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NOTE ON HERODOTUS BY DEAN SWIFT
The inclosed unpublished note of Dean Swift will, I hope, be deemed worthy of a place in your columns. It was written by him in his Herodotus, which is now in the library of Winchester College, having been presented to it in 1766, by John Smyth de Burgh, Earl of Clanricarde. The genuineness of the handwriting is attested by a certificate of George Faulkner, who, it appears, was well qualified to decide upon it. The edition is Jungerman's, folio, printed by Paul Stephens, in 1718.
W.H. GUNNER.
"Judicium de Herodoto post longum tempus relicto:—
"Ctesias mendacissimus Herodotum mendaciorum arguit, exceptis paucissimis (ut mea fert sententia) omnimodo excusandum. Cæterum diverticulis abundans, hic pater Historicorum, filum narrationis ad tædium abrumpit; unde oritur (ut par est) legentibus confusio, et exinde oblivio. Quin et forsan ipsæ narrationes circumstantiis nimium pro re scatent. Quod ad cætera, hunc scriptorem inter apprimè laudandos censeo, neque Græcis, neque barbaris plus æquo faventem, aut iniquum: in orationibus fere brevem, simplicem, nec nimis frequentem: Neque absunt dogmata, e quibus eruditus lector prudentiam, tam moralem, quam civilem, haurire poterit.
"Julii 6: 1720. J. SWIFT"
"I do hereby certify that the above is the handwriting of the late Dr. Jonathan Swift, D.S.P.D., from whom I have had many letters and printed several pieces from his original MS.
"Dublin, Aug. 21. 1762. GEORGE FAULKNER."
HERRICK'S HESPERIDES
There can be few among your subscribers who are unacquainted with the sweet lyric effusion of Herrick "to the Virgins, to make much of Time," beginning—
"Gather you rose-buds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower, that smiles to-day,
To-morrow will be dying."
The following "Answer" appeared in a publication not so well known as the Hesperides. I have therefore made a note of it from Cantos, Songs, and Stanzas, &c., 3rd ed. printed in Aberdeen, by John Forbes, 1682.
"I gather, where I hope to gain,
I know swift Time doth fly;
Those fading buds methinks are vain,
To-morrow that may die.
"The higher Phoebus goes on high,
The lower is his fall;
But length of days gives me more light,
Freedom to know my thrall.
"Then why do ye think I lose my time,
Because I do not marrie;
Vain fantasies make not my prime,
Nor can make me miscarrie."
J.M. GUTCH.
Worcester.
QUERIES
REV. DR. TOMLINSON
Mr. G. Bouchier Richardson, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who is at present engaged in compiling the life and correspondence of Robert Thomlinson, D.D., Rector of Whickham, co. Dur.; Lecturer of St. Nicholas, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and founder of the Thomlinson Library there; Prebendary of St. Paul's; and Vice-Principal of Edmund Hall, Oxon., is very anxious for the communication of any matter illustrative of the life of the Doctor, his family and ancestry; which, it is presumed, is derivable from the family of that name long seated at Howden, in Yorkshire.
MINOR QUERIES
"A" or "An," before Words, beginning with a Vowel.—Your readers are much indebted to Dr. Kennedy for his late exposure of the erroneous, though common, use of the phrase "mutual friend," and I am convinced that there are many similar solecisms which only require to be denounced to ensure their disuse. I am anxious to ask the opinion of Dr. K., and others of your subscribers, on another point in the English language, namely, the principles which should guide our use of "A" or "An" before a word beginning with a vowel, as the practice does not appear to be uniform in this respect. The minister of my parish invariably says in his sermon, "Such an one," which, I confess, to my ear is grating enough. I conclude he would defend himself by the rule that where the succeeding word, as "one," begins with a vowel, "An," and not "A," should be used; but this appears to me not altogether satisfactory, as, though "one" is spelt as beginning with a vowel, it is pronounced as if beginning with a consonant thus, "won." The rule of adding or omitting the final "n," according as the following word commences with a vowel or a consonant, was meant, I conceive, entirely for elegance in speaking, to avoid the jar on the ear which would otherwise be occasioned, and has no reference to writing, or the appearance on paper of the words. I consider, therefore, that an exception must be made to the rule of using "An" before words beginning with a vowel in cases where the words are pronounced as if beginning with a consonant, as "one," "use," and its derivatives, "ubiquity," "unanimity," and some others which will no doubt occur to your readers. I should be glad to be informed if my opinion is correct; and I will only further observe, that the same remarks are applicable towards words beginning with "h." An horse sounds as bad as a hour; and it is obvious that in these cases employment of "A" or "An" is dictated by the consideration whether the aspirate is sounded or is quiescent, and has no reference to the spelling of the word.
