43 September 21
I recently added this post, Manners Makyth Man.
The Revd Edmund Saul Dixon was a frequent contributor to Charles Dickens’s periodical Household Words. This extract comes from the start of what was really a review of several books on etiquette, from England, France, and French-colonial Algiers. Dixon was particularly impressed with those cultures in which class distinctions did not lessen the obligation to be courteous: he thought everyone should be polite to everyone else. The subject matter might have led to a rather preachy article but Dixon handled it with the kind of light touch that we would expect his editor to demand.
Composition
Join each group of ideas together into one sentence, in at least two different ways.
1 He has bad manners. He won’t get on.
2 Sometimes we need advice. Sometimes friends can help. Sometimes books must be used.
44 September 18
The Blues, the Greens and Belisarius
I recently added this post, The Blues, the Greens, and Belisarius.
This is the story, told here by American author Samuel Goodrich, of the Nika Rebellion in AD 532, named after the repeated cry of the rebels: Nika! Conquer! The revolt broke out after two sets of rival sports fans in Constantinople, the capital of the Roman Empire, suddenly made common cause against the Emperor, Justinian. Fortunately, he had the rising young general Belisarius on his side, and even more fortunately Justinian’s wife Theodora thought of bringing him in.
Composition
Join each group of ideas together into one sentence, in at least two different ways.
1 Justinian was a Blues fan. The Blues turned against him.
2 The rebels demanded Justinian resign. Theodora told him to refuse.
3 Justinian could not control the rebels. Theodora asked Belisarius to help.