CAPITALIZATION.
To persons who have paid no special, technical attention to the
subject, capitalization appears a very simple matter. The rules are
few and easily understood; but as to the “application of them” there
is some perplexity and much diversity among authors, printers, and
proof-readers. Practically, the main difficulty seems to arise from the
want of a plain line of demarkation between common nouns and proper
nouns! Some write and print “Pacific Ocean” as the proper name of a
certain collection of water; others, “Pacific ocean,”—ocean being a
common noun. We may, perhaps, recur to this abstruse matter farther on;
but at present we will lay down such rules as we have used in our own
labors, and which we deem to be correct. It will be very convenient
for us, and therefore we hope excusable, to adopt two phrases from the
expressive terminology of the printing-office, where some words are
said to be “put up,” and others to be “put down”; e. g.:
“When Music, heavenly maid, was young.”
Here “Music” is said to be “put up,” because it begins with a capital
“M,” and “maid” is “put down,” because it begins with a small “m.”
{p172}
“Abelard taught Eloisa music.”
Here “Abelard,” “Eloisa” are “put up,” and “music” is “put down.”
This premised, understood, and forgiven, we are ready for the—
RULES FOR THE RIGHT USE OF CAPITALS.
Rule 1. The initial letter of every sentence should be a capital.
Yours received. Glad to hear from you. Will answer next week.
Capitals, Y, G, W, as per Rule 1.
And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can
bear.—_Genesis 4 : 13._
Capitals, A and M; for here are two sentences, although one is included
in the other.
Cain said that his punishment was greater than he could bear.
Capital C, by Rule 1; but the included words of Cain being brought in
obliquely, no capital is required.
Cicero said, “There is no moment without some duty”; and who doubts
the wisdom of Cicero?
C and T are put up, by Rule 1.
On the first day of January, Artemus Ward made this remark: Now is a
good time to _resoloot_.
O and N are put up, by Rule 1.
Few truisms are truer than this paradox of Aristotle,—To mankind in
general, the parts are greater than the whole.
F and T are put up, by Rule 1.
It has been said, that the included sentence should not be capitalized
unless immediately preceded by a colon: but the {p173} above examples
show, that a sentence _directly introduced_ must be capitalized,
whatever point precedes it,—comma, comma-dash, colon, or any other
pause-mark.
He asked why he was arrested, and we replied that he was arrested on
suspicion.
Initial capital H, by Rule 1.
He asked, “Why am I arrested?” and we replied, “On suspicion.”
Here are three initial capitals, and properly; for the reply, fully
expressed, would be, “You are arrested on suspicion.”
So, also, captions, head-lines, side-heads, etc., being imperfect
sentences, fall under Rule 1. The same is true of particulars depending
from a general heading; as—
Property destroyed by the late fire:
Seventy reams elephant paper;
Tables, chairs, desks;
Old-fashioned hall-clock;
Johnson’s Dictionary, 1st ed.
We have remarked above, on the passage from Genesis, that a sentence
introduced obliquely requires no capital. In the following example,
_whether Sparta should be inclosed with walls_ is an indirect question,
and is not capitalized; while the answer, being direct, takes a capital.
To the question whether Sparta should be inclosed with walls, Lycurgus
made this answer: “That city is well fortified which has a wall of men
instead of brick.”
Kerl’s rule (Grammar, p. 41) is “Within a sentence, the first word of
any important beginning may commence with a capital letter.” This rule
is probably as precise as can be framed to meet his first example,
“_Resolved_, That our Senators be requested, etc.” His second example,
“One truth is clear: Whatever is, is right,” falls within his rule,
and our Rule 1. (_See_ page 81, for capitalizing, etc., preambles,
resolutions, provisos, etc.) {p174}
When a sentence is introduced obliquely, a capital is not required,
even if the passage introduced have quotation marks, and make perfect
sense without the introductory prefix, as in the following example:
It is remarked by Parton, that “a man who retains to the age of
seventy-nine the vigor of manhood and the liveliness of a boy, cannot,
at any period of his life, have egregiously violated the laws of his
being.”
2. The first letter in every line of poetry should be a capital.
When on the larboard quarter they descry
A liquid column towering shoot on high,
The guns were primed; the vessel northward veers,
Till her black battery on the column bears.
_Falconer’s Shipwreck._
Thereat the champions both stood still a space,
To weeten what that dreadful clamor meant:
Lo! where they spied with speedy whirling pace
One in a charet of strange furniment,
Towards them driving like a storm outsent.
