explanations of them.
3. Name four about which you know but little, but concerning which you
feel sure that you can obtain information.
4. Name six that you think you clearly understand. Report orally on one of
them.
+Theme LXXXIV.+--_Write out an explanation of one of the subjects named in
number four of the preceding exercise._
(Read your theme and criticise it as to clearness. In listening to the
themes read by other members of the class consider them as to clearness.
Call for further explanation of any part not perfectly clear to you.)
+155. Selection of Facts--Unity.+--After we have been given a subject for
explanation or have chosen one for ourselves, we must decide concerning
the facts to be presented. In some kinds of exposition this selection is
rather difficult. Since the purpose is to make our meaning clear to the
person addressed, we secure unity by including all that is necessary to
that purpose and by omitting all that is not necessary. It is evident that
selection of facts to secure unity depends to some extent upon the
audience. If a child asks us to explain what a trust is, our explanation
will differ very much from that which we would give if we were addressing
a body of men who were familiar with the term _trusts_, but do not
understand the advantages and disadvantages arising from their existence.
Examine the following as to selection of facts. For what class of people
do you think it was written? What seems to be the purpose of it?
THE FEUDAL SYSTEM
This connection of king as sovereign, with his princes and great men as
vassals, must be attended to and understood, in order that you may
comprehend the history which follows. A great king, or sovereign prince,
gave large provinces, or grants of land, to his dukes, earls, and
noblemen; and each of these possessed nearly as much power, within his own
district, as the king did in the rest of his dominions. But then the
vassal, whether duke, earl, or lord, or whatever he was, was obliged to
come with a certain number of men to assist the sovereign, when he was
engaged in war; and in time of peace, he was bound to attend on his court
when summoned, and do homage to him, that is, acknowledge that he was his
master and liege lord. In like manner, the vassals of the crown, as they
were called, divided the lands which the king had given them into estates,
which they bestowed on knights, and gentlemen, whom they thought fitted to
follow them in war, and to attend them in peace; for they, too, held
courts, and administered justice, each in his own province. Then the
knights and gentlemen, who had these estates from the great nobles,
distributed the property among an inferior class of proprietors, some of
whom cultivated the land themselves, and others by means of husbandmen and
peasants, who were treated as a sort of slaves, being bought and sold like
brute beasts, along with the farms which they labored.
Thus, when a great king, like that of France or England, went to war, he
summoned all his crown vassals to attend him, with the number of armed men
corresponding to his fief, as it was called, that is, territory which had
been granted to each of them. The prince, duke, or earl, in order to obey
the summons, called upon all the gentlemen to whom he had given estates,
to attend his standard with their followers in arms. The gentlemen, in
their turn, called on the franklins, a lower order of gentry, and upon the
peasants; and thus the whole force of the kingdom was assembled in one
array. This system of holding lands for military service, that is, for
fighting for the sovereign when called upon, was called the _feudal
system_. It was general throughout all Europe for a great many ages.
--Scott: _Tales of a Grandfather_.
+Theme LXXXV.+--_Write a theme on one of the following:_--
1. Tell your younger brother how to make a whistle.
2. Explain some game to a friend of your own age.
3. Give an explanation of the heating system of your school to a member of
the school board of an adjoining city.
4. Explain to a city girl how butter is made.
5. Explain to a city boy how hay is cured.
6. Explain to a friend how to run an automobile.
(Consider the selection of facts as determined by the person addressed.)
+156. Arrangement--Coherence.+--Some expositions are of such a nature that
there is but little question concerning the proper arrangement of the
topics composing them. In order to be coherent, all we do is to follow the
natural order of occurrence in time and place. This is especially true of
general narrations and of some general descriptions. In explaining the
circulation of the blood, for instance, it is most natural for us to
follow the course which the blood takes in circulating through the body.
In explaining the manufacture of articles we naturally begin with the
material as it comes to the factory, and trace the process of manufacture
in order through its successive stages.
In other kinds of exposition a coherent arrangement is somewhat difficult.
We should not, however, fail to pay attention to it. A clear understanding
of the subject, on the part of the listener, depends largely upon the
proper arrangement of topics. As you study examples of expositions of some
length, you will notice that there are topics which naturally belong
together. These topics form groups, and the groups are treated separately.
If the expositions are good ones, the related facts will not only be
united into groups, but the groups will also be so arranged and the
transition from one group to another be so naturally made that it will
cause no confusion.
In brief explanations of but one paragraph there should be but one group
of facts. Even these facts need to be so arranged as to make the whole
idea clear. The writer may have a clear understanding of the whole idea,
but in order to give the reader the same clear understanding, certain
facts must be presented before others are. In order to make an explanation
clear, the facts must be so arranged that those which are necessary to the
understanding of others shall come first.
Examine the following expositions as to the grouping of related facts and
the arrangement of those groups:--
Fresh, pure air at all times is essential to bodily comfort and good
health. Air may become impure from many causes. Poisonous gases may be
mixed with it; sewer gas is especially to be guarded against; coal gas
which is used for illuminating purposes is very poisonous and dangerous if
inhaled; the air arising from decaying substances, foul cellars, or
stagnant pools, is impure and unhealthy, and breeds diseases; the foul and
poisonous air which has been expelled from the lungs, if breathed again,
will cause many distressing symptoms. Ventilation has for its object the
removal of impure air and the supplying of fresh, wholesome air in its
place. Proper ventilation should be secured in all rooms and buildings,
and its importance cannot be overestimated.
In the summer time and in climates which permit of it with comfort,
ventilation may be secured by having the doors and windows open, thus
allowing the fresh air to circulate freely through the house. In stormy
and cold weather, however, some other means of ventilation must be
supplied. If open fires or grates are used for heating purposes, good
ventilation exists, for under such circumstances, the foul and impure air
is drawn out of the rooms through the chimneys, and the fresh air enters
through the cracks of the doors and windows.
Where open fireplaces are not used, several plans of ventilation
may be used, as they all operate on the same principle. Two openings
should be in the room, one of them near the floor, through which
the fresh air may enter, the other higher up, and connected with a
shaft or chimney, which producing a draft, may serve to free the room
from impure air. The size of these openings may be regulated according
to the size of the room.
--Baldwin: _Essential Lessons in Human Physiology_.
THE QUEEN BEE
It is a singular fact, also, that the queen is made, not born. If the
entire population of Spain or Great Britain were the offspring of one
mother, it might be found necessary to hit upon some device by which a
royal baby could be manufactured out of an ordinary one, or else give up
the fashion of royalty. All the bees in the hive have a common parentage,
and the queen and the worker are the same in the egg and in the chick; the
patent of royalty is in the cell and in the food; the cell being much
larger, and the food a peculiar stimulating kind of jelly. In certain
contingencies, such as the loss of the queen with no eggs in the royal
cells, the workers take the larva of an ordinary bee, enlarge the cell by
taking in the two adjoining ones, and nurse it and stuff it and coddle it,
till at the end of sixteen days it comes out a queen. But ordinarily, in
the natural course of events, the young queen is kept a prisoner in her
cell till the old queen has left with the swarm. Not only kept, but
guarded against the mother queen, who only wants an opportunity to murder
every royal scion in the hive. Both the queens, the one a prisoner and the
other at large, pipe defiance at each other at this time, a shrill, fine,
trumpetlike note that any ear will at once recognize. This challenge, not
being allowed to be accepted by either party, is followed, in a day or
two, by the abdication of the old queen; she leads out the swarm, and her
successor is liberated by her keepers, who, in her turn, abdicates in
favor of the next younger. When the bees have decided that no more swarms
can issue, the reigning queen is allowed to use her stiletto upon her
unhatched sisters. Cases have been known where two queens issued at the
same time, when a mortal combat ensued, encouraged by the workers, who
formed a ring about them, but showed no preference, and recognized the
victor as the lawful sovereign. For these and many other curious facts we
are indebted to the blind Huber.
It is worthy of note that the position of the queen cells is always
vertical, while that of the drones and workers is horizontal; majesty
stands on its head, which fact may be a part of the secret.
The notion has always very generally prevailed that the queen of the bees
is an absolute ruler, and issues her royal orders to willing subjects.
Hence Napoleon the First sprinkled the symbolic bees over the imperial
mantle that bore the arms of his dynasty; and in the country of the
Pharaohs the bee was used as the emblem of a people sweetly submissive to
the orders of its king. But the fact is, a swarm of bees is an absolute
democracy, and kings and despots can find no warrant in their example. The
power and authority are entirely vested in the great mass, the workers.
They furnish all the brains and foresight of the colony, and administer
its affairs. Their word is law, and both king and queen must obey. They
regulate the swarming, and give the signal for the swarm to issue from the
hive; they select and make ready the tree in the woods and conduct the
queen to it.
The peculiar office and sacredness of the queen consists in the fact that
she is the mother of the swarm, and the bees love and cherish her as a
mother and not as a sovereign. She is the sole female bee in the hive, and
the swarm clings to her because she is their life. Deprived of their
queen, and of all brood from which to rear one, the swarm loses all heart
and soon dies, though there be an abundance of honey.
