Part 4

This point marks an abrupt pause before a further but connected statement:

In business there is something more than barter, exchange, price, payment: there is a sacred faith of man in man.

Study to acquire a habit of thinking: no study is more important.[61]

Always remember the ancient maxim: Know thyself.

_The Period or Full Stop._

Examples of its ordinary use:

Fear God. Honour the King. Pray without ceasing.

There are thoughts and images flashing across the mind in its highest moods, to which we give the name of inspiration. But whom do we honour with this title of the inspired poet?

_The Note of Interrogation._

Examples of its ordinary use:

Shall little, haughty ignorance pronounce His work unwise, of which the smallest part Exceeds the narrow vision of the mind?

Was the prisoner alone when he was apprehended? Is he known to the police? Has he any regular occupation? Where does he dwell? What is his name?

What does the pedant mean?

Cases where the note of interrogation must not be used, the speaker simply stating a fact:

The Cyprians asked me why I wept.

I was asked if I would stop for dinner.

_The Note of Exclamation._

Examples of its ordinary use:

Hail, source of Being! universal Soul! How mischievous are the effects of war! O excellent guardian of the sheep!—a wolf![62]

Alas for his poor family! Alas, my noble boy! that thou shouldst die! Ah me! she cried, and waved her lily hand. O despiteful love! unconstant womankind!

_Marks of Parenthesis._

Examples:

I have seen charity (if charity it may be called) insult with an air of pity.

Left now to himself (malice could not wish him a worse adviser), he resolves on a desperate project.[63]

_The Bracket._

These marks are used chiefly to denote an interpolation or explanation. For example:

Perhaps (alarming thought!), perhaps he [Death] aims Ev’n now the fatal blow that ends my life.[64]

They [the Lilliputians] rose like one man.

_The Dash._

Em rules or dashes—in this and the next line an example is given—are often used to show that words enclosed between them are to be read parenthetically. Thus a verbal parenthesis may be shown by punctuation in three ways: by em dashes, by ( ), or by commas.[65]

Omit the dash when a colon is used to preface a quotation or similar matter, whether at the end of a break-line or not.

The dash is used to mark an interruption or breaking off in the middle of a sentence.[66]

_Marks of Omission._

To mark omitted words three points ... (not asterisks) separated by en quadrats are sufficient; and the practice should be uniform throughout the work. Where full lines are required to mark a large omission, real or imaginary, the spacing between the marks should be increased; but the compositor should in this case also use full points and not asterisks.

_Punctuation Marks generally._

The following summary is an attempt to define in few words the meaning and use of punctuation marks (the capitals are only given for emphasis):

A Period marks the end of a sentence.

A Colon is at the transition point of the sentence.

A Semicolon separates different statements.

A Comma separates clauses, phrases, and particles.

A Dash marks abruptness or irregularity.

An Exclamation marks surprise.

An Interrogation asks a question for answer.

An Apostrophe marks elisions or possessive case.

Quotation marks define quoted words.

Parentheses enclose interpolations in the sentence.

Brackets enclose irregularities in the sentence.[67]

_Quotation Marks, or ‘Inverted Commas’ (so-called)._

Omit quotation marks in poetry, as instructed on p. 45. Also omit them in prose extracts broken off in smaller type, unless contrary instructions are given.

Insert quotation marks in titles of essays: e.g. ‘Mr. Brock read a paper on “Description in Poetry”.’ But omit quotation marks when the subject of the paper is an author: e.g. ‘Professor Bradley read a paper on Jane Austen.’

Single ‘quotes’ are to be used for the first quotation; then double for a quotation within a quotation. If there should be yet another quotation within the second quotation it is necessary to revert to single quotation marks. Sometimes, as in the impossible example in the footnote, quotation marks packed three deep must be omitted.

All signs of punctuation used with words in quotation marks must be placed _according to the sense_. If an extract ends with a point, then let that point be, as a rule,[68] included before the closing quotation mark; but not otherwise. When there is one quotation within another, and both end with the sentence, put the punctuation mark before the first of the closing quotations. These are important directions for the compositor to bear in mind; and he should examine the examples which are given in the pages which follow:

‘The passing crowd’ is a phrase coined in the spirit of indifference. Yet, to a man of what Plato calls ‘universal sympathies’, and even to the plain, ordinary denizens of this world, what can be more interesting than ‘the passing crowd’?[69]

If the physician sees you eat anything that is not good for your body, to keep you from it he cries, ‘It is poison!’ If the divine sees you do anything that is hurtful for your soul, he cries, ‘You are lost!’[70]

‘Why does he use the word “poison”?’

