The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1882-11-09

guage, you must study the die
tlorary closely, to learn The true
force aud significance Of words !;
and you must read literally and
critically. Here common sense
must play an important part.
Study grammar as a guide, but
make no grammar your standard.
Study the best authors, it is the
business of the grammarian to re-
feet the usage Of the best schol-
ars, and I should have you to
study grammar 10 its source. l
6nd it interesting as we'll as pro.
itable to criticise passages from
! we'll known authors, in their use
! and arrangement of words. sug-
gest that you do this !; not with
the view of doing the author
whom you criticise any injury, but
for the purpose ofimproviug your
own use Of the language. TO find
fault with an author in whom
rich truths abound, on account OF
the inaccurate use of q few words,
would, 1 admit, showing the 'lit-
tleness of carping criticism;' but
by learning to see a writer's in.
accuracies and glance, you become
able to close the links in your own
harness. You remember, the ar.
row Of the efeminate Paris reached
the heel of Achilles, his only
vulnerable point; and the great
Grecian was laid low. Had the
little crab never nibbled at the
heel of Hercules it would not now
hold a place among the constel-
lations. 1 do not mean, that by
finding faults of great men, you
will BECOME learned or be counted
among the stars Of the literary
world but you will improve in
point of precision. Men of emf
neuce may disregard accuracy in
small things, but it is not to be ig-
nored by those who may never
have any other distinguishing
merit.
On the subject of grammar, I
am not willing to accepta any man
as final authority. l have heard
even Shakespeare quoted as au-
thority on the subject, while all
who have rightly read the great
bard, know full we'll that his
merit is in the drama. Perhaps
he was authority ID his age, Il
doubt even that; so was the
author of the Canterbury Tales,
in his age; but we live in a dife-
rent age, and our language is con-
stautly changing. Poe she we'd
critical knowledge Of the English
language but he was not faultless.
Macaulay, speaking of an in-
dividual, says What be calls his
opinions are merely his tastes
Poe criticises the sentence and
shapes it so as to read-'His opin-
ions are nothing but his tastes
Poe is in fault, wby7 Because,
an opinion cannot be taste,
though what one call bis opinions
may be merely bis tastes. Sir
Walter Scott says-'His own teel-
ings would have prompted him to
have left Immediately He means
His own feelings would have
prompted him to leave (not TO
have left'l immediately A wri.
ter on grammar, whom | read
some time ago, uses the following
forms of speech: "A pear tree
dlminuti0e in size; (did you ever
see anything diminutive other
wise than in size?); IAN uolucky
thorn pierced my thumb, (does it
not seem to you that the thumb,
not the thorn was unlucky p [
trained a woodbine over the front
of my little homestead Gs that
possible p the writer means dwell
llng-house. Joel T. Headly, speak
ing of the death Of Moses, says
'Moses laid doaon to die As the
reverend author fails to inform
US what Moses laid down, we are
at liberty to suppose that Moses
lag doUn to die: l mention a few
instances merely to show that
those who presume to teach are
not above suspicion and l am
very far from being without sin,
though, in a metaphorical sense, |
am casting stones in all directions.
Having given you my opinion
as to the best manner OF studying
Ortboepy, l shall now call your
attention to a few words common
iy mispronounced. Some of you
expect to become graduates if
after graduation you have any
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