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APPENDIX.

I. USES OF CAPITAL LETTERS.

THOUGH the subject of capital letters is but indirectly allied to punctuation, it may be suitable here to lay down a few principles, useful to all who are desirous of combining taste and propriety in their compositions, especially to persons likely to become in any way connected with the public press. It was formerly the custom to use capitals with greater frequency and less discrimination than it is at the present day; almost every noun, nay, in some cases almost every word of the slightest importance, having had its initial thus distinguished. The following is a moderate specimen of the style alluded to, taken from Clarendon's "History of the Rebellion," where he treats of Lord Strafford's death:

"Thus Fell the greatest Subject in power, and little inferior to any in Fortune that was at that time in any of the three Kingdoms; Who could well remember the time when he led those People who then pursued him to his Grave. He was a man of great Parts, and extraordinary Endowments of Nature; not unadorned with some addition of Art and Learning, though that again was more improved and illustrated by the other."

But, as this practice was to a great extent arbitrary, and did not possess the advantage of either ornament or utility, the use of capital letters is now very properly limited to the applications about to be mentioned.

RULE I.

The First Word of a Book, Tract, &c.

The first word of every book, tract, essay, &c., and of their great divisions, chapters, sections, paragraphs, must commence with a capital letter.

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REMARK S.

a. Numerous exemplifications of the rule will be found in the present or any other work.

b. Phrases or clauses, when separately numbered, begin each with a capital letter; as, "The reproach of barbarism may be incurred in three different ways: 1. By the use of words entirely obsolete; 2. By the use of words entirely new; or, 3. By new formations and compositions from simple and primitive words in present use."

RULE II.

The First Word after a Full Point.

The first word after a period, and after a note of interrogation or exclamation when grammatically equivalent to a period, should begin with a capital; as,

1. Let the tone of your conversation be invariably benevolent. Differ without asperity; agree without dogmatism. Kind words cost no more than unkind ones.

2. What is it that keeps men in continual discontent and agitation? It is, that they cannot make realities correspond with their conceptions.

3. Fair, fair, shall be the flowers that spring over thy tomb, dear, gentle Elia! Sweet shall be the song-sweet as thine own that shall lure the wanderer to the spot where thy urn receives the tears of the stranger.

REMARKS.

a. Some writers and printers always commence with a capital letter the word immediately following a colon; but this should take place only when required by other rules.

b. When the period is a mark for an abbreviated word or phrase which does not end a sentence, the following word is commenced, not with a capital, but with a small letter; as, "Franklin had the

degree of LL.D. conferred on him by the University of St. Andrew's, Scotland." Here it will be seen, that the initial of "conferred" is small. The word "Andrew's," indeed, though coming after an abbreviation, is put with a capital; but this, of course, arises from the fact that "St. Andrew's " is a proper name.

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c. When two or more sentences, of an exclamatory or interrogative kind, are closely connected in sense and construction, all of them, except the first, begin with a small letter; as, "How ugly a person appears, upon whose reputation some awkward aspersion hangs! and how suddenly his countenance clears up with his character!" "What child is there, who, in a toyshop, does not prefer the gaudiest toy, if all other circumstances of attraction be the same? or, rather, to what child are not this very glare and glitter the chief circumstances of attraction? and in what island of savages have our circumnavigators found the barbarian to differ in this respect from the child?" In the passages just cited, the words 66 and," "or," which follow the note of exclamation and of interrogation, are begun with small letters, because these marks are equivalent, not to full points, but to semicolons.

RULE III.

Appellations of God and Christ.

Names of the Deity and of Jesus Christ must commence with a capital letter; as,

1. Jehovah, Lord, God; Creator, Father, Preserver, Governor; the Eternal, the Almighty, the All-wise; the Supreme Being; the Holy Spirit.

2. The Messiah, the Anointed; the Son, the Saviour, the Redeemer; the Holy One; Prophet, Teacher, Master; Judge of the world.

