"Barns and stackyards were burned down in the midst of a loudly lamented scarcity of grain, and the declared ruin of the agricultural interests." (White, Hist. Tr. p. 403.)

[For "in the midst of," read during; or, perhaps, alter thus-" amidst loud laments over the scarcity," &c.]

"These events were succeeded by the remarkable league among the three powers (Prescott, Mex. i. 128.)

[For "among" read "between."]

Sometimes, again, prepositions are used pleonastically with verbs, the sense of which is complete without them: -e.g. "to proceed on," ""to return back again," "" to ascend up, "to descend down," "to envelop around," &c. In such cases retrench the redundant word.

§ 118. Sometimes a verb which takes a direct object is connected with another which requires a preposition. In such cases it is usually best to repeat the object in a pronominal form. Sometimes, however, for brevity, this is not done, but the direct and indirect regimes are combined: e.g.

"The learning, the virtue, the recent merits of the author, entitled him to fair preferment, but the slave had broken his chain; and the more he weighed the less was he disposed to subscribe to the thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England." (Gibbon, Autobiog. p. 33.)

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Yet it would surely have been better to say

the more he weighed them, the less was he disposed to subscribe to the thirty-nine Articles," &c.

Or

"The more he weighed the thirty-nine Articles the less was he disposed to subscribe to them."

Such a sentence as the following again is inelegant :"... that unpretentious little college (Corpus), which stands wedged in between stately Christ Church and medieval Merton, but with both of which foundations it may . . . vie, and utterly vanquish in the matter of plate (Review.)

It should rather be

".. with both of which it may vie . . . and vanquish them.."

When the two verbs come close together, the effect is less objectionable:

"To vie with and conquer them both."

§ 119. A similar fault is when two verbs which properly take different prepositions, are connected with a preposition which suits only one of them; e.g.—

"His friend Oldham . . dissuaded him from forming a monastic institution, likely soon to perish, but (advised him?) rather to devote his means and exhibit his piety in founding a college...” (Review.)

Read

"To devote his means to, and exhibit his piety in (? by) founding a college."

Or, better still, turn the sentence in some other way, so as to avoid a construction which, though correct, is pedantic; e.g.

"To exhibit his piety by devoting his means," &c.

Similarly, when two auxiliary verbs are brought together, the construction of each must be made complete. Such sentences as the following are therefore wrong :

"The following facts may, or have been adduced as reasons on the other side." (Latham, Ex. in Breen.)

[Read

"The following facts either have been or may be adduced. ."]

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When the Emperor Alexander elevated the standard of the cross, he invoked the only power that ever has, or ever will arrest the march of temporal revolution." (Alison, Ex. in Breen.)

"It is not worthy of the powers of its author, who can and has at other times risen into much loftier ground." (Gilfillan, Ex. in Bréen.) [Read

"Who can rise, and has at other times risen .

ניי.

§ 120. On the same principle the expression, "as much, or more than," is condemned. It should be-" as much

as, or more than . . .”.
"-e.g.-

"He was as acute or more so than his persecutor."

Read

"He was as acute as, or even more so, than his persecutor."

Or better

"He was as acute as his persecutor, or even more so."

§ 121. WRONG USE OF WORDS AFFECTED WAYS OF SPEAKING. Great care should be taken to use words with well-defined precision. Especially when a long or rare word is used, it should be clear that it is precisely the word needed. For example, there is such a word as "idiosyncrasy," meaning peculiarity of temperament, with adjective "idiosyncratic.' idiosyncratic." Occasions may arise for the use of both these words; but when we find a popular author speaking of "extraordinary circumstances impelling to idiosyncratic contemplation," we conclude that he has chosen the word more out of regard for sound than

sense.

as

The same remarks apply to such high-flown verbiage

"Procrastinating a person's convalescence." (Popular Novel.)

Or

"Immediate commencement of excavating work." (Newspaper.)

And though such egregious misuse of words is rare, instances are constantly to be met with, showing want of nice perception in this respect. For example, the word "embrace" may be legitimately used in the sense of to "take in," "comprise," e.g.

"Natural philosophy embraces many sciences." (Johnson's Dict., s. v.) But it is none the less clear that the word, so understood, is curiously incongruous in the following passage:"The Russians, though they embraced the élite of the guards, did not venture to await the attack." (Alison, ch. xxvi.)

