[3]
But as a rule such figures are defended by
authority, age and usage, and not infrequently by some
reason as well. Consequently, although they involve
a divergence from direct and simple language, they
are to be regarded as excellences, provided always
that they have some praiseworthy precedent to
follow. They have one special merit, that they relieve the tedium of everyday stereotyped speech and
save us from commonplace language.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1922.
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