The charet deckèd was in wondrous wise
With gold and many a gorgeous ornament,
After the Persian monarch’s antique guise,
Such as the maker’s self could best by art devise.
_Spenser’s Faerie Queene._
But in reprinting ancient hymns, etc., follow the ancient style,—as in
the following from the Bible printed in London by Robert Barker, in
1615:
Here is the Spring where waters flow,
to quench our heat of sinne:
Here is the Tree where trueth doth grow,
to leade our liues therein:
This is the Iudge that stints the strife
when mens deuices faile:
Here is the Bread that feeds the life
that death can not assaile.
{p175}
3. Principal words in the titles of books, of important documents,
of proclamations, of edicts, of conventions, and words of especial
distinction in monographs, should be put up.
Who is the author of “The Mill on the Floss”?
The English barons obtained _Magna Charta_, or the Great Charter, from
King John, A.D. 1215.
When the Edict of Nantes was revoked by Louis XIV., above 50,000
Huguenots fled from France.
The father of Watts the hymnist, suffered much after the withdrawal of
the Declaration of Indulgence.
Every State having chess clubs in its cities should organize a State
Chess Association, and these associations should send delegates to the
Annual Convention of the National Association.—_Phil. Ledger._
The President of the United States, the Sovereign of England, and the
Governors of the several States of our Union, issue proclamations.
Despots issue edicts,—sometimes called by the more general name of
“decrees,” as in Ezra 6 : 1, 3. From Esther 1 : 19–22 we learn that a
“royal commandment” was sent into all the king’s provinces, “that
every man should bear rule in his own house.” If any of our readers
have occasion to put in type, or read the proof of, the title of an
edict or decree, they will, of course, make it agree with the rule. Of
proclamations we have several every year. Frequently all the letters
of the titles are capitals; otherwise, the capitals appear as in the
following example:
BY HIS EXCELLENCY, B. A.,
_Governor of the State_ [or _Commonwealth_] of ——.
A PROCLAMATION for a Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer.
In a monograph of a geological survey the following paragraph appears:
The dark laminated clays of the Cretaceous passing up into the Upper
Cretaceous are well shown . . . . passing up {p176} into brown
sandstones of the Coal group. There is great uniformity in the Upper
Cretaceous and Tertiary series.—
_Hayden, Survey Montana._
Webster says, that the Carboniferous age “embraces three periods, the
Subcarboniferous, the Carboniferous, and the Permian,” but the Fifth
Ann. Rep. U. S. Geol. Survey, doubtless for some good reason, changes
the style to the sub-Carboniferous (_v._ remark under Rule 8, on
“transatlantic,” etc.).
The main subject under discussion being Woman Suffrage, those words
were properly capitalized in the following paragraph:
It is conceded . . . that the avowal even, of faith in the principle
of Woman Suffrage, would handicap the party most seriously.
In accordance with Rule 3 was this direction touching a Report on
Education:
Spell “report” with capital R, when it refers to this Report; l. c.
[lower-case] in other cases.
Presidential, imperial, kingly, ducal, etc., titles are put down
when used generally, but are put up when applied to persons. In the
following example “_an_ emperor” is down, while “_the_ Emperor” is put
up.
The events which now took place in the interior of Germany were such
as usually happened when either the throne was without an emperor,
or the Emperor without a sense of his imperial dignity.—_Schiller’s
Thirty Years’ War._
Beginning with President Washington and including President Harrison,
the United States has had twenty-three presidents.
4. Names and appellations of the Supreme Being should be capitalized.
We forbear inserting a list of the sacred names, too often written and
uttered “in vain.” The reader is probably {p177} familiar with them
from listening to Sabbath services, and reading religious books with
which, we hope, his library abounds.
The word “providence” should be put down or up, according to its
meaning, as may be seen in the two following sentences:
But behold now another providence of God; a ship came into the harbor.
. . . This ship had store of English beads and some knives.—_New
England’s Memorial._
The world was all before them, where to choose
Their place of rest, and Providence their guide.—_Milton._
Nouns ordinarily common become proper when written as names of the
Supreme Being.
I hope my merciful Judge will bear in mind my heavy punishment on
earth.—_Pickwick Papers_, ch. 44.
Emerson refers “all productions at last to an aboriginal
Power.”—_Century Maga._
Plato said, that in all nations certain minds dwell on the
“fundamental Unity,” and “lose all being in one Being.”—_Ib._
In the above examples, the effect of capitals in conveying the idea of
personality is strikingly illustrated.