But I boldly cried out, ‘Woe unto this city!’[71]

Alas, how few of them can say, ‘I have striven to the very utmost’!{71}

Thus, notes of exclamation and interrogation are sometimes included in and sometimes follow quotation marks, as in the sentences above, according to whether their application is merely to the words quoted or to the whole sentence of which they form a part. The sentence-stop must be omitted after ? or !, even when the ? or ! precedes the closing ‘quotes’.

In regard to the use of commas and full points with ‘turned commas’, the general practice has hitherto been different. When either a comma or a full point is required at the end of a quotation, the almost universal custom at the present time is for the printer to include that comma or full point within the quotation marks at the end of an extract, _whether it forms part of the original extract or not_. Even in De Vinne’s examples, although he says distinctly, ‘The proper place of the closing marks of quotation should be determined by the quoted words only’, no instance can be found of the closing marks of quotation being placed to precede a comma or a full point. Some writers wish to exclude the comma or full point when it does not form part of the original extract, and to include it when it does form part of it; and this is doubtless correct.

There seems to be no reason for perpetuating a bad practice. So, unless the author wishes to have it otherwise, in all new works the compositor should place full points and commas according to the examples that follow:

We need not ‘follow a multitude to do evil’.

No one should ‘follow a multitude to do evil’, as the Scripture says.

Do not ‘follow a multitude to do evil’; on the contrary, do what is right.

When a number of isolated words or phrases are, for any reason, severally marked off by ‘turned commas’ (e.g. in order to show that they are not the expressions which the author would prefer to use, or that they are used in some technical sense), the closing quotation mark should precede the punctuation mark, thus:

‘Such odd-sounding designations of employment as “scribbling miller”, “devil feeder”, “pug boy”, “decomposing man”, occur in the census reports.’

_in my voice_, ‘so far as my vote is concerned’. _parlous_, ‘perilous’, ‘dangerous’, ‘hard to deal with’.

But when a quotation is complete in itself, either as a sentence or a paragraph, the final quotation mark is to be placed outside the point. For example:

‘If the writer of these pages shall chance to meet with any that shall only study to cavil and pick a quarrel with him, he is prepared beforehand to take no notice of it.’ (_Works of Charles and M. Lamb_, Oxford edition, i. 193.)

Where a quotation is interrupted by an interpolated sentence, the punctuation must follow the sense of the passage, as in the following examples:

1. ‘At the root of the disorders’, he writes in the Report, ‘lies the conflict of the two races.’ In this example the comma is placed _outside_ the quotation mark, as it forms no part of the original punctuation.

2. ‘Language is not, and never can be,’ writes Lord Cromer, ‘as in the case of ancient Rome, an important factor in the execution of a policy of fusion.’ In this example the comma is placed _inside_ the quotation mark, as it forms part of the original punctuation.

In the case of dialogues, the punctuation mark should precede the quotation mark, as:

‘You hear him,’ said Claverhouse, smiling, ‘there’s the rock he splits upon; he cannot forget his pedigree.’

_Punctuation in Classical and Philological Notes._

In notes on English and foreign classics, as a rule[72] follow the punctuation in the following examples:

5. _Falls not_, lets not fall. (That is, a comma is sufficient after the lemma where a simple definition follows.)

17. _swoon._ The spelling of the folios is ‘swound’. (Here a full point is used, because the words that follow the lemma comprise a complete sentence.)

Note, as to capitalization, that the initial letter of the word or phrase treated (as in _Falls not_ above) should be in agreement with the text.

The lemma should be set in italics or clarendon, according to directions.

_Punctuation Marks and References to Footnotes in juxtaposition._

The relation of these to each other is dealt with on p. 70. Examples of the right practice are to be found on many pages of the present work.

_Points in Title-pages, Headlines, &c._

All points are to be omitted from the ends of lines in titles, half-titles, page-headings, and main cross-headings, in Clarendon Press works, unless a special direction is given to the contrary.

FOOTNOTES:

[49] e.g. _Spelling and Punctuation_, by H. Beadnell (Wyman’s Technical Series); _The King’s English_ (Clarendon Press), containing a valuable chapter on Punctuation; _Stops; or, How to Punctuate_, by P. Allardyce (Fisher Unwin); _Correct Composition_, by T. L. De Vinne (New York, Century Co.); or the more elaborate _Guide pratique du compositeur_, &c., by T. Lefevre (Paris, Firmin-Didot).

