The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1917-05-10
About Carelessness in Writing


pen succeeded in retrieving from his Albanian
grave the late Ebert Hubbard and listing him
among present-day writer's. declaims vocferously-
shall say. ludicrousy against the use of ex-
planatory notes. grammatical construction. etc. And
thus the ignorant crudity of Milton, Dante Shake
speare, Pope Dryden, ct al whose use of footnotes
profuse, is at last emblazoned on the literary
armament, so that all may profit by their SO great
error.
Those of who have found pleasure in read
ing the works of authors of the aforementioned
class, must now hang heads in shamed confu-
sion for our so mediocre taste in things literary!
Had our mental sustenance been derived from the
tupenny thrlllers," which much in evidence
ours might be the faint hope of attaining in some
small measure the high standard of thought and dis
cernment necessary to become benevoleut-or is it
malevolent ?-crltic.
We have heretofore been fain to excuse the
authors of that grade of literature which has-shall
we say, erroneously?-been called classic, for their
use of explanatory notes, for either of two
reasons First, because by doing they, acting on
the hypothesis that quality was to be desired
above quantity might appreciably condense the vol
ume of the text; and second make plain to minds
of caliber degree of erudition the meaning of
the symbols allegories employed
This latter is sometimes necessary not onlv for
the immature youth, but also for that class Of mind
which, although dwelling in body mature in years.
attains to power greater than that of a TO- or
~ year old schoolboy.
But having now quaffed the literary ambrosia
from the fountainhead of wisdom, the scales are
removed from eyes and the of which the
wlthstood the assaults of the enviously incapable
allowed themselves to be guilty is made glarinqy
apparent.
And the of which the old writer's were
guilty were-as per the ultra modern literary Pho
Gubb, deekaor of literary inaccuracies and expoun-
der of the supremely best method of becoming an
accomplished authOr-no less egregious in things
grammatic than in their employment of picturesque
symbols and lively aegories whose subtle meaning
would have been lost to the lay mind had not the
key to the literary jewelcasket been found in the
accompanying foot notes.
Why should Milton spend nine years in evolv-
ing a puerie library production PARADISE
LOST? Why should Gray devote so many years of
his life to- the composition of his ELEGY? Why
should?-But why enumerated Surely had these
nane scrbbers of the centuries agone lived in these
modern times and learned from Eminent Authority
the utter uselessness of in construction they
would have profted thereby and posterity would
not have been burdened with their memory!
Careless and Indifferent habits in writing are
indicative of like habits of mind and far from be-
ing commendable are inexcusable and to encourage
such is to place premium mediocrty. The
idea that all needs in order to be acceptable
writer is pad, pencil and idea, is as mis-
chlevously pernicious and alien truth it would
be say that all person needs to be artist il
an assortment of coors. brushes and lively sense
of the beautiful or that all that is needed to con-
stitute a poet is a vivid Imagination and mind
keenly alert to poetic suggestion and inspiration.
These are, of course prime essentials; but in ad-
dition to them, the person who hopes to produce
verse of merit must acquain himself with the tech
~nique of versifcatlon.
Likewise, he who would produce canvas wor-
thy of more than 6eetng glimpse, must have
tered the art of blending sharp contrasts of colors
into harmonious whole. definite knowledge of
the value and harmony of words is as necessary to
a writer is knowledge of the value and harmony
of colors to artist. The artist may have vivid.
we-defned conception of the creation he desires to
trace upon his canvas, but if he is bungler with
his materials, he may succeed only in running
otherwise perfectly good piece of cloth.
Elegance Of diction is acquired, if at all, only
after diligent study and arduous labor, the writer
giving careful heed to the minutest detail of con.
struction. And to give advice that will tend to
create in the minds of asprants for literary aurels
the erroneous impression that idea, regardless of
the of it's expression, is all that is necessary,
is to be guilty of consummate nonsense. For the
thought-germ however potent it may be in and of