HowTOWRITE CLEARLY.RULES AND EXER""$]"SENGLISH COMPOSITION.BY THEREV. EDWIN A.ABBOTT, M.A.,HEAD MASTER OF THECIT^'OF LONDON SCHOOL.THEAUTHOR'S COPYRIGHT EDITION.BOSTON:ROBERTS BROTHERS.1876.BERNARD MOSESCambridge:Press of John Wilson and Son.PREFACE.ALMOSTeveryEnglish boy canbetaughtto writeclearly,sofaratleastasclearnessdependsuponthearrangementof words.Force, elegance,andvarietyofstyle are moredifficultto teach,and farmoredifficulttolearn;but clearwriting canbe reducedtorules. To teach theartofwriting clearlyis the mainobjectof these Rules andExercises.Ambiguitymayarise, not onlyfrom badarrangement,but also from othercauses "from the misuse ofsinglewords,and from confusedthought.Thesecauses arenotremovablebydefiniterules,andtherefore, thoughnot neglected, are not prominentlyconsidered in thisbook.My objectrather isto point out somefewcon- tinuallyrecurring causesofambiguity,andtosuggestdefinite remedies in eachcase. SpeechesinParliament,newspapernarratives andarticles, and,aboveall, reso- lutionsatpublicmeetings,furnish abundant instances ofobscurity arisingfrom the monotonous neglectofsomedozensimplerules.Theartofwriting forcibly is,ofcourse,avaluableacquisition "almostasvaluableastheartofwritingclearly.But forcibleexpressionisnot,like clearex- pression,a mere questionof mechanismand of themanipulationof words;it isamuchhigherpower,andimpliesmuchmore.7810746Preface.Writing clearlydoesnotimply thinking clearly.Amanmaythink andreason as obscurely as Dogberryhimself,but hemay(thoughit isnotprobablethat hewill)be ableto writeclearlyfor all that.Writingclearly"sofarasarrangementof words is concerned" isa mere matterofadverbs, conjunctions, preposi- tions,andauxiliaryverbs, placedandrepeated accordingto definite rules.1 Even obscureor illogicalthought canbeclearlyexpressed;indeed,thetransparentmedium ofclearwritingis notleast beneficial when it reveals theillogicalnatureof themeaningbeneath it.On the otherhand,ifa manistowriteforcibly,hemust (touse awell-knownillustration)describeJerusalemas"sownwithsalt,"notas"captured,"andtheJewsnotasbeing"subdued" butas"almostex- terminated"byTitus. But what does thisimply? Itimpliesknowledge,andveryoftenagreatdeal of know- ledge,and it impliesalsoavividimagination.The writermust haveeyesto seethe vivid side ofeverything,aswellaswordstodescribe what hesees.Hence forciblewriting,and ofcoursetastefulwritingalso,is far lessamatterof rules than is clearwriting;andhence,thoughforciblewritingisexemplifiedin theexercises,clearwritingoccupiesmostof thespacedevoted to the rules.Boyswhoare studyingLatin and Greek stand inespecialneed ofhelpto enable themtowritea longEnglishsentenceclearly.TheperiodsofThucydMesand Ciceroarenoteasilyrendered intoouridiom withoutsome knowledgeof the links that connectan Englishsentence.There isscarcelyanybettertraining,rhetoricalaswellas logical,than the task ofconstruing Thucydidesinto1Punctuation isfullydiscussed inmostEnglishGrammars,and is there- forereferredtoin this bookonly sofarasisnecessaryto point outtheslovenlyfault oftrustingtoomuchto punctuation,and toolittletoarrange- ment.Preface. 7genuine English;but theflat,vague,long-windedGreek-EnglishandLatin-English imposturethat is often tole- ratedinourexaminations and is allowedtopasscurrentforgenuine English,diminishes instead ofincreasing thepowerthatour pupilsshouldpossessovertheir nativelanguage.By gettingmarks at school andcollege forconstruinggoodGreek and Latin into badEnglish,ourpupilssystematicallyunlearn whattheymayhave beenallowedtopickupfrom Milton and fromShakespeare.Imustacknowledgeverylargeobligationsto ProfessorBain's treatiseon"English CompositionandRhetoric,"and alsotohisEnglishGrammar. I havenotalwaysbeen abletoagreewith Professor Bainas to matters oftaste;but I find itdifficult toexpress myadmiration forthesystematic thoroughnessandsuggestivenessof hisbookon Composition.Inparticular,Professor Bain's ruleontheuseof"that"and"which"(seeRule8)deservesto be better known.1 Theambiguity produced bythecon- fusionbetween thesetwoforms of the Relative isnotamere fiction ofpedants;it ispracticallyserious.Take,forinstance,thefollowingsentence,whichappearedlatelyinoneofourablestweekly periodicals:"Thereare agoodmanyRadical members in the House whocannotforgivethe Prime Minister forbeing aChristian."Twentyyearshence,who istosaywhether themeaningis"andthey,i.e.all the Radical members in theHouse,"or"thereare a goodmanyRadical members of theHouse thatcannot "c."? ProfessorBain,apparentlyadmittingnoexceptionsto his usefulrule,amendsmanysentences ina mannerthatseems tome intolerablyharsh.Therefore,whilelayingduestress ontheutilityof therule,I haveendeavoured topointout andexplaintheexceptions.1Beforemeetingwith Professor Bain'srule,I had shown that the differ- encebetween the Relatives isgenerallyobservedby Shakespeare.See"ShakespearianGrammar," paragraph259.8Preface.The rulesarestatedasbrieflyaspossible,andareintendednotsomuch foruse bythemselvesasforre- ferencewhile thepupilisworkingatthe exercises.Consequently,there isnoattempttoprovethe rulesbyaccumulations ofexamples.The fewexamplesthataregiven, are given not toprove,buttoillustrate the rules.The exercisesareintended tobe written outandrevised,asexercisesusuallyare;buttheymayalso be used forvivavoceinstruction.The booksbeing shut,thepupils,with their written exercisesbeforethem,maybeques- tionedasto thereasonsfor the several alterationstheyhave made.Experiencedteachers willnotrequireanyexplanationof thearrangementorrathernon-arrangementof the exercises.Theyhave beenpurposelymixedtogetherunclassifiedtopreventthepupilfromrelyinguponanythingbut hisown common senseandindustry,toshow himwhat isthe fault in eachcase,and how it is to be amended.Besides references to therules,notesareattachedtoeachsentence,sothat the exercisesoughtnot topresentanydifficultyto a painstaking boyof twelveor thirteen,providedhe has first beenfairlytrained inEnglishgrammar.The"Continuous Extracts"presentrathermorediffi- culty,andareintended forboyssomewhat older thanthose for whom the Exercisesareintended. Theattempttomodernize,andclarify,so tospeak,thestyleofBurnet,Clarendon,andBishop Butler,1may appearambitious,andperhaps requiressome explanation. My object has,ofcourse,not beentoimprove uponthestyleof theseauthors,butto show how theirmeaning mightbeex- pressedmore clearlyin modernEnglish.The charm of thestyleisnecessarilylost,but ifthe loss isrecognizedbothbyteacher andpupil,there isnothing,inmyopinion,to1Sir Archibald Alison standson averydifferentfooting.The extractsfrom this authorareintended to exhibit thedangersofverbosityandexag- geration.Preface.9counterbalance the obviousutilityof such exercises. Pro- fessorBainspeakstothesameeffect:l"Foran Englishexercise, the mattershould insomewayorother besupplied,and thepupildisciplinedingivingitexpression.I know ofnobetter method than toprescribepassagescontaininggood matter,but insomerespectsimperfectlyworded,tobe amendedaccordingtothe laws and theproprietiesofstyle.Our older writersmightbeex- tensively,thoughnot exclusively,drawnuponfor thispurpose."Tosomeof the friends whosehelphas beenalreadyacknowledgedin"EnglishLessons forEnglish People,"Iamindebted for furtherhelpinrevisingthesepages.I desire toexpressespecialobligationsto the Rev.J.H.Lupton,late Fellow of St.John's College, Cambridge,and Second Master of St. Paul'sSchool,forcopiousandvaluablesuggestions;alsotoseveral ofmycolleaguesattheCityof LondonSchool,amongwhom Imustmentioninparticularthe Rev. A. R.Vardy,Fellow ofTrinityCollege,Cambridge.Beforeelectrotypingthe Fourth and RevisedEdition^I wishtosayonewordasto themannerin whichthisbook has been usedbymyhighest class,as a collectionof Rules for reference in theirconstruinglessons. Inconstruing,fromThucydides especially,I havefoundRules5,30, 34,36,37,and400,ofgreatuse.The rulesaboutMetaphorand Climaxhave also been useful incorrectingfaults oftastein their Latin and Greekcom- positions.I havehopes that, used in thisway,this littlebookmaybe ofserviceto thehighestaswellasto themiddle classes ofourschools.*"EnglishCompositionandRhetoric,"p.viLCONTENTS.PAGEINDEXOFRULES11"13RULES14"40SHORT EXERCISES41"63CONTINUOUSEXERCISES"CLARENDON 64"70" "BURNET70"73"BUTLER74"75" "SIR ARCHIBALD ALISON 76"78INDEX OF RULES.I. CLEARNESS AND FORCE.WORDS.1.USE words in theirpropersense.2.Avoidexaggerations.3.Avoid useless circumlocution and "finewriting."4.Be careful in theuseof "not. ."only,""not. . .or,""that."4a.Be careful in theuseofambiguous words,e.g."certain."5.Be careful in theuseof"he," "it," "'they," "these,""c.6.Report a speechin the FirstPerson,wherenecessarytoavoidambiguity.6a.Use the Third Person where theexactwords of thespeaker arenotintendedto begiven.6 b. Omission of"that"ina speechin the Third Person.7.Whenyouuse a Participle implying "when," "while,""though," or "that,"showclearlybythecontext what isimplied.8. Whenusingthe RelativePronoun, use"who"or"which,"if themeaningis"and he"or"andit,""for he"or"for it."In othercases use "that,"ifeuphonyallows.Exceptions.9.Do notuse"and which"for"which."10.Equivalentsfor the Relative: (a] Participleor Adjective;(b]Infinitive;(":)"Whereby," "whereto,""c.;(d)"Ifaman-"(e)"Andhe,""andthis,""c.;(/) "what;"(g)omission ofRelative.10 a.Repeatthe Antecedent before theRelative,where thenon-repetition causesanyambiguity.See38.11.Useparticularforgeneralterms.Avoid abstract Nouns.1 1a.Avoid Verbal Nouns where Verbscanbe used.12.Useparticularpersonsinstead ofaclass.13.Usemetaphorinstead ofliteralstatement.14.Donot confusemetaphor.14a.Donot mixmetaphorwith literal statement.14b. Donotuse poetic metaphortoillustratea prosaicsubject.ORDER OF WORDS IN A SENTENCE.15. Emphaticwords muststand inemphatic positions;i.e.,forthemostpart,at thebeginning orthe end of the sentence.15a-Unemphaticwordsmust,as a rule,bekeptfrom theend.Exceptions.r.2IndexofRules.15" Aninterrogationsometimesgives emphasis.1 6. TheSubject,ifunusuallyemphatic,should often betrans- ferredfrom thebeginningof the sentence.17.TheObjectis sometimesplacedbefore the Verb foremphasis.1 8. Where several wordsare emphatic,make itclear which isthe mostemphatic. Emphasis cansometimes begivenbyaddingan epithet,or anintensifyingword.19.Words should beas near as possibletothe words withwhichtheyare grammaticallyconnected.20.Adverbs should beplacednext to the wordsthey areintendedtoqualify.21."Only";the strict rule isthat"only"should beplacedbefore the word itaffects.22.When "notonly" precedes"butalso,"seethat each isfollowedbythesamepartofspeech.23."Atleast,""always,"and other adverbialadjuncts,some- timesproduce ambiguity.24.Nouns should beplacednearthe Nouns thattheydefine.25.Pronouns should follow the Nouns to whichtheyrefer,without the intervention ofanyother Noun.26. Clauses thatare grammaticallyconnected should bekeptasclosetogetheras possible.Avoidparentheses.Butsee55.27.In conditionalsentences,the antecedentor"if-clauses"must bekeptdistinct from theconsequentclauses.28.Dependentclausesprecededby"that" should bekeptdistinct from those thatare independent.29.Where thereareseveralinfinitives,those thataredepen- dentonthesameword must bekeptdistinct from those thatare not.30.TheprincipleofSuspense.30a.It isaviolation of theprincipleofsuspenseto intro- duceunexpectedlyat