The Washington herald., 1916-10-04
Friend and Enemy Words.
BY oRIsoN SWEET MARpEN.

BY OHIsON SWEET
Did you ever realize that the words you
habitualy use have a very great influence on
your characters Did it ever occur to you that
they also leave their mark on other people, that
whatever you say to another brings a certain
picture to his mind which helps or hnders him?
Some time ago a former instructor of public
speaking at Yale University Offered a prize of
SIoo to the first person who should submit TO
him list of 100 English words as inspiri as
a list which he himself had prepared.
His list contained such words as indomitable,
invincible, dauntless, joyous triumphant, un-
fnching valiant, kingly, sublime, truth, success,
etc. Every one of the hundred words, uttered
in the right way gives thrill of inspiration and
conscious power.
There is, perhaps, no other one thing which
has more power to make life happy or miserable,
prosperous or a failure, than the words which
make up ones habitual vocabulary.
We think in images suggested by words.
For instance, when in our reading we come
across the word HELL" the mind Immediately
visualizes a horrible picture. When we come
across the word paradise" the mind pictures a
place just the opposite. Each creates image
which corresponds to the word. When come
across the word HORSE" we do not think merely
OF the letters composing the word. incidentally,
the picture of a horse comes into the mind
When think of the word "war" we imme-
diately picture fighting, killing, wounding people
In other words, certain words act tonic.
and tend to harmonic the functions of the
mind and of the body. Others are depressants
They lower the vitality, deplete the energy, de-
press the spirits and tend to lower the tone OF
the whole system. In short, words are friends
or enemies they cheer and encourage or they
discourage and distress US. They flood the mind
hriC and III .od d;er,
pictures They suggest triumph or defeat, sue
cess or failure they tend to determine our lives
Since words are forces fraught with such
tremendous consequences, since they present to
the mind images which mould and fashion char
acter and destiny, should choose our vocabu-
larry we choose friends.
We should speak only words of kindness oi
helpfulness of love, of justice, of truth. We
should speak words of health and strength, and
not words OF sickness weakness or disease. We
should speak success words prosperity words
words of opulence and not words OF failure
poverty, lack or want. We should send out only
those words which, like the dove Noah sent out
from the Ark would bring back the olive branch
We should send out only words which would
give help and uplft to others and which would
react hepfuy ourselves.
Parents who do not understand the great
I
or pains in the formation of their children's
vocabulary. They pick up all sorts of words, and
the bright child is usually laughed at for any bit
Of slang any cute" words he picks up And
no matter how harmful they may be, they be-
come a part of his vocabulary and have a great
influence upon his after life
The time will come when the words in the
dictionary will be classified as friends and en-
emies of humanity; when the positive, creative
upbuilding words the words which make for
life, for health, for success for happiness will be
classified as humanity's friends, and the negative
words which carry death and destruction in
them, the words which demoralize which tear
down; the discouraging words which leave
hideous images in the mind, will be classified as
enemies and marked poison" as drugs are
marked. Thus. certain words will be differ
entiated as poisonous to ambition" poisonous
to hope" poisonous to aspiration" poisonous
to manhood" "stranglers of success" death to
endeavor." There will be columns of life and
columns of death words
Copyright, Iss)