PROROGATION  , a postponement, specifically the termination without See also:

• DISSOLUTION (from Lat. dissolvere, to break up into parts)

dissolution of a session of See also:

• PARLIAMENT (Anglo-Lat. parliamentum, Fr. parlement, from parler, to speak)

parliament by discontinuing the meetings until the next session . The See also:

• LAT

Lat. prorogatio (from prorogare, to ask publicly) meant a prolongation or continuance of See also:

• OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office or command, cf. prorogatio imperii (Liv. viii . 26), or a needful that to plainness should be added various attractions and ornaments . The sentences must be built up in a manner which displays variety and flexibility . It is highly desirable that there should be a See also:

• HARMONY (Gr. dpµovia, a concord of musical sounds, dpA'ew to join; &plan midi (sc. TeXvil)

harmony, and even a See also:

• RHYTHM (Greek pvBµds, from bap, to flow)

rhythm, in the progress of See also:

• STYLE
• STYLE (from Gr. a-6'1ms, a column; a different word from that used in literature, see below)

style, care being always taken that this rhythm and this harmony are not those of See also:

• VERSE (from Lat. versus, literally a line or furrow drawn by turning the plough, from vertere, and afterwards signifying an arrangement of syllables into feet)

verse, or recognizably metrical . Again, the See also:

• COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour and See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form of adjectives, and their sufficient yet not excessive recurrence, is an important See also:

• FACTOR (from Lat. facere, to make or do)

factor in the construction of See also:

• PROSE

prose . The omission of certain faults, too, is essential . In every See also:

• LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language grammatical correctness is obligatory . Here we see a distinction between See also:

• MERE
• MERE, ADALBERT (1838-1909)

mere conversation, which is loose, fragmentary and often, even in the lips of highly educated persons, slightly ungrammatical; and prose, which is See also:

• BOUND, or BOUNDARY (from O. Fr. bonde, Med. Lat. bodena or butina, a frontier line)

bound to See also:

• WEED, THURLOW (1797—1882)

weed away whatever is slovenly and incorrect, and to See also:

• WATCH (in O. Eng. wcecce, a keeping guard or watching, from wacian, to guard, watch, wacan, to wake)

watch very closely lest merely colloquial expressions, which cannot be defended, should slip into careful speech . What is required in See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good prose is a moderate and reasonable See also:

• ELEVATION

elevation without bombast or See also:

• BATHOS (Gr. 3hOos)

bathos . Not everything that is loosely said or vaguely thought is prose, and the celebrated phrase of M . Jourdain in See also:

• MOLIERE (1622-1673)

Moliere's See also:

• BOURGEOIS
• BOURGEOIS, LEON VICTOR AUGUSTE (1851– )

Bourgeois gentilhomme: " See also:

• PAR (Lat. par, equal)

Par ma foi, it y a plus de quarante ans que je dis de la prose, sans que j'en susse rien," is not exactly true, although it is an amusing See also:

• ILLUSTRATION

illustration of the truth, for all the little loose phrases which M .

Jourdain had used in his See also:

• LIFE

life, though they were certainly not verse, were not prose either, whatever the schoolmaster might say . On the other See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand, it seems that See also:

• EARLE, JOHN (c. 16o1-1665)
• EARLE, RALPH (1751-1801)

Earle goes too enthusiastically in the contrary direction when he says, " See also:

• POETRY

Poetry, which is the See also:

• ORGAN

organ of See also:

• IMAGINATION

Imagination, is futile without the support of See also:

• REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

Reason; Prose, which is the organ of Reason, has no vivacity or beauty or See also:

• ARTISTIC

artistic value but with the favour and sympathy of the Imagination." It is better to hold to the simpler view that prose is See also:

• LITERARY

literary expression not subjected to any See also:

• SPECIES

species cif metrical See also:

• LAW
• LAW (0. Eng. lagu, M. Eng. lawe; from an old Teutonic root lag, " lie," what lies fixed or evenly; cf. Lat. lex, Fr. loi)
• LAW, JOHN (1671—1729)
• LAW, WILLIAM (1686-1761)

law . See also:

• GREECE

Greece.—The beginnings of See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient See also:

• GREEK
• GREEK, ETRUSCAN AND

Greek prose are very obscure . It is highly probable that they took the form of See also:

• INSCRIPTIONS (from Lat. inscribere, to write upon)

inscriptions in temples and upon monuments, and gradually See also:

• DEVELOPED

developed into See also:

• HISTORICAL

historical and topographical records, preserving See also:

• LOCAL

local memories, and giving form to local legends . It seems that it was in See also:

• IONIA

Ionia that the See also:

• ART

art of prose was first cultivated, and a See also:

• HISTORY

history of See also:

• MILETUS (mod. Palatia)

Miletus, composed by the See also:

• HALF

half-mythical See also:

• CADMUS

Cadmus, is appealed to as the earliest See also:

• MONUMENT (Lat. monumentum or monumentum; from monere, to advise, bring to mind, remind; the German equivalent is Denkmal)

monument of Greek prose . This, however, is lost, and so are all the other horoi of earliest times . We come down to something definite when we reach Hecataeus, the first geographer, and Herodorus, the first natural philosopher, of the Greeks; and, although the writings of these men have disappeared, we know enough about them to see that by the 4th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century B.C. the use of prose in its set See also:

• MODERN

modern sense had been established on a permanent basis . We even know what the See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character of the style of Hecataeus was, and that it was admired for its clearness, its grammatical purity, its agreeable individuality—qualities which have been valued in prose ever since . These writers were promptly succeeded by See also:

• HELLANICUS

Hellanicus of See also:

• LESBOS (Mytilene, Turk. Midullu)

Lesbos, who wrote many historical books which are lost, and by See also:

• HERODOTUS (c. 484-425 B.C.)

