spicuous position, that it may secure the special attention of the reader or hearer.

Such a position is generally found at the beginning of a sen tence; sometimes, however, as when we desire to detain the mind and excite curiosity, the latter part of a sentence is to be preferred as the location of the principal word or words.

The inversion of the grammatical and logical construction of the clauses, or members of a sentence, tends to give force and vivacity to thought; thus:

"Great is Diana of the Ephesians ;" "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord;" "Whom ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you;" "Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?" "Better is little with righteousness, than great revenues without right;""They sank as lead, in the mighty waters."

When, however, we desire to hold the attention, and to suspend curiosity, the important words and clauses may be advantageously reserved for the end of the sentence; thus:

"On whatever side we contemplate Homer, what principally strikes us is his wonderful invention;" "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me."

In whatever part of the sentence the principal word or clause is placed, it should not be encumbered or obscured by any other words.

RULE III.—Omitting superfluous words, particular attention must be paid to the proper use of all words expres sive of transition and connection; such as but, and, which, whose, where, &c.

The separation of a preposition from the noun it governs is to be avoided; as in the sentence, "Though virtue borrows no assist ance from, yet it may often be accompanied by, the advantages of fortune."

Demonstrative and relative particles should be sparingly used; as in the following: "There is nothing which disgusts us sooner than the empty pomp of language." Such formal phraseology is fitting in introducing a subject, or laying down a proposition, but at other times a more simple and concise form of expression is to be preferred; as, "Nothing disgusts us sooner than the empty pomp of language."

The relative, though it may in certain connections be omitted without sacrifice of clearness, and need not be inserted in familiar writings, yet in those of a dignified kind it should generally be expressed; as, "the man I love," "the books I read," should be written, "the man whom I love," "the books which I read."

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The strength and vivacity of a sentence is greatly promoted by the skilful application or omission of the connective "and," and the disjunctives "neither," "nor," "either," "or." By their repetition in the enumeration of several particulars, additional weight and distinctness are secured to a statement: on the other hand, by their omission, a close connection, a quick transition, or a rapid succession of objects is expressed.

The unnecessary repetition of “and” is enfeebling, like the vulgar phrase and so, in telling a story; and yet, when we are enumerating several objects, and wish that they should appear as distinct from each, and that the mind should dwell upon each separately, connectives may be advantageously inserted; for example:

"Such a man might fall a victim to power; but truth and reason and liberty would fall with him." The same thing is seen in a sentence froni one of St. Paul's Letters: "I am persuaded that neither life, nor death, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God."

That by dropping the connective a closer connection and more rapid succession are expressed, we see in the well-known remark of Cæsar, "Veni, vidi, vici," ("I came, I saw, I conquered;" or "I came, saw, conquered.")

LESSON LXXXVII.

STRENGTH IN THE STRUCTURE OF SENTENCES.

RULE IV. In the members of a sentence, when two things are compared or contrasted, where a resemblance or an opposition is designed to be expressed, a correspond

ing resemblance or contrast, in the language and construction, should be effected. For example:

The clauses should be nearly of an equal length: the same number of nouns should be employed in the contrasted or compound clauses of the sentence: the correlative nouns should be qualified by appropriate adjectives. These directions are beautifully exhibited in Pope's Preface to his Homer:

"Homer was the greater genius; Virgil, the better artist: in the one we most admire the man; in the other, the work. Homer hurries us with a commanding impetuosity; Virgil leads us with an attractive majesty. Homer scatters with a generous profusion; Virgil bestows with a careful magnificence. Homer, like the Nile, pours out his riches with a sudden overflow; Virgil, like a river in its banks, with a constant stream. And when we look upon their machines, Homer seems like his own Jupiter in his terrors, shaking Olympus, scathing the lightnings, and firing the heavens; Virgil, like the same power, in his benevolence, counselling with the gods, laying plans for empires, and ordering his whole creation."

Such regularity and correspondence of structure should not, however, be frequent and protracted, as it would produce too much uniformity, and tire the ear.

