Practical Exercises in English Part 6

21. The ---- of the expedition was impeded by bad roads.

22. ---- in the army is slow.

23. The Don and his companions, in their eager ----, had got entangled in deep glens.

24. My old position offered no hope of ----.

25. His hopes of ---- in England failing, Swift returned to Ireland.

ALLUSION, ILLUSION, DELUSION.

26. There were two ----s in his sermon to the riots.

27. The cleverest, acutest men are often under an (a) ---- about women.

28. Longfellow's "Footsteps of Angels" contains ----s to the death of his wife.

29. Our judgment of people is liable to be warped by ----s of the imagination.

30. Those other words of ---- and folly, Liberty first and Union afterward.

AVOCATION, VOCATION.

31. Surgeons in the army are allowed by the enemy to pursue their ---- unmolested.

32. The young lawyer, surrounded by his law-books, took up his ---- with enthusiasm.

33. Let your base-ball be a pastime, not a trade; let it be your ----, not your ----.

34. Heaven is a pious man's ----, and therefore he counts earthly employments ----s.

35. It seems that after his return, his disciples left him and returned to their ordinary ----s.

COMPLETION, COMPLETENESS.

36. The ---- of the railroad was celebrated by a general illumination in the village.

37. The comfort of pa.s.sengers is secured by the ---- of the equipment of the steamers of this line.

38. We hope for the ---- of our new building by September.

39. We were surprised at the ---- of the collection of minerals.

OBSERVATION, OBSERVANCE.

40. The ---- of a few simple rules of health would have prolonged his life.

41. The North American Indian has great powers of ----.

42. He insisted on the prompt ---- of the regulations.

43. The Pharisees were strict in their ---- of religious festivals.

44. He is arranging for a careful ---- of the eclipse.

PROPOSAL, PROPOSITION.

45. I submit two ----s for consideration by the a.s.sembly.

46. The ---- that each of us relinquish something was accepted.

47. Sealed ----s for building the cottage were handed in by three contractors.

48. He made a ---- of marriage to her.

49. I dissent from that ----.

50. A nation dedicated to the ---- that all men are created equal.

SOLICITUDE, SOLICITATION.

51. He made frequent ---- for money and clothes.

52. My mother watched over my infancy with tender ----.

53. Coriola.n.u.s yielded at the ---- of his mother.

STIMULUS, STIMULANT, STIMULATION.

54. He worked hard under the ---- of a desire to get rich.

55. The providential ---- of conscience is always present.

56. The doctor came and administered a gentle ---- to the patient.

III. ADDITIONAL NOUNS SOMETIMES MISUSED.[31]

ABILITY, CAPACITY.--_Ability_ is the power of doing; _capacity_, the power of containing, of understanding, of acquiring.

ADHERENCE, ADHESION.--_Adherence_ is used of moral relations, _adhesion_, of physical connection. We speak of the _adhesion_ of glue to wood, of a man's _adherence_ to the principles of his party.

AMOUNT, QUANt.i.tY, NUMBER.--_Amount_ means "sum total," and is used of numbers or quant.i.ties; _quant.i.ty_ is used of things which are measured; _number_, of things which are counted.

ARGUMENT, PLEA.--"_Plea_ (in the legal sense) is properly used of the pleadings or the arraignment before a trial, not of the _argument_ at a trial. A _plea_ is always addressed to the court; an _argument_ may be addressed either to the court or to the jury. A similar remark applies to the verbs _plead_ and _argue_."[32]

BALANCE, REST, REMAINDER.--_Balance_, meaning "the difference between two sides of an account," is a commercial term, and cannot properly be used for _rest_ or _remainder. Rest_ is used of persons or things, and of large as well as of small parts. _Remainder_ is used only of things, and denotes a comparatively small part.

CENTRE, MIDDLE.--The _centre_ is a point, or a definite place; the _middle_ is a line, or a s.p.a.ce, and is less definite than _centre_.

CHARACTER, REPUTATION.--_Character_ is what a man is; _reputation_ is the prevailing opinion of his character.

COMPLEMENT, COMPLIMENT.--A _complement_ is a "full quant.i.ty or number" or "that which is needed to complete"; a _compliment_ is "an expression of praise."

CONSCIENCE, CONSCIOUSNESS.--_Conscience_ is that within us which distinguishes right from wrong. _Consciousness_ is the state of being aware of one's existence, thoughts, and surroundings.

COUNCIL, COUNSEL.--A _council_ is "a body of persons convened for consultation." _Counsel_ denotes "advice," or "a person, as a lawyer, engaged to give advice."

CUSTOM, HABIT.--_Custom_ denotes the frequent repet.i.tion of the same act, and may be used of a number of persons taken together. _Habit_ is the effect of custom in a person. _Custom_ is voluntary; _habit_ is involuntary, often uncontrollable, sometimes unconscious.

DECEPTION, DECEIT.--_Deception_ is "the act of deceiving"; _deceit_ is "deceitfulness," a trait of character; or a "trick," an "artifice."

EGOISTS, EGOISM, EGOTISM.--"The disciples of Descartes were _egoists_, the _ego_ being the basis of their philosophy." _Egoism_ is the name of their system. _Egoism_ is sometimes used also in the sense of undue admiration of self, the outward expression of which is _egotism_.

But "_egotism_, in the sense of 'self-wors.h.i.+p,' is preferable to _egoism_, since _egoism_ also designates a system of philosophy."[33]

EMIGRATION, IMMIGRATION.--_Emigration_ is the moving out from a country; _immigration_, the moving into it. Foreigners who come to live in America are _emigrants_ from their fatherland, _immigrants_ to America.

ENORMITY, ENORMOUSNESS.--"_Enormity_ is used of deeds of unusual horror; _enormousness_, of things of unusual size. We speak of the _enormity_ of Caesar Borgia's crimes, of the _enormousness_ of the Rothschilds' wealth."[34]

ESTEEM, ESTIMATE, ESTIMATION.--_Esteem_ as a noun seems to be going out of use; the word now commonly used in the sense of "opinion" or "regard" is _estimation_. An _estimate_ is "an approximate judgment, based on considerations of probability, of the number, amount, magnitude, or position of anything."

FALSITY, FALSENESS.--"_Falsity_, in the sense of 'non-conformity to truth,' without any suggestion of blame, is preferable to _falseness_, since _falseness_ usually implies blame."[35]

IDENt.i.tY, IDENTIFICATION.--_Ident.i.ty_ is "the state of being the same." _Identification_ denotes "the act of determining what a given thing, or who a given person, is."

IMPORT, IMPORTANCE.--_Import_, in the sense of "meaning," must be distinguished from _importance_, "the quality of being important."

INVENTION, DISCOVERY.--We _invent_ something new, contrived or produced for the first time. We _discover_ what existed before, but remained unknown.

LIMIT, LIMITATION.--_Limit_, in the sense of "bound," is preferable to _limitation_, since _limitation_ also means "the act of limiting," or a "restriction."

LOT, NUMBER.--_Lot_ denotes "a distinct part or parcel": as, "The auctioneer sold the goods in ten _lots_." The word does not mean "a great number"; therefore it is improperly used in the sentences: "He has _lots_ of money," and "I know a _lot_ of people in New York."

MAJORITY, PLURALITY.--A _majority_ is more than half the whole number; a _plurality_ is the excess of votes given for one candidate over those given for another, and is not necessarily a _majority_ when there are more than two candidates.