39022612 how to speak and write correctly

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Project Gutenberg's How to Speak and Write Correctly, by Joseph Delin

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$itle3 How to Speak and Write Correctly

4uthor3 Joseph Delin

.elease Date3 Septe%ber, 5667 8"ook 9:760;8(es, we are %ore than one year ahead o# schedule;8$his #ile was #irst posted on Dece%ber <, 5665;

dition3 /6

=anguage3 nglish

Character set encoding3 4SC

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Produced by $o% 4llen, Charles *ranksand the >nline Distributed Proo#reading $ea%!



HOW TOSPEAK AND WRITE

CORRECTLY "y

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CONTENTS

CH4P$. .?.B@$S >* SPCH

+ocabulary! Parts o# speech! .euisitesCH4P$. SS@$4=S >* @G=SH G.4BB4.Diisions o# gra%%ar! De#initions! ty%ology!CH4P$. $H S@$@CDi##erent kinds! 4rrange%ent o# words Paragraph!CH4P$. +*G?.4$+ =4@G?4G*igures o# speech! De#initions and e-a%ples! ?se o# #igures!CH4P$. +P?@C$?4$>@Principal points! llustrations! Capital letters!CH4P$. +=$$. W.$@GPrinciples o# letter writing! *or%s! @otes!CH4P$. +..>.SBistakes! Slips o# authors! -a%ples and corrections!rrors o# redundancy!CH4P$. +P$*4==S $> 4+>DCo%%on stu%bling blocks! Peculiar constructions! Bisused #or%s!CH4P$. ES$(=Diction! Purity! Propriety! Precision!CH4P$. ES?GGS$>@SHow to write! What to write! Correct speaking and speakers!

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CH4P$. ES=4@G>rigin! 4%erican slang! *oreign slang!CH4P$. EW.$@G *>. @WSP4P.S

uali#ication! 4ppropriate subjects! Directions!CH4P$. ECH>C >* W>.DSS%all words! $heir i%portance! $he 4ngloFSa-on ele%ent!CH4P$. E+@G=SH =4@G?4G"eginning! Di##erent Sources! $he present!CH4P$. E+B4S$.S 4@D B4S$.PCS >* =$.4$?.Great authors! Classi#ication! $he world's best books!

INTRODUCTION

n the preparation o# this little work the writer has kept one end iniew, i!3 $o %ake it sericeable #or those #or who% it is intended, thatis, #or those who hae neither the ti%e nor the opportunity, thelearning nor the inclination, to peruse elaborate and abstruse treatiseson .hetoric, Gra%%ar, and Co%position! $o the% such works are asgold enclosed in chests o# steel and locked beyond power o# opening! $his book has no pretension about it whateer,it is neither a Banualo# .hetoric, e-patiating on the dog%as o# style, nor a Gra%%ar #ull o#arbitrary rules and e-ceptions! t is %erely an e##ort to help ordinary,eeryday people to e-press the%seles in ordinary, eerydaylanguage, in a proper %anner! So%e broad rules are laid down, theobserance o# which will enable the reader to keep within the pale o#propriety in oral and written language! Bany idio%atic words ande-pressions, peculiar to the language, hae been gien, besides whicha nu%ber o# the co%%on %istakes and pit#alls hae been placedbe#ore the reader so that he %ay know and aoid the%! $he writer has to acknowledge his indebtedness to no one in particular ,but to all in general who hae eer written on the subject! $he little book goes #ortha #ingerFpost on the road o# languagepointing in the right direction! t is hoped that they who go according toits inde- will arrie at the goal o# correct speaking and writing!

CHAPTER I

REQUIREMENTS OF SPEECH

Vocabulary—Par! o" S#$$c%—R$&u'!'$!

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t is ery easy to learn how to speak and write correctly, as #or allpurposes o# ordinary conersation and co%%unication, only about5,666 di##erent words are reuired! $he %astery o# just twenty hundredwords, the knowing where to place the%, will %ake us not %asters o#the nglish language, but %asters o# correct speaking and writing!

S%all nu%ber, you will say, co%pared with what is in the dictionary2"ut nobody eer uses all the words in the dictionary or could use the%did he lie to be the age o# Bethuselah, and there is no necessity #orusing the%! $here are upwards o# 566,666 words in the recent editions o# the largedictionaries, but the oneFhundredth part o# this nu%ber will su##ice #orall your wants! ># course you %ay think not, and you %ay not becontent to call things by their co%%on na%esI you %ay be a%bitiousto show superiority oer others and display your learning or, rather,your pedantry and lack o# learning! *or instance, you %ay not want tocall a spade a spade! (ou %ay pre#er to call it a spatulous deice #or

abrading the sur#ace o# the soil! "etter, howeer, to stick to the old#a%iliar, si%ple na%e that your grand#ather called it! t has stood thetest o# ti%e, and old #riends are always good #riends! $o use a big word or a #oreign word when a s%all one and a #a%iliarone will answer the sa%e purpose, is a sign o# ignorance! Greatscholars and writers and polite speakers use si%ple words! $o go back to the nu%ber necessary #or all purposes o# conersationcorrespondence and writing, 5,666, we #ind that a great %any peoplewho pass in society as being polished, re#ined and educated use less,#or they know less! $he greatest scholar alie hasn't %ore than #ourthousand di##erent words at his co%%and, and he neer has occasion

to use hal# the nu%ber!n the works o# Shakespeare, the %ost wonder#ul genius the world haseer known, there is the enor%ous nu%ber o# /,666 di##erent words,but al%ost /6,666 o# the% are obsolete or %eaningless today!ery person o# intelligence should be able to use his %other tonguecorrectly! t only reuires a little pains, a little care, a little study toenable one to do so, and the reco%pense is great!Consider the contrast between the wellFbred, polite %an who knowshow to choose and use his words correctly and the underbred, ulgarboor, whose language grates upon the ear and jars the sensitieness o#the #iner #eelings! $he blunders o# the latter, his in#ringe%ent o# all the

canons o# gra%%ar, his absurdities and %onstrosities o# language,%ake his ery presence a pain, and one is glad to escape #ro% hisco%pany! $he proper gra%%atical #or%ation o# the nglish language, so that one%ay acuit hi%sel# as a correct conersationalist in the best society orbe able to write and e-press his thoughts and ideas upon paper in theright %anner, %ay be acuired in a #ew lessons!



t is the purpose o# this book, as brie#ly and concisely as possible, todirect the reader along a straight course, pointing out the %istakes he%ust aoid and giing hi% such assistance as will enable hi% to reachthe goal o# a correct knowledge o# the nglish language! t is not aGra%%ar in any sense, but a guide, a silent signalFpost pointing the

way in the right direction!

THE EN(LISH LAN(UA(E IN A NUTSHELL

4ll the words in the nglish language are diided into nine greatclasses! $hese classes are called the Parts o# Speech! $hey are 4rticle,@oun, 4djectie, Pronoun, +erb, 4derb, Preposition, Conjunction andnterjection! ># these, the @oun is the %ost i%portant, as all the othersare %ore or less dependent upon it! 4 @oun signi#ies the na%e o# anyperson, place or thing, in #act, anything o# which we can hae eitherthought or idea! $here are two kinds o# @ouns, Proper and Co%%on!

Co%%on @ouns are na%es which belong in co%%on to a race or class,as man, city ! Proper @ouns distinguish indiidual %e%bers o# a race orclass as John, Philadelphia! n the #or%er case man is a na%e whichbelongs in co%%on to the whole race o# %ankind, and city is also ana%e which is co%%on to all large centres o# population, but Johnsigni#ies a particular indiidual o# the race, while Philadelphia denotesa particular one #ro% a%ong the cities o# the world!@ouns are aried by Person, @u%ber, Gender, and Case! Person is thatrelation e-isting between the speaker, those addressed and the subjectunder consideration, whether by discourse or correspondence! $hePersons are First , Second and Third and they represent respectiely the

speaker, the person addressed and the person or thing %entioned orunder consideration!Number is the distinction o# one #ro% %ore than one! $here are twonu%bers, singular and pluralI the singular denotes one, the plural twoor %ore! $he plural is generally #or%ed #ro% the singular by theaddition o# s or es!Gender has the sa%e relation to nouns that se- has to indiiduals, butwhile there are only two se-es, there are #our genders, i!, %asculine,#e%inine, neuter and co%%on! $he %asculine gender denotes all thoseo# the %ale kind, the #e%inine gender all those o# the #e%ale kind, theneuter gender denotes inani%ate things or whateer is without li#e,

and co%%on gender is applied to ani%ate beings, the se- o# which #orthe ti%e being is indeter%inable, such as #ish, %ouse, bird, etc!So%eti%es things which are without li#e as we conceie it and which,properly speaking, belong to the neuter gender, are, by a #igure o#speech called Personi#ication, changed into either the %asculine or#e%inine gender, as, #or instance, we say o# the sun, He is risingI o# the%oon, She is setting!



Case is the relation one noun bears to another or to a erb or to apreposition! $here are three cases, the Nominative, the Possessive andthe Objective! $he no%inatie is the subject o# which we are speakingor the agent which directs the action o# the erbI the possessie casedenotes possession, while the objectie indicates the person or thing

which is a##ected by the action o# the erb!4n rticle is a word placed be#ore a noun to show whether the latter isused in a particular or general sense! $here are but two articles, a oran and the!4n djective is a word which uali#ies a noun, that is, which showsso%e distinguishing %ark or characteristic belonging to the noun!

DEFINITIONS

4 Pronoun is a word used #or or instead o# a noun to keep us #ro%repeating the sa%e noun too o#ten! Pronouns, like nouns, hae case,

nu%ber, gender and person! $here are three kinds o# pronouns, personal, relative and adjective!4 verb is a word which signi#ies action or the doing o# so%ething! 4erb is in#lected by tense and %ood and by nu%ber and person,though the latter two belong strictly to the subject o# the erb!4n adverb is a word which %odi#ies a erb, an adjectie andso%eti%es another aderb!4 preposition seres to connect words and to show the relationbetween the objects which the words e-press!4 conjunction is a word which joins words, phrases, clauses andsentences together!

4n interjection is a word which e-presses surprise or so%e suddene%otion o# the %ind!

THREE ESSENTIALS

$he three essentials o# the nglish language are3 Purity , Perspicuityand Precision!"y Purity is signi#ied the use o# good nglish! t precludes the use o# allslang words, ulgar phrases, obsolete ter%s, #oreign idio%s,a%biguous e-pressions or any ungra%%atical language whatsoeer!@either does it sanction the use o# any newly coined word until such

word is adopted by the best writers and speakers!Perspicuity de%ands the clearest e-pression o# thought coneyed inuneuiocal language, so that there %ay be no %isunderstandingwhateer o# the thought or idea the speaker or writer wishes to coney!4ll a%biguous words, words o# double %eaning and words that %ightpossibly be construed in a sense di##erent #ro% that intended, arestrictly #orbidden! Perspicuity reuires a style at once clear and



co%prehensie and entirely #ree #ro% po%p and pedantry anda##ectation or any straining a#ter e##ect!Precision reuires concise and e-act e-pression, #ree #ro% redundancyand tautology, a style terse and clear and si%ple enough to enable thehearer or reader to co%prehend i%%ediately the %eaning o# the

speaker or writer! t #orbids, on the one hand, all long and inoledsentences, and, on the other, those that are too short and abrupt! tsobject is to strike the golden %ean in such a way as to riet theattention o# the hearer or reader on the words uttered or written!

CHAPTER II

ESSENTIALS OF EN(LISH (RAMMAR

D')'!'o*! o" (ra++ar—D$"'*''o*!—Ey+olo,y-

n order to speak and write the nglish language correctly, it isi%peratie that the #unda%ental principles o# the Gra%%ar be%astered, #or no %atter how %uch we %ay read o# the best authors,no %atter how %uch we %ay associate with and i%itate the bestspeakers, i# we do not know the underlying principles o# the correct#or%ation o# sentences and the relation o# words to one another, wewill be to a great e-tent like the parrot, that %erely repeats what ithears without understanding the i%port o# what is said! ># course theparrot, being a creature without reason, cannot co%prehendI it cansi%ply repeat what is said to it, and as it utters phrases and sentenceso# pro#anity with as %uch #acility as those o# irtue, so by like analogy,when we do not understand the gra%%ar o# the language, we %ay be%aking egregious blunders while thinking we are speaking with theut%ost accuracy!

DIVISIONS OF (RAMMAR

$here are #our great diisions o# Gra%%ar, i!3Orthography , !tymology , Synta" , and Prosody !Orthography treats o# letters and the %ode o# co%bining the% intowords!

!tymology treats o# the arious classes o# words and the changes theyundergo!Synta" treats o# the connection and arrange%ent o# words insentences!Prosody treats o# the %anner o# speaking and reading and the di##erentkinds o# erse! $he three #irst %entioned concern us %ost!



LETTERS

4 letter is a %ark or character used to represent an articulate sound!=etters are diided into vo#els and consonants! 4 owel is a letterwhich %akes a distinct sound by itsel#! Consonants cannot be sounded

without the aid o# owels! $he owels are a, e, i, o, u, and so%eti%es #and y when they do not begin a word or syllable!

SYLLA.LES AND WORDS

4 syllable is a distinct sound produced by a single e##ort o#8$ranscriber's note3 /F5 words illegible; shall, pig, dog! n eery syllablethere %ust be at least one owel!4 word consists o# one syllable or a co%bination o# syllables!Bany rules are gien #or the diiding o# words into syllables, but thebest is to #ollow as closely as possible the diisions %ade by the organs

o# speech in properly pronouncing the%!

THE PARTS OF SPEECH

ARTICLE

4n rticle is a word placed be#ore a noun to show whether the noun isused in a particular or general sense! $here are two articles, a or an and the! or an is called the inde#initearticle because it does not point put any particular person or thing butindicates the noun in its widest senseI thus, a %an %eans any %anwhatsoeer o# the species or race!The is called the de#inite article because it points out so%e particularperson or thingI thus, the %an %eans so%e particular indiidual!

NOUN

4 noun is the na%e o# any person, place or thing as John, $ondon,boo% ! @ouns are proper and co%%on!Proper nouns are na%es applied to particular persons or places!Common nouns are na%es applied to a whole kind or species!

@ouns are in#lected by number , gender and case!Number is that in#lection o# the noun by which we indicate whether itrepresents one or %ore than one!Gender is that in#lection by which we signi#y whether the noun is thena%e o# a %ale, a #e%ale, o# an inani%ate object or so%ething whichhas no distinction o# se-!Case is that in#lection o# the noun which denotes the state o# theperson, place or thing represented, as the subject o# an a##ir%ation or



uestion, the owner or possessor o# so%ething %entioned, or theobject o# an action or o# a relation! $hus in the e-a%ple, &John tore the leaes o# Sarah's book,& thedistinction between boo% which represents only one object and leaveswhich represent two or %ore objects o# the sa%e kind is called

Number I the distinction o# se- between John, a %ale, and Sarah, a#e%ale, and boo% and leaves, things which are inani%ate and neither%ale nor #e%ale, is called Gender I and the distinction o# state between John, the person who tore the book, and the subject o# the a##ir%ation,&ary , the owner o# the book, leaves the objects torn, and boo% theobject related to leaes, as the whole o# which they were a part, iscalled Case!

AD/ECTIVE

4n adjective is a word which uali#ies a noun, that is, shows or points

out so%e distinguishing %ark or #eature o# the nounI as, 4 blac% dog!4djecties hae three #or%s called degrees o# co%parison, the positive,the comparative and the superlative! $he positive is the si%ple #or% o# the adjectie without e-pressingincrease or di%inution o# the original uality3 nice! $he comparative is that #or% o# the adjectie which e-presses increaseor di%inution o# the uality3 nicer ! $he superlative is that #or% which e-presses the greatest increase ordi%inution o# the uality3 nicest !

or 4n adjectie is in the positie #or% when it does not e-press

co%parisonI as, &4 rich %an!&4n adjectie is in the co%paratie #or% when it e-presses co%parisonbetween two or between one and a nu%ber taken collectiely, as,&John is richer than Ja%es&I &he is richer than all the %en in "oston!&4n adjectie is in the superlatie #or% when it e-presses a co%parisonbetween one and a nu%ber o# indiiduals taken separatelyI as, &John isthe richest %an in "oston!&4djecties e-pressie o# properties or circu%stances which cannot beincreased hae only the positie #or%I as, 4 circular roadI the chie'endI an e"treme %easure!4djecties are co%pared in two ways, either by adding er to the

positie to #or% the co%paratie and est to the positie to #or% thesuperlatie, or by pre#i-ing more to the positie #or the co%paratieand most to the positie #or the superlatieI as, handsome,handsomer , handsomest or handsome, more handsome, mosthandsome!4djecties o# two or %ore syllables are generally co%pared by pre#i-ing%ore and %ost!



Bany adjecties are irregular in co%parisonI as, "ad, worse, worstIGood, better, best!

PRONOUN

4 pronoun is a word used in place o# a nounI as, &John gae his pen to Ja%es and he lent it to Jane to write her copy with it !& Without thepronouns we would hae to write this sentence,&John gae John's pento Ja%es and Ja%es lent the pen to Jane to write Jane's copy with thepen!& $here are three kinds o# pronounsPersonal, .elatie and 4djectiePronouns!Personal Pronouns are so called because they are used instead o# thena%es o# persons, places and things! $he Personal Pronouns are (,Thou, He, She, and (t , with their plurals, )e, *e or *ou and They !( is the pronoun o# the #irst person because it represents the person

speaking!Thou is the pronoun o# the second person because it represents theperson spoken to!He, She, (t are the pronouns o# the third person because they representthe persons or things o# who% we are speaking!=ike nouns, the Personal Pronouns hae nu%ber, gender and case! $hegender o# the #irst and second person is obious, as they represent theperson or persons speaking and those who are addressed! $hepersonal pronouns are thus declined3

*irst Person!&+ or F+

Sing. Plural.

N. I We

P. Mine Ours

O. Me Us

Second Person!&+ or F+

Sing. Plural.

N. Thou You

P. Thine Yours

O. Thee You

$hird Person!&!

Sing. Plural.

N. He They

P. His Theirs



O. Him Them

$hird Person!F !

Sing. Plural.

N. She TheyP. Hers Theirs

O. Her Them

$hird Person!Neuter !

Sing. Plural.

N. It They

P. Its Theirs

O. It Them

@! "!n collouial language and ordinary writing $hou, $hine and $hee are seldo% used, e-cept by the Society o# *riends! $he Plural#or% (ou is used #or both the no%inatie and objectie singular in thesecond person and (ours is generally used in the possessie in place o# $hine! $he ,elative Pronouns are so called because they relate to so%e wordor phrase going be#oreI as, &$he boy #ho told the truthI& &He has donewell, #hich gies %e great pleasure!&Here #ho and #hich are not only used in place o# other words, but #hore#ers i%%ediately to boy, and #hich to the circu%stance o# his haingdone well!

$he word or clause to which a relatie pronoun re#ers is called the ntecedent ! $he .elatie Pronouns are #ho, #hich, that and #hat !)ho is applied to persons onlyI as, &$he %an #ho was here!&)hich is applied to the lower ani%als and things without li#eI as, &$hehorse #hich sold!& &$he hat #hich bought!&That is applied to both persons and thingsI as, &$he #riend that helps!&&$he bird that sings!& &$he kni#e that cuts!&)hat is a co%pound relatie, including both the antecedent and therelatie and is euialent to that #hichI as, & did what he desired,& i! e!& did that #hich he desired!&

.elatie pronouns hae the singular and plural alike!)ho is either %asculine or #e%inineI #hich and that are %asculine,#e%inine or neuterI #hat as a relatie pronoun is always neuter!That and #hat are not in#lected!)ho and #hich are thus declined3

Sing. and Plural Sing. and Plural

N. Who N. Which



P. Whose P. Whose

O. Whom O. Which

)ho, #hich and #hat when used to ask uestions are called(nterrogative Pronouns! djective Pronouns partake o# the nature o# adjecties and pronounsand are subdiided as #ollows3-emonstrative djective Pronouns which directly point out the personor object! $hey are this, that with their plurals these, those, and yon,same and sel'same!-istributive djective Pronouns used distributiely! $hey are each,every , either , neither !(nde'inite djective Pronouns used %ore or less inde#initely! $hey areany , all, 'e#, some, several, one, other , another , none!Possessive djective Pronouns denoting possession! $hey are my , thy ,his, her , its, our , your , their !

@! "!K$he possessie adjectie pronouns di##er #ro% the possessiecase o# the personal pronouns in that the latter can stand alone whilethe #or%er cannot ! &Who owns that bookL& &t is mine!& (ou cannot say&it is my ,&the word book %ust be repeated!M

THE VER.

4 verb is a word which i%plies action or the doing o# so%ething, or it%ay be de#ined as a word which a##ir%s, co%%ands or asks a uestion! $hus, the words John the table, contain no assertion, but when theword stri%es is introduced, so%ething is a##ir%ed, hence the word

stri%es is a erb and gies co%pleteness and %eaning to the group! $he si%ple #or% o# the erb without in#lection is called the root o# theerbI e+ g+ love is the root o# the erb,&$o =oe!&+erbs are regular or irregular , transitive or intransitive!4 erb is said to be regular when it #or%s the past tense by adding edto the present or d i# the erb ends in e! When its past tense does notend in ed it is said to be irregular !4 transitive erb is one the action o# which passes oer to or a##ectsso%e objectI as & struck the table!& Here the action o# striking a##ectedthe object table, hence struck is a transitie erb!4n intransitive erb is one in which the action re%ains with the subjectI

as .( #al%/. .( sit/. .( run+.Bany intransitie erbs, howeer, can be used transitielyI thus, &#al% the horseI& #al% is here transitie!+erbs are in#lected by number , person, tense and mood!Number and person as applied to the erb really belong to the subjectIthey are used with the erb to denote whether the assertion is %aderegarding one or %ore than one and whether it is %ade in re#erence to



the person speaking, the person spoken to or the person or thingspoken about!

TENSE

n their tenses erbs #ollow the diisions o# ti%e! $hey hae presenttense, past tense and 'uture tense with their ariations to e-press thee-act ti%e o# action as to an eent happening, haing happened or yetto happen!

MOOD

$here are #our si%ple %oods,the (n'initive, the (ndicative, the(mperative and the Subjunctive! $he Bood o# a erb denotes the %ode or %anner in which it is used! $hus i# it is used in its widest sense without re#erence to person or

nu%ber, ti%e or place, it is in the (n'initive BoodI as &$o run!& Here weare not told who does the running, when it is done, where it is done oranything about it!When a erb is used to indicate or declare or ask a si%ple uestion or%ake any direct state%ent, it is in the (ndicative Bood! &$he boy loeshis book!& Here a direct state%ent is %ade concerning the boy! &Haeyou a pinL& Here a si%ple uestion is asked which calls #or an answer!When the erb is used to e-press a co%%and or entreaty it is in the(mperative Bood as, &Go away!& &Gie %e a penny!&When the erb is used to e-press doubt, supposition or uncertainty orwhen so%e #uture action depends upon a contingency, it is in the

subjunctie %oodI as, &# co%e, he shall re%ain!&Bany gra%%arians include a #i#th %ood called the potential to e-press po#er , possibility , liberty , necessity , #ill or duty ! t is #or%ed by %eanso# the au-iliaries may , can, ought and must , but in all cases it can beresoled into the indicatie or subjunctie! $hus, in & %ay write i# choose,& &%ay write& is by so%e classi#ied as in the potential %ood,but in reality the phrase ( may #rite is an indicatie one while thesecond clause, i' ( choose/ is the e-pression o# a condition upon which,not %y liberty to write, depends, but %y actual writing!+erbs hae two participles, the present or i%per#ect, so%eti%es calledthe active ending in ing and the past or per#ect, o#ten called the

passive/ ending in ed or d! $he in'initive e-presses the sense o# the erb in a substantie #or%,the participles in an adjectie #or%I as &$o rise early is health#ul!& &4nearly rising %an!& &$he newly risen sun!& $he participle in ing is #reuently used as a substantie andconseuently is euialent to an in#initieI thus, &$o rise early ishealth#ul& and &.ising early is health#ul& are the sa%e!



$he principal parts o# a erb are the Present ndicatie, Past ndicatieand Past ParticipleI as3

Love Loved Loved

So%eti%es one or %ore o# these parts are wanting, and then the erbis said to be de#ectie!

Present Past Passive Participle

Can Could (Wantin!

May Miht "

Shall Should "

Will Would "

Ouht Ouht "

+erbs %ay also be diided into principal and au"iliary ! 4 principal erbis that without which a sentence or clause can contain no assertion ora##ir%ation! 4n au"iliary is a erb joined to the root or participles o# a

principal erb to e-press ti%e and %anner with greater precision thancan be done by the tenses and %oods in their si%ple #or%! $hus, thesentence, & a% writing an e-erciseI when shall hae #inished it shallread it to the class!& has no %eaning without the principal erbs#riting, 'inished readI but the %eaning is rendered %ore de#inite,especially with regard to ti%e, by the au-iliary erbs am, have, shall! $here are nine au-iliary or helping erbs, i!, 0e, have, do, shall, #ill,may , can, ought , and must ! $hey are called helping erbs, because it isby their aid the co%pound tenses are #or%ed!

TO .E

$he erb To 0e is the %ost i%portant o# the au-iliary erbs! t haseleen parts, i!, am/ art/ is/ are/ #as/ #ast/ #ere/ #ert1 be/ being andbeen!

VOICE

$he active voice is that #or% o# the erb which shows the Subject notbeing acted upon but actingI as, &$he cat catches %ice!& &Charitycovers a %ultitude o# sins!&

$he passive voice3 When the action signi#ied by a transitie erb isthrown back upon the agent, that is to say, when the subject o# theerb denotes the recipient o# the action, the erb is said to be in thepassie oice! &John was loed by his neighbors!& Here John the subjectis also the object a##ected by the loing, the action o# the erb isthrown back on hi%, hence the co%pound erb #as loved is said to bein the passive voice! $he passie oice is #or%ed by putting the per#ect



participle o# any transitive erb with any o# the eleen parts o# the erbTo 0e!

CON/U(ATION

$he conjugation o# a erb is its orderly arrange%ent in oices, %oods,tenses, persons and nu%bers!Here is the co%plete conjugation o# the erb &=oe& ctive 2oice!

PRINCIPAL PARTS

Present Past Past Participle

Love Loved Loved

Infinitive Mood

To Love

Indicative Mood

P.S@$ $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I love We love

&nd %erson You love You love

'rd %erson He loves They love

P4S$ $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I loved We loved

&nd %erson You loved You loved

'rd %erson He loved They loved

*?$?. $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I shall love They ill love

&nd %erson You ill love You ill love'rd %erson He ill love We shall love

P.S@$ P.*C$ $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I have loved We have loved

&nd %erson You have loved You have loved



'rd %erson He has loved They have loved

P4S$ P.*C$ $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I had loved We had loved

&nd %erson You had loved You had loved

'rd %erson He had loved They had loved

*?$?. P.*C$ $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I shall have loved We shall have loved

&nd %erson You ill have loved You ill have loved

'rd %erson He ill have loved They ill have loved

Imperative Mood

KP.S@$ $@S >@=(M

Sing. Plural

&nd %erson Love (you! Love (you!

Subjunctive Mood

P.S@$ $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I) I love I) e love

&nd %erson I) you love I) you love

'rd %erson I) he love I) they love

P4S$ $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I) I loved I) e loved

&nd %erson I) you loved I) you loved

'rd %erson I) he loved I) they loved

P.S@$ P.*C$ $@S

Sing. Plural $st %erson I) I have loved I) e have loved

&nd %erson I) you have loved I) you have loved

'rd %erson I) he has loved I) they have loved

P4S$ P.*C$ $@S

Sing. Plural



$st %erson I) I had loved I) e had loved

&nd %erson I) you had loved I) you had loved

'rd %erson I) he had loved I) they had loved

@*@$+S

Present Perfect

To love To have loved

P4.$CP=S

Present Past Perfect

Lovin Loved Havin loved

CON/U(ATION OF 0To Lo)$0

Passive VoiceIndicative Mood

P.S@$ $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I am loved We are loved

&nd %erson You are loved You are loved

'rd %erson He is loved They are loved

P4S$ $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I as loved We ere loved

&nd %erson You ere loved You ere loved

'rd %erson He as loved They ere loved

*?$?. $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I shall *e loved We shall *e loved

&nd %erson You ill *e loved You ill *e loved

'rd %erson He ill *e loved They ill *e loved

P.S@$ P.*C$ $@S

Sing. Plural $st %erson I have *een loved We have *een loved

&nd %erson You have *een loved You have *een loved

'rd %erson He has *een loved They have *een loved

P4S$ P.*C$ $@S

Sing. Plural



$st %erson I had *een loved We had *een loved

&nd %erson You had *een loved You had *een loved

'rd %erson He had *een loved They had *een loved

*?$?. P.*C$ $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I shall have *een loved We shall have *een loved

&nd %erson You ill have *een loved You ill have *een loved

'rd %erson He ill have *een loved They ill have *een loved

Imperative Mood

KP.S@$ $@S >@=(M

Sing. Plural

&nd %erson +e (you! loved +e (you! loved

Subjunctive Mood

P.S@$ $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I) I *e loved I) e *e loved

&nd %erson I) you *e loved I) you *e loved

'rd %erson I) he *e loved I) they *e loved

P4S$ $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I) I ere loved I) they ere loved

&nd %erson I) you ere loved I) you ere loved

'rd %erson I) he ere loved I) e ere loved

P.S@$ P.*C$ $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I) I have *een loved I) e have *een loved

&nd %erson I) you have *een loved I) you have *een loved

'rd %erson I) he has *een loved I) they have *een lovedP4S$ P.*C$ $@S

Sing. Plural

$st %erson I) I had *een loved I) e had *een loved

&nd %erson I) you had *een loved I) you had *een loved

'rd %erson I) he had *een loved I) they had *een loved



@*@$+S

Present Perfect

To *e loved To have *een loved

P4.$CP=S

Present Past Perfect +ein loved +een loved Havin *een loved

K@! "!@ote that the plural #or% o# the personal pronoun, you, is usedin the second person singular throughout! $he old #or% thou, e-cept inthe conjugation o# the erb &$o "e,& %ay be said to be obsolete! n thethird person singular he is representatie o# the three personalpronouns o# the third person, He, She and (t !M

ADVER.

