Zealot (from American Heritage Dictionary discussion of synonyms fanatic/extremist/zealot/enthusiast): "refers to one who is wholeheartedly devoted to a cause or goal to and who typically seeks to advance it in a partisan manner."
And whence the word "zealot"? From the term used by Josephus to describe Jewish resistance fighters in the war of A.D.66-73. From the Columbia Encyclopedia:
This term applied to them because of their fervent veneration of the Torah and their detestation of heathens. The Zealots were organized as a party during the reign of Herod the Great (37 B.C. - 4 B.C.), whose idolatrous practices they resisted.
Later, when Cyrenius, the Roman governor of Syria, attempted to take a census, the Zealots....arose in revolt against what they considered as a plot to subjugate the Jews. Thereafter, the Zealots expressed their opposition by sporadic revolts and by violence against Jews who conformed to Roman ways...
So, I submit that the definition of "zealot" does imply activism directed at converting others to the zealot's point of view, or, at the very least, intolerance of beliefs and/or customs contrary to the zealot's own.
Hence, I repeat, one cannot be a "zealot of grammar," because grammar is a subject, not a cause, not a goal, not a conviction, not a world-view, not an ideology. Similarly, one cannot be a "zealot of golf," because golf is merely a pastime, not a conviction/cause/goal/world-view/ideology.
In such cases, I personally would prefer the term "enthusiast." Back to the Heritage Dictionary synonym comparison: enthusiast now principally implies strong interest in something like a sport or a hobby, and lacks the unfavorable connotations of the other terms.
Now, that's for me: something with no unfavorable connotations! <gg>
However, I would call myself an enthusiast of fine writing, not an "enthusiast of grammar." Fine writing assumes a command of grammar, but a command of grammar alone does not ensure fine writing. Where strictly expository prose is concerned, for example, it is every bit as important to choose and use one's words with care and precision, as it is to obey the traffic laws of grammar.
IMO, of course. No zealot I! <gg>
Joan |
