1798] 
noting paufe or divifion, except a {quare 
dot. “This may be proved from the 
Venetian folio edition of Terence, 15213. 
in which are alfo ufed the note of inter- 
rogation, paragraph, and hyphen.—N.B. 
This book is remarkable in the hiftory of 
literature; inafmuch as it forms a fort 
of link between manufcripts, in which 
there are illuminated drawings, and books 
with wooden cuts; for the wooden cuts 
in this Terence are numerous, and are all 
flightly illuminated: a caution may alfo’ 
here be given to dabblers in collecting ; 
for many illuminated miffals on fale are 
printed, and the wooden cuts coloured 
like the drawings of the more ancient 
manuf{cripts. 
After this account of the Venetian Te- 
rence, there is f{carcely any need to men- 
tion fome others now before me, in which 
colon is abundant: as, “* N. Te/famen. 
Erafmi,” Londini apud G. Deeves, 1568. 
‘< Magna Charia, Gc.” T. Bertheleti, 
Reg. Imprim. 1531. ‘* Hifforta Mundt 
Pizaa e evaen,ai5595° fol! > Iar-all of 
which there are no femicolons. In the 
laft, however, it may not be unacceptable 
to the reader to be informed what notes 
are employed ; they are as follow: 1. The 
fingle ) Bracket. 2dly, The double () 
Bracket. zdly, Interrogation (7): athly, 
The three accents (“) () and (*): 5thly 
The femicolon (;) as contracted que. 
6thly, Reference (+): 7thly, Comma (,) : 
athly, Colon (<): and othly, the Pe- 
riod (.). To thefe may be added, <* Lhe 
Plato of Ficinus,’? Frobenian edition, anno 
1532, which has the other paufes, but no 
femicolon. ) 
in Lyte’s¢ Herball,”’ +1578, 1 notice 
the inverted commas, fignifying quota- 
tion (‘). 
The lait printed books I fhall now give 
an account of, are of the fourteen hun- 
dveds: ot thefe I have only two. . The 
firft is ** Dionifius de fitu Orbis,’ a thin 
quarto in Roman letter, printed at Venice 
in 1498. Inthis book the colon and the 
period are abundant, but no others. - 
The other is ‘ Lombardica Hifteria 
fivt Legenda Santorum,” commonly called 
The Golden Legend, black-letter, printed 
auno 1485. In this are feen the hyphen, 
formed by an oblique and acute angle; 
and the fingle point, which is ufed for 
various purpofes: but I do not obferve 
any others, except figns cf contra€tion. 
As far, then, as at pre*ent can be ac- 
curately afcertained,- we muft declare the 
fingle point to be the moft ancient. Since 
the year 1485 the colon was introduced ; 
the comina is frft feen about the year 
Portuguefe Literature. 
Tor 
15213 aud the more refined fermicolon was 
brought into ufe about the year 1570. 
The‘honour of having invented the 
femicolos, provably belongs to the Eng- 
lifh nation; for from the Leyden edition 
of Pliny, 1553, it is evident that the 
Dutch printers were not then in the prac- 
tice of uiing it; and if, in 1570, they 
were, Roger Afcham would probably 
have employed it; for the Dutch were 
the principal clafiical printers in his time 5 
but we find that fome Englifh books were 
marked with it at that period. 
The fyftem of points, as they are now 
ufed, may be regarded as perfeStly com- 
plete; but their perfe€tion has, like ald 
other inventions, been owing partly to 
accident, and partly to defign and the 
fearch after novelty. I am, fir, your. 
obedient fervant, 
Aldermanbury, 
Augut7, 1798. 
——EE 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
PRESENT -STATE OF PoRTUGIESR 
LITERATURE. 
(In continuation of the Retrofpee’s of Domeftie 
and Foreign Literature, given in our late Sup- 
plement.) 
Ae the head of the Royal Academy 
at Lifbon, ftands the Queen, . as 
patronefs. Perpetual prefident, D. Joao 
DE BRaGaNnza eT Sousa, Marquis 
Von Lasoes. — The members ares 
1. Natural Hifory. 1. A. A.Dres NEVES. 
2. A.S. Barsosa. 3. B. Da Cosra, 
4. °D. VANDELLI.- 5. J. CORREA DA 
SERRA. 6. J. FausTino. °7..L. A. 
FuRTADO DA MENDONCA. .8.M. L. 
ALVAREZ DE CARVALHO. | 
Il. Mathematics. 1. CUSTODIG ComMES 
Epw. DOWLINS. 
_DE VILLAS-BOAS, lieutenant colonel of 
the regiment of artillery; Do Porro, 
proteflor of mathematics in the Royal 
Marine Academy, and direStor of the 
clafs. 2. FR. AnT. Crery, likewife 
proteflor of mathematics in the Royal 
Marie Academy. 3. Fr. DE Borca 
GARCAO STOCKLER, majorof the regi- 
ment of artillery da Corte, and profeffor 
of mathematics. 4.J.C.Prazrorius, 
major of the Royal Engineers: 5. Joss 
MONTEIRO DA ROCHA, vice-chancellor 
of the univerfity of Coimbra, and dean 
and director cf the Faculty of .Mathema- 
tics, and the Objervatory at Coimbra. 
6.) -]5-A. Deria- BeUn A, of PaDt we. 
7. MIGUEL. FRANZIMENTE, at prefeng 
reiiding in Venice. 
It. The cafs of Portuguefe Litera- 
ture. 
LV. The 