4n adverb is a word which %odi#ies a erb, an adjectie or anotheraderb! $hus, in the e-a%ple&He writes #ell,& the aderb shows the%anner in which the writing is per#or%edI in the e-a%ples&He isre%arkably diligent& and &He works ery #aith#ully,& the aderbs %odi#ythe adjectie diligent and the other aderb 'aith'ully by e-pressing thedegree o# diligence and #aith#ulness!4derbs are chie#ly used to e-press in one word what would otherwisereuire two or %ore wordsI thus, There signi#ies in that placeI #hence,#ro% what placeI use'ully , in a use#ul %anner!4derbs, like adjecties, are so%eti%es aried in their ter%inations toe-press co%parison and di##erent degrees o# uality!

So%e aderbs #or% the co%paratie and superlatie by adding er andest I as, soon, sooner , soonest !4derbs which end in ly are co%pared by pre#i-ing more and most I as,nobly , more nobly , most nobly !4 #ew aderbs are irregular in the #or%ation o# the co%paratie andsuperlatieI as, #ell, better , best !

PREPOSITION

4 preposition connects words, clauses, and sentences together andshows the relation between the%! &By hand is on the table& shows

relation between hand and table!Prepositions are so called because they are generally placed be'ore thewords whose connection or relation with other words they point out!

CON/UNCTION

4 conjunction joins words, clauses and sentencesI as &John and Ja%es!&&By #ather and %other hae co%e, but hae not seen the%!&



$he conjunctions in %ost general use are and/ also1 either/ or1 neither/nor1 though/ yet1 but/ ho#ever1 'or/ that1 because/ since1 there'ore/#here'ore/ then1 i'/ unless/ lest !

INTER/ECTION

4n interjection is a word used to e-press so%e sudden e%otion o# the%ind! $hus in the e-a%ples,&4h2 there he co%esI alas2 what shall doL& ah/ e-presses surprise, and alas/ distress!@ouns, adjecties, erbs and aderbs beco%e interjections when theyare uttered as e-cla%ations, as, nonsense3 strange3 hail3 a#ay3 etc!We hae now enu%erated the parts o# speech and as brie#ly aspossible stated the #unctions o# each! 4s they all belong to the sa%e#a%ily they are related to one another but so%e are in closer a##initythan others! $o point out the e-act relationship and the dependency o#one word on another is called parsing and in order that eery

ety%ological connection %ay be distinctly understood a brie# resu%eo# the #oregoing essentials is here gien3 $he signi#ication o# the noun is limited to one, but to any one o# thekind, by the inde'inite article, and to so%e particular one, or so%eparticular number , by the de'inite article!Nouns, in one #or%, represent one o# a kind, and in another, anynumber %ore than oneI they are the names o' males, or 'emales, or o#objects which are neither %ale nor #e%aleI and they represent thesubject o# an a##ir%ation, a co%%and or a uestion,the o#ner or possessor o# a thing,or the object o# an action, or o# a relatione-pressed by a preposition!

djectives e-press the 4ualities which distinguish one person or thing#ro% anotherI in one #or% they e-press uality #ithout comparisonI inanother, they e-press co%parison bet#een t#o, or between one and anu%ber taken collectiely,and in a third they e-press co%parisonbetween one and a number o# others taken separately!Pronouns are used in place o# nounsI one class o# the% is used %erelyas the substitutes o# namesI the pronouns o# another class hae apeculiar re'erence to so%e preceding #ords in the sentence, o# whichthey are the substitutes,and those o# a third class re#er adjectiely tothe persons or things they represent! So%e pronouns are used #or boththe name and the substituteI and seeral are #reuently e%ployed in

as%ing 4uestions! ''irmations and commands are e-pressed by the erbI and di##erentin#lections o# the erb e-press number , person, time and manner ! Withregard to time, an a##ir%ation %ay be present or past or 'utureI withregard to %anner, an a##ir%ation %ay be positive or conditional, itbeing doubt#ul whether the condition is #ul#illed or not, or it beingi%plied that it is not #ul#illedIthe erb %ay e-press command orentreaty I or the sense o# the erb %ay be e-pressed #ithout a''irming



or commanding! $he erb also e-presses that an action or state is or#as going on, by a #or% which is also used so%eti%es as a noun, andso%eti%es to uali#y nouns! ''irmations are modi'ied by adverbs, so%e o# which can be in#lectedto e-press di##erent degrees o# %odi#ication!

Words are joined together by conjunctionsI and the arious relationswhich one thing bears to another are e-pressed by 5prepositions+Sudden emotions o# the %ind, and e"clamations are e-pressed byinterjections!So%e words according to %eaning belong so%eti%es to one part o#speech, so%eti%es to another! $hus, in &4#ter a stor% co%es a calm,&calm is a nounI in &t is a calm eening,& calm is an adjectieI and in&Calm your #ears,& calm is a erb! $he #ollowing sentence containing all the parts o# speech is parsedety%ologically3.( no# see the old man coming/ but/ alas/ he has #al%ed #ith much

di''iculty+.(, a personal pronoun, #irst person singular, %asculine or #e%ininegender, no%inatie case, subject o# the erb see!no#, an aderb o# ti%e %odi#ying the erb see!see, an irregular, transitie erb, indicatie %ood, present tense, #irstperson singular to agree with its no%inatie or subject !the, the de#inite article particulariing the noun %an!old, an adjectie, positie degree, uali#ying the noun %an!man, a co%%on noun, Nrd person singular, %asculine gender,objectie case goerned by the transitie erb see!coming, the present or i%per#ect participle o# the erb &to co%e&

re#erring to the noun %an!but , a conjunction!alas, an interjection, e-pressing pity or sorrow!he, a personal pronoun, Nrd person singular, %asculine gender,no%inatie case, subject o# erb has walked!has #al%ed, a regular, intransitie erb, indicatie %ood, per#ect tense,Nrd person singular to agree with its no%inatie or subject he!#ith, a preposition, goerning the noun di##iculty!much, an adjectie, positie degree, uali#ying the noun di##iculty!di''iculty , a co%%on noun, Nrd person singular, neuter gender,objectie case goerned by the preposition #ith!

@!"!&uch is generally an aderb! 4s an adjectie it is thus co%pared3 Positive Comparative Superlative

much more most

CHAPTER III



THE SENTENCE

D'""$r$* K'*1!—Arra*,$+$* o" Wor1!—Para,ra#%

4 sentence is an asse%blage o# words so arranged as to coney a

deter%inate sense or %eaning, in other words, to e-press a co%pletethought or idea! @o %atter how short, it %ust contain one #inite erband a subject or agent to direct the action o# the erb!&"irds #lyI& &*ish swi%I& &Ben walkI&are sentences!4 sentence always contains two parts, so%ething spoken about andso%ething said about it! $he word or words indicating what is spokenabout #or% what is called the subject and the word or words indicatingwhat is said about it #or% what is called the predicate!n the sentences gien, birds, 'ish and men are the subjects, while 'ly ,s#im and #al% are the predicates! $here are three kinds o# sentences, simple, compound and comple" !

$he simple sentence e-presses a single thought and consists o# onesubject and one predicate, as, &Ban is %ortal!&4 compound sentence consists o# two or %ore si%ple sentences o#eual i%portance the parts o# which are either e-pressed orunderstood, as, &$he %en work in the #ields and the wo%en work in thehousehold,& or &$he %en work in the #ields and the wo%en in thehousehold& or &$he %en and wo%en work in the #ields and in thehousehold!&4 comple" sentence consists o# two or %ore si%ple sentences soco%bined that one depends on the other to co%plete its %eaningI asI&When he returns, shall go on %y acation!& Here the words, &when

he returns& are dependent on the rest o# the sentence #or their%eaning!4 clause is a separate part o# a co%ple- sentence, as &when hereturns& in the last e-a%ple!4 phrase consists o# two or %ore words without a #inite erb!Without a #inite erb we cannot a##ir% anything or coney an idea,there#ore we can hae no sentence!n#inities and participles which are the in#inite parts o# the erb cannotbe predicates! & looking up the street& is not a sentence, #or it is not aco%plete action e-pressed! When we hear such an e-pression as &4dog running along the street,& we wait #or so%ething %ore to be

added, so%ething %ore a##ir%ed about the dog, whether he bit orbarked or #ell dead or was run oer! $hus in eery sentence there %ust be a #inite erb to li%it the subject!When the erb is transitie, that is, when the action cannot happenwithout a##ecting so%ething, the thing a##ected is called the object ! $hus in &Cain killed 4bel& the action o# the killing a##ected 4bel! n &$hecat has caught a %ouse,& %ouse is the object o# the catching!



ARRAN(EMENT OF WORDS IN A SENTENCE

># course in si%ple sentences the natural order o# arrange%ent issubjecterbobject! n %any cases no other #or% is possible! $hus inthe sentence &$he cat has caught a %ouse,& we cannot reerse it and

say &$he %ouse has caught a cat& without destroying the %eaning,and in any other #or% o# arrange%ent, such as &4 %ouse, the cat hascaught,& we #eel that while it is intelligible, it is a poor way o#e-pressing the #act and one which jars upon us %ore or less!n longer sentences, howeer, when there are %ore words than whatare barely necessary #or subject, erb and object, we hae greater#reedo% o# arrange%ent and can so place the words as to gie thebest e##ect! $he proper placing o# words depends upon perspicuity andprecision! $hese two co%bined gie style to the structure!Bost people are #a%iliar with Gray's line in the i%%ortal !legy &$heplough%an ho%eward plods his weary way!& $his line can be

paraphrased to read /< di##erent ways! Here are a #ew ariations3 Ho%eward the plough%an plods his weary way! $he plough%an plods his weary way ho%eward! Plods ho%eward the plough%an his weary way! His weary way the plough%an ho%eward plods! Ho%eward his weary way plods the plough%an! Plods the plough%an his weary way ho%eward! His weary way the plough%an plods ho%eward! His weary way ho%eward the plough%an plods! $he plough%an plods ho%eward his weary way! $he plough%an his weary way plods ho%eward!

and so on! t is doubt#ul i# any o# the other #or%s are superior to theone used by the poet! ># course his arrange%ent was %ade to co%plywith the rhyth% and rhy%e o# the erse! Bost o# the ariations dependupon the e%phasis we wish to place upon the di##erent words!n arranging the words in an ordinary sentence we should not lose sighto# the #act that the beginning and end are the i%portant places #orcatching the attention o# the reader! Words in these places haegreater e%phasis than elsewhere!n Gray's line the general %eaning coneyed is that a wearyplough%an is plodding his way ho%eward, but according to thearrange%ent a ery slight di##erence is e##ected in the idea! So%e o#the ariations %ake us think %ore o# the plough%an, others %ore o#the plodding, and still others %ore o# the weariness!4s the beginning and end o# a sentence are the %ost i%portant places,it naturally #ollows that s%all or insigni#icant words should be kept #ro%these positions! ># the two places the end one is the %ore i%portant,there#ore, it really calls #or the %ost i%portant word in the sentence!@eer co%%ence a sentence with nd, 0ut , Since, 0ecause/ and othersi%ilar weak words and neer end it with prepositions, s%all, weakaderbs or pronouns!



$he parts o# a sentence which are %ost closely connected with oneanother in %eaning should be closely connected in order also! "yignoring this principle %any sentences are %ade, i# not nonsensical,really ridiculous and ludicrous! *or instance3 &$en dollars reward iso##ered #or in#or%ation o# any person injuring this property by order o#

the owner!& &$his %onu%ent was erected to the %e%ory o# John Jones,who was shot by his a##ectionate brother!&n the construction o# all sentences the gra%%atical rules %ust beiniolably obsered! $he laws o# concord, that is, the agree%ent o#certain words, %ust be obeyed!

/! $he erb agrees with its subject in person and nu%ber! & hae,&&$hou hast,& Kthe pronoun thou is here used to illustrate the erb#or%, though it is al%ost obsoleteM, &He has,& show the ariationo# the erb to agree with the subject! 4 singular subject calls #ora singular erb, a plural subject de%ands a erb in the pluralI

as,& $he boy writes,& &$he boys write!&

$he agree%ent o# a erb and its subject is o#ten destroyed bycon#using K/M collectie and co%%on nounsI K5M #oreign andnglish nounsI KNM co%pound and si%ple subjectsI K7M real andapparent subjects!

K/M 4 collectie noun is a nu%ber o# indiiduals or things regarded as a wholeIas, class regiment ! When the indiiduals or things are pro%inently brought#orward, use a plural erbI as $he class #ere distinguished #or ability! Whenthe idea o# the whole as a unit is under consideration e%ploy a singular erbIas $he regi%ent #as in ca%p! K5M t is so%eti%es hard #or the ordinary

indiidual to distinguish the plural #ro% the singular in #oreign nouns,there#ore, he should be care#ul in the selection o# the erb! He should look upthe word and be guided accordingly! &He was an alumnus o# Harard!& &$heywere alumni o# Harard!& KNM When a sentence with one erb has two or %oresubjects denoting di##erent things, connected by and, the erb should bepluralI as, &Snow and rain are disagreeable!& When the subjects denote thesa%e thing and are connected by or the erb should be singularI as, &$he %anor the wo%an is to bla%e!& K7M When the sa%e erb has %ore than onesubject o# di##erent persons or nu%bers, it agrees with the %ost pro%inent inthoughtI as, &He, and not you, is wrong!& &Whether he or am to be bla%ed!&

5! @eer use the past participle #or the past tense nor vice versa! $his %istake is a ery co%%on one! 4t eery turn we hear &Hedone it& #or &He did it!& &$he jar was broke& instead o# broken!&He would hae went& #or &He would hae gone,& etc!

N! $he use o# the erbs shall and #ill is a rock upon which een thebest speakers co%e to wreck! $hey are interchanged recklessly! $heir signi#icance changes according as they are used with the#irst, second or third person! With the #irst person shall is used indirect state%ent to e-press a si%ple #uture actionI as, & shall go



to the city toF%orrow!& With the second and third persons shall isused to e-press a deter%inationI as, &(ou shall go to the city toF%orrow,& &He shall go to the city toF%orrow!&

With the #irst person #ill is used in direct state%ent to e-press

deter%ination, as, & will go to the city toF%orrow!& With thesecond and third persons #ill is used to e-press si%ple #utureactionI as, &(ou #ill go to the city toF%orrow,& &He #ill go to thecity toF%orrow!&

4 ery old rule regarding the uses o# shall and #ill is thuse-pressed in rhy%e3

n the #irst person si%ply shall #oretells, n #ill a threat or else a pro%ise dwells!Shall in the second and third does threat,)ill si%ply then #oretells the #uture #eat!

7! $ake special care to distinguish between the no%inatie andobjectie case! $he pronouns are the only words which retain theancient distinctie case ending #or the objectie! .e%e%ber thatthe objectie case #ollows transitie erbs and prepositions!Don't say &$he boy who sent to see you,& but &$he boy who% sent to see you!& )hom is here the object o# the transitie erbsent! Don't say &She bowed to hi% and & but &She bowed to hi%and %e& since %e is the objectie case #ollowing the prepositionto understood! &"etween you and & is a ery co%%on

e-pression! t should be &"etween you and %e& since bet#een isa preposition calling #or the objectie case!

! "e care#ul in the use o# the relatie pronouns #ho, #hich andthat ! Who re#ers only to personsI which only to thingsI as, &$heboy who was drowned,& &$he u%brella which lost!& $he relatiethat %ay re#er to both persons and thingsI as, &$he %an that saw!& &$he hat that bought!&

:! Don't use the superlatie degree o# the adjectie #or theco%paratieI as &He is the richest o# the two& #or &He is the richero# the two!& >ther %istakes o#ten %ade in this connection are K/M?sing the double co%paratie and superlatieI as, &$hese apples

are %uch more pre#erable!& &$he %ost uniersal %otie tobusiness is gain!& K5M Co%paring objects which belong todissi%ilar classesI as &$here is no nicer li'e than a teacher !& KNMncluding objects in class to which they do not belongI as, &$he#airest o# her daughters, e!& K7M -cluding an object #ro% aclass to which it does belongI as, &Caesar was braer than anyancient warrior!&



1! Don't use an adjectie #or an aderb or an aderb #or anadjectie! Don't say, &He acted nice towards %e& but &He actednicely toward %e,& and instead o# saying &She looked beauti'ully &say &She looked beauti'ul!&

<! Place the aderb as near as possible to the word it %odi#ies!

nstead o# saying, &He walked to the door uickly,& say &Hewalked uickly to the door!&0! @ot alone be care#ul to distinguish between the no%inatie and

objectie cases o# the pronouns, but try to aoid a%biguity intheir use!

$he a%using e##ect o# disregarding the re#erence o# pronouns iswell illustrated by "urton in the #ollowing story o# "illy Willia%s, aco%ic actor who thus narrates his e-perience in riding a horseowned by Ha%blin, the %anager3

&So down goes to the stable with $o% *lynn, and told the %anto put the saddle on hi%!&

&>n $o% *lynnL&

&@o, on the horse! So a#ter talking with $o% *lynn awhile %ounted hi%!&

&What2 %ounted $o% *lynnL&

&@o, the horseI and then shook hands with hi% and rode o##!&

&Shook hands with the horse, "illyL&

&@o, with $o% *lynnI and then rode o## up the "owery, and whoshould %eet but $o% Ha%blinI so got o## and told the boy tohold hi% by the head!&

&What2 hold Ha%blin by the headL&

&@o, the horseI and then we went and had a drink together!&

&What2 you and the horseL&

&@o, me and Ha%blinI and a#ter that %ounted hi% again andwent out o# town!&

&What2 %ounted Ha%blin againL&



&@o, the horseI and when got to "urnha%, who should be therebut $o% *lynn,he'd taken another horse and rode out ahead o#%eI so told the hostler to tie hi% up!&

&$ie $o% *lynn upL&

&@o, the horseI and we had a drink there!&

&What2 you and the horseL&

&@o, %e and $o% *lynn!&

*inding his auditors by this ti%e in a horse laugh, "illy wound upwith3 &@ow, look here, eery ti%e say horse, you say Ha%blin,and eery ti%e say Ha%blin you say horse3 'll be hanged i# tellyou any %ore about it!&

SENTENCE CLASSIFICATION

$here are two great classes o# sentences according to the generalprinciples upon which they are #ounded! $hese are ter%ed the looseand the periodic!n the loose sentence the %ain idea is put #irst, and then #ollow seeral#acts in connection with it! De#oe is an author particularly noted #or thiskind o# sentence! He starts out with a leading declaration to which headds seeral attendant connections! *or instance in the opening o# thestory o# ,obinson Crusoe we read3 & was born in the year /:N5 in the

city o# (ork, o# a good #a%ily, though not o# that country, %y #atherbeing a #oreigner o# "re%en, who settled #irst at HullI he got a goodestate by %erchandise, and leaing o## his trade lied a#terward at (ork, #ro% whence he had %arried %y %other, whose relations werena%ed .obinson, a ery good #a%ily in the country and #ro% wascalled .obinson AreutnaerI but by the usual corruption o# words inngland, we are now called, nay, we call ourseles, and write our na%eCrusoe, and so %y co%panions always called %e,&n the periodic sentence the %ain idea co%es last and is preceded by aseries o# relatie introductions! $his kind o# sentence is o#tenintroduced by such words as that , i' , since, because! $he #ollowing is an

e-a%ple3&$hat through his own #olly and lack o# circu%spection he should haebeen reduced to such circu%stances as to be #orced to beco%e abeggar on the streets, soliciting al%s #ro% those who had #or%erlybeen the recipients o# his bounty, was a sore hu%iliation!&>n account o# its na%e %any are liable to think the loose sentence anundesirable #or% in good co%position, but this should not be taken #orgranted! n %any cases it is pre#erable to the periodic #or%!



4s a general rule in speaking, as opposed to writing, the loose #or% isto be pre#erred, inas%uch as when the periodic is e%ployed indiscourse the listeners are apt to #orget the introductory clauses be#orethe #inal issue is reached!"oth kinds are #reely used in co%position, but in speaking, the loose,

which %akes the direct state%ent at the beginning, shouldpredo%inate!4s to the length o# sentences %uch depends on the nature o# theco%position! Howeer the general rule %ay be laid down that shortsentences are pre#erable to long ones! $he tendency o# the best writerso# the present day is towards short, snappy, pithy sentences whichriet the attention o# the reader! $hey adopt as their %otto multum in parvo K%uch in littleM and endeaor to pack a great deal in s%all space!># course the e-tre%e o# breity is to be aoided! Sentences can betoo short, too jerky, too brittle to withstand the test o# criticis%! $helong sentence has its place and a ery i%portant one! t is

indispensable in argu%ent and o#ten is ery necessary to descriptionand also in introducing general principles which reuire elaboration! ne%ploying the long sentence the ine-perienced writer should not straina#ter the heay, ponderous type! Johnson and Carlyle used such a type,but re%e%ber, an ordinary %ortal cannot wield the sledge ha%%er o#a giant! Johnson and Carlyle were intellectual giants and #ew can hopeto stand on the sa%e literary pedestal! $he tyro in co%position shouldneer seek a#ter the heay style! $he best o# all authors in the nglishlanguage #or style is 4ddison! Bacaulay says3 &# you wish a stylelearned, but not pedantic, elegant but not ostentatious, si%ple yetre#ined, you %ust gie your days and nights to the olu%es o# Joseph

4ddison!& $he si%plicity, apart #ro% the beauty o# 4ddison's writingscauses us to reiterate the literary co%%and&@eer use a big wordwhen a little one will coney the sa%e or a si%ilar %eaning!&Bacaulay hi%sel# is an elegant stylist to i%itate! He is like a clear brookkissed by the noonFday sun in the shining bed o# which you can seeand count the beauti#ul white pebbles! Golds%ith is another writerwhose si%plicity o# style char%s! $he beginner should study these writers, %ake their works his vademecum, they hae stood the test o# ti%e and there has been noi%proe%ent upon the% yet, nor is there likely to be, #or their writingis as per#ect as it is possible to be in the nglish language!

4part #ro% their gra%%atical construction there can be no #i-ed rules#or the #or%ation o# sentences! $he best plan is to #ollow the bestauthors and these %asters o# language will guide you sa#ely along theway!

THE PARA(RAPH



$he paragraph %ay be de#ined as a group o# sentences that are closelyrelated in thought and which sere one co%%on purpose! @ot only dothey presere the seuence o# the di##erent parts into which aco%position is diided, but they gie a certain spice to the %atter likeraisins in a plu% pudding! 4 solid page o# printed %atter is distaste#ul

to the readerI it ta-es the eye and tends towards the weariness o#%onotony, but when it is broken up into sections it loses %uch o# itsheainess and the conseuent lightness gies it char%, as it were, tocapture the reader!Paragraphs are like steppingFstones on the bed o# a shallow rier,which enable the #oot passenger to skip with ease #ro% one to theother until he gets acrossI but i# the stones are placed too #ar apart inatte%pting to span the distance one is liable to %iss the %ark and #allin the water and #lounder about until he is again able to get a #oothold!'$is the sa%e with written language, the reader by %eans o#paragraphs can easily pass #ro% one portion o# connected thought to

another and keep up his interest in the subject until he gets to the end! $hroughout the paragraph there %ust be so%e connection in regard tothe %atter under consideration,a sentence dependency! *or instance,in the sa%e paragraph we %ust not speak o# a house on #ire and arunaway horse unless there is so%e connection between the two! We%ust not write consecutiely3&$he #ire raged with #ierce intensity, consu%ing the greater part o# thelarge building in a short ti%e!& &$he horse took #right and wildly dasheddown the street scattering pedestrians in all directions!& $hese twosentences hae no connection and there#ore should occupy separateand distinct places! "ut when we say&$he #ire raged with #ierce

intensity consu%ing the greater part o# the large building in a shortti%e and the horse taking #right at the #la%es dashed wildly down thestreet scattering pedestrians in all directions,&there is a naturalseuence, i!, the horse taking #right as a conseuence o# the #la%esand hence the two e-pressions are co%bined in one paragraph!4s in the case o# words in sentences, the %ost i%portant places in aparagraph are the beginning and the end! 4ccordingly the #irstsentence and the last should by irtue o# their structure and nerous#orce, co%pel the reader's attention! t is usually adisable to %ake the#irst sentence shortI the last sentence %ay be long or short, but ineither case should be #orcible! $he object o# the #irst sentence is to

state a point clearly I the last sentence should en'orce it!t is a custo% o# good writers to %ake the conclusion o# the paragrapha restate%ent or counterpart or application o# the opening!n %ost cases a paragraph %ay be regarded as the elaboration o# theprincipal sentence! $he leading thought or idea can be taken as anucleus and around it constructed the di##erent parts o# the paragraph!4nyone can %ake a conte-t #or eery si%ple sentence by askinghi%sel# uestions in re#erence to the sentence! $hus&$he #ore%an



gae the order& suggests at once seeral uestionsI &What was theorderL& &to who% did he gie itL& &why did he gie itL& &what was theresultL& etc! $hese uestions when answered will depend upon theleading one and be an elaboration o# it into a co%plete paragraph!# we e-a%ine any good paragraph we shall #ind it %ade up o# a

nu%ber o# ite%s, each o# which helps to illustrate, con#ir% or en#orcethe general thought or purpose o# the paragraph! 4lso the transition#ro% each ite% to the ne-t is easy, natural and obiousI the ite%ssee% to co%e o# the%seles! #, on the other hand, we detect in aparagraph one or %ore ite%s which hae no direct bearing, or i# we areunable to proceed readily #ro% ite% to ite%, especially i# we areobliged to rearrange the ite%s be#ore we can perceie their #ullsigni#icance, then we are justi#ied in pronouncing the paragraphconstruction #aulty!@o speci#ic rules can be gien as to the construction o# paragraphs! $he best adice is,Study closely the paragraph structure o# the best

writers, #or it is only through i%itation, conscious or unconscious o# thebest %odels, that one can %aster the art! $he best paragraphist in the nglish language #or the essay isBacaulay, the best %odel to #ollow #or the oratorical style is d%und"urke and #or description and narration probably the greatest %astero# paragraph is the 4%erican Golds%ith, Washington ring!4 paragraph is indicated in print by what is known as the indentation o#the line, that is, by co%%encing it a space #ro% the le#t %argin!

CHAPTER IV

FI(URATIVE LAN(UA(E

F',ur$! o" S#$$c%—D$"'*''o*! a*1 E2a+#l$! —U!$ o" F',ur$!

n Figurative $anguage we e%ploy words in such a way that they di##erso%ewhat #ro% their ordinary signi#ication in co%%onplace speechand coney our %eaning in a %ore iid and i%pressie %anner thanwhen we use the% in their eeryFday sense! *igures %ake speech %oree##ectie, they beauti#y and e%phasie it and gie to it a relish andpiuancy as salt does to #oodI besides they add energy and #orce to

e-pression so that it irresistibly co%pels attention and interest! $hereare #our kinds o# #igures, i!3 K/M *igures o# >rthography which changethe spelling o# a wordI K5M *igures o# ty%ology which change the #or%o# wordsI KNM *igures o# Synta- which change the construction o#sentencesI K7M *igures o# .hetoric or the art o# speaking and writinge##ectiely which change the %ode o# thought!



We shall only consider the last %entioned here as they are the %osti%portant, really giing to language the construction and style which%ake it a #itting %ediu% #or the interco%%unication o# ideas!*igures o# .hetoric hae been ariously classi#ied, so%e authoritiese-tending the list to a useless length! $he #act is that any #or% o#

e-pression which coneys thought %ay be classi#ied as a *igure! $he principal #igures as well as the %ost i%portant and those o#tenestused are, Simile/ &etaphor/ Personi'ication/ llegory/ Synechdoche/&etonymy/ !"clamation/ Hyperbole/ postrophe/ 2ision/ ntithesis/Clima"/ !pigram/ (nterrogation and (rony ! $he #irst #our are #ounded on resemblance, the second si- oncontiguity and the third #ie, on contrast !4 Simile K#ro% the =atin similis, likeM, is the likening o# one thing toanother, a state%ent o# the rese%blance o# objects, acts, or relationsIas &n his aw#ul anger he was li%e the stor%Fdrien waes dashingagainst the rock!& 4 si%ile %akes the principal object plainer and

i%presses it %ore #orcibly on the %ind! &His %e%ory is like wa- toreceie i%pressions and like %arble to retain the%!& $his brings outthe leading idea as to the %an's %e%ory in a ery #orce#ul %anner!Contrast it with the si%ple state%ent&His %e%ory is good!&So%eti%es Simile is prostituted to a low and degrading useI as &His#ace was like a danger signal in a #og stor%!& &Her hair was like a #ureFbush in bloo%!& &He was to his lady loe as a poodle to its %istress!&Such burlesue is neer per%issible! Bere li%eness, it should bere%e%bered, does not constitute a si%ile! *or instance there is nosi%ile when one city is co%pared to another! n order that there %aybe a rhetorical si%ile, the objects co%pared %ust be o# di##erent

classes! 4oid the old trite si%iles such as co%paring a hero to a lion!Such were played out long ago! 4nd don't hunt #or #ar#etched si%iles!Don't say&Her head was glowing as the glorious god o# day when hesets in a #la%beau o# splendor behind the purpleFtinted hills o# theWest!& t is %uch better to do without such a si%ile and si%ply say&She had #iery red hair!&4 &etaphor K#ro% the Greek metapherein, to carry oer or trans#erM, isa word used to imply a rese%blance but instead o# likening one objectto another as in the simile we directly substitute the action oroperation o# one #or another! #, o# a religious %an we say,&He is as agreat pillar upholding the church,& the e-pression is a simile, but i# we

say&He is a great pillar upholding the church& it is a %etaphor! $he%etaphor is a bolder and %ore liely #igure than the si%ile! t is %orelike a picture and hence, the graphic use o# %etaphor is called &wordFpainting!& t enables us to gie to the %ost abstract ideas #or%, colorand li#e! >ur language is #ull o# %etaphors, and we ery o#ten use the%uite unconsciously! *or instance, when we speak o# the bed o# a rier,the shoulder o# a hill, the 'oot o# a %ountain, the hands o# a clock, the%ey o# a situation, we are using %etaphors!



