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and terms, used by the Greeks, found
some such method as that proposed by
Mr. Hall, they would not have made so
many blunders respecting the terms,
the accent, the speili g, and pronuncia-
tion, of the words they adopted. Had
they, for instance, known how the
Greeks pronounced the word λαγως, ο
hare, they never would have translated
Had they
and pronounced it lepus.
known the force of the spiritus asper,
as it is termed among the Greeks, they
would not have put s before in, to
creep and made serpo of it.

Bu, in the early part of their history,
to have
the Greeks themselves seem
been in a similar situation with the
Romans. From the term Jupiter Am-
mon, and a variety of others in their
mythology, the Greeks appear to have
borrowed many things from the Jews:
they seem, however, to have been as ig-
norant of the pronunciation and mean-
ing of many of the terms of arts, law,
religion, &c. which they borrowed, as
we are at this day, respecting the tunes,
cadences, musical instruments, instruc-
tions, &c. mentioned in the titles of
many of the Psalms of David. In a
word, were it not that some of the
Greek and Latin poets have made cer-
tain of their lines and verses clink
and correspond with each other, we
should have been at a loss to know, not
only how their words, but even how
many of the letters of their alphabet, are
sounded. The rhyme, and corresponding,
sounds, introduced into the poetical
Compositions of modern times, will be of
some use in informing posterity how the
languages of the present day are sound-
ed; but, as some words, considerably
different in sound, are made to clink
with one another, it may happen that
posterity will be at a loss as to the true,
The adoption
pronunciation of many.
of some such plan as Mr. Hall pro-
poses, might, undoubtedly, partly help
them in this particular. I am, with a
high sense of the value of many of your
numbers, an old friend, though
-Clapham.

A NEW CORRESPONDENT.

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Frederic Accum as the professor of chemistry and mineralogy, shall we be accused of any undue preference, if we represent him as affording great delight, as well as instruction, to the numerous auditors who attend. his lectures. There are also very highly qualified professors of natural and moral philosophy, &c. The reading-rooms were opened for the proprietors on the 1st of May, 1808. Lectures on chemistry, mineralogy, natural philosophy, and other subjects, were commenced by Mr. Accum, and Mr. Jackson, in November following."

Now the truth is, that some months before the opening of the establishment, and before the theatre was fit to receive an audience, Mr. Jackson gave three lectures on different subjects, before the managers and a number of the proprietors, as specimens of his abilities as a public lecturer; and so much were these lectures to their satisfaction, that he was immediately engaged to give a course of thirty on natural philosophy, and thirty on chemistry. This course he commenced in the theatre of the Surry Institution, some time in October 1808; and completed, in due time, with great credit to himself, and with apparent satisfaction to the managers. And it is but justice to state, that all the lectures on natural and experimental philosophy, astronomy, and chemistry, given that season at the institution, were by Mr. Jackson. Twenty of this course delivered before it was known that Mr. Accun was to lecture at the same in stitution; and Mr. Accum's course, which was on mineralogy, and delivered gratis, did not commence tilt the followI wish this true statement ing year. to be made public, that it may counteract any effects of the other, which might be injurious to the reputation of a respectable and industrious lecturer. A LOVER OF TRUTH. Nov. 6, 1809.

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SIR, late numbers, I proof N one your mised explanations of such names of stations in Antoninus, as have never been rationally explained. In the following examples, as in iny former letters, I shall endeavour to explain our oid Celtic A great number of these, Mr. terus. Editor, have hitherto been totally unknown in their imports, others have been imperfectly rendered, and many so rididible eulously derived, that it is scarcely cre

dible that our antiquaries who have exhibited their interpretations, could seriously have believed in their being applicable. The present letter will abundantly prove these assertions.

London to Benonis.

Londinium has been derived from various sources; but a rational explanation cannot be drawn from them. The old foundation of this city is traced in Maitland's History of London: it was fifty feet lower than at present at St. Paul's; and must, from his account, have been marshy, and often overflowed by the tides. Lon, or Lun, implies in the Gaelic, a lake, a pond, or marsh; and even a stream, as in the rivers Lone and Lune. Din, translated Don by the Saxons, implies, as will hereafter be shown, Land, Among the Fens of Lincoln, on Boston Dyke, we have London Eastcote, a territory similar to our London in its ancient state; and this name implies, from the above, the Fen Land. London will, from hence, be rationally explained by, the Stream or Marsh Land.

