ately coined the word, because there was no other in existence to express a particular shade of meaning which he wished to convey. Starvation was first used by Henry Dundas in 1775, in a speech in Parliament, which obtained for him the name of Starvation Dundas. It was supposed to be the only instance of a noun formed by adding the Latin ending -ation to a Saxon root, but flirtation is a similar example. Sculptor, peninsula, suicide, opera, and umbrella, were unknown to the English tongue until the middle of the seventeenth century. Bentley in the last century had to defend himself for using such novelties as repudicte, concede, vernacular, timid, and idiom. Campbell, in his Philosophy of Rhetoric, first published in 1776, marks the following words as so far obsolete as not to be allowable in ordinary prose: tribulation, behest, erewhile, ignore, adroitness, and he hesitates about the following words on account of the newness of their introduction: continental, sentimental, originality, criminality, capability, originate. Suspended Animation of Words. Words frequently pass out of use for a time, and then resume their place in literature again, and this suspended animation of words, followed by a revival and restoration to full activity, is one of the most curious facts in the history of language. The word reckless was in current use until after the beginning of the sixteenth century. It then became so nearly obsolete that Hooker, who used it in 1650, felt obliged to explain it in a marginal note. It has since been revived, and is now thoroughly familiar to every English-speaking person. Abate and abandon, which, after an active existence of some centuries, fell into disuse in the seventeenth century, and were so marked in the dictionary, are now again a part of current English. Kind of New Words to be Avoided. A writer who is careful of the purity of his diction will avoid any new word, no matter how distinguished the author by whom it has been introduced, if it is formed in a manner contrary to the genius of the language. Law of Verbal Formation. One of the laws of verbal formation is that the component parts of a word should be of similar linguistic origin. This rule is violated when a word is made up of two parts, one of which is Saxon, the other Greek or Latin. For example; the termination -ity, which is of Latin origin, corresponds in meaning to the termination -ness, which is Saxon. The Latin ending, therefore, is used in making words from Latin stems, as cavity from cav-us, unity from un-us, purity from pur-us, brevity from brev-is, acidity from acid-us. In like manner, the Saxon ending is used in making words from Saxon stems, as hollow-ness from hollow, one-ness from one, same-ness from same, sour-ness from Bour. Thus also telegraph, telegraphic, telegram are legitimate formations, the various component parts tele, graph, gram, and ic being Greek. But cable-graph and cable-gram are barbarisms, the first part of the compound being from one language, the latter part from another. Ambrotype and electrotype are legitimate, ivory type is barbarous. Mongrel formations of this kind should be avoided. Law of Formation not Universal. The rule given above, in regard to the formation of words, is, however, far from being universal. Thus appositeness is a good word, although formed with a Saxon ending upon a Latin stem. Both Modes of Formation on the Same Stem.-In many cases the same stem gives two words of like meaning, one with a Saxon, the other with a Latin ending, as purity pureness, credibility credibleness. In such cases, the one formed regularly, that is, with stem and ending both from the same source, is generally a better word than the other, as it is in the instance last given, credibility being a better word than credibleness. Safe Plan in Regard to New Words.-The safe plan in regard to new words is not to be in a hurry about using them. A writer has before him, for his selection, such an abundance of words, about which there can be no question, that a case can rarely occur, in which the use of a doubtful word is necessary. We may indeed have occasion to speak of a new invention, or a new idea, for which there is no word but that originating with the invention or the idea itself. In such a case, of course, we need not hesitate about using the new word. But in all ordinary cases, the safest plan for a writer or a speaker is to select only well-known and fully accredited words, in preference either to those which have become partially obsolete and uncurrent, or to those which by reason of the freshness of their coinage are still of doubtful currency. Pope's Rule. The rule is well stated by Pope, in his Essay on Criticism: In words, as fashions, the same rule will hold; Alike fantastic, if too new or old; Be not the first by whom the new are tried, In discussing the subject of purity of diction, I have thus far spoken of words which are wanting in this respect by reason of their being foreign, obsolete, or newly coined. It remains to speak of those which want proper authority. *The student should commit these lines thoroughly to memory. 8. Words without Proper Authority. The Question. What constitutes the Proper Authority for the use of a word? What is the court in the last resort, which determines beyond appeal whether a word is, or is not, good English? The Answer. If a people, by common consent, use a particular word to mean a certain thing, that word is a part of the language of that people. The Dictum of Horace. The dictum of Horace* to this effect has received, I believe, the general assent of the critics, and it may now be considered as a part of the undisputed creed of the learned, namely, that Use is the law of language, whether for single words, grammatical forms, or grammatical constructions. Danger of Misconception.- But the law as thus expressed is liable to many misconceptions. It needs, therefore, some special limitations and definitions, in order to make it practically useful for the purpose of determining, in any particular case, whether a word is right or wrong. Campbell's Essay.