e38z V872 UC-NRLF $B E^ M7^ ?/C 16365 OF THE UNIVERSITY ^[3 m)< r AN ESSAY ON THE Prose of John Milton. J. VODOZ. Winterthur. Buchdruckerei von G. Binkert. 1895. PJ Digitized by the Internet Arciiive in 2007 witin funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation littp://www.arcliive.org/details/essayonproseofjoOOvodoricli AN ESSAY ON THE Prose of John Milton. BY iVODQZ. Winterthur. Bucbdruckerei von G. Binkert 1895. GIFT Works Consulted. 338^ V872. Milton, The works of John, ed. by J. Mitford, Milton, Four pamphlets on Divorce, Milton, John, Areopagitica, Milton, John, Of Education, to Master S. Hartlib, Milton, John, The Reason of Church Government, Milton, John, Of Reformation touching Church Discipline, Milton, John, Of Prelatical Episcopacy, ISIiLTON, John, Eikonoklastes, Milton, John, Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, Bacon, Francis, Advancement of Learning, Herbert, Sir Tho% A relation of some years travel, &c., Taylor, Jeremy, A discourse concerning prayer, Taylor, Jeremy, Treatises of the Liberty of prophesying, HoBBES, Thos, Human Nature, Browne, Sir Thos, Hydriotaphia, English Prose, from Maundeville to Thackeray, Cam, Ser., ed. by A. Galton, SoTHEBY, S. L., Ramblings in the Elucidation of the autograph of Milton, Horwood, a. J., A common-place book of J. Milton, reproduced by the autotype process from the orig. MS., Bullokar, William, Booke at Large, &c., Mulcaster, Richard, The first part of the Elementaric, Bullokar, John, An English Expositor, Gil, Alexander, Logonomia Anglica, Hewes, John, A perfect survey of the English tongue, Butler, Charles, The English Grammar, Lily, William, An English Grammar, Hodges, Richard, A special help to Orthographic, Hodges, Richard, The English Primrose, Hodges, Richard, The plainest directions for the true writing of English, Coote, Edward, The English Schoolmaster, Miege, Guy, Nouvelle methode pour apprendre I'Anglois, Lily, William, The Royal Grammar, Lily, William, The Royal Grammar reformed, Earle, John, English Prose, Earle, John, The Philology of the English tongue, Johnson, Dr. Sam., Lives of English Poets, London, 1863. London, 1644—45 London, 1644. London, 1642. London, 1641. London, 1 64 1. London, 1641. London, 1649. London, 1649. London, 1605. London, 1634. London, 1646. London, 1648. London, 1651. London, 1658. London, 1888. London, 1861. London, 1876. London, 1580. London, 1582. London, 1616. London, 1619. London, 1O24. Oxford, 1633. London, 1641. London, 1643. London, 1644. London, 1649. London, 1662. London, 1685. London, 1685. London, 1695. London, 1890. Oxford, 1873- London, 1816. M780861 IV Pattison, Mark, Milton, Engl. Men of Letters Sen, MORLEY, Prof. Henry, First Sketch of E. Literature, BUFFOX, Discours sur le style, (Disc. Acadeniiques), Morris, Dr. Rich., Outlines of E. Accidence, Sweet, Henry, A new English Grammar I, Abbott, E. A., A Shakespearian Grammar, Mason, C. P., English Grammar, Ellis, J. Alex., On E. E. Pronunciation, The Westminster Review, LXXX, The Bookseller, 3. Oct. Nr., Matzner, Ed., Englische Grammatik, KoLBiNG, Dr. E., Englische Studien, I— XVII, ten Brink, B., Ueber Chaucer's Sprache und Verskunst, Herrig's Archiv, Bd. XXV— XXXV, Gasner, Ernst, Zum Entwicklungsgang der neu- englischen Schriftsprache, Gottschalk, LTeber den Gebrauch des Artikels in Milton's Paradise Lost, ROST, Wold., Die Orthographic der I. 4^ Ausgabe von Milton's Paradise Lost, Jorss, Paul, Grammatisches und Stilistisches aus Milton's Areopagitica, Schmidt, Heinr., Milton considered as a political writer, Stern, A., Milton und seine Zeit, London, 1890. London, 1883. Paris, 1858. London, 1873. Oxford, 1892. London, 1870. London, 1879. London, 1869—74. London, 1871. London, 1871. Berlin, 1860—66. Heilbronn, 1877—92, I^eipzig, 1884. Braunschweig. Gottingen, 1891. Halle, 1883. Leipzig, 1892. Ratzeburg, 1893. Halle, 1882. Leipzig, 1879. INTRODUCTION. When, about the year 1D40, Milton was whirled into politics, he ceased to be a poet " soaring in the high region of his fancies, with his garland and singing robes about him/^ and was brought " to sit below in the cool element of prose," ^ entering thus into the second period of his life, which Pattison so well characterises as a drama in three acts. "The first discovers him in the calm and peaceful retirement of Horton, of which l^Allegro, II Penseroso, and Lycidas are the expression. In the second act he is breathing the foul and heated atmosphere of party passion and religious hatred, generating the lurid fires which glare in the battailous canticles of his prose pamphlets. — The three great poems. Paradise Lost, Para- dise Regained, and Samson Agonistes, are the utterance of his final period of solitary and Promethean grandeur, when blind, destitute, friendless, he testified of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, alone before a fallen world." '-^ The second part of his life as a writer may then be timed from 1 64 1 to the end of the Commonwealth, 1660, and the whole number of his political pamphlets is twenty-five. Of these, twenty-one are written in English, and four in Latin. Nine relate to church govern- ment, or ecclesiastical affairs ; ^ eight treat of the various crises of the 1 Reason of Church Government. II. Introduction. 2 M. Pattison. "Milton," Engl. Men of Letters Series, p. 14. 3 I. Of Reformation touching Church Discipline in England, May 1641. 2. Of Prelaticall Episcopacy. June 1641. 3. Animadversions upon the Remon- strant's defence against Smectymnuus. July 1 64 1. 4. Reason of Church Govern- ment. Febr. 1642. 5. Apology against a pamphlet called a modest confutation. March 1642. 6. A treatise of Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes. 1659. 7. Considerations touching the likeliest means to remove Hirelings out of the- Church. 1659. 8. Brief notes upon a late Sermon by Dr. Griffiths. 1660. 9. Of true Religion, Heresy and Schism. 1673. — VI civil strife,^ and two are personal vindications of himself against one of his antagonists.^ There remain to be mentioned four pamphlets on divorce, 1643 — 1645, his tractate: — "Of Education: — to Master Samuel Hartlib " (1644), and one tract of which the subject is of aHl more general and permanent nature, the best known of all the series : — "Areopagitica: — A Speech for the Liberty of unlicensed Printing, to the Parliament of England," 1644. — The whole series extends thu^lj over a period of somewhat less than twenty years ; the earliest, viz. " Of Reformation touching Church Discipline in England, and the causes that hitherto have hindered it," having been published in 1641, the latest, entitled: — "A ready and easy way to establish a free Commonwealth," coming out in March 1660, after the torrent of royalism had set in which was to sweep away the men and the cause to which Milton had devoted himself; this is the boldest and most powerful of all Milton's English pamphlets. It is full of undying republican fervour, of unmitigated hatred and contempt of the Stuart dynasty, but also full of a wailing and mournful earnestness, and a desperate secret sense of a lost cause runs through it. mI Milton's hand is also to be clearly traced in the leading articles of a newspaper entitled " Mercurius politicus," which appeared about 1650; some of them may even be wholly of his composition. To complete the list of his prose writings we have to mention: — "Accedence Commenced Grammar " (1669), a Latin Grammar written in English; "History of Britain," to the conquest (1670); "Of true religion, heresy, schism, toleration, and what best means may be used against the Growth of Popery," his latest utterance on theological topics, published by him the year before his death, 1673. The only matter really discussed in the pages of the tract is the limit of tole- ration. — Seven years after his death, in 1681, there was published: — 1 I. Tenure of kings and magistrates. Spring 1649. 2. Observations on Ormond's Articles of Peace, &c. May 1649. 3. Eiconoclastes. October 1649. 4. Letter to a Friend concerning the Rupture of the Commonwealth. 1653. 5. Pro populo Anglicano defensio. 1650. 6. Defensio Secunda. 1654. 7. The present means, and brief delineation of a free Commonwealth. 1659. 8. The Ready and Easy Way. 1660. 2 I. Autoris pro se Defensio contra Morum. 1655. 2. Autoris Responsio. VII " Mr. John Milton's Character of the Long Parhament, and Assembly of Divines," a passage said to have been omitted from the " His- tory of Britain," and, in 1682, a compilation appeared: — "A brief history of Moscovia." — In 1743, a certain John Nickolls edited: — "The Milton Papers," consisting of letters and addresses to Crom- well and other influential men of the Commonwealth. — CHAPTER I. The Style. Before passing on to the grammatical investigation which forms the main part of our essay, we would ask leave to dwell for a few moments on the peculiarities of Milton's prose style, which necessarily strike us when we read his English pamphlets. If his great Epic Poem, " Paradise Lost," is to be admired both for the perfection of its form, and for loftiness and power of thought, we find that the latter qualities alone can be attributed to his prose, a manifestation of "left-handed power," as he himself avows. Indeed we cannot leave a work like " Areopagitica " without an overpowering sense of the majestic grandeur of his genius. — There is, it is true, something impressive in all his composition; there is scholarship in the masterly logic with which he draws out the legions of his arguments into array, and flanks them with the thunder of his eloquence; there is art which surpasses, without repeating, the art of a Demosthenes in constantly bringing before the mind of the reader, in different dress and with different direction of attack, the facts and the conclusions which he wishes him to grasp. But it is in this feature alone that his giant mind excels ; in the more delicate branches of his art, his efforts are, as a rule, clumsy.^ One of the truest words that Dr. Johnson ever uttered concer- ning another author, was when he said that " Milton never learned 1 The lecture of Hill, G. F. "Prize Essay" on the Prose Style of John Milton, London, U. Coll., 1885, has inspired many remarks in this chapter. 1 the art of doing little things with grace ; he overlooked the milder excellence of suavity and softness ; he was a Lion that had no skill in dandling the Kid." ^ And thus, in spite of the strictly scientific spirit which guided him in the composition of his pamphlets and treatises,- the reader will be early to lay a hand of blame on the frequent obscurity of his sentences, — a remarkable peculiarity of his prose style, — on the repeated occurrence of passages in which his constructions are inspired by the Latin syntax, and on the many distinct traces of Euphuism. Where Milton is obscure to us, he sometimes rivals another prose author of high rank : — Thucydides. There is this difference, however, that the ancient author was obscure for the most part in the extreme pregnancy of every word he used and in its in- timate connection with several different parts of the sentence,*'^ while Milton, remarkable as he is for the absence of that " wind " which is so characteristic of Cicero, is most obscure to us where he gives us length of sentences. This is often the case, for Milton hates a writer who makes sentences by the statute, " as if all above three inches long were confiscate." The fact is that he had more to say than he could say. His thoughts rush upon him in a throng that he can at times scarcely order and control. These thoughts natu- rally arrange themselves in relative sentences, and complicated thoughts generate complicated sentences. But beneath all his prose periods the fire of his poetry may be seen gleaming, and ever and anon it breaks through and blazes up supreme ; then, the poet bears us through, to the end of the longest sentences, on the wings of the rhythm and harmony of words which we so constantly and easily discover in them, and of which the few fragments quoted below will give ample illustrations. 1 Johnson, Samuel. Lives of E. Poets. Milton. Chandos Classics, p. 65. 2 As an example of it we may mention the careful divisions and subdivi- sions in the discussion of punishment. Reason of Church Government. Book II. Chapter 3. 3 Cicero, De orat. II. 13. 56. Omnes dicendi artificio mea sententia facile vicit; qui, ita creber est rerum frequentia, ut verborum prope numerum sententiarum numero consequatur ; ita porro verbis est aptus et pressus, ut nescias utrum res oratione an verba sententiis illustrentur. Naturally it is in the general colouring of his style that we find Milton's poetical nature showing itself most clearly. Depredators of his style, and there are not a few, complain that there is a want of eloC[uence and poetical spirit in his prose works. But, have they read, have they been able to appreciate that noblest piece of English prose ever written : — the introduction to the second book of the Reason of Church Government ? Could they display the rare combination of poetry and learning which marks the first chapter of the first book of the same work? Have they a power of analogy equal to that which, when the " dunce prelates " boast that they are the protectors of the Church from schism, breaks out upon them with : — "The winter might as well vaunt itself against the spring: — I destroy all rank and noisome weeds, I keep down all pestilent vapours ; yes, and all wholesome herbs, and all fresh dews, by your violent and hidebound frost : — but when the gentle west winds shall open the fruitful bosom of the earth, thus overgirded by your imprisonment, then the flowers put forth and spring, and then the sun shall scatter the mists, and the manuring hand of the tiller shall root up all that burdens the soil without thank to your bondage? " Is there imagery and metaphor in them like that which runs through every greater work of Milton? Mark the description of Love in " Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, I. 6 ": — "Love, if he be not twin born, yet hath a brother wondrous like him, called Anteros : whom while he seeks all about, his chance is to meet with many false and faining Desires, that wander singly up and down in her likeness. By them in their borrowed garb, Love though not wholly blind, as Poets wrong him, yet having but one eye, as being born an Archer aiming, and that eye not the quickest in this region here below, which is not Love's proper sphere, partly out of the simplicity, and credulity which is native to him, often deceived, imbraces and consorts him with these obvious and suborned striplings, as if they were his Mother's own sons, for so he thinks them, while they subtly keep themselves most on his blind side. But after a while, as his manner is, when soaring up into the high Tower of his Apogaeum, above the shadow of the earth, he darts out the direct _ 4 — rays of his then most piercing eyesight upon the impostures, and trim disguises that were used with him, and discerns that this is not his genuine brother, as he imagined, he has no longer the power to hold fellowship with such a personal mate. fl For straight his arrows loose their golden heads, and shed their purple feathers, his silk'n breades untwine, and slip their knots, and that original and fiery virtue given him by fate, all on a sudden goes out and leaves him undeified and despoiled of all his force : till finding Anteros at last, he kindles and repairs the almost faded ammunition of his deity by the reflection of a coequal and homo- geneal fire." — I think we may safely say that there are passages of greater grandeur in Milton than in any other English prose-writer. I hs-xe instanced some, others are the peroration to " Areopagitica," in which we find these wonderful prophetic words : — " Methinks I see in my mind a noble and puissant Nation rousing herself like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her invincible locks : — Methinks I see her as an Eagle muing her mighty youth, and kindling her undazzled eyes at the full midday beam; purging and unsealing her long abused sight at the fountain itself of heavenly radiance, while the whole noise of timorous and flocking birds, with those also that love the twilight, flutter about, amazed at what she means, and in their envious gabble would prognosticate a year of sects and schisms." Read also the peroration to the sixth chapter of the first book, and — most Miltonic of all — the whole conclusion to the second book of the "Reason of Church Government". — As to the character of Milton's prose works, it is, of course, as a rule highly polemical. But against all complaints of the violence of his attacks on his enemies, Milton can easily and triumphantly defend himself. He most specially pleads his cause in the long and eloquent passage in the introduction to the second Book of the Reason of Church Government, to which I have so frequently referred, in which he declares, with all the truth in the world on his side, that "no man can be justly off'ended with him that shall endea- vour to impart and bestow, without any gain to himself, those sharp but saving words which would be a terror and a torment in him to — 5 — keep back," — quite enough vindication of the part he took in the paper war of his day. It was not himself that he was defending, so much as the truth of the cause for which he was fighting, the " evan- gelic doctrine which opposes the tradition of prelacy." He was indeed forced to this course of action, refusing as he did " to praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and seeks her adversary, but slinks out of the race where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat." If he did in the contest sometimes descend to folly, yet, " how hard is it when a man meets with a fool to keep his tongue from folly." — The coarseness which sometimes shows itself in his humour is as much a characteristic of his age as is the puritanical enthusiasm with which he is filled. He cannot therefore be blamed for what of coarseness we do find in his pages. Nay, rather, he is to be prai- sed for the remarkable absence of it in most of them. The work in which this kind of humour most comes out is the "Apology for Smectymnuus." There is, however, nothing in the slightest degree immoral in it. It makes us laugh, — who could help laughing at the image of the " foot episcopal, with the four toes prelatical, and the great toe Metropolitan" sending up its stench to heaven? A peculiarity which must strike every one with regard to Milton's humour is this, that when it is not coarse, it is extremely bitter. He seems to have a talent for catching up a mistake on his adversary's part, explaining it to him, and then with great force and emphasis showing him the consequences. Take one example from the "Reason of Church Government " : — "That the Prelates have no sure foundation in the Gospel, their own guiltiness does manifest; they would not else run questing up as high as Adam to fetch their original, as it is said one of them lately did in public. To which assertion, had I heard it, because I see they are so insatiable of antiquity, I should gladly have assented, and confessed them yet more ancient : — for Lucifer, before Adam, was the first prelate angel; and both he, as is commonly thought, and our forefather Adam, as we all know, for aspiring above their orders, were miserably de- graded." Milton is somewhat fond of establishing a connexion — 6 — between the hero of his great epic and prelaty, "who sends her haughty prelates from all parts with their forked mitres, the badge of schism, or the stamp of his cloven foot whom they serve." And he treats in the same way the Star-chamber in the last paragraph of "Areopagitica " : — "For this authentic Spanish policy of licencing books, if I have said ought, will prove the most unlicenced book itself within a short while ; and was the immediate image of a Star- chamber decree to that purpose made in those very times when that court did the rest of those her pious works, for which she is now fallen from the stars with Lucifer." ^ A prose so powerful, characterised by so striking idiosyncrasies of its writer, in its moral as well as in its purely aesthetical aspect, was the result of a most careful training, as Milton himself explains : — "I must say therefore that after I had from my first years by the ceaseless diligence and care of my father, whom God recompense, been exercised to the tongues, and some sciences, as my age would suffer, by sundry masters and teachers, both at home and at the schools, it was found that whether ought was imposed me by them that had the overlooking, or be taken to of mine own choice in English, or other tongue, prosing or versing, but chiefly this latter, the style by ceiiain vital signs it had, was likely to liveP ^ CHAPTER 11. English Grammar in the time of Milton. Milton's English, as it is exemplified in the prose works on the study of which the following remarks are based,^ belongs to that period which Sweet in his "New English Grammar" qualifies as 1 Cf. Hill. Prize Essay. 2 Reason of Church Government. II. Introd. 3 Our statements are based on the careful reading of: — a. Milton's autograph notes in the Bible printed by Rob. Barker, London, i6i2. Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 32310; — 7 — Earlv Modern English (Early Mn. E. ; Tudor English; English of Shakespere), and which he approximatively dates from 1500 — 1650. That period is characterised by the fact that in it the language became mainly uninflectional, with only scanty remains of the older inflections. It is also the period during which the London dialect became fully predominant, becoming thus the only one used in writing throughout England. Uniformity of spelling, however, and generally acknowledged rules of Grammar did not exist in any way, and thus, that Early Modern Period is but a period of experiment and comparative licence, both in the importation and in the formation of new words, idioms, and grammatical constructions. — But it was chiefly in the domain of spelling that the decay of Anglo-Saxon (which, as regards the inflections, had already attained its highest degree), went on for a considerable space of time, bringing about great irregularity and licence which may easily be traced down to our days, where it makes itself felt in the double — and even multiple — spelling of many words. And yet it is from this Early Modern Period that grammarians date the epoch of reorganisation of the language, — a reorganisation which was due, in great part, to the influence of the Romance h. the prose passages (fac-similes) found in S, L. Sotheby's "Ramblings in the Elucidation of the autograph of Milton." London, 1861 ; c. "A Common-place book of John Milton reproduced by the autotype process from the original MS," Edited by A. J. Horwood, under the direction of the Roj^al Society of Literature. London, 1876 ; d. Milton's pamphlet "Of Prelatical Episcopacy" (12 pages read). London, 1641. 