§ 122. Sometimes words of less common use are confounded through some kind of similarity. The word "mystical" is an instance of this, being often confounded with "mysterious," or perhaps even with "misty" (i.e., cloudy, obscure), e.g.—

"As my abstraction grew more intense, the curtain [changed] into a glittering veil, and the veil mystically disappeared, and I beheld a beautiful and female face." (Novel.)

"Mystical" signifies having a hidden meaning, as the "mystical" number in Revelation (xiii. 18); whereas the meaning here is simply that the transformation was inexplicable, or, as the word is popularly used, "mysterious." So some divines have got the credit of being "mystical," simply because their style has been obscure (" misty ").

§ 123. In the same way the word "metaphysical" has often been misapplied. Because metaphysical inquiry involves abstract and subtle and often intricate thought, people have applied the epithet to any discussion or treatment of a subject characterized by intricacy and subtlety, as in the case of the so-called "metaphysical" poets, better called "fantastical" or "euphuistic."

By a still more ridiculous abuse of an ill-understood word, some would call a barometer or an electric machine, a "philosophical" instrument.

Among other words often used loosely may be mentioned "myth," for "fiction" or "invention;" "tragedy" for "murder or other lamentable catastrophe; "thrall" for "slavery" (= thraldom); "trite" for "pithy," &c.

§ 124. Confused thinking often leads to incongruous juxtaposition of words, e.g.—

"The excitement of onlookers was apparent in the keenest degree." (Newspaper.)

It is the "excitement" that is "keen," not the "degree of it. 66 Degree" is measure; more or less of a thing as indicated by numbers on a scale. It should be "highest degree; or, better, "the keenest excitement was apparent," &c. The same confusion is sometimes seen in the use of such words as "scope," "proportion," "scale," e.g.

"A central painted cupola of large, but exquisite, proportions." (Popular Novel.)

["Exquisite proportions" is good, "proportion" being a matter of nicety and exactness; but "large" proportions is meaningless. It should rather be, "a cupola large and of exquisite proportions."]

"Architecture. . . affords the best scope for the parade of barbaric pomp and splendour." (Prescott, Mex. i. 131.)

["Scope" is range, space; the proper predicates for which are such as "wide," "large," &c., not as adjectives of quality, like "best."]

§ 125. A similar confusion sometimes appears in speaking of the operation of different faculties of the mind, e.g.

“I earnestly hope and fervently believe that the British Parliament,” &c. (Debates.),

"It is not the "belief" that is "fervent;" fervency belonging to the emotions, not to the intellect. It should rather be

"I sincerely or firmly believe."

§ 126. Sometimes two or more nouns are connected with a verb, which is strictly appropriate only to one or two of them, e.g.

"I delivered my imperfect sheets to the flames, and for ever renounced a design on which some expense, much labour, and more time had been consumed." (Gibbon, Autobiog.)

This is incongruous. We say "to consume ""labour" or "time," but not "to consume expense." For " read "money."

expense

§ 127. FOREIGN WORDS AND PHRASES. These should only be introduced when either technically proper or specially neat and expressive; and then, only when the writer has such familiar acquaintance with them as to be sure of using them correctly. Through want of such caution, we not unfrequently meet with such barbarisms as stratas " for "strata,' "animalculæ " for "animalcula,' "effluvia" for "effluvia," and others even more outrageous.

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§ 128. Some French phrases are so very happy in the way in which they express rapidly and suggestively a complex and perhaps subtle notion, that an English writer cannot afford wholly to dispense with them. Among such may be mentioned "savoir faire," "laisser aller," amour propre,' 'mariage de convenance," "succès d'estime," coup d'état," "canard," " coup d'œil," " gobemouche," all of which have become a part of the familiar style of educated English people.

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$ 129. Some Latin phrases, too, have become naturalized, and their convenience justifies their use, e.g. :"ad captandum" (appeals, &c.), "ad hominem" (arguments), "bona fide" (undertakings), "sine qua non (i.e., an indispensable condition), "casus belli," "status quo,' "post mortem" (examination into causes of death), "terra firma," &c.

§ 130. The frequent introduction of even such phrases is objectionable, savouring perhaps of pedantry or of poverty of diction. Besides this, it is good practice to endeavour to invent English equivalents for even the cleverest