The author of the "Specimen of an Etymological Vocabulary," asserts that "the Celtic was demonstrably the origin of the Greek and Latin; of most, if not all the languages of Europe; of part of Africa and the two Tartaries." Mons. Gebelin, who has, with great industry, investigated the origin of the European languages, is of opinion that the Celtic was spoken from the borders of the Hellespont to the ocean, and from Troy to Cape Finisterre and Ireland. "La langue Celtique, dans son sens le plus extendu, est la langue que parlerent les premiers habitans de l'Europe, depuis les rives de l'Hellespont & de la Mer EgÉe, jusques a celle de l'Ocean; depuis le cap SigÉe aux portes de Troie, jusques au cap de Finisterre en Portugal, ou jusques en Irelande."——Dis. Prelim. art. 2. From this language, he says, sprung the Greek or Pelasgic, prior to Hesiod and Homer—the Latin or that The only pure remains of this primitive Celtic, the same author supposes, are found in Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany in France, where the people still speak dialects of a language which is proved to be the ancient British. "Separes ainsi du reste de l'univers, ces debris des anciens Celtes ont conservÉ leurs anciens usages, & parlent une langue qui n'a aucun rapport a celles des peuples qui les ont subjuguÉs, & qui s'est partagÉe en trois dialectes, le Gallois, le Cornouaillien, & le Bas Breton; dialectes qui ont entr'eux le plus grand rapport, & qui sont incontestablement les precieux restes de l'ancienne langue des Celtes ou des Gaulois."——Dis. Prelim. "Separated from the rest of the world, these remains of the ancient Celts have preserved their ancient customs, and speak a language which has no agreement with those of their conquerors, and which is divided into three dialects, the Welsh, the Cornish, and the Armoric—dialects which have a close affinity with each other, and which are, beyond dispute, the precious remains of the ancient Celtic or Gaulish language." In this passage the author seems to contradict what he had just before advanced, that the Celtic was the Many learned men have attempted to prove that the Northern Goths and Teutones, and the Celts who lived in Gaul and Britain, were originally the same people. Mons. Mallet, the celebrated historian, has composed his "Introduction to the History of Denmark" upon this hypothesis. His translator is of a different opinion, and has generally substituted the English word "Gothic" for the "Celtique" of the original. In a preface to his translation, he endeavors to confute the opinion of Mons. Mallet, Cluverius, Pellutier and others, and prove that the Gothic and Celtique nations were ab origine two distinct races of men. Great erudition is displayed on both sides of the question, and those who have a taste for enquiries of this kind, will receive much satisfaction and improvement, in reading what these authors have written upon the subject. After a close examination, I freely declare myself an advocate for the opinion of Mons. Mallet, Lhuyd, and Pellutier, who suppose the Celts and Goths to be descended from the same original stock. The separation however must have been very early, and probably as early as the first age after the flood. To say that the Gothic and Celtique languages have no affinity, would be to contradict the most positive proofs; yet the affinity is very small—discoverable only in a few words. The modern English, Danish, Swedish and German are all unquestionably derived from the same language; Lhuyd, a celebrated and profound antiquary, remarks, Arch. Brit. page 35. "It is a common error in etymology to endeavor the deriving all the radical words of our western European languages from the Latin and Greek; or indeed to derive constantly the primitives of any one language from any particular tongue. When we do this, we seem to forget that all have been subject to alterations; and that the greater and more polite any nation is, the more subject, (partly for improvement, and partly out of a luxurious wantonness) to new model their language. We must therefore necessarily allow, that whatever nations were of the neighborhood and of one common origin with the Greeks and Latins, when they began to distinguish themselves for politeness, they must have preserved their The result of this doctrine is, that the primitive Celtic was preserved, in greatest purity, in Britain, before the Roman and Saxon conquests, and since those periods, in Wales and Cornwall. Hence the affinity between the Hebrew and British, which will afterward appear. Wallis remarks that it is doubtful whether many words in the English and German languages are derived from the Latin, or the Latin from the Teutonic, or whether all were derived from the same stock. "Multas autem voces, quÆ nobis cum Germanis fere sunt communes, dubium est an prisci olim Teutones a Latinis, an hi ab illis, aut denique utrique ab eodem commune fonte, acceperint."——Gram. Cap. 14. But I presume that history, as well as etymology, will go far in solving the doubt, and incline us to believe that the Teutonic, Greek and Latin were all children of the same parent tongue. We first hear of men in the mild climate of Asia Minor, and about the head of the Mediterranean. Soon after the flood, the inhabitants began to migrate into distant countries. Some of them went northward and settled in Bactriania and Hyrcania, thence extending westward along the shores of the Caspian sea into Armenia. From these Asiatic colonies, sprung the Scythians and the numerous tribes that afterwards covered the territory of modern Russia, Sweden and Denmark. The different tribes or hordes of these people were called Cimbri, (perhaps from Gomer) Galli, Umbri, &c. and settled the northern parts of Europe as far as the Rhine. The northern Greek countries, Thrace and Mysia, were peopled by the descendants of Tiras or Thiras, a son of Japhet. The whole country from Thrace to Peloponnesus was inhabited by the posterity of Javan and Cittim; indeed Ionia, the ancient name of Greece, seems to be derived from Javan, J or I being anciently pronounced as liquid i, or y consonant, and as it is still pronounced in the German ja, yaw. These settlements were made long before the Pelasgic migrations into Greece, which happened at least 2000 years before Christ. The original language of Greece was called Ionic, from Javan or Ion. The Pelasgi were probably Phenicians; and ancient historians relate that they carried letters into Greece; but these must have been in a very rude state, so early after their invention; Cadmus introduced the Phenician letters into Greece 1494 years before Christ. These letters were introduced with some difficulty, and both Cadmus and his followers were obliged to adopt the Ionic or original The Greeks, at different periods, sent colonies into distant parts of the country. These settled in Thrace, Macedon, on the banks of the Euxine, in Asia Minor, in Italy, Sicily and on the southern shore of the Mediterranean. This Ionic or Japhetic language was therefore the root of the Greek and Latin. It was also the root of the Gothic language, spoken in the north of Europe; and from which, after the revolution of ages, the shocks of war, and the improvements in science, no less than seven or eight different languages are derived. Profane history therefore warrants us in asserting that the Greek, Roman, and all the modern languages of the north of Europe, and the English, among the rest, had a common stock. But history alone would not silence our objections to this theory, were it not incontestibly proved by a number of radical words, common to all, which are not yet lost in the changes of time. Etymology therefore furnishes a demonstration of what is related in history. When one sees the words ????s?? and ???? in Greek, nosco, and anciently, gnosco in Latin, and know in English, conveying the same idea, he is led to suspect that one nation borrowed the word from another. But when did the English borrow this word? The word was used by the Saxons, long before they could have had any knowlege of Greek or Roman authors. It furnishes therefore a strong presumption that all the streams came from the same fountain. But when we examin further, and find many, perhaps a hundred words or more, common to all these languages, the evidence of their common origin becomes irresistible. This in fact is the case. The authors then who have labored to prove the Greek and Latin Languages to be derived from the This Japhetic language, I take to be coeval with the Phenician or Hebrew; and there are some Hebrew words in the English language, which must have been derived thro the Saxon or Teutonic. But the old British, as I before remarked, retained the greatest affinity to the Hebrew. The reason which appears probable, has been already assigned; the Celts and Britons in the west of Europe, remained, till the times of Julius CÆsar, less disturbed by wars and revolutions, than the inhabitants of Asia, Egypt and Greece. But I am inclined to believe further, that the descent of the Britons from the first Japhetic tribes that settled in Greece, was more direct, than thro the Gomerians or Cimbri, who travelled northward along the shores of the Baltic. I suspect that very ancient colonies settled on the shores of the Mediterranean, in Italy and Spain, and thence found their way to Gaul and Britain, before the northern tribes arrived thro Germany and Belgium. This would account for the affinity between the Hebrew language and the Welsh. The opinion however is not well supported by historical facts, and