Chapter II: Part 2

CHEAP. The dictionaries define this adjective as meaning, bearing a low price, or to be had at a low price; but nowadays good usage makes it mean that a thing may be had, or has been sold, at a bargain. Hence, in order to make sure of being understood, it is better to say _low-priced_, when one means low-priced, than to use the word _cheap_. What is low-priced, as everybody knows, is often _dear_, and what is high-priced is often _cheap_. A diamond necklace might be _cheap_ at ten thousand dollars, and a pinchbeck necklace dear at ten dollars.

CHERUBIM. The Hebrew plural of _cherub_. "We are authorized," says Dr. Campbell, "both by use and analogy, to say either _cherubs_ and _seraphs_, according to the English idiom, or _cherubim_ and _seraphim_, according to the Oriental. The former suits better the familiar, the latter the solemn, style. As the words _cherubim_ and _seraphim_ are plural, the terms _cherubims_ and _seraphims_, as expressing the plural, are quite improper."--"Philosophy of Rhetoric."

CITIZEN. This word properly means one who has certain political rights; when, therefore, it is used, as it often is, to designate persons who may be aliens, it, to say the least, betrays a want of care in the selection of words. "Several _citizens_ were injured by the explosion." Here some other word--_persons_, for example--should be used.

CLEVER. In this country the word _clever_ is most improperly used in the sense of good-natured, well-disposed, good-hearted. It is properly used in the sense in which we are wont most inelegantly to use the word _smart_, though it is a less colloquial term, and is of wider application. In England the phrase "a _clever_ man" is the equivalent of the French phrase, "_un homme d'esprit_." The word is properly used in the following sentences: "Every work of Archbishop Whately must be an object of interest to the admirers of _clever_ reasoning"; "Cobbett's letter ... very _clever_, but very mischievous"; "Bonaparte was certainly as _clever_ a man as ever lived."

CLIMAX. A clause, a sentence, a paragraph, or any literary composition whatsoever, is said to end with a _climax_ when, by an artistic arrangement, the more effective is made to follow the less effective in regular gradation. Any great departure from the order of ascending strength is called an _anti-climax_. Here are some examples of climax:

"Give all diligence; add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity."

"What is every year of a wise man's life but a criticism on the past! Those whose life is the shortest live long enough to laugh at one half of it; the boy despises the infant, the man the boy, the sage both, and the Christian all."

"What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! in form and moving, how express and admirable! in action, how like an angel! in apprehension, how like a god!"

CO. The prefix _co_ should be used only when the word to which it is joined begins with a vowel, as in _co-eval_, _co-incident_, _co-operate_, etc. _Con_ is used when the word begins with a consonant, as in _con-temporary_, _con-junction_, etc. _Co-partner_ is an exception to the rule.

COMMENCE. The Britons use or misuse this word in a manner peculiar to themselves. They say, for example, "commenced merchant," "commenced actor," "commenced politician," and so on. Dr. Hall tells us that _commence_ has been employed in the sense of "begin to be," "become," "set up as," by first-class writers, for more than two centuries. Careful speakers make small use of _commence_ in any sense; they prefer to use its Saxon equivalent, _begin_. See, also, BEGIN.

COMPARISON. When only two objects are compared, the comparative and not the superlative degree should be used; thus, "Mary is the _older_ of the two"; "John is the _stronger_ of the two"; "Brown is the _richer_ of the two, and the _richest_ man in the city"; "Which is the _more_ desirable, health or wealth?" "Which is the _most_ desirable, health, wealth, or genius?"

"Of two such lessons, why forget
The _nobler_ and the _manlier_ one?"

COMPLETED. This word is often incorrectly used for _finished_. That is _complete_ which lacks nothing; that is _finished_ which has had all done to it that was intended. The builder of a house may _finish_ it and yet leave it very _incomplete_.

CONDIGN. It is safe to say that most of those who use this word do not know its meaning, which is, suitable, deserved, merited, proper. "His endeavors shall not lack _condign_ praise"; i. e., his endeavors shall not lack _proper_ or their _merited_ praise. "A villain _condignly_ punished" is a villain punished _according to his deserts_. To use _condign_ in the sense of _severe_ is just as incorrect as it would be to use _deserved_ or _merited_ in the sense of _severe_.

CONFIRMED INVALID. This phrase is a convenient mode of expressing the idea it conveys, but it is difficult to defend, inasmuch as _confirmed_ means strengthened, established.

CONSEQUENCE. This word is sometimes used instead of _importance_ or _moment_; as, "They were all persons of more or less _consequence_": read, "of more or less _importance_." "It is a matter of no _consequence_": read, "of no _moment_."

CONSIDER. "This word," says Mr. Richard Grant White, in his "Words and Their Uses," "is perverted from its true meaning by most of those who use it." _Consider_ means, to meditate, to deliberate, to reflect, to revolve in the mind; and yet it is made to do service for _think_, _suppose_, and _regard_. Thus: "I _consider_ his course very unjustifiable"; "I have always _considered_ it my duty," etc.; "I _consider_ him as being the cleverest man of my acquaintance."

CONTEMPTIBLE. This word is sometimes used for _contemptuous_. An old story says that a man once said to Dr. Parr, "Sir, I have a _contemptible_ opinion of you." "That does not surprise me," returned the Doctor; "all your opinions are _contemptible_." What is worthless or weak is _contemptible_. Despicable is a word that expresses a still more intense degree of the contemptible. A traitor is a _despicable_ character, while a poltroon is only _contemptible_.

CONTINUALLY. See PERPETUALLY.

CONTINUE ON. The _on_ in this phrase is generally superfluous. "We continued on our way" is idiomatic English, and is more euphonious than the sentence would be without the particle. The meaning is, "We continued to travel _on_ our way." In such sentences, however, as "Continue _on_," "He continued to read _on_," "The fever continued _on_ for some hours," and the like, the _on_ generally serves no purpose.

