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ENGLISH COMPOSITION.

INTRODUCTION.

THE Word Composition comes from Latin compóno, I put together; compositio, the act of putting together.

It denotes the putting together of a number of different elements, so as to form a whole. Thus we speak of the composition of a medicine, meaning the way in which it is made up of a number of ingredients; or of the composition of a picture, meaning the way in which the different parts and figures are arranged, so as to produce an artistic. effect. Again, in the sense in which we are now using the word, we may speak of literary composition; meaning thereby, the way in which words and sentences are arranged so as to convey a clear meaning, and to produce the impression designed by the writer.

In all literary work there are two distinct elementsMATTER and FORM.

The MATTER is that which has to be expressed in words. It may be a bare fact: as, for example, some particular of the structure of a plant-the occurrence of an earthquake, a birth, a death, or a marriage. Or it may be the subtlest thought or fancy-elaborated with the utmost nicety, or bathed in the warm hues of feeling and imagination. Literary works are usually classified according to the nature of the Matter with which they deal: as, scientific, historical, didactic, imaginative, &c.

The FORM may also vary greatly as well as the Matter. The two most strongly marked varieties of Form are

1. PROSE,

2. VERSE.*

Each of these again admits of almost endless variations.

For our present purpose the distinction may suffice which satisfied M. Jourdain : "Tout ce qui n'est point prose est vers, et tout ce qui n'est point vers est prose." The student must however beware of confounding Verse with Poetry.

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Thus in Prose,—there may be the greatest possible simplicity and plainness, as in the English Bible-Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress'—or Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.'

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Or

we may have an elaborate, highly ornate and rhetorical manner, such as that of Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire '--De Quincey's 'Confessions'-Burke's 'Reflections on the French Revolution'-or Ruskin's 'Modern Painters' and 'Seven Lamps of Architecture.' Apart from such strongly marked contrasts as these, every vigorous writer has his own peculiar manner, his favourite rhythm, and his characteristic combinations both of words and sentences.

The present work is intended as a guide in the writing of English Prose. The aim is to assist the student to write clearly and correctly-without vulgarity and without affectation. The higher charms and graces of style which characterise our standard authors, are in great measure the natural expression of superior genius, and, so far, beyond the reach of imitation. But a correct and pure style is within the reach of all; and, this secured, practice, reading and culture will do the rest. The student whose mind is both open to the impressions of nature and imbued with the spirit of our best writers— who has stored his memory with their most impressive passages, and learned to delight in their triumphs of expression and rich and varied rhythms--need not despair of attaining to some measure of their felicity and elegance.

PART I.-SENTENCES.

§ 1. THE unit of Composition is the Simple Sentence. Simple Sentences are built up into Complex Sentences; and again Paragraphs consist of Sentences both Simple and Complex.

§ 2. The vital parts of a Sentence are Subject and Predicate. (E. Gr. § 301.) When we speak it must be about some thing; and that something is the Subject: we must also have something to say about it; and this is the Predicate. Each of these two vital parts must be made as distinct and clear as possible.

§ 3. THE SUBJECT.-To denote this, use the simplest available term.

Most things admit of being denoted by more names than one. [Such names are called Synonyms: Greek oúv, together; ovoμa, name.] Familiar examples are:England, Britain, the British Isles, the Three Kingdoms; London, the Metropolis; Ireland, Erin, the Green Isle, the Emerald Isle; China, the Celestial Empire, the Flowery Land, the Middle Kingdom; the sun, solar orb, orb of day, Phoebus, &c. But there is always one name by which a thing is most naturally called; and the student should make a point of using this, unless there is some special reason for selecting another. Probably no rule of good writing is more frequently violated than this. The young writer, afraid of seeming bald and dull, has recourse to an ornamental synonym to give a sparkle to his style.* But this kind of tinsel adornment pleases none except persons of wholly uncultivated taste, and should be scrupulously avoided.

§ 4. As a general rule, the student will do well to banish

* Much of what has been called poetic diction is of this nature, and has been justly held up to derision by Wordsworth in his famous 'Preface' to 'Lyrical Ballads.' See Works, vol. vi. p. 322.

for the present all thought of ornament or elegance, and to aim only at expressing himself plainly and clearly. The best ornament is always that which comes unsought. Let him not beat about the bush, but go straight to the point. Let him remember that what is written is meant to be read; that time is short; and that—other things being equal-the fewer words the better.*

§ 5. THE PREDICATE.-The same general remarks apply to the construction of the Predicate, though here there is usually greater scope for variety of expression. The subject having been distinctly enunciated, one clear impression has already been made upon the reader's mind; and he is thus prepared to follow the course pursued by the writer. Mention the Sun, and the reader's attention is once called and fixed upon that body; from which conception as from a centre, branch out various predications according to the purpose of the writer, each of which may be expressed in several ways. The Sun-shines; illumines the world; sheds his light over all things. The Moon -shines by reflected light; borrows her lustre from the sun; is not self-luminous; is a dark body, but capable of reflecting light, &c. In neither of these cases could the subject be varied; while the Predicate admits of being expressed in a number of different ways.

EXERCISE 1.

Construct Simple Sentences expressing the following facts and events :-

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* There is much good sense and appropriateness in the following advice of the late Dean Alford:

"Be simple, be unaffected, be honest in your speaking and writing, Never use a long word where a short one will do. Call a spade a spade, not a well-known oblong instrument of manual husbandry; let home be home, not a residence; a place a place, not a locality; and so of the rest. Where a short word will do, you always lose by using a long one. You lose in clearness; you lose in honest expression of your meaning; and, in the estimation of all men who are qualified to judge, you lose in reputation for ability.... Elegance of language may not be in the power of all of us; but simplicity and straightforwardness are." (Plea for the Queen's English.)

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