the Principles of Success in Literature, Lewes has told us that the way to variety is through "the great cardinal principle of Sincerity." This is putting the matter simply. But the task of being sincere is, unfortunately for most of us, not to be thus dismissed with a word. We cannot express ourselves unencumbered of past experience. From our very early youth we have been influenced by memories of what other people have said, how they have said it, what they have done, how they have done it; we have undoubtedly felt the withering influence of a fear that what we were about to say or do would violate some fixed social convention; and further we have been reminded, perhaps in the most painful ways, that we cannot always succeed in making our sincere thoughts lend themselves to perfect expression in a medium that is at best imperfect. We must, then, in some manner try to gain the effect which would easily result if we could put aside echoes of other people's thought and words, throw to the winds our own self-consciousness, and magically render adequate our inadequate command of language.

A. VARIETY IN THE WHOLE COMPOSITION

1. Variety in approach. In the whole composition, variety resolves itself first into a question of slight changes in one's approach to the subject-matter. Life is so complex and so manysided, and there are so many points of view from which every physical or intellectual transaction may be regarded, that a writer who unnaturally clothes all the results of his thinking in one color or gives them one mental shape is in great danger of turning attention from the thoughts themselves to the mere fact that all of them look alike. In meeting the demands of this principle, we must, then, approach in different ways the steps in the development of the subject upon which we write. If we are employing illustrations or examples, we should sometimes state the principle, then offer the example; sometimes offer the concrete instance, then present the principle it

exemplifies; sometimes seek clarity through comparisons, sometimes through contrasts. If we are trying to give a well-rounded presentation of the subject without concrete instances, our approach should sometimes be partly or wholly negative, sometimes only positive; sometimes it should be rapid, sometimes more deliberate. In all cases we should bring into service every possible means not only of suggesting the interesting variety of life, but of reflecting whatever freshness of attitude we may possess.

2. Variety in paragraph structure. Next, there must be variety in the external outlines of the paragraphs. A long paragraph produces the effect of heaviness, a short one the effect of lightness or familiar dignity; much space usually suggests great importance, brief space, little importance. The writer, therefore, who makes the nearest approach to sincerity is likely to approximate agreeable variety in this respect; for the person of sincere, honest mind unconsciously attaches different degrees of importance to his different thoughts. But if he has fallen into the habit of following the lines of least resistance in matters of structure, he will be seriously hampered in expressing sincerity. He must, therefore, give some conscious attention to paragraph length. Of course, it is not always easy to harmonize the importance of the paragraph with the space which one's structural or artistic sense may suggest, but it is usually possible. A slight reorganization, — a blending of two ideas, the division of others, a renewed effort to arrive at the best possible proportion, — will ordinarily remove much of the difficulty.

3. Variety in transitions. - Variety in the manner of joining paragraphs is likewise important. Here, as in the case of paragraph length, due regard for our purpose in writing will go far in preventing monotony. If we employ paragraphs to introduce, to direct, to unite, to illustrate, to amplify, and to summarize, we cannot avoid approaching reasonable variation. We may not attain it, however, if we merely push the paragraphs together as if they were so many toy blocks. And

we shall be scarcely more successful if we really make transitions, but make all of them in the same way. The reader will either find himself weary without knowing why, or he will understand the cause and condemn the writer for ignorance or carelessness. A good example of adequate variety in transitions may be found on pages 130-132 in the paragraph headings taken from Professor Gardiner's The Bible as English Literature.

B. VARIETY WITHIN THE PARAGRAPH

1. Variety of sentence length. Within the paragraph the first demand of variety is that the sentences be of different length; that the reader sometimes gain the full thought only after he has been warned to accept it with qualification, and again that he come to it quickly. Occasionally this difference of sentence length is looked upon as a very pleasant literary virtue if it is the unconscious outgrowth of one's main purpose in writing, but is regarded as an artificial, mechanical device when it is the result of conscious seeking. Unfortunately, students who take this view forget that monotony wearies the reader regardless of the ease with which the writing has been done. They forget, too, that variety of sentence length need not be sought consciously while one engages in the act of writing. The sentence is such a small unit that it can usually be revised or completely recast without necessitating serious changes in its neighbors. The time, then, to give conscious attention to such details of structure is after our thoughts are safely recorded on paper. And the testimony of experienced craftsmen in almost every kind of written work is that they frequently make changes in this way solely to secure variation.

