[1] Sidonius Apollinaris.
[2] An ingenious literary antiquary has given us a copious
vocabulary, as complete evidence of Latin words merely abbreviated by
omitting their terminations, whence originated those numerous
monosyllables which impoverish the French language. In the following
instances the Gauls only used the first syllable for the entire word,
damnum--_damn_; aureum--_or_; malum--_mal_; nudum--_nud_;
amicus--_ami_: vinum--_vin_; homo--_hom_, as anciently written;
curtus--_court_; sonus--_son_; bonus--_bon_: and thus made many
others.
The nasal sound of our neighbours still prevails; thus Gracchus sinks
into _Gracque_; Titus Livius is but _Tite Live_; and the historian of
Alexander the Great, the dignified Quintus Curtius, is the ludicrous
_Quinte Curce_!--Auguis, "Du Genie de la Langue Francoise."
[3] Turner's "History of England."
[4] See "Curiosities of Literature," article Recovery of Manuscripts.
[5] ERASMUS composed a satirical dialogue between two vindictive
Ciceronians; it is said that a duel has been occasioned by the
intrepidity of maintaining the purity of a writer's latinity. The
pedantry of mixing Greek and Latin terms in the vernacular language
is ridiculed by RABELAIS in his encounter with the Limousin student,
whom he terrified till the youngster ended in delivering himself in
plain French, and left off "Pindarising" all the rest of his
days.--"Pantagruel," lib. ii. c. 6.
[6] Collier's "History of Dramatic Poetry," ii. 463.
[7] We now possess this valued literary history, which none, perhaps,
but Anthony a Wood could have so fervently pursued: "The History and
Antiquities of the University of Oxford," in five volumes, quarto.
Edited by John Gutch. It is a distinct work from the far-known
"Athenae Oxonienses." Why did this great work, as well as some others,
come forth with a Latin title? This absurdity was a remaining taint
of the ancient prejudice. But an English work was not the more
classical for bearing a Latin title.