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1. Mr Canning said, that the end which he had always had in view as the legitimate object of pursuit to a British statesman, he could describe in one word. The language of the philosopher was diffusely benevolent. It professed the amelioration of the lot of all mankind. He hoped that his heart beat as high towards other nations of the earth as that of any one who vaunted his philanthropy; but he was contented to confess that the main object of his contemplation was the interest of England.

2. The temper and character, said Mr Burke, which prevailed in our colonies were, he was afraid, unalterable by any human art. They could not, he feared, falsify the pedigree of that fierce people, and persuade them that they were not sprung from a nation in whose veins the blood of freedom circulated. The language in which they (the colonists) would hear them (the House of Commons) tell them this tale would detect the imposition; their speech would betray them. An Englishman was the most unfit person on earth to argue another Englishman into slavery.

3. In his speech at the trial of Warren Hastings, Mr Sheridan said, that whilst he pointed out the prisoner at the bar as a proper object of punishment, he begged leave to observe that he did not wish to turn the sword of justice against that man, merely because an example ought to be made. Such a wish was as far from his heart, as it was incompatible with equity and justice. If he called for justice upon Mr Hastings, it was because he thought him a great delinquent, and the greatest of all those who, by their rapacity and oppression, had brought ruin on the natives of India, and disgrace upon the inhabitants of Great Britain. Whilst he called for justice upon the prisoner, he wished also to do him justice.

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4. Sir Robert Peel, addressing the students of the University of Glasgow, asked whether he said that they could command success without difficulty? No; difficulty was the condition of success. Difficulty is a severe instructor, set over us by the supreme ordinance of a parental guardian and legislator, who knows us better than we know ourselves, as he loves us better too. He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves, and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper." Those were the memorable words of the first of philosophic statesmen, the illustrious Edmund Burke. He (Sir Robert) urged them to enter into the amicable conflict with difficulty. Whenever they encountered it, they were not to turn aside; they were not to say that there was a lion in the path; but to resolve upon mastering it: and every successive triumph would inspire them with that confidence in themselves, that habit of victory, which would make future conquests easy.

5. Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton said he now proceeded to impress on them the importance of classical studies. He would endeavour to avoid the set phrases of declamatory panegyric which the subject too commonly provoked. But if those studies appeared to them cold and tedious, the fault was in the languor with which they were approached. Did they

think that the statue of ancient art was but a lifeless marble? Let them animate it with their own young breath, and instantly it lived and glowed. Greek literature, if it served them with nothing else, should excite their curiosity as the picture of a wondrous state of civilisation, which, in its peculiar phases, the world could never see again, and yet from which every succeeding state of civilisation had borrowed its liveliest touches.

6. Addison wrote in the Spectator, that when he looked upon the tombs of the great, every emotion of envy died in him; when he read the epitaphs of the beautiful, every inordinate desire went out; when he met with the grief of parents upon a tombstone, his heart melted with compassion; when he saw the tomb of the parents themselves, he considered the vanity of grieving for those whom we must quickly follow; when he saw kings lying by those who deposed them, when he considered rival wits laid side by side, or the holy men that divided the world with their contests and disputes, he reflected with sorrow and astonishment on the little competitions, factions, and debates of mankind. 7. Lord John Russell said, that he wished in that discussion to observe that respect which was due to the ruler of France. He had deserved well of England, he had deserved well of Europe, as a sovereign who had consulted the interests and the balance of power, both in wars and in treaties. Of the government of France, that was not the place to speak; nor was he, a member of that House, the person to speak of it. For his part, when he found that the French people were contented with their own government, and that that government gave a promise of stability, he was willing to respect their choice. It was for the French people to consider on what conditions they would be ruled, and what internal form their government should assume.

8. Mamercus Æmilius, the dictator [a.U.c. 321], having summoned a meeting, said that the immortal gods had undertaken that the public affairs shonld be carried on abroad, and that all things should remain in security; and that, in regard to whatever is required to be done at home, he himself would consult for the liberty of the Roman people. The most effectual protection of it, however, was that offices of great power should not be of long duration, and that a limit of time should be set to those whose jurisdiction could not be limited. Other offices were annual, but the censorship was quinquennial. It was a serious matter to live in subjection to the same persons throughout so many years, in a great part of the affairs of life. He would therefore propose a law, to the effect that the censorship should not be held longer than a year and a half.-Livy, IV. 24.

