stepped in the course of caution

Hello

I was wondering if the parts in bold sound natural to the native speakers of English. If not, what would your suggestions be?

If hadn't stepped in the course of caution and didin't abstain from apparent exaggeration, I would have called his story the greatest literarty memorial of mankind.

Thanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nathan Mckane

Hello

I was wondering if the parts in bold sound natural to the native speakers of English. If not, what would your suggestions be?

If hadn't stepped in the course of caution

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No, this does not sound natural. What exactly are you trying to say? That you erred on the side of caution? That is, out of two alternatives you chose the safest one, the one with less risk?

Quote:

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and didin't abstain from apparent exaggeration, I would have called his story the greatest literarty memorial of mankind.

Thanks.

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This part sounds natural, if a bit formal, but the entire piece sounds like it has a formal tone, so that's OK.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ouisch

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This part sounds natural, if a bit formal, but the entire piece sounds like it has a formal tone, so that's OK.

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Apartt fromt tthe secondt T int 'literarty'. ;-)

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