Don't use %i-ed %etaphors, that is, di##erent %etaphors in relation tothe sa%e subject3 &Since it was launched our project has %et with%uch opposition, but while its #light has not reached the heightsa%bitioned, we are yet sanguine we shall drie it to success!& Here ourproject begins as a ship, then beco%es a bird and #inally winds up as a

horse!Personi'ication K#ro% the =atin persona, person, and 'acere, to %akeM isthe treating o# an inani%ate object as i# it were ani%ate and isprobably the %ost beauti#ul and e##ectie o# all the #igures!&$he %ountains sing together, the hills rejoice and clap their hands!&&arth 'elt the woundI and @ature #ro% her seat,Sighing, through all her works, gae signs o# woe!&Personi#ication depends %uch on a iid i%agination and is adaptedespecially to poetical co%position! t has two distinguishable #or%s3 K/Mwhen personality is ascribed to the inani%ate as in the #oregoinge-a%ples, and K5M when so%e uality o# li#e is attributed to the

inani%ateI as, a raging stor%I an angry seaI a #histling wind, etc!4n llegory K#ro% the Greek allos/ other, and agoreuein/ to speakM, is a#or% o# e-pression in which the words are sy%bolical o# so%ething! t isery closely allied to the %etaphor, in #act is a continued %etaphor! llegory , metaphor and simile hae three points in co%%on,they areall #ounded on rese%blance! &reland is like a thorn in the side o#nglandI& this is si%ile! &reland is a thorn in the side o# nglandI& thisis %etaphor! &>nce a great giant sprang up out o# the sea and lied onan island all by hi%sel#! >n looking around he discoered a little girl onanother s%all island near by! He thought the little girl could be use#ulto hi% in %any ways so he deter%ined to %ake her subserient to his

will! He co%%anded her, but she re#used to obey, then he resorted toery harsh %easures with the little girl, but she still re%ained obstinateand obdurate! He continued to oppress her until #inally she rebelledand beca%e as a thorn in his side to prick hi% #or his eil attitudetowards herI& this is an allegory in which the giant plainly representsngland and the little girl, relandI the i%plication is %ani#est thoughno %ention is %ade o# either country! Strange to say the %ost per#ectallegory in the nglish language was written by an al%ost illiterate andignorant %an, and written too, in a dungeon cell! n the &Pilgri%'sProgress,& "unyan, the itinerant tinker, has gien us by #ar the bestallegory eer penned! 4nother good one is &$he *aerie ueen& by

d%und Spenser!Synecdoche K#ro% the Greek, sun with, and e%de"esthai, to receieM, isa #igure o# speech which e-presses either %ore or less than it literallydenotes! "y it we gie to an object a na%e which literally e-pressesso%ething %ore or so%ething less than we intend! $hus3 we speak o#the world when we %ean only a ery li%ited nu%ber o# the people whoco%pose the world3 as, &$he world treated hi% badly!& Here we use thewhole #or a part! "ut the %ost co%%on #or% o# this #igure is that in



which a part is used #or the wholeI as, & hae twenty head o# cattle,&&>ne o# his hands was assassinated,& %eaning one o# his %en! &$wentysail ca%e into the harbor,& %eaning twenty ships! &$his is a #ine%arble,& %eaning a %arble statue!&etonymy K#ro% the Greek meta, change, and onyma, a na%eM is the

designation o# an object by one o# its acco%pani%ents, in other words,it is a #igure by which the na%e o# one object is put #or another whenthe two are so related that the %ention o# one readily suggests theother! $hus when we say o# a drunkard&He loes the bottle& we donot %ean that he loes the glass receptacle, but the liuor that it issupposed to contain! Betony%y, generally speaking, has, threesubdiisions3 K/M when an e##ect is put #or cause or vice versa3 as &Grayhairs should be respected,& %eaning old age! &He writes a #ine hand,&that is, handwriting! K5M when the sign is put #or the thing signi'iedI as,&$he pen is %ightier than the sword,& %eaning literary power issuperior to %ilitary #orce! KNM When the container is put #or the thing

containedI as &$he House was called to order,& %eaning the %e%bersin the House!!"clamation K#ro% the =atin e" , out, and clamare, to cryM, is a #igure bywhich the speaker instead o# stating a #act, si%ply utters an e-pressiono# surprise or e%otion! *or instance when he hears so%e harrowingtale o# woe or %is#ortune instead o# saying,&t is a sad story& hee-clai%s &What a sad story2&-cla%ation %ay be de#ined as the ocal e-pression o# #eeling, thoughit is also applied to written #or%s which are intended to e-presse%otion! $hus in describing a towering %ountain we can write&Heaens, what a piece o# @ature's handiwork2 how %ajestic2 how

subli%e2 how aweFinspiring in its colossal i%pressieness2& $his #igurerather belongs to poetry and ani%ated oratory than to the cold proseo# eeryFday conersation and writing!Hyperbole K#ro% the Greek hyper , beyond, and ballein, to throwM, is ane-aggerated #or% o# state%ent and si%ply consists in representingthings to be either greater or less, better or worse than they really are!ts object is to %ake the thought %ore e##ectie by oerstating it! Hereare so%e e-a%ples3&He was so tall his head touched the clouds!& &Hewas as thin as a poker!& &He was so light that a breath %ight haeblown hi% away!& Bost people are liable to oerwork this #igure! We areall %ore or less gien to e-aggeration and so%e o# us do not stop

there, but proceed onward to #alsehood and downright lying! $hereshould be a li%it to hyperbole, and in ordinary speech and writing itshould be well uali#ied and kept within reasonable bounds!4n postrophe K#ro% the Greek apo, #ro%, and strephein, to turnM, is adirect address to the absent as present, to the inani%ate as liing, orto the abstract as personal! $hus3 &>, illustrious Washington2 *ather o#our Country2 Could you isit us now2& &By Country tis o# thee



Sweet land o# liberty, ># thee sing!&

&>2 Grae, where is thy +ictory, >2 Death where is thy sting2& $his#igure is ery closely allied to Personi#ication!2ision K#ro% the =atin videre, to seeM consists in treating the past, the#uture, or the re%ote as i# present in ti%e or place! t is appropriate toani%ated description, as it produces the e##ect o# an ideal presence!&$he old warrior looks down #ro% the canas and tells us to be %enworthy o# our sires!& $his #igure is %uch e-e%pli#ied in the "ible! $he book o# .eelation is aision o# the #uture! $he author who uses the #igure %ost is Carlyle!4n ntithesis K#ro% the Greek anti, against, and tithenai, to setM is#ounded on contrastI it consists in putting two unlike things in such aposition that each will appear %ore striking by the contrast! &.ing out the old, ring in the new, .ing out the #alse, ring in the true!&

&=et us be 'riends in peace, but enemies in war!&

Here is a #ine antithesis in the description o# a stea% engine&t canengrae a seal and crush %asses o# obdurate %etal be#ore itI drawout, without breaking, a thread as #ine as a gossa%erI and li#t up a shipo# war like a bauble in the airI it can e%broider %uslin and #orgeanchorsI cut steel into ribands, and i%pel loaded essels against the#ury o# winds and waes!&Clima" K#ro% the Greek, %lima"/ a ladderM, is an arrange%ent o#thoughts and ideas in a series, each part o# which gets stronger and%ore i%pressie until the last one, which e%phasies the #orce o# allthe preceding ones! &He risked truth, he risked honor, he risked #a%e,he risked all that %en hold dear,yea, he risked li#e itsel#, and #or

whatL#or a creature who was not worthy to tie his shoeFlatchets whenhe was his better sel#!&!pigram K#ro% the Greek epi, upon, and graphein, to writeM, originally%eant an inscription on a %onu%ent, hence it ca%e to signi#y anypointed e-pression! t now %eans a state%ent or any brie# saying inprose or poetry in which there is an apparent contradictionI as,&Conspicuous #or his absence!& &"eauty when unadorned is %ostadorned!& &He was too #oolish to co%%it #olly!& &He was so wealthy thathe could not spare the %oney!&(nterrogation K#ro% the =atin interrogatio, a uestionM, is a #igure o#speech in which an assertion is %ade by asking a uestionI as, &DoesGod not show justice to allL& &s he not doing right in his courseL&&What can a %an do under the circu%stancesL&(rony K#ro% the Greek eironcia, dissi%ulationM is a #or% o# e-pression inwhich the opposite is substituted #or what is intended, with the end iniew, that the #alsity or absurdity %ay be apparentI as, &"enedict4rnold was an honorable %an!& &4 Judas scariot neer betrays a#riend!& &(ou can always depend upon the word o# a liar!&



rony is cousin ger%ain to ridicule, derision, moc%ery , satire andsarcasm! ,idicule i%plies laughter %ingled with conte%ptI derision isridicule #ro% a personal #eeling o# hostilityI moc%ery is insultingderisionI satire is witty %ockeryI sarcasm is bitter satire and irony isdisguised satire!

$here are %any other #igures o# speech which gie piuancy tolanguage and play upon words in such a way as to coney a %eaningdi##erent #ro% their ordinary signi#ication in co%%on eeryFday speechand writing! $he golden rule #or all is to %eep them in harmony #ith thecharacter and purpose o' speech and composition!

CHAPTER V

PUNCTUATION

Pr'*c'#al Po'*!—Illu!ra'o*!—Ca#'al L$$r!-

=indley Burray and Goold "rown laid down castFiron rules #orpunctuation, but %ost o# the% hae been broken long since andthrown into the junkFheap o# disuse! $hey were too rigid, too strict,went so %uch into minutiae, that they were %ore or less i%practical toapply to ordinary co%position! $he %anner o# language, o# style and o#e-pression has considerably changed since then, the old abstruseco%ple- sentence with its hidden %eanings has been relegated to theshade, there is little o# proli-ity or longFdrawnFout phrases, a%biguityo# e-pression is aoided and the ai% is toward terseness, breity andclearness! $here#ore, punctuation has been greatly si%pli#ied, to suchan e-tent indeed, that it is now as %uch a %atter o# good taste and judg%ent as adherence to any #i-ed set o# rules! @eertheless thereare laws goerning it which cannot be abrogated, their principles %ustbe rigidly and iniolably obsered! $he chie# end o# punctuation is to %ark the gra%%atical connectionand the dependence o# the parts o# a co%position, but not the actualpauses %ade in speaking! +ery o#ten the points used to denote thedeliery o# a passage di##er #ro% those used when the passage iswritten! @eertheless, seeral o# the punctuation %arks sere to bringout the rhetorical #orce o# e-pression!

$he principal %arks o# punctuation are3

/! $he Co%%a 8,;5! $he Se%icolon 8I;N! $he Colon 83;7! $he Period 8!;! $he nterrogation 8L;:! $he -cla%ation 82;



1! $he Dash 8;<! $he Parenthesis 8KM;0! $he uotation 8& &;

$here are seeral other points or %arks to indicate arious relations,

but properly speaking such co%e under the heading o# Printer's Barks,so%e o# which are treated elsewhere!># the aboe, the #irst #our %ay be styled the gra%%atical points, andthe re%aining #ie, the rhetorical points! $he Comma3 $he o##ice o# the Co%%a is to show the slightestseparation which calls #or punctuation at all! t should be o%ittedwheneer possible! t is used to %ark the least diisions o# a sentence!

/! 4 series o# words or phrases has its parts separated by co%%as3&=ying, trickery, chicanery, perjury, were natural to hi%!& &$hebrae, daring, #aith#ul soldier died #acing the #oe!& # the series is

in pairs, co%%as separate the pairs3 &.ich and poor, learned andunlearned, black and white, Christian and Jew, Boha%%edan and"uddhist %ust pass through the sa%e gate!&

5! 4 co%%a is used be#ore a short uotation3 &t was Patrick Henrywho said, 'Gie %e liberty or gie %e death!'&

N! When the subject o# the sentence is a clause or a long phrase, aco%%a is used a#ter such subject3 &$hat he has no reerence #orthe God loe, proes his insincerity!& &Si%ulated piety, with ablack coat and a sancti%onious look, does not proclai% aChristian!&

7! 4n e-pression used parenthetically should be inclosed by

co%%as3 &$he old %an, as a general rule, takes a %orning walk!&! Words in apposition are set o## by co%%as3 &BcAinley, the

President, was assassinated!&:! .elatie clauses, i# not restrictie, reuire co%%as3 &$he book,

which is the si%plest, is o#ten the %ost pro#ound!&1! n continued sentences each should be #ollowed by a co%%a3

&lectricity lights our dwellings and streets, pulls cars, trains,dries the engines o# our %ills and #actories!&

<! When a erb is o%itted a co%%a takes its place3 &=incoln was agreat states%anI Grant, a great soldier!&

0! $he subject o# address is #ollowed by a co%%a3 &John, you are a

good %an!&/6!n nu%eration, co%%as are used to e-press periods o# three

#igures3 &Bountains 5,666 #eet highI /,666,666 dollars!&

$he Semicolon %arks a slighter connection than the co%%a! t isgenerally con#ined to separating the parts o# co%pound sentences! t is%uch used in contrasts3



/! &Gladstone was great as a states%anI he was subli%e as a %an!&5! $he Se%icolon is used between the parts o# all co%pound

sentences in which the gra%%atical subject o# the second part isdi##erent #ro% that o# the #irst3 &$he power o# ngland relies uponthe wisdo% o# her states%enI the power o# 4%erica upon the

strength o# her ar%y and nay!&N! $he Se%icolon is used be#ore words and abbreiations whichintroduce particulars or speci#ications #ollowing a#ter, such as,namely/ as/ e+g+/ vid+/ i+e+/ etc+3 &He had three de#ectsI na%ely,carelessness, lack o# concentration and obstinacy in his ideas!&&4n island is a portion o# land entirely surrounded by waterI asCuba!& &$he na%es o# cities should always co%%ence with acapital letterI e+g+, @ew (ork, Paris!& &$he boy was pro#icient inone branchI i!, Bathe%atics!& &@o %an is per#ectI i!e!, #ree#ro% all ble%ish!&

$he Colon e-cept in conentional uses is practically obsolete!

/! t is generally put at the end o# a sentence introducing a longuotation3 &$he cheers haing subsided, Br! "ryan spoke as#ollows3&

5! t is placed be#ore an e-planation or illustration o# the subjectunder consideration3 &$his is the %eaning o# the ter%3&

N! 4 direct uotation #or%ally introduced is generally preceded by acolon3 &$he great orator %ade this #unny re%ark3&

7! $he colon is o#ten used in the title o# books when the secondaryor subtitle is in apposition to the leading one and when the

conjunction or is o%itted3 &4coustics3 the Science o# Sound!&! t is used a#ter the salutation in the beginning o# letters3 &Sir3 By

dear Sir3 Gentle%en3 Dear Br! Jones3& etc! n this connection adash ery o#ten #ollows the colon!

:! t is so%eti%es used to introduce details o# a group o# thingsalready re#erred to in the %ass3 &$he boy's e-cuses #or being latewere3 #irstly, he did not know the ti%e, secondly, he was sent onan errand, thirdly, he tripped on a rock and #ell by the wayside!&

$he Period is the si%plest punctuation %ark! t is si%ply used to %arkthe end o# a co%plete sentence that is neither interrogatie nor

e-cla%atory!

/! 4#ter eery sentence coneying a co%plete %eaning3 &"irds #ly!&&Plants grow!& &Ban is %ortal!&

5! n abbreiations3 a#ter eery abbreiated word3 .t! .e! $! C!4le-ander, D!D!, =!=!D!

N! 4 period is used on the title pages o# books a#ter the na%e o# thebook, a#ter the author's na%e, a#ter the publisher's i%print3



merican Trails! "y $heodore .ooseelt! @ew (ork! ScribnerCo%pany!

$he &ar% o' (nterrogation is used to ask or suggest a uestion!

/! ery uestion ad%itting o# an answer, een when it is note-pected, should be #ollowed by the %ark o# interrogation3 &Whohas not heard o# @apoleonL&

5! When seeral uestions hae a co%%on dependence theyshould be #ollowed by one %ark o# interrogation at the end o# theseries3 &Where now are the playthings and #riends o# %yboyhoodI the laughing boysI the winso%e girlsI the #ondneighbors who% loedL&

N! $he %ark is o#ten used parenthetically to suggest doubt3 &n/<0N KLM Gladstone beca%e conerted to Ho%e .ule #or reland!&

$he !"clamation point should be sparingly used, particularly in prose!ts chie# use is to denote e%otion o# so%e kind!

/! t is generally e%ployed with interjections or clauses used asinterjections3 &4las2 a% #orsaken!& &What a loely landscape2&

5! -pressions o# strong e%otion call #or the e-cla%ation3 &Charge,Chester, charge2 >n, Stanley, on2&

N! When the e%otion is ery strong double e-cla%ation points %aybe used3 &4ssist hi%22 would rather assist Satan22&

$he -ash is generally con#ined to cases where there is a sudden break

#ro% the general run o# the passage! ># all the punctuation %arks it isthe %ost %isused!

/! t is e%ployed to denote sudden change in the construction orsenti%ent3 &$he Heroes o# the Ciil War,how we cherish the%!&&He was a #ine #ellowin his own opinion!&

5! When a word or e-pression is repeated #or oratorical e##ect, adash is used to introduce the repetition3 &Shakespeare was thegreatest o# all poetsShakespeare, the intellectual ocean whosewaes washed the continents o# all thought!&

N! $he Dash is used to indicate a conclusion without e-pressing it3

&He is an e-cellent %an but&7! t is used to indicate what is not e-pected or what is not the

natural outco%e o# what has gone be#ore3 &He deled deep intothe bowels o# the earth and #ound instead o# the hidden treasurea button!&

! t is used to denote the o%ission o# letters or #igures3 &Jn Js#or John JonesI /06<F0 #or /06< and /060I Batthew +3F< #orBatthew +3, :, 1, and <!



:! When an ellipsis o# the words, namely/ that is/ to #it/ etc!, takesplace, the dash is used to supply the%3 &He e-celled in threebranchesarith%etic, algebra, and geo%etry!&

1! 4 dash is used to denote the o%ission o# part o# a word when it isundesirable to write the #ull word3 He is so%ewhat o# a rl

KrascalM! $his is especially the case in pro#ane words!<! "etween a citation and the authority #or it there is generally adash3 &4ll the world's a stage!&Sha%espeare!

0! When uestions and answers are put in the sa%e paragraph theyshould be separated by dashes3 &4re you a good boyL (es, Sir!Do you loe studyL do!&

&ar%s o' Parenthesis are used to separate e-pressions inserted in thebody o# a sentence, which are illustratie o# the %eaning, but hae noessential connection with the sentence, and could be done without! $hey should be used as little as possible #or they show that so%ething

is being brought into a sentence that does not belong to it!

/! When the unity o# a sentence is broken the words causing thebreak should be enclosed in parenthesis3 &We cannot beliee aliar Kand Jones is oneM, een when he speaks the truth!&

5! n reports o# speeches %arks o# parenthesis are used to denoteinterpolations o# approal or disapproal by the audience3 &$he%asses %ust not sub%it to the tyranny o# the classes Khear,hearM, we %ust show the trust %agnates KgroansM, that theycannot ride roughFshod oer our dearest rights KcheersMI& &# thegentle%an #ro% >hio KBr! "rownM, will not be our spokes%an, we

%ust select another! K4 oice,Get .obinsonM!&

When a parenthesis is inserted in the sentence where no co%%a isreuired, no point should be used be#ore either parenthesis! Wheninserted at a place reuiring a co%%a, i# the parenthetical %atterrelates to the whole sentence, a co%%a should be used be#ore eachparenthesisI i# it relates to a single word, or short clause, no stopshould co%e be#ore it, but a co%%a should be put a#ter the closingparenthesis! $he 6uotation mar%s are used to show that the words enclosed bythe% are borrowed!

/! 4 direct uotation should be enclosed within the uotation%arks3 4braha% =incoln said,& shall %ake this land too hot #orthe #eet o# slaes!&

5! When a uotation is e%braced within another, the containeduotation has only single %arks3 *ranklin said, &Bost %en co%eto beliee 'honesty is the best policy!'&



N! When a uotation consists o# seeral paragraphs the uotation%arks should precede each paragraph!

7! $itles o# books, pictures and newspapers when #or%ally gien areuoted!

! >#ten the na%es o# ships are uoted though there is no occasion

#or it!

$he postrophe should co%e under the co%%a rather than under theuotation %arks or double co%%a! $he word is Greek and signi#ies aturning away #ro%! $he letter elided or turned away is generally an e!n poetry and #a%iliar dialogue the apostrophe %arks the elision o# asyllable, as &'e #or hae&I &$hou'rt #or thou art&I &you'll #or you will,&etc! So%eti%es it is necessary to abbreiate a word by leaing outseeral letters! n such case the apostrophe takes the place o# theo%itted letters as &cont'd #or continued!& $he apostrophe is used todenote the elision o# the century in dates, where the century is

understood or to sae the repetition o# a series o# #igures, as &$heSpirit o# '1:&I & sered in the ar%y during the years /<0, '0:, '01, '0<and '00!& $he principal use o# the apostrophe is to denote thepossessie case! 4ll nouns in the singular nu%ber whether properna%es or not, and all nouns in the plural ending with any other letterthan s, #or% the possessie by the addition o# the apostrophe and theletter s! $he only e-ceptions to this rule are, that, by poetical licensethe additional s %ay be elided in poetry #or sake o# the %etre, and inthe scriptural phrases &*or goodness' sake!& &*or conscience' sake,&&*or Jesus' sake,& etc! Custo% has done away with the s and thesephrases are now idio%s o# the language! 4ll plural nouns ending in s

#or% the possessie by the addition o# the apostrophe only as boys',horses'! $he possessie case o# the personal pronouns neer take theapostrophe, as ours, yours, hers, theirs!

CAPITAL LETTERS

Capital letters are used to gie e%phasis to or call attention to certainwords to distinguish the% #ro% the conte-t! n %anuscripts they %aybe written s%all or large and are indicated by lines drawn underneath,two lines #or SB4== C4P$4=S and three lines #or C4P$4=S!So%e authors, notably Carlyle, %ake such use o# Capitals that it

degenerates into an abuse! $hey should only be used in their properplaces as gien in the table below!

/! $he #irst word o# eery sentence, in #act the #irst word in writingo# any kind should begin with a capitalI as, &$i%e #lies!& &By dear#riend!&

5! ery direct uotation should begin with a capitalI &Dewey said,'*ire, when you're ready, Gridley2'&



N! ery direct uestion co%%ences with a capitalI &=et %e askyouI 'How old are youL'&

7! ery line o# poetry begins with a capitalI &"reathes there a %anwith soul so deadL&

! ery nu%bered clause calls #or a capital3 &$he witness asserts3

K/M $hat he saw the %an attackedI K5M $hat he saw hi% #allI KNM $hat he saw his assailant #lee!&:! $he headings o# essays and chapters should be wholly in

capitalsI as, CH4P$. +.?=S *>. ?S >* C4P$4=S!1! n the titles o# books, nouns, pronouns, adjecties and aderbs

should begin with a capitalI as, &Johnson's =ies o# the Poets!&<! n the .o%an notation nu%bers are denoted by capitalsI as,

+ E = C D B/, 5, N, , /6, 6, /66, 66, /666!0! Proper na%es begin with a capitalI as, &Jones, Johnson, Caesar,

Bark 4ntony, ngland, Paci#ic, Christ%as!&

Such words as rier, sea, %ountain, etc!, when used generallyare co%%on, not proper nouns, and reuire no capital! "ut whensuch are used with an adjectie or adjunct to speci#y a particularobject they beco%e proper na%es, and there#ore reuire acapitalI as, &Bississippi .ier, @orth Sea, 4lleghany Bountains,&etc! n like %anner the cardinal points north, south, east andwest, when they are used to distinguish regions o# a country arecapitalsI as, &$he @orth #ought against the South!&

When a proper na%e is co%pounded with another word, the partwhich is not a proper na%e begins with a capital i# it precedes,

but with a s%all letter i# it #ollows, the hyphenI as &PostFho%eric,&&SundayFschool!&

/6!Words deried #ro% proper na%es reuire a CapitalI as,&4%erican, rish, Christian, 4%ericanie, Christianie!&

n this connection the na%es o# political parties, religious sectsand schools o# thought begin with capitalsI as, &.epublican,De%ocrat, Whig, Catholic, Presbyterian, .ationalists, *ree $hinkers!&

//!$he titles o# honorable, state and political o##ices begin with acapitalI as, &President, Chair%an, Goernor, 4lder%an!&

/5!$he abbreiations o# learned titles and college degrees call #orcapitalsI as, &==!D!, B!4!, "!S!,& etc! 4lso the seats o# learningcon#erring such degrees as, &Harard ?niersity, BanhattanCollege,& etc!

/N!When such relatie words as #ather, %other, brother, sister,uncle, aunt, etc!, precede a proper na%e, they are written and



printed with capitalsI as, *ather 4braha%, Bother ddy, "rother John, Sister Jane, ?ncle Jacob, 4unt lia! *ather, when used todenote the early Christian writer, is begun with a capitalI&4ugustine was one o# the learned *athers o# the Church!&

/7!$he na%es applied to the Supre%e "eing begin with capitals3

&God, =ord, Creator, Proidence, 4l%ighty, $he Deity, Heaenly*ather, Holy >ne!& n this respect the na%es applied to theSaiour also reuire capitals3 &Jesus Christ, Son o# God, Ban o#Galilee, $he Cruci#ied, $he 4nointed >ne!& 4lso the designationso# "iblical characters as &=ily o# srael, .ose o# Sharon,Co%#ortress o# the 4##licted, Help o# Christians, Prince o# the4postles, Star o# the Sea,& etc! Pronouns re#erring to God andChrist take capitalsI as, &His work, $he work o# Hi%, etc!&

/!-pressions used to designate the "ible or any particular diisiono# it begin with a capitalI as, &Holy Writ, $he Sacred "ook, Holy"ook, God's Word, >ld $esta%ent, @ew $esta%ent, Gospel o# St!

Batthew, Seen Penitential Psal%s!&/:!-pressions based upon the "ible or in re#erence to "iblical

characters begin with a capital3 &Water o# =i#e, Hope o# Ben, Helpo# Christians, Scourge o# @ations!&

/1!$he na%es applied to the il >ne reuire capitals3 &"eelebub,Prince o# Darkness, Satan, Aing o# Hell, Deil, ncarnate *iend, $e%pter o# Ben, *ather o# =ies, Hater o# Good!&

/<!Words o# ery special i%portance, especially those which standout as the na%es o# leading eents in history, hae capitalsI as,&$he .eolution, $he Ciil War, $he Biddle 4ges, $he 4ge o#ron,& etc!

/0!$er%s which re#er to great eents in the history o# the racereuire capitalsI &$he *lood, Bagna Charta, Declaration o#ndependence!&

56!$he na%es o# the days o# the week and the %onths o# the yearand the seasons are co%%enced with capitals3 &Bonday, Barch,4utu%n!&

5/!$he Pronoun ( and the interjection O always reuire the use o#capitals! n #act all the interjections when uttered ase-cla%ations co%%ence with capitals3 &4las2 he is gone!& &4h2 pitied hi%!&

55!4ll noms7de7guerre, assu%ed na%es, as well as na%es gien #or

distinction, call #or capitals, as, &$he Wiard o# the @orth,& &PaulPry,& &$he @orthern Gael,& &Sandy Sanderson,& &Poor .obin,& etc!

5N!n personi#ication, that is, when inani%ate things are representedas endowed with li#e and action, the noun or object personi#iedbegins with a capitalI as, &$he starry @ight shook the dews #ro%her wings!& &BildFeyed Day appeared,& &$he >ak said to the"eech' a% stronger than you!'&



CHAPTER VI

LETTER WRITIN(

Pr'*c'#l$! o" L$$r3Wr''*,—For+!—No$!