the end ofalong sentence, someshort andunemphaticclausebeginningwith(a)"not," (b)"which."31. Suspensemust not be excessive.32.Ina sentence with"if,""when,""though," "c., putthe"if-clause,"antecedent,or protasis,first.33.Suspenseisgained by placinga Participleor Adjective,thatqualifiestheSubject,before thevSubject.34. SuspensiveConjunctions,e.g."either,""notonly,""ontheone hand," "c.,add clearness.35. RepeattheSubject,where its omission would causeobscurityorambiguity.36.RepeataPrepositionafteraninterveningConjunction,especiallyifaVerb andanObjectalso intervene.37. Repeat Conjunctions, Auxiliary Verbs,and PronominalAdjectives.37a.RepeatVerbs after theConjunctions"than," "as,""c.IndexofRules.1338. RepeattheSubject,or someotheremphatic word, or asummaryof what has beensaid,if thesentenceisso longthat itisdifficulttokeepthe thread ofmeaningunbroken.39.Clearness isincreased,when thebeginning of thesentencepreparesthewayfor themiddle,and the middle for theend,the wholeformingakind ofascent.Thisascentis called"climax."40.When thethoughtisexpectedtoascend,butdescends,feebleness,and sometimesconfusion, isthe result. The descentiscalled "bathos."40a.Anewconstructionshould notbeintroducedunex- pectedly.41.Antithesis adds force and often clearness.42. Epigram.43.Let each sentencehaveone,andonlyone,principalsubjectofthought.Avoidheterogeneoussentences.44.The connection between differentsentences must bekeptupbyAdverbs usedas Conjunctions,orby meansofsomeotherconnectingwords atthebeginningof the sentence.45.The connection between twolongsentences orparagraphssometimesrequiresashortinterveningsentenceshowingthetransition ofthought.II. BREVITY.46. Metaphorisbriefer than literalstatement.47.Generalterms are briefer,thoughlessforcible,thanpar- ticularterms.47 a.Aphrasemaysometimes beexpressedby aword.48. Participlesmayoften be usedasbrief(thoughsometimesambiguous) equivalentsofphrases containing ConjunctionsandVerbs.49. Participles, Adjectives,ParticipialAdjectives,and Nounsmaybe usedasequivalentsforphrases containingthe Relative.50.A statementmaysometimes bebrieflyimpliedinstead ofbeingexpressedatlength.51. Conjunctionsmaybe omitted.Adverbs,e.g."very,""so."Exaggeratedepithets,t?.^."incalculable, ''"unprecedented."51a.Theimperativemaybe used for"if "c."52.Appositionmaybeused, so as to convert two sentencesintoone.53.Condensationmaybe effectedbynotrepeating(i)thecommonSubjectof several Verbs;(2)thecommonObjectofseveral Verbsor Prepositions.54. Tautology. Repeatingwhatmaybeimplied.55.Parenthesismaybeused withadvantagetobrevity.See 26.56. Brevityoften clashes with clearness. Let clearness be thefirstconsideration.CLEARNESS AND FORCE.Numbers in bracketsrefertothe Rules*WORDS.1. Use words in theirpropersense.Write,not "Hisapparent guilt justifiedhis friends in dis- owninghim,"but "his evidentguilt.""Conscious" and"aware,""unnatural" and"supernatural,""transpire"and"occur,""circumstance"and"event,""reverse" and "con- verse,""eliminate" and"elicit," areoften confusedtogether.This rule forbids theuseof thesameword in differentsenses."It is inmypowertorefuseyourrequest,and since I havepowertodothis,Imaylawfullydo it," Here the second"power"is used for"authority."This rule also forbids theslovenly useof"nice," "awfully,""delicious," "glorious,""c. See(2).2. Avoidexaggerations."The boundlessplainsin the heart of theempirefurnishedinexhaustiblesuppliesofcorn,that would have almost sufficed fortwice thepopulation."Here"inexhaustible"is inconsistent with what follows. Thewords"unprecedented," "incalculable,""very,"and "stu- pendous"areoften used in thesamelooseway.3. Avoid useless circumlocution and "finewriting,""HerMajestyherepartook oflunch."Write' 'lunched.""Partook of"implies sharing,and is incorrectaswellaslengthy.So, do notuse "apex"for"top," "species"for "kind,""individual"for"man,""assist" for"help,""c.4. Be careful howyouusethefollowingwords:"not. . .and," "any," "only,""not. . .or,""that."11For, atthebeginning:ofa sentence,sometimescauses temporarydoubt,while the reader isfinding outwhether it is usedas a conjunction orpre- position..Words.15And. Seebelow,"Or."Any. " "Iamnot bound to receiveany messengerthatyousend." Does this meanevery,or a single? Use"every" or-asingle."Not."(i)"I donot intend tohelpyou,becauseyouaremyenemy"c."oughttomean (2),"I intend not tohelpyou,andmyreasonfornothelpingyouis,becauseyouaremyenemy."Butitis oftenwronglyused to mean (3),"I intendtohelpyou,notbecauseyouaremy enemy(butbecauseyouarepoor,blind,"c.)."In the lattercase,notoughtto beseparatedfrom intend.Bydistinctly markingthe limits to which the influence ofnotex- tends,theambiguitymaybe removed.Onlyis often usedambiguouslyfor alone."Theresthelpme torevengemyself;youonlyadvisemeto wait." Thisoughttomean,"you onlyadvise,instead ofhelping;"but insimilar sentences"you only"is often used for"youalone."Butsee 21.Or."When "or" ispreceded byanegative,as"I donotwant butteror honey,""or"ought not, strictly speaking,to beused like"and," norlike "nor." The strictuseof"not. . .or"would beasfollows:""Yousay youdon't want both butter andhoney"youwantbutteror honey;I,onthecontrary,do not want butterorhoney" I want them both."Practically,however,thismeaningissorare,that"I don'twant butteror honey"isregularlyused for "I want neitherbutternor honey."But where there is theslightestdangerofambiguity,itisdesirableto use nor.Thesame ambiguityattends"not. . .and.""I do not seeThomas andJohn"iscommonlyused for"Iseeneither ThomasnorJohn ;"but it mightmean,"I do notseethem both"Iseeonlyoneof them."That. " The differentusesof"that"producemuchambiguity,e.g."Iam somuchsurprisedbythis statement that I amde- sirousofresigning,that Iscarcelyknow whatreplytomake."Here itisimpossibleto tell,tillonehas readpast"resigning,"whether the first"that"dependsupon"so"or"statement"Write:"Thestatement that Iamdesirous ofresigningsurprisesme somuch that Iscarcelyknow "c."4a. Be careful in theuseofambiguouswords,e.g."certain."jayLin thesameform andsound,but different inmeaning.Even where there is16 Clearness and Force.no obscurity,thejuxtapositionof thesameword twice used intwo sensesisinelegant,e.g.(Bain),"He turnedto theleftandlejtthe room."I have known thefollowingslovenly sentence misunderstood:"Ourobjectisthat,with the aid ofpractice,wemaysometime arriveat thepointwherewe thinkeloquencein itsmostpraiseworthyform to lie""To lie"has beensupposedto mean"to deceive."5. Be careful howyouuse "he," "it," "they,""these,""C. (For"which"see 8.)Theambiguityarisingfrom theuseof heapplyingto differentpersonsiswell known.* *He told his friend that if he didnotfeel better in halfanhour hethoughthe had better return." See(6)forremedy.Muchambiguityis also causedbyexcessiveuseof suchphrasesasin thisway,ofthissort,"c."God,foreseeingthe disorders of humannature,hasgivenuscertainpassionsand affections which arisefrom, orwhoseobjectsare,these disorders.Ofthissortare fear,resentment,compassion."Repeatthenoun :"Amongthesepassionsand affectionsarefear"c."Two distinctusesof itmaybe noted.//,whenreferringtosomethingthatprecedes,maybe called"retrospective;"butwhentosomethingthatfollows,"prospective."In "Avoidindiscriminatecharity:itis a crime,""it"isretrospective.1In"// isacrime togiveindiscriminately,""it" isprospective.Theprospective"it,"ifproductiveofambiguity,canoften beomittedby usingtheinfinitiveas asubject:"Togiveindis- criminatelyisacrime."6.Report a speechin theFirst,not the ThirdPerson,wherenecessaryto avoidambiguity. Speechesin thethirdpersonaffordaparticular,thoughverycommoncase,ofthegeneralambiguitymentioned in(5).Instead of"He toldhis friend that if he didnotfeel better"c.,"write "He saidtohisfriend,*If/(QICyou]don't feel better "c.'"6a. Sometimes, where the writer cannot know the exactwords, or where the exact words are unimportant,orlengthyanduninteresting-,the Third Person ispreferable.Thus,whereEssex isasking Sir Robert Cecil that Francis Baconmaybe appointedAttorney-General,thedialogueis (asitalmost alwaysis in LordMacanlay'swritings)in the FirstPerson, exceptwhere it becomes tediousandun- interestingso as torequire condensation,and then itdropsinto the ThirdPerson:"Sir Robert hadnothingtosaybut that hethoughthisownabilitiesequalto theplacewhich hehoped to obtain,and that his father'slongservicesdeserved suchamark ofgratitudefrom theQueen."1It should refer(i)eitherto the Nounimmediately preceding,or (2)tosomeNounsuperiorto allinterveningNouns inemphasis.See(25).Words.176b. Omission of "that"inaspeech reportedin the ThirdPerson. " Even whena speechis reportedin the thirdperson,"that"neednot alwaysbe inserted before thedependentverb.Thus,instead of "Hesaid that he took itillthat hispromiseswere not believed," wemaywrite," 'He took it ill,'he said,'that "c.'" Thisgivesalittlemore life,andsome- timesmoreclearness also.7. Whenyouuse a Participle,as"walking," implying"when," "while,""though,""that,"make it clearbythe context what isimplied."Republics,in the firstinstance,are neverdesired for theirownsakes. I donotthinktheywillfinallybe desired atall,unaccompanied'bycourtlygracesandgoodbreeding."Here there isalittledoubt whether themeaningis"sincetheyare, or,//"theyare, unaccompanied."Thatorwhen." "Menwalking (that walk, orwhentheywalk) onice sometimes fall."It is betterto use"menwalking"to mean "men whentheywalk." If the relative ismeant,use"men thatwalk,"instead of theparticiple.(1)"While hewas)r-...on\(i)theroad, ),f" "(2)"Because hewas\WalkmSonj(2)theice,\h(When theparticiple precedesthesubject,itgenerallyimpliesa cause : "Seeingthis,he retired." Otherwise itgenerallyhas itsproperparticipialmeaning,e.g."Heretired,keepinghis facetowards us." If there isanyambiguity,write "onseeing,"""atthesame time,or while, keeping."/(i)he nevertheless stood((3)he willsoonretreat."8. Whenusingthe RelativePronoun, use"who"and "which" where themeaningis"andhe,it,"c.,""forhe,it,"c." In othercases use "that,"ifeuphonyallows."I heard this from theinspector,who(andhe)heard itfromtheguardthat travelled with the train.""Fetchme (all)the books that lieonthetable,and also thepamphlets,which(andthese)youwill findonthefloor."An adherencetothis rule wouldremovemuchambiguity.Thus:"Therewas a public-housenextdoor,whichwas agreatnuisance," means"and this (i.e.the fact of its beingnextdoor)was agreatnuisance;"whereas that would have meant"Nextdoorwas apublic-housethat(i.e.thepublic-house)was agreatB18 Clearness and Force.nuisance.""Who," "which,""c. introducea newfactabout theantecedent,whereas"that"introducessome- thingwithout which the antecedent isincomplete or un- defined.Thus,in the firstexample above, "inspector"iscompleteinitself,and "who" introducesa new factabouthim;"guard"isincomplete,andrequires"that travelled with thetrain"tocompletethemeaning.It isnot,and cannot be,maintained that thisrule,thoughobserved in ElizabethanEnglish,is observedby ourbest modernauthors.(Probablya general impressionthat "that"cannot beused torefertopersonshas assisted "who" insupplanting*'that"as a relative.)But the convenience of the rule issogreatthatbeginnersincompositionmaywithadvantageadhere to the rule.Thefollowingare someof thecaseswhere who and whicharemostlyused,contrarytotherule,instead of that.Exceptions :"(a)When the antecedent isdefined,e.g.by a possessive case,modernEnglishuseswho instead of that. It israre,thoughit would be use- ful,1tosay"HisEnglishfriends that had not seenhim" for "theEnglishfriends,orthose of hisEnglish friends,that had not seenhim."