a knowledge of the nicer
discriminations in their use.

The dictionary and literature are the sources of a full and refined
vocabulary. But the vocabulary which may be perfectly understood is
not entirely in one's possession until it is used. Seek the first
opportunity to use the newly acquired word. It will be hard to utter
it; you will feel an effort in getting it out. Only once, however;
after that it rises as easily as any old familiar word. Because the
companion with whom you speak is always "just as mad as" she can be,
is no reason why you may not at times be vexed, annoyed, aggravated,
exasperated, or angry. Men are not always either "perfectly lovely" or
"awful;" neither are all ladies "jewels." There are degrees of
villainy and nobility; and all jewels have not the same lustre. Know
what you want to say, and find the one word that will exactly say it.
This costs work, it is true; but what is there worth having which has
not cost some one work? Do the work; search for the word; then use it.
In this way a vocabulary becomes a real possession.

The words which a person may use are generally described as reputable,
national, and present. Words must be reputable; that is, sanctioned by
the authority of the creators of English literature. They must be
national; words that are the property of the mass of the people, not
of a clique or a district. And they must be of the present; Chaucer's
vocabulary, though it be the source of English, will not satisfy the
conditions of to-day.

Vulgarisms are not reputable.

First, words must be of reputable use. No person would consider
vulgarisms reputable. When a person says "I hain't got none," he has
reached about the acme of vulgarisms, the language of the illiterate.
Grammar has been disregarded; a word has been used which is not a
word; and another word has no reason for its appearance in the
sentence. Yet sometimes this expression is heard; seldom seen written.
It is always set down to the account of an illiterate home; for no one
can reach a high school without knowing its grammatical errors. The
unerring use of _don't, me, I, lie, lay, set,_ and _sit,_ is not so
assured that the list can be omitted. Adjectives are used for adverbs;
"real good" is not yet forgotten. Nouns are called upon to do the work
of verbs. This is the language of the illiterate, and it should be
avoided; for vulgarisms are not reputable.

Slang is not reputable.

Neither is slang reputabl