Bany people see% to regard letterFwriting as a ery si%ple and easilyacuired branch, but on the contrary it is one o# the %ost di##icult#or%s o# co%position and reuires %uch patience and labor to %asterits details! n #act there are ery #ew per#ect letterFwriters in thelanguage! t constitutes the direct #or% o# speech and %ay be calledconersation at a distance! ts #or%s are so aried by eeryconceiable topic written at all ti%es by all kinds o# persons in all kindso# %oods and te%pers and addressed to all kinds o# persons o# aryingdegrees in society and o# di##erent pursuits in li#e, that no #i-ed rulescan be laid down to regulate its length, style or subject %atter! >nlygeneral suggestions can be %ade in regard to scope and purpose, andthe #or%s o# indicting set #orth which custo% and precedent haesanctioned! $he principles o# letterFwriting should be understood by eerybody whohas any knowledge o# written language, #or al%ost eerybody at so%eti%e or other has necessity to address so%e #riend or acuaintance ata distance, whereas co%paratiely #ew are called upon to direct theire##orts towards any other kind o# co%position!*or%erly the illiterate country%an, when he had occasion toco%%unicate with #riends or relations, called in the peripateticschool%aster as his a%anuensis, but this had one drawFback,secretshad to be poured into an ear other than that #or which they wereintended, and o#ten the con#idence was betrayed!@ow, that education is abroad in the land, there is seldo% any occasion#or any person to call upon the serice o# another to co%pose andwrite a personal letter! +ery #ew nowFaFdays are so grossly illiterate asnot to be able to read and write! @o %atter how crude his e##ort %aybe it is better #or any one to write his own letters than trust to another!en i# he should co%%ence,&deer #ren, i li#t up %y pen to let ye nothat i hoe been sik #or the past N weeks, hopping this will #indye thesa%e,& his spelling and construction can be e-cused in iew o# the #act

that his intention is good, and that he is doing his best to sere his ownturn without depending upon others! $he nature, substance and tone o# any letter depend upon theoccasion that calls it #orth, upon the person writing it and upon theperson #or who% it is intended! Whether it should be easy or #or%al instyle, plain or ornate, light or serious, gay or grae, senti%ental or%atterFo#F#act depend upon these three circu%stances!



n letter writing the #irst and %ost i%portant reuisites are to benatural and si%pleI there should be no straining a#ter e##ect, but si%plya spontaneous outFpouring o# thoughts and ideas as they naturallyoccur to the writer! We are repelled by a person who is sti## and laboredin his conersation and in the sa%e way the sti## and labored letter

bores the reader! Whereas i# it is light and in a conersational ein iti%%ediately engages his attention! $he letter which is written with the greatest #acility is the best kind o#letter because it naturally e-presses what is in the writer, he has not tosearch #or his words, they #low in a per#ect unison with the ideas hedesires to co%%unicate! When you write to your #riend John "rowne totell hi% how you spent Sunday you hae not to look around #or thewords, or study set phrases with a iew to please or i%press "rowne,you just tell hi% the sa%e as i# he were present be#ore you, how youspent the day, where you were, with who% you associated and thechie# incidents that occurred during the ti%e! $hus, you write natural

and it is such writing that is adapted to epistolary correspondence! $here are di##erent kinds o# letters, each calling #or a di##erent style o#address and co%position, neertheless the natural key should be%aintained in all, that is to say, the writer should neer atte%pt toconey an i%pression that he is other than what he is! t would be sillyas well as ain #or the co%%on street laborer o# a li%ited education totry to put on literary airs and e%ulate a college pro#essorI he %ay haeas good a brain, but it is not as well deeloped by education, and helacks the polish which society con#ers! When writing a letter the streetlaborer should bear in %ind that only the letter o# a streetFlaborer ise-pected #ro% hi%, no %atter to who% his co%%unication %ay be

addressed and that neither the gra%%ar nor the diction o# aChester#ield or Gladstone is looked #or in his language! Still the writershould keep in %ind the person to who% he is writing! # it is to an4rchbishop or so%e other great dignitary o# Church or state it certainlyshould be couched in ter%s di##erent #ro% those he uses to John"rowne, his inti%ate #riend! Just as he cannot say &Dear John& to an4rchbishop, no %ore can he address hi% in the #a%iliar words he usesto his #riend o# eeryday acuaintance and co%panionship! (et there isno great learning reuired to write to an 4rchbishop, no %ore than toan ordinary indiidual! 4ll the laborer needs to know is the #or% o#address and how to properly utilie his li%ited ocabulary to the best

adantage! Here is the #or% #or such a letter3 /1 Second 4enue, @ew (ork City! January /st, /0/6!

Bost .e! P! 4! Jordan, 4rchbishop o# @ew (ork!

Bost .e! and dear Sir3



While sweeping the crossing at *i#th 4enue and 6th street on last Wednesday %orning, #ound the enclosed *i#ty Dollar "ill, which a% sending to you in the hope that it %ay be restored to the right#ul owner!

beg you will acknowledge receipt and should the owner be #ound trust you will noti#y %e, so that %ay clai% so%e reward #or %y honesty! a%, Bost .e! and dear Sir,

+ery respect#ully yours, $ho%as Jones!

>bsere the breity o# the letter! Jones %akes no suggestions to the4rchbishop how to #ind the owner, #or he knows the course the4rchbishop will adopt, o# haing the #inding o# the bill announced #ro%the Church pulpits! Could Jones hi%sel# #ind the owner there would beno occasion to apply to the 4rchbishop! $his letter, it is true, is di##erent #ro% that which he would send to"rowne! @eertheless it is si%ple without being #a%iliar, is just a plainstate%ent, and is as %uch to the point #or its purpose as i# it weregarnished with rhetoric and &words o# learned length and thunderingsound!&=etters %ay be diided into those o# #riendship, acuaintanceship,those o# business relations, those written in an o##icial capacity bypublic serants, those designed to teach, and those which gieaccounts o# the daily happenings on the stage o# li#e, in other words,news letters!

$etters o' 'riendship are the %ost co%%on and their style and #or%depend upon the degree o# relationship and inti%acy e-isting betweenthe writers and those addressed! "etween relaties and inti%ate#riends the beginning and end %ay be in the %ost #a%iliar #or% o#conersation, either a##ectionate or play#ul! $hey should, howeer,neer oerstep the boundaries o# decency and propriety, #or it is wellto re%e%ber that, unlike conersation, which only is heard by the ears#or which it is intended, written words %ay co%e under eyes other thanthose #or who% they were designed! $here#ore, it is well neer to writeanything which the world %ay not read without detri%ent to yourcharacter or your instincts! (ou can be joy#ul, play#ul, jocose, gie ent

to your #eelings, but neer stoop to low language and, aboe all, tolanguage saoring in the slightest degree o# %oral i%propriety!0usiness letters are o# the ut%ost i%portance on account o# theinterests inoled! $he business character o# a %an or o# a #ir% is o#ten judged by the correspondence! >n %any occasions letters instead o#deeloping trade and business interests and gaining clientele,predispose people un#aorably towards those who% they are designedto bene#it! 4%biguous, slipFshod language is a detri%ent to success!



"usiness letters should be clear, concise, to the point and, aboe all,honest, giing no wrong i%pressions or holding out any induce%entsthat cannot be #ul#illed! n business letters, just as in business conduct,honesty is always the best policy!O''icial letters are %ostly always #or%al! $hey should possess

clearness, breity and dignity o# tone to i%press the receiers with theproper respect #or the national laws and institutions!=etters designed to teach or didactic letters are in a class all bythe%seles! $hey are si%ply literature in the #or% o# letters and aree%ployed by so%e o# the best writers to gie their thoughts and ideasa greater e%phasis! $he %ost conspicuous e-a%ple o# this kind o#co%position is the book on tiuette by =ord Chester#ield, which tookthe #or% o# a series o# letters to his son!Ne#s letters are accounts o# world happenings and descriptions o#cere%onies and eents sent into the newspapers! So%e o# the bestauthors o# our ti%e are newspaper %en who write in an easy #lowing

style which is %ost readable, #ull o# hu%or and #ancy and which carriesone along with breathless interest #ro% beginning to end! $he principal parts o# a letter are K/M the heading or introductionI K5Mthe body or substance o# the letterI KNM the subscription or closinge-pression and signatureI K7M the address or direction on the enelope!*or the body o# a letter no #or%s or rules can be laid down as italtogether depends on the nature o# the letter and the relationshipbetween the writer and the person addressed! $here are certain rules which goern the other three #eatures andwhich custo% has sanctioned! ery one should be acuainted withthese rules!

THE HEADIN(

$he Heading has three parts, i!, the na%e o# the place, the date o#writing and the designation o# the person or persons addressedI thus3 1N @ew Street, @ewark, @! J!, *ebruary /st, /0/6! Bessr! Ginn and Co!, @ew (ork Gentle%en3

$he na%e o# the place should neer be o%ittedI in cities, street and

nu%ber should always be gien, and e-cept when the city is large andery conspicuous, so that there can be no uestion as to its identitywith another o# the sa%e or si%ilar na%e, the abbreiation o# the Stateshould be appended, as in the aboe, @ewark, @! J! $here is another@ewark in the State o# >hio! >wing to #ailure to co%ply with this rule%any letters go astray! $he date should be on eery letter, especiallybusiness letters! $he date should neer be put at the botto% in abusiness letter, but in #riendly letters this %ay be done! $he



designation o# the person or persons addressed di##ers according to therelations o# the correspondents! =etters o# #riendship %ay begin in%any ways according to the degrees o# #riendship or inti%acy! $hus3 By dear Wi#e3 By dear Husband3 By dear *riend3

By darling Bother3 By dearest =oe3 Dear 4unt3 Dear ?ncle3 Dear George3 etc!

$o %ark a lesser degree o# inti%acy such #or%al designations as the#ollowing %ay be e%ployed3 Dear Sir3 By dear Sir3 Dear Br! S%ith3 Dear Bada%3 etc!

*or clergy%en who hae the degree o# Doctor o# Diinity, the

designation is as #ollows3 .e! 4lban Johnson, D! D! By dear Sir3 or .e! and dear Sir3 or %ore #a%iliarly Dear Dr! Johnson3

"ishops o# the .o%an and 4nglican Co%%unions are addressed as,ight ,everend! $he .t! .e!, the "ishop o# =ong sland! or $he .t! .e! *rederick "urgess, "ishop o# =ong sland! .t! .e! and dear Sir3

4rchbishops o# the .o%an Church are addressed as &ost ,everend andCardinals as !minence! $hus3 $he Bost .e! 4rchbishop Aater!

Bost .e! and dear Sir3

His %inence, Ja%es Cardinal Gibbons, 4rchbishop o# "alti%ore! Bay it please your %inence3

$he title o# the Goernor o# a State or territory and o# the President o#the ?nited States is !"cellency ! Howeer, Honorable is %ore co%%onlyapplied to Goernors3 His -cellency, Willia% Howard $a#t, President o# the ?nited States!

Sir3

His -cellency, Charles ans Hughes,

Goernor o# the State o# @ew (ork!

Sir3

Honorable *ranklin *ort, Goernor o# @ew Jersey!

Sir3



$he general salutation #or >##icers o# the 4r%y and @ay is Sir ! $herank and station should be indicated in #ull at the head o# the letter,thus3 General Joseph $ho%pson, Co%%anding the Seenth n#antry!

Sir3

.ear 4d%iral .obert 4tkinson, Co%%anding the 4tlantic Suadron!

Sir3

$he title o# o##icers o# the Ciil Goern%ent is Honorable and they areaddressed as Sir ! Hon! @elson Duncan, Senator #ro% >hio!

Sir3

Hon! @or%an Wing#ield, Secretary o# the $reasury!

Sir3

Hon! .upert Gresha%, Bayor o# @ew (ork!

Sir3

Presidents and Pro#essors o# Colleges and ?niersities are generallyaddressed as Sir or -ear Sir ! Pro#essor *erguson Jenks,

President o# !!!!!!!!!! ?niersity!

Sir3 or Dear Sir3

Presidents o# Societies and 4ssociations are treated as business %enand addressed as Sir or -ear Sir ! Br! Joseph "anks, President o# the @ight >wls!

Dear Sir3 or Sir3

Doctors o# Bedicine are addressed as Sir8 &y dear Sir8 -ear Sir8 and%ore #a%iliarly By dear Dr3 or Dear Dr3 as .yerson Pitkin, B! D! Sir3 Dear Sir3 By dear Dr3

>rdinary people with no degrees or titles are addressed as Br! and Brs!and are designed Dear Sir3 Dear Bada%3 and an un%arried wo%an o#any age is addressed on the enelope as Biss SoFandFso, but alwaysdesigned in the letter as Dear Bada%3



$he plural o# Br! as in addressing a #ir% is &essrs, and thecorresponding salutation is -ear Sirs8 or Gentlemen8n ngland !s4+ is used #or &r+ as a %ark o# slight superiority and in thiscountry it is so%eti%es used, but it is practically obsolete! Custo% isagainst it and 4%erican senti%ent as well! # it is used it should be only

applied to lawyers and justices o# the peace!

SU.SCRIPTION

$he Subscription or ending o# a letter consists o# the ter% o# respect ora##ection and the signature! $he ter% depends upon the relation o# theperson addressed! =etters o# #riendship can close with such e-pressionsas3 (ours loingly, (ours a##ectionately, Deotedly yours, er yours, etc!

as between husbands and wies or between loers! Such gushingter%inations as (our >wn Darling, (our own Doey and other pet andsilly endings should be aoided, as they denote shallowness! =oe canbe strongly e-pressed without dipping into the nonsensical and the#arcical!*or%al e-pressions o# Subscription are3 (ours Sincerely, (ours truly, .espect#ully yours,

and the like, and these %ay be aried to denote the e-act bearing orattitude the writer wishes to assu%e to the person addressed3 as,

+ery sincerely yours, +ery respect#ully yours, With deep respect yours, (ours ery truly, etc!

Such elaborate endings as &n the %eanti%e with the highest respect, a% yours to co%%and,& & hae the honor to be, Sir, (our hu%ble Serant,& &With great e-pression o# estee%, a% Sincerely yours,& &"eliee %e, %y dear Sir, er #aith#ully yours,&

are conde%ned as saoring too %uch o# a##ectation!t is better to #inish #or%al letters without any such uali#ying re%arks!# you are writing to Br! .yan to tell hi% that you hae a house #or sale,

a#ter describing the house and stating the ter%s si%ply sign yoursel# (our obedient Serant (ours ery truly, (ours with respect, Ja%es Wilson!

Don't say you hae the honor to be anything or ask hi% to belieeanything, all you want to tell hi% is that you hae a house #or sale andthat you are sincere, or hold hi% in respect as a prospectie custo%er!



Don't abbreiate the signature as3 *5rs ,esp5'ly and always %ake yourse- obious! Write plainly (ours truly, John Field

and not J+ Field, so that the person to who% you send it %ay not take

you #or Jane Field!t is always best to write the #irst na%e in #ull! Barried wo%en shouldpre#i- &rs+ to their na%es, as+ery sincerely yours,&rs+ $heodore Watson! # you are sending a letter acknowledging a co%pli%ent or so%ekindness done you %ay say, *ours grate'ully/ or *ours very grate'ully/in proportion to the act o# kindness receied!t is not custo%ary to sign letters o# degrees or titles a#ter your na%e,e-cept you are a lord, earl or duke and only known by the title, but aswe hae no such titles in 4%erica it is unnecessary to bring this %atter

into consideration! Don't sign yoursel#, Sincerely yours, >badiah Jackson, B!4! or =!=! D!

# you're an B! 4! or an =!=! D! people generally know it without yoursounding your own tru%pet! Bany people, and especially clergy%en,are #ond o# #launting a#ter their na%es degrees they hae receiedhonoris causa, that is, degrees as a %ark o# honor, withoute-a%ination! Such degrees should be kept in the background! Bany adeadhead has these degrees which he could neer hae earned bybrain work!Barried wo%en whose husbands are alie %ay sign the husband's

na%e with the pre#i- &rs8 thus, (ours sincerely,&rs+ Willia% Southey! but when the husband is dead the signature should be (ours sincerely,&rs+ Sarah Southey! So when we receie a letter #ro% a wo%an we are enabled to tellwhether she has a husband liing or is a widow! 4 wo%an separated#ro% her husband but not a divorcee should not sign his na%e!

ADDRESS

$he address o# a letter consists o# the na%e, the title and theresidence! Br! Hugh "lack, //5 Southgate Street, 4ltoona, Pa!

nti%ate #riends hae o#ten #a%iliar na%es #or each other, such as petna%es, nickna%es, etc!, which they use in the #reedo% o#



conersation, but such na%es should neer, under any circu%stances,appear on the enelope! $he subscription on the enelope should bealways written with propriety and correctness and as i# penned by anentire stranger! $he only di##iculty in the enelope inscription is thetitle! ery %an is entitled to &r+ and eery lady to &rs+ and eery

un%arried lady to &iss! en a boy is entitled to &aster ! When %orethan one is addressed the title is &essrs+ &esdames is so%eti%eswritten o# wo%en! # the person addressed has a title it is courteous touse it, but titles neer %ust be duplicated! $hus, we can write .obert Stitt, B! D!, but neer Dr! .obert Stitt, B! D, or Br! .obert Stitt, B! D!

n writing to a %edical doctor it is well to indicate his pro#ession by theletters B! D! so as to di##erentiate hi% #ro% a D! D! t is better to write.obert Stitt, B! D!, than Dr! .obert Stitt!n the case o# clergy%en the pre#i- .e! is retained een when theyhae other titlesI as.e! $racy $ooke, ==! D!

When a person has %ore titles than one it is custo%ary to only giehi% the leading one! $hus instead o# writing .e! Sa%uel BacCo%b, "!4!, B! 4!, "! Sc!, Ph! D!, ==! D!, D! D! the #or% e%ployed is .e! Sa%uelBacCo%b, ==! D! ==! D! is appended in pre#erence to D! D! because in%ost cases the &.e!& i%plies a &D! D!& while co%paratiely #ew withthe pre#i- &.e!& are entitled to &==! D!&n the case o# Honorables such as Goernors, Judges, Be%bers o#Congress, and others o# the Ciil Goern%ent the pre#i- &Hon!& doesaway with &r+ and !s4+ $hus we write Hon! Josiah Sni#kins, not Hon! Br! Josiah Sni#kins or Hon! Josiah Sni#kins, s! $hough this pre#i- Hon+ is

also o#ten applied to Goernors they should be addressed as-cellency! *or instance3 His -cellency, Charles ! Hughes, 4lbany, @! (!

n writing to the President the superscription on the enelope should be $o the President, -ecutie Bansion, Washington, D! C!

Pro#essional %en such as doctors and lawyers as well as those hainglegiti%ately earned College Degrees %ay be addressed on the

enelopes by their titles, as Jonathan Janeway, B! D! Hubert Houston, "! =! Batthew Barks, B! 4!, etc!

$he residence o# the person addressed should be plainly written out in#ull! $he street and nu%bers should be gien and the city or townwritten ery legibly! # the abbreiation o# the State is liable to becon#ounded or con#used with that o# another then the #ull na%e o# the



State should be written! n writing the residence on the enelope,instead o# putting it all in one line as is done at the head o# a letter,each ite% o# the residence #or%s a separate line! $hus, =iberty, Sullian County, @ew (ork!

5/ Binna St!, San *rancisco, Cali#ornia!

$here should be le#t a space #or the postage sta%p in the upper righthand corner! $he na%e and title should occupy a line that is aboutcentral between the top o# the enelope and the botto%! $he na%eshould neither be too %uch to right or le#t but located in the centre,the beginning and end at eual distances #ro% either end!n writing to large business concerns which are well known or to publicor city o##icials it is so%eti%es custo%ary to leae out nu%ber and

street! $hus, Bessrs! Seigel, Cooper Co!, @ew (ork City,

Hon! Willia% J! Gaynor, @ew (ork City!

NOTES

Notes %ay be regarded as letters in %iniature con#ined chie#ly toinitations, acceptances, regrets and introductions, and %odernetiuette tends towards in#or%ality in their co%position! Card

etiuette, in #act, has taken the place o# cere%onious correspondenceand in#or%al notes are now the rule! nitations to dinner andreceptions are now %ostly written on cards! &.egrets& are sent back onisiting cards with just the one word .,egrets. plainly written thereon!>#ten on cards and notes o# initation we #ind the letters .! S! +! P! atthe botto%! $hese letters stand #or the *rench reponde9 s5il vous plait ,which %eans &.eply, i# you please,& but there is no necessity to putthis on an initation card as eery wellFbred person knows that a replyis e-pected! n writing notes to young ladies o# the sa%e #a%ily itshould be noted that the eldest daughter o# the house is entitled to thedesignation &iss without any Christian na%e, only the surna%e

appended! $hus i# there are three daughters in the $ho%pson #a%ilyBartha, the eldest, Susan and Je%ina, Bartha is addressed as &iss $ho%pson and the other two as &iss Susan $ho%pson and &iss Je%ina $ho%pson respectiely!Don't write the word addressed on the enelope o# a note!Don't seal a note deliered by a #riend!Don't write a note on a postal card!Here are a #ew co%%on #or%s3



FORMAL INVITATIONS

Br! and Brs! Henry Wagsta## reuest the honor o# Br! Bc4doo's presence on *riday eening, June /th, at < o'clock to %eet the Goernor o# the *ort!

/0 Woodbine $errace June <th, /0/6!

$his is an initation to a #or%al reception calling #or eening dress!Here is Br! Bc4doo's reply in the third person3 Br! Bc4doo presents his co%pli%ents to Br! and Brs! Henry Wagsta## and accepts with great pleasure their initation to %eet the Goernor o# the *ort on the eening o# June #i#teenth! 5/ "eacon Street, June /6th, /0/6!

Here is how Br! Bc4doo %ight decline the initation3

Br! Bc4doo regrets that owing to a prior engage%ent he %ust #orego the honor o# paying his respects to Br! and Brs! Wagsta## and the Goernor o# the *ort on the eening o# June #i#teenth! 5/ "eacon St!, June /6th, /0/6!

Here is a note addressed, say to Br! Jere%iah .eynolds! Br! and Brs! >ldha% at ho%e on Wednesday eening >ctober ninth #ro% seen to eleen! 5/ 4shland 4enue, >ctober th!

Br! .eynolds %akes reply3

Br! .eynolds accepts with high appreciation the honor o# Br! and Brs! >ldha%'s initation #or Wednesday eening >ctober ninth! Windsor Hotel >ctober 1th

or Br! .eynolds regrets that his duties render it i%possible #or hi% to accept Br! and Brs! >ldha%'s kind initation #or the eening o# >ctober ninth! Windsor Hotel, >ctober 1th,

So%eti%es less in#or%al initations are sent on s%all specially

designed note paper in which the #irst person takes the place o# thethird! $hus N:6 Pine St!, Dec! //th, /0/6! Dear Br! Saintsbury3 Br! Johnson and should be %uch pleased to hae you dine with us and a #ew #riends ne-t $hursday, the #i#teenth, at hal# past seen! (ours sincerely,



%%a "urnside!

Br! Saintsbury's reply3 1 Carlyle Strand Dec! /Nth, /0/6! Dear Brs! "urnside3 =et %e accept ery appreciatiely your

initation to dine with Br! "urnside and you on ne-t $hursday, the #i#teenth, at hal# past seen! (ours sincerely, Henry Saintsbury! Brs! 4le-ander "urnside!

NOTES OF INTRODUCTION

@otes o# introduction should be ery circu%spect as the writers are inreality ouching #or those who% they introduce! Here is a speci%en o#such a note!

:6N =e-ington 4e!, @ew (ork City, June /th, /0/6!

.e! Cyrus C! Wiley, D! D!, @ewark, @! J! By dear Dr! Wiley3 take the liberty o# presenting to you %y #riend, Stacy .ed#ern, B! D!, a young practitioner, who is an-ious to locate in @ewark! hae known hi% %any years and can ouch #or his integrity and pro#essional standing! 4ny courtesy and

kindness which you %ay show hi% will be ery %uch appreciated by %e! +ery sincerely yours, *ranklin Jewett!

CHAPTER VII

ERRORS

M'!a4$!—Sl'#! o" Au%or!—E2a+#l$! a*1 Corr$c'o*!—Error!o" R$1u*1a*cy-

n the #ollowing e-a%ples the word or words in parentheses areuncalled #or and should be o%itted3

/! *ill the glass K#ullM!5! $hey appeared to be talking KtogetherM on priate a##airs!N! saw the boy and his sister KbothM in the garden!



7! He went into the country last week and returned KbackMyesterday!

! $he subject K%atterM o# his discourse was e-cellent!:! (ou need not wonder that the KsubjectM %atter o# his discourse

was e-cellentI it was taken #ro% the "ible!

1! $hey #ollowed Ka#terM hi%, but could not oertake hi%!<! $he sa%e senti%ents %ay be #ound throughout Kthe whole o#Mthe book!

0! was ery ill eery day Ko# %y li#eM last week!/6!$hat was the Ksu% andM substance o# his discourse!//!He took wine and water and %i-ed the% KbothM together!/5!He descended KdownM the steps to the cellar!/N!He #ell KdownM #ro% the top o# the house!/7! hope you will return KagainM soon!/!$he things he took away he restored KagainM!/:!$he thie# who stole %y watch was co%pelled to restore it Kback

againM!/1!t is eually Kthe sa%eM to %e whether hae it today or

to%orrow!/<!She said, Ksays sheM the report is #alseI and he replied, Ksays heM

i# it be not correct hae been %isin#or%ed!/0! took %y place in the cars K#orM to go to @ew (ork!56!$hey need not KtoM call upon hi%!5/!@othing KelseM but that would satis#y hi%!55!Wheneer ride in the cars KalwaysM #ind it prejudicial to %y

health!5N!He was the #irst Ko# allM at the %eeting!

57!He was the tallest o# KallM the brothers!5!(ou are the tallest o# KallM your #a%ily!5:!Wheneer pass the house he is KalwaysM at the door!51!$he rain has penetrated KthroughM the roo#!5<!"esides %y uncle and aunt there was KalsoM %y grand#ather at

the church!50!t should KeerM be your constant endeaor to please your #a%ily!N6!# it is true as you hae heard KthenM his situation is indeed piti#ul!N/!ither this KhereM %an or that KthereM wo%an has KgotM it!N5!Where is the #ire KatMLNN!Did you sleep in churchL @ot that know Ko#M!

N7! neer be#ore Kin %y li#eM %et KwithM such a stupid %an!N!K*orM why did he postpone itLN:!"ecause KwhyM he could not attend!N1!What age is heL KWhyM don't know!N<!He called on %e K#orM to ask %y opinion!N0! don't know where a% KatM!76! looked in KatM the window!7/! passed KbyM the house!



75!He KalwaysM ca%e eery Sunday!7N!Boreoer, KalsoM we wish to say he was in error!77!t is not long KagoM since he was here!7!$wo %en went into the wood Kin orderM to cut KdownM trees!

*urther e-a%ples o# redundancy %ight be %ultiplied! t is eryco%%on in newspaper writing where not alone single words but entirephrases are so%eti%es brought in, which are unnecessary to the senseor e-planation o# what is written!

(RAMMATICAL ERRORS OF STANDARD AUTHORS

en the best speakers and writers are so%eti%es caught napping!Bany o# our standard authors to who% we hae been accusto%ed tolook up as in#allible hae sinned %ore or less against the #unda%entalprinciples o# gra%%ar by breaking the rules regarding one or %ore o#

the nine parts o# speech! n #act so%e o# the% hae recklesslytrespassed against all nine, and still they sit on their pedestals o# #a%e#or the ad%iration o# the crowd! Bacaulay %istreated the article! Hewrote,&$hat a historian should not record tri#les is per#ectly true!& Heshould hae used an!Dickens also used the article incorrectly! He re#ers to &.obinsonCrusoe& as &an uniersally popular book,& instead o# a uniersallypopular book! $he relation between nouns and pronouns has always been astu%bling block to speakers and writers! Halla% in his $iterature o'!urope writes, &@o one as yet had e-hibited the structure o# the hu%an

kidneys, +esalius haing only e-a%ined the% in dogs!& $his %eans that+esalius e-a%ined hu%an kidneys in dogs! $he sentence should haebeen, &@o one had as yet e-hibited the kidneys in hu%an beings,+esalius haing e-a%ined such organs in dogs only!&Sir 4rthur Helps in writing o# Dickens, states& knew a brother authoro# his who receied such criticis%s #ro% hi% KDickensM ery lately andpro#ited by it !& nstead o# it the word should be them to agree withcriticis%s!Here are a #ew other prono%inal errors #ro% leading authors3&Sir $ho%as Boore in general so writes it, although not %any others solate as him!& Should be he!$rench's !nglish Past and Present !

&What should we gain by it but that we should speedily beco%e aspoor as them!& Should be they !4lison's !ssay on &acaulay !&# the king gies us leae you or %ay as law#ully preach, as them thatdo!& Should be they or those, the latter haing persons understood!Hobbes's History o' Civil )ars!&$he dri#t o# all his ser%ons was, to prepare the Jews #or the receptiono# a prophet, %ightier than him, and whose shoes he was not worthy tobear!& Should be than he!4tterbury's Sermons!



&Phalaris, who was so %uch older than her !& Should be she!"entley's-issertation on Phalaris!&Aing Charles, and %ore than him, the duke and the Popish #actionwere at liberty to #or% new sche%es!& Should be than he!"olingbroke's -issertations on Parties!

&We contributed a third %ore than the Dutch, who were obliged to thesa%e proportion %ore than us!& Should be than #e!Swi#t's Conducto' the llies!n all the aboe e-a%ples the objectie cases o# the pronouns haebeen used while the construction calls #or no%inatie cases!&=et thou and ( the battle try& non!Here let is the goerning erb and reuires an objectie case a#ter itIthere#ore instead o# thou and (, the words should be you Ksing!M andme!&*oreer in this hu%ble cell, =et thee and , %y #air one, dwell&Prior !Here thee and ( should be the objecties you and me!

