The Verbalist by Alfred Ayres — Free Audiobook

1 01: A/An - Avocation 40:35

I. The Verbalist by Alfred Ayres. A Anne through Avocation.

The Verbalist. A manual devoted to brief discussions of the right and the wrong use of words, and to some other matters of interest to those who would speak and write with propriety. By Alfred Ayres, A. K. A. Thomas Embly Ossman.

We remain shackled by timidity till we have learned to speak with propriety. Johnson.

As a man is known by his company, so a man's company may be known by his manner of expressing himself. Swift.

Prefatory Note. The title-page sufficiently sets forth the end this little book is intended to serve. For convenience's sake I have arranged in alphabetical order the subjects treated of, and for economy's sake I have kept in mind that He that uses many words for the explaining of any subject doth, like the cuttlefish, hide himself in his own ink.

The curious inquirer who sets himself to look for the learning in the book is advised that he will best find it in such works as George P. Marsh's Lectures on the English Language, Fitzward Hall's Recent Exemplifications of False Philology, and Modern English. Richard Grant White's Words and Their Uses, Edward S. Gould's Good English, William Matthew's Words, Their Use and Abuse, Dean Alford's The Queen's English, George Washington Moon's Bad English, and the Dean's English, Blank's Vulgarisms and Other Errors of Speech, Alexander Bain's English Composition and Rhetoric. Bain's Higher English Grammar. Bain's Composition Grammar. Quackenbuss. Composition and Rhetoric. John Nichols, English Composition.

William Cobbett's English Grammar. Peter Bullion's English Grammar. Gould Brown's Grammar of English Gramm's English Synonyms. Crabb's English Synonyms. Biglow's Handbook of Punctuation, and other Kindred Works. Suggestions and criticisms are solicited, with the view of profiting by them in future editions. If the Verbalist receive as kindly a welcome as its companion volume the Orthoapist has received, I shall be content. A. A. New York, October, 1881.

Eschew fine words as you would rouge. Hair. Cant is properly a double-distilled lie, the second power of a lie. Carlyle.

If a gentleman be to study any language, it ought to be that of his own country. Locke.

In language the unknown is generally taken for the magnificent. Richard Grant White. He who has a superlative for everything wants a measure for the great or small. Lavater. Inaccurate writing is generally the expression of inaccurate thinking. Richard Grant White. To acquire a few tongues is the labor of a few years, but to be eloquent in one is the labor of a life. Anonymous. Words and thoughts are so inseparably connected that an artist in words is necessarily an artist in thoughts. Wilson Flagg.

It is an invariable maxim that words which add nothing to the sense or to the clearness must diminish the force of the expression. Campbell. Propriety of thought and propriety of diction are commonly found together. Obscurity of expression generally springs from confusion of ideas. Macaulay. He who writes badly thinks badly. Confusedness in words can proceed from nothing but confusedness in the thoughts which give rise to them. Cobbett.

The Verbalist.

A. Anne. The second form of the indefinite article is used for the sake of euphony only. Herein, everybody agrees. But what everybody does not agree in is that it is euphonious to use an before a word beginning with an aspirated H, when the accented syllable of the word is the second. For myself, so long as I continue to aspirate the Hs in such words as heroic, harangue, and historical, I shall continue to use A before them. And when I adopt the cockney mode of pronouncing such words, then I shall use AN before them. To my ear, it is just as euphonious to say, I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent, as it is to say an harangue, an heroic, or an historical.

Anne is well enough before the doubtful British aspiration, but before the distinct American aspiration it is wholly out of place. The reply will perhaps be, but these H's are silent. The change of accent from the first syllable to the second neutralizes their aspiration. However true this may be in England, it is not at all true in America. Hence, we Americans should use A and not Anne before such H's. until we decide to ape the cockney mode of pronouncing them. Errors are not unfrequently made by omitting to repeat the article in a sentence. It should always be repeated when a noun or an adjective referring to a distinct thing is introduced.

Take, for example, the sentence, "'He has a black and white horse.' If two horses are meant, it is clear that it should be "'He has a black and a white horse.' Refer to The. The distinctions between these two words are not always observed by those who use them. Capacity is the power of receiving and retaining knowledge with facility. Ability is the power of applying knowledge to practical purposes. Both these faculties are requisite to form a great character. Capacity to conceive, and ability to execute designs. Capacity is shown in quickness of apprehension. Ability supposes something done, something by which the mental power is exercised in executing or performing, what has been perceived by the capacity.

Graham's English Synonyms Abortive. An outlandish use of this word may be occasionally met with, especially in the newspapers. A lad was yesterday caught in the act of abortively appropriating a pair of shoes.

That is abortive. That is untimely. That has not been born its full time. That is immature. We often hear abortion used in the sense of failure, but never by those that study to express themselves in chaste English.

Above. There is little authority for using this word as an adjective. Instead of the above statement, say the foregoing statement. Above is also used very inelegantly for more than, as above a mile, above a thousand, also for beyond, as above his strength.

Accident. Rec. to casualty.

Accord. He, the secretary of the treasury, was shown through the building, and the information he desired was accorded him. Rep. English.

The heroes prayed, and Pallas from the skies accords their vow. Pope.

The goddess of wisdom, when she granted the prayers of her worshippers, may be said to have accorded. Not so, however, when the clerks of our sub-treasury answer the inquiries of their chief.

Accused. Acquaintance. Friend.

Add. This abbreviation for the word advertisement is very justly considered a gross vulgarism. It is doubtful whether it is permissible under any circumstances.

Adapt. Dramatize. In speaking and in writing of stage matters, these words are often misused. To adapt a play is to modify its construction with the view of improving its form for representation. Plays translated from one language into another are usually more or less adapted, in other words, altered to suit the taste of the public before which the translation is to be represented. To dramatize is to change the form of a story from the narrative to the dramatic. In other words, to make a drama out of a story. In the first instance, the product of the playwright's labor is called an adaptation. In the second, a dramatization. Adjectives. Very often adjectives stand where adverbs might be expected, as drink deep.

This looks strange. Standing erect.

We have also examples of one adjective qualifying another adjective as wide open, red hot, the pale blue sky. Sometimes the corresponding adverb is used, but with a different meaning, as, I found the way easy, easily. It appears clear, clearly. Although there is a propriety in the employment of the adjective in certain instances, yet such forms as, indifferent well, extreme bad, are grammatical errors. He was interrogated relative to that circumstance, should be, relatively, or in relation to. It is not unusual to say, I would have done it independent of that circumstance. But independently is the proper construction. The employment of adjectives for adverbs is accounted for by the following considerations.

I. In the classical languages, the neuter adjective may be used as an adverb, and the analogy would appear to have been extended to English. Two. In the oldest English, the adverb was regularly formed from the adjective by adding e, as soft, soft e, and the dropping of the e left the adverb in the adjective form, thus clean, adverb became clean, and appears in the phrase clean gone, Fest, fast, to stick fast. By a false analogy, many adjectives that never formed adverbs in E were freely used as adverbs in the Age of Elizabeth. Thou didst it excellent, equal for equally, good, excellent well. This gives precedent for such errors as those mentioned above. Three. There are cases where the subject is qualified rather than the verb.

as with verbs of incomplete predication, being, seeming, arriving, etc.

In The Matter Seems Clear, clear is part of the predicate of matter. They arrived safe, safe does not qualify, arrived, but goes with it to complete the predicate. So, he sat silent, he stood firm, it comes beautiful, and it comes beautifully, have different meanings. This explanation applies especially to the use of participles as adverbs, as in Southey's lines on Lodore. The participial epithets applied there, although appearing to modify came, are really additional predications about the water in elegantly shortened form. The church stood gleaming through the trees. Gleaming is a shortened predicate of church. And the full form would be the church stood and gleamed. The participle retains its force as such, while acting the part of a coordinating adjective, complement to stood.

Stood gleaming is little more than gleamed. The feeling of adverbial force in gleaming arises from the subordinate participial form joined with a verb, stood, that seems capable of predicating by itself. Passing strange is elliptical. Passing, surpassing. What is strange? Bain.

The comparative adjectives, wiser, better, larger, etc., and the contrasting adjectives, different, other, etc., are often so placed as to render the construction of the sentence awkward, as, That is a much better statement of the case than yours, instead of, That statement of the case is much better than yours. Yours is a larger plot of ground than John's, instead of, Your plot of ground is larger than John's. This is a different course of proceeding from what I expected, instead of, This course of proceeding is different from what I expected. I could take no other method of silencing him than the one I took, instead of, I could take no method of silencing him other than the one I took. Gould's Good English.

Page 69. Administer. Carson died from blows administered by Policeman Johnson. New York Times. If Policeman Johnson was as barbarous as is this use of the verb to administer, it is to be hoped that he was hanged.

Governments, oaths, medicine, affairs, such as the affairs of state, are administered, but not blows. They are dealt. Adopt. This word is often used instead of to decide upon, and of to take. Thus, the measures adopted by Parliament as the result of this inquiry will be productive of good. Better, the measures decided upon, etc., instead of what course shall you adopt to get your pay, say, what course shall you take, etc. Adopt is properly used in a sentence like this. The course or measures proposed by Mr. , was adopted by the Committee. That is, what was , was adopted by the Committee. A correct use of the word, as to adopt, means to assume as one's own. Adopt is sometimes so misused that its meaning is inverted.

Wanted to adopt, in the heading of advertisements, Not unfrequently is intended to mean that the advertiser wishes to be relieved of the care of a child, not that he wishes to assume the care of one. Aggravate. This word is often used when the speaker means to provoke, irritate, or anger. Thus it aggravates, provokes me, to be continually found fault with. He is easily aggravated, irritated. To aggravate means to make worse, to heighten. We therefore very properly speak of aggravating circumstances. To say of a person that he is aggravated is as incorrect as to say that he is palliated.

Agriculturist. This word is to be preferred to agriculturalist. Refer to conversationist.

alike. This word is often most bunglingly coupled with both. Thus, these bonnets are both alike, or worse still, if possible, both just alike. This reminds one of the story of Sam and Jem, who were very like each other, especially Sam.

All. Refer to Universal.

All over. The disease spread all over the country. It is more logical and more emphatic to say, the disease spread over all the country.

Allegory. An elaborated metaphor is called an allegory. Both are figurative representations, the words used signifying something beyond their literal meaning. Thus, in the 80th Psalm, The Jews are represented under the symbol of a vine.

Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt. Thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. Thou preparest room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river, why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which passed by the way do pluck her? The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.

An allegory is sometimes so extended that it makes a volume, as in the case of Swift's Tale of a Tub, Arbuthnot's John Bull, Bunyan's Pilgrim Progress, etc. Fables and Parables are short allegories.

Allow. This word is frequently misused in the West and South, where it is made to do service for assert or to be of opinion. Thus he allows that he has the finest horse in the country.

Elude. The treatment this word has received is to be specially regretted, as its misuse has well-nigh robbed it of its true meaning, which is to intimate delicately, to refer to without mentioning directly. Allude is now very rarely used in any other sense than that of to speak of, to mention, to name, which is a long way from being its legitimate signification. This degradation is doubtless a direct outcome of untutored desire to be fine and to use big words.

Alone. This word is often improperly used for only. That is alone which is unaccompanied. That is only of which there is no other. Virtue alone makes us happy, means that virtue unaided suffices to make us happy. Virtue only makes us happy means that nothing else can do it. That that, and that only, not alone, can do it. This means of communication is employed by man alone. Dr. Quackenbos should have written, by man only. Refer also to only.

Amateur, novice.

There is much confusion in the use of these two words, although they are entirely distinct from each other in meaning. An amateur is one versed in, or a lover and practiser of, any particular pursuit, art or science, but not engaged in it professionally. A novice is one who is new or inexperienced in any art or business, a beginner, A tyro, a professional actor, then, who is new and unskilled in his art, is a novice, and not an amateur. An amateur may be an artist of great experience and extraordinary skill.

Ameliorate. The health of the Empress of Germany is greatly ameliorated. Why not say improved?

Among. F. between.

Amount of Perfection. The observant reader of periodical literature often notes forms of expression which are perhaps best characterized by the word bizarre. Of these queerlocutions, amount of perfection is a very good example. Mr. G. F. Watts, in the 19th century, says, An amount of perfection has been reached which I was by no means prepared for."

What Mr. Watts meant to say was, doubtless, that a degree of excellence had been reached. There are not a few who, in their prepossession for everything transatlantic, seem to be of opinion that the English language is generally better written in England than it is in America, Those who think so are counseled to examine the diction of some of the most noted English critics and essayists, beginning, if they will, with Matthew Arnold.

And. Few vulgarisms are more common than the use of and for two. Examples. Come and see me before you go. Try and do what you can for him. Go and see your brother, if you can. In such sentences as these, the proper particle to use is clearly TO, and not AND.

AND is sometimes improperly used instead of OR. Thus, it is obvious that a language like the Greek and Latin LANGUAGE? etc. should be a language like the Greek or the Latin LANGUAGE? etc. There is no such thing as a Greek and Latin language.

Answer. Reply. These two words should not be used indiscriminately. An answer is given to a question, a reply to an assertion. When we are addressed, we answer. When we are accused, we reply. We answer letters and reply to any arguments, statements, or accusations they may contain. Crabbe is in error in saying that replies are used in personal discourse only. Replies, as well as answers, are written. We very properly write, I have now, I believe, answered all your questions, and replied to all your arguments. A rejoinder is made to a reply. "'Who goes there?' he cried, and receiving no answer, he fired. The advocate replied to the charges made against his client.

Anticipate.

Lovers of big words have a fondness for making this verb do duty for expect. Anticipate is derived from two Latin words meaning before and to take, and when properly used means to take beforehand, to go before so as to preclude another, to get the start or ahead of. To enjoy, possess, or suffer in expectation. To foretaste. It is therefore misused in such sentences as, Her death is hourly anticipated. By this means it is anticipated that the time from Europe will be lessened two days.

Antithesis. A phrase that opposes contraries is called an antithesis.

I see a chief who leads my chosen sons, all armed with points, antitheses and puns.

The following are examples. Though gentle, yet not dull, strong, without rage, without o'erflowing, full.

Contrasted faults through all their manners reign, though poor, luxurious, though submissive, vain, Though grave, yet trifling, zealous, yet untrue, and e'en in penance planning sins anew.

The following is an excellent example of personification and antithesis combined. Talent convinces, genius but excites. That tasks the reason, this the soul delights. Talent from sober judgment takes its birth, And reconciles the pinion to the earth. Genius unsettles with desires the mind, Contented not till earth be left behind.

In the following extract from Johnson's Life of Pope, individual peculiarities are contrasted by means of antitheses.

Of genius, that power which constitutes a poet. That quality without which judgment is cold and knowledge is inert. That energy which collects, combines, amplifies, and animates. The superiority must with some hesitation be allowed to Dryden. It is not to be inferred that of this poetical vigor Pope had only a little, because Dryden had more. For every other writer, since Milton, must give place to Pope. And even of Dryden it must be said that if he has brighter paragraphs, he has not better poems. Dryden's performances were always hasty, either excited by some external occasion or extorted by domestic necessity. He composed without consideration and published without correction. What his mind could supply at call or gather in one excursion was all that he sought and all that he gave.

The dilatory caution of Pope enabled him to condense his sentiments, to multiply his images, and to accumulate all that study might produce or chance might supply. If the flights of Dryden, therefore, are higher, Pope continues longer on the wing. If of Dryden's fire the blaze is brighter, of Pope's the heat is more regular and constant. Dryden Often surpasses expectation, and Pope never falls below it. Dryden is read with frequent astonishment, and Pope with perpetual delight. Dryden's page is a natural field rising into inequalities, and diversified by the varied exuberance of abundant vegetation. Pope's is a velvet lawn, shaven by the scythe and levelled by the roller. There are forms of antithesis in which the contrast is only of a secondary kind.

Any. This word is sometimes made to do service for at all. We say properly, she is not any better, but we cannot properly say, she does not see any, meaning that she is blind. Anybody else. Public school teachers are informed that anybody else's is correct. New York Times, Sunday, July 31, 1881. An English writer says, In such phrases as anybody else and the like, else is often put in the possessive case as anybody else's servant. And some grammarians defend this use of the possessive case, arguing that somebody else is a compound noun. It is better grammar and more euphonious to consider else as being an adjective, and to form the possessive by adding the apostrophe and s to the word that else qualifies, thus, anybody's else, nobody's else, somebody's else.

Anyhow.

An exceedingly vulgar phrase, says Professor Mathews, in his words Their use and abuse. Its use, in any manner, by one who professes to write and speak the English tongue with purity, is unpardonable. Professor Matthews seems to have a special dislike for this colloquialism. It is recognized by the lexicographers, and I think is generally accounted, even by the careful, permissible in conversation, though incompatible with dignified diction.

Anxiety of Mind. Refer to Equanimity of Mind.

Apostrophe. Turning from the person or persons to whom a discourse is addressed, and appealing to some person or thing absent, constitutes what in rhetoric is called the Apostrophe. The following are some examples. O gentle sleep, Nature's soft nurse, How have I frighted thee! That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down, and steep my senses in forgetfulness.

Sail on, thou lone imperial bird of quenchless eye and tireless wing.

Help, angels, make essay. Bow, stubborn knees, and heart with strings of steel, be soft as sinews of the newborn babe. All may yet be well.

Appear. Seem.

Appreciate. If any word in the language has cause to complain of ill-treatment, this one has. Appreciate means to estimate justly, to set the true value on men or things, their worth, beauty, or advantages of any sort whatsoever. Thus an overestimate is no more appreciation than is an underestimate. Hence it follows that such expressions as I appreciate it, or her, or him highly, cannot be correct. We value or prize things highly, not appreciate them highly. This word is also very improperly made to do service for rise or increase in value. Thus land appreciates rapidly in the West. Dr. L. T. Townsend blunders in the use of appreciate in his Art of Speech.

The laws of harmony may allow copiousness, in parts of a discourse, in order that the condensation of other parts may be the more highly appreciated.

Apprehend. The English often use the first of these two words, where we use the second. Both express an effort of the thinking faculty, but to apprehend is simply to take an idea into the mind. It is the mind's first effort. While to comprehend is fully to understand, we are dull or quick of apprehension. Children apprehend much that they do not comprehend. Trench says, We apprehend many truths which we do not comprehend. Apprehend, says Crabbe, expresses the weakest kind of belief, the having of the least idea of the presence of a thing.

Often misused for likely, and sometimes for liable. What is he apt to be doing? Where shall I be apt to find him? If properly directed, it will be apt to reach me. In such sentences as these, likely is the proper word to use. If you go there, you will be apt to get into trouble. Here, either likely or liable is the proper word, according to the thought the speaker would convey. Artics.

Artist. Of late years, this word has been appropriated by the members of so many crafts that it has well-nigh been despoiled of its meaning. Your cook, your barber, your tailor, your bootmaker, and so on to satiety, are all artists. Painters, sculptors, architects, actors, and singers nowadays generally prefer being thus called, rather than to be spoken of as artists. AS. Not as I know. Read. Not that I know. This is not as good as the last. Read. Not so good. It may be complete so far as the specification is concerned. Correctly. As far as.

As, preceded by such or by same, has the force of a relative applying to persons or to things. He offered me the same conditions as he offered you. The same conditions that would be equally proper. Refer also to like.

Ascribe. Refer to impute.

At. Things are sold by, not at auction. The scene is more beautiful at night than by day. Say, by night.

At All. It is not strange, for my uncle is king of Denmark. Had Shakspeare written, It is not at all strange, it is clear that his diction would have been much less forcible. I do not wish for any at all. I saw no one at all. If he had any desire at all to see me, he would come where I am. The at all in sentences like these is superfluous, yet there are instances in which the phrase is certainly a very convenient one, and seems to be unobjectionable. It is much used, and by good writers.

At best, Instead of at best and at worst, we should say at the best and at the worst. At last. Refer to at length.

At least. This adverbial phrase is often misplaced. The Romans understood liberty at least as well as we. This must be interpreted to mean the Romans understood liberty as well as we understand liberty. The intended meaning is that whatever things the Romans failed to understand, they understood liberty. To express this meaning we might put it thus. The Romans understood at least liberty as well as we do. Liberty at least the Romans understood as well as we do. A tear at least is due to the unhappy. A tear is due at least to the unhappy. A tear is due to the unhappy at least. All express different meanings. This cannot, often at least, be done. This cannot be done often, at least. I. It often happens that this cannot be done.

II. It does not often happen that this can be done. So, man is always capable of laughing. Man is capable of laughing always. Bain.

At length. This phrase is often used instead of at last. At length we manage to get away. Read at last. At length we heard from him. To hear from anyone at length is to hear fully. In other words, in detail. Authoress. With regard to the use of this and certain other words of like formation, Mr. Gould, in his Good English, says, Poet means simply a person who writes poetry, and author, in the sense under consideration, a person who writes poetry or prose. Not a man who writes, but a person who writes. Nothing in either word indicates sex, and everybody knows that the functions of both poets and authors are common to both sexes. Hence, authoress and poetess are superfluous. And they are superfluous also in another respect, that they are very rarely used.

Indeed, they hardly can be used, independently of the name of the writer, as Mrs. or Miss, or a female Christian name. They are, besides, philological absurdities, because they are fabricated on the false assumption that their primaries indicate men. They are, moreover, liable to the charge of affectation and prettiness, to say nothing of pedantic pretension to accuracy.

If the ESS is to be permitted, there is no reason for excluding it from any noun that indicates a person. And the next editions of our dictionaries may be made complete by the edition of, rightress, officeres, manageress, superintendent, and so on to the end of the vocabulary.

Avocation.

2 02: Bad cold - Determined 51:54

II. The Verbalist by Alfred Ayres.

Section Two. Bad cold through determined.

Bad Cold. Inasmuch as colds are never good, why say a bad cold? We may talk about slight colds and severe colds, but not about bad colds. Baggage. R. F. Luggage.

Balance. This word is very frequently and very erroneously used in the sense of rest, remainder, It properly means the excess of one thing over another, and in this sense, and in no other, should it be used. Hence it is improper to talk about the balance of the addition, of the evening, of the money, of the toasts, of the men, etc. In such cases we should say the rest or the remainder.

Barbarism. Defined as an offense against good usage by the use of an improper word, in other words, a word that is antiquated or improperly formed. Preventive, enthuse, agriculturalist, donate, etc. are barbarisms. Refer also to solecism. Been to. We not unfrequently hear a superfluous to tacked to a sentence. Thus, where have you been to? Beg. We often see letters begin with the words, I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your favor, etc. We should write, I beg leave to acknowledge, etc. No one would say, I beg to tell you, instead of, I beg leave to tell you.

Begin. Commence. These words have the same meaning. Careful speakers, however, generally prefer to use the former. Indeed, there is rarely any good reason for giving the preference to the latter.

REFER ALSO TO COMMENCE.

BEING BUILT. REFER TO IS BEING BUILT.

BELONGINGS. An old idiomatic expression now coming into use again.

BESIDE. Besides.

In the later unabridged editions of Webster's Dictionary, we find the following remarks concerning the use of these two words.

Beside and besides, whether used as prepositions or adverbs, have been considered synonyms from an early period of our literature, and have been freely interchanged by our best writers. There is, however, A tendency, in present usage, to make the following distinction between them. I. That beside be used only and always as a preposition, with the original meaning by the side of, as to sit beside a fountain, or with the closely allied meaning aside from, or out of, as this is beside our present purpose.

Paul thou art beside thyself. The adverbial sense to be wholly transferred to the cognate word.

Two. That besides, as a preposition, take the remaining sense in addition to, as besides all this, besides the consideration here offered. There was a famine in the land besides the first famine. And that it also take the adverbial sense of moreover, Beyond, etc., which had been divided between the words. As besides, there are other considerations which belong to this case.

Best. Refer to at best. Between. This word is often misused for among. Thus, the word fellow, However much in use it may be between men, sounds very objectionable from the lips of women. LONDON QUEEN. SHOULD BE. AMONG MEN. BETWEEN is used in reference to two things, parties or persons. AMONG. In reference to a greater number. CASTOR and POLLUX with one soul between them. You have among you many a purchased slave.

Blame it on. Here is a gross vulgarism, which we sometimes hear from persons of considerable culture. They use it in the sense of accuse or suspect. Thus he blames it on his brother, meaning that he accuses or suspects his brother of having done it, or of being at fault for it. Bogus. A colloquial term incompatible with dignified diction. Both. We sometimes hear such absurd sentences as, They both resemble each other very much. They are both alike. They both met in the street. Both is likewise redundant in the following sentence. It performs at the same time the offices both of the nominative and objective cases. Bound. The use of this word in the sense of determined is not only inelegant but indefensible.

I am bound to have it. Should be, I am determined to have it.

Bravery. Courage. The careless often use these two words as though they were interchangeable. Bravery is inborn, is instinctive. Courage is the product of reason calculation. There is much merit in being courageous, little merit in being brave. Men who are simply brave are careless, while the courageous man is always cautious. Bravery often degenerates into temerity. Moral courage is that firmness of principle which enables a man to do what he deems to be his duty, although his action may subject him to adverse criticism. True moral courage is one of the rarest and most admirable of virtues. Alfred the Great, in resisting the attacks of the Danes, displayed bravery. In entering their camp as a spy, he displayed courage.

Bring, fetch, carry.

The indiscriminate use of these three words is very common. To bring is to convey to or toward. A simple act. To fetch means to go and bring. A compound act. To carry often implies motion from the speaker, and is followed by away or off, and thus is opposed to bring and fetch. Yet one hears such expressions as, "'Go to Mrs. D.'s and bring her this bundle. And here you may fetch her this book also. We use the words correctly thus, fetch, or go bring me an apple from the cellar. When you come home, bring some lemons. Carry this book home with you." British against American English. The most important peculiarity of American English is a laxity, irregularity, and confusion in the use of particles.

The same thing is, indeed, observable in England, but not to the same extent, though some gross departures from idiomatic propriety, such as different to, for different from, are common in England, which none but very ignorant persons would be guilty of in America. In the tenses of the verbs, I am inclined to think that well-educated Americans conform more closely to grammatical propriety than the corresponding class in England. In general, I think we may say that, in point of naked syntactical accuracy, the English of America is not at all inferior to that of England. But we do not discriminate so precisely in the meaning of words, nor do we habitually, in either conversation or in writing, express ourselves so gracefully, or employ so classic a diction as the English.

Our taste in language is less fastidious, and our licenses and inaccuracies are more frequently of a character indicative of want of refinement and elegant culture than those we hear in educated society in England. George P. Marsh.

British against American orthoopy. The causes of the differences in pronunciation between the English and the Americans are partly physical, and therefore difficult, if not impossible, to resist, and partly owing to a difference of circumstances. Of this latter class of influences, the universality of reading in America is the most obvious and important. The most marked difference is, perhaps, in the length or prosodical quantity of the vowels. And both of the causes I have mentioned concur to produce this effect. We are said to drawl our words by protracting the vowels and giving them a more diphthongal sound than the English. Now an Englishman who reads will habitually utter his vowels more fully and distinctly than his countryman who does not.

And upon the same principle, a nation of readers like the Americans will pronounce more deliberately and clearly than a people so large a proportion of whom are unable to read, as in England. From our universal habit of reading, there it results not only a greater distinctness of articulation, but a strong tendency to assimilate the spoken to the written language. Thus Americans incline to give every syllable of a written word a distinct enunciation, and the popular habit is to say DICTIONARY MILITARY with a secondary accent on the penultimate, instead of sinking the third syllable, as is so common in England. There is, no doubt, something disagreeably stiff in an anxious and affected conformity to the very letter of orthography.

And to those accustomed to a more hurried utterance we may seem to drawl when we are only giving a full expression to letters, which, though etymologically important, the English habitually slur over, sputtering out, as a Swedish satirist says one half of the word, and swallowing the other. The tendency to make the long vowels diphthongal is noticed by foreigners as a peculiarity of the orthoipy of our language. And this tendency will, of course, be strengthened by any cause which produces greater slowness and fulness of articulation. Besides the influence of the habit of reading, there is some reason to think that climate is affecting our articulation. In spite of the coldness of our winters, our flora shows that the climate of even our northern states belongs, upon the whole, to a more southern type than that of England.

In southern latitudes, at least within the temperate zone, Articulation is generally much more distinct than in the northern regions. Witness the pronunciation of Spanish, Italian, Turkish, as compared with English, Danish, and German. Participating, then, in the physical influences of a southern climate, we have contracted something of the more distinct articulation that belongs to a dry atmosphere and a clear sky. And this view of the case is confirmed by the fact that the inhabitants of the southern states incline, like the people of southern Europe, to throw the accent toward the end of the word, and thus, like all nations that use that accentuation, bring out all the syllables. This we observe very commonly in the comparative northern and southern pronunciation of proper names.

I might exemplify by citing familiar instances. But lest that should seem invidious, it may suffice to say that, not to mention more important changes, many a northern member of Congress goes to Washington a dactyl or a trochee, and comes home an amphibrac or an iambus. Why or how external physical causes, as climate and modes of life, should affect pronunciation we cannot say. But it is evident that material influences of some sort are producing a change in our bodily constitution, and we are fast acquiring a distinct national Anglo-American type. That the delicate organs of articulation should participate in such tendencies is altogether natural. And the operation of the causes, which give rise to them, is palpable even in our handwriting, which, if not uniform with itself, is generally, nevertheless, so unlike common English script as to be readily distinguished from it.

To the joint operation, then, of these two causes, universal reading and climatic differences, we must ascribe our habit of dwelling upon vowel and diphthongal sounds, or of drawling, if that term's insisted upon, But it is often noticed by foreigners as both making us more readily understood by them when speaking our own tongue, and with a flexibility of organ which enables us to inquire a better pronunciation of other languages than is usual with Englishmen. In any case, as, in spite of the old adage, speech is given us that we may make ourselves understood, our drawling, however prolonged, is preferable to the nauseous, Foggy, mumbling thickness of articulation which characterizes the cockney, and is not unfrequently affected by Englishmen of a better class.

George P. Marsh. Bryant's prohibited words. Index expurgatorius.

But. This word is misused in various ways.

I do not doubt But he will be here. Doubt that. I should not wonder but. If. I have no doubt but that he will go. Suppress but. I do not doubt but that it is true. Suppress but.

There can be no doubt but that the burglary is the work of professional cracksmen. New York Herald. Doubt that. And not but that. A careful canvass leaves no doubt but that the nomination, etc. Suppress but. There is no reasonable doubt but that it is all it professes to be. Suppress but. The mind no sooner entertains any proposition, but it presently hastens, etc. Read, than.

No other resource but this was allowed him.

By. At.

Calculate. This word means to ascertain by computation, to reckon, to estimate. And say, some of the purists, it never means anything else when properly used. If this is true, we cannot say a thing is calculated to do harm, but must, if we are ambitious to have our English irreproachable, choose some other form of expression, or at least some other word, likely, or apt, for example. Cobbett, however, says, that to her, whose great example is so well calculated, to inspire, etc., And the first two of the three sentences are well enough calculated for ushering, etc. Calculate is sometimes vulgarly used for intend, purpose, expect, as he calculates to get off tomorrow.

Caliber. This word is sometimes used very absurdly, as Brown's essays are of a much higher caliber than Smith's. It is plain that the proper word to use here is order. Cant Cant is a kind of affectation. Affectation is an effort to sail under false colors. An effort to sail under false colors is a kind of falsehood, and falsehood is a term of Latin origin which we often use instead of the stronger Saxon term lying.

Who is not familiar, writes Dr. William Matthews, with scores of pet phrases and cant terms which are repeated at this day apparently without a thought of their meaning? Who ever attended a missionary meeting without hearing the Macedonian cry, and an account of some little interest, and fields white for the harvest? Who is not weary of the ding-dong of Our Zion, and the solecism of in our midst, and who does not long for a verbal millennium when Christians shall no longer feel to take and grant to give?

How much I regret, says Coleridge, that so many religious persons of the present day think it necessary to adopt a certain cant of manner and phraseology and of tone of voice as a token to each other, one another, They improve this and that text, and they must do so and so in a prayerful way, and so on.

Capacity. C. This word is often used for heading, but thus used it is condemned by careful writers. The true meaning of caption is a seizure, an arrest. It does not come from a Latin word meaning a head, but from a Latin word meaning to seize.

Cobbett writes of the carrot to his son. The last thing I shall mention under this head is the carrot, which is used to point upward to a part which has been omitted. and which is inserted between the line where the carrot is placed and the line above it. Things should be called by their right names, and this should be called the blunder-mark. I would have you, my dear James, scorn the use of the thing. Think before you write. Let it be your custom to write correctly and in a plain hand. Be careful that neatness, grammar, and sense prevail when you write to a blacksmith about shoeing a horse as when you write on the most important subjects. Habit is powerful in all cases, but its power in this case is truly wonderful.

When you write, bear constantly in mind that some one is to read and to understand what you write. This will make your handwriting and also your meaning plain. Far, I hope, from my dear James will be the ridiculous, the contemptible affectation of writing in a slovenly or illegible hand, or that of signing his name otherwise than in plain letters.

Carry.

CASE. Many persons of considerable culture continually make mistakes in conversation in the use of the cases, and we sometimes meet with gross errors of this kind in the writings of authors of repute. Witness the following. And everybody is to know him except I. George Meredith. In the Tragic Comedies. English edition. Volume One. Page 33.

Let's you and I go. We cannot say, let I go, properly, let's go, in other words, let us go, or let you and me go. He is as good as me, say, as I.

She is as tall as him, say, as he. You are older than me, say, than I. Nobody said so but he, say, but him.

Every one can master a grief but he that hath it, correctly, but him. John went out with James and I, say, and me. You are stronger than him, say, than he. Between you and I, say, and me. Between you and they, Say, and them. He gave it to John and I. Say, and me. You told John and I. Say, and me. He sat between him and I. Say, and me. He expects to see you and I. Say, and me. You were a dunce to do it. Who, me? Say, I. Supply the ellipsis, and we should have, who? Me a dunce to do it. Where are you going? Who, me? Say I. We can't say me going. Who do you mean? Say whom? Was it them? Say they. If I was him, I would do it. Say were he. If I was her, I would not go. Say were she. Was it him? Say he.

Was it her? Say she. For the benefit of those whom he thought were his friends. Say, who? This error is not easy to detect on account of the parenthetical words that follow it. If we drop them, the mistake is very apparent. Thus, for the benefit of those whom were his friends.

On the supposition, says Bain, that the interrogative, who has whom, for its objective, The following are errors. Who do you take me to be? Who should I meet the other day? Who is it by? Who did you give it to? Who to? Who for? But considering that these expressions occur with the best writers and speakers, that they are more energetic than the other form, and that they lead to no ambiguity, It may be doubted whether grammarians have not exceeded their province in condemning them.

Cobbett, in writing of the pronouns, says, When the relatives are placed in the sentence at a distance from their antecedents or verbs or prepositions, the ear gives us no assistance. Who, of all the men in the world, do you think I saw to-day? Who, for the sake of numerous services, the office was given to?

In both these cases it should be whom. Bring the verb in the first and the preposition in the second case closer to the relative, as who I saw, to who the office was given. And you see the error at once. But take care. Whom, of all the men in the world, do you think was chosen to be sent as an ambassador? Whom, for the sake of his numerous services, had an office of honor bestowed upon him? These are nominative cases, and ought to have who—that is to say, who was chosen, who had an office.

Most grammarians, says Dr. Bain in his Higher English Grammar, have laid down this rule. The verb to be has the same case after as before it. Macaulay censures the following as a solecism. It was him that Horace Walpole called a man who never made a bad figure but as an author. Thackeray similarly averts to the same deviation from the rule. Is that him? said the lady in questionable grammar. But notwithstanding this, continues Dr. Bain, we certainly hear in the actual speech of all classes of society such expressions as, It was me. It was him. It was her. more frequently than the prescribed form.

If this is true in England, it is not true in America. Nowhere in the United States is such questionable grammar as this frequently heard in cultivated circles.

