The sun., 1890-03-30

arS extremely rare. Philoioxy hes shown thai
| before the linguistic separation the prtmi
| tive Aryans were unaonuainted with the art o
| fishing. How, then. could they have been do
scended from the kitchen hidden people, who
we're very skllful Hshers2 Again. It is note
worthy that at the close OF the neolithic age the
Teutonic culture words are largely loan wordt
from the contiguous Celtic and Slavo- Lettc
languages. But II the Teutons borro wed their
civilization from the Celts, they may well have
borrowed their language also. for history
shows that OF two races 1t is the more civil
lied which imposes it's language on the other
except where. as with the Anglo Saxon invad-
ers OF Britain. conquest means the eXtermina-
ton OF the conquered.
Ono is not bound. however to accent DR..
TRylors belief that the original hryans are to
be looked for in the oad-hended Celtic build
ers OF the lake dwellings. There is. as we have
seen, no agreement upon this point But the
opinion may be said to be prevailing that the
seat OF the primitive Aryans was somewhere In
Europe. and not. as Max Mnller has taught us.
somewhere In Asia"
The Century Dictionary, second Volume.
In reviewing the first volume Of this ca
pacIous work we dwelt at some length on its
distinctive merits, to wit: the careful tracing
of the history OF words under the superintcn-
dence OF the distinguished philoloRist, Prof w.
d. Whitney; the number OF words which the
editors purpose to define tabout 2OO,O0O),
number unapproached by any preceding die
tionary. and not likely to be surpassed except
by the colossal lexicon undertaken in England
by the Pathological Society; and finally the
largo proportion Of technical words admitted
and defined with n care and fulness that give
the book an encyclopedias character As re-
gar Is those points OF excellence the second
volume now before us is fully up to the level OF
the first but what we would particularly eX-
anime at this time is first. the definitions OF
common words and. secondly. the pronuncia-
ton recommended for those words whose pro-
nunciaton Is disputed.
1t seems to US, after an inspection OF many Of
the common words. whose meanings are ex-
planned In the second volume. that In respect
OF the defining function the editors are pro-
ceeding upon principles scarcely compatible
with their wish to challenge high authority for
their work. Ii usefulness be the fundamental
aim OF a dictionary. 1t will attempt to define
correctly all the words which have been or are
now recognized bv good usage rs belonging to
the language. 1t will not deem 1t any part Of
it's duty to define words that have only belong
ed at one epoch or another to this or that dia-
lect Much less will 1t accept neologisms I'VE
speak Of common. not technical words unless
they are commended by many and authentic
vouchers With regard to rare or now moan
ings OF common words only those which were
formerly or are at the present time
justified by good usage have right to
figure In the pages Of lexicon. We
do not need a photographer to tell us that
multitude Of wrters-to say nothing OF collo-
quial managers OF tho languaRe-are in the
habit OF wrestling words from their warrant
able meanings. The fact Is notorious, and the
simple refusal OF n dictionary to record such
is n sufficient condemnation. In
the Century Dictionary does not
content itself with registering with note OF
disapproval nsw words and new meanings for
which there Is no adequate authority: In too
many cases 1t omits the note OF disapproval.
and thus allows the unwarranted word or def
milton to be invested. in the eyes of the ordi-
nary reader for whom the dictionary is pri-
marily meant, with all the prestige Of its own
Before we point out some examples Of what
seems to us a shortcoming. let us inquire
the consensus OF educated men has
not fixed certain limits with regard to the writ
ers whom a photographer may be permitted
to put forward as accredited expounders OF
good usage. 1t has been contended with some
plausibiity that no living writer's should he
cited as authorities for new meanings, on the
ground that the right OF an author to rank as
IN Interpreter OF good usage and arbter OF
diction is seldom definitely settled in his life-
time. We may admit. however. that In eXcep-
tional cases an author may live to see his COM
petence In this particular universally acknowl-
edged. SO much Difference. for'instance, might
have been paid to Emerson. to Matthew Arnold.
to Wordsworth. 10 Macaulay. 10 Thackeray. and
perhaps We might add 10 De Quincy. So much
We should all be willing to concede to Tenny-
son. to Ruskin. and to james Russell Lowell
But the mere fact that living writer has a
or even q large audience
does not Of itself entitle him to figure
among the regulators OF good usage.
His books may belong to the ltera-
ture OF knowledge. in which case he
Is read for his substance and not at all for his
style. Or II his writings should be classified
with the literature Of power. 1t may be that, as
In the case OF Dickens In the last generation
and OF Rider HagRsrd in the present age.
they are read for tho intrinsic in
terest OF the story recounted and not
for the excellence Of the literary medium. 4
fortiori, when a book Is avowedy a study in
dialect. as in the case OF many OF tho writings
Of Mark Twain. Bret HArte and G. W. Gable, it
obviously cannot be relied upon as criterion
Of good use. What must we say. then, OF lexi-
coRraphers whose sole authorities for new
words or new meanings are contemporary
newspaper correspondents or tho unnamed
to encyclopedias reviews. maga-
zines. and daily journals? ? We cannot but
think that whenever such egreRiously made
duate vouchers are presented. a lexicog-
rapher deals a serious blow at the authority OF
his dictionary.
The compilers OF the Century lexicon do not
evince much discrimination in their selection
OF authorities Far from contlninR themselves
to writer's no longer living, whose qualilca-
tions from the view point OF correct dlction
have been approved by posterity. they do not
even distinguish between living writer's with
the necessary yiRiance and Drecision Amonp