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 PERSONAL STYLE 



A SURVEY of language, however superficial, makes it evident 

 that when we speak of style, we have to take into account 

 those qualities of national character which are embodied in 

 national speech. If two men could be born of precisely the 

 same physical, mental, and moral nature, at precisely the same 

 moment of history, and under precisely the same social con- 

 ditions ; and if these men learned different languages in the 

 cradle, and used those languages in after life, they would be 

 unable to deliver exactly the same message to the world 

 through literature. The dominant qualities of each mother 

 tongue would impose definite limitations on their power 

 of expressing thoughts, however similar or identical those 

 thoughts might be. 



We cannot conceive two men born with the same physical, 

 mental, and moral nature, at the same moment, under pre- 

 cisely the same conditions, and using the same language. 

 They would be identical ; and everything they uttered would 

 be clothed with exactly the same words. The absurdity of 

 this conception brings home to us the second aspect of style. 

 Style is not merely a sign of those national qualities which 

 are generic to established languages, and which constitute the 

 so-called genius of a race. It is also the sign of personal 

 qualities, specific to individuals, which constitute the genius 

 of a man. Whatever a man utters from his heart and head 

 is the index of his character. The more remarkable a person 



