Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-07-31
ELECTORAL TICKET.
GREATNESS AIS ACHIEVED BY A
WRITER.

writer. We have had only three whC
could claim this Observation-Disclosures
Madison and John Quincy Adams-an,
all viii agree that we could have nc
cause Of dissatisfaction if assured the
Office would always be as creditably
filled as il was 10y these writers and
statesmen. There are men who write,
and whose writings are eagerly read, not
so much on account Of what they say as
ON account of their manner Of saying
It, We have all heard men speak, and
have been in raptures of admiration oveI
fheir beautiful phrases and glowing sem
fences. vet without being able to carry
away any definite thoughts which have
been impressed upon our minds. There
are men who talk and write, not
20 much because they have some
thing 70 say as because they
seem to be endowed with a gift Of utter
apce. which would be admirable and ex-
eenent if they only had anything to
utter. There are other writers and
speakers who make us forget an def.
ciencies of style and manner, because
we are compelled to hear what they have
to say. Mr.. Greeley is one of these.
Twenty-three years age, when be was
in the prime of manhood, he began TO
deliver lectures. Audiences were criti-
cal and fastidious. Some of his hearers
had no mean ~pretensions in the literary
world. 1t was hard work to be patient
when Mr.. Greeley first rose before them
with his manuscripts held close to his
eyes, and his constant habit of wetting
his thumb ten times Oftener than neces-
sary to turn the leaves. But ten min
utes had not elapsed before the dead
silence of the hour showed no signs
other thar if the most fascinating orator
stood before them. The matter of
his discourse was so excellent, its
style so clear. so transparent, so pure, so
eloquent that income thought of or re-
GREETED the absence of those graces OF
oratOry so necessary when the speaker
must make his audience forget that he
has nothing to say-uor ct pretered Mill.
Mr.. Greeley says he thad even written.
verses, never fiuently, nor happily; and
! very soon renouneed the fetters of
verse, content to utter my thoughts
thenceforth in unmistakable prose- II.
ever the prose ofany mar has been fun-
m~istakable, " it surely has been Mr.. Gree
ley's. What he wished to say stood forth
50 plainly and palpably that you forgot il
had or needed any vehicle Of words.
The force of his ideas was never in the
least broken Ey their covering. Il
seemed as if he had the power of hurl-
ing them naked, Mr.. Greeley has prob
ably said more and had more read o.
what ne said than any other American
writer, yet we doubt if any writer
has been more eagerly read for
what he had to say, and with
50 little thought or attention TO
the mode or form Of saying it. And
this is, after all, the very perfection Of
style. Perspieuity is the highest and best
quality. If this is perfectly attained,
every other quality seems to follow. 1t
is certain that none but the best writers
ever reach it. And this is not strange.
A writer must, frst, have something to
say. He must turn it over carefully in
his own mind tn he sees clearly himself
just what it is. Then the art begins to
put il in such form as exactly to repro
duce it in the minds of others. 1t is
plain that a muddy and uncertain
thinker a nev be a good writer
How can he make plain to others that
which is not clear TO himself? Ideas
must dominate everything else in a
mans mind before he can write accent
ably. He must not sit down to cudgel
his brains for something he shall clothe in
4 form ofwords. Many mennever get be-
yondt the sophomore stage. They attempt
10 supply the lsck Of ideas with sounding
words and ponIpous phrases. twill be
a. lard work for Others to read az It is |
for them to write. Clear ideas, clearly |
expressed, are the only foundation of
excellence in writing. Ornaments will
spontaneously attach themselves to
such a style, and viii not. seem ont of
place because they have the qualities of
natural beauty. Extracts may be made
from Mr.. Gredley's writings affordiug
excellent examples of all this, which
can hardly b. exeelled in Englishf
literature. See how he closes his nara
tive Of the establishment of the Tribune.
"Fame is q vapor; popularity an acct
dent; riches take wings the only
earthly certainty is oblivion; no man..
can see what a day may bring forth
while those who often cheer to-day will
often curse tomorrow; and yet 1 cherish
the hope that the journal 1 projected and
established win live and flourish long
after shall have mouldered into forgot
ten dust, being guided by a larger wis.
dom, a more unerring sagacity to dis
ccra the right, though not 10y a more
unfaltering readiness to embrace and
defend it at whatever personal cost"
Take another extract from !" Literature
a. = NDtdlfoil1 auuIeSocA 10 dullOIS. /
4" Soldiers in the long warfare for mans
rescue from Darkness and Evil, choose
not your place on the battlefield, but
joyfully accept that assigned you; ask
ing not whether there be higher or low
er, but only whether it is here you can
10 your ppopg' work, and meet your full
snare Of the Responsibility and the dam
ger. Believe not that the Heroic Age is
no more; since to that age is only requi-
site the herdc purpose and the heroic
soul" These passages, selected at ran
dom, show how easily a STYLE az tbe
utmost simplicity may rise to pathos |,
and eloquente when the subject has full
play through it. The great excellence
Of MI. Greelsy's writings consists in the
vast amount of solid thought and mat
ter they contain. They show the great
capacity of the reservoir hom which
they are drawn.
COME DOWN To THE WORK.
The Executive COMMITTEES of the city
and eountyis doing its work most effec-
lively. Invitations TO the Lewis-Curry
barbecue have been distributed every