THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 

 7 
 
THE PHRASE 
 
 A MONOGRAPH 
 
 BY 
 
 F. G. MORRIS, M. A. 
 
 EASTHAMPTON, MASS. 
 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 1885. 
 
COPYRIGHT BY F. G. MORRIS, 188o. 
 
 Printed by L. E.Torrey, Easthampton.Mass. 
 
hA 
 
 EVERY DISTINCT THING HAS A COMPLETE- 
 NESS OF ITS OWN. 
 
ANALYSIS. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 I. STATEMENT. 
 
 2 1'age 
 taj i. DEFINITION, ...,..-. 9 
 
 (1) Rhetorical phrase, ... 9 
 
 (2) Musical phrase, - - 10 
 
 (3) Shorthand phrase, 11 
 
 (a) Two or more word-forms joined, - - 11 
 (6) Words joined because they belong 
 
 together, ..... 12 
 
 2. ADVANTAGES, - - - - - .15 
 ^ (1) Higher speed, ..... 17 
 ?* (a) Pen-lifting diminished, - - - 17 
 f) (6) Words more freely abbreviated when 
 
 z joined than when alone, 18 
 
 (2) Increased legibility, - . - 19 
 
 (a) Less haste and better penmanship, - 19 
 
 (6) Words joined according to their relations, 20 
 
 3. CAUTION, ....... 21 
 
 I (1) Importance of study and practice, - - 21 
 
 (2) Value of experience and habit, - . 23 
 
 II THE PRINCIPLE. 
 
 1. DEFINITION, - - - - - ..26 
 
 (1) Principle distinguished from rule, - 27 
 
 (2) Principle distinguished from expedient, - 30 
 
 2. THE PRINCIPLE 31 
 
 448540 
 
VI 
 
 III. APPLICATION. 
 
 1. RULES. 
 
 (1) Pronominal subject, .... 
 
 (2) Qualifying word, 
 
 (3) Leading word, - 
 
 (4) Governing word, 
 
 2. EXPEDIENTS, 
 
 (1) Omission, 
 
 (2) Restoration, 
 
 (3) Substitution, - 
 
 (4) Breaking, 
 
 50 
 
 (5) Convenience, ... 
 3. KINDS OF PHRASES, 
 
 (1) Simple, 
 
 Pronominal, - ... 
 
 Qualitative, ----- ' 54 
 Final, 
 Objective, 
 
 (2) Phrases of Omission, 
 
 " Restoration, 
 
 ' Substitution, 
 
 " Convenience (Formal), - - 54 
 
 (3) Compound, 
 
 IV. LIMITS Theory and practice. 
 
 1. SPEED, 
 
 62 
 
 59 
 2. LEGIBILITY, 
 
 V. CONCLUSION. 
 
 1. SHORTHAND SYSTEMS, ...--' 
 
 2. SHORTHAND WRITERS, - ( 
 
 3. A SUGGESTION, - & 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 I have not given extended examples. 
 I think the principle substantially 
 covers all good phrase-writing; and 
 while it seems needless to add another 
 to the several dictionaries and phrase- 
 books already published in as many 
 systems, it would also be impracticable 
 to show examples here for all systems. 
 I trust this little book, the fruit of 
 many years' study and practice, may 
 be to the phonographer what the 
 working drawing is to the machine 
 builder or architect. I will place 
 upon it no valuation of my own; but 
 if worthy, may it have large use as 
 a companion to kindred works, and 
 prove good help to teachers, practical 
 
8 THE PHRASE. 
 
 and professional writers, and students 
 of all grades. I have long had it in 
 mind, as a humble help towards 
 rendering shorthand study and prac- 
 tice less empirical and more scientific. 
 As such, I submit it to the candid 
 judgment of phonographers in general. 
 
I. STATEMENT. 
 
 1. DEFINITION. All things that we 
 can perceive or know about are com- 
 paratively incomplete. Everything 
 that can be known by us is so related 
 to some other things as to depend 
 upon them partly for its own charac- 
 ter. But, however small compared 
 with the great whole, and however 
 involved with other things, every 
 distinct thing has a completeness of 
 its own. The first view we can take 
 of anything is its individual com- 
 pleteness. Until we see this we do 
 not see the thing by itself, but as 
 merged in other things. 
 
 (1). A rhetorical composition may be 
 regarded as a united whole. But each 
 
10 THE PHRASE. 
 
 of the subjects, subdivisions, para- 
 graphs and sentences which together 
 make up the whole, has its own com- 
 pleteness. And a sentence may consist 
 of several members, all of which 
 together form the sentence, but each 
 of which is individually complete. 
 This last is a phrase; tb,at is, two or 
 more words so related as to express 
 an individually complete idea. 
 
 (2). A musical composition, however 
 elaborate, is composed of parts tech- 
 nically called periods. But as a 
 sentence in rhetoric, so a period in 
 music is composed of members so 
 related as to produce together the 
 impression of completeness. Each of 
 these component members of a period 
 is called a phrase; that is, a series 
 of musical designs or conceptions so 
 related as to be together complete. 
 
 I venture the statement that both in 
 rhetoric and in music the phrase is 
 
THE PHRASE. 11 
 
 the point where we cease to deal 
 with the mere materials of a com- 
 position, and begin to deal with its 
 structure; in other words, where we 
 drop the unity of unconnected ele- 
 ments, and reach the higher unity 
 which results from combination. 
 From the rhetorical phrase is pro- 
 duced the eloquent discourse, the 
 well wrought book; from the musical 
 phrase the intricate fugue, the majestic 
 symphony. 
 
 (3). A shorthand phrase possesses 
 a twofold character: but whichever 
 view we take of it, we discover in 
 it, as in the rhetorical and musical 
 phrases, the quality of individual com- 
 pleteness. 
 
 (a). A shorthand phrase consists of 
 two or more word-forms joined in a 
 single compound sign; that is, with- 
 out lifting the pen. Here the quality 
 of completeness is very apparent, the 
 
12 THE PHRASE. 
 
 phrase-sign being executed by a fin- 
 ished action of the hand, and visible 
 when done. A few good phrases 
 have no other property. 
 
 (6). Were this all, however, phrase- 
 writing would not require explanation, 
 as its only rule would be convenience 
 of joining, and its only object an 
 increase of speed. But the subject is 
 hardly so elementary as this, nor is 
 the end sought so limited. Legibility 
 is as important, practically, as speed; 
 and in shorthand, as is well known, 
 much more than in ordinary writing, 
 the reading depends upon the con- 
 nection. In other words, the legibility 
 of shorthand is greatly increased or 
 diminished, as the relations of words 
 are observed or neglected. Hence, a 
 phrase which in point of compact- 
 ness and convenience of execution 
 is desirable, may be very objectionable 
 because misleading; that is, illegible. 
 
THE PHRASE. 13 
 
 With a very few exceptions, words 
 should be joined, not merely because 
 they can be, but also, and principally, 
 because they belong together. The 
 best phrases are those which not only 
 increase the speed, but even if they 
 did not. unless diminishing' it, might 
 well be employed to indicate the 
 relations of the joined words. Out- 
 side of this statement, words may 
 stand near each other, and even have 
 some relation to each other. But, as 
 it is in rhetoric and music, so it is 
 here; to make the best shorthand 
 phrase the relation must be such 
 as to produce the impression of com- 
 pleteness. This is what I mean by 
 words belonging together, and I have 
 stated the point at the expense of some 
 iteration, because it is vital in this 
 examination. 
 