This shy creature my brother says is me. Were it me, I'd show him the difference. Clarissa Harlow. It is not me you are in love with. Addison.

It may be confidently affirmed that with good speakers, in the case of negation, not me is the usual practice. Bain. This, I confidently affirm, is not true in America. A.

A.

If there is one character more base than another, it is him who, etc. Sidney Smith. If I were him, if I had been her, etc. The authority of good writers is strong on the side of objective forms. There is also the analogy of the French language. For while I am here is je suis ici, the answer to who is there is moi. Me. And c'est moi, it is me, is the legitimate phrase. Never c'est je, it is I.

But moi, according to all French grammarians, is very often in the nominative case. Moi is in the nominative case when used in reply to who is there, and also in the phrase c'est moi, which makes it is I the correct translation of the phrase. And not, it is me. The French equivalent of I, I am here, is moi, je suis ici. The Frenchman uses moi in the nominative case when je would be inharmonious. Euphony with him is a matter of more importance than grammatical correctness. Bescherrel gives many examples of moi in the nominative. Here are two of them.

Mon avocat et moi sommes de cet avis. Qui veut aller avec lui? Moi. If we use such phraseology as, It is me, we must do as the French do, consider me as being in the nominative case, and offer euphony as our reason for thus using it. When shall we put nouns or pronouns preceding verbal or participial Nouns, as they are called by some grammarians, infinitives in ing, as they are called by others, in the possessive case.

I am surprised at John's refusing to go. I am surprised at John refusing to go. In the latter sentence, refusing is a participle. The latter construction is not so common with pronouns as with nouns, especially with such nouns as do not readily take the possessive form.

They prevented him going forward. Better, they prevented his going forward. He was dismissed without any reason being assigned. The boy died through his clothes being burned.

We hear little of any connection being kept up between the two nations.

The men rode vigorously for fear of the tide turning against us, but most examples of the construction without the possessive form are obviously due to mere slovenliness. In case of your being absent, here being an infinitive, verbal or participial noun, qualified by the possessive your, In case of you being present, here being would have to be construed as a participle. The possessive construction is, in this case, the primitive and regular construction. The other is a mere lapse.

The difficulty of adhering to the possessive form occurs when the subject is not a person.

It does not seem safe to rely on the rule of demand creating supply.

In strictness, Demands creating supply. A petition was presented against the license being granted. But for the awkwardness of extending the possessive to impersonal subjects, it would be right to say against the licenses being granted. He had conducted the ball without any complaint being urged against him. The possessive would be suitable, but undesirable and unnecessary.

Prof. Alexander Bain.

Though the ordinary syntax of the possessive case is sufficiently plain and easy, there is perhaps among all the puzzling and disputable points of grammar nothing more difficult of decision than are some questions that occur respecting the right management of this case. The observations that have been made show that possessives before participles are seldom to be approved. The following example is manifestly inconsistent with itself, and, in my opinion, the three possessives are all wrong.

The kitchen, too, now begins to give dreadful note of preparation. Not from armorers accomplishing the nights, but from the shopmaids chopping forcemeat, the apprentices cleaning knives, and the journeyman's receiving a practical lesson in the art of waiting at table. The daily instances of men dying around us—say, rather, of men dying around us—the leading word in sense ought not to be made the adjunct in construction.

Gould Brown.

Casualty. This word is often heard with the incorrect addition of a syllable, casuality, which is not recognized by the lexicographers, Some writers object to the word casualty and always use its synonym accident.

Celebrity A number of celebrities witnessed the first representation. This word is frequently used, especially in the newspapers, as a concrete term, but it would be better to use it in its abstract sense only, and in sentences like the one above to say distinguished persons. Character Reputation.

These two words are not synonyms, though often used as such. Character means the sum of distinguishing qualities. Actions, looks, words, steps form the alphabet by which you may spell characters. Lavater. Reputation means the estimation in which one is held. One's reputation, then, is what is thought of one's character. Consequently, one may have a good reputation and a bad character, or a good character and a bad reputation. Calumny may injure reputation, but not character. Sir Peter does not leave his character behind him, but his reputation, his good name.

Cheap. The dictionaries define this adjective as meaning bearing a low price. or to be had at a low price, but nowadays good usage makes it mean that a thing may be had, or has been sold, at a bargain. Hence, in order to make sure of being understood, it is better to say low-priced, when one means low-priced, than to use the word cheap. What is low-priced, as everybody knows, is often dear, and what is high-priced is often cheap. A diamond necklace might be cheap at $10,000, and a pinch-back necklace dear at $10,000. Cherubim. The Hebrew plural of cherub. We are authorized, says Dr. Campbell, both by use and analogy to say either cherubs and seraphs, according to the English idiom, or cherubim and seraphim, according to the Oriental.

The former suits better the familiar, the latter the solemn. As the words cherubim and seraphim are plural, the terms cherubims and seraphims as expressing the plural are quite improper. Philosophy of Rhetoric.

Citizen. This word properly means one who has certain political rights. When, therefore, it is used, as it often is, to designate persons who may be aliens, it, to say the least, betrays a want of care in the selection of words. Several citizens were injured by the explosion. Here some other word, persons, for example, should be used.

Clever. In this country, The word clever is most improperly used in the sense of good-natured, well-disposed, good-hearted. It is properly used in the sense in which we are wont most inelegantly to use the word smart, though it is a less colloquial term and is of wider application. In England, the phrase a clever man is the equivalent of the French phrase un homme d'esprit. The word is properly used in the following sentences. Every work of Archbishop Whately must be an object of interest to the admirers of clever reasoning. Cobbett's letter, very clever, but very mischievous.

Bonaparte was certainly as clever a man as ever lived.

Climax. A clause, a sentence, a paragraph, or any literary composition whatsoever is said to end with a climax when, by an artistic arrangement, the more effective is made to follow the less effective in regular gradation. Any great departure from the order of ascending strength is called an anticlimax. Here are some examples of climax. Give all diligence. Add to your faith virtue. And to virtue, knowledge. And to knowledge, temperance. And to temperance, patience. And to patience, godliness. And to godliness, brotherly kindness. And to brotherly kindness, charity.

What is every year of a wise man's life but a criticism on the past? Those whose life is the shortest live long enough to laugh at one half of it. The boy despises the infant, the man the boy, the sage both, and the Christian all.

What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving, how express and admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god.

C.O. The prefix C.O. should be used only when the word to which it is joined begins with a vowel, as in Co.Eval, Co.Incident, Co.Operate, etc.

C.O.N. is used when the word begins with a consonant, as in Contemporary, Conjunction, etc.

Co-partner is an exception to the rule. Commence. The Britons use or misuse this word in a manner peculiar to themselves. They say, for example, commenced merchant, commenced actor, commenced politician, and so on. Dr. Hall tells us that commence has been employed in the sense of begin to be, become, set up as, by first-class writers, for more than two centuries. Careful speakers make small use of commence in any sense. They prefer to use its Saxon equivalent, begin. Refer also to begin. Comparison. When only two objects are compared, the comparative and not the superlative degree should be used. Thus, Mary is the older of the two, John is the stronger of the two, Brown is the richer of the two, and the richest man in the city.

Which is the more desirable, health or wealth? Which is the most desirable, health, wealth or genius?

Of two such lessons, why forget? The nobler and the manlier one?

Completed. This word is often incorrectly used for finished. That is complete, which lacks nothing. That is finished, which has had all done to it that was intended. The builder of a house may finish it, and yet leave it very incomplete.

Condign. It is safe to say that most of those who use this word do not know its meaning, which is, suitable, deserved, merited, proper. His efforts shall not lack condign praise. In other words, his endeavors shall not lack proper, or their merited praise.

A villain condignly punished is a villain punished according to his deserts. To use condign in the sense of severe is just as incorrect as it would be to use deserved or merited in the sense of severe.

Confirmed invalid. This phrase is a convenient mode of expressing the idea it conveys, but it is difficult to defend inasmuch as confirmed means strengthened, established.

Consequence. This word is sometimes used instead of importance or moment, as, They were all persons of more or less consequence. Read, Of more or less importance.

It is a matter of no consequence. Read, Of no moment.

Consider. This word, says Mr. Richard Grant White, in his Words and Their Uses, is perverted from its true meaning by most of those who use it. Consider means to meditate, to deliberate, to reflect, to revolve in the mind, and yet it is made to do service for think, suppose, and regard. Thus I consider his course very unjustifiable. I have always considered it my duty, etc. I consider him as being the cleverest man of my acquaintance. Contemptible. This word is sometimes used for contemptuous. An old story says that a man once said to Dr. Parr, Sir, I have a contemptible opinion of you. That does not surprise me, returned the doctor. All your opinions are contemptible. What is worthless or weak is contemptible.

Despicable is a word that expresses a still more intense degree of the contemptible. A traitor is a despicable character, while a paltroon is only contemptible.

Continually.

Continue on. The on in this phrase is generally superfluous. We continued on our way is idiomatic English, and is more euphonious than the sentence would be without the particle. The meaning is, we continue to travel on our way. In such sentences, however, as continue on, he continued to read on, the fever continued on for some hours, and the like, the on generally serves no purpose.

Conversationist. This word is to be preferred to conversationalist. Mr. Richard Grant White says that conversationalist and agriculturalist are inadmissible. On the other hand, Dr. Fitzward, Hall, says, As for conversationalist and conversationalist, agriculturist and agriculturalist, As all are alike legitimate formations, it is for convention to decide which we are to prefer.

Convoke, convene. At one time and another there has been some discussion with regard to the correct use of these two words. According to Crabbe, there is nothing imperative on the part of those that assemble or convene, and nothing binding on those assembled or convened. One assembles, or convenes, by invitation or request. One attends to the notice or not, at pleasure. Convoke, on the other hand, is an act of authority. It is the call of one who has the authority to give the call. It is heeded by those who feel themselves bound to attend.

Properly, then, President Arthur convokes, not convenes, the Senate.

Corporeal, corporal. These adjectives, though regarded as synonyms, are not used indiscriminately. Corporal is used in reference to the body or animal frame in its proper sense. Corporeal, to the animal substance in an extended sense, opposed to spiritual. Corporal punishment, corporeal or material form or substance.

That to corporeal substances could, ad speed, most spiritual. Milton.

What seemed corporal melted as breath into the wind?

Shakspeare.

Couple. In its primitive signification, this word does not mean simply two, but two that are united by some bond, such as, for example, the tie that unites the sexes, It has, however, been so long used to mean two of a kind considered together, that in this sense it may be deemed permissible, though the substitution of the word to for it would often materially improve the diction.

Courage. Refer to bravery.

Crime. Vice. Sin.

The confusion that exists in the use of these words is due largely to an imperfect understanding of their respective meanings. Crime is the violation of the law of a state. Hence, as the laws of states differ, what is crime in one state may not be crime in another. Vice is a course of wrong-doing, and is not modified either by country, religion, or condition. As for sin, it is very difficult to define what it is. As what is sinful in the eyes of one man may not be sinful in the eyes of another. What is sinful in the eyes of a Jew may not be sinful in the eyes of a Christian, and what is sinful in the eyes of a Christian of one country may not be sinful in the eyes of a Christian of another country.

In the days of slavery, to harbor a runaway slave was a crime, but it was in the eyes of most people neither a vice nor a sin.

Crushed out.

The rebellion was finally crushed out. Out of what? We may crush the life out of a man, or crush a man to death, and crush, not crush out, our rebellion.

Cultured. This word is said to be a product of Boston, an excellent place for anybody or anything to come from. Many persons object to its use on the ground that there can be no such participial adjective, because there is no verb in use from which to form it. We have in use the substantive culture, but though the dictionaries recognize the verb to culture, we do not use it. Be this objection valid or be it not, cultured having but two syllables, while its synonyms cultivated has four, It is likely to find favor with those who employ short words when they convey their meaning as well as long ones. Other adjectives of this kind are moneyed, whiskered, slippered, lettered, talented, cottaged, lilied, anguished, gifted, and so forth.

Curious.

This word is often used instead of strange or remarkable, a curious fact, better, A remarkable fact. A curious proceeding. Better, a strange proceeding.

Dangerous. He is pretty sick, but not dangerous. Dangerous people are generally most dangerous when they are most vigorous. Say rather, he is sick, but not in danger. Dearest. A gentleman once began a letter to his bride thus. My dearest Maria. The lady replied, My dear John, I beg that you will mend either your morals or your grammar. You call me your dearest Maria. Am I to understand that you have other Marias?

Moon's Bad English. Deceiving. You are deceiving me. Not unfrequently, deceiving is used when the speaker means trying to deceive. It is when we do not suspect deception that we are deceived.

Decimate. This word, meaning as it properly does to tithe, to take the tenth part, is hardly permissible in the sense in which it is used in such sentences as, the regiment held its position, though terribly decimated by the enemy's artillery. Though terribly tithed would be equally correct.

Demean. This word is sometimes erroneously used in the sense of to debase, to disgrace, to humble. It is a reflexive verb, and its true meaning is to behave, to carry, to conduct, as he demeans himself in a gentlemanly manner. In other words, he behaves or carries or conducts himself in a gentlemanly manner. Denude.

The vulture, says Brand, has some part of the head and sometimes of the neck denuded of feathers. Most birds might be denuded of the feathers on their heads. Not so, however, the vulture, for his head is always featherless. A thing cannot be denuded of what it does not have. Denuding a vulture's head and neck of the feathers is like denuding an eel of its scales.

Deprecate. Strangely enough, this word is often used in the sense of disapprove, censure, condemn, as he deprecates the whole proceeding. Your course, from the first to last, is universally deprecated. But according to the authorities, the word really means to endeavor to avert by prayer, to pray exemption or deliverance from, to beg off, to entreat, to urge against. Daniel kneeled upon his knees to deprecate the captivity of his people.

Despite. This word is often incorrectly preceded by in and followed by of. Thus, in despite of all our efforts to detain him, he set out. Which should be, despite all our efforts, etc., or in spite of all our efforts, etc. Determined.

3 03: Diction - Friend 1:00:37

III. DICTION THROUGH FRIEND.

DICTION. This is a general term, and is applicable to a single sentence or to a connected composition. Bad diction may be due to errors in grammar, to a confused disposition of words, or to an improper use of words. Diction, to be good, requires to be only correct and clear. Of excellent examples of bad diction, there are very many in a little work by Dr. L. T. Townsend, Professor of Sacred Rhetoric in Boston University. The first volume of which has lately come under my notice. The first ten lines of Dr. Townsend's preface are, quote, The Leading Genius of the People's College at Chautauqua Lake, with a view of providing for his course a textbook, asked for the publication of the following laws and principles of speech.

The author, not seeing sufficient reason for withholding what had been of much practical benefits to himself, consented. The subject-matter herein contained is an outgrowth from occasional instructions given while occupying the chair of sacred rhetoric.

The phrase leading genius is badly chosen. Founder, Projector, Head, Organizer, Principal, or President. Some one of these terms would probably have been appropriate. 2. What course? Race course, course of ethics, aesthetics, rhetoric, or what?

Footnote. Should be a textbook for his course, and not for his course a textbook. Footnote. 3. The following laws and principles of speech. And how came these laws and principles in existence? Who made them? We are to infer, it would seem, that Professor Townsend made them, and that the world would have had to go without the laws that govern language and the principles on which language is formed, had it pleased Professor Townsend to withhold them.

Four. SUFFICIENT REASON. Then there were reasons why Professor Townsend ought to have kept these good things all to himself. Only they were not sufficient. 5. Practical Benefit. Is there any such thing as Impractical Benefit? Are not all benefits practical? And if they are, what purpose does the epithet Practical serve? 6. Consented to what? It is easy to see that the doctor means acceded to the request, but he is a long way from saying so. The object writers usually have in view is to convey thought, not to set their readers to guessing. 7. The outgrowth of would be English. 8. Occasional Instructions. Very vague and well calculated to set the reader to guessing again. 9. Given to whom? 10. The Chair.

The definite article made it necessary for the writer to specify what particular chair of sacred rhetoric he meant. These ten lines are a fair specimen of the diction of the entire volume.

Page 131. To render a given ambiguous or unintelligible sentence transparent, the following suggestions are recommended.

The words in italics are unnecessary, since what is ambiguous is unintelligible. Then who has ever heard of recommending suggestions?

Dr. Townsend speaks of mastering a subject before publishing it. Publishing a subject? Page 1, 33. Violations of simplicity, whatever the type, show either that the mind of the writer is tainted with affectation, or else that an effort is making to conceal conscious poverty of sentiment under loftiness of expression.

Here is an example of a kind of sentence that can be mended in only one way. By rewriting. Which might be done thus. Violations of simplicity, whatever the type, show either that the writer is tainted with affectation, or that he is making an effort to conceal poverty of thought under loftiness of expression.

Page One Forty Three Quote This Quality is Fully Stated and Recommended, etc. Who has ever heard of stating a quality?

On page 1, 45, Dr. Townsend says, A person cannot read a single book of poor style without having his own style vitiated.

A book of poor style is an awkward expression, to say the least. A single badly written book would have been unobjectionable. Page 160. The presented picture produces instantly a definite effect.

Why this unusual disposition of words? Why not say, in accordance with the idiom of the language, the picture presented instantly produces, etc.?

Page one sixty one quote, the boy studies geography and hates everything connected with the sea and land, and quote, why the boy? As there are few things besides seals and turtles that are connected with the sea and land, the boy in question has few things to hate. On page One Seventy Five, Dr. Townsend heads a chapter thus. Art of Acquiring Skill in the Use of Poetic Speech. This reminds one of the man who tried to lift himself over a fence by taking hold of the seat of his breeches. How to acquire skill is probably what is meant.

On page 232, Jeremy Taylor is among the best models of long sentences, which are both clear and logical.

Jeremy Taylor is a clear and logical long sentence? True, our learned rhetorician says so, but he doesn't mean it. He means... In Jeremy Taylor we find some of the best examples of long sentences which are at once clear and logical.

Since the foregoing was written, the second volume of Professor Townsend's Art of Speech has been published. In the brief preface to this volume we find this characteristic sentence.

The author has felt that clergymen more than those of other professions will study this treatise.

The antecedent of the relative those being clergymen, the sentence it will be perceived says, The author has felt that clergymen more than clergymen of other professions will study this treatise.

Comment on such art as Professor Townsend's is not necessary.

I find several noteworthy examples of bad diction in an article in a recent number of an Australian magazine. The following are some of them.

Large Capital always manages to make itself master of the situation. It is the small capitalist and the small landholder that would suffer, etc. Should be the large capitalist himself, etc. Again, the small farmer would be despoiled of the meagre profit which strenuous labor had conquered from the reluctant soil. Not only are the epithets in italics superfluous, and consequently weakening in their effect, but idiom does not permit strenuous to be used to qualify labor. Hard labor and strenuous effort.

Again, capital has always The choice of a large field. Should be. The choice offered by a large field. Again. Should capital be withdrawn, tenements would soon prove insufficient. Should be. The number of tenements would. Etc.

Again. Men of wealth, therefore, would find their Fifth Avenue mansions and their summer villas a little more burdened with taxes, but with this increase happily balanced by the exemption of their bonds and mortgages, their plate and furniture.

The thought here is so simple that we easily divine it. But, if we look at the sentence at all carefully, we find that, though we supply the ellipses in the most charitable manner possible, the sentence really says, Men would find their mansions more burdened, but would find them with this increased burden happily balanced by the exemption, etc. The sentence should have been framed somewhat in this wise. Men would find their mansions more burdened with taxes, but this increase in the taxes on their real estate would be happily balanced by the exemption from taxation of their bonds, mortgages, plate, and furniture.

Again, Men generally would be inclined to laugh at the idea of entrusting the modern politician with such gigantic opportunities for enriching his favorites.

We do not entrust one another with opportunities. To enrich would better the diction. Again, the value of land that has accrued from labor is not a just object for confiscation.

Correctly, The value of land that has resulted from labor is not justly an object of confiscation.

Accrue is properly used more in the sense of spontaneous growth. Again, if the state attempts to confiscate this increase by means of taxes, either rentals will increase correspondingly, Or such a check will be put upon the growth of each place and all the enterprises connected with it, that greater injury would be done than if things had been left untouched. We have here, it will be observed, a confusion of moods. The sentence begins in the indicative, and ends in the conditional. The words in italics are worse than superfluous. Rewritten. If the state should attempt to confiscate this increase by means of taxes, Either rentals would increase correspondingly, or such a check would be put upon growth and enterprise that greater injury would, etc.

Again, the theory that land is a boon of nature, to which every person has an inalienable right equal to every other person, is not new.

The words theory and boon are here misused. A theory is a system of suppositions, The things man receives from nature are gifts, not boons. The gift of reason, the gift of speech, etc. The sentence should be, the declaration or assertion that land is a gift of nature, to which every person has an inalienable right equal to that of any other person, is not new. Or, more simply, and quite as forcibly, To which one person has an inalienable right equal to that of another, is not new. Or, more simply still, and more forcibly, to which one man has as good a right as another, is not new. By substituting the word man for person, we have a word of one syllable that expresses in this connection all that the longer word expresses.

The fewer the syllables, if the thought be fully expressed, The more vigorous the diction. Inalienability being foreign to the discussion, the long word inalienable only encumbers the sentence.

We have thus passed in review the changes and improvements which the revision contains in the first epistle to the Corinthians. It has not indeed been possible to refer to them all. But so many illustrations have been given in the several classes described that the reader will have a satisfactory survey of the whole subject.

Whatever may be said of other portions of the New Testament, we think it will be generally admitted that in this epistle the changes have improved the old translation. They are such as make the English version conform more completely to the Greek original. If this be true, the Revisers have done a good work for the Church. If it be true with regard to all the New Testament books, the work which they have done will remain a blessing to the readers of those books for generations to come. But the blessing will be only in the clearer presentation of the Divine Truth, and therefore it will be only to the glory of God.

This astonishingly slipshod bit of composition is from the pen of the Rev. Dr. Timothy Dwight. If the learned professor of divinity in Yale College deemed it worthwhile to give a little thought to manner as well as to matter, it is probable that his diction would be very different from what it is. And if he were to give a few minutes to the making of verbal corrections in the foregoing paragraph, he would perhaps do something like this. I. Change thus to now. 2. Write some of the changes. 3. Strike out and improvements. 4. For contains changes, substitute some other form of expression. 5. Instead of has been, write was. 6. Strike out indeed. 7. Instead of refer to, Write Sight. Eight. Change Illustrations to Examples.

Nine. Instead of IN, write OF. Ten. Instead of THE READER WILL HAVE, write THE READER WILL BE ABLE TO GET. Eleven. Change Satisfactory to Tolerable. Twelve. Change Portions to Parts. Thirteen. Not talk of the old translation, as we have no new one. 14. Strike out as superfluous the words are such as. 15. Change version to text. 16. Substitute nearly for completely, which does not admit of comparison. 17. Substitute the indicative for the conditional. 18. End sentence with the word work. 19. Introduce also after be. 20. Instead of remain, in the sense of be, use be. 21. Introduce the after for. As for the last sentence, it reminds one of Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words, though here we have, instead of a song and no words, words, and no song—or rather, no meaning.

As is often true of Kant, we have here simply a syntactical arrangement of words signifying nothing.

If Professor Dwight were of those who, in common with the Addisons and Macaulay's and Newman's, think it worthwhile to give some attention to diction, the thought conveyed in the paragraph under consideration would perhaps have been expressed somewhat in this wise.

We have now passed in review some of the changes that, in the revision, have been made in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. It was not possible to cite them all, but a sufficient number of examples of the several classes described have been given to enable the reader to get a tolerable survey of the whole subject. Whatever may be said of the other parts of the New Testament, We think it will be generally admitted that in this epistle the changes have improved the translation. They make the English text conform more nearly to the Greek. This being true, the revisers have done a good work. And, if it be also true with regard to all the New Testament books, the work which they have done will be a blessing to the readers of these books for the generations to come.

Die with. Man and brute die of, and not with, fevers, consumption, the plague, pneumonia, old age, and so on.

Differ. Writers differ from one another in opinion with regard to the particle we should use with this verb. Some say they differ with, others that they differ from. Their neighbors in opinion. The weight of authority, is on the side of always using from, though a may differ with c from d in opinion with regard, say, to the size of the fixed stars. I differ as to this matter from Bishop Lauf. Cobbett. Different to is heard sometimes instead of different from.

Directly. The Britons have a way of using this word in the sense of when. As soon as. This is quite foreign to its true meaning, which is immediately, at once, straightway. They say, for example, Directly he reached the city he went to his brothers.

Directly he, the saint, was dead, the Arab sent his woolen shirt to the sovereign. London News. Dr. Hall says of its use in the sense of, as soon as, but, after all, it may simply anticipate on the English of the future.

Dirt. This word means filth, or anything that renders foul and unclean, and means nothing else. It is often improperly used for earth or loam, and sometimes even for sand or gravel. We not unfrequently hear of a dirt road when an unpaved road is meant.

Discommode. This word is rarely used. Incommode is accounted the better form.

Disremember. This is a word vulgarly used in the sense of forget. It is said to be more frequently heard in the South than in the North.

Distinguish. This verb is sometimes improperly used for discriminate. We distinguish by means of the senses as well as of the understanding. We discriminate by means of the understanding only. It is difficult in some cases to distinguish between, etc. Should be, it is difficult in some cases to discriminate between, etc. We distinguish one thing from another, and discriminate between two or more things.

Dock. Wharf. The first of these words is often improperly used for the second. Of docks there are several kinds. A naval dock is a place for the keeping of naval stores, timber, and materials for shipbuilding. A dry dock is a place where vessels are drawn out of the water for repairs. A wet dock is a place where vessels are kept afloat at a certain level while they are loaded and unloaded. A sectional dock is a contrivance for raising vessels out of the water on a series of air-tight boxes. A dock, then, is a place into which things are received. Hence, a man might fall into a dock, but could no more fall off a dock than he could fall off a hole. A wharf is a sort of quay built by the side of the water.

A similar structure built at a right angle with the shore is generally called a pier. Vessels lie at wharves and piers, not at docks. Donate. This word, which is defined as meaning to give, to contribute, is looked upon by most champions of good English as being an abomination. Donation is also little used by careful writers. Donate, says Mr. Gould, may be dismissed with this remark, so long as its place is occupied by give, bestow, Grant, present, etc., it is not needed, and it should be unceremoniously bowed out, or thrust out, of the seat into which it has temporarily intruded.

Done. This past participle is often very inelegantly, if not improperly, used thus, He did not cry out as some have done against it. Which should read, He did not cry out, as some have against it. In other words, as some have cried out against it. Dunn is frequently a very great offender against grammar, says Cobbett. To do is the act of doing. We see people write, I did not speak yesterday so well as I wished to have done. Now, what is meant by the writer? He means to say that he did not speak so well as he then wished, or was wishing, to speak. Therefore, the sentence should be, I did not speak yesterday so well as I wished to do. That is to say, so well as I wished to do it. That is to say, to do or to perform the act of speaking.

Take great care not to be too free in your use of the verb to do in any of its times or modes. It is a nice little handy word, and, like our oppressed it, It is made use of very often when the writer is at a loss for what to put down. To do is to act, and therefore it never can, in any of its parts, supply the place of a neuter verb. How do you do? Here, do refers to the state, and is essentially passive or neuter. Yet to employ it for this purpose is very common. Dr. Blair, in his twenty-third lecture, says, It is somewhat unfortunate that this number of the spectator did not end as it might have done with the former beautiful period. That is to say, done it. And then we ask, done what? Not the active ending, because in this case there is no action at all.

The verb means to come to an end, to cease, not to go any further. This same verb, to end, is sometimes an active verb. I end my sentence. Then the verb, to do, may supply its place, as I have not ended my sentence so well as I might have done. That is, done it. That is, done or performed the act of ending.

But the number of the spectator was no actor. It was expected to perform nothing. It was, by the doctor, wished to have ceased to proceed. Did not end as it very well might have ended. This would have been correct, but the doctor wished to avoid the repetition, and thus he fell into bad grammar. Mr. Speaker, I do not feel so well satisfied as I should have done if the right honorable gentleman had explained the matter more fully. To feel satisfied is— when the satisfaction is to arise from conviction produced by fact or reasoning, a senseless expression, and to supply its place when it is as in this case a neuter verb by to do is as senseless. Done what? Done the act of feeling. I do not feel so well satisfied as I should have done, or executed, or performed the act of feeling.

What incomprehensible words!

DON'T. Everybody knows that DON'T is a contraction of DO NOT, and that DOESN'T is a contraction of DOES NOT, and yet nearly everybody is guilty of using DON'T when he should use DOESN'T. So you DON'T go. John doesn't either. I hear.

An anecdote of Mr. Lincoln. An anecdote of Mr. Lincoln's. We see at a glance that these two phrases are very different in meaning. So also a portrait of Brown. A portrait of Brown's. No precise rule has ever been given to guide us in our choice between these two forms of the possessive case. Sometimes it is not material which form is employed. Where, however, it is material. And it generally is, We must consider the thought we wish to express, and rely on our discrimination. Dramatize. Refer to ADAPT.

Drawing-room. Refer to PARLOR.

Dress. Gown.

Within the memory of many persons the outer garment worn by women was properly called a gown by everybody. Instead of being improperly called a dress, as it now is by nearly everybody.

Drive. RIDE.

DO Owing. These two words, though close synonyms, should not be used indiscriminately. The mistake usually made is in using DO instead of Owing. That is due which ought to be paid as a debt. That is owing which is to be referred to as a source. It was owing to his exertions that the scheme succeeded. It was owing to your negligence that the accident happened. A certain respect is due to men's prejudices. This was owing to an indifference to the pleasures of life. It is due to the public that I should tell all I know of the matter.

Each Other.

Their great authors address themselves not to their country, but to each other.

Buckle. Each Other is properly applied to Two only. One Another must be used when the number considered exceeds Two. Buckle should have written One Another and not Each Other, unless he meant to intimate that the Germans had only two great authors, which is not probable.

Eat. Grammarians differ very widely with regard to the conjugation of this verb. There is no doubt, however, that from every point of view the preferable forms for the preterite and past participle are respectively ate and eaten. To refined ears, the other forms smack a vulgarity, although supported by good authority. I ate an apple. I have eaten dinner. John ate supper with me. As soon as you have eaten breakfast, we will set out.

Editorial. The use of this adjective as a substantive is said to be an Americanism.

Education. This is one of the most misused of words. A man may be well acquainted with the contents of textbooks, and yet be a person of little education. On the other hand, a man may be a person of good education, and yet know little of the contents of textbooks. Abraham Lincoln and Edwin Forrest knew comparatively little of what is generally learned in schools. Still they were men of culture, men of education. A man may have ever so much book knowledge, and still be a bore. But a man cannot be a person of good education, and not be, so far as manner is concerned, a gentleman. Education, then, is a whole of which instruction and breeding are the parts. The man or the woman, even in this democratic country of ours, who deserves the title of gentleman or lady, is always a person of education.

In other words, he or she has a sufficient acquaintance with books and with the usages of social intercourse to acquit himself or herself creditably in the society of cultivated people. Not moral worth, nor learning, nor wealth, nor all three combined, can unaided make a gentleman. For with all three a man might be uneducated, in other words coarse, unbred, unschooled in those things which alone make men welcome in the society of the refined.

Effectuate This word, together with ratiocinate and eventuate, is said to be a great favorite with the rural members of the Arkansas legislature. Effluvium. The plural of this word is effluvia. It is a common error with those who have no knowledge of Latin to speak of a disagreeable effluvia, which is as incorrect as it would be to talk about a disagreeable vapors.

Effort without effect. Some writers deal in expletives to a degree that tires the ear and offends the understanding. With them, everything is excessively or immensely or extremely or vastly or surprisingly or wonderfully or abundantly or the like. The notion of such writers is that these words give strength to what they are saying. This is a great error. Strength must be found in the thought, or it will never be found in the words. Big-sounding words, without thoughts corresponding, are effort without effect.

W. C.

F. Forcible Feeble Egoist One of a class of philosophers who professed to be sure of nothing but their own existence.

Read. Egotist One who talks much of himself.

A tribe of egotists for whom I have always had a mortal aversion.

Spectator.

Either.

This word means, strictly, the one or the other of two. Unlike both, which means two taken collectively, either, Like each, may mean two considered separately, but in this sense, each is the better word to use.

Give me either of them means give me the one or the other of two. He has a farm on either side of the river would mean that he has two farms, one on each or either side of the river. He has a farm on both sides of the river would mean that his farm lies partly on the one side of the river and partly on the other. The use of either in the sense of each, though biblical and defensible, may be accounted little, if any, better than an affectation. Neither is the negative of either. Either is responded to by or, neither by nor. As, either this or that, neither this nor that. Either and neither should not strictly be used in relation to more than two objects. But though both either and neither are strictly applicable to two only, they have been for a very long time used in relation to more than two by many good writers.

And as it is often convenient so to use them, it seems probable that the custom will prevail. When more than two things are referred to, any and none should be used instead of either and neither. As any of the three, not either of the three. None of the four, not neither of the four. Either alternative. The word alternative means a choice offered between two things. An alternative writ, for example, offers the alternative of choosing between the doing of a specified act, or of showing cause why it is not done. Such propositions, therefore, as you are at liberty to choose either alternative, two alternatives are presented to me, several alternatives presented themselves, and the like, are not correct English.

The word is correctly used thus. I am confronted with a hard alternative. I must either denounce a friend, or betray my trust. We rarely hear the word alternate or any of its derivatives correctly pronounced. Elder. Refer to older.

Elegant. Professor Proctor says, If you say to an American, This is a fine morning, he is likely to reply, It is an elegant morning. Or perhaps oftener by using simply the word elegant. This is not a pleasing use of the word. This is not American English, professor, but Popinjay English.

Ellipsis. The omission of a word or of words necessary to complete the grammatical construction, but not necessary to make the meaning clear, is called an ellipsis. We almost always, whether in speaking or in writing, leave out some of the words necessary to the full expression of our meaning. For example, in dating a letter to-day, we should write, New York, August 25th, 1881, which would be, if fully written out, I am now writing in the city of New York. This is the 25th day of August, and this month is the 1,800 and 81st year of the Christian era.

I am going to Wallach's means I am going to Wallach's Theatre. I shall spend the summer at my aunt's, in other words, at my aunt's house.

By supplying the ellipses, we can often discover the errors in a sentence, if there are any.

Enjoy Bad Health. As no one has ever been known to enjoy bad health, It is better to employ some other form of expression than this. Say, for example, he is in feeble or delicate health.

This is a word that is occasionally heard in conversation, and is sometimes met with in print, but it has not as yet made its appearance in the dictionaries. What its ultimate fate will be, of course, no one can tell. For the present, however, It is studiously shunned by those who are at all careful in the selection of their language. It is said to be most used in the South. The writer has never seen it anywhere in the North but in the columns of the Boston Congregationalist.

Epigram. The word epigram signified originally an inscription on a monument. It next came to mean a short poem containing some single thought pointedly expressed, The subjects being very various, amatory, convivial, moral, eulogistic, satirical, humorous, etc. Of the various devices for brevity and point employed in such compositions, especially in modern times, the most frequent is a play upon words. In the epigram, the mind is roused by a conflict or contradiction between the form of the language and the meaning really conveyed. Bain. Some examples are, when you have nothing to say, say it. We cannot see the wood for the trees. That is, we cannot get a general view because we are so engrossed with the details.

Verbosity is cured by a large vocabulary. That is, he who commands a large vocabulary is able to select words that will give his meaning tersely.

By indignities men come to dignities.

Some people are too foolish to commit follies.

He went to his imagination for his facts, and to his memory for his tropes.

Epithet. Many persons use this word who are in error with regard to its meaning. They think that to apply epithets to a person is to vilify and insult him. Not at all. An epithet is a word that expresses a quality, good or bad, a term that expresses an attribute. All adjectives are epithets, but all epithets are not adjectives, says Crabbe. Thus, in Virgil's pater, Aeneas, the pater is an epithet, but not an adjective. Epithet is the technical term of the rhetorician, adjective that of the grammarian.