CONVERSATIONIST. This word is to be preferred to _conversationalist_. Mr. Richard Grant White says that _conversationalist_ and _agriculturalist_ are inadmissible. On the other hand, Dr. Fitzedward Hall says: "As for _conversationist_ and _conversationalist_, _agriculturist_ and _agriculturalist_, as all are alike legitimate formations, it is for convention to decide which we are to prefer."

CONVOKE--CONVENE. At one time and another there has been some discussion with regard to the correct use of these two words. According to Crabb, "There is nothing imperative on the part of those that _assemble_, or _convene_, and nothing binding on those _assembled_, or _convened_: one _assembles_, or _convenes_, by invitation or request; one attends to the notice or not, at pleasure. _Convoke_, on the other hand, is _an act of authority_; it is the call of one who has the authority to give the call; it is heeded by those who feel themselves bound to attend." Properly, then, President Arthur _convokes_, not _convenes_, the Senate.

CORPOREAL--CORPORAL. These adjectives, though regarded as synonyms, are not used indiscriminately. _Corporal_ is used in reference to the body, or animal frame, in its proper sense; _corporeal_, to the animal substance in an extended sense--opposed to spiritual. _Corporal_ punishment; _corporeal_ or _material_ form or substance.

"That to _corporeal_ substances could add
Speed most spiritual."--Milton.

"What seemed _corporal_
Melted as breath into the wind."--Shakespeare.

COUPLE. In its primitive signification, this word does not mean simply two, but two that are united by some bond; such as, for example, the tie that unites the sexes. It has, however, been so long used to mean two of a kind considered together, that in this sense it may be deemed permissible, though the substitution of the word _two_ for it would often materially improve the diction.

COURAGE. See BRAVERY.

CRIME--VICE--SIN. The confusion that exists in the use of these words is due largely to an imperfect understanding of their respective meanings. _Crime_ is the violation of the law of a state; hence, as the laws of states differ, what is crime in one state may not be crime in another. _Vice_ is a course of wrong-doing, and is not modified either by country, religion, or condition. As for _sin_, it is very difficult to define what it is, as what is sinful in the eyes of one man may not be sinful in the eyes of another; what is sinful in the eyes of a Jew may not be sinful in the eyes of a Christian; and what is sinful in the eyes of a Christian of one country may not be sinful in the eyes of a Christian of another country. In the days of slavery, to harbor a runaway slave was a _crime_, but it was, in the eyes of most people, neither a _vice_ nor a _sin_.

CRUSHED OUT. "The rebellion was finally _crushed out_." Out of what? We may _crush_ the life out of a man, or _crush_ a man to death, and _crush_, not _crush out_, a rebellion.

CULTURED. This word is said to be a product of Boston--an excellent place for anybody or anything to come from. Many persons object to its use on the ground that there can be no such participial adjective, because there is no verb in use from which to form it. We have in use the substantive _culture_, but, though the dictionaries recognize the verb _to culture_, we do not use it. Be this objection valid or be it not, _cultured_ having but two syllables, while its synonym _cultivated_ has four, it is likely to find favor with those who employ short words when they convey their meaning as well as long ones. Other adjectives of this kind are, moneyed, whiskered, slippered, lettered, talented, cottaged, lilied, anguished, gifted, and so forth.

CURIOUS. This word is often used instead of _strange_ or _remarkable_. "A _curious_ fact": better, "a _remarkable_ fact." "A _curious_ proceeding": better, "a _strange_ proceeding."

DANGEROUS. "He is pretty sick, but not _dangerous_." Dangerous people are generally most dangerous when they are most vigorous. Say, rather, "He is sick, but not _in danger_."

DEAREST. "A gentleman once began a letter to his bride thus: 'My _dearest_ Maria.' The lady replied: 'My dear John, I beg that you will mend either your morals or your grammar. You call me your "_dearest_ Maria"; am I to understand that you have other Marias'?"--Moon's "Bad English."

DECEIVING. "You are _deceiving_ me." Not unfrequently _deceiving_ is used when the speaker means _trying to deceive_. It is when we do not suspect deception that we are deceived.

DECIMATE. This word, meaning as it properly does to tithe, to take the tenth part, is hardly permissible in the sense in which it is used in such sentences as, "The regiment held its position, though terribly _decimated_ by the enemy's artillery." "Though terribly _tithed_" would be equally correct.

DEMEAN. This word is sometimes erroneously used in the sense of _to debase_, _to disgrace_, _to humble_. It is a reflexive verb, and its true meaning is _to behave_, _to carry_, _to conduct_; as, "He _demeans himself_ in a gentlemanly manner," i. e., He _behaves_, or _carries_, or _conducts_, himself in a gentlemanly manner.

DENUDE. "The vulture," says Brande, "has some part of the head and sometimes of the neck _denuded_ of feathers." Most birds might be _denuded_ of the feathers on their heads; not so, however, the vulture, for his head is always featherless. A thing can not be _denuded_ of what it does not have. Denuding a vulture's head and neck of the feathers is like _denuding_ an eel of its scales.

DEPRECATE. Strangely enough, this word is often used in the sense of disapprove, censure, condemn; as, "He _deprecates_ the whole proceeding"; "Your course, from first to last, is universally _deprecated_." But, according to the authorities, the word really means, to endeavor to avert by prayer; to pray exemption or deliverance from; to beg off; to entreat; to urge against.

"Daniel kneeled upon his knees to _deprecate_ the captivity of his people."--Hewyt.

DESPITE. This word is often incorrectly preceded by _in_ and followed by _of_; thus, "_In_ despite _of_ all our efforts to detain him, he set out"; which should be, "Despite all our efforts," etc., or "_In spite of_ all our efforts," etc.

