A. B. Paine writes:

"A word here about Mark Twain's profanity.  Born with a matchless gift of
phrase, the printing-office, the river, and the mines had developed it in a
rare perfection.  To hear him denounce a thing was to give one the fierce,
searching delight of galvanic waves.  Every characterization seemed the
most perfect fit possible until he applied the next.  And somehow his
profanity was seldom an offense."

Eloquent profanity--MT's brand of profanity--is a high and delicate art.
Crude profanity, however, lacks color, drains the vigor out of language,
and simply degenerates into threadbare clich=E9.  Unless someone out there
can curse and swear with MT's eloquence, I suggest that we flame the
discordant offender without mercy.


Joe Towson
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