$he use o# the relatie pronoun trips the greatest nu%ber o# authors!en in the "ible we #ind the relatie wrongly translated3Who% do %en say that a%LSt+ &atthe#!Who% think ye that a%L cts o' the postles!)ho should be written in both cases because the word is not in theobjectie goerned by say or think, but in the no%inatie dependenton the erb am!)ho should %eet at the co##ee house t'other night, but %y old#riendL&Steele!&t is another pattern o# this answerer's #air dealing, to gie us hintsthat the author is dead, and yet lay the suspicion upon so%ebody,

know not #ho, in the country!&Swi#t's Tale o' a Tub!&By son is going to be %arried to don't know #ho!& Golds%ith'sGood7natured &an! $he no%inatie #ho in the aboe e-a%ples should be the objectie#hom! $he plural no%inatie ye o# the pronoun thou is ery o#ten used #or theobjectie you, as in the #ollowing3&His wrath which will one day destroy ye both!& &ilton!&$he %ore sha%e #or yeI holy %en thought ye!&Sha%espeare!& #eel the gales that #ro% ye blow!&Gray !&$yrants dread ye, lest your just decree $rans#er the power and set the

people #ree!&Prior !Bany o# the great writers hae played haoc with the adjectie in theindiscri%inate use o# the degrees o# co%parison!&># two #or%s o# the sa%e word, use the #ittest!&&orell! $he author here in trying to gie good adice sets a bad e-a%ple! Heshould hae used the co%paratie degree, &*itter!&



4djecties which hae a co%paratie or superlatie signi#ication do notad%it the addition o# the words more, most , or the ter%inations, er ,est , hence the #ollowing e-a%ples break this rule3&Boney is the most universal incite%ent o# hu%an %isery!&Gibbon's-ecline and Fall!

&$he chie'est o# which was known by the na%e o# 4rchon a%ong theGrecians!&Dryden's $i'e o' Plutarch!&$he chie'est and largest are re%oed to certain %againes they calllibraries!&Swi#t's 0attle o' the 0oo%s! $he two chie'est properties o# air, its graity and elastic #orce, haebeen discoered by %echanical e-peri%ents! rbuthno&*ro% these arious causes, which in greater or lesser degree, a##ectedeery indiidual in the colony, the indignation o# the people beca%egeneral!&.obertson's History o' merica!&$he e"tremest parts o# the earth were %editating a sub%ission!&4tterbury's Sermons!

&$he last are indeed more pre'erable because they are #ounded onso%e new knowledge or i%proe%ent in the %ind o# %an!&4ddison,Spectator !&$his was in reality the easiest %anner o# the two!&Sha#tesbury's dvice to an uthor !&n eery well #or%ed %ind this second desire see%s to be thestrongest o# the two!&S%ith's Theory o' &oral Sentiments!n these e-a%ples the superlatie is wrongly used #or the co%paratie!When only two objects are co%pared the co%paratie #or% %ust beused!># i%possibility there are no degrees o# co%parison, yet we #ind the

#ollowing3&4s it was i%possible they should know the words, thoughts and secretactions o# all %en, so it was more impossible they should pass judg%ent on the% according to these things!&Whitby's Necessity o'the Christian ,eligion!4 great nu%ber o# authors e%ploy adjecties #or aderbs! $hus we#ind3& shall endeaor to lie herea#ter suitable to a %an in %y station!& ddison!& can neer think so ery mean o# hi%!&"entley's -issertation onPhalaris!

&His e-pectations run high and the #und to supply the% is e"tremescanty,$ancaster5s !ssay on -elicacy ! $he co%%onest error in the use o# the erb is the disregard o# theconcord between the erb and its subject! $his occurs %ost #reuentlywhen the subject and the erb are widely separated, especially i# so%eother noun o# a di##erent nu%ber i%%ediately precedes the erb! *alseconcords occur ery o#ten a#ter either , or , neither , nor , and much,more, many , everyone, each!



Here are a #ew authors' slips3&$he ter%s in which the sale o# a patent #ere co%%unicated to thepublic!&Junius's $etters!&$he richness o# her ar%s and apparel #ere conspicuous!&Gibbon's-ecline and Fall!

&eryone o# this grotesue #a%ily #ere the creatures o# nationalgenius!&D'sraeli!&He knows not what spleen, languor or listlessness are!&"lair'sSermons!&ach o# these words imply , so%e pursuit or object relinuished!&(bid!&Bagnus, with #our thousand o# his supposed acco%plices #ere put todeath!&Gibbon!&@o nation gies greater encourage%ents to learning than we doI yetat the sa%e ti%e none are so injudicious in the application!&Goldsmith!&There5s t#o or three o# us hae seen strange sights!&Sha%espeare!

$he past participle should not be used #or the past tense, yet thelearned "yron oerlooked this #act! He thus writes in the $ament o'Tasso3&4nd with %y years %y soul begun to pant With #eelings o# strangetu%ult and so#t pain!&Here is another e-a%ple #ro% Saage's )anderer in which there isdouble sinning3&*ro% liberty each nobler science sprung, 4 "acon brighten'd and aSpenser sung!&>ther breaches in regard to the participles occur in the #ollowing3&ery book ought to be read with the sa%e spirit and in the sa%e

%anner as it is #rit &*ielding's Tom Jones!&$he Court o# 4ugustus had not #ore o## the %anners o# the republic&Hu%e's !ssays!Boses tells us that the #ountains o# the earth were bro%e open or cloeasunder!&"urnet!&4 #ree constitution when it has been shoo% by the iniuity o# #or%erad%inistrations!&0olingbro%e!&n this respect the seeds o# #uture diisions were so#ed abundantly!&(bid!n the #ollowing e-a%ple the present participle is used #or the in#initie%ood3

&t is easy distinguishing the rude #rag%ent o# a rock #ro% the splintero# a statue!&Gil#illan's $iterary Portraits!-istinguishing here should be replaced by to distinguish! $he rules regarding shall and #ill are iolated in the #ollowing3&# we look within the rough and awkward outside, we #ill be richlyrewarded by its perusal!&Gil#illan's $iterary Portraits!&# should declare the% and speak o# the%, they should be %ore than a% able to e-press!&Prayer 0oo% ,evision o' Psalms :(!



&# #ould declare the% and speak o# the%, they are %ore than can benu%bered!&(bid!&Without haing attended to this, we #ill be at a loss, in understandingseeral passages in the classics!&"lair's $ectures!&We know to what cause our past reerses hae been owing and #e

will hae ourseles to bla%e, i# they are again incurred!&4lison'sHistory o' !urope!4derbial %istakes o#ten occur in the best writers! $he aderb rather isa word ery #reuently %isplaced! 4rchbishop $rench in his &nglishPast and Present& writes, &t rather %odi#ied the structure o# oursentences than the ele%ents o# our ocabulary!& $his should hae beenwritten,& t %odi#ied the structure o# our sentences rather than theele%ents o# our ocabulary!&&So #ar as his %ode o# teaching goes he is rather a disciple o# Socratesthan o# St! Paul or Wesley!& $hus writes =eslie Stephens o# Dr! Johnson!He should hae written,& So #ar as his %ode o# teaching goes he is a

disciple o# Socrates rather than o# St! Paul or Wesley!& $he preposition is a part o# speech which is o#ten wrongly used byso%e o# the best writers! Certain nouns, adjecties and erbs reuireparticular prepositions a#ter the%, #or instance, the word di''erentalways takes the preposition 'rom a#ter itI prevail takes uponI aversetakes toI accord takes #ith, and so on!n the #ollowing e-a%ples the prepositions in parentheses are the onesthat should hae been used3&He #ound the greatest di##iculty o' KinM writing!&Hu%e's History o'!ngland!&# policy can preail upon KoerM #orce!& ddison!

&He %ade the discoery and co%%unicated to KwithM his #riends!&Swi#t's Tale o' a Tub!&ery o##ice o# co%%and should be intrusted to persons on KinM who%the parlia%ent shall con#ide!&&acaulay !Seeral o# the %ost celebrated writers in#ringe the canons o# style byplacing prepositions at the end o# sentences! *or instance Carlyle, inre#erring to the Study o# "urns, writes3&>ur own contributions to it,we are aware, can be but scanty and #eebleI but we o##er the% withgood will, and trust they %ay %eet with acceptance #ro% those theyare intended 'or !&&#or who% they are intended,& he should hae written!

&Bost writers hae so%e one ein which they peculiarly and obiouslye-cel in!&)illiam &into! $his sentence should read,Bost writers hae so%e one ein in whichthey peculiarly and obiously e-cel!Bany authors use redundant words which repeat the sa%e thought andidea! $his is called tautology!&@otwithstanding which KhoweerM poor Polly e%braced the% allaround!&-ic%ens!



& judged that they would K%utuallyM #ind each other!&Croc%ett !&!!!!as haing created a KjointM partnership between the two Powers inthe Borocco uestion!&The Times!&$he only sensible position Kthere see%s to beM is to #ranklyacknowledge our ignorance o# what lies beyond!&-aily Telegraph!

=ord .osebery has not budged #ro% his positionsplendid, no doubt,o# KlonelyM isolation!&The Times!&Biss *o- was Ko#tenM in the habit o# assuring Brs! Chick!&-ic%ens!&$he deck KitM was their #ield o# #a%e!&Campbell!&He had co%e up one %orning, as was now K#reuentlyM his wont,&Trollope! $he counsellors o# the Sultan Kcontinue toM re%ain scepticalTheTimes!Seriously, Kand apart #ro% jestingM, this is no light %atter!0agehot ! $o go back to your own country with Kthe consciousness that you goback withM the sense o# duty well done!$ord Halsbury !

$he Peresviet lost both her #ightingFtops and Kin appearanceM lookedthe %ost da%aged o# all the shipsThe Times!Counsel ad%itted that, that was a #air suggestion to %ake, but hesub%itted that it was borne out by the KsurroundingM circu%stances!(bid!4nother unnecessary use o# words and phrases is that which is ter%edcircu%locution, a going around the bush when there is no occasion #orit,sae to #ill space!t %ay be likened to a person walking the distance o# two sides o# atriangle to reach the objectie point! *or instance in the uotation3&Pope pro#essed to hae learned his poetry #ro% Dryden, who%,

wheneer an opportunity was presented, he praised through the wholeperiod o# his e-istence with unaried liberalityI and perhaps hischaracter %ay receie so%e illustration, o# a co%parison he institutedbetween hi% and the %an whose pupil he was& %uch o# the erbiage%ay be eli%inated and the sentence thus condensed3&Pope pro#essed hi%sel# the pupil o# Dryden, who% he lost noopportunity o# praisingI and his character %ay be illustrated by aco%parison with his %aster!&&His li#e was brought to a close in /0/6 at an age not #ar #ro% the one#i-ed by the sacred writer as the ter% o# hu%an e-istence!& $his in breity can be put, &His li#e was brought to a close at the age o#

seentyI& or, better yet, &He died at the age o# seenty!&&$he day was intensely cold, so cold in #act that the ther%o%eter creptdown to the ero %ark,& can be e-pressed3 &$he day was so cold thether%o%eter registered ero!&Bany authors resort to circu%locution #or the purpose o# &padding,&that is, #illing space, or when they strike a snag in writing uponsubjects o# which they know little or nothing! $he young writer should



steer clear o# it and learn to e-press his thoughts and ideas as brie#lyas possible co%%ensurate with lucidity o# e-pression!+olu%es o# errors in #act, in gra%%ar, diction and general style, couldbe selected #ro% the works o# the great writers, a #act which elouentlytesti#ies that no one is in#allible and that the ery best is liable to err at

ti%es! Howeer, %ost o# the erring in the case o# these writers arises#ro% carelessness or hurry, not #ro% a lack o# knowledge!4s a general rule it is in writing that the scholar is liable to slipI in oralspeech he seldo% %akes a blunder! n #act, there are %any people whoare per#ect %asters o# speech,who neer %ake a blunder inconersation, yet who are ignorant o# the ery principles o# gra%%arand would not know how to write a sentence correctly on paper! Suchpersons hae been accusto%ed #ro% in#ancy to hear the languagespoken correctly and so the use o# the proper words and #or%sbeco%es a second nature to the%! 4 child can learn what is right aseasy as what is wrong and whateer i%pressions are %ade on the

%ind when it is plastic will re%ain there! en a parrot can be taughtthe proper use o# language! .epeat to a parrot!&$wo and two ma%e#our& and it neer will say &two and two ma%es #our!&n writing, howeer, it is di##erent! Without a knowledge o# the#unda%entals o# gra%%ar we %ay be able to speak correctly #ro%association with good speakers, but without such a knowledge wecannot hope to write the language correctly! $o write een a co%%onletter we %ust know the principles o# construction, the relationship o#one word to another! $here#ore, it is necessary #or eerybody tounderstand at least the essentials o# the gra%%ar o# his own language!

CHAPTER VIII

PITFALLS TO AVOID

Co++o* Su+bl'*, .loc4!—P$cul'ar Co*!ruc'o*!—M'!u!$1For+!-

ATTRACTION

+ery o#ten the erb is separated #ro% its real no%inatie or subject by

seeral interening words and in such cases one is liable to %ake theerb agree with the subject nearest to it! Here are a #ew e-a%plesshowing that the leading writers now and then take a tu%ble into thispit#all3

/! &$he partition which the two %inisters %ade o# the powers o#goern%ent #ere singularly happy!&&acaulay !



KShould be #as to agree with its subject, partition!M

5! &>ne at least o# the ualities which #it it #or training ordinary %enun'it it #or training an e-traordinary %an!&0agehot !

KShould be un'its to agree with subject one!M

N! &$he $ibetans hae engaged to e-clude #ro% their country thosedangerous in#luences whose appearance #ere the chie# cause o#our action!&The Times!

KShould be #as to agree with appearance!M

7! &4n i%%ense a%ount o# con#usion and indi##erence prevail inthese days!&Telegraph!

KShould be prevails to agree with a%ount!M

ELLIPSIS

rrors in ellipsis occur chie#ly with prepositions!His objection and condoning o# the boy's course, see%ed to say theleast, parado-ical!K$he preposition to should co%e a#ter objection!MBany %en o# brilliant parts are crushed by #orce o# circu%stances andtheir genius #oreer lost to the world!KSo%e %aintain that the %issing erb a#ter genius is are, but such is

ungra%%atical! n such cases the right erb should be alwayse-pressed3 astheir genius is #oreer lost to the world!

THE SPLIT INFINITIVE

en the best speakers and writers are in the habit o# placing a%odi#ying word or words between the to and the re%aining part o# thein#initie! t is possible that such will co%e to be looked upon in ti%e asthe proper #or% but at present the splitting o# the in#initie is decidedlywrong! &He was scarcely able to een tal% & &She co%%enced to rapidly#al% around the roo%!& &To have really loved is better than not to have

at all loved!& n these constructions it is %uch better not to split thein#initie! n eeryFday speech the best speakers sin against thisobserance!n @ew (ork City there is a certain %agistrate, a %e%ber o# &the 766,&who prides hi%sel# on his diction in language! He tells this story3 4prisoner, a #aded, battered speci%en o# %ankind, on whose haggard#ace, deeply lined with the %arks o# dissipation, there still lingered#aint re%inders o# better days long past, stood dejected be#ore the



judge! &Where are you #ro%L& asked the %agistrate! &*ro% "oston,&answered the accused! &ndeed,& said the judge, &indeed, yours is asad case, and yet you don't see% to thoroughly realise how low youhae sunk!& $he %an stared as i# struck! &(our honor does %e aninjustice,& he said bitterly! &$he disgrace o# arrest #or drunkenness, the

%orti#ication o# being thrust into a noiso%e dungeon, the publicity andhu%iliation o# trial in a crowded and dingy courtroo% can bear, but tobe sentenced by a Police Bagistrate who splits his in'initivesthat isindeed the last blow!&

ONE

$he inde#inite adjectie pronoun one when put in place o# a personalsubstantie is liable to raise con#usion! When a sentence or e-pressionis begun with the i%personal one the word %ust be used throughout inall re#erences to the subject! $hus, &>ne %ust %ind one's own business

i# one wishes to succeed& %ay see% proli- and awkward, neerthelessit is the proper #or%! (ou %ust not say&>ne %ust %ind his business i#he wishes to succeed,& #or the subject is i%personal and there#orecannot e-clusiely take the %asculine pronoun! With any one it isdi##erent! (ou %ay say&# any one sins he should acknowledge itI lethi% not try to hide it by another sin!&

ONLY

$his is a word that is a pit#all to the %ost o# us whether learned orunlearned! Probably it is the %ost indiscri%inately used word in the

language! *ro% the di##erent positions it is %ade to occupy in asentence it can relatiely change the %eaning! *or instance in thesentence& only struck hi% that ti%e,& the %eaning to be in#erred is,that the only thing did to hi% was to stri%e hi%, not kick or otherwiseabuse hi%! "ut i# the only is shi#ted, so as to %ake the sentence readF&struck hi% only that ti%e& the %eaning coneyed is, that only on thatoccasion and at no other ti%e did strike hi%! # another shi#t is %adetoF& struck only hi% that ti%e,& the %eaning is again altered so that itsigni#ies he was the only person struck!n speaking we can by e%phasis i%press our %eaning on our hearers,but in writing we hae nothing to depend upon but the position o# the

word in the sentence! $he best rule in regard to only is to place itimmediately be'ore the word or phrase it %odi#ies or li%its!

ALONE

is another word which creates a%biguity and alters %eaning! # wesubstitute it #or only in the preceding e-a%ple the %eaning o# the



sentence will depend upon the arrange%ent! $hus & alone struck hi%at that ti%e& signi#ies that and no other struck hi%! When thesentence reads & struck hi% alone at that ti%e& it %ust be interpretedthat he was the only person that receied a blow! 4gain i# it is %ade toread & struck hi% at that ti%e alone& the sense coneyed is that that

was the only occasion on which struck hi%! $he rule which goernsthe correct use o# only is also applicable to alone!

OTHER AND ANOTHER

$hese are words which o#ten gie to e-pressions a %eaning #ar #ro%that intended! $hus, & hae nothing to do with that other rascal acrossthe street,& certainly %eans that a% a rascal %ysel#! & sent thedespatch to %y #riend, but another illain intercepted it,& clearlysigni#ies that %y #riend is a illain!4 good plan is to o%it these words when they can be readily done

without, as in the aboe e-a%ples, but when it is necessary to usethe% %ake your %eaning clear! (ou can do this by %aking eachsentence or phrase in which they occur independent o# conte-tual aid!

AND WITH THE RELATIVE

@eer use and with the relative in this %anner3 &$hat is the dog %eant and #hich know is o# pure breed!& $his is an error uiteco%%on! $he use o# and is per%issible when there is a parallel relatiein the preceding sentence or clause! $hus3 &$here is the dog which %eant and!which know is o# pure breed& is uite correct!

LOOSE PARTICIPLES

4 participle or participial phrase is naturally re#erred to the nearestno%inatie! # only one no%inatie is e-pressed it clai%s all theparticiples that are not by the construction o# the sentence otherwise#i-ed! &John, working in the #ield all day and getting thirsty, drank #ro%the running strea%!& Here the participles #or%ing and getting clearlyre#er to John! "ut in the sentence,&Swept along by the %ob couldnot sae hi%,& the participle as it were is lying around loose and %aybe taken to re#er to either the person speaking or to the person spokenabout! t %ay %ean that was swept along by the %ob or the indiidualwho% tried to sae was swept along!&Going into the store the roo# #ell& can be taken that it was the roo#which was going into the store when it #ell! ># course the %eaningintended is that so%e person or persons were going into the store justas the roo# #ell!



n all sentence construction with participles there should be suchclearness as to preclude all possibility o# a%biguity! $he participleshould be so placed that there can be no doubt as to the noun to whichit re#ers! >#ten it is adisable to supply such words as will %ake the%eaning obious!

.ROKEN CONSTRUCTION

So%eti%es the beginning o# a sentence presents uite a di##erentgra%%atical construction #ro% its end! $his arises #ro% the #actprobably, that the beginning is lost sight o# be#ore the end is reached! $his occurs #reuently in long sentences! $hus3 &Honesty, integrity andsuareFdealing will bring anybody %uch better through li#e than theabsence o# either!& Here the construction is broken at than! $he use o#either , only used in re#erring to one o# two, shows that the #act is#orgotten that three ualities and not two are under consideration! 4ny

one o# the three %eanings %ight be intended in the sentence, i!,absence o# any one uality, absence o# any two o# the ualities orabsence o# the whole three ualities! ither denotes one or the other o#two and should neer be applied to any one o# %ore than two! Whenwe #all into the error o# constructing such sentences as aboe, weshould take the% apart and reconstruct the% in a di##erentgra%%atical #or%! $hus,&Honesty, integrity and suareFdealing willbring a %an %uch better through li#e than a lack o# these ualitieswhich are al%ost essential to success!&

DOU.LE NE(ATIVE

t %ust be re%e%bered that two negaties in the nglish languagedestroy each other and are euialent to an a##ir%atie! $hus & don5tknow nothing about it& is intended to coney, that a% ignorant o# the%atter under consideration, but it de#eats its own purpose, inas%uchas the use o# nothing i%plies that know so%ething about it! $hesentence should read& don't know anything about it!&>#ten we hear such e-pressions as &He was not asked to gie noopinion,& e-pressing the ery opposite o# what is intended! $hissentence i%plies that he was asked to gie his opinion! $he doublenegatie, there#ore, should be care#ully aoided, #or it is insidious and

is liable to slip in and the writer re%ain unconscious o# its presenceuntil the eye o# the critic detects it!

FIRST PERSONAL PRONOUN

$he use o# the #irst personal pronoun should be aoided as %uch aspossible in co%position! Don't introduce it by way o# apology and neer



use such e-pressions as &n %y opinion,& &4s #ar as can see,& &tappears to %e,& & beliee,& etc! n what you write, the wholeco%position is e-pressie o# your iews, since you are the author,there#ore, there is no necessity #or you to accentuate or e%phasieyoursel# at certain portions o# it!

Boreoer, the big (5s saor o# egotis%2 Steer clear o# the% as #ar asyou can! $he only place where the #irst person is per%issible is inpassages where you are stating a iew that is not generally held andwhich is likely to %eet with opposition!

SEQUENCE OF TENSES

When two erbs depend on each other their tenses %ust hae ade#inite relation to each other! & shall hae %uch pleasure in acceptingyour kind initation& is wrong, unless you really %ean that just now youdecline though byFandFby you intend to acceptI or unless you %ean

that you do accept now, though you hae no pleasure in doing so, butlook #orward to be %ore pleased byFandFby! n #act the seuence o# theco%pound tenses pule e-perienced writers! $he best plan is to goback in thought to the ti%e in uestion and use the tense you wouldthen naturally use! @ow in the sentence & should hae liked to haegone to see the circus& the way to #ind out the proper seuence is toask yoursel# the uestionwhat is it &should hae liked& to doL andthe plain answer is &to go to see the circus!& cannot answer&$o haegone to see the circus& #or that would i%ply that at a certain %o%ent would hae liked to be in the position o# haing gone to the circus! "ut do not %ean thisI %ean that at the %o%ent at which a% speaking

wish had gone to see the circus! $he erbal phrase ( should have li%edcarries %e back to the ti%e when there was a chance o# seeing thecircus and once back at the ti%e, the going to the circus is a thing o#the present! $his whole e-planation resoles itsel# into the si%pleuestion,what should hae liked at that time, and the answer is &togo to see the circus,& there#ore this is the proper seuence, and thee-pression should be & should hae liked to go to see the circus!&# we wish to speak o# so%ething relating to a ti%e prior to thatindicated in the past tense we %ust use the per#ect tense o# thein#initieI as, &He appeared to hae seen better days!& We should say &e-pected to meet him,& not & e-pected to have met him!& &We

intended to visit you,& not &to have visited you!& & hoped they #ouldarrie,& not & hoped they #ould have arried!& & thought shouldcatch the bird,& not & thought should have caught the bird!& & hadintended to go to the %eeting,& not & had intended to have gone tothe %eeting!&

.ETWEEN—AMON(



$hese prepositions are o#ten carelessly interchanged! 0et#een hasre#erence to two objects only, among to %ore than two! &$he %oneywas eually diided between the%& is right when there are only two,but i# there are %ore than two it should be &the %oney was euallydiided a%ong the%!&

LESS—FEWER

$ess re#ers is uantity, 'e#er to nu%ber! &@o %an has less irtues&should be &@o %an has 'e#er irtues!& &$he #ar%er had so%e oats anda 'e#er uantity o# wheat& should be &the #ar%er had so%e oats and aless uantity o# wheat!&

FURTHER—FARTHER

Further is co%%only used to denote uantity, 'arther to denote

distance! & hae walked 'arther than you,& & need no 'urther supply&are correct!

EACH OTHER—ONE ANOTHER

!ach other re#ers to two, one another to %ore than two! &Jones andS%ith uarreledI they struck each other& is correct! &Jones, S%ith and"rown uarreledI they struck one another& is also correct! Don't say,&$he two boys teach one another& nor &$he three girls loe each other!&

EACH5 EVERY5 EITHER5 NEITHER

$hese words are continually %isapplied! !ach can be applied to two orany higher nu%ber o# objects to signi#y every one o# the nu%berindependently ! ery reuires more than t#o to be spoken o# anddenotes all the persons or things taken separately ! !ither denotes oneor the other o' t#o, and should not be used to include both! Neither isthe negatie o# either, denoting not the other, and not the one, andrelating to t#o persons or things considered separately! $he #ollowing e-a%ples illustrate the correct usage o# these words3!ach %an o# the crew receied a reward!!very %an in the regi%ent displayed braery!We can walk on either side o# the street!Neither o# the two is to bla%e!

NEITHER3NOR

When two singular subjects are connected by neither , nor use asingular erbI as, Neither John nor Ja%es #as there,& not #ere there!



NONE

Custo% Has sanctioned the use o# this word both with a singular andpluralI as&@one is so blind as he who will not see& and &@one are soblind as they who will not see!& Howeer, as it is a contraction o# no

one it is better to use the singular erb!

RISE3RAISE

$hese erbs are ery o#ten con#ounded! ,ise is to %oe or pass upwardin any %annerI as to &rise #ro% bedI& to increase in alue, to i%proein position or rank, as &stocks riseI& &politicians riseI& &they hae risento honor!&,aise is to li#t up, to e-alt, to enhance, as & raise the tableI& &He raisedhis serantI& &$he baker raised the price o# bread!&

LAY3LIE

$he transitie erb lay , and lay , the past tense o# the neuter erb lie,are o#ten con#ounded, though uite di##erent in %eaning! $he neutererb to lie, %eaning to lie down or rest, cannot take the objectie a#terit e-cept with a preposition! We can say &He lies on the ground,& butwe cannot say &He lies the ground,& since the erb is neuter andintransitie and, as such, cannot hae a direct object! With lay it isdi##erent! $ay is a transitie erb, there#ore it takes a direct object a#teritI as & lay a wager,& & laid the carpet,& etc!># a carpet or any inani%ate subject we should say, &t lies on the

#loor,& &4 kni#e lies on the table,& not lays! "ut o# a person we say&Helays the kni#e on the table,& not &He lies!& $ay being the past tenseo# the neuter to lie KdownM we should say, &He lay on the bed,& and lainbeing its past participle we %ust also say &He has lain on the bed!&We can say & lay %ysel# down!& &He laid hi%sel# down& and suche-pressions!t is i%peratie to re%e%ber in using these erbs that to lay %eans todo so%ething, and to lie %eans to be in a state o' rest !

SAYS I—I SAID

.Says (. is a ulgaris%I don't use it! & said& is correct #or%!

IN—INTO

"e care#ul to distinguish the %eaning o# these two little prepositionsand don't interchange the%! Don't say &He went in the roo%& nor &Bybrother is into the nay!& (n denotes the place where a person or thing,



whether at rest or in %otion, is presentI and into denotes entrance! &Hewent into the roo%I& &By brother is in the nay& are correct!

EAT—ATE

Don't con#ound the two! !at is present, ate is past! & eat the bread&%eans that a% continuing the eatingI & ate the bread& %eans thatthe act o# eating is past! !aten is the per#ect participle, but o#ten eat isused instead, and as it has the sa%e pronunciation KetM o# ate, careshould be taken to distinguish the past tense, ate #ro% the per#ect (have eaten Keat M!

SEQUENCE OF PERSON

.e%e%ber that the 'irst person takes precedence o# the second andthe second takes precedence o# the third! When Cardinal Wolsey said

!go et ,e" K and the AingM, he showed he was a good gra%%arian, buta bad courtier!