Herodotus of See also:

• HALICARNASSUS (mod. Budrum)

Halicarnassus, whose See also:

• NOBLE, SIR ANDREW (1832- )

noble storehouse of See also:

• CHRONICLE (from Gr. Xpovos, time)

chronicle and See also:

• LEGEND (through the French from the med. Lat. legenda, things to be read, from legere, to read)

legend is the earliest monument of See also:

• EUROPEAN

European prose which has come down to us . When once non-metrical language could be used with the mastery and freedom of Herodotus, it was See also:

• PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain that all departments of human knowledge were open to its exercise . But it is still in Ionia and the See also:

• ASIATIC

Asiatic islands that we find it cultivated by philosophers, critics and men of See also:

• SCIENCE (Lat. scientia, from scire; to learn, know)

science . The earliest of these See also:

• GREAT

great masters of prose survive, not in their See also:

• WORKS

works, but in much later records of their opinions; in See also:

• PHILOSOPHY (Gr. gthos, fond of, and vo4 (a, wisdom)

philosophy the actual writings of Thales, Agaximander, See also:

• PYTHAGORAS
• PYTHAGORAS (6th century B.C.)

Pythagoras and See also:

• EMPEDOCLES (c. 490–430 B.C.)

Empedocles are lost, and it is more than possible that their cosmological rhapsodies were partly metrical, a mingling of See also:

• ODE (Gr. uiSri, from aei&ew, to sing)

ode with prose See also:

• APOPHTHEGM (from the Gr. It rogOey ya)

apophthegm .

We come into clearer See also:

• AIR (from an Indo-European root meaning " breathe," " blow ")
• AIR, or ASBEN

air when we See also:

• CROSS

cross the See also:

• AEGEAN

Aegean and reach the Athenian historians: See also:

• THUCYDIDES (OovavMns)

Thucydides, whose priceless See also:

• STORY, JOHN (c. 1510-1571)
• STORY, JOSEPH (1779-1845)
• STORY, ROBERT HERBERT (1835-1907)
• STORY, WILLIAM WETMORE (1819—1895)

story of the Peloponnesian See also:

• WAR
• WAR (O. Eng. werre, Fr. guerre, of Teutonic origin; cf. O.H.G. werran, to confound)

War has most fortunately come down to us; and See also:

• XENOPHON

Xenophon, who continued that chronicle in the spirit and under the See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence of Thucydides, and who carried Greek prose to a great height of easy distinction . But it is with the practice of philosophy that prose in ancient Greece rises to its See also:

• ACME (Gr. 6.Kµii, point)

acme of ingenuity, flexibility and variety,proving itself a vehicle for the finest human thought such as no later ingenuity of language has contrived to excel . The See also:

• DEATH

death of See also:

• SOCRATES

Socrates (399 B.C.) has been taken by scholars as the date when the philosophical writings of the Athenians reached their highest See also:

• PITCH
• PITCH, MUSICAL

pitch of perfection in the art of See also:

• PLATO

Plato, who is the greatest prose writer of Greece, and, in the view of many who are well qualified to See also:

• JUDGE (Lat. judex, Fr. juge)

judge, of the See also:

• WORLD

world . In his celebrated dialogues–Crito, See also:

• GORGIAS (c. 483–375 B.C.)

Gorgias, See also:

• PHAEDO

Phaedo, See also:

• PHAEDRUS

Phaedrus, the See also:

• SYMPOSIUM (Gr. avyr6cnov, a drinking party, from avµirivecv, to drink together, abv, with, and 7rivecv, to drink, root 7ro, cf. Lat. potare, to drink, poculum, cup)

Symposium, most of all perhaps in the See also:

• REPUBLIC (Lat. respublica, a commonweal or common-wealth)

Republic—we see what splendour, what See also:

• ELASTICITY

elasticity, what exactitude, this means of expression had in so See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short a See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time developed; how little there was for future prose-writers in any See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age to learn about their business . The rhetoricians were even more highly admired by the critics of antiquity than the philosophers, and it is probable that ancient See also:

• OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion would have set See also:

• DEMOSTHENES

Demosthenes higher than Plato as a composer of prose . But modern readers are no longer so much interested in the technique of See also:

• RHETORIC (Gr. psroperctj TEXvq, the art of the orator)

rhetoric, and, although no less an authority than See also:

• PROFESSOR (the Latin noun formed from the verb profiteri, to declare publicly, to acknowledge, profess)

Professor See also:

• GILBERT
• GILBERT (KINGSMILL) ISLANDS
• GILBERT (or GYLBERDE), WILLIAM (1544-1603)
• GILBERT, ALFRED (1854– )
• GILBERT, ANN (1821-1904)
• GILBERT, GROVE KARL (1843– )
• GILBERT, J
• GILBERT, JOHN (1810-1889)
• GILBERT, MARIE DOLORES ELIZA ROSANNA [" LOLA MONTEZ "] (1818-1861)
• GILBERT, NICOLAS JOSEPH LAURENT (1751–1780)
• GILBERT, SIR HUMPHREY (c. 1539-1583)
• GILBERT, SIR JOSEPH HENRY (1817-1901)
• GILBERT, SIR WILLIAM SCHWENK (1836– )

Gilbert See also:

• MURRAY
• MURRAY (or MORAY), EARLS OF
• MURRAY (or MORAY), JAMES STUART, EARL OF (c. 1531-1570)
• MURRAY (or MORAY), SIR ROBERT (c. 1600-1673)
• MURRAY, ALEXANDER STUART (1841-1904)
• MURRAY, DAVID (1849– )
• MURRAY, EUSTACE CLARE GRENVILLE (1824–1881)
• MURRAY, JAMES (c. 1719-1794)
• MURRAY, JOHN
• MURRAY, JOHN (1778–1820)
• MURRAY, LINDLEY (1745–1826)
• MURRAY, LORD GEORGE (1694–1760)
• MURRAY, SIR JAMES AUGUSTUS HENRY (1837– )
• MURRAY, SIR JOHN (1841– )

Murray has declared the See also:

• ESSAY, ESSAYIST (Fr. essai, Late Lat. exagium, a weighing or balance; exigere, to examine; the term in general meaning any trial or effort)

essay-See also:

• WRITING
• WRITING (the verbal noun of " to write," O. Eng. writan, to inscribe)

writing of the school of Isocrates to form " the final perfection of ancient prose," the works of the orators cease to move us with great See also:

• ENTHUSIASM

enthusiasm . In See also:

• ARISTOTLE
• ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.)

