made up of short, clear, strong terms, although at times, for the sake of
sound and oratorical effect, he was compelled to use a rather long word,
but it was always against his inclination to do so, and where was the man
who could paint, with words, as Webster painted! He could picture things
in a way so clear that those who heard him felt that they had seen that
of which he spoke.

Abraham Lincoln was another who stirred the souls of men, yet he was not
an orator, not a scholar; he did not write M.A. or Ph.D. after his name,
or any other college degree, for he had none. He graduated from the
University of Hard Knocks, and he never forgot this severe _Alma Mater_
when he became President of the United States. He was just as plain, I
just as humble, as in the days when he split rails or plied a boat on the
Sangamon. He did not use big words, but he used the words of the people,
and in such a way as to make them beautiful. His Gettysburg address is an
English classic, one of the great masterpieces of the language.

From the mere fact that a word is short it does not follow that it is
always clear, but it is true that nearly all clear words are short, and
that most of the long words, especially those which we get from other
languages, are misunderstood to a great extent by the ordinary rank and
file of the people. Indeed, it is to be doubted if some of the "scholars"
using them, fully understand their import on occasions. A great many such
words admit of several interpretations. A word has to be in use a great
deal before people get thoroughly familiar with its meaning. Long words,
not alone obscure thought and make the ideas hazy, but at times they tend
to mix up things in such a way that positively harmful results follow
from their use.

For instance, crime can be so covered with the folds of long words as to