Equally as well. A redundant form of expression, as any one will see who for a moment considers it. As well or equally well expresses quite as much as equally as well.

Equanimity of mind. This phrase is tautological, and expresses no more than does equanimity, literally, equal-mindedness, alone. Hence, Of mind is superfluous, and consequently inelegant. Anxiety of mind is a scarcely less redundant form of expression. A capricious mind is in the same category.

Erratum. Plural, errata.

Esquire.

An Esquire was originally the shield-bearer of a knight. It is much, and, in the opinion of some, rather absurdly, used in this country. Mr. Grant White says on the subject of its use, I have yet to discover what a man means when he addresses a letter to John Dash Esquire. He means no more nor less than when he writes, Master. The use of Esquire is quite as prevalent in England as in America, and has little more meaning there than here. It simply belongs to our stock of courteous epithets. Euphemism. A description which describes in inoffensive language that which is of itself offensive, or a figure which uses agreeable phraseology when the literal would be offensive, is called a euphemism.

Eventuate. Refer to Everlastingly. This adverb is misused in the South in a manner that is very apt to excite the risibility of one to whom the peculiar misuse is new. The writer recently visited the upper part of New York with a distinguished Southern poet and journalist. It was the gentleman's first ride over an elevated road. When we were fairly under way, In admiration of the rate of speed at which the cars were moving, he exclaimed, "'Well, they do just everlastingly shoot along, don't they?' Every. This word, which means simply each or all taken separately, is of late years frequently made by slipshod speakers to do duty for perfect, entire, great, or all possible. Thus we have such expressions as Every pains, every confidence, every praise, every charity, and so on.

We also have such diction as, Every one has this in common, meaning, All of us have this in common.

Every-day Latin. A fortiori, with stronger reason. A posteriori, from the effect to the cause. A priori, from the cause to the effect. Bona fide, in good faith, in reality. Certiorare, to be made more certain.

Cateris paribus, other circumstances being equal. De facto, in fact, in reality. De jour, in right, in Ecce homo, behold the man, ergo, therefore, etc., and the rest, and so on. Excerpta, extracts. Exempli gratia, by way of example, abbreviated e.g., and e.x.g.r., Ex officio, by virtue of his office. Ex parte, on one side. An ex parte statement is a statement on one side only. Ibidem, in the same place. Ibidem, the same.

Id est, that is, IE.

In primis, in the first place. In statu quo, in the former state, just as it was. In statu quo ante bellum, in the same state as before the war. In transitu, in passing.

Index expurgatorius, a purifying index.

In extremis, At the point of death. In memoriam. In memory. Ipsy Dixit. On his sole assertion. Item. Also.

Labor omnia. Vincit. Labor overcomes every difficulty. Locus Sigili. The place of the seal. Multum in parvo. Much in little. Mutatis mutandis, after making the necessary changes. Ne plus ultra, nothing beyond, the utmost point. Nolens volens, willing or unwilling. Nota bene, mark well, take particular notice. Omnis, all.

O tempora, o mores. O the times and the manners. Otium cum dignitate, ease with dignity.

Otium sine dignitate, ease without dignity.

Particeps criminus, an accomplice.

Pecavi, I have sinned. Perse, by itself. Prima faci, On the first view or appearance, at first sight. Pro bono publico, for the public good. Quid nunc, what now? Quid pro quo, one thing for another, an equivalent. Quondam, formally. Rara avis, a rare bird, a prodigy. Resurgum, I shall rise again. Sereatum, in order. Sine die, without specifying any particular day, to an indefinite time. Sine qua non, an indispensable condition. Sui generis, of its own kind. Fade micum, go with me. Verbatim, word by word. Versus, against. Valle, farewell, via, by the way of, vike, in the place of, vide, si, vi et armis, by main force, viva voce, orally, by word of mouth, vax populi, vax dei, the voice of the people is the voice of God.

Evidence. Testimony. These words, though differing widely in meaning, are often used indiscriminately by careless speakers. Evidence is that which tends to convince. Testimony is that which is intended to convince.

In a judicial investigation, for example, there might be a great deal of testimony, a great deal of testifying, and very little evidence. and the evidence might be quite the reverse of the testimony. REFER TO PROOF.

EXAGGERATION.

Weak minds, feeble writers, and speakers delight in superlatives.

REFER TO EFFORT WITHOUT EFFECT.

EXCEPT.

No one need apply, except he is thoroughly familiar with the business, should be, no one need apply unless, etc.

Excessively. That class of persons who are never content with any form of expression that falls short of the superlative, frequently use excessively, when exceedingly, or even the little word very would serve their turn better. They say, for example, that the weather is excessively hot, when they should content themselves with saying simply that the weather is very warm, or, if the word suits them better, hot. Intemperance, in the use of language, is as much to be censured as intemperance in anything else. Like intemperance in other things, its effect is vulgarizing.

Execute. This word means to follow out to the end, to carry into effect, to accomplish, to fulfill, to perform, as to execute an order, to execute a purpose. And the dictionaries in almost universal usage say that it also means to put to death in conformity with a judicial sentence, as to execute a criminal. Some of our careful speakers, however, maintain that the use of the word in this sense is indefensible. They say that laws and sentences are executed, but not criminals, and that their execution only rarely results in the death of the persons upon whom they are executed.

In the hanging of a criminal, it is, then, not the criminal who is executed, but the law and the sentence. The criminal is hanged.

Expect. This verb always has reference to what is to come, never to what is past. We cannot expect backward. Instead, therefore, of saying, I expect, you thought I would come to see you yesterday, we should say, I suppose, etc.

Experience. We experience great difficulty in getting him to take his medicine. The word have ought to be big enough, in a sentence like this, for anybody. We experienced great hardships. Better, we suffered.

Extend. This verb, the primary meaning of which is to stretch out, is used especially by lovers of big words in connections where to give, to show, or to offer would be preferable. For example, it is certainly better to say, They showed me every courtesy, than, They extended every courtesy to me.

Refer to every.

False grammar. Some examples of false grammar will show what every one is the better for knowing—that in literature nothing should be taken on trust, that errors of grammar even are found where we should least expect them.

I do not know whether the imputation were just or not. Emerson. I proceeded to inquire if the extract were a veritable quotation. Emerson. Should be was in both cases.

How sweet the moonlight sleeps! Townshend. Art of Speech. Volume 1, page 1, 14. Should be sweetly.

There is no question but these arts will greatly aid him, etc. Ibid, page 1, 30. Should be that. Nearly all who have been distinguished in literature or oratory have made the generous confession that their attainments have been reached through patient and laborious industry. They have declared that speaking and writing, though once difficult for them, have become well-nigh recreations. Ibid. Page One Forty Three. The have been should be were, and the have become should be became.

Many pronominal adverbs are correlatives of each other. Harkness's New Latin Grammar, Page 1, 47, should be one another. Hot and cold springs, boiling springs, and quiet springs lie within a few feet of each other, but none of them are properly geysers. Appleton's Condensed Cyclopedia. Volume Two, Page 414. Should be one another, and not one of them is properly a geyser.

How much better for you as seller and the nation as buyer than to sink in cutting one another's throats?

Should be each other's.

A minister, noted for prolixity of style, was once preaching before the inmates of a lunatic asylum. In one of his illustrations he painted a scene of a man condemned to be hung, but reprieved under the gallows. These two sentences are so faulty that the only way to mend them is to re-write them. They are from a work that professes to teach the art of speech. Mended. A minister, noted for his prolixity, once preached before the inmates of a lunatic asylum. By way of illustration, he painted a scene in which a man who had been condemned to be hanged was reprieved under the gallows.

Female. The terms male and female are not unfrequently used where good taste would suggest some other word. For example, we see over the doors of schoolhouses entrance for males, entrance for females. Now bucks and bulls are males as well as boys and men, and cows and sows are females as well as girls and women.

Fetch. Refer to bring.

Fewer. Refer to less.

Final Completion. If there were such a thing as a plurality or a series of completions, there would, of course, be such a thing as the final completion. But as every completion is final, to talk about a final completion is as absurd as it would be to talk about a final finality.

First-rate.

There are people who object to this phrase, and yet it is well enough when properly placed, as it is, for example, in such a sentence like this. He's a first-class fellow, and I like him first-rate. If I didn't, you bet I'd just give him Hail Columbia for blowing the thing all round town like the big fool that he is.

Firstly.

George Washington Moon says in defense of firstly, I do not object to the occasional use of first as an adverb, but in sentences where it would be followed by secondly, thirdly, etc., I think that the adverbial form is preferable. To this, one of Mr. Moon's critics replies, However desirable it may be to employ the word firstly on certain occasions, the fact remains that the employment of it on any occasion is not the best usage. Webster inserts firstly, but remarks improperly used for first.

Flee, fly. These verbs, though near of kin, are not interchangeable. For example, we cannot say he flew the city. He flew from his enemies. He flew at the approach of danger. Flew being the imperfect tense of to fly, which is properly used to express the action of birds on the wing, of kites, arrows, etc. The imperfect tense of to flee is fled, hence he fled the city, etc.

Forcible, feeble. This is a novicey kind of diction in which the would-be forcible writer defeats his object by the overuse of expletives. Examples.

And yet the great centralization of wealth is one of the great evils of the day. All that Mr. Utters, says, upon this point, is forcible and just. This centralization is due to the enormous reproductive power of capital, to the immense advantage that costly and complicated machinery gives to great large establishments, and to the marked difference of personal force among men.

The first great is misplaced. The word utters is misused. The second great is ill-chosen. The other words in italics only enfeeble the sentence. Again, in countries where immense estates exist, a breaking up of these vast domains into many minor freeholds would no doubt be a of very great advantage.

Substitute large for immense, and take out vast, many, and very, and the language becomes much more forcible. Again, the very first effect of the blank taxation plan would be destructive to the interests of this great multitude class. It would impoverish our innumerable farmers. It would confiscate the earnings of our industrious tradesmen and artisans. It would and paralyze the hopes of struggling millions. What a waste of portly expletives is here! With them the sentence is high-flown and weak. Take them out and introduce the words enclosed in brackets, and it becomes simple and forceful. Friend, acquaintance. Some philosopher has said that he who has half a dozen friends in the course of his life may esteem himself fortunate, and yet, to judge from many people's talk, one would suppose they had friends by the score.

No man knows whether he has any friends or not until he has, their adoption tried. Hence he who is desirous to call things by their right names will, as a rule, use the word acquaintance instead of friend. Your friend is a favorite and very objectionable way many people, especially young people, have of writing themselves at the bottom of their letters. In this way, the obscure Stripling protests himself the friend of the first man in the land, and that, too, when he is perhaps a comparative stranger and asking a favor.

4 04: Galsome - Irritate 49:26

IV. GALSUM THROUGH IRRITATE GALSUM Here is a good, sonorous, Anglo-Saxon word. meaning, malignant, venomous, churlish, that has fallen into disuse.

Gentlemen. Few things are in worse taste than to use the term, gentlemen, whether in the singular or plural, to designate the sex. "'If I was a gentleman,' says Miss Snooks, "'Gentlemen have just as much curiosity as ladies,' says Mrs. Jenkins. Gentlemen have so much more liberty than we ladies have, says Mrs. Parvenu. Now, if these ladies were ladies, they would in each of these cases use the word man instead of gentleman, and woman instead of lady. Further, Miss Snooks would say, if I were.

Well-bred men, men of culture and refinement, Gentlemen, in short, use the terms lady and gentleman comparatively little, and they are especially careful not to call themselves gentlemen when they can avoid it. A gentleman, for example, does not say, I, with some other gentleman, went, etc. He is careful to leave out the word other. The men who use these terms most, and especially those who lose no opportunity to proclaim themselves gentlemen, belong to that class of men who cock their hats on one side of their heads, and often wear them when and where gentlemen would remove them, who pride themselves on their familiarity with the latest slang, who proclaim their independence by showing the least possible consideration for others, who laugh long and loud at their own wit, Who wear a profusion of cheap finery such as outlandish watch-chains hooked in the lowest buttonhole of their vests, Brazilian diamonds in their shirt-bosoms, and big seal-rings on their little fingers.

Who use bad grammar and interlard their conversation with big oaths. In business correspondence, Smith is addressed as Sir, while Smith and Brown are often addressed as Gentleman, or vulgarly, as gents. Better much it is to address them as sirs.

Since writing the foregoing, I have met with the following paragraph in the London Publication all the year round.

Socially, the term gentleman has become almost vulgar. It is certainly less employed by gentlemen than by inferior persons. Though one speaks of a man I know, The other, of a gentleman, I know. In the one case the gentleman is taken for granted, in the other it seems to need specification. Again, as regards the term lady, it is quite in accordance with the usages of society to speak of your acquaintance, the Duchess, as a very nice person. People who would say, very nice lady, are not generally of a social class which has much to do with Duchesses. And if you speak of one of these as a person, You will soon be made to feel your mistake.

Gents. Of all vulgarisms, this is perhaps the most offensive. If we say gents, why not say lades?

Gerund.

I have work to do. There is no more to say. Our phrase is where the verb is not in the common infinitive, but in the form of the gerund. He is the man to do it, or for doing it. A house to let. The course to steer by. A place to lie in. A thing to be done. A city to take refuge in. The means to do ill deeds. Our adjective gerunds. They may be expanded into clauses. A house that the owner lets or will let. The course that we should steer by. A thing that should be done. A city wherein one may take refuge, the means whereby ill-deeds may be done.

When the two ceased in the twelfth century to be a distinctive mark of the dative infinitive or gerund, four was introduced to make the writer's intention clear. Hence the familiar form in, What went ye out for to see? They came for to show him the temple. Bain. Get. In sentences expressing simple possession, as, I have got a book. What has he got there? Have you got any news? They have got a new house, etc. Got is entirely superfluous, if not, as some writers contend, absolutely incorrect. Possession is completely expressed by have. Foxes have holes. The birds of the air have nests. Not foxes have got holes. The birds of the air have got nests. Formerly, the imperfect tense of this verb was , which is now obsolete, and the perfect participle was , which some grammarians say is growing obsolete.

If this be true, there is no good reason for it.

If we say , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Goods. This term, like the other terms used in trade, should be restricted to the vocabulary of commerce. Messrs Arnold and Constable, in common with the Washington Market Huckster, very properly speak of their wares as their goods. But Mrs. Arnold and Mrs. Constable should, and I doubt not do, speak of their gowns as being made of fine or coarse silk, cashmere, muslin, or whatever the material may be.

Gould against Alford. Mr. Edward S. Gould, in his review of Dean Alford's Queen's English, remarks on page 131 of his Good English, quote, and now as to the style of the Dean's book taken as a whole. Mr. Gould criticizes the Dean's diction, not his style.

He must be held responsible for every error in it, because, as has been shown, he has had full leisure for its revision.

The errors are nevertheless numerous, and the shortest way to exhibit them is in tabular form.

is to put them in tabular form.

In several instances, Mr. Gould would not have taken the Dean to task had he known English better. The following are a few of Mr. Gould's corrections, in which he is clearly in the right.

Paragraph four. Into another land than should be into A land other than. 16. We do not follow rule in spelling other words but custom. We do not follow rule but custom in spelling, etc. 18. The distinction is observed in French, but never appears to have been made, etc.

Appears never to have been made. Paragraph 61. Rather to aspirate more than less should be to aspirate more rather than less. Paragraph 9. It is said also only to occur three times, etc. Read, occur only three times. Paragraph 44. This doubling only takes place in a syllable, etc. Read, Takes place only.

Paragraph One. Forty-two. Which can only be decided when those circumstances are known. Read, Can be decided only when, etc.

Paragraph One. Sixty-six. I will only say that it produces, etc. Read, I will say only, etc.

Paragraph 170. It is said that this can only be filled in thus. Read, Can be filled in only thus.

Paragraph 368. I can only deal with the complaint in a general way. Read, Deal with the complaint only, etc.

Paragraph 86. Insofar as they are idiomatic, etc., what is the use of in?

Paragraph 171. Try the experiment. Tried the experiment. Read, make and made.

Paragraph 345. It is most generally used of that very sect, etc. Why most?

Paragraph 362. The joining together two clauses with a third, etc. read, of two clauses, etc.

Gown. Refer to dress.

Graduated.

Students do not graduate. They are graduated. Hence, most writers nowadays say, I was, he was, or they were graduated, and ask, When were you, or was he graduated?

Grammatical errors.

The correctness of the expression grammatical errors has been disputed. How, it has been asked, can an error be grammatical? How, it may be replied, can we with propriety say grammatically incorrect? Yet we can do so.

No one will question the propriety of saying grammatically correct. Yet the expression is the acknowledgement of things grammatically incorrect. Likewise, the phrase grammatical correctness implies the existence of grammatical incorrectness. If, then, a sentence is grammatically incorrect, or what is the same thing has grammatical incorrectness, it includes a grammatical error. Grammatically incorrect signifies incorrect with relation to the rules of grammar. Grammatical errors signifies errors with relation to the rules of grammar.

They who ridicule the phrase grammatical errors, and substitute the phrase errors in grammar, Make an egregious mistake. Can there, it may be asked with some show of reason, be an error in grammar? Why, grammar is a science founded in our nature, referable to our ideas of time, relation, method. Imperfect, doubtless, as to the system by which it is represented. But, surely, we can speak of error in that which is error's criterion.

All this is hypercritical. But hypercriticism must be met with its own weapons.

Of the two expressions, a grammatical error and an error in grammar, the former is preferable. If one's judgment can accept neither, one must relinquish the belief in the possibility of tersely expressing the idea of an offense against grammatical rules. Indeed, it would be difficult to express the idea even by circumlocution. Should someone say, "'This sentence is, according to the rules of grammar, incorrect.' "'What?' the hypercritic may exclaim, "'Incorrect! and according to the rules of grammar.' "'This sentence, then,' the corrected person would reply, "'contains an error in grammar.' "'Nonsense,' the hypercritic may shout. "'Grammar is a science. You may be wrong in its interpretation, but principles are immutable.' After this, it need scarcely be added that, grammatically, no one can make a mistake, that there can be no grammatical mistake, that there can be no bad grammar, and, consequently, no bad English—a very pleasant conclusion, which would save us a great amount of trouble if it did not lack the insignificant quality of being true.

VULGARISMS AND OTHER ERRORS OF SPEECH.

There are those who object to the use of this word in the sense of unfounded, unwarranted, unreasonable, untrue. Its use in this sense, however, has the sanction of abundant authority. Weak and gratuitous conjectures. Porson. A gratuitous assumption. Godwin. The gratuitous theory. Southey. A gratuitous invention. De Quincey. But it is needless to dwell on the improbability of a hypothesis which has been shown to be altogether gratuitous. Dr. Newman.

Grow. This verb originally meant to increase in size, but has normally come to be also used to express a change from one state or condition to another, as to grow dark, to grow weak or strong, to grow faint, etc., But it is doubtful whether what is large can properly be said to grow small. In this sense, become would seem to be the better word.

Gums.

Had, have. Nothing could be more incorrect than the bringing together of these two auxiliary verbs in this manner, and yet we occasionally find it in writers of repute. Instead of, Had I known it, Had you seen it, Had we been there, We hear, Had I have known it, Had you have seen it, Had we have been there.

Had ought. This is a vulgarism of the worst description. Yet we hear people, who would be highly indignant if any one should intimate that they were not ladies and gentlemen, say, He had ought to go. A fitting reply would be, Yes, I think he better had. Aught says all that had ought says.

Had rather.

This expression and had better are much used, but in the opinion of many are indefensible. We hear them in such sentences as, I had rather not do it. You had better go home. Now what Tense, it is asked, is had do and had go. If we transpose the words thus, you had do better, to go home, it becomes at once apparent, it is asserted, that the proper word to use in connection with rather and better is not had, but would. Thus you would better go home. Examples of this use of had can be found in the writings of our best authors. For what Professor Bain has to say on this subject in his Composition Grammar, refer to Subjunctive Mood.

Half. It might have been expressed in One Half the Space. We see at a glance that One here is superfluous.

Hanged, Hung. The irregular form hung of the past participle of the verb to hang is most used, but when the word denotes suspension by the neck for the purpose of destroying life, the regular form hanged is always used by careful writers and speakers.

Haste. Refer to hurry. Heading. Refer to caption.

Healthy. Wholesome. The first of these two words is often improperly used for the second. As onions are a healthy vegetable. A man, if he is in good health, is healthy. The food he eats, if it is not deleterious, is wholesome. A healthy ox makes wholesome food. We speak of healthy surroundings, a healthy climate, situation, employment, and of wholesome food, advice, examples. Healthful is generally used in the sense of conducive to health, virtue, morality, as healthful exercise, the healthful spirit of the community, meaning that the spirit that prevails in the community is conducive to virtue and good morals.

Helpmate. The dictionaries suggest that this word is a corruption of help and meet. As we find these words used in Genesis 2, 18, I will make him a helpmeet for him, and that the proper word is helpmeet. If, as is possible, the words in Genesis mean, I will make him a helpmeet suitable for him, then neither helpmate nor helpmeet has any raison d'etre.

Highfalutin. This is a style of writing often called the freshman style. It is much indulged in by very young men, and by a class of older men who instinctively try to make up in clatter for what they lack in matter. Examples of this kind of writing are abundant in Prof. L. T. Townsend's Art of Speech, which, as examples, are all the better for not being of that exaggerated description sometimes met within the newspapers. Volume One. Page One. Thirty-one.

Very often, adverbs, prepositions, and relatives drift so far from their moorings as to lose themselves, or make attachments where they do not belong.

Again, Page One. Thirty-five. Every law of speech enforces the statement that there is no excuse for such inflated and defective style. Such style! To speak thus is treason in the realms and under the laws of language.

Again, Page One Seventy Five.

Cultivate figure-making habitudes. This is done by asking the spiritual import of every physical object seen. Also, by forming the habit of constantly metaphorizing. Knock at the door of anything met which interests, and ask— Who lives here? The process is to look, then close the eyes, then look within.

The blundering inanity of this kind of writing is equalled only by its bumptious grandiloquence. On page 137, Dr. Townsend quotes this wholesome admonition from Coleridge. If men would only say what they have to say in plain terms, how much more eloquent they would be.

As an example of repertorial highfalutin, I submit the following, quote, The spirit of departed day had joined communion with the myriad ghosts of centuries, and four full hours fled into eternity before the citizens of many parts of the town found out there was a freshet here at all.

Hints. Never write about any matter that you do not well understand. If you clearly understand all about your matter, you will never want thoughts, and thoughts instantly become words.

One of the greatest of all faults in writing and in speaking is this, the using of many words to say little. In order to guard yourself against this fault, inquire what is the substance or amount of what you have said. Take a long speech of some Talking Lord, and put down upon paper what the amount of it is. You will most likely find that the amount is very small, but at any rate, when you get it, you will then be able to examine it, and to tell what it is worth. A very few examinations of the sort will so frighten you that you will be forever after upon your guard against talking a great deal and saying little."

Cobbett Quote, be simple, be unaffected, be honest in your speaking and writing. Never use a long word where a short one will do. Call a spade a spade, not a well-known oblong instrument of manual husbandry. Let home be home, not a residence. A place a place, not a locality. And so of the rest. Where a short word will do, you always lose by using a long one. You lose in clearness. You lose in honest expression of your meaning, and in the estimation of all men who are qualified to judge, you lose in reputation for ability. The only true way to shine, even in this false world, is to be modest and unassuming. Falsehood may be a very thick crust, but in the course of time, truth will find a place to break through.

Elegance of language may not be in the power of all of us, but simplicity and straightforwardness are. Write much as you would speak. Speak as you think. If with your inferiors, speak no coarser than usual. If with your superiors, no finer. Be what you say, and within the rules of prudence, say what you are.

Dean Alfert.

Go critically over what you have written, and strike out every word, phrase, and clause which it is found will leave the sentence neither less clear nor less forcible than it is without them. Swinton.

With all watchfulness, it is astonishing what slips are made, even by good writers, in the employment of an inappropriate word. In Gibbon's Rise and Fall, the following instance occurs. Of nineteen tyrants who started up after the reign of Gallienus, there was not one who enjoyed a life of peace or a natural death. Alisson, in his History of Europe, writes, Two great sins, one of omission and one of commission, have been committed by the states of Europe in modern times. And not long since a worthy Scotch minister at the close of the services intimated his intention of visiting some of his people as follows. I intend, during this week, to visit in Mr. M.'s district, and will on this occasion take the opportunity of embracing all the servants in the district.

When worthies such as these offend, who shall call the bellman in question as he cries, Lost? A Silver-Handled Silk Lady's Parasol.

The proper arrangement of words into sentences and paragraphs gives clearness and strength. To attain a clear and pithy style, it may be necessary to cut down, to rearrange, and to rewrite whole passages of an essay. Gibbon wrote his memoirs six times, and the first chapter of his history three times. Beginners are always slow to prune or cast away any thought or expression which may have cost labor. They forget that brevity is no sign of thoughtlessness. Much consideration is needed to compress the details of any subject into small compass. Essences are more difficult to prepare, and therefore more valuable, than weak solutions. Pliny wrote to one of his friends, I have not time to write you a short letter, therefore I have written you a long one.

Apparent elaborateness is always distasteful and weak. Vividness and strength are the product of an easy command of those small, trenchant Saxon monosyllables which abound in the English language.

Leisure hour.

As a rule, the student will do well to banish for the present all thought of ornament or elegance, and to aim only at expressing himself plainly and clearly. The best ornament is always that which comes unsought. Let him not beat about the bush, but go straight to the point. Let him remember that what is written is meant to be read, that time is short, and that other things being equal, the fewer words, the better. Repetition is a far less serious fault than obscurity. Young writers are often unduly afraid of repeating the same word, and require to be reminded that it is always better to use the right word over again than to replace it by a wrong one. And a word which is liable to be misunderstood is a wrong one.

A frank repetition of a word has even sometimes a kind of charm as bearing the stamp of truth, The foundation of all excellence of style.

Hall.

A young writer is afraid to be simple. He has no faith in beauty unadorned. Hence he crowds his sentences with superlatives. In his estimation, turgidity passes for eloquence, and simplicity is but another name for that which is weak and unmeaning. George Washington Moon.

Hon.

R.

How. I have heard how in Italy one is beset on all sides by beggars. Read, heard that.

I have heard how some critics have been pacified with claret and a supper, and others laid asleep with soft notes of flattery.

Dr. Johnson. The how in this sentence also should be that. How means the manner in which. We may therefore say, I have heard how he went about it to circumvent you.

And it is good judgment alone can dictate how far to proceed in it and when to stop.

Cobbett comments on this sentence in this wise. Dr. Watts is speaking here of writing. In such a case, an adverb like how far, expressive of longitudinal space, introduces a rhetorical figure, for the plain meaning is that judgment will indicate how much to write on it, and not how far to proceed in it. The figure, however, is very proper and much better than the literal words, but when a figure is begun it should be carried on throughout, which is not the case here. For the doctor begins with a figure of longitudinal space, and ends with a figure of time. It should have been where to stop, or how long to proceed in it, and when to stop. To tell a man how far he is to go into the western countries of America, and when he is to stop, is a very different thing from telling him how far he is to go, and where he is to stop.

I have dwelt thus on this distinction for the purpose of putting you on the watch, and guarding you against confounding figures. The less you use them, the better, till you understand more about them.

Humanitarianism. This word, in its original theological sense, means the doctrine that denies the Godhead of Jesus Christ. and avers that he was possessed of a human nature only. A humanitarian, therefore, in the theological sense, is one who believes this doctrine. The word and its derivatives are, however, nowadays, both in this country and in England, most used in a humane philanthropic sense. Thus, the audience enthusiastically endorsed the humanitarianism of his eloquent discourse. Hatton.

Hung.

Hurry. Though widely different in meaning, both the verb and the noun hurry are continually used for haste and hasten. Hurry implies not only haste, but haste with confusion, flurry. While haste implies only rapidity of action, An eager desire to make progress, and unlike hurry, is not incompatible with deliberation and dignity. It is often wise to hasten in the affairs of life, but as it is never wise to proceed without forethought and method, it is never wise to hurry. Sensible people, then, may be often in haste, but are never in a hurry, and we tell others to make haste and not to hurry up. Hyperbole. The magnifying of things beyond their natural limits is called hyperbole. Language that signifies literally more than the exact truth, more than is really intended to be represented, by which a thing is represented greater or less, better or worse than it really is, is said to be hyperbolical.

Hyperbole is exaggeration.

Our common forms of complement are almost all of them extravagant hyperboles. Blair.

Some examples are the following. Rivers of blood and hills of slain. They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger than lions. The sky shrunk upward with unusual dread, and trembling Tiber dived beneath his bed.

So frowned the mighty combatants, that hell grew darker at their frown. I saw their chief tall as a rock of ice, his spear the blasted fir, his shield the rising moon. He sat on the shore like a cloud of mist on a hill.

Ice cream, ice water. As for ice cream, there is no such thing, as ice cream would be the product of frozen cream, in other words cream made from ice by melting. What is called ice cream is cream iced, hence properly iced cream, and not ice cream. The product of melted ice is ice water, whether it be cold or warm. But water made cold with ice is iced water. and not ice-water.

IF. I doubt if this will ever reach you. I doubt whether this will ever reach you.

IL. ILL.

ILLY. It will astonish not a few to learn that there is no such word as ILLY. The form of the adverb, as well as of the adjective and the noun, is ill. A thing is ill-formed, or ill-done, or ill-made, or ill-constructed, or ill-put-together. Ill fares the land to hastening ills a prey, where wealth accumulates and men decay.

Goldsmith.

Immodest. This adjective and its synonyms Indecent and indelicate are often used without proper discrimination being made in their respective meanings. Indecency and immodesty are opposed to morality—the former in externals as dress, words, and looks, the latter in conduct and disposition. Indecency, says Crabbe, may be a partial. Immodesty is a positive and entire breach of the moral law. Indecency is less than Immodesty, but more than indelicacy. It is indecent for a man to marry again very soon after the death of his wife. It is indelicate for any one to obtrude himself upon another's retirement. It is indecent for women to expose their persons as do some whom we cannot call immodest.

Immodest words admit of no defence, for want of decency is want of sense.

Earl of Roscommon.

Impropriety. As a rhetorical term defined as an error in using words in a sense different from their recognized signification.

Impute. Non-painstaking writers not unfrequently use impute instead of ascribe. The numbers of blunders that have been imputed to him are endless.

The use of impute in this connection is by no means indefensible. Still, it would have been better to use a scribe.

In Our Midst The phrases in our midst and in their midst are generally supposed to be of recent introduction, and though they have been used by some respectable writers, They nevertheless find no favor with those who study propriety in the use of language. To the phrase, in the midst, no one objects. Jesus came and stood in the midst. There was a hut in the midst of the forest.

In respect of.

The deliberate introduction of incorrect forms, whether by the coinage of new or the revival of obsolete and inexpressive syntactical combinations, ought to be resisted, even in trifles, especially where it leads to the confusion of distinct ideas. An example of this is the recent use of the adverbial phrases in respect of, in regard of, for in, or with respect to, or regard to. This innovation is without any syntactical ground, and ought to be condemned and avoided as a mere grammatical crotchet. Insofar as, a phrase often met with, and in which the in is superfluous, A want of proper opportunity would suffice, in so far as the want could be shown. We are to act up to the extent of our knowledge, but in so far as our knowledge falls short, etc.

Inaugurate. This word, which means to install in office with certain ceremonies, is made by many lovers of big words to do service for begin, but the sooner these rhetorical high-flyers stop Inaugurating and content themselves with simply beginning the things they are called upon to do in the ordinary routine of daily life, the sooner they will cease to set a very bad example.

Indecent.

Index expurgatorius. William Cullen Bryant. who was a careful student of English while he was editor of the New York Evening Post, sought to prevent the writers for that paper from using over and above for more than. Artist for artist. Aspirant, authoress, beat for defeat. Bagging for capturing. Balance for remainder. Banquet for dinner or supper. Bogus. Casket for Coffin. Claimed for Asserted. Collided. Commence for Begin. Compete. Cortege for Procession. Contemporary for Contemporary. Couple for Two. Darky for Negro. Day before Yesterday for the Day before Yesterday. D. Decrease as a verb, democracy applied to a political party. Develop for expose. Devouring element for fire. Donate. Employee.

Enacted for acted. Endorse for approve. En route. Esquire. Graduate for is graduated. Gents, for gentlemen, Honorable. House, for house of representatives, Humbug. Inaugurate, for begin. In our midst, Item, for particle, extract, or paragraph, is being done, and all passives of this form. Jeopardize. Jubilant for rejoicing.

Juvenile for boy. Lady for wife. Last for latest. Lengthy for long. Leniency for lenity. Loafer. Lone or loaned for lend or lent. Located. Majority, relating to places or circumstances for most.

Mrs. President, Mrs. Governor, Mrs. General, and all similar titles. Mutual, for common. Official, for officer. Ovation, on yesterday, over his signature. Pants, for pantaloons. Parties, for persons, partially for partly, past two weeks for last two weeks, and all similar expressions relating to a definite time, poetess, portion for part, posted for informed, progress for advance, reliable for trustworthy, rendition for performance, repudiate for reject or disown, Retire as an active verb.

Reverend for the Reverend. Roll for part.

Ruffs, Rowdies. Sakesh, Sensation, for noteworthy event. Standpoint, for point of view. Start, in the sense of setting out. State, for say. Taboo, Talent for Talents or Ability. Talented. Tapis. The Deceased. War for Dispute or Disagreement. This index is offered here as a curiosity rather than as a guide, though in the main it might safely be used as such. No valid reason, however, can be urged for discouraging the use of several words in the list. The words aspirant, banquet, Casket, compete, decrease, progress, start, talented, and deceased, for example.

Indicative and Subjunctive. I see the signal is unconditional. If I see the signal is the same fact expressed in the form of a condition. The one form is said to be in the indicative mood, the mood that simply states or indicates the action. The other form is in the subjunctive, conditional, or conjunctive mood. There is sometimes a slight variation made in English to show that an affirmation is made as a condition. The mood is called subjunctive because the affirmation is subjoined to another affirmation. If I see the signal, I will call out.

Such forms as I may see, I can see have sometimes been considered as a variety of mood to which the name potential is given, but this cannot properly be maintained. There is no trace of any inflection corresponding to this meaning, as we find with the subjunctive. Moreover, such a mood would have itself to be subdivided into indicative and subjunctive forms. I may go, if I may go. And further, we might proceed to constitute other moods on the same analogy, as, for example, an obligatory mood. I must go, or I ought to go. A mood of resolution, I will go, you shall go. A mood of gratification, I am delighted to go. Of deprecation, I am grieved to go. The only difference in the two last instances, is the use of the sign of the infinitive to, which does not occur after may, can, must, ought, etc.

But that is not an essential difference. Some grammarians consider the form I do go a separate mood, and term it the emphatic mood, but all the above objections apply to it likewise, as well as many others.

Bayne. Refer to Subjunctive Mood.

Individual. This word is often most improperly used for person, as the individual I saw was not over forty. There were several individuals on board that I had never seen before. Individual means, etymologically, That which cannot be divided, and is used in speaking of things as well as of persons to express unity. It is opposed to the whole, or that which is divisible into parts. Endorse. Careful writers generally discountenance the use of endorse, in the sense of sanction, approve, applaud. In this signification, It is on the list of prohibited words in some of our newspaper offices.

The following rules are endorsed by nearly all writers upon this subject. Dr. Townsend. It is plain that the right word to use here is approved. The public will heartily endorse the sentiments uttered by the court. New York Evening Telegram. The public will heartily approve the sentiments expressed by the court, is what the sentence should be.

