"WORDS."

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 141, 12 June 1909, Page 2

"WORDS."

-LECTURE BY MR JUSTICE COOPER. . >

His Honor Mr Justice Cooper delivered one of the,, most interesting lectures in Wesley Hall lasV evening on the use of words that has been heard for many years in Blenheim, and it is doubtful if ever the like has been listened to before in this town. Mr R. McCallum, Chairman of the High School Board of Governors, presided. ' Mr Justice Cooper, .in ■ commencing his address, asked: — What is it that distinguishes man from the brute beast? The development of articulate speech. There is, indeed, among the lower animals an inarticulate form of speech, that -is to say, these animals have the faculty of communicating one with another by sounds which appear to convey to them certain meanings. And attempts have of late years been made to reduce these sounds into the form of some • kind of language, as for instance the attempt to resolve an articulate language from the chattering of monkeys, or from the varying tones or gradations in the bark ,of a dog, etc., and these, it has been claimed, have been proved to indicate a rational method of communication between animals of their own kind. It has been said that, as a dog can often understand * what his master says to him, it is more than probable that he can much better understand what a fellow dog means by a certain bark.' Physically, it has also been said, between the language of man and the language of animals the difference is but one of degree; that " the faculty of speech lies in brain and larynx, and that the superiority of man consists but in the greater de- * velopment of brain and larynx, and that articulate language is but the production of ages of progressive evolutionary processes. • For myself, I think that the gulf between the most intelligent of the animals —as distinguished from man— and man is too deep and wide to be | bridged by the law of evolution, and that connected reason, intelligent thought and speech in man is due to the existence in him of the spirit of God, that "vital spark of heavenly flame" which we call "soul." Nevertheless, although I believe language has a divine origin, it is itself governed by a law of evolution. Humboldt has well said, "One must not consider a language as a product dead and formed but once. It is an animate being, and ever creative. Human thought elaborates itself with the "progress of intelligence; and or this thought, language is a manifestation. An idiom cannot remain stationary; it walks, it develops, it - grows up, it fortifies itself. As a nation progresses in wisdom -. and knowledge, retaining at the same time its virtue and virility, so does its language advance, becoming, as ' Dean. French has stated, "noble, harmonious and clear." It responds, and is adapted to "clearness of mental vision, to strength and to harmony, and exhibits itself in the "nobility of utterance in those who have gradually formed and shaped it to express their inmost life and being." If a nation loses through vice or luxury, or from any other cause, its virtue' and virility, it becomes degraded from its former high state, and, indubitably, its language, its :: literature suffers, and in like manner enters upon a process of decrepitude and degradation, until, as has sometimes happened, there comes again js. reaction, a restoration of the old national tone, the influx of a nobler spirit, and then the new impulse-is manifested in the regained purity of its-4iteTature,. its language and its | tbbught. j And it follows therefore that the moral tone of a community is ' reflected in its language and literature. Schlegel, in his " History of Literature," has emphasised the necessity of preserving the purity of the national language. "The care," he says, "of the national language I consider at all times a sacred trust. . . . Every man of education should make it the object of his unceasing concern to preserve his language pure and en-* tire, to speak it, so far as in his ] power, in all its beauty and perfection. A nation whose language becomes rude and barbarous, must be j on the brink of barbarism in regard to everything else. A nation which allows her language to go to ruin is parting with the best half of her intellectual independence, and testifies her willingness to cease to exist." Before passing to the immediate subject upon which I propose to address you this evening, I wish, therefore, to impress upon all of you, and especially • upon the youths and maidens who are qualifying themselves under pur national system of " education to take a worthy part in the future of this Dominion, the necessity for preserving purity of thought and language. To do this you must study the great writers" in our English literature; you must strive to obtain a correct knowledge of our language, to avoid that degradation of thought and expression which is found in much of our present' literature. To quote again from Dean French: "The love of our own language, what is it, in fact, but the love of" our country expressing itself in one particular direction? If the great acts of that nation to which we belong are precious to us, if we feel ourselves made greater by their greatness, summoned to a nobler life by the nobleness of Englishmen" — and, I add, Scotsmen, Irishmen and Welshmen, who have all enriched our literature—"who have already lived and died, and have bequeathed to us a name which must not by us be made less, what exploits of theirs can well be nobler, what can more clearly point out their native land and ours as having fulfilled a glorious past, as being destined for a glorious future, than that they should have acquired for themselves and for those who come after them a clear, a strong, an harmonious, a noble language." This is our heritage; and while with advancing knowledge fresh demands are continually being made upon our language, while it is continuously developing, expanding, and being moulded to meet these new demands, may we all—young and old—strive to preserve its nobility, its strength and its purity, and show ourselves, for the sake of our descendants, worthy of the trust which is vested in us. The English language, a language which is common to all of us, is a composite language. ,It is like a tree, upon the stock of which lias been ; grafted many varieties. Its stock is Anglo-Saxon, but ingrafted upon it and becoming part of it are words from the Latin and the Greek, some Hebrew and Arabic, a few Turkish, some Hindoo words, some Persian, and it has borrowed largely from the more modern European languages— French, Italian, Spanish, etc. Roughly speaking, 60 per cent, of our words are Anglo-Saxon in their origin, some 30 per ceat- Latin (including those \

