OBSERVATION

Writes Arnold Bennett: One is curious about one's fellow-creatures: therefore one watches them. And generally the more intelligent one is, the more curious one is, and the more one observes. The mere satisfaction of this curiosity is in itself a worthy end, and would alone justify the business of systemized observation. But the aim of observation may, and should, be expressed in terms more grandiose. Human curiosity counts among the highest social virtues (as indifference counts among the basest defects), because it leads to a disclosure of the causes of character and temperament and thereby to a better understanding of the springs of human conduct. Observation is not practiced directly with this high end in view (save by prigs and other futile souls); nevertheless it is a moral act and must inevitably promote kindliness—whether we like it or not. It also sharpens the sense of beauty. An ugly deed—such as a deed of cruelty—takes on artistic beauty when its origin and hence its fitness in the general scheme begin to be comprehended. In the perspective of history we can derive esthetic pleasure from the tranquil scrutiny of all kinds of conduct—as well, for example, of a Renaissance Pope as of a Savonarola. Observation endows our day and our street with the romantic charm of history, and stimulates charity—not the charity which signs cheques, but the more precious charity which puts itself to the trouble of understanding. The condition is that the observer must never lose sight of the fact that what he is to see is life, is the woman next door, is the man in the train—and not a concourse of abstractions. To appreciate all this is the first inspiring preliminary to sound observation.

NOUNS

Watch for nouns ending in -ics. Many of them are singular, such as politics, mathematics, ethics.

Make sums of money singular: Five dollars was spent, unless individual pieces of money are meant, as: Five silver dollars were placed on the table. Write moneys, not monies.

Remember that data, memoranda, phenomena, paraphernalia, bacteria and strata are plural.

Distinguish between majority and plurality. Majority means the lead of a candidate over all other candidates. Plurality means the lead of a candidate over one other candidate.

Event, incident, affair, occurrence, happening, circumstance do not mean the same things. Look them up.

Use preventive, not preventative.

Distinguish between ambassador, minister, consul, envoy.

Avoid feminine forms of such words as author, artist, dancer, violinist, pianist, poet. It may be necessary occasionally to change more than the spelling. For example, the world's greatest pianiste may not mean the world's greatest pianist.

Prefer motorist to automobilist and autoist.

Sewer is a drain. Sewage is what goes through it. Sewerage is a system of drains.

Don't use divine as a noun.

Don't write couple unless you mean two things joined and not merely two.

Don't write party for person, nor people for persons.

Don't use citizens when you mean simply persons.

Don't write a large per cent of when speaking of persons when you mean a large proportion.

When nouns are attended by participles, two constructions are possible. One may say either I know of John's being there, or I know of John being there; The fact of the battle's having been lost, or The fact of the battle having been lost. The possessive is to be preferred with proper names and in most simple constructions; it is altogether to be preferred with pronouns when the principal idea is in the participle. One says: I saw him going, I heard them singing; but I heard of his going; I urged his going; I advised their attending; I objected to his staying; I opposed their going; the fact of his being there made a difference; On his saying this the people shouted; With their consenting the thing was settled; He spoke of my setting out as already agreed to; He found fault with our accepting the place, etc.

Collective nouns are usually singular, as, The club has increased its membership. However, a collective noun, when it is used to refer more particularly to individuals than to the mass, is plural, as The crowd was orderly, but, The crowd threw up their hats. In using collective nouns beware of mixing the number. Do not write, The audience was in their seats, but The audience was seated, or The audience were in their seats.