clearly, develop, point by point and step by step. his process of reasoning.

44. The Citing of Authorities. Unless the instructor prefers some other method, the authority for every important statement in an argument should be given in a footnote. The usual formula is this: Fiske's The American Revolution, Vol. I, pp. 297304.

45. The Syllogism and its Parts. The student has already learned to reason correctly by common sense, experience, and the study of mathematics. It is not necessary, for general purposes, that he study logic, which deals with the theory of reasoning; but the meaning of certain terms in logic which are often used in argument should be clear to him. When we reason, we infer or deduce a third statement or proposition from two statements already accepted as true. For example, if we believe that x=y, and that y= z, we conclude that x = 2. If we believe that all birds have wings, and that a canary is a bird, we conclude that a canary has wings. If we believe that the Northmen settled in a land they called Vineland, and that Vineland can be identified as Rhode Island, we conclude that the Northmen settled in Rhode Island. The two propositions we accept are called premises. The third which is deduced from them is called the conclusion. The three together form a syllogism.

Each premise states a relation between two things, called terms, and the two premises must have one term in common, or no conclusion could be reached.

Thus, in the syllogism, “All men are mortal; John is a man; therefore John is mortal," the first premise states a relation between "men" and "mortality," the second between "John" and "men." The com

mon term, or middle term, is "man," and because it appears in both premises we are able to state a relation between "John" and "mortality." The process is precisely the same as in algebra.

EXERCISE 22

After completing satisfactorily Exercise 21, the student should expand at least one of his briefs. The resulting argument will probably be one thousand words in length, if not longer. It should be written carefully, with an eye to the strict logic of the thought as well as to accuracy and ease of expression.

The subjects given below are merely suggestions. Very few students will have sufficient information to discuss thoroughly questions involving a close knowledge of economics, politics, or public affairs. As a rule, it is better to choose subjects such as 1 or 19, in which the student's information on local affairs will be of service to him. Subjects like 14 are of course mere matters of opinion, but some classes will enjoy and profit by the discussion of them.

1. Physical training should be compulsory in public schools. 2. The "eight-hour day" should be enforced. 3. The United States needs a greater navy. 4. Woman's suffrage should be established. 5. The civil service system should be abolished. 6. Macaulay's estimate of Steele (in the Essay on Addison) was unjust. 7. The term of supreme court judges should be limited. 8. Shakspere

did not write the plays attributed to him. 9. The ancient languages Latin and Greek should not be required for

should be annexed to the

admission to college. IO. United States. 11. The United States should adopt a freetrade policy. 12. Cabot should be recognized as the discoverer of America. 13. Major André should not have been executed. 14. Thackeray is a greater novelist than Scott. 15. The President should be elected by direct popular vote. 16. Science should be studied in the high school. 17. Greece has done more than Rome for modern civilization. 18. Capital punishment should be abolished. 19. We should have a school paper. 20. The "honor system" should be used in examinations. 21. The present

distribution of vacation periods is not satisfactory. 22. The study of current events should form a part of the school work. 23. High school secret societies should not be allowed. 24. An athletic field should be given us by the school board. 25. Recitation periods should be an hour in length. 26. The weekly holiday should be changed from Saturday to Monday. 27. The citizens of this town should not be taxed to support 28. The water

supply system should be improved. 29. The paving of our streets with asphalt would be unwise. 30. The town should be lighted by electricity.

46. Persuasion. - Persuasion partakes of the nature of both argument and exposition. In his effort to induce the reader to enter on a certain line of action, the writer attempts partly to convince him that such. a line of action is logical under the circumstances, partly to induce him to undertake it because it can be shown to be for his interest, or pleasure, or for the welfare of others. No hard and fast principles or rules can be laid down on the subject. Usually it is well to begin with a clear statement of the action

desired, and then to give, one by one, the chief reasons why the reader should adopt that line of action, and to answer possible objections, ending with whatever reasons seem, under the circumstances, most potent. Or, one may begin by drawing a vivid picture of an existing situation, show that nothing else than a certain action would solve the problem, and close by urging that action upon the reader.

EXERCISE 23

The class should first prepare, under the direction of the instructor, a list of a dozen or more questions of local or general importance, of the same character as those suggested under Exercise 22. On one of these each student should write an essay of several hundred words, in which he should attempt to persuade the members of the class to accept a certain line of thought, or adopt a certain line of action.

47. Exposition, Argument, and Persuasion in Literature. Argument and persuasion often occur together in literature; each is necessarily often mingled with exposition. In most writing that is not fiction, all three will be found. Argument may perhaps be best studied in the great speeches of Burke and Webster; persuasion in these also, and in less celebrated addresses, such as the speeches of Wendell Phillips, or the sermons of Phillips Brooks; exposition in the famous English and American essayists of the nineteenth century.

CHAPTER VII

COMPOSITION IN VERSE

48. COMPOSITION IN VERSE.-49. ACCENTS IN VERSE.- 50. LINES AND FEET. EXERCISE 24.51. KINDS OF FEET.-52. HOVERING ACCENT. EXERCISE 25.- 53. KINDS OF LINES.

EXERCISE 26.54. DIFFERENT FEET IN THE SAME LINE. 55. THE CÆSURA OR VERSE-PAUSE.-56. FAMOUS ENGLISH METRES. EXERCISE 27.-57. STANZAS. -58. FAMOUS ENGLISH STANZAS. EXERCISE 28.59. THE SONNET.-60. FRENCH FORMS of Verse.

48. Composition in Verse. In verse composition, or poetry, all the kinds of writing which we have discussed are represented, though argument, on account of its more abstract nature, occurs only rarely. The essential characteristics of poetry, however, cannot be properly understood by reference to narration, description, exposition, argument, and persuasion. Whether the element of narrative or that of description is the more prominent in a poem, the method and the aim are the same - the appeal to the emotions of the reader rather than to his understanding. This appeal is made in two ways: (1) by the sound of words; (2) by the associations connected with them. In the first respect the poet is a musician. He chooses words of such a sort as to gratify the ear; he combines them so that their accents fall at regular intervals; and at regular intervals he may also