Pronouns referring to the Deity are not usually put up,—excepting the
personals “He,” “Him.”
O thou, whose justice reigns on high.—_Watts._
O thou, Most High—_Ps. 56 : 2._
Father of all mercies, we, thine unworthy servants, do give thee most
humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness.—_Common Prayer._
_Thou_, _whose_, _thine_, _thy_, properly lower-case.
Usage is ununiform as to capitalizing the pronoun of the third person,
when referring to the Deity; some using the capital in all three cases
(He, His, Him), while others capitalize the nominative and objective,
and put “his” down; and still others put all the cases down.
God does love us. As any loving father or mother, He wants
us to want His society, and to love to be with and talk with
Him.—_Congregationalist._
Small letter in the possessive, capital in the objective: {p178}
All the works of God . . . declare the glory of his perfections.
. . . But how gross are the conceptions generally entertained of the
character of Him “in whom we live and move!”
_Dick. Improv’t Soc._ § VI.
All the cases down:
. . . They can know but little . . . of that happiness which God has
prepared for them that love him; but . . . this suffices them, that
they shall see him as he is, etc. . . . the expectation founded upon
his own gracious promise, etc.—_Rev. John Newton’s Sermon on the
“happy recovery” of King George (modern reprint)._
But, whatever the style of the office, there is one category in which
the personal pronoun must be capitalized: it is when no antecedent is
expressed. Such cases are not of infrequent occurrence. If one were to
write—
In all her troubles this good lady never failed to express her
confidence in the care of him in whom she had put her trust—
the meaning would be doubtful; “him” might refer to some humane
relative, or to the superintendent of the almshouse. But if the
sentence were written—
. . . this good lady never failed to express her confidence in the
care of Him in whom, etc.—
the meaning—that the Deity is intended—becomes clear.
Adjuncts qualifying names applied to Deity usually require no capitals:
For when we consider ourselves as the creatures of God . . . what can
induce us to love, fear, and trust Him, as our God, our Father, and
all-sufficient Friend and Helper.—
_Mason’s Self-Knowledge._
Here “all-sufficient” is properly put down; as are also “great” and
“common” in the following paragraph:
Not only honor and justice, and what I owe to man is my interest; but
gratitude also, acquiescence, resignation, adoration, and all I owe to
this great polity, and its great Governor our common Parent.—_Harris._
{p179}
But many cases occur where the adjective is properly put up; especially
if the adjective itself denotes sacredness, as the following examples
show:
Klopstock . . . suffers himself to forget that the [French] revolution
itself is a process of the Divine Providence.—
_Coleridge Biog. Lit._
Among the greater number of pagan nations, the most absurd
and grovelling notions are entertained respecting the Supreme
Intelligence, and the nature of that worship which his perfections
demand.—_Dick._
We are apt to entertain narrow conceptions of the Divine
Nature.—_Addison._
The words “Christian” and “Christianity” the best usage puts up; nor
does there seem to be any good reason why “christianize” should not
also be capitalized.
There are instances where the word “divine,” though referring to sacred
personages, should not be put up; as—
If Christ did not hold this key, how is He divine?—
_Congregationalist._
The words “godly,” “godfather,” “godmother” are put down: Webster has
“godspeed,” and says it is “written also as two separate words, as in
2 John 10.” Worcester does not admit the phrase as one word in his
defining columns, but prints it as two, under the word “God”; quoting
the same text as Webster. The Congressional Record, 50th Congress,
uses capital and hyphen, thus: “God-speed”; and this form is adopted
by Abbot Bassett, the talented editor of the L. A. W. Bulletin, in his
Farewell to former Chief Consul Hayes:
Take now the hand we so often have shaken,
Speak from our feelings so hard to subdue,
Send him in joyfulness out from our circle,
Give him a hearty God-speed and adieu.
Still Webster’s style of one word, lower-case, is, we think,
preferable, and most used.
The word “gospel” when used generally,—in the sense of good
tidings,—should be down; as “Woe is me, if I {p180} preach not the
gospel.” But when used as part of a title to a specific book, it goes
up; as “The Gospel according to St. Matthew”; “The Apocryphal Gospel of
St. Thomas”; “The Gospel of St. Luke.”
5. Names of ancient Greek and Roman divinities, and of all pagan and
heathen gods, should be put up.
