge, Landor, Macaulay, Thackeray, Dickens, Matthew
Arnold, Froude, Ruskin, and George Eliot.

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6. Our sentences must be written in pure English.
(i) This rule forbids the use of obsolete or old-fashioned words, such
as erst, peradventure, hight, beho/,dcn, vouchsafe, methinks, etc.
(ii) It forbids also the use of slang expr essions, such as awf ully, jolly ,
rot, bosh, smell a rat, see with h<df an eye, etc.
(iii) It forbids the employment of technical terms, unless these are
absolutely necessary to express our meaning ; and this is sure to be the
case in a paper treating on a scientific subject. But technical terms in
au ordinary piece of writing, such as quantitative, connotation, anent,
.
chromatic, are quite out of place.
(iv) In obedience to this rule, we ought also carefully to avoid the use
of foreign words and phrases. Affectation of all kinds is disgusting ;
and it both looks and is affected to use such words as confrere, raison
d' ~tre, amour propre, conge, etc.
(v) This recommendation also includes the Practical Rule : "When
an English -English (or 'Saxon ' ) and a Lat in-English word offer themselves, we had better choose the Saxon."
(v1) The following is from an article by Leigh Hunt: "In the Bible
there are no Latinisms ; and where is the life of our language to be
found in such perfection as in the translation of the Bible ? We will
11enture to affirm that n o one is master of the English language'who is not
well read in the Bible, and sensible of its peculiar excellences. It is the
pure well of English. The taste which the Bible forms iH not a taste
for big words, but a taste for the simp/,est expression or the cleare.t
medium of present ing ideas. Remarkable it is that most of the suUimities
in the Bible are conveyed in monosyllables. For example, 'Let there be
light : and there was light. ' Do these words wan t any life that Latin
coul<l lend them ? . . . The best styles are the freest from Latinisms ;
and it may be alm ost laid down as a rule that a good writer will never
ha Ye recourse to a Latin ism if a Saxon word will equally serve his pu rpose.
We cannot disptmsc with words of Latin derivation; but there should
be the plea of necessity for resorting to them, or we wrong our English. "
(vii) At the same time, it must not be forgotten that we very often
are compelled by necessity to use Latin words. Even Leigh Hunt , in
the above pa.qgage, has been obliged to do so while declaiming against it.
This is apparent from the number of words printed in italics, all of
which are derived from La.tin. This is most apparent in the phrase
equally 1erve hi.I pvrpou, which we could not now translate into " pure"
English.

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COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC.

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7. Our sentences must be written in accurate Engliah.
That is, the words used must be appropriate to the sense we
wish to convey. Accuracy is the virtue of using "the right
word in the right place."
(i) " The attempt wa.s found to be impracticable." Now, impracticable
means impossible of accomplishment. Any one may attempt anything;
carrying' it out is a different thing. The word used should have been
design or plan.

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(ii) "The veracity of the statement wa.s called in questien."

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(iii) Accurate English can only be attained by the careful study of the
different shades of meaning in words ; by the constant comparison of
synonyms. Hence we may Jay down the

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liilo_ _ __..
Praeti
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Rufo- II.-Make a collection of synonyms, and
compare the meanings of each couple (i) in a dictionary, and
(ii) in a sentence.
The following are a few, the distinctions between which are
very apparent : -

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f':l!
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F orbear.
Diligent.
Conscious.
Reputation.
Event.

Custom
Delay
Difficulty
Strong
Think

Habit.
Defer.
Obstacle.
Powerful
Believe.

8. Our sentences should be perfectly clear. That is, the
reader, if he is a person of ordinary common-sense, should not
be left for a moment in doubt as to our meaning.
(i) A Roman writer on •style says : "Care should be taken, not that
the reader may understand if he will, but that he shall understand
_whether he will or not."

i

(ii) Our sentences should be a.s clear a.s "mountain water flowing over
a rock. " They sh()uld "economise the reader's attention."

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Abstain
.Active
Awa.re
Chaf!'Cter
Circumstance

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Vera.city

is the attribute of a person ; not of a statement.

(iii} Clearness is gained by being simple, and by being brief.

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(iv) Simplicity teaches us to avoid (a ) too learned words, and (b)
roundabout ways of ment ioning persons and things.
(a ) We ought, for example, to preferAbuse
to Vituperation.
Neighbourhood to Vicinity.
Trustworthy
" Reliable.
Begin
Commence.
Commence " Initiate.
Welcome
" Reception.

