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Most of my readers will, either pay not the slightest attention to my proposition, or, doubting whether the language be of any use, never „screw up their courage to the sticking-point“ of learning it, fearing that they may be dubbed „dreamers“, a sobriquet dreaded by most people more than fire. What, then, is to be done, to dispose this mass of indifferent and undecided beings to master the international language? Could we, in imagination, look for a moment into the mind of each of these indifferent ones, we should find their thoughts to be taking somewhat of the following form. In principle, no one has anything to oppose to the introduction of an international dialect, on the contrary, all would give it their fullest approval, but each wishes to see the greater part of the civilized world able to speak the language, and himself able to comprehend it, without any preliminary „wearisome bitterness of learning“, on his own part. Then, of course, even the most indifferent would set to work, because to shirk the small amount of labour necessary for learning a language possessed of such valuable qualities, and above all, considered „the thing“ by all the educated, would be regarded as simple stupidity.
In order to supply a language ready for immediate use, without any one having to initiate the study, and to see on every hand people either already proficients in the tongue, or having promised to take it up, we must proceed somewhat in the following manner. Doubtless this little book will be scattered through various