Aristotle we see the conscious art of prose-writing already subordinated to the preservation and explanation of facts, and after Aristotle's See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day there is little to See also:

• RECORD (Lat. recordari, to recall to mind, from cor, heart or mind)

record in a hasty outline of the progress of Greek prose . Latin.—In spite of having the experience of the Greeks to See also:

• GUIDE (in Mid. Eng. gyde, from the Fr. guide; the earlier French form was guie, English " guy," the d was due to the Italian form guida; the ultimate origin is probably Teutonic, the word being connected with the base seen in O. Eng. witan, to know)

guide them, the See also:

• ROMANS
• ROMANS, EPISTLE TO THE

Romans obeyed the universal law of literary history by cultivating verse See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long before they essayed the writing of prose . But that the example of later Greece was closely followed in See also:

• ROME
• ROME (Roma)

Rome is proved by the fact that thq earliest prose historians of whom we have definite knowledge, Q . F . Pictor and L . C .

Alimentus, actually wrote in Greek . The earliest annalist who wrote in Latin was L . C . Hemina; the works of all these See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early historians are lost . A great See also:

• DEAL

deal of See also:

• PRIMITIVE

primitive See also:

• ROMAN

Roman prose was occupied with See also:

• JURISPRUDENCE (Lat. jurisprudenlia, knowledge of law, from jus, right, and prudentia, from providere, to foresee)
• JURISPRUDENCE, COMPARATIVE

jurisprudence and See also:

• POLITICAL

political See also:

• ORATORY (Lat. oratorio, sc. ors; from orare, to speak or pray)

oratory . By universal consent the first See also:

• MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

master of Latin prose was See also:

• CATO, DIONYSIUS
• CATO, MARCUS PORCIUS (234—149 B.c.)
• CATO, MARCUS PORCIUS (95-46 B.c.)
• CATO, PUBLIUS VALERIUS

Cato, the loss of whose speeches and " Origines " is extremely to be deplored; we possess from his See also:

• PEN (Lat. penna, a feather, pen)

pen one See also:

• PRACTICAL

practical See also:

• TREATISE

treatise on See also:

• AGRICULTURE
• AGRICULTURE (from Lat. ages, field, and colere, to cultivate)
• AGRICULTURE, BOARD OF

agriculture . In the next See also:

• GENERATION (from Lat. generare, to beget, procreate; genus, stock, race)

generation we are told that the literary perfection of oratory was carried to the highest point by See also:

• MARCUS

Marcus See also:

• ANTONIUS

Antonius and See also:

• LUCIUS

Lucius See also:

• LICINIUS

Licinius See also:

• CRASSUS (literally " dense," " thick," " fat ")

Crassus—" by a happy See also:

• CHANCE (through the O. Fr. cheance, from the Late Lat. cadentia, things happening, from cadere, to fall out, happen; cf. " case ")

chance their styles were exactly complementary to one another, and to hear both in one day was the highest intellectual entertainment which Rome afforded." Unfortunately none but inconsiderable fragments survive to display to us the qualities of Roman prose in its See also:

• GOLDEN

golden age . Happily, however, those qualities were concentrated in a See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

man of the highest See also:

• GENIUS (from Lat. genere, gignere)

genius, whose best writings have come down to us; this is See also:

• CICERO

Cicero, whose prose exhibits the Latin language to no less See also:

• ADVANTAGE

advantage than Plato's does the Greek . From 70 to 6o B.C . Cicero's literary See also:

• WORK

work See also:

• LAY

lay mainly in the See also:

• FIELD (a word common to many West German languages, cf. Ger. Feld, Dutch veld, possibly cognate with O.E. f olde, the earth, and ultimately with root of the Gr. irAaror, broad)
• FIELD, CYRUS WEST (1819-1892)
• FIELD, DAVID DUDLEY (18o5-1894)
• FIELD, EUGENE (1850-1895)
• FIELD, FREDERICK (18o1—1885)
• FIELD, HENRY MARTYN (1822-1907)
• FIELD, JOHN (1782—1837)
• FIELD, MARSHALL (183 1906)
• FIELD, NATHAN (1587—1633)
• FIELD, STEPHEN JOHNSON (1816-1899)
• FIELD, WILLIAM VENTRIS FIELD, BARON (1813-1907)

field of rhetoric; after his See also:

• EXILE (Lat. exsilium or exilium, from exsul or exul, which is derived from ex, out of, and the root sal, to go, seen in salire, to leap, consul, &c.; the connexion with solum, soil, country is now generally considered wrong)

exile the splendour of his oratory declined, but he was occupied upon two See also:

• TREATISES

treatises of extreme importance, the De oratore and the De republica, composed in 55 and 54–57 B.C. respectively; of the latter certain magnificent passages have been preserved . The beautiful essays of Cicero's old age are more completely known to us, and they comprise two of the masterpieces of the prose of the world, the De amicitia and De senectute (45 B.C.) . It is to the collection of the wonderful private letters of Cicero, published some years after his death by See also:

• ATTICUS, TITUS POMPONIUS (109–32 B.c.)

