2. He died on November 8 of that year, which was a Sunday, and was buried in the Church of St. Giles, Cripplegate, by the side of his father. -E. S. NADAL'S John Milton.

3. "Men may degenerate," says an old traveler, " may forget the arts by which they acquired renown; manufactories may fail and commodities be debased, but the sweets of the wild flowers of the wilderness, the industry and natural mechanics of the bee, will continue without change or derogation."

BURROUGH'S The Pastoral Bees.

4. But I am wearied of stringing up all my married acquaintances by Roman denominations. Let them amend and change their manners, or I promise to record the full-length English of their names, to the terror of all such desperate offenders in the future. -CHARLES LAMB.

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5. Thus man passes away; his name perishes from record and recollection; his history is as a tale that is told, and his very monument becomes a ruin. - IRVING.

Questions.

I. To which of the above may the term conclusion be applied? 2. What differences in the general treatment of the subject

are suggested by the endings of I and II?

3. In what respect are I and III alike? What do they seek to emphasize?

4. What does IV suggest about the nature of the discussion preceding it?

5. What has evidently called forth the reflection in V? 6. In what various ways may themes end?

EXERCISE

301. Write two beginnings and two endings for each of the following subjects and be able to explain which of the two is better:

302. Unity. In Part I of this book unity was defined as that quality which exists in a composition when every element in it contributes toward a single definite purpose. This should apply to the introduction and conclusion, whenever they exist, as well as to the discussion proper. The introduction should lead naturally and directly to the discussion, and the conclusion should be of such a nature as to lay stress upon something closely connected with the central idea of the theme.

303. Unity Study. Let us test the unity of the theme given earlier in the chapter by examination of the central thought of each paragraph to see whether it contributes to the central purpose as previously stated. Questions.

I. What is the relation between the two phases of the purpose? 2. Show why these two phases may be regarded as a single definite purpose.

3. In what way is the second paragraph related to the purpose?

4. What in this paragraph, if expanded a little more, would turn the reader's attention from the purpose, and, hence, lead to a lack of unity?

5. State the central thought of each paragraph of the dis

cussion.

6. Explain the relation of this thought to the central purpose. 7. Explain what progress in development is made by each. 8. Do you find essential parts omitted? Repetitions? Material not related to the central purpose? Lack of proportion? 9. Explain whether or not the same purpose is maintained throughout.

10. Show that the several ideas bear a proper relation to the point of view.

II. Explain how the thoughts aroused by the scene contribute to the central purpose.

12. Write a paragraph in which you explain fully why you consider the composition unified.

304. Means of securing Coherence. In our previous study of coherence, we observed that there are several ways of securing coherence:

I. By means of conjunctions.
II. By means of reference words.
III. By means of transitions.

IV. By means of general structure.

The first three of these may be compared to the nails used in building a house. But in building a house the pieces of lumber must be properly fitted before they can be nailed. In the same manner the elements of a composition must be adapted and brought into their proper places, else no amount of conjunctions and pronouns can bind them together. The general structure, therefore, is of first importance in securing coherence.

305. Coherence Study. Study the foregoing composition with the purpose of discovering the influence,

in determining the general structure, of these four things:

Questions.

I. The point of view.
II. Time sequence.
III. Cause and effect.

IV. Association of ideas.

1. What paragraphs begin with a reference, direct or indirect, to the point of view?

2. Explain how the progress of time is marked by the opening sentences in the various paragraphs.

3. In each paragraph point out the relation between the opening sentences and the remainder of the paragraph.

4. In which paragraph do you find that likeness, contrast, or natural relationship has guided in the selection and arrangement of details?

5. What transitional expressions do you find in the composition?

6. What is the effect upon coherence of the word "Presently" in the fourth paragraph?

7. What expressions are similarly used in other paragraphs? 8. Explain why it is that few words, used primarily to effect coherence, are needed in this composition.

9. By reference to what are the various steps in the development marked?

10. Explain the use of cause and effect in promoting coherence. II. In what instances is the coherence between paragraphs due to the arousing by one of an interest that is satisfied by the other?

12. Explain which is most important to the coherence of this theme, the point of view, time, cause and effect, or association. 13. Write a composition of one paragraph in which you explain what makes this theme coherent.

CHAPTER IV

THE FUNCTION OF THE PARAGRAPH

306. Nature of the Paragraph.

In our study of

the sentence in the first part of this book, we saw that sentences seldom exist separately. They usually are associated with other sentences, with which they are closely related in thought. Each of these related sentences expresses some idea about a central theme, and all of them taken together constitute a thought group, which we call a paragraph. If our ideas upon a given theme are compressed into a single sentence, as sometimes happens, the single sentence constitutes a paragraph.

Regarding the paragraph from another point of view, we say that it is the development of a limited. theme into a complete thought structure. Complete does not mean that the subject under consideration is to be exhausted. It does mean that the general idea with which one begins is to be developed to a definite end. There must be a point toward which the writer is working, and that point must be reached in order to have a complete paragraph.

307. Paragraph Defined. —A paragraph is a sentence or a group of sentences in which a certain subject. or a definite phase of some subject is developed into a complete organic thought structure.