excitation of evil passions, stifles the voice of conscience. Excitement: In the excitement of battle, humanity is lost,-Agitation: He never betrayed the agitation of passion. —Irritation: He was above the reach of paltry irritation. -Stir: The intelligence caused a great stir in the crowd. -Bustle : The household was in all the bustle of preparation for a hasty departure. Commotion: The elements were in violent commotion. -Fermentation: The contradictory tidings kept the minds of the people in ceaseless fermentation. -Perturbation: The dreaded approach of the enemy threw the inhabitants of the town into the greatest perturbation.—Ebullition: The ebullitions of popular fury were absolutely frightful. Struggle: His was a life of struggle. —Battle : Luther's words were so remarkable for their force, that they have been called half battles. — Work: Work is a primary want of man's nature. -Business: Business is but a more imposing form of work. —Labor: Man was designed to lead a life of labor, (— Toil:) but not of exhausting toil. -Task: The labor of the day is a sufficient task, (— Drudgery:) without the addition of domestic drudgery. -Employment: It is a privilege of the rich to give employment and remuneration to the poor.-Occupation: Feeble and helpless must be that mind which is not competent to provide itself with occupation. Vocation: The vocation of teaching ought to be placed on the footing of a recognised profession. Pursuit: Of all the pursuits in which man engages, that of pleasure is, sometimes, the most laborious. -Calling: He conscientiously fulfilled the duties of his humble calling. -Profession: He aspired to the position of a liberal profession. Application: Too close application exhausts both body and mind. -Diligence: Diligence alone can secure valuable acquirements. —Industry: Industry is an indispensable condition of success in life.-Procedure: The procedure of the - executive authority was, in that case, one of questionable policy.-Proceeding: The proceedings of the public meeting were duly reported. Transaction The transaction reflected no great credit on those who took part in it.-Job: The whole affair turned out a mean and disgraceful job. — Attempt: The attempt was baffled. Experiment: The experiment was satisfactory.— Endeavor: A life spent without endeavor, is ignoble. - Dabbling: He lost his property by dabbling in stocks. Gesture: The action which accompanies human speech, is properly termed gesture. Gesticulation: The chattering of monkeys is sometimes accompanied by gesticulation:*-Antic: The recitation of the verses was accompanied by odd postures and antics. Trick: The tricks of trade are sometimes exposed. Play: All work and no play, is proverbially an injudicious regimen. Recreation: Recreation may justly be termed a necessity of man's constitution. Game: The mind is exercised, as well as entertained, by the vicissitudes of a game of chess. Sport: The thing was done in sport. Frolic Fun and frolic need guarding against excess. Diversion: Seasonable diversion relieves the depressing effect of assiduous grave application. ·Amusement: Quiet amusements relish longest. Pastime: The masques and other pastimes of the Elizabethan age, served, at once, to unbend and to inspire the mind. mous. It is a prevalent error, with American writers, to confound the meaning of the above terms, and use them as strictly synonyFor the distinctive and appropriate use of these words, see Richardson's Dictionary. -"Or what their servile apes gesticulate." Ben Jonson." The gesture of man is the speech of his body." Wilson, quoting Cicero. EXERCISE.(3.) Definition of Synonyms. Explanatory Observations. — To students who are sufficiently advanced, the following form of exercise will be found of great benefit, as regards a distinct apprehension of the precise ideas expressed by synonymous terms, and an intelligent appreciation and discriminating use of language. The practice of this exercise is designed to form a guard against any remissness of attention or misapprehension of expression, which might lead to the error of conceiving one word to be synonymous with another, while its acceptation was actually different. The consequences of such a mistake must necessarily be a misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the language of others, or error and confusion arising from our own. The exercise now in view, is a logical process of verification, by which words occurring to the mind as synonymous, may be