I. To-night nobody was there. Meantime, the horses had arrived at the hotel. A shudder passed over his face. It is only a step from a sincere man to a boor. A bee stung his arm. A conversation between Anna and Benjamin made them lifelong friends. Jessica, although a Jewess, believed in Christianity. He will go through the world doing whatever lies at hand. This is a strong book, even apart from its literary excellence. Only two or three rooms were habitable, and these were very poorly furnished. In some courses of study, examinations are, I think, a necessary evil. It seems to me that the study which is most agreeable to the student will be most beneficial to his mind. Had we read the short essay before writing the long one, we should have known better how to go to work on the long one. II. To-night there was nobody there. In the meantime the horses had arrived at the hotel. A sort of shudder passed over his face. There is only the shortest sort. of a step between a sincere man and a boor. A bee stung him upon his arm. A conversation which took place between Anna & Benjamin made them lifelong friends. Jessica, although she was a Jewess, yet she believed in Christianity. He will go through the world doing whatever lies at his hand to be done. This is a strong book, even apart from whatever literary excellence it may possess. There were but two or three rooms that were habitable and these were very poorly furnished.1 As for examinations I think in some courses they are a necessary evil. It seems to me that no study can be so beneficial to the mind as the one which is the most agreeable to the student. We did not, however, read the short essay before writing the long one; but had we done this I think we should have been wiser, as we should have known precisely how to go to work. 1 See page 223. I. Boys who begin life by hiring other men to do their thinking might as well forego the expense of an education. However dull an anecdote may be, it is sure to succeed if it has a good point. No doubt Darcy's long silence upon that subject came from his pride. Darcy's peculiar characteristic prevented him from appreciating Elizabeth's worth. After some man - Darwin, for instance (or, After some man like Darwin) has made a great discovery, it always turns out that other leading men of science were on the verge of finding the same truth. The effort of explaining why Princeton did not score made me so slow in eating my breakfast 1 (or, kept me at my breakfast so long) that it was quite half-past nine when I rose from the table. In my room last night, we discussed the question whether when Matthew Arnold called a class that he despised "average men" he misused the word "average." II. If boys start out in life by hiring other men to do their thinking for them, they might as well give up the expense of an education. An anecdote may be as dull as you please and yet, if you have a good point to it, it is sure to succeed. There can be no doubt that the reason for Darcy's long silence upon that subject came from his own pride. Darcy was surrounded by his peculiar characteristic which prevented him from forming other than a poor estimate of Elizabeth's worth. After some man like Darwin, for instance, has made a great discovery, it is always the case that many of the other leading scientists have been on the verge of finding the same truth, but without finding it. The effort of explaining why Princeton did not score, so delayed the rapidity of my execution in regard to the breakfast 1 that it was fully half-past nine when I arose from the table. In my room last night we discussed the question as to whether or no Matthew Arnold when he applied to a class of men that he' looked on with contempt the name 'average men misused a good word of the English language. 66 1 See pages 176--180. II. Darcy is a man, who has never in his life done anything, without previously having weighed it carefully in his own mind first. Miss Austen commences the book by showing how unlike the pattern heroine Catherine is, that she is not so enchantingly beautiful, or captivating, nor insipidly sentimental, nor has she any of the characteristics of the ordinary heroine. In New York I feel a shocking, overpowering sense of my own utter littleness and insignificance. In Philadelphia I feel a patronizing sense of superiority as if I owned the place. A glance at these examples will show what various forms redundancy takes, and how much is gained in space, as well as in force, by the excision of useless words. Of all the faults of weak writers, none is more common or more serious than the fault of redundancy. Of all the merits of strong writers, none is more conspicuous than the merit of making every word tell, a merit which Daniel Webster, whose style is a model of force, secured, it is said, by striking out of his writings every syllable that could possibly be spared. SECTION IV. FORCE AS AFFECTED BY ORDER. To secure force in a sentence, it is necessary not only to choose the strongest words and to be as concise as is consistent with clearness, but also to arrange words, phrases, and clauses in the order which gives a commanding position to what is most important, and thus fixes the attention on the central idea. How to Begin a Sentence. Sometimes the beginning of a sentence is the commanding position, and is therefore the proper place for an important word or phrase. From the point of view of force, the best place for "This monster" and "In art”—the most important ́words in these sentences is at the beginning. I. Darcy's long silence on that subject came, no doubt, from his pride. Up to the present time, as I have said before, no harm has been done. Seen from above, a lighted city would, I imagine, hardly seem a city. II. No doubt, Darcy's long silence upon that subject came from his pride. As I have said before, up to the present,2 no harm has been done. I imagine that a lighted city, seen from above, would hardly seem a city.3 A parenthetical expression which is of distinctly secondary importance-e. g., "no doubt," "as I have said before," "I imagine" should not be put at the beginning of a sentence, but in the middle, where it will be least prominent. 1 See page 228. 2 See page 36. 3 See page 223. I. In the growing darkness, it is almost impossible to distinguish land from water. "In the growing darkness" familiar effect of darkness. Other examples are I. Like most of Wordsworth's poems, they enforce a distinct moral. Last night after I had gone to bed, a friend rushed into my room with the startling information that a line of would-be ticketbuyers had formed. Both for impudence and for perfection as a political harangue, X's speech on "Protection" deserves special mention. With an indignant air, he turned towards her his handsome, regular face, splashed with water and crimsoned by his position. II. It is almost impossible in the growing darkness to distinguish land from water. prepares the mind for the II. They contain like most of Wordsworth's poems a distinct moral. A friend came rushing to my room last night after I had retired, with the startling information that a line of would-be ticket-buyers had formed. X's speech on "Protection" deserves especial mention, both for its impudence and for its perfection as a political speech. He turned his handsome, regular face, crimsoned by his position and splashed by the water, towards her with an indignant air. Clearness, as well as force, requires that an expression -whether parenthetical in form or not-should be placed at the beginning of a sentence when this position helps the reader to grasp the meaning of the sentence more quickly. How to End a Sentence. — Usually the end of a sentence is the commanding position, and is therefore the proper place for an important word or phrase. |