(3)That sounds illwhenseparatedfrom itsverb and from itsantecedents,andemphasized byisolation:"There aremany personsthat,thoughunscrupulous, are commonly good-tempered,andthat,if notstronglyIncitedbyself-interest,are readyfor the mostpartto think of the interestof theirneighbours." Shakespeare frequently usesivho after that whenthe relative isrepeated.See"Shakespearian Grammar,"par.260.(c)If the antecedent isqualifiedby that,the relative must not be that.Besides otherconsiderations,therepetitionisdisagreeable. Addisonridicules suchlanguage as"That remark that I madeyesterdayisnotthat that I said that Iregrettedthat I had made."(d)That cannot bepreceded by a preposition,and hence throws theprepositionto the end. "This is the rule that I adhere to" This isperfectlygood English, thoughsometimesunnecessarilyavoided.But,with some prepositions,the construction is harsh andobjectionable,e.g."This isthe mark that Ijumped beyond""Suchweretheprejudicesthat he roseabove." Thereasonis that someof thesedisyllabicprepositionsareused as adverbs, and,whenseparatedfrom theirnouns,giveonetheimpressionthatthey are used as adverbs.(e)Afterpronominal adjectivesused forpersonalpronouns,modernEngl'shpreferswho."There aremany,others, several, those, -who cantestify"c."(f)After that usedas a conjunction there issometimesadisliketo usethatas arelative. See(c).9. Do not useredundant"and" before "which."2"Igavehimaveryinterestingbook forapresent,and whichcostmefiveshillings."In short sentencestheabsurdityisevident,but inlongsentencesitislessevident,andverycommon."Apetitionwas presentedforrescindingthatportionof thebye-lawswhichpermits applicationofpublicmoneytosupport1So usefulthat,on mature consideration,I am disposedtoadopt"that"here and in several of the followingexceptionalcases.3Of course"and which"maybe used where"whichMprecedes.20Clearness and Force.aftera negative:"He said that he would not evenhearme,which I confess I hadexpected."Here themeaningmaybe,"I hadexpectedthat hewould," or"that he wouldnot,hearme."Write,"a refusal,or,afavour,that I confess I hadexpected."See(38).11. Useparticularforgeneralterms."This isamostimportantrule. Instead of "I have neither the necessariesof lifenorthemeansofprocuringthem,"write(ifyoucanwithtruth),"I havenot a crust ofbread, nor apennytobuyone."CAUTION. " There isa dangerin thisuse.Themeaningis vividlyexpressedbut sometimesmaybeexaggerated orimperfect. Crustof breadmaybean exaggeration ; onthe otherhand,if thespeakeris destitute notonlyofbread,but also of shelter andclothing,then crustof'bread isanimperfect expressionof themeaning.Inphilosophyandscience, where thelanguageoughtveryoftento be inclusive andbrief,generalandnotparticularterms mustbe used.11a.Avoid Verbal Nouns where Verbscanbe usedinstead.Thedisadvantageof theuseof Verbal Nouns isthis,that,unlesstheyareimmediatelypreceded by prepositions,theyaresometimes liableto be confounded withparticiples.Thefollowingis aninstance ofanexcessiveuseof Verbal Nouns:"Thepretendedconfession of thesecretarywas onlycollusiontolay thejealousiesof theking'sfavouringpopery,which stillhunguponhim, notwithstandinghiswritingontheRevelation,andaffectingto enter onall occasions intocontroversy, assertinginparticularthat thePope wasAntichrist."Write"notwithstandingthat he wrote and affected "c."12. UseaparticularPerson instead ofaclass."What is thesplendourof thegreatestmonarchcomparedwiththebeautyofaflower?""What isthesplendourof Solomoncomparedwith thebeautyofa daisy?"Under this headmaycomethe forcibleuseof Noun forAdjective:"This fortress isweakness itself."Anexcessof thisuseislengthyandpedanticallybombastic,e.g.,thefollowing paraphrasefor "ineveryBritishcolony:"""under Indianpalm-groves,amid Australiangum-trees,in theshadow of Africanmimosas,and beneath Canadianpines."13. UseMetaphorinstead of literalstatement."Theshipploughsthe sea" is clearer than "theshipcleavesthesea,"and shorter than "theshipcleaves thesea as a ploughcleaves the land."Words.21Ofcoursethereare some subjectsfor whichMetaphorshouldnotbe used. See(14 a]and(14 b}.14. Do not confuseMetaphor."Inamoment the thunderboltwasuponthem,delugingtheircountrywith invaders."Thefollowingis attributed to SirBoyleRoche:"Mr.Speaker,I smellarat,Iseehimbrewingin the air;but, markme,I shallyetniphim in the bud."Somewords, once metaphorical,have ceased to beso regarded.Hencemanygoodwriterssay"under these circumstances" instead of "in thesecircumstances."An excessiveregardfor disusedmetaphor savoursofpedantry : disregardisinelegant.Write, not,"unparalleled complications,"but"unprecedentedcomplications;"and^he threwlight on obscurities,"instead of"heun- ravelledobscurities."14a. Do not introduce literalstatementimmediatelyafterMetaphor."Hewasthe father of Chemistry,and brother to the Earl ofCork.""Hewas averythunderbolt ofwar,Andwaslieutenanttothe Earl of Mar."14 b. Do notuse poetic metaphorto illustrateaprosaicSubject.Thus, wemay say"apoetsoars"oreven,thoughrarely,"anationsoars to greatness,"butyoucouldnotsay"Consols soared to944-"Evencommonplace subjectsmaybeillustratedby metaphor:for it isametaphor,andquiteun- objectionable,tosay"Consolsmounted, Q\ jumpedto944."Butcommonplace subjectsmust be illustratedby metaphorthat iscommonplace.ORDER OF WORDS IN A SENTENCE.15.Emphaticwords must stand inemphaticposi- tions;i.e.for themostpart, at thebeginningor attheend of the sentence.This ruleoccasionallysupersedesthecommonrules aboutposition.Thus,theplaceforanadverb, asa rule,should be between thesubjectand verb:"Hequicklyleft theroom;"but ifquickly is to beemphatic,itmustcomeatthebeginningor end, asin "I told,him to leave theroomslowly,but he left quickly."Adjectives,in clausesbeginningwith "if" and"though,"oftencomeat thebeginningforemphasis:"Insolentthoughhewas.hewassilenced at last."22Clearness and Force.15a, Unemphaticwordsmust, as a rule,bekeptfrom the end of the sentence,it isa commonfaulttobreak this ruleby placingashort andunemphatic predicateat the end ofa longsentence."To knowsome Latin, evenif itbenothingbutafew Latinroots,is useful." Write,"It isuseful,"c."So"the evidenceproveshow kindto his inferiors he is."Often,wherean adjectiveor auxiliaryverbcomesat theend,the addition ofanemphaticadverbjustifiestheposition,e.g.above,"isveryuseful,""he hasinvariably been."A short"chippy" ending,even though emphatic,isto be avoided. It isabruptandunrhythmical,e.g."The soldier,transfixed with thespear,-writhed" Wewant a longer ending,"fell writhingto the"ground,"or."writhed in theagoniesof death." A"chippy" endingiscommonin badconstruingfromVirgil.Exceptions."Prepositionsandpronounsattached toem- phaticwords need not be moved from the end; e.g."He doesnoharm that I hearof""Bear witness how I loved him".N.B.In allstyles,especiallyin letter-writing, afinalemphasismust not be so frequentas to become obtrusiveand monotonous.15 b. Aninterrogationsometimesgives emphasis."Noone candoubt that theprisoner,had he beenreallyguilty,would have shownsome signsofremorse,"is notsoemphatic as"Whocan doubt,Is it possibletodoubt,"c. ?"Contrast "Noone ever namesWent worth without think- ingof "c." with "ButWentworth,"whoever nameshimwithoutthinkingof those harsh dark features,ennobledbytheirexpressionintomorethan themajestyofan antique Jupiter?"16. Thesubject,if unusuallyemphatic,should oftenbe removed from thebeginningof the sentence.Thebeginning of thesentence isanemphatic position,thoughmostlynot soemphaticasthe end. Therefore theprincipalsubjectofasentence, being emphatic,andbeingwantedearlyin thesentence to tellus what thesentence isabout, comes as a rule,at or nearthebeginning :"Thomas built this house."Hence,since thebeginningisthe usualplacefor thesubject,ifwe want toemphasize"Thomas"unusually, wemust remove"Thomas" from thebeginning:"This housewasbuiltbyThomas"or"ItwasThomas that built this house."Thus,theemphasis on "conqueror"is notquitesostrongin"Amereconqueror oughtnot to obtain fromusthereverencethatisdueto thegreatbenefactors ofmankind," asin "WeoughtOrderofWords inaSentence.23not tobestow thereverencethat is due to thegreatbenefactorsofmankind,upona mere conqueror" Considerable,but lessemphasisandgreatersmoothness(19)\villbeobtainedbywritingthesentencethus:"Weoughtnot to bestowupona mere con- queror"c."Where thesame subjectstands firstin several consecutivesentences,itrises inemphasis,and need not be removed from thebeginning,even thoughunusualemphasisberequired :"Thecaptain was the lifeand soul of theexpedition.He first pointedout thepossibilityofadvancing ;he warned them of theapproaching scarcityofprovisions;he showed howtheymightreplenishtheir exhausted stock "c."17. Theobject is sometimesplacedbefore the verbforemphasis.This ismost commonin antithesis."JesusIknow,and Paul I know;but whoareye?"'*Some heimprisoned,others heputtodeath."Even where there isnoantithesis the inversion isnot un- common:"Militarycourage,the boast of the sottishGerman,of thefrivolous andpratingFrenchman,of the romantic andarrogantSpaniard,he neitherpossessesnorvalues."This inversion sometimes creates ambiguityinpoetry, e.g."Thesonthefatherslew,"and mustbesparinglyused inprose.Sometimes thepositionofawordmaybe consideredappropriatebysome,andinappropriateby others, according to differentinterpretationsof thesentence.Take as an example, "Earlyin themorningthe nobles andgentlemenwho attendedonthekingassembled in thegreathall of thecastle;and herethey begantotalk of what a dreadful storm it had been thenightbefore. But Macbeth couldscarcelyunderstand whattheysaid, for hewas thinkingofsomethingworse." The lastsentencehas been amendedbyProfessor Bain into"Whattheysaid,Macbeth couldscarcelyunderstand."But thereappearsto beanantithesis between theguiltlessnobles whocanthink about the weather,and theguiltyMacbeth who cannot. Hence,"whattheysaid"ought not,and"Macbeth"ought,tobeemphasized : and there- fore"Macbeth"ought to be retained at thebeginningof the sentence.Thesameauthoralters,"Thepraiseofjudgment Virgilhasjustlycon- testedwithhim, but his invention remainsyetunrivalled,"into"Virgilhasjustlycontested with him thepraiseofjudgment,butno onehasyetrivalledhis invention" " an alteration which doesnot seem to emphasize sufficientlythe antithesis between what had been'contested,'ontheone hand,and whatremainedasyet'unrivalled'on the other.MorejudiciouslyProfessor Bainalters,"He that tellsalieisnot sensiblehowgreatatask he undertakes;for hemustbe forced to inventtwentymore tomaintainone,"into"for,tomaintainone,he mustinventtwentymore," putting theemphaticwords in theiremphatic place,at the end.18. Where several wordsare emphatic,make itclearWhich is the mostemphatic.Thus,in "The state wasmade,under thepretenceofserving it,inrealitytheprizeoftheir contention toeach of theseoppositeparties,"itisun"pleasantlydoubtful whether the writermeans (i)state or(2)partiestobeemphatic.24Clearness and Force.If(i), "As for thestate,Jhesetwoparties,under thepre- tenceofservingit,converted itintoa prizefor their contention.'1If(2),write,"Thoughserved inprofession,the statewasinrealityconverted intoaprizefor