有一天,我偶然翻到Philip Howard一则议论,不禁莞尔。他说:标点同语言一样在变;标点为人所役使,人不可为标点所役使;佳句什九不必借重标点而自成头绪;为文点点圈圈破破折折难取难舍之际,不妨简化思路,斩短文句("...punctuation is bound to change, like the rest of language; punctuation is made for man, not man九-九-藏-书-网 for punctuation; a good sentence should be intelligible without the help of punctuation in most cases; and if you get in a muddle with your dots and dashes, you may need to simplify 九九藏书网your thoughts, and shorten your sentence")。然则做文章通篇只点黑痣,役使一下标点,似也无妨。《续板桥杂记》里说,名妓陈小江“眉目疏朗,靥辅间数点微麻,天然媚丽”。丛书集成堆里好书确是不少,虽微麻,洵美材也。除非碰到陈小江萌生相见已晚之恨,否则感叹号还是少用。文章多用感叹号就像在台上说笑话,台下没人笑,自己大笑,尴尬得很。忘了这话是谁说的。