Full text of "The Bible of every land : a history of the Sacred Scriptures in every language and dialect into which translations have been made : illustrated with specimen portions in native characters, series of alphabets, coloured ethnographical maps, tables, indexes, etc"

THE LIBRARY

VICTORIA UNIVERSITY
Toronto

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MULT/E TERRICOLIS LliMCU/.
CCELESTIBUS UNA.

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A HISTORY OF

THE SACRED SCRIPTURES

IN EVERY LANGUAGE AND DIALECT

INTO WHICH TRANSLATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE

ILLUSTRATED WITH

SPECIMEN PORTIONS IN NATIVE CHARACTERS:

Series of QUpfyabets;

COLOURED ETHNOGRAPHICAL MAPS,
TABLES, INDEXES, ETC.

DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.

nOAAAI MEN 0NHTOI2 TAOTTAI, MIA A AGANATOISIN.

LONDON:
SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS,

15, PATERNOSTER ROW;

WAREHOUSE FOR BIBLES, NEW TESTAMENTS, PEATER BOOKS, LEXICONS, GRAMMARS, CONCORDANCES.
AND PSALTERS, IN ANCIENT AND MODERN LANGUAGES.

\fss\

EMMANUEL

i 23730

TO HIS GRACE
THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY,

ETC., ETC., ETC., ETC.

MY LOED,

IT is with peculiar pleasure I avail myself of the
permission to dedicate the " BIBLE OF EVEKY LAND" to your Grace.

The high honour of having extensively promoted the general
spread of the Sacred Scriptures belongs in an especial manner to your Grace,
and renders the association of this Work with your Grace s name truly
gratifying.

I rejoice in placing my humble effort in the same great cause
under your Grace s patronage.

My gratitude for this distinguished favour, so kindly bestowed, will
increase my endeavour to attain the highest possible degree of completeness
and accuracy in the prosecution of the Work.

I have the honour to subscribe myself,

MY LOKD,

Your Grace s much obliged

and very humble Servant,

SAMUEL BAGSTER.

15, PATERNOSTER Row, 1848.

CONTENTS.

PACK

PREFATORY REMARKS ... . i x

A Classified List of the Languages into which the Scriptures have been translated

An Alphabetical List of Typographical Specimens

The Plates of Engraved Specimens

An Expository Description of all the Ethnographical Maps xvii

The Comparative Series of Alphabets xx i x

Alphabetical Index to the Memoirs of the Versions ] x i

MAP illustrative of toe MONOSYLLABIC Languages.
Memoirs of Class I. The Chinese Languages 1

MAP. showing th& Extension of the 8HEMITIC Languages
Memoirs of Class II. The Shemitic Languages . 19

MAP illustrative of the MEDO-PERS1AN Family.
Memoirs of Class III. Medo-Persian Family 51

MAP illustrative of the SANSCRIT Family.
Memoirs of Class III. Sanscrit Family 71

MAP of EUROPE, showing the Distribution of the CELTIC, TEUTONIC, GRECO LATIN, THRACO

ILLYRIAN, and SCLAVONIC Families

Memoirs of Class III. Celtic Family 129

Teutonic Family . . . .147

Greco-Latin Family . 189

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Memoirs of Class III. Thraco-Illyrian Family . . 239

Sclavonic Family .... 240

MAP of the FINNO-TARTARIAN PumiJv of Languages

Memoirs of Class IV. Euskarian Family ... 261

Finnish Family 264

Tungusian Family . 277

Mongolian Family . 279

Turkish Family . 282

Caucasian Family . 293

Samoiede Family . 295

Eastern Asian and Corean Languages 296

MAP illustrative of the POLYNESIAN and NEGRITIAN Language*

Memoirs of Class V. Polynesian Languages . 299

MAP showing the Distribution of the Native Languages of AFRICA.

Memoirs of Class VI. African Languages 326

MAP of the Languages of NORTH and SOUTH AMERICA

Memoirs of Class VII. American Languages . 359

Memoirs of Class VIII. Mixed or Patois Languages 394

MAP exhibiting the ancient Diffusion of the HEBREW Languages

Supplementary Memoir of the wide Diffusion of the Hebrew Language (1)

Supplementary Information of the Versions generally (5\
A Classified Table of the Languages of the entire Earth, illustrating the necessity for continued

exertion in the spread of the Scriptures / 10 \

PREFATORY REMARKS.

IT is remarkable that, among all the branches of history, religious, political, social,
literary, and scientific, which have from time to time obtained such numerous and such
able exponents, the history of the Oracles of God has hitherto, in the form at least of a
complete and unbroken narrative, remained unwritten. The materials for such a work
have, however, been accumulating from century to century ; fragmentary portions of this
history enter into the composition of many profound and learned treatises, while facts
and incidents connected with or illustrative of the subject have been supplied even to
profusion by writers of almost every age, creed, and nation. To collect from all
sources, ancient and modern, the multitudinous details bearing on that history which
above all others involves the temporal and eternal interests of mankind, and thus to
produce a clear and condensed account of the means by which the Scriptures were
transmitted from generation to generation, of the circumstances under which they
have been translated into the predominant languages of every land, and of the
agencies by which copies of the inspired writings in these divers languages have been
multiplied and dispersed among the nations and tribes and kindreds of the earth, is
the object of the present work.

The arrangement of the whole work is in strict conformity with the latest dis
coveries in ethnology ; for, although the one grand object of displaying the history of
the Scriptures has never been departed from in these pages, the origin and condition
of the nations to whom special versions have been vouchsafed, and the distinguishing
characteristics of the languages into which have been transferred the words of Him
who " spake as never man spake," have passed under careful review.

The elements of these languages, the stock or stocks from which they sprang, and
their affiliation with other languages, have been examined more or less in detail; and
the singular precision with which all languages range themselves, according to the
order of their mutual affinities, into classes, families, and subdivisions, is exhibited by
means of our Tables of Classification, perhaps the first of the kind compiled in our
language.

The work has thus in some degree assumed the character of an ethnological manual,
and as such it may possibly prove a stepping-stone to those who desire to pass from

PREFATOEY REMARKS.

the study of two or three isolated languages to the enlarged consideration of lan
guage in general, and of the laws upon which all languages are constructed. Such
investigations, if laboriously, patiently, and honestly conducted, can lead but to one
result, the affinities by which families and even classes of languages are linked
together being so close and intimate, that the more deeply they are examined, the
more profound becomes the conviction of the truth of the theory respecting the original
unity of language.

This volume is illustrated by specimen portions of all the extant and attainable
versions of the Scriptures, printed in their own proper characters.

The maps appertaining to the several sections of the work exhibit the geogra
phical location and extent of each language, and likewise show how far the divine
light of the Holy Scriptures, in the vernacular languages of the natives, shines over
the world.

It has been attempted, also, from the mass of missionary and epistolary evidence
existing, to draw conclusions respecting the effects which may have followed the perusal
of special versions of the Scriptures. All reasonings on this subject, however, even with
the most ample opportunities of forming as far as possible a correct judgment, can at
best be but approximations towards the truth. Known only to God is the number of
His spiritual worshippers. The Word of God is still quick and powerful, in every
tongue and among every nation, and it cannot return unto Him void: therefore let
us " in the morning sow our seed, and in the evening withhold not our hand." The
question which shall prosper, this or that, or whether they shall both alike be good, is
one of the secret things which belong unto the Lord most High.

The Publishers would fain express their deep obligation, individually, to the
numerous friends who have taken part in the preparation of this laborious work, were
such an enumeration suitable ; but they cannot refrain from recording the particular
value of the aid afforded by the British and Foreign Bible Society, the American Bible
Society, the Missionary Societies of this country and of America. They would also
render a becoming tribute to the munificence of the Emperor of Austria, who has been
pleased to supply, for the due completion of this work, the entire series of Native
Alphabets with which it is enriched.

London, 15, Paternoster Row, 1851.

A LIST OF THE LANGUAGES

INTO WHICH THE SCRIPTURES, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, HAVE BEEN

TRANSLATED.

NOTK.THE NAMES OP LANGUAGES IN WHICH VERSIONS OF SCRIPTURE HAVE BEEN CONTEMPLATED OR PROJECTED, BUT NEVER COMPLETED

OR CIRCULATED, ARE PRINTED IN ITALICS.

CLASS 1.

CLASS in. INDO-EUKOPEAN (CONTINUED).

MONOSYLLABIC.

Chinese Peguese, Talain, or Mon
Burmese Karen

Moultan, Wuch, or Ooch
Punjabee or Sikh

Swedish
Faroese.

Arakanese or Rukheng Munipoora

Dogura or Jumboo
Cashmerian

E. GRECO-LATIN FAMILY.

Siamese Khassee
Laos or Law Tibetan

Nepalese or Khaspoora

T&gt; 1

Ancient Greek
Modern Greek

Cambojan Lepcha.

Jralpa
Kumaon

Latin

namite

Gurwhal or Schreenagur

French
Spanish

CLASS II.

SHEMITIC.

Gujerattee
Mahratta

Portuguese
Italian

Hebrew of the Old Test. Carshun

Kunkuna

Daco-Romana or Wal-

Hebrew of the New Test. Arabic

Rommany or Gipsy

lachian

Samaritan Mogrebin or African
Chaldee Arabic

Tamul or Tamil
Telinga or Teloogoo

Provencal or Romaunt
Vaudois

Syriac Ethiopic

Karnata or Canarese

Piedmontese

Syro-Chaldaic Tigre

Tulu

Romanese or Upper and

Modern Syriac Amharic.

Malayalim

Lower Enghadine

Cingalese

Catalan

CLASS III.

Maldivian

Dialect of Toulouse.

INDO-EUROPEAN.

A. MEDO-PERSIAN Bhojepoora

C. CELTIC FAMILY.

F. THRACO-ILLYRIAN

FAMILY. Hurriana

Welsh

FAMILY.

Persic Bundelcundee

Gaelic

Albanian.

Pushtoo or Affghan Bughelcundee

Irish

G. SCLAVONIC FAMILY.

Belochee or Bulochee Oojein or Oujjuyunee

Manks

Sclavonic

Ancient Armenian Harrotee

Breton or Armorican.

Russ

Modern Armenian Oodeypoora

Lettish or Livonian

Ararat-Armenian Marwar

D. TEUTONIC FAMILY.

Polish

Kurdish Juyapoora

Gothic

Lithuanian

Ossitinian. Shekawutty

Ancient Low Saxon

Samogitian

Bikaneera
B. SANSCRIT FAMILY. Buttaneer

Anglo-Saxon
English

Wendish, Upper
Wendish, Lower

Sanscrit Bengalee

Flemish

Wendish, Hungarian

Pali Magadha

Dutch

Bohemian

Hindustani or Urdu Tirhitiya or Mithili

Alemannic or Old High

Carniolan

Hinduwee Assamese

German

Croatian or Dalmatian-

Bruj or Brij-bhasa Uriya or Orissa

German

Servian

Canoj or Canyacubja Cutchee

Norse or Icelandic

Bulgarian

Kousulu or Koshala Sindhee

Danish

Bosnian.

A LIST OF THE LANGUAGES, ETC.

CLASS

IV.

CLASS

V 1.

UGRO-TARTARIAN.

AFRICAN.

Coptic

Accra

A. EUSKARIAN FAMILY.

D. MONGOLIAN FAMILY.

Sahidic

Fante

French Basque
Spanish Basque or

Mongolian Proper
Calmuc
Buriat.

Bashmuric
Berber
Ghadamsi

Ashantee or Odjii
Dewalla
Isubu

Escuara.

Mandingo

Fernandian

E. TURKISH FAMILY.

Jalloof

Mpongwe

B. FINNISH FAMILY.

Turkish

Susoo

Sechuana

Finnish Proper
Lapponese
Quiinian or Norwegian
Laplandish
Hungarian

Karass or Turkish Tartar
Orenburgh Tartar
Crimean Tartar
Trans-Caucasian Tartar
Tschuwaschian.

Bullom
Sherbro
Yarriba or Yoruba
Haussa
Timmanee
Bassa

Sisuta
Caffre
Namacqua
Galla
Kisuaheli
Kikamba

Karelian

Dorpat Esthonian

F. CAUCASIAN FAMILY.

Grebo

Kinika.

Reval Esthonian

Georgian.

CLASS

VII.

Tscheremissian

Mordvinian or Morduin
Zirian or Sirenian

G. SAMOIEDE FAMILY.

AMERICAN.
Esquimaux Dacota or Sioux

Olonetzian

Samoiede.

Greenlandish

Iowa

Wogulian
Ostiacan or Ostjakian
Wotagian or Wotjakian.

H. DIALECTS OF THE IS
LANDS OF EASTERN ASIA,
AND OF COREA.

Virginian
Massachusett Indian
Mohegan
Delaware

Pawnee
Mexican
Otomi
Terasco

Japanese

Cree

Misteco

C. TUNGUSIAN FAMILY.

Loochooan

Chippeway or Ojibway

Zapoteca

Mantchou

Aleutian

Ottawa

Mayan

Tungusian Proper.

Corean.

Pottawattomie

Mosquito

Micmac

Peruvian or Quichua

Abenaqui

Aimara

CLASS V.

Shawanoe

Guarani

POLYNESIAN OR MALAYAN.

Mohawk

Brazilian

Seneca

Karif or Carib

Malay

Tahitian

Cherokee

Arawack.

Low Malay

Rarotonga

Chocktaw

Formosan
Javanese

Marquesan
Tonga

CLASS

VIII.

Dajak

New Zealand or Maori

MIXED OR PATOIS LANGUAGES.

Batta

Malagasse

Maltese

Negro Dialect of

Bima

Samoan

Judeo- Spanish

Surinam

Bugis

Feejeean

Jewish-German

Negro Dialect of

Macassar

New South Wales,

Judeo-Polish

Curacoa

Hawaiian

Aboriginal.

Creolese

Indo-Portuguese.

ALPHABETICAL
LIST OF TYPOGRAPHICAL SPECIMENS.

PAGE

ACCRA . . .342

Adiyah . . 346
Affghan ... 58

Aimara . 389

Albanian . . 239

Alemannic . . 171

Amharic . . 48

Ancient Greek . 189

Anglo-Saxon . . 153

Arabic . . 39

Arawack . . 392
Armenian :

Ancient . . 61

Ararat . .61

Modern . . 61

Assamese plate xi 97

JJASHMURIC . . 330
Basque French . 261
Spanish . 263
Bengalee plate vi 92
Berber . . 331
Bohemian . . 248
Breton . . 145

Bulgarian plate via. 254
Bullom . . .337
Buriat plate vm 280

Burmese plate i 6

CAFFRB . . 351

Calmuc plate vm 279

Canarese plate vi 120

Carniolan . . 252

Carshun . . 44

Cashmerian plate v 102
Catalan or Catalonian 237

Chaldee . . .31

Chinese . . 1

PAGE

Chippeway . . 371

Chocktaw . . 379

Cingalese plate vi 126

Coptic . . . 326

Cree ... 369

Creolese . . . 402

Curacoa . . 404

Cutchee or Catchee . 99

Wallachian plate vi 229

Dacota or Sioux . 381

Dajak . . . 308

Danish . . .180

Delaware . . 368

Dorpat Esthonian . 272

Dualla . . 344

Dutch . . .168

-CJNGLISH I

Wiclif, 1380 . 157

Tyndale, 1534 . 157

Coverdale, 1535 . 157

Matthew, 1537 . 157

Cranmer, 1539 . 158

Taverner, 1549 158

Geneva, 1557 . 158

Bishops , 1568 . 158

Rheims, 1582 . 159

Douay, 1847 . 159

Authorised, 1611 . 159

Blayney, 1769 . 159

Esquimaux . . 359

Esthonian, Dorpat . 272

Reval . 273
Ethiopic ... 45

JD AROESE . . 188

Feejeean . . . 323

Fernandian .
Finnish .
Flemish
French

PAGE

346
264
165
214

Le Frevre s Version 216

Olivetan s 216

Geneva 216

De Sacy s 217

Ostervald s 217

Swiss 217

French Basque . 261

(JTAELIC . . .135
Galla . . . 355
Georgian : plate ix 293

Civil character . 293

Ecclesiastical 293
German :

Luther, Leipsic, 1825 173

Van Ess, Sulbach,
1842 . . 173

Gosner, Munich,

1836 . . 174

Kistemacker,

Munster, 1848 . 174
Ghadamsi . . 333
Gipsy . . . 112
Gothic . . .147
Grebo . . . 341
Greek, Ancient :

Textus Receptus . 189

Griesbach, with va
rious readings . 194

Septuagint . 197
Greek, Modern :

Maximus Calliopoli-
tan s Version, 1638 201

Hilarion s 201

PAGE

Greenlandish, 1799 362

1822 362

Gujerattee plate \ 105

-LlAKARi plate iv 68

Harrotee . . 89
Hawaiian . . 311
Hebrew . .19
New Test., Green
field s Version 25
Society s . 25
Hindustani . . 78
In the Devanigari

character . . 79

In Roman . 80

Hinduwee . . 84

Hungarian . . 269

Wendish 257

ICELANDIC . .177

Indo-Portuguese . 405

Irish :

In Irish character 137

In Roman . 137

Isubu ... 345

Italian :

Malermi s Version 227

Diodati s 227

Martini s 227

JAPANESE plate x 296

Javanese plate xi 307

Jewish-German . 399

Judaeo-Persis . . 57

Judeo-Polish . 400
Judeo- Spanish:

Old Testament, with

Hebrew Original 396

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF TYPOGRAPHICAL SPECIMENS.

PAGE

Judeo-Spanish (cont d -} :
New Testament . 397

KARAITE-TARTAR 290
Karass :

Seaman s Version,
1666 . . 287

Brunton s Version,

1813 . . 287
Karelian plate vni 271
Karen, Sgau plate xi 13

Sho or Pwo

plate xi 13

Karif or Carib . 391

Karnata plate vi 120
Katchi plate v 99

Khaspoora . . 103
Khassee plate i 15

In Roman plate in 15
Kunkuna . .110

Kurdish plate iv 68

JJAPPONESE . 267
Latin Versions of the

Old Testament :
Ante-Hieronymian

Version . . 205

Vulgate Version 205

Pagninus s . 205

Munster s . 206

LeoJuda s . 206

Castalio s . 206
Junius and Tremel-

lius s . 207

Schmidt s . 207

Dathe s . 207
Latin Versions of the
New Testament :
Ante-Hieronymian

Version . 211

Erasmus s Version 211

Beza s .211

Castalio s . 212

Schmidt s . 212

Sebastian s . 212

Schott s .213

Goeschen s . 213

Lepcha plate xi 18

Lettish or Livonian 257

Lithuanian
Loochooan

PAGE

. 259

plate x 297

MAHRATTA . 107
Malagasse . . 320
Malayalim

alphabets (xlix) 124
Malayan :

Roman,Oxford, 1677 300
Brower, 1668 301
Arabic, Calcutta,

1817 . . 299
Arabic, Robinson s,

1823 . . 305
Roman, Serampore,

1814 . . 303
Arabic, Singapore,

1831 . . 304

Maldivian

alphabets (1) 128

Maltese, 1829 . 394

1847 . 395

Mandingo . . 334

Manks . . .142

Mantchou plate ix 277

Marathi . . 107

Massachusett . . 366

I Mayan . . 386

j Mexican . . . 283

| Modern Greek . 200

! Mohawk 375

! Mongolian

alphabets (Iv) 279
j Mongrebin, or African

or Moorish Arabic 43
Mordvinian plate x 274
Mosquito . . 387
Moultan or Wuch

alphabets (xliv) 100

rS AMACQUA . . 354
Napalese or Khaspoora 103
New Zealand .318

Norse . . . 177

OJIBWAY . . 370
Old Saxon . . 151
Orenburg-Tartar . 289

Orissa
Otomi

PAGE
plate iv 98

385

plate iv 76

J? AM

Peguese

alphabets (xxxv) 51

Persian . . .51

Piedmontese . 234

Polish . . .246

Portuguese :

Almeida s Version 223
Pereera s 223
Boy s 223

Provencal or Romaunt
Lyons MS. . . 230
Paris MS. [8086] 230
Paris MS. [6833] 230
Dublin MS. . 231
Grenoble MS. . 231
Zurich MS. . 231

Pushtoo . . 58

RAROTONGA . . 314
Reval Esthonian . 273
Romanese or Upper and

Lower Enghadine 235
Rommany . .112
Russian plate vn 244

SAHIDIC

Samaritan
Samoan
Samogitian
Sanscrit .

329

321

260

Dr. Carey s Version 74

Saxon, Old . . 151

Sclavonian plate vn 240

Sechuana . 348

Servian plate vn 250

Siamese . . 10
Sindhee alphabets (xliv) 99

Sioux . . . 381

Sirenian plate vm 274

Sisuta or Sesuto . 350
Spanish :

Reyna s Version . 220

Scio s 220

Amat s 220

Spanish Basque . 263

PAGE

Surinam Negro-
English . . 403
Susoo . . . 336
Swedish . . .185
Syriac, Peshito . 33

Philoxenian 33
Syro-Chaldaic plate n 37

J-AHITIAN . .312

Tamul plate v 113

Telinga plate iv 118
Tibetan plate n 17
Tigre ... 47

Tongan . . . 316
Toulouse . . 238

Trans-Caucasian

Tartar . . 292
Tscheremissian plate x 274
TschuwaschianpZafeix 291
Turkish . . 282
Turkish-Armenian . 286
Turkish-Tartar :

Seaman s Ver. 1666 287

Brunton s 1813 287

Turko-Greek . 285

URDO . 78

Uriya plate iv 98

VAUDOIS . . 232
Virginian . . 365

joZafe VI 229

Welsh :

Salisbury s Version,

1567 . . 129
Dr. W. Morgan s

Version, 1588 . 129
Bishop Parry s Ver
sion, 1620 . 129
Wendish or Sorabic,

Upper and Lower 255
Wendish, Hungarian 257

YARRIBA . . 338
ZIRIAN plate vni 274

FACSIMILE SPECIMENS.

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PLATE III.

SPECIMEN OF THE KHASSEE VERSION IN ROMAN LETTERS,

Consisting of St. Matthew, chap. V. v. 1 to 12.

1 HABA u ioh ih ia ki paitbah, u la km sha u Mm ; haba u la shong ruh, ki la wan ha
u ki synran jong u : 2 u la ang ruh ia la ka shintur, u la hikai ruh ia ki, u da ong,

3 Suk ki ba duk ha ka mynsiim ; na ba jong ki long ka hima ka byneng. 4 Suk ki ba
sngousi ; na ba yn pyntyngen ia ki. 5 Suk ki ba jemnut ; na ba kin ioh ia ka kyndeu.
6 Suk ki ba tyngan bad ba sliang ia ka hok ; naba yn pyndap ia ki. 7 Suk ki ba isnei ;
na ba yn isnei ia ki. 8 Suk ki bakuid ha ca donut ; na ba kin ioh ih ia U Blei. 9 Suk
ki ba pyniasuk ; na ba yn khot ia ki, ki kun U Blei. 10 Suk ki ba ioh pynshitom na ka
bynta ka hok ; na ba jong ki long ki hima ka byneng. " Suk maphi, ha ba ki leh bein ia
phi, ki pynshitom ruh, ki ong ki ktin bymman baroh ruh ia phi na ka bynta jong nga, ha
ba ki shu lamlher : 12 Phin kymen, phin sngoubha eh ruh ; naba kumta ki la pynshitom
ia ki Prophet ki ba la mynshiwa jong phi.

ON THE KHASSEE VERSION IN ROMAN LETTERS.

THE system of substituting Roman letters for the native characters of Indian alphabets in printed
editions of the Scriptures and of other books, has of late years been extensively adopted in India ;
and the advantages of this system, especially with reference to the Khassee (which in the former
edition of the New Testament had been printed in Bengalee^ characters, see Specimen, Part I),
cannot be better stated than in the words of an eminent Missionary, Dr. Duff, of Calcutta.^ In a
letter addressed to Mr. Jones, the Missionary of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Society at Cherra,
when the first books used in connection with the mission were about to be published, the doctor
thus writes

" Thoroughly and absolutely do I approve of your determination to print your translated works
in the Roman characters. It is a strange delusion of Satan that men should strive to uphold varieties
of alphabetic characters anywhere, provided they could without violence be superseded by one, at
once uniform and effective, seeing that such variety is. a prodigious bar and impediment to the
diffusion of sound knowledge, and especially Divine truth. But, in a case like yours, where the
natives had really no written characters of their own at all, to dream of introducing a clumsy,
awkward, expensive, and imperfect character like that of the Bengali, in preference to the clear,
precise, and cheaper romanised alphabet, would seem to me to be voluntarily raismg_up new ramparts
to guard against the invasion of Truth. No, our object ought ever to be to facilitate, and not to
obstruct, the dissemination of true knowledge of every kind; and one of the ways of doing so^ is
everywhere to encourage the introduction and the use of the Roman alphabet in place of the native
alphabets, which are linked, and associated, and saturated with all that is idolatrous."

1000 copies of the Gospel of St. Matthew have been carried through the press by the Calcutta
Bible Society, and the book of Acts has been prepared. 1

Reports 1817, P- 90 ; 1848, p. 84.

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EXPOSITORY INDEX TO THE MAPS.

I. MAP OF THE MONOSYLLABIC LANGUAGES.

THE Monosyllabic languages are spoken exclusively in the south-eastern angle of the continent of Asia : their area is little inferior in
point of extent to the whole of Europe. The various nations by whom these languages are employed all belong to one stock or family,
and are distinguished, in a more or less modified degree, by the Mongolic type of physical conformation. The religion which has obtained
the widest acceptance among this race is Buddhism, but other forms of belief are also received. The religion of Confucius, for instance,
prevails to a considerable extent in China ; and a rude species of idolatry, said in some instances to resemble that practised by the
Esquimaux, is predominant among the wild, untutored tribes of the mountains, who still preserve then- independence in the very midst
of the civilised nations of this race.

The Monosyllabic languages are referable, geographically and philologically, to three grand divisions, namely, the languages of
China, the languages of the Indo-Chinese or Transgangetic peninsula, and the languages of Thibet and the Himalayas.

I. LANGUAGES OF CHINA.

CHINESE is the language of China, an extensive
country, of which the entire surface forms a kind of
natural declivity from the high steppeland of Central
Asia to the shores of the North Pacific. The moun
tain chains which traverse this region are not re-
markahle for extent or altitude, the chief physical
characteristic being the broad water sheds, with their
corresponding fertile, alluvial valleys, whereby this
large portion of the earth s surface is rendered a
peculiarly fit abode for an industrial, agricultural
people. Various dialects (according to Leyden, about
sixteen in number) prevail in the different provinces
of China, but they are merely local varieties of
Chinese. Distinct languages are spoken among the
mountain and forest districts by uncivilised tribes,
who are supposed by some to have been the original
possessors of the country.

II. LANGUAGES OF THE TRANS
GANGETIC PENINSULA.

ANAMITE is predominant in a line of country border
ing on the Chinese Sea, and extends inland as far as

the westernmost of those longitudinal ranges of
mountains of which, with their corresponding valleys,
this peninsula is composed. The Anamite language
is spoken, with little variety of dialect, by the
Tonquinese and Cochin Chinese, two nations who
evidently at no very remote period formed one
people. In moral and physical characteristics they
closely resemble the Chinese, and they are said by
some of the neighbouring tribes to have been
originally a Chinese colony.

CIAMPA, or TSHAMPA, is still spoken in the very
south of Cochin China by a people who, before their
annexation to the empire of Anam, formed a separate
and independent nation.

CAMBOJAN is the language of Cambodia, a country
in the south of the peninsula, lying between two
parallel ridges of mountains, and divided into two
nearly equal parts by the river May-kuang or Mekon.
The Cambojans, who are akin to, if not identical
with, the Khomen, are supposed to derive their origin
from a warlike mountain race named Kho, the Gueos
of early Portuguese historians.

SIAMESE is more widely diffused than any other
Indo-Chinese language ; its various dialects prevail

EXPOSITORY INDEX TO THE MAPS.

over more than half the peninsula, and are spoken,
with little interruption, in a northerly direction,
from Cambodia on the south to the borders of
Thibet on the north. This wide diffusion may in
part be accounted for by the early conquest of As
sam by Siamese tribes. The dialect of the ancient
Siamese or T hay tongue, which is now convention
ally designated the Siamese, is spoken in Siam, an
extensive kingdom south-west of Burmah.

LAOS, or LAW, is a Siamese dialect pervading the
very interior of the peninsula; it is conterminous
with Cambojan, Anamite, Siamese, Burmese, Chinese,
and Shyan. The Laos people boast of an ancient
civilisation ; and their country, noted for the vestiges
it contains of the founders of Buddhism, is the famed
resort of Buddhistic devotees.

SHYAN is another Siamese dialect, and is spoken to
the north of Burmah, between China and Munipoor.

AHOM, an ancient Siamese dialect, is not marked on
the Map, because extinct, or only preserved in the
books of the Assamese priesthood. It is remarkable
that not a single trace of Hindoo influence, either
Buddhistic or Brahministic, can be found in Ahom
literature.

KHAMTI, though the most northern of Siamese
dialects, varies but little from the dialect of Bankok,
the capital of Siam. It is spoken by a small moun
tainous tribe in the north-east corner of Assam, on
the border of Thibet.

SINGPHO is the language of the most powerful of the
mountain tribes, and prevails in the north of the
Burmese empire, almost on the confines of China.
It is conterminous with Khamti and Shyan on the
north and south, and with Chinese and Munipoora
on the east and west.

PEGUESE prevails in the Delta of the Irawady, to the
south of the Burmese empire.

BURMESE is the language of the dominant people of
the empire of Burmah. Including its cognate dialect,
the Arakanese, it extends from the Laos country to
the Bay of Bengal, and from Munipoor to Pegu : it
is also predominant throughout the maritime province
of Tenasserim, in the south-west of the peninsula,
which is now British territory.

ARAKANESE, as we have before observed, is an elder
dialect of Burmese : it prevails through a narrow
strip of country along the Bay of Bengal, from
Chittagong to Cape Negrais.

SALONG, or SILONG, is the name of an assemblage
of small islands in the Mergui archipelago, between
the Andaman Isles and the south-west coast of the
peninsula. These islands are about one thousand in
number : the predominant language is a peculiar one,
and little is at present known concerning it ; yet it
is generally referred to the Monosyllabic class.

KAREN is spoken in three diversities of dialect, by
uncivilised tribes irregularly distributed over the

regions lying between the eleventh and twenty-third
degrees of north latitude, but chiefly to be found
among the jungles and mountains on the frontiers of
Burmah, Siam, and Pegu. Some of these tribes are
designated red Karens, from the light colour of their
complexion, a circumstance supposed to result from
the great elevation of their mountainous abodes.

KHYEN, or KIAYN, perhaps more generally called
Kolun, is spoken by some wild tribes dwelling in
North Aracan, and on various mountain heights west
of the Irawady. These tribes are of more importance
in an ethnographical than in a political or historical
point of view. According to their own tradition,
they are the aborigines of Ava and Pegu. It was
the opinion of Ritter, that the Khyen and Karen
tribes are descended from the mountainous races of
the chains of Yun-nan, dispersed, probably since
the Mongolic conquest of China, in a southerly
direction.

KOONKIE is a wild, unwritten dialect, said to resemble
the Arakanese. It is spoken by the Kukis, a people
who have been identified with the Nagas and Khoo-
meas. They dwell to the north of Aracan, on the
frontiers of Munipoor and Cachar.

MUNIPOORA is predominant in Munipoor, a small
kingdom forming part of the northern boundary of
Burmah.

CACHARESE is spoken by a numerous tribe in a
district of considerable extent, lying east of the
Bengal district of Sylhet. This language is con
terminous with Munipoora on the east, and Khassee
on the west.

KHASSEE is spoken on a range of hills forming part
of the southern border of Lower Assam. The people
to whom it is vernacular are called Cossyahs or
Khasias.

*** The interposition of Assamese (which is a Sanscritic language
nearly allied to Bengali) in the area otherwise exclusively occupied by
Monosyllabic languages has given rise to much conjecture ; but it is now
generally believed that the natives of Lower Assam originally employed
a Monosyllabic dialect, but were led by their contiguity to Hindustan,
and, by political and other circumstances, to adopt a language of that
country. Upper Assam is still peopled by various tribes speaking Mono
syllabic languages.

III. LANGUAGES OF THIBET AND
THE HIMALAYAS.

LEPCHA is spoken by a tribe apparently of Tibetan
origin, dwelling on the south side of the Himalayas,
on and near the eastern frontier of Bootan.

ABOR and MISHIMI are the languages of uncivilised
tribes inhabiting an extensive range of hilly country
on the borders of Bootan and Thibet, between the
ninety-fourth and the ninety-seventh degrees of east
longitude.

TIBETAN is spoken by the widely-diffused race of
Bhot, in Thibet, Bootan, Ladakh, and Bultistan or

SHEMITIC LANGUAGES.

xix

Little Thibet. This extensive range of country lies
among the Himalayas, in the south-eastern angle of
the plateau of Central Asia. The geographical
position of the Bhotiya, and likewise some of their
moral and physical characteristics, would appear to
connect them with the nomadic nations of that vast
plateau, if their language, which approximates in

many respects to that of China, did not indicate their
relationship to the Chinese ; and this affinity, on the
one side with the Chinese, and on the other with the
Turkish, Mongolian, and Tungusian tribes of Central
Asia, has caused this remarkable race to be regarded
as the connecting link between these two great
divisions of the human family.

II. MAP OF THE SHEMITIC LANGUAGES.

THE Shemitic languages are remarkably few in number, although (as is shown in the accompanying Map) they are spread over a vast
portion of the world, extending from Persia and the Persian Gulf on the east to the Atlantic on the west, and from the Mediterranean
on the north to an undefined distance into the interior of Africa on the south. There are, in fact, but three or, at most, four distinct
Shemitic languages at present spoken : and although the history of this wonderful class of languages leads us far back into remote
antiquity, yet a much greater diversity of dialect does not appear at any time to have existed. It has been shown in a previous memoir
that the Phoenician, once pre-eminently the language of civilisation, was substantially the same as the ancient Hebrew ; and this con
formity of language between two races of different origin (the Phoenicians being a Hamite, and the Hebrews a Shemitic people) is a
phenomenon which yet remains to be explained. The Shemitic languages now disused as mediums of oral communication, and which
are therefore not represented on the Map, are the following :

Samaritan, originally identical with Hebrew.

Ancient Syriac and Chaldee, which, however, have their representative in Modern Syriac.

Pehlvi, the ancient tongue of Media, a compound probably of Chaldee and Syriac with Zend.

Various Arabic dialects ; Himyaritic, the parent of Ekhkili.

Gheez, or Ethiopic, now superseded by its modern dialects, Tigre and Amharic.

In perfection of physical conformation, the Shemitic race is considered by eminent physiologists to equal, if not surpass, all other
branches of the human family. Yet their characteristics are by no means invariable. The Syrians, who still preserve their lineage pure
and unmingled among the mountains of Kurdistan, have a fair complexion, with gray eyes, red beard, and a robust frame. The Bedouins,
or Arabs of the Desert, are thin and muscular in form, with deep brown skin and large black eyes ; the Arabs in the low countries of
the Nile bordering on Nubia are black, while other tribes of this people dwelling in colder or more elevated situations are said to be fair.
The Arabs in the valley of Jordan are reported to have a dark skin, coarse hair, and flattened features, thereby approximating to the
Negro type. The Jews differ from the nations among whom they are located by a peculiar cast of physiognomy : in Cochin they are
black, in the south of Europe they are dark, while in the north of Europe, and occasionally in England, they are xanthous, with red or
light hair.

The Shemitic nations have been most peculiarly honoured in being chosen as the race of whom, according to the flesh, the Messiah
was born. To them also was given the knowledge of the one true God ; and to the Hebrews in particular was committed the sacred trust
of the divine oracles. Monotheism, although defaced by human inventions, is the religion of this race : the recognition of a false prophet
prevails among the Arabs ; yet, in common with the Jews, they acknowledge the existence of God. Two people of this race, the Syrians
and Abyssinians, have embraced Christianity as their national religion.

ARABIC, originally the language of a few wandering
tribes in the desert of Arabia, is now one of the most
widely-diffused of existing languages. It prevails in
Arabia, Syria, Mesopotamia, Khuzistan, Egypt, Nu
bia, and Barbary. It is extensively employed as the
language of religion and commerce on the eastern
and western coasts of Africa, and it is supposed to
penetrate far into the interior of that great continent.
As might be expected from its vast extension, this
language branches out into dialects as many in
number as the countries in which it is spoken.

EKHKILI is a modern dialect of Himyaritic, the
southern branch of the Arabic language. It is spo

ken by an uncivilised mountainous tribe of Hadra-
mant, in the south-east of the Arabian peninsula.
Ekhkili is of especial value in an ethnographical
point of view, as it furnishes the link between the
Shemitic languages of Asia and of Abyssinia. The
ancient Himyarites are believed to have been Cushites,
of the race of Ham.

TIGRE, a dialect immediately derived from the ancient
Ethiopic, is predominant in a small portion of the
kingdom of Abyssinia. The resemblance still to be
traced between Tigre and Ekhkili has corroborated
the hypothesis that Ethiopia was originally peopled
by a colony of Himyarite Arabs.

EXPOSITORY INDEX TO THE MAPS.

AMHARIC is a more corrupt dialect of Ethiopic than
Tigre, having suffered greater changes from foreign
admixture. Amharic is predominant throughout
nearly all Abyssinia, but various other languages
are likewise spoken in that kingdom. These lan
guages, partaking as they do of a Shemitic element
and of the African character, form so many connect
ing links between Shemitic and African languages.

MODERN SYRIAC, the only living representative of
the ancient Chaldee and Syriac tongues, is preserved
among mountain fastnesses between Mesopotamia, Ar
menia, and Persia. What relation this language may
bear to the idiom of ancient Babylon and Nineveh is
not yet precisely known ; but light is arising upon the

ruins of these ancient cities, and the arrow-headed
characters are in process of being deciphered. With
the capture of Babylon, in the commencement of
the sixth century before our era, the early political
supremacy of the Shemitic race departed ; and the
government of the world passed into the hands of
the Japhetic nations, by whom it is still maintained.
And thus the fertile plains of Western Asia, the
proper home of the Shemitic race, is governed and
chiefly inhabited by people of the Japhetic stock, in
literal fulfilment of the prophecy, that " Japheth shall
dwell in the tents of Shem." Other prophecies are
in progress of fulfilment, by which more than their
archaic glory will be restored to the sons of Shem.

III. MAP OF THE MEDO-PERSIAN LANGUAGES.

THE Medo-Persian languages form a branch or family of that great class of languages which has been variously denominated by ethnographers
Indo-European, Japhetic, and Iranian or Arian. The first of these appellations indicates the geographical distribution of this class, one of its branches
(the Sanscritic) being vernacular in India, while other of its branches, though connected in origin and in structure with Sanscrit, are predominant
in Europe. The term Japhetic is sometimes applied to the languages of this class, because the nations by whom they are spoken are supposed to be
descendants of Japheth ; and the designation Iranian, or Arian, .refers to their connection with the land of Iran, or Persia, the Ariana of Greek
geographers.

THE area of the Medo-Persian languages includes about one-tenth part of the entire surface of Asia : the countries now comprehended
within this area are Persia, Khorassan, Turcomania, the greater part of Turkestan, Affghanistan, Beloochistan, and Luristan ; also
Kurdistan, Armenia, and a district among the Caucacus Mountains. The origin of the Medo-Persian nations has never been ascertained :
they advanced at one step from obscurity to empire. Their very existence was scarcely known beyond the elevated plateau which from
time immemorial they appear to have occupied, until their future greatness was depicted in the prophecies of Daniel and Ezekiel.
Suddenly they emerged from their mountainous abodes, captured the " Great Babylon," and founded an empire which, in point of extent,
exceeded even that of Rome itself.

The physical conformation of the Medo-Persian nations, which is decidedly of the European type, corroborates the testimony
afforded by their languages as to their affinity with the principal nations of Europe. A Shemitic language, the Pehlvi, is supposed to
have been predominant at some very remote period in Persia, but it originated in the provinces bordering on Assyria ; and under what
circumstances it became the general language of Media is still matter of conjecture. A yet more ancient language is the Persepolitan, a
true Medo-Persian idiom, vestiges of which are preserved in arrow-headed, or cuneiform characters, like those of Assyria, on the monu
mental inscriptions which have of late years been discovered among the ruins of ancient Persian cities. The Zend, another Medo-
Persian language, now extinct, and therefore not represented on our Map, is preserved in the sacerdotal books of the Guebres-and the
Parsees. The earliest religion of the Medo-Persian race appears to have been that of fire-worship. They are now, with few exceptions,
followers of Mahomet, the Armenians being the only nation of this stock by whom Christianity has been received.

PERSIC, although marked in the Map as predominant
in Persia and part of Turkestan, is only one of the
many languages spoken in that wide territory. It is
remarkable that all the countries properly belonging
to the Medo-Persian race are likewise inhabited by
tribes of foreign origin, who dwell side by side with
the original inhabitants. Even the throne of the
great Cyrus is occupied by a monarch of the Turkish
race, and the whole country is overrun by nomadic
nations of Turkish, Arabic, and Mongolian origin.
Some of these wandering tribes, however, as the
Hazarehs and Eymauks on the north of Affghanistan,
speak dialects of the Persic language.

PUSHTOO is the language of Affghanistan, a moun
tainous tract of country lying between Persia and
Hindustan. The Hindkees, an Indian people speak
ing a Sanscritic dialect, form part of the population.

BELOCHEE is one of the languages of Beloochistan,
a country situated between Affghanistan and the
Indian Ocean. Many Tajiks, or Persians, reside in
Beloochistan, and hence Persic prevails in some of
the districts, especially at Kelat. The Brahooes, and
other nations speaking Sanscritic dialects, also occupy
part of this country.

KURDISH is the language of the Kurds, wild nomadic

SANSCRITIC LANGUAGES.

xxi

tribes, known in history as the Carduchi and the
Parthians. They are chiefly located in Kurdistan, a
mountainous tract of country between Armenia and
Persia. They likewise form the bulk of the popu
lation of Luristan, in the east of Persia.

OSSITINIAN is spoken by the Ossetes, a Median
colony, who, in concert with Caucasian tribes here
after to be mentioned, occupy the central portion of
the chain of the Caucasus Mountains.

ARMENIAN is spoken by about one-seventh part of
the population of Armenia, a country chiefly com

posed of mountainous chains, of which Mount Ararat
forms, as it were, the nucleus. The language of
the Armenians, and their traditions respecting their
mythical heroes and ancestors, which are almost
identical with those of the Persians, prove them to
be of the Persic stock ; and it has even been thought
that they were once one people with the Persians.
Like the Jews, however, whom they resemble in other
respects, the Armenians are scattered as traders and
merchants among all the nations of the world ; so that
the language of Armenia, in one or other of its dialects,
is heard in all the trading cities of the East.

IV. MAP OF THE SANSCRITIC LANGUAGES.

LANGUAGES more or less allied to the ancient Sanscrit prevail through the whole of Hindustan. These languages are resolvable into
three distinct divisions.

I The languages which appear to be derived immediately from the Sanscrit, and which are spoken by the Hindoos, properly so
called, in the northern provinces of the peninsula In this division, the three [dead or learned languages of Hindustan, Sanscrit,
Pracrit, and Pali, are included. That the race to whom these Sanscritic idioms are vernacular is connected with the Medo-Persian
nations is evident, from the close similarity between Zend, an ancient Median-Persian language, and the idiom of the Vedas, an archaic
form of Sanscrit, referred by some Sanscrit scholars to the fourteenth or fifteenth century before our era. Another proof of the original
affinity of the Medo-Persian and Brahminical people lies in the fact, that some of the arrow-headed inscriptions in the Persepolitan
language have been deciphered chiefly, if not solely, by the aid of the Sanscrit language. It seems probable that the Hindoo race at
some remote epoch of history, separated from the Medo-Persian stock, and quitted the Iranian plateau for the plains of Hindustan
Their physical conformation appears to confirm this hypothesis, notwithstanding the slight variations from the original type which the
peculiarities of the climate may have induced. With this race originated the two false religions which are now most widely disseminated
through the Eastern world Brahminism and Buddhism.

II. The languages of the Deccan, or southern parts of the peninsula The race to whom these languages are vernacular appear to
have preceded the Hindoos in the occupation of Hindustan. They were, perhaps, driven to the south by the Hindoo invaders, and
were subsequently compelled to submit to the conquerors of the country, and to receive from them their laws, religion, and civilisation
It is well known that the Hindoos subdued the Deccan at a very early period, and the languages of that region still bear the impress of
Hindoo influence. So many Sanscrit words have been engrafted on their vocabularies, that these languages till recently were considered

e merely Sanscritic dialects ; their grammatical structure, however, still maintains the original non-Sanscritic character. The
physical appearance of the nations of the Deccan approximates to the Mongolic, rather than to the Hindoo type ; and their religion
though nominally Brahministic, retains traces of their ancient Pagan superstitions.

Ill The languages of the wild, unconquered tribes of the mountains. It is supposed that these tribes were among the original
inhabitants of the country, and that they sought refuge in their present mountainous abodes with the view of preserving their independ
ence. In language and in physical appearance they present tolerably clear indications of their original community of origin with the
civilised nations of the Deccan. These tribes, though exceedingly interesting and important in an ethnographical point of view, are at
present little known, and their languages are as yet unwritten. Some of their vocables (as those of the Kol, Bhumij, and Kajmahali of
Orissa) have been examined, and several curious instances of affinity have been detected between them and the Mongolian and other
languages of Central Asia.

I. LANGUAGES OF SANSCRITIC
ORIGIN.

HIJNDUWEE, the most general language of the Hindoo
race, prevails in the upper provinces of Hindustan,
and is said to be understood even far beyond these
limits. As is shown in the Map, this language
branches put into a great variety of dialects, namely,
the Canoj or Canyacubja, the Bruj or Brij-Bhasa,

the Kousulu, Bhojepoora, and several others, all of
which, however, are merely provincial varieties of
the original Hinduwee. A distinct language, called
Hindustani, prevails in the towns and villages of the
Hinduwee area, and is spoken by the Mahommedan
section of the population throughout the whole of
Hindustan. It is the result of the intermixture of
Hinduwee with the Persian and Turkish languages
spoken by the Mahommedan conquerors of India.

EXPOSITORY INDEX TO THE MAPS.

BENGALEE may be said to be the predominant lan
guage of the province of Bengal, although Hindustani
is spoken in the towns. Two languages, the Tirhi-
tiya or Mithili, and the Maghudha, prevail in the
eastern part of this province. The former nearly
resembles the Bengalee, and the latter is a derivative
of the ancient Pali.

ASSAMESE, the language of Assam, is supposed to
be merely a form of Bengalee, which has superseded
the original monosyllabic language of the Assamese
nation.

URIYA, a dialect very analogous to Bengalee, is spoken
to the south of the province of Bengal, in Orissa.

NEPALESE, or KHASPOORA, is the prevailing
dialect of Nepaul, an independent state to the north
of Bengal, occupying part of the southern declivity
of the Himalayas. This dialect exhibits the phe
nomenon of a Hinduwee element engrafted on a
language of monosyllabic structure. A colony of
Hinduwees is said to have settled in Nepaul at an
early period, and to have commingled with the native
inhabitants. Their descendants are called Parabatiya,
or Parabutties ; and hence the Khaspoora, their
vernacular dialect, is sometimes designated Parbutti,
or Mountain Hinduwee.

PALP A, KUMAON, and GURWHAL are border
dialects, closely allied to Hinduwee, and prevailing
to the north of the Hinduwee area.

CASHMERIAN is the most northerly of Sanscritic
languages, with the exception of the Brahooc, in
Bcloochistan. Cashmere is a mountainous country
north of the Punjab.

DOGURA, or JUMBOO, is an uncultivated dialect
spoken in the hilly country north of the Punjab, but
rather resembling Cashmerian than Punjabee.

PUNJABEE is the language of the Sikhs, the dominant
people of the Punjab : it is said to be derived
immediately from Pracrit, formerly the vernacular
language of this region.

MOULTAN or OOCH, SINDHEE, CUTCHEE, and
GUJERATTEE are languages closely allied to
Hinduwee, and are spoken on the western border
of the area occupied by the Hinduwee dialects.
Moultan is said to be the language to which Rom-
many, the singular dialect of the Gipsies, most
closely approximates.

KUNKUNA, another language nearly resembling Hin
duwee, is spoken in the Concan, a strip of country
bordering on the Indian Ocean.

MAHRATTA may be ranked either with the languages
of Northern India or of the Deccan, for it partakes
of the character of both. The extensive region in
which it is vernacular is bounded on the north by
the Sautpoora Mountains, east by Gundwana, and

west by the maritime district called the Concan.
On the south it is conterminous with the Telinga
and Canarese languages.

II. LANGUAGES OF INDIA OF
NON-SANSCRITIC ORIGIN.

TAMUL, or TAMIL, with its cognate dialects, the
Malayalim and the Tulu, or Tuluvu, occupies the
southern extremity of the peninsula, and a con
siderable portion of the Malabar coast. These lan
guages are sometimes designated the Dravirian, for
Tamul was the language of the ancient kingdom of
Dravira.

TELINGA, or TELOOGOO, a language radically con
nected with Tamul, is spoken through the greater
portion of the Coromandel coast, and extends inland
till it becomes conterminous with Mahratta and
Canarese.

CANARESE occupies an extensive area in the eastern
portion of the Deccan. It is conterminous with its
cognate languages, the Tamil and Telinga on the
east, and with the Tuluvu and Malayalim on the
west and south, while on the north it extends as
far as the Mahratta area.

CINGALESE is spoken in the south of Ceylon, Tamul
being the language of the northern district. Cinga
lese appears to be connected with the languages of
the Deccan rather than with those of Upper India.

MALDIVIAN is spoken in the Maldive Islands, east
ward of Ceylon, and is supposed to be a branch of
Cingalese. The dialect of the Laccadive Islands is
believed to be very similar to the Maldivian.

III. RUDE & UNWRITTEN LANGUAGES
OF NON-SANSCRITIC ORIGIN.

GONDEE, or GOANDEE, is spoken by a barbarous
race in the northern part of the Deccan. The pro
vince of Gondwana is of great extent, stretching from
Orissa on the east to the Mahratta country on the
west, and from Hindustan Proper on the north to
the Telinga country on the south ; but the Gonds
inhabit only the forest and mountain districts of this
region, and the Mahratta language is predominant,
especially in the western part, among the civilised
classes of inhabitants. The Gonds have embraced
Brahminism, but retain their peculiar Pagan rites.
In language, customs, physical conformation, and
mode of life, they resemble the Pulindas (a Sanscrit
term equivalent to barbarian) of Orissa, the Bhils or
Bheels of the Vindhya chain, and the various tribes
of wild mountaineers scattered throughout the penin
sula, but principally found among the mountain
chains of the Deccan.

V. MAP OF THE INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES OF EUROPE.

THE Asiatic branches (Sanscritic and Medo-Persian) of the Indo-European class of languages are exhibited in the two preceding Maps.
The present Map comprehends all the languages of this widely-extended class which are spoken in Europe. These languages, while they
all adhere in a greater or less degree to the Medo-Persian and Sanscritic type of grammatical structure, yet possess certain individual
characteristics of their own. Hence it is that they diverge into distinctive groups or families, without however losing the evidences of
their original connection with each other, and with a long-lost and now unknown common parent stem. The families of this class, by
whom Europe is to a great extent divided, are the Celtic, Teutonic, Greco-Latin, Thraco-Illyrian, and Sclavonic. The phenomenon of
the intersection of the area apparently belonging to this class, by languages of the Basque and Finnish families, will hereafter be
explained.

CELTIC. The Celts were the first people of this class
by whom Western Europe was colonised. At the
time of the Romans, we find them the occupants of
Gaul, of the British Isles, of part of Spain and
Germany, and of North Italy. Pannonia, Thrace,
and even Asia Minor were at one period occupied by
them ; and the Cimbri of Denmark are supposed to
have been a Celtic tribe. The time of the first
immigration into Europe is wholly unknown. After
reaching the extreme verge of Western Europe, they
appear in some instances to have partly retraced
their steps to the eastward ; at least, the Celts of
Germany and Italy were considered emigrants from
Gaul. The Celts were compelled by the Romans
to recede from every country in which they had
established themselves, and afterwards they were
more effectually subjugated by the Teutonic tribes.
In the vast majority of instances, they became amal
gamated in language and manners with their con
querors ; and not a single trace of their religion
(Druidism and Bardism) is now to be found, except
in the ruins of their sacred places, as at Stonehenge.
On the continent of Europe, where their language
was once predominant, it has now altogether dis
appeared, except on a small strip of the coast of
Brittany. In the British Isle, however, the Celtic
language is still preserved. The following are the
cognate dialects into which it is now developed :

I. The Welsh or Cymric branch, spoken in

Wales, in part of Brittany, and formerly in

Cornwall.
II. The Gaelic branch, spoken in the Highlands

of Scotland, in Ireland, and in the Isle of

Man.

TEUTONIC. After the Celts, and the Greco-Latins
hereafter to be mentioned, the next great tide of
population which rolled from Asia into Europe was
the Teutonic. The Teutonic tribes, as their language
indicates, were in a special manner connected with
the Medo-Persian race, but the circumstances under
which they separated from the parent stock are
involved in impenetrable obscurity. When they first

appeared upon the page of history, they were mere
barbarians, destitute of the arts of social life ; yet,
even then, the inherent energy of this race was
apparent : the Celtic nations were rapidly displaced by
them, and in the fourth century they achieved no
less a conquest than that of the Roman empire.
Under the name of Franks, Burgundians, Alemans,
and Visigoths in Gaul, of Heruli, Goths, and Longo-
bards in Italy, and of Suevi, Vandals, and Ostrogoths
in Spain, they rendered themselves conspicuous in
the history of the middle ages ; and, unlike their
predecessors, the Celts, they have to the present day
retained their principal territorial possessions in
Europe. In Spain, France, and Italy, indeed, they
became mingled with other races, and merely con
tributed their quota to the formation of the languages
of those countries; but Germany, England, Denmark,
and the Scandinavian peninsula still form the strong
hold of the Teutonic race. A great change, however,
at least in Germany, has taken place since the com
mencement of the historic era in the physical con
formation of this people. The early Germans, as
described by Roman writers, were a fair, xanthous
race, with blue eyes, and light or yellow hair. These
characteristics are still preserved in the Scandinavian
peninsula ; but in Germany itself, the dark or melanic
variety of complexion has now become almost uni
versal. This remarkable change has been attributed
to the alteration produced in the climate of Germany
by the uprooting of its vast forests.

The languages now spoken by the Teutonic race
are referable to two primary divisions :

I. The Teutonic or Germanic, properly so called,
comprising the German, Flemish, Dutch, and
English.

II. The Scandinavian, including Icelandic, Swe
dish, Danish, and Faroese. For a detailed
account of each of these languages, as like
wise of the now extinct Teutonic languages,
Gothic, Alemannic, Old Saxon, and Anglo-
Saxon, the reader may consult pp. 147-188
of this work.

XXIV

EXPOSITORY INDEX TO THE MAPS.

GRECO-LATIN. The Greco-Latins appear to have
preceded the Teutonic tribes in the colonisation of
Europe, at least, of the southern parts. The Pe-
lasgic or Hellenic Greeks were probably the first
inhabitants of Greece, especially of the inland parts.
The Lydian and other languages of Lesser Asia, and
perhaps the ancient languages of Macedonia and
Thrace, were allied to this stock. Italy appears to
have been peopled by several different nations ; and
the origin of some of these nations has given rise to
much conjecture. The origin of the Etruscan race,
for instance, is a question of much interest, still
awaiting its solution. The old Italic languages,
comprehending the Latin, Umbrian, Oscan, Siculian,
and some others, were in course of time absorbed in
one language, which, under the name of Latin,
became eventually the predominant language of the
Roman empire. The wide diffusion of the Greek
language at the commencement of our era, and of the
Latin during the middle ages, has been already
mentioned. On the destruction of the Roman empire
by the Teutonic tribes, Latin still continued the
language of the learned ; but the vernacular of the
populace, which probably had previously abounded
in provincialisms, became mixed with the dialects of
the Teutonic invaders ; and thus a new language
was produced, which, from the predominance of the
Roman element, was designated the Romaunt or
Romance. Up to the twelfth century this language,
in its several dialectic varieties, was the prevailing
vernacular language of Europe. In Spain it was
called Catalan ; in South France it was known as
the Languedoc, Provengal or Romanese ; and in
Italy it went by the general name of Romance.
Each of the dialects of this widely-diffused language
was subsequently subjected to further changes, by
the commingling of other elements induced by
political vicissitudes. Thus gradually arose the
Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and the Daco-
Romana or Wallachian languages. It will be seen,
however, in our Map, that the language of the
Troubadours has not wholly disappeared, dialects of
this language still forming the vernacular of the
Vaudois, Piedmontese, and Enghadine nations. For
particular details concerning each of the nations and
languages belonging to this important family, the
reader is referred to pp. 189-236.

THRACO-ILLYRIAN. A people known in history as
the Illyrians, and with whom the Thracians are con
sidered by some historians to have been connected, were

probably the first inhabitants of the eastern shore of
the Adriatic. They are supposed to have been of
kindred origin with the Pelasgi of Greece ; and their
language, though a distinct and peculiar idiom of the
Indo-European stem, bears some affinity to Greek.
This language is still spoken by the Albanians or
Arnauts, the supposed descendants of the Illyrians,
in the ancient Epirus, on the eastern coast of the
Adriatic Sea. A particular account of this language
and people is given in pp. 239, 240.

SCLAVONIC. The origin of the Sclavonic tribes,
and the date of their first appearance in Europe, are
involved in much uncertainty. They are generally
supposed to be descended from the Sarmatae, who
in the time of the Romans occupied a region of
Northern Europe, east of the Vistula, then known
by the name of Sarmatia. Some writers are of
opinion that the Sarmatae derived their descent from
a Scythian tribe ; but in the present state of know
ledge this is a problem which must still remain
unsolved. The writers from whom we obtain the
earliest accounts of the Sclavonic nations, describe
them as differing both from the Scythian and from
the Teutonic tribes. The Sclavoni appear to have
had more elevated conceptions of religion than their
Asiatic neighbours ; for although they worshipped a
multitude of deities, they recognised the existence of
one Supreme Being. On the other hand, unlike the
Germans, they were possessed of the most vicious
characteristics of Orientalists polygamy, tyranny,
and servility. Their physical conformation and their
language, however, connect them with the Indo-
European stock. They now occupy a considerable
section of Europe, extending from the north-eastern
extremity into the very centre of that continent. In
some of the countries of Central Europe, particularly
in Bohemia, nations of this race live intermingled
with Teutonic nations, yet retaining their peculiar
language and customs. The ancient language of
Prussia was a Sclavonic tongue, but it is now com
pletely extinct, having been superseded by the Ger
man. The Old Prussian language, so far at least as
can be judged from its scanty store of literature, was
closely connected with the Lettish and Lithuanian
languages, while in many important respects it
differed from other Sclavonic tongues. By some
writers, these three cognate languages are referred
to a distinct and separate branch of the Indo-Euro
pean stem. For further details concerning the Scla
vonic tongues, see pp. 240-258.

VL MAP OF THE FINNO-TARTARIAN LANGUAGES.

AMONa the latest results of ethnological investigations is the discovery that only three distinct classes of languages prevail throughout
the two continents of Europe and Asia. Two of these classes, the Shemitic and the Indo-European, have already passed under review. All
the languages of Europe and of Asia which are not either Shemitic or Indo-European, belong to a third and equally important class,
with which it is thought that even the Scriform or Monosyllabic languages will eventually be proved to be connected. This class, by
some authors designated the Turanian, and by others the Finno-Tartarian stem, is spread over the whole of Northern and Central Asia,
and extends into Northern, Central, and even Western Europe. It includes the Finnish and Samoiede languages in the north ; the
Georgian and other languages of the Caucasus region ; the Turkish, Mongolian, and Tungusian families of Central Asia ; the Japanese,
Loochooan, and Corean in Western Asia ; and the Euskarian or Basque in Western Europe. It is supposed that Europe was first
colonised by nations belonging to this race, and that their descendants, after having been settled in the more fertile regions of that
continent, were driven to the extreme north and west, where we at present find them, by the successive tides of invaders, Celtic,
Pelasgic, Teutonic, and Sclavonic, who subsequently passed from Asia into Europe.

FINNISH. The Finnish languages prevail through a
large portion of the Russian empire, occupying the
northern part of the Scandinavian peninsula, and
extending from Lapland and the Baltic, beyond the
Urals, as far as the Yenisei. The origin of the
various tribes and nations by whom these languages
are spoken is unknown, but they appear to have been
established from time immemorial in their present
abodes ; and they are early spoken of in history
under the several appellations of Tschudi, Ougres
or Ugri, and Jotuns. The Hungarians, who furnish
the only instance upon record of a Finnish people
taking a conspicuous place among civilised nations,
are located far from their brethren, in the very heart
of Europe. This isolation from the rest of their race
is the result of the inroads of some Turkish hordes
upon their original country to the south of the
Uralian Mountains. About the ninth century, the
Magyars or Hungarians were driven westward by
these Turkish invaders. In their turn they dis
possessed the Slovaks, a Sclavonian race, of the fertile
plains of Hungary, and they have ever since con
tinued the dominant nation in that country.

SAMOIEDE is the language of an abject, degraded
race, dwelling among the tundras or marshy swamps
of North Siberia, along the inhospitable shores of
the Icy Ocean. The other nations inhabiting the
dreary regions of North Asia to the westward of the
Samoiedes are, as will be seen on the Map, the
lukagires, the Tchukchis, the Koriaks, the Kam-
chatkadales, and the Ainos of the Kuriles, Jesso, and
Sagalien Isle. These nations all speak languages
belonging to the class now under consideration.

GEORGIAN. The Georgian is the predominant lan
guage between Armenia and the Caucasus : the
following languages, closely connected in vocabulary
and structure with the Georgian, are likewise spoken
south of the Caucasus : Mingrelian, Immiretian,
Suanic, and Lazian. These languages, together with
the Abassian, Circassian, Inguschi, and some others

spoken in the heights and valleys of the Caucasus,
were, till very recently, regarded as completely dis
tinct from each other. Recent researches, however,
have brought to light many links of mutual affinity ;
and it has even been proved that, in all these lan
guages, there are points of analogy connecting them
with the Samoiede and Finnish languages on the one
hand, and with the Chinese and Monosyllabic tongues
on the other.

TURKISH. The Turkish nations occupy the western
portion of that vast region, formerly known by the
name of Great Tartary, which lies directly north of
the civilised nations of antiquity, the empires of
Assyria, Persia, India, and China. In the eastern
parts of their wide area, the Turkish tribes still
wander about, as of old, with their flocks and herds ;
but in the empire which they have established in
Europe and in Asia Minor, the Turks, though still
Mahommedan, are a civilised and polished people.

MONGOLIAN. The Mongolian area lies between the
Altai Mountains on the north and China and Tibet
on the south, while on the east it is conterminous
with the Mantchou, and on the west with the Turkish
area. Some of the most fierce and warlike hordes
by which the world has been desolated have issued
from this region ; yet the Mongols still continue a
nation of shepherds.

TUNGUSIAN. The Tungusian and Mantchou lan
guages are spoken by two closely-allied nations to
the north and east of Mongolia. The Tungusians
retain their nomadic, pastoral habits ; but the Mant-
chous, who are the present lords of China, have
adopted the Chinese system of civilisation and re
ligion.

EUSKARIAN. The Euskarian or Basque area, lying
along the shore of the Bay of Biscay, between France
and Spain, is exhibited in Map V. The Euskarians
are now generally believed to have been the first
inhabitants of the Spanish peninsula.

VII. MAP OF THE POLYNESIAN LANGUAGES.

THIS Map requires little or no explanation, only two varieties of language being spoken through the large portion of the earth s surface
which it represents. These two varieties are the Polynesian and the Negritian. The former is spoken in a great variety of dialects in
the islands of the Indian and Pacific Ocean ; and the Malayan peninsula is the only continental region in which it has ever been known
to predominate. The Negritian may be called with equal propriety a strictly insular language : one of its dialects prevails, indeed, in
the centre of the Malayan peninsula, but, with this exception, it is spoken only in certain islands of the Indian and Pacific. It is chiefly
predominant in the isles of New Guinea, Flores, Timor, Louisiade, New Britain, New Ireland, New Caledonia, and New Hebrides (as
indicated on the Map by the red tint) ; but some of its dialects are likewise spoken in the interior of islands where the Polynesian or
Malayan variety of language is otherwise- predominant. The Polynesian islanders approximate, in their physical conformation, to the
Mongolian variety of mankind ; whereas, those to whom the Negritian languages are vernacular resemble in some respects the negro race.
By some recent writers, however, a community of origin is assigned to all the natives of those widely-distributed islands ; and the
difference in their personal appearance is attributed to the influences of civilisation, and of various incidental circumstances.

VIII. MAP OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES.

THE peculiarities and affinities of the African languages having been fully discussed in the subjoined memoirs, the Map before us needs
little explanation. Four varieties of language have been shown to prevail in Africa :

I. The Coptic, a language derived from the Ancient Egyptian, forming a link between the otherwise disconnected Shemitic and
Japhetic classes.

II. The Berber, which, as well as the Amharic, Galla, and other Abyssinian languages, is clearly connected with the Shemitic class.

III. The Nigro-Hamitic languages, so called by Dr. Krapf, because spoken by the descendants of Ham along the banks of the Niger
and its tributary streams in Western Africa. These languages are spoken by the Negro race, properly so called.

IV. The Nilo-Hamitic languages, so named by the same eminent philologist, because he supposed that the original home of the race
by whom they are spoken was near the sources of the White Nile. These languages, in their various dialects, prevail throughout the
whole of Africa south of the equator. For a particular description of the languages composing this division, see pp. 347 - 358.

IX. MAP OF THE AMERICAN LANGUAGES.

NOTWITHSTANDING the persevering researches, the zeal, and the learning which have of late years been brought to bear upon the lan
guages and antiquities of America, the great question respecting the origin of the first inhabitants of that vast continent still remains as
far from solution as ever. Physiology affords no aid in determining this question ; for in the reddish colour of their complexion, in the
deeply-marked outline of their features, and in other physical peculiarities, the American Indians differ more or less from all other classes
of men. That the natives both of North and South America are, however, descended from one and the same branch of the human
family, has been inferred from the obvious coincidences in the grammatical structure of their languages. But with this similarity in
structure, great variety exists between the respective roots or vocables of these languages ; and these glossarial differences have led to
the division of the American languages into numerous groups or families, of which the following are the principal :

ESQUIMAUX is spoken along the entire northern
coast of North America by a people who, in physical
conformation, appear to be intermediate between the
natives of North Asia and the hunter tribes of
America. For a description of this nation, and of
the Greenlanders who are of cognate origin, and who
employ a dialect of the same language, see pp. 359-
364.

ATHAPASCAN, or CHEPEWYAN, is a language
spoken in several different dialects by numerous

tribes who occupy a broad belt of country, stretching
from east to west, south of the Esquimaux area.

ALGONQUIN is the collective name of numerous
distinct American nations, who, at the first period of
European colonisation, occupied (together with the
Iroquois) the greater part of Canada, and all the
northern and middle portion of the territory of the
United States. The northern branch of this race
borders on the Athapascan area, and reaches from
Hudson s Bay to the Rocky Mountains : it includes

AMERICAN LANGUAGES.

XXVH

the Knistineaux or Crees, the Algonquins Proper,
the Chippewas or Ojibways, the Ottawas, the Potta-
wattomies, the Missinsig or Mississagis, and the
Montagnais. The north-eastern branch comprehends
the Abenaquis, the Micmacs, and some smaller tribes.
The Algonquin idioms spoken along the Atlantic,
and generally designated the New England or
Virginian tongues, were the Massachusett, Narra-
gansett, Mohegan, Susquehannok, and Delaware.
The tribes to whom these languages were vernacular
have long been driven by European settlers from
their original territories, and some of them are
extinct. Delaware is, however, spoken by a still
powerful nation. It may here be observed, that in
this Map the original as well as the present distribution
of the several languages is indicated. The Western
Algonquin branch includes the Illinois, Shawanoe,
Black-feet Indian, Shyennc, and some other tribes.
The Bethucks, who were the aboriginal inhabitants
of Newfoundland, and who are probably now ex
tinct, have lately been proved to have been an
Algonquin nation, and to have employed a dialect of
that language.

IROQUOIS is the name of a race dwelling among and
encompassed by Algonquin tribes. The Iroquois
country, it will be seen on the Map, lies in the midst
of the Algonquin area, and is divided into two parts.
The Northern Iroquois division lies in the region
near Lakes Huron, Ontario, and Erie, and comprises
the Five Nations, namely, the Mohawks, Oneidas,
Onondagoes, Senecas, and Cayugas. The Hurons
or Wyandots also belong to this division. The
Southern Iroquois division occupies the country now
called North Carolina, and comprised the Tuscaroras
and several inferior tribes, as the Tuteloes, Notto-
ways, and Meherrins. The Iroquois, though occupy
ing a territory inferior in extent to that of the
Algonquins, have enacted a more conspicuous part
in history ; and at the time of the discovery of
America, they were found greatly to surpass the
Algonquins in military courage, civilisation, and
intelligence. No remarkable difference in physical
conformation appears, however, to exist between
these two races.

SIOUX, or DACOTA, is the third great division of the
American Indians, and comprises the tribes in
habiting the prairie country of the interior, from the
Mississippi to the foot of the Rocky Mountains.
The principal nations belonging to this division are
the Dacotas, the Winebagoes, the Assiniboin, the
Osages, the lowas, and the Upsaroka or Crow Indians.
The Sioux tribes are more barbarous, and preserve
the primitive habits of their race more perfectly than
the eastern tribes.

FLORIDIAN, or APPALACHIAN, is a name which
has been applied by some philologists to the lan
guages originally belonging to the Southern United
States. Some of these languages are now extinct,
and their relations to each other are in some instances
difficult to be discovered. The languages included
in this group are Natchez (now all but extinct),

Muskogee or Creek, Lower Creek or Seminole,
Chocktaw, Cherokee, and Catawba. The Cherokee
nation is now increasing rather than decreasing in
numbers, and is apparently progressing towards a
higher stage of civilisation than has yet been attained
by any other native tribe of America.

PANIS-ARRAPAHOES is a designation which has
been employed by recent writers to comprehend a
vast number of hitherto unclassified languages, pre
dominating westward of the United States, in Oregon,
and in California. The term itself is compounded of
Pawnee and Arrapahoe, the two principal languages
of this division. These languages have as yet been
little studied, and, with the exception of the Pawnees,
the barbarous tribes to whom they are vernacular
are comparatively little known.

CENTRAL AMERICA.

MEXICAN was the language of the semi-civilised
tribes of Mexico, at the time of the Spanish conquest
of the country. This language was, and is still,
spoken by the Aztec race in the dioceses of Mexico,
Mechoacan, New Galicia, New Biscay, Oaxaca, and
Guatemala. The other principal languages now
spoken in the ancient empire of Mexico, and in
Central America, are the following :

Otomi, spoken to the north of the Mexican area.

Terasco, in the diocese of Mechoacan.

Mayan, in Yucatan, Tabasco, and Merida.

Misteco, in Oaxaca.

Totonac, in Puebla de los Angeles.

Huasteca, in Huastecapan, a part of Mexico.

Zapoteca, Mixe, and six other languages in Oaxaca.

Mame, Quiche, and six ctaer languages in Gua
temala.

Pira, and seven others (almost unknown to Euro
peans), in New Mexico.

The numerous other languages of central America are
little known, and still unclassified.

SOUTH AMERICA.

LESS is known respecting the ethnology of South
America than perhaps of any other region in the
world. The Catholic missionaries have furnished us
with grammars, dictionaries, vocabularies, catechisms,
and works of devotion in many of these languages ;
but it yet remains to examine in detail the structure
of this multitude of dialects, and to classify them
according to their several affinities. As a provisional
method of classification, some recent writers have
proposed to include the almost innumerable tongues
and dialects of South America under three grand
divisions :

I. The Andian, or Ando-Peruvian languages, spoken
by all the nations dwelling on or near the great
mountain chain in the west of South America. In
cluded in this division are, therefore, the following
languages : Peruvian or Quichua, and Aimara, spo
ken in the ancient empire of the Incas in the north ;

XXV111

EXPOSITORY INDEX TO THE MAPS.

and in the south, the Araucanian or Moluche lan
guages of the Southern or Chilian Andes : closely
allied to this branch are the languages (as Tehuel) :
spoken by the Patagonians.

II. The languages of Eastern South America, of which |
the principal branches are the Guarani and Tupi, of ;
Paraguay and the Brazils, and the languages of the
Caribbean group, so called because spoken on or
near the shores of the Caribbean Sea : this group
includes the Karif and Arawack, of which an account
is given in pp. 391, 392.

III. The languages of Central South America, spoken
by tribes who inhabit the interior forests and llanos
or plains between the regions of the Cordillera and
of the Parana. Little has been yet effected in ex
amining the structure of these languages, or the
peculiarities of the nations to whom they are ver
nacular. The only languages of South America, in
which versions of the Scriptures have been given or
attempted, are the Peruvian or Quichua, Aimara,
Guarani, Brazilian or Tupi, Karif, and Arawack ; and
of these a description will be found in pp. 388-393.

THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND.

THE ALPHABETS.

AFTER Specimen portions of the different Versions of the Scriptures had been procured
and prepared for this Work, it appeared desirable, in order to furnish every available
aid towards the examination and comparison of these Specimens, to provide if possible
a series of Native Alphabets. But here a serious difficulty presented itself. Many of
the characters in which the Specimens are given are little known even to the learned in
Europe, and some of them have never before perhaps appeared in print in this country.
There is therefore no work to which the student can refer, if he wishes to ascertain the
relative value of the widely-differing Alphabets in which these Specimens are printed.

Every effort was made to procure a complete series ; but as it was found that
very many Alphabets could not be obtained, the design of supplying the comparative
Tables was about to be relinquished.

It being however well known to philologists that in the Imperial Printing-office at
Vienna there exists an unrivalled collection of foreign types, formed by the skill and
untiring diligence of the Imperial Commissioner, M. Alois Auer, the Publishers ventured
to represent to the Imperial Government the difficulty experienced in enriching the
BIBLE OF EVERY LAND with the necessary Alphabets, and solicited permission to
purchase from the Imperial Printing-office the Alphabets not procurable in England.

This appeal was immediately responded to; and with great liberality, His Majesty
the Emperor at once directed a complete series of the Alphabets of all the types used

throughout the work, together with the powers of each letter, to be prepared and
forwarded free of cost for the use of the present work.

The Alphabets, therefore, which the Publishers have the satisfaction to include in
their work, are printed from types cast and prepared in the Imperial Printing-office at
Vienna, and presented by the Emperor of Austria as a contribution to the completion
of the BIBLE or EVEKY LAND.

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF THE ALPHABETS

CONTAINED IN THIS APPENDIX.

PAGB

PAGE

Ahom ....

xliii

Greek

lii

Old English .

lii

Albanian ....

liii

Gujerattee

xlv

Orissa

xliii

Amharic

. xxxviii

Anglo Saxon

Hebrew

xxxvi

Pali . . .

xlii

Arabic .

. xxxvii

Eabbinical

. xxxvi

Peguese

XXXV

Hindustani Signs .

xxxvii

Hindustani-Arabic .

xxxvii

Persic

xxxix

- Persian

. xxxvii

Persian-Arabic

xxxvii

- Pushtoo

xxxvii

Irish ....

M!aldivian

- Malayan

. xxxvii

Pushtoo-Arabic

. xxxvii

Moorish

xxxvii

Japanese :

Armenian

Chinese Signs

Ixi, Ixii

Eabbinical Hebrew .

xxxvi

Assamese ....

xliii

Firokana .

. Iviii Ixii

Eussian

liii

Katakana

Ivii

Bengalee ....

xliii

Javanese

Ixiv

Samaritan .

xxxvi

Burmese

. xxxiv

Arabic Signs .

Ixiv

Sanscrit

xli

Sclavonic

liv

Cashmerian

xliv

Karnata

xlviii

Servian .

liii

Chinese

. xxxiii

Siamese

xxxiv

Cingalese ....

Mahratta .

xlvi

Sindhee .

xliv

Ixiii

Malayan

linii

Syriac

xxxvi

Uncial

Ixiii

Arabic Letters

xxxvii

Estrangelo

xxxvi

English ....

Malayalim

xlix

- Old . - .

lii

Maldivian .

Tamul

xlvi

Estrangelo-Syriac

xxxvi

Persian Signs

Telinga . . . .

xlvii

Ethiopic

. xxxviii

Arabic

Tibetan

XXXV

Mantchou

Georgian . .

Ivi

Mo3so-Gothic

Uriya . . .

Ecclesiastical

Ivi

Mongolian .

German

lii

Moorish- Arabic Letters

. xxxvii

Wallachian .

liii

- Old ...

lii

Moultan

xliv

Wuch

xliv

A KEY TO THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE ALPHABETS.

APPLIES TO THE NUMBERS PLACED OYER THE ROMAN EQUIVALENTS OF THE LETTERS
OF THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGES:

Albanian

Burmese

Gujerattee

Mongolian

Eussian

Siamese

Amharic

Coptic

Japanese

Pali

Sclavonic

Tibetan

Arabic

Ethiopia

Javanese

Peguese

Servian

Wallachian

Armenian

Greek

Mantchou

1 . Represents the ordinary acute ( ) accent.

2. Represents the ordinary grave ( v ) accent.

3. and 9. Represent the ordinary circumflex ( A ) accent,

used to lengthen the sound.

4. Represents the cedilla 9.

r Over t, d, n, z signifies the cerebral sound of those letters.
I Over h marks a simple aspiration.

6. Distinguishes guttural sounds.

7. Marks a lengthening of the guttural sound.

r Over m is guttural.
1 Over n is cerebral.
9. and 3. See 3.

10. The French sound ofj.

1 1 . Adds an r sound to I.

12. Marks the French u sound.

13. Marks a combined long and short

14. The ordinary short vowel sign (").
17. Distinguishes palatal n.

Ahom
Assamese

Cashmerian

THE SECOND TABLE

INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING ALPHABETS :

Cingalese

Kamata

Mahratta

Malayalim

Moultan

Orissa

3. and 9. Represent the ordinary circumflex ( A ) accent.

4. Represents the cedilla c.

5. Over , d, n represent the cerebral sounds of those letters.

r Over r a guttural sound.
1 Over I an additional r sound.
5. Over h denotes a simple aspirate.

Sanscrit
Sindhee
Tamul

Telinga

Uriya

Wuch

f Over m is guttural.
L Over n is palatal.
9. See 3.

10. French pronunciation of j.

11. Over I denotes the additional sound of r.

12. Marks the French u sound.

GENERAL RULE. The vowels are to be pronounced as in Italian or German.

c throughout the alphabets is to be pronounced as ch in chaff",

ch is to be pronounced gutturally, as in LocA Lomond.

sch like English sh.

j like English y.

For a full explanation of the Chinese Figures, see Endlichers Chinese Grammar.

CORRECTIONS.

Burmese,

column 1,

line 3,

for i, ie, read

i, ei

Russian,

11.

(a),

(a).

TVT nn cf nil an

.i 0,

iTj-Ull^UiiaJii

Sanscrit,

,, 5,

tu,

tn.

21,

dua,

dna.

Cashmerian,

,, 29,

cu,

cu.

1 3

8 3

Telinga,

20,

1HI,

na.

Persic, column 1, line 11, for s, read As.

,, 1, ,, 13, s, z.

1, 17, dh, ts.

3, 6, dhr, tsr.

Siamese, 1. &gt;&gt; c &gt; &gt; u &gt; "

2, 22, ba, la.

AFTEK the printing of these Alphabets, it was found desirable to re-arrange, in some
measure, the system of notation adopted for the explanation of the sounds of the
various letters. It is hoped that the inconvenience arising from the change of some
of the figures used as references to the Explanatory Tables of sounds will be very slight ;
and that, although it is impossible to convey a precisely accurate representation of the
intonations of foreign speech, enough has been done to render these Alphabets intelligible
and useful.

CLASS L]

ALPHABETS.

[MONOSYLLABIC.

CHINESE RADICALS.
Tf* 110

103

109

116

119

120

- 121

122

128

129

130

214

XXXlll

CLASS I.]

ALPHABETS.

[MONOSYLLABIC.

BURMESE.

SIAMESE.

SLfgattttsg.

fl/ ya

39 a

S5
tha

C5\\

09 a

^ da,

390 1 5

Q O da

rv^

v/^

OJ JJha

iy pra

&lt;$ ) ta

5 *

OO ku

/ "\"*T 1T

9j b v a

-|
U

pa q i,ie

?&gt; J. tha

OO kae

nca

gf g i

^5.
&gt;f dam

,.
^J mu

^ 13

9 u

i ^

Qj mya

V ba

kra

9 u

1 8

OO tha

O 58

-J

7J pa

L "

7j) dham

Q u

(OQ krl

t- mha

(V Pha

Cc G

O75 n

D] r

(U fa

(OO krva

\
39

O
OQ"]

O7D

073 nna

&lt; q) mhu

JT) r

) 1

)^/ pha
jV flia

^ ^.

\JLS i

CY~~)

&gt;. V

Gfb^O o,au

ff\ J1Q

OO tta

^ mhu

j-) pha

@-r *
au

CO thu

Q rae

ta J

34 ma

n i * r n

6 a ^

u ya

/-vQ

rva

OO ththi

To 1 J

[ khu

9 thva

Q rha

4 99 ^ u

(0 la
3 va

^| khya

x-/

r\~~\ 9

^&gt;.

n * u

: h

?J sa

(S khrva

f\Tl

f) ka

&lt;v&gt;, ha

Y du

O gu

^ 1 %^Y" foa

O uam

ddha

tf*^i

J- a

Cj G[ ia

^][ ddyo

Call en

nirVici
iillct

3
^~y l Trrt

I// Ka

f) kl

OD a

l^.

1 f

p] utuil

, 3

/to

v3 na

fl ki

O &lt;

O cum

Is cca

\^ dhri

5 n

c h^ 6

i i

L cha

&lt;s
f)

J( ku

Q G&gt;i a

r^ nti

f) ku

8 cva

O^J

&lt;T\ *

. -

7 1 ku

oo ^y

ndi

J ya
41

i3J sa

("half

OO h Q) J

^ nna

1 ") pause

Ufl&jrf ^Igtt0.

s
Q ta

s jja

|| f whole
j pause

^ &lt;! &lt;. W J 6 &gt;/

CLASS I.]

ALPHABETS.

[MONOSYLLABIC.

PECUESE.

TIBETAN.

"*"&gt; kgg

CD phj bh

3 tha

Eigat

3 thra

TTQ

^ ssd

^ da

X i

^ kva

-5 clu

^S yu

?3 ssku

"V kh, kg

Q m

^ na

\P kya

5 ^ va

^ ra

^ sskya

C n

oo y

^ pa

3 ^

^ dra

^ rkya

^j sskra

^ pha

^J kra

-i dru

^ rgya

S ssga

nochj

Cl ;

zj ba

^ ki-u

-5 nu

15 gy 11

H ssgya

S] kla

^ P

F rna

f -sgyu

T?"

COJ SJ

H ma

f3 kbu

s py a

5 rca

5] ssgra

^ khva

*J pra

I iJ a

S ssgru

OOt,e

-&
J

a zha

^ ka

a phu

5 ma

j-l ssna

B khya

H I hya

x ^ ssna

&lt;

T rta n

OO th, dh

YO s

^5 a a

E, za

P khra

a phyu

5 \ ssnu

^ i da ^g

_.
^ u "3} va

R khru

H phyva

= ? ssta
^ ma

r&gt;

00 L

5 u

^ ja

S gu

^ phru

z $J ssda
q rba *\

O p,b

-7) a

n| ka

3 za

^ gva

^ bu

w rma

? ssdu

^ gya

5 bya

S ssna

ra, a

5&gt; nnya

3 6yu

a byu

ssnu

"^3 "sS

rcva

^Ligatures.

^ ga uj ya

zj bra

^ rva

^snra

^ na

XXJ*Sf\

^ ra

3 6 ru

rla

^j sspa

71 ka

ol f ko

a) la

3] grva

^ Iga

| sspu

m k *

Y)6

cha

5j ska

3] e la

ni 8
S. lna

TJi sspya

5] gssa

|] blu

1 lea

E, ja

^1 ssa

\Pi X * iz

5 tnu

oj ^f ssbra

"TJ

&lt;O ku

R nu

fe, U a ^

&lt;7&gt; ua

^ ha

g mya

K Ita 1 SSma

-8 kl?

T? kai

5 ta

15J

5 cu

f "3TU

^ kla ssmya

33 inss

s chu

5j ^ Msini a

TX ku

"Y;0 kau

JJFijjuteg.

5 cbva

^ JU

r| Iba ^ ssza

^ ^ / yv. p_

&lt;3^ jva

^ ssra

/ -c

-^ Ibu N

"Y"i ku

~i)

12345

^ nu 1

^ Iva S ssla

.gV") ke

Y)6 keu

\S 4} 4. ft o

67 90

^ ava 1

^ lha ^ hva

5 tu ^ ^ ;|

5 shu ^

6Y&gt; ke

^Section. | Pause.

5 tra

1 zlu

^ shva

5 hru

CLASS II.]

ALPHABETS.

[SHEMITIC.

HEBREW.

RABBINICAL

SAMARITAN.

8YRIAC.

ESTRANCELO SYRIAC.

^ r spirit
t lenis

j$ spirit
I lenis

f spirit
3 r L lenis

r/ rr { spMt

^" * l6nis

^ S~) - **^ i^^ M^ ll T?

2 b, bh

^u L ,^^i .it ^.J b

V ~" &lt; ^ &gt; "^i "^ ^ g

1 g, gh

"*T. d

Tt ^ gh

r d

T d, dh

7
P

T d,dh

01 T-

o a W| Q

CfL he

a a

1 w, u

1 &gt;

** ch

* ^- " * ch, hh

* w, u

^ ^w ^. ^ t

f&gt;

/%-

*** j

^ ds

yii. ^A. A ^ 1

L^ t

j. JW.

J^. ^ CL C) k

j ( i

H ch

t t - k, cb

\ \- ii ^ 1

2 1 k, ch

3 1

^ t

fn ui

&gt;o la ifl m

"i Ji i

^. i, j. n

D D m

P D

V ^ a J n

^4 b, ch

,jj Ufl tt U

NA.

J t u

&gt; )

^ V 1* i u

^i P, Ph

ss ^a a s p, f

\ Z

^ in

3 ^

o HL o k

fi P| P, ph

p q

r a

o ^ n o k

*TL r

It f ts

i r

9 i r

Z ^ - X. ^ &gt; sch

1^ s

* *

&gt;-. ^ * &lt;** sch

A V V t,th

V s^

^. 2^ 2s.

3 P,P,

ILirjatures, etc.

Eipturcs.

N \ lamed

fll ts

^ ^. S. Jk u

dfcs.

X y ~\ "\ gg

FflfcicI an& otfjer Signs.

^ k

_ p I spirit
lienis

\ \" gij

, : T -: vt v

UoiBcI Signs.

rOr\ tha

U * sch

^ V f \ t K

.. o i * y

Q O * A J *

a * *

A &gt; t J

A t, th

_ _ S

.*
*

CLASS II.]

ALPHABETS.

[SHEMITIC.

ARABIC.

tt*.

Efrjaturcs.

PERSIAN ARBITRAGES.

Final Media). Initial.

^ bch

*Mihh

s mb

c-J *-^ &lt; i ^ ;

1 I L \ \ i.eji.o,!. 1

g** jchdsch

ss mcb

r ^. ^ &gt;.&gt;.

^ ^ ** J b

c f r Dm

g. mdsch

J , French \\ g

O &lt;JU \ A I. A A J

1 1

&lt;. nh

s* schb

^.c nm

PERSIAN LIGATURES.

*- ^ lscb ^ tdscb

. kjdscb

^nr

^ otSCh -C^ pch &lt;^ ;;; rr;
* r

^ ^^ h ,

^ tch

X kjb

tfl udscli

^^ pr s stsch ^ H.scb

. .

y tr

sL kjcb

&lt;^_ V-,

c^r tia

i&gt; 1 1m

^ ainb

&lt;^ SStSCh S2^ ; S^ j

* ,. ^schtscb * j- stech

jr r lb

^ s h

^C amch

si srtscb -s^j ^-

j&gt; .X ds

J^ tj

^ sdsch

s^ tfb

ss ^- rrttsch &lt;- Itsch sL kjt^cb

i/* -&gt; -^

^ sh

^* ssh

5^ iidsch

s^ h cb ^sC smstch ^eL ntscb

J ^

y sr

3? sscb

s^s jb

^ ^ jtsch sr htsch

&lt;-^ u- - - - -

r^r 3m

-s2.

