"Fr. Grabeler; It. Garbellare. Cotgrave says, Grabeller, to garble spices, &c., (and hence) also to examine precisely, sift nearly, look narrowly, search curiously into."
After giving some examples of its use, Richardson says:
"As usually applied in England, to garble is to pick out, sift out what may serve a particular purpose, and thus destroy or mutilate the fair character of the whole."
To go no farther, the reports of the parliamentary debates, when a "Blue Book" happens to furnish matter for discussion, amply confirm Richardson's definition, that to garble is to pick out what may serve a purpose. In this sense, however, E. S. T. T. must admit that it would be as much garbling to quote all the good passages of a work as to quote all the bad ones. May we not then assume the present meaning of the word garble to be this—to quote passages with the view of conveying an impression of the ability or intention of a writer, which is not warranted by the general scope of the work?
C. Ross.
"Lyra Apostolica" (Vol. ix., p. 304.).—There is, I believe, a slight inaccuracy in the rotation of the names given at the above page as the writers in the Lyra Apostolica. They go in alphabetical order, thus α, Bowden; β, Froude; γ, Keble; δ, Newman; ε, Wilberforce; ζ, Williams.
B. R. A. Y.
The poems signed ζ. were written by Williams, not by Wilberforce.
Can you explain the meaning of the motto on the title-page—
"Γνοῖεν δ', ὡς δὴ δηρὸν ἐγὼ πολέμοιο πέπαυμαι"?