GEK ERAL DIRECTIOKS.

l 19

(b ) We ought to a.void such stale and hackneyed phrases a.s the
"Swa.n of Avon " for Shakespeare ; the "Ba.rd of Florence " for
Dante; "the Great Lexicographer " for Dr J ohnson.

(v) Brevity enjoins upon us the need of expressing our meaning in a.s
few words a.s possible.
Opposed to brevity is verbosity, or wordiness.

P ope sa.ys-

"Words are like leaves; and, w11ere they mos t abound,
Much frui t o r sense beneath is rarely found ."

(vi) Dr Johnson says : " Tediousness is the most fa.ta.I of all faults."

9. Our sentences should be written in flowing English.
That iti, the rhythm of each sentence ought to be pleasant to
the car, if read aloud. This axiom giv~s rise to two rules:-

·---;

Ill-Write as you would speak!

(i) This, of course, points to an antecedent condition-that you must
be a good reader. Good reading a.loud is one of the chief conditions of
good writing. " Li,•ing speech," says a philosophi& writer, "is the corrective of all style."

Practic Rule IV.-After we h ave written our piece of composition, we should read it aloud either to ourselves or to some
one else.
Thus, and thus only, shall we be able to know whether each sentence
has an agreeable rhythm.

Practical Rttle-V.-" Never write about any matter you do
n ot well understand. If you clearly understand all about your
matter, you will never want thoughts; and thoughts instantly
become words." -COBBETT.
" Seek not for words ; seek only fact and thought,
And crowding in will come the words, unsought."-HO!U.CE.
"Know well your subject; and the words will go
To the pen's point, with steady, ceaseless flow."-PENTLAND.

10. Our sentences should be compact.
(i) That is, they ought not to be loose collections of words, but firm,
well -knit, nervous organisms.
(ii\ A sentence in which the complet.e sense is suspended till the cloee
Contrasted with it is the !DOiie sentence.

ia called a parted.

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180

COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION

ETC.

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(a) Loose Sentence.-Tbe Puritans looked down with contempt on
the rich and the eloquent, on nobles and priests.
(b) Period.-On the rich and the eloquent, on nobles and priests
th e Puritans looked down with contempt.

(iii) The following is a fine example of a loose sentence: "Notwith·
standing his having gone, in winter, to Moscow, where he fou nd the cold
excessive, and which confined him , without intermission, six weeks to
his room, we could not induce him to come home." This no more
makes a sentence than a few cartloads of bricks thrown loosely upon the
ground constitute a house.

EMPHASIS.
One object in style is to call the attention of the reader in a
forcible and yet agreeable way to the most important parts of
our .subject-in other word s, to give emphasis to what is
emphatic, and to n:ake what is striking and important strik e tho
eye and mind of the reader. This purpose may be attained in
many different ways ; but there are several easy devices that
will be found of use to us in our endeavour to give weight and
emphasis to what we write. These are:1. The ordinary grammatical order of the words in a sentence
may be varied ; and emphatic words may be thrown to the
beginning or to the end of the sentence. This is the device
!)f Inversion.
Thus we ha'l"e, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the
Lord." "Jesus I know, and P aul I know : but who are ye?" "Some
he imprisoned ; others he put to death." "Go he must !" "Do it he
shall ! " " They could take their rest, for they knew Lord Strafford
watched. Him they feared, him they t rusted, him they obeyed." "He
that tells a lie is not sensible how great a task he under takes ; for, tu
maintain one, he must invent twen ty more." In t he last sentence, the
phrase to -maintain one gains emphasis by being t hrown out of its
usual and natural position. But

Caution 1. -Do not go out of your way to invert. It has a
look of affectation. Do not say, for example, "True it is," or
"Of Milton it was always said," etc. And do not begin an
essay thus : " Of all the vices that disugure and degrade," etc.

EMPHASIS.

18 1

2. The Omission of Conjunctions gives force and emphasis.
Thus Hume writes: "He rushed a.midst them wi th his sword
drawn, threw them into confusion, pushed his advantage, and gained a
complete victory." We ma.y write: "You sa.y this ; I deny it."

3. The use of the Imperative Mood gives li veliness and
emphasis.
Thus we find the sentence: "Strip virtue of the awful authority
she derives from the general reverence of mankind, and you rob her of
half her majesty." Here &trip is equal to If you st,.ip; but is much
more forcible.

