[3]
Such is the continuous style. The
other style consists of periods, and by period I mean a sentence that has a
beginning and end in itself and a magnitude that can be easily grasped.
What is written in this style
is pleasant and easy to learn, pleasant because it is the opposite of that which
is unlimited, because the hearer at every moment thinks he is securing something
for himself and that some conclusion has been reached; whereas it is unpleasant
neither to foresee nor to get to the end of anything. It is easy to learn,
because it can be easily retained in the memory. The reason is that the periodic
style has number, which of all things is the easiest to remember; that explains
why all learn verse with greater facility than prose,1 for it has number by which it can be
measured.
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Aristotle in 23 Volumes, Vol. 22, translated by J. H. Freese. Aristotle. Cambridge and London. Harvard University Press; William Heinemann Ltd. 1926.
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