When the word “god” or “goddess” is applied to a paganic divinity,
it is put down. This remark and our Rule 5 are both exemplified in
Darwin’s lines,—
First two dread snakes, at Juno’s vengeful nod,
Climbed round the cradle of the sleeping god.
_Botanic Garden._
So, also, 1 Kings 11 : 33:
Worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of
the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon.
The names applied to evil spirits should be put up:
And Satan came also among them.—_Job_ 1 : 6.
Then Apollyon said unto Christian, “Here will I spill thy
soul.”—_Bunyan._
During a violent thunderstorm, the converted Chinese steward
disappeared. The captain found him below, making prostrations before
a gilded image. “How is this?” demanded the astonished captain; “I
thought you were a Christian.” The Chinaman replied, “Your God velly
well, fine weather; stolm like this, want Joss.”
In the above example, the objects of Christian and pagan worship are
properly capitalized.
From the foregoing remarks, etc., especially under Rule 4, it will be
perceived that capitalization is, in the department of theology as in
all others, mostly regulated by office style. But in forming a style,
the above rules and examples may be found serviceable.
6. The pronoun I, and the interjection O, should always be put up.
{p181}
I scarcely knew how long I had sat there when I became aware of a
recognition.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.—_Ps._ cxlvi.
But in Latin the “O” is frequently put down.
Huc ades, ô formosa puer.—_Virgil._
Adestes o Maria, o Angele, o Patroni castitatis meæ.—
_Libellus Precum, Georgiopoli, D.C._
7. Some words which are put down when spelled in full, are put up when
contracted.
The Dr. called upon me. Need I say, I regretted the happiness of
seeing the doctor?
“Patent-office, number 16” may be written, “Patent-office, No. 16.”
The honorable the Secretary of the Navy.
The Hon. the Secretary of the Navy.
But certain suffixes, whether spelled in full or contracted, are put up
or down, or in small caps, capitalized, according to the style of the
words to which they are suffixed; as, for instance, the words “junior”
and “esquire,” which are put one degree less in dignity than the words
to which they are attached; as:
John Smith, jr., esq., [or “junior, esquire.”]
The person’s name being lower-case capitalized, “jr.” and “esq.” are
put down.
JOHN DOE, Jr. Esq., [or “Junior, Esquire.”]
The names being small caps, capitalized, the “jr.” and “esq.” are put
up.
RICHARD ROE, JR. ESQ., [or “JUNIOR, ESQUIRE.”]
The names being in capitals, the suffixes are capitals and small
capitals.
But “D.D.” “LL.D.” “M.D.” etc., are put in large or small capitals
according to office style, or a style adapted for the work in which
they appear: as— {p182}
John Doe, LL.D.; RICHARD ROE, PH.D.; J. SMITH, M.D.; ABEL MONEY, F.R.S.
Words connected with a number of designation are often put up,—and this
is the better way. So, though the words “Bay,” “Dock,” etc., in the
following examples may properly be put down if the office style require
it, yet the unfettered compositor and reader will prefer to put up
those, and all words similarly placed; as:
The planks of Bay No. 6 on Chelsea Bridge have been replaced by
ordinary boards purchased at Dock No. 8.
We arrived at Station 16, and proceeded thence through Lock 12 to Dam
No. 8.
8. Names of persons, of things personified, of nations, countries,
cities, towns, streets, ships, etc., should be put up.
Capt. Samuel Jones sailed in ship Minerva, from Sandy Hook to Tanjong
Bolus, the most southerly point of the continent of Asia.
A charming and _spirituelle_ Frenchwoman said of Julius Mohl, that
Nature, in forming his character, had skimmed the cream of the three
nationalities to which he belonged by birth, by adoption, and by
marriage; making him “deep as a German, _spirituel_ as a Frenchman,
and loyal as an Englishman.”—_Atlantic Monthly._
Charles, Susan, William, Henrietta Matilda, Benjamin Harrison Smith,
come in, this minute!
Under this rule proper adjectives may also be classed; as:
The French and American Claims Commission.
He is familiar with the German, French, Russian, Bengalee, Chinese,
and Grebo languages.
Is the Monroe doctrine heartily concurred in by European nations?
Names of political parties should be put up.
Democrat, Democratic, Democracy, Republican, Republicanism,
Woman-Suffragists, Women’s Rights party, Locofocos, Whigs, Tories,
Free-Soilers, Liberals, Independents, etc. {p183}
But when any of these words are used in a general sense, they should be
put down; as:
Whatever requires to be done by slow and cautious degrees does not
accord with the spirit of democracy.—_De Staël._
The tendency of some European nations is toward republicanism.