Chapter II.-The Qualities of a Sentence.

35. Clear thinking must precede correct writing; for no one can expect to convey thoughts accurately to others which have not assumed a complete and precise form in his own mind. This being understood, the excellence of a sentence, regarded as an expression of thought, depends upon two things: first, upon the selection of the words; second, upon the arrangement of the words; or, more briefly, on,

1st, Language; 2d, Construction.

36. In each of these particulars, a good sentence requires three qualities:

1. Perspicuity; 2. Energy; 3. Grace.

Perspicuity aims at conveying a clear and correct understanding of the ideas a writer wishes to express; Energy enables him to do this in the most forcible, Grace in the most pleasing,

manner.

*

*** The natural order of procedure is to select the words first, and to arrange them afterwards. As, however, the making of sentences to exemplify choice of words implies and requires some attention to Construction, the latter subject is, in the following exercises, treated of first. 37. The process of constructing sentences out of materials supplied, is termed SYNTHESIS.

*** In the following Chapters, special Rules of Construction are given for each kind of sentence,-Simple, Complex, and Compound.

38. An important aid to the construction of sentences, especially as regards perspicuity, is Punctuation, which is the art of indicating, by means of points, what members of a sentence are to be conjoined, and what members separated, in meaning.

39. The Points made use of for this purpose are :—

The period,

The comma,
The semicolon,

The colon,

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*** Special Rules of Punctuation are given for each kind of sentence, Simple, Complex, and Compound.

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41. The process of Synthesis is the reverse of that of Analysis. The latter is the breaking down of a whole into its parts; the former is a making up of parts into a whole.

42. In the following exercises in Synthesis, each element to be included in the sentence is stated separately, and the pupil is required to introduce into the sentence only such words as are necessary fully to express all the thoughts, using as subject and predicate the noun and verb printed in italics.

43. Rules of construction in simple sentences:

I. The natural order of the words in a simple sentence is the following:-1st, The subject (with its attributes); 2d, The predicate; 3d, The object (with its attributes); 4th, The abverb.

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II. Perspicuity requires that the words most closely related should be brought as near to one another as possible. III. A sentence often acquires energy by a departure from the natural order, and by making the proposition either, 1. Interrogative; as, "Who does not hope to live long?" Every one hopes to live long." Or, "Can any man serve two masters ?" "No man can serve two masters: hence the rule, a negative interrogation = an affirmation; and an affirmative interrogation a negation; or, 2. Exclamatory; as, "What a piece of work is man!" or, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" Interrogation and Exclamation are called figures of construction.

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IV. When a sentence contains a number of adverbs and adverbial phrases, it may be rendered more graceful by bringing one at least of these to the beginning of the sentence, the adverb of time being, in this case, preferred to that of place.

V. The subject and predicate may be separated by an adverb of time or manner; but not by one of place or cause. VI. The usual order in which adverbs are introduced, is :1st, manner; 2d, cause; 3d, place; 4th, time.

VII. An absolute phrase should stand as near to the beginning of the sentence as possible.

44. Rules of punctuation in simple sentences :—

In the following formulae, the elements of the simple sentence (A) are represented by the numbers 1 (subject), 2 (predicate), 8 (object), 4 (adverb).

I. When the elements stand in their natural order, the only punctuation required is a period at the close

A = 1234.

II. When an adverbial phrase is placed at the beginning of a sentence, it is followed by a comma :—

A: 4,1234.

III. When a connective is used after the subject or other element at the beginning of a sentence, it is preceded and followed by a comma,- -"He, however, replied."

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1, con., 234.

IV. Attributive phrases following their nouns are separated from them by commas :—

A1, att., 23, att., 4.

45. The process of synthesis (as well as these rules for arrangement and punctuation), is exemplified in the following:

Elements

a. Cæsar invaded Britain.

Example.

b. The invading force consisted of two legions.

c. The invasion took place in the year B.C. 55.

d. Cæsar took advantage of an interval in his Gallic wars for the expedition.

Simple sentence

Caesar, taking advantage of an interval in his Gallic wars, invadea
Britain with two legions in the year B.C. 55.

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