Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-01-18

bushes maiden's cheek, and cause her
young heart to futter with quick throb-
bings, and even consent to lose q part of
her own name at last In exchange for it;
while the potency of name over the sus-
capabilities of the other sex is attested by
the bark of innumersble trees and the in
scriptions ON innumerable walls, and the
inOrdinate consumption of paper and ink
in acrostics and fiourishes Of chirography
and poetry, concerning that name that
passes from the dull list of vulgar patro-
nymics and becomes a radiant spell of
witchery, syllable of light, talisman
of woven rsinbows and of smiles.
The Importance, then, of the part that
is played by names in human affairs
makes it surprising that we know SO little
about their origin. 1t is true that history
could not record that origin very easily,
for they antedsted history, and make his
tory possible. Without names, history
could never have been written. But it is
surprising that after history began her
work, she should have recorded so little
in regard to q class of facts that is SO i'm
portant.
1t may, therefore, not be without in
struction and interest, if we gather d few
of the fragments that lie scattered over
the field of history, and present some of
the facts and thoughts that come to hand
respecting names and surpames. Names
and surnames have been coupled together,
for what may be called the philosophy of
the subject cannot be brought out dis
tinctly without thus considering them.
Although they are now found together
and each man has not only name, but a
surname, it was not always 50 and here
we reach one of the significant facts of
this subject. There is, in the
history of every people, an age of
names which precedes the age of sur
names, and marks an earlier period in
their history-a period ruder and simpler
and nearer the primitive stage of savage
life. Hence we have only to know the
fact, whether people use names alone,
or add, also, surnames, to determine their
position in the scale of historical develop
ment. We have, therefore, simple
classification of the history of every race
into the name period, the surname
period and the transition period from
one to the other, from each of which we
shall be able TO gather some import ant
historical facts.
We commence with the name period
of history, the first Characteristic of which
is, that each individual has but q single
name and no surname; and the second is,
that this name was originally significant.
The earliest periods in the history of a
race are marked by the simplest names
names derived from objects of sense.
The more advanced periods develop names
derived from objects of reason or faith;
hence we have the period of natural nom
inalism and the period of supernatural
nominalism. The earliest recorded rs INES
are those of the Bible, which bear the
nsturslistic character and belong to the
most primitive period.
The speaker then mentioned several
examples of this class of Bible names,
such as Adam, Eve, Cain, ETC., and gave
their Specification. These names, he
continued, evidently mark the earliest
stages of history, when names were
given because of some manifest charac-
teristic of the people bearing them.
Among our American Indians we have
''Rose in the Bush" 'Red Cloud,''
"Hole-in-the-Wsll," etc. They belong to
the sense period, when objects of sense
were used as names. Then, as we ad-
vance in Jewish history, we find period
when names begin to assume new char
acter, and become expressions, first of
memory, and then of hope and faith. So
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are memo
rial names, and indicate high stage of
historical development, where the era of
sense passes into that of intellect and
makes way for the third era of reflection
the era of faith and hope. This era is
marked by the innumerable names ending
in dh, which is a contraction for the
sacred name Jehovah. Thus we reach
a historical test that we may Spply to any
nation, and thus determine its position in
the scale of national development. The
sense period, the memory period, and
the faith period exist as successive stages
in the advancement of people to cult
walton and refinement
The Doctor applied this test to the
Egyptians, showing that in the time of
Moses, Egypt had passed from the sense
period to the faith period, and that this
faith was polytheistic, but that it had Lot
reached the elevation of the lower classes.
The same theological element was point
ed out among the Hindoos and also among
other Asiatic nations, especially the Sara
cenic family.
Coming to the Greeks, the speaker
showed that the Grecians never went be-
yond the name period, bringing out the
peculiarly of the Greek race, that it was
designed to develop the individual man
rather than the collective man. The
Greek names were shown to indicate an
advanced state of development, but not
the theelogical-ss in the case of the
Egyptian and Hebrew people. In &C
cordance with the general law we have
discovered, most of the early mythology
cal names are drawn from Offices of ma
ture. When we reach the historical
epoch, we notice that the intercourse of
the Greeks with Egypt introduced new
element, making the names a record of
the intermixture of foreign elements.
To distinguish individuals wearing the
same name, the name of the father was
used, as Socrates the son of Sophronicus.
In the fiourishing period of Attic wit, it
was ingenious in the invention of nick
names. Demosthenes was called Batalos,
the sufferer; so frigid poet named
Theognis was called old SnOtO. Greek
names indicate the history, and CORES
pond precisely with the position of the
respective commonwealth in historic de-
velopment.
In the Roman history we find the same
law existing in a more striking
form. The early Romans had but single
name, as Romulus, Remus, etc. AS
Rome developed into a great Republic,
we find another system of nomenclature,
and reach for the first time in history, the
surname period of historical develop
ment, indicating the existence of large
population and regular legal forms in
which it was necessary not only to dis
tinguish one man from another, but also
one family from another; hence we find
one of the most perfect systems of no.
menclature ever used in the world. The
Romans had three names to express their
relations, the preTOnIe1l, the 9lOn1ers, and
the cOgnO7neu, Or the pre-name, the
name and the surname-the first designa-
ting the individual, the second, the
gems, and the third the family. Thus,
Publius Cornelius Scipio meant Publius,
of the Comedian gems and the family OF
the Scipios. These names stand exactly