It is possible for Auerbach to see a particular writer such as Saint-Simon as an almost miraculous mutation exhibiting the shape of the future: “In his level of style, Saint-Simon is a precursor of modern and ultra-modern forms of conceiving and representing life.” Truth, for Auerbach, is not the property of an individual, indeed not essentially

An actual scene is unclassic when the writer wants or needs something from the reader. The classic writer never explicitly argues for the reader’s agreement, never overtly solicits a reader’s vote or ostensibly engages in salesmanship at any level. He does not write to convince his reader of anything or to lead his reader to any action; he does not

You are making an inference, for example, when you think that someone “looks disappointed.” The fact that the “disappointment” is an inference rather than something perceptible often goes unnoticed. We have to remind ourselves that a common phrase such as “You could see disappointment all over his face” is not literally true. The paradox is that

Recall from the Essay that to present something to someone is not merely to call attention to it, as in, “Look, there is a blackbird.” Rather, to present something is to present what you want your companion to perceive. You expect your companion to be able to perceive what you are presenting once it is pointed out, as in, “That blackbird on the

In classic style, opinions stated clearly and distinctly are treated as if they can be verified by simple observation. The writer does not typically attempt to persuade by argument. The writer merely puts the reader in a position to see whatever is being presented and suggests that the reader will be able to verify it because the style treats

Whether style is viewed as spiritual, fraudulent, or something in between, any concept of style that treats it as optional is inadequate not only to writing but to any human action. Nothing we do can be done “simply” and in no style, because style is something inherent in action, not something added to it. In this respect, style is like the

For better or worse, human beings are not pure, fearless, cool, or relentless, even if we may find it convenient for certain purposes to pretend that we are. The human condition does not, in general, allow the degree of autonomy and certainty that the classic writer pretends to have. It does not sustain the classic writer’s claim to disinterested

Truth is pure, eternal, not contingent. Jefferson’s sentence hangs there like a star. It is true that his sentence is a response to a particular occasion, but he chooses to meet that occasion with something that does not depend upon occasion. What he expresses is grounded in something that was always there and that will always abide: we are endowed

To convince another competent person of what is being said does not involve appeals to authority or traditional wisdom or anything other than a simple presentation of the order of reason leading to that conclusion, so that someone else can also reach it independently.

This sort of thing happens every day. When a high school geometry student proves