The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown (free ebook reader .txt) 📕

In printed books of the English language, the Roman characters are generally employed; sometimes, the Italic; and occasionally, the [Font change: Old English]: but in handwriting, [Font change: Script letters] are used, the forms of which are peculiarly adapted to the pen.

Characters of different sorts or sizes should never be needlessly mixed; because facility of reading, as well as the beauty of a book, depends much upon the regularity of its letters.

In the ordinary forms of the Roman letters, every thick stroke that slants, slants from the left to the right downwards, except the middle stroke in Z; and every thin stroke that slants, slants from the left to the right upwards.

Italics are chiefly used to distinguish emphatic or remarkable words: in the Bible, they show what words were supplied by the translators.

In manuscripts, a single line drawn under a word is meant for Italics; a double line, for small capitals; a triple line, for full capitals.

In every kind of type or character, the letters have severally two forms, by which they are distinguished as capitals and small letters. Small letters constitute the body of every work; and capitals are used for the sake of eminence and distinction. The titles of books, and the heads of their principal divisions, are printed wholly in capitals. Showbills, painted signs, and short inscriptions, commonly appear best in full capitals. Some of these are so copied in books; as, "I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD."—Acts, xvii, 23. "And they set up over his head, his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS."—Matt., xxvii, 37.

When particular books are mentioned by their names, the chief words in
their titles begin with capitals, and the other letters are small; as,
"Pope's Essay on Man"—"the Book of Common Prayer"—"the Scriptures of the
Old and New Testaments." [104]

The first word of every distinct sentence, or of any clause separately numbered or paragraphed, should begin with a capital; as, "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things: hold fast that which is good."—1 Thess., v, 16—21.

"14. He has given his assent to their acts of pretended legislation: 15. For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: 16. For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for murders: 17. For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world: 18. For imposing taxes on us without our consent:" &c. Declaration of American Independence.

All names of the Deity, and sometimes their emphatic substitutes, should
begin with capitals; as, "God, Jehovah, the Almighty, the Supreme Being,
Divine Providence, the Messiah, the Comforter, the Father, the Son, the
Holy Spirit, the Lord of Sabaoth."

"The hope of my spirit turns trembling to Thee."—Moore.

Proper names, of every description, should always begin with capitals; as,
"Saul of Tarsus, Simon Peter, Judas Iscariot, England, London, the Strand,
the Thames, the Pyrenees, the Vatican, the Greeks, the Argo and the
Argonauts."

Titles of office or honour, and epithets of distinction, applied to
persons, begin usually with capitals; as, "His Majesty William the Fourth,
Chief Justice Marshall, Sir Matthew Hale, Dr. Johnson, the Rev. Dr.
Chalmers, Lewis the Bold, Charles the Second, James the Less, St.
Bartholomew, Pliny the Younger, Noah Webster, Jun., Esq."

Those compound proper names which by analogy incline to a union of their
parts without a hyphen, should be so written, and have but one capital: as,
"Eastport, Eastville, Westborough, Westfield, Westtown, Whitehall,
Whitechurch, Whitehaven, Whiteplains, Mountmellick, Mountpleasant,
Germantown, Germanflats, Blackrock, Redhook, Kinderhook, Newfoundland,
Statenland, Newcastle, Northcastle, Southbridge, Fairhaven, Dekalb,
Deruyter, Lafayette, Macpherson."

The compounding of a name under one capital should be avoided when the general analogy of other similar terms suggests a separation under two; as, "The chief mountains of Ross-shire are Ben Chat, Benchasker, Ben Golich, Ben Nore, Ben Foskarg, and Ben Wyvis."—Glasgow Geog., Vol. ii, p. 311. Write Ben Chasker. So, when the word East, West, North, or South, as part of a name, denotes relative position, or when the word New distinguishes a place by contrast, we have generally separate words and two capitals; as, "East Greenwich, West Greenwich, North Bridgewater, South Bridgewater, New Jersey, New Hampshire."

When any adjective or common noun is made a distinct part of a compound
proper name, it ought to begin with a capital; as, "The United States, the
Argentine Republic, the Peak of Teneriffe, the Blue Ridge, the Little
Pedee, Long Island, Jersey City, Lower Canada, Green Bay, Gretna Green,
Land's End, the Gold Coast."

When a common and a proper name are associated merely to explain each other, it is in general sufficient, if the proper name begin with a capital, and the appellative, with a small letter; as, "The prophet Elisha, Matthew the publican, the brook Cherith, the river Euphrates, the Ohio river, Warren county, Flatbush village, New York city."

The name of an object personified, when it conveys an idea strictly individual, should begin with a capital; as, "Upon this, Fancy began again to bestir herself."—Addison. "Come, gentle Spring, ethereal mildness, come."—Thomson.

Words derived from proper names, and having direct reference to particular
persons, places, sects, or nations, should begin with capitals; as,
"Platonic, Newtonian, Greek, or Grecian, Romish, or Roman, Italic, or
Italian, German, or Germanic, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese, Genoese, French,
Dutch, Scotch, Welsh:" so, perhaps, "to Platonize, Grecize, Romanize,
Italicize, Latinize, or Frenchify."