The common bees will never use their sting upon the queen,--if she is to
be disposed of they starve her to death; and the queen herself will sting
nothing but royalty--nothing but a rival queen.
--John Burroughs: _Birds and Bees_.
+Theme LXXXVI.+--_Write an expository theme._
Suggested subjects:--
1. Duties of the sheriff.
2. How a motor works.
3. How wheat is harvested.
4. Why the tide exists.
5. How our schoolhouse is ventilated.
6. What is meant by the theory of evolution.
7. The manufacture of ----.
8. How to make a ----.
(Consider the arrangement of your statements.)
+157. Use of an Outline.+--Before beginning to write an explanation we
need to consider what we know about the subject and what our purpose is;
we need to select facts that will make our explanations clear to our
readers; and we need to decide what arrangement of these facts will best
show their relation to each other. We shall find it of advantage,
especially in lengthy explanations, to express our thoughts in the form of
an outline. An outline helps us to see clearly whether our facts are well
chosen, and it also helps us to see whether the arrangement is orderly or
not. Clearness is above all the essential of exposition, and outlines aid
clearness by giving unity and coherence.
EXERCISES
Select three of the following subjects and make lists of facts that you
know about them. From these select those which would be necessary in
making a clear explanation of each. After making out these lists of facts,
arrange them in what seems to you the best possible order for making the
explanation clear to your classmates.
1. The value of a school library.
2. Sponges.
3. The manufacture of clocks.
4. Drawing.
5. Athletics in the high school.
6. Examinations.
7. Debating societies.
+Theme LXXXVII.+--_Following the outline, write an exposition on one of
the subjects chosen._
(Notice the transition from one paragraph to another. See Section 87.)
+158. Exposition of Terms--Definition.+--Explanation of the meaning of
general terms is one form of exposition (Section 63). The first step in
the exposition of a term is the giving of a definition. This may be
accomplished by the use of a synonym (Section 64). We make a term
intelligible to the reader by the use of a synonym with which he is
familiar; and though such a definition is inexact, it gives a rough idea
of the meaning of the term in question, and so serves a useful purpose.
If, however, we wish exactness, we shall need to make use of the logical
definition.
+159. The Logical Definition.+--The logical definition sets exact limits
to the meaning of a term. An exact definition must include all the members
of a class indicated by the term defined, and it must exclude everything
that does not belong to that class. A logical definition is composed of
two parts. It first names the class to which the term to be defined
belongs, and then it names the characteristic that distinguishes that term
from all other members of the same class. The class is termed the _genus_,
and the distinguishing characteristics of the different members of the
class are termed the _differentia_. Notice the following division into
genus and differentia.
TERM TO BE | CLASS | DISTINGUISHING
DEFINED | _(Genus)_ | CHARACTERISTIC
| | _(Differentia)_
| |
A parallelogram | is a quadrilateral | whose opposite sides
| | are parallel
| |
Exposition | is that form of | which seeks to explain
| discourse | the meaning of a term.
| |
Each definition includes three elements: the term to be defined, the
genus, and the differentia; but these are not necessarily arranged in the
order named.
EXERCISE
Select the three elements (the term to be defined, the genus, and the
differentia) in each of the following:--
1. A polygon of three sides is called a triangle.
2. A square is an equilateral rectangle.
3. A rectangle whose sides are equal is a square.
4. Description is that form of discourse which aims to present a picture.
5. The characters composing written words are called letters.
6. The olfactory nerves are the first pair of cranial nerves.
7. Person is that modification of a noun or pronoun which denotes the
speaker, the person spoken to, or the person or things spoken of.
8. The diptera, or true flies, are readily distinguishable from other
insects by their having a single pair of wings instead of two pairs, the
hind wings being transformed into small knob-headed pedicles called
balancers or halters.
+160. Difficulty of Framing Exact Definitions.+--In order to frame a
logical definition, exactness of thought is essential. Even when the
thought is exact, it will be found difficult and often impossible to frame
a satisfactory definition. Usually there is little difficulty in selecting
the genus, still care should be taken to select one that includes the term
to be defined. We might begin the definition of iron by saying, "Iron is a
metal," since all iron is metal, but it would be incorrect to begin the
definition of rodent by saying, "A rodent is a beaver," because the term
beaver does not include all rodents. We must also take care to choose for
the genus some term familiar to the reader, because the object of the
definition is to make the meaning clear to him.
The chief difficulty of framing logical definitions arises in the
selection of differentia. In many cases it is not easy to decide just what
characteristics distinguish one member of a class from all other members
of that class. We all know that iron is a metal, but most of us would
find it difficult to add to the definition just those things which
distinguish iron from other metals. We may say, "A flute is a musical
instrument"; so much of the definition is easily given. The difficulty
lies in distinguishing it from all other musical instruments.
EXERCISES
_A._ Select proper differentia for the following:--
|
TERM TO BE DEFINED | CLASS (Genus) | DISTINGUISHING
| | CHARACTERISTIC
| | _(Differentia)_
| |
1. Narration | is that form of discourse | ?
| |
2. A circle | is a portion of a plane | ?
| |
3. A dog | is an animal | ?
| |
4. A hawk | is a bird | ?
| |
5. Physiography | is the science | ?
| |
6. A sneak | is a person | ?
| |
7. A quadrilateral | is a plane figure | ?
| |
8. A barn | is a building | ?
| |
9. A bicycle | is a machine | ?
| |
10. A lady | is a woman | ?
_B._ Give logical definitions for at least four words in the list below.
1. Telephone.
2. Square.
3. Hammer.
4. Novel
5. Curiosity.
6. Door.
7. Camera.
8. Brick.
9. Microscope.
+161. Inexact Definitions.+--If the distinguishing characteristics are not
properly selected, the definition though logical in form may be inexact,
because the differentia do not exclude all but the term to be defined. If
we say, "Exposition is that form of discourse which gives information,"
the definition is inexact because there are other forms of discourse that
give information. Many definitions given in text-books are inexact. Care
should be taken to distinguish them from those which are logically exact.
EXERCISE
Which of the following are exact?
1. A sheep is a gregarious animal that produces wool.
2. A squash is a garden plant much liked by striped bugs.
3. A pronoun is a word used for a noun.
4. The diaphragm is a sheet of muscle and tendon, convex on its upper
side, and attached by bands of striped muscle to the lower ribs at the
side, to the sternum, and to the cartilage of the ribs which join it in
front, and at the back by very strong bands to the lumbar vertebrae.
5. A man is a two-legged animal without feathers.
6. Argument is that form of discourse which has for its object the proof
of the truth or falsity of a proposition.
7. The base of an isosceles triangle is that side which is equal to no
other.
8. Zinc is a metal used under stoves.
9. The epidermis of a leaf is a delicate, transparent skin which covers
the whole leaf.
+Theme LXXXVIII.+--_Write an expository paragraph about one of the
following:_--
Suggested subjects:--
1. Household science and arts.
2. Architecture.
3. Aesthetics.
4. Poetry.
5. Fiction.
6. Half tones.
7. Steam fitting.
8. Swimming.
(Consider the definitions you have used.)
+162. Division.+--The second step in the exposition of a term is division.
Definition establishes the limits of the term. Division separates into its
parts that which is included by the term. By definition we distinguish
triangles from squares, circles, and other plane figures. By division we
may separate them into scalene, isosceles, and equilateral, or if we
divide them according to a different principle into right and oblique
triangles. In either case the division is complete and exact. By
completeness is meant that every object denoted by the term explained is
included in the division given, thus making the sum of these divisions
equal to the whole. By exactness is meant that but a single principle has
been used, and so no object denoted by the term explained will be included
in more than one of the divisions made. There are no triangles which are
neither right nor oblique, so the division is complete; and no triangle
can be both right and oblique, so the division is exact. Such a complete
and exact division is called _classification_.
Nearly every term may be divided according to more than one principle. We
may divide the term _books_ into ancient and modern, or into religious and
secular, or in any one of a dozen other ways. Which principle of division
we shall choose will depend upon our purpose. If we wish to discuss
_sponges_ with reference to their shapes, our division will be different
from what it would be if we were to discuss them with reference to their
uses. When a principle of division has once been chosen it is essential
that it be followed throughout. The use of two principles causes an
overlapping of divisions, thus producing what is called cross division.
Using the principle of use, a tailor may sort his bolts of cloth into
cloth for overcoats, cloth for suits, and cloth for trousers; using the
principle of weight, into heavy weight and light weight; or he may sort
them with reference to color or price. In any case but a single principle
is used. It would not do to divide them into cloth for suits, light weight
goods, and brown cloth. Such a division would be neither complete nor
exact; for some of the cloth would belong to none of the classes while
other pieces might properly be placed in all three.
In the exact sciences complete exposition is the aim, and classification
is necessary; but in other writing the purpose in hand is often better
accomplished by omitting minor divisions. A writer of history might
consider the political growth, the wars, and the religion of a nation and
omit its domestic life and educational progress, especially if these did
not greatly influence the result that he wishes to make plain. If we
wished to explain the plan of the organization of a high school, it would
be satisfactory to divide the pupils into freshmen, sophomores, juniors,
and seniors, even though, in any particular school, there might be a few
special and irregular pupils who belonged to none of these classes.
