Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 10.djvu/387

 Origin and Meaning of Proper Names.

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��the robber, which seems to be the Roman '' Balista," an engine of war. Of course Cicero being derived from " cicer," a chicl<-|)ea or vetch, wonhl become Sir IMark Chick-pea; and Mr. Blackwell, in a Roman toga viri- lis, would become Dominns Niger- phiteus, Armiger. A Frencli author, speaking of the first Roman consuls, Brutus and Collatinus, calls them Rome." In Rome a man was called cus," from the tint of his cheek ; " FlaccusJl' from the length of his ears ;" Fronto," from the height of his brow ; " Scaurus," because he was club-footed ; " Scaevola," because he was left-handed or had lost the riglit ; Varus, because he was bow-legged ; and in English we retain traces of that word used in a moral sense, in prevaricate from ^'- proi-varlcari" to walk deviously ; and with a secondai-y meaning to swerve from the path of rectitude, to act or speak evasively. Cicero, discoursing of the gods, asks if we may suppose there is any Strabo, Silus, Flaccus, Fronto, or Capito among them ; that is, whether any god is squint-eyed, hook-nosed, flap- eared, beetle-browed, or jolt-headed. As the gods, with the exception of Vulcan, were remarkable for their beauty, they had no occasion for such descriptive names as those above quoted. They, doubtless, as well as their worshi|)pers, would be careful to select names of good omen. Livy informs us that the Romans refused to fight under "Umbrius Ater," which, from analog}', we may inter- pret to mean a pleonasm of darkness, following the example given by Cole- ridge, who called Miss I5arbauld
 * ' Les Bourgmestres de la ville de
 * ' Niger " from his complexion, '^ Fus-

��(bare and bald) " a pleonasm of nakedness." It is recorded that Au- gustus, at Actium, when going to his fleet to engage the enemy, met a man named '' Eutychus " (good fortune) driving an ass named " Nicon" I vic- tory]. After the battle, he erected a temple at Actium, and placed in it brazen images of the man and the ass for the good omen which their united names suggested. The Greeks often changed names of places which were unwelcome to their sensitive ears.

"The sunny wisdom of the Greeks

All o'er the earth is strew'd ; On every dark and awful place,

Rude hill, or haunted wood. This beautiful, hrij^ht people left

A name of omen good."

« * # *

"Unlike the children of romance,

From out wliot^e spirit deep The touch of gloom liiith passed on glen

And mountain, lake and steep; On DevWs bridge and Raven's tower.

And lovelorn Mniden^s leap.

This aversion to harsh and ill- omened names goes back to the infan- cy of our race. " The mother of all living " called her first-born son "Cain," and said, '• I have gotten a man from the Lord." But his subse- quent conduct falsified the omen, and proved that he was no " acquisition^' to the family. "A Hindoo commen- tator, explaining tlie 10th verse of the Third Book of Manon, where it is commanded to give to women sioeet and agreeable names, recommends that in these names the letter ' a ' should predominate." Owing to the complete seclusion of women in Ori- ental nations, history has had but lit- tle occasion to allude to them. The Hebrew Scriptures contain but few names of women. Only persons of distinction are mentioned. Their names were often selected according to the rule of the Hindoo critic above

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