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rally considered the earliest specimen of true English.

Hemd Furs godes hukume big on

Englenelo ande. L'hoquerd on prloand. Oub on torm on aquctam and corl on dmvoll gend igreange to alle hufe halde lande and idea bede on Buntendon schud

B&T Buten se Gel alle fire billen and bune. Bare Bre bre padesmen alle over be moare dallof heom fake beef wholen puro us and furg Bæt loandes folkon be bunenche habbet wden and schulle don in he wohnesse of gode and on bre treolfe for perfreme of Belance furg Be Behiste of Ban to forensende rodesmen. Beo stedefast and leferde in alle finge abuten ande. And be Raaten alle bye treoßem fe treol Befate heo bf ogen. Bat heo fedefi ftliche helden and beren to healden and to weren be tetneffef fær Beon makede and Beon to makien furg fan to foren. dende vædelmen

The same in Modern Characters.

Henr' burg Godes fultume King on Engleneloande Lhoaverd on Yrloand Duk on Norm' on Aquitain' and Eorl on Aniow, send igretinge to alle hişe halde ilærde and ileawede on Huntendon' Schir.

Dat witen ge wel alle bat we willen and unnen þæt þæt ure rædesmen alle oper be moare dæl of heom bat beod ichosen purg us and burg þæt loandes folk on ure kuneriche habbed idon and schullen don in be worpnesse of Gode and on ure treowpe for pe freme of pe loande burg pe besigte of pan toforeniseide rædesmen beo stedefæst and iĺestinde inn alle thinge abuten ænde. And we haaten alle ure treowe inn pe treowpe pat heo us ogen pæt heo stedefæstliche heilden and sweren to healden and to werien þe isetnesses that beon imakede and beon to makien þurg pan to foreniseide rædesmen.-See the Translation at p. 22.

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ENGLISH PROSE

CONSISTING OF

SPECIMENS OF THE LANGUAGE IN ITS EARLIEST,
SUCCEEDING, AND LATEST STAGES

WITH

NOTES EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL

AND

A SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND A CONCISE ANGLO-SAXON GRAMMAR

Intended as a Text-Book for Schools and Colleges

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PREFACE.

THE editor of this little volume claims to be the first who has presented to the public specimens of the entire English language with a commentary of illustrative notes, pointing out the various changes effected in it from age to age. His appreciation of the term "English" is that of Palgrave, Craik, Cockayne, Freeman, and others who have proved decisively that the language of Ethelbert, Beda, Ælfred, and Ælfric was "English," that the people who spoke it was the "English" people, and that the land which they occupied was Engla-land, the land of the Angles or English. The epithet Anglo-Saxon, so frequently applied to our forefathers who lived before the Norman conquest, is a misnomer of modern invention. There never was, strictly speaking, either an Anglo-Saxon nation or an Anglo-Saxon language. The use of this term has led to the disconnection, in popular estimation, of modern Englishmen from their true and noble ancestors, and to forgetfulness of the fact that our present national character, our most valued institutions, our tone, spirit, and language, are but developments of germs which began growing in this soil thirteen hundred years ago. We are too prone to speak of the Norman conquest as the beginning of our national life, whereas that event, all-important as it was, was only an episode in our history. The Norman conquest did indeed threaten the entire English nation with destruction, but the result, as we know, was, that the spirit of the native population proved to be indomitable, that the conquerors were themselves made captive, that they adopted the English name and language as their own,

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