PREPOSITIONS, . . . . . . . . . . . 174
XIII. THE ARTICLE, . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
XIV. REDUNDANCY, . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
XV. TWO NEGATIVES, . . . . . . . . . . . 194
XVI. ACCORDANCE OF VERB WITH SUBJECT, . . 198
_________________________________________________________________
3
INTRODUCTION
_______
Homer, in all probability, knew no rules of rhetoric, and was not
tortured with the consideration of grammatical construction, and yet
his verse will endure through time. If everybody possessed the genius
of Homer, rules and cautions in writing would be unnecessary.
To-day all men speak, and most men write, but it is observed that
those who most closely follow Homer's method of writing without rules
are most unlike Homer in the results. The ancient bard was a law unto
himself; we need rules for our guidance.
Rules of writing are the outgrowth of the study of the characteristics
and qualities of style which distinguish the best writers from those
of inferior skill and ability. Grammarians and rhetoricians, according
to their several lines of investigation, set forth the laws and
principles governing speech, and formulate rules whereby we may follow
the true, and avoid the false.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25