Rev. ΟΥΑΒΑΛΛΑΘΟϹ . ΑΘΗΝΟΥ . ΑΥΓ . ΕΡΜΙΑϹ Ι . ΑΥ . ΟΥΑΒΑΛΛΑΘΟϹ . ΑΘΗΝΥ . Α . ΕΡ
Rev. ΟΥΑΒΑΛΛΑΘΟϹ . ΑΘΗΝΟΥ . ΑΥΓ . ΕΡΜΙΑϹ Ι . ΑΥ . ΟΥΑΒΑΛΛΑΘΟϹ . ΑΘΗΝΥ . Α . ΕΡ
The first and three final letters of this last legend are very indistinct, and I should much like a correct reading of it, as it is, I believe, inedited. Other legends are given by Banduri: VABALATHVS . alii REX. VCRIM. P.P.—VABALATVS. VCRIMOR.—VABALATHVS . ITER. IMP. R.—IM. C. VHABALATHVS. AVG.—Α . ΕΡΜΙΑϹ . ΟΥΑΒΑΛΛΑΘΟϹ . ΑΘΗΝΥ .—ΑΥ . Κ . ΕΡΜΙΑϹ . ΟΥΑΒΑΛΛΑΘΟϹ . ΑΘΗΝΟΥ . ΟΥΑΒΑΛΑΘΟϹ . ΑΘΗΝΟΥ . ΑΥΓ . ΕΡΜΙΑϹ.
E. S. TAYLOR.
—What is, or was, the original pronunciation of the name of the poet Chaucer? Was, or was not, thechin his day a guttural? And was not the nameHawkerorHowker?
JAMESLAURIE.
—Having occasion to make some inquiry about the island of Ægina, in Greece, I have been sadly perplexed by the discrepancies of the modern authorities I have had an opportunity of consulting. The principal of these relates to the site of the temple of Jupiter, or Zeus Panhellenios, which Dr. Smith'sClassical Dictionary, and M'Culloch's and Fullerton'sGazetteers, place in the N.E. part of the island; Fullerton, however, saying also that Mount St. Elias lies inthe south part, though he does not say that the temple is built on that mount. But Blaikie'sGazetteersays that the temple stands onMount St. Elias, which, according to Fullerton, is in thesouth. With this agrees the map in theTopographisch-historisch Atlas von Hellas, &c. von H. Kiepert, Berlin, 1846, which distinctly places the "Tempel von Zeus Panhellenios" in thesouthpart of the island while the temple in thenorth-eastis called "Tempel von Athena." The Atlasto Anacharsis'Travelsplaces it also in thesouth. Which of these authorities is right? or, can any of your readers tell me, from personal knowledge, in what part of the island the said Temple of Zeus Panhellenios really stands?
JAMESLAURIE.
—With so many foreigners sojourning among us, I should be glad if you could, by throwing out a hint in your paper, obtain from them what is the statute of limitations of the several countries to which they belong.
CURIOSUS.
—There is a series of ancient tapestries in Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, representing certain events in the life of the emperor Justinian. One of these exhibits him in the act of making his celebrated Digest of Law, surrounded by his lawyers; in a second, he is manumitting slaves before the temple of Janus, at the time, I presume, when he proclaimed theeternal peace, which lasted two years; in a third, he appears crowned, on his knees, swearing, it should seem, to observe theLex Romana, which is held up to him in an open book by two lictors; in the fourth, he is seen in a wild country, with a hunting spear in his hand, coming, as it were by surprise, and in great alarm, upon two hounds in the agonies of death. A dish, from which they may have taken poison, lies on the foreground; and a stream, which may possibly have been poisoned, gushes from a neighbouring rock. Figures in the background seem to be slinking away from the scene here represented.
I shall be much obliged to any of your correspondents who can point out to me the ancient author in whose writings the circumstance alluded to in the last-mentioned picture is detailed.
W. N. DARNELL.
—Can any reader of "NOTES ANDQUERIES" inform me if there be a collected edition of the works of Praed? Many of your readers are familiar with his fugitive pieces published in Knight'sQuarterly Magazine,The Etonian, and other periodicals. And all, I am sure, who are acquainted with him, would be glad to see his graceful and elegant productions published in a collected form.
K. S.
—Who founded the order ofFolietani, or leaf-eaters (to the exclusion of all grain and meat)? where and when? What Pope dissolved the order, and is the Bull extant?
A. N.
—In theNautical Almanacthe day is supposed to commence at noon according to the custom of English astronomers. Foreigners, however, ordinarily commence the astronomical day at midnight, at least those of France, Germany, Italy, and Spain do. But can you or any of your correspondents tell me whether it is from the midnight succeeding, or the midnight preceding our noon of the same number? For instance, taking the longitude of Berlin to be 0h53m35s.5 East, would the present moment, which is September 17, 3h40m30sGreenwich mean time, if expressed in Berlin mean time, be September 17, 16h34m5s.5, or would it be September 16, 16h34m5s.5? (I have reckoned to days by ordinals, as, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, &c., without a 0-day, which, however, the foreigners generally use, employing a cardinal number, the hours minutes, and seconds being considered as a fraction to be added.) I ask this question because so many things now are announced in Berlin mean time.
DX.
—About the year 1722 De Foe built here a large and handsome house for his own residence. Is it still standing, and where? Many mansions in the neighbourhood appear to have been erected about that time.
SPERIEND.
