New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-09-10
WORDS AND PHRASES
Impurities of Modern English
Speech.

From The London Times
The famous Arab scholar Al Hariri,
who fourished at Basra that ancient
seat of Arab learning, at the end OF the
eleventh and the beginning OF the twelfth
century of our era, wrote a treatise en-
titled THE Pearl of the Diver" or. more
simply and briefly, The Pearl" His
greatest work. THE Assemblies" was in
part translated and edited by that pro-
found Arabic scholar the late Thomas
Chenery But he wrote other classical
treatises Ind in his mastery introduce
ton to The Assemblies" Chenery also
gave some account of The Pearl" In
this latter work which was reckoned one
Of Hariri's three masterpieces, Chenery
tells us that the author points out the
faults made by people Of education in the
use Of words ard phrases. The observa-
ton Judgment and tact displayed in this
book are remarkable. Every SEN
tence is like drop Of grammatical gold;
moreover the authority of the author Is
so high, that his dicta have never been
disputed and all subsequent writer's have
avoided the faults which he points out
Here we have a singular contrast be-
tween the classical scholarship Of the
East and that of our more restless West.
There is no modern European language
or literature that would consent TO be
bound by canCns of taste and proprlety
formulated eight or nine centuries ago.
The thing is alike impossible and un-
thinkable. But some Of Us might wish
perhaps tn It the spirit of Hariri were
more active than it is among us--or shall
we say lin our midst" 10 employ
phrase which any modern Hariri must
surely dcnOunce as a mock-pearl though
IT seems % have become too common for
extirpation?
Such a phrase seems Exactly to illus
l. ~, IL
of education IN the use of words and
phrases" For The pity Of il is that 1t
is not SO much 10 correct the vulgarities
of the vulgar that the structures OF
modern Hariri are needed as 10 correct
those loose. slipshod, inelegant and in
correct usages and expressions which are
only too apt to find their way in these
careless days into the language even of
the educated. Even at the risk of prov
ing ourselves TO be occasional sinners IN
this respect We will give a few examples
of what we mean. There is first land
foremost The well known split infinitive
that lusty Gnd familiar hare which
never appears In print nowadays but II
gives a whole pack OF critics splendid
run after It. Why is the split iniinittve
now so universally decried? There was
A time when even good writer's could
use it without raising a hue and cry
among the critics. 1t would be going too
far to say tllat the prefix or proposition
TO" is so loosely aggutinated to the verb
in the lnfinitive mood that, grammati-
callv. they cannot possibly he separated.
II may be maintained that 1t Is always
irelegant 10 separate them. and can sell
dom, if ever, be necessary to the sense
to do so. out II can hardly be said that
II Is ungrammatical Indeed, ii may be
urged that there are some few cases In
which an adverb has become by usage
so closely agglutnated to the verb that
the two cannot be separated, or trans
posed in order to put the proposition In
its right place. without some sacrifice OF
the sense. But these cases are so rare,
and perhaps so disputable. that we may