| 词组 | circumstances |
| 释义 | circumstances There has been a fairly long-lived dispute as to the propriety of the use of the preposition under as opposed to the preposition in with circumstances. The list of commentators from Fowler 1926 on who specifically approve under is quite impressive, and you can be assured that both constructions are in good odor and in standard use. Before we trace the history of the controversy, let's look at a few examples of use: • ... men have written good verses under the inspiration of passion, who cannot write well under any other circumstances —Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Love," 1841 • There, then, is a rough-and-ready description of the development of feudalism, as a practical necessity under the circumstances of that time —G. G. Coul-ton, Medieval Panorama, 1938 • ... they frequently hand out business cards under social circumstances, which is, of course, not correct —Amy Vanderbilt, Ladies' Home Jour., September 1971 • ... died in 1944 under circumstances that indicated "his departure from this earth may have been somewhat accelerated." —Norman Cousins, Saturday Rev., 30 Oct. 1971 • With as benign a smile as I could under the circumstances manage I suggested that the general ask the President that question —Dean Acheson, quoted in Merle Miller, Plain Speaking, 1973 • ... and others who are Snobs only in certain circumstances and relations of life —W. M. Thackeray, The Book of Snobs, 1846 • In the best circumstances, waiting for action was hard —T. E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, 1935 • ... some you see in bright canvas deck chairs on green lawns in country circumstances —E. B. White, in Perspectives USA, Summer 1953 • A German irredentist movement is something very natural in the present circumstances —Arnold J. Toynbee, London Calling, 18 Mar. 1954 • In no circumstances will the Chinese leadership allow the country to become dependent on one major trading partner —Alastair Buchan, The Listener, 6 Dec. 1973 In seems to be more common than under in British usage, while both are in frequent use in the U.S. When circumstances means "financial situation," in is the preposition of choice; under is rare: • ... living useful lives in reduced circumstances — Norman Stone, TV. Y. Times Book Rev., 28 Oct. 1984 • While growing up in comfortable circumstances in Pasadena —Current Biography, February 1967 • She lived at Nice in very modest circumstances — Dictionary of American Biography, 1936 You should not think, however, that under and in are the only prepositions to go with circumstances; others are used when the situation dictates. Here are just two others, but the selection is hardly exhaustive: • ... it may be the right one for the circumstances of that nation —Donald McLachlan, London Calling, 24 June 1954 • Life may be good or bad according to circumstances —Bertrand Russell, Education and the Good Life, 1926 The controversy over in and under seems to have had its origin in one of Walter Savage Landor's Imaginary Conversations (1824) in which Home Tooke talks with, or perhaps at, Dr. Johnson. Landor's reason for reprehending under is etymological: circum means "round or around" in Latin and therefore in is appropriate and under is not. Many of you will recognize this sort of reasoning as your old friend, the etymological fallacy. Others will grow familiar with it through repeated encounters in these pages. Fowler demolished Landor's logic, but a century too late for that gentleman's edification. Nearly a century passed after Landor's original pronouncement before the question of under or in the circumstances began to appear in works on usage. It is a question notably absent from our standard 19th century sources: Alford 1864, White 1870, Gould 1870, Ayres 1881, Hodgson 1881. We don't know who first reintroduced the question, but comments in John O'London's Is It Good English? (1925) and Partridge 1942 suggest that it may have been a British newspaper editor. At any rate the earliest comments from Americans (Mac-Cracken & Sandison 1917, Literary Digest in 1917, 1918, and 1923, Lincoln Library 1924) in our files approve both prepositions; the Literary Digest follows the same distinction between the prepositions that is set down in the OED (1893): "Mere situation is expressed by "in the circumstances', action affected is performed 'under the circumstances.'" Perhaps not all Americans were in accord with these commentators: Evans 1962 says that Woodrow Wilson insisted on in. When Fowler dismissed the argument for the insistence on in as "puerile," he also mentioned the OED distinction and mentioned in passing that under seemed natural when pressure is suggested. Both of these points continue to pop up here and there: Phythian 1979, for instance, likes in but will accept under when pressure is suggested. The OED distinction is dismissed by Treble & Vallins 1937; they find it "cryptic" and "difficult to follow," as indeed it is. Nevertheless Partridge 1942 presents it as a rule to follow, and so do Follett 1966, Bernstein 1965, 1971, and Cook 1985. At any rate subsequent usage has failed to confirm the OED distinction with any degree of certainty, and most recent commentators merely find both phrases acceptable—as of course, they have been all along. Under is attested as long ago as 1665, nearly two centuries earlier than the OED's first example with in (our example from Thackeray is older than the OED's earliest in, however, and the construction is doubtless older than that). The etymological fallacy dies hard, however. Evans 1962 notes that Harold Ickes refused to sign letters containing under the circumstances. Gowers 1948 rejected under on logical grounds, but he recanted in his 1954 book and left the choice to the reader's own taste, while continuing to express his preference for in. And as recently as 1984 a correspondent has written to this company to inveigh against under on etymological grounds. You, we know, will not be taken in by the etymological fallacy. |
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