PE 1075 E56 1879 MAIN B 4 Ofil 11* "' - 8&S§ - ; SxRHreaS m Jftotml ^School (Series. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ITS HISTORY AND STRUCTURE. WITH CHAPTERS ON DERIVATION, PARAPHRASING, SENTENCE- MAKING, AND PUNCTUATION. LONDON: T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW EDINBURGH ; AND NEW YORK. I8 79 . PREFACE. Books on the English Language generally assume some con- siderable linguistic knowledge in those for whom they are intended. This little book assumes no such knowledge. It is intended for the use of boys and girls in the higher classes of Elementary Schools; and it has been written so as to be understood without a knowledge of any language but English being required. This, however, does not make the book the less suitable for more advanced scholars, or for higher class schools. It is important that literary culture, no matter how limited in range, should have a basis in language ; and for this purpose there can be no more convenient or more interesting ground to start from than the Mother Tongue. There are many pecu- liarities in the grammar of that tongue which cannot be ex- plained without a reference to its eventful history. The history of the English Language is so closely interwoven with the history of the Country, that the study of the one cannot fail to be helpful to the study of the other. The book is designed to meet the requirements of the Education Codes in regard to the History and Structure of the English Language, to Paraphrasing and to Composition of Sentences. 940 CONTENTS. Introduction 7 Historical Sketch : — I. The Teutonic Stock 13 II. The Aryan Family 14 III. The English Conquest of Britain 16 IV. The Periods of English .... 18 V. The Changes in English. ... 19 VI. The Keltic Element 21 VII. The Latin Element of the First Period 22 VIII. The Latin Element of the Second Period 24 IX. The Dialects of Old English 25 X. The Danish Influence 26 XI. The Norman Conquest 28 Ml. Old English Writers 29 Mil. The Transition Time- De- cline and Revival 31 XIV. The Norman-French Influ- ence — The Latin Ele- ment of the Third Period 34 X V. The Transition Time— Con- solidation 3f> \\ I. Hm Mixed Vocabulary— French and English Ele- ments 37 Ml I. Tin- Discarded Dialects. .Win. i be i n <>f Printing, and tii^ Bei iv.il ci Leaning — Ths Latin Clement <>f the Fourth Period 42 \ I V Model ii I ■'.lu'lish. 46 \ v Recent [nflnenoes I \ i lileoallaneoni Elements , . , f><> XXII. BelMnterpretlnf Words... no Win. [mil ni\. Word 54 XXIV. Words derived from the Names of Persons 55 XXV. "Words derived from the Names of Places 56 XXVI. The Lord's Prayer in dif- ferent Stages of the Language 58 Tables of English Literature: — 1. Old English Period 61 2. Transition Period (1100-1362).. 81 3. Transition Period (1485) 62 4. Modern English : — (1.) Early Tudor Period (1 (2.)TheAgeof Elizabeth (1616) 68 (3.) Shakespeare to the Age of Anne (1702) 64 (4.) TheAge of Anne (1730). . . 65 (5.) The Age of Anne to the French Revolntion(lT (6.) The French Revolution to the Present Time (1870) c>7 Dkuivation :— Prefixes 71 Affixes 72 ( >ld English Roots 73 Latin Boots N I Boots 79 WORD BPTJ ion.. l oglish Boots 80 Latin Boots s* P \i;aihi; i-ish 88 mmimi Kara i'i won a noa 06 CHAM OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND ENGLISH LITERATURE. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. INTRODUCTION. 1. The history of the English Language has been more re- markable than that of any other language of the civilized world, — more eventful than those of Greece and Rome, more varied than those of Germany and France, more romantic than those of Italy and Spain. Interwoven with the history of the English People and of the English Constitution, it has under- gone with them the same vicissitudes of fortune. It has had its trials and its triumphs, its revolutions and its restorations, its times of brilliancy and its periods of decay. Time was when it was the uncouth speech of a few hundred barbarian adventurers; now it is the cherished inheritance of millions scattered all over the globe, and embodies the richest and most varied treasures of thought which any human speech contains. 2. The course of the English language may not inaptly be represented by a river. (See the accompanying Chart.) It has a definite source, though that lies in the remote regions of tra- ditionary history. Lying at first outside of the domain of historical fact, there is considerable uncertainty as to its rela- tions with other languages, and also as to the elements of which it is composed. By-and-by, however, it assumes a distinct course, and comes within regions that have been explored, and about which something is known. It becomes a book speech ; and thereby its character in different stages is recorded, and its progress is clearly marked. It receives additions on the 8 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. right hand and on the left, which swell its volume and add to its riche.s. 3. The Teutonic source of the main stream is indicated at the top of the chart. The language in this stage, it should be remembered, belongs to a time much earlier than the be- ginning of its history in the British Isles. The same source has given rise to other modern languages, — German, Danish, Dutch, and Swedish. 4. After the English had settled in Britain, the earliest con- tribution to their language was made by the Cymrian Kelts whom the English had conquered. Through the Kelts they also received a small addition of Latin words left in the country by the Romans, who had occupied it for upwards of three centuries as a military power, and had introduced into it their customs and their laws. 5. Next, the Church of Rome was introduced, which led to a considerable addition of Church. Latin, along with some Greek words. Intercourse with Rome increased, and more new words were introduced, along with new articles of commerce. 6. Two well-marked dialects had now become apparent in English speech, — the Northern or Anglian, and the Southern or Saxon. The Northern or Anglian dialect was the first to become a book speech ; and hence the literary language of the whole country came to be called English, and the country itself England. 7. The Danish Invasion was the next important event in the history of the language, as in that of the people. It wu.s fatal to the Northern dialect as a book speech ; but Danish did not take its place as a distinct language: it was hy-and-by absorbed in English. The effect of this was twofold, — to weaken the inflections of English, and to introduce a few Danish words. From this time till the Normal] Conquest the Southern dialect (West-Saxon) was the leading English. 8. The Norman Conquest caused a complete revolution in the language, as it did also in the government of England. Old English sank out of sight for a century and a half. The river became a morass. Pora time Norman-French took its place as a distinct current ; but in the end it tOO was lost in the shal- lowa, and became absorbed in the native ipeeoh. This was the THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 9 period of decline ; but during its course English "was still the speech of the mass of the people. At this time, and indeed at all times, the English language has showed remarkable tenacity of existence. The Danish invasion in the eighth century shook the governments of the North to their foundations, and the Danish conquest of the eleventh century overthrew the governments of the South ; but neither event displaced the speech of the people. The Norman Conquest extinguished the Old English line of kings, transferred the government in State and in Church to a new race, and drove many of the Old English aristocracy into exile ; but it was powerless to banish or to destroy the English tongue. That continued to be a great part of the life of the English people. It survived the Conquest; and it absorbed the Frankish speech, as it had previously absorbed the Danish speech. The Norse tongue presents, in this respect, a striking contrast to English. The Norsemen who settled in England were absorbed into the English, and gave up their own speech ; the Norsemen who settled in France dropped their own speech and spoke French: when their descendants, as Frenchmen, settled in England, they dropped French and learned to speak Erjglish. 9. "When at last English emerged from the state of dispersion and neglect into which it had been thrown by the Norman Con- quest, it did so in the form of several dialects, which ere long were combined in three main currents — a Northern, a Midland, and a Southern. Of these the Midland proved the strongest, and in the hands of Wyclif and Chaucer became standard English. 10. In Chaucer's time a large Romance element was intro- duced into English. It consisted of numerous French and some Italian words. This addition was the result, not of the Norman invasion, but of the study of French and Italian literature by Chaucer and his contemporaries. Thus the silent influence of books accomplished what conquest had failed to effect. From this point English sweeps onward in a broad and majestic cur- rent, bearing with it the richest treasures of thought. 11. At the time of the Renaissance, or the Revival of Learning, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a very large classical element was added to the language. 12. After the Restoration the influence of French literature 10 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. — especially poetry and the drama — had a great effect on the literature of England, and some effect also on the language, in- asmuch as it led such poets as Dryden and Pope to cultivate a pointed and polished style of diction. 13. A new classical era, due to the caprice of fashion rather than to any direct historical cause, began in the eighteenth cen- tury. Its chief representative was Dr. Samuel Johnson. Its effects continued to be felt till the beginning of the present cen- tury, when there was a return from the artificial school of John- son in prose and of Pope in poetry to the simplicity of nature, in sentiment as well as in forms of speech. 14. This revival was coincident with the French Revolution, and was probably due to similar causes — namely, a feeling of profound discontent with the tyrannies of fashion, of formalism, and of authority, and a desire for freedom and fur nature. Since that time the most powerful influence affecting English literature, and through it the English language, has been that of German thought, especially in the departments of philosophy and philology. Wordsworth and Shelley may be taken to illus- trate, though in different ways, the revolutionary influence ; Coleridge and Carlyle are the best representatives of the in- fluence of Germany. 15. The English language is now more widely diffused than that of any other people. English colonies have been Bottled l*» every quarter of the globe, and in every one of them there is a growing English population. English is spoken not only by the population of the British Isles, but also by the millions of the United States, and by hundreds of thousands in Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the South Sea Islands. It has been said that the sun B6VW sets on the possessions of England's niieeii, which is but another way of saying that tlniv is never ;i moment in which the sun doesnoj shine on men speaking the English tongue. The population of the world is estimated at L,483 million; the population ruled by the English language ii 318 million, or nearly one-fourth, in the postal serviee of the world, l,l.".(i million letters are carried and delivered annually; of these . r >N7 million are written and read by the English-speaking populations. More than half of the worlds correspondence is carried 00 in English. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 11 16. The following spirited verses indicate in a picturesque way the wide diffusion of the English tongue : — TRIUMPHS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. BY J. G. LYONS. 1. Now gather all our English bards, let harps and hearts be strung, To celebrate the triumphs of our own good English tongue ; For stronger far than hosts that inarch with battle-flags unfurled, It goes with Freedom, Thought, and Truth, to rouse and rule the world. 2. Stout Albion learns its household lays on every surf -worn shore, And Scotland hears its echoing far as Orkney's breakers roar : From Jura's crags and Mona's hills it floats on every gale, And warms with eloquence and song the homes of Innisfail. 3. On many a wide and swarming deck it scales the rough wave's crest, Seeking its peerless heritage — the fresh and fruitful West : It climbs New England's rocky steeps, as victor mounts a throne ; Niagara knows and greets the voice, still mightier than its own : 4. It spreads where winter piles deep snows on bleak Canadian plains, And where on Essequibo's banks eternal summer reigns : It glads Acadia's misty coasts, Jamaica's glowing isle, And bides where gay with early flowers green Texan prairies smile : It tracks the loud, swift Oregon, through sunset valleys rolled, And soars where Calif ornian brooks wash down their sands of gold: 5. It sounds in Borneo's camphor groves, on seas of fierce Malay, In fields that curb old Ganges' flood, and towers of proud Bombay : It wakes up Aden's flashing eyes, dusk brows, and swarthy limbs ; The dark Liberian soothes her child with English cradle hymns. 6. Tasmania's maids are wooed and won in gentle English speech ; Australian boys read Crusoe's life by Sydney's sheltered beach : It dwells where Afric's southmost cape meets oceans broad and blue, And Nieuwveld's rugged mountains gird the wide and waste Karroo : 12 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 7. It kindles realms so far apart, that, while its praise you sing, These may be clad with Autumn's fruits, and those with flowers of Spring : It quickens lands whose meteor lights flame in an Arctic sky, And lands for which the Southern Cross hangs orbed fires on high : 8. It goes with all that prophets told, and righteous kings desired ; With all that great apostles taught, and glorious Greeks admired ; With Shakespeare's deep and wondrous verse, and Milton's loftier mind; With Alfred's laws, and Newton's lore, — to cheer and bless man- kind. 9. Mark, as it spreads, how deserts bloom, and error flies away As vanishes the mist of night before the star of day ! But grand as are the victories whose monuments we see, These are but as the dawn, which speaks of noontide yet to be. 10. Take heed, then, heirs of Alfred's fame, take heed, nor once disgrace With deadly pen or spoiling sword our noble tongue and race. Go forth, prepared in every clime to love and help each other; And judge that they who counsel strife would bid you smite — a brother. 11. Go forth, and jointly speed the time, by good men prayed for long, When Christian states, grown just and wise, will scorn revenge and wrong ; When Earth's oppressed and savage tribes shall cease to pine or roam, All taught to prize these English words — Faith, Freedom, Heaven, and Home. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 13 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. I.-THE TEUTONIC STOCK. OUTLINE. — 1. Languages winch are alike in their roots and in their structure have had the same origin. 2. English is like Dutch, German, and Danish in both respects. 3. English is a Teutonic tongue. 1. There are two ways in which languages may resemble one another : they may contain the same roots ; and they may have the same inflections, and the same laws of syntax. If they con- tain the same roots, — not merely a few words that are similar, but a mass of the most common, every-day words, evidently the same, — that is one proof of common origin : if they have the same grammatical forms and laws, that is another and still stronger proof that they have come from the same source. Just as we conclude that two animals which have the same skeleton, and eat the same food, belong to the same kind ; so we conclude that two languages which have the same roots, and the same grammar, belong to the same family. 2. English resembles Dutch, German, Danish, and some other languages, in both these ways; and we therefore con- clude that it has had the same origin as they have had. This conclusion becomes the more warrantable when the words which English has in common with these languages are examined. They are not rare words, or words used only occa- sionally. They are words that belong to every-day conversa- tion, and that enter into the fibre of speech. They belong to such classes as these : the numerals, the pronouns, the auxil- iary verbs, the names of relatives, prepositions, and conjunc- tions. Here are a few examples of corresponding words in English, Dutch, and German : — English three me mother brother have Dutch drie mij moeder broeder hebben German drei mich mutter bruder haben 14 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. Among the grammatical inflections in which these languages correspond are the -s or 's of the genitive or possessive case ; the -st or -t of the second person of verbs; the -en of passive participles ; and the -end, -ende, or -ing of active participles. The close resemblance of these languages in what are called irregularities is shown in the following : — English good better best Dutch goed beter beste German gut besser beste 3. There are no such close resemblances between English and French, or Spanish, or Gaelic: English is, therefore, classed in the same group with Dutch and German. The name given to the group is the Teutonic stock. English is therefore called a Teutonic tongue. II.— THE ARYAN* FAMILY. OUTLINE.— 1. The Teutonic stock belongs to the Aryan family. 2. That family embraces most of the languages of Europe. 3. The differences in languages are due to the separation of peoples. 4. Languages change little after having been fixed in books. 