Paraphrasing

PARAPHRASING

The word "paraphrase" (from the Greek, meaning literally "equivalent sentence") is defined as "'restatement of the sense of a passage in other words." It is "the reproduction in one's own natural idiom or style of the full sense of a passage written in another idiom or style."

I. USES OF PARAPHRASING

Someone has said, with a sneer, that paraphrase "usually takes the form of converting good English into bad." But this need not be so; and if in any case it is so, then the paraphrase in question is a bad paraphrase. It should be the aim of the pupil to improve his English by the practice of paraphrasing, and of the teacher to see that the English in which his pupil's paraphrases are written in good English.

Paraphrasing has two important uses :-

As an Exercise in Composition, (i) It is, first, a good test of a pupil's ability to understand what he reads; and is, therefore, an excellent method of training the mind to concentrate on what one reads and so to read intelligently. For it is impossible to paraphrase any passage without a firm grasp of its meaning.

It is, secondly, a fine training in the art of expressing, what one wants to say, simply, clearly and directly. Incidentally, it gives valuable practice in grammatical and idiomatic composition.

A man who has once acquired the art of intelligent reading and of lucid expression, has received no mean measure of education.

(b) A second use of paraphrase is that it forms a valuable method

of explanation. Indeed, it is often the best way of explaining an involved or ornate passage of prose or of an obscure piece of poetry. So annotators of poems often make use of it. For example, take the note in Palgrave's "Golden Treasury" (Oxford University Press) on this verse from Browning's "Rabbi Ben Ezra" :-

Enough now, if the Right

And Good and Infinite

Be named here, as thou callest thy hand thine own.

With knowledge absolute,

Subject to no dispute.

From fools that crowded youth, nor let these feel alone.

Note :- "It is enough if in age we can get as absolute a knowledge of Right and Wrong, Good and Evil, the Changing and the Eternal, as we have of our own hands."

II. CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD PARAPHRASE

Translation :- Paraphrasing is really a species of translation; for though a paraphrase is not a translation from one tongue into another (as from Urdu or Tamil into English), it is a translation of one man's words into the words of another in the same language. And as a translation must be accurate and explanatory to be of any value, so a paraphrase must faithfully reproduce and interpret the thought of the original passage.

A passage written in a very terse or compressed style has to be expanded in translation.

For instance, this saying from Bacon's

"Essays.":-

Prosperity doth best discover vice, but Adversity doth best discover virtue.

Paraphrase:- When a man is prosperous, there is more chance of his bad qualities coming to light; but when he is unfortunate or in trouble, his good qualities are more likely to show themselves.

A verbose passage needs compression in translation. Here is a humorous illustration given by Ruskin in a lecture at Oxford. He said that, whereas in his youth he might have informed a man that his house was on fire in the following way-"Sir, the abode in which you probably passed the delightful days of your youth is in danger of inflammation," then, being older and wiser, he would say simply, "Sir, your house is on fire."

In the following passage by Sydney Smith, the long words and humorously ornate sytle need translating into simple language :-

Whoever had the good fortune to see Dr. Parr's wig, must have observed that, while it trespasses a little on the orthodox magnitude of perukes in the anterior parts, it scorns even episcopal limits behind, and swells out into a boundless convexity of frizz.

Paraphrase :- All who have seen Dr. Parr's wig must have been struck with its enormous size. Even in front it is larger than the usual style of wig; but behind it is fuller even than the wigs worn by bishops, and swells out into a gigantic round of curls.

2. Fullness :- Paraphrasing differs from somerrising or précis -

writing, inasmuch as a paraphrase must reproduce, not only the substance or general meaning, but also the details, of a passage. Nothing in the original may be left unrepresented in the paraphrase. It is, therefore, a full reproduction. The difference between a summary and a paraphrase may be illustrated by giving both of the following verse :-

The glories of our blood and state

Are shadows, not substantial things :

There is no armour against fate;

Death lays his icy hand on kings;

Sceptre and Crown

Must tumble down.

And in the dust be equal made

With the poor crooked scythe and spade. .

Summary :- High birth and rank arc nothing; for in death, which claims all, peasants are equal with kings.

Paraphrase :- Nobility of birth and exalted rank, of which men so proudly boast, are mere illusions and quickly pass away. They cannot protect their proud possessors from the common fale of all mankind - death. Even kings, like the meanest of their subjects, must die; and in the grave the poor peasant is equal with the haughty monarch.

