[83] The Law fulfils itself: that which we must not copy is that which we cannot copy.
[84] E.g. the letters in the tenth-century English hand—[Plate VIII.]: excepting the archaic long
and round
(b, fig. [183]).
[85] The propriety of the actual form of the new letter will largely depend on the scribe’s knowledge of the development of that particular letter and its component parts (comp. the interesting development of g, sketched in fig. [3] & [183], but note correction of Ex. 173 in Addenda, p. [26]).
[86] The proportions of the thick strokes, stem heights, &c., in a given hand need not be exactly followed, but it should be recognised that any alteration in these will inevitably alter the forms and the character of the letters (fig. [183], and pp. [84] & [26]).
[87] In English so many ascending and descending letters are used, that it might be the best and most natural treatment of these to make them a marked feature of the writing (see also “Fine Writing,” pp. [261]–[63]). Note, in this connection, that our a b c has been developed as a Latin alphabet, and that the evenness of Latin MS. is largely due to the infrequence of tailed letters.
[88] Where there is only a slight difference in size, the effect is improved by using a different form or colour (see pp. [130], [345]).