An exposition of the use of hammers would omit many occasional and
unimportant uses. Such a classification though exact is incomplete and is
called _partition_.
EXERCISES
_A._ Can you tell which of the following are classifications? Which are
partitions? Which are defective?
1. The inhabitants of the United States are Americans, Indians, and
negroes.
2. Lines are straight, curved, and crooked.
3. Literature is composed of prose, poetry, and fiction.
4. The political parties in the last campaign were Republican and
Democrat.
5. The United States Government has control of states and territories
6. Plants are divided into two groups: (1) the phanerogams, or flowering
plants, and (2) cryptogams, or flowerless plants.
7. All phanerogamous plants consist of (1) root and (2) shoot; the shoot
consisting of (_a_) stem and (_b_) leaf. It is true that some exceptional
plants, in maturity, lack leaves, or lack root. These exceptions are few.
8. We may divide the activities of the government into: keeping order,
making law, protecting individual rights, providing public schools,
providing and mending roads, caring for the destitute, carrying the mail,
managing foreign relations, making war, and collecting taxes.
_B_. Notice the following paragraphs, State briefly the divisions made.
+1. Plan of the Book.+--What is government? Who is the government? We
shall begin by considering the American answers to these questions.
What does The Government do? That will be our next inquiry. And with
regard to the ordinary practical work of government, we shall see that
government in the United States is not very different from government in
the other civilized countries of the world.
Then we shall inquire how government officials are chosen in the United
States, and how the work of government is parceled out among them. This
part of the book will show what is meant by self-government and local
self-government, and will show that our system differs from European
systems chiefly in these very matters of self-government and local
self-government.
Coming then to the details of our subject, we shall consider the names and
duties of the principal officials in the United States; first, those of
the township, county, and city, then those of the state, and then those of
the federal government.
Finally, we shall examine certain operations in the American system, such
as a trial in court, and nominations for office, and conclude with an
outline of international relations, and a summary of the commonest laws of
business and property.
--Clark: _The Government_.
2. +Zoölogy and its Divisions.+--What things we do know about the dog,
however, and about its relatives, and what things others know can be
classified into several groups; namely, things or facts about what a dog
does or its behavior, things about the make-up of its body, things about
its growth and development, things about the kind of dog it is and the
kinds of relatives it has, and things about its relations to the outer
world and its special fitness for life.
All that is known of these different kinds of facts about the dog
constitutes our knowledge of the dog and its life. All that is known by
scientific men and others of these different kinds of facts about all the
500,000 or more kinds of living animals, constitutes our knowledge of
animals and is the science _zoölogy_. Names have been given to these
different groups of facts about animals. The facts about the bodily
make-up or structure of animals constitute that part of zoölogy called
animal _anatomy_ or _morphology;_ the facts about the things animals do,
or the functions of animals, compose animal _physiology;_ the facts about
the development of animals from young to adult condition are the facts of
animal _development;_ the knowledge of the different kinds of animals and
their relationships to each other is called _systematic_ zoölogy or animal
_classification;_ and finally the knowledge of the relations of animals to
their external surroundings, including the inorganic world, plants and
other animals, is called animal _ecology_.
Any study of animals and their life, that is, of zoölogy, may include all
or any of these parts of zoölogy.
--Kellogg: _Elementary Zoölogy_.
3. Are not these outlines of American destiny in the near-by future
rational? In these papers an attempt has been made:--
First, to picture the physical situation and equipment of the American in
the modern world.
Second, to outline the large and fundamental elements of American
character, which are:--
(_a_) Conservatism--moderation, thoughtfulness, and poise.
(_b_) Thoroughness--conscientious performance, to the minutest detail,
of any work which we as individuals or people may have in hand.
(_c_) Justice--that spirit which weighs with the scales of righteousness
our conduct toward each other and our conduct as a nation toward
the world.
(_d_) Religion--the sense of dependence upon and responsibility to the
Higher Power; the profound American belief that our destiny is in
His hands.
(_e_) The minor elements of American character--such as the tendency to
organize, the element of humor, impatience with frauds, and the
movement in American life toward the simple and sincere.
--Beveridge: _Americans of To-day and To-morrow_.
_C._ Consult the table of contents or opening chapters of any text-book
and notice the main divisions.
_D._ Find in text-books five examples of classification or division.
_E._ Make one or more divisions of each of the following:--
1. The pupils in your school.
2. Your neighbors.
3. The books in the school library.
4. The buildings you see on the way to school.
5. The games you know how to play.
6. Dogs.
7. Results of competition.
+Theme LXXXIX.+--_Write an introductory paragraph showing what divisions
you, would make if called upon, to write about one of the following
topics:_--
1. Mathematics.
2. The school system of our city.
3. The churches of our town.
4. Methods of transportation.
5. Our manufacturing interests.
6. Games that girls like.
7. The inhabitants of the United States.
(Have you mentioned all important divisions of your subject? Have you
included any minor and unimportant divisions? Consider other possible
principles of division of your subject. Have you chosen the one best
suited to your purpose?)
+163. Exposition of a Proposition.+--Two terms united into a sentence so
that one is affirmed of the other become a proposition. Propositions, like
terms, may be either specific or general. "Napoleon was ambitious" is a
specific proposition; "Politicians are ambitious" is a general one.
When a proposition is presented to the mind, its meaning may not at once
be clear. The obscurity may arise from the fact that some of the terms in
the proposition are unfamiliar, or are obscure, or misleading. In this
case the first step, and often the only step necessary, is the explanation
of the terms in the proposition. The following selection taken from
Dewey's _Psychology_ illustrates the exposition of a proposition by
explaining its terms:--
The habitual act thus occurs automatically and mechanically. When we say
that it occurs automatically, we mean that it takes place, as it were, of
itself, spontaneously, without the intervention of the will. By saying
that it is mechanical, we mean that there exists no consciousness of the
process involved, nor of the relation of the means, the various muscular
adjustments, to the end, locomotion.
It is possible for our listeners or readers to understand each term in a
proposition and yet not be able to understand the meaning of the
proposition as a whole. When this is the case, we shall find it necessary
to make use of methods of exposition discussed later.
EXERCISES
Explain orally the following propositions by explaining any of the terms
likely to be unfamiliar or misunderstood:
1. The purpose of muscular contraction is the production of motion.
2. Ping-pong is lawn tennis in miniature, with a few modifications.
3. An inevitable dualism bisects nature.
4. Never inflict corporal chastisement for intellectual faults.
5. Children should be led to make their own investigations and to draw
their own inferences.
6. The black willow is an excellent tonic as well as a powerful
antiseptic.
7. Give the Anglo-Saxon equivalent for "nocturnal."
8. A negative exponent signifies the reciprocal of what the expression
would be if the exponent were positive.
+Theme XC.+--_Write an explanation of one of the following:_
1. Birds of a feather flock together.
2. Truths and roses have thorns about them.
3. Where there's a will, there's a way.
4. Who keeps company with a wolf will learn to howl.
5. He gives nothing but worthless gold, who gives from a sense of duty.
6. All things that are,
Are with more spirit chased than enjoyed.
7. Be not simply good--be good for something.
8. He that hath light within his own clear breast, May sit i' the center,
and enjoy bright day; But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts
Benighted walks under the midday sun; Himself is his own dungeon.
(Select the sentence that seems most difficult to you, determine what it
means, and then attempt to make an explanation that will show that you
thoroughly understand its meaning.)
+164. Exposition by Repetition.+--In discussing paragraph development
(Section 50) we have already learned that the meaning of a proposition may
be made clearer by the repetition of the topic statement. This repetition
may be used to supplement the definition of terms, or it may by itself
make clear both the meaning of the terms and of the proposition. Each
repetition of the proposition presents it to the reader in a new light or
in a stronger light. Each time the idea is presented it seems more
definite, more familiar, more clear. Such statements of a proposition take
advantage of the fact that the reader is thinking, and we merely attempt
to direct his thought in such a way that he will turn the proposition over
and over in his mind until it is understood.
Notice how the following propositions are explained largely by means of
repetitions, each of which adds a little to the original statement.
How to live?--that is the essential question for us. Not how to live in
the mere material sense only, but in the widest sense. The general
problem, which comprehends every special problem, is the right ruling of
conduct in all directions under all circumstances. In what way to treat
the body; in what way to treat the mind; in what way to manage our
affairs; in what way to bring up a family; in what way to behave as a
citizen; in what way to utilize all those sources of happiness which
nature supplies--how to use all our faculties to the greatest advantage of
ourselves and others--how to live completely? And this being the great
thing needful for us to learn, is, by consequence, the great thing which
education has to teach. To prepare us for complete living is the function
which education has to discharge: and the only radical mode of judging of
any educational course, is, to judge in what degree it discharges such
functions.
--Herbert Spencer: _Education_.