4O; e. his pamphlet "The Reason of Church Government." London. 1641. 4^; f. "Animadversions upon the Remonstrants defence against Smectym- nuus." London, 1641 (17 pages read); g. on a very careful study of " Areopagitica." London, 1644, and ed. Hales, Clar. Press. 1886; h. "Of Education." To Master Samuel Hartlib. London, 1644; /. "The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce;" Book I. Cap. 1 — 6. London, 1645. k. "Eikonoklastes." London, 1649 (12 pages readj. We have confined ourselves to the study of works written and published before 1652, for we do not know how far Milton may be made responsible for the spelling, in the first editions of his pamphlets, after his having lost his sight. — (French) element, which not only enriched its vocabulary, but als( furthered and assisted the development of its whole system. Those grammarians are, in the main, right. The authority of Chaucer, who was the father, as it were, ol correctly written English, had long been prevailing, but it began to be questioned, when the rules of spelling set down and observed by him could no more be recognised universally, because they could not be made to harmonise with the spoken language, whose sounds went on changing with even greater rapidity than before. — The need of a grammar was therefore strongly felt in England, and many an attempt was made to bring about uniformity of spelling and of accidence, and to teach the people correct writing and pronunciation. In the following pages we shall endeavour to complete, as far as possible, what Mr. A. Ellis, in his work on Early English Pronun- ciation, has been writing summarily on the grammarians of the first half of the seventeenth century, and in subsequent chapters we shall have frequent occasion to refer to the books discussed here.^ The Latin schoolbooks used by previous generations were still kept in honour in the Grammar Schools, and it was not till the beginning of the XVIIT^' century that reliable books on grammar, methodically arranged for the use of the progressing pupils, came into use in the schools of the people, while Grammar Schools went on following the old line for some time 3'et.- The old Hornbook, with its alphabet. Lord's Prayer and a few lines to spell and read, had been in general use till the XV^'^ century. As late as 17 16 Hornbooks were to be bought for two pence. It had been followed by the Battledore, so named because used as a toy by the children, of similar character, but different in form, two pages folding on a third in the centre. — The Piimer succeeded. 1 Mr, J. A. Ellis, in "On E. E. Pronunciation," London, 187 1 — 1874, discusses the following authors (the dates indicate the year of the publication of their work) :— J. Hart, 1569; Bullokar, W"»; Gill, A.; Butler, Ch.; Mulcaster; Black Letter Book, 1602; Ben Jonson, 1640; Gataker, Tho", 1646; Willis, Tho*, 1651; Wallis, John, 1653 — 1699; Wilkins, John, 1668; Price, Owen, 1668; Holder, W'», 1669; Poole, Josua, 1677; Cooper, C, 1685; Miege, Guy, 1688.. Cf. Ellis, On Early English Pronunciation, L 26, 35, 36 et seq., to p. 69. 2 Cf. The Bookseller. Oct. 3'' 187 1, p. 818. "An article on Schoolbooks." which was not only a spelHng-book, but also a reading-book, hymn- book, and picture-book combined; handy little six-penny books, which can be bought to this day. In 1568, there appeared a more compendious book: — ''A sliorte dictionary for younge Beginners, gathered of good aidhors, specially Columel, Grapald and Pliny." Author unknown.^ Now this dictionary was followed in 1580 by the first serious attempt at a scientific exposition of English spelling: — Bnllokars Booke at large, for the amendment of orthographic for English Speechr This curious black spelling-book has a preface: — "Bullokar to his coun- trie," in which Bullokar tells us: — "I did meane to put it in print above two years past, had I not then understanded by a friende of mine that the like was already handled in print, by Sir Tho^ Smith and maister Chester, of whose workes nor the like done by any other I never understood untill then." ^ In a prologue in 102 verses (14 syllabic iambs), the author sings the praise of language given by God to man and wife, and goes on in the first chapter to discuss the old ABC, and to expound the causes which have led him to amend it. He begins his "amendment" in the third chapter, discussing many letters, without any method, and introduces abbreviative signs to replace all the letters that are not sounded and which he care- fully drops in writing. — He states that 6 letters of the old alphabet are alone perfect : — a, b, d, f, k, x, whereas the English language possesses 37 different sounds, and after having gone so far as to say, in the VP'^ chapter, that even the other nations will be assisted in their treatment of language by his improvements, he draws up his alphabet: — 37 different signs for 37 sounds, which he briefly explains. From the VIP'' chapter onward, he gives examples, first ^ I have been unable to find the book. 2 Bullokar, William, Phonetist, ab. 1520 — 1590, was engaged in teaching for the best part of his life; he studied agriculture and law. He published: — Pmji- phlet for spelling, 1580; Aesop's Fables translated into Enghsh from the Latin, 15^5 5 ^ Bref Grammar ("the first that ever was except my grammar at large"), 1586. — The latter is not at the Brit. Museum. The Booke at Large has 59 pages, after a prologue and a preface. ^ The two books here referred to have never been found. — 10 — of words, — beginning with "a ballanc'" — and ending with "too hop," — always using double consoiiants to express shortness of vowel ; the VIIP'^ chapter contains examples "of paiers of vowels and halfe vowels;" in the IX^'' chapter follow examples of spelling, dividing words into their syllables; from the XP*^ chapter to the end, he makes use of his own signs, and repeats in a but slightly more concise form all that has gone before. He ends in the XIP^^ and Xlir'' chapter by giving whole pieces of reading in prose and verse. The influence of Bullokar's book does not seem to have made itself deeply felt, — it did not go through any more editions. It was followed in 1596 by a most interesting philological work, entitled : — The English Schoolmaster, teaclmig all his scholars, of what age so ever, the most easie, short and perfect order of distinct reading, a?id true wiiting of our English tongue that hath ever yet been known or published by any. And further also, teacheth a direct course, hoiv any unskillfull person may easily both understand any hard English ivords, which they shall in the Sciiptures, sermons, or els-ivhere hear or read : — and also be made able to use the same aptly themselves ; and generally ivhatsoever is necessary to be known for the English speech : — so that he which hath this Book only, needeth to buy 710 other to make him fit from his Letters imto the Gramrnar School, for an Apprentice, or any other his private use, so far as concerneth English. And therefore is made not only for children, though the first Book be meer chil- dish for them, but also for all other, especially for those that are ignorajit in the Latine tongue. Devised for thy sake thai ivantest any pati of this skill, by Edivard Coote, Master of the Free-School in St. Edmunds Buty, N'oiv the 3/ time impiinted. London. Sey bourn, for the company of Stationers, 1662. This 31^* edition is the sole now extant at the British Museum, but it appears from what Coote says in the preface that the book had been printed for the first time in 1596; it had been printed 33 times by 1665, and 42 times by 1684. (The second part gives the pronunciation of English words in 1668). In the opening words, " the schoolmaster his Profession," Coote undertakes "to teach his scholars that they shall never erre in writing the true orthography of any word truly pronounced." The "Profes- sion" (2 pp.) is followed by "the Preface for directions to the reader" — 11 — (3 pp.)» iri which the schoolmaster introduces his method, praising it as giving far more ease and pleasure to the learner, the result of which is far more speed; to bring this about, he has "put no more letters than are of absolute necessity," writing: — tempi, tun (= tune), plum (= plume). He addresses himself to the people at large, but chiefly to the less educated classes, "small tradesmen and such like," his object is to enable them to spell correctly, in order that they may not be ashamed of writing a letter to a friend ; so he drops all that is not essential, proper names, for instance, the spelling and use of which is so unsettled. — After having exposed his alphabetical table, he begins, on page i of the first part, by giving us a list of simple open syllables: — fo, la; on page 2, closed syllables: — fog, lad, and so on through eight chapters, passing from simple words to complicated ones, in sound and spelling, thus : — ca, cat, caught ; gir, girdl. In the second part of his book, beginning at page 1 1, we are taught the division of words into syllables, again by simple lists of words; the rules which those examples are to illustrate are laid down as marginal notes. — Letters not pronounced are discussed in chapter IV; from chapter V onward we have sundry other obser- vations for perfecting the scholar, and we shall have occasion to refer to them below. The last chapter, the VHP'', contains more spelling examples. In the third part of the work we find a great variety of pieces for reading: a short catechism, prayers, a few chapters taken from the book of proverbs, the psalms taken from the prayer-book, and finally some " arithmetick " and a very inter- esting list of the most important dates in the history of the world : a first period goes from the birth of Seth, in the year 130 from the Creation of the World, to 1650 date of the Universal Flood; the second period covers from the year 2 after the Universal Flood to the Law given in 858; the third period ends with the birth of Christ; the last period covers from the birth of Christ to the year 500, when the Goths conquered Italy. From the 58^'' page to the ']']^^ (to the end of the book), we have a " vocabulary for the unskilful how to spell ; " it contains about 1300 words; expressions not likely to be known are explained, — 12 — thus : — "Apostasie " is " falling away ; " " Lapidarie " means " skilful in stones." That little book must have been very favourably received by those for whom it was compiled, the enormous number of editions it went through in a comparatively short time clearly shows its extraordinary popularity. It was intended to be a practical guide for the non-educated, and the author fully succeeded in making it to be so. Twenty years seem to have elapsed before John Bullokar^ felt himself induced to publish his "English Expositor" : — "teaching the interpretation of the hardest ivords used i?i our Language, with stmdry explications, descriptions and discourses. London. Printed by John Legatt, 1616." A large number of words had come in to increase the English vocabulary through the channel of French, Italian and Spanish, but their meaning was still unknown to the people at large, and the Expositor was doubtless needed. After a dedicatory Epistle to " Lady Jane Vicountesse Mountague," and a few words addressed to the reader, the author gives us a long list of words, nearly all of foreign origin, and endeavours to make their meaning clear to his countrymen. Thus, he explains : — Abbreviate =- to make short, to abridge; Ablution - a washing; Baptist or washer -- St. John the sonne of Zacharias, was so called for that hee first began to baptize or wash men in the river of Jordan to the remission of sinnes. Catholike --- a greeke word signifying universal! or generall. 1 BuUokar, John, ab. 1580 — 1641, Doctor of physic, residing at Chichester in 16 1 6, was attached to "Ladie Jane Viscountesse Mountague." He wrote his Expositor in his youth, "at the request of a worthy gentleman whose love pre- vailed much with him," and gave it to the world in 16 16. The second edition appeared in 1621, the third in 1641, shortly after which he must have died, for a fourth edition, which appeared in 1656, is said "to be newly revised, corrected and, with the addition of above a thousand words, enlarged. By W. S." A fifth edition appeared at Cambridge in 1676 under the editorship of a "lover of the arts." The seventh edition bears the date 1684, a sixth must then have shortly followed the fifth. The eighth and last appeared in London, in 1719, and was prepared by R. Browne, author of " The English School Reform'd." — 13 — It is a decided improvement on the Booke at large of William Bullokar as regards the uniformity of the spelling, and we shall have occasion to refer to the Expositoi- now and again. Three years later Milton's master, Alexander Gil, of St. Paul's School, published for the use of the schoolboys who knew Latin, his Logono7nia Aiiglica, qua gentis senno facillus addiscitur. Conscripta ah Alexafidro Gil, Paidinae Scholae rnagistro Priviario. Londmi. Excudit Johannes Beak, i6ig. ^ The dedicatory Epistle to King James I., in Latin, is followed by a preface to the reader, in Latin as well. In that preface Gil tries to sketch the history of the English tongue, praising it as most practical and worthy to become the universal language. He adds a few remarks on the desirability of introducing a new spelling, the spelling in use at his time being most corrupt; he alludes, as Bullokar had done before, to attempts at a reform by Thomas Smith, "ex equestri ordine," by Thomas Mulcaster and by Chester. No mention is made of Coote's Schoolmaster. The first chapter begins with a definition : — " Logonomia est comprehensio regularum quibus sermo ignotus facilius addisci potest." — The study of a language comprises four parts : — Grammar,. Etymology, Syntax, Prosody. — The sounds, the syllables, the rules of speinng are carefully exposed in the seven chapters of the first part. — The second part: — " Etymologia," chapter VIII — XIII, to page 62, treats of derivation, composition, comparison, diminution, then of "Vocum species": — noun, pronoun, verb; " de consignifi- cativis": — article, adverb, conjunction, preposition, interjection. — The "Syntax," chapter XIV — XVIII, treats of adjectives, numbers, substantives and their cases, and of the verbal construction. — The last part, devoted to Prosody, is an illustration of the rules of Poesy,, by examples taken from Spenser's " Faery Queene ; " a last word "Ilapaivcaiq" to the reader, containing an honourable mention of 1 Alexander Gill, the Elder, 1565 — 1635, high-master of St. Paul's School,, was born in Lincolnshire ab. 1564 — 1565. In March 1607 — 1608 he became high-master of St. Paul's School in succession to R. Mulcaster. He was famous not only as a schoolmaster, but also as a " learned man, a noted Latinist, critic, and divine," He wrote: — i. A treatise concerning the Trinitie of Persons in Unitie oftheDeitie. Lond., i6or, 8", 2^ ed. 1635. 2. Logon. Angl., 1619, 2"^ ed. 1621. 3. Sacred Philosophie of the Holy Scripture. Lond., 1635, 8"; with reprint of i.. Cf. R. Stern, "Milton and seine Zeit," I, 31, 42, 80, 206. 14 9 e work Minshaw, — author of the "Ductor ad linguas," — concludes the of 150 pages. — Written as it was by a scholar for scholars, this work could not possibly have been of great influence on the language at large, but Milton knew of it, and we shall occasionally have t^BI refer to it. ^' A very curious book was published in the year 1624, under the title: — ''A peifed survey of the English tongue, taken according to ^^MH use and analogic of the Latine, arid serveth for the more plaine exposition of the, Grammaticall Rides and Precepts, collected by Lillie and for the more certain translation of the English tongue into Latine. IH Together with sundry good demonstrations, by ivay of sentences in either tongue. Written and collected by John Heives, Master of Arts. Piincipiis cognitis, multo facilius extrema intelligentur. (Cicero pro Cluentio.) London. Printed by Ediuard All-de for William Garret. 1624^ The main object of the author was to assist students in the translation of "the English tongue into Latine." He starts from the English grammar as basis, he exposes it systematically and clearly, and to every English rule he opposes the Latin rule fitting the case. We have thus practically two grammars in one book; and Hewes' considerations on the English language are often remarkably clear and worthy of our attention. The book seems to have been appre- ciated ; the Bishop of London, to whom it is dedicated, must have taken a deep interest in the endeavours of the author, and another proof of his success are the eight epigrams found between the dedi- cation and the preface, seven in Latin and one in English, written by friends of Hewes, in the author's praise. The preface " to all teachers of the art of Grammar in the Latin tongue" (6 pp.) con- tains the following words, which we quote in order to justify our mention of the work in this place: — "I have heere made an exact survey of the English tongue, as the same may for the use of all the parts of speech in composition best conduce or accord with the Latines, and so I have made as a posteriori the English tongue for those that are English, the first ground worke to the Latine." Accordingly, the first part of his work is an exposition of the English tongue, in which he discusses first the parts of speech, their characteristic signs and use (e. g. " A and the are signes of noune — 15 — substantive"), "the moodes, the tenses, the generall rules of the syntax of the cases." Cases according to him can only be marked by prepositions, of the Saxon genitive he makes no mention. Then he goes on to state the Latin rules of concord, and the second part of this grammar does not lie within the range of our discussion. Near the end, on the loo^^^ page, Hewes speaks of the "diffe- rence between the dialect of the Latines and that of the English," and ends with : — " The author his counsell and Exhortation to his beloved Pupils and those of all ages." It is a praise of the art of grammar, " the doore to all good Artes and Institutions ; " he fills 1 6 pages with this encomium, declaring learning to be a necessity for the state. " Learning is a glory to young men, but it draweth a reverence and honour to the Aged . . . , it seemeth of itselfe to adorne and beautifie all Ages and Degrees." The year 1633 witnessed the publication of "The English Gravimar, or the institution of letters, syllables and words, in the English tongue ; whereimto is aniiexed an index of words like and unlike. By Charles Butler, Magd. Master of Arts. Oxford. Turfier, 1633."'^ This philological work, to which we shall have occasion to refer later on, contains 63 pages of grammar, in which the author discusses the letters, the syllables, the words (noun substantive, noun adjective, pronouns, verbs, adverbs), the words adjunct ; finally : — tone and sound, accent and the "points."-— Ellis in his " Early English Pro- 7iimciation " has given a detailed account of the book. We pass on, then, to a series of publications by a schoolmaster named Hodges, between 1640 — 1650, the first of which appeared in 1643, under the title: — "A special help to orthographie : — or, the true ^ Butler, Charles, philologist, was born at Great Wycomb (probably). On leaving Oxford, in 1587, he received the mastership of the free school at Basing- stoke, Hamps., together with the curacy of Skewres which he held for 7 years. He was then for 48 years vicar of Lawrence-Wotton, where he died on the 29*^ of March 1647. His works are : — i. The Feminine Monarchie, or a Treatise concerning Bees and the due ordering of Bees. 1609, 8"; 2'^ ed. 1623; 3^ ed. 1634, was printed in phonetic spelling : — " The Feminin' Monarchi', or the Histori of Bees;" — 2. A Latin treatise on Rhetoric, 1629; — 3. Y^u^-^kvt'.a, on affinity as a bar to marriage, 1625 ;— 4. English Grammar, 1633; 2*1 ed. 1634; — 5. The Principles of Music in singing and setting, Lond, 4", dedicated to Prince Charles, 1636, writing of English. Consisting of such ivords as are alike in sound and unltk both in their signification and iviiting: — as also of such zuords whici near alike in sound that they are sometimes taken one for another. Whereunto are added diverse orthographical obsewations, very needfull to be knoiv^BA^ Publisht by Richard Hodges, a School Master divelling in Southivark, at the Midle-gate within Mountague-close, for the benefit of all such as do aff^c^^. True- Writing. Ij)ndo?i. March 2'K Printed for Richard Cotes, 164^." — Ml In the first 2 7 pp. we have a series of examples, alphabetically arranged, illustrating the use of " such words as are alike in sound, and unlike both in their signification and writing, expresst by different letters." Forty examples fall under A, for instance : — To assent or agree; an ascent or going up; a sent or savour. — Let him that hath a lo7jd voycQ, be allow' d to speak aloud. — 22 ex. of words beginning with B, ex. : To boiv the knee; the bough of a tree. — 22 ex. of words beginning with C: — Cox, an mans sirname; cocks and Hens; cocketh up the hay. — D gives nine examples: — It is not worth a dollar; fuj oi dolour ^^\A griefe. — E yields 7 examples, F 18, G 9, H 21, I J 7, K 3, L 12, M 17, N 3, O 6, P 15, R 30, S 35, T 20, V Wii, Y5.- Then follow "such words which are so neer alike in sounds as that they are sometimes taken one for another, are also expressed by different letters, in these examples following." 1 1 examples are given of words beginning with A ; (ex : Ask the carpenter for his ax, whereby he hath done such strange acts ; the ant is a wise crea- ture; an uncle and an aunt.)— 23 examples are given of words beginning with B; (bowes and arrows; boughs and branches.) 12 examples of words with C ; (his chaps are ful of chops.) Words begin- ning with D yield 11 examples, with E 8, with F 12, G 5, H 10, I 9, K 3, L 8, M 13, N 5, O 4, P 2y, R 8, S 28, T 8, U 5, W 12. Hodges then gives a few "examples of some words wherein one sound is expresst diverse ways in writing." So: — seai^d, con- fmous, scewdi, cedar, manasseh, Phari^^^,WooU^i^ .yc^edule, <:^^sing, and so on. — The important part of the book, however, lies in the " special observations very needful to bee known, for the help of true writing," made concerning the use of consonants and vowels; they will often be referred to in this essay. Strange to say, however, eth \ iHEENGUai pklMROSE- Farfiirpaflingal others of t^s kinde^thatcvcr grew in anj[]ffigliftr garden t by thcful iigl^t whereof, t^ere wil ma- nifcftlj; appear, Tijic Eaficft and Spccdicft-way, both for the tnk fpcllihg and reading of fnglift, as * alf 6 for ti^it True-writing thereof : ^hacefbrwas pt^cld^ , known to tl;iis day. Planted f with. no final pairts) by Richard HodgtSja School-maftcr, dwcljifig in $outl;i- ; "^"^^rfe, at t^c midle-gate within Moim- * Jj tagiie:cl^: for the exceeding great ^ bcncfrtjb6thof hi^ownCoun- tr^-mcnand Scran^Jcrs. Approved alf6by;the Learned, and publi&t by Authority, If the trumpet give an uncertain found, who fhal prepare himfelf to the batte^i CQM4.8 : .LONDON ™-Q}:- 9n mi fof ^a^lg^j^ J Fac-simile of the title page of Hodges' English Primrose (p. 17). 