 I consider that shorthand at this 
 point first becomes, an art, in the sense 
 
14 THE PHRASE. 
 
 of an intelligent effort for a precon- 
 ceived result, including the law by 
 which the effort is conducted, and the 
 result as reached at last. In fact, 
 shorthand excites, gratifies and edu- 
 cates the taste, as well as the judg- 
 ment, and may be carried, unhappily 
 seldom is, into the standing of a fine 
 art. The truly expert shorthand writer 
 is not a mere copyist; he is an artist. 
 Though probably no man in actual 
 work reaches his ideal, and though in 
 the press of execution it is perhaps 
 impossible to maintain elegance of 
 form, or even to make a point of it; yet 
 the result, far from being a mere nota- 
 tion of the speaker's words, is a pic- 
 ture of his thoughts. Like a good 
 picture, it has its lights and shades, 
 its colors and its life. Next to the 
 living voice itself, the well phrased 
 shorthand report is instinct with 
 meaning, and embodies the essence 
 
THE PHRASE. 15 
 
 of the matter reported, as Jonghand, 
 written or printed, cannot do. We 
 may regard shorthand as an accom- 
 plishment, as an instrument of work, 
 as a means of livelihood; or we may 
 pursue it as an art, enter its holy of 
 holies, strengthen the mind by contact 
 with its changeless principles, fascin- 
 ate the attention with its endless 
 applications, delight the taste with its 
 many and great beauties. Its highest 
 use includes both these methods. 
 
 2. ADVANTAGES. Of course, the great 
 point in shorthand is speed. But, con- 
 sidering the different purposes for 
 which the art may be used, it may be 
 said that the requirement of speed is 
 variable. In general terms, great 
 speed is reached at the 'partial expense 
 of legibility, and great legibility at 
 the partial expense of speed. But any 
 form of shorthand provides a far 
 higher speed than can be attained by 
 
16 THE PHRASE. 
 
 the ordinary method of writing. 
 Hence, shorthand is of great value 
 in correspondence, and in all kinds of 
 literary work, where speed is satis- 
 factory, though not verbatim, being 
 strictly subordinate to legibility. But 
 for the more advanced forms and 
 more exacting requirements, especially 
 for very rapid verbatim writing, speed 
 must be carried to the farthest point 
 at which it is at all legible. In other 
 words, in the latter case legibility 
 need not be so ample as in the former. 
 To read a phonographic manuscript 
 in public requires great legibility, or 
 the reading will be unnatural, some- 
 times hesitating. But every end is 
 gained by the reporter, if, when called 
 on, he can read his notes intelligibly, 
 if not with grace or extreme ease, 
 write them out, or dictate them with- 
 out unreasonable delay. I am speak- 
 ing now of degrees of legibility, not 
 
THE PHRASE. 17 
 
 of legibility as against illegibility. 
 Legibility has a high place in all forms 
 of shorthand. Without it the highest 
 speed is worthless. There is no ad- 
 vantage in writing fast, if what is 
 written cannot be read. 
 
 (1). The most obvious advantage 
 gained by phrase-writing is a higher 
 speed. Probably, next to reasonably 
 brief forms, no other one instrument 
 of speed is equally effective, especially 
 as phrase-writing includes sooner or 
 later most other speed producing 
 processes. 
 
 (a). The phrase increases speed by 
 obviating pen-liftings. The act of 
 pen-lifting is quite complex. In ad- 
 dition to raising the pen, moving it 
 along a little space, and re-applying 
 it to the paper, there are the mental 
 acts of ending one word and begin- 
 ning another. Of course, all these 
 processes may be executed quickly: 
 3 
 
18 THE PHRASE. 
 
 but time is time. It is not easy to 
 estimate a point like this; but prob- 
 ably a pen-lifting requires as much 
 time as the writing of two strokes, 
 possibly three. One pen-lifting, it is 
 true, even estimated as above, does 
 not require much time; but many 
 hundreds or thousands occurring in 
 close succession are a very serious 
 drawback. Hence anything that re- 
 duces the number of pen-liftings is 
 very favorable to high speed. 
 
 (b). Other things being equal, a 
 word composed of several strokes may 
 be more freely abbreviated than would 
 be safe with a word composed of very 
 few strokes; and a word of a single 
 stroke generally cannot be abbreviated 
 at all, except by changing it, as may 
 sometimes be done, into a tick, or 
 other brief sign, by omitting a dot, or 
 the like. But in a many-stroke word 
 enough elements are left after free 
 
THE PHRASE. 19 
 
 abbreviation for identification. By 
 equal reasoning, words in a phrase 
 may be abbreviated more freely than 
 when they stand alone. In fact, some 
 words may be altogether omitted from 
 a phrase. All this is very helpful to 
 high speed, and the aggregate advan- 
 tage in extended notes, I think,. may 
 nearly equal that mentioned in (a) 
 above. 
 
 (2). The bearing of the phrase upon 
 legibility may not be equally obvi- 
 ous, but it is equally real, and about 
 equally important. 
 
 (). The pressed writer sometimes 
 executes forms, legible enough in 
 themselves, with so much agitation, 
 as to distort them beyond recognition 
 in reading. This often happens to 
 defectively trained persons whose 
 speed is not equal to the demand upon 
 it, and to good writers out of practice. 
 In fact, the best writer in his best 
 
20 THE PHRASE. 
 
 mood is liable to be occasionally over- 
 taken in this way, for the demand of 
 speed is sometimes very exacting. 
 Of course, any thing which reduces 
 the amount of writing, that is, the 
 number of pen movements, in a given 
 time, in effect lengthens the time; 
 and the abbreviations of phrase-writ- 
 ing, as above described, render the 
 notes more legible by enabling the 
 writer to work more at ease. 
 
 (b). We have already seen that 
 words in phrases may be more freely 
 abbreviated than when alone. It 
 may be added that they are often 
 more legible in phrases than when 
 alone. The reasons are similar. In 
 a phrase the words are so related that 
 one helps to read the other, and even 
 when much abbreviated, enough of 
 the phrase is left to identify the 
 whole. It is plain at this point that 
 phrase legibility depends much on 
 
THE PHRASE. 21 
 
 the correctness -of the phrase, and 
 the above remarks do not* apply to 
 a phrase improperly written. In this 
 last case legibility is usually much 
 impaired, sometimes quite destroyed. 
 
 :). CAUTION. It is objected that in 
 very rapid writing the common tend- 
 ency is to write separate words. 
 This may be admitted (as perhaps it 
 should be) without retracting any- 
 thing already said, but it does not 
 prove what it is often supposed to. 
 The case may be illustrated by a 
 parallel. Other things being equal, 
 reasonably small notes (a somewhat 
 indefinite expression, it is true, as 
 notes that would be small for one 
 person might be large for another) 
 are quicker than large ones. Yet in 
 very rapid writing the common tend- 
 ency is to write larger than in more 
 deliberate work. 
 
 (1). Were difficulties of this kind 
 
22 THE PHRASE. 
 
 peculiar to shorthand, they might 
 need special explanation. But, here 
 or elsewhere, they are easily accounted 
 for by two simple facts. One is, a 
 confused man cannot use all his 
 resources. One has no good reason 
 to be disappointed, when he finds 
 that he cannot do that which he 
 has not qualified himself to do. The 
 instant the shorthand writer goes 
 beyond the point to which his study, 
 practice and experience have legiti- 
 mately brought him, he is at a loss, 
 and not only does not use all the 
 means of speed which he is really 
 master of, but infallibly does things 
 which diminish his speed and defeat 
 his purpose. Possibly, the greatest 
 drawback to the shorthand cause is 
 the notion, entertained by not a few. 
 that the art can be mastered in a 
 very short time, with little or no 
 effort, and that in an emergency what 
 
THE PHRASE. 23 
 
 one lacks in qualification he can 
 make up in some other way. A grave 
 responsibility attaches to those authors, 
 publishers and teachers who, for any 
 purpose, favor these errors. The most 
 valuable acquirements are not the 
 easiest, and extreme ease of acqui- 
 sition is not a high merit in anything. 
 Intellectual dullness and aversion to 
 serious effort are not specially desir- 
 able qualities . in a shorthand writer. 
 To realize the full value of the phrase, 
 one should master it by study and 
 practice. And it should be particu- 
 larly noted that actual work is not 
 study, it is not practice, and for 
 personal improvement cannot take 
 the place of either. 
 
