Surely such procedure would be unbusinesslike. If
you pay out good money, you meditate well whether that which you receive
for it shall compensate you. Likewise if you devote time and effort to
gaining ownership of words, you should exercise foresight in determining
whether they will yield you commensurate returns.
What, then, is the principle upon which, at the outset, you should
proceed? What better than to insure the possession of the words regarding
which you know this already, that you need them and should make them
yours?
The natural way, and the best, to begin is with an analysis of your own
vocabulary. You are of course aware that of the enormous number of words
contained in the dictionary relatively few are at your beck and bidding.
But probably you have made no attempt to ascertain the nature and extent
of your actual linguistic resources. You should make an inventory of the
stock on hand before sending in your order for additional goods.
You will speedily discover that your vocabulary embraces several distinct
classes of words. Of these the first consists of those words which you
have at your tongue's end--which you can summon without effort and use in
your daily speech.
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