The words “state” and “territory” applied to political divisions of the
United States should be put up; as:
The State of North Dakota. The Territory of Utah.
This State gave a Republican majority.
Some nouns and adjectives originally proper have, by usage, the common
form; as:
We sell silver, china, and iron wares.
There is great demand for india-rubber goods.
His pets are guinea-pigs and guinea-hens.
That maltese cat follows her everywhere.
He wears russia-leather boots, morocco gaiters, and a fez cap when
dancing the german.
The burglars secured six german silver spoons.
Numbers are denoted by roman capitals or arabic figures.
There are some words yet on debatable ground. It is safe to write
“plaster of Paris” or “plaster of paris.” The latter form is well
enough for so common an article, and should be preferred by compositors.
Some words which are put up when alone, are put down when they coalesce
with a preposition; as:
I crossed the Atlantic to view transatlantic countries.
The transpacific people are apt merchants.
But some write “inter-State,” “cis-Platine,” “trans-Atlantic,”
“cis-Padane,” “cis-Alpine,” etc. We know of no good authority for such
work. It has no countenance from our lexicographers: and the hyphen and
capital in the middle of the words are needless deformities.
NOTE. The “etc.” in Rule 7 is like one spoken of by Coke (an “etc.”
of Littleton, I am told), “full of {p184} excellent meaning.”
Descending from the name of a continent to the designations “beat,”
“precinct,” “alley”; or ascending from “wharf,” “alley” to the name
of a continent, through lessening or increasing subdivisions, the
line must be drawn _somewhere_ between what is to be put up and what
is to be put down. Just where the line is drawn between capital and
lower-case initials, between the aristocrats of the page and _hoi
polloi_, is of very little consequence; but as uniformity in a work is
desirable while proof-readers are liable to differ, it is as important
to have an umpire in a proof-room as it is on a base-ball ground. And
as capitalization is wholly arbitrary, the essential qualities of an
umpire are, that he shall have a good memory, so as not to overset
to-day the decisions of yesterday, and a strong will of his own, which
shall not allow any obstinate reader to step across the important
imaginary line which separates the _ups_ from the _downs_,—the
majuscules from the minuscules.
If a printing-office requires the services of but one reader, he, happy
man, can suit himself, even though reasonably sure that he will suit
nobody else—so various and set are the opinions of men on matters of
trifling moment. If, however, two readers are employed, and on the same
work, the one with the best judgment should be allowed to decide all
doubtful points; but in this case, as in matrimonial life, the question
as to which has the best judgment, is usually decided, if not by the
strongest will, by the will of the party most reckless of consequences.
But in proof-reading, any point in dispute is usually so trifling, that
the readers can call in the office-boy, technically called printer’s
—— but we were once youngest apprentice ourself, and choose to forget
the word,—and let him settle it; whereas, in matrimonial life it is a
different Agency with a similar name who is generally called in, and
“by decision more embroils the fray.” {p185}
To show the absurdity of supposing that good readers will not differ in
the use of capitals, we once wrote a paragraph, and gave an exact copy
to each of two skilled proof-readers, desiring them to capitalize it as
they thought it should be capitalized if about to go to press. We will
here give the paragraph as we wrote it—without regard to rules—and then
exhibit their corrections, etc., in parallel columns:
Mr. Quilp lives on a wharf which is connected by an alley with a city
reservation in beat 17, precinct 8, ward 14. Said reservation is
called poplar square; an avenue, known as chestnut avenue, connects
that square with Washington street; and Washington street is a
thoroughfare connecting the Snowhill division of Junction city with
the city of Boomerang, the capital of the state of Cherokee—a state
just admitted to the union, and to all the privileges of this happy
nation, the United States of America,—the foremost republic of the
western hemisphere.
That the differences and agreements in capitalizing may be readily
observed, the two returned copies, as left by their respective readers,
are printed below, side by side.
READER A. READER B.