PRISCIAN.
The Lucky have whole Days.—I, like your correspondent "P.S." (No. 15., p. 231.), am anxious to ascertain the authorship of the lines to which he refers.
They stand in my Common-place Book as follows, which I consider to be a more correct version than that given by "P.S.":—
"Fate's dark recesses we can never find,
But Fortune, at some hours, to all is kind:
The lucky have whole days, which still they choose;
The unlucky have but hours, and those they lose."
H.H.
Line quoted by De Quincey.—"S.P.S." inquires who is the author of the following line, quoted by De Quincey in the Confessions of an English Opium Eater:—
"Battlements that on their restless fronts bore stars."
Bishop Jewel's Papers.—It is generally understood that the papers left by Bishop Jewel were bequeathed to his friend Dr. Garbrand, who published some of them. The rest, it has been stated, passed from Dr. G. into the possession of New College, Oxford. Are any of these still preserved in the library of that college? or, if not, can any trace be found of the persons into whose hands they subsequently came, or of the circumstances under which they were lost to New College?
A.H.
Allusion in Friar Brackley's Sermon.—In Fenn's Paston Letters, XCVIII. (vol. iii., p. 393., or vol. i., p. 113. Bohn), entitled "An ancient Whitsunday Sermon, preached by Friar Brackley (whose hand it is). At the Friers Minors Church in Norwich" occurs the following:—
"Semiplenum gaudium est quando quis in præsenti gaudet et tunc cogitans de futuris dolet; ut in quodam libro Græco, &c."
"Quidam Rex Græciæ, &c.; here ye may see but half a joy; who should joy in this world if he remembered him of the pains of the other world?"
What is the Greek Book, and who is the king of Greece alluded to?
N.E.R.
Selden's Titles of Honour.—Does any gentleman possess a MS. Index to Selden's Titles of Honour? Such, if printed, would be a boon; for it is a dreadful book to wade through for what one wants to find.
B.
Colonel Hyde Seymour.—In a book dated 1720, is written "Borrow the Book of Col. Hyde Seymour." I am anxious to know who the said Colonel was, his birth, &c.?
B.
Quem Deus vult perdere, &c.—Prescot, in his History of the Conquest of Peru (vol. ii., p. 404., 8vo. ed.), says, while remarking on the conduct of Gonzalo Pisaro, that it may be accounted for by "the insanity," as the Roman, or rather Grecian proverb calls it, "with which the gods afflict men when they design to ruin them." He quotes the Greek proverb from a fragment of Euripides, in his note:—
"Οταν δε Δαιμων ανδρι παρσυνη κακα
Τον νουν εβλαψε πρωτον."
I wish to know whether the Roman proverb, Quem vult perdere Deus prius dementat, is merely a translation of this, or whether it is to be found in a Latin author? If the latter, in what author? Is it in Seneca?
EDWARD S. JACKSON.
Southwell's Supplication.—Can any one inform me where I can see a copy of Robert Southwell's Supplication to Queen Elizabeth, which was printed, according to Watts, in 1593? or can any one, who has seen it, inform me what is the style and character of it?
J.S.
Gesta Grayorum.—In Nichol's Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, vol. iii., p. 262., a tract is inserted, entitled "Gesta Grayorum; or, History of the High and Mighty Prince Henry, Prince of Purpoole, &c., who lived and died in A.D. 1594." The original is said to have been printed in 1688, by Mr. Henry Keepe. Is any copy of it to be had or seen?
J.S.
Snow of Chicksand Priory.—"A.J.S.P." desires information respecting the immediate descendants of R. Snow, Esq., to whom the site of Chicksand Priory, Bedfordshire, was granted, 1539: it was alienated by his family, about 1600, to Sir John Osborn, Knt., whose descendants now possess it. In Berry's Pedigrees of Surrey Families, p. 83., I find an Edward Snowe of Chicksand mentioned as having married Emma, second daughter of William Byne, Esq., of Wakehurst, Sussex. What was his relationship to R. Snow, mentioned above? The arms of this family are, Per fesse nebulée azure, and argent three antelopes' heads, erased counterchanged, armed or.
