§ 332. THE TITLE.

The title is generally a condensation of the whole argument, to which it bears the same relation that the argument bears to the complete work.

Sometimes it expresses the subject, as, "War;" "The History of England."

Sometimes it expresses the question, as, "Demosthenes on the Crown;" i.e., whether the crown shall be given to him or not. Sometimes it expresses the status, as, "Sheridan against Warren Hastings."

Sometimes it has no connection either with subject, question, or status; as, Dante's Divina Commedia, which indicates nothing that is to be found in the book, the author's purpose being to fathom the mystery of life, to exhibit the consequences of sin, to show the progress of a soul, guided by earthly and celestial wisdom, through all these scenes of sin and suffering, to a final rest.

In Milton's Paradise Lost the title but suggests the subject, which is the struggle of good and evil. He indicates the status in the opening lines, "Of man's first disobedience;" but this is insufficient, since the true motif of the poem is the display of towering pride of intellect as unfolded in the central figureSatan-around whom all the action revolves.

CHAPTER V.

CLASSIFICATION.

§ 333. CLASSIFICATION.

AFTER the subject-matter has been collected, either by accumulation from without or by creation from within, it is necessary, before any use can be made of it, to arrange all in regular divisions according to the character that may belong to each. This is called classification, the general law of which is to determine the general heads, and to arrange the special

under them.

Classification may be considered with reference to the subject-matter, i.e., whether narrative or expository.

§ 334. CLASSIFICATION WHERE THE SUBJECT-MATTER IS NAR

RATIVE.

1. Classification where the subject-matter is narrative.

In whatever way narrative may be set forth, the subject-matter must be classified. There are always great characters, great events, or leading incidents, which serve as centres around which all minor movements may be gathered. Thus in prose narrative the divisions are always plainly marked. An example of this may be found in Gibbon's History. Here there are numerous events, which are narrated in the following divisions: The Decline of the Western Empire.

The Rise of Christianity.

The Northern Races.

The Rise of Mohammedanism.

The Mongol Conquests.

The Crusades.

The Turkish Conquests.

The internal history of Constantinople.

Western European history.

Fiction, whether in prose or poetry, must exhibit the same principle at work. The Iliad is made up of several leading divisions, which consist of acts in connection with Achilles, Diomede, and Hector. Milton's Paradise Lost consists of scenes in hell, scenes in heaven, and scenes on earth. Dante's Divina Commedia exhibits remarkably minute classification. The Inferno, for instance, is divided into cantos, which refer to the classes of sins apportioned to successive circles in

hell.

In the drama, which, as we have seen, is another form of narrative, classification is indicated by acts and scenes, and in the judicious arrangement of these the dramatist shows his constructive skill. The most effective thing in the drama is a striking scene, with an important incident, to which the previous action leads up, and from which others are deduced. called a 66 situation." The same thing may be found in narrative, prose or poetry, but it is most perceptible and effective in

the drama.

This is

Thus in Macbeth the leading situations are the interviews with the witches, upon which the other acts depend.

The classification of Hamlet is as follows:

The scenes which depend upon the visitations of the Ghost.

The classification of the Merchant of Venice is peculiar. There are two different sets of incidents, each with its own These are:

action and its own situations.

Ist. The incidents of the Three Caskets.

§ 335. CLASSIFICATION IN DESCRIPTION.

2. Classification in description.

There are two modes of description.

Ist. Where objects are described in detail, as the description by a traveller of countries through which he has passed. This may be called panoramic. It is found in books of travel, geographical works, histories which contain descriptions of countries, cities, monuments, galleries, etc. The best panoramic descriptions are characterized by great vivacity. Good newspaper correspondence often assumes this form, and may be seen in Russell's Crimean letters, or in those of the correspondent of the London Daily News during the Franco-Prussian War.

2d. Where objects are described as surrounding some centre to which they all stand in subordination, as branches to a tree, or tributaries to a river. This is called scenic description. This is the more artistic mode.

Examples are to be found in the novels of Sir Walter Scott, as in the trial of Effie Deans; and in Milton's Paradise Lost, where he describes the fallen angels, "All these and more came flocking," "He above the rest . . . stood proudly eminent;" or the description of Eden, ending with, “Two of far nobler shape."

§ 336. GROUPING.