 (2). On the other hand, (and here 
 we meet another explaining fact), 
 for the highest results, even study and 
 practice are not sufficient, but must 
 be combined with experience and 
 
24 THE PHRASE. 
 
 habit. The work of a shorthand 
 teacher is at no point more clearly 
 defined than at the point where it 
 stops, and the pupil passes under the 
 tuition of that great teacher of all. 
 which helps those who are prepared 
 for it, but deals roughly with those 
 who prefer to take it first. No amount 
 of study and practice can impart the 
 tact and intrepidity of the experienced 
 reporter, and no amount of tact and 
 intrepidity, even in the experienced 
 reporter, can make up for the neglect 
 of study and practice. There is little 
 danger of placing the standard of 
 shorthand proficiency too high. Study, 
 practice and work, however, will in 
 no long time result in correct habit; 
 and that established, the full value 
 of the phrase will be experienced 
 ever after. This may be illustrated 
 in a very simple manner, by writing 
 longhand rapidly, taking pains to 
 
THE PHRASE. 25 
 
 separate the letters, instead of joining 
 them in words as in the ordinary 
 way. This will usually be found quite 
 as difficult as phrase- writing is to a 
 shorthand writer accustomed to writ- 
 ing separate words. One may know 
 how to use phrases, but unless trained 
 to do so, he will forget them in pro- 
 portion as he ceases to be particular 
 about the manner of his writing, and 
 his real habit will assert itself under 
 the pressure of the work. 
 
II. THE PRINCIPLE. 
 
 1. DEFINITION. Many persons, on 
 learning (from authority which they 
 consider sufficient, by experiment, or 
 in some other way) that a thing is so 
 and so, instantly accept the fact by 
 imitative thought or practice. In 
 this way most opinions are formed 
 and most acts done. But a thoughtful 
 person, on being told that a thing is 
 so and so, wishes and seeks to know 
 why. And when he has found what, 
 so far as he can see, is the original 
 reason why the thing is so and so, 
 and cannot possibly or easily be other- 
 wise, he calls that first reason the 
 principle of the thing. He does not 
 originate it, or own it- he cannot 
 
THE PHRASE. 27 
 
 control or change it. He simply finds 
 it. It existed before he knew of it; 
 it would now exist if he had not 
 come upon it; it will continue, though 
 he should misunderstand, mistake or 
 forget it. The principle of a thing 
 is its beginning, sometimes expressed 
 by the words nature, fitness, and the 
 like, but always with the meaning of 
 necessary, or best. The relation of 
 several principles (often called general 
 principles) may be reasoned out, but 
 a single principle cannot be. It is 
 the simple, undivided, indivisible es- 
 sence of a thing, for which there is 
 no reason, except that it is. - The 
 mind, I think, does not usually find 
 out a principle on purpose. The prin- 
 ciple discovers itself, and the finder 
 should be counted happy rather than 
 praiseworthy. The most he can do is 
 to test and then state it. 
 
 (1). A principle should be distin- 
 
28 THE PHRASE. 
 
 guished from a rule. A rule is a 
 method, or the statement of a method 
 by which a principle is made use of. 
 Sometimes one principle pertains to 
 more than one subject, and this re- 
 lation may require different rules for 
 the different subjects. But the prin- 
 ciple is the same everywhere; and this 
 is why different subjects, studied by 
 their principles, often throw light 
 upon each other, so that the student 
 of principles has a firmer grasp upon 
 his s.ubjects. Usually, a principle can- 
 not be universally applied in practice, 
 because of some peculiarity in the 
 practice, some relation of the principle 
 to other principles, or for some other 
 reason. In this case, the rule pre- 
 scribes how the principle may be 
 applied, and the cases where it cannot 
 be are arranged as far as possible in 
 classes, and called exceptions. A 
 principle does not admit of exceptions; 
 
THE PHRASE. 29 
 
 a rule is seldom, without them. A 
 principle is what it is; a rule is what 
 it is made. No man can make or 
 change a principle; any man, whether 
 he knows enough or not, can make or 
 change a rule. Whoever makes a 
 rule, it is good in proportion as it 
 makes its principle practical, the 
 former being the instrument of the 
 latter. But truth to the principle 
 sometimes requires that the best rule 
 be suspended. It follows that excep- 
 tions are as useful as rules, and the 
 objections raised by some persons 
 against the former are not well taken. 
 The principal difference between a 
 rule and its exceptions seems to be 
 that the rule represents, or should, 
 the regular and general applications, 
 and the exceptions the special and 
 occasional uses. It is not uncommon, 
 as the well known expression has it, 
 for the exceptions to prove the rule; 
 
30 THE PHRASE. 
 
 that is, the exceptions may be so few as 
 to make the rule particularly obvious. 
 Strictly speaking, an exception is it- 
 self a rule, but for convenience is 
 classed as an exception under a more 
 general rule. It has been said that 
 fire is a good servant, but a bad mas- 
 ter. So is a rule. 
 
 (2). Sometimes the occasional use 
 of a principle is so remote from the 
 classified exceptions, that it cannot 
 be derived from or connected with 
 them. This is an expedient, or shift, 
 and is the most irregular form of 
 practice. A system of practice mostly 
 consisting of expedients is scientific- 
 ally worthless, and burdensome in use. 
 But an expedient in its place is en- 
 tirely legitimate, as it may help to 
 apply a principle; and should be 
 employed, so far as it does not inter- 
 fere with some useful rule, exception 
 or other expedient. 
 
THE PHRASE. 31 
 
 2. THE PRINCIPLE. The principle 
 which governs all good phrases, (ex- 
 cept a few. which will be noted in 
 their place), and which seems to carry 
 the subject back as far as it can go, 
 thus marking a point from which it 
 may be strongly reasoned, has been 
 incidentally stated several times in 
 the preceding pages. Every distinct 
 thing has a completeness of its own. 
 
III. APPLICATION. 
 
 The principle above stated, applied 
 to a shorthand phrase, requires that 
 the word or words of incomplete or 
 indefinite meaning shall be joined to 
 the word or words by which the 
 meaning is completed or defined. 
 
 1. RULES. My present design is 
 not so much to recite the rules of 
 phrase-writing, which have been well 
 expressed by others; but rather to 
 explain them by the principle speci- 
 fied. If I state them in my own way, 
 as to some extent I shall, I wish to 
 be understood as not claiming any 
 authorship in them. They are such 
 as I believe are used in the main by 
 good writers. I do not ignore, and 
 
THE PHRASE. 33 
 
 have no desire to displace the several 
 works on the subject in present use. 
 which largely consist of phrase-lists. 
 My object will be gained, if I can 
 help, however little, authors who 
 teach well, and writers who work 
 well; and I think that examples and 
 usage, so far as correct, will not be 
 prejudiced, but justified and estab- 
 lished by this exposition. I have 
 tested it myself, and found it helpful: 
 and I offer it, not as a mere theory, 
 but as a working plan. 
 