The gray squirrel is remarkably graceful in all his movements. It seems as
though some subtle curve was always produced by the line of the back and
tail at every light bound of the athletic little creature. He never moves
abruptly or jerks himself impatiently, as the red squirrel is continually
doing. On the contrary, all his movements are measured and deliberate, but
swift and sure. He never makes a bungling leap, and his course is marked
by a number of sinuous curves almost equal to those of a snake. He is here
one minute, and the next he has slipped away almost beyond the ability of
our eyes to follow.
--F. Schuyler Matthews: _American Nut Gatherers_.
+Theme XCI.+--_Write a paragraph explaining one of the propositions below
by means of repetition._
1. Physical training should be made compulsory in the high school.
2. Some people who seem to be selfish are not really so.
3. The dangers of athletic contests are overestimated.
4. The Monroe Doctrine is a warning to European powers to keep their hands
off territory in North and South America.
5. By the "treadmill of life" we mean the daily routine of duties.
6. The thirst for novelty is one of the most powerful incentives that take
a man to distant countries.
7. There are unquestionably increasing opportunities for an honorable and
useful career in the civil service of the United States.
(Have you used any method besides that of repetition? Does your paragraph
really explain the proposition?)
+165. Exposition by Use of Examples.+--Exposition treats of general
subjects, and the topic statement of a paragraph is, therefore, a general
statement. In order to understand what such a general statement means, the
reader may need to think of a concrete case. The writer may develop his
paragraph by furnishing concrete cases. (See Section 44.) In many cases no
further explanation is necessary.
The following paragraph illustrates this method of explanation:--
The lower portions of stream valleys which have sunk below sea level are
called _drowned valleys_. The lower St. Lawrence is perhaps the greatest
example of a drowned valley in the world, but many other rivers are in the
same condition. The old channel of the Hudson River may be traced upon the
sea bottom about 125 miles beyond its present mouth, and its valley is
drowned as far up as Troy, 150 miles. The sea extends up the Delaware
River to Trenton, and Chesapeake Bay with its many arms is the drowned
valleys of the Susquehanna and its former tributaries. Many of the most
famous harbors in the world, as San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound, the
estuaries of the Thames and the Mersey, and the Scottish firths, are
drowned valleys.
--Dryer: _Lessons in Physical Geography_.
+Theme XCII.+--_Develop one of the following topic statements into an
expository paragraph by use of examples:_--
1. Weather depends to a great extent upon winds.
2. Progress in civilization has been materially aided by the use of nails.
3. Habit is formed by the repetition of the same act.
4. Men become criminals by a gradual process.
5. Men's lives are affected by small things.
6. Defeat often proves to be real success.
(Have you made your meaning clear? Does your example really illustrate the
topic statement? Can you think of other illustrations?)
+166. Exposition by Comparison or Contrast.+--We can frequently make our
explanations clear by comparing the subject under discussion with
something that is already familiar to the reader. In such a case we shall
need to show in what respect the subject we are explaining is similar to
or differs from that with which it is compared. (Section 48.) Though
customary it is not necessary to compare the term under discussion with
some well-known term. In the example below the term _socialism_ is
probably no more familiar than the term _anarchism_. Both are explained in
the selection, and the explanations are made clearer by contrasting the
one with the other.
Socialism, which is curiously confounded by the indiscriminating with
Anarchism, is its exact opposite. Anarchy is the doctrine that there
should be no government control; Socialism--that is, State Socialism--is
the doctrine that government should control everything. State Socialism
affirms that the state--that is, the government--should own all the tools
and implements of industry, should direct all occupations, and should give
to every man according to his need and require from every man according to
his ability. State Socialism points to the evils of overproduction in some
fields and insufficient production in others, under our competitive
system, and proposes to remedy these evils by assigning to government the
duty of determining what shall be produced and what each worker shall
produce. If there are too many preachers and too few shoemakers, the
preacher will be taken from the pulpit and assigned to the bench; if there
are too many shoemakers and too few preachers, the shoemaker will be taken
from the bench and assigned to the pulpit. Anarchy says, no government;
Socialism says, all government; Anarchy leaves the will of the individual
absolutely unfettered, Socialism leaves nothing to the individual will;
Anarchism would have no social organism which is not dependent on the
entirely voluntary assent of each individual member of the organism at
every instant of its history; Socialism would have every individual of the
social organism wholly subordinate in all his lifework to the authority of
the whole body expressed through its properly constituted officers. It is
true that there are some writers who endeavor to unite these two
antagonistic doctrines by teaching that society should be organized wholly
for industry, not at all for government. But how a coöperative industry
can be carried on without a government which controls as well as counsels,
no writer, so far as I have been able to discover, has ever even
suggested.
--Lyman Abbott: _Anarchism: Its Cause and Cure_.
+Theme XCIII.+--_Write an exposition that makes use of comparison:_--
Suggested subjects:--
1. A bad habit is a tyrant.
2. Typewritten letters.
3. The muskrat's house.
4. Compare Shylock with Barabas in Marlowe's _Jew of Malta_.
5. Methods of reading.
6. All the world's a stage.
7. Compare life to a flower.
(Can you suggest any other comparisons which you might have used? Have you
been careful in your selection of facts and arrangement?)
+167. Exposition by Obverse Statements.+--In explaining an idea it is
necessary to distinguish it from any related or similar idea with which it
may be confused in the minds of our readers. Clearness is added by the
statement that one is _not_ the other. To say that socialism is not
anarchy is a good preparation for the explanation of what socialism really
is. In the following selection Burke excludes different kinds of peace and
by this exclusion emphasizes the kind of peace which he has in mind.
The proposition is peace. Not peace through the medium of war; not peace
to be hunted through the labyrinth of intricate and endless negotiations;
not peace to arise out of universal discord, fomented from principle,
in all parts of the empire; not peace to depend on the juridical
determination of perplexing questions, or the precise marking the shadowy
boundaries of a complex government. It is simple peace; sought in its
natural course, and in its ordinary haunts.--It is peace sought in the
spirit of peace; and laid in principles purely pacific. I propose, by
removing the ground of the difference, and by restoring the _former
unsuspecting confidence of the colonies in the Mother Country_, to give
permanent satisfaction to your people; and (far from a scheme of ruling by
discord) to reconcile them to each other in the same act, and by the bond
of the very same interest which reconciles them to British government.
+168. Exposition by Giving Particulars or Details.+--One of the most
natural methods of explaining is to give particulars or details. After a
general statement has been made, our minds naturally look for details to
make the meaning of that statement clearer. (See Sections 45-47.) This
method is used very largely in generalized descriptions and narrations.
Notice the use of particulars or details in the following examples:--
Happy the boy who knows the secret of making a willow whistle! He must
know the best kind of willow for the purpose, and the exact time of year
when the bark will slip. The country boy seems to know these things by
instinct. When the day for whistles arrives he puts away marbles and hunts
the whetstone. His jackknife must be in good shape, for the making of a
whistle is a delicate piece of handicraft. The knife has seen service in
mumblepeg and as nut pick since whistle-making time last year. Surrounded
by a crowd of spectators, some admiring, some skeptical, the boy selects
his branch. There is an air of mystery about the proceeding. With a
patient indulgent smile he rejects all offers of assistance. He does not
attempt to explain why this or that branch will not do. When finally he
raises his shining knife and cuts the branch on which his choice has
fallen, all crowd round and watch. From the large end between two twigs he
takes a section about six inches long. Its bark is light green and smooth.
He trims one end neatly and passes his thumb thoughtfully over it to be
sure it is finished to his taste. He then cuts the other end of the stick
at an angle of about 45°, making a clean single cut. The sharp edge of
this is now cut off to make a mouthpiece. This is a delicate operation,
for the bark is apt to crush or split if the knife is dull, or the hand is
unskillful. The boy holds it up, inspecting his own work critically.
Sometimes he is dissatisfied and cuts again. If he makes a third cut and
is still unsuccessful he tosses the spoiled piece away. It is too short
now. A half dozen eager hands reach for the discarded stick, and the one
who gets it fondles it lovingly. I once had such a treasure and cherished
it until I learned the secret of the whistle-maker's art. He next places
the knife edge about half an inch back from the end of the mouthpiece and
cuts straight towards the center of the branch about one-fourth the way
through. A three-cornered piece is now cut out, and the chip falls to the
ground unheeded.
When this is finished the boy's eye runs along the stick with a
calculating squint. The knife edge is placed at the middle, then moved a
short distance towards the mouthpiece. With skillful hand he cuts through
the bark in a perfect circle round the stick. While we watch in fascinated
silence, he takes the knife by the blade and resting the unfinished
whistle on his knees he strikes firmly but gently the part of the stick
between the ring and the mouthpiece. Only the wooden part of the handle
touches the bark. He goes over and over it until every spot on its surface
has felt his light blow. Now he lays the knife aside, and grasping the
stick with a firm hand below the ring in the bark, with the right hand he
holds the pounded end. He tries it with a careful twist. It sticks. Back
to his knees it goes and the tap, tap, begins again. When he twists it
again it slips, and the bark comes off smoothly in one piece, while we
breathe a sigh of relief. How white the stick is under the bark! It shines
and looks slippery. Now the boy takes his knife again. He cuts towards the
straight jog where the chip was taken out, paring the wood away, sloping
up to within an inch of the end of the bark. Now he cuts a thin slice of
the wood between the edge of the vertical cut and the mouthpiece.
