6 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO STUDIES 



"Now you talk like a reasonable child," said Humpty Dumpty, looking very 

 much pleased. "I meant by 'impenetrability' that we've had enough of that 

 subject, and it would be just as well if you'd mention what you mean to do next 

 as I suppose you don't mean to stop here all the rest of your life." 



"That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful 

 tone. 



"When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, 

 "I always pay it extra." 



"Oh!" said Alice. She was too much puzzled to make any other remark. 



"Ah, you should see 'em come round me of a Saturday night," Humpty 

 Dumpty went on, wagging his head gravely from side to side: "for to get their 

 wages, you know." 



(Alice didn't venture to ask what he paid them with; and so you see I can't 

 tell you.) 



"You seem very clever at explaining words, Sir," said Alice. "Would 

 you kindly tell me the meaning of the poem Jabberwocky?" 



"Let's hear it," said Humpty Dumpty. "I can explain all the poems that 

 ever were invented — and a good many that haven't been invented just yet." 



And I, at least, am ready to conclude that herein lies the central 

 explanation of our familiar mastery of words. We make them mean 

 what we want them to mean, quite regardless of their feelings, or 

 family, or natural tendencies or past history. We have acclaimed the 

 declaration made by the president of one of our better known univer- 

 sities that "accuracy is atrophy" and that "a consciousness of ety- 

 mologies rather impedes than helps the full movement of the mind." 

 With the adoption of these tenets we are free to emulate his announce- 

 ment that "the good teacher is now a 'pedotrieb' or 'boy-driver,'" 

 or to startle the classicists with original applications of "banausic." 

 Having climbed the Hill of Presumption we pounce on innocent words, 

 strain them and twist them, rack and rive and maul them. It is no 

 wonder that the fledglings strive to purchase force or felicity by 

 verbal innovations or misapplications, as well as by "extravagance 

 of epithet or intemperance of phrase." My readers could quote 

 countless examples; but I venture to instance one sudden corusca- 

 tion, because the speaker held two degrees from really respectable 

 universities, one of them near the Rockies, the other east of the 

 Alleghanies. The young gentleman was describing the interest 



