Re: from whence [WAS: Abuse of imbalance.]

Murray Arnow wrote:
Archie Valparaiso wrote:

Objection, Your Honor! If we are going to fall into brazen
high-falutindom -- and "hence", "thence" and "whence" are unarguably
it -- we should surely try to use them properly. "Henceforth" means
"from here and now onwards", which explains why we don't say "from
henceforth" -- the fromness is included in the -enceness. Why, then,
say "from whence"?


Overruled. Precedent is on the side of hizzonor. Since time
immemorial, logic never applied to idiomatic usage.

Logic, no; but decency, yes. Sad to say, the indecent "from henceforth"
was good enough for Chaucer, Shakespeare, the KJV, and Bunyan. But
seeing that none of these worthies had the crust to assault my ear with
"to hither", I think there's a *** in their armour.

Oddly, while the ences do falute highly in their literal uses, they seem
quite inconspicuous in their consequential senses.

--
Mike.



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