Composition-Rhetoric Part 52

4. The diaphragm is a sheet of muscle and tendon, convex on its upper side, and attached by bands of striped muscle to the lower ribs at the side, to the sternum, and to the cartilage of the ribs which join it in front, and at the back by very strong bands to the lumbar vertebrae.

5. A man is a two-legged animal without feathers.

6. Argument is that form of discourse which has for its object the proof of the truth or falsity of a proposition.

7. The base of an isosceles triangle is that side which is equal to no other.

8. Zinc is a metal used under stoves.

9. The epidermis of a leaf is a delicate, transparent skin which covers the whole leaf.

+Theme Lx.x.xVIII.+--_Write an expository paragraph about one of the following:_--

Suggested subjects:-- 1. Household science and arts.

2. Architecture.

3. Aesthetics.

4. Poetry.

5. Fiction.

6. Half tones.

7. Steam fitting.

8. Swimming.

(Consider the definitions you have used.)

+162. Division.+--The second step in the exposition of a term is division.

Definition establishes the limits of the term. Division separates into its parts that which is included by the term. By definition we distinguish triangles from squares, circles, and other plane figures. By division we may separate them into scalene, isosceles, and equilateral, or if we divide them according to a different principle into right and oblique triangles. In either case the division is complete and exact. By completeness is meant that every object denoted by the term explained is included in the division given, thus making the sum of these divisions equal to the whole. By exactness is meant that but a single principle has been used, and so no object denoted by the term explained will be included in more than one of the divisions made. There are no triangles which are neither right nor oblique, so the division is complete; and no triangle can be both right and oblique, so the division is exact. Such a complete and exact division is called _cla.s.sification_.

Nearly every term may be divided according to more than one principle. We may divide the term _books_ into ancient and modern, or into religious and secular, or in any one of a dozen other ways. Which principle of division we shall choose will depend upon our purpose. If we wish to discuss _sponges_ with reference to their shapes, our division will be different from what it would be if we were to discuss them with reference to their uses. When a principle of division has once been chosen it is essential that it be followed throughout. The use of two principles causes an overlapping of divisions, thus producing what is called cross division.

Using the principle of use, a tailor may sort his bolts of cloth into cloth for overcoats, cloth for suits, and cloth for trousers; using the principle of weight, into heavy weight and light weight; or he may sort them with reference to color or price. In any case but a single principle is used. It would not do to divide them into cloth for suits, light weight goods, and brown cloth. Such a division would be neither complete nor exact; for some of the cloth would belong to none of the cla.s.ses while other pieces might properly be placed in all three.

In the exact sciences complete exposition is the aim, and cla.s.sification is necessary; but in other writing the purpose in hand is often better accomplished by omitting minor divisions. A writer of history might consider the political growth, the wars, and the religion of a nation and omit its domestic life and educational progress, especially if these did not greatly influence the result that he wishes to make plain. If we wished to explain the plan of the organization of a high school, it would be satisfactory to divide the pupils into freshmen, soph.o.m.ores, juniors, and seniors, even though, in any particular school, there might be a few special and irregular pupils who belonged to none of these cla.s.ses.

An exposition of the use of hammers would omit many occasional and unimportant uses. Such a cla.s.sification though exact is incomplete and is called _part.i.tion_.

EXERCISES

_A._ Can you tell which of the following are cla.s.sifications? Which are part.i.tions? Which are defective?

1. The inhabitants of the United States are Americans, Indians, and negroes.

2. Lines are straight, curved, and crooked.

3. Literature is composed of prose, poetry, and fiction.

4. The political parties in the last campaign were Republican and Democrat.

5. The United States Government has control of states and territories

6. Plants are divided into two groups: (1) the phanerogams, or flowering plants, and (2) cryptogams, or flowerless plants.

7. All phanerogamous plants consist of (1) root and (2) shoot; the shoot consisting of (_a_) stem and (_b_) leaf. It is true that some exceptional plants, in maturity, lack leaves, or lack root. These exceptions are few.

8. We may divide the activities of the government into: keeping order, making law, protecting individual rights, providing public schools, providing and mending roads, caring for the dest.i.tute, carrying the mail, managing foreign relations, making war, and collecting taxes.

_B_. Notice the following paragraphs, State briefly the divisions made.

+1. Plan of the Book.+--What is government? Who is the government? We shall begin by considering the American answers to these questions.

What does The Government do? That will be our next inquiry. And with regard to the ordinary practical work of government, we shall see that government in the United States is not very different from government in the other civilized countries of the world.

Then we shall inquire how government officials are chosen in the United States, and how the work of government is parceled out among them. This part of the book will show what is meant by self-government and local self-government, and will show that our system differs from European systems chiefly in these very matters of self-government and local self-government.

Coming then to the details of our subject, we shall consider the names and duties of the princ.i.p.al officials in the United States; first, those of the towns.h.i.+p, county, and city, then those of the state, and then those of the federal government.

Finally, we shall examine certain operations in the American system, such as a trial in court, and nominations for office, and conclude with an outline of international relations, and a summary of the commonest laws of business and property.

--Clark: _The Government_.

2. +Zoology and its Divisions.+--What things we do know about the dog, however, and about its relatives, and what things others know can be cla.s.sified into several groups; namely, things or facts about what a dog does or its behavior, things about the make-up of its body, things about its growth and development, things about the kind of dog it is and the kinds of relatives it has, and things about its relations to the outer world and its special fitness for life.

All that is known of these different kinds of facts about the dog const.i.tutes our knowledge of the dog and its life. All that is known by scientific men and others of these different kinds of facts about all the 500,000 or more kinds of living animals, const.i.tutes our knowledge of animals and is the science _zoology_. Names have been given to these different groups of facts about animals. The facts about the bodily make-up or structure of animals const.i.tute that part of zoology called animal _anatomy_ or _morphology;_ the facts about the things animals do, or the functions of animals, compose animal _physiology;_ the facts about the development of animals from young to adult condition are the facts of animal _development;_ the knowledge of the different kinds of animals and their relations.h.i.+ps to each other is called _systematic_ zoology or animal _cla.s.sification;_ and finally the knowledge of the relations of animals to their external surroundings, including the inorganic world, plants and other animals, is called animal _ecology_.

Any study of animals and their life, that is, of zoology, may include all or any of these parts of zoology.

--Kellogg: _Elementary Zoology_.

3. Are not these outlines of American destiny in the near-by future rational? In these papers an attempt has been made:--

First, to picture the physical situation and equipment of the American in the modern world.

Second, to outline the large and fundamental elements of American character, which are:--

(_a_) Conservatism--moderation, thoughtfulness, and poise.

(_b_) Thoroughness--conscientious performance, to the minutest detail, of any work which we as individuals or people may have in hand.

(_c_) Justice--that spirit which weighs with the scales of righteousness our conduct toward each other and our conduct as a nation toward the world.

(_d_) Religion--the sense of dependence upon and responsibility to the Higher Power; the profound American belief that our destiny is in His hands.

(_e_) The minor elements of American character--such as the tendency to organize, the element of humor, impatience with frauds, and the movement in American life toward the simple and sincere.

--Beveridge: _Americans of To-day and To-morrow_.