Sullonacis, or Sulloniacis, the next station, is derived by Mr. Baxter, Dr. Stukeley, and others, from Cassibellanus; and Mr. Sharpe, who lived on the spot at Brockley Hill, erected there an obelisk, with inscriptions to this purport. To Cassibellanus I also could wish to give the honour of naming this station; but the derivation of Sullonacis from Cassibel. Janus, brings to remembrance the derivation of Hartland Peint from Hercules. Hill has often been written in old names, Hull; as at Hull Bishop, in Somerset, called also Hill Bishop." In the Gaelic there is no H; and where other languages began with an H, the Gaelic often used an S; hence Sil, or Sul, in old names, implied Hill.* On meant Land, and Ac Ridge, or Border, as shown in a former letter: Sullonacis will there fore imply, the Hill Land Ridge or Border settlement. Brockley is the present name, derived from Braighe, a Hill, changed to Braiche, Broiche, and Brock: Ley implies Land; and Brock ley, Hill Land.

So much has been said by authors, of the import of the word Cassibellanus, that there seems no room for more to be introduced: but Cassieuchlan, Cassibellan, and Cassivellan, are synonymes. I have explained the first in a former letter. Euch there is the same as Vel,

In the word Silures, Ur is Border, and the name implies the Hill Burderers.

or Bel, here; each means Border: and these terms, contrary to all the interpretations of our antiquaries, imply no more when applied to Cassibellanus,

than the Stream Borderer.

Verolanium is the next station, which is explained in my last.

Durocobrius, called also Durocobrizæ, comes next. Dunstable is the Durocobius of the Itinerary; but many writers conceive, that it hath been transposed by some early copvists, and that it should follow Magio-vinnio. Magiovannio hath then been supposed Dunstable; and from Mues and Gwin, two Welsh words, it hath been rendered the White Camp, or the White Field. Our old antiquaries, acquiescing in this translation, consi dered themselves obliged to fix Magintum on the chalk-hill, or plain, of Dunstable; but where to place Durocobrius was a difficulty. Mr. Gale, making a traverse from the direct road, carried it to liertford; but in doing this, his distance from Dunstable was too great: Dr. Stukeley therefore departed from the main road to Berkhamstead. Later writers, considering the White Field, and the White Plain, of not sufficient authority to overturn the Itinerary in its different routes, and finding Richard's Itinerary to corroborate the statements in Antoninus, have again followed these authors; whilst others still suppose, that these names have been transposed: so little have antiquaries attended to this necessary part of their task, the analysing of old names for the features of nature, that the roots and serviles in these names have been unknown for ages; nor have they generally understood, that many of the present names are translations of older ones.—But to return: Durocobrius is derived from Du, Land, Roc, Plain, and Bri, a Hill. All our writers have been at a loss to account for Brius, which hath evidently been changed in the dative case to Brive; and they have universally rendered it a Bridge, or a Ford. But no proof more is necessary, than the explanation here given, to show that they have been, in this word, all mistaken: and it will be suflicient, it more proof be required, to say, that at Dunstable, no Water, no Bridge, nor Ford, is to be found; and that the before-mentioned appellation of the Plain Lund Hill suits exactly its situation.

Of the translation Dunstable we must next speak; but of Dun, much has lately been written: much more, Mr. Editor, than necessary for any purpose,

except to show, that authors and critics have misunderstood it. I must therefore examine this term; and this, because other words for Hill come in the same questionable shape.

