preface to v-1-第2章

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regard　to　uniformity　and　truth；　must　often　be　relaxed；　and　the



exceptions　will　be　limited　or　enlarged　by　the　custom　of　the



language　and　the　taste　of　the　interpreter。　　Our　alphabets　may　be



often　defective；　a　harsh　sound；　an　uncouth　spelling；　might　offend



the　ear　or　the　eye　of　our　countrymen；　and　some　words；　notoriously



corrupt；　are　fixed；　and；　as　it　were；　naturalized　in　the　vulgar



tongue。　　The　prophet　Mohammed　can　no　longer　be　stripped　of　the



famous；　though　improper；　appellation　of　Mahomet：　the　well…known



cities　of　Aleppo；　Damascus；　and　Cairo；　would　almost　be　lost　in



the　strange　descriptions　of　Haleb；　Demashk；　and　Al　Cahira：　the



titles　and　offices　of　the　Ottoman　empire　are　fashioned　by　the



practice　of　three　hundred　years；　and　we　are　pleased　to　blend　the



three　Chinese　monosyllables；　Con…fu…　tzee；　in　the　respectable



name　of　Confucius；　or　even　to　adopt　the　Portuguese　corruption　of



Mandarin。　　But　I　would　vary　the　use　of　Zoroaster　and　Zerdusht；　as



I　drew　my　information　from　Greece　or　Persia：　since　our　connection



with　India；　the　genuine　Timour　is　restored　to　the　throne　of



Tamerlane：　our　most　correct　writers　have　retrenched　the　Al；　the



superfluous　article；　from　the　Koran；　and　we　escape　an　ambiguous



termination；　by　adopting　Moslem　instead　of　Musulman；　in　the



plural　number。　　In　these；　and　in　a　thousand　examples；　the　shades



of　distinction　are　often　minute；　and　I　can　feel；　where　I　cannot



explain；　the　motives　of　my　choice。