the ancient name of the British language, Cymraeg, denoting its descent from the Cimbric is a weighty objection. It is certain however that Carthage was settled by Phenicians, about 900 years before Christ. Greek colonies went thither in the following century, and not long after they settled at Marseilles in Gaul. The people therefore on both shores of the Mediterranean were descended from the same stock as the northern nations. Accordingly we are not surprized to find some radical words nearly the same in all the existing languages of Europe. See Jackson's Chronological Antiquities, vol. 3, with Lhuyd, Geblin, and others. To illustrate what I have advanced, respecting the first peopling of the world, and the derivation of most European languages from one mother tongue, I will here insert some remarks from Rowland's Mona Antiqua Restaurata, p. 261, with a table of words, evidently of Hebrew original. "A TABLE, shewing the Affinity and near Resemblance, both in Sound and Signification, of many Words of the Ancient Languages of Europe with the Original Hebrew Tongue. "For the better understanding of the parallels of this following table, it is to be observed, that letters of one and the same organ are of common use in the pronunciation of words of different languages—as for example, M, B, V, F, P, are labials: T, D, S, are dentals: G, Ch, H, K, C, are gutturals—and therefore if the Hebrew word or sound begins with, or is made of, any one of the labials, any of the rest of the same organ will answer it in the derivative languages. The same is to be observed in using the dental and the guttural letters. For in tracing out the origin of words, we are more to regard the sound of them than their literal form and composition; wherein we find words very often, by the humors and fancy of people, transposed and altered from their native sounds, and yet in their signification they very well fit their original patterns. I shall only exemplify in the letters M, B, and V, which are of one organ, that is, are formed by one instrument, the lip; and therefore are promiscuously used the one for the other, in pronouncing words of one language in another. The Hebrew B is generally pronounced as a V consonant. And the Irish also, most commonly in the middle of a word, pronounce M as a
"We are not to wonder at this analogy of sounds in the primitive distinction of languages. For before the use of writing, which has established the correct form of words, people were only guided by the ear in taking the sound of words, and they pronounced and uttered them again as the organs of their voice were best fitted for it; and it happening that the aptitude and disposition of those organs, peculiar to some people and countries, were various (as we find to this day some nations cannot shape their voice to express all the sounds of another's tongue,) it accordingly affected and inclined some parties of people to speak the same consonants harder or softer, to utter the same vowels broader or narrower, longer or shorter, as they found themselves best disposed to do. And thereupon custom prevailing with particular sets of people, to continue the use of such different pronunciation as they affected, the words so varied came at length to take on them different forms,
Here are about fifty English words, which, from their near resemblance to the Hebrew, both in sound and signification, must have been borrowed from the latter in modern ages, or been preserved thro successive generations from Heber to the present times. But they could not have been introduced into English in mo The Hebrew turna is found in the British teyrn, signifying a prince or ruler. This word is the root of the Greek turannos, the Latin tyrannus, the British dyrnas, a kingdom or jurisdiction, which is still preserved in the modern Welsh deyrnas; and we see the word in the name of the celebrated British commander, Vortighern. Our word tyrant is derived from it, but it is always used in a bad sense. In the Hebrew rechus or rekus, we have the origin of the English rich, riches, and the termination rick in bishop-rick, and anciently, in king-rick; the word originally denoting landed property, in which wealth was supposed to consist, and afterwards jurisdiction. From the same word are derived the Anglo Saxon ryc; the Franco Theotisc, rihhi; the Cimbric, rickie; the ancient Irish or Gaedhlig, riogda; the Low Dutch, rijcke; the Frisic, rick; the German, reich; the Swiss, rijch; the Danish, rige; the Norwegian, riga; the Swedish, The word Caer seems to have been a very ancient name for a city or town. We probably see this word in a great number of Welsh names, Carmarthen, Carnarvon, Carlisle, &c. This word seems also to be the origin of Cairo, in Egypt; Carthage or town of the horse; But the affinity between the Hebrew and British is much more obvious, than that between the Hebrew and English. There are about one hundred and eighty British words in the foregoing table, which are clearly the same as the Hebrew; and there is no way to account for the fact, but by supposing them to be all derived from the same primitive tongue. The resemblance between the Welsh, Latin and English may be observed in the following. The old Britons however might have borrowed these words from the Romans, during their government of The same remark will not apply to the following:
In this table, we see the different nations begin the same word with a different consonant. The ancient Latin v was pronounced as our w; vinum, winum; hence the English wine. So in the following:
That the Welsh should pronounce gu, where we pronounce w, may seem strange; yet such is the fact, and an anatomist will readily assign the reason. The French, in the same manner, use g where we write and pronounce w.
A number at least of the words in the foregoing tables, must have existed in the several languages from the earliest times; and therefore must have been derived from the same stock. In the following words, we trace the common origin of the Greek and Gothic languages.
The reader will find no difficulty in believing these words to be from the same root, when he is told that the Greeks and the northern nations of Europe pronounced with a strong guttural aspirate; and that k among the Greeks was often a mere aspirate, like h. Thus the Romans often pronounced c; for which reason that letter is often omitted, and h substituted in
Some old people still pronounce the k in know. In the following, the Welsh differ from the Greek in the prepositives or initial mutes; but they are clearly from the same root.
In the following words, the Welsh are nearer the Greek than the Latin; yet all came from one stock.
These words are incontestibly the same, with mere dialectical variations. All are branches of the same stock, yet neither can claim the honor of being that stock. But the most curious etymological analysis ever exhibited perhaps in any language, is that found in Gebelin's works. Take the following specimens. In the primitive language (of Europe) the monosyllable tar, ter, tor or tro, for it appeared under these forms, signified force. It was composed of t and ar or d'ar, roughness, rapidity. Hence tar expressed the idea of force, with the collateral ideas of violence, rigor, grandeur, &c. From tar are derived, taurus, a bull; torrent, target, trunk, truncare, to cut off; terror, trepan, tare, detriment, trancher, to cut; retrench; tardus, tardy, retard, tergum, because things heavy, that require force, were carried upon the back; intrigue, for it implies difficulties; trop, too much, troop, ter, trois, which originally signified a multitude; for many savage nations have names only for the three first numbers; tierce, tres, very; tresses, a braid or plait of hair in three divisions; triangle, tribunal, tribe, attribute, contribute, &c. trident, trillion, trio, trinity, entre, enter, taken from a relation of three objects, one between two, makes a third; hence internal, external, travers, across; tradition, passing from one to another; traffic, trahir, to draw; traitor, trepidation, intrepid. From tra, between, and es, it is, came the Celtic, treh, a narrow pass, a strait, strict, Fr. etroit, astringent, detroit, strait; distress, strength. The compounds are numerous. Intrinsic, entrails, introduce, extraneous, extravagant, transcendent, transfer, transform, transgress, transact, translate, transmit, transmigrate, transmutation, &c. Paltroon is from pollex, a thumb, and truncare, TEM. Tem signified river, water. Hence tempero in Latin signified to plunge into water. We to this day say to temper iron or steel. To temper, is to moderate. From this root come temperance, temperature, and a numerous catalogue of other words. The river Thames derives its name from the same root. VA, to go, radical. From va, the Celtic root, we find a multitude of branches in Greek, Latin, English and French. It is an onomatope, a word borrowed from the sound of our feet in walking. Its derivatives are, wade, evade, evasion, invade, invasion, venio, Lat. and venir, Fr. to come; venia and venial, To these derivatives, I will just add a comparative view of the verbs have and be in several languages. HAVE.
The Substantive Verb BE.
