Page:The practice of typography; correct composition; a treatise on spelling, abbreviations, the compounding and division of words, the proper use of figures and nummerals by De Vinne, Theodore Low, 1828-1914.djvu/108



NE line drawn underneath any written word is understood as a direction to put that word in italic. This underscoring should be done by the writer wherever italic is really needed. A general direction to put in italic a class of words not so marked may not be understood when copy so neglected has to be set by many compositors.

In the sixteenth century italic was an approved letter for book texts; it is now seldom selected for that purpose, although frequently used for subheadings, running titles, important texts or paragraphs, and sometimes for prefaces. Authors of the eighteenth century made free use of italic not only as an emphasizing letter, but to enforce nice and needless distinctions between different kinds of subject-matter, as may be noticed in the following