The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1873-05-10

pagan gods, at the PlutOnan and the Ncptun.
ian theories.
The dcmgods are as much at home in our
Christian Literature rs the gods. CurOuSly
enough modern conditions seem ottcntimcs to
be more expressly prepared for these impcr-
SonitCatiOns than the nelodrama in which
they played their role before. They affiliate
the Christian culture wonderfully. There
are more "chimcms" in modern thought than
in ancient myth The tasks of the present
day are more licculcan thar in ihe time of
Eurysthcus. TlG modern Atlas" receives Il
more universal tonnage than the giant pro
tOtypc ever darct to claim. The civilization
of our age is equipped with more hands than
BriarcuS and mrc eyes than Argus; and in
its facility of adaptation is more "protcan"
than Protcus himself And we have other
and equally valuable importatons from the
cloud land of clssic myth Those fabulous
monsters who eopled the fancy, if not the
forests and WATTS of ancient Greece, are at
home with us aso, Part human, part bestia
and part dlvim they stand among the eng
mas of the pas, and doubtless embodied the
fears, the thnc.c, the hopes or the doubts of
the early generations. We adopt them, and
they serve the NV regime as willingly as the
old They go nj grumbling To their tasks
like Caliban, III spring to it with cordial
alacrity like tn gent of Aladdin. 1t would
be difficult tCCOmpute the uscfuleness of
these igHes tah Of ancient poetry, dutimlly
submissive ashley are to the demands of our |
material age hydra, g0rgon, siren, sphinx, |
harry, satyr, lppogritt, dragon, phoenix, cen.
taur, sylph, fc, taun, nymph,-the simple |
mention of the few will show how largely !
modern languge is indebted to the grotesuue |
side of ancieI religion for convenient terms
in which to e|ress some of its ideas.
The accIues IN language can be illustrated
also by obsNing the many instances in
which Il nan seems TO be present and is not.
The constelaon Charles Vain for exam.
pie, is not sCItitled in behalf of any Charles,
royal, pleb,nor mythical, but is simply
corruption The chur'S vain" Satan may
possibly haze Dmcthing to dc with making
"luCiter mtcleS," but it is not his name, /
however wicl is attached to the patent The
"muscOvy uct' has no relation to Moscow,
but is Il binder for munk duck. The turkey
was misnneo for the country from which it
did not one The emblem of constancy,
rosemary, fragrant with memories not of
Mary, butf he sea John DOry is highly
satistactoltiS fish, and of splendid hue, but of
such eXtrscant fins withal that the savants {
have givehm the ineifable title acanthrop. ,
terygiousIohn Dory has the advantage in ;
point of phony, and looks as if ii were an. ;
other bowling from the useful John-but c
instead il corruption of jauncdcroe, golden g,
yellow. emijohn is another word which :
has an aSiTc sound, as though the typical v
John we 50 addicted to containing raw spir. t
its that name had come to be "a SYNONYM +
for the iginal package; but demijohn is 5
our mofed pronunciation of the French C
dame jane, which is itself corruption of .
DAMAGE, Persian town, famous for its
glasswa Among our birds are several
which lr personal names. Besides those
which 5e been already mentioned, may be
noticede maybe and the robin The canary
bears tname of its original home, but the
tamili9obo-link is song name; and Bry.
ant hanly written out in full the title by
which loquacious little spritc is forever
nicknsng himself and which he should be
slloweO wear summa Curam laude:
,rly swinging on briar and weed,
ear TO the nest of his little dame
IT the mountain side or mead