But
we may dissect Style, as we dissect an organism, and lay bare the
fundamental laws by which each is regulated. And this analogy may
indicate the utility of our attempt; the grace and luminousness of a
happy talent will no more be acquired by a knowledge of these laws,
than the force and elasticity of a healthy organism will be given by a
knowledge of anatomy; but the mistakes in Style, and the diseases of
the organism, may be often avoided, and sometimes remedied, by such
knowledge.
On a subject like this, which has for many years engaged the researches
of many minds, I shall not be expected to bring forward discoveries;
indeed, novelty would not unjustly be suspected of fallacy. The only
claim my exposition can have on the reader's attention is that of being
an attempt to systematise what has been hitherto either empirical
observation, or the establishment of critical rules on a false basis. I
know but of one exception to this sweeping censure, and that is the
essay on the Philosophy of Style, by Mr. Herbert Spencer, [Spencer's
ESSAYS: SCIENTIFIC, POLITICAL, AND SPECULATIVE.
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