Читать книгу Foot-prints of a letter carrier; or, a history of the world's correspondece - James Rees - Страница 12

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The instruments employed by the ancients for making the letters on their tablets was a small, pointed piece of iron, or some other hard substance, called by the Romans a style: hence a man’s manner of composition was figuratively called his style of writing. The use of the word still continues, though the instrument has long since passed away.

Style derives its name from stylus, Latin, as also from a Greek word, columna, an instrument with a point.

Reeds formed into pens were used to trace the letters with ink of some sort after the fashion that is now common; or else they were painted with a small brush, as was probably the general custom at first. Pens made of quills were not in use until the fifth century. The oldest certain account of writing with quills is a passage of Isidore, who died in 636, and who, among the instruments of writing, mentions “reeds and feathers.” In the same century a small poem was written on a pen, which is to be found in the works of Althelmus. He died in 709.

We annex the following as giving a poetical original of the pen:—

“Love begg’d and pray’d old Time to stay

While he and Psyche toyed together;

Love held his wings: Time tore away,

But in the scuffle dropp’d a feather.

Love seized the prize, and with his dart

Adroitly work’d to trim and shape it,

O Psyche, though ’tis pain to part,

This charm shall make us half escape it.

Time need not fear to fly too slow

When he this useful loss discovers,

A pen’s the only plume I know

That wings her pace for absent lovers.”