Infinitive mood. When we can choose, it is generally better to use the verb in the infinitive than in the participial form. Ability being in general the power of doing, etc., say to do. I desire to reply to the proposal of substituting a tax upon land values. And making this tax as near nearly as may be equal to rent, etc. Say, to substitute and to make. This quality is of prime importance when the chief object is the imparting of knowledge. Say, to impart. Initiate. This is a pretentious word, which, with its derivatives, many persons, especially those who like to be grandiloquent, use. when homely English would serve their turn much better.

Innumerable Number. A repetitional expression to be avoided. We may say innumerable times or numberless times, but we should not say an innumerable number of times. Interrogation. The rhetorical figure that asks a question in order to emphasize the reverse of what is asked is called interrogation. As Do we mean to submit to this measure? Do we mean to submit, and consent that we ourselves, our country, and its rights shall be trampled on? Doth God pervert judgment, or doth the Almighty pervert justice? Introduce. Present. Irony. That mode of speech in which what is meant is contrary to the literal meaning of the words, in which praise is bestowed when censure is intended. Is called irony. Irony is a kind of delicate sarcasm or satire.

Raillery. In writings of humor, figures are sometimes used of so delicate a nature that it shall often happen that some people will see things in a direct contrary sense to what the author and the majority of the readers understand them. To such the most innocent irony may appear irreligion.

Cambridge.

Irritate. Refer to aggravate.

5 05: Is being built - Knights Templars 59:27

V. Is being built through Knights Templar. Is Being Built. A tolerable idea of the state of the discussion regarding the propriety of using the locution is being built, and all like expressions, will, it is hoped, be obtained from the following extracts. The Rev. Peter Bullions, in his Grammar of the English Language, says, There is properly no passive form in English corresponding to the progressive form in the active voice except where it is made by the participle ing in a passive sense. Thus, the house is building, the garments are making, wheat is selling, etc. An attempt has been made by some grammarians of late to banish such expressions from the language. Though they have been used in all times past by the best writers, and to justify and defend a clumsy Calecism, which has been recently introduced chiefly through the newspaper press, but which has gained such currency, and is becoming so familiar to the ear that it seems likely to prevail, with all its uncouthness and deformity.

I refer to such expressions as, the house is being built, the letter is being written, The mine is being worked. The news is being telegraphed, etc., etc.

This mode of expression had no existence in the language till within the last fifty years.

This, indeed, would not make the expression wrong were it otherwise unexceptionable. But its recent origin shows that it is not, as is pretended, a necessary form.

This form of expression, when analyzed, is found not to express what it is intended to express, and would be used only by such as are either ignorant of its import, or are careless and loose in their use of language. To make this manifest, let it be considered first that there is no progressive form of the verb to be. And no need of it. Hence, there is no such expression in English as is being. Of course, the expression is being built, for example, is not a compound of its being and built, but of is and being built. That is, of the verb to be and the present participle passive. Now, let it be observed that the only verbs in which the present participle passive expresses a continued action are those mentioned above as the first class, in which the regular passive form expresses a continuance of the action, as is loved, is desired, etc., and in which, of course, the form in question is being built, is not required.

Nobody would think of saying, He is being loved. This result is being desired.

The use of this form is justified only by condemning an established usage of the language, namely, the passive sense in some verbs of the participle in ing. In reference to this, it is flippantly asked, What does the house build? What does the letter write? etc. Taking for granted, without attempting to prove, that the participle in ing cannot have a passive sense in any verb. The following are a few examples from writers of the best reputation, which this novelty would condemn. While the ceremony was performing. Tom Brown. The court was then holding. Sir G. Mackenzie. And still be doing, never done. Butler. The books are selling. Allen's Grammar. To know nothing of what is transacting in the regions above us.

Dr. Blair. The spot where this new and strange tragedy was acting. E. Everett. The fortress was building. Irving. An attempt is making in the English Parliament. D. Webster. The church now erecting in the city of New York. N. A. Review. These things were transacting in England. Bancroft. This new doctrine is in opposition to the almost unanimous judgment of the most distinguished grammarians and critics, who have considered the subject, and expressed their views concerning it. The following are a specimen. Expressions of this kind are condemned by some critics, But the usage is unquestionably of far better authority, and, according to my apprehension, in far better taste, than the more complex phraseology which some late writers adopt in its stead.

As, The books are now being sold. Gould Brown. As to the notion of introducing a new and more complex passive form of conjugation, as the bridge is being built, The bridge was being built, and so forth. It is one of the most absurd and monstrous innovations ever thought of. The work is now being published is certainly no better English than the work was being published, has been being published, had been being published, shall or will be being published, shall or will have been being published, and so on, through all the moods and tenses. What a language shall we have when our verbs are thus conjugated? Brown's Grammar of English Grammar. Page Three sixty one. De Waure observes, The participle in ing is also passive in many instances as the house's building, I heard of a plan forming, etc.

Quoted in Frazee's Grammar. Page 49. It would be an absurdity, indeed, to give up the only way we have of denoting the incomplete state of action by a passive form, viz. by the participle in ing in the passive sense. Arnold's English Grammar, Page 46. The present participle is often used passively, as the ship is building. The form of expression is being built is being committed, etc., is almost universally condemned by grammarians, but it is sometimes met with in respectable writers. It occurs most frequently in newspaper paragraphs, and in hasty compositions.

When we say, the house is building, the advocates of the new theory ask, building what? We might ask in turn, when you say, "'The field ploughs well,' ploughs what? "'Weat sells well,' sells what? If usage allows us to say, "'Weat sells at a dollar,' in a sense that is not active, why may we not say, "'Weat is selling at a dollar,' in a sense that is not active." Hart's Grammar, Page 76. The prevailing practice of the best authors is in favor of the simple form, as, The house is building. Welles School Grammar. Page One Forty Eight. Several other expressions of this sort now and then occur, such as the newfangled and almost uncouth solecism is being done, for the good old English idiom is doing.

An absurd periphrasis driving out a pointed and pithy turn of the English language. N. A. Review. Quoted by Mr. Wells. Page 148. The phrase, is being built, and others of a similar kind, have been for a few years insinuating themselves into our language. Still they are not English.

This mode of expression, the house is being built, is becoming quite common. It is liable, however, to several important objections. It appears formal and pedantic. It has not, as far as I know, the support of any respectable grammarian. The easy and natural expression is, the house is building. Prof. J. W. Gibbs.

Mr. Richard Grant White, in his Words and Their Uses, expresses his opinion of the locution is being in this wise.

In Bad Eminence, at the head of those intruders in language which to many persons seem to be of established respectability, but the right of which to be at all is not fully admitted, stands out the form of speech is being done, or rather is being, which, about seventy or eighty years ago, began to affront the eye, torment the ear, and assault the common sense of the speaker of plain and idiomatic English.

Mr. White devotes thirty pages of his book to the discussion of the subject, and deduces evidence that is more than sufficient to convince those who are content with an ex parte examination, that it can hardly be that such an incongruous and ridiculous form of speech as is being done was contrived by a man who, by any stretch of the name, should be included among grammarians.

Mr. George P. Marsh, in his lectures on the English language, says that the divisor of the locution in question was some grammatical pretender, and that it is, quote, an awkward neologism, which neither convenience, intelligibility, nor syntactical congruity demands. End quote. To these gentlemen, and to those who are of their way of thinking with regard to his being, Dr. Fitzward Hall, Replies at some length in an article published in Scribner's Monthly for April, 1872. Dr. Hall writes, All really well-educated in the English tongue lament the many innovations introduced into our language from America, and I doubt if more than one of these novelties deserve acceptation. That one is substituting a compound participle for an active verb used in a neuter signification.

For instance, the house is being built instead of the house is building. Such is the assertion, and such is the opinion of some anonymous luminary who, for his liberality in welcoming a supposed Americanism, is somewhat in advance of the herd of his countrymen.

L.W.K. C.L.K. L.L.D. E.X.S.C.H. T. C. D. Of this reverend gentleman's personality I know nothing. He does not say exactly what he means. But what he means is, yet unmistakable. The extract given above is from Public Opinion, January 20, 1866. Almost any popular expression which is considered as a novelty A Briton is pretty certain to assume, offhand, to have originated on our side of the Atlantic. Of the assertion I have quoted, no proof is offered, and there is little probability that its author had any to offer. Our being, in the phrase, our being thrown up, is spoken of in the North American Review as an outrage upon English idiom, to be detested, abhorred, execrated, and given over to six thousand penny-paper editors.

And the fact is, that phrases of the form here pointed at have hitherto enjoyed very much less favour with us than with the English.

The analysis taken for granted in this quotation of our being thrown up into our being and thrown up will be dealt with in the sequel, and shown to be untenable. End footnote. The End.

As Lately as 1860, Dr. Worcester, referring to is being built, etc., while acknowledging that this new form has been used by some respectable writers, speaks of it as having been introduced within a few years. Mr. Richard Grant White, by a most peculiar process of ratiocination, endeavors to prove that what Dr. Worcester calls this new form came into existence just fifty-six years ago. He premises that, in Jarvis's translation of Don Quixote, published in 1742, there occurs were carrying, and that this, in the edition of 1818, is sophisticated into were being carried. This change, continues our logician, and the appearance of is-being with a perfect participle in a very few books, published between A.D.

1815 and 1820, indicate the former period as that of the origin of this phraseology, which, although more than half a century old, is still pronounced a novelty as well as a nuisance. Who, in the next place, devised our modern imperfects passive? The question is not originally of my asking. But as the learned are at open feud on the subject, it should not be passed by in silence. Its deviser is more than likely as undiscoverable as the name of the valiant antediluvian who first tasted an oyster. But the deductive character of the miscreant is another thing. And hereon is a war between the philosophers. Mr. G. P. Marsh, as if he had actually spotted the wretched creature, passionately and categorically denounces him as some grammatical pretender.

But, replies Mr. White, that it is the work of any grammarian is more than doubtful. Grammarians, with all their faults, do not deform language with fantastic solecisms, or even seek to enrich it with new and startling verbal combinations. They rather resist novelty, and devote themselves to formulating that which use has already established. In the same page with this, Mr. White compliments the great unknown as some precise and feeble-minded soul, And elsewhere calls him some pedantic writer of the last generation. To add even one word toward a solution of the knotty point here, indicated, transcends, I confess, my utmost competence. It is painful to picture, to one's self, the agonizing emotions with which certain philologists would contemplate an authentic effigy of the Attila of speech, who, by his is-being-built, or is-being-done, First offered violence to the whole circle of the proprieties.

So far as I have observed, the first grammar that exhibits them is that of Mr. R. S. Skillern, M.A., the first edition of which was published at Gloucester in 18, O. Robert Southey had not, on the 9th of October, 1795, been out of his minority quite two months, when, evidently delivering himself in a way that had already become familiar enough, he wrote of, a fellow whose uttermost upper grinder is being torn out by the roots by a mutton-fisted barber.

The Life and Correspondence of the Late Robert Southey Volume 1, page 249. This is in a letter, but repeated instances of the same kind of expression are seen in Southey's graver writings. Thus, in his colloquies, etc., we read, of such nunneries as at this time are being re-established.

A student who is being crammed. That verb is eternally being declined. The Doctor, Page 38 and 40, Monotome Edition.

While my hand was being dressed by Mr. Young, I spoke for the first time, wrote Coleridge, in March 17, 97. Charles Lamb speaks of realities which are being acted before us, and of a man who is being strangled.

Walter Savage Landor, in an imaginary conversation, represents Pitt as saying, "'The man who possesses them may read Swedenburg and Kant while he is being tossed in a blanket.' Again, "'I have seen nobles, men and women, kneeling in the street before these bishops, when no ceremony of the Catholic Church was being performed.' Also, in a translation from Catalysts, Some criminal is being tried for murder.

Nor does Mr. De Quincey scruple at such English as, Made and being made, the bride that was being married to him, and the shafts of heaven were even now being forged. On one occasion he writes, Not done, not even, according to modern purism, being done, as if purism meant exactness rather than the avoidance of neoterism.

I need surely name no more among the dead who found is being built, or the like acceptable.

Simple-minded common people and those of culture were alike protected against it by their attachment to the idiom of their mother tongue, with which they felt it to be directly at variance. So Mr. White informs us. But the writers whom I have quoted are formidable exceptions. Even Mr. White will scarcely deny to them the title of People of Culture.

So much for offenders past repentance. And we all know that the sort of phraseology under consideration is daily becoming more and more common. The best written of the English reviews, magazines, and journals are perpetually marked by it, and some of the choicest of living English writers employ it freely. Among these, It is enough if I specify Bishop Wilberforce and Mr. Charles Reed.

In Put Yourself in His Place, Chapter 10, he writes, She basked in the present delight, and looked as if she was being taken to heaven by an angel.

Extracts from Bishop Jewell downward being also given. Lord Macaulay, Mr. Dickens, the Atlantic Monthly, and the Brooklyn Eagle are alleged by Mr. White in proof that people still use such phrases as Chelsea Hospital was building, and the train was preparing. Hence we see, he adds, that the form is being done, is being made, is being built lacks the support of authoritative usage from the period of the earliest classical English to the present day.

I fully concur with Mr. White in regarding neither the Brooklyn Eagle nor Mr. Dickens as a very high authority in the use of language. Yet, when he has renounced the aid of these contemned straws, what has he to rest his inference on as to the present day but the practice of Lord Macaulay and the Atlantic Monthly? Those who think fit will bow to the dictatorship here prescribed to them. But there may be those with whom the classic sanction of Southey, Coleridge, and Lander will not be wholly void of weight. All scholars are aware that, to convey the sense of the imperfect's passive, our ancestors, centuries ago, prefixed with is, etc., in, afterward corrupted into a, to a verbal substantive. The house's inn-building could be taken to mean nothing but ades edificanter, and when the inn gave place to a, it was still manifest enough, from the context, that building was governed by a preposition.

Footnote. Thomas Fuller writes, At his arrival, the last stake of the Christians was on losing. The History of the Holy War Page Two, Eighteen, and the second stage of change, however, namely, when the A was omitted, entailed in many cases great danger of confusion. In the early part of the last century, when English was undergoing what was then thought to be purification, the polite world substantially resigned is a building to the vulgar. Toward the close of the same century, when under the influence of free thought, it began to be felt that even ideas had a right to faithful and unequivocal representation. A just resentment of ambiguity was evidenced in the creation of, is-being-built. The lament is too late that the instinct of reformation did not restore the old form.

It has gone forever. And we are now to make the best of its successors. The brass is forging, in the opinion of Dr. Johnson, is a vicious expression, probably corrupted from a phrase more pure, but now somewhat obsolete. The brass is a forging. Yet with a true tory's timidity, and aversion to change, it is not surprising that he went on preferring what he found established, vicious as it confessedly was, to the end. But was the expression vicious solely because it was a corruption? In 1787 William Beckford wrote as follows of the fortune-tellers of Lisbon, "'I saw one dragging into light, as I passed by the ruins of a palace thrown down by the earthquake. Whether a familiar of the Inquisition was griping her in his clutches, or whether she was taken to account by some disappointed votary, I will not pretend to answer.

Are the expressions here italicized either perspicuous or graceful? Whatever we are to have in their place, we should be thankful to get quit of them.

Inasmuch as concurrently with building for the active participle and being built for the corresponding passive participle, we possessed the former with is prefixed as the active present imperfect. It is in rigid accordance with the symmetry of our verb that, to construct the passive present imperfect, we prefix is to the latter, producing the form is being built, Such, in its greatest simplicity, is the procedure which, as will be seen, has provoked a very levanter of ire and vilification. But any thing that is new will be accepted to by minds of a certain order. Their tremulous and impatient dread of removing ancient landmarks even disqualifies them for thoroughly investigating its character and pretensions.

In has-built, and will-build, We find the active participle perfect and the active infinitive subjoined to auxiliaries. And so, in has been built and will be built, the passive participle perfect and the passive infinitive are subjoined to auxiliaries.

In is building, and is being built, we have, in strict harmony with the constitution of the perfect and future tenses, an auxiliary followed by the active participle present and the passive participle present. Built is determined as active or passive by the verbs which qualify it, have and be. And the grammarians are right in considering it, when embodied in has-built as active, since its analog embodied in has-been-built is the exclusively passive been-built. Besides this, has-been plus built would signify something like has existed built, which is plainly neuter. Footnote. I express myself in this manner because I distinguish between be and exist.

We are debarred, therefore, from such an analysis, and by parity of reasoning we may not resolve is-being built into is-being built. It must have been an inspiration of analogy, felt or unfelt, that suggested the form I am discussing. Is-being built As it can mean pretty nearly only exists, built, would never have been proposed as adequate to convey any but a neuter sense. Whereas it was perfectly natural for a person aiming to express a passive sense to prefix is to the passive concretion being built.

Jenny, who attends me here, has more than once hinted to me that Miss Jervis loves to sit up late, either reading or being read to by Anne, who, though she reads well, is not fond of the task. Sir Charles Grandison. The transition is very slight by which we pass from sits being read to, to is being read to.

The analogical justification of is-being built which I have brought forward is so obvious that, as it occurred to myself more than twenty years ago, so it must have occurred spontaneously to hundreds besides. It is very singular that those who, like Mr. Marsh or Mr. White, have pondered long and painfully over locutions typified by is-being-built, should have missed the real ground of their grammatical defensibleness, and should have warmed themselves, in their opposition to them, into uttering opinions which no calm judgment can accept.

One who is being beaten is, to Archbishop Whately, uncouth English. The bridges being built and other phrases of the like kind have pained the eye of Mr. David Booth. Such phrases, according to Mr. M. Harrison, are not English. To Professor J. W. Gibbs, this mode of expression appears formal and pedantic. And the easy and natural expression is, the house is building.

Footnote. I am here indebted to the last edition of Dr. Worcester's Dictionary. Preface, Page 39, and Footnote. In all this, little or nothing is discernible, beyond sheer prejudice, the prejudice of those who resolve to take their stand against an innovation, regardless of its utility, and, Who are ready to find an argument against it in any random epithet of disparagement provoked by unreasoning aversion. And the more recent denouncers in the same line have no more reason on their side than their elder brethren.

In Mr. Marsh's estimation, is-being-built illustrates corruption of language. It is clumsy and unidiomatic. It is, at best, but a philological coxcumry. It is an awkward neologism, which neither convenience, intelligibility, nor syntactical congruity demands, and the use of which ought, therefore, to be discountenanced, as an attempt at the artificial improvement of the language in a point which needed no amendment. Again, to reject is building, in favor of the modern phrase, is to violate the laws of language, by an arbitrary change, and, in this particular case, the proposed substitute is at war with the genius of the English tongue. Mr. Marsh seems to have fancied that wherever he points out a beauty in is building, he points out, inclusively, a blemish in is being built.

The fervor and feeling with which Mr. White advances to the charge are altogether tropical. The full absurdity of this phrase, the essence of its nonsense, seems not to have been hitherto pointed out. It is not consistent with reason, and it is not conformed to the normal development of the language. It is a monstrosity, the illogical, confusing, inaccurate, unidiomatic character of which I have at some length, but yet imperfectly, set forth. Finally, in fact, it means nothing, and is the most incongruous combination of words and ideas that ever attained respectable usage in any civilized language. These be pravords. And it seems a pity that so much sterling, vituperative ammunition should be expended in vain.

And that it is so expended thinks Mr. White himself, for, though passing sentence in the spirit of a Jeffreys, he is not really on the judgment seat, but on the lowest hassock of despair. As concerns the mode of expression exemplified by his being built, He owns that to check its diffusion would be a hopeless undertaking. If so, why not reserve himself for service against some evil not avowedly beyond remedy?

Again we read, Some precise and feeble-minded soul, having been taught that there is a passive voice in English, and that, for instance, building is an active participle, and builded or built a passive, felt conscientious scruples at saying, The house is building. For what could the house build? As children say at play, Mr. White burns here. If it had occurred to him that the conscientious scruples of his hypothetical precise and feeble-minded soul were roused by Ben Belt, not by Belt, I suspect his chapter on is Being Built would have been much shorter than it is at present, and very different. The fatal absurdity in this phrase consists, he tells us, in the combination of is with Being. In the making of the verb to be a supplement, or, in Grammarian's phrase, an auxiliary to itself, an absurdity so palpable, so monstrous, so ridiculous, That it should need only to be pointed out to be scouted.

Lastly, the question is thus narrowed simply to this. Does to be being, S, means anything more or other than to be?

Having convicted Mr. White of a mistaken analysis, I am not concerned with the observations which he founds on his mistake. However, even if his analysis had been correct, some of his arguments would avail him nothing. For instance, is being built, on his understanding of it, that is to say, is being built, he represents by ends edificatus est, as the supposed Corresponding Latin Phrase.

It is being is simply equal to it is, and in the supposed corresponding Latin phrases, ens factus est, ens edificatus est, the absoluteness of ends as a participle being granted. The monstrosity is not in the use of ends with factus. But in that of ends with est. The absurdity is, in Latin, just what it is in English. The use of is with being. The making of the verb to be a complement to itself. Ibid, pages, three fifty four, three fifty five. Apparently Mr. White recognizes no more difference between supplement and complement than he recognizes between be and exist. See the extract I have made above, from page 353. The Latin is illegitimate, and he infers that, therefore, the English is the same.

But edificans est, a translation, on the model which he offers of the active is building, is quite as illegitimate as ens edificatus est. By parity of non sequitur, we are, therefore, to surrender the active is-building. Assume that a phrase in a given language is indefensible unless it has its counterpart in some other language. From the very conception and definition of an idiom, every idiom is illegitimate.

I now pass to another point. To be and to exist are, to Mr. White's apprehension, perfect synonyms, or more nearly perfect, perhaps, than any two verbs in the language. In some of their meanings there is a shade of difference, but in others there is none whatever, and the latter are those which serve our present purpose. When we say, he, being forewarned of danger, fled, we say, he, Existing, forewarned of danger, fled. When we say that a thing is done, we say that it exists done. Is being done is simply exists existing done. But since is and exists are equipollent, and so being and existing, is being is the same as the unimpeachable is existing. Q. None. E.D. Is existing ought, of course, to be no less objectionable to Mr.

White than is being. Just as absurd, too, should be reckon the Italian sono stato era stato sia stato, faci stato, sara stato, sari stato, esser stato, and essendo stato. For in Italian both esser and stare are required to make up the verb substantive, as in Latin both esse and the offspring of fuere are required. And stare, primarily to stand, is modified into a true auxiliary. The alleged full absurdity of this phrase, to wit, is being built, the essence of its nonsense, vanishes thus into thin air. So I was about to comment bluntly, not forgetting to regret that any gentleman's cultivation of logic should fructify in the shape of irrepressible tendencies to suicide. But this would be precipitate.

Agreeably to one of Mr. White's judicial placita, which I make no apology for citing twice, no man who has preserved all his senses will doubt for a moment that to exist A mastiff or a mule is absolutely the same as to be a mastiff or a mule. Declining to admit their identity, I have not preserved all my senses, and accordingly, though it may be in me the very superfetation of lunacy, I would caution the reader to keep a sharp eye on my arguments, hereabouts particularly. The Cretan, who, in declaring all Cretans to be liars, left the question of his veracity doubtful to all eternity, fell into a pit of his own digging. Not unlike the unfortunate Cretan, Mr. White has tumbled headlong into his own snare.

It was, for the rest, entirely unavailing that he insisted on the insanity of those who should gainsay his fundamental postulate. Sanity, of a crude sort, may accept it, and sanity may put it to a use other than its propounders. Mr. Marsh, after setting forth the all-sufficiency of is building, in the passive sense, goes on to say, The reformers who object to the phrase I am defending must in consistency employ the proposed substitute with all passive participles, and in other tenses as well as the present. They must say, therefore, The subscription paper is being missed, but I know that a considerable sum is being wanted to make up the amount. The Great Victoria Bridge has been being built more than two years.

When I reach London, the ship Leviathan will be being built. If my orders had been followed, the coat would have been being made yesterday. If the house had then been being built, the mortar would have been being mixed.

We may reply that, while awkward instances of the old form are most abundant in our literature, there is no fear that the repulsive elaborations which have been worked out in ridicule of the new forms will prove to have been anticipations of future usage. There was a time when, As to their adverbs, people compared them, to a large extent, with ER and EST, or with more and most, just as their ear or pleasure dictated. They wrote plainlier and plainliest, or more plainly and most plainly, and some adverbs, as early, late, often, seldom, soon, we still compare in a way, now become anomalous. And as our forefathers treated their adverbs, we still treat many adjectives. Furthermore, obligingness, preparedness, and designedly seem quite natural.

Yet we do not feel that they authorize us to talk of the seeingness of the eye, the understoodness of a sentence, or of a statement acknowledgedly correct. The now too notorious fact is tolerable, but the never-to-be-sufficiently execrated monster Bonaparte is intolerable. The sun may be shorn of his splendor, but we do not allow cloudy weather to shear him of it. How, then, can any one claim that a man who prefers to say is being built should say has been being built? Are not awkward instances of the old form typified by is-building as easily to be picked out of extant literature as such instances of the new form likely ever to be used are to be invented? And the reformers have not forsworn their ears.

Mr. Marsh, At page 1, 35, of his admirable lectures, lays down that the adjective reliable, in the sense of worthy of confidence, is altogether unidiomatic. And yet, at page 1, 12, he writes reliable evidence. Again, at page 3, 96, of the same work, he rules that whose, in I passed a house whose windows were open, is by no means yet fully established. And at page One Forty Five of his very learned Man and Nature, he writes a quadrangular pyramid, the perpendicular of whose sides, etc. Really, if his own judgments sit so very loose on his practical conscience, we may, without being chargeable with exaction, ask of him to relax a little the rigor of his requirements at the hands of his neighbors.

Beckford's Lisbon fortune-teller before had into court, was dragging into light, and perchance was taking to account. Many moderns would say and write being dragged into light, and was being taken to account. But if we are to trust the conservative critics in comparison with expressions of the former pattern, those of the latter are uncouth, clumsy, awkward, neologisms, Philological coxcomberies. Formal and pedantic. Incongruous and ridiculous forms of speech. Illogical, confusing, inaccurate monstrosities. Moreover, they are neither consistent with reason nor conformed to the normal development of the language. They are at war with the genius of the English tongue. They are unidiomatic. They are not English.

IN PASSING. If Mr. Marsh, will so define the term unidiomatic as to evidence that it has any applicability to the case in hand, or if he will arrest and photograph the genius of the English tongue, so that we may know the original when we meet it, he will confer a public favor. And now I submit for consideration whether the sole strength of those who decry is being built, and its congeners, does not consist in their talent for calling hard names. If they have not an uneasy subconsciousness that their cause is weak, they would at least do well in eschewing the violence to which, for want of something better, the advocates of weak causes proverbially resort. I once had a friend who, for some microscopic penumbra of heresy, was charged, in the words of his accuser, with as near an approach to the sin against the Holy Ghost as is practicable to human infirmity.

Similarly, on one view, the feeble potencies of philological turpitude seem to have exhibited their most consummate realization in engendering is-being-built. The supposed enormity perpetrated in its production, provided it had fallen within the sphere of ethics, would, at the least, have ranked with its denunciators as a brand new exemplification of total depravity. But, after all, What incontestable defect in it has any one succeeded in demonstrating? Mr. White, in opposing to the expression objections based on an erroneous analysis, simply lays a phantom of his own evoking. And, so far as I am informed, other impugners of his being built have absolutely no argument whatever against it over and beyond their repugnance to novelty.

Subjected to a little untroubled contemplation, it would, I am confident, have ceased long ago to be matter of controversy. But the dust of prejudice and passion, which so distempers the intellectual vision of theologians and politicians, is seen to make, with ruthless impartiality, no exception of the perspicacity of philologists. Prior to the evolution of is being built and was being built, we possessed no discriminant equivalence to edificatur and edificabatur, is built and was built, by which they were rendered, corresponding exactly to edificatus est and edificatus erat. Cum edificaratur was to us the same as edificabatur. On the wealth of the Greek expressions of imperfect passive I need not dwell.

With rare exceptions the Romans were satisfied with the present imperfect and the past imperfect, and we, on the comparatively few occasions which present themselves for expressing other imperfects, shall be sure to have recourse to the old forms rather than to the new, or else to use peripheries.

But those things which, being not now doing, or having not yet been done, have a natural aptitude to exist hereafter, may be properly said to appertain to the future. Harris's Hermes, Book I, Chapter Eight, Page One Fifty Five, Footnote, Edition, Seventeen Seventy One. For Harris's being not now doing, which is to translate, Me genomina. The modern school, if they pursued uniformity with more of fidelity than of taste, would have to put being not now being done. There is not much to choose between the two.

The purists may accordingly dismiss their apprehensions, especially as the Neo-Tourists have, clearly, A keener horror of phraseological ungainliness than themselves. One may have no hesitation about saying the house is being built, and may yet recoil from saying that it should have been being built last Christmas. And the same person, just as provided he did not feel a harshness, inadequacy, and ambiguity in the passive, the house is building, he would use the expression, will, more likely than not, Elect is in preparation preferentially to is being prepared. If there are any who, in their zealotry for the congruous, choose to adhere to the new form in its entire range of exchangeability for the old, let it be hoped that they will find in Mr.

Marsh's speculative approbation of consistency full amends for the discomfort of encountering smiles or frowns. At the same time, let them be mindful of the career of Mr. White, with his black flag and no quarter. The dead Polonius was, in Hamlet's phrase, at supper, not where he eats, but where he is eaten. Shakspeare, to Mr. White's thinking, in this wise, expressed himself at the best, and deserves not only admiration, therefore, but to be imitated. While the Ark was built, While the ark was prepared, writes Mr. White himself. Shakspeare is commended for his ambiguous is-eaten, though in-eating, or an-eating, would have been not only correct in his day, but where they would have come in his sentence, univocal.

With equal reason, a man would be entitled to commendation for tearing his mutton-chops with his fingers, when he might cut them up with a knife and fork. Is eaten, says Mr. White, does not mean has been eaten. Very true. But a continuous unfinished passion, Polonius's still undergoing manducation to speak Johnsonese, was in Shakspeare's mind. And his words describe a passion no longer in generation. The King of Denmark's Lord Chamberlain had no precedent in Herod, when he was eaten of worms. The original, G. Nominus Scolae Cobrotos, yielding but for its participle, he became Wormeaton.

Having now done with Mr. White, I am anxious before taking leave of him to record with all emphasis that it would be the grossest injustice to write of his elegant life and genius of Shakspeare, A book which does credit to American literature in the tone which I have found unavoidable in dealing with his words and their uses.

The student of English who has honestly weighed the arguments on both sides of the question must, I believe, be of opinion that our language is the richer for having two forms for expressing the progressive passive. Further, He must, I believe, be of opinion that in very many cases he conforms to the most approved usage of our time by employing the old form. That, however, if he were to employ the old form in all cases, his meaning would sometimes be uncertain.

It. Cobbett discourses of this little neuter pronoun in this wise.

The word it is the greatest troubler that I know of in language. It is so small and so convenient that few are careful enough in using it. Writers seldom spare this word. Whenever they are at a loss for either a nominative or an objective to their sentence, they, without any kind of ceremony, clap in an it. A very remarkable instance of this pressing of poor it into actual service Contrary to the laws of grammar and of sense. Occurs in a piece of composition where we might with justice insist on correctness. This piece is on the subject of grammar. It is a piece written by a doctor of divinity and read by him to students in grammar and language in an academy. And the very sentence that I am now about to quote is selected by the author of a grammar as testimony of high authority in favor of the excellence of his work.

Surely, if correctness be ever to be expected, it must be in a case like this. I allude to two sentences in the charge of the Rev. Dr. Abercrombie to the Senior Class of the Philadelphia Academy, published in 18 O Six. Which sentences have been selected and published by Mr. Lindley Murray as a testimonial of the merits of his grammar, and which sentences are by Mr. Murray given to us in the following words. The unwearied exertions of this gentleman have done more toward elucidating the obscurities and embellishing the structure of our language than any other writer on the subject. Such a work has long been wanted, and from the success with which it is executed cannot be too highly appreciated.

As in the learned doctor's opinion, obscurities can be elucidated. And, as in the same opinion Mr. Murray is an able hand at this kind of work, it would not be amiss were the grammarian to try his skill upon this article from the hand of his dignified eulogist. For here is, If one may use the expression, a constellation of obscurities, our poor oppressed it, which we find forced into the doctor's service in the second sentence, relates to such a work. Though this work is nothing that has an existence, notwithstanding it is said to be executed. In the first sentence, the exertions become, all of a sudden, a writer. The exertions have done more than any other writer. For, mind you, it is not the gentleman that has done anything.

It is the exertions that have done what is said to be done. The word, gentleman, is in the possessive case, and has nothing to do with the action of the sentence. Let us give the sentence a turn, and the doctor and the grammarian will hear how it will sound. This gentleman's exertions have done more than any other writer. This is on a level with, This gentleman's dog has killed more hares than any other sportsman. No doubt Dr. Abercrombie meant to say, The exertions of this gentleman have done more than those of any other writer. Such a work as this gentleman's has long been wanted. His work, seeing the successful manner of its execution, Can not be too highly commended. Meant. No doubt at all of that.

And when we hear a Hampshire plowboy say, Pole Cherrycheek have giv'd a thick handkercher, we know very well that he means to say, Pole Cherrycheek has giv'n me this handkerchief. And yet we are too apt to laugh at him and to call him ignorant. Which is wrong. because he has no pretensions to a knowledge of grammar, and he may be very skilful as a ploughboy. However, we will not laugh at Dr. Abercrombie, whom I knew many years ago for a very kind and worthy man. But if we may, in any case, be allowed to laugh at the ignorance of our fellow-creatures, that case certainly does arise when we see a professed grammarian The author of voluminous precepts and examples on the subject of grammar, producing, in imitation of the possessors of valuable medical secrets, testimonials vouching for the efficacy of his literary panacea, and when in those testimonials we find most flagrant instances of bad grammar.

However, my dear James, Let this strong and striking insistence of the misuse of the word IT serve you in the way of caution. Never put an IT upon paper without thinking well of what you are about. When I see many ITs in a page, I always tremble for the writer.

Jeopardize. This is a modern word which we could easily do without. As it means neither more nor less than its venerable progenitor to jeopard, which is greatly preferred by all careful writers.

Just going to. Instead of, I am just going to go, it is better to say, I am just about to go.

Kids. This is another vile contraction. Habit blinds people to the unseemliness of a term like this. How would it sound if one should speak of silk gloves as silks?

Kind. Refer to polite.

Knights Templars. The name of this ancient body has been adopted by a branch of the Masonic fraternity, but in a perverted form. Knights Templar. And this form is commonly seen in print, whether referring to the old knights or to their modern imitators. This, doubtless, is due to the erroneous impression that Templar is an adjective, and so cannot take the plural form, while in fact it is a case of two nouns in apposition, a double designation, meaning Knights of the Order of Templars. Hence the plural should be Knights Templars, and not Knights Templar. Members of the contemporaneous order of St. John of Jerusalem were commonly called Knights Hospitallers.

6 06: Lady - Number 50:36

The Verbalist by Alfred Ayres.

Lady through Number. Lady. To use the term lady, whether in the singular or in the plural, simply to designate the sex, is in the worst possible taste. There is a kind of pin-feather gentility which seems to have a settled aversion to using the terms man and woman. Gentlemen and ladies establish their claims to being called such by their bearing, and not by arrogating to themselves, even indirectly, the titles. In England, The title Lady is properly correlative to Lord, but there, as in this country, it is used as a term of complaisance, and is appropriately applied to women whose lives are exemplary, and who have received that school and home education which enables them to appear to advantage in the better circles of society.

Such expressions as, She is a fine lady, a clever lady, a well-dressed lady, a good lady, A modest lady, a charitable lady, an amiable lady, a handsome lady, a fascinating lady, and the like, are studiously avoided by persons of refinement. Ladies say, We women, the women of America, women's apparel, and so on. Vulgar women talk about us ladies, the ladies of America, ladies' apparel, and so on. If a woman of culture and refinement, in short, a lady, is compelled from any cause soever to work in a store, she is quite content to be called a saleswoman. Not so, however, with your young woman who, being in a store, is in a better position than ever before. She, heaven bless her, boils with indignation if she is not denominated a saleslady.

