tongue, joined to Homer's fire, cannot give us ftronger and clearer ideas, than the great Virgil hath fet before our eyes."

By way of appendix to this chapter, we may obferve, that it is improper to begin a sentence in fuch a loofe manner as appears in the following examples:

As nothing damps or depreffes the spirits like great fübjection or flavery, either of body or mind; fo nothing nourifhes, revives, and fortifies them like great liberty. Which may poffibly enter among other reafons, of what has been obferved about long life being found more in England, than in others of our neighbouring countries..

Temple on Health and Long Life.. For this end I propose to-morrow to fet out a week's tak to my labourers, and accept your invitation, if Dion thinks good. To which I gave confent.

Berkeley's Minute Philosopher.

I think it convenient to endeavour, if poffible, to remove a violent, and, I think, unreasonable prejudice which men have received against all those who endeavour to make religion reasonable. As if Bellarmine had been in the right, when he faid that faith was rather to be defined by ignorance than by knowledge. Tillotson's Sermons.

CHAP. IX.

OF STRENGTH IN THE STRUCTURE OF SENTENCES.

TH

HE ftrength of a fentence confifts in fuch a difpofition of its feveral words and members, as fhall tend moft powerfully to imprefs the mind of the reader with the meaning which the author wishes to convey. To the production of this effect the qualities of perfpicuity and unity are absolutely requifite; but they are not of themselves fufficient. For a fentence may be poffeffed of perfpicuity and unity, and yet, by fome unfavourable circumftance in its ftructure, may be deftitute of that ftrength or liveliness of expreffion which a more happy arrangement would have produced.

I. A fentence ought to be divefted of all redundant words, These may fometimes be confiftent with perfpicuity and unity; but they are always irreconcileable with ftrength. It is an invariable maxim, that words which add nothing to the fense or to the clearnefs, muft diminish the force of the expreffion.

I look upon it as my duty, fo far as God has enabled me, and as long as I keep within the bounds of truth, of duty, and of decency. Swift's Letters. It would certainly be very ftrange that any man should think it his duty to tranfgrefs the bounds of duty.

How many are there by whom these tidings of good news were never heard? Bolingbroke, Ph. Fr. This is tidings of tidings, or news of news.

Never did Atticus fucceed better in gaining the universal love and esteem of all men. Spectator. Either of the two words in Italics might have been used; but the admiffion of both is chargeable with tautology.

In the Attic commonwealth it was the privilege and birthright of every citizen and poet, to rail aloud and in public. Swift's Tale of a Tub. This fentence would have loft nothing of its fignification, if the author had faid, "In the Attic commonwealth it was the privilege of every citizen to rail in public,"

I went home, full of a great many ferious reflections.

Guardian.. It was fufficient to inform us, that he went home full of ferious reflections.

We may here obferve, that a principal caufe of languid verbofity is the injudicious ufe of adverbs and epithets.. When ufed fparingly and with judgment, they have a powerful influence in enlivening the expreffion; but nothing has more of an oppofite effect than a profufion of them. When fcattered with a too liberal hand, they lengthen the fentence, without adding proportionate vigour they betray a violent effort to fay fomething great or uncommon.

Adjectives, however, are not always to be regarded as mere epithets. Whatever is neceffary for afcertaining the

Thus

import of either a noun or a verb, whether by adding to the fenfe, or by limiting it, is fomething more than an epithet, according to the common acceptation of that term. when I fay "the glorious fun," the word glorious is an epi-"' thet; it expreffes a quality which, being conceived always to belong to the object, is, like all its other qualities comprehended in the name. But when I fay "the meridian fan,” the word meridian is not barely an epithet, it makes a real addition to the fignification, by denoting the fun to be in the ftation which he always occupies at noon.-. -A fimilar diftinction is to be made between adverbs that are abfolutely neceffary for the expreffion of an idea, and those which are introduced for the fole purpofe of embellishment.

II. Arfentence ought also to be divested of all redundant members. Every member fhould prefent a new thought! Yet we fometimes meet with periods in which the last nem ber is nothing more than the echo of the firft, or a repetition of it in a different form.

very

The firft difcovery of it ftrikes the mind with inward joy, and fpreads delight through all its faculties.

Addison, Spectator.

