CHAPTER II.

Of the Proper Spelling (Orthography) of Words. WORDS would be written correctly, if no letter were improperly substituted for another, as c, t, i, æ, for t, c, y, e, œ. If we had the autographs of the ancients, Cicero, Cæsar, Virgil, &c., and these had all the same way of spelling, or had even all spelt correctly*, nothing would be more easy than to write properly. Since, however, we have received them through a long series of transcribers, who often did not understand the language, and wrote words partly by sight and sound and partly by guess, and made innumerable errors: since also even the ancients were not unanimous in their pronunciation and spelling; as for instance, in Quintilian's time, by his own testimony, some wrote set, Alexanter, &c.: since, as happens with respect to our own language, not all the Roman writers had a critical knowledge of their language, but wrote according to their pronunciation and judgment, or the example of others, without any certain reason: since also the inscriptions on monuments and coins were not always certainly composed by critics in the language, and grammarians even a few centuries after Cicero

• This will appear strange to the inexperienced, who remember, that they can learn the orthography of their own language in a short time under any writing-master: but they consider that they know orthography, if they can write like the greater number. None, however, but a critic can know, whether or no he writes orthographically, i. e. correctly; nor even he at all times.

are divided in the spelling of many words :-there is no surer ground on which we can depend, than etymology as from audacis, audacia not audatia; from sapientis, sapientia not sapiencia.

But in many words this is unknown, as in gleba or glæba. In many it is doubtful, as in obscœnus. The settling, therefore, the orthography of many words is a very critical point. As far as possible, we must be guided by the derivation: where this fails, we must spell words, to the best of our judgment, according to manuscripts and inscriptions. We may, however, remark, that y, ch, th, ph, are Greek letters, and should only occur in Greek words; except perhaps in inchoo and pulcher, which cannot readily be derived from the Greek. Rh also is only usual in Greek words; but Rhodanus, Rhenus, and Rhætia, which are not from the Greek, should be written without h: the contrary is retained from custom. The Greek at, o, ε, are expressed by æ, œ, and è or i.

I.) The following words, unquestionably, are correctly spelt.

Adfero, adtuli, adlatum; adcipio, adgredior, adsideo, adsiduus, adtraho; not affero, attuli, allatum; accipio, aggredior, assideo, assiduus, attraho: so also in all words compounded with ad. For there is no satisfactory reason why d should be changed into the following letter,-since it is contrary to the derivation; in no case established, that the ancients so wrote; and makes the discovery of the derivation difficult for beginners. The latter mode of spelling some consider euphonious, i. e. harmonious : but this is a vain imagination. Every thing sounds well, which is correct, and to which the ear is accustomed. We write admiror, ad fontem, ad litus; not ammiror, &c. and yet the sound is unobjectionable. The same applies to all the prepositions,

con, in, sub, per, &c. in which, properly, no letter should be altered. It is however difficult to withstand general usage.

Adolescens not adulescens: since it is a participle from olesco, and properly means a shoot or offspring.

Absporto not asporto: since it comes from abs and porto. Ancora not anchora: it comes from the Greek x.

Arctus, a, um, not artus: from arceo, arcitus.

Assimilo or adsimilo, not assimulo; so similo not simulo, as they come from similis; so dissimilo, &c. Yet the other way of spelling is more common.

Audacia not audatia; from audax audacis: and so in all similar instances, as ferocia, &c.

Balineum is more correct than balneum. All contractions are of later origin, and arise from a quick pronunciation.

Benevolus benevole, not benivolus benivole; from bene. So also malevolus, &c.

Bacchus not Bachus: from the Greek.

Bosporus not Bosphorus: it comes from the Greek Bóσropos. Ceteri not cæteri or cœteri: it comes from the Greek repoi, the aspirate being changed into c, as in cornu horn.

Conligo or conlego is more correct than colligo; so conmeo, not commeo. Why should n be changed into m, and the origin of the word be made obscure? Coago also is more correct than cogo, but the latter usage prevails: thus in Greek it would be preferable to write συνλέγω ἐνλείπω, and not συλλέγω ἐλλείπω. Delicia not delitiæ; so delicatus, from delicio.

Emitus not emptus, from emo.

Exspectare not expectare, from ex and spectare; s should not be omitted: so exsto, exsisto, exstruo, exsequor, exsequiæ, &c. Genitrix not genetrix, from gigno genitus; whence comes genitor.

Idcirco not iccirco, from id and circo.

Idemtidem not identidem, from idem: thus eumdem, eamdem, eorumdem, earumdem, are better than eundem, eandem, &c. It is easier to pronounce the latter, but this is no argument for a change in the spelling.

Inclytus not inclitus or inclutus, from xλów, xλutós: inclutus however is tolerable, as Sulla for Sylla. When inclutus was formed from inclytus, it was afterwards changed into inclitus, as decumus decimus.

In dies not indies, since they are two words; dies the accusative after in. Thus also, in diem, in annum. So in primis, in posterum, not imprimis, &c.

Inlino not illino; so inlustris, inmitis, inprimo, not illustris, immitis, imprimo: incorrect pronunciation should not be the rule of spelling; since also we write infinitus, infinitivus, though they are often pronounced imfinitus, &c., and the n is not altered to m, for an imaginary euphony, there is no reason for this change in the others.

Labsus not lapsus; from labor: those who introduced ps followed the pronunciation, or, in imitation of the Greek, imagined that ps was always preferable to bs: the same takes place in scripsi.

Lapicidina not lapidicina, from lapis and cædo.

Monimentum not monumentum, (from moneo monitum,) a remembrance of a person or thing; u arose as decimus decumus, docimentum documentum.

Museum not Museum; from Mouratov.

Numus not nummus; from vóuioμa.

Opsonium not obsonium; from ov: ob probably arose from some notion of the preposition ob.

Pœna not pæna; from the Greek Towý.

Pomorium not pomerium; from post and murus, Liv. 1. 44. The ancients wrote morus, murus; Poenus, Punus.

Ptolemæus not Ptolomæus, from the Greek róλeμos for Tóλeμos it means warlike.

:

Quidquid not quicquid; quid doubled, from quisquis : thus quamquam is better than quanquam. Euphony, which some allege, is quite visionary.

Rætia, Renus, Rodanus, without h, since they are not derived from the Greek.

Scena not scæna; from σxŋvý.

Scribsi scribtum are more correct than scripsi scriptum ; from scribo.

Sepulcrum, simulacrum, lavacrum, not sepulchrum, &c. They are derived, not from the Greek, but from the participles sepultus, &c.

Strategema not stratagema: from the Greek στpathynμa.

Suboles not soboles; from sub and oleo, olesco, to grow; properly to grow up.

Sumsi sumtum, not sumpsi sumptum : it comes from sumo, not sumpo.

Tæda not teda; from dats, accus. dada: hence dæda, tæda.

Tiro not tyro: since it does not come from the Greek: torus not thorus, for the same reason.

Tropæum not trophæum; from Tрónaιov: for the same reason triumpus properly, and not triumphus from píaubos.

Valitudo not valetudo: from valitum.

Versus not vorsus; from verto.

II.) The following are probably correct:

Ægæum not Ægeum: from the Greek aiyaiov.

Auctor, auctoritas, instead of autor or author, &c.: since the Greek writers express it auxтúpitas. It appears to come from augeo, auctum; though the connexion between the meanings is

obscure.

Cœlo, are; not cælo: it comes from xoiλov, and signifies to hollow, to make a hole. Hence cœlum heaven is more correct