^ jclscb

^J*^ (J**

rr sh

^ kch

PUSHTOO LETTERS.

, j

C -^ c&gt; ct

C^* L/ 2 ^

.. Ill

r.r jnj,

u * ^ ^ -o* z , db ^ ^

sL Icli

^/* 1^

==^^ .-:_:=..-^; .- ==SS?T_-

_ -

MALAYAN LETTERS.

\o la la L&gt; ^~

i Id ^

& la ^ L&gt;

^- hlidsch

f mm

^ ^1 iam-elif

c c

&lt;^fc &gt;_? A 9

^ /* a c a/o/u

x^ ^^-

Foiricl Bfps.

(i)

L 1 - * .,*

, . , * . J

. .. _ . .

^&gt; J

f,flU S .

. . ^ s-

1 -v

^ X

3 &=& =&gt;\ ^k

098765 4 321

J3 jl C

HINDUSTANI VOWELS.

r i*S

J J 11

& j r h, all J ir (d)

p cx ^x ^ )
&lt;J^ L/

7a t &gt;j J i- j i |

^ ( f , * -

^ " ^T gb

& kb

cf J- -^ ^

L) / &lt; i * J L.

AS- k b ^- k

d-&gt;- &lt; h

. ^

v i ^

^ ^X a^ 1 *{,

J J 33

AJ J

6^ lib

* j& ^ ^ ah

4 A v 4 & h, t

r *

f bh

3 JCL _9 f

/ j *" Y- K

^J&gt; ^ ^ - X%i* J Jt * JLJ ^^ U

&gt;" tb

X X K

XXXV11

CLASS II.]

ALPHABETS.

[SHEMITIC.

ETHIOPIC AND AMHARIC.

U ha

U) sa

4* ka

**l cha

Tl ka

H za

* ^ dja

ft pa

T Pa

lh hu

Ifr su

*k ku

J- chu

Tb ku

IP ZU

rt dju

ft* pu

T P

y. hi

TH.

"^ chi

U ki

H. zi

?y ,

A. dji

ft. ^

T; Pi

V ha

in 3

fka

j[ cha

V\ ka

H ^

X dja

ft pa

J Pa

11 3

y he

in "*

^ ^s
T "it, che

dje

ft&gt; pe

T Pe

7 J he

^UJ se

^&gt; k. i^ che

"ft ke

H, ze

j? dge

ft pe

T re

ir ho

^P so

*f*

/ cho

n k .

r zo

. vy

ft PO

T po

A la

5 na

"Yl cha

7 ga

ft tza

IDiptfjontjs.

A* iu

* TO

Oln

5&gt; nu

!&gt; chu

TP ju

7* gu

ft. tzu

4* kua

A, *

A ri

$ ni

"^ chi

*"K Ji

^ 6i

ft, tzi

^ kui

A i

*" ra

f 1 na

-I jl cha

T-P

I ja

? ga

$\ tza

J kua

A, i

/D re

a&gt;c

TC j

n
L

A&gt; tze

* kue

A i

^n b

*j ne

M i^| che

[H 1 je

*l ge

iV tze

4*"" kue

A i"

Ci ro

n i)o

f no

"^ cho

: T"* Jo /go ft tzo

Jo chua

1-tha -T

"f^ chui

rtv

1 s thu "^ S nu

(D, wu

fTV

\J* ZU

^ chua

fh. i

ft.

r t thi "? ^

R. Ji flX ti ^ zi

"2&gt; chue

*h iu

, s

l sa

^ tha P T

$* ja ^\ ta " za

Jv chue

3 3

rh&gt; he

ft, se

r t the i

*K we K je

"b 9, Yl kua

i\\ he

h se

^ the "?

(D 1 we

6 ze

TKkui

fh ho

f- tho P

/D ^

r jo

fn t o

(P zo

MX kua

&lt;J&gt; ma

&gt; H scha

T7\ a
tja

]fj| tscha

^. Id

Xk*ue

Yl - kue

&lt;7&gt; mu

!&gt; schu

*E tju A-

O u

A du

YTp tschu

^C fu

rto J 1 ?

CAl |I gclli

4i tji A,

^ di

; nx tsch ^

^ fi 7 gua

&lt;3} ma PI sch *

* ? tja ^

Oj| a

P ci a TTf tscha

4 fa "^

CF^ me

Ft sche

^ tje

ft.

C^L

.ft dS

TTt, tsche 4, fe ^ gua

#3 me

II sche

^ tje ft

^ de

*?* tsche

4^ fe ^ gue

(Ji mo

* pi scho

* ^ tgo

fJ o

^ do

|Ti tscho

A. H

/ gue

new form for re. to divide the words from each other. JJ to divide the sentences. T used only in the Bible.

* These characters are peculiar to the Amharic.

XXXV1U

CLASS III.]

ALPHABETS.

[INDO-EUROPEAN.

PERSIC.

( i II a, e, i, o, u

Efgaturcs.

_ ^ ^ 4 x b

1 1 ba

^f stsch

^ lr

7 shro

&gt; bd

C sb 1

^ lj

^ bkk

"r " ? v tt 7*

rr bk

yX sr

[j, U la

j. ^i**^, &gt;.

&gt;r bm
yy. br

x^X" schr
y^ a

Ll l.ma
[J 1m

^ ph ir
y^z- thr

A ^ I 7 7. I 8 **

&gt; pd

&gt; dbr

J in

/ ap

A f 2 tsch

/^ s pr

^ tr

/{ y

A * " ^ b

rr ^

^1* sr

^t ma

k ^ 7, fib

j/ p- h

ib- sb

&gt; ms

&gt; gbj

* )

* * sr

^ ab

A nd

* &gt;

? as

f"f^ ^b

^? p ghr

y^ - ghjr

f s y

&gt; V s

t, sb&gt;

^s? b r

&gt;* nm

v sb

^J Tl J

^s *^ " **~- ^

pkk

^ -&gt; ./ -

J
: tb

^ cbr
^ ndsch

^f-
| b)

^ ^ ^ ^ ,3S

c/ c/

&gt;/ ft

[ ba

J^ * " J&gt; to

&gt; fm

4 bnd

/ ndb

J2. k- y & y

v tb

j *

&gt;i bsd

/* nhr

Is- Iff *&gt; &

yV tr

/ kr

_&gt; .to

v- nmr

& & a, i, o, u

&gt;" tm

* km

-&gt; -hp

-*" hM

/ &lt; gh

^^ tb

(J kj

-\ jd

y. ^ r

J W

& v ba

- jb

4 J" 1

^ b b

; i s :

& kk

,J bib

^-^*^

-x ^ b p

/ ^-XX ^^ .^

N B

Ji plh

4^^-

i C ^~\i ) * J W Jj

C/ L/ kl

(J* (J" U *

rf . " - r -

^ b r
^ b m

e b b
^ b j

v rok
/ km

O kj

ff ^/f smr
/ sdb
y&lt;-y&lt;- tmr

^ -m
^ cbdscb
^ h dsch
4- stscbb

} ) vr, u

&gt; cbm

J Ib

jp gbb

^&gt; k -

"~ v* t ** h,t

U- sa

jJ Id

% cbdscb

jp gbj

-&lt;- ^t* ^r- u

^f sdscb

J Ip

& cbr

^ pb r

XXX IX

CLASS III.j

ALPHABETS.

[INDO-EUROPEAN .

]u fit /n ch

Jit

.!/f mg

n "

ARMENIAN.

s- *

a, v

(|) ^ &lt;/J p (hard)

k(hard)

()

Italic,

8 (Soft)

till

dsh

(&gt; J &gt; b, j

V*- Q.-V

&lt;I&gt; [&gt; (bard)

sch

P ^ k (bard)

ligatures,

mcb

lomts.

CLASS III.]

ALPHABETS.

[INDO-EUBOPEAN.

SANSCRIT.

cca
*

cna

era
cva
chma

chva

jna
jra

nja

una

ttsa

tpa
i
tma

tya

tsha

*
tsa

thma
tliya

5 5

dda

^ ddha

dbha

5 5

dhna

dhma

dliya

tta
ttra
ttva

tu
tna

tva
th

dr
dga

dgya

dgra

dgha

dghra

dda

ddra

ddva

2;" ddhna

^J ddhya

H dua

^ dba

2~ dbra

^ dbha

^J dbhya

^ dbhra

^f dma

^?T dya

JfJ drya

3) dva

?J dvya

5* dvi-a

^i dh

y dhna

y dhra

y dhva

nta

ntr

ntrya

ntva

nua

nra

pta

pna

pra

pla

pva

pvya

phraa

bra

bhra
m

mna
mra
mla
mva

T r

xli

Ilia
Ila

1 *
j

cla

shta

ehtya

t
shtha

shthya

shna

6r
sra

sla
b

hna

hraa
hya
lira
hrya

hla
hva
hvya

CLASS III.]

ALPHABETS.

[INDO-EUROPEAN.

gha

cha

fil jha

9M na

6 ta.

I tha

|| dha

tha

PALI.

O O dha

pha

bha

O va

kya

cya

jjha

ttha

tva

ddha

dva

nta

ndha

J. nna

bba

bha

mba

mbu

yya

division

xlii

CLASS III.]

ALPHABETS.

[iNDO-EtJHOPEAN.

BENGALEE.

AHOM OR ASSAMESE.

URIYA OR ORISSA.

\3f a

O na

Tt &gt;M 3

.2. 5

y^o

\JO Phj bh

2j a

\ &
1j ta

^T T 1 a

6 ta

if i

JL 5

/) tha

Zlt I

O tha

S &gt; 3

. &

yO kh, gh

"\9 m

T^T T

o da

*/^ ^^

fv o

&gt;&gt;1

&lt;

\S da

-X JJ

o dha

et 5

V na

V n

uo y

&lt;) ^

dha

^ 5

^) ta

o| na

rtl v
^1 ^

vv "~T~

$ tha

V%~k

-/p

9* r

Jn^ cflj j

^^b r

6 ta

? da

&lt;. "5~

*fj CC e

^f dha

EJ tha

4 t ai

T na

&gt;Y

3. G- e

^ da

*f pa

"-3

1 o

^5" pha

\&gt;1 t,d

\3 b

o. ai

(&gt; r^ au

._.

*~? 3

N ba

U L

71 na

&lt;JJ ka

v^ bha

JlJ kha

^ ma

TOO tn &gt; dh

V\^ 8

I3G G~l au ^

^f gha

TI ya

^ ra

IT n

& m

8P Pna

"" na

"^T la

i r

f&gt; ca
"ES cha

"*t c a
T sa

T^ a

^ ka

&lt;^ bha

Vv Ja

3T sha

&1 kha

Fl ma

"3* Jha

^ ha

?! ga

| ya

Hfgaturts.

iLigattircs,

&lt;3 gha

^ ra

"Q 3 kta

&4 pra

/ Y^) ko
L

g&gt; na

^ la

3J* kra

15" bhra

38&gt; ksha
?t gna

7 -ya
^b -ra

[ ka

ro b ko

cha

$1 ca

$3 jna

iflS s
o^ nca

^ r-
& ru

y^f ki

Tn b ku

S j.

[

iJ3 8 .
ox. nja

^&lt; -la

( jha

^ t

&T lla

Y^? ki

yj?

\3 na

3" ha

&lt;3 tra

21 era

T^" dda

^H cva

Z5T dru

*o shta

^ ku

yv^ kau

Hirjattircs.

M" dhva

"^ shna

Off

3? kra ;)

"M" -na

^3 sta

^ ntu

^ stha

^ k "

yvpT kau

1 ksha

^ ntha

T sma

: j

g stha

V. i

^ ndha

* / yv) ke

Yn b keu

S chi Q.

9 shta

3J nma

3f stra

q" nva

s
o- m

^f flj mbha

^ pta

1 pause

/ rV

yW koi

2j thi ^ ^ pause

xliii

CLASS HI.]

ALPHABETS

[iNDO-ElTBOPEAN.

SINDHEE.

MOULTAN OR WUCH.

CASHMERIAN.

T!) a

ff a

(9 dha

*5T a

TIT Jba

^^ 8

O I

^5 a

FT na

U ta

- o *

O tha

i. ka

*^ na

*i da

3 kha

"3 ^r n

T? dha

i\ g a

W pa

T ^ u

xl na

Vj gha

J ta

"% ca

5 ka

"q" tha

^5 cha

^M pha

13! 1

3S la

7i \

37 i

Ol J a

y ~j

"Q" dha

&lt;t* jha

kha

x&lt;/, ^ a

t 1 " e

sr na

^ na

^ . ai

IT P a

3 ta

OL J

"|T o

Zo ^ a

f ^\ ma

"P*" au

7 ba

6 j 5

\\ ga

TT bha

v da

j \.

.v 5

SI ya

1 h

&gt;l ma

** na

* **

-25 ta

&lt;S ca

^ ka

ZT ya

^M tha

"Pf kha

T ra

^ ra

^ da
(5 dha

TT
\1|- gha

FT la
^ va

&gt;" na

*f) la

w ca

31 J

JT ca

wr sha

TT cha

^J S3

4* pha

&lt;1 va

TIT J

^T ha

TO ha

\f" da

"*! bha

ILfgattircs.

/ *l aia

V\ 5

^\ kya

"U" pra

JJC na

T^ ya

^ cu

H? mpa

2. ra

5 ha

"^ jya

^ rja

12 la

^f tma

jg^ cu

O va

^^ tra

^ tu

Iff sma

"2f tha

\M sa

ij ncu

"^ sva

"^ La

^ nu

"g&gt; hya

*2&gt;) tra

% pause

. / vowel
\ \ omitted

xliv

CLASS III.]

ALPHABETS.

[INDO-EUKOPEAN.

2/U

N
2/1

&gt; an

kha

gha

cha

Ui
rt

tha

dha

na
ta

1 tha
^ da
{, dha
f{ na
H

M P ha
b{ ba

/H bhu

"H
^t

GUJERATTEE.

khi

ghu

chi
chu

chu

Eujatureg.

~3U

jhi

til

thu

di
du

dhi

dhu

llfl -

rfl

fltt

thu

dhu

phu
M

bhi

bhu

xlv

CLASS III.]

ALPHABETS.

[INDO-EUKOPEAN.

MAHRATTA.

tff

tha

da
dha

tha

dha

pha

bha
ma

sha

TAMUL.

t/D

rr.

5
LJ

LD
LU

g&gt;p

C5VT
_/V5

ka, ga

J ca,ja ;
sha

ta, da

pa, ba i

sha

11
la

BF-

rf*

ja
na

ki
ku

tu
tu

rf
rP

yi
yu

113

rha

rhi

rhi
rhu

rhu

xlvi

CLASS III.]

ALPHABETS.

[INDO-EUBOPEAN.

3 :

SD &gt;

5
I h

^ ka
2J kha

oco gha

cha

jha

tha

dha

na
ta
tha

dha

pha

bha

TE LI N G A.

sha

pause

go ku

ksha

gha

gnu

QXXT 5 g

co na

jha
jhi

ttu

tra

ddu

ddha

dha

ohu

S -

8 "

d3~ va

sbta

xlvii

CLASS III.]

ALPHABETS.

[INDO-EUROPEAN.

&&amp;gt;
d-

T I

S3 i

&&amp;gt;

CO o

kha

jha

tha

dha

tta

K A R N AT A.

sha

4 &

ksha

xlviii

ttu

tte

tra

dri

nna

pra

bhu

mma

sha

&&amp;gt; shta

(?) 1

sign of
duplication

3 1

T * 1,1

CLASS III.]

ALPHABETS.

[INDO-EUEOPEAN.

M ALAY ALI M.

05*2) a

6*3) na

Eftjaturcs.

_ R S

5 ta, da

c8j ku

S tu

(kO-^ bra

^3 Ha

tha

*g ku

g. bhu

^d Hu

L, ^

COO da

^) kr

(ZTTn tta

( bhu

-J -va

0(00^ i

&lt;*& dha

cQ^Jj KKU

^^ ttu

bhr

^T VU

ei u

6&lt;"O na

(^Q kku

CZT2) tma

(3 bhra

o? vr

^ "

&lt;W ta, da

Qs) kra

O tra

Q mu

^3 wa

oo 5

LD tha

^ kla

&lt;. tra

^) CU

^ r

&lt;3 da

^S^ ksha

fl^X) tsa

@ mr

i
C/QU cca

CO dha

c?3 ksa

(20) mma

&lt;^5&gt; era

6YD, y

Del

^ gu

320
dr

TO mla

r/?s 44
OQ cca

o 1 pa, ba

&gt; gr

^- ddha

^ -ya

o^ shta

0-0 pha

C/3 gda

S) dya.

COJ tm

&lt;^ shtha

G^l ai

6^ ba

OD gna

Oft n

% yka

S^ shpa

O o

&lt;3 bha

(C/) gra

O3 nu

"TTOJ ykka

CT^ S 3 U

oa o

Q) ma

(2;g| ghra

05) nr 6

^OTSJ ykku

OT^ sta

"0 au

CQ&gt; ya

89s nka

CYB) nta

% yta

&lt;P n 9) stu

&lt;*}_ 6 3

^*- -^

(D ra

g3 nku

^^ ntu

^. ytu

rron stha

B 8,

N. V^Ll

&lt;&gt; ka, ga

^ la

3 nna

(Q5&gt; ntra

&gt; yma

^^ sma

6U kha

^-1 va

4 cu

OS nda

^ J

^[^P sra

o A cc ha

CYXx) ndha

(ni ^

00 ga

C/9 ca

rro

r WU

CTVj SSU

-J gha

c^ sha

9^ ecu

COO nna

03 Da

CTO sa

%{, Jja

O2J nma

flB ru

^ s-ha

oj / ca J a
L sha

-1^ ha

8
8 8

OOJ nva

(@ ru

^ hu

-2-P cha

ft la

G^WQ nuu

oj pu

^ r SS a

&lt;05 hu

&lt;iO jjr

CO 19

~ ja

^ PU

0D rtha

\ n

fcJ~D jha

O rha

ttu

a -r^ pta

(So

ou-. nil

gyn) nka

O- i nna

p i

SS Ua

JlfJUtES.

SHf ntu

ad PP a

^O Ikku

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xlix

CLASS III.]

ALPHABETS.

[iNDO-EtTKOPE AN .

CINGALESE.

MALDIVIAN.

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PERSIAN SIGNS.

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Uotoel Points.

&lt; &lt;C ///&gt;&lt; 5 5&gt;

CLASS III.]

ALPHABETS.

[INDO-EUROPEAN.

IRISH.

MCESO-GOTHIC. ANGLO-SAXON.

ENGLISH.

$0. 1.

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Koman.

Italic.

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ClASS III.]

ALPHABETS.

[INDO-EUEOPEAN.

GERMAN.

LD ENGLISH.

CREEK.

utra&rrg.

Common.

A a a

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CLASS III.]

.ALPHABETS.

[INDO-EUBOPEAN.

ALBANIAN.

RUSSIAN, SERVIAN AND WALLACHIAN.

Ho. I.

$0. 2.

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Italic.

(& A a

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IA Ut ia

liii

CLASS III.]

ALPHABETS.

[INDO-EUBOPE AN .

SCLAVONIC.

tVtttt.

to Sclavonic, $0. 1.

to Scla&onfc, 0o. 2.

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CLASS IV.]

ALPHABETS.

[UGRO-TARTARIAK.

MANTCHOU.

MONGOLIAN.

t ^ "* ^J

3 ^ ^ ~ "

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ALPHABETS.

[UGRO-TARTABIAN.

GEORGIAN.

&{frtt

(Scclesiasttcal.

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27* i

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n tsch

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qp eg

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c/ ^"

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[p sha

^ qwn

J* ih i

*A? ""

4 ep

&lt;J1D thkh

uV- r

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Ivi

CLASS IV.]

ALPHABETS.

[UGBO-TARTARIAN.

JAPANESE. - KATAKANA CHARACTER.

jl na

&gt;r

ISoubltnK
Signs.

"^ iu, i-i

. ra

) domo

7 n

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^ 1

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Conjunctions

ytv

]

^ ;

ana

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MA flYtttYff

* zo

y ku

(, za

-r

mama

iVtcvUtull

I-

Signs.

v*&gt;

tsu

rJ U

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1 f 1

^^^^

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^ j

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glii

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ma

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A. mina

SJsca in tfjc
^[ino
^Language.

dzi

-3

^ mia

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Ivii

CLASS IV.]

ALPHABETS.

[UGRO-TARTARIAN.

Iviii

CLASS IV.]

ALPHABETS.

[UGRO-TARTAEIAN.

^
*5&gt;

&gt;^&gt;

&lt;

-4

&lt;

JAPANESE. - FIROKANA CHARACTER.

&lt;*&gt;

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ff J

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^ 1

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r-yu

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1
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t
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O point

lix

ALPHABETS.

[UGEO-TAKTAKIAN.

JAPANESE.- FIROKANA CHARACTER.

Htgatures.

rosi

kan

]

uzi

1^&gt; mezi

r dzusi

fasi

kajesi

12 J

Id 1

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basi

kavasi

1:1

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A si

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nazi

masi

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ft.

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14-*

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vZ^

r resi

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rasi

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f mesi

wosi

tsudzu

busi

R- nzi

Dottftling Signs

* &lt;

&lt; &lt; 4

&lt;* 4

CLASS IV.]

ALPHABETS.

[UGRO-TAKTARIAN.

JAPANESE. - FIROKANA CHARACTER.

Cfjimsc Si 15113.

itsi

nitsi

M kage

nari

j& tamon

^ niozi

rio

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*&gt;&gt; *

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ima

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js taro

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fil

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kawa

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a 1 1)

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nin

hsiii

A \

2^ tama

Ixi

CLASS IV. ]

ALPHABETS.

[UGKC-TARTAKIAN.

yama

mata

tnato

matsu

&gt;fu

~ futa

JAPANESE.- FIROKANA CHARACTER.

(Cfjincse Sitjns.

kokoro

koto

yemon

CLASS V.]

ALPHABETS.

[POLYNESIAN OR MALAYAN.

MALAYA/I.

COPTIC.

Uncial.

A a \ Th th ^

A. A a P p r A a

A Tl tl ^

B B b,v

B b,v

Cc s

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uu i t

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T i,y

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t

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Accents. uj o

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2 h

01 dl c^ Nj nj *** M 1^1 ein

fl\ i&gt; hh
tU o

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i i

Ixiii

CLASS V.]

ALPHABETS.

[POLYNESIAN OR MALAYAN.

JAVANESE.

3Lirjatutg.

3 -i-lk a

ISTi ta

01 Q. i

(3J1 sa
O va

Jin ha .[1

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in ^ Q

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ran

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win ka & O)

VSJDlx

Knijn

(in O V^ ^ ^J

Capital ilcttcrg.

ARABIC SIGNS.

aim na xs\

olh &lt;ui 4_J ok cinn

HW jja

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ff.

M ta

dttsuteg.

QRfk -]

aan ga

onn^ 6@jc.anji(^ajuio

12 34567890

Ixiv

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMOIES.

PAGE

.A.BENAQTJI . . . 374

Bima .

309

JLJACO-EOMANA Or Wftl-

German, Old High or Ale-

Accra .... 342

Bohemian

248

lachian ... 229

manic .... 171

Adiyah or Fernandian . 346

Bosnian .

253

Dacota or Sioux . . 381

Ghadamsi ... 333

Affghan or Pushtoo . 58

Brazilian and Guarani .

390

Dajak .... 308

Ghee z or Ethiopic . . 45

African or Moorish Arabic,

Breton or Armorican

145

Dalmatian-Servian or

Gipsy or Eommany . Ill

or Mongrebin . . 43

Bruj or Brij-bhasa

Croatian . . . 251

Gothic . . . .147

Aimara . . . 389

Bughelcundee .

Danish .... 180

Grebo 341

Albanian ... 239

Bugis and Macassar

310

Delaware ... 368

Greek, Ancient . . .189

Alemannic or Old High

Bulgarian ....

254

Dialect, Negro, of Curacao 404

- Modern . . 201

German . . .171

Bullom ....

337

Negro, of Surinam 403

Greenlandish . . . 362

Aleutian or Aliout-Liseyeff 297

Bulochee or Belochee

Dialects, Bengalee . . 96

Guarani and Brazilian . 390

Amharic .... 48

Bundelcundee .

Cognate, Siamese 12

Gujerattee .... 105

Anamite ... 12

Buriat ....

280

Hinduwee . 87

Gurwhal or Schreenagur 104

Ancient Armenian . . 61

Burmese

India, Central 89

- Greek . . 189

Buttaneer or Virat .

Dogura or Jumboo . . 102

-LlAEEOTEE ... 90

Anglo Saxon . . .153

Dorpat Esthonian . 272

Haussa .... 339

Arabic .... 39

CAFFBE or Kaffir .

351

Dualla or Dewalla . . 344

Hawaiian . . . .311

- Moorish or African,

Calmuc ....

279

Dutch .... 168

Hebrew Old Testament 19

or Mongrebin . . 43

Cambojan

New Testament 25

Arakanese or Eukheng . 6

Canarese or Karnata

120

-CJNG-HADINE, Upper and

Memoir descrip

Ararat, Armenian . 65

Canoj or Canyacubja .

Lower, or Eomanese . 235

tive of . Supplement (1)

Arawack . . . .392

Carib or Karif .

391

English .... 157

Hindustani or Urdu . 78

Armenian, Ancient . 61

Carniolan

252

Escuara or Spanish Basque 263

Hinduwee ... 84

Ararat . . 65

Carshun ....

Esquimaux . . . 359

Dialects . 87

Modern . 66

Cashmerian .

102

Esthonian, Dorpat . 272

Hungarian or Magyar . 269

Armorican or Breton . 145

Catalan or Catalonian

237

Eeval . . 273

Wendish . 257

Ashantee or Odjii . . 343

Catchee or Cutchee

Ethiopic or Ghee z . 45

Hurriana . . . .88

Assamese .... 97

Central India Dialects

Australian, New S. Wales 324

Chaldee . .

JJ ANTEE . . . .343

JLCELANDIC or Norse . 177

Aztec or Mexican . . 383

Cherokee ....

378

Faroese . . . . 188

India, Central, Dialects of 89

Chinese ....

Feejeean . . . .323

Indian, New England . 365

XXASHMtTRIC . . . 330

Chippeway or Ojibway .

371

Fernandian or Adiyah . 346

Indo-Portuguese . . 405

Basque, French . . 261

Chocktaw

379

Finnish . . . .264

Iowa .... 382

Spanish or Escuara 263

Cingalese ....

126

Flemish .... 165

Irish 137

Bassa . . . .340

Coptic ....

326

French . . . .214

Isubu .... 345

Batta .... 310

Corean ....

298

- Basque . . 261

Italian . . . .227

Belochee or Bulochee . 60

Cree ....

369

Formosan . . . .306

Bengalee .... 92

Creolese ....

402

JALLOOF ... 335

Dialects . . 96

Croatian or Dalmatian-

GTAELIC ... 135

Japanese .... 296

Berber .... 331

Servian

251

Galla 355

Javanese . . . 307

Bhojepoora ... 88

Curacao Negro Dialect .

404

Georgian ... 293

Jewish-German . . 399

Bikaneera ... 91

Cutchee or Catchee

German . . . .173

Judseo-Arabic . . 42

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMOIRS.

JudffiO-Persic
Judeo-Polish
Judeo-Spanish .
Jumboo or Dogura
Juyapoora

PAGE

57
400
396
102

JVAFME or Caffre . 351
Karaite-Tartar . . .290

Karass or Turkish-Tartar 287

Karelian . . 271
Karen, Karayn, or Karieng 13

Karif or Carib . . 391

Karnata or Canarese . 120

Khaspoora or Nepalese 103

Khassee .... 15

Kikamba .... 358

Kinika .... 358

Kisuaheli .... 357

Kousulu or Koshala . 88

Kumaon .... 104

Kunkuna ... 110

Kurdish . . . , 68

JJAOS or Law . . 12

Lapponese .... 267

Latin .... 205

Lepcha .... 18

Lettish or Livonian . 257

Lithuanian . . - 259

Loochooan . . . 297
Low Malay . . .304

JM.ACASSAE and Bugis . 310

Magadha or Magudha . 96

Magyar or Hungarian . 269

Mahratta or Marathi . 107

Malagasse . . . 320

Malay, Low . . .304

Malayalim ... 124

Malayan . . . .299

Maldivian ... 128

Maltese . . . .394

Mandingo ... 334

Manks . . . -142

Mantchou . . 277

Maori or New Zealand . 318

Marathi or Mahratta . 107

Marquesan . . 315

Marwar .... 90

Massachusett . . .366

Mayan ....
Mexican or Aztec
Micmac ....
Misteco .
Mithili or Tirhitiya
Modern Armenian .

- Greek

- Syriac .
Mohawk ....
Mohegan .

Mon, Talain, or Peguese
Mongolian Proper
Mongrebin, or African or

Moorish Arabic .
Mordvinian or Morduin
Mosquito

Moultan, Wuch, or Ooch
Mpongwe
Munipoora

PAGE

386

383

373

385

201

375

366

279

274
387
100
347
14

NAMACQTJA ... 354

Nepalese or Khaspoora . 103

Negro Dialect of Curacoa 404

Dialect of Surinam 403

New England Indian . 365

New S. Wales Australian 324

New Zealand or Maori . 318

Norse or Icelandic . 177
Norwegian Laplandish

or Quiinian . . 268

ODJII or Ashantee . 343

Ojibway or Chippeway . 371

Old Saxon ... 151
Olonetzian . . -275

Oodeypoora ... 90

Oojein or Oujjuyunee . 90

Orenburgh-Tartar . . 289

Orissa or Uriya . . 98

Ossitinian ... 70

Ostiacan or Ostjakian . 275

Otomi .... 385
Ottawa . . . .373

Oujjuyunee or Oojein . 90

PALI 76

Palpa .... 104

Pawnee .... 382
Peguese, Talain, or Mon

Persic .... 51

PAGE

Peruvian or Quichua . 388

Piedmontese . . . 234

Polish .... 246

Portuguese . . .223

Pottawattomie . . 373

Provencal or Romaunt . 230

Punjabee or Sikh . . 100

Pushtoo or Affghan . . 58

QTTANIAN or Norwegian

Laplandish . . 268
Quichua or Peruvian . 388

HAROTONGA . . .314

Reval Esthonian . . 273

Romaunt or Provencal . 230
Romanese or Upper and

Lower Enghadine . 235

Rommany or Gipsy . .111

Rukheng or Arakanese 6

Russian .... 244

SAHIDIC . . .329
Samaritan ... 28
Samoan .... 321
Samogitian . . 260
Samoiede . . -295
Sanscrit .... 71
Saxon, Anglo . . .153
- Old . . . 151
Schreenagur or Gurwhal 104
Sclavonic . . . .240
Sechuana . . 348
Seneca .... 377
Servian .... 250
Sesuto or Sisuta . . 350
Shawanoe . . 374
Shekawutty ... 91
Sherbro-Bullom . . 337
Siamese . . .10

Cognate Dialects 12

Sikh or Punjabee . . 100
Sioux or Decota . 381
Sindhee .... 99
Sirenian or Zirian . . 274
Sisuta or Sesuto . . 350
Slovakian .... 253
Spanish .... 220

- Basque or Escuara 263
Surinam, Negro Dialect of 403

PAGE

Susoo . . . . . 336
Swedish .... 185
Syriac .... 33

in Hebrew characters 36

Modern . . 37
Syro-Chaldaic ... 37

J.AHITIAN . . . 312

Talain, Mon, or Peguese 9
Tamul or Tamil . . 113
Telinga or Teloogoo . 118
Terasco . . . .385
Tibetan .... 17

Tigre 47

Timmanee . . . 340
Tirhitiya or Mithili . 96
Tongan .... 316
Toulouse . . . .238
Trans-Caucasian Tartar 292
Tscheremissian . . . 274
Tschuwaschian . . 291
TuluorTuluvu . . 123
Tungusian Proper . 278
Turco-Greek and Turkish-
Armenian . . . 285
Turkish .... 282
Tartar or Karass 287

U PPER and Lower Engha
dine or Romanese . 235
Upper and Lower Wendish 255
Urdu or Hindustani . 78
Uriya or Orissa . . 98

VATJDOIS .
Virat or Buttaneer
Virginian

232
91
365

W ALLACHIAN or Daco-

Romana . . .229
Welsh .... 129
Wendish, Hungarian . 257
Upper and Lower 255
Wogulian ... 275
Wotagian or Wotjakian . 276
Wuch, Ooch, or Moultan 100

YAEEIBA or Yoruba . 338

^APOTECA
Zirian or Sirenian .

385
274

THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND.

CLASS L MONOSYLLABIC LANGUAGES.

CLASS II SHEMITIC LANGUAGES.

CLASS III. INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.

CLASS IV. UGRO-TARTARIAN LANGUAGES.

CLASS Y. POLYNESIAN OR MALAYAN LANGUAGES.

CLASS VI. AFRICAN LANGUAGES.

CLASS VII. AMERICAN LANGUAGES.

CLASS VIII. MIXED OR PATOIS LANGUAGES.

THE LORD S PRAYER

IN CHINESE,

From Adelung s Mithridates, revised by Dr. Pfizmaier.

|TT liiung

&T lliu

(S ye

B J

s ngo

g tshy

pb ^ sa i

P&lt;5 ya

Ijrij hien

^ J mien

/H yum

-: teng

^)( tsching

/^ ming

7^ tien

pP T men

T--

^ fu

Tyjij" liang

!^p. vang

-Yj" liing

fcl kien

/gj tsche

Ilini ^ a *

^c ngo

rN u ^

W-"

S^ sliing

t^T kun

it ch, y

yP mien

/Q* kin

&gt;

-3f. teng

7) nai

^j tche

S ngo

El Je

^ JU

j^j kue

3t*

jj&lt;5 kieu

5Ln.

j g| tchay

l-iii yu

1/1^ y

pjfr lin

&lt;JA ngo

S ngo

^p-

^X n S

7^ tien

&gt;.

-^ teng

Sc *

SI -

Ijjf] yuen

THE LORD S PRAYER

IN CHINESE CRASS WRITING,

From Adelung s Mithridates, revised toy Dr. Pfizmaier.

tchhi

\5&gt; ngt)

^ yen

Y?c so

^ ming

ft*

^ yao

C2D jin

V */ VP

c?^ yeu

?| f .

^ tang

^ tschi

ft-

^~J&gt; ngb

-3.

vS thsing

j^S thsing

^ n 6

rj^&gt; w t i

3^f kiun

f&lt;J&gt; pel

^/{ sche

^^ kitin

^? kiun

^tf kiun

&lt;^? tschi

[f~ fu

j^ mi

te-

^/I sche

^&lt;P schin

/H; tsai

^JC hoe

A, Jin

^p^ mein

Q- Ji

tij tan g

H *.

^ tsing

^7 ni

&lt;3~^ yeu

^yV

p ^ tsfeng

x/^i Wei
&lt;/o?

ID/ tsching

/ thien

yj? thsing

( ^ kiun

^ tschi

/ thien

v Hng

^y tsche

11-

/J7-J kuo

j^x schi

"^ thi

^ tang

^ci kiun

THE BIBLE OF EYERY LAND.

CLASS I.-MONOSYLLABIC LANGUAGES.

CHINESE.

SPECIMEN OF THE CHINESE VEKSION. ST. JOHN S GOSPEL, CHAP. i. . 1 to 13.

PROM DB. MORRISON S TRANSLATION ISSUED FROM THE ANGLO-CHINESE COLLEGE,

IN 21 VOLUMES, IN 1823.

4fi.

i * m

Hfc *

=9J A
PiVi /V

^o Z

A #s E ro

75^

flg

ffij Z,

w
i

ffi)

&J V ^ Ufc H * A f Bff

-ffi.

75 ifff ^ a

ON THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

GEOGRAPHICAL ^EXTENT, AND STATISTICS. The Chinese empire, including within its area about
a third of the Asiatic continent, occupies little less than one-tenth part of the whole habitable globe.
China^ proper, in which alone the Chinese language is vernacular, comprises eighteen provinces, each
of which is equal in extent and population to some European kingdoms ; it forms about a fourth part
of the entire region generally regarded as tributary to the Chinese emperor, and contains an area of
1,348,870 square miles. According to the last census, taken in 1825, China proper, exclusive of the
colonies, has a population of 352,866,012; but this estimate is considered by recent authorities rather
to under-rate the number of inhabitants. It is generally admitted that there are about 288 inhabitants
to every square mile in China, which is somewhat more crowded than in England. 1 W r,oo ^rmoQn/lo

Hence thousands

Martin, Vol. I. p. 447. Abdeel s China Introd. p. 19.

2 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS I.

annually migrate from China to the shores of the Indian Archipelago ; and Mr. Crawfurd, the late
resident at Singapore, estimated the number of Chinese dispersed throughout the Philippines, Borneo,
Java, Singapore, Malacca, Penang, Siam, Tonquin, and adjacent districts, at 734,700.

CHARACTEKISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The language used by this vast population exhibits
certain affinities with some of the idioms of Central Asia, yet is distinguished by some remarkable
characteristics peculiar to itself.

The first grand peculiarity is the remarkable fact, that in the written language of China the words
or characters are not, as with ourselves, representatives of spoken sounds, but symbols of abstract ideas.
It contains no alphabetical letters in our sense of the term ; and every written character is an entire
word, with a uniform meaning in all parts of the empire, independent of its conventional sound in the
various local dialects. This constitutes a great difficulty in the acquisition of the language ; not,
however, to the extent that has been generally supposed. It is true that in the standard national
Lexicon, published by command of the emperor Kang-he in the seventeenth century of the Christian
era, there are found as many as 30,000 distinct characters. Most of these, however, arc either obsolete,
or of very rare occurrence; so that in the penal code of China, translated by Sir George Staunton, and
in the Chinese Version of the New Testament, the result of a careful collation has proved that there
are only about 3000 characters in very general use. The Chinese characters have been sometimes
compared to the hieroglyphics of Egypt. The resemblance, however, must not be extended too far,
as Chinese writing was never confined to a priestly caste, and is moreover a more artificial and inge
nious system of ideographic combinations. There are 214 original characters or roots, into some of
which every one of these 30,000 characters may be resolved by the process of dissection or analysis,
and which form the foundation of the meaning as well as the basis of the lexicographic arrangement of
each compound character.

The written symbols of the Chinese may be divided into four kinds. The first class comprehends
those which appear to have been originally mere rude pictorial representations of visible objects,
although in process of time the original resemblance has been almost lost ; as e. g. the symbols for a
field W , a man /| , a horse S*, , a sheep j .

The second class consists of symbols of complex ideas, which were formed by an ingenious com
bination of those more elementary symbols which they already possessed; as e. g. the character ^|] le,
is made up of two elementary characters, that for grain on the left, and that for a knife or sickle on
the right. The entire symbol thus compounded has the general meaning of gain or profit ; an idea
taken from reaping the fruit of the soil.

A third class comprises those symbols which we may suppose would be required by their national
progress in civilisation, and the necessity for an increase of terms for expressing their continually
enlarging number of ideas. These may be termed phonetic characters (inasmuch as a portion of the
character affords a help or guide to its spoken sound), in which there is a slight analogy to our
alphabetic system of compounding words. The existence of this class of symbols proves that the
present elaborate and extensive system of Chinese written words is the result of gradual additions
and successive invention. There are about 1500 primitive characters in very common use, which
we may imagine to have been the whole stock of symbols at a very early period of history, and
which had not only a definite idea, but also a definite sound attached to each. As every character in
Chinese is pronounced in speaking as a monosyllable, it would come to pass that their ideas, and the
written characters by which they expressed those ideas, would increase far beyond what they would be
able to pronounce by separate sounds amid the monosyllabic poverty of their spoken language. Many
ideas would all be expressed in speaking by one and the same monosyllabic sound. Instead of
selecting an entirely new character, they would take some well-known character in general use, having
the same sound ; and by merely adding one of the 214 roots or simple elements to influence the
meaning, they would form a new combination, the whole being in effect a new written symbol, of
which one part influences the sound, and the other the sense.

Thus, to take the example of ^|j le, profit, which was employed for illustrating the principle of
the second class of symbols; we may suppose this to have become one of the 1500 primitive characters,
having its definite sense and established pronunciation. There is another le in the spoken language,

MONO-SYLLABIC LANGUAGES.] CHINESE.

meaning a pear-tree. They simply took the character ^|] profit, having the sound of le, and adding
the radical character ^ muh, wood, they formed a new combination, ^ le, a pear-tree, of which
the upper part gives the sound, and the lower the sense. So again on the same principle, by combining
the same primitive ^|J le, with the radical, having the sense of disease, a new character is virtually
formed jjjj pronounced le, but having the sense of dysentery. So again for writing the word le
having the sense of hatred, they combine the same primitive ^|] with the radical bearing the meaning
of heart, the whole forming a new symbol ^)J le, hatred, of which the upper part gives the sound, and
the lower influences the sense. And on the same principle, there are in all ten phonetic derivatives
from the same primitive ^|J le, all having the same sound of le, but having different meanings
according to the radical character with which le is combined.

The fourth class comprises those symbols which may be considered of arbitrary formation, and
are found, in no inconsiderable number, uninfluenced by any principle of classification in their origin.

We now proceed to notice some of the peculiarities of the spoken language. The absence of an
alphabet has deprived the Chinese of an important means of preserving a uniformity _ of spoken
language through every part of the empire. A native of China would be altogether unintelligible,
speaking his local patois at a distance of 200 miles from his home ; and yet, like the Arabic figures of
arithmetic in western countries, the written character is everywhere the same throughout the whole of
China, though in reading and speaking the local pronunciation becomes in fact a separate language.
Thus the symbols for twenty-tivo, though written the same, are spoken by^ a native of Peking
urh-shih-urh, by a native of Ningpo gne-a-gne, by a native of Canton e-shap-e ; in the same way as 22
would convey the same idea but have a different sound in each language of Europe. The dialect of
the capital, commonly called the mandarin or court dialect, is used as the medium of intercourse
between the government officers and the literati in all parts of the country, to obviate the inconve
nience of the local dialects.

The great difficulty of the spoken language consists in the fact already adverted to, the mono
syllabic nature of Chinese words. Two great difficulties are connected with this, viz. the system of
tones, and the redundancy of the colloquial style. There are less than 400 monosyllabic sounds of
which the Chinese organs of speech are susceptible; and these have to be divided among 30,000
written characters. By means of intonations of voice each monosyllable is capable of considerable
variations which respectively influence the meaning. But with all these contrivances of varied tone, a
large number of ideas will be expressed by the same sound and the same tone. No difficulty is pro
duced thereby in the written language, as each word is a different character, having a different visible
form ; but great perplexity is frequently caused in speaking, and hence a redundant style is employed
in conversation, which is altogether unnecessary, and is considered very inelegant in a written com
position. A well known Protestant Missionary, now labouring in China, has been known to make a
challenge that he could write a moral treatise in Chinese, of which each character would have only the
sound of e, or ih, or yih. The impossibility of understanding the meaning of such a composition when
read aloud to a person who has not the writing itself before him, will be apparent to every one, unless,
in reading it aloud, an additional number of sounds are employed for each character to prevent con
fusion. Hence has arisen the practice of employing two or more monosyllabic sounds in speaking,
where one would have been sufficient in writing.

Thus the spoken language becomes in one sense no longer monosyllabic. This addition is made
either by reduplication of the sound, by using two synonymous words, or by forming some other
conventional compound. Thus, for instance, the character for father and that for axe are both pro
nounced foo. In speaking they employ foo-tsin (a father-relative), and foo-tow (an axe-head).^

When it is borne in mind that the Chinese aim at great brevity and conciseness in their written
compositions, and that breach of the rules of literary taste is a great offence in the estimate of Chinese
scholars, it will easily be seen that it requires no common skill and industry in a foreign student to
place the Holy Scriptures before the minds of this civilised but benighted people in a style _ at
once adapted to the taste of the educated, and suited to the understanding of all classes of the native
population.

CHINESE VERSIONS OF SACRED SCRIPTURE. It has been related, though upon disputed
authority, that in the Chinese province of Shense, in 1625, a curious monument was discovered, bearing

4 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS I.

inscriptions relative to a translation of the Sacred Scriptures into Chinese, supposed to have been
executed at a very remote period. It would appear that in A.D. 637, Olopen, a Christian missionary,
arrived in China, and succeeded in obtaining an interview with the Emperor : the result, it is said,
was highly favourable, for the Emperor commanded Fam-hiven-lim, the prime minister, ^one of the
most learned of Chinese scholars, to translate the sacred books brought by Olopen. 1 But if this edict
was ever issued or executed, it is certain that not one of the copies of the version thus produced is now
in existence. A few portions of the Sacred Scriptures appear to have been translated at various times
by the Romish missionaries in China, but no successful efforts were made by them towards the production
of an entire version. In 1806 a translation was commenced in Bengal under the superintendence of
the Rev. David Brown, Provost of the College of Fort William ; he employed for this purpose
Joannes Lassar, who was an Armenian Christian but a native of China ; and in 1807 a copy of Matthew
in Chinese, translated and beautifully written by Lassar, was sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury for
the Lambeth Library. 2 In 1808 the Rev. D. Brown transmitted to the Secretary of the British and
Foreign Bible Society the first sheet of this translation that had passed through the Chinese press. 3
It had been printed from wooden blocks, cut by the chintz pattern makers; but early in 1811 metal
types were used in printing the Scriptures at Serampore, and this mode of printing Chinese is now
generally adopted by our missionaries, in preference to the native method of printing from wooden
blocks. The preparation of the version, from about the year 1808, was taken up by the ^Serampore
missionaries: Dr. Marshman and his son, in conjunction with Lassar, completed and printed it at
Serampore in 1822, 4 under the liberal patronage of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Each
sheet of this version was subjected, by the indefatigable translators, to an almost incredible number of
revisions, and the whole was diligently conferred with Griesbach s text. Another version was made by
Dr. Morrison, who about the year 1807 was sent to China by the London Missionary Societv. Prior
to his departure from England he had obtained some knowledge of the language, and in aid of his
important undertaking he took with him the copy of a Chinese MS. belonging to the British Museum,
and admirably executed by some unknown hand ; it was apparently a translation from the Vulgate, and
from the beauty of the style was judged to be the production of a native. It was written by order of
Mr. Hodgson, in 1737-8; he presented it, in 1739, to Sir Hans Sloane, through whom it came into
the possession of the British Museum. It contained a condensed harmony of the Gospels, and likewise
the Acts, and all the Epistles of St. Paul, with the exception of that to the Hebrews, of which the first
chapter only had been translated, when death, or some other cause, arrested the hand of the translator.
Dr. Morrison says, concerning this MS., that in translating the New Testament, he_at the commence
ment derived great assistance from the Epistles, but that afterwards they caused him much labour in
verifying, and in effecting such alterations as his judgment suggested. In the translation of the Old
Testament, Dr. Morrison made considerable use of Bishop Newcome s version of the twelve minor
prophets, and of Lowth s Isaiah ; he also referred continually to the original Scriptures, the Septuagint,
Vulgate and French Versions: he never appears, however, to make any remarkable departure from
the sense of the authorised English version. Dr. Morrison after labouring alone for some years in China
was provided with a valuable coadjutor in Dr. Milne, who was sent to aid in the work of translation
by the London Missionary Society. The historical books of the Old Testament, and the book of Job,
were translated by Dr. Milne, and he died while employed in their revisal. The entire version was
completed in 1823. 5

At the anniversary of the Bible Society in 1824, Dr. Morrison presented the sacred volume at the
meetino-, and Mr. Butterworth related the following incident : " It is now many years ago, that in visiting

ClSJvOU. tllC y^JU-lli.; llltlJLL VVllOit \J VVClOj J.J. .7? v**-\s ^ J O

it, but it is attended with singular difficulty; if the language be capable of being surmounted by human
zeal and perseverance, I mean to make the experiment. Little did I think," continued Mr. Butter-
worth, " that I then beheld the germ, as it were, of that great undertaking, the translation of the sacred
Scriptures into the Chinese language." The production of this most^ important version, and of the
numerous successive editions through which it has passed, is mainly if not entirely due, under Pro
vidence, to the generous aid of the British and Foreign Bible Society, who, from first to last, advanced
more than ten thousand pounds in furtherance of the translation and circulation of the Chinese

1 Townley s Illustrations, Vol. I. p. 240. But see Beansobre Histoire a Miss. Reg. for 1841, p. 135.

du Manichee, ch. 14. 4 Eighth Mem. of Translations of the Seramp. Missionaries, p. 24.

2 Owen s Hist. Vol. li. p. 467. 6 Home s Introduction to the Holy Scriptures, Vol. V. p. 135.

MONO-SYLLABIC LANGUAGES.] CHINESE. 5

Scriptures. About the year 1836, a revised edition of the New Testament was produced by the joint
labours of Messrs. Medhurst, GutzlafF, Bridgman, and J. E. Morrison. But this work, although in
idiomatic correctness a great improvement on preceding versions, has been considered by some as
loose and paraphrastic. Leang Afa said that it was a collection of phrases from different classic
authors, thrown together to express the meaning of the Sacred Scriptures.

In comparing the version of Dr. Marshman with that of Drs. Morrison and Milne it is difficult to
determine which possesses the highest value. Dr. Morrison, says Kemusat, is less literal, but more
Chinese ; and in the construction of his phrases he does not so habitually conform to the Greek or
English idiom. Dr. Marshman adheres scrupulously to the very letter of the text, but there is a great
degree of constraint, and a foreign air in his style. There are excellences in both which could scarcely
have been expected in first translations; and the possession of two independent versions of the Scriptures
in so widely diffused a language as the Chinese is a matter of deep thankfulness, as upon their basis a
more accurate and idiomatic translation will some day be elaborated. Messrs. Medhurst and Gutzlaff
have been long intent upon this work; but notwithstanding their strenuous and laborious efforts, a
standard version of the Chinese Scriptures, acceptable to all sects and parties, is still a desideratum,
and, in concert with the other Protestant missionaries in China, they are now engaged in revising
and retranslating the sacred volume. 1

To forward the multiplication of copies of the Chinese Scriptures, the British and Foreign Bible
Society in 1847, granted 1000 towards a cylinder Printing Press, and an additional quantity of
Chinese type, and also towards defraying the expense of sending assistance from this country for print
ing the Scriptures in China. The printer who has gone out is a man peculiarly qualified for this
particular service. About four years ago, employed as he was in useful secular pursuits, he com
menced the study of the Chinese characters ; and with scarcely more than two hours a day, _ without
the help of a teacher, and with a very limited number of books, he has acquired the power of
reading Chinese.

INCREASED OPENINGS FOR THE DIFFUSION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. The recent war
between Britain and China was terminated by the treaty of Nanking, in August, 1842; by the terms
of which most important facilities have been gained for the work of Christian missionaries. Missionary
labourers are now enabled to reside in five important and populous cities, spread over 1000 miles of
coast, to which natives from the remotest provinces of the empire continually resort. At each of these
cities, except the city of Canton, to which foreign intercourse was formerly limited, and where a strong
anti-European feeling has been excited by the insolent intolerance of the old system, the missionaries
make visits for twenty or thirty miles into the surrounding country, and experience a friendly recep
tion from all classes of the native population. Further insight into the customs and character of the
people by recent missionary travellers 2 has proved that there is very little religious bigotry amongst
the Chinese ; that there is nothing like the system of Hindoo caste known in their civil institutions ;
and that their idolatrous priests do not (like the Hindoo Brahmins) exercise any influence on society,
or possess any respect in the minds of the people. The state religion of Confucius is more a system of
political ethics than of religious morals. The religion of the people is generally the more modern
religion of Buddhism. In other words, a speculative atheism appears to be the belief of the sage, the
statesman, and the scholar: idolatry, stripped indeed of Hindoo obscenity and blood, is the system
received by the uneducated classes.

Irreligious apathy, with godless indifference to every thing concerning a future life, appears to be
the main characteristic of this people, and the principal obstacle to the success of Christian missions.
Education is, however, greatly encouraged and patronised by the government, as the usual road to the
honours and emoluments of the state. Books are everywhere in great requisition. The Holy Scrip
tures are in all parts received with avidity; and a desire of knowledge, and a spirit of curiosity and
inquiry are extensively prevalent amongst the people. Except the worship of the spirits of ancestors,
there is no form of superstition universally and strongly enthroned in the affections of learned and
unlearned. The imperial government are evincing a more liberal policy towards foreign nations,
and a more tolerant disposition towards their Christian subjects and Missionary teachers. An edict
of universal religious toleration made its appearance in the beginning of 1845, to mitigate the rigorous
severity of former penal laws, and to beckon onward the Christian church to a more vigorous assault
on the powers of pagan darkness in China.

i See Forty-third Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, 2 See an Exploratory Visit to the Consular Cities of China, by the

p. cix, and Forty-fourth Report of ditto, p. ci. Rev. George Smith, M.A.

6 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS I.

About fifty Protestant missionaries are now engaged in preaching or in distributing the Chinese
Scriptures in the five cities of Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo, and Shanghai, and in the British
settlement of Hong Kong. The greater part of the missionaries, however, have not as yet attained an
extensive acquaintance with the language. The senior missionaries, who are able to preach fluently
and intelligibly, easily attract numerous assemblies of attentive hearers, and in a few cases conversions
have followed. The converts are generally from the lower classes at the present time, but a few cases
have occurred in which native scholars have been admitted to Christian baptism.

Present appearances lead us to the belief that with the increase of labourers, the increased diffusion
of the Holy Scriptures, and more earnest prayer for the effusion of the Holy Spirit on the work, we
shall speedily see Christian churches raised in China, and the gospel producing its blessed results
among this benighted though highly civilised race of mankind. The names of Leang Afa, and of
other Chinese converts, are first-fruits (it is to be hoped) of an impending harvest of more extensive
missionary success in the empire of China.

BURMESE,

INCLUDING ITS COGNATE DIALECT ARAKANESE.

(For SPECIMEN of the Burmese Version, by Dr. Judson, see Plate I.)

EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The Burman Empire lies south of Assam, from which it is
separated by the little kingdom of Munipoor, and extends over more than one-fourth of the
Eastern Peninsula of India. Although the boundaries are not very clearly defined, it is generally
supposed to comprise an extent of territory about equal to double the area of the British Isles.
According to Crawfurd, the total amount of population in Burmah and Ava amounts to about
4,000,000, but this number appears to comprise no fewer than eighteen different tribes and nations.
The Burmans constitute the bulk of the population in the British provinces of Martaban, Ye, Tavoy,
and Mcrgui or Tenasserim, which include an area of 32,800 square miles, and a population of
112,405 persons. Throughout these provinces Burmese is the language of the court, of official pro
ceedings, and of general conversation.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The tyrannical nature of the government, and the
degraded, servile character of the people, are legible in the structure of the Burmese language.
Although this language, like the Chinese, is totally destitute of inflection, yet, by means of suffixes
and affixes, not only are the relations of case, of mood, tense, etc., determined, but even the rank both
of the speaker and of the auditor is indicated. A distinct set of words is used in reference to the
common acts of life, when performed by the great or by priests. Thus the term expressive of eating,
when the action is performed by ordinary individuals, is tsah ; but if a priest is said to be eating, the
term is pong-bay. Again, the word in common parlance for boiled rice is ta-men ; but a priest s boiled
rice must be distinguished as soone. 1 These distinctions add precision to the language, but greatly
augment the difficulties of its acquirement. It has been conjectured that the Burmese language was
originally merely a dialect of the Chinese, 2 and that it was moulded into its present form by admixture
with the Pali, which, with the worship of Boodh, was introduced into the Indo-Chinese countries from
Hindoostan, by the circuitous route of Ceylon. The Chinese origin of many of the Burmese words is
still apparent; and of the four peculiar tones pertaining to the Chinese, two are in use among the
Burmans. Nearly all the abstract and metaphysical terms of the Burmese language are, however,
derived immediately from the Pali, and in Dr. Judson s Dictionary, it is said, the number of Pali
words amounts nearly to four thousand. All pure Burmese words are monosyllabic, and even the
polysyllabic terms engrafted on the language from the Pali, are, in general, subjected to certain ortho
graphical changes, and pronounced as if each syllable were a distinct word ; this circumstance, together

i Chinese Repository, Vol. II. p. 504. 2 Felix Carey s Burman Grammar, Preface p. 7.

MONO-SYLLABIC LANGUAGES.] BURMESE. 7

with the frequent recurrence of guttural, sibilant, and nasal sounds, renders the language monotonous and
unmusical to the ear of a stranger. 1 Words closely allied in signification (as an adjective and the noun
it qualifies) are, however, united in writing so as to form one word, and sometimes six or eight words
are thus strung together, forming words of such formidable length as to remind us of the polysynthetic
dialects of America. As many^ words have two, three, or even ten significations with the same ortho
graphy, this manner of connecting words is of important service in removing ambiguity. 2 Numerals
are generally combined with a word descriptive of the form, or some other quality of the noun to
which they belong, and in that state they are joined to the noun, and constitute one word. 3 In this
peculiarity the Burmese language resembles the Siamese. 4 The Burmans, like the Germans, delight
in long and highly involved periods: in a simple phrase the agent is generally put first, then the
object, and lastly the verb ; and as compared with the English idiom, the words of a Burmese com
position may be said to stand directly in an inverted order. " The character of the language," says
Dr. Leyden, " has a very considerable effect on the style of the compositions which it contains. Re
petitions of the same turn and expression are rather affected than shunned, and a kind of native
strength and simplicity of phrase, with short sentences full of meaning, are the greatest beauties of
which the language admits." 5 Although the Burmese language can boast of numerous literary pro
ductions, it was comparatively little known to Europeans until the establishment of the Baptist Mission
at Rangoon.

ALPHABETICAL SYSTEM. The Burmese Alphabet is derived from the Sanscrit, through the
Pali, the Sacred language of the empire. It consists of ten vowels and thirty-two consonants. In
point of form, it surpasses all the alphabets of Western Asia in simplicity, and most nearly resembles
the alphabets of Canara, Telinga, and Ceylon. Although the sounds in some cases are different, the
same system of classification prevails as in the alphabets of Hindoostan. The first twenty-five con
sonants are distributed into five classes, viz., the gutturals, the palatals, the cerebrals, the dentals, and
the labials. The first letter of each class is a simple articulation, smooth and soft, the second is the
aspirate of the first; the third letter has a corresponding rough and hard sound, and the fourth,
according to the Sanscrit system, is the aspirate of the third, but the Burmese do not distinguish it in
sound from the third : the fifth letter is the corresponding nasal. The cerebrals in Burmese are pro
nounced like the dentals. Of the consonants, not included in the above classes, five are called liquids,
one is termed an aspirate, and another though pronounced t/t, is properly a sibilant. 6 Vowels,
when they enter into combination with consonants, are represented by certain abbreviated forms, called
symbols, placed before or after, above or below, the consonant. Four of the consonants also combine
under symbolic forms with other consonants, and thus the compound consonants are formed. These
various combinations, with their respective sounds, require to be carefully committed to memory,
which adds considerably to the difficulty of learning to read the language. The accents offer a still
further impediment, as words which are the same in orthography, vary greatly in signification accord
ing to the accent they receive. The light accent is denoted by the sign () placed under the letter ;
the heavy accent by (g) placed after the letter. Two small parallel lines ( || ) are used to separate
sentences, and sometimes the clauses of sentences.

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES. Three MS. translations of small portions of Scripture were
made by Roman Catholic missionaries prior to the establishment of a Protestant mission in this empire,
but the first attempt to procure a complete version in this language was made by the Baptist mission
aries of Serampore. About the year 1807 Felix Carey, the son of Dr. Carey, settled in Burmah as a
missionary; he applied very diligently to the study of the language, and in conjunction -with
Mr. Chater, who resided for a short time in the country, he produced a translation of two or three
Gospels. In this work great aid was derived from a book of Scripture extracts, afterwards printed at
Serampore, containing accounts of the Creation, the Fall, the history of Our Lord, and the main
doctrines of Christianity ; the MS. w r as written in Burmese by an Italian missionary then residing at
Ava ; he had studied Burmese and held daily intercourse with the natives for twenty-five years, and
yet he declared that he still continued to find something new and complicated in the language. 7 In
1815, 2000 copies of the Gospel of St. Matthew, by Messrs. Chater and Carey, were printed at

1 Crawfurd s Embassy to the Court of Ava, Vol. II. Asiatic Researches, Vol. X. p. 233.

2 Chinese Repository for 1834. 6 Judson s Gram. Notices, 6. See also Latter s Burmese Gram.

3 Judson s Gram. Notices of the Burmese, p. 31. 7 Periodical Account of Baptists, IV. p. 32.
4 See Low s Siamese Grammar, p. 21.

8 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS I.

Serampore; but this is a very imperfect translation, and is said to be quite unintelligible to the Bur-
mans. 1 Mr. Carey had studied medicine in Calcutta, and he introduced vaccination in Burmah;
this led to an interruption of his labours as a translator, for in 1813 he received a summons to the
court of Ava, to vaccinate the royal family. Not having sufficient virus in his possession, he was
sent with almost regal honours to Bengal to procure a further supply. On his return in 1814,
when proceeding from Rangoon with his family to Ava, the royal residence, he was shipwrecked, and
his wife and children all perished. Yet shortly after, leaving his missionary work, he accepted the
office of Ambassador from the Court of Ava to the Bengal government. The translation upon which
he was engaged was transferred to the Eev. Dr. Adoniram Judson, who had a short time previously
arrived in Burmah under the auspices of the American Baptist Board. Dr. Judson recommenced the
version, and in 1816 was joined by Mr. Hough, with whose aid, and the present of a press and types
from Serampore, the Gospel of Matthew was printed at Rangoon in 1817, as introductory to the
entire New Testament. In 1821, Dr. Judson gives the following account of his progress in the trans
lation, which he appears to have made immediately from the Sacred original. " I have engaged
Moung Sheva Gnong (a convert) to assist me in revising the Acts, but he is so particular and thorough
that we get on very slowly, not more than ten verses a day, though he is with me from nine in the
morning till sunset." 2 During the Burmese war in 1825, Mr. Hough repaired to Serampore with
various books of Scripture revised and prepared for the press ; and under his superintendence 21,500
copies of different portions of the New Testament were there printed. Never, in modern times,
have Christian missionaries been subjected to such bitter sufferings and privations as those which
have been endured for the sake of the Gospel of Christ in Ava. The bonds, and imprisonments, and
sufferings of Mr. Hough and Mr. Wade at Rangoon, and of Dr. Judson and Dr. Price at Ava, at the
close of the Burmese war, are fresh in the recollection of Christians. These events greatly retarded
the work of translation. More than once the mission was entirely suspended ; but eventually all turned
out for the furtherance of the Gospel, inasmuch as many territories by this war were placed under
British protection. The first complete version of the Burmese New Testament was issued from the
press in December, 1832. 3 The edition consisted of 3000 copies, and was printed under the patron
age of the American and Foreign Bible Society. In 1834, Dr. Judson completed the translation of
the Old Testament, which has since been published by him in handsome quarto. On this subject he
has the following touching entry in his journal: " Jan. 31, 1834. Thanks be to God ! I can now say
I have attained. I have knelt down before Him, with the last leaf in my hand; and imploring His
forgiveness for all my sins that have polluted my labours in this department, and His aid in future
efforts to remove the errors and imperfections, which necessarily cleave to the work, I have com
mended it to His mercy and grace : I have dedicated it to His glory. May He make His own inspired
word, now complete in the Burman tongue, the grand instrument of filling all Burmah with songs of
praises to our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ."

RESULTS OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF THIS VERSION. The fruits of the Rangoon translation
were not first manifested in Burmah itself, nor even among the Burmans ; the Gospel, it has been
well remarked, is like a spring of water ; if it cannot find a passage in one direction, it forces its way
in another. 4 At the very time that no perceptible effect seemed to result from the reading of the
Burmese Scriptures in the special country for which the translation was made, this version was especially
blessed in a tract of country bordering upon Chittagong, inhabited by the Mughs, a people of Aracan,
who at the close of the last century had from political causes migrated from their own country, and
placed themselves under British protection. Their language, which is sometimes called the Rukheng,
varies only from Burmese in pronunciation, and a few provincial forms; and is in fact merely the oldest
dialect of the Burmese language. 5 In 1815 De Bruyn, a devoted Missionary, commenced the distribution
of portions of the sacred volume among them ; and shortly after his death it was found that there were
no less than ninety baptized Mughs united in Church fellowship. For three years they had no minister
or missionary resident among them ; yet during all this period, the perusal of the Scriptures being
duly persevered in, they were enabled to maintain the worship of God, and to edify one another ; and
those brethren from distant stations who occasionally visited them, bore testimony of their faith and
good works. 6 The American Baptists have since written portions of the New Testament in the
Arakanese, or proper dialect of this interesting people ; 7 but the Burmese Scriptures are likewise fully

1 Baptist Magazine, Vol. X. p. 57. , 5 Chinese Repository, Vol. II. p. 505.

2 Missionary Register for 1832, p. 32. Annual Report of Baptists for 1819, ? 19-

3 Chinese Repository, Vol. II. p. 440. 7 Home s Introd. Vol. V. p. 135.
&lt; Periodical Accounts of Baptists, VI. p. 112.

MONO-SYLLABIC LANGUAGES.] BURMESE. 9

intelligible, and much prized among them. We have an account of the first convert in Burmah from
the pen of Mrs. Judson. She says," A few days ago I was reading with him (the first Burman
convert) Christ s sermon on the Mount. He was deeply impressed. These words, said he, take
hold on my very heart, they make me tremble. Here God commands us to do every thing that is
good in secret, not to be seen of men. How unlike our religion is this ! When Burmans make
offerings at the Pagodas they make a great noise with drums and musical instruments, that others may
see how good they are ; but this religion makes the mind fear God ; it makes it of its own accord
fear _ sin. " Although Burmah at one time presented to Dr. Judson and the first Missionaries a
continued scene of discouragement, yet it afterwards became an example of the ease with which God
can arrest the attention of a whole people to the Scriptures. Writing in 1831, Dr. Judson said, that
one of the most remarkable features of the Mission was the surprising spirit of inquiry then spreading
everywhere, _ through the whole length and breadth of the land : he stated that during a great
national festival held that year, no less than six thousand applicants came to the Mission-house.
Sir," said they, " we hear^that there is an eternal hell. We are afraid of it. Give us a writing that
will tell us how to escape it." Others came from the frontier of Cassay, a hundred miles north of
Ava. ; &lt; Sir !_we have seen a writing which tells about an eternal God. Are you the man who gives
away such writings ? If so, pray give us one, for we want to know the truth before we die." Others
came from the interior of the country, where the name of Jesus is a little known. " Are you Jesus
Christ s man ? Give us a writing that tells about Jesus Christ." 2 Dr. Judson s subsequent account
of the character of the Burmans is equally hopeful. They are, he says, a careful, deliberative people,
who turn a thing many times over before they take it. They are not disposed to give much credit to
the words of a Missionary, but when a tract is put into their hands, they wrap it up carefully, . deposit
it in a fold of _the waistcloth or turban, carry it home to their village, and, when a leisure cvenino-
occurs, the family lamp is produced, the man, his wife and relations gather round, and the contents
of the new writing Deceive a full discussion. Instances have not been wanting of the blessing of God
having followed this careful study of His word. Mr. Kincaid relates that during a journey through
Burmah, a youth who had previously applied for books came to him, and besought him, before he
quitted the city to visit an old man who was anxious to see the teacher. Mr. Kincaid followed the
lad home, and was surprised to find in the object of his visit an old man full of faith and hope in
Christ, though he had had no other teacher than John s Gospel and a tract, called The View, accom
panied by the Holy Spirit. He said that he had loved Christ for about two years, and his language,
Mr. Kincaid relates, was that of a man acquainted with his own heart. 3 Narrating a voyage up the
Irawaddy, from Rangoon to Ava, this Missionary describes the people as most eager to hear and to
get books. One _ man said that he had got a book in Eangoon that told him about the Eternal God
who made all things, and about Christ who died to open a way for the forgiveness of sins. He said
the more he thought of this, the more sure he felt that it was true. Many such instances convincingly
show that a wide field is opened in Burmah for the diffusion of truth, and in a printed form. 4 To
account for such large issues of the Scriptures as have taken place in Burmah, it should be stated that
the Burmans are generally able to read, and a smattering of education is more common among them,
perhaps, than any other people of the East.

PEGUESE, MON OR TALAIN.

THE Peguese language is still spoken in Pegu, a country which occupies all the sea-coast and the mouths of the rivers of the Burinan
empire : it comprises an area of 22,640 square miles, with a population of 48.000. 5 Great numbers of the agriculturists in Siam
are Peguans. Pegu was formerly a great and powerful state, and governed by its own monarchs, but in a contest with Burmah and
Siam it fell, and the Peguans are now the slaves of both empires. The Peguese language is supposed to be more ancient than the
Burmese, it abounds in gutturals, and is simple in construction. The alphabet is the same as the Burmese, except two additional
consonants. Since their conquest of the country, the Burmans have done their utmost to extirpate the language, and to render
their own predominant, but they have not as yet succeeded. A translation of the Gospel of St. Matthew, and of St. John s Epistles
has been made into Peguese from the Burmese by Ko-man-poke, a learned native, but no copy of this version appears to have reached
Europe. 6 A translation of the whole New Testament, by Mr. Haswell, is now in the press at Maulmein, but it is hoped that a
specimen will be obtained in time for insertion in this work. The edition is of 3,000 copies.

i Account of the American Baptist Mission to Burmah, by 4 Baptist Missionary Register, 1834

- PP M- p P; ! V 5 M Culloch s Geographical Dictionary.

If 5H X? ?I7 Res ste T f r I 832 PP- 177, 1/-8. 6 Chinese Repository, Vol. II. 504.

Baptist Missionary Register for January, 1836. r Missionary Register for 1848, p. 1 18.

SIAMESE.

SPECIMEN OF THE SIAMESE VEKSION. ST. JOHN S GOSPEL, CHAP. i. . 1 to 13.

ON THE SIAMESE LANGUAGE AND VEKSIONS.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Siam is the largest of the three empires com
prised in the Eastern peninsula of India. The Bay of Bengal, the Burman Empire and the British
province of Tenasserim form its Western boundary. Its area, according to Crawlurd, is 1 W,000
square miles, but according to Berghaus it includes nearly 290,000 square miles. Its amount pi
population has been estimated at from 2,790,500 to 3,000,000 souls; but the number of Siamese m
Biam is thought not to exceed 1,260,000, the remainder of the inhabitants being chiefly natives
of Laos, Pegu, Cambodia, Malacca, China, and Hindoostan. The Siamese language is, strictly
speaking, confined to Siam proper, which forms but one province of the Siamese Empire 1 he other
provinces are, a large portion of Laos or the Shan country, a considerable section of Cambodia, a
portion of Pegu or the Mon country, and the peninsula of Malacca, from the head c
to latitude 7 North. 1

CHARACTERISTICS or THE LANGUAGE. The language of the Siamese is sometimes called Thay
or Tai, and in their own tongue they assume this name as their proper national appellation.

i Hamilton s East India Gazetteer in voce.

MONO-SYLLABIC LANGUAGES.] SIAMESE. \\

Siamese language possesses considerable affinity with some of the provincial dialects of China, more
especially the Mandarin or Court dialect, from which many of its radical words and numerals are
obviously borrowed. 1 Several fundamental terms, appertaining to Malay, are also found in Siamese
which has hence been regarded as the connecting link between the Chinese and Malay languages. The
delicate intonations of the Chinese exist in Siamese, and it is more strongly accented than any other
language of Lido-China. The political institutions of Siam, in point of despotism and tyranny, are
akin to those of Burmah, and have had great effect in moulding the language and the literature.
The rank of the speaker may in Siamese, as in Burmese, be inferred from the pronouns he uses; and
phrases expressive of adulation and flatterv are very numerous and varied. The words which sub
serve the office of pronouns are hence particularly numerous, and attention to the rules regulating
their distinctive _ use is ^so rigidly exacted from all classes, that the misapplication of a single pro
nominal is considered indecorous and disrespectful. 2 The alphabet, though formed on the model
of the Pali and Devanagari characters, possesses several original elements, whence it has been con
jectured that an ancient style of writing was known in Siam prior to the introduction of Buddhism
and the Pali language^in the fourth century. There are thirty-five consonants and the vocalic a ; this
latter is often placed in a word as a sort of pivot on which the vowel points are arranged, forming,
as it were, the body of each of the simple vowels. There are sixteen simple vowels or finals, besides
twenty-nine distinct and complex final vowel combinations. The nasals are quite as diversified as the
Chinese; the letters b, d, r, which are rejected by the Chinese, are adopted in this language, but on
the other hand the letters ts, sh, tch, fh, hh, which belong to Chinese, do not exist in Siamese.
Words are not generally divided in writing, and a small blank supplies the place of our colon and
semicolon. 3 Siamese differs from most of the Eastern languages, in admitting but little inversion of
the natural order in the construction of sentences ; the words follow each other much in the same
way as in English; for instance, the nominative almost invariably precedes the verb, and verbs
and prepositions precede the cases which they govern. 4 No orthographical changes whatever mark
the variations of number, case, or person, but prefixes and affixes are in constant use. The language
has^ been represented as copious ; yet it rather, says Crawfurd, possesses that species of redundancy
which belongs to the dialects of many semi-barbarous nations, and which shows a long but not a
useful cultivation. 5

SIAMESE VERSIONS OF SCRIPTURE. In 1810, the design of providing Siam with a version of
the four Gospels was entertained by the Calcutta Auxiliary Bible Society, and Dr. Leyden undertook
to superintend the translation ; but he died before this important project had been carried into
execution. Perhaps the first attempt at translating the Scriptures into Siamese was made by
Mrs. Judson, of the American Baptist Mission, who with the aid of her Burman pundit produced
a version of the Gospel of St. Matthew. 6 Owing, however, to the death of that lamented lady,
a stop was put to further ^translation till 1828, when Messrs. Gutzlaff and Tomlin visited Siam
in the capacity of missionaries and physicians, and applied sedulously to the study of the language
with a view to the translation of the Scriptures ; after a residence of nine months, Mr. Tomlin was
compelled by ill health to relinquish the undertaking, and Mr. GutzlafT prosecuted his important labours
alone. Part of the MS. translation of the New Testament was forwarded to Malacca as early as 1829 ;
but the missionaries connected with the Malacca press proceeded with the utmost caution, and made a
practice of printing no portion of the version until they had ascertained, by actual experiment, that it
could be read and clearly understood by natives of every capacity, from those of the first literary rank
to the commonest readers. 7 Mr. Gutzlaff, being remarkably favoured with the best native assistance,
subjected the translation to several revisions ; and after labouring night and day for a long period, he,
in 1833, sent a revised copy of^the New Testament to Singapore. 8 The work of revision was continued
by Mr. Jones, one of the Baptist missionaries in Burmah, who, from his having previously studied the
cognate language of the Shans, was well qualified for the task ; he was sent to Bankok (the capital of
Siam) at the instance of Messrs. Gutzlaff and Tomlin in 1834. Mr. Robinson, another missionary at
Bankok, also engaged in the work, and in 1841 produced a translation of Genesis and Daniel, and
a new or amended version of several books of the New Testament. The publication was aided by a

1 Leyden in Asiatic Researches, Vol. X. 5 Crawford s Embassy to the Courts of Siam and Cochinchina, p. 335.

2 Low s Grammar of the. T hai. 6 Judson s Account of the American Baptist Mission to Burmah, p. 128.

3 Low s Grammar of the T hai. 7 Thirtieth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixxviii.
* Calcutta Christian Observer, Vol. VII. s Missionary Register for 1833, p. 32.

12 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS I.

grant in 1843 from the American Baptist Bible Society. In 1846, Mr. Jones completed the transla
tion and publication of the entire New Testament in Siamese. 1

KESULTS or THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. Siam affords comparatively few instances
of conversion following the perusal of the Word, yet in no country perhaps has the intervention of
Providence been more manifested in opening a wide door for the general distribution of the Scriptures.
The American Board of Missions and the American Baptists have missionaries in Siam, by whom the
Scriptures are circulated among the people without let or hindrance from king, nobility or priesthood.
The priests have even frequently sent to the missionaries requesting to be supplied with copies of the
holy volume, and have on some occasions expressed a degree of dissatisfaction with their own religion,
and an apparently sincere desire to examine the tenets of Christianity. _ In fact, one of the missionaries
stated in 1842, that no class of people are more importunate in begging for books than the priests,
and this too in public, and on all occasions. This dissemination of Scripture has had the effect in
Siam of considerably narrowing the original ground of controversy. The Siamese now declare, that
were they but fully satisfied as to the existence of a future state, they would gladly embrace Christianity
as the only system which provides for the forgiveness of sins; for they have been brought to acknowledge
the sinfulness of their own nature and practices, and they clearly perceive that Buddhism, which is in
fact practical Atheism, offers no means or hope of pardon. The first appearance of the missionaries in
Siam spread a general panic among the people, for it was well known by the predictions of the Pah books,
that a certain religion of the West would vanquish Buddhism; but upon the breaking out of the fate
war the English remaining neutral, the people were reassured, and many instances occurred in which
deep interest was expressed in the perusal of the Scriptures. There are, however, peculiar impediments
to missionary labours in Siam, arising partly from the character of the people, which is so fickle that
an opinion they may embrace to-day they will be ready to reject to-morrow, and partly from the
regularly organised system by which idolatry is supported : the pagodas are the schools of earning
in which the youth of the empire are trained; every educated Siamese, from the emperor down to
the lowest of his subjects, is compelled at some period or other of his life to enter the priesthood, and
" he who refuses to become a priest, must remain ignorant." 4 It has been ascertained that the great
maiority of Siamese, male and female, are able to read ; and even in Siam instances have unexpectedly
been brought to light of the Divine blessing having accompanied the private study of Scripture,
one occasion, for instance, a missionary was called to the bedside of a sick man, whom he had _ never
before seen. After applying the remedies for the disease suggested by his medical skill, the missionary
began to discourse on the glad tidings of the Gospel. The sick man immediately interrupted him, and
said, with much earnestness and seriousness, that he himself knew Ayso (Jesus), and worshipped him
every day. Surprised and delighted, the missionary asked for an explanation and was informed
that a brother of the sick man had read in his hearing portions of Scripture and Tracts distributed
by the missionaries, and that the precious seed thus sown by the way-side had been b

COGNATE DIALECTS.

IT is worthy of observation, that Siamese is properly only one dialect of an ancient and wide! y ^ e f ed la j^ t ee
the other dialects are the Laos, Khamti (almost identical with the ancient Ahom), and Shyan. Little has been done in these three
dlLcts towards the translation of ScripLe. The Laos people are described by Dr. Bradley as being - a pecuhar ^e -^ for
the Gospel harvest, Several applied to him for books written with their own characters ; they said they could jead oiamese book*
stammeringly, but their own with ease. A Laos man pleaded with Dr. Bradley not to forget him and his people, JJ *J fam
them speedily with a version of the holy books in their own dialect. Although the Laos has been described by most travellers as a

SySct^t from the Siamese"* yet such is the similarity between the two dialects that Captain Low states fron &gt; his ^own
experience that it is easy for a person who understands the Siamese tongue, to travel safely (in so far as language is concerned)
Sughout North Laot The L P aos dialect has, however, an alphabet exclusively appropriated to it, which is more allied to the

Peguese or Mon than to the Siamese alphabet.

CAMBOJAN.

THE Camboian language is spoken in Cambodia, once an independent and powerful state, but now divided between Siam and the_
empireTf Anam. Th? language differs materially from the Siamese, being more harsh, but at the same time more copious -
Gutzlaff commenced a version of the New Testament in Cambojan, but it would appear that he afterwards discon inued it.
Throughout the other provinces of the empire of Anam, a monosyllabic language denommated the Anamite or Anamitic is spoken,
in which, however, no translation of the Scriptures exists.

Chinese Repository, Vol. I. p.

KA11EN, KARAYN OR KARIENG.

(A SPECIMEN of this Version will be given in a future Part of the Work.)

EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The Kareens, Karenes, or Carcians, are a wild and simple people,
scattered over all parts of the Burman territories, and of the British provinces of Tenasserim : they
are also found in the Western portions of Siam, and northward among the Shyans. 1 Their residences
are in the jungles and among the mountains, and are most numerous on the mountains which
separate Burmah from Siam. The number of these people, owing to their nomadic habits and wide
dispersion, is difficult to be ascertained, but it has been estimated at about 33,000.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The Karen language possesses several original
elements, and in many respects varies in genius and structure from the Burmese, Siamese, and Peguese
languages, though it freely borrows words from each. 2 It has five tones, some of which appear
different from those of any other monosyllabic tongue. The Karen language is remarkably harmoni
ous, and well adapted for poetry : a final consonant never occurs, but every word terminates with a vowel
sound. Till a comparatively recent period, however, Karen was totally unknown to Europeans. About
1835, two Missionaries of the American Baptist Missionary Society, Messrs. Wade and Mason, acquired
the language, and for the first time reduced it to writing. For this purpose they employed the
Burmese alphabet, with a few additional characters to express the peculiar sounds of the language.
The system of teaching reading, adopted by Mr. Wade, is so admirably conceived, that a person
ignorant of a single letter can be taught to read a Karen book with ease in a few weeks. Mr.
Mason affirms that the alphabetical powers of the Karen alphabet are of Arabic or Hebrew origin. 3
This fact, together with the personal appearance and physical peculiarities of this singular people,
and a series of very remarkable traditions current from time immemorial among them, has led him to
form the idea of their being descendants of the lost tribes of Israel.

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. The Missionaries were induced to
undertake a version of the New Testament in Karen by the earnest and repeated entreaties of the
people themselves for books. As early as 1828, Mr. Boardman, of the American Baptist Society, was
visited frequently at Savoy, one of the missionary stations, by great numbers of the Karens, and had
ample opportunities of proclaiming the Gospel to them. Among the most interesting of his
visitors was a native chief, who appeared particularly anxious for instruction in the way of righteous
ness. " Give us books," he said, " give us books in our own native language ! then all the Karens
will learn to read. We want to know the true God. We have been lying in total darkness the
Karen s mind is like his native jungle." 4 The translation of the entire New Testament into Karen was
accordingly accomplished by Messrs. Wade and Mason ; yet during several years, for want of adequate
pecuniary means, no attempt was made at printing, but each book as soon as completed was copied
and circulated in MS. In 1842, the American and Foreign Bible Society granted 625 towards the
printing of the New Testament, and an edition soon after issued from the press at Savoy, under the
superintendence of Mr. Bennett. Mr. Mason has since translated the Psalms into Karen, including
both the Sgau and Sho dialects of that language.

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. This version of Scripture appears
to have been attended in a remarkable degree with the Divine blessing from the very first
period of its execution. The Karens were in a manner prepared to welcome Christianity, not
only by their religious tenets, which formed a noble contrast to Buddhism, but by a singular
prediction of their ancient seers, which caused them to look for relief from Burman oppression
to "the white foreigners." 5 In 1839, when the Karens had no books, few living teachers, and only
a MS. copy of Matthew, they were gathered together in considerable numbers from all parts by the

1 Malcom s Travels in S. E. Asia, Vol. II. p. 228. 4 Calcutta Christian Observer for 1833, p. 522.

2 Calcutta Christian Observer for 1833, p. 520. 5 Asiatic Journal for 1844, p. 282.
Calcutta Christian Observer for 1836, p. 111.

14 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS I.

sound of the Gospel, and settling down in a district about two days journey from Savoy, they formed
a Christian village, the heads of every family being members of the Church. Civilization followed
Christianity. Cleanliness (by no means a native Karen virtue) was substituted for their former depraved
habits, and various industrial arts were learnt and steadily pursued. The power of the Scriptures upon
these simple and unlettered people is shown by various anecdotes related by the Missionaries. " Once
Mrs. Wade had occasion to read the chapter in Matthew concerning visiting Christ (as represented in
his disciples) when sick or in prison. They immediately perceived how regardless they had been of
persons in sickness and sorrow, and began thenceforward to perform services for the sick, which they
had never thought of before. A poor widow suffering under a leprous disease, who had a young child
similarly afflicted, was visited by many the next day. They performed various repulsive offices for
her and the child, brought water, cleaned the house, gave them rice and other articles, and so enriched
and comforted the poor creature that she was bewildered with delight. These attentions they con
tinued constantly. Another person, bedridden with loathsome sores, was attended to in the same way.
Since that time no one has been suffered to want any thing which the rest enjoy, and their acts of
kindness are done with studied concealment." 1

MUNIPOORA.

(A SPECIMEN of this Version will be given if possible in a future Part of the Work.)

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT. Munipoora is the language of Munipoor, a small independent king
dom, which lies south of Assam. Great confusion has arisen from the various names given to this
country ; the Burmans call it Kathe, and the Shyans Cassay, and geographers have distinguished it
sometimes by one and sometimes by another name. It is not much above sixty miles in length, and
lies somewhere between lat. 24 and 25 North, 2 and long. 93 and 96 East. The central part of the
country consists of a rich and fertile valley, including an area of 650 square miles; the remainder of
the territory is occupied by an encircling zone of mountains and hills, inhabited by various tribes subject
to Munipoor. 3 The amount of population is probably about 70,000 : 4 Pemberton, however, estimates
it at only 20,000. Brahminism was imposed on the people little more than half a century ago, by
command of the Eajah, but it is by no means firmly rooted.

CHARACTERISTICS or THE LANGUAGE. It appears from their language and physical peculiari
ties, that the Muniporeans are the descendants of some Mongol or Chinese colony. Like most mono
syllabic languages, Munipoora is inartificial in structure, and uninflected. It has a close affinity with
Khassee.

VERSIONS OF SCRIPTURE. A version of the New Testament was undertaken by Dr. Carey in
1814: he procured some learned natives from Munipoor, and superintended their labours. This trans
lation was completed, and an edition of 1000 copies printed in the Bengalee character in 1824, at
Serampore : it was aided indirectly by the British and Foreign Bible Society.

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. Little is known concerning the
effect produced on the Muniporeans by the perusal of Scripture, for they have as yet no mis
sionary among them.

Malcom s Travels in S. E. Asia, Vol. I. p. 37. s Pemberton s Report of the Eastern Frontier, p. 21.

- Calcutta Christian Observer for 1834, p. 263. Malcom s Travels in S. E. Asia, Vol. II. p. 244.

KHASSEE.

(For SPECIMEN of this Version in the Bengalee Character, see Plate I.)
(For a SPECIMEN of this Version in the Roman Character, see Plate III.)

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT. Khassee is the language of the Cossyahs, Cassias, or Khasias, a race
of Tartar or Chinese origin ruled by a number of petty rajahs, who form a sort of confederacy. To
some degree they still preserve their independence, but they are under the supervision of a British
agent for Cossyah affairs. l The Cossyahs inhabit a ridge of hills extending from Silhet (a town on
the easternmost extremity of Bengal, latitude 25) to within a hundred leagues of China. This
region averages from 4000 to 5000 feet above the level of the sea, and is about 70 miles long by 50
wide; it comprises 3500 square miles; it is bounded on the South by the plain of Silhet, North by
the valley of Assam, East by Kachar, and West by the Garrow hills. 2 The amount of population
has never been correctly ascertained. The people, though uncivilized, are manly, upright, and sincere,
and regard with detestation the falsehood and deceitfulness of the neighbouring Hindoos. They are,
however, remarkably indolent and filthy, avaricious, ignorant, and extremely superstitious. Their
religion has been represented to be a species of Brahminism, but they seem to have only a vague
notion of some spirit or spirits to which they offer sacrifice, and their altars may well bear the inscrip
tion, " to the unknown God: " the country is the extreme limit of the predominance of the Brahminicai
sect to the eastward, for beyond these hills Buddhism is almost universal.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. This language is uninflected and simple in grammatical
construction ; and although strictly monosyllabic, it possesses none of those varied tones which appertain
to other languages of this class. Some words of Sanscrit origin are to be found in Khassee, but it is
difficult to recognise them on account of the monosyllables prefixed or added. There is no alphabet,
the few among the Cossyahs who can read or write use the Bengalee character. But their adoption
of this alphabet is merely owing to their frequent intercourse with Silhet, for their language bears
internal marks of having been at some distant period allied with the Chinese ; this is evidenced by the
personal pronoun, and by the frequent recurrence of the sounds ming, eng, ung, etc. as in Chinese.