DETERMINED. See BOUND.

DICTION. This is a general term, and is applicable to a single sentence or to a connected composition. _Bad diction_ may be due to errors in grammar, to a confused disposition of words, or to an improper use of words. _Diction_, to be good, requires to be only correct and clear. Of excellent examples of bad diction there are very many in a little work by Dr. L. T. Townsend, Professor of Sacred Rhetoric in Boston University, the first volume of which has lately come under my notice. The first ten lines of Dr. Townsend's preface are:

"The leading genius[1] of the People's College at Chautauqua Lake, with a [the?] view of providing for his course[2] a text-book, asked for the publication of the following laws and principles of speech.[3]

"The author, not seeing sufficient reason[4] for withholding what had been of much practical benefit[5] to himself, consented.[6]

"The subject-matter herein contained is an outgrowth from[7] occasional instructions[8] given[9] while occupying the chair[10] of Sacred Rhetoric."

1. The phrase _leading genius_ is badly chosen. Founder, projector, head, organizer, principal, or president--some one of these terms would probably have been appropriate. 2. What course? Race-course, course of ethics, æsthetics, rhetoric, or what?[3] 3. "The following laws and principles of speech." And how came these laws and principles in existence? Who made them? We are to infer, it would seem, that Professor Townsend made them, and that the world would have had to go without the laws that govern language and the principles on which language is formed had it pleased Professor Townsend to withhold them. 4. "_Sufficient_ reason"! Then there were reasons why Professor Townsend ought to have kept these good things all to himself; only, they were not _sufficient_. 5. "Practical benefit"! Is there _any_ such thing as impractical benefit? Are not all benefits practical? and, if they are, what purpose does the epithet _practical_ serve? 6. Consented to what? It is easy to see that the Doctor means _acceded to the request_, but he is a long way from saying so. The object writers usually have in view is to convey thought, not to set their readers to guessing. 7. _The outgrowth of_ would be English. 8. "Occasional instructions"! Very vague, and well calculated to set the reader to guessing again. 9. Given to whom? 10. "_The_ chair." The definite article made it necessary for the writer to specify what particular chair of Sacred Rhetoric he meant.

These ten lines are a fair specimen of the diction of the entire volume.

Page 131. "To render a _given ambiguous or_ unintelligible sentence transparent, the following suggestions are recommended." The words in italics are unnecessary, since what is ambiguous is unintelligible. Then who has ever heard of _recommending suggestions_?

Dr. Townsend speaks of _mastering a subject before publishing it_. Publishing a subject?

Page 133. "Violations of simplicity, whatever the type, show either that _the mind of_ the writer is tainted with affectation, or _else_ that _an effort is making_ to conceal _conscious_ poverty of _sentiment_ under loftiness of expression." Here is an example of a kind of sentence that can be mended in only one way--by rewriting, which might be done thus: Violations of simplicity, whatever the type, show either that the writer is tainted with affectation, or that he is making an effort to conceal poverty of thought under loftiness of expression.

Page 143. "This _quality_ is fully _stated_ and recommended," etc. Who has ever heard of _stating a quality_?

On page 145 Dr. Townsend says: "A person can not read a single book of poor style without having his own style vitiated." _A book of poor style_ is an awkward expression, to say the least. _A single badly-written book_ would have been unobjectionable.

Page 160. "The presented picture produces instantly a definite effect." Why this unusual disposition of words? Why not say, in accordance with the idiom of the language, "The picture presented instantly produces," etc.?

Page 161. "The boy studies ... geography and hates everything connected with the sea and land." Why _the_ boy? As there are few things besides seals and turtles that are connected with the sea _and_ land, the boy in question has few things to hate.

On page 175, Dr. Townsend heads a chapter thus: "_Art_ of acquiring _Skill_ in the use of Poetic Speech." This reminds one of the man who tried to lift himself over a fence by taking hold of the seat of his breeches. "_How_ to acquire skill" is probably what is meant.

On page 232, "Jeremy Taylor is among the best models of long sentences which are both clear and logical." Jeremy Taylor is a clear and logical long sentence?! True, our learned rhetorician says so, but he doesn't mean it. He means, "In Jeremy Taylor we find some of the best examples of long sentences which are at once clear and logical."

Since the foregoing was written, the second volume of Professor Townsend's "Art of Speech" has been published. In the brief preface to this volume we find this characteristic sentence: "The author has felt that _clergymen_ more than _those_ of other professions will study this treatise." The antecedent of the relative _those_ being _clergymen_, the sentence, it will be perceived, says: "The author has felt that _clergymen_ more than _clergymen of other professions_ will study this treatise." Comment on such "art" as Professor Townsend's is not necessary.

