Changes and specimens of the English language
Министерство
образования Республики Беларусь
Учреждение
образования
"Гомельский
государственный университет
им. Ф. Скорины"
Филологический
факультет
Курсовая
работа
CHANGES
AND SPECIMENS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Исполнитель:
Студентка
группы К-53 Козлова Т.Е.
Гомель
2006
Содержание
Introduction
1 The orthography of English
2 ENGLISH OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
3 ENGLISH OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
4 ENGLISH OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
5. ENGLISH OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY
6. ENGLISH OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY
7.ENGLISH OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY
8. ENGLISH, OR ANGLO-SAXON, OF THE TWELFTH CENTURY
9. ANGLO-SAXON OF THE ELEVENTH CENTURY, COMPARED WITH
ENGLISH
10. ANGLO-SAXON IN THE TIME OF KING ALFRED
Conclusion
Literature
"Quot
enim verba, et nonnunquam in deterius, hoc, quo vivimus, saeculo, partim aliqa,
partim nulla necessitate cogente, mutata sunt?"--ROB. AINSWORTH: Lat.
Dict., 4to; Praef., p. xi.
In
the use of language, every one chooses his words from that common stock which
he has learned, and applies them in practice according to his own habits and
notions. If the style of different writers of the same age is various, much
greater is the variety which appears in the productions of different ages.
Hence the date of a book may often be very plausibly conjectured from the
peculiarities of its style. As to what is best in itself, or best adapted to
the subject in hand, every writer must endeavour to become his own judge. He
who, in any sort of composition, would write with a master's hand, must first
apply himself to books with a scholar's diligence. He must think it worth his
while to inform himself, that he may be critical. Desiring to give the student
all the advantage, entertainment, and satisfaction, that can be expected from a
work of this kind, I shall subjoin a few brief specimens in illustration of
what has been said in the foregoing chapter. The order of time will be followed
inversely; and, as Saxon characters are not very easily obtained, or very apt
to be read, the Roman letters will be employed for the few examples to which
the others would be more appropriate. But there are some peculiarities of
ancient usage in English, which, for the information of the young reader, it is
proper in the first place to explain.
With
respect to the letters, there are several changes to be mentioned. (1.) The
pages of old books are often crowded with capitals: it was at one time the
custom to distinguish all nouns, and frequently verbs, or any other important
words, by heading them with a great letter. (2.) The letter Ess, of the lower
case, had till lately two forms, the long and the short, as [tall-s] and s; the
former very nearly resembling the small f, and the latter, its own capital. The
short s was used at the end of words, and the long [tall-s], in other places;
but the latter is now laid aside, in favour of the more distinctive form. (3.)
The letters I and J were formerly considered as one and the same. Hence we find
hallelujah for halleluiah, Iohn for John, iudgement for judgement, &c. And
in many dictionaries, the words beginning with J are still mixed with those
which begin with I. (4.) The letters U and V were mixed in like manner, and for
the same reason; the latter being a consonant power given to the former, and at
length distinguished from it by a different form. Or rather, the figure of the
capital seems to have been at last appropriated to the one, and that of the
small letter to the other. But in old books the forms of these two letters are
continually confounded or transposed. Hence it is, that our Double-u is
composed of two Vees; which, as we see in old books, were sometimes printed
separately: as, VV, for W; or vv, for w.
The
orthography of our language, rude and unsettled as it still is in many
respects, was formerly much more variable and diverse. In books a hundred years
old or more, we often find the most common words spelled variously by the same
writer, and even upon the very same page. With respect to the forms of words, a
few particulars may here be noticed: (1.) The article an, from which the n was
dropped before words beginning with a consonant sound, is often found in old
books where a would be more proper; as, an heart, an help, an hill, an one, an
use. (2.) Till the seventeenth century, the possessive case was written without
the apostrophe; being formed at different times, in es, is, ys, or s, like the
plural; and apparently without rule or uniformity in respect to the doubling of
the final consonant: as Goddes, Godes, Godis, Godys, or Gods, for God's; so
mannes, mannis, mannys or mans, for man's. Dr. Ash, whose English Grammar was
in some repute in the latter part of the eighteenth century, argued against the
use of the apostrophe, alleging that it was seldom used to distinguish the
possessive case till about the beginning of that century; and he then
prophesied that the time would come, when correct writers would lay it aside
again, as a strange corruption, an improper "departure from the original
formation" of that case of English nouns. And, among the speculations of
these latter days, I have somewhere seen an attempt to disparage this useful
sign, and explode it, as an unsightly thing never well established. It does not
indeed, like a syllabic sign, inform the ear or affect the sound; but still it
is useful, because it distinguishes to the eye, not only the case, but the number,
of the nouns thus marked. Pronouns, being different in their declension, do not
need it, and should therefore always be written without it.
The
common usage of those who have spoken English, has always inclined rather to
brevity than to melody; contraction and elision of the ancient terminations of
words, constitute no small part of the change which has taken place, or of the
difference which perhaps always existed between the solemn and the familiar
style. In respect to euphony, however, these terminations have certainly
nothing to boast; nor does the earliest period of the language appear to be
that in which they were the most generally used without contraction. That
degree of smoothness of which the tongue was anciently susceptible, had
certainly no alliance with these additional syllables. The long sonorous
endings which constitute the declensions and conjugations of the most admired
languages, and which seem to chime so well with the sublimity of the Greek, the
majesty of the Latin, the sweetness of the Italian, the dignity of the Spanish,
or the polish of the French, never had any place in English. The inflections
given to our words never embraced any other vowel power than that of the short e
or i; and even, this we are inclined to dispense with, whenever we can; so that
most of our grammatical inflections are, to the ear, nothing but consonants
blended with the final syllables of the words to which they are added. Ing for
the first participle, er for the comparative degree, and est for the
superlative, are indeed added as whole syllables; but the rest, as d or ed for
preterits and perfect participles, s or es for the plural number of nouns, or
for the third person singular of verbs, and st or est for the second person
singular of verbs, nine times in ten, fall into the sound or syllable with
which the primitive word terminates. English verbs, as they are now commonly used,
run through their entire conjugation without acquiring a single syllable from
inflection, except sometimes when the sound of d, s, or st cannot be added to
them.
