Page:The battle of the books - Guthkelch - 1908.djvu/279

Rh true," who will then be the pedant? The learned Cluverius, who made it his business to search all the books and MSS. that relate to Sicily, says "It's sometimes spelt Tauromenium, and sometimes Tauromenia, but Taurominium." And Mr B. must write at another rate than yet he has done, before the world will prefer his testimony before that of Cluverius.

Mr B. here goes a little out of his way to do right to against Mr Wotton, who had taken notice of an absurd usage of Delphos for Delphi. And because it lies a little in my way, I will do right to Mr Wotton: for indeed the case is my own; because I too have called it Delphi, and rejected the common error. Mr B. defends his Delphos upon this only pretence that it has been the "common custom" of our English writers, five of whom he names there, to call it so. An admirable reason, and worthy to be his own! As if the most palpable error that shall happen to obtain and meet with reception, must therefore never be mended. One would think he had borrowed it from the popish priest, who for thirty years together had read Mumpsimus in his Breviary