But we must make an explanation first.  Although we shall, in this and the following chapters, have frequent occasion to give the meanings of individual words, we shall give them without regard to dictionary methods.  We shall not attempt formal, water-tight, or exhaustive definitions; our purpose is to convey, in the simplest and most human manner possible, brief general explanations of what the words stand for.

Opposites

Pairs of the first type are made up of words by nature opposite to each other, or else thought of as opposite because they are so often contrasted.  Here is a familiar, everyday list: 

east, west       straight, crooked       myself, others
large, small     pretty, ugly            major, minor
laugh, cry       walk, ride              light, darkness
top, bottom      hard, soft              friend, enemy
sweet, sour      clean, dirty            temporal, spiritual
meat, drink      merry, sad              means, extremes
land, water      private, public         Jew, Gentile
man, woman       noisy, quiet            independent, dependent
old, new         general, particular     sublime, ridiculous
age, youth       wholesale, retail       give, receive
sick, well       savage, civilized       pride, humility
brain, brawn     wealth, poverty         constructive, destructive
soul, body       positive, negative

None of these words needs explaining.  If you think of one of them, you will think of its opposite; at least its opposite will be lurking in the back of your mind.  As proof of this fact you have only to glance at the following list, from which the second member of each pair is omitted: 

hot—­ black—­ boy—­ in—­ off—­ over—­ love—­ wrong—­ strong—­ wet—­ first—­ day—­ long—­ fast—­ good—­ hope—­ least—­ asleep—­ buy—­ left—­ alive—­ winter—­ war—­ succeed—­ creditor—­ fat—­ internal—­ wise—­ drunk—­

Many words of a more difficult kind are thus pitted against each other, and we learn them, not singly, but in pairs.  At least we should.  As good verbal hunters we should be alert to the chance of killing two birds with one stone.

Allopath and homeopath, for example, are difficult opposites.  We know of the existence of the two classes of medical practitioners; we know that they use different methods; but beyond this our knowledge is likely to be hazy.  Let us set out, then, to learn the two words.  The best way is to learn them together. Allopathy means other suffering, homeopathy like suffering.  An allopath uses remedies which create within the patient a condition that squarely conflicts with the further progress of the disease.  A homeopath prescribes medicines (in small doses) which produce within the patient the same condition that the disease would produce; he “beats the disease to it,”