There seems to have been in every period of the past, as there is now, a distinct apprehension in the minds of very many worthy persons that the English tongue is always in the condition approaching collapse, and that arduous efforts must be put forth, and put forth persistently, in order to save it from destruction.
— The Standard of Usage in English (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1908): 1-2.
— Thomas R. Lounsbury