Mr. Quilp lives on a wharf │ Mr. Quilp lives on a wharf
which is connected by an alley │ which is connected by an alley
with a city reservation in beat │ with a city reservation in Beat
17, precinct 8, ward 14. Said │ 17, Precinct 8, Ward 14. Said
reservation is called Poplar square; │ reservation is called Poplar Square;
an avenue, known as Chestnut avenue, │ an avenue, known as Chestnut avenue,
connects that square with Washington │ connects that square with Washington
street; and Washington street is a │ street; and Washington street is a
thoroughfare connecting Snowhill │ thoroughfare connecting Snowhill
division of Junction City with the │ division of Junction City with the
city of Boomerang, the capital of │ city of Boomerang, the capital of
the State of Cherokee—a State just │ the State of Cherokee—a State just
admitted to the Union, and to all │ admitted to the Union, and to all
the privileges of this happy nation, │ the privileges of this happy nation,
the United States of America—the │ the United States of America—the
foremost republic of the western │ foremost republic of the Western
hemisphere. │ Hemisphere.
{p186}
One of these styles may be just as good as the other (see chapter on
“Style”); but whichever were selected, should be strictly adhered to,
through the whole book or work to which it was deemed applicable. Had
the above paragraph been given to still a third reader, very likely
he would have capitalized “Division,” as being of more consequence
than a beat or a ward; another would have deemed “Precinct” worthy of
being put up, while “beat” would have been placed in the small-letter
obscurity of “wharf” and “alley.” Another would say that localities
designated by a number should always be put up; as “Beat 6,” “Station
A” (See closing remark and examples, under Rule 7). The words “street”
and “avenue” are left down by both the above readers. The _Atlantic
Monthly_ puts those words up,—“The junction of Beacon Street and
Brookline Avenue”; the _Century_ magazine has “Canal street, its former
upper boundary”; _Harper’s Maga._ speaks of “the old house in St. Louis
Street in which,” etc. Each office makes its own style.
The word “city” in “Junction City” is put up,—the _two_ words forming
the city’s name. Whether to print “New York City” or “New York city”
is a moot point,—at present a matter of style. Some insist that as
_ocean_, _sea_, _city_, _street_, etc., are common nouns, they so
remain when connected with a proper adjective, and should be put
down,—and from this starting-point they have endeavored to frame a
general, and at the same time practical, rule for capitalizing common
nouns, which, when described by proper adjectives, form parts of
individual names. But, judging from our experience in proof-reading,
the endeavor has thus far been unsuccessful. The adjective, the {p187}
distinguishing word, always begins with a capital; as in “Bristol
county,” “Atlantic ocean.” The rule then, formulated, amounts to
this: “Put the distinguishing word up, and the class name down.”
But usage will not allow this; we must not write “Long island,”
“James smith,”—wherefore the rule has this qualification: “If the
distinguishing word alone _does not clearly designate the object_,
both words must be put up.” This qualification virtually annuls the
rule,—for different minds have different opinions as to whether the
object is, or is not, “clearly designated.” Reader A writes “Poplar
square,” while Reader B writes “Poplar Square.” Under the rule and
qualification, mentioned above, we have set before us, as correct
examples, “Hudson river, Red River”; as if the significance of such
prefixes as “red, swift, narrow, deep,” could not be determined by
the insertion or omission of the article _a_, of which we shall speak
farther on,—but must be made by capitalizing “river.” But admitting
that the capitalizing of “River” more clearly designates the object, we
doubt whether any printer or reader would wittingly pass one “river”
down, and another “River” up, in the same work; and the average writer
and reader for the press can hardly be supposed to take much time to
study whether a given river or city or square is just within or outside
of the limit of “clear designation.” Among the proof-readers of a
certain large work on geography, which seems to have been carefully
read, there must have been some difference of opinion on this point;
for it speaks of “the bay of Biscay” and “the Gulf of Mexico”; and
the “Atlantic ocean” of Vol. 1, becomes the “Atlantic Ocean” of Vol.
2. And such discrepancies must appear in every work which is printed
under {p188} the rule “Put the object down and the distinguishing
word up—_with exceptions_,” unless the exceptions are mentioned
individually, seriatim, and a list of the same given to all employees
who are expected to set type and read proof under such rule.
The objection to putting the class name down, is not so much that the
distinguishing word alone ever fails to “clearly designate the object,”
as that usage in many instances, and a sense of personal dignity in
others, prevent all family and many other class names from sinking into
lower-case. It were—there being no usage in its favor—a shame to print
“Andrew Jackson” with a little “j,” although the distinguishing word
“Andrew” would clearly designate the individual intended. “We sailed
past Long island” could not possibly be mistaken for “We sailed past
a long island.” In conversation the mere omission of the article _a_
would clearly indicate that we had a particular island in view, and
what island it was, even if we were not to inform an interlocutor,
that, were we to print our remark we should capitalize the “L,” and
very possibly the “I.”