This
simplicity, so characteristic of our modern English, as well as of the Saxon
tongue, its proper parent, is attended with advantages that go far to
compensate for all that is consequently lost in euphony, or in the liberty of
transposition. Our formation of the moods and tenses, by means of a few
separate auxiliaries, all monosyllabic, and mostly without inflection, is not
only simple and easy, but beautiful, chaste, and strong. In my opinion, our
grammarians have shown far more affection for the obsolete or obsolescent
terminations en, eth, est, and edst, than they really deserve. Till the beginning
of the sixteenth century, en was used to mark the plural number of verbs, as, they
sayen for they say; after which, it appears to have been dropped. Before the
beginning of the seventeenth century, s or es began to dispute with th or eth the
right of forming the third person singular of verbs; and, as the Bible and
other grave books used only the latter, a clear distinction obtained, between
the solemn and the familiar style, which distinction is well known at this day.
Thus we have, He runs, walks, rides, reaches, &c., for the one; and, He
runneth, walketh, rideth, reacheth, &c., for the other. About the same
time, or perhaps earlier, the use of the second person singular began to be
avoided in polite conversation, by the substitution of the plural verb and
pronoun; and, when used in poetry, it was often contracted, so as to prevent
any syllabic increase. In old books, all verbs and participles that were intended
to be contracted in pronunciation, were contracted also, in some way, by the writer:
as, "call'd, carry'd, sacrific'd;" "fly'st, ascrib'st,
cryd'st;" "tost, curst, blest, finisht;" and others innumerable.
All these, and such as are like them, we now pronounce in the same way, but
usually write differently; as, called,carried, sacrificed; fliest, ascribest,
criettst; tossed, cursed, blessed, finished. Most of these topics will be further
noticed in the Grammar.
1.Queen
Victoria's Answer to an Address.--Example written in 1837.
"I
thank you for your condolence upon the death of his late Majesty, for the
justice which you render to his character, and to the measures of his reign,
and for your warm congratulations upon my accession to the throne. I join in
your prayers for the prosperity of my reign, the best security for which is to
be found in reverence for our holy religion, and in the observance of its
duties."--VICTORIA, to the Friends' Society.
2.From
President Adams's Eulogy on Lafayette.--Written in 1834.
"Pronounce
him one of the first men of his age, and you have yet not done him justice. Try
him by that test to which he sought in vain to stimulate the vulgar and selfish
spirit of Napoleon; class him among the men who, to compare and seat
themselves, must take in the compass of all ages; turn back your eyes upon the
records of time; summon from the creation of the world to this day the mighty
dead of every age and every clime; and where, among the race of merely mortal
men, shall one be found, who, as the benefactor of his kind, shall claim to
take precedence of Lafayette?"--JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
3.From
President Jackson's Proclamation against Nullification.--1832.
"No,
we have not erred! The Constitution is still the object of our reverence, the
bond of our Union, our defence in danger, the source of our prosperity in
peace. It shall descend, as we have received it, uncorrupted by sophistical
construction, to our posterity: and the sacrifices of local interest, of State
prejudices, of personal animosities, that were made to bring it into existence,
will again be patriotically offered for its support."--ANDREW JACKSON.
4.From
a Note on one of Robert Hall's Sermons.--Written about 1831.
"After
he had written down the striking apostrophe which occurs at about page 76 of
most of the editions--'Eternal God! on what are thine enemies intent! what are
those enterprises of guilt and horror, that, for the safety of their
performers, require to be enveloped in a darkness which the eye of Heaven must
not penetrate!'--he asked, 'Did I say penetrate, sir, when I preached, it?'
'Yes.' 'Do you think, sir, I may venture toalter it? for no man who considered
the force of the English language, would use a word of three syllables there,
but from absolute necessity.' 'You are doubtless at liberty to alter it, if you
think well.' 'Then be so good, sir, as to take your pencil, and for penetrate put
pierce; pierce is the word, sir, and the only word to be used
there.'"--OLINTHUS GREGORY.
5.King
William's Answer to an Address.--Example written in 1830.
"I
thank you sincerely for your condolence with me, on account of the loss which I
have sustained, in common with my people, by the death of my lamented brother,
his late Majesty. The assurances which you have conveyed to me, of loyalty and
affectionate attachment to my person, are very gratifying to my feelings. You
may rely upon my favour and protection, and upon my anxious endeavours to
promote morality and true piety among all classes of my
subjects."--WILLIAM IV, to the Friends.
6.Reign
of George IV, 1830 back to 1820.--Example written in 1827.
"That
morning, thou, that slumbered[48] not before, Nor slept, great Ocean I laid thy
waves to rest, And hushed thy mighty minstrelsy. No breath Thy deep composure
stirred, no fin, no oar; Like beauty newly dead, so calm, so still, So lovely,
thou, beneath the light that fell From angel-chariots sentinelled on high,
Reposed, and listened, and saw thy living change, Thy dead arise. Charybdis
listened, and Scylla; And savage Euxine on the Thracian beach Lay motionless:
and every battle ship Stood still; and every ship of merchandise, And all that
sailed, of every name, stood still." ROBERT POLLOK: Course of Time, Book
VII, line 634-647.