1 — 17 - Hodges after having stated the case, and discussed the convenience, or the inconvenience, of the speUing in use, does not venture to sum up in a definite rule; he always humbly says: — "I leave these things to the consideration of the learned." — He was not writing for the learned, then, as it appears still more clearly from the publi- cation of his next httle book (120 pp.), whose title page is interesting enough to be reproduced here.^ In his preface to the reader, he declares in the first place that every man's object ought to be to know God; in order to know God we must be able to read the Bible ; therefore our great aim in life is to be the gaining of sacred knowledge. But this is hard and diffi- cult for master and pupil, and the fault does not alway lie with the pupil when he is punished, "but in the uncertain, and perplext and intricate expressing of our Tongue, by letters wrong named ; and by their various sounds and forces attributed to them ; " so he will endeavour to show "how the inconvenience and uncertaintie in our expressing the English Language may be remedied without infring- ing of custom;" he will do this by introducing marks of distinction for the consonants. — His own spelling however is, in the preface, very unsettled. Hodges adds to it a short poem of 26 ten syllabled lines, "The authours invitation to al such as are ignorant, to gain the knowledge of reading the Holy Scriptures, by means of his book." There follows a " New^ Hornbook," being an exposition of the letters and sounds, with their names. 13 vowels and diphthongs and 29 consonants are distinguished, and signs introduced to distinguish the consonants among themselves; e mute is to be denoted by^, mod. u, o are written u, 6, mod. a and e — a, e. Unfortunately the discussion and explanation of vowels long and short, of diphthongs and consonants, is so confuse that we must not be astonished if the author himself, when he attempts to use his own modified alphabet, shows great uncertainty and clumsiness. I have failed to discover an explanation of the meaning of the signs — , *">, ^, c used with consonants. ^ A photograph of the title page was taken for me by Mr. James Hyatt, 47, Great Russell-st., London, W. C. The book is in the Brit. Museum. — 18 — Pages of spelling examples follow, of syllables with two letters ; then come lists of words illustrating: — i) syllables which can be used both at the beginning and at the end of a word; 2) such syllables as can only be used at the end; 3) such syllables as can only be used at the beginning of words. The same course is adopted to exemplify the use of syllables with three letters, then with y^?^r letters ; and finally 27 pages of more complicated syllables, and words to be spelt. Various pieces follow, as reading exercises, and are, of course, all taken from the Holy Scripture. Finally we find in the '■'■ Pmiirose" " Certain brief rules for the true spelling of any English word, or the dividing of it into syllables;" the syllable is defined, we are shown how to divide a word into syllables. An example of those rules may be quoted: — "i^^ If two vowels come together both fully pro- nounc't and no diphthong, you must put the first of these to the syllable aforegoing and the latter of them to the syllable following, as in cre-ate, cre-a-ted. 2"^^. Double consonants are to be divided:-^, ad-der, bet-ter." ^| The rules of punctuation are likewise exemplified. The numbers, cardinal and ordinal ("expressing the order of any thing"), are next discussed, to them are added a table of numeration and one of multiplication, and the book closes with: — "An answer to give satis- faction to al such who think that this new way of teaching wil dis- courage learners, because there are more letters to bee learned than were before." On the contrary, says Hodges, "it is a cause of excee- ding great encouragement, because they shal now learn letters with greater certaintie than ever;" hitherto people used to express all the difi'erent spunds of one vowel by the same sign, whereas now, it will be easier for them to write and read, since a difference is to be made in the representation of the various sounds of o in modest, money, moving, motion, mother; so also between the various sounds of u in: — bustle, bugle, bushes, bury, busy; one sees at once that in the following words is to be sounded in seven different ways: — tongs, toilgues, note, nought, wombe, woman, women. — The author leaves us now, after having expressed his readiness to accept any proposals or suggestions that might improve his system. The innovation, then, would consist in the introduction of the following 19 — signs: kj, n, —, •• , above and below the letters of the alphabet, c 3 below, and - above them. — upon or under a vowel or a consonant denotes that it is not to be sounded: — sight. * upon vowels denotes length, also, kinde, by, note, biagle. o, below consonants and vowels, seems to denote their being open, mother, in. u, above and below consonants and vowels, would then denote their being closed, money, dwelling. • • gives to e the sound e in mod. "Peter" and to a the sound a, as in mod. ''lakef so gate, easiest, great, prepare; but then how are we to account for •• in there? as to D and c, I fail to discover their meaning; c never occurs except under h in ///, under /in of. — Hodges himself makes very' sparing use indeed of these signs in his book, and never, as said above, condescends to give us a clear expla- nation of their meaning; the discussion of this proposed reform might form the subject of another essay. That curious little book, the ^^Primrose," did not prove success- ful ; the author's method had been attacked, and his last words leave us under the impression that he himself was not quite satisfied with it, for it was not practical in any way. But Hodges did not rest until he had made another attempt to settle the question of spelling and grammar in a new treatise, entitled: — ''The Plainest Directions for the true Writing of English, that ever was hitherto publisht: — Especially of such words ivhose sounds are altogether alike, and their signification altogether unlike: — and of such whose sounds are so neer alike that they are ofte?i times taken one for another. Whereunto are added divers useful tables. Invented by Richard Hodges, a wel-zuisher to learning. London. Pnnted by W^ Dugard for Tho^ Euster at the Gun i?t Ivie Lane. June2g. i64g." (66pp.) This is simply a second edition of the author's "Special Help to Orthographie, &c.," slightly augmented and revised. He begins by giving under A "44 words (instead of 40) as are altogether alike in sound, and unlike both in their signification and writing, most plainly expresst by different letters in examples" such as this: — "Hee did assent thereunto, at the ascent of the Hil, and hee smelt there such a sent or savor, that was verie offensive." — One difference is this, that Hodges now gives no more the mere words, but forms — 20 — short sentences, so under C, we find: — '*Mr. Cox wil kil his coci and hens before he cocketh up his hay." The "special observations, very needful to bee known, for tl help of true writing" follow on page 40, and they turn out to the same as in the "Special Help," except in one or two passages^ the passage in which "o-" is discussed, as in ''judgfnent," where he had said, "Special Help," p. 18, "but as for things of this kinde, I have spoken at large in another work, which I intend yer long to publish," — is now altered to: — "but as for things of this kinde, and how they may be remedied, I refer thee (reader) to another Book that is call'd: — The English Primrose, which is sold by John Hancock in Cornhill, at the entrance into Popeshead- Alley," p. 42. In concluding his observations he says: — "If thou desirest to know further, I refer thee to another Book which will shortly com forth which is cal'd: — The Plainest Way to true spelling. True Reading, and True Writing of English;" this book has not been found, but it shows us how actively Hodges tried to be of some help to his countrymen, because he felt most acutely that something had to be done in order to bring the English spelling on a firm basis. This book, like the "■Primrose,"'' closes with some tables of numeration, and Hodges ends with an advertisement concerning his '■'■Enchiridion Arithmeticon, or a manual of Millions, wherein people (after the plainest manner) may both suddenly a?id ttuly see their accounts ready cast npT On the whole, this book is far more carefully written than "A Special Help." The list of "words like and unlike" are in a better alphabetical order; so Ba is followed by Be, Bo, Bl, Br .... ; the author is endeavouring to arrive at uniformity of spelling; he drops with greater regularity mute final e in som, to obsen^; in to do, I leav, don; he now spells ivritten, throughout, instead of writen, and so on. We may be inclined to ask why such an industrious worker as Hodges has left so few traces in the history of English philology. The answer is close at hand: — Hodges was not a scholar in the true sense of the word; he did not know that true scholarship, true learning does not lie in extension of knowledge, but in the depth of it. His works on spelling and grammar lack depth of study, and — 21 — the consequence of it is great uncertainty. And he himself failed to possess that power of concentration which is the first condition of scientific research; he can turn to any occupation : — having written on grammar and spelling, and worked out a new system — but what a system! — he sets to work on a practical guide for keeping accounts! He is confuse in his explanations, and, in his endeavours to be practical, he sadly failed. In this very superficial survey of English grammar in Milton's time, we have arrived at the end of the first half of the XVII*^ century. The works of Milton of which we made a special study with a view to the >vTiting of this essay, all fall within that period, and we might take the year 1650 as the limit of this account of the grammarians, but for completeness' sake, we would just mention the few grammatical works which appeared during the latter half of the XVIP'^ century, to which reference has to be made more than once in the course of our remarks. Keeping them in chronological order, we find that the next treatise appeared in 1668, under the title: — "English Ortho graphic ; or the art of right spelling, reading, pronouncing and wiiting all sorts of English ivords, zvherein such as one can possibly mistake, are digested in an Alphabetical order, under their several short yet plain rules, Sfc. . . . , printed at Oxford, for Heniy Hall, published in London by Francis Titon." This book, without any author's name, was probably compiled by Messrs. Price and Owen, Oxford students, to whom, at the end of the book, in an advertisement, some more educational works are ascribed. — The instructions are in question and answer, and the book, like its successors, contains not only spelling lessons, but a little of everything. According to the "Bookseller," there was published in 1677 "A ncTV spelling Book of Reading and spelling English made Easie, by Thomas Lve. Philanglus. London," ^ I 1 Lye, Lee, or Leigh, Thos, 1621 — 1684, a non conformist minister, was headmaster of Bury-St. Edmund school for a short time, in 1647. He was very popular as an instructor of children, and was singularly successful in catechising them. He probably kept a school at his house in Clapham. The "New Spelling book" went through a second edition in 1677. Lye also published "The child's delight," about 1674. — 22 — The mode in which spelling is taught in this curious little volume, will be seen by a single example: — Ge-ge-ntlman, the that ge?itle is; who can rule his mad passiojis is the " geiitlman" . — This may be one and the same with "Lye's Spelling Book," mentioned by the West- minster Review, 1 87 1, page 566, bearing the title "^ new spelling Book: — or Reading and spelling English made easie. Wherein all the words of our English Bible are set down in an Alphabetical order and divided into their distinct Syllables. Together with the Grounds of the English Tongue laid in Pictures, Words and Vei'se, ivherein are couched many Moral Precepts. — By the help zvhere of (with Gods Blessing) Little children and others of ordinary capacities may in a feiu months be enabled exactly to read and spell the zvhole Bible. The fouiih Edition. By Thos Lye. Philanglus, London. Printed for Thos Parkhursi, at the Bible and three Crowns, in Cheapside, near mercers chappel, 16 . . ." (about 1680). The paper failed to take the impression of the last two figures. We have not been able to find these two books, and cannot therefore enter into a more detailed discussion of their character and merits, the last mentioned of the two, might perhaps be the fourth edition of the first, published in 1677. The infor- mation found in the "Westminster Review" and in the "Bookseller'*^, is very scanty. ^| The Westminster Review, 1871, page 566, mentions a third book of Lye's: — '■''The Child's Delight, together zvith an English Grammar, 1684," which is not to be found in the British Museum Library. Rich information concerning the rules of spelling in general use in England during the XVII^'' century, may be found in the grammar which a Frenchman compiled for the use of his countrymen who might desire to become acquainted with the English language: — '*NouvelleMethode pour apprendre VA7iglois, avec une nomenclature frangoise et angloise, un recueil d"" expressions familieres et de dialogues familiers et choisis. Par le Sieur Guy Miege. A Londres. For Thomas Bassett at the George near St. Dunstans Church in Fleet-street. i68$." ^ 1 Miege, Guy, 1644 — 1718, miscellaneous writer, was a native of Lausanne. He studied philosophy in Switzerland, and left Lausanne in 1661. He arrived in London in March of the same year, became a member of the household of the Earl of Elgin, then undersecretary to the Earl of Carlisle, and was sent as an ambassador to Russia, Sweden, Denmark. During his travels in France, in 1669, — 23 - Miege openly confesses, p. 28: — "II y a ceci d'incommode dans I'orthographe Angloise, que pour exprimer par ecrit neuf ou dix sons, on s'y sert de plus de soixante manieres differentes ; " and further, p. 29: — "La source de ces defauts: c'est qu'en plusieurs mots on a retenu I'ancienne ortographe, en changeant la prononcia- tion; en d^autres mots, tout au contraire, on a change I'ortographe, et retenu la prononciation. . . . On n'a pas invente assez de figures ou de lettres, pour exprimer tons les sons distinctement." — Speaking of the need of a reformed, simplified spelling, — "purger I'ortographe," — he says: — "C'est le souhait de bien des gens d'esprit parmi les Anglois. Mais on y trouve tant d'obstacles et Ton y fait si peu de progres, que je ne saurais me promettre aucune grande reformation de ce c6te-la." In the first part of his book, from page 7 — 35^ he discusses the "Lettres et les syllabes." The second part (pp. 36 — 117) treats of the Words and Sentences. The second half of the book contains: — 1) "Nouvelle Nomen- clature fran^oise et angloise, et un recueil d'expressions familieres." We have there a vocabulary of 43 pages, in which we can learn to name: — the parts of the human body, the world, Man, the parts of a house, &c., the diff'erent kinds of carriages used in travelling, the kinds of murder, and the names of the different kinds of torture, as well as the vocabulary connected with an execution; the names of various vices, a vocabulary of names connected with war, an army, weapons, the earth, the fire, the water, — and natural history in general. 2) "Dialogues familiers pour demander ses necessites," in which we are taught to ask the way, to inquire for lodgings, and to carry on conversations at table and so on. 3) "Dialogues choisis sur divers sujets." — England, London and the English are he prepares his "Relation of the three Embassies," published in English, French and German. — From 1678 onward he seems to have been occupied with teaching French and Geography, in London. His geographical works on England and Great Britain were also translated into French and German. ("The New State of England." Lond. 1 69 1 ; 6tli ed. in 1 706. " The Present State of Great Britain." Lond. 1707; iith ed, in 1748.) He compiled numerous works on French Grammar, Dictionaries, English and French, and translated several works into French. The complete list of his works will be found in the "Dictionary of English National Biography." liscussed. — This very practical little book, with such a copious amount of varied information, was certainly much in favour witl the French; for us it is of great value, because we find in it mai explanations of English forms which we cannot find elsewhere, at Ellis in his "E. E. Pronunciation" has not failed to give it di consideration. The various attempts at a "Grammar" which we have briefly reviewed, proved however useless. The attention of the scholars who might have occupied themselves with the science of language was quite absorbed by Latin, still the universal language in which the governments of the nations, as well as the learned and the cultured in every country, carried on their intercourse. — The study and the perfect knowledge of Latin was then the end of culture and education, consequently the demand for Latin grammars was much larger than the demand for an English grammar, — Milton himself wrote one for his pupils. — But the book which ruled over England for a longtime, wasW"^ Lilye's ("The Grammarian," ab. 1466 — 1523) "Royal Grammar," which was originally written in Latin, but trans- lated for the first time into EngHsh in 1641, under the title: — "Aii English Grammar: — or a plain Exposition of Lilie's Grammar in Englishj^^^ with Easie and profitable Rules for parsing and making Latine, Sfc.^ ^-c, ^H R. R. Master of Arts. London, 1641. (183 pp.) This is throughout a work referring to Latin. — The next English edition appeared in 1685. "The Royal Grammar compiled formerly by Mr. W'" Lilly, now modestly endeavoured to be rendered plain and obvious to the capacity of youth, by a supplement of things defective and alteration of things amiss, together with a poetical Lndex by R. C. London, 1685." And nine years later there appeared: — "The Royal Grammar Reformed into a more easie Method for the Better Understanding of the Efiglish and the more speedy attainment of the Latin Tongue. London. March 6. i6g4." (164 pp.) From these attempts we see that the spelling of Early Mn. E. aimed at being as phonetic as possible; it was so in intention at least, and we are able to trace distinctly in Milton's writings a strong tendency to uniformity, in the spelling as well as in the accidence. The great care he bestowed on them did not fail to produce a lasting and beneficial influence on the Grammar of the English tongue. A comparative study of the Prose writers of the first half of the XVII^^^ century might alone lead to certain conclusions as to the real state of Grammar at that time; this does not lie within our power now, though, of course, reference has been made in this essay to Bacon (1561 — 1626), Sir Tho^ Herbert, Jeremy Taylor (1613 — 1667), Hobbes (1588— 1679), Sir Tho^ Browne (1605 — 1682). ^ But the most reliable authority is doubtless Milton, who was, as we know, a most accurate and conscientious writer. How could a man be careless in his writings, who, throughout his life, was of a sometimes pedantic accuracy and punctiliousness, both in what we may call the mere details of life — outward life — , in matters connected with dress, bodily care, dwelling and division of time, &c., and in what we consider to be the highest aims of life: — the training of mind and heart, the developing of the nobler faculties and powers, emotional as well as physical ? — How could a man fail to be accurate and conscientious himself, who was called upon to teach the young a conscientious and accurate discharge of their duties ? For Milton was sometime engaged in the teaching of boys. ^ For the purpose of comparing, we have carefully gone through the follo- wing works : — a. "The first of the twoo Bookes of Francis Bacon. Of the proficience and advancement of Learning, divine and humane. To the king. At London, Printed for Henrie Tomes, and are to be sould at his shop at Graies Inne Gate in Holborne, 1605." 4O. Read: — 12 pages. b. " A Relation of some yeares Travaile begunne Anno 1626 into Afrique, &c. By T. Hferbert). Esquier. London. 1634." Read: — "A late tragicall history of the Georgians, Christians;" p. 72. c. a. "A discourse concerning prayer extempore or By pretence of the spirit," by J. Taylor. 1646. 4O. Read 6 pp. p. "A discourse of the Liberty of Prophesying." By Jer. Taylor. 1647. Read 6 pp. d. "Humane Nature, or the fundamental Elements of Policy." By Thos Hobbes. 1650. Read i chapter, the dedicatory epistle, "to the Reader." e. " Hydriotaphia. Urne -buriall." By Thos Browne. 1658. Read the dedication, a letter to Gillingham, i chapter. f. The extracts from the prose works of Bacon, Taylor, Hobbes and Browne, contained in Arthur Galton's "English Prose, from Maundeville to Thackeray." Camelot Series. London, 1888. and we know him to have thrown into his lessons the same energy which he carried into everything else. In his eagerness to find a place for everything that could be learnt, there could have been but few hours in the day which were not invaded by careful teaching. ^ There is yet another reason why we should look upon him as an authority in matters of grammar and language: — we know that he did occupy himself with the science of grammar properly so-called; he wrote, as we have seen above, a Latin Grammar for English boys: — "Accedence Commenc't Grammar." — Lastly the mere reading of his prose works clearly shows us that he did care for the manner and form in which his works were brought before the public. We may be convinced that he did not allow a book of his to come out of the press, without having previously carefully corrected the proof-sheets, taking great pains to write as clearly as possible. He appreciated highly a well-written and well-printed book; he says, for instance, in Areop. : — " To be enjoyned the reading of a book at all times, and in a hand scars legible, whereof three pages would not down at any time in the fairest Print, is an imposition which I cannot beleeve how he that values time and his own studies, or is but of a sensible nostrill, should be able to endure." - Indeed there is more uniformity and a greater accuracy to be noticed in his writings than in those of his contemporaries, as well as a tendency to bring his spelling into agreement with the actual pronunciation, in spite of the difficulties with which this was connec- ted, for, as Ellis says (IV, p. looo), "in this XVII^^' century the pronunciation of English altered rapidly, and many words were sounded in a style which, owing to the influence of our orthoepists of the XVIIL'^ and XIX^^ centuries, is now generally condemned, although well-known among the less educated classes." ^ Cf. Pattison, "Milton," p. 45. "Edward Phillips, his nephew, held his uncle's memory in great veneration, but when he comes to describe the education he received at his uncle's hands, the only characteristic on which he dwells is that of quantity." Milton supplements this account for us by his written theory: — "Tractate of Education, to Master Samuel Hartlib." — ^ Areopagitica. Ed. Hales; p. 28, 1. 