INTRODUCTION

1. Definition of Rhetoric.

RHETORIC is both a science and an art. It is & science when it discovers and establishes the laws of discourse, an art when the laws are applied in practice. Rhetoric is, therefore, the science of the laws of effective discourse, or the art of speaking and writing effectively.

The word Rhetoric was first applied to spoken discourse only. ft is derived through the Greek ῥητορική (rhetorike) from ῥήτωρ (rhetōr), a speaker; and, accordingly, means the art of speaking. The same general principles underlie and govern both oral and written discourse, and hence the meaning of the word was so extended as to include all kinds of composition. This is its modern sense. While Rhetoric was understood to apply only to spoken discourse, it included vocal delivery, and hence Elocution was regarded as a part of Rhetoric. In modern times so much attention has been paid to delivery, and, since the invention of printing, writing has become so important, that the oral utterance of a composition is ranked as a distinct art, and is no longer treated as a part of Rhetoric. The reasons for this separation are: (1) It is a bodily exercise requiring a special training. (2) A person may be a good rhetorician without being a good speaker. (3) Penmanship would belong to Rhetoric by as good a right as Elocution.

2 Relations of Rhetoric to Grammar and

Logic.

To speak or write effectively, one must be correct in language, consistent in thought, and both forcible

and pleasing in manner. Grammar teaches us how to write correctly, that is, according to the best usage of those who speak the same language. Logic teaches us how to state our thoughts consistently with one another and with the laws of mind. Rhetoric teaches us how to add to mere correctness and consistency such force and attractiveness as to make our thoughts clear and interesting to others.

It is evident from what is said above that Rhetoric presupposes both Grammar and Logic. No composition can be really effective with educated persons unless it is grammatical and logical. Hence Rhetoric is founded upon Grammar and Logic, and derives many of its laws from them. In The Science of Rhetoric" much attention is given to the Laws of Mind, which must be heeded in effective writing and speaking. Any thing more than an allusion to these more philosophical relations of the subject would be out of place in an elementary work like this. It is hoped, however, that no one who earnestly wishes to be a thorough rhetorician will neglect these more difficult but very important relations.

3. Utility of Rhetoric.

Nothing can be more useful to us than a knowledge of Rhetoric. Some of the reasons are as follows: (1) Discourse is governed by laws which must be understood in order to be obeyed. (2) A knowledge of principles enables us to do almost everything more effectively than without such knowledge, and this especially applies to composition. (3) The study of Rhetoric qualifies us to criticise and enjoy the finest productions of literary genius. (4) The mastery of discourse gives us power for good over all intelliger.t beings.

It has been maintained by some that rules fetter genius and make a writer stiff and pedantic. It is true that a rule imper fectly understood or clumsily applied is a hindrance to one's natural powers of expression, but this applies equally well to the precepts of any difficult art, such as reading, playing on the piano, and swimming. Practice alone can make the rules of any art so familiar that we obey them unconsciously, and this is par ticularly true of writing and speaking. It is also said that many have risen to eminence without knowing the rules of literary art. However this may be, it is certain that, whether these men of genius understood the rules or not, they obeyed them, and their success is owing to their fidelity to them. The greatest writers and speakers have been faithful students of rhetorical art. The following story of the greatest American orator well illustrates how great achievements are made. "On a certain occasion Mr. Webster startled the Senate by a beautiful and striking remark in relation to the extent of the British empire as follows: 'She has dotted the surface of the whole globe with her possessions and military posts, whose morning drum-beat, following the sun and keeping company with the hours, circles the earth daily with one continuous and unbroken strain of the martial airs of England.' On going out of the Senate, one of the members complimented Mr. Webster upon this, saying that he was all the more struck with it as it was evidently impromptu. 'You are mistaken,' said Mr. Webster: the idea occurred to me when I was on the ramparts of Quebec some months ago. I wrote it down and rewrote it, and after several trials got it to suit me, and laid it up for use. The time came to-day, and so I put it in.'"

4. Division of the Subject.

As this book is designed to be wholly practical, it is proposed to conduct the learner along the entire path of actual writing, from the choice of a subject to the completion of a composition. In order to do this most naturally, we shall suppose, for the sake of thoroughness, that the learner is a beginner in the art, and

to set about the work of writing for the first time. The steps of such a journey are clearly as follows: (1) finding something to say,-or Invention; (2) finding how to say what is to be said,-or Style; (3) the preparation of the manuscript for the eye of another, --or Punctuation and Capitals; (4) the critical examination of what has been written,-or Criticism; and (5) the special kinds of writing most common, or Specific Forms of Composition. These will be our chapters.

The strictly scientific division of Rhetoric, as the author conceives it, has been given in his more advanced work, “The Science of Rhetoric." Discourse aims to produce a change (1) in the mind, (2) by means of ideas, (3) expressed through language. This view justifies the division of Rhetoric into Laws of Mind, Laws of Idea, and Laws of Form. A more empirical method seems necessary in an elementary work like this. Nothing can be more distasteful to the young than to plunge at once into facts and laws of Psychology, however necessary these may be to a scientific view of the subject. If any arrangement is equally repugnant to the learner, it is to place the dry and technical rules of Punctuation in the very beginning of a book, as some writers have done. Although in actual composition Invention is more difficult than Style, no one cares about the man ner of saying anything until he has something to say. The ar rangement here adopted seems the most natural, and accord ingly, the most inviting, to young writers

THE ELEMENTS

OF

RHETORIC AND COMPOSITION

CHAPTER I.

INVENTION.

1. Meaning of Invention.

The term Invention (from the Latin invenire, to find), is applied to the whole process of finding out what to say, from the selection of a subject to the expression of the ideas. The word also means the power of contriving anything, and even the thing contrived, s when we say, "He is a man of great invention;" or, The sewing machine is a useful invention." In its rhetorical sense Invention may be defined, The preparation of the matter of a composition.

In the strictest sense Invention does not belong to Rhetoric. The writer or speaker must depend upon his subject for what_to say, and Rhetoric simply aids him in deciding how to say it ef fectively. If it were otherwise, Rhetoric would be a universal science, and would have to lay down rules for the lawyer, the preacher, the lecturer, and even the scientific writer. This would be impossible. What is necessary in each case must be determined by the facts of the subject and the purpose for which one composes. In an elementary work, however, some rules may be given for the guidance of the beginner.