the conduct or disposition to those of barbarous (Lat. barbarus) savages (Fr. sauvage, Lat. silvaticus)__and brutes (Lat. brūtus, irrational). These terms therefore are only analogous expressions, and might be taken, as they often are, to express other qualities, or to qualify other conditions-as barbarous rudeness, savage manners, brutal ignorance. BARBAROUS and SAVAGE are epithets of manners primarily, and of disposition secondarily; BRUTAL and CRUEL of disposition primarily, and of conduct secondarily; and indeed are hardly applicable to the manners of a community, though they may well be predicated of customs or habits. As the barbarous bears relation to the civilized, we could never speak of the inferior animals as barbarous, yet we speak of them as savage or cruel. In this way the savage is a wild form of cruelty, as the barbarous is a rude, and the brutal an unfeeling form of it. Hence cruelty itself may be characterized as barbarous, savage, or brutal, according to the nature and exhibition of it. The same act may be the result of either barbarity or cruelty, and often an act is called cruel, which ought rather to be called barbarous. The exposure of infants to death is a barbarous act, but has been a custom of some nations, publicly sanctioned and not dictated by cruelty-in some cases by State policy, and in some by peculiar notions of humanity. The barbarous, inhuman, and brutal, can only be said of men; the cruel and savage of beasts as well. Barbarity inflicts death unworthily, cruelty delights in witnessing its infliction. African tribes barbarously put their captives to death, when a civilized people would have spared them; cruelly, when they aggravate the pain of death; savagely, when they dance round their victims in wild glee. The Greeks called all nations barbarians, as counting them inferior to themselves in arts and refinement of manners. Barbarity comes from ignorance consequent upon the want of development of the moral faculties, cruelty from inherent badness, savagery from excessive wildness of tem

perament.

BARE. MERE.

BARE (A. S. bær, bare, open ) 18 sometimes used in a restrictive sense in the sense of no more than, and as a synonym of MERE (Lat. merus, simple, pure); as we might say either the bare necessaries, or the mere necessaries of life. But the force of BARE is sometimes positive, so that MERE is more suitably followed grammatically by some term expressive of negation, while BARE is best construed with an affirmative sentence; as, the bare recital of such a tale would move to tears; the mere shedding of tears is an imperfect compassion. BARE is purely restrictive; MERE is used when the restriction is matter of insufficiency or incompleteness. Thus, if I wished to say that a thing was no better than foolishness, I should say that it was mere folly, not bare folly. On the other hand, if I wished to express an insufficiency, not in quality but quantity, I should say the amount was barely, not merely, sufficient.

So in the following examples, "barely as a man means not also "as a gentleman ; ""merely conjec

tural" means no better than conjectural—that is, not ascertained.

"The study of morality I have above mentioned as that that becomes a gentleman, not barely as a man, but in order to his business as a gentleman."-LOCKE.

"As for the rest of the planets their uses are to us unknown, or merely conjectural."-RAY.

BARREN. UNPRODUCTIVE.

BARREN (O. Fr. baraigne) points rather to the nature, UNPRODUCTIVE (Lat. producere, to bring forth) to the condition. The rock is barren, the field untilled and neglected is unproductive. The desert would not be called unproductive, but barren. Barren, too, does not admit so easily as

which would only be exercised by persons who had no social standing. A low act is one worthy only of a low profession. Yet a man in a low rank of life may entertain sentiments and exhibit a character worthy of a higher. The epithet low is expressive of such petty dishonesties or meannesses as are unworthy of persons who have even a moderate degree of self-respect. What is base excites our abhorrence, as contradicting all loftiness and generosity of name.g. treachery and ingratitude. What is vile excites disgust, as the gaining of a living by the trade of the informer. What is mean excites pure contempt, as prevarication, cringing flattery,niggardliness. Meanness is associated with a dishonourable regard to self-preservation or self-interest; baseness with a dishonourable treatment of others. We feel more hatred and resentment against the base, we loathe the vile, and despise the mean. Low habits indicate a kind of hopeless meanness, depravity, and dishonourabieness, the result of an essential incapacity of what is high, pure, noble, generous, or refined. The opposite of lowness is loftiness; of baseness, magnanimity; of vileness, nobility; and of meanness, generosity in feeling and liberality in treatment.

"Yet sometimes nations will decline so low From virtue." MILTON.

"Si ingratum dixeris omnia dicens,' says the Latin maxim: 'If you call a man ungrateful, you have called him everything that is base. You need say nothing more."BEATTIE.