33. 27 — CHAPTER III. On Spelling. In the remarks that follow we have confined ourselves to a statement of the most striking orthographical peculiarities found in Milton's prose. He evidently knew of the attempts made to intro- duce a universally recognised phonetic spelling by John Hart, 1569, Gill, Bullokar, Butler and Hodges,^ but he does not seem to have held their authority in very high consideration; nay, rather, he was his own authority. One of the peculiarities which, from the very first, attracts our attention when we read him, is the treatment of weak vowels, chiefly of A. Weak e. Weak e was generally dropped in Early Mn. E., always when final and inflectional. 1. "At the same time," says Sweet,^ "double consonants between vowels were shortened, as in M. E. shilling, fuller, sittinge. But, as the doubling served to show that the preceding vowel was short, the M. E. spellings were retained, and the doubling was extended to words which in M. E. had a single consonant, as in pejiny, herring, copper, M. E. peni, hering, coper. Final e, being now silent, was often omitted in writing, so that such words as M. E. belle were written bell with a final double consonant, which led to a frequent doubling of final M. E. consonants to show shortness of the preceding vowel, as in all, glass, small, M. E. al, glas, smal" ^ The earliest attempt at phonetic spelling was the one made by Orrmin, in the Xllth or Xlllth century. Cf. Ellis. E. E. Pron. II, 606. ^ Sweet, A New English Grammar. Oxford, Clar. Press. 1892. Cf. p. 267. I I And Milton accordingly writes: — Ram., ^ p. 37, 39, 4 submitt, battel!, arrivall, the evills; C. P. B. 1 1 1, to forbidd, re veils 181, to incurre; 220, the devill; 221 and 243, the warrs (6 times Bi. : Christmass; Col.: to permitt, to deferr, to sett down, to sti subst. prooffs; Areop. to conferr, to forbidd, to ridd; subst. battel' chappel, libell, sentinell, triall, vassalls, materialls, mineralls, perusa' divell=devil; Anim. 3, stopps; 8, evill; Eikon. 3, subst., wai (4 times); verbs, to deterr, mett, he preferrs; 5, fitt to be abus'd Milton also resorted to this means of showing shortness vowel by doubling consonants in the body of a word, as in: — Ram. 39, the citty (5 times), comming; 40, citty (4 times); C. P. B. 179, comminge (221 and 244). This explains also the spelling of: — a summe, C. P. B. (twice); and of: — forraine, ibid. p. 244; chappell, citty, ghittarrs, forrein, (the latter word being also spelt : — forein,foreine, — we never find it ^-^€i\. foreign, — and in fact there should be no g m. foreign, anymore than va sovereign, — cf. French /^ra//z, \.2X. foraneiis. So Bacon : — forrainers, forraine, whereas Hobbes has : — foiraign) Yet we find in Doct. and Disc, of Divorce : — Permited, canot, coml refer'd ; but: — I referre, maries and marries. This rule was also observed by the best authors of Milton time. Bacon, for instance, writes (Essay of the true greatnesse of Kingdomes, &c. Cam. Ser.): — Brittaine, citty, sonne, sunne, stemme; he commeth, to mannage, to sett; (Character of Henry VII. Cam. Ser.) arcenalls, counsells, scumme, spialls, intollerable, limitted; (Adv. of L.) evill, parcell, uppon. Where the pronunciation of the preceding vowel was lengthened, the consonant was not doubled: — (Adv. of L.), the fal, I shal, to swel ; but also to swell, fill ; Herbert (Hist. of G.), requitall, sequell; but: — the two generals; Hobbes (Disso- 1 if 1 The following abbreviations will be used: — Ram.=Ramblings; C. P. B.=Common Place Book; Bi.=MiIton Bible; Col.=Colasterion; Areop.=Areopagitica ; Eikon.=EikonokIastes ; Prel. Episc.«=Of Prelatical Episcopacy ; R. of C. G.=Reason of Church Governm. ; Anim. =Aniniad versions ; L. to H.=Of Education, letter to Harllib; Doct. and Disc, of Div.=Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce; Cam. Ser.=Camelot Series; Adv. of L.=Advance- ment of Learning; Hist, of G.=History of Georgia; Hu. Nat.=:Human Nature; a=A disc, concerning prayer; P=A disc, of the Lib. of Prophesying; U. B.=Urne Burial; O. E.=0]d English; M. E.=Middle English; Mn. E.= Modern English ; E. Mn. E.=Early modern English. — 29 - lution of a Commonwealth, Cam. Ser.): — dammage, scabbs, manny; but: — setled, battel; (the ending el in battel must have sounded long, for we find the same word spelt: — battaile, 'pi. battailes, throughout in Bacon); (Hu. Nat), we call and we cal; subst. the ecchoes; Browne (Rel. Medici, Cam. Ser.) : — buriall, devill, dogg(e), pitty, starr(e), the fuell, interrment (6 times), (interment) ; but funerals, a parcel; Jeremy Taylor (A Sermon on the anniv. of Gunpowder Treason. Cam. Ser.), perill; (a), modell, quarrell, councell; (jj), vessell; but: — the sum, he cals. Thus the doubling of a final consonant may be regarded as resulting from the dropping of weak final e. 2. "But this doubling was not carried out uniformly. So, also, as the dropping of final e in such words as hate, hope, — M. E. hatie7i, hopien, — would have led to confusion with such words as hat, hop, final e was kept in them, and at last came to be regarded as a mark of the length of the preceding vowel ; accordingly it was added to many words which had no final e in M. E., as in wine, stone, foe — M. E. win, ston, fo." ^ — With regard to this e, we find in Richard Mulcaster's " Elementarie," 1582, the following indications: — "When- soever e is the last and soundeth not, it either qualifieth som letter going before, or it is mere silent, and yet in neither kinde increaseth it the number of syllabs. — I call that e qualifying, whose absence or presence, somtime altereth the vowell, somtime the consonant going next before it. It altereth the sound (length) of all the vowells even quite thorough one or more consonants, as: — made, steme, kinde, stripe, sound sharp with the qualifying e in their end, wheras mad, stem, ffind, strip sound flat without the same ^." - In his discussion of /, ie Mulcaster also says : — " If it (z) end the last syllab, with one or mo consonants after it, it is shrill (long), when the qualifying e followeth " (a sign of length), " and if it be shrill (long) the qualifying e must follow, as : — repine, unwise, minde, kinde, fiste. If it be flat and quick the qualifying e must not foUow as: — inactiv, behind, mist, fist." ''^ ^ Sweet. X. E. Gr. p. 267. 2 Cf. Ellis. E. E. Pr. III. 910. ^ Cf. Ellis. Op. cit. III. 913. 30 xplaVI This fully corroborates our remarks on weak final e. It explah such spelling as: — imagin, masculin, feminin. Gill, Logon. Angl. Cap. 11. "De literarum compositione" (p. 3 — 5), discusses this e and says: — "Syllabae autem productio, inter scribendum dignoscitur dupliciter: Primo, e aphono in fine dictionis post consonantem non duplicatam addito: ut, in dame, domina, voce monosyllabe ; nam dam sine e aut damme cum e, post consonam duplicatam est bestiae cujuvis mater. Grin, greene, bucke, booke. Et licet in his longis, e finalis sepius redundet : Scribimus enim : seal aut seate; meat aut meate." Butler discusses e quiescent in chapter I, § 3, p. 10, of his " Grammar." Having distinguished e sonant from e quiescent, he goes on to say: — "E quiescent is that which, being placed in the ending of a word, is not sounded at all, but only signifieth the former vowel to be pronounced ; as in dame, made, which otherwise would be short as dam, mad. — The absence of it is a sufficient sign of a short : — as in bile and bil, hile and hit, bake and bak. So that the " did)bling" of a consonant with the adding of e (as the manner is) is superfluous, as in bille, backe. Mile, wadde." He himself drops everywhere an e which is not sounded, and replaces it by an apostrophe; so: — on', mo'. — In the pages 12 and 13, he discusses the long vowels, a, e, 0, u, y, and says that all of them are produced by "quiescoit e." Ben Johnson (Grammar) explains and alters the passage, saying that it "serves as an accent to produce the vowell preceding." On page 1 7 of Hodges' book,^ we find "some special observations very needful to bee known, for the help of true writing," in which he disapproves of the use of double consonants " with the adding of c^ so we are not to spel : — bedde, rodde, budde, but bed, rod, bud; so also al, hal, wal; the only exceptions are^and ss: — chaffe, brasse, (§2). Double consonants in the middle of a word are to be avoided, and we are to spel: — medle, sadle." As to weak e (§ 4), Hodges says: — "whensoever e coraeth in the end of any English word whatsoever, except the article the. ^ "A special help to orthographic." — Sl- it hath no use for sound of it self; and therefore might be al- together left out, if wee had long vowels to express our words withal ; but forasmuch as this is wanting, we are inforc't to make use of e in the end of a word, to shewe thereby, the vowel going before to bee long. Vale, male, mane, mare. Val, mal, man, rnar. — Wine, ivile — ivi?i, wil^ No such sign of length is wanted in words like feed, fool, pail, where we know at once that the vowel-sound is long. Where misunderstandings might arise, however, e is to be used ; thus he says : — ^^ea is short as in these words: — head, read, stead, ready, steady; it is therefore very meet to put an e in the end of some such words, as in reade, the present tense, to distinguish it from the short sound of read, the preterimperfect tense." No e is needed in words like harm, learn, part, hand, and he goes so far as to wish it to be dropped in words like "tempi, peopl, giv, liv," and in this point he agrees with Coote, who in his Schoolmaster (" Preface for directions to the reader") says: — "I have put no more letters than are of absolute necessity," and who consequently spells: — ''tempi, tun (tune), plum (plume)." ^ Clearly, then, that e we so often find at the end of verbs, sub- stantives, adjectives, far from being inflectional, is a mere phonetic sign of the length of the preceding vowel. We shall have more than one occasion of giving examples of it. But these rules were not observed uniformly by the writers of the time. Milton's spelling varies also; he writes: — Ram. 39, the house; 40, heavn; receavs; adj. 39, divin justice; verb, 37, to determin; adv. wher; C. P. B. 183, the cours; 191, the sleevs; 220, divers; 221, shamlesse; 74, therfor; verb: 183, to chok; Col. to deceav, to deserv, to dissolv, to leav, to perceav, to preserv, to receav ; Doct. and Disc, of Div., to bereav. These explanations will go a long way towards enabling us to understand the various cases of weak final e discussed in the course of this paper. 3. That the suffix ate, of Romance origin, had already been shortened in English, may be concluded from the fact that we find it spelt at throughout in Milton. C. P. B. 11 1, obstinat; 185, ingratfull; 221, a continuat poller. Areop. to extirpat, extirpats, to creat, to ^ Cf. Ellis. Op. cit. IV. 1 01 8. 32 — captivat, to participat, to regulat, to separat, to tolerat; adjectives :- compassionat, consummat, elaborat, frustrat, moderat, obdurat, obstinat, privat; but: — an illiterate law; subst: — Julian the Apostat, the magistrat, pi. magistrats, the palat (and once palate), the prelat, pi. prelats, the tractat, pi. tractats, the senat. — Had the a not been short, as it is in present EngHsh, we should no doubt meet a " quali- fying" e at the end of the word. W\ 4. Weak final e was dropped in the word:- — cours, fr. course and cours; in: — to imagin, Masculin, Feminin; it was likewise dropped regularly after the words: — meer, theam, heer; in the "Letter to Hartlib," we notice however: — heer, and here (once), theams, meer and mere, meere. — It is regularly dropped in Areop. : — don, els, fals, som; but we find: — extreame, encrease; again: — divers, ornate Rhetorick and deterrainat sentences. We shall see, then, that Milton tried to follow, in the main, the rule of qualifying e, though in many cases inaccuracy and uncertainty prevailed. In the latter half of the century this e had come quite out use : — " Ce qu'on a fait de plus important dans ce siecle," saj Miege in his introduction, "c'est d'avoir retranche c final et muet:— ? go, 7io, so; child, mind; blindtiess, kiiigdoni;" — and he adds: — ''pour ne pas multiplier les choses sans necessite, on ne repete plus les coi sonnes : — zvarr, starr; firr, stirr; fitt, bigg." I I 5. Very striking too is the omission of mute e in the wor themselves; this elision was denoted by an apostrophe, yet not as a general rule. ^ Mute e is always omitted in the Preterite and Past Participle ending ed of those weak verbs which do not end in d or /. Ramb. 39, beseig'd, drownd; 40, humbl'd; 37, immur'd, depos'd, forewarn'd, lov'd, murder'd, martyr'd, promis'd, reproov'd, stirr'd (twice); 58, caus'd, murder'd, poyson'd, reveng'd. — C. P. B. 220, spard; 243, hinderd.— Eikon. 5, abus'd, cavill'd, fear'd. — Areop. alter'd, alleg'd, allow'd, approv'd, ascrib'd, consider'd, convey'd, cry'd, deny'd, damnify'd, discours'd, divulg'd, dy'd, endur'd, endeavoured, enter'd, ^ Cf. Miege. Op. cit, p. 82. " LV se convertit souvent en apostrophe, pour reduire par la deux syllabes en une: — lov'd, a?niis'd, esteem' d; mark't, et marked; ifnbraced et imhrac't." — 33 — ex cus'd, expell'd, extoll'd, harbour'd, honour'd, mov'd, imbalm'd, p ractiz'd, prais'd, propos'd, pleas'd, presum'd, question'd, reckon'd (twice), reform'd, releas'd, referr'd, reply 'd, scrupl'd, seis'd, setl'd, s uffic'd, sway'd, treasur'd, troubl'd, try'd, unbridl'd, unlicenc'd, un- principl'd, unedify'd, us'd, utter'd, view'd. — L. toH.: — constrain'd, continu'd, describ'd, enlarg'd, extoll'd, lesson'd, obtain'd, prevail'd, pleas'd, practiz'd, receiv'd, train'd, turmoil'd, unprincipl'd, untutor'd, wander'd. — Acced. Comm. Grammar : — call'd, chang'd, compar'd, declin'd (2), diriv'd (2), form'd, joyn'd (3), prais'd, us'd. — Doct. and Disc, of Div. I.: — attain'd, describ'd, despis'd, deny'd, disturb'd, exclaim'd, fear'd, happn'd, observ'd, receiv'd, parabl'd, scrupl'd, us'd, ser'd, stigmatiz'd; III.: — answer'd, annuU'd, free'd, reliev'd, satisfy'd. 6. Final d was changed into /, after the dropping of e, in verbs ending in a sharp consonant: — a) Sharp labials (p, f). Areop.: — Ript up, stopt. — D. and D. of Div.: — Stopt. b) Sharp palatals (c, kfckj, ch [in church] ). Ram. 38, askt. — C.P.B. 221, toucht. — Anim. 15, stretch't. — Areop.: — fabrict, bewicht, provokt. — L. to H.: — mockt, coucht. — D. and D. of Div.: — lookt. c) Sharp sibilants (s, sh, [x] , c). a) s. — Ram. 38, repulst. — Areop.: — dispers't, mist, repulst, profest, supprest. — L. to H.: — discourst, prest. — Acced. Comm. Grammar: — encreast. — D. and D. of Div.: — con- fes't, expres't. P) sh. — Ram. 37, banisht. — C. P. B. 74, punisht. — Anim. 11, gash't — Areop.: — banish't, estabUsht, publisht, punisht. — Acced. Comm. Grammar.: — diminisht. — D. and D. of Div. : — extinguisht. Y) c (x). Ram. 40, forc't, seduc't. — C. P. B. 179, reduc't.— Areop.: — intermixt, licenc't, produc't, mixt, plac't. — L. to H.: — induc't, reduc't. — D. and D. of Div. : — divorc't, forc't. 7. Verbs ending in ^^ or / regularly take ed, according to present use. Ex.: — Ram. 37, revolted; 38, founded. — C. P. B. 220, permi- ted. — Areop.: — affected, appointed, corrupted, delighted, dreaded, 3 Il printed, slighted, indetted. — L. to H.: — digested, presented, rep ted. — Acced. Comm. Grammar: — compounded. 8. Past participles, used as adjectives, likewise take ed and do n drop e, which proves that the final syllable was sounded as it is to-day in learned, a learned man. Areop.:— Armed men; a deceased author; confused seeds; the reformed citty; a rejected Truth; — substan- tive: — the number of their damned. — L. to H.: — Men of approved wisdom ; learned correspondence ; (the past participle of the verb "to learn" occurs regularly as: — learnt; in Ram. too, and C. P. B. learn't); renowned authors; ragged notions. 9. Mute e is omitted in the ending ^;z.- — Ram. 38, drivn; 39, fain. — Areop.: — writt'n, giv'n; to happ'n, it happ'ns, to lik'n, it betok'ns. — L. to H.:— spok'n, silk'n, fal'n; to disburd'n, disburd'- ning. — Eikon. 5, ridd'n, beat'n, forgott'n; so also entring, hindrin It is dropped in words like bowr, drunk'ness, cov'nant, cov'nantin the midd'st, ev'n; in compounds like: — houshold, in which O Ms, M. E. Jioiis may have influenced the spelling; in the compounds oisom: — somwhere, somtimes, somwhat; in formost, O. 'K.fonnesta, fyrmesta, M. E. foi'mest, superlative of "forme;" modern e (foremost) is therefore etymologically not justifiable; in the compounds of where, there, here: — wherof, wherin, wherwith; therfore, therin, therby; heerby. — Weak final e is omitted in the plurals: — Proviso's, limbo's (Areop.). Weak o even is replaced by an apostrophe in reck'n'd, pris'ner, so / in ord'nary. 10. In Herbert, Hobbes and Browne, the omission of weak ^ has become very rare. We have noted the forms: — enricht, marcht, in Herbert; stockt, and burnt, in Browne; and in Taylor we found: — a. bettred, christned, remembred ; j3. dasht, design'd, and far'd, fixt, sweld, remembred. B. y, ie. Peculiar, too, in Milton and in the writers of the first half of the XVIP^ century, is the unsettled orthography of words (chiefly of French origin) ending in y, ie. Sweet states that the writing of y for i was carried to great lengths in Early Mn. English. " Y or ie was always written finally, as in many, manie, citie, but otherwise the — 35 — two letters were written almost at random." ^ He goes on to explain that this use of ie is the result of the weakening of M. E. ie in such words as melodie, melody, chivalriey which, at the end of the M. E. period, drew back the stress from the ending. In old French the stress generally fell on the same syllable as in Latin, i. e. a word was either paroxytonon or proparoxytonon; but, through the dropping of final Latin syllables, many French words came to have the stress on the last syllable, as in honour^ Lat. honorem; pitie, Lat. pietatem. — When first introduced into M. E., French words kept their original stress : — nature, honour, pitie. Such words, however, afterwards threw the stress back on to the first syllable, by the analogy of the native English words, such as: — fader, body, becoming nature, pity. — Now weak final e in words ending in ie could be dropped, / was shortened, and the ending could be written indiff'erently ie or y. 1. That in Milton y was written at random for /, may be shown by his spelling the present participle ending -ing, sometimes -yng and sometimes -ing. In one and the same sentence (Doct. and Disc, of Div., Cap. II) we find the forms: — claimyng, visiting, step- ping. (Areop. satyricall=satiricall). 2. As to the words ending in y (present English), we notice in Milton a greater uniformity than in other writers of his time. We may say that, as a rule, nouns corresponding to French substantives ending in te (tatem) are spelt ty. Instances of ie are extremely rare. So we have: — Ram. 40, solemnity, but 38, chastitie, inchastitie; C. P.B. 160, prosperity, 182, authority; 191, cruelty, dignity (twice); 221, necessity, privity ; — Prel. Episc.:— authority; — R. ofCh. G.: — society; — Eikon.: — divinity; — Areop.: — autority, capacity, city, falsity (faussete), fidelity, impunity, infallibility, ingenuity, liberty, necessity, piety, satiety (satiete);- Col.: — autority, charity, contrariety, deputy, diversity, divinity, familiarity, liberty, necessity, sincerity, univer- sity; — L. to H.: — brevity, capacity; — Doct. and Disc, of Div.: — anti- quity, dignity, iniquity; — Acced. Comm. Gr.: — quantity, quality. On the other hand we have: — Ram. 39, Monodie, mercie, constancie; 37, clergie, companie, tragedie, tyrannie; 38, beggery, clergy, ladie; 40, ^ Sweet. Op. cit. 267. frequency; victorie; 41, journie, victorie;— C. P. B. 74, magistracie; 109, clergie, fury, prelacie; 181, dutie; 182, clergie, tyrannic; 191, insolencie; 220, storie, subsidie; 221, a ladie, his policie; 242, arraie; 244, storie; 220 and 221, repeatedly: — monie and mony (never money), monies; — Areop.: — adversarie, controversie, fancie (French fantaisie), efficacie, heresie, politie, potencie, prophesie; — Col.: — ana- tomic; — L. to H.: — (authoritie), controversie, difficultie, puritie; — D. and Disc, of Div. I, christianitie, civilitie; IV, charitie; VI, hypo- crisic; — VII, neccssitic, antiquitie; — Ace. Comm. Gr.: — etymologic, penaltie; — Anim. 8, anatomic; 9, oratory; 10, civil politic; 12, episcopacy; — Prel. Episc: — episcopacy, sufficiency, vice-gerency ; — Eikon. 5, mediocritic; 6, libertie; 8, politic; 10, Breviary, clergie. — In most of these cases we can trace French influence. Adjectives are to be found with both spellings, y and te. Easy and easie; fiery and ficrie; ayric, pecuniary, mercenary; adv. easily Verbs arc spelt indiscriminately with y and le. To satisfie an^ satisfy, to sanctific and sanctify. 3. Mulcastcr's "Elemcntarie" gives us a clue to the compre- hension of this spelling. We find in it the following explanation: — "t hath a form somtime vowellish, somtime consonantish. In the vowellish sound either it endeth a former syllabic, or the veric last. When it endeth the last, and is it self the last letter, if it sound gentlie it is qualified by the e as: — manie, merie, when the verie pen will rather end in e than in the naked i. If it sound sharp and loud, it is to be written y, having no e after it, as neding no qualification: — deny, cry, defy."