REMARK S.

a. Some of these and similar words are begun, sometimes with a capital, and sometimes with a small letter, according to the sense in which they are taken. Thus, God, with a large initial, is the name of the Supreme Being; god, with a small character, an appellation used occasionally of men, angels, and false divinities; as, The Lord is a great God above all gods."

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b. With initial capitals, Lord and King are applied to God and Christ; with a small 7 and k, the same words denote men having authority and power. Thus, in the Apocalypse, our Saviour is

called "Lord of lords, and King of kings;" and, in the Old Testament, a great sovereign is styled a "king of kings."

c. From the vagueness of the ideas represented by the word nature, it is difficult to lay down any precise rule as to the mode of writing or printing it. In general, it should begin with a small n; as, "He looks through nature up to nature's God;" except when strongly personified, or when clearly used of the intelligent Principle of the universe.

d. Providence, with an initial capital, denotes the infinitely good Being who provides for the wants of his creatures; but, when beginning with a small p, it means either divine superintendence or human foresight. So, Heaven, with a capital H, signifies God, the Sovereign of heaven, or of the celestial regions.

e. The adjectives divine, heavenly, eternal, universal, providential, and others of a similar kind, when applied to God, his attributes, or his agency, are sometimes written initially with capitals; but, unless when particularly emphatic, small letters are preferable, because the names of the Deity occurring in the connection sufficiently indicate the Being referred to.

f. As exceptions to Remark e, the epithets occuring in First Cause, Divine or Supreme Being, Almighty God, Infinite One, should begin with large letters, because universal custom favors this mode of writing. The adjective Most High or Highest should also appear with an initial capital, when the noun which it qualifies is not used.

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g. When the attributes of the Deity or of the Saviour are expressed, not by adjectives, but, in the Hebrew style, by nouns, Father of mercies, God of wisdom, Prince of peace, instead of the merciful Father, the wise God, the peaceful Prince, - they should begin, like the adjectives, with small letters, as here exemplified.

h. The appellation Son of man, when applied to Christ, whether by way of eminence or of humility, is probably better printed, not "Son of Man" or son of man," but as it appears in the common version of the Bible, and in the first line of this remark.

i. The word Spirit, and the phrases Holy or Divine Spirit, Holy Ghost, Spirit of God, are usually capitalized, whether said of the Deity or of his gifts and influences. Some writers, however, restrict the capitals to these terms when they have a personal import, but use small letters when they signify merely divine inspiration or heavenly aid. As the mode of exhibiting these words is as much a matter of theology as of taste, authors should be particularly careful to write the initials as they wish them to be printed.

j. Pronouns referring to God and Christ should not begin with capitals, unless they are used emphatically without a noun. Hymns and prayers are often disfigured by the unnecessary use of these letters, as in the following lines:

These are Thy glorious works, Parent of good,

Almighty! Thine this universal frame,

Thus wondrous fair: Thyself how wondrous then!

which would lose none of their true grandeur, if more simply printed:

These are thy glorious works, Parent of good,

Almighty! thine this universal frame,

Thus wondrous fair: thyself how wondrous then!

RULE IV.

Titles of Honor and Respect.

Titles of honor and respect, either descriptive of persons in exalted stations or addressed to them, usually begin with capital letters; as,

1. Her Majesty, His Honor, Your Royal Highness, Your Grace.
2. My Lord, my Lady; dear Sir, respected Madam or Friend.

3. The President of the United States.

4. His Excellency the Governor of Massachusetts.

REMARKS.

a. In the rules and reports of societies, institutions, &c., names indicating office should begin with capitals; as, Chairman, President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Committee, Directors, Board of Managers. So, also, when used in a specific sense, the words Report, Society, Institution, Corporation, Constitution, Commonwealth, State, University, College, Academy, School, Congress, Parliament, Legislature, &c. In the plural number, or when used in a general sense, such words are properly put in small characters.

b. The pope; his or her majesty; king, queen; duke, duchess; lord, lady; sir, madam; president, governor, and words of a similar kind, should be written or printed with small initials, when they occur very frequently, or without any particular expression of honor. When prefixed to proper names, however, they are always begun

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