I find several noteworthy examples of bad diction in an article in a recent number of an Australian magazine. The following are some of them: "_Large capital_ always manages to make _itself_ master of the situation; it is the small capitalist and the small landholder that would suffer," etc. Should be, "_The large capitalist ... himself_," etc. Again: "The small farmer would ... be despoiled ... of the meager profit which _strenuous_ labor had conquered from the _reluctant_ soil." Not only are the epithets in italics superfluous, and consequently weakening in their effect, but idiom does not permit _strenuous_ to be used to qualify _labor_: _hard_ labor and _strenuous_ effort. Again: "Capital has always the choice _of_ a large field." Should be, "the choice _offered by_ a large field." Again: "Should capital be withdrawn, tenements would soon prove insufficient." Should be, "_the number of_ tenements would," etc. Again: "Men of wealth, therefore, would find their Fifth Avenue mansions and their summer villas a little more burdened with taxes, but with this increase happily balanced by the exemption of their bonds and mortgages, their plate and furniture." The thought here is so simple that we easily divine it; but, if we look at the sentence at all carefully, we find that, though we supply the ellipses in the most charitable manner possible, the sentence really says: "Men would find their mansions more burdened, but would find them with this increased burden happily balanced by the exemption," etc. The sentence should have been framed somewhat in this wise: "Men ... would find their ... mansions ... more burdened with taxes, but this increase in the taxes on their real estate would be happily balanced by the exemption from taxation of their bonds, mortgages, plate, and furniture." Again: "Men generally ... would be inclined to laugh at the idea of intrusting the modern politician with such gigantic opportunities for enriching his favorites." We do not _intrust_ one another with _opportunities_. _To enrich_ would better the diction. Again: "The value of land that has accrued from labor is not ... a just object for confiscation." Correctly: "The value of land that has _resulted_ from labor is not _justly_ ... an object _of_ confiscation." _Accrue_ is properly used more in the sense of _spontaneous growth_. Again: "If the state attempts to confiscate this increase by means of taxes, either rentals will increase correspondingly, or such a check will be put upon _the_ growth _of each place_ and _all the_ enterprises _connected with it_ that greater injury would be done than if things had been left untouched." We have here, it will be observed, a confusion of moods; the sentence begins in the indicative and ends in the conditional. The words in italics are worse than superfluous. Rewritten: "If the state _should_ attempt to confiscate this increase by means of taxes, either rentals _would_ increase correspondingly, or such a check _would_ be put upon growth and enterprise that greater injury would," etc. Again: "The _theory_ that land ... is a _boon_ of Nature, to which every person has an inalienable right equal to every other person, is not new." The words _theory_ and _boon_ are here misused. A _theory_ is a system of suppositions. The things man receives from Nature are _gifts_, not _boons_: the gift of reason, the gift of speech, etc. The sentence should be: "The _declaration_ (or _assertion_) that land ... is a _gift_ of Nature, to which every person has an inalienable right equal to _that of any_ other person, is not new." Or, more simply and quite as forcibly: "... to which one person has an inalienable right equal to that of another, is not new." Or, more simply still, and more forcibly: "... to which one _man_ has as good a right as another, is not new." By substituting the word _man_ for _person_, we have a word of one syllable that expresses, in this connection, all that the longer word expresses. The fewer the syllables, if the thought be fully expressed, the more vigorous the diction. Inalienability being foreign to the discussion, the long word _inalienable_ only encumbers the sentence.

"We have thus[1] passed in review[2] the changes and improvements[3] which the revision contains[4] in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. It has[5] not, indeed,[6] been possible to refer to[7] them all; but so many illustrations[8] have been given in[9] the several classes described that the reader will have[10] a satisfactory[11] survey of the whole subject. Whatever may be said of other portions[12] of the New Testament, we think it will be generally admitted that in this Epistle the changes have improved the old[13] translation. They are such as[14] make the English version[15] conform more completely[16] to the Greek original. If this be[17] true, the revisers have done a good work for the Church.[18] If it be true[19] with regard to all the New Testament books, the work which they have done will remain[20] a blessing to the readers of those books for[21] generations to come. But the blessing will be only in the clearer presentation of the Divine truth, and, therefore, it will be only to the glory of God."

This astonishingly slipshod bit of composition is from the pen of the Rev. Dr. Timothy Dwight. If the learned Professor of Divinity in Yale College deemed it worth while to give a little thought to manner as well as to matter, it is probable that his diction would be very different from what it is; and, if he were to give a few minutes to the making of verbal corrections in the foregoing paragraph, he would, perhaps, do something like this: 1, change _thus_ to _now_; 2, write _some of_ the changes; 3, strike out _and improvements_; 4, for _contains changes_ substitute some other form of expression; 5, instead of _has been_, write _was_; 6, strike out _indeed_; 7, instead of _refer to_, write _cite_; 8, change _illustrations_ to _examples_; 9, instead of _in_, write _of_; 10, instead of _the reader will have_, write _the reader will be able to get_; 11, change _satisfactory_ to _tolerable_; 12, change _portions_ to _parts_; 13, not talk of the _old_ translation, as we have no new one; 14, strike out as superfluous the words _are such as_; 15, change _version_ to _text_; 16, substitute _nearly_ for _completely_, which does not admit of comparison; 17, substitute the indicative for the conditional; 18, end sentence with the word _work_; 19, introduce _also_ after _be_; 20, instead of _remain_, in the sense of _be_, use _be_; 21, introduce _the_ after _for_. As for the last sentence, it reminds one of Mendelssohn's "Songs without Words," though here we have, instead of a song and no words, words and no song, or rather no meaning. As is often true of cant, we have here simply a syntactical arrangement of words signifying--nothing.

If Professor Dwight were of those who, in common with the Addisons and Macaulays and Newmans, think it worth while to give some attention to diction, the thought conveyed in the paragraph under consideration would, perhaps, have been expressed somewhat in this wise:

"We have now passed in review some of the changes that, in the revision, have been made in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. It was not possible to cite them all, but a sufficient number of examples of the several classes described have been given to enable the reader to get a tolerable survey of the whole subject. Whatever may be said of the other parts of the New Testament, we think it will be generally admitted that in this Epistle the changes have improved the translation. They make the English text conform more nearly to the Greek. This being true, the revisers have done a good work; and, if it be also true with regard to all the New Testament books, the work which they have done will be a blessing to the readers of these books for the generations to come."

DIE WITH. Man and brute die _of_, and not _with_, fevers, consumption, the plague, pneumonia, old age, and so on.

DIFFER. Writers differ _from_ one another in opinion with regard to the particle we should use with this verb. Some say they differ _with_, others that they differ _from_, their neighbors in opinion. The weight of authority is on the side of always using _from_, though A may differ _with_ C from D in opinion with regard, say, to the size of the fixed stars. "I differ, as to this matter, _from_ Bishop Lowth."--Cobbett. _Different to_ is heard sometimes instead of _different from_.