It is indisputable that have, in all these languages, is from the same root. But there seem to have been anciently two substantive verbs, or perhaps three, from which modern nations have borrowed; viz, the Greek e??a? or e??, or the Latin esse, from which most of the foregoing are derived; the Teutonic beon, whence the Germans have their bin and bist, and the English their be and beest; and an old Gothic or Teutonic word, weorthan, whence the Danes have derived their voerer, and the English and Germans their were and werden. In the old English phrase, "woe worth the day," we see the same verb. Having stated my reasons and authorities for believing all the European languages descended from one parent tongue, I will here subjoin the Lord's Prayer in several languages of Celtic and Gothic origin. The affinity between all the branches of the Gothic is very visible; the affinity likewise between all the branches of the Celtic is very obvious, except the ancient Irish. The Cantabrian and Lapland tongues have little resemblance to either of the stocks or their branches. GOTHIC. " " +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+ " " " " " " 1. Old Saxon, 2. Francic, 3. Cimbric, or Anglo-Saxon. or Franco-Theotisc. or Old Icelandic. " " " " " " " {1. English. +--1. German, +--1. Icelandic. +--{2. Broad, " or High Dutch (proper.) +--2. Norwegian, " or Lowland Scotch. +--2. German " or Norse. " " of Swabia. +--3. Danish. " {3. Belgic, +--3. Swiss. +--4. Swedish. +--{ or Low Dutch (proper.) " {4. Frisic, " { or Friezeland Tongue. Very little affinity is discoverable between the original Gothic and Celtic or their derivatives; yet this is not a proof that they were ab origine distinct languages; for the words in this prayer are few, and it has been proved that there are many words common to both those ancient tongues. CELTIC. " +----------------+----------------+ " " +------------+---------+ " " " " 1. The Ancient 2. The Ancient 3. The Ancient GAULISH. BRITISH. IRISH. " " " " " " No Language fully +--1. WELSH. +--1. IRISH. derived from this is +--2. AMORICAN, +--2. ERSE, or now extant, unless it " or Bas Bretagne. " Highland Scotch. be the AMORICAN, +--3. CORNISH. +--3. MANKS, or a Language which yet the best " of the Isle of Man. authorities derive from the Ancient British, or CYMRAEG. Specimens of the Gothic Languages.The ancient Gothic of Ulphilas. Atta unsar thu in himinam. 1. Veihnai namo thein. 2. Quimai thiudinassus theins. 3. Vairthai vilja theins, sue in himina, jah ana airthai. 4. Hlaif unsarana thana sinteinan gif uns himmadaga. 5. Jah aflet uns thatei sculans sijaima sua sue jah veis afletam thaim skulam unsaraim. 6. Jah ni bringais uns in fraistubnjai. 7. Ak lausei uns af thamma ubilin. Amen. [From Chamberlayn's Oratio Dominica in diversas omnium fere Gentium Linguas versa, &c.] The Ancient Languages derived from the Gothic. I. Anglo Saxon. Uren Fader, thic arth in heofnas. 1. Sie gehalgud thin noma. 2. To cymeth thin ryc. 3. Sie thin willa sue is in heofnas, and in eortho. 4. Uren hlaf oferwistlic sel us to daeg. 5. And forgefe us scylda urna, sue we forgefan scyldgum urum. 6. And no inlead usig in custnung. 7. Ah gefriguiichfrom ftie. Amen. [From Chamberlayn, p. 56] II. Franco Theotisc. Fater unser thu thar bist in himile. 1. Si geheilagot thin namo. 2. Queme thin rihhi. 3. Si thin willo, so her in himile ist o si her in erdu. 4. Unsar brot tagalihhaz gib uns huitu. 5. Inti furlaz uns nusara sculdi so uuir furlazames unsaron sculdigon. 6. Inti ni gileitest unsih in costunga. 7. Uzouh arlosi unsi fon ubile. Amen. [From Chamberlayn, p. 61.] III. Cimbric, or old Icelandic. Fader uor, som est i himlum. 1. Halgad warde thit nama. 2. Tilkomme thitt rikie. 3. Skie thin vilie, so som i himmalam, so och po iordannÈ. 4. Wort dachlicha brodh gif os i dagh. 5. Ogh forlat os uora skuldar, so som ogh vi forlate them os skildighe are. 6. Ogh inled os ikkie i fretalsam. 7. Utan frels os ifra ondo. Amen. [From Chamberlayn, p. 54] Specimens of the Celtic Languages.[** hand pointing right]I am not able to produce any specimen of the Celtic, at least any version of the Lord's Prayer, which can be opposed in point of antiquity to the Gothic specimen from Ulphilas, who flourished A.D. 365.—As the Celts were settled in these countries long before the Goths, and were exposed to various revolutions before their arrival, their language has, as might be expected, undergone greater and earlier changes than the Gothic; so that no specimen of the The Ancient Languages derived from the Celtic. I. Anc. Gaulish. Of this language I cannot find any specimen which can be depended on. II. Cambrian, or Ancient British. Eyen Taad rhuvn wyt yn y neofoedodd. 1. Santeiddier yr henvu tau. 2. Devedy dyrnas dau. 3. Guneler dy wollys ar ryddayar megis ag yn y nefi. 4. Eyn bara beunyddvul dyro inni heddivu. 5. Ammaddeu ynny eyn deledion, megis ag i maddevu in deledvvir ninaw. 6. Agna thowys ni in brofedigaeth. 7. Namyn myn gwared ni rhag drug. Amen. [From Chamberl. p. 47.] III. Ancient Irish, or Gaedhlig. Our Narme ata ar neamb. 1. Beanich a tainin. 2. Go diga de riogda. 3. Go denta du hoill air talm in marte ar neamb. 4. Tabair deim aniugh ar naran limbali. 5. Augus mai duin ar fiach amhail maamhia ar fiacha. 6. Naleig sin amaribh. 7. Ach saarsa sin o olch. Amen. [From Dr. Anth. Raymond's Introduction to the History of Ireland, p. 2, 3, &c.] Specimens of the Gothic Languages.I. MODERN LANGUAGES derived from the OLD SAXON. I. English. Our Father, which art in heaven. 1. Hallowed be thy name. 2. Thy [From the English Testament.] II. Broad Scotch. Ure Fader, whilk art in hevin. 1. Hallouit be thy naim. 2. Thy kingdum cum. 3. Thy wull be dun in airth, as it is in hevin. 4. Gie uss this day ure daily breid. 5. And forgive uss ure debts, ass we forgien ure debtouris. 6. And leid uss na' into temptation. 7. Bot deliver uss frae evil. Amen. [From a Scotch Gentleman.] III. Low Dutch, or Belgic. Onse Vader, die daer zijt in de hemelen. 1. Uwen naem worde gheheylight. 2. U rijcke kome. 3. Uwen wille gheschiede op der aerden, gelijck in den hemel. 4. Onse dagelijck broodt gheest ons heden. 5. Ende vergheeft ons onse schulden, ghelijck wy oock onse schuldenaren vergeven. 6. Ende en leyt ons niet in Versoeckinge. 7. Maer verlost ons vanden boosen. Amen. [From the New Test. in Dutch.] IV. Frisic, or Friezeland Tongue. Ws Haita duu deritu biste yne hymil. 1. Dyn name wird heiligt. 2. Dyn rick tokomme. 3. Dyn wille moet schoen, opt yrtyck as yne hymile. 4. Ws dielix brÆ jov ws jwed. 5. In verjou ws, ws schylden, as vejac ws schyldnirs. 6. In lied ws nact in versieking. 7. Din fry ws vin it quÆd. Amen. [From Chamberlayn, p. 68.] Specimens of the Celtic Languages.II. MODERN LANGUAGES derived from the ANCIENT BRITISH, or CYMRAEG. I. Welsh, or Cymraeg. Ein TÂd, yr hwn wyt yn y nefoedd. 1. Sanctieddier dy Enw. 2. Deved dy deyrnas. 3. Bydaed dy ewyl [Communicated by a Gentleman of Jesus College, Oxon.] II. Armoric, or Language of Britanny in France. Hon Tad, pehudij sou en efaou. 1. Da hanou bezet sanctifiet. 2. Devet aornomp da rouantelaez. 3. Da eol bezet graet en douar, eual maz eon en euf. 4. RÓ dimp hyziou hon bara pemdeziec. 5. Pardon dimp hon pechedou, eual ma pardonomp da nep pegant ezomp offanczet. 6. Ha na dilaes quet a hanomp en temptation. 7. Hoguen hon diliur diouz drouc. Amen. [From Chamberlayn, p. 51.] III. Cornish. Ny Taz, ez yn neau. 1. Bonegas yw tha hanaw. 2. Tha gwlakoth doaz. 3. Tha bonagath bogweez en nore pocoragen neau. 4. Roe thenyen dythma gon dyth bara givians. 5. Ny gan rabn weary cara ny givians mens. 6. O cabin ledia ny nara idn tentation. 7. Buz dilver ny thart doeg. Amen. [From Chamberlayn, p. 50.] Specimens of the Gothic Languages.II. MODERN LANGUAGES derived from the ANCIENT GERMAN, or FRANCIC, &c. I. High Dutch, (proper.) Unser Vater in dem Himmel. 1. Dein name werde geheiliget. 2. Dein [From the common German New Testament, printed at London, 12 mo.] II. High Dutch of the Suevian Dialect. Fatter ausar dear du bischt em hemmal. 1. Gehoyleget wearde dain nam. 2. Zuakomme dain reych. 3. Dain will gschea uff earda as em hemmal. 4. Ausar deglich braud gib as huyt. 5. Und fergiab as ausre schulda, wia wiar fergeaba ausarn schuldigearn. 6. Und fuar as net ind fersuaching. 7. Sondern erlais as fom ibal. Amen. [From Chamberlayn's Oratio Dominica, p. 64.] III. The Swiss Language. Vatter unser, der du bist in himlen. 1. Geheyligt werd dyn nam. 2. Rukumm uns dijn rijch. 3. Dyn will geschahe, wie im himmel, also auch uff erden. 4. Gib uns hut unser taglich brot. 5. Und vergib uns unsere schulden, wie anch wir vergaben unsern schulderen. 6. Und fuhr uns nicht in versuchnyss. 7. Sunder erlos uns von dem bosen. Amen. [From Chamberlayn, p. 65.] Specimens of the Celtic Languages.III. MODERN LANGUAGES derived from the ANCIENT IRISH. I. Irish, or Gaidhlig. Ar nathair atÁ ar neamh. 1. Naomhthar hainm. 2. Tigeadh do riaghachd. 3 [From Bishop Bedel's Irish Bible. Lond. 1690. 8 vo.] II. Erse, or Gaidhlig Albannaich. Ar n' Athair ata air neamh. 1. Gu naomhaichear t tinm. 2. Tigeadh do rioghachd. 3. Deanthar do thoil air an ta amh mar a nithear air neamb. 4. Tabhair dhuinn an diu ar n aran laitheill. 5. Agus maith dhuinn ar fiacha amhuill mar mhaithmid d'ar luehd-fiach-aibh. [From the New Testament in the Erse Language.] III. Manks, or Language of the Isle of Man. Ayr ain, t'ayns niau. 1. Casherick dy row dt'ennym. 2. Dy jig dty reeriaught. 3. Dt'aigney dy row jeant er y thalao, myr te ayns niau. 4. Cur d oin nyn arran jiu as gaghlaa. 5. As leih dooin nyn loghtyn, nyr ta shin leih dauesyn tu jannoo loghtyn nyn' oc. 6. As ny leeid shin ayns miolagh. 7. Agh livrey shin veih olk. Amen. [From the Liturgy in Manks, printed at London, 1765. 8 vo.] Specimens of the Gothic Languages.III. MODERN LANGUAGES derived from the ANCIENT SCANDINAVIAN, or ICELANDIC, called (by some writers) Cimbric, or Cimbro Gothic. I. Icelandic. Fader vor thu som ert a himnum. 