1. The Teutonic stock is one of seven or eight groups of languages that constitute the Aryan family. All the lan- guageeof the civilized world are arranged in two great families — the Aryan and the Semitic. The Semitic family includes Hebrew, Arabic, and other Eastern languages. The home of this family was in Asia, and its history has been Confined to tin- west. tii part of that continent. The original boms of the Aryan family also was in Asia; but its chief representatives are now in Europe. As its members extend t'roin India to Europe, it is sometimes called the I ndo- Knropean family of languages. ■ The word Aryan oobim from :i Banskrtt word "<■;/<;, "noble." it meant originally • "tiller of the toll;" and was applied to tribes thai were settled anil agrlonltoral, atop] >v wandering. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 1 5 2. The Aryan family embraces most of the languages of Europe. It comprises in Europe, besides the Teutonic stock, the Keltic (Welsh and Gaelic), the Italic (Latin, Italian, French, &c), the Hellenic (Greek), the Sclavonic (Russian, Servian, &c), and the Lettic (Old Prussian). It also includes two stocks in Asia — the Indie (Sanskrit, the oldest language of the family) and Iranic (Persian). The chief European tongues that are not Aryan are Turkish, and the Magyar of Hungary. 3. The differences between one language and another are due to the separation of peoples. At one time, many centuries ago, there was only one Aryan language, spoken by one Aryan people. As this people multiplied, a band of adventurers would leave the old home in search of new lands. Some generations later, another migration would take place from the parent stock, probably in a different direction from that of the first. This would be repeated again and again at wide intervals. Each of these bands of settlers would carry away from the common home the stock of words, and the manners and customs, in use there at the time of its leaving. Between the time of the first migration and that of each subsequent one, the parent language would undergo great changes. Each settlement, therefore, would begin its separate career with a language in many respects different from that with which the others had begun theirs. After the separation, too, each language would change still further, owing to the people meeting with new objects and new circumstances. In the course of time each of these settlements would grow into a nation. The larger it grew, the more likely would the people at the one end of the country be to speak differently from the people at the other end. Thus different dialects arise. We may see proofs of this in our own day, and in our own country. The people of Devonshire have many words that the people of Yorkshire have not ; and the people of Lancashire use words which the people of Kent cannot understand. Now, when the Teutons spread over the great plain of Cen- tral Europe, and overflowed into the peninsulas farther north, it was natural that distance and lack of intercourse should give rise to differences of speech. In point of fact, three distinct 16 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. branches of the Teutonic stock came to be recognized : one in the high lands of South Germany — hence called High German; a second in the low lands and along the coasts of North Germany — hence called Low German ; and a third in the peninsulas now called Denmark and Scandinavia — hence called Scandinavian. 4. It should be remembered that these changes would not have been so great if, before the peoples separated, the language had been fixed by being printed in books. It is upwards of two hundred and fifty years since the Pilgrim Fathers sailed to America and founded the United States ; yet the two nations on the opposite sides of the Atlantic use to-day the same language. The reason is, that they read the same books, — each the other's books as well as its own. Special circumstances have led the Americans to add a good many new words ; but tlit- language is still one and the same. III. -THE ENGLISH CONQUEST OF BRITAIN. OUTLINE.— 1. English is a Low German tongue. 2. The English came to Britain from the shores of North Germany. 3. They came in the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. 4. The Britons, whom they dispossessed, were Kelts. 1. When English is compared with Dutch and Flemish on the one hand, and with German and Danish on the other, it is found to be much more like the former than it is like the latter. Hence it is concluded that English belongs to the same branch oi the Teutonic stuck as 1 fetch and Flemish. English is therefore called a Low German tongue. Modern German is the repre- sentative of old High German, and Danish is Scandinavian. ( >f all modern dialects, that which most resembles English i^ - Friesian, Bpoken in Priesland in the north of Holland; and Prieflian is a Low (Jennan dialect. 2. That Knglish is a Lowderman tongue is also proved by history. It is known that the Rngliwh settlers in Britain Came from the COastl <>f North Germany from what are now THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 17 Hanover, Holstein, and Schleswig. Friesland, whose dialect is so like English, is a continuation of the same coast ; in fact the Friesians are believed to be the descendants of the Englishmen who remained on the Continent when their brethren came to Britain. Now the dialects spoken all along that coast are Low German dialects. The literary language, the language of edu- cated people, is Modern German, which is descended from High German ; but the language of the common people is Low German. The English settlers belonged to three tribes : the Jutes, who came from Jutland ; the Saxons, who came from the coasts of Westphalia and Hanover; the Angles, who came from Schleswig and Holstein. The Jutes settled in Kent ; the Saxons in the south, from Essex to Dorset ; the Angles landed on the shores of the H umber and spread over the midland and northern districts, occupying most of the land. All these settlers used the same tongue — English ; and when they had made the land fairly their own, they called it, after themselves, Engla-land — "the land of the English." 3. Most of the details of the English settlement rest on tra- dition, but the main facts may be relied on. The date assigned to the first settlement is 449 a.d. In that year the Jutes, under Hengist and Horsa, landed in Kent, and founded a kingdom there. The date assigned to the sixth and last settle- ment is 547 a.d. In that year the Angles, under Ida, landed north of the Humber, and formed the kingdom of Bernicia, which was afterwards combined with Deira, the two together constituting Northumbria. It thus appears that bands of colonists continued to arrive at intervals during about one hundred years. 4. The Britons whom the English dispossessed were Kelts called Cymri ; but the English called them the Welsh — that is, foreigners or barbarians. The Welsh fought bravely for their country ; but in the end they were conquered, and were either made slaves or driven to remote corners of the land. 18 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. IV.-THE PERIODS OF ENGLISH. OUTLINE.— 1. The English of to-day is essentially the same as the English of the Angles and the Saxons. 2. From 670 to 1066, that is, down to the Norman Conquest, the language is called Old English. 3. From 1066 to 1485 it is called Transition English. 4. From 1485 to the present time it is called Modern English. 1. For a century or more after their settlement in Britain, the English were so busy with fighting, first with the 'Welsh and then with one another, that they had no time to write books. The first English book known to have been written in England belongs to the latter half of the seventh century. It is Caedmon's poem.* There are older poems in English ; but they were made before the English came to Britain. Now the English of to-day is essentially the same as the English of Caedmon. In the twelve intervening centuries the language has undergone great changes, so great that the English of the seventh century seems a foreign tongue to an Englishman of the nineteenth ; yet in what may be called its back-bone the speech of the two periods is one. It is one in grammatical structure, and one in the stock of the com- monest words and roots. The words in Modern English that form the mechanism of speech — the auxiliary verbs, the pro- nouns, the articles — have their roots in Old English. The same is true of the names of family relations, of the names of the seasons of the year, of the divisions of time, of the appearances of nature, of the most common feelings and thoughts. It is easy to write a sentence in which all the woids are derived from Old English. It is impossible to write a sentence of any length from which such words shall be wholly excluded. 2. Prom the tune of Caedmon to the Norman Conquest the language is called Old English i *. T * » t < » L066. That conquest led to greal changes in England. English was lost tight of an • See Lesson XII. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 19 a book speech for several generations. It was like a stream which for a space ran under ground, and was much changed when it reappeared. 3. From 1066 to 1485, the language is called Transition English. During this period it passed through several stages, Jirst, a time of Decline (1066 to 1205) ; second, a time of Revival in separate dialects (1205-1362) ; third, a time of Consolidation (1362-1485). The year 1205 is that in which English reap- peared as a book speech. The year 1362 is that in which English was re-introduced in the law courts. The year 1485 is that of the accession of the House of Tudor. It is also nearly coincident with the introduction of printing into England, — the event which has most tended to fix the language and to arrest change. 4. From 1485 to the present time the language is called Modern English. Modern English thus corresponds broadly with printed English, and includes very little that is of earlier date than the Reformation and the Elizabethan poets. V.-THE CHANGES IN ENGLISH. OUTLINE.— 1. Many Old English words have been lost. 2. Many Old English inflections have been lost. 3. New words have been added to English from various sources. 4. A few new word-endings have been adopted. 5. The history of English is an account of these changes — loss and gain. 1. When objects fall out of use, their names also are likely to disappear. When customs and institutions change, the words connected with them change also. For example, the Old English mances, a certain coin or weight, has disappeared because that coin or weight is no longer in use. The title Bret-icalda has passed away (except as a historical term), because the office no longer exists. Some words have been pushed out by the use of words of the same meaning from other sources. Thus the Latin word nation has taken the place of the O. E. theod; the 20 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. French happen, that of the O. E. ge-limpan ; the Greek parable, that of the O. E. bi- spell. 2. Many inflections also have been lost. Nouns, for ex- ample, had in Old English four cases, generally distinguished by different case-endings; and there were some twenty vari- eties of declension. Now there is only one case-ending — 's. Adjectives were fully declined, differently for masculine, feminine, and neuter, as in Latin and Greek. There were a definite and an indefinite declension, as in German. The de- monstratives " the " (se) and " this " (thes) were fully declined. The verb had a separate ending for the plural in each tense, a separate ending for the imperative, and another for the infini- tive. Old English was, in fact, a highly inflected language, and such it continued in the main to be till the Norman Conquest. 3. While English has been losing some words, it has also been gaining others. At different times and in different ways the English nation has been brought into contact with other peoples ; — with the Britons, whom they conquered ; with the Danes, with whom they struggled so long ; with the Normans, who conquered them. English has derived additions from these and from many other sources, till it has become the most mixed and many-coloured of languages. To this it owes in a great degree the richness and the variety of its vocabulary, as well as the simplicity of its grammar. 4. The new word-endings which English has adopted are very few. The feminine suffix -ess is the only one that is undoubtedly Norman-French. The -m of tin- plural might also be ascribed to the Norman-French, but it is plainly taken from the old English -at. This ending was probably preferred to others because it was familiar to both the nationalities repre- sented in the composite tongue. 5. The history of the English language is simply a detailed account of these changes of the gains and losses which the language has met with during its long career A comparison ot the language as it existed at different periods brim's this fact THE EXGLISH LANGUAGE. 21 out very clearly ; and the wider apart the periods compared, the more manifest is the change. Here, for instance, are, line for line, and word for word, the Lord's Prayer as translated by King Alfred, and the same in the language of to-day : — Faeder ure, J»u ]>e eart on heofenum, Father our, thou that art in heaven, Si )>in nama ge-halgod; Be thy name hallowed; To-becume J)in rice ; Come thy kingdom; Ge-weor)>e pin willa on eorj^an, swa-swa on heofenum ; Be-done thy will on earth, so-as in heaven; time daeghwamlican hlaf syle us to daeg, Our daily loaf give us to day, And forgyf us ure gyltas, swa-swa we f orgifa)> urum gyltenduni ; And forgive us our debts, so-as we forgive our debtors; And ne gelaede )>u us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfle : And not lead thou, us into temptation, but loose us of evil: Soj)lice. Soothly (or, Amen). We want to know by what means the language has passed from the first of these forms to the last. VI.-THE KELTIC ELEMENT IN ENGLISH. OUTLINE— 1. The English adopted some Keltic words from the Britons. 2. Some of these words are still retained in En- glish. 3. Others have been lost, or are now provincial. 4. Some Keltic words are of recent introduction. 1. It was quite natural for the English to adopt some of the words which they heard the Britons use. They would not think, for example, of changing the geographical names which they found in use, though they might be forced to change their pronunciation. Names of rivers, as Dee and Don, Thames and Severn, Ov.se and Trent, were first applied by the Welsh, and were learned from the Welsh by the English. Names of hills were also 22 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. retained, as Chiltern, Mendip, Cheviot; and names of islands, as Marij Wight, Bute. Very few towns hear Keltic names, as most of the towns have arisen in more recent times. The names Carlisle, Cardiff, Liverpool, and Penzance are, however, undoubtedly Keltic. A few geographical common names have also been adopted, as brake (thicket), crag (rock). 2. All the words now mentioned are retained in Modern English; and there are many others of the same kind. A considerable number of the Keltic words in English relate to menial work and common implements. The probability is that the English masters learned these words from their Welsh slaves. When they heard their servants speak of their crooks and their mattocks, their tackle and their icickets, they would naturally call these things by the same names, especially if the things themselves were new to them. Other words of the same class are basket (basged), bran, kiln {cylyn), darn, rvg. 3. A good many Keltic words which at one time existed in English have now been lost. Such are kern, a foot soldier (used by Shakespeare) ; crowd, a fiddle ; cats, lots. Others still exist as provincial words, as bcrr, energy; brat, an apron; j»-' f c, a cafltle (Scottish, peel-tower*). 4. Several words have been borrowed from the Welsh or the Gaels in recent times, along with the things which they name, imjlunnel, plaid, tartan, kilt. VII.- THE LATIN ELEMENT OF THE FIRST PERIOD. OUTLINE.— 1. Britain was a Roman province from 80 to 410 A.D. 2. The Romans made military roads and other works in the island. 3. The Latin names of these works were adopted hy the Britons. 4. From the Britons they were adopted by the English. 1. The Romans first visited Britain in 05 n.c, bat they did THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 23 not gain any permanent footing in the island till 43 a.d. The greater part of it was conquered, and made a province, by Julius Agricola, between 78 and 84. Several of the Roman emperors visited Britain, and many Romans lived there in houses which they had built for themselves after the Roman model. The Roman government of Britain lasted upwards of three hundred years. Then the Empire became so weak that its distant provinces had to be abandoned, and in 410 a.d. the Roman legions were withdrawn from Britain. 2. Rome held Britain as a military power. That they might hold it securely, the Romans formed firm roads (strata), passing through the middle of the island from the extremities. They placed permanent camps or castles (castra) at numerous points, and garrisoned them with their soldiers. These castles were pro- tected by ramparts (valla), and by trenches (fossa;). On the coasts they made harbours (portils), and at certain points they planted settlements (colonice) in the midst of the conquered people. 3. That these words were adopted or imitated by the Keltic natives is proved by their existence in English. The English did not begin to come into Britain till many years after the Romans had left ; and there was no other way in which they could get these words than through, the Britons. "We know, moreover, that one road was known to the Britons as Watling Street ; another as Rikenild Street ; a third as Irmin Street ; and a fourth as the Foss. 4. When the English adopted the Latin words mentioned above (§ 2), they frequently combined them with words of their own tongue, as will appear from the following list. From — Strata.... Street, Strat-ford, Streat-ham, Strad-broke. Castra. ...Chester, Lan-caster, Wor-cester, Bed-cister, Glo'ster, Ex-eter. Vallum... Wall-bury, Bailiff, Old Bailey. Fossa Foss-way, Fos-bridge. Portus....Port, Ports-mouth, Ports-ea. Colonia...Lm-coln, Colne. The English roots combined with Latin here are ford, ham. bury, way, bridge, mouth, and ea ( = igge, island). 