Lady is often the proper term to use. and then it would be very improper to use any other. But it is very certain that the terms lady and gentleman are least used by those persons who are most worthy of being designated by them. With a nice discrimination worthy of special notice, one of our daily papers recently said, Miss Jenny Halstead, daughter of the proprietor of the Cincinnati Commercial, is one of the most brilliant young women in Ohio. In a late number of the London Queen was the following. The terms ladies and gentlemen become in themselves vulgarisms when misapplied, and the improper application of the wrong term at the wrong time makes all the difference in the world to ears polite.

Thus, calling a man a gentleman when he should be called a man, or speaking of a man as a man when he should be spoken of as a gentleman, Or alluding to a lady as a woman when she should be alluded to as a lady, or speaking of a woman as a lady when she should properly be termed a woman. Tact, and a sense of the fitness of things decide these points, there being no fixed rule to go upon to determine when a man is a man, or when he is a gentleman. And although he is far oftener termed the one than the other, he does not thereby lose his attributes of a gentleman. In common parlance, a man is always a man to a man, and never a gentleman. To a woman, he is occasionally a man, and occasionally a gentleman.

But a man would far oftener term a woman a woman than he would term her a lady. When a man makes use of an adjective in speaking of a lady, he almost invariably calls her a woman. Thus he would say, "'I met a rather agreeable woman at dinner last night.' But he would not say, "'I met an agreeable lady,' but he might say, "'A lady, a friend of mine, told me,' etc.' When he would not say, "'A woman, a friend of mine, told me,' etc.' Again, a man would say, "'Which of the ladies did you take in to dinner?' He would certainly not say, "'Which of the women?' etc.' Speaking of people en masse, it would be— To belong to a very advanced school to refer to them in conversation as men and women, while it would be all but vulgar to style them ladies and gentlemen, the compromise between the two being to speak of them as ladies and men.

Thus a lady would say, "'I have asked two or three ladies and several men.' She would not say, "'I have asked several men and women.' Neither would she say, "'I have asked several ladies and gentlemen.' And speaking of numbers, it would be very usual to say, there were a great many ladies, and but very few men present, or the ladies were in the majority, so few men being present. Again, a lady would not say, I expect two or three men, but she would say, I expect two or three gentlemen. When people are on ceremony with each other, one another, They might perhaps in speaking of a man call him a gentleman, but otherwise it would be more usual to speak of him as a man. Ladies, when speaking of each other usually employ the term woman in preference to that of lady.

Thus they would say she is a very good-natured woman. What sort of a woman is she? The term lady being entirely out of place under such circumstances. Again, the term young lady gives place as far as possible to the term girl, although it greatly depends upon the amount of intimacy existing as to which term is employed.

Language. A note in Worcester's Dictionary says, Language is a very general term, and is not strictly confined to utterance by words. as it is also expressed by the countenance, by the eyes, and by signs. Tongue refers especially to an original language as the Hebrew tongue. The modern languages are derived from the original tongues. If this be correct, then he who speaks French, German, English, Spanish, and Italian may properly say that he speaks five languages, but only one tongue.

LIE.

Errors are frequent in the use of these two irregular verbs. LIE is often used for LIE, and LIE is sometimes used for LIE. This confusion in their use is due in some measure, doubtless, to the circumstance that LIE appears in both verbs, it being the imperfect tense of TO LIE. We say a mason LIEs bricks. A ship lies at anchor, etc. I must lie down. I must lay myself down. I must lay this book on the table. He lies on the grass. He lays his plans well. He lay on the grass. He laid it away. He has lain in bed long enough. He has laid up some money.

In a stock. Down the law. He is laying out the grounds. Ships lie at the wharf. Hens lay eggs. The ship lay at anchor. The hen laid an egg. It will be seen that lay always expresses transitive action, and that lie expresses rest.

Here lies our sovereign Lord, the King, whose word no man relies on. He never says a foolish thing, nor ever does a wise one.

Written on the bedchamber door of Charles the Second by the Earl of Rochester.

Learn. This verb was long ago used as a synonym of teach, but in this sense it is now obsolete. To teach is to give instruction. To learn is to take instruction. I will learn if you will teach me.

Leave. There are grammarians who insist that this verb should not be used without an object. As, for example, it is used in such sentences as, "'When do you leave?' "'I leave to-morrow.' The object of the verb, home, town, or whatever it may be, is, of course, understood. But this, say these gentlemen, is not permissible. On this point opinions will, I think, differ. They will, however, not differ with regard to the vulgarity of using leave in the sense of let. Thus, leave me be. Leave it alone. Leave her be. Don't bother her. Leave me see it.

Lend.

Lengthy. This word is of comparatively recent origin, and though it is said to be an Americanism, it is a good deal used in England. The most careful writers, however, both here and elsewhere, much prefer the word long, a long discussion, a long discourse, etc.

Leniency. Mr. Gould calls this word and lenience two philological abortions. Lenity is undoubtedly the proper word to use, though both Webster and Worcester do recognize leniency and lenience.

Less. This word is much used instead of fewer. Less relates to quantity, fewer to number. Instead of there were not less than twenty persons present, we should say there were not fewer than twenty persons present.

Lesser. This form of the comparative of little is accounted a corruption of less. It may, however, be used instead of less with propriety in verse, and also, in some cases, in prose. We may say, for example, of two evils choose the less, or the lesser. The latter form, in sentences like this, is the more euphonious. Liable. Richard Grant White, in inveighing against the misuse of this word, cites the example of a member from a rural district, who called out to a man whom he met in the village, where he was in the habit of making little purchases, "'I say, mister, can yer tell me whar I'll be liable to find some beans?' refer also apt.

Lie, refer to lay.

Like, as.

Both these words express similarity. Like, Ad. Comparing things, as, Ad. Comparing action, existence, or quality. Like is followed by an object only, and does not admit of a verb in the same construction. As must be followed by a verb expressed or understood. We say, He looks like his brother. Or he looks as his brother looks. Do as I do, not like I do. You must speak as James does, not like James does. He died as he had lived, like a dog. It is as blue as indigo. In other words, as indigo is.

Like.

Two. Love. Likely.

This form of the past participle of the verb to light is now obsolete. Have you lighted the fire? The gas is lighted. Het for heated is a similar but much greater vulgarism.

Lone. Lend. There are those who contend— that there is no such verb as to loan, although it has been found in our literature for more than three hundred years. Whether there is properly such a verb or not, it is quite certain that it is only those having a vulgar penchant for big words who will prefer it to its synonym lend. Better far to say lend me your umbrella than loan me your umbrella.

LOCATE. SETTLE. The use of the verb TO LOCATE in the sense of TO SETTLE is said to be an Americanism. Although the dictionaries recognize TO LOCATE as a neuter verb, as such it is marked rarely used, and, in the sense of TO SETTLE, it is among the vulgarisms that careful speakers and writers are studious to avoid. A man SETTLES, not LOCATES, in Nebraska. Where do you intend to SETTLE, not LOCATE? Refer also to settle.

Loggerheads. In the meantime, France is at loggerheads internally. New York Herald, April 29, 1881. Loggerheads internally?

Looks beautifully. It is sometimes interesting to note the difference between vulgar and genteel or, more properly, between non-painstaking and painstaking . The former uses, for example, adjectives instead of adverbs. The latter uses adverbs instead of adjectives. The former says, This bonnet is trimmed shocking. The latter says, This bonnet looks shockingly. In the first sentence, the epithet qualifies the verb is trimmed, and consequently should have its adverbial form, shockingly. In the second sentence, the epithet qualifies the appearance, a noun, of the bonnet, and consequently should have its adjectival form, shocking. The second sentence means to say this bonnet presents a shocking appearance.

The bonnet certainly does not really look. It is looked at. and to the looker its appearance is shocking. So we say in like manner of a person that he or she looks sweet, or charming, or beautiful, or handsome, or horrid, or graceful, or timid, and so on, always using an adjective.

Miss Coughlin, as Lady Teasle, looked charmingly. The grammar of the New York Herald would not have been any more incorrect if it had said that Miss Coghlan looked gladly, or sadly, or madly, or delightedly, or pleasedly. A person may look sick or sickly, but in both cases the qualifying word is an adjective. The verbs to smell, to feel, to sound, and to appear are also found in sentences in which the qualifying word must be an adjective and not an adverb. We say, for example, the rose smells sweet, the butter smells good, or bad, or fresh. I feel glad, or sad, or bad, or despondent, or annoyed, or nervous. This construction sounds harsh. How delightful the country appears. On the other hand, to look, To feel, to smell, to sound, and to appear are found in sentences where the qualifying word must be an adverb.

Thus, he feels his loss keenly. The King looked graciously on her. I smell it faintly. We might also say, He feels sad, because he feels his loss keenly.

He appears well.

The expression, she seemed confusedly or timidly, is not a whit more incorrect than she looked beautifully or charmingly. Adjectives.

Love. Like. Men who are at all careful in the selection of language to express their thoughts, and have not an undue leaning toward the superlative, love few things. Their wives, their sweethearts, their kinsmen, truth, justice, and their country. Women, on the contrary, as a rule, love a multitude of things, and among their loves the thing they perhaps love most is—taffy.

Luggage, baggage.

The former of these words is generally used in England, the latter in America.

Lunch. This word, when used as a substantive, may at the best be accounted an inelegant abbreviation of luncheon. The dictionaries barely recognize it. The proper phraseology to use is, Have you lunched? Or, Have you had your luncheon? Or, better, Have you had luncheon? As we may in most cases presuppose that the person addressed would hardly take anybody's else luncheon.

Luxurious, luxuriant.

The line is drawn much more sharply between these two words now than it was formerly. Luxurious was once used, to some extent at least, in the sense of rank growth. But now all careful writers and speakers use it in the sense of indulging or delighting in luxury. We talk of a luxurious table, a luxurious liver, luxurious ease, luxurious freedom. Luxuriant, on the other hand, is restricted to the sense of rank, or excessive growth, or production. Thus, luxuriant weeds, luxuriant foliage, or branches, luxuriant growth. Prune the luxuriant, the uncouth refine, but show no mercy to an empty line.

Mad. Professor Richard A. Proctor, in a recent number of the Gentleman's Magazine, says, The word mad in America seems nearly always to mean angry, for mad, as we use the word, Americans say crazy. Herein they have manifestly impaired the language. Have they?

Now, in faith, Gratiano, you give your wife too unkind a cause of grief, and, twere to me, I would be mad at it. Merchant of Venice.

And, being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. Acts XXVI.

Make a visit. The phrase, make a visit, according to Dr. Hall, whatever it once was, is no longer English.

Male.

Mary. There has been some discussion, at one time and another, with regard to the use of this word. Is John Jones married to Sally Brown, or with Sally Brown, or are they married to each other? Inasmuch as the woman loses her name in that of the man to whom she is wedded, and becomes a member of his family, not he of hers, inasmuch as with few exceptions it is her life that is merged in his, it would seem that, properly, Sallie Brown is married to John Jones, and that this would be the proper way to make the announcement of their having been wedded, and not John Jones to Sallie Brown.

There is also a difference of opinion as to whether the active or the passive form is preferable in referring to a person's wedded state. In speaking definitely of the active marriage, the passive form is necessarily used with reference to either spouse. John Jones was married to Sally Brown on December 1st, 1881. Not, John Jones married Sally Brown, on such a date. For, Unless they were Quakers, some third person married him to her and her to him. But in speaking indefinitely of the fact of marriage, the active form is a matter of course. Whom did John Jones marry? He married Sallie Brown. John Jones, when he had sown his wild oats, married—married himself, as the French say—and settled down.

Got married is a vulgarism.

May. In the sense of can, may in a negative clause has become obsolete. Though we may say a horse, we may not say a ox. The first may here is permissible. Not so, however, the second, which should be can.

Meat. At table we ask for and offer beef, mutton, veal, steak, turkey, duck, etc., and do not ask for Nor offer, meat, which, to say the least, is inelegant. Will you have, not take, another piece of beef, not of the beef, not will you have another piece of meat?

Memorandum. The plural is memoranda, except when the singular means a book. Then the plural is memorandums.

This word is not unfrequently misplaced, and sometimes, as in the following sentence, in consequence of being misplaced, it is changed to an adverb. It is true of men as of God that words merely meet with no response. What the writer evidently intended to say is that mere words meet with no response.

Metaphor. An implied comparison is called a metaphor. It is a more terse form of expression than the simile. Take, for example, this sentence from Spenser's Philosophy of Style. As, in passing through the crystal, beams of white light are decomposed into the colors of the rainbow. So, in traversing the soul of the poet, the colorless rays of truth are transformed into brightly-tinted poetry.

Expressed in metaphors, this becomes, the white light of truth, and traversing the many-sided transparent soul of the poet is refracted into iris-hued poetry. Wooster's definition of a metaphor is, a figure of speech founded on the resemblance which one object is supposed to bear in some respect to another, or a figure by which a word is transferred from a subject to which it properly belongs to another, in such a manner that a comparison is implied, though not formally expressed.

A comparison or simile comprised in a word, as, Thy word is a lamp to my feet. A metaphor differs from a simile in being expressed without any sign of comparison. Thus, the silver moon is a metaphor. The moon is bright as silver is a simile.

Ex. But look, the morn, in russet mantle clad, walks o'er the dew of yon high eastern hill.

Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased, pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow?

At length erasmus stemmed the wild torrent of a barbarous age, and drove those holy vandals off the stage.

Censure is the tax a man pays to the public for being eminent.

Metonymy. The rhetorical figure that puts the effect for the cause, the cause for the effect, the container for the thing contained, the sign or symbol for the thing signified, or the instrument for the agent, is called metonymy.

One very common species of metonymy is when the badge is put for the office. Thus we say the mitre for the priesthood, the crown for royalty, for military occupation we say the sword, And for the literary professions, those especially of theology, law, and physic, the common expression is the gown. Campbell. Dr. Quackenbos, in his Course of Composition and Rhetoric, says, Metonymy is the exchange of names between things related. It is founded not on resemblance, but on the relation of, One, cause and effect, as they have Moses and the prophets. I.e. their writings. Gray hairs should be respected. I.e. old age. Two. Progenitor and posterity, as, Here, O Israel. I.e. descendants of Israel. Subject and attribute, as, Youth and beauty shall be laid in dust.

I.e. the young and beautiful.

Four. Place and inhabitant, as, What land is so barbarous as to allow this injustice? In other words, what people? 5. Container and thing contained, as, Our ships next opened fire. In other words, our sailors. 6. Sign and thing signified, as, The sceptre shall not depart from Judah. In other words, kingly power. 7. Material and thing made of it, as his steel gleamed on high, in other words, his sword.

Petitions having proved unsuccessful, it was determined to approach the throne more boldly.

MIST, THE, IN OUR MIDST, MIND, Capricious.

Lord Salisbury's Mind is Capricious. Tribune. April 3, 1881. Refer to Equanimity of Mind.

Misplaced Clauses. In writing and speaking, it is as important to give each clause its proper place as it is to place the words properly. The following are a few instances of misplaced clauses and adjuncts. All these circumstances brought close to us a state of things which we never thought to have witnessed in peaceful England.

In the sister island, indeed, we had read of such horrors, but now they were brought home to our very household hearth.

Swift.

Better. We had read, indeed, of such horrors occurring in the Sister Island, etc.

The savage people in many places in America, except the government of families, have no government at all, and live at this day in that savage manner as I have said before. Hobbes.

Better. The savage people in America have no government at all except the government of families, etc.

I shall have a comedy for you, in a season or two at farthest, that I believe will be worth your acceptance.

Bettered. In a season or two at farthest, I shall have a comedy for you, that I believe will be worth your acceptance.

Among the following examples of the wrong-placing of words and clauses, there are some that are as amusing as they are instructive. This orthography is regarded as normal in England.

What the writer intended was, in England, as normal. A very different thought. The normal school is a commodious building capable of accommodating three hundred students four stories high.

Housekeeper. A highly respectable, middle-aged person, who has been filling the above situation with a gentleman for upwards of eleven years, and who is now deceased, is anxious to meet a similar one.

To Pianofort Makers. A lady keeping a first-class school requiring a good piano is desirous of receiving a daughter of the above in exchange for the same. The more Seizing a bolster boiling over with rage and jealousy smothers her.

The dying zouave, the most wonderful mechanical representation ever seen of the last breath of life being shot in the breast and life's blood leaving the wound.

Mr. T presents his compliments to Mr. H. And I have got a hat that is not his, and if he have a hat that is not yours, no doubt they are the expectant ones.

Misplaced Words Of all the faults to be found in writing, says Cobbett, this is one of the most common, and perhaps it leads to the greatest number of misconceptions. All the words may be the proper words to be used upon the occasion. and yet, by a misplacing of a part of them, the meaning may be wholly destroyed, and even made to be the contrary of what it ought to be. I asked the question with no other intention than to set the gentleman free from the necessity of silence, and to give him an opportunity of mingling on equal terms with a polite assembly from which, however uneasy, he could not then escape, by a kind introduction of the only subject on which I believed him to be able to speak with propriety.

Dr. Johnson.

This, says Cobbett, is a very bad sentence altogether. However uneasy applies to assembly and not to gentlemen. Only observe how easily this might have been avoided, from which he, however uneasy, could not then escape. After this we have, he could not then escape, by a kind introduction. We know what is meant, but the doctor, with all his commas, leaves the sentence confused. Let us see whether we cannot make it clear. I asked the question, with no other intention than, by a kind introduction of the only subject on which I believed him to be able to speak with propriety, to set the gentleman free from the necessity of silence. and to give him an opportunity of mingling on equal terms with a polite assembly from which he, however uneasy, could not then escape.

Reason is the glory of human nature, and one of the chief eminences whereby we are raised above our fellow-creatures, the brutes, in this lower world. Dr. Watt's logic.

"'I have before showed an error,' Cobbett remarks, "'in the first sentence of Dr. Watt's work. This is the second sentence. The words in this lower world are not words misplaced only. They are wholly unnecessary, and they do great harm, for they do these two things. First, they imply that there are brutes in the higher world, and second, they excite a doubt whether we are raised above those brutes.' I might greatly extend the number of my extracts from these authors, but here, I trust, are enough. I had noted down about two hundred errors in Dr. Johnson's Lives of the Poets, but afterward, perceiving that he had revised and corrected The Rambler with extraordinary care, I chose to make my extracts from that work rather than from the Lives of the Poets.

The position of the adverb should be as near as possible to the word it qualifies. Sometimes we place it before the auxiliary, and sometimes after it, according to the thought we wish to express. The difference between, the fish should properly be broiled, and the fish should be properly broiled, is apparent at a glance.

The colon may be properly used in the following cases. Should be. May properly be used.

This mode of expression rather suits a familiar than a grave style. Should be. Suits a familiar rather than a grave style.

It is a frequent error in the writings even of some good authors. Should be. In the writings of even some good authors.

Both the circumstances of contingency and futurity are necessary. Should be, the circumstances of contingency and futurity are both necessary.

He has made charges which he has failed utterly to sustain. New York Tribune.

Here it is uncertain at first sight which verb the adverb is intended to qualify, but the nature of the case Makes it probable that the writer meant, has utterly failed to sustain.

Mistaken. If I am not mistaken, you are in the wrong. Say, if I mistake not. I tell you, you are mistaken. Here, mistaken means you are wrong, you do not understand. But it might be taken to mean I mistake you. For, you are mistaken, say, you mistake. If, as Horace and Professor Davidson aver, usage in language makes right, then the grammarians ought long ago to have invented some theory upon which the locution, you are mistaken, could be defended. Until they do invent such a theory, it will be better to say, you mistake, he mistakes, and so on. Or you are, or he is, as the case may be, in error.

More perfect. Such expressions as, the more perfect of the two, the most perfect thing of the kind I have ever seen, the most complete cooking stove ever invented, and the like, cannot be defended logically, as nothing can be more perfect than perfection, or more complete than completeness. Still, such phrases are, and probably will continue to be, used by good writers.

Most. Everybody abuses this word, says Mr. Gould, in his good English. And then, in another paragraph, he adds, if a man would cross out most wherever he can find it in any book in the English language, he would in almost every instance improve the style of the book. That this statement may appear within bounds, he gives many examples from good authors, some of which are the following. A most profound silence, a most just idea, a most complete orator. This was most extraordinary, an object of most perfect esteem, a most extensive erudition. He gave it most liberally away. It is most assuredly not because I value his services least.

Would most seriously affect us. That such a system must most widely and most powerfully, etc. It is most effectually nailed to the counter. It is most undeniable that, etc. This word is much and very erroneously used for almost. He comes here most every day. The user of such a sentence as this means to say that he comes nearly every day, but he really says, if he says anything, that he comes more every day than he does every night. In such sentences, almost, and not most, is the word to use.

Mutual. This word is much misused in the phrase, our mutual friend. Macaulay says, mutual friend is a low vulgarism for common friend. Mutual properly relates to two persons, and implies reciprocity of sentiment. Sentiment, be it what it may, received and returned. Thus we say properly, John and James have a mutual affection, or mutual aversion. In other words, they like or dislike each other. Or John and James are mutually dependent. In other words, they are dependent on each other. In using the word mutual, Care should be taken not to add the words for each other, or on each other, the thought conveyed by these words being already expressed in the word mutual. Dependent on each other is the exact equivalent of mutually dependent.

Hence, saying that John and James are mutually dependent on each other is as redundant in form as it would be to say that the editors of the Great Vilifier are the biggest, greatest mudslingers in America. Myself. This form of the personal pronoun is properly used in the nominative case only where increased emphasis is aimed at. I had as lief not be as live to be in awe of such a thing as I myself.

I will do it myself. I saw it myself. It is therefore incorrect to say Mrs. Brown and myself were both very much pleased.

Name. This word is sometimes improperly used for mention. Thus, I never named the matter to any one should be I never mentioned the matter to any one. Neighborhood. Refer to vicinity. Neither. Refer to either.

Neither nor. He would neither give wine nor oil nor money. Thackeray. The conjunction should be placed before the excluded object. Neither give implies neither some other verb, a meaning not intended. Rearrange thus, taking all the common parts of the contracted sentences together. He would give neither wine nor oil nor money. So she can neither help her beauty Nor her courage, nor her cruelty. Thackeray. Should be. She can help neither, etc.

He had neither time to intercept nor to stop her. Scott. Should be. He had time neither to intercept, etc.

Some neither can for wits nor critics pass. Pope. Should be. Some can neither for wits nor critics pass.

Never. Grammarians differ with regard to the correctness of using never in such sentences as, He is in error, though never so wise. Charm he never so wisely. In sentences like these, to say the least, it is better, in common with the great majority of writers, to use ever.

Nu. This adjective is often misplaced. He has a new suit of clothes, and a new pair of gloves. It is not the suit and the pair that are new, but the clothes and the gloves.

Nice. Archdeacon Herr remarks of the use, or rather misuse, of this word, that stupid vulgarism by which we use the word nice to denote almost every mode of approbation, for almost every variety of quality, And from sheer poverty of thought, or fear of saying anything definite, wrap up everything indiscriminately in this characterless domino, speaking at the same breath of a nice cheesecake, a nice tragedy, a nice sermon, a nice day, a nice country, as if a universal deluge of Nieserie, for nice seems originally to have been only Nies, had whelmed the whole island.

Nice is as good a word as any other in its place, but its place is not everywhere. We talk very properly about a nice distinction, a nice discrimination, a nice calculation, a nice point, and about a person's being nice and over-nice, and the like. But we certainly ought not to talk about Othello's being a nice tragedy, about Salvini's being a nice actor, or New York Bay's being a nice harbor.

The possessive construction here is, in my judgment, not imperatively demanded. There is certainly no lack of authority for putting the three substantives in the accusative. The possessive construction seems to me, however, to be preferable. Nicely. The very quintessence of popinjay vulgarity is reached when Nicely is made to do service for well, in this wise. How do you do? Nicely. How are you? Nicely.

No. This word of negation is responded to by nor in sentences like this. Let your meaning be obscure, and no grace of diction nor any music of well-turned sentences will make amends.

Whether he is there or no. Supply the ellipsis, and we have whether he is there or no there. Clearly, the word to use in sentences like this is not no, but not. And yet our best writers sometimes inadvertently use no with whether. Example. But perhaps some people are quite indifferent whether or no it is said, etc. Richard Grant White. In Words and Their Uses, Page 84. Supply the ellipsis, and we have, said or no said. In a little book entitled, Live and Learn, I find, no less than fifty persons were there, no fewer, etc. In correcting one mistake, the writer himself makes one. It should be, not fewer, etc. If we ask, there were fifty persons there, were there or were there not? The reply clearly would be, there were not fewer than fifty.

There was no one of them who would not have been proud, etc. Should be, there was not one of them.

Not. The correlative of not, when it stands in the first member of a sentence, is nor or neither. Not for thy ivory nor thy gold will I unbind my chain. I will not do it. Neither shall you. The wrong placing of not often gives rise to an imperfect negation. Thus, John and James were not there means that John and James were not there in company. It does not exclude the presence of one of them. The negative should precede in this case. Neither John nor James was there. Our company was not present, as a company, but some of us might have been. Should be, no member of our company was present.

Not, but only. Errors frequently arise in the use of not, but only, to understand which we must attend to the force of the whole expression. He did not pretend to extirpate French music, but only to cultivate and civilize it. Here the not is obviously misplaced. He pretended, or professed, not to extirpate. Bain.

Notorious. Though this word cannot be properly used in any but a bad sense, we sometimes see it used instead of noted, which may be used in either a good or a bad sense. Notorious characters are always persons to be shunned, whereas noted characters may or may not be persons to be shunned.

This is the tax a man must pay for his virtues. They hold up a torch to his vices and render those frailties notorious in him which would pass without observation in another. Lacon.

Navis. F. Amateur.

Number. It is not an uncommon thing for a pronoun in the plural number to be used in connection with an antecedent in the singular. At present, the following notice may be seen in some of our Broadway omnibuses. Fifty dollars reward for the conviction of any person caught collecting or keeping fares given to them to deposit in the box. Should be to him. A person may be very near-sighted if they cannot recognize an acquaintance ten feet off. Should be if he.

The verb to be is often used in the singular instead of in the plural. Thus, there is several reasons why it would be better. Say are. How many is there? Say are. There is four. Say are. Was there many? Say were. No matter how many there was. Say were. A verb should agree in number with its subject, and not with its predicate. We say, for example, Death is the wages of sin, and the wages of sin are death.

When singular nouns connected by and are preceded by each, every, or no, the verb must be singular. We say, for example, Each boy and each girl studies. Every leaf and every twig and every drop of water teems with life. No book and no paper was arranged.

Each being singular, a pronoun or verb to agree with it must also be singular. Thus, let them depend each on his own exertions. Each city has its peculiar privileges. Everybody has a right to look after his own interest.

Errors are often the result of not repeating the verb. Thus, Its significance is as varied as the passions.

The words are as incapable of analysis as the thing signified. As is the thing signified.

7 07: Observe - Provoke 47:08

The Verbalist by Alfred Ayres. Section 7 Observe through Provoke.

Observe.

The dictionaries authorize the use of this word as a synonym of say and remark, as, for example, what did you observe? For what did you say or remark? In this sense, however, it is better to leave observe to the exclusive use of those who delight in being fine.

O'clock. It is a quarter to ten o'clock. What does this statement mean, literally? We understand by it that it lacks a quarter of ten, in other words, of being ten. But it does not really mean that. Inasmuch as to means toward, it really means a quarter after nine. We should say, then, a quarter of, which means, literally, a quarter out of ten.

Of all others. The vice of covetousness of all others enters deepest into the soul.

This sentence says that covetousness is one of the other vices, a thing that cannot be another thing, nor can it be one of a number of other things. The sentence should be, of all the vices, covetousness enters deepest into the soul, or The vice of covetousness of all the vices enters etc. or The vice of covetousness above all others enters etc. Of any. This phrase is often used when of all is meant. Thus this is the largest of any I have seen. Should be the largest of all etc.

Of of.

In such sentences as, Give me a yard off of this piece of calico, either the off or the of is vulgarly superfluous. The sentence would be correct with either one, but not with both of them. The apples fell off of the tree. Read, Fell off the tree.

Often. This adverb is properly compared by changing its termination. Often, oftener, oftenest. Why some writers use more and most to compare it, it is not easy to see. This mode of comparing it is certainly not euphonious.

O. O. It is only the most careful writers who use these two interjections with proper discrimination. The distinction between them is said to be modern. O. H. is simply an exclamation. and should always be followed by some mark of punctuation, usually by an exclamation point. "'Oh! you are come at last!' "'Oh! help him, you sweet heavens!' "'Oh! woe is me!' "'Oh! I die, Horatio!' "'Oh!' in addition to being an exclamation, denotes a calling to or adjuration, thus Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth. O grave, where is thy victory? O heavenly powers, restore him. O shame, where is thy blush?

Older. Elder.

He is the older man of the two, and the oldest in the neighborhood. He is the elder of the two sons, and the eldest of the family. The elder son is heir to the estate. He is older than his brother by ten years.

On To. We get on a chair, on an omnibus, on a stump, and on a spree, and not on to.

I.

Certain pronouns of demonstrative signification are called indefinite because they refer to no particular subject. This is one of them. If we were putting a supposition by way of argument or illustration, we might say, Suppose I were to lose my way in a wood. Or, Suppose you were to lose your way in a wood. Or, Suppose one were to lose one's way in a wood. All these forms are used. But as a rule, the last is to be preferred. The first verges on egotism, and the second makes free with another's person, whereas the third is indifferent. If one's honesty were impeached, what should one do, is more courtly than to take either one's self or the person addressed for the example.

One should be followed by one, and not by he. The better acquainted one is with any kind of rhetorical trick, the less liable he is to be misled by it. Should be, the less liable one is to be misled by it. In the phrase, any of the little ones, one is the numeral employed in the manner of a pronoun, by indicating something that has gone on before, or, perhaps, has to come after. I like peaches, but I must have a ripe one, or ripe ones. Professor Bain says in his Composition Grammar, This pronoun continually lands writers in difficulties. English idiom requires that when the pronoun has to be again referred to, it should be used itself a second time. The correct usage is shown by Pope. One may be ashamed to consume half one's days in bringing sense and rhyme together.

It would be against idiom to say half his days. Still, the repetition of the pronoun is often felt to be heavy, and writers have recourse to various substitutions. Even an ear accustomed to the idiom can scarcely accept with unmixed pleasure this instance from Browning. Alack! One lies oneself even in the stating that one's end was truth—truth only if one states so much in words.

The representative I occasionally acts the part of One. The following sentence presents a curious alternation of We with One. Possibly not accidental.

It's a desperately vexatious thing that, after all one's reflections and quiet determinations, we should be ruled by moods that one can't calculate on beforehand. By the use of We here, a more pointed reference is suggested, while the vagueness actually remains.

Fenimore Cooper, like Scott, is not very particular. An example may be quoted. Modesty is a poor man's wealth. But as we grow substantial in the world , one can afford to begin to speak truth of himself as well as of his neighbor. Were Cooper a careful writer, we might persuade ourselves that he chose we and one with a purpose. We might indicate that the speaker had himself and the patroon directly in his eye, although at the same time he wanted to put it generally, and one might hint that modesty succeeded in getting the better of him. But himself and his would alone show that such speculations are too refined for the occasion. The form A Man, which was at one time common, seems to be reviving.

In Adam We have, A man can never do anything at variance with his own nature. We might substitute, One.

Men was more frequent in good writing formerly than now. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel. Do men gather grapes of thorns? Hume is fond of expressing a general subject by men. Small birds are much more exposed to the cold than large ones. This usage is hardly indefinite, and it needs no further exemplification.

Only. This word, when used as an adjective, is more frequently misplaced than any other word in the language. Indeed, I am confident that it is not correctly placed half the time, either in conversation or in writing. Thus, In its pages, papers of sterling merit will only appear. Miss Bratton. Things are getting dull down in Texas. They only shot three men down there last week.

I have only got three. Only is sometimes improperly used for except or unless. Thus the trains will not stop only when the bell rings. The meaning here is clearly except when the bell rings.

Dr. Bain, in his higher English grammar, speaking of the order of words, says, The word requiring most attention is only. According to the position of only, the same words may be made to express very different meanings. He only lived for their sakes. Here only must be held as qualifying lived for their sakes, the emphasis being on lived, the word immediately adjoining. The meaning, then, is he lived, but did not work, did not die, did not do any other thing for their sakes. He lived only for their sakes. Only now qualifies for their sakes. And the sentence means he lived for this one reason, namely for their sakes, and not for any other reason.

He lived for their sakes only. The force of the word, when placed at the end, is peculiar. Then it often has a diminutive or disparaging signification. He lived for their sakes, and not for any more worthy reason. He gave sixpence only is an insinuation that more was expected. By the use of alone instead of only, other meanings are expressed. He alone lived for their sakes. He lived for their sakes alone, or for the sake of them alone. It was alone by the help of the Confederates that any such design could be carried out. Better only.

When men grow virtuous in their old age, they only make a sacrifice to God of the Devil's leavings. Pope. Here only is rightly placed. Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure, should be. Think of the past only as its remembrance, etc.

As he did not leave his name, it was only known that a gentleman had called on business. It was known only. I can only refute the accusation by laying before you the hole. This would mean the only thing I am able to do is to refute. I may not retaliate or let it drop. I must refute it. The negroes are to appear at church only in boots. That is, when the negroes go to church, they are to have no clothing but boots. The negroes are to appear only at church in boots might mean that they are not to appear anywhere but at church, Whether in boots or out of them. The proper arrangement would be to connect the adverbial adjunct, in boots, with its verb, appear, and to make only qualify at church and no more.

The negroes are to appear in boots only at church.

It thus appears very plain that we should look well to our onlys. Ought, should.

These two words, though they both imply obligation, should not be used indiscriminately. Ought is the stronger term. What we ought to do, we are morally bound to do. We ought to be truthful and honest, and should be respectful to our elders, and kind to our inferiors.

Overflown. Flown is the past participle of to fly, and flowed of to flow, As, therefore, a river does not fly over its banks, but flows over them, we should say of it that it has overflowed, and not that it has overflown.

Overly. This word is now used only by the unschooled.

Owing. Refer to do.

Pants. This abbreviation is not used by those who are careful in the choice of words. The purist does not use the word pantaloons even, but trousers. Pants are worn by gents who eat lunches and open wine, and trousers are worn by gentlemen who eat luncheons and order wine.

Paraphernalia. This is a law term. In Roman law, It meant the goods which a woman brought to her husband, besides her dowry. In English law, it means the goods which a woman is allowed to have after the death of her husband, besides her dower, consisting of her apparel and ornaments suitable to her rank. When used in speaking of the affairs of every-day life, it is generally misused.

Parlor. This word, in the sense of drawing-room, according to Dr. Hall, except in the United States and some of the English colonies, is obsolete. Partake. This is a very fine word to use for eat. Just the word for young women who hobble on French heels.

Partially. Partly. It is only partially done. This Use of the adverb partially is sanctioned by high authority, but that does not make it correct. A thing done in part is partly, not partially done.

Participles. When the present participle is used substantively in sentences like the following, it is preceded by the definite article and followed by the preposition of. The omitting of the preposition is a common error. Thus, Or, it is the drawing a conclusion which was before either unknown or dark, should be, the drawing of a conclusion. Prompted by the most extreme vanity, he persisted in the writing bad verses, should be, in writing bad verses, or, in the writing of bad verses. There is a misuse of the article, which is very common. It is the using it before the word most. Moon. Most writers would have said the using of it, Mr. Moon argues for his construction. Particles. Nothing but study of the best writers and practice in composition will enable us to decide what are the prepositions and conjunctions that ought to go with certain verbs.

The following examples illustrate some common blunders.

