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Article NOTES ON ANTIQUARIAN RESEARCH. Page 1 of 6 →
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Notes On Antiquarian Research.
NOTES ON ANTIQUARIAN RESEARCH .
( Continued from page 358 . ) CHAPTER IV . THE OLD "WORDS OF SKARESPEABE * Old "Words demand , as much as Old Books , the attention of the antiquary , for as years advance , new words are coined and old ones cast aside , some useless indeed , but others so expressive and
beautiful that they ought to live . This makes us regard even the alterations in spelling with suspicion , and such words as " favor" and " color" find no favour in our eyes . In this country , abbreviations of every kind are popular , for we find it a labour to spend our breath in words , and do not study conversation , like neighbouring nations , as an art . The great thing seems to be to slur over sentences , and not to preserve language jealously , as a sacred trust .
Though old words pass away from use in polite society , they are not always on that account lost , for many become provincialisms , and pass current in the mouths of honest labourers . These persons , we are ashamed to say , are better guardians of words than ourselves ; they are eminently conservative , and preserve carefully these ancient treasures , which form what a modern author has termed " fossil poetry . "
There are many difficulties in Shakespeare ; in fact , it is possible to gaze but a short way , down those vistas of thought which must have presented themselves to the mind of him who stands alone , as poet and dramatist—in Schlegel's words , " a magician above the world , penetrating with one glance into all the depths and mysteries , and perplexities of human character , and having power to call up into
open day the darkest workings of human passions—the master of reality . " Hallam with truth says : " Of William Shakespeare , whom , through the mouths of those whom he has inspired to body forth the modifications of his immense mind , we seem to know better than any human writer , it may be truly said that we scarce know anything ;" and Trench : "lam sure there are few who would not shrink from
affirming , at least if they at all realized the force of words they were using , that they c comprehended' Shakespeare , however much they may c apprehend' in him . " These are exceedingly just remarks . Every great reader in the present day , and many general readers ,
know perchance as they say they do , " all about Shakespeare "that is , they have read his marriage license bond , discovered in the archives of the Consistorial Court of Worcester , and read his bequest in his will to his wife of " his second-best bed , " and seen his
monument , and walked upon the soil which he trod ; but can they , for all this , better fathom the heaven-born genius of him so ably described by Coleridge as , ixvptovovg , the thousand-souled Shakespeare ? Leaving these questions , we purpose considering some of the old words of Shakespeare which have fallen into disuse , or are obscure , yol . i . 3 II
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Notes On Antiquarian Research.
NOTES ON ANTIQUARIAN RESEARCH .
( Continued from page 358 . ) CHAPTER IV . THE OLD "WORDS OF SKARESPEABE * Old "Words demand , as much as Old Books , the attention of the antiquary , for as years advance , new words are coined and old ones cast aside , some useless indeed , but others so expressive and
beautiful that they ought to live . This makes us regard even the alterations in spelling with suspicion , and such words as " favor" and " color" find no favour in our eyes . In this country , abbreviations of every kind are popular , for we find it a labour to spend our breath in words , and do not study conversation , like neighbouring nations , as an art . The great thing seems to be to slur over sentences , and not to preserve language jealously , as a sacred trust .
Though old words pass away from use in polite society , they are not always on that account lost , for many become provincialisms , and pass current in the mouths of honest labourers . These persons , we are ashamed to say , are better guardians of words than ourselves ; they are eminently conservative , and preserve carefully these ancient treasures , which form what a modern author has termed " fossil poetry . "
There are many difficulties in Shakespeare ; in fact , it is possible to gaze but a short way , down those vistas of thought which must have presented themselves to the mind of him who stands alone , as poet and dramatist—in Schlegel's words , " a magician above the world , penetrating with one glance into all the depths and mysteries , and perplexities of human character , and having power to call up into
open day the darkest workings of human passions—the master of reality . " Hallam with truth says : " Of William Shakespeare , whom , through the mouths of those whom he has inspired to body forth the modifications of his immense mind , we seem to know better than any human writer , it may be truly said that we scarce know anything ;" and Trench : "lam sure there are few who would not shrink from
affirming , at least if they at all realized the force of words they were using , that they c comprehended' Shakespeare , however much they may c apprehend' in him . " These are exceedingly just remarks . Every great reader in the present day , and many general readers ,
know perchance as they say they do , " all about Shakespeare "that is , they have read his marriage license bond , discovered in the archives of the Consistorial Court of Worcester , and read his bequest in his will to his wife of " his second-best bed , " and seen his
monument , and walked upon the soil which he trod ; but can they , for all this , better fathom the heaven-born genius of him so ably described by Coleridge as , ixvptovovg , the thousand-souled Shakespeare ? Leaving these questions , we purpose considering some of the old words of Shakespeare which have fallen into disuse , or are obscure , yol . i . 3 II