ESPERANTO
In the first number of a new volume it may be advisable, for the benefit of those hitherto unacquainted with Esperanto and its ends, to give a brief description of the Second Language for All Nations.
Esperanto in no way aims at displacing any existing national language, but merely seeks to exist side by side with all as a friend in need. The selection of any national language to fulfil this important rôle would, obviously, be impossible, without bestowing great advantage on the nation whose national tongue was thus selected. Hence the need for some neutral medium, as simple as possible. Yet, in addition to simplicity, the Help-Language must be capable of fulfilling all the requirements of the far-reaching needs of modern life. And it is in this direction that the Esperanto star is especially brilliant, for it has been proved by thousands, all the world over, to be admirably adapted for commercial and friendly correspondence, literary work, poetry, and even for scientific research, as well as being particularly valuable for the spoken social and commercial intercourse of nations. This last peculiarity is, in the main, the result of two simple facts: the language uses but the five main continental vowels, A, E, I, O, U (Pa may we go too), which least lend themselves to confusion, and, secondly, the tonic accent of every word falls on the last syllable but one. As only such sounds have been incorporated as are easily rendered by all prominent nations, the happy result is that, no matter to what nationality your interlocutor may belong, his Esperantic address of welcome will be perfectly intelligible to you, and, indeed, you will have difficulty, as often as not, in detecting any "foreign" accent. These advantages, united with the fact that Esperanto is the national language of none, and that all can therefore use it without fear of making themselves ridiculous, are sufficient to give the Second Language for All Nations a just claim to its somewhat grandiose title. Moreover, the remarkable spirit of freemasonry which at present unites the world’s fellow-students adds such a striking and unique charm to the study of the language, that those who have the public spirit to be in the van of a movement more beneficial to mankind than ninety per cent. of so-called philanthropic concerns, rejoice to find that they have chanced upon the most delightful of pastimes.
The system underlying the structure of Esperanto is so scientifically reduced to a minimum that it were even possible to set it forth within the slender limits of this single page, but we will leave the reader to gain his knowledge direct from the able text-books which already exist in almost every European language, from Finnish to Bulgar.[5]
It is rather our purpose to introduce some inducements to the study of this remarkable language. We say remarkable, because, no matter who the student—be he Russian, be he Spaniard—the language fully satisfies him as to its syntax, vocabulary, and uniformity. This fact alone assures Esperanto of the great future which its present state leads the investigator to expect.
But, to return to our main purpose: "Why should our reader join our ranks?" It were well to first inquire what especial pursuits be his. If a scientist, then he must find his world woefully hemmed in by the almost impassable barriers of Babel. Owing to the fact that, year by year, more and more invaluable works are appearing in, say, the to-us-almost-unlearnable Russian, he may be spending precious years on a theory which has long been exploded in the literature of that vast, but little known, land. Yet, had our friend become an Esperantist, and a subscriber to the invaluable Scienca Revuo, he would have saved his time.
But, should our reader not soar so high as science, let him become a regular correspondent with some charming foreign fellow-student, or let him subscribe to some of the many International Gazettes, and he will find his ideas wonderfully broadened by the more exhaustive view he will be able to form of the world in general. Even such apparent trifles as picture postcards, postage stamps, and the like are vastly instructive, and many a volume of enthralling interest might be written about an Esperantist’s postcard album.
But it is to the pocket, alas! that all things must appeal before they can truly achieve success. Let our business man of the Twentieth Century but realise that an international language brings an international market, and he will at once become an Esperantist, and reap the benefit. There is no particle of doubt that a commercial traveller knowing Esperanto possesses many advantages over his competitors.
The writer hopes that these few remarks may serve as an introduction to Esperanto for many future fellow-students. In conclusion, he must candidly confess that, during the two years he has interested himself (somewhat excessively it may be) in the matter, he has had the pleasure of corresponding with thousands of persons, from China to Peru, and of visiting hundreds abroad. He has derived an almost incredible amount of pleasure and information from the one fact that he is, what all should soon be, an Esperantist.
FOOTNOTE:
[5] See Cover for list of principal works.