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the complement, is illustrated in the opening of Keats's "Hyperion":—

"Deep in the shady sadness of a vale,

Far sunken from the healthy breath of morn,
Far from the fiery noon and eve's one star,
Sat gray-haired Saturn, quiet as a stone."

A conditional clause precedes the main clause, from the same consideration. If the main clause stands first, the hearer conceives it unconditionally, and then has to re-shape his conception. And generally, subordinate clauses are properly made to come before their principal. Containing, as the subordinate proposition does, some qualifying or explanatory idea, its priority prevents misconception of the principal one, and therefore saves the mental effort needed to correct such misconception. The following is an example of the conditional clause placed first: "Were the honor given to wealth and to title bestowed exclusively on high achievements and intrinsic worth, how immense would be the stimulus to progress

י!

In the next example, two subordinate statements are given in advance, and the principal comes last.

"The secrecy once maintained in respect to the parliamentary debates, is still thought needful in diplomacy; and, in virtue of this secret diplomacy, England may any day be unawares betrayed by its ministers into a war costing a hundred thousand lives, and hundreds of millions of treasure; yet the English pique themselves on being a self-governed people!

66. A second principle is, that the words and expressions most nearly related in thought should be placed closest together. This consideration may prevent the foregoing principle from being carried out to the full.

The longer the time that elapses between the mention of the qualifying clause and that which it qualifies, the longer must the mind be burdened with unemployed ideas; and the burden is increased according to the number of qualifying clauses. Hence, other considerations being equal, preference is to be given to the arrangement that entails the fewest and the shortest suspensions. The following instance will illustrate what is meant :

ARRANGEMENT OF QUALIFYING CLAUSES.

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"A modern newspaper-statement, though probably true, would be laughed at, if quoted in a book as testimony; but the letter of a court gossip is thought good historical evidence, if written some centuries ago." Here the closely related clauses, "a modern newspaper-statement," and "if quoted in a book as testimony," are too far apart. Then, again, if both the qualifying clauses to "a newspaper-statement" ("though probably true," and "if quoted in a book as testimony "), were to precede, the suspension would be more than we are accustomed to. In such a case, the best arrangement is to place the subject between the two qualifying members, thus bringing it close to both. Though probably true, a modern newspaper-statement, quoted in a book as testimony, would be laughed at; but the letter of a court gossip, if written some centuries ago, is thought good historical evidence."

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To give another example. "We came to our journey's end, at last, with no small difficulty, after much fatigue, through deep roads, and bad weather." This sentence violates the principle just laid down, the qualifications being all placed after the statement qualified. On the other hand, the strict carrying out of that principle would cause too many suspensions: "At last, with no small difficulty, after much fatigue, through deep roads, and bad weather, we came to our journey's end." By arranging the qualifying clauses on the plan of beginning with the most abstract, and by carrying backward the verb and its subject we came, so as to enclose them in the middle of the qualifying clauses, and thereby shorten the suspensions, we get the best arrangement, as follows: "At last, with no small difficulty, and after much fatigue, we came, through deep roads, and bad weather, to our journey's end!"

In the consideration of the Sentence, there will be a farther reference to the principles of arrangement.

CHAPTER IV.

THE QUALITIES OF STYLE.

67. Under the great variety of descriptive words employed to denote the merits and the demerits of style, we may discern a few leading qualities.

In what has already been said regarding the Figures of Speech, and the Number and the Arrangement of Words, explanations have been furnished of many characteristics of style. A composition abounding in any one of the figures would be described by an epithet derived from the name of that figure; as, Metaphorical, Antithetical, Epigrammatic, Hyperbolical, Ironical, Sarcastic, Elliptical. A profusion of figurative language generally would receive the designations—Figurative, Flowery, Ornate, Imaginative, Illustrative; to which are opposed the Plain, Dry, Bald. The number of words employed determines, on the one hand, the Diffuse or verbose, and, on the other, the Terse or Concise. So, according to the arrangement of the words we would distinguish the Natural or Flowing from the Inverted or Involved style.

With reference to Thought, or meaning, there are two chief qualities—Simplicity and Clearness.

As regards Feeling, there is an important contrast between what is designated by the terms Strength, Energy, the Sublime, and the qualities denominated Feeling, Pathos, and Beauty (in a narrow sense); a contrast answering to the opposition of the Active and Passive sides of our nature. To these two classes of effects, we must add the peculiar qualities denoted by the Ludicrous, Humor and Wit.

It is necessary, further, to consider the Melody of language, and also Expressiveness, that is, the suiting of the sound to the

sense.

Finally, a few observations are needed on the meanings of Taste.

SIMPLICITY OF TERMS.

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SIMPLICITY.

68. Simplicity is the quality of being easily understood. It is opposed, not so much to the complex, as to the abstruse.

The possibility of being simple must depend, in the first instance, on the subject as compared with the capacity of the persons addressed. But apart from this, there are certain general peculiarities that render style more or less intelligible.

69. Simplicity may apply to the Terms, or to the Structure.

Terms are simple, as opposed to abstruse and unintelligible, on various grounds.

(1.) They may represent common and familiar objects and actions, instead of such as are rare and remote. In the sentence, "He that doeth these sayings is like to a man that buildeth his house upon a rock," every one of the terms has the simplicity belonging to things common and familiar.

Our native Saxon terms, and those foreign terms that have come into use among people generally, are the most intelligible of all. Our Latin derivatives are less understood by the uneducated. The phraseology of science and of special arts and professions, as Law, Medicine, Navigation, &C., is intelligible only to such as are acquainted with the subjects concerned. Many terms belong to scholarly erudition, and are more or less unknown to the mass of men; for example, allusions to ancient mythology, and to the customs of remote nations.

When a subject can be treated in familiar language, it is pre-eminently popular and intelligible. A man of great genius will sometimes contrive to express himself, even on a difficult subject, in popular phraseology; but this power must soon find its limit.

Johnson's remarks on Swift are in point here: "The peruser of Swift wants little previous knowledge; it will be sufficient that he is acquainted with common words and com

mon things; he has neither to mount elevations nor to explore profundities," &c.

(2.) The terms are simple when they relate to things that are in their nature palpable and easily conceivable.

The objects of our senses are of this nature—the things that we see, hear, touch, smell, taste. So are our familiar emotions and energies—love, hate, fear, will, desire, &c. But the world contains, besides these obvious things, a great number of subtle and impalpable agents, hidden forces, that neither the senses can discover nor the imagination realize. So that, while the sun, the stars, the mountains, rivers, fields, houses, bread, water, fire, are simple,—gas, molecule, electricity, latent heat, vital force, association of ideas, free-will, are impalpable and obscure. These last have to be understood by special study in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology, the Human Mind, &c. Among the sciences, the Natural History group—Zoology, Botany, &c.— owe their great popularity and intelligibility to the palpable character of their objects.

It is remarked that the ancient poets took their images from familiar sources to a greater degree than the moderns; this being the natural consequence of their priority.

(3.) The more general a notion is, the more difficult it is to conceive; hence terms expressing generalities and abstractions, are not so simple as the names of individuals or concrete things.

It is easy to conceive a well-known mountain, river, tree, house, steam-engine; or an individual animal, man, or society. Nothing is required but to remember the individual objects exactly as we have been accustomed to observe them. But when a whole class has to be viewed collectively, as mountains, rivers, trees, in general, we have to bring to memory at the same moment all the individuals, or at least a considerable portion of them, attending to their common features, and neglecting their points of difference. A farther step in the same direction is to conceive a quality in the abstract, or entirely separated from

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