"There
is, it will be confessed, a delicate sensibility to character, a sober desire
of reputation, a wish to possess the esteem of the wise and good, felt by the
purest minds, which is at the farthest remove from arrogance or vanity. The
humility of a noble mind scarcely dares approve of itself, until it has secured
the approbation of others. Very different is that restless desire of
distinction, that passion for theatrical display, which inflames the heart and
occupies the whole attention of vain men. * * * The truly good man is jealous
over himself, lest the notoriety of his best actions, by blending itself with
their motive, should diminish their value; the vain man performs the same
actions for the sake of that notoriety. The good man quietly discharges his
duty, and shuns ostentation; the vain man considers every good deed lost that
is not publickly displayed. The one is intent upon realities, the other upon
semblances: the one aims to be virtuous, the other to appear so."--ROBERT
HALL: Sermon on Modern Infidelity.
"Of
all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion
and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the
tribute of patriotism, who should labour to subvert these great pillars of
human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The
mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and cherish them.
A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and publick
felicity. Let it simply be asked, where is the security for property, for
reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths
which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us
with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without
religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on
minds of a peculiar structure; reason and experience both forbid us to expect
that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious
principle."--GEORGE WASHINGTON.
"That
he always wrote as he would think it necessary to write now, cannot be
affirmed; his instructions were such as the character of his readers made
proper. That general knowledge which now circulates in common talk, was in his
time rarely to be found. Men not professing learning, were not ashamed of
ignorance; and in the female world, any acquaintance with books was
distinguished only to be censured. His purpose was to infuse literary
curiosity, by gentle and unsuspected conveyance, into the gay, the idle, and
the wealthy; he therefore presented knowledge in the most alluring form, not
lofty and austere, but accessible and familiar. When he shewed them their
defects, he shewed them likewise that they might easily be supplied. His
attempt succeeded; inquiry was awakened, and comprehension expanded. An
emulation of intellectual elegance was excited, and from this time to our own,
life has been gradually exalted, and conversation purified and
enlarged."--SAMUEL JOHNSON: Lives, p. 321.
Reign
of George II, 1760 back to 1727.--Example written in 1751.
"We
Britons in our time have been remarkable borrowers, as our multiform Language
may sufficiently shew. Our Terms in polite Literature prove, that this came
from Greece; our terms in Music and Painting, that these came from Italy; our
Phrases in Cookery and War, that we learnt these from the French; and our
phrases in Navigation, that we were taught by the Flemings and Low Dutch. These
many and very different Sources of our Language may be the cause, why it is so
deficient in Regularity and Analogy. Yet we have this advantage to compensate
the defect, that what we want in Elegance, we gain in Copiousness, in which
last respect few Languages will be found superior to our own."--JAMES
HARRIS: Hermes, Book iii, Ch. v, p. 408.
Reign
of George I, 1727 back to 1714.--Example written about 1718.
"There
is a certain coldness and indifference in the phrases of our European
languages, when they are compared with the Oriental forms of speech: and it
happens very luckily, that the Hebrew idioms ran into the English tongue, with
a particular grace and beauty. Our language has received innumerable elegancies
and improvements from that infusion of Hebraisms, which are derived to it out
of the poetical passages in holy writ. They give a force and energy to our
expressions, warm and animate our language, and convey our thoughts in more
ardent and intense phrases, than any that are to be met with in our
tongue."--JOSEPH
ADDISON:
Evidences, p. 192.
Reign
of Queen Anne, 1714 to 1702.--Example written in 1708.
"Some
by old words to Fame have made pretence, Ancients in phrase, mere moderns in
their sense; Such labour'd nothings, in so strange a style, Amaze th'
unlearn'd, and make the learned smile." "In words, as fashions, the
same rule will hold; Alike fantastick, if too new or old: Be not the first by
whom the new are try'd, Nor yet the last to lay the old aside." ALEXANDER
POPE: Essay on Criticism, l. 324-336.
"And
when we see a Man of Milton's Wit Chime in with such a Herd, and Help on the Cry
against Hirelings! We find How Easie it is for Folly and Knavery to Meet, and
that they are Near of Kin, tho they bear Different Aspects. Therefor since Milton
has put himself upon a Level with the Quakers in this, I will let them go
together. And take as little Notice of his Buffoonry, as of their Dulness against
Tythes. Ther is nothing worth Quoting in his Lampoon against the Hirelings. But
what ther is of Argument in it, is fully Consider'd in what
follows."--CHARLES LESLIE: Divine Right of Tithes, Pref., p. xi.
Reign
of James II, 1689 back to 1685.--Example written in 1685.
"His
conversation, wit, and parts, His knowledge in the noblest useful arts, Were
such, dead authors could not give; But habitudes of those who live; Who,
lighting him, did greater lights receive: He drain'd from all, and all they
knew; His apprehension quick, his judgment true: That the most learn'd with
shame confess His knowledge more, his reading only less." JOHN DRYDEN: Ode
to the Memory of Charles II; Poems, p. 84.
Reign
of Charles II, 1685 to 1660.--Example from a Letter to the Earl of Sunderland,
dated,
"Philadelphia,
28th 5th mo. July, 1683."
