His style of speaking was exactly what a conventional demagogue's ought not to be. It was pure to austerity; it was stripped of all superfluous ornament. It never gushed or foamed. It never allowed itself to be mastered by passion. The first peculiarity that struck the listener was its superb self-restraint. The orator at his most powerful passages appeared as if he were rather keeping in his strength than taxing it with effort.Justin McCarthy:History of Our Own Time
His style of speaking was exactly what a conventional demagogue's ought not to be. It was pure to austerity; it was stripped of all superfluous ornament. It never gushed or foamed. It never allowed itself to be mastered by passion. The first peculiarity that struck the listener was its superb self-restraint. The orator at his most powerful passages appeared as if he were rather keeping in his strength than taxing it with effort.
Justin McCarthy:History of Our Own Time
In American history the greatest speeches were made by Abraham Lincoln. In Cooper Union, New York, he made in 1860 the most powerful speech against the slave power. TheNew York Tribunethe next day printed this description of his manner.
Mr. Lincoln is one of nature's orators, using his rare powers solely to elucidate and convince, though their inevitable effect is to delight and electrify as well. We present herewith a very full and accurate report of this speech; yet the tones, the gestures, the kindling eye, and the mirth-provoking look defy the reporter's skill. The vast assemblage frequently rang with cheers and shouts of applause, which were prolonged and intensified at the close. No man ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York audience.
Mr. Lincoln is one of nature's orators, using his rare powers solely to elucidate and convince, though their inevitable effect is to delight and electrify as well. We present herewith a very full and accurate report of this speech; yet the tones, the gestures, the kindling eye, and the mirth-provoking look defy the reporter's skill. The vast assemblage frequently rang with cheers and shouts of applause, which were prolonged and intensified at the close. No man ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York audience.
Shakespeare's Advice.Some of the best advice for speakers was written by Shakespeare as long ago as just after 1600, and although it was intended primarily for actors, its precepts are just as applicable to almost any kind of delivered discourse. Every sentence of it is full of significance for a student of speaking. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is airing his opinions about the proper manner of speaking upon the stage.
HAMLET'S SPEECHSpeak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue; but if you mouth it, as many of your players do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand, thus, but use all gently; for in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, whirlwind of your passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness. Oh, it offends me to the soul to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to very rags, to split the ears of the groundlings, who for the most part are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb-shows and noise. I would have such a fellow whipped for o'erdoing Termagant. It out-herods Herod. Pray you, avoid it.Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your tutor. Suit the action to the word, the word to the action; with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature. For anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold, as 't were, the mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure. Now this overdone, or come tardy off, though it make the unskilful laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve; the censure of the which one must in your allowance o'erweigh a whole theater of others. Oh, there be players that I have seen play, and heard others praise, and that highly, not to speak it profanely, that, neither having the accent of Christians nor the gait of Christian, pagan, nor man, have so strutted and bellowed that I have thought some of nature's journeymen had made men and not made them well, they imitated humanity so abominably.Oh, reform it altogether. And let those that play your clowns speak no more than is set down for them; for therebe of them that will themselves laugh, to set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh too, though in the meantime some necessary question of the play be then to be considered. That's villainous, and shows a most pitiful ambition in the fool that uses it. Go make you ready.
HAMLET'S SPEECH
Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue; but if you mouth it, as many of your players do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand, thus, but use all gently; for in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, whirlwind of your passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness. Oh, it offends me to the soul to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to very rags, to split the ears of the groundlings, who for the most part are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb-shows and noise. I would have such a fellow whipped for o'erdoing Termagant. It out-herods Herod. Pray you, avoid it.
Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your tutor. Suit the action to the word, the word to the action; with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature. For anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold, as 't were, the mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure. Now this overdone, or come tardy off, though it make the unskilful laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve; the censure of the which one must in your allowance o'erweigh a whole theater of others. Oh, there be players that I have seen play, and heard others praise, and that highly, not to speak it profanely, that, neither having the accent of Christians nor the gait of Christian, pagan, nor man, have so strutted and bellowed that I have thought some of nature's journeymen had made men and not made them well, they imitated humanity so abominably.
Oh, reform it altogether. And let those that play your clowns speak no more than is set down for them; for therebe of them that will themselves laugh, to set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh too, though in the meantime some necessary question of the play be then to be considered. That's villainous, and shows a most pitiful ambition in the fool that uses it. Go make you ready.
EXERCISES
1. 'Neath our feet broke the brittle bright stubble like chaff.
2. The first sip of love is pleasant; the second, perilous; the third, pestilent.
3. Our ardors are ordered by our enthusiasms.
4. She's positively sick of seeing her soiled, silk, Sunday dress.
5. The rough cough and hiccough plowed me through.
6. She stood at the gate welcoming him in.
7. Five miles meandering with a mazy motion.
8. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers: if Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where is the peck of pickled peppers that Peter Piper picked?