their contentionbythesetwo parties"In(l)partiesissubordinated,in(2)state.Sometimes the addition ofsomeintensifyingword serves toemphasize. Thus,instead of"To effect thistheyused alldevices," we canwrite "To effect thistheyusedeveryconceiv- abledevice"So,ifwe want toemphasize fidelityin "Thebusiness will taskyourskill andfidelity," we canwrite "Notonlyyourskill but alsoyourfidelity."This, however, some- timesleadstoexaggerations.See(2).Sometimes antithesisgivesemphasis, asin"You do not knowthis,butyoushall know it." Where antithesis cannot beused,theemphasismust beexpressed by turningthesentence, as"I"will makeyouknowit,"orby some addition, as"You shallhereafterknow it."19. Words should beas near aspossibletothe wordswith whichthey are grammaticallyconnected.SeeParagraphs20 to29.Forexceptionssee30.20. Adverbs should beplacednext to the wordstheyareintended to affect.Whenunemphatic,adverbscomebetween thesubjectand theverb,or,ifthe tense iscompound,between thepartsof thecompoundtense:"Hequicklylefttheroom ;""He hasquicklyleft theroom ;"but,whenemphatic,after the verb: "Heleft,orhasleft,theroom quickly"*When sucha sentenceasthe latter is followedbyapresentparticiple,there arisesambiguity."I told him togoslowly,but he lefttheroom quickly,droppingthepurseonthe floor."Doesquicklyheremodifyleftor dropping? Theremedy2 is,togivethe adverb itsunemphatic place,"Hequicklylefttheroom,dropping "c.," orelse to avoid theparticiple,thus: "Hequicklydroppedthepurseand lefttheroom," or"Hedroppedthepurseandquickly left the room."21."Only" requirescarefuluse.The strict3 ruleis, that"only"should beplacedbefore the wordaffectedbyit.1Sometimes theemphaticAdverhcomesat thebeginning,andcausesthetranspositionofanAuxiliary Verb,"Gladlydo I consent."2Ofcourse punctuationwillremovetheambiguity ;but it is better toexpressoneselfclearly,asfaras possible,independentlyofpunctuation.3Professor Bam.OrderofWords inaSentence.25Thefollowingisambiguous :"The heavensare notopento thefaithfulonlyat intervals."The best rule isto avoidplacing* 'only"between twoemphaticwords,and toavoidusing"only"where"alone"canbe usedinstead.In strictnessperhapsthe threefollowingsentences :(1)Heonlybeatthree,(2)He beatonly three,(3)He beat threeonly,oughtto beexplained, severally,thus:(1)He didno morethanbeat,didnot kill,three.(2)He beat no morethan three.(3)He beatthree,and that was all he did.(Here onlymodifies thewhole of the sentence anddepreciatestheaction.)But the best authors sometimestransposethe word."Heonlylived"ought to mean"he did not dieormakeanygreatsacrifice ;" but"Heonlylived but .tillhewas a man"(Macbeth, v.8.40)means"He livedonlytillhewas aman."Compare also,"Who^w/j' hathimmortality."Only atthebeginningofa statement = but."I don't like to importuneyou,onlyI knowyou'llforgiveme." Before an imperativeit diminishes thefavour asked: "Onlylistentome." Thisuseofonlyismostlyconfined toletters.Very often, onlyatthebeginningofa sentenceisused for alone :"Onlytencame," "OnlyCaesarapproved."A lone is less ambiguous.Theambiguityofonlyis illustratedbysucha sentenceas,"Don't hesitatetobringafew friends ofyourstoshootonmyestate atanytime.Onlyfive(fifteen)came yesterday,"whichmight mean,"I don't mind afeiv; onlydon'tbringsomanyas fifteen;"or else"Don't hesitate to bring afewmore;no morethanfivecame yesterday."Inconversation, ambiguityispreventedbyemphasis ;but ina letter,onlythus used might cause un- fortunatemistakes. Write"Yesterday onlyfivecame,"ifyoumean"nomorethan five."22. When "notonly"precedes"butalso,"seethateach isfollowedbythesame partofspeech."He notonlygavemeadvice but alsohelp"iswrong.Write "Hegave me,notonly advice,but alsohelp."On theetherhand,"He notonlygaveme agrammar,but also lentmea dictionary,"isright.Takeaninstance."Hespokenotonlyforciblybut alsotastefully(adverbs),and thistoo,notonlybeforeasmallaudience,but also in(prepositions)a large publicmeeting,and hisspeecheswerenotonlysuccessful,but also(adjective) worthyof success."23. "Atleast," "always,"and other adverbial ad- juncts,sometimesproduceambiguity."I thinkyouwill findmyLatinexercise,at allevents,as goodasmycousin's."Does thismean (I )"myLatin exercise,thoughnotperhaps myotherexercises;"or (2),"Thoughnotverygood,yet,at allevents,as goodasmycousin's"? Write for(i),"MyLatin exercise,atallevents,youwill find "c." and for(2),"I thinkyouwill findmyLatin exerciseas goodasmycousin's,at allevents."26 Clearness and Force.Theremedyistoavoidplacing"at all events" betweentwoemphaticwords.Asan exampleof themisplacingofanadverbialadjunct,take"From abroad he received most favourablereports,but in theCityhe heard thatapanichad broken outontheExchange,and that the fundswerefastfalling."Thisoughtto meanthatthe"hearing,"andnot (asisintended)that the"breakingoutof thepanic,"tookplacein theCity.Inpractice,anadverb is often used toqualifya remote word,where thelatter ismore emphaticthananynearerword. This isverycommonwhenthe AdverbialAdjunctis placedinan emphatic position at thebeginningofthesentence:"On thisvery spot our guidedeclared that Oaverhouse hadfallen."24. Nouns should beplacednearthenounsthattheydefine.In theverycommon sentence"The death isannounced of Mr.JohnSmith, anauthor whose works"c.,"thetranspositionisprobablymade froma feeling that,ifwewrite"The death of Mr.JohnSmith isannounced," weshall beobligedtobegina new sentence,"Hewas anauthor whoseworks "c." But thedifficulty canbe removedby writing"Weregrettoannounce, or,we areinformedof,the death of Mr.John Smith, an author,"c."25. Pronouns should follow thenounsto whichtheyrefer without the intervention of another noun. Avoid,"John Smith,thesonof ThomasSmith,whogavemethisbook,"unless Thomas Smith isthe antecedent of who. Avoid also"JohnsuppliedThomas withmoney:he(John)wasverywell off."When, however, one of twoprecedingnounsisdecidedlysuperior to theother inemphasis,themore emphaticmaybepresumed tobe thenounreferred tobythepronoun,even thoughthenounof inferioremphasisinter- venes.Thus:"At this moment the colonelcameup,and took theplaceofthe woundedgeneral.Hegaveordersto halt." Here he wouldnaturallyreferto colonel, though generalintervenes. Aconjunctionwill often show thatapronounrefers tothesubjectof theprecedingsentence,and not to anotherintervening noun."The sentinel at oncetook aimattheapproaching soldier,and fired. He then retreated to givethe alarm."It is better to adhere,in mostcases,to Rule25,whichmaybe called(Bain)the Rule of Proximity.The Rule ofEmphasis,of which an instancewas givenin the lastparagraph,is sometimesmisleading.A distinctionmightbe drawnby punctuatingthus:"David the father of Solomon,who slew Goliath.""David,the father ofSolomon who built theTemple."But theproprietyofomittinga commaineachcaseisquestionable,and it isbetter to writeso as not to be atthemercyofcommas.26. Clauses that aregrammaticallyconnected shouldbekept asclosetogether aspossible.(But see 55.)Theintroduction ofparentheses violatingthis rule oftenproducedseriousambiguity. Thus,in thefollowing:"The result of theseobservationsappearsto be inoppositionto the viewnow generally28Clearness and Force.(3)"Herepliedthat he wished. . .,and that he intended."(2),thoughtheoreticallyfree fromambiguity,ispracticallyambiguous, owingtoaloose habit ofrepeatingthesubjectunnecessarily.It would be better to insertaconjunctionalwordor afullstopbetween the two statements. Thus:(4)"Herepliedthat he wished tohelpthem,and indeed heintended,""c.,or"Hereplied,"c. Heintended,"c."Where thereisanydangerofambiguity,use (3)or (4)inpreferenceto(i)or (2).29. When thereareseveralinfinitives,those thatare dependentonthesameword must bekeptdis- tinctfrom those thatarenot."He said that he wished to take his friend with him to visitthecapitaland tostudymedicine." Here itisdoubtful whetherthemeaningis""He said that he wishedtotake his friend withhim,(1)and also to visit thecapitalandstudymedicine," or(2)"that his friendmightvisit thecapitalandmightalsostudymedicine," or(3)"onavisitto thecapital,and that he also wished tostudymedicine."From the three different versions itwill beperceivedthat thisambiguitymust be met(a]by using"that" for"to,"whichallowsus torepeatanauxiliaryverb\e.g."might"in(2)],and(b] by insertingconjunctions.As toinsertions ofconjunctions,see (37)."In orderto,"and "for thepurposeof,"canbe usedtodis- tinguish(whereverthere isanyambiguity)betweenaninfinitivethatexpressesapurpose,andaninfinitive that doesnot,e.g."He told his servant tocalluponhisfriend,to(inorderto) givehim information about thetrains,and not to leave him tillhestarted."30. TheprincipleOfSuspense.Writeyoursentencein"suchawaythat,until he hascometothe fullstop,the readermayfeel thesentence to beincomplete.In otherwords, keepyourreader insuspense.Suspenseis caused(i)by placingthe"if-clause"firsthand notlast,inaconditionalsentence;(2)byplacing participlesbefore the wordstheyqualify; (3)byusingsuspensiveconjunctions, e.g.notonly,either;partly',ontheonehand,in thefirstplace,"c.Thefollowingisan exampleofan unsuspendedsentence.Thesensedraggles,and itisdifficult tokeepupone's attention."Mr.Pym waslookeduponasthemanofgreatest experienceinparliaments,|where he had servedverylong,|andwas alwaysa, manofbusiness, |beinganofficer in theExchequer, |and ofaOrderofWords inaSentence.29good reputation generally,jthoughknown to be inclinedtothe Puritanparty ; yetnot of those furious resolutions(Mod.Eng. so furiously resolved)againstthe Churchasthe otherleadingmenwere,|andwhollydevotedtothe Earl ofBedford,"who hadnothingof thatspirit."Theforegoingsentencemighthave endedatanyoneof theeightpointsmarked above. Whensuspendeditbecomes:""Mr.Pym, owingtohislongservice in Parliament in theExchequer,wasesteemed above all others for hisParliamentaryexperienceand for hisknowledgeof business. He had alsoagood reputation generally;for,though openly favouringthePuritanparty,hewas closelydevoted to the Earl ofBedford, and,like theEarl,hadnoneof the fanaticalspiritmanifestedagainstthe Churchbythe otherleadingmen."30a. Itisaviolation of theprincipleofSuspensetointroduceunexpectedly,at the end ofa longsentence,someshort andunemphaticclausebeginningwith(a)"... not"or (b)"...which."(a)"This reform hasalreadybeenhighlybeneficial to allclasses ofour countrymen,andwill,Iam persuaded,encourage amongusindustry,self-dependence,andfrugality,andnot,as somesay,wastefulness"Write"not, as somesay,wastefulness,butindustry,self-dependence,andfrugality."