"And
I will venture to say, that by the help of God, and such noble Friends, I will
show a Province in seven years, equal to her neighbours of forty years
planting. I have lay'd out the Province into Countys. Six are begun to be
seated; they lye on the great river, and are planted about six miles back. The
town platt is a mile long, and two deep,--has a navigable river on each side,
the least as broad as the Thames at Woolwych, from three to eight fathom water.
There is built about eighty houses, and I have settled at least three hundred
farmes contiguous to it."--WILLIAM PENN. The Friend, Vol. vii, p. 179.
From
an Address or Dedication to Charles II.--Written in 1675.
"There
is no [other] king in the world, who can so experimentally testify of God's
providence and goodness; neither is there any [other], who rules so many free
people, so many true Christians: which thing renders thy government more
honourable, thyself more considerable, than the accession of many nations
filled with slavish and superstitious souls."--ROBERT BARCLAY: Apology, p.
viii.
The
following example, from the commencement of Paradise Lost, first published in
1667, has been cited by several authors, to show how large a proportion of our
language is of Saxon origin. The thirteen words in Italics are the only ones in
this passage, which seem to have been derived from any other source.
"Of
man's first disobedience, and the fruit Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world, and all our woe, With loss of Eden; till one
greater Man Restore us, and regain the blissful seat, Sing, heav'nly Muse, that
on the secret top Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire That shepherd, who first
taught the chosen seed, In the beginning, how the Heav'ns and Earth Rose out of
Chaos."--MILTON: Paradise Lost,
Book
I.
Examples
written during Cromwell's Protectorate, 1660 to 1650.
"The
Queene was pleased to shew me the letter, the seale beinge a Roman eagle,
havinge characters about it almost like the Greeke. This day, in the
afternoone, the vice-chauncellor came to me and stayed about four hours with
me; in which tyme we conversed upon the longe debates."--WHITELOCKE.
Bucke's Class. Gram., p. 149.
"I
am yet heere, and have the States of Holland ingaged in a more than ordnary
maner, to procure me audience of the States Generall. Whatever happen, the
effects must needes be good."--STRICKLAND: Bucke's Classical Gram., p.
149.
Reign
of Charles I, 1648 to 1625.--Example from Ben Jonson's Grammar, written about
1634; but the orthography is more modern.
"The
second and third person singular of the present are made of the first, by
adding est and eth; which last is sometimes shortened into s. It seemeth to
have been poetical licence which first introduced this abbreviation of the
third person into use; but our best grammarians have condemned it upon some
occasions, though perhaps not to be absolutely banished the common and familiar
style."
"The
persons plural keep the termination of the first person singular. In former
times, till about the reign of Henry the eighth, they were wont to be formed by
adding en; thus, loven, sayen, complainen. But now (whatever is the cause) it
hath quite grown out of use, and that other so generally prevailed, that I dare
not presume to set this afoot again: albeit (to tell you my opinion) I am
persuaded that the lack hereof well considered, will be found a great blemish
to our tongue. For seeing time and person be, as it were, the right and left
hand of a verb, what can the maiming bring else, but a lameness to the whole
body?"--Book i, Chap. xvi.
Reign
of James I, 1625 to 1603.--From an Advertisement, dated 1608.
Examples
written about the end of Elizabeth's reign--1603.
"Some
say, That euer 'gainst that season comes Wherein our Saviour's Birth is
celebrated, The Bird of Dawning singeth all night long; And then, say they, no
Spirit dares walk abroad: The nights are wholsom, then no Planets strike, No
Fairy takes, nor Witch hath pow'r to charm; So hallow'd and so gracious is the time."
SHAKSPEARE: Hamlet.
"The
sea, with such a storme as his bare head In hell-blacke night indur'd, would
haue buoy'd up And quench'd the stelled fires. Yet, poore old heart, he holpe
the heuens to raine. If wolues had at thy gate howl'd that sterne time, Thou
shouldst haue said, Good porter, turne the key." SHAKSPEARE: Lear.
Reign
of Elizabeth, 1603 back to 1558.--Example written in 1592.
"As
for the soule, it is no accidentarie qualitie, but a spirituall and inuisible
essence or nature, subsisting by it selfe. Which plainely appeares in that the
soules of men haue beeing and continuance as well forth of the bodies of men as
in the same; and are as wel subiect to torments as the bodie is. And whereas we
can and doe put in practise sundrie actions of life, sense, motion,
vnderstanding, we doe it onely by the power and vertue of the soule. Hence
ariseth the difference betweene the soules of men, and beasts. The soules of
men are substances: but the soules of other creatures seeme not to be
substances; because they haue no beeing out of the bodies in which they
are."--WILLIAM PERKINS: Theol. Works, folio, p. 155.
Examples
written about the beginning of Elizabeth's reign.--1558.
"Who
can perswade, when treason is aboue reason; and mighte ruleth righte; and it is
had for lawfull, whatsoever is lustfull; and commotioners are better than
commissioners; and common woe is named common weale?"--SIR JOHN CHEKE.
"If a yong jentleman will venture him selfe into the companie of ruffians,
it is over great a jeopardie, lest their facions, maners, thoughts, taulke, and
dedes, will verie sone be over like."--ROGER ASCHAM.
Reign
of Mary the Bigot, 1558 to 1553.--Example written about 1555.
"And
after that Philosophy had spoken these wordes the said companye of the musys
poeticall beynge rebukyd and sad, caste downe their countenaunce to the grounde,
and by blussyng confessed their shamefastnes, and went out of the dores. But I
(that had my syght dull and blynd wyth wepyng, so that I knew not what woman
this was hauyng soo great aucthoritie) was amasyd or astonyed, and lokyng
downeward, towarde the ground, I began pryvyle to look what thyng she would
save ferther."--COLVILLE: Version from Boethius: Johnson's Hist. of E. L.,
p. 29.
