"He rushed into the field and foremost fighting fell."

BYRON.

"The stone sunk into his forehead."English Bible.

"He who tumbles from a tower surely has a greater blow than he who slides from a mole-hill."-SOUTH.

DROWSY. SLEEPY. LETHARGIC. DROWSY (A. S. drusian, to be sluggish) and SLEEPY, or inclined to sleep (A.S. slæp, sleep), are almost identical; but drowsiness is a heavy, and often abnormal sleepiness. Persons complain of drowsiness when they wish to keep awake, and say they feel sleepy when it is time to go to rest for the night. An artificial heaviness, produced, for instance, by drugs or an intoxicating draught, would be called drowsiness rather than sleepi

ness.

LETHARGIC, from ethargy (Gr. An@apyía) is always abnormal, supposing some foreign influence, whether used physically of an involuntary and strong tendency to sleep morbidly; or morally, in the sense of insensateness and invincible sluggishness, oblivion, indolence, or indifference.

"Above is perpetual gloom. The sun is not seen, nor the breeze felt. The air stagnates, and pestilential vapours diffuse drowsiness, lassitude, and anxiety."-Adventurer.

"I rather choose to endure the wounds of those darts which envy casteth at novelty, than to go on safely and sleepily in the easy ways of ancient undertakings."-RALEIGH.

"Does Lear walk thus? speak thus ? Either his notion weakens, or his discernings are lethargied."-SHAKESPEARE.

DRUNKENNESS. INTOXICATION. INEBRIATION. INEBRIETY.

DRUNKENNESS is specifically the becoming intoxicated by strong drink, and is used to express both the casual state and the habit.

INTOXICATION (Lat. toxicum, poison, Gr. Tožinov, a poison in which arrows, Tóga, were dipped) includes cases in which the same effect is produced by other causes than drinking, as, for instance, the fumes of tobacco.

INEBRIATION (Lat. inebriare, to make drunk) differs from intoxication in being confined to the results of drinking, and from drunkenness, in de

noting the process or the state, but not the habit. INEBRIETY expresses the state and the habit, but not the process. INTOXICATE lends itself most easily of all to a secondary application; so that a man is said to be intoxicated with success, pleasure, and the like.

"The dissolution and drunkenness of that night was so great and scandalous, in a nation which had not been acquainted with such disorders for many years past, that the King, who still stood in need of the Presbyterian party, which had betrayed all into his hands, for their satisfaction caused a proclamation to be published forbidding the drinking of healths."-LUDLOW, Memoirs.

"King was a name too proud for man to bear

With modesty and meekness; and the crown,

So dazzling in their eyes who set it on, Was sure to intoxicate the brows it bound." COWPER.

"That 'tis good to be drunk once a month, is a common flattery of sensuality, supporting itself upon physick and the healthful effects of inebriation."-BROWN, Vulgar Errors.

"Paroxysms of inebriety." -DARWIN.

DUMB. MUTE. SPEECHLESS. SILENT. VOICELESS. NOISELESS.

DUMB (A. S. dumb, mute) commonly signifies unable to speak, whether from temporary or permanent and natural causes, as "dumb brutes,"

"struck dumb with amazement."

"In the first case the demoniac or madman was dumb; and his dumbness probably arose from the natural turn of his disorder, which was that species of madness called melancholy, of which taciturnity or dumbness is a very common effect."-FARMER.

MUTE (Lat. mūtus, dumb) is commonly employed of the human race, and refers to articulate speech, which for some peculiar reason is temporarily suspended, as, Mute in astonishment,"" In spite of all interrogations he remained mute." Many are mute by nature who are not, strictly speaking, dumb; that is, they have no imperfection of the vocal organs; but, being without the sense of hearing, they have no notion of the sounds which they ought to utter. Poetically, MUTE is used in the sense of dumb, as "mute fishes."

"Hail native Language, that by sinews weak

Didst move my first endeavouring tongue to speak,

And midst imperfect words with childish trips

Half unpronounced, slide through my infant lips,

Driving dumb silence from the portal door Where he had mutely sat two years before." MILTON.

SPEECHLESS (A. S. spác, speech) relates only to articulate sounds, and means destitute or deprived, whether permanently or for a time, of the faculty of speech.