borrowed from the Italian, Spanish and French, which are themselves largely founded upon Latin); about 5 pei" pent, are of, Greek origin, and the oth&r 5 per cent, from other languages. My authority for, this statement is Deari; French, ; ■ .:■;>,!, '_ - Nowjj it is obvioxis, that embalmed in the EnglislV language•;& mtieh of Jiisidry,' poetry j philosophy and romance, and I purpoie^ to use an etymological haninier, and by breaking open some of the words to illustrate the richness, and to disclose some of this history, poetry, philosophy and romance. A writer on philosophy has in better language than I can use, said: "Medals of the mind we may call 'words. -And as the medals of creation from the geologic world reveal the workings of creative energy and the successive developments of the divine idea, so words present a humanitary geology where histories, philosophies and ethics lie embodied and embalmed. But this is a spiritual geology, its strata built up of the rich deposits of mind. With passionate fervour man pours himself on nature. An irrepressible longing to express his secret sense of his unity wth nature possesses him; and from the consciousness of this, all plastic and aglow, rush words, infinitely free, rich and varied, laden with pathos and power, with pasion, poetry, humour and thought. To quote again from Schegel: In language all the principal powers have a nearly equal part and share. The grammatical structure is furnished by the reason. From the fancy, on the other hand, is derived whatever is figurative; and how far does this not reach, extending into the primary and natural significance of words, which often no longer exists, or at least is rarely fo'&eeable? And so also that deep spiritual significance, that characteristic meaning, which, in the original stem-syllable and radical words of some rich old language, invariably is regarded as a beauty, must be ascribed to the understanding, which so profoundly seizes and precisely designates whatever is peculiar, unless, perhaps, it is preferred to assign it to an immediate feeling which wonderfully harmonises with or responds to it." ■.Dr. Thewell, in his "Philosophy of the Inductive Scjences," says: "The most familiar words and phrases are connected by imperceptible ties with the reasonings and discoveries of former men and distant times. When one counts his wealth he finds he has in his hands coins which bear the image and superscription of ancient and modern intellectual dynasties, and that in. virtue of this possession acquisitions are in his power which none could ever have attained to, if it were not that the gold, of truth once dug out of the mine circulates more and more widely among mankind."

And now for a few illustrations of the history, romance and poetry and philosophy of words. I will commence with the history concealed within a few words connected with the Government of the British Empire. Its constitutional head is the King of England. The word "king" j is but the modern form of the AngloSaxon "cuning" or "cyning," and in its origin meant a wise man, indeed, the most able, the wjgest and most powerful man. When, in the development of society, the family became merged in the tribe, and the tribe in the nation, it'was necessary in order to conserve the interests of the nation that tl% best man, should be chosen as its leader. Originally, and certainly among the Teutonic nations, the man Avas elected because of his wisdom, valour and strength, and he was called the king, the "cunning," or wise and powerful man, and this term. has been retained in our language as denoting this head of the State. All the kings of England have not been "cunning" or wise men, ' bxit our present Sovereign is undoubtedly a king in the true sense of the term. The emblems of his sovereignty are his diadem or crown and his "sceptre." The "diadem" is the "diadema," originally a woollen fillet which in early times the "king" bound around his brows to distinguish him from the other chief men; the "sceptre" was but a willow wand denoting his authority. The "throne" means merely the "chair" or "sfcool" on which the king sat. When we hark back to the original meaning of these four words we get a picture of patriarchal times when the wisest man in" the nation, distinguished only by his woollen fillet and willow wand, controlled in primitive simplicity the affairs of his country. The Emperors of Russia and Germany are known respectively as the Tsar, or Czar, and Kaiser. These are the Romanised and Germanised forms of "Csesar," the family name of the first Emperor of Rome. The executive Government is administered by the "Cabinet," a word which owes its origin to those times when the King personally, selected his Ministers and the ymet in the King's closet or cabinet. There is the word "cabal," which has become a part of the English language, and which was formed from the initial letters of five English statesmen who some 200 years ago associated themselves for the object of secretly governing England. There is a- whole chapter of English history enshrined in this word. The word "Parliament" means simply "a speaking place." It has not by any means lost its meaning. Sometimes we call it the Senate. The root of that word is "senex," an old man; wisdom was supposed to be the attribute of old men. ; The word "Senate" has in these days lost much of its original meaning. There is the word "alderman," which is the term commonly used in England to denote the members of the council of a city. It is practically a pure Anglo-Saxon word "ealdorman," meaning an elder man, a man of mature experience and wisdom. We have no "aldermen" in New Zealand. Our councillors are but city or borough councillors, and age is by no means a necessary qualification. The majof of a city or