24 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. VIII— THE LATIN ELEMENT OF THE SECOND PERIOD. OUTLINE.— 1. The authority of the Church of Rome was introduced into England in 597 A.D. 2. Thereafter many church words (Latin and Greek) were added to English. 3. Intercourse with Rome increased. 4. New classical words of general meaning were introduced. 1. Eoman Christianity was introduced into England by Augustine and other missionaries sent by Pope Gregory in 597 a.d. It was at once embraced by the king and the people of Kent, and it spread by-and-by to the neighbouring states. North um- bria became Christian in 627, when Paulinus became the northern bishop. Before their conversion, the English, like the Scandinavians, had been heathen barbarians. Their gods were in some cases heavenly bodies, as the sun and the moon; in others, deified heroes, as Woden and Thor. Of this fact we have still a proof and an instance in the names given by the English before their conversion to the days of the week, and retained ever since. Sunday and Monday were named after the sun and the moon ; Tuesday, after Tieu, the god of the Teutons ; Wednesday, after Woden, the god of war ; Thursday, after Thor, the god of thunder ; Friday, after Freva, the northern Venus; and Saturday, after Saetes, a water god. 2. Christianity, with its new services, new officials, new- objects, and new ideas, could not but lead to the addition of many words to the language. To translate into English the Latin and Greek words used by the priests would have been impossible. The things that required to be spoken about were unknown to the English, and they had no words for them in their language. They therefore adopted, or imitated, the words the churchmen used; and thus, at a very early period, a number of words from Latin and Greek were introduced into English. The following .ire examples of these words: — From Latin altar, cloister, creed, cross, disciple, feast, mass, porch, preach, saint, sacrament. From Greek angel, apostle, bishop, ohuroh, hymn, minster, monk, pi leet, ptftlm THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 25 3. The ecclesiastical connection thus formed led to a great deal of intercourse between England and Rome. The Roman priests brought with them Roman customs and modes of living ; and many articles of commerce, relating especially to food and to dress, began to be imported. 4. At the same time that the English thus extended their knowledge of things, they also increased their stock of words. MaDy words of a miscellaneous character were added to the language at that time, and have been retained in it till this day, though they have undergone considerable changes. The following are examples of miscellaneous words introduced at this early period : — From Latin — anchor, beet, belt, candle, chalk, cherry, city, cook, comer, empire, fig, fork, Hon, marble, mule, nurse, palace, pearl, purple, spade, table, tiger. From Greek — agate, camel, cymbal, epistle, giant, myrrh, rheum, school, sponge, theatre. Classical words have been introduced at various periods subse- quently. They will be referred to in their proper place. IX. -THE DIALECTS OF OLD ENGLISH. OUTLINE.— 1. The two chief dialects of Old English were the Nor- thumbrian and the West Saxon. 2. The Northumbrian dia- lect 'was destroyed as a book-speech by the Danes. 3. The West Saxon then became the classical English. 1. The facte that the Teutonic settlers belonged to different (though allied) tribes, that they came at different times, and that they occupied different parte of the country, all tended to the production of different dialects. At least four dialects have been noted, — the Northumbrian, the Mercian, the West Saxon, and the Kentish. Of these the most prominent and the most distinctly marked were the Northumbrian, or Anglian, in the north of England, and the West Saxon in the south. The former was the speech of the Angles ; the latter preserved 26 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. whatever peculiarities belonged to the speech of the Saxons. The Anglians of Northunibria were the first to use the language as ;i book speech ; and that is, probably, why the language was called after them " Englisc " — English — even by the Saxons. 2. The Norsemen, or Danes, who had begun their descents on England in 787 a.d., obtained a secure footing in the north in 878. They ravaged Northunibria and East Anglia, drove out the Anglian kings, and put Norsemen in their place. In their ravages, they destroyed the manuscripts found in the monasteries and elsewhere ; and thus the Anglian tongue as a book speech was completely crushed out. Indeed the versions of the Northumbrian poems that we now possess are taken from "West Saxon copies ; and there is little doubt that in the copy- ing many of the northern peculiarities disappeared. 3. The English supremacy then passed to the Kingdom of Wessex ; and with it also the leadership in letters. "VVessex also had its struggle with the Danes ; but Alfred succeeded in repelling them in the end. On their agreeing to become Chris- tians, Alfred allowed them to settle in a district of East Anglia and Mercia, which, after them, was called the Danelagh. Prom Alfred's time the speech of Wessex was the standard or classical English. X.-THE DANISH INFLUENCE. OUTLINE. — 1. The Danes were absorbed in the English people. 2. There is a considerable Danish element in English speech. 3. In the Danish struggle, English lost some case-endings. l. The Danes who settled in the north and east of England were, as we have already seen, people of the same stock and family as the English. Danes and English, therefore, speedily mingled, and ere Long both spoke the Same English tongue. Freeh invasions of Danee took place in the tenth and eleventh centuries, and from luiT till L04fl Danish kingri held the throne of England, THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 27 2. As a result of this mixture of peoples, there is a consider- able Danish element in English, especially in that of the north. A line drawn from the "Wash to the Mersey may be taken roughly as the southern boundary of Danish England. Over the whole country north of that line as far as to the Forth, there are places which bear names evidently of Danish origin. For example : — By, a town appears in Grims-by, Thores-by, Kel-by. Fell, a hill „ Scaw-fell, Cross-fell, Bow-fell. Dal, a valley n Scars-dale, Danes-dale, Grims-dale. Kirk, a church .. . n Orms-kirk, Kirk-haugh. Beck, a brook ... . m Cald-beck. Tarn, a lake n Tarn-syke. Gate, a way n Sand-gate. Ness, a headland. n Skip-ness. Many words found in the old Border ballads are Xorse : — Boun, ready. i Lithe, listen. Busk, prepare. Lowe, flame. Some of these words are still preserved in provincial dialects along with others ; such as, — Neif, fist. Wandreth, sorrow. Cleg, a smart fellow. Flit, to change house. Gar, to make. Greet, to weep. A good many words still used in the current language are Danish : — are bracken dwell kid slant bait bunker earl lurk sly blunt dash gust pudding whim 3. Another effect of the mingling of the two peoples was, that English was stripped of some of its word-endings or inflec- tions. This result naturally follows when two peoples speaking different languages coalesce. "When the Danes attempted to use English words, they would try to dispense with gram- matical forms ; and the English, when speaking to the Danes, would be forced to do the same. In the conflict of tongues English was the victor, but it came out of the straggle shorn cf some of its appendages. 28 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, XI.-THE NORMAN CONQUEST. OUTLINE.— 1. The Normans conquered England in 106G.- — 2. The Old English Period then came to an end. 3. English ceased for the time to be a book-speech. 1. The Normans conquered England in 1066. The Norman Duke "William became King of England, and he divided the land among his followers. Not the crown only, but also the whole country, changed hands. The members of the English royal family, and many of the English nobles, took refuge in Scotland. The mass of the English people became the vassals and the servants of their Norman conquerors. 2. This was the end of the Old English Period. The En- glish-speaking people were put in subjection. The owners and the rulers of the country spoke French. The work of schools, law courts, and churches, was carried on in French. Never- theless the common people, who formed the bulk of the popu- lation, continued to use their Old English speech. 3. But English ceased for the time to he a hook speech. With the exception of the Old English Chronicle, which was continued in secrecy and fear till 1154, no English bocks were produced for nearly a century and a half after the Conquest. The books written at that time were chiefly monkish chron- icled and histories; and these were written in Latin or in French, never in English. English, therefore, became once more liable to the change and decay from which languages that are merely Bpoken and not written always Buffer. Word-endings dropped off, or became changed ; and different forms and usages were gradually adopted in different parte of the country, THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 29 XII.-OLD ENGLISH WRITERS. 670-1154 A.D. OUTLINE.— 1. Caedmon was the first English poet. 2. Baeda "was the first English prose writer. 3. King Alfred made English a classical tongue. 4. The "Old English Chronicle" was the last work in Old English. 1. The first piece of literature produced by the English in England was the Paraphrase of the Scriptures written by Caedmon about 670. According to Baeda, Caedmon was a poor and unlettered servant to the monks of Whitby, and he received from God the power of song in a dream. This pretty tradition was no doubt intended to account for so fine a poem appearing in so rude an age. Other men, says the story, tried to make holy poems like his ; but they could not, because he was taught of God. In some parts the poem reminds us of Milton's Paradise Lost, not only by its story, but also by its lofty thought. The Old English poetry after Caedmon was both religious and warlike. The most famous of the war-songs are the Battle Song of Brunanburh (937) and the Song of the Fight at Maldon (991). Old English poetry was abrupt and terse, and instead of tail-rhyme it used head-rhyme, or alliteration. For example : — CAEDMON. TRANSLATION. Streamas st6don Streams stood : Storm up-gewat Storm up-went : "Weollon wael-benna Rolled corpses [of] men : "Wite-r6d gefeol The torment-rod fell : He ah of Heofonum High from Heaven : Hand-weorc Godes. Handiwork of God. 2. The oldest English prose work we know of was lost long ago. It was Baeda's Translation of St. Johrfs Gospel, written in his last days, and finished on his death-bed in 735. Baeda was a monk of Jarrow in Northumbria, and was one of the most famous men of his age as a writer of Latin books. His Ecclesiastical History of England, written in Latin, is still our chief authority for the events, general as well as ecclesiastical, of Old English times. 30 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 3. Both Caedmon and Baeda were Northumbrians ; and we have seen that when literature was destroyed by the Danes in Northumbria, it was sheltered by the West Saxons. The man who did most to encourage it was Alfred, King of Wessex (871-901). Alfred really made English a classical tongue. He not only wrote books in English himself (chiefly translations from Latin), but he set up schools, where he ordered all the youth to learn their mother tongue ; and he gathered around him, both from England and from abroad, a great company of learned men, to aid him in his work. His most famous works are his translations of Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy and of Baeda's History, already referred to. 4. The Old English Chronicle originated in the registers or records of public events which it was customary for the monks to keep at the religious houses. At first these records contained little besides notes of the births and deaths of public men, — kings, bishops, nobles. In Alfred's time the dry bones were clothed with flesh and blood. Under his own direction, or that of Plegmund the primate, the bare lists were expanded into a full narrative. The work then became a national history, often graphic in its descriptions, and sometimes enlivened by war-songs and odes. The Chronicle, as we have seen, survived the Norman Conquest Though the old language was neglected and Languishing, the Chronicle was persistently carried on in several monasteries, and bears witness to the feeling of bitter jealousy with which the oppressed people regarded their conquerors. It gives proof, also, of the decay which was affecting the language itself, — how its crust was crumbling, as a rock is worn away by the biting air. Most of tin* inflections which had survived the Danish shock now disappeared, and French Words occasionally forced themselves into use. The last siir- vi\> rot' these monkish Chronicles the Peterborough chronicle — expired abruptly with the death of Stephen in 1164; and with it also old English prose came to an end. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 31 XIIL— THE TRANSITION TIME. DECLINE AND REVIVAL. 1066-1362 A.D. OUTLINE.— 1. For more than a century after the Conquest, English was in a state of decline (1066-1205). 2. This was followed toy a time of dialectic revival (1205-1362). 3. The chief writers of that time were Layamon (1205) and Ormin (1215). 4. During that time the Norman -French were absorbed in the English people. 5. The characteristics of Transition English are the simplification of grammar, and the addition of few Norman-French words. 1. For more than a century after the Conquest, English was in a state of decline ; that is to say, as has already been shown, it ceased to be a book speech, and became a spoken or " illiter- ate " tongue. In this state it continued till about the year 1205. The changes which it underwent during that time were not so much due to the direct influence of Norman- French, as to English having been driven into obscurity and deprived of literary practice and a literary standard. 2. When English reappeared as a book speech, its form was greatly changed ; rathei", it appeared in several forms, differing materially from one another. This was the natural consequence of the want of a literary standard. In different parts of the country change had taken different directions, and had resulted in different forms. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries there were three distinct dialects in which books were written, — the Northern, the Midland, and the Southern. These dialects are most readily distinguished by the plural ending of the present tense, which was in the Northern -e*, in the Midland -en, and in the Southern -eth. The Northern dialect was spoken in the Low- lands of Scotland as well as in the north of England, and passed into modern Lowland Scotch. The Southern dialect was a continuation of the classical tongue of Wessex ; but it gradu- ally died out. The Midland dialect was a revival or a develop- ment of the English of the Peterborough Chronicle (1154), and afterwards passed into standard English. 32 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 3. These three dialects of Transition English are repre- sented by the following works respectively : — DIALECT. AUTHOR. WORKS. YEAR. Northern. -es. Richard Rolle, of Hampole Cursor Mundi : a metrical version of Scripture .... Pricke of Conscience, and prose treatises 1320. 1350. Midland. -en. Ormin Robert of Brunne . . . Ormulum: a metrical Church Service 1215. Handlyng Sinne: transla- tion of a French poem . . 1303. Southern. -eth. Robert of Gloucester. Brut: translation of AVace's Brut (Welsh legends) Riming Chronicle 1205. 1297. 4. During this period of transition, the Norman-French were absorbed in the English people, as the Danes had been rive centuries before, and the two races became one nation. One thing which made this easy was that the Normans were kin- dred of the English. " Norman " is really " Northman.' 1 The Normans were descendants of Norsemen who had settled in France in the ninth century, and who called their country Nor- mandy after themselves. They had given up their Norse tongue for the French; and now they gave up their French tongue for the English. This result was aided by political events. Even in the reign of William II., Englishmen served in the royal army. His successor, Henry I., married an English princess of the family of the Old English kings. Winn Henry (II.) of Anjou and his wife Eleanor of Poitou came to England, manv French- men followed in their train. From jealousy of these new- comers, the Norman-French barons, who were already half Englishmen, were led to ally themselves more closely with the oative English. Tin- Loss of his French possessions by John (1204), which isolated the Normans in England, occurred just one year before English reappeared as a book speech in the Brut of Layamon. In the quarrel which extorted Magna Ckarta from John (1215), the barons made OOmmon CaUSS Willi the people against THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 33 the king. The court of Henry III., John's son, was twice flooded by Frenchmen : first, when he appointed a Poitevin as his minister; and again, when he chose a Provencal for his queen. This disgusted the English barons, and, with other causes, led to the Barons' War in 1258. In that very year there was issued the well-known English Proclamation of Henry III., — the first State paper written in English since the Conquest. One result of the Barons' War was to give a new constitution to Parliament. In 1265, the Parliament summoned by Leicester contained representatives of cities and boroughs, side by side with barons, prelates, and knights of the shire. This welded all classes and races firmly together. The next king bore the English name of Edward, and called himself an Englishman. 