RULE V.-The strength of sentences should be promoted by disposing the members so that they shall rise and grow in importance to the end: this is denominated Climax.

EXAMPLE..—"This decency, this grace, this propriety of manners to character, is so essential to princes in particular, that, whenever it is neglected, their virtues lose a great degree of lustre, and their defects acquire much aggravation. Nay, more: by neglecting this decency and this grace, and for want of a sufficient regard to appearances, even their virtues may betray them into failings, their failings into vices, and their vices into habits unworthy of princes and unworthy of men."

This sort of oratorical climax is not easily executed; nor should it always be sought after, as it would give to composition too elaborate and artificial an air. Yet it is important always to observe the rule so far as this: a weaker assertion or proposition should never be placed after a stronger one; and where a sentence consists of two or more members, the concluding one should generally be the longest: for example, "When our passions have forsaken us, we flatter ourselves with the belief that we have forsaken them."

RULE VI.-No sentence should be terminated with an adverb, a preposition, or other inconsiderable word, unless by such location an emphasis and increased significance shall be given to the meaning..

There are sentences wherein the stress lies upon some words of this sort; but when these words are not emphatic, and are used merely to qualify other words, they should generally occupy a less prominent place. As an example of the first remark: "In their prosperity, my friends shall never hear of me; in their adversity, always." As an example of the second remark: "Avarice is a crime of which wise men are often guilty."

Such compound verbs as bring about, lay hold of, come over to, clear up, &c., do not usually make so energetic an ending to a sentence as a simple verb. The pronoun it makes a feeble termination to a sentence, especially when preceded by one of the prepositions; as, in it, with it, &c. The same thing may be said of a phrase expressive only of some additional circumstance, as for instance: "A great advance towards this union was the condition of parties, so happily begun, so successfully carried on, and of late, so unaccountably neglected; to say no worse."

Such phrases, or circumstantial clauses, should be located in a preceding part of the sentence, that the more important words may, unincumbered, occupy the last place.

It is an important rule, also, that circumstances should be judiciously interspersed through different parts of a sentence, being placed nearest the words to which they relate, and should not be crowded together in succession.

Whatever may be said of the effect upon the strength of a sentence, it adds greatly to its vivacity, and avoids stiffness and too great stateliness, to place at the end of a sentence the particles referred to, in the case of short sentences, or where the preposition idiomatically belongs to the verb and forms one phrase with it, as in some compound verbs mentioned above, and in such expressions as these: "the book you were speaking of;" "the school you were at;" "the man you were talking to."

The omission also of the relative which, often relieves a sentence of the stiffness and formality which the use of it would occasion, especially in conversation or in letter-writing.

LESSON LXXXVIII.

VIVACITY OF EXPRESSION.

RULE.-Employ specific words, when suitable, in pre, ernce to general or abstract terms.

Nothing contributes more to enliven an expression than to select such words as are particular and determinate in their signification. The more general the terms employed, the more faint is the picture they present; the more specific they are, the brighter is the picture. When it can properly be done, let a class of sensible objects be described by an individual of that class; let an intellectual subject be illustrated by a reference to a sensible object; and let an abstract idea be made more plain by employing the analogy between it and some quality in a sensible object.

Illustrations: Instead of using the word mountain, Milton, with fine efect, says:

-"O'er many a frozen, many a fiery Alp, Rocks, caves," &c.

In the song of Moses, instead of saying, "They fell as metal in the mighty waters," how much more impressively is it written, "They sank as lead in the mighty waters!"

Notice the superior vividness of the picture presented to the mind in the specific language used by our Saviour, as compared with that produced by the use of general expressions.

He says: "Consider the lilies, how they grow; they toil not, they spin not, and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which to-day is in the field and to-morrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you?"

Now let the same ideas be expressed in a different phraseology:

"Consider the flowers, how they gradually increase in size; they do no manner of work, and yet I declare to you that no king whatever, in his most splendid garments, is dressed up like them. If, then, God in his providence doth so adorn the vegetable productions, which continue but a little