“Francis had recently entered the House of Commons, and had already established a character there for industry and ability. He labored indeed under one most unfortunate defect, want of fluency. But he occasionally expressed himself with a dignity and energy worthy of the greatest orators. Before he had been many days in Parliament, he incurred the bitter dislike of Pitt, who constantly treated him with as much asperity as the laws of debate would allow. Neither lapse of years nor change of scene had mitigated the enmities which Francis had brought back from the East. After his usual fashion, he mistook his malevolence for virtue, nursed it, as preachers tell us we ought to nurse our good dispositions, and paraded it, on all occasions, with Pharisaical ostentation.”
In the two brief paragraphs given, there are, among others, the following words of more than passing interest:
1. Vehement. This word is derived from two Latin words, meaning to carry and the mind; hence a vehement speech is one that is supposed to carry the mind away by force. We use the word furious when we wish to speak of anger or other passions, but the word vehement when we speak of zeal, love, expression. In this paragraph the Opposition was loud and tried to carry the minds of others by force.
2. Formidable. Synonyms of formidable are dreadful, terrible and shocking, yet it is rarely the case that two words are exact synonyms. In this case, formidable means something that excites fear, but it is neither sudden nor violent in its action. A dreadful thing would excite fear or dread, and might act violently, but not suddenly. A shocking thing would startle us because it was both violent and sudden. Does formidable appear to be the right word by which to characterize the Opposition?
3. Influence. This word is derived from two Latin words which mean flowing over, and consequently an influence brings about change by gradual process. There is no idea of right in the word influence as there is in the word authority. Does it seem that influence is the right word here?
4. Talents. The history of this word is an interesting one. In origin it is Greek, and there it was the name of a weight, which in silver had a certain money value. The same word appearing in Hebrew had a similar meaning. A Hebrew talent in silver would be worth something over seventeen or nineteen hundred dollars of our money. In the New Testament (see Matthew XXV, 14 to 30), Christ utters the parable of the talents. We now use the word to mean intellectual ability or capacity, or skill in accomplishing things, or some special gift in some art or science. It is probable that this figurative meaning of the word has originated from the parable, and although many writers have criticised the use of talent in our sense, it has become well established in the language.
5. Odious. The Latin word from which odious is derived means hatred. An odious thing is a thing to be hated. Our word odium differs slightly in use from our word hatred. We exercise hatred, but we endure odium.
6. Desire. The origin of this word is not certain, but it was probably derived from the French words which mean literally from the stars or constellations.
7. Immense. This word is derived from two Latin words which mean cannot be measured.
8. Coalition. The two Latin words from which coalition is derived mean to grow with; consequently, a coalition is a thing composed of several elements which have grown together. We should not expect a coalition to be suddenly formed; it must come about by process of growth.