1. [From Chamberlayn, p. 70.] II. Norwegian, or Norse. Wor Fader du som est y himmelen. 1. Gehailiget woare dit nafn. 2. Tilkomma os riga dit. 3. Din wilia geskia paa iorden, som handt er udi himmelen. 4. Giff oss y tag wort dagliga brouta. 5. Och forlaet os wort skioldt, som wy forlata wora skioldon. 6. Och lad os icke homma voi fristelse. 7. Man frals os fra onet. Amen. [From Chamberlayn, p. 71.] III. Danish. Vor Fader i himmelen. 1. Helligt vorde dit navn. 2. Tilkomme dit rige. 3. Vorde din villie, paa iorden som i himmelen. 4. Giff oss i dag vort daglige bred. 5. Oc forlad oss vor skyld, som wi forlade vore skyldener. 6. Oc leede oss icke i fristelse. 7. Men frels os fra ont. Amen. [From Chamberlayn, p. 70.] IV. Swedish. Fader war som ast i himmelen. 3. Helgat warde titt nampn. 2. Till komme titt ricke. 3. Skei tin willie saa paa lordenne, som i himmelen. 4. Wart dagliga brod giff oss i dagh. 5. Och forlat os wara skulder sa som ock wi forlaten them oss skildege aro. 6. Och inleed oss icke i frestelse. 7. Ut an frals oss i fra ondo. Amen. [From Chamberlayn, p. 70.] Specimens of the Finn and Lapland Tongues.I. The Finn Language. Isa meidan joca olet taiwassa. 1. Pyhitetty olcon sinum nimes. 2. Lahes tulcon sinum waldacundas. 3. Olcon sinun tahtos niin maase cuin taiwasa. 4. Anna meil [From Chamberlayn, p. 82.] II. The Lapland Tongue. Atka mijam juco lee almensisne. 1. Ailis ziaddai tu nam. 2. Zweigubatta tu ryki. 3. Ziaddus tu willio. naukuchte almesne nau ei edna mannal. 4. Wadde mijai udni mijan fÆrt pÆfwen laibebm. 5. Jah andagasloite mi jemijan suddoid, naukuchte mije andagasloitebt kudi mije welgogas lien. 6. Jah sissalaidi mijabni. 7. Æle tocko kÆckzÆllebma pahast. Amen. [From Chamberlayn, p. 83.] A Specimen of the Cantabrian or Biscayan Language, still preserved in Spain. The Basque. Gure Aita kerutÉan carÉna. 1. Erabilbedi sainduqui Çure jcena. 2. Ethorbedi Çure eressuma. 3. Eguinbedi Çure borondatea ÇerÚ an becala turre'an ore. 4. EmandieÇagucu egun gure egunorozco oguia. 5. Eta barkhadietcatgutÇu gure Çorrac gucere gure coidunei barkhatcendiotÇaguten becala. 6. Eta ezgaitÇatcu utc tentacionÉtan erortcerat. 7. Aitcitic beguiragaitcatÇu gaite gucietaric. Halabiz. [From Chamberlayn, p. 44.] Here we find many of the same words, with small variations, in all the languages of Teutonic origin. It is however observable that the English have softened some words, by omitting the gutturals. Thus gehalgud in the Anglo-Saxon; geheiliget in the German; gheheylight in the Belgic; and geheyligt in the Swiss, are softened into hallowed in English; taeglich and dagelijcht become daily. Similar omissions run thro the language. Thus nagel, hagel have become in English nail and hail. The gh in might, night are still pronounced by the Scotch; but the English say mite, nite. The affinity between the a I have been at the pains to examin a great number of radical words in the Danish, and find the most of them, amounting to more than four hundred, very little different from the English. Where the English write w, the Danes write v; vind for wind. Where the English write c hard, the Danes, with more judgement, write k; klover, kan, kommer, for cleave, can, come. Where the English write wh, the Danes, with propriety, write hv, v having the sound of w; as hvad, hvi, hval; what, why, whole. The words, common to the Danish and English, are mostly monosyllables. As a corroborating proof of the Eastern origin of the Goths, authors produce the resemblance between their religious opinions and the notions of the Magi. The Scandinavian mythology is preserved in the EDDA, written by Snorro Sturleson, an Icelander, a learned judge and first magistrate in the 12th century. In this there are many notions which seem to bear a great analogy to the doctrines revealed in the Bible. It is represented in the Edda, that before creation, "all was one vast abyss;" an idea not unlike the scripture account of what we usually call chaos.—"That Surtur, the black, shall come at the end of the world, vanquish the gods and give up the universe to the flames"—a crude notion of the conflagration.—"That Ymer the first man or great giant, slept and fell into a sweat, and from the pit of his left arm were born male and female;" this has some resemblance to the scripture account of the creation of the woman—"That The opinion that the world will be destroyed by fire seems to have been universal among the Gothic nations. The descriptions of that catastrophe resemble those of the Stoics and of the ancient Magi and Zoroaster, from whom the idea was probably taken. These descriptions all agree with the scripture representation of that event in the material circumstances. The doctrine of a future state, or of a renovation of the world, was part of the Gothic system. It was taught by Zamolxis, the celebrated Druid of the GetÆ and Scythians.—— Herod. Lib. 4. § 95. In this same Edda, we also find the origin of some customs still remaining among the descendants of the northern nations. The drinking of bumpers is not an invention of modern bacchanals; it is mentioned, fable 25, of the Edda, where it is said Thor challenged one to a drinking match. The custom of hanging up bushes on Christmas eve is derived probably from the superstitious veneration paid to the Misseltoe by the Scandinavians. Indeed the festival of Christmas was grafted upon an ancient pagan feast, celebrated at the winter solstice, in honour of the sun and to render the new year propitious. It answered to the Roman Saturnalia, and was probably of as high an origin. The night on which it was observed was called Mother Night, as that which produced the rest; and the feast itself was called by the Goths Iuul.—See Mallet's North. Antiq. vol. 1. p. 130. Hence the old word yeul or yule for Christmas; a word that is still used, or at least has been used till within a century in Scotland and the north of England. "Yule," says that learned antiquary, Cowel, "in the north parts of England, is used by the From the northern nations also we have the names of the days of the week; or at least of some of them. The ancient Goths devoted particular days to particular deities. TUESDAY was Tyrsdag, from Tyr the God of bravery. It is in the Danish, Tyrsdag, and in the Swedish Tisdag. WEDNESDAY is Woden'sdag, from Woden, a celebrated warrior deified. In Icelandic, it is Wonsdag; in Swedish, Odinsdag; in Dutch, Woensdag; in Anglo Saxon, Wodensdag. THURSDAY is from Thor, god of the air. In Danish it is Thorsdag; in Swedish Torsdag. FRIDAY is from Frea, the earth and goddess of love, answering to the Venus of the Greeks. In some languages it is called Freytag.—— See Mallet's North. Antiquities. I will just add, it is a weighty argument in favor of the truth of the Scripture history, and of the opinion here advanced of the common origin of languages, that in all the ancient and modern European alphabets, the letters are of a similar The reader will please to accept the following specimen, which will convey an idea of the whole. Punic. Yth al o nim ua lonuth! sicorathissi me com syth chim lach chunyth mum ys tyal myethi barii im schi. Irish. Iath all o nimh uath lonnaithe! socruidhse me com sith chimi lach chuinigh! muini istoil miocht beiridh iar mo scith. English. Omnipotent, much dreaded Deity of this country! asswage my troubled mind! Thou, the support of feeble captives! being now exhausted with fatigue, of thy free will, guide me to my children. In this example the affinity between the Punic and Irish is striking; and the same runs thro the whole speech. That Ireland received colonies from Spain or Carthage is probable from other circumstances. The Irish historians say their ancestors received letters from the Phenicians; and the Irish language was called Bearni Feni, the Phenician tongue. Cadiz in Spain was first settled by Phenicians; and cadas in Irish signifies friendship. The Irish seems to be a compound of Celtic and Punic; The Hebrew was the root of the Phenician and the Punic. The Maltese is evidently a branch of the Punic; for it approaches nearer to the Hebrew and Chaldaic, than to the Arabic. For this assertion we have the authority of M. Maius, professor of the Greek and oriental languages in the Ludovician university of Giessen, who had his accounts from Ribier, a missionary Jesuit and native of Malta. This fact will account for the correspondence between the Irish and the Maltese, in several particulars. In Maltese, Alla signifies God; in Irish, All is mighty. Baol in Maltese, and Bel or Bal in Irish, signify Chief Deity or Sun. In Maltese, ordu is end or summit; in Irish, ard, arda, are hill, high. These words are probably from the same root as the Latin arduus, and the English hard, implying labor. Bandla in Maltese, is a cord; in Irish, bann is suspension. In Maltese, gala is the sail of a ship; and in Irish, gal is a gale of wind. These Maltese words are taken from a Punica Maltese Dictionary, annexed to a treatise, Della lingua Punica presentamente usitate da Maltese, by G. Pietro Francisco Agius de Solandas. There is also a correspondence between the Irish and Punic, in the variation of their nouns, as may be observed in the following example. In several particulars the Irish bears a close affinity to the Hebrew and Greek. It was the custom with the Hebrews, and it still remains with them, to face the east in the act of devotion. From this practice it proceeded, that the same word which signified right hand, signified also south; the same with left hand and north; before and east; behind and west. This is the case also in the Irish language.
