適合的才是最好的Suit Is Best
威廉·黑茲利特/ William Hazlitt
威廉·黑茲利特（1778—1830），英國隨筆作家。他清晰、直接、男子氣概的風格極大地影響了一批隨筆作家。他在《莎劇人物》《論英國喜劇作家》和《論伊麗莎白時代戲劇文學》中的評論研究因可讀性和洞察力敏銳而分外知名，這些評論後來收集整理成的講稿被收錄到《席間閑談》，又名《關於人物及風格的新評論》。
Ace in the Hole
Understand these new words before you listen to this article.
1. pretension [pri'ten??n] n. 自負；驕傲
2. clench [klent?] v. 緊握；確定
3. ornament ['?:n?m?nt] n. 裝飾
4. cumbrous ['k?mbr?s] adj. 累贅的，成負擔的
The proper force of words lies not in the words themselves, but in their application. A word may be a fine sounding word, of an unusual length, and very imposing from its learning and novelty, and yet in the connection in which it is introduced may be quite pointless and irrelevant. It is not pomp or pretension, but the adaptation of the expression to the idea, that clenches a writer’s meaning: as it is not the size or glossiness of the materials, but their being fitted each to its place, that gives strength to the arch; or as the pegs and nails are as necessary to the support of the building as the larger timbers, and more so than the mere showy, unsubstantial ornaments. I hate anything that occupies more space than it is worth. I hate to see a load of bandboxes go along the street, and I hate to see a parcel of big words without anything in them. A person who does not deliberately dimples of all his thoughts alike in cumbrous draperies and flimsy disguises—may strike out twenty varieties of familiar everyday language, each coming somewhat nearer to the feeling he wants to convey, and at last not hit upon that particular and only one which may be said to be identical with the exact impression in his mind. This would seem to show that Mr. Cobalt is hardly right in saying that the first word that occurs is always the best. It may be a very good one; and yet a better may present itself on reflection or from time to time. It may be suggested naturally, however, and spontaneously, from a fresh and lively conception of the subject.