AM COME—HAVE COME

&( am come& points to %y being here, while & hae co%e& inti%atesthat hae just arried! When the subject is not a person, the erb tobe should be used in pre#erence to the erb to haveI as, &$he bo- isco%e& instead o# &$he bo- has co%e!&

PAST TENSE—PAST PARTICIPLE

$he interchange o# these two parts o# the irregular or soFcalled strongerbs is, perhaps, the breach o#tenest co%%itted by careless speakersand writers! $o aoid %istakes it is reuisite to know the principal partso# these erbs, and this knowledge is ery easy o# acuire%ent, asthere are not %ore than a couple o# hundred o# such erbs, and o# thisnu%ber but a s%all part is in daily use! Here are so%e o# the %ostco%%on blunders3 & seen& #or & sawI& & done it& #or & did itI& & drunk&#or & drankI& & begun& #or & beganI& & rung& #or & rangI& & run& #or &ranI& & sung& #or & sangI& & hae chose& #or & hae chosenI& & haedroe& #or & hae drienI& & hae wore& #or & hae wornI& & hae trod&#or & hae troddenI& & hae shook& #or & hae shakenI& & hae #ell& #or& hae #allenI& & hae drank& #or & hae drunkI& & hae began& #or &hae begunI& & hae rang& #or & hae rungI& & hae rose& #or & haerisenI& & hae spoke& #or & hae spokenI& & hae broke& #or & haebroken!& &t has #roe& #or &t has #roen!& &t has blowed& #or &t hasblown!& &t has #lowed& Ko# a birdM #or &t has #lown!&



@! "!$he past tense and past participle o# To Hang is hanged or hung!When you are talking about a %an %eeting death on the gallows, say&He was hanged&I when you are talking about the carcass o# an ani%alsay, &t was hung,& as &$he bee# was hung dry!& 4lso say your coat&#as hung on a hook!&

PREPOSITIONS AND THE O./ECTIVE CASE

Don't #orget that prepositions always take the objectie case! Don't say&"etween you and (&I say &"etween you and me&T#o prepositions should not goern one objective unless there is ani%%ediate connection between the%! &He was re#used ad%ission toand #orcibly ejected #ro% the school& should be &He was re#usedad%ission to the school and #orcibly ejected #ro% it!&

SUMMON—SUMMONS

Don't say & shall su%%ons hi%,& but & shall su%%on hi%!& Summon isa erb, summons, a noun!t is correct to say & shall get a summons #or hi%,& not a summon!

UNDENIA.LE—UNE6CEPTIONA.LE

&By brother has an undeniable character& is wrong i# wish to coneythe idea that he has a good character! $he e-pression should be in thatcase &By brother has an une-ceptionable character!& 4n undeniablecharacter is a character that cannot be denied, whether bad or good!

4n une-ceptionable character is one to which no one can takee-ception!

THE PRONOUNS

+ery %any %istakes occur in the use o# the pronouns! &=et you and go& should be &=et you and me go!& &=et the% and we go& should be&=et the% and us go!& $he erb let is transitie and there#ore takes theobjectie case!&Gie %e them #lowers& should be &Gie %e those #lowers&I & %eanthem three& should be & %ean those three!& $he% is the objectiecase o# the personal pronoun and cannot be used adjectiely like thede%onstratie adjectie pronoun! & a% as strong as him& should be &a% as strong as he&I & a% younger than her & should be & a% youngerthan sheI& &He can write better than me& should be &He can writebetter than ,& #or in these e-a%ples the objectie cases him, her andme are used wrong#ully #or the no%inaties! 4#ter each o# the%isapplied pronouns a erb is understood o# which each pronoun is the



subject! $hus, & a% as strong as he KisM!& & a% younger than she KisM!&&He can write better than KcanM!&Don't say &(t is meI& say &(t is (& $he erb To 0e o# which is is a parttakes the sa%e case a#ter it that it has be#ore it! $his holds good in allsituations as well as with pronouns!

$he erb To 0e also reuires the pronouns joined to it to be in the sa%ecase as a pronoun asking a uestionI $he no%inatie ( reuires theno%inatie #ho and the objecties me, him, her , its, you, them,reuire the objectie #hom!&)hom do you think a%L& should be &)ho do you think a%L& and&)ho do they suppose %e to beL& should be &)hom do they suppose%e to beL& $he objectie #or% o# the .elatie should be always used, inconnection with a preposition! &Who do you take %e #orL& should be&)hom do, etc!& &Who did you gie the apple toL& should be &Who%did you gie the apple to,& but as pointed out elsewhere thepreposition should neer end a sentence, there#ore, it is better to say,

&$o who% did you gie the appleL&4#ter transitie erbs always use the objectie cases o# the pronouns!*or &He and they we hae seen,& say &Him and them we hae seen!&

THAT FOR SO

&$he hurt it was that pain#ul it %ade hi% cry,& say &so pain#ul!&

THESE—THOSE

&Don't say, These %ind1 those sort ! ;ind and sort are each singular and

reuire the singular pronouns this and that ! n connection with thesede%onstratie adjectie pronouns re%e%ber that this and these re#erto what is near at hand, that and those to what is %ore distantI as, thisboo% Knear %eM, that boo% Koer thereM, these boys KnearM, those boysKat a distanceM!

THIS MUCH—THUS MUCH

&This %uch is certain& should be &Thus %uch or so %uch is certain!&

FLEE—FLY

$hese are two separate erbs and %ust not be interchanged! $heprincipal parts o# 'lee are 'lee, 'led, 'ledI those o# 'ly are 'ly , 'le#, 'lo#n!To 'lee is generally used in the %eaning o# getting out o# danger! To 'ly%eans to soar as a bird! $o say o# a %an &He has 'lo#n #ro% the place&is wrongI it should be &He has 'led #ro% the place!& We can say withpropriety that &4 bird has 'lo#n #ro% the place!&



THROU(H—THROU(HOUT

Don't say &He is well known through the land,& but &He is well knownthroughout the land!&

VOCATION AND AVOCATION

Don't %istake these two words so nearly alike! +ocation is thee%ploy%ent, business or pro#ession one #ollows #or a liingI aocationis so%e pursuit or occupation which dierts the person #ro% suche%ploy%ent, business or pro#ession! $hus&His ocation was the law, his aocation, #ar%ing!&

WAS—WERE

n the subjunctie %ood the plural #or% #ere should be used with a

singular subjectI as, &# #ere/& not #as! .e%e%ber the plural #or% o#the personal pronoun you always takes #ere, though it %ay denote butone! $hus, &*ou #ere/& neer & you #as+& &(' ( #as him& is a eryco%%on e-pression! @ote the two %istakes in it,that o# the erbi%plying a condition, and that o# the objectie case o# the pronoun! tshould read (' ( #ere he! $his is another illustration o# the ruleregarding the erb To 0e, taking the sa%e case a#ter it as be#ore itI#ere is part o# the erb To 0e, there#ore as the no%inatie KM goesbe#ore it, the no%inatie KheM should co%e a#ter it!

A OR AN

beco%es an be#ore a owel or be#ore h %ute #or the sake o# euphonyor agreeable sound to the ear! n apple, an orange, an heir , an honor ,etc!

CHAPTER I6

STYLE

D'c'o*—Pur'y—Pro#r'$y—Pr$c'!'o*-

t is the object o# eery writer to put his thoughts into as e##ectie #or%as possible so as to %ake a good i%pression on the reader! 4 person%ay hae noble thoughts and ideas but be unable to e-press the% insuch a way as to appeal to others, conseuently he cannot e-ert the#ull #orce o# his intellectuality nor leae the i%print o# his characterupon his ti%e, whereas %any a %an but indi##erently gi#ted %ay wield



such a #acile pen as to attract attention and win #or hi%sel# an eniousplace a%ong his conte%poraries!n eeryday li#e one sees illustrations o# %en o# e-cellent %entalitybeing cast aside and ones o# %ediocre or in so%e cases, little, i# any,ability chosen to #ill i%portant places! $he #or%er are unable to i%press

their personalityI they hae great thoughts, great ideas, but thesethoughts and ideas are locked up in their brains and are like prisonersbehind the bars struggling to get #ree! $he key o# language whichwould open the door is wanting, hence they hae to re%ain locked up!Bany a %an has to pass through the world unheard o# and o# littlebene#it to it or hi%sel#, si%ply because he cannot bring out what is inhi% and %ake it subserient to his will! t is the duty o# eery one todeelop his best, not only #or the bene#it o# hi%sel# but #or the good o#his #ellow %en! t is not at all necessary to hae great learning oracuire%ents, the laborer is as use#ul in his own place as thephilosopher in hisI nor is it necessary to hae %any talents! >ne talent

rightly used is %uch better than ten wrongly used! >#ten a %an can do%ore with one than his conte%porary can do with ten, o#ten a %an can%ake one dollar go #arther than twenty in the hands o# his neighbor,o#ten the poor %an lies %ore co%#ortably than the %illionaire! 4lldepends upon the indiidual hi%sel#! # he %ake right use o# what theCreator has gien hi% and lie according to the laws o# God and naturehe is #ul#illing his allotted place in the uniersal sche%e o# creation, inother words, when he does his best, he is liing up to the standard o# ause#ul %anhood!@ow in order to do his best a %an o# ordinary intelligence andeducation should be able to e-press hi%sel# correctly both in speaking

and writing, that is, he should be able to coney his thoughts in anintelligent %anner which the si%plest can understand! $he %anner inwhich a speaker or writer coneys his thoughts is known as his Style! nother words Style %ay be de#ined as the peculiar %anner in which a%an e-presses his conceptions through the %ediu% o# language! tdepends upon the choice o# words and their arrange%ent to coney a%eaning! Scarcely any two writers hae e-actly the sa%e style, that isto say, e-press their ideas a#ter the sa%e peculiar #or%, just as no two%ortals are #ashioned by nature in the sa%e %ould, so that one is ane-act counterpart o# the other! Just as %en di##er in the accent and tones o# their oices, so do they

di##er in the construction o# their language! $wo reporters sent out on the sa%e %ission, say to report a #ire, willerbally di##er in their accounts though %aterially both descriptions willbe the sa%e as #ar as the leading #acts are concerned! >ne will e-presshi%sel# in a style di''erent #ro% the other!# you are asked to describe the dancing o# a redFhaired lady at the lastcharity ball you can either say&$he ruby Circe, with the $itian locksglowing like the ori#la%%e which surrounds the golden god o# day as



he sinks to rest a%id the cri%son glory o# the burnished West, gae adiine e-hibition o# the $erpsichorean art which thrilled the souls o# the%ultitude& or, you can si%ply say&$he redFhaired lady danced erywell and pleased the audience!& $he #or%er is a speci%en o# the ultra #lorid or bo%bastic style which

%ay be said to depend upon the po%posity o# erbosity #or its e##ect,the latter is a speci%en o# si%ple natural Style! @eedless to say it is tobe pre#erred! $he other should be aoided! t sta%ps the writer as aperson o# shallowness, ignorance and ine-perience! t has beeneli%inated #ro% the newspapers! en the %ost #latulent o# yellowsheets no longer tolerate it in their colu%ns! 4##ectation and pedantryin style are now uniersally conde%ned!t is the duty o# eery speaker and writer to labor a#ter a pleasing style!t gains hi% an entrance where he would otherwise be debarred! >#tenthe interest o# a subject depends as %uch on the way it is presented ason the subject itsel#! >ne writer will %ake it attractie, another

repulsie! *or instance take a passage in history! $reated by onehistorian it is like a desiccated %u%%y, dry, dull, disgusting, whileunder the spell o# another it is, as it were, galanied into a irile liingthing which not only pleases but captiates the reader!

DICTION

$he #irst reuisite o# style is choice o# #ords, and this co%es under thehead o# -iction, the property o# style which has re#erence to the wordsand phrases used in speaking and writing! $he secret o# literary skill#ro% any standpoint consists in putting the right word in the right

place! n order to do this it is i%peratie to know the %eaning o# thewords we use, their e-act literal %eaning! Bany synony%ous words aresee%ingly interchangeable and appear as i# the sa%e %eaning wereapplicable to three or #our o# the% at the sa%e ti%e, but when all suchwords are reduced to a #inal analysis it is clearly seen that there is a%arked di##erence in their %eaning! *or instance grie' and sorro#see% to be identical, but they are not! Grie' is actie, sorro# is %ore orless passieI grie' is caused by troubles and %is#ortunes which co%eto us #ro% the outside, while sorro# is o#ten the conseuence o# ourown acts! Grie' is #reuently loud and iolent, sorro# is always uietand retiring! Grie' shouts, Sorro# re%ains cal%!

# you are not sure o# the e-act %eaning o# a word look it upi%%ediately in the dictionary! So%eti%es so%e o# our great scholarsare puled oer si%ple words in regard to %eaning, spelling orpronunciation! Wheneer you %eet a strange word note it down untilyou discoer its %eaning and use! .ead the best books you can get,books written by %en and wo%en who are acknowledged %asters o#language, and study how they use their words, where they place the%in the sentences, and the %eanings they coney to the readers!



Bi- in good society! =isten attentiely to good talkers and try to i%itatetheir %anner o# e-pression! # a word is used you do not understand,don't be asha%ed to ask its %eaning! $rue, a s%all ocabulary will carry you through, but it is an adantageto hae a large one! When you lie alone a little pot seres just as well

as a large one to cook your ictuals and it is handy and conenient, butwhen your #riends or neighbors co%e to dine with you, you will need a%uch larger pot and it is better to hae it in store, so that you will notbe put to sha%e #or your scantiness o# #urnishings!Get as %any words as you possibly cani# you don't need the% now,pack the% away in the garrets o# your brain so that you can call uponthe% i# you reuire the%!Aeep a note book, jot down the words you don't understand or clearlyunderstand and consult the dictionary when you get ti%e!

PURITY

Purity o# style consists in using words which are reputable, national andpresent, which %eans that the words are in current use by the bestauthorities, that they are used throughout the nation and not con#inedto one particular part, and that they are words in constant use at thepresent ti%e! $here are two guiding principles in the choice o# words,good use andgood taste! Good use tells us whether a word is right or wrongI goodtaste/ whether it is adapted to our purpose or not!4 word that is obsolete or too new to hae gained a place in thelanguage, or that is a proincialis%, should not be used!

Here are the $en Co%%and%ents o# nglish style3

/! Do not use #oreign words!5! Do not use a long word when a short one will sere your purpose!

Fire is %uch better than con'lagration!N! Do not use technical words, or those understood only by

specialists in their respectie lines, e-cept when you are writingespecially #or such people!

7! Do not use slang!! Do not use proincialis%s, as & guess& #or & think&I & reckon& #or

& know,& etc!

:! Do not in writing prose, use poetical or antiuated words3 as&lore, e'er, %orn, yea, nay, erily, peradenture!&

1! Do not use trite and hackneyed words and e-pressionsI as, &onthe job,& &up and in&I &down and out!&

<! Do not use newspaper words which hae not established a placein the language as &to bugle&I &to suicide,& etc!

0! Do not use ungra%%atical words and #or%sI as, & ain'tI& &hedon't!&



/6!Do not use a%biguous words or phrasesI as&He showed %e allabout the house!&

$rite words, si%iles and %etaphors which hae beco%e hackneyed andworn out should be allowed to rest in the obliion o# past usage! Such

e-pressions and phrases as &Sweet si-teen& &the 4l%ighty dollar,&&?ncle Sa%,& &>n the #ence,& &$he Glorious *ourth,& &(oung 4%erica,&&$he lords o# creation,& &$he rising generation,& &$he weaker se-,& &$heweaker essel,& &Sweetness long drawn out& and &chie# cook and bottlewasher,& should be put on the shel# as they are utterly worn out #ro%too %uch usage!So%e o# the old si%iles which hae outlied their use#ulness andshould be pensioned o##, are &Sweet as sugar,& &"old as a lion,& &Strongas an o-,& &uick as a #lash,& &Cold as ice,& &Sti## as a poker,& &White assnow,& &"usy as a bee,& &Pale as a ghost,& &.ich as Croesus,& &Cross asa bear& and a great %any %ore #ar too nu%erous to %ention!

"e as original as possible in the use o# e-pression! Don't #ollow in theold rut but try and strike out #or yoursel#! $his does not %ean that youshould try to set the style, or do anything outlandish or out o# the way,or be an innoator on the preailing custo%! n order to be originalthere is no necessity #or you to introduce so%ething noel or establisha precedent! $he probability is you are not #it to do either, by educationor talent! While #ollowing the style o# those who are acknowledgedleaders you can be original in your language! $ry and clothe an ideadi##erent #ro% what it has been clothed and better! # you are speakingor writing o# dancing don't talk or write about &tripping the light#antastic toe!& t is oer two hundred years since Bilton e-pressed it

that way in &$5llegro!& (ou're not a Bilton and besides oer a %illionhae stolen it #ro% Bilton until it is now no longer worth stealing!Don't resurrect obsolete words such as #hilom, yclept , #is, etc!, and becare#ul in regard to obsolescent words, that is, words that are at thepresent ti%e gradually passing #ro% use such as 4uoth/ tro#/ bet#i"t/amongst/ 'ro#ard, etc!4nd beware o# new words! "e original in the construction andarrange%ent o# your language, but don't try to originate words! =eaethat to the Basters o# language, and don't be the #irst to try suchwords, wait until the che%ists o# speech hae tested the% and passedupon their %erits!

uintilian said&Pre#er the oldest o# the new and the newest o# theold!& Pope put this in rhy%e and it still holds good3n words, as #ashions, the sa%e rule will hold, 4like #antastic, i# too newor old3 "e not the #irst by who% the new are tried, @or yet the last tolay the old aside!

PROPRIETY



Propriety o# style consists in using words in their proper sense and asin the case o# purity, good usage is the principal test! Bany words haeacuired in actual use a %eaning ery di##erent #ro% what they oncepossessed! &Preent& #or%erly %eant to go be#ore, and that %eaning isi%plied in its =atin deriation! @ow it %eans to put a stop to, to hinder!

$o attain propriety o# style it is necessary to aoid con#ounding wordsderied #ro% the sa%e rootI as respect'ully and respectively I it isnecessary to use words in their accepted sense or the sense whicheeryday use sanctions!

SIMPLICITY

Simplicity o# style has re#erence to the choice o# si%ple words and theiruna##ected presentation! Si%ple words should always be used inpre#erence to co%pound, and co%plicated ones when they e-press thesa%e or al%ost the sa%e %eaning! $he 4ngloFSa-on ele%ent in our

language co%prises the si%ple words which e-press the relations o#eeryday li#e, strong, terse, igorous, the language o# the #ireside,street, %arket and #ar%! t is this style which characteries the "ibleand %any o# the great nglish classics such as the &Pilgri%'s Progress,&&.obinson Crusoe,& and &Gullier's $raels!&

CLEARNESS

Clearness o# style should be one o# the leading considerations with thebeginner in co%position! He %ust aoid all obscurity and a%biguousphrases! # he write a sentence or phrase and see that a %eaning

%ight be in#erred #ro% it otherwise than intended, he should reFwrite itin such a way that there can be no possible doubt! Words, phrases orclauses that are closely related should be placed as near to each otheras possible that their %utual relation %ay clearly appear, and no wordshould be o%itted that is necessary to the co%plete e-pression o#thought!

UNITY

<nity is that property o# style which keeps all parts o# a sentence inconnection with the principal thought and logically subordinate to it! 4sentence %ay be constructed as to suggest the idea o# oneness to the%ind, or it %ay be so loosely put together as to produce a con#usedand inde#inite i%pression! deas that hae but little connection shouldbe e-pressed in separate sentences, and not crowded into one!Aeep long parentheses out o# the %iddle o# your sentences and whenyou hae apparently brought your sentences to a close don't try tocontinue the thought or idea by adding supple%entary clauses!



STREN(TH

Strength is that property o# style which gies ani%ation, energy andiacity to language and sustains the interest o# the reader! t is asnecessary to language as good #ood is to the body! Without it the words

are weak and #eeble and create little or no i%pression on the %ind! norder to hae strength the language %ust be concise, that is, %uche-pressed in little co%pass, you %ust hit the nail #airly on the headand drie it in straight! Go critically oer what you write and strike outeery word, phrase and clause the o%ission o# which i%pairs neitherthe clearness nor #orce o# the sentence and so aoid redundancy,tautology and circu%locution! Gie the %ost i%portant words the %ostpro%inent places, which, as has been pointed out elsewhere, are thebeginning and end o# the sentence!

HARMONY

Harmony is that property o# style which gies a s%oothness to thesentence, so that when the words are sounded their connectionbeco%es pleasing to the ear! t adapts sound to sense! Bost peopleconstruct their sentences without giing thought to the way they willsound and as a conseuence we hae %any jarring and discordantco%binations such as &$hou strengthenedst thy position and actedstarbitrarily and derogatorily to %y interests!&Harsh, disagreeable erbs are liable to occur with the uaker #or%Thou o# the personal pronoun! $his #or% is now nearly obsolete, theplural you being al%ost uniersally used! $o obtain har%ony in the

sentence long words that are hard to pronounce and co%binations o#letters o# one kind should be aoided!

E6PRESSIVE OF WRITER

Style is e-pressie o# the writer, as to who he is and what he is! 4s a%atter o# structure in co%position it is the indication o# what a %ancan doI as a %atter o# uality it is an indication o# what he is!

KINDS OF STYLE

Style has been classi#ied in di##erent ways, but it ad%its o# so %anydesignations that it is ery hard to enu%erate a table! n #act there areas %any styles as there are writers, #or no two authors write e"actlya#ter the sa%e #or%! Howeer, we %ay classi#y the styles o# thearious authors in broad diisions as K/M dry, K5M plain, KNM neat, K7Melegant, KM #lorid, K:M bo%bastic!



$he dry style e-cludes all orna%ent and %akes no e##ort to appeal toany sense o# beauty! ts object is si%ply to e-press the thoughts in acorrect %anner! $his style is e-e%pli#ied by "erkeley! $he plain style does not seek orna%entation either, but ai%s to %akeclear and concise state%ents without any elaboration or

e%bellish%ent! =ocke and Whately illustrate the plain style! $he neat style only aspires a#ter orna%ent sparingly! ts object is tohae correct #igures, pure diction and clear and har%onious sentences!Golds%ith and Gray are the acknowledged leaders in this kind o# style! $he elegant style uses eery orna%ent that can beauti#y and aoidseery e-cess which would degrade! Bacaulay and 4ddison hae beenenthroned as the kings o# this style! $o the% all writers bend the kneein ho%age! $he 'lorid style goes to e-cess in super#luous and super#icialorna%entation and strains a#ter a highly colored i%agery! $he poe%so# >ssian typi#y this style!

$he bombastic is characteried by such an e-cess o# words, #igures andorna%ents as to be ridiculous and disgusting! t is like a circus clowndressed up in gold tinsel Dickens gies a #ine e-a%ple o# it in Sergeant"u#u' speech in the &Pickwick Papers!& 4%ong other arieties o# style%ay be %entioned the collouial, the laconic, the concise, the di##use,the abrupt the #lowing, the uaint, the epigra%%atic, the #lowery, the#eeble, the nerous, the ehe%ent, and the a##ected! $he %anner o#these is su##iciently indicated by the adjectie used to describe the%!n #act style is as arious as character and e-presses the indiidualityo# the writer, or in other words, as the *rench writer "u##on ery aptlyre%arks, &the style is the %an hi%sel#!&

CHAPTER 6

SU((ESTIONS

Ho7 o Wr'$—W%a o Wr'$—Corr$c S#$a4'*, a*1 S#$a4$r!

.ules o# gra%%ar and rhetoric are good in their own placeI their laws%ust be obsered in order to e-press thoughts and ideas in the rightway so that they shall coney a deter%inate sense and %eaning in a

pleasing and acceptable %anner! Hard and #ast rules, howeer, canneer %ake a writer or author! $hat is the business o# old Bother@ature and nothing can take her place! # nature has not endowed a%an with #aculties to put his ideas into proper co%position he cannotdo so! He %ay hae no ideas worthy the recording! # a person has nota thought to e-press, it cannot be e-pressed! So%ething cannot be%anu#actured out o# nothing! $he author %ust hae thoughts andideas be#ore he can e-press the% on paper! $hese co%e to hi% by



nature and eniron%ent and are deeloped and strengthened by study! $here is an old =atin uotation in regard to the poet which says &Poetanascitur non #it& the translation o# which isthe poet is born, not %ade! $o a great degree the sa%e applies to the author! So%e %en are greatscholars as #ar as book learning is concerned, yet they cannot e-press

the%seles in passable co%position! $heir knowledge is like goldlocked up in a chest where it is o# no alue to the%seles or the rest o#the world! $he best way to learn to write is to sit down and write, just as the bestway how to learn to ride a bicycle is to %ount the wheel and pedalaway! Write #irst about co%%on things, subjects that are #a%iliar toyou! $ry #or instance an essay on a cat! Say so%ething original abouther! Don't say &she is ery play#ul when young but beco%es grae asshe grows old!& $hat has been said %ore than #i#ty thousand ti%esbe#ore! $ell what you hae seen the #a%ily cat doing, how she caught a%ouse in the garret and what she did a#ter catching it! *a%iliar the%es

are always the best #or the beginner! Don't atte%pt to describe a scenein 4ustralia i# you hae neer been there and know nothing o# thecountry! @eer hunt #or subjects, there are thousands around you!Describe what you saw yesterdaya #ire, a runaway horse, a dogF#ighton the street and be original in your description! %itate the bestwriters in their style, but not in their e-act words! Get out o# the beatenpath, %ake a pathway o# your own!Anow what you write about, write about what you knowI this is agolden rule to which you %ust adhere! $o know you %ust study! $heworld is an open book in which all who run %ay read! @ature is onegreat olu%e the pages o# which are open to the peasant as well as to

the peer! Study @ature's %oods and tenses, #or they are astly %orei%portant than those o# the gra%%ar! "ook learning is %ost desirable,but, a#ter all, it is only theory and not practice! $he grandest allegory inthe nglish, in #act, in any language, was written by an ignorant, soFcalled ignorant, tinker na%ed John "unyan! Shakespeare was not ascholar in the sense we regard the ter% toFday, yet no %an eer liedor probably eer will lie that eualled or will eual hi% in thee-pression o# thought! He si%ply read the book o# nature andinterpreted it #ro% the standpoint o# his own %agni#icent genius!Don't i%agine that a college education is necessary to success as awriter! *ar #ro% it! So%e o# our college %en are deadFheads, drones,

parasites on the body social, not alone useless to the world but tothe%seles! 4 person %ay be so orna%ental that he is alueless #ro%any other standpoint! 4s a general rule orna%ental things sere butlittle purpose! 4 %an %ay know so %uch o# eerything that he knowslittle o# anything! $his %ay sound parado-ical, but, neertheless,e-perience proes its truth!# you are poor that is not a detri%ent but an adantage! Poerty is anincentie to endeaor, not a drawback! "etter to be born with a good,



working brain in your head than with a gold spoon in your %outh! # theworld had been depending on the soFcalled pets o# #ortune it wouldhae deteriorated long ago!*ro% the pits o# poerty, #ro% the arenas o# su##ering, #ro% the hoelso# neglect, #ro% the backwood cabins o# obscurity, #ro% the lanes and

byFways o# oppression, #ro% the dingy garrets and base%ents o#unending toil and drudgery hae co%e %en and wo%en who hae%ade history, %ade the world brighter, better, higher, holier #or theire-istence in it, %ade o# it a place good to lie in and worthy to die in,%en and wo%en who hae hallowed it by their #ootsteps and sancti#iedit with their presence and in %any cases consecrated it with theirblood! Poerty is a blessing, not an eil, a benison #ro% the *ather'shand i# accepted in the right spirit! nstead o# retarding, it has eleatedliterature in all ages! Ho%er was a blind beggar%an singing hissnatches o# song #or the dole o# charityI grand old Socrates, oracle o#wisdo%, %any a day went without his dinner because he had not the

wherewithal to get it, while teaching the youth o# 4thens! $he diineDante was nothing better than a beggar, houseless, ho%eless,#riendless, wandering through taly while he co%posed his i%%ortalcantos! Bilton, who in his blindness &looked where angels #ear totread,& was steeped in poerty while writing his subli%e conception,&Paradise =ost!& Shakespeare was glad to hold and water the horses o#patrons outside the White Horse $heatre #or a #ew pennies in order tobuy bread! "urns burst #orth in neerFdying song while guiding theploughshare! Poor Heinrich Heine, neglected and in poerty, #ro% his&%attress grae& o# su##ering in Paris added literary laurels to thewreath o# his Ger%an *atherland! n 4%erica lihu "urritt, while

attending the anil, %ade hi%sel# a %aster o# a score o# languages andbeca%e the literary lion o# his age and country!n other #ields o# endeaor poerty has been the spur to action!@apoleon was born in obscurity, the son o# a handFtoF%outh scrienerin the backward island o# Corsica! 4braha% =incoln, the boast andpride o# 4%erica, the %an who %ade this land too hot #or the #eet o#slaes, ca%e #ro% a log cabin in the >hio backwoods! So did Ja%es 4!Gar#ield! ?lysses Grant ca%e #ro% a tanyard to beco%e the world'sgreatest general! $ho%as 4! dison co%%enced as a newsboy on arailway tra%! $he e-a%ples o# these %en are incenties to action! Poerty thrust

the% #orward instead o# keeping the% back! $here#ore, i# you are poor%ake your circu%stances a %eans to an end! Hae a%bition, keep agoal in sight and bend eery energy to reach that goal! 4 story is toldo# $ho%as Carlyle the day he attained the highest honor the literaryworld could con#er upon hi% when he was elected =ord .ector o#dinburgh ?niersity! 4#ter his installation speech, in going through thehalls, he %et a student see%ingly deep in study! n his own peculiar,abrupt, crusty way the Sage o# Chelsea interrogated the young %an3



&*or what pro#ession are you studyingL& & don't know,& returned theyouth! &(ou don't know,& thundered Carlyle, &young %an, you are a#ool!& $hen he went on to uali#y his ehe%ent re%ark, &By boy when was your age, was stooped in grinding, gripping poerty in the littleillage o# ccle#echan, in the wilds o# 8$ranscriber's note3 *irst part o#

word illegible;F#rieshire, where in all the place only the %inister and%ysel# could read the "ible, yet poor and obscure as was, in %y%ind's eye saw a chair awaiting #or %e in the $e%ple o# *a%e and dayand night and night and day studied until sat in that chair toFday as=ord .ector o# dinburgh ?niersity!&4nother Scotch%an, .obert "uchanan, the #a%ous noelist, set out #or=ondon #ro% Glasgow with but hal#FaFcrown in his pocket! &Here goes,&said he, &#or a grae in West%inster 4bbey!& He was not %uch o# ascholar, but his a%bition carried hi% on and he beca%e one o# thegreat literary lions o# the world's %etropolis!Henry B! Stanley was a poorhouse wai# whose real na%e was John

.owlands! He was brought up in a Welsh workhouse, but he hada%bition, so he rose to be a great e-plorer, a great writer, beca%e a%e%ber o# Parlia%ent and was knighted by the "ritish Soereign!Hae a%bition to succeed and you will succeed! Cut the word &#ailure&out o# your le-icon! Don't acknowledge it! .e%e%ber &n li#e's earnest battle they only preail Who daily %arch onward and neer say #ail!&

=et eery obstacle you encounter be but a stepping stone in the patho# onward progress to the goal o# success!# untoward circu%stances surround you, resole to oerco%e the%!"unyan wrote the &Pilgri%'s Progress& in "ed#ord jail on scraps o#

wrapping paper while he was hal# stared on a diet o# bread and water! $hat un#ortunate 4%erican genius, dgar 4llan Poe, wrote &$he.aen,& the %ost wonder#ul conception as well as the %ost highlyartistic poe% in all nglish literature, in a little cottage in the *ordha%section o# @ew (ork while he was in the direst straits o# want! $hroughout all his short and wonder#ully brilliant career, poor Poeneer had a dollar he could call his own! Such, howeer, was both his#ault and his %is#ortune and he is a bad e-e%plar!Don't think that the knowledge o# a library o# books is essential tosuccess as a writer! >#ten a %ultiplicity o# books is con#using! Baster a#ew good books and %aster the% well and you will hae all that is

necessary! 4 great authority has said3 &"eware o# the %an o# onebook,& which %eans that a %an o# one book is a %aster o# the cra#t! tis clai%ed that a thorough knowledge o# the "ible alone will %ake anyperson a %aster o# literature! Certain it is that the "ible andShakespeare constitute an epito%e o# the essentials o# knowledge!Shakespeare gathered the #ruitage o# all who went be#ore hi%, he hassown the seeds #or all who shall eer co%e a#ter hi%! He was the greatintellectual ocean whose waes touch the continents o# all thought!



