46. Sketch of Lord Byron (Lord Macaulay). 47. Forest Trees (Washington Irving) 48. Character of Columbus (Washington Irving) 49. The Black Prince (Dean Stanley) 50. A Shipwreck (Charles Dickens) 51. America before and after Colonization (George Bancroft) 52. Character of Scott (W. H. Prescott) 53. Execution of Mary Queen of Scots (Anthony Froude) 55. Captain Cook (The Times) 56. Time (The Standard) 57. English Rivers (The Globe) 58. Early Associations (The Globe) 59. Letter from Lady M. W. Montague to the Countess of Bute. 61. Letter from William Cowper to Rev. John Newton List of Subjects suitable for Essays SHORT ESSAYS. ENGLISH COMPOSITION. FOR purposes of composition, any language exists in the works of its great authors. Hence, to acquire the art of writing English with correctness and elegance, it is before all things necessary to study the works of eminent English writers. A good prose style cannot possibly be attained without this study. The classical works of our literature form the models of English which must be carefully observed, though not servilely imitated, by the beginner. The famous Greek orator, Demosthenes, is said to have copied out the writings of Thucydides many times, in order to become, as it were, imbued with the style of the great historian. Among the authors whose works may be studied with advantage by students for the purpose of acquiring a good prose style, may be mentioned Addison, Goldsmith, Burke, and Macaulay. Concerning the first of these authors, Dr. Johnson, in a well-known passage, says: 66 Whoever wishes to attain an English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and nights to the volumes of Addison." The works of these and other masters of English composition must be read with great care and attention. The thoughts must be weighed and the language minutely examined, the structure of the sentences should be observed, and the manner in which the words produce the effects which the author had in view accurately noted. The style of one author should be compared with that of another. It is a good practice to read aloud. By this means two senses are called into action-the style of the author is impressed on the mind of the reader through the ear as well as the eye, and the elegance and harmony of the periods become more apparent than when they are read in silence. Learning passages by heart is also strongly to be recommended. The student should always read, if possible, with the assistance of a good dictionary. A small one (containing only the words in general use) is of little service. Every word whose meaning is not known by the reader, or which is used by the author in an unfamiliar sense, should at once be looked out, and its signification and derivation treasured up in the memory. By this means the student will gradually acquire a good supply of words. A person who is in the possession of only a meagre vocabulary, cannot possibly express his thoughts with accuracy, elegance, and force. It is not sufficient to rely merely on the imitation of good authors. The student who wishes to excel, or perhaps even aspires to be able some day to attain to literary eminence, must exercise his own intelligence. When Opie was asked by a young admirer; "How do you mix your colours?" the celebrated painter gave the oft-quoted answer: With brains, sir." The reply might have been given with equal force to an inquiry about the composition of sentences. Any attempt to compose good English without the exercise of "brains," will assuredly fail. Care should be taken to use correct and elegant language, even in the course of ordinary conversation. Boswell tells us that "Johnson used to say, that he made it a constant rule to talk as well as he could, both as to sentiment and expression, by which means what had been originally effort became familiar and easy." The first aim of the beginner should be to write grammatically. The rules of grammar fall within the province of works specially devoted to that subject, and it will be unnecessary further to refer to them here. The young student should accustom himself to parse and analyse his own sentences, and give an intelligible account of each word and phrase which he uses, by showing in what relation it stands to the general construction of the sentence and to the other parts of it. By this means, he will acquire accuracy. After a time such aid may be dispensed with. Thus, while a house is being built, it is necessary to erect scaffolding; but this is taken down when the edifice is complete, and the building then stands alone. We proceed to enter into the subject more in detail, by presenting the chief rules which have been given by eminent authorities for the writing of English.* The qualities of a good style may be ranged under two heads, namely, (1) Those which relate to Perspicuity. (2) Those which relate to Ornament. 1. PERSPICUITY. This is the fundamental quality of a good style. The first aim of a writer should be to make himself perfectly understood by his readers. No merits of any other kind, no elegance of language or harmony of diction, can make up for a want of clearness. Perspicuity of thought and expression may be considered not only as a negative virtue, a mere freedom from defect; it is a positive beauty in style, since it adds to the pleasure of the reader, and carries him through the subject with a degree of * For some of the matter and many of the examples contained in this chapter we are indebted to Blair's "Lectures," a work which may be studied with great advantage by beginners. satisfaction which cannot be derived from the perusal of an obscure composition. Perspicuity may be considered with reference to (1) Single Words and Phrases, and (2) Sentences. 1. SINGLE WORDS AND PHRASES. The qualities required in these are,— (a) Purity. Only those words and phrases should be used which properly belong to the language which is being used. English writers sometimes deform their compositions with words, expressions, and idioms borrowed from other languages. Thus we find such words as café, vraisemblance, coup-d'œil, raison d'être, cortège, politesse, hauteur (from the French), effluvium, sine quâ non, ad captandum, cæteris paribus (from the Latin), geist, father-land (from the German), constantly occurring in the writings of some authors, and often introduced in the most unnecessary and pedantic manner, as though the author's desire were, not so much to illustrate his subject, as to make a vain display of his own learning. Such words and phrases may sometimes be used with advantage, even in a rich and copious language like the English; but if they are not employed with great moderation and discretion, and only when really necessary for supplying an actual deficiency, they only serve to load the composition with a number of offensive excrescences. Obsolete words should also be avoided. Modern writers should use modern English. It is true that many of our old words have fallen out of use, and that some of them deserved a longer existence; still, since they no longer belong to the language, they ought not to be employed. Such expressions as quoth he. ! wist not, behest, selfsame, fall under this head. Provincialisms, or words, phrases, and idioms peculiar to certain counties or districts, must also be avoided, as well as Scotticisms. or forms peculiar to Scotland. |