Benjamin Drew

“ When two clauses not closely dependent on each other, are connected by but, for, and, or some similar connective, they are separated by a semicolon.
I will not be revenged, and this I owe to my enemy; but I will remember, and this I owe to myself.
A wise minister would rather preserve peace than gain a victory; because he knows that even the most successful war leaves nations generally more poor, always more profligate, than it found them. ”

“ But, whatever may be said to the contrary, there are weighty, and, we think, irrefutable arguments for continuing the use of Latin and Greek terms in medical writings,—even in recipes. Since it should be so, and certainly is so, we insist here, as elsewhere, that all technical terms, proper names, or any words on which the context can throw but little, if any, light, should be written not with ordinary, but with cardinary care,—which new word we hazard, that our meaning may make a deeper impression. ”

“ If the style require a comma before leaders, see that none have been left out; if the style reject a comma, see that none have been left in; in short, see to everything,—and then, on the corner of the sheet, write the word “Press” as boldly as you can, but with the moral certainty that some skulking blunder of author, compositor, or corrector has eluded all your watchfulness.
5 In the Government Printing Office the style omits the “$” in this case,—the sign at top of table or page being considered sufficient.
The errors made by ourselves are those which occasion us the most pain. ”

“ If one writes plough, and another plow, what matters it, so far as your proof-reading is concerned? If one writes “15th June,” and another “June 15” or “June 15th,” so let it stand on the printed page. It is idle to waste time in making things alike, that could not by any possibility have been written alike. But you can make each letter consistent with itself, which is all that uniformity requires. You need not stretch one man out, and cut off the feet of another, to justify all authors in your composing-stick. ”

“ He alone has the right to change the words and their collocation; and, if fairly punctuated, the manuscript should be closely followed, word for word, and point for point.
Every person who writes for the press should punctuate his work presentably; but—since the majority of writers are inattentive to punctuation—custom and convenience, if not necessity, have thrown upon the compositor and proof-reader the task of inserting in their proper places the grammatical points, and such other points and marks as shall assist a reader in obtaining a ready apprehension of the author’s meaning. ”

“ But, leaving “style” out of the question, a proof-reader should endeavor to have a reason for every omission he allows, and for every insertion he makes. We advise him, then, in the first place to note which method seems required by the golden rule of elucidating the meaning; then consider, further, if the sentence already contains commas, whether inserting more would offend the eye. Let him decide each case on its own merits; leaning, when in doubt, in favor of such grammatical rule as he may have adopted. But use judgment; for the most precise grammarians lay down pages of exceptions ”

“ Correlative terms, or expressions having a reciprocal relation, are separated by a comma.
The farther we look back into those distant periods, all the objects seem to become more obscure.
The more a man has, the more he wants.
As he that knows how to put proper words in proper places evinces the truest knowledge of books, so he that knows how to put fit persons in fit stations evinces the truest knowledge of men.
It is not so difficult a task to plant new truths, as to root out old errors. ”

“ But when lines stand as near each other as in ordinary ruling, the flourish in one line interferes with the letters of the next; and the elegance of a well-cut capital will scarcely excuse its obtrusiveness, when it obliterates its more obscure but equally useful neighbors. ”

“ As “man measures man the world over,” so it may be presumed that the experience of a laborer in any one department of literature will, in the general, tally with that of all others occupying a similar position. This volume gives the results of a proof-reader’s experience, and such suggestions derived therefrom as may, he hopes, be useful to all who prepare reading-matter for the press, to all who assist in printing and publishing it, and, finally, to the reading public. ”

“ Each office makes its own style.
The word “city” in “Junction City” is put up,—the two words forming the city’s name. Whether to print “New York City” or “New York city” is a moot point,—at present a matter of style. Some insist that as ocean, sea, city, street, etc., are common nouns, they so remain when connected with a proper adjective, and should be put down,—and from this starting-point they have endeavored to frame a general, and at the same time practical, rule for cap­i­tal­iz­ing common nouns, which, when described by proper adjectives, form parts of individual names. ”

“ You may mark as you please, but don’t violate the commands of Style. I may seem to disappear for a time, when there is a great rush of work, and you may perhaps bring yourself to believe that Style is dead. But do not deceive yourself,—Style never dies. ”