The words In, En, An, On, and Un, in the language which gave names to the features of nature, imply Land; neither of which, it must be observed, are roots for Hill. They often take D and Tas prefixes, and mean Land: and if D and Timply Inclosed, as some authors have asserted, they will then imply Inclosed Land only. In Devon there is some The term hill land named Haldon. Hal is Hill; and Don the Land. On one side of the hill lies Childley, written in Doomsday Book Chiderlein; derived from Ceide, or Cheide, a Hill, Er, Border, and Ley, Land. On an end of this hill, is Penhill. The old name of the parish on which it lies, is Dunchidic; in which Chid, is also hill; Ic, is a diminutive; and Dun, the land: and the little Hill Land In these describes exactly the district. words then, as well as in Dunhill, Dunald, Dunbury, Dunbar, Dunkeld, Dunkellin, and other names, the words Don and Dun may be reckoned Land only. But when Dun is written for Hill, which it often is, Dun-a, or Dun-ais, is, I conceive, understood: the first, as in Dun. acombe, Dunaford, &c.: the second, as contracted in Duns, in Scotland, a territory which stands on rising ground, in the midst of the county of Mers. But Dun, as a contraction, is often put for Hill; and as U was often pronounced as I in old terms, Din has been rendered Ilill also. Further, hills were often fortified, and the names for hills were often adopted for the names of forts. Din, and Dun, have therefore been rendered Thus Dun, in fort, or fortified hill. Dunbarton, is applied as a fort; Bar, is head or hill; and ton, the land. Camden says, that this place was ced Dunbritton; and he derives it from the Britons, because, he says, "The Britons held it longer than any other place against the Scots, Picts, and Saxons: for both by nature and situation, it is the strongest castle in all Scotland," &c. Thus far I quote Camden; but he mistook: for Bri and Bur are synonymnes, and each means hill or head. It were an easy matter to prove, that Britain also General Valimplies the Hill Land. lancey says, that in the Eastern languages, islands are termed hill lands. In the Gaelic, I is an island, or elevated surface; and i is a hill: and this last word implies nearly perhaps the same as I.

In like manner Mon has, in composition of names, been supposed to imply hill; but in this too, Mon-adh, or Monais, hill land, or great hill, isnderstood. The first of these is often written Mona; the second is contracted in Mons. Ou the contrary, Col, in Collis, implies hill, or head; but Is being a diminutive, Collis implies the little Head, or little Hill.

Moreover, Pen, or Pin, is said. to imply hili; and if P mean convexity, elevation, &c. as some authors have asserted, this may find claim thereto; and yet the ancients added, even to this word, A, the Gaelic for a hill, in Pinna. The Saxons pronounced and wrote this word Pinhau, Pinhou, and Pinhoe: their word Hoe being derived from A, the Gaelic for hill, pronounced Au; and writ ten as pronounced with the aspirate h, Hau: hence Hau, Hou, How, and Hoe, for hill. To this we may add, that we have the name Penhill in various places, all of which show, that Pen was not considered as generally implying hill; but only head, point, or end: and that hill was added to distinguish it from lower grounds, forming points or ends of lands.

Having spoken of the word Dun, I will now compare Durocobrius with Dunstable; and here must observe, that Bri was translated Dun, or Duns; and Duroc, Stable, or Table; you will, Mr. Editor, judge which.

A market, or a place for the public exposure of goods, was, by a northern nation, named a Stapel; and the Saxons are supposed to have used the word in this sense, in translating names of places ending in Stable, or Staple. But in old names, I know not of a more ridiculous supposition; and yet it hath passed as It is my fortune, Mr. truth for ages. Editor, to attack vulgar errors; and whatever I have written on this subject, may well be accounted disquisitions upon them.

A stable for a horse is derived from Sta, a stand, and Peall, a horse; and it literally implies a Horse Stand, or a Horse House. In like manner Buile, a tribe, a town, a place, a station, or settlement; or Balla, a wall, a rampart, or fort; and Sta, a stand; may imply the tribe habitation, the town, or the station; or the walled place, or fort.

Bar further, Tubh, Tav, or Pat may imply the ocean, or water; and by a comparison of surfaces, a level, or plain, may be inferred. This obtains also in the word Equor, wherein from a level the sea is inferred. In my last, i showed

that

that Ur in Tybur, was changed to Ol in Tivoli. Ur means border land, land, or border; and as Ur is only a variation of Er, border; so Ol is only a variation of El, in Tabel, or Tuule. The word Tabel, or Table, may therefore imply the Plain Land; and Dunstable will be an exact translation of Durocobrius. I shail just add, that we have a Tuote Hill at the Cape of Good Hope; and that the situation of Barnstaple is on a plam corresponding exactly with the explanation here given to Table.