9. Theophilus Thistle, the thistle-sifter, sifted a sieve of unsifted thistles. If Theophilus Thistle, the thistle-sifter, sifted a sieve of unsifted thistles, where is the sieve of unsifted thistles that Theophilus Thistle, the thistle-sifter, sifted?
10.Alone, alone, all, all alone,Alone on a wide, wide sea!
11.The splendor falls on castle walls,And snowy summits old in story.
12.Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrowCreeps in this petty pace from day to dayTo the last syllable of recorded time.
13.The moan of doves in immemorial elms,And murmurings of innumerable bees.
14. The Ladies' Aid ladies were talking about a conversation they had overheard, before the meeting, between a man and his wife.
"They must have been at the Zoo," said Mrs. A.; "because I heard her mention 'a trained deer.'"
"Goodness me!" laughed Mrs. B. "What queer hearing you must have! They were talking about going away, and she said, 'Find out about the train, dear.'"
"Well, did anybody ever!" exclaimed Mrs. C. "I am sure they were talking about musicians, for she said, 'a trained ear,' as distinctly as could be."
The discussion began to warm up, and in the midst of it the lady herself appeared. They carried the case to her promptly, and asked for a settlement.
"Well, well, you do beat all!" she exclaimed, after hearing each one. "I'd been out in the country overnight and was asking my husband if it rained here last night."
15.
Learning condemns beyond the reach of hopeThe careless lips that speak of sŏap for soap;Her edict exiles from her fair abodeThe clownish voice that utters rŏad for road;Less stern to him who calls his coat a cŏat,And steers his boat believing it a bŏat.She pardoned one, our classic city's boast,Who said at Cambridge, mŏst instead of most,But knit her brows and stamped her angry footTo hear a Teacher call a root a rŏot.
Learning condemns beyond the reach of hopeThe careless lips that speak of sŏap for soap;Her edict exiles from her fair abodeThe clownish voice that utters rŏad for road;Less stern to him who calls his coat a cŏat,And steers his boat believing it a bŏat.She pardoned one, our classic city's boast,Who said at Cambridge, mŏst instead of most,But knit her brows and stamped her angry footTo hear a Teacher call a root a rŏot.
16.
Hear the tolling of the bells—Iron bells!What a world of solemn thought their monody compels!In the silence of the night,How we shiver with affrightAt the melancholy menace of their tone!For every sound that floatsFrom the rust within their throatsIs a groan.And the people—ah, the people—They that dwell up in the steeple,All alone,And who, tolling, tolling, tolling,In that muffled monotone,Feel a glory in so rollingOn the human heart a stone—They are neither man nor woman—They are neither brute nor human—They are Ghouls:And their king it is who tolls;And he rolls, rolls, rolls,RollsA Paean from the bells!And his merry bosom swellsWith the paean of the bells!And he dances, and he yells;Keeping time, time, time,In a sort of Runic rhyme,To the paean of the bells—Of the bells.
Hear the tolling of the bells—Iron bells!What a world of solemn thought their monody compels!In the silence of the night,How we shiver with affrightAt the melancholy menace of their tone!For every sound that floatsFrom the rust within their throatsIs a groan.And the people—ah, the people—They that dwell up in the steeple,All alone,And who, tolling, tolling, tolling,In that muffled monotone,Feel a glory in so rollingOn the human heart a stone—They are neither man nor woman—They are neither brute nor human—They are Ghouls:And their king it is who tolls;And he rolls, rolls, rolls,RollsA Paean from the bells!And his merry bosom swellsWith the paean of the bells!And he dances, and he yells;Keeping time, time, time,In a sort of Runic rhyme,To the paean of the bells—Of the bells.
17.
Collecting, projecting,Receding and speeding,And shocking and rocking,And darting and parting.And threading and spreading,And whizzing and hissing,And dripping and skipping,And hitting and splitting,And shining and twining,And rattling and battling,And shaking and quaking,And pouring and roaring,And waving and raving,And tossing and crossing,And flowing and going,And running and stunning,And foaming and roaming,And dinning and spinning,And dropping and hopping,And working and jerking,And guggling and struggling,And heaving and cleaving,And moaning and groaning;And glittering and frittering,And gathering and feathering,And whitening and brightening,And quivering and shivering,And hurrying and skurrying,And thundering and floundering;Dividing and gliding and sliding,And falling and brawling and sprawling,And driving and riving and striving,And sprinkling and twinkling and wrinkling,And sounding and bounding and rounding,And bubbling and troubling and doubling,And grumbling and rumbling and tumbling,And clattering and battering and shattering;Retreating and beating and meeting and sheeting,Delaying and straying and playing and spraying,Advancing and prancing and glancing and dancing,Recoiling, turmoiling and toiling and boiling,And gleaming and streaming and steaming and beaming,And rushing and flushing and brushing and gushing,And flapping and rapping and clapping and slapping,And curling and whirling and purling and twirling,And thumping and plumping and bumping and jumping,And dashing and flashing and splashing and clashing;And so never ending, but always descending,Sounds and motions for ever and ever are blending,All at once and all o'er, with a mighty uproar;And this way the water comes down at Lodore.
