Words/C. S. Lewis

Words, words, words. How wonderful they are. And yet, how ugly some can be. The story goes that a college professor had his classes the first time they met to take out paper and write all the dirty, filthy, ugly, smutty, vulgar, blasphemous words they could think of. I can hear him now, saying, “Take forty-five minutes if you need it, but just get every word down and give me your papers before the period ends. No, you don’t have to put your name on the paper.” And I can see a great big male student writing fast with a big flourish when he starts the second page. What a he-man he is! And there’s a girl unable to erase the grin around her mouth, seeming to enjoy the assignment.

When the professor has collected all the papers, he then announces, as he tears them up and throws them into the wastepaper basket, “Now that you have written what may be a great percentage of your speaking vocabulary, you will not need to repeat any of it in your writing for this class. Any use of these words in your papers will result in a grade of 'F.'”

Aha! We need more teachers like him. Now think of some “pretty” words. When I think pretty words in English, or any in foreign languages I’m familiar with, I am going by the sounds, not the meanings (however the meanings are rated “G”). Here are a few of mine: osier (a type of willow), aujourdhui (French, meaning “today”), Darjeeling (a tea and a place in India), and effectual. If you say these words aloud, you will probably hear a repetition of a sound or almost a repetition of it. So, that must be the actual sound I like. How about your favorite words? Tell someone what they are. This is a great icebreaker for conversations.

One of the greatest novelists and essayists of the 20th century, and also philologist (but perhaps without a degree in that particular field), was C. S. Lewis of English dondom. The Narnia stories top the list for children, but his Out of the Silent Planet is one of the best novels I’ve ever read, in the top five, at least. The second and third volumes of this trilogy don’t compare with the beauty and story of OSP, as I call it. You don’t have to be into science fiction to appreciate this masterpiece, just be into people. In this fantasy, you may learn a few foreign words too, of a language you have not heard before. I’ll never forget the hrossa, the seroni, and the pfifltriggi.

The story about the author’s life and romance made a powerful movie in “Shadowlands,” starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger (1993), with five big awards for Hopkins and film nominations for several more.

C. S. Lewis was definitely a lover of words. That’s LITERATURE and LIFE in caps.