properly regarded as the “Book of Books.” And a Book of Books it truly
is; not only THE Book above all others, but comprising a number of
distinct works from the pens of various Inspired Writers according to
the Old Law and the New. For this reason precisely the earliest Saxon
version of the Sacred Volume was called the =Bible= in accordance with
the Greek and Latin word _biblia_, the plural of _biblion_, a book,
derived from biblos, the inner bark of the papyrus, which was the first
kind of writing material known. “Bible,” therefore, is a collective
term for the =Scriptures=, which designation comes from the Latin
_scriptura_, a writing, based upon the verb _scribere_, to write. Here,
again, note the correct use of the plural.
The original translation of the Hebrew Testament into Greek, about the
year 260 B.C., bore the title of the =Septuagint= because it employed
the labours of seventy, or rather of seventy-two, translators. More
than six hundred years afterwards, viz., in the Year of Our Lord
405, when St. Jerome (born 346, died 420) rendered the whole of the
Scriptures--to be sure the New Testament had not an existence at the
time of the Greek translation--into the Latin tongue, his performance
was styled the _Vulgatus_, or =Vulgate=, from _vulgare_, to make known
to the _vulgus_, the multitude. This =Latin Vulgate= constitutes the
Bible of the Roman Catholics as authorized by the Council of Trent in
the year 1546. It was first printed for the use of the Christian world
generally in 1462. The English translation of the Old Testament portion
of the Vulgate bears the title of the =Douay Bible= because it was
first printed and published at the English College at Douay, in France,
in 1609. The New Testament portion, known as the =Rheims Bible=, was
issued at Rheims twenty-seven years earlier, viz., in 1582.
The =Authorized Version= of the Bible appointed to be read in the
Church of England is called =King James’s Bible=, after James I., who
ordered it to be prepared, and in whose reign (in the year 1611) it was
first given to the people. The =Bishops’ Bible=, published in parts
between 1568 and 1572, derived its name from the seven bishops that
assisted Archbishop Parker with his revision of =Cranmer’s Bible=,
otherwise =The Great Bible=, so called because Archbishop Cranmer’s
version of the text, published in 1539, was of large size, specially
printed for the purpose of being displayed and read by the people in
the churches. To the 1540 edition of this version Cranmer prefixed a
lengthy Introduction. One of the earliest Latin Bibles, printed by
Gutenberg between the years 1450 and 1455, and, indeed, one of the
earliest perfect printed books from separate types, is known as the
=Mazarin Bible=, from a copy being discovered in Cardinal Mazarin’s
library. The =Pearl Bible= was so called because it was printed in
pearl type by Field in 1653. The =Geneva Bible=, printed at Geneva in
1560, also bears the singular title of the =Breeches Bible=, owing
to the substitution of the word “breeches” for “aprons” in _Genesis_
iii. 7. Similarly, the =Vinegar Bible= is indebted for its title
to the misprinting of the word “vineyard” in the running headline
to _Luke_ xx. at the Clarendon Press in 1717; the =Beer Bible=, to
the substitution of the words “the beer” for “strong drink” in the
twenty-fourth chapter of _Isaiah_, ninth verse; the =Treacle Bible=, to
the rendering of the passage, “Is there no balm in Gilead?” into “There
is no more triacle at Gilaad” (_Jeremiah_ viii. 22); the =Whig Bible=,
to the misprinting of the word “peacemakers,” so that the sentence
reads, “Blessed are the placemakers”; the =Wicked Bible=, from the
omission of a word in _Exodus_ xx. 14, which caused the verse to read,
“Thou shalt commit adultery”; and the =Bug Bible=, printed by John Daye
in 1551, from the peculiar rendering of the fifth verse in _Psalm_
xci., which reads, “So thou shalt not need to be afraid for any _bugs_
by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day.” The first edition of
the Authorized Version is called the =“He” Bible=, because it contains
a misprint in _Ruth_ iii. 15, the passage reading, “And he went into
the city.” A subsequent issue published in the same year, in which the
mistake is rectified, is known as the =“She” Bible=. The =Virginia
Bible= is a rare version of the Scriptures translated into the native
language of the North American Indians of Virginia. The first edition
of this Bible was printed in 1661-3, copies of which are said to be
worth £200.
