[41]
For frequently conciseness
of detail is not inconsistent with length in the
whole. Take for instance such a statement as the
following: “I came to the harbour, I saw a ship, I
asked the cost of a passage, the price was agreed, I
went on board, the anchor was weighed, we loosed
our cable and set out.” Nothing could be terser
than these assertions, but it would have been quite
sufficient to say “I sailed from the harbour.” And
whenever the conclusion gives a sufficiently clear
idea of the premisses, we must be content with
having given a hint which will enable our audience
to understand what we have left unsaid.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1921.
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