Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1817-06-24
1FOR TIE ENQCI2ER.1
PRINCIPLE, NON NOMINEES"


by a man, acquainted with the Roman CIas-
sicks, ard with the formation of his own En-
Sish tongue, although lie may not be skiifui
photographer, It may easily be uudersio God,
that among the divisions of the Latin, rs OF
every other cultivated language, is that, of
primitive words and their Specifications and
the sense, which necessity, III the first placr
now called custom, afterwards appropriated
This latter sense; / shall denomnste the reIa-
tire Specification of the word and will observe.
that the science of the moral world, is ndebt-
ed, mostly, TO this versatility of the primitive
word, this mutation of solids, into sprituals,
Tor It's present high state OF improvement. So
far by way otpreface.
Princpium" is d. fined TO mean. " begin
ming" an entrance" "a preface" &C. ; this
was the idea probably, to convey which, the
word was .;rst employed, and is formed on a
notser, pinceps, as its base, and this again, no
dou5t on prius or PRINTS. Let us suppose if
you please, that at its adoption, as a word in
the Latin vocabulary, it might have been pro-
nounced by tie Grammarians OF that dav, To
have been mlsapplied, to convey the senti-
ment, indicated, by the words principia, non
nominees" and that they should have decrced
tlie word "opiniOnes" TO be Preferable and
the word sententiae" TO be still more riSidly
correct.
In the progress of time, whose march, anorr
an industrious people, like the Romans, is al
WAYS accompanied with Improvement, il is ca
sly to Imagine, that The conceptions of phioso-
ply, could lily brook the shackles. with which
poverty Of language, had fettered them; and
that incessant warfare was kept no between
The pioneers in arts, i'm science, and in arms,
and those obstacles. which paucity of express
sion threw in their way
AS ii would be hard i'm the natural world to
form an object, resemblance to which, either
c,ose or distant, we had not before observed in
the works OF nature, so, all our images, being
fashioned on models from the natural il would
be equally difficult in the intellectual world -
Pursuing the analogy, the world of language,
after many years, became so full, that new
conceptions were instantly supplied with
words, relative and applicable, and the mind
cSud scarcely invent an image, or deduce a
conclusion, TO describe or publish which
words, whose Specification had near or re-
mote similitnde, did not promptly present
themselves. Hence we may safely conjecture,
that the appropriation of the same word to j.
IDEAS, images aud thoHghtS varying in shade,
shape, quality, &c. and still having greater
or less relation TO the original sense, became
common among the learned.
have turned to INV dictionary, for illustra-
tien. and the first word mectis testudo,"
wlich originally meant" "a tortoise" or she'll
crab," or Tortoise she'll !" afterwards when
the art of musick introduced the Lutte among
the Romans, that instrument, was. termed
"testudo." Because OF the resemblance OF
portion Of 10 that animal; the root or cover
Inc of hOnse, was so termed,iOr the same
reason, probably at first 10 particularly snap
ed roof, but afterwards used generally we
next find, that the art OF war, gave rise 10
new application Of the word, and that, an en-
,i.le. covered with raw hides, in which. the
soldier could securely hurl his weapons, re.
ceived that name, and afterwards, the word
cas employed to signify " target fence" of
snvdcscriptiOu.
Refer now. TO the word 'principium" and by
the same process we shall discover that " Prin
cpia non Iomines" is correct Latin, aud If
not, then, principles not men is bad En-
glish.
TO the philosopher and 10 the politician and
20 every veil Informed understanding, hope.
Il is not paradox, to assert, that opinions to
be correct. must be founded on principles, on
frft, original rules Among the laws, Which
seguate matter / should say, Tor Instance. that
,ficectjoa was am original principle, and if Del
~ vere now to form another sun, hurl 1t into
space, and set the bosom Of old night on
tirc,"it would be more or less influenced by the
ofbs he had before created. 30 among moral
rnles, Z" sic utere tho, ut slenum non laedere"
il sacrsd principle, aud the consummatiop Of