Example
referred by Dr. Johnson to the year 1553.
"Pronunciation
is an apte orderinge bothe of the voyce, countenaunce, and all the whole bodye,
accordynge to the worthinea of such woordes and mater as by speache are
declared. The vse hereof is suche for anye one that liketh to haue prayse for
tellynge his tale in open assemblie, that hauing a good tongue, and a comelye countenaunce,
he shal be thought to passe all other that haue not the like vtteraunce:
thoughe they have muche better learning."--DR. WILSON: Johnson's Hist. E.
L., p. 45.
Reign
of Edward VI, 1553 to 1547.--Example written about 1550.
"Who
that will followe the graces manyfolde Which are in vertue, shall finde
auauncement: Wherefore ye fooles that in your sinne are bolde, Ensue ye
wisdome, and leaue your lewde intent, Wisdome is the way of men most excellent:
Therefore haue done, and shortly spede your pace, To quaynt your self and
company with grace." ALEXANDER BARCLAY: Johnson's Hist. E. L., p. 44.
Reign
of Henry VIII, 1547 to 1509.--Example dated 1541.
"Let
hym that is angry euen at the fyrste consyder one of these thinges, that like
as he is a man, so is also the other, with whom he is angry, and therefore it
is as lefull for the other to be angry, as unto hym: and if he so be, than
shall that anger be to hym displeasant, and stere hym more to be
angrye."--SIR THOMAS ELLIOTT: Castel of Helthe.
Example
of the earliest English Blank Verse; written about 1540.
The
supposed author died in 1541, aged 38. The piece from which these lines are
taken describes the death of Zoroas, an Egyptian astronomer, slain in
Alexander's first battle with the Persians.
"The
Persians waild such sapience to foregoe; And very sone the Macedonians wisht He
would have lived; king Alexander selfe Demde him a man unmete to dye at all;
Who wonne like praise for conquest of his yre, As for stoute men in field that
day subdued, Who princes taught how to discerne a man, That in his head so rare
a jewel beares; But over all those same Camenes,[49] those same Divine Camenes,
whose honour he procurde, As tender parent doth his daughters weale, Lamented,
and for thankes, all that they can, Do cherish hym deceast, and sett hym free,
From dark oblivion of devouring death." Probably written by SIR THOMAS
WYAT.
A
Letter written from prison, with a coal. The writer, Sir Thomas More, whose
works, both in prose and verse, were considered models of pure and elegant
style, had been Chancellor of England, and the familiar confidant of Henry
VIII, by whose order he was beheaded in 1535.
"Myne
own good doughter, our Lorde be thanked I am in good helthe of bodye, and in
good quiet of minde: and of worldly thynges I no more desyer then I haue. I
beseche hym make you all mery in the hope of heauen. And such thynges as I
somewhat longed to talke with you all, concerning the worlde to come, our Lorde
put theim into your myndes, as I truste he doth and better to by hys holy
spirite: who blesse you and preserue you all. Written wyth a cole by your
tender louing father, who in hys pore prayers forgetteth none of you all, nor
your babes, nor your nources, nor your good husbandes, nor your good husbandes
shrewde wyues, nor your fathers shrewde wyfe neither, nor our other frendes.
And thus fare ye hartely well for lacke of paper. THOMAS MORE,
knight."--Johnson's Hist. E. Lang., p. 42.
From
More's Description of Richard III.--Probably written about 1520.
"Richarde
the third sonne, of whom we nowe entreate, was in witte and courage egall with
either of them, in bodye and prowesse farre vnder them bothe, little of
stature, ill fetured of limmes, croke backed, his left shoulder much higher
than his right, hard fauoured of visage, and such as is in states called
warlye, in other menne otherwise, he was malicious, wrathfull, enuious, and
from afore his birth euer frowarde. Hee was close and secrete, a deep
dissimuler, lowlye of counteynaunce, arrogant of heart--dispitious and cruell,
not for euill will alway, but after for ambicion, and either for the suretie
and encrease of his estate. Frende and foo was muche what indifferent, where
his aduauntage grew, he spared no mans deathe, whose life withstoode his
purpose. He slew with his owne handes king Henry the sixt, being prisoner in
the Tower.
From
his description of Fortune, written about the year 1500.
"Fortune
is stately, solemne, prowde, and hye: And rychesse geueth, to haue seruyce
therefore. The nedy begger catcheth an half peny: Some manne a thousaude
pounde, some lesse some more. But for all that she kepeth euer in store, From
euery manne some parcell of his wyll, That he may pray therefore and serve her
styll. Some manne hath good, but chyldren hath he none. Some manne hath both,
but he can get none health. Some hath al thre, but vp to honours trone, Can he
not crepe, by no maner of stelth. To some she sendeth chyldren, ryches, welthe,
Honour, woorshyp, and reuerence all hys lyfe: But yet she pyncheth hym with a shrewde
wife." SIR THOMAS MORE.
Example
for the reign of Henry VII, who was crowned on Bosworth field, 1485, and who
died in 1509.
"Wherefor
and forasmoche as we haue sent for our derrest wif, and for our derrest moder,
to come unto us, and that we wold have your advis and counsail also in soche
matters as we haue to doo for the subduying of the rebelles, we praie you,
that, yeving your due attendaunce vppon our said derrest wif and lady moder, ye
come with thaym unto us; not failing herof as ye purpose to doo us plaisir.