The whistle is nearly finished. We have all seen him make them before and
know what comes next. Our tongues seek over moist lips sympathetically,
for we know the taste of peeled willow. He puts the end of the stick into
his mouth and draws it in and out until it is thoroughly wet. Then he
lifts the carefully guarded section of bark and slips it back into place,
fitting the parts nicely together.
The willow whistle is finished. There remains but to try it. Will it go?
Does he dare blow into it and risk our jeers if it is dumb?
With all the fine certainty of the Pied Piper the boy lifts the humble
instrument to his lips. His eyes have a far-off look, his face changes;
while we strain eyes and ears, he takes his own time. The silence is
broken by a note, so soft, so tender, yet so weird and unlike other
sounds! Our hands quiver, our hearts beat faster. It is as if the spirit
of the willow tree had joined with the spirit of childhood in the natural
song of earth.
It goes!
--Mary Rogers Miller: _The Brook Book_.
(Copyright, 1902, Doubleday, Page and Co.)
+Theme XCIV.+--_Write an exposition on one of the following
subjects, making use of particulars or details:_--
1. How ice cream is made.
2. The cultivation of rice.
3. Greek architecture.
4. How paper is made.
5. A tornado.
6. Description of a steam engine.
7. The circulatory system of a frog.
8. A western ranch.
9. Street furniture.
10. A street fair.
(Have you used particulars sufficient to make your meaning clear? Have you
used any unnecessary particulars? Why is the arrangement of your topics
easy in this theme?)
+169. Exposition by Cause and Effect.+--When our general statement is in
the form of a cause or causes, the question naturally arises in our mind
as to the effects resulting from those causes. In like manner, when the
general statement takes the form of an effect, we want to know what the
causes are that produce such an effect. From the very nature of exposition
we may expect to find much of this kind of discourse relating to causes
and effects. (See Section 49.)
Notice the following example:--
The effect of the polar whirls may be seen in the rapid rotation of water
in a pan or bowl. The centrifugal force throws the water away from the
center, where the surface becomes depressed, and piles it up around the
sides, where the surface becomes elevated. The water being deeper at the
sides than at the center, its pressure upon the bottom is proportionately
greater. A similar effect is produced by the whirl of the air around the
polar regions. It is thrown away from the polar regions and piled up
around the circumference of the whirl. There is less air above the polar
regions than above latitude 30°-40°, and the atmospheric pressure is
correspondingly low at one place and high at the other. Thus the
centrifugal force of the polar whirl makes the pressure low in spite of
the low temperature. The position of the tropical belts of high pressure
is a resultant of the high temperature of the equatorial regions on one
side and the polar whirls on the other.
--Dryer: _Lessons in Physical Geography_.
+Theme XCV.+--_Write an expository theme using cause or effect._
Suggested subjects:--
1. The causes of the French Revolution.
2. How ravines are formed.
3. Irrigation.
4. Effects of smoking.
5. Lack of exercise.
6. Volcanic eruptions.
(Did you find it necessary to make use of any other method of explanation?
Did you make use of description in any place?)
SUMMARY
1. Exposition is that form of discourse the purpose of which is to
explain.
2. The essential characteristics of an exposition are--
_a._ That it possess unity because it contains only those facts
essential to its purpose.
_b._ That the facts used be arranged in a coherent order.
3. Exposition is concerned with (_a_) general terms or (_b_) general
propositions.
4. The steps in the exposition of a term are--
_a._ Definition. This may be--
(1) By synonym (inexact).
(2) By use of the logical definition (exact).
_b._ Division. This may be--
(1) Complete (classification).
(2) Incomplete (partition).
The same principle of division should be followed throughout.
5. Exposition of a proposition may use any one of the
following methods--
_a._ By repetition.
_b._ By giving examples.
_c._ By stating comparisons and contrasts.
_d._ By making obverse statements.
_e._ By relating particulars or details.
_f._ By stating cause or effect.
_g._ By any suitable combination of these methods.
XI. ARGUMENT
+170. Difference between Argument and Exposition.+--Argument differs from
exposition in its purpose. By exposition we endeavor to make clear the
meaning of a proposition; by argument we attempt to prove its truth. If a
person does not understand what we mean, we explain; if, after he does
understand, he does not believe, we argue.
Often a simple explanation is sufficient to convince. As soon as the
reader understands the real meaning of a proposition, he accepts our view
of the case. A heated discussion may end with the statement, "Oh, if that
is what you mean, I agree with you." In Section 70, we have learned that
the first step in argument is explanation, by which we make clear the
meaning of the proposition the truth of which we wish to establish.
This explanation may include both the expounding of the terms in the
proposition and the explanation of the proposition as a whole.
There is another difference between exposition and argument. We cannot
argue about single terms, though we may explain them. We may explain what
is meant by the term _elective studies_, or _civil service;_ but an
argument requires a proposition such as, Pupils should be allowed to
choose their own studies, or, Civil Service should be established. Even
with such a topic as Expansion or Restricted Immigration, which seems to
be a subject of argument, there is really an implied proposition under
discussion; as, The United States should acquire control of territory
outside of its present boundaries; or, It should be the policy of our
government to restrict immigration. We may explain the meaning of
single terms or of propositions, but in order to argue, we must have a
proposition either expressed or implied.
+171. Proposition of Fact and Proposition of Theory.+--Some propositions
state facts and some propositions state theories. Every argument therefore
aims either to prove the occurrence of a fact or the truth of a theory.
The first would attempt to show the actual or probable truth of a specific
proposition; for example:--
Nero was guilty of burning Rome.
Joan of Arc was burned at the stake.
Barbara Frietchie actually existed.
Sheridan never made the ride from Winchester.
Homer was born at Chios.
The second would try to establish the probable truth of a general theory;
for example:--
A college education is a profitable investment.
Light is caused by a wave motion of ether.
+172. Statement of the Proposition.+--The subject about which we argue may
be stated in any one of the three forms discussed in Section 74; that is,
as a declarative sentence, a resolution, or a question. The statement does
not necessarily appear first in the argument, but it must be clearly
formulated in the mind of the writer before he attempts to argue. Before
trying to convince others he must know exactly what he himself believes,
and the attempt to state his belief in the form of a proposition will
assist in making his own thought clear and definite.
If we are going to argue concerning elective studies, we should first of
all be sure that we understand the meaning of the term ourselves. Then
we must consider carefully what we believe about it, and state our
proposition so that it shall express exactly this belief. On first thought
we may believe the proposition that pupils should be allowed to choose
their own studies. But is this proposition true of pupils in the grades as
well as in the high schools? Or is it true only of the upper classes
in the high school or only of college students? Can you state this
proposition so that it will express your own belief on the subject?
EXERCISES
_A_. Use the following terms in expressed propositions:--
1. Immigration.
2. Elevated railways.
3. American history.
4. Military training.
5. Single session.
6. Athletics.
_B_. Explain the following propositions:--
1. The United States should adopt a free-trade policy.
2. Is vivisection justifiable?
3. The author has greater influence than the orator.
4. The civil service system should be abolished.
5. The best is always cheapest.
_C_. Can you restate the following propositions so that
the meaning of each will be made more definite?
1. Athletics should be abolished. (Should _all_ athletic exercises be
abolished?)
2. Latin is better than algebra. (_Better_ for what purpose? _Better_ for
whom?)
3. Training in domestic arts and sciences should be provided for high
school pupils. (Define domestic arts and sciences. Should they be
taught to _all_ high school pupils?)
4. Punctuality is more important than efficiency.
5. The commercial course is better than the classical course.
6. A city should control the transportation facilities within its limits.
+Theme XCVI.+--_Write out an argument favoring one of the propositions as
restated in Exercise C above._
(Before writing, make a brief as indicated in Section 77. Consider the
arrangement of your argument.)
+173. Clear Thinking Essential to Argument.+--Having clearly in mind the
proposition which we wish to prove, we next proceed to give arguments in
its support. The very fact that we argue at all assumes that there are two
sides to the question. If we hope to have another accept our view we must
present good reasons. We cannot convince another that a proposition is
true unless we can tell him why it is true; and certainly we cannot tell
him why until we know definitely our own reasons for believing the
statement. In order to present a good argument we must be clear logical
thinkers ourselves; that is, we must be able to state definite reasons for
our beliefs and to draw the correct conclusions.
+174. Inductive Reasoning.+--One of the best preparations for trying to
convince others is for us to consider carefully our own reasons for
believing as we do. Minds act in a similar manner, and what leads you and
me to believe certain truths will be likely to cause others to believe
them also. A brief consideration of how our belief in the truth of a
proposition has been established will indicate the way in which we should
present our material in order to cause others to believe the same
proposition. If you ask yourself the question, What leads me to believe as
I do? the answer will undoubtedly be effective in convincing others.
