observe, signifies both to note, to mark, and to keep, to celebrate. In its former acceptation, it gives rise to the verbal noun observation; in its latter, to observance. We say, a man of observation," not observance ;— the observance [not observation] of the Sabbath." Conscience and consciousness are thus distinguished: the former is the moral sense which discerns between right and wrong; the latter is simply knowledge, as used in connection with sensations or mental operations. Dryden, therefore, violates Propriety in the following couplet : "The sweetest cordial we receive at last, Negligence is often improperly used for neglect. The former is a habit the latter, an act. "His negligence was the source of all his misfortunes."-" By his neglect he lost the opportunity." In like manner, sophism and sophistry are apt to be confounded. The former is a fallacious argument; the latter, a fallacious course of reasoning. 'Gorgias, who was noted for his sophistry, then had recourse to a transparent sophism." 66 The third fault that violates Propriety is the employment of a word in a sense not authorized by good usage; as when we say a road is impracticable, for impassable; or speak of decompounding a mixture, instead of analyzing it. LESSON LVII. EXERCISE ON PURITY AND PROPRIETY. CORRECT the violations of Purity and Propriety in the following sentences : PURITY. 1. If the privileges to which he has an undoubted right, and has so long enjoyed, should now be wrested from him, would be flagrant injustice. 2. The religion of these people, as well as their customs and manners, were strangely misrepresented. 3. Removing the term from Westminster, sitting the Parliament, was illegal. 4. This change of fortune had quite transmogrified him. 5. The king soon found reason to and illustrate their use. Show the difference between conscience and consciousness. How does Dryden violate propriety by the use of the former? Define the difference between negligence and neglect; between sophism and sophistry. Define ard illus trate the thi fault that violates propriety. repent him of provoking such dangerous enemies. 6. The popular lords did not fail to enlarge themselves on the subject. 7. I shall endeavor to live hereafter suitable to a man in my station. 8. It was thought that the coup d'état would have occasioned an émeute. 9. The dernier resort of the emperor will be to make the amende honorable; but nous verrons. 10. The queen, whom it highly imported that the two monarchs should be at peace, acted the part of mediator. 11. The wisest princes need not think it any diminution to their greatness, or derogation to their sufficiency, to rely upon counsel. 12. He behaved himself conformable to that blessed example. 13. I should be obliged to him, if he will gratify me in that particular. 14. May is par excellence the month of flowers; it is delicious at this season to go stroaming about the fields. 15. You can't bamboozle me with such flimsy excuses. 16. I hold that this argument is irrefragable. 17. Whether one person or more was concerned in the business, does not yet appear. 18. The conspiracy was the easier discovered from its being known to many. 19. These feasts were celebrated to the honor of Osiris, whom the Greeks called Dionysius, and is the same with Bacchus. 20. Such a sight was enough to dumfounder an ordinary man. 21. This will eventuate in jeopardizing the whole party. 22. Firstly, he has conducted matters so illy that his fellow countrymen can hereafter repose no confidence in him. 23. All these things required abundance of finesse and delicatesse to manage with advantage. 24. When I made some à propos remarks upon his conduct, he began to quiz me; but he had better have let it alone. 25. A large part of the meadows and cornfields was overflown. 26. Having finished my chores before sundown, I lit a fire. pleasures of the understanding are more preferable than those of the 28. Virtue confers the supremest dignity on man, and should be his chiefest desire. 29. Temperance and exercise are excellent preventatives of debility. 30. I admire his amiableness and candidness. 31. It grieves me to think with what ardor two or three eminent personages have inchoated such a course. senses. PROPRIETY. 27. The 1. Every year a new flower, in his judgment, beats all the old ones, though it is much inferior to them both in color and shape. 2. The [ceremonious, or ceremonial?] law is so called in contradistinction to the moral and the judicial law. 3. Come often; do not be [ceremonious, or ceremonial]. 4 Meanwhile the Britons, left to shift for themselves, were forced to call in the Saxons to their aid. 5. Conscience of integty supports the misfortunate. 6. His name must go down to posterity with distinguished honor in the public records of the nation. 7. Every thing goes helter-skelter and topsy-turvy, when a man leaves his business to be done by others. 8. The alone principle;-a likely boy ;-he is considerable of a man ;-the balance of them;-at a wide remove;I expect he did it;-I learned him the lesson;-to fall trees;-he conducts well;-like he did;-we started directly they came;-I feel as though;-equally as well. 9. What [further, or farther?] need have we of caution! 10. Still [further, or farther?], what evidence have we of this 11. We may try hard, and still be [further, or farther?] from success than ever. 12. If all men were exemplary in their conduct, things would soon take a new face, and religion receive a mighty encouragement. 13. A reader can often see with half an eye what ails a sentence, when its author is unable to discover any mistake. 14. He passed his time at the court of St. James, currying favor with the minister. 15. One brave [act, or action?] often turns the fortune of battle. 16. Our [acts, or actions?] generally proceed from instinct or impulse; our [acts, or actions?] are more frequently the result of deliberation. 17. Learning and arts were but then getting up. 18. One is in a bad fix that has to spend a rainy day in the country. It is enough to give most people the blues. 19. I had like to have gotten a broken head. 20. It is difficult for one unaccustomed to [sophism, or sophistry?] to succeed in a [sophism, or sophistry?]. 21. This performance was much at one with the other. 