Always read the preface [and the introduction] to a book. It places you on vantage-ground, and enables you to survey more completely the book itself. You frequently also discover the character of the author from the preface. You see his aims, perhaps his prejudices. You see the point of view from which he takes his pictures, the rocks and impediments which he himself beholds, and you steer accordingly.—Bryan Waller Procter.
CHAPTER I
THE FUNCTIONS OF MARKS, AND HOW PERFORMED
A mark of punctuation is used because it has a meaning, and serves a useful, if not an indispensable, purpose in printed language.[1] In order to serve such purpose, the meaning of the mark must be thoroughly understood by both the writer and the reader.
The function of marks is twofold:
1. To reveal the real meaning of printed language.
2. To reveal such meaning at a glance.
Marks perform this function in three ways: