A Brief History of the English Language and Literature, Vol. 2 | Page 9

the
English and Danes mixed with each other, the oftener they met at
church, at games, and in the market-place, the more rapidly would this
process of stripping go on,-- the smaller care would both peoples take
of the grammatical inflexions which they had brought with them into
this country.
15. +The Latin Element in English.+-- So far as the number of words--
the vocabulary-- of the language is concerned, the Latin contribution is
by far the most important element in our language. Latin was the
language of the Romans; and the Romans at one time were masters of
the whole known world. No wonder, then, that they influenced so many
peoples, and that their language found its way-- east and west, and
south and north-- into almost all the countries of Europe. There are, as
we have seen, more Latin than English words in our own language;
and it is therefore necessary to make ourselves acquainted with the
character and the uses of the Latin element-- an element so important--
in English.[3] Not only have the Romans made contributions of large
+numbers+ of words to the English language, but they have added to it
a quite new +quality+, and given to its genius new +powers+ of
expression. So true is this, that we may say-- without any sense of
unfairness, or any feeling of exaggeration-- that, until the Latin element
was thoroughly mixed, united with, and transfused into the original
English, the writings of Shakespeare were impossible, the poetry of the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries could not have come into existence.
This is true of Shakespeare; and it is still more true of Milton. His most
powerful poetical thoughts are written in lines, the most telling words
in which are almost always Latin. This may be illustrated by the
following lines from "Lycidas":--
"It was that fatal and perfidious bark, Built in the eclipse, and rigged
with curses dark, That sunk so low that sacred head of thine!"
[Footnote 3: In the last half of this sentence, all the essential words--
necessary, acquainted, character, uses, element, important, are Latin
(except character, which is Greek).]
16. +The Latin Contributions and their Dates.+-- The first contribution

of Latin words was made by the Romans-- not, however, to the English,
but to the Britons. The Romans held this island from A.D. +43+ to A.D.
+410+. They left behind them-- when they were obliged to go-- a small
contribution of six words-- six only, but all of them important. The
second contribution-- to a large extent ecclesiastical-- was made by
Augustine and his missionary monks from Rome, and their visit took
place in the year +596+. The third contribution was made through the
medium of the Norman-French, who seized and subdued this island in
the year +1066+ and following years. The fourth contribution came to
us by the aid of the Revival of Learning-- rather a process than an
event, the dates of which are vague, but which may be said to have
taken place in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Latin left for
us by the Romans is called +Latin of the First Period+; that brought
over by the missionaries from Rome, +Latin of the Second Period+;
that given us by the Norman-French, +Latin of the Third Period+; and
that which came to us from the Revival of Learning, +Latin of the
Fourth Period+. The first consists of a few names handed down to us
through the Britons; the second, of a number of words-- mostly relating
to ecclesiastical affairs-- brought into the spoken language by the
monks; the third, of a large vocabulary, that came to us by +mouth+
and +ear+; and the fourth, of a very large treasure of words, which we
received by means of +books+ and the +eye+. Let us now look more
closely and carefully at them, each in its turn.
17. +Latin of the First Period+ (i).-- The Romans held Britain for
nearly four hundred years; and they succeeded in teaching the
wealthier classes among the Southern Britons to speak Latin. They also
built towns in the island, made splendid roads, formed camps at
important points, framed good laws, and administered the affairs of the
island with considerable justice and uprightness. But, never having
come directly into contact with the Angles or Saxons themselves, they
could not in any way influence their language by oral communication--
by speaking to them. What they left behind them was only six words,
most of which became merely the prefixes or the suffixes of the names
of places. These six words were +Castra+, a camp; +Strata+ (via), a
paved road; +Colonia+, a settlement (generally of soldiers); +Fossa+,
a trench; +Portus+, a harbour; and +Vallum+, a rampart.

18. +Latin of the First Period+ (ii).-- (a) The treatment of the Latin
word +castra+