22. I had a great mind to tell him that I set store by him. 23. If we can not beat our adversaries with logic, we should at least not allow them to get the upper hand of us in mildness of temper and properness of behavior. LESSON LVIII. PRECISION. § 359. THE third essential property of style is PRECISION. This term is derived from the Latin præcidere, to cut off; and the property so called consists in the use of such words as exactly convey the meaning, and nothing more. Suppose we mean to say, "Cæsar displayed great courage on the battle-field"; were we to use fortitude instead of courage, we should violate Precision, because the former quality is displayed in supporting pain, the latter in meeting danger. We should be guilty of the same fault, if we were to employ both words," Cæsar displayed great courage and fortitude on the battle-field," because it would be saying more than we mean. § 360. Precision is most frequently violated by a want of discrimination in the use of synonymous terms; as in the example above, when fortitude is substituted for courage. One § 859. What is the third essential property of style? From what is the word precision derived? In what does the quality so called consist? Illustrate this with the sentence, "Cæsar displayed great courage on the battle-field." $ 360. How is precision most frequently violated? When is one word said to be the word is said to be the synonyme of another, when it means the same thing or nearly the same: as, enough, and sufficient; active, brisk, agile, and nimble. In such synonymous terms our language abounds, in consequence of its having received. additions from many different sources. While a very few of these differ so imperceptibly that they may be regarded as almost identical in signification, by far the greater part are distinguished by delicate shades of meaning; and their discriminate use at once denotes the scholar and imparts the finest effect to composition. The habit of using words accurately begets the habit of thinking accurately; the student, therefore, when in the act of composing, can not be too careful in the choice of the words he employs,-can not make a better use of his time than in examining and comparing the various synonymous expressions that present themselves to his mind, and in thus enabling himself to select from among them such as exactly convey his meaning, and nothing more or less. As aids in this improving mental exercise, he will find Webster's Quarto Dictionary and Crabb's "English Synonymes " specially useful. To illustrate this subject, a few synonymes are here defined in contrast, from which the importance of using them aright will be apparent. I. Custom, habit. Custom is the frequent repetition of the same act, habit is the effect of such repetition. By the custom of early rising, we form habits of diligence. Custom applies to men collectively or individually; habit applies to them as individuals only. Every nation has its customs; every man has his peculiar habits. II. Surprise, astonish, amaze, confound. We are surprised at what is unexpected; astonished, at what is more unexpected, and at what is vast or great; amazed, at what is incomprehensible, or what unfavorably affects our interests; confounded, at what is shocking or terrible. We are surprised to meet a friend, at an hour when he is generally engaged at home; we are astonished to meet one whom we supposed to be across the ocean; we are amazed to meet a person of whose death we have been informed; we are confounded to hear that a family of our acquaintance have been poisoned. III. Abhor, detest. To abhor implies strong dislike; to detest com synonyme of another? Why are synonymous terms numerous in our language? What is said respecting their shades of meaning? How can an examination into these delicate differences of signification benefit the student? Show and illustrate the difference between custom and habit; between surprise, astonish, amaze, and confound; bo bines with this dislike an equally strong disapprobation. We abhor being in debt; we detest treachery. IV. Only, alone. Only imports that there is no other of the same kind; alone imports being accompanied by no other. An only child is one that has neither brother nor sister; a child alone, is one that is left by itself. There is a difference, therefore, in precise language, between the two phrases, "virtue only makes us happy," and "virtue alone makes us happy." The former implies that nothing else can do it; the latter, that virtue itself, unaccompanied with other advantages, is sufficient to ensure our happiness. V. Entire, complete. A thing is entire when it wants none of its parts; complete, when it lacks none of its appendages. A man may have an entire house to himself, and yet not have one complete apart ment. VI. Enough, sufficient. Enough, properly speaking, has reference to the quantity one wishes to have; sufficient, to that which one needs. The former, therefore, generally implies more than the latter. The miser may have sufficient, but never has enough. VII. Avow, acknowledge, confess. Each of these words implies the admission of a fact, but under different circumstances. To avow supposes the person to glory in the admission; to acknowledge implies a small fault, for which the acknowledgment compensates; to confess is used in connection with greater offences. A patriot avows his opposi tion to a tyrant, and is applauded; a gentleman acknowledges his mistake, and is forgiven; a prisoner confesses his crime, and is punished. § 361. The precise writer rejects all unnecessary words; he does not, for instance, say, that such a thing cannot possibly be, or must necessarily be, because possibly and necessarily imply nothing more than can and must. He does not, after having made a statement, repeat it without any modification of the idea, in several different clauses, imagining that he is thereby adding to what has been said. Such unmeaning repetitions are called redundancies, and no other fault so enfeebles style. Addison, at the beginning of his Cato, is guilty of several gross redundancies: tween abhor and detest; between only and alone; between entire and complete ; between enough and sufficient; between avow, acknowledge, and confess. § 361. What is said of the precise writer? What are redundancies? What is their effect on style? Who is mentioned as guilty of this fault? Repeat the passage, and |