 (1). Pronominal subject. Every good 
 sentence says something. That of 
 which something is said is the subject: 
 that which is said of the subject is 
 the predicate. In the nature of the 
 case, each of these is complete in it- 
 self. 
 
 The subject may be a single word, 
 or several related words; but whether 
 one or the other, it must be to the 
 5 
 
34 THE PHRASE. 
 
 sentence what the notion is to the 
 argument, or the theme to the dis- 
 course. The logician must kno\v 
 what he is reasoning about, the orator 
 or author must know what he is 
 speaking or writing about, and a man 
 who undertakes to say anything must 
 know what he is to say it about. 
 Men often contend warmly about sub- 
 jects which they do not understand, 
 and thus multiply arguments without 
 reaching conviction; and some part of 
 current oratory and authorship pro- 
 duces no effect, or a wrong effect, for 
 a like reason. A very good illustra- 
 tion is found in correct parliamentary 
 practice, which does not allow a 
 motion to amend to lie on the table. 
 The reason is that what lies on the 
 table may at any time be taken from 
 the table; and the main question can- 
 not be said to have been passed upon, 
 as long as it is technically liable to 
 
THE PHRASE. 35 
 
 be changed by an amendment still in 
 effect pending. In other words, those 
 who are to vote on the main question 
 are entitled to know what it is. I am 
 not speaking of the ultimate or actual 
 meaning of a subject. That may be 
 entirely indefinite; but even the fact 
 that it is ultimately or actually indefi- 
 nite cannot be known, until we know 
 what it is that is so. A man may 
 say in so many words that he does 
 not know: but his statement will have 
 no meaning, unless he specify the 
 thing he does not know. If a man 
 should say he did not know anything, 
 he would contradict himself: for that 
 would be claiming to know something. 
 The subject as such must be complete 
 and well defined before anything can 
 be said of it to any purpose. What 
 is said of it now perhaps cannot be 
 said of it at all after it has been 
 added to or changed. 
 
36 THE PHRASE. 
 
 Another view of this is that a sub- 
 ject is something which is under the 
 control or authority of something else. 
 But the subject of a king or govern- 
 ment is in treason if he bear allegiance 
 to any other king or government. 
 His rightful sovereign or sovereign 
 power must govern the whole of him, 
 or, so far as it does not, he is not a 
 subject. Under those forms of govern- 
 ment which grant liberty of conscience, 
 freedom of the press and the like, the 
 citizens are not subjects in respect to 
 those things. A subject of thought 
 is that which the thought grasps or 
 handles, to this extent, at least, that 
 it is in the mind as a complete definite 
 something which may be controlled 
 by the mental processes. So the sub- 
 ject of a sentence is under the control 
 of the sentence as a whole, and of the 
 predicate in particular. But in order 
 to be so, it must be complete and 
 
THE PHRASE. 37 
 
 definite as a subject. Otherwise, only 
 a part of it belongs to the sentence, 
 and the predicate is wholly untrue, 
 or only partly true, which is prac- 
 tically the same. 
 
 To put the same thing in still 
 another way. Any word or words 
 capable of being the subject of a 
 sentence may also stand in the mind 
 complete as such. Each of the ex- 
 pressions, man, good man, several men, 
 man and boy, when heard or read, 
 suggests a thought, differing, it may 
 be, in different minds, but complete 
 and able to stand alone in each. In 
 short, the subject as such must be so 
 truly complete and definite as to be 
 entirely distinct from the predicate as 
 such, the former having a relation to 
 the latter as to another thing, and 
 not as to itself. In respect to the 
 sentence the subject is a part, in 
 respect to itself it is a whole. 
 
 448540 
 
38 THE PHRASE. 
 
 On these grounds, the subject is 
 not joined to its verb. By some it is 
 considered desirable to join a repeated 
 subject. A repeated subject, other 
 things being equal, is more legible 
 than a subject occurring but once. 
 But other things are not always equal: 
 and admitting the difference between 
 a lone subject and one repeated, that 
 difference does not seem to me great 
 enough to justify a distinction in writ- 
 ing. This last verges hard on being 
 a distinction without a difference. 
 But this is only my opinion. 
 
 Allowing for such modifications as 
 grow out of the different nature of 
 the predicate, the same may be said 
 of that as of the subject. The predi- 
 cate is that which is said of the 
 subject, and it must be as complete 
 and definite as that of which it is 
 said. Hence, the reason why the 
 subject should not be joined to the 
 
THE PHRASE. 39 
 
 I 
 
 predicate equally forbids the joining 
 of the predicate to the subject. 
 
 I have reasoned this point somewhat 
 at length because it is the only one 
 which needs much more than state- 
 ment. At the same time, the elabora- 
 tion which seems more in place here, 
 perhaps, than elsewhere, serves to 
 emphasize the principle, by holding 
 it in view longer than before or again. 
 Theoretically, the phrase here appears 
 in its highest character; that is, as 
 the starting point of what we may 
 call phonographic syntax, the corner 
 stone of phonographic structure; or, 
 in other words, as an index of those 
 relations which bind or sunder the 
 several parts as is best for the whole. 
 Practically, while speed is increased 
 by any convenient joining, legibility 
 may often be prejudiced by represent- 
 ing the subject in a character which 
 does not belong to it. 
 
40 THE PHRASE. 
 
 The case is quite different when the 
 subject is a pronoun. A pronoun may 
 itself be a direct subject, but even 
 with a verb of its own, it always 
 relates to some other word which may 
 be called the main subject. On this 
 account, the pronoun is incomplete 
 without the word which shows its 
 relation to the general meaning; and 
 that word, when the pronoun is a 
 direct subject, is its verb. Because of 
 this relation, and incidentally because 
 the pronoun signs are distinct and 
 familiar, both speed and legibility are 
 served by joining the pronominal 
 subject to its verb. 
 
 (2). The qualifying or limiting word 
 is obviously incomplete. Good, high, 
 great, and the like do not have an 
 exact meaning of their own. Each 
 as the expression of a quality requires 
 some word representing a thing in 
 which the quality may reside. Good 
 
THE PHRASE. 41 
 
 as applied to a man means differently 
 from good as applied to a horse, a 
 watch, or a locomotive. Hence the 
 rule for joining the qualifying or 
 limiting word. 
 
 This rule applies first of all to such 
 combinations as good man. liigh speed, 
 (/rcat multitude, in which one word 
 qualifies the other in the simplest 
 way, the qualified word needing the 
 qualifying word, not absolutely, but 
 for some particular purpose. A quite 
 common mode is that of two words 
 qualifying each other. In the expres- 
 sion Mr. Smith, J//\ shows what 
 Smith, that is, not Mrs. Smith or Miss 
 Smith; and Smith shows what Mr. 
 This applies in all similar cases, where 
 doctor, governor, president and the 
 like are, if convenient, joined to their 
 surnames. A man's name is in mean- 
 ing one word. The rule for joining 
 the qualifying word covers the case 
 6 
 
42 THE PHRASE. 
 
 of the auxiliary verb which qualifies 
 the main verb, and therefore should 
 be joined. Here also, as really wher- 
 ever one word qualifies another, the 
 qualifying and qualified word make 
 one meaning; that is, the qualifying 
 word is completed, and the qualified 
 word is defined. In some languages, 
 where words are inflected by change 
 of form, instead of by added words, 
 this oneness extends to the form as 
 well as to the meaning. A Greek or 
 Latin phrase-writer would have little 
 need of the rule for joining the aux- 
 iliary verb. The rule for joining the 
 qualifying word may be applied also 
 to nouns in the predicate. In the 
 expression, Jones is a gentleman, gen- 
 tleman, itself qualified by a, defines 
 the meaning of is, and is therefore 
 joined. This case will be further ex- 
 plained below, under another rule to 
 which also it may be referred. 
 
