Southern Branch of the University of California Los Angeles F.irm L 1 coc>\ -' ^- \3 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below f^" ^^29 J. -J COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC BY PRACTICE, WITH EXERCISES, ADAPTED FOR USE IN HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. ^ BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS, B.A., Editor of Goldsmith's " Deserted Village," Cowper's " Task," etc. STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, Revised and Enlarged. BOSTON, U.S.A.: D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS, 1894. Copyright, 1890, Bt D. C. heath & CO. NotixiDotj ^rfss : J. S. Gushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith. Boston, Mass., U.S.A. PREFACE. This is, first of all, a practical book ; not that it excludes theory, but that it gives prominence to practice. If this were not the case, it need not have been written. There are already books enough that deal ably with the theoretical part of the subject, but there are none that combine with theory a sufficient amount of practice. As composition is both a science and an art, no system of teaching it can be successful that does not recognize both of these departments. Young people do not acquire facility and cor- rectness of expression merely by memorizing rules or by poring over methods of sentential structure. Repeated and varied expe- rience in the making of sentences is necessary as well. Still, the learning of principles is not to be neglected ; for, although it is not the whole, it is an essential part. How, then, can these two departments of the subject be most advantageously presented to the pupil? Every discerning teacher must have found that little theory and much practice is by far the most effective method of teaching composition. On this maxim this book is based ; and its purpose is to furnish the teacher with the means of carrying into effect the plan here indicated. It proceeds on the simple method of laying down a few principles at a time, and then illus- trating them with such number and variety of exercises that the pupil may fully master the practical application of these principles, and thereby learn not only to write, but to write correctly. January 21, 1891. iii CONTENTS. PAGE Introductory i The Sentence i Grammatical Classification ........ i Rhetorical Classification 1 1 Capitalization 20 Punctuation 23 Style 38 Diction 39 Purity, Rhetorical ......... 39 " Grammatical ........ 45 Propriety ........... 63 Precision ........... 68 Formation of Sentences . . . . . . . . .81 Clearness. .......... 81 Strength 106 Unity 127 Elegance . . . . . . . . . . -133 Construction of Paragraphs ........ 146 Variety of Expression 160 Transposition of Prose . . . . . . . . .160 " " Poetry 184 Figures of Speech 206 Qualities of Style 234 Perspicuity 234 Picturesqueness 237 Force ....,„ 245 V VI CONTENTS Pathos The Ludicrous The ^^sthetic . Letters The Plan . A Paragraph . A Theme Kinds of Discourse Narration Description Exposition Argumentation Persuasion Poetry Versification Correcting Compositions Proof-Reading and Marking PAGE 247 263 270 278 284 284 290 295 298 300 304 311 322 323 Composition and Rhetoric BY PRACTICE. INTRODUCTORY. The art of finding thoughts and of giving them suitable expres- sion is Composition. The science that discusses the principles which guide us in composition is Rhetoric. In practice Composition and Rhetoric are inseparably connected. Composition has two distinct parts : the one deals with thoughts, the other with forms of expression. The former is usually called Invention; the latter, Style. LESSON I. THE SENTENCE. — GRAMMATICAL CLASSIFICATION. Kinds of Sentences. — Sentences are classified, according to t^heir form, into Simple, Complex, and Compound. Simple Sentences. The Simple Sentence. — The essential parts of the simple sentence are the subject and predicate. In the most elementary form neither of these has any qualification ; as, " Time flies." 2 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. Qualifiers. — The subject and predicate may each have a vast variety of modifications. I. The subject is always a substantive — that is, a noun, or pronoun, or an adjective, adverb, infinitive, or other part of speech — used as a noun. 1. The subject, when a noun or pronoun, may be modified by:- (i) An adjective or an adjective phrase, used either attri- butively or appositively ; as, — a. The good citizens, /earifig a revolt, fled. b. The days of mail's life are few. c. His father'' s estate was sold. d. The husband, with his tvife and children, has departed. e. That new world, blessed with plenty, was ray hope. f. The desire to please was too strong. (2) A noun in apposition; as, "There, too, sat she, the beautiful mother of a beautiful race, the Saint Cecilia." 2. When the subject is a verbal, simple, or phrasal, it may have the modifiers of a verb, as well as some of those of a substantive ; as, — a. To buy {^or buying) and sell {or selling) goods for cash is a safe business. . . b. To be sad and gloomy all through life argues a mis- conception of its object. c. His running violently doivn the street had a fatal result. d. Being kept here week after week is a great annoyance. 3. When the subject is a word commonly used as an adjec- tive or as an adverb, it may have the modifiers of those parts of speech, as well as some of the modifiers of nouns ; as, " The very good of all ages are often ridi- culed." " This eternal now rang in his ears." The subject may consist of two or more nouns or pronouns, each with modifiers. THE SENTENCE. 3 II. The predicate may consist of: — 1. A single word. The simple verb of the predicate may be modified by:- a. An adverb or adverbial phrase ; as, " He turned quickly to the right." b. An indirect or adverbial objective ; as, " I gave him money " ; "He stayed a day.'' c. An absolute word or phrase ; as, " The work beifig finished, we repaired to our homes." d. An infinitive ; as, " He left the hall to obey his master's commands." 2. A verb and its object ; as, " They buiit a house.'' The object may be: (i) a noun or its equivalent; (2) an infinitive abbreviation for a noun clause ; as, " He felt his face flush." 3. A copula and its complement ; as, " He was rich." 4. An incomplete verb and its complement ; as, "The time seems long" ; "The irte. grows taller." The complement of 3 and 4 may be : — a. A substantival ; as, " That is the man " ; " This is he " ; " My duty is to die " ; " Seeing is believ- ing." b. An adjectival ; as, " They are young" ; " He stands firm" \ "The building is of wood" \ "They seem exhausted." c. An adverbial ; as, " The hat is here " ; " The work is all-of-a-piece " ; " He is here to stay " ; "The letter is to be written." 5. A verb completed by a factitive noun or adjective ; as. "They made him king"; "He was made kitig" ; "The pain drove him wild." All the objects or complements of 2, 3, 4, and 5, whether sub- stantival, adjectival, or adverbial, are themselves subject to modifi- cation, each according to its nature. 4 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. Position. — The various modifiers may sometimes occupy dif- ferent positions in a sentence. It is, however, a good general rule that words and phrases should be placed as near as possible to the words they qualify. EXERCISE I. Simple Sentences. 1. Enlarge the subjects and the predicates of each of the fol- lowing simple sentences in as many ways as you can : — (I) (2) (3) (a) Boys play. Girls sew. Man sees. (/^) Horses travel. Farmers plough. Birds fly. ('''3. When a word is omitted ; as, " To err is human ; to forgive, divine." " Alfred was brave, pious, and patriotic." It should be observed that the comma is inserted before the and connecting the last of the series. Sometimes when the parts are emphatic, the comma and the and are both inserted. 4. To separate the parts of a compound sentence, if they are simple in construction; as, "We can tolerate the first line, but the allusion to trees is unsatisfactory." If the parts are short and closely connected in sense, no comma is needed. 5. To set off inverted phrases and clauses standing at the beginning of a sentence ; as, " To obtain an education, he was willing to make sacrifices." The comma is often omitted in short sentences. 6. To separate adjectives qualifying the same noun, except when the second adjective and the noun form a complex idea, as in " His red right hand." 7. Before short direct quotations ; as, " The poet says, ' Be wise to-day.' " 8. Before the predicate when the subject is long, or when it has several qualifying words or phrases ; as, " Any one that refuses to earn an honest livelihood, is not an object of charity." 9. To set off negative expressions, used by way of contrast ; as, "The king, but not his councillors, was present." 10. Before a clause or phrase that is used loosely or apposi- tively ; as, " There was no remains of the clown about him, save and except the redness of his cheeks." THE COMMA. 2$ 11. Between a word and its repetition; as, "Sweet, sweet home." 12. Between the parts of a transposed name ; as, " Thompson, Henry S." 13. Before the explanatory or; as, "The skull, or cranium." 14. Between words or phrases that express contrast ; as, " Though deep, yet clear." 15. To divide figures ; as, 7,840,321. 16. To separate titles and degrees from proper names, also from each other; as, "John Campbell, M.A., Ph.D." EXERCISE X. Punctuation. Direction. — Insert commas in the proper places, and give your reason in each case. 1. What, then is your view of it? 2. Truth -like gold shines brighter by collision. 3. Nature's sweet restorer balmy sleep. 4. All classes high and low rich and poor have the same oppor- tunities. 5. To work is pleasant ; to ridejiealthful. 6. There being no remedy. he determined to endure his afflic- tion. 7. Practically indeed^ the religious question hardly existed there. 8. Spring returning, the swallows reappear. 9. Destiny which gives and takes away.,_transfers fame from one to another. 10. When fell the night, up sprung the breeze. 11. To gratify his wish, I was willing to do anything. 12. Our own heart, not others' opinions .forms our true honor. 13. It is an incessant act of creation ever advancing and ever developing. 14. No man unless he is an absolute beggar should expect to receive an education for nothing, any more than a loaf of bread. 26 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 15. Having frowned upon the abashed Bob ^ the old gentleman began to read the letter. 16. What lay there was if I saw aright a wingless bird. 17. Come back come back Horatius, 18. Volcanoes throw out melted rock, or lava~ ashes .sand and dust. 19. Sugar. also is found there as for example in the sugar-beet. 20. He could not only lead .but mould an army. 21. It is easy Mrs. Dial, for you, who have always as every one knows. set yourself above me to account for laziness. 22. The spirit. and not the letter of the law.should be followed. 23. He evinced astonishment at the eccentric^ not to say ex- traordinary .behavior of his companions. 24. Yeta poet^to be a poet^must do something more. 25. The poetjwhen he finds a truth not to his liking forth- with derides evades or perverts it. LESSON VII. The Semi-colon. The semi-colon is used : — I. To separate the members of a compound sentence less closely connected than those requiring a comma. This may occur : — a. In contrasts ; as, " Flattery brings friends ; truth brings foes." b. In enumerations, when the parts are particulars indicated, or preceded by a colon ; as, " The following articles were to be added to the free Hst : agricultural imple- ments ; bark for tanning purposes ; bath bricks ; bricks for building ; hay ; lime ; malt ; manufactures of iron and steel." THE SEMI-COLON. 2/ c. When the parts are short, independent sentences, but are written as a compound sentence to avoid abrupt- ness; as, "Caesar was dead; the soldiers were dis- persed ; all Rome was in confusion." 2. To separate such members of a sentence as are already sub- divided by commas ; as, " A man ought warily to begin changes, which once begun will continue ; but in matters that return not, he may be more magnificent." 3. When a sentence, complete in itself, is followed by a clause containing an inference, consequence, iteration, or enumeration ; as, *' Of what consequence are all the qualities of a doctrine, if that doctrine is not communicated ; and communicated it is not, if it be not understood." 4. Before as followed by an example. See illustrations in this Lesson. The Colon. The colon is used : — * 1. To indicate a greater break than that indicated by the semi- colon. For example, parts that have the semi-colon are separated by a colon. See (i. <^) above. 2. Before a sentence added as an explanation of a word or sen- tence ; as, " English Grammar : an exposition of the Principles and Usages of the English Language." 3. Before a direct quotation ; as, " Pope makes this remark : ' There never was any party in which the most ignorant were not the most violent.' " When the quotation is short, a comma is used instead of a colon. 4. A colon may be used instead of a semi-colon when the con- nective is omitted. 5. A full stop or a dash is now often used where a colon would formerly have been placed. See Bacon's Essays. 28 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. EXERCISE XI. Punctuation. Direction. — Insert commas, semi-colons, and colons where they are re- quired. State your reason in each case. 1. Economy is no disgrace it is better to live on a little than to outlive a great deal. 2. You have called yourself an atom in the universe you have said you are but an insect in the solar blaze is your present pride consistent with these professions. 3. Mr. Gladstone says " The older I grow the more confirmed I am in my faith in religion." 4. Our strongest sentiments are enveloped in obscurity modesty virtuous love sincere friendship have all their secrets which the world must not know. 5. The lake the bay the waterfall and then the spirit of them all. 6. Mercy is twice blessed it blesseth him that gives and him that takes. 7. Man counts his life by years the oak by centuries. 8. The artillery closes up the flanking fire from the gims opens upon the head of their column the column breaks the Duke seizes the moment and advances toward the ridge. 9. Provisions having failed the garrison was obliged to capitu- late one of the terms being departure with military honors. 10. While I write the bell rings I wonder if it tells the correct time strange is it not if it does. 11. You may swell every expense still more extravagantly accu- mulate every assistance you can beg or borrow traffic and barter with every prince that sends his subjects to the shambles of a foreign country your efforts are forever vain and impotent. 12. He always observed the metrical form which is of itself of the nature of poetry he also used the choicest of ordinary words for the expression of fact very often he did more. THE DASH. 29 13. Poetic truth is a misnomer it is a play upon words. 14. He had brought all but one and that one was very heavy had he had more time he could have brought it also. 15. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. 16. The outhne of the story was A slave determined to avenge his own wrongs by inflicting terror upon the town. 17. The first great lesson a young man should learn is that he knows nothing and the earlier and more thoroughly this lesson is learned the better. 18. Reading makes a full man conference a ready man and writing an exact man. 19. If the ship strikes upon Scylla it is dashed in pieces upon the rocks if upon Charybdis it is swallowed outright. 20. The proposed treaty suggested (i) that the duration of the treaty should be twenty-one years (2) that all the conditions of the old treaty of 1854 should be renewed. 21. For Addison three defences may be set up (i) his satire arouses no bitterness (2) it is never personal (3) it is always employed on the side of virtue. LESSON VIII. The Dash. The dash is used : — 1 . To indicate a pause made for rhetorical effect ; as, " I have — only poverty and rags." 2. To mark suppressed feeling or an unexpected turn in the sentiment ; as, " He had no malice on his mind — no ruffles on his shirt." 3. Instead of parentheses or commas, especially when the par- enthetical clause is abrupt or unexpected ; as, " I believe — at least I know — that he was not rich." 30 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 4. Between words repeated for emphasis; as, "Oh, do not— • do not forsake me." 5. When such words as that is, najnely, as, are omitted ; as, " They hastened onward — these three." 6. To denote a deUberate or hesitating manner of utterance ; as, "I thought — you might — just — want — to." 7. Before a Word or clause that sums up preceding particu- lars ; as, " Tears, prayers, supphcations — none of these moved him." 8. Between the expressions ot different speakers in a dialogue, when those expressions are written in the same Hne. 9. To denote an omission of : — a. Letters in a word ; as, " He was born in C .*' d. Figures or words ; as, " In the year " ; " In 18 — " ; "Sections 1-56"; "Think of the time wasted, of ." 10. With other stops : — a. To denote a longer pause. /k Before a quotation, if long. c. After a side-head. d. Before the name of an author whose words are quoted. e. Before a new paragraph that drops to the next line. The Pekiod. The period is used : — . I. After every complete sentence not interrogative or exclama- tory. _, 2. ' After abbreviations ; as, Mo., LL.B., Dr. With some familiar abbreviations the period is omitted ; as, cab, Tom. 3. After Roman numerals, except in paging ; as, " Charles XII. of Sweden." 4. After headings ; as, "Thomson's Seasons." 5. After signatures ; as, " U. S. Grant." 6. Before a decimal ; as, .042. THE PERIOD. 31 EXERCISE XII. Punctuation. Direction. — In the following sentences insert dashes, commas, and periods Give reasons. 1. The marble floor was as smooth as glass he slipped he fell. 2. The farmers asked for a reduction of taxes and they got the minister's blessing. 3. Something too much of this but now it is past and the spell closes. 4. A Roman has his dignity to keep up and dignity is expensive Clodius must cheat like a scoundrel to live like a gentleman. 5. Rider and horse friend and foe in one red burial blent. 6. I reverence the afflictions of a good man his sorrows are sacred. 7. He uttered no prayer no groan. 8. I felt yes idiot that I am I felt degraded. 9. The manner may be full of respect every word of impatience repressed and yet the wits of the listener may be wool-gathering. 10. You she sobbed are a woman you have had sisters feel for me save me. 1 1 . Give it no name earth has no name for it it is not of earth why debase it with earthly epithets. 12. Has he been ill asked the child with a child's quick sym- pathy. 13. You will marry some one much older five and iwenty years perhaps than yourself. 14. To sit in dumb silence and be forever a recipient a bucket eternally pumped into without power of reaction is doubtless good for no man. 15. He was tolerably learned but chiefly in civil polity. 16. Does he forget and if he does Russel can give a case paral- lel to his own but more full of instruction. 1 7. See Prov xx 2 5 also Is chap xxviii verse 9 and Matt xi 3. 18. Parse is derived from the \j3X pars lit a part. 19. Decimal 01422 divided by 9 gives decimal 00158. 32 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 20. The degree of Doctor of Philosophy was conferred upon him by the University of Leipsic and now he writes his name John Jones M A Ph D. 2 1 . Such titles as K C B K G F and K G C do not flourish oa this continent. LESSON IX. The Interrogation Point. The interrogation point is used : — 1 . After every sentence that contains a direct question ; as, " How can I tell? " " ' Where is the boat? ' exclaimed the captain." In the indirect form it is not used ; as, " The gentleman asked the groom where the horse was." 2. In curves to express doubt ; as, ■' It happened in the year i856(?)." The Exclamation Point. The exclamation point is used : — 1. After interjections ; as, " Pshaw ! " " dear me ! " 2. After invocations ; as, " Hail, holy light ! offspring of heaven, first-born ! " 3. After clauses or sentences that express sudden or violent emotion ; as, " What is more admirable than virtue ! " t Quotation Marks. Quotation marks are used : — I. To enclose words that are the exact language of some other person. a. When a quotation contains another quotation, double marks are used ; as, " This friend of humanity says : ' When I consider their lives, I seem to see the " golden age " beginning again.' " OTHER POINTS. 33 b. If a parenthetical phrase intervenes between parts of a quotation, the marks are placed before and after each part; as, "I weep," said he, "because weeping will not help." 2. To enclose the names of books, magazines, papers, ships, engines, and the like ; as, " Harper's Weekly." When such names are written in italics the quotation marks are not used. The Apostrophe. The apostrophe is used : — 1. To denote the omission of one or more letters or figures; as, " That is o'er." " The war of '37." 2. To form the possessive case ; as, "The man's hand." " For righteousness' sake." 3. To form some plurals; as, "Dot your t's." "He uses too many if's." Parentheses. Parentheses are used : — 1. To enclose some incidental remark that does not affect the structure of the sentence ; as, " I told him (and who would not ?) just what I thought." 2. To enclose anything that cannot enter into the sentence; as, (hear, hear). The Hyphen. The hyphen is used : — 1 . To join the parts of a compound word ; as, " Sense-construc- tions." 2. At the end of a line to show that part of a word is carried to the next line. The Caret. The caret is used to show that a word or words are omitted j as, with " He came along ^ a friend." 34 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. EXERCISE XIII. Punctuation, Direction. — In the following sentences insert, where required, commas, exclamation points, interrogation points, apostrophes, quotation marks, paren- theses, hyphens, and other necessary marks. 1. Of Greece Byron says whereer we tread tis holy haunted ground. 2. Alas said I man was made to mourn. 3. Fight on fight on said he. 4. Thou art Freedoms now and Fames. 5. He said it oer and oer. » 6. Let me go sir it is all I ask said he. 7. Believe it believe it yet cried Albert grasping his friends hand. 8. Mrs Sarah said I I couldnt resist coming across the field. 9. It is for you to determine under God in what condition pos- terity shall be born. 10. Expend expense tells us that money was once weighed out Gen xxxiii 16. 11. A Chinese work contains this Fortune tellers rub the point of a needle to give it the power of indicating the south. 12. They are apt to say with the old woman of Moliere He speaks so well that I dont understand him a bit. 13. Why said he should I shun the name of an an he hesitated for a phrase an out of doors artist. 14. I charge you said he to take away that man meaning the judge in the red gown. 15. Tomorrow will be like today. 16. He did he did cried Sarah Pecker. 17. Madge Madge what have ye done with the horse was asked by the men without. 18. Saved your life I have heard that story said the lady. 19. Plague on thee said Bucklaw interrupting and on me for listening to you. GENERAL EXERCISE ON PUNCTUATION. 35 20. Read no farther said Deans the question is what is to be done. 21. O Procrastination exclaimed the hermit thou art a soul mur- derer Unhappy man farewell not for a while but until we both shall meet no matter where. EXERCISE XIV. General Exercise on Punctuation. Direction. — Study these sentences till you understand their construction, and then punctuate them in accordance with the rules given in the preceding lessons. 1. Deut XX 21 2 Sam xix 23 A D 1890. 2. Bot 9 mos credit 4 yds 3 qrs at 12 cts a yd. 3. Habemus confiientem reiim We have the accused one con- fessing / e you plead guilty. 4. The revolt however was important. 5. Seeing the fertile plains of Gaul they were dissatisfied with their own land. 6. The hubbub was fearful even the critics took fright. 7. And what conclusion after all can be drawn from mere inferiority ? 8. Byron had little dramatic talent he could not go out of himself. 9. The weapons of a Roman soldier were of two kinds ( i) offen- sive weapons (a) the javelin {b) the sword gladius (2) defensive weapons (a) a brazen helmet {b) a cuirass ( rosa he behaves just comtne ilfaut. 34. He tries to bulldoze the House, but his pretences are far too thin. 35. That will not go, it is altogether too thin. T^(y. He just scraped through his exam., and he is in for making his pile. 37. A teacher cannot afford to experimentalize. 38. He took the shibboleth of his party. 39. When he got to that town he found himself strapped. 40. He was somewhat addicted to wratli and usquebaugh. 41. The Society intends to excurt on the 4th of July. 42. fie will get himself into a fix some day. 43. They have determined to rendezvous near Qu'Apptlle. 44. His house was burglarized the day after he sent in his declamature. 44 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 45. He is not thoroughly posted on that subject. 