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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell made the following quote in the late 19th / 20th century:
"To be able to concentrate for a considerable time is essential to difficult achievement"

I was wondering if this is stil correct. It might seem as if he is saying that concentration is essential to make achievement difficult, which is obviously not what he meant.
  

Top answer

Hi, As I think you realize, a writer commonly expects his reader to use common sense about meaning. If the writer intends some strange and unusual meaning, rather than the very obvious one, he will usually reword his sentence to make that unusual meaning clearer. Now that I've said that, let me add that, to me, this use of the phrase 'difficult achievement' is unlikely to occur in modern English.

— Clive

  • Hi, As I think you realize, a writer commonly expects his reader to use common sense about meaning.
  • If the writer intends some strange and unusual meaning, rather than the very obvious one, he will usually reword his sentence to make that unusual meaning clearer.
  • Now that I've said that, let me add that, to me, this use of the phrase 'difficult achievement' is unlikely to occur in modern English.
  • Perhaps its meaning was clearer to readers in Russell's era.
  • Clive
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2 Answers
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Hi,

As I think you realize, a writer commonly expects his reader to use common sense about meaning. If the writer intends some strange and unusual meaning, rather than the very obvious one, he will usually reword his sentence to make that unusual meaning clearer.

Now that I've sa
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AnonymousIt might seem as if he is saying that concentration is essential to make achievement difficult
No. The correct paraphrase is "... essential for achieving difficult tasks".

CJ
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