5. The characteristics of Transition English are the simplifi- cation of the grammar, and the addition of Norman-French words. The simplification of the grammar was a natural conse- quence of the efforts made by two peoples in the same land to speak to and understand each other. In such circumstances words are used in their simplest form, and grammatical niceties are dispensed with. The same thing had occurred when the Danes and the English agreed to live together, in the ninth century. In the Transition Period the most remarkable change con- sisted in the reduction or " levelling " of word-endings. For example, the old vowel endings, -a, -o, and -u, gave place to a uniform -e. The form -en took the place of -on and -an, and -es of -as, both in nouns and in verbs. The dative ending of nouns was dropped, and its force was expressed by a prepo- sition. Where the force of the genitive was expressed by a preposition, the case-ending was dropped. The declensions of nouns were reduced to two ; terminations for gender were dis- regarded. These examples indicate the nature of the changes made in the structure of the language in this period. The changes in the vocabulary were much slighter. The number of French words adopted at this time was comparatively small. But this subject belongs to next lesson. 3 34 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. XIV.-THE NORMAN-FRENCH INFLUENCE. THE LATIN ELEMENT OF THE THIRD PERIOD. OUTLINE.— 1. The Norman - French words introduced in Transition English are of Latin origin. 2. They relate to Feudalism and War, to the Church, to the Law, and to the Chase. 1. Norman-French was the dialect spoken in the north of France, as Provencal was that spoken in the south. Both were derived from Latin, which was introduced into Gaul by the Romans. The group of languages derived from Latin bears the name of the Romance (that is, Roman) tongues ; and tales or stories called " romances" are so called because they were first written in these languages — namely, Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. In Norman-French there are traces of other elements — Keltic, Germanic, and Norse ; but the language is essentially Latin. The words borrowed from the Normans are therefore called the Latin of the Third. Period. 2. The subjects to which these words relate are naturally those in which the Normans were specially interested, or over which they had chief control. Such were Feudalism and War, the Church, the Law, wad the Chase. Though a form of feudalism had existed among the English before the Conquest, the system in force all over England after that event was peculiarly Norman, from the unusual powers which it gave to the King. There was also a Christian Church in England before the Normans came; but the Normans tilled the cathedrals, churches, and monasteries with French priests and monks, who used their own language in all their services. In the law courts, likewise, the lawyers were Normans, and [Trench was the official language. The chase, again, was the favourite amusement of the Norman kings and their followers. LargS districts of England were turned into forests for their use; and the forest laws passed for the protection of these grievously oppressed the Bnglish people. The following are examples of new words acquired from the Normans in each of these four classes: — THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 35 Feudalism and War captain, chivalry, duke, fealty, homage, tournament. The Church friar, prayer, relic, scandal. The Law assize, chancellor, damages, estate, judge, parliament, plaintiff. The Chase brace, chase, couple, copse, forest, mews, quarry, venison. A few examples will serve to show the changes words underwent in passing from Latin to English through French : — Latin. French. English. caballus (ahorse) cheval. che valerie chivalry. captare (to catch) chasser chase. fidelitas (faithfulness) f ^alte 7 fealty. frater (brother) frere friar. parabolare (to speak) parler parlour. parlement parliament*. precari (to pray) prier pray. venatio (hunting) venaison venison. XV. -THE TRANSITION TIME. CONSOLIDATION. 1362-1485 A.D. OUTLINE. —1. The use of English was revived in the law courts in 1362, and in schools in 1385. 2. In this period the East Mid- land dialect became the standard English. 3. Being the language of the Court and the Court poets, it is called King's English. 4. The characteristics of the King's English are the further loss of grammatical forms, and a large infusion of French words. 1. The authoritative restoration of English as the language of public business in the law courts and in schools marks an important stage in its history. These two steps were a public admission that English had made out its claim to be regarded as the national speech. Hitherto it had been degraded and disinherited ; now it was restored to its rightful place. It was no doubt seen to be absurd that the law courts and the schools were conducted in such a way as to exclude from them the mass of the people. 36 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 2. There were two causes which led to the adoption of the East Midland dialect as the standard book-speech : the one was the fact of its being the speech of London — the capital, and the seat of the court ; the other was the circumstance that several great writers arose who made that speech classical. It was, in short, the language used in the best society and by the best writers. One of these writers was Sir John Mandeville, whose Travels in the East has been called "our very oldest book in Modern English prose." Mandeville wrote about 1356 — a few years before the commencement of the period ; but his work distinctly belongs to the time of consolidation. A second was William Langland, author of the Vision of Piers the Plow- man. A third was John Wyclif, the first translator of the whole Bible into English. A fourth was John Gower, a moral story-teller in verse. A fifth was Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales, — the first great English poet, and one of the greatest. 3. As this new book speech was the language of the Court and the Court poets, it has been called the King's English. Gower and Chaucer were friends, and they both were friends of persons about the Royal Court. Chaucer was connected with the Court in one way or another during the greater part of his life. At sixteen he was page to the Duchess of Clarence. He was often sent by the King on special missions to Italy. He held the offices of Comptroller of Customs, and of Clerk of the Works at Westminster and at Windsor; and he was for a time a member of Parliament. There was good reason, then, for calling the Language in which he wrote King's English. 4. The characteristics of the King's English are the further loss of grammatical forms, and a large infusion of French words. Many of the word-endings which had been abbreviated or "levelled" in tin- former period, were lost altogether in this one. They had ceased to mark distinctions of declension or case, of gender or Dumber, of person or mood; and therefore they were east Off aS useless lumber. Thus the -en of the infinitive (formerly -an) first became -r, THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 37 and then was dropped altogether; for example, brec-an (to break) passed into brec-en, in Chaucer it is brek-e, and soon after his time it became brek and break. In like manner, the attempt to distinguish gender by terminations was abandoned, and the rule was adopted of treating the names of all things without life as neuter. Several peculiarities were continued. The plurals of verbs ended in -en or -e. The suffix -e was a mark of the plural of adjectives, and was also used as a mark of adverbs. The plural imperative ended in -eth. The second characteristic of the period was the large infusion of French words. This was due, not to the influence of French residents in England, but to that of Englishmen who read French books. When a young man, Chaucer read a great deal of French poetry. Some of his earliest writings were transla- tions from the French. He was thus led freely to introduce French words into his own poetry. Gower did the same ; and the example of these great writers was followed by others. XVI.-THE MIXED VOCABULARY. FRENCH AND ENGLISH ELEMENTS. OUTLINE.— 1. Most of the words of French origin in English were introduced in the hook speech of the fourteenth century, and later. 2. The words of French origin relate to abstract ideas and artificial society. 3. The English words relate to homely matters, to natural objects, and to simple and rural life. 1. It has been shown that there were two occasions on which French words were introduced into England ; — first, at the time of the Norman Conquest ; secondly, in the time of Chaucer and Gower. Most of the words of French origin which the language contains began to be introduced in the latter period. They were introduced, that is to say, through the literature of the time, and not as words of ordinary conversation. The un- obtrusive influence of a few poets thus effected greater changes on the language, and made greater additions to it, than either the laws of French rulers or the overbearing mastery of Norman knights. The language was greatly enriched by the elements 38 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. thus introduced into it : it was made more elegant, more flexible, more musical, and its power as an instrument of literature was much increased. The result, however, was very different from what it would have been had the Normans succeeded after the Conquest in eradicating the Old English speech, and in imposing the French language on the conquered people. 2. In the following passage,* descriptive of the effects of the Norman occupation of the country, the words of French origin are printed in italics. It should be remembered that many of these words were adopted, not immediately after the Conquest, but in the later of the two periods mentioned above : — For a time, the two tongues lived side by side, though in very different conditions: the one, the language of the master, at court and in the castles of the soldiers who had become noble lords and powerful barons ; the other, the language of the conquered, spoken only in the lowly huts of the subjugated people. The Norman altered and increased the latter, but he could not extirpate it. To defend his conquest, he took possession of the country ; and, master of the soil, he erected fortresses and castles, and attempted to introduce new terms. The universe and the firmament, the planets, comets, and meteors, the atmosphere and the seasons, all were impressed with the seal of the oonq Hills became mountains, and dales valleys ; streams were called rivers, and brooks rivulets; waterfalls, cascades, and \\oo ( \&, forests. The deer, the ox, the calf, the swine, and the sheep appeared on his sumptuous table as venison, beef veal, pork, and mutton. Salmon, sturgeon, lamprey, and trout became known as delicacies : serpents and luardt, squirrels, falcons and herons, cocks and pigeons, stall n,ns and mules, wen- added to the animal kingdom. Marls and lords \v -ere placed in rani below his cftlfttl and )nar- quises. New titles and dignities, of viscount, boron, and baronet, squire and matter, were treated; the manor presided over the English aldermen and sheriff; and the ehemeellor and the peer, the embateador and the chamberlain, &* g ener al and theocfaarai headed tin: fist of officers of the government. The king alone retain,,/ his noma, l>nl tli.' ftatfl and the OOttftf became French i tin- ini*tratinn was enrried on ac-ording to • Prom Dt \ ere. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 39 the constitution ; treaties were concluded by the ministers in their cabinet, and submitted for approval to the sovereign; the privy council was consulted on the affairs of the empire, and foya^ sm&- j^'ecfe sent representatives to parliament. Here the members debated on matters of grave importance, on peace and GMWj ordered the arraj/ and the navy, disposed of the national treasury, con- tracted debts, and had their sessions and their parties. At brilliant feasts and splendid tournaments collected the flower of chivalry; magnificent balls, where beauty and delicious music enchanted the assembled nobles, gave new splendour to society, polished the manners and excited the admiration of the ancient inhabitants; who, charmed by such elegance, recognized in their conquerors persons of superior intelligence, admired them, and endeavoured to imitate their fashions. 3. In the following passage,* descriptive of the manners and customs preserved by the English, the words printed in italics are of native, that is of Teutonic, origin : — But the dominion of the Norman did not extend to the Aome of the Englishman; it stopped at the threshold of his house: there, around the fireside in his kitchen and the hearth in his room, he me£ his beloved kindred; the 6n'cfe, the wi/e, and the husband, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, tied to each o^Aer by £ove, friendship, and X7W feelings, knew nothing dearer than their own swee? Aome. The Englishman's flocks, still grazing in his fields and meadoios, gave him mi7£ and butter, meat and woo?; the herdsman watched them in spring and summer; the ploughman drew his furrows, and used his harrows, and, in harvest, the car? and the flail; the reaper plied his scythe, piled up sheaves and hauled his wheat, oats, and rye to the 6am. The waggoner drove his warn, with its wheels, felloes, spokes, and nave; and his team bent heavily under their yoX-e. In his ^raafe by Za?!^ and sea, he still so?o? and bought; in the store or the s/?o/>, the market or the s^ree?, he cheapened his goods and had all his dealings, as pedler or iceaver, baker or cooper, saddler, miller, or tanner. He ?eni or borroioed, trusted his neighbour, and with sM£ and care throve and ^rew wealthy. * From De Vere, 40 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. Later, when he longed once more for freedom, his warriors took their weapons, their axes, swords, and spears, or their dreaded bow and arrow. They leaped without stirrup into the saddle, and killed with dart and gavelock. At other ftmes they launched, their 6oa£s and s/njos, which were still pure English from keel to deck and from the helm or the rudder to the £o/> of the mast, afloat and ashore, with scw7 or with oar. As his fathers had cftme before him in the land of his birth, the Englishman would not merely eat, drink, and sleep, or spend his fo'wie in playing the Aarjt? and the fiddle, but by walking, riding, fishing, and hunting, he kept young and healthy ; while his /<"/// with her children were 6wsy teaching or learning how to ra*c/ and to wiite, to s% and to draw. Even needle- work was not forgotten, as their writers say that " by this they sAo?ie most in the world? The wisdom of £ate>* ages was not known then, but they had their home-spun sayings, which are yet looked upon as tfrwe wisdom, as : GW Ae^os them that help themselves : Zos£ ftV/ie is never found again: When sorrow is asleep, wake it not! XVII.— THE DISCARDED DIALECTS. OUTLINE.— 1. The Northern (Northumbrian) dialect was continued as a book speech by Scottish writers. 2. The Southern dia- lect fell out of use about the end of the fourteenth century. 1. Though the North tin dialect was no Longer used by English writers, it was continued as a book speech in Scotland. The south-east of Scotland, between the Tweed and the Forth, was for several centuries part of the English kingdom of Northuin- hria (G17-9C6). The language of the Lothians was then the same (in spite of a few dialectic peculiarities) as the language of Yorkshire. In 966 Lothian was ceded to the Keltic kimrof Scots. About 1016 the Tweed became the southern boundary of Scotland. The language of the diet tict thus annexed by-and by became the language of the Scottish Court and People. After the Norman conquest of England, and especially after the' marriage of Malcolm Ca re with the English princess Ddargaret, Scotland became more decidedly English, not in speech only, but also in customs ;«ul institutions. The English THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 41 language gradually spread northward along the east coast as far as to the Moray Firth. In the fourteenth century, it began to be used as a book speech by John Barbour, archdeacon of Aberdeen, in his long heroic poem, The Bruce, written about 1377. About the same time, Andrew Wyntoun, prior of St. Serf's, in Lochleven (Fife), wrote his Orygynale Crony kU of Scotland in the same tongue. This language was the beginning of the Scots dialect, in which Allan Eamsay, Eobert Burns, and Walter Scott after- wards wrote. Though Barbour was a contemporary of Chaucer, his language is purer English than Chaucer's, inasmuch as it does not contain the French element which is so conspicuous in the Canterbury Tales. Chaucer's influence was, however, introduced into Scotland by James I., who had studied his poems during a long cap- tivity in England (1405-24), and who wrote a beautiful poem called The King's Quhair, (quire, book). This influence was continued by Robert Henry son (1500), William Dunbar (1520), and Sir David Lyndsay (1555); but Scottish speech has always retained much of its original Northumbrian character. 2. The Southern dialect fell out of use about the end of the fourteenth century. Almost the last to use it as a book speech was John of Trevisa, a Gloucestershire canon, who wrote in it a translation from the Latin of Ealph Higden's History of the "World called Polychronicon. To him we are indebted for an interesting fact about the English tongue. He says : " The yer of oure Lord, a thousond thre honored foure score and fyve of the secunde Kyng Eichard, after the conquest nyne, in al the gramer scoles of Engeland children leveth Freynsch and construeth and lurneth an Englysch." The plural ending -eth marks this as Southern English. Though Southern English thus ceased to be a book speech, it never quite died out as a spoken dialect. It has lingered till our own day in Dorsetshire ; and Mr. Barnes has shown its capacity for literary uses by publishing a volume of Poems Written in the Dorsetshire Dialect. 42 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. XVIII.