brought to a strict test, before being accepted as such. A security is thus afforded against the numerous errors caused by obscurity and ambiguity of expression, which necessarily tend to mislead the mind, and defeat the purpose of language. The defining of synonyms requires the same process as in the case of other words, -the presentation of a generic, or general term, and of one containing the specific difference. But the proof of the exactness of the definition, as regards synonymous words, turns on this point, that, though all the words of any given family of synonyms, have their discriminating shades of difference of meaning, from the general term, and from one another, the statement of the definition, in every instance, brings the word into a relation corresponding to that of species to genus, when we compare it with the generic term, or parent word. The process, then, of defin ing synonyms, reduces itself to the following brief formula. FORM OF EXERCISE. Having collected a group of synonyms to be defined, select from them the word which is the most general and comprehensive in its sense, and, employ it as a generic term, by the use of which, all the others may be defined, by a statement of their specific difference of acceptation. Remark. If the right word has been selected for the generic term, and all the other words of the group are really synonymous, all of them, when brought to the test of the logical formula, will be found to agree with the primary in their general character, but to differ from it, specifically, and from one another, individually. EXAMPLE.- "ACTION." ACT, a single action; ACTIVITY, tendency to action; ACTING, fact of action; AGENCY, medium of action: *MOTION, action in space; MOMENTUM, force and velocity of action; † PLAY, motive, action: POWER, capability of action; FORCE, intensive action; ENERGY, inward power of action; VEHEMENCE, empassioned force of action; VIOLENCE, excessive force of action; EXERTION, inchoative action; EFFORT, energetic tendency to action; EFFICIENCY, effective action: PRACTICE, exterior action; OPERATION, complex action; PROCESS, continuous action; EXERCISE, voluntary action; PERFORMANCE, palpable action; DOING, ordinary form of voluntary action; DEED, extraordinary form of voluntary action; FEAT, arduous *The capital initial letter indicates the commencement of a new group of synonyms. †The definitions, in some of the examples, are modified by reference to the allusions implied in the examples adduced in the exercise on the application of synonyms. action: ACHIEVEMENT, consummate action; EXPLOIT, illustrious action; PERPETRATION, guilty action: IмPETUS, communicated force of action; IMPULSION, propelling action; IMPULSE, action of feeling; IMPETUOSITY, unrestrained action of feeling; PETULANCE, impatient action of feeling: INCITATION, impelling action of feeling; INCITEMENT, moral motive action; INCENTIVE, inflammatory inciting action; INSTIGATION, stimulating action; INFLUENCE, tacit action; STIMULUS, irritating action; EXCITATION, arousing action; EXCITEMENT, provocative action; AGITATION, extremely excited action; IRRITATION, unduly excited action: STIR, excited action; BUSTLE, ostentatious action; coмMOTION, commingling excited action; FERMENTATION, confused excited action; PERTURBATION, disturbed ac tion; EBULLITION, violent commotive action; EFFERVESCENCE, excessive commotive action; sTruggle, obstructed action; BATTLE, combative action: WORK, obvious action; BUSINESS, intercommunicative action; LABOR, continuous strenuous action; TOIL, excessive continuous action; TASK, appointed action; DRudgery, servile action; EMPLOYMENT, specific action; OCCUPATION, continuous specific action; VOCATION, accustomed specific action; PURSUIT, prosecuting or sequent action; CALLING, designated pursuit, or mode of industrial action; PROFESSION, licensed scientific vocation : APPLICATION, earnest attentive action; DILIGENCE, SUStained application; ASSIDUITY, prolonged application; INDUSTRY, habitually continued, laborious action: PROCEDURE, course of action; PROCEEDING, formal action; TRANSACTION, specific business action; JOB, OCcasional action: ATTEMPT, intended action; EXPERIMENT, tentative action; ENDEAVOR, aim of action; DABBLING, insignificant action: GESTURE, oratorical action; GESTICULATION, bodily action; ANTIC, mock action: TRICK, illusive action: PLAY, relaxing action; RECREATION, renovating action; GAME, amusive form of action; SPORT, pleasurable action; FROLIC, |