That the Greeks had an intercourse with the islands of Britain and Ireland, or sent colonies thither, is not impossible; and Dr. Todd, not many years ago, discovered, at Colchester, in Essex, an altar dedicated to the Tyrian Hercules, with an inscription in Greek capitals, ??????S ????? ???? ???? ????????. There is a place in Ireland called Airchil. And it is a remarkable fact, that some fragments of old Irish laws, which, for a long time, puzzled the antiquaries of the nation, are found to be written in a very ancient language, and in the manner which the Greeks called Boustrophedon; that is, from right to left, and from left to right, in the manner that oxen plow. This was supposed to be an improvement on the Hebrew and Phenician order of writing all the lines from right to left, which Cadmus introduced into Greece. This manner of writing in Greece was prior to Homer, and if the Irish copied from the Greeks, which is not impossible, the fact would prove a very early settlement of Ireland by Greek colonies or their descendants. See Leland's Hist. of Ireland, Prelim. Dis. All these circumstances corroborate the opinion that the Celts came originally from the east, and formed settlements on the shores of the Mediterranean and Atlantic. The affinity between the Phenician, the Punic, the Maltese, the Irish and the British languages, discoverable in a great number of words, makes it probable, that after colonies were settled at Carthage and at Cadiz, some commercial intercourse was carried on between them and the nations at the head of the Mediterranean, and that an emigration from Spain might people Ireland before any settlements had been made there by the Gauls or Britons. It is however more probable that the Punic words in the Irish language might have been introduced into that island by subsequent colonization. At any rate, from the Hebrew, Chaldaic, or Phenician, or the common root of these languages, proceeded the Punic, the Maltese, the Iberian or Spanish, the Gaulish, the British, and the Irish. The order I have mentioned is obvious and natural; and history furnishes us with some facts to strengthen the supposition. Bishop Hickes, in his Saxon Grammar, which is a vast treasure of valuable learning, has preserved a specimen of the language and of the opinions of the English respecting it, in an extract from a manuscript of one Ranulphus Higdenus, de Incolarum linguis, translated by John Trevisa in 1385, and the ninth of Richard II. Trevisa's stile bears some affinity to that of Chaucer, with whom he was cotemporary. "As it is knowne how meny maner peple beeth in this land: There beeth also so many dyvers longages and tongues. Nathless, Walschemen and Scotts, that hath nought medled with other nations, holdeth wel nyh his firste langage and speeche: But yif the Scottes that were sometime considerat and woned with the Picts draw somewhat after hir On this passage we may make the following remarks: 1. That the third person singular of the verb is invariably used with plural as well as singular nouns; they beeth, haveth. Whereas in Chaucer and Mandeville the same person ends generally in en; they seyn for they say. The same third person was used for the imperative, by the best English writers, "And soft take me in your armes twey, For love of God, and hearkeneth what I sey." Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 2783. "And at certyn houres, they seyn to certyn offices, maketh pees;" that is, make peace.—Mandeville, p. 281. 2. That yif is used for if; a proof that if is a verb, a contraction of gif or yif (for they were used promiscuously) the imperative of gifan, to give. 3. That the subjunctive form of verbs was not used after if; and yif they goeth to the northe contray. 4. That there were three principal dialects in the English; the northern, which was corrupted by the Scots and Picts, and from which the present Yorkshire language is derived; the middle, which came from Germany and retained its primitive purity, and is the true parent of modern English; and the southern, by which 5. That the conquests of the Danes and Normans had corrupted the pure language of the Saxons. 6. That this corruption proceeded principally from the teaching of French in schools. 7. That country people, (uplandish men) imitated the practice of the polite, and learnt French, as many do now, to be told of. 8. That Cornwail and others, in Trevisa's time, had begun to reform this practice. 9. That French had almost banished the native Saxon from the polite part of the nation, and that the 10. That the kings of England resided principally in the southern parts of the kingdom, where the land was most fertile, best cultivated, most populous, and most advantageous for commerce. Chaucer's particular patron was John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. He married Philippa, the sister of Lady Swinford, who before her marriage and after her husband's death, was one of the Duke's family. "Grete well Chaucer when you mete— Of dittees and of songes glade, The which he——made The londe fulfilled is over all." Gower. Gower is said to have been Chaucer's preceptor. "My maister Chaucer—chiefe poet of Bretayne Whom all this lond should of right preferre, Sith of our language he was the lode starre, That made first to dystylle and rayne The gold dew dropys of speche and eloquence Into our tungue through his excellence." Lydgate. Chaucer's merit in improving the English language is celebrated by other poets of his time—Occleve, Douglas and Dunbar. They call him the floure of eloquence, the fader in science, and the firste fynder of our fayre langage. He died in 1400. It must however be remarked that Chaucer did not import foreign words, so much as introduce them into books and give them currency in writing. It must further be observed that when I speak of the incorporation of Latin words with the English, I would not be understood to mean that words were taken directly from the Roman tongue and anglicised. On the other hand, they mostly came thro the channel of the Norman or The most correct account I have seen of the state of the language in the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th centuries, is in the first volume of Bell's edition of Chaucer. We have the authority of Ingulphus, a historian of credit, for alleging that the French began to be fashionable in England, before the conquest. Edward the Confessor resided many years in Normandy, and imbibed a predilection for the French manners and language. On his accession to the throne of England, in 1043, he promoted many of his Norman favorites to the first dignities in the kingdom; under the influence of the king and his friends, the English began to imitate the French fashions. But the conquest in 1066, completed the change. The court of William consisted principally of foreigners who could speak no language but French. Most of the high offices and rich livings in the kingdom were filled with Normans, and the castles which, by order of the conqueror, were built in different parts of the country, were garrisoned by foreign soldiers, in whom the king might most safely confide. But as the body of the nation did not understand French, there must have been a constant effort to root it out and establish the English. The latter however gained ground slowly during the two first centuries of the revolution. But in the reign of king John, Normandy, It appears also by the passage of Higden before quoted, that the practice of construing Latin into French, in the schools, had closed before his time. This, with the other causes before assigned, contributed to root out the French, and make the English reputable; and in the reign of Edward III. produced the act, mentioned in the text, in favor of the English. This act did not produce a total change of practice at once; for we find the proceedings in parliament were published in French for sixty years after the pleas in courts were ordered to be in English, and the statutes continued in French about 120 years after the act, till the first of Richard III. It may be observed that the royal assent to bills was in some instances given in English during the reign of Henry VI. Be it ordained as it is asked: Be it as it is axed. Sir William Temple's stile, tho easy and flowing, "Upon the survey of these dispositions in mankind and these conditions of government, it seems much more reasonable to pity than to envy the fortunes and dignities of princes or great ministers of state; and to lessen and excuse their venial faults, or at least their misfortunes, rather than to encrease and make them worse by ill colors and representations."——Of Pop. Dis. Fortunes and dignities might have been better expressed by elevated rank or high stations; great is superfluous, and so are lessen and make them worse, and either colors or representations might have been omitted. "The first safety of princes and states lies in avoiding all councils or designs of innovation, in ancient and established forms and laws, especially those concerning liberty, property and religion (which are the possessions men will ever have most at heart;) and thereby leaving the channel of known and common justice clear and undisturbed." Several words might here be retrenched, and yet leave the author's meaning more precise and intelligible. This is the principal fault in Temple's stile. "But men, accustomed to the free and vagrant life of hunters, are incapable of regular application to labor; and consider agriculture as a secondary and inferior occupation."—Robertson's Hist. Amer. book 4. Supposing secondary and inferior not to be exactly synonimous, in this sentence one would have answered the purpose. "Agriculture, even when the strength of man is seconded by that of the animals which he has subjected to the yoke, and his power augmented by the use of the various instruments with which the discovery of metals This sentence is very exceptionable. Is agriculture, a work? Can so definite a term be applied to such a general idea? But what a group of useless words follow! It was not sufficient to say, the strength of man seconded by that of animals, but the kinds of animals must be specified; viz. such as he has subjected to the yoke; when every person knows that other animals are never used; and consequently the author's idea would have been sufficiently explicit without that specification. In the subsequent clause, the words, his power augmented by the use of the various instruments of metal, would have been explicit; for the discovery of metals must have been implied. Such expletive words load the mind with a chain of particular ideas which are not essential to the discourse. "—And if any one of these prognostics is deemed unfavorable, they instantly abandon the pursuit of those measures, on which they are most eagerly bent."