The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-07-08
Things Not to Say
From MaemIIIan.s MagazInn.


From Macmillan's Magazine.
Common mistakes made in writing that
really must be avoided are very few in
number. so few that one wonders that
writer's should find them a perpetual
stumbling block. The first OF them IS what
is popularity. or at least 1ournalistieally
known as the split .4nfinitive. We read in
the papers month or two ago how that
much-quoted man. Mr.. Bernard Shaw.
made a characteristic defense Of this ia
miliar part of speech at a conference held
to. discuss the question. Are the Study
and Love of Literature Decaying in Eng
lish Schools? He went on to de-
fend the split infinitive, and said that
THE natural healthy-rninde Eng1ishman
always splits his infinitive-so following
the genius of the. English language
which was to split everything" We do
not quite follow the latter half of his de-
Tense. which surely sounds rather like
words for the sake of wit; but with his
infinitives we cordially agree. He does
though we are inclined to think that 1t
arises from exceeding health Of body
rather than OF mind. therein colnciding
with Mr.. H. @. Wells. who is especially
the advocate OF Indigestion and Kindred
Ills as aids TO composition. Why. then,
does the Engllshman maltreat his infin-
itives thus7 We suppose IL is because he
has vague idea OF the Importance Of
emphasis, and has grasped the fact that
emphasis in writing is to a certain ex-
tent attained by altering the order OF
words. Thus 1t comes that any given pub
lie body concerned to put down some
nuisance viii conclude its report with the
words, by which they hope to effectu-
ally stop It." It is a laudable endeavor to
express the flrmness OF their action in
words. but it produces less erect in the
readers mind than the natural sequence
TO stop Il effectually." which conjures
up at once policemen. the law. the bench
and even fourteen days
In fairness we must admit that there
are exceptions TO the rule and that here
and there It Is necessary to place an adj
verb between the proposition and the
verb. both to secure emphasis and to
avoid awkwardness. We believe that our
grammarians are so bold as to make rules
TO govern exceptions. and to declare
when they have made them. that there
are no such things as exceptions. But
such liberties are not for u.s. We can only
go 50 far as to say that the lawfulness
of Transporting verb and adverb seems to
depend on the relative size and import
ance of each. Thus, if we have to use a
small, weak adverb such as really"
with the sonorous infinitive ITO sympa-
thize,' we might put it after to- IT.
however. the adverb is some such awe
inspiring word as 'categorically" we
should be Mortified to find it there. Hav-
ing generously conceded certain excep-
tions we will venture to assert that they
are rare. perhaps five in hundred. The
chances are, moreover, that in these FIVE
cases the healthy-bodied Englishman
would refuse to take advantage of his
liberty, for the simple and glorious rea-
son that he is an Englishman. Thus nine
ty-fivo times out of hundred he would
be wrong. and the other five he would
also be wrong-an Bnglishman's privilege
From the split infinitive we will turn
to an error even more beloved of the
healthy-bodied Englishman, an error to be
found with absolute certainty in nearly
every page of his inditing. We refer to
land which," the terror of editors, be-