Notes and Queries, Number 208, October 22, 1853

Can you inform me where I may find a copy of this prophecy?

    Henry H. Breen.

[St. Malachy's hieroglyphical descriptions or prophecy on the succession of Roman Pontiffs will be found in Flosculi Historici delibati nunc delibatiores redditi, sive Historia Universalis; Auctore Joanne de Bussières, Societatis Jesu Sacerdote, Oxon. 1668. An explanation of each prophecy is given from the pontificate of Celestus II. A.D. 1143, to that of Innocent X. A.D. 1644. The present Pope being the nineteenth from Innocent X., the following prophecy relates to him, "Crux de Cruce." We subjoin the remainder: 20. Lumen in cœlo. 21. Ignis ardens. 22. Religio depopulata. 23. Fides intrepida. 24. Pastor angelicus. 25. Pastor et nauta. 26. Flos Florum. 27. De medietate lunæ. 28. De labore solis. 29 Gloria Olivæ. St. Malachy concludes his prophecy with the following prediction of the downfall of the Roman Church: "In persecutione extrema Sacræ Romanæ Ecclesiæ sedebit Petrus Romanus, qui pascet oves in multis tribulationibus; quibus transactis civitas septicollis diruetur, et Judex tremendus judicabit populum."]

Work on the Human Figure.—A few years ago there was a little work published on Dress and the Art of improving the Human Figure, by (I believe) a nobleman's valet: I wish to consult this for a literary purpose, and should be much obliged to any of your readers who can favour me with the exact title and date.

    Charles Demayne.

[The following two works on dress appear in the London Catalogue:—The Whole Art of Dress, by a Country Officer, 12mo. Lond. 1830; and The Art of Dress, or a Guide to the Toilette, fcp. 8vo., Lond. 1839.]

Replies

"NAMBY-PAMBY," AND OTHER WORDS OF THE SAME FORM

(Vol. viii., p. 318.)

The origin of the word namby-pamby is explained in the following passage of Johnson's Life of Ambrose Philips:

"The pieces that please best are those which from Pope and Pope's adherents procured him the name of namby-pamby, the poems of short lines, by which he paid his court to all ages and characters—from Walpole, 'the steerer of the realm,' to Miss Pulteney in the nursery. The numbers are smooth and sprightly, and the diction is seldom faulty. They are not loaded with much thought, yet, if they had been written by Addison, they would have had admirers. Little things are not valued but when they are done by those who can do greater."

In the Treatise on the Bathos, the infantine style is exclusively exemplified by passages from Ambrose Philips:

"This [says Pope] is when a poet grows so very simple as to think and talk like a child. I shall take my examples from the greatest master in this way: hear how he fondles like a mere stammerer:

'Little charm of placid mien,
Miniature of Beauty's queen,
Hither, British Muse of mine,
Hither, all ye Grecian nine,
With the lovely Graces three,
And your pretty nursling see.
When the meadows next are seen,
Sweet enamel, white and green;
When again the lambkins play,
Pretty sportlings full of May,
Then the neck so white and round,
(Little neck with brilliants bound)
And thy gentleness of mind,
(Gentle from a gentle kind), &c.
Happy thrice, and thrice again,
Happiest he of happy men,' &c.

And the rest of those excellent lullabies of his composition."—C. xi.

These verses are stated by Warburton, in his note on the passage, to be taken from a poem to Miss Cuzzona. They are however in fact selected from two poems addressed to daughters of Lord Carteret, and are put together arbitrarily, out of the order in which they stand in the original poems. There is a short poem by Philips in the same metre, addressed to Signora Cuzzoni, and dated May 25, 1724, beginning, "Little syren of the stage;" but none of the verses quoted in the Treatise on the Bathos are extracted from it.

Namby-pamby belongs to a tolerably numerous class of words in our language, all formed on the same rhyming principle. They are all familiar, and some of them childish; which last circumstance probably suggested to Pope the invention of the word namby-pamby, in order to designate the infantine style which Ambrose Philips had introduced. Many of them, however, are used by old and approved writers; and the principle upon which they are formed must be of great antiquity in our language. The following is a collection of words which are all formed in this manner:

Bow-wow.—A word coined in imitation of a dog's bark. Compare the French aboyer.