VERSIONS OF SCRIPTURE. A lady was honoured by God to be the main instrument in
preparing the first version of Scripture in this language. She was the widow of one of the rajahs or
chieftains of the country, and Dr. Carey, pleased with her intelligence, availed himself of her aid in
translating the New Testament. Dr. Carey had also recourse to the advice of his Assamese pundit,
who, from the vicinity of the Cossyah hills to his own country, had had opportunities of acquiring a
tolerable acquaintance with the language. 3 The preparation of this version occupied ten years ; it was
printed in Bengalee characters, and an edition of 500 copies left the Serampore press in 1824. For
about seven years^it remained a sealed book, for no opportunity occurred of distributing it among the
people for whom it had been prepared. In 1832 some of the missionaries at Serampore, being "in ill
health, visited Cherrapoonjee, a place in the Khassee country noted for its salubrity. Here their
attention was drawn afresh to the spiritual destitution of the wild inhabitants of the hills, and great
exertions were made for the establishment of a mission among them. 4 Mr. Lish, the first missionary
who entered upon the work, turned his attention to the revision of the Khassee version, and in 1834
he produced a new or amended translation of St. Matthew, which was printed at Serampore in
Roman characters. In 1840 a Missionary Association was formed by the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists,
and finding this station unoccupied by any other society, they sent the Rev. Thomas Jones as their
missionary to these hills. He reached Cherrapoonjee in 1841, and after applying with diligence to the
study of the language^, he executed a new translation of St. Matthew s Gospel in Roman characters,
which in 1845 ^he ottered to the British and Foreign Bible Society. The Committee ordered a small
edition to be printed as an experiment, and its value and fidelity have been fully attested by competent

1 Malcom s Travels in S. E. Asia, Vol. II. p. 245. 3 Missionary Register for 1833, p. 307.

2 Calcutta Christian Observer for 1846. 4 Periodical Accounts of Baptists, No. X.

16 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS I.

persons, 1 through the medium of the Auxiliary Society at Calcutta. Since then a translation has
been made of the Acts of the Apostles, and other portions will follow by the instrumentality of the
missionaries engaged on the above station.

EESULTS or THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. Some very interesting accounts have
been received of the recent progress of Divine truth among these people. Mr. Lish, their first mis
sionary, was welcomed joyfully; they laughed heartily when they heard him speak in their own
language ; but when he began to open to them the truths of Scripture, they were so forcibly
impressed that they exclaimed that "he was a God, and they but cows and goats." 2 When the
mission was re-established by Mr. Jones, a chief from a village which he had not yet visited, thus
addressed him : " If you have any thing from God to say to us, come quickly; otherwise we may be
dead, and what you have to say will be of no use to us. What will then become of us?"

Mr. Jones and his coadjutors have prepared elementary and religious books in the language.
Several schools have been established, and conducted by the missionaries, their wives, and a few native
teachers. Many hundreds have already learnt to read, and are truly anxious for books. A desire to
read and understand English is universal. Some of the natives have been led to abandon their super
stitions, and to embrace Christianity. Since their baptism they have endured much persecution from
their relatives, and in the most trying circumstances have manifested strength of principle worthy of
an apostolic age.

One of the missionaries writes thus: "I have received the Gospel of St. Matthew from Cal
cutta, and the Cassias in the schools are diligently employed in committing it to memory. This task
they will accomplish by the time this letter reaches you. I perceive already the great utility of
supplying them with the Holy Scriptures; for it is evident they understand and remember much
better when they read themselves than when they listen to another : I see this very clearly in the case
of my young converts."

The missionaries testify that the baptized natives " increase in knowledge, tenderness of con
science, and godly simplicity." One of these converts said to the missionary, " The word of God is
truly wonderful, for I have some new thoughts whenever I look into it. I do not find it so with any
thing else; but the word of God is like a fountain which sends forth fresh waters every day: they are
not the same; but although they differ, they are all very good. Even the same verse says something
new whenever I look into it." 3

1 British and Foreign Bible Society s Report for 1846, p. Ixxxv. Report of the Calvinistic Methodist Missionary Society for 1846 and

2 Periodical Accounts of Baptists, No. X. 1847. Also " Y Drysorfu," for April and May 1848.

TIBETAN.

(For a SPECIMEN of Tibetan Character, see Plate II.)

EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The vast and mountainous tract of country in which the Tibetan
language is spoken lies directly north of Hindoostan, from which it is separated by the Himalayan
mountains. Its eastern frontiers border on China ; to the west, it extends as far as Cashmeer, Afghani
stan, and Turkistan, while on the north, it is bounded by the countries of the Turks and the Mongols.
It is for the most part comprised within the Chinese empire ; the western parts, however, appear to be
independent of China. On account of the extreme jealousy of the Chinese government, Thibet has
hitherto been almost inaccessible to foreigners, our knowledge of the country is in consequence ex
tremely limited, and no correct estimate appears to have been ever formed of its area or population. 1

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. Tibetan is sometimes called Bhotanta or Boutan,
because spoken in the country of Boutan as well as in the adjacent regions of Thibet; it is supposed by
some to be a link between the Monosyllabic and Shemitic classes. In the Mithridates, Adelung un
hesitatingly ranks it among the monosyllabic languages, but Remusat does not altogether assent to this
classification, for while he admits that there are many monosyllabic sounds in Tibetan, he contends that
there are likewise compound and polysyllabic words. Some of the very fundamental words of the lan
guage, as well as almost all the derivative terms, are of undoubted Chinese origin, and in many cases,
the original Chinese vocables seem to have undergone but slight alteration. In the construction, too,
of sentences, the Tibetans appear to follow the Chinese idiom. 2 If compared with English, the words
of a Tibetan phrase will be found to stand exactly in a reverse order. The sentence "in a book
seen by me" would be rendered in Tibetan (if translated word for word) in the following manner :
" me by seen book a in." The articles both definite and indefinite always follow the noun, the nouns in
general precede their attributes, and the verb for the most part, stands at the end of a sentence. The
several cases of a declension are formed by suffixes, and the place of prepositions in English is supplied
by postpositions. 3 The language is rendered difficult by the numerous impersonal verbal expressions;
the general mode of conjugating verbs is by prefixing or affixing certain letters, which are, however,
most frequently silent : 4 but the grammatical forms are in general few, vague, and seldom used. The
alphabetical character is evidently borrowed from the Devanagari, and is written from left to right.
There are thirty consonants divided into eight classes, and four vowel signs. There are likewise com
pound consonants, representing sounds not strictly occurring in their alphabet. 5 Although a single
letter often constitutes an entire word, yet the orthographical system is, for the most part, clumsy
and burdensome, for initial, quiescent, subscript, and final letters are introduced upon every possible
occasion, and though completely disregarded in the articulation of words, they add materially to the
labour of reading and writing the language.

VERSION OP THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. An attempt was made by the Church
Missionary Society, in 1816, to furnish the inhabitants of this vast region with a version of the Scrip
tures in their own language, but unhappily this important undertaking ultimately proved abortive.
Mr. Schroeter, a Missionary of that Society, after having devoted himself with much stedfastness and
success to the acquisition of the language, was cut off by death at the very moment that he was pro
ceeding to the translation of the Scriptures. Mr. Le Eoche, another Missionary of the same Society,
was appointed to succeed him, but the climate of India proved fatal likewise to his constitution, and
he died on his return homewards. 6 Major Latter, who had been chiefly instrumental in originating
the mission, died in 1822, and since that event, no further attempts towards the preparation of a
Tibetan version appear to have been made. A Dictionary, however, Tibetan and Italian, executed by

1 M Culloch s Geog. Dictionary, in voce. 4 Calcutta Christian Observer for 1840, p. 733.

2 Remusat s Recherches sur les langues Tartares, p. 368. 5 Schrreter s Bhotanta Dictionary.

3 Csoma de KorOs, pp. 106115. Long s Hand Book of Bengal Missions, p. 237.

18 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS I.

some Roman Missionary, and collected and arranged by Schrreter, has been printed at Serampore with
a fount of types cast for the purpose. It consists of nearly 500 quarto pages, and was completed in 1826.
Dr. Haeberlin, an agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society, after journeying through
Thibet in 1843, again enforced the necessity of a Tibetan version upon the attention of Christian
Societies, and his suggestions appear to have been met by the American Missionaries, who, it is said,
have now this work in contemplation. 1 Dr. Hasberlin states as the result of his observations and
inquiries in Thibet, that " as far as the Tibetan language is spoken, and the Lamas have any sway, so
far literature exercises an important influence upon the people. If there were a version of the Scrip
tures," continues he, "in the Tibetan language, thousands of volumes might annually be sent into the
interior of Asia from five different points, along the immense frontier of British India ; and the
millions of people speaking that language, and inquisitive as the Chinese are, might thus have an
opportunity, and it is to be hoped profit by it, to be made acquainted with the things that pertain
to their salvation." 2

LEPCH A.

THE Lepcha language is spoken by the Lepchas, the undoubted aborigines of the mountain forests near Darjeeling. 3 The district
they occupy is perhaps about 120 miles in length, from N.W. to S.E., extending along the south face of the Himalayan mountains,
until its limits become undefined in the mountains of Bootan. Little is known in Europe concerning the Lepcha dialect, but recent
researches have shown it to be allied to, if not derived from, the Tibetan language. The Rev. W. Start, of Darjeeling, has com
menced a translation of the New Testament in this language, and has recently caused 1000 copies of the Gospel of St. Matthew
to be printed at his own expense. It is hoped that a specimen of this version may be obtained for insertion in the present edition
of this work.

1 Fortieth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xcv. 3 Forty-third Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xc.

2 Calcutta Christian Observer for 1840, p. 640.

; ff I

CLASS II.-SHEMITIC LANGUAGES.

HEBREW.

SPECIMEN OF THE HEBREW OLD TESTAMENT SCEIPTURES.
EXODUS, CHAP. xx. v. 1 to 17.

*\m yfihx nirr rpiN 2 D t*twh rfoa D^TP^J nt* crrfa* "I3T1

nj^n-K 1 ? 4 !,j?"^ DV W D ?^ ^ TO"**!? tc 7?^
-xh 5 : tfS nnfiD i Di3a -IBM rrofc p3 n^w Syfib i b

-AT ) VVT T f; -:i- &lt;

^K rw ^N ^

| : ;: T : -IT J-

D iW non nw 6 :

6nS

:&gt; T :

Div :ro?fir3 n^i niyn d^ nw 9 ti^S ni^ n DVTIN nbr 8

- - &lt; - - - - - -

nin^

12 D :

:rTn S 13 D :^ [nl fprtf JTJ n P^ n ?D T P?1^.
N 1 ? 17 D npj0 TJ JUJ3 n^n-^S 16 D :^iri S 15 D :t|gjj|i & 1 * D

x 1 ? D

THIS Specimen portion exhibits the twofold use of the Hebrew accents. The one series is employed when the Decalogue is read by itself, and
the other series is used when these verses are read as a continuation of the preceding section of the Pentateuch. The accents are also used
in this twofold manner in Deuteronomy, where the Decalogue is repeated.

ON THE HEBREW OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES AND LANGUAGE.

PREDOMINANCE OF THE LANGUAGE. The Hebrew language, honoured by God as the first medium
of written revelation, had in ancient times predominance over a far greater extent of territory than is
commonly supposed. It may be inferred from various passages of Sacred History that the Canaanites
or aboriginal inhabitants of Canaan conversed freely in Hebrew or some closely allied dialect with
Abraham, and, many years subsequently, with the tribes of Israel under Joshua. Thus, the spies, for
instance, sent by Joshua to survey the country, had no recourse to the aid of an interpreter in their
intercourse with Rahab and others. Moreover the Canaanitish names of places and persons, both in

20 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS II.

the time of Abraham and in that of Joshua, are pure Hebrew terms ; Melchisedec^Abimelech, Salem,
Jericho, and in fact all names recorded in Scripture of persons, cities, and towns, in Canaan might be
cited as examples. (See Joshua, chapters 15 to 22). That the Canaanites formed part and portion of the
people known in profane history by the name of Phoenicians, has been clearly proved by the ethno
graphical researches of Gesenius 1 and other German scholars ; and in the Septuagint, the words Phoenicians
and Canaanites, Phoenicia and Canaan are indiscriminately used: compare Exod. 6. 15 with Gen. 46. 10,
and Exod. 16. 35 with Jos. 5. 12. Hence the obvious inference that Hebrew was the vernacular of the
Phoenicians, and that it was therefore the idiom of Tyre, of Sidon, of Carthage, and of all the numerous
colonies established by that enterprising people. We may thus trace the use of Hebrew as a vernacular
tono-ue, or as a medium of communication all round the coast of the Mediterranean, with the exception
of Italy and (in part) of Greece. When the Old Testament was written, probably no language was
so widely diffused as the Hebrew : it occupied just such a place as Greek did in the days of the
Apostles. With the sole exception of the Jews, however, the nations by whom Hebrew was spoken
have either passed away from the face of the earth, or have become amalgamated with other races.
The number of Jews now dispersed throughout the world is generally estimated at about 4,000,000 ; 2
of these there are only 175,000 in Palestine and Syria. In England there are 30,000 Jews, of whom
20 000 reside in London, but they are still more numerous in some parts of continental Europe ; at
Warsaw, for instance, they form one-fourth part of the population. In the following graphical
description of the present state of the Jews, by Professor Gaussen, it will be perceived that the
statistical calculations are founded upon different data from those above adduced. The restless feet of
God s ancient people are pressing at this very hour the snows of Siberia, and the burning sands of the
desert. Our friend Gobat found numbers of them in the elevated plains of Abyssinia, eighteen
hundred miles to the south of Carlo ; and when Denham and Clapperton, the first travellers that
ventured across the great Sahara, arrived on the banks of the lake Tchad, they also found that the
wanderino- Jew had preceded them there by many a long year. When the Portuguese settled m the
Indian Peninsula, they found three distinct classes of Jews ; and when the English lately took pos
session of Aden in the south of Arabia, the Jews were more in number there than the Gentiles. By
a census taken within the last few months in Eussia, they amount to 2,200,000; so that their
population in that immense empire exceeds that of our twenty-two cantons. Morocco contains
300 000, and Tunis 150,000. In the one small town of Sana, the capital of Arabia Felix, they
assemble too-other in eighteen synagogues. Yemen counts 200,000 ; the Turkish empire 200,000,
of which Constantinople alone contains 80,000. At Brody, where the Christians who are 10,000 in
number have only three churches, the Jews, 20,000 in number, have 150 synagogues. Hungary has
300 000. Cracovic, 22,000. In a word, it is imagined that, were all the Jews assembled together,
they would form a population of 7,000,000 ; so that, could you transport them into the land of their
fathers this very year, they would form a nation more powerful and more numerous than our
Switzerland." 3

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. Whether Hebrew was or was not the primeval
toivuc of the human race has been the subject of much discussion, and is a question which, with our
present means of knowledge, it is impossible satisfactorily to resolve. Certain it is, however, that the
Hebrew lan^ua^e bears many internal marks of antiquity. The majority of Hebrew words, for
instance, are" descriptive ; that is, they specify the prominent or distinguishing quality of the person,
animal, place, or thing, which they designate : and the vocabulary, though comparatively poor in
abstract and metaphysical terms, is rich in words having immediate reference to those objects of sense
with which a nomadic people might be supposed to be most conversant. Thus, there are no less than
250 distinct botanical terms in the Old Testament ; and synonymous forms of expression for the
co-union actions and occurrences of life are numerous and varied. Among these synonymes have
been counted no less than fourteen different words of which each signifies to break ; there are ten
words answering to the verb to seek ; nine express the act of dying, fourteen convey the idea of
fust in God, nine signify remission of sins, and eight denote darkness ; and to express the observance
of the laws of God there are no less than twenty-five phrases. 4 The language appears to have
attained its utmost possible development at a very early period, and to have remained subsequently for
ages in the same stage, without progression or retrogression. This is evidenced by comparing t

H orGaussen 1843:

4 Davidsol ,, s Lcctures Oll Biblical Criticism, p. 265.

SHEMITIC LANGUAGES.] HEBREW. 21

books of the Pentateuch with those of the later prophets : the latter difler from the former only by
the disuse of a few words, which in the course of centuries had become obsolete, and by the intro
duction of sundry terms which had been engrafted on the language by intercourse with the Assyrians
and Babylonians : there are, however, 268 verses of pure Chaldee in the Old Testament. A certain
stiffness of construction, joined to great energy and simplicity, appears to be the most prominent
feature of Hebrew and its cognate dialects. The fundamental structure of these dialects bears the
impress, if we may so speak, of premeditation and design. Unlike all other idioms, the roots or
elementary words are dissyllable and triliteral ; they are for the most part the third person singular,
preterite tense, active voice of the verb, and seem to have been originally framed for the express pur
pose of representing ideas in the simplest possible form, while the application of these ideas to denote the
varied circumstances of life (such as time past, present, or future, personal agency, passion, or feeling,)
is effected generally by mere changes of the vowels placed above, within, or below, the letters of the
root ; for instance, IP? expresses a simple fact " he learned," but *J6 denotes an additional circum
stance, viz. : that he learned diligently : so ll" 5 } he spake, by the simple change of a vowel sign ("9" 1 !)
comes to denote the thing spoken, that is, a word. Besides the vowels, a certain set of consonants
set aside for this office, and hence called Servilcs, are sometimes used in modifying the meaning of the
roots. With respect to the alphabetical system of the Hebrews, it has generally been the custom to
attribute the introduction of the square character to Ezra. It has lately, however, been shown that
the square characters had no existence till probably two or three centuries after the Christian era.
Kopp (in his Bilder und Schriften der Vorzeit} traces the gradual formation of these characters from
the inscriptions on the bricks at Babylon, down through the Phoenician or Samaritan letters on the
Maccabean coins, and thence to the Palmyrene inscriptions found among the ruins of Palmyra ; and
Gesenius, in the last edition of his Grammar, admits that the square or modern Hebrew character is
descended from the Palmyrene. The rabbinical style of writing now in use among the Jews, is merely
a cursive modification of the square character, adopted for ease and expedition. l

HISTORY OF THE HEBREAV TEXT OF SCRIPTURE. From the first promulgation of the
written word, special provision seems to have been made for its careful preservation. (See Exod.
25. 21 ; 40. 20). A distinct command had reference to the place in which the book of the law was
to be deposited, namely, in the side of the Ark of the Covenant. (Deut. 31. 26). The multiplica
tion of copies also was provided for by a Divine decree, (see Deut. 17. 18); and a copy of the law of
Moses was made by Joshua. (See Jos. 8. 32). On the erection of the Temple, Solomon caused
the Ark to be brought "into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, under the wings of the
Cherubim ;" and from that period the books of holy writ were guarded within the walls of the Sacred
edifice, as is evident from such passages as 2 Kings 22. 8 ; 2 Chron. 34. 14, &c. That these divine
records did not fall into the hands of the enemy when the Jews were led away captive to Babylon,
may be inferred from the fact that in the list of the spoils carried away from the temple, detailed as
that list is, (see 2 Ki. 25, 2 Chron. 36 and Jer. 52), there is no mention whatever of the Sacred books.
The captives, at the very moment that they were compelled to abandon the gold and silver of their
temple, must have concealed and carried with them these most valued treasures ; for Daniel, who
wrote during the _ captivity, made distinct reference to two different parts of Scripture as documents
well known to his countrymen, (see Dan. 9); Ezra when he went up from Babylon to Jerusalem was
I a ready scribe in the law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given," (Ezra 7. 6), and
immediately on the return from captivity, the people called for the book of the law of Moses, which
was opened and read to them. (Xeh. 8. 1). The completion of the Canon of the Old Testament
is referred to about the time of the completion of the Second Temple ; and there can be no doubt
but that the inspired men who lived at that period, namely Malachi, the last of the Old Testament
prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, Ezra, and Nehemiah, collected all the books that had been given by
inspiration of God, and deposited them in the Temple. When the Temple and the city of Jerusalem
were destroyed by the Romans, the characteristic faithfulness of the Jews to the sacred charge
originally committed to them, remained the same. Some of the learned Jews opened schools in
various parts of the East for the cultivation of Sacred literature ; one of these schools, established at
Tiberias in Galilee, is mentioned by Jerome as existing in the early part of the fifth century ; another
school of almost equal note was established at Babylon, and at both frequent transcriptions of the
Scriptures were made. And the hand of Providence is to be traced in this multiplication of copies

1 See Professor Stuart in Biblical Repository for 1832.

22 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS II.

at different places and by distinct institutions, for the comparison of copies afterwards formed a ready
mode for the correction of such errors as had crept in through the negligence of copyists. The most
stringent laws, however, were in force among the Jews to ensure accuracy in their copies of the
Scriptures ; the preparation of the parchment, of the ink, and even of the state of mind of the copyist,
were all prescribed by rule ; and such has ever been their reverence for antiquity, that when in an
ancient exemplar they have met with the accidental inversion or misplacing of a letter, or when one
letter has been made larger than the rest or suspended above the line, they have scrupulously refrained
from rectifying even what was so manifestly erroneous, under the superstitious notion that in the
original formation and location of every letter some mystery is involved. Still further to ensure the
perfect integrity of the text, the Jews at some period between the fourth and sixth century carefully
collected into one book all the grammatical and critical remarks on the letter of Scripture that had
been current at different times and places since the time of Ezra. To the volume thus formed, which
in process of time became larger than the Bible itself, they gave the name of Masora, that is,
tradition, because the criticisms it contained had been handed down by tradition from father to son.
But besides being a collection of grammatical annotations, the Masora really was, as the Jews
emphatically styled it " the hedge of the law," for it contains a multitude of the most minute calcula
tions concerning the number of verses, lines, words, and letters, in the Sacred volume ; so that the
number of letters in every verse, and even the middle letter of every verse having been ascertained
with some exactness, it was anticipated that no interpolation or omission in the text could for the
future pass undetected. The further influence of the Septuagint and other ancient versions in securing
the early copies of the Hebrew Scriptures from the possibility of corruption will be subsequently
noticed. Eight particular copies seem to have been especially honoured among the Jews on account
of their strict fidelity and accuracy, and to have been regularly used as exemplars from which all other
copies were made. These eight copies were

1. The Codex of Hillel, an ancient MS. no longer in existence, but it was seen at Toledo in the
twelfth century by the Rabbi Kimchi ; Rabbi Zacuti who lived about the end of the fifteenth century
declared that part of the MS. had been sold and sent to Africa. This copy contained the vowel points
invented by the Masorites.

2. The Babylonian Codex, supposed to contain the text as revised under the care of Rabbi Ben
Naphtali, President of the Academy at Babylon.

3. The Codex of Israel, supposed to exhibit the text as corrected by Rabbi Ben Asher, President
of the Academy above mentioned at Tiberias ; this MS. is imagined to have been the same as that of
Jerusalem.

Lastly, the remaining five Codices were, the Egyptian Codex, the MS. of Sinai containing only
the Pentateuch, the Pentateuch of Jericho, the Codex of Sanbuki, and the book of Taygim. All
the MSS. now in existence can be traced to one or other of these exemplars. The MSS. executed by
the Jews in Spain follow the Codex of Hillel, and are more valued than those made in any other
country, on account of their accuracy and the elegance with which they are written, the letters being
perfectly square, and having the appearance of print. German MSS. on the contrary are not elegantly
written, and the characters are rudely formed, but they are valued on account of their containing
readings coinciding with the Samaritan Pentateuch and the ancient versions. The Italian MSS. are
neither so beautiful as the Spanish, nor so rude in appearance as the German, and they do not follow
the Masora so closely as the former, nor deviate from it so frequently as the latter. 1

Of the Hebrew MSS. now known to be in existence, the most ancient of which the date has been
duly attested is not much above seven hundred years old. It formerly belonged to Reuchlin, and is
now preserved in the Library at Carlsruhe, whence it is familiarly known as the Codex Carlsruhensis :
it is in square folio, its date is A.D. 1106, and its country is Spain. It contains the Prophets with the
Targum. There are two or three MSS. to which an earlier origin is assigned, but the date of their
execution is very doubtful. There are only five or six MSS. extant which were made so early as the
twelfth century; we have about fifty MSS. written in the thirteenth century, eighty in the fourteenth,
and 110 in the fifteenth. 2 The Jews who have been located for several centuries in the interior of
China do not possess any MSS. of earlier date than the fifteenth century. The black^Jews on the
coast of Malabar, who are supposed to have emigrated to India about the time of the Jewish captivity,
possessed a Hebrew MS. which was brought to England by Buchanan in 1806, and^is now carefully
preserved at Cambridge. It is a roll of goats skins dyed red, and measures forty-eight feet long by

i Home s Introduction, Vol. II. - Davidson s Lectures on Biblical Criticism.

SHEMITIC LANGUAGES.] HEBREW. 23

twenty-two inches wide. It only contains part of the Pentateuch, Leviticus and a portion of Deu
teronomy are wanted. The text, with a few slight variations, accords with the Masoretic. As is the
case with all the more ancient MSS., there is no division of words ; an old rabbinical tradition says
that the law was formerly one verse and one word. The division into verses is generally attributed to
the compilers of the Masora. The division into chapters is more recent, and was first adopted in the
Latin Testament. A more ancient division of the Pentateuch was into parashioth, or greater and less
sections for the regular reading in the synagogue, a division still retained by the Jews in the rolls of
the Pentateuch.

PRINTED EDITIONS OF THE HEBREW BIBLE. The first portion of the Hebrew Scriptures
committed to the press was the Psalter, with the Commentary of Rabbi Kimchi, it appeared in 1477,
but it is not certain at what place it was printed. In 1482 the Pentateuch was published at Bologna,
and other parts of Scripture were subsequently printed at various places. But the first complete Bible
that issued from the press was that printed in 1488 at Soncino, a small town of Lombardy, between
Cremona and Brescia. Copies of this edition are now so scarce that only nine are known to exist, one
of which is in the Library of Exeter College, Oxford. It has points and accents, but from what MSS.
it was printed is unknown. It formed the text of another edition, printed, with a few corrections, at
Brescia in 1494. The printers of both these editions were of a family of German Jews who had
settled at Soncino ; they are noted for having been, in point of time, the first Hebrew printers. The
Brescia edition is famous for having been that from which Luther made his translation of the Old
Testament, and the identical volume used by him is still preserved in the Royal Library at Berlin.
This edition forms one of the three standard texts from which all subsequent editions have been
executed; the other two being the Hebrew text of the Complutensian Polyglot (published 1514 17,
and for which seven MSS. were consulted), and the second edition of Bombcrg s Bible. 2 Bomberg
printed in all five editions, of which the first appeared at Venice in 1518 ; but the second edition,
published at Venice 1525 26, is the most valued on account of its superior correctness, and its text
still forms the basis of modern printed Bibles. It is pointed according to the Masoretic system, and
was printed from the text of the Brescia edition, corrected by reference to some Spanish MSS., under
the care of Rabbi Ben Chajim, a Jew of profound acquaintance with the Masora and rabbinical
erudition.

All the editions above mentioned were executed by Jews or Jewish converts. The first Hebrew
Bible published by a Gentile, was that printed in 1534 35 at Basle, with a Latin translation in
a parallel column, by Minister, a learned German ; in a second edition published 1536, he introduced
critical annotations and portions of the Masora : he used the Brescia edition of 1494 as his text, but
seems to have consulted Bomberg s Bible and several MSS. In 1569 72 the Hebrew text of the
Antwerp Polyglot was published ; it is compounded of the Complutensian text, and that of the second
edition of Bomberg s Bible. The next most celebrated editions, in point of time, of the Hebrew
Bible were those of Buxtorf : he published an 8vo. edition at Basle in 1619, and his great Rabbinical
Bible (so called because accompanied by the Masora and the Commentaries of five Jewish rabbis)
appeared in 1618 20.

About this period the Samaritan Pentateuch was first introduced into Europe, and a new era
commenced in the history of Hebrew criticism. Hitherto both Jews and Christians had rested secure
in the supposed uniformity of Hebrew MSS. Origen, who as will hereafter be shown, had certainly
attempted to collate the Hebrew text with the Septuagint version, seems to have taken little or no
pains in the comparison of Hebrew MSS. ; and though in some of the editions of the Bible, as above
mentioned, several MSS. had been consulted, a general and systematic collation of all the MSS. of the
Old Testament had never been deemed requisite. Now, however, the attention of the learned was
drawn to the variations between the Hebrew text, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Septuagint
version ; the controversies thence arising happily led to the examination of the MSS. themselves,
and the various readings there discovered were discussed by the same laws of criticism that had long
been in force with respect to profane writings. Two most important critical editions of the Bible,
published in 1661 and 1667 at Amsterdam by Athias a learned Rabbi, were among the first fruits of
these researches : the text was founded on MSS. as well as on a collation of previous printed editions,
and one MS. was said to be 900 years old. 3 So highly were the labours of Athias appreciated, that

1 Butler s Horse Biblicse, p. 150. s Bishop Marsh s Lectures on the Criticism and Interpretation of

- Davidson s Lectures on Biblical Criticism. the Bible.

24 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS II.

in testimony of public admiration, the States General of Holland presented him with a gold chain and
medal appendant. Athias was the first editor who numbered the verses of the Hebrew Bible, every
fifth verse had in previous editions been marked with a Hebrew numeral. His text, with some few
alterations, was beautifully reprinted by Van der Hooght in 1705 at Amsterdam ; this edition is
celebrated for its typographical elegance, and the clearness of the characters, especially of the vowel
points. It has some few Masoretic notes in the margin, and a collation of various readings from
printed editions at the end. It was reprinted in London 1811 12, under the editorship of Mr. Frey.
Among other reprints of Van der Hooght s text, with corrections by various editors, the splendid
edition of Houbigant appeared at Paris in 1753. In this edition the text is divested of vowel points,
all Masoretic appendages are omitted, and several readings from the Samaritan are inserted in the
margin of the Pentateuch. In the same year that Houbigant printed his edition, Kennicott published
his first dissertation on the state of the Hebrew text, in which he clearly demonstrated the necessity of
collating all the MSS. of Scripture that were known to be yet extant. To defray the expense of so
important an undertaking, a large subscription, headed by George III, was raised in England, and the
work of collation, commenced by Kennicott and his coadjutors in 1760, continued till 1769. Kenni
cott collated 250 MSS. with his own hand, (most of which, however, were only examined in select
places), and the total number collated by him and under his direction was about 600. In 1776 80
he published a splendid edition of Van der Hooght s text at Oxford, with various readings collected
from Hebrew and Samaritan MSS., from printed editions, and from the quotations of the Bible occur
ring in the works of ancient rabbinical writings, and especially in the Talmud, of which the text belongs
to the third century. An important supplement to this great work was published by M. de Rossi at
Parma, 1784 87, consisting of additional readings from Hebrew MSS. and other sources. De Eossi
added a volume of Scholia Critica in 1798. Up to the present moment about 1300 Hebrew MSS.
have been collated in whole or in part ; but each MS. very rarely contains the whole Bible, some
being confined to the Pentateuch, others to the Prophets, while others comprise but a single book.
It is a remarkable fact, and a proof of the continued interposition of Divine Providence, that after all
the laborious researches that have been made among MSS. belonging to different centuries and to
various countries, not a single reading has yet been detected which affects the power of any one
doctrine, precept, or consolation, contained in that holy volume which has been received during so
many ages by Jews and Christians as the Word of God. Discrepancies to the amount of several
thousands exist in different MSS. as to the insertion or omission of a letter, the use or rejection of a
synonymous term, and similar minor details ; nor are these without their use, for it is obvious that
such errata, though they affect only^ the orthography or mere diction of the text, subserve the double
purpose of aiding in the grammatical elucidation of certain difficult passages, and of proving the
general integrity of the Sacred Canon. Van der Hooght s text, with which all Hebrew MSS. hitherto
collated have been compared by Kennicott and others, is esteemed the most correct of the printed
editions : the typographical and other errors which encumbered the first editions have been removed
by Hahn and later editors, and it now forms our Textus Receptus. It is not, however, appreciated
by some of the Jews, merely on account of Roman figures and sundry marks in the margin which
have appeared in the editions of this text. To meet their prejudices the London Society for the
Conversion of the Jews caused an edition to be printed immediately from the text of Athias as
exhibited in his second edition of 1667, and which is the edition most prized by the Jews. The
Society s Bible was edited by Judah D Allemand, and published in London 1828 ; and special
eyidxr^ps of the blessing of God upon the Old Testament Scriptures, in preparing the minds of
his .ancient people for the fuller revelation of the New Testament are to be found in the Reports of
the Society.

HEBREW, AS A TRANSLATION.

SPECIMEN OF THE HEBREW VEESION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT,

BY MR. WILLIAM GREENFIELD, AND OF THE VERSION EXECUTED FOR THE SOCIETY FOR
PROMOTING CHRISTIANITY AMONG THE JEWS.

ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

2 nn

GREENFIELD S VERSION.

nn nairn * irnn nn r

n;n

nj n;a San : DT
B rvn riS -inx Da CJK

TV I -

4 nix vn D w nni * vn D^n ia

5 atfnni * *rn ^na item

! T :

6 n$? mSs? BN w : Sap

7 T^ tfa tfin j pnv
: ITS Sa WON* }$&

nri

* n^a

SOCIETY S VERSION.

n;n la^ini wn n;n
rrn ^n tD^Nn n^n

nai n^ x

T T T I "

vn a^nni

T T T T

nnW?a *6 ir^

^n oSiya

niaaa

ink

n;n
niaa-n

waina

nan

- *

vn ia 4

ON THE HEBREW VERSION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES.

HEBREW VERSIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. We have no certain information concerning
the^ translation of any portion of the New Testament into the language of the Old Testament
Scriptures, prior to the year 1537, when the Gospel of St. Matthew was published in Hebrew by
Sebastian Munster, at Basle. Great attention was excited by this book at the time of its appearance,
on account of an ancient tradition which prevailed in the Church that St. Matthew originally wrote

26 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS II.

his Gospel in Hebrew. l It was very evident, however, that Munster s publication had no pretensions
to be regarded as the text of the sacred original, nor even as an ancient version, for the language in
which it was written was not the Syro-Chaldaic current in Palestine at the time of our Lord, but the
rabbinical Hebrew in use among the Jews of the twelfth century ; it was moreover full of solecisms
and barbarisms, and bore indubitable marks of having been translated either directly from the Vulgate,
or from an Italian version of the Vulgate. The translation was probably made by an unconverted
Jew, at some period subsequent to the twelfth century. In an Apology for this work, dedicated to
Henry VIII of England, Munster states that the MS. from which he printed was defective in several
passages, and that he was compelled to supply the omissions as he best could from his own resources.
This circumstance may serve partly to account for the errors which abound in the work. It passed
through several editions, and a Hebrew version of the Epistle to the Hebrews was appended to it.
Another edition of the same translation of St. Matthew, but printed from a more complete and correct
MS. brought for the purpose from Italy, was published by Tillet, Bishop of St. Brieux, at Paris in
1555, with a Latin version by Mercerus.

A translation of the four Gospels into biblical Hebrew was made by Joannes Baptista Jonas, 2
a converted Jew, and Professor of Hebrew at the University of Rome: he dedicated it to Pope
Clement IX, and it was published at Rome in 1668, at the expense of the Congregation de Propa
ganda Fide. The first translation of the entire New Testament into Hebrew was made by Elias Hutter,
a Protestant divine, born at Ulm in 1553. He was Professor of Hebrew at_ Leipsic, and first dis
tinguished himself by his ingenious plan of printing a Hebrew Bible, in which he ^ had the ^ radical
letters struck off with solid and black, and the servile with hollow and white types, while the quiescents
were executed in smaller characters and placed above the line ; thus exhibiting at a glance the root or
elementary principle of each word. Hutter s success in this undertaking led him to project a Polyglot
Bible : he commenced with the New Testament, but found himself utterly at a loss for want of a
Hebrew version. He therefore determined upon supplying the deficiency himself, and in the course
of one twelvemonth he produced a translation of the New Testament. He then proceeded with his
original design, and completed his Polyglot Testament in twelve languages, at Nuremberg in 1600.
This Hebrew version was afterwards detached from the Polyglot, and repeatedly printed. In 1661 it
was revised and published in London, in 8vo., under the superintendence of William Robertson; but
the greater part of this edition was consumed in the fire of London, 1666, so that_ copies are now
rarely to be met with. Another edition, but in 12mo., was published in London in 1798, by the
Rev. Richard Caddick, B.A., for the benefit of the Jews. It became, ^ however, apparent that this
version, although entitled to some measure of commendation in consideration of the short time in which
it was executed, is unsuitable for general circulation. The Jews were prejudiced against it on account
of its not being in pure biblical Hebrew: they objected to the frequent introduction of rabbinical
words, and it was proved to be full of grammatical inaccuracies and solecisms. It had no sooner,
therefore, been brought into use, than a new translation became a desideratum. In the meantime
Dr. Buchanan brought from India a translation of the New Testament, executed in Travancore,
among the Jews of that country, to whom allusion has been made above : the translator was a learned
rabbi. The MS. was written in the small rabbinical or Jerusalem character; the style is elegant and
flowing, and tolerably faithful to the text. Dr. Buchanan deposited the MS. in the University Library
at Cambridge; but it was previously transcribed by Mr. Yeates, of Cambridge, in the square Hebrew
character. 3 A copy was presented to the London Society for the Conversion of the Jews,_and it was
at one time thought that it would greatly promote the object of the Society to print and circulate the
production of a Jew so evidently master of his own ancient language. After much Deliberation, how
ever, a more strictly literal translation was still deemed desirable; and accordingly, in 1816, Mr. Frey
and other learned Hebraists executed, under the patronage of the Jews Society, a new version of the
New Testament. In 1818 nearly 3500 copies left the Society s press, and this edition was speedily
followed by another issue. The British and Foreign Bible Society assisted materially in this work, by
purchasing at various times to a large amount. After this version had been in circulation some time,
complaints from Hebrew readers in various parts of the world were laid before the Jews Society Com
mittee, concerning the rendering of certain passages. To ensure minute accuracy, the Committee
determined on a thorough revision. They consulted some of the most eminent men in Europe, and
Professor Gesenius was recommended to them as the first Hebrew scholar of the age. To him, there-

i Dr. Davidson s Introduction to the New Testament, Vol. I., con- * A MS. of the four Gospels in Hebrew, written by Mr. Yeates,
tains a full discussion of the interesting question. in 1805, is now in the British Museum, No. 11,659 of the

- Simon s Critical History of Versions, p. 1/5. additional MSS.

SHEMITIC LANGUAGES.] HEBREW, AS A TRANSLATION. 27

fore, they confided their version, requesting from him a critique upon it, and suggestions as to alterations.
Gesenius went carefully through the work as far as the Acts, and likewise through the book of Kevelation,
when his numerous engagements compelled him to resign the task. The work, with all Gesenius s
notes, was then transferred by the Jews Committee to Dr. Neumann, a converted Jew, lecturer
on Hebrew at the University of Breslau. Dr. Neumann commenced the work anew, and his revision
when completed was acknowledged to bear the stamp of " diligence, accuracy, zeal, and profound
scholarship." The limited funds of the Society, however, prevented them from giving this valuable
revision to the public, and it therefore remained some time in MS. At this very period the publisher
of the Modern Polyglot Bible (Mr. Bagster) requiring a Hebrew version of the New Testament for
the Polyglot, applied to the Society for the Conversion of the Jews for the critical emendations they
had been amassing: the important notes of Gesenius and Neumann were in consequence handed to
him, and were incorporated in the new version executed for the Polyglot by Mr. Greenfield, and
published in 1831. l In 1839 the Society issued an edition of 5000 copies of another version, executed
by the Rev. Dr. M Caul, Rev. M. S. Alexander, Rev. J. C. Reichardt, and Mr. S. Hoga. This work,
a specimen of which accompanies this memoir, was afterwards stereotyped, and is the version now
circulated by the Society.

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. In the Reports of the Society for the
Conversion of the Jews, are many affecting and well authenticated instances of the Divine blessing
having attended the perusal of the Hebrew New Testament. One fact in connection with this subject
requires notice here, as showing the power of the New Testament over the heart of a Jew. The learned
rabbi, mentioned above as the translator of the Travancore Testament, engaged in the work solely with
the design of confuting Christianity. That his triumph might be more complete, he endeavoured
in his translation to keep as near to the original as possible, for he never doubted but that with
his scholarship and logical abilities he would find it easy to refute the statements of the text. By the
time, however, that he had gone through the life of Jesus, his confidence was shaken, and as if afraid,
says Dr. Buchanan, of the converting power of his own translation, he inserted a paragraph at the close
of the Gospels, in which he took heaven and earth to witness that he had undertaken the work with
the express design of opposing the Epicureans, as he termed the Christians. A cloud hangs over his
subsequent history ; but there are abundant reasons for believing that he fell a martyr to the bigotry of
his people, and that after embracing the religion of Jesus, he sealed his testimony with his blood.

i Mr. Greenfield informed Mr. Bagster, that he never engaged in the important work of this translation without previous supplication for

Divine assistance and guidance.

SAMARITAN.

SPECIMEN OF THE SAMARITAN VERSION FKOM WALTON S POLYGLOT.

EXODUS, CHAP. xx. v. 1 to 17.

i^ZA- ttxm nri&A- * : ^m xl - xzlte - snrZta Za A/TT mraZA- ZZa? * *
* Zv snrtotv iaaraZA- az srrrcrrr A-Z *

A-Z *

A-Z * : sv^A-Z v&lt;\Z;a

* . nt/f.^1 snrvnm Zv? jarrrA-ArrrZA Zv? iaofta Zv t^sA- s?v
?a*** AITT ZS-^A A-Z *

* * * **" A-Z

* iSA ^ a^9? * 5(AA- * ^nrSV Zii * 39 * ^9VA * A-Z

AW? snriat"* AHT ttznt ^sv ^jrrria?nr A^^ A-Z^ *

Arrr 3t3rrr a^s &a Zv ^vora^ ^ta^frra ^^A-? ^9^ za * AHT? smr Arm:
^a^A-nr Zrrr^sZ aiaA- AHT? imA. Am * ^P^A- * * : : 3t"*&lt;^p? ^ A3 1 " istnr

A-Z * : ^ttA A-Z * * ZWA A-Z * : aZ * a^nr * a^ZA- : srarrre ^V^A- Zv
AAA- ^^J^A A-Z? av9^ Anra ^^a^ A A-Z * * \ps ?^v^ av\9 Tfrr-^A A-Z *

ON THE SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH AND SAMAEITAN VERSION.

PREDOMINANCE OF THE LANGUAGE. The Hebrew language (in which the Samaritan Penta
teuch is written) was predominant, as we have shown (pp. 19, 20) in many countries of antiquity. It
has long ceased to be the vernacular of Samaria, the inhabitants now speak Arabic, but the Sacred
books and liturgy belonging to the few remaining descendants of the ancient Samaritans, are written in
a dialect called the Samaritan, which has never obtained extension beyond the limits of Samaria itself.
The Samaritans have lost all political importance, they have dwindled down to a few families, and
merely constitute a small religious sect. They dwell on the site of Shechem their ancient capital, now
called Nablous or Naplosa, a corruption of the Greek word Neapolis, the new city. The houses
occupied by them arc said not to be above fifty or sixty in number ; the total amount of inhabitants
has not been exactly ascertained, but in 1824 there were only about sixty among them who paid the
capitation tax. They still go up three times a year to Mount Gerizim to worship, but from fear of
the Turks they offer sacrifices privately in their own city.

LANGUAGES or SAMARIA. Up to the period when the ten tribes of Israel were carried away
captive into Assyria, Hebrew was the language of Samaria. The characters employed by the ten
tribes in writing Hebrew were however totally different from those now in use among the Jews. The
Samaritan letters, as they are called, are closely allied to the Phoenician, * and appear originally to
have been employed by the whole Jewish nation, for the characters on the Maccabean coins are very
similar to the Samaritan, and these coins, of which the series probably commences about 150 years
before Christ, were struck by Simon, Jonathan, and other members of the Maccabean dynasty.

The mixed nature of the dialect which became predominant in Samaria on the removal of the
ten tribes, may be inferred from 2 Kings 17. 24, where we are told that " the king of Assyria brought
men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and

1 Sec Bayer s De Nummis Hebrseo-Samaritanis.

SHEMITIC LANGUAGES.] SAMARITAN. 29

placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel ;" moreover, a Hebrew Priest
was appointed as the public teacher of religion to this mixed multitude, and hence, as might have
been expected, a dialect partly Aramaean and partly Hebrew, became in process of time the general
medium of communication. Arabic being at present the language spoken in Samaria, this dialect has
now no existence but in books ; it is greatly venerated by the Samaritans, and they affirm that it is
the true and original Hebrew in which the law was given, and that the language formerly spoken by
the Jews was not Hebrew but Jewish. l

HISTORY or THE HEBR^O- SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH. The date, copyist, and orio-in of
this transcript of the Hebrew Pentateuch are involved in inextricable mystery, yet after all the dis
cussions that have taken place on the subject, the most probable conjecture seems to be, that when the
ten tribes under Jeroboam seceded from their alliance with Judah, they possessed this copy of the
Pentateuch, which they ever afterwards carefully preserved, and transmitted to posterity. It is
written throughout in pure Hebrew, and corresponds nearly word for word with our Hebrew text, so
that the mere acquaintance with the Samaritan characters is all that is requisite to enable a Hebrew
scholar to read this ancient document. It is rather remarkable that in about two thousand places
where the Samaritan differs from the Hebrew text, it agrees with the Septuagint, and among the
various hypotheses that have been started to account for this circumstance, it seems most reasonable to
suppose with Gesenius, that the Samaritan copy and the Septuagint version were both made from
some ancient Hebrew codex which differed in a few minor particulars from the more modern Masoretic
text. The variations of this Pentateuch do not, however, affect the force of any doctrine, the two
chief discrepancies between the Samaritan and Hebrew texts being, the prolongation of the period
between the deluge and the birth of Abraham in the Samaritan, and the substitution of the word
Gerizim for Ebal in Deut. 27. In these cases it is impossible to say whether the Jews or the
Samaritans were guilty of corrupting the original text. The Septuagint represents the contested
period as even longer by some centuries than the Samaritan, and it is followed by the Roman Catholic
Martyrology ; but in the Latin Vulgate, the computation of the Hebrew text has been adopted. 2
The chronology of the Samaritan has been vindicated by Dr. Hales, but generally, where various
readings exist, the authority of the Hebrew is considered paramount. These occasional readings do
not however diminish the value of the Samaritan Pentateuch as a witness to the integrity of the
Hebrew text. That the same facts and the same doctrines should be transmitted in almost precisely
the same words from generation to generation by nations, between whom the most rooted antipathy
and rivalry existed (as was notably the case between the Samaritans and the Jews), is a strong argu
ment in proof of the authenticity of the books ascribed to Moses ; the purity of the text handed
down to us through these two separate and independent channels may likewise be argued from the
fact, that no collusion to alter passages in favour of their own prejudices is ever likely to have taken
place between two such hostile nations.

The Samaritan Pentateuch was studied by Eusebius, Jerome, and other fathers of the Church,
and in their works several citations of the various readings existing between it and the Hebrew occur.
Yet singular enough, this valuable text for about a thousand years was quite lost sight of by the
learned, and it was unknown, and its very existence almost forgotten in Europe, when Scaliger, in the
year 1559, suddenly instituted inquiries respecting it, and at his suggestion a negociation was opened
by the learned men of Europe with the remnant of the Samaritans, for the purchase of copies of this
Pentateuch. In 1616 Pietro della Valle effected the purchase of a complete copy, which was bought
by De Sancy (afterwards Bishop of St. Maloes), and sent by him in 1623 to the Library of the
Oratory at Paris. In the meantime efforts were being made in England for the possession of copies,
and between the years 1620 and 1630, Archbishop Usher obtained six MSS. from the East, of which
some were complete and others not. Five of these MSS. are still preserved in England, but one copy
which the Archbishop presented to L. de Dieu seems to have been lost. At various times other copies
of the Samaritan Pentateuch have been since received in Europe, and there arc in all about seventeen
which have been critically examined ; of these, six are in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and one in
the Cotton Library in the British Museum. They are all written either on parchment or on silk
paper, there are no vowel points or accents, and the whole Pentateuch, like the Hebrew text, is
divided into sections for the service of the synagogue, but while the Samaritan has 966 of these
divisions, the Hebrew has only about 52. Some of the MSS. have a date beneath the name of the

1 Fisk in Missionary Herald for 1824, p. 310. - Butler s Horse Biblicw, p. 34.

30 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS II.

copyist determining their age. The MS. belonging to the Oratory at Paris is supposed to have been
written in the eleventh century ; our other MSS. are more recent, except one attributed to the eighth
century, but its date is very uncertain. The Samaritans themselves, however, ascribe extraordinary
antiquity to their own copies, and Fisk says that the Kohen or Priest showed him a MS. which they

Setended had been written by Abishua, great grandson of Aaron, thirteen years after the death of
oses : it was a roll, in some respects like the synagogue rolls of the Jews, and kept in a brass case ;
a copy in another brass case was affirmed to be 800 years old. Fisk observed a number of MSS. of
the Pentateuch on a shelf in the Samaritan synagogue, and he says, that besides the Pentateuch they
have copies of the books of Joshua and Judges, but in separate volumes.

The first printed edition of the Samaritan Pentateuch was made from the Codex Oratorii (i. e. the
MS. belonging to the Oratory at Paris); it was printed by Father Morinus in the Paris Polyglot.
This text was reprinted in the London Polyglot, with corrections from three of the MSS. which
formerly belonged to Usher ; and so correct is this edition that a Samaritan Priest whom Maundrell
visited at Naplosa, esteemed this Samaritan text equally with a MS. of his own, which he could not
be prevailed to part with at any price. Fisk when in Samaria saw a relic of the very copy of the
Polyglot mentioned by Maundrcll. Various readings collated from the Samaritan MSS. were given
by Dr. Kennicott in his edition of the Hebrew Scriptures as mentioned page 24: and in 1790,
Dr. Blayney published at Oxford the Samaritan Pentateuch from the text of the London Polyglot, in
square Hebrew characters ; and the variations of the Samaritan text have likewise been published by
Mr. Bagster.

HISTORY OF THE SAMARITAN VERSION. Three versions, of which two only are now extant,
have been made of the Samaritan Pentateuch. The first version was made from the Hebraso- Samari
tan text into the Samaritan dialect, but the date and author are unknown ; by some writers it is
ascribed to the period when a Hebrew priest was sent by Esarhaddon to instruct the mixed multitude
of Samaria in the service of God ; while others affirm that it was executed in the first or second
century of the Christian era. This version is in the highest degree exact and literal ; it is in fact, a
complete counterpart of the parent text. In some instances, however, its resemblance to the Chaldee
Paraphrase of Onkelos is very striking, and there are no means of accounting for this singular agree
ment, unless we adopt the supposition that it fell into the hands of Onkelos, and that it was inter
polated by him. It has been printed in the Paris and London Polyglots, and in 1682, Cellarius
published extracts from it with Latin annotations and a translation. Copious extracts are also given
in Ullmann s Institutiones Lingua? Samaritanse.

When the Samaritan dialect fell into disuse, and the language of the Arabian conquerors became
the vernacular of the country, the Samaritans had at first recourse to the Arabic version of Saadias
Gaon, at that period in general use among the Jews. A translation into the Arabic language as
spoken in Samaria, and written in Samaritan characters was afterwards prepared by Abu Said. It is
not known with certainty in what year this translation was made ; Saadias Gaon died A. D. 942, 2 and
it must have been made subsequently to that period, as Abu Said made great use of that Jewish
rabbi s labours. This version is remarkably close and literal, and follows the Samaritan even in those
readings in which it differs from the Hebrew text. Several MSS. of this version still exist in Libanus,
but the whole has never been printed. A third version of the Samaritan Pentateuch was made into
Greek, but this work, though quoted by the fathers, is no longer extant. The Samaritan and Arabic
versions, from their noted fidelity, are of much value in correcting the text of the Samaritan
Pentateuch, and in fact form almost the only sources for its emendation.

1 Maundrell s Journey, p. 83, edit. 1810. 2 Davidson s Lectures on Biblical Criticism.

CHALDEE.

SPECIMEN OF THE TABGUM OF ONKELOS FROM WALTON S POLYGLOT.

EXODUS, CHAP. xx. v. I to 17.

rvap onyon x? ijnpsM H tjn ;. MM 2 : no o Mn NDja-^3 rv

rv 3t M HM :
&gt; MO IM. 10 : ^T?
u

9na ^jsM-nii ^3M;n 151 ta^Bi Knagn p vn! 3 ^na fa-^y nxynf MOV? mi pnn H-^a-n^
*Q3na TVJDOT^ w : 3^3311 M^ 15 : ^?D J 14 &$ ^9i?n-^ 13 : ^ 3n; \n^M ^i M^IM^ *pov |W-nH
sipact 7. ^! a ion.1 anini FI^OMI. nnnyi ^n nnM n^prin M^ ^35 nra n\nnn M^W :X^T Nn-nnp

ON THE CHALDEE LANGUAGE AND TARGUMS.

THE Aramean or Syrian language appears from the earliest times to have been divided into two
grand branches, namely, the West Aramean or Syriac, which was the dialect spoken to the West in Syria
and Mesopotamia, and the East Aramean, generally denominated the Chaldee, which was spoken to
the East, in Babylonia, Assyria, and Chaldea. But this division of the Aramean language into two
branches is rather geographical than philological, for with the exception perhaps of a few words
peculiar to each dialect, and some slight variations in the vowels and the position of certain accents,
no difference whatever, either in grammatical structure or lexicography can be detected between Syriac
and Chaldee. Michaelis, indeed, has remarked, that the Chaldee of Daniel becomes Syriac if read by a
German or Polish Jew. The chief, and perhaps the only material point of distinction between the
two dialects is, that Syriac is written in characters peculiar to itself, whereas the square characters,
which are also appropriated to Hebrew, are employed in writing Chaldee. Down to the time of
Abraham, Chaldea is supposed to have been almost, if not quite, identical with Hebrew, and to have
acquired subsequently the peculiarities of a distinct dialect. However this might have been, the
dialect spoken in Chaldea was the original language of the Abrahamidce, for Abraham was called from
" Ur of the Chaldees," (Gen. 11. 31). Isaac and his family spoke Hebrew, which was the language
of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned, and Hebrew continued to be the language of their
descendants till the time of the Babylonish captivity. During the seventy years passed at Babylon
the dialect of the captives seems to have merged into, or to have become greatly adulterated with that
of their conquerors, and the great similarity in genius and structure between the two dialects, naturally
accelerated the effects of political causes in producing this admixture. On the return of the Jews to
Jerusalem, it was the custom of the priests to read the law of Moses publicly to the people, and after
wards to give an exposition, (see Neh. 8. 8, etc.) It is the opinion of many eminent scholars that the
law was read as it stood in the original Hebrew, but explained in Chaldee, the only dialect then
generally intelligible among the Jewish people. However this may have been, it is certain that at
least as early as the Christian era, written expositions of Scripture in the Chaldee dialect were in
circulation among the Jews. The name of Targums, from a quadriliteral root signifying an explana
tion or version, was given to these Chaldee compositions. The most ancient Targum now extant is
that written by Onkelos, a disciple of Hillel, who died 60 B. c. This Hillel is by some supposed to

32 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS II.

have been the grandfather of Gamaliel, Paul s instructor. 1 In purity of style Onkelos equals the
Chaldaic sections of Ezra and Daniel, and his fidelity to the Hebrew text, which he generally follows
almost word for word, is so great, that he deserves to be looked upon as a translator, rather than as a
paraphrast. No writings of his are extant except his Targum of the books of Moses, which has been
printed with a Latin translation in the first volume of the London Polyglot ; 2 it is esteemed of much
service in biblical criticism from the fact of its being supported, in passages where it differs from the
Masoretic text, by other ancient versions. Besides the Targum of Onkelos, seven other expositions of
Scripture in the same dialect, though greatly inferior in merit, are now known to be in existence.
The Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel upon the greater and lesser prophets is believed by some authors
to have been written about 30 B. c. : though others assign it a later date ; it abounds in allegories, and
the style is diffuse and less pure than that of Onkelos. It conforms generally to the Masoretic text,
but differs from it in some important passages. A Targum written by another Jonathan (hence called
the Pseudo Jonathan) made its appearance at some period subsequent to the seventh century : the
style is barbarous, and intermixed with Persian, Greek, and Latin words ; it is confined to the Penta
teuch, and generally follows the rabbinical interpretations, hence it is of no use in criticism. The
Jerusalem Targum is also upon the Pentateuch, but is in a very mutilated state, whole verses being
wanting, and others transposed : it repeats the fables contained in the Pseudo Jonathan, and is written
in the same impure style ; by many, indeed, it is considered merely as the fragments of an ancient
recension of the Pseudo Jonathan. The Targum of Joseph the Blind on the Hagiographa is also
written in very corrupt Chaldee, and adulterated with words from other languages. The remaining
Targums (on Esther and Canticles) are too puerile and too paraphrastic to be entitled to notice here.
The first seven Targums are all printed in the London Polyglot ; the eighth (on the Chronicles) was
not known at the time of the publication of that work ; it was discovered in the Library at Cam
bridge, and published at Amsterdam in 1715. Beck had previously published large fragments from
an Erfurt MS. in 1680 81 at Augsburg. The great utility of the earlier Targums, for the later
Targums are of little or no use, consists in their vindicating the genuineness of the Hebrew text, by
proving that it was the same at the period the Targums were made, as it exists among us at the present
day. The earlier Targums are also of importance in showing that the prophecies relating to the
Messiah, were understood by Jews in ancient times to bear the same interpretation that is now put
upon them by Christians. And, it must be added, that, in developing the customs and habits of the
Jews, in exhibiting the aspect in which they viewed contested passages of Scripture, and in denoting
the mode in which they made use of idioms, phrases, and peculiar forms of speech, considerable light
is derived from the Targums in the study both of the Old and of the New Testaments.

Davidson s Lectures on Biblical Criticism. - Hamilton s Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures, p. 189.

SYRIAC.

SPECIMEN OF THE PESHITO VERSION, AND OF THE PHILOXENIAN VERSION.

ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

PESHITO VEKSIOK.

ocno . JK^&gt; Jbcn
JcnJ^Jo . JcnJ^s LQL^ Jbcn &lt;-cn

9 9 -.__

,;ji Jocn wcnoZ^J Jjcn . JiO^is ocn Jbcn

:^o . Jbcn cn^J^ ^o . JcfC^
. Jbcn JL2J, cn^s . Jbcnj pz&gt; *!.bcn Ji
6cno . JL-A-LX.
cn3&gt;J )J

PHIZOXENIAN VEKSION.

JAA^O . JAA^D JOOI 010A-J

001 . ^.010, s \ oo . ^,

ON THE SYRIAC LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

GEOGRAPHICAL PREDOMINANCE OF THE LANGUAGE. The Syriac, also called the Aramaean
language, from Aram the Hebrew name of Syria, was once predominant over a very extensive territory;
and a Hebraic dialect of Syriac is supposed to have been the language chiefly spoken in Palestine
during the time of our Lord ; but Arabic has completely supplanted it as the vernacular of Syria and
Mesopotamia, and it is now only spoken by a few obscure tribes in two or three confined districts.
As an ecclesiastical language, however, it still retains its importance, and is used in the Jacobite and
Nestorian Churches of Syria. It has likewise been for ages the liturgical language of a remarkable
people in India who, during a period of about fourteen hundred years, have preserved the name of
Christians in the midst of idolatrous nations. They dwell partly within the British territories, and

34 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS II.

partly in Cochin and Travancore, two states on the Malabar coast, forming the southern extremity of
Hindoostan, and tributary to the British. In number they amount to 100,000; and although they
have suffered severe persecutions from the Roman Catholics, especially from the Inquisition at Goa,
they still possess a regular hierarchy and retain fifty-five of their ancient churches. They were con
verted to Christianity about the middle of the fifth century by the Syrian Mar Thomas, who has been
confounded by the Portuguese with the Apostle St. Thomas. But prior even to the time of Mar
Thomas the Christian religion had been established in India, for a Bishop from that country was
present at the Council of Nice in A. D. 325. Yet, although the Syriac language was introduced with
Christianity among the Malabar Churches, Malayalim has continued the vernacular of the country.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. Although inferior to most of the other branches of
the Shemitic class in point of copiousness and variety, the Syriac is of particular importance and utility
to biblical students on account of its close affinity with Hebrew. Many words are common to both
languages, and hence terms which occur but once, or of which the meaning may appear doubtful in
the Hebrew Scriptures, often receive elucidation by reference to the mode in which they are used in
the Syriac language. The roots of words in Syriac, as in the other Shemitic languages, are generally to
be traced to the third person singular, preterite, of the first conjugation of verbs. But Syriac roots,
while they resemble those of cognate dialects in consisting almost always of three, seldom of four
letters, have the peculiarity of being mostly monosyllabic, in triliteral roots the vowel being placed
under the second letter, so as to form but one syllable. 1 In grammatical structure Syriac is closely
akin to Hebrew. The adjectives, as in Hebrew, are remarkably few in number, but their deficiency
is supplied by other parts of speech, which take their place, and perform their office. The superlative
degree is often formed by the duplication of the positive. Pronouns are generally expressed by certain
particles called affixes, placed at the end of nouns, verbs, or other particles, and with which they are
so incorporated as to form but one word. 2 The system of conjugation is conducted upon the same
plan as the Hebrew. Verbs expressing modification of a primary idea are connected in conjugation,
and are considered to form collectively one entire and perfect verb. In Syriac there are eight forms or
conjugations of verbs, of which four have an active, and four a passive, and sometimes a reciprocal
signification. The alphabetical characters in Syriac are the same in number as the Hebrew, but differ
considerably in form. The Estrangelo Syriac characters are evidently of the same origin as those on
the inscriptions found at Tadmor or Palmyra. There are several MSS. extant written in this charac
ter, some of which are as ancient as the sixth century. The rectilinear character, that is, a character
written with a continuous straight connecting line is now commonly used in our printed Syriac books,
and is a modification of the Estrangelo, bearing the same relation to it as the modern Greek and Latin
characters do to the Uncial. Another mode of writing Syriac peculiar to a sect in Syria called
Christians of St. John, is the Zamian ; the consonants are formed in the usual way, but the vowels
instead of being represented by points above and below the line, are denoted by strokes fastened to
the letters, as in Ethiopic and Sanscrit.

SYRIAC VERSIONS OF SCRIPTURE. Several very ancient Syriac versions are still extant, and
are of considerable service in the elucidation of difficult passages of Scripture, because in time, place,
and modes of thinking, the translators were closely approximated to the inspired writers. 3 Of these
versions the most ancient and the most important is called the Peshito (signifying clear, literal, exact)
on account of its strict fidelity to the text. The period at which this version was made has been much
disputed : by some the translation of the Old Testament of this version has been referred to the age
of Solomon, while various other traditions have ascribed the translation to Asa Puest of the Samari
tans, and to the Apostle Thaddeus. Ephrem, the Syrian, who wrote in the middle of the fourth
century of the Christian era, speaks of it as a work in general use ; and there are reasons for believing
that the whole version was completed by the close of the first or commencement of the second century,
at any rate we have proof that it was in common use in the year 350 A. D. The disparity of style
apparent in different parts of the version has led to the belief that several persons were engaged in its
execution. The translation of the Old Testament seems to have been made immediately from the
Hebrew, but with occasional reference to the Septuagint and to the Chaldee Paraphrases. This
version is more particularly valuable on account of its being more ancient than any Hebrew MS. now

1 Phillips s Syriac Grammar, p. 49. 3 Hug s Introduction, Vol. I.

2 Phillips s Syriac Grammar, p. 40.

SHEMITIC LANGUAGES.] SYR I AC. 35

in existence. It contains all the canonical books of the Old Testament, but not the Apocrypha. The
Peshito version of the New Testament was made from the original text, as appears from the frequent
occurrence of Greek words ; the Greek codex used for the translation belonged to no known family
of MSS., many of the readings agree with the quotations from the Testament in the writings of the
earlier fathers of the Church. 1 It is rather singular that in all ancient MSS. of this version, four
epistles, namely, the second epistle of Peter, the second and third of John, and that of Jude, and
likewise the Book of Kevelation are wanting ; they also want the story of the woman taken in
adultery, John 8, and 1 John 5. 7. Pococke found the four missing epistles in a MS. belonging to
the Bodleian Library, and the younger Scaliger obtained possession of a MS. of the Revelation ; the
Epistles were published by Pococke in 1630, and the Apocalypse by De Dieu in 1627: these have
been ever since appended to the Peshito in printed editions, but evidently do not belong to that
ancient version, being vastly inferior to it in point of purity, style, and fidelity. The Peshito version
was not known in Europe till A. D. 1552, when Moses of Mardm was sent in the name of the Syrian
Church to Rome, to acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope, and to request that an edition might be
printed of their ancient Scriptures. The late Mr. Rich travelled in central Asia in search of ancient
MSS. : he discovered in Assyria in all fifty-nine Syriac MSS. now deposited in the British Museum; they
afford abundant evidence of the general integrity of our received text of the Peshito.

Next in antiquity to the Peshito, but considerably inferior to it in elegance and accuracy of diction,
if superior to it in servile literality, is the Philoxenian version, so called from having been executed
under the auspices of Philoxenus, Bishop of Hierapolis in Syria, by Polycarp, A.D. 488 518. The
Philoxenian version was revised and collated with Alexandrine MSS. by Thomas of Harclea, A. D. 616;
and this revision was published by Professor White at Oxford in 1778. There are also three other
ancient Syriac versions ; namely, 1. The Karkaphensian, which is little more than a recension of the
Peshito made towards the end of the tenth century by David, a Jacobite Monk of Mesopotamia, for the
especial use of the Monophysite or Jacobite Christians. It derives its name either from a Syriac word
signifying the head, and also the summit of a mountain (Karkupho), or from a town in Mesopotamia.
2. The Palestine- Syriac, or Syrian translation of Jerusalem of unknown date, of which the portions
still extant, consisting of a greater part of the Gospels, are preserved in MS. in the Vatican Library.
It was discovered, and a portion of the text edited, as a specimen, by Professor Adler, about the latter
part of the eighteenth century. In language and written characters it differs from common Syriac,
and approaches the dialect formerly spoken at Jerusalem. It is supposed to belong to the fifth
century, and to have been made from the Greek text, its readings generally coincide with those of the
Western recension. It is valued on account of its correctness, and Professor Scholz in his last edition
of the New Testament, has given readings from it. The story of the woman taken in adultery, which
is wanting in the Peshito and the Philoxenian or Harclean, is found among the fragments of this
version. 2 3. The Syro-Estrangelo or Syriac- Hexaplar version, which is a translation of Origen s
Hexaplar edition of the Septuagint ; it was executed by an unknown author in the beginning of the
seventh century, and closely adheres to the Septuagint throughout. The first portion of the Syriac
Scriptures committed to the press, was the Peshito New Testament, printed in quarto at Vienna 1555;
copies of this edition are now of considerable rarity. The entire Syriac Scriptures were inserted in
Le Jay s Polyglot Bible in 1645, and in Walton s Polyglot, 1657.

When Dr. Buchanan in 1806 visited the Syrian Christians in India, he found several important
MSS. of great antiquity which he brought with him to England. The last years of his useful and
laborious life were devoted to the preparation of a printed edition from these MSS., and he died, so to
speak, with the sheets of the Syriac Testament in his hands. A short time prior to his decease, he was
walking with a friend in the churchward at Clapham, and he entered into a minute account of the plan
he had pursued in preparing the Syriac text. Suddenly he stopped and burst into tears : as soon as
he had recovered his self-possession, he said to his friend " do not be alarmed, I am not ill, but I was
completely overcome with the recollection of the delight with which I had engaged in the exercise.
At first I was disposed to shrink from the task as irksome, and apprehended that I should find even
the Scriptures pall by the frequency of this critical examination. But so far from it, every fresh
perusal seemed to throw fresh light on the Word of God, and to convey additional joy and consola
tion to my mind." The four Gospels and Acts were printed in 1815 at Broxbourne in Hertfordshire,
under the eye of Dr. Buchanan. At his death, the British and Foreign Bible Society for whom the
work had been originally undertaken, appointed Dr. Lee of Queen s College, Cambridge, to complete

1 Hug s Introduction, Vol. I. 2 Davidson s Lectures on Biblical Criticism, p. 66.

36 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS II.

the New Testament. This was the first introduction of this great orientalist to the Committee.
Dr. Lee objected to Dr. Buchanan s omission of the vowel points, and to his use of the European,
instead of the Syriac system of grammatical pronunciation ; and upon these and other representations
the Bible Committee agreed that the whole work should be commenced anew under Dr. Lee s super
intendence, and that the Gospels and Acts edited by Dr. Buchanan, should be cancelled. Dr. Lee
adopted the very accurate text published by Leusden and Schaaf in 1717, as the standard text, and
introduced emendations from various MSS. The New Testament left the press in 1816. In 1823,
Dr. Lee edited the Syriac Old Testament, under the patronage of the Church Missionary, and at the
expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society. In preparing this work he took the version of the
Polyglots as his text, and collated the MS. brought by Dr. Buchanan from India, a MS. belonging to
Dr. A. Clarke, and a MS. of the Pentateuch in the Library of New College, Oxford. In 1826 the
Bible Society published an entire edition of the Syriac Scriptures, the Old Testament being from the
text of 1823. In 1829 a Peshito New Testament in 12mo. was edited by the late Mr. William
Greenfield, for the Publishers of this work, from the text of Widmansted 1555, with the book of
Kevelation and the Epistles, described above as being wanting in the Peshito version, supplied, as in
previous editions, from the publications of Pococke and De Dieu.

EESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OP THIS VERSION. Two grand results have followed
from the early, though limited, circulation of this version in India. First, the integrity of our
Western copies of Scripture has been firmly established by the fact of their having been ascertained,
on critical examination, to correspond in all important points with the ancient and independent MSS.
that had for ages been buried, so to speak, in the East. Secondly, the assumptions of the Church of
Rome as to the antiquity of her usages are clearly disproved, by the rejection of Romish dogmas and
observances by a Church that was among the first to receive, and among the most zealous to preserve
the oracles of God: here, indeed, as Bishop Wilson justly remarked, " is an ancient Church knowing
nothing of the pretended supremacy of Rome, nor of her peculiar dogmas; but standing a witness, in
addition to the primitive Churches in Haute Dauphine and the valleys of Piedmont, to the pure
Gospel of Christ ; and thus demonstrating the comparative novelty of the superstitious doctrines and
usages, and indeed of all the assumptions of the Church and Court of Rome a testimony in a day
like the present of no little value." The boon conferred upon the Syrian Churches in the multiplica
tion of copies of Scripture by the British and Foreign Bible Society in the editions of 1815, 1816,
and of subsequent years, has been duly appreciated by them ; and the Missionaries relate that in several
instances the never failing result of the conscientious study of the Scriptures has been manifested, by
the substitution of vital godliness for a merely outward orthodox profession.

SYRIAC IN HEBREW CHARACTERS.

THE Syriac New Testament in Hebrew characters was printed for the benefit of the Chasidim and Cabalistic Jews of Poland,
Constantinople, and the East. It was published in 1837 by the London Society for the Conversion of the Jews. The Syriac
Peshito had previously appeared in Hebrew characters in the fifth part of the Antwerp Polyglot. Before, however, the printing of
the Antwerp Polyglot, Immanuel Tremellius had used Hebrew characters in his edition of the Syriac New Testament. He did this
in consequence of there not being at that time any place where Syriac types were obtainable except at Vienna. De la Boderie and
others have used Hebrew letters in their editions.

SYRO-CHALDAIC;

AND MODERN SYRIAC.

(For a SPECIMEN of the Syro-Chaldaic Version in the Estrangelo Character, see Plate II.)

PEOPLE FOE WHOM THIS EDITION is DESIGNED. The Syriac language is written in Nestorian
characters, by a professedly Christian people, of whom some are entrenched among the mountains of
Assyria, and others settled in the adjacent plain of Ooroomiah, in West Persia, between 36 and 39
north latitude, and 43 and 46 east longitude: they are supposed to amount, in point of number,
to about 200,000 souls. They are sometimes called Chaldeans or East Syrians from the country
they inhabit; but they are more commonly known by the name of Nestorians, which latter
appellation, they contend, is not derived from the celebrated Nestorius who was condemned at
the third Council of Ephesus, but from Nazareth the city of Mary. It is said that they originally
fled from the Roman empire during persecution in the reign of Justinian, and that they placed
themselves under the protection of the king of Persia, who assigned them an abode in his
dominions. They then consisted of 50,000 families, each headed by a bishop, and the family of the
bishop who then held precedence over the rest, still retains the principal civil and ecclesiastical power.
During the severe persecutions they subsequently suffered from the Mahommedans, they were driven
to_ their present impregnable abodes. Their religious tenets are more uncorrupted than those of most
oriental churches. They seem never to have practised image worship nor auricular confession ; -and so
great is their antipathy to popery, that they have a singular and most anti-christian custom of cursing
the Pope regularly every day, his grandfather, grandmother, and grandchildren.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The language generally denominated the Syro-
Chaldaic or Nestorian, differs in no respect from the Syriac, ""unless it be, indeed, in the occasional
variation of one or two grammatical forms, and a difference in the pronunciation of the vowels. Thus
a Syro-Chaldaic book if transcribed in Syriac characters, would be pure Syriac. The Chaldean Priest
at Khosrova had a copy of the Pentateuch which he had caused to be transcribed, word for word, from
the Syriac of Walton s Polyglot, only substituting the Nestorian for the Syriac characters, and it was
ascertained ^beyond doubt by the Missionaries that the language of this Pentateuch was perfectly
identical with that of the Church books in common use among the Nestorians. The Nestorian
characters may be said to be almost the same as the ancient Estrangelo, only slightly modified in form ;
they are very clear and agreeable to the eye, and Missionaries stationed in the country who have been
afflicted with ophthalmia, and thereby deprived of the power of reading English type without pain,
have found themselves able to read books written or printed in the Nestorian character with ease and
pleasure. J The dialect at present commonly spoken among the Nestorians is a very corrupted form of
their ancient Syriac : it abounds in contractions, abbreviations, and inversions, and is adulterated by
Persian, Turkish, and Kurdish words. In sound it is even harsher than the Armenian. It still, however,
retains its character as a Shemitic dialect, many Arabic and Hebrew words are discoverable in it, and
it is rather remarkable that the Nestorians and the Jews settled in adjacent villages are able to con
verse together, although the dialect spoken by the Jews is a barbarised form of Hebrew, altogether
distinct from the vernacular of the Nestorians.

EDITIONS OF SCRIPTURE IN THIS LANGUAGE. Several ancient MSS. of Scripture have been
found in the possession of the Nestorians, which from time to time have been brought to Europe.
Dr. Wolff dunng his travels in 1826 purchased of the Nestorians several MSS. of various portions of
their Bible ; these he brought safely to England, although on two several occasions he very narrowly
escaped shipwreck. The MSS. became the property of the London Society for Promoting Christianity
among the Jews, and the Committee lent them to the British and Foreign Bible Society for publication.
An edition of 2000 copies of the Syro-Chaldaic Gospels was accordingly printed by the latter Society,
under the editorship of T. P. Platt, Esq. and those passages in which the MSS. were deficient were supplied
from the _ Syriac version ; for Mr. Platt had ascertained on critical examination that the Syro-Chaldaic
text was identical, or nearly so, with the Society s Syriac version, the character only being different.

i Biblical Repository, Vol. II.

38 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS II.

The types were cast for the purpose by Mr. Watts, and the edition left the press in 1829. This, how
ever, was not the first time that Syriac had been printed in Nestorian characters, for a Syriac liturgical
work called Missale Chaldaicum, containing the selections from the Gospels and Epistles read on
Sundays and Festivals, was published in these characters in 1767 at Kome, accompanied by an interpre
tation in Carshun. The Missionaries now among the Nestorians are said to be engaged in the
elaborate preparation of a Syro-Chaldaic Old Testament, in which they take the ancient and valuable
Syriac version, the Peshito, as their text. An edition of the Scriptures has been projected by the
Christian Knowledge Society from valuable MSS. collected at the cost of the Society in Mesopotamia: 1
but little if any progress seems as yet to have been made in the publication of this important work.
Mr. Perkins, of the American Board of Missions, commenced in 1836 a translation from the ancient
or ecclesiastical language into the modernised corrupt dialect now vernacular among these people. It
does not appear that any portion of this version has yet been committed to the press.

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. Dr. Wolff of the London Society for
the Conversion of the Jews, travelled in 1826 among the Nestorian churches, and had frequent interviews
with the priests and people. He found them, as they themselves admitted, in a wild and uncivilised
state; but when questioned on the cause of their want of civilisation, they acknowledged it to be the
result of their lamentable destitution of copies of the Scriptures. They had no printed copies what
ever, and the MSS. were extremely scarce and never found in the hands of the common people.
" But," said they, " we have heard that the English are able to write a thousand copies in one day,
would they not write for us several thousand copies and send them to us ? we become wild like Curds,
for we have so few copies of the Bible. The English have written those of the Jacobites (in Syriac
characters) which we cannot read generally, why should they not write these of ours?"^ The expecta
tions and desires of these simple people were realized, and soon after they had been put in possession of
the Gospels by the British and Foreign Bible Society, the divine seed sprang up and bore fruit to
the glory of God. The Missionaries of the American Board of Missions who have for some years been
labouring among them, give the following account of them; "the light of heavenly truth is rapidly
pervading the mass of the people, many of whom appear like a person awakened from a deep sleep,
unconscious of the darkness in which he has been enveloped, and are inquiring how it is that they
have been kept so long in ignorance and self-delusion. To this their Priests reply, We ourselves,
till now, have been dead in trespasses and sins ; and our criminality is even greater than yours for
having hidden the light so long."

Report of Foreign Translation Committee of Christian Knowledge Society for 1844, p. 83 ; and see Report of the same Committee for 1845, p. 41 .

A ft ABI C.

SPECIMEN OF THE AKABIC VERSION,

AS PUBLISHED BY THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY IN 1825. QUARTO.

ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

jj&gt; &lt;d!]j &lt;d!! Jc^ ^ iuKJlj aUKU
J *U N *^UN j *UJ1j *UN ^ ^ * W K U

^LJl jfl i^ll JUN jyN ^ *jj& V^ J; j^\ &gt;b ^. (J *AW fl!

4 jJW! Ijjb J
JJ! Uli *

ON THE AEABIC LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

PREDOMINANCE OP THE LANGUAGE. It is almost impossible to calculate with any degree of
accuracy the amount of population by whom this language is spoken. The population of Arabia itself
has been variously estimated from 10,000,000 to 14,000,000 inhabitants ; but Arabic is also vernacular
in Syria, in Mesopotamia, in part of Persia, in some parts of the Malabar and Coromandel coasts, in
Egyp* m Nubia, and in Barbary. Arabic is also extensively used as the language of religion and
commerce in Western, Eastern, and Central Africa, and before the Missionaries had reduced some of
the African dialects to writing, Arabic was the only written language known to the natives of that vast
continent. As the language of the Koran, Arabic is venerated and studied from "the Western confines
of Spain and Africa to the Philippine Islands, over 130 degrees of longitude ; and from the tropic of
Capricorn to Tartarv, over 70 degrees of latitude." l Its importance as a medium of communication
between distant nations may be inferred from the reason assigned by the Rev. Henry Martyn for
undertaking a new version of the Arabic Testament. " We will begin to preach," said that devoted
Missionary, "to Arabia, Syria, Persia, Tartary, part of India and of China, half of Africa, all the sea-
coast of the Mediterranean and Turkey, and one tongue shall suffice for them all."

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The Arabic language, in its earliest and rudest state,
was the vernacular of a few nomadic tribes who derived their descent from Kahtan, the son of Heber,
a great grandson of Shem, and from Ishmael (the son of Abraham, by Hagar), who, by his marriage
with a daughter of Morad, of the race of Kahtan, engrafted his posterity on the Arabic stock. 2 It was
spoken among these tribes in a variety of dialects, concerning which we now know little more than
that the Koreish and the Hamiar were the distinctive appellations of the two predominant dialects.
Mahomet spoke the Koreish dialect, and under his influence and that of his successors the other dialects
insensibly merged into it. Hence the extraordinary copiousness of the Arabic language ; the result,
not of foreign admixture (for Arabia was never conquered), but of the gradual amalgamation of
numerous dialects into one. The language is rich both in lexicography and in grammatical forms.
It has a complete, though simple, system of declension ; a stock of augmentatives and diminutives ;

1 M Culloch s Geographical Dictionary. 2 Butler s Horae Biblicte.

40 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS II.

thirteen conjugations of verbs, both in the active and passive voice ; two genders, masculine and
feminine ; three numbers, singular, dual, and plural ; and also a peculiar form of the plural which seems
to appertain almost exclusively to the Arabic and Ethiopic languages, and which is called the plural
of paucity. 1 There is one article (al or el) answering in many respects to pur English the; it appears
in many words which we have borrowed from the Arabic, as in Alcoran (literally the Koran), alcohol,
algebra, etc. The particles are, as in most languages, indeclinable ; and are divided into two classes,
the separable and the inseparable ; the former are always used as prefixes, and the fatter, though
forming separate words, always precede the word they govern. The process of simplification which
has ever been at work in the modification of all vernacular languages, has not spared the antique forms
of Arabic grammar. There are as many distinct Arabic dialects as there are countries in which Arabic
is spoken, and in all these dialects the inflexions of case, the passive form of the verb, and the dual,
have more or less disappeared. Words and phrases from other languages have also in many cases been
introduced. The Moorish Arabs have adopted a negative form peculiar to French and its dialects ;
the phrase il ne vient pas is, in Occidental Arabic, ma yegychi (ma answering to ne, and chi to pas). 2
Yet, amidst all these local changes, the modern Arabic still preserves a close resemblance to the Arabic
of the Koran, which is everywhere religiously upheld as the model of classic beauty and elegance.

It is uncertain what alphabetical system was originally in use among the tribes of Arabia. ^ About
the time of Mahomet a style of writing was adopted by the tribe of Koreish called the Cuphic, from
the town of Cufa in Irak, in which it originated. It is evidently derived from the Estrangelo Synac
alphabet. In this character, which is clumsy and inelegant, consisting mostly of straight strokes,
Mahomet wrote the Koran ; it was superseded in the tenth century by a character called _ the Nishki,
which has ever since continued in use, not only among the nations who write the Arabic language,
but also among the Turks and Persians. De Sacy has proved that this character is at least as ancient
as the time of Mahomet. It appears that, about the period of the adoption of the Nishki character,
three vowel signs were introduced, placed, as in Hebrew, above or below the line, according to the
nature of the vowels. There are twenty-eight consonants, and _ to many of them a different form is
appropriated, according to their position, in words, as initial, medial, or final.

VERSIONS AND PRINTED EDITIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES. It was in Arabia _(as the district

east of Damascus was then called) that the great Apostle of the Gentiles commenced his ministrations

(Gal. i. 17); but Christianity did not, as in Syria and Egypt, become the established religion of the

country and there are few if any very ancient versions of Scripture in Arabic. A version, of which

no part is now extant, is said to have been made by Warka, the son of Naufel, during the lifetime of

Mahomet ; and this fact serves to account for the deep knowledge of Scripture displayed by the false

prophet. The most ancient of the MSS. that are known in Europe seem to have been executed

soon after the conquest of the Saracens in the seventh century. Towards the middle of the eighth

century, John, Bishop of Seville, finding that the Latin language was falling more and more into

disuse, executed a translation from Jerome s Vulgate into Arabic. The churches under the Patriarchates

of Antioch and of Alexandria also produced translations in Arabic at different periods from their

ancient Church versions. Printed editions of some of these MSS. have been published at intervals

since the year 1546. The four Gospels were published at Rome in 1591, the translation is directly

from the Greek. In 1616 an entire New Testament was printed by Erpenius, at Leyden, from an

exemplar said to have been executed in Upper Egypt by a Coptic Bishop in the fourteenth century.

The Gospels of this edition are substantially the same as the Roman text of 1591, but the Epistles bear

internal evidence of having been derived from the Peshito, while the book of Revelation is a translation

from the Coptic. The first Arabic version printed in England was that in Walton s Polyglot, published

1657. This version is merely a reprint of an Arabic translation of noted inaccuracy published in 1645

in the Paris Polyglot, but with the omissions supplied from one of the Selden MSS. The Pentateuch

inserted in these Polyglots is said to have been first published in 1546, at Constantinople, by baadias

Gaon, a Jewish teacher of Babylon, and is an unfaithful and inelegant production It is extremely

paraphrastic, and though in general it conforms to the Masoretic text, it sometimes follows the Chaldee

Targum of Onkelos, and sometimes the Septuagint. The other books of the Polyglot editions are, for

the most part, by unknown writers; in some books the Syriac version is followed so closely that, in

the London Polyglot, the same Latin translation, with a few marginal alterations, answers both to the

Syriac and to the Arabic Texts. The Gospels of the Polyglots are nearly the same as the Roman

i See Encyclopedia Metropolitana. " Journal Asiatique for 1829.

SHEMITIC LANGUAGES.] ARABIC. 41

and Erpcnian texts, but the other books of the New Testament are apparently a translation from the
Greek : they were printed from an Egyptian MS., and are supposed by some to have originally agreed
generally with the Erpenian version, but to have been altered by the editors. Erpenius also published
the Pentateuch in Arabic at Leyden, in 1662, in Hebrew characters, from a MS. in the possession of
Scaliger, and supposed to have been made by an African Jew of the thirteenth century. It is a direct
translation from^ the Hebrew, to which it adheres so closely as to be almost unintelligible to persons
unacquainted with that language. The version of Abu Said from the Samaritan Pentateuch has been
noticed page 30. An edition of the entire Bible, in three volumes folio, was published by the
Propaganda at Eome in 1671. Forty-six years were consumed in transcribing and revising the text.
It was undertaken by order of Pope Urban VIII, at the earnest request of several oriental prelates.
Scrgius Eisius, the Maronite Bishop of Damascus, was appointed, in conjunction with other learned
men, to collate the various printed copies with the original oriental versions of the Vulgate. The work
was completed in 1650, but was subjected to a fresh revisal prior to publication on account of its not
being sufficiently conformable to the Vulgate. An important edition of the Psalms in Arabic was
published in London, 1725, by the Society for Promoting Chiistian Knowledge. The text of this
edition is attributed to Athanasius, the Melchite Patriarch of Antioch, and is valued on account of
its fidelity. In 1727 an Arabic New Testament was published by the same Society from the text of
the Polyglot, corrected by the Editor, Solomon Negri. Although 10,000 copies of this work were
printed, the edition is now extremely rare, for none of the copies were sold in Europe, and but few
given to the learned. ^Twp copies are preserved at Cambridge. A great part of the edition was sent
to Eussia, for distribution in the surrounding Mahommedan countries. 1 An Arabic Bible is reported
to have been printed at Bucharest in 1700, and the Gospels at Aleppo in 1706, but little is known of
these editions in Europe. About the year 1811, an edition of the Scriptures in Arabic, from the text
of the Polyglot, was printed at Newcastle. This work, projected by Professor Carlyle, was under the
patronage of the Bishop of Durham, and the Bible Society lent assistance to its publication and
circulation. It was afterwards discovered that the churches of the East, for whom this edition was
chiefly intended, are scrupulously averse to the reception of any version except that which they
have been accustomed to recognise. To meet their case, the Society in 1820 issued 5000 copies
of the^ New Testament from the only text which these churches regard as genuine, namely, that pub
lished in 1671 by the Propaganda Fide: this was followed in 1822 by an edition of the Old Testament
from the same text, published under the care of Professors Lee and Macbride. In 1819 the Society
had printed an edition of 3000 copies in 12mo. of the Psalter, from the text employed by the Society
for Promoting Christian Knowledge, which text was likewise adopted at the celebrated press of the
Convent of _ St. John the Baptist on Mount Libanus. An attempt to produce a version of the New
Testament in modern Arabic was likewise made by the Eev. William Jowett during his travels in
Syria : he^ employed a learned priest of Jerusalem to commence a translation from the original Greek,
on the basis of the Propaganda : the MS. was completed as far as the end of the Epistle to the Hebrews,
and sent to Malta, but never printed. 2 The need of an improved translation of the Arabic Scriptures,
so long and so _ deeply felt by the Eastern Churches, has at length been met by the Christian Knowledge
Society. Their agent, the Eev. C. Schlienz, relates, as the result of his personal observations in the
East, " that the only two printed versions of the Arabic Bible (the edition of the Polyglot and that of
the Propaganda) known in Egypt and Syria, were both regarded with rooted antipathy by the
Mahommedans ; the Polyglot chiefly for its presumptuous impiety in adopting the phraseology of the
Koran, and for its inequality of style, and the Propaganda for its vulgarity and inelegancy of language." 3
In 1839 the preparation of a new Arabic version was commenced, by the direction of the Society,
under the superintendence of the Eev. C. Schlienz. The translation was executed by Mr. Fares, one of
the most learned Arabic scholars of the East, at Malta. He translated from the sacred originals, but
with constant recourse to numerous valuable MSS. collected for the purpose at the expense of the
Society. The proofs were sent for correction to scholars of eminence in London and the East. Finally,
the work was brought to London, and is now being completed under the supervision of Dr. Lee,
assisted by Dr. Mill and^Mr Cureton. A version of the New Testament in modern Arabic was printed
at Calcutta in 1816, designed principally for the learned and fastidious Mahommedans in all parts of
the world, who, it was thought, might have been repelled from the study of Scripture by the anti
quated style of former versions. This translation was made by a learned Arabian scholar, the unhappy

2 pL 1 ^ ,. ,!!, 8 V - l J P 5g % 3 Report of Foreign Translation Committee of Christian Knowledge

Researches in Syria and Palestine, p. 409. Society for 1838, p. 120 ; also the Report for 1839, pp. 158, 159

42 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS II.

