"should/ would" opinions please

[Joel S. Berson]

At 4/29/2013 09:59 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>Thanks all.
>
>I think Doug is correct.

I definitely agree (certainly for the 18th century) with his
 > I think "an other" = "a different" in usual modern writing, not exactly
 > the same as usual modern "another".

"Shall/should" is too complex for me!  But my feeling (perhaps
subconsciously instilled by my reading in 18th and early 19th century
stuff) agrees with Jon -- we should/would/might say today "might", or "had I".

Joel



>J
>
>
>On Sun, Apr 28, 2013 at 3:12 PM, Douglas G. Wilson <douglas at nb.net> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Douglas G. Wilson" <douglas at NB.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: "should/ would" opinions please
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > On 4/28/2013 12:50 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > > Subject:      "should/ would" opinions please
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > Here's an interesting "should/would" question with a dash of "might" for
> > > those more attuned to 19th C. nuance than I am.
> > >
> > > In an 1881 essay on the battle of Shiloh, Ambrose Bierce concludes by
> > > waxing poetic in the following terms:
> > >
> > > "Ah, Youth, there is no such wizard as thou! =85[G]ild for but one
> > moment t=
> > > he
> > > drear and somber scenes of to-day, and I will willingly surrender an
> > other
> > > [sic] life than the one that I should have thrown away at Shiloh."
> > >
> > > I can't believe (from the broader context) he means that he "should" have
> > > thrown his life away; merely that he "might" have (by being killed).
> >  (The
> > > "other" life involved, in contrast to his adventurous youth, is his drab
> > > post-bellum existence.)
> > >
> > > Whatever Bierce may mean, I don't feel that my sprakgefool is sharp
> > enough
> > > to determine the nuances of "should" and "would" in this case.
> > >
> > > How do others interpret Bierce's meaning?
> > --
> >
> > I think "an other" = "a different" in usual modern writing, not exactly
> > the same as usual modern "another".
> >
> > I think "should have" = "would have": I think in isolation it is
> > ambiguous as to whether an element of will[ingness] is implied: perhaps
> > this would be clear to one who has carefully read the whole piece (and
> > other Bierce).
> >
> > So I would think
> >
> > <<and I will willingly surrender an other life than the one that I
> > should have thrown away at Shiloh>>
> >
> > can be paraphrased
> >
> > <<and I will willingly surrender my current life, which is [so]
> > different from my youthful life, which I would have thrown away at Shiloh>>
> >
> > with
> >
> > <<would have thrown away>>
> >
> > meaning either
> >
> > <<might have thrown away (had things gone a little differently)>>
> >
> > or
> >
> > <<would willingly have thrown away / risked (in the recklessness of my
> > youth)>>
> >
> > [Of course, when one waxes, some fine features may be lost.]
> >
> > -- Doug Wilson
> >
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> >
>
>
>
>--
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>
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