How men first learned to invent words is unknown;     1    , the origin of language is a mystery. All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain     2    to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things,     3    they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be     4    to represent those sounds, and which could be     5    . Those sounds, whether spoken,     6    written in letters, we call words.
    The power of words, then, lies in their associations—the things they bring up before our minds. Words become     7    with meaning for us by experience;     8    the longer we live, the more certain words recall to us the happy and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us     9    .
    Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal     10    to our minds and emotions. This     11    and telling use of words is what we call     12    style. Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music, and which     13    their position and association can     14    men to tears. We should, therefore, learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they will     15    our speech or writing silly and vulgar.