(b)"Aftera longand tediousjourney,the lastpartof whichwas alittledangerous owingto the state of theroads,wearrivedsafelyatYork,which isa fineold town."Exception."When the short final clause is intendedto beunexpectedly unemphatic,itcomesinappropriately,withsome- thingof thestingofanepigram..See(42).Thus:"The old miser said that he should have beendelightedtogivethepoorfellowa shilling,but mostunfortunatelyhe hadlefthisparseat home" ahabitofhis."Suspense naturallythrows increasedemphasisonthe wordsfor whichwe are waiting,i.e.onthe end of the sentence.Ithas beenpointedout above thatamonotonyof final em- phasisisobjectionable, especiallyin letterwritingandconversation.31.Suspensemust not be excessive. Excessofsuspenseisa com- monfault inboys translatingfrom Latin."Themistocles, havingsecuredthesafetyofGreece,the Persian fleetbeing now destroyed,when he hadunsuccessfully attempted to persuadethe Greeks to break down thebridgeacross the Hellespont, hearingthat Xerxes wasin fullflight,andthinkingthat itmightbeprofitableto securethefriendshipof theking,wrote as30Clearness and Force.follows tohim." Themore Englishidiom is: "When Themistocles hadsecured thesafetyof Greecebythe destruction of the Persianfleet,hemade anunsuccessfulattemptto persuadethe Greeks to break down thebridge acrosstheHellespont.Soonafterwards, hearing"c."Alongsuspensethat would be intolerable inproseistolerable in the intro- ductionto apoem.See thelonginterval at thebeginningof Paradise Lostbetween "Of man's firstdisobedience" and"Sing, heavenlyMuse." Com- parealso thebeginningof Paradise Lost*Book II. :"High on athroneof royalstate,tvhichfarOutshone the wealthofOrmuz andof IndyOr where thegorgeousEast with richest handShowers onherkingsbarbaricpearlandgold"Satan exaltedsat."with theopeningof Keats'Hyperion :"Deepin theshadysadnessof a vale,Far sunken from thehealthybreathoj mom,Farfromthefiery noonand eve's one star"Satgrey-hairedSaturn,quietas astone."32. Ina longconditional sentenceputthe "if-clause,"antecedent, or protasis,first.Everyonewillseethe flatness of"Revenge thyfather'smostunnaturalmurder,if thou didsteverlovehim," as comparedwith thesuspensethat forcesan expressionofagonyfromHamlet in""Ghost. If thou didsteverthy dearfatherloveHamlet.O,God !Ghost.Revengehis foul andmost unnatural murder."The effect is sometimes almost ludicrous when theconsequentislongandcomplicated,and when itprecedesthe antecedentor"if-clause.""I should bedelightedto introduceyoutomyfriends,and toshowyoutheobjectsof interest inour city,and thebeautifulsceneryintheneighbourhood,ifyouwerehere."Where the"if-clause"comes last,it oughtto beveryemphatic :"ifyouwere onlyhere."The introduction ofaclause with "if"or"though"in themiddle ofa sentencemayoftencauseambiguity,especiallywhenagreatpartof thesentencedependson"that:" "His enemiesansweredthat,for the sake ofpreservingthepublicpeace,theywouldkeep quietfor thepresent,thoughhe declared thatcowardicewasthe motive of thedelay,and that for thisreasontheywouldputoff the trial toa moreconvenient season."See(27).33.Suspenselisgained by placing aParticipleorAdjectivethatqualifiestheSubject,before theSubject.1See(30).OrderofWords inaSentence.31"Desertedbyhisfriends,hewasforced to haverecourse tothose that had been his enemies."Here,ifwe write,"He,desertedbyhisfriends,wasforced"c.,"he is undulyemphasized;and ifwe write,"Hewasforced tohaverecourse tohisenemies,havingbeen desertedbyhisfriends,"the effect isveryflat.Ofcourse we mightsometimes write "Hewasdeserted andforced "c." But this cannot be done where the "desertion" isto be not stated butimplied.Often,whena participlequalifyingthesubjectis introducedlate in thesentence,itcausespositiveambiguity:"With thissmall force thegeneraldetermined to attack thefoe,flushedwithrecentvictoryand renderednegligentbysuccess."An excessiveuseof thesuspensive participleisFrench andobjectionable:e.g."Carelessby nature,and too muchengagedwith businessto think ofthemorrow,spoiled by a long-established libertyanda fabulouspros- perity,havingformanygenerations forgottenthescourgeofwar, weallowourselves to driftonwithouttakingheed of thesignsof the times." Theremedyisto convert theparticipleintoaverbdepending on a conjunction :"Because we are by nature careless,"c.;"or to converttheparticipleintoaverb co-ordinate with theprincipalverb,e.g."We areby nature careless,"c.,and thereforeweallowourselves,"c."34.Suspensive Conjunctions,e.g."either,""notonly,""oil theone hand,"add clearness."Take thefollowingsentence: " "You must take thisextremelyperilouscourse,in whichsuccessisuncertain,and failuredisgraceful,aswellas ruinous, orelse thelibertyofyour countryisen- dangered."Here,themeaningis liableto bemisunderstood,tillthe reader hasgonehalfthroughthesentence. Write "Eitheryoumust," "c.,and the readeris,from thefirst,preparedforanalternative. Othersuspensiveconjunctionsor phrasesarepartly,forourpart ;in thefirstplace;itis true;doubtless; ofcourse;though;ontheonehand.35.RepeattheSubjectwhen the omission wouldCauseambiguity or Obscurity"The omission isparticularlylikelytocauseobscurityafteraRelativestandingas Subject :""Heprofessestobehelpingthenation,which inrealityissufferingfrom hisflattery,and(he?orit?)willnotpermitany- oneelse togiveitadvice."The Relative should berepeatedwhen it is theSubjectofseveral Verbs."All thepleasingillusions which madepowergentleand obedienceliberal,which harmonized the differentshades oflife,andwhich,bya blandassimilation,incorporatedintopoliticsthe sentiments thatbeautifyand softenprivatesociety,are to be dissolvedbythisnewconqueringempireoflightandreason."32Clearness and Force.36.Repeat a Prepositionafteran interveningConjunction,especiallyifaVerb andan Objectalsointervene."Heforgetsthegratitudethat heowesto those thathelpedall hiscompanionswhen hewaspooranduninfluential,and(to)JohnSmith inparticular."Here,omitto,and themeaningmaybe "thathelpedall hiscompanions,andJohnSmith inparticular."The intervention of the verb andobject,"helped"and"companions," causesthisambiguity.37. When thereareseveral Verbs atsomedistancefrom a Conjunctiononwhichtheydepend,repeattheConjunction.1"Whenwelook backuponthe havoc thattwo hundredyearshave made in the ranks ofournational authors--and,aboveall,(when)werefer theirrapid disappearanceto thequicksuccessionofnewcompetitors"wecannothelp being dismayedat theprospectthat liesbefore the writers of thepresentday."Here omit"when,"andweat oncesubstituteaparentheticalstatementfor what isreallyasubordinate clause.Inreportinga speech or opinion,"that"must becontinuallyrepeated,toavoid thedangerofconfusingwhat the writersayswith what otherssay."Wemightsaythat the Caesars did notpersecutetheChristians;(that)theyonly punished menwhowere charged,rightlyor wrongly,withburning Rome,andcommittingthefoulest abominations insecretassemblies;and(that) the refusalto throw frankincenseonthe altar ofJupiterwasnot thecrime,butonlyevidence of the crime." Butsee (6b).37a.RepeatVerbs after theconjunctions "than,""as,""c."I think he likesmebetter thanyou ;"i.e. either"thanyoulikeme," or"he likesyou.""Cardinal Richelieu hatedBuckingham as sincerelyasdidtheSpaniardOlivares." Omit"did,"andyoucause ambiguity.38. If the sentence issolongthat it is difficulttokeepthe thread ofmeaning unbroken, repeatthesubject,or someotheremphatic word,or asummaryofwhat has been said."Gold andcotton,banks andrailways,crowdedports,andpopulouscities" thesearenot the elements that constituteagreatnation."1TherepetitionofAuxiliaryVerbs and PronominalAdjectivesis alsoconducive to clearness.OrderofWords inaSentence.33Thisrepetition(thoughusefuland,when used inmoderation,notunpleasant)ismore commonwithspeakersthan withwriters,and withslovenlyspeakersthan withgood speakers."Thecountryisin sucha condition,that ifwe delay longersomefairmeasureofreform,sufficientatleast tosatisfythemoremoderate,and muchmore,ifwerefuse all reform whatsoever " "Isay,ifwe adoptsounwiseapolicy,thecountryisin sucha con- ditionthatwemayprecipitate arevolution."Where the relative is eitherimplied(inaparticiple)orrepeated,the antecedent must often berepeatedalso. In thefollowingsentence wehave theSubject icpeatednotonlyinthe finalsummary,but alsoasthe antecedent:""But if therewere,inany partof theworld, anationalchurchregardedashereticalbyfour-fifths of the nationcom- mittedto itscare;achurch established and maintainedbythesword; achurchproducingtwiceasmanyriotsas conversions;achurchwhich, though possessinggreatwealth andpower,andthoughlongbackedbypersecutinglaws,had,in thecourseofmanygenerations,been found unable topropagateitsdoctrines,andbarelyable to maintain its ground;achurchsoodious thatfraudand violence,when usedagainstits clearrightsofpro- perty,weregenerallyregardedasfairplay ;achurch whoseministerswere preachingtodesolatewalls,and withdifficultyobtainingtheir lawful subsistencebythehelpofbayonets,"sucha Churchyon ourprinciples,couldnot,we mustown,be defended."39. It isahelptoclearness,when the first partofthe sentencepreparesthewayforthe middle and themiddle for theend,inakind of ascent,This ascent iscalled"climax."In thefollowingtherearetwoclimaxes,each of which hasthree terms:""Togossip(a)isafault(b);tolibel(ti\acrime(b');toslander(a"),a sin(b")."In thefollowing,thereareseveralclimaxes,and notehowtheycontribute tothe clearness ofalongsentence :""Man, working,has contrived'(a)the AtlanticCable,but Ideclare that it astonishes $"} mefarmore tothinkft"\.forhismereamusement(c),that to entertain a mereidlehour(d),he hascreated^}*Othello' and'Lear,'and Iam morethanastonished,Iam awe-struck($\at thatinexplicable elasticityof his naturewhich enableshim,instead ofturningaway("}fromcalamityandgrief(e),orinstead ofmerelydefying("'}them, actuallytomake them the materialofhis amusement(ft),and to draw fromthe "wildestagoniesofthe humanspirit '(e')apleasurewhich isC34Clearness and Force.notonlynotcrue^f),but is in thehighestdegreepureandennobling({'}."Theneglectof climaxproduces an abruptnessthat interferes with the evenflow ofthought. Thus,ifPope,in his ironical address to mankind,hadwritten""Go,wondrouscreature, mountwhere scienceguides;Go, measure earth, weigh air, andstatethe tides;Go,teach Eternal Wisdom howto rule" "theascentwould have been too rapid.The transition from earthto heaven,"nd frominvestigatingto governing,isprepared bytheinterveningclimax ""Instruct theplanetsin what orbsto run;Correct oldTime,andregulatethe Sun:Go, soarwith Platoto th'empyreal sphere,To the firstgood,firstperfect,and firstfair."40. When thethoughtisexpectedto ascend andyetdescends,feebleness and sometimes confusion is theresult. The descentiscalled "bathos.""Whatpencandescribethetears,thelamentations,theagonies,the animated remonstrances of the unfortunateprisoners?""Shewas a womanofmanyaccomplishmentsandvirtues,gracefulin hermovements, winningin heraddress,akindfriend,afaithful andlovingwife, a mostaffectionatemother,and sheplayed beautifullyonthepianoforte"INTENTIONAL BATHOShasahumorousincongruityandabruptnessthat issometimes forcible. Forexample,after the climaxendingwith the line""Go,teach Eternal Wisdom howto rule,"Popeadds""Thendropintothyself,and bea. fool."40a.Anew construction should not be introducedWithoutcause." A sudden andapparentlyunnecessarychangeofconstructioncausesawkwardness androughnessatleast,andsome- timesbreaks the flow of thesentence so seriouslyas to causeper- plexity.Thus,write"virtuous andaccomplished,"or"ofmanyvirtues andaccomplishments,"not"ofmanyvirtues andaccom- plished;""ridingor walking" or"on footor horseback," not"on footor riding."In thesameway,do notput adjectivesandparticiples,active andpassiveforms ofverbs,intooclosejuxtaposition.Avoid suchsentences asthefollowing:""He hadgood reasonto beliez"e that thedelay wasnotanaccident(accidental)butpremeditated,andfor supposing (tosuppose,or else,forbelieving,above)that thefort,thoughstrongbothbyart andnaturally (nature),would be forcedbythetreacheryofthegovernorand the indolent(indolenceofthe)generaltocapitulatewithinaweek."36Clearness and Force.Thenameofepigram maysometimes hegiven to a mereantithesis;e.g."An educatedmanshould knowsomething ofeverything,andeverythingofsomething."43. Let each sentence haveone,andonlyone,principalsubjectofthought."Thisgreatandgood mandiedontheI7thofSeptember,1683, leavingbehind him thememoryofmanynobleactions,anda numerousfamily,of whom threewere sons;oneofthem,George,theeldest, heirto his father'svirtues, aswellasto hisprincipalestates inCumberland,where most of his father'spropertywas situate,andshortlyafterwards elected member forthecounty,which had for severalgenerationsreturned thisfamilyto servein Parliament." Herewe have^(i)the"greatandgoodman," (2)"George," (3)"thecounty," disputingwhich isto beconsidered theprincipalsubject.Two,if not three sentencesshould have beenmade,instead ofone. Carefullyavoidalongsentencelikethis,treatingofmanydifferentsubjectson onelevel. It iscalledheterogeneous.44. The connection between different sentencesmust bekeptupbyAdverbs usedas Conjunctions,or bymeansofsome otherconnectingwords at thebeginningOf each Sentence. " Leave out theconjunctionsand othercon- nectingwords,and itwill beseenthat thefollowingsentenceslose much of theirmeaning:""Pittwasin thearmyforafew months in time ofpeace.Hisbiographer(accordingly!]insistson our confessing, that,iftheyoungcornet had remained in theservice,he would havebeenoneof the ablest commanders thateverlived.