THE PHRASE. 43 
 
 (3). The leading word. In music 
 the seventh note of the octave is 
 called the leading note, because it 
 excites in the mind an expectation 
 which is satisfied by the eighth. 
 There are words in phonographic 
 writing which for a similar reason 
 may be called leading words, and as 
 such should be joined to the words to 
 which they lead. Of this class are 
 connectives; that is, words which 
 serve to connect one word, clause, 
 sentence, paragraph or subject with 
 the preceding one. A word of this 
 kind connecting single words is, if 
 convenient, joined between; but, while 
 of course it connects the two, it 
 ffhould be noted that its chief office 
 is to lead from the preceding word 
 to the word following. For this 
 reason, if it cannot be joined between, 
 it should be joined to the following 
 word in preference. Of course, as a 
 
44 THE PHRASE. 
 
 practical expedient, it should be 
 joined to the preceding word, rather 
 than disjoined; unless, as is sometimes 
 the case, disjoining is unavoidable. 
 A word represented by a tick qualifies 
 the following word or leads to it, and 
 should be joined accordingly. If it 
 cannot be, it should be treated as 
 above described. In those systems 
 which represent some words by inter- 
 changeable ticks and dots, it is a 
 good rule never to use a dot when a 
 tick can be used; for a dot requires 
 an extra lifting of the pen. Many 
 words may under proper conditions 
 become leading words. Here, for 
 example, belongs the case of which I 
 have just said I would make a fur- 
 ther explanation. A verb followed by 
 a predicate noun is a leading word. 
 Washington was elected president. 
 Here, was elected leads to president. 
 That is, the former creates an expec- 
 
THE PHRASE. 45 
 
 tation which the latter satisfies. A 
 leading question is one which not 
 only leads to an answer, hut to an 
 anticipated and desired answer. I do 
 not assign such a function to the 
 leading word in a phonographic phrase. 
 The shorthand leading word leads in 
 a general way to something, hut does 
 not necessarily anticipate, specify or 
 decide what that something will be. 
 As, Washington teas elected burgess, 
 general, president. In either case the 
 leading word fulfills its office. This 
 kind of a phrase is not new, hut I do 
 not remember seeing it explained in 
 this way elsewhere. I would offer 
 the name, leading word, as convenient 
 and suggestive. 
 
 (4). The governing tvord. A tran- 
 sitive verb, as its name implies, 
 expresses an action or influence which 
 passes over to or upon an object. 
 Here the object is obviously necessary 
 
46 THE PHRASE. 
 
 to complete the meaning of the verb. 
 This justifies the well known rule for 
 joining the governing and governed 
 words. A preposition, as its name 
 does not imply, is placed (in meaning, 
 though not always in form) between 
 two words or expressions to indicate 
 some quite close relation which one 
 word or expression bears to the other. 
 This relation may be of one kind or 
 another; but for convenience of 
 description, the related word or ex- 
 pression following the preposition is 
 called in grammar its object, and in 
 phonographic writing it is. if conven- 
 ient, joined as such. This usage also 
 is well known. As in the other cases, 
 the point to be particularly attended 
 to here is, whatever may be the 
 relation indicated by the preposition, 
 the preposition itself has no full 
 meaning of its own, but derives its 
 force from the words which it shows 
 
THE PHRASE. 47 
 
 to be related, and, in particular, its 
 meaning, even with the preceding 
 word, is completed by the following 
 word or expression. Hence the join- 
 ing to the following word. In each 
 of the cases above-mentioned the 
 object is a substantive, or word used 
 as such. But an infinitive verb, with 
 or without an object, explaining noun 
 or other related word, depends so 
 intimately upon the preceding related 
 expression, that it may be called in 
 some cases an object, or in some 
 others a qualifying w^ord, and joined 
 as such. The word that, in such 
 expressions as / see that you are here, 
 may be considered, either as a con- 
 nective or leading word, making with 
 what follows an indirect object, or as 
 itself an object, the following words 
 being in apposition. In either case it 
 may be joined to the verb or to the 
 following words, as may be more 
 
48 THE PHRASE. 
 
 convenient; or better, between the 
 verb and following words, the whole 
 making one phrase, that is, a govern- 
 ing word joined to the words governed. 
 However this word is treated, it is a 
 striking application of the principle I 
 am endeavoring to expound. 
 
 2. EXPEDIENTS. Sometimes words 
 which belong together in a phrase 
 cannot be joined in practice, because 
 of some peculiarity in their shape, 
 inclination or direction. Such words 
 may, of course, be written separately, 
 but if possible, it is far better, both 
 for speed and for legibility, to join 
 them; and to do so, recourse must be 
 had to expedients, legitimate for this 
 purpose, though otherwise undesirable, 
 and which have no particular connec- 
 tion with the rules. The expedients 
 which pertain to phrase-writing may 
 for the most part be placed in four 
 classes. 
 
THE PHRASE. 41) 
 
 (1). Omission. Any element, circle, 
 loop, stroke, syllable, word, which 
 prevents a good phrase, and which, 
 at the same time, will certainly and 
 readily be supplied in the reading, is 
 omitted for the sake of the phrase. 
 Care must be taken that both the 
 above conditions are met. but partic- 
 ularly the latter. Sometimes a small 
 medial sign is an advantage in join- 
 ing; and generally, other things being 
 equal, the plainer of the two forms 
 should be selected, for legibility must 
 always be kept in view r . On account 
 of their peculiar relation to the sen- 
 tence, this expedient applies partic- 
 ularly to personal pronouns. 
 
 (2). Restoration. Some abbreviated 
 words cannot be joined, or not without 
 difficulty, for reasons similar to those 
 given under omission. Such words 
 may often be joined, or joined more 
 readily, with advantage to speed and 
 7 
 
50 THE PHRASE. 
 
 legibility, by being written more at 
 length, and because such words are 
 sometimes written in full for this 
 purpose, the expedient may be called 
 by the name given above. 
 
 (3). Substitution. For convenience 
 of joining, the downward signs for /, 
 r, sh should sometimes be used for 
 the upward, and vice versa. For the 
 same purpose, the circle with t should 
 be sometimes employed instead of the 
 nt loop at the beginning of words as 
 in stick, stop. So the circle may 
 sometimes be used for the s-stroke. 
 and the brief signs for w and y for 
 the corresponding strokes. In some 
 cases ticks may be used for dots or 
 strokes, and some strokes may occa- 
 sionally be used for the brief signs. 
 The above will serve as samples of 
 this expedient which, if used with 
 judgment, is sometimes very helpful. 
 
 (4). Breaking. Some phrases would 
 
THE PHRASE. 51 
 
 be entirely correct, in fact are required 
 by the rules or allowed by the ex- 
 pedients, and in most ways desirable. 
 But they would be very long, or 
 would contain a succession of repeated 
 or similar letters, and in either case 
 would be somewhat confusing in 
 execution. A longhand writer in 
 writing a very long word, especially 
 if it contain several repeated or 
 similar letters in succession, is often 
 obliged to stop, and note if he has 
 thus far written correctly. In phono- 
 graphic writing such indecision might 
 not endanger legibility, but would be 
 fatal to high speed. In such a case 
 it is better to break the phrase, pre- 
 ferring, if possible, to so arrange the 
 parts that they will balance each 
 other. 
 