Chit-chat.—Formed by reduplication from chat. A word (says Johnson) used in ludicrous conversation. It occurs in the Spectator and Tatler.

Fiddle-faddle.—Formed in a similar manner from to fiddle, in its sense of to trifle. It occurs in the Spectator.

Flim-flam.—An old word, of which examples are cited from Beaumont and Fletcher, and Swift. It is formed from flam, which Johnson calls "a cant word of no certain etymology." Flam, for a lie, a cheat, is however used by South, Barrow, and Warburton, and therefore at one time obtained an admission into dignified style. See Nares' Glossary in v.

Hab or nab.—That is, according to Nares, have or have not; subsequently abridged into hab, nab. Hob or nob is explained by him to mean "Will you have a glass of wine or not?" Hob, nob is applied by Shakspeare to another alternative, viz. give or take (Twelfth Night, Act III. Sc. 4.). See Nares in v. Habbe or Nabbe.

Handy-dandy.—"A play in which children change hands and places" (Johnson). Formed from hand. The word is used by Shakspeare.

Harum-scarum.—"A low but frequent expression applied to flighty persons; persons always in a hurry" (Todd). Various conjectures are offered respecting its origin: the most probable seems to be, that it is derived from scare. The Anglo-Saxon word hearmsceare means punishment (see Grimm, Deutsche Rechtsalterthümer, p. 681.); but although the similarity of sound is remarkable, it is difficult to understand how harum-scarum can be connected with it.

Helter-skelter.—Used by Shakspeare. Several derivations for this word are suggested, but none probable.

Higgledy-piggledy.—"A cant word, corrupted from higgle, which denotes any confused mass, as higglers carry a huddle of provisions together" (Johnson). It seems more probable that the word is formed from pig; and that it alludes to the confused and indiscriminate manner in which pigs lie together. In other instances (as chit-chat, flim-flam, pit-a-pat, shilly-shally, slip-slop, and perhaps harum-scarum), the word which forms the basis of the rhyming reduplication stands second, and not first.

Hocus-pocus.—The words ocus bochus appear, from a passage cited in Todd, to have been used anciently by Italian conjurers. The fanciful idea of Tillotson, that hocus-pocus is a corruption of the words hoc est corpus, is well known. Compare Richardson in v.

Hoddy-doddy.—This ancient word has various meanings (see Richardson in v.). As used by Ben Jonson and Swift, it is expressive of contempt. In Holland's translation of Pliny it signifies a snail. There is likewise a nursery rhyme or riddle:

"Hoddy-doddy,
All legs and no body."

Hodge-podge appears to be a corruption of hotch-pot. It occurs in old writers. (See Richardson in Hotch-pot.)

Hoity-toity.—Thoughtless, giddy. Formed from the old word to hoit, to dance or leap, to indulge in riotous mirth. See Nares in Hoit and Hoyt.

Hubble-bubble.—A familiar word, formed from bubble. Not in the dictionaries.

Hubbub.—Used by Spenser, and other good writers. Richardson derives it from hoop or whoop, shout or yell. It seems rather a word formed in imitation of the confused inarticulate noise produced by the mixture of numerous voices, like mur-mur in Latin.

Hugger-mugger.—Used by Spenser, Shakspeare, and other old writers. The etymology is uncertain. Compare Jamieson in Hudge-mudge. The latter part of the word seems to be allied with smuggle, and the former part to be the reduplication. The original and proper sense of hugger-mugger is secretly. See Nares in v., who derives it from to hugger, to lurk about; but query whether such a word can be shown to have existed?

Humpty-dumpty.—Formed from hump. This word occurs in the nursery rhyme:

"Humpty-dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty-dumpty had a great fall," &c.

Hurdy-gurdy.—The origin of this word, which is quoted from no writer earlier than Foote, has not been explained. See Todd in v.

Hurly-burly.—This old word occurs in the well-known verses in the opening scene of Macbeth—

"When the hurly burly's done,
When the battle's lost and won"—

where see the notes of the commentators for other instances of it. There are rival etymologies for this word, but all uncertain. The French has hurlu-burlu. Nares in Hurly.

Hurry-scurry.—This word, formed from hurry, is used by Gray in his Long Story.