Etymologies & Works 1

Isidore: Etymologies, Book I. I. ON DISCIPLINE AND ART. [1] On discipline and art. 'Discipline' (disciplina) took its name from 'learning' (discere); whence it may also be called 'knowledge' (scientia). For 'to know' (scire) is so called from 'to learn' (discere), because none of us knows except him who learns. It is called 'discipline' in another way, because it is learned in full (discitur plena). [2] 'Art' (ars), on the other hand, is so named because it consists of the precepts and rules of art (artis)

consists. Others say that this word was drawn from the Greeks—from arete (that is, from 'virtue'), which they called 'knowledge.' [3] Between art and discipline Plato and Aristotle wished there to be this difference, saying that art has to do with those things which can be otherwise than they are, whereas discipline is that which treats of things which cannot come out otherwise. For when

something is discussed by true demonstrations, it will be discipline; when something merely probable and matter of opinion is treated, it will bear the name of art. II. ON THE SEVEN LIBERAL DISCIPLINES. [1] The disciplines of the liberal arts are seven. The first is grammar, that is, skill in speaking. The second is rhetoric, which, on account of the elegance and abundance of its eloquence, is deemed especially necessary in civil

questions it is considered necessary. The third is dialectic, surnamed logic, which by the subtlest disputations separates the true from the false. [2] The fourth is arithmetic, which comprises the causes and divisions of numbers. The fifth is music, which consists in verses and songs. [3] The sixth is geometry, which embraces the measurements and dimensions of the earth. The seventh is

astronomy, which comprises the law of the stars. III. ON THE COMMON LETTERS. [1] The first beginnings of the art of grammar are the common letters, which scribes and reckoners employ. Their study is, as it were, a kind of infancy of the grammatical art; whence Varro also calls it 'lettering' (litteratio). Now letters are the tokens of things, the signs of words, in which there is such power

that the sayings of those who are absent speak to us without a voice. [For they bring in words through the eyes, not through the ears.] [2] The use of letters was devised for the remembrance of things. For, lest they slip away through forgetfulness, they are bound fast by letters. For amid so great a variety of things, neither could all be learned by hearing nor retained in memory. [3] Letters (litterae) are so called as though 'legiterae,' because they furnish a road (iter) to readers,

or because they are repeated (iterentur) in reading. [4] The Latin and Greek letters seem to have arisen from the Hebrews. For among them 'aleph' was first spoken; then, from a similar pronunciation among the Greeks, 'alpha' was derived, and thence among the Latins 'A.' For the translator, from the similar sound of the other language, fashioned the letter, so that we may know that the Hebrew tongue is the mother of all languages and

letters. But the Hebrews use twenty-two elements of letters, corresponding to the books of the Old Testament; the Greeks, however, twenty-four. The Latins, advancing between the two languages, have twenty-three elements. [5] The letters of the Hebrews began from the Law, through Moses; but those of the Syrians and Chaldeans through Abraham. Whence they too agree with the Hebrews both in number and

in sound they agree, differing only in their characters. The letters of the Egyptians were found by Queen Isis, daughter of Inachus, who, coming from Greece into Egypt, discovered them and handed them on to the Egyptians. Among the Egyptians, moreover, the priests had one set of letters and the common people another: the priestly letters were called 'hieratic,' the common ones 'demotic.' The use of Greek letters the Phoenicians first invented; whence Lucan too (3,

220): 'The Phoenicians first, if report be believed, dared to mark the abiding word in rude figures.' [6] Hence it is that the headings of books too are written in Phoenician colour (that is, in purple), because from them letters had their beginning. Cadmus, son of Agenor, first brought the Greek letters, seventeen in number, from Phoenicia into Greece: A B Γ Δ E Z I K Λ M N O Π P Σ T Φ. To these Palamedes, in the Trojan

war added three: Θ, Ξ, Χ. After him Simonides the lyric poet added three others: Ψ, Η, Ω. [7] Pythagoras of Samos was the first to form the letter Y after the pattern of human life; its lower stroke signifies the first age, uncertain indeed, and which has as yet given itself neither to vices nor to virtues. The fork, however, which is above, begins from adolescence: of which the right-hand part is steep,

but tending toward the blessed life; the left-hand part easier, but leading down to ruin and destruction. Of which Persius thus speaks (3, 56): 'And to you, where the Samian letter has spread out its branches, it has shown the rising path by its right-hand track.' [8] There are, moreover, five mystic letters among the Greeks. The first is Y, which signifies human life, of which we have just spoken. The second is Θ (theta), which [signifies] death

[it signifies death]. For the judges used to set that same letter beside the names of those whom they were condemning to punishment. And Theta is so called apo tou thanatou, that is, 'from death.' Hence too it has a dart through its middle, that is, a sign of death. Of it a certain poet says: 'O letter theta, ill-omened far beyond all others.' [9] The third letter, tau, displays by its shape the Lord's cross, whence also in Hebrew it is interpreted as 'a sign'

...is interpreted. Of it, it was said to the angel in Ezekiel (9:4): 'Pass through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a thau upon the foreheads of the men that groan and mourn.' But the two remaining letters, the highest and the last, Christ claims for himself. For he himself is the beginning, he himself the end, saying, 'I am Alpha and Omega.' For as they run together into one another, Alpha rolls down all the way to Omega, and again Omega returns to Alpha,

is folded back, so that the Lord might show in himself both the running of the beginning toward the end and the running of the end toward the beginning. [10] Now among the Greeks all the letters both compose words and make numbers. For the letter Alpha is called among them, in numbers, 'one.' But where they write Beta, it is called 'two'; where they write Gamma, it is called in their numbers 'three'; where they write Delta, it is called in

their numbers 'four'; and thus among them all the letters have numerical values. [11] The Latins, however, do not reckon numbers by letters, but compose words only, with the exception of the letters I and X, of which the latter both signifies the cross by its shape and denotes 'ten' in number. IV. ON THE LATIN LETTERS. [1] The nymph Carmentis first handed down the Latin letters to the Italians. She was called Carmentis

because she used to sing of things to come in songs (carmina). But properly she was called Nicostrate. Letters, moreover, are either common or liberal. [2] They are called common because many use them in common, as for writing and reading. They are called liberal because only those know them who compose books and understand the method of speaking and composing correctly. [3] There is a twofold class of letters:

for they are principally divided into two parts, into vowels and consonants. Vowels are those which are emitted variously by a direct opening of the throat without any collision. And they are called vowels (vocales) because by themselves they fill out the voice (vox) and by themselves make a syllable, with no consonant clinging to them. Consonants are those which are produced by a varied movement of the tongue or a pressing of the lips. And they are called

consonants because by themselves they do not sound, but sound together (consonant) when vowels are joined to them. [4] These are divided into two parts: into semivowels and mutes. They are called semivowels because they have something of a half of the vowels. For they begin from the vowel E and end in a natural sound (as F, L, M, and the rest). But they are called mutes because, unless vowels are placed beneath them,

they cannot break forth at all. For if you take away from them the final sound of the vowel, an enclosed murmur of the letter will sound (as B, G, D, and the rest). The ancients called vowels, semivowels, and mutes respectively 'sounding,' 'half-sounding,' and 'unsounding.' [5] Among the vowels, moreover, I and U have among the grammarians various values. [6] For sometimes they are vowels, sometimes semivowels, sometimes intermediate

they are. They are vowels for this reason, because placed alone they make syllables and are joined with other consonants. They are held to be consonants because sometimes they have vowels set after them within the same syllables, as in 'Ianus,' 'vates,' and are treated as consonants. [7] They are called intermediate for this reason, that by nature, when alone, they have a middle sound, as in 'illius,' 'unius,'