Yeven undre our signett, at our Castell of Kenelworth, the xiii daie of
Maye."--HENRY VII: Letter to the Earl of Ormond: Bucke's Classical Gram.,
p. 147.
Example
for the short reign of Richard III,--from 1485 to 1483.
"Right
reverend fader in God, right trusty and right wel-beloved, we grete yow wele,
and wol and charge you that under oure greate seale, being in your warde, ye do
make in all haist our lettres of proclamation severally to be directed unto the
shirrefs of everie countie within this oure royaume."--RICHARD III: Letter
to his Chancellor.
Reign
of Edward IV,--from 1483 to 1461.--Example written in 1463.
"Forasmoche
as we by divers meanes bene credebly enformed and undarstand for certyne, that
owr greate adversary Henry, naminge hym selfe kynge of England, by the
maliceous counseyle and exitacion of Margaret his wife, namynge hir selfe
queane of England, have conspired," &c.--EDWARD IV: Letter of Privy
Seal.
Examples
for the reign of Henry VI,--from 1461 back to 1422.
"When
Nembroth [i.e. Nimrod] by Might, for his own Glorye, made and incorporate the
first Realme, and subduyd it to hymself by Tyrannye, he would not have it
governyd by any other Rule or Lawe, but by his own Will; by which and for th'
accomplishment thereof he made it. And therefor, though he had thus made a
Realme, holy Scripture denyd to cal hym a Kyng, Quia Rex dicitur a Regendo;
Whych thyng he did not, but oppressyd the People by Myght."--SIR JOHN FORTESCUE.
Example
from Lydgate, a poetical Monk, who died in 1440.
"Our
life here short of wit the great dulnes The heuy soule troubled with trauayle,
And of memorye the glasyng brotelnes, Drede and vncunning haue made a strong
batail With werines my spirite to assayle, And with their subtil creping in
most queint Hath made my spirit in makyng for to feint." JOHN LYDGATE: Fall
of Princes, Book III, Prol.
Example
for the reign of Henry V,--from 1422 back to 1413.
"I
wolle that the Duc of Orliance be kept stille withyn the Castil of Pontefret,
with owte goyng to Robertis place, or to any other disport, it is better he lak
his disport then we were disceyved. Of all the remanant dothe as ye
thenketh."--Letter of HENRY V.
Example
for the reign of Henry IV,--from 1413 back to 1400.
"Right
heigh and myghty Prynce, my goode and gracious Lorde,-- I recommaund me to you
as lowly as I kan or may with all my pouer hert, desiryng to hier goode and
gracious tydynges of your worshipful astate and welfare."--LORD GREY:
Letter to the Prince of Wales: Bucke's Classical Gram., p. 145.
Reign
of Richard II, 1400 back to 1377.--Example written in 1391. "Lytel Lowys
my sonne, I perceve well by certaine evidences thyne abylyte to lerne scyences,
touching nombres and proporcions, and also well consydre I thy besye prayer in
especyal to lerne the tretyse of the astrolabye. Than for as moche as a
philosopher saithe, he wrapeth hym in his frende, that condiscendeth to the
ryghtfull prayers of his frende: therefore I have given the a sufficient
astrolabye for oure orizont, compowned after the latitude of Oxenforde: vpon
the whiche by meditacion of this lytell tretise, I purpose to teche the a
certame nombre of conclusions, pertainynge to this same
instrument."--GEOFFREY CHAUCER: Of the Astrolabe.
Example
written about 1385--to be compared with that of 1555, on p. 87.
"And
thus this companie of muses iblamed casten wrothly the chere dounward to the
yerth, and shewing by rednesse their shame, thei passeden sorowfully the
thresholde. And I of whom the sight plounged in teres was darked, so that I ne
might not know what that woman was, of so Imperial aucthoritie, I woxe all
abashed and stonied, and cast my sight doune to the yerth, and began still for
to abide what she would doen afterward."--CHAUCER: Version from Boethius:
Johnson's Hist. of E. L., p. 29.
Poetical
Example--probably written before 1380.
"O
Socrates, thou stedfast champion; She ne might nevir be thy turmentour, Thou
nevir dreddist her oppression, Ne in her chere foundin thou no favour, Thou
knewe wele the disceipt of her colour, And that her moste worship is for to
lie, I knowe her eke a false dissimulour, For finally Fortune I doe
defie."--CHAUCER.
Reign
of Edward III, 1377 to 1327.--Example written about 1360.
"And
eke full ofte a littell skare Vpon a banke, er men be ware, Let in the streme,
whiche with gret peine, If any man it shall restreine. Where lawe failleth,
errour groweth; He is not wise, who that ne troweth."--SIR
JOHN
GOWER.
Example
from Mandeville, the English traveller-written in 1356.
"And
this sterre that is toward the Northe, that wee clepen the lode sterre, ne
apperethe not to hem. For whiche cause, men may wel perceyve, that the lond and
the see ben of rownde schapp and forme. For the partie of the firmament
schewethe in o contree, that schewethe not in another contree. And men may well
preven be experience and sotyle compassement of wytt, that zif a man fond passages
be schippes, that wolde go to serchen the world, men mighte go be schippe all
aboute the world, and aboven and benethen. The whiche thing I prove thus, aftre
that I have seyn. * * * Be the whiche I seye zou certeynly, that men may
envirowne alle the erthe of alle the world, as wel undre as aboven, and turnen
azen to his contree, that hadde companye and schippynge and conduyt: and alle
weyes he scholde fynde men, londes, and yles, als wel as in this
contree."--SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE; Johnson's Hist. of E. L., p. 26.
Example
from Rob. Langland's "Vision of Pierce Ploughman," 1350.
