The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1888-03-17
Errors os 9ustation.

Errors o. Gngbat1on.
Evidence OF what may be c:i''ed the
intellectual dopravity of human ma;
ture is found in the tendency to fol-
low errors of citat on. even from we'll
known authors.
Some one happens to blunder into q
rhisquotation, and the incorrect vcr-
sion is sure. in little while. 10 drive
out the correct one FROM the minds of
many persons W no ought 10 Know
better. A few instances OF misquota-
tation occur to me. which have myself
noted, and the list might, no doubt,
be easily heightened. The first that
comes to mind is Millions limo at the
conclusion of Lycidas Tomorrow TO
fresh woods and pastures new. where
fields is commonly substituted for
woods.
So slight change as that of a prep
ositlon puts somewhat different
meaning into Ben Johnson's memorial
verse. "He was not of an age, but for
all time" Here for is often made to
replace of IN The first clause.
We are all supposed to know our
Shakespeare. but in fact a good matit
persons knowledge is of the second
hand sort that docs not enable them to
detect misauotation. When Mr..
Booth or Mr.. Irving delivers the ITO
be or not 10 be" soliloquy, SOME who
hear him speak of 'the thousand nat
ural shocks that flesh is heir to-" may
be surprised into fancying thdt The
actor is making slip, the substitution
of ills for shocks beng so common
that the right word soiitids strangely.
In speech and writing how often flisn-
ton is made of the "bourne" whence no
traveller returns. Shakespeare wrote
of the undiscovered country, from
whose bourns no traveller returns. !"
These quotations are from one OF the
best known plays, oftenest acted ON
the molern stage, and from the most
hackneyed lines in it. Again people
cite from The Merchant of Venice. I"
'tThe man that hath no music in his
SOUL" where the text has ''in h mself. !"
It is curious To- note that certain
verses. very familiar to us in their pre-.
sent shape. are plagiar sms-or allow
able borrowings. if you please-from
older authors. The modification of the
original has sometimes beet an i'm
provement, sonnet mes not. but in
either case the newer form has sup
planted the old. The modern author
gets that possession of the poetical pro
perty which is nine points Of the law,
as Campbell has done W tn tho vel
known line. Like angels visits, few
and far between" This is tatit0.
logical, for if the visits are far between,
it is needless to say they are few. John
Norris, who In the latter half Of the
seventeenth century, compared the
'joys most exquisite and strong,
which soon took their flight to angels
visits. short and bright" may never
have written anything else worth the
stealing, so it seems rather cruel thai
be should lose the credit of his happiesl
thought. Later Robert Blair helped
himself to Norris verse, altering
bright to ..far between" 1t is
probable. therefore, that Camp
bell conveyed" from Blair rather
than from the original WI ter. In | kc
manner Pope made himself free with
Dryden's verse. ''From grave to light,
from pleasant to SEVERE" changing
eight" into "gay" and pleasant in.
to ':lively;" and with Pr:or's ''Fino by
degrees and beautifully less" in this
instance altering the sense as we'll a.
the words. But ''tine by defect and
delicately weak" is an unmislakable
imitation of Prior. No doubt The same
thought may occur to more than one
man, and since human experience re-
peats itself reflections ON Life are likely
to resemble each other Gray wrote
where ignorance Is bliss tbs folly tc
be wise" Prior. before him, made
the propos. tion universal one wher
he asserted that "from ignorance on,
comfort flows. the only wretched are
the WISE" and centuries before Prior {
nameless Jew had set it down in hi:
book that che that increaseth knowl
edge increaseth sorrow" -AtlGntit
Monthly.