46. I am greatly beholden to you. 47. Having acquired the savoir faire, he is never afraid of mak- ing a faux pas, and in every conversation plunges in medias res. 48. The fair dcbuttante is on the look-out for un bon parti, but her nez retrousse is against her. 49. She is accompanied by mamma en grande toilette, who, entre nous, looks rather ridce, even in the gas light. EXERCISE XVI. Purity. Direction. — Examine each word and determine which may be used and which should be rejected. In all cases of doubt, refer to some standard dictionary. 1. Donate, on dit, tapis, siesta, ungallantry, confutant, disillu- sioned, blaze, soupQon, imprimatur. 2. Buildress, enthuse, gent, pant, gubernatorial, hydropathy, electropathy, experimentalize, controversialist, walkist. 3. Practitioner, proven, rehable, disposable, anchorable, com- plainable, unrepentable, preventative, casuality, resurrected. 4. Incurable, paragraphist, agriculturist, stabbist, intercessed, flattress, presidential, multerosity, role, fabulosity. 5. Gallantness, obloquy, periculous, moonrise, docible, ovate, memento, n^e, locate. 6. Soi-disant, acrobat, traducement, kraal, distingu^, amende, amour-propre, skedaddle, opaque, confutement. 7. Cablegram, ivorytype, credibleness, ultimatum, incertain, exonerableness, persiflage, parvenu, verbatim, atelier. 8. Misaffected, fete, plateau, spirituel, fauteuil, confutant, opti- graph, employ^, alibi, saleslady. 9. Currentness, impromptu, patois, fashionist, jumpist, matin, mulish, prot^g^, obedential, dilettante. 10. Boycott, Copperhead, blue-stocking, incog, cablegram, cute, educationalist, suicided, reportorial, spec. GRAMMATICAL PURITY, 45 LESSON XII. GRAMMATICAL PURITY.— OF NOUNS AND PRONOUNS. 1. A noun or pronoun, used as subject of a verb, is in the nom- inative ; as, " /am " ; " This perso7i is one wJio can be trusted." 2. A noun or pronoun, used as the subjective complement of a verb, is in the nominative ; as, " He is the 7nan " ; " It is //ery leaf and twig is moving." g. When the nouns refer to a single object, the verb is singu- lar ; as, " Tlie saint, the father, and the husband /ravj"." h. When it is intended to give special prominence to one c.f the nouns, the verb is made to agree with it ; as, " His time, his talent, his heart, was devoted to the work." 3. If a singular and a plural noun form the subject, the verb is plural, however the nouns may be connected ; as, " The captain atid the sailors a7-e drowned " ; "Tlie captain c^rthe sailors are drowned." This rule holds also for pronouns of the third person. The plural noun should stand next the verb. 4. When there is an affirmative and a negative subject, the verb agrees with the former; as, "The king, not his soldiers, is su- preme." 5. When the nouns are connected by as ivell as or like, the verb usually agrees with the first noun ; as, " Hume, as well as Faraday, 7vas a man of virtue." 6. When the subject of a verb consists of pronouns of differeiit persons and numbers, connected by ami, the verb is plural and of the highest person mentioned; as, "He, you, and I are" (first person) ; " He and you are " (second person) ; " He and she are" (third person). 7. If the pronouns are connected by or, the verb agrees with the pronoun next it ; as, " He or thou ari here." This rule and the preceding hold if a noun takes the place of one of the pronouns. GRAMMATICAL PURITY. 5 I EXERCISE XVIII. Verbs. — Agreement. DlRKCriON. — Correct the errors in tlic following, and give a reason for each change. 1. She was one of those impulsive natures that longs for a con- fidant. 2. The door of one cell is open and within stands two figures. 3. Wisdom and i)rudence dwells with the lowly. 4. The meaning of words, sentences, and phrases are taken up in the class. 5. Neither precept nor principle arc so forcible as liabit. 6. One of the plots were said to have been discovered by a noble. 7. What is the subordinate subjects of these paragraphs? 8. Avarice is one of the passions that is never satisfied. 9. The costliness of his armor and apparel are seen at a glance. 10. The Frank king, with his son and many of the nobles, were taken prisoners. 1 1 . Profusion as well as parsimony are to be avoided. 1 2., More than one accident has happened in that way. 13. The news of his defection has just reached us. 14. Truth and truth only are worth seeking for their own sakes. 15. I and my ideal is nothing. 16. Either the young man or his guardians has done wrong. 17. He don't know that his brother ain't going to come. 18. The news that come from the seat of war are injuring the general's fame. 19. To choose words judiciously and to use them accurately is highly important in composing. 20. The assembly, one by one, is leaving the room. 21. Not loud talk, but strong proofs, bring conviction. 22. He or she or thou are the fortunate one. 23. Every bud and blossom are opening wide. 24. He and she is a loving couple. 25. The measles are going the rounds this sj^ring. 52 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. LESSON XIV. OF VERBS. — MOODS. 1. The indicative mood is used in direct statements, and in conditions or suppositions, believed or admitted by tiie speaker. 2. The imperative mood is used in commands, entreaties, and the hke. 3. The subjunctive mood is used : — a. In expressing suppositions invohdng futurity ; as, " I will go if it do not rain." b. In expressing conditions involving futurity or uncertainty ; as, "Though he siay me, yet will I trust in him." c. In suppositions contrary to the known fact ; as, '' If he wc-fr here, I would tell him." d. In expressing a wish ; as, " O, that he 7uere here." e. In the present and past tenses, to express suppositions or conditions which the speaker does not belie\-e or does not know to be true j as, " If he 7vefe to say so, I would not believe him." If, however, in such cases the speaker believes the supposition, or if he wishes to admit it, he uses the indicative ; as, " If he 7mis to say so, I would believe him." f. To express a future or uncompleted act or state ; as, "Thou shalt stone him with stones till \\q pe?-ishy g. To express an intention not yet carried out ; as, " The sentence of the court is, that you be flogged^ Of Verbs. — Tenses. The tenses must be so used as to indicate the relative time of the acts or states expressed. Examples. — "I thought I could have done that " should be " I GRAMMATICAL PURITY. 53 thought I cotild do that," because the thinking took place before the doitig and could have expresses a time more remote than that which is expressed by thought. "As I never sazu one before, I examined it with care." Saw should be had seen, as the seeing took place before the exam- ining. The past perfect tense is used to express an act that took place before another act that also took place in past time. " I intended to have bought a pair of new gloves." To have bought should be to buy. Actions that take place at the same time must be expressed by the same tense. Exceptions. — i. To express what is customary or always true, the present tense is used even after the past ; as, " The science teacher told the class that water always expands when \\. freezes.'' 2. After when, till, as soon as, etc., the present tense is used instead of the future or future perfect ; as, " He will go as soon as they come," i.e. shall come or shall have come. The going is simultaneous with the coming or subsequent to it. Interchange of Tenses. — One tense is sometimes used where the strict rule would call for another. Thus : — 1. The present for the past in vivid narration; as, "Caesar crosses the Rubicon, enters Rome." 2. The present for the future ; as, " Duncan comes to-night." EXERCISE XIX. Verbs. — Mood and Tense. Direction. — Correct all errors in the following, and give reasons. 1. I intended to have written on Saturday. 2. It is now four hundred years since printing has been in- vented. 3. I thought I should have finished before ten o'clock. 4. If he was my son I should be proud of him. 5. If I was he I should be ashamed to go there again. 54 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 6. My horse has been blistered on the shoulder about three weeks ago. 7. Did not the doctor say that bad water was the cause of many epidemics ? 8. Plato was of opinion that man was immortal. 9. He wished to have gone weeks before. 10. The old man maintained that honesty was the best policy. 11. If I was sure of finding her, I would go at once. 12. Was there no other cause than the safety of that faithful knave, Wamba, I would jeopard a point ere a hair of his head was hurt. 13. If she was to come, I would go with her. 14. If I was sure of what you tell me, I should feel at rest. 15. If I am ready in time, I will call for you. 16. Take heed lest at any time your hearts are overcharged with surfeiting. 17. If the mail was in now, I could give you a decided answer. 18. He said the sun went round the earth once every twenty- four hours. 19. I thought that he was to have come to-day. 20. If that be he, he has an unusual appearance. 21. I will stay here till he shall come back. 22. If he has a horse he will be your guide. 23. He laughed nearly all day to-day. 24. I have failed in that scheme, though I felt sure I should have succeeded. 25. The family with whom he has lodged some months ago, moved to Dakota last week. 26. He must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. 27. If I was able to speak, I would never hold my peace. 28. If he was in the city when I was, I should have met him. 29. He said that water was composed of oxygen and hydrogen. 30. If he was younger, he would study medicine. GRAMMATICAL PURITY. 55 LESSON XV. OF VERBS. — AUXILIARIES. The auxiliaries must be used in their exact signification. Must expresses compulsion resting on its subject. Can expresses power in its subject. May expresses possibility, probability ; also, permission granted to its subject. Could ^xA might\ia.vt the same general distinction as ca?i and tttay. Might expresses possibiHty or past permission. Could expresses power as the past of can ; also present condi- tional power. Shall expresses futurity and the subjection of its subject to for- eign control ; tvill expresses futurity and the power of its subject to control the act. Will in the first person denotes the resolution, purpose, or promise of its subject ; in the second and third persons, it denotes chiefly futurity ; shall in the first person denotes futurity ; in the second and third persons it denotes obligation, arising from the will of the speaker or from some other power beyond the subject. Should and would follow the general uses of shall and will. Should and would have some special uses, e.g. to express moral obligation ; as, " You should obey the laws of virtue " ; — to indi- cate a modest expression of opinion ; as, " I should xhinV. so " ; — to express future possibility ; as, " If he should attempt to break that stone, he will fail " ; — to express a wish ; as, " Would that the day were over"; — to express what was customary; as, "He luould walk up and down his room all day " ; — to express fixed purpose ; as, " He 7vould have his way." Of Minor Points. I. The adjective pronouns this and that agree in number with what they limit or represent; thus, "That kind," not "Those kind " ; " That will do," " Those will do." $6 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 2. The past tense and past participle must not be confused. Do not say, " I done my best," but, " I did my best." 3. The part of a verb that differs in form from the part ex- pressed, must not be omitted ; thus, associate must be expressed in "They do not (associate), and never have associated, with such persons." 4. In comparison, use the comparative when two objects are compared, and the superlative when more than two. Thus, "This is the better of the two " ; " This is the best of all." 5. When two adjectives qualify the same singular noun, the following arrangements are found : " The old and new books are . . ."; "The old and the new book are . . ."; "The old book and the new book are . . ." The first is ambiguous ; the last is the best. 6. The use of adjectives and adverbs must be carefully discrim- inated. Usually adjectives express a quality and adverbs express manner, degree, etc. Some words in the adjective form are used with the power of an adverbial adjective ; as, " He stood firm.'' There is a nice distinction between this and " He stood firmly''' 7. To, the sign of the infinitive, should not be separated from its verb. To is omitted after the auxiliaries, after bid, dare, need, see, feel, make, let, hear, and sometimes after a few other verbs. EXERCISE XX. Verbs. — Auxiliaries and Other Minor Points. Direction. — Give a reason for changing the auxiliary in any of the fol- lowing. 1. I would not like to do it and I shall not. 2. The genius told me I would not reach those beautiful islands till I would die. 3. Will I help you, or shall you do it alone? 4. I fear I will not be able to pass my examination. 5. Can I have the pleasure of helping you? GRAMMATICAL PURITY, 57 6. I would be astonished if he went to church. 7. If he would not succeed, then I would be the loser. 8. It is now high time that we would return. 9. If you refuse medicine in health, it shall be too strong for your body when you will need it. 10. You shall get into trouble if you pursue that course. Direction. — Distinguish the meaning of the following. a. I must (should, ought to) attend in person. b. I could (might) not wonder at his conduct. c. He declared he would (should) go home. d. He did as I would (should) have done. e. I thought I would (should) speak my mind. /. I should (would) go if he came. g. I will (shall) be obliged to leave fo-day. h. I will (shall) live in the house of the Lord forever. /. I would (should) take part if I could. J. He may (can) walk a mile. k. You may (can) be happy. /. Thou shalt (wilt) endure and thy years shall (will) not change. m. May (can) I have the pleasure of helping you? Ji. I can (may) not call riches better than the baggage of virtue. Direction. — Correct errors in the following. Give reasons for changes. 1. She will not wear those kind of gloves. 2. He had spoke an hour before the audience seen the drift of his discourse. 3. The weary traveller saw the sun to set. 4. Those apples taste sweetly. 5. Wisdom bids us to hearken to that voice. 6. He has abstained from food this two days. 7. A divine and human law-giver seeks to accomplish difterent purposes. 58 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 8. Of those two oaks the oldest is the shortest. 9. The ebb and flow of the tides has been accounted for. 10. The rogue and fool by fits is fair and wise. EXERCISE XXI. Direction. — Point out the violations of grammatical purity in the follow- ing sentences, state wherein each consists, correct, and give the reason. Part I. 1. The syntax and etymology of the language is thus placed before the learner. 2. He or you is in the way. 3. The idea of me being president seems utterly ridiculous. 4. The people was divided. 5. Bread and milk are good food for children. 6. More than one has had a hand in that affair. 7. I gave the book to Mary, she who wears the white hat. 8. Both money and labor was spent on it. 9. He said he would give it to whomsoever could solve the question. 10. He told us there was two principal propositions in the sentence. 11. The fleet was under orders to sail. 12. I intended to have written it on Saturday. 13. Every one of the persons who have pews in his church have concurred. 14. It must, indeed, be confessed that a lampoon or a satire do not carry in them robbery or murder. 15. In olden times hanging and beheading were the punish- ments of high treason. 16. Each of these circumstances being impressed upon the composer's mind tend to improve the performance. 1 7. Give the book to Smith, he that is sitting by the window. 18. I wish you would come with my sister and I. GRAMMATICAL PURITY. 59 19. If a piece of iron or glass be heated to the same degree, they communicate to the hand a very different sensation, 20. The officer has power of detention over even those whom he knows will get intoxicated. Part II. - 21. One, if not more, of these proprietors hold land in large quantities, buying it before the land Act was passed. 22. Every one must follow their own views on the question. 23. Every religious association has an undoubted right to form a creed for themselves. 24. It must be confessed that this is none of those turbulent pleasures which is apt to gratify a man in the heats of youth. 25. He goes after what he has lost till he finds it. 26. I must observe that there are a set of merry drolls whom the common people of every country admires. 27. Every emotion and every operation of the mind have a corresponding expression of the countenance. 28. If the donor was rich, the present was too little ; if he were poor, it was too much. 29. Neither my brother nor I were able to endure it any longer. 30. If he was here, he would open the box. 31. This is just as if an eye or a foot should demand a salary for their services to the body. 32. Providence, and not pomp, are the basis of his fame. ;^^. Three-quarters of the lake are shallow. 34. It is as cold, if not colder, than any day this year. 35. Profusion as well as parsimony are to be avoided. 36. There is no use in me trying the examination. 37. If he does come, I will be ready. 38. He is the smallest of the pair. 39. No professional man, no business man, in fact no man of sense would risk their reputation by supporting such a cause. 40. My friend and companion have often warned me of the danger. 60 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. Part III. 41. In the meantime, I will have to take the case as it stands. 42. Will I find you at home this evening? 43. If I stayed there I would offend the archbishop. 44. A few inches more or less in a lady's height makes a great difference. 45. I cannot help thinking that the proprietor of the hotel has not told all he knew. 46. If he was to find out that it was me who wrote it, he would be very angry. 47. 'Twas Love's mistake who fancied what it feared. 48. The tidings of his return give joy. 49. No office in the church, no preferment in the state, but go to the king's friends. 50. If we act thus, we will be miserable ourselves and will make others miserable. 51. I will now accept your kind invitation. 52. Every grape-vine and fig-tree are stripped of their foliage. 53. A person can rest as well in a parlor car as they could in their own parlor. 54. He works as if his life depended on him attaining the position. 55. Addison thought that a person was bound to be cheerful. 56. There is in this country but few young persons who may not attend school. 57. Every boy and girl should avail themselves of any oppor- tunity to get an education. 58. Your challenge should soon be answered if your antagonist was here. 59. If Ivanhoe ever return from Palestine, I shall be his surety that he meet you. 60. The carefully kept memoranda shows that physics are rapidly becoming a popular study. GRAMMATICAL PURITY. 6 1 Part IV. 6i. Every train and boat were crowded on civic holiday. 62. Either you or I are the one who they have selected. 6;^. The ashes was taken out of the grate. 64. The measles are very prevalent at this season. 65. Each of these courses have their own special difficulties. 66. If a man was to come back who had lived a hundred years ago, should he not think the world was going crazy. 67. Every subordinate clause may be modified as if it was a principal clause. 68. For in cheerfulness the spirits does a Htde go and come. 69. The captain, with many of the crew, were lost in the storm. 70. He reached the end of his journey half an hour earlier than he expected. 71. If ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. 72. He said the Mississippi ran through the United States. 73. If he was now living, he would have sufficient judgment to wish to be shown as he was. 74. The sunshine and rain is making the flowers open. 75. It is evident that large pile of icebergs are sailing around in the Atlantic. 76. The generality of his hearers refuses to accept his views. 77. A considerable number were inclined to withdraw its sup- port. 78. Did you ever hear what that man's name was? 79. To instruct and preserve society are one of the designs of the Christian religion. 80. He supported those whom he thought supported him. 62 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC, Part V. 8i. They said he had went away and broke his pledge ; at any rate he drunk several glasses and begun to stagger in his gait. 82. I shall have great pleasure in accepting your invitation. St,. When he died, his son and namesake and successor were an infant. 84. Oxygen and nitrogen united, forms the air we breathe. 85. One half of men do not know how the other half lives. 86. " Don't cry about it," said Midas, that was ashamed to confess that he himself had wrought the change that afflicted her. 87. He was sure that the objects that he had been watching was only cattle. 88. He would have done a great deal better, if he took a dif- ferent course. 89. Her knights, her dames, her court were there. 90. There are many that can testify that that man was not there. 91. Each of the members of the committee made their report. 92. The moral and religious element of the community were aroused. 93. I have examined both the methods and believe the first to be the best. 94. The report of the mayor and clerk were presented. 95. News were sent that the gallows were erected. 96. The traveller did not feel well, yet he ate a hearty meal. 97. My friend and companion have often warned me of the danger. 98. Praise from a friend or censure from a foe are lost on hearers who know our merits. 99. The last month or two has been spent among the islands. 1 00. Hoping that I will hear from you as soon as convenient, I will subscribe myself, Yours truly. PROPRIETY. 63 LESSON XVI. PROPRIETY. Propriety consists in using words in the sense they bear in the usage of the best writers and speakers. Importance of Propriety. — If a writer or speaker does not use a word as it is understood by the reader or listener, he cannot convey the meaning he intends, or, if he does, it will be because his reader or listener has, from the context, seen the intended meaning and mentally substituted the correct word. Hence it is of the utmost importance that words should be used in their general, well-understood, and established sense. To be able to do this requires time and patient toil, and he who is unwilling to accept the task on these terms may never hope to succeed either in writing correctly or in understanding his own language. Impropriety. — The application of a word in a sense not authorized by good usage, is called Impropriety. Examples. — A few examples are given to illustrate more fully what is to be avoided and what is to be attained. Predicate (Latin predicare, to publish or state) means simply to affirm in regard to something that already is, but it is fre- quently found in the sense of " foretell " or " predict " ; as, " It is impossible to predicate what he will or will not do." Expect is very widely used in the sense of suppose, think, gtiess ; as, " I expect you had much trouble on that occasion." Expect refers only to that which is to come, and which, therefore, is looked for {ex, out, and spectare, to look). We cannot expect backwards. Adopt is often used for " decide upon," and for " to take " ; as, "The measures adopted, as the result of his inquiry, will be productive of good." Caption is derived from Latin capere, to take, not from caput, 64 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. the head. Hence it means seizure, or the act of taking, not heading. Appreciate (from ap, to, :mdi pretiutn, price), means to estimate justly. Hence we cannot say, " I appreciate your kindness highly." Demean is not from mean, low, but from the French demener.^ to conduct one's self. Restive. This word, which means inclined to rest, obstinate, umi'illing to go, is frequently employed in a sense directly the reverse of this ; that is, for uneasy, restless. Avocation is often used for vocation, or calling. A man's avocations are those pursuits or amusements which engage his attention when he is called away from his regular business or pro- fession, as .music, fishing, or boating. Rendition is sometimes used for rendering ; as, " Mr. Booth's rendition of Hamlet." Rendition means surrender, giving up; as, when we speak of the rendition of a beleagured town to the besieger. Condign is from con, and digitus, worthy, and signifies deserved or merited. Many who use it seem to think it means severe; as, "The villain received condign punishment." Quite means entirely, completely, a fact that is lost sight of when it is placed before a noun ; as, " They collected quite a sum." Witness (A.S. witnesse, knowledge) is to bear testimony of what one knows by personal observation. We should not say, "I never witnessed such a lovely day." Pell-mell implies a number in confusion ; so it is absurd to say of one person, " He rushed out pell-mell." Get means to obtain by a voluntary effort. We should not say, " I have got a cold," or " I have got a house to sell." Alternative. An alternative is one choice out of two (Latin, alter, one of two) . Female should not be used for woman or lady. Alloiv is to give by measure or in due proportion. A father allows his son a reasonable amount of spending money. Such PROPRIETY. 