The words I and O should always be capitals; as, "Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion."—Psalm cxlvii. "O wretched man that I am!"—"For that which I do, I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I."—Rom., vii, 24 and 15.

Every line in poetry, except what is regarded as making but one verse with the line preceding, should begin with a capital; as,

   "Our sons their fathers' failing language see,
    And such as Chaucer is, shall Dryden be."—Pope.

Of the exception, some editions of the Psalms in Metre are full of examples; as,

   "Happy the man whose tender care
      relieves the poor distress'd!
    When troubles compass him around,
      the Lord shall give him rest."
             Psalms with Com. Prayer, N. Y., 1819, Ps. xli.

The first word of a full example, of a distinct speech, or of a direct quotation, should begin with a capital; as, "Remember this maxim: 'Know thyself.'"—"Virgil says, 'Labour conquers all things.'"—"Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?"—John, x, 34. "Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother."—Luke, xviii, 20.

Other words of particular importance, and such as denote the principal subjects treated of, may be distinguished by capitals; and names subscribed frequently have capitals throughout: as, "In its application to the Executive, with reference to the Legislative branch of the Government, the same rule of action should make the President ever anxious to avoid the exercise of any discretionary authority which can be regulated by Congress."—ANDREW JACKSON, 1835.

Capitals are improper wherever there is not some special rule or reason for their use: a century ago books were disfigured by their frequency; as, "Many a Noble Genius is lost for want of Education. Which wou'd then be Much More Liberal. As it was when the Church Enjoy'd her Possessions. And Learning was, in the Dark Ages, Preserv'd almost only among the Clergy."—CHARLES LESLIE, 1700; Divine Right of Tythes, p. 228.

OBS. 1.—The letters of the alphabet, read by their names, are equivalent to words. They are a sort of universal signs, by which we may mark and particularize objects of any sort, named or nameless; as, "To say, therefore, that while A and B are both quadrangular, A is more or less quadrangular than B, is absurd."—Murray's Gram., p. 50. Hence they are used in the sciences as symbols of an infinite variety of things or ideas, being construed both substantively and adjectively; as, "In ascending from the note C to D, the interval is equal to an inch; and from D to E, the same."—Music of Nature, p. 293. "We have only to imagine the G clef placed below it."—Ib. Any of their forms may be used for such purposes, but the custom of each science determines our choice. Thus Algebra employs small Italics; Music, Roman capitals; Geometry, for the most part, the same; Astronomy, Greek characters; and Grammar, in some part or other, every sort. Examples: "Then comes answer like an ABC book."—Beauties of Shakspeare, p. 97. "Then comes question like an a, b, c, book.—Shakspeare." See A, B, C, in Johnson's quarto Dict. Better:—"like an A-Bee-Cee book."

   "For A, his magic pen evokes an O,
    And turns the tide of Europe on the foe."—Young.

OBS. 2.—A lavish use of capitals defeats the very purpose for which the letters were distinguished in rank; and carelessness in respect to the rules which govern them, may sometimes misrepresent the writer's meaning. On many occasions, however, their use or disuse is arbitrary, and must be left to the judgement and taste of authors and printers. Instances of this kind will, for the most part, concern chief words, and come under the fifteenth rule above. In this grammar, the number of rules is increased; but the foregoing are still perhaps too few to establish an accurate uniformity. They will however tend to this desirable result; and if doubts arise in their application, the difficulties will be in particular examples only, and not in the general principles of the rules. For instance: In 1 Chron., xxix, 10th, some of our Bibles say, "Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever." Others say, "Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel, our Father, for ever and ever." And others, "Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our Father, for ever and ever." The last is wrong, either in the capital F, or for lack of a comma after Israel. The others differ in meaning; because they construe the word father, or Father, differently. Which is right I know not. The first agrees with the Latin Vulgate, and the second, with the Greek text of the Septuagint; which two famous versions here disagree, without ambiguity in either.[105]

OBS. 3.—The innumerable discrepancies in respect to capitals, which, to a greater or less extent, disgrace the very best editions of our most popular books, are a sufficient evidence of the want of better directions on this point. In amending the rules for this purpose, I have not been able entirely to satisfy myself; and therefore must needs fail to satisfy the very critical reader. But the public shall have the best instructions I can give. On Rule 1st, concerning Books, it may be observed, that when particular books or writings are mentioned by other terms than their real titles, the principle of the rule does not apply. Thus, one may call Paradise Lost, "Milton's great poem;" or the Diversions of Purley, "the etymological investigations of Horne Tooke." So it is written in the Bible, "And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias."—Luke, iv, 17. Because the name of Esaias, or Isaiah, seems to be the only proper title of his book.

OBS. 4.—On Rule 2d, concerning First Words, it may be observed, that the using of other points than the period, to separate sentences that are totally distinct in sense, as is sometimes practised in quoting, is no reason for the omission of capitals at the beginning of such sentences; but, rather, an obvious reason for their use. Our grammarians frequently manufacture a parcel of puerile examples, and, with the formality of apparent quotation, throw them together in the following manner: "He is above disguise;" "we serve under a good master;" "he rules over a willing people;" "we should do nothing beneath our character."—Murray's Gram., p. 118. These sentences, and all others so related, should, unquestionably, begin