The Bristol Riots.—"J.B.M." asks our Bristol readers what compilation may be relied on as an accurate description of the Bristol riots of 1831? and whether The Bristol Riots, their Causes, Progress, and Consequences, by a Citizen, is generally received as an accurate account?
1, Union Place, Lisson Grove.
A Living Dog better that a Dead Lion.—Can any of your readers inform me with whom the proverb originated: "A living dog is better than a dead lion?" F. Domin. Bannez (or Bannes), in his defence of Cardinal Cajetan, after his death, against the attacks of Cardinal Catharinus and Melchior Canus (Comment. in prim. par. S. Thom. p. 450. ed. Duaci, 1614), says—
"Certe potest dici de istis, quod de Græcis insultantibus Hectori jam mortuo dixit Homerus, quòd leoni mortuo etiam lepores insultant."
Query? Is this, or any like expression, to be found in Homer? If so, I should feel much obliged to any of your correspondents who would favour me with the reference.
JOHN SANSOM.
Author of "Literary Leisure."—Can any of your readers inform me of the name of the author of Literary Leisure, published by Miller, Old Bond Street, 1802, in 2 volumes? It purports to have come out in weekly parts, of which the first is dated Sept. 26. 1799. It contains many interesting papers in prose and verse: it is dedicated to the Editors of the Monthly Review. The motto in the title-page is—
"Saiva res est: philosophatur quoque jam;
Quod erat ei nomen? Thesaurochrysonicochrysides."—Plautus.
Is the work noticed in the Monthly Review, about that time?
NEMO.
The Meaning of "Complexion."—Is the word "complexion," used in describing an individual, to be considered as applied to the tint of the skin only, or to the colour of the hair and eyes? Can a person, having dark eyes and hair, but with a clear white skin, be said to be fair?
NEMO.
American Bittern—Derivation of "Calamity."—It has been stated of an American Bittern, that it has the power of admitting rays of light from its breast, by which fish are attracted within its reach. Can any one inform me as to the fact, or refer me to any ornithological work in which I can find it?
In answer to "F.S. Martin"—Calamity (calamitas), not from calamus, as it is usually derived, but perhaps from obs. calamis, i.e. columis, from κολω κολαω κολαζω to maim, mutilate, and so for columitas. (See Riddle's Lat.-Eng. Dictionary.)
AUGUSTINE.
Inquisition in Mexico.—"D." wishes to be furnished with references to any works in which the actual establishment of the Inquisition in Mexico is mentioned or described, or in which any other information respecting it is conveyed.
Masters of St. Cross.—"H. EDWARDS" will be obliged by information of any work except Dugdale's Monasticon, containing a list of the names of the Master of the Hospital of St. Cross, Winchester; or of the Masters or Priors of the same place before Humphry de Milers; and of the Masters between Bishop Sherborne, about 1491, and Bishop Compton, about 1674.
Etymology of "Dalston."—The hamlet of Hackney, now universally known only as Dalston, is spelt by most topographists Dorleston or Dalston. I have seen it in one old Gazette Darlston, and I observed it lately, on a stone let in to an old row of houses, Dolston; this was dated 1792. I have searched a great many books in vain to discover the etymology, and from it, of course, the correct spelling of the word, the oldest form of which that I can find is Dorleston.
The only probable derivations of it that I can find are the old words Doles and ton (from Saxon dun), a village built upon a slip of land between furrows of ploughed earth; or Dale (Dutch Dal), and stone, a bank in a valley. The word may, however, be derived from some man's name, though I can find none at all like it in a long list of tenants upon Hackney Manor that I have searched. If any of your readers can furnish this information they will much oblige.
H.C. DE ST. CROIX.
"Brown Study"—a term generally applied to intense reverie. Why "brown," rather than blue or yellow? Brown must be a corruption of some word. Query of "barren," in the sense of fruitless or useless?
D.V.S.
Coal Brandy.—People now old can recollect that, when young, they heard people then old talk of "coal-brandy." What was this? Cold? or, in modern phase, raw, neat, or genuine?
CANTAB.
Swot.—I have often heard military men talk of swot, meaning thereby mathematics; and persons eminent in that science are termed "good swots." As I never heard the word except amongst the military, but there almost universally in "free and easy," conversation, I am led to think it a cant term. At any rate, I shall be glad to be informed of its origin,—if it be not lost in the mists of soldierly antiquity.
CANTAB.
