NŎTA, which signified a mark or sign of any kind, was also employed
for an abbreviation. Hence _notae_ signified the marks or signs
used in taking down the words of a speaker, and was equivalent to
our short-hand writing, or stenography; and _notarii_ signified
short-hand writers. It must be borne in mind, however, that _notae_
also signified writing in cipher; and many passages in the ancient
reciters which are supposed to refer to short-hand, refer in reality
to writing in cipher. Among the Greeks it is said to have been
invented by Xenophon, and their short-hand writers were called
ταχυγράφοι, ὀξυγράφοι and σημειογράφοι. The first introduction of
the art among the Romans is ascribed to Cicero. He is said to have
caused the debate in the senate on the punishment of the Catilinarian
conspirators to be taken down in short-hand. Eusebius ascribes it to
Tiro, the freedman of Cicero, and hence the system of abbreviated
writing, in which some manuscripts are written, has received the name
of _Notae Tironianae_; but there is no evidence to show whether this
species of short-hand was really the invention of Tiro. The system of
short-hand employed in the time of the Roman empire must have been of
a much simpler and more expeditious kind than the _Notae Tironianae_,
which were merely abbreviations of the words. Many of the wealthy
Romans kept slaves, who were trained in the art. It was also
learnt even by the Roman nobles, and the emperor Titus was a great
proficient in it. At a later time, it seems to have been generally
taught in the schools. There were, moreover, short-hand writers
(_notarii_) by profession, who were chiefly employed in taking down
(_notare_, _excipere_) the proceedings in the courts of justice. At a
later period, they were called _exceptores_. These short-hand writers
were also employed on some occasions to take down a person’s will.
NOTĀRĬI, short-hand writers, spoken of under NOTA. They were likewise
called _Actuarii_. They were also employed by the emperors, and in
course of time the title of _Notarii_ was exclusively applied to the
private secretaries of the emperors, who, of course, were no longer
slaves, but persons of high rank. The short-hand writers were now
called _exceptores_, as is remarked under NOTA.