4. Emphasis is also gained by employing the Interrogative
Form.
(il Thus, to say "Who does not hope to live long!" is much more
forcible and lively than " All of us hope tu Jive long."
(ii) This is a well ·known form in a.11 impassioned speech. Thus, in
the Bible we find : "Your fathers, where are they ? And the prophets,
do they Jive for ever ? "

5. The device of Exclamation may also be employed to give
emphasis; but it cannot be frequ ently used, without danger of
falling into affectation.
Thus Shakespeare, instead of ma.king Hamlet say, "l\1an is a wonderful piece of work," etc.-which would be dull and flat-writes , "'Wbat
a piece of work is man ! " etc.

6. Emphasis may be gained by the use of th e device of
Periphrasis.
(i) Thus, instead of saying " J ohn built this house," or "This house
was built by John," we can say: "It was John who built this house;"
"It was no other than John who," etc.

7. Repetition is sometimes a powerful device for producing
emphasis; but, if too frequen tly employed, it becomes a tirelilOme mannerism.
(i) Macaulay is very fond of this device. He says : "Tacitus tells a
fine story finely, but he cannot tell a plain story plainly. H e stim u liite.;
till stimulants lose their power." Ag1<in: " He aspired to the highest
-above the people, above the authorities, above the laws, above his
country.".

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182

COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC.

(ii) Its effect in poetry is sometimes very fine:" By foreign hands t.hy dy ing eyes were closed;
Dy foreign hands thy decent limbs co111posed;
Dy fo reign han<l!J thy humble grave adorned;
By strangers honoured, au<l Ly strangers mourned. ..

8. The device of Suspense adds to the weight and emphasis
of a statement; it k eeps the attention of the rea<ler on the
stretch, because he feels the- sense .to be incomplete.
(i) The suspense in the following sentence gives a heightened idea of
the difficulty of travelling: "At last, with no small difficulty, and
after much fatigue, we came, through deep roads, storms of wind anJ
rain, and bad weather of all kinds, to our journey's end."
(ii) This device is frequent in poetry.
perion" in this way : -

Thus Keats opens his "Hy·

" Deep in the shady sadness of a vale,
Far ~u nk en fro m the healthy breath of morn,
Far from the fiery noon an<l eve's one starSat grey-haired Saturn, quiet as a atone...

Here the verb is kept to the last line.
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9. Antithesis always commands attention, and is therefore a
powerful mode of emphasising a statement. But antithesis is
not always at one's command; and it must not be strained after.
Macaulay employs this device with great effect. He has : "The
Puritans hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but
because it gave pleasure to the spectators." Swift was very fond of it.
Thus he says: "The two maxims of a great man at court are, always to
keep his countenance, and never to keep his word." Dr Johnson has
this sentence: "He was a learned man among lords, and a lord among
learned men." " He twice forsook his party; his principles never."

10. A very sharp, sudden, and unexpected antithesis is called
an Epigram.
(i) Thus Lord Bac~n, speaking of a certain procession in Rome, says that
"The statues of Brutus and Cassius were conspicuous by their absence."
Macaulay says of the dirt and splendour of the Russian Ambassadors:
"They came to the English Court dropping pearls and vermin."
(ii) The following are additional instances of truths put in a very
striking and epigrammatic way: "Verbosity is cured by a large vocabulary" (because when you have a large stock of words, you will be
able to choose the fittest). "\Ye ought to know something of every·
thing, and everything of something." " He was born of poor but dishonest parents." "When you have nothing to say, say it." "He

DISTINCTNESS OF STYLE.

18;)

had nothing to do, and he did it." " The bet ter is the enemy of the
good. " " One secret in education," says Herbert Spencer, " is to know
how wisely to lose time." " Make haste slowly. " "They did noth in;;
in part icular; and did it very well."
(iii) But no one shoul<l strain after such a style of writing.
attempt would only produce smartness, which is a fatal vice.