-THE USE OF PRINTING, AND THE REVIVAL. OF LEARNING-. THE LATIN ELEMENT OF THE FOURTH PERIOD. OUTLINE.— 1. The introduction of printing into England (1471) tended to fix the form of the language. 2. The revival of learning (after 1453) introduced a new classical element into English. 3. Modern English contains many duplicate words. 4. Many of the classical words introduced in the sixteenth century have fallen out of use. 1. Printing was introduced into England by William Caxton in 1471. The art had been invented in Germany thirty years previously, and Caxton had learned it while residing at Bruges in Flanders. He not only printed books, he also wrote them. The first book printed in England was his Game and Playe of the Chesse, translated oat of the French. He produced in all sixty-eight different works; and when he died, in 1492, his business was continued by two of his foreign assistants, — Wynkyn de Worde and Richard Pynson. Printing soon ex- tended, and books were multiplied by the thousand. The effect of this on the language was very great When the only way of publishing books was by multiplying manu- scripts, it was impossible to obtain uniformity. The copyists often took great liberties with the works they copied. Kadi version contained some peculiarities due to the fancy of the copyist or to the dialect of the district in which it was produced. The spelling of words was changed ; the grammatical forms were altered ; sometimes new words were put for less familiar ones, lint printing put a stop to these caprices, as all the copies printed from the same types were necessarily the same. Nut, only was uniformity thus secured, but a standard of speech was set up to which all would be forced to conform. In England i li.it effect \1>'> books — nniiitlv, " liipiiins, tin- Anatomy "f Wit," rod " Bnphw land." THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 45 XIX— MODERN ENGLISH. SINCE 1485 A.D. )UTLINE.— 1. Modern English prose begins with Sir Thomas More (1509-13). 2. The standard was fixed by William Tyndale's New Testament, first printed in 1525. 3. Some antiquated forms survived till the age of Elizabeth. 1. Henry Hallam, the historian of the literature of Europe, nentions Sir Thomas More as the first writer of good English jrose. He says that in More's History of Edward the Fifth ' there is not only a diminution of obsolete phraseology, but a certain modern turn and structure, which denote the com- nencement of a new era, and the establishment of new rules of aste in polite literature." It is worth noting that the year in vhich More wrote his History (1509) is that of the accession >f Henry VIII. to the English throne, and is the date assigned yy general consent as the starting-point of the era of modern listory. Modern English and Modern History may therefore )e said to have begun their career together. 2. One of the earliest and most momentous events of modern listory was the Reformation ; which, in England, dates from he reign of Henry VIII. The Reformation was greatly aided >y two events mentioned in last chapter — the invention of )rinting and the revival of learning — and it combined with hem in producing an important effect on the English language, rhe revival of learning led to more careful study of the Scrip- ures in the original tongues, and to the making of more accu- rate translations : the Reformation led to these translations )eing read freely by the people ; and the invention of printing ed to their multiplication and wide distribution. A standard of English was thus brought within reach of all ; or those who did not own Bibles, or could not read them, heard he Scriptures read in the mother tongue Sunday after Sunday, rhe earliest of the translators of this time (and the first since vVyclif) was William Tyndale, whose New Testament was printed at Antwerp in 1525-34. He afterwards printed parts )f the Old Testament. The first complete English Bible printed 46 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. in England was that of Miles Coverdale, issued in 1535, and dedicated to Henry VIII. Now all the translations made after Tyndale's time were more or less based on his version. This is expressly true of Cranmer's Bible (1540) and of the Geneva New Testament (1557). The Authorized Version (1611), now in use, was not made without constant reference to those of Tyndale, Coverdale, and Cranmer, though avowedly based on the Bishops' Bible of 1568 (Parker's). The diction of the Authorized Version is in many points older than that of the time in which it was made ; and this is owing to the fact of the older versions having been freely used by the translators. The English Bible has had a great effect on English, not only as spoken, but also as a book speech. Bible English is remark- able for its simplicity and its force. In regard to the proportion of foreign elements in it, it is by far the purest English to be found in our modern literature, ninety-six per cent, of its word- list being of native origin. 3. What has been said of the old-fashioned diction of the Bible holds also to some extent of other works. The poet Spenser, whose Faerie Queene was printed in 1590-96, was an admirer of Chaucer, whom he calls "well of English undefiled ;" and he imitates some of Chaucer's peculiarities in his own poetry. He uses words that had fallen out of use in his day, as well as old spellings, forms, and idioms. He uses tfa t (kn< m \ belgardes (fair looks : Fr. belle, regarder), forlore (left), serine (casket), fet (fetch), stent (blamed), arced (interpret), bedight (jtdorned). Garland he spells girlond. He uses the idiom him lift, for it pleases him. He uses the prefix //- for the passive participle (» 0. E. ge\ y-drad for dreaded. There is the' same antique flavour in the writinga of Spenser's friends Sir Philip Sidney and Sir Walter Ralegh. In Shakespeare i\w\e are many words and osages that are n. .u obsolete. Be uses his tor its, bb is also done in the English Bible ("If (he salt have Lost hit savour"). He uses cfapt for called, which may be traced through Spenser's cfooped, and Chaucer's y-dspt, to the 0. K. gs-clypods, He nsea an tor if; benisan for blessing; bodemmts for forebodings; hardiment for THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 47 courage ; think sH thee for does it seem to thee ; these - - as for such - - as ; ye for you (objective) ; thrid for thread ; suspire for breathe; allegiant for loyal; and many other words and phrases which are no longer used. In spite of these exceptions, however, the English of Shakespeare is English in its full maturity. It has never been used with greater power, ease, grace, or purity than by him. John Milton, who was just eight years old when Shakespeare died, used many old-fashioned words, and invented some new ones. Being a great admirer of the Early English poets, he used many of their pithy words and quaint forms ; as, belike (likely), eyn (eyes), frore (frosty), nathless (nevertheless), rathe (early), swinked (hard-worked), tilth (tilled land), to-ruffled (ruffled), whilere (a while before), xoon (dwell), y-cleped, y-clept, y-clopd (clept, called). Being a great classical scholar, he used classical words in then- literal sense, and he coined new words when he could not find an old word that pleased him ; as, ammiral (admiral ; a ship), atheous (ungodly), concent (singing together; harmony), dividual (divided), emprise (enterprise), illaudable (not praiseworthy), plenipotent (all-powerful), profluent (flowing forward), villatic (belonging to a farm), transpicuous (able to be seen through). XX.— RECENT INFLUENCES. OUTLINE. — 1. In the eighteenth century the fashion of preferring words of classical origin prevailed. 2. In the beginning of the nineteenth century the study of German philosophy and of French politics had a certain effect both on English literature and on the English language. 3. During the present century the study of Old English has been greatly extended. 1. The leader in the classical revival of the eighteenth cen- tury was Dr. Samuel Johnson, whose writings, and whose position as the literary dictator of his time, gave him great influence. A marked preference was shown for big words and for a pompous style. Some new words were invented, and 48 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. some that had grown obsolete were revived ; but the practice consisted mainly in the systematic use of the classical element in the existing language, and the avoidance of the familiar and pithy native words. Johnson was followed in this custom, and even surpassed, by the historians Gibbon and Hume, to whose style it gives a stately air and a majestic roll. It has been calculated that one- fourth of Johnson's vocabulary is foreign ; but in Hume the proportion is one-third, and in Gibbon it is much more than one-third. Quite as striking as the changes in the vocabulary were the peculiarities of idiom, or form of expression, adopted by John- son and his school. These showed themselves in a tendency to fall into modes of arrangement which are unusual in English, but are common in the Eomance tongues, which are derived from Latin. This peculiarity is clearly set forth in the fact, that while many of Addison's phrases could not possibly be translated literally into French or Italian, there is hardly one phrase of Johnson's which could not be so rendered. One of Johnson's chief characteristics is his laborious building up of sentences ex in- sisting of antithetical or contrasted members : for example : — "As this practice is a commodious subject of raillery to the gay and of declamation to the serious, it has been ridiculed with all the pleasantry of wit and exaggerated with all the amplifica- tions of rhetoric." Here there are five pairs of contrasted thoughts, all carefully balanced ; namely, — raillery dechunatii >n. gay serious. ridiculed exaggerated. pleasantry amplifications. wit rhetoric. This sentence is a type of many, and it is therefore I good example of the artificial and ponderous nature of the style. 2. At the very close of lasi century and the beginning of the present one, the study <>f German literature especially of philosophy and criticism- was eagerly undertaken by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and liis followers. At the same time there THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 49 occurred a remarkable revival in English poetry, which is represented in the works of Coleridge and Wordsworth, Shelley and Byron. If this revival was not directly due to the influ- ence of the French Revolution, it was certainly due to that general revolt in men's minds against the artificial and the false of which the Revolution was the chief political result. Both events have had a greater effect on literature than on language, on thought than on expression. Still, their effect on language has been very considerable. One effect of the German influence has been to revive the power of forming compound words which is inherent in the language, and was freely used in its earliest stage. Another effect has been to create a necessity for extending our vocabulary of philosophical terms. To this we are indebted for the free use of such words as subjective, objective, aesthetic, analytic, synthetic. The poetical revival consisted mainly in a return to the truth and simplicity of nature. Wordsworth not only showed how the highest thoughts might be suggested by the humblest things, but how these thoughts might be expressed in the simplest language. 3. Of late the study of the Old English language, and of Old English literature, has been greatly extended. Within the past few years a very considerable body of literature bearing on this subject has been produced. The movement received its first impulse from the essays which Richard Garnett read to the Philological Society of London between 1835 and 1848. The publication of Dr. Joseph Bosworth's "Anglo-Saxon Dic- tionary" in 1838 greatly aided the study, which has been sys- tematically developed in various directions in the works of Edwin Guest, W. W. Skeat, Henry Sweet, A. J. Ellis, E. Morris, E. A. Abbot, and others both in England and in America. Alongside of the Philological Society, there is now an Early English Text Society, for the printing of works and transla- tions of works belonging to the Old English and Early English Periods. The practical effect of this new zeal for the study of the language has been a reaction in favour of the use of Teu- tonic; or native words. 4 50 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. XXI— MISCELLANEOUS ELEMENTS. OUTLINE. — 1. English contains words drawn from most of the languages of the world. 2. These borrowings are the result partly of commercial intercourse, and partly of the spread of the arts and sciences. 1. The following are examples of common words drawn from a variety of languages : — American maize, potato, tobacco. Arabic admiral, algebra, almanac, coffee, cotton, lake, lemon, lime, sofa. Chinese nankeen, satin, tea (congou, bohea, &c). French beau, belle, bouquet, depot, soiree. Hebrew amen, cherub, jubilee, sabbath. Hindustani... calico, jungle, muslin, punch, rupee, sugar. Italian bust, canto, folio, grotto, motto, opera, umbrella, volcano. Malay bamboo, bantam, chintz, curry, sago. Persian balcony, bazaar, chess, orange, shawl, turban. Polynesian ... kangaroo, tattoo. Portuguese.... cash, cocoa. Spanish cargo, chocolate, cigar, negro, sherry. Turkish sash, tulip. 2. It is obvious, from the words in the above list, that these borrowings are the result, partly of commercial intercourse, and partly of the spread of the arts and sciences. When an article of commerce, or a new kind of art, or a new branch of science, was introduced into England for the first time, it natu- rally brought with it the name by which it had previously been known in the country from which it had been borrowed. This foreign name would undergo changes in the process of Its adoption into English, and in the end would heroine an English word. XXII. SELF-INTERPRETING WORDS. The words in the following list are examples of what may In- called self c\ ideiit derivation. The derivatives arc printed in clarendon, the rooi vrords in itcUies. It' the derivative is not taken directly from the root-word in each case, both are THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 51 derived from a common source. A few of the English roots are of French origin : — Abase to bring to the base (Fr.), or make low. Abate to beat (Fr.) down. Abreast with the breasts in line. Adrift in the drift, or thing driven. Aloft on-loft, in the lift (air). Anon in-one (instant). Atonement at-one-ment, reconciliation. Babble to speak like a babe. Balloon a big ball (Fr.). BaUot a little ball (Fr. ). Band, bond that which bmd$. Bank a bench on which money was laid out. Batcb bread baked in one lot. Bird one of a brood. Brand something burned. Breakfast a breaking of a fast. Brick a piece broken off. Brood something bred. Brown the burned colour. Bursar keeper of the burse or purse. Butler keeper of the butts (large casks), or of the bottles. Claw something cleft or split. Cloud vapour drawn into clods, or masses that cleave together. Club a society cleaving together. Coop a hollow place, like a cup. Cope a covering, or cap. Daisy day's-eye. The flower closes its petals at night, and opens them in the morning. Disease want of ease (Fr. ) ; pain. Diver the bird that dives. Doff. do-off. Don do-on. {Sodup, do-up; and dout, do-out: now disused.) Drawing-room ...originally with-draioing room; i.e., a room for re- tiring to. Earth eared {i.e., ploughed) land. Erst ere-est, i.e., earliest or first. Fare the price of faring, or travelling. The verb fare means to get on, to succeed, — as in " 111 fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, "Where wealth accumulates and men decay." Farthing .fourth-ing, the fourth part of a penny. 52 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE F . > places for faring (i. e. , going) across a utreaiu . Gad-fly the fly with a gad or goad. Gaffer good father. Gammer good mother. Gentleman a man of gentle (i.e., noble) birth. {Gentle is from the Lat. gens, gentis, a family.) Gospel God 'spell (news of God) or good-spell (good news). The latter corresponds most closely with the word "evangel," which is from the Greek en, well, and angelia, a message. Groove something graven, or hollowed out. Haft that by which we have or hold an instrument. Handicraft craft, or skill, of hand. Handle to touch with the hand; n. the part held in the hand. Handsel money given in hand (hand, and scllan, to give). Handsome ready to the hand. Handy skilful with the hand. Hanker to let the mind hang on a thing. Harbinger one who goes forward to provide a harbour, i.e., a place of safety for an army (O. E. here, an army ; beorgan, to protect; whence borough). Hardware ware made of hard material, as iron. Hatch to produce by hacking, i.e., by chipping the egg. (Hack is literally to cut with an axe (O. E. haebe); whence hash.) Hawthorn the thorn that grows in hairs, i.e., hedges. Heaven that which is heaved, or lifted up. Hinder t< > put beh ind. Homestead the stead (place) of a home; a farm enclosure. (Stead occurs in instead ami stead//.) Hunt to pursue with hounds. Husband house-bond, the owner of a house. Instead in the stead or place of. Island water-land [0. ES. <■ whee/.o rl.it b r gargle patter i ereeofa splash w hirr clink gurgle pee-wit shriek splutter whist cough hiss plump thuffle squall whizz THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 55 XXIV— "WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OF PERSONS. The following is a list of words derived from the names of persons : — Burke, to murder or destroy, from... Burke, a notorious murderer (1829). Cicerone, a guide who describes \ r .. ., -r, , ' ' , b > Cicero, the Roman orator, what he shows ) Daguerreotype, a sun-picture onl-p. ,. . f i \ -Daguerre, the inventor. Davy lamp, a safety lamp, used in ) a . rT . -^ ., . -. ■ r ' j n \ g ir Humphry Davy, the inventor. Friday, the sixth day of the week ...Freya, the wife of Odin. Galvanism, chemical electricity Galvani of Bologna, the discoverer (died 1798). Guillotine, an instrument for be- ) Guillotin, a physician, the in- heading i ventor. Hansom, a light two-wheeled cab Hansom, the inventor. Jeremiad, a doleful story Jeremiah the prophet, author of Lamentations. Jovial, merry, cheerful Jovis (of Jupiter). Lazar, a diseased person Lazarus, the diseased beggar (Luke xvi.). Macadamize, to pave a road with i Macadam, the inventor (died small stones 1 1836). Mackintosh, a water-proof over-coat... Mackintosh, the inventor. Martial, warlike Mars, the Roman god of war. Martinet, a strict disciplinarian Martinet, an officer in the French army, under Louis XIV. Ma usoleum, a splendid tomb Mausolus, a king of Caria, to whom his widow erected a magnificent tomb. Mercury, quick-silver Mercury, the active messenger of the gods. Nicotian, belonging to tobacco i.Nicot, who introduced tobacco into France (1560). Panic, sudden fright Pan, the god of the woods, who often startled shepherds in the fields. -».