Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-12-14
e. rhe Use Of Languagen Again.

Ed&t0r Rutland Herald IL have no
ticed recently in your paper several arti-
Giles Ia which is discussed the propriety
of u-ing the words sis being" and upon
reading them am induced to place my
thoughts, upon that matter, in suitable
form for publication, if it please you to
iusert them in THE HERALD. and there
by continue the discussion. Since knew
anything of grammar, I have in nearly all
cases favored the custom of Murray, who
always used sis being" with the accom-.
psnying participle requisite to complete
the sense of the sentence, Whenever /
have deviated from this custom, and
have done 80 in very few instances, it has
been in accordance with usage 80 long es.
tablished that no one presumes to dispute
its correctness. refer now to such sen.
fences as the following:
"The ship ia loading" etc.
"Apples SELL" etc.
Where the above are used the words sis
being" may be substituted, and with the
appropriate change of form in the verb
will be equally correct. But incorrect
ness in formation is not in question in
the sentences mentioned. In the first one
the ship ia personifed, receives animation
and Is thereby enabled to perform an &C.
ton. By the rules of rhetoric any imam
innate thing may be personifed in writing
and made the subject of an action. Clear
form are correct by the use of rhetori-
cal figure, but grammatical rules, which
are subordinate to those of rhetoric will
conde them.
Mr.. Richard Grant White, in his book,
words and their uses," attempts to ridi-
Guile people into quitting the use of sis
being" but though his arguments to 40
oomplish that end are very plausible,
they approach sbsurdity, in my opinion.
He gives citations from various authors
TO support his arguments, but of course
qu.tes from no writer who opposes his
ideas; and his opponents are as numer-
ous and reputable as his supporters. In
the United States his doctrine has been
generally accepted without dispute, but
English writers are not 60 willing to do
SO and have uttered some vigorous
thoughts 10 favor of the older usage
One gentleman In particular, Il think Mr..
Foster, F. R. g. has become conspicuous
nv preparing an exhaustive criticism on
Mr.. Whites book, and directing his re-
marks especially to that chapter which
treats of sis being" l, myself, have not
seen Mr.. P.'s article entire, but am in
formed that 1t effectually demolishes the
fallacies advanced by Mr.. White.
AS for disosrding the offending words.
because some authors of good repute do
so, we may with equal propriety follow
them Ia other common errors, which are
perceived only by the experienced eye.
For the sake of euphony and to avoid
ambiguity, the rhetorical rule mentioned
above is fr' q1ently applied, and no wri-
Ter however much be may uphold Mr..
White. will apply this rule in every case
where sis being" is nsed. Which of the
following sentences sounds best, and
which Ia the clesrest?
"The boy is being whipped" or,
The boy is whipping"
I take 1t for granted that all will COR
oede that the frat is the best. So far az
grammar Is concerned. sis being" cannot
be thrown aside except by the aid of the
superior rules of rhetoric. Both methods
Of expression may be right. and both may
no wrong; sound and sense will deter
mine.
Clark, in his grammar. says:
"Action Ia sometimes improperly predi-
GATED of passive SUBJECT. Examples -
You are miataken, for You mistake. The
house Ia building, for The house is being
hnilt; which means, The house is be-
looming built. &, people are at work
upon II but the house does not act"
This is good assertion and is applica-
be in moat osses, if not In all but few
persons would oonstrue sis being" as
Ozark does, though he is obviously in the
right. J. B. Il.