rhetoric may be called a science, and composition may be regarded as an art. In this same sense rhetoric is sometimes called formal rhetoric; that is, rhetoric considered as a set of scientifically arranged definitions, rules, and principles.

6. The Two Sides of our Work. There are, then, two sides to our work, the study of definitions, rules, and principles, and the acquiring of skill in applying them. Both these sides are important, and neither should be neglected. The cases are indeed rare in which a pupil can excel in composition without a clear understanding of the formal side of rhetoric; and an understanding of the formal side of rhetoric, however useful it may be as mental training, is of little value when compared with skill in composition.

7. Thought the Basis of Expression. The student must bear in mind that thought is the real basis of expression. He who continues to think clearly and forcibly will, in most cases, succeed in acquiring the power of expressing himself clearly and forcibly. We should be wrong were we to lay such stress on the study of rhetoric that students would believe expression more important than thought, or power over words more important than power over ideas. It is thought that is the real basis of rhetoric. That which is empty of thought is comparatively worthless, no matter how beautifully it is expressed. The first and most important step towards writing is thinking.

8. The Habit of Good Writing and Good Speaking. Few men in any generation can be great authors, because few men have ideas that interest large bodies of people. But every one should acquire the power of expressing his thoughts clearly and forcibly. The acquiring of this power is largely a question of habit, based at first on intelligent direction. It is the aim of this book to aid teachers in supplying such direction to pupils in the secondary schools. It must be kept in mind, however, that the power of writing well is closely akin to the power of speaking well. We speak more than we write, and he who can learn to express himself well orally may be sure that it will not be a hard task to acquire a similar habit in written composition. On the other hand, a person who allows himself to fall into slovenly and ineffective habits of speech will have great difficulty in ridding himself of these habits when he turns his attention to written composition.

EXERCISE I

Write out answers to the following questions. Each answer should consist of at least one complete

sentence.

1. What is an art? 2. What is a science? 3. Mention three arts. 4. Mention three sciences. 5. Is rhetoric an art or a science? 6. What is a fine art? 7. Is rhetoric a fine art? 8. What seems to you the difference between the art of a beautiful poem and the art of a beautiful piece of music? What does the poem include that the music does

not? 9. Distinguish between rhetoric and composition. 10. What is grammar?1 II. What seems to you the difference between grammar and rhetoric?

1 Grammar deals with the mutual relations of words in a sentence. If these relations are in accordance with English custom, we say that a sentence is grammatically correct. Rhetoric assumes, as a rule, that the sentences with which it has to do are grammatically correct, and concerns itself with their effectiveness and beauty, and with the accuracy with which they express certain ideas. That is, rhetoric asks, with regard to a piece of writing: do the words mean what the writer intended them to mean? are they so put together as to express in the best way the ideas the writer had in mind?

CHAPTER II

COMPOSITIONS

9. THE IMPORTANCE OF COMPOSITION WORK. 10. How TO CHOOSE A SUBJECT.-11. SUBJECTS FROM THE COURSE IN ENGLISH LITERATURE. - 12. SUBJECTS FROM OTHER STUDIES. 13. SUBJECTS FROM HOME READING AND FROM LIFE.-14. Too AMBITIOUS SUBJECTS. — EXERCISE 2.-15. THE FORM OF A COMPOSITION.-16. THE USE OF CAPITALS IN TITLES. EXER17. THE FIRST ESSENTIALS OF A GOOD COMPOSITION.18. HINTS AS TO SPELLING. - EXERCISE 4.-19. THE IMPOR

CISE 3.

TANCE OF ACCURACY. - 20. PARAGRAPHS.

9. The Importance of Composition Work. It is evident from the preceding chapter how important it is that work in composition should accompany and supplement work in formal rhetoric. All the author of this book can do is to put down in the clearest way and in the best order possible the elementary rules and principles of rhetoric, and to provide good exercises for the application of these rules. All that the teacher can do, in this part of his work, is to see that the pupil masters the rules and principles and applies them intelligently in the given exercises. But the work of applying principles goes further than this. Each pupil should write a short composition, as a rule, at least twice a week,and should there apply, more independently than in

an exercise, the whole group of principles which he

is studying.1

10. How to Choose a Subject. In order that composition work be carried on successfully, without unnecessary labor on the part of the teacher, it is indispensable that the pupil should get accustomed to choosing his own subjects for compositions. Subjects may be chosen from many sources, as will be shown below. From whatever source the pupil chooses a subject, however, he should make certain (1) that he has some definite ideas about the subject, and (2) that he is interested in the subject. It is impossible to write well when one has nothing to say, and it is very difficult to write well when one feels that a subject is stupid.

11. Subjects from the Course in English Literature. In many or most schools the course in rhetoric is carried on at the same time with a course in the study of selected English classics. Wherever this is the case, the pupil can readily find excellent subjects for many of his compositions. If, for example, he is reading, in such a course, the Sir Roger de Coverley Papers, he can readily summarize any of the papers, sketch any one of the characters introduced, make a short biography of Steele or Addison, write a page on the political parties of the time, or the coffee-houses, or any similar subject that would

1 The subject of composition work will be treated at length by the author in his Elements of Rhetoric and English Composition, second high school course.