grammar, the art of pointings, or of dividing a discourse into periods, by points expressing the pauses to be made thereof.

The points used herein are four, viz., the period, colon, semi-colon, and comma. See the particular use of each under its proper article, Comma, Colon, Period, and Semi-colon.

In the general, we shall only here observe, that the comma is to distinguish nouns from nouns, verbs from verbs, and such other parts of a period as are not necessarily joined together.—The semi-colon serves to suspend and sustain the period when too long;—the colon, to add some new, supernumerary reason, or consequence, to what is already said;—and the period, to close the sense and construction, and release the voice.

Punctuation is a modern art. The ancients were entirely unacquainted with the use of our commas, colons, &c., and wrote not only without any distinction of members and periods, but also without distinction of words: which custom, Lipsius observes, continued till the hundred and fourth olympiad; during which time the senate alone divided the discourse.

What within our own knowledge at this day puts this beyond dispute, is the Alexandrian manuscript, which is at present in the king's library at the British Museum. Whoever examines this, will find, that the whole is written continuo ductu, without distinction of words, or sentences. How the ancients read their works written in this manner, is not easy to conceive.

After the practice of joining words together ceased, notes of distinction were placed at the end of every word. In all the editions of the Faesi Capitolini these points occur. The same are to be seen on the Columna Rostrata. For want of these, we find such confusion in the Chronicon Marmoreum, and the covenant between the Smyrnians and Magnesians, which are both now at Oxford. Salmius's edition of Dedicatio PUN

flatus ripilla Herodis, the like confusion occurs, where we find ASTITE and APOP.

Of these marks of distinction, the Walscot inscription found near Bath may serve for a specimen.

IVLIVS VITALIS FABRI CESIVS LEG XV VV V STIPENDIORUM &c.

After every word here, except at the end of a line, we see this mark. There is an inscription in Mount-saxon, which has a capital letter laid in an horizontal position, by way of interstitial mark, which makes one apt to think that this way of pointing was sometimes according to the fancy of the graver.

P. FERRARIVS HERMES CAECINIAE DIGNAE CONIVGI KARRISSIMAE NUMERIAE &c.

Here we observe after the words a T laid horizontally, but not after each word, which proves this to be of a much later age than the former.

Having now considered that the present usage of stops was unknown to the ancients, we proceed to assign the time in which this useful improvement of language began.

As it appears not to have taken place while manuscripts and monumental inscriptions were the only known methods to convey knowledge, we must conclude that it was introduced with the art of printing. The 14th century, to which we are indebted for this mystery, did not, however, below those appendages we call stops; whoever will be at the pains to examine the first printed books, will discover no stops of any kind; but arbitrary marks here and there, according to the humour of the printer. In the 15th century, we observe their first appearance. We find, from the books of this age, they were not all produced at the same time; those we meet with there in use, being only the comma, the parenthesis, the interrogation, and the full point. To prove this, we need but look into Bale's Acts of English Variories, black-letter, printed 1550. Indeed, in the dedication of this book, which is to Edward VI, we discover a colon: but, as this is the only one of the kind throughout the work, it is plain this stop was not established at this time, and so wary put in by the printer; or if it was, that it was not in common use. Thirty years after this time, in that sensible and judicious performance of Sir Thomas Elyot, entitled The Governor, imprinted 1580, we see the colon as frequently introduced as any other stop; but the semi-colon and the admiration were still wanting, neither of these being visible in this book. In Hacklott's voyages, printed 1599, we see the first instance of a semi-colon: and, as if the editors did not fully apprehend the propriety of its general admission, it is but sparingly introduced. The admiration was the last stop that was invented; and seems to have been added to the rest in a period not so far distant from our own time.

Thus we see, that these notes of distinction came into use, as learning was gradually advanced and improved, one invention indeed; but enlarged by several additions.