Atticus and Tiro, that we owe our intimate knowledge of the age in which he lived, and these have ever since and in every language been held the See also:

• MODELS

models of epistolary prose .

Of Cicero's greatest contemporary, See also:

• JULIUS

Julius See also:

• CAESAR, GAIUS JULIUS (102—44 B.c.)
• CAESAR, SIR JULIUS (1557-1558-1636)

Caesar, much less has been preserved, and this is unfortunate because Roman See also:

• CRITICAL (in alphabetical order of authors)

critical opinion placed Caesar at the See also:

• HEAD (in 0. Eng. heafad; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch hoofd, Ger. Haupt, generally taken to be in origin connected with Lat. caput, Gr. KerbOvi7)
• HEAD, SIR EDMUND WALKER, BART
• HEAD, SIR FRANCIS BOND, BART

head of those who wrote Latin prose with purity and perfection: His letters, his grammars, his works of science, his speeches are lost, but we retain his famous Commentaries on the War in See also:

• GAUL
• GAUL, GILBERT WILLIAM (1855— )

Gaul . See also:

• SALLUST [Gams SALLUSTIUS CRlspus] (86–34 B.c.)

Sallust followed Caesar as an historian, and Thucydides as a master of style . His use of prose, as we trace it in the Jugurtha and the Catilina, is hard, clear and polished . The chroniclers who succeeded Sallust neglected these qualities, and Latin prose, as the Augustan age began, became more diffuse and more rhetorical . But it was wielded in that age by one writer of the highest genius, the historian See also:

• TITUS
• TITUS, FLAVIUS SABINUS VESPASIANUS
• TITUS, THE EPISTLE TO

Titus Livius . He greatly enriched the See also:

• TISSUE (Fr. tissu, tissue, participle of tisser, Lat. texere, to weave)

tissue of Latin prose with See also:

• ORNAMENT (Lat. ornare, to adorn)

ornament which hitherto had been confined to poetry; this enables him, in the course of his vast See also:

• ANNALS (Annales, from annus, a year)

annals, " to advance without flagging through the long and intricate narrative where a simpler diction must necessarily have grown monotonous " (Mackail) . The periodic structure of Latin prose, which had been developed by Cicero, was carried by See also:

• LIVY [Thus L1v1us] (59 B.C.—A.D: 17)

Livy " to an even greater complexity." The style of See also:

• POLLIO, GAIUS ASINIUS (76 B.C.–A.D. 5; according to some, 75 B.C.–A.D. 4)

Pollio, who wrote a History of the See also:

• CIVIL

Civil See also:

• LAWS

Laws, was much admired, and the loss of this work must be deplored . A different species of prose, the plebius sermo, or colloquial speech of the poor, is partly preserved in the invaluable fragments of a Neronian writer, See also:

• PETRONIUS (G. (?)1

Petronius Arbiter . Of the Latin prose-writers of the See also:

• SILVER

silver age, the See also:

• ELDER (0. Eng. ellarn; Ger. Holunder; Fr. sureau)
• ELDER (Gr. 1rpev(3iTepos)

elder See also:

• PLINY, THE ELDER
• PLINY, THE YOUNGER

Pliny, See also:

• QUINTILIAN [MARCUS FABIUS QUINTILIANUS] (C. A.D. 35-95)

Quintilian and See also:

• TACITUS, CORNELIUS (c. 55-120)
• TACITUS, MARCUS CLAUDIUS

Tacitus, who adorned the last years before the decay of classical Latin, nothing need here be said . See also:

• ENGLISH

English.—It was long supposed that the conscious use of prose in the English language was a comparatively See also:

• RECENT

recent thing, dating back at farthest to the See also:

• MIDDLE

middle of the 16th century, and due directly to See also:

• FRENCH
• FRENCH, DANIEL CHESTER (1850– )
• FRENCH, NICHOLAS (1604-1678)

French influences . Earle was the first to show that this was not the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case, and to assert that we " possess a longer See also:

• PEDIGREE

pedigree of prose literature than any other See also:

• COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country in See also:

• EUROPE

Europe." Though this may be held to be a somewhat violent statement, the See also:

• INDEPENDENCE
• INDEPENDENCE, DECLARATION OF
• INDEPENDENCE, WAR OF

independence of English prose is a fact which rests on a See also:

• FIRM

firm basis . " The See also:

• CODE (Lat. codex)

Code of Laws of See also:

• KING
• KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
• KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
• KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
• KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
• KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
• KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
• KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
• KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
• KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
• KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
• KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)

King's See also:

• INN

Inn " See also:

• DATES

dates from the 7th century, and there are various other legal documents which may be hardly literature in themselves, but which are worded in a way that seems to denote the existence of a literary tradition .

After the Danish invasion, Latin ceased to be the universal language of the educated, and See also:

• TRANSLATIONS

translations into the See also:

• VERNACULAR (Lat. verna, dim. vernaculus, a slave horn in his master's house)

vernacular began to be required . In 887, See also:

• ALFRED

Alfred, who had collected the See also:

• PRINCIPAL

principal scholars of See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England around him, wrote with their help, in English, his Hand-See also:

• BOOK

Book; this, probably the earliest specimen of finished English prose, is unhappily lost . Alfred's See also:

• PREFACE (Med. Lat. prefatia, for classical praefatio, praefari, to speak beforehand)

preface to the English version of the Cura pastoralis was in Latin; this See also:

• TRANSLATION

translation was probably completed in 89o . Later still Alfred produced various translations from See also:

• BEDE, BEDA, or B
• BEDE, CUTHBERT

Bede, See also:

• OROSIUS, PAULUS (fl. 415)