—The same. Here is an awkward conclusion of the period, and ascribeable to a too nice regard for grammatical rules. They are most eagerly bent on, would perhaps have been better; but a different construction would have been still less exceptionable. There is however a greater fault in the construction. By employing those and most eagerly, the idea is, that savages, on the appearance of unfavorable omens, would abandon those measures only, on which they are most eagerly bent, and not others that they might be pursuing with less earnestness. Why could not the author have said in plain English—"they instantly abandon any measure they are pursuing." This writer's stile likewise abounds with synonims; as strengthen and confirm, quicken and animate; when one term would fully express the meaning. "Strong liquors awake a savage from his torpid state— In short, the stile of Dr. Robertson, the great, the philosophic historian, is too labored. The mind of the reader is kept constantly engaged in attending to the structure of the periods; it is fatigued with words and drawn from the chain of events. The stile of Kaims, tho not easy and flowing, is precise, and generally accurate. The stile of Blair's Lectures is less correct than that of his Sermons; but at the same time, less formal in the structure of the periods. These remarks, the reader will observe, respect stile only; for the merit of Robertson, as a judicious and faithful historian; and of Kaims and Blair, as critics, is above praise or censure. In no particular is the false taste of the English more obvious, than in the promiscuous encomiums they have bestowed on Gibbon, as a historian. His work is not properly a "History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire;" but a "Poetico-Historical Description of certain Persons and Events, embellished with suitable imagery and episodes, designed to show the author's talent in selecting words, as well as to delight the ears of his readers." In short, his history should be entitled, "A Display of Words;" except some chapters which are excellent commentaries on the history of the Roman Empire. The general fault of this author is, he takes more pains to form his sentences, than to collect, arrange and express the facts in an easy and perspicuous manner. In consequence of attending to ornament, he seems to forget that he is writing for the information of his reader, and when he ought to instruct the mind, he is only pleasing the ear. Fully possessed of his subject, he describes things and events in general terms or figurative language, which leave upon the mind a faint evanescent impression of some indeterminate idea; so that the reader, not obtaining a clear precise knowlege of the facts, finds it difficult to understand, and impossible to recollect, the author's meaning. Let a man read his volumes with the most laborious attention, and he will find at the close that he can give very little account of the "Roman Empire;" but he will remember perfectly that Gibbon is a most elegant writer. History is capable of very little embellishment; tropes and figures are the proper instruments of eloquence and declamation; facts only are the subjects of history. Reflections of the author are admitted; but these should not be frequent; for the reader claims a right to his own opinions. The justness of the historian's remarks may be called in question—facts only are incontestible. The plain narrative of the Scripture historians, and of Herodotus, with their dialogues and digressions, is as far superior, considered as pure history, to the affected glaring brilliancy of stile and manner, which runs thro Gibbon's writings, as truth is to fiction; or the vermillion blush of nature and innocence, to the artificial daubings of fashion. The first never fails to affect the heart—the last can only dazzle the senses. Another fault in Gibbon's manner of writing, is, the use of epithets or titles instead of names. "The CÆsar, the conqueror of the east, the protector of the church, the country of the CÆsars, the son of Leda," and innumerable similar appellations are employed, instead of the real names of the persons and places; and frequently at such a distance from any mention of the name, that I am not about to write a lengthy criticism on this author's history; a few passages only will be selected as proofs of what I have advanced. "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," vol. 3, oct. chap. 17: In explaining the motives of the Emperors for removing the seat of government from Rome to the East, the author says—"Rome was insensibly confounded with the dependent kingdoms which had once acknowleged her supremacy; and the country of the CÆsars was viewed with cold indifference by a martial prince, born in the neighborhood of the Danube, educated in the courts and armies of Asia, and invested with the purple by the legions of Britain." By the author's beginning one part of the sentence with Rome, and the other with the country of the CÆsars, the reader is led to think two different places are intended, for he has not a suspicion of a tautology; or at least he supposes the author uses the country of the CÆsars in a more extensive sense than Rome. He therefore looks back and reads perhaps half a page with a closer attention, and finds that the writer is speaking of the seat of empire, and therefore can mean the city of Rome only. After this trouble he is displeased that the author has employed five words to swell and adorn his period. This however is not the only difficulty in understanding the author. Who is the martial prince? In the preceding sentence, Dioclesian is mentioned, as withdrawing from Rome; and in the sentence following, Constantine is said to visit Rome but seldom. The reader then is left to collect the author's meaning, by the circumstances of the birth, education and election of this martial prince. If he is possessed of these facts already, he may go on without much trouble. The author's affectation of using the purple for the crown or imperial dignity, is so obvious by numberless repetitions of the word, as to be perfectly ridiculous. "In the choice of an advantageous situation, he preferred the confines of Europe and Asia; to curb, with a powerful arm, the barbarians who dwelt between the Danube and Tanais; to watch, with an eye of jealousy, the conduct of the Persian monarch." Here the members of the sentence in Italics, are altogether superfluous; the author wanted to inform his reader, that Dioclesian designed to curb the barbarians and watch the Persian monarch; for which purpose he chose a favorable situation; but it was wholly immaterial to the subject to relate in what manner or degree, the emperor meant to exert his arm or his jealousy. Nay more, these are circumstances which are not reduceable to any certainty, and of which the writer and the reader can have no precise idea. "With these views, Dioclesian had selected and embellished the residence of Nicomedia."—Is Nicomedia a princess, whose residence the emperor selected and embellished? This is the most obvious meaning of the sentence. But Nicomedia, we learn from other passages, was a city, the residence itself of the emperor. Yet the author could not tell us this in a few plain words, without spoiling the harmony of the phrase; he chose therefore to leave it obscure and ungrammatical. "—But the memory of Dioclesian was justly abhorred by the Protector of the Church; and Constantine was not insensible to the ambition of founding a city, which might perpetuate the glory of his own name." Who is the protector of the church? By Constantine's being mentioned immediately after, one would think he cannot be the person intended; yet on examination, this is found to be the case. But why this separate appellation? It seems the author meant by it to convey this In description, our author often indulges a figurative poetical manner, highly improper. "The figure of the imperial city (Constantinople) may be represented under that of an unequal triangle. The obtuse point, which advances towards the east, and the shores of Asia, meets and repels the waves of the Thracian Bosphorus." Here the author soars on poetic wings, and we behold the obtuse point of a triangle, marching eastward, attacking and repulsing its foes, the waves of the Bosphorus; in the next line, the author sinks from the heights of Parnassus, and creeps on the plain of simple narrative—"The northern side of the city is bounded by the harbor." "On these banks, tradition long preserved the memory of the sylvan reign of Amycus, who defied the son of Leda to the combat of the Cestus." The author takes it for granted that his reader is acquainted with all the ancient fables of Greece and Rome. Such allusions to facts or fables make a wretched figure in sober history. The author, after the manner of the poets, admits episodes into his descriptions, by way of variety and embellishment. He begins a description of Constantinople; to do justice to the city, he must describe its situation; he therefore gives an account of the Thracian Bosphorus, the Propontus and Hellespont, interspersed with ancient fables, and adorned with poetical imagery. When he arrives at the mouth of the Hellespont, his fancy leads him to the seat of ancient Troy, and he But it is needless to multiply examples; for similar faults occur in almost every page. Most men, who have read this history, perceive a difficulty in understanding it; yet few have attempted to find the reason; and hardly a man has dared to censure the stile and manner. To what cause then shall we ascribe the almost unanimous consent of the English and Americans, in lavishing praises upon Gibbon's history? In some measure doubtless to the greatness of the attempt, and the want of an English history which should unfold the series of events which connects ancient and modern times. The man who should light a lamp, to illuminate the dark period of time from the 5th to the 15th century, would deserve immortal honors. The attempt is great; it is noble; it is meritorious. Gibbon appears to have been faithful, laborious, and perhaps impartial. It is his stile and manner only I am censuring; for these are exceedingly faulty. For proof of this I appeal to a single fact, which I have never heard contradicted; that a man who would comprehend Gibbon, must read with painful attention, and after all receive little improvement. The encomiums of his countrymen proceed from false taste; a taste for superfluous ornament. Men are disposed to lessen the trouble of reading, and to spare the labor of examining into the causes and consequences of events. They choose to please their eyes and ears, rather than feed the mind. Hence the rage for abridgements, and a display of rhetorical embellishments. Hence the eclat with which "Millot's Elements of General History," is received in the world. This work is no more than an Index to General History; or a recapitulation of the principal events. It is calculated for two classes of people; for those who, having read history in the original writers, want to revise their studies, without a repetition of their first labors; and for those who have but little time to employ in reading, and expect only a general and superficial knowlege of history. These strictures are contrary to the opinions of most men, especially as they regard the stile of the authors mentioned. Yet they are written with a full conviction of their being well founded. They proceed POSTSCRIPT.The foregoing remarks were written before I had seen the opinions of that judicious and elegant writer, East Apthorp, M. A. vicar of Croydon, on the same history. The following passage is too directly in point to be omitted. It is in his "Second Letter on the Study of History." "I was disappointed in my expectations of instruction from this book (Gibbon's History) when I discerned that the author had adopted that entertaining but superficial manner of writing history, which was first introduced by the Abbe de Vertot, whose History of the Revolutions in the Government of the Roman Republic, is one of those agreeable and seducing models which never fail of producing a multitude of imitations. There is, in this way of writing, merit enough to recommend it to such readers, and such writers, as propose to themselves no higher aim, than an elegant literary amusement: It piques their curiosity, while it gratifies their indolence. The historian has the advantage, in this way, of passing over such events and institutions as, however essential to the science of history, are less adapted to shine in the recital. By suppressing facts and violating chronology; by selecting the most pleasing incidents and placing them in a striking point of view, by the coloring and drapery