Joined to others they sound fuller, as in 'Ianus,' 'vanus.' For alone they sound one way, joined another. The I, moreover, is sometimes called double for this reason, that whenever it is found between two vowels, it is reckoned as two consonants, as in 'Troia'; for its sound is doubled there. [8] Likewise the letter V is sometimes nothing, because in some places it is neither vowel nor

consonant, as in 'quis.' For it is not a vowel, because I follows it; and it is not a consonant, because Q precedes it. And therefore, when it is neither vowel nor consonant, it is without doubt nothing. This same letter is also called digamma by the Greeks, when it is joined to itself and to other vowels; and it is called digamma because it is double, like the letter F, which has a double Gamma, to whose

likeness the grammarians chose to call joined vowels 'digamma,' as in 'votum,' 'virgo.' [9] Among the semivowels, moreover, certain ones are called liquids for this reason, that sometimes, placed after other consonants in one syllable, they fail and are excluded from the metre. Of these, two become liquid among the Latins, L and R, as in 'fragor,' 'flatus.' The remaining ones, M and N, among the Greeks

become liquid, as in 'Mnestheus.' [10] The old script consisted of seventeen Latin letters. Whence too they are named 'legitimate' for this reason, namely either because they begin from the vowel E and end in a mute sound, as the consonants do, or because they begin from their own sound and end in the vowel E, as the mutes do (and they are A, B, C, D, E, F, G, I, L, M, N, O, P,

R, S, T, and U). [11] The letter H, however, was added afterwards for the sake of aspiration alone. Whence too by very many it is thought to be an aspiration and not a letter; and accordingly it is called the mark of aspiration, because it raises the voice. For aspiration is a sound more abundantly raised, whose opposite is prosody, a sound evenly inflected. [12] The schoolmaster Salvius first

added the letter K to the Latin alphabet, so that it might make a distinction in sound between the two letters C and Q; yet it is called superfluous, because except in the word 'Kalendae' it is judged unnecessary: for by C we express all things. [13] The letter Q neither the Greeks nor the Hebrews sound. For except for the Latins no other language has it. This did not exist before. Whence it too was called superfluous, because by C all things

the ancients wrote by means of C. [14] The letter X did not yet exist among the Latins until the time of Augustus (and fittingly at this time, when the name of Christ became known, was it written with that letter which portrays the sign of the cross); but in its place they wrote C and S, whence too it is called double, because it is put for C and S, and whence it has a name composed of those same letters. [15] From the Greeks

the Latin tongue borrowed two letters, Y and Z, namely on account of Greek names; and these were not written among the Romans until the time of Augustus, but in place of Z they put two S's, as in 'hilarissat,' and for Y they wrote I. [16] To each letter three things belong: the name, by which it is called; the shape, by which character it is signified; and the power, whereby it is held to be which vowel, which consonant.

By some, order is also added, that is, which precedes and which follows, so that A is first and B follows next. A, moreover, is among all peoples the first of letters for this reason, because it itself first opens the voice for those being born. [17] The peoples gave the names to the letters from the sound of their own language, having noted and distinguished the sounds of the mouth. For after they

had observed them, they imposed on them both names and shapes; and they formed the shapes partly by convention, partly from the sound of the letters: as for instance I and O, of which the one has, as it were a slender sound, so a thin stroke, while the other has a full sound, just as also a full shape. But nature gave the power, and will gave the order and the accent-mark. [18] Between the shapes of the letters and the accent-mark the ancients

made a distinction, saying that the apex is so called because it is far from the feet and is placed on the top of the letter. For it is a line lying evenly drawn above the letter. (The shape, however, is that by which the whole letter is written.) V. ON GRAMMAR. [1] Grammar is the knowledge of speaking correctly, and the origin and foundation of the liberal letters. It was discovered among the disciplines after the common letters,

so that now those who had learned the letters might through it know the method of speaking correctly. Grammar, moreover, took its name from letters, for the Greeks call letters grammata. [2] It is called an 'art' (ars) because it consists of the precepts and rules of art. Others say that this word was drawn from the Greeks, apo tes aretes, that is, 'from virtue,' which they called knowledge. [3]

Speech (oratio) is so called as if 'reason of the mouth' (oris ratio). For to speak (orare) is to talk and to say. Speech, moreover, is a connected sequence of words with meaning. But a connected sequence without meaning is not speech, because it is not 'reason of the mouth.' Speech, then, is complete in meaning, voice, and letter. [4] The divisions of the grammatical art are counted by some as thirty, that is: the eight parts of speech; articulate utterance,

the letter, the syllable, feet, accents, points of punctuation, marks, orthography, analogy, etymology, glosses, differences, barbarisms, solecisms, faults, metaplasms, figures, tropes, prose, metres, fables, and histories. VI. ON THE PARTS OF SPEECH. [1] Aristotle first handed down two parts of speech, the noun and the verb; then Donatus defined eight. But all

come back to those two principal ones, that is, to the noun and the verb, which signify person and act. The rest are appendages and draw their origin from these. [2] For the pronoun is born from the noun, whose function it performs, as 'that orator' (orator ille). The adverb is born from the noun, as 'learned, learnedly' (doctus, docte). The participle from the noun and the verb, as 'I read, reading' (lego, legens). But the conjunction and

the preposition and the interjection fall within the compass of these. Therefore some have even defined five parts of speech, because these others are superfluous. VII. ON THE NOUN. [1] The noun (nomen) is so called as if a 'mark' (notamen), because by its own word it makes things known (notas) to us. For unless you know the name, the knowledge of things perishes. Proper nouns are so called because they are particular; for they signify the person of one only.

