“There can be little question that good composition is far less dependent upon acquaintance with its laws, than upon practice and natural aptitude.”

—  Herbert Spencer

Pt. I, sec. 1, "The Principle of Economy"
The Philosophy of Style (1852)
Context: There can be little question that good composition is far less dependent upon acquaintance with its laws, than upon practice and natural aptitude. A clear head, a quick imagination, and a sensitive ear, will go far towards making all rhetorical precepts needless.

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Herbert Spencer81
English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent … 1820–1903

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