^ « y then sounds "sharp and loud" when the accent rests upon it; Mulcaster, at least, does not give any other examples; in these cases Milton, too, writes y. Ex. Col.: — They ly heer; try'd, cry'd, deny'd. — But in adjectives, and in most substan- tives (except those in (y) in which the / sound is gentle, the spelling t'e prevails. Butler (Grammar; p. 10) explains that ''y being a Greek vowel is rightly used every where in words originally Greek, as crystall, polypus, and common use hath allowed it in the ending of other English words : — in so much that i and y are in that place used H I Cf. Ellis. Op. cit. Ill, 913. — 37 — indifferently, but / more in substantives and verbs, as: — boimti, cornynoditi, a lie, to trie, to die, to lie (unless it make a diphtong as in ey, they, may, say^, and r more in adjectives and adverbs, as my, thy, why, by, many, tiventy, godly, hianbly. Also when two // come together, y hath commonly the place of the former, burying, fnarrying, dying." Hodges ("Special Considerations," § 5, 6,) allows both ways of spelling, saying, however, that y ought to be alone used in words of Greek origin; all substantives should end in ie: — cittie, dittie, bellie, and all adverbs and adjectives in y; and he himself follows that rule. In Bullokar's "Expositor," 1616, words ending in;^' (subst., adj. and adv.) are an exception. So under A we find 3 words ending my: — adulatory, affability, agony, and 24 other words in ie; B, C, D, have no words in r, and 8, 26, 16 words ending in ie. — I has rela- tively the greatest number, 8 in y and 14 in ie, but E, F, G, H, have none, with 16, 6, 6, 8 respectively in ie. Fifty years later, among the most important reforms of the XVir^' century, Miege mentions also the fact that the ending ie has been reduced tojjv — "Et de fait on n'ecrit plus guere aujourd'hui: jealotisie, easie, to deiiie, mais presque toujours j." Yet: — "On a change y en i dans: — vwie, thine, cependant on ecrit encore indifferemment : aid^ ayd, boyl et boil. " In Hewes "Perfect Survey" there is a chapter on: — "Certain considerations fit for our young Latines," in which the author gives a few rules which may prove helpful to the young learner, to re- member the Latin words. The English words ending in ty correspond to Latin words in tas, ace. tdtem, and this is what we notice in Milton. In Coote's "Vocabulary," edition of 1662, the words ending in Mod. E. in y have already that ending, with the exception of the 1 3 following : — apostasie, to exemplifie, fantasie, gratifie, lapidaiie, to jiistifiejeprosie, maladie, to nioriijie, phrensie, to p7'ophesie, to pidiifie, to ratifie. 4. As regards the spelling of the Preterite and Past Participle of verbs ending in y, it is unsettled in Milton's prose. We have met forms in/, preceded by a consonant, deny'd. Present orthography would require, at least, deni'd.- — D. and D. of Div. : — satisfy'd, but also: — undeified, betraied, and even (Ace. Comm. Gr.) applyed. — Col.: — marrved. — 38 — 5. Adverbs in ly are generally written according to present us( Col: — justly, manly, unfitly, very, frequently, universally. — Areop. usually, dubiously, darkly, nicely, passionately. — L. to H.: — assi redly, delightfully, easily, partly, lastly, &c. 6. Milton's contemporaries seem to have adopted Mulcaster's, Butler's and Hodges' rules, for, in the great majority of cases, they spell ie at the end of words, wherever / (y) sounds "gentlie." So: — Bacon, Cam. Ser. i,: — abilitie, armie, conformitie, libertie, partie, pro- pertie, posteritie, territorie; adject.: — haughtie, easie, mightie. H^ VII. Cam. Ser. 2: — inquirie, majestic, nobilitie, partie (rarely r. plenty, penury), monie. Ad. of. L.: — anxietie (2), arrogancie, bodie, capacitie (3), charitie, difficultie, dignitie, dutie, glorie, enquirie, excellencie (4), facilitie (2), felicitie, historie, jealousie, magnanimitie, raalignitie, majestic (4), memorie, philosophic, proprietie, qualitie, quantitie (2), severitie, summarie, triplicitie, universalitie, varietie, ventositie; adj- happie, ordinarie, unworthie; (jf in enquiry, glory, impossibility, propriety; all adverbs in ly'). — Herbert, Hist, of G. : — beautie (2), bodie, dexteritie, envie, impietie, innocencie, integritie, mortalitie, pietie, pittie, posteritie, royaltie, tragedie, varietie, villanie, (idolatry, itinerary, tyranny, victory; adj. unworthy; adv. in /}'). — Taylor has already adopted the ending ;iv ^^ occurs but rarely, a. Subst. assembly, plur. assemblyes, authority (always), capacity, charity, directory, excellency, incompetency, integrity, liturgy (once: — liturgie), offer- tory (es), piety; adj.: — hasty, holy, ordinary; verbs: — to satisfie; adverbs throughout in ly. — p. Subst. charity (2), cruelty, dyscrasy, mercy (3), society, study, tyranny; adj. contrary, but busie (2); adv. presently. — Hobbes has both endings, Hu. Nat.: — subst. ana- tomy, body, impossibility, quality, but controversie (2), imagerie; adj. necessary (3); adv. in ly, easily. Lib. of Subj., Cam. Ser.: — assemblie, equitie, immunitie, iniquitie, libertie (9); rarely n assembly, liberty, democraty. Dissolution of a Commonwealth. Cam. Ser.: — citie, epilepsie, pleurisie, crasie. Browne, on the other hand, keeps y chiefly in substantives: — Ur. B. antiquity (2), discovery (2), reality, society, but effigie; adj. and adverbs in r, /jv — fiery, deeply, frequently, indifferently, strictly, totally. But verbs : — to lie, to satisfie. — 39 - Whenever it sounded " sharp and loud," they used the spelHng indicated by Mulcaster: — y, or added the qualifying e, as Bacon does in: — amplifie, &c.; Hobbes, Lib. of S., Cam. Ser.: — applyed, lyeth, tyed ; Dissol. of a Com., Cam. Ser.: — dyeth, implyeth, signifie, style, supplyed. — Browne has: — Rel. Med.:— we lye; Urne Bur.: — dyed (died), to dye (die), lye. — Taylor spells: — emptyed, they prophesyed. All these writers also used y for z at random in the body of words. Milton, Ram. 39: — voiage, choysest; 40, journy; 31, poysonM, dyes, tyme; C. R B. 1 85, poyson, voiage; —Bible: — dyed; — Bacon: — choyce, sayd, spoyled; — Hobbes writes: — chayns and chains, poyson, joyning; — Dissol. Cam. Ser.: — nayles, fayries, entrayls; — Browne: — U. B. the ayr, oyntment, dayly, to avoyd, coynes; — Taylor: — veynes, assoylment,imployment,voyces,choycest; — Hobbes spells: — mony; — Herbert: — aymed, ayding, countrey, joynes, vayled=veiled. C. The sound e. The sound e, such as it is found in the personal pronouns he, me, can be represented in modern English b^ different spellings: — I. e: — he, me; 2. ee: — to see; 3. ei: — to receive; 4. ie: — to believe; 5. ea: — the sea. 1. Now Milton, in common with the other writers of the period, shows a tendency to adopt a uniform spelling ee, which is prevailing in many places in his writings. — Milton's spelling is as follows: — Rambl. a) ee prevails, so ie=ee, in theefe (3 7 and ^2), but we find also: b) ea-^ei in 3 7, to receave. c) ie is rendered by ei regularly in the words beseidging, feild, preist; verb: — to greive. C. P. B. a) ee^ea in 19, cleerly. b) ie is rendered by ei in 53, cheifest; 179, cheife; 109, preists(2); 185, mischeif(2). — Bi. ee=e. in eevning, (1646). Eikon. a) ee-^'^ in wee, heer (3). b) ee^- ea in neerest. c) ee^e in greevance. d) ie again is generally interverted: — feirce (3), to beleive. 40 - Areop. a) e is rendered by ee, in the pronouns: — wee, ye (and also we, ye, he), in to bee, "it will bee," in raeer, meerly, heer. Bacon, Taylor, Hobbes and Browne also^ spell : — hee, mee, wee, bee, meere, meer. b) ea is rendered by ee throughout in: — near; year is mosth spelt yeer. Bacon has: — leese, yeeres; — Hobbes: deerl}^, cleerer; — Browne: — the rere (to bring up). c) ie is rendered by ee throughout in : — peece (a peece o| framework, hewd into peeces), whereas the peace, Lat pax, is always spelt with ea; beleeve (4). Herbert has also: — to beleeve; Browne: — beleeve, theef, peece of folly. — We find however the forms: — theam; compleatly, unweildy, leige. (Browne: — compleat). Modern: — "y^?7(?r 'Ms repea- tedly spelt feaver, feavor (Bacon : — feaver), though it never con«- tained an ea. O. E. fefor, fefer. Colast. a) e is rendered by ee in: — hee, mee, wee, yee, to bee eev'n, heer, heerby. b) ea is rendered by ee in: — cleerly, neer. c) ie is rendered by ee in : — greevance, peece, to beleeve.- Yet ^z is rendered by ea in: — to conceave, to deceav, tc perceav, to receav, receaved; again z'(?byy<:7/^ (Seasonable Warning and Caution). Addison, too (1672 — 1719), in the "Spectator", mentions this tendency to "close in one syllable the termination of the preter- perfect tense," as in the words: — zvalk'd, arrivd, droiim'd. — As to this Hales, Areop. 117. 56 — dropping of weak e in Milton, we refer to what we said above in our chapter on orthography A, i, and go on to discuss I 2. The preterite and past participle of strong verbs. a. The change of strong to weak verbs, which can be observe in M. E., and which began by the appearance of weak forms every- where except in the preterite, went on in the transition from M. E. . to Mn. E. and in some cases in Mn. E. itself. On the other hand, several weak verbs have been made strong by the analogy of strong verbs, such as ivear, ivore, ivorn (O. E. iverian, luerede) by the analogv of swear, swore, sworn. ^ Again, beside the levelling of the distinction between pret. sing. and plur., by phonetic changes in weak verbs, by external analogical changes in strong verbs, there took place a further assimilation of the preterite to the preterite participle, assisted by the fact that the plural form of certain verbs contained the vowel of the past parti- ciple. — Thus the plural preterite of write was iciiten (O. E. pret. zvrdiKt writun, past part, writen). — So in the XVI^^ and XVIP^ centuries we find the forms: — driv, smit, rid, ris, for drove, smote, rode, rose; similarly in Early Mn. E. (and in Milton) we find the preterites bore, broke, spoke by the side of bare, brake, spake (M. E. bar, brdk, spdk). ■! Now Milton has not dismissed the older forms. Ex. Areop. : — No envious Juno sate cros-leg'd; (obsolete Mn. E. pret. sate, due to the analogy of came, spake, &c.); they writ in an unknown tongue; as well as any that writ before him; though it were Knox that spake it. Anim. ii: — that begun to close; 15, have you sate still. C. P. B. 58: — who spake ill; 183, the Earl bare the sword. b. The following past participles are found: — Areop.: — he had broke prison; a poem writ by Homer; D. andD. of Div.: — writt(XIV); "writt'n" is used as adjective: — unwritt'n laws); it is not forgot. — D. and D. of Div.: — a marriage which is more broke. c. This preference for archaic forms can be traced in Milton's contemporaries as well. Bacon is fond of the ending en; he has: — becommen, growen, holpen (O. E. helpe, perf. healp, plur. hiilpon; past part, holpen. — Helped has replaced the old past help; holpen is 1 Sweet. N. E. Grammar, p. 386, — 57 — now archaic). — Hobbes has: — gotten (twice), a form now only found in the Bible. — Walton (Old Songs, Cam. Ser.), I sate. — Browne: — past part, forgot. D. Future and Conditional. 1. Future and conditional are regularly formed in Milton's prose writings, shall and should being used in the first person, will and ivouldin the second and third, singular and plural. Ex.: — Col. : — To sequester out of the world will not mend our condition; they would perhaps change melancholy into sanguin. In interrogative sentences we notice a more frequent use of shall and should, in the second and third persons, than in present English. Ex.: — Areop. : — Who shall prohibit them? Shall twenty licencers?— Ref. in England: — Who should oppose it? — 2. Milton makes repeated use of the forms wei-e and had for the conditional of to be, to have, though we occasionally, but net fre- quently, meet the circumscribed forms should be, woidd be; shoidd have, ivould have. Areop.: — What were vertue but a name? — L. to H. : — He were nothing so much. It were an injury against nature. — Ref. in England. Book II: — Who should oppose it? The Protestants? They were mad. It had been more for the strength, &c. . . to tell us. — So Hobbes, Lib. of Subj., Cam. Ser. : — They had had an enemy. Yet Areop.: — It would be better done. What would be best advised? — E. Cases of the contraction of pronouns with the verbal forms: — is, was, zuill, so frequent in the modern spoken language, can also be found in Milton's prose. He frequently writes 'tis. Areop.: — you '1. — Hobbes separates the pronoun from the verb and writes '"t is said." — Walton: — 'twas. F. Negative and Interrogative Forms. 1. Negative forms. Negative sentences with the negation not,, as well as interrogative sentences whose subject is not an interroga- tive pronoun (who, which, what. Ex.: — who said it?), and whose verb is not an auxiliary verb, are, according to present use, to be circum- scribed by means of the auxiliary verb to do, both in present and 1 — 58 — preterite. The use of the circumscription is very ancient, ^ but to was originally found only in affirmative sentences, as a means to emphasis. In Early Mn. E. there was no established rule for the insertion and omission of do and did. The spoken language first adopted it in negative sentences, thence it found its way into written English, but did not begin to prevail until the latter part of theXVII^^' century. By Pope's time it was well established. - Matzner gives numerous examples taken from Shakespere, from Par. Lost, &( "I did not see your grace" (Rich. III. 2, 3). "Do you love me?" (Tempest, 3, i) — and others; but the instances given, derived chiefly from dramatic poetry, only go to prove, if we read them aright, that as we hinted above, the circumscription was but a means adopted to give more force to the denial, to render the question more pressing and emphatical. In reading or declaiming the words men- tioned, we should lay all the stress on the auxiliary verb to do. "DSI you love me?" would come to mean: — "Do you really, or indeed, love me?" Again, "Do you mean to stop any of William's wages?" 11. Hy IV. 5, 2, would mean: — Do you indeed, 6cc. . . . ? As a matter of fact, the examples given by Matzner are but exceptions in the authors from whose works they are taken. — The circumscription was not in use in simple negations in Milton's time, in EngHsh prose at least; the influence of the spoken language, in which, no doubt, it existed much earUer, did not contrive to make itself felt in written English until the middle of last century. a. The following numerous instances may clearly show how little Milton cared for the use of the auxiliary verb to do. Areop.: — Presefit. I stay not. He flatters not. He who fears not! I know not. I touch not. Men who offend not. I deny not. The execution ends not. I refuse not the paines. We have it not. Ye like not now these authors. God uses not to captivat. Assuredly we bring not innocence into the world. What vertue which knows not the utmost that vice promises. Nor boots it to say for these. I name not him (Arezzo) for posterities sake. We esteem not of that obedience. To alter what precisely accords not with the humor. I endure not an instructed 1 Matzner II. 57 and flf. 2 Essay on Criticism, p. 346, &c. — 59 — If her waters (Truth's) flow not in a perpetuall progression. I insist not. If we look not wisely into the sun. They are the troublers who neglect and permit not others to unite those peeces. Though we mark not the method of his counsels. He sees not the firm root. Although I dispraise not the defence of just immunities. We care not to keep Truth separated from Truth. No law can permit it that intends not to unlaw itself. God sees not as man sees, chooses not as man chooses. — Preterite. There wanted not among them who sug- gested such a cours. That which Claudius went not through with. — Imperative: — Suffer not these prohibitions to stand at every place of opportunity. Colast.: — Present. They that finde not. That which hee under- stands not. Charity commands not the husband to receav his wife. That makes not the marriage void. All this craft avails him not. I mean not to discuss philosophy. — Preterite: — Which our opposite knew not. Accedence Comm. Or.: — Such as increase not. In things that have not Hfe. Pronouns differ not in construction . . . L. to H.: — My inclination leads me not to... Every nation affords not to . . . I mean not here. D. and D. of Div.: — Hinders not. VII. Though they understand it not. Who sees not. — Preterite. It hinder'd not the Jews. — Eikon. 6: — He doubted not. lo: — Neither want wee examples. — C. P. B. 1 8 1 : — He shames not to reverse. I). So Bacon : — Of true greatn.. Cam. Ser. : — They enter not upon wars. Those come nearest the Truth that fetch not their reasons, &c. But: — Some reason which we doe not know. The following examples of negative sentences are taken from Herbert, Hist, of Geo.:— The best beautie wants not blemishes.^ — Taylor: — a. Carefull that he offend not in his tongue. God accepts not of anything we give. He denyes not this. We know not what to aske. I know not. — (3. I considered not. I knew them not. I knew not how to get farther. — Hobbes, Hu. Nat.: — True knowledge be- getteth not doubt. If reasoning aright winne not consent. Truth and the interest of man oppose not each other. — Lib. of Sub., Cam. Ser. : — es 1 We use not to say. — Dissol. of a Commonw. : — They reason not I see not why. I know not. They say not. — Browne, U. B.: — 1 wanted not grounds for this. They stickt not to give their bodies to be burnt. When they burnt not their dead bodies. They co formed not unto the Romane practice. Though they embraced n this practice, yet entertained they many ceremonies. Rel. Med., Cam. Ser. : — They who understand not the globe of the Earth. Where naturall logick prevails not. Men disparage not antiquity. Five languages secured not the epitaph of Gordianus. — Imperative: — Confound not the distinctions of thy life. Think not, &c. c. Very few cases are to be found in which the negation is cir- cumscribed. Areop.: — I did not flatter. (He declares with emphasis that he did not flatter.) If we doe not hold the truth guiltily, which becomes not, if we condemn not our teaching. We doe not see^ What withholds us that we doe not give them gentle meetings, th we debate not the matter of these sophisms. I skill not. By the time Miege wrote his grammar, the circumscription b means of "to do" had already gained ground. He states it as a rule and explains that the negation not is to be placed immediately aft the auxiliary verb. (p. 89). 2. Interrogative sentences were not treated in a different manner. Areop. : — Who finds not that Irena^us and others discover more heresies then they well confute? What wants there to such a soile? Who knows not that there be of Protestants? What does he there- fore? — Colast: — Follows it therefore that we must not avoid them? Eikon. I : — Who knows not? — Herbert (Hist, of Geo.): — What knew they? 3. We find on the other hand that Milton frequently uses the verb to do in affirmative sentences, in order, as we said above, to bring more force to bear upon his words, as for instance: — It was the task which I began with : — to shew that no nation did ever use this way of licencing. Wherefore did he create passions within us. Books are not absolutely dead things, but doe contain a potencie of life . . . They do preserve. The chief cause why sects and schisms doe so much abound. When God did enlarge the universall diet. (Areop.). ;e. I i — 61 — G. The form be. We are struck by the great number of cases in which the form be (subjunctive) is used in affirmative sentences, in the sense of the present indicative, whereas it is restricted now to cases where the subjunctive, the mood of doubt, is required. Be, Abbott explains, was used in Anglo-Saxon generally in a future sense. — The Anglo-Saxon verb to be was made up of three distinct roots: — i) infinitive ivesan, 2) beon, 3) present: — eom, is. When the future began to be formed by means of another auxiliary verb (shall, will), the use of be was restricted to the subjunctive. Now there may be some truth in Abbott's further explanation that, since the future and subjunctive are closely connected in meaning, — the subjunctive being the mood of uncertainty, doubt, and the future con- taining, or at least not excluding an idea of doubt as to the possibility of the fulfilment or of the non-fulfilment of the action expressed by the verb (this, I suppose, is the meaning of Abbott's words) — , be came to assume an exclusively subjunctive use, and from the mere force of association came to be used without having the full force of the subjunctive; ''so, as a rule, it will be found that be is used with some notion of doubt, question, thought, for instance in questions and after verbs of thinking. (' Be my horses ready ? ' Shakespere, Lear, I, 5,35)-"' He says further: — "Be is also used to refer to a number of persons, considered not individually, but as a kind or class. Hamlet, in, 2, 32 : — O, there be players, that I have seen play. Tempest, IH, I, I : — There be some sports are painful." ^ Milton makes exactly the same use of be. Areop. : — These they be which will bear chief sway in such matters. Many there be that complain of Divine Providence. There be also books which are partly usefull and partly culpable. Another sort there be. There be delights, there be recreations. The shop of warre hath not there more anvils . . . then there be pens and heads there. 1 Abbott. Shakespearian Grammar, §§ 298, 299. 2 Abbott. Shakespearian Grammar, § 300. < But Abbott's statement does not exactly give an explanation 'for the use of be in these sentences. Morris, on the other hand, simply states that ''tlie root he was conjugated in the present tense singular and plural, indicative, as late as Milton's time (cf. Genesis, 4sl 2: — We be twelve brethren. Milton, Par. Lost: — If thou beest he. I. 84)." ^ — Surely we may ask why it was so, in certain cases, and not throughout, after there, this, these? (cf. There is no book that is acceptable unlesse at certain seasons. Milton, Ar.). Our opinion is that here the Latin syntax made its influenc felt, and that we have not to deal with an abnormal use of a form which was generally recognised as being the subjunctive form. We must remember that the Latin writers made an excessively frequent use of the subjunctive. Now, in the Latin subjunctive mood, both optative and subjunctive have been united to form one subjective mood; thus there lies in it the notion of willing, as well as the notion of a mere wishing a doubtful event to take place, or an uncertain state of things to become certain. Its original meaning, however, gradually weakened down to be merely potential, and the subjunctive came to possess the faculty of expressing a supposition, or a more or less definite assertion relating to the possible occurrence of an event. Now take Milton's sentences, place them in the light of this original meaning of the subjunctive (so often attributed to it by Latin writers), and you will undoubtedly find that here again we have to deal with the influence of Latin syntax. — That is indeed a syntac- tical question which might be discussed in a special paper devoted to the study of Milton's prose, compared with that of Hooker, Bacon, Hobbes, with a view to bring out its affinities with the Latin syntax. If we attempted to explain the few examples given above, we might say that, in the first sentence, there is a distinct apprehension, or doubt, or hope expressed as to what will "mend the condition of the English nation." Milton's meaning is this: — Not the licencing of books will do it, but the unwritten laws of vertuous education; these, I hope, I esteem, will bear chief sway, &c. . . . The second instance is easily explained too: — "Many there be that complain of Divine Providence. Foolish tongues!" It is but an ellipsis, a figure of 1 Morris. Outlines of E. Accidence, p. 182. — 63 — frequent occurrence in Latin literature. We may supply: — "They say that there be,"or "It is said," "I have heard," "I know." It is a subordinate clause. Supply but the principal clause and the subjunc- tive is explained. The third example: — "There be books which are partly use- full and partly culpable," may be explained thus: — "Suppose there be (let there be. .. sint Hbri), &c.;" then, this work (of licencing) will require more officials. — I have noted the following two examples from Hobbes: — "There be also that think there may be more soules than one, in a Commonwealth; where men reign that be subject to diversity of opinions, it cannot be so." (Diss, of a Commonw., Cam. Ser.); but: — "There is written on the Turrets of the city of Luca;" "There is a sixth doctrine," &c. (Lib. of Subj., Cam. Ser.). — Milton, Ar. : — "There is no book that is acceptable unlesse, &c." H. Agreement. We have already passed beyond the limits of "Accidence," and may perhaps be allowed to add one or two words on the syntactical question of concord. 