65 uses of the word as, " He allows he can defeat his opponent," are mere vulgarisms. Balance (Latin, bilancem, scales) denotes equilibrium. It should, therefore, not be used for remainder. Citizen. It is proper to call a person a citizen when he is spoken of in relation to the state, but improper when in relation to his fellow-men ; as, " Some citizens behaved badly on show day." Aggravate (Latin, aggravare, to make worse) means to make worse. It is often improperly used for vex or annoy. Transpire should not be used for happen. Eliminate means literally to thi'oiv out of doors. Hence it should not be used for elicit or draw forth. Extend is to increase in one or all directions, to stretch out. So we should not say, " Extend an invitation." Replace. Literally, we can replace only that which was pre- viously in its place ; but such expressions as, " He can never hope to replace so eminent a man" seem to have obtained a strong foothold in the language. Dock should be distinguished from %vharf. A dock is usually an excavation, while a wharf \% an elevation. Plenty is often wrongly construed as an adjective ; as, " Money is plenty this year." Mistaken. To mistake is to take wrongly, so to be mistaken should mean to be taken by error for some one else. Say, " You are in error," not, " You are mistaken." To a degree is sometimes used where exceedingly would be the proper word. At length should not be used for at last. At length means fully ; at last, finally. Nice is now one of those " social " adjectives that are used for almost any quality that pleases the speaker. Its correct meaning is delicate and exact. Description should not be used for kind or sort. Words similar in form or derivation are often mistaken; as. 66 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. " contemptuous " for " contemptible " ; " exceptionable " for " ex- ceptional " ; "respectfully" for "respectively" ; "observation" for " observance " ; " purpose " for " propose." EXERCISE XXII. Propriety. Direction. — Point out the word that is not properly used, supply tha correct word, and give the ordinary meaning of the rejected word. Part I. 1. His conduct aggravates me continually. 2. Her sister has got a very severe attack of fever. 3. Directly he heard the alarm he rushed out pell-mell. 4. Johnson died from blows administered by a policeman. 5. The measures adopted by the House will do good. 6. He allows that he has the finest horse in the country. 7. This road will serve to convene the public. 8. A great amount of perfection has been attained in that art. 9. He was unwilling to demean himself by a public apology. 10. The alternatives set before him were, to abjure the faith, to submit to the torture, or to go into perpetual exile. 11. He had exceptionable opportunities for learning the lan- guage. 12. The troops, though fighting bravely, were terribly deci- mated, nearly half of them having fallen. 13. I have sat and heard him tell any amount of anecdotes. 14. I have always considered him an honest man. 15. " Sir," said he to Dr. Parr, " I have a contemptible opinion of you." " That does not surprise me," replied the Doctor ; " all your opinions are contemptible." 16. We have travelled quite a piece to-day, 17. A century transpired before it was revisited. 18. We had a nice time yesterday ; the weather was nice, the company was nice, and everything went off nice. PROPRIETY. 6"] 19. Peaches are very plenty this season. 20. I have every confidence that he will turn out well. 21. I expect you have had a great many difficulties. 22. His manner is calculated to hinder his business. 23. A vessel of this description had been hovering in sight. 24. He aims at eliminating truth from spirit, fact and duty from f-^uth. 25. The elevation of 100 feet eliminated a hearty cheer. 26. It also looks to the final elimination of the soul from the body. 27. When the boat came ashore, it contained only one female. 28. Can we suppose that good blood replaces teaching? 29. I declare this is the most splendid bay I ever witnessed. 30. They followed the ancient avocation of picking pockets. Part H. 31. He is fond of reading such fictitious writers as Hawthorne. 32. A young man abortively seized two pieces of alpaca. 2^2)- A lady having two boys, would like to adopt one. 34. A society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, has lately been inaugurated. 35. A great part of the congregation went home at ten o'clock, but the balance remained till twelve. 36. She has several other little poems of a much higher calibre. 37. There is an article in the last issue of our contemporary under the above caption. 38. Several citizens carried the sufferer to a drug store on the next block. 39. The marriage was happily consummated at Paris last April. 40. The Mosque in Eastern lands must go, and the Christian Church will replace it. 41. The President convened Congress early in January. 42. This application of reason predicates a great national future. 43. An invitation was extended to him to dine with his friends. 44. He was at length induced to desist. 68 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 45. His name has never been replaced by any other in the transaction. 46. Twice in history has there been witnessed the struggle of the highest individual genius against a nation. 47. If you are of that opinion, you are mistaken. 48. The man by some strange accident fell off the dock. 49. His offence is of the most aggravated description. 50. He rushed pell-mell out of the house. 51. The piece of roast beef is perfectly splendid. 52. The police drill will transpire under shelter to-day. 53. I promise you I was very much surprised. 54. What do you propose doing in this matter? 55. He was foolish to a degree. 56. He has for years been a confirmed invalid. 57. I have found the package you allude to in your letter. 58. We were stopping at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal. 59. Mr. Booth's rendition of Hamlet was admirable. 60. The reader soon wearies of such stuff. 6 1 . The above extract is sufficient to verify my assertion. 62. He is a party who has risen to eminence. 63. How are you to-day? Nicely, thanks. LESSON XVII. PRECISION. Precision consists in selecting the word or expression that con- veys the exact meaning intended — no more, no less. Examples. — It would be more correct to say damp clothes than moist clothes, because anything is said to be damp when the wetness is from some outward cause, or when the article is in an abnormal state ; while that is moist which is naturally damp, as the soil when fitted for vegetation. PRECISION. 69 We say a vacant chair, not an empty chair; for though both words imply that the chair has no occupant, yet vacatit conveys the idea that it should be filled, but is not, while empty simply means that there is nothing in it. How attained. — As English abounds in words which express nearly the same meaning, great exactness of expression is possible, and much care and thought are necessary to be able to select always the word which conveys just what is meant. Much may be learned by observing the practice of good authors, but the most efficient method of attaining precision is the careful and contin- uous study of synonyms. This may be carried on by collating and examining words of nearly the same meaning ; by revising every sentence that one writes, and studiously inquiring whether each word in it is accurately used ; and by the study of some standard work on the subject, such as Crabb's or Smith's Syno- nyms, or Roget's Thesaurus. Further Examples. — In order more fully to illustrate the sub- ject a few synonyms are here explained, but they must be regarded, by those who would attain proficiency, as the merest beginning. 1. Visitor, Visitant. Visitor ox visitant 1% one who pays a visit; but a visitor is a human being, and a visitant, a supernatural one. 2. Neglect, Negligence. Neglect is an act, or, rather, a failure to act ; negligence implies a failure to conform to an established standard or custom. 3. Continual, Continuous. Continual is said of acts that are frequently repeated ; continuous of uninterrupted action. 4. Remember, Recollect. Remember implies only that the -im- pression remains ; recollect, that an effort is made to recall to the mind something that for the time seems to have escaped it. 5. Utter, Express. To utter is simply to sound anything with the voice ; to express carries the additional idea of meaning and formality. 6. Crime, Sin. Crime is a violation of law divine or human, though it is now generally applied to offences against the state. Sin is a departure from divine law. JO COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 7. Courage, Fortitude. Courage is an active, energetic resist- ance of all the trials or difificulties of life ; fortitude is a resolute endurance of present evils and a patient resignation to the worst that may happen. 8. Conscious, Aware. We are conscious of anything when we know of it by reflection ; we are aware of anything when we know of it by observation and experience. 9. Healthy, JV/ioIesome. ZT^r*^?////)' is said of that which increases our strength — physical, mental, or moral ; %vholesoine, of that which does it no injury. 10. Couple, Two. Cotiple implies that the two united are bound by some tie and are of such a nature as to be suitable for such a union ; tiuo indicates number only. 11. Less. Feiver. Zifj-jr is applied to things measured ; _/ creasingly dependent. f06 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. LESSON XXII. 2. STRENGTH. Strength consists in constructing sentences in such a way as to give full force to the thought or meaning they contain. When to be sought. — In some kinds of composition, such as judicial opinions and text-books of science, all that is necessary is to make the language clear. If, however, the communication of knowledge is not the only aim, if the reader's attention cannot be taken for granted, the language must be more than clear, it must be forcible. How promoted. — As strength in expression depends largely on the manner in which a sentence is formed, much may be gained by attending to the following points : Number of Words, the Order of Words, Forcible Words, Connection and Transition, Variety. Number of Words. Every word that does not add to the meaning of a sentence, enfeebles it. Hence, a sentence is strengthened by rejecting every clause, phrase, or word, that is redundant. Thus, " Hands off ! " is more forcible than '' Keep your hands off ! " ; " Strange ! ", than " That is very strange ! " Among the principal violations of brevity are : Tautology, Redundancy, and Verbosity. Caution. — Beginners must not run away v/ith the idea that every sentence should be constructed with the smallest number of words possible. There are many considerations to be taken into account in determining just how many words should be used. The nature of the subject, the character of the treatment, as well as the capacity and intelligence of the persons addressed, demand variations that only a due attention to these things can justify. Commonplace thoughts on familiar topics admit briefer expres- STRENGTH. lO/ sion than original ideas ; greater conciseness is demanded in a book than in a newspaper or a speech ; intelligent people require less explanation than ignorant ones. In any case, one should avoid excessive conciseness on the one hand, and excessive dif- fuseness on the other. 1. Tautology is the fault of saying again in other words what has just been said. Examples. — '^ False ////^-representations." '■'■Umbrageous shade.'" *' He was by no means deficient in the subordinate and limited virtue which alleviates and relieves the wants of others." In each of these expressions one of the italicized words may be omitted* with advantage. "When Permissible. — What might appear Tautology by a strict Tendering of the rule is allowable a. When one word does not express the full sense intended ; as, Subject-matter, part and parcel, tvays and means. b. For greater emphasis ; as, " The head and front of his offending." " He ruled with might and main.'' c. In strong passion ; as, " I am astonished, I am shocked, to hear such principles confessed." 2. Redundancy, or pleonasm, consists in the addition of use- less words. Examples. — "They returned back agaijt to the same .city from whence they cdime. fort hi" "Throughout "his whole career." When Permissible. — Redundancy is permissible when neces- sary to important statements, to give emphasis, and in the language of passion. Sometimes what is said directly may be said again indirectly ; the abstract may be reproduced in the concrete form ; the literal, in a metaphor ; an object may be presented from a new point of view ; an argini>ent may be stated in a variety of forms. Thus, "We have seen it tvith our oivn eyes." "Kings will be tyrants from policy 7e'//. A succession of words of the same number of syllables is seldom conducive to harmony ; as, " No kind of joy can long please us " is improved by writing, " No species of joy can long delight us." e. The melody of a sentence may be heightened by arranging the words so that the accents fall with some sort of regularity and on important words. In the following beautiful sentence from Cxeorge Eliot, the rhythm of the latter part is almost poetic : " The boat re-appeared, but brother and sister had gone down in an embrace never to be parted ; living through again, in one supreme moment, the days when they had clasped their little hands in love, and roamed the daisied fields together." ELEGANCE. 135 Euphonious Endings. — It. it important to have a pleasing cadence at the end of a sentence, and, when possible, so to arrange the words and clauses that the sound may swell to the close. The following beautiful sentence from Sterne is an admir- able example of the pleasing effect produced in this way : " The accusing spirit which liew up to Heaven's chancery with the oath, blushed as he gave it in ; and the recording angel dropped a tear upon it and blotted it out forever." Good endings may be formed by concluding with : — a. A long syllable, especially if that syllable ends with a con- tinuing consonant ; as, appear, supreme. b. With one or more unaccented syllables ; as, country, free- dom, liberty. Very long words, or words with the accent far from the end, do not make a pleasing close ; as, peremptorily, irresistibly. Harmony. Lastly, there is a kind of Harmony that arises from having the sound of the words and of the sentence an echo of the sense. So far we have spoken of the use of euphonious words only, but words of every variety of sound have their place, and Harmony is pro- moted by the selection of such as are adapted to the sense. Words of harsh and unpleasant sound may be employed with advantage to express something disagreeable ; words of slow and measured sound are adapted to grave and serious thoughts ; and those of soft and flowing sounds, to gentle and benignant feelings. The expression of motion, too, may be made more effective by the use of suitable words and combinations : rapid and easy motion, by short, easily-pronounced syllables, or by those of soft and flowing smoothness ; slow and laborious movement, by a series of long syllables, of accented words, or of words that have so many difficult consonants that they cannot be rapidly pronounced. 136 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC EXERCISE XLI. Melody and Harmony. Direction. — Improve the Melody and Harmony of these sentences. 1. They were all the children of whim, and satire, and wit. 2. They had already reached the road that runs round to Sleepy Hollow. 3. This difficulty was at last got rid of. 4. The man who lived there last year has made up his mind to move to the city. 5. He was much pleased with the way the boys and girls said their tasks. 6. He was just as just as his neighbors. 7. The leaves of the trees fall in the fall. 8. He described it in an uninteresting manner. 9. Sketch Scott's early education in Edinburgh. 10. Boys are apt, too, to attribute ridicule to wrong motives. 11. His employer peremptorily dismissed him. 12. All men do not seem to have the same mind as this man. 13. The passing bell tolled the knell when the hero fell. 14. The standard to which all form must conform is usage. 15. The master is placed there specially to influence — intellec- tually only, many think, but as truly morally. 16. He excelled in keen satire, and in broad humor, too. 17. The principal explained the principle on which he gov- erned. 18. These impecunious, characterless adventurers, for weeks and weeks, haunted the parliamentary buildings. 19. There will be willing parents who will wish to water the seed scattered by me. 20. Such a thing was not to be thought of, or if it was, it was only to gratify my selfishness. 21. The night is past and the morning is coming. 22. Lazy people seldom gather riches. ELEGANCE. 13/ 23. A beautiful island, famous in song and story, lies upon the other side of the wide Atlantic. (There lies . . . song.) 24. Of genius and greatness, it has given to the world more than its share. 25. Let us consider the ambitious ; and both in their progress to greatness, and after the attaining of it. - 26. Her constant connection with the family as a fast friend of the fastidious little Miss H., left an indelible impression on her mind. 27. A few rough logs laid side by side served for a bridge to cross on. 28. On approaching the home of his childhood he saw the leaves searing, for winter was nearing, and the birds were about disappearing. 29. The separate casts of the arm look immense, but in its place the limb looks light. 30. The raging waters rolled over his child, and he was left sor- rowing. (Campbell.) 31. Up the lofty hill he raises a large, round stone. (Pope.) 32. A great many things seemingly relatively perfectly plain, are very difficult to unravel. 33. Walled round with rocks as is an inland island. 34. Their ghosts circle thee in an endless confusion. 35. We live in an enlightened age. 36. The qualities necessary to save the popular party in the hour of danger, others might possess ; both the power and the inclination to restrain its excesses in the hour of triumph, Hamp- den alone had. (Others . . . danger ; Hampden . . . triumph.) 37. While leaning on a post he told me that, when at the mili- tary post, he obtained a post of great honor and trust, in which it was his duty not only to post the general's letters, but also to post his private ledger. 138 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. LESSON XXVIII. ELEGANCE. — FINE WRITING. Elegance as well as Clearness requires the avoidance of Fine Writing, that is, the use of exquisite phrases, long-swelling words, affected expressions, and voluble circumlocutions, instead of say- ing what one means in a simple, natural, and straightforward manner. Sometimes this fault manifests itself in a desire to interlard one's writing with poetic phrases or quotations, as " the festive board," for " table " ; " the cup that cheers, but not inebriates," for "tea." Such quotations are allowable when they are in keeping with the rest of the writing, and are in point. This pretentious kind of language is so much used by public speakers, and in newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals, that it bids fair to destroy the native simplicity, force, and beauty of our tongue. In Fine Writing people do not live in houses, " they reside in residences " ; iires are not put out, but " conflagrations are extin- guished " ; the law does not hang rogues, but it " launches into eternity the victims of unbridled passions"; people do not send for the doctor, but " call into requisition the services of the family physician " ; they do not die, but " the spirit wings its flight into eternity " ; a man does not breakfast, but he " discusses the morning repast " ; he does not go to bed, but " retires to his downy couch " ; he does not go to church, but " attends divine service " ; he does not lose his mother by death, but " sustains a bereavement of his maternal relative " ; ladies are not married, but " led to the hymeneal altar " ; doctors do not order a poultice, but an " emollient cataplasm." ELEGANCE. 139 Keeping. Elegance requires all parts of discourse to be in Keeping. The mode of treatment and .the style should be suitable to the subject ; the language and the subject should support each other ; discords of all kinds should be avoided; and bold figures should be sparingly used. 1. The different parts of a sentence should correspond to one another; as, " All proper nouns should begin with a capital." Here the first part of the sentence is plural, and the latter part singular. Say " Every proper noun." 2. The harshness caused by making two verbs or prepositions govern the same object should be avoided ; as, " In the batde, he furiously sought to close with, and cut down, his rival." 3. Low or trivial language must not be used in serious compo- sition ; as, " ' Blessed are the meek,' that was one of His obser- vations." 4. The same word should not be used at short intervals in different senses ; as, " If the show of anything is good for any- thing, sincerity is better." 5. The repetition of th« same word at brief intervals even in the same sense, is offensive to the taste as well as to the ear ; as, " The Colonel ordered the subordinate officers to order their troops to come to order." Exceptions. — Sometimes, however, the same word may be repeated with a fine effect ; as, " Nofhing is omitted ; nothing is crowded." " An unpardonable fault, the fault of tediousness, pervades the whole of the Fairy Queen." Sometimes, also, the repetition is necessary in order to make the sense clear ; as, " Can it be laid down as a general rule that the movement of political and religious truth is rather downwards from the government to the people, than upwards from the people to the government.^'' Similarly, a succession of phrases or clauses of the same kind becomes disaereeable. I40 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 6. The practice of beginning sentence after sentence witn "he" or some similar word, is an inelegance into which young writers are very apt to fall. 7. A poetic metaphor should not be used to illustrate a prosaic subject; as, " Consols soared to 94^^." 8. Incongruous statements should not, in serious composition, be united in the same sentence ; as, " He was a loving husband, a tender father, and a good shot." 9. A literal statement should not follow immediately after a metaphor ; as, " He was the father of chemistry, and brother to the Earl of Cork." EXERCISE XLII. Fine Writing. Direction. — Express these sentences in language better suited to the thought. 1. Those individuals were eagerly hastening towards their pa- rental domicile. 2. That institution was inaugurated under the auspices of a most distinguished personage. 3. Previous to making a sudden tran'sition, you should execute a survey of your surroundings. (Look before, etc.) 4. In recompense for his splendid munificence, he was made the recipient of many grateful acknowledgments. 5. The house that was lately in process of erection, has been destroyed in its entirety by the devouring element. 6. In the intensity of his passion, he indulged in minatory expressions. 7. His parental relative was a gentleman long identified with the building interest. 8. Please convey to me that dissecting instrument. 9. A petrified body of rotary motion has no affinity for gra- mineous matter. (A rolling stone, etc.) 10. Pedal teguments artistically illuminated and lubricated for the infinitesimal compensation of five cents per operation. ELEGANCE. I4I 11. One of those omnipresent characters, who, as if in pursu- ance of some previous arrangement, are certain to be encountered when an accident occurs, ventured the suggestion. (A bystander.) 12. While pursuing my esoteric cogitations on the empyrean atmosphere, I was approached by an erubescent damsel, who informed me that the nocturnal revelries were about to ensue. 13. I opine you adorn the bountifully furnished table of the excellent lady who provides so liberally for the company that assembles around her hospitable board. 14. When the luminary of day had driven his chariot behind the mountains, the eminent agriculturists began to discuss the succulent bivalves. 15. After attending divine service, a vast concourse congre- gated to behold the victims of unbridled passions launched into eternity. 16. After being the recipients of multitudinous favors, and par- ticipating for some weeks in the hospitalities of their host, they took their departure. 1 7. The friends speedily called into requisition the services of the family physician, but the disease had taken so firm a hold of his system that after a few hours of agony his spirit winged its flight into realms unknown. 18. The remains of the departed author of my being were placed in a casket and conveyed to their last resting-place. 19. Before she was led to the hymeneal altar, she had charge of the culinary department of a prominent hotel. 20. The patrons of husbandry, having thoroughly examined all the inventions of genius to be found within the machinery hall, retired to an adjoining apartment to partake of some liquid refreshments. 