Orosius, Boethius and other See also:

• CLASSICS

classics of the latest Latin, and, in coo, closing a translation from St See also:

• AUGUSTINE, SAINT (354-430)
• AUGUSTINE, SAINT (d. c.613)

Augustine, we read " Here end the sayings of King Alfred." The prose of Alfred is See also:

• SIMPLE

simple, straightforward and clear, without any pretension to elegance . He had no See also:

• DIRECT

direct followers until the time of the monastic revival, when the first name of See also:

• EMINENCE (Lat. eminentia)

eminence which we encounter is that of See also:

• IELFRIC

IElfric, who, about 997, began to translate, or rather to See also:

• PARAPHRASE (Gr. irapa¢pavis, from rrapa4p4av, to relate something in different words, 'raga, beside, and ¢pai"eav, speak, tell)

paraphrase, certain portions of the See also:

• BIBLE
• BIBLE, ENGLISH

Bible . The prose of IFlfric, however, though extremely interesting historically, has the See also:

• FAULT (Mid. Eng. faute, through the French, from the popular Latin use of fallere, to fail; the originallof the Latin being replaced in English in the 15th century)

fault that it presents too See also:

• CLOSE
• CLOSE (from Lat. clausum, shut)
• CLOSE, MAXWELL HENRY (1822-1903)

close a resemblance, in structure and See also:

• MOVEMENT

movement, to the alliterative verse of the age . This is particularly true of his Homilies . A little later vigorous prose was put forth by See also:

• WULFSTAN
• WULFSTAN, ST (c. 1o12—1095)

Wulfstan, See also:

• ARCHBISHOP (Lat. archiepiscopus, from Gr. apxceatorcoros)

archbishop of See also:

• YORK
• YORK (HOUSE OF)
• YORK, EDMUND OF LANGLEY, DUKE OF (1341-1402)
• YORK, EDWARD
• YORK, FREDERICK AUGUSTUS, DUKE OF (1763-1827)
• YORK, RICHARD, DUKE

York, who died in 1023 . At the See also:

• NORMAN
• NORMAN, SIR HENRY WYLIE (1826-1904)

Norman See also:

• CONQUEST

Conquest, the progress of English prose was violently checked, and, as has been acutely said, it " was just kept alive, but only like a man in See also:

• CATALEPSY (from Gr. KarItNtA is, a seizure)

catalepsy." The Annals of See also:

• WINCHESTER
• WINCHESTER, EARLS AND MARQUESSES OF

Winchester, See also:

• WORCESTER
• WORCESTER, EARLS AND MARQUESSES OF
• WORCESTER, JOHN TIPTOFT, EARL OF (1427—1470)
• WORCESTER, WILLIAM (c. 1415-c. 1482)

Worcester and See also:

• PETERBOROUGH

Peterborough were carried on in English until 1154, when they were resumed in Latin; the chronicle which thus came to an end was the most important document in English prose 'written before the Norman Conquest . Except in a few remote monasteries, English now ceased to be used, even for religious purposes, and the literature became exclusively Latin or French . There was nothing in prose that was analogous to the revival of verse in the Ormulum or the metrical See also:

• CHRONICLES, BOOKS OF

chronicles . All the pre-Norman practice in prose belongs to what used to be distinguished as Anglo-Saxon literature .

The distinction has fallen into desuetude, as it has become more clearly perceived that there is no real break between the earlier and the later language . The Norman check, however, makes it See also:

• FAIR

fair to say that modern English prose begins with the Testament of Love of See also:

• THOMAS
• THOMAS (c. 1654-1720)
• THOMAS (d. 110o)
• THOMAS, ARTHUR GORING (1850-1892)
• THOMAS, CHARLES LOUIS AMBROISE (1811-1896)
• THOMAS, GEORGE (c. 1756-1802)
• THOMAS, GEORGE HENRY (1816-187o)
• THOMAS, ISAIAH (1749-1831)
• THOMAS, PIERRE (1634-1698)
• THOMAS, SIDNEY GILCHRIST (1850-1885)
• THOMAS, ST
• THOMAS, THEODORE (1835-1905)
• THOMAS, WILLIAM (d. 1554)

Thomas See also:

• USK
• USK, THOMAS (d. 1388)

Usk, an See also:

• IMITATION (Lat. imitatio, from intitari, to imitate)

imitation of the De consolatione of Boethius, which a certain See also:

• LONDON

London Lollard wrote in See also:

• PRISON (derived through the Fr. from the Lat. prehensio, seizure)

prison about 1584 . About the same time were written a number of translations, The See also:

• TALE (O.Eng. talu, number, account, story; the word is common to many Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Zahl, number, Erzahlung, narrative, Du. taal, speech, language)

Tale of Melibee and The See also:

• PARSON

Parson's See also:

• SERMON (Lat. sermo, a discourse)

Sermon by See also:

• CHAUCER, GEOFFREY (? 1340-1400)

Chaucer; the treatisesof See also:

• JOHN
• JOHN (1167–1216)
• JOHN (1290-c. 1320)
• JOHN (1296-1346)
• JOHN (1371–1419)
• JOHN (1468-1532)
• JOHN (1801-1873)
• JOHN (Heb. llni')
• JOHN (ZAPOLYA) (1487-1540)
• JOHN, 4TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (c. 1695-1762)
• JOHN, DON (1545-1578)
• JOHN, DON (1629–1679)
• JOHN, GOSPEL OF ST
• JOHN, or HAYS (1513–1571)
• JOHN, THE APOSTLE
• JOHN, THE EPISTLES OF

John of Trevisa, whose style in the Polychronicon has a good deal of vigour; and the three versions of the Travels of See also:

• JEAN

Jean a Barbe, formerly attributed to a fabulous " See also:

• SIR

Sir John See also:

