Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1890-08-13
A. TALK ABOUT oATHs.
Vow People swear and Where Some Il,
prpssI0nx Come From. .E, 81


prpssIonA Come From. ...sA az.ys
"You need not have looked severe be.
cause I said that didn't care DAM"
said gruf old Senator in converse ton
with the Sunday-school reporter Of the
Washington Star. THAT is not swear
ing. The expression has very differ
ent meaning from what is popularity
supposed, and was originated by the
Duke Of Wellington. A dam in India
is the smallest piece Of money known,
and not to care that much means simply
that one is very Indifferent That was
all the phrase was intended to signify.
The word damn from the Latin verb
meaning to condemn, is very different
thing. Curiously enough, it seems al
most invariably to be the first word in
our language acquired by foreigners,
and it has always been such favor.
tie with the English that In the last
century the French always referred To
them as the 'Goddams.' A distinguished
Calls writer of that epoch said that
English was a beautiful tongue and
that 'Goddam' was the basis Of it.
People OF that nation he remarked,
have few other words which they use
In conversation, but the principal one
is Goddam. You can GO anywhere in
England If you know that
"A funny misaprrehension also exists
as to the expression: Go to the duce.
People generally suppose that duce'
means devil whereas as a matter Of
fact it is derived directly from the Latin
'Deus'-'God.' So when any one tells
you to 60 to the duce he is uncon-
sciously uttering the best of good wishes
for your welfare.
Speaking of Latin always reminds
me that among the ancient Romans it
was considered the thing for each man
to have some particular god to habitual-
~ swear ly. Some swore by Jupiter,
others by Mars, others by Minorva, and
so on. The demi-gods, like Hercules
and Castor and Pollux, were also made
use of in the way Of oaths. Castor and
Pollux were usually appealed to as the
''Twins''-'by Gemini"-the phrase
whence we get our exclamation "by
Jimini." 1t was thought very improper
for Roman ladies to swear by the male
gods, but they were permitted to take
the name OF the Twins in vain, and also
especially that of Venus. In moments
of great aggravation they might 60 so
far as to cry "Mecastor!''-"by Castor!''
The Greeks swore by the cabbage.
which was the most priced of vegeta-
bles, and even to this day the
same oath is often heard in Italy,
while in France lover is being in
tensely affectionate when he calls the
lady of his heart his petit chou or lit
tie cabbage by jingo' is from 'Jincoa,
the Basque name for God. Barbarous
tribes have been accustomed to swear
by the head of their ruler. Queen
Elizabeth is said to have been very
hard swearer, as ladies were very apt
to be in her day. Louis TX. of France
forbade the use by his courtiers of such
oaths as 'Pardieu,' 'Cordieu,' 'Tetedieu,
and so on. There CHANGED to belong to
one of the ladies of the court small
pet deg named 'Bleu.' The courtiers
made up their minds to swear by the dog
instead of the Deity, and hence came
the parbleus and the corbleus Of later
times. Pythagoras had favorite oath
which most people would consider not
sufficiently forcible to be satisfactory.
He swore by the number four, which
the Greeks regarded as symbolizine
perfection.