Collecting, projecting,Receding and speeding,And shocking and rocking,And darting and parting.And threading and spreading,And whizzing and hissing,And dripping and skipping,And hitting and splitting,And shining and twining,And rattling and battling,And shaking and quaking,And pouring and roaring,And waving and raving,And tossing and crossing,And flowing and going,And running and stunning,And foaming and roaming,And dinning and spinning,And dropping and hopping,And working and jerking,And guggling and struggling,And heaving and cleaving,And moaning and groaning;
And glittering and frittering,And gathering and feathering,And whitening and brightening,And quivering and shivering,And hurrying and skurrying,And thundering and floundering;
Dividing and gliding and sliding,And falling and brawling and sprawling,And driving and riving and striving,And sprinkling and twinkling and wrinkling,And sounding and bounding and rounding,And bubbling and troubling and doubling,And grumbling and rumbling and tumbling,And clattering and battering and shattering;
Retreating and beating and meeting and sheeting,Delaying and straying and playing and spraying,Advancing and prancing and glancing and dancing,Recoiling, turmoiling and toiling and boiling,And gleaming and streaming and steaming and beaming,And rushing and flushing and brushing and gushing,And flapping and rapping and clapping and slapping,And curling and whirling and purling and twirling,And thumping and plumping and bumping and jumping,And dashing and flashing and splashing and clashing;And so never ending, but always descending,Sounds and motions for ever and ever are blending,All at once and all o'er, with a mighty uproar;And this way the water comes down at Lodore.
18.
Sister Susie's sewing shirts for soldiers,Such skill at sewing shirts our shy youngSister Susie shows.Some soldiers send epistlesSay they'd rather sleep in thistlesThan the saucy, soft, short shirts for soldiersSister Susie sews.
Sister Susie's sewing shirts for soldiers,Such skill at sewing shirts our shy youngSister Susie shows.Some soldiers send epistlesSay they'd rather sleep in thistlesThan the saucy, soft, short shirts for soldiersSister Susie sews.
Vocabularies.The collection of words a person can command either in use or understanding is a vocabulary. Every person has three distinct ones: his reading vocabulary, his writing vocabulary, his speaking vocabulary. Of these, the reading vocabulary is the largest. There are thousands of words he recognizes in reading and although he might not be able to construct a dictionary definition for every one, he has a sufficiently clear idea to grasp the meaning. In this rude approximation to sense he is aided by the context, but for all practical purposes he understands the word. If he were writing, carefully taking time to note exactly what he was expressing, he might recall that word and so consciously put it into a sentence. He might use it in exactly the same sense in which he had seen it in print. But never in the rush of ideas and words in spoken discourse would he risk using a word he knew so slightly. If nothing more, he would beware of mispronunciation.
Thus a person could easily deduce from his reading that ahangaris a building to house airplanes. He might—to avoid repeating the wordshedtoo frequently—use it in writing. But until he was absolutely certain of its significance and its sound he would hardly venture to say it to other men.
Spoken discourse is so alive, it moves so rapidly, that it is never so precise, so varied in its choice of words, as written material. The phraseology of written discourse sounds slightly or markedly stilted, bookish, if repeated by the tongue. This difference—though it may appear almost trifling—is apparent to everyone. Its recognition can be partly illustrated by the fact that after President Lowell and Senator Lodge had debated on the topic, the League of Nations, in Boston and were shown the reports of their speeches, each made changes in certain expressions. The version for print and reading is a little more formal than the delivered sentences. The Senator said, "I want" but preferred to write "I wish"; then he changed "has got to be" into "must," and "nothing to see" into "nothing visible."
One might say that all three vocabularies should correspond, but there is no real need of this. So long as people read they will meet thousands of words for which they have no need in speaking. Everybody must be able to understand the masterpieces of the past with their archaic (old-fashioned) words likeeftsoonsorhalidom, but no one need use such expressions now. So there is no discredit in the fact that one's speaking vocabulary is more restricted than his reading vocabulary.
New Ideas, New Words.It is true, however, that an educated person should never rest content with the size of his usable speaking vocabulary. The addition of every new word is likely to indicate the grasp of a new idea. Likewise, every new idea is almost certain to require its individual terms for expression. An enlarging vocabulary is the outwardand visible sign of an inward and intellectual growth. No man's vocabulary can equal the size of a dictionary, the latest of which in English is estimated to contain some 450,000 words. Life may be maintained upon a surprisingly meager group of words, as travelers in foreign lands can testify. Shakespeare's vocabulary is said to have included as many as 15,000 words. Figures for that of the average person vary considerably.