DIRECTLY. The Britons have a way of using this word in the sense of _when_, _as soon as_. This is quite foreign to its true meaning, which is immediately, at once, straightway. They say, for example, "_Directly_ he reached the city, he went to his brother's." "Directly he [the saint] was dead, the Arabs sent his woolen shirt to the sovereign."--"London News." Dr. Hall says of its use in the sense of _as soon as_: "But, after all, it may simply anticipate on the English of the future."

DIRT. This word means filth or anything that renders foul and unclean, and means nothing else. It is often improperly used for earth or loam, and sometimes even for sand or gravel. We not unfrequently hear of a _dirt_ road when an unpaved road is meant.

DISCOMMODE. This word is rarely used; _incommode_ is accounted the better form.

DISREMEMBER. This is a word vulgarly used in the sense of _forget_. It is said to be more frequently heard in the South than in the North.

DISTINGUISH. This verb is sometimes improperly used for _discriminate_. We _distinguish_ by means of the senses as well as of the understanding; we _discriminate_ by means of the understanding only. "It is difficult, in some cases, to _distinguish between_," etc.: should be, "It is difficult, in some cases, to _discriminate between_," etc. We _distinguish_ one thing _from another_, and _discriminate between_ two or more things.

DOCK--WHARF. The first of these words is often improperly used for the second. Of docks there are several kinds: a _naval dock_ is a place for the keeping of naval stores, timber, and materials for ship-building; a _dry dock_ is a place where vessels are drawn out of the water for repairs; a _wet dock_ is a place where vessels are kept afloat at a certain level while they are loaded and unloaded; a _sectional dock_ is a contrivance for raising vessels out of the water on a series of air-tight boxes. A _dock_, then, is a place into which things are received; hence, a man might fall _into_ a dock, but could no more fall _off_ a dock than he could fall off a hole. A _wharf_ is a sort of quay built by the side of the water. A similar structure built at a right angle with the shore is generally called a _pier_. Vessels lie at _wharves_ and _piers_, not at _docks_.

DONATE. This word, which is defined as meaning to give, to contribute, is looked upon by most champions of good English as being an abomination. _Donation_ is also little used by careful writers. "_Donate_," says Mr. Gould, "may be dismissed with this remark: so long as its place is occupied by _give_, _bestow_, _grant_, _present_, etc., it is not needed; and it should be unceremoniously bowed out, or thrust out, of the seat into which it has, temporarily, intruded."

DONE. This past participle is often very inelegantly, if not improperly, used thus: "He did not cry out as some have _done_ against it," which should read, "He did not cry out as some have against it"; i. e., "as some _have cried out_ against it."

"Done is frequently a very great offender against grammar," says Cobbett. "_To do_ is the _act of doing_. We see people write, 'I _did_ not speak yesterday so well as I wished to have _done_.' Now, what is meant by the writer? He means to say that he _did_ not speak so well as he then _wished_, or was wishing, _to speak_. Therefore, the sentence should be, 'I did not speak yesterday so well as I wished _to do_.' That is to say, 'so well as I wished to do it'; that is to say, to do or to perform _the act of speaking_.

"Take great care not to be too free in your use of the verb _to do_ in any of its times or modes. It is a nice little handy word, and, like our oppressed _it_, it is made use of very often when the writer is at a _loss_ for what to put down. _To do_ is to _act_, and therefore it never can, in any of its parts, supply the place of a _neuter_ verb. 'How do you do?' Here _do_ refers to the _state_, and is essentially passive or neuter. Yet, to employ it for this purpose is very common. Dr. Blair, in his 23d Lecture, says: 'It is somewhat unfortunate that this Number of the "Spectator" did not _end_, as it might have _done_, with the former beautiful period.' That is to say, _done it_. And then we ask, Done what? Not the _act of ending_, because in this case there is _no action_ at all. The verb means _to come to an end_, _to cease_, _not to go any further_. This same verb _to end_ is sometimes an active verb: 'I _end_ my sentence'; _then_ the verb _to do_ may supply its place; as, 'I have not ended my sentence so well as I might have _done_'; that is, done _it_; that is, done, or performed, the _act of ending_. But the Number of the 'Spectator' was no _actor_; it was expected to _perform_ nothing; it was, by the Doctor, wished to have _ceased_ to proceed. 'Did not _end_ as it very well might have ended....' This would have been correct; but the Doctor wished to avoid the _repetition_, and thus he fell into bad grammar. 'Mr. Speaker, I do not _feel_ so well satisfied as I should have _done_ if the Right Honorable Gentleman had explained the matter more fully.' To _feel_ satisfied is--when the satisfaction is to arise from conviction produced by fact or reasoning--a senseless expression; and to supply its place, when it is, as in this case, a neuter verb, by _to do_, is as senseless. Done _what_? Done _the act of feeling_! 'I do not _feel_ so well satisfied as I should have _done_, or _executed_, or _performed_ the _act of feeling_'! What incomprehensible words!"

DON'T. Everybody knows that _don't_ is a contraction of _do not_, and that _doesn't_ is a contraction of _does not_; and yet _nearly_ everybody is guilty of using _don't_ when he should use _doesn't_. "So you _don't_ go; John _doesn't_ either, I hear."

DOUBLE GENITIVE. An anecdote of Mr. Lincoln--an anecdote of Mr. Lincoln's. We see at a glance that these two phrases are very different in meaning. So, also, a portrait of Brown--a portrait of Brown's. No precise rule has ever been given to guide us in our choice between these two forms of the possessive case. Sometimes it is not material which form is employed; where, however, it is material--and it generally is--we must consider the thought we wish to express, and rely on our discrimination.

DRAMATIZE. See ADAPT.

DRAWING-ROOM. See PARLOR.

DRESS--GOWN. Within the memory of many persons the outer garment worn by women was properly called a _gown_ by everybody, instead of being improperly called a _dress_, as it now is by nearly everybody.