The term Mad, in Madning Bower, or Madhin or Maiden Bower; and in Madning Money; (names given to the old camp on this plain, and to the money found there, the explanations of which are unknown,) is derived from Madh, a hill, or plam: Ning, In, and En, imply, as will be shown, land. The name Madhin, Madin, or Maiden Bower, may be deriven from Ber, or Bor, border; or it may be a corruption of Burg, a fort or village. Muiden Bower will then imply the bill or plain land border or foit: Madning Money the hil, or plain land money. But enough of Durocobrius, its camp, and its money: we next arrive at our fifth station,

Magio-vinnio. Magh, Gaelic for a plain, may be derived from the root Aigle, a hit; and may be rendered hill, or plain. The letter M is often prefixed to terms of magnitude in description; and it will be worthy of remark, that many of the roots for hills and plains are the same. The reason of this strange comcidence is, that many words imply depth as well as height; and that the tops of hills, or elevated lands, as well as bottoms, often contain level grounds. Vin, in Magio-vinio, is written Nin in Magio-ninnium, and In in Magintum: all of which are names for this station. When a syllable ends with a vowel, and a vowel is to begin another, a consonant is generally prefixed in oid names. Thus the Trino-antes are generally written Trinobautes, and Trinovantes. The sylables Vin, Nin, and In, are, from what has been said, synonymes, and each impues land. But the present name is sad be, the Auld Fields, or the Old Fields, and to be at a little distance from Fenny Stratford. There is in Devon a parish named Hennock, written in Doomsday Book dinech, and Hanoch: a celebrated etymologist, finding Hen, in Welsh, to meaŭ old; and Choc, in frish, to imply Him; rendered Hennock, old Hill: but he searched not for the new

ones. This place was derived from the Gaelic word, Aonach; and we might render it the Market, as the word Stable is usually rendered; for Aonach also ime plics a market: but in description of places, although we must have recourse to their features, we need not enquire whether they are old or young, nor whether in ancient times they had markets, or fairs. Aonach is said, by Gaelic writers, to imply Hill; but Gaelic writers, like antiquaries, seldom analyse their

own words: for Aonach means Hill Land, and describes the land of Hennock. The Saxon translation, Auld Fields, was derived from Magh, a plain, or field: Vin, Land, was mistaken for Fion, Old; and the misapplica ion of the terms, as a translation of Magintum, is evident; and yet it is obvious, that Magio-vinnio was the name from whence Old Fields was derived.

The

Camps, forts, towns, villages, and resting-places, took the ancient names of lands on which they stood; and hence we have seldom any particular names for these in very ancient appellations. word Ton, originally Land, was transferred to the erections upon it. Ais, Gaelic for a hill is also the name of a fort. The word Hum, originally Border, has been termed village, town, &c. Cosan implies a foot-way: in which Cos is foot; and An, the land or road. Greas‐ lann is an inn; and this word means literally a guest-house, in which Lann implies land, as well as house. I have in a former letter stated, that in the word Armin, Arm implies the army, and In the land or road; and this road was constructed for the army. Hence then words for land were chosen for names of roads, and of inus: and In, or Inn, too was thus chosen, for an Inn-House implies a road-house.--Further, Vin, or Ven, being synonymes of In, this would natally imply the same. To the ending in n, at was often added; and hence Ven would become Vent. To the strong ending in t, the letter a was often postfixed, to recover the voice from dwelling on the syllable: Ta was also à plural ending. Hence Venta is an inn in the Spanish, as well as in the Gaelic; and in the Spanish, it also means a sale. In English we say that we want a l'ent for our goods, when we want a sale, or a place of sale, for them. From the ventas in Spain being iuns, or restingplaces, many became towns of accommodation, passage, trade, &c. and a great number of towns in that kingdom

