The evening times., 1899-09-19
a hew Adjective.

There is new word in town, and that
word is strenuous" 1t came into recent
prominence in speech of Governor Roose-
welt; it was taken up by one or two news
paper writers, and is rapidly becoming
word all work. As everyone knows, the
public is rather like child in some ways.
and it learns words just as a baby does. by
praeticing them in all possible and impos-
sible connections. 1t is not beyond the
bounds of reason that we shall have siren
uous" hats and neckties in course of time.
OF course, this particular word is not,
strictly speaking. new. 1t has been used
in books, wherever it was needed, for
long time-eyer since it was evolved from
the original Greek, by the way, of the Lat
in. II was generally paired of with the
word efforts" But ii is perfectly allow
able TO use it in several other relations,
! wherever it happens to apply. 1t means
earnest. ardent, Jealous, and, by its US
age. a little more than any of these. When
one says that man is making strenuous
efforts TO accomplish certain thing, there
is conveyed to the nearer an impression CT
great exertion. The picture is that of a
man who puts his whole soul, mind, and
muscle into the work which he is trying
| to do. That is just what large proper
tion Of our people are doing at the present
time, and this accounts for the sudden
popularity of this expressive word.
OF course, there is no objection to using
this adjective wherever it is appropriate,
though one may be allowed TO enter a
mild protest against applying il to bar
gain sales and building lots. A great
many good words have been spoiled for
the use of the careful, by just this kind
Of thing, and it seems rather a pity to
debase the English language so needless
ly. Lovely" elegant" awful" ''hor-
rid sacrifice" magnificent" have all
been tainted with the cheap dry-goods
shop and the reckless schoolgirl.
But this particular word with the mean
| ing which it conveys to the average mind,
suggests some reflections If American life
| is strenuous" to a degree that demands
the common use of this adjective, is it a.
good thing, or not? No one denies that
it is wise for man TO put his heart into
| his work while he is doing it, that it may
be done well, but the idea conveyed by the
way in which this word is used is more
than that. 1t brings up the picture of the
/ business man. rushing to his Office in the
morning, in whirl of incident and anxiety
all day long. and not infrequentIy revolv-
| ing new business schemes in the evening;
| Of his wife, burdened with housekeeping,
social duties and intellectual oliver
! sions," until her engagements pile up in a
| hopeless mountain and she has nervous
prostration; of children vainly trying to
/ cram into a grammar school course the
knowledge which belongs to the high
| school; of a versatility which cannot be
thorough, and an energy which is more
| than half blind. That is what the word
strenuous" means to the average person;
| it means a condition in which one is too
| busy TO think or feel. 1t means worry,
not work; excitement, not progress; ner-
vous fatigue, not healthful WEAKNESS. In
this sense of the word, the less ''strenu-
business" there is in our life the stronger
We shall be as individuals and as a peo-
pie.