Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-23
ORIGIN
Invented by Egyptians and
Perfected by Latins.
.TULLIUS TIRO'S RARE TOME
House of Commons Now Uses Steno.
graphic Reports.
WHO CAN ENTER PARLIAMENT
Unrepealed Religious Laws Of Great
Britain Invoked for Special Rea-
sons Occasionally.
TULLIUS TIRO'S RARE TOME
WHO CAN ENTER PARLIAMENT
By WILLIAM F.. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.
Written for The star and the Chicago Record
Herald
The British Museum has recently Sc
cured parchment book containing
method of shorthand writing in Latin,
invented and used by Tullius Trio. the
freedman private secretary of Cicero. 1t
contains about 200 pages, covered with
symbols inscribed in a large bold hand
in ink so permanent that the lettering is
as perfect and as bright today as it could
have been when it was first written. The
symbols are in columns, with the defini-
ton written in smaller characters beside
them. and arranged alphabetically. three
columns to the page. with an average Of
thirty words to the column, making alto.
gether about $1,000 signs. each represent
ing a word or combination of words.
The system is the same as that now used
by stenographers of this generation, and
l have no doubt that many of the signs
are identical. The relic must be of alb
sorbing interest to modern stenographers.
and l took the liberty to suggest to the
gentleman In charge at the British Mu-
scum that he invite some accomplished
shorthand writer to prepare a compare
tive study of Tiros method with that in
use today.
Egyptians Invented Stenography.
The book is we'll known among biblio-
graphers and was fully described by Prof.
Ulrico f. Kopp of Mannheim, Germany,
in his Photographed Critica, Vol. ], pp..
294 ct sea-. published in 1917. kopp says
the Egyptians were the inventors of ste
biography, and that systems of shorthand
were used by the ancient Hebrews who
undoubtedly initiated the Egyptian
methods. He quotes Psalm. XIV, MY
tongue is the pen Of ready writer, as
a reference to stenography. He also
quotes Xenophon as saying that Diogenes
used what he called 'Tachygraphiam."
system of abbreviations to economize time
and labor in writing. but his manuscript
was illegible to other persons who were
not familiar with the signs used. The
Greeks had several systems of shorthand,
but so far as known they were the in
vention and the property of those who
used them and were not taught in the
schools. Prof. Kopp tells US that Tiro's
was the first complete system ever re-
corded in Latin, and was undoubtedly the
most perfect, scientific and comprehen-
sive that was known up to his time
Bright and Willis Revived It.
After the fall of the Roman empire
| there was gap in the use, or at least
in our knowledge, of stenography until
the beginning of the eighteenth century,
when DIR. Timothy Bright and John Will
lis developed system that came into
general use Since their time not less
that four hundred and eighty methods
have been invented and taught in the
civilized countries. The greatest and
most general use of stenography has
been in England. 1t was adopted in the
house of commons as early as 1888, when
John Byron was employed as reporter
Of debates, and an act of parliament was
passed to protect him from imitators.
Many literary men in those days used
authorizations and signs in their manu-
scripts, and 1t has been contended that
some of Shakespeare's plays were written
in shorthand. Samuel Pepys' famous
diary was written in system of short
hand invented by Thomas Shelton. He
for generation taught the method in
London to public men. literary men,
lawyers and other professionals who
had great deal of writing to do. and
! desired to economize their time and labor.
About the middle of the eighteenth CEN
fury stenOgraphy became fashionable in
| society, and friends frequently carried on
their correspondence in the Byron and
the Shelton sign languages.
Isaac Pitman of Bath England COM
bined and perfected those two systems
in 1887. and his brother: Ben Pitman
of Cincinnati, introduced the method in
the United States. His chief rival was
Andrew j. Graham of New York. whose
system was used in several of the courts
of that city. and became almost as
popular as the Pitman system.
Tullius Tiro's Book.
Tiro's shorthand book was discovered
in a Roman library about 100 years
passed into possession of the Turvlle
England from whom it was obtained by
to have ever had any other owner. and
the museum officials were not willing
to give me any information concerning
the price paid for it. 1t is however. one
of the most valuable manuscripts in their
Incompatible collection. and the perfect
condition in which il now appears, after
nineteen centuries, is remarkable.
The title of the book. written in Eng
liSh by some former owner. probably one
of the Turville family. is:
Cicero: His Dictionary OF Cyfers.''
At the beginning several pages are de-
voted to a collection of prayers to pagan
| gods, which appear to be in the nature OF
| dedication, but they too long to
quote. The last few pages of the book
contain memoranda in Latin, with notes
| and suggestions that appear to have been
| jotted down from time to time by the
1
The manuscript is not yet Oh exhibition,
| but is still retained in the manuscript de-
| partunent OF the British Museum awaiting
| further study before being catalogued.
House of Commons Adopts System.
The house of commons has just adopted
system of verbatim reporting similar TO
that used in our Congress. which was
| investigated by Sir Courtenay Ilbert,
| clerk of the house of commons while he
was making visit TO Washington last
winter Hitherto the verbatim proceed
| ings Of the British parliament have been
published only in the London Times, and
reported at the expense of it's owners,
pensation whatever. There has also been
| a sort of semi-ofiicial publication which
prints certain speeches of especial im-
portance but the routine proceedings have
been reported only in the journal and the
Times. At the present session, however,
a staff OF Stenographers was introduced
into the house, and the reports of the
London Times will be duplicated Off cially
hereafter in daily publication corre-
spending to our Congressional Record
The Times still continues its verbatim re-
ports. which seems to be a useless expen-
diture of time and money and Is merely
to crafty the pride of that paper and to
illustrate the reluctance that all English
men have to relinquish a custom or ADAM
don a tradition. 1t has been one of the
proudest boasts of the Times that every
word that has been uttered in the British
parliament has been printed in it's columns
from the day that paper was founded
Il