Sabat, under the supervision of the Rev. S. M. Thomason. The lamented Henry Marty n was deeply
interested in Sabat, and the production of his version; but he did not live to see its completion. A
second edition was printed in London in 1825, under the care of Professor Lee ; and a third in
Calcutta, by the Eev. S. M. Thomason, in the following year : but the version has not been found
generally acceptable in countries where the language is vernacular, and it has not since been reprinted.

RESULTS or THE PROPAGATION or THE ARABIC VERSION. Wherever the Arabic language
prevails, there Mahommedanism is predominant ; but among the followers of the false prophet, the
Arabic version is gradually and silently effecting the purposes of God. Perhaps no one version of the
Scriptures has been received in so many countries, and blessed to so many different nations, as the
Arabic. In Western Africa, the natives on first receiving the copies sent to them by the British and
Foreign Bible Society, " were astonished that a white man should have written this book in their
favourite language." 1 The Rev. T. Dove, Missionary at Macarthy s Island, writing in 1835, expresses
his belief that many of the Arabic Bibles, Testaments, and Psalters, had been conveyed hundreds of
miles into the interior of Africa. 2 " I have seen (said the Rev. Mr. Richardson in 1838) Moors reading
our Bible in their shops in broad day, in the midst of business ; . . . I have fallen upon these Moors
by pure accident, and I have distributed many an Arabic Testament with my own hands among these
devotees of Mahomet." 3 " Even the sons of Kedar (says the Rev. Mr. Ewald) have heard the Gospel
sound beneath their tents, and have often and willingly bought the word of the living God." 4 In
Egypt, also, the Arabic Scriptures sent by the British and Foreign Bible Society were received with
equal readiness, as is attested by the Rev. W. Jowett, in his account of his Mission thither, dated 181 9. 5
In illustration of the results of the dissemination of the Scriptures in that country, the Rev. Mr. Kruse,
of the Church Missionary Society, writes from Cairo : " Some few Mahommedans are coming to me,
and in one or two I begin to hope the Scriptures are unfolding the true light. You will easily conceive
how thankful I feel when I hear a Mahommedan relating the history and doctrine of our Saviour.
One in particular evidences that he has a clear knowledge of the Scriptures, and I really believe that
he has received the truth as it is in Jesus." 6

Abdallah, an Arabian of noble birth, was converted from Islamism by the simple perusal
of the Bible. When his conversion became known, Abdallah, to escape the vengeance of his
countrymen, fled from Cabul in disguise, but was met and recognised at Bokhara by Sabat : Abdallah
perceiving his danger, threw himself at the feet of his friend, and besought him, by all the ties of
their former intimacy, to save his life. "But," said Sabat, " I had no pity ; I delivered him up to
Morad Shah, king of Bokhara." Abdallah was offered his life if he would abjure Christ, but he
refused. Then one of his hands was cut off, and a physician, by command of the king, offered to
heal the wound if he would recant. " He made no answer," said Sabat, " but looked up stedfastly
towards Heaven, like Stephen, the first Martyr, his eyes streaming with tears. He did not look with
anger towards me; he looked at me, but it was benignly, and with the countenance of forgiveness.
His other hand was then cut off. But," continued Sabat, " he never changed, he never changed. And when
he bowed his head to receive the blow of death, all Bokhara seemed to say, What new thing is this ?"

JUD^O-ARABIC ; OR, ARABIC IN HEBREW CHARACTERS.

THE Arabic Pentateuch, published by Erpenius at Leyden in 1622 was, as we have seen, printed in Hebrew characters. The
necessity of printing an edition of the Arabic New Testament in Hebrew characters was suggested to the Committee of the British
and Foreign Bible Society as early as 1820, by a clergyman then travelling in the East. Nothing, however, appears to have been
effected for the many thousand Jews in Egypt, Tunis, and the whole north of Africa, Yemen, Syria, and Mesopotamia (to whom
the Arabic is vernacular, but who seldom read or write except in their own characters), until 1846, when the Bombay Auxiliary
Bible Society commenced for their use an edition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. John, with the Acts of the Apostles, and
the Epistle to the Hebrews, under the superintendence of the Rev. Dr. Wilson of Bombay. As it was found impossible to carry on
this work in India, the parent Society undertook an edition of 2000 copies, which they completed and published in 1847. 7

1 Eleventh Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society. See Sixteenth Report, pp. 170175.

2 Thirty-first Report. 6 Forty-second Report.

3 Thirty-fourth Report. Forty-third Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 91 ;
&lt; Thirty-third Report. and Forty-fourth Report, p. 05.

MONGREBIN, AFRICAN OR MOORISH ARABIC.

SPECIMEN OF THE MONGREBIN VERSION, AND OF THE ORDINARY ARABIC SCRIPTURES, AS PUBLISHED BY

THE BIBLE SOCIETY. GENESIS, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 8.

MOORISH ARABIC.

ARABIC.

All! Jlij *

&lt;dJ1 J*c, * Ul, UN

ON THE MONGREBIN LANGUAGE AND VERSION.

AN attempt has very recently been made to produce a translation of the Scriptures in the Arabic dialect spoken in all the states of
Barbary. We have no exact statistical account of the amount of population to whom this idiom is vernacular. The Empire of
Morocco alone is said, by Jackson, to contain 14,000,000 inhabitants, while others estimate the population only at 5,000,000;
Dr. Thomson, writing in 1847, states that ten millions may be near the truth. Add to Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, and
also vast regions to the South of Morocco, and the whole amount of population to be reached by this dialect may perhaps be
estimated at from twenty to thirty millions. These millions of inhabitants are principally Moors ; they are Mahommedans, and
Dr. Thomson (the Agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society) says, that so far as the work of distributing the Scriptures is
concerned, they are not inaccessible.

After some difficulty arising from the religious scruples of the people, Dr. Thomson has succeeded in obtaining a translation of
a portion of the Koran into the vernacular dialect of Barbary ; the work was executed with much reluctance and hesitation by a
Moor, and under the express condition that the fact of his having rendered this assistance should be kept secret from his country
men. The object of this translation was, to enable the learned to form an accurate judgment concerning the idiomatic difference
between this modern Arabic dialect, and the Arabic of the Koran.

Dr. Thomson subsequently met with a Jew who, like all the other members of his race born in Barbary, spoke the vernacular
of the country, and who also possessed the ability, seldom attained by the Jews, of writing in the Arabic character. Dr. Thomson
employed him in translating the first three chapters of Genesis, and afterwards engaged him to produce a version of the entire
Book from the Hebrew, into African Arabic. 1 In a letter dated Tetuan, December 1847, Dr. Thomson applied to the Bible Society
for assistance in this undertaking, but it does not appear that his appeal has been successful.

1 A portion of this fragment is given above as a specimen, with the corresponding passage from the Arabic Scriptures, published by

the Bible Society.

CAESHUN.

SPECIMEN OF THIS EDITION OF THE ARABIC SCRIPTURES AS PUBLISHED BY THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN

BIBLE SOCIETY. ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

ocn

v )Lr&gt; en

_o Jcn

rnv^Vl^

U J J

cnjJcnJkJfcs JL^. Jcn

. *m). U^S ?QJ

cruacoj .
ocn A

cno^-^o ^.-Ss )bjL2s .
^ y&gt; JJo \ ^* ^JO pen rm\o . cnvi m

jy ^ - J cruflXaSso . CTL^S ^o JcOxo

cnL")LDO J^cnl. JLD

ohAH\&gt; ^-io JJo /&gt; *N

ON THE CARSHUN; OR, ARABIC VERSION IN SYRIAC CHARACTERS.

THE Carshun, or Arabic in Syriac characters, is used (chiefly by members of the Syrian Churches) in Mesopotamia as far as Bagdad,
in Mount Lebanon, at Aleppo, and in many other parts of Syria. It has been calculated that the number of individuals who speak
Arabic, but use the Syriac character, is about one million. A diglot edition of the New Testament, in which the Syriac Peshito
and the Carshun from the Arabic text of Erpenius, 1 were ranged in parallel columns, was published in 1703 at Rome, at the press
of the College de Propaganda Fide, for the use of the Maronite Christians. Dr. Pinkerton forwarded a copy of this edition from
Malta to the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1819. About eight years later, the Society undertook a new
edition, and there being no suitable type in England, it was printed at Paris. M. de Quatremere and the Baron de Sacy were the
editors. An edition of the Carshun alone, and another edition of the Syriac and Carshun, in parallel columns, had left the press
in 1828. 2

1 Hug s Introduction, Vol. I. p. 435.

- Twenty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 29.

ETHIOPIC. ,

SPECIMEN OF THE ETHIOPIC VEKSION,

PUBLISHED BY THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY IN 1830.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. r. 1 to 14.

= n^A- : P
1= : TPl : &lt;DH V}flA.lHli :

::&lt;DUA :
I* : ou
: : (DAA.IM1 :

: (D&gt;A.Ml-rt : ^-TCDVia.) :: (DA
: (D-A-R :

: i : (D
: AOA.1 :

ON THE ETHIOPIC OR GHEEZ LANGUAGE AND VERSION.

GEOGRAPHICAL PREDOMINANCE OF THE LANGUAGE. Ethiopia is called by the Abyssinians
Lisana Gheez or language of the kingdom, because it was anciently the only vernacular dialect of all
Abyssinia. About A.D. 1300, a family from the province of Amhara obtained possession of the
government, and since that period Amharic has been the language of the capital and the court, while
Ethiopia has become exclusively the ecclesiastical and written language of the country. As no
measurements or surveys have been taken of Abyssinia, it is difficult to estimate its precise extent.
It formed part of the ancient Ethiopia, and the Arabian geographers first distinguished it by the name
of Abyssinia (from Habesch, mixture or confusion), to indicate the supposed Arabic origin of the
inhabitants, and their subsequent mixture with African tribes. Abyssinia probably includes about
300,000 English square miles ; it stretches from 9 to 15 40 north latitude, and from 36 east longi
tude to the Red Sea. Its probable amount of population has been estimated, though with little
certainty, at 4,500,000.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The dialect of the Himyarite Arabs the
of Ptolemy, still spoken under the name of Ekhkili on the southern coast of Arabia, is the parent
dialect of the Ethiopic. Inscriptions in this ancient dialect, of which the characters bear a striking
resemblance to the Ethiopic, have been discovered in South Arabia, by Lieutenant Wellsted and
others. The Ethiopic possesses all the characteristics of a genuine Shemitic tongue. It has ten con
jugations of verbs, formed upon the same system as those of Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic. In each
conjugation there are two tenses, the preterite and the future ; there are two genders, masculine and
feminine, but no dual number. As might be expected from its origin, Ethiopic bears a close affinity
to Arabic. According to Gesenius, about one third of its roots and primitive words exist in Arabic,
and a large proportion of the remainder in the Hebrew, Chaldee, and Syriac. The Eunuch of Candace
reading the prophet Isaiah seems to establish this affinity of the Ethiopic with the Hebrew. Ludolf,

46 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS II.

who first made the Ethiopic language accurately known in Europe, says, that " it approaches nearest
the Arabic, of which it seems a kind of production, as being comprehended almost within the same
grammatical rules, the same forms of conjugations, the same forms of plurals, both entire and ano
malous;" and he adds, that whoever understands Arabic, may with little labour acquire the Ethiopic.
Unlike all other Shemitic languages, Ethiopic and its cognate dialects are written in the European
mode, from left to right. There are twenty-six consonants and seven vowel sounds ; but the vowels
instead of being denoted, as in Hebrew and Arabic, by points above and below the lines, are indicated
as in Sanscrit by changes in the form of consonants; so that a single letter in Ethiopic and Sanscrit
is equivalent to an entire syllable.

ETHIOPIC VERSIONS OF SCRIPTURE. A very ancient Ethiopic version of the entire Scrip
tures mentioned by Chrysostom in his second homily on John, 1 is still extant, but when or by whom
executed is unknown. It certainly was not produced later than the fourth century. By some it is
attributed to Frumentius, who about the .year 330 preached Christianity in Abyssinia, and was
ordained Bishop of the country by Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria, whence perhaps the depend
ence, still subsisting, of the Church of Abyssinia on that of Egypt. In this version the books of
the Old Testament appear to have been mainly translated from the Septuagint ; in the Gospels,
the translator seems to have availed himself of various MSS., and some peculiar readings occur :
considered as a whole, however, this version may be said to correspond pretty closely with the
Alexandrine family of MSS., as might, indeed, have been expected from the proximity of the
countries and the connection between the two churches ; for the Coptic Patriarch of Egypt is the head
of the Abyssinian Church, and the Abuna or resident Bishop of Abyssinia is always appointed by him.
The Epistles and Book of Eevelation belonging to this version are unhappily very paraphrastic ; in
other respects the Ethiopic New Testament is of considerable use in biblical criticism, as it shows the
state of the text at a very early period. The entire Ethiopic Bible has never yet been printed. The
Psalter, through some mistake erroneously entitled a Chaldee Psalter, was published by John Potken
at Eome in 1513 ; and again, in 1657, it appeared in the London Polyglot with various readings and
notes by Dr. Edmund Castell. In 1701 another edition of the Psalter was edited by Ludolph, the
celebrated Ethiopic scholar. In 1548 the New Testament in Ethiopic was printed for the first time
at Rome, by some Abyssinian Priests. This edition, afterwards reprinted in the London Polyglot, is
very inaccurate ; the MSS. used on the occasion were old and mutilated, and the editors filled up the
chasms that occurred in the text by translating from the Vulgate. The subject of printing this ancient
version, was first brought before the Bible Society by a communication transmitted through the Edin
burgh Bible Society, from the Rev. George Paxton of Edinburgh, concerning the spiritual state of the
Abyssinians, and the scarcity of copies of Scripture among them. The British and Foreign Bible
Society accordingly, in 1815, gave an edition of the Psalter, accurately printed from Ludolf s edition,
to Abyssinia ; and as no correct printed edition had been ever issued of the New Testament, strenuous
efforts were made to obtain authentic MSS. The only Ethiopic MS. of importance at that period
easily accessible in England was a MS. of the Gospel of St. John brought fiom India by Dr. Buchanan,
and deposited at Cambridge. This was found in collation to differ from the printed copy in almost
every verse, and its readings were evidently more accurate than those of the printed edition. With
the view of inspecting other MSS., Mr. Thomas Pell Platt visited Paris in 1822, and collated the
valuable MSS. belonging to the Royal Society, 2 and in 1826, the Four Gospels were completed under
his editorial care. They were printed from a fount of types cast at the expense of the Bible Society,
from the matrices which had been presented by Ludolph in 1700 to the Frankfort Library. The
entire New Testament was published in 1830. In this edition no one MS. was exclusively followed.
The plan adopted by the editor, Mr. Platt, was, as he himself informs us, first to prepare a correct
copy from a MS. of undoubted value, leaving considerable space between the lines ; other MSS. were
then carefully collated with the copy, and every variety of reading that occurred was inserted in the
space left for the purpose, beneath the corresponding words of the copy. Afterwards, these readings
were subjected to a rigid examination ; the reading which afforded the strongest marks of being
genuine was retained, and the others were expunged. We are indebted to the Abyssinian Church, not
only for the ancient and valuable version of Scripture just described, but also for a curious apocryphal
writing called the Book of Enoch, which has been found in no other Church ; its date and origin are
unknown, it is by some supposed to be the book quoted in Jude 14, and although it has no claim

1 Micheelis, Vol. I. p. 602. 2 T. P. Platt s Catalogue of the Ethiopic Biblical MSS., p. 4.

SHEMITIC LANGUAGES.] T I G R, E . 47

whatever to be placed among the Books of Scripture, it has excited much interest on account of its
great antiquity. 1

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. From the peculiar character of the
Abyssinians, and the strange mixture of Christianity, popery and heathenism that prevails among
them, few visible effects have as yet resulted from the multiplication of the Ethiopic Scriptures. The
Scriptures have indeed been received with joy, yet little can be said as to any permanent change
resulting from their perusal. " One day," said the devoted Missionary, Mr. Gobat (now Bishop of
Jerusalem), " I am all joy with the hope that in a short time the Abyssinian mission will be crowned
with glorious success ; the following day I am cast down to the very dust by the idea that all attempts
will be useless: for the Abyssinians very generally yield to the truth, but it is only for a while ; they
cannot make up their minds to quit so much as one of their customs." Thus faith is tried for a
time ; yet the promise is sure, that God s word shall not return to Him void, and the day perhaps is
near when " Ethiopia will stretch out her arms unto God."

T I G R E.

SPECIMEN OF THE TIGRE VERSION, BY MR. PEARCE, COPIED FROM THE APPENDIX TO A CATALOGUE OF
ETHIOPIC BIBLICAL MSS., BY THOMAS PELL PLATT, ESQ.. ST. MARK, CHAP. ix. 9 to 15.

Wer enter worred horn ker el ambar, hu mucker horn inder hi negger er sevvi zer
reiyer horn negger, shar el Wod der sevvi tennessar ker el mote. 10 Wer haz horn zer
negger ov wost horn enter tiock hadda mis hadda munte marlet el tennessar ker el mote.
1 Wer tiock hu horn, Ber negger munte zer bel el sarfe tar Elias mussea fellermer. 12 Wer
hu mellash wer negger horn, Elias be ack zer mussea fellermer wer hu melless coulu
negger f iccar, wor comha zer ter sarf ov el Wod der sevvi ender hu carl buze er neo-o-er

?D o

wer sedded hu be yelhem yeavila. l3 Mai ane zer bel kar, Elias be Ack artou f artehu,
wer gewer horn zer delleyea ov hum com zu ter sarf ov hum. 14 Wer shar enter mussea
ov ariot hum, hu reiyer avviea mergavier cubhe horn, wer el sarfctart enter tiock mis horn.
5 Wer shar shar coulu souart, shar enter reiyer horn ler hum ter gurrem horn, wer weiyer
ov hum ignersar f idnersar hum.

t A term synonymous, or differing in orthography.

ON THE TIGRE VERSION.

IN connection with the Ethiopic version of Scripture, that in Tigre requires consideration, for Tigre is little else than vulgar
Ethiopic. The province of Tigre is the most important of the three divisions (Tigre, Amhara, and Showa) of Abyssinia. It
lies directly west of Amhara, from which it is separated by the Tacazze, one of the larger branches of the Nile. It has the
form of an irregular trapezium, and comprises about four degrees of latitude, and so many of longitude. During Mr. Jowett s
residence in Egypt, in 1819, he superintended a translation of part of the New Testament into the vernacular of this extensive
province. The person whom he employed to effect this translation, was an Englishman, named Nathanael Pearce, a man of most
eccentric character, but of extraordinary attainments in the dialects of the country. He had acquired varied and extensive information
by constant wanderings through various countries ; he had roamed through Russia and China ; he had lived as a Mussulman in Arabia,
and afterwards, for fourteen years, had resided as a Christian and a warrior in Abyssinia. 2 He translated Mark and John ; but as,
owing to his restless habits, he had never acquired skill in writing the Ethiopic character, he was consequently obliged to write his
translation in Roman characters. The orthography he regulated by his ear, spelling every word according to the sound, just as he
would have done in English. His MS. is in the possession of the British and Foreign Bible Society ; it has never been published,
and its comparative value is still unascertained. In 1831, part of Luke was translated by Mr. Kugler, a Missionary of the Church
Missionary Society, and on his death the work was continued by Mr. Isenberg of the same Society. Competent native assistance
was obtained, but it does not appear that any part of this version has been committed to the press. The natives employed in this
work translated from the Ethiopic Scriptures, and their translation was afterwards revised and corrected by the Missionaries from
the Greek original.

1 See the English translation of this book by Dr. Laurence, Oxford, 1838. 2 Missionary Register for 1819, p. 366.

AMH ARIC.

SPECIMEN OF THE AMHAKIC VERSION,

PUBLISHED BY THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY IN 1842.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. I to 14.

" U-A- : flCjff : ITl
U-A- ::

: f|ao-go :

: : "^C^ : -nC*n : ?\

: U-A- : P

:: (Dg : O)ir*P :

U-A- : Tl : flA^lT : | t l"i : ra&gt; : P ^ lH^ fl^C : ^ : JSlft : HlJ^ " Hfl

^,p90|. ::TnK9" : CDT1 : J?^A- : YlA"^ : d.^.R-g
VIC : n : Yl&gt;u a lH.^ nfh.C - TCDAK, :: ^A9 : ^"^ : ITl
9 : API :

GEOGRAPHICAL PKEDOMINANCE OF THE LANGUAGE. Amharic is properly only the vernacular
dialect of Amhara, a division or kingdom of Abyssinia lying west of ^the Tacazze, and measuring
about 112 miles from east to west, by forty in breadth. From the circumstance, however, of its
being the language of Gondar the capital, and the native dialect of the reigning family, Amharic pre
dominates far beyond the limits of Amhara, and by its aid a traveller can make himself understood
throughout Abyssinia. Amharic is also extensively used as a medium of intercourse with negro and
other tribes from the interior of Africa, who frequent the north of that continent.

CHARACTERISTICS or THE LANGUAGE. Amharic is a degenerated Shemitic^ language, having
to all appearance lost many of its original characteristics by admixture with African dialects. In
grammatical structure it varies considerably from the Ethiopic, but above half the words are still the
same in both languages. The Ethiopic alphabet is used in writing Amharic, but seven additional
consonants have been adopted to represent the compound Amharic consonants.

AMHARIC VERSION OF SCRIPTURE. The earliest attempts to translate portions of Scripture
into Amharic were made by the Romish Missionaries, but the date and comparative ^ value of their
productions are unknown, for the MSS. have never been seen in Europe, neither is it now known
what has become of them. The Gospel of Mark was translated by Mr. Pearce, under the superinten
dence of the Rev. Mr. Jowett, and this MS., written in Roman characters, is now in the possession of
the British and Foreign Bible Society. An Amharic version of the entire Scriptures, which has
superseded all others, was commenced about 1810 by M. Asselin de Cherville, French Consul at Cairo.

SHEMITIC LANGUAGES.] A M H A R I C .

After many fruitless inquiries for a person competent to aid him in the acquisition of the language,
he was providentially directed to an old man named Abu Kumi, whom he eventually engaged to
translate the Scriptures. " Imagine," said M. Asselin, " my surprise in finding in this poor old man
a person master of the literature of his country; a traveller who had penetrated the most remote
regions of Asia; the instructor of Bruce and of Sir William Jones." Abu Kumi was well qualified
for the work of translation by his acquaintance with Arabic, Greek, Persian, and several other lan
guages besides his own. He executed his version under the immediate direction of M. Asselin- twice
a week, dunng a period of ten years, they secluded themselves from all other occupations, and read
together the Arabic version from which the translation was to be made. M. Asselin explained such
terms as were abstruse, difficult, or foreign to the Arabic by reference to the original text, the Syriac
version, the Septuagint, and various glossaries, but Abu Rumi also often found the key to them in the
Ethiopic ; itself. In the early portions of the work, M. Asselin declared that he had often occasion to
admire the patience of his aged companion. But when they came to the Epistles of Paul, Abu Rumi s
zeal began to cool, the difficulty of the task frightened him, he wanted to set off for Jerusalem, and it was
only by dint of time, care, and sacrifices, that M. Asselin convinced him of the necessity of not leaving
toe work imperfect. 1 It may not be uninteresting to mention that this poor old man immediately on
the completion of his work, executed his favourite project of visiting Jerusalem, and was cut off by
the plague soon after his arrival. The version was sold by M. Asselin to the British and Foreign
Bible Society. The Rev. Mr. Jowett was employed by the Society in carrying on the negociation
and in 1820 he undertook a journey from Malta to Cairo to effect the purchase. The purchase money
.1250. _ Ihe MS. was brought to England in 1821, and was read with much approbation by
those acquainted with the language. Dr. Lee, in a letter addressed to the Bible Committee, dated
1822, says, the work appears to have been executed with uncommon ability and accuracy "There
is no attempt whatever to display the learning of the translator by any of that verbiage so common
) ail the languages 01 the East, but all is precise, easy, and natural." In 1824 the Gospels were
carried through the press by Dr. Lee, Mr. Jowett, and Mr. Platt, and in 1829 the entire Amharic
lestament was completed. In 1840 the Old Testament was published, and in 1842, an edition of the
whole Scriptures. _ In superintending the printing of these editions, Mr. Platt carefully compared Abu
Kumi s edition &gt;W ith the original Greek and Hebrew, and inserted such corrections as seemed indis
pensably requisite, leaving a more complete revision for a future opportunity. A second edition of
the Pentateuch was afterwards printed, in which, with the assistance of the Rev. C. Isenberg, formerly
a Missionary in Abyssinia, such a revision was to a great extent accomplished.

m RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. There are more impediments to the
saving influence of the Scriptures in this nominally Christian land, than in many idolatrous countries
Ihe moral and mental condition of the people is deplorable. Polygamy prevails to a considerable
extent and they are the victims of many degrading superstitions. All afflictions they attribute to the
immediate influence of devils and of witchcraft. The life of Mr. Gobat was once nearly sacrificed by
the prevalence of these superstitious notions; he was ill, and those among whom he laboured, and who
were sincerely attached to him, instead of giving him assistance, crowded round him, some holding
i hands, others his feet, while one amongst them was engaged in thrusting into his ears, mouth, and
nostrils, nauseous substances which they called medicines. Yet the Abyssinians have not been found
unwilling to confess the absurdity of their opinions when confronted with the light of Scriptural truth.
I hey invariably bow to the authority of Scripture. On one occasion, a monk went to the Missionaries
with a very self righteous air, but apparently very ill. The account he gave of himself was as follows :
.Being the son of a Governor, he said, and somewhat at ease, I lived many years in sin At
length, my conscience was awakened, and I began to fear the wrath of God. My agony and terror
increased continually; and I did not know what to do;" (for he dared not to call on the name of the
Lord, having never heard of the way of salvation by the merits of Christ), "at last, I determined to
leave secretly my wife and my children and all that I had; and to retire into a wilderness which was
inhabited only by wild beasts. There I lived many months upon roots, taking only iust as much as
was necessary to keep me alive. As I could find no peace for my heart, I determined to stand in a
river of cold water from sunset to sunrise; which I did for a long time. I next bound my ankles so
fast with a chain that I have ever since been unable to walk without very great pain. Finally, I
d a number of stripes every day on my body, the source of my sins, tiU it was covered all over

1 See M. Asselin s Letters t o Committee of Bible Society.

THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS II.

with putrifying wounds. This, he added, has ruined my health; but I console myself with the idea
Tat I lave dinl all this for God s sake." When Mr. Gobat told him that all those self-inflicted
suffering vet the result of ignorance and pride, and therefore smful-and that it was altogether
Se to find true relief by means of any expedient of that kind-he trembled for fear ; but when
i saL from the Epistles of Paul and other parts of Scripture were repeated to him which
S he ift of God the oor

he afterwards said o ^^^^^ e j have been go ing aboutffor some time, exhorting
prpleTuteTt^ Bu nCl wiU read^Gospel, and seekjor fhe way of salvation in the Word
of God There are many other instances of the readiness with which the Abyssimans receive the
testimony of Scripture. Mr. Gobat, by whom the foregoing narrative is recorded, says that when he
^fS to Sute copies of the vernacular Scriptures among the people they evinced little

es re toTeceive 4em, being afraid of being deceived. By placing some copies for distribution in the
hands of SeTrie to, these suspicions were removed, and people immediately came, earnestly requesting
to be furnished with the Word of God. If," continues Mr. Gobat, I had had some thousands of
New Sments, I could have distributed them to eager readers I know some instances where

Sons havTgiven all their property in order to purchase a copy of the New Testament: one man
So had T two g oxen gave them for a copy of the Four Gospels; and another man gave four oxen in
exchange for the Four Gospels."

CLASS IIL-INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.

A. MEDO-PERSIAN FAMILY.

PERSIAN.

SPECIMEN OF THE PERSIC VERSION,

BY HENRY MARTYN, 8vo.
PUBLISHED BY THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCDZTY IN 1846.

ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

L5*

ON THE PERSIC LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The kingdom of Iran or Persia Proper lies between 39 and 26
north latitude, and 44 and 62 east longitude. Its inhabitants are divided into two distinct classes,
the Taujiks or aboriginal inhabitants of the country ( whose number has been estimated by Eraser at
about 7,000,000), and the Ilyats or Eilauts, a collective name given to the nomadic tribes by whom a
considerable part of Persia is occupied. Of these tribes some are of Persian and others of Turkish,
Mongolian, AfFghan, and Arabic origin; the languages spoken in Persia are therefore as numerous as
the races by whom it is peopled. Turkish is predominant in the northern and western provinces,

52 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

although the natives are likewise acquainted with Persic. The Rev. H. Southgate, _an American
Missionary, remarked that in his travels through these provinces he never once found it necessary -to
resort to Persian in his conversations with the people. The Taujiks, whose vernacular is invariably
Persic, form the main population of Fars, and of almost all the towns of Persia^ Bu the Persian
language is predominant far beyond the regions of Persia Proper. In India it is spoken at all the
Mahommedan courts; and it is, or was till very recently, the language adopted by the British Govern
ment in all judicial proceedings throughout Hindoostan. It is the vernacular language _ of the ancient
Transoxiana and indeed of the whole of Turkistan, now subject to the Usbec Tartars; in this country
the Tauiiks possess four independent governments in which pure Persic is spoken. _ Generally speak-
inn- however, the Tauiiks do not dwell together in corporate societies like other nations, but disperse
themselves over the regions adjacent to their native land, and adopt the dress and customs of the
dominant race in the countries in which they sojourn. They are said to be scattered as far as Thibet,
and to have been met with in Chinese Turkistan. In Afghanistan they have been calculated by
Elphinstone to number 1,500,000, and the Cohistan of Caubul is occupied almost solely by them.
The reli-ion of the Taujiks is Mahommedanism ; but Soofeeism or free thinking, a species f infidelity
akin to tie rationalism of Germany, is extremely prevalent among them. There are also about 2 30C
families of Guebres or fire-worshippers in Persia, and on the western coast of India there are about
200,000 individuals belonging to this ancient sect. These Guebres or Parsees of India now form one oi
the most valuable classes of the subjects of Britain; 1 their ancestors are believed to have fled thither
when Persia fell under the Mahommedan yoke, and the books and sacred fire which they brough
them are still religiously preserved.

CHARACTERISTICS or THE LANGUAGE. The origin of the Persic language dates from the
invasion of the Arabs in the seventh century. Prior to that period various idioms prevailed through
out the Persian empire, of which the principal were the Pehlvi, the Farsi or Parsi and he Deri The
Pehlvi rude and masculine in structure, was closely allied to Chaldee and was the dialect of Media
properly so called, while the Farsi or Parsi was the language of Persia Proper and its sub-dialect the
Deri was the polished idiom of the court. Modern Persic was gradually formed during the long
dominion of the Saracens in Persia, by admixture of the Parsi and Deri element s with the ^guage of
the conquerors. But the primitive type of the whole Persian family is undoubtedly ^ Zend an-
ffuacre belonging to the same stem as the Sanscrit. Concerning the period during which this ancient
tongue was vernacular, history is silent ; but it appears to have been the language of Zoroaster and c
theMagi, and to have been once predominant in the west of India among the worshippers of the Sum
Modern Persic, although greatly adulterated with other languages, still retain* abundant evidence of
its descent from the Zend" The numerous and important points of affinity which united the Zend
with the Sanscrit, are not all obliterated in Persic. AU the Indian words which occur in Persic are,
however, characterised by their abbreviated form, and it is rare in this language to meet with an un-
mutilated Sanscrit term/for the final letters are generally cut off, and words of two syllable reducec
To one. 2 The Persic, like its parent the Zend, is more allied than any of the other Asiatic languages
to the Germanic family; in fact, the entire fabric of the etymology of German and its Agnate dialects
s based upon the Persic. Of the 12,000 radical words composing the Persian language, 4 000 are
found with more or less change in the Germanic dialects, and a striking conformity prevails even in the
inflections of these language! The termination of the infinitive of _ verbs in the Persic is ten and
den the en of the German^and the of the Greek. The termination of the plural m Persic for
men and animated beings is the syllable ,, corresponding with the plural termination n of ^German.
Comparatives are formed in Persic as in German by the addition of the syllable ter or er ; fox ^msta
the Persian adjective signifying good, in the comparative forms hhter, m German lesser, and in Enghsfa
tetter. The pronouns aid numerals in German and in Persic are also etymologically connected. With
respect to the&gt;rsonal terminations of the verbs, the Persic sometimes follows the German sometimes
the Sanscrit, and sometimes the Greek or Latin forms The future tense ^^^^^fT
the aid of an auxiliary, and the passive is formed according to the same analogy, by placing the ^ pas
participle of the active verb before the different tenses and modes of an auxiliary 4
L Persic with the other members of the great Indo-European class of languages **^^*
in the particles of composition. The Persian a represents the Greek privative a; and Jon Hammer
has not hesitated to say that this same particle also occasionally corresponds in meaning witJ

s Nouveau Journal Asiatique, Vol. XII., pp. 27, 28.

1 Martin s British Colonies, Vol. I. p. 443. Ihraheem s Grammar of the Persian Language, p. 48.

2 Schlegel, Langue et Philosophic ties Indiens, pp. 2123.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] PERSIC. 53

particles a-rro and eVt, and the German an, ab and auf. The Persian ba, he says, is the German bey
and English by. The particle pes in Persic he considers equivalent to post in Latin, and the Persian
negative particles ne and me^ equivalent to the Latin ne and the Greek /AT). Persic also resembles
Greek, German, and English in its power of compounding words; and in the variety and elegance of
its compound adjectives it is said even to surpass these languages. The Persian adjectives are com
pounded in three ways; by placing a substantive before a contracted particle, by prefixing an adjective
to a substantive; and, lastly, by adding one substantive to another. The combinations produced
according to these three forms are exceedingly numerous, and sometimes highly poetical: they are
often used, especially in the plural number, as substantives without any noun being employed, and so
melodious are they accounted by the Persian poets, that an entire distich is frequently filled with them. 1
The great beauty of the Persian language consists in its extreme simplicity; its style of phrase
ology ^ is natural and easy, and capable of being reduced to few rules. In this simplicity of construc
tion^ in harmony of sound, in facility of versification, and in consequent adaptation for poetry, the
Persian resembles the Italian. It has been said that the crown of Persian literature is its poetry; the
same perhaps is true of the Italian ; and in connection with the several points of resemblance between
these two languages, both in regard to their present development and to their origin and early history,
it is rather a striking fact, and a subject for inquiry to a psychologist, that a remarkable similarity of
sentiment and imagery pervades the works of Persian and Italian poets. This similarity has been
repeatedly pointed out, and the sonnets of Petrarch have been compared to those of Sadi. 2 Another
prominent feature of the Persian language is its intimate admixture with Arabic words and idioms.
Turkish words also occur in Persic, but scarcely a line or sentence is to be met with free from some
words either purely Arabic, or of Arabic origin. 3 The peculiar forms of the plural called broken,
imperfect, or irregular plurals, which characterise the Arabic and Ethiopia languages, are borrowed by
the Persic; and Arabic syntax is sedulously studied by all who desire to write the Persian language
with correctness.

ALPHABETICAL SYSTEM. The primitive alphabetical system of the Persian empire seems to
have consisted of a peculiar set of characters called from their form arrow-headed, and cuneiform or
wedge-shaped. Specimens of these characters have been found in ancient inscriptions on monuments
of stone, and sometimes on bricks at Persepolis, and in the west of Persia. The efforts that have been
made of late years in the study of the Zend, have tended to facilitate the decyphering of these inscrip
tions, the language in which they are written being an ancient and long extinct idiom closely con
nected with the Zend. The Persians, since the time of the Saracen conquest, have used the Arabic
letters, which^ they write, like the Arabs, from right to left. Their alphabet consists of thirty-two
characters, of which four are peculiar to their language: on the other hand, eight of the Arabic
characters have no corresponding sound in Persian; for instance, the th of the Arabs is pronounced like
5 in Persia, 4 just as the Polish Jews pronounce n: these eight letters are nevertheless retained in Per
sian writings, and are useful in showing the derivation of words, for they are seldom or never found in
any word not purely Arabic.

VERSIONS OF SCRIPTURE. An ancient version of the Scriptures existed in the language
formerly spoken in the Persian empire ; but of this version, and even of the particular dialect in which
it was written, we_ have little or no information beyond the casual allusions of Chrysostom and
Theodoret. 5 Christianity was early established in Persia, for Constantino the Great wrote to Sapor,
king of that country, in behalf of the Christian churches in his dominions. The Elamites present
on the day of Pentecost doubtless carried back the Christian doctrine with them, and we are assured
of a _ bishop of Persia being at the Council of Nice. The oldest version existing in the modern
Persian language _is probably that of the Pentateuch contained in the London Polyglot. This
Pentateuch is believed to have been translated by Rabbi Jacob, a Jew, who, on account of his
having come from a city called Tus, was surnamed Tusius or Tawosus. The period of its execution
is unknown, but it certainly was translated subsequently to the eighth century, for Babel in Gen.
10. 10, is rendered Bagdad. The translation is supposed to have been made from the Syriac, but
it follows the Hebrew pretty closely. It was first printed at Constantinople in 1546, accompanied
with the Hebrew text, the Chaldee Targum of Onkelos, and the Arabic version of Saadias Gaon. 6

1 Sir William Jones s Grammar of the Persian Language, p. 102. Sir William Jones s Grammar of the Persian Language, p. 24.

iseley s Persian Miscellanies, Introduction, p. xxi. s Chrysos. Horn. II. in Johan. and Theod. IV. 555.

* ibraheem s Grammar of the Persian Language, p. 241. G Waltoni Prol. xvi. 7, 9.

54 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

The only other portion of Persian Scriptures contained in the London Polyglot consists of the four
Gospels, supposed to have been written at Caffa, a town of the Crimea, about A.D. 1341, by a Koman
Catholic. This translation is evidently from the Peshito, as is proved by many internal evidences, but
it is interpolated with readings from the Vulgate, and even from Komish rituals and legends. If it
had been free from these glosses and additions, it would have furnished valuable aid in the criticism of
the Peshito. 1 Another edition of the Persian Gospels was commenced under the care of Wheeloc,
Professor of Arabic at Cambridge, and at his death superintended by Pierson. This edition left the
press in 1657. The editors used the very MS. from which the Gospels in the London Polyglot were
printed; and although they possessed two other MSS., of which one is supposed to have contained
a version from the Greek, yet they confounded them altogether, and appealed to the Syro- Persian text
in the formation of their own. 2 Le Long speaks of another version of the Persian Gospels, which he
says was transcribed in 1388, from an original of much older date, and sent by Jerome Xavier, a
Jesuit, from Agra to the Collegium Romanum. 3 Yet it is recorded of this same Xavier that at
the request of Akbar, Emperor of the Moguls, to be furnished with the Scriptures in Persian, he
merely feigned compliance, and with the aid of a Persian compiled a life of Christ, partly from the
Gospels, and partly from Romish legends, which, when presented to the Emperor, only served to excite
derision. This production was printed by De Dieu, at Leyden, in 1639. The next attempt to procure a
version of the Scriptures in Persian was made by Nadir Shah. This Emperor was desirous of pro
curing a translation of the Gospels, the Psalms, and the prophecies of Jeremiah, on account of the
references made in the Koran to the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, and with this view he summoned
several Armenian bishops and priests, Romish missionaries, and Persian Mullahs, to Ispahan. The
Armenians, from their imperfect acquaintance with the Persian language, were unable to take any
efficient part in the translation, the whole of which, in consequence, devolved upon the Romish and
Mahommedan priests : between them they effected their work by the aid of an ancient Arabic and
other versions, but it was dressed up with all the glosses which the Koran could warrant, and the
Romish priests made such use as they could of the Vulgate. 4 When the work was presented to Nadir
Shah, he turned it into ridicule, and declared that he could himself make a better religion than any
that had yet been produced. If this story be true, the version sometimes found in the hands of the
Armenian priests in India may be safely conjectured to be the same as that of Nadir: a copy of this
version was shown to the Rev. Henry Martyn, who remarked that he did not wonder at the Emperor s
contempt of it.

As the style in which the Gospels of the Polyglot are written has long been antiquated at
Ispahan, several efforts have been made during the present century to produce a version in the polished
dialect now spoken by the Persians. A translation of the four Gospels was made -under the superinten
dence of Colonel Colebrooke, and printed at Calcutta in 1804. 5 Our accounts of this work are very
meagre, and it never seems to have obtained much circulation. In 1812 the Rev. L. Sebastiani had
advanced nearly to the end of the Epistles, in a translation of the New Testament from the Greek, 6
and during the same year 1000 copies of the Gospels of this version were printed at Serampore by
order of the Calcutta Auxiliary Bible Society. Sebastiani had been many years resident at the Court
of Persia, and his version was chiefly designed for the use of the Christians dispersed in Persia. In
the meantime another translation of the whole of the New Testament had been progressing at Dina-
pore, in the East Indies, under the superintendence of the Rev. Henry Martyn. The translators were
Sabat and Mirza Fitrut: the former had previously been employed in this translation at Serampore,
and the latter by Colonel Colebrooke. This version was completed in 1808, but it was found to be so
replete with Arabic and abstruse terms intelligible only to the learned, that the Rev. Henry Martyn
determined upon visiting Persia in person, that he might there obtain the means of producing a clear
and idiomatic version. In 1811 he reached Shiraz, the seat of Persian literature, and remained there
nearlv a year. He was received with much friendship by some of the principal men of the city, who
expressed the warmest sympathy for the man of God, as they habitually designated our Missionary.
When the weather became too intense for his enfeebled frame to bear the extreme heat of the city,
Jaffier Ali Khan, a Persian noble, pitched a tent for him in a delightful garden beyond the wall, and
here he executed from the original Greek a translation of the New Testament, remarkable not only for
its strict fidelity to the text, but for its astonishing conformity to the niceties of the Persic idiom. By
the Persians themselves this work has been designated " a masterpiece of perfection ;" and while other

1 Hug s Introduction, Vol. I. p. 349.

2 Hug s Introduction, Vol. I. p. 350.
s Le Lon Biblioth. Sacra, Vol. I. p

Hug s Introduction, Vol. I. p. 350. 3 Marsn s History or iransiauons, p. //.

Le Long, Biblioth. Sacra, Vol. I. p. 133. 6 Eighth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 13.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] PERSIC. 55

Oriental versions have been superseded by more accurate translations, the Persic and Hindoostanee
Testaments of this accomplished scholar are at this day in higher repute than ever. 1 On the accom
plishment of his object, he found that his constitution had been completely shattered by the effects of the
climate and extreme exertion, and he attempted to return to England, but expired during his journey home
wards at Tocat, a commercial emporium of Asiatic Turkey, in 1812. 2 Copies of the work which had
caused the sacrifice of his valuable life were deposited with Sir Gore Ouseley, the English Ambassador in
Persia. One copy was presented to the King of Persia, who, in a letter written on the occasion, expressed
his approbation of the work. On returning to England, by way of St. Petersburgh, Sir Gore Ouseley met
with Prince Galitzin, and it was suggested that the Prince, who was the head of the Eussian Bible
Society, should cause an edition of Martyn s Testament to be printed at St. Petersburgh, for circula
tion in the provinces of Western Persia. The impression was completed in less than six months, and
consisted of 5000 copies. 3 In 1813 a communication was received by the Corresponding Committee
at Calcutta from Meer Seid Ali, the learned native employed by the Rev. Henry Martyn at Shiraz, in
which, with many expressions of regret for the loss of his excellent master, he informed the Committee
that the MS. of the Persian New Testament and of the Psalms (which had likewise been translated at
Shiraz) was in his possession, and that he waited their orders as to its disposal. He was directed by
the Committee first to take four correct copies of the MS., that no risk might be incurred in the trans
mission of so great a treasure, and then to forward the MS. to Calcutta, whither he was invited him
self for the purpose of superintending the publication. 4 The Psalter and New Testament passed
through the press at Calcutta in 1816. The Psalter was reprinted in London under the editorship of
Dr. Lee in 1824; and the New Testament, edited by the same distinguished scholar, was published in
London in 1827. This Testament was reprinted in London in 1837, and an edition of 3000 copies
was printed at Edinburgh in 1847, at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society, 5
in order to accompany an edition of the Old Testament, which, as we shall presently have occa
sion to mention, was then passing through the press in that city. Of all these editions of
Martyn s Testament, the most incorrect seems to have been that printed at St. Petersburgh in
1815. This impression was so defaced with errors that the Missionaries deemed it useless, and at
their ^ request the issue was stopped by the Russian Bible Society. The Rev. William Glen, of the
Scottish Mission at Astrachan, was in consequence led to undertake a version of the Psalms in
Persian for the benefit of the numerous individuals speaking that language who resort for purposes of
trade to Astrachan and the South of Russia. In preparing his version, Mr. Glen first made a literal
translation of the Hebrew text, which he submitted with due explanations to his teacher; it was then
the office of the latter to give as exact a representation of the sense as possible in classical Persian ; his
production was then revised and compared with the original by Mr. Glen. 6 In 1826 the Committee
of the British and Foreign Bible Society made arrangements with the Scottish Missionary Society for
the services of Mr. Glen at Astrachan, in making a translation of the poetical and prophetical books of
the Old Testament. In the meanwhile, Mirza Jaffier had been engaged by the same Society to pro
duce a version of the historical books of the Old Testament at St. Petersburgh, 7 under the eye of
Dr. Pinkcrton, and according to specific directions sent out for the purpose by Dr. Lee. The only
portion of Mirza JafEer s version which appears to have been published, is the book of Genesis, printed
in London in 1827, under the care of Dr. Lee. Mr. Glen s version of the Psalms and Proverbs was
revised by Mr. Greenfield, assisted by Mr. Seddon, and published in London in 1830, 31; the edition
consisted of 1000 copies, 8 and another edition appeared in 1836. The entire Old Testament, trans
lated by Mr. Glen, was eventually printed at Edinburgh, under the auspices of the Committee of
Foreign Missions connected with the United Associate Synod of Scotland, and the British and Foreign
Bible Society contributed 500 towards its publication; the edition left the press in 1847. 9

In consequence of a grant by the British and Foreign Bible Society in aid of the translation
department of Bishop s College, Calcutta, the Rev. T. Robinson (then Chaplain at Poonah, but after
wards Archdeacon) applied for the sanction of the Bishop of Calcutta to a projected version of the Old
Testament in Persian, and on its being ascertained that the design fell within the terms of the grant,
the translation was commenced in 1824. 10 The Pentateuch was completed and printed at Calcutta in
1830, and in 1838 the entire Old Testament was finished ; the translation is from the original text,
and is accounted faithful and accurate. A Persian version of the prophecy of Isaiah was purchased

&gt; Missionary Register for 1822, p. 45. e Henderson s Biblical Researches in Russia, pp. 429, 430.

Iistory of the British and F. Bible Society, Vol. II. p. 265. Twenty-third Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xlviii.

Uwen s History of the British and F. Bible Society, Vol. IJ. p. 41. 8 Twenty-seventh Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 9;.

sventh Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 38. 9 Missionary Register for 1847, P- "2.

torty-third Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixxxviii. "&gt; Twentieth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. lii.

THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

by the British and Foreign Bible Society for the sum of 100 in 1833. This version had been ex
ecuted by the Mirza Ibraham of the East India College at Haileybury, and revised by Mr. Johnson,
one of the Professors of that College. The translator took the English Authorised Version for a basis,
and adhered to it as far as it expresses faithfully the sense _of the original. Being well acquainted
with both Hebrew and Arabic, he made it a rule to use in his translation an Arabic word of the same
root with the original, where such a word had been adopted into Persian; and in rendering the sense
of difficult passages, he first consulted our English version, then turned to the original Hebrew and
compared it with the Arabic, and finally discussed the question with some of the members of the
College, besides referring to several commentators. 1 In 1834 an edition of this book was published
by the Society under the care of Mr. Johnson. In 1841 the attention of the Calcutta Committee was
occupied in lithographing an edition of the Scriptures in the Persian character, a method deemed pre
ferable to the former system of Arabic type printing. 2 In 1842, 5000 lithographed New Testaments
of Martyn s version left the Calcutta press, and in 1844, 5000 copies of Genesis and part of Exodus
of Archdeacon Robinson s translation were also lithographed.

KESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VEESION. The work of distributing the Scrip
tures has been very extensively prosecuted in Persia : the portion which has there gone into widest
circulation is Martyn s Testament, and a recent traveller declares that this inestimable work has made
its way by single copies into many houses in Persia, and that he found persons acquainted with it in
every city through which he passed. 3 The Scriptures have not yet effected any general change in
Persia, but individual instances are not wanting of their blessed influence. A writer in the _ Asiatic
Journal states, that once, at a convivial meeting in Persia where religious questions were being dis
cussed, he chanced to express his opinions with a considerable degree of levity^ He was immediately
afterwards startled by perceiving the eyes of one of the guests fixed upon him with a peculiar and
piercing expression of surprise, regret, and reproof. On inquiry, he found this person to be by name
Mahomed Rameh, a man of great learning and high moral endowments ; he had, it was said, been
educated as a Mollah, but had never officiated, and led a life of retirement. The writer _obtained an
interview with him, in which Mahomed avowed himself a Christian, and related the history of his
conversion in nearly the following terms: " In the year 1223 of the Hejira, there came to this city an
Englishman who taught the religion of Christ with a boldness hitherto unparalleled in Persia, in the
midst of much scorn and ill-treatment from our Mollahs as well as the rabble. He was a beardless
youth, and evidently enfeebled Avith disease. I was then a decided enemy to infidels, and I visited the
teacher of the despised sect with the declared object of treating him with scorn, and exposing his
doctrines to contempt. These evil feelings gradually subsided beneath the influence of his gentleness,
and just before he quitted Shiraz I paid him a parting visit. Our conversation the memory of it
will never fade from the tablets of my memory, sealed my conversion. He gave me a book; it has
ever been my constant companion, the study of it has formed my most delightful occupation." Upon
this Mahomed brought out a copy of the New Testament in Persian; on one of the^blank leaves was
written" There is joy in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth. Henry Martyn." 3 The Persian
Scriptures have been likewise distributed in the countries adjacent to Persia, where, as has been above
stated, vast numbers of people speaking the Persian language are dispersed. The following instance
of the blessing of God on this version occurred in Hindoostan in 1844; the narrator is the Rev. A.
Sternbcrg of Arrah. " I am thankful to tell you, he writes, of a Hindu who two months ago was
baptized by me, having teen brought to a thorough conviction of the truth of our religion only by
reading, by himself, a Persian New Testament which he had got at Cuttak some months previous. He
was a Kai th, and was well acquainted with the common creed of Mahomedans and its errors before he
became acquainted with Christianity. In the commencement of the year 1844, he undertook a
pilgrimage to Ja^ganath ; on his return he received a Persian New Testament from a Missionary
preaching in a Bazar Chapel at Cuttak; but he did not touch it for fear. On his arrival at Arrah, he
was obliged to stop on account of his wife s and child s illness. Now the time _ was come: he had
leisure, and began to read his Persian Testament, and instantly he was struck with the truth of the
word. Only one passage made him stop a little, the term Son of God: when his Mahomedan pre
judices on this subject had been removed, he applied for baptism; since that period," continues Mr.
Sternberg, " he has shown such deep knowledge of all the principal doctrines of faith, as well as

1 Twenty- ninth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Iviii. 3 Southgate s Narrative of a Tour in Persia, &c. Vol. I. p. 141.

2 Thirty-seventh Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixiv.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] JUD2EO-PERSIC. 57

a thorough change of sentiment, that he was and is to me, who was very far from expecting to see a
Hindu truly converted, a most seasonable evidence of the mighty power of the written word of God.
He has had no teacher; the reading of the word alone has converted him. It is encouraging to find
again the saying true, one soweth and another reapeth. " l

JUD^E 0-PER SIC.

SPECIMEN OF THE PERSIC VERSION IN HEBREW LETTERS, AS PRINTED IN LONDON IN 1847, 8vo.

ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. I to 14.

11 j^ani 2 : TO ana nab \M TO ara in nata JNI nab nro TT "713
wi PJ T n yn it TJm i&? iwa IN n&KD o PJ mi 3 : 111 ana in Nirox
: TO NDJX "wen rwn xi to nx n IK TT * : n&rc iui riDN me* iwa ro

M 7 : TO aw &?aDx ro ni&? nixnDis &ra iM TK
is* ntDNDia nan n^ ;K n inn TIJ t x ^ ^^^^ n^ JN xn
JN ii n^ TO max roSs TO^ ^^n ii5
11 \xm n^ NI DD in nD ^
j ^xmi n^^ ins IK ntDND o |n^ TO
1x1 niip NI |K^K ^i^nsins i^r 2 tcn^isTi

i^nr 3 na-nw ;xa^ ^aox^ n^ I:TO }w iwi
:TO xib TK ii^a n^Sn TOJ ^KDM pnN D 1 ) ^aoi
a xi ix ^m nsi^ ixip xa ;x^a 11 m& DD
: TO ^DXII ^xnina TX is 1 ) TO us n:Na nnow na TO

ON THE JUD^EO-PERSIC LANGUAGE AND VERSION.

NEARLY all the Jews who are settled in Persia and in Bokhara speak the Persian language, which they are able to read and write
only in the Hebrew character. The Rev. Mr. Pfander, when in connection with the Basle Missionary Society, made application for
means to print the Persian Scriptures in Hebrew characters for the benefit of these Jews ; but he was soon afterwards removed from
Shushi, in Southern Russia, where he was stationed at the period of his making that request, and for a time, at least, the project
was in consequence dropped. In 1841, Dr. Haeberlin applied to some Christian friends for aid in imparting the Scriptures to the
Persian Jews ; and in reply he received from Herat a copy of Martyn s Persian New Testament, written in Hebrew characters
under the care of Dr. Login, who stated that the Jews had frequently asked him for the Scriptures in this form. Dr. Hneberlin
laid the version before the Calcutta Committee, and they agreed to refer the means of printing it to the consideration of the Parent
Society. 2 Their application was promptly met by a request on the part of the latter Society to print an edition of 2000 New Testa
ments in this form, and it was arranged that the edition should be carried through the press at Calcutta, under the eye of the Rev.
Dr. Yates. The death, however, of that lamented Missionary rendered this plan abortive ; and in 1845 the Bombay Auxiliary
Society transmitted to London MS. copies of the Judaeo-Persic Gospels, of which an edition of 1000 copies was completed in London
in 1847, 3 under the superintendence of the Rev. Dr. Wilson of Bombay.

1 Fortieth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, pp. c, ci. 3 Forty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xcv.

2 Thirty-seventh Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixiii.

PUSHTOO.

SPECIMEN OF THE AFFGHAN VERSION,

AS PRINTED AT SERAMPORE IN 1819, 8vo.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. I to 14.

^ juh&gt;jaj

. j j
s3 (X* aj

ON THE PUSHTOO OR AFFGHAN LANGUAGE AND VERSION.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The Affghans, a warlike and semibarbarous
nation, inhabit Afghanistan, a mountainous territory lying directly south of Hindoo Coosh. They
call themselves Pushtaneh, whence, by a corruption of the word, they are styled by the Indians
Patans. Their language is termed Pushtoo. They received the designation of Affghans from the
Persians, by which name alone they are known in Europe. According to Elphinstone, the number of
Affghans residing in Affghanistan, and within the limits of the ancient kingdom of Caubul, amounts to
4,300,000. In Affghanistan itself, he remarks, there is scarcely any part in which the whole popula
tion is Affghan, the mixture is composed of Tajiks in the west, and of Hindkees in the east. 1 Sir
William Jones, and others, have assumed that the Affghans are of Hebrew origin ; but though this
idea may at first sight appear to be countenanced by some of the Affghan traditions, which represent
them as lineally descended from ancient Israel, yet abundant proofs might be adduced from historical
and philological sources in confirmation of the now generally received opinion, that this people are the
aborigines of the region in or near which they now dwell. Their religion is the Mahommedan, but
they belong to the sect of Soonnee, who recognize the first three Caliphs as the lawful successors of
Mahomet.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The structure of the Pushtoo or Affghan language
refutes the hypothesis of the Hebrew origin of the Affghan people. It exhibits none of the peculi-

i Elphinstone s Cabul, Vol. I. p. 403.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] PUSHTOO. 59

arities of the Shemitic dialects, but, on the contrary, forms an important link in the great Indo-
European chain of languages. Many of the words are Persian, and some of the roots can be traced
distinctly from the Zend and Pehlvi dialects, while others again are from some unknown source.
Mr. Elpninstone compared an Affghan vocabulary, consisting of 218 words, with the correlative terms
in Persian, Zend, Pehlvi, Sanscrit, Hindoostanee, Arabic, Armenian, Georgian, Hebrew, and Chaldaic;
and he ascertained that in this collection of Affghan words, there were no less than 110 which could
not be referred to any of the above languages, but appear to be distinct and original. Of the remain
ing words, by far the greater number were modern Persian, but some of these could be traced to the
Zend, and many more to the Pehlvi; other words were proved to belong exclusively to these latter
languages, not being employed in modern Persian. The instances in which a similarity was traced
between the Affghan and the Sanscrit and Hindoostanee words, are to be accounted for by the con
nection, we have elsewhere noticed, which originally subsisted between the Zend and Sanscrit lan
guages. Most of the terms relative to science, government, and religion, have been engrafted on the
Pushtoo language from the Arabic, through the Persian. In its grammatical forms, Pushtoo is more
closely allied to Zend than to Persian, and in its inflections it retains some of the features of that
ancient language which are lost in Persian. Although Pushtoo is said not to be unpleasing to those
who are accustomed to the rough sounds of Oriental tongues, it is decidedly harsh and unpolished, and
contrasts strongly in this respect with the soft and musical language of Persia. The Affghans use the
Persian alphabet, but they have altered the sound of several of the letters, which changes they in
dicate by means of diacritical marks appended to the letters, which in Persian approach the nearest
in sound to their own peculiar enunciation : these distinctive sounds are the hard d, t, r, and csh.

VERSION OF THE SCRIPTURES. The first attempt to produce a Pushtoo version of Scripture
seems to have been made by Dr. Leyden, who in 1811 furnished the Corresponding Committee of
Calcutta with a translation of the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. At his death the translation was
continued by the Serampore Missionaries, with the aid of some learned natives previously in the
employ of Dr. Leyden. An edition of the New Testament, consisting of 1000 copies, was printed at
Serampore in 1819. l The Missionaries then proceeded with the translation of the Old Testament into
Pushtoo, and in 1832 an edition, consisting of 1000 copies of the historical books of the Old Testa
ment, was in the press. 2 The rest of the Old Testament is in course of preparation. Little encourage
ment, however, has as yet been afforded to Christian efforts in this particular sphere of labour, for
although some copies of the Pushtoo New Testament have been distributed, and testimonies received
from several natives as to the clearness and intelligibility of the style in which it is written, yet no
general distribution of any portion of Scripture among the Affghans has ever yet been accomplished,
the fierce and warlike character of the people having hitherto formed a bar to missionary labours
among them.

1 Ninth Memoir concerning the Serampore Translations, p. 3. 2 Tenth Memoir concerning the Serampore Translations, p. 6l .

BELOOCHEE.

(A SPECIMEN of this Version will be given, if possible, in a future Part of the Work.)

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Beloochistan, the country of the Beloochees, lies
between Afghanistan and the Indian Ocean, and extends along the shores of that ocean from the
Indus to Persia. But it is only the western portion of this country that is inhabited exclusively by
the Beloochees, the eastern provinces being chiefly peopled by the Brahooes, a people who speak a
dialect of Sanscrit origin, resembling that of the Punjab. In religion the Beloochees are Mahomme-
dans, of the sect of Omar. In number they are conjectured to amount to about a million, but Mr.
Elph instone considers this too low an estimate; and it is supposed that the entire population of Beloo-
chistan, including the Juts, Tajiks, Dehwars, and other tribes who dwell among the Beloochees, would
together amount to nearly two millions.

CHARACTERISTICS or THE LANGUAGE. The structure and idioms of the Beloochee language
and above half of its words are Persic, and notwithstanding the corrupt and unaccountable pro
nunciation of the Beloochees, Lieutenant Pottinger was at length enabled, by his knowledge of Persian,
to understand every sentence in Beloochee. The knguage possesses no literature, and, if we except a
translation of part of the Scriptures, it may be said to be unwritten.

VERSION OF THE SCRIPTURES. The history of the Beloochee is in some respects similar to
that of the Pushtoo version. Both versions were commenced by Dr. Leyden, and at his death trans
ferred to the care of the Serampore Missionaries, who availed themselves of the aid of the learned
natives previously employed by Dr. Leyden. 1 As it is stated that these natives were thoroughly
acquainted with the Persian and Hindostanee languages, we may infer that they made the translation
direct from the Persian Gospels and Hindostanee Testament (which had been printed at Serampore in
1811), and that their work was afterwards compared with, and corrected by, the Greek original It
is not certain whether the translation has ever been advanced beyond the book of the Acts of the
Apostles, but the first three Gospels were printed as early as 1815 : the number of copies of which this
edition consisted is not specified. 2 The character is Persian, with no variation. It does not appear
that the Beloochee version has ever obtained circulation among the people for whom it was designed.

i Eleventh Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 32. * Tenth Memoir concerning the Translations at Serampore, p. 61.

ARMENIAN, NO. I.

COMPARATIVE SPECIMEN OF THE ARMENIAN VERSIONS.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 8.

NO. I.
ANCIENT ARMENIAN.

L-. fLLuVll t^p UITL-

uta~ U. tfi or -p filulili *
{jut fcp [ju

ItnJutL. krjU- L. uin^uttn
Itnput hnU. IL. ntfiltf np
trnfL.lt * \jnifutL.

tfp t L- /fk-u/lipli
If ft jnju JutprL.l^utu G* 1 -

injult ft fuutL-utpfi utltfL.
jnL.uutL.np Ijrp f IL. ptutL.utp

s rnu

JJi

*Uiflu

NO. III.
MODERN ARMENIAN.

krjuiL. f

ulini] -p t
i/luprj.nq in

[uiuL_u*pfiJ/

fnL.uutL.np

HL. pjutL.utpp^

(J -^

uuiftfL.Jp trnutL.

NO. II.
ARARAT ARMENIAN.

Juiult
i*U

, uiji_ q/i

aft

t np tnL.unL.fi ^utt/utp
np utifuTjrfiPn_ ut^

fLL
\b-l^u

Jutp

p j

L.unL.lt

p.utVu
Jouiu

l?p L. fiutltlt \J^uutnL.ut&-
tfp * I/"* ulfpnp.nL.ifu

\J^u ui n L.\f nj i/ouiu Ifp t

(^i^-Ir frltflinputJinJ tftuiL. t
U- utnUtliq Itnputli fiu/ffi n*

\jnputlint] Ifkuiliitu l^-p t
IL. ffh-utligu t/utprL-L^utltq injuu
fcp * t* L l n j u ^ t pJUtL.ut^

pnL.ifu IHJ 1 * *P uiutifiu LL.
piUtL-Utpli ffiifutqutL. linputli t
[j filt i/utprL. rutL. \J^u_
MttnL.utirutltfiq nL.
unput utlint-ltu
\f^[i) * U"- L

^uttfutp tfl

t np
np

^utJutp tl
.Pit unputunu ^utL.utuiutlt t

inL.unju

ON THE ANCIENT ARMENIAN LANGUAGE AND VERSION.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Armenia is the spot in which the three great
powers of the East, the Russian, the Turkish, and the Persian, are brought into direct approximation,
and it is now politically divided between them. Having been the theatre of many contests, its
boundaries have varied at different epochs; but it may be said to extend from the river Kur on the
north to the mountains of Kurdistan on the south, and from Diarbekir in the west to the Caspian on
the east. The total number of the Armenian nation is estimated by Mr. Conder at 2,000,000, and by
some authors at 3,000,000, but in their own country the Armenians form but one seventh part of the
population, while in scattered colonies they are to be met with from Venice and Constantinople to

62 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

Canton, and from St. Petersburgh to almost every part of Africa. In Constantinople and its
adjacent villages there are computed to be 200,000 Armenians, and an equal number in the Russian
and Persian provinces. They are emphatically the merchants of the East, and a large proportion of
the trade, foreign and internal, of Turkey, Southern Russia, Persia, India, and of other countries, is
conducted by them. The Armenians constitute a section of the ancient Monophysite Church, and
believe that "the two natures (Divine and Human) of Christ are united in one nature;" they have four
Patriarchs, the principal of whom bears the title of Catholicos of all the Armenians, and resides in
Armenia ; their ecclesiastical establishment in Hindoostan vies with that of the English. About one
hundred thousand Armenians have joined the Romish Church, and are ruled by their own archbishops.

CHARACTERISTICS or THE LANGUAGE. The ancient Armenian language, though no longer
vernacular, is very generally studied by Armenian Christians as their national language of religion
and literature. The roots of the Armenian are closely connected with those of the Persian dialects,
and many Median words preserved by Herodotus can be explained by means of the Armenian. Its
elemental words, such as numerals, pronouns, particles, nouns indicative of objects of sense, and verbs
indicative of the common actions of life, have their analogues in the Greek, Latin, and German lan
guages, and even in the Finnish dialects of Siberia, and in other idioms of Northern Asia. Several
striking coincidences in structure have likewise been traced between the Armenian and the other
branches of the Indo-European class; the future tense of Armenian verbs is, for instance, formed by
means of the syllables, tzitz, stzyes, stze, where the characteristic sound of the Greek and Sanscrit
future is distinctly recognized. On the other hand, some Armenian participles in al resemble the par
ticiples of the Sclavonic languages, and Schlegel has pointed out other analogies in inflection between
this family and the Armenian. 1 In point of sound, the Armenian is extremely harsh, and overloaded
with consonants. Its grammatical forms are complicated ; it has ten declensions of nouns singular and
plural, and a corresponding copiousness of inflection in the conjugation of verbs, although in certain
tenses the aid of an auxiliary is required. In its system of grammatical inflections, this language pre
sents several phenomena almost peculiar to itself, and which are thought by Professor Neumann to be
attributable in some instances to the remarkable nature of its alphabet; the k, for instance, the pro
fessor remarks, which is habitually used in Armenian as a termination of the plural in substantives
and numerals, is probably a transition of the s of cognate languages into k, an occurrence exactly the
reverse of the change often observable in the Sclavonic languages of k into s. A further peculiarity in
the Armenian idiom which distinguishes it from all other Indo-European languages is, that it takes no
cognizance whatever of gender ; that is to say, the gender of the noun has no influence whatever upon
the form of the adjective by which it is qualified, and the grammatical distinction of gender even in
the pronouns is unknown in Armenian.

ALPHABETICAL SYSTEM. Prior to the fifth century, the Armenians seem to have had no
alphabet of their own, but to have used the Persian, Greek, or Syriac characters in writing their lan
guage. About the beginning of that century, Miesrob, a learned Armenian, invented a set of charac
ters adapted to the language of his nation. Tradition relates that the forms of these characters were
revealed to him from heaven in a vision. This style of writing was adopted in Armenia by a royal
edict in A.D. 406, and has ever since continued in use among the Armenians. Its elements consist of
many signs belonging to the alphabets previously used in writing Armenian, combined with other
signs of more recent invention. This alphabet had originally only thirty-six characters, but f and o
being subsequently added, increased the number to thirty-eight, of which thirty are consonants and
eight are vowels. Armenian, like the languages of Europe, is written from left to right.

VERSION OF SCRIPTURE. The ancient Armenian language possesses the treasure of an old and
faithful version of Scripture, which, on account of its exactness and its eloquent simplicity, has been called
by La Croze the " Queen of Versions." Our information concerning the early history of this invaluable
translation is derived from two sources, an Armenian Biography of the Saints, including the Life of
Miesrob, preserved in the Royal Library of Paris, and the History of Armenia by Moses Choronensis,
printed with a Latin translation at Cambridge in 1736. From the combined testimony of these two
sources, it would appear that the origin of the Armenian version is nearly contemporaneous with the
invention of the Armenian alphabet. Miesrob (who was, as above stated, the inventor of this alpha-

i See Schlegel, Recherches sur la Langue et la Philosophic des Indiens.

INDO-ETJBOPEAN LANGUAGES.] ARMENIAN. 63

bet), after communicating his discovery to the king Uram Scavu, and to Isaac the patriarch of
Armenia, travelled throughout the country in order to establish schools for disseminating instruction in
reading and writing, and on his return he found the patriarch engaged in the application of the newly
invented characters to a translation of the Scriptures from the Syriac into Armenian. By the joint efforts
of Miesrob and Isaac, a version of the entire Scriptures was effected, but it was executed exclusively
from the Syriac, because no Greek MSS. were then attainable in Armenia; Meruzan, a Persian general,
had caused all Greek books to be burnt, and the Persians had prohibited the use of any language for
religious _ purposes _among the Armenians except the Syriac. 1 At the meeting of the Council of
Ephesus in 431, Miesrob and Isaac sent two of their pupils to that assembly, to recount the progress
that had been made in the translation of the Scriptures. The members of the Council sent back the
youths with a complete copy of the Septuagint Bible and the Greek New Testament, for the use of the
translators. ^ On receiving this welcome gilt, Isaac and Miesrob, who had already produced two differ
ent translations from the Syriac, now addressed themselves for the third time to the formation of an
Armenian version. They found themselves, however, impeded by their imperfect acquaintance with
the Greek language, and accordingly sent some of their disciples to Alexandria, which was then the
school of Greek learning and literature, to study the language. On the return of these young men,
one of whom was Moses Choronensis the historian, the work of translation was recommenced from the
Greek; and when the version was completed, if we may take the word of Bar Hebraus, Miesrob and
Isaac modified it according to the Syriac: on this subject, however, there are differences of opinion. 2
That it often agrees remarkably with the Syriac is certain; it appears as if the previous labours of the
translators had some effect on the existing version. A rescension of this version is said by some authors
to have been made by Haitho, who reigned in Lesser Armenia from A.D. 1224 to 1270; he belonged
to the Roman Catholic Church, and is charged with having introduced corrupt readings from the Latin
Vulgate. But this statement is now very generally regarded as incorrect.

PRINTED EDITIONS OF THE ANCIENT ARMENIAN SCRIPTURES. In the seventeenth century
MS. copies of the Armenian Scriptures had become so scarce and so expensive, that a council of
Armenian bishops assembled in 1662 to consult on the best means of calling in the aid of printing, of
which art they had jieard in Europe; and indeed it would appear, that as early as 1565 an Armenian
Psalter had been printed at Rome. The Armenian bishops, it is supposed, applied in the first place
to France for assistance in their design of procuring a printed edition of their Scriptures, but meeting
with a refusal from that quarter, Uscan, bishop of Eridan, proceeded to Amsterdam, where in 1666
he published an edition of the entire Armenian Scriptures, followed in 1668 by a separate edition of
the New Testament, which was reprinted in 1698. In these editions the bishop is accused, and
apparently with justice, of having permitted alterations to be made from the Vulgate : the editions
published at Constantinople in 1705 and at Venice in 1733, are in consequence more highly esteemed
than those of Uscan. In 1775 a new and corrected edition of the Armenian Scriptures, to be accom
panied with a Latin translation, was commenced at Paris by a body of learned men, one of whom was
the Abbe Villefroy, who had resided many years among the Armenians; but of this edition the book
of the prophecy of Habakkuk alone appears to have been published. 3 In 1789 the New Testament
was printed at Venice, under the editorship of Zohrab, a learned Armenian divine, from MS. autho
rities; and this edition, which was much esteemed for its correctness, was reprinted in 1816. A critical
edition of the Old and New Testament was published under the care of the same editor at Venice in
1805, at the expense of the ^monks of the Armenian convent of the Island of St. Lazarus, in the
lagunes of Venice. This edition was printed from a MS. written in Cilicia in the fourteenth century,
and with the_aid of eight MSS. of the Old Testament, and twenty-five of the New. The various
readings, elucidated by Armenian scholia, were placed in the margin, and the contested passage in
1 John 5. 7 was expunged, because unsupported by the authority of ancient Armenian MSS.

In 1814 a representation was made to the Calcutta Bible Committee, by Johannes Sarkies, on the
necessity of supplying the^ numerous families of Armenians in Calcutta and other parts of Hindoo-
stan^with copies of the Scriptures, and in 1817 an edition was printed for the Society at Serampore,
consisting of the entire Scriptures. During the same year 5000 copies of the New Testament, and a
separate edition of the Bible, were printed by the St. Petersburgh Bible Society for the use of the
Armenians, who, to the number of 50,000, were settled in the South of Russia; every sheet of this

i Moses Chor. Hist. Arm. 1. iii. c. 54. j Clement, Biblioth. Curieuse, vol. 3. p. 443.

Hug s Introduction to the New Testament, vol. 1. p. 396.

64 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

edition was examined by Joannes, the Armenian archbishop at Astracan. A previous edition of the
Scriptures had been published by the same Society in 1814. In 1818 the British and Foreign Bible
Society purchased 1500 copies of the New Testament of the Monks of St. Lazarus for distribution
chiefly in Armenia, and in the following year they purchased 1000 Bibles. Further purchases were
made by the Society at Venice until 1823, when they ordered an edition of 5000 copies of the New
Testament, and 3000 copies of the Gospels alone, to be printed at Constantinople. This edition was
carried through the press by the Kev. Henry Leeves, with the concurrence of the Armenian patriarch. 1
The copies were sent to Tocat, to Julfa near Ispahan, and into Armenia for distribution. About the
year 1838 another edition of the ancient Armenian New Testament was printed at Smyrna, at the
expense of the American Bible Society. Editions of the ancient Armenian, printed in parallel
columns with the modern Armenian versions, will be mentioned hereafter. The Old Testament in
ancient Armenian being made not from the Hebrew text, but from the Greek version of the LXX,
has never been printed by the British and Foreign Bible Society.

KESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. Although the ancient Armenian Scrip
tures are now only intelligible to those who have had the benefits of education and opportunities for
the study of this ancient tongue, yet as this class of persons is rapidly increasing, there is a prospect
that this version will soon become more generally understood, and more highly appreciated, than here
tofore. Dr. D wight bears a fitting testimony to its value in a letter addressed in 1836 to the Board of
the American Bible Society. " It is astonishing," he says, "to see the power of Scripture truth on
the conscience when it comes to men from the pure fountain itself, without note or comment, and
without the aid of a living teacher. I could point to two young men of the Armenian nation, of
whom we have the hope that they have become true disciples of Christ, whose minds were first opened
by the simple reading of Scripture, before they even knew there was a missionary in the whole
world." 2 And equally gratifying is the statement of the American Missionaries in 1847, when, after
giving an account of the recent remarkable awakening among the Armenian people, they ascribe the
change, in. part at least, to the influence of the ancient version. " Some facts," they write, " have come
to our knowledge, showing that the ancient Armenian Scriptures, printed many years since at Venice,
and perhaps at other places by your Society during the first years of its operations, have had no small
share, by the blessing of God, in awakening the Armenian mind everywhere, and in preparing the
people to receive and maintain the doctrine of the sufficiency of the Scriptures as the rule of faith and
practice. This is the testimony of Armenians themselves." 3

1 Twentieth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. "0. 3 Forty-third Report of British and Foreign Bible Society p. Ixxxvii.

2 Missionary Register for 1836, p. 80.

ARMENIAN, NO. II.

ON THE ARARAT OR EASTERN ARMENIAN LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

(For SPECIMEN of the Ararat Dialect, see page 61.)

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. Ararat Armenian is
the idiom now spoken m the whole of Armenia except the Pashalik of Erzeroom, and derives its name
ie venerable mountain which occupies the centre of the country, forming, as it were, the nucleus
ic adjacent table land In the Hebrew Scriptures the whole kingdom of Armenia is called Ararat-
word is however rendered Armenia in our version, in 2 Kings 19. 37 and Isaiah 37. 38, while the
original name /Ararat) is retained in Jeremiah 51. 27. The dialect of Ararat is spoken not only in
Armenia but m the Georgian provinces, and by the thousands of Armenians who are dispersed between
the 8 fc Sea and the sources of the Euphrates, and thence through Persia and part of Mesopotamia,
down as far as the Persian Gulf. This dialect approaches much nearer the purity of the ancien
Armenian tongue than the dialect of Constantinople, but it is adulterated with Persian words.

VERSION OF SCRIPTURE IN THIS DIALECT. -No books appear to have been printed "in this
lalcct prior to the efforts made by the German Missionaries at Shushi to supply the Armenians with
the Scriptures m an intelligible form. In 1829 the Rev. Mr. Dittrich was authorised bv the British
t oreign Bible Society to prepare a version of the Gospel of Matthew in this dialect. He was aided

with ?!?, T- ^n Cm p n i FieStS 1^ succccdcd s wcl1 with the undertaking that, in accordance
with the advice of Dr. Pmkerton, their agent in Russia, the Committee of the British and Foreign
He Society requested him to proceed with the translation of the whole Testament. An edition of
copies of this version was ordered to be printed at Shushi, but owing to some difficulties which
arose in carrying the work through the press, the printing was transferred to Moscow. In 1835 th&lt;
/f^ZT 8 m P leted and th e copies forwarded to Shushi for distribution. A second edition,
to consist of 3000 copies, was^soon found to be necessary, and was ordered by the British and Foreig-n
ible Society. In the meantime the missionaries had been proceeding (with the encouragement of the

Ssh HHl T/ S C1 7^V n ^ tnmSlati n f , tllC Psalter fr m "brew; but this^vork was not
published till the year 1844, when it was printed in parallel columns with the ancient Armenian Thi
edition was so much sought after and valued by the Armenians, that the Rev. Messrs. Dwi-ht and
.omes, American missionaries, applied to the British and Foreign Bible Committee for authority to
print an edition of the New Testament with the Ararat and ancieSt Armenian in parallel columns and
according to the last reports they were preparing to print the edition at Constantinople.

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF Tms VERSION. For an account of the remarkable
manner in which the Scriptures in both dialects of Modern Armenian have been used as the means of
producing the late revival of religion among the Armenians, the reader is referred to page 67.

SSS S3 SSS gffi SSS; l\ g; Forty - third Report of the British and ** bie 80^, P . ^.

AEMENIAN, NO. III.

ON THE MODERN CONSTANTINOPLE OR WESTERN ARMENIAN LANGUAGE

AND VERSIONS.

(For SPECIMEN of the Modern Armenian Version, see page 61.)

GEOGKAPHICAL EXTENT AND CHAKACTEBISTICS OP THE LANGUAGE. The present verna
cular of the Armenians is distinguished from their ancient language by numerous local peculiarities and
corruptions, varying more or less in every country in which the members of this scattered race are
congregated. These local varieties are, however, all resolvable into one or other of the two predominant
dialects of the modern Armenian language, called, from the regions in which they are respectively
spoken, the dialect of Constantinople and the dialect of Ararat. The former has Constantinople for its
centre, and is spoken in the neighbouring territories, through Asia Minor and m the Pashalik o
Erzeroom. Its distinctive features consist in the frequent adoption of Turkish words, and in general
conformity to the rules of Turkish syntax. The words of the ancient language are retained m both
dialects of modem Armenian in almost an unaltered form, so far at least as respects orthography; but
the signification now given to these words is so different from their original meaning that an unedu
cated Armenian of the present day is unable to comprehend even the general purport of a work writ en
in the ancient Armenian language. Many changes also have been introduced in grammar and in the
most common forms of expression, and the dialect of Constantinople 1S especially remarkable for its
rejection of the concise, energetic style of the ancient Armenian, and its constant use of long,
monotonous periods, all constructed upon one and the same model, according to the
of writing. 1

VERSION or THE SCHIPTUKES IN THIS DIALECT. -The first attempt on record to produce a
version of Scripture in modern Armenian was made by the British and Foreign Bib e Society. T
subiect was brought before the Committee by Professor Kieffer, who mentioned ha Di - Zc hrab

The
an

sumect was Drougni ueiore tut; ^u . i. t&gt;

Armenian from Constantinople, the learned editor of the ancient Armenian Scriptures, was at Pans
and well qualified to undertake the translation. During the same year (1821) Dr.Rnkerton pa ed
through Paris in his way to St. Petersburgh, and obtained from Dr. Zohrab as a specimen, a translation
of theSennon on the Mount. This specimen was printed at St. Petersburgh and sent for inspection to
various parts of Turkey. 2 Several Armenians who examined it approved of it highly but the priests,
who were probably prejudiced against a modern version of the Scriptures, found fault with the style,
which thev said wL low, vulgar,and degrading to the subject, as compared with the ancient Armenian
Dr. Zohrab, however, continued to prosecute his labours at Paris ; he translated from the ancient
Armenian version, and in 1824 completed a version of the New Testament in the modern Armenian
dialect of Constantinople. It was revised by M. St. Martin, an Armenian scholar and an edition of
1000 copies, printed in parallel columns with the ancient Armenian was published at Paris in 1
at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society. It was afterwards objected to this vers on
that, having been made directly from the ancient Armenian, it was not perfectly conformable to the
Greek, andthat, owing probably to Dr. Zohrab s prolonged absence from his ^ve f y , the Btjle was
not exactly in accordance with the idiomatic peculiarities of the modern tongue. 3 In 1837 a fount o
Armenian type was forwarded to the American Missionaries at Smyrna and a revised edition of thi
version of the New Testament was commenced at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society
This edition, revised by Mr. Adger, was carried carefully and slowly through the press, and it was not
till 1842 that an impression of 5000 copies of the New Testament was issued^ 5 ^ s ^^^
great demand, and were put into circulation as soon as they left the binder s hands. Mr Adger then
S oposed to publish an edition of this New Testament in parallel columns with the ancient version rn
order that the suspicions of the Armenians might be removed as to the possibility of the Scriptures
havin been vitiated in the modern translation: 6 the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible

i Klanroth in Encvclopedie des Gens du Monde. r

* N neteenth Report of the British and Foreign Bihle Society, p. xxii. Thirty-eighth Report .of ^^^ -^^S^ Society P :

3 Missionary Herald of American Board of Missions, vol. 33. p. 304. Thirty-ninth Report of the

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] ARMENIAN. 67

Society have resolved to carry this proposal into execution. In the meantime, by the aid of the
American Bible Society, the missionaries in Smyrna are proceeding with the translation of the Old
Testament into modern Armenian. In 1844 they were deprived by death of one of their assistants in
this work, a pious Armenian, who had laboured with them during five years, and who was employed
in the translation of the Turkish Old Testament of Mr. Goodell into Modern Armenian. In 1847 the
missionaries contemplated commencing the printing of the Pentateuch. 1

EESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION or THIS VERSION. The versions of Scripture in both the
dialects of modern Armenian have received the manifest blessing of God, in a degree almost unprece
dented in the history of other versions. The following are some of the accounts given by missionaries
on the spot, concerning the remarkable effects wrought among the Armenians by the circulation of the
modern version. " We might mention," they say, (writing in 1845,) " twenty towns in Turkey where
Armenians are found who daily search the Scriptures for the purpose of guiding their lives according
to its supreme teachings." In some of these places, this holy volume, owing to the fact of its being in
modern language, is received as a fresh message from heaven ; and in these towns especial assemblies
are held on the Sabbath for studying the Scriptures; and this occurs also in towns where no foreign
missionary has ever been. The reading of the Scriptures in an intelligible language has been the
means, by God s blessing, of curing many of their scepticism. They have become convinced that what
ever occasion they had had to doubt about the truth of Christianity, from what they were seeino-
around them, yet that here, in this book, they could see that there is a pure living Christianity. One
individual, a banker among the Armenians, said, " Our nation owes, to those who have been the means
of making us acquainted with the word of God in an intelligible language, a great debt of gratitude.
They have saved not only me, but many others, from infidelity; for we have found that Christianity
has deeper foundations than what we had supposed; and that there is in the word of God something
upon which to anchor our faith." 2 The numerous cases of conversion to God which followed the
diligent perusal of the Holy Scriptures in the modern tongue, did not escape the notice of the worldly
and unbelieving clergy at the head of the Armenian Church, and a cruel series of persecutions was com
menced against the " Bible," " Evangelical," or " Protestant" Armenians, as all were styled who read
and obeyed the word of God. Many of these Protestants (by this name they are now commonly desig
nated) were solemnly excommunicated by the Armenian patriarch, but to no purpose, as many more
were daily added to their numbers. In a village near the town of Nicomcdia, a congregation of Protes
tant Armenians had sprung up, having the Scriptures for their rule of faith; no missionary had ever
been among them excepting the missionary of missionaries, the Bible : like their brethren elsewhere,
they were called to endure persecution, and were at last driven to the necessity of meeting for worship
in the fields. On one of these occasions they were attacked with stones, but instead of resorting to
violent means of defence against their enemies, they calmly took up the stones and deposited them at
the governor s feet demanding his protection, which was accorded. 3 After enduring many similar out
rages in the same Christian spirit, the Protestant Armenians resolved to free themselves from the
tyranny of their church, by forming themselves into a separate church, founded on Scriptural principles.
To effect this separation they were compelled to appeal to the Turkish Government. Their application
met with success, and their freedom from the oppressive jurisdiction of their patriarch is now fully
recognised. " An officer of the government, a Turk, (it is stated by Mr. Barker in 1847,) is appointed
to look after all their civil relations, and they are to choose their own representative to confer with him.
Their ecclesiastical affairs are entirely free, and all patriarchs and other ecclesiastics are forbidden to
interfere in any way with them ; and all officers of government are called upon to see that their rights
are respected. Truly the king s heart is in the hand of the Lord, and He turneth it withersoever He
will." 4 ^ In Constantinople alone there are now no less than three hundred Protestant Armenians, of
whom eighty-five are communicants; and from the most recent accounts it appears, that by the blessing
of God on the diligent perusal of his word, numbers of the Armenian nation are in various countries
being daily added to the Church of Christ.

Forty- third Report of the British and For. Bible Society, p. Ixxxiv. 3 Forty-third Report of the British and For. Bible Society, p. Ixxxv.

2 Forty-first Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, p. cvii. Forty-fourth Report of the British and For. Bible Society, p. Ixxx.

KURDISH.

(For SPECIMEN of the Kurdish Version, see Plate IV.)

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Kurdistan, the land of the Kurds, or Koords, is a
mountainous region south-east of Armenia, extending about 300 miles in length by 150 in breadth,
and forming a kind of descent from the high table land of Persia to the low alluvial plains of Mesopo
tamia. It is thought by Kennell and others to be the country mentioned under the name of Kir in
2 Kings 16. 9, Isaiah 22. 6, and in Amos 1. 5 and 9. 7. The Kurds are the descendants of the
Carduchi, who are said by Xenophon to have given him so much trouble during his retreat with the
ten thousand Greeks through the mountainous passes of Kurdistan. The Kurds afterwards became
again conspicuous in history under the name of Parthians; and Crassus, the Koman general, was slain
with 20,000 of his troops in an expedition against them, B. c. 53. Saladin, the opponent of Eichard
Coeur do Lion in the Crusades, was a Kurd by birth. Notwithstanding all these historical reminis
cences, the Kurds are comparatively little known in Europe. From the time of Xenophon they have
retained their wild and warlike habits ; and though the northern part of their country, as far as lat. 35,
is nominally subject to Turkey, and the southern portion to Persia, yet they virtually maintain their
independence to this day. They arc divided into numerous tribes, supposed to number altogether
about 800,000 individuals. Some of these tribes have settled in the province of Luristan in Persia,
and other hordes have wandered westward, as far as the pashaliks of Aleppo and Damascus. 1 The
Kurds are also in possession of a portion of the mountainous region of Khorassan in Persia, whither,
according to Morier, 4000 Kurdish families were transplanted by Shah Ismael, for the protection of Persia
against the incursions of the neighbouring Turkomans. The Yezides, 2 a singular religious sect, who
are commonly supposed to worship the Devil, are Kurds, and speak a dialect of the Kurdish language:
they inhabit different parts of Kurdistan, the hills of Sinjar near the river Chabur, and the plains round
Nisibin and Orfu to the west of Mosul ; and they are also found in Arabia among the native tribes.
With the exception of this remarkable people, the Kurds in general profess Mahommedanism ; but
considerable numbers of them are Nestorian and Chaldean Christians.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The Kurdish is in all probability a remnant of the Old
Farsi or Parsi language, and notwithstanding the harshness of its sounds, it bears much resemblance to
modern Persian. The Kev. H. Southgate relates that this similarity is great, that he could often under
stand something of the conversation of the Kurds by the great number of Persian words he heard in it.
Like most dialects used merely for oral communication through a large extent of territory, the language
of the Kurds, having no literature or written standard of appeal, undergoes very considerable alterations
and modifications in different places by intermixture with the languages of neighbouring nations.
Thus the Kurds who dwell in the Ottoman empire have adopted many Turkish words, while corrupted
Syriac words have crept into the dialects of the tribes who live in the vicinity, or have embraced
the religion, of the Nestorian Christians.