 (5). Convenience. Some phrases 
 which have their use cannot be 
 classed under any of the rules, excep- 
 
52 THE PHRASE. 
 
 tions or above-mentioned expedients. 
 They are composed for the most part 
 of small forms, such as ticks, the 
 signs for prepositions, conjunctions, 
 some verbs, and the like, and are 
 joined principally to the preceding 
 word or to each other, more for 
 convenience of writing, and conse- 
 quently of speed, than because they 
 sustain to the joined words, or to 
 each other, such a relation as is 
 required for the best phrases. 
 
 The rules and expedients above 
 mentioned substantially cover the 
 whole art of phrase-writing. They 
 might be multiplied by particularizing 
 more minutely, but I think they can- 
 not well be stated more briefly. The 
 applications cited are intended as 
 illustrations; not, of course, as full 
 exhibits. It would not be possible, 
 nor is it desirable in so compendious 
 a work as this, especially as I hope 
 
THE PHRASE. 53 
 
 it will prove useful to writers in 
 different systems, to specify all the 
 available, or even desirable uses of 
 the rules stated. In fact, a book 
 cannot be made to fill the place of 
 living instruction or of well directed 
 practice. The applications referred to 
 can be made in either of the ways 
 above mentioned, and the more 
 thoroughly the rules are tested and 
 used in these ways, the more clearly, 
 I think, their relation to the principle 
 will be seen. 
 
 4. KINDS OF PHRASES. Perhaps no 
 better classification of phrases can be 
 made than one based upon the above 
 rules and expedients. 
 
 (1). A phrase which involves only 
 one of the rules, that is, a pronominal 
 subject, qualifying word, leading word, 
 or governing word, joined to its com- 
 plement, may be called simple. It 
 would seem hardly necessary to sub- 
 
54 THE PHRASE. 
 
 divide this statement; but it may be 
 done, so as to include under the 
 simple phrase the pronominal, quali- 
 tative, final and objective phrases. 
 
 (2). Phrases formed by single ex- 
 pedients may be called by correspond- 
 ing names. As, phrase of omission. 
 phrase of restoration, phrase of 
 substitution, broken phrase, phrase of 
 convenience. The last, however, as it 
 is generally composed of forms not 
 related, or not so related as to express 
 a complete meaning, is better called 
 a formal phrase. Generally, each of 
 the parts of a broken phrase may be 
 called a formal phrase. 
 
 (3). Usually, a phrase involves more 
 than one of the rules or expedients, 
 and may be called compound. My 
 observation is that the most frequent 
 compound phrase is, a governing word 
 joined to the word governed, with 
 qualifying word or words between. 
 
THE PHRASE. 55 
 
 Aside from this, however, it is often 
 extremely interesting to observe how 
 the rules may be combined. 
 
 A long and careful study of the sub- 
 ject has led me to the opinion that 
 there may be no better way to anah'ze 
 language, than the way provided for. 
 and in fact required by good shorthand 
 phrase-writing ; and that it would be 
 difficult to mention a form of intel- 
 lectual occupation more improving, and 
 at the same time more fascinating. It 
 will be a good da}', should it ever come, 
 when shorthand will be pursued, not 
 only by workers for what it will act- 
 ually do. but by scholars and thinkers 
 as a form of truth, and an effective 
 mental exercise. 
 
IV. LIMITS. 
 
 Practical men occasionally suspect 
 theory; but this suspicion, beyond a 
 certain point, is incorrect. On the 
 other hand, theorists sometimes under- 
 value practice, but without good 
 reason. Neither theory nor practice 
 alone is complete. Theory against 
 practice is one thing; theory with 
 practice, or for the sake of practice, 
 quite another. The mere theorist 
 risks going astray, and the unthinking 
 experimenter wastes time. Neither 
 reaches more than partial success at 
 last. But, other things being equal, 
 the theorist who tests his preliminary 
 reasonings by well-directed experi- 
 ment, or, what is the same thing, 
 
THE PHRASE. 57 
 
 the practitioner who broadens and 
 co-ordinates his experiments by pre- 
 liminary reasonings, comes nearest 
 to mastery. To theorize, strictly 
 speaking, is to see; that is, to see a 
 thing as it should be, and if possible 
 will be. To practice is to do a thing 
 as well as possible under the con- 
 ditions. If the architects of St. Peter's 
 had not seen it as it was to be, living 
 men would not now see it as it is. 
 The old music-masters no doubt lived 
 in a world unknown to common men, 
 and were ravished with conceptions 
 which they could not realize to the 
 world, even in their magnificent com- 
 positions. Pure theory, in fact, is 
 always more or less restricted by the 
 conditions of practice. The principle 
 herein stated as the basis of phrase- 
 writing is, like every other original 
 principle, perfect: but it cannot be 
 perfectly used. 
 
58 THE PHRASE. 
 
 The broken phrase is really an 
 exception, and the formal phrase 
 comes under the law of speed, and 
 not under the law of relation. Both 
 are limits to the phrase-writing theory. 
 There are other ways in which correct 
 phrases are precluded; principally, I 
 suppose, on account of insufficiency 
 in what we may call the material of 
 phonographic expression. On the one 
 hand, we have the refined relations 
 of words, and the more refined rela- 
 tions of the thoughts which the words 
 express; and with these the practical 
 demand of speed. On the other hand, 
 we have a straight line and a curve, 
 modified in a few simple ways, and 
 furnished with a few simple attach- 
 ments; we have also a dot and a 
 dash. Kules and expedients by which 
 to meet such requirements with such 
 means, swiftly enough to follow rapid 
 speech, yet accurately enough to be 
 
THE PHRASE. 59 
 
 absolutely reliable, and legibly enough 
 to be read without mistake, with 
 occasional variations, it is true, but 
 referable as a whole to one governing 
 principle, must be regarded with 
 respect. The authors of many years 
 who, together or in succession, by 
 patient elaboration and with scientific 
 ambition, have rendered possible the 
 achievements of modern shorthand, 
 are worthy of honor as lovers and 
 helpers of mankind. The well in- 
 structed phonographer is surprised, 
 not that the limits are so man}', but 
 that they are so few. The principal 
 limits of phrase-writing may be 
 referred to two points, speed and 
 legibility. 
 
 1. SPEED. Phrase-writing unques- 
 tionably increases speed, as we have 
 seen; but some possible or conceivable 
 phrases, on the contrary, diminish it. 
 A phrase may be correct in theory. 
 
60 THE PHRASE. 
 
 but composed of forms which cannot 
 be joined with convenience. This 
 point of convenience has already been 
 mentioned more than once, but the 
 reason why inconvenience should be 
 avoided has not been directly stated. 
 A man can do so much, no more. 
 Care is one form of personal force, 
 and what force is used in care cannot 
 be used in anything else, and, of 
 course, not in speed. An inconvenient 
 combination, therefore, should be 
 avoided, not so much because it is 
 difficult, as because, on that account, 
 it is also slow. As we have seen, 
 the inconvenience may sometimes be 
 overcome by omission, restoration, 
 substitution, breaking, or by making 
 convenience itself a rule for the time 
 being; but sometimes the words must 
 be written separately. A phrase, 
 besides being correct in theory, may 
 look very compact and brief; but if 
 
THE PHRASE. 61 
 
 inconvenient, it should be discarded. 
 Convenience is one of the cardinal 
 points of phonography. Obtuse an- 
 gles, successions of the same or similar 
 letters, great intricacy and undue 
 length, all require much care, and as 
 far as possible should be avoided. 
 Phrases formed by complex mental 
 processes, on account of their involv- 
 ing many rules, are often useful; but 
 only after having been thoroughly 
 studied and carefully, patiently prac- 
 ticed beforehand. They cannot be 
 advantageously invented at the time 
 of writing. For the most part, good 
 reporting is undoubtedly mechanical; 
 for, quick as a thought-process is, it 
 is not quick enough, especially when 
 involved with clever movements of 
 the hand, to answer the highest 
 phonographic purposes. But the best 
 dexterity is gained only by severe 
 study and practice before and with 
 
62 THE PHRASE. 
 
 much practical experience. 
 