There are four kinds of proper nouns: the praenomen, the nomen, the cognomen, and the agnomen. The praenomen is so called because it is set before the nomen, as 'Lucius,' 'Quintus.' [2] The nomen is so named because it marks the clan, as 'Cornelius,' for all the Cornelii are in that clan. The cognomen, because it is joined to the nomen, as 'Scipio.' And the agnomen is, as it were, an added name, as 'Metellus Creticus,' because

he subdued Crete. For the agnomen comes from outside, from some circumstance. The cognomen (cognomentum), moreover, is commonly so called because it is added to the name for the sake of recognition (cognitio), or because it goes together with the name. [3] Appellative nouns are so called because they are common and consist in the signification of many. These are divided into twenty-eight kinds, among which are those called corporeal, because they are either

seen or touched, as 'heaven,' 'earth.' [4] Incorporeal, because they lack a body, whence they can neither be seen nor touched, as 'truth,' 'justice.' [5] General, because they belong to many things, as 'animal'; for both man and horse and bird are animals. [6] Special, because they denote a part, as 'man'; for man is a species of the animals. [7] Principal, because they have the primary

position and are not born from elsewhere, as 'mountain,' 'spring.' [8] Derivative, because they are derived from another noun, as from 'mons' (mountain) 'montanus' (mountaineer). [9] Diminutive, because they lessen the sense, as 'Graeculus' (little Greek), 'scholasticulus' (petty scholar). [10] Diminutive in sound, because they sound like diminutives, but in meaning are principal, as 'tabula' (board), 'fabula' (tale). [11] Wholly Greek, because they are wholly declined in Greek,

as 'Callisto'; for thus both the Greek and the Latin say it. [12] Wholly Latin, because they are wholly turned into Latin. The Greek says 'Odysseus,' the Latin 'Ulixes.' [13] They are called mixed because they are partly Greek and partly Latin. The same are also called 'bastard' (notha), because they corrupt the final syllables while the earlier ones remain, as among the Greeks 'Alexandros,' 'Menandros'; among us

'Alexander,' 'Menander.' They are called 'bastard' just as anyone born of an unequal parentage is called a bastard. [14] Synonyms, that is, 'many-named,' because there is one signification in several names, as 'terra,' 'humus,' 'tellus' (earth, ground, soil); for they are all the same. [15] Homonyms, that is, 'one-named,' because there is in one name a manifold signification, as 'tumulus,' now a low

mound, now a swelling of the earth, now a tomb. For in one name there is a diverse signification. [16] Relative nouns are so called because they are referred to another person, as 'master,' 'lord,' 'father.' [17] But those which are said to be somehow disposed toward something are named from a contrary signification, as 'right'; for one cannot be called 'right' unless there be a 'left.'

[18] Further, nouns of quality are so called because through them it is shown of what sort each one is, as 'wise,' 'beautiful,' 'rich.' [19] Nouns of quantity, because they are drawn from measure, as 'long,' 'short.' [20] Patronymics are so called because they are drawn from fathers, as 'Tydides,' the son of Tydeus, 'Aeneius,' the son of Aeneas, although they are also derived from mothers and from ancestors. [21]

Ktetic, that is, possessive, from possession, as 'the sword of Evander' (Evandrius ensis). [22] Epithets, which in Latin are called adjectives or 'superposed,' because they are added to nouns to fill out their meaning, as 'great,' 'learned.' You add them to persons, as 'a great philosopher,' 'a learned man,' and the sense is complete. [23] Nouns of action descend from an act, as 'leader,' 'king,'

'runner,' 'nurse,' 'orator.' Nouns of nation come from a nation, as 'Greek,' 'Roman.' [24] Nouns of homeland descend from a homeland, as 'Athenian,' 'Theban.' Nouns of place from a place, as 'suburban.' [25] Verbal nouns are so called because they are born from a verb, as 'reader' (lector). [26] Participial nouns, which sound like participles, as 'reading' (legens). Verb-like nouns, so called from their likeness to a verb, as

'contemplator'; for it is both a verb of the imperative mood, future tense, and a noun, because it admits comparison. All these kinds descend from the naming of nouns. [27] The second attribute of the noun is comparison. Comparison is so called because from the comparison of one thing it sets another before it. Its degrees are three: positive, comparative, and superlative. The positive is so called

because it is placed first in the degree of comparison, as 'learned' (doctus). The comparative from this, that being compared it is preferred to the positive, as 'more learned' (doctior); for he knows more than the learned man. The superlative from this, that it is carried above the comparative, as 'most learned' (doctissimus); for he knows more than the more learned one. [28] The genders are so called because they generate, as masculine and feminine. The other nouns are not

true genders, but the rule and authority of nouns willed this. The neuter is so called because it is neither this nor that, that is, neither masculine nor feminine. The common gender is so called because it shares one noun between two genders, as 'this' (masculine) and 'this dog' (feminine, haec canis). [29] Its opposite is the epicene, because it declares both sexes under one gender, as 'this fish' (hic piscis); for it is of uncertain sex, since it can neither

be distinguished by nature nor by the eyes, but only by the skill of the understanding. The 'all-gender' (omne genus) is so called because it serves all the genders: masculine and feminine, neuter and common and all. [30] Number is so named because through it nouns are shown as either singular or plural. Figure, because they are either simple or compound. [31] Cases (casus) are so called from 'falling' (cadendo); for through them nouns, being inflected,

are varied and fall. The nominative case is so called because through it we name something, as 'this master' (hic magister). The genitive, because through it we seek the kindred (genus) of anything, as 'the son of this master' (huius magistri filius), or because we signify a thing, as 'the book of this master' (huius magistri liber). [32] The dative, because through it we show ourselves giving something to someone, as 'give to this master' (da huic magistro). The accusative, because through it we accuse someone,

...we accuse, as in 'I accuse this master.' The Vocative, because through it we call upon someone, as in 'O master.' The Ablative, because through it we signify that we take something away from someone, as in 'take it away from the master.' [33] Nouns are called hexaptote from the fact that they have variations through six cases, as is 'unus' (one). Pentaptote, because they are varied in only five cases, as 'doctus' (learned). Tetraptote, because...

...they are declined in only four cases, as 'lateris.' Triptote, because they are declined in only three, as 'templum' (temple). Diptote, because in only two, as 'Iuppiter' (Jupiter). Monoptote, because they use only one case, as 'frugi' (thrifty). VIII. ON THE PRONOUN. [1] The pronoun is so named because it is put in place of the noun, lest the noun itself cause distaste when it is repeated. For when we say, 'Virgil...

...wrote the Bucolics,' we add a pronoun, 'he himself wrote the Georgics'; and thus the variety of expression both removes distaste and introduces adornment. [2] Now pronouns are either definite or indefinite. Definite pronouns are so called because they define a certain person, as 'ego' (I); for you at once understand me. They are called indefinite because they do not designate certain persons. For it is of absent...

...and uncertain persons it is used, as 'quis' (who), 'quae' (which, fem.), 'quod' (which, neut.). They are called less-than-definite because they make mention of a person already known, as 'ipse' (himself), 'iste' (that one); for it is certain of whom one speaks. [3] Possessives are so named because they show that we possess something. For when I say 'meus' (mine), 'tuus' (yours), I determine that something is mine or yours. Relatives are so called because to a question...