DRIVE. See RIDE.

DUE--OWING. These two words, though close synonyms, should not be used indiscriminately. The mistake usually made is in using _due_ instead of _owing_. That is _due_ which ought to be paid as a debt; that is _owing_ which is to be referred to as a source. "It was _owing_ to his exertions that the scheme succeeded." "It was _owing_ to your negligence that the accident happened." "A certain respect is _due_ to men's prejudices." "This was _owing_ to an indifference to the pleasures of life." "It is _due_ to the public that I should tell all I know of the matter."

EACH OTHER. "Their great authors address themselves, not to their country, but to _each other_."--Buckle. _Each other_ is properly applied to two only; _one another_ must be used when the number considered exceeds two. Buckle should have written _one another_ and not _each other_, unless he meant to intimate that the Germans had only two great authors, which is not probable.

EAT. Grammarians differ very widely with regard to the conjugation of this verb; there is no doubt, however, that from every point of view the preferable forms for the preterite and past participle are respectively _ate_ and _eaten_. To refined ears the other forms smack of vulgarity, although supported by good authority. "I _ate_ an apple." "I have _eaten_ dinner." "John _ate_ supper with me." "As soon as you have _eaten_ breakfast we will set out."

EDITORIAL. The use of this adjective as a substantive is said to be an Americanism.

EDUCATION. This is one of the most misused of words. A man may be well acquainted with the contents of text-books, and yet be a person of little _education_; on the other hand, a man may be a person of good education, and yet know little of the contents of text-books. Abraham Lincoln and Edwin Forrest knew comparatively little of what is generally learned in schools; still they were men of culture, men of _education_. A man may have ever so much book-knowledge and still be a boor; but a man can not be a person of good education and not be--so far as manner is concerned--a gentleman. _Education_, then, is a whole of which Instruction and Breeding are the parts. The man or the woman--even in this democratic country of ours--who _deserves_ the title of gentleman or lady is always a person of education; i. e., he or she has a sufficient acquaintance with books and with the usages of social intercourse to acquit himself or herself creditably in the society of cultivated people. Not moral worth, nor learning, nor wealth, nor all three combined, can unaided make a gentleman, for with all three a man might be _uneducated_--i. e., coarse, unbred, unschooled in those things which alone make men welcome in the society of the refined.

EFFECTUATE. This word, together with _ratiocinate_ and _eventuate_, is said to be a great favorite with the rural members of the Arkansas legislature.

EFFLUVIUM. The plural of this word is _effluvia_. It is a common error with those who have no knowledge of Latin to speak of "a disagreeable effluvia," which is as incorrect as it would be to talk about "a disagreeable vapors."

EFFORT WITHOUT EFFECT. "Some writers deal in expletives to a degree that tires the ear and offends the understanding. With them everything is _excessively_, or _immensely_, or _extremely_, or _vastly_, or _surprisingly_, or _wonderfully_, or _abundantly_, or the like. The notion of such writers is that these words give _strength_ to what they are saying. This is a great error. Strength must be found in the _thought_, or it will never be found in the _words_. Big-sounding words, without thoughts corresponding, are effort without effect."--William Cobbett. See FORCIBLE-FEEBLE.

EGOIST. "One of a class of philosophers who professed to be sure of nothing but their own existence."--Reid.

EGOTIST. "One who talks much of himself."

"A tribe of _egotists_ for whom I have always had a mortal aversion."--"Spectator."

EITHER. This word means, strictly, the _one_ or the _other_ of two. Unlike _both_, which means two taken collectively, _either_, like _each_, may mean _two considered separately_; but in this sense _each_ is the better word to use. "Give me _either_ of them" means, Give me the one or the other of two. "He has a farm on _either_ side of the river" would mean that he has two farms, one on each (or either) side of the river. "He has a farm on _both_ sides of the river" would mean that his farm lies partly on the one side of the river and partly on the other. The use of _either_ in the sense of _each_, though biblical and defensible, may be accounted little if any better than an affectation. _Neither_ is the negative of _either_. _Either_ is responded to by _or_, _neither_ by _nor_; as, "_either_ this _or_ that," "_neither_ this _nor_ that." _Either_ and _neither_ should not--strictly--be used in relation to more than two objects. But, though both _either_ and _neither_ are strictly applicable to two only, they have been for a very long time used in relation to more than two by many good writers; and, as it is often convenient so to use them, it seems probable that the custom will prevail. When more than two things are referred to, _any_ and _none_ should be used instead of _either_ and _neither_; as, "_any_ of the three," not, "_either_ of the three"; "_none_ of the four," not, "_neither_ of the four."

EITHER ALTERNATIVE. The word _alternative_ means a choice offered between two things. An _alternative writ_, for example, offers the _alternative_ of choosing between the doing of a specified act or of showing cause why it is not done. Such propositions, therefore, as, "You are at liberty to choose _either_ alternative," "_Two_ alternatives are presented to me," "_Several_ alternatives presented themselves," and the like, are not correct English. The word is correctly used thus: "I am confronted with a hard _alternative_: I must either denounce a friend or betray my trust." We rarely hear the word _alternate_ or any of its derivatives correctly pronounced.

ELDER. See OLDER.

ELEGANT. Professor Proctor says: "If you say to an American, 'This is a fine morning,' he is likely to reply, 'It is an _elegant_ morning,' or perhaps oftener by using simply the word _elegant_. This is not a pleasing use of the word." This is not American English, Professor, but popinjay English.