-.. ,. e -n r ■ ( Philip of Macedon, against whom Philippic, a discourse full of m- J -r, ,. . u ■, ■> ■> • . ' \ Demosthenes thundered his vective ™ r v Philippics. Platonic, pure, free from baseness. ...Plato, the Greek philosopher. 56 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. Saturday, the seventh clay of the ) Saetes, a Northern god ; said to be week ) connected with water. Saturnine, grave, gloomy Saturn, the planet, whose influence was so described by the astrolo- gers. Spencer, a short over- jacket Lord Spencer, by whom it was made fashionable. Stentor ian, very loud Stentor, a Homeric herald, who had a powerful voice. _ . ,. , , ~ r Tantalus, in Greek mythology, Tantalize, to torment by offer- , , j ,. t- ' ... * . , who was made to stand up to his ing pleasures which cannot be< , . • . . v j j , yi chin in water, which receded *- when he tried to drink, &c. Thursday, the fifth day of the week... Thor, the god of thunder. Tuesday, the third day of the week...Tieu, the god of the Teutons. Voltaism, galvanism Volta, an Italian, the discoverer. Wednesday, the fourth day of the ) , 17 . , ~ , . , , , , , - > Woden, or Odin, the god of war. XXV.-WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OF PLACES. The following is a list of words derived from the names of places : — Bayonet, a dagger fixed on the end ) ,-. . -r, . : a , , -. ( Bayonne, in 1 ranee, of a rifle or musket .from > Bedlam, a lunatic asylum Bethlehem, a monastery in Lon- don, afterwards used as a mad- house. Calico, cotton cloth Calicut, in India. Cambric, fine linen Cambray, in Flanders. Canter, an easy gallop Canterbury: from the easy pace of the pilgrims who rode bo Becket's shrine. Cashmere, \ . , , . , , , , y , la rah kind <>t wool- ) ~ , . , ,. < ammere, > , ■ .. < aanmere. in India. M I Leu doth j Ken ymere,*) Champagne, a light, sparkling wine...( Ihampagne, in France. Cherry, a bright red Btone-fruU Ceraaua, on the Black Sea. Copper, a reddiih-ooloured metal.. .Oyprus, an island In the Levant. * Kcnni/»ur, is also Cyprus, an island in the Levant, emblem of death ) J ' Damask, figured linen Damascus, in Syria. Fustian, coarse, twilled cotton cloth... Fostat (Cairo), in Egypt. Gin, an alcoholic liquor flavoured ) ^ . ^ ., , , ' . , . > Geneva, m Switzerland, with juniper berries ) Guinea, an old gold coin — 21s Guinea, a country in Africa, which yielded the gold of which it was first made. Guinea-fovsl, a dark -gray fowl, with ) r , . .... white spots ) ' ^ypsy, one °f a wandering race Egypt, in Africa, whence they were supposed to have come. Holland, a kind of linen I tt n i Hollands, a kind of gin ) Indigo, a blue dye India. Jersey, a woollen jacket Jersey, one of the Channel Islands. Madeira, a rich wine Madeira, an island on the north- west of Africa. Magnesia, a medicinal powder ),, . . T ,. , , 7, , j _, ( Magnesia, in Ly dia. Magnet, the load-stone ) Malmsey, a strong sweet wine Malvasia, in Greece. Meander, a winding course Meander, a winding river in Asia Minor. Milliner, a maker of bonnets and ),,-., . Tj _ , . , ' > Milan, m Italy, head-dresses ) Morocco, a fine kind of leather Morocco, in Africa. Muslin, a fine kind of cotton cloth... Moussul, in Mesopotamia. Nankeen, a buff -coloured cotton)^ ,. . n ,. , , >JNankm, in China. Pistol, a small hand-gun Pistoja (Pistola), in Italy. Port, a dark purple wine Oporto, in Portugal. Sherry, a light amber-coloured wine... Xeres, in Spain. Spaniel, a kind of dog Spain. Tariff, a table of duties or prices Tarifa, in Spain. Toledo, a finely-tempered sword- ) m , , . „ blade } Toledo, m Spam. Turkey, a large domestic fowl Turkey, whence it was erroneously supposed to have come. Worsted, twisted thread or yarn ) Worsted, near Norwich in En- made of wool ) gland. 58 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. XX VI.— THE LORD'S PRAYER IN DIFFERENT STAGES OF THE LANGUAGE. OUTLINE.— 1. The Maeso- Gothic Version of the Scriptures was made about 376 A.D. 2. A Low German Version was made about 700. 3. The oldest Old English Version was made by a bishop of Lindisfarne about 715. 4. King Alfred's trans- lation into Old English was made about 890. 5. Wyclifs Version was made in 1380 (Transition English). 6. Tyndale's Version was made in 1534 (Modern English). 7. The Rheims Version was made from the Latin Vulgate in 1582. 8. The Authorized Version was made in 1611. The following eight versions of the Lord's Prayer show very clearly the changes which the language has undergone. The first version is not properly English ; but the language in which it is written is one of the forefathers of English. It is interest- ing and instructive, as a specimen of the oldest book that exists in any Teutonic tongue. It is from a translation of the Gospels made by Ulphilas, in the fourth century, for the use of the Gothic Christians in Moesia (now Servia and Bulgaria). The excessive amount of word-endings in this version should be noted. By the time of Alfred these had been very much re- duced ; by the time of Wyclif they had almost entirely disap- peared. The second version, like the first, is not properly English; it is Low German, of the same date nearly as the oldest Old English Version. The last four versions show few changes except in the spelling of certain words, and in the interchange of the letters u and v. It may be noted that in Tyndale's version (1534) many words have final 9 which drop that letter in the later versions; for example, ourc, itrtc, dayc y brcede. 1. AD. 376 Atta unsar the iii hiininain, 700 Tim ore Fader, the earl on heofenum, 715 Fader invn, |>u in I leofnas, 890 Faeder ore, \w |>e eart on heofenum, 1380 Oure fadir that, art In heuenee, 1534 o nine father which arte in heven, 1582 Ovr Father which art In heaoen, 1611 Our father which ait in heanen. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 59 A.D. 376 reihnai namo thein; 700 Si thin noman gehalgod ; 715 Sie gehalgud Xama ])in ; 890 si J>in nama ge-halgod ; 1380 halowid be thi name ; 1534 halowed be thy name ; 1582 sanctified be thy name ; 1611 hallowed be thy name ; 3. A.D. 376 Kvimai thiudinassus theins ; 700 Cume thin rike ; 715 To-cymeth ric t>in ; 890 To-becume }>in rice ; 1380 Thi kingdom come-to ; 1534 Let thy kyngdome come ; 1582 Let thy kingdom come ; 1611 Thy kingdom come ; A.D. 376 Tairthai vilja theins, sve in himina yah ana airthai; 700 Si thin "Willa on eorthan, twa on heof enum ; 715 Sie fillo Jrin suae is in Heofne and in Eorba ; 890 Ge-weor}>e Jrin willa on eor]>an, swa-swa on heofenum; 1380 Be thi wille don in erthe, as in heuene ; 1534 Thy wyll be fulfilled as well in erth as it ys in heven ; 1582 Thy wil be done, as in heauen, in earth also ; 1611 Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heauen; 5. A.D. (continuous) 376 Hlaif unsarana thana sinteinan gif uns himma daga, 700 Syle us to-dag orne daegwamlican hlaf, 715 Hlaf uferne oferwistlic sel us to daeg, 890 Urne daeghwamlican hlaf syle us to daeg, 1380 Geue to us this day oure breed [ouir other substaunce], 1534 Geve vs this daye oure dayly breede, 1582 Giue vs to day our supersubstantial bread, 1611 Giue vs this day our dayly bread, 60 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 6. A.D. (off-let) (what) (owing) (we be), 376 Yah af-let ana thatei skulaus siyuhna, 700 And forgif us lire gylter, 715 And forgef us Sc3'lba urna, 890 And forgyf us ure gyltas, 1380 & forgeue to vs oure dettis, 1534 And forgeve vs oure treaspases, 1582 And forgiue vs our dettes, 1611 And forgiue vs our debts, 7. A.D. (we) (off-let) (debtors) (of ours). 376 svasve yah veis af-letam thaine skulam unsaraini ; 700 Swa we forgifath tham the with us agylthat ; 715 Suae we forgefon scylgumurum ; 890 swa-swa we forgifab urum gyltendum ; 1380 as we forgeuen to oure dettouris ; 1534 even as we forgeve oure trespacers ; 1582 as we also forgiue our detters ; 1611 as we forgiue our debters; AD. 376 Yah ni briggais uns in fraistubn yai. 700 And ne laed thu na us on koatnunge, 715 And ne inlead usith in Costnunge, 890 And ne gelaede bu us on costnunge, 1380 & lede us not in to temptacioun, 1534 And leade vs not into temptacion, 1582 And leade vs not into tentation. 1611 And leade vs not into temptation, 9. A.D. (loose) (the) (eviO. 376 Ak lausei uns af thainina tilit swa. 715 Ah gefrigusich from evil : Sn|>lice. 890 Ac alvs us of ytle : Soulier. 1380 but delyuer ui from yuel ; iinen. 1534 But delyver n from evell : Amen. 1582 But dtliuer vi from euil : Amen. 1611 lint dt'liuer vs from euill : Amen. TABLES OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. 1.-OLD ENGLISH PERIOD. AUTHOR, BIRTH, DEATH. PERSONAL NOTES. WORKS. REIGN. Caedmon. Died about 680. A monk of Whit- by. Religious poems on Tlie Creation. Edwin (Nor- thumbria). Baeda. 672-735. " The Venerable Bede." A monk of Jarrow. Ecclesiastical His- tory (in Latin), Gos-pel of St. John (lost). Alfred. S71-901. "The Great." King of England. Translations of Baeda 's History, dSsop's Fables, Alfred. Various Monks. 875-1154. In different mon- asteries. The English Chroiir icle. Alfred to Stephen. 2.-TRANSITI0N PERIOD (1100-1362). AUTHOR, BIRTH, DEATH. PERSONAL NOTES. WORKS. REIGN. Layamon. 1150-1210. A Worcestershire priest. The Brut, a rhym- ing chronicle of John. Britain (1205). Ormin. 11S7-1237. An East Anglian canon. The Ormulum, metrical relig- '■ T , ious services (1215). Robert. 1255-1307. Chronicle of Eng- A monk of Glouce- ( land, in rhyme ster. (1297) ; Legends of Saints. Edward I. Robert Man- nyng-. 1272-1340. A monk of Brunne. Chronicle of Eng- land, in rhyme ; Handlyng Sinne (1303). Edward I. William Lang- 1 land. A Western poet. 1332-1400. Vision oj Piers the Plowman (1362). Edward III. ! 62 ENGLISH LITERATURE. 3— TRANSITION PERIOD (1362-1485). AT"TH0R, BIRTH, DEATH. PERSONAL NOTES. WORKS. REICiN. Sir John Mande- ville. 1303-1372. "First writer in formed English." ZYovete in the East (Latin, French, and English, 1356). Edward III. John Barhour. 1316-1396. Archd. of Aber- deen. Wrote in Northern Eng- lish (Scottish). The Bruce, narra- tive poem (1377). Richard II. (Robert II. of Scotland.) John Wyclif. 1324-1384. Church reformer ; head of college at Oxford; priest of Lutterworth. Translation of the Bible from Latin Vulgate (1380), Traits and Ser- mons. Richard II. John Gower. 1325-1408. An eminent law- yer, Chief -Jus- The Lo> • >■'.< Gonfee- tice of the Com- sion (1393). mon Pleas. Richard II. Geoffrey Chau- cer. 1340-1400. Soldier, courtier, ambassador, Comptroller of Customs. The Canterbury Talis (1384-90). Richard II. Henry IV. James I. of Scotland. 1894-1437. A prisoner in Eng- land from 1405- l 124. The KinafsQuhair, or Book, a poem in Chaucer's style Henry VI. (James I. 8c) William Caxton 1412-1492. Introduced print- ing into Eng- land (1471). 'Tin Cam,- and Playt <>/ the Cfteaw(14T4). Edward iv. 4.-MODERN ENGLISH-(l) EARLY TUDOR PERIOD (1485 1575). 1 \i I i, BIB i ii, i ■ i .Mi: •'NAL NOTES. \WUKS. in now. Gawin Douglas. 1474 1522. Biahop <>f Imim Iteld. Wmti' in Stnttish dialeot, or Northern i ogliah. Palace o/ Honour (1601X transla- tion if (IB l'irst translation frOBO Latin Into Han verse. H.ury Nil. II. nry VIII. ENGLISH LITERATURE. 63 AUTHOR, BIRTH, DEATH. PERSONAL NOTES. WORKS. REIGN. Sir Thomas More. 1-480-1535. Lord High Chan- cellor. Executed by Henry VIII. History of Richard III. (1513), His- tory of Edward V., Utopia. Henry VIII. William Tyn- dale. ab. 1477-1536. Lived and wrote at Antwerp, where he was burned as a heretic. Translation of New Testament (1525, 1534), and Five Books of Moses (1530). Henry VIII. Sir David Lyndsay. 1490-1557. Of the Mount, "Lord Lion- King-at-Arms." Satire of the Three Estates (1535), MonarchieO-553). Henry VIII. Mary. John Fox. 1517-1587. An English clergy- man. Lived and wrote at Basel. Book of Martyrs (1563). Elizabeth. 5.-MODERN ENGLISH-(2) AGE OF ELIZABETH (1575-1616). AUTHOR, BIRTH, DEATH. PERSONAL NOTES. WORKS. REIGN. Edmund Spen- ser. 1552-1599. Secretary to Vice- roy of Ireland. Lived at Kilcol- man, Co. Cork. Shephearde's Kal- endar (1579), Faerie Queene (1590-96). Elizabeth. Sir Philip Sidney. 1554-1586. Mortally wounded near Zutphen. Arcadia (1580), Be- j fence of Poesy ■ Elizabeth. (15S1). Francis, Lord Bacon. 1561-1626. Viscount St. Al- bans and Veru- 1am, Lord High Chancellor: de- graded for receiv- ing bribes (1621). Essays (1597), Ad- vancement of Learning (1605), Novum Organ-y- um (1620). Elizabeth. James I. William Shake- speare. 1564-1616. Born and died at Stratf ord-on- Avon. Prince of dramatic poets. Wrote 37 plays in all. Was an actor and theatre proprietor. Love's Labour's Lost (1588), Midsum. Night's Bream (1598), Julius Cozsar (1601), Hamlet (1602), Sonnets (1609), The Tempest. Elizabeth. James I. 64 ENGLISH LITERATURE. AUTHOR, BIRTH, DEATH. PERSONAL NOTES. WORKS. REIGN. Ben Jonson. 1574-1637. "Rare Ben Jon- son." Comic dramatist, brick- layer, soldier, player. Every Man in Hit Humour (1596), The Alchemist (1610). Elizabeth. James I. Sir Walter Ralegh. 1552-1618. Courtier, naviga- tor, historian. Executed on a charge of treason History of the World (1614) ; written in the Tower of London James I. William Drum- mond. 1585-1649. Of Hawthornden. Love Sonnets and Friend of Ben Religious Poems Jonson. (1616). James I. 6.-M0DERN ENGLISH-(3) SHAKESPEARE TO THE AGE OF ANNE (1616 1702). AUTHOR, BIRTH, DEATH. PERSONAL NOTES. WORKS. REIGN. John Milton. 1608-1674. Foreign Secretary to the Common- wealth (1649). Became blind (1654). Hymn to the Na- tivity (1629); De- fence of the Eng- lish People(1650), prose; Paradise Lost (1667). Charles I. Charles II. Jeremy Taylor. 1613-1667. Bishop of Down. A master of elo- quent and ornate prose. Holy Living and H oly Dying (1649). Charles I. Samuel Butler. 1612-1680. Humorous and sar- castic poet. Hudfbra$QJB68y, ■ mock heroic poem, ridiculing tin- Puritans. Charles II John Dryden. 1681 lTi'i. "\V rote keenly pol- Annus Mirahilis ished satirical (1667), Abtalom verse, and plays and AcMtOfhA on the French (16S1), Hind and model. Pa/nthmr (1887). Charles II. .lames II. John Bunyan. L828-1688. At fust a trawl ling tinker; for twelve years in Bedford Jail. Tht I'ilgrim's Pn pre* (1878). Charles II. ENGLISH LITERATURE. 65 AUTHOR, BIRTH, DEATH. PERSONAL NOTES. WORKS. REIGN. Sir Isaac New- ton. 1642-1727. Discoverer of the law of gravita- tion. Principia Mathe- matica (1687), a treatise on Nat- ural Philosophy, establishing the theory of gravi- tation ; — written in Latin. James II. John Locke. 1632-1704. Philosopher and political writer. Letters on Tolera- tion(1689), Essay concerning the Human Under- standing (1690). William III. 7.-M0DERN ENGLISH-(4) AGE OF ANNE (1702-1730). AUTHOR, BIRTH, DEATH. PERSONAL NOTES. WORKS. REIGN. Sir Richard Steele. 1671-1729. Introduced the periodical Essay in England. Was expelled from the House of Commons for writing political pamphlets. The Tatler (1709), The Spectator (1711), The Guar- dian (1713). Anne. Jonathan Swift. 1667-1745. Dean of St. Pat- rick's. Wrote strong and terse English. Died insane. Battle of the Books, Tale of a Tub (1704), Gulliver's Travels (1726). Anne. George I. Wrote pure and Joseph Addison. graceful English. 1672-1719. Secretary of State (1717). Essays in Tatler, Spectator, and Guardian. Cato: A Tragedy (1713) Anne. George I. Daniel Defoe. 1663-1731. Was pilloried for sedition (1703). Was Secretary to the Commission- ers on the Scot- tish Union (1707) Robinson Crusoe (1719). George I. 06 ENGLISH LITERATURE. AUTHOR, BIRTH, DEATH. PERSONAL NOTES. REIGN. Alexander Pope 1688-1744. Made Dryden his model. Chief poet of the Arti- ficial School. Wrote bitter sa- tires in keenly polished verse. Essay on Criticism (1711), Rape of the Lock (1712- 14), Translation of The Iliad (1715-20), The Dunciad (1728- 29), Essay on Man (1733). Anne. George I. George II. 8.-MODERN ENGLISH-(5) AGE OF ANNE TO FRENCH REVOLUTION (1730-1790). AUTHOR, BIRTH, DEATH. PERSONAL NOTES. WORKS. REIGN. James Thomson 1700-1748. Educated for the Scottish Church. Became a man of letters in London The Seasons (1730); The Castle of In- dolence (1748), in Spenserian stanza. George II. Henry Fielding. 1707-1754. Greatest of the Early English novelists. Tom Jones (1749), Amelia (1751). George II. David Hume. 1711-1776. For a time keeper of the Advocates' Library, Edin- burgh; for a time Under-Secretary of State. Inquiry concern- ing the rri)>ri i>Ji. •< of Morula (1751), History of En- gland (11 :U <:•_'). George II. Dr. Samuel Johnson. 1709-1784. Chief master of the formal and Lai inized style. The literary dictator of bis time. London (1738), a DOain ; English I> i r ( i o n it r ;/ i)j Bosseku (1759), a novel ; Lives of On Posts (1780). George II. Goorgo 111. ! Edmund Burke. 1730-17'.»7. A "great maiter (if cl(ic|Url), /;■ flections on tin- French /.'< polu* f i»n (1700). Goorgo IF. George in. ENGLISH LITERATURE. AUTHOR, BIRTH, DEATH. PERSONAL NOTES. WORKS. REIGN. Dr. William Robertson. 1721-1793. Principal of the University of Edinburgh. History of Scot- land (1759), His- tory of Charles V. (1769), His- tory of America (1777). George II. George III. Adam Smith. 1723-1790. A Professor in Glasgow. Found- er of the science of Political Economy. Moral Sentiments (1759), Wealth of Nations (1776). George II. George III. Oliver Gold- smith. 