The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-01-01
THE PATERNITY OF
FAMOUS CUSS WORDS
Profanity Apparently an Inbred Charac.
teristic OF Anglo.Saxoust
THE OATH IN ENGLISH LITERATURE
Profanity Is of the Mouth and Not of
the Heart. and Swearing That Is
Done Labor,ousiv, Deliberately,
and for a suppose.
} Inter-Ocean.

ana Tor n EUrpOsc.
II
From the Chicago Inter-ocean.
That Americans and English should
swear is inevitable. Our Anglo-Saxon
race is notoriously the most profane on
earth; 1t has been so ever since the
days of its foundation by the fusion of
the Saxons with their Norman con-
querors. 1t is recorded that the Sax
ons were astonlshed at the strength
and profuseness Of Norman profanity,
hut that they proceeded to add 1t to
theh vocabulary without loss of time.
So much for the beginning. Chaucer
leaves the declaration that in his time
swearing was practiced by every one,
high or low, both sexes alike. Num-
terless records show that the custom
rad become anything but obsolete at
the time of Elizabeth's jolly reign. 1t
was during that period of history, per-
haps, that men and women took to
swearing by single details of the body
of the crucifed Christ Wounds. blood,
sides, death, heart, nails, foot We're
made the oaths that are now to be con-
sidered characteristic Of the Elizabeth
ian age. The words were prefaced by
'snails-in abbreviation for Gods blood
Gods death, Gods nails. Gods
wounds" was amalgamated into
Zounds! an exclamation still preserved
in the tank meodrama and a certain
stilted species of so-called literature.
The ejaculation nowadays is put into
the mouth of the villain as the express
sion of his chagrin at the first indica-
nf 1,n oo1, IF
! downfall it's use is accompanied with
gesture and stage business indicative
of frightened confusion.
| 1t Is not to be inferred from the free
dom of their indulgence in profanity
that our British ancestors were an un-
godly people. Their Continental neigh
bors, while perhaps not addicted to the
habit of consigning things to the realm
of everlasting blazes, and certainly not
posse essing an objurgative vocabulary
as rich and varied as that of the Eng
lsh used the name of the Almighty
with the utmost familiarity. So do
they to this day, in fact.
NOT IRREVERENT.
J Is 1t to be regarded as a sacrilege?
No. When the German lady eXclaims
Herr Gott"-"Mr. God"-she me ans no
irrevererce. Nor does the Frenchman
when he declares that God knows that
the picture is beautiful. Such linguist-
ic usages are simply habits that do not
happen to oppos national prejudice.
The name is so commonly used in the
romance languages that their ordin-
airy farewell is committal to divine
protection. "Adios," says the Spani-
ard. in !nrti-c for a short separation.
ITO God" Is TIE direct translation.
italians We it "AddlO." and the
French "Adl H." adopted into ENGLISH.
is usgd a million tines a day without
thought of the sentiment and beauty of
its significance.
Tie French are subject to frequent
srasms of indignation, and of these
they readily reli We tn rselves through
tha medium Of expressions which
strike the English SPEAKER as most
lupol"sely unfit for the purpose. one
Of tha old English poets, incidentally
"=TtcssirG lis nations well known
opinion Oc French valor and dignity,
has left the following stanzas
So inferior to us in th. snience of ours .ug :
Tia strange the Frru"h rrove,
Nh.n they take 10 ar..l.'r=,
Kick liclrhnru 1.wnStnirs-
How absurd. Lr -W.u"s
And bow odd It's - N...l him,
When beat to a ia.'v.
Po"r out in q passion. "Rlue
Duarhw and 'Plue Hclly!'
-HrorNleui" and "Vantrehleu," were
tno ryplotivos which the old rhymester
translated literally. They should not
- translated, It is an injustice. The
wci.ht of blue In these words. and
"sa,rr,leu" and "cOrhlcu." seems to
hc Known and movable only to the
French themselves. Others should not
make French profanity ridiculous by
trying to find it out by m ans of trans
'ation.
OTHER CUSs WORDS.
National "cuss" words might make
an interesting bit of study. but 1t could
not very well Ne carried on in this
country. There is a reason. Every
FOREIGNER landed at Castle Gard an
ahandons his ancestral forms of bias
pheny in favor of the American sys-
tom Just az soon as attention and prac-
tice viii enable him to effect the
change. Immigrants who cannot
; sneak or understand a word of Eng
lish can damn each other most credit
ably. It is to he added that the lower
classes Of them quickly add to this
knowledg; a list of terms expressive OF
the disgusting and the obscene.
Everybody has seen those fellows
who are always in danger of forgetting
themselves in the presence of ladies
Such fellows are nothing more or less
than victims of brains trained to trans,
late certain casual conditions into pro.
family. The strain of attention they
labor under while trying to talk polite
ly must be something frightful. Fancy
having to pause just about as you were
going to use your natural expression
for the admirable qualities or uttel
uselessness of an absent person anC
search for an unfamiliar synonym tha,
will cover your meaning. No wonder
q 10 hitnnllNr rnrnfn M man dnnnIt 10