UNDER RULE XVI.—OF NEEDLESS CAPITALS.
"Be of good cheer: It is I; be not afraid."—ALGER: Matt., xiv, 27.
[FORMULE.—Not proper, because the word It begins with a capital I, for which there appears to be neither rule nor reason. But, according to Rule 16th, "Capitals are improper wherever there is not some special rule or reason for their use." Therefore, 'it' should here begin with a small letter, as Dr. Scott has it.]
"Between passion and lying, there is not a Finger's breadth."—Murray's Key, p. 240. "Can our Solicitude alter the course, or unravel the intricacy, of human events?"—Ib., p. 242. "The last edition was carefully compared with the Original M. S."—Ib., p. 239. "And the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews?"—ALGER: Matt., xxvii, 11. "Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame, that say, Aha, Aha!"—FRIENDS' BIBLE: Ps., lxx, 3. "Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame, that say unto me, Aha, aha!"—IB.: Ps., xl, 15. "What think ye of Christ? whose Son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in Spirit call him Lord?"—SCOTT: Matt., xxii, 42, 43. "Among all Things in the Universe, direct your Worship to the Greatest; And which is that? 'T is that Being which Manages and Governs all the Rest."—Meditations of M. Aurelius Antoninus, p. 76. "As for Modesty and Good Faith, Truth and Justice, they have left this wicked World and retired to Heaven: And now what is it that can keep you here?"—Ib., p. 81.
"If Pulse of Terse, a Nation's Temper shows,
In keen Iambics English Metre flows."—Brightland's Gram., p. 151.
PROMISCUOUS ERRORS RESPECTING CAPITALS.
LESSON I.—MIXED.
"Come, gentle spring, Ethereal mildness, come."—Gardiner's Music of
Nature, p. 411.
[FORMULES.—1. Not proper, because the word spring begins with a small letter. But, according to Rule 10th, "The name of an object personified, when it conveys an idea strictly individual, should begin with a capital." Therefore "Spring" should here begin with a capital S.
2. Not proper again, because the word Ethereal begins with a capital E, for which there appears to be neither rule nor reason. But, according to Rule 16th. "Capitals are improper whenever there is not some special rule or reason for their use." Therefore, "ethereal" should here begin with a small letter.]
As, "He is the Cicero of his age; he is reading the lives of the Twelve Cæsars."—Murray's Gram., p. 36. "In the History of Henry the fourth, by father Daniel, we are surprized at not finding him the great man."—Priestley's Gram., p. 151. "In the history of Henry the fourth, by Father Daniel, we are surprised at not finding him the great man."—Murray's Gram., p. 172; Ingersoll's, 187; Fisk's, 99. "Do not those same poor peasants use the Lever and the Wedge, and many other instruments?"—Murray, 288; from Harris, 293. "Arithmetic is excellent for the gauging of Liquors; Geometry, for the measuring of Estates; Astronomy, for the making of Almanacks; and Grammar, perhaps, for the drawing of Bonds and Conveyances."—Harris's Hermes, p. 295. "The wars of Flanders, written in Latin by Famianus Strada, is a book of some note."—Blair's Rhet., p. 364. "William is a noun.—why? was is a verb.—why? a is an article.—why? very is an adverb.—why?" &c.—Merchant's School Gram., p. 20. "In the beginning was the word, and that word was with God, and God was that word."—Gwilt's Saxon Gram., p. 49. "The greeks are numerous in thessaly, macedonia, romelia, and albania."—Balbi, varied. "He is styled by the Turks, Sultan (Mighty) or Padishah (lord)."—Balbi's Geog., p. 360. "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues;[109] O grave, I will be thy destruction."—SCOTT, ALGER, ET AL.: Hosea, xiii, 14. "Silver and Gold have I none; but such as I have, give I unto thee."—Murray's Gram., 8vo, p. 321. "Return, we beseech thee, O God of Hosts, look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine."—Ib., p. 342. "In the Attic Commonwealth, it was the privilege of every citizen to rail in public."—Ib., p. 316. "They assert that, in the phrases, 'give me that,' 'this is John's,' and 'such were some of you,' the words in italics are pronouns: but that, in the following phrases, they are not pronouns; 'this book is instructive,' 'some boys are ingenious,' 'my health is declining,' 'our hearts are deceitful,' &c."—Ib., p. 58. "And the coast bends again to the northwest, as far as Far Out head."—Glasgow Geog., Vol. ii, p. 308. Dr. Webster, and other makers of spelling-books, very improperly write "sunday, monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday," without capitals.—See Webster's Elementary Spelling-Book p. 85. "The commander in chief of the Turkish navy is styled the capitan-pasha."—Balbi's Geog., p. 360. "Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the father of spirits, and live?"—SCOTT'S BIBLE: Heb., xii, 9. "Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of Spirits, and live?"—FRIENDS' BIBLE: Heb., xii, 9. "He was more anxious to attain the character of a Christian hero."—Murray's Sequel, p. 308. "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion."—Psalms, xlviii, 2. "The Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."—SCOTT: Heb., xiii, 6. "Make haste to help me, O LORD my Salvation."—SCOTT: Ps., xxxviii, 22.
"The City, which Thou seest, no other deem
Than great and glorious Rome, Queen of the Earth."
Harris's Hermes, p. 49.