borough, and the magistrate and justices of the peace are officially designated- %Youj- Worship." This is an appropriate title. It also is an Anglo-, Saxon ■ word,>-the original form was "wortliTship,'';j,ln Saxon days every man Av'&isj vajue'd at a certain amount, and' this aiixount was his worth-ship; ( and gradually the word came to mean; a responsible man, a man of standing in the community. While on matters of State I may mention a few other words which enforce curious historical facts. The revenue derived from the collection of taxes, and especially of Customs dues, is called "fiscal." It is derived from the Latin word "fiscus," the wicker basket in which was collected the revenue of the State. Customs revenue is regulated by the Customs tariff. The origin of tariff is the Moorish name tarifa, for a fortress on the shores of the Straits of Gibraltar. From this fort the Moors were accustomed to watch sailing-ships passing in and out of the Mediterranean and to sally forth and levy duty on the merchandise carried by the ships. This word "tarif" therefore opens out a chapter in the history of Spain. | There are many words which, when etymologically examined, give us an interesting glimpse into ancient his- ! tory. I will refer to a very few. "Hypocrite," "sycophant," "sardonic," "salary," philippic," "rival," | "pecuniary" and "simony" are m- ! stances. Hypocrite is from the Greek. It originally meant an actor. The aifcient Greek theatres were of such a size that -it was necessary to make the players by artificial means of an unnatural size. As a rule they also wore immense masks, and increased with a trumpet hidden within the mask the power of their voices. They were dissemblers, feigners. Hence the word has come to mean one who, feigning vktues he does not possess, masks his true character. "Sycophant" is also a Greek word. It meant a "fig-shower," one who informed on persons who plundered the sacred fig-trees of Attica, and it gradually was applied generally _to mean persons who by informing against or slandering their neighbours, carried favour with those m power. "Sardonic" —you have heard the expressions a "sardonic countenance" or a "sardonic laugh"—is derived from sardonian, which in turn comes from the word Sardinia. In Sardinia in very ancient times there was but one poisonous herb lesembling .parsley, and which, it was said, caused those who ate it to ,die laughing. The term sardonian laughter is used iii this connection in the Odyssey. "Salary" has a curious history. Its root is "sal, the Latin word for salt. Salarium was original salt money; it then came to mean money for a journey, and later on it acquired the meaning which salary now possesses. In the early days of the Roman republic the soldiers, it is said, actually received a part of their pay in salt. It is singular how, colloquially, the original meaning of the word has survived., It is%till a common expression among' us that an idle or incompetent person is not worth his salt. "Philipj pic," a word in common use, origin- ; ated from the speech made by Demosthenes against Philip of Macedon, hence short sharp attacks by speech or writing upon a person are called philippics. "Rival" is from the Latin rivalis, pertaining to a rivus, a stream or rivulet. "Rivales" meant those who had a brook in common, or who got water from the same brook. We know how Lot's herdmen quarrelled with those of Abram tinder similar circumstances, and this was also the case in Italy. The rrvales became nuarrelsome. They disputed over the water, and each sought to get the better of the other; hence the meaning which we now attach to "rivals.", "Pecuniary" is another word. Its root is the Latin "pecunia," which is derived in its turn *rom "pecus," cattle. _ Cattle. were in pastoral times the insignia of wealth, , and therefore we have "pecunia" wealth, and "pecuniary value in money. "Simony," the ecclesiastical offence of trafficking in benefices, owes its meaning to the attempt by Simon Magus to piirchase from St. Peter the gifts of divination and healing. I have already mentioned that a I large percentage of English words are Anglo-Saxon in their origin. They are usually words which denote common objects.. Such words as ox, sheep, calf, deer, are Anglo-Saxon. But the terms beef, mutton, veal and venison are Norman-French, and illustrate the history of the NormanConquest. The living animal was usually tended by the Saxon clort, but was killed for meat by the Norman conqueror, and to this day the distinction between the name of the living animal and its flesh when killed for food remains, marking the op- j pression of the Norman over the j Saxon, before the ultimate fusion of ! the two races. The word "curfew" is another instance of Norman rule. ■It was originally couvre feu, "cover up your fire," and indicated the law introduced by William the Conqueror under which, at the tolling of the curfew bell, the common people were required to retire at eight o'clock in the evening. j There are many words still in common use which originated in the middle ages. I have time to 'mention but one or two. The word i "bankrupt," a word not unknown in ; New Zealand, literally means_ a i broken bench. It is from an Italian • word which has the same meaning. In mediaeval times money-changers j carried on their business, particularly jin Lombardy, in the open streets I upon benches. Hence the word ; "bank." When, as sometimes happened, the money-changer failed, Hs bench was broken, be was "bankrupt." Nowadays bankruptcy is not confined to money-changers or bankers. But we still say, when a bank suspends payment, such-and-such a bank is broken. Here, again, we get an interesting glimpse into the comI mercial history of the past. The ! word "saunter" dates back to the crusades. Many idle persons took advantage of the crusades to leave their responsibilities at home and go to the Holy Land—"saunt terre"— hence "to saunter" came to denote idling, wandering about without any fixed or meritorious purpose. Later on men who wished to avoid payment of their debts or the consequences of their wrong-doing very often left for foreign parts, usually the Levant. Hence the terms "levanter" and "levanting," which are still in common use. (To be continued.)