OCTOBKR 30, 1903.] 



SCIENCE. 



565 



preparation in lower schools which this im- 

 plies, does not insure good English. 



If the results given seem somewhat depress- 

 ing, let us take courage from the Frenchman 

 who declared that ' it needs more delicate tact 

 to be a great writer than a great thinker,' 

 and inquire whether, after all, the condition 

 presented is markedly exceptional. 



It is probable that if any other large body 

 of writers were similarly classified they would 

 not make a much better showing. My evalu- 

 ation, unlike that of the writers quoted, is of 

 manuscripts as they are received from the 

 authors. Literature of belletristic character, 

 having little if anj- immediately practical or 

 economic content, is necessarily dependent for 

 existence upon its intrinsic merit and must 

 be at least fair if it is accepted for publi- 

 cation. On the other hand, many abominably 

 written scientific papers are so richly laden 

 with the results of observation and experiment 

 that they are given prompt publication — so 

 prompt that they can receive but a modicum 

 of editorial attention. That is to say, nearly 

 everything written by men of science is pub- 

 lished, whereas only the supposed cream of 

 ' polite ' productions is thus honored. If 

 practically all that is written in the line of 

 novels, of essays or of i)oetr,T were published, 

 the ' poor ' percentage would doubtless be 

 higher than twenty-four. 



Although, therefore, scientific writing, rela- 

 tively considered, is not in a desperate plight, 

 its condition is bad enough and is, I be- 

 lieve, susceptible of no little improvement. 

 Recognizing that the able writer is born rather 

 than made — that the chief requisites are, as 

 Herbert Spencer has said, a sense of logical 

 dependence, constructive ingenuity, a good 

 verbal memory and a sensitive ear, and that 

 these qualities are largely innate — I neverthe- 

 less believe that in many cases the ability is 

 present but is never used; it lies dormant, 

 and could be awakened and brought into ser- 

 vice. What it needs is appreciation and utili- 

 zation. " In England and Germany," says 

 Lewes, " men who will spare no labor in re- 

 search, grudge all labor in style; a morning 

 is cheerfully devoted to verifying a (juotation 



by one who will not spare ten minutes to re- 

 construct a clumsy sentence; a reference is 

 sought with ardor, an appropriate expression 

 in lieu of the inexact phrase which first sug- 

 gests itself does not seem worth seeking. What 

 are we to say to a man who spends a quarter's 

 income on a diamond pin which he sticks in a 

 greasy cravat ? " One can hardly escape the 

 conviction that this criticism applies to 

 America as well as to England and Germany. 

 It is true that, according to the figures, a 

 large majority write clearly, but clearness 

 alone is not suiBcient. Sentences and para- 

 graphs may themselves be perfectly clear, but 

 the ideas they clothe be so inconseqiient if not 

 inconsequential, that their total effect on the 

 reader is weariness. Effective composition 

 implies sequence and unity, symmetry and 

 proportion. Vital writing, whether it be a 

 sentence, a paragraph or a disquisition, is 

 characterized by structure and integrity. 

 Such are the famous paragraphs of Macaulay, 

 whose ' astonishing power of arranging facts 

 and bringing them to bear on any subject 

 * * * joined with a clear and vigorous 

 style,' says McMaster, ' enabled him to pro- 

 duce historical scenes with a grouping, a 

 finish and a splendor to which no other writer 

 can approach ' ; such are the exquisite essays 

 of Lowell, who ' added to the love of learning 

 the love of expression ' ; and such are the 

 philosophical dissertations of Herbert Spen- 

 cer, whose power of presentation is remark- 

 able. Schopenhauer classified authors into 

 three kinds : " First," said he, " come those 

 who write without thinking. They write from 

 a full memor.v, from reminiscences. This class 

 is the most numerous. Then come those who 

 do their thinking while they are writing, and 

 there is no lack of them. Last of all come 

 those writers who think before they begin to 

 write ; they are rare." If Addison's definition 

 of good writing (a definition which was 

 warmly endorsed by Hume) — that it consists 

 in the expression of sentiments or ideas which 

 are natural but not obvious — is valid, it is 

 apparent why the productions of authors who 

 fall in the first class are poor : the lucid 

 statement of relations which are not obvious 



