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And in the days of Addison it was written as a contract, that is, with a dot after it. But let him speak for himself*: "It is perhaps this humour of speaking no more words than we needs must, which has so miserably curtailed some of our words, that in familiar writings and conversation they often lose all but their first syllables, as in mob., red., pos., incog., and the like; and as all ridiculous words make their first entry into a language by familiar phrases, I dare not answer for these that they will not in time be looked upon as a part of our tongue!"

Two old Grecian words read us an instructive history. 'HYPOCRITE' and 'SYCOPHANT' namely. Let us lay open these words and see what treasures they will display. 'HYPOCRITE' is written Hypocrites in Greek, and in its usual application implied a stageplayer, an actor †-hence one who feigns a part, hence a dissembler, a 'hypocrite.' But this application of the word is placed in a much clearer light when we consider for a moment certain peculiarities of the Grecian stage. From the immense extent of the ancient theatres it was necessary, in order to avoid a ludicrous disproportion, to make the players-the hypocrites-by artificial means, of a supernatural size. And as their rôles belonged chiefly to an antique and heroic age-'mid an atmosphere of stillness and repose-they were the more readily able to effect this. Thus they increased by a hidden trumpet, the power and volume of their voices and they were generally masked: so that they were in a double and still more comprehensive and comprehensible sense, feigners;, and our acceptation of 'HYPOCRITE' acquires from the genesis of the word increased point and pungency.

* Spectator.

† Our verb to 'act' is often used in the sense of feigning, pretending.

Of 'SYCOPHANT' the history is exceedingly curious. In Greece a Sycophantes-sycophant-meant a fig-shower -that is one who gave information of persons exporting figs from Attica, or plundering sacred fig-trees; and as such offices always carry something opprobrious with them and are eminently exposed to abuse, it soon acquired the signification of a common informer, a false accuser, a slanderer, a mean parasite. And even 'PARASITE' which I see I have just chanced to use flashes across the mind an interesting piece of history. The composition of the term would indicate that it meant originally one who took his corn (sitos) with another and so lived at the other's expense. But as this privilege was, among such characters, generally paid for by obsequious flattery and buffoonery, it

readily acquired the odious signification in which we now employ it.

Often, too, dwells there in some quaint old word a fund of legendary lore, at which the imagination takes flight, bearing us back to the fairy scenes of old bygone days. 'FOXGLOVE,' for example, which is just the folk's glove that is, the good folk's glove-the 'GOOD PEOPLE' being the affectionate name by which the fairies were known to our simple-minded ancestors, and by which they are still designated by the Irish peasantry. We meet with the same idea in the Welsh maneg ellyllon-which is also the fairies' glove.

"Delightedly dwells he 'mong fays and talismans,
And spirits!"

'WITCH' and 'WIZARD,' too, let us into the weird phantasies of a superstitious people. For both of these words are from the Saxon verb to know-wissen -simply signifying, therefore, a wise person that is, one whom they esteemed to be supernaturally wise.

'ROSICRUCIAN' is a word that smells of the Alchemical alembic. The composition is ros, dew, and crux (crucis), the cross. Now the Rosicrucians those Hermetical philosophers who appeared in Germany in the Seventeenth Century-affected a know

ledge of the Philosopher's Stone and other chemical arcana: so that the name is peculiarly applicable to them-dew being according to their notions the most powerful solvent of gold, and the cross being the emblem of light. Cabalistic enough!

Poor Luna, too, has had to suffer her own share of odium. Not to mention the thousand fantastic tricks formerly ascribed to her such as her disobliging dealings with meats and men-with what infinite contempt do we talk about 'MOONSHINE;' and it is to be feared that not even advancing civilization will wholly rid us of belief in all moony influences, since we have the superstition firmly rooted in the very groundwork of our language. Witness 'LUNATIC;' also the alchemical 'MENSTRUUM' (mensis-a month); and, by the way, 'MONTH' itself is just the time in which it moon-eth.*

How often do we speak of our 'COMRADES,' and yet how seldom do we think of the allusion we continually make in doing so. The French form of this word is camarade; Portuguese and Spanish camarada; Italian camerata. Now this close analogy is clearly significant of the common origin of these words; and in fact, we do indeed find that the root of them all is the Latin camera, a chamber: a 'comrade' is therefore, originally, just a chamber-fellow. It seems strange why the English should have corrupted this word, while in all the cognate languages it remains pure. And, indeed, we find that formerly the word was not • comrade,' but camarade. In Evelyn, for instance, I find the following:

* The steps are just these: mooneth-moneth-month. Chaucer will furnish examples of the middle step. Thus

"This monethes two."

Canterbury Tales.

"These are the particular idioms and graceful confidences now in use; introduced, I conceive, at first by some camerades one with another; but is mean and rude."

Character of England.

This, indeed, is one of the most important functions of words: that they report and describe themselves, and in their simple composition, ofttimes tell us more than do the Encyclopædias. Words thus become a complete catalogue raisonnée of all thoughts and things; and while they are crystalized poetries and philosophies, they are at the same time important scientific organs and instruments.

The 'RUBY,' for instance, says plainly that it is red-ruber; and so 'RUBRIC' tells of the red paint with which titles of laws were first painted. The 'NEGRO' carries black on the very face of him, 'AUBURN' is

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