While nothing in the original is to be unrepresented in the paraphrase, nothing is to be added to it. To insert ideas or illustrations of your own is not allowed. The paraphrase must be "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

There is no rule for the length of a paraphrase as compared with the length of the original passage; but, as in paraphrasing we have frequently to expand concise sentences to make their meaning clear, a paraphrase is usually as long as, and is often longer than, the original. In the above example, for instance, the verse has 45 words, the summary 17 but the paraphrase has 56.

Wholeness :- In paraphrasing, the passage to be paraphrased must be treated as a whole. The practice of taking the original line by line, or sentence by sentence, and simply turning these into different words is not paraphrasing at all. Until the pasage is grasped as a whole, no attempt should be made to paraphrase it. What we have to try to do is to get behind the words to the idea in the author's mind which begot them. This is not an easy task, and calls for imagination and concentration of thought; but unless we can do it, we shall never produce a good paraphrase.

Suppose, for example, you are asked to paraphrase this sonnet:

Much have I travelled in the realms of gold,

And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;

Round many western islands have I been

Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.

Oft of one wide expanse had 1 been told

That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne;

Yet did I never breathe its pure serene

Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold;

Then felt I like some watcher of the skies When a new planet swims into his ken; Or like stout Cortez, when with eagle eyes He stared at the Pacific-and all his men Looked at each other with a wild surmise-

Silent, upon a peak in Darien.

- J. Keats

The mechanical line by line method of paraphrasing is of no use here. Before any satisfactory paraphrase can be produced the central meaning of the whole must be grasped. What is it? Well, it may be expressed thus :

Keats had read widely in English literature, especially poetry, but he knew nothing of the poetic literature of ancient Greece until he read Chapman's translation of Homer's Illiad. This was a revelation to him; and as he read, he felt all the wonder and joy felt by an astronomer when he discovers a new star, or an explorer when he discovers an unknown ocean.

A Complete Piece of Prose :- Lastly, a good paraphrase is so well constructed and written that it will read as an independent and complete composition in idiomatic English. It should in itself be perfectly clear and intelligible, without any reference to the original passage. A paraphrase should be a piece of good prose that anyone would understand and read with pleasure, even if he had never seen the original upon which it is based.

(Note :- Explanatory notes, either attached to, or inserted in the body of, the paraphrase, must never be resorted to. All the explanation required must be in the paraphrase itself. The insertion of explanatory notes is a confession of failure in paraphrasing).

To be successful in paraphrasing, it is necesary to keep these four points always in mind; for, if they are forgotten, the mere changing of the words and constructions of a passage will never make a real paraphrase. If your paraphrase is not a faithful translation of the original passage into your own words; if it does not reproduce all the details, omitting nothing if it does not reproduce the passage as a whole; and if it is not a self-contained composition, intelligible without reference to the original - then, your paraphrase is a failure.

III. THE PARAPHRASE OF POETRY

These are some special points in the paraphrasing of poetry that may be explained separately.

One thing must be made clear to start with and that is that, as poetry in one language can never be translated into another without loosing much, if not all, of its charm, so poetry can never be translated.

into prose. It is impossible to give in prose the same impression as is conveyed by a poem. The reason for 'his is that the matter and the form, the spirit and the letter, the soul ad the body, of a poem are so inextricably intermingled that you cannot change the form without losing the spirit - that is, the poetry itself. The rhythm and the verbal music in which lies much of the magic of poetry, must be lost. Even the finest prose paraphrase of a poem is not, and can never be, a poem. All that a paraphrase can convey is the meaning of a poem. Nevertheless, the paraphrasing of poetry is a useful exercise in composition, and may often be a valuable help in interpreting the meaning of poems.

The peculiar difficulty of paraphrasing poetry lies in the difference between the language of verse and prose.

Difference in words - Poets often use archaic or unusual words that are no longer in use in colloquial speech, and which are not generally found in prose writing. Examples :-brand, for sword; carol, for song; a cot, for a cottage; argosy, for merchantship; ere, for before; o'er, for over; of yore, for in the past; I ween, for I think; oft-times, for often; I trow, for I am of opinion; aught, for anything; anent, for about; chide, for scold; save, for except; forefathers, for ancestors; perchance, belike and haply, for perhaps; albeit, for although; damsel, for girl; dame, for lady; sire, for father; quoth, for said; withal, in addition; to boot, as well; well-nigh, almost - and many more. Modern poets generally avoid such words, but they are frequent in older poetry. In paraphrasing, modern equivalents should always be substituted for such words.

