The treatment of historical Grammar and Language has necessarily been slight; but it will be sufficient for the student for whose use this book is, in general, designed. The few facts and principles given here should afford some insight into the vocabulary and grammatical structure of the language, and serve, perhaps, as an introduction to the romance of philology in later, more serious study. Our debt of gratitude remains to be discharged: to the boys, who for more years than we care to remember have unconsciously contributed, by sins of omission and commission in the class-room, to the stuff these books are made on ; to a number of our colleagues who have helped us when our ignorance was a stumbling-block, and especially to Mr. A. R. Headland, B.A., B.Sc., whose delightful pictures did so much to brighten the text of the first Part; to Mr. A. T. Law, M.A., LI.B., for his revision of our historical grammar, and for his own original note on Spelling which we have adapted on pp. 193-198; and finally to Mr. J. C. Smith, whose watchful eye has corrected many a mistake in our work, and whose conservatism has prevented us at times from straying too far from the orthodox methods of presenting the subject. Acknowledgements are due to the Senate of the University of London for permission to use Examination Questions which are to be found here and there in the Exercises, and to Messrs. Methuen and Co. for permission to use four passages from The Westminster Problems Book. CROYDON, H. A. T. G. H. V. CONTENTS H. Expression: An Essay in the Making IV. Expression: Style in Writing; Appreciation and I THE ELEMENTS OF THOUGHT AND EXPRESSION Thought Control THE Source of all expression, oral and written, must be in thought. Sometimes, however, we are scarcely aware that we are thinking. The casual conversation of every day makes no perceptible demands upon the mind; expression comes naturally and spontaneously. It is only in sustained speech and writing that thought begins to be conscious and definite. Then the resources of memory, reason, and imagination have to be drawn upon, and expression is the outcome of deliberate mental effort. Thus the relating of a story is, in the main, an exercise of memory; the conducting of an argument or the writing of the normal 'essay' a matter of reason, clear-headed 'putting things together'; the making of a description an effort of mental association-one idea or observation following another in the mind. But over thought, whatever its inner and detailed workings, there must be control. That is necessary (i) IN CONVERSATION. Here particularly there is a tendency and a temptation to 'looseness'. Oral expressionthat is, choice of phrase, construction of sentences, apt use of words-is an art in itself only to be attained by practice. But mental arrangement of ideas is necessary to any clear and really intelligent conversation. Sequence of thoughtaccording to time as in a story, or logic as in an argument, or association as in description-should begin in speech; for strict mental control is the necessary prelude, through speech and conversation, to all good writing. Once there is the sense of such control the detailed rules and regulations of pian and arrangement may be forgotten. (ii) IN WRITING. Here the outward expression is apt to be emphasized above the inner thought. The first necessities of an essay, or any piece of written language are (a) directness, but breadth, of thought on the subject; (b) the BUILDING-UP of that thought into one harmonious whole. Such construction or architecture demands an idea, first of all, of relevance and then of the essential connexion of ideas. Thus, if the essay is a whole in thought, every paragraph will be a unit having its place in that whole, and every sentence a unit with its part in the paragraph. This truth cannot be too strongly stressed at the outset for though an essay may itself be 'a loose sally of the mind', in construction it should be anything but loose. At first the machinery will of necessity creak a little. But a stern discipline in arrangement and order will soon lead to a spontaneous and almost unconscious 'planning'—making a mental picture of the essay before pen is put to paper. That is the only true control of thought. Written plans and arrangements are, after all, a means to an end: the real sense of the 'wholeness' and the fitting together of parts is a mental process. It is only when mental construction is reached that the best expression will be possible. From the beginning it is well to recognize as a guiding principle the three main types of essay, which have already been indirectly mentioned: (a) NARRATIVE, where the sequence of thought will be according to time. (b) DESCRIPTIVE, where the sequence of thought will be. according to suggestion. Time will have its place here, |