102 JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS. 



knowledge. This false principle is, that our spelling ought to be 

 such as to guide the ordinary reader to the etymology of the word,, 

 because there is ' a multitude of persons, neither accomplished 

 scholars on the one side, nor yet wholly without the knowledge of all 

 languages save their own on the other ; and it is of great value that 

 these should have all helps enabling them to recognize the words- 

 they are using, whence they came, to what words in other languages 

 they are nearly related, and what is their properest and strictest 

 meaning.' This specious argument has imposed upon many, and 

 will no doubt long continue to do so ; but if it be at all carefully- 

 examined, it will be found to amount to no more than this, that we 

 ought to spell words derived from Latin and Greek as nearly as pos- 

 sible like the Latin and Greek words from which they are borrowed \ 

 and it will be found that most of the examples of the words discussed 

 are taken from those languages. No doubt Latin and Greek form 

 an important element in the English language ; but it may be re- 

 plied that these are commonly the words which are least affected by 

 phonetic spelling. However, the real point is this, that the most 

 important elements are neither Latin nor Greek, but Englishj Scan- 

 dinavian and French. The English and Scandinavian elements are 

 carefully kept out of sight by Trench, except in a very few instances ; 

 and the French element is treated very briefly and unsatisfactorily, 

 indeed a careful treatment of it would have told the other way. 

 Now, if we are to spell modern English words so as to insinuate 

 their derivation from Latin and Greek, much more ought we to 

 spell them so as to point out their descent from native English, 

 Scandinavian, and Old French. Yet this is a matter quite ignored 

 by the general public, for the simple reason that they are commonly 

 very ignorant of early English, Icelandic and Anglo-French, and so 

 care absolutely nothing about the matter so far as these languages 

 are concerned. Even Latin and Greek they know only by sight y. 

 and not by sound ; and there are probably many v/orthy people wh© 

 believe that the modern English pronunciation of Latin accurately 

 reproduces the sounds used by Virgil and Horace. Yet if the argu- 

 ment for ' etymological ' spelling is to be used at all, it must apply 

 with far greater force to the words which form the back-bone of the 

 language than to such as have merely been borrowed in order to 

 augment its vocabulary." 



Professor Sayce assures us that " The objection that reformed 