 2. LEGIBILITY, as well as speed, is 
 greatly increased by phrase-writing, 
 but diminished by some possible or 
 conceivable phrases. For example: 
 very rapid writers often make an 
 unnecessary use of special position; 
 for many words are sufficiently dis- 
 tinct without it; although the habit 
 is not absolutely objectionable after 
 it has become well established. But 
 some words need special position for 
 legibility. At the same time, in a 
 phrase, all words except the one or 
 ones which determine the position of 
 the phrase, altogether lose their 
 position by being joined. It is plain, 
 therefore, that while words depending 
 on their position for legibility may 
 often be joined, especially to following 
 words, they should not be joined in 
 such a manner as to obscure their 
 position. 
 
THE PHRASE. G3 
 
 It is quite common in good practice 
 to distinguish two or more similar 
 forms by joining one to preceding 
 words which obscure the position, and 
 disjoining the other or others. Such 
 distinctions are occasionally arbitrary, 
 but not often. It is usually best to 
 join, as above, words which, if alone, 
 would be written in the second position 
 (which may be called the normal 
 place of writing) and to disjoin words 
 which b} r themselves belong in the 
 first or third position. The omission 
 of some words is indicated by joining 
 the remaining words. But this should 
 be done with strict selection, as it 
 would often compromise legibility to 
 use one expedient for too many pur- 
 poses. 
 
 The above and similar suggestions 
 would be somewhat differently applied 
 in different systems; not because they 
 are more or less correct in one system 
 
64 THE PHRASE. 
 
 than in another, but because the 
 systems use phonographic material 
 differently. The whole matter of the 
 limits may be stated in substance as 
 follows: for speed, avoid phrases 
 which are inconvenient; for legibility, 
 avoid phrases which endanger it. 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 1. SHORTHAND SYSTEMS. Any sys- 
 tem of rules and practice is best 
 judged by its harmony with the 
 principles of the subject to which it 
 pertains. Phonography is not, and 
 never can be what any man sees fit 
 to make it. However its usage may 
 lapse and change, its principles are 
 unvarying and universal, and the aim 
 of study and practice should be to 
 interpret them wisely. In a subject 
 larger than can be grasped at once, 
 or by one mind, there is room for 
 honest difference; and we gain nothing 
 by partisanship, since truth must and 
 should win at last. Practically, it is 
 better to follow ojie system than to 
 9 
 
66 THE PHRASE. 
 
 follow several. Any good system 
 (that is, any system) while it possesses 
 elaboration, regularity and unity, 
 differs enough (in order to differ at 
 all) from others, to make the partial 
 use of several somewhat confusing; 
 especially, since the differences must, 
 in the nature of the case, be technical 
 and fine, and such differences are 
 more perplexing than more obvious 
 ones. But man's work is never per- 
 fect; the best system is that which 
 draws nearest to nature, and the 
 subject belongs to us all. Granting 
 the desirableness of having only one 
 shorthand system, we are likely to 
 have only one about as soon as we 
 shall have only one church, only one 
 school of medicine, only one style of 
 steam engine, only one political party. 
 But the desirableness of having only 
 one shorthand system is not as ob- 
 vious as some other things are. Only 
 
THE PHRASE. G7 
 
 the division of labor could do the 
 work of the world. In religion every 
 form of faith and unfaith has its use. 
 And so it is with every important 
 subject of human thought, and every 
 important mode of human action. 
 The only way of separating phonog- 
 raphy from this general law is to 
 show it to be so small that some one 
 mind has entirely mastered it. But, 
 whoever the man may be who has 
 penetrated the subject most deeply, 
 he, I think, is the man least likely to 
 claim that he knows all about it. 
 
 2. SHORTHAND WRITERS. A machine 
 could be built part by part, in imita- 
 tion of a finished copy. But it would 
 be a harder strain upon the skill and 
 patience of the builder, than if the 
 work should begin with the drawing 
 and the pattern, each after-stage 
 being a preparation for the next, and 
 the completed whole a realization of 
 
68 THE PHRASE. 
 
 the first plan. So, shorthand may be 
 written by rote, but not so easily nor 
 so well as by systematic study and 
 technical practice. To use another 
 figure, the phonographer, like the 
 manufacturer or machine user, must 
 decide whether it is not best to pay 
 a reasonable first cost, for the sake 
 of lighter running expense. The mere 
 imitator or unthinking experimenter 
 may finally get on by one shift and 
 another; but he must always work 
 harder than the trained writer, and 
 then stop short of the best results. 
 But, as in a great pipe organ the 
 lowest and heaviest tones do not 
 obscure the highest and most delicate 
 ones, so in the best shorthand, through 
 all the stress of actual performance 
 runs the scholar's finer work; neither 
 obscures, but each perfects the other. 
 3. A SUGGESTION. After a genera- 
 tion of authorship, succeeding many 
 
THE PHRASE. 69 
 
 generations of experiment and evolu- 
 tion from an obscure past, the short- 
 hand writers of English speaking 
 nations mainly use a few systems, all 
 of which are constructed on one 
 general basis. This fact seems to 
 indicate that the best phonographic 
 progress hereafter will lie, not in 
 novelty, and crude, disconnected ex- 
 periments, but in the conservation 
 and mastery of what we have; and 
 that it is now our privilege and duty 
 to pursue the art to its original prin- 
 ciples, to study more profoundly, to 
 generalize more broadly, to investi- 
 gate in the large sense, and to help 
 each other. 
 
 THE END. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 NOTE: Figures refer to pages. Of the letters in con- 
 nection, a refers to the upper half of a page, 6 to the 
 lower. 
 
 ERRATA : The division Kinds of Phrases was accident- 
 ally numbered 4 in the text, page 53b, but correctly 
 numbered 3 in the Analysis. The division Phrase of 
 Breaking (broken) should have been placed in the Anal- 
 ysis, and will be found in the Index. 
 
 principle, 26a; rule, 28a; sub- 
 ject. 33b. 
 DRAWBACK, 22b. 
 
 E. 
 
 EXCEPTION', distinguished 
 from rule,29b,30a; reason of, 
 28b ; use of, 29b. 
 EXPEDIENT, nature of, 30a; 
 use of. 30b. (See Rule). 
 EXPEDIENTS, 48a; examples, 
 49-52a. (See Omission, Restora- 
 tion, Substitution, Breaking, 
 Convenience). 
 
 EXPENSE, (See Running Ex- 
 nense). 
 
 EXPERIENCE, as a teacher. 
 24a ; necessity of, 23b. (See 
 Habit). 
 
 F. 
 
 FINAL PHRASE, 54a. 
 FIRST COST, 68a. 
 FORMAL PHRASE, 54b, 58a. 
 
 G. 
 
 GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 27a. 
 GOVERNING WORD joined, 
 4ob; examples. 46-48a. 
 
 H. 
 
 HABIT, correct, how estab- 
 lished, 24b; importance of, 
 
 A. 
 