ELLIPSIS. The omission of a word or of words necessary to complete the grammatical construction, but not necessary to make the meaning clear, is called an _ellipsis_. We almost always, whether in speaking or in writing, leave out some of the words necessary to the _full_ expression of our meaning. For example, in dating a letter to-day, we should write, "New York, August 25, 1881," which would be, if fully written out, "I am now writing in the city of New York; this is the twenty-fifth day of August, and this month is in the one thousand eight hundred and eighty-first year of the Christian era." "I am going to Wallack's" means, "I am going to Wallack's _theatre_." "I shall spend the summer at my aunt's"; i. e., at my aunt's _house_.

By supplying the _ellipses_ we can often discover the errors in a sentence, if there are any.

ENJOY BAD HEALTH. As no one has ever been known to _enjoy_ bad health, it is better to employ some other form of expression than this. Say, for example, he is in _feeble_, or _delicate_, health.

ENTHUSE. This is a word that is occasionally heard in conversation, and is sometimes met with in print; but it has not as yet made its appearance in the dictionaries. What its ultimate fate will be, of course, no one can tell; for the present, however, it is studiously shunned by those who are at all careful in the selection of their language. It is said to be most used in the South. The writer has never seen it anywhere in the North but in the columns of the "Boston Congregationalist."

EPIGRAM. "The word _epigram_ signified originally an inscription on a monument. It next came to mean a short poem containing some single thought pointedly expressed, the subjects being very various--amatory, convivial, moral, eulogistic, satirical, humorous, etc. Of the various devices for brevity and point employed in such compositions, especially in modern times, the most frequent is a play upon words.... In the _epigram_ the mind is roused by a conflict or contradiction between the form of the language and the meaning really conveyed."--Bain.

Some examples are:

"When you have nothing to say, say it."

"We can not see the wood for the trees"; that is, we can not get a general view because we are so engrossed with the details.

"Verbosity is cured by a large vocabulary"; that is, he who commands a large vocabulary is able to select words that will give his meaning tersely.

"By indignities men come to dignities."

"Some people are too foolish to commit follies."

"He went to his imagination for his facts, and to his memory for his tropes."

EPITHET. Many persons use this word who are in error with regard to its meaning; they think that to "apply epithets" to a person is to vilify and insult him. Not at all. An _epithet_ is a word that expresses a quality, good or bad; a term that expresses an attribute. "All _adjectives_ are _epithets_, but all _epithets_ are not _adjectives_," says Crabb; "thus, in Virgil's Pater Æneas, the _pater_ is an _epithet_, but not an _adjective_." _Epithet_ is the technical term of the rhetorician; _adjective_, that of the grammarian.

EQUALLY AS WELL. A redundant form of expression, as any one will see who for a moment considers it. _As well_, or _equally well_, expresses quite as much as _equally as well_.

EQUANIMITY OF MIND. This phrase is tautological, and expresses no more than does _equanimity_ (literally, "equalmindedness") alone; hence, _of mind_ is superfluous, and consequently inelegant. _Anxiety of mind_ is a scarcely less redundant form of expression. _A capricious mind_ is in the same category.

ERRATUM. Plural, _errata_.

ESQUIRE. An esquire was originally the shield-bearer of a knight. It is much, and, in the opinion of some, rather absurdly, used in this country. Mr. Richard Grant White says on the subject of its use: "I have yet to discover what a man means when he addresses a letter to John Dash, _Esqr._" He means no more nor less than when he writes _Mr._ (master). The use of _Esq._ is quite as prevalent in England as in America, and has little more meaning there than here. It simply belongs to our stock of courteous epithets.

EUPHEMISM. A description which describes in inoffensive language that which is of itself offensive, or a figure which uses agreeable phraseology when the literal would be offensive, is called a _euphemism_.

EVENTUATE. See EFFECTUATE.

EVERLASTINGLY. This adverb is misused in the South in a manner that is very apt to excite the risibility of one to whom the peculiar misuse is new. The writer recently visited the upper part of New York with a distinguished Southern poet and journalist. It was the gentleman's first ride over an elevated road. When we were fairly under way, in admiration of the rate of speed at which the cars were moving, he exclaimed, "Well, they do just _everlastingly_ shoot along, don't they!"

EVERY. This word, which means simply each or all taken separately, is of late years frequently made, by slipshod speakers, to do duty for perfect, entire, great, or all possible. Thus we have such expressions as _every_ pains, _every_ confidence, _every_ praise, _every_ charity, and so on. We also have such diction as, "_Every one_ has this in common"; meaning, "_All of us_ have this in common."

EVERY-DAY LATIN. _A fortiori_: with stronger reason. _A posteriori_: from the effect to the cause. _A priori_: from the cause to the effect. _Bona fide_: in good faith; in reality. _Certiorari_: to be made more certain. _Ceteris paribus_: other circumstances being equal. _De facto_: in fact; in reality. _De jure_: in right; in law. _Ecce homo_: behold the man. _Ergo_: therefore. _Et cetera_: and the rest; and so on. _Excerpta_: extracts. _Exempli gratia_: by way of example; abbreviated, _e. g._, and _ex. gr._ _Ex officio_: by virtue of his office. _Ex parte_: on one side; an _ex parte_ statement is a statement on one side only. _Ibidem_: in the same place; abbreviated, _ibid._ _Idem_: the same. _Id est_: that is; abbreviated, _i. e._ _Imprimis_: in the first place. _In statu quo_: in the former state; just as it was. _In statu quo ante bellum_: in the same state as before the war. _In transitu_: in passing. _Index expurgatorius_: a purifying index. _In extremis_: at the point of death. _In memoriam_: in memory. _Ipse dixit_: on his sole assertion. _Item_: also. _Labor omnia vincit_: labor overcomes every difficulty. _Locus sigilli_: the place of the seal. _Multum in parvo_: much in little. _Mutatis mutandis_: after making the necessary changes. _Ne plus ultra_: nothing beyond; the utmost point. _Nolens volens_: willing or unwilling. _Nota bene_: mark well; take particular notice. _Omnes_: all. _O tempora, O mores!_ O the times and the manners! _Otium cum dignitate_: ease with dignity. _Otium sine dignitate_: ease without dignity. _Particeps criminis_: an accomplice. _Peccavi_: I have sinned. _Per se_: by itself. _Prima facie_: on the first view or appearance; at first sight. _Pro bono publico_: for the public good. _Quid nunc_: what now? _Quid pro quo_: one thing for another; an equivalent. _Quondam_: formerly. _Rara avis_: a rare bird; a prodigy. _Resurgam_: I shall rise again. _Seriatim_: in order. _Sine die_: without specifying any particular day; to an indefinite time. _Sine qua non_: an indispensable condition. _Sui generis_: of its own kind. _Vade mecum_: go with me. _Verbatim_: word by word. _Versus_: against. _Vale_: fare-well. _Via_: by the way of. _Vice_: in the place of. _Vide_: see. _Vi et armis_: by main force. _Viva voce_: orally; by word of mouth. _Vox populi, vox Dei_: the voice of the people is the voice of God.

