ld have succeeded in this
attempt, a man of talents so rare, of judgments so prematurely ripe, of
temper so calm, and of manners so plausible, might have been expected to
succeed."

A _balanced_ sentence consists of two parts, the one corresponding to
the other. In Johnson's famous parallel we read: "The style of Dryden is
capricious and varied, that of Pope is cautious and uniform; Dryden
obeys the motions of his own mind, Pope constrains his mind to his own
rules of composition. Dryden is sometimes vehement and rapid; Pope is
always smooth, uniform, and gentle."

A good style is apt to make use of all three kinds of sentences, which
give an agreeable diversity to composition. The exclusive use of any one
form produces monotony. In studying a writer's style, it is important to
determine the prevailing type, as well as the average length, of his
sentences. This investigation will give us some insight into a source of
his weakness or power, and furnish a basis of interesting comparison
with others.

Every sentence should have _clearness_, _unity_, _harmony_, and
_strength_. Of these four qualities, _clearness_ is the most important;
for without it the purpose of discourse is defeated. Apart from the
right choice and position of words, clearness is secured by _unity_ of
thought. This requires that the main subject retain a dominant place
throughout the sentence. The writer should not allow himself to be
switched off from the main proposition. _Harmony_ is attained by the
choice of euphonious words, and by their arrangement in an agreeable or
rhythmical order. _Strength_ is secured, in large measure, by the
omission of unnecessary words. The error of repeating the same thought
in different words is called _tautology_, while the use of more words
than are necessary is known as _pleonasm_ or _redundancy_. The fault of
redundancy is most likely to be found in the use of adjectives; and a
chaste or classic style appears particularly in a severe self-restraint
in the use of qualifying expressions.

+33. Paragraph.+ A paragraph consists of a group of sentences related in
thought. It contains the discussion of a single phase of the subject.
The nature of the paragraph determines its laws. The paragraph, like
each sentence, should be characterized by unity. The opening sentence
should contain the subject, or phase of the subject, to be discussed.
The succeeding treatment should be cumulative in character, so that the
reader i