Italic

“ Italic is used in the following words, phrases, and abbreviations employed in literary and legal references: e.g., ibid, idem, loc. cit., op. cit., ad loc., s.v., supra, infra, passim, vide, circa (ca.) . Exceptions: cf., i.e., e.g., v. (versus) , viz., etc., which are always roman.
10. Punctuation marks which are placed after italicized words should be italic.
Italic is used:
1. For the names of plaintiff and defendant in the citation of legal causes.
2. In algebraic, geometric, and similar matter to designate unknown quantities, lines, etc. ”

“ Sometimes employing forms of Italic capitals and small letters little removed from type, he will again give us an example of his handiwork in which Italic is used with examplary freedom, as is shown in the specimen from a book catalogue, 109. The modern trick of wide spacing often lends itself aptly to the swing and freedom of the swashed and flourished lines of Script, as may be seen in figure 207. ”

“ Modern usage wisely consigns italic to a subordinate place, but in point of beauty combined with convenience, it may well be questioned if four centuries of printing have made any advance upon this page.
In nearly every library for scholars is to be found a row of plump little books that never fail to catch the eye of the sightseer. ”

“ Corrections were made in the text where part of a phrase or name was only partially italic. For example, on page 34, the "F." of Mr. F. on one part of dialogue had been printed as "Mr. F." These things were repaired.
The remaining corrections made are listed below and also indicated by dotted lines under the corrections. Scroll the mouse over the word and the original text will appear. ”

“ Where there is too much emphasis attempted no emphasis is secured. This fault was much more common formerly than now.
The accompanying reproduction of a page from a book printed in 1690 (place not given, but probably London) illustrates several of the faulty uses of italics common at that time. An entire paragraph is italicized (quite unnecessarily) for emphasis. All proper names and adjectives derived from them are italicized where they occur in the regular text and printed in roman where they occur in italicized passages. ”

“ Emphatic words are often denoted by italics, and a still stronger emphasis by SMALL CAPITALS or CAPITALS, according to the degree of emphasis desired.
REMARK 2.—Emphasis constitutes the most important feature in reading and speaking, and, properly applied, gives life and character to language. Accent, inflection, and indeed everything yields to emphasis.
REMARK 3.—In the following examples it will be seen that accent is governed by it.
EXAMPLES. What is done cannot be undone. ”

“ This habit of italicizing insignificant words and unimportant phrases passes into the life as well as the voice and the handwriting of a man, and people who act in italics and Roman capitals are quite as common as those who speak and write in them. ”

“ XIII. Italicize letters used to designate quantities, lines, etc., in algebraic, geometrical, and similar matter, and in explanation of diagrams and illustrations.
(a+b) 2=a2+2ab+b2; the line a c=the line a b; the nth power; at the point B.
XIV. Italicize particular letters of the alphabet when referred to as such.
We use a much more frequently than q.
[12] XV. Authorities in science differ in the use of italics and capitals. In strictly scientific matter it is better to follow copy if the copy is intelligently prepared; if not, follow some recognized text-book on the subject. ”

“ Inconsistencies in punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling—such as “Snelling” and “Snellings”, hardworking and hard-drinking—were left as printed in the original text. The inconsistent use of italics—as in “Linnæa” and “Linnæa”—was retained as printed in the original. ”

“ Right: A play always begins in medias res.
c. The names of ships are usually italicized.
Right: The Saxonia will sail at four o'clock.
d. Words taken out of their context and made the subject of discussion are italicized or placed in quotation marks.
Right: So is a word faded and colorless from constant use. Right: The t in the word often is not pronounced.
e. A word or passage requiring great emphasis is italicized. This device should not be used to excess. The proper way to secure emphasis is to have good ideas, and to use emphatic sentence structure in expressing them. ”

“ Name the nouns for which the words printed in italics are used in the following sentences:—
A word used for a noun is called a pronoun.
By the use of the pronoun, a person or thing is referred to without naming it, and the too frequent repetition of the same noun is avoided. ”

“ Longfellow says,—
“Deeds are better things than words are.”
Longfellow somewhere says that deeds are better than words.
2. When words are quoted from a foreign language, they should be printed in italics, and the quotation marks omitted; as, “They have their good glebe lands in manu, and care not much to rake into title deeds.”—Lamb.
3. When words are to be italicized, a straight mark should be drawn underneath the words.
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4. When a quotation is followed by a comma, semicolon, colon, or period, the punctuation mark should be placed within the quotation marks; as, “Mr. ”

“ For example, the meaning of bona fide (Latin) , menu (French) , recto (Italian) , or stein (German) are as well known as those of most English words. To all intents and purposes these words have been adopted into our language. ”

“ This is done to avoid confusion between the play, the character, and the real person portrayed. “William Tell” is a play. William Tell is a character in fiction. William Tell is a national hero of Switzerland.
This usage is by no means uniform; here again, we are on the ground of office style.
6. Names of vessels are sometimes quoted, sometimes italicized, and sometimes printed without distinguishing marks. Here we are once more on the ground of office style.
7. Sentences from a foreign language are usually enclosed in quotation marks. Single words or phrases are usually printed in italics. ”

“ Signatures are set at the right side of the page. They are indented 1 em for a single line; 3 ems and 1 em, successively, for two lines; and 5 ems, 3 ems, and 1 em, successively, for three lines. In measures 30 picas or wider, these indentions are increased by 1 em.
16.19.
The name or names are set in caps and small caps; Mr., Mrs., and all other titles preceding a name, and Esq., Jr., Sr., and 2d following a name, are set in roman caps and lowercase; the title following name is set in italic. Signatures as they appear in copy must be followed in regard to abbreviations. ”