EVIDENCE--TESTIMONY. These words, though differing widely in meaning, are often used indiscriminately by careless speakers. _Evidence_ is that which _tends_ to convince; _testimony_ is that which is _intended_ to convince. In a judicial investigation, for example, there might be a great deal of _testimony_--a great deal of _testifying_--and very little _evidence_; and the _evidence_ might be quite the reverse of the _testimony_. See PROOF.

EXAGGERATION. "Weak minds, feeble writers and speakers delight in _superlatives_." See EFFORT WITHOUT EFFECT.

EXCEPT. "No one need apply _except_ he is thoroughly familiar with the business," should be, "No one need apply _unless_," etc.

EXCESSIVELY. That class of persons who are never content with any form of expression that falls short of the superlative, frequently use _excessively_ when _exceedingly_ or even the little word _very_ would serve their turn better. They say, for example, that the weather is _excessively hot_, when they should content themselves with saying simply that the weather is _very warm_, or, if the word suits them better, _hot_. Intemperance in the use of language is as much to be censured as intemperance in anything else; like intemperance in other things, its effect is vulgarizing.

EXECUTE. This word means to follow out to the end, to carry into effect, to accomplish, to fulfill, to perform; as, to execute an order, to execute a purpose. And the dictionaries and almost universal usage say that it also means to put to death in conformity with a judicial sentence; as, to execute a criminal. Some of our careful speakers, however, maintain that the use of the word in this sense is indefensible. They say that _laws_ and _sentences_ are executed, but not _criminals_, and that their execution only rarely results in the death of the persons upon whom they are executed. In the hanging of a criminal, it is, then, not the criminal who is executed, but the law and the sentence. The criminal is _hanged_.

EXPECT. This verb always has reference to what is to come, never to what is past. We can not _expect_ backward. Instead, therefore, of saying, "I _expect_, you thought I would come to see you yesterday," we should say, "I _suppose_," etc.

EXPERIENCE. "We _experience_ great difficulty in getting him to take his medicine." The word _have_ ought to be big enough, in a sentence like this, for anybody. "We _experienced_ great hardships." Better, "We _suffered_."

EXTEND. This verb, the primary meaning of which is to stretch out, is used, especially by lovers of big words, in connections where to give, to show, or to offer would be preferable. For example, it is certainly better to say, "They _showed_ me every courtesy," than "They _extended_ every courtesy to me." See EVERY.

FALSE GRAMMAR. Some examples of false grammar will show what every one is the better for knowing: that in literature nothing should be taken on trust; that errors of grammar even are found where we should least expect them. "I do not know whether the imputation _were_ just or not."--Emerson. "I proceeded to inquire if the 'extract' ... _were_ a veritable quotation."--Emerson. Should be _was_ in both cases. "How _sweet_ the moonlight sleeps!"--Townsend, "Art of Speech," vol. i, p. 114. Should be _sweetly_. "There is no question _but_ these arts ... will greatly aid him," etc.--Ibid., p. 130. Should be _that_. "Nearly all who have been distinguished in literature or oratory have made ... the generous confession that their attainments _have been_ reached through patient and laborious industry. They have declared that speaking and writing, though once difficult for them, _have become_ well-nigh recreations."--Ibid., p. 143. The _have been_ should be _were_, and the _have become_ should be _became_. "Many pronominal adverbs are correlatives of _each other_."--Harkness's "New Latin Grammar," p. 147. Should be _one another_. "Hot and cold springs, boiling springs, and quiet springs lie within a few feet of _each other_, but _none of them are properly geysers_."--Appletons' "Condensed Cyclopædia," vol. ii, p. 414. Should be _one another_, and _not one of them is properly a geyser_. "How much better for you as seller and the nation as buyer ... than to sink ... in cutting _one another's_ throats." Should be _each other's_. "A minister, noted for prolixity of style, was once preaching before the inmates of a lunatic asylum. In one of his illustrations he painted a scene of a man condemned to be hung, but reprieved under the gallows." These two sentences are so faulty that the only way to mend them is to rewrite them. They are from a work that professes to teach the "art of speech." Mended: "A minister, noted for his prolixity, once _preached_ before the inmates of a lunatic asylum. By way of illustration he painted a scene in which a man, _who had been_ condemned to be _hanged_, _was_ reprieved under the gallows."

FEMALE. The terms _male_ and _female_ are not unfrequently used where good taste would suggest some other word. For example, we see over the doors of school-houses, "Entrance for males," "Entrance for females." Now bucks and bulls are males as well as boys and men, and cows and sows are females as well as girls and women.

FETCH. See BRING.

FEWER. See LESS.

FINAL COMPLETION. If there were such a thing as a plurality or a series of completions, there would, of course, be such a thing as the _final_ completion; but, as every completion is final, to talk about a _final completion_ is as absurd as it would be to talk about a _final finality_.