> “. . . . saying that Gran was "as bad, if not worse, than ever,"
and provoked severe criticism of his English in reply. He had his
revenge, though, for he pelted his Governor with samples of the same
solecism, cut from current literature, till the accumulations became
quite formidable".
>
Excerpt From: William De Morgan. “It Never Can Happen Again.” iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright. Find it free at Gutenberg.org.
Dear Laurie,
I took this clipping from the referenced book, which I am just about to finish. The clipping shows that 'good and bad form' of the English language was debated already around the previous turn of the century, as this book was published in 1909. The author cites an interchange between a father and his son, a student in fifth form at a British school more than a hundred years ago. The father himself is a famed literary man, so he must know! Of course, were I consistent in making such accusations, I would have sent you many such examples taken from my recent readings claiming publishing dates at least another hundred years earlier. I thought the quotes might amuse you, having studied our language in depth. Such debates remind me of one of my early language teachers who pointed out the differences between living and dead languages. I smile, thinking that there could be scholars who point to weaknesses (or mistakes) in the construction of sentences written by Plato or Homer, just two of the many representatives of languages this teacher declared dead, and therefore unalterable, even in most modern usage.
As to the book, I frankly recommend it to you and anyone else who has an open heart to absorb its contents. It is not an amusing tale, even though there are passages where levity alleviates at measured intervals the deep human conflicts it deals with. I frankly admit that it is the first book that was able to stir my emotions the range from spontaneous laughter to bitter tears. The latter, being quite unmanly, could possibly be excused by the emotionally weakened state I find myself in since some time. But such is life, they claim, and this story does just that: it covers life.
Love, Opa
>
Excerpt From: William De Morgan. “It Never Can Happen Again.” iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright. Find it free at Gutenberg.org.
Dear Laurie,
I took this clipping from the referenced book, which I am just about to finish. The clipping shows that 'good and bad form' of the English language was debated already around the previous turn of the century, as this book was published in 1909. The author cites an interchange between a father and his son, a student in fifth form at a British school more than a hundred years ago. The father himself is a famed literary man, so he must know! Of course, were I consistent in making such accusations, I would have sent you many such examples taken from my recent readings claiming publishing dates at least another hundred years earlier. I thought the quotes might amuse you, having studied our language in depth. Such debates remind me of one of my early language teachers who pointed out the differences between living and dead languages. I smile, thinking that there could be scholars who point to weaknesses (or mistakes) in the construction of sentences written by Plato or Homer, just two of the many representatives of languages this teacher declared dead, and therefore unalterable, even in most modern usage.
As to the book, I frankly recommend it to you and anyone else who has an open heart to absorb its contents. It is not an amusing tale, even though there are passages where levity alleviates at measured intervals the deep human conflicts it deals with. I frankly admit that it is the first book that was able to stir my emotions the range from spontaneous laughter to bitter tears. The latter, being quite unmanly, could possibly be excused by the emotionally weakened state I find myself in since some time. But such is life, they claim, and this story does just that: it covers life.
Love, Opa
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