I was reading for philosophy and I came across the longest sentence I have ever read in my entire life. Here it is for your reading pleasure:
I shall not argue against it from the supposed impossibility of infinite succession, barely and absolutely considered in itself; for a reason which shall be mentioned hereafter: but if we consider such an infinite progression, as one entire endless series of beings can have no cause from without, of its existence; because in it are supposed to be included all things that are or ever were in the universe: and ’tis plain it can have no reason within itself, of its existence; because no one being in this infinite succession is supposed to be self-existent or necessary (which is the only ground or reason of existence of any thing, that can be imagined within the thing itself, as with presently more fully appear), but every one dependent on the foregoing: and where no part is necessary; ’tis manifest the whole cannot be necessary; absolute necessity of existence, not being an outward, relative, and accidental determination; but an inward and essential property of the nature of the thing which so exists.
That is 170 words. Amazing.
Herman Melville, in his classic Moby Dick, in chapter XXXV (The Mast-Head) on page 150 in the edition I am reading has a sentence that is 182 words long, 179 if you count hyphenated words as a single word. Also, here is a website with the longest sentence listings: http://www.gavroche.org/vhugo/sentence.shtml
Jonathan Coe surpassed both with a 13,955 word sentence in his novel, The Rotters’ Club.
To be clear, the post was about “the longest sentence [that I have ever read].”
There are of course many more examples, but I haven’t read any of them. :)
I wrote a 180 sentence out of boredom. I also believe its more fluid than that 170 word one.
Well, where is it? :)
A long sentence does not make someone smarter, but drives them crazy on wanting to write an even longer one.
Following is my longest sentence = Kelly Shelton
Doctor Edwards told me that prostate cancer and its treatment is a complex subject, so if
you do not understand certain aspects of this disease, the treatment options, their side
effects, and the outcomes , be sure to inquire about this ailment which eighty percent of
the men in the world will sooner or later experience some aspects of this malady,
generally not a full-blown attack, but extreemly worrison , because prostate cancer
can be found to affect men in any age group and only after an appointment with your
urologist and after taking the proper tests, one of which is the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test which, ironically can be confusing, because the results of the test may not indicate that cancer is present, just because of an abnormal PSA result and this may
lead to further yearly tests to the general male population 50 years of age and older or
to men at increased risk for developing prostate cancer, such as men with a first-degree relative (father, brother, or son) affected by the disease; in this case they should begin
annual screenings at age 40; however, Doctor Edwards has said that this annual screening may not be recommended because prostate cancer can be a slow growing cancer and men like myself with a ten year life expectancy will most likely die of
some other illness; therefore, not very likely to benefit from prostate cancer screenings and treatment, so others in this age bracket can discuss with their doctor to determine
if screening is suggested; or more expensive tests, such as chest Xray to show whether
cancer has spread to other structures, such as the lungs or to the ribs; or magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI), a picture produced by a computer and a high- powered magnet
showing the prostate and other nearby parts of the body; or, finally, prostate biopsy,
the removal and microscopic examination of multiple small samples of prostate tissue
to determine whether cancer cells are present, and if a malignant tumor is found, a
pathologist will examine the biopsied tissue under a microscope and if the cancerous cells appear to resemble the normal prostate tissue, the tumor is not expected to be fast growing; but, if the cells look fairly irregular and very different from the normal prostate cells, then you are probably looking at a faster growing tumor. and a world of hurt.
I made a sentence that was 2,065 words long just now, but it’s very off topic at times and kind of a run on. I just got in the mood for polysyndeton. Anyway, so I thought I would write this other one down that’s 242 words, on topic and somewhat editted. It’s got some problems but it should be okay. It was inspired by an assignment where we write like Hemmingway and he used a lot of polysyndeton. So anyway, here it is!
The beast that is society comes at an individual and rips him limb from limb, devouring all that makes him him and leaving behind an unidentifiable carcass, an empty shell, and the only way one can avoid this beast is to isolate oneself from the world, but then how can man do this and avoid the beast and still participate in the great conversation that radiates through time and across the universe, incorporating all the great minds that ever were, and so how can one become a part of this and not be shot down by the great mystical beast, society, and yet I know as I have found this truth myself and so this one truth and one way that can connect one to the greater purpose and the greater conversation is alone in its path and it is through isolation and thought and reading and writing that I create a piece and publish a work that acts as my voice in this great conversation that is the life to life’s death, the beast, and is purpose and way and creation to creation’s destruction and destruction’s beast and is god to god’s devil and the devil’s beast and is so there the savior immortal to immortal’s deceiver mortal and the mortal’s beast and so man to man’s opposite and the opposite so being the beast and so all is led and the path is deep and man is differentiated from beast.
And any sentence can be made longer so as Jessica wisely said it will only breed a deisre to make a longer one. And I’d rather not spend my time trying to do that.
Wow! That is pretty long, but ive seen longer