"Upon this occasion I might repeat what I have observed before, page 33. of theseAnnals, where the highest fellowships in Oxford in 1534 or 1535 did not exceed 6l.13s.4d., nor the lowest fall under 3l., and that was in Brazen Nose College; at which time New College fellowships were but rated at 3l.9s.4d., nor any of Magdalen fellowships (except two for Yorkshire that were obliged to go and preach in the countries abroad) above 3l.15s.4d., as may be found in Mr. Twine's MS."—Smith'sAnnals of Univ. Coll.p. 372.
Can any of your correspondents throw any light upon the parenthetical clause printed in Italics?
E. H. A.
—Mr. Josiah Marsh, inA popular Life of George Fox, 8vo., London, 1847, p. 83., mentions "Leonard Fell of Becliff, a brother of the judge."
I shall be obliged by a reference to the authority on which this statement rests. George Fox frequently mentions both Leonard Fell and Judge Fell; but I cannot find in hisJournalthe slightest hint that they were in any way connected. Fell is a common name in the north of Lancashire. Leonard Fell was one of the preachers who sometimes accompanied George Fox in his wanderings. Judge Fell was a staunch member of the Church of England.
LLEWELLYN.
—Will you, or one of your correspondents, have the goodness to inform me whence is derived the quotation "Cleanliness is next to Godliness?"
A MUSSULMAN.
—I shall feel much obliged by a correct description of the monument erected to Sir John Davys, Davis, or Davies, the celebrated lawyer and poet, in St. Martin's church,London, and particularly of the arms, crest, and motto (if any) which are on it.
I wish to know also thecorrect blazonof the following coats of arms: Thos. Davies, a fess inter three elephants' heads erazed; and Davis of London, on a bend cotissed inter six battle-axes three daggers: there is some mention of these arms in the Har. MSS., but I wish to know the correct colours of the shields and their charges?
LLAWGYFFES.
—To what poet does Bacon refer in the following passage of theAdvancement of Learning?—
"The invention of one of the late poets is proper, and doth well enrich the ancient fiction: for he feigneth that at the end of the thread or web of every man's life there was a little medal containing the person's name, and that Time waited upon the shears; and as soon as the thread was cut, caught the medals, and carried them to the river of Lethe; and about the bank there were many birds flying up and down that would get the medals, and carry them in their beak a little while, and then let them fall into the river," &c.—Vol. ii. p. 112. in B. Montagu's edition of Bacon.
E.
[We are inclined to think that Bacon's reference was to theMirror for Magistrates, and will probably be found in connexion with the following lines:
"A little wren in beake with laurell greene that flew,Foreshew'd my dolefull death, as after all men knew."]
"A little wren in beake with laurell greene that flew,
Foreshew'd my dolefull death, as after all men knew."]
—Which is the best work hitherto published on the history and construction of the violin?
MUSICUS.
[Certainly the best work on the history of this favourite instrument is the amusing little volume published by Mr. George Dubourg, in 1836, under the title ofThe Violin, being an Account of that leading Instrument, and its most eminent Professors, from its earliest Date to the present Time: including Hints to Amateurs, &c.]
—I should feel obliged if any of your correspondents could give me any information relative to Sir Thomas Malory, Knt., who translated into EnglishThe most Ancient and Famous History of the renowned Prince Arthur, King of Britaine? Also any particulars relative the original author of that work?
M. P. S.
Inverness.
[Consult Herbert's edition of Ames'sTypographical Antiquities, vol. i. pp. 59-61. 134.; Dibdin'sTypographical Antiquities, vol. i. pp. 241-255.; and Wharton'sHistory of English Poetry.]
—In a note to the account of Chelsea College, in Lysons'Environs of London, which contains a list of the first fellows of the college, called by Archbishop Laud "Controversy College," of which Dr. Sutcliffe was founder and provost, I read—
"Many vacancies having occurred by the promotion of some of the fellows above-mentioned to bishoprics, and by the death of others, King James, by his letters patent, Nov. 14, 1622, substituted others in their room, among whom wasthe celebrated Archbishop of Splalato, then Dean of Windsor."
I wish to ask who this archbishop was? and should be glad to learn any further particulars respecting him, especially as to whether he ever acted as a bishop in England?Splalatois, I presume, an error of the press forSpalatro.
W. FRAZER.
[Mark Antony de Dominis, born about 1561, was educated among the Jesuits, and was Bishop of Segni, and afterwards Archbishop of Spalatro. Bishop Bedell met with him at Venice, and corrected, previous to publication, his celebrated workDe Republica Ecclesiastica. When Bedell returned to England, Dominis came over with him. Here he preached and wrote against the Romanists, and the king gave him the Deanery of Windsor, the Mastership of the Savoy, and the rich living of West Ildesley in Berkshire. De Dominis's wish seems to have been to re-unite the Romish and English churches. He returned to Rome in 1622, where he abjured his errors, but on the discovery of a correspondence which he held with some Protestants, he was thrown into prison, where he died in 1625. He was a man of great abilities and learning, although remarkable for a fickleness in religious matters. He was author of a work entitledDe Radiis Visus et Lucis in Vitris Perspectivis et Iride Tractatus, and was the first person, according to Sir Isaac Newton, who had explained the phenomena of the colours of the rainbow. We are also indebted to him for Father Paul'sHistory of the Council of Trent, the manuscript of which he procured for Archbishop Abbot.—See Chalmers'sBiographical Dictionary,s.v.DOMINIS.]