VERSION OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. A proposal to obtain a version of Scrip
ture in Kurdish for the benefit of this ignorant and semibarbarous people, was brought before the Com
mittee of the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1822, by the Rev. Henry Leeves. He experienced
some difficulty in meeting with a person competent to undertake the translation, but at length the
preparation of the version was entrusted to Bishop Schevris at Tebriz. The bishop accomplished a
portion of this translation in the midst of discouragement and even of personal risk; 3 and in 1827,

i Ritter, Erdkunde von Asien, ix. 629. 3 Twenty-third Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 75.

- Forbes Visit to the Sinjar Hills, in Journal of Geographical Society, vol. 9. p. 409.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] KURDISH. gg

Mr. Lecves announced to the Committee that he had received from Tebriz the Four Gospels and the
Apocalypse in Kurdish, written in Arabic characters. This MS. was subsequently forwarded by
Mr. Leeves to the Committee. In 1829, the missionaries at Shushi offered their services in correcting,
revising, printing, and distributing the portion of Scripture which had been translated into Kurdish at
the expense of the Bible Society; and in 1832, the Committee in consequence forwarded the Four
Gospels to Shushi, and authorised the engagement of a competent Kurdish teacher as an assistant in
the work of revisal. In order to ascertain the critical value of this version of the Gospels, the Shushi
missionaries prosecuted the most laborious enquiries at Tebriz; and in furtherance of the same obiect
the Rev. Messrs. Hornle and Schneider undertook a journey into Kurdistan. The result of these
investigations has been to prove that the version is not intelligible to the Kurds. The dialect in which
the version is written is called the Hakkari, and is spoken in a district of the same name near the
Turkish government of Wan ; but the Kurdish language branches out into so many dialects, that it is
by no means easy to decide which of the almost endless variety would be most likely to prove an
intelligible medium in communicating the divine truths of Christianity to the whole Kurdish nation.

OSSITINIAN.

(A SPECIMEN of this Version will be given, if possible, in a future Part of the Work.)

GEOGKAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The Ossetes inhabit the central part of Caucasus,
north of Georgia. In conjunction with several Circassian, Abassian, and other tribes, they occupy the
whole of the hill country (called Kabardah and Little Abassia or Abazia) between the Upper Kouban
and Lesghistan to the summits of the Caucasus. They are unquestionably a Median colony : Klaproth
supposes them to be the Sarmato-Medians of the Ancient, and the Alani or Ases of the Middle, Ages.
Accordino- to Dr. Henderson, this tribe numbers about 16,000 individuals, 1 but this appears to be too low
an estimate. A mission was established among them in 1752 by the Kussian priests, with the view
of converting them from heathenism, and in 1821 upwards of 30,000 Ossetes had joined the Greek
Church.

CHARACTERISTICS or THE LANGUAGE. The language of the Ossetes unquestionably belongs
to the Indo-European stem. In a vocabulary of 800 Ossitinian words, one tenth have been traced to
one or other of the Indo-European languages. The system of conjugation has some resemblance to
that of the Persian and Armenian ; 2 the tenses arc numerous and varied, but auxiliaries are likewise
employed. The pronunciation of the Ossitinian greatly resembles that of the low German and
Sclavonic dialects ; the English sound th (Greek 6} occurs in it. The language is rendered harsh by
the frequent concurrence of guttural letters and hissing consonants, such as AM, dts, dtch, etc. 3 Yet
this harshness is modified by the influence of certain laws of euphony, which require some of the con
sonants to be softened when brought in contact with others of a different order. In Ossitinian there
are six cases; the plural is formed by adding te, thi, or ton, to the nominative of the singular; and
adjectives are formed from substantives by the addition of the syllables thi and ghin^ at the end of
the word. This language is very rich in prepositions and postpositions, and has four different modes
of negation.

VERSION OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. At the period that so many of the
Ossetes were joined to the Greek Church, Mr. Jalgusidse, an Ossitinian nobleman, who held an official
appointment under the Russian Government, being anxious to provide his countrymen _ with a version
of the Scriptures in their own tongue, proposed to the Committee of the Russian Bible Society to
prepare a translation of the Gospels in the Ossitinian dialect. Mr. Jalgusidse s services were accepted
by the Committee, and a correspondence was entered into with the Exarch of _ Georgia, whose co
operation in so important an undertaking was considered desirable. The version was commenced
without delay by Mr. Jalgusidse, but he confined it to the Gospels, which he translated chiefly from
Armenian. His production was submitted to the inspection of competent persons, and after having
been carefully compared with the original under the immediate superintendence of the Archbishop
Jonas, it was presented for examination to the Synod. Its publication was strongly recommended by
the Synod, and the Committee of the Russian Bible Society resolved, in consequence, to print an
edition of 2000 copies at Moscow, under the inspection of the Branch Committee of that city. 4 The
work was ordered to be put to press in 1824, but from the suspension of the Russian Bible Society,
no further intelligence has been received concerning it, and it is doubtful whether it was ever printed.
The Ossitiniaiis are therefore, in all probability, still unprovided with a version of any part of Scripture
in their own language.

Rpsparohps in Russia n 517 3 Klaproth, Voyage en Mont Caucase, p. 449.

lS^Sd s^iesTvS . K P 203. Twenty-first Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 95.

2 ourn

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S.AKGUACESS

: : -)-::. .l :\ - -.;

LIST OF THE MISSIONARY STATIONS OF INDIA,

ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE DIOCESES, AND ALPHABETICALLY.

KEY TO THE REFERENCE LETTERS.

A. Church Missionary Society.

I. Welsh Calvinistic Missions.

B. Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.

J. Irish Presbyterian Missionary Society.

C. London Missionary Society.

K. American Board of Missions.

D. Wesleyan Missionary Society.

L. American Baptist Missionary Society.

E. Baptist Missionary Society.

M. American Episcopal Missionary Society.

F. General Baptist Missions.

N. American Presbyterian Missionary Society.

G. Church of Scotland Missions.

O. German Missionary Societies.

H. Free Church of Scotland Missions. F. Jamaica Presbyterian Mission.

Lat. Long.

HINDOOSTAN.

DIOCESE OF MADRAS.

f A.B.C.D.E

43 Madras . . .-{ u T r v

13 5

8o2i

DIOCESE OF CALCUTTA.

L 11. i. ij. iv

1 Calcutta , . . ^

f A. B. C. E.
v a

22 3 8

8829

Tinnevelly District.

2 Benares . . . A. C. E. H.

3 Chunar . . . ]
4 Agra . . . J A *"

25 J 7

25 6
27 ii

83 i
82 51
78 5

44 Palamcottah
45 Sathankoollam
46 Kadatchapooram
47 Meignanapooram .

8 43
8 43
8 43
8 43

77 45
77 45
77 45
77 45

5 Krishnaghur

23 25

88 37

48 Suviseshapooram

8 43

77 45

Krislmaghur

49 Dohnavoor .

8 43

77 45

C hupra

50 Nulloor

8 43

77 45

Solo

^A.

51 Pavoor .

8 43

77 45

Rottenpore
Joghinda

52 Surrendei

77 45

Kabastanga

53 Paneivadali .

8 43

77 45

6 Burdwan

A. C.

23 15

87 54

54 Panneivilei

8 43

77 45

7 Jaunpore

8^ A T

8 Gorruckpore .

25 43
26 45

O4 ~j- !

83 19

55 Cottvam

9 35

76 35

9 Meerut

,A.

28 58

77 44

56 Palkm .

10 Kotghur .

3 1 17

77 26

57 Mavelicare

9 H

76 37

11 Simla

3i 5

77 8

58 Allepie

9 16

76 29

12 Howra .

B. E.

22 3 8

88 29

59 Trichoor

13 Barripore .

22 23

88 32

60 Masulipatam . .J

16 10

81 13

14 Cawnpore

26 29

80 21

61 Coml)aconum . B. C.

10 56

79 26

15 Nerbudda .

&gt;B.

62 Negapatam . . B. D.

10 46

79 54

16 Tallygunge

22 30

88 30

63 Madura . . B. K.

9 55

78 ii

17 Tamlook .

22 18

87 58

64 Cariandagoody .

18 Berhampore .

24 4

88 20

65 Chindadripett

20 Mirzapore

25 8

82 31

66 Chittoor and Vellore .

12 55

79 U

21 Allahabad .

E. N.

25 24

81 49

67 Christianagram

22 Chittagong . . ~

22 21

9 1 55

68 Coleroon District

23 Cutwa .

69 Edeyenkoody

24 Burisohl .

70 Nazareth .

25 Dacca

23 44

90 29

71 Poonamallee .

&gt;B.

26 Delhi

28 40

77 1 6

72 Puthukotei & Ramnad

27 Dinagepore

&gt;E.

25 3 5

88 45

73 Sawyerpooram .

28 Jessore .

74 Secunderabad

17 26

78 30

29 Monghir .

25 27

86 29

75 Tanjore

10 48

79 H

30 Muttra .

76 Vepery

13 5

80 21

31 Patna

25 3 6

85 15

77 Vediarpuram

32 Serampore

22 45

88 26

78 Trichinopoly .

10 49

78 49

33 Soory
34 Cuttack . ~

20 25

85 50

79 Bangalore . . 1 r n
80 Mysore . . J

12 57

12 17

77 38
76 43

35 Ganjam

19 20

85 10

81 Vizagapatam . .^|

17 40

83 29

36 Pooree .

J 9 47

85 52

82 Chicacole

18 14

84 i

37 Midnapore .

22 27

87 20

83 Cuddapah . . |

14 28

78 52

38 Futtehghur . .

27 22

79 35

84 Belgaum . i ^

15 5i

74 37

39 Loodiana .

N
N.

30 54

75 55

85 Bellary .

15 7

76 58

40 Sabathoo

86 Salem .

11 39

78 ii

41 Saharunpore

29 58

77 34

87 Coimbatoor

ii i

77 o

42 Cherrapoonjee

88 Nagercoil

MISSIONARY STATIONS OF INDIA.

Lat.

Long.

Lat

Long

89 Neyoor

126 Baddagame . .")

6 U 6

80 24

90 Quilon .

853

764o

127 Nellore . . 1

9 20

80 35

91 Trevandrum

8 29

77 i

128 Chundicully . . f A-

92 Manargoodv .

129 Copay. . . J

93 Goobbee .

130 Matura . . . B. D. E.

- -g

80 39

94 Coonghul

131 Caltura . . B. D.

6 38

80 i

95 Nellore .

14 28

80 3

132 Putlam . B.

7 ^9

80 4

96 Mangalore

. ~"

12 52

74 53

133 Newra Ellia. . B. E.

6 50

T
80 51

97 Darwhar .

134 Mahara, &c. . . B.

98 Fort Moolky .

74 50

135 Colombo . . D. E.

6 &lt;Q

70 ee

99 Honore

136 Jaffna, &c.

i&gt; /
9 37

I 7 JJ

80 10

100 Hoobly.

137 Point Pedro

9 46

80 14

101 Bettigherry

138 Trincomalee .

8 33

8l 20

102 Catery .

139 Batticaloa .

J J

7 43

8 1 48

103 Malagamoodra .

"0.

140 Negombo

7 17

79 5 6

104 Tranquebar .

I I

79 55

141 Seedua

105 Mayaveram

142 Galkisse

106 Rajarnundry .

Si 5

143 Morotto

107 Ootakamund

II 24

76 47

144 Pantura .

6 48

7Q *;8

108 Tellicherry .

ii 45

75 32

145 Galle, &c. . .

T w

6 3

80 17

109 Cananore .

75 26

146 1 1 an walla . ."I

110 Calicut .

11 15

75 50

147 Pittoompy . . i-E.

110* Berhampore

19 17

85 i

148 Khottighawatta J

149 Toomboovilla . ~"

DIOCESE OF BOMBAY.

150 Weilgamina

Ill Bombay .

A. B. G. K.
II.

18 56

72 51

151 Gonawelle .
152 Byamville

112 Nassuck

73 5 1

153 Hendella .

113 Jooneer .

19 16

74 o .

154 Kalingoda

114 Astagaum

155 Ratnapoora .

115 Ahmedabad

B. C. H.

72 36

156 Matelle .

116 Baroda

B. H.

22 17

73 15

157 Galalowa

117 Poonah .

B. C. H.

18 30

73 5 6

158 Ambetanne

118 Malcolm-Peth

159 Gahalaya .

119 Ahmednuggur .

-K.

74 49

160 Utuan Khandy

120 Seroor .

161 Plantation Mission

121 Rajkot

162 Tillipally

122 Gogo .

163 Batticotta .

123 Surat

21 12

72 53

164 Oodooville

165 Panditeripo .

CEYLON.

166 Manepy .

167 Varany

124 Cotta

]

A. E.

6 53

80 3

168 Chavagacherry

125 Kandy .

7 19

80 47

169 Oodoopitty .

ALPHABETICAL LIST.

Agra .... 4
Ahmedabad . . 115
Ahmednuggur . . 119

Chittagong . . 22
Chittoor and Vellore . 66
Christianagram . . 67

Hendella . . . 153
Honore .... 99
Hooblv ... 100

Muttra ... 30
Mysore .... SO
Nagercoil ... 88

Rajkot ... 121
Ratnapoora . . . lr,5
Sabathoo ... 40

Allahabad ... 21

Chuna

r .... 3

Howra .... 12

Nassuck . . . 112

Saharunpore . , 41

Allepie .... 58

Chund

cullv . . 128

Jaffna, &c. . . . 136

Nazareth ... 70

Salem ... 86

Ambetanne . . 158
Astagaum . . .114
Baddagame . . . 126

Coira jatoor ... 87
Coleroon District . 68
Colombo ... 135

Jaunpore ... 7
Jegsore .... 28
Joonere ... 113

Negapatam . . 62
Negombo . . .140
Nellore .... 95

Sathankoollam . . 45
Sawyerpooram . . 73
Secunderabad . . 74

Bangalore ... 79

Combi

iconum . . 61

Kadatcbapooram . . 46

Nellore ... 127

Seedua ... 141

Baroda ... 116

Coong

ml ... 94

Kalingoda . . . 154

Nerbudda ... 15

Serampore ... 32

Barripore . . .13

Copay

129

Kandv . . . .125

Newra Ellia . . .133

Seroor ... 120

Batticaloa . . . 139

Cotta

. 124

Kotghur ... 10

Nevoor ... 89

Simla .... 11

Batticotta ... 163

Cottya

m ... 55

Kottighawatta . . 148

Nulloor .... 50

Soorv ... 33

Belgaum ... 84

Cudda

pah ... a?

Krishnaghur . . 5

Oodoopitty ... 169

Surat . . . .123

Bellarv ... 85

Cuttac

k ... 34

Loodiana ... 39

Oodooville . . 164

Surrendei ... 52

Benares .... 2

Cutwa

Madras . . .43

Ootakamund . . 107

Suviseshapooram . 48

Berhampore ... 18

Dacca

. 25

Madura ... 63

Palamcottah . . 44

Tallvgunge . . 16

Berhampore . . *110

Darwh

ar . 97

Ma lara, &c. . . . 134

Pallam ... 56

Tamlook ... 17

Bettigherry . . .101
Bombay . . .111

Delhi .... 26
Dinagepore . . 27

Malagamoodra . . 103
Malcolm-Peth . . 118

Panditeripo . . .165
Paneivadali . . 53

Tanjore ... 75
Tellicherry . . 108

Burdwan ... 6

Dohna

voor ... 49

Manargoody . . 92

Panneivilei ... 54

Tillipally . . .162

Burisohl ... 24

Edeye

ikoody . . 69

Manepv . . . .166

Pantura . . . 144

Toomboovilla . . 149

Bvamville . . . 152

Fort IV

^oolkv ... 98

Mangalore ... 96

Patna ... 31

Tranquebar . . .104

Calcutta" ... 1

Futtel

ghur . . 38

Masuhpatam . . 60

Pavoor .... 51

Trevandrum . . 91

Calicut . . . .110

Gahal;

lya . . . 159

Matelle . . . 156

Pittoompy . . 147

Trichinopoly . . 78

Caltura ... 131

Galalo

na ... 157

Matura . . . .130

Plantation Mission . 161

Trichoor ... 59

Canandagoody . . 64

Galkis

*e 142

Muvelicare . . 57

Point Pedro . . .137

Trincomalee . . . 138

Cananore . . . 1(19

Galle,

&c. . . 145

Mavaveram . . .105

Poonah ... 117

Utuan Khandy . . 163

Catery .... 102

Ganjai

a . 35

Meerut ... 9

Poonamallee ... 71

Varany . . . 167

Cawnpore ... 14
Chavagacherry . . 168

Gogo .... 122
Gonawelle ... 151

Meignanapooram . 47
Midnapore . . 37

Pooree ... 36
Puthukotei and Ramnad 72

Vediarpuram . . 77
Vepery ... 76

Cherrapoonjee . . 42
Chicacole . . .82
Chindadripett . . 65

Goobbee ... 93
Gorruckpore ... 8
Hanwalla . . . 146

Mirzapore ... 20
Mongliir ... 29
Morotto . . .143

Putlam . . . .132
Quilon ... 90
Rajamundrv ... 106

Vizagapatam . . 81
Weilgamina . . 150

CLASS III.- INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.

B. SANSCRIT FAMILY.

SANSCRIT.

SPECIMEN OF THE SANSCRIT VERSION.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

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** A SPECIMEN of Dr. Carey s Version will be found at p. 74.

ON THE SANSCRIT LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

^ GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Sanscrit, the ancient and classical language of
India, is still cultivated by the learned throughout a country comprising upwards of 1,250,000 English
square miles, equal to about a third part of the entire area of Europe. Among the 130,000,000 in
habitants of this extensive region, Mahometanism and various other forms of religion exist ; but the
predominant creed is Brahrninism, which is professed by seven-eighths of the people. The ancient
Brahminical writings, called the Vedas, inculcate the existence of one Supreme Being ; but the
government of the universe is said to be delegated to 333,000,000 subaltern deities, and the mass of
the people are practically gross idolaters. Brahrninism is pre-eminently a religion of forms and cere
monies : fatiguing pilgrimages, rigorous fastings, and many cruel observances, amounting even to the
wilful sacrifice of life, are frequently exacted from its votaries. 1

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The origin of this language is lost in remote anti
quity .^ We possess no authentic records concerning the peopling of India, nor the early history of its
inhabitants. It is, however, generally believed that, many centuries anterior to the Christian era, a
people of Japhetic origin settled in India, and brought with them their own language, with which the
language of the aborigines of the country, or at least of the northern provinces, became gradually
blended. This language was the Sanscrit, and philological evidences have of late years been adduced

1 Memoir of Dr. Carey, by Rev. E. Carey, p. 199.

72 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

in abundance to prove its close connection, if not its original identity, with the Zend, the language of
ancient Bactria, thus pointing pretty clearly to the origin of the early settlers. Sanscrit was a
refined and polished tongue during many ages when Europe was plunged in barbarism ; and the philo
sophy, science, and erudition of the Brahmins, inscribed in their rich and flexible language on the
fragile leaves of the palm-tree, were, from generation to generation, religiously concealed in temples
from the gaze of the Western world. The successes of the British in India during the last century led
to the examination of these monuments of ancient lore ; and the language in which they were written
then began to be studied by Europeans. From this period a new era commenced in philological
science. It was found that many hypotheses, which had long engaged the attention and baffled the
penetration of philologists, could be conducted to a safe and triumphant issue by means of the impor
tant link in the chain of causes and effects afforded by the Sanscrit language. The same grammatical
principles upon which the Sanscrit is based were proved to pervade the Greek, the Latin, the German,
the Icelandic, and in fact all the languages constituting what has been appropriately designated the Indo-
European class ; while the fifteen hundred radical monosyllables, by means of which all Sanscrit words
are constructed, were traced, with precisely similar significations, and to the amount of one thousand,
among the elements of the Indo-European languages ; for these numerous languages, as Eichhorn has
well remarked, exhibit the fragments of a grand edifice, of which the whole is to be seen entire only
on the banks of the Ganges. The very name of the Sanscrit language (derived from the preposition
sam, equivalent to the Greek &lt;rvv, s euphonic, and krita, passive participle of kri, to make) denotes its
completeness ; and Sir William Jones in comparing it with the two learned languages of Europe
attested its superiority over both, for it is, as he said, " more perfect than the Greek, more copious than
the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either." Its nouns, like the Greek, admit of three num
bers (singular, dual, and plural), and of three genders ; the cases resemble those of the Latin and
Greek in power, but including the vocative they reach the number of eight, the two additional cases
not occurring in the sister languages being the Instrumental, which has the sense of by or with, and the
Locative, which conveys the meaning of in or on. 1 In point of inflection, the Sanscrit cases of nouns
present the type of the Greek and Latin declensions. So in the conjugation of Sanscrit verbs, affini
ties are everywhere to be traced with the Greek, Latin, and Germanic languages, but more especially
with the Greek. The resemblance between Greek and Sanscrit is particularly striking in the formation
of the tenses, and in the use of the augment and reduplication. Like the Greek, the Sanscrit pos
sesses three voices, active, middle, and passive; but as in Greek, so in Sanscrit, the distinction between
the active and middle forms is often lost sight of, and in many verbs can scarcely be said to exist. All
traces of this middle voice have disappeared in Latin and in all the other languages of this class, except
the Zend and the Gothic. 2 Sanscrit verbs have five moods indicative, potential, imperative, precative,
and conditional. The indicative has six tenses ; namely, three preterites (corresponding in form with
the Greek imperfect, aorist, and perfect), two futures, which, like the two futures of the Greek verb,
seem to be used indiscriminately; and one present. All the other moods in Zend and Sanscrit possess
but one tense. In the Vedas, however, the most ancient documents of the Sanscrit language, there
are indications that the other moods originally possessed more than one tense ; and hence Bopp infers,
that " what the Indo-European languages in their development of the moods have in excess over the
Sanscrit and Zend, dates, at least in its origin, from the period of the unity of the language." A
remarkable analogy has been noticed by Bournouf and others between the Sanscrit infinitive and the
Latin supine in turn ; and a great number of instances, in which this similarity is perfect, are adduced
by Schlegel in the Indische Bibliotheck (e. a. Sans, sthdtum, Lat. statum ; Sans, datum, Lat. datum) ;
and the original identity of the two forms is proved by the fact, first remarked by Bopp, that, in the
more ancient monuments of the Latin language, the supine in turn is used where, according to later
usage, the infinitive is employed. 3 In Sanscrit, as in Greek, Latin, and all the Germanic languages,
prepositions are extensively used in forming compound verbs. In all those languages the verbs thus
compounded sometimes retain simply the signification of the original verbal root ; in other instances
they express the combined sense of the two elements of which they are composed ; and in other cases
they present a meaning differing widely from what their composition would have led us to expect. 4

Without being so intimately connected with the Sanscrit as the Greek, Latin, and Germanic lan
guages, the Lithuanian, Lettish, Old Prussia, and Sclavonic dialects bear testimony in their words and
structure of a common origin. One general and invariable characteristic which (with the exception
of the Celtic family) runs through every language of the Indo-European class is, that in the first and

1 Professor Wilson s Sanscrit Grammar, p. 28. 3 Bournouf in Journal Asiatique, vol. v. p. 121.

2 Bopp, Vergleichende Grammatik des Sanskrit, Zend, etc. vol. ii. p. 5. 4 Professor Wilson s Sanscrit Grammar, p. 27.

LANGUAGES.] SANSCRIT. 73

second personal pronouns there is no distinction of gender, and that the nominative case singular of the
first personal pronoun is derived from a root very different to that whence the oblique cases proceed. 1
One of the principal links of resemblance, according to Bopp, between the Lithuanian and the Sans
crit is the omission of the letter n in both languages, whenever it occurs as the final radical of certain
words : this he attributes to the influence of the laws of euphony. Klaproth, not content with recog
nising the astonishing affinities of the Indo-European languages, has extended his researches over a yet
wider field of survey, and has formed an extensive vocabulary, in which he exhibits a multitude of
words which are found in Sanscrit, and which are also preserved in the Finnish, Samojede, and
Turkish languages ; but aware of the difficulty of explaining this phenomenon, he confines himself to

u w *

the mere statement of its existence. 2

ALPHABETICAL SYSTEM. The artificial system upon which the Sanscrit alphabet is arranged
is explained, page 7. The alphabetical characters usually employed in writing Sanscrit are called
Devanagari, signifying the alphabet of " the city of the gods," from nagara a city, and deva (deus)
a god. No^grammarians^have ever equalled or even rivalled the Indian in the study of the laws of
euphony. The permutations to which Sanscrit letters are subjected in conformity with these laws are
particularly numerous. These permutations extend even to syntax, and words merely in sequence
have an influence over each other in the change of final, and sometimes even of initial, letters. 3 Com
pared with the alphabetical sounds of other languages, it has been found that, taking articulation for
articulation, and value for value, there are ten sounds less in Kussian than in Sanscrit, twelve less in
Greek, fifteen in German, and eighteen less in Latin. 4

SANSCRIT VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES. It seems to have been by the special interposition
of Providence that the means of effecting a translation of the Scriptures into Sanscrit were provided
at the precise period when the first attempt was made to commence this important work. Only a few
years previous to_ the arrival of the venerable Carey in India, Sanscrit was almost inaccessible to Euro
peans^ Sir William Jones, by large pecuniary payments which would have been beyond the means of
the missionary, secured the services of a pundit in elucidating the principles of the language ; and the
works afterwards prepared by this celebrated orientalist, and by others who followed in the same track,
removed the apparently insuperable difficulties which had placed the Sanscrit language beyond the
reach of ordinary students. The care of Providence in providing means for printing the Scriptures in
the janguages of India is also remarkable, for no Sanscrit work had ever been committed to the press
until a few years prior to the translation of the Scriptures into that language, when Dr. Wilkins suc
ceeded in constructing a fount of ^ types in Indian characters. A native, formerly in his service, com
municated the invention to the Missionaries at Serampore, and with his aid types were cast for printing
the Scriptures in no less than twelve of the alphabets used in various parts of India. 5 The Sanscrit
New Testament was commenced in 1803, and finished at press in 1808 ; the edition consisted of 600
copies. 6 The printing of this edition was commenced in 1806, and in the same year the Rev. David
Brown, provost^of the College of Fort William, sent a specimen of it to the Committee of the British
and ^ Foreign Bible Society in London. In his accompanying letter he remarked respecting this
version, that "_the Sanscrit answers to Greek as face answers to face in a glass ; the translation will be
perfect while it^is almost verbal. You will find the verb in the corresponding mood and tense, the
noun and adjective in the corresponding case and gender. The idiom and government are the same :
when the Greek is absolute, so is the Sanscrit ; and in many instances the primitives or roots are the
same. Dr. Carey tells us that he translated this version immediately from the Greek, and that he
afterwards, in conjunction with Dr. Marshman, compared each sentence with the Greek text. 8 All
his other translations were in the first place written out roughly for him by native pundits, and then
submitted to him for correction and revisal, but he dictated the Sanscrit himself to an amanuensis. 9
Dr. Carey had made some progress in the translation of the Old Testament into Sanscrit, when the
disastrous fire at Serampore in 1812 interrupted his labours. In this fire a dictionary of the Sans-
scnt and various Indian dialects, laboriously compiled by Dr. Carey, was consumed, and likewise the
Sanscrit MSS. of ^ the Second Book of Samuel and of the First of Kings. 10 In the year 1815
Dr. Yates arrived in India, and was associated with Dr. Carey in the work of translating the Scrip-

K? a PP&gt; I* 1 p lei 1 hen ?. e Gramm . atik des Sanskrit, Zend, etc. vol. ii. p. 1 . e Tenth Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 58.

s Ad JZ Kecherches en Asie vol. ,. pp. 422-441 . r Third Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 36.

4 Nn?wf s T Hlstor . lcal . s ketch of Sanscrit Literature, p. 16. 8 Cox s History of the Baptist Missioniy Society, vol. i. p. 171.

I T^nfv f JS"? As ^tique vol. i. p. 429- 9 Memoir of Dr. Carey, by Rev. E. Carey, p. 527

rwenty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 152. 10 Memoir of Dr. Carey, by Rev E Carey p 527

74 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

tures. The proofs of the Sanscrit Old Testament, then passing through the press, were all examined
by him, and conferred with the Hebrew, and he subsequently, in concert with Dr. Carey^, subjected
them to a second revisal. 1 The Old Testament was issued in portions at different periods in the
following order :

A. D. 1811 600 copies of the Sanscrit Pentateuch.

1815 1000 copies of the Historical Books in Sanscrit.

1818 1000 copies of the Hagiographa.

1822 1000 copies of the Prophetic Books. 2

In 1820, a second edition of the New Testament was undertaken at Serampore, the former edition
having been completely exhausted. As numerous applications for copies of the Sanscrit Scriptures
had been made by the literati of India, especially by those in the western provinces, this edition was
extended to 2000 copies. 3 In 1827 a second edition of the Old Testament, to consist of 2000
copies, was in the press, but various circumstances retarded its completion ; and in 1834, the date
of the Tenth Memoir of Serampore Translations, the impression had been struck off only as far as
the First Book of Kings. 4

SPECIMEN OF DR. CAREY S SANSCRIT VERSION.

ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. r. 1 to 14.

^nft ^ srrafta u ^ ^ ^GR$I ^rrirRrbr *r ^: ^unl^i. ^ i

9 TTf UH&lt;*

t uifvsfy vit *4riHiHir *r ^4 w^wrfff ^ fir^ ifW5%f?rfir iwnir

Q. &lt;iO r &lt;|rt W^ 5 H4 a*) TJ I

I FRT TTf^ft ^ Pl

H j ^i^M^rmriiy ^H(rtT4y^i&gt;4r ^c crot ^rr T wwr&gt;r ^nr inn

^TT Tf^TT Tf

In determining the value of Dr. Carey s Sanscrit version, it must be remembered that it was
undertaken at a period when the language had been little studied by Europeans, and when no printed
copies of the standard works were in existence. Yet, notwithstanding the disadvantages under which
he laboured, Dr. Carey seldom fails in point of fidelity or correctness. His defects, it has been well
remarked, are mainly to be attributed to " the principle which appears to have influenced all the
Serampore versions that of translating as closely to the letter of the text as possible ; a rigour of
fidelity that cannot fail to cramp and distort the style of the translator." 5 The inelegance and harsh
ness of Dr. Carey s diction rendered his version unpopular with the learned men of India, and the
desirableness of obtaining a new and more polished translation of the Scriptures soon became apparent.
In 1835 a statement to this effect was laid before the Committee of the Society for the Promotion of
Christian Knowledge. The Committee entered into communication on the subject with the Bishop of
Calcutta, and with Dr. Mill, then principal of Bishop s College, and authorised them to take such
measures as they might deem proper for effecting a new version of the Scriptures into Sanscrit. 6

1 Memoir of Dr. Yates, by Dr. Hoby, p. 81. s Professor Wilson s Remarks in Memoir of Dr. Carey, p. 606.

2 Tenth Memoir of Serampore Translations, p. 58. 6 Report of the Foreign Translation Committee of the Society for

3 Seventh Memoir of Serampore Translations, p. 4. Promoting Christian Knowledge for 1835, p. 81.

4 Tenth Memoir of Serampore Translations, p. 58.

INDO-EUEOPEAN LANGUAGES.] SANSCRIT. 75

Dr. Mill had previously paved the way for this important undertaking by publishing a Sanscrit
Glossary of theological terms ; yet, with the exception of a truly classical work prepared by that eminent
scholar, and entitled the Christa-Sangita, or the Sacred History of our Lord Jesus Christ, no attempt
appears to have been made under the patronage of the Society to carry the proposed version into
execution. Two editions of the Sermon on the Mount in Sanscrit verse, which originally appeared as
the twelfth canto of the second book of the Christa-Sangita, were afterwards published, the one in
Devanagari, and the other in Bengalee letters. Eventually, the translation was undertaken by
Dr. Yates, formerly the associate of Dr. Carey, and upon whom the mantle of the venerable translator
seemed to have fallen. Yielding to the entreaties of missionaries in Calcutta and Northern India, and
to the appeals of the people, he began the work in 1840 by the publication of 2500 copies of the
Psalms l in Sanscrit verse. It is said of this work that each stanza, and sometimes each line, contains
a complete sense ; and that the padas, or half lines, are like so many steps, leading the mind forward,
and affording resting-places, till the whole is comprehended. 2 In 1843 the Bible Translation Society
granted 500 towards the translation of the entire Scriptures into Sanscrit under the superintendence
of Dr. Yates, and a similar sum was contributed for the same purpose by the American and Foreign
Bible Society. Thus encouraged, Dr. Yates proceeded rapidly with the work. In 1844 the Gospels
were completed ; and in 1846, 3000 copies of the Proverbs had been printed, and an edition of 2500
copies of the New Testament was in the press. 3 In this version of the New Testament a metrical
rendering is given of the quotations from the practical parts of the Old Testament, by which means they
are more readily distinguished from the other parts of the text. 4 Dr. Yates was successfully prosecuting
the translation of the Old Testament, when his career of usefulness was suddenly interrupted by death.
A short time previous to his decease, foreseeing his approaching end, he had expressed himself in the
following terms in a letter addressed to his assistant, the Rev. Mr. Wenger: "I think I may, in
reference to your life and mine, use the language of John, You must increase, but I must decrease.
May I only live to see you as far advanced in the Sanscrit as you now are in the Bengalee, and I shall
die in peace, rejoicing in the goodness of God in raising up one after another to carry on his work." 5
Immediately after the removal of this devoted translator (1845), on examining the state of the version,
it was found that the books of Genesis, Psalms, Proverbs, and Isaiah, had all passed through the press,
and that the rest of the Pentateuch and the books of Job, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, and Daniel had been
prepared in MS. The Missionaries then agreed that " the pundit who had long been engaged in
writing the rough draft of the version should proceed in his work, and that Mr. Wenger should, by
studying the language, prepare himself for revising and publishing the work." 6 This plan, according
to the last accounts, is now being pursued at Calcutta.

EESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. It is written that the wisdom of this
world is foolishness with God, and that " not many wise men after the flesh " are called. The Sanscrit
Scriptures are designed for a learned class who are entrenched behind the subtleties of a specious
metaphysical system, and few indeed are those who have been willing to lay aside their boasted
wisdom, falsely so called, that as little children they might learn of God. Yet undeniable evidences of
interest in the Sanscrit version have from time to time been afforded. On the publication of the Psalms,
for instance, in 1840, it is related that the pundits of Agra received copies of the work with intense
avidity, and that each man walked away with his book as joyfully as if he had obtained a diamond. 7
When it is considered that the influence of the Brahminical priesthood in India is at least equal to that
of the Romish in Europe, and moreover that the Brahmins in general are too proud to read the Scrip
tures in any of the vernacular dialects of the country, it becomes evident that the dissemination of the
Sanscrit version is the channel at present indicated by the Providence of God for conveying the light
of truth to the minds of the priests, and through them to their deluded followers.

The beneficial results of the publication of the Sanscrit version are likewise to be traced in its
influence on other versions. Most of, if not all, the current dialects of India are founded upon the
Sanscrit, and are dependent upon that language for words to express metaphysical ideas. The Sanscrit
is, therefore, a standard version, whence the translators of the Scriptures into the petty dialects of the
country can draw their abstract and doctrinal terms, and by means of which uniformity in the numerous
vernacular versions is secured.

1 Fourth Report of the Bible Translation Society. s Memoir of Dr. Yates, by Dr. Hoby, p. 350.

2 Memoir of Dr. Yates, by Dr. Hoby, p. 328. 6 Baptist Record for 1840, p. 338.

ui jLfi . i tttes, uy ui . nuuy, p. ozs.

3 Annual Report of the Baptist Missionary Society for 1847, P- 3.

4 Cox s History of the Baptist Missionary Society, p. 300.

" Fourth Report of the Bible Translation Society.

PALI.

(For SPECIMEN of the Pali Version, see Plate IV.)

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT. Pali, though no longer a vernacular language in any country, has
for ages been established as the religious and learned language of the Buddhists in the Island of
Ceylon, in the Burraan Empire, in Siam, Laos, Pegu, Ava, and throughout almost the whole of the
Eastern Peninsula of India. It cannot, however, be said that the influence of the Pali language is
co-extensive with the predominance of Buddhism, for the sacred books of the Buddhists of Japan,
Thibet, and the Chinese Empire are written in a language which is called Fan by the Chinese, rdjagar
by the Tibetans, enedkek and endkek by the Monguls. 1 By the examination of some of these writings
which have fallen into the hands of Europeans, it has been ascertained that the language passing
under these several denominations is no other than pure Sanscrit : and the fact of the sacred books of
the same religion being written partly in Sanscrit and partly in Pali, is to be accounted for by sup
posing that, at the very remote period of history when the language and religion of Buddhism were
conveyed into the countries north of India, Pali, which is a derivative and comparatively a modern
dialect, had not been formed. The first Buddhists were sectaries from Brahminism, of which ancient
creed Sanscrit seems ever to have been the depositary ; and having thus been habituated to the use of
a language admirably adapted for the embodiment of the highest metaphysical abstractions, they
naturally employed it as the fittest exponent of the philosophical system which they originated.

CHARACTERISTICS OP THE LANGUAGE. Pali is a language immediately derived from San
scrit, and, its whole history is intimately connected with that of Buddhism. On the rise of Buddhism
in India, the rigid enactments of the Brahminical law concerning the distinction of castes or classes of
society ceased to be respected among the votaries of the new religion. Men of the lowest and most
despised caste were admitted by them into the priesthood ; and it is conjectured, that the arcana of
religion, hitherto confined to the sacerdotal class, being thus thrown open to the people, the abstruse
technicalities of the language became popularised, so to speak, in the mouth of the multitude. Among
other changes thus induced, difficult grammatical inflections disappeared, or were greatly simplified,
and such combinations of letters in words as were not easy of articulation, were softened down in pro
nunciation. 2 These peculiarities form, to this day, the distinctive characteristics of the Pali language.
In its declensions it has preserved all the cases of the Sanscrit ; but the original inflections, both of
nouns and verbs, have undergone more or less alteration according to the special rules of Pali enun
ciation. The middle voice of verbs is not found in Pali, and the passive form is comparatively of rare
occurrence. Among the three numbers of Sanscrit verbs and nouns (singular, dual, and plural), the
dual has disappeared in Pali, in the same way that it has disappeared in the modern Germanic lan
guages and in modern Greek, although it existed in Gothic and in ancient Greek. And in the laws
regulating the assimilation of consonants in Pali, may be clearly traced the operation of the same
principles which have been instrumental in the transmutation of Latin into Italian, and of ancient into
modern Greek. The euphonic law, for instance, which requires the change of the Latin word lectus
into letto, of scriptus into scritto, has equal weight in the formation of Pali words from Sanscrit, as of
Italian from Latin. 3 It is probable that Pali, like other derivative languages, would ultimately have
deviated widely from the type of the mother tongue, had not its further elaboration been repressed, by
its becoming suddenly fixed as a dead language. The Buddhists appear from the first to have been
always persecuted by the Brahmins ; but about the beginning of the fifth century the persecution
burst forth with renewed violence, and the Buddhists were forcibly ejected from the continent of
India. They sought refuge in Ceylon, where Buddhism has been promulgated as early as the fourth
century prior to the Christian era. From Ceylon, many of the Buddhists passed over into the eastern
peninsula, and adopting as their vernacular the languages of the various nations among whom they
settled, Pali, their native dialect, in which the books of their religion were written, was set apart as a
sacred and classic tongue. In this state it has subsisted from generation to generation, unmodified in

1 Remusat, Recherches sur les Lanpues Tartares, vol. i. p. 375. 3 Bournouf et Lassen, Essai sur le Pali, p. 141.

2 Bournouf et Lassen, Essai sur le Pali, p. 146.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] PALI. 77

any degree by the various languages and dialects of the people by whom it is venerated. In com
paring Pali with_the other languages of the Sanscrit family, it will be found that it approaches nearer
than any other dialect to the purity of the parent stock. Leyden imagined that Pali is identical with
the modern Magadha, chiefly because the latter dialect is vernacular in a part of Bahar, supposed to
have been the birthplace of Buddhism. It has since been proved by an analytical comparison of Pali
and Magadha that, though similar in origin, they are essentially different in structure. A close resem
blance has been, however, traced between the Pali and the Pracrit dialect spoken by the Jains, a
peculiar religious sect of Hindustan; and the evident connection between the two dialects has led to
the supposition, that the Jains are the descendants of a few Buddhists who contrived to secrete them
selves in their own country during the persecutions which caused the banishment of their brethren.

ALPHABETICAL SYSTEM. There are several different Pali alphabets; but it is believed that
they are all derived from an ancient Buddhistic alphabet formed on the model of the Devanagari.
The classification of the letters is the same as that of the Sanscrit, yet they vary greatly in form, and
the shape of the characters is considerably modified in each country where Pali is adopted as the lan
guage of ^books. Thus the Pali character used by the Burmans is square, while that employed by the
Siamese is a more rounded or circular form, and in other places the Pali affects a more angular
character.

VERSION OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. A version of the Scriptures into Pali
was commenced in 1813, under the auspices of the Colombo Bible Society, by Mr. Tolfrey, assisted by
two learned Buddhist priests, 1 and by Don Abraham de Thomas, mohandiram of the governor s gate.
The plan upon which this translation was conducted was the following : Mr. Tolfrey, in the first
place, read a certain number of verses from Dr. Carey s Sanscrit New Testament to Don Abraham de
Thomas, and the latter rendered the passage into Pali as closely as the idiom of the language would
admit. This translation was then compared verse by verse with the Sanscrit, and such alterations
were introduced as were deemed requisite. Where any difficulty occurred in rendering the Sanscrit
expressions into Pali, the Bengalee version was consulted. The time devoted to this translation was
three hours of the day, regularly six times in the course of the month. 2 The progress of the work
was interrupted in 1817 by the death of Mr. Tolfrey, who was suddenly cut off in the prime of life.
The version, which he had carried as far as the end of the Epistle to Philemon, seems to have been
laid aside till 1825, when the Kev. Benjamin Clough submitted it to the examination of the most
learned Pali scholars in Ceylon ; and the opinion which they passed upon it was, that it had been
executed " with a high degree of beauty and perfection." 3 Efforts were, therefore, made for its pub
lication; and m 1826, a fount of Burman types cast for the purpose was sent to Ceylon at the expense
of the British and Foreign Bible Society. In the course of the following year, the Gospel of Matthew
was struck off, and copies were sent to the Burman Empire for examination by competent judges. 4
It was not, however, till 1835 that the whole Testament was printed in Pali. One of the Buddhist
priests who assisted Mr. Tolfrey in the translation of this Testament, became a sincere convert to
Christianity, and subsequently devoted his whole attention to the completion and revision of this
important work. 5

1 Owen s History of British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. ii. p. 459.

! Twelfth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 229.

3 Twenty-first Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xlviii.

HINDUSTANI.

SPECIMEN OF THE HINDUSTANI VEESION.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

ON THE HINDUSTANI OR URDU LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

GEOGEAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. To those who visit India in an official capacity,
or for mercantile purposes, Hindustani is more practically useful than all the other languages of the
country, for it is understood and spoken by persons of different nations in the larger towns^and villages,
from Madras to Bombay, and from the Ganges to Cape Comorin. It is, in fact, the prevaihng medium
of colloquial intercourse among a hundred millions of British subjects. 1 Yet this language, although
so extensively diffused throughout India, can claim predominance in no particular locality. It is the
vernacular of a class of persons who, on account of their professing the Mahommedan religion, are called
Mussulmans : they are natives of India, but chiefly derive their descent from the Mahommedan con
querors of the country. In number, they were said some y_ears ago to amount to 6,000,OC
dividuals, 2 but more recent accounts represent them as constituting one ninth part of the entire popula
tion of India. They reside chiefly in the upper provinces of Hindustan ; but so far from confining
themselves to any particular province, they are to be met with in almost every part of the country,
and particularly in the cities of Delhi, Lucknow, Allahabad, Patna, and Moorshedabad.

CHAEACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. Hindustani is a mixed language, and owes its
tion to the intercourse of the Mahommedan invaders with the conquered natives of India. _ At the
time of the first Mahommedan invasions, which date from the tenth century, Hinduwee, or Hindi was
the prevailing dialect in Northern India. On their permanent settlement in India, the Mahommedans
adopted this dialect as the medium of communication with the natives, but they greatly altered it by

i Grammar of the Hindustani Language, by Arnot and Forbes, Pref. * Twenty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixvi.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] HINDUSTANI. 79

the introduction of words and idioms from the Persic and Arabic, their own vernacular and liturgic
languages. The new dialect thence arising was called Urdu (camp), or Urdu Zaban (camp language),
because the language of the Mahommedan camp and court : it was also called Hindustani from the
geographical region through which it ultimately became diffused. Though so intimately connected
with Hinduwee, which is essentially a Sanscrit language, Hindustani deviates greatly in grammatical
structure from the original Sanscrit type. Its nouns have but two genders and two numbers, and
although they admit of declension, yet the six cases are chiefly distinguished by the aid of post
positive particles. Nouns denoting neuter and inanimate objects are classed under the masculine or
feminine genders, according to their terminations ; but the rules regulating this classification are ex
tremely arbitrary, and admit of many exceptions. The just application of these rules forms one of
the principal difficulties of the language ; but, in other respects, Hindustani is comparatively easy of
attainment, on account of the extreme simplicity of its structure. The verb, which in most languages
occasions more or less perplexity to the learner, is in Hindustani distinguished by extreme regularity.
There is only one conjugation, and not more than five or six words slightly irregular. Most of the
tenses are formed by means of participles and auxiliaries, the rest by inseparable affixes. 1 Neuter
verbs have no passive form, but transitive verbs are said to possess a passive, although it is seldom
used : natives, especially those in the presidency of Bombay, purposely refrain from resorting to this
form, and prefer the use of a periphrasis. 2 Hindustani is spoken in different provinces with various
local peculiarities of idiom. The dialect of Hindustani current in the Madras presidency is called
Dakhani. Another variety of Hindustani is a species of jargon called Moors, spoken by the servants
of Europeans in Calcutta and Bombay, and characterised by the absence of all grammatical inflection,
and the frequent introduction of English and Portuguese words.

ALPHABETICAL SYSTEM. The alphabetical characters properly belonging to the Hindustani lan
guage are the Arabic, or rather the Persic modification of the Arabic letters called Tatlik; that is to say,
hanging or sloping. This latter mode of writing differs from the Nashki, or regular Arabic, about as
much as our ordinary style of manuscript writing differs from that in print. To the Persic characters
(which exceed the Arabic by four) the Mussulmans in writing their language add three other letters,
to represent the harsh cerebral sounds t, d, and r of the Hinduwee. 3 The Scriptures and several works
in Hindustani have been printed in the Devanagari, or regular Sanscrit characters, for the use of the
natives of the Upper Provinces, especially of Delhi.

SPECIMEN OF THE HINDUSTANI VEKSION IN THE DEVANAGARI CHARACTER.

ST. JOHN", CHAP. i. r. 1 to 14.

9 fcPTT * ^ ST^K TT%; f^T *ft ;f|^T -Sjft TH^R i H1TT JTCT ^ ^T ^TT

fofrm * %f?R ftfrRt ^ T^ oR^r fflfrqr T^ T^ ^^UH ^^ft fa
t ? ?^^ ^ T?T TR fm^r ^ % * ^K TT ift

1 Grammar of the Hindustani Language, by Arnot and Forbes, p. 39. * Grammar of the Hindustani Language, by Arnot and Forbes, p. 15.

2 Journal Asiatique, fourth series, vol. v. p. 92.

80 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

It was, however, afterwards ascertained that the natives who employ these characters are, in
general, more habituated to the use of the Hinduwee than of the Hindustani dialect. Roman letters
have, likewise, been used of late years in printing Hindustani.

SPECIMEN OF THE HINDUSTANI VERSION IN ROMAN LETTERS.

ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.
/

1 SHURU men kalam tha, aur wuh kalam Khuda ke pas tha, aur wuh kalam Khuda
tha. 2 Wuhi shurii men Khuda ke pas tha. 3 Sab kuchh us se paida hiia, aur baghair
us ke ek chiz paida na hui, jo paida hui. 4 Us men zindagi thi, aur wuh zindagi
admion ki roshni thi. 5 Aur wuh roshni tariki men chamakti hai, par tariki ne use
daryaft na kiya.

5 Yuhanna nam ek admi Khuda ki taraf se bheja gaya. ; Wuh gawahi ke waste aya,
ki roshni par gawahi de, taki us ke wasile se sab iman lawen. 8 Wuh ap wuh roshni
na tha, balki us roshni par gawahi dene ko aya. 9 Wuh sachi roshni, jo har admi ko
roshan karti hai, dunya men anewali thi. 10 Wuh dunya men thi, aur dunya us se paida
hui, par dunya ne use nahin pahchana. " Wuh apnon ke pas aya, par apnon ne use
qabiil na kiya ; 12 lekin jitne use qabul karke us ke nam par iman lae, us ne unhen Khuda
ke farzand hone ka martaba diya ; 13 we lahu se nahin na insan ki khwahish, na mard
ki khwahish se, balki Khuda se paida hue ham.

4 Aur wuh kalam mujassam hua, aur fazl aur sachai se bharpur hoke hamare darmiyan
sakunat kar raha ; aur ham ne us ka jalal aisa, jaisa bap ke iklaute ka jalal dekha.

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. The first translation of any portion
of Scripture into Hindustani, seems to have been made by Schultze, a Danish missionary. Although
fully occupied in the cultivation of Tamil and Telinga, dialects of Southern India, the scene of his
labours, this indefatigable man undertook the translation of the New Testament into Hindustani in
1739, and completed it in 1741. He likewise entered upon the translation of the Old Testament, but
only lived to finish the four first chapters of Genesis, the book of Psalms, the prophecies of Daniel,
and some parts of the Apocryphal writings. These various translations were published at the Oriental
Institution of the University at Halle, in separate portions : the chapters of Genesis, the book of
Daniel, and portions of the Apocrypha in 1745 ; the Psalter in 1747, and the New Testament in 1748
to 1758. 1 Copies were at various times transmitted to India, but the hopes and expectations of the
zealous translator were never realised, for the translation proved to be by no means a happy one, and
the Psalms, in particular, were found so defective in idiom and orthography as to be nearly unintelligible.
No other version of the Scriptures, however, was prepared for the benefit of the Mussulmans of India
till the year 1804, when the Gospels, which had been translated by natives, and revised and collated
with the Greek by William Hunter, Esq., were published at the College of Fort William in Calcutta. 2
But the most important translation that has been ever made into this language is the version of the
New Testament by the Rev. Henry Martyn, for which, as his biographer remarks, " myriads in the
ages to come will gratefully remember and revere his name." Mr. Martyn entered upon the
work of translation shortly after his arrival in India, and commenced with the Acts. In 1807 he
was joined by Mirza Fitrut, a learned Hindustani scholar, whose services were found invaluable on
account of his surprising acquaintance with the English language. 3 Sabat was also consulted respect
ing the use of Persic and Arabic words, but his evil temper greatly detracted from his usefulness. 4 By
means of the most indefatigable exertions, the translation of the entire Testament was completed in
1808. Mr. Martyn remarked, that it often cost him and his coadjutors whole days to make one chapter
intelligible in Hindustani. 5 Of the feelings and personal experience of the translator during the pro-

1 Le Long, part ii. vol. i. p. 208. 4 Journal and Letters of Rev. H. Martyn, Wilberforce, vol. ii. p. 184.

2 Bishop Marsh s History of Translations. 5 Journal and Letters of Rev. H. Martyn, Wilberforce, vol. ii. p. 285.

3 Journal and Letters of Rev. H. Martyn, Wilberforce, vol. ii. p. 1S4.

INDO-ETJROPEAN LANGUAGES.] HINDUSTANI. 81

gress of this work, we have happily the means of judging. In a letter addressed to the Associated
lergy, and dated January 1808, Mr. Martyn expresses himself in the following terms: _ "If the
work should fail, which however I am far from expecting, my labour will have been richly repaid by
the profit and pleasure derived from considering the word of God in the original with more attention
than I had ever done. Often have I been filled with admiration, after some hours detention about one
or two verses, at the beauty and wisdom of God s words and works ; and often rejoiced at meeting a
difficult passage, in order to have the pleasure of seeing some new truth emerge. It has been
frequently a matter of delight to me that we shall never be separated from the contemplation of these
divine oracles, or the wondrous things about which they are written. Knowledge shall vanish away,
but it shall be only because the perfection of it shall come." 1 The philological difficulties which
Mr. Martyn had to encounter in the prosecution of his work, were by no means few or inconsiderable.
No prose compositions of acknowledged purity at that period existed in Hindustani, so that he had no
model upon which to form his style, and no recognised standard of appeal. The higher Mahom-
medans and men of learning were then, as they still are, disdainful of all works in which the Persian
had not lent its aid to adorn the style ; while to the illiterate classes a larger proportion of Hindustani
has always been more acceptable. To meet the conflicting views of these two parties has ever been
found a task of no ordinary difficulty ; and hence, notwithstanding the labour expended on his version
of the New Testament, Mr. Martyn addressed himself, immediately on its completion, to a diligent and
careful revision. The publication of the work was further delayed by the fire which occurred at
Serampore at the time that it was passing through the press. The printing had advanced to the
eighteenth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, of which the first thirteen chapters were preserved ; and
as there was then a general demand for the Hindustani Scriptures, the Calcutta Committee ordered the
completion of Matthew at one of the presses in Calcutta. 2 The fount of Persic types which had- been
used in printing was completely destroyed; but new and handsomer types were prepared in the course
of a few months, and the work was a second time put to press at Serampore ; and at length, in the
year 1814, this invaluable version appeared, in an edition of 2000 copies of the Testament on English
paper ; besides 3000 copies of the Gospels and Acts on Patna paper, which were printed off for im
mediate use. 3 The whole was printed at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society, by
their Corresponding Committee in Calcutta.

The high reputation which this version speedily attained, and the success with which it was used
in native schools at Agra and other places, led to a demand for an edition in the Devanagari character,
for the benefit of the Hindoos in the Upper Provinces, who universally read and write in this cha
racter. The Calcutta Committee yielded to the wishes of these people by furnishing them, in 1817,
with an edition of 2000 copies of Martyn s Testament, printed in the Devanagari character. No sub
sequent editions of the Hindustani Scriptures were, however, issued in this dress, for it was found by
experience that the Scriptures in the Hinduwee dialect are far more acceptable than in the Hindustani
to the numerous class of natives who employ the Devanagari characters. For their use, as we shall
hereafter have occasion to mention, Martyn s New Testament was eventually divested of its Persic and
Arabic terms, and transferred into the Hinduwee idiom by Mr. Bowley. An edition of the Gospel of
Matthew in Hindustani and English was published by the Calcutta Committee in 1820, and was found to
be very acceptable to natives, who were desirous of acquiring the knowledge of the English language. 4
While these editions were being issued by the Calcutta Auxiliary, the publication of an edition
in London had been contemplated by the Parent Society since the year 1815 : the design was not
carried into execution till 1819, when an impression of 5000 copies was struck off with some Persic
types, lent for the purpose by the Church Missionary Society. This edition was published under the
able superintendence of the Eev. Professor Lee. Four thousand of the copies were forwarded to
Calcutta, _ where they arrived most opportunely, and just at the period when the Calcutta Committee
were projecting the publication of another edition, on account of the almost entire exhaustion of the
copies of previous editions. The urgent necessity for fresh supplies of the New Testament having
been thus met, the Calcutta Committee turned their attention to the publication of a Hindustani
version of the Old Testament, which had been for some time contemplated. The preparation of this
version had been almost completed prior to the decease of Mr. Martyn, by Mirza Fitrut, who had, on
his first engagement as an assistant to Mr. Martyn, promised to learn the Hebrew language in order to
qualify himself for translating the Old Testament from the original text. 6 A copy of the book of

XT and Letters of Rev - H - Martyn, Wilberforce, vol. ii. p. 143. &lt; Seventeenth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ivii.

- Ninth Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 86. 5 Journal and Letters of Rev. H. Martyn, vol. ii. p. 133.

3 Eleventh Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 145.

82 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

Genesis belonging to this version had passed into the hands of the Church Missionary Society ; they
lent it in 1817 for publication to the British and Foreign Bible Society, and it was printed in London
under the care of Dr. Lee. The Calcutta Society had, since the year 1816, been in possession of a
rouo-h draft of the entire version, and in 1819 their Committee resolved to have it revised and com
pleted ; the Rev. Messrs. Thomason and Corrie, with the aid of suitable native assistants, charged
themselves with the execution. The first portion of the work published was an edition of 2000 copies
of the Pentateuch, which appeared in 1823, and was in great request among the Mahommedans. 1
The peculiar difficulties which impeded the progress of the learned men engaged in the preparation
and revision of this version are thus described by the Committee : "It will be readily perceived by
those who understand the language, that it is far from being easv to invest the Scriptures in an Urdu
dress. Such an attempt is, perhaps, more difficult in this than in any other language, because of its
being so generally and familiarly spoken. The habit of using certain words and phrases in the inter
course of common life, with the lowest domestics, on the most trivial occasions, attaches to them a sort
of grovelling character, which in many instances docs not really belong to them. It is not easy in
such circumstances to separate the base from the pure metal, to distinguish what is precious in the
currency from what is vile. It should also be considered, that where there is a great paucity of
standard works on subjects peculiarly sacred, or rather no such work at all, many terms must be
borrowed from sister dialects, many new words introduced, and phrases invented in describing things
unknown, which must of necessity give an air of uncouthness to the style, with whatever care the
labour be conducted." 2 On the completion of the Pentateuch, the editors found it desirable to delay
the publication of the succeeding books, in order that the MS. might first be subjected to a more
thorough revision and collation with the original Hebrew. In the meantime, however, that the press
might not remain unemployed, they passed on to the printing of another edition of the New Testa
ment. The proofs of the Gospels were revised by the Rev. Principal Mill ; 3 but in 1824, when the
work had advanced as far as the Acts of the Apostles, its superintendence appears to have devolved on
other gentlemen, probably from the pressing nature of his college duties and avocations. The revision
was carried on to the 2nd Corinthians by the lamented Mr. Thomason, and afterwards by Mr. Da Costa
to the close, under the superintendence of the venerable Archdeacon Corrie. 4 The edition, consisting
of 2000 copies, left the press in 1830. The following year another edition of the New Testament,
consisting of 2000 copies, was commenced at Serampore, under the superintendence of Archdeacon
Corrie : it was completed in 1834.

During the publication of these two editions of the New Testament, the revision of the Old
Testament version was gradually proceeding. It continued to advance in regular order from the
Pentateuch to the end of the 2nd Book of Kings, when it was brought to a stand, on account of the
ill health of Mr. Thomason, and his consequent removal to Europe. His anxiety to complete a version
which he considered of the first importance, and which he was most peculiarly qualified to execute,
induced him to return to India, but his valuable life was shortly afterwards terminated. After the
decease of Mr. Thomason, this version was carried forward by the Missionaries at Benares ; and the
Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society made a grant of 1000 to the London Missionary
Society, for time and services rendered by their missionaries in prosecuting the work. 6 In 1844 the
Committee announced that the Old Testament was at length completed ; and that^ editions, both in
Arabic and Roman characters, were in course of distribution. It was brought to its conclusion and
revised by Messrs. Shurman and Kennedy of Benares, assisted by the Rev. J. Wilson of Allahabad,
and J. A. F. Hawkins, Esq. 7

In 1839 the Calcutta Committee published 2000 copies of the New Testament in Roman characters,
and 1000 copies of Anglo-Hindustani, in the same characters ; the English and Hindustani texts
arranged in opposite columns on the same page. Several missionaries had expressed a desire for such
a version, as one adapted to the wants of native Christians, drummers, etc. acquainted with the
English letters. 8

In addition to their labours in the revision of the Old Testament, the Missionaries at Benares
were, in 1838, preparing for the Calcutta Committee a new or revised version of the Gospels and
Acts, to be printed in Persic characters. 9 In 1842 the Calcutta Committee announced _the completion
of a thorough revision of the entire New Testament, for which they acknowledged their obligation to

1 Eighteenth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 64. Fortieth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xcvi.

2 Twentieth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 107. 7 Fortieth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xcvi.

Twentieth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 107- 8 Thirty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ix.

&lt; Twenty-seventh Report of British and For. Bible Society, p. xlviii. Thirty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ix.

* Thirty-first Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. lix.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] HINDUSTANI. 83

the joint labours of the missionaries of the London and of the Church Missionary Society, who had
for five years devoted all their spare time to this important work. 1 During the same year, the Com
mittee of the British and Foreign Bible Society, on the application of the Directors of the London
Missionary Society, paid the expenses of printing, in London, 5000 copies of the Hindustani New
Testament, prepared by Mr. Buyers and other missionaries at Benares. 2 This edition was printed in
Roman characters. When the edition of the Old Testament in Roman characters was passing through
the press, this version was selected by the Calcutta Committee to accompany it, as it was deemed
desirable to have the Old and New Testaments in an uniform translation. An edition of 1500 copies
of the New Testament was therefore determined upon ; but the work was previously revised by the
Rev. Mr. Shurrnan in communication with Mr. Hawkins ; and in the course of the revision, Mr. Shur-
man saw reason to revert, in a great measure, to the translation of Henry Martyn, especially in the
latter half of the version. 3 The edition had left the press in 1844.

It appears, therefore, that besides the version by the Rev. Henry Martyn, there are now three dif
ferent versions of the Hindustani New Testament in existence ; namely, the version of a Committee at
Benares, the version of Mr. Buyers above noticed, and a version prepared by the Baptist Missionaries
of Calcutta in 184 1. 4 Among these new translations, the idiomatic and faithful version of Henry
Martyn still maintains its ground, although from the lofty elegance of its style it is better understood
by educated than by illiterate Mahommedans.

RESULTS or THE DISSEMINATION or THIS VERSION. One of the earliest evidences that
occurred in testimony that the blessing of God rested upon this version, is afforded in the case of
Abdool Messee. This devoted native missionary was originally a bigoted Mahommedan. When
Mr. Martyn s version of the New Testament was completed, some copies were given to Abdool to bind.
He was led to look into the books, and found there, to his astonishment, a description of his own
heart, and of his state as a sinner. Conviction was followed by conversion, he devoted himself to the
service of God, and was made eminently useful as a preacher of the Gospel among his countrymen. 5
The general effect produced on the Mussulmans of India by the distribution of their vernacular Scrip
tures is more favourable than could have been expected from the known bigotry of the sect. In 1844
the Rev. W. Robinson of Dacca thus describes their condition : "It is a pleasing feature," says he,
" in the present state of things, that the followers of Mahommed, so long remarkable for their deter
mined opposition to the Gospel, do now, in great numbers, read the word of God. Their prejudices
are much diminished ; they hear us almost in silence ; and some are, we hope, searching the Scriptures
in order to discover the truth. There is a very marked change in the Hindoos and the Mahommedans;
the result, we believe, of a very liberal dispersion of the sacred Scriptures. We cannot speak of con
version ; but we do hope that the public mind is preparing for a great revolution in favour of the
Gospel." 30

1 Thirty-eighth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Iviii. * Annual Report of Baptist Missionary Society for 1847, p. 49.

2 Thirty-eighth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. lix. 5 Christian Missions (Religious Tract Society), p. 82.

3 Fortieth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xcvii. s Fortieth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xcix.

HINDUWEE.

SPECIMEN OF THE HINDUWEE VERSION.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. . 1 to 14.

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ON THE HINDUWEE OR HINDOOEE LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Hinduwee, with its various dialects, is spoken in
all the upper provinces of India. The population of these provinces in 1826, according to the par
liamentary returns, amounted to 32,000,000 ; the more probable estimates of Maltebrun and
of Mr. Hamilton, however, represent the amount of population at 25,700,000. In these provinces the
Mahommedans, as before stated, speak Hindustani ; but the Hindoos, properly so called, who profess
Brahminism, speak Hinduwee, or one of its numerous dialects. The knowledge of Hinduwee seems
to extend beyond the provinces to which it is vernacular, and the Rev. Mr. Buyers of Benares mentions,
as the result of his own experience and observation, that the Hinduwee, such as is used at Benares, is
understood by the Rajpoots of Central India, and even by the Sikhs, the Nepalese, the Guzerattees,
and the Mahrattas, who have distinct dialects of their own. 1

CHARACTERISTICS or THE LANGUAGE. Hinduwee was the language of the ancient and
extensive empire of the Canyacubjas in Upper India, of which Canyacubja, or Canoj, was the capital. 2
Its affinity to the Sanscrit is very remarkable, and about nine-tenths of its words may be traced to that
language ; but that Sanscrit is the root, says Col. Colebrooke, " from which the Hinduwee has sprung,
not Hinduwee the dialect upon which Sanscrit has refined, may be proved from etymology, the analogy

i Buyers Letters on India, p. 95. 2 Prichaid s Researches, vol. iv. p. 135.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] HINDUWEE. 85

of which has been lost in Hinduwee but preserved in the Sanscrit." Many Hinduwee words are pure
and unaltered Sanscrit, and others differ only from Sanscrit vocables by the regular permutation of
certain letters. There is a small proportion of words in this language, however, of which the origin
is not Sanscrit, and all attempts to trace these words to some other language have hitherto proved
unsatisfactory _ In idiom and construction Hinduwee resembles Hindustani, of which, as before
mentioned it in fact forms the groundwork ; the chief difference between the two dialects consisting
m the predominance of Persic and Arabic words and phrases in Hindustani, and the almost total
exclusion of foreign admixture in Hinduwee. There is a difference, likewise, between the written
characters belonging to these dialects ; the Persic or Arabic characters appertain properly to the Hin
dustani, while the Devanagari are the proper characters of the Hinduwee. The Kyt hee or writers
character, which is an imperfect imitation of the Devanagari, is also used in writing and printing
Hinduwee, particularly by the trading community; and it is said, that of the lower class of natives
there are ten who read and wnte in the Kyt hee for one who transacts business in the Devanagari. 2

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. At the period when a translation of

the Scriptures into this language was first attempted, some little confusion existed in respect to the

right application of the terms Hinduwee and Hindustani. The Serampore Missionaries, in their First

Memoir speak of a Hindustani which draws principally on the Persic and Arabic for its supplies- and

ot another which has recourse in the same manner to the Sanscrit : of the one, as quite unintelligible

to Sanscrit pundits born and brought up in Hindustan ; and of the other, as equally unintelligible to

their Mussuiman moonshees. By the latter of these dialects they evidently meant the Hinduwee

and to their translation of the Scriptures into this dialect they afterwards correctly applied the name

? n rJj T VerS1 n WaS comrnenced i* 1802 5 and in 1807 the whole of the New, and portions of

istament were completed and ready for revision. It is one of the versions which the Rev

Dr. Carey translated with his own hand, and of which the New Testament was rendered immediately

The Gospels were printed in 1809, and in 1811 an edition of 1000 copies of the

itire New lestament was published at Serampore. This edition was received with so much avidity

by the people, that, in 1812, almost every copy had been distributed, and it was found requisite to

issue another edition, consisting of 4000 copies, which was completed at press in 1813. These copies

were speedily exhausted, and on a third edition being urgently demanded, the Serampore Missionaries

ietermmed to publish a version executed by the Eev. John Chamberlain, in preference to their own ;

Assigning as a reason for this measure that a comparison of independent versions, made by persons long

and intimately acquainted with the language, is the means most likely to tend to the ultimate forma^

on of an idiomatic and standard version. 3 The publication of Mr. Chamberlain s version was com

menced with an edition of 4000 copies of the Gospels in 1819. This edition was printed in the

Jeyanagari character ; and in the following year another edition of the Gospels, consisting o f 3000

copies, appeared in the Kyt hee character. The further publication of this version was interrupted by

the lamented decease of Mr. Chamberlain. The Rev. J. T. Thompson, a Baptist missionary long

lent at Delhi, then undertook the revision of the entire version of the New Testament and of the

1 salms, and an edition of 3000 copies of the Gospels was printed in 1824 under his superintendence.

Id lestament, the only version printed at Serampore appears to have been that of Dr. Carey

It was published m successive portions; the Pentateuch appeared in 1813, and in 1818, 1000 copie*

ot the entire Old Testament were completed.

Another version of the Hinduwee New Testament was published by the Calcutta Bible Society ;
the Gospel of Matthew m 1819, and the other books at successive intervals, until the completion of
the entire Testament in 1826. This version is not a new or independent translation, but is through
out substantially the same as Martyn s Hindustani version, from which it differs chiefly in the sub
stitution of Sanscrit for Persic and Arabic terms. 4 Martyn s Testament was thus adapted to the use
of persons speaking the Hinduwee dialect by the Rev. W. Bowley, agent of the Church Missionary
society at Chunar Lemg unacquainted with the original languages of Scripture, he consulted the
English authorised version m all passages where the Hinduwee idiom required him to alter Martyn s
dmirable renderings, referring at the same time to the best commentators on Scripture. 5 Mr. Corrie
revised the first edition of the work. New editions of the Gospels of Matthew and Mark were pub-
.827 ; and in 1833 a third edition of these Gospels, to the extent of 4000 copies, was issued.

4 Fifteenth Calcutta Report, p. !0.

I ^ s Handbook of Ben.al Missions, p. 138 .

THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

Mr. Bowley also undertook the transference of the Hindustani version of the Old Testament into the
Hinduwec dialect, and in 1827 the books of Psalms, Proverbs, and Isaiah had been published, and
the whole work was announced as ready for the press as far as the 2nd Book of Kings, at which
point the labours of Mr. Thomason in the parent version had been arrested. In 1828 or 29, 4000
copies of Genesis were printed, followed in 1831 by similar editions of Exodus and Leviticus, and a
second edition of 2000 copies of Isaiah. In 1835 a revision of the New Testament was undertaken
by Dr. Mill of Bishop s College ; and in 1838 an edition of 1000 New Testaments, besides^ about
4000 extra copies of the Gospels and Acts, was published at the expense of the British and Foreign
Bible Society, in Devanagari characters. Another edition of the Gospels and Acts, of similar extent,
and printed in the Kyt hee character, was published during the same year by the same society. In
1847 an edition, consisting of 2500 copies of the New Testament, and of 1000 extra copies of the
Gospels and Acts, was published in the Kyt hee character at the American Mission press at Allahabad ;
and about the same period 2500 copies of the Psalms, printed in the Devanagari Character, were issued
from the Bible Society s press at Agra. 1 According to the last accounts received from India, two
separate revisions of the Hinduwee versions are now in progress : the one conducted by a Sub-com
mittee appointed for the purpose by the Auxiliary Bible Society at Agra; and the other by Mr. Leslie,
a Baptist Missionary at Calcutta. 2 The Agra Sub-committee have so far completed their revision of the
New Testament as to allow it to go to press, and the printing has proceeded as far as the twelfth chap
ter of Luke. Three thousand extra copies of the Gospel of Matthew have been^ struck off for separate
distribution, which are now ready for circulation. The edition of the New Testament now_ in the
press consists of 5000 copies. This Sub-committee have also made some progress in the revision of
the Old Testament, and expect that it will soon be ready for the press. 3

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. The following instance, related by
Mr. Thompson of Delhi, proves that Dr. Carey s Hindee version was really understood, studied, and
valued by those among whom it was distributed. In 1816, Mr. Thompson visited an aged Gosaee,
residing at Patna, ancf found him well acquainted with the words of Christ and the great truths of
revelation, which knowledge he had obtained by a simple perusal of the Hindoo New Testament, with
out consulting a single Christian on the subject. As he was very grave and reserved, it was not, says
Mr. Thompson, till the third or fourth visit that I obtained a sight of the book to which he owed all
his light, and the separation from idolatry he was proud to confess : he related that, _ about four years
previously, one of his disciples, having obtained a New Testament from the missionaries^ brought it to
him for approval. The old man had for thirty years entertained doubts relative to the Hindoo system ;
and this book came to his help, and he received it even as the gift of God, and read it through.
Then, wishing to teach his disciples a more perfect way, he regularly read it to from ten to seventy of
them. Some of them said after a time, " Babajee (father), you wish to wean our minds from our
shasters: we cannot regard what you say, or we shall be turned out of our caste." Unhappily this hint
had some effect on the old man s mind, for he was loathe to forego the world s applause. 4 We are not
told any thing further respecting him, but his case, while it illustrates the force of the divine words,
" how can ye believe which receive honour one of another," proves likewise that this version of Scrip
ture is adapted to the comprehension and to the intellectual wants of the Hindoo. The following
instance shows that Mr. Bowley s adaptation of Martyn s admirable version has been equally acceptable
to the natives. About the year 1833 he left a case of books for distribution at Lucknow, and shortly
afterwards received letters from several different individuals who had obtained copies, soliciting
baptism. But the best testimony to the power of the word of God was, that in these communications
they distinctly acknowledged their hope of salvation in " the crucified Lord." 5

i Forty-fourth Report of the British and F. Bible Society, p. Ixxxiv. Periodical Accounts of the Baptist Missionary Society, vol. yi. p. 207-

* Christian Witness for 184/, No. 42, p. 278. 5 Thirtieth Report of British and Forejgn Bible Society, p. Ixix.

:! Forty-fourth Report of British and For. Bible Society, p. Ixxxviii.

ON THE HINDUWEE DIALECTS.

THE Hinduwee comprehends many dialects, strictly local and provincial, which differ from each
other chiefly m the different proportions of Sanscrit, Arabic, or Persic terms (either pure or slightly
corrupted) which enter into their composition. 1 In point of grammatical inflections, these dialects in
some instances vary considerably from the Hinduwee; the Serampore Missionaries, in their Sixth
Memoir, remark, " we have ascertained that there are more than twenty languages composed of nearly
the same words, and all equally related to the common parent the Sanscrit, but each possessing a di
tmct set of terminations." Translations of the Scriptures into several of these dialects have been
executed at Serampore ; and though it has of late years been found that the Hinduwee version is
intelligible in districts where local or vulgar dialects are commonly spoken, and is therefore likely to
supersede the Serampore versions, yet the zeal of the admirable men who devoted themselves to the
multiplication of so many different versions of the Word of God is not the less to be commended.

BRUJ, OR BRIJ-BHASA.

THE Bruj, or Brij-bhasa, is entitled to the first place in the enumeration of Hinduwee dialects c
account of its very close affinity to the Hinduwee. It has been called the purest of the Hinduwee
dialects because it contains the greatest number of Sanscrit words. It is spoken throughout a con-
3 portion of the province of Agra. In the year 1811 the Rev. John Chamberlain, then
stationed at Agra, commenced a version of the New Testament in this dialect, and in 1813 he had
completed the translation of the Gospels. 2 The prosecution of this work was suspended during some
years, while Mr. Chamberlain was engaged in the preparation of the Hinduwee version. At length
however, m 1822, an edition of 3000 copies of the Gospels was published ; and the whole of the New
:ament had been completed at press prior to 1832, the date of the Tenth Memoir respectino- their
translations issued by the Serampore brethren. The character used in printing this and all the other
-Hinduwee dialects was the Devanagari.

An instance of the usefulness" of this version occurred even previous to its publication. Anand
Masih^a native employed in translating the New Testament into this dialect from the Urdu was a
BrahE m , and gained much money by officiating as priest. He had inquired into the na ture of
Mahommedamsm, but had felt dissatisfied with it. He had then undertaken several Ion- piWima^
and had submitted to much bodily suffering, in the vain hope of finding rest to hfs soul Sub
sequently while engaged m this translation of the Bible, light flashed on his mind; he became a
teacher of Christianity at Mirat, under the Rev. Mr. Fisher, and was baptized in 1816 He

P f ^^^ * 1836 *** W &gt; &C ^ ** ^ Brahmin who recei

ordbaton

CANOJ, OR CANYACUBJA.

THE Canoj dialect is spoken in the Doab of the Ganges and Jumna, which latter river forms a

dor;- tr r^ tW -V nd the BrU J dialect Somc accounts Wsent the Canoj as pre-

Mo^adah f r T T ? DelHl dlst ts .f Cawnpore, Etawah, Furruckhabad, Allyghur, Bareilly, and

have b in n 11 7 TT ^ Wlth ^ Bm J r Bri J- bhas *&gt; and both dialects are thought to

been ongma ly one and the same : the local causes which gave rise to the slight differences in

he CroiTl 6 ? m ? T \ Gm e n0t knOWn * The n tices of a version of Se Scriptures in
Canoj dialect are few and brief. We are only informed that the Serampore translators commenced

Ld ,Z f/^ e . N 7 fio r f. tament ^.1815; that it was printed as far as the Gospel of St. John in 1820;

^r P m 2 ^ T 6 / lt10 ^ f 10 C P ieS 4 In tlie impossibility of obtaining any better

inony we are assured by four Canoj pundits, that "the language of this Testament is such

~t\ \ , f^ Q Can J and that such as have read the book h ave identified the lan
guage to be that of their country.

i Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 109.

Eleventh Report of British aL !*. Bib!e Society, p. so.

88 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

KOUSULU, OR KOSHALA.

THIS dialect is spoken in the west of Oude, or rather in what is now called the reserved territory
of the King of Oude. In the specimen of the Lord s Prayer in this dialect, given by the Serampore
Missionaries, twenty-seven of the words belong to the Bengalee and Hinduwee languages, and nearly
all the rest are pure Sanscrit. In the year 1820, the Gospel of Matthew had been translated into
Kousulu, and was in the press. 1 But at this point the translation seems to have been dropped, and we
are told no more respecting it. The want of funds, the pressure of other engagements, or the dis
covery that the Hinduwee version is intelligible to those who speak this dialect, may have occasioned
the discontinuance of the work.

BHOJEPOORA.

BHOJEPOORA is the dialect in use throughout the districts of Benares, Juanpore, Ghazipore,
Azinghur, and Gorruckpore, which together comprises an area of 16,780 square miles. No translation
of the Scriptures has been attempted into this dialect, nor is one requisite, for Mr. Bowley s Hinduwee
version has been freely circulated among the natives of these districts.

HURRIANA.

HURRIANA, in which this dialect is spoken, is a large division of the Delhi province, situated
chiefly between 28 and 29 degrees north latitude, and comprising, according to the latest parliamentary
returns, an area of 3,500 square miles. Its name is derived from " Hurya," signifying green ; for
although situated on the verge of the Great Desert, it is celebrated for its verdure, yet probably only
as compared with the neighbouring region. 2 From the country having been so long the seat of the
Mogul empire, this dialect is much corrupted with Persic and Arabic words ; it neither possesses nor
requires a distinct translation of the Scriptures, the Hinduwee version being in use, as before stated,
throughout Delhi.

BUNDELCUNDEE.

BUNDELCUND forms a large division of the Allahabad province, south-east of Agra, and is
included between 24 3 and 26 26 north latitude ; and between 77 48 and 81 33 east longitude. 3
It contains 23,680 square miles, and a population of 2,400,000. From the specimen of the Lord s
Prayer in Bundelcundee, given by the Serampore Missionaries, we may judge that _ this dialect
approaches as near as possible to the Brij-bhasa. It possesses no translation of the Scriptures ; and
from the labours of Mr. Bowley at Chunar, and other coadjutors in the neighbourhood, we have no
reason to suppose that any other version will be required in this country beyond the general Hinduwee
translation.

BUGHELCUNDEE, OR BAGHELCUNDEE.

BOGHELA, or BAGHELCUND, in which this dialect is vernacular, lies east, or rather south-east, of
Bundelcund, and extends as far southward as the sources of the Nerbudda. No calculation has been
furnished of its exact extent, but it is supposed to contain about 25,000 square miles : it is, however,
very thinly populated. Bughelcundee is probably a corrupt dialect of the Hinduwee, but very little
is known concerning it. A translation of the New Testament exists in this dialect, which was com
menced in 1814, and of which an edition of 1000 copies was struck off by the Serampore Missionaries
in 1821. 4 But it appears probable that this version will eventually be superseded by the Hinduwee,
as has already been the case with other translations in the Hinduwee dialects. The devoted zeal and
untiring industry exhibited by the Serampore Missionaries, in striving to bestow on every^ tribe and
province of India a version of the Word of God, must ever be regarded with admiration by all
Christians ; yet it is now but too evident that their talents and energies were most lamentably mis
applied, for a more extended acquaintance with the country and its inhabitants has led to the con
viction that fewer distinct versions of the Scriptures are required by the millions of India, than were at
first deemed necessary by the pioneers of Christianity in that extensive region.

PP l6 ^ I e^ P- 4.

ON THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL INDIA.

SPECIMEN OF THE HARROTEE VERSION.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

i
TTT TR T ^ro nrr T^T ^ ^1 ^r^ HWHI ra ^r w i "^r

M wR ^ -tfi&lt;Jsl *imsioiri snicjA "5ft I ^TT ^nin ^MK*IK*I ^Ifre ^TT^T ^TR ^*IKMK^ *T

i "3* iimii unfa

tM&lt;UI

This SPECIMEN is given as a sample of these comparatively little used dialectic Versions.

IN addition to the Hinduwee dialects, strictly so called, there are several other Indian dialects
supposed to be corruptions of the general Hinduwee stock. These dialects may be classed together
under the appellation of " Dialects of Central India," in allusion to the region where they are spoken,
which comprises Malwah and the Rajpoot states, and embraces an area of about 193,000 square miles,
with a population of about 12,601,000. Comparatively little attention has hitherto been paid to these
dialects by philologists, but it is evident from such observations as have been made from time to time
on their structure, that they are closely allied to the Hinduwee ; and it is probable that with the
multiplication of missionary schools, and the increase of education among the natives, the Hinduwee
version of the Scriptures will eventually supersede all versions that have been made in these petty
local dialects. It is, therefore, deeply to be regretted that the Serampore Missionaries did not con
centrate their attention on the improvement of those versions that are really essential to India, instead
of fruitlessly expending their time and labour on the production of translations in^ mere provincial
dialects. Still, it may not be uninteresting to trace their general mode of procedure in forming these
versions, an account of which we have, as follows, in their own words : " On engaging a pundit ^n
one of these cognate languages, after having examined and ascertained his qualifications, we gave him
an approved version of the Scriptures in a language with which he is well acquainted ; for most of the
pundits we employ, while good Sungskrit scholars, are also acquainted with at least one or two of the
cognate languages of India, besides their own vernacular tongue, and some of them with three or four.
Then placing him among two or three other pundits who have been for years employed with us, we
direct him to express the ideas he finds there in his own vernacular idiom, with the utmost care^and ex
actness, and to ask questions wherever he finds it necessary. Meantime the grammatical terminations,
and the peculiarities of the language, are acquired possibly by the time he has finished the first

90 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

Gospel. The work of revision is then begun with the pundit. This, at first, proceeds very slowly,
as nothing is suffered to go to press till fully understood and approved ; and in some instances the
alterations made are so numerous, as to leave little of the first copy standing. This revision is, how
ever, of the highest value, as the discussions which it originates both lay open the language to us,
and the sense of the original to the pundit. As we advance, we proceed with increased ease and
pleasure, and seldom go through the fourth Gospel without feeling ourselves on firm ground, relative
to the faithfulness and accuracy of the version. Thus a first version of the New Testament is pro
duced, not inferior in accuracy, and far superior in point of style and idiom, to the first version of the
Bengalee New Testament, the product of seven years severe labour and study." l

OOJEIN, OR OUJJUYUNEE.

OOJEIN is vernacular in Malwah, an extensive province of Central India, lying chiefly between
22 and 26 degrees north latitude, and 74 and 80 degrees of east longitude, 2 and_ including an area of
about 67,360 square miles. The Oojein, although the vernacular of more than six millions of people,
has never been subjected to philological analysis ; yet all the accounts we possess respecting it concur
in representing it as a corrupt and mixed dialect of the Hinduwee. A version of the New Testament
in Oojein had been half carried through the press at Serampore in 1820 ; 3 and the edition, which con
sisted of 1000 copies, was completed in 1824. 4

HARROTEE.

THE province of Harrotee lies on the north-east extremity of Malwah ; it is generally reckoned
amono- the Rajpoot states, and is governed by Rajpoot chiefs. Its area has been estimated at 9000
square miles, and its population at one million. The Harrotee is evidently a corrupt dialect of the
Hinduwee, but possesses many Persic words. In the Lord s Prayer in Harrotee, twenty-two of the
words are found radically the same as those of the Serampore specimens in Bengali and Hinduwee,
with others of direct Persic origin. The Serampore translators commenced a version of the New
Testament in this dialect in 1815, and an edition of 1000 copies was printed in 1822. With respect
to the purity of the translation, we are left to the single testimony of Bhowanee Ram, overseer to
Rajah Goverdhun, of Harrotee, the best possibly that could at the time be obtained, who says, " The
book shown to me in the Harrotee is correct Harrotee, and will be understood by all the people of
that country." 5

OODEYPOORA.

OODEYPOOR, or Mewar, lies westward of the Chittore range from Malwah and Harrotee, having
Jeypoor on the north, Guzerat on the south, and Jondpoor on the west. No satisfactory estimate of
its extent, nor even of the amount of its population, has been formed. Its inhabitants may, perhaps,
be said to number more than half a million. The specimen of the Lord s Prayer in this dialect,
furnished by the Serampore Missionaries, contains twenty-eight of the roots found in Hinduwee, with
some others apparently of Persic origin. A version of the Gospel of St Matthew m Oodeypoora was
printed at Serampore in 1815, 6 but we are not told of how many copies the edition consisted, nor
from what cause the further prosecution of the translation was relinquished.

MARWAR.

JONDPOOR, or Marwar, the province in which this dialect is spoken, lies^between 25 and 27
degrees of north latitude, and extends from Oodeypoor in the east to the dominions of ^Scinde in the
west ; but its precise boundaries and its area are still undefined. That the Marwar dialect contains
many words of Hinduwee origin is well known, but we possess few details concerning its idioms or
structure. The New Testament has been translated into Marwar by the Serampore Missionaries ; they
commenced the version in 1814, and published an edition of 1000 copies in 1821. The testimony of
a native as to its correctness, procured about the period of its publication, was to the following effect :

1 Fourteenth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 32. * Annual Report of Baptist Missionary Society for 1847, p. 4Q.

2 M Culloch s Geographical Dictionary, in voce. 5 Ninth Memoir of the Serampore Translations p. 18.

3 Seventh Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 8. 8 Annual Report of the Baptist Missionary Society for 1847, p. 4Q.

INDO-EUKOPEAN LANGUAGES.] INDIAN DIALECTS. 91

" The book shown me, translated into the Mar war dialect, is in very good Marwar, with here and
there a phrase of the Doond haree ( Jeypoor) dialect ; but this is the case with the language now spoken
in Marwar, and the book will be understood by all." l

JUYAPOORA.

JUYAPOOKA is spoken in Joypoor or Jeypoor, a province which lies east of Marwar and west of
Agra, principally between 26 and 28 degrees of north latitude. It extends from north to south about
150 miles in its greatest length, and about 70 miles from east to west, covering probably a surface
of 9000 square miles. 2 The population may amount to half a million. 3 In the Lord s Prayer, as
given by the Serampore translators in this dialect, twenty-nine words may be traced to their Hinduwee
and Bengalee specimens. A version of St. Matthew in Juyapoora was printed at Serampore in 1815;
but no information has been preserved relative to the number of copies, and the translation appears
subsequently to have been dropped.

SHEKAWUTTY.

THE little province of Shekawutty lies south of Delhi, about the 28th degree of north latitude,
and extends about 80 miles from north to south, and rather less from east to west. The Serampore
translators have furnished neither specimen nor description of this dialect, and no attempt to translate
any portion of the Scriptures appears to have been made.

BIKANEERA.

THE province of Bikaneera lies north of Marwar, and may be said to be situated chiefly between
the 27th and 29th degrees of north latitude ; but, like all other principalities of the Kajpoot states, its
limits are extremely difficult to define. The Lord s Prayer, as given in this dialect, contains twenty-
nine words which may be identified with those in the Hinduwee and Bengali specimens, with some
others more directly from the Sanscrit. A Bikaneera version of the New Testament was commenced
in 1813, and an edition of 1000 copies was printed at Serampore in 1823. 4 Concerning the purity
of this version, several satisfactory testimonies have been afforded by natives. Like other versions
in Hinduwee dialects, it had been printed in Devanagari characters, and it was not discovered till too
late that these characters are used only by the Jains 5 in Bikaneer: the majority of the people employ,
it is supposed, some corrupted or cursive form of Devanagari.

