The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-02

T read the Rev Dr. Eaves' article
 in last Sundays Age Herald entitled, | Concerning Words, with more than or
 dinary interest" said a professional man. Tn The Age -Herald's Lobby col
 umn. several weeks ago, reference was
 made to the change of a word Ill hhi- erson's fine essay on Friendship whieh a modern editor had been bold enough to make-'maugre,' to more seneraiiy understood word 'barring'-and It was this that suggested pr. Eaves' iilumi- mating discussion.
 By what sort of right IS the chahee made? asks pr. Eaves.
 " Presumably he said, because the editor believes the word maugre to be dead and forgotten. But how can It be dead or forgotten so long as liv- ing immortal writer uses it? And IT one man dares to amend an immortal why should we not forthwith proceed to ap- ply the same principle and rewrite all the classics?
 It would seem that the general reader is supposed to be either man without an education, to whom rare words are part of foreign tongue, or A man without a dictionary, or else at least a lazy man, who must have his reading predgested, all difficulties taken out of his way, the way rolled most carefully after most careful rak- ing, lest he, too lazy to lift his feet, should perchance stub his intellectual toes
 Further on pr. Eaves says: Is not main value of literature educative? Is not literature a vast thesaurus, or treasure house of peoples best speech? And what line of mental dis cipline compares with this task of broadening and enriching the vocabu- lary? Is not a chief mark of the edu- cated man the varied, accurate, beau- tiful style with which he employs the words of his language"
 Men of letters will agree with that view of the word question. l have heard educated men say that the best Eng fish was that in which only the sim plest words were used; but that theory or rule does not hold good for reasons just given. While there is no defense for the writer who overloads his essay or discourse with unfamiliar words, If he confines himself to the average school child's vocabulary his power of expression would be weakened.
 Among the convincing discussions read in the recent local option cam paign were replies made to MT Bowie's able arguments on the dispensary side. The replies referred to were eXhaus- d, and columns Of newspaper space, but not word was used which was not in the vocabulary of every intelligent layman. There were two of those long replies. and while they were exceptionally forceful-as forceful as anything Elihu Root might have written--it is a noteworthy fact that not a single ill-natured or un- kind phrase was found But in many literary productions a large vocabulary is not only expected, but, as one might say, quite essential. The best rule, believe, is for the well-equipped writer to use just the right word.
 Now speaking of vocabulary I have been struck with the careless use of two familiar words by scholarly per sons One is the word tremendous and the other the word nervous Web ster and other authorities give as definition of tremendous this, or some thing like this, Fitted to excite fear or terror The Century leans somewhat to the careless definition, which would make it a synonym for enormous, pro digious or stupendous, and yet when the Century comes to the list of words under the head of synonyms only those the idea of startling or ter rible are given. I have been reading the New York Sun steadily for 25 years or more, and l think it is safe to say that the word tremendous has ap- peared on an average of three times a week in serio editorials to em- phasize the idea of vastness; and the Sun. in my opinion, is standard au- than any text book with which I am acquainted.
 "The word nervous means strong, vigorous It never was intended to be used to express the idea of weak or shattered nerves. In standard English works we come across the phrases ner- vous eloquence, nervous arms, a fine nervous tone, and yet 1t is used every day, not only in conversation, but in writing, in the opposite sense-diseased nerves.
 T, myself have avoided what we call the use of big words, but I agree with Dr. Eaves in appreciation of full