Unit 6 On the Art of Living with Others
Para. 1
1. Iliad; Odyssey; the Retreat of the Ten Thousand
2. epic; rage; misbecome; martyrdom;
epic: rage: misbecome: martyrdom:
3. The Iliad for war; the Odyssey for wandering; but where is the great domestic epic?
4. Yet it is but commonplace to say, that passions may rage round a tea-table, which
would not have misbecome men dashing at one another in war-chariots; and
evolutions of patience and temper are performed at the fireside, worthy to be
compared with the Retreat of the Ten Thousand.
5. Men have worshipped some fantastic being for living alone in a wilderness; but
social martyrdoms place no saints upon the calendar.
6. How does the article successfully attract readers’ attention in the beginning?
Para. 2
proximity;
proximity:
Para. 3
1. fancy; conviction; vex; drive...into; distress;
fancy: conviction: vex: drive...into: distress:
2. Paraphrase: A thorough conviction of the difference of men is the great thing to be
assured of in social knowledge: it is to life what Newton’s law is to astronomy.
3. Sometimes men have a knowledge of it with regard to the world in general: they do
not expect the outer world to agree with them in all points, but are vexed at not being
able to drive their own tastes and opinions into those they live with.
4. Why does the author hold the belief that “a thorough conviction of the difference of
men is the great thing to be assured of in social knowledge?”
Para. 4
1
1. ridicule; resolve; perpetual; proceedings;
ridicule: resolve: perpetual: proceedings:
2. To figure out the sentence structure of the 2nd sentence.
Para. 5
1. stock; disputation; dispute; mortify; standing; drift down;
stock: disputation: dispute: mortify: standing: drift down:
2. stock subjects of disputation
3. and there is a tendency in all minor disputes to drift down to it.
4. Why should we avoid having stock subjects of disputation?
Para. 6
1. wretched; doom; minute; recollect; contend; arrive at; arrive at flood temper;
wretched: doom: minute: recollect: contend: arrive at: arrive at flood temper:
2. “Wretched would be the pair above all names of wretchedness, who should be
doomed to adjust by reason every morning all the minute detail of a domestic day.”
3. But certainly it is not the way to arrive at flood temper.
4. Why should people not hold too much to logic if a good relationship with others is
to be achieved? (Paragraph 6)
Para. 7
1. patent: prototype; be apt to do; guise; culprit;
patent: prototype: be apt to do: guise: culprit:
2. people who have taken out judges’ patents for themselves
3. It would be like living between the glasses of a microscope.
4. Paraphrase: But these self-elected judges, like their prototypes, are very apt to have
the persons they judge brought before them in the guise of culprits.
Para. 8
2
provoke; allude; criticism over the shoulder; consult; scrap; dissertation; inflict;
soothe; soothing;
provoke: allude: criticism over the shoulder: consult: scrap: dissertation: inflict:
soothe: soothing:
Para. 9
1. familiarity; swallow up; courtesy (seats); superfluous; speak out; associate;
familiarity: swallow up: courtesy (seats): superfluous: speak out: associate:
2. There is no place, however, where real politeness is of more value than where we
mostly think it would be superfluous.
Para. 10
1. arrogant; travel over the other minds; infinite; estimate; glimpse; blazing; conclude;
inmate;
arrogant: travel over the other minds: infinite: estimate: glimpse: blazing: conclude:
inmate:
2. Why should we not expect more from our friends and companions than they can
give?
Para. 11
1. promote; reticence; conductor; animosity; beware; pass on; hasty; charity;
promote: reticence: conductor: animosity: beware: pass on: hasty: charity:
2. They are non-conductors of all the heats and animosities around them.
3. hasty and uncharitable speeches
4. Why are “people who have some reticence” also regarded as promoters of social
happiness?
Para. 12
1. impassiveness; reproductive;
3
impassiveness: reproductive:
2. Anger is a thing that those who live under us suffer more from than those who live
with us.
3. But all the forms of ill-humour and sour-sensitiveness, which especially belong to
equal intimacy (though, indeed, they are common to all), are best to be met by
impassiveness.
4. a reproductive irritability
5. Paraphrase: The supply of temper is not altogether out of the usual laws of supply
and demand.
Para. 13
1. intimate; admit to; proceed; superlatively; written life;
intimate: admit to: proceed: superlatively: written life:
2. make a bad use of the knowledge which they have gained of each other by their
intimacy.
3. Nothing is more common than this, and did it not mostly proceed from mere
carelessness it would be superlatively ungenerous.
Para. 14
1. conciliate; give way to; offend; refined; at any rate; antipathy
conciliate: give way to: offend: refined: at any rate: antipathy:
2. The most refined part of us lies in this region of taste, which is perhaps a result of
our whole being rather than a part of our nature, and, at any rate, is the region of our
most subtle sympathies and antipathies.
Para. 15
attend to; at the bottom of; precautions; insight; hold a middle place between; mould;
attend to: at the bottom of: precautions: insight: hold a middle place between: mould:
4
Discussion (group work)
1. Considering your own experiences, what would be the most unbearable things to
you when you live with others?
2. To what degree do you agree with the ten principles proposed by the author? How
would you rank them in terms of priority?
Text appreciation (group work)
1. Which allusions are referred to in this article? What do you think are the benefits of
adopting allusion as a rhetorical device in writing?
2. This essay is characterized by the use of sentences of different structures, which
saves readers from boredom. Can you find such examples from the text?
3. Several sentences of the same length can make for bland writing. To enliven their
writings, writers need to compose sentences of different lengths. Can you find
examples to show how skillfully the author manipulates sentence length?
