Part 27

SARCASM. Bain says that sarcasm is vituperation softened in the outward expression by the arts and figures of disguise--epigram, innuendo, irony--and embellished with the figures of illustration. Crabb says that sarcasm is the indulgence only of personal resentment, and is never justifiable.

SATIRE. The holding up to ridicule of the follies and weaknesses of mankind, by way of rebuke, is called satire. Satire is general rather than individual, its object being the reformation of abuses. A lampoon, which has been defined as a personal satire, attacks the individual rather than his fault, and is intended to injure rather than to reform.

Said Sheridan: "Satires and lampoons on particular people circulate more by giving copies in confidence to the friends of the parties than by printing them."

SAW. The imperfect tense of the verb to see is carelessly used by good writers and speakers when they should use the perfect; thus, "I never saw anything like it before," when the meaning intended is, "I have never [in all my life] seen anything like it before [until now]." We say properly, "I never saw anything like it when I was in Paris"; but, when the period of time referred to extends to the time when the statement is made, it must be have seen. Like mistakes are made in the use of other verbs, but they are hardly as common; yet we often hear such expressions as, "I was never in Philadelphia," "I never went to the theatre in my life," instead of have been in Philadelphia, and have gone to the theatre.

SECTION. The use of this word for region, neighborhood, vicinity, part (of the town or country), is said to be a Westernism. A section is a division of the public lands containing six hundred and forty acres.

SEEM--APPEAR. Graham, in his "English Synonymes," says of these two words: "What seems is in the mind; what appears is external. Things appear as they present themselves to the eye; they seem as they are represented to the mind. Things appear good or bad, as far as we can judge by our senses. Things seem right or wrong as we determine by reflection. Perception and sensation have to do with appearing; reflection and comparison, with seeming. When things are not what they appear, our senses are deceived; when things are not what they seem, our judgment is at fault."

"No man had ever a greater power over himself, or was less the man he seemed to be, which shortly after appeared to everybody, when he cared less to keep on the mask."--Clarendon.

SELDOM OR EVER. This phrase should be "seldom if ever," or "seldom or never."

SERAPHIM. This is the plural of seraph. "One of the seraphim." "To Thee cherubim and seraphim continually do cry." See CHERUBIM.

SET--SIT. The former of these two verbs is often incorrectly used for the latter. To set; imperfect tense, set; participles, setting, set. To sit; imperfect tense, sat; participles, sitting, sat. To set means to put, to place, to plant; to put in any place, condition, state, or posture. We say, to set about, to set against, to set out, to set going, to set apart, to set aside, to set down (to put in writing). To sit means to rest on the lower part of the body, to repose on a seat, to perch, as a bird, etc. We say, "Sit up," i. e., rise from lying to sitting; "We will sit up," i. e., will not go to bed; "Sit down," i. e., place yourself on a seat. We sit a horse and we sit for a portrait. Garments sit well or otherwise. Congress sits, so does a court. "I have sat up long enough." "I have set it on the table." We set down figures, but we sit down on the ground. We set a hen, and a hen sits on eggs. We should say, therefore, "as cross as a sitting [not, as a setting] hen."

SETTLE. This word is often inelegantly, if not incorrectly, used for pay. We pay our way, pay our fare, pay our hotel-bills, and the like. See, also, LOCATE.

SHALL AND WILL. The nice distinctions that should be made between these two auxiliaries are, in some parts of the English-speaking world, often disregarded, and that, too, by persons of high culture. The proper use of shall and will can much better be learned from example than from precept. Many persons who use them, and also should and would, with well-nigh unerring correctness, do so unconsciously; it is simply habit with them, and they, though their culture may be limited, will receive a sort of verbal shock from Biddy's inquiry, "Will I put the kettle on, ma'am?" when your Irish or Scotch countess would not be in the least disturbed by it.

SHALL, in an affirmative sentence, in the first person, and WILL in the second and third persons, merely announce future action. Thus, "I shall go to town to-morrow." "I shall not; I shall wait for better weather." "We shall be glad to see you." "I shall soon be twenty." "We shall set out early, and shall try to arrive by noon." "You will be pleased." "You will soon be twenty." "You will find him honest." "He will go with us."

SHALL, in an affirmative sentence, in the second and third persons, announces the speaker's intention to control. Thus, "You shall hear me out." "You shall go, sick or well." "He shall be my heir." "They shall go, whether they want to go or not."

WILL, in the first person, expresses a promise, announces the speaker's intention to control, proclaims a determination. Thus, "I will [I promise to] assist you." "I will [I am determined to] have my right." "We will [we promise to] come to you in the morning."

SHALL, in an interrogative sentence, in the first and third persons, consults the will or judgment of another; in the second person, it inquires concerning the intention or future action of another. Thus, "Shall I go with you?" "When shall we see you again?" "When shall I receive it?" "When shall I get well?" "When shall we get there?" "Shall he come with us?" "Shall you demand indemnity?" "Shall you go to town to-morrow?" "What shall you do about it?"

