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ALL the words which we do vse in our tung be either na∣turall English, and most of one syllab, or borowed of the foren, and most of manie syllabs. Whereby our tung se∣meth to haue two heds, the one homeborn, the other a stranger where of either hath a great train following it. The causes of ei∣ther
be these. While the inhabitants of our cuntrie neither en∣cūbred * 1.1 their braines with much studie, neither bissied their heds with great trafik, neither pleased their fantsies with far trauell, theie vsed no other terms, thē such as their own nede enforced them vnto, which being all waie fed with home occasions desi∣red no help of forē tungs, to vtter those things with their words which were deuised without their wits. But after that the desire of learning enflamed studie, the longing for gain brought in great traffik, the delight to range, did cause men trauell, new oc∣casions brought furth new words, as either more cunning made waie to more terms, or as strange deuises did seke strange deli∣ueries. For when the minde is fraught with matter to deliuer, it is still in pain vntill it haue deliuered, and therefor to haue the deliuerie such, as maie discharge the thing well, and content all parties, both by whom and to whom the matter is deliuered, it seketh both home helps, where theie be sufficient, and signifi∣cant, and where the own home yeildeth nothing at all, or not pithie enough, it craueth help of that tung, from whence it re∣ceiued the matter of deliuerie. Hence commeth it that we haue our tung commonlie both stored and enlarged with our neigh∣bours speches, and the old learned tungs. A thing not proper to vs alone, but commō to all those, which vse anie speche in mat∣ters more then ordinarie, naie in matters aboue the brutish. The necessitie of these foren words must nedes be verie great bycause the number of them is so verie manie, as it doth ap∣pear most plainlie by the generall table, where hole ranks of enfranchised terms do match togither in one front. To whom we ar much beholden, for that theie vouchsafe to be com English to serue our nede, as their peple ar to thank our tung, for returning the like help, in cases of like nede, tho their occasions to vse ours be nothing so often, as ours to vse theirs.
This benefit of the foren tung, which we vse in ma∣king * 1.2 their termes to becom ours, with som alteration in form, according to the frame of our speche, tho with the con∣tinewing in substance of those words, which ar so vsed, that it maie appear both whence theie com, and to whom theie com, I call enfranchisment, by which verie name the words
that ar so enfranchised, becom bond to the rules of our writing, which I haue named before, as the stanger denisons be to the lawes of our cuntrie. And tho the learned enfranchiser maie somtime yeild to much to the forē, either for shew of learning, or by persuasion, that it is best so, yet he doth not well, conside∣ring that the verie natur of enfranchisment doth enforce obedi∣ence to the enfranchisers lawes, not to be measured by his bare person, but by the custom, reason & sound, of his cuntries speche. * 1.3 And as vnaduised cunning, or not sufficiētlie aduised, doth plaie to much vpon the foren string, being verie loth to leaue out anie one letter, as eleemosinarie, for amner, hospitall and victuall for spitle vitle and such other. So mere ignorance and not wil∣ling to learn, but presuming vpon it self writeth so vnwarilie, as as whole, for hole, which is manifest greke, & to begin with h, &c. And as it is verie good for our English man to know the force of his own naturall words, so it cannot be but good to know the foren, if the right in writing, be anie right worth waing, signet, for a litle signe, or seall, and cygnet, for a young swan, ar descried that waie, In signe, g, soundes not, in signify it doth. Wherefor I think it best for the strange words to yeild to our lawes, by∣cause we arboth their vsuaries & fructuaries, both to enioy their frutes, and to vse themselues, and that as near as we can, we make them mere English, as Iustiniā did make the incorporate peple, mere Romanes, and banished the terms, of both latins & yeildlings.
The vse of this enfranchisement is as large in our tung, as our nede is in deliuerie, which being capable of all arguments, makes vs subiect to all words. I know no other diuision of en∣franchised, * 1.4 words, then after the tungs fom whence we borow them, as Latin, Greke, Hebrew, Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch, Scottish, &c. Which ar freid amongst vs, as the present nede of either them with vs, or vs with them, doth sew to be in∣corporate.
Which we haue from which, it is not here so nedefull to de∣clare, where the question is not of the substance & sense of the word, but of the right writing. And yet the generall table will * 1.5 shew that I haue not bene verie negligēt that waie. But concer ning the writing, me think the cōmō mē ought to yeild therein
to the vse of those that be learned, least if theie will not, theie misse as foullie in the writing of them, as theie vse them mad∣lie, in mistaking their meaning. And again the learned in their enfranchising them must nedes haue their eie, vpon our proportiō our accent, our deriuation and such other, according to the reason, custom, and sound of our speche, reseruing that to the stranger which our tung cānot rule, as if ye once passe the third syllab, our tung is husht. To proue anie of these things by ex∣amples, which be euerie where so commō, it shall not nede. In this verie chapter of enfranchisment, tho I do not affect anie ex∣traordinarie forenism, yet how manie foreners am I constra∣ned to vse? Uerie, chapter, enfranchisment, affect, extraordina∣rie, foren, forenism, constrained, vse, in this last sentence do easi∣lie proue, that it were to foren from the matter, to seke exam∣ples offoren words. Wherefor to knit vp this note of enfranchis∣ment in few words, the English rule for writing, must be the right thereof, tho it kepe still manie signes of a stranger, tho yet incorporat with vs, which rule the Italiā semeth to obserue both wiselie and well. If ye write philosophie, ye write to much vpon the foren, if filosohie, not to much vpon the English. If ye will nedelie kepe the clear foren, it were good to vse the ordi∣narie premunition, (that it is so writen in the primitiue tung.) And whereas the learnedder sort, as Tullie him self, allow not the enterlacing of Greke words in Latin, the meaning of that their saing tendeth to this my conclusion. For if we haue of our own, as significant and as proper, what nede a rich man to be a thefe? If we haue either none or not so toward, why in our own nede, shall we not enfranchis forenners? If we mean to vse them but for a time, or to som end the premunition will be our warrant. If we mean to make them ours, then let them take an othe to be trew to our tung, and the ordinances thereof. If this point be not agrëid on, great inconueniences will follow, and all the rules, which be kept in our tung, must take exception against the foren, or the foren against them, when theie com to the writing.
Wherefor it will proue best for all parts, that our tung, & the rules of hir right writing be made the generall right. For the naturall words, the propertie is hir own, for the foren the vse
is hirs, and therefor the handling of them to hir own best.
Neither must anie learned man think it strange to write fo∣ren Englished terms after an English ear, tho it be contrarie to his acquaintance, seing it is not contrarie to the custom of his cuntrie. Neither is it anie embasing to learning, to lend the common man the vse of his learning, tho he kepe the sub∣stance: neither yet both to se, and suffer the learneddest terms that he hath, to com vnder an English hand, seing there is no dishonor ment them, where there be made peres to our own. Thus much at this time concerning the right writing of foren words, when theie becom ours to vse, and attire themselues to the English complexion, which we ourselues think reaso∣nable well of, and I as well as anie, what account soeuer my thinking maie be of, in such an argument, as I haue thought thus much of.
The cause why our words be so much borowed of the strāger.
VVhat enfrā∣chisment is.
That foren words enfran∣chised ar to yeild to our writing.
That it is best to write foren words, with the English letters after the English sound.
Rules to be ob serued in en∣franchising of foren words.