Such an

DISTINCTNESS OF STYLR
1. One great secret of a good and striking style is the art of
Specification.
Professor Bain gives us an excellent example of a vag ue and general, as opposed to a distinct and specific st yle :(a ) Vague. -" In proportion as the manners, customs , and amuse·
ments of a nation are cru el and barbarous, the regulation of t heir
penal codes will be sernre."
(b ) Speciftc.-" According as men delight in battlC", bull -fights, and
combats of gladiators, so will they punish by hanging, burning,
and crucifying. "

2. Specification or distinctness of style may be attained in
two ways : (i) by the use of concrete terms; and (ii) by the
use of detail.
3. A concrete or particular term strikes br-t b the feelings
and imagination with greater force than an abstract or general
term can do.
(i) Let us make a few contrasts : A BSTRACT.

Quadruped.
Building materials.
Old age.
Warlike weapons.
Rich and poor.
A miserable state.
"I have neither the nece&\&ries
of life, nor the means of procuring them ."

CoNCRETJ:.

Horse.
Bricks an<l mortar.
Grey hairs.
Sword and gun.
The palace and the cott.>\gr..
Age, ache, and penury.
" I have not a crust of bread,
nor a penny to buy one."

(ii) Campbell says : " The more general the terms are, the picture is
the fainter ; the more special, the brighter." " They sank like lead. in
the mighty wateni " is more forcible than "they sank like metal."

184

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COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION', ETC.

4. Details enable the reader to form in his mind a vivid picture of the event narrated or the person described; and, before
beginning to write, we ought always to draw up a list of such
details as are both striking and appropriate - such details as
ten<.l. to throw in to stronger relief the chief person or event.
The following is a., good example from the eloquent writer and
profound thinker Edmund Burke. He is speaking of the phila.nthro·
pist Howard:u He has vis iterl a.11 Europe to dive into tl1e depths of dungeons; to plunge
into the infectio ns of hosprtals : to survey the mausionR of sorrow and pain;
to take the gauge and dimensions of misery, depression, and contempt ; to
remember the forgot ten, to attend to the neglected, to Yisit the forsaken, and

to compare and collate the diltresses of all wen in all countrios."

GENERAL CAUTIONS.
1. A void the use of threadbare and hackneyed exprc-ssions.
Leave them to people who are in a hurry, or to penny-a-liners.
!~ STEAD 0 11'

At the expiration of four years.
Paternal sentiments.
Exceedingly opulent.
Incur the danger.
Accepted signification.
Extreme felicity.
A santlUina.ry engagement.
In the affirmative.

W RITS

At the end, etc.
The feelings of a father.
Very rich.
Run the risk.
Usual meaning.
Great happiness.
A bloody battle.
Yes.

2. Be very careful in the management of pronouns.
(i) Cobbett says: ":-<ever put an it upon paper without thinking
well what you are about. When I see many it's in. a page, I always
tremble for the writer." See also 2 Kings, xix. 35: "And when they
arose early in the morning, behold they were, all dead cor pses. "
(ii ) Bolingbr oke has the sentence: " They were persons of very moder·
o.te intellects, even before thej were impaired by their passions." The
last they ought to be theu.
.
(iii) The sentence, " He said to his patient that if he did not feel
better in half an hour, he thought he had better return," is a clumsy
sentence, but clear enough ; because we can ea..sily aee that it is the
patient that is to take the ad vice.

...-..

,,

t

I

SPECIAL CAUTIONS.

3. Re careful not to use mixed metaphors.
(i) The following is a fearful example: "This is the arrow of conviction, which, like a nail <lri,·en in a sure place, strikes its roots downwards
into the earth, and be:lrs fruit upwards."
(ii) Sir Boyle Roche, an I rish member, began a speech thus: "Mr
Speaker, I smell a r at, I see him floating in the air ; but, mark me,
I shall yet nip him in the bud." A similar statemen t is : " Lord. Kimberley said that in taking a very large b ite of the Turkish cherry t he
way had been paved for its partition at no distant day."

4. Be simple, quiet, manly, frank, anJ. straightforward
your style, as in your conduct. That is : Be yourself l

lil

SPECIAL CAUTIONS.
1. A void tautology.
Alison says: "It was founded mainly on the entire monopoly of
the who/,e trade with the colonies."
Here entir e and whole are tautological ; for rrwnopoly means entire possession, or posse8"ion of the whole.
"He appears to enjoy the universal esteem of all men." H ere universal
is s up erfluous.

2. Place the adverb as near the word it modifies as you
can.
"He n ot only found her employed, but also pleased and tranquiL"
The not onl,y belongs to employed, and should therefore go with it.