The first five books of the Old Testament written by Moses bear the
collective title of the =Pentateuch= on account of the two Greek
words _penta_, five, and _teuchos_, an implement, a tool, alluding
to the Books being the direct instrument of communication between
God and His people. The titles of these five Books themselves are
as follows:--=Genesis=, which expresses the Greek for origin or
production, describes the history of the world from its beginning;
=Exodus=, derived from _ex_, out, and _odus_, a way, narrates the
departure of the Israelites out of Egypt; =Leviticus= sets forth the
regulations affecting the priests and Levites; =Numbers= contains the
census of the Israelites; and =Deuteronomy=, from the Greek _deuteros_,
second, and _nomos_, law, comprises the second giving of the Law by
Moses.
The designation =Apocrypha=, signifying hidden or spurious, is applied
to those Books whose authenticity as Inspired Writings is not admitted;
in other words, to those portions of the Scriptures which, inasmuch as
they do not establish any doctrine, are not held to be canonical, yet
are such as, in the words of the Prayer Book, “the Church doth read
for example of life and instruction of manners.” On the other hand,
the =Apocalypse=, signifying disclosure, is synonymous with the “Book
of Revelation,” and specifically applies to the concluding Book of the
Bible.
_WINES._
With one or two exceptions only, the different kinds of wines owe
their names to the places where they are produced. Thus, =Burgundy=
and =Champagne= respectively come from the French provinces, =Pontac=
from the town, and =Moselle= from the vineyards extensively cultivated
on the banks of the river, so designated. Rhenish wines are popular
all over Europe; yet none are probably more celebrated than the
=Johannisberg=, produced at the Castle of Johannisberg (literally, John’s
Rock), near Wiesbaden, and =Hock=, produced at Hockheim. Among Italian
wines, =Florence= comes from the historic “City of Flowers,” whereas
=Falernian=, celebrated by Martial, Horace, and other Latin authors,
was made from grapes grown in the district around the ancient city
of Falernum. A justly celebrated Tuscan wine is the =Montepulciano=,
produced at the old city so denominated. As its name implies, =Malaga=
is imported from Malaga, in Spain; =Sherry= is our English rendering
of the place-name Xeres, near Cadiz; while =Port= constitutes the
native wine of Oporto, the capital of Portugal. Of Mediterranean
wines, =Cyprus=, brought from the now British island of that name,
and =Malmsey=, an English corruption of =Malvasia=, so termed after
the district in the island of Candia, where it is produced, are the
chief. =Madeira= and =Canary= are imported from the islands so called,
situated on the great ocean highway to the Cape of Good Hope. An
excellent wine greatly sought after on the Continent, though somewhat
unknown in this country, is =Tokay=, produced from white grapes
cultivated in the district of Tokay, Upper Hungary. =Claret= owes its
designation to the French _clair_, clear, because it is a clarified
wine; whereas =Tent Wine= is a mere corruption of the Spanish _vino
tinto_, signifying a white wine coloured. The sparkling champagne
known as =Sillery= popularizes the name of the Marquis de Sillery, the
proprietor of the vineyards where this particular species is produced;
just as =Pommery= is destined to perpetuate the memory of Madame
Pommery, mother to the Duchess de Polignac, and sole proprietress of
the vineyards and subterranean Pommery vaults near Rheims. =Moet and
Chandon= similarly denotes the champagne brewed by the well-known
French firm trading under the style of “Moet et Chandon.”
Among concoctions of the vinous order we have =Hippocras=, so called
because it is said to have been first made according to the recipe of
Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine; =Badminton=, originally prepared
at Badminton, the seat of the Duke of Beaufort; and =Negus=, named
after Colonel Francis Negus, who invented it. Formerly, our countrymen
set great store by =Sack=, which was simply the designation of a dry
wine, derived from the French word _sec_, dry. Wine is said to be a
=Dry Wine= when it is neither sweet nor sparkling. It cannot be sweet
because, the fermentation being complete, the sugar contained in it is
fully decomposed; moreover, it is dry because the carbonic acid has
escaped. For the like reason, a certain evidence that port wine has
completed the process of fermentation is the collection of tartar in
the interior of the bottle, forming a crust; hence the term =Crusted
Port=. A very bad wine of whatever kind usually bears the name of
=Three Men Wine=, owing to the idea that it requires one man to hold
the drinker, and another to pour it down his throat, while the third
is the unfortunate individual himself. The derivation of the term
=Wine= is the Anglo-Saxon _vin_ from the Latin _vinum_, allied to
_vinea_, a vine.
