and support it, not as reasons for it, but as illustrations; they do not lead up to it through the sequence of cause and effect, as is the case in the first sentence. In that we are made ready to accept the truth of the statement before it is made, while in this, its general truth not being in question, the addition of details serves to make it more impressive. Re-write the paragraph, putting each sentence in the other form, and compare. The increasing wealth and prosperity of the towns was a constant source of envy to the barons, who, we are told, "plundered them on every occasion without mercy or remorse." 2. Therefore, in order to maintain their existence and the freedom and wealth they had acquired, the towns were forced to assume open hostility to the barons. 3. As a means of swelling their numbers and sustaining themselves in the struggle, the burgesses made the towns a place of refuge and safety for all who should come to reside within their walls. 4. And as an additional inducement they conferred the right of citizenship upon all who remained there one year, even though they were runaway serfs from the neighboring baron's estate. 5. Thus the towns not only protected the property and promoted the progress of the burgesses, but they offered protection and freedom to all who would flee thither from the clutches of their feudal masters. 6. By such means they naturally attracted to them the most energetic and characterful portion of the people. 7. With this opportunity for improvement and freedom constantly held out to even serfs of husbandry, the barons were gradually compelled to provide better conditions, grant more privileges and some freedom, in order to prevent them from fleeing to the towns. 8. And by the middle of the fourteenth century, we are told, the villeins of England had largely become hired laborers. 9. In other words, the laborers had developed from serfs (slaves) into wage receivers. GEORGE GUNTON: Evolution of the Wages System. Written Exercise. In this the first sentence is in the loose form because it contains a general statement of such character that it does not require proof, but illustration. In sentences two and three, on the contrary, the logical force of the statement is increased by making it follow the presentation of reasons for it. Sentence four includes both methods. The fifth sentence is a balanced sentence; and in that form emphasis is added to the argument, since it presupposes that the second member of the balanced sentence offers a contrast with the first, in this case a contrast, not in kind, but in degree; a contrast because of the increasing importance of the second member. The sixth sentence summarizes what has gone before it, and is short and periodic in form in order to present it concisely and vividly. The seventh could be put in the periodic form and be strengthened by the change, since its principal affirmation results from the subordinate parts of the sentence as reasons. Sentences eight and nine are short sentences again, in conclusion giving definiteness to the more general expressions preceding them. Re-write the paragraph, changing the form of all but the sixth, eighth, and ninth sentences, and compare with the original. 109. The Uses of the Balanced Sentence. The balanced sentence is more artificial than either the loose or the periodic. Parallelism, which is a similar literary device, was a characteristic element in Hebrew poetry, as may be seen in the following quotation from the Psalms: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful;" and it is to be observed that the similarity of form gives added emphasis to the thought. Evidently the use of the balanced structure, of parallelism with or without contrast, or of contrast so pronounced as to become antithesis, is out of place except when there is occasion for special emphasis of the peculiar sort which these forms secure. When, as happens so often in the Book of Job, a number of clauses of like import succeed one another, the fact that they have a common significance is made more evident by parallelism, which is merely similarity of form. Contrast always secures emphasis; and when the contrast is heightened by similarity of form, as in the balanced sentence, the mental effort required for holding the contrasting thoughts in mind is lessened. Parallelism accomplishes much the same result; since the reader at the conclusion of the first of the like expressions can put that aside as finished, and go on to the next with the expectation of coming to a conclusion at about the same interval. It is to be understood that antithesis is the formal placing of two things in contrast with each other; that parallelism is likeness of structure in successive expressions; that a balanced sentence may consist of clauses which, while alike in structure, are either antithetical or similar in meaning; and that antithesis does not necessarily involve balance in form. 1. Now the novel as a form of literature is contemporaneous with this new and deepening consciousness of human relationship and obligation. 2. To-day we feel more distinctly than ever before the unceasing and pervasive influence of other lives upon our lives; we are weighted down as never before by a sense of our incalculable obligations to our fellows. 3. We no longer think of ourselves as alone, but always in the thick of relationships of every kind and quality; in the solitude of our own souls we are conscious of the whole striving, suffering world about us. 4. Manfred and Obermann no longer move us; we are touched and penetrated by the story of those whose lives are in the current and not moored in eddies. 5. The hero of to-day does not consume his soul in solitary struggles with the mysteries of life, but spends himself without stint in the common service. 6. The Faust who began by endeavoring to pierce the mystery of existence by knowledge, ends by building dykes to reclaim the earth and enlarge the opportunities of his fellows. 7. As the drama represented the struggles of men first against forces outside themselves, and, later, against tendencies, so does the novel represent the recognition by men of their complicated social relationships, and the variety, the nature, and the force of the subtle and manifold influences which are set in motion by these relationships. HAMILTON MABIE: Fiction as a Literary Form. Scribner's Magazine, May, 1889. Written Exercise. - The employment of the balanced sentence throughout this paragraph after the first sentence is particularly effective. The second sentence is a balanced sentence through the parallelism in form and statement of its two members, rather than through any contrast between them. The same is true of the third sentence, while the fourth and fifth develop the contrast between past and present. The sixth continues this contrast, and the seventh shows a likeness in unlikeness between the drama of the past and the novel of the present. Re-write the paragraph, changing the balanced sentences to other forms, but retaining the vividness and emphasis of presentation as far as possible. Compare the result with the original, that you may determine how far you have succeeded in producing the same effect in the new forms. 110. Style as Affected by Sentence Form. The loose sentence is of more frequent occurrence than the periodic or balanced sentence. Its easy conversational tone, its natural arrangement of words and clauses, adapt it to ready use, and make it harmonize well with most prose composition. The danger in using it is that it may become too loose. A succession of periodic sentences may be fittingly employed in treating topics of weight and dignity, but there is danger in using too many of them that a simple theme may be made. to appear too pompous. Frequently sentences will be periodic up to a certain point, and then by the addition. of a clause or phrase become loose. Such is the following sentence, and it will be noticed that the concluding clause is so intimately a part of the whole that the periodic character of the sentence seems hardly changed. A mixture of peoples, a modification of mind and habit, a new round of experiment and adjustment amidst the novel life of the baked and untilled plain, and the far valleys with the virgin forests still thick upon them; a |