254
NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. ix. MARCH 29, 1902.
I do not know whether you may think tha
enough space has already been devoted to
this subject, but the following extract from
the ' Table Talk of S. T. Coleridge,' ed. 1852
p. 276, seems worth considering :
" Home Tooke was once holding forth on language, when turning to me, he asked me if I knew whal the meaning of the final ive was in English words. I said I thought I could tell him what he, Home Tooke, himself thought. ' Why, what?' said he. ' Vis,' I replied, and he acknowledged I had guessed right. I told him, however, that I could not agree with him ; but believed that the final ive came from ickvicus, OIKOS; the root denoting collectivity and community, and that it was opposed to the final ing, which signifies separation, particularity, and individual property, from ingle, a hearth, or one man's place or seat ; 01x05, ricux, denoted an aggre- gate of ingles. The alteration of the c and k of the root into the v was evidently the work of the digani mate power, and hence we find the icus and imi. indifferently as finals in Latin. The precise dif- ference of the etymologies is apparent in these phrases : The lamb is sportn'e ; that is, has a nature or habit of sporting ; the lamb is sportm<7, that is, the animal is now performing a sport. Home Tooke, upon this, said nothing to my ety- mology ; but I believe he found he could not make a fool of me, as he did of Godwin and some other of his butts."
G. H. THOMPSON.
CHARLES V. ON THE DIFFERENT EUROPEAN TONGUES (9 th S. viii. 523 ; ix. 152). Side by side with these fine sayings of Charles V. on the characteristic merits of the various lan- guages of Western Europe, and the desira- bility of learning them, it is interesting to note Michelet's opinion (exaggerated per- haps) that the emperor was no linguist, for he applies to him the words which Rabelais puts into the mouth of Picrochole : Tu sais toutes les langues et pas une. According to the same author even his written French was bad, although French as it was spoken at Brussels was his native tongue. T. P. ARMSTRONG.
SONG WANTED (9 th S. viii. 364, 510 ; ix. 77) -The verses sent by MR. PIERPOINT appear to contain a part only of the original. In my copy of 'Songs, Comic and Satyrical,' by
roborative of my view that wic was applicable to a row of houses along a high road:-" Kinystrnwyfo is f if; ?/ neere fJWttoM vpon Thamis, standing m Middlesex and is so called, for that it is a row! of houses leading into Kinastone, which rowe of
fe 68 'V^TA 8 C lled Vicus > in Ollr tong We or Wyke, of the Saxons wye. Vadianus an excellent Geographer, saith that VicusinopSo^ maestdomorumseriem complexa, Vike is a way or passage in atowne being orderly compact of houses
S <T a S Cal a r^ reete - .^ Ro ar * divers of these streetes, as Vicus affricus, Vicus ciprius & Vicus celeratus, Vicus sceleratus Roma."
George Alexander Stevens, 1788, instead of
the four eight-line stanzas there are sixteen
verses of four lines each, and the production
seems so much more complete than in its
shortened form that I am tempted to send
you a full copy, headed as in the book. The
verses appear precisely the same in a later
edition of 1807.
ORIGIN OF ENGLISH LIBERTY.
To its own Tune. Once the gods of the Greeks, at ambrosial feast,
Large bowls of rich nectar were quaffing, Merry Momus among them appeared as a guest,
Homer says the Celestials lov'd laughing.
This happened 'fore Chaos was fix'd into form,
While nature disorderly lay ; While elements adverse engendered the storm,
And uproar embroil'd the loud fray.
On every Olympic the Humourist droll'd,
So none could his jokes disapprove ; He sung, repartee'd, and some odd stories told,
And at last thus began upon Jove ;
" Sire, mark how yon matter is heaving below, Were it settled Hwould please all your Court ;
'Tis not wisdom to let it lie useless you know ; Pray people it, just for our sport. 3 '
Jove nodded assent, all Olympus bow'd down,
At his fiat creation took birth ; The cloud-keeping Deity smil'd on his throne,
Then announced the production was Earth.
To honour their Sov'reign each God gave a boon ;
Apollo presented it light ; The Goddess of Child-bed despatch'd us a Moon,
To silver the shadow of Night.
The Queen of Soft-wishes, foul Vulcan's fair bride,
Leer'd wanton on her Man of War ; Saying, as to these Earth-folks I'll give them a guide,
So she sparkled the Morn and Eve Star.
From her cloud, all in spirits, the Goddess upsprung,
In ellipsis each Planet advanc'd; The Tune of the Spheres the Nine Sisters sung,
As round Terra Nova they danc'd.
E'en Jove himself could not insensible stand,
Bid Saturn his girdle fast bind, The Expounder of Fate grasp'd the Globe in his hand,
And laugh'd at those Mites call'd mankind.
From the hand of great Jove into Space it was
hurl'd,
He was charm'd with the roll of the ball, Bid his daughter Attraction take charge of the
world, And he hung it up high in his hall.
Miss, pleas'd with the present, review'd the globe round,
Saw with rapture, hills, vallies, and plains ; The self-balanc'd orb in an atmosphere oound,
Prolific by suns, dews, and rains.
With silver, gold, jewels, she India endow'd, France and Spain she taught vineyards to rear,
What was fit for each clime on each clime she
bestow'd, And Freedom she found flourished here.