_LITERARY SOBRIQUETS._
Gildas, the earliest chronicler of British history (born 511, died
570), was surnamed =The Wise= on account of his learning, which
must have excited the wonder of the semi-barbarian inhabitants of
these islands in the sixth century. Later, the Saxon historian Beda,
incorrectly called Bede (born 673, died 735), was surnamed =The
Venerable= because he was also an ecclesiastic. Approaching more
modern times, we meet with John White, a Nonconformist lawyer, who, in
consequence of being the author of a work entitled “The First Century
of Scandalous, Malignant Priests, made and admitted into Benefices
by the Prelates, &c.,” merited the popular description of =Century
White=. Still nearer our own day, Matthew Gregory Lewis (born 1775,
died 1818) became the recipient of the name of =Monk Lewis=, after the
publication of his famous novel, “The Monk”; just as John Thomas Smith,
the antiquary (born 1766, died 1833), was indebted to his chatty,
albeit valuable work, “A Book for a Rainy Day,” for his sobriquet of
=Rainy-Day Smith=.
Turning to the poets, John Sylvester, the translator of Du Barta’s
“Divine Weeks and Works” (born 1563, died 1613), is popularly referred
to as =Silver-tongued Sylvester= on account of the sweet melody of
his verse. John Taylor, =The Water Poet= (born 1580, died 1654), was
a Thames waterman; James Hogg, =The Ettrick Shepherd= (born 1772,
died 1835), followed the employment of a shepherd in the forest of
Ettrick, Selkirkshire; and Edward Capern, =The Bidëford Postman= (born
1819), was for several years a letter-carrier in the little town of
Bidëford, Devonshire. Nathaniel Lee (born 1655, died 1691) received the
name of =The Mad Poet= from the fact of his four years’ confinement
in a mad-house. =The Quaker Poet= was Bernard Barton, the friend of
Charles Lamb (born 1784, died 1849); while Samuel Rogers, =The Banker
Poet= (born 1763, died 1855), divided his time pleasantly between the
counting-house and the study. Thomas Moore (born 1779, died 1852)
merited the style of =Anacreon Moore= by his translations from the
Greek poet Anacreon, and the circumstance that his own original verses
were constructed upon the same classic model. Richard Horne, the
poet and critic (born 1802, died 1884), was known as =Orion Horne=,
and also as =The Farthing Poet=, on account of his principal work
“Orion,” published at one farthing, as a satire on the poverty of the
book-buying public.
Sir Walter Scott (born 1771, died 1832) was surnamed =The Wizard of
the North= owing to the magic influence which he exerted over all
classes of the people, and the widespread fascination of his novels;
while Henry Mackenzie, the author of “The Man of Feeling” (born 1745,
died 1831), enjoyed the signal honour of being designated =The Addison
of the North=, owing to the purity and excellence of his style. No
more flattering recognition of the genius of William Wordsworth (born
1770, died 1850) could ever have been desired than the title of =The
Minstrel of the Border=, bestowed upon him by Sir Walter Scott. =The
Corn Law Rhymer= was Ebenezer Elliott (born 1781, died 1849) who, by
the dedication of his numerous versified philippics to the opponents
of Free Trade, indirectly, if not directly, prepared the way for the
repeal of the obnoxious Corn Laws in the year 1846. Reference to the
word “Philippics” carries us back in imagination to Demosthenes, who
directed one of his most famous orations against Philip, King of
Macedon; hence, any indignant invective or vehement denunciation is
characteristically styled a PHILIPPIC.
_THE COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES._
=Northumberland= originally denoted the land north of the Humber;
=Cumberland=, the land occupied by the Cymri; and =Westmoreland=, the
land of the Westmorings, or people of the Western moors. =Durham= is
a corruption of _Dunholm_, signifying a hill-fort on an island in the
river; _dun_ being Celtic for a hill, or fort on a hill, and _holm_ the
Scandinavian for an island. The Shire, or County, of =York=, in common
with the majority of the Midland and Welsh counties, is named after
its chief town; or rather, in this case, the ancient city described in
documents as _Eurewic_, but pronounced _Yorric_, from its position on
the river Eure, now known as the Ouse.
=Lancashire= indicates the Shire of =Lancaster=, the _caester_, or
camp-town, on the Lune. This Anglo-Saxon word _Caester_, derived from
the Latin _castra_, a camp, fortress, appears also in the names of
=Cheshire=, a contraction of _Caestershire_, the Shire of =Chester=,
the town built on the site of the old Roman _castra_, or camp; in
=Leicestershire=, the Shire of the camp-town on the river _Leire_, now
called the Soar; in =Worcestershire=, the Shire of _Hwic-ware-shire_,
or fortress-town, of the Huiccii; and in =Gloucestershire=, the Shire
of the camp-town in which _Gloi_, a son of the Emperor Claudius, was
born during the Roman occupation of Britain.
