390 PART V WORKING STAGE. 



of association for the prevention of cruelty to children). In- 

 numerable cumbersome and uncouth sentences would be thus 

 avoided and a wide range of expression secured, as in German. 



7. Words should be connected in sentences in conformity 

 with a definite and simple order, as "This represents an alto- 

 gether correct version of what transpired at the conference 

 yesterday" not as in Latin or German where emphasis or 

 grammar sunder what should be united. Such a determinate 

 order would conduce to clarity, and appreciably reduce the 

 time required for learning how to express oneself appro- 

 priately. 



8. The present system of punctuation should be, perhaps, 

 supplemented, especially so far as the comma is concerned, and 

 strictly regulated. Fine distinctions are to-day sometimes difficult 

 to express because of the comparative poverty of our system 

 of punctuation. In "ethics or the science of conduct" and 

 "ethics or psychology", for instance, where the or suggests an 

 alternative expression in the first case and a disjunction in the 

 second, the difficulty might be surmounted by finer punctuation, 

 or by having two words, an alternative and a disjunctive, in- 

 stead of one or. Abundant punctuation should be promoted, 

 as well as the habitual and standardised use of all the signs. 



9. The problem of the length of sentences should receive 

 attention and, within the limits of clarity, theme, and necessity, 

 the fullest freedom and variety should be fostered in this con- 

 nection in order to satisfy assthetic and special demands. 



10. Studious care should be taken to satisfy methodological 

 requirements. Assuming that the root words express only 

 general and positive facts, such as size and goodness, and not 

 modifications, such as smallness and badness, a uniform 

 arithmetical method of degrees of modification would be intro- 

 duced. This might be based on the principle that ordinary 

 discourse should demand, say, seventeen divisions, of which 

 five 1, 5, 9, 13, 17 would be in common use, whilst more 

 discriminating speech would tend to employ all the seventeen 

 divisions. (One, nine, and seventeen are chosen as yielding a 

 beginning, middle, and end, and a fair number of intermediate 

 divisions; and we postulate 1 as the lowest degree.) Where 

 negatives (good-bad) or extremes (top-bottom) occur, the seven- 

 teen divisions would be naturally employed, 9 forming the 

 point of indifference. Countless modifying words would thus 

 become redundant; the liability to depreciation and fluctuation 

 in the modifiers would be circumvented; unlimited delicacy and 

 variation in expression would be attainable; and a high minimum 

 of accuracy and clarity would be exacted. Already measurement 

 of time, number, distance, etc., is peremptorily demanded 

 wherever it is feasible by those of a reflective cast of mind, 

 and speech where vagueness is shunned and numerical factors 

 are frequently introduced, is not uncommon. Thus "this is 



