The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-05-02
TESTIMONY OF WORDS
PROTE "THAT TRUTH rs CATHOLIC
AND NATURE ONE"
II Nature Speaks Anywhere 1t IL In the
Formation of words-A Striking
Lesson Deducted.

on record q passage which has furnHhed
| me with food for serious reflection.
Towards the close of one OF his TRACE
dies. he finds 1t necessary to dispose Of
| Helen: and this feat is performed with
consummate art. An ordinary death
would of course, be too commonplace. an
event, and would by no means comport
with the dignity of character which the
| Greeks ascrbed to the daughter of Jews.
| and the sister of the illustrious twins
Castor and Pollux. The poet, therefore.
draws upon his Imagination; and the re-
| suit is that Helen, to all appearance.
| dies violent death, but in reality estab-
| fishes her hereditary right TO immortality.
| She passes through a physical process.
| which, had she been mortal, would have
| produced instant death; and then, leaving
| earth, she scars 10 the sky, takes her
| legitimate and glorious position among
| the starry orbs of heaven, joins her i'm
| mortal brothers, the constellation of Cas-
| tor and Polux, and there she is destined
| to shine as a star through everlasting
| ages.
This artistic device of the poet Is, IN
| some respects. a more valuable testimony
to the existence of an instinct of immor-
tally In the human soul, than are those
passages Of the heather philosophers, so
frequently appealed to as evidence on the
subject. The philosophers are professediy
inquiring into the theory of the soul and
its relations, and hence we must regard
their discussions as subtle, metaphysical
speculatiOns, and not as the natural out
bursts of the inner being of the soul.
The poet simply pours forth the feeling
that Is in him. never pausing TO think
over theories. nor to indulge in specula-
rions Speculative poetry Is almost
contradiction In terms. The testimony OF
the philosophers IS laboriously collected
from subpoenaed witnesses; that Of the
poet the irrepressible cutlery Of the voice
Of nature And yet how closely does the
inspiration of genius here approach the
genius of inspiration The word OF COD
teaches us that some Christians are to
shine as stars; and many self-denying
preacher of the Cross has been cheered
on his way by the hope that, at the greaG
rising day, many jewels shall shine az
stars of immortal lustre in his crown OF
rejoicing
But it is not only to extended passages
from the heather classics that we may
look for natural evidences OF the truths
Of revelation. The examination of single
words in various languages, ancient and
modern, is destined TO bring forth rich
additions to the wonderful mass of evil
dence which God has laid up in the grea-
storehouse of nature. To the devout
thinker. physiology. animal and vegetable.
astronomy geology. psychology, metaphy-
sizes, optics-in short every department or
human learning is continually suggesting
fresh evidence of the truth OF revelation.
The testimony is everywhere. 1t IS dug
out of the perpetual hills" il is hurled
out OF the everlasting mountains l.
breathes in the signing of the wind and
is echoed in the roar of the ocean; II
flashes i'm the glare Of the lightning and
is uttered in the volleys OF the thunder.
1t is not without profound significance
that Jesus. the Light Of the world. when
referred to as self-existent. should be
called by the most spiritual Of the evange-
lists. 1.-The Word"
II is my purpose in this paper TO inter
rogate the still. small voice Of few SIM
pie words, and see what testimony they
will furnish to prove that truth Is
catholic and nature one
If nature speaks any where. II Is in the
formation Of words. Here the intellec-
tual giant may strive as he VIII 10 con-
troll; but no despot can rule these realms.
Nature will out; and there is no
REFRESHING her Her sovereignty here is
secure. Slt SlIduEltS III ill' u elNAN NltN
'vitiosi tas" of Cicero and quietly throt-
ties the "esemplastic" of Coleridge; while
she nourishes in her bosom the mob Of
the vulgar rabble, and carefully warns
into life the alligator" Of the illiterate
adventurer
Whatever testimony we can discover
in the origin and history Of words must.
therefore. be entitled to a careful con-
sideration; for such testimony Is the
voice of nature. Conventional words. Ike
conventional great men, soon run theE
race. and then die out; and from such
a death there is usually no resurrection.
one of the most striking. natural evil
dences which our study of language gives
TO the truth of revealed religion bears
upon the doctrine Of the Immortality Of
the soul. The voice of nature, speaking
I'm the formation of the various Greek
words for die" presents suggestive
fact for the reflection Of the thoughtful
linguist. These words were formed, not
under the elevating and refining influence
OF the philosophy Of Socrates. Plato and
Aristotle; not under the influence OF the
deeply religious Greek tragedies; but
they came forth little by little from the
minds of everyday. plodding men; and
these men. it is to be remembered, were
heather Under such circumstances, we
must conclude that the words naturally
expressed the actual thought of the minds
in which they were born.
with this principle to guide us. let US
examine some Of the words for die in
languages which were spoken where the
gospel was not known, and where the
people were heather.
| do not pretend that the Greeks had
any attractive idea OF future state.
Achilles. in the odyssey" was doubtless
expressing the natural and general sent-
ment, when he said that he would rather |
live on earth as the serf OF a needy mas
ter than reign over the whole kingdom OF |
the dead. But still. Homer represents the |
Greek Prince as saying this in Hades |
that is, after death. and in the spirit |
world
In Greek we find several forms Of ex-
preston for die "Apopsuko.' "oko-
mai" "oikot'' "oikeo. aOOikomai." |
"apolelpo," and "apeimi tou blou." all |
mean TO die and the idea which is
common to them all. as well as TO the
Latin "pereo." is that of departure. or
a separation. or going from one state or
place 10 another. The notion of annihila-
ton is not intimated in the root-idea of
any one of the expressions. "Apopsu
ko" points to a departure Of the soul
"Oiko," and all its derivatives, indicate
the idea of going. or departing. "Apolei-
20" means TO leave" "Aoeimi tod ticu."
is pretty close translation of our En-
glish phrase. depart this life"
Cicero. who was one of the most care
full students of words in his day, and