It is easy to see why das kind (the child) is neuter, but under the ordinary view of the rise of grammatic gender, it is not easy to see why, in modern German, der leib (body) should be masculine, and das weib (woman, wife) of the same gender as the child—why die liebe (love) should be feminine, and der friede (peace) masculine. In German, the genders are incongruous, in English they are congruous, the masculine and feminine being correlatives, with correlative relations to the neuter also, and by dropping the false nomenclature of the German genders, we may be able to get a more philosophic view of them as they now exist, independently of the Old High German system of gender and declension, which accounts for their later condition.
If we adopt strong for the German masculine gender, there would be nothing gained if the feminine were called weak, but with the first as strong, the second as soft, and the third as dull, we would have three terms which do not suggest correlation or sex, and we might see nothing irrational in the fact that man might be of the strong, and woman of the dull gender; and that peace might be strong, and love soft.
Of the strong gender are mann, dieb, freund, mord, mund, hase (of energetic action), aal, salm, fisch, tisch ([Greek: diskos]), käse (CASEUS), schnee, klei, stock, fink (a strong-billed bird), apfel (naturally harsh), stahl, stiefel, schuh, strumpf, fusz, keil, bart, baum, daum, dorn,[27] punkt, stich, beginn, rubin, diamant, klump, kummer, verstand, name, tag, halm (a rough material), floh, krebs, skorpion, hummer, hals, fels, saft, bau, rath, werth, zoll, flusz, Rhein, raub, acker, bogen.
Of the soft gender are birne, hand, historie (Lat. -IA), liebe, hoffnung, wohnung, stadt, burg (implying also jurisdiction), sonne, gluth, milch, rahm, amsel, drossel, butter, feder, gans, maus, ratte, luft, frucht, nacht, macht (as if personified), armuth, kraft, furcht, kunst, haut, frau, wurst, schnur, bahn, marsch, welt.
Of the dull gender are weib, grab, brod,[28] blei, eisen, gold, silber, zinn, (but der zink,) geld, feld, land, vieh, pferd (the type being agricultural), rind, joch, pech, haar, auge, bein, dorf, ding, mensch, mädchen, volk, hirn, leben, wort, buch, gesetz, herz, gemach, loth, glück, werk, beil, messer, schwert, glas, fenster, feuer, licht, wetter, wasser, bier, malz, kraut, lamm, ei, haupt, kalb, loch.
FOOTNOTES:
[24] Such italics for English words are no part of the original.
[25] This mode of indicating words is used to avoid corrupting the text with italics.
[26] As this essay is passing through the press, I add the following examples, which are all in print.
Der charter, deed (legal), humbug, lunch or lunsch, ein delikater Saurkraut-Lunch. Revenuetarif, crowd, fight, molasses, Select-Council, crop (fem. with Miss Bahn). Im Juli—schreit der Whipper-will.
Die jail, legislatur, Grandjury or grand Jury, ward (of a city), lane, toll, gate, pike or peik, bill (legislative), Cornetband or Cornet Band, eine grosze Box (of medicine), gefängniszbox, platform, manufactory, shelfing, counter.