—Who was the author ofThe Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru, expresst by Instrumentall and Vocall Musick, and by Art of Perspective in Scenes, &c., said to have been represented in the Cock Pit, in Drury Lane, at three in the afternoon punctually, 1658? Thus it stands in Jacob, but is not mentioned by Langbaine. The author of theBritish Theatre, however, mentions a remarkable circumstance in regard to it, which is, that Oliver Cromwell, who had prohibited all theatrical representations, not only allowed this piece to be performed, but even himself actually read and approved of it.
Also, what are the exact dates of the birth and death of John Heywood, in Henry VIII.'s time?
JAMESF. HASKINS.
[Sir William Davenant was the author ofThe Spaniards in Peru, which was subsequently incorporatedin his piece,Playhouse to be Let. See hisWorks, fol. 1673, p. 103.; also Genest'sAccount of the English Stage, vol. i. p. 38.]
—I have frequently met with the word "selion" in deeds relating to property in various parts of the Isle of Axholme, co. Lincoln. The term is used in the description of property; for instance, "All thatselionpiece or parcel of land situate, &c." It does not signify any particular quantity, for I have known it applied to fields of all sizes, from five acres down to a quarter of an acre. Will some of your numerous correspondents furnish an explanation of the word, and from whence derived?
L. L. L.
North Lincolnshire.
[Selion of land, orselio terræ, is derived from the Frenchseillon, a ridge of land, or ground arising between two furrows, and contains no certain quantity, but sometimes more or less. Therefore Crompton says, that a selion of land cannot be in demand, because it is a thing uncertain.]
Mr. H. C. DEST. CROIXmay be assured that the first edition of the Prophecies of Nostradamus is not only in the National Library, but in several others, both in Paris and elsewhere. It is now, however, very rare, though until lately little valued; for at the Duc de la Vallière's sale, in 1783, it produced no more than seven livres ten sols,—not quite seven shillings. De Bure makes no mention of it: nor was it in the library of M. Gaignat, or various other collectors; so little sought for was it then. Printed at Lyons "chès Macé Bonhomme,M:D:L:V.," it thus closes—"Achevé d'imprimer le iiii iour de Mai,M.D.L.V." It is a small octavo of 46 leaves, as we learn from Brunet, and was republished the following year at Avignon, still limited to four centuries; nor was a complete edition, which extended to ten centuries, with two imperfect ones, published till 1568, at Troyes (en Champagne), in 8vo. Numerous editions succeeded, in which it is well known that every intervenient occurrence of moment was sure to be introduced, always preceded by the date of impression, so as to establish the claim of prophecy. I have before me that of J. Janson, Amsterdam, 1668, 12mo., which is usually associated with the Elzevir collection of works, though not proceeding from the family's press either in Leyden or Amsterdam. Several attempts at elucidating these pretended prophecies have been made, such asCommentaires sur les Centuries de Nostradamus, par Charigny, 1596, 8vo.;La Clef de Nostradamus, 1710, 12mo.; and one so late as 1806, by Théodore Bouys, 8vo. The distich "Nostra damus," &c. was the playful composition, according to La Monnoye, of the celebrated Genevan reformer Théodore de Béze. By others it is attributed to the poet Jodelle: but the author is still uncertain. Nostradamus, born in Provence, died in July, 1566, aged sixty-eight. His second son published the Lives of the Poets of his native province in 1575, 8vo.
Among those impositions on public credulity, one of the most famous is that referred to by Bacon, in his twenty-fifth Essay, and which he, as was then the prevalent belief, attributed to the astronomer John Müller, usually known as Regiomontanus, of the fifteenth century, and so denominated by Bacon. Its first application was to the irruption of the French king, Charles VIII., into Naples, in 1488, when the impetuosity of the invasion was characterised by the epithet, ever since so well sustained, of "La Furia Francese." Again, in 1588 it was interpreted as predictive of the Spanish attack on England by the misnomed "Invincible Armada;" and the English Revolution of 1688 was similarly presumed to have been foretold by it, which always referred to the special yeareighty-eightof each succeeding century; while the line expressive of the century was correspondingly adjusted in the text. It was thus made applicable to the great French Revolution, of which the unmistakeable elements were laid in 1788, by the royal edict convoking the States-General for the ensuing year, when it burst forth with dread explosion. Its prediction, with the sole alteration of the century from the original lines, was then thus expressed:—
"Post mille expletos a partu Virginis annos,Et septingentos rursus ab orbe datosOctogessimus octavus mirabilis annusIngruet: is secum tristia fata trahet."Si non hoc anno totus malus occidet orbisSi non in nihilum terra fretumque ruant,Cuncta tamen mundi sursum ibunt atque deorsumImperia; et luctus undique grandis erit."
"Post mille expletos a partu Virginis annos,Et septingentos rursus ab orbe datosOctogessimus octavus mirabilis annusIngruet: is secum tristia fata trahet.
"Post mille expletos a partu Virginis annos,
Et septingentos rursus ab orbe datos
Octogessimus octavus mirabilis annus
Ingruet: is secum tristia fata trahet.
"Si non hoc anno totus malus occidet orbisSi non in nihilum terra fretumque ruant,Cuncta tamen mundi sursum ibunt atque deorsumImperia; et luctus undique grandis erit."
"Si non hoc anno totus malus occidet orbis
Si non in nihilum terra fretumque ruant,
Cuncta tamen mundi sursum ibunt atque deorsum
Imperia; et luctus undique grandis erit."