Classification is seen in description, in the effective way in which the writer gathers together the things which are to be named, so that they shall be assembled around some common

centre, with a view to artistic effect. This is called grouping.

An admirable example of this is to be found in Macaulay's essay on Warren Hastings, in which there occurs a description of his trial. From this the two following passages are taken, the first referring to external scenes, the second to internal :

"The place was worthy of such a trial. It was the great hall of William Rufus-the hall which had resounded with acclamations at the inauguration of thirty kings; the hall which had witnessed the just sentence of Bacon and the just absolution of Somers; the hall where the eloquence of Strafford had for a moment awed and melted a victorious party inflamed with just resentment; the hall where Charles had confronted the High Court of Justice with the placid courage which has half redeemed his fame. Neither military nor civil pomp was wanting. The avenues were lined with grenadiers. The streets were kept clear by cavalry. The peers, robed in gold and ermine, were marshalled by the heralds under Garter King at Arms. The judges, in their vestments of state, attended to give advice on points of law. Near a hundred and seventy lords, three fourths of the Upper House-as the Upper House then was-walked in solemn order from their usual place of assembling to the tribunal. The junior baron led the way, Lord Heathfield, recently ennobled for his memorable defence of Gibraltar against the fleets and armies of France and Spain. The long procession was closed by the Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal of the realm; by the great dignitaries, and by the brothers and sons of the king. Last of all came the Prince of Wales, conspicuous by his fine person and noble bearing."

The centre of this scene is Westminster Hall as contemplated from an external point of view. Around this are gathered two distinct sets of incidents. The first consists of the associations of the past as illustrated by the enumeration of the crowned kings, Bacon, Somers, Strafford, and King Charles. The second brings before the mind a splendid throng of nobles, warriors, and statesmen.

"The gray old walls were hung with scarlet. The long galleries were crowded by an audience such as has rarely excited the fears or the emulation of an orator. There were gathered together from all parts of a great, free, enlightened, and prosperous realm grace and female loveliness, wit and learning, the representatives of every science and of every art. There were seated around the queen the fair-haired young daughters of the house of Brunswick. There the ambassadors of great kings and commonwealths gazed with admiration on a spectacle which no other country in the world could present. There Siddons, in the prime of her majestic beauty, looked with emotion on a scene surpassing all the imitations of the stage. There the historian of the Roman Empire thought of the days when Cicero pleaded the cause of Sicily against Verres, and when, before a senate which still

retained some show of freedom, Tacitus thundered against the oppressor of Africa. There were seen side by side the greatest painter and the greatest scholar of the age. The spectacle had allured Reynolds from that easel which has preserved to us the thoughtful foreheads of so many writers and statesmen, and the sweet smiles of so many noble matrons. It had induced Parr to suspend his labors on that dark and profound mine from which he had extracted a vast treasure of erudition-a treasure too often buried in the earth, too often paraded with injudicious and inelegant ostentation, but still precious, massive, and splendid. There appeared the voluptuous charms of her to whom the heir of the throne had in secret plighted his faith. There, too, was she, the beautiful mother of a beautiful race, the Saint Cecilia, whose delicate features lighted up by love and music, art has rescued from the common decay. There were the members of that brilliant society which quoted, criticised, and exchanged repartees under the rich peacock hanging of Mrs. Montague; and there the ladies whose lips, more persuasive than those of Fox himself, had carried the Westminster election against palace and treasury, shone around Georgiana, duchess of Devonshire."

We are now transferred to the interior. The author describes that splendid assemblage in a characteristic way; first by stating its character in general terms, and then by enumerating individuals in such a fashion that the interest increases continually, while all the time the centre of this brilliant throng is the subject of his essay-the accused Warren Hastings.

§ 337. CLASSIFICATION IN EXPOSITION.

3. Classification in exposition.

In narrative subject-matter, classification depends upon the taste and imagination. In expository subject-matter it depends upon the reason. It is necessary to see what really are the general heads, and what are not. These general heads must be chosen with discrimination, and the subordinate heads arranged under them.

§ 338. ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS.

Two processes are observable here-analysis and synthesis. Analysis is the separation of the subject-matter into its subordinate parts; synthesis is the reconstruction of these, by which they are put together and built up into a new and orderly form.

$339. GENERAL AND PARTICULAR PROPOSITIONS.

A difficulty sometimes arises in cases where there are subordinate notions which are equally assignable to any one of