with capitals; as, President Jefferson, Governor Winthrop, Professor Longfellow, Lord Brougham, Countess of Blessington, Queen Victoria, the Emperor Napoleon, Pope Pius IX. c. So, also, father, mother; brother, sister; uncle, aunt, &c., commence with capital letters when put before proper names; as, Aunt Dorothy, Brother Gray. But the term father, when applied to any of the early orthodox writers of the Christian Church, is begun with a capital, whether it be or be not prefixed to a proper name; as, "Even the soundest of the Fathers held some opinions inconsistent with the doctrines of the gospel." RULE V. Names of Persons, Places, &c. All proper names, whether of animate or inanimate existences, begin with capitals; as,— 1. Jupiter, Juno; Pompey, Penelope; William, Sarah. 5. January, Monday, Christmas, Good Friday, Easter. REMARKS. a. When the word devil is used of Satan, it may begin with a capital; as, the Devil and his angels. But when employed of demoniacal agents or of wicked men, whether in the singular or the plural number, it commences with a small letter. b. The words heaven, hell, paradise, the celestial and the infernal regions, representing either states of mind or places of reward and punishment, usually begin with small letters; but Elysium, Tartarus, and Pandemonium, with capitals. c. Appellatives, merely expletory, coming before proper names, are begun with small letters; but, when put immediately after them, they are distinguished by capitals; as, the river Thames, the city of London; London City, the Thames River. d. When North, South, East, West, &c., denote certain countries of which we are accustomed to speak, or the people who reside in certain parts of the globe or in districts of our own land, they are written or printed with initial capitals; as, "This man's accent shows that he belongs to the South." But, when they refer to places or things as being more to the north, south, &c., than others, these words are begun with small letters; as, "London is situated east of Windsor." e. Sunday, as one of the days of the week, always has an initial capital; while, on the contrary, sabbath, or sabbath-day, is perhaps more frequently written and printed with a small s than with a large one. The initials in Lord's Day, New Year's Day, &c., are usually capitalized. RULE VI. Nouns and Adjectives derived from Proper Names. Gentile nouns, adjectives derived from gentile nouns, and nouns or adjectives formed from proper names, begin with capitals; as, 1. A Hebrew, a Greek, a Roman, a German, a Spaniard, a Frenchman 2. Hebrew, Grecian, Roman, Italian, French, Spanish, American. 3. A Christian, a Brahmin, a Mahometan; Augustan, Elizabethan. REMARK S. a. Names of sectaries, whether formed from proper nouns or other wise, should begin with capitals; as, "Good men are found among Christian denominations of the most opposite doctrines, - among Roman Catholics and Protestants, Athanasians and Arians, Trinitarians and Unitarians, Lutherans, Calvinists, Arminians, and Universalists." So, also, when used adjectively; as, the Wesleyan doctrines; Papal, Protestant, and Episcopal ceremonies. b. A few adjectives and common nouns, derived from proper names, are usually printed with small initials; as, godlike, stentorian, hermetical, hymeneal, prussic; epicure, epicurism; philippic, simony, jalap, damask, cashmere (shawl), china (ware), guinea (a coin), turkey (a fowl), champagne (wine). These and similar words are so written, because usually little or no reference is made to the proper names from which they were derived. c. For the same reason, the verbs to hector, to philippize, to romance, to galvanize, to japan, should be written with small letters. But, on account of their more obvious allusion to the proper names whence they have been taken, Judaize and Christianize are better written or printed with initial capitals. The compounds unchristian, antichristian, &c., are, however, done with small characters. RULE VII. Words of Primary Importance. Words of primary importance, especially if they indicate some great event, or remarkable change in religion or government, are commenced with capital letters; as, 1. The Reformation, effected mainly by Luther, is one of the most wonderful events in modern times. 