=Lincoln= is a contraction of the Latin _Lindumcolonia_, signifying the
colony formed by the Romans on the _Llyn-dun_, literally “the fortified
hill by the pool,” originally occupied and so called by the ancient
Britons [_see_ LONDON]. The names =Norfolk= and =Suffolk= respectively
indicate those portions of the eastern coast settled by the Angles,
who separated into two distinct tribes, viz., the north folk and the
south folk. =Essex= is a contraction of _East-seaxe_, denoting the
territory occupied by the East Saxons; =Sussex=, of _Suth-seaxe_, or
South Saxons; and =Middlesex=, of _Middle-seaxe_, or the inhabitants of
the district between Essex and =Wessex=, the land of the West Saxons,
which, under the Heptarchy, extended to the westward as far as Devon.
=Surrey= is a modification of the Anglo-Saxon _Suth-rey_, south of the
river, _i.e._, the Thames. =Kent= was formerly _Cantium_, indicating
the land bestowed upon Canute, one of the companions of Brute, an early
King of Britain, who, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, settled in
England and eventually founded the Danish dynasty.
=Hampshire=, also written =Hants=, expresses the Shire of _Hantone_, or
_Hantune_, now known as =Southampton=, the south town on the river Ant,
or Southampton Water. =Dorset= was originally _Dwrset_, a compound
of the Celtic _dwr_, water, and the Anglo-Saxon _set_, a settlement,
alluding to the early settlement of this district by a tribe of Britons
who styled themselves _Dwr-trigs_, or “water-dwellers.” =Somerset=
is a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon _Suthmorset_, literally “the
south-moor-settlement.” =Devon= is a modified form of _Dwfuient_, the
Celtic for “the deep valleys.” An earlier name for this portion of
Britain was _Damnonia_, the territory of the Damnonii, a Celtic tribe.
=Cornwall= denotes the territory of the “foreigners in the horn,”
agreeably to the Latin _cornu_, a horn, referring to its numerous
promontories, and its inhabitants the _Wahl_, the Saxon term for
“foreigners.” Like Wales, this portion of our island was never invaded
by the Anglo-Saxons; consequently its people, the Cymri, a branch of
the Celts, were left in undisturbed possession [_see_ WALES]. The
Duchy of Cornwall is still included in the Principality of Wales.
=Wiltshire= only partly expresses the Shire of =Wilton=, a contraction
of _Willy-town_, or the town on the river Willy. =Berkshire= is a
modern spelling of the Anglo-Saxon _Bearoc-scire_, “forest shire,”
in allusion to the forest districts of Bagshot and Windsor; while
=Buckingham= was originally described as _Boccenham_, the Anglo-Saxon
for “beech-tree-home,” this county being especially noted for its
beeches.
=Oxford= derived its name from the _Ox-ford_ over the Isis; =Hertford=,
from the ford crossed by harts; =Hereford=, from the army ford; and
=Stafford=, from the ford crossed by means of staves or stilts.
=Bedford= is a contraction of _Bedican ford_, the Anglo-Saxon for “the
protected ford.” =Cambridge= owes its name to the University town
by the bridge over the _Cam_, or crooked river [_see_ CAMBERWELL].
=Huntingdon= was anciently a great deer forest, and therefore
much resorted to for hunting. =Northampton= is a corruption of
_North-avon-town_, alluding to its position north of the river _Neu_,
in olden times known as the Avon. =Rutland= expresses the Anglo-Saxon
for “red land,” referring to the colour of its soil. =Warwick= is
the modern description of the Anglo-Saxon _Waer-wic_, signifying the
garrison, or war town. =Nottingham= is a corruption of _Snotingaham_,
“the place of caves,” so called on account of the soft sandstone
which so greatly facilitated the formation of caverns during the
early history of our country; as _e.g._, “Mortimer’s hole,” and the
subterranean passage that led thereto from Nottingham Castle in the
reign of Edward III. =Derby= is a contraction of the Saxon _Deer-by_,
or “wild-beast village,” doubtless so designated from its frequent
invasion by strange animals from the mountainous district of “The Peak”
in search of prey. =Shropshire= denotes the Shire of _Scrobbesburgh_,
the Anglo-Saxon for “shrub-town,” modified by the Normans into
_Sloppesburie_ (from which the present town of =Salop= derived its
name), and corrupted in modern times into =Shrewsbury=. =Monmouth=
indicates the county that includes the mouth of the _Mon_, originally
described as the _Mynwy_, “the border river.”