1. After a collective word, "clergy, nation, state," Milton puts the verb in the plural. Ex. Ram. 41 : — "The kindred of Amireo who scape him and conspire against him." "As our obdurate clergy have demeaned the matter." (Ar.) ^ 2. There is no incongruity in that, from our modern point of view, but there is one when Milton leaves the verb in the singular, though it has two subjects connected by "and," making it agree with the second subject. Areop. : — Our faith and knowledge thrives by exercise. The blaze that Zuinglius and Calvin hath beaconed up to us. Where one mind and person pleases aptly. The Rabbins and Mamonides tells us. Both love and peace, both nature and religion mourns to be separated. Again: — Unlesse he be a thing heroycally vertuous, and that are not the common lump of men ("the common lump of men" being subject). Doct. and Disc, of Div. II, IV, V, VL 1 Cf. Jorss, Paul. Gramraatisches und Stilistisches aus Milton's Areopagitica. Ratzeburg. 1893. pp. 9, 10. 3. Bacon offers an interesting instance of a collective word "nation," followed by the verb in the singular "doth," but the object is accompanied by the possessive adjective "their": — "No nation which doth not directly professe armes, may looke to have greatnesse fall into their mouths." (Of true greatnesse, &:c., Cam. Ser.). — Taylor, [3: — Halfe my thoughts was fixt upon the present con- cernments. — Browne, Rel. Med., Cam. Ser. : — Whilst the mercies of God doth promise us heaven. U. B. : — Misery make Alcmenas nights. A great part of antiquity contented their hopes with a transmigration of their souls. — Civill society carrieth out their dead, and hath exe- quies. From these examples we can see that the rules of concord or agreement between verb and subject were still very unsettled. CHAPTER V. The Substantive. By the beginning of the Mn. E. period, the substantives had already been so far modified in their inflection as to keep but the s of the Saxon genitive, as well as s, mark of the plural. If, then, a number of substantives occur which are spelt with a weak final e, where according to present use we should not expect one, this e is no doubt the sign of length which we have discussed in the prece- ding chapters. A. 1. This qualifying e is to be found chiefly after monosyllabic nouns containing a long root-vowel, then also after dissyllabic nouns bearing the stress on the second (last) syllable, whenever those nouns end in the sibilant s, ss, in /, m, n, r, in nd, f. — In many cases, how- ever, Milton's spelling does not differ from the present, and double forms are frequently met. — Words ending in ss generally take the e. Ex. C. P. B. 58: — crosse; 185, successe Anim. : — presse, trespasse. — Areop.: — accesse, adresse, blisse, crosse, glasse, losse (4), presse (throughout spelt thus), progresse, successe. — Col.: — buzze. — L. to H,: — amisse. — Doct and Disc, of Div.: — losse. Ram. 40:— feare; ^y , warre, starre. — C. P. B. 109:— yeares; I 86, 243, warre; 221, the answere, feare. — Areop.: — backdore, feare, warre, yeare (year). — Doct. and Disc, of Div.: — dispaire, but con- stantly: — warre. Ram. 37: — plaine, reigne; 40, dreames, mine. — C. P. B. 182: — crowne; 221, reigne, summes; 199, soveraigne; 242, custome. — Areop.: — esteeme, forme, realme, designe, latine, straine. — Col.: — ramme, designe. Ram. 37:— the monke; 40, the golden calfe, greife. — C. P. B. 17: — healthe; 58, the booke; 182, sporte, tombe; 221, the seale (3); 242,spoile. — Areop.: — soule, soile, booke, kinde, rinde, stuffe, whiffe. — Col.: — taile, minde (throughout). — L. to H.: — halfe, stuffe; kinde, mankinde, minde (2). — Doct. and Disc, of Div.: — griefe, soule (O. E. sd2volj. — Oi Norman-French origin is: — oyle (M. E. oile, oyle; O. Fr. oille, ok; Mod. Fr. hiiile). 2. That Milton spelt the words ending in at(e) throughout with- out e, as a sign of the shortness of the ending, has been stated above, in our chapter on spelling. Ex.: — magistrat, plur. magistrats; palat; tractat, plur. tractats; prelat, plur. prelats; apostat; dictat. "Tast" and "hast" are spelt as they were in M. E. " Tast" is the Old French form, as well, whereas "hast" was O. Fr. "haste." — In "vertu" (spelt also vertue) we meet the M. E. and O. Fr. form vertu. 3. If here again we compare Milton with Bacon and other con- temporaries, we find perfect agreement. "Qualifying ^"is found at the end of similar words, not only in the nominative, but also in the geni- tive, dative and accusative. Ex. Bacon, Ad. of L. : — glasse; eare (2), feare (plur. feares); atheisme, fourme, summe, venome; crowne, foun- taine, patterne, sinne; sparke, worke, minde (8), the proude, seede, soule, zeale, St. Paule, a thinge; fruite. — Of true greatn.. Cam. Ser.: — asse (nom.), compasse; doore, metaphore (pr. metaphore), warre (nom., gen., ace); arme, custome, stemme; sunne, crowne, graine, swaine, Spaine. — Henry VII., Cam. Ser.:— chamberlaine, Earle of n le. I Lincolne; battaile, soile, weale, behalfe, raischiefe, wolfe; bulke, the darke, workemen; the sheepe, whelpe. Herbert, Hist, of Geo.: — baptisme, heathenisme; crowne (2 the moone, towne; sonne (4); travaile, battaile (4), combate; beUefe Taylor, a: — successe, forme (3); designe, fountaine. — [3: — su cesse, the aire, warre. Hobbes, Lib. of Sub,, Cam. Ser. : — feare, chaine, plur. chains? Romanes (once Romans). — Diss, of C, Cam. Ser. : — warre (throughout), schoole, soule; forme, in summe, venime and venome; sinne; dogge (the o being open but lengthened). — Hu. Nat.: — harme, the summe; a sighe, in Latine; the aire (and air); mankinde. Browne, U. B. : — the crosse; the warre; bottome, custome; urne (2), the runne; mankinde, kinde, winde and sword. — Rel. Med., Cam. Ser.: — groane, tooke, little flocke ; feete. — U. B., Cam. Ser.: — the kisse, balsame (plur. balsoms), bottome; mountaine, urne, sunne; the dogge starre; the winde (/being pronounced like i in blind, a pro- nunciation now restricted to poetry); the houre. B. The Gender of Substantives. Milton writes as a rule in accordance with the modern as to the gender of substantives. Individuals belonging to the male sex are masculine; individuals belonging to the female sex are feminine; things without life, not being of either sex, are neuter. He differs, however, in the treatment of abstract words. The frequent cases in which they are personified betray the poet.^ "Mind" in Doct. and Disc, of Div. is often personified, and is spoken of as though it were a male being. Ex. Cap. IH: — "The mind shall be thought good enough, and must serve, though to the eternall disturbance of him that complains him." — So in the autogr. letter, Trinity Coll. MS., p. 6, Mind\ — to declare herself. The earth, countries and cities, night, darkness, the arts and sciences, abstract conceptions as nature, Hberty, charity, mercy. 1 Cf. Gottschalk. Ueber den Gebrauch des Artikels in Milton's Par. Lost. Leipzig. 1892. — ti/ — religion, the soul, the gentler emotions, are spoken of, in our days, as though they were female beings; so does Milton treat them, cf. the list given by Jorss in his dissertation on "Areopagitica," p. i. — To this I add the following instances found in Doct. and Disc, of Div. : — "Truth" is feminine, in Cap. I, II, &c.; "Love" in one and the same sentence is both masculine and feminine. Cap. VI: — "Love, \i he be not twin born, yet hath a brother wondrous like him, called Anteros : — whom, while he seeks all about his chance is to meet with many false and faining desires, that wander singly up and down in 7/^;- likeness." — In the same chapter "Human contemplation" is feminine: — "One of the highest arks that human contemplation circling upwards, can make from the globy sea whereon she stands." — In Areop. "Reason," though personified and spelt with a capital letter, is neuter: — "He kills Reason itselfe." — Eikon. 2 : — the House (of Parliament) and her worthiest members. C. The Plural of Substantives. 1. The formation of the plural, by means of the ending s (es), is carried on regularly in Milton and does not differ from the present mode, except in very few cases. a. Words ending in a consonant, monosyllabic for the best part, to which Milton adds, as we have seen above, a phonetic e to denote length of root-vowel, of course have in the plural es, and not j merely. — So C. P. B.: — 900 yeares;— Areop.: — armes, bookes (and books), chaplaines (and chaplains), dores, Gothes, mindes, paines, starres, windes, workes ; — Colast. : — dores, heires, Jewes, mindes ; — L. to H. : — aphorismes, (but maxims), designes, lawes, meanes, mindes, mouthes, play-writes (play-wrights); — Doct. and Disc, of Div., I: — kingdomes; VI, breades; VII, teares, maximes; — Eikon. i, 5: — affaires; 5, the sparkes. h. In present English we form the plural of nouns ending in y, preceded by a vowel, by the mere addition of j. Yet Milton regularly writes: — dayes, dales, boyes, wayes, waies, .keyes, (but journeys). ("The glorious waies of truth, many waies." Areop.) — Doct. and Disc, of Div. : — Sundayes, rayes. Now these words ending in r are instances of the soKition of an Anglo-Saxon consonant g, 5, into a vowel z\ ie, and in them the ending d" of the nominative and accusa- tive of the weak mascuHne and neuter nouns (Hke: — nom., ace, dafll eie, plur. eie7i) seems to have survived till very late; indeed the singular forms dale, iveie, waie occur in the writings of Milton and of his con- temporaries, and thus an explanation is given for the plurals "wayes, dayes, keyes," &:c, - They can hardly be regarded as consequences of the unsettled spelling r for ie, to which we referred above (p. 34). 2. Bacon, top, writes in accordance with his phonetic spelling. Ad. of L.: — actes (2), fountaines (2), lawes, partes, shewes (of lear- ning), thinges (2), wordes, workes (2) and works, yeeres; affaires, armes, aides, battailes, boughes, customes, ensignes, farmes, graines, kingdomes, lawes, meanes, theoddes, plaines, sinewes, sonnes, spoiles, townes, triumphes, yeeres; — Hy. VII, Cam. Ser. : — blowes, otheWl tearmes, workes. — Herbert, Hist, of Geo. : — arrowes, armes, customes, feares (2), heires, joyes, lawes, the newes, showres, sighes, sorrowes, soules, Turkes (5), troupes, yeeres, tavernes. — ^Jeremy Taylor, Cam. Ser.: — lawes, meanes, soules, schooles, veynes; — a: — the lawe meanes; p: — aides, meanes. Browne, Rel. Med., Cam. Ser. : — swarmes, rankes; — U. B. designes, emblemes (pr. emblemes), epithetes (pr. epithetes) , moun- taines, urnes; — memento's with elided e and apostrophe, just like Milton: — Arcadia's, &c. (cf. Jorss, p. i). Hobbes, Hu. Nat.: — 2 kindes, lawes; he has throughout:— lawes; — Dissol. of a Com., Cam. Ser.: — armes, designes, kingdomes. lawes, limbes, soules, summes, warres, wormes. These writers also form the plural of ivay and day like Milton. — Bacon has throughout: — waies, alwayes; — Hobbes: — wayes; — Wal- ton: — dayes; — Browne, U. B.: — waies, wayes (2), dayes (3); Herbert. Hist, of Geo.: — dayes, wayes; — Taylor, p: — wayes. 3. Army is used as a collective word in: — the Army of thir own accord being beat'n in the north. (Eikon. 4.) So youth in Ram. 39: — They send two of thire choysest youth. So Anim. 11: — The 1000 Horse. Meanes is singular: — Anim. 2: — by this meanes (2). im. 1 — 69 — D. The Possessive Case alone has retained an inflectional ending: — the suffix es, s, which originally belonged to the genitive singular of some masculine and neuter substantives, and, in the XIII^^' century only, became the geni- tive sign of the feminine gender as well. 1. The use of this "Saxon" genitive, in Milton, is hardly ever extended to things, but is restricted to the names of living beings: — the following cases have been found in Ram. 38: — Adams ruine; the Danes negUgence; Alfreds reigne; Edward Confessors divorsing and imprisoning his noble wife Editha, Godwins daughter; 39, Abra- hams strange voiage; thire mistresse sorrow; her daughters dancing; his wives daughter; thire maisters return; 40, in thire maisters de- fence; Lots journey; at the priests inviting; Adams fall. — C. P. B. 74: — His wives pride; log, the Popes legates; 160, the peoples dispo- sition; 179, lawyers opinions; the Londoners request; the Popes curse; 220, his subjects love; every mans goods. — Areop.: — In Gods esteeme; every mans copy; the Dragons teeth; Gods image; leaving it to each ones conscience; over mens eyes; from the West End of Pauls; any mans intellectual ofl^spring; each mans discretion; the diet of mans body; every mans daily portion; St. Pauls converts; mans life; these are the country-mens Arcadia's; his censors hand; a coits distance; learned mens discouragement; the peoples birthright; Hercules Pillars; her masters second comming; all the Lords people; for honours sake; Gods ordinances; the Angels ministery; Gods en- lightning his church; the printers and the authors name, or at least the printers; mans prevention; other mens vassalls; two hours medi- tation. — Anim. 5: — The Devils name. — Prel. Episc: — For truths sake. — Eikon. i : — By others advice; 3, of one Naboths vineyard; the peoples interest; 5, the kings affaires; 7, his childrens interest; some mens rigour of remisseness; 8, the peoples hatred; 10, the Arch- bishops late Breviary. — The letter toHartlib contains these instances : — Gods working; Aristotles poetics; Senecas naturall questions. — Colast.: — A mans heart; by the licencers law; som knights chaplain- ship; a drones nest; other mens miseries. — Doct. and Disc, of Div.: — Mans nature; Cap. I, our Saviours words; Natures impression; mans I II — 70 — life; Cap. II, his neighbors bed; Natures working; VI, Loves sphere; his mothers own sons; Solomons advice; for loves sake; VII, Christian mans life; Gods providence; mans iniquitie. From these examples it is evident that in Milton^s time thi vowel e of the ending had already been dropped. The few exceptions which have been found shall be mentioned below. 2. The loss of the final vowels is indicated in Present English by the apostrophe ('), which was at first probably used to distinguish the genitive from the plural suffix. Milton does not use this sign yet, although, as we have seen, he rarely fails to denote the elision of a weak vowel in the body or in the ending of a word, — as in the past participle endings prince's, in the prince's house, was a shortening oi prince his, as shown by such spellings for the genitive as the prince his house. It was indeed a peculiar idiom, as late as Johnson's and Addison's time, to use a demonstrative pronoun to mark the gram- matical relation (of possession chieflv) of some other word or group of words; but it seems to have been restricted to cases in which relation to persons had to be expressed. Bacon has for instance: — Cicero writing of Pompey his preparation against Caesar. — Yet Herbert, >KS 1 Hist, of Geo.: — The fairest day its showres. — Jeremy Taylor: — Oure deare Master his royal lawes. — Browne (Rel. Med.): — Phalaris his Bull; (U. B.): — Moses his man. — This belief, and this spelling, arose very naturally from the fact that prince s and prince his had the same sound, weak his having dropped its h in such collocations, even in the O. E. period.^ Butler (Grammar, p. 3 5) clearly attributes the genitive ending s to a shortening of his, and explains "my masters son," as being the contraction of: — my master his son. — Hodges (Primrose) tells us that: — "The apostrophus or mark of contraction, is the same with the comma, onely the difference is of place ; for, this stands not in the line, but over the upper part thereof, where the contraction is: — and it is most commonly us'd, when two words come together, th' one ending in a vowel, and th' other beginning with a vowel: — for then such two words may bee contracted by taking away the vowel in the first, as in these words: — ///' Apostles for the Apostles; th' intent iox the intent; or else when a word of two syllables by contraction is made one, as sav'd for saved, liv'd for lived, lovd for loved, &c. But in this work I make but little use of an apostrophus in such as the latter words aforegoing: — I rather use a silent e in stead there of, as, not sav'd, liv'd, and lovd, but saved, lived, loved." Not the slightest allusion is made to the dropping of the geni- tive e, nor to its being replaced by an apostrophe. Miege (p. 66) gives a careful explanation of the genitive ending s, es, and distinctly mentions the introduction of an apostrophe: — "Remarquez qu'ici on ajoute une apostrophe et une s. My father s house, my mother's estate. C'est ce qu'il faut observer lorsque la chose exprime possession." He goes on to say that this s is frequently regarded as a contraction of "his," because that pronoun is occasio- nally made use of in the formation of the genitive, as in: — Peter his house. It is, however, an entirely false notion, for: — A Virgin's beauty cannot possibly stand for: — A Virgin his beauty. Virgin being feminine. - " L'apostrophe est done plutot une distinction de nombres. Sans laquelle 1 Cf. Sievers. A.-S. Grammar, § 21 7 and "Anmerkung I." - Milton writes (Bi. Ms.) : — My wife his mother. le substantif etant revetu d'une s, au singulier, previendrait d'abord I'esprit d'une fausse idee en lui faisant paraitre ce nom la au pluriel." — He finds, however, this apostrophe superfluous in words whose plural does not end in s, and those "qui entendent bien cette matiere," do not add it. So he would write: — a ivomans beauty. The use of the apostrophe is what he calls a "delicatesse" of the English language, based on reason, and established (etabhe) by custom. He too, sen- sible as he is, fails to recognize the true nature of s (es). In the gen. plur. Miege drops, not the second, but the first o! the two s. So he writes: — the soiddier''s arms, as in the singular, for: — ' the arms of the souldiers. Milton too, writes, as we have seen above: — The Danes negligence; lawyers opinions; the Londoners request; his subjects love; by others advice. Gill (p. 75, Logon.), discussing the "Substantiva casus regentia,'J mentions the "genitive of possession," formed by adding a soft ^-- without apostrophe. Ex.: — A friends business: — a frindi biyies. 5. The formation of the Saxon genitive by means of ^ was, how ever, the regular one. Bacon: — A mans body; mens amies; the lions whelpe; mens courage; gentlemans labourer; — Adv. of L.: — your majesties employments; of anothers knowledge; your majesties manner; natures order; since Christs time; other mens wits; mans enquirie; Gods creatures. — Herbert, Hist, of Geo. : — Regarding his owne great yeares and sonnes (his omitted the second time) de- servings; their owne ambition and others assassinations; other mens minds; the nights darknesse; in that days combate; the generals tent; the kings tent; (note: — Sicala^s sonne; gifts unworthy such a master). — Taylor, too, has: — Mens resolutions; any mans religion; the popes subject; — a: — Gods vouchsafeing; Solomons reason; Gods spirit; Christs ascension; — (3: — Mens interests; Gods dis- position; Gods mercy. — Hobbes, Lib. of Sub., Cam. Sen: — Mans will; mans actions; Gods will; Gods subject; — Diss, of Comm., Cam. Ser. : — A mans conscience; mensmindes; mans nature; the soveraigns right; Your Lordships favour; the authors advice. — Browne, U. B.: — Hippocrates patients; Achilles horses; each others will; one an- others salvation. I I 6. The following genitives may also be noticed: — the daies work (L. to H.), and: — the soules contentment; genitive of soule (Doct. and Disc, of Div.). — Bi. :— Weden'sday (1648), being Wodan's day. Finally the genitive of wife is: — wive's, with change of / into ve, just as in the plural. Cf. above: — his wives daughter, his wives pride. The influence of E. E. may perhaps be traced in the form: — thire mistresse sorrow (Ram., p. 39). The suffix ^j, as already stated, originally belonged to the genitive singular of masculine and neuter substantives only. It was not the genitive sign of the feminine until the XIII^'^ century, and then for the most part only in the northern dialect. Cf. Morris, Accid., p. 1 01.— Or is its explanation to be sought in the pronunciation of the word "mistresse"? 7. In stating the relationship of one person to another, we use to-day the genitive case; Milton still used the preposition to, after the proper name: — Ram. 37: — Ewin, son to Edward the yonger; Venutius, husband to Cartismandua; 38, Gunilda, daughter to Hard Canute; Emma, wife to Henry the third; and in C. P. B. 179: — afterwards being prisoner to the Barons. CHAPTER VI. The Adjective. A. General Remarks. 1. In early Mn. English the loss of final e made the adjectives indeclinable, as far as case and number are concerned. Adjectives thus became formally indistinguishable from adverbs, except by their syntactical relations, the only change of form that was left to them, namely comparison, being shared by adverbs. a. And yet in Milton's prose we meet a small number of adjec- tives, ending in a consonant, to which is added a weak final e, with- out regard to the form (whether definite or indefinite), nor to case. Such adjectives may be of German or of French origin, indifferently, but they are chiefly monosyllabic, or, if polysyllabic, they bear the principal stress on their last syllable; and this characteristic they har in common, that their root vowel is long. — The following instance were found in C. P. B. 179: — faire; 199, firme. — Areop. : — certaine, foreine, forreigne, meane, mine, moderne, owne, plaine; firme, dearBI milde; publicke, weake, steepe. — Doct. and Disc, of Div. : — owne, solemne, vaine (and vain), farre. — L. to H.: — meere, farre; briefe, chiefe, deafe; odde. — Areop.: — grosse, remisse. — Anim.: — humane, owne, uncertaine. — Eikon. 