Notorious, illustrious, renowned, wellell-} Famous.

9. Anonyms. In defining words, and distinguishing between different shades of the same meaning, we sometimes stumble upon a notion that is not expressed by any single English word. Such notions have no names, and may therefore be called anonyms.

10. How to find Anonyms.-Differences of meaning often spring from differences of degree in the same quality. A good many qualities, such as bravery, humility, may be treated as being means between extremes of excess or defect. Too much bravery may be called rashness, the extreme of excess;' too little may be called cowardice, the 'extreme of defect.' And so of humility.

It will be good practice to arrange a number of words in this way. But we shall soon find that among these words there are some which cannot be arranged in complete triplets. One or more of the three terms cannot be inserted, not having any name. Thus, virtuous anger against ill-doing, which we call resentment, may on the side of excess become relentlessness, but we have no name to express the defect.

Sometimes we may have one of the extremes given us in order to determine the corresponding extreme and the mean. Thus, if we have given us fickleness, reserve, and ambition:

Where we can find no names for the extreme or mean, we can sometimes fill up the vacancy with some foreign word. But even where we cannot do this, it is useful as well as interesting to note what qualities (very often faults or virtues) have not been recognized by the national language as sufficiently common or important to deserve names.

It may be also noticed that language is deficient in those terms which express the mean or average. The extremes strike us, and therefore gain priority in naming. Thus we have no one word to denote the mean between swift and slow, big and little, clever and dull, deep and shallow. Hence the word denoting excess is generally used to denote the average. Thus the word magnitude is used for size, and even qualified by "smallest" in-

This pendent world in bigness2 as a star
Of smallest magnitude close by the moon.

1 Sometimes, emulation.

Milton, P. L., II. 1053.

? Words ending in -ness are rarely used in this sense to denote an average. We say speed, not swiftness; magnitude, not greatness or bigness; ability, not cleverness; depth, not deepness,

Exercises.

(1) Give the extremes of patient, just, industrious, dignified, lively, ornate, peaceable, sober, simplicity, faithful, gentle, natural (applied to style), forcible (applied to style), cheerful, conscientious, tasteful, judicious, self-respect, straightforward, meek.

(2) Give the other extreme, and the mean of: sly, meddlesome, impetuous, covetous, pedantic, mean, inquisitive, parsimonious, coarse, cruel, selfish, credulous, reserved, avarice, suspicious, passionate, childish, impudent, quarrelsome, hypocrisy.

11. Generalizing. To increase one's vocabulary does not always imply increasing the number of one's notions. The technical words of a railway engineer-for example, such as sleeper, shunt, etc.-may express objects or actions that we have often previously noticed. Similarly, to be able to distinguish between a flock of sheep or birds, a herd of oxen or swine, a covey of partridges, and a swarm of flies, need not be intellectually improving. But to learn the meanings and uses of more general words, especially those that represent the operations of the mind, is often accompanied by another kind of learning: we gain new notions at the same time with the new words. Thus we are all in the habit of using the words sight, hearing, taste, etc., denoting the several faculties of sense particularly, but not many use the general word sensation, and for want of this word many do not grasp the notion. The same may be said of such words as substance, incorporeal, art, science, culture, literature, politics, government. Of these words many persons never succeed in grasping the meaning.

Instead of these general or abstract terms, they take some

particular or concrete term that is included in the general term, and they substitute this imperfect meaning for the reality. Thus, many, whenever they use the word science, think of some one of those sciences which are called "natural," associating the word with "chemistry" or "botany," and they are consequently quite unprepared for such an expression as "the science of philology or psychology." It will therefore be a valuable exercise to perform the reverse process to that which we have been describing above, and to generalize as well as to define. In generalizing, we take away (abstract) that which is peculiar to the individual, and leave that which is common to the class (genus), or general. Thus motion round our own planet is peculiar to the moon. Abstract that, and what remains is motion round any planet, which gives us the generic term "satellite," including Saturn's moons as well as ours.

Examples.-Moon is included in (1) satellites: satellites in (2) planets: planets in (3) heavenly bodies. Weight (1) the attraction of the earth; (2) the attraction of every particle of matter by every other; (3) laws of nature. A circle is included in (1) conic sections; (2) curves; (3) figures; (4) lines. Corn, (1) vegetable; (2) product. Sword, (1) weapon; (2) instrument. County-court, (1) judicature; (2) institution. Policeman, (1) executive; (2) government. A shilling, (1) money; (2) currency.

Another kind of generalizing consists in giving a name to some quality common to two or three objects. Thus "the quality of giving light" is common to a lamp and the sun. We might try to express it by bright. But a looking-glass is bright, and yet does not give light of its own, like the sun. We therefore require another word. We might invent "light