The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-08-07
SOME NEW BOOKS.
Tn. Use and Abuse Of Words.

WnOIe community nave Deen IN some ueQTeo
clarified and invisorated by half dozen unpre-
tcntous works which have oiled attention to
the origin and history, the latent fallacics and
moralites Of words. Luckily for plain folk who
are 40 frequently cheated with sciolistic com
| pendla In the guso Of play books" OF science,
| the curiostlos OF language have for the most
| part been set forth with simplicity and self-re-
preston 10y mon Of requirement and reputation
Max Muller, for instance, In England Prof.
| Whitney, william Svlnton and Schee do We're
| IN our own country, have given us books which,
| II they do not succeed In persuadlug the reader
TO the study Of linguistic science, leave, at all
events, In his mind positive residuum OF use
| full Information and suggestion. The volume
before us, Words, their Use and Abuse, by
| WILLIAM MATHEWS. cannot be claseed with the
| panstaking concentrated work OF the writer's
| named The author tells us that his treatise
has grown out OF a lecture delivered before a
number Of literary societies, and we arc bound
TO say that II bears the earmarks OF a discursive
dd cdptdndum performance. We nro haunted
with q suspicion that Mr.. Mathews desires to
Impress ms with the extent Of his reading and
itls certain that 80 much tine writing and gor-
eeous quotation have rarely been exhibited out
side OF Miss Evans's novels. When, however,
he undertakes to enllghtsn us, and points out
what should be stlgnatizsd as impropristies OF
speech, he Il guilty Of somo errors and omls-
sions which ought not TO pass unnotlced, and
we may therefore, dwell a moment on book
which otherwise would not oetain us.
Mr.. Mathews informs us that the word 10y
atty has undergone marked change within
few centuries. "Origlnally It meant In English.
as in French. fair dealing, fidelity 70 engage
ments now It means In England adelity to the
throne. and In the United States TO tho Union
or the Constitution" Doubtless the word was
employed Ia the narrow sense here assigned to
II during the reign OF George III, and like
wise by Americans throughout our civil war,
but II Is a sign Of the times that English news
papers and public speakers are now shy Of talk
Ing about LOYALTY" ~ II the sentiment carried
by the noun had become ex'rav lGant and obso-
ietc. We may add that the adjective loyal"
has by no means shrunk from It's generic mean
ing. The language, indeed, could not afford to
lose II. Again we told that the word
"fAcetious has at present the sense OF "buf-
fooni-h." This Ia mistake, for the former ad-
jective has not trace Of 0rim1ce or ante ocs-
turc in IL. Neither can we accept without quail
hcation the following statement: Simple and
simplicity have sadly degsnerated In meaning.
simple fellow, once man sine pltcd without
fold free from dupllcityD IL now one who lacks
shrewdness, and Is easily cheated or duped."
It's obvious that In the phrase cited, "simple
fellow" there Ia a tinge OF depreciation. but In
other combinations, like "simple nature"
simple heart the epithet 10 rather laudstory
than disparaeing. The substantive "simpli-
city" is used most frequently In AN honorable
sense, as in the phrase simplicity Of charac-
ter"
We trust Mr.. Matthew's personal experience Is
not accountable for the restricted meaning
which he attributes to the words critic" nd
"cIi,icise." He says they are usually associated
with a carping, fault-anding splrit-a statement
witch reviewers probably would sternly repu-
diate. II strikes Ne that he himself Ia little
harsh in what he says OF the word "parson."
This had. we are informed, origin lily no under
tone Of contempt, but IN tue eighteenth century
II had become a nickname OF scorn." II
would have been oaly fair to add that the trans
formation Of manners among the English clergy
Ia country districts has utterly purged the term
of discredltable associations. Our author Is
quite wrong, too, about the term fellow"
which. he says, IL now suggestive of worthless
ness, " not OF positively bad morals. BY way OF
confirmation he quotes Pope's hackueyed line,
as u the word 10 question had not been rehabilI-
tated since the reign OF Anne. Mr.. Mathews
ought TO know that such phrases as good fell
low" and especially mice fellow" rank among
the superlatives employed by nrst-rate society;
and IL Is worth noting that the term fellow
pronounced, Of course, "fellah ia never ap-
piled nv English gentlemen TO a"cad,' not even
In combination with 4 dsroTatorY adjective. In
connection with "pirson" We ought to have
mentioned a somewhat sweeping assertion re-
specting sexton" which noun. we learn, now
commonly means gravedigger" What would
Brown Of Grace Church say TO ths1
while II twas quite unnecessary for Mt.
Mathews to enlarge on the familiar blunders
.Isf fr.t ha 81 liz law atf
or 10 afnctus with stale anecdotes apropos Of
them, there are not few interesting uestions
| Of which he has disposed too lightly Speaking
| Of the regimen assigned to different" he only
SAYS different to" Is often spoken and written
IN England and occasionally Ia this country in
stead Of different from" The fact Is that a
| sh ort essay might oe written on this adjective
| and on averse" Different Is invariably used
with to- and averse with " from" by tbs up
| per middle class in England, while persons be-
Ion ging to lower social grade, trad esmen, for
! instance. frequently reverse the propositions, as
| indeed we always do ia America. Either prac-
| tice could be defended by the analogy of Latin
| synta1, but 1t ia more Interesting to note that
| In this 10 many other Instances Americans
and tho humtler classes In England have re-
NAMED more faithful to the idiom OF Addison
| than has London society. While we are on the
| subject we may glance at an expres-ion which
| IL probably used nfty times day by every
| American, hut which II IL safe 10 say, is never
| h card la a West End drawing room. We refer
| 10 the idiom /" let us 60" aud IT'S analogous,
| equivalent in sense TO the French dllOnS," &c.
| or course the phrase cannot be parsed, hut an
| noyance AT the dazed and helpless look with
which Ems llshmen have pretended 10 puzzle
over il has prom pied feyerish search for au.
| thortles, which we do not consider wholly un-
! fruitful Thus Milton says in the FIRST book Of
Paradise Lost Thither let us tend from "a
the tossing OF these Gerry waves = and renuyson
| In "Guinevore" has Rise now and let Va dy,"
| what is more to the purpose, Thackeray uses
| the expression at least a dozen times. Nobody
| would dream how seful tho uhrAse IA until he
| tried to do without IL, and accept the clumsy
| English substitute suppose we CO. IA we
| Americans are 70 roundI abused for our not
uncommon wrongful abuse Of the Abbreviated
don't" we may point outlun analogous blum
| der which has come 10 be accounted excellent
4" form" In Belgravs, and, Ia In fact, frequent
| in the mouths OF well-bred English women that
even the Saturday RsUielC would probably touch
| IL very gingerly. We refer 10 the employment
OF the contracted word amt" for the third as
well as arst person singular OF the copula.