The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1875-09-04

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tions free from corruption, and the neglect
of it tends to what has occurred and will
continue to occur-the twisting of terse
and apt expressions out Of shape and mean
ing. This last mentioned casualty has
happened to saying attributed to Wal
pole, GAN men have their price. There
is no evidence, that we know Of, that he
either said this or meant it; but there is
evidence in Coxe's Memoirs Of Walpole,
that he held certain professed patriots of
his day in low esteem, and that alluding to
them, he said "All those men have their
price" This is quite different thing
from the cynical aud demoralizing senti :
ment attributed to him in the much abused
aud almost universal mis-quotation refer
red to.
On the other hand, some of the popular
forms Of what purport to be quotations
from welLknown authors exhibit improve
ments in expressiveness and epigram-
matte force There are very few people
unfamiliar with the phrase applied to Office
holders, "Few die, and none resign" This
is attributed to Jefferson, but is somewhat
better than the way he put it. What he
said about official racancies was this -
"Those by death are few; by resignation
none" Here the popular form is mani
fest improvement; yet who can name the
person who was the author of the quota
ton as it now stands ? Additional vigor
has been given in the same way to say.
ing of Josiah Quincy, who, in opposing
the Louisiana purchase, argued in Congress
that if the bill should pass, it would work
virtual dissolution Of the Union, and
that it would be the duty of some of the
free States to definitely prepare for sep
aration, "amicably, if they can; violently,
if they must" The popular form of this
derived from Henry Clay's misquotation
Of it is :-'pcaoeably, if we can; forcibly,
if we must"--a much more muscular die.
ton. Under the same process, wider
popular use and understanding has been
given to the first line of Walter Scott's
couplet:
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking,
Morn of toll, nor night of waking"
Almost uniformly this is repeated 'sleep
the sleep that knows no waking"
Some corrupted quotations of another
class are simply unchallenged errors with
out material harm, except that the purity
of the original is lost OF this description
is Bishop Berkeley's line, westward
the course of empire takes its way" which
is most frequently repeated in form for
which Mr.. Bancroft, the historian, is said
to be accountable, viz, Westward the
star of empire takes its way" In the
same category We may place the phrase,
"Beauty unadorned is adorned the most"
which is short and easy way of referring
to what Thompson put in this form:
LONELINESS
Needs not the foreign aid of ornament,
But is, when unadorned, adorned the most"
In this instance the popular form, as we
think, is not an Improvement SO, too,
the frequent expression, "where there's a
viii there's way" while very terse and
strong loses something of the wider mean
ing of what appears to be the original in
George Crabbes line, "Be there will
and toisaom finds way" There are
some changes of quotation too, about which
little need be said, except that they are
changes. Thus, Matthew Prior's line,
"Fine by degrees and beautifully less
usually comes to us as ".SmaH by degrees y
&C.; Shakespeare's "Thc man that hath no
music in himself" very often appears as
"The man that hath no music in his soul"
and his maxim that "The better part Of
yalor is discretion" appears five times in
six in the inverted form in which later
writer's have misquoted it.
But there is great deal of quoting done
almost unconsciously by the use of phrases
that have gone into the body of our every
day language, the phrases being used
without thought on the part of the speak
ers as to their origin. Some of these are
from Shakespeare, and more from the
English Bible. All Of the following IA
miliar phrases are from Shakespeare -
east and loose;'. II know trick worth
two ofthat;n Poor, but honest" eThe short
and the long of it" "That was laid on with
a trowel;" "Some of us viii smart for it;n
Masters, spreak yourselves "My cake is
dough-" "As good luck would have IT.
These are used in scores of ways, without
the slightest thought Of where they come
from. From the Bible we get Escaped
with the skin of my teeth" "The root of
the natter" "The pen of ready writer"
AZ their wits end;p "Fearfully and won
derfully made" "hIeschant princes Gin
Isaiah, however, it is ewhosc merchants
are princes;'') "A feast Of fat things"
The burden and heat Of the day" cab
sent in body but present in spirit" and
even Spreading himself like green bay
tree There are many other phrases
unconseiously quoted from those great
sources Of expressive and vigorous English,