On this head of purity of speech, as at other points where a
conventional usage rests on the canons of archaism and waste, the
spokesmen for the usage instinctively take an apologetic
attitude. It is contended, in substance, that a punctilious use
of ancient and accredited locutions will serve to convey thought
more adequately and more precisely than would be the
straightforward use of the latest form of spoken English; whereas
it is notorious that the ideas of today are effectively expressed
in the slang of today. Classic speech has the honorific virtue of
dignity; it commands attention and respect as being the
accredited method of communication under the leisure-class scheme
of life, because it carries a pointed suggestion of the
industrial exemption of the speaker. The advantage of the
accredited locutions lies in their reputability; they are
reputable because they are cumbrous and out of date, and
therefore argue waste of time and exemption from the use and the
need of direct and forcible speech.
End of the Project Gutenberg Etext of The Theory of the Leisure Class
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