"THE 'PSYCHOLOGICAL MOMENT."

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16433, 29 January 1919, Page 5

"THE 'PSYCHOLOGICAL MOMENT."

Probably few of the people who, in the course of the last few weeks, have made use of this handy and expressive phrase are aware of two curious facts connected with it.

The first fact is that, like so many current tags, it is nonsense; the second is that we got it via French from tho Germans in the fateful days of December, 1870.

The Latin word momentum, moment of time, gave French Ie moment, which was borrowed by German as a masculine. In the scientific and mathematical sense of momentum, factor, influence, German adopted moment directly from Latin momentum, keeping the original neuter gender. When, after a series of 'crushing French reverses in the field, the bombardment of Paris was in contemplation the Germans attached great importance to das psycliologische moment —i.e., the effect of such an experience on the psychology, or moral (uot morale), of the inhabitants. The phrase, which is eaid to have been first used by the "Neue Preussiche Zeitung" of December lGtb, 1870, was caught up by French journalists, misunderstood as der psychologische moment, the psychologically appropriate moment of time, quoted as an example of Teutonic pedantry, and ultimately adopted as a convenient and pregnane expression. . v . Its first recorded use in English v> in a translation of Sarcey s siege Q Paris," published in 1871. Thus things get back to their,start-ing-points. The "Contemptibles are back in Mons. and the psycholog ca moment" of the last few months nas been that which was to register the recognition bv the Germans of the fac that their idol has feet of c ' a J"Professor Ernest Week ley . author of <; The Romance of Words. )