“ Greek words sometimes appear in copy, and are somewhat vexatious to printers who never had the good fortune to study Greek at school—or elsewhere. In a proof-sheet, we once met a word whose etymology was given thus in the copy: “From Ἕλιος the sun, and φιλος a lover” (the epsilon was the author’s mistake) . The compositor, not aware of a Greek alphabet, set up the passage in those English letters which most nearly resemble the Hellenic characters, and it appeared in this guise: “From Ediog the sun, and pidog a lover.” ”

“ Many words and phrases are hesitating whether to remain foreigners, or to become naturalized. They have “taken out their first papers,” as it were, having at times appeared in English garb.
It would be vastly convenient for every compositor and proof-reader (every author, of course, reads proof) to have at hand two lists of such Latin and foreign words as most frequently occur in books, magazines, and newspapers,—the one containing the words to be set up in italics, the other, words to “go in roman,” as the phrase is. ”

“ While one is imitating a copy, he may, indeed, write legibly, nay, even elegantly; for he has nothing to attend to, save the formation of the letters. But when one is writing a report or a sermon or a poem, his mind is busy with something besides chirography.
The fact is, that men seldom succeed well in doing more than one thing at a time. The itinerant musician who imitates the various instruments of a full band, may be detected in an occasional discord. ”

“ The proof-reader is, however, or should be, perfectly callous to all captious criticisms and foolish comments; he need care nothing for “harshness” or other nonsense, provided his work is well and thoroughly done. Let no nervous or touchy man meddle with proof-reading.
For the especial benefit of our non-professional readers, we will here point out the usual routine in regard to proofs. The editor or publisher of a book or periodical sends to the printer such portions of reading-matter or manuscript as he can, from time to time, conveniently supply. ”

“ Close attention should be given to this process of “revising”; it is not enough to see that a wrong letter has been taken out, and a right one put in; in the line where a change has been made, all the words should be compared, and also the line above and the line below a correction,—since in correcting an error among movable types, some of the types may move when they ought not, and get misplaced.
As what escapes the notice of one observer may be perceived by another, this second proof is again “read by copy” by another proof-reader and assistant, and a second time corrected and revised. ”

“ If proof-sheets present peculiarities of spelling and language, such for instance as appear in ancient works, and which are affected or indulged in by some moderns, every word whose correctness he doubts and is unable to verify, should be referred by the proof-reader to author or editor. ”

“ But in a Country like ours, where new Towns and Cities are daily springing into Existence, daily Newspapers springing up with them, it often happens that Boys and young Men who have had but scanty Schooling are taken as Apprentices to learn the Art of Arts. Many of these become rapid and corre Compositors, and in Process of Time drift to Cities where are Printing-offices with more Varieties of Type than the new Comers have been accustomed to,—among the rest, Old Style, both in its ancient and modernized Forms ”

“ A good compositor studies to avoid divisions. Some printers, rather than divide a word, will justify a line by separating the words with two three‐em spaces. But no arbitrary rule can be laid down in this regard. A well‐spaced page with several divided words looks much better than a page unevenly spaced in which no divisions occur. The number of hyphens occurring in succession at the end of the lines on any page, should never exceed three.
In manuscript the dash occurs more frequently than any other mark of punctuation, many writers {p90} using it as a substitute for every other point. ”

“ If you afterward regret the cancellation, you may write “stet” in the margin, and place dots under the canceled words; but as “stet” may not be noticed, in the presence of obvious erasures, the better way will be to re-write the passage, and paste it in the place you wish it to occupy.
Take time to write plainly and legibly. In writing for the press, the old adage holds good,—“The more haste, the worse speed”; and for every hour you save by writing hurriedly, you will be called upon to pay for several hours’ labor in making corrections. ”

“ Every year that is added to the age of the world, serves to lengthen the thread of its history.
He that gives a portion of his time and talent to the investigation of mathematical truth, will come to all other questions with a decided advantage over his opponents.
In the following sentence, a comma after “them” might not be improper (for we once heard a reader place a pause after “attacked”) ,—but we shall not attack one of General Sherman’s sentences, lest we “get the worst of it.” ”

