...of thoughts and words...



Does it happen by accident that the words shallow and hollow rhyme? 

Certainly, it is more of a coincidence than a rigid rule in English, considering how queer this language can get. Nonetheless, I am as baffled as anyone who cares. 

This is the question that occupied a greater percentage of my mind as I was going home today. For the uninitiated, I have an uncanny way of entertaining questions in my mind that for some people may be considered frivolous. Words might be too uneventful for a few to even merit a second thought but in my case would involve so much mental calisthenics. Such is the case for us who have no inheritance but a few worn out books in our old dusty shelves. 

Going back to the issue at hand, in truth, I have never fully contemplated the implications of these words before. It might be helpful to define the words. The word shallow is most commonly used as an adjective, though it could also be used effectively as a verb or a noun, to mean "little depth." Little depth may describe  a variety of things: a body of water, an opening or cavity on the ground, a vessel or the loftier-human mind, as in the case of "lacking in depth of understanding". 

On the other hand, hollow is primarily used as a noun meaning an "unfilled space". Furthermore, the word itself exhibits a number of connotations when used as an adjective. It could mean "having an indentation or inward curve", "having a cavity within" or "lacking in real value sincerity or substance". I digesting at its meaning and the parallelisms are simply staggering. I should say that these two words are not-so-distant cousins. 

There is no mistaking what Ernest Beaglehole meant when he said, "… a victory over a weakling is hollow and without triumph". He could very well mean our "shallow" understanding of victory. Is there anything more shallow than that of our empty heads? There is absolutely great value in deep thought and keen introspection for these things reflect a meaningful person. A combination of little knowledge and hasty judgment is a full blown catastrophe to one's world. 

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