The International Auxiliary Language Esperanto: Grammar & Commentary. George Cox
14.
CONVERSATION (Interparolado) .
CORRESPONDENCE (Korespondado) .
LIST OF USEFUL WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS.
PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION
In this Fourth Edition of a work which, since its first appearance in August, 1906, has had a very favourable reception among English-speaking Esperantists in all parts of the world, advantage has been taken of the necessity for reprinting the work, to make a thorough revision of the text, and to introduce some other improvements.
Major-General Cox, born 1838, the author of the Commentary, died on 27th October, 1909, and the revision of the work has been carried out under the direction of the British Esperanto Association (Incorporated).
Footnotes to the Preface to the First Edition have been introduced to record facts not known to the author at the time.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
Esperanto is the International Auxiliary Language created by Dr. L. L. Zamenhof, a doctor of medicine, residing at Warsaw, Poland. It is now hardly necessary to mention this fact, but there was a time, not very long ago, when many people thought that Esperanto was a patent medicine, or new kind of soap, or, in fact, anything except a language!
Its aim is not to displace existing languages, but to be a second language for the world, and its merits are now recognized by many eminent men of all nationalities.[1]
If we consider the enormous advantages of a common language, understood by all, we shall at once confess what a blessing Dr. Zamenhof has conferred upon mankind, for:—
Firstly.—It enables anyone to correspond on any topic, social, commercial, or scientific, with persons of all nationalities.[2]
Secondly.—Books of all descriptions can at once be translated into this common language, and sold all over the world; consequently, scientific and medical men will not have to wait, perhaps years, before some important treatise appears in their own language.
Lovers of fiction would also have at command the works of all the best foreign novelists.[3]
Thirdly.—At international congresses the speeches and discussions could be in Esperanto, and understood by all present, the aid of interpreters being unnecessary,