142 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. EXERCISE XLIII. Keeping. Direction. — Correct the violations of the rules of Keeping. Give a reason for each change. 1. All verbs agree with their subject. 2. The fairest of her daughters, Eve. 3. The first project was to shorten discourse by cutting poly- syllables into one. 4. We are at peace with all the world, and seek to maintain our cherished relations of amity with the rest of mankind. 5. In the construction of the Act, "teacher" shall include female as well as male teachers. 6. That author approaches the subject from an unusual stand- point. 7. The brain needs rest as much, if not more, than the rest of the body. 8. He looked very unnatural after he had received that un- xiatural treatment. 9. He successfully avoided threatening evils, and steered the ship of state into a safe harbor. 10. An anxious face opened the door and led us upstairs. 11. The chariot of revolution is rolling onward and gnashing its teeth as it rolls. 12. I was sitting at the table enjoying a cup of coffee, when a gentle voice tapped me on the shoulder. 13. In the beginning it was intended that all men should marry but one wife. 14. He was a firm believer in the immortal gods who are now dead. 15. Shakespeare was the sun among the lesser lights of English poetry, and a native of Stratford-on-Avon. 16. He guided the people from the quicksands of protection into the safe harbor of free trade, and saved the country several millions. ELEGANCE. 143 17. They were refused entrance into, and forcibly driven from, the house. 18. I was sailing in a vast ocean, without other help than the pole-star of the ancients and the rules of the French stage. 19. The truth is that truth and error are blended together. 20. In a house like this the inmates resemble a knight in an enchanted castle. 21. At the news of a Russian war, the price of wheat instantly soared up to a dollar a bushel. 22. He had sense enough not to use that word in that sense. 23. If the loss of temporal gain be the gain of eternal good, the reverse of fortune is the reverse of misfortune. 24. The farmer gave orders to his son to order the hired man to put the reaper in good order. 25. When I was there, there were friends of mine there also. EXERCISE XLIV. General Exercise on Elegance. Direction. — Reconstruct these sentences so as to correct all violations of the laws of Elegance. 1. We are a firm beUever in keeping pace with the times. 2. The scene is laid on an inland lake. 3. He was tired with his journey and sad and dispirited. 4. He never seemed to be capable of it. 5. Generally speaking, a prudent general will in the face of odds avoid a general engagement. 6. Shamefacedness may recommend many more than money. 7. The essayist could not find a trace of some of those worthies of whom the world was not worthy. 8. Everybody knows that that knows anything at all. 9. It was in vain they reached the other side; such fate does fate assign us. 10. Thou strokedst me and mad'st much of me. 144 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 11. You know, when you don't know where you are going, you generally take a rather slow pace. 12. Though generally scrupulous, he did not scruple to do that base act. 13. After describing so interesting a meeting concerning the rival parties contending for supremacy, the speaker paused. 14. They found that at an inroad of the Indians he had been taken prisoner. 15. As we approached the church we met crowds of respect- able people hurrying towards it, as if afraid of being too late to obtain a good seat, or even admittance, etc. 16. She always displays a cheerful temper and pleasant humor. 17. Tediousness is the most fatal of all faults. 18. He attempted to express the inexplicable pleasure he felt. 19. Moral faults only, and then only extremely rarely, should be corrected by ridicule. 20. Boys are sensitive, and to ridicule more than anything else, especially where both sexes are taught in the same room. 2 1 . Though virtue borrows no assistance from, yet it may often be accompanied by, the advantages of fortune. 22. It is hard to make good the pretence of a good quality. 23. He refused taking any further notice of it. 24. It is in my power to refuse you, and since I have the power to do it I will do it. 25. They directed their course in the direction of their father's house. 26. The night which descended upon her was the night {or the darkness ?) of an Arctic summer. 27. A man of his sense should have a higher sense of honor. 28. I am acquainted with a certain man who has a certain in- come obtained from the investment of a certain sum. 29. He was also known to, and visited by, Sheridan. 30. The devouring element consumed the edifice before its progress could be arrested. 31. He abruptly turned to the left and left the house. ELEGANCE. I45 32. The relations between maid and mistress became sorely strained. 33. He is tlie individual wlio took the initiative in introducing piscine preserves in this locality. 34. I look upon it as my duty, so long as I keep within the bounds of truth and duty, and of decency. 35. Listlessly talking over village gossip, or telling sleepy, end- less stories about nothing, they used to sit here in the shade through a long lazy summer's day. (Here . . . through . . . talking . . . nothing.) 36. Therefore nothing, neither learning nor knowledge of the world, neither forensic acuteness, nor that eloquence which charms pohtical assemblies, was wanting to the defence of Clive. (To the defence . . . assemblies.) 37. As they proceeded down the hill the rocks gradually receded from view. 38. Societies like these will help to educate society and to over- throw its drinking usages. 39. And see, first of all, that you have hearts, and sound hearts, too, to give. 40. After the appetizing banquet had been done full justice to, the party spent an extended period in pleasantly tripping the light fantastic. 41. She asked him to visit her paternal domicile, when the diurnal luminary sought his nocturnal resting-place behind the occidental horizon. 42. The Little Gentleman lies where he longed to lie, among the old names and the old bones of the Boston people. (Should old be repeated ?) 146 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. LESSON XXIX. III. THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARAGRAPHS. Hitherto we have considered only separate words and single sentences. We now come to study the connection of sentences in paragraphs, and of paragraphs in sketches. The paragraph is a larger division of discourse than the sen- tence, and, like it, should deal with a single topic. It is, in fact, a whole composition and should therefore be complete in itself. It aids the reader by showing him where the development of a point begins and where it ends. Principles. — The leading principles that govern the formation of the paragraph are : — I. The Topic Sentence. The opening sentence should set forth the subject of the para- graph. This sentence is generally most effective when short. Example. — " The government went on, oppressing at home and blundering abroad. (Topic sentence.) A war was foolishly undertaken against France, and more foolishly conducted. Buck- ingham led an expedition against Rh6, and failed ignominiously. In the meantime soldiers were billeted on the people. Crimes of which ordinary justice should have taken cognizance were punished by martial law. Near eighty gentlemen," etc. The paragraph goes on enumerating other acts of " oppressing " and " blundering." Sometimes one or more sentences at the beginning of a para- graph are intended to connect it with the one that precedes, or to prepare the way for the topic sentence. Exa7tiple. — " These were mere follies. (Connective and intro- ductory sentence.) But the spirit excited by these writers pro- duced more serious effects. (Topic sentence.) The greater part of the crimes which disgraced the revolution," etc. the construction of paragraihs. i47 2. Arrangement. The different sentences that compose a paragraph must foUcv^ one another in natural and logical order. It they do not, the attention of the reader is distracted and he finds it difficult, if not impossible, to keep the thread of the discourse. Example. — " On the third day after the action the dead were buried in the naval churchyard ; the ceremony was made as public and as solemn as the occasion required. A public monu- ment was erected upon the spot where the slain were gathered together. A subscription was opened on the day of the funeral for the relief of the sufferers, and collections in aid of it through- out all the churches in the kingdom. This appeal to the feelings of the people was made with circumstances which gave it full effect. A monument was raised in the midst of the church ; young maidens, dressed in white, stood round it ; and a suitable oration was delivered from the pulpit." In this paragraph the sentences do not follow the order of events. 3. Continuity. It is not enough that the sentences of a paragraph follow one another in proper order ; the connection of each with the preced- ing context must be made clear and unmistakable. It is of the utmost importance that the sentences should be connected in a clear, smooth, easy, and natural manner, so that the thought may be carried on without interruption from the beginning to the close. How Attained. — Continuity is secured in various ways : — I. By the use of conjunctions, adverbs, pronouns, or connect- ing phrases ; as : — " One person might have fallen asleep, but two — but three — that was a mere impossibility. And even supposing all three 'together with the baby locked in sleep, still how unaccountable was this utter silence ! Most naturally ai this moment something like hysterical horror overshadowed the poor girl. And now, a> 148 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. last, she rang the bell with violence. This doie, she paused. Self-command enough she still retained." The Connectives Used. — Among the most common connec- tive words and phrases are : — a. Those called cumulative ; as, — and, also, so, besides, further, moreover, first, secondly. b. Those expressing consequence, similarity, repetition, or the repetition of a subject \ as, — therefore, hence, consequently, accordingly, in this way, again, once more, in fact, upon this, in that case, on the other hand, to proceed, to return. c. Those expressing opposition or negation ; as, — otherwise, nevertheless, still, however, but, on the contrary, conversely. d. Those expressing suspension ; as, — some . . . others ; partly . . . pardy; undoubtedly . . . but; indeed . . . yet. 2. Connectives are often omitted, and other means employed for joining sentences ; as : — a. The repetition of some word or words ; as, " His canny humor lights up the political and theological controversies of the times with quaint incisive phrases. His reading was extensive'; and he was a voluminous author on subjects which ranged from predestinarianism to tobacco. But his shrewdness and learning only left him the wisest fool in Christendom." b. The inversion of the order of the words, or the giving of some word or words a position that enables them to point definitely to what was said in the preceding sentence ; as, " Enter- ing the gulf, he endeavored to find the river Darien. This river he could not discover." 3. Sometimes the relation of the sentences is such that the connection is evident without the insertion of any joining word or phrase. This is the case : — a. When the thoughts are very closely related ; as, " He turned his horse towards Thame, where he arrived almost faint- ing with agony. The surgeon dressed his wounds. But there was no hope." b. When the sentence explains or repeats the one going before THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARAGRAPHS. I49 it; as, "I need not enlarge upon the subject. The case is per- fectly plain." c. In cumulative statements; as in 2 («), p. 148. d. In a statement of consequence ; as, " Further resistance on your part is hopeless. I ask the surrender of your army." 4. Unity. The paragraph should possess unity ; that is, every statement should be subservient to one principal affirmation, and that prin- cipal affirmation should be kept prominent throughout the para- graph. Every sentence must be part of one whole, and that whole should be the presentation of one point of a subject, or one part in description or narration. Example. — The following paragraph illustrates how every sen- tence should bear on the topic sentence : — " What, then, are the proper encouragements of genius ? (Topic sentence.) I answer, subsistence and respect ; for these are re- wards congenial to nature. Every animal has an aliment suited to its constitution. (General illustration.) The heavy ox seeks nourishment from earth ; the light chameleon has been supposed to exist on air. (Particular illustration.) A sparer diet than even this satisfies the man of true genius, for he makes a luxurious ban- quet upon empty applause. (Comparison.) It is this alone which has inspired all that ever was truly great and noble among us. It is, as Cicero finely calls it, the echo of virtue. (Amplification.) Avarice is the passion of inferior natures ; money the pay of the common herd. (Contrasting sentences.) The author who draws his quill merely to take a purse no more deserves success than he who presents a pistol. (Conclusion.)" 5. Due Proportion. As in the sentence, a due proportion must exist between the principal and the subordinate statement. This is a principle of symmetry that applies to every work of art, and the utmost skill 150 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. and much practice are required to give each part of a paragraph that due bulk and importance which rounds it out and gives finish and completeness to the whole. Example. — The sentence quoted as an example of Unity may be considered under this head. It will be found symmetrical and well balanced. 6. Parallel Construction. If the matter of a paragraph is such that consecutive sen- tences repeat, expand, or illustrate the same idea, these sentences should, as far as possible, be formed alike. Example. — "We must not omit to mention that those who were afterwards the nu^^t distinguished ornaments of the King's party, supported the bill of attainder. It is almost certain that Hyde voted for it. It is quite certain that Falkland both voted and spoke for it. The opinion of Hampden, as far as can be collected from a very obscure note of one of his speeches, seems to have been that the proceeding by bill was unnecessary, and that it would be a better course to obtain judgment on the impeachment." Caution. — Parallel constructions should not be followed when they become monotonous or otherwise lessen the vigor of dis- course. 7. Variety. In the mechanical construction of the paragraph every device should be taken in order to prevent monotony. The sentences should be of different length ; some short, some long ; they should be varied in construction, simple, periodic, and so on ; and they should be connected with all possible variety of method. Connection of Paragraphs. — The connection of paragraphs requires the same care as the connection of sentences, and is effected by similar methods. THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARAGRAPHS. 15I EXERCISE XLV. The Construction of Paragraphs. Direction. — Study these sentences till you understand them. Then form them into paragraphs that follow the rules laid down in the preceding Lesson. I. Insects are the curse of tropical climates. The hcfe rouge lays the foundation of a tremendous ulcer. In a moment you are covered with ticks. Chigoes bury themselves in your flesh. They hatch a colony of young chigoes in a few hours. They will not live together. Every chigoe sets up a separate ulcer. Flies get entry into your mouth, into your eyes, into your nose ; you eat flies, drink flies, and breathe flies. Lizards, cockroaches, and snakes, get into the bed ; ants eat up the books ; scorpions sting you on the foot. Everything bites, stings, or bruises ; every minute you are wounded by some piece of animal life. An in- sect with eleven legs is swimming in your teacup, a nondescript with nine wings is struggling in the small beer, or a caterpillar with several dozen eyes in his belly is hastening over the bread and butter. All nature is alive. It seems to be gathering its hosts to eat you up as you are standing out of your coat and breeches. Such are the tropics. This reconciles us to our dews, fogs, and drizzles. This helps us to put up with our apothecaries rushing about with gargles and tinctures. It helps us to endure our coughs, sore throats, and swelled faces. The danger seems to be much less with snakes and wild beasts if you conduct your- self like a gentleman. If you pass on gently, you may walk un- hurt within a yard of the Labairi snake. If you rush upon him, he will put you to death. The tagman knocks you down with a blow of his paw, if suddenly interrupted. He will run away if you give him time. Most animals look upon man as a very ugly customer. They do not care to attack him. They do it for food or in self-defence. Mr. Waterton made a Labairi snake bite itself No harm ensued. No harm would ensue if a sinful soldier gave himself a thousand lashes. 152 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 2. Still there were not knighthoods enough. In 1783 the king instituted the Order of St. Patrick. Scotland had its most ancient Order of the Thistle. No order of knighthood had, until that time, been appropriated to Ireland. The Hanoverian Guelphic Order of Knighthood had been opened to the ambition of Eng- lishmen ; William IV., during his reign, added to its roll a goodly company of English knights. The Order of the Bath, originally a military order, was enlarged in 1815 ; again in 1847, the Queen added a civil division to the order. This was to comprise such persons as by their personal services to the Crown, or by the per- formance of public duties, had merited the royal favor. Beside these several titled orders, may be noticed officers enjoying naval and military rank, whose numbers were extraordinarily augmented by the long war with France, and by the extension of the British possessions abroad. Men holding high offices in the State, the Church, the Law, the Universities, and other great incorporations have associated their powers and influence with those of the nobility. The continual growth and accumulation of property have been a source of increasing strength to the British nobles. Wealth is in itself an aristocracy, and it may desire to rival the nobility of a country, even to detract from its glory. In this land of associations, it seeks only to enjoy the smiles and favors of the aristocracy, craves admission to its society, aspires to its connec- tion, is ambitious of its dignities ; the learned professions and com- merce and manufactures and public employments have created an enormous body of persons of independent income ; some con- nected with the landed gentry, others with the commercial classes : so all three form part of the independent " gentry." They are spread over the fairest parts of the country. Noble cities have been built for their accommodation. Bath, Cheltenham, Leam- ington, Brighton, attest their numbers, their opulence. They form a strong outwork of the peerage, with much social influence and political weight, and uphold its ascendency by moral as well as by political support. Professions lean as a body on the higher ranks of society ; the Church is peculiarly connected with the landed THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARAGRAPHS. 1 53 interest ; everywhere the clergy cleave to power ; the vast lay patronage vested in the proprietors of the soil, draws close the bond between them and the Church ; the legal and medical pro- fessions, being mainly supported by wealthy patrons, have the same political and social interests. How vast a community of rank and of wealth and of intelligence do these several classes of society constitute ! The House of Lords, in truth, is not only a privileged body, but a great representative institution, standing out as the embodiment of the aristocratic influence and sympathies of the country. 3. All was now confusion and despondency. The provisions had been so ill managed by the Committee, that there was no longer food for the troops. The Highlanders consequently de- serted by hundreds ; and the Earl, broken-hearted by his misfor- tune, yielded to the urgency of those who pertinaciously insisted that he should march into the Lowlands. The htde army there- fore hastened to the shore of Loch Long, passed that inlet by night in boats, and landed in Dumbartonshire. Hither, on the following morning, came news that the frigates had forced a pas- sage, that all the Earl's ships had been taken, and that Elphinstone had fled from Ealan Ghierig without a blow, leaving the castle and stores to the enemy. All that remained was to invade the Lowlands under every disadvantage. Argyle resolved to make a bold push for Glasgow, but as soon as this resolution was an- nounced, the very men who had, up to that moment, been urging him to hasten into the low country, took fright, argued, remon- strated, and when argument and remonstrance proved vain, laid a scheme for seizing the boats, making their own escape, and leav- ing their General and his clansmen to conquer or perish unaided. This scheme failed, and the poltroons who had formed it were compelled to share with braver men the risks of the last venture. During the march through the country which Res between Loch Long and Loch Lomond, the insurgents were constantly infested by parties of militia. Some skirmishes took place in which the Earl had the advantage, but the bands which he repelled, falling 154 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. back before him, spread the tidings of his approach, and, soon after he had crossed the river Leven, he found a strong body of regular and irregular troops prepared to encounter him. He was for giving battle. Ayloffe was of the same opinion. Hume, on the other hand, declared that to fight would be madness. He saw one regiment in scarlet ; more might be behind. To attack such a force was to rush on certain death. The best course was to remain quiet till night, and then give the enemy the slip. A little altercation followed, which was with difficulty quieted by the medi- ation of Rumbold. It was now evening. The hostile armies en- camped at no great distance from each other. The Earl ventured to propose a night attack, and was again overruled. EXERCISE XLVI. General Exercise on Sentences. Direction. — Study these sentences. If you hnd a fault in any of them, state the reason for any change you propose. 1. The King was wounded in the eye, by an arrow, after long fighting. 2. In his old age the man became wrinkled and broken and bowed. 3. They call me wise, although I am not wise, when they want to reproach you. 4. The house was crowded to its utmost capacity ; every avail- able seat was occupied and many remained standing till the close. 5. I had an indistinct glimpse of Mr. H. flying over the fence, and I rolled comfortably out of the sleigh, wrapped in the buffalo robe, under a pine-tree. , 6. One of our expert wheelmen was caught in a machine fan- ning mill a few days ago. The effect is likely to be permanent. 7. I never saw a man in the whole course of my life and the doctors all said so, that observed directions or took medicine better than he did. GENERAL EXERCISE ON SENTENCES. 1 55 8. When the locusts approached the inhabitants shut themselves up ro keep them out, but it is impossible as they are so thiclc. 9. War and famine and death had made them discouraged. 10. When he was first arrested, he said that he and Benwell came to the outskirts of Woodstock that day and he remained there. 11. No real reason can be given for such differences; it is simply the case that the one is customary, or what we are used to, and the other not. 12. The appearance of the serf, or bondsman, was more sad and sullen than W\amba. 13. His absent friends had every confidence in him and believed their deposits were perfectly safe in his hands; and when he told them shortly after the bank had failed that they had plenty to pay every dollar they owed, and that all that they asked was a little time, and the bank would be open in a few days, they fully believed him. 14. It is for this class that the following directions and sugges- tions are offered, and which, if carried out, will ensure healthy, luxuriant plants. 15. Flower-pots should be washed as often as mould or fungus growth appears, to allow evaporation and a free access of air. 16. A periphrasis is a circumlocutory and pleonastic cycle of oratorial sonorosity, circumscribing an atom of ideality, enveloped in verbal profundity. 17. You have the power of sending your name down through all times, illustrated by deeds of higher fame and more useful import, than ever were done within these walls. 18. Let us inquire whether the present system of education is harmful to the present generation or not. 19. As Addison's subjects are common, so his language was language that could be understood, and his essays are somewhat long sometimes and tedious. 