...that they refer, as when 'who is it?' is asked, the answer is 'it is he.' Demonstratives, because they have the meaning of pointing out. For by them we point out someone present, as 'hic' (this man), 'haec' (this woman), 'hoc' (this thing): these three are also named articles. [4] Articles, moreover, are so called because they are bound tight to nouns, that is, joined together, as when we say 'this orator.' Now between the article and the pronoun there is this...

...difference: that it is an article when it is joined to a noun, as 'this wise man'; but when it is not joined, it is a demonstrative pronoun, as 'this (masc.) and this (fem.) and this (neut.).' [5] Now all pronouns are either primary or derived. They are called primary because they draw their origin from nowhere else. These are twenty-one. The definite are three: 'ego' (I), 'tu' (you), 'ille' (he). The indefinite are seven:

'quis' (who), 'qualis' (of what kind), 'talis' (of such a kind), 'quantus' (how great), 'tantus' (so great), 'quotus' (which in order), 'totus' (whole). The less-than-definite are six: 'iste' (that), 'ipse' (himself), 'hic' (this), 'is' (that one), 'idem' (the same), 'sui' (of himself). The possessives are five: 'meus' (my), 'tuus' (your), 'suus' (his own), 'noster' (our), 'vester' (your, pl.). The rest are called derived, because they exist as derived and compounded from these, as 'quispiam' (someone), 'aliquis' (anyone), and the rest. IX. ON THE VERB. [1] The verb (verbum) is so named because it resounds with beaten...

...air resounds, or because this part of speech is frequently employed in discourse. Verbs, moreover, are signs of the mind, by which men mutually show forth their thoughts in speaking. And just as the noun signifies a person, so the verb signifies the deed and word of a person. In the person of the verb there is the signification of the one acting and the one being acted upon. For 'scribo' (I write) is a person's deed. Likewise 'scribor' (I am written)...

...indicates a person's deed, but that of the one by whom it is suffered. [2] There are two kinds of verbs: those of the grammarians and those of the rhetoricians. The grammarians' verbs fall into three tenses: past, present, future, as 'he made' (fecit), 'he makes' (facit), 'he will make' (faciet). But among the rhetoricians the whole of discourse is called 'verba' (words), as in 'he won us over with good words,' 'he had good words,' where there are not only verbs that fall into three tenses,

...but the whole is discourse. The species of verbs are: forms, moods, conjugations, and voices [and tenses]. [3] The forms (formae) of verbs are so called because they shape (informent) us toward each particular thing. For through them we show what we are doing. [For] the meditative is named from the sense of one deliberating, as 'lecturio' (I wish to read), that is, 'I want to read.' The inchoative, coming after deliberation, is named from the token of one beginning, as

'calesco' (I grow warm). The frequentative is named from doing something more often, as 'lectito' (I read repeatedly), 'clamito' (I keep shouting). For the forms hold to the sense, the moods to the inflection. For you do not know what inflection is unless you have first learned what the sense is. [4] The moods (modi) are so named from the manner (quemadmodum) in which they exist in their significations. For the mood is called indicative because it has the signification of one who points out, as 'lego' (I read). The imperative, because

...it has the sound of one commanding, as 'read!' (lege). The optative, because through it we wish to do something, as 'would that I might read' (utinam legerem). The subjunctive, because something is joined (coniungitur) to it in order that the utterance may be complete. For when you say 'when I cry out' (cum clamem), the sense hangs unfinished; but if I say 'when I cry out, why do you think I keep silent?' the sense is complete. [5] The infinitive [mood] is so named because, while it defines the tenses,

...it does not define the person of the verb, as 'to cry out' (clamare), 'to have cried out' (clamasse). But if you add a person to it: 'I ought, you ought, he ought to cry out' (clamare debeo, debes, debet), it becomes as it were definite. It is called impersonal because it lacks the person of a noun or pronoun, as 'it is read' (legitur): you add the person 'by me,' 'by you,' 'by him,' and it is fully understood. But the infinitive mood lacks only the person of the verb; the impersonal, however, lacks that of a pronoun...

...or noun's person. [6] The conjugation (coniugatio) is so named because through it many things are joined together (coniungantur) into one sound. For it teaches in what syllable the future tense ends, lest through inexperience someone should say 'legebo' instead of 'legam' (I shall read). Of these, the first and second send the future tense into '-bo' and '-bor'; the third into '-am' and '-ar.' [7] The voices (genera) of verbs are so called because they beget (gignant). For to the active

...you add an R and it begets the passive; and again from the passive you remove the R and it produces the active. The active verbs themselves are so called because they act, as 'verbero' (I beat); [and] the passive, because they are acted upon, as 'verberor' (I am beaten); the neuter, because they neither act nor are acted upon, as 'iaceo' (I lie), 'sedeo' (I sit). If you add the letter R to these, they do not sound like Latin. The common verbs are so called because they both act and are acted upon, as 'amplector' (I embrace). These,

...likewise, once the letter R is set aside, are not Latin. The deponent verbs are so called because they lay aside (deponunt) the future-tense participle of passive signification, which ends in '-dus,' as 'gloriandus' (to be gloried in). X. ON THE ADVERB. [1] The adverb (adverbium) is so named because it comes to (accedat) the verb, as for instance 'read well' (bene lege): 'well' (bene) is the adverb, 'read' (lege) is the verb. Hence, then, it is called adverb, because it is always to the verb

...joined that it is completed. For the verb alone completes the sense, as 'I write' (scribo). But the adverb without a verb does not have full signification, as 'today' (hodie). You add a verb to it, 'today I write' (hodie scribo), and by the joined verb you have completed the sense. XI. ON THE PARTICIPLE. [1] The participle is so named because it takes the parts (partes) of both the noun and the verb, as it were a 'part-taker' (particapium). For from the noun it claims for itself the genders and cases,

...from the verb the tenses and significations, and from both the number and figure. XII. ON THE CONJUNCTION. [1] The conjunction (coniunctio) is so named because it joins together (coniungat) senses and sentences. For by itself it has no force, but in the coupling of words it displays a kind of glue, as it were. For it either associates nouns, as 'Augustine and Jerome'; or verbs, as 'he writes and reads.' But there is one force of them all,

...whether they couple or disjoin. [2] The copulative conjunctions are so named because they join a sense or persons, as 'you and I, let us go to the forum' (ego et tu eamus ad forum): that 'and' (et) has joined the sense. The disjunctive are so called because they disjoin things or persons, as 'either you or I, let us do it' (ego aut tu faciamus). The subjunctive are so called because they are appended (subiunguntur), as '-que.' For we say 'to the king and to the man and to God' (regique hominique Deoque);

...we do not say 'que to the king, que to the man.' [3] The expletive are so called because they fill out (explent) the matter proposed, as for instance 'if you do not want this, at least do that' (si hoc non vis, saltim illud fac). The common are so named because they may be placed anywhere [and appended], as 'therefore I shall do this' (igitur hoc faciam), 'this therefore I shall do' (hoc igitur faciam). [4] The causal are so named from cause (causa), because they intend to do something, as for instance 'I am killing him, because he has gold'; the cause

