““A few more Rules may fitly be given here, for correspondence that has unfortunately become controversial . One is, don’t repeat yourself . When once you have said your say, fully and clearly, on a certain point, and have failed to convince your friend, drop that subject : to repeat your arguments, all over again, will simply lead to his doing the same; and so you will go on, like a Circulating Decimal. Did you ever know a Circulating Decimal come to an end? ””