1728-1774. Began to study divinity, law, and medicine, and failed in all. Travelled on foot over Europe, playing a flute for his living. TheViear.ofWake- field (1766), a novel; The De- serted Village (1770), a poem; She Stoops to Conquer. (1773), a comedy. George III. Edward Gibbon. ' Shows bias against 1737-1794. Christianity. Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-S7) George III. Robert Burns. 1759-1796. The national poet of Scotland. Originally a ploughman. Poems and Songs (Tarn o' Shant>:r, The Cottar's Sat- urday Night, d-c), 1786-96. George III. William Cowper 1731-1800. The victim of mel- ancholy. Lived at Olney, Bucks. The Task (1785), a poem; John Gil- pin; The Iliad (1791). G«orge III. 9.— MODERN ENGLISH-(6) FRENCH REVOLUTION TO PRESENT TIME (1790-1870). AUTHOR, BIRTH, DEATH. PERSONAL NOTES. "WORKS. REIGN. Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 1772-1834. One of the Lake poets ; great as a critic and con- versationist. The Ancient Mari- ner in Lyrical Ballads (179S), and Christabel (1797-1806). George III. 68 ENGLISH LITERATURE. AUTHOR, BIRTH, DEATH. PERSONAL NOTES. WORKS. REION. William Words- worth. 1770-1850. Chief of the Lake poets — poets of nature and feel- ing. Poet-laure- ate (1843-50). EarlyPocm$(l7m), Lyrical Ballads (1798), Th A - cursion (1814). George III. Robert Southey. 1774-1843. One of the Lake poets. Poet-lau- reate (1813-43). Author of more than 100 volumes Wat Tyler (1794), Thalaba the De- stroyer, The CxirseofKehama, Life of Nelson, The Doctor. George III. Lord Byron (George Gordon). 1788-1824. A romantic poet. Excelled in de- scriptions of na- ture. Led a wild and useless life. Died at Misso- longhi, when aid- ing the cause of Greek indepen- dence. Hours of Idleness (1S07); Childe Harold's Pil- grimage (1812); Don iA«itt (1819); The Corsair (1814), and other Turkish tales in verse; Manfred, a dramatic poem, (1817); Cairn, a mystery (1821). George III. George IV. Sir Walter Scott 1771-1832. The greatest of romance writers. Kept the author- ship of the Wa- verley Novels a secret till 1827. A Scottish law- yer. Lived at Abbotsford, on the Tweed. Border Minstrelsy (1802), Lay oft fa- Last Minstrel (1S05), Marmion (1808), The Lady - ture. Seco (sectus), I cut; section, insect. Sedeo, I sit; sessio, a sitting; preside, sediment, session, assess. Senex, old; senile, senate. Sentio (sensus), I perceive; sense, sen- tence, consent, sentiment. Sequor (secutus), I follow; consequence, persecute. Servio, I serve; serf, service. Servo, I keep; conserve, observe. Signum, a mark; sign, signal, signify. Similis, like ; similar, assimilate, simile. Sisto, I stop; assist, existence. Sol, the sun; solar, solstice (sto). Solus, alone ; sole, solitary, solitude, soliloquy (loquor). Solvo (solutus), I loose; solve, absolute, insoluble. Specio spoctus), I sec; spectacle, aspect, d\ le, estab- lish, distant. Stringofstrictus), I bind; strain, atrait, strict, stringent. StrilO, I pile up; structure, tlutlOfj. SlUnma, (hi kOpj stun, summit, sum- ma ri/ Sumo (fumptoj), I take; omimm suiii/it inn TacitUS, silent ; tacit, titriturn Tango ductus), I touch ; tangti tart TegO (tectus), I cover ; tegument, pro- tect. Tempero, I mix ; temper. Tempus (tempor-is\ time ; temporal, tempest, contemporary. Tendo (tentus, tensus), I stretch ; tend, attend, extent, intense, tent. Teneo (tentus>, I hold ; tenure, attain, content. Terminus, a boundary ; term, deter- mine. Terra, the earth ; terrace, terrestrial, territory, terrier, Mediterranean, (medius). Terreo, I frighten ; terror, deter. Testis, a witness; testify, testament, testimony, Protestant. Texo (textus\ I weave ; text, textile Timeo, I fear; timid, intimidate. Tingo (tinctus), I dip; tinge, taint, stain, tincture. Tono, I thunder; astonish, detomde. Torqueo (tortus), I twist ; torture, ex- tort. Traho (tractus), I draw ; trace, track, tract. Tribus, a class ; tribe, tribune. Trudo (trusus), I thrust ; iyitrude, abstruse. Turba, a crowd; turbid, turbulent, disturb. Umbra, a shadow; umbrage, umbrella. Ullda, a wave; undulate, inundate, abound, redurulant. Ungo functus), I anoint ; u .-._■ ■unction. UllUS, one ; unite, union, uniform. Urbs, a city ; urbane, sulnirb. Utor (usus), 1 use; utensil, utility ValeO, I am strong; xudiant, valid, ai-ii il. VanilS, empty ; rain, vaunt. VarinS, ditrerent ; Miry, raritt-i, varie- gate (ago). Velio (vectus), I carry ; vehicle, convey, op mum Venio (Tentro), i oome; event, venture. Veibum, a word; terb, ureal, proverb. Verto (verms), 1 torn; a dve rt, w n iver ee, Verus, true; amer, peraoUf, t verify, verity. Vcstis, :i garment; r,st, faetef, m .' meut, vestry. VetUS (votor-is), old; r,ta'>'alysis. Lithos, a stone ; lithography, aerolite. Logos, a word, a discourse; geology. Monos, alone; monosyllable. Naus, a ship ; nausea, nautical, aero- naut. Nomos, law; astronomy, Deuteronomy, economy. Oikos, a bouse; economy, parochial. Orthos, right ; orthodox, orthoepy, or- thography. Pais (paid-os), a child, boy; pedagogue, pedant. Pathos, feeling; pathetic, sympathy. Phemi, I speak; blaspheme, prophecy. Philos, a friend, a lover ; philosophy, philanthropy. Phos (phot-os), light ; photograph, phosphorus. Physis, nature; physics, physiology. Planetes, a wanderer ; planet. Polis, a city; police, metropolis. Polys, many; polysyllable, polytechnic Pous (pod-os i, the foot; antipodes, tri pod. Pyr, fire ; empyrean, pyramid. Skopeo, I see; microscope, telescope. SopMa, wisdom ; philosophy, sophistry Sphaira, a globe; hemisphere. Stell5, 1 send; apostle, epistle. Strophe, a turning; apostrophe, catas- trophe. Teclme, art; technical, pyrotechnic. Tele, far-off ; telegraph, telescope. Temno, I cut; anatomy, atom, epitome. Theos, God; theology, atheism. Tithemi, I place; antithesis. TrepO, I turn; trope, trophy, tropic. Typos, a mark ; stereotype, typog- raphy. • Zdon, an animal; zodiac, zoology. 80 WORD-BUILDING. WORD-BUILDING. In the following Exercises, the stem is in each case a Modem English word. The simplest form in which the Old English or the Latin root appears in English is taken as the base or start- ing-point, and from it the derivatives are formed. The exer- cise of word-building here suggested may be freely practised with words that occur in the daily reading lessons, as it does not require a knowledge of any language but English. The object is to show how each derivative springs from the root-meaning of the English stem. It is also interesting to show how the addition of prefixes and suffixes modifies or adapts the root- meaning. For example, from the English stems heed and heart we have the following : — heed-ful-ly, in a careful manner. heed-ful-ness, the state of being careful, heed-less-ly, in a careless manner, heed-less-ness, the state of being careless. t heart-y heart-i-ness. Heart < heart-less heart-less-ness. \ heart-en dis-heart-en. Heed, care f heed-ful, full of care. heed-less, without care. ! ENGLISH ROOTS. BngUab stem. DertYattvM, back a-back, on the back, by surprise; back-ward, toward the back, slow; back-bite, to bite at the back, to slander one En hie sbaenos. bear bar ar, one who bean; for-bear, t<> bear forth or off, t<> abstain ; over-bear, t<> boar over or down, to overpower, bid for-bld, to bid <>tl' <>r away, to prohibit; un-bid-den, not asked. bold bold-ly, bold-like, In a bold manner; bold-ness, the quality "f being bold; em-bold-en, t<> make bold. bright bright-ly; bright-ness ; bright-en. WORD-BUILDING. 81 English Stem. Derivatives. cheap (lit. a bargain, a market) cheap-en; cheap-ness; chap- man, a dealer; Cheap-side and East-cheap, parts of London. come be-come, to come to, to suit ; come-ly, becoming ; in-come, what comes in ; over-come, to come above, to conquer. dark dark-ly; dark-en; dark-ness. drink drink-er, one who drinks; drunk-ard, one who gets drunk; drunk-en, made drunk. end end-less ; end- wise, endways, on end. even (lit. level, just) even-ly; even-ness; un-even, not even. fair (lit. bright) fair-ness ; fair-ly; un-fair. fear fear-ful, full of fear, afraid; fear-less. friend friend-ly; friend-ship; friend-less; un-friend-ly ; be- friend, to act as a friend to. get for-get, to get or put forth from the memory ; for-get-ful ; for-get-ful-ness. ghost (lit. breath) ghost-ly; ghast-ly, pale; a-ghast, terrified, as if by looking on a ghost. give gift, something given; for-give, to give away, to remit; for-give-ness ; mis-give, to give wrong, or amiss, to fill with doubt. ground ground-less, without ground or reason; under-ground. hard hard-y, full of hardness, strong, brave; hard-i-hood, bravery, confidence; hard-en; hard-ness; hard-ship, a state or thing hard to bear. have (lit. to hold) be-have, to hold oneself properly; be-hav- iour ; mis-be-have, to behave amiss. heal (lit. to make whole) heal-er; heal-th, state of being whole; heal-th-y; heal-th-ful: whole; wholesome. heart heart-y, full of heart; heart-i-ness ; heart-less; heart- less-ness ; heart-en, to put heart into, to encourage ; dis-heart-en, to discourage. heed heed-ful; heed-ful-ness ; heed-less; heed-less-ness. hold be-hold, to hold or bind with the eye; be-hold-en, bound, indebted ; up-hold ; with-hold, to hold from or back. home (lit. a dwelling) home-ly, home-like, plain; home-li-ness ; home-less ; home-spun, made at home ; ham-let, a little home, a small village. law (lit. something laid down) law-ful, in accordance with law ; law-ful-ness ; law-less, contrary to law ; lawless- ness ; law-giver, one who gives or makes laws ; law- suit, a suit or process at law ; out-law, one outside the law's protection ; law-yer, one skilled in law. lead lead-er; lead-er-ship ; mis-lead, to lead wrong or amiss. 6 82 WORD-BUILDING. English Stem. Derivatives. learn (lit. to teach oneself) learn-er; learn-ing; learn-ed; un- learn-ed. light (shining) light-en, to make light or clear; en-light-en; light-ning, that which lightens; light-house, a house for showing a light. light (not heavy) light-ly; light-ness; light-some, gay, lively; light-er, a boat used in light-ening or unloading ships ; a-light, to settle on lightly. like like-ly; like-li-hood ; like-ness; like-wise, in a like or similar way ; un-like ; un-like-ly. live a-live, in life ; live-ly, life-like, active ; live-li-ness ; live- li-hood, means of living ; out-live, to live beyond. long (lit. stretched out) long, to stretch out the mind toward, to desire; long-ish, rather long: leng-th, quality of being long ; leng-th-y ; leng-th-en. love lov-er; love-ly; love-li-ness ; be-lov-ed; un-love-ly. make mak-er; un-make: match, something made, or of the same make as another thing; match-less, unequalled. mind mind-ful; mind-ful-ness ; mind-less; re-mind. name name-less ; mis-name. need need-y; need-less; need-less-ly. own (lit. to have) own-er; own-er-ship; dis-own: owe, to have what is another's, to be bound to pay : ought, am bound. reck (lit. to heed) reck-less; reck-less-ness. rob (lit. to seize) rob-ber; rob-ber-y: rove; rov-er: be-reave; be-reave-ment. see see-r, one who sees the future, a prophet; fore-see; over- seer; sight; fore-sight; over-sight; un-sight-ly. set be-set, to set about; on-set, a setting on; over-set, to turn over; up-set; set-ter, a dog that sets, or stops, when it is near game; set-tie, to set, or fix; set-tl-er; set-tle-ment. slow slow-ness; slo-th, slowness; slo-th-ful ; slo-th-ful-ness ; slo-th-ful-ly. soft soft-en ; sof t-ly ; sof t-ness. stand stand-ard, something which itande, or is fixed; under- stand, to stand under, to support, to oomprehend; under-stand-ing ; with-stand, to stand against, to op- pose. teach (lit. to show) teach-er; teach-a-ble. true tru-th ; tru-th-ful; tru-th-ful-ly ; tru-ism, something evidently true: trust, belief in the troth of ;• p er so n or thing; in-trust; trust-ee, one t<« whom ■ thing ts ln« trusted : trust-y. WORD-BUILDING. 83 English Stem. Derivatives. turn turn-er ; re-turn, to turn back, or again ; over-turn ; up- turn. wake wak-en, to make to wake ; wake-ful, not inclined to sleep ; a-wake, not asleep; a-wak-en, to wake or rouse from sleep : "watch, to wake or wait, to look with attention ; watch-ful ; watch-ful-ness. wit ( lit. to know) wlt-ness, knowledge given in proof, one who gives knowledge in proof ; wit-less ; wit-ty : wise, hav- ing wit, or knowledge; wis-dom; un-wise; wiz-ard, one who is very wise. worth worth-y, full of worth ; worth-i-ness ; un-worth-y ; worth-less: wor-ship, worth-ship, state of being worthy; wor-ship-per ; wor-ship-ful. LATIN ROOTS. English Stem. Derivatives. act {actus, done; from ago, I do) act-ion, doing, thing done; act-ive, engaged in doing ; en-act, to put in act, to per- form; en-act-ment; trans-act; act-or; re-act; act-u-aL apt {aptus, fit) apt-ly, fit-ly; apt-ness; apt-i-tude; ad-apt, to make apt or fit ; ad-apt-a-tion. art {ars, art-is, art) art-iul; art-less; art-less-ness. boon (bonus, good) boun-ty, goodness, a gift; boun-te-ous; boun-ti-fuL camp (campus, a plain) en-camp, to make a camp; en-camp- ment ; de-camp, to break up a carnp, to go away. cede (cedo, I go; cessus, given up) ac-cede, to go to, to agree to; ac-cess; ac-cess-ion; ac-cess-i-ble ; con-cede; con-cess- ion; inter-cede; inter-cess-ion; pre-cede; re-cede; ex- ceed; pro-ceed; suc-ceed; suc-cess; suc-cess-or. civ-ic (civis, a citizen) civ-il, belonging to a city; civ-il-ize, to make civil; civ-il-i-za-tion, the act of making civil; civ-il-i-ty, city manners. close (claudo, I shut; clausus, closed) close-ness ; en-close; en- clos-ure ; dis-close, to unclose. core (cor, cord-is, the heart) cord-i-al, hearty; cord-i-al-i-ty ; ac-cord, to make cordial, to agree; con-cord, hearts together; dis-cord, hearts opposed; re-cord, to call back to the heart : cour-age, heartiness, valour ; en- cour-age; dis-cour-age. cure (cura, care) cur-a-ble; cur-ate, one who has the cure or care of souls; cur-a-tive, able to cure; cur-a-tor, one 84 WORD-BUILDING. English Stem. Derivatives. who takes care of a thing ; pro-cure, to take care of, to obtain; se-cure, without care, free from danger; se-cur-i-ty ; in-se-cure ; ac-cur-ate, done with care. course (cui-ro, I run ; cursus, run) cours-er ; cours-ing ; con-course, a running together, a meeting ; dis-course, a running to and fro; inter-course, a running between, communica- tion ; re-course ; cur-rent ; con-cur, to agree ; in-cur ; oc-cur; oc-cur-rence ; re-cur; ex-curs-ion; ex-curs-ion- ist; in-curs-ion; suc-cour, to run up to, to assist. date (do, I give; datus, given) ante-date, to date beforehand, or too soon; mis-date, to date wrong; post-date, to date afterwards, or too late : add, to put to ■ ad-dit-ion, act of adding ; con-dit-ion, state of things put together ; 6-dit, to give out, to publish ; e-dit-ion ; e-dit-or. duct (duco, I lead; ductus, lead; dux, a leader) duct-ile, able to draw out; duct-il-i-ty ; con-duct; con-duct-or; pro-duct; pro-duct-ive ; pro-duct-ion; intro-duce; pro-duce; re- duce ; e-duc-ate, to draw out the faculties : duke, a leader ; duke-dom, rule of a duke ; duch-y ; duc-aL dure (durus, hard) dur-a-ble, lasting; dur-a-ble-ness ; dur-a- tion, continuance in time ; en-dure, to bear ; en-dur- ance ; ob-dur-ate, stubborn ; ob-dur-acy. err (erro, I wander) err-or ; err-ant ; err-at-ic, wandering ; un-err-ing; err-o-ne-ous. fact (facio, I make; /actus, made) fact-or, one who makes; fact-or-y, place where things are made ; fact-ion ; af-fect, to act on, to move the feelings ; af- feet-ion ; af-fect-ion- ate; de-fect, something not done, a shortcoming; de- fect-ive; ef-fect, a deed drawn out of something else; ef-fect-ive; per-fect, something done through and through, or thoroughly; im-per-fect. -fer (fero, I bear) con-fer, to bring together; con-fer-ence, a meeting; de-fer, to put off; de-fer-ence; dif-fer, to beer or put apart, to disagree; dif-f er-ence ; of-fer, to put forward; pre-fer; re-fer; suf-fer; trans-fer. firm (jinn us, strong) flrm-ness; in-firm, not strong ; in-flrm-i-ty ; ln-flrm-a-ry, a plane lor the Infirm, a hospital; flrm-a- ment, the sky, supposed by the enoients to be solid; af-flrm, to make strong, (■■ assert a.s true; con-firm, to make firm together, to make more firm. form [format shape) form-al, aooording to form; form-al-i-ty ; in-form-al; con-form, to be or make of the same form with; con-form-i-ty; con-form-ist ; non-con-form-ist; de-form, to spoil the form of; in-form, to put into WORD-BUILDING. 85 English Stem. Derivatives. form ; mis-in-form ; per-form, to form or do through and through ; per-form-ance ; re-form, to form again ; re-form-a-tion ; trans-form, to change the form of. grace... {gratus, thankful) grace-fail; grace-less; grac-i-ous, with much grace ; dis-grace, being out of grace ; dis-grace- ful : grat-is, by grace, for nothing ; grate-ful ; grat-i- tude; grat-i-fy; grat-i-fi-ca-tion. habit {habeo, I have; habitus, had) habit-u-ate, to acquire a habit ; habit-a-ble ; in-habit, to make a habit of living in ; in-habit-ant ; habit-u-al : ex-hibit, to hold out to view; pro-hlbit, to hold forward, to hinder. -ject (jacio, I throw; jactus, thrown) e-ject, to throw out; e-ject-ment; inter-ject, to throw between; intersect- ion; ob-ject, to throw against; ob-ject-ion, the act of throwing against ; pro-ject; re-ject; sub-ject, to throw or put under; ad-ject-ive, a word thrown or added to a noun; de-ject-ed, cast down. Join (jungo, I join.; functus, joined) join-er; joint; joint-ly; junct-ion, the act of joining; ad-join; con-join; con- junct-ion; dis-join; re-join. -lect {lego, I gather; lectus, gathered) col-lect, to gather to- gether; col-lect-or; col-lect-ion ; re-col-lect; e-lect, to gather or choose out ; ne-g-lect, not to gather ; se-lect, to choose apart, to pick out. magni- {magnus, great) magni-fy, to make great; magni-fi-cent ; magni-tude, greatness. -mit {mitto, I send; missus, sent) com-mit, to send with a thing, to intrust ; com-mit-tee, persons to whom a thing is committed ; e-mit, to send out ; o-mit, to send away, to leave out ; re-mit ; sub-mit ; trans-mit. note {nota, a mark) not-a-ble, worthy of note ; not-a-tion, act of noting ; not-ice, taking note ; not-ice-a-ble ; not-i-fy, to make known ; de-note, to note or mark, to mean. ord-er (ordo, ordin-is, order) ord-er-ly, with good order; dis- ord-er, want of order ; ordin-a-ry, according to the com- mon order ; extra-ordin-a-ry, out of the common order. part (pars, part-is, a part) part-ner, one who has a part with others ; part-ner-ship ; part-i-al, relating to a part only ; im-part-i-al ; a-part, parted from ; de-part, to part asunder ; de-part-ure ; im-part, to give a part of. -pel (pello, I drive; pulms, driven) corn-pel, to drive together; dis-pel, to drive asunder ; ex-pel, to drive out ; im-pel, to drive on ; pro-pel, to drive forward ; re-pel, to drive back : pulse, a beating ; im-pulse ; re-pulse. 