The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1879-07-30
Miscella11euus.
90
s.EyIAT GREAT MATTER A
LITTLE FIRE KENDAETEi.
"Strengthy" Talk About "Lengthy."


JUDGE PRESLEY AS AN ETYMoL-
oG1sr.-During the court last week
one attorney referred to another's
speech as being "lengthy." quail
flying the expression by adding,
"if such a word is good English. !"
Judge PRESLEY remarked, ut is
not good English. You had as
we'll say 'breadthy' for broad as
lengthy for long" berry
Herald.
In spite Of the eminent authority
on the law, we bog to differ with
the Judge and to say that the en-:
plovment of the word is in strict
compliance with Photographed
sanction. 1t seems TO us to be
rather gratuitous for Judge to
pass sen tence upon words from
the bench in view of the gracoless-
ness Of ad captiandum-(Sc) crit:
icism. DR.. Johnson says "Every
other author may aspire to praise !;
the photographer can only hope
to escape reproach, and even this
negative recompenso has been yet
granted to very few" "-Beayort
Crescent.
We beg to differ from the Beau
fort Crescent and to agree #lth
Judge Press!ay as to the word
Hlengtby." 1t is a maltormation,
and the Judge did right to con-
demn it as "not good English" "
1t is not enough that the Crescent
should say that "the employment It
Of the word is in strict COM
pliauce with photographed sane
ton" We cannot consider that
argument as sufficiently strengtAg
a word we coin for the especial
use CT the Crescent. "Lexicographi-
cal sanction" is not the high est
law of good English, and the
Crescent must look over and be-
yond it's "Webster's Unabrldged'
for authority. Theso De. lexico-
graphers aad lexicographers, and
some are wise and some are fool
ish. And they that sre wise,
are not, like Webster, a law
unto themselves, but they find
in the works Of scholars, poets
and orators the reason for the
faith that is in them as to
what is and what is not good
English. The English language,
like the English common law,
has no written code, and the
true photographer like the codi6er
must furnish precedents and au-
thorities before he can say what
is the lay. 1t is the pure writer,
and not the dictionary maker,
who is the best authority in good
English. A DcQuincy, a Glad
stone or q Washington Irving is
better guide to good English than
is a Webster, q Walker, or even a
Richardson. And we advise the
Newberry attorney to take Judge
Pressley's word Tor it chat lengthy
is not good English: 'lexicopraph.
icul sanctionn and the Beaufort
Crescent to the contrary notwith-
standing. So long as we have the
simple adjectives long, bread and
strong, we have no need of such
maIformations as lengthy, drea1thy
or strengthy.
We differ also with the Crescent
as to it's being "gratuitous for
Judge to pass sentence upon
words from the bench" A Judge
is not a school master to teach the
bar good English, but it is meet
and proper in him, especially
whom, as in this case, he Is asked if
q word is good English to give his
opinion as scholar. The best
Judges of law have always been
Judges Of good English. Black
stone is as high an authority ir
English language as he is in En-
glish law. We are glad to see
again Judges on the bench who
show what good English is. A
few years ago good English was
unknown on the bench in South
Carolina, and the Judges knew as
little about the Euglish language
as about English law. We then
heard Republican Judge speak of
some evidence as "ominious." The
same Judge, in charging a grand
iury. spoke to them of some public