The Philosophy of Style | Page 6

any fact is
predicated. Observe in the following example the effect of putting them
last:--"How immense would be the stimulus to progress, were the
honour now given to wealth and title given exclusively to high
achievements and intrinsic worth!"
§ 20. And then observe the superior effect of putting them first:--"Were
the honour now given to wealth and title given exclusively to high
achievements and intrinsic worth, how immense would be the stimulus
to progress!"
§ 21. The effect of giving priority to the complement of the predicate,
as well as the predicate itself, is finely displayed in the opening of
‘Hyperion’:
"_Deep in the shady sadness of a vale Far sunken from the healthy
breath of morn, Far from the fiery noon and eve’s one star Sat_
gray-haired Saturn, quiet as a stone."
Here it will be observed, not only that the predicate "sat" precedes the
subject "Saturn," and that the three lines in italics, constituting the
complement of the predicate, come before it; but that in the structure of
that complement also, the same order is followed: each line being so
arranged that the qualifying words are placed before the words
suggesting concrete images.
§ 22. The right succession of the principal and subordinate propositions
in a sentence manifestly depends on the same law. Regard for economy
of the recipient’s attention, which, as we find, determines the best order

for the subject, copula, predicate and their complements, dictates that
the subordinate proposition shall precede the principal one when the
sentence includes two. Containing, as the subordinate proposition does,
some qualifying or explanatory idea, its priority prevents
misconception of the principal one; and therefore saves the mental
effort needed to correct such misconception. This will be seen in the
annexed example: "The secrecy once maintained in respect to the
parliamentary debates, is still thought needful in diplomacy; and in
virtue of this secret diplomacy, England may any day be unawares
betrayed by its ministers into a war costing a, hundred thousand lives,
and hundreds of millions of treasure: yet the English pique themselves
on being a self-governed people." The two subordinate propositions,
ending with the semicolon and colon respectively, almost wholly
determine the meaning of the principal proposition with which it
concludes; and the effect would be lost were they placed last instead of
first.
§ 23. The general principle of right arrangement in sentences, which we
have traced in its application to the leading divisions of them, equally
determines the proper order of their minor divisions. In every sentence
of any complexity the complement to the subject contains several
clauses, and that to the predicate several others; and these may be
arranged in greater or less conformity to the law of easy apprehension.
Of course with these, as with the larger members, the succession should
be from the less specific to the more specific--from the abstract to the
concrete.
§ 24. Now, however, we must notice a further condition to be fulfilled
in the proper construction of a sentence; but still a condition dictated by
the same general principle with the other: the condition, namely, that
the words and expressions most nearly related in thought shall be
brought the closest together. Evidently the single words, the minor
clauses, and the leading divisions of every proposition, severally
qualify each other. The longer the time that elapses between the
mention of any qualifying member and the member qualified, the
longer must the mind be exerted in carrying forward the qualifying
member ready for use. And the more numerous the qualifications to be
simultaneously remembered and rightly applied, the greater will be the
mental power expended, and the smaller the effect produced. Hence,

other things equal, force will be gained by so arranging the members of
a sentence that these suspensions shall at any moment be the fewest in
number; and shall also be of the shortest duration. The following is an
instance of defective combination:--"A modern newspaper-statement,
though probably true, would be laughed at if quoted in a book as
testimony; but the letter of a court gossip is thought good historical
evidence, if written some centuries ago." A rearrangement of this, in
accordance with the principle indicated above, will be found to increase
the effect. Thus:--"Though probably true, a modern
newspaper-statement quoted in a book as testimony, would be laughed
at; but the letter of a court gossip, if written some centuries ago, is
thought good historical evidence."
§ 25. By making this change, some of the suspensions are avoided and
others shortened; while there is less liability to produce premature
conceptions. The passage quoted below from ‘Paradise Lost’ affords a
fine instance of a sentence well arranged; alike in the priority of the
subordinate members, in the avoidance of long and numerous
suspensions, and in the correspondence between the order