“We sailed on _a_ red river,”—it may have been the Raritan, or any
other river running among iron ore; or it may have been any one of
the twelve streams of the United States which bear each the name
“Red river”; the article _a_, as Murray observes, “determines the
object spoken of to be one single thing of a kind, leaving it still
uncertain which.” “It is,” says Murray further, “an excellence of the
English language,” that, “by means of its two articles it does _most
precisely determine the extent of signification of common names_.” By
the omission of the article _a_, then, a particular river is “most
precisely determined,”—and, in print, {p189} capitalizing the “R” of
the adjective makes assurance doubly sure. But since long-established
usage determines that “Long Island,” “Harper’s Ferry,” “Lake Ontario,”
“George Washington,” etc., shall have both words put up, uniformity can
be secured only by extending that mode of capitalization to all words
in the same category—unless, as we have intimated, each exception be
mentioned individually, so that every printer may “clearly designate”
(so to speak) what is expected of him.
9. A word usually put down may be put up, or _vice versa_, by reason of
propinquity to some other word which is in the opposite category as to
capitalization.
We are not aware that this rule, or an equivalent to it, has been
formulated until now, but we have known changes in capitalizing to be
made in compliance with the principle of the rule.
A printed report (Reform School) reads:
The visitors were cordially received and welcomed by the
Superintendent and matron of the Board of Trustees.
The style required that, usually, “Superintendent” should be up, and
“Matron” down, as printed above. But when the words are so near each
other, the small _m_ looks—without regard to the maxim, _Place aux
dames_—as if the lady were subjected to an intentional slight. We think
it had been better thus:
The visitors were cordially . . . welcomed by the Superintendent and
the Matron of the Board of Trustees.
By the way, this insertion of _the_ before “Matron” shows that the
Matron was not also the Superintendent—thus illustrating Murray’s
remark on the “two articles,” mentioned near the close of the note
under Rule 8, _ante_. {p190}
This clause also occurs:
Friends of the school residing in the city and District.
Here “city” is put down, as if of less consequence than the outlying
parts of the “District” [of Columbia].
That is correct, according to usual office style; but had “city” been
put up, or “district” down, it would have been more pleasing to the
eye, and would not, probably, have wrought any mischief. In the use
of capitals, rules should be, and in fact are, very bendable. When we
write “the _member_ of Congress,” member is down, though we capitalize
“the Delegate from the Territory of Blank.” But when “Member and
Delegate” occur in the same sentence, both words are put up, agreeably
to Rule 9.
It is a good rule adopted in some printing-offices, that where the same
appellation is given to several persons or public bodies, only the
highest in rank shall be honored with capitals.
For instance, in speaking of the highest tribunal in the land, put up
“the Supreme Court”; but if a State court is spoken of put the initials
down, thus,—“the supreme court of Minnesota,” as in the following
paragraph:
This view of the law was sustained by the supreme court of Louisiana,
and, upon writ of error, by the Supreme Court of the United States
(Day _vs._ Micou, 18 Wall., 156).
So, also, “the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme
Court”—capitals; “the chief justice of the supreme court of
Maryland”—lower-case; the highest “Commissioner” in any Governmental
Department, up; a road commissioner, down. A steady adherence to
this rule might aid students and others to discriminate between the
“Governor” of a State and the “governor” of a family; and if a decision
is rendered by “the full bench of the Supreme Court,” one would know
that no appeal could be had,—while if a decision is made by “the
supreme court,” it might, perhaps, be carried up on appeal.
But this distinction can never be fully carried out. We have known
it to be set aside by the following direction {p191} marking out a
“special style” for a volume of “Decisions”: “Capitalize Supreme Court,
Court of Claims, Circuit Court, District Court, and Supreme Court of
Tennessee.” Besides, Great Men are inimical to small letters. The
President of a Village Lyceum insists on being put up as high as the
President of the United States,—in fact, the said _p_resident may feel
that he is “a bi_g_er man” than the _P_resident.
And if, on the other hand, as some proof-readers have contended,
capitalization should be employed to distinguish, in print, our
Government from every foreign Government, the effect would be almost
too ridiculous to state; as:
The Chief Executive of the United States had an interview with the
chief executive of Mexico. The President said to the president,
“How do you do?”—and the president replied, “I am better than ever
I was before, for I see the President of the Great Colossus of the
North.”—“And I,” rejoined the President, “am delighted with the
honor of conversing with the great colossus of the south.” Here
the president bowed to the President, and the President shook the
president’s hand. The One then took his Oysters on the Half-Shell, and
the other his oysters on the half-shell.