...is stated. The rational are so named from the reasoning (ratio) which each one employs in acting, as 'how shall I kill him, so that I am not recognized? by poison or by the sword?' XIII. ON THE PREPOSITION. [1] The preposition (praepositio) is so named because it is placed before (praeponatur) nouns and verbs. The accusative and ablative prepositions are named from the cases which they govern. But the connective (loquellares) prepositions are so called because to particles of speech (loquellis), that is, to words, they always

...cling, and by themselves, when placed alone, they have no force, as 'di-,' 'dis-.' But when joined to verbs they form a compound, as 'diduco' (I draw apart), 'distraho' (I pull asunder). XIV. ON THE INTERJECTION. [1] The interjection (interiectio) is so named because, thrown in (interiecta) among words, that is, interposed, it expresses the feeling of a moved mind, as when 'vah!' is said by one exulting, 'alas!' (heu) by one grieving, 'ha!' (hem) by one angry, 'oh!' (ei) by one fearing. These utterances

...are proper to their respective languages, and are not easily translated into another tongue. XV. ON LETTERS AMONG THE GRAMMARIANS. [1] [How many articulate sounds there are. And a letter (littera) is so called as though 'a path for reading' (legitera), because it affords a path (iter) to those reading, or is repeated (iteretur) in reading.] XVI. ON THE SYLLABLE. [1] 'Syllable' is Greek; in Latin it is called a 'gathering' (conceptio) or 'embrace' (conplexio). For syllable is so called from

...SULLAMBANEIN, that is, from a gathering of letters. For SULLAMBANEIN means 'to gather together.' Hence that is a true syllable which is born of several letters. For a single vowel is called a syllable improperly, not strictly, since it ought rather to be called a measure of time than a syllable. Now syllables are either short, or long, or common. [2] They are called short because they can never

...be lengthened. Long, because they are always lengthened. But common, because at the writer's discretion, when necessity compels, they are both lengthened and shortened. Read Donatus. Syllables are called long and short for this reason: because, through the various pauses of the voice, they seem to have either double or single spans of time. Diphthong syllables are so called by a Greek name, because in them

...two vowels are joined together. [3] Of these, among us there are four true ones: 'ae,' 'oe,' 'au,' 'eu.' But 'ei' was in use only among the ancients. Now among the metricians a syllable is called a 'half-foot' (semipes) because it is half a foot. For a foot consists of two syllables. When, therefore, there is a single syllable, it is as it were a half-foot. Dionysius of Lindus made single, most fitting shapes for all the syllables,

...and for that he was honoured with a statue. XVII. ON FEET. [1] Feet (pedes) are those which stand upon fixed durations of syllables, and never depart from their lawful span. They are called feet because through them metres 'walk.' For just as we advance on feet, so metres proceed as if on feet. Now all the feet are one hundred and twenty-four: the disyllabic four,

...the trisyllabic eight, the tetrasyllabic sixteen, the pentasyllabic thirty-two, the hexasyllabic sixty-four. Up to four syllables they are called feet; the rest are called syzygies. [2] The feet themselves have particular reasons for their names, why they are so called. The pyrrhic is so named because it was frequently practised, either in contest or in children's play.

...The spondee (spondeus) is so called because it sounds drawn-out. For a 'spondeus' is a certain drawn-out thing, that is, a sound which was poured forth about the ears of those sacrificing. Whence also those who played the pipes in the rites of the pagans were called 'spondiales.' [3] The trochee, moreover, is so named because it makes a swift turning of the song, and as it were runs swiftly like a wheel in the metres. For TROCHOS

...means a wheel in Greek. [4] The iamb (iambus) is so named because the Greeks used IAMBOZEIN to mean 'to disparage.' For with a song of this kind the poets were wont to fill out all their invectives and disparagements. And the name was given from the fact that it pours in, as it were, a kind of venom of slander or of spite. [5] The tribrach, which is also called the chorius, is named tribrach because it consists of three

...short syllables. [6] The molossus is named from the dance of the Molossians, which they performed in arms. [7] The anapaest. [It is so called because this foot is more dedicated to relaxations and games.] [8] The dactyl (dactylus) is named from the finger (digitus), because, beginning from the longer measure, it ends in two short syllables. So too this foot has one long juncture and two short ones. Whence also the open hand is called a 'palm,' and

...the hanging fingers are called 'dactyls.' [9] The amphibrach, because it has a short syllable on either side, with a long one lying in the middle. For BRACHUS means 'short.' [10] The amphimacer, because two long syllables on this side and that enclose a short one shut up in the middle. For MAKROS means 'long.' [11] The bacchius is so named because with that foot the Bacchia, that is, the rites of Liber, were celebrated. [12]

...The antibacchius, or palimbacchius, is so named because it is the bacchius reversed. [13] The proceleusmatic, because it is suited to the 'celeuma' (rowing-chant) of those who sing. [14] The dispondee, the ditrochee, and the diiamb are so named because they consist of twin iambs, spondees, or trochees. [15] The antispast, because it is made of contrary syllables: of a short and a long, of a long and a short. [16] The choriamb, moreover,

...because a song composed from this foot is most fitting for choruses. [17] The ionics, indeed, are so named on account of the unequal sound of their measures. For they have two long syllables and two shortened ones. [18] The paeons are named from their inventor. [For they consist of one long and three short syllables, and the long is variously placed according to their names.] [19] The epitrites are so called because they always

...have three long syllables and one short. [20] The syzygies, moreover, are the pentasyllabic and hexasyllabic feet; and they are called among the Greeks SUZUGIAI, as it were certain 'yokings.' But these are not feet; rather they are called pentasyllabic and hexasyllabic, because they do not proceed beyond five and six syllables. Whence in a poem these syllables ought not to exceed in any measure

...a word, as 'Carthaginiensium' (of the Carthaginians), 'Hierosolymitanorum' (of the people of Jerusalem), and 'Constantinopolitanorum' (of the people of Constantinople). [21] To each foot there belong arsis and thesis, that is, the raising and setting of the voice. For feet will not be able to direct their course unless they are alternately raised and set down, as in 'arma' (arms): 'ar' is the raising, 'ma' the setting. In these two, by division, the lawful feet are gathered. The division is equal

...whenever arsis and thesis are cut by an equal division of times. [22] It is double whenever, of these, the one exceeds the other by double. But it is 'sesqui' (one-and-a-half) whenever the one surpasses the other by a half. For in the single part of it one more is found; in the double, one less is had. For 'sescum' means a half. It is triple when the greater part contains the whole

...three times, that is, three to one. It is 'epitrite' when the smaller is contained by the greater, together with a third part of it. The members of the feet are cut either by equality, or by double, or by one-and-a-half, or by triple, or by epitrite. [23] We divide, therefore, into equal parts these feet: the spondee, — —; the pyrrhic, ⏑ ⏑; the dactyl, — | ⏑ ⏑; the anapaest, ⏑

