6.  Burke, near the close of his speech (Appendix 2), presents an idea, first in general terms, and then in specific terms, thus:  “No contrivance can prevent the effect of...distance in weakening government.  Seas roll, and months pass, between the order and the execution, and the want of a speedy explanation of a single point is enough to defeat a whole system.”  Find elsewhere in Burke’s speech and in the editorial (Appendix I) general assertions which may be made more forceful by restatement in specific terms, and supply these specific restatements.

7.  State in your own words the general thought or teaching of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:  11-24.)

8.  Make the following statements more concrete: 

In front of our house was a tree that at a certain season of the year displayed highly colored foliage.

A celebrated orator said:  “Give me liberty, or give me death!”

On the table were some viands that assailed my nostrils agreeably and others that put into my mouth sensations of anticipated enjoyment.

From this window above the street I can hear a variety of noises by day and a variety of different noises by night.

As he groped through the pitch-dark room he could feel many articles of furniture.

9.  State in general terms the thought of the following sentences: 

A burnt child dreads the fire. 
A stitch in time saves nine. 
A cat may look at a king. 
A barking dog never bites. 
If his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 
If two men ride a horse, one must ride behind. 
Stone walls do not a prison make. 
A merry heart goes all the day. 
Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just. 
As the twig is bent, so the tree is inclined.

10.  Describe a town as seen from a particular point of view, or at a particular time of day, or under particular atmospheric conditions.  Make your description as concrete as possible.

11.  Compare your description with this from Stevenson:  “The town came down the hill in a cascade of brown gables, bestridden by smooth white roofs, and spangled here and there with lighted windows.”  Stevenson’s sentence contains twenty-five words.  How many of them are “color” words?  How many “motion” words?  How many of the first twenty-five words in your description appeal to one or another of the five senses?

12.  Narrate as vividly as possible an experience in your own life.  Compare what you have written with the account of Crusoe’s escape to the island (Appendix 5).  Which narrative is the more concrete?  How much?

2.  Literal vs.  Figurative Terms

Phraseology is literal when it says exactly what it means; is figurative when it says one thing, but really means another.  Thus “He fought bravely” is literal; “He was a lion in the fight” is figurative.  Literal phraseology as a rule appeals to our scientific or understanding faculties; figurative to our emotional faculties.  Here again, as with abstraction and concreteness, you should learn to express yourself by either method.