3. A void circumlocution .
. "Her Majesty, on reaching P erth, partook of breakfast." This
should be simply brea lja.stcd.
But the wh ole sentence should be recast
into : "On reaching Per th, the Queen breakfasted in the station."

4. Take care that your participles are attached io nouns, and
that they do not run loose.
"Alarmed at th e news, the boat was launched at once. "
Here
alarmed can, grammatically, agree with boat only.
The sentence
should be : "The men, alarmed at the news, launched their boat at
once.

5. Use a presen t parti ciple as seldom as possible.
(i ) "I have documents proving thia" is not so strong aa "to pron
thia."

CO:\IPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC.

186

(ii) "He dwelt a long time on the advantages of swift steamer11, thua
accounting for the increase," etc. The phrase "thus accounting" is very
loose. Every sentence ought to be neat, firm, and compact.

6. Remember that who= and he or for he; while that
introduces a merely adjectival clause.
"I heard it from the doctor, who told the gardener that-works-forthe-eollege." Here who=and he; and that introduces the adjectival
sentence.

7. Do not change the Subject of your Sentence.
(i) Another way of putting this is : "Preserve the unity of the
11entence ! "

(ii) "Archbi>hop Tillotson died in this year. He was exceedingly
beloved both by King William and Queen Mary, who nominated Dr
Tenison to succeed him." The last statement about nontinating another
bishop has no natural connection with what goes before.
(iii) " After we came to anchor, they put me on shore, where I wa.s
welcomed by all my friends, who received me with the greatest kindness." This sentence ought to be broltln into two. The first should
end with on shore; and the second begiJ" Here I was met and, etc."

8. See that who or which refers to its proper antecedent.
"Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a. yeoman,

to whom he left his second·best bed." Here the grammatical antecedent is yeoman; but the historical and sense-antecedent is certainly
daughter.

9. Do not use and which for which.
(i) "I bought him a very nice book as a present, and which cost me
ten shillings." The and is here worse than useless.
(ii) If another which has preceded, of course and which is right.

10. A void exaggerated or too strong language.
l! np1·ccedcntcd, 11tost ext;·aordinary, incalculable, boundless, extremely,
awfully, scandalous, stupendous, should not be used unless we know that
they are both true and appropriate.

11. Be careful not to mix up dependent with principal
sentences.
"He replied that he wished to help them, ancl intended to give
orders to hi• servants." Here it is doubtful whether ·intended is coordinate with replied or with wi3hcd. If the former is the case, theu
we ought to say M intended.

187

PUNCTUATION.

12. Be very careful about the right position of each phrase
or clause in your sentence.
'The following are curious examples il!. dislocations or misplacements : "A piano for sale by a lady about to cross the Ch&nnel in an
oak case with carved legs." "I beliern that,~n he died, Cardinal
Mezzofanti •poke at least fif ty languages."
He blew out hi.s brains
after bidding his wife good-bye with a gu·n~rected to the memory
of John Phillips, accidentally shot, as a mark of affection by hi
brother." "The Boa.rd has resolved to erect a building large enougi,
to accommodate 500 students three storeys high." "Mr Carlyle has
tall8ht us that silence is golden in thirty ·seven volumes."

I
t'
\

PUNCTUATION.

t

i. Certain signs, called points, are used in sentences to mark
off tneir different parts, and to show the relation of each part to
the organic whole.
(i) Putting in the right points is called punctuation, from the Latin
p;.w;tum, a point. From the same word come punctual, and punctuaJ,ity.

2. These points are the full stop, the colon, the semicolon,
the dash, and ~he comma.
3. The full stop (.) or period marks the close of a sentence.
4. The colon- (:) introduces (i) a new statement that may
be rl!garded as an after-thought; or (ii) it introduces a catalogue of things; or (iii) it introduces a formal speech.
.
.

.

(The word colon is Greek, and means limb or member.)
(i) "Study to acquire a habit of accurate expression : no study is
more important."
(ii) "Then follow excellent parables about fame : as that she gathereth
strength in going ; that she goeth upon the ground, and yet hideth her
head in the clouds ; that in the day-time she sitteth in a watch-tower,
and flieth ruost by night." -BACON.
(iii) "Mr Wilson rose and said: •Sir, I am sorry,' etc."

5. The semicolon is employed when, for reaHons of sound or
of sense, two or more simple sentences are thrown into one.
(Semicdon is Greek, and means half a colon.)

(i) "In the youth of a state, arms do flouriBh ; in the middle age of

