Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-07-14
THE ARGUFYING MAN,


The London Globe has a suggestive ar
ticle on ''the argufying mana type which
unfortunately is not confined TO England,
and which, wherever found, constitutes one
ofthe most outrag eous bOres to which society
is subjected. 1t says: Anything will do for
him to contradict you about. He runs count
er to every ordinary or sensible opinion, not
only on principle, but upon system. 1t is
his nature to. he win prove to you before
your face that you were a fool for differing
with him, and yet be likes, be almost
smacks his lips lover, a tough antagonist
Indeed he will often turn round, as it we're,
upon an unfortunate man who agrees with
him prematurely for the sake of peace,
and who to his dismay finds that
he has after all gained nothing
by the surrender, his torturer
having simply shifted the ground Of con-
tentiOn in order to renew the battle. a
story is told Of q confirmed and inveterate
argufyer who on one occasion acted on 8
eleven were for verdict one way, but the
argufyer held out. At length be wearied
and buIlied the lot into his view-they
thought their release was at hand. To
their horror he said it suddenly struck him
that they were right in the first instance,
and that he would now eat his boots soon
er than be at one with them. Here was a
typical Illustration of the argufying method.
This, however, is a rough and COM
mon instance. Another species of the
same bore is of a learned turn. He
has Whately and Mill at his fingers
ends, and he will be down on you imme-
diately if you don't formulate your logic
according to rule. He cannot grant you
that premise, your major or your minor
proposition is out Of gear; the conclusion
is you are an ass, and you do not know
what you are talking of. Q E D. BE
cannot imagine how you came by such
and such notion. You only required a
capacity a degree above that of congen-
ital idiot TO perceive how the matter
really stood. For the argufying man is
horribly abusive. He pretends TO be
cool, and he Is cooler than he knows; but
he has taste for indulging in spite under
the false pretense of imparting instruc-
ton. And, with his constant proclama-
ton of reasoning according to art and
science, he is as slippery and as elusive as
an eel in a wet meadow when you try to
take him up fairly. he will shirk the
question, confuse the question, play
hanky-panky with it, and substitute an
other for it-condescend to every contro-
versial su5terfage sooner than acknOwl-
edge himself beaten. Of course be does
acquire certain linguistic dexterity from
the constant employment of his tongue. in
the recreation Of quibbling. But, if you
could only appoint an umpire, the number
of points that could be scored against him
would surprise those who are In the habit
of generating him as Sir Oracle.
For tie argufying man has his admirers
people who estimate him at his own value,
people. are imposed upon by his volubility
and his abnormal fux Of words. " Mr..
= Theodore" remarks an old lady In novel
we came across the other day, Mr.. Theo-
Odore is such 'languageous person.
and your argufying man is, by disposition
and culture, llnguageous. Now, there is
still a great deal of respect in the
world for what is coarsely but
very Significantly called jaw. On
one stumping tour Of Mr.. Gladstone's the
torrent of that orators eloquence flooded
six or eight columns of the Times every
morning, and vastly increased the wonder
for his abilities in The minds of old ladies
and others who have reverential feeling
for the "languageous." And SO with the
srgufying man. There must be something
in him, people think, when SO much comes
out-forsctting how very little there is in
drum. And it is noticeable how difficult 1t
is ever to restrain the argufying nature even
in its superior levels. The quarrels Of the
ologians have become prOverbial. Men OF
science viii wiangle on comic sections with
ferociiy, aud win fight over the spots on the
suns fac as our forefathers would fight at
the charge of a blot on their private
escutchsons. But these encounters
serve, perhaps, to vltalize and ami
mate discussion. 1t is to the So
cial argufyer that We must lodge our
objections. lie has no more right to bring