Though long ascribed to Regiomontanus, whose death preceded its first appearance, and therefore made its application to posterior events appear prophetic, the real author, according to the astronomer Delambre, was a German named Bruschius, of the sixteenth century, who pretended to have discovered it on a tomb (we may suppose that of Regiomontanus) in Bohemia, that learned man's country. Many other similar prophecies have deluded the world, of which the most celebrated were those of the Englishman Merlin. An early edition, printed in 1528, fetched sixteen guineas in 1812 at the Roxburgh sale, though preceded by three or four. It is in French, and at Gaignat's sale, in 1769, brought only thirty-one livres. It was No. 2239. of the Catalogue.
J. R.
Cork, Sept. 17.
Since my former communication I have collected the following list of places where this custom prevails:—
In Surrey:Battersea.—Lysons'Environs, vol. i. p. 30.Wimbledon (Archbishop of Canterbury's Manor).—Lysons'Environs, vol. i. p. 523.Streatham (Manor of Leigham Court).—Lysons'Environs, vol. i. p. 481.Richmond, Ham, Peterham.—Lysons'Environs.Croydon (Archbishop of Canterbury's Manor).—Clementv.Scudamore, 6Mod. Rep.102.; Steinman'sCroydon, p. 9.
In Surrey:
Battersea.—Lysons'Environs, vol. i. p. 30.
Wimbledon (Archbishop of Canterbury's Manor).—Lysons'Environs, vol. i. p. 523.
Streatham (Manor of Leigham Court).—Lysons'Environs, vol. i. p. 481.
Richmond, Ham, Peterham.—Lysons'Environs.
Croydon (Archbishop of Canterbury's Manor).—Clementv.Scudamore, 6Mod. Rep.102.; Steinman'sCroydon, p. 9.
In Essex:Maldon.—Blount's Tenuresby Beckwith.
In Essex:
Maldon.—Blount's Tenuresby Beckwith.
In Suffolk:Lavenham.—Blount's Tenuresby Beckwith.
In Suffolk:
Lavenham.—Blount's Tenuresby Beckwith.
In Gloucestershire:The county of the city of Gloucester.—1st Report of Real Property Commissioners, 1839, app. 98.
In Gloucestershire:
The county of the city of Gloucester.—1st Report of Real Property Commissioners, 1839, app. 98.
In Middlesex:Islington (Manor of St. John of Jerusalem).—Nelson'sIslington.Isleworth.—Lysons'Environs, vol. iii. p. 96.
In Middlesex:
Islington (Manor of St. John of Jerusalem).—Nelson'sIslington.
Isleworth.—Lysons'Environs, vol. iii. p. 96.
In Cornwall:Clymesloud.—Blount's Tenuresby Beckwith, p. 407.
In Cornwall:
Clymesloud.—Blount's Tenuresby Beckwith, p. 407.
In Nottinghamshire:Southwell.—Comp. Cop.506.;Blount's Tenuresby Beckwith.
In Nottinghamshire:
Southwell.—Comp. Cop.506.;Blount's Tenuresby Beckwith.
In Northamptonshire:Brigstock.—Beauties of England and Wales, vol. ii. p. 201.
In Northamptonshire:
Brigstock.—Beauties of England and Wales, vol. ii. p. 201.
In Warwickshire:Balshall.—Pat. 20 R. 2. m. 2.;Blount's Tenuresby Beckwith, p. 629.
In Warwickshire:
Balshall.—Pat. 20 R. 2. m. 2.;Blount's Tenuresby Beckwith, p. 629.
In Lincolnshire:Stamford.—Camd. Brit.tit.Lincolnshire;Blount's Tenuresby Beckwith, p. 416.
In Lincolnshire:
Stamford.—Camd. Brit.tit.Lincolnshire;Blount's Tenuresby Beckwith, p. 416.
There are some variances in the custom in these several places; the particulars would be too long for an article in "NOTES ANDQUERIES;" but the principle of descent to the youngest son prevails in all.
It would be very desirable to complete this list as far as can be done, and I hope some others of your correspondents will give their aid to do it.
The origin of this custom, so contrary to the general law of descent by the common law, is also a subject worthy of more investigation than it has yet received. What is stated on the subject in the law books is very unsatisfactory. It might tend to throw some light on this point if any of your correspondents would communicate information as to any nations or tribes where the law of descent to the youngest son prevails, or did prevail, according to ancient or still existing custom.
I have also received the following list of places where the custom of Borough-English prevails, from Charles Sandys, Esq., F.S.A., of Canterbury. It is taken from notes to the third edition of Robinson's valuable work on Gavelkind, p. 391. notea., and p. 393. n.c.This list had escaped me, as my edition of Robinson is an old one.
"It appears by communications from the stewards to the late Mr. Sawkins, that in the following manors, lands are descendible after the custom of Borough-English:—
"Middlesex.St. John of Jerusalem, in IslingtonSutton Court
"Middlesex.
St. John of Jerusalem, in Islington
Sutton Court
"Surrey.Weston Gumshall, in AlburyColley, in ReigateSutton next Woking, in WokingLittle Bookham, in Little Bookham and EffinghamWotton, Abinger, Paddington, Paddington Pembroke: in the parishes of Wotton, Abinger, Ewhurst, and CranleyGumshall Tower Hill, Gumshall Netley; Shere Vachery, and Cranley; Shere Eborum: in the parishes of Shere Ewhurst and CranleyDunsford, in the parish of WandsworthCompton WestburyBrockham, in Betchworth
"Surrey.