The style was once verging toward something very ridiculous, and might
have proceeded to the above extreme had not a distinguished Secretary
of State, several years ago, made some well-timed suggestions.
If the office style require “board,” “bureau,” etc., referring to a
corporation, or collection of individuals, to be put down, cases like
the following should form exceptions:
The festive board was graced by the festive board of directors of the
Rochester saw-mills.
It should be printed “Board of Directors.”
A new bureau has been forwarded to the new bureau of musical notation.
Put up “Bureau of Musical Notation.”
Thus, by a judicious selection and arrangement of capital and
lower-case letters, Boards and Bureaus of gentlemen may {p192} be
readily differentiated from mere furniture, mahogany or black-walnut
boards and bureaus.
The principle of a change of style by reason of juxtaposition, is
recognized in the following direction for printing an important work
on the fisheries: “Put quantities, measurements, distances, and sums
of money in figures; numbers of men and vessels spelled, _except where
large numbers occur together_.”
RECAPITULATION.
In the preceding part of this chapter we felt it necessary to give many
examples, and enter upon some discussion of styles. To save time and
trouble in turning many leaves to find some particular rule, we give
below, all the rules in compact form, with but brief, if any, examples
in illustration.
RULE I. The initial letter of every sentence should be a capital.
This rule has been long established. It scarcely requires an example.
RULE II. The first letter in every line of poetry should be a capital.
What though my wingèd hours of bliss have been
Like angel-visits, few and far between.—_Campbell._
RULE III. Principal words in the titles of books, of important
documents, of proclamations, of edicts, of conventions, and words of
especial distinction in monographs, should be put up.
There is in the library a book entitled, “An Interesting Narrative
of the Travels of James Bruce, Esq., into Abyssinia, to Discover the
Source of the Nile.” {p193}
RULE IV. Names and appellations of the Supreme Being should be
capitalized.
RULE V. Names of ancient Greek and Roman divinities, and of all pagan
and heathen gods, should be put up.
Æsculapius restored many to life, of which Pluto complained
to Jupiter, who struck Æsculapius with thunder, but Apollo,
angry at the death of his son, killed the Cyclops who made the
thunderbolts.—_Lempriere._
RULE VI. The pronoun I, and the interjection O, should always be put up.
Here am I; send me, O king!
RULE VII. Some words which are put down when spelled in full, are put
up when contracted.
The honorable the Secretary of the Treasury.
The Hon. the Secretary of the Treasury.
RULE VIII. Names of persons, of things personified, of nations,
countries, cities, towns, streets, ships, etc., should be put up.
And well may Doubt, the mother of Dismay,
Pause at her martyr’s tomb.—_Campbell._
RULE IX. A word usually put down may be put up, or _vice versa_, by
reason of propinquity to some other word which is in the opposite
category as to capitalization.
The Secretary of War complimented the Secretary of the Typographical
Union, upon his skill with the shooting-stick.
Shall the Choctaw Nation or this Nation adjust the northern boundary?
{p194}
Before leaving the subject of capitalization, we must observe that
there is diversity among authors and printers in regard to the use
of capitals when two or more questions occur in succession. The rule
generally given is, “Capitalize each question”: but the exceptions are
so numerous, depending on some common relation to a term expressed or
understood (_see_ Obs. 30 and 31, Rule 29, Chap. V., _ante_), that we
forbear indorsing the rule to which we have above referred. Indeed, it
often happens that questions occurring singly are so connected with
what goes before, that they do not require to be capitalized. Each case
must be settled by the judgment of editor or author,—there is no common
standard of reference, as can easily be shown by comparing different
editions of the same work. In Buckingham’s Shakspeare, printed in
Boston, we read in As you Like It, Act 5, Sc. 2:
_Orl._ Is’t possible that on so little acquaintance you should like
her? . . . And will you persever, etc.,
the last question having a capital _A_; but in the London edition of
French & Co., we have—
_Orl._ Is’t possible that on so little acquaintance you should like
her? . . . and will you persever, etc.,
in which the last of the several questions has a lower-case _a_. Every
editor endeavors to capitalize correctly—by suiting himself.
{p195}