WILL, in an interrogative sentence, in the second person, asks concerning the wish, and, in the third person, concerning the purpose or future action of others. Thus, "Will you have an apple?" "Will you go with me to my uncle's?" "Will he be of the party?" "Will they be willing to receive us?" "When will he be here?"

Will can not be used interrogatively in the first person singular or plural. We can not say, "Will I go?" "Will I help you?" "Will I be late?" "Will we get there in time?" "Will we see you again soon?"

Official courtesy, in order to avoid the semblance of compulsion, conveys its commands in the you-will form instead of the strictly grammatical you-shall form. It says, for example, "You will proceed to Key West, where you will find further instructions awaiting you."

A clever writer on the use of shall and will says that whatever concerns one's beliefs, hopes, fears, likes, or dislikes, can not be expressed in conjunction with I will. Are there no exceptions to this rule? If I say, "I think I shall go to Philadelphia to-morrow," I convey the impression that my going depends upon circumstances beyond my control; but if I say, "I think I will go to Philadelphia to-morrow," I convey the impression that my going depends upon circumstances within my control--that my going or not depends on mere inclination. We certainly must say, "I fear that I shall lose it"; "I hope that I shall be well"; "I believe that I shall have the ague"; "I hope that I shall not be left alone"; "I fear that we shall have bad weather"; "I shall dislike the country"; "I shall like the performance." The writer referred to asks, "How can one say, 'I will have the headache'?" I answer, Very easily, as every young woman knows. Let us see: "Mary, you know you promised John to drive out with him to-morrow; how shall you get out of it?" "Oh, I will have the headache!" We request that people will do thus or so, and not that they shall. Thus, "It is requested that no one will leave the room."

Shall is rarely, if ever, used for will; it is will that is used for shall. Expressions like the following are common: "Where will you be next week?" "I will be at home." "We will have dinner at six o'clock." "How will you go about it?" "When will you begin?" "When will you set out?" "What will you do with it?" In all such expressions, when it is a question of mere future action on the part of the person speaking or spoken to, the auxiliary must be shall, and not will.

Should and would follow the regimen of shall and will. Would is often used for should; should rarely for would. Correct speakers say, "I should go to town to-morrow if I had a horse." "I should not; I should wait for better weather." "We should be glad to see you." "We should have started earlier, if the weather had been clear." "I should like to go to town, and would go if I could." "I would assist you if I could." "I should have been ill if I had gone." "I would I were home again!" "I should go fishing to-day if I were home." "I should so like to go to Europe!" "I should prefer to see it first." "I should be delighted." "I should be glad to have you sup with me." "I knew that I should be ill." "I feared that I should lose it." "I hoped that I should see him." "I thought I should have the ague." "I hoped that I should not be left alone." "I was afraid that we should have bad weather." "I knew I should dislike the country." "I should not like to do it, and will not [determination] unless compelled to."

SHIMMY. "We derive from the French language our word chemise--pronounced shemmeeze. In French, the word denotes a man's shirt, as well as the under garment worn by women. In this country, it is often pronounced by people who should know better--shimmy. Rather than call it shimmy, resume the use of the old English words shift and smock. Good usage unqualifiedly condemns gents, pants, kids, gums, and shimmy."--"Vulgarisms and Other Errors of Speech."

SHOULD. See OUGHT.

SICK--ILL. These words are often used indiscriminately. Sick, however, is the stronger word, and generally the better word to use. Ill is used in England more than with us: there sick is generally limited to the expressing of nausea; as, "sick at the stomach."

SIGNATURE, OVER OR UNDER? A man writes under, not over, a signature. Charles Dickens wrote under the signature of "Boz"; Mr. Samuel L. Clemens writes under the signature of "Mark Twain." The reason given in Webster's Dictionary for preferring the use of under is absurd; viz., that the paper is under the hand in writing. The expression is elliptical, and has no reference to the position either of the signature or of the paper. "Given under my hand and seal" means "under the guarantee of my signature and my seal." "Under his own signature" or "name" means "under his own character, without disguise." "Under the signature of Boz" means "under the disguise of the assumed name Boz." We always write under a certain date, though the date be placed, as it often is, at the bottom of the page.

SIGNS. In one of the principal business streets of New York there is a sign which reads, "German Lace Store." Now, whether this is a store that makes a specialty of German laces, or whether it is a store where all kinds of lace are sold, kept by a German or after the German fashion, is something that the sign doubtless means to tell us, but, owing to the absence of a hyphen ("German-Lace Store," or "German Lace-Store"), does not tell us. Nothing is more common than erroneous punctuation in signs, and gross mistakes by the unlettered in the wording of the simplest printed matter.

The bad taste, incorrect punctuation, false grammar, and ridiculous nonsense met with on signs and placards, and in advertisements, are really surprising. An advertisement tells us that "a pillow which assists in procuring sleep is a benediction"; a placard, that they have "Charlotte de Russe" for sale within, which means, if it means anything, that they have for sale somebody or something called Charlotte of Russian; and, then, on how many signs do we see the possessive case when the plural number is intended!