of stile and composition, the imagination is gratified with a gaudy spectacle of triumphs and revolutions passing in review before it; while the rapid succession of great events affords a transient delight, without leaving useful and lasting impressions either on the memory or judgement; or fixing those principles which ought to be the result of historic information. "Nor is it the worst consequence of this slight an The same writer complains of a decline of literature in Great Britain, fixing the "settlement that followed the revolution," as the era of true science and greatness. He remarks that the "aim of modern writers seems to be to furnish their readers with fugitive amusement, and that ancient literature is become rather the ornament of our libraries, than the accomplishment of our minds; being supplanted by the modish productions which are daily read and forgotten." For proof of what I have advanced respecting the sound of c in Rome, I would observe, that the genitive case of the first declension in Latin anciently ended in ai, which was probably copied from the Greeks; for it is very evident the Latin Æ in later writers, was the true representative of the Greek ai. Thus Mousai in Greek was translated into the Roman tongue, musÆ. Now c before ai had the sound of k; for where the Romans wrote cÆ the Greeks wrote kai. Thus musica, musicÆ in the first declension must have been pronounced musika, musikai, not musisee, as we now pronounce the Æ. As a further proof, we may appeal to the laws of the Roman poetry, by which dipthongs were always long, having the sound of two vowels combined. But a decisive proof that c before the vowels a In confirmation of which I may add, that the Germans, among whom the word CÆsar became common to all emperors, and now signifies emperor, spell it Kaisar; and in the pronunciation they preserve the true Roman sound of CÆsar. That the Roman c before e and i had the force of ch or tsh, is probable from the present practice of the Italians, who would be the most likely to retain the pure Roman pronunciation. In modern Italian ce, ci are pronounced che, chi; as dolcemente, Cicero, pronounced dolchemente, Chichero. In this opinion I am supported by Dr. Middleton, who seems to have been thoroughly versed in Roman literature. It may gratify the learned reader to see his own words. De Lat. Liter. pron. differ. "Ante vocales a, o, v He observes however that Lipsius ridicules this opinion, and contends that c had in all cases the force of k. This the Doctor ascribes to his partiality for the pronunciation of his countrymen, the Germans, which, he says, has often led him into errors. For altho k before a, o, u used frequently to be written for c, as Karcer for Carcer, yet it never took the place of c before e and i; we never find Karker for Carcer. But that c had the sound of our ch, is probable from another fact: In old inscriptions it is found that c was often used for t before i; condicio for conditio, palacium for palatium. Now ch in English have a compound sound, which begins with that of t, and hence ti and ci in English have taken the sound of ch or sh. It is evident therefore that c before i had a great affinity to ti; an affinity which is still preserved in the Italian language. These circumstances give us reason to believe that ci and ti in condicio and palatium, were both pronounced chi, condichio, palachium. This sound of ci agrees perfectly well with the Saxon sound in cild, pronounced child; cele, now pronounced chill, as I have remarked above; text, page 72. I shall not enter into a particular discussion of the question, whether h is a mark of sound or not. By its convertibility with k and c in the ancient languages, we have reason to conclude that it once had a guttural sound, and the pronunciation of some northern nations of Europe confirms the opinion. But it appears in modern English to have no sound by itself; it however affects, in some degree, the sound of the vowel to which it is prefixed, by previously opening the mouth wider than is necessary to articulate the vowel. Thus in hand we hear no sound but of and; yet in pronouncing hand we open the throat wider, and emit the breath with violence before we begin the sound, which makes an obvious difference in pronouncing the words and and hand; and perhaps this distinction is perceiveable as far as the words can be heard. The same may be said of th in think. The instance of a man who lost a dinner by telling his servant to eat it, when he meant to tell him to heat it, affords a useful lesson to those who are disposed to treat the letter h with too much neglect. That i short is the same sound as ee we have the authority of one of the first and best English grammarians. "Hunc sonum, (ee) quoties correptus est, Angli per i breve, exprimunt; quum vero producitur, scribunt ut plurimum per ee, non raro tamen per ie; vel etiam per ea; ut, sit, fit, feel, fill, fiend, near," &c.—— Wallis, Gram. Sect. 2. Ash confirms the opinion. "Ee has one sound, as in see, thee, and coincides with the narrow i."—Gram. Diss. pref. to his Dic. Kenrick's arrangement of the long and short vowels is exactly similar to mine. Sheridan entertains a different opinion respecting The sound of the Roman i, it is agreed on all hands, was that of the English ee. It retains that sound still in the Italian, French and Spanish, which are immediately derived from the Latin. It had its long and short sounds in Latin; as in vidi, homini; the first pronounced veedee, and the last homini, as we now pronounce i in fill. The French preserve the long sound, and lay it down as a general rule, that i is pronounced like the English ee: Yet in discourse they actually shorten the sound, and in sentimens, ressentiment, &c. pronounce i as we do in civil. In the French motif, i is long like ee; in this and all similar terminations, we shorten the sound, motiv. Mr. Sheridan, in this particular, is evidently singular and probably wrong. That e in let is but the short abrupt sound of a in late, is not so clear; but to me is evident. There is little or no difference in the position of the organs with which we pronounce both vowels. The Roman, Italian, Spanish and French e is considered as the representative of the English a in late, made; and yet in common discourse, it is shortened into the sound of e in let, men: Witness, legere, avec, emmenÉ, bueno, entendido: We observe the same in English; for said, any, many, which are pronounced sed, enny, menny, exhibit the same vowel or short a; the e being the abrupt sound of ai in said. I must therefore differ from Mr. Sheridan, and still believe that e in let, and i in fit, are capable of prolongation. Children, when, instead of a comparison, they would express the superlative by an emphasis, say leetle instead of little; which is a mere prolongation of i short. Mr. Sheridan, in my opinion, is guilty of an error of greater consequence, in marking the two qualities of sound in bard and bad with the same figure. He distinguishes the different qualities of sound in pool and full, and in not and naught; and why he should omit the distinction of sound in bard and bad, ask and man, is to me inconceiveable. The last distinction is as obvious as the others which he has marked; and the defect of his scheme must lead a foreigner into mistakes. His scheme is singular; Kenrick, Perry and Burn all make a distinction in the time of pronouncing a in ask and at; and even Scott, who copies Sheridan's pronunciation almost implicitly, still makes the same distinction. "Non multum differt hic sonus (w) ab Anglorum oo; Gallorum ou, Germanorum u pingui, rapidissime pronunciatis; adeoque a quibusdam pro vocali fuit habita, cum tamen revera consona sit, quanquam ipsi vocali admodum sit affinis."——Wallis. "It is indeed on the celerity of utterance, that all the difference, in many cases, between consonants and vowels depends; as in w and y, in English; which, being discharged quickly, perform the office of consonants, in giving form only to the succeeding vowel; but when protracted or drawled out, acquire a tone and become the vocal oo and ee."——Kenrick, Rhet. Gram. p. 4. Perry has adopted this opinion and contends warmly that w is a consonant. If w is a vowel, says he, then wool, wolf, will be pronounced oo-ool, oo-olf, or ool, olf. I am sensible that in the beginning of words, w has not precisely the power of oo; but it is not clear from this fact that it has the properties of a consonant. Place a vowel before w, as, ow, and there is no In opposition to the authorities mentioned, Sheridan ranks w among the vowels, and supposes it to form dipthongs with the other vowels, as in well, will, &c. It appears to me to be a letter rather of an ambiguous nature, of which we have others in the language. It has been remarked that by old authors y was often used for g; yeve for give; foryete for forget.—— Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1884. I have observed that some foreigners pronounce year, in the same manner nearly as they do ear; and yeast is commonly pronounced east. This pronunciation would easily lead a man into the supposition that y is merely ee short. But the pronunciation is vicious. I observe also that Mr. Sheridan says, "ye has the sound of e long in ye; of a long in yea; of e long in year, yean; and of e short in yearn, yell, &c." This confirms my opinion, and is a proof that he does not pronounce y at all. If y has the sound of e in year, then e has no sound, or there are in the word, two sounds of e, which no person will undertake to assert. The dispute however is easily settled. I have learnt by attending to the conversation of well bred Englishmen, that they do not pronounce y at all in year and many other words. They say ear, e, for year, ye; and the sound of e, they erroneously suppose to be that of y. In America, y has in these words, the consonant sound it has in young; and the English pronunciation must in this instance be faulty. "Now the harmony of prose arises from the same principle with that which constitutes the harmony of verse; viz. numbers; or such a disposition of the words as throws them into just metrical feet, but very different from those which constitute any species of verse."