...⏑ | —; the dispondee, — — | — —; the proceleusmatic, ⏑ ⏑ | ⏑ ⏑; the diiamb, — | —; the ditrochee, — ⏑ | — ⏑; the antispast, ⏑ — | — ⏑; the choriamb, — ⏑ | ⏑ —. [24] Likewise we divide into double parts these feet: the trochee, — | ⏑; the iamb, ⏑ | —;

...the molossus, — | — —; the tribrach, ⏑ | ⏑ ⏑; the greater ionic, — — | ⏑ ⏑; the lesser ionic, ⏑ ⏑ | — —. [25] [There is only one that is divided by the triple division, which is the greatest and therefore is present in the smallest metres.] The amphibrach, ⏑ | — ⏑. [26] The 'sesqui' feet, moreover, are these:

The amphimacer, — ∪ —; the bacchius, ∪ — —; the antibacchius, — — ∪; the first paeon, — ∪ ∪ ∪; the second paeon, ∪ — ∪ ∪; the third paeon, ∪ ∪ — ∪; the fourth paeon, ∪ ∪ ∪ —. [27] There remain those which we divide by the epitrite division: the first epitrite, ∪

— — —; the second epitrite, — ∪ — —; the third epitrite, — — ∪ —; the fourth epitrite, — — — ∪. There are therefore ten equal feet, six double, one triple, seven sesquialter, and four epitrites. But there is only one that is divided by the triple division, which is the greatest

and therefore is present in the smallest meters. [28] Now the number of syllables in feet extends from two up to six; for it proceeds no further, because feet are stretched only up to six syllables. In feet there are 'times' (tempora), namely how many each foot has. Resolution of feet occurs when in place of one long two shorts are set, or in place of two longs four shorts, as

(Virgil, Aeneid 2.16): 'and they weave the ribs with sawn fir-wood (abiete).' In 'abiete' there is now a resolution of a spondee into a proceleusmatic, in which resolution Virgil always follows synaloepha. [29] From one long two shorts are made; but from two shorts a long is never made. For solid things can be split, but split things cannot be made solid. A figure (sign) is that by whose mark the syllables

be recognized. For when you see the lower part of a circle set down twice, it is a pyrrhic, ∪ ∪; when you see a doubled I lying flat, a spondee, — —. For the mark of a short is the lower semicircle; the mark of a long is a reclining I. [30] Meters arise from feet, as the trochaic from the trochee, the dactylic from the dactyl, the iambic from the iamb, of which we must speak a little later. XVIII.

ON ACCENTS. [1] The accent, which in Greek is called 'prosody' [it received its name from the Greek]. For in Greek PROS is in Latin 'ad' (to), and ODE in Greek is in Latin 'cantus' (song). For this word is rendered word for word. But the Latins have other names as well. For they call accents both 'tones' and 'tenores', because there the sound rises and ceases. [2] Now it is called 'accentus' (accent) because it is next to

the song (cantus), just as 'adverbium' (adverb) is so called because it is next to the verb (verbum). The acute accent is so called because it sharpens and raises the syllable; the grave, because it lowers and puts it down; for it is contrary to the acute. The circumflex, because it consists of acute and grave. For beginning from the acute it ends in the grave, and thus, while it ascends and descends, the circumflex is produced. The acute and the circumflex

are similar. [3] For both raise the syllable. The grave seems contrary to both. For it always lowers syllables, while those raise them, as (Lucan 1.15): 'Whence comes Titan, and where night hides the stars.' Here 'Vnde' is grave. For it sounds less than the acute and circumflex. [4] Now a monosyllabic part of speech, if it is naturally short, as 'vir' (man), or long by position

as 'ars' (art), it will have the acute accent. But if naturally long, as 'res' (thing), the circumflex. A disyllabic part of speech, if it has its first syllable naturally long and its last short, is circumflexed, as 'Musa'; otherwise it takes the acute. A trisyllabic part of speech, if it has a short middle syllable, as 'tibia', then we make the first acute. But if it has a naturally long second and a last

short, as 'Metellus', then we circumflex the middle. [5] Tetrasyllabic and pentasyllabic parts of speech are governed by the rule of trisyllables. A grave accent can be placed with one other accent in a single word, but never with both; as 'Catullus'. In a compound word there is one accent. [6] Now accents were devised either for the sake of distinction, as (Virgil,

Aeneid 8.83): 'and on the green shore a sow (sus) is seen', lest you say 'ursus' (bear); or for the sake of pronunciation, lest you say 'meta' (goal) short and not lengthened, with a long A, 'meta'; or for distinguishing ambiguity, as 'ergo'. For when the 'go' is lengthened it signifies 'therefore, on account of'; when shortened, a conjunction. XIX. ON THE FIGURES OF ACCENTS. [1] The figures of accents are ten, which by

grammarians applied for the distinctions of words. OXEIA, that is the acute accent, a line drawn upward from the left side toward the right, is made thus: [2] BAREIA, that is the grave, a line laid down from the top of the left toward the right, is made thus: [3] ` PERISPOMENE, that is the circumflex, a line made from acute and grave, is expressed thus: [4] ^ MACHROS, that is the long,

a small rod (virgula), lying flat, thus: [5] BRACHUS, that is the short, is the lower part of a circle, lying thus: [6] U UFEN (hyphen), that is the conjunction, because it joins two words, a rod placed beneath the verse and curved, is made thus: [7] Diastole, that is separation, which on the contrary divides, is the right part of a circle placed under the verse, made thus: [8] Apostrophe, likewise the right part of a circle

set beside the topmost letter, made thus: ), by which mark it is shown that in speech the final vowel is lacking, as 'tribunal' for 'tribunale'. [9] DASEIA, which is interpreted 'aspiration', that is, where the letter H ought to be placed, is marked by such a figure: [10] PSILE, which is interpreted 'dryness' or 'the pure', that is, where the letter H ought not to be, is shown by such a mark: [11]

The figure of these two accents the Latins made from the very letter of aspiration. Hence, if you join these, you have made the same mark of aspiration. Again, if you split its middle apex, you make the DASEIA and the PSILE. XX. ON POINTINGS (positurae). [1] A pointing is a figure for distinguishing the senses through cola and commata and periods, which, when applied in its own order, shows us the sense

the sense of the reading. And they are called 'positurae' either because they are noted by points that are placed (positis), or because there the voice is set down (deponitur) for the interval of the distinction. These the Greeks call THESEIS, the Latins 'positurae'. [2] The first pointing is called the subdistinction; it is also the comma. The following one is the middle distinction; it is also the colon. The last distinction, which closes the whole sentence, is itself the

the period; whose parts, as we have said, are cola and comma; the difference of which is shown by points placed in different positions. [3] For when at the beginning of the delivery the portion is not yet full to the sense, and yet one must draw breath, a comma occurs, that is a little particle of the sense, and a point is placed at the bottom of the letter; and it is called the subdistinction, from the fact that it takes the point below, that is at

the bottom of the letter. [4] But when in what follows the sentence now furnishes sense, yet something still remains of the sentence's fullness, a colon occurs, and we mark the middle of the letter with a point; and we call it the middle distinction, because we place the point at the middle of the letter. [5] But when, delivering by degrees, we now make the full close of the sentence, a period occurs,

and we place the point at the head of the letter; and it is called the distinction, that is disjunction, because it has separated the sentence whole. [6] This indeed among orators. But among poets, where in a verse after two feet a syllable remains, it is a comma, because there after the scansion a cutting-off of the word has been made. But where after two feet nothing of a part of speech remains, it is a colon.

