Jonathan Swift on Style: "Proper Words in Proper Places"

One of the simplest and best known definitions of style was provided by Jonathan Swift in a letter to a clergyman in 1721: "Proper words in proper places." In that letter, the author of Gulliver's Travels and "A Modest Proposal" identified clarity, directness, and freshness of expression as the chief qualities of a "proper" style:

And truly, as they say a man is known by his company, so it should seem that a man's company may be known by his means of expressing himself, wither in public assemblies or private conversations.

It would be endless to run over the several defects of style among us. I shall therefore say nothing of the mean and paltry (which are usually attended by the fustian), much less of the slovenly or indecent. Two things I will just warn you against: the first is, the frequency of flat unnecessary epithets; and the other is, the folly of using old threadbare phrases, which will often make you go out of your way to find and apply them, are nauseous to rational hearers, and will seldom express your meaning as well as your own natural words.

Although, as I have already observed, our English tongue is too little cultivated in this kingdom, yet the faults are, nine in ten, owing to affectation, and not to the want of understanding. When a man's thoughts are clear, the properest words will generally offer themselves first, and his own judgment will direct him in what order to place them so as they may be best understood. Where men err against this method, it is usually on purpose, and to show their learning, their oratory, their politeness, or their knowledge of the world. In short, that simplicity without which no human performance can arrive to any great perfection is nowhere more eminently useful than in this.

Always think of your audience, Swift advised, and don't baffle them with "obscure terms" and "hard words." Lawyers, surgeons, clergy, and especially academics should avoid using jargon when communicating with outsiders. "I know not how it comes to pass," he said, "that professors in most arts and sciences are generally the worst qualified to explain their meaning to those who are not of their tribe."

One of the wittiest writers in the English language, Swift understood that his gift was rare:

I cannot forbear warning you, in the most earnest manner, against endeavoring at wit in your sermons, because by the strictest computation it is very near a million to one that you have none; and because too many of your calling have consequently made themselves everlastingly ridiculous by attempting it.

So don't try to be a joker if you can't tell a joke.

Three centuries on, when composing essays, memos, reports, and yes, even sermons, we might still take Swift's stylistic advice to heart.

More on and by Jonathan Swift:

• "A Modest Proposal," by Jonathan Swift
• Reading Quiz on "A Modest Proposal"
• "On the Style of Jonathan Swift," by Samuel Johnson
• What Is Style?

Image: Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin (1667-1745)