(Buf)thisisnotall. Pitt(,//seems,)was notmerelyagreatpoetinesseandagreat generalinposse,butafinishedexampleof moral excel- lence.. . .(The truthis,that] therescarcelyeverlivedapersonwho hadsolittleclaim to this sort ofpraiseasPitt. Hewas(undoubtedly]agreatman. (Btif]hiswas not acompleteand well-proportioned greatness.Thepubliclife ofHampden orofSomers resemblesa regulardrama whichcanbe criticisedas awhole,andeverysceneof which isto be viewed in connectionwith the main action. Thepubliclifeof Pitt(,onthe otherhand,)is,""c.Thefollowingare someof the mostcommon connectingadverbs, orconnecting phrases: (i) expressingconsequence,similarity,repetition,orresumptionofasubject"accordingly,therefore,then, naturally,so that, thus,in thisway, again,oncemore,toresume,tocontinue,to sumup,infact,uponthis;(2) ex- pressingopposition" nevertheless,inspiteofthis,yet,still,however,but)on thecontrary,ontheother hand;(3)expressingsuspension"OrderofWords inaSentence.37undoubtedly. . .but;indeed. . . yet; ontheonehand. . .onthe other; partly. . .partlyysome. . .others.Avoidastylelike that ofBishop Burnet,whichstringsto- getheranumber ofsentenceswith "and"or "so," orwithno conjunctionatall:"Blake with the fleethappenedto be atMalaga,before hemadewaruponSpain;andsomeof hisseamen went ashore,and metthe Host carried about;andnotonlypaidnorespecttoit,butlaughedat those who did." Write"When Blake "c."45. The connection between twolongsentencessometimesrequires ashortinterveningsentence,showingthe transition ofthought."Without forceor opposition,it(chivalry)subdued the fierce- nessofprideandpower;itobliged sovereignsto submit to thesoft collarxof socialesteem, compelledsternauthorityto submittoelegance,andgavea dominating vanquisherof laws tobe sub- duedby manners.Butnow (allisto bechanged:}all thepleasingillusions which madepowergentleand obedienceliberal,which har- monizedthe different shades oflife,andwhich, byabland assimi- lation,incorporatedintopoliticsthe sentiments thatbeautifyandsoftenprivatesociety,areto be dissolvedbythisnewconqueringempireoflightand reason." If the words italicizedwere omitted,the transition would be tooabrupt:theconjunctionbut alonewould be insufficient.BREVITY.46.Metaphoris briefer than literalstatement.See(13)."Thecaresandresponsibilitiesofa sovereignoften disturb hissleep,"is not sobriefas "Uneasylies the head thatwears acrown,"where the effect ofcare onthe mind is assimilatedto theeffect ofaheavy crownpressingonthe head.47. General terms are briefer,thoughlessforcible,thanparticularterms.Thus: "He. devoursliterature,nomatterof whatkind,"is shorterthan,"Novelsorsermons,poemsor histories,no matterwhat,he devours them all."1Thismetaphorisnot recommended for imitation.38Brevity.47a.Aphrasemaybeexpressed by aword."Theseimpressions can neverbe forgotten,i.e.areindelible""Thestyleof this book isofsucha nature that it cannot beunderstood,i.e.unintelligible."The words "of sucha naturethat"areoftenunnecessarilyinserted. See the extract from Sir Archibald Alison.48.Participlescanoften be usedasbrief(thoughsometimesambiguous) equivalentsofphrasescon- tainingConjunctionsand Verbs."Hearing (whenheheard) this,he advanced." See(7)formoreinstances. So"phrases containingconjunctions"means"phrasesthat containconjunctions.""This,done, (for,whenthiswasdone]he retired."Sometimes theparticiple"being"is omitted. "France atour doors,hesees nodanger nigh,"for "Francebeing" or"thoughFrance is."49.Participlesandparticipialadjectivesmaybeused likeAdjectives,as equivalentsforphrasescon- tainingthe Relative."ThenQver-ceasingwind,""theclamouringocean,""thedrenching rain," areinstances. The licence ofinventingparti- cipialadjectivesby adding -ingtoanoun,isalmost restricted topoetry.You could not write"thecrannyingwind"inprose.50. A statementmaysometimes bebrieflyimpliedinstead ofbeing expressedatlength.Thus,instead of"ThespiritofChristianity was humanizing,and therefore"c.,"or "Christianity,since itwas (or being)ofahumanizing spirit,discouraged "c.," we canwritemore brieflyandeffectively,"Gladiatorial showswerefirstdiscouraged,andfinallyputdown, bythehumanizing spiritof Christianity"So instead of"Thenatureofyouthisthoughtlessandsanguine,and therefore"c.," we can write,"Thedangerof thevoyagewasdepreciatedand thebeautyof the islandexaggerated bythethoughtlessnatttreof youth"Sometimesa mere name or epithetimpliesastatement. "Itwasin vain that he offered the Swiss terms : war wasdeliberatelypreferredbythehardymountaineers" i.e."bytheSwiss,becausetheyweremountaineers andhardy."' *The deedwas applaudedbyall honestmen,but the Government affected to treat itasBrevity.39murder,andset apriceuponthe head of(himwhomtheycalled)the assassin""TheconquerorofAnsterlitzmightbeexpectedtohold differentlanguagefrom theprisoner ofSt.Helena" i.e."Na- poleonwhen elatedbythevictoryofAusterhtz,"and "Napoleonwhendepressedbyhisimprisonmentat St. Helena."CAUTION. " Differentnames must notbe used for thesamepersonunlesseach of them derives anappropriatenessfrom itscontext. Thus,ifweare writingabout CharlesII.,it would be inverybad taste toavoidrepeating"he"by usingsuchperiphrasesasthefollowing:"The thirdof the Stewarts hatedbusiness,"theMerryMonarch died in thefiftyfourthyearof hisage,""c.51.Conjunctionsmaybe omitted.The omissiongivesacertain forcibleabruptness,e.g."Yousaythis:I(onthe otherhand) denyit."When sentencesare short,asinMacaulay'swritings,conjunc- tionsmaybeadvantageouslyomitted.Wherea contrastisintended,theconjunctionbutusuallypreparesthewayfor the second of the two contrasted terms :"He isgoodbut dull." Whereand isused instead ofbid,theincongruitysavoursofepigram :"Healwaystalkstruthfullyandprosily.""He isalways amusingand false."51a,TheImperativeMoodmaybe used for "if.""Strip (for,ifyoustrip]Virtue of the awfulauthorityshederives from thegeneralreverenceofmankind,andyourob herof half hermajesty."52.Appositionmaybe usedso asto convert twosentences intoone."We calledat the house ofapersonto whomwehad lettersofintroduction,a musician,and,what ismore,agoodfriendtoallyoungstudents ofmusic," This isasclearas,and brieferthan,"Hewas a musician,"c."53. Condensationmaybe effectedbynotrepeating(1)thecommonsubjectof severalverbs,(2) thecommonobjectof several verbsorprepositions.(i)"He resided here formany years,and,after he hadwontheesteem of all thecitizens,(he)died,""c.So, (2)"Hecame to,andwasinducedtoresidein,thiscity,"isshorter than"Hecameto thiscity,-andwasinducedtoreside in it."Such condensation oftencausesobscurity, and, evenwhere thereisno obscurity,thereis acertain harshness inpausingonlight,unemphatic words,suchasto, in,"c., asin the firstexample.54.Tautology." The fault ofrepeatingthesamewordseveral timesunnecessarilyiscalledtautology', e.g.:"This isa painfulcircumstance;it isa circumstance that I40Brevity.muchregret,and he also will muchregretthe circumstance"But the fault is not to be avoidedby usingdifferent words tomeanthesame thing,as,"This isa painfulevent;it isacircumstance that I muchregret,and he also willgreatlylament the occurrence" Thetrueremedyistoarrangethewords in sucha mannerthat theremaybenounnecessaryrepetition,thus:"This isa painfulcircumstance, acircum- stancethatcausesme,and willcause him,deep regret."Therepetitionof thesame meaninginslightlydifferent wordsisa worsefault than therepetitionof thesameword.See,forexamples,the extract from Sir ArchibaldAlison, atthe end ofthe book. Thus "Aburningthirst forconquestsisacharac- teristicof this nation. It isanardentpassionthat "c." Otherinstancesare""The universalopinionof allmen;""Hisjudgmentisso infalliblethat itisneverdeceived""c.\55. Parenthesismaybe used withadvantagetobrevity."Weareall(andwho would notbe?)offended at the treat- mentwehavereceived,"is shorter andmoreforcible than thesentencewould have been if theparenthesishad beenappendedinaseparatesentence :"Who,indeed, would not be offended ?"Extremecare must, however,be taken thata parenthesismaynotobscure themeaningofa longsentence.56. Caution: let clearness be the first consideration.It is best, atalleventsforbeginners,not toaimsomuch atbeingbrief, or forcible,asatbeing perfectlyclear. Horacesays,"While I takepainsto bebrief,I fall intoobscurity,"anditmayeasilybeseenthat several of the rules forbrevityinter- ferewith the rules for clearness.Forciblestylespringsfrom(i)vividness and(2)exactnessofthought,and froma corresponding(i)vividness and(2)exact- nessin theuseof words.(1)Whenyouare describinganything,endeavour toseeitand describe itasyouseeit. Ifyouare writingabouta manwhowas killed,seethemanbeforeyou,andask,washeexecuted,cutd"nvn, run throughthebody,butchered, shot,or hanged?Ifyouare writingabout thecaptureofacity,wasthecitystormed,surprised,surrendered,starvedout,ordemolishedbeforesurrender ?Wasanarmyrepelled,defeated,routed,crushed, orannihilated ?(2)Exactnessin theuseof wordsrequiresanexact knowledgeof theirmeaningsand differences. This isa study by itself,andcannotbe discussed here.11 SeeEnglishLessonsfor English People,pp. 1-53.EXERCISESForan explanation ofthemannerin which these Exer^cisesareintended tobeused,seethePreface.A number in bracketsby itself,or followed by aletter",e.g.(43), (40 d}, referstothe Rules.Lettersbythemselves inbrackets,e.g.($},referto th"explanations orhintsappendedtoeachsentence.N.B."(iotf) referstothefirstsectionofRule(10)j(10 a')tothe RulefollowingRule(10).1."Pleasure and excitement hadmoreattractions for him than(a) (36) (37 #)hisfriend,and the twocompanionsbecamaestranged (15 a}gradually"(a)Write(i)"than for hisfriend," or (2)"than had hisfriend,""hadmoreattractions than his friend."2."(a)Hesoongrewtired of solitudeevenin that beautifulscenery,(36)thepleasuresof the retirement(8)which he hadoncepined for,and(36)leisure which he couldusetono goodpurpose,(a) (30) being (15)restlessbynature"(a)Thissentence naturally stopsat "purpose."Also"beingrestless"seems (wrongly) to givethereasonwhy"leisure" couldnotbeemployed. Begin"Restlessby nature. .."3."Theopponentsof the Governmentare naturally,and not(a) (40 a)withoutjustification,elated atthe failure of the boldattemptto return twosupportersof the Governmentat therecent election, (/")(10 a')which iscertainly toberegretted."