Difference in the order of words - Inversion, i.e., any change in the normal grammatical order of words in a sentence - subject, verb, object - is much more common in poetry than in prose. For example :-

"Mine be a cot beside a hill;"

instead of, - May a Cot beside a hill be mine. "A barking sound the shepherd hears;" instead of, - The shepherd hears a barking sound. "Not, Celia, that I jester am

Or better than the rest;" instead of, - Not that I am jester, etc.

[Note-This getting rid of inversion is the chief thing we have to do in giving the prose order of a verse. In "prose order" exercises we retain all the words of the original, simply rearranging them in the usual grammatical sequence. Words may be added here and there to complete the grammatical construction where necessary. These should be put in brackets. Of course this is not paraphrasing. For example, take this verse :-"On Linden, when the sun was low,

And dark as winter was the flow Of Iser, rolling rapidly."

There is an inversion in *lach sentence. Change these, and the prose order will be :-The untrodden snow lay all bloodless on Linden when the sun was low, and the flow of (the) rapidly rolling Iser was (as) dark as winter.]

Flowery and ornamental language. Such language, frequent in verse, should be simplified in prose. For example :-

"Now the golden morn aloft Waves her dew-bespangled wing, With vermile cheek and whisper soft She woos the tardy Spring."

Rhythm and Rhyme, so characteristic of verse, have no place in prose, and must be avoided in paraphrasing.

IV. SPECIAL HINTS

Direct and Indirect Speech - A paraphrase may be written in either; but (unless indirect speech is definitely required), it is better to use direct speech, for indirect speech, (especially for Indian students writing in English) is full of traps for the unwary.

Metaphors - The best way to deal with metaphors, is to resolve them into similes. For example-

"Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of Heaven, Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels."

This might be paraphrased thus-

The stars came out one by one silently in the vast sky, like forget-me-nots flowering in the fields.

In some cases the metaphor may be dropped altogether, and the literal meaning given instead. For instance, the first line of Keats' sonnet (see above, p. 461), "Much have I travelled in the realms of gold" may be rendered, - I have read widely in classical literature.

Abstract used for concrete - When the abstract is used for the concrete, the concrete should be restored. For example, "Let not ambition mock their useful toil," should become, - Ambitious men should not despise the useful labour of poor peasants.

Rhetorical questions - These should be changed into direct affirmations or negations. For example, "Are we not better armed than our foes?" should become,-We are better armed than our enemies; and, "Is thy servant a dog that he should do this thing?" may be paraphrased, - I am not so contemptible a creature as to commit such a crime.

Exclamations :- These should be turned into simple statements. For example, "O for a lodge in some vast wilderness !" can be paraphrased,-I wish I had a secluded refuge remote from human society.

Apostrophe :- In paraphrasing poems addressed in the second person, it is better to use the plural you than the singular thou, partly because thou is not used in ordinary prose, and partly because the construction of verbs in the second person plural is simpler. But is adopted. must be kept to consistently throughout. It is a

very bad form to begin with thou and later drop into you. Such passages may be rendered in the third person also; for instance, the first line of Matthew Arnold's sonnet Shakespeare, "Others abide our question--Thou ait free !" may be rendered,-We can freely criticise other authors, but Shakespeare is beyond our criticism.

V. METHOD OF PROCEDURE

Because no one can paraphrase a passage which he does not understand, first read the passage slowly and carefully until you feel you have firmly grasped its general meaning. If one reading does not make this clear, read it again and yet again, and study it until you thoroughly understand it. This first step is all important. (It is a good thing to write down at this stage a brief summary, concisely expressing the gist or main theme of the passage.)

Next, read the passage again with a view to its details. Note all uncommon or difficult words, and all idioms and unusual grammatical constructions, metaphors and figures of speech, remembering that you are to express, not only the substance, but also the details, of the passage in your own way.

Now, keeping clearly in mind the main purport of the passage, prepare to reproduce the passage in your own words, in simple and direct English, not leaving anything in the original unrepresented in your paraphrase.

Treat the passage as a whole. Do not work word by word, or line by line; but from the beginning keep the end in view.

