“The one styled the Provost is the head of the University,” should be, “The one styled Provost.”
“The nominative and the objective cases,” should be “The nominative and objective cases.”
“He made a mistake in the giving out the text.” Say “in giving out the text,” or, “in the giving out of the text.” In the latter instance, the participle becomes a noun and may take the article before it.
Articles interchanged
“An elephant is the emblem of Siam,” should be, “The elephant is the emblem,” etc. “A digraph is the union of two letters to represent one sound.” Should be, “A digraph is a union,” etc.
CHAPTER XIV
Redundancy
We are all creatures of habit. Our sayings, as well as our doings, are largely a series of habits. In some instances we are unconscious of our peculiarities and find it almost impossible to shake them off.
The following are verbatim expressions as they dropped from the lips of a young clergyman in the pulpit. They show a deeply-seated habit of repetition of thought. As he was a graduate of one of the first colleges in the land, we are the more surprised that the habit was not checked before he passed through his college and seminary courses. The expressions are here given as a caution to others to be on their guard: “Supremest and highest,” “separate and sever us,” “derision, sarcasm, and contempt,” “disobedient and disloyal and sinful,” “hold aloof from iniquity, from sin,” “necessity of being reclaimed and brought back,” “their beautiful and their elegant city,” “so abandoned and given up to evil and iniquity,” “soaked and stained with human gore and blood,” “beautiful and resplendent,” “hardened and solidified into stone and adamant,” “this arctic splendor and brilliancy,” “were being slaughtered and cut down,” “in the rapidity and the swiftness of the train,” “with all the mightiness and the splendor of his genius,” “the force and the pressure it brings to bear,” “has and possesses the power,” “lights flashed and gleamed.”
The above were all taken from a single discourse. Another peculiarity of the same speaker was his use of the preposition between. Instead of saying, “Between him and his father there was a perfect understanding of the matter,” he would say, “Between him and between his father there was a perfect understanding of the matter.”
Young writers will find it a valuable exercise to go through a letter, essay, or other composition which they have written, with the view of ascertaining how many words they can eliminate without diminishing the force of what has been written. An article or two from the daily paper, and an occasional page from some recent work of fiction will afford further opportunity for profitable practice in pruning.