2. Glorious New England! around thy hills and mountains cling, like gathering mists, the mighty memories of the Revolution. REMARKS. a. The use of capitals in important words and phrases seems to be, in some measure, a matter of mere taste or caprice. Channing not unfrequently represents the greatest of his great ideas by words having initial capitals; Carlyle, and other imitators of German thought and expression, employ them superabundantly, and with little discrimination; while others are particularly careful that the uniformity which is so desirable in a printed page be marred as little as possible by the practice referred to. b. Every noun or leading word in the titles of books and other publications must begin, wherever it occurs, with a capital letter; as, "Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard' is perhaps the finest poem of the kind in the English or any other language." c. Terms denoting the records of the Jewish and Christian revelations are distinguished by initial capitals; as, the Scriptures, the Holy Bible, the Sacred Writings, the Old and the New Testament. But the phrase word of God, when employed in this sense, is begun with a small letter; while the term Word, or Logos," as used by St. John in the introduction to his Gospel, and so much discussed by divines, is generally written and printed with a capital. d. The word gospel has a small letter for its initial when it means the religion of Jesus, but a capital when it denotes one of the four Gospels; as, the Gospel of Matthew. So, also, the term revelation when denoting the divine instructions contained in the Bible, begins with a small letter; but, used of the Apocalypse, or Revelation of St. John, it must be distinguished with a capital. e. The word church, when used by itself or in a general sense, should begin with a small letter; but, when connected with an adjective indicating a particular body of Christians, it should commence with a capital; as, the Protestant Church. f. So, also, the term catholic, whether as a noun or an adjective should be written and printed with a small c, when it is used of all Christians, or of men of liberal and tolerant principles; but with a capital when significant merely of the Romish community. g. For the sake of uniformity, the names Gentile, Heathen, and Pagan, so often occurring in connection with Jew, should, when used as nouns, begin with capitals; but, when employed adjectively, with small letters. The words orthodoxy, orthodox; heterodoxy, heterodox; heresy, heretic, heretical; mysticism, mystic, mystical; atheism, atheist, atheistic; pantheism, pantheist, pantheistic; deism, deist, deistical; rationalism, rationalist, rationalistic; supernaturalism, supernaturalist; transcendentalism, transcendentalist, transcendental; spiritualism, spiritualist, are usually put with small characters. The term Orthodox, however, when used of any particular section of the orthodox body of Christians, should begin with a capital letter; as, the Orthodox Congregationalists. See p. 263, Remark a. h. Designations of political parties should commence each with a capital letter; as, Whig, Tory, Federalist, Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Radical, Free Soiler. - i. In advertisements, handbills, and cards, the principal words such as the names of the arts and sciences, and nouns occurring in a list of articles are properly begun with capitals. RULE VIII. The Pronoun I, and the Interjection O. The pronoun I, and the interjection O, should invariably be written or printed in capitals; as, With three steps I compass thy grave, O thou who wast so great before! REMARKS. a. The interjection oh should never, as is sometimes done, be put with an initial capital, except at the beginning of a sentence, or of a line in verse. b. For the modes of using the two words O and oh, see page 160, Remark c. RULE IX. Commencement of Lines in Verse. The first word of every line in poetry is begun with a capital letter; as, No eye beheld when William plunged Young Edmund in the stream; No human ear but William's heard Young Edmund's drowning scream. REMARK S. a. The initial letter in the first word of a poetical quotation, though not beginning a line, should be capitalized; as, "One of the most illustrious names in the literary annals of Europe is that of Spenser, 'That gentle bard, Chosen by the Muses for their page of state." " b. In humorous verse, when a portion of a word is put at the end of one line, and the other portion at the beginning of the next, the latter should be put with a small initial; as, Paganini, Paganini! Never was there such a geni us before as Paganini. RULE X. Prosopopeia, or Personification. Nouns that represent inanimate beings as persons should begin with capitals; as, Better to sit in Freedom's hall, With a cold, damp floor, and a mouldering wall, Than to bend the neck or to bow the knee In the proudest palace of Slavery. REMARK S. a. According to this rule, all such words as the Muscs, the Graces, the Furies, the Fates, should be distinguished by capitals. When " is used of certain moral affections, a common У is "the graces properly used. |