86 WORD-BUILDING. English Stem. Derivatives. -pend {pendo, I hang; pensus, hung) ap-pend, to hang to; de- pend, to hang from ; de-pend-ant, one who depends on another ; in-de-pend-ent ; in-de-pend-ence ; pend-ant, something hanging ; sus-pend, to hang under. -pend {pendo, I weigh) ex-pend,to weigh out, to pay; ex-pend-i- ture, what is paid out ; pen-sion, a weighing, a payment ; dis-pense, to weigh out in portions ; ex-pense. -pone (pono, I place) de-pone, to lay down, as a pledge, to give evidence ; com-pon-ent, placed together ; post-pone, to place after, to put off ; re-pone, to replace in an office. -pose {pono, I place; positus, placed) posit-ion, state of being placed, place ; posit-ive, placed or fixed ; post, a place ; post-ure, position of body; com-pose, to place toge- ther ; de-com-pose, to place apart ; de-pose, to put down; dis-pose; ex-pose; im-pose ; op-pose; pro- pose ; re-pose ; sup-pose. -port {porto, I carry) ex-port, to carry or send out of a country ; im-port, to carry into a country; re-port, to carry back, to repeat; sup-port, to carry or bear from under; trans-port ; port-a-ble ; port-er, a carrier. press {premo, I press; prcssus, pressed) corn-press, to press together ; de-press, to press down ; ex-press, t< > press out, to utter; im-press, to press upon; op-press; re-press; sup-press. -rect {rego, I rule; rectus, straight) rect-or, a ruler, in the church; rect-or-y, place where a rector lives; rect-i-fy, to make right; rect-i-tude, uprightness; cor-rect, to put right; di-rect, to guide; e-rect, to set up. -rupt {rumpo, I break; ruptus, broken) ab-rupt, broken off; cor-rupt, broken to pieces, f ull of errors ; cor-rupt-i-ble; dis-rupt-ion, breaking asunder; e-rupt-ion, breaking out; inter-rupt; ir-rupt-ion, a breaking in; rupt-ure. scribe {scribo, I write) a-scribe, to write an addition to; de- scribe, to write about; in-scribe, to write upon J sub- scribe, to write (the name) under; sub-scrip-tlon. -script (scrij'tiis, written) script, written ohsjaoter; script-ure, a saeied writing; 8Cript-U-raL -side {.v(Uo, I sit) pre-side, to sit. before or over others ; re-side, to sit down, to dwell] sub-side, to sit under, to settle; as-sid-U-OUS, sitting close at work ; in-sid-i-ous, sitting in wait, treaoherous; as-Biz-es, sittings » .f a oourt. session.. ( s a ss io, a sitting) as-sess, to set or ti\ a tax ; as-se8s-ment; pos-sess, to sit as mester.of] pos-sess-ive; pos-sebs-ion, act, of possessing, or thing possessed. WORD-BUILDING. 87 English Stem. Derivatives. -serve (servo, I keep) con-serve, to keep together or entire; con-serv-a-to-ry, place for conserving (flowers) ; ob-serve, to keep in view ; ob-serv-a-to-ry, place for observing (the stars) ; un-ob-serv-ed ; pre-serve, to keep, before or in presence of an enemy ; re-serve, to keep back. sign (signum, a mark) sig-nal, remarkable ; sig-nal-ize, to make remarkable; sig-ni-fy, to make a sign for, to mean; sig-ni-fi-cant ; as-sign, to mark to a person ; de-sign, to mark out, to plan ; en-sign ; re-sign, to sign away. -sist (sisto, I stop, stand) as-sist, to stand to or by; con-sist, to stand along with ; de-sist, to stand away, to forbear ; ex-ist, to stand out, to live ; co-ex-ist, to live together ; pre-ex-ist, to live at an earlier time ; in-sist, to stand on, to be firm ; per-sist, to stand through, to persevere ; re- sist, to stand against ; sub-sist, to stand under, to have the means of living ; ir-re-sist-i-ble. state (sto, I stand; status, stood; stans, standing) state-ly, showing state or dignity; state-ment, a thing stated; stat-ion, a standing-place ; stat-ion-a-ry, standing still ; stat-ion-er, keeper of a book station or stand ; stat-ion- er-y; e-state, standing, property. tend (tendo, I stretch, I strive) at-tend, to stretch the mind to; at-tent-ion; con-tend, to strive with; dis-tend, to stretch apart; ex-tend, to stretch out; ex-ten-sive; in-tend, to stretch or fix the mind on; pre-tend, to stretch something out before one, so as to hide. tract (traho, I draw; tractus, drawn) tract-a-ble, able to be drawn; abs-tract, to draw out; at-tract, to draw to; con-tract, to draw together; de-tract, to draw away from; dis-tract; ex-tract; re-tract; sub-tract: trace, a track made by drawing ; re-trace. verse (i-erto, I turn; versus, turned) verse, a line of poetry, at the end of which the reader turns to the next line; vers-i-fy, to make verses; vers-ion, a passage turned, an exercise; con- verse, to turn together, to talk; ad- verse, turned to, or against ; di-verse, in different direc- tions; di-vers-i-fy ; per-verse, turned thoroughly. vis-it {video, I see; visus, seen) vls-it-or; vis-ion, thing seen; vis-i-ble, able to be seen ; in-vis-i-ble ; re-vise, to look over again; re-vis-ion; pro-vide, to see to beforehand; pro-vis-ion; e-vid-ent, easily seen. 88 PARAPHRASING. PARAPHRASING. 1. A Paraphrase expresses the meaning of a passage of prose or of poetry in different language from that of the original. The change made is one of form only, not of substance. A paraphrase resembles a free translation ; a translation, that is, which, without following the original word by word, gives its pith or spirit in a new and original form. 2. Paraphrasing of this kind is one of the most useful and prac- tical exercises in Composition. It obviates the chief difficulty which young people encounter in attempting to write — the diffi- culty, namely, of finding material. The task of casting ideas in ilie mould of sentences is of itself sufficiently trying for the powers of the pupil ; but his difficulty is made much greater by asking him to invent the ideas as well. In paraphrase, the ideas are supplied. The pupil is required only to give them original expression. 3. To this end, however, it is necessary that the pupil should make himself master of the passage to be paraphrased. When he shall have firmly grasped its meaning, he will have little difficulty in expressing it in language of his own. 4. There is no better way of bringing out the salient points of a passage than to prepare an exhaustive series of questions on it. The answers to these questions, given, not in the words of the original, but in the scholar's own words, will form a com- plete abstract of the passage. To make a paraphrase in this way, each answer must be in the form of a complete sentence; and care must be taken to connect the several sentences, so as to make the narrative continuous. 5. The following are the principal changes that maybe made in the course of paraphrasing: — (1.) Change of words; as, — " The power of Fortune is oonfeeaed only by (he miserable; for the happy Impute all their rooooee t.<> prudence and merit." Changed: — The injiinm; ( ,f Fortune is itttM and patient : 'maintain the city; deliverance is at hand. I know niv doom, and commit my wife and children to your gratitude." The rage of the Arabs confirmed his evidence, and the devoted hero fell trans- fixed with ;i score of spears. \ \ III I. II is or IMIKASE. A vain appeal. A usrirss application; an onsuoosssral request; :i barren request. Implore the aid. -Beg tin- assistance; throw tntmsaWn on the clemency; ask for ths liolp. PARAPHRASING. 91 Passed the intrenchments. — Made his way through the lines; got beyond the siege-works. Accomplished his mission. — Succeeded in his object; effected his pur- pose ; secured the favour of the Emperor ; obtained a promise of aid. Assist their enterprise. — Give them help; further their designs; espouse their cause. Affected to yield. — Pretended to submit; made them believe that he acquiesced. Conducted within hearing". — Led near; brought within ear-shot; could make himself heard by. Maintain the city. — Don't surrender; holdout. Questions. 1. Who were besieging a Lom- bard city in 874? 2. To whom did the Lombards apply for help? With what suc- cess? * 3. What did they determine to do? 4. How were their wishes con- veyed to him? 5. What answer did the Em- peror return? and what did the Lombard do? Complete Answers. 1. The Saracens were besieging one of the cities of the Lombards in 874. 2. The Lombards prayed for succour from the French King; but in vain. 3. They then determined to throw themselves on the clemency of the Greek Emperor. 4. Their wishes were conveyed to him by a brave Lombard, who made his way by night through the enemy's lines. 5. The Emperor promised to send immediate succour to the be- sieged city ; and the Lombard hastened back with the tdad tid- 6. What befell him on his way? 7. What did the Saracens re- quire of him? 6. Before he could reach the city again, he was captured by the Saracens. 7. They required of him as the price of his life, that he should espouse their cause, and act faith- fully with them against his fellow- citizens. * It is often advisable, and sometimes necessary, to join the answers to two or more questions in one sentence. The questions are numbered according to the sentences ; and when two questions appear under one number, it is intended that the answers should be conjoined. 92 PARAPHRASING. 8. How did he act at first? How 8. At first he pretended to sub- when he neared the walls? mit, and advanced with the enemy toward the city; but no sooner could he make himself be heard by his friends on the ramparts, than he shouted to them that deliver- ance was at hand, and that they were on no account to surrender. 9. What did he add about him- 9. He added, " I know my fate; self? but I intrust my wife and children to my fellow-citizens.'' 10. What did the Arabs then 10. Thereupon the furious Arabs do? rushed on him, and despatched him with many wounds. THE PARAPHRASE. Self- Devotion. — The Saracens were besieging one of the cities of the Lombards in 874. The Lombards prayed for help from the French King ; but in vain. They then determined to throw themselves on the clemency of the Greek Emperor. Their wishes were conveyed to him by a brave Lombard, who made his way by night through the enemy's lines. The Emperor promised to send immediate succour to the besieged city ; and the Lombard hastened back with the glad tidings. Before he could reach the city again, he was captured by the Saracens ; who required, as the price of his life, that he should espouse their cause, and act faithfully with them against his fellow- citizens. At first he pretended to submit, and advanced with the enemy toward the city ; but no sooner could he make him- self be heard by his friends on the ramparts, than he .shouted to them that deliverance was at hand, and that the) were on no account to surrender. He added, " I know my fate ; but I intrust my wife and children to my fellow-citizens." There* u pon the furious Arabs rushed on him, and despatched him with many wounds. y.B. — For practice, the scholars should be required to answer in writing questions on their reading lessons. SENTENCE-MAKING. 93 SENTENCE-MAKING. 1. Use simple words. It is a common fault of young writers to use fine-sounding words, of which they often do not know the meaning. This habit should be as much as possible discouraged. As a rule, the scholar should not go to the dictionary in search of words. He should use his own stock of words, and should refer to a dictionary only when he is in doubt about the exact meaning and use of a word which he has occasion to employ. It is worth remembering that the most powerful orators — in the pulpit and on the platform, at the bar and in Parliament — have been men who preferred short and telling words of English origin, to high-flown terms borrowed from classical sources. The reason is plain : the former belong to our native speech ; the latter are of foreign origin. " He proceeded to his resi- dence, and there perused the volume," is weak and affected. "He went home and read the book," is plain and forcible, and goes straight to the mark. 2. Use few words. Never use two words when your meaning can be expressed by one. Instead of " Through the whole period of his existence, say " Through his whole life." Instead of " He writes very like the man whose pupil he was," say " He writes very like his master." Avoid also the heaping up of words of similar mean- ing in such phrases as, " clear and obvious," " mild and gentle," " cruel and barbarous." 3. Use the right words. That is to say, use the words that most exactly express your meaning. Here the dictionaries are often misleading. " Con- stant" and " perpetual" are words of similar meaning, and they are given for each other in most dictionaries ; yet the one may be used in many places where it would be improper to use the other. For example, we may say correctly that a boy and his 94 SENTENCE- MAKING. dog were " constant playmates ; " but to call them " perpetual playmates" would be absurd. "Carry" and "convey" are synonyms; but they cannot always be used for each other. "The dog fetched and carried" is good English; "The dog fetched and conveyed" is nonsense. 4. Put the right words in the right places. This is necessary, to secure clearness. The misplacing of a word or a phrase may alter the meaning of an entire sentence. Even where the meaning of the individual words is not mistak- able, it is important that the construction should leave no room for doubt. For example : " The prisoner heard the neighing of his horse, as he lay at night by the side of one of the tents." Here it is not clear whether the prisoner or his horse " lay at night by the side of one of the tents." To make this point clear, say : " The prisoner, as he lay at night by the side of one of the tents, heard the neighing of his horse." Again : " She hit a man with a stone on his back" is ambiguous. "She hit a man on his back with a stone" is clear. " Edward fled without drawing bridle to Dunbar" may suggest an absurd idea. " Edward fled to Dunbar without drawing bridle" is unmis- takable. 5. Write short sentences. In a long sentence a great many ideas are put before the mind together. The mind is thereby subjected to a needless strain, which often causes confusion. In short sentences, "ii the other hand, each point is presented Separately. The ideas are taken in by the reader in detail; and he places them in their true connection all the more easily because lie seizes each of them by itself. If the plan of using short words in short sentences were closely followed, it would overcome most of the difficulties which young people have in writing correctly and effectively. Grammatical errors would be less frequent, Kecause involved constructions would be avoided. There would be no occasion, besides, for attending to niceties of punctuation. Indeed it should rarely be accessary tor young writers to use any other points than the period and the comma. PUNCTUATION. 95 PUNCTUATION. 1. Punctuation is the use of points in composition. The points most used are, — The Period ( . ) and the Comma ( , ) In some cases it is necessary also to use The Semicolon ( ; ) and the Colon ( : ) 2. The chief use of Punctuation is to make the meaning of what we write as plain as possible. Points help to do this in two ways : — First, by separating words that are to be kept apart in meaning ; secondly, by grouping words that are to be taken together. EXAMPLE. " Ever and anon he pressed the hand to his lips, then hugged it to his breast again, murmuring that it was warmer now." Here a comma is used to separate the two statements, " he pressed the hand" and he "hugged it"; and the comma after " again" serves to connect that word with " hugged it to his breast," and, at the same time, to separate it from " murmur- ing." The period marks the close of the sentence ; that is to say, it separates the whole sentence from that which follows. 3. The period and the comma are the points most frequently used, and some writers rarely use any other. 4. The period marks the close of a sentence. If a sen- tence be Simple, and contain no explanatory phrases, no other point is needed. 5. The comma separates two simple statements, or two explanatory phrases, or an interjected word from the rest of the sentence. 96 PUNCTUATION. EXAMPLES. Hubert rode on, his brother's horse being lame. Hubert rode on his brother's horse, being lame. Shakespeare, the great dramatist, was born at Stratford-on- Avon, where he also died. History, moreover, is a very profitable study. Henry was kind, liberal, and forgiving. He was kind and liberal, gentle and forgiving. G. The semicolon is used to separate the members of a sentence when one or more of these are complex. When a sentence consists of several great divisions, within which commas are used, the great divisions are separated from one another by semicolons : — EXAMPLE. " Sloth makes all things difficult, but Industry all easy; and he that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night; while Laziness travels so slowly, that Poverty soon overtakes him." 7. The colon is used to separate members of a sen- tence in which semicolons are used :— EXAMPLE. " If this life is unhappy, it is a burden to us which it is difficult to bear; if it is in every respect happy, it is dreadful to he deprived of it: so that, in either case, the result is the same; for we must exist in anxiety and apprehension." 8. The dash (— ) is used to indicate a sudden break in a sentence. EXAMPLE. At every place winch we visited London, Taris, Lmssels, I'.i rliu we found letters awaiting us. '.). The interrogation (?) is used after questions, and the exclamation ( ! ) after expressions of surprise or sor- row. EXAMPLE (> shame ! where is thy Mush? ^ U -1 RETURN CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT TO— ^ 202 Main Library 46 LOAN PERIOD 1 " HOME USE 2 ; 3 4 5 ( b ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS RENEWALS AND RECHARGES MAY RF m^c m r. LOAN PERIODS ARE l-UONTH^iSl-JSiP* * DAYS PR ' OR ^O DUE DAI RENEWALS: CA.L (A^^ot ^ AN ° , " YEAR - DUE AS STAMPED BELOW UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKI