PROPRIETY

_Propriety_ of style consists in using words in their proper sense and as
in the case of purity, good usage is the principal test. Many words have
acquired in actual use a meaning very different from what they once
possessed. "Prevent" formerly meant to go before, and that meaning is
implied in its Latin derivation. Now it means to put a stop to, to
hinder. To attain propriety of style it is necessary to avoid confounding
words derived from the same root; as _respectfully_ and _respectively_;
it is necessary to use words in their accepted sense or the sense which
everyday use sanctions.


SIMPLICITY

_Simplicity_ of style has reference to the choice of simple words and
their unaffected presentation. Simple words should always be used in
preference to compound, and complicated ones when they express the same
or almost the same meaning. The Anglo-Saxon element in our language
comprises the simple words which express the relations of everyday life,
strong, terse, vigorous, the language of the fireside, street, market and
farm. It is this style which characterizes the Bible and many of the
great English classics such as the "Pilgrim's Progress," "Robinson
Crusoe," and "Gulliver's Travels."


CLEARNESS

_Clearness_ of style should be one of the leading considerations with the
beginner in composition. He must avoid all obscurity and ambiguous