The Sphinx, Vol. 13, No. 182

              THE SPHINX
December 2nfl
A Limited Language
(by Alfred Berlyn)
Sir L.iTus O Trigger was, no doubt, a little in advance of his time in suggesting to Bob Acres that “Damns have had their day.” As a matter
of fact, the day of the “big, big D-” well
survived the Georgian ora To quote a discreet modern chronicler, “in the early part of the nineteenth century, oath? were e<eeedingly common, both among men and women” ; and, as the same authority reproachfully records, it was only towards the close of the century that they became •common in another sense, and ceased to pass as current conversational coin in “good society”. Today, of course it is no more fashionable to be full of strange oaths than to be bearded like the bard, and it is only in farcical comedy that even the expletive usually abjured by the Captain of the “Pinafore” is suffered t > retain its place as the recognised and accepted comment in all circumstances of embarrassment, perplexity, or agitation. Our modern scrupulousness of speech is, to be sure, very right and proper ; yet it is impossible to resist a certain sympathy with the attitude of the short-tempered Scot .vh >, on b :in j reminded by bis minister of the injunction to “swear not at all,” replied triumphantly, “Hech, in in, I dinna sweer at a” ; I only sweer at those that eeritate me !” For human nature being what it is, there are occasions when the temper deman Is just that kind of safety-valve which the expletive, and the expletive alone, is able to supply ; and there are persons and events that “eeritate” to the point at which the objurgation become!, to all but the saintly, a sheer necessity of existence. Nor is it of any use to pretend that your “Bothers !” or “Confounds !” or such like politely feeble makeshifts provide any kind of adequatesubstitute for the real thing at such seasons. When you have made yourself a laughing-stock for gods and •caddies on the links, or have run into your pet bore while hurrying to catch a train, or have narrowly escaped immolation by motor car, or have discovered the loss of a collar stud at the beginning of an evening’s entertainment, it is not by such pretty compromises that the overcharged feeling can be effectually relieved. The imperative need at such crises is not only for words, but for words which rise to the occasion ; and it is then that the restrictions imposed by our latter-day code of conversational good manners are apt to be severely arid rebelliously felt.
Among their many other advantages the classes which hold themselves superior to the laws and customs of polite society are, Of course, wholly free from this galling disability. For them it is all plain sailing, and their scant but vigorous vocabulary of denunciatory Anglo-Saxon, with its unblushing nouns and incarnadined adjectives, remains equal, and more than equal, to any emergency, despite the well-known story of the coster who protested his inability, on one supreme occasion, to find “any word bad enough”. But for those who hold themselves bound by the conventions in such matters, the question of finding or devising some fresh stock of objurgations, strong enough for all practical purposes, and yet not transgressing prescribed social rules, has become one of real and pressing urgency.
Age of revivals as this is, it is to be feared that in this particular matter we are precluded from looking for as-istance to the wisdom of our forefathers. The social history of the ages furnishes, it is true, an inexhaustible choice of resourceful -and picturesque expletives of every variety of vigour and violence ; hut how many of them would be held tolerable at the present day ? The rid country wives who still “drat” things when .nnoyed would no doubt be sincerely shocked if they knew the origin and meaning of that apparently innocuous expression ; but it would be absurd for educated people to affect a similar ignorance a consideration' which seems fajal to the revival of “ ’Zounds !” “ ’Sdeath !” “’Sblood !”
“’OJ i fish 1” and the like. It is carious, by the way, to observe that the ages of faith appear to have been also ages of general anti promiscuous blasphemy—a paradox which seems worth the attention both of the social and the religious philosopher. The same kind of objection renders it impossible to “try back” to the favourite expletives of famous historical characters, almost all of which, if revived to-day, would more or less severely seandalise the present “irreverent” generation. Neither the round oaths of Good Queen Bess, nor the still more lurid emphatics of her “bluff” and irascible father, for instance, could very well be taken as present-day models ; and oar m ide.-n ideas of reanem mb would certainly not st much any revival of thus" elegant “fancy oaths” of the “Sirike-me-ugly !” “Split-my-winrl-pipe !” “Siap-my-vitals !” order, which found favour with the fastidious exquisites of the Restoration period.