It was characterized with eloquence. Read. By. A testimonial of the merits of his grammar. Read, Two.

It was an example of the love to form comparisons. Read, Of forming. Repetition is always to be preferred before obscurity. Read, Two. He made an effort for meeting them. Read, To meet. They have no other object but to come. Read, Other object than... Or omit other.

Two verbs are not unfrequently followed by a single preposition which accords with one only. For example, this duty is repeated and inculcated upon the reader. Repeat upon is nonsense. We must read, is repeated to and inculcated upon. Nichols, English Composition, Page 39. We often see for used with the substantive sympathy. The best practice, however, uses with. Thus, words cannot express the deep sympathy I feel with you. Queen Victoria. Party. This is a very good word in its place, but it is very much out of its place when used, as it often is by the vulgar, where good taste would use the word person. Patronize. This word and its derivatives would be much less used by the American tradesman than they are if he were better acquainted with their true meaning.

Then he would solicit his neighbor's custom, not their patronage. A man can have no patrons without incurring obligations, without becoming a protege. While a man may have customers innumerable, and, instead of placing himself under obligations to them, he may place them under obligations to him, Princes are the patrons of those tradesmen whom they allow to call themselves their purveyors, as John Smith, haberdasher to H.R.H., the Prince of Wales. Here the Prince patronizes John Smith. Pell-mell. This adverb means mixed or mingled together. As men, horses, chariots, crowded pell-mell. It cannot properly be applied to an individual. To say, for example, he rushed pell-mell down the stairs is as incorrect as it would be to say he rushed down the stairs mixed together.

Per. This Latin preposition is a good deal used in English, as, for example, in such phrases as per day, per man, per pound, per ton, and so on. In all such cases, it is better to use plain English. and say a day, a man, a pound, a ton, etc. Per is correct before Latin nouns only, as per annum, per diem, per cent, etc. Perform.

She performs on the piano beautifully. In how much better taste it is to say simply, she plays the piano well, or more superlatively, exceedingly well, or admirably, If we talk about performing on musical instruments, to be consistent, we should call those who perform piano performers, cornet performers, violin performers, and so on.

Perpetually. This word is sometimes misused for continually. Dr. William Matthews, in his Words, Their Use and Abuse, says, The Irish are perpetually using shall for will. Perpetual means never ceasing, continuing without intermission, uninterrupted, while continual means that which is constantly renewed and recurring, with perhaps frequent stops and interruptions. As the Irish do something besides misuse shall, the doctor should have said that they continually use shall for will. I might, perhaps, venture to intimate that perpetually is likewise misused in the following sentence, which I copy from the London Queen, if I were not conscious that the monster who can write and print such a sentence would not hesitate to cable a thunderbolt at an offender on the slightest provocation.

Judge if my fears are groundless.

But some few people contract the ugly habit of making use of these expressions unconsciously and continuously, perpetually interlarding their conversation with them.

Person. Refer to Party. Also, Individual. Personality. This word does not, as some persons think, mean the articles worn on one's person. It is properly a law term, and means personal property. There is but one case on record of a peer of England leaving over seven million five hundred thousand dollars, personality.

Personification. That rhetorical figure which attributes sex, life, or action to inanimate objects, or ascribes to objects and brutes the acts and qualities of rational beings, is called personification or Prasopopea.

The mountains sing together, the hills rejoice and clap their hands.

The worm, aware of his intent, harangued him thus.

See, winter comes to rule the varied year, sullen and sad with all his rising train. Thompson.

So saying, her rash hand, in evil hour, Forth reaching to the fruit, she plucked, she ate. Earth felt the wound, and nature from her seat, sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe, that all was lost. Milton.

War and love are strange compeers. War sheds blood, and love sheds tears. War has swords, and love has darts. War breaks heads, and love breaks hearts.

Levity is often less foolish and gravity less wise than each of them appears. The English language, by reserving the distinction of gender for living beings that have sex, gives a special scope for personification. The highest form of personification should be used seldom, and only when justified by the presence of strong feeling.

Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one, have ofttimes no connection. Knowledge dwells in heads replete with thoughts of other men, wisdom in minds attentive to their own. Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much. Wisdom is humble that he knows no more. Cowper Phenomenon. Plural Phenomena.

Plead. The imperfect tense and the perfect participle of the verb to plead are both pleaded and not plead. He pleaded not guilty. You should have pleaded your cause with more fervor. Plenty. In Worcester's Dictionary we find the following note.

Plenty is much used colloquially as an adjective in the sense of plentiful, both in this country and in England, and this use is supported by respectable authorities, though it is condemned by various critics. Johnson says, "'It is used barbarously, I think, for plentiful,' and Dr. Campbell, in his philosophy of rhetoric, says, "'Plenty for plentiful appears to me so gross a vulgarism that I should not have thought it worthy of a place here if I had not sometimes found it in works of considerable merit.' We should say, then, that money is plentiful, and not that it is plenty.

PLEONASM Redundancy or pleonasm is the use of more words than are necessary to express the thought clearly. They returned back again to the same city from whence they came forth. The five words in italics are redundant or pleonastic. The different departments of science and of art mutually reflect light on each other. Either of the expressions in italics embodies the whole idea. The universal opinion of all men is a pleonastic expression often heard. I wrote you a letter yesterday. Here, a letter is redundant.

Redundancy is sometimes permissible for the surer conveyance of meaning, for emphasis, and in the language of poetic embellishment.

Polite. This word is much used by persons of doubtful culture, where those of the better sort use the word kind. We accept kind, not polite, invitations, and when any one has been obliging, we tell him that he has been kind, and when an interviewing reporter tells us of his having met with a polite reception, We may be sure that the person by whom he has been received deserves well for his considerate kindness. I thank you and Mrs. Pope for my kind reception. Atterbury.

Portion. This word is often incorrectly used for part. A portion is properly a part assigned, allotted, set aside for a special purpose. A share, a division. The verb to portion means to divide, to parcel, to endow. We ask, therefore—in what part, not in what portion, of the country, state, county, town, or street do you live? Or, if we prefer grandiloquence to correctness, reside. In the sentence, a large portion of the land is unfilled. The right word would be either part or proportion. according to the intention of the writer.

Posted. A word very much and very inelegantly used for informed. Such expressions as, I will post you, I must post myself up, if I had been better posted, and the like, are at the best but one remove from slang. Predicate.

This word is often very incorrectly used in the sense of to base, as he predicates his opinion on insufficient data. Then we sometimes hear people talk about predicating an action upon certain information, or upon somebody's statement. To predicate means primarily to speak before, and it has come to be properly used in the sense of assumed, or believed to be the consequence of. Ex. Contentment is predicated of virtue. Good health may be predicated of a good constitution. He who is not very sure that he uses the word correctly would do better not to use it at all.

Prejudice, prepossess.

Both these words mean to incline in one direction or the other for some reason not founded in justice. But by common consent prejudice has come to be used in an unfavorable sense, and prepossess in a favorable one. Thus we say, He is prejudiced against him, and He is prepossessed in his favor. We sometimes hear the expression, He is prejudiced in his favor, but this cannot be accounted a good use of the word.

Prepositions. The errors made in the use of the prepositions are very numerous. The indolent child is one who—that—has a strong aversion from action of any sort. Graham's English Synonyms. The prevailing and best modern usage is in favor of to instead of from after averse and aversion, and before the object. Clearness enables the reader to see thoughts without noticing the language with which they are clothed. Townsend's Art of Speech. We clothe thoughts in language. Shakspeare and the Bible are models for the English-speaking tongue. Ibid. If this means models of English, then it should be of. But if it means models for English organs of speech to practice on, then it should be for. Or if it means models to model English tongues after, then also it should be for.

If the resemblance is too faint, the mind is fatigued while attempting to trace the analogies. Aristotele is in error while thus describing governments. Ibid. Here we have two examples, not of the misuse of the preposition, but of the erroneous use of the adverb while instead of the preposition in. For my part, I cannot think that Shelley's poetry, except by snatches and fragments, has the value of the good work of Wordsworth or Byron. Matthew Arnold. Should be, except in snatches. Taxes with us are collected nearly, almost, solely from real and personal estate. Appleton's Journal. Taxes are levied on estates, and collected from the owners.

If I am not commended for the beauty of my works, I may hope to be pardoned for their brevity. Cobbett comments on this sentence as follows. We may commend him for the beauty of his works, and we may pardon him for their brevity, if we deem the brevity a fault. But this is not what he means. He means that, at any rate, he shall have the merit of brevity. If I am not commended for the beauty of my works, I may hope to be pardoned on account of their brevity. This is what the doctor meant. But this would have marred a little the antithesis. It would have unsettled a little of the balance of that see-saw in which Dr. Johnson so much delighted, and which falling into the hands of novel-writers and of members of Parliament has, by moving unencumbered with any of the doctor's reason or sense, lulled so many thousands asleep.

Dr. Johnson created a race of writers and speakers. Mr. Speaker, that the state of the nation is very critical, all men will allow, but that it is wholly desperate, few will believe. When you hear or see a sentence like this, be sure that the person who speaks or writes it has been reading Dr. Johnson or some of his imitators. But observe, these imitators go no further than the frame of the sentences. They, in general, take care not to imitate the doctor in knowledge and reasoning.

The rhetoricians would have us avoid such forms of expression as, "'The boy went to and asked the advice of his teacher.' "'I called on and had a conversation with my brother.' Very often the preposition is not repeated in a sentence when it should be. We say properly, "'He comes from Ohio or from Indiana,' or, "'He comes either from Ohio or Indiana.' Prepossess. Refer to Prejudice.

Present. Introduce. Few errors are more common, especially among those who are always straining to be fine, than that of using Present in the social world instead of Introduce. Present means to place in the presence of a superior. Introduce to bring to be acquainted. A person is presented at court and on an official occasion to our President. But persons who are unknown to each other are introduced by a common acquaintance, and in these introductions it is the younger who is introduced to the older, the lower to the higher in place or social position, the gentleman to the lady. A lady should say as a rule that Mr. was introduced to her, not that she was introduced to Mr. . Presumptive. This word is sometimes misused by the careless for presumptuous.

Preventive. A useless and unwarranted syllable is sometimes added to this word, preventative.

Previous. This adjective is much used in adverbial sense, thus, previous to my return, etc. Until previous is recognized as an adverb, if we would speak grammatically, we must say, previously to my return. Previously to my leaving England, I called on his lordship.

Procure. This is a word much used by people who strive to be fine. Where did you get it? With them is, where did you procure it? Profanity. The extent to which some men habitually interlard their talk with oaths is disgusting even to many who, on occasion, do not themselves hesitate to give expression to their feelings in oaths portly and unctuous. If these fellows could be made to know how offensive to decency they make themselves, they would, perhaps, be less profane.

Promise. This word is sometimes very improperly used for assure. Thus, I promise you, I was very much astonished.

Pronouns of the First Person The ordinary uses of I and We as the singular and plural pronouns of the first person would appear to be above all ambiguity, uncertainty, or dispute. Yet when we consider the force of the plural we, we are met with a contradiction, for, as a rule, only one person can speak at the same time to the same audience. It is only by some exceptional arrangement, or some latitude or license of expression, that several persons can be conjoint speakers. For example, A plurality may sing together in chorus, and may join in the responses at church, or in the simultaneous repetition of the Lord's Prayer or the Creed. Again, one person may be the authorized spokesman in delivering a judgment or opinion held by a number of persons in common.

Finally, in written compositions, the we is not unsuitable, because a plurality of persons may append their names to a document.

A speaker using we may speak for himself and one or more others. Commonly he stands forward as the representative of a class, more or less comprehensive. As soon as my companion and I had entered the field, we saw a man coming toward us. We like our new curate. You do us poets the greatest injustice. We must see to the efficiency of our forces. The widest use of the pronoun will be mentioned presently.

We is used for I in the decrees of persons in authority, as when King Lear says, Know that we have divided in three our kingdom. By the fiction of plurality, a veil of modesty is thrown over the assumption of vast superiority over human beings generally. Or, we may be regarded as an official form whereby the speaker personally is magnified or enabled to rise to the dignity of the occasion. The editorial we is to be understood on the same principle. An author using we appears as if he were not alone, but sharing with other persons the responsibility of his views. This representative position is at its utmost stretch in the practice of using we for human beings generally. as in discoursing on the laws of human nature.

The preacher, the novelist, or the philosopher, in dwelling upon the peculiarity of our common constitution, being himself an example of what he is speaking of, associates the rest of mankind with him, and speaks collectively by means of we. We are weak and fallible. We are of yesterday. We are doomed to dissolution. Here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

It is not unfrequent to have one sentence, or in close proximity, both the editorial and the representative meaning, the effect being ambiguity and confusion. Let us, the author, now consider why we, humanity, generally, overrate distant good. In such a case, the author should fall back upon the singular for himself. I will now consider. We, speaker, think we, himself and hearers together, should come to the conclusion. Say either I think, or you would. The following extract from Butler exemplifies a similar confusion. Suppose we— Rep. Are capable of happiness and of misery in degrees equally intense and extreme, yet we Rep. Are capable of the latter for a much longer time beyond all comparison.

We, change of subject to a limited class, see men in the tortures of pain. Such as our, back to Rep. Make that anything may become the instrument of pain and sorrow to us. The we at the commencement of the second sentence, we see men in the tortures, could be advantageously changed to you, or the passive construction could be substituted. The remaining we's would then be consistently representative.

From the greater emphasis of singularity, energetic speakers and writers sometimes use I as representative of mankind at large, Thus, the current impressions received through the senses are not voluntary in origin. What I see in walking is seen because I have an organ of vision. The question of general moral obligation is forcibly stated by Paley in the individual form, Why am I obliged to keep my word? It is sometimes well to confine the attention of the hearer or reader to his own relation to the matter under consideration. More especially in difficult or non-popular argument or exposition. The speaker, by using I, does the action himself, or makes himself the example, the hearer being expected to put himself in the same position.

Bain's Composition Grammar. Pronouns of the Second Person.

Anonymous usages have sprung up in connection with these pronouns. The plural form has almost wholly superseded the singular, a usage more than five centuries old.

The use of the plural for the singular was established as early as the beginning of the fourteenth century. Morris, page 1, 18, section 153. The motive is courtesy. The singling out of one person for address is supposed to be a liberty or an excess of familiarity, and the effect is softened or diluted by the fiction of taking in others. If our address is uncomplimentary, the sting is lessened by the plural form, and if the reverse, the shock to modesty is not so great. This is a refinement that was unknown to the ancient languages. The orators of Greece delighted in the strong pointed personal appeal implied in the singular thou. In modern German, thou, du, is the address of familiarity and intimacy, while the ordinary pronoun is the curiously indirect they, sie.

On solemn occasions we may revert to thou. Cato, in his meditative soliloquy on reading Plato's views on the immortality of the soul before killing himself, says, Plato, thou reasonest well. So, in the commandments, thou addressest to each individual an unavoidable appeal, thou shall not. But our ordinary means of making the personal appeal is, you, sir, you, madam, my lord, you, etc. We reserve thou for the special case of addressing the deity. The application of the motive of courtesy is here reversed. It would be irreverent to merge this vast personality in a promiscuous assemblage. You is not unfrequently employed like we as a representative pronoun. The action is represented with great vividness when the person or persons addressed may be put forward as the performers.

There is such an echo among the old ruins and vaults that if you stamp a little louder than ordinary, you hear the sound repeated. Some practice is required to see these animals in the thick forest, even when you hear them close by you. There should not be a mixture of thou and you in the same passage. Thus Thackeray Adventures of Philip. So as thy sun rises, friend, over the humble house-tops round about your home, Shall you wake many and many a day to duty and labour. So, Cooper, Water Witch, thou hast both master and mistress? You have told us of the latter, but we would know something of the former. Who is thy master? Shakspeare, Scott, and others might also be quoted.

Ye and you were at one time strictly distinguished as different cases. Ye was nominative, Yew objective, dative, or accusative. But the Elizabethan dramatists confounded the forms irredeemably. And Yew has gradually ousted Yew from ordinary use. Yew is restricted to the expression of strong feeling, and in its employment occurs chiefly in the poets.

Bain's Composition Grammar.

Proof. This word is much and very improperly used for evidence, which is only the medium of proof, proof being the effective evidence. What evidence have you to offer in proof of the truth of your statement? Refer also to evidence.

Propose purpose. Writers and speakers often fail to discriminate properly between the respective meanings of these two verbs. Propose, correctly used, means to put forward or offer for the consideration of others. Hence, a proposal is a scheme or design offered for acceptance or consideration. A proposition. Purpose means to intend, to design, to resolve. Hence, a purpose is an intention, an aim, that which one sets before one's self. EXAMPLES. What do you purpose doing in the matter? What do you propose that we shall do in the matter?

I will do means I purpose doing, or to do. I purpose to write a history of England, from the accession of King James, the second, down to a time which is within the memory of men still living. Macaulay. It will be observed that Macaulay says, I purpose to write, and not, I purpose writing, using the verb in the infinitive rather than in the participial form, on which he purposed to mount one of his little guns. Refer to infinitive.

Proposition. This word is often used when proposal would be better. For the reason that proposal has but one meaning, and is shorter by one syllable. He demonstrated the proposition of Euclid, and rejected the proposal of his friend.

Prosayist.

Dr. Hall is of the opinion that this is a word we shall do well to encourage. It is used by good writers.

Proven. This form for the past participle of the verb TO PROVE is said to be a SCOTICISM. It is not used by careful writers and speakers. The correct form is PROVED.

PROVIDING The present participle of the verb TO PROVIDE is sometimes vulgarly used for the conjunction PROVIDED, as in this sentence from the London Queen. Society may be congratulated providing that etc.

Provoke. Refer to aggravate.

8 08: Punctuation - Set/Sit 55:49

VIII. Punctuation through sit, set.

Punctuation.

The importance of punctuation cannot be overestimated. It not only helps to make plain the meaning of what one writes, but it may prevent one's being misconstrued. Though no two writers could be found who punctuate just alike, still in the main those who pay attention to the art put in their stops in essentially the same manner. The difference that punctuation may make in the meaning of language is well illustrated by the following anecdote. At Remessa there lived a benevolent and hospitable prior, who caused these lines to be painted over his door. Be open evermore, O thou my door! To none be shut, to honest or to poor.

In time the good prior was succeeded by a man as selfish as his predecessor was generous. The lines over the door of the priory were allowed to remain. One stop, however, was altered, which made them read thus.

Be open evermore, O thou my door, to none. Be shut to honest or to poor.

He punctuates best who makes his punctuation contribute most to the clear expression of his thought. And that construction is best that has least need of being punctuated.

The comma. The chief difference in the punctuation of different writers is usually in their use of the comma, in regard to which there is a good deal of latitude. Much is left to individual taste. Nowadays, the best practice uses it sparingly. An idea of the extent to which opinions differ with regard to the use of the comma may be formed from the following excerpt from a paper prepared for private use.

In the following examples, gathered from various sources, chiefly from standard books, the superfluous commas are enclosed in parentheses. One. It remains, perhaps, to be said, that if any lesson at all, as to these delicate matters, is needed, in this period, it is not so much a lesson, etc. Two. The obedience is not due to the power of a right authority, but to the spirit of fear, and, therefore, is, in reality, no obedience at all.

Three. The patriot disturbances in Canada awakened deep interest among the people of the United States, who lived adjacent to the frontier.

Four. Observers, who have recently investigated this point, do not all agree. C. 5. The wind did, in an instant, what man and steam together had failed to do in hours. 6. All the cabin passengers, situated beyond the center of the boat, were saved. 7. No other writer has depicted, with so much art or so much accuracy, the habits, the manners, etc. 8. If it shall give satisfaction to those who have, in any way, befriended it, the author will feel, etc. 9. Formed, or consisting of, clay. 10. The subject, witchcraft, grew interesting, and, to examine Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth Proctor, The deputy governor, and five other magistrates, went to Salem. XI. The Lusitanians, who had not left their home, rose as a man, etc.

XII. Vague reports had preceded him to Washington, and his Mississippi friends, who chanced to be at the Capitol, were not backward to make their boast of him. XIII. Our faith has acquired a new vigor, and a clearer vision. Fourteen. In 1819, he removed to Cambridge. Fifteen. Doray was born at Strasburg, in 1832, and labors, etc.

Sixteen. We should never apply dry compresses, charpie, or wadding, to the wound. 17. To stand idle, to look, act, or think, in a leisurely way. 18. Portraits taken from the farmers, schoolmasters, and peasantry, of the neighborhood. 19. Gladly welcomed painters of Flanders, Holland, and Spain, to their shores.

In all these cases, the clauses between or following the enclosed commas are so closely connected grammatically with the immediately preceding words or phrases that they should be read without a perceptible pause, or with only a slight one for breath, without change of voice. Some of the commas would grossly pervert the meaning if strictly construed. Thus, from number three, it would appear that the people of the United States in general lived adjacent to the frontier. From number four, that all observers have recently investigated the point in question. From number six, that all the cabin passengers were so situated that they were saved, whereas it is meant that only a certain small proportion of them were saved.

From number ten, Bancroft, that somebody whose name is accidentally omitted went to Salem to examine Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth Proctor, the deputy governor, and five other magistrates. From number 11, that none of the Lusitanians had left their home, whereas it was the slaughter by the Romans of a great number of them who had left their home that caused the rising. Commas are frequently omitted, and in certain positions very generally where the sense and correct reading require a pause. In the following examples, such commas omitted in the works from which they were taken are enclosed in brackets. I. The modes of thought. And the types of character which those modes produce, are essentially and universally transformed.

Two. Taken by itself, this doctrine could have no effect whatever. Indeed, it would amount to nothing but a verbal proposition. Three. Far below, the little stream of the odor formed over the rocks. Four. When the day returned, the professor, The artist, and I rowed to within a hundred yards of the shore. Five. Proceeding into the interior of India, they passed through Belgom. Six. If Loring is defeated in the sixth district, it can be borne.

In number three, the reader naturally enunciates the little stream of the odor as in the objective case after below. But there he comes to a predicate which compels him to go back and read differently. In number four, it appears that the day returned the professor, and then the artist and I rode, etc., and all clauses should generally be isolated by commas. Where, however, the connection is very close, or the clause is very short, no point may be necessary.

But his pride is greater than his ignorance, and what he wants in knowledge he supplies by sufficiency.

A man of polite imagination can converse with a picture, and find an agreeable companion in a statue.

Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.

The Prince, his father being dead, succeeded.

To confess the truth, I was much at fault.

As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee.

Where the bee sucks, there suck I.

His father dying, he succeeded to the estate. The little that is known, and the circumstances that little is known, must be considered as honorable to him.

The comma is used before and after a phrase when coordinating and not restrictive. The jury, having retired for half an hour, brought in a verdict. The stranger, unwilling to obtrude himself on our notice, left in the morning.

Rome, the city of the emperors, became the city of the popes.

His stories, which made everybody laugh, were often made to order.

He did not come, which I greatly regret.

The younger, who was yet a boy, had nothing striking in his appearance. They passed the cup to the stranger, who drank heartily.

Peace at any price, which these orators seem to advocate, means war at any cost.

who are generally superstitious, say it is unlucky to embark on Friday.

Adverbs and short phrases, when they break the connection, should be between commas. Some of the most common words and phrases so used are the following. Also, to, there, indeed, perhaps, surely, moreover, likewise, however, finally, namely, Therefore, apparently, meanwhile, consequently, unquestionably, accordingly, notwithstanding, in truth, in fact, in short, in general, in reality, no doubt, of course, as it were, at all events, to be brief, to be sure, now and then, on the contrary, in a word, by chance, in that case, in the meantime, for the most part.

History, in a word, is replete with moral lessons. As an orator, however, he was not great. There is, remember, a limit at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue. Our civilization, therefore, is not an unmixed good. This, I grant you, is not of great importance. If, however, The adverb does not break the connection, but readily coalesces with the rest of the sentence. The commas are omitted. Morning will come at last, however dark the night may be.

We then proceeded on our way. Our civilization is therefore not an unmixed good.

Patience, I say. Your mind, perhaps, may change.

Adverbial phrases and clauses beginning a sentence are set off by commas.

In truth, I could not tell. To sum up, the matter is this.

Everything being ready, they set out. By looking a little deeper, the reason will be found.

Finally, let me sum up the argument.

If the premises were admitted, I should deny the conclusion. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Words used in apposition should be isolated by commas. Newton, the great mathematician, was very modest. And he, their prince, shall rank among my peers.

In such sentences, however, as the mathematician Newton was very modest, And the Emperor Napoleon was a great soldier. Commas are not used.

The name or designation of a person addressed is isolated by commas. It touches you, my lord, as well as me. John, come here.

Mr. President, my object is peace. Tell me, boy, where do you live? Yes, sir, I will do as you say. Mr. Brown, what is your number?

Pairs of words. Old and young, rich and poor, wise and foolish were involved. Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand and heart to this vote. Interest and ambition, honor and shame, friendship and enmity, gratitude and revenge, are the prime movers in public transactions.

A restrictive clause is not separated by a comma from the noun.

Every one must love a boy who is attentive and docile. He preaches sublimely who lives a holy life. The things which are seen are temporal. A king, depending on the support of his subjects, cannot rashly go to war. The sailor who is not superstitious will embark any day. The comma is used after adjectives, nouns, and verbs in sentences like the following. Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils shrunk to this little measure?

He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals all.

Who to the enraptured heart, and ear, and eye, teach beauty, virtue, truth, and love, and melody?

Some writers omit the comma in cases where the conjunction is used. But, as the conjunction is generally employed in such cases for emphasis, commas ought to be used. Although, where the words are very closely connected, or where they constitute a clause in the midst of a long sentence, They may be omitted. Biglow's Handbook of Punctuation He rewarded his friends, chastised his foes, set justice on her seat, and made his conquest secure. The comma is used to separate adjectives in opposition, but closely connected. Though deep, yet clear. Though gentle, yet not dull.

Liberal. Not lavish is kind nature's hand, Though black, yet comely, and though rash, benign. After a nominative, where the verb is understood. To err is human, to forgive divine.

A wise man seeks to shine in himself, a fool in others.

Conversation makes a ready man. An exact man. A full man.

A long subject is often separated from the predicate by a comma. Any one that refuses to earn an honest livelihood is not an object of charity.

The circumstance of his being unprepared to adopt immediate and decisive measures was represented to the government.

That he had persistently disregarded every warning and persevered in his reckless course had not yet undermined his credit with his dupes.

That the work of forming and perfecting the character is difficult is generally allowed.

In a series of adjectives that precede their noun, a comma is placed after each except the last. There usage omits the point. A beautiful, tall, willowy, sprightly girl. A quick, brilliant, studious, learned man.

This usage violates one of the fundamental principles of punctuation. It indicates, very improperly, that the noun man is more closely connected with learned than with the other adjectives. Analogy and perspicuity require a comma after learned.

Quackenbos. A comma is placed between short members of compound sentences, connected by and, but, for, nor, or, because, whereas, that, expressing purpose, so that, in order that, and other conjunctions. Be virtuous, that you may be respected.

Love not sleep. Lest you come to poverty. Man proposes, but God disposes.

A comma must not be placed before that, except when it is equivalent to in order that. He says that he will be here.

A comma must not be placed before and when it connects two words only. Time and tide wait for no man. A rich and prosperous people. Plain and honest truth wants no artificial covering.

A comma is sometimes necessary to prevent ambiguity. He who pursues pleasure only defeats the object of his creation. Without a comma before or after only, the meaning of this sentence is doubtful. The following sentences present some miscellaneous examples of the use of the comma by writers on punctuation. Industry, as well as genius, is essential to the production of great works.

Prosperity is secured to a state, not by the acquisition of territorial riches, but by the encouragement of industry.

Your manners are affable, and, for the most part, Many writers would omit the last two commas in this sentence.

However fairly a bad man may appear to act, we distrust him. Why, this is rank injustice. Well, follow the dictates of your inclination.

The comma may be omitted in the case of two also Therefore, and perhaps, when introduced so as not to interfere with the harmonious flow of the period, and, particularly, when the sentence is short.

The commas before and after particularly are hardly necessary.

To those who labor, Sleep is doubly pleasant.

Sleep is doubly pleasant to those who labor.

Those who persevere succeed.

To be overlooked, slighted, and neglected. To be misunderstood, misrepresented, and slandered. To be trampled under foot by the envious, the ignorant, and the vile. To be crushed by foes, and to be distrusted and betrayed even by friends—such is too often the fate of genius.

She is tall, though not so handsome as her sister.

Verily, verily, I say unto you.

Whatever is, is right.

What is for ordained to be, will be.

The Emperor Augustus was a patron of the fine arts.

Augustus, the Emperor, was a patron of the fine arts.

United, we stand. Divided, we fall.

God said, Let there be light.

July 21, 1881. President Garfield was shot Saturday morning, July 2, 1881. He died Monday night, September 19, 1881.

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, John Jones.

New York, August, 1881. Room XX Equitable Building, Broadway, New York. When you are in doubt as to the propriety of inserting commas, omit them. It is better to have too few than too many. Quackenbos.

The Semicolon. Reasons are preceded by Semicolons. Economy is no disgrace, for it is better to live on a little than to outlive a great deal.

Clauses in opposition are separated by a semicolon when the second is introduced by an adversative. Straws swim at the surface, but pearls lie at the bottom.

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but they that deal truly are his delight.

Without the Adversitive, the colon is to be preferred. Prosperity showeth vice, adversity virtue.

The great divisions of a sentence must be pointed with a semicolon when the minor divisions are pointed with commas.

Mirth should be the embroidery of conversation, not the web, and wit the ornament of the mind, not the furniture.

The things enumerated must be separated by semicolons when the enunciation of particulars is preceded by a colon.

The value of a maxim depends on four things. The correctness of the principle it embodies, the subject to which it relates, The extent of its application, and the ease with which it may be practically carried out.

When AS introduces an example, it is preceded by a semicolon. When several successive clauses have a common connection with a preceding or following clause, they are separated by semicolons. AS Children, as they gambled on the beach. Reapers, as they gathered the harvest, mowers, as they rested from using the scythe, mothers, as they busied themselves about the household, were victims to an enemy who disappeared the moment a blow was struck.

Reason as we may, it is impossible not to read in such a fate much that we know not how to interpret. Much a provocation to cruel deeds and deep resentment. Much of apology for wrong and perfidy. Much of doubt and misgiving as to the past. Much of painful recollections. Much of dark foreboding.

Philosophers assert that nature is unlimited, that her treasures are endless, that the increase of knowledge will never cease.

The colon. This point is less used now than formerly. Its place is supplied by the period, the semicolon, or the dash, and sometimes even by the comma. The colon is used very differently by different writers.

He was heard to say, "'I have done with this world.' Some writers would put a colon. Some a comma after say.

When the quoted passage is brought in without any introductory word, if short, says Quackenbos, it is generally preceded by a comma, if long, by a colon, as a simpleton meeting a philosopher asked him, What affords wise men the greatest pleasure?

Turning on his heel, the sage replied, To get rid of fools.

Formal enumerations of particulars, and direct quotations, when introduced by such phrases as, in these words, as follows, the following, namely, this, these, thus, etc., are properly preceded by a colon. We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created equal. That they are endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Lord Bacon has summed up the whole matter in the following words.

A little philosophy inclineth men's minds to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds to religion.

The human family is composed of five races. First, the Caucasian, Second, the Mongolian, Third, the etc.

All were attentive to the godlike man when from his lofty couch he thus began. Great Queen, etc. Dryden.

When the quotation, or other matter, begins a new paragraph, the colon is, by many writers, followed with a dash, as, The cloth being removed, the president rose and said, Ladies and gentlemen, we are, etc.

The colon is used to mark the greater breaks in sentences, when the lesser breaks are marked by semicolons. You have called yourself an atom in the universe. You have said that you are but an insect in the solar blaze. Is your present pride consistent with these professions?

A clause is either independent or dependent. Independent if it forms an assertion by itself. Dependent if it enters into some other clause with the value of a part of speech.

A colon is sometimes used instead of a period to separate two short sentences which are closely connected.

Never flatter people. Leave that to such as mean to betray them.

Some things we can, and others we cannot do. We can walk, but we cannot fly.

The period.

Complete sentences are always followed either by a period, or by an exclamation or an interrogation point.

The only exception to this rule is the occasional use of the colon to separate two short sentences that are closely connected.

The period is also used after abbreviations as R. D. Van Nostrand, St. Louis, Missouri.

J. N. O. B. Morris, M. D. F. R.S., London, England.

J. A. S. W. Wallach, Jr., New York City, New York. J. A. S. B. Roberts, Elocutionist, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Interrogation Point. This point is used after questions put by the writer, and after questions reported directly. "'What can I do for you? Where are you going?' "'What do you say?' cried the general. "'The child still lives?' It should not be used when the question is reported indirectly. He asked me where I was going." The judge asked the witness if he believed the man to be guilty.

Exclamation point. This mark is placed after interjections, after sentences and clauses of sentences of passionate import, and after solemn invocations and addresses.

Zounds! The man's in earnest! Pshaw! What can we do? Bah! What's that to me? Indeed! Then I must look to it.

Look, my lord, it comes.

Rest, rest, perturbed spirit.

O heat, dry up my brains.

Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia.

While in this part of the country I once more revisited, and, alas, with what melancholy presentiments, the home of my youth.

O Rose of May! O, from this time forth my thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth.

O, heavens, die two months ago, and not forgotten yet.

Night, sable goddess, from her ebon throne in rayless majesty now stretches forth her leaden sceptre o'er a slumbering world. Silence, how dead! And darkness, how profound. Young.

Hail, holy light, Offspring of heaven just born. Milton. But thou, O hope, with eyes so fair, What was thy delighted measure?

Collins.

It will be observed that the interjection O is an exception to the rule. It is often followed by a comma, but never by an exclamation point.

An exclamation point sometimes gives the same words quite another meaning. The difference between, What's that? and, What's that? is obvious.

The dash.

Cobbett did not favor the use of this mark, as we see from the following. Let me caution you against the use of what, by some, is called the dash. The dash is a stroke along the line. Thus, I am rich. I was poor. I shall be poor again. This is wild work, indeed. Who is to know what is intended by these dashes? Those who have thought proper, like Mr. Lindley Murray, to place the dash amongst the grammatical points ought to give us some rule relative to its different longitudinal dimensions in different cases. The inch, the three-quarter inch, the half inch, the quarter inch, these would be something determinate. But the dash, without measure, must be a perilous thing for the young grammarian to handle.

In short, the dash is a cover for ignorance as to the use of points, and it can answer no other purpose.

This is one of the few instances in which Cobbett was wrong. The dash is the proper point with which to mark an unexpected or emphatic pause, or a sudden break or transition. It is very often preceded by another point. And Huitzilopachtli, A sweet name to roll under one's tongue. For how many years has this venerable war-god blinked in the noonday sun?

Crowds gathered about the newspaper bulletins, recalling the feverish scenes that occurred when the president's life was thought to be hanging by a thread. Wouldn't it be too bad, said one, if—after all—no, I won't allow myself to think of it.

Was there ever? But I scorn to boast.

You are—no, I'll not tell you what you are.

He suffered. But his pangs are o'er. Enjoyed. But his delights are fled. Had friends—his friends are now no more. And foes—his foes are dead. Montgomery.

Greece, Carthage, Rome. Where are they?

He chastens, but he chastens to save.

Dashes are much used where parentheses were formerly employed. In the days of Tweed, the expression to divide fair, forcible, if not grammatical, acquire much currency.

In truth, the character of the great chief was depicted two thousand five hundred years before his birth, and depicted, such is the power of genius, in colors which will be fresh as many years after his death.

To render the Constitution perpetual, which God granted may be, it is necessary that its benefits should be practically felt by all parts of the country. Parenthesis. This mark is comparatively little used nowadays. The dash is preferred probably because it disfigures the page less. The office of the parenthesis is to isolate a phrase which is merely incidental, and which might be omitted without detriment to the grammatical construction.

