p. 131 | Two Pretty Long Words

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Feb 26, 1885

Two Pretty Long Words.

THE Scripture exhorts us to "hold fast the form of sound words," which, I suppose, means that we should call things by their right names. The rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but rascality sometimes adorns itself with names that make it smell far sweeter than when bearing its own proper designations.

Especially is this true when men undertake to describe the swindles and villainies which are too common in the higher circles of the commercial world. Speaking of certain transactions of this description, the Hartford Courant says: "Over-certification and rehypothecation, are pretty long words. One means lying, and the other means stealing. When we are told that the recent troubles in business in New York are attributable to these long-sounding causes, we are really told lying and stealing are at the bottom of the difficulty."

This is refreshing. "Over-certification" is when a bank official says that some one has a certain amount of money in the bank, which he does not have, though he may promise that he will have it at some other time. "Rehypothecation" is the taking of stocks, bonds, notes, etc., which are already pledged as security for loans, and pledging or pawning them again to raise more money. And under the shadow of these two big words, too big to be found in most dictionaries, it is difficult to see just where the wrong in the case is. But when we translate the thing into English, and find that one word means lying, and the other stealing, we know just what to think about it.

There are many other words which are high-sounding. There are "discrepancies," and "deficits," and "defaults," and "defalcations;" there are "irregularities," and "misappropriations," and "breaches of trust," and "embezzlements," and numerous other operations, by which genteel rascals get away with the money which belongs to honest and unsuspecting people, the true character of which may be expressed by the simple words lying and stealing! These words bring the whole matter within the range of the ten commandments. There is no Scripture which says, "Thou shalt not defalcate, thou shalt not rehypothecate, thou shalt not over-certificate," but there is a passage which says, "Thou shalt not steal," and there is a passage which tells us that all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. If we can get rid of some of these big words, and come down to language which the common people can understand, we shall perhaps be able to warn men against the dangers of stealing, and tell men who lie that they are on the straight road to hell. This is a very unpopular word, and a very obsolete doctrine, but there are some things which go to show that it is true. One of them is this: that the devil is very sure to get a grip on these genteel swindlers and their ill-gotten gains in this world, and nothing in his character or reputation affords much foundation for the idea that he will let go of them in the next.—The Safeguard.