“ But the detection and marking of wrong letters forms a comparatively small part of a proof-reader’s duty. He must be able to tell at sight whether a lead is too thick or too thin, and to discriminate between a three-em space and a four-em space. Many other important matters fall within his province,—and these we shall endeavor to point out before closing the present chapter.
Other things being equal, printers make the best proof-readers. We have known two or three remarkably skillful readers, whose work could not be surpassed, who never imposed a form, nor set a line of type. ”

“ It is very easy to say that errors of the kind we have recited, are owing to the ignorance or carelessness of the printers; but, on the other hand, when printed copy is reset, such errors almost never occur,—and the absence of errors is in direct ratio to the legibility of the copy.
Men who write much, generally imagine that they write well; but their imagination is often a vain one. ”

“ The hyphen is used to connect the parts of a compound word; to show the divisions of words into syllables; it is placed at the end of a line when a word is not finished; and it is sometimes placed between vowels, to show that they belong to different syllables (as “co-ordinate”) . In regard to its use in compound words great diversity exists; and the proof-reader can have, as we believe, no fixed system which will apply to all varieties of work. In specifications for bridges, buildings, etc., the better way is to avoid compounding ”

“ Nearly all manuscript copy is indebted to the compositor and proof-reader for the proper punctuation; and many errors in spelling, made by men who probably know better, but write hastily, are silently corrected in the printing-office. Contradictions, errors of fact, anachronisms, imperfect sentences, solecisms, barbarisms, are modestly pointed out to the author by the proof-reader’s “quære,” or by a carefully worded suggestion; and, most usually, the proof is returned without comment,—and none is needed,—corrected according to the proof-reader’s intimations. ”

“ Other things being equal however, he who has paid most attention to rule will punctuate with the nearest approximation to correctness. With a clear understanding of an author’s meaning, the compositor seldom need go far astray; and if, having done his best, he finds any passage hopelessly involved, or the meaning too subtile to be grasped, he has one safe resource,—and that is, to FOLLOW THE COPY closely and mechanically. ”

“ Suppose half-a-dozen works going through the press at the same time, embracing three styles of orthography, and four or five styles in cap­i­tal­i­za­tion; one style which requires turned commas at the beginning only, of a quotation, and one which requires them at the beginning of every line of an extract,—you see at once that a proof-reader, so beset, must needs have his wits about him. ”

“ But the weight of authority is against separating the last noun or pronoun of such compound subject from the verb when the conjunction is used. The last quotation, above given, should read, “he, she, or they shall forfeit,” etc.
23. A comma should be placed before or after a word or phrase, to associate it with the group to which it belongs, if, without the comma, the sentence would be equivocal; and generally, a comma may be inserted wherever its use will prevent ambiguity.
This man, only cared to lay up money.
This man only, cared to lay up money.
Whoever lives opprobriously, must perish. ”

“ As no acknowledged literary Dictator has arisen since Johnson (if we except Webster) , and as we have no good grounds to expect one, let us hope there may be a convention of the learned men of the United States, with full powers to legislate upon, and {p65} finally settle, all questions of syntax, orthography, punctuation, and style, and authorized to punish literary dissenters, by banishment from the Republic of Letters. ”

“ Of the terms in apposition, one is the subject, and the other the predicate, of to be, understood (“They made him to be their ruler”) . The rule might, therefore, be worded thus: When, of two terms in apposition, one is predicated of the other, no comma is required.
25. In a compound sentence, the comma is often inserted where a verb is omitted.
In literature, our taste will be discovered by that which we give; our judgment, by that which we withhold.
Wit consists in finding out resemblances; judgment, in discerning differences. {p110}
In the pursuit of intellectual pleasure lies every virtue ”

“ One reader abandoned writing these words, for two reasons: the first, that a compositor, when correcting, inserted them in the text, making an astonishing sentence; the second, that the marked passage,—a piece of close, logical reasoning,—after being carefully scanned by the author, was brought to the reader, with a very earnest request that he would {p43} point out what justice there was in that bluff remark. It is enough to draw what beginners in writing call “straight marks” across the matter, and also in the margin. ”