Of the Orthographie and Congruitie of the Britan Tongue | Page 4

due to David Laing, Esq., who has kindly suggested some corrections in the list of Hume's works, in addition to what is noted above.
London, February, 1865.
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To the maest excellent in all princelie wisdom, learning, and heroical artes, JAMES, of Great Britan, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the faeth, grace, mercie, peace, honoure here and glorie hereafter.
May it please your maest excellent Majestie, I, your grace's humble servant, seeing sik uncertentie in our men's wryting, as if a man wald indyte one letter to tuentie of our best wryteres, nae tuae of the tuentie, without conference, wald agree; and that they quhae might perhapes agree, met rather be custom then knawlege, set my selfe, about a yeer syne, to seek a remedie for that maladie. Quhen I had done, refyning it, I fand in Barret's Alvearie,[3] quhilk is a dictionarie Anglico-latinum, that Sr. Thomas Smith,[4] a man of nae less worth then learning, Secretarie to Queen Elizabeth, had left a learned and judiciouse monument on the same subject. Heer consydering my aun weaknes, and meannes of my person, began to fear quhat might betyed my sillie boat in the same seas quhaer sik a man's ship was sunck in the gulf of oblivion. For the printeres and wryteres of this age, caring for noe more arte then may win the pennie, wil not paen them selfes to knau whither it be orthographie or skuiographie that doeth the turne: and schoolmasteres, quhae's sillie braine will reach no farther then the compas of their cap, content them selfes with +autos ephê+ my master said it. Quhil I thus hovered betueen hope and despare, the same Barret, in the letter E, myndes me of a star and constellation to calm al the tydes of these seaes, if it wald please the supreme Majestie to command the universitie to censure and ratifie, and the schooles to teach the future age right and wrang, if the present will not rectius sapere. Heere my harte laggared on the hope of your Majesties judgement, quhom God hath indeued with light in a sorte supernatural, if the way might be found to draue your eie, set on high materes of state, to take a glim of a thing of so mean contemplation, and yet necessarie. Quhiles I stack in this claye, it pleased God to bring your Majestie hame to visit your aun Ida. Quher I hard that your Grace, in the disputes of al purposes quherwith, after the exemple of _th_e wyse in former ages, you use to season your moat, ne quid tibi temporis sine fructu fluat, fel sundrie tymes on this subject reproving your courteoures, quha on a new conceat of finnes sum tymes spilt (as they cal it) the king's language. Quhilk thing it is reported that your Majestie not onlie refuted with impregnable reasones, but alsoe fel on Barret's opinion that you wald cause the universities mak an Inglish gra_m_mar to repres the insolencies of sik green heades. This, quhen I hard it, soe secunded my hope, that in continent I maed moien hou to convoy this litle treates to your Majesties sight, to further (if perhapes it may please your G_race_) that gud motion. In school materes, the least are not the least, because to erre in them is maest absurd. If the fundation be not sure, the maer gorgiouse the edifice the grosser the falt. Neither is it the least parte of a prince's praise, curasse rem literariam, and be his auctoritie to mend the misses that ignorant custom hath bred. Julius C?sar was noe less diligent to eternize his name be the pen then be the suord. Neither thought he it unworthie of his paines to wryte a grammar in the heat of the civil weer, quhilk was to them as the English gram_m_ar is to us; and, as it seemes noe less then necessarie, nor our's is now. Manie kinges since that tyme have advanced letteres be erecting schooles, and doting revennues to their ma_in_tenance; but few have had the knaulege them selfes to mend, or be tuiched with, the defectes or faltes crept into the boueles of learning, among quhom JAMES the first, ane of your Majesties worthie progenitoures, houbeit repressed be the iniquitie of the tyme, deserved noe smal praise; and your Majesties self noe less, co_m_manding, at your first entrie to your Roial scepter, to reform the grammar, and to teach Aristotle in his aun tongue, quhilk hes maed the greek almaest as common in Scotland as the latine. In this alsoe, if it please your Majestie to put to your hand, you have al the windes of favour in your sail; account, that al doe follow; judgement, that al doe reverence; wisdom, that al admire; learning, that stupified our scholes hearing