9: — faire. — R. of Ch. Gov. : — human^l vaine. " But this spelling was not by any means settled, for, although these adjectives may occur repeatedly being spelt with e, yet the number of cases in which the e is dropped is quite as great. Ex. Areop.: — "They wounded us with our own weapons, and with our owne arts;" "vaine" and "vain." — This e must however have a mea- ning, and the most natural explanation that can be given for it, is regard it as a phonetic sign (of the length of the preceding vowel^ we can but refer to what we said above, when discussing the quali- fying e in our chapters on spelling, the verb, and the substantive. fll b. If we compare Milton with other writers of the period, we cannot help being struck by the strong tendency he shows to drop that e, which disappears in Eikon., while Bacon and others still use it with great regularity. Ex. from Bacon: — Adv. of L.: — certaine, civile, humane (2), owne (2), prophane, soveraigne, vaine; extreame, supreame; solide, weake; cleane^ firme, owne, suddaine, weake. — Herbert: — plaine, deere; owne (4), solemne, uncertaine. — Taylor, a: — certaine, humane, maine, owne (2), publike (4); p: — coole, humane (2), pubUke (3); (own without e); halfe; deare, owne. — Hobbes: — firme, westerne, latine; — Hu. Nat.: — lucide(5). — Browne, U. B.: — owne, the Romane practice (2); blinde, briefe, halfe, mine, straite, vaine, wilde. — The French form may have influenced Milton in spelling: — moderne. c. At the end of a short syllable weak final c is frequently omitted, even where modern orthography requires it. Ex.: — wors (throughout with very rare exceptions), of German origin ; — M. E. ivors ; O. E. ivyrs. So also in adjectives formed by means of the suffix ^^;?z^; O. E. ^«;«.'— troublesom, wearisom (and wearisome). — Lastly in ad- jectives of Romance origin with the suffix ate, He, ine. Areop.: — privat, compassionat, considerat, consummat, elaborat, moderat, ob- durat, obstinat; sanguin; fragil, facil. — French influence may have made itself felt in divers, (so Bacon, throughout: — divers). 2. a. Another feature of interest in Milton is the regular doubl- ing of the final consonant / in adjectives. I think there lies in it more than a mere peculiarity of phonetic spelUng, such as the one discussed in chapter III, A, i, for it is carried through with great regularity in the writers of the period, and may certainly be traced far back. A quotation from ten Brink, "Chaucer's Sprache und Vers- kunst," § 96 et seq., may perhaps throw some light on the subject. He says, § 97 : — "Schon in A. E. Zeit gait die Regel, dass ursprunglich kurze Konsonanz im Auslaut einer betonten Silbe gedehnt wurde. Hierauf beruht ein grosser Teil der Erscheinungen, die im gewohn- lichen Sprachgebrauch unter dem Namen Position zusammengefasst werden. Auf diese Weise wurden viele ursprunglich kurze Silben lang, ursprunglich lange Silben uberlang, ein Uebermass, dessen sich die Sprache dann im Laufe der Zeit durch Vokalkiirzung zu entledigen suchte. Diese Konsonantendehnung trat aber nicht ein, wenn der Silbenauslaut mit dem Wortauslaut zusammenfiel, daher konnten kurze konsonantisch auslautende Monosyllaben im A. E. nur unter dem Versictus fur lang gelten. In M. E. Zeit aber wirkte der Satzton mit der Intejisitdt des Ictus, daher alle kurzen Konsonanten im Wort- auslaut nach betontem kurzem Vokal gedehnt wurden." — Now we find that in M. E. the French suffix al (animal, celestial), for instance, constantly rimes with all (shall, small) and bears a strong secondary stress.^ This stress it still distinctly bore, in prose and verse, in Milton's time;^ thus may be explained the regular occurrence of the forms in 1 The following instances have been found in the first book of Spenser's^ ''Fairy Queen,''!, 8: — all rimes with funerall ; 11, 20, fall— funerall; 36, martiall — call; III, 16, call— severall — criminall; V, 22, all — coelestiall — hall; 53, stall — funerall — fall; VI, 26, compell — cruell — fell; VIII, i, continuall — thrall; X, 34, all— liberall— fall; 36, hospitall— fall; XI, 22, ill— nosethrill. - In the miscellaneous poems: — The Hymn, 15, " hall " rimes with " festivall." Again, in An epitaph on the marchioness of Winchester, we find the following two verses: "Which the sad morn had let fall" "On her hastning funerall." — 76 - all, ell, ill, found in Ramb. : — aereall, continuall, heroicall, several!. C. P. B.: — naturall, cruell. — Areop. : — actuall, artificiall, carnall, collaterall, elementall, equall, in generall, immortall, incidentall, in- tellectual!, liberal!, manual!, mortal!, municipall, natural, national and national! , partial! , perpetual! , practical! , principal! , real! , royal!, textual!, trivial!, unequal!, universal!. — L. to H.: — effectual!, equall, incidentall, linall, frugal!, generall, legal!, liberal!, martial!, moral!, naturall, personal!, prodigal!, rational!, reall, rurall, several!, special!, usual!. — Doct. and Disc. ofDiv., Introd.: — conjugal!, mutual!, naturall; Cap. I, moral!, reall; II, carnall, continual!, generall, moral!, perpetual!, principal!; Ill, eternal!, irrational!, sensual!, usual!; IV, formal!, original!; VI, generall, liberal!, originall; VII, bestial!, generall. — Areop.: — civill, evil! (and evil); O. Y.. yfel, ufel, evel, iveL ill, contraction of evil, may have influenced the spelling; until! (O. E. ///; M. E. till), scurrill, civil!.— L. to H.: — evil!, civill— Doct. an« Disc, of Div.: — cruell, parallel!. — This doubling of the final consonant has thus a twofold meaning. It first indicates that the preceding vowel was short (cf. Ill, A, i), and secondly that the ending bore secondary stress. — Withal!, also is to be noticed. b. This spelling is carried through with great regularity by Milton' contemporaries. Bacon has: — Adv. of L. : — immortal!, individual! (2), intellectual! (2), memorial!, originall (2), principal!, substantial!, super- ficial!, temporal!, universal! (2); but once "material things." — Herbert, Hist, of Geo. : — equall (2 ) and equal ( i ), generall ( 2 ), immortal!, unnatu- ral!; cruell. — Taylor, a: — carnall, eternal!, final!, naturall (2), severall; P, collaterall, ineffectual! (4), material!, mutual! (2), perpetual!, severall, blood royall; charnell; civill. — Browne, U. B.: — aethereall, animal!, carnall, central!, corpora!!, equall (2), final!, formal!, funeral! (2) pyre, immortal!, integral!, originall, phantasticall, rational! (2), sepulchral! (2), severall, special!, total!, urnall; civill (but natural [i]);— Rel. Med., Cam. Ser.: — equall, mechanical!, mortal!, immortal!, poetical!, provincial!, plurall; evil!, subtil!; cruell. Hobbes, however, has as a rule rt-/; rt-Z/is an exception. — Hu.Nat. : — corporeal, dogmatical, equal, general, internal (2), mathematical, mutual, natural (and naturall), phantastical, principal (2), real, several (4). But "all," the adjective, occurs regularly. — 77 — 3. a. Full combined with nouns to form adjectives takes but one /in modern English, Milton, however, in conformity with ancient use, writes //. Ex. Ram. 37 :— slothfull; 39, frightfull; 40, dreadful).— C. P. B. 16: — la\\full; 160, dreadfuU; 185, ingratfulI.—Areop.:— care- full, cheerfull, disgraceful), delightfull, doubtfull, faithfull, hurtfull, lawful), painfull, skilfull, sportful), un)awfull, useful). —L. to H.: — artfu)), dehghtfull, gracefull, healthful), helpful), youthful), needfu)), skillfull, unsuccessfull, usefull. — Doct. and Disc, of Div. I:— lawfull, usefull; III, carefull, cheerfull, lawfull; IV, cheerfull (cheerefull); VI, blisfull, needfull. — -Eikon. : — mindfull. h. Bacon has regularly: — Adv. of L.: — ^joyfull, fearefull, grace- ful), healthful).— Herbert, Hist, of Geo.:— faithfu)l, usefull.— Taylor, a: — lawfull, carefull; p, mercifull, unusefull. — Hobbes, Cam. Sen: — delightfull, lawfull, painfull. — Browne, U. B.: — lawfull, mercifull, mournfull. 4. Milton frequently substantifies adjectives, and follows in the main the rules now in force. In the following instance, however, he has omitted the indefinite pronoun one, which adjectives generally require when used substantively, in the singular. — Anim. 8: — the wiser in many points. — But Areop. : — The labours of the dead. 5. This carelessness in the adding of one is more frequent when, two adjectives being related to one substantive, and the latter being placed immediately after the first of the two adjectives, the second would require the addition of the indefinite pronoun, which becomes itself a substantive, and as such may take the mark of the plural. This again belongs to those peculiarities of Milton's style which must be attributed to the influence of the Latin tongue. Ex. Areop.: — That vertue is but a blank vertue, not a pure. Had any one divulged erroneous things and scandalous to honest life; (modern prose grammar would require either "scandalous ones," or rather "things erroneous and scandalous to honest life"). If it be desir'd to know the cause, there cannot be assigned a truer then your own mild government. (This example would rather fall under 4.) This I know that errors in a good government and in a bad are equally almost incident. — Col.: — Too ignorantly to deceav any reader but an un- lerned. — 78 — t. Comparison. 1. In E. Mn. English the endings are the same as in late M. that is in the English of 1300 — 1500. But we have also the peri- phrastic comparison, by means of more and most, which appears already in Early M. E. At first, the two methods of comparison were used indiscriminately, and such comparisons as more sad, most sad, beaiitif idler, beautifullest were frequent in M. E., and even as late as the first half of the XVII^^^ century there existed no rule which might have been uniformly followed.^ Milton preferred the endings er, est, the use of which is more and more restricted in present English for reasons of euphonism. C. P. B. 53: — the two cheifest and ancientest universities. — Anim. 4:— the properest object; 6, the elegantest authors; 16, the ancientest fathers. — Areop. : — a vision far ancienter; the ancientest fathers; accuratest thoughts; backwardest; diligentest writers; exactest things; look whether those places be the honester=(the) more honest; like- liest, loyalest, unwillingest. — L. to H.: — hopefullest, likest, usefullest; the likeliest means. — Doct. and Disc, of Div., Int.: — choisest, learnedst (and best learned); I, the equallest sense (equal in the sense of just=most just); II, chiefest, loneliest; III, sobrest; IV, unmeetest. — Of Ref in Engl.: — famousest, chiefest, wickedest. 2. Adjectives with superlative meaning can, as a rule, not be compared. "Es sind dies diejenigen, welche an und fiir sich das hochste Mass des Begriffes, oder negative Bestimmungen ausdriicken. Doch wird der Superlativ mancher Worter dieser Art zur Verstar- kung der im Positiv enthaltenen Bedeutung gebraucht."- So Milton, C. P. B. 53 : — cheifest. — Doct. and Disc, of Div. : — chiefest, loneliest. — Areop.: — sublimest. — The double comparative lesser is of frequent occurrence. Ace. Comm. Gr. : — If it be the proper name of a lesser place (einer kleineren Stadt). — Hobbes: — the lesser cities of Greece; many lesser commonwealths, 1 Gill, Logon. Angl., Cap. IX, merely mentions the two methods, he does not discuss their application. Cf. also Sweet, Op. cit. 326, 327. 2 Matzner, Engl. Gramm. Ill, 299, — 7*j — 3. Irregular Comparison, a. Old, older (elder), oldest (eldest). Milton frequently uses the archaic forms elder, eldest, where present English would require older, oldest. This is the case throughout in Acced. Comm. Gr. One instance in Areop. is : — our ancestors elder or later. — Browne, U. B.: — Carnall interment was of the elder date. b. Far, farther, farthest (O. E. feor, fierr(e), fyrra, fyrrest, — later forms:— y^r, ferre, ferrest, feorrest ; fer, furre, fiire, ferrest). Milton uses with the greatest regularity the comparative form/«;r^. — L. to H.: — a farre country (4 times farre).— /^rr^ is indeed the correct form; th seems to have got into the orthography of the word out of false analogy with further. Doct. and Disc, of Div. has also farre. Areop. 6 times. In some cases we meet the form furder, futiher (O. E. compara- tive: — furdra [major], together with the adverb: — furdor [ulterius], connected with the 2id\QTh foi-e, forth). — Areop.: — the discours furder made; passing no furder; to gain furder in wors condition; no furder discussing. — C. P. B. 185:— furder. c. Little, less, least. Here, too, we meet both, the present English superlative form least and the M. E. form lest (O. E. lutel, litel, — lasse, las, lesse; leeste, and later, lest). Ex. Areop.: — How they shall be lest hurtfull, how lest enticing. — But: — at least, upon every least breath. d. Late, later, latest; (latter, last). The two forms later, in sequence of time, and latter, in sequence of place, distinct nowadays, seem to have been occasionally used the one for the other. Milton writes, for instance, in C. P. B. 221 : — "Henry the seventh in his latter days." — Bacon, Adv. of L., p. i: — "The former . . , the later," where we should expect "the latter." e. Most, superlative of much, many, stands, as a rule, before plurals in the meaning of: — the greatest number; in O. E. however, ;///(f(?/ meant "great," mare, more meant "greater," and mast, 7?iest, most meant "greatest," and stood also before nouns in the singular. This old meaning seems to have been before Milton's mind, when he wrote in R. of C. G., preface: — "The most part aime not beyond the good of civill society." 4. The two members of a comparison are connected by the conjunction ///^;2. Modern ///a?/ is not to be found in any one of the prose works which we have read through, nor in the extracts from Bacon, Hobbes, Herbert, Browne and Taylor. And yet in M. EngHsh we have aheady than, thanne, thonrie, corresponding to O. E, f)onnej |)on^ l^an^ by the side of then, thenne, thene. The form then, in MiltoJ is very Hkely a phonetic spelhng. CHAPTER VII. Numerals. Milton's use of them is generally in agreement with the rules now observed. Concernino: the % A. Cardinal Numbers, however, we may take note of the following peculiarities :- 1. The number /wc* is regularly spelt toiv, in the autograph pieces contained in "Ramblings." — Ex. 37: — his tow sons; 41, tow sons. Everywhere else regularly two : — Prel. Episc. 1 1 : — two grave nurses. — 2. Seven is found spelt sometimes seaven (O. E. seofoii), somH| times seven. Ex. Prel. Episc. 5 : — to the seaven Bishops; the 7 sleepers that slept three hundred seaventy and two years. 3. Hundred is also spelt hiinderd. Ex. Prel. Episc. 5 : — a hunderd yeares his predecessor. 4. In cumulative numeral groups (twenty-five) the units always come first; just as in O. Y.. fif aiid tiventig manna. According to present use this may be done for the numbers up to fifty, provided that the tenths be not preceded by a stronger number.^ Milton says: — L. to H. : — from twelve to one and twenty; three or four and twenty. — Areop.: — two and fifty degrees; five or six and twenty sees. 5. Gill tells us. Logon., p. 65: — In numeris compositis, major praecedit minorem, ut: — tiventy one, thirty tivo, forty three; aut contra, minor majorem, ut: — one and tzventy, six a?id fifty, nine and fifty, sed 1 Matzner, Engl. Grammatik, I, 301, — 81 — ulterius hanc formam non prosequeris. This he applies to the ordinal numbers, too, and goes as far ^s: — '' The nine and fiftieth, turn cessa, posthac enim major praeponitur minori." 6. Cardinals may be used substantively: — C. P. B. 179: — upon a fifteen granted (on the granting of a fifteen); 220, the fifteens. 7. Dozen in the sense of twelve, in Prel. Episc. 5: — an offspring of some dozen epistles. B. Ordinals. 1. Hodges, in his "Primrose" (last few pages, where numbers are taught), duly distinguishes cardinal from ordinal numbers ("ex- pressing the order of any thing"), and says: — "These latter ought to have (th) set over the head for their distinction, but in printed books it is very seldom observed; you must therefore distinguish them only by the sense of the place wherein they are set." This was indeed the case not only in printed books, but also in MSS.; we found, for instance, in C. P. B. 182, 221: — Henry 3 ; 185 and 221, Richard 2; 242, Henry 5; but also: — 74, Edward the i; 185, Richard the 2 (2), and Henry 3'^; 221, Henry the 7*^; Henry the 8^^ 2. The ordinal number y^ had already begun to be discarded at that period. But Milton uses both iorms, fifth ^.ndfift; O. 'K.fifta; M. ^. fifte. The form///? is to be found in Ram. 39: — the fift or sixt day; in Doct. and Disc, of Div. Bk. I, Cap. VI; in R. of C. G. I, 5; in Areop. : — fift essence; but, Eikon. 2: — in the fifth yeare. In late Mn. English th was again introduced, owing to the influence of the other numerals; so also in sixt, which Milton had kept as well. — C. P. B. 220: — the sixt of every mans goods; — Judgment of Bucer: — dedicated to Edward the sixt; — Anim. 14: — Edward the sixt. Gill gives, p. 65: — fift, sixt. CHAPTER VIII. Pronouns. A. Personal Pronouns. 1. Remnants of older inflexion cannot be said to occur in the printed works of Milton; but in Ram. and in C. P. B. we have come across the one form thire, in the ending e of which we should be in- clined to see a trace of the M. E. gen. plur. "|)eire;" we generally find it connected with a genitive. Ex. Ram. 39: — thire mistresse sorrow; thire maisters return (6); 40, in thire maisters defence; but nomin. : — thir maister. The form f)a-=they was relatively recent in English grammar. The late O. E. tendency to confuse "heo," "she," and "hie," "they," under the common form "heo," led to a more extended use of the demonstrative plural "l)a," "they." In the M. E. period, this usage was especially developed in North-Thames English. But as "|3a" also had the strong demonstrative meaning "those ones," "those," and as Scandinavian influence was strong in North-Thames English, "{)a" in the sense of "they," was made into "l)ei" by the influence ot Scandinavian "f>eir," "they," where the r is only the inflection of the nom. masc. plur. The influence of the Scandinavian dat. and gen. plur. "peim," "to them," "|)eira," "their," also changed the old "l)sem, |)ara" into "peim, f)eire, f)eir" in North-Thames English. In late M. E. "{)ei" found then its way into the standard dialect.^ 2. In the original form of the language and in standard M. E- ye is the nominative, you the accusative case. This distinction, how- ever, was not kept by Elizabethan authors. — In Early Mn. English the objective iQXYi\.you came to be used as a nominative, and in present English you has completely supplanted ye in the spoken language. Alexander Gill,^ Milton's master, tells us that jj'^ and ;^^^/^ are to be used as nominative and vocative, you alone as accusative case; 1 Sweet. New Engl. Grammar, p. 336. 2 Cf. Logon., "Personalia," p. 37—40. — 83 — -but, as a matter of fact, the associations between form and grammatical function were very unsettled in Milton's time. We can give numerous examples of >'^, as well as o^ you, used both as nominative and objec- tive case: — a. Ve as subject (nominative). — Areop.: — Ye must reform it perfectly, which I know ye abhorre to doe. Yet, though ye should condescend to this. I find ye esteem it. If ye be resolved. To think ye were not. Ye professe. Ye have the inventors ript up. Ye like not. Ye were importuned. All men who know how ye honour truth will clear yee (accusative) readily. Though ye take from a covetous man all his treasure, he has yet one Jewell left, ye cannot bereave him of his covetousnesse. Ye cannot make, them chaste. Ye remove them both alike. Ye must repeale all scandalous books. After ye have drawn them up. What nation it is whereof ye are. What should ye doe? — But: — You must then first become that which ye cannot be. L. to H. : — Ye shall have. — Col.: — Yee see what a desiner wee have him. — But: — If you bring limitations. — The ioxm. ye by far prevails. b. Ye as objective case. Them that praise yee are known by ye. Many who honour ye. He gives ye. To thinke ye pleased. They 5hall observe yee. Renders ye willing. Shall lay before ye. B. Possessive Pronouns. 1. In M. E. a distinction was made between the conjoint "min, pin," and "mi, {)i;" "min, f)in" dropping their final n before a consonant. This distinction was still kept up, to some extent, in Early Mn. E., but the shorter forms came more and more into use. Milton makes a most scanty use of mine, thine. The only instances of mine found, -are in Anim. 1 6 : — I shall justifie mine own assertion ; — Prel. Episc. : — what mine author says; — Doct. and Disc, of Div., Cap. VI: — Mine author sung it to me; — Areop. — Mine owne acquittall. 2. The possessive form its was scarcely yet admitted into literary English. Cf. Morris, E. Ace, § 172. This form is not much older than the end of the XVI*^ century. It is not found in the Bible, nor in Spenser; rarely in Shakespeare and Bacon, more frequently in Milton, who, however, preferred his. Ex. Areop.: — That other clause which we thought had died with his brother. C. Demonstrative Pronouns. Here follows an instance of the demonstrative force of the per- sonal pronoun them, which Matzner, I, 322, rightly qualifies as a, dialectical peculiarity. Areop. : — Them that praise ye are known tcfll ye. — In Early English: — ///, hii (plural of personal pronoun lie), hem, as well as "f)a, {)0," belonged distinctly to the class of demonstratives. Cf. Rob. of Gloucester: — Hii of Denemarch flowe sone (p. 378). Fram hem of Denemarche (I, 295). D. Relative Pronouns. I 1. Regarding the general use of the relatives loho , ivhich, that,. in Milton's time, no definite rule can be given. Who is but rarely met in the writers of the first half of the XYn**^ century (except, of course, as an interrogative pronoun); that and which indifferently refer to- singular and plural antecedents of all genders; ivhat is used in thfll sense of that which, as it is in our days. In a great number of cases the relative pronouns are omitted. — Milton, R. of C. G., Bk. II, pref.: — He who hath obtained, &c., and in the same sentence: — He that hath obtained; to them that will. — Hobbes, Lib. of Sub., Cam. Ser., seems to prefer that. Ex. that=who: — the giver that was not bound; one that was free; to him that could see; he that so dieth; I have seen a man that had another man, &c.; which=whom: — a strong monarch which they abhorre. — Browne, Rel. Med., Cam. Ser. : — the scepticks that affirmed; the duke of Venice that weds. — But. Milton, Bucer: — to them who know what wise men, &:c. Who as a relative is not recognised by Ben Johnson, who speaks of "one relative: — which," that, during the XIP^ century, began to supply the place of the indeclinable relative the, and, in the XIV^'' century, it was the ordinary though not the only relative. In theXVP^ century, which often supplied its place, and in the XVIP*^ century who \w2iS occasionally employed instead oiit. — At alater period, Addison''s time, that had again come into fashion and had almost driven who- and which out of use.^ 1 Morris. Outl. of English Accid., p. 130. — 85 — Gill says that ivho, ivJiom and ivhicJi may always be rendered by that: — "Sic verti potest: — He who cannot contain himself: — Sing. I. He which cannot contain himself. 