 ABBREVIATION, safer in long 
 forms, 18b; in phrases. 19a. 
 ADVANTAGES, 15b. 
 APPLICATION, 3-2a. 
 ART, denned, 13b; where it 
 begins in rhetoric and mu- 
 sic, lOb; in shorthand, 13b, 
 15a. 
 
 AUTHORS, shorthand, re- 
 sponsibility ot, 23a; scien- 
 tific, 59a. 
 
 B. 
 
 BOOKS, rs.living instruction, 
 53a. 
 
 BREAKING, expedient of, 50b. 
 BROKEN PHRASE, 54a; really 
 an exception, 58a. 
 
 C. 
 
 CAUTION, 21a. 
 COMPOUND PHRASE, 54b. 
 CONCLUSION, 65a, 
 CONVENIENCE, expedient of, 
 51b; importance of, 60a; 
 phrase of, 54a. 
 COST. (See First Cost). 
 
 D. 
 
 DEFINITIONS, expedient, 30a ; 
 phrase, lib; predicate, 33b; 
 
INDEX. 
 
 71 
 
 24b. (See Experience). 
 
 INC< (NVEMENCE, examples 
 
 of. 61a; why to be avoided il 
 
 possible, tiOb. 
 
 IXSTHI -(HON. (See Books vs. 
 
 Liriity Instruction). 
 
 INSUFFICIENCY of shorthand 
 
 material. 58a. 
 
 INTREPIDITY. (See Tact and 
 
 Intrepidity). 
 
 INTRODUCTORY, o. 
 
 L. 
 
 LARGE NOTES. (See Small 
 Ifotes). 
 
 LEADING WORD joined. 43a; 
 examples, 43a-4o. 
 LEGIBILITY, and position, 
 63a; as related to speed. 15b; 
 degrees of. 16b; diminished 
 by some phrases. 21a, 62a; 
 importance ot, 17a; in re- 
 porting notes, Kib ; increased 
 by better penmanship. 20a; 
 by joining related words, 
 20b; by phrasing, 19a; re- 
 quirement of variable, 16b. 
 LIMITS. 56a; comparatively 
 few, 59b. 
 
 M. 
 
 MACHINE BUILDING. 67b. 
 Mrsic, art point, lOb. 
 Mrsic MASTERS, old, 57b. 
 MUSICAL I'HUASK, lOb. 
 
 N. 
 NOTES. (See Small Notes). 
 
 O, 
 
 OIUECTIVE PHRASE, 54a. 
 OMISSION, expedient of, 49a; 
 
 8 h rase of, 54a. 
 RGAN. (See Pipe Organ). 
 
 P. 
 
 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE, 
 34b. 
 
 PARTISANSHIP, nothing gain- 
 ed by, 65b. 
 
 PEN-LIFTINGS, time required 
 for, 18a; diminished by 
 phrase-writing, 17b. 
 PENMANSHIP, good, favor- 
 able to legibility, 20a; im- 
 
 proved by phrase-writing, 
 20a ; prejudiced by hurry ,1'Jb- 
 PHONOGRAFHY. (See short. 
 
 hand, passim). 
 
 I'IIKASE, the, allows freer 
 abbreviation, 19a; art point, 
 3!b ; based in part on rela- 
 tion. 13a; broken, 54a; com- 
 pound, 54b; final, 54a; form- 
 al, .">4b: musical, lOb ; object- 
 ive, 54a; of convenience. 
 54a; of omission, 54a; of 
 restoration, 54a ; of substitu- 
 tion, 54a; pronominal, 54a; 
 qualitative, 54u ; represents 
 completeness. 13b; requires 
 fewer pen-liftings. 17b; rhet- 
 orical. 9b: shorthand, lib; 
 simple, 53b; valuable in pro- 
 portion as it is mastered, 
 23b. 
 
 PHRASES, best, 13a; complex, 
 61a; kinds of, 53b. 
 PIPE ORGAN, 68b. 
 POSITION, 62a. 
 
 PRACTICK. (See Study and 
 Practice ', also Theory and 
 Practice). 
 
 PREDICATE, complete. 38b ; 
 defined, 33b; not joined to 
 its subject, 38b. 
 PRINCIPLE, defined, 26a; 
 distinguished from rule. 27- 
 29; relation of to rule, 28a; 
 the, 31a. 
 
 I'RONOMINAL PHRASE, 54a. 
 PUBLISHERS, shorthand, re- 
 sponsibility of, 23a. 
 
 Q- 
 
 QUALIFICATION, necessity of, 
 22-23. 
 
 QUALIFYING WORD joined, 
 40b; examples, 41-42. 
 QUALITATIVE PHRASE, 54a. 
 
 K. 
 
 REPORTING, mechanical. 61b ; 
 notes, legibility in, 16b; 
 speed, 16a, 20a. 
 RESTORATION, expedient of, 
 49b ; phrase of, 54a. 
 RHETORIC, art point, lOb. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 RHETORICAL PHRASE. 9b. 
 RULE, defined, 28a; distin- 
 guished from principle, 27 
 29; relation of to principle, 
 28a; use of, 28a, 30a. (See Ex- 
 pedient). 
 
 RULES, 32b. (See Pronominal 
 Subject, Qualifying Word, 
 Leading Word, Governing 
 Word; also Rules and Ex- 
 pedients). 
 
 RULES AND EXPEDIENTS, ef- 
 fective, 58b. 
 RUNNING EXPENSE, 68a. 
 
 S. 
 
 SCHOLAR, phonographic, the 
 work of, 68b. 
 
 SELF-POSSESSION, necessity 
 of. 22a. 
 
 SHORTHAND, ail point. 13b, 
 loa: as a form of truth, 55b; 
 as a mental exercise, 55b; as 
 a mode of analyzing lan- 
 guage, 55a; authors, 23a, 59a; 
 founded on principles, 65b; 
 insufficiency of material, 
 58a; progress of, 69a: pub- 
 lishers, 23a; standard of pro- 
 ficiency in, 24b; systems, 65a, 
 66b; teachers. 23a: uses of, 
 16a; writers, 67b. 69b. 
 SIMPLE PHRASE, 53b. 
 SMALL NOTES advantageous, 
 21b. 
 
 SPEED, as related to legibil- 
 ity, lob: diminished by some 
 phrases, 59b: increased by 
 fewer pen-liftings, 17b; by 
 freer abbreviation, 19a; by 
 
 phrase- writing. 17a: must 
 be high in reporting, 16a, 
 20a; requirement of vari- 
 able, 15b. 
 ST. PETER'S, 57a. 
 STATEMENT. 9. 
 
 STUDY AND PRACTICE, dis- 
 tinguished from work, 23b: 
 importance of, 61b. 
 SUBJECT, complete. 33b. 35b, 
 37b; defined. 33b; not joined 
 to its predicate, 38a; pro- 
 nominal joined, 40a; repeat- 
 ed, case of, 3Sa. 
 SUBSTITUTION, expedient of, 
 50a; phrase of, 54a. 
 SUGGESTION. 681 >. 
 SYSTEMS, shorthand, prac- 
 tically better to use one, 65b; 
 quality, 65a, 66b. 
 
 T. 
 
 TACT AND INTREPIDITY in 
 the reporter. 24a. 
 TEACHERS, shorthand, re- 
 sponsibility of, 23a. 
 TEACHING, where it stops, 
 24a. 
 
 THEORY, 57a. (See Theory 
 and Practice). 
 THEORY AND PRACTICE, 56-57. 
 
 U. 
 UNIFORMITY, 66b. 
 
 W. 
 
 WORK. (See Study and Prac- 
 tice). 
 
 WRITERS, shorthand, com- 
 pared, 67b; privilege and 
 duty of, 69b. 
 
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