Increasing the Vocabulary.The method of increasing a vocabulary is a quite simple process. Its procedure is a fascinating exercise. It covers four steps. When a new word is encountered it should be noticed with keen attention. If heard, its pronunciation will be fixed upon the ear. If seen, its spelling should be mastered at once. The next step is to consult a dictionary for either spelling or pronunciation. Then all its meanings should be examined. Still the word is not yours until you have used it exactly. This you should do at the first opportunity. If the opportunity seems long in coming make it for yourself by discussing with some one the topic with which it was used or frankly discuss the word itself. How many unfamiliar words have you heard or seen recently? How many do you easily use now in your own remarks? You might find it a good plan to take a linguistic inventory every night. A little practice in this will produce amazingly interesting and profitable results in both use and understanding. A keenness for words will be rapidly developed. Word-lists of all kinds will take on entirely new meanings. A spontaneous receptivity will develop into permanent retention of words and phrases.
EXERCISES
1. Tell of some new word you have added to your vocabulary recently. Explain when you met it, how it happened to impress you, what you learned of it.
2. In studying a foreign language how did you fix in your mind the words which permanently stuck there?
3. Look over a page in a dictionary. Report to the class on some interesting material you find.
4. Make a list of ten slang or technical expressions. Explain them in exact, clear language.
5. Find and bring to class a short printed passage, which because of the words, you cannot understand. Unusual books, women's fashion magazines, technical journals, books of rules for games, financial reports, contain good examples.
6. How much do you know about any of the following words?
7. Comment on the words in the following extracts:
"Of enchanting crimson brocade is the slipover blouse which follows the lines of the French cuirasse. Charmingly simple, this blouse, quite devoid of trimming, achieves smartness by concealing the waistline with five graceful folds."
"The shift bid consists in bidding a suit, of which you have little or nothing, with the ultimate object of transferring later to another declaration, which is perfectly sound. The idea is to keep your adversaries from leading this suit up to your hand, which they will likely avoid doing, thinking that you are strong in it."
"While sentiment is radically bearish on corn there is so little pressure on the market other than from shorts that a majority of traders are inclined to go slow in pressing the selling side on breaks until the situation becomes more clearly defined. The weekly forecast for cool weather is regarded as favorable for husking and shelling, and while there was evening up on the part of the pit operators for the double holiday, some of the larger local professionals went home short expecting a lower opening Tuesday."
8. Make a list of ten new words you have learned recently.
Suffixes and Prefixes. Definite steps for continuous additions can be mapped out and covered. Careful attention to prefixes and suffixes will enlarge the vocabulary.
PREFIXES
1.a= on, in, at, to;abed, aboard, afield, afire
2.ab (a, abs)= from, away;absent, abstract, abdicate
3.ad, etc.= to, in addition to;adapt, admit, adduce
4.ante= before,anteroom, antebellum
5.anti= against, opposite;anticlimax, antipodes, antipathy
6.bi= two;bicycle, biennial, biped, biplane
7.circum= around, about;circumnavigate, circumscribe, circumvent
8.con (col, com, co, cor, etc.)= with, together;consent, collect, coördinate, composite, conspiracy
9.contra (counter)= against;contradict, counteract, countermand
10.de= down, from, away;depose, desist, decapitate, denatured
11.demi, hemi, semi= half;demi-tasse, hemisphere, semiannual, semitransparent
12.di(dis) = twice, double;dissyllable
13.dis(di,dif) = apart, away, not;distract, diverge, diversion, disparage
14.en(em) = in, on, into;engrave, embody, embrace
15.extra= beyond;extraordinary, extravagant
16.hyper= above;hypercritical
17.in(il,im,ir) = in, into, not;inclose, illustrate, irrigate, inform, illiterate, impious, irregular
18.ex(e,ec,ef) = out of, from, beyond, thoroughly, formerly but not now;exclude, excel, ex-senator.
19.inter= between, among;intercede, interchange, interfere, interurban, interlude
20.mis= wrongly, badly;miscalculate, misspell, misadventure
21.mono= one;monoplane
22.per= through, thoroughly, by;perchance, perfect, per-adventure
23.poly= many;polygon, polytheism
24.post= behind, after;postgraduate, post-mortem, postlude,postscript, post-meridian(P.M.)
25.pre= before (in time, place, or order);preëminent, predict, prefer, prefix, prejudge, prejudice
26.preter= beyond;preternatural
27.pro= before, forth, forward;proceed, prosecute
28.pro= siding with;pro-ally
29.re= back, again;recover, renew, recall
30.sub, etc. = under;submerge, subscribe, subterranean, subterfuge
31.super(sur) = over, above;superintend, supercargo
32.trans(tra) = across;translate, transmit, transfer
33.vice(vis) = instead of;vice-president, vice-admiral
SUFFIXES
1.ee,er= one who;absentee,profiteer,mower
2.ard,art= term of disparagement;drunkard,braggart
3.esque= like;statuesque
4.ism= state of being;barbarism,atheism
5.et,let= little;brooklet,bracelet,eaglet
6.ling= little, young;duckling,gosling
7.kin= little;lambkin,Peterkin
8.stead= a place;bedstead,homestead,instead
9.wright= a workman;wheelwright
Thesaurus.Besides frequently consulting a good modern dictionary a student speaker should familiarize himself with aThesaurusof words and phrases. This is a peculiarly useful compilation of expressions according to their meaning relations. A dictionary lists words, then gives their meanings. A Thesaurus arranges meanings, then gives the words that express those ideas. The value of such a book can be best illustrated by explaining its use.