(a)"unjustifiably." (b) Write,for"which,"either(i)"anattemptthat"c.,"or (2)"a failure that "c."4."Carelessness in theAdmiralty departmentshasco-operatedwith Nature toweaken the moralpowerofaGovernmentthatparticularlyneeds to bethoughtefficient in(a) (5)this42Exercises.respect,(b)(29)to counterbalancea generaldistrust of itsex- cessivedesire(c}(47a)topleaseeverybodyinForeignAffairs."(a)Write "theNavy." (b}Instead of "to" write "in orderto,"soas to distinguishthe different infinitives,(c)"obsequiousness."5."(a)Hewassometimessupportedby Austria, who, oddlyenough,appearsunder Count Beust to have beenmorefriendlytoItalythan(37a)France, (30)in this lineofaction."(a]Beginwith "In this line of action."Why? (b)Write*'thanwasFrance"or"than France was."6. "Therewas somethingso startlingin(a) (5)thisassertion,(a) (4)that the discoveries ofprevious investigators were to be(b)(47a)treatedas though they Jiad nez"erbeenmade,and(4)thatonewho had notyet(47 a)attained theageofmanhood hadsupersededthegrey-headedphilosophers(8)who\\z" for centuriespatientlysoughtafter thetruth,(4)that(a)(5)itnaturallyprovokedderision."(a) "This," "that," and"it," cause alittleperplexity.Write "Thestartlingassertion that the discoveries.. .."(b)"ignored."(c)"amere youth,""amere stripling."7."One of therecommendations(onwhichvery(a)(26)(47, a)muchdepended)of the Commissionwasthatacouncil ineachprovinceshould establish smallercouncils,eachto have theoversightofasmalldistrict,and(b)(37)reportto acentralcouncilonthe stateof Education in(c}(5)it."(a)Write "cardinal recommendations." Derive"cardinal."(b) Write,either(i)"andshould,report,"or (2)"andtoreport."(c)Write"in itsprovince,"or"district."8."At this(a) (i)periodan (b] (il)event(f)(i)transpiredthatdestroyedthe lasthopesofpeace.Thekingfellfrom hishorse and died twohours after the fall(d) (30),whichwasoccasionedbyhis horse'sstumblingon a mole-hill,while hewas onhis returnfrom reviewinghi's soldiers."(a)What isa "period"?(")Expresstheparticularkind of event ("acci- dent"). (c)What isthemeaningof"transpired"?(d) Transposethus:"While the king was onhisreturn. . .his horse. . .;thekingfell and "c." Thecauseshouldprecedethe effect9."He determined(c}on sellingall hisestates,and,as soonasthiswasdone(40a),to(c}qtiitthecountry,(a)(33) believingthat his honour demanded this sacrifice and(40) (40 a)in(b)thehopeofsatisfyinghis creditors."(a)Beginwith"Believingthat "c."(b)"hopingtherebytosatisfy"c."(c)"to sell"or"onquitting."44Exercises.1 6."Thepoorthink! themselves no more disgracedby takingbribes at elections than(a)(37 a)the richby offeringthem."(a)Write(i)"Than the rich think themselvesdisgraced,"or (2)"Thantheythink the richdisgraced."17."Wearetold that the SultanMahmoud,byhisperpetualwars,(a) (41)and histyranny,(a) (41) had filled his dominionswith(b](l)misfortuneand(c)(n)calamity,andgreatly(d) (n)diminished thepopulationof the PersianEmpire.ThisgreatSultan had(e)(50) aVizier. We are not(/)(55) (15) informedwhether hewas ahumoristor an enthusiast,(g)but hepretended (h)that he had learned from(i)(1 1 ) some onehow to understand thelanguageofbirds,sothat he(j)(5)knew whatwassaidbyanybird thatopeneditsmouth,(k) (44)Oneeveninghewaswith theSultan,returningfromhunting. They saw a coupleof owlswhich(10g)weresittinguponatree(/)(8)whichgrewnear anold walloutofaheapof rubbish. The Sultan said(6)he shouldliketo know what the twoowlswere sayingto one another,andasked the(m)Vizier to listen to their discourse andgivehimanaccountof it. TheVizier,(n)(31) pretendingto beveryatten- tivetotheowls,approachedthetree.He(0)returned to theSultan and said that(6)he had heardpartof theirconversation,but did not wish to tellhim what itwas.(/) (5)He,not(q] (31)beingsatisfied with thisanswer,forced him torepeateverythingtheowls had said(20)exactly, (r}(44) (5) (6)He told(5)him thatthe owlswerearrangingatreatyofmarriagebetween theirchildren,and thatoneofthem,afteragreeingtosettle fivehundredvillagesuponthe femaleowl,hadprayed (6)that God wouldgrantalonglifeto SultanMahmoud,becauseas longashereigned overthemtheywouldnever want ruinedvillages.Thestory says(s)thai(/)(5)Aewas touched with thefable, (30)and(s)thathe(a) (39)from that time forward consulted(15)thegood ofhispeople,and that he rebuilt the towns andvillages(v]whichhad beendestroyed."(a)"abroad...at home."(b)"ruin."(c)"desolation." (d]"halfun- peopled."(e)"The Vizier of "c."(/)"Weare not informed"isemphatic,and therefore should beinverted,"whether hewas,"c., we are not informed."(g)"but he "will be omitted when"the Vizier" is made thesubjectof"pretended."(k}"Pre- tended"once meant "claimed,""professed."Write"professed."(z)"acertain dervish."(/)Introducea new subjectthatyoumaysubstitute "Vizier "for"he,"thus:"sothat notabird couldopenitsmouth,but the Vizier knew "c."(/")"As hewas,one evening,"c."(/) Note that the treeis represented as growing outof niins. Thisisin accordance with thestoryof the mischief Mahmoud had done.(m)Omit this.(") "Suspense"isoutofplaceina simplenarrative, like this;thesentencetherefore ends with"owls."("?)"Uponhis return."(/)"The Sultan"(g]"wouldnot besatisfied."(r)"You mustknowthen,"c."(s]Omit.(/)"sotouched. . .that."(u)end with"people." (v)Addison hereusesExercises.45"which,"probablybecause of thepreceding"to choose between sound and clearness. "Which"impliesthatall thevillagesin thecountryhad beendestroyed,whereas thecountryhad beenonly(see above) "half unpeopled."1 8."Thoughthisgreat kingnever permittedanypastimeto in- terferewith the duties ofstate,which he consideredto besuperiorto(54)all other claims andof paramount importance,and(a)(37)kepthimselfsofar under control that he allowedno one pursuitoramusement to run toanyexcess, yethe took(54)great pleasurein thechase, of which hewas(b} (2)excessively (54)fona \and forthepurposesof which he created severallarge parks ofconsider- able(54)magnitude."(a)Eitherrepeat "though," orelse strikeout the first"though"andbegin a new sentenceafter "excess."(3)Pointoutthecontra- dictionbetween"excessively"and whatprecedes.19.""Toinundate(a) (n)theirland,tomantheirships,toleave theircountry,with all its miracles ofartandindustry,itscities,itsvillas,and its(b} (ll)pasturesburied under thewaves(c}(1 1 );to bear toadistant climate their(d)(1 1 )faith andtheir old(e)(n) liberties;toestablish,withauspicesthat(10a)mightperhapsbehappier,thenew (/) (n)constitutionoftheircommonwealth,ina(g) (n) foreignandstrange(//)(n) land,intheSpiceIslands of the EasternSeas,(38) weretheplans whichtheyhad thespiritto form."(a)Introduce"dykes." (/;)Introducesomething peculiar to theDutch,e.g."canals," "tulip gardens." (c)"of the GermanOcean."(d)The DutchwereCalvinists.(e)Thecountrywasinold times"Batavia," so that"Batavian"would be a fitepithetto denote what the Dutch had inherited from their forefathers.(f)"Stadthaus,"the German for "town-hall."(g)"other stars."(h)"strange vegetation."20."During twentyyearsofunexampled prosperity,during(a)which the wealth of the nation had shot(14a)upand extendeditsbranchesoneveryside,and the funds had(14a]soaredtoahigher pointthan had beeneverattainedbefore,(b)(15) specula- tionhad becomegeneral."(a)Omit.(") Begin a new sentence : "This,or Prosperity,had increasedthetasteforspeculation."21."At that time(a)(16)a merenarrow-mindedpedant(forhedeservesnobettername)had been setupbytheliteraryworldasagreatauthor,andasthesupreme(b}critic,alonequalified todeliver decisions which couldneverbe(b}reversedupon(15 a)thtliterary productions oftheday."46Exercises.(a)End with". . . . onewho was " for he deservesnobettername" a merenarrow-mindedpedant."(b)"Which couldnever bereversed"canbeexpressedinoneword;orelse"thesupreme . . .reversed"maybe condensed intoa personification:"averyMinos ofcontemporarycriticism."22."With the intention offulfillinghispromise,and(40a)intendingalso to clear himself from thesuspicionthat attachedto him,he determined to ascertain how(40a) farthistestimonywas corroborated,and(a)(40a]the motives of theprosecutor,(b}(43)who hadbegunthe suit last Christmas."(a)"what were.'*(b)Begin a newsentence,"The latter"c.," or"The suit had beenbegun"c."23."TheJewishnation,relyingontheteachingof theirpro- phets,looked forward toatime when its descendants should beasnumerous astheheavenly (11 )bodies',and when theproducts(a) (1 1)ofthe earth should besoincreasedasto createanabundant(54)plenty,when eachmanshould rest beneath the shade of hisown(a] (n) trees,and when the instruments(n) of warshould beconverted to the(11}uses ofpeace."(a)Mentionsome "products,""trees"of Palestine.24."Hereplied(32),when hewasasked thereasonfor hissuddenunpopularity,that he owed ittohis refusalto annul thecommercialtreaty, (a) (8)which(10a')gavegreat displeasuretothepoorerclasses."(a)Pointout theambiguity,andremoveit by (8)or (10 a'}.25."Isawmyold schoolfellowagain by mereaccident whenIwasin Londonatthe time of the first Exhibition,(19) walkingdownRegentStreet andlookingin at theshops."Pointout andremovetheambiguity.26. "He remained in the House while hisspeechwastakeninto consideration;which(52)was a common practicewithhim,because the debates amused his satedmind,and indeed he used tosay(a] (6b} thattheyweresometimesas good as a comedy.HisMajestyhadcertainlynever seen a more (17)sudden turn inanycomedyofintrigue,either at .hisown play-houseor theDuke's,than that which this memorable debateproduced."(a)"andwere sometimes,he used tosay,as good"c."27."The Commons wouldnotapprovethewar (20)expressly;neither didtheyasyetcondemn it(20)expressly;and(a)(18)theExercises.47king mightevenhave obtaineda supplyforcontinuinghostilitie?(19)fromthem, onconditionof(I)}redressinggrievancesconnectedwith the(f)administrationofaffairsathome,amongwhich theDeclaration ofIndulgencewas averyimportant (d}(15a)one."(a)Write"they were even ready togranttheking"c."(3)Use theverb witha subject.(T)Condense all this intoone adjective,mean- ing"that which takesplaceat home,"(d}End withanoun,*'importance,"or"foremostplace."28. "Next tothinkingclearly,(a] (5)itis useful tospeakclearly,and whateveryourpositionin lifemayhereafter be itcannotbe such(54)as not to beimproved bythis, (b] sothatit isworth whilemakingalmostanyefforttoacquire (c}it,if/'/is notanaturalgift:(d)itbeinganundoubted(d]fact thatthe efforttoacquireitmustbesuccessful,to some extent atleast,if(d)itbemoderatelyperseveredin."(a)"Next inutility....comes speakingclearly"apowerthatmustbe of assistance toyou"c."(b)"If,therefore,youcannot speakclearlybynature, you"c."(c)"thispower." (d} Omit"fact;""forundoubtedly,with moderateperseverance"c."29."//(a)(38)appearstome (15)agreatervictorythanAgin-court, a grander triumph ofwisdom andfaithandcouragethaneventheEnglishconstitutionor (b}liturgy,to have beatenback,or evenfoughtagainstand stemmed inever sosmalladegree,those basenesses that(c)(10 a]beset humannature,whicharenowheldsoinvincible that the influences of themare assumedasthefundamental axioms of economic science."