Weston Gumshall, in Albury
Colley, in Reigate
Sutton next Woking, in Woking
Little Bookham, in Little Bookham and Effingham
Wotton, Abinger, Paddington, Paddington Pembroke: in the parishes of Wotton, Abinger, Ewhurst, and Cranley
Gumshall Tower Hill, Gumshall Netley; Shere Vachery, and Cranley; Shere Eborum: in the parishes of Shere Ewhurst and Cranley
Dunsford, in the parish of Wandsworth
Compton Westbury
Brockham, in Betchworth
"Essex.Boxted Hall
"Essex.
Boxted Hall
"Sussex.Battell, a small part of the freehold and copyhold lands in Robertsbridge
"Sussex.
Battell, a small part of the freehold and copyhold lands in Robertsbridge
"Huntingdonshire.Somersham, with the Soke, the copyhold lands in Alconbury, with Weston
"Huntingdonshire.
Somersham, with the Soke, the copyhold lands in Alconbury, with Weston
"It appears by the communications from the stewards of the late Mr. Sawkins, that his customary descent is extended to younger brothers in the manors of—
"Surrey.Dorking, in Dorking and Capel-Milton and Westcott, in the parishes of Dorking Capel and Ockley
"Surrey.
Dorking, in Dorking and Capel-Milton and Westcott, in the parishes of Dorking Capel and Ockley
"To all collateral males in the manors of—
"Middlesex.Isleworth SyonEaling, otherwise ZealingActon
"Middlesex.
Isleworth Syon
Ealing, otherwise Zealing
Acton
"To females, as well as males, lineal and collateral, in the manors of—
"Middlesex.Fulham
"Middlesex.
Fulham
"Surrey.Wimbledon, including Putney, Mortlake, Rochampton, and SheenBattersea and WandsworthDowneBarnesRichmond
"Surrey.
Wimbledon, including Putney, Mortlake, Rochampton, and Sheen
Battersea and Wandsworth
Downe
Barnes
Richmond
"Nottinghamshire.Southwell
"Nottinghamshire.
Southwell
"Hertfordshire.Much Hadham."
"Hertfordshire.
Much Hadham."
G. R. C.
Southwark, Sept. 24, 1851.
Theaccompanying extract is from the History of the borough of Stafford, in White'sDirectory and Gazetteer of Staffordshire, which is just published:—
"The ancient custom ofBorough-Englishformerly prevailed here, by which the youngest son succeeded to property, as heir-at-law, in preference to the elder children. The origin of this part of our common law is not very well ascertained, but it is generally supposed to have arisen from the ancient system ofvassalage, which gave the lord of the manor certain rights over hisvassal's bride, and thus rendered the legitimacy of the eldest born uncertain; or perhaps it may have originated in the natural presumption, that the youngest child was least capable of providing for itself."
F. J. M.
Permit me to make a few remarks on the passage of Virgil, "Viridesque secant," &c., and its attempted elucidation, Vol. iv., pp. 88, 89.
It is stated that the translation is not correct, and also that Servius was a very illiterate, ignorant, and narrow-minded man, &c.
In the short notice of Servius and his works in thePenny Cyclopædia, we have a very different character of him. Which is to be believed, for both cannot be right?
Harles, in hisIntrod. in Notitiam Lit. Rom., speaks thus of theCommentaries of Servius:
"Quæ in libris Virgilii sub nomine Servii circumferuntur Scholia, eorum minima pars pertinet ad illum; sed farrago est ex antiquioribus commentariis Cornuti, Donati, &c., et aliorum; immo vero ex recentioris ætatis interpretibus multa adjecta sunt et interpolata."
Thus condemning the interpolations, but leaving intact the matter really belonging to Servius.
For a refutation of the impertinent comparison with a Yorkshire hedge schoolmaster, and the erroneous appreciation of theCommentaries, I must refer to the above-mentioned notice in thePenny Cyclopædia.
In the next place, with respect to the meaning of the passage:—the wordseco, when applied to the movements of ships, is usually rendered by "sulco;"e.g.:
"Jamque fretum Minyæ Pegasæâ puppe secabant."Ovid,Met.vii. 1.
"Jamque fretum Minyæ Pegasæâ puppe secabant."
Ovid,Met.vii. 1.
See also lib. xi. 479. "Travel along" would be insufficient to express the meaning in these instances; andsulcoagrees with the modern phrase, "ploughing the deep," &c.
Moreover, I submit that the interpretation ofsecois governed by the context, inasmuch as its application to both land and water travelling demands a different construction in the two cases. If this be allowed, then comparison cannot be made between the line in question and "viam secat ad naves;" for this refers to Æneas's leaving the infernals, after his visit there; or "secuit sub nubibus arcum," which refers to cleaving the air. Heyne's note is "secuit ... arcum; secando aerem fecit arcum; incessit per arcum."
The clearness or muddiness of the river has no connexion with the translation; for the words "placido æquore" clearly and definitely express the state of thesurfaceof the river, and it is such as is required to favour the reflection of the trees, through whose images the ships ploughed their way; and, to make the sense perfect, the words "variis teguntur arboribus" are all that is required as showing the position of the trees with respect to the river.
P.S. I have not alluded to the special meaning of active verbs with accusative (Qy. objective) cases after them, &c.
ת.א.