20. Some, perhaps, are not so fortunate as to have a true friend in their teacher, a kind of guide ; for I think if teachers knew the 156 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. way in which children imitate their actions and follow their example they would be more careful to make that example more like the divine teacher of humanity. 21. As the locusts fell to the earth they were trampled under the hoof of the travellers' horses and they did not miss them their numbers were so great. 22. The city has a large dock- yard compared with its size. 23. He is a boy that has nothing the matter with him, that takes the relish of this world out. 24. He was not an author, but he was a bard. 25. Man has two natures, that of spirituality and that of being corporeal, which always may be considered separate. 26. The doctor answered after a pause for a moment, and rub- bing his head at the same time, that it was the only thing he could do. 27. A cloth served in some degree to protect the dignitaries who occupied the chair from the weather. 28. He rode, not a mule, like his companion, but a strong hackney horse. 29. I was not, like His Grace of Bedford, dandled, rocked, and swaddled into a legislator. 30. You have already been informed of the sale of Ford's Theatre, where Mr. Lincoln was assassinated, for religious pur' poses. 31. The works of God are very wonderful. 32. The duke owed Lord Dice about five thousand pounds, and Temple Grace owed him as many hundreds ; Lord Castleford also owed him seven hundred and fifty, and the ba-ron owed hiro a small sum. ;^;^. As smoke is driven away, so chase (drive?) them away. 34. We played croquet in the morning; we played lawn tennis in the afternoon ; and we played chess in the evening. 35. No one seems to have believed our report. (Interrogation.) 36. He worked all night in his office, he worked next day at his trade, and he worked at his garden in the evening. GENERAL EXERCISE ON SENTENCES. 1 57 37. He became, however, as time passed on, sensual, selfish, despotic, and cruel. 38. A diminutive specimen of the feminine gender, rejoicing in the euphonious cognomen of Mary, was possessed of a young animal called, in common parlance, a lamb. The exterior woolly covering of the quadruped was in color white as the driven snow ; and to all places and localities whithersoever the said Mary in her wanderings did perambulate, the aforesaid small quadruped in like manner was just as certain to peregrinate. 39. Resolved, That this Association expresses the regret with which they have heard of the death of Mr. J. B., who added to great ability the virtues of courtesy and kindness to the other members of his profession, coupled with the highest integrity, and they desire to convey to Mrs. B. and family their heartfelt sym- pathy in a bereavement, that is felt by the profession throughout the province. 40. Addison suffered much from attacks of asthma, and died in the calmness of a confident trust'in God. 41. He fell forward suddenly one day whilst gardening with his head in a bed of mignonette, and when taken up was as dead as a stone. 42. A man finds himself pleased, he does not know how or why with the cheerfulness of his companion ; it is hke a sudden sunshine that awakens a secret delight in the mind without his attending to it. 43. " If you wish to find the Professor," said the student, " cru- cify the quadrangle, ascend the grades, make a dextral vert, and you will find him perambulating his domicile or prospecting his fenestrum. 44. Along the ranks go officer and sergeant until the front rank is reached. 45. Our hearts will go out to those that have helped to make the Convention days profitable, never to be forgotten, and delightful. 46. Being deeply sensible of the increasing evils caused by intemperance, alarmed at the dangers of, and commiserating the 158 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. misery caused by intemperance, we believe it has become our duty to unite our efforts for its extermuiation. 47. The secretary shall read the minutes and all the papers ordered to be read. 48. In a short editorial in our last number, we pointed out the want in our school system of any attention being paid to the artistic sensibilities of our pupils. 49. The old soil should be picked out from the outer edges of the roots, care being taken not to break the roots too much, the object of re-potting being to not only give a larger-sized pot, but making the soil more porous by renewing as in cultivating land. 50. His reign was like the course of a meteor, which shoots along the face of heaven, which sheds around an unnecessary and portentous light, which is swallowed up by universal darkness. 51. The best possible way to learn geography would probably be to travel through the country ; perhaps the next best way is by studying the progress of a war in the newspapers with the aid of t maps. 52. If the formation of character is one of the aims of the teacher, as we have often insisted, let him be excessively cautious how he ridicules. 53. We spoke lately of discouragement as being one of the strongest wasters of brain power ; there is a method employed by some teachers to correct faults which is even worse in its injurious results — ridicule. 54. Joseph Wilson Swan, the electric light inventor, lives ele- gantly at Bromley, England ; and is described as a handsome man with a noble head set on a rather long neck, a distinguishing character of the Swan family. 55. Why remain in the land of snow, when you can visit New Orleans and return for $31.85, where the magnolia is iii bloom. 56. A gentleman once drove up to a hotel, and giving his horse mto the care of the hostler said : " Extricate this quadruped from the vehicle, stabulate him, supply him with a sufficient quantity of nutritious aliment, and when the Aurora of morn shall again GENERAL EXERCISE ON SENTENCES. 1 59 dawn, I will amply repay you for your amiable hospitality." The hostler, amazed, hastened in to tell his master that a Dutchman wanted to see him. 57. Answer my prayer which is, if you dwell on this island or no, and that you inform me how to conduct myself. 58. All these tales were told in that drowsy tone that men talk in in the dark. 59. The expression of his face showed no more self-denial than his dress that he despised earthly pomp. 60. He was a man of many accomplishments and virtues, thoughtful in his doings, winning in his address, a kind friend, a faithful and loving husband, an affectionate father, and he played melodious tunes on the jews-harp. 61. The French foot guards are dressed in blue and all the marching regiments in white, which has a very foolish appearance for soldiers, and as for blue regimentals, it is only fit for the Horse Guards Blue or the Artillery. 62. Up the perfume-swept avenue of love, and under the rose- ate archway of hymen, they had passed into the joy-lit realms of that higher and holier existence where soul meets soul on hmpid waves of ecstatic feeling, and hearts touch hearts through the blended channel of lips in rapture linked. 63. The author of the Waverley Novels was not only remarkable for his talent ; he was equally remarkable for his industry. 64. I heard a cobbler who could scarcely put a sole on a shoe say that the soul is not immortal, and his sole reason was that he could not believe it. 65. But though we think the conduct of the regicides blam- able, that of Milton appears to us in a very different light. The deed was done. It could not be undone. The evil was incurred. The object was to render it as small as possible. We censure the chiefs of the army for not yielding to the popular opinion. We cannot censure Milton for wishing to change that opinion. (Dis- cuss the advantages and disadvantages of inserting connectives between these sentences.) i6o COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 66. Compose a sentence on each of these subjects : Health. Autumn. Content. Harvest. Friendship. Newspapers. Honor. The Ocean. Pleasure. Poverty. Evangeline. School-life. Sickness. Rip Van Winkle. Steam. Railways. Public speaking. The value of time. The true aim of life. The use of tobacco. Bathing in the surf. Your birthplace. Your own town. The value of education. Criticise each of your sentences rigidly. Where you find any violation of the laws of Clearness, Strength, Unity, or Elegance, rewrite the defective sentence in improved form. LESSON XXX. VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. I. Prose. Explanation. — Though there is one set of words that expresses a thought with greater exactness than any other can, yet every thought may be expressed in a great variety of ways. Exercise in casting about to find these different modes of expression tends to give freedom and readiness of choice and to assist in learn- ing to select the form that most fittingly conveys the meaning intended. Kinds of Variety. — There may be variety of expression in : (i) The order of the words; (2) The construction of the sen- tences ; (3) The kinds of the sentences ; (4) The form ; (5) The individual words ; (6) The phraseology. How attained. — This variety may be made by: (i) Change of Order; (2) Construction; (3) Synonyms; (4) Phraseology. VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. l6l CHANGE OF ORDER. The parts of a sentence may frequently be arranged in several ways without altering -the meaning; yet, in every case, there is a particular order that is more appropriate than any other. Example. — " The next argument you will all appreciate." Or : "You will all appreciate the next argument." Or : "You all will appreciate the next argument." EXERCISE XLVII. Change of Order. Direction. — Vary the following sentences by changing the order of the words, clauses, or phrases. 1. We know how cheaply praise is won. 2. After their death it was passed round somewhat freely, and fell into my hands. 3. Talent backs into the shafts Hke a lamb, 4. On this issue they were overwhelmingly defeated. 5. When the danger of a war had passed by, he again retired to his home. 6. The traces of martyrdom, it seems, are worn in the other world as stars and ribands are worn in this. 7. In a fierce battle he was struck by a musket ball which broke his ankle-bone. 8. I went on my way with a sad heart. 9. When the beavers build on the bank of a stream, they make a dam across it. 10. One by one, day after day, man learns to coin his wishes into facts. 11. By a long course of study and discipline he made himself what he was. 12. He had just raised the cup to his lips when his eye fell on a poor, dying soldier who was looking longingly at the cool drink. l62 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 13. Many born poets, I am afraid, flower poorly in song, or not at all, because they have been too often transplanted. 14. All legislative powers granted by the Constitution of the United States are vested in Congress, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. 15. I fear the popular notion of success stands in direct opposition in all points to the real and wholesome success. LESSON XXXI. CONSTRUCTION. Substitution. — In the construction of sentences, great latitude is afforded in the choice of the form of expression. As Variety in this respect is one of the beauties of good composition, pains must be taken to acquire a readiness and tact in substituting one con- struction for another. How Secured. — Variety of construction may be secured by (i) substituting one kind of phrase or clause for another, (2) by varying the predicate, (3) by combining or expanding sentences, (4) by changing the form. I. Adjectival phrases or clauses may be changed into : — 1. Adjectives; as, "A man of virtue " ; "A virtuous man." " He assumed a gravity that was ridiculous " ; " He assumed a ridiculous gravity." 2. hifinitives ; as, " He was the first that entered " ; "He was the first to enter." 3. Adverbial Clauses; as, "A man that does not care for music is to be pitied " ; "A man, if he does not care for music, is to be pitied." Or : " If a man does not care for music, he is to be pitied." 4. Prepositional Phrases ; as, " A man who has little sense, is VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 163 seldom aware of the fact " ; " A man, with little sense, is seldom aware of the fact." 5. Participles or Participial Phrases ; as, '•' Glaciers, which flow down mountain gorges, obey the law of rivers " ; " Glaciers, flowing down mountain gorges, obey the law of rivers." 6. Nouns ; as, " Let those who win laugh " ; " Let the winners laugh." 2. Adverbial phrases or clauses may be changed into : — 1. Participles, or Phrases containing Participles ; as, " She gave it to me when she was dying " ; " She, dying, gave it to me-." 2. Imperative Mood ; as, " If that be granted, the rest is easily proved " ; " Grant that, and the rest is easily proved." 3. Prepositional Phrases; as, "My mother, when she does praise me, grieves me''; "My mother, in praising me, grieves me." 4. Nominative Absolute ; as, " When the cat's away, the mice will play " ; " The cat being away, the mice will play." 5. Other Adverbial Plirases ; as, "Many people fail because they neglect their own business " ; " Many people fail through neglecting their own business." 6. Infinitive Phrases ; as, "We should rejoice on hearing of the prosperity of others " ; " We should rejoice to hear of the prosperity of others." 7. Adverbs ; as, " As far as we can judge by appearance, she is wealthy " ; " She is apparently wealthy." 3. Noun clauses may be changed into : — 1. Infinitives ; as, " We know not what we should do " ; " We know not what to do." 2. Lifnited Infinitives ; as, " It was a lucky thing that Tom was here " ; " Tom's being here was a lucky thing." 3. Infinitives with Subject ; as, " I believe that he is honest " ; " I believe him to be honest." 4. P-epositional Phrases ; as, "I cannot accept the notion that school life affected him so " ; "I cannot accept the notion of school life affecting him so." 164 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. EXERCISE XLVIII. Adjective Phr-^ses and Clauses. Direction. — Change the adjectival phrases or clauses as illustrated in the preceding Lesson. 1. We were in a sloping channel which had sloping banks on each side. 2. A man who has started in life on wrong principles may yet learn the true lesson. 3. Those who work should be paid. 4. The trees that were not protected were winter-killed. 5. The nations that are the best educated are the most prosperous. 6. She placed the posy she had gathered beneath a clump of brakes. . - 7. That happened at the time when all were seeking to save themselves. 8. A reward was offered to any one who might find him. 9. He expunged the passages that had given offence. 10. He offered a reward to any person who should reveal the author. 1 1 . There is nothing which we ought more to encourage in ourselves and others than cheerfulness. 12. A being who has nothing to pardon in himself may reward every man according to his works. 13. The treatise I mention has been noticed by several authors who have attained eminence. 14. A small river that goes nearly round the town overflows in the rains. 15. The windows are of open wood-work, which is carved in fanciful figures. VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 165 Direction. — Change the adjectives, infinitives, adverbial clauses, prepo- sitional phrases, participles, and appositive nouns into adjectival phrases or clauses. 1. No ancient or modern hero ever had more contempt for death. 2. In the proclamation offering the reward, the criminal was described. 3. The king, curious to see the result, went to the prison. 4. She redeemed the tyranny of her father's reign. 5. A murmur of astonishment ran through the company. 6. The mirth of the company rapidly increased. 7. We breathe by means of lungs, placed in that part of the body called the chest. 8. No man of ordinary intelligence would venture the statement. 9. He was the first to make the discovery. 10. Virtue extends to those parts of our existence lying beyond the grave. 11. Our eternity is to take its color from the hours here employed in virtue or in vice. 12. That man has but a small talent to improve. 13. Country life abounds in healthful pleasures. 14. His stable doors are patched with noses of foxes of the Knight's own hunting down. 15. They use sauces of a hundred ingredients. EXERCISE XLIX. Adverbial Phrases and Clauses. Direction. ---Change the adverbial phrases and clauses as illustrated in the preceding Lesson. 1. The majority of the passengers had been made aware of the state of affairs. 2. Passe-partout made a grimace when he gazed at his elegant but thin slippers. 3. The animal had been purchased for a fighting elephant, not for carrying purposes. l66 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 4. Elephants in India are dear, for they are becoming some- what scarce. 5. As the night wore on, the accounts grew much worse. 6. To this place many of the rioters had straggled, because it afforded the means of a barricade. 7. As they had been warned by each other and by the scout, they knew something about the matter. 8. Nothing is more amiable than true modesty, 9. Discretion does not always show itself in words. 10. A man should conduct himself so that he will be respected. 11. Nature delights in the most plain and simple diet. 12. This observation, in my opinion, has no foundation in nature. 13. The Son of Man hath no place where he may lay his head. 14. After I had dined, I returned home. 15. When I was young, I thought as you do. Direction. — Change the participial, prepositional, infinitive, and absolute phrases, the imperatives, and adverbs, into adverbial phrases or clauses. 1 . He turned his head to look behind him. 2. She was a beautiful girl with flowing flaxen hair. 3. The spot was immediately erased. 4. Admit that point, and all the rest follows. 5. Uttering these words, he left the room. 6. Having made this remark, he soon began his task. 7. This preface being made, they addressed themselves to the work. 8. He calmly contemplates the approach of death. 9. The evening was spent conversing with friends; 10. The object of the book being discovered, both parties were indignant at the writer. 1 1. His mind was busy planning schemes of improvement. 12. Taylor being released determined to remain in Wales. 13. I scrambled up with pain and shame. 14. He did not care to live with his friend dead. 15. Grant the supposition, and the conclusion must follow. VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 16/ EXERCISE L. Noun Clauses. Direction. — Change the noun clauses as indicated in the preceding Lesson 1 . I believe you are a friend of the defendant. 2. 1 hope I shall have the pleasure of judging. 3. He determined that he would sell his endre stock. 4. He has long had a notion that he would retire from business. 5. He found that the boys were disobedient. 6. He expected that he would meet him at a dinner. 7. The king commanded that the leaders should be put to death. 8. He asked that they should be his friends also. 9. They found that the place was inhabited by savages. 10. It seemed to him that he had become a new boy again. 1 1 . He denied that he had used that expression. 12. They did not think they were doing anything wrong. 1 3. It is not always enough that we should mean right. 14. We are not certain that mind and matter are necessarily connected. 15. They cannot tell where they ought to sell their produce. Direction. — Change the infinitives to noun clauses, to participles, to nouns, or to other infinitives. 1. He begged to know if he could do anything. 2. They were anxious to hear what was to follow. 3. My friend proposed to walk through the park. 4. He hurried out to meet his friend. 5. I shall be permitted to die for my country. 6. He did his utmost to be here. 7. His being punished was an act of justice. 8. It was impossible for him to come. 9. The object of educating children is to develop the mind. TO. I was much surprised to hear my old friend tell him not to disturb the congregation. 1 68 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 11. I believe him to be a thorough scholar, 12. The chiefs being absent was unfortunate. 13. To be united is to be strong. 14. He is not a man to forget his promise. 15. He struck with such violence as to injure his skull. LESSON XXXII. THE PREDICATE. Sentences may be varied by changing the predicate. 1. The verb be and an adjective may be substituted for the predicate verb ; as, " That suffices for me " ; " That is sufficient for me." 2. Sometimes the verb be and an attributive noun may be sub- stituted for the predicate verb ; as, " He invents " ; " He is an inventor." 3. The verb have and an object may be substituted . for the predicate verb ; as, " He is not discreet " ; " He has no discre- tion." 4. The voice of the verb may be changed ; as, " They searched for you " ; "You were searched for." 5. The chief part of the predicate may be changed to an adjec- tive ; as, " Her disease cannot be cured " ; " Her disease is incur- able." 6. Instead of an affirmative statement we may use a denial of the opposite ; as, " He is learned " ; " He is not uneducated." SENTENCES. The construction may be varied by combining, contracting, and expanding sentences. Simple Sentences. — i. Two or more simple sentences may be combined by changing one of them into : — VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. I69 a. An Appositive Phrase; as, "The keeper was a man of great strength. He killed a lion" ; "The keeper, a man of great strength, killed a lion." b. A Participial Phrase ; as, "The trees are growing along the river. They are very large " ; "The trees, growing along the river, are very large." c. An Infinitive Phrase ; as, " I have come. I shall tell you"; "I have come to tell you." d. A Prepositional Phrase; as, "There is a path through the woods. It is shady"; "The path through the woods is shady." 2. Two or more simple sentences may be combined into a complex sentence by making one the independent clause, and turning the others into dependent clauses : — a. Into an Adjectival Clause; as, "The tree is dead. The tree was struck by lightning"; "The tree which was struck by lightning is dead." h. Into -2^^ Adverbial Clause ; as, "I have come. I shall tell you " ; "I have come that I may tell you." c. Into a Noun Clause ; as, " Plato's enemies had spoken ill of him. He was told this " ; •' Plato was told that his enemies had spoken ill of him." 3. Two or more simple sentences may be combined into one simple sentence with a compound subject or a compound predicate ; as, " Life is work. Life is warfare " ; " Life is work and warfare." "The men are diligent. The boys are diligent" ; "The men and the boys are diligent." " He is a wise man. He is a good man. He is a patriotic man " ; " He is a wise, good, and patriotic man." 4. Simple sentences may be expanded into compound or into complex sentences. Example. — "On approaching the house, we saw the enemy retreating"; "As we approached the house we saw the en- emy retreating." Or: "We approached the house and saw the enemy retreating." 170 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. Compound and complex sentences may be contracted into simple sentences. Example. — " He always stood up for what was right " ; " He always stood up for the right." Compound sentences may be changed into complex, and complex into compound. Example. — "I was too far from home to think of returning, and so I determined to go forward " ; "As I was too far from home to think of returning, I determined to go forward." Direct Discourse for Indirect. Direct discourse introduces the speakers themselves, while indirect merely tells what they said or did. It is often convenient or desirable to change the one into the other. This is done chiefly by changing the first and second person to the third, and the present tense to the past. Example. — Direct: "Paint me as I am," said Cromwell, " with all my scars, wrinkles, and warts, or I will not pay you a shilling." Lidirect : " Cromwell said that the painter was to paint him as he was, with all his scars, warts, and wrinkles, or he would not pay him a shilling for the picture." EXERCISE LI. The Predicate. Direction. — Vary the form of these sentences by changing the predicate as indicated in the preceding Lesson. 1. They earned money. 2. She had no distrust. 3. I had no alternative. 4. Shelley desired the realization of the ideal. 5. Almost all young persons are fond of the sea. 6. My opinion differs from yours. 7. This statement applies only to certain districts. VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. I/I 8. He is foolish. 9. Your words showed your thoughts. 10. He was friendly to us. 11. Money will supply your wants. 12. Hope buoys up the sinking soul. 13. Our interference did not produce much good. 14. They have none of my sympathy. 15. She does not love him^ 16. You are not kind. 1 7. He is not polite. 18. He is not thoughtful. 19. The mystery was soon solved. 20. The obstacles cannot be surmounted. 2 1 . He is worthy of contempt. 22. His speaking could not be heard. 23. It is expected. 24. I am mindful of you. 25. What the man earned during the day was squandered in the evening. EXERCISE LII. Simple Sentences. Direction. — Combine the simple sentences into compound or complex, as illustrated in the preceding Lesson. 