BUTTANEER, OR VlRAT.

BUTTANEER, the country of the Bhatties, is situated in the north-eastern quarter of the Raj-
pootana or Ajmere territory, about the 30th degree of north latitude ; and though it is almost impossible
to define the precise boundaries of so wild a district, it may be conjectured to occupy a space of about
a hundred, or a hundred and twenty, square miles. If Buttaneer is to be classed among the number
of Hinduwee dialects, it is probably extremely corrupted with words from the Persic and Arabic, for
Mahommedanism is the religion of the Bhatties. In 1821 a Buttaneer New Testament was com
menced at Serampore, and^ an ^ edition of 1000 copies was printed in 1824. We have the testimony of
a native as to the intelligibility of this version, but no details relative to its circulation have been
furnished.

1 Ninth Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 18. 4 Annual Report of Baptist Missionary Society for 1847, p. 49.

2 Malcolm s Central India, vol. ii. p. 498. s Nint h Memoir of Serampore Translations, p. 14.

3 Hamilton s East India Gazeteer, vol. ii. p. 41.

BENGALEE.

(For SPECIMEN of the Bengalee Version, see Plate VI.)

GEOGEAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Bengal, the richest and most important province
of India lies between 21 and 27 degrees north latitude, and is bounded north by Nepaul and Bootan,
south by the Bay of Bengal, east by Assam and the Burmese territories, and west by Bahar and
Orissa ! It extends 350 miles in length, and its average breadth is 300 miles, enclosing an area ot
nearly 100,000 square miles ; while the population, in round numbers, may be conjectured to amount
to nearly 30,000,000. The Persic and Hindustani are spoken to some extent m Bengal, but the pw
dominant dialect is unquestionably the Bengalee. 2

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. Among the Indian daughters of the Sanscrit, none,
except the Pali, approach so nearly the parent stock as the Bengalee. _ Yet it is rather a singular cir
cumstance that the derivative languages, which have arisen in India itself from the very tomb of the
Sanscrit, exhibit, in many respects, less analogy to that ancient language than its sister languages m
Europe The Bengalee, for instance, in several of its grammatical inflections, has departed further
from the original Sanscrit type than the Greek and some of the Germanic languages ; and even in its
lexicon we meet with the mutilated and corrupted fragments of Sanscrit words, of which the cor
relatives have been preserved in a far purer state in the languages of Europe. In attempting t
account for this phenomenon, Bopp remarks that, in warm regions, when languages have once burst
the old grammatical chain, they in general hasten to their downfall with a more rapid step than under
our milder European clime. It must, however, be observed, that although Bengalee, m its simple and
colloquial form, displays many deviations from the Sanscrit, yet that in proportion to the abstruseness
of the subjects which it may be employed in discussing, it rises in approximation to the Sanscrit ; and
that in all dio-nified compositions it borrows grammatical forms, words, and idioms freely from its
parent The system of inflection in Bengalee is inartificial, and easily acquired. _ Nouns have in this
dialect seven cases, discriminated by differences of termination The intricacies of gender which
encumber the Hindustani are unknown in Bengalee ; for in this latter dialect the threefold distinction
of sender into masculine, feminine, and neuter, is used with respect to animate and inanimate objects
in the same way as in our own language. The two numbers (singular and plural) apply m Bengalee
only to masculine and feminine nouns. Neuter nouns cannot receive a plural termination ; but a
numeral, or some word expressive of quantity, is added to indicate plurality. Adjectives have no
distinction of number or case, and the gender of feminine adjectives only can be denoted by the ter
mination, masculine and neuter adjectives being entirely uninflected as in English. Pronouns do not
admit of the distinction of gender ; and in translating from Bengalee into other languages the contex-
alone can determine whether the pronoun ought to be rendered he she, tf , or that.* In Bengalee, a:
in other Indian dialects, there are two kinds of personal pronouns, the honorific and the contemptuous.
The habit, says Mr. Haughton, of self-abasement before a superior, and the assumption of self-impor
tance in speaking to an inferior, have established this use of two personal pronouns ; and in accordance
with this custom, there are likewise two sorts of terminations appended to verbs, the one conveying a
respectful, and the other a contemptuous meaning. There is but one conjugation of verbs m Bengalee
and it is remarkably simple and regular. Many of the tenses are formed by.the aid of auxiliaries, and
there are in all but three irregular verbs. The Bengalee style of writing is merely a cursive method
of forming the Devanagari characters, adopted for the sake of ease and expedit

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS DIALECT. The commencement of the first
Bengalee version of Scripture may be dated from the year 1793 when Dr. Carey and his coadjutors
quitted England to ente? upon their labours in India. During the voyage, Mr. Thomas, a surgeon of
Bengal, who was returning thither in company with the missionaries, employed himsel

Halhed s Grammar of Bengalee, Preface.

LANGUAGES.] BENGALEE. 93

part of the book of Genesis into Bengalee. 1 The other portions of Scripture translated by Mr. Thomas
were the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, part of Luke, and the Epistle of James ; 2 but these versions
were executed very incorrectly; and when Dr. Carey, a twelvemonth after his arrival in India, had
mastered the language, and addressed himself to the work of translation, he found the MSS. prepared
by Mr. Thomas of little or no assistance. Dr. Carey executed his version of the New Testament im
mediately from the Greek text ; he made great use of Doddridge s Family Expositor in the transla
tion. 3 After seven years severe labour and study, he completed and published the New Testament at
Serampore in 1801. The edition consisted of 2000 copies of the Testament, besides 500 copies of the
Gospel of Matthew, which had been struck off the preceding year for immediate distribution. A
testimony as to the estimation in which this version was held was speedily afforded by the appointment
of Dr. Carey to the Professorship of the Bengalee, Sanscrit, and Mahratta languages in the College of
Fort William, then recently established. This truly providential circumstance greatly augmented his
means of usefulness as a translator of the Scriptures ; for learned natives crowded from all parts of
India to the College for literary employment, and through their instrumentality, Dr. Carey saw all the
learning and almost all the languages of India placed within his reach. An edition of the Bengalee
Old Testament, consisting of 1000 copies, was carried through the press in successive portions, between
the years 1802 and 1809. Mr. Fountain, one of the Serampore Missionaries, assisted in the pre
paration of the books of Joshua, Judges, Kuth, 1st and 2nd of Kings, and the 2nd of Chronicles ;
the remaining books were translated by Dr. Carey, but whether he had recourse to the English version,
or executed the work direct from the original, we are not informed. In 1806 a second edition of the
New Testament, consisting of 1500 copies, was printed. The sheets were previously subjected to the
most careful revision ; every proof was critically examined and compared with the Greek by Dr. Carey
and Dr. Marshman ; and their increased familiarity with the language enabled them to make several
important alterations in the idioms and phraseology. This edition was followed by large issues of
various portions of the Scriptures, printed for separate distribution; and in 1811 a third edition of
the^ New Testament was published in folio, which being designed for the purposes of public worship in
native congregations, consisted only of 100 copies. The progress of the next edition was interrupted
by the fire which occurred in the printing office at Serampore in 1812 ; but by the zeal of friends and
the energy of the missionaries, new types and printing materials were quickly procured, and in the
following year^the second edition of the Pentateuch, to the extent of 1000 copies, was published. A
fourth and revised edition of the New Testament, consisting of 5000 copies, appeared in 1816 ; and
the increased desire manifested by the natives for copies of the Scriptures in Bengalee, led to the pub
lication of several large editions of the New Testament and of various portions of Scripture which
appeared in successive years ; and in 1832, the eighth edition of the New Testament, carefully revised
and corrected, was committed to the press. It is rather remarkable that the labours of Dr. Carey as a
translator commenced with the Bengalee New Testament, and closed, after the long interval of forty
years, with its revision. He completed his last edition of this Testament but a very short period prior
to his death ; and in allusion to its completion, he remarked at the time to his friends, that " his work
was done, and that he had nothing more to do than to wait the will of his Lord." 4

Another version of the Bengalee New Testament was undertaken by Mr. Ellerton of the Church
Missionary Society, who had long been stationed at Malda, near the ruins of the ancient Gaura. His
first production was a version of the Gospel of John, which was printed at the expense of the Countess
of Loudoun, principally for the use of a school which she had established at Barrackpore. This
version _ obtained so many strong testimonials in its favour, that the Calcutta Bible Society caused
an edition of 2000 copies of the Gospels to be printed in 1817 ; and in the following year, an edition
of the entire Testament, translated by Mr. Ellerton, and consisting of 2000 copies, was issued by the
same Society, together with a large impression of the Gospels, which were distributed singly to the
amount of seven or eight thousand copies. In 1818 the Baptist Missionaries settled at Calcutta pub
lished for the same Society an edition of 5000 copies of Mr. Ellerton s version of the Gospel of John,
with the English on the opposite pages. 5 In 1823 the Calcutta Committee printed another large
edition of^Mr. Ellerton s Aversion of the Gospels and Acts, chiefly for the use of the schools established
by the missionary societies throughout Bengal ; and as this edition was speedily exhausted, another
edition to the same extent of 4000 copies was put to press in 1829. 6 While this edition was in the
course of publication, the attention of the Calcutta Committee was drawn to the great improvements

&gt; Cox s History of the Baptist Missionary Society, vol. i. p. 25. 4 Memoir of Dr. Carey, by Rev. E. Carey, p. 585.

2 Memoir of Dr. Carey, by Rev. E. Carey, p. 323 Memoir of Dr. Yates, by Dr. Hoby, p. 398.

3 Memoir of Dr. Carey, by Rev. E. Carey, p. 276. Twenty-sixth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixiii.

94 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

which had been made in the Serampore version of the Bengalee New Testament by the critical
revisions to which each successive edition had been subjected ; and on a careful examination of Mr.
Ellerton s version, it was determined by the Committee either to subject it to a very minute and
accurate revision, or to substitute some other version in its place. This led to the important measure
of endeavouring to obtain what might be accounted a standard version of the Scriptures in Bengalee.
With this view, a Sub-committee was formed in 1830, composed of the best scholars of the different
denominations of Christians friendly to the Bible Society in Bengal. They were appointed to execute
a version of the entire Scriptures, and agreed to submit their labours to the suggestions of other dis
tinguished scholars. 1 They began with the book of Genesis, and published it in 1833 ; the account
which they gave as to their mode of procedure was as follows : " We have," they said, "paid par
ticular regard to the connective links of the history, and we have throughout consulted the Hebrew
original, and the best authorities on Scripture criticism : as to the language employed, we have been
careful in selecting pure Bengalee words only, such as derive their origin from the Sanscrit, avoiding
all Hindustani vocables, and all low expressions." 2 As further supplies of the New Testament were
imperatively requisite to meet the immediate wants of the people, another edition of 4000 copies of
the Gospels and Acts of Mr. Ellerton s version was printed in 1831 ; and in 1835, as the revision of
the New Testament by the Sub-committee had not been accomplished, the Calcutta Society was autho
rised by the Parent Society to print an edition of 5000 copies of Mr. Ellerton s version as a temporary
supply. 3 Some amendments had been made in the version by the Rev. Mr. Reichardt, which were in
part adopted by a Sub-committee appointed to conduct this edition through the press.

A third version of the Bengalee Scriptures has been executed by Dr. Yates, a Baptist missionary,
whom we have before mentioned as a translator of the Scriptures into Sanscrit. The first portion of
Dr. Yatcs s Bengalee version that was committed to the press appears to have been the Psalter, pub
lished by the Calcutta Society in 1827. The part of the Bengalee Bible containing the Psalms had
been out of print for more than eight years, although repeated applications had been made for it. On
publishing this new translation of the Psalms, the Calcutta Committee presented every native Christian,
in full communion with a church of any denomination, with a copy, not only because most of them
were too poor to purchase, but principally as a token of brotherly affection, and of concern for their
spiritual prosperity. It was hoped by the Committee that this proceeding would " contribute in some
measure to the promotion of that love and union between Christians of different nations and com
munions, which our common Lord and Saviour so earnestly implored in his mediatorial prayer
(John xvii.); and which will, doubtless, be one of the principal means of convincing the world that
the Father has sent the Son to be the Saviour of men." 4

The first edition of Dr. Yates s New Testament appears to have been published in 1833. In the
preparation of this version he derived much assistance from his friend and colleague, Mr. Pearce, who
had a very accurate acquaintance with the Bengalee dialect, and also with the Greek original, from
which the translation was made. 5 Dr. Yates remarks concerning him, that " he had the eye of a
Christian, a critic, and a printer." This version was pronounced by competent judges " an able and
excellent translation;" 6 and as the Baptist Missionaries liberally permitted the Bible Society to use
their version with alterations for the word baptism (they being considered in no way parties
to such alterations), the Calcutta Committee undertook in 1836 to publish an edition of 5000
copies of the entire Testament. 7 This edition of Dr. Yates s version was completed at the expense of
the Parent Society in 1837. Other editions of the same version appear to have been printed, from
time to time, by the Baptist Missionaries. In 1840 a fourth, and very beautiful, edition was issued by
them, and in 1844 it underwent an entire and very severe revision ; and references and marginal read
ings were added. 8 An edition of the Bengalee New Testament, in Roman letters, was published
in London by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1839 : the text adopted was that
of Dr. Yates. In the translation of the Old Testament, Dr. Yates was aided by the British and
Foreign Bible Society : the sum of 400 was voted in 1836 in aid of the version, and further
assistance was promised. 9 The version was completed in 1844 : the translation of the entire Bible
had occupied Dr. Yates during the space of five years, and five more were employed in printing ^it. 10

With the exception of a version of the book of Proverbs by the Rev. W. Morton, of which _ an
edition of 5000 copies was printed by the Calcutta Society in 1842, no other translation of any portion

1 Twenty-seventh Report of British and For. Bible Society, p. xlviii. 6 Thirty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. lix.

2 Twenty-second Calcutta Report, p. 30. 7 Thirty-second Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xlix.
s Thirty-first Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixi. 8 Memoir of Dr. Yates, by Dr. Hoby, p. 355.

* Twenty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixviii. 9 Thirty-second Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Iv.

s Dr. Yates s Memoir of Rev. W. Pearce, p. 424. 10 Memoir of Dr. Yates, by Dr. Hoby, p. 330.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] BENGALEE.

of the Scriptures into Bengalee seems to have been made in addition to the above mentioned versions
until 1845, when a new version of the entire Bengalee New Testament, prepared by Dr. Hffiberlin,
was offered to the Calcutta Society: 250 copies of the Gospel according to Mark, and the same number
of the Epistle to the Ephesians, have since been printed as specimens of Dr. Hjeberlin s version ] in
order that its value may be tested.

In 1845 an inquiry was instituted by the Calcutta Society respecting the state of the Bengalee
versions, and the practicability of obtaining a version which they might consider their own. A
circular letter was addressed to the various missionaries in Bengal for their advice and help. From the
answers received, it appeared that " none of the existing versions, in their present state, fully answered
the actual wants of the country ; and that either an entirely new version, or a. revised and improved
edition, of some one or other of the existing versions was absolutely required." 2 As it had, however,
been long acknowledged that the version by Dr. Yates possessed the principal characteristics deemed
requisite in a standard version, the Calcutta Society determined to reprint his New Testament, and an
edition of 2500 copies was published in 1847, under the care of the Eev. J. Paterson, of the London
Missionary Society. During the same year the Society likewise printed 5000 copies of Genesis with
the first twenty chapters of Exodus, from Dr. Yates s version. About the same time 1000 copies of
the Prophecies of Isaiah were printed by Mr. L. Mendes at his own expense, the Society supplying the
paper: this work was carried through the press by the Eev. Dr. Duff and the Rev. A. F. Lacroix. 3

Another edition of 4000 copies of Dr. Yates s version of the New Testament was published by the
Baptist Missionaries in 1846: there were also printed, for separate distribution, 15,000 copies of each of
the Four Gospels, besides other separate portions of Scripture. 4

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION OF THE SCRIPTURES. Examples
might easily be multiplied of the blessed effects that at various periods have resulted from the study of
the _ Bengalee Scriptures; but let the following facts, related by Dr. Marsh man in illustration of the
subject, suffice. About the year 1818, a number of persons were found inhabiting certain villages near
Dacca, who had forsaken idolatry, and Avho constantly refused to Brahmins the usual honours paid to
them beyond the other classes of the community. They were also said to be remarkable for the cor
rectness of their conduct, and particularly for their adherence to truth. They were occasionally visited
by several Christian brethren, both native and European, and were said to be scattered through ten or
twelve villages. They were, however, the followers of no particular leader, as is the case with many
sects among the Hindoos ; but from their professing to be in search of a true yooroo, or teacher, they
were termed sutya-gooroos. Some native Christians being exceedingly desirous of knowing whence
they have derived all their ideas, were at length told that they had imbibed them from a book which
was carefully preserved in one of their villages. On arriving at this village, they were shown a book
much worn, kept in a case ; the book was stated to have been there many years, although none of
those present could say from whence it came. On examination this book was found to be a copy of
the first edition of the Bengalee New Testament, printed at Serampore in 1800. After this, numbers
of these sutya-gooroos went to Dacca, and conversed with the native brethren there concernino- many
subjects mentioned in the New Testament. This ended in three of them being baptized ona pro
fession of faith in Christ, and they afterwards returned to their own villages? Krishnoo, a native
Christian (who had also been converted by means of the perusal of the Bengalee version, and who had
been baptized in 1800) went among them shortly afterwards, and found in their possession a copy of
the second edition of the Bengalee New Testament, which they prized very highly, although they had
not, as a body, made an open profession of Christianity. 5 Other similar instances of the effects
resulting under the blessing of God from the distribution of this version, will be seen by reference to
the Reports of the Church and London Missionary Societies ; but the best evidence of the satisfactory
result of this dissemination of the Bengalee Scriptures is exhibited in the numerous congregations and
schools that are rising in every part of the Bengal Presidency.

.! Forty-third Report of British and ForeigTi Bible Society, p. xc. 4 Annual Report of the fet Missionary Society for 184;&gt; 3

- torty-second Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixxxiv. s Eighteenth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. ft.

3 Forty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixxxiv.

BENGALEE DIALECTS.

MAGADHA, OR MAGUDHA.

MAGADHA is spoken in the province of South Bahar, which comprises an area of 32,982 square
miles, and a population of 4,758,150. South Bahar is now included in the Presidency of Bengal, but
it was anciently the seat of an independent sovereignty. Gay a, a town in this province, is said to have
been the birthplace of Buddha, the great prophet and legislator of Eastern Asia. From this and other
circumstances it was once currently believed, though without sufficient data, that the dialect now
spoken in South Bahar is identical with Pali, the sacred language of Buddhism. But, whatever may
be the diversity of opinion concerning the origin of the Magadha dialect, it is now generally admitted
that, in its present state, it can only be regarded as a gross corruption of the Bengalee. 1 According
to Mr. Colebrooke s representation, it appears to be more corrupt than any of the other Indian dialects ;
but, perhaps, this may partly arise from the large proportion of Mahommedans found in this province,
speaking another language, and using a different character, and who are said to form at least one third
of the entire population. A version of the New Testament in Magadha was commenced at Serampore
in 1814, and in 1824 an edition of 1000 copies left the press. 2 More recently, some portions of the
Gospels have been translated by the Rev. E. Start of Patna ; but it appears that his version is still
unfinished and in manuscript : he is of opinion that it is through the Magadha alone that " access can
be had to one million of Hindoos who now live in the birthplace of Buddhism." 3 Other missionaries,
however, have stated that it is questionable whether any version of the Scriptures except the Bengalee
is strictly requisite in South Bahar.

TlRHITIYA, OB MlTHILI.

THE Sircar of Tirhut, or Tirhoot, sometimes called Mithili, and sometimes North Bahar, is
separated from South Bahar by the Driver Ganges, and lies principally between the 27th and 28th
degrees of north latitude. In the parliamentary reports of 1822, its area was represented at 13,492,
and its population at 3,181,775. The Tirhitiya dialect never appears to have been at any period in
extensive use, or to have been much employed in literary compositions. In its present form it greatly
resembles the Bengalee, and its written characters differ but little from those used in writing Bengalee. 4
In the Lord s Prayer, as given in this dialect by the Serampore Missionaries, may be traced twenty
words radically the same as those in the Bengalee and Hinduwee specimens ; but some of the words
are more purely Sanscrit. 5 A version of the Scriptures in this dialect was projected at Serampore, but
apparently never carried into execution. It is now conjectured that the Bengalee version is likely to
answer all the purposes of a separate translation in Tirhitiya.

1 Versions of Scripture required for India, p. 3. 4 Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 220.

2 Annual Report of Baptist Missionary Society for 1847, p. 49. s Sixth Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 13.
s Fortieth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xcii.

ASSAMESE.

(A SPECIMEN of this Version could not be procured at the time of publication.)

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Assam was one of the provinces ceded to the
British in 1826 by the Burmese, and now forms part of the eastern frontier of our Indian possessions.
It is included in the valley of the Brahmaputra, and extends from the north-east corner of the pro
vince of Bengal, about longitude 91 degrees east, in an easterly direction, to an extent not yet very
clearly denned; but it is probable that from about the 96th degree of east longitude, the territory is
inhabited by several independent tribes, who occupy the intervening space from thence to the province
of Yunan in China, and who speak dialects belonging to the Monosyllabic stock. The total popu
lation of Assam in 1835, according to Pemberton, was 602,500. Brahminism has been the general
religion of the people since the seventeenth century, yet many among them profess Mahometanism.

CHARACTERISTICS or THE LANGUAGE. The original language of the Assamese nation was
the Ahom, a branch of the Siamese family of languages. The Ahom appears to have been formerly
vernacular on the borders of China, whence these people are said to have emigrated prior to their
settlement in Assam. On their adoption of the religion of Bengal, in the middle of the seventeenth
century, they also gradually habituated themselves to the use of its language, till at length the ancient
Ahom tongue became extinct. The language now spoken in Assam has, during the lapse of years,
contracted several peculiarities of its own, distinguishing it from the Bengalee. The Serampore
Missionaries diligently compared it with the Bengalee, and found that though the two dialects still
correspond with each other exactly, so far as words are concerned, yet that the inflections of nouns
and verbs differ so greatly, that the natives of the two countries are unintelligible to each other. The
letters of the Assamese dialect have in general the same name and power as the Bengalee, but several
of the characters vary a little in form ; and though these variations are but trifling, yet in printing the
Scriptures it was found impracticable to use the Bengalee types, and the Missionaries were obliged to
cast a new fount of types for the purpose.

VERSIONS OP SCRIPTURE IN THIS DIALECT. A translation of the Scriptures into Assamese
was commenced at Serampore in 1811, and completed in 1815, when the first two Gospels were
printed. The whole New Testament was finished at press in 1819, the edition consisting of a
thousand copies: 1 the British and Foreign Bible Society aided the publication by the grant of 500.
In 1822, one thousand copies of the Pentateuch left the press ; and in 1832 the printing of the Old
Testament was almost completed. 2 The American Baptist Missionary Society has three stations in this
province, and, according to the last reports, Mr. Nathan Brown, one of their agents, is occupied in pre
paring another translation of the New Testament into Assamese. In 1843 he had proceeded as far as
the close of the Epistle to the Romans. 3

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. Comparatively few details have been
received in Europe concerning the progress of the Gospel in this province, or the results that may
have followed the Christian efforts of the American Baptist Missionaries, the only labourers employed
on this field. These missionaries, however, have stated that " the truth appears to be slowly and
surely working its way in Assam ; that the people are eager to receive books ; and that a number of
interesting young men do not hesitate to denounce Hindooism as false, and to acknowledge the
Scriptures as true."

1 Eighth Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 3. 3 Hoole s Year-Book of Missions, p. 1/0.

2 Tenth Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 7.

URIYA, OR O HISS A.

(For a SPECIMEN of this Version, see Plate IV.)

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Uriya is the vernacular dialect of Orissa, a narrow
strip of country stretching along the shores of the Bay of Bengal, from the provinces of Bengal and
Bahar on the north to the Carnatic on the south ; it has an average breadth of about seventy miles
inland, where it borders upon Gundwana, and is said to comprise a territory of about 28,000 square
miles. The amount of population is uncertain ; but in 1836 it was stated that from three to four
millions of people are conversant with the Uriya dialects. 1 Orissa has been under foreign sway since
the year 1558, when it was conquered by the Affghans. In 1578 it was annexed to the Mogul
empire; in 1756 it was transferred to, the Mahrattas; and since 1803-4 it has formed a part of the
Bengal Presidency. 2 The national religion of Orissa is Brahminism, and the celebrated temple and
town of Juggernaut are situated in this province.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS DIALECT. Uriya is a tolerably pure dialect of the Sanscrit, but
possesses some Persian and Arabic terms, borrowed through the medium of the Hindustani, with
others of doubtful origin. It is closely connected with Bengalee, nine-tenths of the same words being
in use in both dialects : the pronunciation, however, differs greatly; for an effeminate style of articula
tion is prevalent in Bengal, while the inhabitants of Orissa have a broad and almost a rustic accent. 3
The Uriya has a written character peculiar to itself, but evidently derived from the Devanagari ; and
the Brahmins of this province use the Uriya character in writing Sanscrit. The deviations of this
character from the Devanagari have been ascribed to the practice of writing on palm leaves with an
iron style, or on paper with a pen cut from a porcupine s quill. 4

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS DIALECT. The first version of the Scriptures in
this dialect was commenced by the Scrampore Missionaries in 1803. The native pundit employed in
preparing the rough draft of the translation was almost as well acquainted with the Bengalee as with
his own dialect, and therefore translated from the Bengalee version; his work, according to the method
pursued in other versions, was afterwards compared verse by verse with the original text, and corrected
by the missionaries. An edition consisting of 1000 copies of the New Testament was printed in 1811.
The first edition of the Old Testament, Avliich also consisted of 1000 copies, was finished at press in
1819. 5 So great Avas the demand for this version that, in 1820, the first edition of the New Testament
was exhausted, and an edition, consisting of 4000 copies, was put to press, and completed in 1822.
The publication of this large edition was simultaneous with the establishment of a mission by the
General Baptist Society at Cuttack, the capital of Orissa. 6 In 1832 a second edition of the Old Testa
ment was passing through the press ; and likewise a large separate edition of the Psalms. 7 In 1838,

n .1.1 -11 , 1 1 , .1 _ . ..j. . 1 .__. _ f O ,

with the book of Genesis, and when the translation was completed, he carried on both the printing
and binding at Cuttack, where he was stationed. 9 An edition of the Old Testament was accomplished
by him for the Bible Society in 1844; the edition consisted of 2000 copies of the New Testament, and
of 3000 separate copies of the books of Genesis, Psalms, and Proverbs. 10

CUTCHEE, OR CATCHEE.

CUTCH, a small state of north-western Hindoostan, lies between latitude 22 45 and 23 45 north.
The Runn, a salt morass of immense extent, divides it from Sinde, Eajpootana, and Gujerat. The
greatest extent of Cutch from east to west is 165 miles, and its average breadth is 45 miles. The land
is in general poor and indifferently cultivated, and the number of inhabitants does not exceed half a
million. 1 Brahminism and Mahometanism prevail in about equal proportions. Cutch is subsidiary
to the British ; the government is in the hands of the Jarejahs, a race of Sindian origin. Very little
is known respecting the Cutchee dialect, but it is supposed. to be intimately connected with the
Sindhee.

A translation of the Gospel of St. Matthew into Cutchee was executed by the late Eev. James
Gray, one of the chaplains at Bombay; and in 1835 a small edition, consisting of 500 copies, was
printed. 2 This edition was, however, found to be of little or no service, from the circumstance of its
being issued in the Balboreh character, with which the people of Cutch are unacquainted. In 1843.
the attention of the Bombay Auxiliary Bible Society was directed to the duty of disseminating the
Scriptures in the countries on each side of the Indus, which had, through recent political events, be
come accessible to missionary efforts. It was determined by the Society to print an edition of Mr.
Gray s version of St. Matthew in Guzerattee characters, which are commonly employed in Cutch. It
was anticipated that this edition would be useful in Sinde, particularly in the parts of Sinde bordering
upon Cutch, as well as in Cutch itself. 3 The later Reports of the Society, however, furnish us with no
further information concerning the publication or circulation of this edition.

SINDHEE.

SINDE is an extensive country of Western India, and apparently derives its name from the river
Sinde, or Indus, by which it is traversed. It lies between 23 and 29 degrees of north latitude, and
67 and 71 degrees of east longitude. It was governed by military chieftains called Ameers ; but since
the year 1839, has been classed among the states subject to Britain. The inhabitants are a mixed race,
chiefly Hindoos, Juts, and Beloochees, and may in number amount to about 1,000,000. Maho
metanism is perhaps the predominant religion, though many of the people are followers of
Brahminism.

The Sindhee dialect has a written character peculiar to itself; otherwise it merely differs in spell
ing and inflection from the pure Hinduwee of Upper India ; 4 and, indeed, it is by some regarded as
the elder dialect of the two, because it is more elaborate and regular in the inflection of nouns
and verbs.

The Serampore Missionaries had commenced a translation of the Scriptures into this dialect as
early as 1815; 5 but various circumstances impeded the progress of the work, and it was not till 1825
that the first part of the version, consisting of the Gospel of St. Matthew, was committed to the press. 6
We are not informed of how many copies this edition consisted, and it does not appear that any other
portion of this version was afterwards published.

1 Lieutenant- Colonel Tod s Travels in Western India, p. 484. * Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal for 1837, p. 348.

2 Thirty-first Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixv. 5 Twelfth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 224.
Fortieth Report of British arid Foreign Bible Society, p. cvi. Annual Report of Baptist Society for 1847, p. 50.

MOULTAN, OR WUCH.

THE district of Moultan, in which this dialect is vernacular, is enclosed by the rivers Indus,
Chenab, and Gharra ; it has the Punjab on the north, Sinde on the west and south, and the Sandy
Desert on the east. Although Moultan was formerly an extensive territory, yet owing to political
changes it does not now exceed 110 miles in length, by 70 in breadth. The amount of population is
uncertain, but does not probably exceed three or four hundred thousand. Brahminism and Mahomet-
anism are the two predominant religions.

The dialect is called Wuch, or Ooch, from a town of that name in the southern extremity of
Moultan. It differs little from the Sindhee, and the character in which it is written is nearly the same
as that used in writing Sindhee. 1 A translation of the Scriptures into this dialect was commenced at
Serampore in 1812, and 1000 copies of the New Testament were printed in 1819. 2 But as no mis
sionary station has yet been formed in Moultan, it is not probable that this edition has obtained much
circulation. The Serampore Missionaries afterwards recognised their error in providing translations
of the Scriptures for countries where there were no missionaries to undertake the distribution, and they
accordingly renounced the design they had contemplated of procuring a version of the Old Testament
for Moultan, and dismissed the pundit whom they had employed in the translation of the New
Testament. 3

PUNJABEE, OR SIKH.

(A SPECIMEN of the Translation now in progress will, if possible, be given before the close of the work.)

THE Punjab is an extensive and hitherto independent country of north-west Hindoostan, situated
chiefly between the 29th and 34th degrees of north latitude, and the 70th and 77th degrees of east longi
tude. It derives its name from two Persian words signifying Jive waters, in allusion to the five great
streams, arms of the Indus, by which it is intersected. It was the scene of the last campaign of Alex
ander the Great. Its superficial extent has been estimated at 60,000 square miles, and its population at
4,000,000. 4 Jats, Rajpoots, Hindoos of low caste, various hill tribes, and Mussulmans constitute part
of this population ; but the Sikhs, or disciples (as the name signifies in Sanscrit), are the predominant-
race. Burnes says he conjectures the Sikhs number but 500,000 individuals : this, however, is a
subject involved in much uncertainty. The Sikhs were originally Hindoos, and their incorporation as a
sect, with the assumption of a distinctive appellation, dates from the close of the fifteenth, or beginning of
the sixteenth, century. Their founder, Nanac, a native of the Punjab, was born in 1469: he professed
a desire to reform, not to destroy, the Hindoo religion, and sought to reconcile the jarring faiths of
Brahma and Mahomet, so as to unite the followers of each system into one body. 5 The creed which
he inculcated was one of pure deism, founded on the most sublime general truths, and breathing a
spirit of peace and toleration ; yet his followers speedily lost sight of the purity of his doctrines,
retaining only the remembrance of the Hindoo and Mahommedan fables which had found a place in
his system. Guru Govind, the tenth guru or teacher in succession from Nanac, impressed a new
character on the religion of his followers, by recognising the equality of all men, thus finally abolish
ing the distinction of caste, and enforcing the bearing of arms as a religious duty incumbent on all.
He was the founder of the temporal power of the Sikhs : he was killed A.D. 1708.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DIALECT. The Sareswati, one of the dialects altered from the
Sanscrit for colloquial purposes, and hence called Pracrit, or derived, appears to have been anciently

1 Twelfth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 224. * M Culloch s Geographical Dictionary, vol. ii. p. 559.

2 Ninth Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 4. 5 General Malcolm in Asiatic Researches, vol. ii. p. 267.
s Seventh Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 7-

LANGUAGES.] PUNJABEE. 101

the vernacular of the Punjab ; but it underwent many alterations, owing to the invasions of the
Mahommedans, and numerous foreign words were by degrees engrafted on it. The Punjabee, or
modern dialect of the Sikhs, possesses many terms of Persic and Arabic origin, yet it still retains
clear traces of its Sanscrit origin, and exhibits a close resemblance to the Hmduwee. In the
specimen of the Lord s Prayer in Punjabee, given by the Serampore Missionaries, no less than
thirty words were found nearly identical with the corresponding terms in the Hinduwee and Bengalee
specimens. The Punjabee characters, though peculiar to that dialect, present comparatively few points
of difference from the Devanagari, being the same in number, order, and power, though slightly vary
ing in form.

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS DIALECT. A version of the New Testament in
Punjabee was commenced at Serampore in 1807, but the fount of types which had been prepared for
printing it, was one of those which were so unfortunately destroyed by fire. The loss, however, was
speedily replaced, and in 1813 the Gospels and Acts were announced as finished. The entire New
Testament, in an edition of 1000 copies, was completed in 1815. In 1832, a second edition was
undertaken. The translation of the Old Testament into Punjabee has only been partially accom
plished. In 1820 an edition of the Pentateuch and Historical Books was issued, followed durino- the

supplying his place, the work was entirely suspended. The translation had been conducted as far as
the close of Ezekiel s Prophecy, at which point it still remains. Efforts are now being made to furnish
the Sikhs with a new version of the Scriptures. The missionaries in the neighbourhood of the Punjab
are at present employed in translating the New Testament, and it is the intention of the Agra Bible
Society to appoint a regular Sub-committee to superintend this important undertaking. 2 Arrange
ments have lately been made by that Society with the missionaries at Loodiana for the printingof
5000 copies of the Gospel of John in Punjabee.

KESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. In the year 1820, five years after the
completion of the Punjabee New Testament, the following account was given of the Sikhs and of the
readiness they had manifested to receive the Scriptures: " So strong has been the desire of this
nation for the New Testament, that the whole edition is nearly distributed, and a second edition will
probably be called for before the Old Testament is wholly published. Besides the Hughs, on the
borders of Arracan, no one of the nations of India has discovered a stronger desire for the Scriptures
than _ this hardy race; and the distribution of almost every copy has been accompanied with the
pleasing hope of its being read and valued." 3 About two years subsequently, the following statement
was made by one of the missionaries to the translators: "Of the faithfulness and utility of the
Punjabee ^Scriptures, you have had abundant proof in the warm reception given to them, and in the
spirit of inquiry raised in the minds of multitudes of the free and independent people using the
Punjabee language. _ At Umritsar, at Lahore, at the fountain head of the Sikh religion, the book of
Jesus is spoken of, is read, and has caused a considerable stir in the minds of the people." 4 The
Serampore Missionaries, under the date of their last Memoir (1832), furnish equally gratifying details
concerning the Sikhs ; but of late years little has been known respecting the further distribution of
the Scriptures among this interesting nation.

I I e !i h &lt; M . em i ir of the Serampore Translations, p. 7- s Seventh Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 6.

* Forty-third Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xciii.; 4 Eighth Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 48.

and Forty-fourth Report, p. Ixxxviii.

DOGURA, OR JUMBOO

(MOUNTAIN PUNJABEE).

THE Dogura, or Jumboo, dialect is spoken in the hilly country on the north of the Punjab, and
east of- the river Chenab and of Cashmere. Much confusion prevails in the accounts of the Seram-
pore Missionaries respecting the extent of territory in which this dialect is predominant ; and the
number of inhabitants to whom it is vernacular has never yet been ascertained.

The Dogura dialect deviates in many respects from the Punjabee, and approximates pretty closely
to the Cashmcrian dialect. It has several permutations of letters and inflections peculiar to itself, but

B-eserves indubitable indications of its Sanscrit origin. In the specimen of the Lord s Prayer in
ogura, given by the Serampore Missionaries, twenty-five words were similar to those of the Hindu-
wee and Bengalee specimens, while the remaining words were found to be more immediately connected
with the Sanscrit.

A version of the New Testament in Dogura was undertaken at Serampore in 1814 ; in 1820 the
first three Gospels left the press, and in 1826 an edition of the entire New Testament, consisting of
1000 copies, was completed. Opportunities for the circulation of the version seem to have been
wholly wanting. In 1832 it was stated that a few copies had been given to some natives who had
visited Calcutta, 1 but no further accounts have since been furnished relative to the distribution of this
edition.

CASHMERIAN.

(For SPECIMEN of this Version, see Plate V.)

CASHMERE is an elevated and fertile tract, enclosed by very lofty mountains, situated north of
the Punjab. It is about 120 miles long by 70 broad. In superficial extent it comprises 4500 square
miles, being a little less than four-fifths of the size of Yorkshire. 2 The total amount of population is
about 600,000; the majority of the inhabitants are Mahommedans. After having been successively
subject to the Mogul empire and to the Aflghans, Cashmere fell in 1819 under the dominion of the
Sikhs, by whom it is at present governed.

The Cashmerian dialect is derived from the Sanscrit, and the written character resembles the
Devanagari. The business of the government is transacted in Persian, and a number of Persian words
have hence become engrafted on the Cashmerian dialect. The pronunciation of the Cashmerians is
said to be remarkably broad, coarse, and uncouth.

An edition of 1000 copies of the New Testament was printed at Serampore in 1820, after having
been ten years in course of preparation. 3 An edition of the Pentateuch was commenced in 1822; but
as the types used in printing it were afterwards exchanged for smaller ones, the completion of the
edition was retarded, and in 1832 the Old Testament had only been printed as far as the Second Book
of Kings. It does not appear that any further efforts have since been made to continue the work.
Probably the version was eventually discovered to be comparatively useless, on account of there being
no missionaries in Cashmere to undertake the distribution.

1 Tenth Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 3. 3 Eighth Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 3.

2 Thornton s Gazcteer of Countries N. W. of India, vol. i. p. 341.

NEPALESE, OR KHASPOORA.

SPECIMEN OF THE NEPALESE, OR KHASPOORA VERSION; SEKAMPORE, 1821.

ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. I to 14.

fiif cir ^if$ ^ i ^nr &lt;jnrc5iQ5 ^nrnrr n^r "Ti^rr T sremsy i2[ ^nrT it r i

sTTT

-i)iifi*ii Hw*n tV^TO ^iHTm^i ^sr f^r ^T T^r?r^f^r "^rr *K*U.m
RT

ON THE NEPALESE, OR KHASPOORA, DIALECT AND VERSION.

NEPAUL, one of the largest independent sovereignties of India, comprises a great portion of the
southern declivity of the Himalaya chain, and lies between the 27th and 31st degrees of north
latitude, 1 and the 80th and 88th degrees of east longitude. It is bounded on three sides by the British
territories, and on the north, the lofty ridges of the Himalayas divide it from the table land of Thibet.
Its superficial extent is 53,000 square miles, and its amount of population 2,000,000. Nepaul was
formerly divided among numerous petty independent princes, but since the middle of the last century
it has been united into one kingdom, under the sway of the Rajah of Goorkha, a small state situated
north of Nepaul Proper. The aborigines of the country apparently belong to the Mongolian race,
but great numbers of the present inhabitants are of Hindoo descent. Brahminism is the predominant
religion, though Buddhism has still many votaries in Nepaul.

Various dialects prevail in different parts of this extensive territory, but the principal of these is
unquestionably the Nepalese or Khaspoora, which is exclusively used by the reigning family and by
the higher castes. It is now continually becoming more and more prevalent throughout the whole
country, and is rapidly superseding the dialects of the aboriginal tribes ; but originally it was merely
the vernacular of a Hindoo tribe, whom tradition represents as having sought refuge among the
mountains of Nepaul during an invasion of the Mahommedans, about the fourteenth century of our
era. These Hindoos are still distinguished by the name of Parabatiya, or Parabutties ; and hence their
dialect is frequently designated the Parbutti, or mountain Hinduwee. It has a very close affinity with
the pure Hinduwee of Upper India, yet at the same time has so much in common with the Thibetan,
that some writers have not hesitated to suggest the probability of its having been originally an inferior

1 Hamilton s East India Gazeteer, vol. ii. p. 302.

104 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

dialect of the latter language, compelled by the poverty of its structure to borrow largely from the
Sanscrit. 1 Several different alphabets are in use in Nepaul, all apparently based on the Devanagari.

The only version of the Scriptures that has been attempted in this dialect was commenced at
Serampore in 1812; and an edition, consisting of 1000 copies, of the New Testament was issued in
182 1. 2 A few copies were placed, soon after publication, in the hands of the Goorkhas, but as there
are no missionaries stationed in Nepaul, opportunities for general distribution of this Testament in that
country have not yet been found.

PALP A.

PALPA is a division of Northern Hindustan, subject to the Nepalese. It is situated below the
Himalayas, north of Oude and east of Kumaon. No accurate estimate appears to have been made of
the amount of population to whom the Palpa dialect is vernacular, and little is known even respecting
the distinctive peculiarities of the dialect itself; for although the Serampore Missionaries have
furnished a version of the New Testament in Palpa, they have given us no details illustrative of the
structure of this dialect, or of its points of divergence from the other members of the Sanscrit stem.

The Serampore version was commenced in 1817, and part of the Gospel of Matthew was printed
in 1822; 3 an edition of 1000 copies of the New Testament was completed prior to 1832. This work
has hitherto been comparatively useless, for although a few copies have been presented to natives who
have occasionally visited Calcutta, no opportunities for general distribution of the Scriptures in Palpa
have yet occurred.

KUMAON.

KUMAON, a province now subject to Britain, comprises the whole tract of country between the
Ganges and the Cali, and includes a large portion of the principality of Gurwhal. On the north, its
frontier line along the Himalayas extends from longitude 79 15 , latitude 31 4 , to longitude 80 45 ,
latitude 30 10 , giving a line of about a hundred English miles. 4 The entire area of the province
includes 7000 square miles ; 5 but Kumaon, properly so called, lies between the Cali, or Gogra, and the
Ramganga rivers. Like other parts of Northern Hindustan, this territory is thinly populated ; it is
calculated, however, that about 6000 Brahmin families are settled in different parts of the province.

The Kumaon dialect is closely allied to the Hinduwee. A version of the New Testament was
commenced at Serampore in 1815, but appears to have been printed only as far as the Epistle to the
Colossians. The death of the Kumaon pundit employed in the translation, about the year 1826, put a
stop to its further progress through the press. 6 As there are no missionaries in Kumaon, and con
sequently no means of distributing the word of God in that province, the suspension of the undertak
ing is the less to be regretted.

GURWHAL, OR SCHREENAGUR.

is situated between 30 and 31 degrees of north latitude, and extends from the river
Ramganga, which separates it from Kumaon, to the Jumna: on the north it is bounded by the
Himalayas, and its superficial extent is estimated at 9000 square miles.

The Gurwhal dialect has been little studied, but it is supposed to bear a considerable resemblance
to the Hinduwee : it is sometimes called (from the name of the capital of Gurwhal) the Schreenagur
dialect. A translation of the New Testament was undertaken at Serampore in 1816 ; the Gospel of
Matthew was printed in 1820, and the entire New Testament at some period prior to 1832 ? but
means for the circulation of this edition have hitherto been utterly wanting.

1 Asiatic Researches, vol. xvi. p. 410. 5 Hamilton s East India Gazeteer, vol. ii. p. 101.

2 Ninth Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 4. 6 Tenth Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 3.
s Ninth Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 21 . 7 Tenth Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 3.

&lt; Asiatic Researches, vol. xvi. p. 137.

GUJERATTEE.

(For SPECIMEN of this Version, see Plate V.)

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The Gujerattee dialect takes its name from
Gujerat, the principal province in which it is spoken, and which lies on the western side of Hindustan,
between 21 and 24 degrees of north latitude. Gujerattee is the prevailing dialect at Surat, and along
the whole coast from Cambay to Damaun. It is said by the Serampore Missionaries to be the
vernacular of a territory equal in point of extent to England. It has been calculated that in this
territory there are more than five millions of inhabitants ; but of these the Mahommedans form one-
tenth part, and the number of Jains is not inconsiderable. Gujerattee, as a language of trade and
commerce, is extensively spoken beyond the limits above described; and it has been appropriately
designated, on account of its wide diffusion, " the grand mercantile language of foreign Indian marts." l

CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS DIALECT. Gujerattee is very closely allied to the Hinduwee,
and its alphabet, though peculiar to itself, is evidently derived from the Devanagari. 2 The gram
matical principles offer few points of variation from those of the other Sanscrit dialects. The verbs
may be reduced to one conjugation, and strictly speaking there are no irregular verbs. The simple
tenses are formed by means of terminations affixed to the root, which is always the second person
singular of the imperative ; and the other tenses are conjugated by the aid of auxiliaries. 3

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS DIALECT. The Serampore Missionaries were the
first to undertake a Gujerattee version of the Scriptures. When commencing the study of this
dialect, they remarked that the Gujeratee words, which had become familiar to them through the
medium of the Sanscrit, the Bengalee, and the Hinduwee, were in the proportion of about six in
seven. In 1807 they commenced printing the Gospel of St. Matthew in the Devanagari character,
but owing to pecuniary and other circumstances the work was afterwards relinquished. It was,
however, resumed in 1813, and the printing of the work was commenced anew, Gujerattee cha
racters being substituted for the Sanscrit as more intelligible to the mass of the people. 4 An
edition of 1000 copies of the New Testament was completed in 1820. The prosecution of this
version was, however, resigned about this period by the Serampore Missionaries to the agents of the
London Missionary Society stationed at Surat, and from the proximity of this district to Bombay, it
was^ deemed advisable that future editions should be published under the care of the Bombay Bible
Society. Some steps had been taken by this Society towards the preparation of a Gujerattee version
of the New Testament, several years before the publication of the Serampore version. Dr. John
Taylor, who had originally been sent to Surat as agent of the London Missionary Society, and who
afterwards accepted a medical appointment under the Bombay Government, offered his services in 1816
to the Bombay Bible Society to superintend the translation of any portion of the Scriptures into the
Gujerattee and Mahratta dialects. His proposal was accepted by the Society, and he was requested to
commence with the Gospel of St. Matthew. He completed the translation of this Gospel in 1816, but
he died soon afterwards; and although a sum of money was voted by the Calcutta Auxiliary Society
in aid of the publication of this version, it does not appear whether an edition of this Gospel was
issued. The translation of the New Testament was then carried on by the Eev. Messrs. Skinner and
Fyvie of the London Missionary Society. They were stationed at Surat in 1815, and such was their
diligence in the study of the Gujerattee dialect, that in 1817 they had finished a translation both of
the New Testament and of the Pentateuch, and had in part prepared it for the press. In 1821,
assisted by the supply of Gujerattee types and by other grants from the Parent and Auxiliary Bible
Societies, they printed an edition of 1000 copies of the New Testament. 5 In this version they appear
to have incorporated Dr. Taylor s translation of St. Matthew. Mr. Skinner died shortly after the pub
lication of the New Testament, but the translation of the Old Testament was prosecuted by Mr. Fyvie,
and in 1823 an edition ^was carried through the press, printed with a view to wider distribution in
separate portions, of which the average number of copies was 600. 6 In 1825 a second and carefully

Hamilton s East India Gazeteer, vol. i. p. 607. 4 Eleventh Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 3
Researches, vol. vii. p. 229. 5 Nineteenth Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, p.
trrammar of the Gooiratee Lano-nae-p. hv William PnrVioc K T ,H&gt; AI:,.,,; u * t ,o&lt;w , ,-

-- --~wi, vi. vii. t ,. ny. 5 Nineteenth Report of the British and Fon

Grammar of the Goojratee Language, by William Forbes. 6 London Missionary Report for 1826, p. 47.

32.
123.

106 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

revised edition of the Gospels was published by Mr. Fyvie, under the patronage of the Bombay Society,
and by the aid of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Of this edition 1000 copies were given
away in Surat, and 3000 in the interior of the country in the space of little more than twelve months.
An edition of the entire Scriptures was then commenced in larger types, and the New Testament was
finished at press in 1827. The second edition of the Old Testament was completed the following
year : it consisted of 1000 copies of Genesis and the Psalter, and of 500 copies of the other books ;
and it is gratifying to know that half of this edition was circulated within a fortnight after its publica
tion. The demand increased so rapidly that it was found requisite to print forthwith another edition
of the New Testament, to consist of 3000 copies. From the spring of 1830, the period at which this
edition was commenced, to the day on which the printing of it was finished, Mr. Fyvie devoted his
time to the revision and correction of the work. He compared every passage with the Greek, and
consulted the best critical works on the original text, while at the same time he endeavoured to render
the style more conformable to the Gujerattee idiom. 1 This edition left the press in 1832. In 1842
another edition of the New Testament was undertaken, to consist of 6000 copies of the Gospels and
Acts, and 3000 copies of the remaining portions : paper and other materials were transmitted by the
Parent Society for the purpose. 2 About the same period an edition was issued of 1000 copies of the
Acts, printed in English and Gujerattee in alternate verses.

Another version of the New Testament in Gujerattee has recently been executed by the Kev.
Messrs. Clarkson and Flower, and an edition of 2000 copies has been sanctioned, and will be printed
with all possible speed. 3 A separate edition of the New Testament in the Balboodh, or Devanagari
character, for the benefit of the better educated among the natives of Gujerat, and also for the people
in the north of the province, has been in contemplation since the year 1828, 4 and according to the
latest accounts it appears likely that this design will now be soon carried into execution.

KESULTS or THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. The readiness with which the natives
of Gujerat have received the Scriptures may be inferred from the repeated editions through which
this version has passed. Mr. Fyvie, one of the translators, estimated the number of copies (in whole
or in part) that had been distributed by the agency of the mission to which he is attached, during
the first eight years after the publication of the New Testament, at upwards of 50,000. The happy
results of this distribution are thus described by the same gentleman: "Much real good is doing
among the people by the circulation of the Scriptures. Many begin to see the folly of idolatry,
and are earnestly desirous of receiving Christian instruction. Some have openly renounced Hindooism,
have professed attachment to the God of Israel, and have put on Christ by Christian baptism. The
attention which these manifest to the Scriptures is truly delightful ; and the readiness with which
they can refer to circumstances and passages in the Bible is very interesting."

1 Thirtieth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixxv. 3 Forty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xcv.

2 Thirty-eighth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixviii. Twenty-fifth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixi.

MAHRATTA, OR MARATHI.

SPECIMEN OF THE MAHRATTA, OR MARATHI VERSION; BOMBAY, 1830.

ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

*J% &lt;\ II * Wiyfi HT 5RT ^TWT I ^riftl WT ![R^ ^ MIHdb trfTT I ^TTftH WT 3R ^7 ^TWT II ^ Wfa UTt&gt;?T

rrn u 3 wi *|i *nraBT *nc?ft* wiw ^t *n^s w cF r^N tim l-^rf STT^J ^nfl 1 it 8 iHiMul ftr
iffif ^rrftu If f*Hi MUijuHi T^? tTJrr n M srr fur FT T^? s&vratir H&lt;*I^MI i tit TT ^VTTT^ rCTr^n v

? TTf * Sf ^qmq*n ^lifq^cpi *ii*u ^THT I WT ^ fTqf ^T^R II -9 TTT^H &lt;S

v Trarc i ?rrRr WT y3i&lt;=i^ *rrej ur^n^ ^uij^is ^srr^T u t wre r T ^;n i ^j FIT

T^ *mB| II^HI [^TT55T u] &lt;i ^T TT^^T TT^T ITTTTT ^"ffT I WT^ST ^T Uchlf^^l |

so ^r ^TTTTT trn i ^srrftor wr mioft|i 5n^y i Tnrrftr ^ ii^ WT^T id ui^s *iT3ff u ^ ^r xsm^T sfK ^i

HT W r^riHHl ?TT^T

i FTRT WT r^r rc l&lt;wi^i Ti^K ^r u ^ &lt;?himH \

TRW

1 UMi*Hdblc$

ON THE MAHRATTA, OR MARATHI, DIALECT AND VERSIONS.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The extensive country in which the Mahratta
dialect is vernacular is situated between the 16th and 22nd degrees of north latitude, and the 73rd and
79th degrees of east longitude, and is estimated to enclose a space of 102,000 square miles. It com
prehends the whole of Candeish and Aurungabad, and part of the provinces of Berar, Beeder, and
Bejapoor : the Concan, in which the Mahratta dialect is continually becoming more and more preva
lent, is also included in this territory. In consequence of the Mahratta conquests, the dialect is rather
widely diffused in other parts of India; it is the court language of Tanjore, and of several places in
the Carnatic. The Mahratta population is supposed to amount to about eight, or even ten, millions : a
correct census appears to have been taken only of the portions of this country subject to the Bombay
Presidency ; and, according to the last parliamentary returns, the population of the Mahratta districts
under British government amounted to 3,479,668.

CHARACTEEISTICS OF THE DIALECT. The Mahratta may be regarded as a kind of link
between the Sanscrit dialects of Northern India and the languages of the Deccan. Some of its words
and idioms are obviously of cognate origin with the Bengalee, while in others a notable approximation
may be detected to the Tamil, Telinga, and other languages of the South. 1 About 50,000 words in
a Mahratta dictionary have been examined as to their origin and etymology by Dr. Stevenson, and the
result of his analysis is as follows : Of the 50,000 words he found that 10,000 only were primitives,
the rest being merely derivative terms. One half of these primitives he proved to be pure Sanscrit
words; and of the remaining 5000 primitives, he showed that 2000 were likewise of Sanscrit origin,
but considerably modified or corrupted in form; 1000 were ascertained to have been introduced from

1 Prichard s Researches, vol. iv. p. 142.

108 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

the Persic and Arabic; and the remaining 2000, equal to one fifth of the whole, were found to exhibit
more or less resemblance to correlative words in the Tamil, Telinga, and Canarese languages, and in
the un-Sanscrit portion of the Hinduwee and Gujerattee dialects. In point of grammatical con
struction the Mahratta in general corresponds pretty nearly with Bengalee and Hinduwee. The nouns
are possessed of two numbers, three genders, and seven cases. There is but one form of conjugation
for all regular verbs, and auxiliaries are employed in the formation of some of the tenses. Most of the
past tenses have separate forms for the different genders. The gender of these tenses in intransitive
verbs is regulated by that of the nominative case, but in transitive verbs the past tenses agree in gender
with the objective case, and the agent is thrown into the instrumental case. 1 In the arrangement of
words in a sentence, the construction generally observed is to commence with the agent, and to end
with the verb. 2 Two different characters are used in writing Mahratta, the Modi or Modhe, which is
derived from, and still retains a strong resemblance to, the Devanagari; and the Balboodh, which appears
to be almost, if not quite, the same as the Devanagari itself. The former, vulgarly termed Morhee,
is most generally understood, being employed in all transactions of business ; but the latter is preferred
for printing, because it possesses several letters in which the Modi is deficient : it is, besides, uniform
and regular in appearance, while the Modi varies as much in style as the handwriting of different
individuals in Europe.

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS DIALECT. A version of the Scriptures in Mahratta
was commenced at Serampore in 1804, and in 1807 considerable progress had been made in the transla
tion, both of the Old and of the New Testament, and part of the Gospel of Matthew had been com
mitted to the press. The first few copies of this Gospel were printed in the Devanagari character, but
on its being ascertained that the Modi was more generally intelligible to the natives, this latter cha
racter was employed in all the subsequent Serampore editions. In 1811 an edition consisting of 1000
copies of the New Testament was completed, and in 1820 a similar edition of the Old Testament left
the press. A second and revised edition, consisting of 3000 copies of the New Testament, appeared
about the year 1825. This version gave rise, for a time, to considerable controversy, numerous objec
tions being raised against it ; which were, however, successfully repelled by the late lamented Mr.
William Greenfield. 3 No further editions of this version were, however, issued at Serampore, probably
because the two chief dialects of the Bombay Presidency, Mahratta and Gujerattee, appeared to be
more particularly within the reach of the Bombay Bible Society, instituted in 1813 at Bombay.
Application was made, as before stated, to this Society by Dr. John Taylor, for their sanction in pre
paring a new version of any portion of the Scriptures in Mahratta and Gujerattee. Dr. Taylor only
lived to complete the Gospel of Matthew, which was printed in 1819. Another version of the
Mahratta Scriptures was commenced in the year 1817 by the American Missionaries, and various parts
of the New Testament were successively issued from the press; till, in the year 1826, an entire edition
of the whole New Testament was printed by them, with the aid of the Bombay Auxiliary, and of the
Parent Society in London. This edition consisted of a larger number of some books than of others,
the whole edition being about equal to 5000 copies. An improved and carefully revised edition of
this Testament, also consisting of 5000 copies, was printed in 1830 4 by the American Missionaries.
In 1834 the Bombay Bible Society undertook another revisal of the Mahratta New Testament, and
determined upon issuing an edition of 8000 copies, to be printed in the Balboodh character. 5 The
printing of this edition was commenced in 1835; 6 and during the same year, the Society found it
necessary to resolve on a separate edition of the Gospels in the Modi, or current character, for the use
of the lower classes of natives. While these editions of the New Testament were in course of prepara
tion, the translation of the Old Testament into Mahratta was zealously prosecuted by the American
Missionaries, and by the Eev. J. Dixon of the Church Mission at Nassuck. An edition of Mr. Dixon s
version of the Psalms, consisting of 1000 copies, was printed for the use of the Bombay Bible Society
in 1835 : 7 other portions of the Old Testament were issued at successive intervals, and in 1839, the
printing of the Prophetical Books, translated by Mr. Dixon, was completed. During the same year
another edition of 2000 copies of the Psalms, revised by Messrs. Dixon and Graves, passed through
the press. 8 In 1841 a thousand copies of the First and Second Books of Kings, translated by the Kev.
A. Graves, had been printed; and an edition of 1000 copies of Mr. Dixon s version of the Pentateuch

1 Ballantyne s Grammar of the Mahratta Language, p. 28, 34. * Thirty-first Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixv.

2 Ballantyne s Grammar of the Mahratta Language, p. 36. 6 Thirty-second Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. DX.
See a Pamphlet published by Mr. Bagster, entitled " A Defence of the 7 Thirty-second Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. lix.

Serampore Mahratta Version of the New Testament." 8 Thirty-sixth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ivii.

* Oriental Cliristian Spectator, for May, 1847.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] MAHRATTA. 109

was in the press, besides extra copies of some detached portions. 1 About the same period another
version of the Psalms, executed by the Eev. C. P. Farrer, was published, and appears to have been
received with peculiar avidity by the Jews of Bombay. The last report of the British and Foreign
Bible Society contains the gratifying intelligence, that the whole Bible is now accessible to the
Mahratta population, an edition of the Old Testament having been just completed at the American
Mission press, on account of the Bible Society. 2 Mr. Dixon, by whom the greater part of this
important version was executed, did not live to witness the completion of the edition at press : he was
one of the first Mahratta scholars in India; and it is stated in a recent Keport of the Society, that " wide
testimony has been afforded of the value of his translation, which has been characterised by able
judges as containing the groundwork and foundation of a standard version."

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OP THIS VERSION. Among the numerous evidences
adduced by missionaries in proof of the beneficial effects resulting from the extensive distribution of
the Mahratta Scriptures, no instances are perhaps so deeply interesting as those which have reference
to the Jews. Some of these singular people are said to have been established in the West of India
from time immemorial. They have almost lost the knowledge of their original language, although
they repeat their prayers in Hebrew, and their vernacular dialect is now the Mahratta. When they
first attracted the notice of Europeans, it was found that they possessed none of the Prophetical Books
of the Old Testament, and that they were ignorant of the history of their people subsequent to the
first captivity ; they did not keep the feast of Purim, and had never even heard of the destruction of
Jerusalem. They call themselves " Beni-Israel," and are known under that appellation to their
Mahratta neighbours : they dislike being called " Yahoodi " (Jews), the common name of the Hebrew
race in the East; and they disclaim all connection, except that of community of faith, both with the
black Jews of Malabar, and their fair brethren of Arabia and Persia. They are described as retaining
the marked features of their race, and as being distinguished from the Hindoo and Mahommedan
natives by superior intelligence and an integrity of character ; recommending them, not unfrequently,
to offices of trust and responsibility, particularly in the army." 3 The desire of these descendants of
Israel to obtain the Scriptures in their vernacular dialect has been frequently referred to by mis
sionaries, as the following extracts will show : Mr. Layson writes, " Every Saturday my house is
frequented by Beni-Israel, anxious to obtain the Scriptures. The desire of the word of life is very
great among them ; and they consider that in possessing the sacred volume they have an inestimable
treasure. How much do I wish," he continues, " that it were in my power to describe the anxiety of
these poor people to possess the Scriptures, especially in the Marathi language. The last supply which
I received, 150 copies of the First and Second Books of Kings, are almost all distributed ; and another
supply of the same number will not be sufficient to meet the incessant demand." 4 The statements of
other missionaries are much to the same effect. " During the past year," writes Mr. Mitchell, " the
applications for copies of the Scriptures made to ine by the Beni-Israel have been numerous. We
may say that every Israelite of this class desires to possess a copy of the Old Testament, both in
Hebrew, and his vernacular language, Marathi. Their anxiety to possess the latter is cheering, as it
proves that they seek to understand the meaning of the word of God, and do not rest satisfied with a
mere utterance of the sound of the venerable Hebrew Scripture. A knowledge of the Old Testament,
gained through the Marathi Scriptures, is rapidly spreading among the Beni-Israel ; and to this they
themselves attribute the discontinuance of many semi-idolatrous practices that had crept in among
them in former days of ignorance. Some of them read the New Testament in Marathi. On the
whole," continues this missionary, " my experience during the kst twelve months has impressed me
with a higher idea than ever of the importance of the field opened up in this part of India to the
Bible Society, of the good its labours have already done, and the still greater good they may yet
accomplish." 5 The testimony of missionaries as to the influence of the Mahratta version on converts
of the Mahratta race, is equally favourable. The Rev. 0. French of Seroor, in the last report received
from_India, expresses himself to the following effect : " In my labours among the Hindoos of this
vicinity, I find that the sacred Scriptures are in demand just in proportion to the degree of gospel
light enjoyed ; a fact shewing that the labours of the Bible Society are destined to become more and
more important as the truth advances. The people often ask for portions of the Bible in preference to
other books, and on their reception a peculiar satisfaction is generally manifested."

Thirty-eighth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixvii. 2 Forty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xciv.

Keport of the Foreign Translation Committee of the Society for Thirty-eighth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixviii.

Promoting Christian Knowledge, for 1845, p. 43. 5 Thirty-eighth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixix.

KUNKUN A.

SPECIMEN OF THE KUNKUNA VERSION; SERAMPOKE, 1818.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

i ^r ftnN

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ON THE KUNKUNA VERSION AND DIALECT.

KUNKUNA is the proper language of the Concan, a long narrow tract of land, the continuation of
Malabar and Canara, extending north and south of Bombay. The area of this maritime district has
been estimated at 12,270 square miles, and its population at 1,044, 120. J

Kunkuna is intimately connected with the other Sanscrit dialects. In the Lord s Prayer, which,
when translated into Kunkuna, consists of thirty-two words, twenty-five words have been proved to be
radically the same as the corresponding words in the Bengalee and Hinduwee versions of the Prayer ;
and, of the remaining six words, several have been found to be almost pure Sanscrit. 2

A version of the New Testament exists in Kunkuna, which was executed at Serampore between
the years 1808 and 1819 : 3 the edition consisted of 1000 copies, and was printed in the Devanagari
character. An edition of the Pentateuch, consisting of an equal number of copies, left the press in
1821. The translation was afterwards relinquished to the Bombay Bible Society, but no further steps
have since been taken towards its completion, probably because the rapidly increasing use of the
Mahratta dialect among the natives of the Concan appears to render a Kunkuna version unnecessary.

1 M Culloch s Geographical Dictionary, vol. i. p. 629. 3 Eighth Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 3.

2 Sixth Memoir of the Serampore Translations, p. 10.

ROMMANY, OR GIPSY.

SPECIMEN OF THE ROMMANY, OR GIPSY VERSION.
LUKE, CHAP. vi. v. 27 to 38.

Tami penelo a sangue sos lo junelais : Camelad a jires daschmanuces, querelad
mistos a junos sos camelan sangue choro. 28 jMajarad a junos sos zermanelan a sangue,
y manguelad a Dcbel por junos sos araquerelan sangue choro I 29 Y a 6 sos curare tucue
andre yeque mejilla, dinle tambien a aver. Y a 6 sos nicobelare tucue o uchardo, na 6
impidas lliguerar tambien a furi. 30 Din a os sares ma tucue manguelaren : y a 6 sos
ustilare ma sinela de tucue, na se lo pida. 31 Y ma camelais que querelen a sangue os
manuces, ocolo matejo querelad sangue a junos. 32 Y si camelais a junos sos camelan a
sangue, i, que merito terelareis? Presas os chores tambien camelan a junos sos os
camelan. 3 Y si querelais mistos a junos sos querelan mistos a sangue, &lt;&gt; que merito
terelareis ? Presas os chores tambien querelan ocono. 34 Y si prestisareis a ocolas, de
coines ujarais ustilar, &lt;5que merito terelareis? Presas tambien os chores prestisaran
yeques a averes, somia ustilar aver tanto. 35 Camelad pues a jires daschmanuces : quere
lad mistos, y difiad prestado, bi ujarar por ocono chichi ; y jire manchin sinara baro, y
sinareis chabores e Udscho, presas 6 sinela gacho aun para os sungales y chores.
16 Sinelad pues canreosos, sasta tambien jire Dada sinela canreoso. 37 Na juzgueis, y na
sinareis juzgados; na sapleis, y na sinareis saplados. Ertinad y sinareis ertinados.
8 Diriad, y a sangue se dinaru : melalo lacho, perelalo, y baro, y costunado dinaren andre
jire chepo : presas sat o matejo melalo con que melalareis, a sangue se volvera a melalar.

OX THE ROMMANY, OR GIPSY, DIALECT AND VERSION.

DIFFUSION AND STATISTICS. The vagrant tribes, known in England by the name of Gipsies,
wander m hordes or companies about the plains of Asia, and in certain parts of Africa, as well as in most
of the countries of Europe. Without historical records, without traditions, without even a religion of their
own, they are bound together by national habits and customs, by the love of an unsettled life, and by
a peculiar language ; and, like the Jews, they exist from generation to generation as a separate people
in the midst of many nations. In Germany they are called Zigeuner ; in Russia, Zigani ; in Turkey
and Persia, Zmgarri : and these various appellations, all apparently springing from the same etymon,
may, it has been conjectured, be radically the same as the term Zincali, by which they sometimes
designate themselves; a term compounded of two words, and supposed to signify the black men of
Zend, or Ind. 1 The English name Gipsy (from E-gypt-ian) and the Spanish Gitano, arose from a
notion once Currently entertained respecting the Egyptian origin of this singular people. In France
they are still called BoUmiens (Bohemians), either because they first entered that country from
Bohemia,^ or else from the old French word boem, a sorcerer, in allusion to the arts they have so long
exercised in practising upon the credulity of the vulgar. They have been known in Europe only since
the beginning of the fifteenth century. The most severe legislative enactments have at various times
been framed against them, on account of their inveterate habits of petty depredation ; yet no degree
of persecution has ever succeeded in effectually diminishing their numbers, or in driving them from

i Sorrow s Zincali, vol. i. p. 3. 2 Hoyland s Historical Survey of the Gypseys, p. 10.

112 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

countries into which they have once introduced themselves. Grellman computed that in his time the
number of Gipsies throughout Europe amounted to between 700,000 and 800,000, of whom, he said,
40,000 were located in Spain, chiefly in the southern provinces. 1 Mr. Borrow likewise is of opinion
that there are at the present moment about 40,000 Gipsies in Spain, but he considers that they were
formerly considerably more numerous in that country. There are also great numbers of Gipsies in
Hungary and Transylvania, where they are extensively employed in washing gold from the sands of
the rivers, and occasionally in other avocations. The Gipsies at present dispersed through England
are supposed to number about 20,000.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. In default of all historical evidence concerning the
proper country of the Gipsies, their language indicates with tolerable distinctness that their origin is
to be traced to India. Their physical conformation, their complexion, and their peculiar mode of life,
furnish additional proofs of their Indian descent ; for Captain Kichardson has shown that in these
points they bear a very strong resemblance to a sort of people in India called Bazeegurs ; 2 and many
writers have attested that in these and other respects they may well be compared to the lowest caste of
Hindoos, particularly to certain thievish castes, who to this day are to be found in various parts of
India. To account for their sudden appearance in Europe, Adelung conjectured that they fled thither
to escape the cruel war of devastation carried on by Tamerlane, in 1408-9 ; 3 but this hypothesis rests
on very insufficient data ; and it is equally reasonable to suppose that they may have quitted their
country either to evade the laws they had outraged, or in pursuit of further plunder. The language
still spoken by the Gipsies in all the countries through which they are dispersed is a dialect of the
Sanscrit : it is called Eommany, from rom, a husband, or a man; and so close is its affinity with other
Indian dialects, that it is by many considered as little else than a corrupt form of Hinduwee. 4 It is
related of Lord Teignmouth, the first President of the British and Foreign Bible Society, that one
day chancing to meet with a Gipsy woman, he was struck with her resemblance in form and
feature to the natives he had been accustomed to see in India. He addressed her in Hindustani, with
which language he was familiarly acquainted, and found to his surprise that she could perfectly
understand him. He then invited her and several of the members of her tribe to his house, and
induced them to pronounce a number of words in Rommany, which he carefully noted down ; many
of these words he discovered to be purely Hindustani, while others were obviously derived from
Sanscrit roots. 5 But although the idioms, and almost all the words of the Kommany, are unques
tionably of Indian extraction, it has also adopted terms belonging to other families of languages.
Several Sclavonic words, for instance, are to be detected in Eommany; and this circumstance seems to
have arisen from the Gipsies, in their migration from the East, having passed through the steppes of
Kussia, where many of the tribe are still to be met with. Modern Greek words, probably learnt
during their passage through Bulgaria, are also occasionally to be heard in their language ; and still
more abundant is the intermixture of Persic words. The languages of the other countries in which
the Gipsies have established themselves, have had more or less influence in the modification of
Rommany. In Spain, its grammatical peculiarities have entirely disappeared ; its syntax, its declen
sion of nouns, its conjugation of verbs, being all subjected to the rules of Spanish^ grammar. 6 In
Hungary and Transylvania it is spoken with tolerable purity ; and in England the idiom has suffered
far less modification than in Spain, for the English dialect of Rommany still retains its original syntax
to a certain extent, and its peculiar methods of conjugation and of declension. 7

VERSION OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS DIALECT. : The whole of the ISew Testament has
been translated into the Spanish dialect of Rommany by Mr. Borrow, who during a long course of
years possessed opportunities of familiar intercourse with the Gipsies, never obtained before or since
by any individual unconnected with the race. Determined that this neglected people should under
stand the Gospel, Mr. Borrow proposed that they should themselves translate it. With this view he
assembled some of the Spanish Gipsies together, and commenced with the Gospel of Luke, they
rendering into Rommany the sentences which he delivered to them in Spanish. They proceeded in
this way as far as the middle of the eighth chapter, when Mr. Borrow found it necessary to complete
the translation himself, supplying deficiencies from a version which he had commenced at Badajoz in

1 Versuch tiber die Zigeuner, Gottmgen, 1787. 5 Life of Lord Teignmouth, vol. ii. p. 375.

2 Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. B Sorrow s Zincali, vol. u. p. 123.

s Mithridates, i. 198 ; iv. 488. T Sorrow s Zincah, vol. 11. second edition, p. 263.

* Bischoff s Deutsch-zigenerisches WJrterbuch.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] TAMUL. 113

1836. He printed 500 copies of this Gospel at Madrid in 1838; it was the first book that had ever
appeared in Rommany. 1 Copies of the work were so eagerly sought by the Gitanos of Madrid, that
Mr. Borrow remarks he could readily have disposed of the whole edition in a fortnight had it not been
for the opposition to its circulation excited by the clergy immediately on its publication. " Sorcery,"
exclaimed one bishop. " There is more in this than we can dive into," said a second. "He will con
vert all Spain by means of the Gipsy language," said a third. 2 In compliance with their -entreaties,
the Corregidor, or Gefe politico, of Madrid gave orders for the seizure of all copies of the Gipsy
Gospel ^ exposed for sale, and the soldiers obtained about thirty copies, which they sold at a high price
for their own benefit. The translator was shortly after consigned for three weeks to imprisonment,
under the suspicion that he was attempting to revolutionise the country, and annihilate the power of
Rome by means of his Rommany version of the Gospel. 3

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. The Rommany Gospel of St. Luke,
the only portion of Mr. Borrow s version that has yet been printed, was found to be perfectly intelligible
to the Spanish Gipsies : many of the men were able to read it, and appeared to set a high value on it,
yet it soon became evident that it was the language, and not the heavenly doctrine, which they prized.
Even the women, who in general are unable to read, were anxious to possess themselves of copies to
use as charms or amulets in preserving them from danger, especially in their thieving expeditions. 4
The result of Mr. Borrow s zealous endeavours to disseminate a knowledge of the Scriptures among
this^ singular people, maybe briefly summed up in his own words: " They listened," he tells us,
" with admiration, but, alas ! not of the truth, the eternal truths I was proclaiming, but to find that
their broken jargon could be written and read. The only words of assent which I ever obtained, and
that rather of a negative kind, were the following from the mouth of a woman : Brother, you tell
us strange things, though perhaps you do not lie ; a month since I would sooner have believed these
tales, than that this day I should see one who could write Rommany. " 5 Of late years, efforts have
been made in England by Mr. Crabb and others in behalf of English Gipsies; and a school, in which
Gipsy children are instructed in the knowledge of Scripture, where they are at the same time trained
for service, and taught various trades, has been established at Farnham, near Blandford, Dorset. 6

TAMUL, OR TAMIL.

(For SPECIMEN of this Version, see Plate V.)

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Tamul, the language of the ancient kingdom of
Dravira, is spoken m the extensive country now called the Carnatic, and is the vernacular language
from the Dutch settlement of Pulicat in the north to Cape Comorin in the south, and from the shores
of the Indian Ocean on the east to the Ghauts on the west. This important territory, which since
has been entirely under British government, includes Madras, Tanjore, Trichinopoly, Madura
Imnevelly, and Coimbatore. The inhabitants have been estimated at 6,622,474; they are chiefly
Hindoos of the Brahminical sect, and there are comparatively few Mahommedans amono- them The
T &mu l Janguage als obtains alon g the wllole northern coast of Ceylon, including the populous district
of Jaffna, where it is spoken by a race of people sometimes called the Malabars. Tamul is likewise
the vernacular language of the Moormen of Ceylon; they are dispersed in great numbers through
every part of the island, especially at Colombo, and are supposed to be the descendants of Arabs who
m the eleventh and twelfth centuries, conquered several of the seaport towns of India and Ceylon. 7

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. It is a question of the highest historical interest
whether lamul and the other languages of the Deccan are to be considered as the daughters of the
Sanscrit, or whether their origin is to be traced to some other source. Drs. Carey and Wilkins con
sidered them to be undoubtedly derived from the Sanscrit, and Colebrooke was inclined to adopt the

i Borrow s Zincali, vol. i. p. 358 5 Borrow s Zincali, vol. i. p. 230.

z Borrow s Bible m Spain, vol. iii. p. 9. 6 See " A Plea for the Education of the Children of the Gypsies,"

5 Borrow s Bible m Spam, vol. hi. p. 10. by Rev. J. West. Seeley and Co., London.

&lt; Borrow s Zincali, vol. i. p. 359. i Recollections of Ceylon, by Rev. James Selkirk, p. 76.

114 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

same opinion. Mr. Ellis, in the Preface to Campbell s Teloogoo Grammar, was the first to doubt their
supposed relationship to Sanscrit ; and Babington, in his Introductory Remarks to the Gooroo Para-
martan, has maintained the same view of the case. The various researches which have been made into
the subject have at length led to the conclusion that these southern languages are the remnants of
some ancient tongue, which at a very remote period of antiquity probably pervaded the whole of
India, as some slight traces of it are yet to be met with even in the Sanscrit dialects of the north.
But whether this hypothesis be correct or not, it has been satisfactorily proved that Tamul and its
cognate languages derive their source from no language at present in existence ; and if in most systems
of classification they have obtained a place among the Sanscrit family of languages, they owe their
position not to their origin, but to the modification of their elementary structure induced by the
superposition of Sanscrit forms; a process which has been carrying on for centuries, datino- from the
period when the natives of the south received the religion of the north, and bowed to the domination
of the Brahminical sect. Tamul, however, possesses fewer Sanscrit terms than the other languages of
the Deccan. It has two distinct dialects, the Kodun, or common dialect, which contains the greatest
admixture of Sanscrit words; and the Shen, or polished dialect, which, from its long disuse as a collo
quial medium, has been preserved in a state of greater purity. A knowledge of the former alone is
quite sufficient for all ordinary intercourse with the natives, but acquaintance with the high, or Shen,
dialect is necessary for those who wish to study Tarnul literature and science. 1 The chief peculiarities
of the Tamul language, as briefly summed up by Anderson, consist in the absence of a relative pro
noun, in the small proportion of adjectives and particles properly so called, in the power of employing
adjectives in an adverbial capacity, in the exact correspondence in termination between the demonstra
tive pronouns and the third person of verbs, in the existence of a negative verb, and, above all, in the
conjugation of derivative nouns. 2 Some of the characteristics are to be met with in the Telinga,
Canarese, and Malayalim languages; but in the possession of a conjugate derivative, Tamul appears to
stand quite alone. This singular grammatical form seems to have arisen from a remarkable interchange
of the properties peculiar to different parts of speech, for as in other languages, as well as in Tamul.
verbal nouns are liable to be inflected as substantives, so the derivatives of nouns are liable in Tamul
to be conjugated as verbs. 3 Tamul nouns have eight cases, three of which are ablative, and are distin
guished as local, causal, and social ablatives. Words performing the office of prepositions in this lan
guage always stand after the nouns or pronouns which they govern. The verbs possess properly but
three moods, the indicative, imperative, and infinitive ; and the third person of each tense denotes the
changes of gender by corresponding changes of termination. 4 The negative verb, which in Tamul
and its cognate languages conveys a negative signification without the aid of particles, is formed by the
mere removal (except in the third person neuter and its derivatives) of the usual characteristic aug
ments of the affirmative. 5

A Tamul alphabet which, like the Greek, consisted of sixteen letters, is said to have been in use
among the natives of the country before the introduction of the Sanscrit language. The characters
now employed in writing Tamul are thirty in number, and are evidently, so far at least as form is con
cerned, derived from the Devanagari. The order in which they are arranged is similar to that of the
Sanscrit alphabet, and even letters representing sounds which do not occur in Sanscrit, are formed by
the combination of Devanagari characters. 6 All aspirates are ejected from the Tamul alphabet.

VERSIONS OP THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. The honour of executing the first
Tamul version of the Scriptures belongs to the Danish Missionaries. Ziegenbalg, the first missionary
sent by the Danish Government to their settlement at Tranquebar, commenced the translation of the
New Testament in 1708, and completed it in 1711. The printing of this version was delayed in order
that it might receive the benefit of a thorough revisal, and this important task was committed to the
missionary John Ernest Grundler, who had arrived in India soon after the commencement of the trans
lation. Under his care the work was printed at Tranquebar in 1714, at the press and on paper pro
vided by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. His Majesty George I. of England took
an especial interest in the progress of this version, and addressed a letter to Ziegenbalg. The transla
tion of the Old Testament was commenced by this devoted missionary in 1717, and in 1719 he had
carried it as far as the book of Ruth, when he sunk beneath the weight of his manifold labours, at the
age of thirty-six. It is not certain whether his translations were executed immediately from the sacred

1 Beschi s Grammar of the Shen Tamil, p. 1. * Anderson s Rudiments of Tamul Grammar, p. 41.

2 Anderson s Rudiments of Tamul Grammar, p. xix. 5 Anderson s Rudiments of Tamul Grammar, p. 63.

3 Anderson s Rudiments of Tamul Grammar, p. 127. 6 Nouveau Journal Asiatique, vol. i. p. 285.

IlSTDO-EtTKOPEAN LANGUAGES.] T A M U L . 115

originals, or from the German version of Luther. After his decease, and that of his fellow-labourer
Grundler, which occurred during the following year, the revision of his manuscripts and the prosecu
tion of the version of the Old Testament devolved on Benjamin Schultze, a missionary who had
arrived from Halle a short time previously, under the patronage of the Society for Promoting Chris
tian Knowledge. Schultze published the portion of the Old Testament translated by Ziegenbalg in
1723, and completed the version in 1727. He was well acquainted with Hebrew, and is said to have
consulted most of the European versions in the course of his translation. Such was his indefatigable
zeal, that in the midst of important missionary duties, and in the relaxing climate of Southern India,
he regularly devoted six hours daily to the prosecution of his work. He likewise addressed himself to
a diligent revision of the New Testament, a second edition of which he put to press in 1722, and
completed in 1724 at Tranquebar. In 1758 a third edition of the New Testament was printed at the
same place; it had previously been subjected to another revision, in which several missionaries took a
part. The second Tranquebar edition was reprinted at Colombo in 1741-3, after having undergone
some alterations adapting it to the Tamul spoken in Ceylon: this edition was designed for the native
Tamulian Christians in that island, and was published under the auspices of Von Imhoff the governor.
In 1777 an important version of the New Testament was published by the Eev. J. P. Fabricius,
one of Schultze s successors in the Danish Mission at Madras. This version is far more elegant and
classical in diction than that of the Tranquebar translators. 1 Fabricius likewise undertook the revision
of Schultze s version of the Old Testament, preparatory to a second edition; but the work as revised
by him has every claim to be considered as a new and independent version. He sent the translation,
sheet by sheet, for examination and correction to the missionaries at Cuddalore ; from them it passed
to the Danish Missionaries, and from them to the native translator to the Danish Government. The
notes and corrections thus obtained were carefully collated by Fabricius, and the whole translation was
again subjected by him to a searching revision. It was printed at the Mission press at Tranquebar
between the years 1777 and 1782, under the especial care of two missionaries, one of whom was Dr.
Rottler. Fabricius was esteemed an " unparalleled Tamul scholar," and his translation long held the
rank of the standard Tamul version of the Scriptures. The editions of the two versions of the New
Testament above mentioned, printed by the Danish Missionaries prior to the commencement of the
present century, amount in all to fourteen, besides two versions of the Old Testament. They were
assisted by grants of paper and other supplies from the Eoyal College of Copenhagen, the Orphan
House at Halle, and the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Still the number of copies
issued was very far from being adequate to the wants of the native Christians; and the deplorable
scarcity of the Scriptures in the Tamul country was first pressed upon the notice of the British and
Foreign Bible Society in a letter from the Rev. Dr. Buchanan, dated Madura 1806. Dr. Buchanan
stated that of the ten or twelve thousand Protestant Christians then belonging to the Tanjore and Tin-
nevelly districts, not one perhaps in a hundred had a New Testament ; and he described the people in
general as " clamorous for Bibles, supplicating for teachers, and saying, we do not want bread or
money from you, but we want the word of God. " In consequence of these and other similar repre
sentations, the Corresponding Committee at Calcutta raised a subscription for the purchase of all the
copies of the Tamul Scriptures which could be then obtained, and which bore a price placing them
beyond the reach of the poorer Christians. These copies reached Tanjore in 1810, where they were
received with the most lively gratitude; and the supply was acknowledged " not only as a seasonable
and acceptable present, but as the cause of abundant thanksgiving to God through Jesus Christ our
Saviour, from many who were desirous to know the saving truths which the Bible contains, and to use
it for the benefit of their souls." 3 Arrangements were then made by the British and Foreign Bible
Society for the publication of another edition, and after due inquiries had been instituted, it was
deemed advisable to print it at the Serampore press, from the admired text of Fabricius. 4 Notwith
standing the disastrous fire in which the Tamul fount of types and large supply of paper were
destroyed, the edition, consisting of 5000 copies, was completed by the Serampore Missionaries in 1813.
As great demand for the Scriptures still continued throughout the Tamul country even after the cir
culation of this large edition, it seemed necessary to take immediate measures for issuing further
supplies. The want of copies of the Scriptures appeared to be particularly felt at Ceylon, where the
number of native Christians speaking the Tamul language was estimated at 45,000. 5 Besides the
edition of the New Testament published at Colombo in 1743 as above mentioned, a version of the

1 Eighth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 15. * Ninth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 18.

- Christian Researches in India, by Dr. Buchanan, pp. 172, 176. 5 Twelfth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 24,

s Eighth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 31 !.

116 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

Pentateuch, translated by Mr. de Milho, had also been printed in Ceylon under the patronage of the
Dutch Government in 1790. 1 These editions, however, had been long exhausted, and the people
in general were almost destitute of the Scriptures. It was, therefore, deemed advisable not only to
issue another edition, but also to obtain such a revision of the existing version as might render it
intelligible to the Tamul population of Ceylon as well as of the adjacent continent. This important
revision was committed to the Kev. C. T. E. Rhenius of the Church Mission, subject to the superinten
dence of the Rev. Dr. Rottler (who had formerly assisted in carrying the version of Fabricius through
the press), and the inspection of the missionaries at Trichinopoly, Tanjore, and Tranquebar. To ensure
the greater accuracy of the work, a Committee of Translation was appointed at Madras in 1821, and
great hopes were entertained of the success of a version carried forward under such efficient manage
ment, and in the midst of the Tamul country. In order, however, to meet the actual demand for the
Scriptures, it was found requisite, while the revision was in progress, to issue another edition from the
text of Fabricius. This edition appears to have consisted of 1000 copies of the Old Testament, 2500
of the New Testament, and 2500 extra copies of the Gospels and Acts : the Old Testament was printed
at the Vepery press of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and the New Testament at
the Church Missionary Society s press at Madras; the edition was completed about the year 1824. In
1825 the revision of the Gospel of St. Matthew was finished, and an edition of 10,000 copies was pub
lished by the Madras Committee. The following year another edition of the Old Testament from the
text of the Tranquebar translators was commenced : it consisted of 5000 copies of the Pentateuch,
and 2500 of the other Books of the Old Testament, and appears to have been completed about the year
1832. In the meantime the revision of the old version under the care of Mr. Rhenius was rapidly
proceeding, and in 1827 an edition of 5000 copies of the New Testament was put to press. In 1828
the Four Gospels were completed, and so rapid was the circulation, that another edition of 5000 copies
was immediately ordered, and the part of the New Testament containing the Epistles was extended to
7500 copies. 2 Yet, notwithstanding these large issues, the desire of the native population to receive
the Tamul Scriptures more than kept pace with the ability of the Committee to supply them ; and it
was found that before the last books of an edition could be got from the press, nearly all the first books
had been distributed, so that it appeared almost impossible to issue one complete and uniform copy of
the Tamul Old and New Testaments. 3 The Madras Committee, therefore, determined in 1831 to
print 12,000 copies of the Tamul New Testament in small type. This edition was afterwards extended
to 15,000, and the revised version was selected as the text on account of the numerous testimonies that
had been laid before the Committee in proof of its superiority over the version of Fabricius. To
expedite the revision and publication of the entire Tamul Scriptures two additional Sub-committees of
revision were formed about this period, (the one at Tanjore, and the other at Nagracoil and Palam-
cottah,) consisting of Churchmen, Weslcyans, Lutherans, and Dissenters of various denominations, who
all agreed to set aside party distinctions, in order to promote the publication of the word of truth. 4
In 1844 an edition of 6000 copies of the entire Tamul Bible was completed. The Old Testament was
the version of Fabricius, corrected as to grammar and orthography; and the New, that of Rhenius: it
contained the headings of chapters and the chronology from the English. In printing this edition the
Madras Society was assisted by funds from the American Bible Society, and by supplies of paper from
the British and Foreign Bible Society. 5 During the same year (1844) 10,000 copies of each of the
Four Gospels in 18mo., Fabricius s version, were ordered to be printed at the press of the Christian
Knowledge Society, Vepery; and the same number and size of the revised version at the American Mis
sion press, for the use of schools. Other portions of Scripture were printed at about the same period
at the Neyoor press, for the use of schools in Tinnevelly and Travancore, and for the purposes of public
worship. 6 The last Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society (for 1848) announces the com
pletion of a second edition of the uniform Tamul Bible, with headings and chronology from the
English, and references from the German version. The edition consists of 6000 copies, and the
demand continues large. Among other portions of Scriptures recently printed under the auspices of
the Society, it may be noticed that an edition of 3000 copies of the New Testament in 12mo. has been
published, according to rules proposed by a Tamul Sub-committee of revision, for separating the words
in printing, and in many cases omitting the usual changes, reduplication, and elision of letters required
by the law of Sandhi in the high dialect. 7 Another edition of the New Testament, printed from the

5 Forty-first Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. cxv.
s Forty-first Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. cxv.
7 Forty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xc.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] T A M U L. 117

version of Rhenius at Neyoor is stated in the last Eeport to be now ready for the lame and increasing
native church in that section of the Tamul country.