=Anglesea=, properly _Anglesey_ [_see_ CHELSEA, &c.], is one of the
three counties of Wales whose names are not essentially Welsh. Thus,
=Glamorgan= signifies the _Gwlad-Morgan_, or territory of Morgan, a
chieftain who lived in the tenth century; =Brecknock= is the hill of
Brecon, or Brychan, a Welsh prince; =Radnor= is a modern spelling
of _Rhiadnwr-Gwy_, meaning “the Cataract of the Wye”; =Montgomery=
refers to the fortress built on the _mont_, or height, by Roger de
Montgomerie, in 1093; =Denbigh= was originally _Dinbach_, the Celtic
and Cymric for “a little fort”; =Flint= was so called from the
quantity of quartz found in this county; =Carnarvon= owes its origin
to _Cær-yu-ar-Fon_, the _cær_, or fortress, on the _arfon_, or water;
=Carmarthen= denotes the fortress erected by Merlin; =Merioneth= was
named after Merion, an early British saint; =Cardigan= indicates the
territory of Ceredig, a Welsh chieftain; while =Pembroke= signifies the
_pen_, or head of the _broc_, the Celtic and Cymric for a district, so
called because this promontory was virtually the Land’s End.
_CARRIAGES._
The =Phaeton= owes its designation to the mythological personage of
that name who received permission to drive the sun-car of Helios,
his father, for one day, with the result that, being overthrown, he
nearly set the world on fire. The =Victoria= was introduced in the
year that witnessed the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Victoria.
The =Clarence= was the favourite conveyance of the Duke of Clarence,
afterwards William IV. The =Brougham=, invented in 1839, received its
name from Lord Brougham, who was the first to permanently adopt it;
and the same may be said of the =Stanhope=, so called in compliment
to Lord Stanhope. The =Sociable= is an appropriate name enough for an
open carriage of which the facing seats afford opportunity for pleasant
conversation. The =Landau= was first made at Landau in Germany; whereas
the =Tilbury= perpetuates the name of a celebrated London sportsman who
introduced this particular species of carriage during the early part of
the present century.
The small, light, one-horse vehicle known as a =Dog-cart= is so
called because such a one was originally constructed for sportsmen to
drive their pointers and setters (which they kept in a box under the
seat) to the scene of the sport. The term =Buggy= is a corruption of
_Bourgeois_, a French name indicating a vehicle intended for the middle
classes so denominated; while =Gig= is a contraction of the Italian
_giga_, a romp, and the French _gigue_, a lively dance, a jig, in
allusion to its jumping and rocking motion. The like derivation applies
to the long, light ship’s wherry which passes under the same name. The
term =Sulky=, as applied to a light two-wheeled conveyance, owed its
origin to the fact that, when it was introduced, people hazarded the
opinion that none but sulky, morose, and selfish people would ride in
such a carriage, because it had only accommodation for one person. The
=Noddy=, peculiar to Dublin, derives its title from the jolting motion
which keeps its riders continually nodding; and the =Jaunting Car=,
from the jaunts and country outings for which, on the other side of the
Irish Sea, these vehicles are largely employed. The English =Break=
bears its name because it partakes of the character of the four-wheel
vehicle used by horse-breakers; indeed, it differs from the latter only
in the addition of the upper portion containing the seats.
=Stage-coaches= were originally so called on account of the different
stages at which they stopped to change horses and refresh the
passengers. =’Bus= is short for =Omnibus=, a Latin word signifying “for
all.” The step at the back of an omnibus is facetiously styled the
=Monkey-board=, in consequence of the capers usually executed thereon
by the conductor. The board on either side of the roof of the vehicle,
upon which theatrical and other advertisements are exhibited is known
as the =Knife-board=, from its fancied resemblance to that article of
domestic utility. So far from having derived its name from one of the
northern suburbs of London, a =Hackney-coach= is simply an English
rendering of _coche-a-haquence_, the literal French for a coach drawn
by a hired horse. The word =Coach= (French, _coche_, the diminutive
of the Italian _conchula_, a shell) really means a shell-like
contrivance upon wheels. =Cab= is a contraction of the =Cabriolet=,
from _cabriole_, a goat’s leap, in allusion to its lightness and
springiness, first introduced in Paris. This vehicle, after undergoing
sundry changes and improvements, was patented in the year 1883 as the
“Safety Cab” by Joseph Aloysius Hansom, from which circumstance it has
in more recent times come to be generally designated the =Hansom Cab=.