ather in a tube from which the air has been exhausted, they will be
found to fall equally fast," his example would be a fair one, as the
two objects differ in no manner essential to the experiment from "all
bodies."
Here should be included anecdotes used as illustrations. They are of
value if they are of the same type as the general class they are
intended to explain. They may be of little value, however. It could
safely be said that half the stories told in campaign speeches are not
instances in point at all, but are told only to amuse and deceive.
Specific instances must be chosen with care if they are to serve a
useful purpose in exposition.
This example is from Newman:--
"To know is one thing, to do is another; the two things are
altogether distinct. A man knows that he should get up in
the morning,--he lies abed; he knows that he should not lose
his temper, yet he cannot keep it. A laboring man knows that
he should not go to the ale-house, and his wife knows that
she should not filch when she goes out charing, but,
nevertheless, in these cases, the consciousness of a duty is
not all one with the performance of it. There are, then,
large families of instances, to say the least, in which men
may become wiser, without becoming better."[17]
Fifth, by Comparisons.
Last, _a thing may be explained by telling what it is like, or what it
is not like._ This method of comparison is very frequently employed.
To liken a thing to something already known is a vivid way of
explaining. Moreover in many cases it is easier than the method of
repetition or that of details. By this method Macaulay explains his
proposition that "it is the character of such revolutions that we
always see the worst of them first." He says:--
"A newly liberated people may be compared to a northern army
encamped on the Rhine or the Xeres. It is said that when
soldiers in such a situation first find themselves able to
indulge without restraint in such a rare and expensive
luxury, nothing is to be seen but intoxication. Soon,
however, plenty teaches discretion, and, after wine has been
for a few months their daily fare, they become more
temperate than they had ever been in their own country. In
the same manner, the final and permanent fruits of liberty
are wisdom, moderation, and mercy. Its immediate effects are
often atrocious crimes, con
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