The rule of simplicity. reason for this rule is that the simpler a word or a phrase, the more likely it is to be understood. Another reason is that simplicity in language, like simplicity in dress or in manners, belongs to the best society. "We say," wrote Campbell (in 1750), "either accept or accept of, admit or admit of, approve or approve of; in like manner address or address to, attain or attain to. In such instances it will hold, I suppose, pretty generally, that the simpler form is preferable. This appears particularly in the passive voice, in which every one must see the difference. His present was accepted of by his friend' – 'His excuse was admitted of by his master' 'The magistrates were addressed to by the townsmen,' are evidently much worse than 'His present was accepted by his friend'—'His excuse was admitted by his master'. 'The magistrates were addressed by the Some of the expressions quoted above are no longer used; but compounds as objectionable as any of these are daily multiplied without necessity. For example: curb in, examine into, inspire into, clamber up into, ascend up, breed up, learn up, mix up, freshen up, open up, raise up, lower down, soften off, brush off of, crave for, bridge over, slur over, follow after, trace out, connect together. In all compounds of this sort, the added particle, whenever it is not needed for emphasis or for euphony or to complete the meaning, should be omitted, since it is always superfluous and often worse than superfluous.2 66 "House for sale or to let " is preferable to "house to be sold or to be let," not only because it is simpler, but also because it is more idiomatic. For similar reasons, the active form in -ing is in many cases preferable to the passive form with being, corn is selling" to is being sold, "a house is building" to is being built. When, however, the active form is ambiguous, it is to be avoided : is beating, for instance, will hardly do for is being beaten. Whence, thence, and hence are preferable to from whence, from thence, and 1 Campbell The Philosopy of Rhetoric, book ii. chap. ii 2 For additional examples, see "The Foundations of Rhetoric," pp 124, 125, 150, 151. from hence. Instead of is preferable to in lieu of, truer to more true, clearer to more clear, begin to commence, raise to elevate, read to peruse, tell to relate, choose to elect or select, effect to effectuate, graduate to post-graduate, agriculturist to agriculturalist, aristocratic to aristocratical, democratic to democratical, characteristic to characteristical.1 To is usually preferable to unto, round to around. It will be noticed that in almost all the foregoing examples the simpler expression is also the shorter. As a rule, the shorter of two expressions equally in good use should be chosen, both because it is shorter and because it is usually simpler also. III. Of two forms of expression which may be used in the same sense, that one should be chosen The rule of which is the more agreeable to the ear. euphony. Under this rule, Dr. Campbell expressed (in 1750) his preference for delicacy, authenticity, and vindictive, over delicateness, authenticalness, and vindicative, — decisions which have been sustained by time. Aversion has supplanted averseness; artificiality, artificialness; scarcity, scarceness. Among and while have almost supplanted amongst and whilst. Under this rule, such words as elegantness, amiableness, mercinariness, practicableness, are to be avoided. As between forward and forwards, backward and backwards, toward and towards, homeward and homewards, the ear naturally chooses the form that is the more agreeable in the context. For example: "The ploughman homeward plods his weary way." "2 The principle of euphony has perhaps a greater influence upon the language than some grammarians admit. Not infrequently it overrides other principles. Notwithstanding Rule I., euphony prohibits dailily, godlily, heavenlily, lowlily, and the like, preferring the inconvenience of 1 Landor: Conversations, Third Series; Southey and Porson, * See page 18. having but one form (daily, godly, heavenly, lowly) for both adjec tive and adverb to the repetition of the sound of -ly. Though besides in the sense of "other than or "in addition to " is, under Rule I., preferable to beside, since beside is also used in the sense of "by the side of," the latter form is sometimes poetry chosen on grounds of euphony. 4 especially in Brevity, too, may be sacrificed to euphony. With difficulty is preferable to difficultly;1 without rebuke to unrebukedly; without precedent to unprecedentelly; as an accessory to accessorily; more pathetic, more forward, to patheticker,2 forwarder; 3 most honest, beautiful, pious, distant, delicate, to honestest, beautifullest, piousest, distantest,^ delicatest ; most unquestionable, virtuous, indispensable, generous, to unquestionablest, virtuousest, indispensablest, generousest; and the same principle holds with many dissyllabic and with most polysyllabic adjectives. 4 It is, of course, wrong to give undue weight to considerations of euphony, -to sacrifice sense to sound, strength to melody, compactness to pleasant verbosity; but when no such sacrifice is involved, it is desirable to avoid an expression unusually difficult to pronounce, or to substitute for an extremely disagreeable word one that is agreeable to the ear. Good use Valuable as these rules are in determining the choice between two forms of speech equally favored by good use, helpful as they may be in keeping both archaisms and vulgarisms out of the language, there can be supreme. no appeal to them in a case once decided. In such a case, the protests of scholars and the dogmatism of lexicographers are equally unavailing. It was in vain that Milton, "in a treatise in which he flings about him such forms as 'affatuated' and 'imbastardized' and 'proditory' and 'robustious,"" took exception "to the new 1 Bentham condemns words that he calls "difficultly pronounceable." 2 American newspaper. 8 The [London] Spectator. 6 Thackeray. • Ruskin. 5 Carlyle. :: fangled word 'demagogue'; "1 that Swift fought against the words mob, banter, reconnoitre, ambassador; that Dr. Johnson roared at clever, fun, nowadays, punch; that Dr. Campbell lost his temper over dancing attendance, pell-mell, as lief, ignore, subject-matter; that Bishop Lowth insisted that sitten- though, as he admitted, "almost wholly disused" was, on the principle of analogy, the only correct form for the past participle of to sit;" that Landor wished to spell as Milton did, objected to antique and to this (in place of these) means, declared "passenger and messenger coarse and barbarous for passager and messager, and nothing the better for having been adopted into polite society," and said that to talk about a man of talent was to talk "like a fool;"3 that Coleridge insisted on using or with neither; that "The [London] Times" for years wrote diocess for "diocese," chymistry for "chemistry;" that Abraham Lincoln wrote in his messages to Congress abolishment instead of "abolition;" that Mr. E. A. Freeman sought to resuscitate the more part in the Biblical sense of "the greater part,” and mickle in the sense of " much" or "great," as in his "mickle worship," "mickle minster of Rheims; "4 or that the writer who could not forgive the language for taking so kindly to its, insisted on calling poets makers. The recent efforts of grammarians on both sides of the Atlantic to keep telegram out of the language were unsuccessful. So was Charles Sumner's attempt to substitute a rare for a well-known word: 1 A. W. Ward: in Henry Craik's "English Prose," vol. ii.; John Milton. 2 Landor: Conversations, Third Series; Johnson and Horne (Tooke). 8 John Forster: Life of Landor. 4 History of the Norman Conquest. 5 See page 3. "With these views I find the various processes of annexion 1 only a natural manifestation to be encouraged always, and to be welcomed under proper conditions of population and public opinion. I say 'annexion' rather than 'annexation.' Where a word is so much used, better save a syllable, especially as the shorter is the better." For two or three days after the publication of this letter, some of the local journals followed Mr. Sumner's lead; but in a week his suggestion was forgotten. These marked failures should warn the student of language, whether he fills a professor's chair or sits at a pupil's desk, not to try to stem the current of usage when it strongly sets one way.2 1 The question was whether to annex Charlestown to Boston. 2 For numerous instances of such attempts, see Mr. Fitzedward Hall's “Modern English." |