much regret, and he also will much regret the circumstance." But the fault is not to be avoided by using different words to mean the same thing, as, " his is a painful event; it is a circumstance that I much regret, and he also will greatly lament the occurrence." The true remedy is to arrange the words in such a manner that there may be no unnecessary repetition, thus: "This is a painful circumstance, a circumstance that causes me, and will cause him, deep regret."
The repetition of the same meaning in slightly different words is a worse fault than the repetition of the same word. See, for examples, the extract from Sir Archibald Alison, at the end of the book. Thus "A burning thirst for conquests is a characteristic of this nation. It is an ardent passion that &c." Other instances are—"The universal opinion of all men;" "His judgment is so infallible that it is never deceived," &c.
55. Parenthesis may be used with advantage to brevity.
"We are all (and who would not be?) offended at the treatment we have received," is shorter and more forcible than the sentence would have been if the parenthesis had been appended in a separate sentence: "Who, indeed, would not be offended ?"
Extreme care must, however, be taken that a parenthesis may not obscure the meaning of a long sentence.
56. Caution: let clearness be the first consideration.
It is best, at all events for beginners, not to aim so much at being brief, or forcible, as at being perfectly clear. Horace says, "While I take pains to be brief, I fall into obscurity," and it may easily be seen that several of the rules for brevity interfere with the rules for clearness.
Forcible style springs from (1) vividness and (2) exactness of thought, and from a corresponding (1) vividness and (2) exactness in the use of words.
(1) When you are describing anything, endeavour to see it and describe it as you see it. If you are writing about a man who was killed, see the man before you, and ask, was he executed, cut down, run through the body, butchered, shot, or hanged? If you are writing about the capture of a city, was the city stormed, surprised, surrendered, starved out, or demolished before surrender? Was an army repelled, defeated, routed, crushed, or annihilated?
(2) Exactness in the use of words requires an exact knowledge of their meanings and differences. This is a study by itself, and cannot be discussed here.1
1 See English Lessons for English People, pp. 1-53.