2. Variety of sentence form. Secondly, variety in the paragraph demands difference of sentence form. This demand is not difficult to meet if the writer is familiar with English sentence structure, and really strives to make use of his knowledge. To begin with, much variety can be gained through the different grammatical types of sentences. Quite naturally, every writer

uses declarative sentences chiefly; but he need not restrict himself to them alone. Sometimes a declaration is most emphatic when it is expressed in the form of a question; or it may happen that either a declaration or a question can be put in the form of an exclamation. If no helpful changes can be made in any of these ways, it may be possible to effect them through the other grammatical classes, simple, complex, and compound. If, however, we are still unable to get away from monotony, we have recourse to the making of changes in the rhetorical types, - the periodic, the unperiodic or loose, and the balanced. And should all these expedients fail, the desired effect may be gained by shifting the emphasis slightly, by substituting a fresh grammatical construction for one that has been used too frequently, or by varying the sentence cadence. In truth, there are so many ways of gaining variety of sentence form that no legitimate excuse can be offered for monotony.

Let us study two paragraphs that illustrate the agreeable effect of variety. The first shows especially difference of sentence length; the second, difference of sentence form. Every student ought to be interested, too, in the fact that the author of the second paragraph brought it into its present form by revising it for variety of sentence structure.

Charles had now a last chance of regaining the affection of his people. If he could have resolved to give his confidence to the leaders of the moderate party in the House of Commons, and to regulate his proceedings by their advice, he might have been, not, indeed, as he had been, a despot, but the powerful and respected king of a free people. The nation might have enjoyed liberty and repose under a government with Falkland at its head, checked by a constitutional opposition under the conduct of Hampden. It was not necessary that, in order to accomplish this happy end, the king should sacrifice any part of his lawful prerogative, or submit to any conditions inconsistent with his dignity. It was necessary only that he should abstain from treachery, from violence, from gross breaches of the law. This was all that the nation was then disposed to require of him. And even this was too much.1

The proper grading of sinners is skewed by taking into account their

1 Macaulay, Essay on Hampden.

education, breeding, manners, piety, or philanthropy. The primitive tribal assembly takes an all-round view of the culprit, and the sentence it pronounces passes upon his walk and conversation as well as upon his guilt. The court of justice, however, wisely throws out such considerations as irrelevant, and narrows down to the question, “What punishment does this deed deserve?" In no other way can men be made to stand on a level before the law. Now, long ago we attained in theory the equality of all men before God, and the equality of all men before the law; but the equality of all men before the bar of public opinion is still to be achieved. No judge would dare show himself such a respecter of persons as is the public. How often clean linen and church-going are accepted as substitutes for right-doing! What a deodorizer is polite society! Who smells the buzzard under his stolen peacock plumes! Anyone can sense turpitude in the dingy "hobo," but a well-groomed Captain Kidd, of correct habits, with a family "reared in the lap of luxury" as a background, is well-nigh irresistible.1

C. VARIETY WITHIN THE SENTENCE

In the sentence, variety requires that there be no annoying repetition of individual words. Nor may one's watchfulness be restricted to the sentences singly, inasmuch as one sentence may be free from repetition of this kind within its own limits, yet contribute to an unpleasant effect that in turn is partly produced by its immediate neighbors. The fault stands out clearly in the following example :

The rear room of the library is generally used for a study room. In this room are many tables with chairs around them and electric lights over them. On the west side of the room are shelves of books, mostly reference books.

In order to see how agreeably these sentences might be improved, compare them with any group from the quotations employed to illustrate paragraph variety, or - what would be even more convincing-rewrite them carefully.

Unpleasant repetitions are sometimes condoned on the ground that everyone has favorite words that persistently creep into his writing because they are expressive of his own character or his dominant thought. Unquestionably, an honest difficulty

1 Edward Alsworth Ross, Sin and Society. This paragraph is used in this manner with the kind permission of the author.