From: bowman@montana.com   
      
   On Mon, 29 Dec 2025 09:53:11 -0800, John Ames wrote:   
      
   > And closer to our day, writers of the 19th century had a much heavier   
   > bent towards the fancy stuff than we do; elaborate language in prose is   
   > more disdained than not, these days. I have mixed feelings on that -   
   > better examples of the old style (Poe, for instance, Lovecraft in his   
   > better moments) can really absorb you in their dense, weird language. On   
   > the other hand, it can easily go awry and turn into a sesquipedalian   
   > slog (Lovecraft in his worse moments, a host of lesser authors whose   
   > names we've long since forgotten.) It's a tricky business; a minimalist   
   > style is harder to go wrong with, but it forgoes a lot of opporunities   
   > for beauty, and mere minimalism doesn't necessarily equal elegance.   
      
   I've been trying to read Spencer. He's not fancy but he does go on and on   
   and on. 19th century people must have had more time.  His points are good   
   but as he delves into the zygomatic arch of the King Charles spaniel my   
   eyes get glassy.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)