"In
the somer season, When hot was the Sun, I shope me into shroubs, As I a shepe
were; In habit as an harmet, Vnholy of werkes, Went wyde in this world Wonders
to heare."
Description
of a Ship-referred to the reign of Edward II: 1327-1307.
"Such
ne saw they never none, For it was so gay begone, Every nayle with gold ygrave,
Of pure gold was his sklave, Her mast was of ivory, Of samyte her sayle wytly,
Her robes all of whyte sylk, As whyte as ever was ony mylke. The noble ship was
without With clothes of gold spread about And her loft and her wyndlace All of
gold depaynted was." ANONYMOUS: Bucke's Gram., p. 143.
From
an Elegy on Edward I, who reigned till 1307 from 1272.
"Thah
mi tonge were made of stel, Ant min herte yzote of bras, The goodness myht y
never telle, That with kyng Edward was: Kyng, as thou art cleped conquerour, In
uch battaille thou hadest prys; God bringe thi soule to the honour, That ever
wes ant ever ys. Now is Edward of Carnavan Kyng of Engelond al aplyght; God
lete him never be worse man Then his fader, ne lasse myht, To holden his pore
men to ryht, Ant understonde good counsail, Al Engelond for to wysse and dyht;
Of gode knyhtes darh him nout fail." ANON.: Percy's Reliques, Vol. ii, p.
10.
Reign
of Henry III, 1272 to 1216.--Example from an old ballad entitled Richard of
Almaigne; which Percy says was "made by one of the adherents of Simon de
Montfort, earl of Leicester, soon after the battle of Lewes, which was fought,
May 14, 1264."--Percy's Reliques, Vol. ii.
"Sitteth
alle stille, and herkneth to me; The kyng of Almaigne, bi mi leaute, Thritti
thousent pound askede he For te make the pees in the countre, Ant so he dude
more. Richard, thah thou be ever trichard, Trichten shalt thou never
more."
In
the following examples, I substitute Roman letters for the Saxon. At this
period, we find the characters mixed. The style here is that which Johnson
calls "a kind of intermediate diction, neither Saxon nor English."
Of
these historical rhymes, by Robert of Gloucester, the Doctor gives us more than
two hundred lines; but he dates them no further than to say, that the author
"is placed by the criticks in the thirteenth century."--Hist. of Eng.
Lang., p. 24.
"Alfred
thys noble man, as in the ger of grace he nom Eygte hondred and syxty and
tuelue the kyndom. Arst he adde at Rome ybe, and, vor ys grete wysdom, The pope
Leo hym blessede, tho he thuder com, And the kynges croune of hys lond, that in
this lond gut ys: And he led hym to be kyng, ar he kyng were y wys. An he was kyng
of Engelond, of alle that ther come, That vorst thus ylad was of the pope of
Rome, An suththe other after hym of the erchebyssopes echon."
"Clere
he was god ynou, and gut, as me telleth me, He was more than ten ger old, ar he
couthe ys abece. Ac ys gode moder ofte smale gyftes hym tok, Vor to byleue
other pie, and loky on ys boke. So that by por clergye ys rygt lawes he wonde,
That neuere er nere y mad to gouerny ys lond." ROBERT OF GLOUCESTER:
Johnson's Hist. of E. L., p. 25.
Reign
of John, 1216 back to 1199.--Subject of Christ's
Crucifixion.
"I
syke when y singe for sorewe that y se When y with wypinge bihold upon the tre,
Ant se Jhesu the suete ys hert blod for-lete For the love of me; Ys woundes
waxen wete, thei wepen, still and mete, Marie reweth me." ANON.: Bucke's
Gram., p. 142.
Reign
of Richard I, 1199 back to 1189.--Owl and Nightingale.
"Ich
was in one sumere dale, In one snive digele pale, I herde ich hold grete tale, An
hule and one nightingale. That plait was stif I stare and strong, Sum wile
softe I lud among. An other again other sval I let that wole mod ut al. I
either seide of otheres custe, That alere worste that hi wuste I hure and I
hure of others songe Hi hold plaidung futhe stronge." ANON.: Bucke's
Gram., p. 142.
Reign
of Henry II, 1189 back to 1154.--Example dated 1180.
"And
of alle than folke The wuneden ther on folde, Wes thisses landes folke Leodene
hendest itald; And alswa the wimmen Wunliche on heowen." GODRIC: Bucke's
Gram., p. 141.
Example
from the Saxon Chronicle, written about 1160.
"Micel
hadde Henri king gadered gold & syluer, and na god ne dide me for his saule
thar of. Tha the king Stephne to Engla-land com, tha macod he his gadering set
Oxene-ford, & thar he nam the biscop Roger of Seres-beri, and Alexander
biscop of Lincoln, & te Canceler Roger hife neues, & dide aelle in
prisun, til hi jafen up here castles. Tha the suikes undergaeton that he milde
man was & softe & god, & na justise ne dide; tha diden hi alle
wunder." See Johnson's Hist. of the Eng. Language, p. 22.
Reign
of Stephen, 1154 to 1135.--Example written about this time.
Reign
of Henry I, 1135 to 1100.--Part of an Anglo-Saxon Hymn.
"Heuene
& erthe & all that is, Biloken is on his honde. He deth al that his
wille is, On sea and ec on londe.
He
is orde albuten orde. And ende albuten ende. He one is eure on eche stede,
Wende wer thu wende.
He
is buuen us and binethen, Biuoren and ec bihind. Se man that Godes wille deth,
He mai hine aihwar uinde.
Eche
rune he iherth, And wot eche dede. He durh sighth eches ithanc, Wai hwat sel us
to rede.