Are the following propositions true or false? Why do
you believe or refuse to believe each?
1. Maple trees shed their leaves in winter.
2. Dogs bark.
3. Kettles are made of iron.
4. Grasshoppers jump.
5. Giraffes have long necks.
6. Raccoons sleep in the daytime.
7. The sun will rise to-morrow.
8. Examinations are not fair tests of a pupil's knowledge.
9. Honest people are respected.
10. Water freezes at 32° Fahrenheit.
11. Boys get higher standings in mathematics than girls do.
It is at once evident that we believe a proposition such as one of
these, because we have known of many examples. If we reject any of the
propositions it is because we know of exceptions (we have seen kettles not
made of iron), or because we do not know of instances (we may never have
seen a raccoon, and so not know what he does in the daytime). The greater
the number of cases which have occurred without presenting an exception,
the stronger our belief in the truth of the proposition (we expect the sun
to rise because it has never failed).
The process by which, from many individual cases, we establish the truth
of a proposition is called +inductive reasoning+.
+175. Establishing a General Theory.+--A general theory is established by
showing that for all known particular cases it will offer an acceptable
explanation. By investigation or experiment we note that a certain fact is
true in one particular instance, and, after a large number of individual
cases have been noted, and the same fact found to be true in each, we
assume that such is true of all like cases, and a general law is
established. This is the natural scientific method and is constantly being
made use of in pursuing scientific studies. By experiment, it was found
that one particular kind of acid turned blue litmus red. This, of course,
was not sufficient proof to establish a general law, but when, upon
further investigation, it was found to be true of all known acids,
scientists felt justified in stating the general law that acids turn blue
litmus red.
In establishing a new theory in science it is necessary to bring forward
many facts which seem to establish it, and the argument will consist in
pointing out these facts. Frequently the general principle is assumed to
be true, and the argument then consists in showing that it will apply to
and account for all the facts of a given kind. Theories which have been
for a time believed have, as the world progressed in learning, been found
unable to account for all of a given class of conditions. They have been
replaced, therefore, by other theories, just as the Copernican theory of
astronomy has displaced the Ptolemaic theory.
Our belief may be based upon the absence of facts proving the contrary as
well as upon the presence of facts proving the proposition. If A has never
told an untruth, that fact is an argument in favor of his truthfulness on
the present occasion. A man who has never been dishonest may point to this
as an argument in favor of placing him in a position of trust. Often the
strongest evidence that we can offer in favor of a proposition is the
absence of any fact that would support the negative conclusion.
The point of the whole matter is that from the observation of a large
number of cases, we may establish the _probable_ truth of a proposition,
but emphasis needs to be laid upon the probability. We cannot be sure. Not
all crows are black, though you may never have seen a white one. The sun
may not rise to-morrow, though it has never failed up to this time. Still
it is by this observation of many individual cases that the truth of the
propositions that men do believe has been established. We realize that our
inductions are often imperfect, but the general truths so established will
be found to underlie every process of reasoning, and will be either
directly or indirectly the basis upon which we build up all argument.
We may then redefine inductive reasoning as the process by which from
many individual cases we establish the _probable_ truth of a general
proposition.
EXERCISES
Notice in the following selections that the truth of the conclusion is
shown by giving particular examples:--
1. It is curious enough that _we always remember people by their worst
points_, and still more curious that _we always suppose that we ourselves
are remembered by our best_. I once knew a hunchback who had a well-shaped
hand, and was continually showing it. He never believed that anybody
noticed his hump, but lived and died in the conviction that the whole town
spoke of him no otherwise than as the man with the beautiful hand,
whereas, in fact, they only looked at his hump, and never so much as
noticed whether he had a hand at all. This young lady, so pretty and so
clever, is simply the girl who had that awkward history with So-and-so;
that man, who has some of the very greatest qualities, is nothing more
than the one who behaved so badly on such an occasion. It is a terrible
thing to think that we are all always at watch one upon the other, to
catch the false step in order that we may have the grateful satisfaction
of holding our neighbor for one who cannot walk straight. No regard is
paid to the better qualities and acts, however numerous; all the attention
is fixed upon the worst, however slight. If St. Peter were alive he would
be known as the man who denied his Master; St. Paul would be the man who
stoned Stephen; and St. Thomas would never be mentioned in any decent
society without allusions to that unfortunate request for further
evidence. Probably this may be the reason why we all have so much greater
a contempt for and distrust of each other than would be warranted by a
correct balance between the good and the evil that are in each.
--Thomas Gibson Bowles: _Flotsam and Jetsam_.
2. In the first place, 227 withered leaves of various kinds, mostly of
English plants, were pulled out of worm burrows in several places. Of
these, 181 had been drawn into the burrows by or near their tips, so that
the footstalk projected nearly upright from the mouth of the burrow; 20
had been drawn in by their bases, and in this case the tips projected from
the burrows; and 26 had been seized near the middle, so that these had
been drawn in transversely and were much crumpled. Therefore 80 per cent
(always using the nearest whole number) had been drawn in by the tip, 9
per cent by the base or footstalk, and 11 per cent transversely or by the
middle. This alone is almost sufficient to show that _chance does not
determine the manner in which leaves are dragged into the burrows_.
--Darwin: _Vegetable Mold and Earthworms_.
3. _The catastrophe of every play is caused always by the folly or fault
of a man; the redemption, if there be any, is by the wisdom and virtue of
a woman, and, failing that, there is none_. The catastrophe of King
Lear is owing to his own want of judgment, his impatient vanity, his
misunderstanding of his children; the virtue of his one true daughter
would have saved him from all the injuries of the others, unless he had
cast her away from him; as it is, she all but saves him. Of Othello, I
need not trace the tale; nor the one weakness of his so mighty love; nor
the inferiority of his perceptive intellect to that even of the second
woman character in the play, the Emilia who dies in wild testimony against
his error:--
"Oh, murderous coxcomb! what should such a fool
Do with so good a wife?"
In _Romeo and Juliet_, the wise and brave stratagem of the wife is brought
to ruinous issue by the reckless impatience of her husband. In _The
Winter's Tale_, and in _Cymbeline_, the happiness and existence of two
princely households, lost through long years, and imperiled to the death
by the folly and obstinacy of the husbands, are redeemed at last by the
queenly patience and wisdom of the wives. In _Measure for Measure_, the
foul injustice of the judge, and the foul cowardice of the brother, are
opposed to the victorious truth and adamantine purity of a woman. In
_Coriolanus_, the mother's counsel, acted upon in time, would have saved
her son from all evil; his momentary forgetfulness of it is his ruin; her
prayer, at last, granted, saves him--not, indeed, from death, but from the
curse of living as the destroyer of his country.
--Ruskin: _Sesame and Lilies_.
4.
_Bas. _So may the outward shows be least themselves;
_The world is still deceived with ornament_.
In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt
But, being season'd with a gracious voice,
Obscures the show of evil? In religion,
What damned error, but some sober brow
Will bless it and approve it with a text,
Hiding the grossness with fair ornament?
There is no vice so simple but assumes
Some mark of virtue on his outward parts:
How many cowards, whose hearts are all as false
As stairs of sand, wear yet upon their chins
The beards of Hercules and frowning Mars,
Who, inward search'd, have livers white as milk;
And these assume but valor's excrement
To render them redoubted! Look on beauty,
And you shall see 'tis purchased by the weight;
Which therein works a miracle in nature,
Making them lightest that wear most of it:
So are those crisped snaky golden locks
Which make such wanton gambols with the wind,
Upon supposed fairness, often known
To be the dowry of a second head,
The skull that bred them in the sepulcher.
Thus ornament is but the guiled shore
To a most dangerous sea; the beauteous scarf
Veiling an Indian beauty; in a word,
The seeming truth which cunning times put on
To entrap the wisest. Therefore, thou gaudy gold,
Hard food for Midas, I will none of thee;
Nor none of thee, thou pale and common drudge
'Tween man and man: but thou, though meager lead,
Which rather threatenest than dost promise aught,
Thy paleness moves me more than eloquence;
And here choose I: joy be the consequence!
--Shakespeare: _The Merchant of Venice_.
+Theme XCVII.+--_Write a paragraph proving the truth of one of the
following statements:_--
1. It is a distinct advantage to a large town to be connected with the
smaller towns by electric car lines.
2. Vertical penmanship should be taught in all elementary schools.
3. Examinations develop dishonesty.
4. Novel reading is a waste of time.
5. Tramps ought not to be fed.
(Make a brief. Consider the arrangement of your arguments. Read Section
72.)
+176. Errors of Induction.+--A common error is that of too hasty
generalization. We conclude that something is always so because it
happened to be so in the few cases that have come under our observation. A
broader experience frequently shows that the hastily made generalization
will not hold.
