Misplaced modifiers

All things are not possible, even to the greatest.... -- The Magic of Recluse by L. E. Modesitt, Jr., pg 302.

While I have treated this subject previously in a very specific manner with the restrictive adverb/adjective "only" (and about which I plan another essay), a distressingly high percentage of people seem to think that modifiers can be placed nearly anywhere in a sentence.  In fact, unless one places a modifier (whether adjective or adverb) as near as possible to the word or phrase that it is intended to modify, the writer/speaker leaves his words open for mis-interpretation.  Since the entire idea behind language is to communicate information between a presenter and one or more recipients, the onus of clarity is on the presenter, else why bother.  This is the primary rationale behind "legalese," a system of writing contracts and other documents that endeavors to eliminate mis-interpretation of what is intended.

The above quotation is, itself (yes, I will eventually essay a diatribe on the use of reflexive pronouns!), quoted from the The Basis of Order, a book that is a critical part of the back story of most of the later -- internal-series "later," not necessarily publication "later" -- books of the Recluce series.  It is an explanation about the magic of order that delves deeply into the philosophical side of things and is read by many of the series' characters.  It is the sort of treatise the interpretation of which can change as a reader's experience expands.  Like virtually all of us, though author of more grammatically correct sci/fi and fantasy text than nearly any other author that I've read, even Mr. Modesitt has occasional failings in his submitted text.  At least, I certainly hope that his original text was not changed in the editing process to what is quoted above!

Most readers of this sentence probably passed right on by without a hitch, not noticing the error that dramatically changes the meaning of the sentence.  Granted, I know not what L. E. Modesitt, Jr., intended with the sentence.  However, I know what I inferred, and that inference was that there are some things/actions/results that even the best among us cannot achieve.  Unfortunately, the wording, as presented, leaves two interpretations open, neither of which is the intention that I infer.

Parsing the sentence, we see that the restrictive modifier "not" is placed next to the adjective "possible," thus implying that what the sentence is restricting is possibility.  We are left, then, with a straightforward, simplistic interpretation and a slightly deeper, more complex interpretation, neither of which, I assume, were intended.

1) The first is simply that "nothing is possible," whether one is the greatest or least.  Of course, since every one of us manages to do something every day that each of us is alive -- even if that is simply breathing, even the shallow thinker might realize that the sentence certainly cannot be intended to imply that absolutely nothing is possible.

2) The slightly deeper interpretation is that even the best of us cannot do everything.  That statement, though, is too patently obvious, as I doubt that anyone would believe that a single person, no matter how skilled and knowledgeable, could compose a beloved symphony, determine the cubed root of 1,585,460 without abacus or calculator, and whip up a tasty coq au vin, all while running a four-minute mile. Considering the extensive body of work of the author and the obvious thought that he places into, seemingly, everything (check out his blog at his website), this interpretation simply cannot be correct.

However, if we assume a specific copy-editing lapsus (and why have copy editors if they cannot actually copy edit?), then all is right with the world!  Moving the restrictive modifier to the very front of the sentence results in "Not all things are possible, even to the greatest...."  Thus, though left with a fairly straightforward statement of fact, many of the world's movers and shakers could stand to ponder that statement for a time.  And often.  Since the character in the book reading that statement would become one of those movers and shakers, and since The Basis of Order is found (by every character reading it in the series) to be difficult to understand without sufficient experience, the sentence, as amended, fits well with the emotions and feel of the scene.

To summarize, language works only when we all understand and, most importantly, utilize the accepted grammatical rules and concepts when presenting information to recipients.  Without those rules, language descends to gibberish, allowing mis-interpretation and reinterpretation of concepts and facts to the detriment of us all, as in the closing sentence of the above-quoted essay on the use of "only."