4.  Study Appendix 2 (Causes for the American Spirit of Liberty) as an example of stately and elaborate, yet energetic, discourse.  The speech from which this extract is taken was delivered in Parliament in a vain effort to stay England from driving her colonies to revolt.  Some of Burke’s turns of phrase are extremely bold and original, as “The religion most prevalent in our northern colonies is a refinement on the principle of resistance; it is the dissidence of dissent and the Protestantism of the Protestant religion.”  Moreover, with all his fulness of diction, Burke could cleave to the heart of an idea in a few words, as “Freedom is to them [the southern slave-holders] not only an enjoyment, but a kind of rank and privilege.”  Find other examples of bold or concise and illuminating utterance.

5.  Read Appendix 3 (Parable of the Sower).  It has no special audacities of phrase, but escapes tameness in various ways—­largely through its simple earnestness.

6.  Make a list of the descriptive phrases in Appendix 4 (The Seven Ages of Man) through which Shakespeare gives life and distinctness to his pictures.

7.  Study Appendix 5 (The Castaway) as a piece of homely, effective narrative. (Defoe wrote for the man in the street.  He was a literary jack-of-all-trades whom dignified authors of his day would not countenance, but who possessed genius.) It relies upon directness and plausibility of substance and style rather than temerity of phrase.  Yet it never sags into tameness.  Notice how everyday expressions ("My business was to hold my breath,” “I took to my heels”) add subtly to our belief that what Defoe is telling us is true.  Notice also that such expressions ("the least capful of wind,” “half dead with the water I took in,” “ready to burst with holding my breath”) without being pretentious may yet be forceful.  Notice finally the naturalness and lift of the sinewy idioms ("I fetched another run,” “I had no clothes to shift me,” “I had like to have suffered a second shipwreck,” “It wanted but a little that all my cargo had slipped off").

8.  Once or twice at least, make a mental note of halting or listless expressions in a sermon, a public address, or a conversation.  Find more emphatic wording for the ideas thus marred.

9.  To train yourself in readiness and daring of utterance, practice impromptu discussion of any of the topics in Activity 1 for EXERCISE — Discourse.

Slovenliness

Though we are to recognize the advantage of working in the undress of speech rather than in stiffly-laundered literary linens, though we are not to despise the accessions of strength and of charm which we may obtain from the homely and familiar, we must never be careless.  The man whose speech is slovenly is like the man who chews gum—­unblushingly commonplace.