"ooks are cheap nowFaFdays, the greatest works, thanks to the printingpress, are within the reach o# all, and the %ore you read, the better,proided they are worth reading! So%eti%es a %an takes poison intohis syste% unconscious o# the #act that it is poison, as in the case o#certain #oods, and it is ery hard to throw o## its e##ects! $here#ore, be

care#ul in your choice o# reading %atter! # you cannot a##ord a #ulllibrary, and as has been said, such is not necessary, select a #ew o# thegreat works o# the %aster %inds, assi%ilate and digest the%, so thatthey will be o# adantage to your literary syste%! lsewhere in thisolu%e is gien a list o# so%e o# the world's %asterpieces #ro% whichyou can %ake a selection! (our brain is a storehouse, don't put useless #urniture into it to crowd itto the e-clusion o# what is use#ul! =ay up only the aluable andsericeable kind which you can call into reuisition at any %o%ent!4s it is necessary to study the best authors in order to be a writer, so itis necessary to study the best speakers in order to talk with

correctness and in good style! $o talk rightly you %ust i%itate the%asters o# oral speech! =isten to the best conersationalists and howthey e-press the%seles! Go to hear the leading lectures, speechesand ser%ons! @o need to i%itate the gestures o# elocution, it is nature,not art, that %akes the elocutionist and the orator! t is not ho# aspeaker e-presses hi%sel# but the language which he uses and the%anner o# its use which should interest you! Hae you heard thepresent day %asters o# speechL $here hae been past ti%e %astersbut their tongues are stilled in the dust o# the grae, and you can onlyread their elouence now! (ou can, howeer, listen to the char% o# theliing! $o %any o# us oices still speak #ro% the grae, oices to which

we hae listened when #ired with the diine essence o# speech!Perhaps you hae hung with rapture on the words o# "eecher and $al%age! "oth thrilled the souls o# %en and won countless thousandsoer to a liing gospel! "oth were %asters o# words, they scattered the#lowers o# rhetoric on the shrine o# elouence and hurled eritablebouuets at their audiences which were eagerly seied by the latterand treasured in the storehouse o# %e%ory! "oth were scholars andphilosophers, yet they were #ar surpassed by Spurgeon, a plain %an o#the people with little or no clai% to education in the %odern sense o#the word! Spurgeon by his speech attracted thousands to his $abernacle! $he Protestant and Catholic, $urk, Jew and Boha%%edan

rushed to hear hi% and listened, entranced, to his language! Suchanother was Dwight =! Boody, the greatest angelist the world haseer known! Boody was not a %an o# learningI he co%%enced li#e as ashoe sales%an in Chicago, yet no %an eer lied who drew suchaudiences and so #ascinated the% with the spell o# his speech! &>h,that was personal %agnetis%,& you will say, but it was nothing o# thekind! t was the burning words that #ell #ro% the lips o# these %en, andthe way, the %anner, the #orce with which they used those words that



counted and attracted the crowds to listen unto the%! Personal%agnetis% or personal appearance entered not as #actors into theirsuccess! ndeed as #ar as physiue were concerned, so%e o# the%were handicapped! Spurgeon was a short, podgy, #at little %an, Boodywas like a country #ar%er, $al%age in his big cloak was one o# the %ost

sloenly o# %en and only "eecher was passable in the way o#re#ine%ent and gentle%anly bearing! Physical appearance, as so %anythink, is not the sesa%e to the interest o# an audience! Daniel>'Connell, the rish tribune, was a ho%ely, ugly, awkward, ungainly%an, yet his words attracted %illions to his side and gained #or hi% thehostile ear o# the "ritish Parlia%ent, he was a %aster o# erbiage andknew just what to say to captiate his audiences!t is words and their placing that count on al%ost all occasions! @o%atter how re#ined in other respects the person %ay be, i# he usewords wrongly and e-press hi%sel# in language not in accordance witha proper construction, he will repel you, whereas the %an who places

his words correctly and e%ploys language in har%ony with the laws o#good speech, let hi% be eer so hu%ble, will attract and hae anin#luence oer you! $he good speaker, the correct speaker, is always able to co%%andattention and doors are thrown open to hi% which re%ain closed toothers not euipped with a like #acility o# e-pression! $he %an who cantalk well and to the point need neer #ear to go idle! He is reuired innearly eery walk o# li#e and #ield o# hu%an endeaor, the world wantshi% at eery turn! %ployers are constantly on the lookout #or goodtalkers, those who are able to attract the public and conince others bythe #orce o# their language! 4 %an %ay be able, educated, re#ined, o#

unble%ished character, neertheless i# he lack the power to e-presshi%sel#, put #orth his iews in good and appropriate speech he has totake a back seat, while so%e one with %uch less ability gets theopportunity to co%e to the #ront because he can clothe his ideas inready words and talk e##ectiely! (ou %ay again say that nature, not art, %akes a %an a #luent speakerIto a great degree this is true, but it is art that %akes hi% a correctspeaker, and correctness leads to #luency! t is possible #or eeryone tobeco%e a correct speaker i# he will but perseere and take a little painsand care!4t the risk o# repetition good adice %ay be here e%phasied3 =isten to

the best speakers and note care#ully the words which i%press you%ost! Aeep a notebook and jot down words, phrases, sentences thatare in any way striking or out o# the ordinary run! # you do notunderstand the e-act %eaning o# a word you hae heard, look it up inthe dictionary! $here are %any words, called synony%s, which haeal%ost a like signi#ication, neertheless, when e-a%ined they e-pressdi##erent shades o# %eaning and in so%e cases, instead o# being close



related, are widely diergent! "eware o# such words, #ind their e-act%eaning and learn to use the% in their right places!"e open to criticis%, don't resent it but rather inite it and look uponthose as #riends who point out your de#ects in order that you %ayre%edy the%!

CHAPTER 6I

SLAN(

Or','*—A+$r'ca* Sla*,—For$',* Sla*,

Slang is %ore or less co%%on in nearly all ranks o# society and ineery walk o# li#e at the present day! Slang words and e-pressions haecrept into our eeryday language, and so insiduously, that they haenot been detected by the great %ajority o# speakers, and so haebeco%e part and parcel o# their ocabulary on an eual #ooting withthe legiti%ate words o# speech! $hey are called upon to do si%ilarserice as the ordinary words used in eeryday conersationtoe-press thoughts and desires and coney %eaning #ro% one toanother! n #act, in so%e cases, slang has beco%e so use#ul that it has#ar outstripped classic speech and %ade #or itsel# such a position in theernacular that it would be ery hard in so%e cases to get alongwithout it! Slang words hae usurped the place o# regular words o#language in ery %any instances and reign supre%e in their ownstrength and in#luence!Cant and slang are o#ten con#used in the popular %ind, yet they arenot synony%ous, though ery closely allied, and proceeding #ro% aco%%on Gypsy origin! Cant is the language o# a certain classthepeculiar phraseology or dialect o# a certain cra#t, trade or pro#ession,and is not readily understood sae by the initiated o# such cra#t, tradeor pro#ession! t %ay be correct, according to the rules o# gra%%ar, butit is not uniersalI it is con#ined to certain parts and localities and isonly intelligible to those #or who% it is intended! n short, it is anesoteric language which only the initiated can understand! $he jargon,or patter, o# thiees is cant and it is only understood by thiees whohae been let into its signi#icanceI the initiated language o#

pro#essional ga%blers is cant, and is only intelligible to ga%blers!>n the other hand, slang, as it is nowadays, belongs to no particularclass but is scattered all oer and gets entre into eery kind o# societyand is understood by all where it passes current in eerydaye-pression! ># course, the nature o# the slang, to a great e-tent,depends upon the locality, as it chie#ly is concerned with collouialis%sor words and phrases co%%on to a particular section! *or instance, theslang o# =ondon is slightly di##erent #ro% that o# @ew (ork, and so%e



words in the one city %ay be unintelligible in the other, though wellunderstood in that in which they are current! @eertheless, slang %aybe said to be uniersally understood! &$o kick the bucket,& &to cross the Jordan,& &to hop the twig& are just as e-pressie o# the departing #ro%li#e in the backwoods o# 4%erica or the wilds o# 4ustralia as they are in

=ondon or Dublin!Slang si%ply consists o# words and phrases which pass current but arenot re#ined, nor elegant enough, to be ad%itted into polite speech orliterature wheneer they are recognied as such! "ut, as has been said,a great %any use slang without their knowing it as slang andincorporate it into their eeryday speech and conersation!So%e authors purposely use slang to gie e%phasis and spice in#a%iliar and hu%orous writing, but they should not be i%itated by thetyro! 4 %aster, such as Dickens, is #orgiable, but in the noice it isunpardonable! $here are seeral kinds o# slang attached to di##erent pro#essions and

classes o# society! *or instance, there is college slang, political slang,sporting slang, etc! t is the nature o# slang to circulate #reely a%ong allclasses, yet there are seeral kinds o# this current #or% o# languagecorresponding to the seeral classes o# society! $he two great diisionso# slang are the ulgar o# the uneducated and coarseF%inded, and thehighFtoned slang o# the soFcalled upper classesthe educated and thewealthy! $he hoyden o# the gutter does not use the sa%e slang as %ylady in her boudoir, but both use it, and so e-pressie is it that the one%ight readily understand the other i# brought in contact! $here#ore,there are what %ay be styled an ignorant slang and an educated slangthe one co%%on to the purlieus and the alleys, the other to the

parlor and the drawingFroo%!n all cases the object o# slang is to e-press an idea in a %ore igorous,piuant and terse %anner than standard usage ordinarily ad%its! 4school girl, when she wants to praise a baby, e-clai%s3 &>h, isn't heaw#ully cute2& $o say that he is ery nice would be too weak a way toe-press her ad%iration! When a handso%e girl appears on the streetan enthusiastic %asculine ad%irer, to e-press his appreciation o# herbeauty, tells you3 &She is a peach, a bird, a cuckoo,& any o# whichaccentuates his esti%ation o# the young lady and is %uch %oree%phatic than saying3 &She is a beauti#ul girl,& &a handso%e %aiden,&or &loely young wo%an!&

When a politician de#eats his rial he will tell you &it was a cinch,& hehad a &walkFoer,& to i%press you how easy it was to gain the ictory!So%e slang e-pressions are o# the nature o# %etaphors and are highly#iguratie! Such are &to pass in your checks,& &to hold up,& &to pull thewool oer your eyes,& &to talk through your hat,& &to #ire out,& &to goback on,& &to %ake yoursel# solid with,& &to hae a jag on,& &to beloaded,& &to #reee on to,& &to bark up the wrong tree,& &don't %onkeywith the buFsaw,& and &in the soup!& Bost slang had a bad origin! $he



greater part originated in the cant o# thiees' =atin, but it broke away#ro% this cant o# %ale#actors in ti%e and gradually eoled itsel# #ro%its unsaory past until it deeloped into a current #or% o# e-pressiespeech! So%e slang, howeer, can trace its origin back to eryrespectable sources!

&Stolen #ruits are sweet& %ay be traced to the "ible in senti%ent!Proerbs, i-3/1 has it3 &Stolen waters are sweet!& &What are you giing%e,& supposed to be a thorough 4%ericanis%, is based upon Genesis,---iii3/:! $he co%%on slang, &a bad %an,& in re#erring to Westerndesperadoes, in al%ost the identical sense now used, is #ound inSpenser's Faerie 6ueen/ Bassinger's play . Ne# )ay to Pay Old-ebts/. and in Shakespeare's .;ing Henry 2(((+. $he e-pression &to blowon,& %eaning to in#or%, is in Shakespeare's .s *ou $i%e it+. &t's allGreek to %e& is traceable to the play o# .Julius Caesar+. &4ll cry and nowool& is in "utler's .Hudibras+. &Pious #rauds,& %eaning hypocrites, is#ro% the sa%e source! &$oo thin,& re#erring to an e-cuse, is #ro%

S%ollett's &Peregrine Pic%le!& Shakespeare also used it!4%erica has had a large share in contributing to %odern slang! &$heheathen Chinee,& and &Ways that are dark, and tricks that are ain,&are #ro% "ret Harte's Truth'ul James! &@ot #or Joe,& arose during theCiil War when one soldier re#used to gie a drink to another! &@ot i# know %ysel#& had its origin in Chicago! &What's the %atter withLHe's all right,& had its beginning in Chicago also and #irst was &What'sthe %atter with Hannah!& re#erring to a lay do%estic serant! &$here's%illions in it,& and &"y a large %ajority& co%e #ro% Bark $wain's Gilded ge! &Pull down your est,& &ji%Fja%s,& &got 'e% bad,& &that's what'sthe %atter,& &go hire a hall,& &take in your sign,& &dry up,& &hu%p

yoursel#,& &it's the %an around the corner,& &putting up a job,& &put ahead on hi%,& &no back talk,& &botto% dollar,& &went o## on his ear,&&chalk it down,& &staing hi% o##,& &%aking it war%,& &dropping hi%gently,& &dead gone,& &busted,& &counter ju%per,& &put up or shut up,&&bang up,& &s%art 4leck,& &too %uch jaw,& &chinF%usic,& &top heay,&&bare#ooted on the top o# the head,& &a little too #resh,& &cha%pionliar,& &chie# cook and bottle washer,& &bag and baggage,& &as #ine assilk,& &na%e your poison,& &died with his boots on,& &old hoss,& &hunkeydorey,& &hold your horses,& &galoot& and %any others in use at presentare all 4%ericanis%s in slang!Cali#ornia especially has been %ost #ecund in this class o# #iguratie

language! $o this State we owe &go o## and die,& &don't you #orget it,&&rough deal,& &suare deal,& &#lush ti%es,& &pool your issues,& &go buryyoursel#,& &go drown yoursel#,& &gie your tongue a acation,& &a badegg,& &go cli%b a tree,& &plug hats,& &Dolly +ardens,& &well #i-ed,&&down to bed rock,& &hard pan,& &pay dirt,& &petered out,& &it won'twash,& &slug o# whiskey,& &it pans out well,& and & should s%ile!&&S%all potatoes, and #ew in the hill,& &so#t snap,& &all #ired,& &gol durnit,& &an upFhill job,& &slick,& &short cut,& &guess not,& &correct thing& are



"ostonis%s! $he ter%s &innocent,& &acknowledge the corn,& &bark upthe wrong tree,& &great snakes,& & reckon,& &playing 'possu%,& &deadshot,& had their origin in the Southern States! &Doggone it,& &that beatsthe Dutch,& &you bet,& &you bet your boots,& sprang #ro% @ew (ork!&Step down and out& originated in the "eecher trial, just as &brainF

stor%& originated in the $haw trial!4%ong the slang phrases that hae co%e directly to us #ro% ngland%ay be %entioned &throw up the sponge,& &draw it %ild,& &gie us arest,& &dead beat,& &on the shel#,& &up the spout,& &stunning,& &gi#t o#the gab,& etc! $he newspapers are responsible #or a large part o# the slang!.eporters, sta## writers, and een editors, put words and phrases intothe %ouths o# indiiduals which they neer utter! @ew (ork is supposedto be the headuarters o# slang, particularly that portion o# it known asthe "owery! 4ll transgressions and corruptions o# language aresupposed to originate in that unclassic section, while the truth is that

the laws o# polite nglish are as %uch iolated on *i#th 4enue! >#course, the #oreign ele%ent %incing their &pidgin& nglish hae gienthe "owery an uneniable reputation, but there are just as goodspeakers o# the ernacular on the "owery as elsewhere in the greatercity! (et eery ine-perienced newspaper reporter thinks that it isincu%bent on hi% to hold the "owery up to ridicule and laughter, so hesits down, and out o# his circu%scribed brain, %utilates the nglishtongue Khe can rarely coin a wordM, and bla%es the %utilation on the"owery!'$is the sa%e with newspapers and authors, too, detracting the rishrace! Ben and wo%en who hae neer seen the green hills o# reland,

paint rish characters as boors and blunderers and %ake the% sayludicrous things and use such language as is neer heard within the#our walls o# reland! '$is ery well known that reland is the %ostlearned country on the #ace o# the earthis, and has been! $heschool%aster has been abroad there #or hundreds, al%ost thousands,o# years, and nowhere else in the world toFday is the king's nglishspoken so purely as in the cities and towns o# the little Western sle!Current eents, happenings o# eeryday li#e, o#ten gie rise to slangwords, and these, a#ter a ti%e, co%e into such general use that theytake their places in eeryday speech like ordinary words and, as hasbeen said, their users #orget that they once were slang! *or instance,

the days o# the =and =eague in reland originated the word boycott ,which was the na%e o# a ery unpopular landlord, Captain "oycott! $hepeople re#used to work #or hi%, and his crops rotted on the ground!*ro% this ti%e any one who ca%e into dis#aor and who% hisneighbors re#used to assist in any way was said to be boycotted! $here#ore to boycott %eans to punish by abandoning or depriing aperson o# the assistance o# others! 4t #irst it was a notoriously slangword, but now it is standard in the nglish dictionaries!



Politics add to our slang words and phrases! *ro% this source we get&dark horse,& &the gray %are is the better horse,& &barrel o# %oney,&&bunco%be,& &gerry%ander,& &scalawag,& &hench%an,& &logrolling,&&pulling the wires,& &taking the stu%p,& &%achine,& &slate,& etc! $he %oney %arket #urnishes us with &corner,& &bull,& &bear,& &la%b,&

&slu%p,& and seeral others! $he custo% o# the ti%es and the reuire%ents o# current e-pressionreuire the best o# us to use slang words and phrases on occasions!>#ten we do not know they are slang, just as a child o#ten uses pro#anewords without consciousness o# their being so! We should aoid the useo# slang as %uch as possible, een when it seres to coney our ideasin a #orce#ul %anner! 4nd when it has not gained a #ir% #oothold incurrent speech it should be used not at all! .e%e%ber that %ost allslang is o# ulgar origin and bears upon its #ace the bend sinister o#ulgarity! ># the slang that is o# good birth, pass it by i# you can, #or itis like a brokenFdown gentle%an, o# little good to any one! %itate the

great %asters as %uch as you will in classical literature, but when itco%es to their slang, draw the line! Dean Swi#t, the great rish satirist,coined the word &phi& #or #ace! Don't i%itate hi%! # you are speakingor writing o# the beauty o# a lady's #ace don't call it her &phi!& $heDean, as an intellectual giant, had a license to do soyou haen't!Shakespeare used the word &#lush& to indicate plenty o# %oney! Well, just re%e%ber there was only one Shakespeare, and he was the onlyone that had a right to use that word in that sense! (ou'll neer be aShakespeare, there will neer be such another@ature e-haustedhersel# in producing hi%! "ulwer used the word &stretch& #or hang, asto stretch his neck! Don't #ollow his e-a%ple in such use o# the word!

4boe all, aoid the low, coarse, ulgar slang, which is %ade to pass#or wit a%ong the ri##Fra## o# the street! # you are speaking or writing o#a person haing died last night don't say or write3 &He hopped thetwig,& or &he kicked the bucket!& # you are co%pelled to listen to aperson discoursing on a subject o# which he knows little or nothing,don't say &He is talking through his hat!& # you are telling o# haingshaken hands with Br! .ooseelt don't say &He tipped %e his #lipper!& #you are speaking o# a wealthy %an don't say &He has plenty o#sponduli-,& or &the long green!& 4ll such slang is low, coarse and ulgarand is to be #rowned upon on any and eery occasion!# you use slang use the re#ined kind and use it like a gentle%an, that it

will not hurt or gie o##ense to any one! Cardinal @ew%an de#ined agentle%an as he who neer in#licts pain! "e a gentle%an in your slangneer in#lict pain!

CHAPTER 6II

WRITIN( FOR NEWSPAPERS



Qual'"'ca'o*—A##ro#r'a$ Sub8$c!—D'r$c'o*!

$he newspaper nowadays goes into eery ho%e in the landI what was#or%erly regarded as a lu-ury is now looked upon as a necessity! @o%atter how poor the indiidual, he is not too poor to a##ord a penny to

learn, not alone what is taking place around hi% in his own i%%ediateicinity, but also what is happening in eery uarter o# the globe! $helaborer on the street can be as well posted on the news o# the day asthe banker in his o##ice! $hrough the newspaper he can #eel the pulseo# the country and #ind whether its itality is increasing or di%inishingIhe can read the signs o# the ti%es and scan the political horion #orwhat concerns his own interests! $he doings o# #oreign countries arespread be#ore hi% and he can see at a glance the occurrences in there%otest corners o# earth! # a #ire occurred in =ondon last night he canread about it at his break#ast table in @ew (ork this %orning, andprobably get a better account than the =ondoners the%seles! # a duel

takes place in Paris he can read all about it een be#ore thecontestants hae le#t the #ield! $here are upwards o# N,666 daily newspapers in the ?nited States,%ore than 5,666 o# which are published in towns containing less than/66,666 inhabitants! n #act, %any places o# less than /6,666population can boast the publishing o# a daily newspaper! $here are%ore than /,666 weeklies published! So%e o# the soFcalled countrypapers wield uite an in#luence in their localities, and een outside,and are %oneyF%aking agencies #or their owners and those connectedwith the%, both by way o# circulation and adertise%ents!t is surprising the nu%ber o# people in this country who %ake a liing

in the newspaper #ield! 4part #ro% the regular toilers there arethousands o# %en and wo%en who %ake newspaper work a side issue,who add tidy su%s o# &pin %oney& to their inco%es by occasionalcontributions to the daily, weekly and %onthly press! Bost o# thesepeople are only persons o# ordinary, eeryday ability, haing justenough education to e-press the%seles intelligently in writing!t is a %istake to i%agine, as so %any do, that an e-tended educationis necessary #or newspaper work! @ot at all2 >n the contrary, in so%ecases, a highFclass education is a hindrance, not a help in thisdirection! $he general newspaper does not want learned disuisitionsnor philosophical thesesI as its na%e i%plies, it wants news, current

news, interesting news, so%ething to appeal to its readers, to arousethe% and riet their attention! n this respect ery o#ten a boy canwrite a better article than a college pro#essor! $he pro#essor would beapt to use words beyond the capacity o# %ost o# the readers, while theboy, not knowing such words, would probably si%ply tell what he saw,how great the da%age was, who were killed or injured, etc!, and uselanguage which all would understand!



># course, there are so%e brilliant scholars, deeplyFread %en andwo%en in the newspaper real%, but, on the whole, those who hae%ade the greatest na%es co%%enced ignorant enough and %ost o#the% graduated by way o# the country paper! So%e o# the leadingwriters o# ngland and 4%erica at the present ti%e started their

literary careers by contributing to the rural press! $hey per#ected andpolished the%seles as they went along until they were able to %akena%es #or the%seles in uniersal literature!# you want to contribute to newspapers or enter the newspaper #ieldas a %eans o# lielihood, don't let lack o# a college or uniersityeducation stand in your way! 4s has been said elsewhere in this book,so%e o# the greatest %asters o# nglish literature were %en who hadbut little adantage in the way o# book learning! Shakespeare, "unyan,"urns, and scores o# others, who hae le#t their na%es indeliblyinscribed on the tablets o# #a%e, had little to boast o# in the way o#book education, but they had what is popularly known as &horse& sense

and a good working knowledge o# the worldI in other words, theyunderstood hu%an nature, and were natural the%seles! Shakespeareunderstood %ankind because he was hi%sel# a %anI hence he hasportrayed the #eelings, the e%otions, the passions with a %aster'stouch, delineating the king in his palace as true to nature as he hasdone the peasant in his hut! $he %onitor within his own breast gaehi% warning as to what was right and what was wrong, just as thedae%on eer by the side o# old Socrates whispered in his ear thecourse to pursue under any and all circu%stances! "urns guiding theplough conceied thoughts and clothed the% in a language which hasneer, nor probably neer will be, surpassed by all the learning which

art can con#er! $hese %en were natural, and it was the per#ection o#this naturality that wreathed their brows with the neerF#ading laurelso# undying #a%e!# you would essay to write #or the newspaper you %ust be natural ande-press yoursel# in your accusto%ed way without putting on airs or#rillsI you %ust not ape orna%ents and indulge in bo%bast orrhodo%ontade which sta%p a writer as not only super#icial but silly! $here is no roo% #or such in the eeryday newspaper! t wants #actsstated in plain, unarnished, unadorned language! $rue, you shouldread the best authors and, as #ar as possible, i%itate their style, butdon't try to literally copy the%! "e yoursel# on eery occasionno one

else! @ot like Ho%er would write, @ot like Dante i# %ight, @ot like Shakespeare at his best, @ot like Goethe or the rest, =ike %ysel#, howeer s%all, =ike %ysel#, or not at all!

