Gee, when
she stood there in front of me with those mute, ineffable, sympathetic
eyes of hers, I was ready to throw a duck-fit.
Old Grimes is dead, that dear old soul;
We'll never see him more;
He wore a great long overcoat,
All buttoned down before.
Abstract terms convey ideas; concrete terms call up pictures. If we say
"Honesty is the best policy," we speak abstractly. Nobody can see or hear
or touch the thing _honesty_ or the thing _policy_; the
apprehension of them must be purely intellectual. But if we say "The
rat began to gnaw the rope," we speak concretely. _Rat_, _gnaw_,
and _rope_ are tangible, perceptible things; the words bring to us
visions of particular objects and actions.
Now when we engage in explanations and discussions of principles,
theories, broad social topics, and the like--when we expound, moralize, or
philosophize,--our subject matter is general. We approach our readers or
hearers on the thinking, the rational side of their natures. Our
phraseology is therefore normally abstract. But when, on the other hand,
we narrate an event or depict an appearance, our subject matter is
specific.
Pages:
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53