Excerpt from Rhetoric: Its Theory
The author of a treatise on the Latin language, published in the fifteenth century, commenced his work with this announcement: "This volume contains nothing which has ever been said by any one else." His production ought to have been a revelation from heaven. A treatise on a language a thousand years old can not be valuable, and yet strictly original. Very similar must be the criticism of a treatise on English style. It must be indebted to much which has preceded it in literary research. That which "has ever been said" must determine largely what remains to be said; and that which remains to be said must consist largely of variations upon that which has been said.
In the present volume I have not scrupled to use any material which has seemed to me adapted to my purpose. I have appropriated principles of which no one knows the origin; I have employed illustrations, some of which belong to the common stock of rhetorical discussion; I have expressed opinions of books and authors, some of which I owe to experts whom the literary world honors as authorities. In exercising this liberty, I have availed myself of all the standard treatises on grammar, on the English language, on English literature, and on other national literatures, which have been within my reach.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге Rhetoric