1939-10-31 — Page 10

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THE CHINA MAIL, OCTOBER 31, 1939

WORDS AND WARFARE

common as a war.

very

"Owing to the international situa- away in their classical and polysyllabic tion,” wrote the secretary of a society, | glory. To them, be it remembered, a "we are terminating all contingent | gas mask is still a respirator. The Ser- engagements." His letter to me was vice which so splendidly invented, in dated nine days after September 9. the matter of vermin, “deratisation of But he evidently found it hard, even | agricultural premises" should be able impossible, to come down to that short, to follow this up with some equally frank word of three letters which is, imposing detonations as the war wears we are told, derived from “wirren,” | on. to worry. Indeed, the number of peo- The 1914-1918 war added ple who have similarly refused to little to our vocabulary. It introduced call a war a war has been most re- some Anglo-Indian soldiers' slang, markable. Those, for example, who which will now, presumably, be res- recently resolved to marry in haste-tored to popular use, and it spread, if and will have the later leisure, we it did not invent, the ugly but aptly hope, in which not to repent have descriptive verb "to scrounge." Modern been excusing the decision in their war, being so largely unromantic, only newspaper announcements with the the duels of. the air supplying oppor- same long-winded delicacy favoured tunities for individual triumph and by my corresponding secretary. It is esteem, does not cover the country the European or the international with its glorious names. It is a some- situation which is hurrying them to what anonymous business altogether. the altar or the registrar: nothing so There are no short, sharp, decisive battles that you can call by a place, There has long been implanted in and only week-long, month-long mankind a belief that we may avert actions spreading over many miles the worst by giving it a good, or at which have long been battered out of least a less evil, name. The classical all recognisable shape or difference. instance was that nervous politeness Hence Britain, whose taverns record of the ancient Greeks which described so many generals and battles long ago, those dark immortals the Avenging has scarcely any such'nominal records Furies as the Kindly Ones. We scarce- of the greatest of its conflicts. After ly go as far as that nowadays. Yet we | the Kitchener myth had faded hero- cannot boast ourselves to be truly free worship died away and the best- of such "wishful thinking," as it is known soldier of the whole struggle fashionable to name it. To call a war, is he who remains unknown. : which may soon be a world war and confusion's masterpiece, an "inter-ly anybody knows the names of the national situation" does to some degree avert the mind from bloody thoughts, just as to call the possible dropping of hundreds of high-explosive bombs about our heads "an emergency" gives us a comfortable feeling that it is not going to happen after all. Juliet's dis- missal of nominalism was far from accurate. A rose would not smell as sweet were it called stinking muck- | wort, nor does the crash of a bomb sound quite as terrifying when the merciful pamphlet dismisses that de- tonation as "in case of emergency."

|

So, in the present case, when scarce-

nation's admirals and generals and air marshals, when a modest anonymity is the general rule, we shall not looks for new words to come to us from headquarters. Some may slip in from the lower deck and the rank and file. What is perfectly certain is that we are fated to receive a full measure of pomposity from the civilian authori- ties and to become accustomed in time to a dreadful abundance of the vague, evasive words which Whitehall dearly loves. The emergency, as the departments say, will spawn its paper Detonation! We are already in the brood of fatalities, emergencies, even- mode. For the effect of war is to sub-tualities, and all their classic kind. ject us all to Whitehall, and the Eng-There is shortly, for example, to be a lish idiom of the Civil Service is pom- day for counting our heads: this, one pous, prolix, and classical. It would notes, is being brightly called "Zero never have a smash or a crash while Day of Enumeration.". it could detonate. The rule, it seems, Poetry of old drew on war for its is simple enough. Always avoid a sounding glories. Greece led off with short Saxon word and use a long its Iliad and snatched words bright Latin or Greek one instead. Call the as swords from the singing plains of start of a war the commencement of Troy. Our own Elizabethans had the hostilities, call cleaning up decon-knack of it, and Shakespeare could tamination, make great play with reel off martial magniloquence with emergencies and eventualities, Latinise as much ease as music while still ap- your army when you mobilise it, and | prentice to his craft. But we have announce that the complete motorisa- come too close to havoc to care much tion of certain units has now been for its eloquence, and the rhetoric of energetically effected--these are the ruin now offends the sensibility, words of present warfare and make though it may charm the aural sense. up the ponderous lexicon of modern | What poetry this new war may evoke Mars.

we cannot easily foretell: it may in- Statesmen fall to it in like manner cline our youth to less tortuous and and begin to brandish with ecstasy more melodious numbers than have such verbal claymores as "arbitra- recently usurped the vogue. But in ment" as once they tossed the weighty temper, we may be sure, it will be caber of "appeasement." The journa-realistic, Casque and helm may return list alone, since his space is now more to warfare, but not in those names scanty than ever, endeavours to do of older romance, they are plain "tin battle with monosyllables and finds hat" to us. The poetry of to-morrow exceeding virtue' in 'the term that is will certainly be passionate; it were terse. Already we may note a greedy not poetry else. But it is unlikely to usage of the word "key." Our popular wear plumes. The pomp and circum- columns are full of "key news" about stance of speech will stay at home. In "key men" in "key places." So does the case of a situation suggesting an Fleet Street, in times of paper dearth, emergent eventuality heaven and unlock its heart. Exceptional people earth may roar and blaze: "Whitehall, Immediately become "key" or "ace," we may be sure, will verbally de- while the makers of edicts and pro- tonate--Ivor Brown in the "Manches- clamations in Whitehall are hammering I ter Guardian.".

HAVE NO FEAR-MAGGIE - I KNOW HOW TO WALK -ON ROCKS-I WORKED IN A QUARRY WHENT WUZ A LITTLE LAD-

HEY--LORD WORTHNOTTEN-

ARE YOU READY?

By George McManus

WHAT'S THAT?

CH-I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE NO STREET

LIGHTS ON THESE MOUNTAINS SO WE HAD

TER TAKE ALONG AN ECTRIC LAMP, FOR

OUR

193%. Kinu temunės. Syndiente, Iner World males avietwed