In manuscript capitals are indicated by three lines under a word or letter,
and small capitals by two lines
. A single line
indicates that italics are to be used.
Originally the writers of manuscripts used capitals for ornament and variety in the text. They followed no rules but each writer was guided by his own judgment and sense of beauty. As the use of capitals gradually became systematized and reduced to rules, different systems were adopted in different countries. The use of capitals varies greatly in different languages. Attention will be mainly confined in this book to the usages followed in the printing of English. Attempts to point out the various differences to be found in German, French, etc. would only confuse the young apprentice.
These rules grow out of a fundamental principle.
The purpose of capitals is to emphasize the words in which they are employed. With the exception of the cases of the words I and O, which are capitalized for typographical reasons, this idea of calling special attention to a word, or words, for one reason or another will be found to be at the bottom of the variations in usage in different printing offices and by different writers. The same tendency is observable here which is so evident in style and in punctuation. Direct statements, simple sentences as free from involution and complication as possible, are more and more taking the place of the involved, complicated, and obscure sentences of old times. The ideal style of to-day consists of simple words simply arranged. Such a style needs little pointing. The reader is quite able to find his way through the paragraph without constant direction. Punctuation marks are directions at the crossroads of thought. Consequently the punctuation mark is now much more sparingly used than formerly.