You may rearrange the order of sentences, and even of the whole passage, if this can make the meaning clear.

Break up a long sentence into several short ones, or combine several short sentences into one long, if by so doing you can make the whole more easily understood.

Do not change words simply for the sake of change. No word can ever precisely take the place of another; and when a word in the original is perfectly simple in meaning and the best word in that place, it is a mistake to alter it. But all words and phrases that are at all archaic, obscure, technical, or uncommon should be changed into suitable synonyms. (N.B.-Never substitute a difficult or unusual word for a simple and familiar word; e.g., do not put "ratiocination" for "argument.")

Explanatory notes are altogether out of place in a paraphrase, and their presence is a confession of failure in paraphrasing. All explanations of difficulties must be intrinsic parts of the paraphrase itself. If any sentence in the paraphrase requires a note to explain it, you must rewrite the sentence until it explains itself.

A common fault in using indirect speech is the constant repetition of the "saying verb"-e.g., 'The poet says that' - 'The poet further says' - 'The poet again remarks that', and so on. The 'verb of saying', if used at all, should come once, at the beginning and not again,

Write out a rough draft of your paraphrase first. (You may have to write several drafts before you get the paraphrase to your satisfaction.) Revise this carefully, comparing it with the original to see that you have omitted nothing, over- (or under-) emphasised nothing, nor imitated the original too closely. Correct any mistakes in spelling, punctuation, grammar or idiom. Read it aloud (for the ear sometimes can detect a blemish which the eye overlooks) to hear if it reads well as a piece of good English.

If, after taking pains, you feel the paraphrase is as good as you can make it, finally write out the fair copy neatly and legibly.

SPECIMENS

-1-

Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,

Who never to himself hath said,

This is my own, my native land?

Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd.

As home his footsteps he hath turn'd.

From wandering on a foreign strand?

If such there breathe, go, mark him well;

For him no Minstrel raptures swell;

High though his titles, proud his name,

Boundless his wealth as wish can claim;

Despite those titles, power, and pelf,

The wretch, concentred all in self.

Living, shall forfeit fair renown.

And, doubly dying, shall go down

To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,

Unwept, unhonour'd, and unsung.

- Scott

PARAPHRASE

It is difficult to believe, that any man can be so spiritually dead as to have no love for his native country after travelling in foreign lands. But if such an unpatriotic person does exist, take careful note of his career; and you will find that he will never inspire poets to celebrate him in deathless song. He may be a man of high rank, of noble family and of riches beyond the dreams of avarice; but these great advantages will not save him from oblivion. In spite of them all, he will win no fame during his lifetime; and when he dies he will die in a double sense. His body will return to the dust whence it came, and his name will be forgotten. None will weep for him, none will honour him, and no poet will keep his name alive in immortal poetry.

-2-

Heaven from all creatures hides the book of fate.

All but the page prescribed, their present state :

From brutes what men, from men what spirits know;

Or who could suffer being here below?

The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to-day,

Had he thy reason, would he skip and play?

Pleas'd to the last, he crops the flow'ry food,

And licks the hand just rais'd to shed his blood.

Oh, blindness to the future ! kindly giv'n.

That each may fill the circle mark'd by Heav'n,

Who sees with equal eyes, as God of all.

A hm-n npi-kh or a snarrow fall.

- Pope

PARAPHRASE

It would be impossible for us to continue living in this world if each of us knew exactly what fate had in store for him. So God in His mercy conceals the future from all His creatures, and reveals only the present. He hides from the animals what men know, and He hides from men what the angels know. For example if a lamb had reason like a man, it could not gambol happily, knowing it was destined to be killed for human food. But, being quite ignorant of its fate, it is happy to the last minute of its short life contentedly grazing in the flowery meadow, and even in its innocence licks the hand of the butcher who is about to slaughter it. What a blessing it is that we are ignorant of the future ! God, to Whom the death of a sparrow is of equal importance with the death of a hero, has in His mercy thus limited our knowledge, so that we might fulfil our duty in the sphere to which He has appointed us.