Suppose a speaker is going to attack some principle, some act, some party. He knows that his main theme will be denunciation of something. In the index of a Thesaurus he looks underdenunciation, finding two numbers of paragraphs. Turning to the first he has under his eye a group of words all expressing shades of this idea. There are further references to other related terms. Let us look at the first group, taken from Roget'sThesaurus.
MALEDICTON, curse, imprecation, denunciation, execration, anathema, ban, proscription, excommunication, commination, fulmination.Cursing, scolding, railing, Billingsgate language.V. To curse, accurse, imprecate, scold, rail, execrate.To denounce, proscribe, excommunicate, fulminate.Adj. Cursing, &c., cursed, &c.THREAT, menace, defiance, abuse, commination, intimidation.V. To threaten, menace, defy, fulminate; to intimidate.Adj. Threatening, menacing, minatory, abusive.
MALEDICTON, curse, imprecation, denunciation, execration, anathema, ban, proscription, excommunication, commination, fulmination.
Cursing, scolding, railing, Billingsgate language.
V. To curse, accurse, imprecate, scold, rail, execrate.
To denounce, proscribe, excommunicate, fulminate.
Adj. Cursing, &c., cursed, &c.
THREAT, menace, defiance, abuse, commination, intimidation.
V. To threaten, menace, defy, fulminate; to intimidate.
Adj. Threatening, menacing, minatory, abusive.
The second reference leads us farther. It presents the expressions dealing with the methods and results ofdenunciation, providing hundreds of words and phrases to use in various ways. It does even more, for in a parallel column it gives a list of opposites for the words indicatingcondemnation. This more than doubles its value. Finally having reached the wordpunishmentit lists its cognates until the ideapenaltyis reached, where it balances that idea withrewardand its synonyms. A portion of this section follows.
LAWSUIT, suit, action, cause, trial, litigation.Denunciation, citation, arraignment, persecution, indictment, impeachment, apprehension, arrest, committal, imprisonment.Pleadings, writ, summons, plea, bill, affidavit, &c.Verdict, sentence, judgment, finding, decree, arbitrament, adjudication, award.V. To go to law; to take the law of; to appeal to the law; to join issue; file a bill, file a claim.To denounce, cite, apprehend, arraign, sue, prosecute, bring to trial, indict, attach, distrain, to commit, give in charge or custody; throw into prison.To try, hear a cause, sit in judgment.To pronounce, find, judge, sentence, give judgment; bring in a verdict; doom, to arbitrate, adjudicate, award, report.ACQUITTAL, absolution,seePardon, 918, clearance, discharge, release, reprieve, respite.Exemption from punishment; impunity.V. To acquit, absolve, clear, discharge, release, reprieve, respite.Adj. Acquitted, &c.Uncondemned, unpunished, unchastised.CONDEMNATION, conviction, proscription; death warrant.Attainder, attainment.V. To condemn, convict, cast, find guilty, proscribe.Adj. Condemnatory, &c.PUNISHMENT, chastisement, castigation, correction, chastening, discipline, infliction, etc.
LAWSUIT, suit, action, cause, trial, litigation.
Denunciation, citation, arraignment, persecution, indictment, impeachment, apprehension, arrest, committal, imprisonment.
Pleadings, writ, summons, plea, bill, affidavit, &c.
Verdict, sentence, judgment, finding, decree, arbitrament, adjudication, award.
V. To go to law; to take the law of; to appeal to the law; to join issue; file a bill, file a claim.
To denounce, cite, apprehend, arraign, sue, prosecute, bring to trial, indict, attach, distrain, to commit, give in charge or custody; throw into prison.
To try, hear a cause, sit in judgment.
To pronounce, find, judge, sentence, give judgment; bring in a verdict; doom, to arbitrate, adjudicate, award, report.
ACQUITTAL, absolution,seePardon, 918, clearance, discharge, release, reprieve, respite.
Exemption from punishment; impunity.
V. To acquit, absolve, clear, discharge, release, reprieve, respite.
Adj. Acquitted, &c.
Uncondemned, unpunished, unchastised.
CONDEMNATION, conviction, proscription; death warrant.
Attainder, attainment.
V. To condemn, convict, cast, find guilty, proscribe.
Adj. Condemnatory, &c.
PUNISHMENT, chastisement, castigation, correction, chastening, discipline, infliction, etc.
An observer will see at once just how far these lists go and what must supplement them. They do not define, they do not discriminate, they do not restrict. They are miscellaneous collections. A person must consult the dictionary or refer to some other authority to prevent error or embarrassment in use. For instance, under the entrynewspaperoccurs the attractive wordephemeris. But one should be careful of how and where he uses that word.