2. He that cannot contain himself. Plur. I. They who cannot contain themselves. 2. They which cannot contain themselves. 3. They that cannot contain themselves. Objective case: — 1. I accuse him whom I know to be guilty. 2. I accuse him which I know to be guilty. 3. I accuse him that I know to be guilty."^ 2. The use of a relative pro?ioim ruled by a preposition is an ex- ception in Milton's writings. We notice also that, as a rule, pronominal relative clauses are introduced by a compound of the adverbs of place "where," or "there," and the preposition. Ex. C. P. B. 220: — The which the king knowing the cause whereof instantly pardon^. Areop. : — The subject whereon I entered. The liberty whereof this discourse will be a testimony. A fit instance wherein to show such as shall be thereto appointed. A life whereof there is no great losse. A massacre whereof the execution ends not in . . . He fell to the study of that whereof he was so scrupulous. In witnesse whereof I have given. Whereof what better witness can ye expect. To ordain -wisely as in this world of evill, in the midd'st whereof God hath plac't us. I should produce useful drugs wherewith to temper med'cins. Wherefore did he create passions within us. A councel wherein bishops were forbid. This is the prime service wherein this order should give proof of itself. This is what I had to show wherein this order cannot conduce to that end whereof it bears the intention. The mortall glasse wherein we contemplate. The commonwealth wherein he was born. In a hand scars legible whereof three pages would not down. Con- sider what nation it is whereof ye are and whereof ye are the governours. A vertue whereof none can participate but greatest and wisest men. The order would be fruitlesse to that order whereto ye meant it. Another reason whereby to make it plain. Christ urg'd it as where- 1 Gill. Logon., "Personalia," p. 37 — 40. — 86 - with to justifie himself. That piece of ground whereon Hannibal 1 self encampt. L. to H.: — For the want whereof this nation perishes. The whereby we may best hope to give account. The studies wherewit h they close the dayes work. The gropes of wrastling wherein Engli sh men were wont to excell. This will be enough wherein to prove th eijtai strength. The praxis thereof. U Ace. Comm. Gr. : — Adjectives may form comparison whereof there be two degrees. Borrow from the verb wherof they are derived^ Words following the substantive wherofthey are spoken. Governing. . , wherby one part of speech is governed by another. Prel. Episc: — An allegation wherin we see ... In some treatises one whereof goes under the name . . . The difference wherin I wonder . . .. Anim. 5: — Wherefore should you begin with the Devils name?_ 8. Wherby they might be the abler to discover ... 15. Wherfoi have you sate still? What strikes us as archaic and peculiar, in many of the ab ov< examples, is the fact that the relative clauses are related to substan- tives; their being related to whole sentences is of frequent occurrence-^ Matzner says with respect to these sentences^: — "Die Beziehung rela- tiver Ortsadverbien auf Substantivbegriffe ist eine iiber viele Sprachen verbreitete Erscheinung und reicht bis ins Angelsachsische. Bevor die interrogativen Formen als relative verwendet wurden, galten die Demonstrativen dafiir. Bei vielen alten Schriftstellern gehen beide Formen (where, there) neben einander her." From the above examples it will be seen that the interrogative form where had superseded the demonstrative there, which occurs but rarely. Forms like "this which I speake of" (Bacon: — Of true Greatnesse, &c.. Cam. Ser.) are not found in Milton, he would no doubt have said: — whereof. — But Bacon says also (Adv. of L.): — This spice the mixture whereof will make knowledge soveraign; the end whereof will consist of the summer; that light whereby he may reveal unto himselfe the nature of God. Browne has (Rel. Med., Cam. Ser.): — The rhetoricke where- with I persuade another; when he had not subdued the halfe of any part thereof. e? 1 1 Matzner. Engl. Gramm. Ill, 54; — 87 — 3. Milton often uses the relative which with repeated antecedent; this construction is now considered as archaic and is only adopted where great definiteness is desired,, — in official, legal documents which have retained in every language a quaint style of their own, — or where care must be taken to select the right antecedent — Doct. and Disc, of Div., Cap. V: — From which words (a quotation from the Bible) so plain lesse cannot be concluded. — Of Ref. in England, Lib. II: — In which attempt if they fall short (of bringing the law under the wardship of Lust and Will) ; wins the exarchat of Ravenna, which though it had been a possession; their treason to the Royall blood, which had it tooke effect. — Prel. Episc. :— It being the only book left us of Divine authority, through all which booke can be no where found, &c. ; entitling him Archbishop of Antioch Theopolis, which name of Theopolis. — R. of C. G., Bk. I, Int. : — Which thing (reasons of church government) further to explane, I shall no longer deferre. — "Sometimes a noun of similar meaning supplants the antecedent" (Abbott, § 269), sometimes, too, as seen above (Ref. in England, &c.), a pronoun takes its place. This use of which is due to Latin influence, where the relatives "qui, quae, quod" are constantly used thus, in a demonstrative sense, that is: — pointing, referring again to that which has been mentioned, in order to bring it more vividly before the mind of the reader.^ Which has here a distinctly demonstrative force and stands for and that, that indeed. E. Reflexive Pronouns. 1. a. In Early English the emphatic adjective self (Anglo-Saxon ^/^=same), is added to nouns and personal pronouns, being gene- rally inflected like a strong adjective in agreement with its headword. " God self hit ^eiuorhtey — Self doQS not make a pronoun reflexive, but simply emphasizes one that is already so. By degrees however, the combination of self with a personal pronoun was restricted to the reflexive meaning, the simple pronouns being restricted to the non-reflexive meaning; and, in the XIIP'^ century, when the genitive 1 Cf. Cicero, Cato major, 6 : — Quam palmam utinam dii immortales tibi re- servent. — Cicero, de Imp. Pomp., 15: — Qui quo die . . ., &c. — Contra quem qui exercitus duxerunt, ii senatus singulares honores decrevit. 88 ■ 1 was substituted for the dative of the prefixed pronoun in the first and second person, — "mi self, pi self" for "me self, pe self," "our self, your self" for "us self, you self," — se/f came to be regarded as a substantive,-^ and made its plural like nouns ending m. f, fe. Milton, no doubt, considered it as such, for he separated it as a rule from the personal pronoun. Ex. Areop. : — I might defend my selfe. Partiall to your selves. He durst venture himselfe. A debat with himselfe. We must not expose our selves. Truth opens her sell faster. The service wherin this order should give proof of it selfe. Love lerning for it self. When I have disclosed my self. We are so timorous of our selves. And from thence derives it self. In some dis- conformity to our selves. Without being unlike her self. Lest we should devote our selves to set places. — Col: — I composed my self to read. — L. to H.: — Though a linguist should pride himselfe. To advance it selfe. Every man can count him selfe. b. In the following examples Milton uses self, not with a reflexivjj meaning, but simply as a means to emphasis. Areop.: — Not so ii ferior as your selves are superior. He kills reason it selfe. The breath of reason it selfe. The Bible it selfe must remove out of the world. We our selves esteem not of that obedience. If we our selves con- demn not our teaching. We look not into the sun it selfe. The rew forming of Reformation it self. The book it self will tell us more. — Ace. Comm. Gr.: — The positive signifieth the thing itself. — Col.: — If your self be not guilty. — L. to H.: — To be won from pleasure it selfe. — Hi?nself a\one is regularly spelt in one word, whereas 7?ty self, our selves, your selves, it self, mostly occur written in two words, which proves that Milton was quite conscious of the meaning of self; them- selves is written both ways. There is nothing reflective in self, the reflective force belongs altogether to the pronoun to which it is appended, or, properly speaking, lies in the verb which expresses the reflected action. <:. In E. and M. English the personal pronouns alone were used reflexively, and had not ceased to be used as such as late as Milton's time. He offers a few instances of this reflexive force of personal pronouns: — Doct. and Disc, of Div., Int.: — Let him bethink him Sweet. New Engl. Grammar, p. 346. — 89 -- withall. — Areop. : — They will mak' em and cut' em out what religion ye please {'ein=]iem now superseded by them). — L. to H.: — Some betake them to state affairs. — R. ofC. G., I, Cap. 5: — He repents him. 2. Milton's contemporaries, too, considered j-^^ rather as a sub- stantive. Hobbes always separates: —// ^-^^^ (but himself)] Herbert, Walton, Taylor likewise. Browne writes ///wj"^^/is omitted in such sentences as: — whatever sort the bool be; what is to be thought of reading books, what ever sort they b< what sort books were prohibited; ivhai sort, what ever sort , being equal to the Latin quicunque. — The Latin syntax may account for the omission of ofm. the following cases: — Areop.: — Protagoras himselfe was banisht the territory, expellere being frequently constructed with the ablative, without preposition ; — I would not despair the greatest design, — cf. Latin: — desperat et diffidit rebus suis (Cic), suis fortunis de- sperat (Cses.), nihil desperanduin est (Horace). — "Worthy so excellent a man," reminds us forcibly of the IjsXm.'. — digitus aliqua re. So Doct. and Disc, of Div.: — To expedite these knots were worthy a learned and memorable synod. Of is omitted after both in Doct. and Disc, of Div. I: — both which. — Note also the use oifrom out instead of out of, in: — It w^l from out the rinde of one apple tasted . . . (Areop.). "■ We find in Milton's Bible:— "Six a clock" (1646), a phonet^ spelling; also "before 3 of the clock" (1652).^ H p. By is omitted in Areop.: — "Ye were importuned the passing of it." Cf. obstrepere alicui aHqua re; Cic.: — litteris mihi obstrepit. Y- Milton is likewise influenced by the Latin construction when he writes: — "To prefer a thing before another," Lat. />ra^-ferre ; — Doct. and Disc, of Div. VII: — God preferres the free worship of a Christian before the grievous observance of an unhappy marriage; — Areop.: — A dram of well-doing should be preferred before many times as much the forcible hindrance of evill-doing; — and also when he construes: — Areop.: — The adversarie waits the hour (expectare aliquant rem) ; as it was a thing slight and obvious to think on (cogitare de aliqua re). 3. Sometimes, for shortness' sake, one preposition is wrongly used with two substantives, which cannot, separately, be construed with the same. Areop.: — "This licencing had reference and depen- dence to many other proviso's;" we must construe: — reference to and 1 Cf. Jorss, p. 17, VI. Matzner (II, i, 279). — iOl - dependence on. "Encompassed and surrounded with his protection;" we should say: — encompassed by and surrounded with, or by also. The preposition of\^ put but once in: — "Of other sects and the denying of providence they tooke no heed" (Areop.); and in: — "One of desert sufficient and ability either to do all, or to oversee it done" (L. to H.). We should now repeat the preposition before "the denying" and "ability." — Eikon. 9: — Averse to all his Parlia- ment and both the nations ofthis iland. 2. The following examples of an anomalous use of prepositions were found in a few pages of Hobbes, Lib. of Subj., Cam. Ser. : — "in order to the good" instead of "for the good."— Cf. Milton, Areop. : — " on purpose to a life beyond life," instead of "for a life." "There is no soveraignty by the Ghostly," by in the sense of ("except") besides. We should now say: — "a house by the river, be- sides, by the side of the river;" "he was standing by me," "by my side," but we should not use by in this sense with abstract words. C. Conjunctions. 1. The conjunction that is frequently omitted in such sentences as: — Areop.: — Seeing every nation affords not experience; — Prel. Episc. : — Seeing therefore some men have had so little care; R. of C. G.: — Which is so hard that we may see it is not for every learned man. — So Hobbes: — Seeing there is no commonwealth ; seeing it is manifest. — Browne: — We all hold there is a number of Elect and may be saved. — We notice that the principal clause always contains a verb expressing: — to see, to believe, to think, — and the correspon- ding verbs in Latin were generally construed with the accusative and infinitive. So Hobbes, Hu. Nat.: — Seeing the organs are in equal temper. 2. When as. We must make a distinction here: — a. As was sometimes affixed to certain relative words to give greater precision of meaning; zvhenas^ust zvhen. Compare Greek §'/] in 8:r£L§7J. Milton gives us frequent instances of this pleonastic use oi as: — Areop.: — "When as private persons are animated to thinke ye better pleased." Cf., too, Jorss, p. 18, VH, i. Doct. and Disc, of 102 1 f Div. II: — "It is a greater blessing from God whenas the sola' the mind is regarded before the sensitive pleasing of the body." b. Whenas may also stand for present English zvhereas, and used in adversative clauses. Areop.: — "It stops but one breach licence, whenas those corruptions which it seeks to prevent, break in faster." — Doct. and Disc, of Div. Ill: — "How vaine is it that the vessell of voluptuous enjoyment must be made good, &c. . . . whenas the mind shall be thought good enough . . ." "They who have lived most loosely prove most successful! in their matches . . . whenas the sober man may easily chance to meet ..." c. As is omitted in Doct. and Disc, of Div. VII: — "offering him- selfe a lively sacrifice." 3. Because is replaced by for that in Areop. : — "For that our English will not finde letters." CHAPTER XL Conclusion. Having arrived so far, let us cast a glance back and try to rep( in conciser form the results of our examination of Milton's grammar, superficial as it has been. We have endeavoured to confine ourselves, as much as possible, to the accidence, with a view to bringing out the main differences which exist between the English of the first half of theXVir^ century, and the present state of the language. If we occasio- nally made a digression, devoting some space to syntactical questions, it was chiefly because the facts that gave rise to those short digres- sions are of a nature to strike the reader at his first perusal of Milton's prose, and to induce him to look for an explanation. After a general survey of Milton's prose works, and a short characterisation of his style, we have attempted in our second chapter to give a short sketch of the general state of the language at the beginnmg of the XVII'^ century, showing what a rapid evolution had taken place in the English tongue, and directing the attention to the first attempts made to provide the English people with rules of grammar, that might render the use of the language — spoken as well as written — simpler and easier. -- 103 — The idea of introducing a phonetic writing, an idea which, strange to say, after having fallen into oblivion during centuries, is now again taking so prominent a place in the discussions of those who occupy themselves with the science of language, that idea was developed and took a form, giving rise to systems; but as each gram- marian, in a narrowminded way, standing fast by his own views, re- fused to adopt any suggestion that might bring about a unification of those systems, moreover, as the systems themselves did not rest on a firm scientific foundation, the confusion, the unsettledness be- came great, and no result was arrived at. So each writer had practically an orthography and a grammar of his own; leading writers, however, set the fashion, and an educated man like Milton was looked upon as an authority by all those who endeavoured to write and to speak correctly. A strong tendency to simplification is to be noticed in his wri- tings. In his spelling, chap. Ill, he paid due attention to pronunciation as zvell as to etymology. Pronunciation influenced him in the elision of weak vowels in the body and in the endings of words, chiefly of preterites and past participles of weak verbs; in the use of double consonants to indicate shortness of vowel, and in the occasional use of a "qualifying" e at the end of words; finally in the spelling of "vowel-sounds," chiefly in the body of words, sound e, sound j', ie. Etymology strongly influenced his spelling of prefixes, and of suffixes in part.^ We passed on to the verb, chap. IV: — the use of inflections is settled in Milton: — s (es) is the ending of the third person sing. pres. indie; weak verbs form their preterite and past participle quite regu- larly: — (e)d, /; a few strong verbs have retained archaic forms: — driv, sate, smit, spake. Negative and interrogative clauses are not circumscribed, as a rule. Circumscription seems to have existed in the spoken language, but it had not found its way into written English yet. 1 On Milton's orthography see : — Rost, " Die Orthographic der ersten Quarto- Ausgabe von Milton's Paradise Lost," Leipzig, 1892. The questions which we here discuss seem to have been neglected in that dissertation, or they are questions in which we have taken another range of view. ^ — 104 — ^^^^H I Latin influence is to be noticed in the construction of manyW sentence in which the form de is found, where we should now use the present indicative form: — u, are. ^. Substantives are far more frequently personified than in Mn. Hpi prose, and, as such, are either of the masculine or of the feminine gender; this is due to Milton^s poetic feeling. — The inflections are the modern ones, s (es), for the plural; s (es), for the Saxon genitive, the latter being appended to the noun without apostrophe. The archaic use of his is found in but one instance. SI Adjectives are uninflected in the positive; those ending in /regu- larly double that final consonant, as sign of the length of the con- sonant, and at the same time of the shortness of the preceding vowel. — The German and the French comparison are indiff"erenlly used; we notice, however, a predominance of superlative forms in est. ^\ Numerals, with the exception of the ordinals fift and sixt, are m form like the modern. In cumulative groups the units always come first. Pronouns. The personal pronoun for the second person plural, nominative and oblique cases, is r^; you rarely occurs. — Who is mostly used as an interrogative pronoun, while ivhich and that are relative. When constructed with a preposition, these pronouns are replaced by the adverb where (there). The influence of the Latin syntax again is felt in the very frequent occurrence of ivhich with repeated ante- cedent. Self, to which a reflexive force is now attributed, was rightly regarded by Milton as a substantive, merely used to emphasize. — The reciprocal noun-pronoun each other is, in the two instances found, construed as in the old language, each being regarded as subject, other as object. In chapter IX we discuss the article, and state that Milton is more correct in the use of definite and indefinite article (a, an) than l his contemporaries. From the syntactical remarks we added, we drew the conclusion that Milton was quite conscious of the individualising power of the article ; its omission was always the result of due reflexion. Our last pages were devoted to the particles; we directed the attention to the frequent use of adjectives as adverbs, without any alteration oi their form, and expressed the opinion that this was due - 105 — to French influence, or to analogy with former adverbs. — Much un- certainty is to be noticed in the use of prepositions, in which Latin influence is strongly felt. Finally, we stated that the conjunction that was more frequently omitted than in present English; that as was often used to reinforce another conjunction (when, that). Thus, in the history of the English language, Milton, as a prose writer, fills a most important place, both, because, owing to his lear- ning- and to his clear logical reasoning, he was able to bring the un- settled language to a firm basis, and because in doing this he was able to keep aloof from the mean disputes and petty rivalry which prevented the other grammarians from coming to a decisive result. To this end he arrived, not by affecting to act as a "lawgiver" on questions of grammar, but by bestowing all his care on his own spelling, accidence and syntax; so that his works might be considered as standard pieces of English, to which every one could refer. He taught by his example, and his efforts were crowned with success. His orthography and accidence do, in the main, perfectly agree with the rules now followed ; where he differs, it is out of regard for the pronunciation of his time. Latin and Greek syntax strongly influence him; constructions which strike us as anomalous may always be ex- plained by the help of similar classical ones. Compared with his contemporaries he shows great indepen- dence in his treatment of grammar; but he contributed considerably more than they did to carry his native tongue onward, and his works are, as it were, a corner stone of "Modern English." Contents. Introduction .... Chapter I. The Style Chapter II. English Grammar in the time of Milton . . . Chapter III. On Spelling . A. Weak e . B. y, ie . . C. The sound e D. o, oa, ou . E. Consonants F. Prefixes G. Suffixes Chapter lY. The Verb A. General Remarks . B. The Inflections . C. The Preterite . . . D. Future and Conditional E. Contraction of pronouns F. Negative and Interroga- tive Forms .... G. The form be ... . H. Agreement .... Chapter Y. The Substantive . . . A. General Remarks . B. The Gender .... Page Page V— VII C. The Plural . . . 67 D. The possessive Case 69 J — 6 Chapter YI. The Adjective . . . 73-80 A. General Remarks 73 B. Comparison 78 6- 26 Chapter YII Numerals 80—81 A. Cardinals .... 80 21- -50 B. Ordinals .... 81 34 39 Chapter YIII Pronouns 82 — 90 41 A. Personal Pronouns , 82 42 B. Possessive Pronouns 83 43 C. Demonstrative Pro- 44 nouns D. Relative Pronouns . 84 84 E. Reflexive Pronouns . 87 SO- -64 F. Indefinite Pronouns . 89 SO 52 55 Chapter IX. The Article .... 90-97 57 A. General Remarks 90 57 B. Syntax 91 57 Chapter X. 61 Particles 97—102 63 A. Adverbs .... 97 B. Prepositions . . . 99 C, Conjunctions . , . lOI 64- 64 -73 Chapter XL 66 Conclusion .... 102—105 RETURN TO DfI?^^ use TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. S*-! — &^e^UUi I .\ V- L-« t_, R0l^2T^64:7 OAN DEPT. 196573 (r>647lsl0)476B .General Library University of California Derkelcv i!f«K VC 16365