Know then this truth. Enough for man to know. Virtue alone is happiness below. Pope.

The bliss of man is not to act or think beyond mankind.

This mark is used principally to enclose words improperly omitted by the writer, or words introduced for the purpose of explanation or to correct an error. The bracket is often used in this book.

The Apostrophe. This point is used to denote the omission of letters and sometimes of figures as J. A. N. Apostrophe. Why? Apostrophe. Eighty-one.

I, VE, for I have. Y, O, U, L, for you will. Apostrophe, T, I, S, for it is.

D. O. N. T. for do not. C. A. N. T. for can not.

It was in the year ninety-three, the spirit of seventy-six. It was in the years 1812, 13, and 14. Also, to denote the possessive case as Brown's house, the King's command, Moses' staff. For conscience' sake. The boy's garden.

Also with S to denote the plural of letters, figures, and signs, as Cross your T's, Dot your I's, and Mind your P's and Q's, Make your Fives better, and Take out the X's.

Capitals. A capital letter should begin every sentence. Every line of verse, and every direct quotation. All names of the Deity, of Jesus Christ, of the Trinity, and of the Virgin Mary must begin with a capital. Pronouns are usually capitalized when they refer to the Deity. Proper names, and nouns and adjectives formed from proper names, names of streets, of the months, of the days of the week, and of the holidays, are capitalized. Titles of nobility and of high office, when used to designate particular persons, are capitalized as the Earl of Dunraven, the Mayor of Boston, the Baron replied, the Cardinal presided.

The Paragraph. In writing for the press, the division of matter into paragraphs is often quite arbitrary. In letter-writing, on the contrary, the several topics treated of should, as a rule, be isolated by Paragraphic Divisions. These divisions give one's letters a shapely appearance that they otherwise never have.

Purchase. This word is much preferred to its synonym by, by that class of people who prefer the word reside to live, procure to get, inaugurate to begin, and so on. They are generally of those who are great in pretence, and who would be greater still if they were to pretend to all they have to pretend to.

Purpose. Refer to Propose.

Quantity. This word is often improperly used for number. Quantity should be used in speaking of what is measured or weighed. Number of what is counted. Examples. What quantity of apples have you, and what number of pineapples? Delaware produces a large quantity of peaches and a large number of melons.

Quit. This word means properly to leave, to go away from, to forsake, as avant. Quit my sight. This is the only sense in which the English use it. In America, it is generally used in the sense of to leave off, to stop, as quit your nonsense, quit laughing, quit your noise, he has quit smoking, and so on.

Quite. This word originally meant completely, perfectly, totally, entirely, fully. And this is the sense in which it was used by the early writers of English. It is now often used in the sense of rather, as it is quite warm, she is quite tall, he is quite proficient. Sometimes it is incorrectly used in the sense of considerable, as quite an amount, quite a number, quite a fortune. Quite, according to good modern usage, may qualify an adjective, but not a noun. She is quite the lady is a vile phrase, meaning, she is very or quite ladylike.

Railroad Depot. Few things are more offensive to fastidious ears than to hear a railway station called a Depot. A Depot is properly a place where goods or stores of any kind are kept, and the places at which the trains of a railroad, or better, railway, Stop for passengers, or the points from which they start and at which they arrive are, properly, the stations. Railway. The English prefer this word to Railroad.

Raise the rent. An expression incorrectly used for increase the rent.

Rarely.

It is no uncommon thing to see this adverb improperly used in such sentences as, It is very rarely that the puppets of the romancer assume, etc.

Appleton's Journal, February 1881, Page 177. But, says the defender of this phraseology, rarely qualifies a verb, the verb to be. Not at all. The sentence, If written out in full, would be, It is a very rare thing, that, etc., or, The circumstance is a very rare one, that, etc., or, It is a very rare occurrence, that, etc., To those who contend for, It is very rarely that, etc., I would say it is very sadly that persons of culture will write and then defend, or rather try to defend, such grammar.

Ratiosonate.

Real. This adjective is often vulgarly used in the sense of the adverb very, thus real nice, real pretty, real angry, real cute, and so on.

Recommend. This word, which means to commend or praise to another, to declare worthy of esteem, trust, or favor, is sometimes put to strange uses. Ex. Resolved that the taxpayers of the county be recommended to meet, etc. What the resolving gentleman meant was that the taxpayers should be counseled to meet.

Redundancy.

Reliable. This is a modern word which is often met with But it is not used by our careful writers. They prefer its synonym trustworthy, and argue that, in consequence of being ill-formed, reliable cannot possibly have the signification in which it is used.

Remainder. Refer to balance.

Rendition. This word is much misused for rendering. Example. The excellence of Mr. Gilbert's rendition of certain characters, Sir Peter and Sir Antony, for instance, is not equalled, etc. Rendition means the act of yielding possession, surrender, as the rendition of a town or fortress. The sentence above should read, The excellence of Mr. Gilbert's rendering, etc. Rendition is also sometimes improperly used for performance.

Reply. Refer to answer.

Reputation. Refer to character.

Reside. A big word that Mr. Would-be uses where Mr. Is uses the little word live.

Residence. In speaking of a man's domicile, it is not only in better taste but more correct to use the term house than residence. A man has a residence in New York when he has lived here long enough to have the right to exercise the franchise here, and he may have a house in Fifth Avenue where he lives. People who are live in houses. People who would be reside in residences. The former buy things. The latter purchase them.

Rest. R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R.E.B.R. Some of the dictionaries, Richard Grant White, and some other writers contend that this word, when properly used, means unwilling to go, standing still stubbornly, obstinate, stubborn, and nothing else. In combating this opinion, Fitzward Hall says, "'Very few instances, I apprehend, can be produced from our literature of this use of restive.' Webster gives impatient, uneasy, as a second meaning, and this is the sense in which the word is nearly always used. Retire.

It is only the over-nice who use retire in the sense of go to bed.

Reverend, Honorable. Many persons are in doubt whether they should or should not Put THE before these adjectives. Emphatically, yes, they should. See Words and Their Uses by Richard Grant White for a full discussion of the question. Also Good English by Edward S. Gould.

Rhetoric. The art which has for its object the rendering of language effective is called rhetoric.

Without some study of the art of composition, no one can expect to write well, or to judge the literary work of others.

True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, as those move easiest who have learned to dance.

Ride, drive.

Fashion. Both in England and in this country says that we must always use the second of these words when we speak of going out in a carriage, although ride means, according to all the lexicographers, to be carried on a horse or other animal, or in any kind of vehicle or carriage.

R. Singularly enough, this word is made by some people to do service for ought, in duty bound, under obligation to. Thus You had a right to tell me, meaning you should have told me. The colonists contended that they had no right to pay taxes, meaning they were under no obligation to pay taxes. In other words, that it was unjust to tax them.

Right here. The expressions right here and right there are Americanisms. Correctly, just here and just there.

Rolling. The use of this participial adjective in the sense of undulating is said to be an Americanism. Whether an Americanism or not, it would seem to be quite unobjectionable. Rubbers. This word, in common with gums and arctics, is often in defiance of good taste. Used for overshoes.

Sabbath. This term was first used in English for Sunday, or Lord's Day, by the Puritans. Nowadays it is little used in this sense. The word to use is Sunday. Sarcasm. Bain says that sarcasm is vituperation softened in the outward expression by the arts and figures of disguise, epigram, innuendo, irony, and embellished with the figures of illustration. Crabbe says that sarcasm is the indulgence only of personal resentment, and is never justifiable.

Satire. The holding up to ridicule of the follies and weaknesses of mankind, by way of rebuke, is called satire. Satire is general rather than individual, its object being the reformation of abuses. A lampoon, which has been defined as a personal satire, attacks the individual rather than his fault, and is intended to injure rather than to reform.

Said Sheridan, Satires and lampoons on particular people circulate more by giving copies in confidence to the friends of the parties than by printing them.

Saw. The imperfect tense of the verb to see is carelessly used by good writers and speakers when they should use the perfect. Thus, I never saw anything like it before, when the meaning intended is, I have never, in all my life, seen anything like it before, until now. We say properly, I never saw anything like it when I was in Paris, but when the period of time referred to extends to the time when the statement is made, it must be have seen. Like mistakes are made in the use of other verbs, but they are hardly as common. Yet we often hear such expressions as, I was never in Philadelphia. I never went to the theatre in my life, instead of have been in Philadelphia and have gone to the theatre.

Section. The use of this word for region, neighborhood, vicinity, part of the town or country is said to be a Westernism. A section is a division of the public lands containing six hundred and forty acres.

Seem. Appear. Graham, in his English synonyms, says of these two words, What seems is in the mind. What appears is external. Things appear as they present themselves to the eye. They seem as they are represented to the mind. Things appear good or bad, as far as we can judge, by our senses. Things seem right or wrong, as we determine by reflection. Perception and sensation have to do with appearing. Reflection and comparison with seeming. When things are not what they appear, our senses are deceived. When things are not what they seem, our judgment is at fault.

No man had ever a greater power over himself, or was less the man he seemed to be, which shortly after appeared to everybody, when he cared less to keep on the mask. Clarendon, Seldom or Ever. This phrase should be, Seldom if ever, or Seldom or never. Seraphim. This is the plural of seraph, one of the seraphim. To thee cherubim and seraphim continually do cry. Refer to cherubim.

Set, sit. The former of these two verbs is often incorrectly used for the latter. To set. Imperfect tense. Set. Particples, setting, set. To sit. Imperfect tense. Sat. Particples, sitting, sat. To set means to put, to place, to plant. To put in any place, condition, state, or posture. We say to set about, to set against, to set out, to set going, to set apart, to set aside, to set down, to put in writing. To sit means to rest on the lower part of the body, to repose on a seat, to perch, as a bird, etc. We say sit up, in other words rise from lying to sitting. We will sit up—in other words, will not go to bed. Sit down—in other words, place yourself on a seat. We sit a horse, and we sit for a portrait.

Garments sit well or otherwise. Congress sits—so does a court. I have sat up long enough. I have set it on the table. We set down figures, but we sit down on the ground. We set a hand— And a hen sits on eggs. We should say, therefore, as cross as a sitting, not a setting, hen.

9 09: Settle - Swosh 53:05

IX. Settle through Swash. Settle. This word is often in elegantly, if not incorrectly, used for pay. We pay our way, pay our fare, pay our hotel bills, and the like. Refer also to locate.

Shall and will.

The nice distinctions that should be made between these two auxiliaries are, in some parts of the English-speaking world, often disregarded. And that, too, by persons of high culture. The proper use of shall and will can much better be learned from example than from precept. Many persons who use them, and also should and would, with well-nigh unerring correctness, do so unconsciously. It is simply habit with them, and they, though their culture may be limited, will receive a sort of verbal shock from Biddy's inquiry, "'Will I put the cattle on, ma'am?' when your Irish or Scotch countess would not be in the least disturbed by it. "'Shall' in an affirmative sentence, in the first person, and "'will' in the second and third persons, merely announce future action.

Thus, "'I shall go to town to-morrow. I shall not. I shall wait for better weather. We shall be glad to see you.' I shall soon be twenty. We shall set out early, and shall try to arrive by noon. You will be pleased. You will soon be twenty. You will find him honest. He will go with us.

Shall, in an affirmative sentence, in the second and third persons, announces the speaker's intention to control. Thus you shall hear me out. You shall go, sick or well. He shall be my heir. They shall go, whether they want to go or not.

Will, in the first person, expresses a promise, announces the speaker's intention to control, proclaims a determination. Thus, I will, I promise to, assist you. I will, I am determined to, have my right. We will, we promise to, come to you in the morning.

Shall, in an interrogative sentence, in the first and third persons, consults the will or judgment of another. In the second person, it inquires concerning the intention or future action of another. Thus, Shall I go with you? When shall we see you again? When shall I receive it? When shall I get well? When shall we get there? Shall he come with us? Shall you demand indemnity? Shall you go to town tomorrow? What shall you do about it?

Will, in an interrogative sentence, in the second person, asks concerning the wish, and in the third person concerning the purpose or future action of others. Thus, Will you have an apple? Will you go with me to my uncle's? Will he be of the party? Will they be willing to receive us? When will he be here?

Will cannot be used interrogatively in the First Person, singular or plural. We cannot say, Will I go? Will I help you? Will I be late? Will we get there in time? Will we see you again soon?

Official courtesy, in order to avoid the semblance of compulsion, conveys its commands in the You will form instead of the strictly grammatical You shall form. It says, for example, you will proceed to Key West, where you will find further instructions awaiting you.

A clever writer on the use of shall and will says that whatever concerns one's beliefs, hopes, fears, likes, or dislikes, cannot be expressed in conjunction with I will. There are no exceptions to this rule. If I say, I think I shall go to Philadelphia tomorrow, I convey the impression that my going depends upon circumstances beyond my control. But if I say I think I will go to Philadelphia tomorrow, I convey the impression that my going depends upon circumstances within my control, that my going or not depends on mere inclination. We certainly must say, I fear that I shall lose it. I hope that I shall be well. I believe that I shall have the ague. I hope that I shall not be left alone. I fear that we shall have bad weather.

I shall dislike the country. I shall like the performance. The writer referred to asks, How can one say I will have the headache? I answer, Very easily, as every young woman knows. Let us see. Mary, you know you promised John to drive out with him tomorrow. How shall you get out of it? Oh, I will have the headache. We request that people will do thus or so, and not that they shall. Thus it is requested that no one will leave the room.

Shall is rarely, if ever, used for will. It is will that is used for shall. Expressions like the following are common. Where will you be next week? I will be at home. We will have dinner at six o'clock. How will you go about it? When will you begin? When will you set out? What will you do with it? In all such expressions, when it is a question of mere future action on the part of the person speaking or spoken to, the auxiliary must be shall and not will.

Should and would follow the regimen of shall and will. Would is often used for should. Should rarely for would. Correct speakers say I should go to town tomorrow if I had a horse. I should not. I should wait for better weather. We should be glad to see you. We should have started earlier if the weather had been clear. I should like to go to town, and would go if I could. I would assist you if I could. I should have been ill if I had gone. I would I were home again. I should go fishing today if I were home. I should so like to go to Europe.

I should prefer to see it first. I should be delighted. I should be glad to have you sup with me. I knew that I should be ill. I feared that I should lose it. I hoped that I should see him. I thought I should have the ague. I hoped that I should not be left alone. I was afraid that we should have bad weather. I knew I should dislike the country. I should not like to do it, and will not, determination, unless compelled to.

Chimmy. We derive from the French language our word chemise, pronounced chemise. In French, the word denotes a man's shirt, as well as the undergarment worn by women. In this country, it is often pronounced by people who should know better, Rather than call it shimmy, resume the use of the Old English words shift and smock. Good usage unqualifiedly condemns gents, pants, kids, gums, and shimmy. Vulgarisms and other errors of speech.

Should. ought.

sick. ill. These words are often used indiscriminately. Sick, however, is the stronger word, and generally the better word to use. Ill is used in England more than with us. There, sick is generally limited to the expressing of nausea, as sick at the stomach. Signature, over or under. A man writes under, not over a signature. Charles Dickens wrote under the signature of Boz. Mr. Samuel L. Clemens writes under the signature of Mark Twain. The reason given in Webster's Dictionary for preferring the use of under is absurd, viz. that the paper is under the hand in writing. The expression is elliptical, and has no reference to the position either of the signature or of the paper. Given under my hand and seal means under the guarantee of my signature and my seal.

Under his own signature, or name, means under his own character, without disguise. Under the signature of Boz means under the disguise of the assumed name Boz. We always write under a certain date, though the date be placed, as it often is, at the bottom of the page.

Signs. In one of the principal business streets of New York there is a sign which reads, German Lace Store. Now, Whether this is a store that makes a specialty of German laces, or whether it is a store where all kinds of lace are sold, kept by a German, or after the German fashion, is something that the sign doubtless means to tell us, but, owing to the absence of a hyphen, German Lace Store, or German Lace Store, does not tell us. Nothing is more common than erroneous punctuation in signs. and gross mistakes by the unlettered in the wording of the simplest printed matter. The bad taste, incorrect punctuation, false grammar, and ridiculous nonsense met with on signs and placards, and in advertisements, are really surprising.

An advertisement tells us that, quote, a pillow which assists in procuring sleep is a benediction, and quote, a placard that they have, Charlotte de For sale within. Which means, if it means anything, that they have for sale somebody or something called Charlotte of Russian. And then, on how many signs do we see the possessive case when the plural number is intended?

Simile. In rhetoric, a direct and formal comparison is called a simile. It is generally denoted by like, as, or so. As I have ventured, like little wanton boys that swim on bladders, these many summers in a sea of glory. Thy smile is as the dawn of vernal day. Shakspeare. As, down in the sunless retreats of the ocean, sweet flowerets are springing no mortal can see, so, deep in my bosom, the prayer of devotion, unheard by the world, rises silent to thee. More.

"'Tis with our judgments as with our watches. None go just alike, yet each believes his own." Pope. Grace abused brings forth the foulest deeds, as richest soil the most luxuriant weeds. Cowper.

As no roads are so rough as those that have just been mended, so no sinners are so intolerant as those who have just turned saints. Lacon.

Sin. Refer to crime.

Since. Ago. Dr. Johnson says of these two adverbs, Reckoning time toward the present, we use since, as it is a year since it happened. Reckoning from the present, we use ago, as it is a year ago. This is not, perhaps, always observed. Dr. Johnson's rule will hardly suffice as a sure guide. Since is often used for ago, but ago never for since. Ago is derived from the participle agone, while since comes from a preposition. We say properly, not long, or some time ago, agone. Since requires a verbal clause after it, as, Since I saw you, since he was here.

Sing. Of the two forms, sang and sung, for the imperfect tense of the verb to sing, the former, sang, is to be preferred.

Sit. Refer to set.

Slang. The slang that is heard among respectable people is made up of genuine words, to which an arbitrary meaning is given. It is always low, generally coarse, and not unfrequently foolish. With the exception of can't, there is nothing that is more to be shunned. We sometimes meet with persons of considerable culture who interlard their talk with slang expressions, but it is safe to assert that they are always persons of coarse natures.

Smart. Refer to clever. Smell of.

So. As. Such. That.

So much so.

The shipments by the coast steamers are very large, so much so, large, as to tax the capacity of the different lines. Telegram, September 19th. 1881. The sentence should be, The shipments by the coast steamers are very large, so large as to tax, etc.

Solexism. In rhetoric, a solecism is defined as an offense against the rules of grammar by the use of words in a wrong construction. False syntax.

Modern grammarians designate by solecism any word or expression which does not agree with the established usage of writing or speaking. But, as customs change, that which at one time is considered a solecism may at another be regarded as correct language. A solecism, therefore, differs from a barbarism, inasmuch as the latter consists in the use of a word or expression which is altogether contrary to the spirit of the language. and can, properly speaking, never become established as correct language.

Pennycyclopedia. Refer also to Barbarism.

Some. This word is not unfrequently misused for somewhat. Thus, She is some better today. It is likewise often misused for about. Thus, I think it is some ten miles from here. Specialty. This form has within a recent period been generally substituted for speciality. There is no apparent reason, however, why the I should be dropped, since it is required by the etymology of the word, and is retained in nearly all other words of the same formation.

Specious Fallacy. A fallacy is a sophism, a logical artifice, a deceitful or false appearance. While specious means having the appearance of truth, plausible. Hence, we see that the very essence of a fallacy is its speciousness. We may very properly say that a fallacy is more or less specious, but we cannot properly say that a fallacy is specious, since without speciousness We can have no fallacies.

Splendid. This poor word is used by the gentler sex to qualify well-nigh everything that has their approval, from a sugar-plum to the national capital. In fact, splendid and awful seem to be about the only adjectives some of our superlative young women have in their vocabularies.

STANDPOINT. This is a word to which many students of English seriously object, and among them are the editors of some of our daily papers, who do not allow it to appear in their columns. The phrase to which no one objects is point of view.

State. This word, which properly means to make known specifically, to explain particularly, is often misused for say, When say says all one wants to say, why use a more pretentious word? Stop. Where are you stopping? At the Metropolitan. The proper word to use here is staying. To stop means to cease to go forward, to leave off, and to stay means to abide, to tarry, to dwell, to sojourn. We stay, not stop, at home, at a hotel, or with a friend, as the case may be.

Storm. Many persons indulge in a careless use of this word, using it when they mean to say simply that it rains or snows. To a storm a violent commotion of the atmosphere is indispensable. A very high wind constitutes a storm, though it be dry.

Straightway. Here is a good anglo-saxon word of two syllables whose place, without any good reason, is being usurped by the Latin word immediately, of five syllables.

Street. We live in, not on. Meet our acquaintances, in, not on. Things occur in, not on. Houses are built in, not on, the street, and so forth.

Style. This is a term that is used to characterize the peculiarities that distinguish a writer or a composition. Correctness and clearness properly belong to the domain of diction. Simplicity, conciseness, gravity, elegance, diffuseness, floridity, force, feebleness, coarseness, etc., belong to the domain of style.

Subjunctive mood. This mood is unpopular with not a few nowadays grammarians. One says that it is rapidly falling into disuse, that, in fact, there is good reason to suppose it will soon become obsolete. Another says that it would, perhaps, be better to abolish it entirely, as its use is a continual source of dispute among grammarians, and of perplexity to schools. Another says that it is a universal stumbling-block. That nobody seems to understand it, although almost everybody attempts to use it. That the subjunctive mood is much less used now than it was a hundred years ago is certain, but that it is obsolescent is very far from certain. It would not be easy, I think, to find a single contemporary writer who does not use it.

That it is not always easy to determine what form of it we should employ is very true. But if we are justified in abolishing it altogether, as Mr. Chandler suggests, because its correct use is not always easy, then we are also justified in abolishing the use of shall and will, and of the prepositions, for surely their right use is likewise at times most puzzling. Meanwhile, most persons will think it well to learn to use the subjunctive mood properly. With that object in view, One cannot, perhaps, do better than to attend to what Dr. Alexander Bain, professor of logic at the University of Aberdeen, says upon the subject. In Professor Bain's Higher English Grammar, we find, quote, in subordinate clauses.

In a clause expressing a condition, and introduced by a conjunction of condition, the verb is sometimes, but not always, in the subjunctive mood. If I be able. If I were strong enough, if thou should come.

The subjunctive inflections have been wholly lost. The sense that something is wanting appears to have led many writers to use indicative forms where the subjunctive might be expected. The tendency appears strongest in the case of Wirt, which is now used as indicative for Wust, only in poetical or Elevated Language. The following is the rule given for the use of the Subjunctive Mood. When, in a conditional clause, it is intended to express doubt or denial, use the Subjunctive Mood.

Footnote. Dr. Angus on the English Tongue. Article 527. If I were sure of what you tell me, I would go.

When the conditional clause is affirmative and certain, the verb is indicative. If that is the case, as you now tell me and as I believe, I can understand you. This is equivalent to a clause of assumption or supposition, that being the case, inasmuch as that is the case, etc.

As futurity is by its nature uncertain, The subjunctive is extensively used for future conditionality. If it rain, we shall not be able to go. If I be well, if he come shortly, if thou return, at all in peace. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. These events are all in the uncertain future, and are put in the subjunctive.

In the following passages, the indicative mood would be more suitable than the subjunctive. If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. For, although the address was not sincere on the part of the speakers, they really meant to make the supposition or to grant that he was the Son of God. Seeing that thou art the Son of God. Likewise, in the following. Now, if Christ be preached, that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection from the dead? The meaning is, seeing now that Christ is preached. In the continuation, the conditional clauses are of a different character, and be is appropriate.

But if there be no resurrection from the dead, then is Christ not risen. And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain. And your faith is also vain. Again, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest, etc.

Consistency and correctness require remember.

Harrison, on the English language, Page 287. A future result or consequence is expressed by the subjunctive in such instances as these. I will wait till he return. No fear lest dinner cool. Thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die. Take heed lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting. Uncertainty as to a past event may arise from our own ignorance, in which case the subjunctive is properly employed. and serves the useful purpose of distinguishing our ignorance from our knowledge. If any of my readers has looked with so little attention upon the world around him, this would mean, as I know that they have. The meaning intended is probably, as I do not know whether they have or not, and therefore the subjunctive have is preferable.

If ignorance is bliss, which I ironically admit, Had Gray been speaking seriously, he would have said, if ignorance be bliss, he himself dissenting from the proposition.

A wish contrary to the fact takes the subjunctive. I wish he were here, which he is not.

An intention not yet carried out is also subjunctive. The sentence is that you be imprisoned.

The only correct form of the future subjunctive is, if I should. We may say, I do not know whether or not I shall come, but if I shall come, expressing a condition, is not an English construction. If he will has a real meaning, as being the present subjunctive of the verb will. If he be willing, if he have the will. It is in accordance with good usage to express a future subjunctive meaning by a present tense, but in that case the form must be strictly subjunctive, and not indicative. If any member absents himself, he shall forfeit a penny for the use of the club. This ought to be either absent, or should absent. If thou neglectest or doest unwillingly what I command thee, I will rack thee with old cramps.

Better, If thou neglect or do unwillingly, or if thou should neglect, the indicative would be justified by the speaker's belief that the supposition is sure to turn out to be the fact. The past subjunctive may imply denial, as if the book were in the library, as it is not, it should be at your service.

If the book be in the library means I do not know whether it be or not. We have thus the power of discriminating three different suppositions. If the book is in the library, as I know it is. If it be, I am uncertain. If it were, as I know it is not. So, if it rains, if it rain, if it rained. Nay, and the villains march wide between the legs, as if they had gyves on, implying that they had not.

The same power of the past tense is exemplified in if I could, I would, which means I cannot, whereas if I can, I will, means I do not know.

The past subjunctive may be expressed by an inversion. Had I the power? Were I as I have been?

In principal clauses The principal clause in a conditional statement also takes the subjunctive form when it refers to what is future and contingent, and when it refers to what is past and uncertain or denied. If he should try, he would succeed. If I had seen him, I should have asked him.

The usual forms of the subjunctive in the principal clause are would, should, would have, should have, And it is to be noted that in this application the second persons take the inflectional ending of the indicative shouldst, wouldst.

If twere done when tis done, then twere would be, well, it were, should be, done quickly. The English idiom appears sometimes to permit the use of an indicative where we should expect a subjunctive form. Many acts, That had been otherwise blamable were employed. I had fainted unless I had believed, etc.

Which else lie furled and shrouded in the soul?

In else there is implied a conditional clause that would suit lie, or the present may be regarded as a more vivid form of expression. Had may be indicative. Just as we sometimes find pluperfect indicative for pluperfect subjunctive in the same circumstances in Latin. We may refer it to the general tendency, as already seen in the uses of could, would, should, etc., to express conditionality by a past tense, or the indicative may be used as a more direct and vivid mode. Had may be subjunctive. I had fainted is, in construction, analogous to I should have fainted. The word for futurity, shall, not being necessary to the sense, is withdrawn, and its past inflection transferred to have.

Compare German, Würdehaben, and Hatte.

In addition to the foregoing, we find in Professor Bain's Composition Grammar the following.

The case most suited to the subjunctive is contingent futurity, or the expression of an event unknown absolutely as being still in the future. If tomorrow be fine, I will walk with you.

Unless I were prepared, insinuates pretty strongly that I am not prepared, according to the manner of the principal clause.

What's a tall man unless he fight? The sword hath ended him, so shall it thee, unless thou yield thee as my prisoner.

Who but must laugh, if such a man there be? Who would not weep, if Atticus were he?

I am to second Aion if he fail. The failing is left quite doubtful. I should very imperfectly execute the task which I have undertaken if I were merely to treat of battles and sieges. Macaulay thus implies that the scope of his work is to be wider than mere battles and sieges.

The subjunctive appears in some other constructions. I hope to see the exhibition before it close.

Wait till he return. Thou shalt stand by the river's brink Against he come. Take heed, lest passion sway thy judgment. Speak to me, though it be in wrath. If he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer.

Beware this night that thou cross not my footsteps. Shelley.

Again. Whatever this be, Whoever he be, however it be, and suchlike. And as long, O God, as she have a grain of love for me, so long, no doubt, no doubt, shall I nurse in my dark heart, however weary, a spark of will not to be trampled out.

The future subjunctive is given in our scheme of the verb As should in all persons. If I should, if thou should, if he should. In Old English we have, thou shouldst. If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities.

An inverted conditional form has taken deep root in our language, and may be regarded as an elegant and forcible variety. While dispensing with the conjunction It does not cause ambiguity. Nevertheless, conditionality is well marked.

If you should abandon your Penelope and your home for Calypso, should you abandon?

Go not, my horse, the better. I must become a borrower of the night, for a dark hour or twain.

Here had we now our country's honor roofed, were the graced person of our banquo present. Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damned, Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell. Be thy intents wicked or charitable, Thou comest in such a questionable shape that I will speak to thee. Come one, come all, this rock shall fly from its firm base as soon as I. Scott. The following examples are given by Mozzner. Varney's communications, be they what they might, were operating in his favor. Scott.

Governing persons, were they never so insignificant intrinsically, have for the most part plenty of memoir-writers. Carlyle. Even were I disposed, I could not gratify the reader. Warren. Bring them back to me, cost what it may. Coleridge, Wallenstein. And will you, nil you, I will marry you.

Taming of the Shrew.

Were is used in the principal clause for should be or would be.

So in German, Wira, Verwurde, Sein, Hattie, Schwingen, Het ich flugel nach den Hugglen zog ich hin. Vorwerde ich sieh'n.

I were, equal should be, a fool, not less than if a panther were panic-stricken by the antelope's eye if she escaped me. Shelly, were you but riding forth to air yourself, such parting were too petty. He were, would be, no lion, were not Romans Heinz.

Should he be roused out of his sleep tonight, it were not well, indeed it were not well. Shelly.

Had is sometimes used in the principal clause for should have or would have.

So in German Hette occurs for Wir da haben. Wir er da gewesen So hetten virin haben. Hetten is still conditional, not indicative. In Latin, the plupurfect indicative is occasionally used, which is explained as a more vivid form.

Had I known this before we set out, I think I had remained at home. Scott. Hadst thou been killed when first thou didst presume Thou hadst not lived to kill a son of mine.

If he had killed me, he had done a kinder deed.

For once he had been ta'en or slain, and it had not been his ministry.

If thou hadst said him nay, it had been sin.

In principal clauses, the inflection of the second person is always retained. Thou hadst, thou wouldst, shouldst, etc. In the example, the subordinate clause, although subjunctive, shows hadst, and this usage is exceedingly common.

Had better, rather best, as leaf, as well, etc., is a form that is explained under this heading. Had stands for would have. The exploded notion that had is a corrupted would must be guarded against.

I had as lief not be. That is, I would as lief have not to be.

I would as willingly, or as soon, have non-existence.

Had you rather Caesar were living? Would you rather have—would you prefer that—caesar were living—he had better reconsider the matter—is he would better have to reconsider the matter. I had rather be a kitten and cry mew than one of these same meter balladmongers. I had rather hear a brazen canstick turned.

Let us compare this form with another that appears side by side with it in early writers. C. P. Latin, habeo, and mihi est.

The construction of head is thus illustrated in Chaucer, as in None Preste's tale. By God, I had a lever than my sherta, that ye had a read his legend. as I have. Compare now.

Ah me vwere levere, with law luce me leaf, then so to fota hemfalla. Write, Palette S.

Here, vwere, is unquestionably for would be, and the whole expression might be given by had, thus, ah, I had a To Lusa, and to Falla, changing from subjects of Wura to objects of Hada.

So, in the Chaucer example above, if we substitute B for Have, we shall get the same meaning thus, by God, me Wura Levera. The interchange helps us to see more clearly that Hada is to be explained as subjunctive for Would Have. R.C. SUCH. I have never before seen such a large ox. By a little transposing of the words of this sentence, we have, I have never before seen an ox such large, which makes it quite clear that we should say so large an ox and not such a large ox. As proof that this error in the use of such is common, we find in Mr. George Washington Moon's Dean's English and Bad English, the sentence, with all due deference to such a high authority on such a very important matter.

With a little transposing, this sentence is made to read, with all due deference to an authority such high on a matter such very important. It is clear that the sentence should read, with all due deference to so high an authority on so very important a matter. The phrases such a handsome, such a lovely, such a long, such narrow, etc., are incorrect, and should be so handsome, so lovely, so long, and so on.

Summon. This verb comes in for its full share of mauling. We often hear such expressions as, I will summons him, instead of summon him, and he was summonsed, instead of summoned.

Superfluous words. Whenever I try to write well, I always find I can do it. I shall have finished by the latter end of the week. Iron sinks down in water. He combined together all the facts. My brother called on me, and we both took a walk. I can do it equally as well as he. We could not forbear from doing it. Before I go, I must first be paid. We were compelled to return back. We forced them to retreat back fully a mile. His conduct was approved of by everybody. They conversed together for a long time. The balloon rose up very rapidly. Give me another one. Come home as soon as ever you can. Who finds him in money? He came in last of all. He has got all he can carry. What have you got?

No matter what I have got. I have got the headache. Have you got any brothers? No, but I have got a sister.

All the words in italics are superfluous. Superior. This word is not unfrequently used for able, excellent, gifted, as she is a superior woman, meaning an excellent woman. He is a superior man, meaning an able man. The expression an inferior man is not less objectionable.

Supposititious. This word is properly used in the sense of put by a trick into the place or character belonging to another. Spurious, counterfeit, not genuine, and improperly in the sense of conjectural, hypothetical, imaginary, presumptive, as, this is a supposititious case, meaning an imaginary or presumptive case. The English critic derived his materials from a stray copy of some supposititious indices devised by one of the post reporters.

Nation. Here is a correct use of the word.

Swash. There is a kind of ill-balanced brain, in which the reflective and imaginative very much outweigh the perceptive. Men to whom this kind of an organization has been given generally have active minds, but their minds never present anything clearly. To their mental vision all is ill-defined, chaotic. They see everything in a haze. Whether such men talk or write, they are verbose, illogical, intangible, will-o'-the-wispish. Their thoughts are phantom-like. Like shadows they continually escape their grasp.

In their talk they will, after long dissertations, tell you that they have not said just what they would like to say. There is always a subtle, lurking something still unexpressed, which something is the real essence of the matter, and which your penetration is expected to divine. In their writings, they are eccentric, vague, labyrinthine, pretentious, transcendental, and frequently ungrammatical.

To those who are not quite clear as to what transcendentalism is, The following lucid definition will be welcome.

It is the spiritual cognoscence of psychological irrefragability connected with concutiant ademption of incalumniant spirituality and etherealized contention of subsultory concretion.

Translated by a New York lawyer, it stands thus. Transcendentalism is two holes in a sandbank. A storm washes away the sandbank without disturbing the holes.

These men, if write they must, should confine themselves to the descriptive, for when they enter the essayist's domain, which they are very prone to do, they write what I will venture to call swash. We find examples in plenty of this kind of writing in the essays of Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Indeed, the impartial critic who will take the trouble to examine any of Mr. Emerson's essays at all carefully is quite sure to come to the conclusion that Mr. Emerson has seen everything he has ever made the subject of his essays very much as London is seen from the top of St. Paul's in a fog.

Mr. Emerson's definition of nature runs thus. Philosophically considered, the universe is composed of nature and the soul. Strictly speaking, therefore, all that is separate from us, all which philosophy distinguishes from the not-me, that is, both nature and art, and all other men, and my own body, must be ranked under this name nature. In enumerating the values of nature and casting up their sum, I shall use the word in both senses, in its common and in its philosophical import. In inquiries so general as our present one, the inaccuracy is not material. No confusion of thought will occur. Nature, in the common sense, refers to essences unchanged by man—space, the air, the river, the leaf. Art is applied to the mixture of His will with the same things as in a house, a canal, a picture, a statue.

But his operations taken together are so insignificant—a little chipping, baking, patching, and washing—that in an impression so grand as that of the world on the human mind, they do not vary the result.