The Query of your correspondent ERYXhas elicited two conflicting opinions as to the meaning of the words "Viridesque secant placido æquore silvas." Perhaps the following suggestion may help to set the matter at rest.
If by these words is meant the cleaving of the shadows on the water, how could they, with any propriety, be applied to a voyage that was prosecuted during the darkness of the night as well as by the light of day?
"Olli remigionoctemquediemque fatigant."
"Olli remigionoctemquediemque fatigant."
W. B. R.
—VASHTIinquires the derivation ofell-rakeorhell-rake. In this district (the Cotswolds) we generally suppose the derivation to be from the rake being an ell in width. In the vale, however (i.e.about Tewkesbury), they are calledheel-rakes, from their being drawn at the heel of the person using them, instead of being used in front, as rakes ordinarily are.
C. H. N.
Cirencester.
Heel-rake,Ell-rake, orHell-rake, is a large rake, which upon being drawn along the ground the teeth run close to the heels of the person drawing it. This has given it the name ofheel-rake, its right name. In Shropshire (and probably in other counties also) this has become contracted intoell-rake.
SALOPIAN.
—Ireland is not the only country supposed to be inimical to reptiles. I may perhaps be allowed to add to the "Note" of your correspondent as to Ireland, that the Maltese declare that St. Paul after his shipwreck cursed all the venomous reptilesof the island, and banished them for ever, just as St. Patrick is said to have afterwards treated those of his favourite isle. Whatever be the cause of it, the fact is alleged by travellers to be certain, that there areno venomous animals in Malta. "They assured us" (says Brydone in hisTour through Sicily and Malta, vol. ii. p. 35.) "that vipers have been brought from Sicily, and died almost immediately on their arrival."
Although perhaps more strictly coming under the head of folk lore, I may here advert to the traditions found in several parts of England, that venomous reptiles were banished by saints who came to live there. I have read that Keynsham—the hermitage of Keynes, a Cambrian lady,A.D.490—was infested with serpents, which were converted by her prayers into the "Serpent-stones"—theCornua Ammonis—that now cover the land. A similar story is told at Whitby, where these fine fossils of the Lias are called "St. Hilda's Serpent-stones;" and so, too, St. Godric, the famous hermit of Finchale, near Durham, is said to have destroyed the native race of serpents.
W. S. G.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
—I am obliged to GOMERfor his reference to Davies. In the cited passages from Taliesin and Meigant,heb nawmeans without being able to swim. The wordnawvdrops its final letter in order to furnish the rhyme. That appears, not only from the rejection of the word by all lexicographers, but from one of the manuscripts of Meigant, which actually writes itnawv. I esteem Davies's translation to be Daviesian.
By way of a gentle pull at the torques, I will observe, that I am not in the habit of proving that people "didnotpossess" a thing, but of inquiring for the evidence that they did. And when I find that tattooed and nearly naked people used coracles, and do not find that they used anything grander, I am led to suspect they did not.
My answer to the Query, whether it be probable that British warriors went over to Gaul in coracles is, "Yes, highly so." Rude canoes of various sorts convey the expeditions of savage islanders in all seas. And the coracle rendered the Scots of Erin formidable to the Roman shores of Gaul and Britain. I do not see that the Dorsetshire folk being "water-dwellers" (if so be they were such) proved them to have used proper ships, any more than their being "water-drinkers" would prove them to have used glasses or silver tankards.
No doubt the nameναῦςis of the remotest heroic antiquity, and the first osier bark covered with hides, or even the first excavated alder trunk, may have been so termed; in connexion with the verbal formnao, contract.no,nas, pret.navi, to float or swim. But to "advance that opinion" as to Britain, because two revolted Roman subjects in this province used the word in the sixth and seventh centuries after Christ, would be late and tardy proof of the fact; even supposing that the two bards in question had made use of such a noun, which I dispute.
A. N.
[This communication should have preceded that in No. 99., p. 214.]
—On the united authority of messieurs Auger and Renouard, editors of the works of le comte Antoine Hamilton, it may be affirmed that there is no edition of theMémoires du comte de Grammontanterior to that of 1713. M. Renouard thus expresses himself: "En 1713 parurent lesMémoires, sans nom d'auteur, en un vol. in-12, imprimé en Hollande sous la date de Cologne."
BOLTONCORNEY.
—The termination "-ship" is the Anglo-Saxonscipe,scype, from verbscipan, to create, form; and hence as a termination of nouns denotesform,condition,office,dignity.
THOS. LAURENCE.
Ashbey de la Zouch.
—With something like compunction for lavishing on Macrobius and his prosy compeers so many precious hours of a life that is waning fast, permit me to refer you to hisSaturnalia, vii. 13., ed. Gryph. 1560, p. 722., for the nursery names of the five fingers. They nearly coincide with those still denoting those useful implements in one of the Low-Norman isles, to wit,Gros det,ari det (hari det?),longuedonormousqueton,Jean des sceas,courtelas. The saidJean des sceasis, of course, "John of the Seals," the "annularis" or ring-finger of Macrobius and the Anglican Office-Book. Among the Hebrewsאצבע אלהים, "the finger of God," denoted His power; and it was the forefinger, among the gods of Greece and Italy, which wore the ring, the emblem of divine supremacy.
G. M.
—The beautiful old church of St. John in the Wilderness, near Exmouth, is in ruins. Having in 1850 asked the old man who points out its battered beauties, why there were still books in the reading desks, he informed me that marriages and funeral services were still performed there. This, however, is my only authority on the subject.