It now only remains to mention another revision of the Tamul Scriptures which is at present
being carried forward m Ceylon, under the superintendence of the Jaffna Committee, and with the
3tion and at the expense of the Parent Society. The missionary by whom this revision is con
ducted is Mr. Perceval, of the Wesleyan Mission, in Ceylon. He devotes six hours daily to the work
with his native assistants, m addition to the time occupied in miscellaneous references and general
reading connected with the undertaking. The standard authority which he adopts is the original
text ;&gt; and where various readings occur, he carefully follows the authorised English version with its
marginal readings. 1 He has recently visited Madras for the purpose of conferring with the Tamul
revisors, by^whom the revision of the New Testament above mentioned has been prosecuted A plan
&gt;f co-operation has been established between them and Mr. Perceval, and a friendly arrangement has
been confirmed between the committees at Jaffna and Madras, for carrying on the undertaking to
what it is confidently hoped will prove a satisfactory result. 2

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. As the Tamul was the first language

ciia m which the Gospel was proclaimed by Protestant missionaries to the natives, and the fit

to which the Scriptures were translated for their benefit, so it has been observed that for spiritual

^vwflTh !f HIT T 1 an ^T r S iSe ^ r thC ^ ght a ? d . libert 7 whi h P^vail, the Tamul country
may well be called the Goshen of India." 3 The rapid circulation of so many large editions of the Scrip
tures as above described is in itself a proof of the alacrity with which the natives have received the
i 5 and individual instances in proof that the precious seed thus gladly welcomed was owned
God are to be found in great numbers in missionary records, and in the Reports of the
Let one example here suffice. Shunkuru-Lingum was born at Quilon, about 1787
of heathen parents, of the Vcllaula or Cultivator caste. After several changes in his temporal circum-
stan , and position, he entered the service of a gentleman holding a civil appointment under the
Ceylon government. An apparently trivial circumstance was the turning point of his life Under a
tree of the forest he found a copy of the Gospels in Tamul, probably left there by a follower of the
ritish camp for it was the time of the Kandyan war, and strangers from Tranquebar had come over
to Ceylon with the army. He read the book with eager delight ; it opened up to him a new region
of thought and inquiry, and ultimately was blessed to his conversion. Deeply affected by a sense o
the spiritual degradation of his countrymen, and impelled by love to his Saviour, he sought to make
known the truth to others and became a minister of the Gospel ; and he afterwards underwent much
persecution as a setter-forth of strange gods, because he preached Jesus and the resurrection 4 The
general aspect of the present state of affairs in the Tamul country, as induced by the extensive distri
bution of the Scriptures may be inferred from the following passage in a recent letter from the
tev J H. Gray one of the secretaries of the Madras Bible Society : I think I can say that the
word of the Lord is running, and our Lord Jesus Christ is being glorified in Southern India If it
a proof of this, that we find the strong man armed no longer enjoying a peaceful possession of hi,
goods, OT that we see bitterness and persecution rife among the heathen towards Christians we are
beginning to have these things abound at our doors; and the so called gentle and passive Hindoo is
now seen m the streets of Madras, armed with a hatchet to cut down the gate of a missionary s h
and rescue his relative, who had fled thither as to a city of refuge from heathen supS ion and
icleanness ; or he is seen casting his son s or his brother s Bible into the fire, lest it should convert

TELINGA, OR TELOOGOO.

(For SPECIMEN of this Version, see Plate IV.)

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The Telinga language is spoken within 23 miles
of Madras, and prevails for about 500 miles along the coast, from the Dutch settlement of Pulicat to
the borders of Orissa. In the interior it extends as far west as Bedar, through nearly the whole of
Hydrabad, a part of Berar, and the eastern provinces of Mysore. The portion of the Telinga country
subject to the Madras Presidency includes the five Circars Vizagapatam, Rajahmundry, Masulipatam,
Guntoor, and the Cuddapah and Ncllore districts of the Carnatic. The superficial extent of the entire
region in which this language is predominant has been estimated at 118,610 square miles. The natives
are Hindoos, and number about 10,000,000. The Telinga language is also diffused to a greater or less
extent through various countries of Southern India, in which the Tamul and Canarese are the proper
vernacular languages. This dilFusion in part arises from the early conquests, dating from the fourteenth
century, achieved by the people of Telinga in the south. Like the Romans, they endeavoured to
secure their conquests, and to keep the natives in subjection by the establishment of military colonies ;
and the Telinga language is still spoken by the descendants of the Telinga families, who were deputed
by the kings of Vidianagara to found these colonies. 1 The roaming tendencies of the_Telinga people
also serve to account in part for the diffusion of the language. On this subject the missionaries have
remarked that " in intelligence, migratory habits, secular prosperity, and unfrequency of return to their
native land, this people are, in relation to other parts of India, what the Scotch are in relation to
England and the world." 2

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. Telinga is the most soft and polished of the languages
of Southern India, and contains the greatest proportion of Sanscrit words. Yet the Sanscrit terms
with which it unquestionably abounds, form no part whatever of the basis of the language, but appear
to have been engrafted on the elements of the original Telinga at some period far too remote for inquiry.
The grammatical construction of Telinga is alone sufficient to prove that it has no claims to be regarded
as a mere Sanscrit dialect. In the declension of its nouns, effected by means of subjoined particles, in
the mode of conjugating the affirmative, and in the possession of a negative verb, in _ the use of a plural
pronoun applicable to the first and second persons conjointly, and in the peculiarities of its syntax, it
offers obvious points of deviation from the forms of Sanscrit grammar, while at the same time it
exhibits decided affinity in these respects with its cognate languages of the Deccan. The Telinga
language possesses no word exactly corresponding with our article ; the indefinite article is sometimes
expressed by means of the numeral one, but in general the article is considered as inherent in the noun.
Like the Tamul and Canarese, the Telinga possesses that singular part of speech called the relative
participle, which displays the combined force of the definite article,_ the relative pronoun, and the
verb. 3 It also resembles these languages in the possession of two dialects, the common or popular
medium, used for all purposes of business and conversation, and the high or refined^ dialect, in which
the literature of the nation, consisting chiefly of poetry, is written. The dissimilarity between these
dialects is so great, that commentaries are requisite in the perusal of native works, even in the case of
individuals who have acquired the most complete familiarity with the colloquial dialect. The Telinga
possesses great facility in the naturalisation of foreign terms ; yet, with the exception of a few words
obtained from the neighbouring provinces of Orissa, Mahratta, and Gujerat, _ it does not appear to
borrow many words from foreign sources. Several technical revenue and official terms derived from
the Hindustani were at one time in common use, but they now begin to be superseded by the
corresponding English words. 4 The Telinga, like other Indian alphabets, is distinguished by the per
plexing multiplicity of its symbols, of which there are no less than eighty-one : some of these, however,
are merely abbreviated forms of the regular initial letters; others are only^used as marks for certain
consonants when doubled ; and some are peculiar to words of Sanscrit origin. " Hence," says Mr.
Campbell, "all native grammarians concur in reducing the characters to thirty-seven, by ^ excluding
forty-four, which they acknowledge belong to the language, but which they will not admit into the

1 Campbell s Teloogoo Grammar, Introduction, p. 2. 3 Campbell s Teloogoo Grammar, p. 42.

2 An Appeal in behalf of S. India, by Rev. J. Smith. 4 Campbell s Teloogoo Grammar, p. 75.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] TELINGA. 119

alphabet." 1 In point of form these letters are round and flowing, and form a striking contrast to the
square characters of the Devanagari, although arranged upon the same principle of classification.

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. Schultze, the laborious Danish mis
sionary, was the first who engaged in a Telinga version of the Scriptures. He commenced his trans
lation in 1726, immediately after his completion of the Tamul version above mentioned. He translated
immediately from the Greek and Hebrew texts, and finished the Telinga version of the New Testa
ment in 1727, and of _the Old Testament in 1732. 2 From some cause or other hitherto unexplained,
this work was never printed, although Schultze seems to have taken some steps towards obtaining the
assistance of a learned Brahmin, and a fount of types for the purpose. He died in 1760 at Halle, and it
has been thought that his Telinga MSS. may still be preserved in that city. 3 The Serampore Mission
aries commenced another version of the Scriptures in this language in 1805, and in 1809 they had
translated the whole of the New and part of the Old Testament. Soon afterwards they succeeded in
casting a_ fount of Telinga types, but owing to various causes of delay, the New Testament was not
printed till 1818, when an edition of 1000 copies was issued, aided by a grant from the British and
Foreign Bible Society; and in 1820, the same number of copies of the Pentateuch were published.
But while this Serampore version was in progress, another Telinga version of the New Testament was
commenced and carried on to the close of the First Epistle to the Corinthians by the Rev. Augustus
Desgranges, of the London Missionary Society. He had been stationed at Vizagapatam since 1805,
and therefore enjoyed great local facilities for the prosecution of his undertaking: he found, indeed,
but few difficulties in the Telinga language to impede his efforts, and he remarked that " this language
richly furnishes the translator with words, phrases, and sentences for his purpose;" and that in addition
to its acknowledged softness, elegance, and refinement, it is "regular in construction, replete with
sentences clear and strong, and abounding with the most beautiful figures of speech." 4 Mr. Desgran^es
was assisted by the Eey. George Cran, who was also stationed at Vizagapatam, and by Anunderayer,
a Telinga Brahmin of high caste, who had sincerely embraced the Christian religion. What our Lord
Jesus requires from his followers, Anunderayer had really done, for he had left his wife, mother,
brother, sister, his estate and property, and had suffered reproach and persecution patiently for the
sake of the Gospel. 5 Having acquired an intimate knowledge of the Tamul language, he translated
the Scriptures direct from the Tamul version into his own language, and his work was submitted, verse
by verse, to Mr. Desgranges, who made such alterations as his critical knowledge of the original text
suggested. Mr. Cran died in 1808, and Mr. Desgranges two years subsequently; and it was found on
examination that the first three Gospels were the only portions of the translation that were in a state
of readiness for the press. Of these three Gospels 1000 copies were printed at Serampore in 1812,
under the care of Anunderayer. No alterations whatever were admitted, for it was considered that to
give the Gospels as the able translator had left them, would be a tribute of respect to his memory. In
the meantime another version of the Telinga New Testament had been commenced. The Rev. Messrs.
Pritchett and Lee, agents of the London Missionary Society, arrived at Vizagapatam a short time prior
to the decease of the lamented Mr. Desgranges. Mr. Lee undertook soon afterwards a translation of
the Book of Genesis, but the preparation of the version afterwards devolved almost exclusively on Mr.
Pritchett, who addressed himself in the first place to the translation of the New Testament. In the
first three Gospels he is said to have availed himself of the labours of Mr. Desgranges, introducing
such alterations as his own judgment suggested. When the version of the New Testament was com
pleted, he sent it to Madras for examination, and it was so highly approved by the distinguished
Telinga scholars to whom it was submitted, that the Madras Bible Society readily closed with Mr.
Pritchett s proposal to print it for the benefit of the Telinga nation. An edition of 2000 copies was
therefore issued in 1819, the expenses of which were defrayed by the Calcutta Bible Society. Mr.
Pritchett was proceeding with the translation of the Old Testament when, in 1820, he was arrested in
the midst of his work by death. 6 In 1823 another version of the Scriptures was offered to the
Calcutta Bible Society by the Rev. J. Gordon, also of the London Missionary Society, who had during
many years been stationed at Vizagapatam. Great difficulty was experienced in deciding upon the
relative merits of Mr. Pritchett s and Mr. Gordon s translations, and all printing operations were sus
pended until it could be ascertained which was best calculated for general usefulness. At length their
respective translations of Genesis and of the history of Joseph were circulated for comparison, and when

i Campbell s Teloogop Grammar, p. 2. 4 Seventh Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 18.

3 w ? * M M ??* " * r^. 5 Seventh Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 80.

Bishop Marsh s History of Translations, p. 37. Seventeenth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Iviii.

120 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

the opinions of competent judges had been collected, it was found that the result of the investigation
was in favour of Mr. Gordon s production, which was unanimously declared to be " clear, intelligible,
and the more literal translation of the two." At the same time Mr. Pritchett s was pronounced a good
translation, and more grammatical than Mr. Gordon s, but deficient in idiom. The Committee of the
Madras Society, therefore, resolved upon adopting Mr. Gordon s version, but they requested him,
before he sent it to the press, to compare it carefully with Mr. Pritchett s translation, and "to select
therefrom whatever he might think a desirable acquisition to his own." Mr. Gordon s important
labours were closed by death in 1827. After his decease it was found that Mr. Pritchett s version was,
after all, more correct than had been expected ; certain corrections were accordingly introduced, and an
edition of 3000 copies of the New Testament was printed in 1828, accompanied by 2000 copies of Mr.
Gordon s version of St. Luke. 1 Vigorous efforts were subsequently made to revise the versions pre
pared by Messrs. Pritchett and Gordon, and further portions were printed, which, notwithstanding
their admitted defects, obtained such extensive circulation as to warrant the hope that they were
perused with profit. 2 Up to the present time the Madras Committee have been still persevering in
their endeavours to procure an acceptable and faithful version of the Telinga Scriptures. Among
other revised editions of portions of the New Testament issued by them from time to time, may be
mentioned an edition of 1000 copies of the Gospel of Luke, translated by C. P. Brown, Esq., son of
the late Rev. David Brown, 3 and printed about the year 1839. Five thousand copies of the Telinga
Psalms in 18mo., revised at Bellary, were printed at the press of the American Mission at Madras in
1845. 4 According to the last Report of the Madras Bible Society, only parts of the Telinga version
are even now considered suitable for circulation. The Siib-committce of revision are still, it is said,
" diligently engaged in the work of revision: when their labours are sufficiently matured, the seed of
the word of life will be freely scattered among the many millions speaking this language, now perish
ing for lack of knowledge." 5

KARNATA, OR CANARESE.

(For SPECIMEN of this Version, see Plate VI.)

GEOGEAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The names by which this language is distin
guished, are by no means calculated to convey a just notion of its geographical extension. The term
Karnata would naturally lead to the inference that this language is predominant in the Carnatic, which
is by no means the case, Tamul, as we have already shown, being the vernacular language of that
country. The other appellation, Canarese, as applied to this language, is almost equally erroneous, for
Tuluvu is the proper and original dialect of Canara, although it has of late years become restricted to
the lower classes of that province. This confusion of terms seems to have arisen from the fact of the
Mussulman conquerors of the country having erroneously extended the distinctive appellation of the
ancient province of Carnatica to the adjacent districts, namely, to the Carnatic on the one side, and to
Canara on the other. The name thus ignorantly extended to these countries has been retained ; while
Carnatica itself, which had alone been previously distinguished by this appellation, no longer exists as
a separate province, the territories which it comprised being now chiefly known as the Mysore and the
Balaghaut, or province of the Upper Ghauts. The limits of the Karnata (formerly the vernacular
language of Carnatica), may be described as co-extensive with those of that ancient province : it may
be said to extend from between the 12th to above the 18th degree of north latitude, with an average
breadth of 180 miles ; and it may almost be considered to include Canara, where it is rapidly super-

* Forty-second Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xcii.

* Forty -fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xci.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] KARNATA. J21

seding the Tuluvu. The amount of population to whom the Karnata language is vernacular has been
estimated at upwards of 7,000,000. These people are Hindoos, and are subject to the Madras
Presidency.

_ CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The idioms of the Karnata or Canarese are very
similar to those of the Tamul and Telinga, 1 with which languages it is radically connected. It
possesses, however, an alphabet of its own, consisting of fifty-six letters, and evidently borrowed, so far
at least as classification and order are concerned, from the Devanagari. A valuable Canarese and
English Lexicon, in two large quarto volumes, compiled by Mr. Keeve, one of the translators of the
Bible, has been published by the Madras Government.

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. The first attempt to produce a
Karnata _ translation of the Scriptures was commenced at Serampore in 1808 : the work, however,
from Carious causes, appears to have been laid aside from time to time ; and it was not till l 822, that
an edition of 1000 copies of the New Testament was completed at press. A version of the Old
Testament was also undertaken, and partly executed, by the Serampore Missionaries ; but they after
wards relinquished the work on finding that similar efforts were being made by other labourers, who,
from being stationed in the country where the language is vernacular, enjoyed greater facilities for the
successiul prosecution of the translation. The Karnata or Canarese version was, in fact, one of the first
contemplated by the Calcutta Bible Society. In 1813 they made an application to the Archbishop of
Goa concerning the necessity of supplying the native Christians of Goa and its neighbourhood with
the Canarese Scriptures. These Christians were Roman Catholics, and numbered about 200,000 The
archbishop, in the true spirit of his church, discouraged the undertaking. One of the objections- which
he urged was, however, afterwards found to be correct ; for he alleged, and with truth, that the
Canarese Christians of Goa spoke a mixture of different languages, and that their dialect varied greatly
in many districts. No further steps were therefore taken by the Committee till, in 1817 a letter was
addressed to them by Mr. Hands, of Bellary, an agent of the London Missionary Society, stating that
he had translated the whole of the New Testament into Canarese. As this translation was found on
examination by competent judges to be adapted for general usefulness, an edition of 2000 copies of the
Gospels and Acts was printed at Madras, with the sanction and at the expense of the Society under
the umnediate eye of the translator. 2 In order that Mr. Hands might not be longer detained from his
station, the types and material for printing were afterwards forwarded to Bellary, and the entire New
Testament was completed in 1821. At this period Mr. Hands had likewise completed the translation
ot the Old lestament ; and his friend and coadjutor, the Rev. Wm. Reeve, had engaged in a separate
translation of the Pentateuch, with the view of comparing it with that of Mr. Hands, and of securing
by this means a more correct and idiomatic version. In 1822, while these two translators were
labouring conjointly in their important undertaking, they were invited by the Madras Bible Com
mittee, upon whom the superintendence of this translation had devolved, to associate themselves with
Mr A. D. Campbell and Mr. R. C. Gosling, so as to form a Sub-committee of translation, callino- in
the further aid of such learned men as they should find expedient. 3 Under the care of this Sub-com
mittee, therefore, the revision of the Old Testament was continued ; and every separate portion was
ao-ain subjected to the careful inspection of the Committee at Madras previously to its publication
The printing of the Old Testament was commenced in 1827 ; and in the following year, Mr. Hands
made the following statement concerning his own share in the translation : " The work was com
menced sixteen years ago, and scarcely a day has passed in which I have not laboured therein : it has
engaged the best part of my time and strength : many of the books have been revised and re-copied
seven or eight times The printing of the New Testament, which had been commenced at Madras
in _1820, was completed at Bellary in 1831, by the publication of the Epistles and the Book of Reve
lation, under the care of the Sub-committee ; 5 and in 1832 the Old Testament likewise left the press,
and a Sub-committee was formed for the express purpose of revising the New Testament, prior to a
second edition Ihis edition was intended to consist of 5000 copies of the Gospels and Acts, 1000
extra copies of St. Luke and Acts, and 3000 copies of the Epistles : it does not appear, however, that
the edition was eventually issued. In the Report of the Madras Bible Society for 1847, it is stated
that the Canarese Bible Revision Committee had, during the preceding year, been preparing a new

for , I Twenty-fifth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. lix.

p. n, : ?

122 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

translation of the Epistles to the Romans, Hebrews, Philippians, Colossians, and the First and Second
Epistles of Peter ; and that a small edition of the first four Epistles had been printed and circulated in
order to elicit further criticism. It is further observed in the same report, that the cause of the work
not progressing more rapidly is, that those engaged in it are also employed in the active duties of
missionary labour ; and that they are moreover desirous of availing themselves of every advantage
afforded by the present improved state of biblical science, and by the increased facilities for under
standing the genius and idiom of the Canarese language. 1 The Epistles to the Romans, 1 Corinthians,
and Hebrews were finally revised by the Canarese Revision Committee, in the course of the year
1847, and were accepted for the press by the Madras Committee. In forwarding them at the close of
that year, the Rev. "W. Thompson wrote : "In a few months, if it should please our heavenly
Father to grant health and strength, we hope to present you with the remainder of the Epistles, some
of which are already in a considerable state of forwardness." 2 The next reports therefore may
perhaps announce the completion of this new version.

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. In proof of the acceptableness of this
version may be cited the observations of the Rev. Mr. Taylor, made during a tour in 1831 : "While
itinerating the country," he writes, " in my journey from Belgaum, I have had opportunities of
putting in circulation the sacred volume in whole and parts. Very few instances of unwillingness to
receive the Scriptures have come under my observation, but innumerable evidences of great earnestness
and solicitude to obtain them. I have had opportunities of ascertaining that the word has been read,
and its contents tolerably understood ; and the knowledge I found some possessed of concerning Christ,
and of what he did and suffered to save sinners, has afforded me both delight and encouragement." 3
Omitting other testimonies respecting the influence of the Scriptures on Canarese communities, it
may not be uninteresting to quote the following individual instance of the blessing of God attending
the perusal of the Canarese Bible, as related in the last report received from India: " When travelling
last year," says the Rev. Mr. Wurth, of Hoobly, in the southern parts of the Dharwar Collectorate, I
met with a man who told me that there was a Lingaite Swamee in a village called Maraulee, who
advised the people to throw away the Linga they wear on their breast, and put no confidence in idols,
but to believe in Christ. The Swamee, at my request, came to meet me, followed by many of his
disciples (Lingaite priests) who carried with them a great number of books. Among these were the
New Testament, Genesis, the Psalms, and the Prophets, all in Canarese. After some preliminary con
versation the Swamee said openly, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that the Holy
Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, is the only true God ; and though
the people call me a madman, I shall not give up this my conviction. He has formed a circle of dis
ciples around him, who are to believe that of which their master is convinced. I was quite astonished
to hear such sentiments from a Swamee of the Lingaites, who was never in close connexion with a
missionary. He had drawn his knowledge partly from tracts, but more especially from the Bible,
which in its sublime simplicity is the best teacher. He did not, it seems, till now, seek the remission
of his sins in Christ, although he admired the sublime truths of the Christian religion. But I enter
tain a good hope, that the word of God, which has led him on so far, and which is quick and powerful,
and sharper than any two-edged sword, will, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, become to him, in
this respect also, a lamp unto his feet, and a light unto his path." 4

1 Forty-third Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xcvii. 3 Twenty-eighth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixyii.

2 Forty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xc. &lt; Forty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xcvii.

TULU, OR TULUYTJ.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Tuluvu is the ancient and proper dialect of the
long narrow tract of land now called Canara, situated westward of the Mysore, between the range of
the Western Ghauts and the ocean. Canara extends about 180 miles along the coast, and comprehends
7720 square miles. Its inhabitants, in point of number, amount to 657,594, of whom about one-fifth
are Brahmins, and the proportion of Jains and of Mussulmans is also rather considerable. Owing to
the long subjection of Canara to Karnata princes, the Karnata, or Canarese, language is now chiefly
spoken by the higher orders of the population in that province ; Tuluvu, however, still continues the
vernacular of the common people, especially in South Canara. The number of individuals who employ
the Tuluvu language has been estimated at 80,000.*

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The Tuluvu in idiom and structure closely resembles
the Malay alim language, and is written in the same character. It contains, however, a great inany
Mahratta, Gujerattee, Telinga, Canarese, and Tamul words.

VERSION OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. In 1834, a missionary station was
established at Mangalore, the capital of Canara, by the German Missionary Society; and since that
period some progress has been made, under the patronage of that Society, in the translation of the New
Testament into the vernacular dialect of the province. In 1844 the Gospel and Epistles of St. John
and the Acts, translated by Mr. Ammann, and the Epistle of James, translated by Mr. Greiner of
Mangalore, were lithographed at the Mission press of that station. The editions consisted of from 350
to 400 copies of each book. Two Gospels and ten Epistles with the Acts form the total proportion of
the Tuluvu version now in a state of completion. 2 The Tulu congregation now consists of 135
individuals, many of whom have been baptized, and the missionaries have had cause, before and since
their baptism, to rejoice on their account. No direct testimonies of the results attending the perusal
of such portions of the Tuluvu Scriptures as have been lithographed have yet been received.

i British Friend of India Magazine, vol. iii. p. 192. 2 Year- Book of Missions, by Elijah Hoole, p. 84.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The Malayalim language is spoken along the
western coast of Peninsular India, from Cape Comorin to the borders of Canara, and from the sea to
the Western Ghauts. This region, sometimes distinguished by the general name of Malayala, includes
an area of 17,760 square miles, and a population of 2,107,575: it comprises the British district of
Malabar under the Madras Presidency, and the territories of the several rajahs of Travancore, Cochin,
and Coorg. The natives in general are Hindoos. The Syrian Christians who form an important
section of the population have already been mentioned.

CHARACTERISTICS or THE LANGUAGE. Malayalim is a dialect of the Shen Tamul. It has
been observed by Mr. Ellis, that the peculiar characteristic which distinguishes it from all other Tamul
dialects is, that though it is derived from a language superfluously abounding in verbal forms, its verbs
are entirely devoid of personal terminations, the person being indicated simply by the pronoun. The
alphabet, as in the other languages of the Deccan, is arranged in the order of the Devanagari, but the
form of the characters is peculiar.

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. Dr. Buchanan, who visited the Syrian
Christians of Malayala in the beginning of the present century, found that several attempts had been
made by them at different times, though without success, to effect a translation of the Scriptures into
Malayalim, their vernacular language. 1 At the suggestion of Dr. Buchanan the design was at length
carried into execution, and the venerable bishop Mar Dionysius engaged to superintend the translation.
On his second visit to Travancore in 1807, Dr. Buchanan had the gratification to find that the version
of the Four Gospels had been completed by Timapah Pillay and Rembar, a catanar or priest of the
Syrian Church, under the direction of the archbishop. 2 The translation had been made from the
excellent Tamul version of Fabricius, and an edition of 500 copies of these Gospels was printed soon
afterwards at Bombay, at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Timapah Pillay was
subsequently placed under the superintendence of the Rev. Mr. Thompson at Madras, in order to com
plete the translation of the New Testament from the version of Fabricius, and he accomplished the
work in 1813. Inquiries, however, instituted by Mr. Thompson among persons versed in the lan
guage, soon convinced him that this version, originally intended for the Syrian Church, was not
calculated for general circulation. It was found to abound with words familiar to the Syrian Chris
tians, but almost unintelligible to other classes of the Malayalim population. 3 An entirely new trans
lation was accordingly projected without delay, and Timapah Pillay was sent to the coast of Malabar
for the immediate commencement of it, under the superintendence of a gentleman well qualified for
the undertaking. The progress of the work was retarded by the opposition of the Catholic Archbishop
of Crangalore and by various other obstacles, and when at length completed it was still found open to
the same objections that had been brought against the original translation. It appeared in fact, on
further investigation, that the language of Travancore varies so much from the purer dialect spoken
in Travancore, as to render two separate versions desirable, if not indispensable, for the respective parts
of the country. Mr. Spring, chaplain at Tellicherry, therefore, proposed to enter upon a complete
revision of Timapah Pillay s version, so as to render it acceptable to the natives of Malabar; while Mr.
Bailey, who was stationed at Cottayam, engaged to execute a new translation for the benefit of the
inhabitants of Travancore. Mr. Spring was assisted by two learned natives who translated from Dr.
Carey s Sanscrit New Testament : their work was afterwards submitted to a Committee of natives all
versed in Sanscrit, and one of them acquainted both with English and Tamul, while Mr. Spring had
before him the Greek text and various critical works. Mr. Bailey was assisted in his translation by
the catanars and nairs of the Syrian Church : it was executed partly in the peculiar idiom of the
Syrian Christians, and partly in a medium style adapted for general usefulness. 4 It was finished in

1 Seventh Report of British and Foreign Bihle Society, p. 8". 3 Eleventh Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, pp. 41, 42.

2 Ninth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 20. 4 Nineteenth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 116.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] MALAYALIM. 125

1819, and on being submitted to the Madras Translation Committee was preferred to the purer
Malayalim version executed by Mr. Spring. In consequence of the great anxiety manifested by the
Syrian metropolitan, his clergy, and people, to obtain some portion of the Scriptures in their vernacular
language, an edition of Mr. Bailey s version, to consist of 5000 copies, was commenced at Cottayam, at
the expense of the Madras Bible Society. The Gospel of St. Luke, the first portion printed, was
completed at press in ^ 1827; other portions followed, and in the year 1830 the whole of the New
Testament had been printed. This edition was printed with types cast for the purpose by Mr. Bailey :
he had never even seen a type foundry or its apparatus, and derived all his information from books; he
had no assistants but a common carpenter and two silversmiths, yet his success was complete. 1 The
translation of the Old Testament was likewise completed by Mr. Bailey in 1830, and this work was
submitted to a Sub-committee, formed in 1832 in connexion with the Madras Bible Society, for the
publication of a Malayalim version of the Old Testament. About the same period an edition of 3000
copies of the Psalms was begun at press: the translation had been made by the Rev. T. Norton, and
revised by Rev. H. Baker. 2 In 1834 an edition of 5000 copies of the Gospels and Acts, and 2000
separate copies of St. Luke and the Acts, was printed in London with types belonging to the Church
Missionary Society, and at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The edition was
carried through the press by Mr. Bailey the translator, who had "been compelled to visit England on
account of his health. On returning to Cottayam, he took with him the entire edition for distribution,
together with a supply of paper for printing the remainder of the New Testament at the mission
press. 3 In 1840 an edition of 3000 copies of the Old Testament was passing through the press at
Cottayam, at the expense of the Madras Bible Society, 4 and it would appear L from the last report that
this important work is still in progress. 5

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. The following affecting history of
the influence of the Scriptures over the heart and life of a Syrian of Malayala, is related & by the Rev.
Mr. Harley of the Church Mission, in his journal for 1840. Some years ago a Syrian, of the name of
Curiatha, was reclaimed from a most sinful course of life by the study of the Gospels, a copy of which
he had received from the Rev. S. Ridsdale. In studying this holy book he became quite another man;
he abandoned his covetous, worldly, and self-seeking views, and began to preach the Gospel of our
Lord Jesus Christ, with a self-denial, zeal, and boldness seldom to be witnessed in a native Christian.
He travelled through a great part of South India, preaching the Gospel among the heathen. He was
quite careless of worldly emolument, and many times refused pecuniary assistance, travelling penniless,
and contented to live on casual alms. How much he suffered for Christ cannot be known, for Curiatha
never revealed such matters. As in life, so in death, he upheld the honour of the Gospel. He was
preaching in the Kunnamkoollam Bazaar, when an opposer of the truth, a Syrian, incensed at his zeal,
went home for a knife, and returning stabbed Curiatha to the heart. Curiatha put up a prayer to God
not to lay this sin to the charge of the murderer, and immediately fell lifeless. Such was the end of
Cunatha._ He was faithful unto death." 6 Concerning the effects of the dissemination of the verna
cular Scriptures manifested at the present moment throughout Malayala, we have the following interest
ing account from the Rev. J. Hawksworth, in the last report received from that country : " Although
I cannot enumerate many instances of evident spiritual benefit and conversion by distribution of por
tions of Malayalim Scriptures, I am persuaded that great good is being quietly and extensively effected.
Besides which, I believe the careful distribution of the Scriptures here at the present time is the course

to be taken to prevent the fallen Syriac Church becoming a prey to her old and designing foe the

apostate Church of Rome. I may mention, that about ten days ago I baptized a family of five con
verts from heathenism, making now altogether a party of about thirty souls that have embraced Chris
tianity in one village during the last eighteen months. The conversion of the whole of these is
traceable to the giving of a Malayalim Testament as the means." 7

i Report of Church Missionary Society for 1824, p. 133. 5 Forty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xci.

3 ? e ? ty ; n V nt D h R T r 5 ?/ Br u 1Sh ? Foreign - Blble Society p - " 6 Missionary Register for 1842, p. 348.

* - ? FOT *- fourth Re * rt f British * ***** Bible Society, p. xciii.

CINGALESE.

(For SPECIMEN of this Version, see Plate VI.)

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The Island of Ceylon lies at the entrance of the
Bay of Bengal, between the 6th and 10th degrees of north latitude, and the 80th and 82nd degrees of
east longitude. Its area has been estimated at 25,000 square miles, and by the last census in 1835,
the returns gave the amount of population at l^SOjOOO. 1 The Cingalese language is only pre
dominant in the interior of the island, and on the southern coast from Battycola on the east, to the
river Chilaw on the west. Tamul, as before mentioned, prevails on the northern coast, and Indo-
Portuguese is spoken by the descendants of European settlers in many of the seaport towns. Pali, as
we have already had occasion to state, is the learned and religious language of the Buddhists of Ceylon.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The remarks already made on the peculiarities of the
Tamul language are almost equally applicable to the Cingalese, which closely resembles the Tamul in
construction and idiom. In Cingalese, as in the languages of the Deccan, there are two distinct
dialects ; namely, the dialect employed in books, properly called Elu, but more commonly high
Cingalese, and which offers very few points of approximation to the Sanscrit, and the vulgar or collo
quial dialect, in which nine out of every ten words are derived either from Sanscrit or Pali. 2 The Elu,
it is generally supposed, was the language of the aborigines of the island, and the colloquial dialect is
thought to be a modification of the Elu, altered by the intermixture of Pali words, and by other
causes. The Cingalese alphabet contains fifty letters, arranged very much upon the Devanagari
system ; but upon examination of their powers, the number of articulate sounds may be reduced to
seven vowels and twenty-three consonants.

VERSIONS or THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. The first Cingalese version of the
Scriptures was made when Ceylon was in the possession of the Dutch. The Dutch Governor Von
Imhof established a printing press at Colombo in 1737, with the view of disseminating the knowledge
of the Gospel among the natives. In 1739 an edition of the Four Gospels in Cingalese was completed
at this press, under the care of the Rev. J. P. Wetzel, a minister of the Dutch church at Colombo.
The translation had been executed from the original Greek by the Rev. W. Konym, a minister of the
same church. It was reprinted at Colombo in 1780, after having been revised and corrected by the
Rev. Messrs. Fybrands and Philipsz. These two ministers likewise superintended an edition of the
Acts, printed at Colombo 1771 : two learned Cingalese natives had executed this translation, under
the direction of the Rev. S. Cat. The Epistles to the Galatians and Corinthians were translated by
Mr. Philipsz, and printed in 1773; he then completed the translation of the remaining books of the
New Testament, and committed them to the press in 1776. Of the Old Testament, a metrical version
of the Psalter was printed at Colombo in 1775, and republished in 1768. The books of Genesis,
Exodus, and Leviticus were published in 1783. Mr. Philipsz appears to have continued the version as
far as the book of Job ; and after his death the manuscript was deposited among the archives of the
Dutch church at Colombo. The Colombo Auxiliary Bible Society was formed in 1812, and one of
the first measures adopted by the Society was the examination of the state of the Cingalese version of
the New Testament. It was found so replete with errors, that a thorough revision, or a new transla
tion, was deemed indispensable, and the execution of this important work was intrusted to a Com
mittee of Cingalese interpreters, under the superintendence of Mr. Armour, an English schoolmaster,
well-versed in the language, and W. Tolfrey, Esq., a civil officer under government, and an eminent
Cingalese scholar. As it had been, however, previously ascertained that a most deplorable scarcity
of the vernacular New Testament existed in Ceylon, a reprint of the former text was made by the
Calcutta Auxiliary Society: this edition, consisting of 1000 copies, was printed at Serampore
in 1813, and was presented to the Colombo Society for the purpose of meeting the urgent wants
of the people, while the revised edition was in course of preparation. 3 As many alterations were

1 Eleven Years in Ceylon, by Major Forbes, vol. i. pp. 12, 15. 3 Tenth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 11.

2 dough s Cingalese Dictionary, Introduction.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] CINGALESE.

127

requisite in the printed text, the work of revision progressed but slowly; constant reference was
made to the Sargent and Bengalee versions, whence many appropriate words and phrases were
obtained. The Tamul version was also of much assistance, for owing to the affinity between the
two languages the form of expression in Tamul was often found to run easily into Cingalese
i T ?? Wa 5 T 8 , consulted in rder to give clearness and precision to the translation- and
Mr. lolfrey declared that it was expedient to render every chapter into Pali, before it could be
revised with effect in Cingalese. 1 The whole revision was conducted with continual reference to the
Greek text and the English version. In 1815, 200 copies of the Gospels of Matthew and Mark were
struck olt tor circulation among Cingalese scholars, and the criticisms and opinions thus elicited were
decidedly m favour of the work, which was declared to be free from the low and familiar words which
disfigured the former text, and which, though of constant occurrence in the colloquial dialect are
deemed peculiarly reprehensible in the Cingalese written composition. The lamented death of Mr
lolirey occurred just as the revision had reached the Second Epistle to Timothy. The prosecution of
the work then devolved upon the Eev. Messrs. Chater and Clough, in conjunction with Mr. Armour
and by their united exertions a complete edition of 5000 copies of the New Testament left the
Colombo press in 1817. They then applied to the preparation of a version of the Old Testament
Scriptures, which they conducted on the same plan as that on which the revision of the New Testa
ment had been executed. By the aid of grants received from the Parent and Calcutta Bible Societies
and from the American Board of Missions, 1000 copies of the book of Genesis were printed at Colombo
in 1818 ; and in the following year, a second edition of 3500 copies of the revised New Testament was
published This was soon followed by 2000 copies of the Psalter, and by 1000 copies of each of the
&gt;ther books of the Old Testament, and the entire version was completed at press in 1823 Some
assistance to this work was granted by the British Government. As the supplies of the Scriptures was
still found inadequate to meet tne urgent demands of the people, another revised and cheaper edition
was undertaken with the aid of the British and Foreign Bible Society; it consisted of 2500 copies of
the Old Testament and of 6000 of the New. The Pentateuch and Gospels left the press in 1828, and
the entire edition was completed in 1830.

Another translation of the Cingalese Scriptures was undertaken by the Kev. Mr. Lambrick, of the
Church Mission, at Gotta, a village near Colombo. The first portion of this version that passed
through the press was the Gospel of St. Matthew, 100 copies of which were printed for the use of the
schools at Cotta. Hher portions of the Scriptures were successively issued, and in 1833 the New
lestament was completed at press, followed in 1834 by an edition of the Old Testament, printed at
the expense of the Church Missionary Society. This translation, which is generally distinguished as
the Cotta Version differs from the version set forth by the Colombo Bible Society in the Mowing
particulars : ; 1 All the honorific terminations, that is, peculiar terminations of the verbs, nouns
and pronouns, indicative of respect, used in books in the high Cingalese dialect, are omitted in the
)tta version 2. Ihose terminations of nouns, etc. in common use in the colloquial dialect are
lopted. 3 One pronoun for the second person singular (there are twelve others in use in Cingalese
books) is uniformly used throughout the Cotta version, whoever may be the person spoken to, human
or divine 4. Words in common use are invariably substituted for learned ones." 2 The aid of the
British and Foreign Bible Society has been extended to both these versions ; and in 1838, 2000 copie*
of the Cotta version were ordered to be printed at their expense. 3 Although considerable difference
of opinion has hitherto existed among the missionaries respecting the use of honorific terminations, yet
1 1S ^ W i 1 extremelv Desirable on all sides, that there should be but one standard version of
the Cingalese Scriptures ; and it is hoped that the negociations now pending between the Church
Missionaries at Cotta and the members of the Colombo Translation Committee will result in a unity
ot judgment and feeling on this important point. 4

RESULTS or THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. Ceylon is the venerated seat of
Buddhism and one of the chief depositaries of Buddhistic learning ; yet in no country of the East has
the distribution of the Scriptures been attended with more abundant manifestations of the divine
blessing. Many individual instances of conversion resulting from the perusal of the word of God in
ttaa language are dispersed throughout the records of the Bible, Church Missionary, and Weslevan
Ihe following statement by Mr. Clough, one of the translators, shows the rapid progress of

128

THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND.

[CLASS III.

truth through the length and breadth of the island : " The Bible in Ceylon is working a great change
in the views and feelings of the heathen. Formerly the priests and others felt but little at its circu
lation ; but since the people have got a more extensive supply, and the effect of their reading is
become apparent, the priests have taken the alarm, and have endeavoured to thwart the circulation.
But the matter has gone too far, and this they now see ; for in our schools in the southern part of
Ceylon we have, by the blessing of God, raised up in the midst of the population not less than 30,000
native Christian readers, who do read, and will read, in spite of the opposition of the heathen." l And
in the last reports received from Ceylon, the Rev. Mr. Gogerly writes " The number of Cingalese
readers is increasing daily ; there is much more of a spirit of inquiry than was formerly apparent, and
a greater willingness to read the word of God. In some instances, especially about Morotto, even
Roman Catholics apply for the New Testament. Vital Christianity has not spread among the people
so much as we desire ; yet, in the Wesleyan body alone, nearly 1000 sincere Christian men and
women, without enumerating their children and family connexions, besides the members of other
sections of the church, daily receive instruction in the Holy Scriptures." 2

MALDIYIAN.

THE Maldives are a chain of islands, supposed to be about 1200 in number, in the Indian Ocean,
extending between the 1st degree of south, and the 7th of north, latitude, and between the 72nd and
73rd degrees of east longitude. 3 They are of coralline formation, and many of them are little else
than reefs. They have been seldom visited by Europeans, and the amount of population is unknown.
The rulers are Mahommedans, but it is thought that the people are pagans.

The language is a very mixed one, and contains a far greater number of Cingalese, Hindustani,
Sanscrit, and Arabic words, than of Malay, among the dialects of which some have wished to class it. 4
Dr. Leyden considered that it bears a distant relation to Cingalese. The Maldivians have an alphabet
of their own, said by the Serampore Missionaries to resemble the Persic in name and form. 5

The Four Gospels were translated into Maldivian by Dr. Leyden, who presented the MS. to the
Calcutta Bible Society. The death of that eminent scholar arrested the further progress of the version,
but the native whom he had employed in making the translation was retained at Serampore. A fount
of types was cast for the purpose of printing the Gospels, but through some cause now unknown, ^no
portion of the version appears at any time to have passed through the press.

1 Twenty-ninth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ixiv.

2 Forty-third Report of Britfsh and Foreign Bible Society, pp. ciii. cv.

3 M Culloch s Geographical Dictionary, vol. ii. p. 259.

Balbi s Atlas Ethnographique.

Eleventh Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 32.

CLASS III.- INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.

C. CELTIC FAMILY.

WELSH.

SPECIMEN OF THE WELSH VEESIONS. ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

SALISBURY S VERSION.
London, Folio, 1567.

gjfr 2 bErfjraE gbb osbb g aft,
a r air OEbb 2 flg* a Bufo, a r
air Jjfonfo OEbb ufa.

2 p?fon OEbb gn 2 torfjrae ggb
a HJuru.

3 II a fcmaetrjpajgt trto 2 r air
fyfonfo, ac ebbbafo ng funaEtfipfogt
bfm a r a tonaetfjp&jgt.

4 gnbbaro gbb OEbb bgfogt, a r

b alcuni tgnwn.

5 3l r golEuni a bgrnon im 2
tgfoglttndj. a r tgfoglKnrfj nib ocbb
gn ei atnggffreb.

6 gbb oetto gfar a bbanoonesit
2 flan Bbufo, a ei enfo ocbb loan.

7 f^fan a bbactlj 2" tegttolaetfr,
2 bestiolaEtfju o r golcuni, gn g
djrebent oil trrogbbafoj.

8 $gb efe oebb 2 flolEuni fjfamro,
Eitfjr E tftantonesit 2 tieatiolartfja
o r flohunt.

9 f^bbn&fa oebb 2 flfot r flaunt 2
sg 2 n floleuo pop bgn sg

ir t)20.

figb a
a r bgti ngt) atunafaii ootm o fjanato.

11 ^t gr nVbtiato g fjun g oaetfj,
a r i= ooato 2l) un n 2" s tio"erb2n=
sont et

12 31 d)2nniuer aet terboniesont
ef, r^oes 2^ l3i3a 2 nt fatatnt g not gn
fm &ion i Oouto, scf ir 0afol a
creoant gn 2 nto ef,

13 2r et"a anet n2"b o inaetj, nac

2 ntairio, na c o : $

a r

gtor, ettrjr o Jiouto.

14 & r @atr f)fabnb& a
pto2^ 2 n fl^arut, ac a brffltaintiti 2n
tin plitfj, (a flfaelsam d ogoniant,
begt s floflont ant bn ganrttc bap
gfafarti) g 2Tafc) gn I aton rat a

DR. W. MORGAN S VERSION.
London, Folio, 1588.

ff$!L g fcecrjramti gt ocoti 2 flair,
a r flair oetft flgb a Dufo, a ubj
oebb 2 flafr.

2 f^ton oetiti 2n 2 tJedjreuati fl2t(
a Bufa.

3 9Trr02tit3io ef g flinnaetrjptogb
pob petfj, ac |)cbbbo ef ni bmaeo biin
a r a tonat|)pbJ2t.

\ ^nbtio ef gr ocob b2bDgt&gt;, a r
bgb32 b obo oleuni
5 & r flolmni a
a r

gn ei

6 ||r oetill girir b3bi i anfon
obbi rortfj Bbubj, a l nbj Eoan.

1 ^tnn a bbartfj 2n bestiolaet^,
ttl 2 t0tfolaft|) ft ant 2 flolrani,
fd 2 rrrtf painb trfrmbbo ^

8 Hfb fe obt&gt; p flolrani ^ton=
nto, citfjr i b0tiolatf)u am 2
flolrani.

9 [^ronnto] ortb 2 flboir oleum ,
2r i)tQn sgbti gn flolcuo pob bgn a r
g sgbb gn b2fob i r bob.

" 10 gn g fagb gr 0bb f, a r bgb
a lnnat|)pbD2b trb32^o *f a r bgb
nib abnabu f.

U 3(t i Eibbo i fjun g baftrj fe,
a f ibbo fi ijun ni s berfagnni asant

12 nb cgnnifrr a r a f brbgn=
niasant f, efe a robbfs ibbgnt allu
i fob 2n feibfon i Sbiiin, farf] i r
satol a grebent 2n ei mto f,

13 g r|ai ni anb o lnab, nac o
to2ll2 s 2 cnafaab, nac o to2ll2S fl^r,
it|)r o Sbuto.

\\ ^I r flair a innartfjpirigb gn
flnalnb, ac a briflobb gn ein plltf) ni,
(ac ni a inclsom i oflont ant Ef,
ntfflis flofloniant gr bni=flanfbic
[Jab gn bgfob] obbi inrtfj 2
2n llaton flras, a flfaririorabb"

BISHOP PARRY S VERSION.
London, Folio, 1620.

2f$ 2 fcccfjreuab gr OEbb g air,
a r air Obb fl2b a ufa, a Buin
OEbb g air.

2 J?inn OEbb gn g bEcfjrEtiab ggb
a ttfa,

3 ^Tringbbo ef g flronaetfiplrigb
pob pEtfj ; ac rjfabbo Ef, ni fonaEtfj;
progb bim a r a fonaEtfyptngb.

\ gnbbo ef 2* oebb fa2topb, a r
b2in2t&gt; vrtto oleuni bgnion" :

5 & r flolEiini 0gbb gn Ileiri2rc^tt
2n 2 tgtu^lBDcfif, a"r tgfcrgllfan) nib
OEbb gn Ei aniflgffrEb.

6 gr gboEbb"flU3r iEbi ei anfon
obbi tortfj Sbuto, a i Enin Eoan :

7 ff|&m a bbaEt^ gn bgstioIaEtfj,
fel g tgsttoIaEtfjEi am 2 floleuni, fel
2 crfbci patob trfo2bbo ef.

8 ii^ib EfE OEbb 2 flalEwni, Eit^r
[efe a anfonasib] fel 2 t2stiolatf)i
am 2 flokuni.

9 ^ton gboEbb g girrir olrani, gr
fjbm sgbb 2n flolEiio pob bgn a r g
sgbb gn bgfob i r biSb.

10 gn 2 bob gr OEbb Ef, a r bgb

o f ; a r bb

nib abnabu Ef.

U Sit Ei eibbo ei rjtin 2
a r eibbo ei fjun ni bbErbpniasant

Ef.

12 nb EgnnifEr ac a i bcrbgn--
iasant ef, Efe a robbES ibbgnt allu
i fob gn fcibion i Dbuto, ff] i r
sainl a flrEbant gn ei Ento ef.

13 g rrjai ni ansb o foaEb, nac o
Etogllgs g Enainb, nac o Eingllgs flfior,
Eitfjr o Bbuto.

\\ ^I r air a tonaEtfjp&jgb gn
flnatob, ac a brijjobb gn cm plitfj
ni, (ac ni a roclsom ei ofloniant ef,
flofloniant mEflt gr fanifl=anEbig
obbitortf) g 2Tab) gn llaton gras a
gfoiriombb.

ON THE WELSH LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The Welsh, sometimes called the British lan-
je, on account of its former predominance in Britain, is a dialect of the Celtic, an ancient tongue

13 o THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [Cixss III.

once diffused throughout the greater part of Europe, although now confined to certain sections of the
British Isles and a portion of Brittany. According to the last census taken in 1841, the population
of Wales and Monmouthshire was estimated at 1,045,958; but a very large proportion of this popula
tion, particularly in Monmouthshire and Glamorganshire, consists of English and Irish immigrants.
It is believed that, throughout the whole of Wales, the natives of the principality, to whom the Welsh
language is vernacular, do not number above 700,000 individuals; an amount of population which is
less by one half than that of either Yorkshire or Lancashire. 1 In estimating, however, the number of
individuals by whom Welsh is spoken, it must be taken into account, that from fifty to seventy thou
sand Welshmen are settled in various towns of England, particularly in London, Liverpool, Man
chester, Chester, Birmingham, and Bristol. 2

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. One grand distinctive feature which runs through
the Welsh, and all the other dialects of the Celtic language, is the incompleteness of the grammatical
system of inflections, as compared with the complex and elaborate systems of the Sanscrit, Teutonic,
and other families. This circumstance, viewed in connection with the generally received opinion, that
Europe was first colonised by tribes of Celtic origin, leads to the inference that the separation of the
Celtic family from the parent stock in Asia took place at a period prior to that in which the language
then common to the Asian race had attained its full maturity of development. The study of the
Celtic dialects has, therefore, a bearing more or less direct upon all questions connected with the early
history and origin of nations ; for the remarkable analogies still preserved by those dialects with other
families and classes of languages, lead us back to the most remote epochs that can possibly be inves
tigated by the aid of comparative philology^ In Celtic may still be traced some faint indications of
the ancient relationship, if not of the original identity, of the Indo-European and Shemitic classes.
The Celtic, like Hebrew and other Shernitic languages, has two sets of personal pronouns; namely,
the full or unmutilated forms used chiefly in the nominative case, and the abbreviated forms employed
in regimen; the latter often found in conjunction with a preposition, so as to make but one word. 3
The Celtic pronouns also point to the solution of a problem that has long occupied the attention of
philologists, for it has been satisfactorily ascertained, that the personal terminations of Welsh verbs are
neither more nor less than a series of pronominal suffixes; so that, as Dr. Prichard has justly observed,
the
rest,

especially in the possession of a pas
languages except the Moeso- Gothic, which alone retains any remnant of its ancient passive form, and
that only in the present tense of the indicative and subjunctive moods. 5 In the laws of euphony
regulating the permutation of consonants when brought together in composition, the Celtic offers
many points of resemblance to other languages of its class; but, with this distinctive peculiarity, that,
while in Greek and in most of the Indo-European languages one consonant has no power in modifying
another, except when joined thereto in one and the same word, the Celtic alone resembles the San
scrit in the modifying influence possessed by the final and initial consonants of words in sequence.
The principles upon which these changes in the consonants of distinct words depend are, in Sanscrit,
comprised in what is technically called the law of Sandhi, and are_ purely euphonic in their nature.
In Welsh and its cognate dialects, on the contrary, these characteristic changes of initial consonants
seem to have a more especial reference to the meaning ot the preceding word, or_to some rule of
grammatical construction; yet there are many cases in which the alteration of the initial letter seems
in Welsh to depend mainly, if not solely, upon euphonic principles. 6 The Welsh differs in several
respects from the other Celtic dialects : it is derived immediately from the Cymric branch of the Celtic
language anciently spoken through Germany to the ocean, whereas Gaelic, Erse, and Manx probably owe
their origin to the ancient language of Celtic Gaul. The Welsh is remarkable, like the Eolic Greek, for
its habitual substitution of hard palatine and guttural consonants for the soft palatine and sibilant letters
of the Sanscrit in such radicals or elementary words as are common to both languages. ^ In this
peculiarity it is followed in some degree by the Teutonic languages, although they often incline more
strongly to the introduction of an aspirate. 7 The great number of Latin words which enter ^ into the
Welsh vocabulary may in part be accounted for by the long supremacy of the Komans in Britain : to

1 Wales, by Sir Thomas Phillips, p. 7. 5 Eastern Origin of the Celtic Nations, p. 180; see also Grimm s Deutsche

2 Wales , by Sir Thomas Phillips, p. 567. Grammatik, p. 855.

a Dr. Meyer, in the Seventeenth Report of the British Association, p. 317- 6 Eastern Origin of the Celtic Nations, p. 34.
* Eastern Origin of the Celtic Nations, p. 130. 7 Eastern Origin of the Celtic Nations, p. 42.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] WELSH. 131

which cause may also be traced the adoption, by the Welsh, of the Roman characters, which took place at
an early period, as is evident from ancient inscriptions and legends on coins. 1 To account, however, for
the numerous Celtic words which are to be detected in the Latin and Greek languages, we must resort
to the hypothesis that the Umbri, the Osci, and perhaps some of the other primitive colonists of Italy
and Southern Europe, were of Celtic descent. In many words, of which Lhuyd gives a detailed list,
(Arch. Brit. p. 269), the Celtic and Greek approximate so closely as to leave no room for doubt
respecting the identity of their origin, while the corresponding terms in Latin evidently proceed from
an entirely distinct source. Such words as in Latin commence with sc, sp, or st, have the letter y
prefixed in Welsh (e.g. Lot. scelere, Wd. ysceler; Lot. spiritus, Wei. yspryd ; Lat. status, Wei ystad); 2
and a similar peculiarity is exhibited by the French language, which also inserts a vowel before Latin
words commencing with these letters, as in espece^ from Lat. species; esperer, from Lat. sperare.

The form of conjugation in the Welsh verbs is immediately derived from the Latin, as will appear
by exhibiting some of the forms of a verb common to both languages : e.g. Wei. canu, to sing, Lat.
cano, or canto-; Wei. canaf, or canav, Lat. cantavi ; Wei. canaist, Lat. cantavisti, contracted cantasti ;
Wei. canodd, Lat. canit ; Wei. imperative, caned, Lat. future, canet ; Wei. caiiasom, Lat. contr.
cantassemus, for cantavissemus. The form of the second person plural is peculiar to the Welsh:
canasoch, you sang ; the ch is derived from cliwi, you; a personal pronoun used in Welsh as a distinct
word ; Wei. canasent. Lat. cantassent. It appears from these examples that the Welsh is as intimately
connected with the Latin as the Italian is, as far, at least, as the conjugations are concerned : for the
Italian terminations deviate from the Latin as much as the Welsh, and nearly in the same manner,
with the exception of the second person plural already noticed; as -amus in Latin is -amo in Italian,
and in Welsh -om, as in the above examples.

VERSIONS OF THE SCKIPTUKES IN THIS LANGUAGE. The earliest mention of a Welsh version
of any part of the Scriptures occurs in an epistle prefixed, by Dr. Richard Davis, bishop of St. David s,
to the first printed edition of the Welsh New Testament (that of 1567), in which he states that there
was a version of the Pentateuch extant about the year 1527, and that he himself saw a copy of the work
in the possession of a learned gentleman, a relative of his own : he does not, however, give any in
formation respecting the translator, or the period at which the version was executed.* Several short
detached portions of Scripture were translated into Welsh, and printed during the reign of Edward VI.,
probably for the use of the Liturgy or Service Book compiled during that period. In 1562, a law was
enacted by parliament enforcing the translation of the entire Scriptures into the Welsh language, under
the superintendence of the Bishops of St. Asaph, Bangor, St. David, Llandaff, and Hereford. In
consequence of this enactment, William Salesbury, a Welshman of liberal education, and a good linguist
for the age, was appointed by the bishops to take the oversight of the projected edition; 3 and by him
the entire New Testament was translated, except the Book of Revelation, which is ascribed to Huet,
a chantor or prsecentor of St. David s, and five of the Epistles (2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, and the
two general Epistles of Peter), which were translated by the above-named Dr. Richard Davis, bishop
of the same place. The whole version was made from the Greek collated with the Latin : its general
fidelity has never been disputed, but it is faulty in style and orthography. It is divided, like our
present Testaments, into chapters, but has no distinction of verses except in some books towards the
end. 4 It was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth, and was printed in 1567 in London, at the expense of
Humphrey Toy. The edition, which consisted of 500 copies, was in quarto, and printed in black
letter. More than twenty years elapsed after the publication of the New Testament, before a version
of the Old Testament was bestowed upon the people of Wales. This boon was at length conferred by
Dr. William Morgan, originally a vicar of Llanrhaiadr-mochnant, in Denbighshire, and raised in 1595
to the see of Llandaff, and in 1601 to that of St. Asaph. With the aid of several eminent scholars,
he prepared a version of the Old Testament from the Hebrew, 5 and revised Salesbury s version of the
New Testament. He was not nominated to this important undertaking by the bishops, but engaged

* A Welsh version of the Bible was preserved in MS. at Celydd If an, near Bridgend in Glamorgan : it appears to have been
executed from the Latin Vulgate, by an ancestor of the family residing in that place, about the year 1470. A considerable portion
of the MS. was still extant a few years ago, and in all probability it is still preserved. It may have been a MS. of the Pentateuch of
this version to which Dr. R. Davis referred. We may, however, also mention that it has been stated that the translation of the
Pentateuch into English, by William Tyndale, was the basis of a Welsh version.

1 Historical and Critical Remarks on the British Tongue, by Dr. s Historical Account of the Welsh Vers. of the Mble, by Dr. Llewelyn, p. 8.

Llewelvn D 41 4 Historical Account of the Welsh Vers. of the B\ble, by Dr. Llewelyn, p. 6.

2 Lhuvd s ArchKologia Brit. p. 8. 5 Historical Account of the Welsh Vers. of the Bible, by Dr. Llewelyn, p. 60.

132 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

in it spontaneously. In 1588 he printed both Testaments with the Apocrypha in one volume folio.
The work was divided into verses throughout, and, like the former edition of the New Testament, was
dedicated to Queen Elizabeth. This edition also consisted of 500 copies, and was printed in black
letter: a copy, presented by the translator himself, may be seen in the library of the dean and chapter
at Westminster, and another in the library of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Dr. Morgan
afterwards subjected the New Testament to a second revisal, and the corrected version was ready for
the press in 1604, when he died: it does not appear ever to have been printed. The important work
which had occupied so many years of this prelate s life, was not discontinued after his decease. His
successor in the see of St. Asaph, Dr. Richard Parry, manifested equal zeal in the preparation of
a faithful version of the Welsh Scriptures. Of his own accord, and in concert with his chaplain,
the celebrated Dr. John Davies, Dr. Parry undertook a complete revision of the Old and New
Testaments, in the course of which he introduced so many corrections and alterations, that the
work is deservedly regarded as a new and independent version, rather than as an amended translation.
It has always been held in such high estimation, that it has been used as the text of all succeeding
editions ; and the few variations that from time to time may have been made from it, are chiefly of an
orthographical nature : it is, in fact, the standard version of the Welsh Scriptures. It was published
for the first time in 1620, by Norton and Hill, his Majesty s printers in London, and contained a
dedication to King James. The copy which was presented to the king is now in the British Museum.
The edition, however, only consisted of 500 copies : like the two previous editions, it was printed
in black letter and in folio, and the total want of copies of the Scriptures printed in a more
accessible form was at this period severely felt in Wales. In consequence of this lamentable deficiency,
some noble-minded citizens of London combined together to furnish a portable edition of the Welsh
Bible at their own expense. Their edition, which was published in 1630 in London, was in small
octavo, and contained, besides the Old and New Testaments, the Apocrypha, the Book of Common
Prayer, and a metrical version of the Psalms. Prys, archdeacon of Merioneth, was the translator of
this psalter, which is now used in the Welsh churches. Another metrical version of the Psalms, by
Captain Middleton, had been printed by Salesbury in London as early as 1603. The other principal
editions of the Scriptures, issued during the 17th and 18th centuries, may be briefly enumerated as
follows :

1647. The New Testament in 12mo., without headings to the chapters; 1000 copies.

1648. Second edition of the Metrical Psalms, by Archdeacon Prys, in 12mo.

1654. The whole Bible in 8vo. ; 6000 copies. This is sometimes called Cromwell s Bible.,

1654. A separate edition of the New Testament, also in 8vo., 1000 copies; printed in larger type
than the Bible of the same date.

1672. The New Testament with the Psalms, both in prose and metre. This edition was pub
lished by means of subscriptions collected in Wales and England: it was printed in 8vo.,
and consisted of 2000 copies.

1678. The whole Bible, with the Book of Common Prayer, in 8vo., printed in London. Of
this edition, which consisted of 8000 copies, 1000 copies were distributed gratis among
the poor, and the rest were sold at a price below the cost of printing. Mr. Thomas
Gouge, a man of noted benevolence, was the principal promoter of this edition : it passed
through the press under the care of his friend, the Kev. Stephen Hughes, who formerly
held the living of Mydoim, in Caermarthenshire, but was ejected at the passing of the
Act of Uniformity. The corrections in orthography and punctuation, introduced by
Mr. Hughes, were numerous and important ; and this edition, though not without its
defects, has in consequence been held in high estimation.

1690. Bible in 8vo., 10,000 copies. This edition was published by the Eev. David Jones, the
ejected minister of Llandisilio, under the patronage of Lord Wharton, and with the
assistance of some ministers and citizens of London.

1690. Bible in folio, 1000 copies, printed at Oxford, for the use of churches. This is sometimes
called Bishop Lloyd s Bible, because he is believed to have had some hand in the pub
lication, and to have supplied the chronology and references. 1 It was printed under
the superintendence of Mr. Pierce Lewis, a gentleman of Anglesea. This was the first
edition printed in Roman characters ; it varies from preceding editions in the ortho
graphy of many words.

i Historical Account of the Welsh Version of the Bible, by Dr. Llewelyn, p. 35.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES. ] WELSH. 133

1718. Bible in 8vo., 10,000 copies, printed in London. This is often called "Moses Williams
Bible," because that gentleman, then vicar of Dyfynog, in Brecknockshire, was the
curator of the press. This edition was the first published under the patronage of the
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge : it has the Apocrypha, the Psalms in
metre, some hymns, and forms of prayer ; also marginal references and the contents of
chapters.

1727. Bible in 8vo., 5000 copies, London. This edition was published under the same patronage
as the last, but without the references or the headings of the chapters : on account of
this omission it was never so highly valued or sought after by the people.

1746. Bible in 8vo., 15,000 copies, Cambridge. This was the third edition brought out imder
the superintendence of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. It contains
nearly all that was printed in the edition of 1718, and passed through the press under
the care of Mr. R. Morris of the Navy Office, a distinguished Welsh scholar. In this
and the following edition the orthography of Bishop Lloyd s Bible was adopted.

1752. Bible in 8vo., 15,000 copies, London. This, like the edition of 1746, was printed under
the superintendence of Mr. Morris, at the expense of the Society for Promoting
Christian Knowledge : these two editions cost the sum of 6000.*

1752. New Testament and Psalms, in 8vo., 2000 copies, London: printed from the edition of
1672 by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Several reprints from this
edition have been made at Shrewsbury.

1769. Bible in 8vo., 20,000 copies, London: published by the Society for Promoting Christian

Knowledge. The orthography is that of Bishop Lloyd s Bible.

1770. Bible in quarto, Caermarthen, with Notes by the Rev. Peter Williams. This has been

reprinted at least twelve different times at Caermarthcn, and similar editions have issued
from other Welsh presses. The same Bible has been printed in folio size, with plates,
by Fisher and Co., London.

1789. Bible in folio, London. This was a small edition, printed for the use of churches by the

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

1790. Bible in 12mo., with Mr. John Canne s References, printed at Trevecca, in Brecknockshire,

under the superintendence of Mr. Peter Williams. An edition of the same Bible was
subsequently printed at Caermarthen.

1799. Bible in 8vo., 10,000 copies; and New Testament printed separately (also in 8vo.), 2000
copies. These editions were published under the care of the Rev. John Roberts, at Ox
ford, by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

The editions above enumerated, with the exception of 10,000 copies of the New Testament in
various sizes, printed in the year 1800 at Salop, 2 were all that appeared prior to the formation of the
British and Foreign Bible Society. At the close of the last and commencement of the present
century, great scarcity of the vernacular Scriptures prevailed in Wales. The large edition of 1799
was no sooner published than sold, and the last copy was disposed of before one fourth part of the
country was supplied. 3 Urgent applications were made to the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge, entreating them to provide further supplies of the Welsh Scriptures, but without success.
At this juncture, when no aid seemed attainable from that source, the Rev. Thomas Charles of Bala,
formerly a clergyman of the Established Church, but then officiating in connection with the Welsh
Calvinistic Methodists, came to London to endeavour to find other means for supplying the princi
pality with Bibles. He was introduced to one of the meetings of the Committee of the Religious Tract
Society, the members of which entered warmly into the case. It was found to be too important and
too difficult to admit of any immediate resolution; but meetings were held on alternate Tuesdays for
its consideration, which, after fifteen months anxious deliberations, issued in calling the piiblic meeting
on the 7th March, 1804, for the formation of the British and Foreign Bible Society. 4 As the scarcity
of Bibles in Wales had thus been the proximate cause of the origin of this noble institution, so one of
the first measures of the Society, when established, was an attempt to meet the urgent demands of the
Welsh people for copies of the Scriptures. The Society resolved in 1804 to print an edition of the
Welsh Bible and Testament on stereotype plates: the number ordered was 20,000 Bibles in 12mo.,
with 5000 additional Testaments in a larger type. The text selected was the Oxford edition of 1799,

1 Historical Account of the Welsh Vers. of the Bible, by Dr. Llewelyn, p. 54. 3 Memoir of Rev. Thomas Charles of Bala, Merionethshire, p. 317.

2 Anderson s Historical Sketches, p. 25". * Owen s History of British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. i. p. 126.

134 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

and the proffered services of Mr. Charles were accepted in revising anc} preparing a copy for the press.
While this revision was being vigorously carried on, a communication, emanating from the Rev.
J. Roberts of Tremnrchion, Flintshire, was conveyed, through the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge, to Lord Teignmouth. the President of the British and Foreign Bible Society, impeaching
the accuracy of certain orthographical alterations introduced by Mr. Charles. A Sub-committee was
appointed to investigate the validity of these complaints ; and after a lengthened controversy it was
proved, that though Mr. Charles had in his revised copy ventured on the adoption of certain ortho
graphical changes, chiefly in accordance with the system of Dr. Pughe, yet that he was guiltless of
innovation so far as the general sense or meaning of the sacred text was concerned. The expediency
of the alterations in orthography adopted by Mr. Charles formed the next subject of inquiry; and as
the Sub-committee, from their imperfect acquaintance with the language, felt themselves incompetent
to decide the question, the matter was referred to the arbitration of the Rev. Walter Davies, vicar of
Meifod, Montgomeryshire. This gentleman declared his opinion to be in favour of the old system of
orthography, which the Society accordingly determined to adopt in their forthcoming edition ; and it
must be mentioned to the honour of Mr. Charles, that he liberally gave his services to the correction
and revision of the text by which his own was superseded. In 1805 the Society for Promoting
Christian Knowledge announced their intention of printing 20,000 copies of the Welsh Bible from the
text of 1746; to which, however, they afterwards gave the preference of the text of 1752. To avoid
the serious evil of discrepancy between their versions, the British and Foreign Bible Society resolved
that they likewise would adopt this latter text; and their edition, prepared from this standard, left the
press in 1806. Including this their first edition, the number of copies issued at successive intervals by
the British and Foreign Bible Society from the year 1806 to the present year (1849) may be briefly
stated as follows l :

Bibles 329,131

Testaments .... 384,209

Diglots, Welsh and English . . 1,986

Total . 715,326

Other large editions besides those above described have been published by the Society for Promoting
Christian Knowledge: of these the principal was that printed at Oxford in 1809, for which collations
were made from previous editions, typographical errors were corrected, and the orthography of proper
names was restored according to the text of 1620. 2

FACTS RELATIVE TO THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. The manner in which the
Bible Society s first edition of the New Testament was received in Wales is thus described by an eye
witness: "When the arrival of the cart was announced which carried the first sacred load, the Welsh
peasants went out in crowds to meet it, welcomed it as the Israelites did the ark of old, drew it
into the town, and eagerly bore off every copy as rapidly as they could be dispersed. _The young
people were to be seen consuming the whole night in reading it. Labourers carried it with them to
the fields, that they might enjoy it during the intervals of their labour, and lose no opportunity _ of
becoming acquainted with its sacred truths." 3 The increase in the issues and circulation of the Scrip
tures in Wales since that period is highly encouraging. Adding the circulation of the Society for
Promoting Christian Knowledge, and that of private printers, to the number issued by the British and
Foreign Bible Society, the total number of Welsh Bibles and Testaments printed at different times,
and in different places, cannot be far short of ONE MILLION copies.

i Forty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. .&lt;ii . - Knight s Remarks, Historical and Philological, p. 1 1.

3 Christian Observer for July 1810.

GAELIC.

SPECIMEN OF THE GAELIC VERSION.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

ANNS an toiseach bha am Focal, agus bha m Focal maille re Dia, agus b e m Focal Dia.
2 Bha e so air tus maille re Dia. 3 Rinneadh na h-uile nithe leis ; agus as eugmhais cha
d rinneadh aon ni a rinneadh. 4 Annsan bha beatha, agus b i a bheatha solus dhaoine.

5 Agus tha n solus a soillseachadh anns an dorchadas, agus cha do ghabh an dorchadas e.

6 Chuireadh duine o Dhia, d am b ainm Eoin. 7 Thainig esan mar f hianuis, chum fianuis
a thoirt mu n t- solus, chum gu n creideadh na h-uile dhaoine tridsan. 8 Cha b esan an
solus sin, ach chuireadh e chum gu d thugadh e fianuis mu n t-solus. 9 B e so an solus
fior, a ta soillseachadh gach uile dhuine tha teachd chum an t-saoghail. 10 Bha e anns
an t-saoghal, agus rinneadh an saoghal leis, agus cha d aithnich an saoghal e. n Thainig
e dh ionnsuidh a dhucha fein, agus cha do ghabh a mhuinntir fein ris. 12 Ach a mheud
s a ghabh ris, thug e dhoibh cumhachd a bhi nan cloinn do Dhia, eadhon dhoibhsan a
ta creidsinn na ainin : 3 A bha air an gineamhuin, cha n ann o f huil, no o thoil na febla,
no o thoil duine, ach o Dhia. 4 Agus rinneadh am Focal na f heoil, agus ghabh e cbm-
hnuidh nar measgne, (agus chunnaic sinn a ghlbir, mar ghlbir aoin ghin Mhic an Athar)
Ian grais agus firinn.

ON THE GAELIC LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The Gaelic is spoken in the Highlands and
Western Isles of Scotland, and pervades a region not much less in extent than the half of all North
Britain. ^ The people to whom this language is vernacular has, in round numbers, been estimated at
400,000 individuals. 1 Antiquarians are not agreed as to whether the progenitors of this population
were the ancient Britons, or merely colonists from Ireland.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The characteristics of the Gaelic are essentially the
same as those of the Erse dialect. One point of difference however is, that the Gaelic, unlike the Irish,
verbs possess but two simple tenses, the preterite and the future. The substantive verbs " bi," to be,
and " Is," / am, form perhaps the only exception to the rule, as they both possess a present tense :
such forms as " Creidim," I believe " " Guidheam," I pray, now occasionally to be heard in the High
lands, do not properly belong to the Gaelic, but seem to have been introduced from Ireland. 2 In this
singular defect of possessing no simple present tense, the Gaelic (like the Welsh, the Manks, and the
extinct diaject of Cornwall) resembles the Hebrew and Shemitic class of languages, to which, as has
already been observed, the Celtic class makes several notable approximations.

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. The venerable Bede informs us that,
in his time, the Scriptures were read in Great Britain " in five dialects then vulgarly used, viz. those
of the Angles, Britons, Scots, Picts, and Latins. 3 But if a version of Scripture in the language we
call Gaelic really existed in Bede s time, it is certain that no fragment of it is now extant ; nor has any
allusion to its existence been made by any other early writer. Scotland, indeed, appears to have been
left longer than almost any other part of Europe unprovided with a version of the Bible in the
vernacular language. In 1686, 200 copies of the Irish Bible, printed, as is subsequently mentioned,

1 Anderson s Historical Sketches, p. 126. * Stewart s Elements of Gaelic Grammar, p, 97. 3 Hist. Eccles. lib. i. p. 41.

13 6 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

at the expense of Mr. Boyle, were transmitted to Scotland for the use of the Highlanders, and owing
to the similarity between the two dialects, were found to be generally intelligible. This edition was,
however, printed in the Irish character, with which the Highlanders were but imperfectly acquainted,
whereas they had been taught to read, although they could not understand English. For their benefit,
therefore, an edition of the Irish Bible was issued in Koman characters in 1690: the work was printed
in London under the superintendence of the Kev. Robert Kirk, minister of Aberfoyle, and was
promoted chiefly by the Rev. James Kirkwood, of Astwick, and assisted by Mr. Bo^le. Another
small edition of the Irish New Testament (consisting of about 500 copies) was published in Glasgow in
1754, but it was not till the year 1767 that a New Testament in the Gaelic tongue was provided for
the Scotch Highlanders. For this important translation, alike creditable to the venerable translator,
and gratifying to all capable of understanding and appreciating it, Scotland was indebted to the
Rev. James Stuart, of Killin : the work was published at the expense of the Society in Scotland for
promoting Christian knowledge, assisted by a grant from the London Society. The first edition
consisted of 10,000 copies in 12mo., and a larger edition of 21,500 copies was issued by the same
Society in 1796. Encouraged by the evident acceptableness of these editions, the next measure of the
Society was to obtain a Gaelic version of the Old Testament. Several ministers cooperated in this
translation, which they agreed should be made directly from the Hebrew text. To facilitate the work,
the Old Testament was divided into four parts, two of which were allotted to the Rev. Dr. John Stuart,
minister of Luss, the son of the learned translator of the New Testament. A third part, also, afterwards
fell to his share, although it had in the first instance been executed by another hand. The remaining
fourth part, consisting of the Prophetical Books from Isaiah to Malachi both inclusive, was translated
by the Rev. Dr. Smith, of Campbeltown, and, on its completion, was found to differ altogether in style
and execution from the other portion of the Bible translated by Dr. Stuart. The translation of
Dr. Stuart was remarkable for its simplicity and its close adherence, so far as the idiom of the Gaelic
language would permit, to the letter of the sacred text ; whereas the Prophetical Books are translated in
a style which is at once free and poetical, resembling in some respects Bishop Lowth s translation of
Isaiah. 1 The work was published in parts : the first part, containing the Pentateuch, appeared in
1783, and 5000 copies of the whole version were completed at press in 1801, at the expense of the
Society. In consequence of many complaints concerning the discrepancy in style between the
prophetical and the other books, the Society resolved, in their next edition, to subject the former to a
thorough revision, that they might be rendered conformable to the other parts of the version. This
plan w*as carried into effect in 1807, when an edition of 20,000 copies of the Old together with the
New Testament was printed at Glasgow, under the care of the Rev. Alexander Stewart, of Dingwall. 2
Many opposed this version as fearing it would encourage the existence of the Gaelic language
(which some desired to extinguish, as identified with Jacobitism). Dr. Johnson did much to encourage
the version. One of his letters shows the deep interest which he took in the subject.

In the meantime, representations having been forcibly brought before the British and Foreign
Bible Society respecting the deplorable scarcity of copies of the Scriptures in the Highlands, and the
inadequacy of the means employed for their supply, the Society agreed to furnish an edition of the
Gaelic Bible, from the text adopted by the Scottish Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge.
This edition was published in London in 1807, nearly at the same time as the Edinburgh edition above
noticed : it consisted of 20,000 Bibles and 10,000 Testaments. It was received with the utmost joy
and gratitude by the Highlanders, but their demands for more copies still continued so urgent, that
the British and Foreign Bible Society, from time to time, have issued other editions ; and_ the total
number of Gaelic Bibles and Testaments printed by them up to the present year (1849) is_ 65,696
Bibles, and 77,949 Testaments. The following list of editions published by other Societies is given
by Mr. Anderson 3 :

1810. By Scottish Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge 10,000 Bibles, 12mo.

1821. By ditto ditto ditto 10,000 Tests. 12mo.

1827. By ditto ditto ditto 1,000 Bibles, 4to.

1827. By ditto ditto ditto 2,000 Tests. 8vo.

1828. By Edinburgh Bible Society 7,500 Bibles, 24mo.

1828. By ditto 5,000 Tests. 24mo.

1829. By ditto 10,000 Bibles, 12mo.
1829. By ditto 5,000 Bibles, 8vo.

i Second Keport of the B. and F. Bible Society, p. 176. 2 Townley s Illustrations, vol. iii. p. 468. 3 Hist. Sketches, p. 259

IRISH.

SPECIMEN OF THE IRISH VERSIONS.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. I to 14.

[LONDON, 1844.]

cofAC bo bj At) BbfijACArt, *i bo bj At)
A bfrocAift &lt;t)e, T bo be &lt;DjA At)

2 &lt;Do bj |o Aft ciij-A bpocAijt &lt;De.

3 Le]f*eAt) u CA|b t)A b^le ijejce bevt)CA ; *)
3At) & i)] bf.*\?l ejf)j8 bevt)CA, bA t)b&Atit)A8.

4 2ii) |* At) bo bj beACA ; 1 bob j At) beACA fotuf
t)A t)bAO]t)e.

5 215111* ro]llfi5i& At) f-oluj* j*]t) AT) f A bojtcAbAf* ;
1 t)]0]i 5Ab At) bojtCAbAf 6^50 e.

6 &lt;Do c-vifieAb b&gt;;t)e 6 ^bl^j bA|i b^^t)tt) 66|t). ;

7 T^AIDIC At) c6 fo tDAjt pjA&i)\7f|, bo crit) 50

^|A8t)\?p bor&gt; Tt*olu|*, ]oi)uf 50
[CAC] &gt;?le c|tjb.

8 Mjoji be]feAt) At) Solup ub, Acb [bo c\ijteA8
6] ]o5v|* 50 t)b6At)A8 |*6 jqA8i)\?}*i bot)

ub.

9 "t)o b fo At) Soluf

5AC \?le &\?i)e bA bc^5 A]t A craogAl.

10 C)o bj fe A^JI A c|*AO5Al, T c|tjb|*eAt) bo

]t|TJeA& At) f AO^Al, ACb T)]Ofl A]C]1) At) |*A

5e A cobA pe|t) i&
A AOit)e pe|t) CYCA fe.

12 2lcb At) ri)e]b bo TjAb CVCA &, cr5 f6 cvri)-
AcbA 86|b be]c t)A 5clojt) A5 CJJA, [e&ot)] bot)
bfio]r&gt;5 c|ieibgf A^ A A|t)ii)|*eAt) :

13 M&lt;\c bp\;l AJI 1)A t)5e|t)eAri7Ait) 6 ^&gt;;l, t)A 6
co^l T)A colU, t)^ 6 co]l p||t, Acb 6 ObJA.

14 21511}* bo t 1 !^^^ K^1^ boi? BbltejC)^, *] bo

(^ bo cvi)cArt)A|t A
eioe [2t)b]c] At)
IAI) bo 5|tA|*v;b

[LONDON, 1824.]

ANN sa tosach do bin an Bhriathar, agus do
bhi an Bliriathar a bhfochair D, agus do be Dia
an Bhriathar,

2 Do bhi so ar tus a bhfochair De.

3 Leisean a taid na huile neithe deunta, agus
gan ni bhfuil einni deunta, da ndearnadh.

4 Ann san do bhi beatha, agus dob i an bheatha
solus na ndaoine :

5 Agus soillsighidh an solus sin ann sa dorch-
adas, agus nior ghabh an dorchadas chuige 6.

6 Do cuireadh duine 6 Dhia, dar bhainm Eoin :

7 Tamic an te so mar fhiadhnuisi, do chum go
ndeanadh se fiadhnuisi don tsolus, ionnus go
gcreidfidis each uile thrid.

8 Nior bhesean an solus ud, achd do cuireadh
e ionnus go ndeanadh se fiadhnuisi don tsolus
ud.

9 Do be so an solus firinneach shoillsigheas
gach uile dhuine da dtig ar a tsaoghal.

10 Do bhi se air a tsaoghal, agus tridsean do
rinneadh an saoghal, achd nior aithin an saoghal e.

11 Dionnsuighe a choda fein thainic se, agus
nior ghabhadar a dhaoine fein chuca e.

12 Achd an mheid do ghabh chuca , tug se
cumhachda dhoibh bheith na gcloinn ag Dia,
eadhon don droing chreideas ann a ainmsean.

13 Nach bhfuil ar na ngeineamhain 6 fhuil, na
6 thoil na colla, na 6 thoil fir, achd 6 Dhia.

14 Agus do rinneadh feoil don Bhreithir, &
do chomhnuigh se eadruinne (agus do chunnca-
mar a ghloirsion, mar ghldir ^ingheine mic 6n
athair) Ian do ghrasuibh agus df irinne.

ON THE IRISH LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Except in large towns and their vicinity, the
Erse or Irish language is still spoken more or less in almost every part of Ireland, but it prevails more

138 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

especially in Munster and Connaught. There are no less than 600,000 individuals who can speak
no other language. The English language has been partially acquired by about three millions of the
native Irish, but so imperfectly that they are unable to receive religious instruction through its
medium. 1 The entire population of the island, including English settlers and those familiar with the
English language, amounts to 7,943,940; and of this population it has been computed that there are
6,427,712 Roman Catholics, 852,064 members of the Establishment, and 664,164 individuals belong
ing to other denominations ; so that, in round numbers, out of every hundred souls eighty-one are
Roman Catholics, eleven belong to the Anglican church, and eight are Protestant Dissenters. 2 Yet,
although Roman Catholicism has at present this preponderating influence, a pure form of Christianity
existed in Ireland until the yoke of Popery was imposed upon it by England. This subversion of the
ancient faith of the Irish people dates from the period when Pope Adrian IV., himself by birth an
Englishman, bestowed on Henry II. of England the papal sanction for the annexation of the island to
the British crown.

CHARACTEKISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. Although the Erse or Irish is now little known but as
the vernacular of an illiterate population, it was once the language of literature and science : "the English
Saxons," observes Camden, "anciently nocked to Ireland, as to the martof sacred learning :" and themonu-
ments of Irish philosophy, poetry, and history have been handed down from the tenth, and in some in
stances, probably, from the sixth and seventh centuries. 3 Erse belongs to the Gaelic branch of the Celtic
language; but in what country it originated is unknown, for Gaul, Spain, Scythia, and even Troy, have
all laid claim to the honour of having first sent colonists to Ireland, and the question will probably
long remain undecided. It is, however, certain that this dialect of the Celtic has preserved its original
purity from the period of its first predominance in Ireland, so that no elements which are not strictly
Celtic can be detected in its composition. The few words of Teutonic origin, occasionally to be met
with in Erse, may be ascribed to the influence of the Scoti, a tribe of Scandinavian or Belgic origin,
who, about .the time that the Romans quitted Britain, acquired so much power in Ireland that the
country itself became known by the name of Scotia ; which name it retained until the Scoti transferred
it to their settlements in North Britain towards the end of the eleventh century. 4 The Gaelic or
Celtic dialect of Scotland and that of Ireland are still closely allied, yet they now diverge far more
widely from each other than in former times. From the fact that more than 200 copies of the Irish
Bible were sent to the Highlands in 1686, and were found to be generally intelligible to the people,
we may infer that at that period the two dialects were almost identical. As compared with Welsh, the
Erse dialect presents many points of difference, especially in the regular substitution of the letter k or c
for the Welsh p in words common to both dialects : thus, the Welsh Pasc (Easter] is in Irish Kasg ;
and the Welsh pen (a head) is in Irish keann. 5 Indeed, it has been remarked by Lhuyd, that there
are scarcely any words in Erse, except a few borrowed from the Latin, that commence with p ; and he
states that in an ancient alphabetic vocabulary of the language, that letter is entirely omitted. The
letter n, on the other hand, takes a very prominent part in Irish orthography, especially in its influence
on that transmutation of initials which we have already described as a characteristic of the Celtic
dialects. The influence of n in this respect probably arises from its having been the old Celtic pre
position denoting the genitive. This letter, however, like the final vowels, is generally suppressed,
both in Welsh and Erse, where the transmutation of the initials has taken place, so that the effect only
is visible, while the cause is concealed. The changes incident to initial consonants, when preceded by
final n, are classed by Irish grammarians under the general name of eclipsis; a word probably derived
from the fact of the altered consonant being placed before the radical or original one, which latter may
properly be said to be eclipsed by the former. The Roman letters are often used in Erse compositions,
but the Irish have an ancient alphabet of their own, for which they feel a truly national predilection.
The origin of this alphabet is very uncertain; it bears some resemblance to the Anglo-Saxon, and it
has even been questioned whether the Saxons derived their alphabetical system from the Irish, or the
Irish from the Saxons. In the dedication of the Irish Prayer-book of 1608, it is confidently asserted
that the Saxons borrowed their letters from Ireland. 6 The native Irish alphabet consists of eighteen
letters, of which five are vowels. Nine of the consonants are called mutable, because when a mark of
aspiration is placed over them, they either lose their primitive sound, or are suppressed altogether in
pronunciation ; in this state they are technically said to be mortified. This change in pronunciation

Report of the Irish Society of London for 1 847, p. 23. 4 Moore s Ireland, vol. i. p. 98.

2 M Culloch s Dictionary of Geography, vol. ii. p. 47. 5 Archseol. Britannica.

* Rerum Hibernicarnm Scriptores Veteres, vol. i. 6 Ingram on Anglo-Saxon Literature, p. 42.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] IRISH. 139

by means of a point, is in some respect analogous to the effect which the dagesh point has upon some

r\r + \-\ r\ I ^-f-f *t+a t tt I I r r\T*}TTT 1

of the letters in Hebrew. 1

VERSIONS OF THE SCEIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. It has been conjectured that the Scrip
tures were translated into Irish soon after the introduction of Christianity into the island, but we
possess no definite account of any early version. The MS. containing the life of Moses and the patri
archs, described by Vallancey, although of unquestionable antiquity, is rather an historical compendium
than a direct translation from the sacred text. 2 There is no positive evidence of the existence of the
Scriptures in Erse till the age immediately preceding that of Wickliffe, when a version of the New
Testament is stated to have been in the possession of Richard Fitzralph, a native of Dundalk, raised in
1347 to the see of Armagh, and hence frequently called Richard Armachanus. Fitzralph is generally sup
posed to have been himself the translator of this version; and in his autobiography he relates " how the
Lord taught him, and brought him out of the profound subtleties of Aristotle s philosophy to the
study of the Scriptures of God." Although he was remarkable for the boldness with which he
opposed the corruptions of the Church of Rome, yet he was compelled by the troubles of the times to
conceal his New Testament. He deposited the precious volume inside one of the walls of his church,
and wrote the following note on the last leaf: " When this book is found, truth will be revealed to
the world, or Christ will shortly appear." 3 About 170 years after his death, that is to say, about the
year 1530, the church of Armagh was repaired, and the MS. was discovered. No vestige of it, how
ever, exists at the present time, although Fox in his " Actes and Monumentes," published 1570, says,
" I credibly heare of certayne old Irish Bibles translated long since into the Irysh tong, which if it be
true, it is riot other lyke, but to be the doing of this Armachanus:" and he adds that "this was
testified by certayne Englishmen, who are yet alyve, and have seen it." 4 Usher, also, speaks of frag
ments of an Irish version being extant in his time.