In Letters and Social Aims, Mr. Emerson writes, Eloquence is the power to translate a truth into language perfectly intelligible to the person to whom you speak. He who would convince the worthy Mr. Dunderhead of any truth which Dunderhead does not see must be a master of his art. Declamation is common. But such possession of thought as is here required, such practical chemistry as the conversion of a truth written in God's language into a truth in Dunderhead's language, is one of the most beautiful and cogent weapons that is forged in the shop of the divine artificer.

The first paragraph of Mr. Emerson's essay on art reads, All departments of life at the present day—trade, politics, letters, science, or religion—seem to feel and to labor to express the identity of their law. They are rays of one sun. They translate each into a new language the sense of the other. They are sublime when seen as emanations of a necessity contradistinguished from the vulgar fate by being instant and alive, and dissolving man, as well as his works, in its flowing beneficence. This influence is conspicuously visible in the principles and history of art.

Another paragraph from Mr. Emerson's Essay on Eloquence. The orator, as we have seen, must be a substantial personality. Then, first, he must have power of statement, must have the fact, and know how to tell it. In a knot of men conversing on any subject, the person who knows most about it will have the ear of the company, if he wishes it, and lead the conversation, no matter what genius or distinction other men there present may have. And in any public assembly, him who has the facts, and can and will state them, people will listen to. Though he is otherwise ignorant, though he is hoarse and ungrateful, though he stutters and screams.

Mr. Emerson, in his essay on Prudence, writes, There are all degrees of proficiency in knowledge of the world. It is sufficient to our present purpose to indicate three. One class lived to the utility of the symbol, esteeming health and wealth a final good. Another class live above this mark to the beauty of the symbol, as the poet and artist, and the naturalist and man of science. A third class live above the beauty of the symbol to the beauty of the thing signified. These are wise men. The first class have common sense. The second Taste, and the third, Spiritual Perception. Once in a long time a man traverses the whole scale, and sees and enjoys the symbol solidly. Then also has a clear eye for its beauty, and lastly, whilst he pitches his tent on this sacred volcanic isle of nature, does not offer to build houses and barns thereon, reverencing the splendour of God, which he sees Bursting through each chink and cranny.

Those who are wont to accept others at their self-assessment, and to see things through other people's eyes, and there are many such, are in danger of thinking this kind of writing very fine, when in fact it is not only the veriest swash, but that kind of swash that excites at least an occasional doubt with regard to the writer's sanity. We can make no greater mistake than to suppose that the reason we do not understand these rhetorical contortionists is because they are so subtle and profound. We understand them quite as well as they understand themselves. At their very best, they are but incoherent deluders of other men's ideas. They have but one thing to recommend them—honesty. They believe in themselves.

Whatever is dark is deep. Stir a puddle, and it is deeper than a well. Swift.

10 10: Synecdoche - Yours, &c 59:58

X.

Syncdoche through yours.

Synecdoche. The using of the name of a part for that of the whole, the name of the whole for that of a part, or the using of a definite number for an indefinite, is called in rhetoric, synecdoche. The bay was covered with sails, in other words, with ships. The man was old, careworn, and gray, in other words, literally, his hair, not the man, was gray. Nine-tenths of every man's happiness depends on the reception he meets with in the world.

He had seen Seventy Winters.

Thus spoke the tempter. Here, the part of the character is named that suits the occasion.

His roof was at the service of the outcast. The unfortunate ever found a welcome at his threshold. Take. I copy from the London Queen. The verb to take is open to being considered a vulgar verb when used in reference to dinner, tea, or to refreshments of any kind. Will you take is not considered comme il faut. The verb in favor for the offering of civilities being to have. According to the Queen, then, we must say, Will you have some dinner, tea, coffee, wine, fish, beef, salad, etc.? Taste of. The redundant of often used in this country in connection with the transitive verbs to taste and to smell is a Yankeeism. We taste or smell a thing, not taste of or smell of a thing. The neuter verbs to taste and to smell are often followed by of.

If butter tastes of brass, for age but tastes of pleasures. You shall stifle in your own report and smell of calumny.

Tautology. Among the things to be avoided in writing is tautology, which is the repeating of the same thought, whether in the same or in different words. Tautophany. A regard for harmony requires us, in the progress of a sentence, to avoid repeating a sound by employing the same word more than once, or using, in contiguous words, similar combinations of letters. This fault is known as tautology. Dr. Quackenbos is in error.

The repetition of the same sense is tautology, and the repetition of the same sound, or, as Dr. Quackenbos has it, the repeating of a sound by employing the same word more than once, or by using in contiguous words similar combinations of letters, is tautophony. Teach. To impart knowledge, to inform, to instruct, as teach me how to do it. Teach me to swim. He taught me to write. The uncultured often misuse learn for teach. Refer to learn.

Tense. The errors made in the use of the tenses are manifold. The one most frequently made by persons of culture—the one that everybody makes, would perhaps be nearer the fact—is that of using the imperfect instead of the perfect tense. Thus, I never saw it played but once. Say, have seen. He was the largest man I ever saw. Say, have seen. I never in my life had such trouble. Say, have had. Another frequent error, The making of which is not confined to the unschooled is that of using two verbs in a past tense when only one should be in that time. Thus, I intended to have gone. Say, to go. It was my intention to have come. Say, to come. I expected to have found you here. Say, to find. I was very desirous to have gone.

Say, to go. He was better than I expected to have found him. Among other common errors are the following. I seen him when he done it. I should have went home.

If he had went, I wish you had went.

He has went out.

I come to town this morning. Say came. He come to me for advice. Say came. It begun very late. Say began. It had already began. Say begun. The following toasts were drank. Say drunk. His text was that God was love. Say is love. Another error is made in such sentences as these. If I had have known. Say had known. If he had have come as he promised, say had come. If you had have told me, say had told.

Testimony. Refer to evidence. Than. Than and as, implying comparison, have the same case after as before them. He owes more than me. Read, than I. In other words, more than I owe. John is not so old as her. Read, as she. In other words, as she is. We should say, then, he is stronger than she, she is older than he, you are richer than I, etc. But it does not always happen that the nominative case comes after than or as. I love you more than him. I give you more than him. I love you as well as him. That is to say, I love you more than I love him. I give you more than I give him. I love you as well as I love him. Take away him and put he in all these cases, and the grammar is just as good. But the meaning is quite different.

I love you as well as him means that I love you as well as I love him. But— I love you as well as he means that I love you as well as he loves you.

Vann Hume. Cobbett, in his Grammar of the English Language, says, There is an erroneous way of employing whom, which I must point out to your particular attention, because it is so often seen in very good writers, and because it is very deceiving. The Duke of Argyle.

Cromwell, than whom no man was better skilled in artifice.

A hundred such phrases might be collected from Hume, Blackstone, and even from Drs. Blair and Johnson. Yet they are bad grammar. In all such cases, who should be made use of? For it is nominative and not objective. No man was more hearty in the cause than he was. No man was better skilled in artifice than he was.

Cromwell. No man was more skilled in artifice than he was.

It is a very common Parliament House phrase, and therefore presumably corrupt.

But it is a Dr. Johnson phrase, too. Pope, than whom few men had more vanity. The doctor did not say myself, than whom few men have been found more base, having in my dictionary described a pensioner as a slave of state, and having afterward myself become a pensioner.

I differ in this matter from Bishop Louth, who says that the relative who having reference to no verb or preposition understood, but only to its antecedent, when it follows than, is always in the objective case, even though the pronoun, if substituted in its place, would be in the nominative. And then he gives an instance from Milton. Beelzebub, than whom Satan except none higher sat.

It is curious enough that this sentence of the bishop is itself ungrammatical. Our poor unfortunate it is so placed as to make it a matter of doubt whether the bishop meant it to relate to who or to its antecedent. However, we know its meaning. But though he says that who, when it follows than, is always in the objective case, he gives us no reason for this departure from a clear general principle. Unless we are to regard as a reason the example of Milton, who has committed many hundreds, if not thousands, of grammatical errors, many of which the bishop himself has pointed out. There is a sort of side-wind attempt at reason in the words having reference to no verb or preposition understood. I do not see the reason, even if this could be.

But it appears to me impossible that a noun or pronoun can exist in a grammatical state without having reference to some verb or preposition. Either expressed or understood. What is meant by Milton? Then Beelzebub none sat higher except Satan. And when, in order to avoid the repetition of the word Beelzebub, the relative becomes necessary, the full construction must be, No devil sat higher than who sat except Satan. And not, No devil sat higher than whom sat.

No devil sat higher than he sat, except Satan.

The supposition that there can be a noun or pronoun which has reference to no verb and no preposition is certainly a mistake.

Of this, Dr. Fitzward Hall remarks in his recent Exemplifications of False Philology, that any one but Cobbett would abide this as English is highly improbable. And how the expression, a quite classical one, which he discards can be justified grammatically except by calling its than a preposition, others may resolve at their leisure and pleasure.

Thanks. There are many persons who think it in questionable taste to use thanks for thank you.

That. The best writers often appear to grope after a separate employment for the several relatives. That is the proper restrictive, explicative, limiting, or defining relative.

That, the neuter of the definite article, was early in use as a neuter relative. All the other oldest relatives gradually dropped away, and that came to be applied also to plural antecedents. End to masculines and feminines. When as, which, and who came forward to share the work of that, there seems to have arisen not a little uncertainty about the relatives, and we find curious double forms. Whom that, which that, which as, etc. Gower has, Venus, whose priest that I am. Chaucer writes, This abbot which that was an holy man. His love the which that he oweth. By the Elizabethan period these double forms have disappeared, and all the relatives are used singly, without hesitation. From then till now that has been struggling with who and which to regain superior favor with varying success.

Who is used for persons, which for things in both numbers. So is that. And the only opportunity of a special application of that lies in the important distinction between coordination and restriction. Now, as who and which are most commonly preferred for coordination, it would be a clear gain to confine them to this sense, and to reserve that for the restrictive application alone. This arrangement, then, would fall in with the most general use of that, Especially beyond the limits of formal composition. The use of that solely as restrictive, with who and which solely as co-ordinating, also avoids ambiguities that often attend the indiscriminate use of who and which for co-ordinate and for restrictive clauses.

Thus, when we say, His conduct surprised his English friends who had not known him long, we may mean either that his English friends generally were surprised, the relative being in that case coordinating, or that only a portion of them—namely, the particular portion that had not known him long—were surprised. In this last case, the relative is meant to define or explain the antecedent, and the doubt would be removed by writing thus, his English friends that had not known him long. So in the following sentence there is a similar ambiguity in the use of which. The next winter which you will spend in town will give you opportunities of making a more prudent choice. This may mean either you will spend next winter in town, which being coordinating, or the next of the winters when you are able to live in town, let that come when it may.

In the former case, which is the proper relative? In the latter case, the meaning is restrictive. or defining, and would be best brought out by that. The next winter that you will spend in town.

A further consideration in favor of employing that for explicative clauses is the unpleasant effect rising from the too frequent repetition of who and which. Grammarians often recommend that as a means of varying the style, but this end ought to be sought in subservience to the still greater end of Perspicuity. The following examples will serve further to illustrate the distinction between that, on the one hand, and who and which, on the other. In general, Mr. Burchell was fondest of the company of children, whom he used to call harmless little men. Whom is here idiomatically used, being the equivalent of and them he used to call, etc., Bacon, at last, a mighty man, arose, whom a wise king and nation chose Lord Chancellor of both their laws.

Here also, whom is equal to, and him.

In the following instance, the relative is restrictive or defining, and that would be preferable. The conclusion of the Iliad is like the exit of a great man out of company whom he has entertained magnificently.

Compare another of Addison's sentences. A man of polite imagination is let into a great many pleasures that the vulgar are not capable of receiving. Both relatives are introduced discriminatingly in this passage. She had learned that from Mrs. Wood, Who had heard it from her husband, who had heard it at the public-house from the landlord, who had been let into the secret by the boy that carried the beer to some of the prisoners. The following sentences are ambiguous under the modern system of using who for both purposes. I met the boatman who took me across the ferry.

If who is the proper relative here, the meaning is I met the boatman, and he took me across. It being supposed that the boatman is known and definite. But if there be several boatmen, and I wish to indicate one in particular by the circumstance that he had taken me across the ferry, I should use that. The youngest boy who has learned to dance is James. This means either the youngest boy is James, and he has learned to dance, Or, of the boys, the youngest that has learned to dance is James. This last sense is restrictive, and that should be used.

Turning now to which, we may have a series of parallel examples. The court, which gives currency to manners, should be exemplary. Here the meaning is the court should be exemplary, for the court gives currency to manners. Which is the idiomatic relative in this case? The cat, which you despise so much, is a very useful animal. The relative here also is coordinating, and not restrictive. If it were intended to point out one individual cat specially despised by the person addressed, that would convey the sense. A theory which does not tend to the improvement of practice is utterly unworthy of regard. The meaning is restrictive. A theory that does not tend. The following sentence is one of many from Goldsmith that give that instead of which.

Age, that lessens the enjoyment of life, increases our desire of living. Thackeray also was fond of this usage, but it is not very common.

Their faith tended to make them improvident, but a wise instinct taught them that if there was one thing which ought not to be left to fate, or to the precepts of a deceased prophet, It was the artillery. A case where that is the proper relative.

All words which are signs of complex ideas furnish matter of mistake. This gives an erroneous impression, and should be all words that are signs of complex ideas. In all cases of prescription, the universal practice of judges is to direct juries by analogy to the statute of limitations, to decide against incorporeal rights which have for many years been relinquished. Say instead incorporeal rights that have for many years, and the sense is clear. It is necessary for the proper understanding of which to advert to its peculiar function of referring to a whole clause as the antecedent. William ran along the top of the wall, which alarmed his mother very much. The antecedent is obviously not the noun wall, but the fact expressed by the entire clause.

William ran, etc.

He by no means wants sense. which only serves to aggravate his former folly—namely, not sense, but the circumstance that he does not want sense.

He is neither over-exalted by prosperity nor too much depressed by misfortune, which you must allow marks a great mind. We have done many things which we ought not to have done, might mean—we ought not to have done many things. That is, we ought to have done few things.

That would give the exact sense intended. We have done many things that we ought not to have done. He began to look after his affairs himself, which was the way to make them prosper.

We must next allude to the cases where the relative is governed by a preposition. We can use a preposition before who and which, but when the relative is that, The preposition must be thrown to the end of the clause. Owing to an imperfect appreciation of the genius of our language, offense was taken at this usage by some of our leading writers at the beginning of last century, and to this circumstance we must refer the disuse of that as the relative of restriction.

Speaking of Dryden, Hallam says, His essay on Dramatic Poesy, published in 1668, was reprinted 16 years afterward, and it is curious to observe the changes which Dryden made in the expression. Alone has carefully noted all these. They show both the care the author took with his own style, and the change which was gradually working in the English language. The anglicism of terminating the sentence with a preposition is rejected. Thus, I cannot think so contemptibly of the age I live in, his exchange for, the age in which I live. A deeper expression of belief than all the actor can persuade us to, is altered, can insinuate into us. And though the old form continued in use long after the time of Dryden, it has of late years been reckoned inelegant, and proscribed in all cases, perhaps with an unnecessary fastidiousness, To which I have not uniformly deferred, since our language is of Teutonic structure, and the rules of Latin and French grammar are not always to bind us.

The following examples, taken from Massinger's Grand Duke of Florence, will show what was the usage of the Elizabethan writers.

For I must use the freedom I was born with.

In that dumb rhetoric which you make use of.

If I had been heir of all the globes and sceptres mankind bows to. The name of friend which you are pleased to grace me with. Willfully ignorant, in my opinion, of what it did invite him to.

I look to her as on a princess I dare not be ambitious of.

A duty that I was born with.

It is curious that the only circumstance connected with Scott, and related by Lockhart, of which I was a witness, is incorrectly stated in the life of Sir Walter. Lesley's Memoirs. The relative should be restrictive. That I was a witness of.

There are many words which are adjectives which have nothing to do with the qualities of the nouns to which they are put. Cobbett. Better. There are many words that are adjectives that have nothing to do with the qualities of the nouns that they are put to.

Other objects, of which we have not occasion to speak so frequently, we do not designate by a name of their own. This, if amended, would be, Other objects that we have not occasion to speak of so frequently, we do not, etc. Sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow from which we refuse to be divorced. The only sorrow that we refuse to be divorced from.

Why, there is not a single sentence in this play that I do not know the meaning of. Addison.

Originality is a thing we constantly clamor for, and constantly quarrel with. Carlyle. A spirit more amiable, but less vigorous than Luther's, would have shrunk back from the dangers which he braved and surmounted. That he braved. The dangers braved and surmounted by him.

Nor is it at all improbable that the emigrants had been guilty of those faults from which civilized men who settle among an uncivilized people are rarely free. Macaulay. Nor is it at all improbable that the immigrants had been guilty of the faults that such faults as civilized men that settle settling or settled among an uncivilized people are rarely free from. Prejudices are notions or opinions which the mind entertains without knowing the grounds and reasons of them, and which are assented to without examination. Berkeley.

The which, in both cases, should be that, but the relative may be entirely dispensed with by participial conversion. Prejudices are notions or opinions entertained by the mind without knowing the grounds and reasons of them, and assented to without examination.

The too frequent repetition of who and which may be avoided by resolving them into the conjunction and personal or other pronoun. In such circumstances, the utmost that Bosquet could be expected to do was to hold his ground, which—and this he did. Bain's Higher English Grammar. This word is sometimes vulgarly used for so. Thus, I was that nervous I forgot everything. I was that frightened I could hardly stand.

The. Bungling writers sometimes write sheer nonsense, or say something very different from what they have in their minds, by the simple omission of the definite article. Thus, the indebtedness of the English tongue to the French, Latin, and Greek is disclosed in almost every sentence framed. According to this, there is such a thing as a French, Latin, and Greek tongue. Professor Townsend meant to say, the indebtedness of the English tongue to the French, the Latin and the Greek, etc.

Then.

The use of this word as an adjective is condemned in very emphatic terms by some of our grammarians, and yet this use of it has the sanction of such eminent writers as Addison, Johnson, Whateley, and Sir J. Hawkins. Johnson says, in his then situation, which, if brevity really be the soul of wit, certainly has much more soul in it than in the situation he then occupied. However, it is doubtful whether then, as an adjective, will ever again find favor with careful writers.

Fence. Fence.

Think for.

We not unfrequently hear a superfluous four tacked to a sentence. Thus you will find that he knows more about the affair than you think four.

Those kind.

Those kind of apples are best. Read, that kind of apples is best.

It is truly remarkable that many persons who can justly lay claim to the possession of considerable culture use this barbarous combination. It would be just as correct to say, those flock of geese, or those drove of cattle, as to say, those sort or kind of people.

Those who—this phrase, applied in a restrictive sense, is the modern substitute for the ancient idiom they that. An idiom in accordance with the true meaning of that.

They that told me the story said, Blessed are they that mourn.

And Simon and they that were with him, I love them that love me, and they that seek me early shall find me. They that are whole have no need of a physician. How sweet is the rest of them that labor. I cannot tell who— to compare them to so fitly as to them that pick pockets in the presence of the judge.

They that enter into the state of marriage cast a dye of the greatest contingency. J. Taylor.

That man hath perfect blessedness who walketh not astray.

If expressed according to the old idiom, would be, The man hath, that walketh.

That and those, as demonstrative adjectives, refer backward, and are not therefore well suited for the forward reference implied in making use of that which and those who as restrictive relatives. It is also very cumbrous to say that case to which you allude, for the case that you allude to.

Take now the following. The Duke of Wellington is not one of those who interfere with matters over which he has no control. The Duke is not one of them that interfere in matters that they have no control over—matters that they cannot control, beyond their control, out of their province. If them that sounds too antiquated, we may adopt as a convenient compromise the Duke is not one of those that—or the Duke is not one to interfere in matters out of his province. The Duke is not one that interferes with what he has no control over.

Bain.

Thread-bare Quotations. Among the things that are in bad taste in speaking and writing, the use of threadbare quotations and expressions is in the front rank. Some of these usee et casee old-timers are the following. Their name is Legion. Hosts of friends. The upper ten. Variety is the spice of life. Distance lends enchantment to the view. A thing of beauty is a joy forever. The light fantastic toe. Own the soft impeachment. Fair women and brave men. Revelry by night. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Two. It is a well-established rule of grammar that to the sign of the infinitive mood should not be used for the infinitive itself. Thus, he has not done it, nor is he likely to. It should be, nor is he likely to do it.

We often find to when the sign of the infinitive separated by an adverb from the verb to which it belongs.

Prof. A. P. Peabody says that no standard English writer makes this mistake, and that, so far as he knows, it occurs frequently with but one respectable American writer. Very often to is used instead of at. Thus, I have been to the theater. To church, to my uncles, to a concert, and so on. In all these cases, the preposition to use is clearly at, and not to. Refer also to and. To the four. An old idiomatic phrase, now freely used again.

Tongue. Much tongue and much judgment seldom go together. Lestrange. Refer to language. Toward.

Those who profess to know about such things say that etymology furnishes no pretext for the adding of s to ward in such words as backward, forward, toward, upward, onward, downward, afterward, heavenward, earthward, and the like.

Transferred epithet. This is the shifting of a qualifying word from its proper subject to some allied subject. Ex. The little fields made green by husbandry of many thrifty years.

He plods his weary way. Hence to your idle bed.

By this figure the diction is rendered more terse and vigorous. It is much used in verse. For the sake of conciseness, it is used in prose in such phrases as the lunatic asylum, the criminal court, the condemned cell, the blind asylum, the cholera hospital, the foundling asylum, and the like.

Still in harmonious intercourse they lived the rural day and talked the flowing heart.

There be some who, with everything to make them happy, plod their discontented and melancholy way through life, less grateful than the dog that licks the hand that feeds it. Transpire. This is one of the most frequently misused words in the language. Its primary meaning is to evaporate insensibly through the pores, but in this sense it is not used. In this sense we use its twin sister, Perspire. Transpire is now properly used in the sense of to escape from secrecy, to become known, to leak out, and improperly used in the sense of to occur, to happen, to come to pass, and to elapse. The word is correctly used thus. You will not let a word concerning the matter transpire.

It transpires, leaks out, that S and B control the enterprise. Soon after the funeral it transpired, became known, that the dead woman was alive.

It has transpired, leaked out, that the movement originated with John . No report of the proceedings was allowed to transpire. It has not yet transpired who the candidate is to be. The word is incorrectly used thus. The Mexican War transpired in 1847. The drill will transpire under shelter. The accident transpired one day last week. Years will transpire before it will be finished. More than a century transpired before it was revisited by civilized man.

Trifling minutiae. The meaning of trifles and of minutiae is so nearly the same that no one probably ever uses the phrase trifling minutiae except from thoughtlessness. TRUSTWORTHY. Refer to reliable.

TRY. This word is often improperly used for make. We make experiments, not try them, which is as incorrect as it would be to say, try the attempt, or the trial.

UGLY. In England, this word is restricted to meaning ill-favored. With us it is often used, and not without authority, in the sense of ill-tempered, vicious, unmanageable. Unbeknown. This word is no longer used except by the unschooled. Underhanded. This word, though found in the dictionaries, is a vulgarism, and as such is to be avoided. The proper word is underhand. An underhand Not an underhanded proceeding.

Universal. All. He is universally esteemed by all who know him. If he is universally esteemed, he must be esteemed by all who know him. And if he is esteemed by all who know him, he must be universally esteemed.

Upward of. This phrase, often used, if not improperly, at least in elegantly, for more than. Thus, I have been here for upward of a year. For upward of three quarters of a century she has, etc. Meaning, for more than three quarters of a century. Utter. This verb is often misused for say, express. To utter means to speak, to pronounce. And its derivative, utterance, means the act, manner, or power of uttering, vocal expression. As the utterance of articulate sounds, we utter a cry, express a thought or sentiment, speak our mind, and, though prayers are said, they may be uttered in a certain tone or manner. Mr. is right in all he utters, Reed says. The court uttered a sentiment that all will applaud.

Read, expressed a sentiment.

The primary meaning of the adjective utter is outer, on the outside. But it is no longer used in this sense. It is now used in the sense of complete, total, perfect, mere, entire. But he who uses it indiscriminately as a synonym of these words will frequently utter utter nonsense. In other words, he will utter that which is without the pale of sense. For example, we cannot say utter concord, but we can say utter discord. In other words, without the pale of concord. Valuable. The following sentence, which recently appeared in one of the more fastidious of our morning papers, is offered as an example of extreme slipshodness in the use of language. Sea Captains are among the most valuable contributors to the Park Aviary.

What the writer probably meant to say is, Sea Captains are among those whose contributions to the Park Aviary are the most valuable.

Vast. This word is often met with in forcible feeble diction, where it is used instead of great or large to qualify such words as number, majority, multitude, and the like. Big words and expletives should be used only where they are really needed. Where they are not really needed, they go wide of the object aimed at. The sportsman that hunts small game with buckshot comes home empty-handed.

Veracity. The loss would be a small one if we were to lose this word and its derivatives. Truth and its derivatives would supply all our needs. In the phrase so often heard, a man of truth and veracity, veracity is entirely superfluous, it having precisely the same meaning as truth. The phrase, a big large man, is equally good diction.

Verbiage.

An unnecessary profusion of words is called verbiage. Verbosity, wordiness. I thought what I read of it verbiage. Johnson.

Sometimes a better name than verbiage for wordiness would be emptiness. Witness. Clearness may be developed and cultivated in three ways. A. By constantly practicing in heart and life the thoughts and ways of honesty and frankness. The first sentence evidently means, "'Clearness may be attained in three ways,' but what the second sentence means, if it means anything, is more than I can tell. Prof. L. T. Townsend, Art of Speech, Volume One, Page One, 30, adds, "'This may be regarded as the surest path to greater transparency of style.' The transparency of Dr. Townsend's style is peculiar. Also, page one forty four we find the laws and rules one thus far laid down to furnish ample foundation for three the general statement that an easy and natural for expression and exact verbal incarnation of one's thinking five together with the power of using appropriate figures and of making nice discriminations between approximate synonyms six Each being an important factor in correct style, are attained in two ways.

I. Through morals, and mental discipline. II. Through continuous and intimate acquaintance with such authors as best exemplify those attainments.

I. Would not laws cover the whole ground? II. En passant. I would remark that Dr. Townsend did not make these laws, though he so intimates. III. I suggest the word justify in place of these four.

IV. What is natural is easy. Easy, therefore, is superfluous. V. If this means anything, it does not mean more than the adjective clear would express, if properly used in the sentence. 6. Approximate synonyms. Who ever heard of any antagonistic or even of dissimilar synonyms? 7. The transparency of this sentence is not unlike the transparency of corrugated glass. 8. What has morality to do with correctness? 9. An intimate acquaintance would suffice for most people. X. Those attainments—what are they? Dr. Townsend's corrugated style makes it hard to tell.

This paragraph is so badly conceived throughout that it is well-nigh impossible to make head, middle, or tail of it. Still, if I am at all successful in guessing what Professor Townsend wanted to say in it, then— When shorn of its redundancy and high flow and emptiness, it will read somewhat like this.

The laws thus far presented justify the general statement that a clear and natural mode of expression, together with that art of using appropriate figures and that ability properly to discriminate between synonyms which are necessary to correctness, is attained in two ways. One, by mental discipline. Two, by the study of our best authors.

The following sentence is from a leading magazine. If we begin a system of interference regulating men's gains, bolstering here in order to strengthen this interest, and repressing elsewhere there in order to equalize wealth, we shall do an, ah, immense deal of mischief. And without bringing about a more agreeable condition of things than now, we shall simply discourage enterprise, repress industry, and check material growth in all directions.

Read without the 18 words in italics, and with the four enclosed.

Nothing disgusts sooner than the empty pomp of language.

Vice. Rec. Crime.

Vicinity. This word is sometimes incorrectly used without the possessive pronoun. Thus, Washington and vicinity, instead of Washington and its vicinity. The primary meaning of vicinity is nearness, proximity. In many of the cases in which vicinity is used, neighborhood would be the better word. Though vicinity is perhaps preferable where it is a question of mere locality.

Vocation. Avocation.

These words are frequently confounded. A man's vocation is his profession, his calling, his business. And his avocations are the things that occupy him incidentally. Mademoiselle Bernhardt's vocation is acting. Her avocations are painting and sculpture.

The tracing of resemblances among the objects and events of the world is a constant avocation of the human mind.

VULGAR.

By the many, this word is probably more frequently used improperly than properly. As a noun, it means the common people, the lower orders, the multitude, the many. As an adjective, it means coarse, low, unrefined, as the vulgar people. The sense in which it is misused is that of immodest, indecent. The wearing, for example, of a gown too short at the top may be indecent, but is not vulgar.

Was. He said he had come to the conclusion that there was no God. The greatest of Byron's works was his whole work taken together. Matthew Arnold.

What is true at all times should be expressed by using the verb in the present tense. The sentences above should read IS, not WAS.

Worf. Doc.

What. He would not believe but what I did it. Read but that. I do not doubt but what I shall go to Boston tomorrow.

We say properly, I have nothing but what you see. You have brought everything but what I wanted.

As this adverb means unaided, from what place, source, or cause, it is, as Dr. Johnson styled it, a vicious mode of speech. To say from whence. Milton, to the contrary, notwithstanding. Nor is there any more propriety in the phrase from thence, as thence means unaided, from that place. Whence do you come? Not from whence do you come. Likewise, he went hence. Not from hence.

Whether. This conjunction is often improperly repeated in a sentence. Thus, I have not decided whether I shall go to Boston or whether I shall go to Philadelphia.

Which This pronoun as an interrogative applies to persons as well as to things. As a relative, it is now made to refer to things only.

Which is employed in coordinate sentences, where it or they and a conjunction might answer the purpose. Thus, at school I studied geometry. Which and it, I found useful afterward. Here the new clause is something independent added to the previous clause, and not limiting that clause in any way. So in the adjectivo clause as, He struck the poor dog, which, and it, or although it, had never done him harm. Such instances represent the most accurate meaning of which. Who and which might be termed The coordinating relatives, which is likewise used in restrictive clauses that limit or explain the antecedent, as, The house which he built still remains. Here the clause introduced by which specifies or points out the house that is the subject of the statement, namely, by the circumstance that a certain person built it.

As remarked with regard to who, our most idiomatic writers prefer that in this particular application, and would say the house that he built still remains.

Which sometimes has a special reference attaching to it, as the neuter relative. Caesar crossed the Rubicon, which was in effect a declaration of war. The antecedent in this instance is not Rubicon, but the entire clause.

There is a peculiar usage where which may seem to be still regularly used in reference to persons, as in John is a soldier, which I should like to be. That is, and I should like to be a soldier. Refer to that. Who? There are few persons, even among the most cultivated, who do not make frequent mistakes in the use of this pronoun. They say, Who did you see? Who did you meet? Who did he marry? Who did you hear? Who did he know? Who are you writing to? Who are you looking at?

In all these sentences the interrogative pronoun is in the objective case, and should be used in the objective form, which is whom, and not who. To show that these sentences are not correct, and are not defensible by supposing any ellipsis whatsoever, we have only to put the questions in another form.

Take the first one, and instead of who did you see, say, who saw you? which, if correct, justifies us in saying, who knew he? which is the equivalent of, who did he know? but, who saw you, in this instance, is clearly not correct. since it says directly the opposite of what is intended. Who was little used as a relative till about the sixteenth century? Bain says, In modern use, more especially in books, who is frequently employed to introduce a clause intended to restrict, define, limit, or explain a noun, or its equivalent, as, That is the man who spoke to us yesterday. Here, the clause introduced by who is necessary to define or explain the antecedent the man. Without it, we do not know who the man is.

Such relative clauses are typical adjective clauses.

In other words, they have the same effect as adjectives in limiting nouns. This may be called the restrictive use of the relative.

Now it will be found that the practice of our most idiomatic writers and speakers is to prefer that to who in this application. Who is properly used in such co-ordinate sentences as, I met the watchman, who told me there had been a fire. Here the two clauses are distinct and independent. In such a case, and he might be substituted for who. Another form of the same use is when the second clause is of the kind termed adverbial, where we may resolve who into a personal or demonstrative pronoun and conjunction. Why should we consult Charles, who—for he, seeing that he—knows nothing of the matter?

Who may be regarded as a modern objective form side by side with whom? For many good writers and speakers say, Who are you talking of? Who does the garden belong to? Who is this for? Who from? etc. If this be true, if who may be regarded as a modern objective form side by side with whom, then of course such expressions as who did you see, who did you meet, who did he marry, who were you with, who were you give it to, and the like are correct. That they are used colloquially by well-nigh everybody, no one will dispute. But that they are correct, few grammarians will concede. Refer to that. Whole. This word is sometimes most improperly used for all. Thus, the whole Germans seem to be saturated with the belief that they are really the greatest people on earth, and that they would be universally recognized as being the greatest if they were not so exceeding modest.

The whole Russians are inspired with the belief that their mission is to conquer the world. Alison.

Wholesome. Refer to Healthy.

Whose. Mr. George Washington Moon discountenances the use of whose as the possessive of which. He says the best writers, when speaking of inanimate objects, use of which instead of whose. The correctness of this statement is doubtful. The truth is, I think, that good writers use that form for the possessive case of which that in their judgment is, in each particular case, the more euphonious, giving the preference, perhaps, to of which. On this subject, Dr. Campbell says, quote, The possessive of who is properly whose. The pronoun which, originally undeclinable, had no possessive. This was supplied, in the common periphrastic manner, by the help of the preposition in the article. But, as this could not fail to enfeeble the expression, when so much time was given to mere conjunctives, all our best authors, both in prose and verse, have now come regularly to adopt, in such cases, the possessive of who, and thus have substituted one syllable in the room of three.

As in the example following. Philosophy, whose end is to instruct us in the knowledge of nature, for philosophy, the end of which is to instruct us.

Some grammarians remonstrate, but it ought to be remembered that use, well established, must give law to grammar, and not grammar to use.

Professor Bain says, Whose, although the possessive of who, and practically of which, is yet frequently employed for the purpose of restriction. We are the more likely to guard watchfully against those faults whose deformity we have seen fully displayed in others. This is better than the deformity of which we have seen.

Propositions of whose truth we have no certain knowledge. Locke. Dr. Fitzward Hall says that the use of whose for of which, where the antecedent is not only irrational but inanimate, has had the support of a high authority for several hundred years.

Widow Woman.

Since widows are always women, why say a widow woman? It would be perfectly correct to say a widowed woman.

Widowhood.

There is good authority for using this word in speaking of men as well as of women.

Without. This word is often improperly used instead of unless, as, You will never live to my age without you keep yourself in breath and exercise. I shall not go without my father consents.

Properly, unless my father consents, or without my father's consent.

Worst. We should say, at the worst, not at worst. Wove. The past participle of the verb to weave is woven. Where was this cloth woven, not wove?

You are mistaken.

You was. Good usage does, and it is to be hoped always will, consider you was a gross vulgarism, certain grammarians to the contrary notwithstanding. You is the form of the pronoun in the second person plural, and must, if we would speak correctly, be used with the corresponding form of the verb. The argument that we use you in the singular number is so nonsensical that it does not merit a moment's consideration. It is a custom we have, and have in common with other peoples, to speak to one another in the second person plural, and that is all there is of it. The Germans speak to one another in the third person plural. The exact equivalent in German of our, how are you, is, how are they? Those who would say you was should be consistent, and in like manner say you has and you does.

Yours, and so forth. The ignorant and obtuse, not unfrequently, professed themselves at the bottom of their letters, yours, and so forth. And so forth? Forth what? Few vulgarisms are equally offensive, and none could be more so. In printing correspondence, the newspapers often content themselves with this shorthand way of intimating that the writer's name was preceded by some one of the familiar forms of ending letters. This an occasional dunderhead seems to think his sufficient authority for writing himself, yours, and so forth.

End of the Verbalist by Alfred Ayres.

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