And the whole verse is a period. XXI. ON THE MARKS OF SENTENCES (critical signs). [1] Moreover certain marks of writings existed among the most celebrated authors, which the ancients set to poems and histories for the distinction of writings. A mark is a figure of its own kind, set in the manner of a letter, to show each and every reckoning of a word, of sentences, and of verses. Now marks

are set to verses to the number of twenty-six, which are of the names written below. [2] * The asterisk is placed at those things which have been omitted, so that through that mark the things which seem to be lacking may shine forth. For a star is called ASTER in the Greek tongue, from which 'asteriscus' (little star) is derived. [3] The obolus, that is a rod lying flat, is placed at words or sentences superfluously

repeated words or sentences, or in those places where some reading has been marked as false, so that, like an arrow, it may pierce the superfluous and transfix the false. For an arrow is called OBELOS in Greek. [4] The obolus pointed above is placed in those same passages about which it is doubted whether they ought to be removed or not. [It is marked as false.] [5] ÷ The lemniscus, that is a rod between twin points

lying, is set in those places which the interpreters of Holy Scripture have translated with the same sense but in different words. [6] The antigraphus with a point is placed where in translations a different sense is held. [7] * ⌐ The asterisk with an obolus. This Aristarchus properly used at those verses which were not placed in their own place. [8] The paragraphus is placed to

separate matters from matters which run together in a connected passage, just as in a Catalogue places are separated from places and regions from regions, in a Contest prizes from prizes, and competitions from various competitions. [9] The positura is a figure contrary to the paragraphus and is therefore so formed, because just as the latter marks beginnings, so this one separates ends from beginnings. [10] Ú Cryphia,

the lower part of a circle with a point, is placed in those places where a hard and obscure question could not be opened or solved. [11] ) The antisimma is placed at those verses whose order must be transposed. Thus it is found placed also in the ancient authors. [12] ·) The antisimma with a point is placed in those places where in the same sense there are double verses, and it is doubted which should rather

be chosen. [13] > The diple. This our writers apply in the books of ecclesiastical men to separate or to point out the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures. [14] ·> The diple PERI STICHON. This Leogoras the Syracusan first placed at Homeric verses for the separation of Olympus from heaven. [15] >: The diple PERIESTIGMENE, that is, with twin points. This

the ancients set against those things which Zenodotus of Ephesus had not rightly added, or had removed, or had altered. In these our men too have used it. [16] à The diple OBOLISMENE is interposed to separate the periods in comedies or tragedies. [17] The reversed OBOLISMENE, as often as a strophe and antistrophe is introduced. [18] ß The adverse with an obolus is placed at those things which refer to something

(Virgil, Aeneid 10.88): 'Is it we who try to overturn the Phrygian state from its foundation? we? or he who cast the wretched Trojans before the Achaeans?' [19] The diple obolized above is placed at changed conditions of places and times and persons. [20] The diple straight-and-adverse obolized above is placed when a matter is finished in its own place by a single unit, and it signifies that the following one too is like it. [21]

The ceraunium is placed as often as many verses are disapproved, and are not obolized one by one; for CHERAUNION means a thunderbolt in Greek. [22] The chrisimon. This alone is placed by each person's own will to mark something. [23] (P) Phi and Ro, that is FRONTIS. This is placed, where there is something of obscurity, for the sake of careful attention. [24] The upper anchor is placed where some great matter

is altogether present. [25] The lower anchor, where something has been declared very basely or rather unsuitably. [26] The coronis is a mark placed only at the end of a book. [27] | The alogus is a mark used for faults. [28] There are also other little marks in books for recognizing those things which are set out along the edges of the pages, so that, where the reader finds such a sign in the margin,

returning to the text he may know that there is an exposition of the same discourse or little verse, whose like mark he has found set above. XXII. ON COMMON MARKS (shorthand). [1] Ennius first invented eleven hundred common marks. The use of the marks was that, whatever was said in a plea or in trials, the scribes might write it down, several standing by at once, the parts divided

among themselves, namely how many words and in what order each should take down. At Rome Tullius Tiro, the freedman of Cicero, first devised such marks, but only for prepositions. [2] After him Vipsanius, Philargius, and Aquila, a freedman of Maecenas, added others, one some and another others. Then Seneca, having collected, arranged, and increased the number of them all, produced a work of five thousand. Now they are called marks (notae)

for this reason: that they mark words or syllables by prefixed characters and recall them to the knowledge of readers; and those who have learned them are now properly called notaries (notarii). XXIII. ON JURIDICAL MARKS. [1] Now certain letters in the books of law are marks of their own words, so that the writing may be made quicker and briefer. For it was written, for example, by B and F 'bonum factum' (well done), by

S and C 'senatus consultum' (decree of the senate), by R and P 'respublica' (commonwealth), by P and R 'populus Romanus' (the Roman people), by D and T 'dumtaxat' (only), by a supine (inverted) W the word 'mulier' (woman), by P in its natural position 'pupillus' (male ward), by a P with its head reversed 'pupilla' (female ward), by a single K 'caput' (head, capital), by two K's joined 'calumniae causa' (for the sake of calumny), by I and E 'iudex esto' (let him be judge), by D and M 'dolum malum' (malicious fraud). [2] Of this kind we find very many similar marks in

the ancient books find very many. These marks of law the more recent emperors decreed to be abolished from the codices of the laws, because through them many, crafty of wit, deceived the ignorant; and thus they ordered the letters to be written out in the laws in such a way that they should bring no errors and no ambiguities, but should openly show what was to be followed and what avoided. XXIV. ON MILITARY MARKS. [1] In

the little rolls also, in which the names of soldiers were contained, there was among the ancients a special mark, by which it might be observed how many of the soldiers survived and how many had fallen in war. The mark T (Tau), placed at the head of a little line, designated a survivor; but Theta was set beside the name of each dead man. Whence it also has a dart (telum) through its middle, that is, the sign of death. Of which