Another exercise which will aid in fixing both words and meanings in the mind and also help in the power of recalling them for instant use is to make some kind of word-list according to some principle or scheme. One plan might be to collect all the words dealing with the idea ofbook. Another might be to take someobvious word root and then follow it and other roots added to it through all its forms, meanings, and uses. One might choosetel(distant) andgraph(record) and start withtelegraph.Telephonewill introducephone,phonograph; they will lead on todictaphone,dictagraph; the first half links withdictation; that may lead as far away asdictatorial. In fact there is no limit to the extent, the interest, and the value of these various exercises. The single aim of all of them should be, of course, the enlargement of the speaking vocabulary. Mere curiosities, current slang, far-fetched metaphors, passing foreign phrases, archaisms, obsolete and obsolescent terms, too new coinages, atrocities, should be avoided as a plague.
Consistent, persistent, insistent word-study is of inestimable value to a speaker. And since all people speak, it follows that it would benefit everybody.
EXERCISES
1. Explain what is meant by each entry in the foregoing list.
2. List some verbal curiosities you have met recently. Examples: "Mr. Have-it-your-own-way is the best husband." "He shows a great deal of stick-to-it-iveness."
3. What should be the only condition for using foreign expressions? Can you show how foreign words become naturalized? Cite some foreign words used in speech.
4. Are archaic (old-fashioned), obsolete (discarded), and obsolescent (rapidly disappearing) terms more common in speech or books? Explain and illustrate.
Synonyms.As has already been suggested, a copious vocabulary must not be idle in a person's equipment. He must be able to use it. He must beable to discriminate as to meaning. This power of choosing the exact word results from a study of synonyms. It is a fact that no two words meanexactlythe same thing. No matter how nearly alike the two meanings may appear to be, closer consideration will unfailingly show at least a slight difference of dignity, if nothing more—asredandcrimson,pureandunspotted. Synonyms, then, are groups of words whose meanings are almost the same. These are the words which give so much trouble to learners of our language. A foreigner is told thatstupidmeansdull, yet he is corrected if he saysa stupid knife. Many who learn English as a native tongue fail to comprehend the many delicate shades of differences among synonyms.
In this matter, also, a dictionary goes so far as to list synonyms, and in some cases, actually adds a discussion to define the various limits. For fuller, more careful discrimination a good book of synonyms should be consulted. Except for some general consideration of words which everyone is certain to use or misuse, it is better to consult a treatise on synonyms when need arises than to study it consecutively. In consultation the material will be fixed by instant use. In study it may fade before being employed; it may never be required.
The subjoined paragraphs show entries in two different volumes upon synonyms:
Adjacent, adjoining, contiguous. Adjacent, in Latin,adjiciens, participle ofadjicio, is compounded ofadandjacio, to lie near.Adjoining, as the word implies, signifies being joined together. Contiguous, in Frenchcontigu,Latincontiguus, comes fromcontingo, orconandtango, signifying to touch close.What isadjacentmay be separated altogether by the intervention of some third object; what isadjoiningmust touch in some part; and what iscontiguousmust be fitted to touch entirely on one side. Lands areadjacentto a house or town; fields areadjoiningto each other; and housescontiguousto each other.Crabbe:English Synonyms
Adjacent, adjoining, contiguous. Adjacent, in Latin,adjiciens, participle ofadjicio, is compounded ofadandjacio, to lie near.Adjoining, as the word implies, signifies being joined together. Contiguous, in Frenchcontigu,Latincontiguus, comes fromcontingo, orconandtango, signifying to touch close.
What isadjacentmay be separated altogether by the intervention of some third object; what isadjoiningmust touch in some part; and what iscontiguousmust be fitted to touch entirely on one side. Lands areadjacentto a house or town; fields areadjoiningto each other; and housescontiguousto each other.
Crabbe:English Synonyms
Victory: Synonyms: achievement, advantage, conquest, mastery, success, supremacy, triumph.Victoryis the state resulting from the overcoming of an opponent or opponents in any contest, or from the overcoming of difficulties, obstacles, evils, etc., considered as opponents or enemies. In the latter sense any hard-wonachievement,advantage,orsuccessmay be termed a victory. Inconquestandmasterythere is implied a permanence of state that is not implied invictory.Triumph, originally denoting the public rejoicing in honor of avictory, has come to signify also a peculiarly exultant, complete, and gloriousvictory. Compareconquer. Antonyms: defeat, destruction, disappointment, disaster, failure, frustration, miscarriage, overthrow, retreat, rout.Fernald:English Synonyms, Antonyms and Prepositions
Victory: Synonyms: achievement, advantage, conquest, mastery, success, supremacy, triumph.Victoryis the state resulting from the overcoming of an opponent or opponents in any contest, or from the overcoming of difficulties, obstacles, evils, etc., considered as opponents or enemies. In the latter sense any hard-wonachievement,advantage,orsuccessmay be termed a victory. Inconquestandmasterythere is implied a permanence of state that is not implied invictory.Triumph, originally denoting the public rejoicing in honor of avictory, has come to signify also a peculiarly exultant, complete, and gloriousvictory. Compareconquer. Antonyms: defeat, destruction, disappointment, disaster, failure, frustration, miscarriage, overthrow, retreat, rout.
