110 



THE POPULAR EDUCATOR. 



descends into the vale of years, not only accompanied by the 

 gratitude of thousands whose labours he has lightened, but 

 cheered by the consciousness that he has benefited millions 

 who, as they read their morning paper, little dream that they 

 are indebted to a still living benefactor for the accuracy, the 

 speed, and to some extent the cheapness with which they are 

 furnished with the report of last night's debate or public 

 meeting. When we mention that all the educational works we 

 have enumerated (except the "Eeporter's Guide" and the 

 " Eeporter's Beading Book "), and by far the larger number of 

 those which we have classed under the other three heads of 

 division, have been produced under Mr. Pitman's own super- 

 intendence, and the lithography executed by his own hand, we 

 shall have thrown an additional light upon the Herculean task 

 which has been undertaken and accomplished by him, under 

 whose guidance our shorthand students have been piloted so 

 pleasantly through the preliminary difficulties of an invaluable 

 art. To add that full particulars concerning all the works to 

 which we have referred in this brief and necessarily inadequate 

 notice, may be obtained by application to Mr. Isaac Pitman, 

 Phonetip Institute, Bath, or of his brother and London pub- 

 lisher, Mr. Fred. Pitman, 20, Paternoster Eow, is to close our 

 task, and with it our " Lessons in Shorthand." 



LESSONS IN ENGLISH. XVII. 



SUFFIXES (continued). 



LANGUAGE has many a tale to tell respecting national character 

 and manners. The fact that the English names of animals, 

 when alive, are of Saxon origin for example, bull, sheep, calf 

 nnd that the English names of animals, when dead, are of 

 French origin as beef, mutton, veal in showing that at one 

 period of our history the Saxon population fed the animals, and 

 those who spoke the French language ate them, shows also 

 that the former were in hard servitude to the latter ; in other 

 words, that our Saxon ancestors were serfs, and that thp 

 Norman-French were masters on this soil of England. 



Such a relation was not likely to be durable. A proof of the 

 assertion is found in the words etiquette and coquette, to which 

 reference was made in the last lesson (page 71). Etiquette 

 and coquette are both of French origin. Essentially French 

 are the things the words stand for. Among the French 

 those things had their birth, and on the soil of France they 

 flourished. Hence you learn that lightness, weakness, and 

 vanity are essential features in the character of Frenchmen. 

 Superficial, if pleasing, a true type of the French character 

 may outshine, or for a moment overcome, an Englishman, but 

 he is utterly unable to hold our countryman in permanent 

 subjection. 



Equally illustrative of national character is the fact that Pan- 

 taloon and Punch come to us from Italy. Pantaloon is from 

 the Italian Pantalone, which when written in full is Piantaleone, 

 a word signifying lion-planter. Pianteleone was a surname or 

 name of honour, given in the Middle Ages to a very powerful 

 Venetian, who planted the banner bearing the winged lion of 

 St. Mark, the symbol of the Venetian Eepublic, on many islands 

 of the Mediterranean. His renown caused Piantaleone to be 

 brought on the stage. Hence Pantaloon, the lion-hearted, who 

 originally bore a nearer resemblance to his prototype than is 

 found in the impudence and hardihood of the modern degenerated 

 specimen. And hence the peculiar dress of Pantaloon (also 

 trousers called pantaloons), which, making due abatement for 

 exaggerations, was the attire of distinguished Italians in former 

 days. 



Our Punch owes his birth and his name to Italy. Punch is 

 derived from the Italian Pulcinella ; and Pulcinella seems to be 

 made up of Puccio d' Aniello ; that is, Puccio, an ill made, witty 

 clown of the town Aniello, who gained a livelihood by his antics 

 in the market-places and public highways. The character being 

 transferred to the stage, Punch came to be the recognised symbol 

 of fun and frolic. 



Ion, from the Latin termination io ; as actio, action ; qusestio, 

 question ; motio, motion ; visio, vision. Nouns in ion, like 

 nouns in ing, may be called verbal, seeing they are derived 

 immediately from verbs; as actio, from the Latin verb ago 

 (participle passive actus), J do ; motio, from the Latin verb 

 moveo (participle passive motus), I move, etc. Nouns in ion, 



again, resemble nouns in ing, in having (for the most part) an 

 active signification ; but the ending ion differs from the ter- 

 mination ing, inasmuch as the former can be affixed only to 

 nouns of Latin parentage : thus, we say the communication, or 

 the communicating ; but WE CANNOT SAT the runion (running), 

 nor the rision (rising). Nouns in ion are not so purely active as 

 are nouns ending in ing. For instance, communication may 

 signify either the act of communicati?ijr, or the tiling communi- 

 cated, the result of the act of communicating. So devotion may 

 denote the act of devoting, or the object devoted. 



