Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1851-07-05
1853
nttstellnncolls.
A Note on Small Words"

no man uesplsc little words, despite oil tic
little man of Twickenham. lie himself
knew better; but there was no resisting the
the temptation of such line as that. Small
words, he says in plain and prt sale criticism,
are generally "stif' aud languishing, but
they may be beautiful to express mepn-
cboly."
The English language is language of
small words. 1t is, says Swii, oyerstock-
ed with monosyllubles." II cuts down all
its words to the shortest possible dimensions:
sort of half-Procrustcs, which lops, but
never stretches IN one of the most mag-
nilicent passages in Holy Writ, that, namely,
which describes the death of Sisera-" At
her feet he bowed, he fell, at her feet he
bowed, he fell, he laid down: where hc
bowed, there Inc fell down dead ;'-thore are
twenty-five monosy llubles to three Of great.
or length or, rather TO the same dissyllnble
thrice repeated, and that, too, in common
parlunce, pronounced us a mOnOsyllable.-
The pussoge in the Book of Ezekiel, which
Colcrdge is said TO have considered the
most sublime in the whole Bible" Aud
lie said unto me, son of man, can these
bones live? And | answered, O Lord God,
thou owes:,"-contains seventeen mono
syllables TO three others. And in that most
grand passage which commences the Cos.
pei of ST. John, from the first to the four
leenth verses inclusive, there are poly,y lla-
bles twenty-eight, monosyllables two hun
dred and one. This, it mny he said, is poe
try, but not verse, and therefore, makes but
little against the critic. Well, then, ont of
his own mouth shall lac be confiited. In the
fourth epistle of his Essay OH Man, a spcci-
men selected purely at random from his |
works, and extending altogether to three |
hundred and ninety-eight lines, there are no |
less than twenty-seven THAT is, u trfle more |
than one out Of every filtecn) made up en-
trely of monosylablcs; and, over aud above
these, there are one hundred and fifteen
which have in them only one word of great
or length: aud, yet there are few dull creep
ers among the lines of Pope.
The early writers, the squire wells of
English undefled," are full OF "smull
words"
Hall, in one of the most exqusit of his
satires, speaking of the vanity of "adding |
house, to house and field to field has these |
most beautiful lines.
Fond fool six feet shall serve for all thy |
store,
And he that cares for most shall find no more"
"What harmonious monosyllables!" SAYS
MIR. Clifford and what critic will refuse TO
echo his exclamation? The same writer is
full of monosyube lines, aud he is among
the most energetic of satrists. BY the way,
1t is not little curious that, in George
Wcbster's Uhite DepH or Tuioria CoromJo-
ma, almost the same thought is also clothed
in two nIonosyable lines:
" His wealth is summoned, and this is all his |
store,
This poor men get, and great mon get no more"
"Was Young dull? Listen for it is in
deed II solemn sound:"
"Thc bell strikes one. We take no note of
time
Save by its loss; to givs it then a tongue
Was wise in man."
Was Milton tame; Hear the lost arch
angel" calling upon hell to receive its new
possessor;
"Ono who brings
A mind not to be changed by place or time
The mind is its own place. and in ITSELF
Can mako a heaven of hell, hell OF heaven.
What NATTER where, if be still tho same,
And what i should be all but less than he
Whom THUNDER hath made GREATER; Here
at least
We shall be free the Almighty hath not built
Here for his ENVY will not drive US hence;
Here VIC may reign secure, and, in my choice,
10 reign is worth AMBITION, though in hell:
BETTER to reign in hell than serve in heaven"
A great conjunction of little words Are
monosyllables passionless; Listen to the
widowed Constance:
"Thou may'st, thou shalt will not 90 with
thee
will INSTRUCT my soRpows to be proud;
For griciis proud and makes his owner stout
To me, and to the state of my great grief,
Let kings ASSEMBLE: for my griefs great
That no SUPPORTER but the huge firm earth
Can hold it up here | and SORROW sit;
Here is my throne bid kings come bow to IT,"
Six polysyllables only in eight lines
The in nUpuuifv of Dnunis I;ua l. ,,r,,t I,r,
the criticism false. We applaud it only be-
cause we have never taken the trouble TO
think about the matter, and take il for grant
ed that all monosylla5le lines must creep"
like that which he puts forward MS q speci-
men. The very frequency Of monosyllabIes
In the composition of our language is one
grand cause of that frequency passing un-
commented upon by the general render.-
The investigation prompted by the criticism
will serve only TO show lis soundness.-
Notes and Queries.