nk of this measure;" and nobody accuses the writer of presumption.
We might even pass over the following startling sentence without
observing the reflection which it casts on a respectable body of men:

Hence he considered marriage with a modern political
economist as dangerous.

But when we read that "the State may impose restrictions on the
mothers of young children employed in factories," we may well have
some doubt whether it is the mothers or the children who are employed
in factories. And it would not be easy to give an answer, if we were
asked to state the precise meaning of Gray's line:

And all the air a solemn stillness holds.

In longer and more involved sentences the risk of ambiguity is obviously
much greater. Now by the judicious use of points ambiguous language can
occasionally be made clear. "The mothers-of-young-children employed in
factories" is no doubt a bold form, but it leaves us in no doubt as to
the meaning. So the ambiguous word "too" does not embarrass us when we
read: "This problem, too, easy as it may seem, remains unsolved." (See
other examples under Rules XIV. and XV.) Only occasionally, however,
can clearness be secured by punctuation. No pointing can help us much in
Gray's line, or could have given to Pyrrhus the true reading of "Credo
te AEacida Romanos vincere posse." And, even where it would make the
meaning clear, it is a lazy device, the over-use of which is the sure
sign of careless or unskilful composition. The true remedy for ambiguity
is not punctuation, but re-writing.

Punctuation, it is sometimes said, serves to mark the pauses that
would be made in speaking. This is so far true; for by the pause we
arrange our spoken words into proper groups, thereby enabling our
hearers readily to seize the meaning. But between the punctuation of
the pen and that of the voice there is a great difference in degree.
By the voice we can express the most delicate shades of thought, while
only in the roughest way can the comma, the semicolon, and the other
points, imitate its effects. As to how far the attempt at imitation
should be carried, every writer will have to use his own discretion;
but, whether we point freely or sparingly, we must for the reader's
sake point consistently. It should at the same time be borne in mind
that the lavish use of points often leads to confusion.

_General Rules._--Keeping in view the use of punctuation, we can now
form two general rules to gu