—Essay on the Power of Numbers, &c. page 4. Introd. "A good stile is both expressive and harmonious. The former depends on the happy choice of the words to convey our ideas; the other on the happy choice of numbers in the disposition of the words. The language of some is expressive, but unharmonious; that is, the writer's words strongly convey his sentiments, but the order in which they are placed creates a sound unpleasant to the ear. The stile of others is harmonious but not expressive; where the periods are well turned and the numbers well adapted, but the sense obscure. The former satisfies the mind, but offends the ear; the latter gratifies the ear, but disgusts the mind. A good stile entertains and pleases both," &c—— Ibm. 2d. Part, page 17. The author proceeds to illustrate his doctrines by showing in what the harmony of prose consists. He remarks that the words should in some degree be an echo to the sense, in prose as well as verse. He proceeds—"Every sentence may be conceived as divisible into distinct and separate clauses; every clause, where there is an apparent cessation of the voice, should always end with a generous foot; and all the preceding numbers be so intermixt, that the short ones be duly qualified by the succeeding long ones; reserving the best and most harmonious number for the cadence." To show how much depends on the proper arrangement of words, he quotes the following instance—"A divine, speaking of the Trinity, hath this expression—It is a mystery which we firmly believe the truth of, and humbly adore the depth of." Here the lang The most forceable feet, and those best adapted to sublime and serious subjects, are those which contain the most long syllables, or end in a long syllable; as the Iambic, the Spondee, the AnapÆst. The weak feet are those which have the most short syllables or end in a short syllable; as the Pyrrhic, the Trochee, the Tribrach. The want of proper measures, or a mixture of weak and strong syllables, is very remarkable in a passage of the Declaration of Independence. "We must therefore acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace, friends." The three last syllables form, if any thing, a Bacchic; the first syllable, short, and the two others, long. But in a just pronunciation, the foot is necessarily broken by a pause after peace. This interruption, and the two long syllables, render the close of the sentence extremely heavy. The period is concise and expressive, as it stands; but the arrangement might be much more harmonious—"Our enemies in war; in peace, our friends." Here the measure and melody are perfect; the period closing with three Iambics, preceded by a Pyrrhic. In a Scotch Ballad, called Edom o Gordon, we find the word dreips for drops. "—And clear, clear was hir zellow hair Whereon the reid bluid dreips." But it was often spelt drap, agreeable to the pronunciation. See Edward. Rel. An. Poet. 53. The dialect in America is peculiar to the descendants of the Scotch Irish. Mought is the past time or participle of an old Saxon verb mowe or mowen, to be able. It answered to the posse of the Romans, and the pouvoir of the French. This verb occurs frequently in Chaucer. "But that science is so fer us beforne, We mowen not, altho we had it sworne, It overtake, it slit away so fast, It wol us maken beggers at the last." Cant. Tales, l. 16, 148, Bell's edit. "To mowen such a knight done live or die."——Troil. and Cres. 2. 1594. That is, to be able to make such a knight live or die. "And mought I hope to winne thy love, Ne more his tonge could saye." Sir Cauline, an old Ballad, l. 163. "The thought they herd a woman wepe, But her they mought not se." Adam Bell, &c. part 3. l. 2. in Rel. of An. Poet. "So mought thou now in these refined lays Delight the dainty ears of higher powers. And so mought they in their deep scanning skill, Spenser, Hobbynall. There seem to have been among our Saxon ancestors two verbs of nearly or exactly the same signification, may and might; and mowe and mought. There is some reason to think they were not synonimous; that may was used to express possibility, as I may go next week; and mowe to express power, as they mowen go, they are able to go. But it is not certain that such a distinction ever existed. The Germans use moegen, in the infinitive; mag, in the indic. pres. mÆge, in the subj. pres. in the imperfect of the ind. mochte; and in the imp. of the subj. mÆchte. The English use may and might solely in their writing; but mought is still pronounced in some parts of America. Holpe or holp was not obsolete when the Bible was last translated, in the reign of king James; for it occurs in several places in that translation. It occurs frequently in old authors. "Unkindly they slew him, that holp them oft at nede." Skelton El. on Earl of Northum. l. 47. In Virginia it is pronounced hope. "Shall I hope you, Sir." But we must look among the New England common people for ancient English phrases; for they have been 160 years sequestered in some measure from the world, and their language has not suffered material changes from their first settlement to the present time. Hence most of the phrases, used by Shakespear, Congreve, and other writers who have described English manners and recorded the language of all classes of people, are still heard in the common discourse of the New England yeomanry. The verb be, in the indicative, present tense, which Lowth observes is almost obsolete in England, is still used after the ancient manner, I be, we be, you be, they be. The old plural housen is still used for houses. The old verb wol for will, and pronounced wool, is not yet fallen into disuse. This was the verb principally used in Chaucer's time, and it now lives in the purest branch of the Teutonic, the German. For many years, I had supposed the word dern in the sense of great or severe, was local i "This clerk was cleped Hende Nicholas Of derne love he could and of solas." Mil. Tale, l. 3200. "Ye mosten be ful derne as in this case." Ibm. 3297. The word is in common use in New England and pronounced darn. It has not however the sense it had formerly; it is now used as an adverb to qualify an adjective, as darn sweet; denoting a great degree of the quality. The New England people preserve the ancient use of there and here after a word or sentence, designating the place where; as this here, that there. It is called vulgar in English; and indeed the addition of here or there is generally tautological. It is however an ancient practice; and the French retain it in the pure elegant language of their country; ce pays lÀ, celui lÀ, cet homme ici; where we observe this difference only between the French and English idioms, that in French, the adverb follows the noun, that country there, this man here; whereas in English, the adverb precedes the noun, that there country, this here man. This form of speech seems to have been coeval with the primitive Saxon, otherwise it would not have prevailed so generally among the common people. It has been before remarked that the word ax for ask was used in England, and even in the royal assent to acts of parliament, down to the reign of Henry VI. "And to her husband bad hire for to sey If that he axed after Nicholas."—— Chau. Mil. Tale, 3412. "This axeth haste and of an hastif thing Men may not preche and maken tarying." Ibm. 3545. This word to ax is still frequent in New England. I no not know whether our American sportsmen use the word, ferret, in the sense of driving animals from their lurking places. But the word is used in some parts of New England, and applied figuratively to many transactions in life. So in Congreve: "Where is this apocryphal elder? I'll ferret him."——Old Bach, act 4, fc. 21. Sometimes, but rarely, we hear the old imperative of the Saxon thafian, now pronounced thof. But it is generally pronounced as it is written, tho. It is remarked by Horne, that thof is still frequent among the common people of England. Gin or gyn for given is still used in America; as Bishop Wilkins remarks, it is in the North of England. Without, in the sense of unless, is as frequent as any word in the language, and even among the learned. It is commonly accounted inelegant, and writers have lately substituted unless: But I do not see the propriety of discarding without, for its meaning is exactly the same as that of unless. It is demonstrated that they are both the imperatives of old verbs. Without, is be out, be away; and unless is dismiss, or be apart. Instead of the imperative Chaucer generally uses the participle, withouten, being out. The best writers use without in the sense of unless. "—And if he can't be cured without I suck the poison from his wounds, I'm afraid he won't recover his senses, till I lose mine."——Cong. Love for Love, a "'Twere better for him, you had not been his confessor in that affair, without you could have kept his counsel closer."——Cong. Way of the World, act, 3. sc. 7. The best speakers use the word in this manner, in common discourse, and I must think, with propriety. Peek is also used corruptedly for peep. By a similar change of the last consonant, chirk is used for chirp, to make a cheerful noise. This word is wholly lost, except in New England. It is there used for comfortably, bravely, cheerful; as when one enquires about a sick person, it is said, he is chirk. Chirp is still used to express the singing of birds, but the chirk of New England is not understood, and therefore derided. Four hundred years ago it was a polite term. "and kisseth hire swete, and chirketh as a sparwe With his lippes."—— Chaucer, Somp. Tale, 7386. In the following it is used for a disagreeable noise. "All full of chirking was that sory place." Knight's Tale, 2006. "And al so ful eke of chirkings And of many other wirkings." House of Fame, 858. Shet for shut is now become vulgar; yet this is the true original orthography and pronunciation. It is from the Saxon scitten, and I believe was always spelt "Voideth your man and let him be thereout, And shet the dore."—— Chau. Yem. Tale, 16, 605. "And his maister shette the dore anon." Ibm. 16, 610. And in a variety of other places. This word is almost universally pronounced shet among all classes of people, not only in New England, but in Great Britain and the southern states of America. How the spelling came to be changed, is not known; but it was certainly a corruption. An for if is seen in most old authors. It remains among the common people, both in England and America. "An please your honor;" that is, "if your honor please." In New England, the phrases in which it occurs most frequently are, "Let him go, an he will;" "Go, an you will;" and others of a similar kind. Because and becase were used promiscuously by our ancestors. Becase is found in some ancient writings, tho not so frequently as because. In New England, we frequently hear becase to this day. It is pronounced becaze. It is a compound of be and cause or case; both of these words with the verb be make good English; but becase is vulgar. The vulgar pronunciation of such is sich. This is but a small deviation from the ancient elegant pronunciation, which was swich or swiche, as the word is spelt in Chaucer. Such is the force of national practice: And altho the country people in New England, sometimes drawl their words in speaking, and, like their brethren, often make false concord, yet their idiom is purely Saxon or English; and in a vast number of instances, they have adhered to the true phrases, where people, who despise their plain manners, have run into error. Thus they say, "a man is going by," and not going past, which is nonsense: They say, "I purpose to go," and not propose to go, which is not good English. They say, "a ship lies in harbor," not lays, which is a modern corruption. They say, "I have done," and never "I am done," which is nonsense. They say, "it was on Monday evening," not "of a Monday evening," which The letters ch in Roman answered nearly to the Greek ki or chi; for c had the sound of k, at least before a, o, u. Ch or kh was therefore the proper combination for the Greek letter; which had the sound of k followed by an aspirate. This combination was copied into our language; and perhaps the aspirate was once pronounced, like the Irish guttural in Cochran. But when the aspirate was lost, k became the proper representative of the sound. It is wished, that in all the derivatives from the ancient languages, where this character occurs, k might be substituted for ch; that persons unacquainted with etymology, might not mistake and give ch its English sound. FOOTNOTES:The Roman pronunciation of v is still preserved in England and America; veal, weal; vessel, wessel; and w is often changed into v or f; wine, vine, or even fine. The Romans often pronounced t where we use d; as traho, draw. Example of the declension of nouns among the Saxons. A WORD.
Hickes Sax. Gram. 1 Deos patrios colunto: externas superstitiones aut fabulas ne admiscento. 3 Nocturna sacrificia peruigiliaque amouentor. 8 Vxor farreatione viro iuncta, in sacra et bona eius venito—ius deuortendi ne esto. 13 Si pater filiom ter venumduit, filius a patre liber esto. A law of Numa. 5 Qui terminum exarasit, ipsus et boues sacrei sunto. A law of Tullius Hostillius. 2 Nati trigemini, donicum puberes esunt, de publico aluntor. |
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