Se
man neure nele don god, Ne neure god lif leden, Er deth & dom come to his
dure, He mai him sore adreden.
Hunger
& thurst, hete & chele, Ecthe and all unhelthe, Durh deth com on this
midelard, And other uniselthe.
Ne
mai non herte hit ithenche, Ne no tunge telle, Hu muchele pinum and hu uele,
Bieth inne helle.
Louie
God mid ure hierte, And mid all ure mihte, And ure emcristene swo us self, Swo
us lereth drihte." ANON.: Johnson's Hist. Eng. Lang., p. 21.
Saxon,--11th
Century.[50] LUCE, CAP. I.
"
On Herodes dagum Iudea cynincges, was sum sacred on naman Zacharias, of Abian
tune: and his wif was of Aarones dohtrum, and hyre nama waas Elizabeth.
Sothlice
hig waron butu rihtwise beforan Gode, gangende on eallum his bebodum and
rihtwisnessum, butan wrohte.
And
hig nafdon nan bearn, fortham the Elizabeth was unberende; and hy on hyra dagum
butu forth-eodun.
Sothlice
was geworden tha Zacharias hys sacerdhades breac on his gewrixles endebyrdnesse
beforan Gode,
Efter
gewunan thas sacerdhades hlotes, he eode that he his offrunge sette, tha he on
Godes tempel eode.
Eall
werod thas folces was ute gebiddende on thare offrunge timan.
Tha
atywde him Drihtnes engel standende on thas weofodes swithran healfe.
Tha
weard Zacharias gedrefed that geseonde, and him ege onhreas.
Tha
cwath se engel him to, Ne ondrad thu the Zacharias; fortham thin ben is
gehyred, and thin wif Elizabeth the sunu centh, and thu nemst hys naman
Johannes."--Saxon Gospels.
"In
the dayes of Eroude kyng of Judee ther was a prest Zacarye by name, of the sort
of Abia: and his wyf was of the doughtris of Aaron, and hir name was Elizabeth.
And
bothe weren juste bifore God, goynge in alle the maundementis and justifyingis
of the Lord, withouten playnt.
And
thei hadden no child, for Elizabeth was bareyn; and bothe weren of greet age in
her dayes.
And
it befel that whanne Zacarye schould do the office of presthod in the ordir of
his course to fore God,
Aftir
the custom of the presthood, he wente forth by lot, and entride into the temple
to encensen.
And
al the multitude of the puple was without forth and preyede in the our of
encensying.
And
an aungel of the Lord apperide to him, and stood on the right half of the auter
of encense. 12. And Zacarye seyinge was afrayed, and drede fel upon him.
And
the aungel sayde to him, Zacarye, drede thou not; for thy preier is herd, and
Elizabeth thi wif schal bere to thee a sone, and his name schal be clepid
Jon."
Wickliffe's
Bible, 1380.
English.--17th
Century.
LUKE,
CHAP. I.
"
There was in the days of Herod the king of Judea, a certain priest named
Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron,
and her name was Elisabeth.
And
they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and
ordinances of the Lord, blameless.
And
they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren; and they both were now
well stricken in years.
And
it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the
order of his course,
According
to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went
into the temple of the Lord.
And
the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
And
there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the
altar of incense.
And
when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
But
the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias; for thy prayer is heard, and thy
wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shall call his name John."
Common
Bible, 1610.
See
Dr. Johnson's History of the English Language, in his Quarto Dictionary.
Alfred
the Great, who was the youngest son of Ethelwolf, king of the West Saxons,
succeeded to the crown on the death of his brother Ethelred, in the year 871,
being then twenty-two years old. He had scarcely time to attend the funeral of
his brother, before he was called to the field to defend his country against
the Danes. After a reign of more than twenty-eight years, rendered singularly
glorious by great achievements under difficult circumstances, he died
universally lamented, on the 28th of October, A. D. 900. By this prince the
university of Oxford was founded, and provided with able teachers from the
continent. His own great proficiency in learning, and his earnest efforts for
its promotion, form a striking contrast with the ignorance which prevailed
before. "In the ninth century, throughout the whole kingdom of the West
Saxons, no man could be found who was scholar enough to instruct the young king
Alfred, then a child, even in the first elements of reading: so that he was in
his twelfth year before he could name the letters of the alphabet. When that
renowned prince ascended the throne, he made it his study to draw his people
out of the sloth and stupidity in which they lay; and became, as much by his
own example as by the encouragement he gave to learned men, the great restorer
of arts in his dominions."--Life of Bacon.
The
language of eulogy must often be taken with some abatement: it does not usually
present things in their due proportions. How far the foregoing quotation is
true, I will not pretend to say; but what is called "the revival of
learning," must not be supposed to have begun at so early a period as that
of Alfred. The following is a brief specimen of the language in which that
great man wrote; but, printed in Saxon characters, it would appear still less
like English.
"On
thare tide the Gotan of Siththiu magthe with Romana rice gewin upahofon. and
mith heora cyningum. Radgota and Eallerica waron hatne. Romane burig abracon.
and eall Italia rice that is betwux tham muntum and Sicilia tham ealonde in
anwald gerehton. and tha agter tham foresprecenan cyningum Theodric feng to
tham ilcan rice se Theodric was Amulinga. he wass Cristen. theah he on tham
Arrianiscan gedwolan durhwunode. He gehet Romanum his freondscype. swa that hi
mostan heora ealdrichta wyrthe beon."--KING ALFRED: Johnson's Hist. of E.
L., 4to Dict., p. 17.
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