Some words sound so good that we want to use them over and over again, and this was brought home to me some years ago when we were seated at dinner discussing the roast. Suddenly, my daughter Sonya who was about five at the time said, “Antelope.” We then listened in astonishment as she continued, “I like that word so I’ll say it again. Antelope.”
For my part, I like the sound of the word euphonium which as many will know, is a sonorous instrument much favoured by bandsmen of the brass persuasion. Its name is derived from the Greek euphonos meaning ‘sweet voiced’ and I remember my first encounter with the euphonium during a Whitsuntide Walk. This was the occasion when children and adults from the churches and chapels of northern towns donned new clothes and walked behind a band in a procession of Christian Witness. Percy Bostock was the euphonium player in the Brierley Hill colliery band and my innocent eyes found it hard to distinguish Percy from the instrument as both were of a similar shape and (due to his penchant for sherry) hue.
The word Euphonos is also the root of the word euphemism which means ‘good speaking,’ as opposed to blaspheme which means ‘evil-speaking’. In English however we often use a euphemism as a substitute for a word or phrase which may be thought unkind. For example if a lady asks if she looks ‘fat in this frock?’ The wise man will reply, “I think a winsome figure brings out the wonderful cut of that dress”.
Euphemisms are much used by politicians. A good example being when an MP, who cannot be accused of lying to Parliament, is then confronted by an opponent who may accuse him of “being economical with the truth.” Winston Churchill once told an opponent that he was “being too generous in his use of terminological in-exactitudes.”
As well as being a kind way of telling a truth, euphemism can also used to obscure a truth. For example, a recent press release announced a factory closure by saying that: “Forty people are being involuntarily separated from their employment.
We all use euphemisms and sometimes they can become a kind of ‘mind massage.’ An example of this is when we say that, Mr So-and-so has passed on, rather than simply stating that, he has died.” With this thought in mind, I have noticed that modern funeral services are being increasingly billed as ‘Celebrations’ and I wonder why! Could it be that it is linked to an increase in the number of funerals being conducted by members of the Secular Society?
As we know, secularists are convinced that life is only an elemental electro/chemical reaction and that death is simply the cessation of that reaction. Hence when they conduct a funeral they have nothing to say about hope and are thus restricted to talking only of the deceased’s past in what they euphemistically term as a celebration of a life now extinct.
My wife however is having none of this. She insists that she does not want a celebration of her life, but would rather we mourn her passing with an appropriate show of stoical grief and sadness. (If I am around at the time, she will get her wish)
For myself, I have always thought that life is God given and is more than just secular chemistry. It is a wonderful gift to be enjoyed and celebrated each day. That is why I so admire those who, despite all kinds of problems, maintain a positive and hopeful outlook.
Talking about a hopeful response to a loved ones death however, reminds me of the carefully worded notice placed on the candle stand close to the altar rail of St. Lucy’s Catholic Church in Newark New Jersey. It reads:
Please put a donation in an envelope along with the dead person you want remembered.
View from the Pew 