The Philosophy of Style | Page 8

nor to put this idea first and let it be remodeled to
agree with the particulars afterwards mentioned; but to do a little of
each. Take a case. It is desirable to avoid so extremely indirect an
arrangement as the following:--"We came to our journey’s end, at last,
with no small difficulty after much fatigue, through deep roads, and
bad weather." Yet to transform this into an entirely direct sentence
would not produce a satisfactory effect; as witness:--"At last, with no
small difficulty, after much fatigue, through deep roads, and bad
weather, we came to our journey’s end."
§ 31. Dr. Whately, from whom we quote the first of these two
arrangements,’ proposes this construction:--"At last, after much fatigue,
through deep roads and bad weather, we came, with no small difficulty,
to our journey’s end." Here it will be observed that by introducing the
words "we came" a little earlier in the sentence, the labour of carrying
forward so many particulars is diminished, and the subsequent
qualification "with no small difficulty" entails an addition to the
thought that is very easily made. But a further improvement may be
produced by introducing the words "we came" still earlier; especially if
at the same time the qualifications be rearranged in conformity with the
principle already explained, that the more abstract elements of the
thought should come before the more concrete. Observe the better
effect obtained by making these two changes:--"At last, with no small
difficulty, and after much fatigue, we came, through deep roads and
bad weather, to our journey’s end." This reads with comparative
smoothness; that is, with less hindrance from suspensions and

reconstructions of thought--with less mental effort.
§ 32. Before dismissing this branch of our subject, it should be further
remarked, that even when addressing the most vigorous intellects, the
direct style is unfit for communicating ideas of a complex or abstract
character. So long as the mind has not much to do, it may be well able
to grasp all the preparatory clauses of a sentence, and to use them
effectively; but if some subtlety in the argument absorb the attention--if
every faculty be strained in endeavouring to catch the speaker’s or
writer’s drift, it may happen that the mind, unable to carry on both
processes at once, will break down, and allow the elements of the
thought to lapse into confusion.

iv. The Principle of Economy applied to Figures.
§ 33. Turning now to consider figures of speech, we may equally
discern the same general law of effect. Underlying all the rules given
for the choice and right use of them, we shall find the same
fundamental requirement--economy of attention. It is indeed chiefly
because they so well subserve this requirement, that figures of speech
are employed. To bring the mind more easily to the desired conception,
is in many cases solely, and in all cases mainly, their object.
§ 34. Let us begin with the figure called Synecdoche. The advantage
sometimes gained by putting a part for the whole, is due to the more
convenient, or more accurate, presentation of the idea. If, instead of
saying "a fleet of ten ships," we say "a fleet of ten _sail_," the picture
of a group of vessels at sea is more readily suggested; and is so because
the sails constitute the most conspicuous parts of vessels so
circumstanced: whereas the word ships would very likely remind us of
vessels in dock. Again, to say, "All hands to the pumps," is better than
to say, "All men to the pumps," as it suggests the men in the special
attitude intended, and so saves effort. Bringing "gray hairs with sorrow
to the grave," is another expression, the effect of which has the same
cause.
§ 35. The occasional increase of force produced by Metonymy may be
similarly accounted for. "The low morality of _the bar,_" is a phrase
both more brief and significant than the literal one it stands for. A
belief in the ultimate supremacy of intelligence over brute force, is
conveyed in a more concrete, and therefore more realizable form, if we

substitute the pen and the sword for the two abstract terms. To say,
"Beware of drinking!" is less effective than to say, "Beware of _the
bottle!_" and is so, clearly because it calls up a less specific image.
§ 36. The Simile is in many cases used chiefly with a view to ornament,
but whenever it increases the force of a passage, it does so by being an
economy. Here in an instance: "The illusion that great men and great
events came oftener in early times than now, is partly due to historical
perspective. As in a range of equidistant columns, the furthest off look
the closest; so, the conspicuous objects of the past seem more thickly