Some people are led to lose faith in all humanity because one or two of
their acquaintances have shown themselves unworthy of their trust. Others
are ready to pronounce a merchant dishonest because some article purchased
at his store has not proved to be so good as it was expected to be. There
are those who are superstitious concerning the wearing of opals, claiming
that these jewels bring the wearer ill luck, because they have heard of
some instances where misfortune seemed to follow the wearing of that
particular stone. What may seem to be causes and effects at first may,
upon further investigation or inquiry, prove to be merely chance
coincidences. In your work in argument, whether for the class room or
outside, be careful about this point. Remember that your induction will be
weak or even worthless if you draw conclusions from too few examples.
Often one example seems sufficient to cause belief. We might believe that
all giraffes have long necks, even though we had seen but one; but such a
belief would exist because, by many examples of other animals, we have
learned that a single specimen will fairly represent all other specimens
of the same class. On the other hand, if this one giraffe should possess
one brown eye and one white eye, we should not expect all other giraffes
to have such eyes, for our observation of many hundreds of animals teaches
us that the eyes of an animal are usually alike in color. In order to
establish a true generalization, the _essential_ characteristics must be
selected, and these cannot be determined by rule, but rather by common
sense.
+177. Deductive Reasoning.+--When once a general principle has been
established, we may demonstrate the truth of a specific proposition by
showing that the general principle applies to it. We see a gold ring and
say, "This ring is valuable," because we believe the general proposition,
"All articles made of gold are valuable." Expressed in full, the process
of reasoning would be--
_A._ All articles made of gold are valuable.
_B._ This ring is made of gold.
_C._ Therefore this ring is valuable.
A series of statements such as the above is called a syllogism. It
consists of a major premise (_A_), a minor premise (_B_), and a conclusion
(_C_).
Of course we shall not be called upon to prove so simple a proposition as
the one given, but with more difficult ones the method of reasoning is the
same. The process which applies a general proposition (_A_) to a specific
instance (_C_), is called deductive reasoning.
+178. Relation between Inductive and Deductive Reasoning.+--Deductive
reasoning is shorter and seems more convincing than inductive reasoning,
for if the premises are true and the statement is made in correct form,
the conclusions are irresistible. Each conclusion carries with it,
however, the weakness of the premises on which it is based, and as these
premises are general principles that have been themselves established by
inductive reasoning, the conclusions of deductive reasoning can be no more
_sure_ than those of inductive reasoning. Each may prove only that the
proposition is probably true rather than that it is surely true, though in
many cases this probability becomes almost a certainty.
+179. The Enthymeme.+--We seldom need to state our argument in the
syllogistic form. One of the premises is usually omitted, and we pass
directly from one premise to the conclusion. If we say, "Henry will not
succeed as an engineer," and when asked why he will not, we reply,
"Because he is not good in mathematics," we have omitted the premise, "A
knowledge of mathematics is necessary for success in engineering." A
shortened syllogism, that is, a syllogism with one premise omitted, is
called an enthymeme.
Thus in ordinary matters our thought turns at once to the conclusion in
connection with but one premise. We make a thousand statements which a
moment's thought will show that we believe because we believe some
unexpressed general principle. If I should say of my dog, "Fido will die
sometime," no sensible person would doubt the truth of the statement. If
asked to prove it, I would say, "Because he is a dog, and all dogs die
sometime." Thus I apply to a specific proposition, Fido will die, the
general one, All dogs die, a proposition about which there is no doubt.
Frequently the suppressed premise is not so well established as in this
case, and the belief or nonbelief of the proposition will be determined by
the individuals addressed, each in accordance with his experience. Suppose
that in reading we find the statement, "A boy of fourteen ought not to be
allowed to choose his own subjects of study, because he will choose all
the easy ones and avoid the more difficult though more valuable ones." The
omitted premise that all boys will choose easy studies, needs to be
established by induction. If a high school principal had noticed that out
of five hundred boys, four hundred elected the easy studies, he would
admit the truth of the omitted premise, and so of the conclusion. But if
only one hundred had chosen the easy subjects, he would reject the major
premise and likewise the conclusion.
It is evident that in order to be sure of the truth of a proposition we
must determine the truth of the premises upon which it is based. An
argument therefore is frequently given over wholly to establishing the
premises. If their truth can be demonstrated, the conclusion inevitably
follows.
EXERCISES
_A._ Supply the missing premise for the following:--
1. John will succeed because he has a college education.
2. Henry is happy because he has plenty of money.
3. Candy is nutritious because it is made of sugar.
4. These biscuits will make me ill because they are heavy.
5. This dog must be angry because he is growling.
6. This fish can swim.
7. The plural of the German noun _der Garten_ is _die Gärten_.
8. It will hurt to have this tooth filled.
_B._ Supply the reasons and complete the syllogism for each of the
following:--
1. This book should not be read.
2. This hammer is useful.
3. That dog will bite.
4. This greyhound can run rapidly.
5. The leaves have fallen from the trees.
6. That boy ought to be punished.
7. It is too early to go nutting.
8. This boy should not study.
9. You ought not to vote for this man for mayor.
+Theme XCVIII.+--_Write a paragraph proving the truth of one of the
following propositions:_--
1. Labor-saving machinery is of permanent advantage to mankind.
2. New Orleans will some day be a greater shipping port than New York.
3. Poetry has a greater influence on the morals of a nation than prose
writing.
4. Boycotting injures innocent persons and should never be employed.
5. Ireland should have Home Rule.
6. The President of the United States should be elected by the direct vote
of the people.
(Consider your argument with reference to the suppressed premises.)
+180. Errors of Deduction.+--The deductive method of reasoning, if
properly used, is effective, but much care needs to be taken to avoid
false conclusions. A complete exposition of the variations of the
syllogism is not necessary here, but it will be of value to consider
briefly three chief errors.
If the terms are not used with the same meaning throughout, the conclusion
is valueless. A person might agree with you that domestic arts should be
taught to girls in school, but if you continued by saying that scrubbing
the floor is a form of domestic art, therefore the girls should be taught
to scrub the floor, he would reject your conclusion because the meaning of
the term _domestic art_ as he understood it in the first statement, is not
that used in the second.
It will be noticed that each syllogism includes three terms. For example,
the syllogism,--
All hawks eat flesh;
This bird is a hawk;
Therefore this bird eats flesh,--
contains the three terms, _hawk, eats flesh, this bird_; of these but two
appear in the conclusion. The one which does not (in this case _hawk_) is
called the middle term. If the major premise does not make a statement
about every member of the class denoted by the middle term, the conclusion
may not be valid even though the premises are true. For example:--
All hawks are birds;
This chicken is a bird;
Therefore this chicken is a hawk.
In this case the middle term is _birds_, and the major premise, _All hawks
are birds_, does not make a statement which applies to all birds. The
conclusion is therefore untrue. Such an argument is a fallacy.
The validity of the conclusion is impaired if either premise is false. In
the enthymeme, "Henry is a coward; he dare not run away from school," the
suppressed premise, "All persons who will not run away from school, are
cowards," is not true, and so invalidates the conclusion. It is well to
test the validity of your own argument and that of your opponent by
seeking for the suppressed premise and stating it, for this may reveal a
fatal weakness in the thought.
EXERCISES
Which of the following are incorrect?
1. The government should pay for the education of its people;
Travel is a form of education;
Therefore the government should pay the traveling expenses of the
people.
2. All horses are useful;
This animal is useful;
Therefore this animal is a horse.
3. I ought not to study algebra because it is a very difficult subject.
4. Pupils ought not to write notes because note writing interferes with
the rights of others.
5. All fish can swim;
Charles can swim;
Therefore Charles is a fish.
6. Henry is a fool because he wears a white necktie.
7. All dogs bark;
This animal barks;
Therefore this animal is a dog.
+Theme XCIX.+--_Write a paragraph proving the truth of one of the
following propositions:_--
1. The government should establish a parcels post.
2. The laws of mind determine the forms of composition.
3. Training for citizenship should be given greater attention in the
public schools.
4. The members of the school board should be appointed by the mayor of the
city.
5. In the estimation of future ages ---- will be considered the greatest
President since Lincoln.
(State your premises. Have you shown that they are true?)
+181. Evidence.+--We may reach belief in the truth of a specific statement
by means of deductive reasoning. Commonly, however, when dealing with an
actual state or occurrence, we present other facts or circumstances that
show its existence. The facts presented may be those of experience, the
testimony of witnesses, the opinion of those considered as experts in the
subject, or a combination of circumstances known to have existed. To be of
any value as arguments, they must be true, and they must be related to the
fact that we are trying to prove. These true and pertinent facts we term
_evidence_.
Evidence may be direct or indirect. If a man sees a boy steal a bag of
apples from the orchard across the way, his evidence is direct. If
instead, he only sees him with an empty bag and later with a full one, the
evidence will be indirect. If you testify that early in the evening you
saw a tramp enter a barn which later in the evening caught fire, your
testimony as regards the cause of the fire would be indirect evidence
against the tramp. If you can testify that you saw sparks fall from his
lighted pipe and ignite a pile of hay in the barn, the evidence which you
give will be direct.
Direct evidence has more weight than indirect, but often the latter is
nearly equal to the former and is sufficient to convince us. Even the
direct testimony of eye-witnesses must be carefully considered. Several
persons may see the same thing and yet make very different reports, even
though they may all desire to tell the truth. The weight that we shall
give to a person's testimony will depend upon his ability to observe and
to report accurately what he has experienced, and upon his desire to tell
the truth.
