Chapter LXXXIII: Section II: Æmilius

Almost inextricable confusion attends the development of the title of one of the oldest and most respectable of the plebeian gentes, namely the Æmilian, anciently written Aimilian. The family was Sabine, and the word is, therefore, probably Oscan; but the bearers were by no means agreed upon its origin, some declaring that it was αἵμυλος (flattering or witty), and called it a surname of their founder, Mamercus, whom some called the son of Pythagoras, others of Numa. The later Æmilii, again, claimed to descend from Aemylos, a son of Ascanius; and others of them, less aspiring, contented themselves with Amulius, the granduncle of Romulus. Can this most intangible Amulius be, after all, a remnant of the Teutonic element in the Roman race, and be the same with the mythical Amal, whence the Gothic Amaler traced their descent? It is curious that _maal_ or _âmal_ means _work_ in Hebrew, while _aml_ is work, likewise, in old Norse, as our _moil_ is in English, though in Sanscrit _amala_ is spotless. Altogether, it seems most probable that the word _mal_ (a spot or stroke) may underlie all these forms, just as it does the German _mal_ (time); that Amal was, in truth, the dimly remembered forefather; and that thus the proud Æmilii of Rome, and the wild Amaler of the forests, bore in their designations the tokens of a common stock.

Several obscure saints bore the name of Æmilius or Æmilianus; and Emilij has always been a prevailing masculine name in Russia. In Spain, a hermit, Saint Æmilianus, is always known as St. Milhan. Emilio was of old-standing in Italy; but the great prevalence in France of Émile, of late, was owing to Rousseau’s educational work, the hero of which had numerous namesakes among the children born in the years preceding the Revolution.

The feminine had been forgotten until Boccaccio wrote his _Teseide_, and called the heroine Emilia. It was at once translated or imitated in all languages, and became mixed up with the Amalie already existing in Germany. Amalie of Mansfeld lived in 1493; Amalie of Wurtemburg, in 1550; and thence the name spread throughout Germany, whence the daughter of George II. brought it to England, and though she wrote herself Amelia, was called Princess Emily. Both forms are recognized in most European countries, though often confounded together, and still worse, with Amy and Emma.

┌────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┐
│ English. │ French. │ Italian. │ Slovak. │ Lusatian. │
│Emily │Émilie │Emilia │Emilija │Mila │
│Emilia │ │ │Milica │Milka │
└────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┘