Thērologia, The parly of beasts, or, Morphandra, queen of the inchanted iland wherein men were found, who being transmuted to beasts, though proffer'd to be dis-inchanted, and to becom men again, yet, in regard of the crying sins and rebellious humors of the times, they prefer the life of a brute animal before that of a rational creture ... : with reflexes upon the present state of most countries in Christendom : divided into a XI sections / by Jam. Howell, Esq.

AN ADVERTISEMENT Relating to ORTOGRAPHY.

THer is a Saying, that hath gain'd the repute of a Proverb, (though it be also a kind of Reproach) That the French neither sings as he pricks, nor thinks as he speaks, nor speaks as he writes; The first proceeds from abundance of spirits, and his volatil airy nature; The second from his Exces of Complements; The third, because he wold have his Language retain still of the Romand or Latin Toung; Therfore when he writes Temps, Corps, Estoille, Advocats, &c. which com from Tempus, Corpus Stella, Advocati, he pronounceth them, Tan, Cors, Etoilis, Avocà; The English may be said to be as guilty hereof, for if the French writes, Apres la tempeste vient le beau temps, and pronounceth, Apre la tampete vien le bou tan, After a Storm comes a Calm; If the French writes, Les Advocats bastissent leuers mai∣sons de testes de fols, and pronounceth, Les avocà batisset leur mesons de tete de fous, Lawyers build their houses of Fools heads, (viz. Clients) The English comes not short of him, for wheras he writes, God give you good Evening, he often saies, Godi godin; Wheras he writes, Much good may it do unto you, he often pronoun∣ceth, Musgiditty: The French do labor daily to reform this, and to bring both Writing and Pronounciation to be consonant, by retrenching the superfluous letters, for wheras they were used to write, Les Epistres que les Apostres ont Escrit, they now write as they pronounce, Les Epitres que les Apotres ont ecrit: It hath bin the aim of the Author in this Book (and others) to do the like, (though the Presse did not observe his Ortography so

punctually). Now, Strangers use to quarrel with our Language, and throw away the Book in a chase som∣times, because our writing and pronunciation are so differing; For when a stranger meets with treasure, measure, feature, reader, weather, people, &c. he pro∣nounceth tre-asure, me-asure, fe-ature, re-ader, we-ather, pe-ople; When he meets with witnesse, sicknesse, wittie, prettie, pittie, starre, warre, &c. he pronounceth witness-e, sickness-e, witti-e, pretti-e, pitti-e, starr-e, warr-e, &c. Wheras if we wold write them as wee pronounce them, viz. Tresure, mesure, feture, reder, wether, peeple, witnes, sicknes, witty, pretty, pitty, star, war, &c. (which gives altogether as full a prolation) stran∣gers wold not find such a difficulty and distast in lear∣ning our Language; It hath bin, and is still the ende∣vor of the Author to reform this, as also to bring those words which are derived from the Latin Toung to follow her Ortography rather then the French, wherby divers Letters are sav'd, as Magic, Tysic, Colic, Favor, Lahor, &c. not Magique, Physique, Cholique, Favour, Labour, &c. For as it is a Principle in Philosophy, Encia non sunt frustra multiplicanda, Entities are not to be multiplied in vain, so it may as well hold in Ortogra∣phy, That Letters are not to he multiplied to no purpose; Add hereunto the Topicall Rule, (as the Author ob∣serves els-where) Frustra sit per plura quod fieri potest per pauciora, More is waste, whe•…•… fewer will serve one turn.