Put yoursel# in place o# the reader and write what will interest yoursel#and in such a way that your language will appeal to your own ideas o#



the #itness o# things! (ou belong to the great co%%onplace %ajority,there#ore don't #orget that in writing #or the newspapers you are writing#or that %ajority and not #or the learned and aesthetic %inority!.e%e%ber you are writing #or the %an on the street and in the streetcar, you want to interest hi%, to co%pel hi% to read what you hae to

say! He does not want a display o# learningI he wants news aboutso%ething which concerns hi%sel#, and you %ust tell it to hi% in aplain, si%ple %anner just as you would do i# you were #ace to #ace withhi%!What can you write aboutL Why about anything that will constitutecurrent news, so%e leading eent o# the day, anything that will appealto the readers o# the paper to which you wish to sub%it it! @o %atter inwhat locality you %ay lie, howeer backward it %ay be, you canalways #ind so%ething o# genuine hu%an interest to others! # there isno news happening, write o# so%ething that appeals to yoursel#! Weare all constituted alike, and the chances are that what will interest you

will interest others! Descriptions o# adenture are generally acceptable! $ell o# a #o- hunt, or a badger hunt, or a bear chase!# there is any i%portant %anu#acturing plant in your neighborhooddescribe it and, i# possible, get photographs, #or photography plays aery i%portant part in the news ite%s o# toFday! # a &great& %an liesnear you, one whose na%e is on the tip o# eery tongue, go and get aninteriew with hi%, obtain his iews on the public uestions o# the day,describe his ho%e li#e and his surroundings and how he spends histi%e! $ry and strike so%ething ger%ane to the %o%ent, so%ething thatstands out pro%inently in the li%elight o# the passing show! # a noted

personage, so%e #a%ous %an or wo%an, is isiting the country, it is agood ti%e to write up the place #ro% which he or she co%es and therecord he or she has %ade there! *or instance, it was opportune towrite o# Sulu and the little Paci#ic archipelago during the Sultan's tripthrough the country! # an atte%pt is %ade to blow up an 4%ericanbattleship, say, in the harbor o# 4ppia, in Sa%oa, it a##ords a chance towrite about Sa%oa and .obert =ouis Stephenson! When Banuel washurled #ro% the throne o# Portugal it was a ripe ti%e to write o#Portugal and Portuguese a##airs! # any great occurrence is taking placein a #oreign country such as the crowning o# a king or thedethrone%ent o# a %onarch, it is a good ti%e to write up the history o#

the country and describe the eents leading up to the %ain issue!When a particularly saage outbreak occurs a%ongst wild tribes in thedependencies, such as a rising o# the Banobos in the Philippines, it isopportune to write o# such tribes and their surroundings, and thecauses leading up to the reolt!"e constantly on the lookout #or so%ething that will suit the passinghour, read the daily papers and probably in so%e obscure corner you



%ay #ind so%ething that will sere you as a #oundation #or a goodarticleso%ething, at least, that will gie you a clue!"e circu%spect in your selection o# a paper to which to sub%it yourcopy! Anow the tone and general i%port o# the paper, its socialleanings and political a##iliations, also its religious senti%ents, and, in

#act, all the particulars you can regarding it! t would be injudicious #oryou to send an article on a prie #ight to a religious paper or, viceversa, an account o# a church %eeting to the editor o# a sporting sheet!# you get your copy back don't be disappointed nor yet disheartened!Perseerance counts %ore in the newspaper #ield than anywhere else,and only perseerance wins in the long run! (ou %ust beco%e resilientIi# you are pressed down, spring up again! @o %atter how %any rebu##syou %ay receie, be not discouraged but call #resh energy to yourassistance and %ake another stand! # the right stu## is in you it is sureto be discoeredI your light will not re%ain long hidden under a bushelin the newspaper do%ain! # you can delier the goods editors will soon

be begging you instead o# your begging the%! $hose %en areconstantly on the lookout #or persons who can %ake good!>nce you get into print the battle is won, #or it will be an incentie toyou to perseere and i%proe yoursel# at eery turn! Go oereerything you write, cut and slash and prune until you get it into asper#ect #or% as possible! li%inate eery super#luous word and becare#ul to strike out all a%biguous e-pressions and re#erences!# you are writing #or a weekly paper re%e%ber it di##ers #ro% a dailyone! Weeklies want what will not alone interest the %an on the street,but the wo%an at the #iresideI they want outFo#FtheFway #acts, curiousscraps o# lore, personal notes o# #a%ous or eccentric people,

re%iniscences o# e-citing e-periences, interesting gleanings in li#e'snu%berless byFways, in short, anything that will entertain, a%use,instruct the ho%e circle! $here is always so%ething occurring in youri%%ediate surroundings, so%e curious eent or thrilling episode thatwill #urnish you with data #or an article! (ou %ust know the nature o#the weekly to which you sub%it your copy the sa%e as you %ust knowthe daily! *or instance, the Christian Herald, while aowedly a religiousweekly, treats such secular %atter as %akes the paper appeal to all!>n its religious side it is non7sectarian, coering the broad #ield o#Christianity throughout the worldI on its secular side it deals withhu%an eents in such an i%partial way that eery one, no %atter to

what class they %ay belong or to what creed they %ay subscribe, cantake a liing, personal interest! $he %onthlies o##er another attractie #ield #or the literary aspirant!Here, again, don't think you %ust be an uniersity pro#essor to write#or a %onthly %againe! Bany, indeed %ost, o# the #ore%ost %againecontributors are %en and wo%en who hae neer passed through acollege e-cept by going in at the #ront door and e%erging #ro% theback one! Howeer, #or the %ost part, they are indiiduals o# wide



e-perience who know the practical side o# li#e as distinguished #ro%the theoretical! $he ordinary %onthly %againe treats o# the leading uestions andissues which are engaging the attention o# the world #or the %o%ent,great inentions, great discoeries, whateer is engrossing the popular

%ind #or the ti%e being, such as #lying %achines, battleships, skyFscrapers, the opening o# %ines, the deelop%ent o# new lands, thepolitical issues, iews o# party leaders, character sketches o#distinguished personages, etc! Howeer, be#ore trying your skill #or a%onthly %againe it would be well #or you to hae a goodapprenticeship in writing #or the daily press!4boe all things, re%e%ber that perseerance is the key that opensthe door o# success! Perseere2 # you are turned down don't getdisheartenedI on the contrary, let the rebu## act as a sti%ulant to#urther e##ort! Bany o# the %ost success#ul writers o# our ti%e haebeen turned down again and again! *or days and %onths, and een

years, so%e o# the% hae hawked their wares #ro% one literary door toanother until they #ound a purchaser! (ou %ay be a great writer ine%bryo, but you will neer deelop into a #etus, not to speak o# #ull%aturity, unless you bring out what is in you! Gie yoursel# a chance togrow and seie upon eerything that will enlarge the scope o# yourhorion! Aeep your eyes wide open and there is not a %o%ent o# theday in which you will not see so%ething to interest you and in whichyou %ay be able to interest others! =earn, too, how to read @ature'sbook! $here's a lesson in eerythingin the stones, the grass, thetrees, the babbling brooks and the singing birds! nterpret the lesson#or yoursel#, then teach it to others! 4lways be in earnest in your

writingI go about it in a deter%ined kind o# way, don't be #aintFheartedor backward, be brae, be brae, and eer%ore be brae! >n the wide, tented #ield in the battle o# li#e, With an ar%y o# %illions be#ore youI =ike a hero o# old gird your soul #or the stri#e 4nd let not the #oe%an tra%p o'er youI 4ct, act like a soldier and proudly rush on $he %ost aliant in "raery's an, With keen, #lashing sword cut your way to the #ront 4nd show to the world you're a &an!

# you are o# the %asculine gender be a %an in all things in the highestand best acceptation o# the word! $hat is the noblest title you can

boast, higher #ar than that o# earl or duke, e%peror or king! n thesa%e way wo%anhood is the grandest crown the #e%inine head canwear! When the world #rowns on you and eerything see%s to gowrong, possess your soul in patience and hope #or the dawn o# abrighter day! t will co%e! $he sun is always shining behind the darkestclouds! When you get your %anuscripts back again and again, don'tdespair, nor think the editor cruel and unkind! He, too, has troubles o#his own! Aeep up your spirits until you hae %ade the #inal test and put



your talents to a last analysis, then i# you #ind you cannot get into printbe sure that newspaper writing or literary work is not your 'orte, andturn to so%ething else! # nothing better presents itsel#, try shoe%akingor digging ditches! .e%e%ber honest labor, no %atter how hu%ble, iseer digni#ied! # you are a wo%an throw aside the pen, sit down and

darn your brother's, your #ather's, or your husband's socks, or put on acalico apron, take soap and water and scrub the #loor! @o %atter whoyou are do so%ething use#ul! $hat old sophistry about the world owingyou a liing has been e-ploded long ago! $he world does not owe you aliing, but you owe it seritude, and i# you do not pay the debt you arenot sering the purpose o# an allFwise Proidence and #illing the place#or which you were created! t is #or you to sere the world, to %ake itbetter, brighter, higher, holier, grander, nobler, richer, #or your hainglied in it! $his you can do in no %atter what position #ortune has castyou, whether it be that o# street laborer or president! *ight the good#ight and gain the ictory!

&4boe all, to thine own sel# be true, 4nd 'twill #ollow as the night the day, $hou canst not then be #alse to any %an!&

CHAPTER 6III

CHOICE OF WORDS

S+all Wor1!—T%$'r I+#ora*c$—T%$ A*,lo3Sa2o* El$+$*

n another place in this book adice has been gien to neer use a long

word when a short one will sere the sa%e purpose! $his adice is tobe e%phasied! Words o# &learned length and thundering sound&should be aoided on all possible occasions! $hey proclai% shallownesso# intellect and anity o# %ind! $he great purists, the %asters o#diction, the e-e%plars o# style, used short, si%ple words that all couldunderstandI words about which there could be no a%biguity as to%eaning! t %ust be re%e%bered that by our words we teach othersIthere#ore, a ery great responsibility rests upon us in regard to the useo# a right language! We %ust take care that we think and speak in away so clear that there %ay be no %isapprehension or danger o#coneying wrong i%pressions by ague and %isty ideas enunciated in

ter%s which are liable to be %isunderstood by those who% weaddress! Words gie a body or #or% to our ideas, without which theyare apt to be so #oggy that we do not see where they are weak or #alse!We %ust %ake the endeaor to e%ploy such words as will put the ideawe hae in our own %ind into the %ind o# another! $his is the greatestart in the worldto clothe our ideas in words clear and co%prehensieto the intelligence o# others! t is the art which the teacher, the%inister, the lawyer, the orator, the business %an, %ust %aster i# they



would co%%and success in their arious #ields o# endeaor! t is eryhard to coney an idea to, and i%press it on, another when he has buta #aint conception o# the language in which the idea is e-pressedI but itis i%possible to coney it at all when the words in which it is clothedare unintelligible to the listener!

# we address an audience o# ordinary %en and wo%en in the nglishlanguage, but use such words as they cannot co%prehend, we %ightas well speak to the% in Coptic or Chinese, #or they will derie nobene#it #ro% our address, inas%uch as the ideas we wish to coney aree-pressed in words which co%%unicate no intelligent %eaning to their%inds!=ong words, learned words, words directly deried #ro% otherlanguages are only understood by those who hae had the adantageso# an e-tended education! 4ll hae not had such adantages! $he great%ajority in this grand and glorious country o# ours hae to hustle #or aliing #ro% an early age! $hough education is #ree, and co%pulsory

also, ery %any neer get #urther than the &$hree .'s!& $hese are the%en with who% we hae to deal %ost in the arena o# li#e, the %en withthe horny pal%s and the iron %uscles, the %en who build our houses,construct our railroads, drie our street cars and trains, till our #ields,harest our cropsin a word, the %en who #or% the #oundation o# allsociety, the %en on who% the world depends to %ake its wheels goround! $he language o# the colleges and uniersities is not #or the%and they can get along ery well without itI they hae no need #or it atall in their respectie callings! $he plain, si%ple words o# eeryday li#e,to which the co%%on people hae been used around their own#iresides #ro% childhood, are the words we %ust use in our dealings

with the%!Such words are understood by the% and understood by the learned aswellI why then not use the% uniersally and all the ti%eL Why %ake aoneFsided a##air o# language by using words which only one class o# thepeople, the soFcalled learned class, can understandL Would it not bebetter to use, on all occasions, language which the both classes canunderstandL # we take the trouble to inestigate we shall #ind that the%en who e-erted the greatest sway oer the %asses and the %ultitudeas orators, lawyers, preachers and in other public capacities, were %enwho used ery si%ple language! Daniel Webster was a%ong thegreatest orators this country has produced! He touched the hearts o#

senates and asse%blages, o# %en and wo%en with the burningelouence o# his words! He neer used a long word when he couldconey the sa%e, or nearly the sa%e, %eaning with a short one! Whenhe %ade a speech he always told those who put it in #or% #or the pressto strike out eery long word! Study his speeches, go oer all he eersaid or wrote, and you will #ind that his language was always %ade upo# short, clear, strong ter%s, although at ti%es, #or the sake o# soundand oratorical e##ect, he was co%pelled to use a rather long word, but



it was always against his inclination to do so, and where was the %anwho could paint, with words, as Webster painted2 He could picturethings in a way so clear that those who heard hi% #elt that they hadseen that o# which he spoke!4braha% =incoln was another who stirred the souls o# %en, yet he was

not an orator, not a scholarI he did not write B!4! or Ph!D! a#ter hisna%e, or any other college degree, #or he had none! He graduated#ro% the ?niersity o# Hard Anocks, and he neer #orgot this seere lma &ater when he beca%e President o# the ?nited States! He was just as plain, just as hu%ble, as in the days when he split rails or plieda boat on the Sanga%on! He did not use big words, but he used thewords o# the people, and in such a way as to %ake the% beauti#ul! HisGettysburg address is an nglish classic, one o# the great %asterpieceso# the language!*ro% the %ere #act that a word is short it does not #ollow that it isalways clear, but it is true that nearly all clear words are short, and

that %ost o# the long words, especially those which we get #ro% otherlanguages, are %isunderstood to a great e-tent by the ordinary rankand #ile o# the people! ndeed, it is to be doubted i# so%e o# the&scholars& using the%, #ully understand their i%port on occasions! 4great %any such words ad%it o# seeral interpretations! 4 word has tobe in use a great deal be#ore people get thoroughly #a%iliar with its%eaning! =ong words, not alone obscure thought and %ake the ideashay, but at ti%es they tend to %i- up things in such a way thatpositiely har%#ul results #ollow #ro% their use!*or instance, cri%e can be so coered with the #olds o# long words as togie it a di##erent appearance! en the hideousness o# sin can be

cloaked with such words until its outlines look like a thing o# beauty!When a bank cashier %akes o## with a hundred thousand dollars wepolitely ter% his cri%e de'alcation instead o# plain the't , and instead o#calling hi%sel# a thie' we grandiosely allude to hi% as a de'aulter !When we see a wealthy %an staggering along a #ashionablethorough#are under the in#luence o# alcohol, waing his ar%s in the airand shouting boisterously, we s%ile and say, poor gentle%an, he isso%ewhat e"hilarated1 or at worst we say, he is slightly inebriatedI butwhen we see a poor %an who has #allen #ro% grace by putting an&ene%y into his %outh to steal away his brain& we e-press ourindignation in the si%ple language o# the words3 &=ook at the wretchI

he is dead drunk!&When we #ind a person in downright lying we coer the #alsehood withthe #inelyFspun cloak o# the word prevarication! Shakespeare says, &arose by any other na%e would s%ell as sweet,& and by a si%ilarseuence, a lie, no %atter by what na%e you %ay call it, is always a lieand should be conde%nedI then why not si%ply call it a lieL Bean whatyou say and say what you %eanI call a spade a spade, it is the bestter% you can apply to the i%ple%ent!



When you try to use short words and shun long ones in a little whileyou will #ind that you can do so with ease! 4 #ar%er was showing ahorse to a cityFbred gentle%an! $he ani%al was led into a paddock inwhich an old sowFpig was rooting! &What a #ine uadruped2& e-clai%edthe city %an!

&Which o# the two do you %ean, the pig or the horseL& ueried the#ar%er, &#or, in %y opinion, both o# the% are #ine uadrupeds!&># course the isitor %eant the horse, so it would hae been %uchbetter had he called the ani%al by its si%pleI ordinary na%e, therewould hae been no roo% #or a%biguity in his re%ark! He pro#ited,howeer, by the incident, and neer called a horse a uadruped again!Bost o# the s%all words, the si%ple words, the beauti#ul words whiche-press so %uch within s%all bounds belong to the pure 4ngloFSa-onele%ent o# our language! $his ele%ent has gien na%es to theheaenly bodies, the sun, %oon and starsI to three out o# the #ourele%ents, earth, #ire and waterI three out o# the #our seasons, spring,

su%%er and winter! ts si%ple words are applied to all the naturaldiisions o# ti%e, e-cept one, as day, night, %orning, eening, twilight,noon, %idFday, %idnight, sunrise and sunset! $he na%es o# light, heat,cold, #rost, rain, snow, hail, sleet, thunder, lightning, as well as al%ostall those objects which #or% the co%ponent parts o# the beauti#ul, ase-pressed in e-ternal scenery, such as sea and land, hill and dale,wood and strea%, etc!, are 4ngloFSa-on! $o this sa%e language we areindebted #or those words which e-press the earliest and dearestconnections, and the strongest and %ost power#ul #eelings o# @ature,and which, as a conseuence, are interwoen with the #ondest and%ost hallowed associations! ># such words are #ather, %other,

husband, wi#e, brother, sister, son, daughter, child, ho%e, kindred,#riend, hearth, roo# and #ireside! $he chie# e%otions o# which we are susceptible are e-pressed in thesa%e languageloe, hope, #ear, sorrow, sha%e, and also the outwardsigns by which these e%otions are indicated, as tear, s%ile, laugh,blush, weep, sigh, groan! @early all our national proerbs are 4ngloFSa-on! 4l%ost all the ter%s and phrases by which we %ostenergetically e-press anger, conte%pt and indignation are o# the sa%eorigin!What are known as the S%art Set and soFcalled polite society, arerelegating a great %any o# our old 4ngloFSa-on words into the shade,

#aith#ul #riends who sered their ancestors well! $hese sel#Fappointedarbiters o# diction regard so%e o# the 4ngloFSa-on words as too coarse,too plebeian #or their aesthetic tastes and re#ined ears, so they areeli%inating the% #ro% their ocabulary and replacing the% with%ongrels o# #oreign birth and hybrids o# unknown origin! *or theordinary people, howeer, the %an in the street or in the #ield, thewo%an in the kitchen or in the #actory, they are still tried and true and,



like old #riends, should be cherished and pre#erred to all strangers, no%atter #ro% what source the latter %ay spring!

CHAPTER 6IV

EN(LISH LAN(UA(E

.$,'**'*,—D'""$r$* Sourc$!—T%$ Pr$!$*

$he nglish language is the tongue now current in ngland and hercolonies throughout the world and also throughout the greater part o#the ?nited States o# 4%erica! t sprang #ro% the Ger%an tonguespoken by the $eutons, who ca%e oer to "ritain a#ter the conuest o#that country by the .o%ans! $hese $eutons co%prised 4ngles, Sa-ons, Jutes and seeral other tribes #ro% the northern part o# Ger%any! $heyspoke di##erent dialects, but these beca%e blended in the new country,and the co%posite tongue ca%e to be known as the 4ngloFSa-on whichhas been the %ain basis #or the language as at present constituted andis still the preailing ele%ent! $here#ore those who are trying to doaway with so%e o# the purely 4ngloFSa-on words, on the ground thatthey are not re#ined enough to e-press their aesthetic ideas, areunder%ining %ain props which are necessary #or the support o# so%ei%portant parts in the edi#ice o# the language! $he 4ngloFSa-on ele%ent supplies the essential parts o# speech, thearticle, pronoun o# all kinds, the preposition, the au-iliary erbs, theconjunctions, and the little particles which bind words into sentencesand #or% the joints, sinews and liga%ents o# the language! t #urnishesthe %ost indispensable words o# the ocabulary! KSee Chap! E!M @owhere is the beauty o# 4ngloFSa-on better illustrated than in the=ord's Prayer! *i#tyF#our words are pure Sa-on and the re%aining onescould easily be replaced by Sa-on words! $he gospel o# St! John isanother illustration o# the al%ost e-clusie use o# 4ngloFSa-on words!Shakespeare, at his best, is 4ngloFSa-on! Here is a uotation #ro% the&erchant o' 2enice, and o# the #i#tyF#ie words #i#tyFtwo are 4ngloFSa-on, the re%aining three *rench3 4ll that glitters is not gold >#ten hae you heard that toldI Bany a %an his li#e hath sold,

"ut %y outside to behold! Guilded tombs do wor%s in#old! Had you been as wise as bold, (oung in li%bs, in judgment old, (our answer had not been inscrolled *are you well, your suit is cold!

$he lines put into the %outh o# Ha%let's #ather in #ierce intenseness,second only to Dante's inscription on the gate o# hell, hae onehundred and eight 4ngloFSa-on and but #i#teen =atin words!





$he second constituent ele%ent o# present nglish is =atin whichco%prises those words deried directly #ro% the old .o%an and thosewhich ca%e indirectly through the *rench! $he #or%er were introducedby the .o%an Christians, who ca%e to ngland at the close o# the si-thcentury under 4ugustine, and relate chie#ly to ecclesiastical a##airs,

such as saint #ro% sanctus, religion #ro% religio, chalice #ro% cali" ,%ass #ro% missa, etc! So%e o# the% had origin in Greek, as priest #ro% presbyter , which in turn was a direct deriatie #ro% the Greek presbuteros, also deacon #ro% the Greek dia%onos! $he largest class o# =atin words are those which ca%e through the@or%anF*rench, or .o%ance! $he @or%ans had adopted, with theChristian religion, the language, laws and arts o# the .o%anied Gaulsand .o%anied *ranks, and a#ter a residence o# %ore than a century in*rance they success#ully inaded ngland in /6:: under Willia% theConueror and a new era began! $he *rench =atinis%s can bedistinguished by the spelling! $hus Saiour co%es #ro% the =atin

Salvator through the *rench Sauveur I judg%ent #ro% the =atin judiclumthrough the *rench jugement I people, #ro% the =atin populus, throughthe *rench peuple, etc!*or a long ti%e the Sa-on and @or%an tongues re#used to coalesceand were like two distinct currents #lowing in di##erent directions!@or%an was spoken by the lords and barons in their #eudal castles, inparlia%ent and in the courts o# justice! Sa-on by the people in theirrural ho%es, #ields and workshops! *or %ore than three hundred yearsthe strea%s #lowed apart, but #inally they blended, taking in the Celticand Danish ele%ents, and as a result ca%e the present nglishlanguage with its si%ple syste% o# gra%%atical in#lection and its rich

ocabulary! $he #ather o# nglish prose is generally regarded as Wycli##e, whotranslated the "ible in /N<6, while the paternal laurels in the secularpoetical #ield are twined around the brows o# Chaucer!"esides the Ger%anic and .o%anic, which constitute the greater parto# the nglish language, %any other tongues hae #urnished theiruota! ># these the Celtic is perhaps the oldest! $he "ritons at Caesar'sinasion, were a part o# the Celtic #a%ily! $he Celtic idio% is still spokenin two dialects, the Welsh in Wales, and the Gaelic in reland and theHighlands o# Scotland! $he Celtic words in nglish, are co%paratiely#ewI cart, dock, wire, rail, rug, cradle, babe, grown, griddle, lad, lass,

are so%e in %ost co%%on use! $he Danish ele%ent dates #ro% the piratical inasions o# the ninth andtenth centuries! t includes anger, awe, ba##le, bang, bark, bawl,blunder, boulder, bo-, club, crash, dairy, dale, #ellow, gable, gain, ill, ja%, kidnap, kill, kidney, kneel, li%ber, litter, log, lull, lu%p, %ast,%istake, nag, nasty, niggard, horse, plough, rug, ru%p, sale, scald,shriek, skin, skull, sledge, sleigh, tackle, tangle, tipple, trust, iking,window, wing, etc!



*ro% the Hebrew we hae a large nu%ber o# proper na%es #ro% 4da%and e down to John and Bary and such words as Bessiah, rabbi,hallelujah, cherub, seraph, hosanna, %anna, satan, Sabbath, etc!Bany technical ter%s and na%es o# branches o# learning co%e #ro%the Greek! n #act, nearly all the ter%s o# learning and art, #ro% the

alphabet to the highest peaks o# %etaphysics and theology, co%edirectly #ro% the Greekphilosophy, logic, anthropology, psychology,aesthetics, gra%%ar, rhetoric, history, philology, %athe%atics,arith%etic, astrono%y, anato%y, geography, stenography, physiology,architecture, and hundreds %ore in si%ilar do%ainsI the subdiisionsand ra%i#ications o# theology as e-egesis, her%eneutics, apologetics,pole%ics, dog%atics, ethics, ho%iletics, etc!, are all Greek! $he Dutch hae gien us so%e %odern sea ter%s, as sloop, schooner,yacht and also a nu%ber o# others as boo%, bush, boor, brandy, duck,ree#, skate, wagon! $he Dutch o# Banhattan island gae us boss, thena%e #or e%ployer or oerseer, also cold slaa Kcut cabbage and

inegarM, and a nu%ber o# geographical ter%s!Bany o# our %ost pleasing euphonic words, especially in the real% o#%usic, hae been gien to us directly #ro% the talian! ># these arepiano, iolin, orchestra, canto, allegro, piaa, gaette, u%brella,gondola, bandit, etc!Spanish has #urnished us with alligator, alpaca, bigot, cannibal, cargo,#ilibuster, #reebooter, guano, hurricane, %osuito, negro, sta%pede,potato, tobacco, to%ato, tari##, etc!*ro% 4rabic we hae seeral %athe%atical, astrono%ical, %edical andche%ical ter%s as alcohol, alcoe, ale%bic, algebra, alkali, al%anac,assassin, aure, cipher, eli-ir, hare%, hegira, so#a, talis%an, enith and

ero!"aaar, derish, lilac, pagoda, caraan, scarlet, shawl, tartar, tiara andpeach hae co%e to us #ro% the Persian! $urban, tulip, dian and #ir%an are $urkish!Drosky, knout, rouble, steppe, ukase are .ussian! $he ndians hae helped us considerably and the words they haegien us are e-tre%ely euphonic as e-e%pli#ied in the na%es o# %anyo# our riers and States, as Bississippi, Bissouri, Binnehaha,Susuehanna, Bonongahela, @iagara, >hio, Bassachusetts,Connecticut, owa, @ebraska, Dakota, etc! n addition to these properna%es we hae #ro% the ndians wigwa%, suaw, ha%%ock,

to%ahawk, canoe, %ocassin, ho%iny, etc! $here are %any hybrid words in nglish, that is, words, springing #ro%two or %ore di##erent languages! n #act, nglish has drawn #ro% allsources, and it is daily adding to its already large #a%ily, and not aloneis it adding to itsel#, but it is spreading all oer the world and pro%isesto take in the entire hu%an #a%ily beneath its #olds ere long! t is theopinion o# %any that nglish, in a short ti%e, will beco%e the uniersallanguage! t is now being taught as a branch o# the higher education in



the best colleges and uniersities o# urope and in all co%%ercial citiesin eery land throughout the world! n 4sia it #ollows the "ritish swayand the highways o# co%%erce through the ast e%pire o# ast ndiawith its two hundred and #i#ty %illions o# heathen and Boha%%edaninhabitants! t is largely used in the seaports o# Japan and China, and

the nu%ber o# naties o# these countries who are learning it isincreasing eery day! t is #ir%ly established in South 4#rica, =iberia,Sierra =eone, and in %any o# the islands o# the ndian and South Seas!t is the language o# 4ustralia, @ew Oealand, $as%ania, and Christian%issionaries are introducing it into all the islands o# Polynesia! t %aybe said to be the liing co%%ercial language o# the @orth 4%ericancontinent, #ro% "a##in's "ay to the Gul# o# Be-ico, and #ro% the 4tlanticto the Paci#ic, and it is spoken largely in %any o# the republics o# South4%erica! t is not li%ited by parallels o# latitude, or %eridians o#longitude! $he two great nglishFspeaking countries, ngland and the?nited States, are disse%inating it north, south, east and west oer the

entire world!

CHAPTER 6V

MASTERS AND MASTERPIECES OF LITERATURE

(r$a Au%or!—Cla!!'"'ca'o*—T%$ Worl19! .$! .oo4!-

$he "ible is the world's greatest book! 4part #ro% its character as awork o# diine reelation, it is the %ost per#ect literature e-tant!=eaing out the "ible the three greatest works are those o# Ho%er,Dante and Shakespeare! $hese are closely #ollowed by the works o#+irgil and Bilton!

INDISPENSA.LE .OOKS

Ho%er, Dante, Cerantes, Shakespeare and Goethe!K$he best translation o# Homer #or the ordinary reader is by Chap%an!@orton's translation o# -ante and $aylor's translation o# Goethe's Faustare reco%%ended!M

A (OOD LI.RARY

"esides the works %entioned eeryone should endeaor to hae the#ollowing3Plutarch5s $ives, &editations o' &arcus urelius, Chaucer , (mitation o'Christ K$ho%as a Ae%pisM, Holy $iving and Holy -ying KJere%y $aylorM,Pilgrim5s Progress/ &acaulay5s !ssays/ 0acon5s !ssays/ ddison5s!ssays/ !ssays o' !lia KCharles =a%bM, $es &iserables KHugoM, Heroes



and Hero )orship KCarlyleM, Pal7grave5s Golden Treasury , )ords#orth,2icar o' )a%e 'ield, dam 0ede KGeorge liotM, 2anity Fair K$hackerayM,(vanhoe KScottM, On the Heights K4uerbachM, !ugenie Grandet K"alacM,Scarlet $etter KHawthorneM, !merson5s !ssays, 0os#ell5s $i'e o' Johnson, History o' the !nglish People KGreenM, Outlines o' <niversal

History/ Origin o' Species/ &ontaigne5s !ssays/ $ong'ello#/ Tennyson/0ro#ning/ )hittier/ ,us%in/ Herbert Spencer !4 good encyclopoedia is ery desirable and a reliable dictionaryindispensable!

MASTERPIECES OF AMERICAN LITERATURE

Scarlet $etter/ Par%man5s Histories/ &otley5s -utch ,epublic/ Grant5s&emoirs/ Fran%lin5s utobiography/ )ebster5s Speeches/ $o#ell5s0igelo# Papers, also his Critical !ssays, Thoreau5s )alden, $eaves o'Grass KWhit%anM, $eather7stoc%ing Tales KCooperM, utocrat o' the

0rea%'ast Table, 0en Hur and <ncle Tom5s Cabin!

TEN (REATEST AMERICAN POETS

"ryant, Poe, Whittier, =ong#ellow, =owell, %erson, Whit%an, =anier,4ldrich and Stoddard!

TEN (REATEST EN(LISH POETS

Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Bilton, "urns, Wordsworth, Aeats,Shelley, $ennyson, "rowning!

TEN (REATEST EN(LISH ESSAYISTS

"acon, 4ddison, Steele, Bacaulay, =a%b, Je##rey, De uincey, Carlyle, $hackeray and Batthew 4rnold!

.EST PLAYS OF SHAKESPEARE

n order o# %erit are3 Hamlet , ;ing $ear , Othello, ntony and Cleopatra,&acbeth, &erchant o' 2enice, Henry (2 , s *ou $i%e (t , )inter5s Tale,

,omeo and Juliet , &idsummer Night5s -ream, T#el'th Night , Tempest !

ONLY THE (OOD

# you are not able to procure a library o# the great %asterpieces, get atleast a #ew! .ead the% care#ully, intelligently and with a iew toenlarging your own literary horion! .e%e%ber a good book cannot be



read too o#ten, one o# a deteriorating in#luence should not be read atall! n literature, as in all things else, the good alone should preail!

nd o# Project Gutenberg's How to Speak and Write Correctly, by Joseph Delin

))) @D >* $H P.>JC$ G?$@".G ">>A H>W $> SP4A 4@D W.$ )))

39022612 how to speak and write correctly

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