Though we caress dogs, we borrow from them an appellation of the most despicable kind when we employ terms of reproach; and this appellation is the common mark of the last vileness and contempt in every language."-BURKE.

"There is hardly a spirit upon earth so mean and contracted as to centre all regards on its own interest, exclusive of the rest of mankind."-BERKELEY.

The state of the ABJECT (Lat. abjicere, part. abjectus, to cast away) is one of profound humiliation. Men are low in place or character, vile in the opinion of others, mean in conduct and disposition, base in a profound badness, abject in feeling and

under the weight of circumstances. The abject is rejected of fortune and of men. An abject sentiment is one in which honour and self-respect have been thrown away-one past sensibility and uttered without blushing. Abject superstition is of the lowest kind. The man who is in an abject condition has ceased to think of the opinions of others, under the feeling that others have ceased to think of him. He is at once in degradation and in isolation. The mean, the vile, and the abject have to some extent parted with their independence and are despised, but men in power may do base things, and may be dreaded without being at all despised.

"There needs no more be said to extol the excellence and power of his wit, than that it was of magnitude enough to cover a world of very great faults-that is, a narrowness in his nature to the lowest degree, an abjectness and want of courage, an insinuating and servile flattery."-CUMBERLAND. BASIS. FOUNDATION. GRound. BASE.

BASIS (Lat. basis, Gr. Báoss, that on which a thing stands or moves) and BASE (Fr. bas) are used interchangeably; but while BASIS always means the part on which a structure rests, BASE means what approximates to this, The or the lower part generally basis of a column is that on which it rests. This, strictly speaking, is hidden from view. On the other hand its base is an architectural feature of it. BASE is not commonly used in a figurative sense, which is the case with BASIS as when we hear of matters being set upon a surer basis.

"Every plague that can infest Society, and that saps and worms the base Of th' edifice that policy has raised." COWPER.

"This university had in the conclusion of the last century, the honour of giving birth to a stupendous system of philosophy erected by its disciple Newton on the immovable basis of experiment and demonstration."-PORTEUS.

FOUNDATION (Lat.fundationem) and GROUND (A.S.grund) speak for themselves. In architecture FOUNDATION is employed of large and complex structures. Figuratively we use BASIS 85 that on which rest the proceedings of

thought, argument, or the transactions ofmen, as being the principles on which they are conducted-as the basis of a conception, a conviction, of reasoning, of traffic, of negotiation, and so on. GROUND expresses the warrant or substantial cause, as the ground of belief, feeling, action. So we speak of groundless fears, suspicions, jealousies, meaning imaginary; grounds of legal proceedings and the like. FOUNDATION belongs more peculiarly to matters of belief, feelings, hopes, and the like, rather than matters of practice, in reference to which we use the term GROUND OF BASIS. In many cases they might be used interchangeably, as we speak of groundless or unfounded clamours. In their figurative employment in regard to human interchange of argumentation or business, BASIS is the more conventional, FOUNDATION the more deeply seated. We may say that the basis of a transaction is the proposition on which it is grounded, and which furnishes its principle and the end towards which it is conducted. It is necessary that this basis should itself rest on sure and solid foundations of fact or policy, sound and recognized. A hypothesis may be assumed as the basis of our reasoning, and confirmed by facts harmonizing with it; but hypothesis is generally an insecure basis of action.

"From thence I draw the most comfortable assurances of the future vigour and the ample resources of this great misrepresented country, and can never prevail on myself to make complaints which have no cause in order to raise hopes which have no founda

tion."-BURKE.

BASHFUL. MODEST. DIFFIDENT. CoY. RESERVED. SHY.

BASHFULNESS is a constitutional feeling, MODESTY a virtue, DIFFIDENCE, except in specific cases where it is grounded on self-knowledge, an infirmity. BASHFULNESS (to abash, from O. Fr. esbahir, to astonish) is excessive or extreme modesty. It is an instinctive, almost animal sensation, though involving intelligence. It is not unbecoming in young persons of either sex, especially in the presence of elders or superiors. It betrays if in a look of self-conscious

timidity, and in grown-up persons is a defect amounting to a mental disease. It would be hard to define bashfulness, especially as it is undefined in those who are subject to it. Bashfulness is best honoured by overcoming the manifestations and not despising the emotion of it.

"Our orators, with the most faulty bashfulness, seem impressed rather with an awe of their audience than with a just respect for the truths they are about to deliver. They of all professions seem the most bashful who have the greatest right to glory in their commission."-GOLDSMITH.

MODESTY (Lat. modestiam) is the absence of all tendency to over-estimate one's self, while diffidence (Lat. diffidentia) is the positive distrust of ourselves.

