It is true that this good and hearty word of olden days has been partially abused in later times, as men have discovered
| “ | How mirth may into folly glide. |
| And folly into sin.” |
But if we were to reject everything good and desirable in itself because it has been abused by mankind, we should soon discover that we had deprived ourselves of every blessing, not only temporal, but spiritual also. If we were to give up all terms that have been perverted from their true and natural meaning, we should soon condemn ourselves to a silence more absolute than that of the followers of Latrappe: only too many of the best words in every language have suffered grievously from bad usage. There is an old adjective of the same date as that under discussion, which comes, perhaps, nearer than any other to giving a true idea of merry in the sense we understand it, and that is blithe; and having been less tarnished by common uses, it still bears a charming meaning. But few among us, when looking at this subject, will be disposed to dispute the authority of our own translation of the Holy Bible, which is generally admitted to be a model of good, sound English; now the words merry and mirth occur quite frequently in the pages of the sacred book, and the following are some instances of the application they have received. Merry is applied to feasting in Genesis, when relating the joyful meeting between Joseph and his brethren in Egypt; mirth is applied to laughter in the book of Proverbs; it is opposed to mourning in Ecclesiastes, and it is connected with laughter and pleasure in the same book; in Isaiah it is connected with thanksgiving, with joy, with music; the sigh of the merry-hearted