[50] _Practical Printing_, by Southward and Powell, p. 191.

[51] De Vinne, _Correct Composition_, pp. 241-2.

[52] How much depends upon punctuation is well illustrated in a story told, I believe, by the late G. A. Sala, once a writer in the _Daily Telegraph_, about R. B. Sheridan, dramatist and M.P. In the House of Commons, Sheridan one day gave an opponent the lie direct. Called upon to apologize, the offender responded thus: ‘Mr. Speaker I said the honourable Member was a liar it is true and I am sorry for it.’ Naturally the person concerned was not satisfied; and said so. ‘Sir,’ continued Mr. Sheridan, ‘the honourable Member can interpret the terms of my statement according to his ability, and he can put punctuation marks where it pleases him.’—H. H.

[53] Below is a puzzle passage from the _Daily Chronicle_, first with no points, and then with proper marks of punctuation: ‘That that is is that that is not is not is not that it it is.’ ‘That that is, is; that that is not, is not; is not that it? It is.’—H. H.

[54] De Vinne, _Correct Composition_, p. 244.

[55] Beadnell, pp. 99, 100.

[56] Nevertheless the reader is not to be commended who, being told that the word however was usually followed by a comma, insisted upon altering a sentence beginning ‘However true this may be,’ &c., to ‘However, true this _may_ be,’ &c. This is the late Dean Alford’s story. See _The Queen’s English_, p. 124, ed. 1870.—H. H.

[57] Beadnell, p. 101.

[58] Id., pp. 95-107.

[59] Beadnell, pp. 109, 110.

[60] Id., p. 111.

[61] Id., p. 112.

[62] All the examples are from Beadnell, pp. 113-17.

[63] Beadnell, pp. 118-19.

[64] Id., p. 120.

[65] Some writers mark this form of composition quite arbitrarily. For instance Charles Dickens uses colons: ‘As he sat down by the old man’s side, two tears: not tears like those with which recording angels blot their entries out, but drops so precious that they use them for their ink: stole down his meritorious cheeks.’—_Martin Chuzzlewit_, Oxford ed., p. 581.

[66] There is one case, and only one, of an em rule being used in the Bible (A.V.), viz. in Exod. xxxii. 32; where, I am told by the Rev. Professor Driver, it is correctly printed, to mark what is technically called an ‘aposiopesis’, i.e. a sudden silence. The ordinary mark for such a case is a two-em rule.—H. H.

[67] De Vinne, _Correct Composition_, p. 288.

[68] I say ‘as a rule’, because if such a sentence as that which follows occurred in printing a secular work, the rule would have to be broken. De Vinne prints:

‘In the New Testament we have the following words: “Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your law, “I said, ‘Ye are gods’”?’”’ [H. H.]

[69] Beadnell, p. 116.

[70] Id., p. 126.

[71] Allardyce, p. 74.

[72] There are exceptions, as in the case of works which have a settled style of their own.

FIGURES AND NUMERALS

IN ARABIC OR ROMAN

Do not mix old-style and new-face figures in the same book without special directions.

Nineteenth century, not 19th century.

Figures to be used when the matter consists of a sequence of stated quantities, particulars of age, &c.

Example:

‘Figures for September show the supply to have been 85,690 tons, a decrease on the month of 57 tons. For the past twelve months there is a net increase of 5 tons.’

‘The smallest tenor suitable for ten bells is D flat, of 5 feet diameter and 42 cwt.’

In descriptive matter, numbers under 100 to be in words; but print ‘90 to 100’, not ‘ninety to 100’.

Spell out in such instances as—

‘With God a thousand years are but as one day’; ‘I have said so a hundred times’.

Insert commas with four or more than four figures, as 7,642; but print dates without commas, as 1908; nor should there be commas in figures denoting pagination or numbering of verse, even though there may be more than three figures. Omit commas also in Library numbers, as—British Museum MS. 24456.

Roman numerals to be preferred in such cases as Henry VIII, &c.—which should never be divided; and should only be followed by a full point when the letters end a sentence. If, however, the author prefers the full title, use ‘Henry the Eighth’, not ‘Henry the VIIIth’.

