Re: CHAT: Must Needs? (WAS: Lighting Some Flames: Towards conlang artistry)

At 8:40 pm -0500 14/3/02, Elliott Lash wrote:
>In a message dated Thu, 14 Mar 2002  4:21:47 PM Eastern Standard Time,
>Raymond Brown <ray.brown@...> writes:
[snip]
>> But, yes, anyone who aspires to become a true artist must needs learn the
>> skills of his crafts first.
>
>[SNIP]
>
>Must needs? I thought that was only a 19th century construction!
Ah, we Sussexmen are a bit behind the times  ;)

>I would just get rid of the needs:
>
>"anyone who aspires to become an artist must learn the skills of his
>crafts first"
>
>It seems like the "needs" is just redundant,
No - it means "must inevitably".

"must", as I understand it, means: 'is/am/are obliged to [either physically
or morally]'

What I mean is that not only is such a person morally obliged to learn
their craft, rather than take a 'short cut' and have a superficial,
charlatan knowledge, but that in order to become a true artist there is no
escape from this moral obligation.

>and I've never understoond the motivation behind that construction...it
>sounds very weird to me. :)
>
It's not unfamiliar to me; but the alternative form "needs must" does sound
a bit weird  :)

Ray.



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A mind which thinks at its own expense
will always interfere with language.
                     [J.G. Hamann 1760]
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