THE LANGUAGE OF SPORT 73 



to understand anything about the causation of disease 

 by microbes. It would be mere muddling and confusion 

 to simply call them all by the same name, simply 

 " blood parasite." That would cause the same sort of 

 confusion as would occur if the Smiths or Browns of our 

 acquaintance had no Christian names by which we can 

 separate each member of the class from the others and 

 assign to him his own special qualities, opinions, and 

 property. What some people call " scientific jargon " 

 is assuredly not a thing to be proud of or to mouth with 

 a sense of superiority. Nevertheless, it is absolutely 

 necessary, and must be introduced gently and consider- 

 ately to the stranger who can and will, if reasonably 

 handled, appreciate the immeasurable advantage of 

 having distinct words to signify distinct things. That, 

 after all, is an elementary feature in all language. And 

 just as the "jargon" of a game, a sport, or a profession 

 has a fascination for those who use it, and forms a bond 

 of union or special understanding between them, so 

 inevitably does the jargon of a branch of science 

 flourish in the thought and on the lips of those who 

 devote themselves to that branch, and bind them in 

 a sort of freemasonry. We do not expect cricketers 

 or golfers to talk in plain English ; why should we 

 expect chemists or naturalists to do so ? After all, it is 

 a question of moderation and of gradually increasing the 

 dose. The beginner must not be terrified by an array 

 of outlandish words. 



30. Rats and the Plague 



Rats ! Who said rats ? That is an important 

 question, because the word means different things to 

 different people. To some persons " rats " means 

 simply " nonsense " ! To Sir James Crichton Browne 

 it means the devastator of stores and the dread carrier 