have the name Venta in their endings.
We also had our Venta Belgarum, Venta
Icenorum, and Venta Siturum: names
which have never been rightly under-
stood or rendered by our antiquaries.
Of the word Isca, as well as Venta,
much has been wirtten. Leon, or Lion,
in Caer Leon, the translation of Isca
Silurum, has been rendered, in a learned
disquisition by a Welsh etymologist of
the first cminence, "The Waters." Exon,
the translation of Isca Danmoniorum,
must therefore be translated the same.
But the translation Waters describes
I am
not the situation of these places.
aware that A, An, and On, are plural
endings in common words; but they are
not often so when applied in description
of places. Exon was higher from the
river formerly, than it is at present. The
letter A is Gaelic for a hill; Isca
might therefore imply, the Water Hill.*
The Saxons seem to have supposed to
be a contraction of dn or On, which was
a term for land; and hence Exon meant
the water land. The same must be said
of Leon, or Lion, in Caerleon. The
mistake of our etymologists arises from
their not distinguishing augments and
diminutives, and some words for land, in
old names of places, from the plural
endings of their common words. From
augments and diminutives we have de-
rived these plural endings. As augments
and diminutives in description, they im-
ply great or little as plural endings in
common words, they mean many or few,
This may appear strange, but is not more
strange than true; and it is a curious
fact, that from etymologists' not knowing
the difference, their translations in these
points have never been applicable in
description.

I have now removed many difficulties; and proceed to Lactorodo, or Lactodoro. This name has been derived by our antiquaries from Lach, a stone, and Dour, water: but by monsieur Bullet, in his Celtic Dictionary, from Luch, a stone, and Torri, to cut. Somewhat like this was Bremenium explained by a learned writer from Bre and Maen, which he rendered the high stone. The name of Whitstone, in Cornwall, was derived by Mr. Hals, who wrote its parochial his tory, from the White Stone mentioned in the Revelations! In the county of

In like manner, Venta, originally im. plied, the Hill Lands.

tii. 17.

Devon there is a parish named Huxham.
In this word, Ur, with the aspirate H,
implies, the Water; and Ham is border:
but an etymologist rendered Hur, hook;
and stated that the place was formerly
the Habitation of Hook or Crook! İ
confess that the above derivations were
gotten, like this last, "by hook or crook :"
for neither the Water Stone, nor the
High Stone, nor the to cut a Stone, nor
the White Stone in the Revelations, is
applicable in description of names of old
In Lactorodo, Las implies
To in Lacto, is the
a lake, or stream.
same as To, or Tou, in Brito, or Britou,
Bri implies
an old name of Bristol.

settlements.

ill; and To or Tou, being a synonyme of Tol, whose root is Ol, implies border land, or border, by this letter. Stowe, and Stol, (words whose origin is unknown,) being also synonymes of Tou, and Tol, in Britou, Britol, Bristow, and Bristol, all names of this city, must also imply the same. Moreover, Rod implies a passage, or road; and Dor, from Dorus, a passage or door, will imply nearly the same: and hence Luc torodo will imply the Lake or Stream Border, Passage, or Road. In Luctorodo, the Saxons seem to have considered To as Too, Tow, or Toffe, a stream, in their Lac, from translation Tofficeaster: Lach, they may have reckoned fort, or camp; but Doro, in this case, must have been omitted in their translation. On the contrary, if Dor was considered by them the inclosed border, or camp; then they sunk Lac, in rendering the name. In either then, or in any case, their translation seems to be a very partial, if not an erroneous, one. tion is,

The next sta

Bennaventa. As B and P were in some languages the same letter, what I have already said of Pinna, and Vin, Ven, and Venta, will be sufficient. I shall however mention, that stations and canips were not generally, in ancient times, places of passage; but the public roads rather lay in sight, or passed by, Some stations than through them. there were which lay on the road, and were so placed for its protection: to such the term l'enta was applicably given. Bennaventa is said to have been situated at a place called Burnt Walls. We have the name Burnt, or Brent Wood. Ber is sometimes written Bre; and hence Ber-en, Head or Hill Land, has been contracted to Bern and Burn, and changed to Bren: to the ending in

N, a

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