"'_That_ man hath perfect blessedness _Who_ walketh not astray,'
if expressed according to the old idiom would be, '_the_ man hath--_that_ walketh.'
"'That' and 'those,' as demonstrative adjectives, refer backward, and are not therefore well suited for the forward reference implied in making use of 'that which' and 'those who' as restrictive relatives. It is also very cumbrous to say '_that_ case _to which_ you allude' for 'the case (_that_) you allude _to_.'
"Take now the following: 'The Duke of Wellington is not one of _those who_ interfere with matters _over which_ he has no control': 'the Duke is not one of _them that_ interfere in matters _that_ they have no control _over_ (matters _that_ they can not control, _beyond their control_, _out of their province_).' If 'them that' sounds too antiquated, we may adopt as a convenient compromise, 'the Duke is not one of _those that_'; or, 'the Duke is not one to _interfere_ in matters out of his province'; 'the duke is not one _that interferes_ with _what_ he has no control _over_.'"--Bain.
THREADBARE QUOTATIONS. Among the things that are in bad taste in speaking and writing, the use of threadbare quotations and expressions is in the front rank. Some of these _usés et cassés_ old-timers are the following: "Their name is legion"; "hosts of friends"; "the upper ten"; "Variety is the spice of life"; "Distance lends enchantment to the view"; "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever"; "the light fantastic toe"; "own the soft impeachment"; "fair women and brave men"; "revelry by night"; "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
TO. It is a well-established rule of grammar that _to_, the sign of the infinitive mood, should not be used for the infinitive itself: thus, "He has not done it, nor is he likely _to_." It should be, "nor is he likely _to do it_."
We often find _to_, when the sign of the infinitive, separated by an adverb from the verb to which it belongs. Professor A. P. Peabody says that no standard English writer makes this mistake, and that, so far as he knows, it occurs frequently with but one respectable American writer.
Very often _to_ is used instead of _at_; thus, "I have been _to_ the theatre, _to_ church, _to_ my uncle's, _to_ a concert," and so on. In all these cases, the preposition to use is clearly _at_, and not _to_. See, also, AND.