Use a decimal point · to express decimals, as 7·06; and print 0·76, _not_ ·76. When the time of day is intended to be shown, the full point . is to be used, as 4.30 a.m.

As to dates, in descriptive writing the author’s phraseology should be followed; e.g. ‘On the 21st of May the army drew near.’ But in ordinary matter in which the date of the month and year is given, such as the headings to letters, print May 19, 1862; not May 19th, 1862,[73] nor 19 May, 1862.

To represent pagination or an approximate date, use the least number of figures possible; for example, print:

pp. 322-30; pp. 322-4, _not_ pp. 322-24. But print: pp. 16-18, _not_ pp. 16-8; 116-18, _not_ 116-8.

In dates: 1897-8, _not_ 1897-98 (use en rules); and from 1672 to 1674, _not_ from 1672-74.

Print: 250 B.C.; but when it is necessary to insert A.D. the letters should precede the year, as A.D. 250. In B.C. references, however, always put the full date, in a group of years, e.g. 185-122 B.C.

When preliminary pages are referred to by lower-case roman numerals, no full points should be used after the numerals. Print:

p. ii, pp. iii-x; _not_ p. ii., pp. iii.-x.

When references are made to two successive text-pages print pp. 6, 7, if the subject is disconnected in the two pages. But if the subject is continuous from one page to the other, then print pp. 6-7. The compositor in this must be guided by his copy. Print p. 51 sq. if the reference is to p. 51 and following page; but pp. 51 sqq. when the reference is to more than a single page following.[74]

In a sequence of figures use an en rule, as in the above examples; but in such cases as Chapters III—VIII use an em rule.

Begin numbered paragraphs: 1. 2. &c.; and clauses in paragraphs: (1) (2) (3), &c. If Greek or roman lower-case letters are written, the compositor must follow copy. Roman numerals (I. II. III.) are usually reserved for chapters or important sections.

References in the text to footnotes should be made by superior figures—which are to be placed, as regards punctuation marks, according to the sense. If a single word, say, is extracted and referred to, the reference must be placed immediately after the word extracted and before the punctuation mark. But if an extract be made which includes a complete sentence or paragraph, then the reference mark must be placed outside the last punctuation mark. Asterisks, superior letters, &c., may be used in special cases. Asterisks and the other signs (* † ‡ &c.) should be used in mathematical works, to avoid confusion with the workings.

In Mathematics, the inferior in P_{1}′ should come immediately after the capital letter.

FOOTNOTES:

[73] Sir James Murray says, ‘This is not logical: 19 May 1862 is. _Begin_ at day, _ascend_ to month, _ascend_ to year; not _begin_ at month, _descend_ to day, then _ascend_ to year.’ (But I fear we must continue for the present to print May 19, 1862: authors generally will not accept the logical form.—H. H.)

[74] In references of this nature different forms are used, as—ff., foll., et seq. Whichever form is adopted, the practice should be uniform throughout the work.

APPENDIX I

POSSESSIVE CASE OF PROPER NAMES

Use ’s for the possessive case in English names and surnames whenever possible; i.e. in all monosyllables and disyllables, and in longer words accented on the penult; as—

Augustus’s Charles’s Cousins’s Gustavus’s Hicks’s St. James’s Square Nicodemus’s Jones’s Thomas’s Zacharias’s St. Thomas’s Thoms’s

In longer names, not accented on the penult, ’s is also preferable, though ’ is here admissible; e. g. Theophilus’s.

In ancient classical names, use ’s with every monosyllable, e. g. Mars’s, Zeus’s. Also with disyllables not in -es; as—

Judas’s Marcus’s Venus’s

But poets in these cases sometimes use s’ only; and Jesus’ is a well-known liturgical archaism. In quotations from Scripture follow the Oxford standard.[75]

Ancient words in -es are usually written -es’ in the possessive, e. g.

Ceres’ rites Xerxes’ fleet

This form should certainly be used in words longer than two syllables, e.g.

Arbaces’ Aristides’ Miltiades’ Themistocles’

To pronounce another ’s (= es) after these is difficult.

This applies only to _ancient_ words. One writes—Moses’ law; and I used to alight at Moses’s for the British Museum.

As to the latter example, Moses, the tailor, was a modern man, like Thomas and Lewis; and in using his name we follow modern English usage.