-3-

Perseverance is the very hinge of all virtues. On looking over the world, the cause of nine-tenths of the lamentable failures which occur in men's undertakings, and darken and degrade so much of their history, lies not in the want of talents, or the will to use them, but in the vacillating and desultory mode of using them, in flying from object to object, in staring away at each little disgust, and thus applying the force which might conquer any one difficulty to a series of difficulties, so large that no human force can conquer them. The smallest brook on earth, by continuing to run, has hollowed out for itself a considerable valley to flow in. Commend me therefore to the virtue of perseverance. Without it all the rest are little better than fairy gold, which glitters in your purse, but when taken to market proves to be slate or cinders. - Carlyle

PARAPHRASE

All the virtues depend on (he one virtue of perseverance. It is lack of perseverance, not lack of ability, that is the cause of most of the sad failures that stain the history of mankind. It is because men do not persevere in overcoming one difficulty at a time, that they fail. Instead of sticking to one aim in life until it is realized, they hesitate, get discouraged at every small rebuff, change from one aim to another, and so create for themselves such a series of difficulties as can never be overcome by human power. Hence they fail to accomplish anything. Even a small stream will carve out for itself a deep and wide channel simply by constantly flowing. Without perseverance, all the other virtues are like the deceitful fairy gold of the fairy-tales, which turns to worthless stones when you try to use it as money in the shops.

Exercise

Paraphrase the following :-

Some murmur, when their sky is clear And wholly bright to view,

If one small speck of dark appear-

In their great heaven of blue :

And some with thankful love are filled,

If but one streak of light,

One ray of God's good mercy, gild

The darkness of their night.

- Trench

Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us,

Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps, another.

Sailing o'er life's solemn main:

A forlorn and shipwreck'd brother

Seeing, shall take heart again.

- Longfellow

3. More things are wrought by prayer

Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice

Rise like a fountain for me night and day.

For what are men better than sheep or goats

That nourish a blind life within the brain,

If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer.

Both for themselves and those who call them friends !

- Tennyson

In such a world; so thorny, and where none Finds happiness unlighted; or, if found, Without some thistly sorrow at its side;

It seems the part of wisdom, and no sin Against the law of love, to measure lots

With less distinguished than ourselves, that thus We may with patience bear our moderate ills, And sympathize with others suffering more.

- Cowper

Children we are all

Of one great father, in whatever clime

Nature or chance hath cast the seeds of life-

All tongues, all colours; neither after death

Shall we be sorted into languages

And tints, white, black, and tawny, Greek and Goth, Northmen, and offspring of hot Africa;

The All-father, He in Whom we live and move

He, the indifferent Judge of all, regards

Nations, and hues, and dialects alike :

According to their works shall they be judged

When even-handed Justice in the scale

Their good and evil weighs.

- Southey

Beside yon straggling fence that skirts the way, With blossom'd furze unprofitably gay.

                         

There, in his noisy mansion, skill'd to rule, The village master taught his little school; A man severe he was, and stern to view,-I knew him Well, and every truant knew,

Veil had the boding tremblers learn'd to trace

The day's disasters in his morning face;

Full well they laugh'd with counterfeited glee,

At all his jokes,-for many a joke had he;

Full well the busy whisper, circling round,

Convey'd the dismal tidings when he frown'd;

Yet he was kind; or if severe in aught,

The love he bore to learning was in fault.

-Goldsmith

Hark ! 'tis the twanging horn. O'er yonder bridge, That with its wearisome but needful length Bestrides the wintry flood, in which the moon Sees her unwrinkled face reflected bright,

He comes, the herald of a noisy world,

With spattered boots, trapped waist and frozen locks. News from all nations lumbering at his back,

True to his charge, the close-packed load behind, Yet careless what he brings, his one concern

Is to conduct it to the destined inn,

And, having dropped the expected bag, pass on He whistles as he goes, light-hearted wretch, Cold and yet cheerful : messenger of grief Pm-hnm to thousands and of joy to some,

To him indifferent weather Grief or joy. - Cowper

Be it a weakness, it deserves some praise, We love the play-place of our early days, The scene is touching and the heart is stone That feels not at the sight, and feels at none; The wall on which we tried our graving skill, The very name we carved subsisting still,

The bench on which we sat while deep-employed. Though mangled, hacked, and hewed, not yet destroyed; The little ones, unbuttoned, glowing hot,

Playing our games and on the very spot; The pleasing spectacle at once excites Such recollection of our own delights, That viewing it, we seem almost to obtain Our innocent sweet simple years again. -Cowper

Since trifles make the sum of human things,

And half our misery from our foibles springs;

Since life's best joys consist in peace and ease,

And few can save or serve, but all may please;

Oh ! let th' ungentle spirit learn from hence,

A small unkindness is a great offence.