1. Lying is a great sin against God. He gave us a tongue to speak the truth, not falsehood. 2. Their work was not yet finished. The Iroquois came again upon them. 3. They bore her along the crowded path. It was covered with snow. She was as pure as the snow. 4. The largest telescope shows mahy stars. It shows them in every part of the heavens. We cannot count them. They are many millions. 5. These are the mansions of good men after death. They are distributed among these islands according to the degrees of virtue X' 172 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. in which they excelled. These islands abound with pleasures of different degrees. These pleasures are suitable to the perfections of those who settled in them. 6. Thales looked upon the stars. He fell towards the water. He might have looked into the water. He might have seen stars in the water. He looked up to the stars. He saw no water there. 7. He was a comely personage. He was a little above the ordinary stature. His countenance was reverend. He was little like a churchman. His face was honest. It vv^as not strange. It was not dark. It was not wifining. 8. Caesar was tolerably learned. He was learned chiefly in civil matters. He was well versed in history. He understood the weight of words. He attributed much to his good stars. He was fond of astronomy. 9. Antonio was one of the kindest men that ever lived. He was one of the best conditioned. He had the most unwearied spirit in doing courtesies. In him the ancient Roman honor appeared. It appeared more than in any other man in Italy. 10. Nature influenced Wordsworth. The freedom of life among the Cumberland hills influenced him. So did the sim- pUcity of life there. This freedom and simpUcity affected his mind. They affected his character. EXERCISE LIII. Simple Sentences. Direction. — Expand the simple sentences into compound or complex sentences. 1. There he stood, pointing me out with his dusky finger to the mob. 2. I could see the road lying dim and grey below us. 3. Five minutes later a tall figure wrapped in an overcoat rose from the heather. 4. The lowering sky had brought the promised storm. VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 173 5. Frost-bitten people should not run to the stove. 6. I never pass this point without shaking some forty years off my shoulders. 7. There is something brave in your spirit as well as penetrat- ing in your eye. 8. Curiosity getting the better of reserve, she pulled open the heavy grate. 9. Without his help you would not have succeeded. 10. A surprised expression crossed his face. 11. They now left the main road, striking into a green by-path. 12. There is not one in my circle so handsome and so strong. 13. She observed two ladies slowly pacing the piazza. 14. The sudden change from heat to cold experienced on going into water is apt to be very hurtful. 15. She proudly drew herself up, exulting in the bright prospects of the future. Direction. — Contract the compound and complex sentences into simple sentences. 1. My sight cleared for a moment, and I managed to look up. 2. He forgot the loss of his hat, and hurried to meet his friend. 3. I know not how thy palate may relish the composition. 4. The fine lady or fine gentleman who shows me, shows bones. 5. She came so heedlessly that she stumbled. 6. Never leave a street-car while it is in motion. 7. Men uniformly overrate riches and underrate their own strength. 8. The fact is, that a thief is a very dainty gentleman. 9. My ambition is to give them a beau-ideal of welcome when they arrive. 10. He broke with his family, and has for some years led an unsettled life. 11. No one who loves and studies nature can feel alone in the world. 174 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 12. The examinations are just coming on, and it would not be advisable to break up school. 13. That farm is valuable because it is near the town. 14. I stretched out my neck, and caught with my teeth at the stoutest root within my reach. 15. If you are heated with either play or work, take care not to let the body cool too quickly. Direction. — Change the complex sentences into compound, and the compound into complex. 1 . The blows were strong enough, but they came from a man who struck at random. 2. He remained in silent admiration, and we all joined him in his worship. 3. Three seasons have elapsed since the last of these laws were passed. 4. If poaching can be extirpated by intensity ot punishment, why may not all other crimes? 5. I detected the substitute before I was old enough to reason whether it were artificial or not. 6. He left the temple a devotee, and returned a rationalist. 7. If this dish have time to cool, it is the most tasteless of all meats. 8. He burnt his fingers, and to cool them applied them to his mouth. 9. The small stock of provisions which we took with us was soon exhausted. 10. What I want is that you should write to your sisters, and tell them of the fortune that has accrued to them. 11. She offered to relieve him of the task, which he resigned to her instantly. 12. He knew how the desire to become a dashing equestrienne had taken possession of her soul. 13. He was a close observer, and from his stand-point he was able to discern signs of character. VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 1/5 14. When the light infantry joined the main body, the army retreated into the town. 15. His eyes closed with the torpor of approaching death, and those around sustained his fainting form. EXERCISE LIV. Direction. — In the following sentences change the direct form to the indirect, and the indirect to the direct. 1. "I did not rise," said he, "with the expectation that I should convince the honorable gentlemen that they are wrong and that I am right." 2. Wallace told the priests to remain with him, as he could not protect them from his soldiers when out of his presence. 3. The crabbed old schoolmaster used to ask, when they brought him a new pupil, " But are you sure he is not a dunce? " 4. " I intended that work to be my best," said Thackeray, " but I have failed. Nobody reads it." 5. "My conscience," said he, "tells me that I have labored honestly to destroy that which is evil and build up that which is good." 6. Dr. Johnson is reported to have said : " If a boy says he looked out of this window when he looked out of that one, whip him." 7. He said that he had often played under these trees when a boy, and that he felt a degree of filial reverence for them. 8. Dean Swift averred that he never knew a man come to eminence who lay in bed of a morning. 9. "The pubUc," Goldsmith used to say, "will never do me justice ; whenever I write anything, they make a point to know nothing about it." 10. She said that she was glad I had come, and that she had been running down the lane looking for me. 1/6 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. LESSON XXXIII. SYNONYMS. Variety of expression may generally be secured by putting in the place of the nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs some of their synonyms. As no two words convey exactly the same sense, there is always one that is the most fitting to be used, while there may be several that are admissible. Example. — Many good, brave, and moderate men, who dis- liked his former conduct, and who entertained doubts touching his present sincerity, espoused his cause unwillingly and with many painful misgivings, because, though they dreaded his tyranny much, they dreaded democratic violence more. With Synonyms. — A large number of noble, fearless, and reasonable persons, who disapproved of his previous course of action, and who had their suspicions concerning his present hon- esty of purpose, supported his interests reluctantly and with much distressing hesitation, because, though they feared his iron rule much, they feared popular outrage more. Phraseology. Variety of expression may be secured by recasting a sentence, paragraph, or whole sketch in entirely different phraseology. This may be done either by way of paraphrase or condensation. Example of Sentence. — She died. She passed away. She was no more. She fell asleep forever. She slept the sleep that knows no waking. Her dissolution took place. She breathed her last. She departed this life. She sank into the grave. She closed her eyes forever. She terminated her earthly existence. She dropped off. Her demise occurred. After a long and painful illness, borne with true Christian resignation, she passed away at the early age of twenty-six, beloved and lamented by all who knew her. VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 1/7 The Paraphrase. — Reproducing thought with greater fulness of detail or illustration is usually termed Paraphrasing. In this exercise — 1. Do not merely substitute one word for another, or even one sentence for another. 2. Study the passage to be transposed till you have thoroughly mastered it in detail and as a whole. 3. If it is too long to be easily retained in the memory, make a brief list of the leading heads or parts, and arrange them in the order in which you intend to write them out. 4. Then lay aside the passage and express freely in your own language the several thoughts, facts, or statements it contains. 5 . Criticise your work, — a. See that none of the ideas have been omitted or misunder- stood. b. Be sure that all your words and expressions are new. c. See that your words, sentences, and paragraphs are correct. Exajnple of Sketch. — Damon and Pythias were intimate friends. Damon being condemned to death by the tyrant Dionysius, asked liberty to go home for the purpose of setting his affairs in order ; and his friend offered to be his surety, and to submit to death if Damon should not return. Every one thought he knew what the end of the affair would be, and began to condemn Pythias for so rash an act ; but he, confident of the integrity of his friend, awaited the appointed time with cheerfulness. Damon, strict to his engagement, returned at the time fixed. Dionysius so much admired their mutual fidelity that he pardoned Damon, and asked to be admitted into the friendship of two such worthy men. Recast. — Damon and Pythias were very dear friends, and thought a good deal of each other, as the following instance shows. Damon, having in some way or other transgressed the law of Dionysius, was put into prison and condemned to death. Being very desirous of going home to bid his friends good by, and to put his affairs in order before his death, he begged Dionysius to 178 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. allow him to go, promising to return on the day of execution. But Dionysius, fearing that it was a plot to get Damon out of his hands, promised to let him go on condition that he would get some one to act as surety for him. With this Damon's heart sank, for he never thought that any one would be willing to risk his life for him. But Damon had at least one true friend, who did not desert him in this time of trouble. This friend was Pythias. He freely ofifered to go security, saying that, if Damon did not return, he would cheerfully die in his stead. So Damon went to his home, and Pythias went to prison. As the day of execution drew near, the people began to ridicule Pythias for running such a risk ; they said they knew very well that Damon would not return. However, Pythias said that he could trust his friend's integrity ; and he was not deceived ; for, true to his promise, on the day appointed, Damon did return. This so pleased the king that he freely forgave Damon, and asked to be a sharer in their friendship, a friendship which made them stand by each other in such a time of trial. Condensation, on the other hand, consists in expressing thought with greater brevity. Exajnple. — Though a man has all other perfections and wants discretion, he will be of no great consequence in the world ; but if he has this single talent in perfection, and but a common share of others, he may do what he pleases in his particular station of life. Condensed. — In our intercourse with the world, discretion is of more value than any other quality of mind. VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 1/9 EXERCISE LV. Direction. — In the following sentences, change the wording by putting in place of the nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs, one of their synonyms that will express as nearly as may be the same meaning. 1. Indolence is the cause of many evils. 2. Wealth which is desired by all is accompanied by many troubles. 3. In establishing his government he had to feel his way, to sound men's dispositions, and to conciliate different interests. 4. The Protectorate, with all its glories, was not the conception of a lowly intellect, but the revolutionary energy of a mighty nation concentrated in a single chief. 5. Attempts have often been made, and very recently have been renewed with much affirmation of success, to prove that such low forms of life may originate spontaneously from their materials in the water. 6. Great gates of brass, richly and delicately wrought, turn heavily upon their hinges, as if proudly reluctant to admit the feet of common mortals into this most gorgeous of sepulchres. 7. The more, however, James pressed for the consummation of his projects, the more Spain held back ; but so bent was the king on its realization that, after fruitless negotiations, the prince quitted England in disguise, and appeared with Buckingham at Madrid, to claim his promised bride. 8. Human fat is fuel laid away for use. It constitutes a hoard of combustible material upon which the owner may draw when- ever his ordinary supplies are intercepted. 9. I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards to avenge even a look that threatened her with insult. But the agd of chivalry is gone. That of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded ; and the glory of Europe is extin- guished forever. 10. It may well be doubted if any one of the great poets who have arisen during the last half century has so closely touched the popular heart as Longfellow has. l80 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. EXERCISE LVI. Transposing. Direction. — Express in different phraseology as illustrated in the preced- ing Lesson. 1. He gives his parents no anxiety. 2. Truth, crushed to death, shall rise again. 3. Cradles rock us nearer to the tomb. 4. He hides his own offences, and strips others' bare. 5. The gale had sighed itself to rest. 6. When faith is lost, when honor dies, the man is dead. 7. He who would search for pearls must dive below. '^ 8. The evil that men do lives after them. 9. They never pardon who have done the wrong. 10. That life is long which answers hfe's great end. 11. Mammon wins his way where seraphs might despair, 12. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. >f 13. It is more blessed to give than to receive. 14. They all with one consent began to make excuse. 15. It is an ill wind that blows nobody good. 16. How very much happier we should all be if people attended to their own business, and let their neighbors attend to theirs. 1 7. The Court of Elizabeth was as immoral as that of her suc- cessor, but its immorality was shrouded by a veil of grace and chivalry. 18. He was a most severe judge of himself as well as of others. ^ 19. There is scarcely a man living who is not actuated by ambition. EXERCISE LVII. Transposing. , Direction. — Render the following in different phraseology as illustrated in the Lesson. I. Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well ; whatever I have devoted myself to, I have VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 1^1 devoted myself to completely. In great aims and in small, I have always been thoroughly in earnest. 2. It was a mystery to many people why Governor Briggs, of Massachusetts, wore a cravat but no collar. Some people thought it was an absurd eccentricity. This was the secret : Many years before he was talking with an inebriate and telling him that his habit was unnecessary, and the inebriate retorted upon him and said, " We do a great many things that are not necessary. It is not necessary for you to wear that collar. " Well," said the gov- ernor, " I will never wear a collar again if you won't drink." " Agreed," said the inebriate. Governor Briggs never wore a collar. They both kept their bargain for twenty years. They kept it to the death. That is the reason Governor Briggs did not wear a collar, 3. When Syracuse was taken, Archimedes was describing math- ematical figures upon the earth, and when one of the enemy came upon him, and asked his name, he was so engrossed with the desire of preserving the figures entire, that he answered only by an earnest request to the soldier to keep off, and not break in upon his circle. The soldier, thinking himself scorned, ran Archi- medes through the body, and the purple stream of blood soon obscured all traces of the problem on which he had been so intent. Thus fell this illustrious man by the mere neglect to tell his name, for the general, Marcellus, had given orders to respect the life and person of the philosopher. 4. Sir Cloudesley Shovel, whose melancholy shipwreck on the rocks of Scilly is well known, was, when a boy, on board a ship commanded by Sir John Narborough, who, during an action, ex- pressed a very earnest wish to have some orders of consequence conveyed to a ship at a considerable distance. Shovel, hearing this, immediately undertook to convey it ; and this he actually performed, swimming through the enemy's line of fire with the despatches in his mouth. l82 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. EXERCISE LVIII. Expansion. Direction. — Expand each of the following into a paragraph of two ot more sentences. 1. Columbus discovered America, 2. Brevity is the soul of wit. 3. Wisdom is justified of her children. 4. It is glorious to die for one's country. 5. War is a great evil. 6. There is strength in unity. 7. The amiable gain many friends. 8. Party is the madness of many for the gain of a few. 9. Procrastination is the thief of time. I o. There's nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. 1 1 . We know what we are, but know not what we may be. 12. There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. 13. Every one can master a grief but he that has it. 14. The great clock at Strasburg is a wonderful piece of mech- anism. Direction. — Condense the substance of the following paragraphs into one or two sentences. 1. I was not, like His Grace of Bedford, swaddled and rocked and dandled into a legislator. " Nitorin adversum " is the motto for a man like me. I possessed not one of the qualities, nor cul- tivated one of the arts, that recommend men to the favor and protection of the great. I was not made for a minion or a tool. 2. Malevolence to the clergy is seldom at a great distance from irreverence of religion, and Dryden affords no exception to this observance. His writings exhibit many passages, which, with all the allowance that can be made for character and occasions, are such as piety would not have admitted, and such as may vitiate light and unprincipled minds. But there is no reason for suppos- ing that he disbelieved the religion which he disobeyed. He for- VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 1 83 got his duty rather than disowned it. His tendency to profaneness is the effect of levity, negligence, and light conversation, with a desire of accommodating himself to the conception of his times by venturing to be wicked as far as he durst. 3. " I'll tell you a story, -gentlemen, which is as true as that this pipe is made of clay. When I was delivered of my first book, I owed my tailor for a suit of clothes ; but that is nothing new, you know, and may be any man's case as well as mine. Well, owing him for a suit of clothes, and hearing that my book took very well, he sent for his money and insisted on being paid immediately. Though I was at the time rich in fame, for my book ran like wild- fire, yet I was very short in money, and being unable to satisfy his demand, prudently resolved to keep my chamber, preferring a prison of my own choosing at home to one of my tailor's choosing abroad. In vain the bailiffs used all their arts to decoy me from my citadel ; in vain they sent to let me know that a gentleman wanted to speak to me at the next tavern ; in vain they came with an urgent message from my aunt in the country ; in vain was I told that a particular friend was at the point of death and desired to take his last forewell. I was deaf, insensible, rock, adamant ; the bailiffs could make no impression on my hard heart, for I effectually kept my liberty by never stirring out of my room." 4. Write a paragraph on " Our Sight," taking the following as principal and subordinate subjects : A general statement a'oout "Our Sight" — The pleasure it affords — Contrast these pleasures with those received through "the sense of feeling" — The ideas it furnishes the imagination, and their nature — How much we should value "Sight." 5. Write a paragraph describing "A Meadow suitable for a Tournament." Take the following as heads : An introductory sentence — The location — Surface — Kind of enclosure — The size — The form — The entrance and how guarded. 6. Write a paragraph on "Successive Steps to Prohibition." Heads : No sale to minors — No sale to drunkards — No sale of adulterated liquors — High license — Prohibition. 184 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. LESSON XXXIV. VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. II. Poetry to Prose. Two Forms. — All thought may be expressed either in the form of poetry or in that of prose. Sometimes these two forms approach very closely, at others they stand very widely apart, but they never coincide. Moreover, the effect produced on the mind by a thought when dressed in the most artistic garb of poetry is very different from the effect produced by the same thought when clad in the commonplace habiliments of ordinary prose ; and even when clothed in the humblest poetic attire, thought carries with it a charm that it does not possess when couched in the highest form of prose. The learner should try to distinguish between the effect of the naked thought itself and that of the language which gives it expression. In this he will be aided by the exercise of transpo- sition. Methods. — Poetry may be transposed into prose, either by a change of phraseology, or by merely eliminating what is poetic. FIRST METHOD. The first method consists in writing out in good prose the gen- eral meaning of the poetry under consideration. This, if properly carried out, is a profitable exercise for beginners in composition, as it trains them in examining closely the meaning of terse and compact language, and in expressing thoughts with care and exact- ness. This exercise scarcely differs from that in the last Lesson, where prose is transposed into other prose by changing the phra- seology. The object in both is to reproduce the same thought in different language. How to Paraphrase. — The following directions will assist in paraphrasing : — VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 1 85 1. Read and re-read the poem till you understand it perfectly. 2. Make a list of the leading and subordinate thoughts. 3. Lay aside the poem and express the thoughts in your own language. 4. Be careful not to leave out any of the thoughts or sentiments of the original. 5. Be equally careful not to introduce any not contained in it. 6. Do not use poetic words or expressions. 7. Bring out as far as possible the full force of all figures, poetic epithets, and phrases. 8. Compare your version, sentence by sentence and thought by thought, with the original. 9. If you have used any of the language of the poem put other words in their stead. 