3.4. Of Language.
Speach is not naturall to man sauing for his onely habilitie to speake, and
that he is by kinde apt to vtter all his conceits with sounds and voyces
diuersified many maner of wayes, by meanes of the many & fit
instruments he hath by nature to that purpose, as a broad and voluble tong,
thinne and mouable lippes, teeth euen and not shagged, thick ranged, a round
vaulted pallate, and a long throte, besides and excellent capacitie of wit
that maketh him more disciplinable and imitatiue then any other creature:
then as to the
forme and action of his speach, it commeth to him by arte & teaching,
and by vse or exercise. But after a speach is fully fashioned to the common
vnderstanding, & accepted by consent of a whole countrey &
nation, it is called a language, & receaueth none allowed alteration, but
by extraordinary occasions by little & little, as it were insensibly
bringing in of many corruptions that creepe along with the time: of all
which matters, we haue more largely spoken in our bookes of the originals
and pedigree of the English tong. Then when I say language, I meane the
speach wherein the Poet or maker writeth be it Greek or Latine or as our
case is the vulgar English, & when it is peculiar vnto a countrey it is
called the mother speach of that people: the Greekes terme it
Idioma:
so is ours at this day the Norman English. Before the Conquest of the
Normans it was the Anglesaxon, and before that the British, which as some
will, is at this day, the Walsh, or as others affirme the Cornish: I for my
part thinke neither of both, as they be now spoken and pronounced. This part
in our maker or Poet must be heedyly looked vnto, that it be naturall, pure,
and the most vsuall of all his countrey: and for the same purpose rather
that which is spoken in the kings Court, or in the good townes and Cities
within the land, then in the marches and frontiers, or in port townes, where
straungers haunt for traffike sake, or yet in Vniuersities where Scholers
vse much peeuish affectation of words out of the primatiue languages, or
finally, in any vplandish village or corner of a Realme, where is no resort
but of poore rusticall or vnciuill people: neither shall he follow the speach
of a craftes man or carter, or other of the inferiour sort, though he be
inhabitant or bred in the best town and Citie in this Realme, for such
persons do abuse good speaches by strange accents or illshapen soundes, and
false ortographie. But he shall follow generally the better brought vp sort,
such as the Greekes call [
charientes] men ciuill and graciously
behauoured and bred. Our maker therfore at these dayes shall not follow
Piers plowman nor
Gower nor
Lydgate nor yet
Chaucer, for their language is now out of vse with vs: neither shall
he take the termes of Northern-men, such as they vse in dayly talke,
whether they be noble men or gentlemen, or of their best clarkes all is a
matter: nor in effect any speach vsed beyond the
riuer of Trent, though no man can deny but that theirs is the purer English
Saxon at this day, yet it is not so Courtly nor so currant as our Southerne
English is, no more is the far Westerne mans speach: ye shall therfore take
the vsuall speach of the Court, and that of London and the shires lying about
London within lx. myles, and not much aboue. I say not this but that in euery
shyre of England there be gentlemen and others that speake but specially
write as good Southerne as we of Middlesex or Surrey do, but not the
common people of euery shire, to whom the gentlemen, and also their
learned clarkes do for the most part condescend, but herein we are already
ruled by th'English Dictionaries and other bookes written by learned men,
and therefore it needeth none other direction in that behalfe. Albeit
peraduenture some small admonition be not impertinent, for we finde in our
English writers many wordes and speaches amendable, & ye shall see in
some many inkhorne termes so ill affected brought in by men of learning as
preachers and schoolemasters: and many straunge termes of other
languages by Secretaries and Marchaunts and trauailours, and many darke
wordes and not vsuall nor well sounding, though they be dayly spoken in
Court. Wherefore great heed must be taken by our maker in this point that
his choise be good. And peraduenture the writer hereof be in that behalfe no
lesse faultie then any other, vsing many straunge and vnaccustomed wordes
and borrowed from other languages: and in that respect him selfe no meete
Magistrate to reforme the same errours in any other person, but since he is
not vnwilling to acknowledge his owne fault, and can the better tell how to
amend it, he may seeme a more excusable correctour of other mens: he
intendeth therefore for an indifferent way and vniuersall benefite to taxe
him selfe first and before any others.