Fernald:English Synonyms, Antonyms and Prepositions
Antonyms.Notice that this second paragraph adds a new word-list—antonyms. To reinforce the understanding of what a thing is, it is desirable to know what it is not, or what its opposite is. This kind of explanation or description is especially valuable to a speaker. He can frequently impress an audience more definitely by explaining the opposite of what he wants them to apprehend. At times the term is not the extreme opposite; it is merely the negative of theother. Logically the other side ofwhiteisnot white, while the antonym is the extremeblack. Trained speakers use with great effect the principle underlying such groups of words. When Burke argued before the House of Commons for a plan to secure harmony with the American colonies he described the scheme he considered necessary by showing what it should not be. "No partial, narrow, contracted, pinched, occasional system will be at all suitable to such an object." Describing the peace he hoped would be secured he used this principle of opposites. "Not peace through the medium of war; not peace to be hunted through the labyrinth of intricate and endless negotiations, not peace to arise out of universal discord, fomented from principle in all parts of the empire; not peace to depend on the juridical determination of perplexing questions, or the precise marking the shadowy boundaries of a complex government."
We are told by an investigator that one of the reasons for a Frenchman's keen insight into the capabilities of his language is the early training received in schools covering differences among words. This continual weighing of the meaning or the suitability of an expression is bound to result in a delicate appreciation of its value as a means of effective communication. In all mental action the sense of contrast is an especially lively one. In a later chapter this principle, as applied to explanation and argument, will be discussed. Just here, the point is that the constant study of contrasts will sharpen the language sense and rapidly enlarge the vocabulary.
EXERCISES
1. Put down a group of five words having similar meanings. Explain the differences among them.
2. Choose any word. Give its exact opposite.
3. From any short paragraph copy all the nouns. In a parallel column put opposites or contrasts.
4. Do the same for the adjectives, verbs, and adverbs.
5. Write down all the common nouns which correspond toa man,a girl,a leader,a house,a costume,a crime.
Composition of the English Language.Turning now from the means of improving the speaker's language equipment let us pass to some remarks upon his use of words. The English language is the largest, the most varied in the universe. Almost entirely free from difficulties of inflection and conjugation, with a simplified grammar, and a great freedom of construction, it suffers from only two signal drawbacks—its spelling and its pronunciation. While it has preserved to a great degree its original Anglo-Saxon grammar, it has enriched its vocabulary by borrowings from everywhere. Its words have no distinctive forms, so every foreign word can usually be naturalized by a mere change of sound. No matter what their origin, all belong to one family now;gnuis as much English asknew,japanaspogrom,fêteaspapoose,batikasradii,ohmasmarconigram,macadamizedaszoomed. Most of the modern borrowings—as just illustrated—were to serve for new things or ideas. But there was one time when a great reduplication of the vocabulary occurred. After the French conquered England in 1066, English and Norman-Frenchwere spoken side by side. The resultant tongue, composed of both, offered many doubles for the same idea. In some instances the fashionable and aristocratic French word marked a difference of meaning as is clearly indicated by such pairs asbeefandox,vealandcalf, muttonandsheep,porkandpig. In many other cases words of French and English origin are separated by differences less distinct. Such areloveandaffection,worshipandadoration. A speaker must take thought of such groups, and consciously endeavor to use the more appropriate for his purpose.
Anglo-Saxon and Romance.It may help him to remember that the Anglo-Saxon words are the more homely, the closer to our everyday feelings and experiences, the expression of our deepest ideas and sentiments, the natural outspoken response to keen emotion. On the other hand, the Romance words—as they are called, whether from the French or directly from the Latin—are likely to be longer; they belong generally to the more complicated relationships of society and government; they are more intellectual in the sense that they represent the operations of the brain rather than the impulses of the heart. They deal with more highly trained wills, with more abstruse problems; they reason, they argue, they consider; they are philosophical, scientific, legal, historical. Listen to a soldier relate his war experiences. What will his vocabulary be? Listen to a diplomat explaining the League of Nations. What will his vocabulary be? Have you ever heard a speaker who gave you the impression that all his words endedintion? This was because his vocabulary was largely Romance.
The inferences from the foregoing are perfectly plain. Subject and audience will determine to a large extent what kinds of words a speaker will choose. The well-equipped speaker will be master of both kinds; he will draw from either as occasion offers. He will not insult one audience by talking below their intelligence, nor will he bore another by speaking over their heads.
General and Specific Terms.Effective speaking depends to a large extent upon the inclusion of specific terms as contrasted with general terms. "Glittering generalities" never make people listen. They mean nothing because they say too much. Study the following selections to see how the concrete phraseology used makes the material more telling, how it enforces the meaning. Pick out the best expressions and explain why they are better than more general terms. In the first, note how the last sentence drives home the meaning of the first two. Listeners may understand the first two, they remember the last.