10. After you have severely criticised your work rewrite it. Example. — " Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way ; But to act that each to-morrow Find us farther than to-day. " Art is long, and time is fleeting, And our hearts though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave." Paraphrased. — We are not placed in this world merely for the purpose of enjoying ourselves, or of dragging out our lives in sor- row, but we are sent here to improve the time in developing the capabilities that are given us. For this, ample opportunity is afforded in the vast fields of knowledge, research, and toil that lie spread out before us. Though the full investigation of these might employ ages, yet but a few short years are granted us. At times, indeed, we feel as if we might live forever, but we should not presume on life, for every throb of our hearts reminds us that we are rapidly drawing nearer the close of our allotted time. l86 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. SECOND METHOD. The second method of transposing poetry into prose, consists in making only such changes as are necessary to change the one form of expression into the other. Where to Begin. — The pupil must first of all acquire a defi- nite idea of the distinction between the form of poetry and that of prose. He must not fall into the error of supposing that form is spirit, that measure and arrangement are poetry. It is not dif- ficult to tell where the mechanical structure of verse ends and that of prose begins ; but apart from this, poetry and prose exist in so great variety, and are so gradually shaded into each other, that the most expert critic is befogged when he attempts to dis- cern the line between them. The truth is, we have much poetical prose, as well as an abundance of prosaic poetry. What is to be Done. — What poetry is in its essence, we need not attempt to determine. If we could decide, we should not be materially assisted in the ungracious task before us — the task of destroying an intrinsic beauty we can neither create nor define, but one that we can all enjoy and admire. In transposing poetry into prose, that is, into the prose form, we need not in every case drive out the living and pervading poetic spirit. Our task is simply to change the form from the poetic to the prose. In order to do this, we shall proceed to examine the differences between these two forms. Differences. — The points of difference to be noticed are in- cluded under the heads of Rhyme, Measure, and Diction. Diction comprises Arrangement, Expedients for Brevity, Words, Concrete and Particular Terms, and Figurative Language. Rhyme. — As rhyme cannot in any case enter into prose, it presents no difficulty. In transposing it is simply eliminated by substituting for one of the rhyming words some suitable synonym. Measure. — Of all the characteristics in which poetry differs from prose, there is but one that is pecuHar to poetry. That one is metre. Composition that is written in metre is poetry, in form VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 1 87 at least, while that which is not is prose. Some poetry seems to be distinguished from prose only by the possession of metre. How Transposed. — In poetry which is expressed in this plain and simple style, all that is necessary to convert it into prose form is merely to remove the metre by inserting or omitting words, as in the example following. Example. — " Pray, do not mock me, I am a very foolish, fond old man. Four-score and upwards ; and, to deal plainly, I fear I am not in my perfect mind. Methinks I should know you, and know this man ; Yet I am doubtful ; for I am mainly ignorant What place this is, and all the skill I have Remembers not these garments ; nor I know not Where I did lodge last night. — Do not laugh at me. For, as I am a man, I think this lady To be my child Cordelia ! " In this there is not a word, not a phrase, not an expression, that might not be used in the plainest and simplest prose, yet no per- son whose ear is attuned to the music of verse can fail to discover in it that something we cannot describe, but which we call poetry. Now, let us make a change the least possible, but still sufficient to throw out the metre, and we shall find that the imprisoned spirit has fled, that the poetry has become prose. Transposed. — I pray you do not mock me, I am, indeed, a very foolish, fond old man of four-score year'^ and upwards ; and, to deal plainly with you, I fear I am not in my perfect mind. I think I should know you, and this man, also, but yet I am doubt- ful ; for I am quite ignorant what place this is, and all the skill I have does not remember these garments, nor do I know where I lodged last night. — Do not laugh at me, for as surely as I am a man, I think this lady is my child Cordelia. l88 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. EXERCISE LIX. Transposing and Paraphrasing. Direction. — Transpose by removing the measure; then paraphrase. 1. " I met a little cottage girl ; She was eight years old, she said ; Her hair was thick with many a curl That clustered round her head." 2. " They got into a hackney coach, And trotted down the street. I saw them go ; one horse was blind. The tails of both hung down behind. Their shoes were on their feet." 3. " True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, As those move easiest who have learned to dance." 4. " The sound must be an echo of the sense. Soft is the strain when Zephyr gently blows, And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows ; But when loud surges lash the sounding shore. The hoarse, rough verse should like the torrent roar." 5. "The creeping vermin, loathsome to the sight, And charged, perhaps, with venom, that intrudes, A visitor unwelcome, into scenes Sacred to neatness and repose, the alcove, The chamber, or refectory, may die — A necessary act incurs no blame." 6. " Defend me therefore. Common Sense, say I, From reveries so airy, from the toil Of dropping buckets into empty wells, And growing old in drawing nothing up." VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 1 89 ' O yet we trust that somehow good Will be the final goal of ill ; That nothing walks with aimless feet, That not one life shall be destroyed, Or cast as rubbish to the void, When God hath made the pile complete." LESSON XXXV. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN POETRY AND PROSE. — DICTION. Poetic diction is a term employed to denote the form of ex- pression peculiar to poetry. It has already been stated that only in a modified sense can it be asserted that poetry has a diction of its own. There are comparatively few words or forms of expres- sion used in poetry that may not also be employed in some of the higher forms of prose, especially in Oratory. But we must not suppose that in narrative, descriptive, or expository prose it is befitting to avail oneself of the delicacy of wording and structure that is quite in place in poetry, and that is one of its chief orna- ments. In poetry, as in prose, there is great variety of diction. Sometimes, as we have just seen, the language is as plain and simple and unadorned as in the humblest prose ; from this it rises through all possible gradations of elaboration, till it reaches the highest point of polished splendor. Arrangement. One of the features of poetic diction is the use of less usual and more inverted constructions than are commonly found in prose. We must never lose sight of the fact that the object of poetry is, primarily, to please. This it seeks to do by many arts. As agree- able sounds, both those that are actively and those that are pas- sively so^ are a source of pleasure, the poet arranges his line so as IQO COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. to secure the highest degree of melody. Again, an unusual and unexpected order of words may give rise to an agreeable surprise. If, therefore, the melody can be increased and a pleasing surprise effected by the same deviation, a double pleasure is afforded. The attainment of these objects, along with the requirements of measure, accounts for the inverted constructions of poetry. In prose, on the other hand, as the object is to inform the under- standing, everything is made subservient to clearness, directness, and force of expression. Not that the prose writer has no ear for melody or no eye for beauty. He does not disdain to embody as much of music and of all the other beauties of composition as is consistent with the nature of the subject he is treating ; but with him these are secondary objects. PiCTURESQUENESS. Many words darken speech. Poetry seeks to present clear and distinct images to the mind — its diction is picturesque. Long sentences and involved constructions which convey the thought in such a manner that it cannot be grasped without an effort, require a labor that destroys the pleasure poetry is intended to impart ; hence it makes use of the briefest forms of expression consistent with clearness. Many, if not all, of the expedients employed to attain brevity in poetry are also used in prose, but poetry, as will be seen, makes a still bolder use of them. Among the means adopted to render the language of poetry picturesque may be mentioned — 1. The omission of connectives; as, — " The dew was foiling fast ; the stars began to blink ; I heard a voice ; it cried : ' Drink, pretty creature, drink ! ' " On the other hand, the connectives are sometimes repeated in poetry where they would be omitted in prose. 2. Absolute constructions ; as, — " The hour concealed, aiid so femote the fear, Death still draws nearer, never seeming near." VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. I9I 3. Adjectives instead of clauses. — The adjective takes the place of a variety of kinds of clauses that would ordinarily be expressed at length in prose ; as, — " Lely on animated canvas stole The sleepy eye which spoke the melting soul." i.e., the canvas which assumed life under his pencil. 4. Participial constructions ; as, — " Nigh foundered, on he fares, Treading the crude consistence, half on foot, \\dX{ flying.''' " My sudden hand Prevented, spares to tell thee yet by deeds what it intends." 5. Ellipses that would not be permissible in prose are fre- quently found in poetry ; as, — a. Of the article ; as, — " The why is plain as way to parish church." b. Of pronouns ; as, — " It was a tall young gentleman lived by the riverside." c. Of the verb ; as, — " Sweet the pleasure, rich the treasure." d. Of the conjunction and verb ; as, — " By thee I might correct, erroneous oft, The clock of history." 6. Poetic Grammar. — For the sake of an agreeable surprise, and for the sake of brevity, liberties are taken with the rules of grammar, and deviations from them made, under the name of Poetic License. a. Adjectives for adverbs ; as, — " So stveet she sung " ; for " sweetly." 192 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. b. One conjunction for another ; as, — ^' Nor day nor night my heart has rest " ; for " Neither day nor night my heart has rest." c. One case for another ; as, — " So you must ride on horseback after we.'^ d. One part of the verb for another ; as, — " But saw her not Before his weary pilgrimage begun." e. One pronoun for another ; as, — " I will paint me with black." /. Pleonastic pronouns ; as, — " My banks they are furnished with bees." 7. Epithets. — As poetry combines with the object of graphi- cally presenting ideas and images, the still higher one of giving pleasure, it makes use of language at once instructive and pleas- ing. In this way, we find poetry coining new words, or combining other words into epithets in an original and delightful manner. These epithets often convey, in brief, a fulness of meaning that could be expressed only by a whole clause or sentence in the common prosaic style. Thus : — " Grieving, if aught inanimate e'er grieves. O'er the unretuniing brave." i.e., " The brave who are destined never to return." ^^ New-lighted o\\ a heaven-kissing hill." i.e., "A hill that reaches up to and kisses the heavens." 8. Pictorial Epithets. — Sometimes epithets are used, not be- cause they are necessary to the sense, but because they suggest som/" idea that helps to render the picture more complete. Thus : — "Under a j/;Ytz^///^ chestnut-tree." VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. I93 9. Epithet for Name. — The poet often goes further, and puts the epithet for the name of the thing, with a boldness that would not be allowable in prose. Thus : — " Below the chestnut when their buds Were glistening to the breezy blue.'''' i.e., "The sky." " The dead vast of night." i.e., " Waste." Words. Certain words and word-forms are peculiar to poetry. 1. Poetic Words. — Poetry, especially poetry of the elevated style, makes use of many words that may be called poetic, as they are seldom, if ever, admissible in prose of any kind. They are such as stilly, vasty, bewept, welkin, wend, meed, wilding, quoth. Closely allied to these is another class, used in the higher kinds of prose, and also in poetry. They are such as isle, mount, betwixt, vale, nigh, ire, yore. Again, words are often used in poetry in an unusual or improper sense ; as, — " Chill penury repressed their noble rage.''' 2. Altered Words. — To suit the measure, words are frequently altered in form. This may be done by cutting off a syllable at the beginning (Aphaeresis), or at the end (Apocope), or by throwing out a syllable from the middle (Syncope). Thus : 'plaint, ''gainst, 'gan ; morn, eve, ope, vampire ; ne''er, fav'rite. 3. Old Words. — Because old words and archaic forms add dignity to the style, and because they are shorter than the modern, poetry makes frequent use of them, though they would not be allowed in prose. They are such as ween, whilom, clomb, hight, yclept, erst. 4. Proper Names. — In this connection, it may be mentioned that in the names of places, countries, or persons, old names or 194 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. altered forms of modern niMiies are very often employed for the sake of elevation or euphon) ; as, — ''Though the last glimpse o{ Erin with sorrow I see, Yet wherever thou art shall seem Erin to me." In the same way, instead of the name of a person, place, or thing, is found in poetry some quality, characteristic, or accom- paniment that suggests it ; as, " He loves the Green Is/e." Concrete and Specific Terms. It has already been pointed out that both Strength and Clear- ness are promoted by the use of concrete terms instead of abstract, and of particular instead of generic. In poetry, where pleasure is the purpose of the language, it is natural that every word should as far as possible be adapted to call up some image. So we find that poetry even more than prose prefers specific and concrete terms to generic and abstract. Thus : — " The haivtJiorn bitsli with seats beneath the shade." "The hollow-sounding hiiteni guards its nest ; Amidst thy desert walks the lapwing flies." EUPHONIOUSNESS. In the diction of poetry special attention is given to sound. For the purpose of heightening th„ music of the lines, free use is made of — 1. Alliteration; as, — "bareheaded, /breathless, and besprent with mire." 2. The most musical syllables and combinations that can be found ; as, — " Oh ! make her a grave where the sunbeams rest When they promise a glorious morrow." VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 195 3. Imitative harmony in words and movement; as, — • " O'er the river, through the brake. On we hie with screech and roar ! Splashing ! Hashing ! crashing ! dashing ! Over ridges, gulHes, bridges ! By the bubbhng rill, and mill — Highways, byways, Hollow hill — Jumping — bumping — rocking — roaring Like forty thousand giants snoring ! " Sometimes proper names are changed or modified for the sake of euphony ; as, — " Which Albyri's hills have heard." " Under the Ethiop line." FlGURATFVE LANGUAGE. Figurative language, like most of the other features of poetic diction, is not peculiar to poetry, but is common also to prose ; yet there is a wide distinction in its use in these two departments of composition. \\\ the divisions of prose that fall under the heads of Description, Narration, and Exposition, figures of speech are sparingly used, and rarely for any purpose except that of illus- tration or explanation ; in Oratory, whose object is to influence the will by appealing to the feelings, the passions, or the prejudices of the listeners, figurative language is more freely employed. The orator seeks to ingratiate himself with his hearers in order that his opinions and views may find acceptance with them. Hence, he makes his language pleasing that he may first catch the ear and afterwards win the judgment. In poetry, whose chief object is to give pleasure, and whose grand aim is missed if it does not, the adornment of the language is of the highest importance. Yet figures of speech are not the only, nor even the chief beauty of poetic diction ; there is much true poetry in which the language ig6 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. is as plain and simple as that of any prose. In this the very plainness, simplicity, and neatness are the choicest embellish- ments. But poetry is allowed every variety of diction from the lowest to the highest, according to the nature of the subject and the style of treatment required. Although there is no subject dealt with in poetry that might not be treated in prose, yet the converse is not true, for the materials of poetry are confined to nature and humanity, while even here the choice of subjects is limited by the laws of aesthetic feeling and by a consideration of what will give pleasure. Now, it is evident that if the same subject is treated in poetry and in prose, as the ' ' ject is, in each case, different, so the style, diction, and effect must be dissimilar. In Narrative and Descriptive poetry, for example, there is dis- tinct purpose to be attained ; in th^ one, to relate a story, and in the other to present a picture to the mind's eye. In both cases that purpose is to be accomplished in such a manner that the process and the result, the means and the end, shall be pleasing apart from the intrinsic interest of the story or the beauty of the picture. The instrumentahty by which each of these purposes is to be effected is language. Hence, as figurative speech is briefer, more pleasing, and more striking than literal, it is the chosen vehicle of poetry. In transposing, the difficulty is to determine just what figures are to be allowed to remain, and what ones are to be cast out. This cannot be taught by rule, but must be left to the taste and judgment of the pupil. The Limit. — Perhaps, after all, it is only the humbler and more indifferent kinds of poetry that can be rendered in prose. It is true, as already stated, that thoughts or fancies may be ex- pressed either in the prose or in the poetic form. But how much is sometimes conveyed in the form alone ! What richness of fancy, what sublime harmony, what warmth of coloring, what delicacy of feeling, what grandeur and loftiness of sentiment, are often enwrapped in the very language in which poetry clothes the thought ! Who, for example, could express in prose all the effect VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. I97 of Milton's description of Satan's flight to this world, or of the Garden of Eden, or, in fact, any of our sublimer poetry ? The literal meaning of the words may, undoubtedly, be written out in a pitiful kind of prose — prose that at its best is scarcely fit to be considered a caric.iture of the original. It may convey the same ideas, but these ideas, so presented, do not produce on the mind the same effect as they do in the form of poetry. Words are not all of language ; the manner in which they are combined, and the way in which they are made to present pictures to the mind, and, above all, the power they have, in a master's hand, to suggest im- ages, thoughts, and fancies, to fill themselves, as it were, with life, and beauty, and passion, — this is the body and soul of language, and without this the words themselves are but as the dry bones in Ezekiel's valley. EXERCISE LX. Transposing and Paraphrasing. Direction. — Transpose by removing the measure and the poetic arrange- ment; then paraphrase. 1 . " For contemplation he, and valor, formed ; For softness she, and sweet attractive grace." 2. " His step than the red-deer's was freer and lighter ; His eye than the eagle's was keener and brighter." 3. " Here rests his head upon the lap of earth, A youth to fortune and to fame unknown." 4. " When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw, The line too labors, and the words move slow." 5. "The power of music all our hearts allow. And what Timotheus was, is Dryden now." 6. " How sleep the brave that sink to rest, By all their country's wishes blest ! " 198 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 7. " On Fame's eternal camping-ground Their silent tents are spread ; And Glory guards, with solemn round, The bivouac of the dead." 8. " I saw from the beach when the morning was shining, A bark o'er the waters move gloriously on : I came, when the sun o'er that beach was declining — The bark was still there, but the waters were gone." 9. " 'Mid scenes of confusion and creature complaints, How sweet to the soul is communion with Saints ; To find at the banquet of mercy there's room. And feel in the presence of Jesus at home ! " EXERCISE LXI. Transposing and Paraphrasing. Direction. — Transpose by removing the rhyme, measure, and poetic diction; then paraphrase. 1 . " Six frozen winters spent. Return with welcome home from banishment." 2. " The cock is crowing : the stream is flowing ; The small birds twitter : the lake doth glitter ; The green fields sleep in the sun." 3. " Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime ; And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time." 4. " And as a hare, whom hounds and horns pursue, Pants to the place from whence at first she flew, I still had hopes, my long vexations past. Here to return — and die at home at last." VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 199 " The crawling glaciers pierce me with the spears Of their raoon-freezing crystals, the bright chains Eat with their burning cold into my bones." " Know ye ot me, The Titan ? He who made his agony The barrier to your else all-conqu :ring foe ? Oh, rock-embosomed lawns, a id snow-fed streams, Now seen athwart frore vapors, deep bebw. Through whose o'ershadowing woods I wandered once With Asia, drinking life from her oved eyes." " Thus ended he, and both Sat silent : for the maid was very loth To answer ; feeling well that breathed words Would all be lost, unheard, and vain as swords Against the encased crocodile, or leaps Of grasshoppers against the sun." EXERCISE LXII. Transposing and Paraphrasing. Directions. — Transpose by removing the rhyme, measure, and poetic diction; then paraphrase. 1. " Deep in the shady sadness of a vale Far sunken from the healthy breath of morn. Far from the fiery noon, and eve's lone star. Sat gray-haired Saturn, quiet as a stone." 2. " He held him with hi; skinny hand ; 'There was a ship,' quoth he. * Hold off ! unhand me, gray-beard loon ! ' Eftsoons his hand dropt he." 200 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 3. " Oh, lone and lorn my lot ! To me the sunshine is a joy unknown ; In vain earth's lap with rarest flowers are strown — I crush, but see them not." 4. " Thy converse drew us with delight, The man of rathe and riper years : The feeble soul a haunt of fears. Forgot his weakness in thy sight." 5. " Well I ween, the charm he held The noble Ladye had soon dispelled ; But she was deeply busied then To tend the wounded Deloraine." 6. " Who shall tempt with wandering feet The dark, unbottomed, infinite abyss, And through the palpable obscure find out His uncouth way, or spread his aery flight, Upborne with indefatigable wings. Over the vast abrupt, ere he arrive The happy isle?" 7. " For thus it chanced one morn when all the court, Green-suited, but with plumes that mocked the May, Had been, their wont, a-maying and return'd, That Modred still in green, all ear and eye, Climbed to the top of the garden wall To spy some secret scandal if he might, And saw the Queen, who sat betwixt her best Enid, and lissome Vivien, of her Court The wiliest and the worst." VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 20I EXERCISE LXIII. Paraphrasing. Directions. — Write out in prose the meaning of the following poem. Review. See that all your words are properly used, all your sentences cor- rectly formed, and all your paragraphs regularly constructed. THE SOLDIER OF THE RHINE. A soldier of the Legion lay dying in Algiers, There was lack of woman's nursing, there was dearth of woman's tears ; But a comrade stood beside him, while his life-blood ebbed away. And bent, with pitying glances, to hear what he might say. The dying soldier faltered, as he took that comrade's hand, And he said : " I never more shall see my own, my native land ; Take a message and a token to some distant friends of mine, For I was born at Bingen, — at Bingen on the Rhine. "Tell my brothers and companions, when they meet and crowd around. To hear my mournful story in the pleasant vineyard ground. That we fought the battle bravely, and when the day was done. Full many a corpse lay ghastly pale beneath the setting sun ; And 'mid the dead and dying, were some grown old in wars, — The death-wound on their gallant breasts, the last of many scars ; But some were young, and suddenly beheld life's morn decline, — And one had come from Bingen, — fair Bingen on the Rhine. " Tell my mother that her other sons shall comfort her old age. For I was aye a truant bird, that thought his home a cage. For my father was a soldier, and, even when a child, My heart leaped forth to hear him tell of struggles fierce and wild ; And when he died, and left us to divide his scanty hoard, I let them take whate'er they would, but kept my father's sword ; 202 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. And with boyish love I hung it where the bright Hght used to shine, On the cottage wall at Bingen, — calm Bingen on the Rhine. " Tell my sister not to weep for me, and sob with drooping head. When the troops come marching home again, with glad and gallant tread. But to look upon them proudly, with a calm and steadfast eye, For her brother was a soldier too, and not afraid to die ; And if a comrade seek her love, I ask her in my name To listen to him kindly, without regret or shame. And to hang the old sword in its place (my father's sword and mine). For the honor of old Bingen, — dear Bingen on the Rhine. " There's another, — not a sister, — in the happy days gone by ; You'd have known her by the merriment that sparkled in her eye ; Too innocent for coquetry, — too fond for idle scorning, — friend ! I fear the lightest heart makes sometimes heaviest mourning ! Tell her the last night of my life — (for ere the moon be risen, My body will be out of pain, my soul be out of prison) — 1 dreamed I stood with her, and saw the yellow sunlight shine On the vine-clad hills of Bingen, — fair Bingen on the Rhine. " I saw the blue Rhine sweep along ; I heard, or seemed to hear, The German songs we used to sing, in chorus sweet and clear ; And down the pleasant river, and up the slanting hill. The echoing chorus sounded, through the evening calm and still ; And her glad blue eyes were on me, as we passed, with friendly talk, Down many a path beloved of yore, and well-remembered walk ; And her little hand lay lightly, confidingly in mine, — But we'll meet no more at Bingen,- — loved Bingen on the Rhine." VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 203 His trembling voice grew faint and hoarse ; his grasp was childish weak, His eyes put on a dying look, — he sighed and ceased to speak. His comrade bent to lift him, but the spark of life had fled — The soldier of the Legion in a foreign land was dead ! And the soft moon rose up slowly, and calmly she looked down On the red sand of the battle-field, with bloody corpses strewn ; Yes, calmly on that dreadful scene, her pale light seemed to shine, As it shone on distant Bingen, — fair Bingen on the Rhine. — Hon. Mrs. Norton. EXERCISE LXIV. Paraphr.'