• MANDEVILLE, BERNARD DE (1670-1733)
• MANDEVILLE, GEOFFREY DE (d. 1144)

Mandeville." The composite See also:

• TEXT (Lat. textum, woven fabric, from texere, to weave)

text of these last-mentioned versions really forms the earliest specimen of purely See also:

• SECULAR (Lat. saecularis, of or belonging to an age or generation, saeculum)

secular prose which can be said to possess genuine literary value, but again the fact, which has only lately been ascertained, that " Sir John Mandeville " was not an See also:

• ORIGINAL

original English writer robs it of much of its value . The See also:

• ANONYMOUS

anonymous compiler-translator can no longer be styled " the See also:

• FATHER

father of English prose." That name seems more properly to belong to John Wyclif, who, in the course of his fierce career as a controversialist, more and more completely abandoned Latin for English as the vehicle of his tracts . The earliest English Bible wag begun by See also:

• NICHOLAS
• NICHOLAS (1841– )
• NICHOLAS (or NICLAES), HENRY (or HENDRIK) (c. 1501-C. 158o)
• NICHOLAS, SIR EDWARD (1593-1669)
• NICHOLAS, ST

Nicholas See also:

• HEREFORD

Hereford, who had carried it up to See also:

• BARUCH

Baruch, when he abruptly dropped it in See also:

• JUNE

June 1382 . The completion of this great work is usually attributed, but on insufficient grounds, to Wyclif himself . A new version was almost immediately started by John Purvey, another Wyclifite, who completed it in 1388 . We are still among translators, but towards the middle of the 14th century Englishmen began, somewhat timidly, to use prose as the vehicle for original work . See also:

• CAPGRAVE, JOHN (1393-1464)

Capgrave, an Augustinian See also:

• FRIAR (from the Lat. (rater, through the Fr. frere)

friar, wrote a chronicle of English history down to 1417; Sir John See also:

• FORTESCUE, SIR JOHN (c. 1394-c. 1476)
• FORTESCUE, SIR JOHN (c. 1531-1607)

Fortescue, the eminent constitutional jurist, produced about 1475 a book on The Governance of England; and Reginald See also:

• PECOCK (or PEACOCK), REGINALD (c. 1395-c. 1460)

Pecock, See also:

• BISHOP (A.S. bisceop, from Lat. episcopus, Gr. irio-Korros, " overlooker " or " overseer ")
• BISHOP, ISABELLA (1832-1904)
• BISHOP, SIR HENRY ROWLEY (1786-1855)

bishop of See also:

• CHICHESTER

Chichester, attacked the See also:

• LOLLARDS

Lollards in his Repressor of Over Much Blaming of the See also:

• CLERGY (M.E. clergie, O. Fr. clergie, from Low Lat. form clericia [Skean, by assimilation with O. Fr. clergie, Fr. clerge,from Low Lat. clericatus)
• CLERGY, BENEFIT OF

Clergy (1455), which was so See also:

• CAUSTIC (Gr. rcavvraubs, burning)

caustic and scandalous that it cost him his See also:

• DIOCESE (formed on Fr. diocese, in place of the Eng. form diocess—current until the 19th century—from Lat. dioecesis, med. Lat. variant diocesis, from Gr. Swucio•tc, " house-keeping," " administration," &miceas, " to keep house," " to govern ")

diocese . The prose of Pecock is sometimes strangely modem, and to judge what the See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary English prose familiarly in use in the 15th century was it is more useful to turn to The Paston Letters . The introduction of See also:

• PRINTING (from Lat. imprimere, O. Fr. empreindre)

printing into England is coeval with a sudden development of English prose, a marvellous example of which is to be seen in See also:

• CAXTON, WILLIAM (c. 1422-1491)

Caxton's 1485 edition of Sir Thomas See also:

• MALORY, SIR THOMAS

Malory's Morte d'See also:

• ARTHUR (Fr. Arius)
• ARTHUR, CHESTER ALAN (1830 – 1886)

Arthur, a compilation from French See also:

• SOURCES

sources, in which the capacities of the English language for See also:

• MELODY (Gr. ,ueXw3ia, a choral song, from name, tune, and gi6i, song)

melody and noble sweetness were for the first time displayed, although much was yet lacking in strength and conciseness . Caxton himself, See also:

• LORD
• LORD (O. Eng. hldford, i.e. hldfweard, the warder or keeper of bread, hlIf, loaf; the word is not represented in any other Teutonic language)
• LORD, JOHN (1810-1894)

Lord See also:

• BERNERS, BARNES
• BERNERS, JOHN BOURCHIER, 2ND BARON (1469-1533)

Berners and Lord See also:

• RIVERS
• RIVERS, ANTHONY WOODVILLE, or WYDEVILLE, 2ND EARL (c. 1442—1483)
• RIVERS, EARL
• RIVERS, RICHARD SAVAGE, 4TH EARL (c. 1660—1712)

Rivers, added an See also:

• ELEMENT (Lat. elementum)

element of literary merit to their useful translations .