"From his slack hand the garland wreath'd for Eve

Down drop'd, and all the faded roses shed. Speechless he stood and pale, till thus at length,

First to himself, he inward silence broke." MILTON.

SILENT (Lat. silere, to be silent) is very general, and relates to anything characterized by the absence, temporary or permanent, of speech or sound. It is applicable not only to living beings, but to anything producing sound, as a musical instrument," or even to localities, as "the silent woods."

66

"But man is frail, and can but ill sustain
A long immunity from grief and pain.
And after all the joys that plenty leads
With tiptoe step vice silently succeeds."
COWPER.

"The VOICELESS woods" (Fr. voix, Lat. vocem, a voice) would mean the absence of animal sounds, "The NOISELESS woods" (O. Fr. noise, a quarrel, Lat. nausea, disgust, annoyance, BRACHET) the absence of all sounds, whether vocal or otherwise. "The Niobe of nations, there she stands, Childless and crownless in her voiceless

action. DUPLICITY (Lat. duplicitatem, a being double,doubtfulness) of character may lead to DOUBLE-DEALING in particular cases. Duplicity is that sustained form of deception which consists in entertaining one set of feelings, and acting as if influenced by another. Double-dealing is acting in such a way as to have a double line of conduct, and commonly to give the impression of consulting the wishes or interests of others, while one is really following one's own.

"I find in you no false duplicity."— CHAUCER.

"Maskwell in the 'Double-dealer,' discloses by soliloquy that his motive for double-dealing was his passion for Cynthia." -CUMBERLAND.

DURABLE. LASTING. PERMA

NENT. ENDURING. PERSISTENT.

Of these, LASTING (A. S. læstan, 66 to observe, perform, last, remain": SKEAT, Etym. Dict.) is the most general-remaining longer in exis tence, and, by an extension of meaning, remaining long unimpaired. LASTING and DURABLE seem to share between them the moral and physical import of endurance. Durable stone. A lasting friendship. The former too resists wear, the latter survives the lapse of time.

"The ancients depicted friendship in the bearings and strength of a young man, bareheaded, rudely clothed, to signify its activity and lastingness, readiness of action and aptness to do service."-BISHOP TAYLOR.

DURABLE (Lat. durabilis, dūrāre, act. and neut., to harden) is lasting, with specific reference to physical influences; as a "durable material" is one which will bear wear and tear, weather, and the like. That which is not durable perishes quickly.

"A Gothic cathedral raises ideas of grandeur in our minds by its size, its height, its awful obscurity, its strength, its antiquity, and its durability."-BLAIR.

PERMANENT (Lat. permănere, to stay to the end) combines the two ideas of absence of internal and of external change. A permanent monument is not only durable, but it is established so as to remain unmoved. It lasts both in time and place. The opposite to PERMANENT is temporary.

"The earth, great mother of us all, That only seems unmoved and permanent.” SPENSER.

99.66

ENDURING (see DURABLE) is employed of what resists moral influences of deterioration or destruction, as "enduring happiness," an enduring friendship." It involves such ideas as remaining firm under trial, suffering, perhaps, without resistance, but at least without yielding.

"Ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance."-Bible.

PERSISTENT (Lat. persistère, to remain steadfastly) means lasting through native tenacity, and so continuing or lasting in spite of influences which might have been sufficient to destroy natures changeable or less tough. It has a physical character, as a botanical term, in the sense of not falling off until the part which bears it is wholly matured; e.g. the leaves of evergreen plants. In the following it indicates a sustaining will or purpose, as reflected in the expression of the eye itself:

"Modred's narrow foxy face, Heart-hiding smile, and grey, persistent eye." TENNYSON.

The distinction commonly made between these is that DUTY (literally, what is due) rises out of permanent relationships between persons, while OBLIGATION (Lat. obligationem, obligare, to bind) flows from the application of moral principles to particular cases. Obligations in this way would often be duties, while duties would often be based upon obligations. An obligation in its broadest sense is anything which constrains us to act; as, a vow, promise, oath, contract; but is hardly applicable to the coercive power of law, or to such matters as flow from natural piety, as the duty of parents and of children. DUTY is a graver term than OBLIGATION. A duty hardly exists to perform trivial things; but there may be an obligation to do them. It is the duty of peers to attend the queen at the opening of parliament. We should hardly say that to attend in their robes was a duty, though they are obliged to do this. Law and conscience dictate to A man what is his duty, and the

neglect of it is a violation of right or virtue. OBLIGATION is more practical, and is dictated rather by usage and propriety. OBLIGATION has also very often the sense of the power that binds, while DUTY is the thing enforced. A duty never can be against reason; an obligation may be even absurd, as depending upon custom. Obligation is defined by the extent of the power which obliges; duty by the ability of the subject who performs.

