154 Observations on Rales for Nomenclature. 



shocking to the more refined taste of our modern legislators. 



In the second place, the "rule" is directly opposed to the 

 invariable practice of the Greeks and Romans themselves. — 

 The classical nations of antiquity imposed no such restraints 

 upon their respective languages, as those contemplated by the 

 rule in question ; on the contrary, they were accustomed to 

 adopt barbarous words and terms with the greatest freedom, 

 only giving them an appropriate termination or orthography, 

 to adapt them to the peculiar spirit of their respective tongues. 

 Take the following examples as cases in point, and the list 

 might be easily extended to any given length. KapyXor and 

 Camelus, from the Hebrew Gamal ; Bison, Urus, Alces, and 

 Fiber, from the ancient German Wisent, Auerochs, Mlg, and 

 Biber, respectively ; Pala,* the plantain, is still called Bala 

 by the Hindoos ; so also Avkuov, Lycium, the barberry, is still 

 denominated Lukyoon by the same people, as has been lately 

 shewn by Professor Royle ; "Ifator, which occurs in Homer ,f 

 as the name of a mountain Ruminant, is still, under the form 

 of Isard or Ysard, the common name of the chamois among 

 the mountaineers of the Pyrenees ; the Kepar of ^Elian^ and 

 other writers, which has so much puzzled some modern com- 

 mentators and naturalists, is nothing more than the Gems and 

 Chamois of the Germans and French ; Kovihog, Koovih*o$, and Cu- 

 niculus, are only so many adaptations of the ancient Iberian 

 word Coney, still subsisting in the Welch, Irish, and other cog- 

 nate languages, as well as in modern Spanish ; Tagavdor and Ta- 

 randus, appear to be only the native Teutonic name ran, or 

 renne with the article te or the prefixed ; and even the Pegasus 

 of Pliny, § described as a wild horse of Ethiopia, with wings 

 and horns, is probably the wild species of maned buffalo, still 

 called Pecasse among the negroes. That the ancients occa- 

 sionally made use of compound epithets, such as Ka/twjXowaf 3a*j$ 

 htw*&tuf^f\mhfoa$w, &c. only proves that we may occasion- 

 ally do so likewise, which I do not deny ; but these instances 

 are manifest exceptions to their general rule, and appear to 

 have been adopted only when they were unacquainted with 

 the native names of the animals. 



Am I not, therefore, justified in reprobating the mischiev- 

 ous and meddling caprice, which would change Tupaia into 

 Cladobates, or Cavia into Ancema, and reject Tapirus, Ma- 

 nis, and Gazella, out of mere compliance with an arbitrary 

 "rule," contradicted by every principle of soimd taste and cri- 



* Plinii Hist. Nat. lib. xii. c. 6. f Iliad, A. v . 105. | Lib. xiv. c. 14. 

 §Hist. Nat. lib. viii. c. 21. 