The earliest modern historian was See also:

• ROBERT
• ROBERT (1275—1343)
• ROBERT, HUBERT (1753-1808)
• ROBERT, LOUIS LEOPOLD (1794-1835)

Robert See also:

• FABYAN, ROBERT (d. 1513)

Fabyan, whose See also:

• POSTHUMOUS

posthumous Chronicles were printed in 1515 . See also:

• EDWARD

Edward See also:

• HALL
• HALL (generally known as SCHWABISCH-HALL, tc distinguish it from the small town of Hall in Tirol and Bad-Hall, a health resort in Upper Austria)
• HALL (O.E. heall, a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger. Halle)
• HALL, BASIL (1788-1844)
• HALL, CARL CHRISTIAN (1812–1888)
• HALL, CHARLES FRANCIS (1821-1871)
• HALL, CHRISTOPHER NEWMAN (1816—19oz)
• HALL, EDWARD (c. 1498-1547)
• HALL, FITZEDWARD (1825-1901)
• HALL, ISAAC HOLLISTER (1837-1896)
• HALL, JAMES (1793–1868)
• HALL, JAMES (1811–1898)
• HALL, JOSEPH (1574-1656)
• HALL, MARSHALL (1790-1857)
• HALL, ROBERT (1764-1831)
• HALL, SAMUEL CARTER (5800-5889)
• HALL, SIR JAMES (1761-1832)
• HALL, WILLIAM EDWARD (1835-1894)

Hall was a better writer, whose Noble Families of See also:

• LANCASTER
• LANCASTER, HOUSE OF
• LANCASTER, JOHN OF GAUNT
• LANCASTER, JOSEPH (1778-1838)
• LANCASTER, SIR JAMES (f1. 1591—1618)
• LANCASTER, THOMAS, EARL OF (c. 1277-1322)

Lancaster and York had the See also:

• HONOUR (Lat. honos or lwnor, honoris; in English the word was spelled with or without the u indifferently until the 17th century, but during the 18th century it became fashion-able to spell the word " honor "; Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries stereoty

honour of being studied by See also:

• SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM (1564-1616)

Shakespeare . With the See also:

• ADVENT (Lat. Adventus, sc. Redemptoris, " the coming of the Saviour ")

advent of the See also:

• RENAISSANCE, THE

Renaissance to England, prose was heightened and made more colloquial . Sir Thomas More's See also:

• RICHARD
• RICHARD (d. 1184)
• RICHARD, FRANCOIS MARIE BENJAMIN (18,9-1908)
• RICHARD, HENRY (1812-1888)
• RICHARD, ST

Richard III. was a work of 'considerable importance; his finer See also:

• UTOPIA

Utopia (1516) was unfortunately composed in Latin, which still held its own as a dangerous See also:

• RIVAL

rival to the vernacular in prose . In his See also:

• GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

Governor (1531) Sir Thomas See also:

• ELYOT, SIR THOMAS (c. 1490-1546)

Elyot added moral philosophy to the gradually widening range of subjects which were thought proper for English prose . In the same See also:

• YEAR

year See also:

• TYNDALE (or TINDALE), WILLIAM (c. 1492-1536)

Tyndale began his famous version of the Bible, the story of which forms one of the most romantic episodes in the chronicles of literature; at Tyndale's death in 1536 the work was taken up by See also:

• MILES, NELSON APPLETON (1839— )

Miles See also:

• COVERDALE, MILES (1488 ?-1569)

Coverdale . The Sermons of See also:

• LATIMER, HUGH (c. 1490-1555)

Latimer (1549) introduced elements of See also:

• HUMOUR (Latin humor)

humour, dash and vigour which had before been See also:

• FOREIGN

foreign to the stately but sluggish prose of England . The earliest See also:

• BIOGRAPHY (from the Gr. (3ios, life, and yp&4 , writing)

biography, a book in many ways marvellously modern, was the Life of See also:

• CARDINAL (Lat. cardinalis)

Cardinal See also:

• WOLSEY, THOMAS (c. 1475–1530)

Wolsey, by See also:

• GEORGE
• GEORGE, 8TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (1787-1876)
• GEORGE, HENRY (1839—1897)
• GEORGE, LAKE
• GEORGE, SAINT (d. 303)

George See also:

• CAVENDISH
• CAVENDISH, GEORGE (1500-1562?)
• CAVENDISH, HENRY (1731-1810)
• CAVENDISH, SIR WILLIAM (c. 1505-1557)

Cavendish, written about 1557, but not printed (even in See also:

• PART

part) until 1641 . In the closing scenes of this memorable book, which describe what Cavendish had personally experienced, we may say that the perfection of easy English style is reached for the first time . The prose of the middle of the 16th century—as we see it exemplified in the earliest English critic, Sir Thomas See also:

• WILSON, ALEXANDER (1766-1813)
• WILSON, HENRY (1812–1875)
• WILSON, HORACE HAYMAN (1786–1860)
• WILSON, JAMES (1742—1798)
• WILSON, JAMES (1835— )
• WILSON, JAMES HARRISON (1837– )
• WILSON, JOHN (1627-1696)
• WILSON, JOHN (178 1854)
• WILSON, ROBERT (d. 1600)
• WILSON, SIR DANIEL (1816–1892)
• WILSON, SIR ROBERT THOMAS (1777—1849)
• WILSON, SIR WILLIAM JAMES ERASMUS
• WILSON, THOMAS (1663-1755)
• WILSON, THOMAS (c. 1525-1581)
• WILSON, WOODROW (1856— )

Wilson; the earliest English See also:

• PEDAGOGUE

pedagogue, See also:

• ROGER (d. 1139)
• ROGER (d. 1181)

Roger See also:

• ASCHAM, ROGER (c. 1515-1568)

Ascham; the distinguished humanist, Sir John See also:

• CHEKE, SIR JOHN (1514-1557)

Cheke—is clear, unadorned and firm, these Englishmen holding themselves bound to resist the influences coming to them from See also:

• ITALY
• ITALY (Italia)

Italy and See also:

• SPAIN
• SPAIN (Espana)

Spain, influences which were in favour of elaborate verbiage and tortured construction . Equal simplicity marked such writers as See also:

• FOXE, JOHN (1516-1587)

Foxe, See also:

• STOW, JOHN (c. 1525-1605)

Stow and See also:

• HOLINSHED (or HOLLINGSIIEAD), RAPHAEL (d. c. 158o)

Holinshed, who had definite See also:

• INFORMATION (from Lat. informare, to give shape or form to, to represent, describe)

information to purvey, and wished a straightforward prose in which to See also:

• PRESENT

present it . But See also:

• HOBY, SIR THOMAS (1530–1566)

Hoby and See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

North, who translated See also:

• GUEVARA, ANTONIO DE (c. 1490-1544)
• GUEVARA, LUIS VELEZ DE (1579-1644)

Guevara, See also:

• CASTIGLIONE, BALDASSARE (1478–1529)
• CASTIGLIONE, CARLO OTTAVIO, COUNT (1784–1849)
• CASTIGLIONE, GIOVANNI BENEDETTO (1616–1670)

Castiglione and See also:

• AMYOT, JACQUES (1513-1593)

Amyot, brought with them not a few of the ingenious See also:

• EXOTIC (Gr. EWTIK6s, foreign, from few, outside)

exotic See also:

• GRACES, THE, (Gr. X&panes, Lat. Gratiae)

graces of those originals, and pre-pared the way for the startling innovations of See also:

• LYLY (LILLY, or LYLIE), JOHN (1553–1606)

Lyly in his famous didactic See also:

• ROMANCE

romance of Euphues (1579) .

The extravagances and eccentricities of Lyly outdid those of his See also:

• CONTINENTAL

continental prototypes, and See also:

• EUPHUISM

euphuism became a disturbing influence which, it may be, English prose has not, even to the present See also:

• HOUR

hour, entirely succeeded in throwing off . In spite of its overwhelming popularity, it was opposed in its own day, not merely by the stately sobriety of See also:

• HOOKER, JOSEPH (1814–1879)
• HOOKER, RICHARD (1553-1600)
• HOOKER, SIR JOSEPH DALTON (1817— English botanist and traveller, second son of the famous botanist Sir W.J.Hooker, was born on the 3oth of June 1817, at Halesworth, Suffolk. He was educated at Glasgow University, and almost immediately after taking his M.
• HOOKER, SIR WILLIAM JACKSON (1785–1865)
• HOOKER, THOMAS (1586–1647)

Hooker, in whom we see Latin models predominant, but by the sweetness of Sir See also:

• PHILIP
• PHILIP (Gr.'FiXtrsro , fond of horses, from dn)^eiv, to love, and limos, horse; Lat. Philip pus, whence e.g. M. H. Ger. Philippes, Dutch Filips, and, with dropping of the final s, It. Filippo, Fr. Philippe, Ger. Philipp, Sp. Felipe)
• PHILIP, JOHN (1775-1851)
• PHILIP, KING (c. 1639-1676)
• PHILIP, LANOGRAVE OF HESSE (1504-1567)

Philip See also:

• SIDNEY
• SIDNEY (or SYDNEY), ALGERNON (1622-1683)
• SIDNEY, SIR HENRY (1529-1586)
• SIDNEY, SIR PHILIP (1554-1586)

Sidney in his See also:

• ARCADIA

Arcadia . See also:

• RALEIGH
• RALEIGH, SIR WALTER (c. 1552-1618)

Raleigh wrote English prose that was perhaps more majestic than any which preceded it, but he revelled in length of See also:

• SENTENCE (Lat. sententia, a way of thinking, opinion, judgment; vote, sentire, to feel, think)

sentence and in ponderosity of phrase, so that it is probable that the vast See also:

• PRESTIGE

prestige of The History of the World on the whole delayed the emancipation of English prose more than it furthered it . The direct influence of the euphuistic eccentricity was seen for some time in the work of poets like See also:

• LODGE
• LODGE, EDMUND (1756-1839)
• LODGE, H
• LODGE, HENRY CABOT (1850– )
• LODGE, SIR OLIVER JOSEPH (1851– )
• LODGE, THOMAS (c. 1558–1625)

Lodge and See also:

• GREENE, GEORGE WASHINGTON (1811-1883)
• GREENE, MAURICE (1695-1755)
• GREENE, NATHANAEL (1742-1786)
• GREENE, ROBERT (c. 1560-1592)

Greene, and divines like See also:

• LANCELOT (Lancelot du Lac, or Lancelot of the Lake)

Lancelot See also:

• ANDREWES, LANCELOT (1555-1626)

Andrewes; its indirect influence in the floweriness and violence of most careful prose down to the Restoration . See also:

• BACON
• BACON (through the O. Fr. bacon, Low Lat. baco, from a Teutonic word cognate with " back," e.g. O. H. Ger. pacho, M. H. Ger. backe, buttock, flitch of bacon)
• BACON, FRANCIS (BARON VERULAM, VISCOUNT ST ALBANS) (1561-1626)
• BACON, JOHN (1740–1799)
• BACON, LEONARD (1802–1881)
• BACON, ROGER (c. 1214-c. 1294)
• BACON, SIR NICHOLAS (1509-1579)

Bacon, whose contempt of the vernacular is with difficulty to be excused, despaired too early of our See also:

• NATIONAL

national writing . See also:

• DONNE, JOHN (1573–1631)

Donne cultivated a See also:

• ROLLING

rolling and sonorous See also:

• MAJESTY (Fr. majeste; Lat. majestas, grandeur, greatness, from the base mag-, as in magnus, great, major, greater, &c.)

majesty of style; and See also:

• BURTON, JOHN HILL (1809–1881)
• BURTON, ROBERT (1577-1640)
• BURTON, SIR FREDERICK WILLIAM (1816–f goo)
• BURTON, SIR RICHARD FRANCIS (1821-1890)
• BURTON, WILLIAM EVANS (1804-1860)

Burton could use English with humour and vivacity when he gave himself the chance, but his text is a prototype of the vicious abuse of See also:

• QUOTATION

quotation which was a crowning fault of prose in the early 17th century . In spite of the skill with which, during the civil