J. A. H. M.

French names ending in _s_ or _x_ should always be followed by _’s_ when used possessively in English. Thus, it being taken for granted that the French pronunciation is known to the ordinary reader, and using Rabelais = Rabelè, Hanotaux = Hanotō, as examples, the only correct way of writing these names in the possessive in English is Rabelais’s (= Rabelès), Hanotaux’s (= Hanotōs).—H. H.

FOOTNOTES:

[75] See p. 9 (note).—H. H.

APPENDIX II

WORKS IN THE FRENCH LANGUAGE

The English compositor called upon to set works in the French language will do well, first of all, to make a careful examination of some examples from the best French printing-offices. He will find that French printers act on rules differing in many points from the rules to which the English compositor is accustomed; and he will not be able to escape from his difficulties by the simple expedient of ‘following copy’.

For works in the French language, such as classical text-books for use in schools, the English compositor generally gets reprint copy for text and manuscript for notes. It is, as a rule, safe for him to follow the reprint copy; but there is this difficulty, that when the work forms part of a series it does not always happen that the reprint copy for one book corresponds in typographical style with reprint copy for other works in the same series. Hence he should apply himself diligently to understand the following rules; and should hunt out examples of their application, so that they may remain in his memory.[76]

1. _Capital and lower-case letters._—In the names of authors of the seventeenth century, which are preceded by an article, the latter should commence with a capital letter: La Fontaine, La Bruyère.[77] Exceptions are names taken from the Italian, thus: le Tasse, le Dante, le Corrège.[78] As to names of persons, the usage of the individuals themselves should be adopted: de la Bruyère (his signature at the end of a letter), De la Fontaine (end of fable ‘Le Lièvre et la Tortue’), Lamartine, Le Verrier, Maxime Du Camp. In names of places the article should be small: le Mans, le Havre, which the Académie adopts; la Ferté, with no hyphen after the article, but connected by a hyphen with different names of places, as la Ferté-sous-Jouarre.

Volumes, books, titles, acts of plays, the years of the Republican Calendar, are put in large capitals: An IV, acte V, tome VI; also numerals belonging to proper names: Louis XII; and the numbers of the arrondissements of Paris: le XV^e arrondissement.

Scenes of plays, if there are no acts, are also put in large caps.: _Les Précieuses ridicules_, sc. V; also chapters, if they form the principal division: _Joseph_, ch. VI. If, however, scenes of plays and chapters are secondary divisions, they are put in small capitals: _Le Cid_, a. I, sc. II; _Histoire de France_, liv. VI, ch. VII. The numbers of centuries are generally put in small capitals: au XIX^e (or XIX^{ème}) siècle.

The first word of a title always takes a capital letter: J’ai vu jouer _Les Femmes savantes_; on lit dans _Le Radical_. If a substantive in a title immediately follows _Le_, _La_, _Les_, _Un_, _Une_, it is also given a capital letter, thus: _Les Précieuses ridicules_. If the substantive is preceded by an adjective, this also receives a capital letter: _La Folle Journée_; if, however, the adjective follows, it is in lower-case: _L’Âge ingrat_. If the title commences with any other word than le, la, les, un, une, or an adjective, the words following are all in lower-case: _De la terre à la lune_; _Sur la piste_.

In titles of fables or of dramatic works the names of the characters are put with capital initials: Le Renard et les Raisins; Le Lion et le Rat; Marceau, ou les Enfants de la République.

In catalogues or indexes having the first word or words in parentheses after the substantive commencing the line, the first word thus transposed has a capital letter: Homme (Faiblesse de l’); Honneur (L’); Niagara (Les Chutes du).

If the words in parentheses are part of the title of a work, the same rule is followed as to capitals as above given: Héloïse (La Nouvelle); Mort (La Vie ou la).

The words saint, sainte, when referring to the saints themselves, have, except when commencing a sentence, always lower-case initials: saint Louis, saint Paul, sainte Cécile. But when referring to names of places, feast-days, &c., capital letters and hyphens are used: Saint-Domingue, la Saint-Jean. (See also, as to abbreviations of Saint, Sainte, p. 82.)

I. Use capital letters as directed below:

(1) Words relating to God: le Seigneur, l’Être suprême, le Très-Haut, le Saint-Esprit.

(2) In enumerations, if each one commences a new line, a capital is put immediately after the figure:

1^o L’Europe. 2^o L’Asie, &c.

But if the enumeration is run on, lower-case letters are used: 1^o l’Europe, 2^o l’Asie, &c.