Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1889-09-21
= PUNCTUATION POINTS.
Only the Period Dates Earlier Than this

Only the Period Dates Earlier Than ths
Fifteenth Century.
II is strange that the use OF points"
for purposes of punctuation should be
such a comparatively modern inyeD-
tion. OF the four generally used
points" only the period g dates
earlier that the fifteenth century. The
colon g. is said TO have been first in-
troduced about 1885, the comma g.
some thirty-five years later, and the
semicolon Cd about 1870 1t is difficult
to understand how the literary world
dispensed for so many centuries with
the useful "points," and their lack
must have added to the toll OF the de-
ciphcrcr ofwritten DOCUMENTS. When
we remember what curions invcrsions
of meaning may be caused by the mis-
placing OF comma.swe marvel hoy
early authors contrived to escape
strange misreadings of their works, in
which no points" guided the students.
No "point" is so hardly worked as the
comma. Some writers rarelyuse any
other stop. Many cpistolary cores
pondents still cling to the ancient
usages, and dispense as entirely with
points as did the writers Of the early
ages. This sometimes renders their
dispatches enigmatical. But it IS
easier to comprehend an unpunctualcd
than mispunctuated epistle. points
showered with free and careless
hand generally in wrong places arc
perplcxing to a reader
The work done by the various points
is very unfairly divided among them.
Some signs are in constant use, others
unknown to the general writer. The
comma is slave, the parcDthc3s
nearly as toilworn. The latter might
Justly complain Of ovcrwork, for it is
frequently pressed into service with
out any real necessity. While the
pampered mark OF interrogation, the
idle colon, the rarely used scmi-colon
are most unfairly excused by the ma
jority OF letter writer's, the comma IS
made to do the work OF two Of his
brethren. and the parenthesis utilized
to make bad grammar comprrhenslb G.
The old definition Of parcnthe-is rs
certain words introduced into u dis
cussion which are independent OF the
rest and may be omitted without any
injury to the sense or grammar would
not apply to the parenthcsis OF some
correspondents. Often the parenthesi'
carries the whole sense OF the sen
tence, or serves to make involved
phrases comprehensive, and to omi
the parenthesis would be to play Ham
let without representing the Prince o
Denmark. There is the old legend 0
the epitaph to one John Bum whit
was killed by a gun, with the explain
atory parenthcsis, Ills real nam
wasn't Bum; his real name was Wood
but as Wood didn't rhyme with gu
| thought Bum would"
Apostrophes are points whose dat
appears uncertain. Points have bee
the subject of many curious and in
genious definitions There was wicket
wit in the speaker who told deforme'
and inquisitive lady that Il mark OF in
terrogation was a crooked little thin
that asked questions. More poetica
was the printer who became an itincl
ant preacher, and informed his bearer
that Youth might be lillened to
comma, middle life to a semicoion, oil
, age to colon, and death to period.
, Modern writers, or, at least, modcr
.. printers, are less profuse in their us
+ of marks OF exclamation q and dashe
: (-) than were earlier authors an
: publishers. What an amount OF thes
"signs" are found in the novels m
plays Of some fifty and seventy yeai
: ago!
1t is said that English printers wel
the last to use the semicolOn, Englls
typographical works appearing as la'
t as l590.92 without this useful poin
r adopted by foreign printers some yeal
previously. 1t is said that the Engis
Bible of 1892 is printed without
1 semicolon; but in 1888 the full righ
J of the semicolon were established /
:. Buffers English Grammar"-LondC
/ Standard.