(a) Beginwith "To have beaten"c.,"and end with"liturgy." (b)Re- peatfor clearness andemphasis,"theEnglish." (c)"The be- settingbasenesses of "c."30."The(a) (2)unprecedentedimpudenceofouryouthfulre- presentativeremindsusforciblyof theunblushingand(54) (40)remarkableeffrontery(c}(which (26) he almost succeeds inequal- ling)of the Member for St.Alban's,whomour (b](i)neophyte(b](i)alludedto,in the lastspeechwith which he favoured thosewhom(47a)herepresents,(19)ashispatternandexample."(a)Show that' 'unprecedented"is inconsistent with what follows,(b)What is themeaningof"neophyte," "alluded to"?(c)Begin anewsentence,"OuryoungadventurerSic.,"and end with"andhe almostsucceeds inequallinghis master."31."The(a)(i )veracityof thisstoryisquestionable,andthereis themore reasonfordoubtingthe(a)(i)truth of thenarrator,because in his remarksonthe(i)observation of theSabbath he48Exercises.distinctly (a) (i)alludes to a customthatcanbe shownnever tohave existed."(a) Distinguishbetween"veracity"and"truth,""observation" and"observance." Show theinconsistencybetween "allude" and"distinctly."32."It(a) (5)isamostjustdistribution,(loa)which the lateMr. Tucker has dweltuponso (b] largelyin hisworks,betweenpleasuresin whichwe are passive,andpleasuresinwhichwe areactive. And I believeeveryattentive observer of human life willassent to(c]this position,that however(d]gratefulthe sensationsmayoccasionallybe in whichwe are passive,itisnotthese,butthe latter class ofour pleasures,(8)which constitutessatisfaction,(e)(38)whichsupplythatregularstreamof moderate and miscel- laneousenjoymentsin(ior)whichhappiness,as distinguishedfromvoluptuousness,consists."(a)"There isgreat justicein "c."(5)Omit "so."(c)"admit."(d"Not oftennowused in thissense, (e) Repeattheantecedent,"1meanthose(pleasures)"c."33."Theprinceseemed to have before himalimitless(54)prospectofunboundedprosperity,carefully(33)trained for the(a)tasks of thethrone,and stimulatedbythe(a)patternof hisfather,(b]who(43)breathed his(3)lastsuddenlyat theageofsixty-two, justafter the conclusion of the war."(a)Findmore appropriatewords,(b) Begin a newsentence.34."On hisway,he visiteda sonofanoldfriend(a](25)whohad asked himtocalluponhimonhisjourneynorthward. He(b)(5) was overjoyedtosee him,and(c}hesentforoneof his mostintelligentworkmen and told(d]him to considerhimself"(e)hisservice,(30) ashehimselfcould not take(f}himi"he(g)wishedabout thecity."(a)Ifyoumeanthat the "son" had "askedhim,"write "An oldfriend'ssonwho ;" ifyoumeanthat the "friend" had "askedhim,"write"He had been askedby an old friend to call,on hisiourneynorthward,uponhisson.Accordinglyhe visited himonhis way." (b)Use, instead ofhe,some namemeaning"onewhoentertains others."(c}Useparticiple, (d) "The man."(e)"thestranger's." (/)"hisguest." (g)Write"could have wished"to make itclear that"he"means"the host."35."Tillotson died in thisyear.Hewas exceedinglybelovedbothby KingWilliam andbyQueen Mary (43),who nominatedDr. Tennison, BishopofLincoln,to succeed him."36."(a)The entertainmentwasarrangedwitha magnificencethat was (l")perfectlystupendousand(c)mostunprecedented\andExercises.49whichquite keptuphisLordship'sunrivalledreputationforunparalleledhospitality,and,thanks to theunequalledenergyofMr.Smith,who israpidly becoming one ofthe mosteffectivetoast-mastersin thekingdom,the toasts weregivenwithaspiritquiteunexampledonoccasions of thisnature;and indeedwe wereforciblyreminded in thisrespectof the inimitable entertainmentof threeyears ago(2)."(a)Omit most of theepithets,orsoften them down. Point outthecon- tradictionsin the sentence asitstands,(b]Write"aremarkablemagnificencethatquite"c.,"thusdispensingwith thefollowing"and."(c]Show that "most" issuperfluous.37."IfwecompareShakespearewith the other dramaticauthors of the Elizabethanera,hiswonderful superioritytothem in the(15)knowledgeofhuman nature is what(15a)principallystrikesus"38."Theprincefound himself at onceinsore perplexityhowtoprovidehimself with the commonest comfortsor even neces- sariesoflife,when he landedonthis desolatecoast, being(33)accustomed toluxury."39."This make-shiftpolicyrecommended itselfto thesucceed- ingministers(a)(50),both becausethey weretimid and becausetheywere prejudiced,andtheywere delightedto excuse (b) (13)them- selvesby quotingtheexampleofonewho(c] (34)had controlledthe Liberals and humoured theConservatives, (37)commendedhimself tothecountryatlarge byhisunfailing good-humour,and(d)(44) (37)donenothingworthyof thenameof statesman."(a)"to thetimidityandprejudicesof "c."(Z")"shelter themselvesbehind."(c)"while he had atonce."(d)"hadyetdone."40."WilliamShakespearewasthesunamongthe lesserlightsofEnglish poetry,andanative of Stratford-on-Avon (14 a)."41."(15 b] Ithink,gentlemen,youmust confess thatanyoneofyouwould have done thesame (32),ifyouhad beentemptedasIwas then, placed starvingandraggedamongwastefulluxuryandcomfort,deliberatelyinstigatedto acts ofdishonestybythose whom I had beentaughtfrominfancytolove,(a)praisedwhen Istole,mockedor punishedwhen I failed to(i$a)do(b)so."(a)Insertanother infinitive beside "love." "Love"produces"obe- dience."(b) Repeatthe verb instead of "do so."42."So far frombeingthefirst(54)aggressor,he not(22)onlyrefused toprosecutehis old friend whenafavourableoppor-D50Exercises.tunity presenteditself forrevenginghimself thusuponhim,but also his friend'sadviser,JohnSmith. Smith(a)at all(23)eventssuspected,if he did not know of thecoming danger,andhadgiven noinformation of it."(a)If "at allevents"qualifies"Smith,"thesentence mustbe altered."Yet,however innocent his friendmayhavebeen,at alleventsSmithsuspected . . .." If the wordsqualify "suspected,"placethem after"suspected."43."It isquitetruethat hepaid5^.per daytoEnglishnavvies,andeven 6s.,(19)inpreferenceto2s.6d.to French navvies."44."Havingclimbed to theapexof theRighitoenjoythespectacleof thesun-rise,I foundmyself soincommodedby anumber of illiterateindividuals who hademergedfrom the hotelfora(a)(i)similarpurpose,that Ideterminedtoquitthem at theearliestpracticableperiod;andtherefore,withoutstoppingtopartake ofbreakfast,I wendedmy wayback with allpossiblecelerity." (3){a}"the same."45."You admit that miraclesarenot natural. Now whateverisunnatural iswrong,andsince, byyourown admission,mira- clesare unnatural,itfollows that miraclesare wrong." (i)46."Who is themanthat has daredtocall into civilizedalliance the(a) (41)inhabitant of thewoods, todelegateto the(a)Indian the defence ofour disputed rights?(a)Insertsomeantitheticalorotherepithets.47."A(a)very(n)smallproportionindeed of those whohaveattemptedtosolve thisproblem (b)(19)have succeededinobtainingeven a plausiblesolution."(a)State whatproportion succeeded,or,ifyoulike,what failed:"notoneinahundred."(b)Begin,"Of all those that "c."48."To besuddenly (a)(47 a) broughtinto contact withasystem(8)which forcesone to submit to wholesaleimposture,and tobeing(40a) barbarously ill-treated^naturallyrepels(a)(15 a)one."(a)Write,either(i)"Collision....causes anaturalrepulsion,"ot(2)"Whenbroughtinto contact.. . .oneisnaturallyrepelled,"or (if"ill-treatment" isemphatic),(3)"One isnaturally repelledbycollision with "c."49."Weannex aletterrecentlyaddressedbyMr. 's di- rectionto the Editor of the,in contradiction ofstatements,equallyuntrue,whichappearedin thatperiodical,and(a](9)which the editor has undertaken toinsert in thenext number.52Exercises.54."Aman (a) (10d}whoneglectedtheordinarydutiesoflife,and,immersed instudy,devoted himself togrand plansforthe benefit ofmankind, (b)(44)and refused toprovidefor thewants ofthosedependenton him,and suffered hisagedrelativestobecomepaupersbecause he would nothelp them, (c)would,inmyopinion,(34)beabadman,andnotaltogether(d) (40 a)withouthypocrisy."(a)"Ifaman."(b)"ifherefused," or"while he refused."(c)"sucha man"or"he."(d)"to some extent a hypocrite."55."Icannotbelieve in theguiltof(a)one (b}(10e)who,whatevermayhave been saidtothecontrary,canbeshown,andhas been shownbycompetenttestimonyproceedingfrom thosewhoaresaidtohavecarefullyexamined thefacts,inspite(23)ofmanyobstacles,to have res'sted allattemptsto(29)induce himtoleave hissituation,("r)(29)to consult hisowninterests and to(29)establishabusiness of his own."(a)"hisguilt;" (b)(i)"for,whatever "c itcanbe shownby"c.. . .that,inspiteof"c.,he resisted." Or(2)insert "inspite...obstacles" between "have" and"carefully." (c)(i)"for thepurposeofconsulting. . .andestablishing."Or(2)write"andtoconsult his own interestsby establishing"c."56."We must seek for theoriginofour freedom, (a)(37)pros- perity,and(a) (37)glory,in that andonly(b}thatxportionofourannals,(30) thoughit(c]issterile and obscure. ThegreatEng- lishpeoplewas (d)then formed;the national(e)disposition began(d)thentoexhibit thosepeculiaritieswhich ithaseversince(e)possessed;andourfathers(d)then becameemphaticallyislanders,(f)in theirpolitics, (a)feelings,and(a)manners,and(30a)notmerelyin theirgeographicalposition."(a)Repeatthe PronominalAdjective. (b) Expresstheemphatic"onlythat"by beginningthesentencethus:"It isin thatportionofourannals "c."(c)Omit.(^)"Itwasthen that "c."(e)Usewordsimplyingsomething moremarked than"disposition,"andmore forciblethan"possessed;"in the lattercase,"retained."(/) Repeat"islanders."57."(0)Hewasthe universal(54)favouriteof'(54)all(8)whoknewhim,and cementedmanyfriendshipsat thisperiod,(a) (33)(movingin thehighestcircle ofsociety,and, ashe(b} (50)hada (4a)certainproperty, beingindependentof theprofitsof litera- ture),andsooncompletelyextinguishedthe breath of slanderwhich at the outset of hiscareerhad threatened tosapthefoundations of hisreputation."(a)Begin "Movingin "c."(")"renderedindependentof. . ..by"c." Show that Rule(14)isviolatedbythemetaphors.xThat -whichtreats of the thirteenthcentury..Exercises.5358."The outward and material form of thatcitywhich,duringthe briefperiodwhich(10a)iscomprisedinourpresentbook,reached thehighest pitchofmilitary,artistic,andliteraryglory,wasofthis(a) (15)nature. Theprogressof the(b)(5)firsthasbeenalreadytraced."(a) Beginthesentence with "Such was."(b) By"the first" is meant"militaryglory."59."The detachmentnotonlyfailedto take thefort,(30) spiteof their numbers and the weakness of thegarrison,but alsotocapturethe small force thatwasencampedoutside thetown,andwas,aftersome sharpfighting,driven back with inconsiderableloss."Point out theambiguity. Remedyitby insertingeither"which," or"the assailants."60."(a)(b}Believingthat these reformscan only(c] (21)beeffectedaspublicopinionis preparedforthem,and that(5)thiswillbemore orless advanced in differentlocalities,the Bill of theAssociation,(a) (31)which has been fora(3)considerableperiodindraft,and will be introduced in thenextvSession ofParliament,providesforplacing (d} (3)the control inregardto thepointsabove-mentioned in the(3)hands0/~theratepayersof eachlocality;thepowerto be exercisedthroughrepresentativeLicensingBoardsto beperiodicallyelectedbythem."{a)Place theparenthesisfirst,as an independent sentence :"The Billof the Association has been. . .Parliament"(b)Whatnounisqualifiedby "believing?"Write"In the belief."("r)"effectedonly so* farasthey arein accordance withpublicopinion,which"c."(d)"it,or,the Billprovidesthat theratepayers . . .shallreceive control. . .and shall exercise this control."61. "I thinktheyarevery(i)nicepersons,fortheykeptmeamused fora long(a)(ll)timetogetheryesterday bytheir(