A serious proposal to the Ladies, for the advancement of their true and greatest interest (In Two Parts)Astell, Mary
Religion
A serious proposal to the Ladies, for the advancement of their true and greatest interest (In Two Parts)
Astell, Mary
Feminism -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century -- Sources; Women's rights -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century -- Sources
Scarce any thing conduces more to Clearness, the great Beauty of
writing, than Exactness of Method; nor perhaps to Persuasion, for by
putting every thing in its proper place with due Order and Connexion,
the Readers Mind is gently led where the Writer wou’d have it. Such a
Stile is Easy without Softness, Copious as that signifies the omission
of nothing necessary, yet not Wordy and Tedious; nor stuft with
Nauseous Repetitions, which they who do not Think before they Write and
dispose their Matter duly, can scarce avoid. The Method of Thinking has
been already shewn, and the same is to be observ’d in Writing, which if
it be what it ought; is nothing else but the communicating to others
the result of our frequent and deep Meditations, in such a manner as
we judge most effectual to convince them of those Truths which we
believe. Always remembring that the most natural Order is ever best;
that we must first prepare their minds by removing those Prejudices and
Passions which are in our way, and then propose our Reasons with all
the Clearness and Force, with all the Tenderness and Good-Nature we can.
[Sidenote: _Lock_ of Hum. Und. B. 3. Ch. 7.]
And since the Clearness and Connexion as well as the Emphasis and
Beauty of a Discourse depends in a great measure on a right use of the
Particles, whoever wou’d Write well ought to inform themselves nicely
in their Proprieties. an _And_, a _The_, a _But_, a _For_, &c. do very
much perplex the Sense when they are misplac’d, and make the Reader
take it many times quite otherwise than the Writer meant it. But this
is not a place to say all that this Subject deserves; they who wou’d
have much in a little, may consult an Ingenious Author who has touch’d
upon’t, and from thence take hints to observe how these little words
are applied in good Authors, and how themselves may best use them to
express the several Postures of their own Minds.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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