"Modesty is a kind of shame or bashfulness proceeding from the sense a man has of his own defects, compared with the perfections of him whom he comes before."SOUTH.

"There is a degree of pain in modest diffidence, but it is amply recompensed by the glow of satisfaction derived from the favourable opinions of others, and by the encouragement thus inspired, that the deficiency is not so great as was apprehended, or too great to be surmounted."-COGAN.

Modesty is one of those virtues which may be regarded as lying in a mean, the mean between diffidence and presumption. Modesty is in some respects very unlike diffidence, for though inclined to claim less than his due, and to accord more than their due to others, the modest man is not deterred from such efforts in the struggle of life as are needful to do justice to himself, while diffidence, it it be a habit of the disposition, leads to positive injustice to one's self, and one's own powers. We may remark that the word DIFFIDENT was formerly used sometimes objectively, and as synonymous with distrustful of, doubtful of

Cox (O. Fr. coi, orig. coit; Lat. quietus) is a term expressive of the reserve of youthful modesty. It is that maidenly reserve in particular, which combines a shrinking shyness with the absence of dislike or displeasure, and may even receive ad vances with a timid satisfaction.

SHY (? A.S. Sceoh, askew, perverse, connected with the German scheu, timorous) is a term of more comprehensive import. Shyness is never a virtue. It is in some of the lower animals an instinctive feeling answering purposes of self-preservation. It is therefore allied to fear and suspicion. It is a tendency to avoid, arising out of ignorant distrust, a feeling of the absence of the ease which comes from familiarity. Hence habituation to the unfamiliar presence is its natural remedy, and may even lead to the opposite extreme. The child

which begins by being shy will sometimes go on to be over-bold. Yet in grown-up persons it assumes a character somewhat different, and the element of one's sensitiveness or self-consciousness is superadded. Hence, so far from being equivalent to modesty, it is often in no small degree the result of a kind of pride, involved in the fear of not appearing to advantage.

RESERVE (Fr. réserve, literally, a holding back) is sometimes a proud, always a calculating shyness. It belongs to those who are more completely masters of themselves. It is only in its extremes that reserve is a faultthat is, when it approaches too nearly to shyness on one side, or pride on the other. We mean no disparagement when we speak of a dignified or prudent reserve. Reserve is a keeping of one's self, whether sufficiently or too much, within bounds of demeanour; where it is of the mind, it is more premeditated; where of the temperament, more involuntary.

"Men have a shyness and jealousy against such truths as they have not been acquainted with."-MORE.

"Where is that ancient seriousness and reservedness and modesty that heretofore has been thought not only essential to the spirit of a Christian, but natural to the temper of an Englishman ?"-SHARP.

BATTLE. COMBAT. ENGAGEMENT. ACTION.

BATTLE (F1. bataille) is a generic term. As an act, fighting, like the term fight (which is, however, of

less dignity), refers to the physical contests of individuals, of small parties, and of large armies. In any case it is suggestive of such fighting as involves an issue of importance, whether it be a matter of personal right or political struggle. In old times personal claims were sometimes decided by wager of battle. Persevering, independent, and resolute men will do battle for what they believe a righteous cause. Battle is strenuous and sustained resistance, with a view to the conquest or destruction of an opposing party, even though it should be a beast and not a man.

"The Scipios battlea, and the Gracchi DYER. spoke."

COMBAT (O.F.combatre) is used with a more direct reference to the reciprocal trial of strength, and is employed of small parties or of individuals, as the combat of the Horatii and Curratii. A combat is a close hand-to-hand encounter, and draws attention to the characteristic qualities of the parties, the weapons they use, or the rules under which they fight. A combat is a spectacle to those looking on. A combat may be a portion of a battle, as in a general battle two combatants may single out each other. The verb combat is used directly of the object of the struggle when it is used in a secon⚫ dary sense. The astute reasoner combats his opponent's position generally, or his arguments in detail.

"What had I T'oppose against such powerful arguments? Only my love of thee held long debate And combated in silence all these reasons With hard contest." MILTON.

A fight may be accidental; a combat is prearranged; a fight does not imply of necessity the use of weapons; a combat does.

ENGAGEMENT (O. F. engager, to pledge) and ACTION (Lat. actionem) stand to the battle or the combat as the process of the thing to the thing itself. Engagement is a favourite term for naval fights, and action is not used of personal encounters. AcTION is a wider term than ENGAGEMENT; the latter being the former so far as it refers only to the struggle with the enemy. The verb ENGAGE