Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-03-28
"Criticising a school Man."
OR PER CAPUT v. PER CAPITA.

40 tnc EulIof OF HE EVENING STAR:
Three days Of grace have expired. yet no pro-
test from Correction tothe effect that he did not
mean what he said in Mondays issue. This is
surprising. THE STAR may have done kindly
act IN receiving that essay on per capita, but it
was cruel to publish IT, A criticism so yulner-
able TO criticism is rarely met with charity
might even now consign it to oblivion if silence
would not give currency 10 errors which ignor-
snce has fathered and arrogance fortified
critic, Mrs. Malaprop, in trowsers, who pri des
himself, on his parts of speech, pathological
phiIanthropist, who PUSHES into print to cor
rect another's mistakes and furnish grammar
gratis, compiaeently reposes his infaIiibnity
upon such sentence as this "per eaput and
not per capita is the proper soord" A phrase.
composed OF g proposition and q noun. is 1.-The
proper word" II he were not a corrector. this
solecism might be attributed 10 haste or care
lessness, but criticism is like malice afore-
tnought; there Is in II generalization and deiib-
eratfon; auit-1nder should be free from faults
LET such teach others, who themselves excel
ana eensure freely. who have written walle'
about anything. The fact that DER eauito re-
ceived the fmprTHsotur of The STAR shout d
have warned him 70 consult something of more
neither conferred with the living. nor com.
muned with the dead. Johnson, Webster, Wor-
sestsr ana Others, when in the flesh, stood by
nufterfng around per capita as the parent bird
nutter around the nest which Is threatened By
A.
The man who sincerely wishes TO instruct
DINERS takes steps 10 inform himself but / am
AFRAID that correction is more DESTROYS of crit
lcislng one man than OF enIighteniue MANY
Tne sngntest investigation would have shown
MIN tnat per capita, mea ming singly is author
tzed by good and general usage; that il is to ba
ouno In every dictionary and ouasi-dic-
ttonary, from Webster's unabridged to Ropet; q
Thesaurus. III he had consulted Andrews LATIN
English lexicon he would have found that the
accusatiye plural, by metouomy and distrfbu-
tively, IS thus used, G.: I'm CAPITA In distri-
button, 10 or for each person. and the same
construction would give per capita, by each per-
son, py the head, singiy. Andrews ailudes TO a
similar construction In the Hebrew, while Lid
dell and Scott give a like example In the Greek
'h0sd spheds, tribe by tribe: separately" refer,
ence being made TO the nliad, etc
Inc analogy between the construction of nor
oaa49 and that OF per cdpA is confined to
"Correcuon's' creative Imagination, his Latin
learning being OF that dangerous little" species
which Pope warns against as productive of ex-
IRENE rashness Ia, and Inconvenience to. the
posscssoI with grammar and lexicon let
correction" retire into temporary obscurity.
taxing bis per caput with him, since It must BE
declined With thanks. After suffering a reason
able pathological quarantine he can return 10
t0e ranks OF word critics, provided that he has
ennehtened, by prayer, fasting and study bot h
as conscience and understanding for no man
VII ait the target whose arrow i aimed win
ui-win and feathered with an ignorance tina,
would disgrace high school boy. Very truly.
b. g. LovEJoY.