The people of the Middle Ages, who swore at all, used a great variety of oaths, and some of these were resonant and ringing phrases. But modern cursing is absolutely destitute of picturesqueness; it is made up of brutal blasphemies, jerky phrases, meaningless exclamations, or vulgarisms; and the people of the English-speaking world who swear at all nearly all swear in the same monotonous way, using no originality or deviation from the set phrases. All culture tends to variety in the use of words. The employment of the same set of ugly and repulsive words in the form of oaths, day after day, and week after week, is a sign of a mind that moves in ruts. Oaths are sometimes called ‘strong language;’ whereas they are essentially weak language, as all set phrases are.

From Profane and Vulgar Speech, an excerpt from Making the Most of Ourselves, by Calvin Dill Wilson D.D. in “Self Culture for Young People.” Copyright 1906.

By the way, I’m quoting this out of context. Wilson is condemning cursing, not calling for more creative cursing. 😉

On this day...

• Romans 4:20-22 | Romans - 2011
• Psalm 66:8-14 | Psalms - 2011
• Soap, Perfume and Church - 2011
• Streamlining Committees - 2011
• Immortality - 2011
• Simple Praise - 2011
• Deeper Than Day - 2011
• Romans 3:28-30 | Romans - 2011
• Luther - Works for the Old Man -- Grace for the New - 2011
• Romans 3:20 | Romans - 2011