It is impoffible for us to behold the divine works with coldnefs or indifference, or to furvey fo many beauties, without a fecret fatisfaction and complacency."

Ibid.

In both of thefe inftances, little or nothing is added by the fecond member of the fentence to what was already expreffed in the firft.

Neither is any condition of life more honourable in the fight of God than another, otherwife he would be a refpecter of perfons, which he affures us he is not.

Swift's Sermon on Mutual Subjection. It is evident that this laft claufe does not a little enervate the thought, as it implies but too plainly, that without this affurance from God himself, we should naturally conclude him to be of a character very different from that here given by the preacher.

III. In constructing a fentence, particular attention should be paid to the ufe of copulatives, relatives, and all the particles employed in tranfition and connection. The graceful

nefs and strength of a period must in a great measure depend on words of this defcription. They are the joints and hinges upon which all fentences turn. The various modes of ufing, them are fo numerous, that no particular rules refpecting them can be formed. We must be directed by an attentive confideration of the practice of ftandard writers, joined with. frequent trials of the different effects produced by a different application of thofe particles. Without pretending to exhauft the fubject, I shall here collect a few obfervations which feem to be of importance.

What is called splitting of particles, or feparating a prepofition from the noun which it governs, ought always to be avoided.

As the ftrength of our caufe does not depend upon, so neither is it to be decided by, any critical points of hiftory, chronology, or language- Berkeley's Minute Philosopher In fuch inftances, we feel a fort of pain from the revulfion, or violent feparation of two things which, by their nature, should be clofely united. We are obliged to reft for fome time on the propofition itself, which carries no fignificancy, till it is joined to its proper fubftantive noun.

Some writers needlefsly multiply demonftrative and relative particles, by the frequent ufe of fuch phrafeology as this: "There is nothing which difgufts us fooner than the empty pomp of language." In introducing a fubject, or laying down a propofition to which we demand particular attention, this fort of ftyle is very proper. But in the ordinary current of difcourfe, it is better to exprefs ourselves more fimply and briefly: "Nothing difgufts us fooner than the empty pomp of language."

On the other hand, the relative particles are frequently omitted, when the author thinks his meaning may be underftood without them:

I had feveral men (who) died in my fhip of calentures.

Swift's Travels of Gulliver. It appears that numbers of the officers and foldiers in the camp of Lepidus were prepared for the part (which) they were to act on this occafion.

Ferguson's History of the Roman Republic.

To contain the spirit of anger, is the worthiest discipline (which) we can put ourselves to.

Steele, Spectator.

Though this elliptical ftyle be intelligible, and may be allowed in converfation and epiftolary writing, yet in all compofitions of a ferious or dignified kind, it is unbecoming, except where we have occafional recourfe to it, merely for the fake of avoiding the too frequent recurrence of who or which.

With regard to the copulative particle and, feveral obfervations are to be made. It is evident, that the unneceffary repetition of it enfeebles ftyle; and produces an effect fimi. lar to that of the vulgar phrafe and so, which occurs fo frequently in common converfation.

The academy fet up by Gardinal Richelieu, to amufe the wits of that age and country, and divert them from raking into his politics and miniftry, brought this in vogue; and the French wits have for this laft age been in a manner wholly turned to the refinement of their language, and indeed with fuch fuccefs, that it can hardly be excelled, and runs equally through their verfe and their profe. Temple on Poetry.

And then thofe who are of an inferior condition, that they labour and be diligent in the work of an honest calling, for this is privately good and profitable unto men, and to their families; and those who are above this neceffity, and are in a better capacity, to maintain good works properly fo called, works of pity, and charity, and justice; that they be careful to promote and advance them, according to their power and opportunity, because these things are publicly good and beneficial to mankind. Tillotson's Sermons.

In the first of thefe fentences, the conjunction is seven times introduced, in the laft, eleven times.

A redundancy of copulatives may be proper upon fome occafions: Dining one day at an alderman's in the city, Peter obferved him expatiating after the manner of his brethren, in the praises of his firloin of beef. "Beef (faid the fage magiftrate) is the king of meat. Beef comprehends in it the quinteffence of patridge, and quail, and venifon, and pheafant, and plumb-pudding, and cuftard."

"Swift's Tale of a Tub. Here the repetition of the conjunction is fufficiently charac teriftic of the drowsy speaker.