New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-07-31

the dear old colonel in the innocence of his heart
insisted on reminding his friends in spite of every
rule OF accidence and concord, q ingenMds didi-
ctsse detlte1 drteS en1ottflt more" " etc. Yet If
we were disposed to be critical, we might pick
holes in eleverer men than Colonel Newcome ever
pretended to be, and might express our wonder at
the frequent inaceuracy of classical quotations in
the more pretentious ddiiy and weekly journals.
Even the pure and perfect ehrysolite Of classical
ity the Saturday Review quoting we suppose, by
by memory from Ovid, writes the following:
Nee dvetsa taraen aats s deeet esss @ sSorum
The use of qttalis for qualen1 after deceit would
have sent ffth-foTm boy down one place at
least. Again the refined Pail Mall Gazette ex-s-
hibits deeper ignorance by making scdnddtG
nadgnatG the,plural of sedndatuns nadgndtetnl, as
if magnatumn was not itself genitive plural of
" mag1ates" And only last week another paper
speaks of spretd l,yn'td, which is simply nonsense
although, of course, everybody can see it is q
loose recollection of the Virginian spreta iryNrtG
These are the dangers to which would-be schol-
ars expose themselves when once they leave the
fowery paths of the Latin grammar. But we are
not discouraging quotations from foreign lam
guages. Far from it. Once be sure of your
audience, and you, may win golden regulations.
| to cOniugate an irregular Greek verb in the pulpit
| at the right time it would produce an Immense
effect, as a quotation from some orthodox father
of the church. For instance what could sound
| nobler than this? The single hearted saint ceud
not entertain such proposition for an instant.
No. he CRIED with gentle but decisive wave OF
his hand-'katestttio, katedomai,' adding, with a
sad SMILE his fayorite expression, 'kdtedeapEGs
, kdteDbdgOn,ih That this is simple nonsense anG
merely the four principal lenses OF creek Verps
is nothing. 1t is good sounding quotation, and
with ordinary audience would be rapturously
received from one who was popular. Indeed, we
hardly like to think how much of this heedieseness-
there must be in the pleasure with winch some
text of familiar sound is hailed by the nnettered
part of a congregation, to whom it cannot convey
the smallest idea of thing at all.
Itmay be an exaggeraton to represent an old
woman saying that she found great support in the
comfortable word "Mesopotamla,h but the spirit
which animated her is really very widely dihused
in other old women, and young women and mem
too. Indeed so very much in quotations depends
upon pleasant sound. that we firmly baaieVe these
nonsense verses might be recited at the hreside'r
without being at once detected-just fer the rea-
son that we do not always pause to thlnk whether
we attach any sense to Bhatwe hear. Atany rate
here they ate;
: rPwas sweet to roam when mornings light
wbsn fsnoH"ds RS sst ssts sans 5s SfSR
When the midnight ~ has a sOmbrsdys
%oif aEsqq1 H. II, gs'H g}itte'FHips shout
I Whe the pearly wing of the wntry trees
t. wRsa sa"iS the iaSshns light. of the cliffs
when sna at saPnns aG SinsfS noon the booho moon
r And s thew he wolf rnE. ks ssring Shout,
- FTu whit whit-tu whool u
t, Not few persons will cry, How prettyl n
,e when the words are read fast. They have the
u be denied that people who make paint of inter-
lardng their conversation with quotations are an
le intolerable nuisance.
1t often wish to make quotations., but are shy OF
re doing so, because they cannot ember where
a, the phrase comes from. TO them we offer sug-
of geston to facilitate the introduction Of any quota
it ton whether of their composition or OF any
n other distinguished aRtbor. Even if the author
d. name be wholly forgetten what prevents the quo.
ro taton being made with sucA easy lalrodueuon
of as that with which Mr.. K1ngsley IN Glsucas |
pit gives his own Verse-simply prefaeIng thea VIII
he verses. Or sometimes a bolder policy viii be sue
ns Cessful, and may safely say, " vi consse nou,