Large bounties to restore, we wish in vain.

But all may shun the guilt of giving pain.

To bless mankind with tides of flowing wealth,

With power to grace them, or to crown with health,

Our little lot denies, but heaven decrees

To all the gift of ministering ease;

The mild forbearance at another's fault;

The taunting word, suppressed as soon as thought;

On these Heaven bade the bliss of life depend,

And crush'd ill fortune when it made a friend.

- Hanmah More

Now came still Evening on, and Twilight grey Had in her sober livery all things clad.

Silence accompanied - for beast and bird. They to their grassy couch, those to their nests, Were slunk - all but the wakeful nightingale; She all night long her amorous descant sung. Silence

was pleased. Now glow'd the firmament With living sapphires. Hesperus, that led

The starry host, rode brightest, till the moon, Rising in clouded maestri at length.

Apparent queen, unveil'd her peerless light,

And o'er the dark her silver mantle threw.

- Milton

   These few precepts in thy memory

See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,

Nor any unproportioned thought his act:

Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.

Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,

Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;

But do not dull thy palm with entertainment

Of each new-hatched, unfledged comrade.

Beware Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,

Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.

Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice,

Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgement.

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,

But not expressed in fancy; rich, not gaudy;

For the apparel often proclaims the man.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be;

For loan oft loses bothitself and friend,

And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry,

    If misery be the effect of virtue, it ought to be reverenced; if of ill-fortune, to

be pitied; and if of vice, not to be insulted; because it is, perhaps, itself a punishment

adequate to the crime by which it was produced; and the humanity of that man can

deserve no panegyric who is capable of reproaching a criminal in the hands of the

executioner.

- Johnson

    We are all short-sighted, and very often see but one side of a matter; our views are not

extended to all that has a connection with it. From this defect I think no man is free. We

see but in part, and we know but in part, and therefore it is no wonder we conclude not

right from our partial views. This might instruct the proudest esteemer of his own parts

how useful it is to talk and consult with others, even such as come short of him in

capacity, quickness, and penetration; for since no one sees all, and we generally have

different prospects of the same thing, according to our different, as I may say, positions to

it, it is not incongruous to think, nor beneath any man to try, whether another man may

not have notions of things which have escaped him, and which his reason would make

use of if they came into his mind.

- Locke

All the performances of human art, at which we look with praise or wonder, are instances of the resistless force of perseverance; it is by this that the quarry becomes a pyramid, and that distant countries are united by canals. If a man was to compare the effect of a single stroke of a pickaxe, or of one impression of the spade, with the general design and last result, he would be overwhelmed by the sense of their disproportion; yet those petty operations, incessantly continued, in time surmount the greatest difficulties, and mountains are levelled, and oceans bounded, the slender force of human beings.

- Johnson

The proverbial oracles of our parsimonious ancestors have informed us that the fatal waste of fortune is by small expenses, by the profusion of sums too little singly to alarm our caution, and which we never suffer ourselves to consider together. Of the same kind is prodigality of life; he that hopes to look back hereafter with satisfaction upon past years must learn to know the present value of single minutes, and endeavour to let no particle of time fall useless to the ground. An Italian philosopher expressed in his motto that time was his estate; an estate indeed, that will produce nothing without cultivation,

                        but will always abundantly repay the labours of industry, and satisfy the most extensive desires, if no part of it be suffered to lie waste by negligence, to be overrun by noxious plants, or laid out for show rather than for use.

-Johnson

Mr. Hampden was a gentleman of a good extraction and a fair fortune, who from a life of great pleasure and license had on a sudden retired to extraordinary sobriety and strictness, and yet retained his usual cheerfulness and affability; which, together with the opinion of his wisdom and justice and the courage he had shewed in opposing the ship-money, raised his reputation to a very great height, not only in Buckinghamshire where he lived, but generally throughout the kingdom. He was not a man of many words, and rarely began than discourse, or made the first entrance upon any business that was assumed; but a very weighty speaker, and after he had heard a full debate, and observed how the House was like to be inclined, took up the argument, and shortly and clearly and craftily so stated it that he commonly conducted it to the conclusion he desired; and if he found he could not do that, he was never without the dexterity to divert the debate to another timeand to prevent the determining of anything in the negative which might prove inconvenient in the future.

- Clarendon