- No one has written on this point with more clearness and comprehensiveness than Dr. Campbell, in his Philosophy of Rhetoric, before quoted. His extended chapter on "The Nature and Characters of the USE which gives Law to Language," is exhaustive of the subject, and should be studied by every one who wishes to enter into the matter fully.† The results at which Campbell arrives, and in which all critics since his day have acquiesced, may be summed up as follows: Campbell's Law.-The USE which determines authoritatively whether a word is legitimate must have these three marks: 1. It must be Reputable, or that of educated people, as opposed to that of the ignorant and vulgar. 2. It must be National, as opposed to what is either local or technical. 3. It must be Present, as opposed to what is obsolete. "Usus, Quem penes arbitrium est et jus et norma loquendi."- Hor. De Arte Poet. For the convenience of those readers who may not have access to Campbell's work, an abstract of his argument is given at the end of the present chapter. The only way to ascertain The Way to Find these Marks. that a word has these characters is to find it so used in the majority of writers of good reputation. In all ordinary cases, we refer to a Dictionary, since it is the duty of a lexicographer to ascertain these facts by research, and to mark them in his work. In the best works of this kind, every word that is admitted to a place in the Dictionary is assumed to have these characters, unless the lexicographer distinctly marks the word as being obsolete, vulgar, provincial, technical, etc.; and, in very many cases, passages from authors of reputation are quoted, to show how the word is used. Note. The study of Diction is a necessary incident of every other study. We cannot learn any branch of knowledge without, at the same time, and by the same act, becoming familiar with the words in which that knowledge is conveyed. Still some special study of the subject is desirable; and, to facilitate such a study, the following Exercises have been prepared. The words given below are arranged in lists of ten for mere convenience. They are selected with reference to the question of Purity, under some one or more of the heads now considered, namely, foreign, obsolete, newly coined, without proper authority. To test the better the student's knowledge, and to exercise his judgment, the words are put together promiscuously, and part of them are entirely legitimate. The student will need of course a good Dictionary for preparing himself on these exercises; and if he have access to one of the large quartos, all the better. The points to be considered in regard to a word are the following: 1. Is it a foreign word? If so, has it been thoroughly domesticated as good English? or would its use savor of pedantry? 2. Is it a word which was once in use, but is now obsolete? What was its meaning when it was used? 3. Is it a new word? If so, has it been in use long enough to become legitimate? or would its use be considered doubtful? 4. Is there any irregularity in the formation of the word?—if so, is the irregularity sufficient to condemn it? 5. Is the word vulgar, technical, provincial, or in any way unsuited for com mon use? 6. In every case, give the meaning and the etymology of the word, and the authority on which it is pronounced legitimate or otherwise. 7. Whenever possible, quote Extracts from known authors in illustration of the opinion pronounced. These extracts may be brought in ready written, but the other part of the work should be done in the class-room, in the same manner as any other part of the recitation. The student has a model of what he is to learn and to say, in regard to each word, in what is said of the several words introduced and explained on pages 73, 74. Exercises on Purity of Diction. 1. Cisatlantic, alamode, waitress, exit, plebiscitum, depot, role, ultimatum, mulierosity, aborigines. 2. Gallantness, obloquy, incertain, talkist, resurrected, periculous, moonrise, docible, cockney, alibi. 3. Jeopardize, preventative, orate, memento, née, herbarium, soundness, currentness, boyish, locate. 4. Confutement, civilist, expenseless, peristyle, opaque, populosity, soupçon, finale, blasé, alias. 5. Controversialist, kraal, lapidary, leniency, distingué, feuilleton, protege, verbatim, rendezvous, surtout. 6. Imprimatur, sangfroid, upholstery, traducement, walkist, profaneness, atelier, enthused, thirster, optigraph. 7. Septemfluous, spendthrift, confutant, caviare, underlauded, saleslady, amende, employe, equidistant, terra cotta. 8. Impromptu, pot-pourri, efflorescence, fabulosity, rootfastness, obediential, elocutist, disillusioned, rampage, bookish. 9. Ungallantry, discursiveness, optable, amour propre, residuum, parvenu, vesper, rebus, acrobat, fauteuil. 10. Soidisant, rotatory, mandamus, nom de plume, siesta, curiousness, fashionist, skedaddle, bootless, oppressure. 11. Misaffected, insulse, exorableness, verily, spirituel, casuality, matin, patois, elegy, instanter. 12. Affidavit, conversationist, donate, dilettante, on dit, junta, persiflage, tapis, circumambient, debatement. 13. Disobedientness, optation, chef-d'œuvre, fete, plateau, occidental, avoidance, admonishment, mulish, misdevotion. To the Teacher. 1. If any of the words in the foregoing lists are not to be found in the dictionary to which the student has access, the student should of course be relieved from censure for not being prepared on these particular words. 2. The teacher should make a note of all barbarisms in Diction which he hears in the class, and use such words for additional examples. 3. Exercises of this kind should be continued until a habit of attention to the subject is firmly fixed in the mind of the student. II. PROPRIETY. Difference between Purity and Propriety of Diction.Purity of diction refers simply to the question whether a word is, or is not, in good and current use, as an established part of the language. But another question arises in regard to every word used in discourse. Is the word used correctly in the sentence in which it occurs? The word may be a perfectly good word, and yet it may not express the meaning |