practical, attempts to better the lives of working people through various industrial schemes. Like Carlyle, he hated sham and selfishness and money-greed. Unlike Carlyle, he did not simply condemn existing circumstances but suggested ways, industrial, social, educational, for bettering circumstances. He was often ridiculed; but his reforms are beginning to look less preposterous. Ruskin's wide influence was due in part to his great earnestness and unquestioned sincerity, and to the fact that he had a message of real importance to give. In the field of pure description he is without an equal, and all that he wrote is characterized by a musical quality and richness in color which suggest the poet and the painter. He is one of the masters of English style. Other prose writers Arnold the scholar, Newman the preacher, and Trevelyan the biographer are other writers of this rich period of prose. Among the historians are such well known names as Hallam, Morley, Froude, Freeman, Green, and Grote; among philosophers and scientists, Spencer, Huxley, Darwin, and Tyndall. But in the field of pure literature, Carlyle, Macaulay, and Ruskin easily hold first place. A RULES OF PUNCTUATION THE PERIOD 1 Use the period after a complete declarative or imperative sentence. Be careful not to treat a phrase or a clause as if it were a complete sentence. The following, for example, is incorrectly punctuated. We made Charles our captain. He being by far the best player. This should read We made Charles our captain, he being by far the best player. Be equally careful not to run sentences together. The temptation to make this error is especially great when the second of two sentences begins with a pronoun referring to a substantive in the first. It is incorrect to write Charles makes a good captain, he is our best player and the fellows respect him. A period or a semicolon should take the place of the comma after captain. 2 Use the period after an abbreviation. THE INTERROGATION POINT 3 Use the interrogation point (a) at the close of a direct question, (b) in parenthesis to indicate doubt. THE EXCLAMATION POINT 4 Use the exclamation point after interjections, exclamatory words and phrases, and sentences expressing strong emotion. This is not a rule to be followed blindly; judgment is necessary in determining where an exclamation point will add needed force. THE COMMA 5 If the terms of a series are all in the same construction and are not joined by conjunctions, the comma should be used to separate them. If only the last two terms are joined by a conjunction, the comma should be used regardless of the connective. The series may consist of a number of nouns all subjects of the same verb, a number of verbs having a common subject, a number of modifiers (adjectives, adverbs, phrases, or clauses) modifying the same word. It may consist of the clauses of a compound sentence, and occasionally of a number of short, closely related independent statements. The important thing to remember is that the terms separated must be in what may be called parallel construction. Here are illustrations: Morning, afternoon, and evening slipped away. I rose softly, slipped on my clothes, and opened the door suddenly. I came, I saw, I conquered. 6 Use the comma, if necessary for clearness, to set off a dependent clause when it precedes a principal clause. Notice that the rule has to do with clauses, not with phrases. Seldom is it necessary to set off a phrase even when it stands first in a sentence, unless the phrase is participial. Occasionally it becomes necessary to set off an introductory adverb. No rule can be framed to cover all cases, but the underlying principle is clear. When the comma is really needed to show at a glance where the dependent element leaves off and the principal element begins, it should be used. Here are illustrations: As he was passing by, the door opened suddenly. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. |