"As the will of God is our rule, to inquire what is our duty, or what we are obliged to do, in any instance, is in effect to inquire what is the will of God in that instance, which constantly becomes the whole business of morality."-PALEY.

"The various duties which have now been considered all agree with each other in one common quality, that of being obligatory upon rational and voluntary agents; and they are all enjoined by the same authority, the authority of conscience."-STEWART, Outlines of Moral Philosophy.

EARNEST, orig. a substantive (A. S. eornost, earnestness), is always used in a good sense; and though earnestness may grow into specific eagerness, it by no means implies this. Eagerness relates to the object, earnestness to the occupation, the state or habit. Earnestness is a combination of sincerity and energy. We should say equally of the hypocrite and of the sluggard that he was not in earnest in religion.

"And we may learn hence that the greatest gift of prayer, and earnestness and frequency in it, is no good mark of godli

ness, except it be attended with sincere, constant, and virtuous endeavours." GLANVILL.

EAGERNESS. AVIDITY. GREEDINESS. ACQUISITIVENESS.

EAGERNESS (see above) differs from AVIDITY (Lat. dviditatem, dvidus, greedy), in that the latter implies more of appetite and desire of possession, and is not employed of anything besides matters of enjoyment and such possession; whereas EAGERNESS is applicable to an excited desire to gain ends of other kinds; as, for instance, the young soldier may be eager for opportunities of distinguishing himself, or accept the post of danger with eagerness, where the term AVIDITY would be wholly out of place.

GREEDINESS (A. S. grædig) is a low, animal, or selfish form of desire. Eagerness, as we have seen, may in certain cases be praiseworthy; but AVIDITY and GREEDINESS are always used in an unfavourable sense, though this in some cases is slight, as to seize an opportunity with avidity. It never reaches the coarseness of greediness. "For him, ye gods, for Crastinus, whose

spear

With impious eagerness began the war,
Some more than common punishment pre-
pare."
ROWE, Lucan.

"In all which we may see an infinite avidity, and such as cannot be satisfied with any finite object.". FOTHERBY, Atheomastix.

"To work all uncleanness with greediness."-Bible.

ACQUISITIVENESS (Lat. acquirere, part. acquisitus, to acquire) is an active but milder form of greediness. It is a propensity of which the nature is a love of gain. It does not despise even small gains. It is an animal instinct and may be seen in some animals, as the magpie and the monkey. It is commonly unscrupulous and leads to theft, peculation, and fraud.

It is

a kind of spurious and unprincipled industry. The older force of the word was passive, not active.

"He died not in his acquisitive, but in his native soil."-WOTTON.

EARLY. SOON. BETIMES. EARLY (A. S. ærliche) is used as an adjective as well as an adverb. It

SOON (A. S. sona) indicates always a short interval posterior to any given moment or the present moment, as 66 'soon after sunrise," "I will go soon."

BETIMES (be or bi, and time, the s having been added afterwards, i.e., by time) denotes some space in the early part of which something else is done. It has a practical force, and commonly means in good time for all needful purposes, or for some specific object.

"Samuel began his acquaintance with God early, and continued it long. He began it in his long coats, and continued it to his grey hairs."-BISHOP HALL.

""Tis sooner past, 'tis sooner done,
Than summer's rain or winter's sun;
Most fleeting when it is most dear,
"Tis gone while we but say 'tis here."
CAREW.

"When the first rays their cheering crimson shed,

We'll rise betimes to see the vineyard spread." PARNELL.

EARNEST. PLEDGE.

EARNEST (Welsh ernes) is a word of very uncertain history; so is also PLEDGE (Fr. pleige). As used figuratively, there is some distinction between them. EARNEST is less strong than PLEDGE. After a pledge we expect by personal right; after an earnest we expect by natural sequence. A pledge is some kind of security actually given for the future.