Persius says (4.13): 'And he can prefix the black theta to a fault.' [2] But when they wished to signify inexperience, they used the letter Lambda, just as they signified death when they set Theta at the head. In the distribution of pay too there were special marks. XXV. ON MARKS OF LETTERS (ciphers). [1] The ancients also made marks among the letters themselves, so that whatever secretly

they wished to signify to one another through writings, they might write it mutually. Witness is Brutus, who in these letters marked down those things which he was about to do, while others were ignorant of what these letters meant to him. [2] Caesar Augustus too, writing to his son: 'Since,' he says, 'innumerable things happen continually which must be written from one to the other and be kept secret, let us have between us marks, if

you will, such that, when something is to be written in marks, for each single letter we write the following one in this manner: for A, B; for B, C; and so the rest by the same reasoning; but for the letter Z one must go back to a doubled A.' Some also write with words reversed. XXVI. ON MARKS OF THE FINGERS. [1] There are also certain marks of the fingers, and there are marks of the eyes, by which persons silently and at a

distance converse with one another. Just so is the military custom, that as often as the army consents, since it cannot do so by voice, it may signify by the hand. Others, because they cannot by voice, salute by the movement of their swords. [2] Ennius, concerning a certain shameless woman (Naevius, Comedies 75): 'As in a dance, playing at ball, she passes herself round from hand to hand and makes herself common. She holds one, beckons to another; elsewhere her hand is occupied by another; to another'

...he plucks at the foot, hands another a ring to examine, summons another with his lips, sings in concert with yet another; and moreover he conveys messages to others with his finger. And Solomon says (Proverbs 6:13): 'He winks with the eye, presses with the foot, speaks with the finger.' XXVII. ON ORTHOGRAPHY. [1] 'Orthography' in Greek is rendered in Latin as 'correct writing' (for 'ortho' means 'correctly,' and 'graphia' means 'writing'). This discipline

teaches how we ought to write. For just as the art of grammar treats of the inflection of the parts of speech, so orthography treats of skill in writing; for example, 'ad,' when it is a preposition, takes the letter D; when it is a conjunction, it takes the letter T. [2] 'Haud,' when it is an adverb of negation, ends in the letter D and is aspirated at its head; but when it is a disjunctive conjunction, it is written with a T

letter, without aspiration (that is, 'aut'). [3] The preposition 'apud' is written with a D, like 'ad patrem,' since the ancients often used 'apud' for 'ad,' with the two middle letters removed. [4] Sometimes, moreover, certain letters are properly set in place of others. There is a kinship between the letters B and P; for instead of 'Burrus' we say 'Pyrrhus.' C and G

letters have a certain kinship. For while we say 'centum' and 'trecentos,' we afterward say 'quadringentos,' putting a G for the C. Between C and Q there is likewise a kinship; for we write 'huiusce' with a C, but 'cuiusque' with a Q. When 'cum' is a preposition it must be written with a C; but if it is an adverb, with a Q, for we say 'quum lego.' 'Deus' is written with E alone; 'daemon' with the diphthong AE

must be marked as a diphthong. [5] 'Equus,' which is an animal, is to be written with E alone. 'Aequus,' which means 'just,' is to be written with the diphthong AE. 'Exsul' ought to be written with an added S, since one is called an 'exsul' (exile) who is 'extra solum' (outside his own soil). 'Exultat' is better written without the letter S; for since the letter X itself is composed of C and S, how, when the S is already in it, can another be added to it again? [6] 'Aequor' is

to be written with a diphthong, since the word is formed from 'aqua' (water). [7] 'Forsitan' is to be written with an N at the end, because its full form is 'si forte tandem.' [8] 'Fedus,' which means 'deformed' (foul), is to be written with E alone; 'foedus,' which means 'a pact,' is to be written with the diphthong OE. [9] 'Formosus' is written without an N, since it is named from 'forma' (beauty); or else also from 'formus,' that is, 'warm';

for the heat of the blood produces beauty. 'Gnatus,' which means 'son,' is to be written with a G, since it comes from 'generatus' (begotten). [10] H, which is the letter of aspiration, in Latin is joined only to vowels, as in 'honor,' 'homo,' 'humus' (humility). It is aspirated with consonants also, but only in Greek and Hebrew names. The interjections 'heus' and 'heu' are to be written with an H

are to be written. [11] Some used to think that the letter I, when placed between two vowels, was written twice, as in 'Troia' and 'Maia.' But reason does not permit this, for three vowels are never written in a single syllable. Rather, the letter I placed between two vowels is regarded as a double consonant. [12] 'Id,' a pronoun of the neuter gender, is written with a D, from that which is 'is, ea, id,' because it forms

'idem.' But if it is a verb of the third person, it will be marked with a T, from that which is 'eo, is, it,' because it forms 'itur.' [13] The ancients used to prefix the letter K whenever an A followed, as in 'kaput,' 'kanna,' 'kalamus.' But now only 'Karthago' and 'kalendae' are written with it. All Greek names, however, whatever vowel follows, are to be written with a K. [14]

'Laetus' is written with a diphthong, since 'laetitia' (joy) is named from 'latitudo' (breadth), whose opposite is 'tristitia' (sadness), which produces narrowness. Sometimes, moreover, we use the letter L in place of the letter D, as 'latum' for 'datum' and 'calamitatem' for 'cadamitatem'; for 'calamitas' (calamity) took its name from 'cadendo' (falling). [15] Whether 'maxumus' or 'maximus,' and if there are any similar cases, how they ought to be written

has been inquired into. Varro relates that Caesar was accustomed to pronounce and write words of this kind with an I. Hence, on account of the authority of so great a man, a custom was established that 'maximus,' 'optimus,' and 'pessimus' be so written. [16] 'Malo' is to be written with a single L, since it stands for 'magis volo' (I prefer). 'Malle' with a double LL, since it is 'magis velle.' 'Nolo' likewise with a single L; and 'nolle' with a double L. 'Nolo'

is 'nevolo,' and 'nolle' is 'nevelle.' [17] 'Os,' if it signifies the face or a bone, must be written with O alone; if it signifies a person, an H must be prefixed. [18] 'Ora,' of boundaries, is written with O; 'hora,' of days (hours), with an H. 'Onus,' if it comes from 'onus' (a burden), is written with O alone; if from 'honor,' with the aspiration H. [19] 'Praepositio' and 'praeterea' are to be written with a diphthong. But 'pene,' which

is a conjunction, is written with E; 'poena,' which means punishment, with OE. [20] The letter Q is rightly used only when a U immediately follows it, and one or more other vowels are joined to it so as to make a single syllable. Other words are written with a C. [21] 'Quae,' a pronoun, is to be written with an A; 'que,' a conjunction, without an A. 'Quid' is written with the letter D when it is a pronoun; with

a T when it is a verb: its primary form is 'queo, quis, quit' and in composition 'nequeo, nequis, nequit.' [22] 'Quod,' when it is a pronoun, is to be written with a D; when it is a numeral, with a T, since 'totidem' is written with a T. 'Quotidie' is to be written with a Q, not with a C, so that it may mean 'quot diebus' (on however many days). [23] The letter R has a communion with the letter S. And so among the ancients it was said 'honos,'