\sing. Direction. — Follow the Direction of the preceding Exercise. THANATOPSIS. To him who in the love of Nature holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks A various language ; for his gayer hours She has a voice of gladness, and a smile And eloquence of beauty : and she glides Into his darker musings with a mild And healing sympathy that steals away Their sharpness, ere he is aware. When thoughts Of the last bitter hour come like a blight Over thy spirit, and sad images Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall, And breathless darkness, and the narrow house, Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart ; — Go forth under the open sky, and list To Nature's teachings, while from all around — Earth and her waters, and the depths of air — Comes a still voice. — Yet a few days, and thee The all-beholding sun shall see no more 204 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. In all his course ; nor yet in the cold ground, Where thy pale form is laid with many tears, Nor in the embrace of ocean, shall exist Thy image. Earth, that nourished thee, shall claim Thy growth, to be resolved to earth again, And, lost each human trace, surrendering up Thine individual being, shalt thou go To mix for ever with the elements, — To be a brother to the insensible rock, And to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain Turns with his share, and treads upon. The oak Shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mould. Yet not to thine eternal resting-place Shalt thou retire alone : — nor couldst thou wish Couch more magnificent. Thou shalt lie down With patriarchs of the infant world — with kings. The powerful of the earth — the wise, the good, Fair forms, and hoary seers, of ages past, All in one mighty sepulchre. — The hills Rock-ribbed, and ancient as the sun ; the vales Stretching in pensive quietness between ; The venerable woods ; rivers that move In majesty, and the complaining brooks That make the meadows green ; and, poured round all, Old ocean's gray and melancholy waste, — Are but the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of man. The golden sun, The planets, all the infinite host of heaven. Are shining on the sad abodes of death. Through the still lapse of ages. All that tread The globe are but a handful to the tribes That slumber in its bosom. — Take the wings Of morning, and the Barcan desert pierce, Or lose thyself in the continuous woods Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound VARIETY OF EXPRESSION. 205 Save his own dashings — yet the dead are there ; And miUions in those sohtudes, since first The flight of years began, have laid them down In their last sleep — the dead there reign alone. So shalt thou rest ; and what if thou withdraw Unheeded by the living, and no friend Take note of thy departure ? All that breathe Will share thy destiny. The gay will laugh When thou art gone, the solemn brood of care Plod on, and each one, as before, will chase His favorite phantom ; yet all these shall leave Their mirth and their employments, and shall come And make their bed with thee. As the long train Of ages glides away, the sons of men, The youth in hfe's green spring, and he who goes In the full strength of years, matron and maid, The bowed with age, the infant in the smiles And beauty of its innocent age, cut off. Shall one by one be gathered to tliy side, By those who in their turn shall follow them. So live that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan that moves To that mysterious realm, where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, Thou go not, like the quarry-slave, at night, Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, Like one that draws the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams. — William Cullen Bryant. 206 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. LESSON XXXVI. FIGURES OF SPEECH. In preceding Lessons we have studied some of the different forms in which thought may be expressed. We now come to con- sider other forms which are of such importance that they deserve to be examined by themselves. These are usually called Figures of Speech. They consist of intentional deviations from the ordi- nary application of words or from the usual forms of expression. The purpose of these deviations is to increase the effect of lan- guage — to present thought in a more attractive or more forcible manner. Examples. — " He is a Hon." Here the word " lion " is turned from its usual signification to denote " a man of strength and courage," and it expresses the idea in a more pleasing and striking way than do the plain words. " The silver moon " is much more beautiful than " The moon which has a pale bright color." Compare further : — " All is not gold that glitters." "Appearances are often de- ceptive." " Our heads are in the lion's " We are completely in the mouth." power of our enemy, and he may destroy us at any moment." " The arrows fell like flakes " The arrows fell in countless of snow on Christmas Day." numbers." Value and Use of Figures. — Figures of Speech perform a very important part in language. They are at once its ornament and its strength. Among their chief uses are these : — I. They give variety by affording an entirely different way of expressing a thought. FIGURES OF SPEECH. 20/ 2. They enable us to present ideas so that ;:hey may be more easily grasped. This is especially true of abstract ideas, as they are made easier of comprehension by being associated with concrete objects. 3. They add to the force of language. 4. They enable us to express our thoughts in a more attractive form. 5. They give elevation, dignity, and grace to language. 6. They increase the capabilities of language by giving the same word the power of presenting different ideas. For example, in the sentence, "He is a fox," the word "fox," which usually denotes an animal, is here employed to designate the " quahty of craftiness." 7. In general terms, it may be said that Figures of Speech intensify all the qualities of style. Kinds of Figures. — The Figures of Speech most commonly used may be classified thus : — 1. Those based on the idea of resemblance, — the Simile, Met- aphor, Allegory, Personification. 2. Those based on contiguity or the law of association, — Synecdoche, Metonymy, Hyperbole, Apostrophe, Vision, 3. Those based on the idea of contrast, — Antithesis, Epigram, Euphemism, Irony, Interrogation, Climax. The Simile. A Simile is a figure which expresses the likeness one object bears to another. The objects compared must differ in kind ; likening one man to another or one house to another does not constitute the rhetorical figure. The likeness is generally expressed by some word such as, like, as, compared to. Sometimes the sign of comparison is omitted, as, " When the rising sun fell on Memnon's statue, it awakened music in that breast of stone. Religion does the same with human nature." 208 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. Rules. — In the use of similes, the following rules should be observed : — 1. Similes should not be drawn from things which have too near a reseniblance to tlie object compared. 2. Similes should not be drawn from objects in which the like- ness is too faint or remote. 3. Similes should not be drawn from objects unfamiliar to ordinary readers. 4. In serious discourse, similes should not be drawn from low or mean objects. 5. In describing what is low or trivial, similes should not be drawn from great or subHme objects. Rhetorical Value. — The simile aids the understanding in illustrating the thought by a comparison to something already known ; it impresses the feelings by the surprise of finding a like- ness where none was expected ; and it pleases by the beauty of the comparison. The Metaphor. The Metaphor is a figure of speech in which likeness between two objects is implied. Of the two objects or thoughts, one is well known and the other is unknown ; and the former is applied to explain the latter ; thus, " The French Revolution was the whirlwind of the universe." Here the well-known power and effects of the " whirlwind " are used to give a vivid idea of the terribly destructive effects of the French Revolution. Difference between Metaphor and Simile.— The metaphor and the simile both contain a comparison, but in the latter the resemblance between the things compared is formally expressed, while in the former it is only implied. If we say " He upholds the state as the pillar upholds the edifice," we make a comparison by a simile ; but if we say " He is the pillar of the state," we make a comparison by a metaphor. Rhetorical Value. — i. The metaphor is often of great value in explaining what is unknown. For example, the Scriptures in FIGURES OF SPEECH. 2O9 attempting to describe to us the abode of the blest, speak of it as a "city." We know what a city is and our knowledge is at once transferred to explain the unknown. 2. It is also employed to deepen the impression on our feelings by adding a force and energy that could not be secured by plain language ; as, " The news was a dagger to his heart." 3. Again, it may give an agree- able surprise and enable us to clothe abstract ideas with life, form, color, and motion. Rules for the use of Metaphors. — The rules given for similes hold also for metaphors. The following additional ones are also to be observed : — 1. A metaphorical and a literal statement should not be used in close connection ; as, " In peace thou art the gale of spring ; in war, a valiant soldier." 2. Metaphors from different subjects should not be combined in the same expression ; as, " His parents wished to pave his way over the stormy sea of temptation." Such a combination is usually called a Mixed Metaphor. 3. Metaphors should not be carried too far; if too many of the minor points of resemblance are dwelt upon, the reader feels the pleasure begin to cloy. 4. Metaphors should not be multiplied to excess. 5. Metaphors should be natural and becoming and worthy of the subject. Thus the inappropriateness of the following must strike every one. "That wonderful old furnace (a volcano) where the hand of God works the bellows." Metaphors Expanded. — Every simile may be compressed into a metaphor, and every metaphor may be expanded into a simile. The metaphor is a briefer, stronger, and more lively figure than the simile. Hence, as poetry loves to dwell on the pleasing, the simile is better adapted to it, while the vigorous and animated comparison of the metaphor is more suited to prose. Examples. — Metaphor : "The ship ploughs the sea." Simile : " As the plough turns up the land so the ship acts on the sea." 2IO COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. Metaphor : " Harrowing care." Simile : " Care that affects the mind as the harrow does the soil." Allusion, or reference to some well-known fact, fable, custom, or incident, is often embodied in a metaphor or a simile ; as, " That body is an Augean stable of corruption." Allegory. The Allegory consists of a series of metaphors so connected as to form a story, each step of which is symbolic of something else. A well-known example is the *' Pilgrim's Progress." In it the difficulties of the Christian life are symbolized and simplilied by being depicted under the figure of the difficulties of a journey from the City of Destruction to the New Jerusalem. The Parable and Fable are forms of Allegory. A Parable is a short allegory in which some religious or moral truth is taught or illustrated. The incident or event may be real or supposed and is usually drawn from nature or human life. For examples, see "The Sower," or the "Ten Talents." A Fable, or Apologue, is a kind of allegory in which the story or incident that points or illustrates a moral, is supposed to be spoken by some animal or inanimate object. Rhetorical Value. — As these figures contain an incident or story each possesses, in addition to the usual advantages of a metaphor, the clearness of the concrete and the interest of a plot. Personification. Personification consists in attributing life and mind to inani- mate things. 1. The lowest form of personification is produced with adjec- tives, and consists in ascribing the qualities of living beings to inanimate objects ; as, " the raging storm " ; " the angry sea " ; " the hungry shore " ; " the smiling land." 2. The next higher form of personification is produced with verbs, and consists in making inanimate objects perform the actions of living beings ; as, " The very walls will cry out against it." FIGURES OF SPEECH. 211 3. The highest form consists in ascribing to the objects human feehngs and purposes, and with distinction of gender ; as, " Earth felt the wound." This form of personification is sometimes com- bined with apostrophe ; as, " Put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city." All Metaphors. — All forms of personification are metaphors, but they are called personifications because objects are raised to or towards persons. Rhetorical Value. — The rhetorical value of the figure arises from the fact that inanimate things are invested with a greater interest as they rise in dignity and become endowed with personal quaUties that lead us to have a fellow-feeling with them. EXERCISE XLV. Similes. Direction. — Find resemblances to complete the comparisons. 1. He IS as silent as . . . 2. His heart is as weak as . . . 3. Her life was as dull as . . . 4. Her tears flowed like . . . 5. He spoke with a voice like . . , 6. The tongue is like . . . 7. The righteous shall flourish as . . . 8. The horizon blazed like ... 9. The huntsmen swept by like . . . 10. His hounds were as fierce as . . . 11. Their jaws were foaming like . . , 12. Her eyes were as blue as . . . 13. The muscle of his arm was as strong as . . . 14. The wounded heart like . . . soon closes. 15. The people flew before the savage foe like . . . 16. Life passes by like . . , 17. Pleasures are like . . . 212 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. EXERCISE LXVI. Similes. Direction. — Substitute plain language for the figurative and describe the effect. 1. Their eyes were like embers. 2. I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth. 3. Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel. 4. He fell as falls the thunder-riven oak. 5. They shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water. 6. Like a bird frightened from its prey, she disappeared from view. 7. Thy smile is as the dawn of vernal day. 8. Lakes and rivers are as refreshing to the imagination as to the soil through which they pass. 9. Like the temples of the gods, virtue is venerable even in her ruins. 10. The yellow perch looked like sunbeams in the water. 11. The foe retreated like a wolf untimely scared. 12. These wonderful representations come and go like visions in a dream. 13. The gushes of melody warble along the roof like the pure airs of heaven. 14. His history is as a tale that is told. 15. The brand shot up hke a streamer of the northern sky. 16. The agony of their lamentation was like a wind that thrills all night in a waste land. 17. Let thy voice rise like a fountain for me night and day. 18. The barge moved off like some full-breasted swan. 19. Intellect is to a woman's nature what her watch-spring skirt is to her dress. 20. Whatever comes from the brain carries the hue of the place it came from, and whatever comes from the heart carries the heat and color of its birthplace. FIGURES OF SPEECH. .213 EXERCISE LXVII. Metaphors. Direction. — Name the two objects compared, state the point of resem- blance and the rhetorical value of the figure; then express the thought in plain language and estnnate the loss. 1 . He is a worthy pillar of the state. 2. He knew that there were dark spats in his fame. 3. The class are making rapid steps in knowledge. 4. This quarrel must be patched with cloth of any color. 5. The valiant taste death but once. 6. What his breast forges, that his tongue must vent. 7. Ferocity is the natural weapon of the common people. 8. He was a cruel and iron-hearted man. 9. Gaul may champ the bit and foam in fetters. 10. My child is a withered branch that will never bear the print of grace. 11. The door to success is always labelled " Push." 12. Procrastination is th thief of time. 13. Death is a debt which all are bound to pay. 14. He intended to clothe himself with this power. 15. That deep and flowing sympathy comes from the fountains of personal suffering. 16. He has sometimes smothered the child-like simplicity of Chaucer under the feather-beds of verbiage. 17. Ignorance is the curse of God, knowledge the wing where- with we fly to heaven. 18. But let the curtains of the future hang. 19. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. 20. We stood together beside the narrow house made for nil living. 21. He dared to stem the tide of tyranny. 22. He appeared to be but the step-son of fortune. 214. COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 23. The kirk was shorn of its beams. 24. The most efficient weapon with which men can encounter falsehood is truth. 25. The French shook the tree of Anglo-Saxon inflections so rudely as to bring down all its fruit. EXERCISE LXVIII. Metaphors. Direction. — Expand the metaphors into similes. 1. He is a wolf. 2. I bridle in my strugghng muse. 3. Her disdain stung him to the heart. 4. They have passed happily through the storms of life. 5. That school-room is a hive of industry. 6. They reaped a golden harvest. 7. 'Tis the sunset of life gives me mystical love. 8. The table was garlanded with guests. 9. There was a lion in the path. 10. The hero's ability was overshadowed by that of the heroine. 11. The thought struck my mind. 1 2. The standards reel to and fro on the tossing sea of bayonets. 13. Beauty is unripe childhood's cheat. 14. Life's cup sparkles near the brim. 15. So the poor child, in her soul's hunger, began to nibble at the thick-rinded fruit of the tree of knowledge. 16. The moon threw her silver mantle over the darkness. I 7. We loose our dogs of war against our own countrymen. 18. The poet should live in the country where he can hear the heart of nature beat. 19. The army of Hyder swept everything before it. 20. The clouds have dropped their garnered fulness down. FIGURES OF SPEECH. 215 EXERCISE LXIX. Mixed Metaphors. Direction. — In these mixed metaphors change one of the figures so as to make it correspond to the other. 1. To take arms against a sea of troubles. 2. Be thou a rock to them that are afar upon the sea. 3. The sharp scythe of conflict hovers over the land. 4. " My friend," said the professor, " you are sailing into dan- gerous ground." 5. He shall be measured in the government scales. 6. Our future is a sealed seed-plot. 7. Pillar of fire, that didst go before me to guide and quicken me. 8. The chariot of day peers over the mountain top. 9. He stooped to such lengths of meanness. 10. There is a time when factions, by the vehemence of their own fermentation, stun and disable one another. 11. A torrent of superstition consumed the land. 12. His speech conveyed a deep impression to the mind. 13. They labored hard to unravel those obscurities. 14. Their knowledge was based on these sources of information. 15. The colonies are not yet ripe to bid adieu to maternal connection. 16. Christ is the anchor of our hope, which reaches beyond the vale of death. 1 7. An immortal flame swells the breast of that man who adores and is adored. 18. There is not a view of human nature that is not sufficient to extinguish the seeds of pride. 19. When the mustang is caught in a lasso, all his struggles serve only to rivet his chains. 20. T bridle in my struggling muse in vain that longs to launch into a bolder strain. 21. I smell a rat ; I see it brewing in the distance ; and I shall nip it in the bud. 2l6 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. EXERCISE LXX. Metaphors. Direction. — Explain the allusions in the figures, and rewrite the sentences in plain language. 1. These politicians are after the loaves and fishes. 2. He falls like Lucifer, never to hope again. 3. The sword of Damocles hangs over his head. 4. He has not troubled the waters of phonetic spelling of late. 5. He listened to the song of the Sirens, yet glided by the fatal shore. 6. When a man is popular, people climb up into sycamore trees to see him. 7. Before this paper reaches its readers, Gladstone may have crossed the Rubicon. 8. They are simply throwing a tub to the whale. 9. He followed the profession of law, but at a great distance. 10. The happy parents entertained an angel unawares. 11. He went into the highways and hedges of thought, and compelled figures to come in. 12. Nature does not require those who enter her University to subscribe to any Test Act. EXERCISE LXXI. Metaphors. Direction. — Express the thoughts in metaphorical language, I. He is very poor. He is exceedingly foolish. The school-room is a busy place. He was a brave man. He tried to help his friends. They have started a new project. He has failed in business. He is now enjoying the result of his toil. FIGURES OF SPEECH. 21/ 9. Our body is so formed that it is easily put out of order. 10. Her brow was wrinkled. 11. Suspicion is a source of great unhappiness. 12. Tiie sanguine man sometimes finds that he is sadly dis- appointed (dreams). 13. Guilt and misery are inseparably joined (wed). 14. The career of many a conqueror has been marked by cruelty (path . . . stained . . . blood). 15. They nobly gave up everything for the sake of their country (altar). 16. They have begun a new business (embark). 1 7. After a few day's illness, he unexpectedly died. 18. I shall not attempt to estimate the opposition that is (force . . . arrayed) against the ministry. 19. Providence has wisely ordained that we shall not know the future (sealed). 20. Calumnious reports are often circulated about those whose lives are pure (aim . . . arrows). EXERCISE LXXII. Similes and Metaphors. Direction. — Inquire into the appropriateness of the similes and meta- phors. Give reasons for your conclusions, and substitute suitable figures for any you reject. 1. The Storms of seventy winters have passed over his head. 2. A Western preacher, in paraphrasing the words, " The Lord hath made bare his mighty arm," said, "The Lord rolled up his sleeves, and buckled into the work." 3. The vessel that was launched to-day shot broadside into the water like an arrow from a well-strung bow. 4. The dew shall weep thy fall to-night, O Flower ! 5. Some lay brethren think that the old rule of paying your money and taking your choice should hold in the matter of clergy- men as well as neckties. 2l8 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC. 6. Her brow was ploughed by age and sorrow. 7. Having tasted the food of confiscation, the favorites became ravenous, S. Method is the mother of memory. 9. Hadst thou ruled thy unreasonable passion, thy father would not have been left a solitary oak that throws its shattered and unprotected branches against the full sweep of the tempest. 10. The thunder reverberated through the rocks like some great organ pipe. 1 1. His sermon was a crazy quilt of rhetoric. 12. In that speech there were fragments where the muscular arm showed through the sleeve. 13. Politics is usually looked upon as a career which means mud up to the knees and filth up to the elbows. EXERCISE LXXIII. , Personification. Direction. — State what you think is gained in each case by the personi- fication. 1. The mountains sing together, the hills rejoice and clap their hands. 2. Every flower enjoys the air it breathes. 3. And Freedom shrieked when Kosciusko fell. 4. The mountains saw Thee, O Lord, and trembled. 5. What ailed thee, O sea, that thou fledest? and thou, O Jor- dan, that thou wast driven back ? 6. The depth saith. It is not in me : and the sea saith, It is not in me. 7. The earth was laughing after the shower passed by.