SELEUCUS.
—No doubt now exists that the death of Cervantes occurred on the 23rd of April, 1616, and not the 20th of that month, which Smollett represents as the received date. In the Spanish Academy's edition, the magnificent one of 1780, as well as in that of 1797, it is so affirmed. In the former we read that on the 18th he received the sacrament of extreme unction with great calmness of spirit. It then adds:
"Igual serenidad mantuvo haste el último punto de la vida. Otorgó testamento dexando por albaceas á su muger Doña Catalina de Salazar, y al Licenciado Francisco Nuñez, que vivia en la misma casa: mandó que le sepultasen en las Monjas Trinitarias; y murió á 23 del expresado mes de Abril, de edad de 68 años, 6 meses, y 14 dias."
The coincidence, however, of the renowned Spaniard's death with that of our Shakspeare, who certainly died apparently on the same day, the 23rd of April, 1616, on which, at a singularity, Mr. Frere, with others, dwells, wholly fails; for, in fact, that day in Spain corresponded not with the 23rd, but the 13th, in England. It is forgotten that the Gregorian or Reformed Calendar was then adopted in Spain, and that between it and the unreformed style of England a difference in that century existed of ten days:—thus, the execution of Charles I., in our writers, and in the Book of Common Prayer, is always dated on the 30th of January, while on the continent it is represented as on the 9th of February. The Reformed Calendar was adopted and promulgated by Pope Gregory XIII. in 1582, while rejected by England, though acknowledged to be correct, until 1751, because coming from Rome. This disgraceful submission to prejudice in repudiation of a demonstrated scientific truth, practically sanctioned by a Napier, a Newton, a Halley, &c., is still pursued in the Greek church and Russian empire, where the present day, the 17th of September, is the 5th.
J. R.
Cork, Sept. 17.
—Although unable to point out the source whence Jeremy Taylor derived the story to which A. TR. alludes, I may be excused for referring your correspondent toDon Quixote, Part II. bookIII.chap. xiii., where the story, somewhat amplified, is given; but with this difference, that the staff is not broken by the injured person, but by Signor Don Sancho Panza, Governor of Barataria, before whom the case is brought for adjudication. That the story was founded on an older one may be well inferred, from its being stated that "Sancho had heard such a story told by the curate of his village; and his memory was so tenacious, in retaining everything he wanted to remember, that there was not such another in the whole island."
C. H. COOPER.
Cambridge, Sept. 20. 1851.
—I perfectly agree with RT. in his admiration for Gray; but, to my shame be it spoken, am not very well read in Jeremy Taylor. RT. would oblige me, as well as other admirers of "the sweet Lyrist of Peter-house," by furnishing an example or two of the latter's obligations to the bishop.
RT. will excuse me if I fail to perceive any great degree of similarity between his two last quoted passages from Gray and those from Cowley, which he adduces as parallel. This refers especially to the last instance, in which I trace scarcely any similarity beyond that of a place of education and a river being commemorated in each. Would RT. supply us with a few more examples of borrowing from Cowley?
With RT.'s wish for a new edition of Gray, "with the parallel passages annexed," I cordially coincide. However, failing this new edition, he will allow me to recommend to his notice (if indeed he has not seen it) the Eton edition of the poet, with introductory stanzas of great elegance and beauty, by another of Eton's bards, the Rev. J. Moultrie, author of that most pathetic little poem "My Brother's Grave."
K. S.
—An impression of the stamp on the bread used in the Eucharist in Greece (mentioned in the above Note) may be seen in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. It was cut off a loaf in the remarkable monastery of Megaspelion in the Morea, by
W. C. TREVELYAN.
—This is a literal translation into heraldic language of the name of the family which uses it for a motto:Halifax=holy-hair, from the Anglo Saxonhali, orhalig, andfaxorfeax. Tradition connects the origin of the Yorkshire town of that name with a head of singular length and beauty of hair, found at or near the place where the Halifax gibbet used to stand.
J. EASTWOOD.
—E. V. has entirely overlooked the very material circumstance that Flatman's poem was cited in your periodical (Vol. iv., p. 132.) from a book published in 1688, twenty-four years before the date he assigns to the composition of Pope's ode. Flatman died 8th December, 1688, and Pope was born 22d May, 1688; so that he was little more than six months old at the time of Flatman's death. I have now before me the 4th edition of Flatman'sPoems and Songs, London, 8vo., 1686; "A Thought of Death" occurs at p. 55.
C. H. COOPER.
Cambridge, Sept. 20. 1851.
—In Goar'sRituale Græcorum, the most complete account is given of the ancient vestments of the priesthood, from which, or rather from the same source, those of the Romish and English churches have been derived. The names of these vestments areστοιχάριον,ὡραρίον,ἐπιμανίκια,ἐπιτραχήλιον,ζώνη,ὑπογονάτιον,φελώνιον, andἐπιγονάτιον.
These were put on and taken off in the presence of the congregation, and a form of prayer appropriate to each vestment was repeated (μυστικῶς) bythe priest and deacon. In the notes of Goar and the accompanying plates, ample information is afforded of the symbolic meaning of these garments, both in respect of form and colour.