An earnest often involves no more security than that of a high probability. If I say, "I pledge my word that it shall be so," I leave, as it were, a deposit in honour that I will do what I say. If I say, "His early school successes were an earnest of his brilliant career in after life," I mean no more than that they raised expectations which were afterwards fulfilled.

"They (afflictions) may be testimonies or earnests of God's favour; for whom He loves He rebukes and chastens, even as a father a son in whom he delighteth." WILKINS.

"If a pawnbroker receives plate or jewels as a pledge or security for the repayment of

money lent thereon at a day certain, he has them upon the express contract or condition to restore them if the pledger performs his part by redeeming them in due time."-BLACKSTONE.

EASE. QUIET. REST. REPOSE. EASE (Fr. aise) means the absence of any cause of trouble. This may be either internally as regards oneself, or externally as regards what one has to do. Hence the twofold meaning into which the word runs out, of quiet and facility. In the former application EASE is freedom from trouble, pain, or restraint from without or from within. We speak of ease of body or ease of mind; in the latter freedom from difficulty or opposition.

QUIET (Lat. quietem) denotes the absence of a disturbing cause, as, e.g. harassing thoughts or noises, and is inapplicable to the bodies of men.

REST (A. S. restan, to stay, remain; cf. Ger. rasten) denotes primarily the cessation of motion, and, as a particular application of this, the cessation from active or laborious movement.

As a synonym with REPOSE (Fr. repos, from reposer, to rest), it may mean any cessation which is a relief from exertion. We may rest, for instance, in a standing posture; but repose implies the placing of all parts of the body in a posture of rest.

"What joy within these sunless groves, Where lonely Contemplation roves,

To rest in fearless ease!" LANGHORNE. "Secure the sacred quiet of thy mind." DRYDEN, Ovid. "So forth she rode, without repose or rest." SPENSER.

EASE. EASINESS. FACILITY. In the sense in which it is a synonym with these, EASE commonly refers to specific action, EASINESS to inherent quality. "He lifted the heavy weight with ease, being apparently assured beforehand of the eastness of the task."

FACILITY (Lat. facilitātem) is less objective, and more subjective. We speak of ease in reference to the task, of facility in reference to a person's power of performing it; so that by practice and natural strength a man may perform with comparative facility

a task in itself by no means easy. EASE is also more applicable to purely physical undertakings, FACILITY to mental. Ease is opposed to effort, facility to difficulty. The intelligent man solves a problem with facility; the strong man lifts a weight with

ease.

"It must be likewise shown that these parts stand in such a relation to each other that the comparison between them may be easily made, and that the affection of the mind may result from it."-Burke. "Refrain to-night,

And that shall lend a kind of easiness
To the next abstinence.'

SHAKESPEARE. "Some gentlemen are not terrified by the facility with which government has been overturned in France."-BURKE.

EBULLITION. EFFERVESCENCE. FERMENTATION. FERMENT.

EBULLITION (Lat. ebullire, to boil up) is the process of boiling, or the agitation of a liquid owing to the escape of bubbles caused by the conversion of a part of the liquid into

vapour.

EFFERVESCENCE (Lat. effervescere, to boil up or over) is caused by the escape from a fluid of gas, as in the mixture of carbonated alkali and acid.

FERMENT (Lat. fermentum) is the state, FERMENTATION the process of fermenting. When used metaphorically, EBULLITION is employed of sudden bursts of anger or ill-temper. EFFERVESCENCE is used less commonly, but employed of the natural exhibition of liveliness and good spirits. FERMENTATION and FERMENT, of a state of illsuppressed discontent or impatience, and especially among a number of persons. But FERMENT is commonly appropriated to the emotional, and FERMENTATION to the material. Á hive of working bees is in a state of fermentation. It is dangerous to approach if some exciting cause has thrown

them into a ferment.

"There are many young members in the House (such of late has been the rapid succession of public men) who never saw that prodigy Charles Townshend, nor of course know what a ferment he was able to excite in everything by the violent ebullition of his mixed virtues and failings."-BURKE.

"The wild gas, the fixed air is plainly