The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1882-11-09
No. 45.

nancy, OK W iea0 your neSTerS q
mystic dance through wonder
land; but Horace truly says, If
you would touch the heart, you
must refrain from bonn bast.'
The first requisite ofspeaking
we'll is 10 have something to say !;
the second, to know how to say it.
Many college students care far
more for sound than for. sense,
and we are often disgusted with a
striving after effect, that shows
itself in woads a foot and half
long. l read somewhere, that an
old Grecian having been asked
whether be would rather see his
daughter we'd a wealthy man
without virtue, or a virtuous man
without wealth, said-'I should
rather see her wed q man with :
out an estate, than an estate
without a man. So 8 man of
taste would much rather receive
rich truths and glowing thoughts,
clothed in the simplest speech,
than high sounding words SWELL
ing with nonsense. We should
not be so silly as to give one q
pearl hiddon in a profusion of
aowers-we should not 90 to the
tree on which leaves grow most
luxuriantly to find fruit. The
archer uses just enough feather to
guide: bis arrow to the mark-
and we should use just enough
language to convey our thoughts.
The following example will show
you the absurdity that marks the
style Of those who always 60 on
stills a lady asked an old gen.
tleman for definition Of the word
periphrGsis, and got this answer
"A periphrasis, madam, is q cir
cumiocutory cycle OF oratorical
sonorosity, y,circumscribing All atom
Of ideality; lost in verbal profuod.
ity.' When say that definition
has sound, l give the sum Of its
merits. The same could be said
with equal truthfulness of o bass
drum. 1t has sound. Yet I have
beard just such language from
commencement orators, who un-
happily labored under the delusion
that the speaker must always
drive a coach and six-that every
noun must be attended with a
a long line Of high-soundiug ad-
jectives.
l told you while ago that our
Language is difficult; on that
point, I presume, there can be but
one opinion. None Of you deny,
then, that the language is difficult
in every essential particular; IN
orthography-in orthoepy and in
grammar And yet, if the way to
accuracy and elegance in the use
of our Language were as broad
and smooth as the road that leads
to destruction there are persons
who would depart from it in pur-
suit of novelties and oddities. Yeu
have doubtless met men, who
make merit of being singular !;
men who pique themselves on
being different from all the rest
of mankind. Such persons are
usually pedants; avoid pedant is.
When the majority of scholars
agree that it is correct to say
either, I conjure you, by your re-
gard for the good Queens En-
glish, eschew that other pronuncia.
tion isher. Be satisfied with the
language as you find it in the
mouths of the best scholars and
never try to make a show
of learning by using foreign
phrases when you can express
your thoughts as clearly and for:
chilly in our own noble tongue.
New and unnecessary words are
constantly coming, which tend to
make the language more difficult.
We should use as pure English as
we can command, and be cautious
as to the manner in which we
touch the bsrbarous jargon, ftIy
called slang, that so extensively
prevails. There are human cut.
tlefshes that would rem der the
stream of language dark and i'm,
pure, if it we're as clear and crystal
SIS the dewpearls that glisten in
the morning sunlight. You should
never use a word whose signii.
cance you do not know and
when you employ the simplest
words, you should see to it, that
they convey thoughts, and that
they hold their proper places.
In much of what I have said