Ique, from the Latin iquus, another form of icus ; as in 

 antiquus, antique. Antiquus means ancient ; but antique does 

 not mean ancient merely or generally, so much as ancient in 

 relation to the immediate past, the age of the Eeformation, the 

 Middle Ages. Not seldom has antique the subordinate notion of 

 curious, singular, or odd connected with it; probably because 

 antigties are rare. 



" Name not these living death-heads unto me, 

 For these not ancient but antique be." Donne. 



" And sooner may a gulling weather-spy, 



By drawing forth heaven's scheme, tell certainly 

 What fashion'd hats or ruffs, or suits next year, 

 Our giddy-headed antique South will wear." Donne. 



The word antic, from antique (formerly spelt antick), takes its 

 force from this associated notion of singularity. 



" We cannot feast your eyes with masks and revels, 



Or courtly anticks." Shakespeare. 



" Within the hollow crown 

 That rounds the mortal temples of a king 

 Keeps Death his court; and there the antick sits 

 Scoffing his state." Shalcespeare. 



" A work of rich entail and curious mold, 



Woven with anticks and wild imagery." Spenser. 



Ise, formerly ize, of Greek origin, introduced through the New 

 Testament ; as in the word baptise, from the Greek Pmrrifa, 

 pronounced bap-ti'-zo, I dip frequently. From the same Greek 

 ending we have dogmatise, methodise, criticise. This termina- 

 tion gives rise to others ; as from baptizo come baptist, baptism, 

 baptistry, baptismal 



" He (the pope) solicited the favour of England by sending Henry a 

 sacred rose, perfumed with musk, and anointed with chrism;." Hume. 



anointed ; that is, with a consecrated unguent or holy oil. 



The suffix ise or ize, added to nouns, gives them the force of 

 verbs, thus : to christianise, is to make Christian ; to evangelise, 

 is to bring men to the evangel, that is, the Gospel. In the use 

 of this termination authority must be followed. 



The termination ism is employed to describe religious or social 

 diversities ; it is found in Atheism, Deism, Swedenborgianism, 

 Calvinism, Arminianism. Owenism, etc. 



While ism denotes the sect, ist denotes the sectary ; as, 

 Atheist, Deist, Methodist, etc. 



The adherents to particular modes of faith are also designated 

 by arian; as, Trinitarian, Unitarian; or ian, as Episcopalian. 

 Sometimes the word man holds a similar post, as in Churchman, 

 used in contrast with Dissenter. 1st, too, performs the same 

 office ; as in Nonconformist. Another form is found in ite ; as 

 Irvingiie, Mormoniie, etc. Analogy is a dangerous guide in 

 English, for, while we say Irvingife, we DO NOT say Southcotitfe, 

 but Southcotia?i probably for the sake of euphony. This ite 

 comes, we are disposed to think, not from the rare Latin ending 

 itus (as auritws, with pricked-up ears), but the scriptural ite ; as 

 in Jebusiie. 



Ish, probably from the Saxon ic and the German iscTi (as in 

 miirrisc/i,, peevish), denotes, as in peevish, quality, and so forms 

 adjectives. Ish has sometimes a diminutive force; as thinnis/i, 

 thickis/i,. When forming part of verbs, as in punis/i, publis/i, is7i 

 has a different origin, and may be a softened form of the Greek 

 termination ise or ize. 



Ite, a patronymic, or father-name the name that is expressive 

 of a race, like the Greek ides is very common in the Old Testa- 

 ment, from the language of which it may have come into the 

 English ; thus, Israelite is a descendant of Israel ; so we have 

 Hittiies, Hiviies, etc. 



Ive, of Latin origin, from ivus, as seen in captious, a captive; 

 also in fugitive (Latin, fugio, I fee) ; natiints (Latin, natus, 

 born), 'a native; votivus (Latin, votum, a vow), votive. This ivus 

 in French becomes if, whence we have plaintiff (French, plaindre, 



