Ex. Write “Life of L. V. Bell,” “ed. by F. J. Furnivall,” but “Lives of Cicero, Milton, Tell, Washington;” and distinguish by initials the Bachs, Grimms, Humboldts, Schlegels. Short may as well omit the initials of editors, translators, etc.
E. g.
Dante. Divine comedy; tr. by Cayley. London, 1851–54. 4 v. S.
— Same. Tr. by Wright. London, Bohn, 1854. O.
— Same. Tr. by Longfellow. Boston, 1867. 3 v. O. {70}
156. Abbreviate certain common words always, and less common words in a long title which can not be shortened in any other way.
Abbreviations should suggest the word for which they are used, and should not, if it can be avoided, suggest any other. When one abbreviation is used for two words, if the context does not determine the sense the abbreviation must be lengthened. The most common and useful are Abp. (Archbishop), a. d. Lat. (aus dem Lateinischen), add. (additions), Amer. or Am. (American), anon. (anonymous), app. (appendix), Aufl., Ausg., or even A. (Auflage, Ausgabe), bibl. (biblical, bibliographical, bibliotheca, etc.), biog. (biographical, biography), Bp. (Bishop), B. S. L., etc. (Bohn’s scientific library, etc.), Chr. (Christian), class. (classical), col. or coll. (collections, college), com. (commerce, committee), comp. (compiled, compiler), conc. (concerning), dept. (department), dom. (domestic), ed. (edited, edition, editor), encyc. (encyclopædia), ff. (folios or leaves), geog., geol., geom. (geology, geography, geometry), ges. (gesammelte), Ges. or Gesch. (Geschichte), Gr. (Great, Greek), H. F. L. (Harper’s family library), hrsg. (herausgegeben), imp. (imperfect), incl. (including), int. (intorno), lib. (library), mem. (memoir), mis. or miscel. (miscellaneous), nat. (natural), n. d. (no date of publication), n. p. (no place), n. s. (new series), n. t.-p. (no title-page), nouv. (nouvelle), obl. (oblong), p. pp. (page, pages), pseud. (pseudonym, pseudonymous), pt. (part), pub. (published), rec. (recensuit), rel. (relating, relative), rept. (report), rev. (review, revised), s. or ser. (series), sämm. (sämmtlich), sm. (small), soc. (society), t.-p. mut., t.-p. w. (title-page mutilated, wanting), tr. (translated, traduit, tradotto, etc.), trans. (transactions), u. (und), übers. (übersetzt), v. (volume), v. (von, but give van in full), w. (wanting). For others see Appendix V., pp. [119]–126.
157. Express numbers by Arabic figures instead of words.
Ex. With 30,000 (not thirty thousand) men; but Charles II., in place of King Charles the Second.
158. In Short omit all that can be expressed by position.