Since no guidance is to be obtained from the robust times when to “rapout an oath”—ora volley of them—on every possible occasion was the facile accomplishment of all classes and of both sexes, it follows that the need of the day is nothing less than a brand-new code of words and phrases capable of affording something like adequate relief to the feelings in moments of irritation and excitement—moments to which the children of a neurotic and hard-driven generation are, it is to be feared peculiarly liable. We have all sympathized with the clergyman of the story who profusely thanked his lay fellow-traveller for his appropriate comments when the gate of a railway platform was remorselessly slammed in their faces ; but most of us who are not clergymen would prefer, on such occasions, to express ourselves in person rather than by proxy. There is, of course, the virtuous example of Marryat’s delightful boatswain, who safeguarded his soul by elaborately blessing theeyes of those who annoyed him, and conveyed his disapproval of their proceedings in terms of the most extravagant and effusive endearment. But it is not given to everyone to practise the Spartan self-discipline of Mr. Chucks, or even to find the relief their soul requires in “Godfrey Daniel’s blasting furnace,V or any such mean and finicking subterfuge.
The question, then, is manifestly a difficult one, and it is a good deal easier to recognise the need that exists than to suggest any satisfactory solution of the problem. The best hope seems to lie in the present popularity of the prize competition. There is no reason why some of the loose ingenuity which is nowadays so freely expended in this direction should not be attracted to the task of devising a new and adequate vocabulary of expletives, objurgations, and “.-wear-words” for use on various occasions.
THE GODS OF EGYPT
The ancient Egyptians, whilst b ‘.loving in an almighty but hidden and unknown God, believed in theexistenee of many supernatural beings whom they called nef -ru. These gods had their “houses” all over Egypt and they are represented in most temples in various forms. We read in the Bible of the denunciation of them by Loses (Exodus 12 v. 12) an.l also by the Prophet Jeremiah. The Egyptians worshipped these gods as typifyingthe forces of nature and each city had its own god, but there were eight deities who were regarded as the great “gods of Egypt,” namely Ptah, Amen, Ida, Thoth, Neith, Osiris, Sekhet, and Hapi.
Ptah who was supposed to be the Creator, is represented as a mummy with the flail, crook, and sceptre (the signs of power) in his hand, and the ornamental emblem of stability, and on the back of his neck he has the sign of joy and pleasure, or wtnat. He was the chief member of the triad of Memphis, in which city he was worshipped from the earliest times.
Amen became the chief god of Egypt after the expulsion of the 'lyksos about 700 B.C.and was the chief member of the great triad of Thebes, the other two being Mutand Khonsu. He was called “One” or “One of Oneness” and during the eighteenth dynasty his priests enjoyed almost absolute power. He is represented by the figure of a man with two plumes on his head, in his right hand he holds the symbol of life, or nukli, and in his left the sceptre.
Ra, the actual representative of God, was the sun-god and the chief seat of his worship was On, now called Heliopolis. He is represented as having the head of a hawk on which i? borne the sun-disc encircled with a snake, and in his right hand he holds the symbri of life.
Thoth, the “scribe of the gods”, was the divine intelligence and uttered the words which created the heavens and the earth. He measured time and was the inventor of the arts and sciences, writing and letters. He was also the god of right and truth. He is represented by the body of a man and head of an ibis and carries a palette and writing reed. The symbol of right and . truth is represented by a feather which he wears on his head, and as the computer of time he carries the crescent moon.
Neith was one of the most ancient Goddesses of Egypt and is represented as a woman wearing the crown of Lower Egypt and bearing in her left hand the shuttle and bow and arrows, as the goddess of weaving and the chase. In her right hand she carries the symbol of life.
Osiris was the king and judge of the dead and lord of the underworld. He was murdered on earth by his brother Set, the god of darkness, who mutilated his body and had its members scattered throughout Egypt. By his divine power he rose again in a glorified body and became the lord ofthedead, in whom the hopes of resurrection were based by the Egyptians. He wears on bis head the white crown and feathers of right and truth, and carries the symbol of life in his right hand.
Sekhet was a goddess of the Memphis triad and was supposed to govern the heat of the sun. She is represented with the head of a Holiness, and like Ha, carries the sun-disc encircled with a snake on her head.
Hapi was the god of the Nile and is represented as a man with water streaming from his breast. In his left hand is a frog with water running from its mouth, the emblem of fertility, and his head is crowned with lotus flowers. Before him stands a human-headed bird, representing a soul which has come to drink of the waters of his god.
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