“ We can, however, throw emphasis on different words by speaking them with more force. Try the effect of reading the sentence by putting special force on my, daughter, dinner, farmers.
In Latin, where the office of the word in the sentence is shown by its ending (cf. § 32. 1) , and not by its position, the order of words is more free, and position is used to secure the same effect that in English is secured by emphasis of voice. To a limited extent we can alter the order of words in English, too, for the same purpose. Compare the sentences
1. ”

“ There are some niceties in spelling and style that have to be passed with slight notice. The formation of foreign words in the plural number, obsolete or little-used forms of past tenses and participles, and the use of accents and diacritical marks for words in English, belong to grammar rather than to typography. ”

“ Declension of Nouns. We learned above (§§ 19, 20) the difference between the subject and object, and that in English they may be distinguished by the order of the words. Sometimes, however, the order is such that we are left in doubt. For example, the sentence The lady her daughter loves might mean either that the lady loves her daughter, or that the daughter loves the lady.
1. If the sentence were in Latin, no doubt could arise, because the subject and the object are distinguished, not by the order of the words, but by the endings of the words themselves. ”

“ Our style is stripped more and more of its Latinity. Our writers are more and more in love with French methods—with the delicate clearness of short phrases in which every word tells; with the rejection of all intellectual ambulations round about a subject. ”

“ Young writers, intent upon the best possibilities of our mother English, do well to leave all that the great Greeks, the great Latins, the great Italians and French have written until they have wrought,—into the very alphabet of memory,—the innumerable lessons and high examples of that imperishable text book of English style. ”

“ What a miserable instrumentality is language! A tone of satiny flesh, a luminous shadow on a bare shoulder, a flickering light on floating silk, attract, recall, and retain the eye for a long time, and yet there is but a vague phrase with which to express the charm.... ”

“ Attend minutely to your style, whatever language you speak or write in; seek for the best words, and think of the best turns. Whenever you doubt of the propriety or elegance of any word, search the dictionary or some good author for it, or inquire of somebody, who is master of that language; and, in a little time, propriety and elegance of diction will become so habitual to you, that they will cost you no more trouble. ”

“ He was filled with this lofty philosophy. Whatever the language he used, English, Italian, or Latin, whatever the kind of verse, sonnets, hymns, stanzas, tragedy or epic, he always returned to it. He praised everywhere chaste love, piety, generosity, heroic force. ”

“ Ah, my dear! Do you think I have not prepared for that? Why, you must know that the change of a single letter in some names or descriptions would result in the utmost confusion; and in any scientific work perfect orthography is absolutely necessary. But I have picked up a few little primers on the subject of our task, and you are to consult them continually. You will soon see that there is a general principle in the construction of all terms, and that spelling Latin is, after all, easier than spelling English. ”

“ Whether we read him simply to enjoy his story or to taste the most exquisite flavors of poetic diction, we shall be equally satisfied. Language in his hands is like a soft and yielding paste, which takes all forms beneath the molder's hand, and then, when it has hardened, stays for ever sharp in outline, glittering as adamant. ”

“ Almost any topic will serve to arouse the argumentative zeal of the average reader, who rushes to the fray with that joyous alacrity which is so exhilarating to the peaceful looker-on. The disputed pronunciation or spelling of a word, if ventilated with spirit in a literary journal, will call forth dozens of letters, all written in the most serious and urgent manner, and all apparently emanating from people of rigorous views and limitless leisure. ”

“ The Court, the College, and the Town must all be joined in it. And as our English is a composition of the dead and living tongues, there is required a perfect knowledge, not only of the Greek and Latin, but of the Old German, French, and Italian, and to help all these, a conversation with those authors of our own who have written with the fewest faults in prose and verse. ”

“ Proverbial expressions and familiar phrases of literary origin require no quotation marks.
These are the times that try men's souls.
He lives far from the madding crowd.
The same is true of colloquialisms and slang.
References. In scholarly work requiring exact references, abbreviate titles that occur frequently, giving the full forms in an alphabetical list at the end. As a general practice, give the references in parenthesis or in footnotes, not in the body of the sentence. ”

“ The genitive is indicated by the possessive pronoun or by the juxtaposition of the words, the dative by means of verbs called applicatives, the accusative by certain particles accompanying the verb or by juxtaposition, the vocative by adding e to the nominative or by the change of i into e in words ending in tli or li and the in into e in words ending in tzin.
The ablative is indicated by various particles and prepositions. The language surpasses the Italian in the number of its augmentatives and diminutives. ”

“ There is a close connection between the noun ‘thing’ and the verb ‘to think.’ In fact, the one is derived from the other. For what is a thing? It is whatever causes us to think. There is the same connection between the Latin noun ‘res’ and the verb ‘reor.’ We may also observe that the Italian ‘cosa’ and the French ‘chose’ are formed by the same analogy. ”

“ The root of the mother-word will stand in the centre, and around her the grove of her children. By influence of taste, diligence, sound sense, and the judicious comparison of different dialects, lexicons will be brought to distinguish what is essential from what is accidental in the signification of words, and to trace the gradual process of transition; while in the derivation of words, and the application of metaphors, we shall behold the invention of the human mind in its act, and more fully understand the logic of ancient figurative language. ”

“ In the second place, I resented the decadence of our Italian language and the usurpations of sheer{92} ignorance upon its purity. Purity of diction I regarded as indispensable to plain harmonious beauty of expression, to felicitous development of thought, to just illumination of ideas, and to the proper colouring of sentiment, especially in works of wit and genius in our idiom. ”