This meaning, lost to considerable extent by the Romish church, is recoverable by reference to the Greek rituals, which have retained, probably with little alteration, the ancient services of the early Christians. An explanation will therein be found of other matters besides linteamina and surplices by those who are curious in rituology, as of theδίσκον σφραγίδος, λόγχη, ἁστηρίσκον, κάλυμμα, ἀέρα, ἀπόλυσις, ἱερατεῖον, ναὸν, βῆμα, "σοφία, ὀρθοί," εἰλητόν, ῥιπιδίον, ζεόν, ζέσις, &c.
T. J. BUCKTON.
Lichfield.
By all who are interested in the study of early German Poetry and Literature, the name of Von der Hagen must be gratefully remembered for the many curious and valuable works which he has published, sometimes under his sole editorship, at others, in conjunction with Busching, Primisser, &c. But far exceeding in interest any which he has before given to the press, especially to English readers, is one which we received some time since from Messrs. Williams and Norgate, but have only recently had an opportunity of examining. It is in three thick and closely printed octavos, and is entitledGesammtabentheuer: Hundert altdeutsche Erzählungen, Ritter-und Pfaffen-Mären, Stadt-und Dorfgeschichten, Schwänke, Wundersagen und Legenden, meist zum erstenmal gedruckt, &c. This collection embraces, as the title accurately enough describes, a hundred early German Stories of every possible kind, Stories of Knights and Friars, of Cities and Villages, Merry Jests, Tales of Wonder, and Legends; and resembles in many respects the popular collections of French Fabliaux edited by Barbazan, Le Grand d'Aussy, &c. These are for the most part now printed for the first time; and besides the illustrations they afford of that love of humour, a characteristic of the German mind the existence of which it has been too much the fashion to deny, and to which we oweOwlglasand theSchildburger, these "hundred merry Tales" are of no small importance for the light they throw upon the history of Fiction—a subject which, in spite of the labour bestowed upon it by Dunlop, Walter Scott, Palgrave, and Keightley, is yet very far from being fully developed.
The new part ofThe Traveller's Librarycontains Mr. Macaulay's brilliant essays on Ranke'sHistory of the Popes, and GladstoneOn Church and State.
Messrs. Longman having become the sole proprietors of that valuable series of worksThe Cabinet Cyclopædia, have announced a re-issue of them at the reduced price of three shillings and sixpence per volume, instead of six shillings, at which they were originally published.
CATALOGUESRECEIVED.—John Miller's (43. Chandos Street) Catalogue No. 29. of Books Old and New; Sotheran, Son and Draper's (Tower Street, Eastcheap) Book Reporter No. 3. Miscellaneous Catalogue of Old and New Books; W. S. Lincoln's (Cheltenham House, Westminster Road) Seventy-third Catalogue of Cheap Second-hand Books; B. Quaritch's (16. Castle Street, Leicester Square) Catalogue No. 34. of Oriental Literature, &c.
FEARNE'SESSAY ONHUMANCONSCIOUSNESS, 4to.
BISHOPKIDDER'SLIFE OFANTHONYHORNECK.
TIGHE'SLIFE OFLAW.
MACROPEDII, HECASTUSFABULA. 8vo. Antwerp, 1539.
OMNESGEORGIIMACROPEDIIFABULÆCOMICÆ. Utrecht, 1552. 2 Vols. 8vo.
OTHONISLEXICONRABBINICUM.
PLATO. Vols. VIII. X. XI. of the Bipont Edition.
PARKINSON'SSERMONS. Vol. I.
ATHENÆUM. Oct. and Nov. 1848. parts CCL., CCLI.
WILLIS'PRICECURRENT. Nos. I. III. V. XXIV. XXVI. XXVII.-XLV.
RABBISALOMONJARCHI(RASCHI) COMMENTARÜBER DENPENTATEUCH VONL. HAYMANN. Bonn, 1833.
RABBISOLOMONJARCHI(RASCHI) ÜBER DASERSTEBUCHMOSIS VONL. HAYMANN. Bonn, 1833.
No. 3. of SUMMERPRODUCTIONS, or PROGRESSIVEMISCELLANIES, by Thomas Johnson. London, 1790.
HISTORY OFVIRGINIA. Folio. London, 1624.
THEAPOLOGETICS OFATHENAGORAS, Englished by D. Humphreys. London, 1714. 8vo.
BOVILLUS DEANIMÆIMMORTALITATE, ETC. Lugduni, 1522. 4to.
KUINOEL'SNOV. TEST. Tom. I.
THEFRIEND, by Coleridge. Vol III. Pickering.
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REPLIESRECEIVED.—The Eighth Climate—A little Bird told me—Bummaree—Proverb of James I.—Stanzas in Childe Harold—Parish Registers—Sanford's Descensus—Printing—Matthew Paris's Historia Minor—North Side of Churchyards—Down on the Nail—Michaelmas Goose—Passage in George Herbert—Passage from Virgil—Curfew—Grimsdyke—Byron's Son of the Morning—Fides Carbonaria—Ancient Language of Egypt—Wyle Cop—Conquest of Scotland—Anagrams—Suicides' Graves—Borough-English—Pope's Honest Factor—Covine—Jewel's Works—Medical Use of Pigeons—Post Pascha—Linteamina and Surplices—Shakspeare's Antony and Cleopatra—Termination "-ship"—King's Way, Wilts—Stickle and Dray—Harris, Painter in Water Colours—Finkle—Equestrian Statue of Elizabeth—Going the whole Hog—Meaning of Nervous—Winifreda—The Willow Garland—Brother Johnathan—Expressions in Milton, &c.
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