These be wordes vsed by th'author in this present treatise,
scientificke, but with some reason, for it aunswereth the word
mechanicall, which no other word could haue done so properly, for
when hee spake of all artificers which rest either in science or in handy
craft, it followed necessarilie that scientifique should be coupled
with mechanicall: or els neither of both to haue bene allowed, but in
their places: a man of science liberall, and a handicrafts man, which
had not bene so cleanly a speech as the other
Maior-domo: in truth
this word is borrowed of the
Spaniard and
Italian, and
therefore new and not vsuall, but to them that are acquainted with the
affaires of Court: and so for his iolly magnificence (as this case is) may be
accepted among Courtiers, for whom this is specially written. A man might
haue said in steade of
Maior-domo, the French word (
maistre
d'hostell but ilfauouredly, or the right English word (
Lord
Steward). But me thinks for my owne opinion this word
Maior-domo
though he be borrowed, is more acceptable than any of the rest,
other man may iudge otherwise.
Politien this word also is receiued
from the Frenchmen, but at this day vsuall in Court and with all good
Secretaries: and cannot finde an English word to match him, for to haue said
a man politique, had not bene so wel: bicause in trueth that had bene no
more than to haue said a ciuil person.
Politien is rather a surueyour
of ciuilitie than ciuil, & a publique minister or Counseller in the state.
Ye haue also this worde
Conduict, a French word, but well allowed of
vs, and long since vsuall, it soundes somewhat more that this word (leading)
for it is applied onely to the leading of a Captaine, and not as a little boy
should leade a blinde man, therefore more proper to the case when he saide,
conduict of whole armies: ye finde also this word
Idiome,
taken from the Greekes, yet seruing aptly, when a man wanteth to expresse
so much vnles it be in two words, which surplussage to auoide, we are
allowed to draw in other words single, and asmuch significatiue: this word
significatiue is borrowed of the Latine and French, but to vs brought
in first by some Noble-mans Secretarie, as I thinke, yet doth so well serue
the turne, as it could not now be spared: and many more like vsurped Latine
and French words: as,
Methode, methodicall, placation, function,
assubtiling, refining, compendious, prolixe, figuratiue, inueigle. A
terme borrowed of our common Lawyers.
impression, also a new
terme, but well expressing the matter, and more than our English word.
These words,
Numerous, numerositee, metricall, harmonicall, but they
cannot be refused, specially in this place for description of the arte. Also
ye finde these words,
penetrate, penetrable, indignitie, which I
cannot see how we may speare the, whatsoeuer fault wee finde with Ink-horne
ermes: for our speach wanteth wordes to
such sence so well to be vsed: yet in steade of
indignitie, ye haue
vnworthinesse: and for
penetrate, we may say
peerce, and that
a French terme also, or
broche, or enter into with violence, but not so
well sounding as
penetrate. Item,
sauage, for wilde:
obscure, for darke. Item these words,
declination, delineation,
dimention, are scholasticall termes in deede, and yet very proper. But
peraduenture (& I could bring a reason for it) many other like words
borrowed out of the Latine and French, were not so well to be allowed by vs,
as these words,
audacious, for bold:
facunditie, for eloquence:
egregious, for great or notable:
implete, for replenished:
attemptat, for attempt:
compatible, for agreeable in nature,
and many more. But herein the noble Poet
Horace hath said inough to
satisfie vs in all these few verses.
Multa renascentur quae iam cecidere cadentq
Quae nunc sunt in honore vocabula so volet usus
quem penes arbitrium est & vis & norma loquendi.
Which I haue thus englished, but nothing with so good grace, nor so briefly
as the Poet wrote.
Many a word yfalne shall eft arise
And such as now bene held in hiest prise
Will fall as fast, when use and custome will
Onely umpiers of speach, for force and skill.