Notice in the following selection what facts, specific instances, and
circumstances are advanced in support of the proposition. Assuming that
they are true, are they pertinent to the proposition?
Certain species of these army ants which inhabit tropical America, Mr.
Belt considered to be the most intelligent of all the insects of that part
of the world. On one occasion he noticed a wide column of them trying to
pass along a nearly perpendicular slope of crumbling earth, on which they
found great difficulty in obtaining a foothold. A number succeeded in
retaining their positions, and further strengthened them by laying hold of
their neighbors. They then remained in this position, and allowed the
column to march securely and easily over their bodies. On another occasion
a column was crossing a stream of water by a very narrow branch of a tree,
which only permitted them to go in single file. The ants widened the
bridge by a number clinging to the sides and to each other, and this
allowed the column to pass over three or four deep. These ants, having no
permanent nests, carry their larvae and pupae with them when marching. The
prey they capture is cut up and carried to the rear of the army to be
distributed as food.
--Robert Brown: _Science for All_.
+Theme C.+--_Present all the evidence you can either to prove or disprove
one of the following propositions:_--
Select some question of local interest as:--
1. The last fire in our town was of incendiary origin.
2. The football team from ---- indulged in "slugging" at the last game.
3. Our heating system is inadequate.
4. It rained last night.
If you prefer, choose one of the following subjects:--
1. The Stuart kings were arbitrary rulers.
2. The climate of our country is changing.
3. Gutenberg did not invent the printing press.
4. The American Indians have been unjustly treated by the whites.
5. Nations have their periods of rise and decay.
(Are the facts you use true? Are they pertinent? Do you know of facts
that would tend to show that your proposition is not true?)
+182. Number and Value of Reasons.+--Although a statement may be true and
pertinent it is seldom sufficient for proof. We need, as a rule, several
such statements. If you are trying to convince a friend that one kind of
automobile is superior to another, and can give only one reason for its
superiority, you no doubt will fail in your attempt. If, however, you can
give several reasons, you may succeed in convincing him. Suppose you go to
your principal and ask permission to take an extra study. You may give as
a reason the fact that your parents wish you to take it. He may not think
that is a sufficient reason for your doing so, but when he finds that with
your present studies you do not need to study evenings, that one of them
is a review, and that you have been standing well in all your studies, he
may be led to think that it will be wise for you to take the desired extra
study.
While we must guard against insufficiency of reasons, we must not forget
that numbers alone do not convince. One good reason is more convincing
than several weak ones. Two or three good reasons, clearly and definitely
stated, will have much more weight than a large number of less important
ones.
EXERCISES
_A._ Give a reason or two in addition to the reasons already given in each
of the following:--
1. It is better to attend a large college than a small one, because the
teachers are as a rule greater experts in their lines of work.
2. The school board ought to give us a field for athletics as the school
ground is not large enough for practice.
3. Gymnasium work ought to be made compulsory. Otherwise many who need
physical training will neglect it.
4. The game of basket ball is an injury to a school, since it detracts
from interest in studies.
5. Rudolph Horton will make a good class president because he has had
experience.
_B._ Be able to answer orally any two of the following:
1. Prove to a timid person that there is no more danger in riding in an
automobile than there is in riding in a carriage drawn by horses. Use but
one argument, but make it as strong as possible.
2. Give two good reasons why the superstition concerning Friday is absurd.
3. What, in your mind, is the strongest reason why you wish to graduate
from a high school? For your wishing to go into business after leaving the
high school? For your wishing to attend college?
4. What are two or three of the strong arguments in favor of woman
suffrage? Name two or three arguments in opposition to woman suffrage.
_C._ Name all the points that you can in favor of the following. Select
the one that you consider the most important.
1. Try to convince a friend that he ought to give up the practice of
cigarette smoking.
2. Show that athletics in a high school ought to be under the management
of the faculty.
3. Show that athletics should be under the management of the pupils
themselves.
4. Macbeth's ambition and not his wife was the cause of his ruin.
5. Macbeth's wife was the cause of his ruin.
+Theme CI.+--_Select one of the subjects in the exercise above, and write
out two or three of the strongest arguments in its favor._
(Consider the premises, especially those which are not expressed. Is
your argument deductive or inductive?)
+183. The Basis of Belief.+--If you ask yourself, Why do I believe this?
the answer will in many cases show that your belief in the particular case
under consideration arises because you believe some general principle or
theory which applies to it.
One person may believe that political economy should be taught in high
schools because he believes that it is the function of the high school to
train its pupils for citizenship, and that the study of political economy
will furnish this training. Another person may oppose the teaching of
political economy because he believes that pupils of high school age are
not sufficiently mature in judgment to discuss intelligently the
principles of political economy, and that the study of these principles at
that age does not furnish desirable training for citizenship. It is
evident that an argument between these two concerning the teaching of
political economy in any particular school would consist in a discussion
of the conflicting general theories which each believed to be true.
We have shown in Section 179 that one high school principal might believe
that boys should be allowed to choose their own studies because he
believed that they would not generally select the easy ones; while another
principal would oppose free electives because he believes that boys would
choose the less difficult studies. The proposition that "The United States
should retain its hold on the Philippines" involves conflicting theories
of the function of this government. So it will be found with many of our
beliefs that either consciously or unconsciously they are based on general
theories. It is important in argument to know what these theories are, and
especially to consider what may be the general theories of those whom we
wish to convince.
+184. Appeals to General Theory, Authority, and Maxims.+--A successful
argument in deductive form must be based upon principles and theories that
the audience believes. A minister in preaching to the members of his
church may with success proceed by deductive methods, because the members
believe the general principles upon which he bases his arguments. But in
addressing a mixed audience, many of whom are not church members, such an
argument might not be convincing, because his hearers might deny the
validity of the premises from which his conclusions were drawn. In such a
case he must either keep to general theories which his auditors do
believe, or by inductive methods seek to prove the truth of the general
principles themselves.
If in support of our view we quote the opinion of some one whom we believe
competent to speak with weight and authority upon the question, we must
remember that it will have weight with our audience only if they too look
upon the person as an authority. It proves nothing to a body of teachers
to say that some educational expert believes as you do unless they have
confidence in him as a man of sound judgment. On the other hand, it may
count against a proposition to show that it has not been endorsed by any
one of importance or prominence.
In a similar way a maxim or proverb may be quoted in support of a
proposition. If a boy associates with bad company, we may offer the maxim,
"Birds of a feather flock together," in proof that he is probably bad too.
Such maxims or proverbs are brief statements of principles generally
believed, and the use of them in an argument is in effect the presentation
of a general theory in a form which appeals to the mind of the hearer and
causes him to believe our proposition.
+185. Argument by Inference.+--The statement of a fact may be introduced
into an argument, not because the fact itself applies directly to the
proposition we wish to prove, but because it by inference suggests a
general theory which does so apply. Though the reader may not be conscious
of it, the presence of this general theory may influence his decision even
more than the explicit statement of the general theory would.
An argument implies that there are two sides to a question. Which you
shall take depends on the way you look on it, that is, on what may be
called your mental point of view. Therefore any fact, allusion, maxim,
comparison, or other statement which may cause you to look at the question
in a different light or from a different point of view may be used as an
argument. In effect, it calls up a general theory whose presence affects
your decision. Notice how brief the argument is in the following selection
from Macaulay:--
Many politicians of our time are in the habit of laying it down as a
self-evident proposition, that no people ought to be free till they are
fit to use their freedom. The maxim is worthy of the fool in the old
story, who resolved not to go into the water till he had learned to swim.
If men are to wait for liberty till they become wise and good in slavery,
they may indeed wait forever.
--Macaulay: _Milton_.
+186. Summary.+--To summarize the preceding paragraphs, the authority we
quote, the maxims we state, the facts we adduce become valuable because
they appeal to general theories already believed by the reader. Success in
argument demands, therefore, that we consider carefully what theories may
probably be in the mind of our audience, and that we present our argument
in such a way as to appeal to those theories.
+Theme CII.+--_Write a short argument, using one of the following:_--
1. A young boy is urging his father to permit him to attend an
entertainment. Give his reasons as he would give them to his father.
2. Suppose the father refuses the request. Write out his reasons.
3. Try to convince a companion just entering high school to take the
college preparatory course instead of the commercial course.
(Are your reasons true and pertinent? To what general theories have you
appealed? Consider the coherence of each paragraph.)
+187. Arrangement of Arguments.+--We have learned that in arguing we need
to consider how those whom we address arrive at the belief they hold, and
that it will assist us to this knowledge of others if we consider our own
beliefs and the manner of their establishing. We must present our material
in the order that convinces. Each case may differ so from every other that
no general rule can be followed, but the consideration of some general
principles of arrangement will be of assistance. It is the purpose of the
following paragraphs to point out in so far as possible the most effective
order of arrangement.
+188. Possibility, Probability, and Actuality.+--It has been stated, in