But let us turn from these fanciful speculations to a sober recital of
facts in connection with the history of the press.
The derivation of the word 'newspaper' has been the subject of much
dispute. Some learned and ingenious writers, disdaining the obvious
'new,' have gone very far afield in their researches. Among other
derivations which have been suggested, is one taken from the four
cardinal points of the compass, N. E. W. S.; because the intelligence
conveyed came from all quarters of the globe. This suggestion is
contained in an old epigram:
'The word explains itself without the Muse,
And the four letters tell from whence comes News;
From N. E. W. S. the solution's made,
Each quarter gives account of war and trade.'
And also, probably in jest, in the 'Wit's Recreations,' published in
1640:
'Whence news doth come if any would discusse,
The letters of the word resolve it thus:
News is conveyed by letter, word, or mouth,
And comes to us from North, East, West, and South.'
For the first origin of newspapers in Europe we must look to Rome, and
there can be no reasonable doubt that the earliest germs of news sheets
are to be found among that wonderful people, who have left such enduring
monuments of themselves wherever they carried their victorious eagles.
The Roman news sheets were called _Acta Diurna_, and were issued by the
Government, and affixed to the walls in the most public places in the
city.
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