Civil and religious liberty in this country can be preserved only through the agency of our political institutions. But those institutions alone will not suffice. It is not the ship so much as the skilful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage.George William Curtis:The Public Duty of Educated Men, 1877
Civil and religious liberty in this country can be preserved only through the agency of our political institutions. But those institutions alone will not suffice. It is not the ship so much as the skilful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage.
George William Curtis:The Public Duty of Educated Men, 1877
Describe the significance of the best expressions in the following speech made in Parliament by Thomas Babington Macaulay.
All those fierce spirits whom you hallooed on to harass us now turn round and begin to worry you. The Orangeman raises his war-whoop; Exeter Hall sets up its bray; Mr. Macneill shudders to see more costly cheer than ever provided for the Priest of Baal at the table of the Queen; and the Protestant operatives of Dublin call for impeachments in exceedingly bad English. But what did you expect? Did you think when, to serve your turn, you called the devil up that it was as easy to lay him as to raise him? Did you think when you went on, session after session, thwarting and reviling those whom you knew to be in the right, and flattering all the worst passions of those whom you knew to be in the wrong, that the day of reckoning would never come? It has come. There you sit, doing penance for the disingenuousness of years.
All those fierce spirits whom you hallooed on to harass us now turn round and begin to worry you. The Orangeman raises his war-whoop; Exeter Hall sets up its bray; Mr. Macneill shudders to see more costly cheer than ever provided for the Priest of Baal at the table of the Queen; and the Protestant operatives of Dublin call for impeachments in exceedingly bad English. But what did you expect? Did you think when, to serve your turn, you called the devil up that it was as easy to lay him as to raise him? Did you think when you went on, session after session, thwarting and reviling those whom you knew to be in the right, and flattering all the worst passions of those whom you knew to be in the wrong, that the day of reckoning would never come? It has come. There you sit, doing penance for the disingenuousness of years.
Why was the style of the extract below especially good for the evident purpose and audience? Why did the author use names for the candidates?
When an American citizen is content with voting merely, he consents to accept what is often a doubtful alternative. His first duty is to help shape the alternative. This, which was formerly less necessary, is now indispensable. In a rural community such as this country was a hundred years-ago, whoever was nominated for office was known to his neighbors, and the consciousness of that knowledge was a conservative influence in determining nominations. But in the local elections of the great cities of today, elections that control taxation and expenditure, the mass of the voters vote in absolute ignorance of the candidates. The citizen who supposes that he does all his duty when he votes, places a premium upon political knavery. Thieves welcome him to the polls and offer him a choice, which he has done nothing to prevent, between Jeremy Diddler and Dick Turpin. Theparty cries for which he is responsible are: "Turpin and Honesty," "Diddler and Reform." And within a few years, as a result of this indifference to the details of public duty, the most powerful politicians in the Empire State of the Union was Jonathan Wild, the Great, the captain of a band of plunderers.George William Curtis:The Public Duty of Educated Men, 1877
When an American citizen is content with voting merely, he consents to accept what is often a doubtful alternative. His first duty is to help shape the alternative. This, which was formerly less necessary, is now indispensable. In a rural community such as this country was a hundred years-ago, whoever was nominated for office was known to his neighbors, and the consciousness of that knowledge was a conservative influence in determining nominations. But in the local elections of the great cities of today, elections that control taxation and expenditure, the mass of the voters vote in absolute ignorance of the candidates. The citizen who supposes that he does all his duty when he votes, places a premium upon political knavery. Thieves welcome him to the polls and offer him a choice, which he has done nothing to prevent, between Jeremy Diddler and Dick Turpin. Theparty cries for which he is responsible are: "Turpin and Honesty," "Diddler and Reform." And within a few years, as a result of this indifference to the details of public duty, the most powerful politicians in the Empire State of the Union was Jonathan Wild, the Great, the captain of a band of plunderers.
George William Curtis:The Public Duty of Educated Men, 1877
Appropriate Diction.The final test of any diction is its appropriateness. The man who talks of dignified things as he would of a baseball game—unless he is doing it deliberately for humor, caricature, or burlesque—is ruining his own cause. The man who discusses trifles in the style of philosophy makes himself an egregious bore. As Shakespeare said, "Suit the action to the word, the word to the action; with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature."
Beware of the flowery expression; avoid metaphorical speech; flee from the lure of the overwrought style. In the first place it is so old-fashioned that audiences suspect it at once. It fails to move them. It may plunge its user into ridiculous failure. In the excitement of spontaneous composition a man sometimes takes risks. He may—as Pitt is reported to have said he did—throw himself into a sentence and trust to God Almighty to get him out. But a beginner had better walk before he tries to soar. If he speaks surely rather than amazingly his results will be better. The temptation to leave the ground is ever present in speaking.
A Parliamentary debater describing the Church of England wound up in a flowery conclusion thus:"I see the Church of England rising in the land, with one foot firmly planted in the soil, the other stretched toward Heaven!"
An American orator discussing the character of Washington discharged the following.