In the year 1571 a printing press and a fount of Irish types were provided by Queen Elizabeth
at her own expense, " in hope (as it is stated in the dedication" of the Irish New Testament) that God
in mercy would raise up some to translate the New Testament into their mother tongue." The trans
lation was soon afterwards undertaken by three distinguished individuals John Kearney, treasurer
of St Patrick s, Dublin; Nicholas Walsh, chancellor of St. Patrick s, and afterwards bishop of Ossory;
and Nehemiah Donellan, a native of Gal way, who in 1595 became archbishop of Tuam. Walsh was
murdered in his own house in 1585, while engaged in the prosecution of the work. The translation
was not suspended after his decease, as his two fellow-labourers proceeded diligently with it. Little,
however, is known concerning the result of their labours, except that they prepared the way for the
completion of the version of the New Testament eventually published in 1602. William Daniel, or
O Donnell, archbishop of Tuam, by whom this version was completed and carried through the press,
was assisted by Mortogh O Cionga, or King, a native of Connaught. The translation was made from
the Greek, " to which," says Dr. Daniel in his epistle dedicatory to King James, " I tied myself as of
duty I ought." The edition, printed in 1602, was in the Irish character, and in folio, and consisted
of 500 copies : the expense was defrayed by the province of Connaught, and by Sir William Usher,
clerk of the council. ,

With the exception of the passages of Scripture inserted in the Book of Common Prayer, which
had been translated into Irish and printed by Dr. Daniel in 1608, no portion of the Old Testament
existed in this language until the venerable Bishop Bedell undertook to procure a translation.
Although appointed in 1629 to the see of Kilmore and Ardagh, he was an Englishman by birth, and
unacquainted with the language of his new diocese. His first step towards the accomplishment of his
important design was, therefore, the acquisition of the Erse dialect, which he commenced to study at
the age of fifty-seven. His next measure was to secure the services of a native Irish scholar, and with
the advice of Primate Usher, his choice fell on Mr. King, who had, as before mentioned, been employed
by Dr. Daniel. He likewise availed himself of the assistance of the Rev. Dennis O Sheriden, and with
the aid of these two individuals, the version of the Old Testament was completed in 1640. Mr. King
being ignorant of Hebrew, the translation was made in the first place from the English version. To
Bishop Bedell the Hebrew and the Septuagint were as familiar as the English, for the Scriptures had
for years been his favourite study. It was his custom, says his biographer, every day after dinner and
supper to have a chapter of the Bible read at his table, whoever might be present; when Bibles being

i Grammar of the Irish, by Dr. Monck Mason, p. 3. 3 Balseus, Script. Brit. p. 246. (Edition 1559.)

Townley s Illustrations, vol. i. p. 195. 4 Fox s Acts and Monuments, p. 381. (Edition, 1596.)

140 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

placed before each individual, the Hebrew or Greek was laid before himself. As he compared the
Irish translation with the English, so he compared both with the Hebrew, the Septnagint, and with
the Italian version of his friend Diodati, whom he highly valued. 1 Every portion of the Irish Bible
was thus tested by direct comparison with the original text; and for this task Bishop Bedell was
peculiarly qualified, having resided many years at Venice as chaplain to Sir Henry Wotton, where he
had studied Hebrew under Rabbi Leo, the chief chachan of the Jewish synagogue. For some cause
or other, however, Mr. King, then above eighty years of age, incurred the enmity of Usher and some
other bishops, in fact of the very persons by whom he had been recommended as a translator, and
great opposition was made to the translation: the old man sank beneath these unjust persecutions, but
Bishop Bedell remained firm in his determination of publishing the version, and finally resolved to
print it at his own expense, and in his own house. But while he was making preparations for the
undertaking, the rebellion broke out; his palace was attacked, and he and his family were sent
prisoners to the Castle of Lochwater. He was soon afterwards removed to the house of his friend
Dennis O Sheriden, where he closed his career of usefulness in 1641.

After the death of this excellent prelate, the circulation of the vernacular Scriptures was utterly
neglected by the bishops and clergy of Ireland ; the version of the Old Testament was suffered to
remain in MS.; no attempt was made to reprint the New Testament; and even the types that had been
provided by Queen Elizabeth, after being handed about from one printer to another, were bought up
by the Jesuits, and were carried by them to Douay, to be used as the vehicle of disseminating their
own sentiments among the native Irish. At length, when the New Testament was completely out of
print, another edition was conferred on Ireland by the munificence of a private individual, the Hon.
Eobert Boyle. A new fount of Irish types was cast by order of Mr. Boyle in London, with which,
in 1681, a second edition of the New Testament, consisting of about 750 copies in 4to., was published
in 1681. This was followed by the printing of Bishop Bedell s version of the Old Testament, chiefly
at the expense of Mr. Boyle. The MS. had been confided by Bedell to the care of his friend Dennis
O Sheriden, one of the translators, from whom it had passed to Dr. Henry Jones, bishop of Meath:
this latter communicated with Mr. Boyle on the subject, and the MS. was placed in the hands of
Dr. Andrew Sail for examination; the sheets were found in much confusion, and defaced in some
parts. Dr. Sail, therefore, undertook to revise the work, which revision he continued to prosecute till
his death in 1682. Mr. Higgins, the Irish lecturer in Trinity College, who had assisted Dr. Sail in
preparing the corrected copy for the press, completed the revision in conjunction with Mr. Reilly,
under the general superintendence of Dr. Marsh, afterwards primate of Ireland. _ An edition con
sisting of 500- copies of the entire Bible, in 2 vols. quarto, was printed in London in 1686, under the
care of Mr. Reilly. Above 200 copies of this edition, as has already been stated, were sent to
Scotland for the benefit of those to whom the Gaelic tongue was vernacular.

More than a century was suffered to roll away before any efficient measures were taken to reprint
the Scriptures in Irish. A second edition of the Bible was certainly printed in 1790; but this edition
was in Roman characters, and designed chiefly for the Highlanders of Scotland. In 1799, Dr. Stokes
published 2000 copies of St. Luke and the Acts, followed in 1806 by an edition of the Four Gospels
and the Acts, in parallel columns of Erse and English ; but these small portions of Scripture were far
from sufficient to meet the wants of the Irish nation, and were moreover printed in the Roman
character. The honour of first supplying Ireland with Bibles, after so long a period of destitution,
belongs to the British and Foreign Bible Society. " In 1809," says Mr. Owen, " after a discussion,
alternately suspended and renewed, for five years^ and a correspondence of considerable extent with
prelates, scholars, and public bodies in Ireland, an edition of the New Testament of 2000 copies, con
formable to the accredited version of Bishop Bedell, was put to press by the Society. 2 This edition
was in Roman characters, and was followed in 1813 by another edition from the same stereotype
plates, of 3000 copies. Another edition of 2500 copies was struck off in 1816, and again another of
3000 copies in 1817. An edition of the complete Irish Bible, in Roman characters, was issued by the
Society in 1817; the version of Bedell was employed as the text of the Old Testament. The edition
was in octavo, and consisted of 5000 copies. In the course of the following year, 3000 copies of the
New Testament, in the Irish character, were struck off from stereotype plates. At length m_1828 the
entire Irish Bible appeared in the vernacular character, from the version of Bedell and Daniel. The
edition was published under the superintendence of a Committee, and consisted of 5000 copies in 8vo.,
besides 20,000 copies of the New Testament. The editor on this occasion was Mr. M Quige; but the

i Bedell s Life, p. 93. * Owen s History of the British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. i. p. 45Q.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] IRISH. 141

sheets were likewise examined by Dr. Monck Mason and others. The total number of Irish Bibles
and Testaments that have been published by the British and Foreign Bible Society up to the present
year (1849) is as follows :

Bibles . . . . . . 15,000

Testaments . . . . 84,523

Separate Books 18,020

Total .... 117,543

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. Notwithstanding the calamities with
which Ireland has recently been visited, the sacred Scriptures have been diligently disseminated
throughout the length and breadth of the country ; and though the results may not yet appear, it is
certain that the precious seed thus scattered will ultimately take root, and bear fruit to the glory of
God. At the last anniversary of the Hibernian Bible Society, it was stated that the issues during the
past year were 99,464 copies of the Scriptures. 1

One result of the circulation of the Irish Bible has been the extensive perusal of the English
version. The Irish version is remarkably faithful and accurate, but contains many difficult, and some
obsolete, words. The meaning of several passages is thus greatly obscured, and this has served to rouse
the naturally enquiring spirit of the native Irish. In cases of perplexity they have acquired the habit of
seeking in the English Bible an elucidation of the Irish text. The study of the English language has
in consequence greatly progressed in Ireland, and in some places the English Bible is known by the
familiar designation of " the construer." 2 Dr. Monck Mason mentions that after the circulation of the
Irish Bible, 700 copies of the English Testament were sold upon one occasion in the course of a few
hours in the same place, where, but a dozen years previously, one of these very volumes had been
publicly and triumphantly burnt. Owing to the benevolent efforts of the Sunday and other School
Societies, the Irish peasantry have the means of learning to read the Scriptures very generally within
their reach. At the commencement of last year, the schools connected with the Sunday School
Society for Ireland amounted to 2,964, which were reported to be attended by 224,132 children and
adults; and 135,174 of the scholars were stated to be reading in the Bible or Testament. 3

The following remarks, occurring in a collective address of eight Irish teachers, written in the
year 1845, are too appropriate to our subject to be omitted : " What a living Ronge has effected in
Germany, the immortal Bedell may yet effect in Ireland. He being dead, yet speaketh yet
speaketh in the Irish Bible; which, under the blessing of the Almighty, has already brought thousands
from darkness tonight from bigotry and superstition to Christian knowledge and liberality of mind.
Though persecution and anathema deter many from uniting with us, still the Irish Bible and the Irish
school have raised up intelligent men, who will not be prevented from reading the Holy Scriptures.
These ^ men know that for centuries past their brethren in Ireland, speaking the Irish language
exclusively, have been allowed to live and to die without the Scriptures in their own tongue they
know that the ^Church of Rome, until this day, has not provided a translation of the Scriptures in Irish
they know, if it had not been for the Irish Society, they themselves must have been as the neglected
generations departed. They feel then most grateful for Irish Schools and the Irish Bible. They have
read it they are reading it they will read it, and hand it down to their children s children as the
most valuable gift that Ireland ever received."

i Forty-fifth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. clxxxiv. 2 History of the Irish Society for Promoting the Education of the Irish,

* Forty-fifth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. clxxxiv. by Dr. M. Mason, p. 35.

MANKS.

SPECIMEN OF THE MANKS VERSION.

ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

[LONDON, 1819.]

AYNS y toshiaght va n Goo, as va n Goo marish Jee, as va n Goo Jee. ! Va n Goo
cheddin ayns y toshiaght marish Jee. 3 Liorishyn va dy chooilley nhee er ny yannoo ;
as n egooish cha row nhee erbee jeant va er ny yannoo ; 4 Aynsyn va bea, as va n vea
soilshey deiney. 5 As ren y soilshey soilshean ayns y dorraghys, as cha ren y dorraghys
goaill-rish. 6 Va dooinney er ny choyrt veih Jee va enmyssit Ean. 7 Haink eh shoh son
feanish, dy ymmyrkey feanish jeh n toilshey, liorishyn dy voddagh dy chooilley ghooinney
credjal. 8 Cha nee eh va n soilshey shen, agh v eh er ny choyrt dy ymmyrkey feanish
jeh ri toilshey shen. 9 Shen va n soilshey firrinagh, ta soilshean ayns dy chooilley
ghooinney ta cheet er y theihll. 10 V eh ayns y theihll, as va n seihll er ny yannoo
horishyn, as y seihll cha dug enney er. n Haink eh gys e vooinjer hene, agh cha ren e
vooinjer hene soiaghey jeh. 12 Agh whilleen as ren soiaghey jeh, dauesyn hug eh pooar
dy ve nyn mec dy Yee, eer dauesyn ta credjal ayns yn ennym echey : Va er nyn
ruggey, cha nee jeh fuill, ny jeh aigney ny foalley, ny jeh aigney dooinney, agh jeh Jee.
14 As ghow yn Goo er dooghys ny foalley, as ren eh baghey nyn mast ain (as hug shin
my-ner yn ghloyr echey, yn ghloyr myr jeh n ynrycan Mac er-ny-gheddyn jeh n Ayr)
lane dy ghrayse as dy irrinys.

ON THE MANKS DIALECT AND VERSION.

THE Isle of Man, the ancient Mona, is situated in the Irish Sea, almost in the centre of the United
Kingdom, and comprises an area of 280 square miles. The feudal sovereignty of the island was
conferred by Henry IV. on the House of Stanley in the fifteenth century, and was held by that family
and their successors, the Dukes of Atholl, till purchased by Parliament in 1765 for the sum of 70,000:
the island, however, still continues to be governed by its own laws, 1 and the established religion is
that of the Church of England. The bishopric of Sodor and Man is the most ancient in the United
Kingdom, and was founded early in the fourth century. Much labour has been expended by anti
quarians to discover the precise meaning of " Sodor," but in vain. The byshop" is mentioned as
early as 18th January, 14 1 7-1 8. 2 According to the census of 1841, the amount of population is 47,986.
English may now be said to be the predominant language : it is spoken familiarly by all the young
people, and in the elementary schools is the exclusive medium of instruction. ^It is heard from the
pulpit in all the churches of the towns ; and even in the country parishes of the island, public worship
is seldom conducted in Manks more frequently than on alternate Sundays, and in some places _only
once a month. In several instances, service in Manks is desired by the people, but cannot be obtained,
as the minister is unacquainted with it. Yet, although the knowledge of English is so generally
diffused, Manks is still spoken by the adults of the working class, and in rural districts by their
children. The old people in particular are much attached to their ancient tongue, and many oi them
understand no other.

CHARACTERISTICS OF RACE AND DIALECT. The island appears to be inhabited by two races :
the one, with light hair, fair and florid complexion, dwelling chiefly in the north ; the other, with

i Lord Teignmouth s Scotland and Isle of Man, vol. ii. p. 227. 2 The Constitution of the House of Keys, by J. C. Bluett, pp. 9, 10.

INDO-EUEOPEAN LANGUAGES.] MANKS. 143

dark hair and complexion, in the south. Manks is more employed by the former than the latter race,
and with greater purity of diction and of pronunciation. It has scarcely any resemblance to Welsh ;
it contains a few words like Irish, but to Gaelic it bears a striking aflinity, many words beino- identical
in meaning and sound, and frequently in orthography. Manksmen call their own dialect Gailck
(from Gllk). It is highly expressive, being at once matter of fact and metaphorical. A frequent
rhythm is observable, especially in the Liturgy, owing to vowel terminations. It abounds in guttural,
full sounds, of broad pronunciation. The verb has few inflections, but by the preposition in composition
undergoes a surprising change in meaning. Manks is characterised by the incorporation of many
Scandinavian words, which were doubtless introduced during the successive sway of the Danes and of
the Norwegians, who succeeded the Saxons in the government of the island. There is no written
literature except the Bible, Prayer Book, and a small volume, now very rarely met with, a translation
of part of Milton s Paradise Lost, by Rev. I. or T. Christian.

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS DIALECT. It is currently reported that a Manks
version of the entire Scriptures was executed as early as the commencement of the seventeenth century,
yet not the smallest vestige of the MS. is now to be met with ; and, what is still more singular, no
portion of it appears to have been in existence even during the last century. The translator is said to
have been Dr. John Philips, bishop of Sodor and Man. He was born in North Wales, and before his
elevation to the bishopric was rector of Ha warden, in Flintshire. His familiarity with his native
language greatly facilitated his acquisition of the Manks dialect, and he devoted himself during the
space of twenty-nine years to the translation of the Bible and of the Common Prayer Book into
Manks. 1 He was assisted by Sir Hugh Cavoll, vicar of Kirk-Michael, and others ; but he died in
1633, leaving his translations completed, but not printed, and no portion of them appears to have been
committed to the press after his decease. The present version of the Manks Bible was produced by
the Christian zeal of two other bishops of Sodor and Man. It was commenced in the gaol of Castle
Rushen, by the excellent Bishop Wilson, in concert with Dr. Walker, one of his vicars, when unjustly
imprisoned by the governor of the island. This was in the year 1722. The Gospel of St. Matthew
was translated by Dr. Walker, and printed under the direction and at the expense of the bishop in
London, in 1748. The other Gospels and the Acts were left in a state of readiness for the press by this
venerable bishop, who died in 1755, at the advanced age of ninety-three, after having held the bishopric
of the island for fifty- eight years. Dr. Mark liildesley, his successor, entered with the utmost ardour
and anxiety on the prosecution of the translation. " My whole heart," said Dr. Hildesley, in a letter to a
correspondent, _" is set on the Manks translation." 2 He was however deterred, by his imperfect
acquaintance with the language, from taking any part in the work beyond that of general supervision.
After untiring application to the study of Manks, he at length qualified himself to conduct the services
of the Church^ in that language ; yet, notwithstanding his praiseworthy efforts, he never attained a
higher reputation than that of being " a very pretty Manks :" on one occasion he himself observed,
that " he would give five hundred pounds were he enough master of Manks as to be able to translate." 3
It is not certain whether Dr. Walker completed the translation of the New Testament, or whether
Bishop Hildesley availed himself of the service of some other Manks scholar. The version was published
in 1767 in London, chiefly by the aid of the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge.
About the time of the completion at press of the New Testament, the bishop made arrangements for
the translation of the Old Testament, dividing it for this purpose into twenty-four parts, which he
distributed among as many different individuals. The twenty-four persons thus selected as translators
were nearly all residents in the island, and, with one exception, they all held clerical appointments.
After passing through their hands, the work was committed for final revision to Dr. Moore and
Dr. Kelly: the latter was then only eighteen years of age, but he had displayed such proficiency in the
critical knowledge of Manks, which was his native language, as to justify his engaging in this important
undertaking : he transcribed the whole version, from Genesis to Revelation, for the press, and in
conjunction with Dr. Moore corrected and revised the proof sheets. Dr. Moore was aided by the
advice of Bishop Lowth and Dr. Kennicot, both of whom took a deep interest in this version. The
feelings with which Dr. Moore regarded his work may be inferred from his last will and testament,
where he blesses God "for all the comforts of his existence, but above all that he had a capital hand and
concern in the Manks Scriptures." He died in 1783, but not till he had witnessed the completion at
press of the entire version. The first part of the Old Testament was printed in 1770 at Whitehaven;

Townley s Illustrations, vol. iii. p. 34Q. 2 Anderson s Historical Sketches, p. 190. Anderson s Historical Sketches, p. 189.

144 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

the preservation of the second part was entirely due to the intrepidity of Dr. Moore and Dr. Kelly.
They were proceeding to Whitehaven for the purpose of superintending the press, taking with them the
second portion of the MS. : a storm arose, in which they were shipwrecked, and almost every article
on board was lost except the MS., which they preserved by holding it above the water during the
space of five hours.

In 1772, the Old Testament, to the great joy of Bishop Hildesley, was completed and published.
This good bishop had frequently said, " I wish but to see the sacred volume finished, and should then
be happy, die when I may." On the last sheets of the work being placed in his hands, he very
emphatically sang, " Nunc Domine, dimittis" in the presence of his congratulating family. This
happened on Saturday, November 28th, 1772. On the following day he preached with more than
usual fervour on the uncertainty of life, and resumed the same subject in his family circle in so affecting
a manner, as to draw tears from all present. Thus in " something like prophetic strain " did he prepare
the minds of others for his approaching end, for on the very next day he was suddenly attacked by
apoplexy, which deprived him in a moment of his intellectual faculties : he lingered but a week, and
then entered into rest.

The second edition of the Manks Scriptures was published by the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge in 1775 : in this edition the entire Bible was in quarto, and separate copies of the New
Testament were printed in octavo. Other editions have since been issued by the same Society. In
1810, a stereotyped edition of 2000 copies of the New Testament, in 12mo., was published by the
British and Foreign Bible Society. The Bishop of Sodor and Man having, through his clergy,
ascertained the want of the Scriptures in the several parishes of the island, applied for 1326 Testaments,
which were promptly supplied by the Society, at reduced prices, for the accommodation of the poor. 1
An additional supply of 250 copies was struck off from the same plates in 1815, and another edition of
5000 copies of the entire Bible was printed by the Society in 1819. Since then no further editions of
the Manks Sci ipturcs have appeared, and it is probable that the edition of 1819 is the last that will
ever be published. English Bibles are now in general demand in the island, and with the increased
cultivation of the English language, are daily getting more and more into use ; indeed, so far back as
the year 1825, the Bishop of Sodor and Man informed the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge,
that there was no longer any necessity for impressions of the Bible in the Manks language, and that
the islanders were eager to be supplied with English copies. 2

The Manks translation of the Old Testament has been esteemed nearer the Hebrew than is the
English authorised version, and is frequently of a paraph rastical character. A remarkable variation
between the English and Manks Bible occurs in 1 Kings xvii. 3 6. Instead of " ravens," the reading
is " Cummaltee Oreb" inhabitants of Oreb.

KESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. At the period of the first publication of
the Manks Scriptures, the English language was comparatively little cultivated in the island, and the
English Bible was unintelligible to the mass of the inhabitants. The benefit of the Manks version to
the generation for whom it was executed can, therefore, only be estimated by taking into account their
inability to read the Scriptures in any other language. A poor Manks woman, on hearing her son
read to her for the first time a chapter of the new version, cried out, in great exultation, " we have sat
in darkness (dorraghys) until now." And when the first books of the Manks New Testament were
brought into circulation (in 1763), Dr. Hildesley wrote: -" The vast eagerness and joy with which
the first specimen has been received and sought after have amply convinced me of the utility of the
undertaking, had I had no previous persuasion in my own mind of the real benefit it must needs be to
the souls of the far greater part of the people of my charge." That the Manks version is even now
valued by those to whom the language is vernacular is evident from the fact, that only last year (1848)
300 copies were dispatched to the island by the British and Foreign Bible Society ; yet there is every
probability that the prediction of a recent writer will be literally fulfilled, and that in the course of
another generation, " the Manks tongue, regarded with dislike by the utilitarian philosophy of the
nineteenth century, will be a venerable relic of past times, interesting only to the philologist and
antiquary." 3

i Owen s History of British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. ii. p. 55. 2 Wales, by Sir Thomas Phillips, p. 563.

3 Wales, by Sir Thomas Phillips, p. 564.

BRETON.

SPECIMEN OF THE BRETON, OR ARMORICAN VERSION.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

[BREST, 1847.]

ER gommansamant e oa ar Ger , hag ar Ger a oa gand Doue , hag ar Ger a oa Doue.
2 He-ma a oa er gommansamant gand Doue. 3 An holl draou a zo bet gred drezan, hag
hepzan n eo bet gret netra hag a zo bet gret. * Ennan e oa ar vuez , ar vuez a oa goulou
an dud. 5 Hag ar goulou a ra scleria en devalien , hag an devalien n e deus ked e resevet.
5 Bez e oe un den caset gand Doue , hanvet Ian. 7 He-ma a zeuaz da desteni , evit rei
testeni diwarben ar goulou,, evit ma credche an holl drezan. 8 Ne ket hen a oa ar goulou ,
mes cased e oa evit rei testeni diwarben ar goulou. 9 Hen a oa ar guir c houlou , pehini
a sclera an holl dud , en eur zond er bed. Er bed e oa , hag ar bed a oa gred drezan ,
hag ar bed n en deus ked e anavezet. l Deued eo d e re , hag e re n o deus ked e resevet.
! Mes da gemend hini en deus e resevet , en deus roed ar galloud da veza bugale da
Zoue ; d ar re a gred en e hano ; 3 Pere n int ket ganet eus ar goad , nag eus a volonte
ar c hig , nag eus a volonte an den , mes eus a Zoue. 14 Hag ar Ger a zo bet gret kig ,
hag en deus choumed en hon touez , (hag hon eus gueled e c hloar , ur gloat evel eus a
Vab unic-ganet an Tad) leun a c hras hag a ouirionez.

ON THE BRETON LANGUAGE AND VERSION.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Breton, the language of the ancient independent
kingdom of Armorica, is now spoken in Lower Brittany. Its exact geographical diffusion has been
minutely described by the Rev. Thomas Phillips, to whose personal observations, during his active
exertions in the cause of the British and Foreign Bible Society, we are indebted for much information
concerning this interesting country. " In Nantes and the surrounding country," says Mr. Phillips,
" Breton is unknown. It is, therefore, wholly confined to Bas Bretagne, comprising the three westerly
departments of Finisterre, Morbihan, and Cotes-du-Nord. A line drawn from the north to the south
coast, so as to pass a little to the west of St. Brieux, through Pontivy to Vannes, will show the extent
of country in which this language is spoken. On the west side of this line, and from Vannes along
the seashore in a southerly direction, towards the department of Lower Loire, it continues to be the
prevailing language, while on the eastern side of this supposed line you hear both Breton and French
for some distance." l Deducting the French part of the population, Mr. Phillips estimates the number
of persons in Lower Brittany ordinarily employing the Breton language at 800,000 : of these he
considers that upwards of half a million are unacquainted with French, and unable to read or converse
in any language but Breton. The religion of Brittany is the Roman Catholic, and Latin is therefore
the liturgical language ; but the priests in the country districts preach in Breton. French is now the
only language used in all the elementary schools : it is also the language chiefly employed in commerce
and in the courts of law, and appears likely soon to supersede the native Breton in the larger towns.
The priests however, from a principle, it is thought, of ecclesiastical conservatism, oppose the encroach
ments of the French language ; and Breton will, in all probability, continue to be for ages the
vernacular of the uneducated section of the population.

CHARACTERISTICS or THE LANGUAGE. The affinity between Breton and Welsh is so close, as
to admit little room for doubt concerning their original identity. After the capture of Belle Isle by
the English in 1761, such of the soldiers as were natives of Wales were able to make themselves

Wales, by Sir Thomas Phillips, p. 573.

146 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

intelligible to tlie Bretons, and to act as interpreters for their English comrades ; and it is found at the
present day, that a Welshman requires but little study to enable him to converse, read, and even write
in Breton. An old and current tradition represents the country of Brittany as having been peopled
by a colony of ancient Britons, who fled thither to escape from the aggressions of the Saxons, while
others of their countrymen sought refuge from the same enemy in Wales. If this account could be
satisfactorily attested, there would be no occasion to seek further for the cause of the remarkable
similarity that exists between the languages of Wales and Brittany; but Niebuhr rejects the whole
story as fabulous, and there certainly is a total want of all contemporaneous evidence on the subject.
Still, the testimony of early writers, who mention the tradition as an undoubted historical fact, is
entitled to some weight ; and the resemblance between the names of many places in Brittany and in
Wales is afurther proof that some connexion anciently existed between the inhabitants of the two countries.
It is also rather remarkable that the same kind of antiquities, supposed to be druidical remains, should be
found in Brittany, Wales, and Cornwall, particularly as these antiquities are distinguished by the same
names in each country. 1 These and other indications, together with the similarity of language, clearly
establish the fact that Britain and Brittany were colonised by the same branch of the Celtic race;
although as to the period and mode of this colonisation, and the nature of the intercourse which
undoubtedly existed in very ancient times between the Bretons of Armorica and the Britons of Wales,
history is silent. Breton resembles Welsh not only in the Celtic elements common to both lan-
guao-es, but also in the large stock of Latin words with which they are both intermixed. 2 Some
difference has, however, of late years sprang up between Welsh and Breton, owing to the multitude of
French words which the latter has admitted into its vocabulary, especially in the neighbourhood of
towns: but these additions have not affected the structure of the language, which remains in all
essential points precisely the same at the present time as at the most distant epoch from which written
compositions in Breton have been transmitted. 3

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. As early as the year 1814, an application
was made by the Antiquarian Society of Paris to the British and Foreign Bible Society, on the subject
of procuring a Breton version of the Scriptures. Another representation of the same purport was laid
before the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1819; and in 1824 they authorised the Rev. Dr. Jones
to proceed to Brittany, there to institute inquiries concerning any version or versions of the Bible in
Breton that might be in existence. After a diligent search in all the libraries of the country, Dr. Jones
ascertained that no portion of the Scriptures, either in print or MS., existed in the Breton language,
with the exception of such scriptural extracts as had appeared in various Romish books of devotion.
With the concurrence of the British and Foreign Bible Society, Dr. Jones, therefore, engaged the
services of Legonidec, a Breton of considerable learning, to prepare a translation of the New Testament.
Dr. Jones died during the progress of this work, but the sheets were regularly forwarded by Professor
Kieffer of Paris to the Rev. T. Price, of Crickhowel, an eminent Celtic scholar.^ After having been care
fully revised and corrected by Mr. Price, an edition of 1000 copies of this version of the New Testament
was completed in 1827, at Angouleme, where Legonidec then resided: the copies were deposited in
the Society s warehouse at Paris. 4 This translation was made from the Vulgate, for Legonidec was a
Catholic : it possesses many excellences of style and diction, yet at the same time is ^scarcely suitable
for general circulation. Legonidec s great object was to restore the language to its pristine purity, by
the rejection of all foreign words and phrases that had, in the process of time, been commingled with it.
But in his efforts to attain to classical correctness, he unconsciously adopted a style of writing that
appeared obscure, and almost unintelligible, to his less educated countrymen; and moreover being, like
Dr. W. Owen Pughe in Wales, the inventor of a new system of orthography, he unadvisedly introduced
his system into this version, and thus rendered it still more unintelligible to the mass of the people.
When Protestant missionaries first commenced their labours in this country (about the year 1834),
they were greatly discouraged to find that this New Testament, the only version _ possessed by the
Bretons in their own language, was but imperfectly understood by them. Mr. Jenkins, of Morlaix, a
native of Glamorganshire, and agent of the Baptist Missionary Society, therefore undertook a new
translation, in which he was assisted by a native Breton. He translated from the Greek original, and
consulted the Welsh and English authorised versions, and Martin s and Osterwald s French versions. 5
This work, when completed, was found to be intelligible to the whole Breton population, except the

i Dr. Prichard s Researches, vol. hi. p. 511. 4 Twenty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xxix.

* Schlegel, Essais Litteraires et Historiques, p. 313. 5 Baptist fcxaraiuer, vol. ii. p. 112.

i Dr. Prichard s Researches, vol. iii. p. 511.

* Schlegel, Essais Littiiraires et Historicities, p. 313.

* Legonidec, Grammaire Celto-Bretomie, pref. vii.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] GOTHIC. 147

inhabitants of the neighbourhood of Vannes, who speak a peculiar dialect of Breton. 1 Attestations of
its accuracy and faithfulness having been laid before the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible
Society, they resolved on publishing an edition of 3000 copies. The edition was printed at Brest,
before the close of the year 1847, and depositaries have been established both at Morlaix and Quimper.
No edition of the Old Testament has yet been published ; but a version executed by Legonidec, and
revised by Mr. Price, is preserved in MS. in the library of the British and Foreign Bible Society.

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. The ignorance of the people, and the
bigotry of the priests, have hitherto retarded the circulation of the New Testament in this country ;
but the recent sale of upwards of 1800 copies of the last edition, by the instrumentality of Protestant
ministers and colporteurs, is a hopeful circumstance, and likely to lead to important results.

CLASS III.-INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.

D. TEUTONIC FAMILY.

GOTHIC.

SPECIMEN OF THE GOTHIC VERSION.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. xv. . 1 to 12.

IK im veinatriu thata sunjeino. jah atta meins vaurstvja 1st. 2 all taine in mis unbairan-
dane akran goth usnimith ita. jah all akran bairandane gahraineith ita. ei managizo
akran bairaina. 3 ju jus lirainjai sijuth in this vaurdis. thatei rodida du izvis. visaith
in mis jah ik in izvis 4 sve sa veinatains ni mag akran bairan af sis silbin. niba 1st
ana veinatriva. svah nih jus. niba in mis sijuth. ik im thata veinatriu. 5 ith jus
veinatainos. saei visith in mis jah ik in imma. sva bairith akran manag. thatei inuh
mik ni maguth taujan ni vaiht. G niba saei visith in mis. usvairpada ut sve veinatains
jah gathaursnith jah galisada jah in fon galagjand jah inbranjada. 7 aththan jabai sijuth
in mis. jah vaurda meina in izvis sind. thatawah thei vileith. bidjith. jah vairthith
izvis. 8 in thamma hauhiths ist atta meins. ei akran manag bairaith. jah vairthaith
meinai siponjos. svasve frijoda mik atta. 9 svah ik frijoda izvis. visaith in friathvai
meinai. 10 jabai anabusnins meinos fastaid. sijuth in friathvai meinai. svasve ik
anabusnins attins meinis fastaida jah visa in friathvai is. 1] thata rodida izvis ei faheths
meina in izvis sijai jah faheds izvara usfulljaidau. 12 thata ist anabusns meina ei frijoth
izvis misso svasve ik frijoda izvis.

ON THE GOTHIC LANGUAGE AND VERSION.

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION. The Goths formed an important section of the Teutonic or
Germanic race, but their idiom is now extinct, and what little we know concerning it is deduced from
the immortal work of Ulphilas, and a few other existing monuments. The earliest mention of the
Goths by name occurs in some fragments of the Periplus of Pytheas, the renowned navigator from

Wales, by Sir T. PhUlips, 5/3.

148 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

Marseilles. From these fragments we may infer that they inhabited the coasts of Jutland about 325
years before the Christian era; but it is probable that they had arrived in Europe several centuries
prior to that period. Many authors are of opinion that their first seat in Europe was Scandinavia. It
appears from the statement of Tacitus that they were settled in Pomerania and Prussia, near the mouth
of the Vistula, about the year A.D. 80. Sword in hand they gradually extended their dominion in
Eastern Germany until the age of the Antonines (about A.D. 180), when suddenly, from some unknown
cause, they began to migrate in vast hordes towards the northern coast of the Black Sea. From this
point they made frequent incursions into the Koman empire, and possessed themselves of Dacia, and some
of the neighbouring states. As their dominions increased, they became distinguished, according to the
geographical position of the territories they occupied, by the appellation of the Eastern, Ostro, or
Austro-Goths, and of the Western or Visi-Goths. About the year A.D. 377, the inroads of the Huns
caused some of the Visi-Goths to implore the protection of the Roman Emperor Valens. In compliance
with their request, he assigned them the province of Mcesia, the present Bulgaria and Servia ; and it
was on account of their long residence in that province that some have called the language the Moeso-
Gothic. They subsequently revolted from their allegiance to the imperial government, and in 409,
under Alaric, they took and pillaged Rome. Their next migration was to the South of France ; and
then, crossing the Pyrenees, they established themselves in Spain, where they reigned nearly three
hundred years, until finally subdued by the Saracens. In the meantime the Eastern or Austro-Goths
had established a monarchy in Italy, which continued from the time of Theodoric the Great, A.D. 493,
until the power of this nation was crushed by Belisarius and Narses, under Justinian, the emperor of
the East. These Italian Goths used the same language as those in Moesia, as is proved by the
monuments of the language at Arezzo and Naples.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. Although the Gothic is by no means the oldest
Teutonic language, being nearly cognate with Saxon, Friesic, Alemannic, and other ancient branches
of the Germanic family, yet it is especially interesting to the philologist, because, owing to its
preservation in the precious version of Ulphilas, it affords means for the examination of one of the
earliest stages through which the speech of the great Germanic family has passed. Many of the
elements of the modern Germanic languages are traceable in the Gothic, and it is through the medium
of this ancient language that their original connection with Sanscrit, Persic, Greek, and Latin is most
clearly to be demonstrated. The Gothic retains several ancient forms which have wholly disappeared
in modern languages. Like the Sanscrit and the Greek it possesses a dual number and a passive form
of the verb, and it forms its past tense by means of a reduplication. It is also remarkable for uniformly
exchanging the p of Latin, Greek, and Sanscrit words for/: thus, the Latin word joes, in Greek TTOV?,
and in Sanscrit padas, is in Gothic fotus; so TTO\V in Greek is converted mtojilu in Gothic, and the
Latin pisris becomes fisks. In the same way the t of the Sanscrit, Greek, and Latin becomes th in
Gothic ; and other uniform mutations of consonants might be cited. The characters used in writing
the Gothic language were invented by Ulphilas, and are merely modifications of the Greek and
Roman capitals.

VERSION OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. One of the most valuable remnants of
antiquity, part of a version of the Scriptures belonging to the fourth century, exists in this language.
The version of the New Testament was made with great accuracy and fidelity from Constantinopolitan
MSS., and that of the Old Testament from the Septuagint. Many readings from the Latin have been
interpolated in more recent times, but they are easily distinguished from the genuine version. This
work is, therefore, of great importance in the history of the sacred text, as it affords a correct represen
tation of the state of Constantinopolitan MSS. during the fourth century of our era. Unfortunately
the fragments of this version, now known to be in existence, consist only of large portions of the Four
Gospels, part of the Pauline Epistles, a sentence from the Psalms, and a few remnants of the books of
Ezra and Nehemiah. The translator was Ulphilas, the celebrated bishop of the Mceso-Goths. He
was a Goth by birth, but of Cappadocian ancestry. He was born A.D. 318, and was educated at
Constantinople, where he embraced Christianity, and was ordained bishop in 348. By his moral and
mental endowments he acquired unlimited influence over his countrymen, and easily induced them to
embrace a religion the doctrines of which were exemplified in his own holy life. It became at last a
proverbial saying among the Goths, "whatever is done by Ulphilas, is well done." 1 But Arianism

1 Bosworth s Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, p. cxvi.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] GOTHIC. 149

was then the prevailing form of religion in the eastern part of the empire, and the history of Ulphilas
affords but too many proofs that he upheld this heresy. In one passage of his version his Arianism is
apparent: Phil. ii. 5 is rendered " galeiko Gu tha" like God; instead of the true rendering "equal
to God."

The most important codex of the Gothic version now extant is that called Codex Argenteus,
or the Silver Book, from the circumstance of the letters being of a silver hue, except some of the
initials, which are of gold. The vellum itself is chiefly purple, but in some parts of a violet colour.
The MS. was produced in Italy, but the time of its execution is doubtful: by some authors it is
attributed to the fifth century. It has evidently no claim to be regarded as the autograph of Ulphilas,
for it possesses some marginal readings which clearly attest that several transcripts had been made since
his time. This valuable codex was not generally known to be in existence till it was discovered in
the Benedictine Library at Werden on the Ruhr, in Westphalia, where it had lain for several centuries ;
but when or by what means it found its way thither cannot be ascertained. Its subsequent history is
curious. About the beginning of the seventeenth century it was removed to Prague ; but in 1648,
Prague being taken by the Swedes, it was sent among other spoils to Christina, queen of Sweden, who
presented it to the Royal Library at Stockholm. Vossius, the keeper of that library, by some means
now unknown, possessed himself of the codex, and took it in 1655 to Holland. Here it was borrowed
by his uncle Junius for the purpose of publication, as will hereafter be mentioned. Puffendorf, who
in 1662 was travelling through Holland, purchased it for the Swedish Count de la Gardie ; the
purchase money was 400 rix dollars. 1 The count had it bound in silver, and presented it to the Royal
Library at Upsal, where it is still carefully preserved in a glass box, under lock and key; and no one,
whatever be his rank, is allowed access to it. This jealous care appears to have arisen from eleven
leaves having been stolen by some one who examined it. Gabelenz and Loebe, however, were allowed
the free use of the MS.

Another Gothic codex was discovered in 1756 in the Ducal Library at Wolfenbuttel, in the
duchy of Brunswick, by Knittel, archdeacon and counsellor of the consistory of that city. This
MS. contains part of Ulphilas version of Paul s Epistle to the Romans (namely part of the llth and
following chapters, as far as the 13th verse of the 15th chapter), with a parallel Latin version. It is
familiarly known as the " Codex Carolinus," which name it received in honour of Charles, duke of
Brunswick, the patron of Knittel. The text of this MS. was expunged during the eighth or ninth
century, to make room for a Latin work, the Origines of Isidore of Seville, which was written over it
in Spain on the same vellum. The letters of this latter composition, however, faded, and Knittel was
thus enabled to detect the vestiges of the original writing, which had not been completely obliterated.
The characters are similar to those of the Codex Argenteus, but not so beautifully formed.

Other fragments of the Gothic version have been since discovered. In 1817, Angelo Mai,
then keeper of the Ambrosian Library at Milan, found portions of St. Paul s Epistles under the
homilies of Gregory the Great on Ezekiel. In subsequent years he discovered other remnants of the
version concealed under various works. Among the most important of his discoveries were passages
from the Gospels, which supplied chasms in the Codex Argenteus. In other Palimpsest MSS. he
found fragments of the Old Testament and a Gothic homily, rich in quotations from the version of
Ulphilas, which have also been used in filling up some of the lacuna in the Upsal MS.

The first portion of this version committed to the press was the mutilated copy of the Gospels
contained in the Codex Argenteus. It was printed from a beautiful facsimile MS. made by Derrer,
but with continual reference to the original codex. It was edited by Junius and Marshall, and pub
lished in two volumes 4to., at Dort, in 1665. This edition was provided with a glossary, and con
tained the Anglo-Saxon and Gothic versions in parallel columns, printed in their original characters
from types cast for the purpose at Dort. Such copies of the work as remained uncirculated were re
issued, by means of a new titlepage affixed to them in 1684, at Amsterdam. In 1671, Stiernhelm
published an edition at Stockholm in Roman characters, but it is not esteemed so accurate as that of
Junius. ^ In addition to the Gothic, the edition of Stiernhelm contains the Icelandic, Swedish, German,
and Latin versions. Dr. Eric Benzel, archbishop of Upsal, made a new copy of the original codex,
with a literal Latin translation, and prepared it for the press. He wished to publish the whole MS.
in facsimile, engraved on wood: a specimen which he had thus engraved was published in 1705.
After his death, his MS. was edited and published by Lye at Oxford, in 1750, in small folio. This
edition is in Gothic letters, and has a short Gothic grammar prefixed by Mr. Lye.

1 Hug- s Introduction to the New Testament^ vol. i. p. 485.

150 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

In 1762, Knittel published the first impression of the Codex Carolinus, with several other
fragments connected with biblical criticism, especially the text of two Palimpsest MSS. of part of the
Gospels in Greek: the whole was accompanied by an elaborate commentary: but, for want of sale,
many copies were used as waste paper, and the twelve copper-plates, employed in printing, were sold
for old copper : this edition, though esteemed very correct, is in consequence scarce. 1 The Codex
Carolinus was reprinted at Upsal in 1763, by Hire, a learned Swede: this edition was in quarto, and
consisted of ninety pages: it was in Koman characters, and accompanied by a Latin version and notes.
Another impression of this codex has been given by Manning in the appendix to his edition of Lye s
Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, printed in 1772. The codex was again printed in 1773 by Busching, at
Berlin.

A corrected and very important edition of the fragments of Ulphilas, including those of the
Codex Argenteus, was published by Zahn at Weissenfels, in 1805, from a revised text which had been
carefully prepared by Ihre, and from which he had expunged errors of preceding editors. This
work comprises critical annotations on the text, a Latin version by Ihre, a literal interlinear Latin
version, a grammar and glossary by Fulda, and a history of the version by Zahn.

In 1819 some extracts from the Ambrosian Palimpsest MSS. were published with a Latin version
by Mai and Castiglione, at Milan. 2 Ten years afterwards, Count Castiglione published the Second
Epistle to the Corinthians, from one of the codices discovered by Mai; and in 1834 he published, at
Milan, the Epistle to the Eomans, the First Epistle to the Corinthians, and the Epistle to the Ephesians.

During the same year (1834) a work was published by H. F. Maschmann at Munich, containing
a Gothic Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, with a Latin translation, and several critical
appendages of great service in the study of the Gothic codices. In 1835, Castiglione published the
Epistles to the Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, and 1 Thessalonians ; and in 1839 he published
2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus. This completed the publication of the fragments that
had been discovered.

Two editions of the version of the Gospel according to St. Matthew yet remain to be noticed : the
first was published from the Codex Argenteus in London, in 1807, by Samuel Henshall, with the cor
responding English or Saxon, from the Durham book of the eighth century, and various etymological
dissertations. The other separate editions of this Gospel appeared at Stuttgart, in 1827. Schmeller,
the editor, drew the text from the Codex Argenteus and from the fragments of the version discovered
by Mai : his design in this publication was to compare the version of Ulphilas with the translation of
the Harmony incorrectly ascribed to Tatian, executed by a Saxon writer of the ninth century, and
he therefore printed both versions in this volume.

We now come to the latest and the most complete edition of the remains of the Gothic
version. This edition comprises all the Gothic fragments, both of the Old and the New Testament,
now known to be extant: it is furnished with collations and emendations from MSS. and from printed
editions; and also with a glossary, a grammar, learned prolegomena, and various critical annotations.
This valuable work was published at Leipsic, between the years 1836 and 1847 : it was edited by
Dr. H. C. de Gabelenz and Dr. J. Loebe. The editors recollated the MSS. at Upsal and Wolfenbuttel,
and corrected many errors of previous editions : the Milan MSS. were re-examined for this work by
Count Castiglione. This edition has, therefore, superseded all that went before it. 3 A small edition
has recently been published by Gaugengigl, at Passau, in 8vo., 1848 ; from which our Specimen is
taken.

i Allgemeines Bibliographiscb.es Lexicon, von F. A. Ebert, vol. i. p. 992. 2 Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature, vol. i. part i. p. 129.

s Bosworth s Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, p. cxix.

OLD SAXON.

SPECIMEN OF OLD LOW SAXON,

FROM TATIAN S "HARMONY," IN SCHILTER S "THES. ANT. TEUTONICARUM."

ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 4.

1 IN anaginne uuas uuort,
inti thas uuort uuas mit Gote,
inti Got selbo uuas thas uuort.
Thas uuas in anaginne
mit Gote, alliu thuruh thas
uuurdun gitan, inti uzzan siu
ni uuas uuiht gitanes,
thas thar gitan uuas.
Thas lib uuas in imo,
inti thas lib uuas lioht manno.

1 Inti thas lioht in finstarnessen,
leuhta, inti finstarnessen.
thas ni bigriffun.

1 IN principio erat verbum,
et verbum erat apud Deum,
et Deus ipse erat verbum.

1 Hoc erat in principio
apud Deum, omriia per ipsum
facta sunt, et sine ipso
factum est nihil,
quod factum est.

3 Vita erat in ipso,

et vita erat lux hominum.

4 Lux in tenebris
lucebat, et tenebrse

earn non comprehenderunt.

ON THE OLD SAXON, OR " ALT-NIEDER-DEUTSCH," LANGUAGE AND
HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS.

ALTHOUGH no version, strictly so called, of the Scriptures exists in this ancient dialect, yet it
possesses a Harmony of the Gospels, translated in the ninth century, which has a special claim on the
attention of philologists, and which can, therefore, be scarcely passed over without notice. This
harmony is the earliest document extant which exhibits the stock whence Anglo-Saxon sprang. The
language in which it is written has been spoken almost from time immemorial in the greater part of
Low, Platt, or Northern Germany. The Saxons who emigrated from this part of Germany to Britain,
and founded the Saxon Heptarchy, spoke this language; but from various causes, hereafter to be
mentioned, it underwent several modifications in consequence of their residence in this country. Their
brethren, on the contrary, who remained in their fatherland, preserved the purity of their language;
and the original vernacular idioms of our Saxon progenitors are still to be heard, with comparatively
little variation, among the peasantry of Hanover, Holstein, Sleswick, Mecklenburg, Magdeburg,
Brandenburg, Pomerania, and the kingdom of Prussia; in part of Westphalia and of Jutland, and as
far north as Livonia and Esthonia. 1

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The old Saxon, more appropriately designated by
Grimm the Alt-nieder-deutsch, (i. e. Old Low German,} was probably cognate with the Gothic,
for it is impossible to say which has the strongest claims to antiquity: judging from the close simi
larity of structure which prevails between these two dialects, the Friesic, and the Alemannic, or Old
High German, we may infer that at some very remote period they all branched off from the language
originally common to the whole Teutonic family. Old Saxon, like all the Low German dialects, is far
more soft and flowing than High German. It substitutes smooth consonants for the harsh, aspirated
sounds of High German, and regularly changes sch into s, and sz or z into t. The most flourishing
period, it has been remarked, of Low German was that immediately preceding the Reformation; and

1 Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon, by Dr. Bosworth, p. Ixxxi.

152

THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

many have regretted that the influence of Luther should have caused the harsh High German dialect,
spoken by him, to prevail as the language of the educated classes throughout Germany, to the exclusion
of the Low German dialects, now confined to the poorer classes in the regions above mentioned. _ Dr.
Bosworth observes that the Low German equals the High in strength and compositive power, Awhile it
exceeds it in richness and facility of enunciation; and that "the true old German freedom, sincerity,
and honesty can have no better medium to express its full mental and political independence, its
o-enuine and confidential feelings of the heart, than its old, unsophisticated, open, Low German dialect."

HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS IN THIS LANGUAGE. This ancient Harmony, written by some
unknown author in the ninth century, bears the title of Heliand, or the Healer. The reason of this
appellation can be best explained in the words of our own King Alfred, who says that the history of
our Lord is thus designated, because He " sothlice hysfolc HAL gedethfram hyra synnum :" that is, He
truly maketh His people to be healed from their sins. 1 The Heliand is written in alliterative lines,
and adheres pretty closely to the prototype. It is of some importance to the biblical student, from ^its
showinf the interpretation affixed by the early Saxons to the various passages of Scripture in which
the words and actions of the Saviour when on earth are recorded.

Two MS. copies of this poem have been preserved, although in a very mutilated condition. One
of these copies belongs to the Cottonian Library in the British Museum, and is marked Caligula, A. vii.
An old tradition has been circulated, to the effect that this very copy formed part of Canute s collection,
and hence it is still generally known as " Canute s Bible;" 2 but we possess no direct evidence in proof
that it was ever in the hands of that monarch. The other codex was found in 1794 by Gerard Gley,
a Frenchman, in the library of the cathedral church at Bamberg : it has since been removed to
Munich. Some extracts from the Heliand were published, (erroneously under the name of _Franco-
Theotisc,) in the second volume of Hickes s Thesaurus, and also by Nyerup at Copenhagen in 1787.
A complete and splendid edition was published at Munich in 1830, by Schmeller. The Munich MS.
was taken as the base of this edition, and the various readings occurring in the London MS. are given

in the notes. 3

It may here be mentioned that, in the year 890, a Harmony of the Gospels, erroneously attributed
to Tatian, was translated by an unknown writer into a sort of old Saxon. The dialect of this translation
is softer than the Alemannic and Bavarian ; it contains words peculiar to Old Saxon, and may be
considered as a kind of transition between Low and High German. 4 MSS. are preserved at Oxford
and St. Gallen. In an edition published by Palthenius, in 1706, the dialect is styled " the ancient
Theotisc." This work was republished by Schilter in the second volume of his Thesaurus.

Alfred s Bede, i. 21 ; Foreign Quarterly Review, No. xiv. 3 Meidinger, Dictionnaire des Langues Teuto-Gothiques, p. xxx.

2 Foreign Quarterly, No. xiv. 4 Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon, p. Ixxxiv.

ANGLO-SAXON.

SPECIMEN OF THE ANGLO-SAXON VERSION.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. I to 14.

FROM THE GOSPELS IN ANGLO-SAXON, EDITED BY B. THORPE, F.S.A.

LONDON, 1842.

ON fruman wses Word, and )?set Word wses mid Gode, and God wses J?aet Word. 2 pset
waes on fruman mid Gode. 3 Ealle )?ing waeron geworhte ]?urh hyne ; and nan J&gt;ing nees
geworht butan him. Dset wses lif |?e on him geworht waes, and J?set lif waes manna
leoht. 5 And J?aet leoht lyht on )?ystrum; and j?ystro ]?set ne genamon. 6 Man waes
fram Gode asend, )?ses nama wses lohannes. 7 pes com to gewitnesse J?set he gewitnesse
cySde be j?am Leohte, J&gt;set ealle men J?urh hyne gelyfdon. Nses he Leoht, ac J?aet he
gewitnesse for^-bsere be )?am Leohte. 9 So8 Leoht wses, )?set onlyht aelcne cumendne man
on ]?ysne middan-eard. He wses on middan-earde, and middan-eard waes geworht )?urh
hine, and middan-eard hine ne gecneow. n To hys agenum he com, and hig hyne ne
underfengon. 2 So^lice swa hwylce swa hyne underfengon, he sealde hym anweald }?33t
hig wseron Codes beam, )?am )?e gelyfaS on his naman : 13 |?a ne synd acennede of
blodum ne of flsesces willan, ne of weres willan ; ac hig synd of Gode acennede. 14 And
J?set Word waes flsesc geworden, and eardode on us, (and we gesawon hys wuldor, swylce
an-cennedes wuldor of Fseder,) )?set wses ful mid gyfe and soSfsestnysse.

ON THE ANGLO-SAXON LANGUAGE AND VERSION.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND OKIGIN. Anglo-Saxon was the language introduced into
England with the Saxon domination by three distinct tribes of the Saxon Confederacy; namely, the
Old Saxons properly so called, (of whom mention is made in the foregoing memoir,) the Angles from
Anglen in the _ south-east of Sleswick in Denmark, and the Jutes from Jutland. The whole of
England was divided between these three tribes: the Old Saxons established themselves in the West
and South, forming the kingdoms of Essex, Sussex, and Wessex; the Angles obtained large dominions
in the North and East of England, and the South of Scotland ; and the Jutes possessed a small
territory in Kent and the Isle of Wight. Of these tribes the Angles appear to have been most
numerous; in fact, they flocked to our island in such numbers as to leave their native country almost
destitute of inhabitants. But from the time of Egbert, A.D. 827, the power of the West Saxons
became predominant, and although the Angles gave their name to their adopted country, (Angle or
Engle-land,) yet their descendants are to the present day termed, not Angles, but Saxons by the Irish
and the other Celtic nations. One and the same form of paganism prevailed among Angles, Saxons,
and Jutes from the period of their first arrival in England, A.D. 449, till the end of the sixth century,
when Christianity was introduced among them by Augustine and the forty monks sent by Pope
Gregory from Rome.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The three Saxon tribes who thus established their
eight separate kingdoms in Britain, all spoke dialects of one language. The dialect of the Angles was
broader and more harsh than that of the West Saxons, and was distinguished by the name of the
Dano-Saxon, _ whereas^ the dialect of the West Saxons was called pure Anglo-Saxon. These two
dialects remained distinct as long as Anglo-Saxon was the language of England, yet the difference
between them probably was not greater than that which now exists between the dialects of English

154 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CIASS III.

spoken in different countie8. Alfred the Great, a West Saxon king, gave predominance not only
to the power but to the dialect of his countrymen ; he patronised learning and learned men, devoted
himself to literature, and produced several translations from Latin into his vernacular tongue. Under
his auspices, therefore, the language of the West Saxons became the cultivated dialect of Anglo-Saxon,
though afterwards modified more or less by the influence of the other dialects. The supremacy of the
Danes during twenty-six years in England, under Canute and his two sons, had some slight effect in
altering the language of the Anglo-Saxons. The Norman-French, introduced in 1066, had a still
further influence on Anglo-Saxon, which afterwards, by gradual and successive alterations, insensibly
merged into the English. The Anglo-Saxon ceased to be spoken during the reign of Henry III.,
about A.D. 1258 ; it then took its place among the dead languages. In some degree, however, it still
lives in the English language, of which it forms the very groundwork and substratum ; nor is it
possible, without some acquaintance with this ancient language, to understand thoroughly the structure
of our own.

Anglo-Saxon itself however is, as we have just shown, but a scion of the Old Saxon language
described in a preceding memoir: among other evidences that it is not an original language may be
cited the singular fact, that no less than five different fragments of verbs, of which the principal
terminations appear in other languages, are huddled together in the conjugation of the substantive
verb. 1 As compared with its cognate languages, Anglo- Saxon bears the nearest resemblance to the
ancient Friesic, and it is more than probable that many of the Friesians accompanied their Saxon
neighbours in the invasion and colonisation of England. In its grammatical forms, Anglo-Saxon
presents comparatively few deviations from the early branches of the Germanic family. It has two
numbers, singular and plural, and three genders. The gender of nouns is chiefly determined by their
terminations, and the adjectives have variable terminations to correspond with their nouns in gender,
number, and case. There are four cases, and three declensions. Adjectives have a definite and an
indefinite form of declension ; the latter (of which the inflections are the same as those of nouns of the
second declension) is used when the adjective has a definite article, a demonstrative, or a possessive
pronoun before it. 2 In nouns the final syllable ing is sometimes patronymic, like iSrjs in Greek :
in the Anglo-Saxon version of the Bible, the servant of Elisha is called Elising: 3 from this source arise
our words duckling, gosling, nestling, etc. But, perhaps, one of the most remarkable characteristics of
Anglo-Saxon is the multiplicity of its synonymous words. It has ten synonymes for the word man,
and as many for woman : it has eighteen different words to denote persons in authority, besides ten
compounds, and several official titles. It has also eighteen words expressive of the mind, and fourteen
to denote the sea ; and to express the name of the Supreme Being, it has more terms and periphrases
than perhaps any other language. The Anglo-Saxons possessed a strong partiality for metaphor and
periphrasis : thus, to describe the Ark, the poet Casdmon used no less than thirty consecutive phrases,
such as, " the sea house," " the ocean palace," " the wooden fortress," " the building of the waves," etc.
This poetical combination of words was so continually resorted to, especially in poems, that many of
the words thus combined became current in the language as compound terms. The Anglo-Saxon
language displayed extreme aptitude in the formation of compounds, but, like most ancient languages,
it drew its materials from its own resources, and formed its compound words by the combination of its
own roots, without drawing, like modern English, from foreign vocabularies. " Great, verily,"
observes Camden, "was the glory of , our tongue before the Norman Conquest, in this, that the Old
English (or Anglo-Saxon) could express most aptly all the conceits of the mind without borrowing
from any."

ALPHABETICAL SYSTEM. The Teutonic and the Celtic nations possessed an alphabetical system,
of which the origin and the history are lost in remote antiquity. This system was styled the Runic,
from the Teutonic word Run, denoting a mystery, because the Runic characters were used in pagan
rites. " The heathen Teutons," says Sir Francis Palgrave, " believed that the Runs possessed magical
influence, could stop the vessel in her course, divert the arrow in its flight, cause love or hatred, raise
the corpse from the grave, or cast the living into death-like slumbers." 4 The Runes, however, of the
Teutons and of the Celtic varied in form; and even the Runes of the Anglo-Saxons and the Scandi
navians differed from each other as much as the languages themselves. 5 On account of the idolatrous
veneration with which Paganism invested these Runes, the early preachers and missionaries of

1 History of the Anglo-Saxons, by Sharon Turner, vol. iv. p. 510. 4 History of the Anglo-Saxon Period, by Sir F. Palgrave, p. 145.

2 Bosworth s Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, p. clxxxvi. 5 Kemble in Archseologia, vol. xxviii. p. 327.

3 Latham s English Language, p. 259.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] ANGLO-SAXON. 155

Christianity endeavoured to set them aside, and to introduce the use of the Latin characters in their
stead. It was doubtless, from this cause, that Ulphilas refrained from writing his version in the Runic
letters employed by the Germanic tribes, and adopted a modification of the Greek and Latin alphabets.
The Anglo-Saxons, who had brought their Eunes with them from Germany, as is evident from several
ancient inscriptions, continued to use them till the time of Augustine, when they were induced to
substitute the Latin characters. The Anglo-Saxon alphabet, however, has preserved a relic of the
Runes in its two peculiar characters f&gt;, }&gt;, and D, $, the former of which had the hard sound of th as
in ^Aing, and the latter the soft sound of the same letters as in thine. The other Anglo-Saxon letters,
though very dissimilar from the Roman letters of the present day, are precisely the same as those used
at Rome during the age in which Augustine flourished. Five letters of our English alphabet, J, k, q,
v, and z, are not found in genuine Anglo-Saxon, but c and cw are invariably placed where A and g
would be used by us.

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. It is very doubtful whether the
entire Scriptures have ever been translated into Anglo-Saxon. We have no traditionary account of a
complete version, and all the biblical MSS. in Anglo-Saxon now in existence contain but select
portions of the sacred volume. The poems on sacred subjects usually attributed to Casdmon, afford
the first feeble indications of an attempt being made by our Saxon forefathers to convey the truths of
Scripture in their vernacular tongue. Casdmon lived in the seventh century ; he was a monk in the
monastery of Streoneshalch in Northumbria. It is said that he could neither read nor write, but that
some of the other monks used to teach him portions of sacred history, and that he afterwards sang his
lesson to his instructors in poetical strains. His poems have been strung together so as to form a sort
of metrical paraphrase on some of the historical books of Scripture. He commences with the fall of
the angels, the creation and fall of man, and proceeds to the history of the deluge, carrying on his
narrative to the history of the children of Israel, and their wanderings in the desert. He also touches
on the history of Nebuchadnezzar and of Daniel. The authenticity of this work has been doubted, some
writers being of opinion that it was written by different writers at various periods ; the striking
similarity between some of the poems and certain passages in Milton s Paradise Lost has been
repeatedly noticed. Two editions have been printed ; the first by Francis Junius at Amsterdam in
1655, and the second, with an English translation and nates, by Mr. Thorpe, in London, in 1832.

The literal versions of such portions of the Scripture as have been translated into Anglo-Saxon
have chiefly been transmitted to us in the form of interlineations of Latin MSS. A Latin Psalter,
said to have been sent by Pope Gregory to Augustine, is still preserved among the Cottonian MSS.,
and contains an Anglo-Saxon interlinear version, of which the date is unknown. Aldhelm, bishop of
Sherborn, and Guthlac, the first Anglo-Saxon anchorite, translated the Psalms soon after the com
mencement of the eighth century, but their MSS. are lost, and nothing is known with certainty
respecting them. The same may be said concerning the portions of Scripture reported to have been
translated by the venerable Bede. At the time of his death, this renowned historian was engaged in a
translation of the Gospel of John, and almost with his latest breath he dictated to his amanuensis the
closing verse of the Gospel. Alfred the Great also took part in the translation of the Scriptures. He
translated the Commandments, in the twentieth chapter of Exodus, and part of the three following
chapters, which he affixed to his code of laws. He likewise kept a " hand-boc," in which he daily
entered extracts from various authors, but more especially verses of Scripture translated by himself
from Latin into Anglo-Saxon. 1

There are three different versions of the Four Gospels at present known to be in existence. The
most ancient of these is the famous Northumbrian Gloss, or Durham Book, preserved among the
Cotton MSS. in the British Museum. This MS. is one of the finest specimens extant of Saxon
writing. The Vulgate Latin text of the Four Gospels was written by Eadfrid, bishop of Lindisfarne,
about A.D. 680 : his successor in the see adorned the book with curious illuminations, and with bosses
of gold and precious stones; and a priest named Aldred added an interlinear gloss or version, probably
about the year 900. The second Anglo-Saxon version of the Gospels belongs to the tenth century,
and was written by Farmen and Owen at Harewood, or Harwood, over Jerome s Latin of the Four
Gospels. The Latin text was written about the same period as that of the Durham Book, having been
made during the seventh century. This valuable MS. is in the Bodleian Library, and is called the
Rushworth Gloss, from the name of one of its former proprietors. The other translation of the Gospels

1 History of the Anglo-Saxon Period, by Sir F. Palgravc, p. 173.

156 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

was made by an unknown hand, apparently not long "before the Norman Conquest, and is thought to
have been translated from the Latin version which was in use before Jerome s time. These important
MSS., with the version of ^Elfric hereafter to be mentioned, were for two or three centuries thrown
aside as useless lumber. With the disuse of the Anglo-Saxon language they ceased to be understood,
and were consigned to the shelves of monasteries. At the time of the Kcformation, some Anglo-
Saxon MSS. on doctrinal subjects were drawn from their places of concealment, and placed before the
world in testimony that the early Saxon Church withstood the growing heresies of the Church of
Eome. The Reformers, aware that the translation of part of the Scriptures into Anglo-Saxon was a
precedent in favour of their own translation into the vernacular tongue, collected the fragments of the
Anglo-Saxon version, and in 1571 issued an edition of the Four Gospels with an English parallel
version. The text of this edition was a late MS. belonging to the Bodleian Library at Oxford: it was
edited by Archbishop Parker, and a preface was written by John Fox, the martyrologist. This edition
was carefully collated with four MSS. by Francis Junius, jun., and published by Dr. Marshall at
Dort, in 1665, in parallel columns with the Mceso-Gothic version. Some copies of this edition were
provided with new titlepages, bearing the date, Amsterdam, 1684. The most complete edition of the
Anglo-Saxon Gospels is that of Mr. Thorpe, printed in London, 1842. Two Cambridge MSS. form
the basis of this text, which in all doubtful passages is carefully collated with other MSS.

Two editions of the Anglo-Saxon Psalter have been published. The first appeared in 1640 : it was
printed in London under the care of Spelman, from an ancient MS. by an unknown translator, and collated
with other MSS. of equal antiquity. This version was undoubtedly made from the Latin Vulgate. 1
A splendid edition of the Psalms was published in 1835 at Oxford: the MS. which forms the text
formerly belonged to the Duke of Berri, the brother of Charles V., king of France, and was preserved
in the Royal Library at Paris. Mr. Thorpe, the editor, attributed this MS. to the eleventh century;
and by some it is supposed to be a transcript of the version executed by Aldhelm, bishop of Sher-
born, in the early part of the eighth century. It is, however, rather a paraphrase than a version, and
is written, partly in prose, and partly in metre.

A partial interlinear translation of a Latin version of Proverbs, made in the tenth century, is
preserved among the Cotton MSS. in the British Museum. To the same century belong the cele
brated translations of ^iElfric, archbishop of Canterbury: they consist of the Heptateuch, or first seven
books of the Bible, and the book of Job. An edition of this version was published by Mr. Thwaits,
at Oxford, in 1699, from an unique MS. belonging to the Bodleian Library: the book of Job was
printed from a transcript of a MS. in the Cottonian Library. ^Elfric, in some portions of his version,
adheres literally to the text ; but in some parts he appears to aim at producing a condensation, or
abridgment, rather than a translation of the events related by the inspired historian. Like the other
Anglo-Saxon fragments, his translation was made from the Latin version.

A few MSS. of the Psalms, written shortly before, or about the time of, the Norman Conquest,
are extant, and show the gradual decline of the Anglo-Saxon language. The history of the language
may still further be traced in three MSS. yet in existence, which were made after the arrival of the
Normans. They are MSS. of the same translation, and two of them are attributed to the reign of
Henry the Second; but the language in which they are written is no longer pure Anglo-Saxon; it has
merged into what is designated the Anglo-Norman.

FACTS RELATIVE TO THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. The Anglo-Saxon version
was never disseminated among the people, for the art of reading was, during the Anglo-Saxon period,
exclusively confined to priests and kings. Learning was then cultivated chiefly in monasteries, and
the Latin version of the Scriptures was there generally studied. Some members of the clerical body
were, however, but imperfectly acquainted with the Latin tongue, and it was for their benefit that the
interlinear glosses were added to the Latin MSS., in order that they might understand themselves the
portions which it was their duty to read to the people.

i Butler, Horse Biblicse, vol. i. p. 148.

ENGLISH.

SPECIMEN OF THE ENGLISH VERSIONS. ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 12.

WICJ.IF, 1380.

I IN the bigynnynge was
the word and the word was
at god, and god was the word,
2 this was in the bigynnynge
at god, 3 alle thingis weren
made hi hym : and withouten
hym was made no thing,
that thing that was made 4 in
him was liif, and the liif was
the Ii3t of men, 5 and the \\ )i
schyncth in devknessist and
derknessis comprehendiden
not it.

6 A man was sente fro god
to whom the name was Ion,
7 this man cam in to witnes-
synge, that he schulde here
witnessynge of the lijt, that
alle men schulden bileue bi
hym, 8 he was not the Ii3t,
but that he schulde here
witnessynge of the Ii3t, 9 ther
was a verri lijt : whiche Ii3t-
neth eche man that cometh in
to this world, 10 he was in
the world, and the world was
made bi hym i and the world
knewe hyrn not,

II he cam in to his owne
thingis : I hise resceyueden
hym not : 12 but hou many
euer resceiueden hym : he
3af to hem power to be made
the sones of god, to hem that
bileueden in his name.

TYNDALE, 1534.

I IN the beginnynge was
the worde, and the worde
was with God : and the worde
was God. 2 The same was
in the beginnynge with God.

3 All thinges were made by
it, and with out it, was made
nothinge, that was made.

4 In it was lyfe, and the lyfe
was the lyght of men, 5 and
the lyght shyneth in the
darcknes, but the darcknes
comprehended it not.

6 There was a man sent
from God, whose name was
lohn. 7 The same cam as a
witnes to beare witnes of the
lyght, that all men through
him myght beleve. 8 He was
not that lyght : but to beare
witnes of the lyght. 9 That
was a true lyght, which
lyghteth all men that come
into the worlde. 10 He was
in the worlde, and the worlde
was made by him : and yet
the worlde knewe him not.

II He cam amonge his
(awne) and his awne re-
ceaved him not. 12 But as
meny as receaved him, to
them he gave power to be
the sonnes of God in that
they beleved on his name.

COVERDALE, 1535.

IN the begynnynge was
the worde, and the worde
was with God, and God was
y e worde. The same was in
the begynnynge with God.
All thinges were made by
the same, and without the
same was made nothinge that
was made. In him was the
life, and the life was the
light of men ; and the light
shyneth in the darknesse,
and the darknesse compre
hended it not.

There was sent from God a
man, whose name was Ihon.
The same came for a wit-
nesse, to beare wytnesse of
y e light, that thorow him
they all might beleue. He
was not that light, but that
he might beare witnesse of
y e light. That was the true
light, which lighteth all men,
that come in to this worlde.
He was in the worlde, J the
worlde was made by him,
and y e worlde knewe him
not.

He came in to his awne,
and his awne receaued him
not. But as many as re
ceaued him, to them gaue he
power to be the children of
God : euen soch as beleue in
his name.

MATTHEW, 1537.
IN the beginninge was
the worde, and the worde was
with God : and the worde was
God. The same was in the
beginnynge wyth God. All
thinges were made by it, and
wythout it, was made no-
thynge that was made. In it
was lyfe, and the lyfe was
the lyght of men, and the
lyght shyneth in y e darck
nes but the darcknes com
prehended it not.

There was a man sent from
God, whose name was John.
The same cam as a witnes
to beare wytnes of the lyght,
that all men through him
myght beleue. He -was not
that lyght: but to beare witnes
of the lyght. That was a true
lyght whych lyghteth all me
that come into the worlde. He
was in the worlde, and the
worlde was made by hym :
and yet the worlde knewe hym
not.

He cam amonge hys awne,
and hys awne receaued hym
not. But as many as re
ceaued hym, to them he gaue
power to be the sonnes of
God in that they beleued on
hys name :

ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The population of the united kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, according to the census of 1841, is 27,019,558 souls, and that of England alone,
15,000,154. But the extension of the English language must by no means be estimated by that of
England, or even of the united kingdom. It may also be said to be coextensive with the habitable
world, for of all people, except the Jews, the English are the most widely scattered, and thus their lan
guage may be heard in every country, and amongst every nation, under heaven. The United States of
America are inhabited almost exclusively by an English-speaking population. English is also the
predominant language in the Canadas and the West Indies. In the East its ascendancy is being
gradually increased and established : amongst the millions of India, for instance, it is becoming more
and more cultivated ; and with the progress of education it will probably speedily predominate over
all the various dialects spoken in the numerous colonies and settlements established by the enterprise,
and maintained by the energy, of the Anglo-Saxon race.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The English language is the daughter of the Saxon,
and preserves to a great extent the lineaments of its parent. So far, however, as respects its vocabulary,
English is essentially a compound language, and borrows freely from all sides and from all sources.
In the first period of its history it was greatly influenced by the Norm an- French, introduced by
William the Conqueror. During the first century after the Conquest, the two languages subsisted side

158

THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND.

[CLASS III.

by side ; but a fusion gradually took place, in which the language of the people triumphed over that of
their invaders, for although Norman words were freely admitted into the vocabulary, the genius and
structural character of the new language, evolved by this intermixture, were Saxon. The exact
period of the transmutation of Saxon into English has been disputed, but it seems most reasonable to
believe that the process was gradual. 1 A fragment of the Saxon Chronicle, published by Lye, and
concluding with the year 1079, exhibits the language in the first stage of its transition state, no great
deviation having then been made from Anglo- Saxon. But in the continuation of the same chronicle
from 1135 to 1140 A.D., the commencement of those changes may be distinctly traced, which sub
sequently formed the distinctive peculiarities of the English language. The principal change intro
duced about this period was the gradual substitution of particles and auxiliary words for the terminal
inflections of the Anglo-Saxon. The English has happily retained the facility of its parent language
in compounding words, the only difference in this respect being, that, in the formation of its compound
terms, the Anglo-Saxon drew only from its own resources, whereas the English has had recourse to
the Latin, the Greek, the French, the Italian, and even the Arabic languages. It has been remarked
by a distinguished foreigner, that "everywhere the principle of utility and application dominates in
England, and constitutes at once the physiognomy and the force of its civilisation." 2 This principle is
certainly legible in its language, which although possessed of remarkable facility in the adaptation of
foreign terms and even idioms to its own use, is at the same time free from the trammels with which
the other languages of its class are encumbered. In the gender of nouns, for instance, we meet with
no perplexity or anomaly, every noun being masculine, feminine, or neuter, according to the nature of
the object or idea it represents ; and as the adjectives are all indeclinable, their concordance with the
noun is at once effected without the apparently useless trouble of altering the final letters. This
perfect freedom from useless encumbrance adds greatly to the ease and vigour of expression.

CRANMEE, 1539.

I IN the begynnynge was
the worde, and the worde
was wyth God : and God
was the worde. 2 The same
was in the begynnyng with
God. 3 All thynges were
made by it, and without it,
was made nothynge that was
made. 4 In it was lyfe, and
the lyfe was the lyght of
men, 5 and the lyght shyn-
eth in darcknes, and the
darcknes comprehended it
not.

6 There was sent from God
a man, whose name was lohn.
7 The same cam as a wytnes
to beare wytnes of the lyght,
that all men through hym
myght beleue. 8 lie was
not that lyght : but was sent
to beare wytnes of the lyght.
9 That lyght was the true
lyght, whych lyghteth euery
man that cometh into the
worlde. 10 He was in the
worlde, and the worlde was
made by hym : and the
worlde knewe hym not.

II He cam amonge hys
awne, and hys awne re-
ceaued him not. 12 But as
many as receaued hym to
them gaue he power to be
the sonnes of God : euen them
that beleued on hys name.

TAVERNEK, 1549.
IN the begynnynge was
the worde, and the word was
with God, and the worde was
God. The same was in the
begynnynge wyth God. All
thynges were made by it and
without it was made nothynge
that was made. In it was
lyfe, and the lyfe was the
lyght of men, and the lyght
shyneth in the darknes, but
the darknes comprehended it
not.

Ther was a man sent from
God, whose name was John.
The same came as a wytnes
to beare wytnes of the light,
that all men through him
myght beleue. He was not
that lyght but to beare witnes
of the lyght. That was a
true lyght, which lyghteth
all men that come into the
worlde. He was in the
worlde, and the worlde was
made by him, and yet the
worlde knewe him not.

(jdr" He came amonge his
(owne) and his owne receiued
him not. But as manye as
receyued him to them he gave
power to be the sonnes of
God in that they beleued on
his name.

GENEVA, 1557.
1 IN the beginnyng was
the word, and the worde was
with God, and that worde
was God. 2 The same was
in the begynnyng with God.
3 Althinges were made by it,
and without it was made
nothing that was made. 4 In
it was lyfe, and the lyfe was
the light of men. 5 And the
light shineth in darkenes, and
the darknes comprehended it
not. 6 There was a man sent
from God, whose name was
lohn. ? The same came for
a wytnes, to beare wytnes of
the light, that all men through
hym might beleue. 8 He was
not that light, but was sent to
beare wytnes of the light.

9 That was that true lyght,
which lyghteth all men that
come into the worlde. 10 He
was in the worlde, and the
worlde was made by hym :
and the worlde knewe him
not. n He came among his
owne, and his owne receaued
him not.

12 But as many as receaued
hym, to them he gaue power
to be the sonnes of God, euen
to them that beleue in his

BISHOPS, 1568.

I IN the begynnyng was
the worde, and the worde was
with God : and that worde
was God. 2 The same was
in the begynnyng with God.
3 All thynges were made by
it : and without it, was made
nothyng that was made. 4 In
it was lyfe, and the lyfe was
the lyght of men. 5 And the
lyght shyneth in darkenesse :
and the darkenesse compre
hended it not.

6 There was a man sent
from God whose name was
John : 7 The same came for a
witnesse, to beare witnesse
of the lyght, that all men
through hym myght beleue.
8 He was not that lyght :
but was sent to beare wit
nesse of the lyght. 9 That
[lyght] was the true lyght,
which lyghteth every man
that commeth into the worlde.
10 He was in the worlde, and
the worlde was made by hym,
and the worlde knewe hym
not.

II He came among his
owne, and his owne receaued
hym not. i 2 But as many
as receaued hym, to them
gave he power to be the sonnes
of God, euen them that be
leued on his name.

1 Rask s Anglo- Saxon Grammar, Preface, p. 47.

2 History of Civilisation in France, oy Guizot, p. 2~6.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] ENGLISH. 159

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. During the period of the gradual
disappearance of the Anglo-Saxon and evolution of the English language, as above described, England
was _ under papal domination, and the Scriptures were no longer sought after. The Anglo-Saxon
versions became useless from the alteration in the language, and until the fourteenth century the
efforts made to produce a new translation were few and feeble. An ecclesiastic named Orm, or Ormin,
supposed from^his dialect to have been a native of the North of England, composed a metrical para
phrase of the Gospels and Acts, in lines of fifteen syllables, during the latter part of the twelfth century.
This work is entitled the Ormulum, from the name of its author, and is preserved in the Bodleian
.ibrary. A more extensive metrical paraphrase, comprising the whole of the Old and New Testa
ments, is to be found amongst other poetry of a religious nature in a work entitled Sowle-hele (Soul s
health), belonging to the Bodleian Library: it is usually ascribed to the end of the twelfth century.
Another metrical version, probably of the same date, is preserved in Corpus Christi College, Cam
bridge: _it comprises only the first two books of the Old Testament, and is written in the dialect then
spoken m the North of England. In the same college, a metrical version of the Psalms, apparently
written about the year 1300, has been deposited: this version adheres to the Latin Psalter, corrected
by Jerome, as closely as the nature of the composition will admit. Several other MSS. of the old
English Psalter, preserved in the British Museum and the Bodleian Library, are supposed to be
exemplars of the same version, with the orthography altered in conformity with the state of the
language at the periods in which they were written. A translation of the Psalms from the same
text, (the corrected Latin of Jerome,) was executed by Richard Rolle, of Hampole, near Doncaster,
during the early part of the fourteenth century. This version is remarkable as being the first portion
of the Scriptures ever translated into English prose. Eolle, or Hampole as he is more generally
called, also wrote a paraphrase in verse of a part of Job. Two other versions of the Psalms, belonging
to the same period, are likewise extant. In Bcnct College, Cambridge, there is a version of Mark,
Luke, and the Pauline Epistles, but the translator and the date are unknown; and in the British
Museum there is a translation of the Gospels appointed to be read on Sundays, written in the northern
dialect.

RHEIMS, 1582.

1 IN the beginning was
the WORD, and the WORD
was with God, and God was
the WORD. 2 This was in
the beginning with God.
3 Al things were made by
him : and without him was
made nothing. That which
was made , 4 i n hj m V vas
life, and the life was the
light of men : 5 and the light
shineth in darkenesse, and
the darkenesse did not com
prehend it. 6 There was a
man sent from God, whose
name was lohn. ^ This man
came for testimonie : to giue
testimonie of the light, that
al might beleeue through him.

8 He was not the light,
but to giue testimonie of the
light. &gt; It was the true light,
which lighteneth euery man
that commeth into this world.
10 He was in the world, and
the world was made by him,
and the world knew him
not.

11 He came into his owne,
and his owne receiued him
not. 12 But as many as re
ceiued him, he gaue them
power to be made the sonnes
of God, to those that beleeue
in his name.

DOUAY, 1847.

1 IN the beginning was
the word, and the word was
with God, and the word was
God. 2 The same was in the
beginning with God. 3 All
things were made by him :
and without him was made
nothing that was made : * In
him was life, and the life was
the light of men : 5 And the
light shineth in darkness, and
the darkness did not compre
hend it.

6 There was a man sent
from God, whose name was
John. 7 This man came for
a witness ; to give testimony
of the light, that all men
might believe through him.
8 He was not the light, but
was to give testimony of the
light. 9 That was the true
light, which enlighteneth
every man that cometh into
this world. 10 He was in
the world, and the world was
made by him, and the world
knew him not.

11 He came into his own,
and his own received him
not. 12 But as many as re
ceived him, he gave them
power to be made the sons of
God, to them that believe in
his name.

AUTHORISED, 1611.

1 IN the beginning was
the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the AVord
was God. 2 The same was
in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by
him, and without him was
not any thing made that was
made. 4 In him was life,
and the life was the light of
men. 5 And the light shin
eth in darknes, and the dark-
nes comprehended it not.

6 There was a man sent
from God, whose name was
lohn. 7 The same came for
a witnesse, to beare witnesse
of the light, that all men
through him might beleeue.
8 He was not that light, but
u-as sent to beare witnesse of
that light. 9 That was the
true light, which lighteth
euery man that commeth into
the world. J o Hee was in
the world, and the world
was made by him, and the
world knew him not. n He
came vnto his owne, and his
owne receiued him not. 12 But
as many as receiued him, to
them gaue hee power to be
come the sonnes of God, eucn
to them that beleeue on his
Name.

BLAYNEY, 1769.
1 IN the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was
God. 2 r r;he same was in the
beginning with God. 3 All
things were made by him ;
and without him was not any
thing made that was made.

4 In him was life ; and the
life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in
darkness; and the darkness
comprehended it not.

G There was a man sent
from God, whose name was
John. 7 The same came for
a witness, to bear witness
of the Light, that all men
through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but
was sent to bear witness of
that Light. That was the
true Light, which lighteth
every man that cometh into
the world. 10 He was in the
world, and the world was
made by him, and the world
knew him not.

11 He came unto his own,
and his own received him
not. 12 But as many as re
ceived him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of
God, even to them that be
lieve on his name.

160 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. CLASS III.

Such were the principal translations of scriptural portions executed before the time of Wickliffe.
A version has been commonly ascribed to John de Trevisa, vicar of Berkeley in Gloucestershire, who
flourished towards the close of the fourteenth century ; but he only translated a few detached passages,
which he introduced in certain parts of his writings. Some texts translated by him were painted on
the walls of the chapel belonging to Berkeley Castle.

To Wickliffe, therefore, " the Morning Star of the Eeformation," belongs the honour of having
produced the first version of the entire Scriptures in the English language. His translation was made
immediately from the Latin Vulgate, and was completed about the year 1380. So great was the
opposition it excited, that in 1390 a bill was brought into the House of Lords for its total suppression.
The motion, however, was thrown aside through the influence of the Duke of Lancaster, who is
reported to have said, " We will not be the dregs of all, seeing other nations have the law of God,
which is the law of our faith, written in their own language." It was perhaps, about this period, that
the followers of Wickliffe revised and corrected his version : several copies of this revision are extant.
In 1408 the further translation, and even the perusal, of the Scriptures was formally prohibited in a
convocation held at Oxford, by Archbishop Arundel. Great persecution followed this edict, and
many suffered unto death for having read the English Bible.

Although Wickliffe s version of the English Bible was the earliest in point of execution, yet, as
the art of printing was unknown during the age in which it was produced, it was among the latest of
the English versions in being committed to the press. The first printed edition was published in
1731, by Mr. Lewis. This edition, which was preceded by a history of the English biblical transla
tions by the editor, included only the New Testament. The same version of the New Testament was
re-edited in 1810 by the Rev. H. H. Baber, with very valuable prolegomena. It was again published
with extreme accuracy in 1841, as a portion of the English Hexapla, the best MSS. having been most
carefully collated for this purpose by George Ollbr, Esq.; a MS. then in the possession of the Duke of
Sussex was used as the basis of this edition. Another edition has been lately published by Pickering :
it is printed from a contemporary MS. written about A.D. 1380, formerly in the Monastery of Sipn,
and now preserved in the collection of Lea Wilson, F. S. A. The Old Testament of Wickliffe s version
remained in MS. till within the last few years; but a complete edition of both Testaments has been
very recently published at Oxford, under the editorship of the Rev. J. Forshall and Sir F. Madden.

We now come to the history of our authorised version of the Scriptures, which may be said to
date from the year 1524, when the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, the first portions of Tyndale s
translation, were printed at Hamburgh. Tyndale s version, which has served as the basis of all
succeeding versions of the English Scriptures, was executed directly from the sacred originals. It was
produced in the midst of persecution, and furnishes a wonderful example of the result of steadfast faith
and firm determination of purpose. Though opposed by the combined power of the king of England,
his whole council, and the emperor, William Tyndale contrived to elude their vigilance until the great
work, upon which his heart was set, was accomplished. " Having from the first _ consulted only with
God and his own conscience, he possessed an indescribable severity of conviction that he had but
one thing to do, and though perpetually exposed to seizure and death, not a day was to be lost by him,
nor was lost." l And although he finally sealed his testimony with his blood, (for he was martyred at
Vilvorde, near Brussels, in 1536,) yet he died in the midst of victory, for before he expired no less
than fourteen editions of his version of the New Testament had been published, the last of which,
being the first edition of the English Scriptures ever printed in his native country, was passing
through the press in London, "before or at the very time that he was receiving at Vilvorde the
crown of martyrdom." 2 It seemed as if all who had been concerned in this first translation of the
English Scriptures from the original tongues were to be admitted to the glory of martyrdom, for John
Fryth, who had yielded some assistance in the work, was afterwards burnt to death in Smithfield; and
William Roye, who had at one time been Tyndale s amanuensis, was put to death in Portugal on a
charge of heresy. Although the enemies of the truth thus succeeded in removing the ^translators from
the earth, their efforts to suppress the translation, by destroying all the printed copies, were utterly
unavailing. On one occasion Sir Thomas More, who was then chancellor, inquired of an individual
who was suffering imprisonment for conscience sake, how Tyndale subsisted abroad, and who were
the persons in London that abetted and supported him : the prisoner replied, that it was the Bishop
of London who maintained him by sending a sum of money to buy up the impression of his New
Testament. The chancellor admitted the truth of the statement, and suffered the man to escape.

i Introduction of the English Bible, by Anderson, p. 4. 2 Introduction of the English Bible, by Anderson, p. 3.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] ENGLISH. 161

COVERDALE S VERSION of the entire Scriptures was published in 1535: it was printed on the
continent, but at what place is uncertain. In producing this version, Coverdale, by his individual
energy, accomplished what the combined efforts of the king, of the two Houses of Convocation, and of
Archbishop Cranmer, had been unable to effect ; for in 1533 an edition of the complete English Bible
had been resolved upon, and actually commenced by Cranmer, but the attempt proved utterly abortive.
In his preface, Coverdale states that he had used five different Latin and "Douche" (or German)
versions in the formation of his own. It is also certain from internal evidences that he availed
himself largely of the labours of Tyndalc. " His style," observes Scrivener, " is vigorous ; the
renderings of particular texts are very perspicuous, though they are often questionable and diffuse ;
while an air of freshness and novelty pervades the volume, since no one of our translators has ventured
on such bold interpretation as Coverdale, and but little of his peculiar diction was adopted by those
who followed him." This translation, happily, was regarded with favour by Henry VIII. , and was
the first English Bible allowed by royal authority. This capricious monarch further directed in 1536,
that a copy of the whole Bible in Latin and in English should be laid in the choir of every church
throughout the realm, " for every man that would, to look and read therein."

MATTHEW S BIBLE was edited by John Eogers, the ardent friend of Tyndale and the proto-
martyr of Mary s reign. The whole of the New, and the first part of the Old Testament, as far as the end
of the Second of Chronicles, was merely a reprint of Tyndale s version with a few orthographical altera
tions. Tyndale had also translated a number of chapters from the Prophetical Books, which had been
printed along with the New Testament. 1 These Rogers inserted, and the portions which Tyndale had left
untranslated he supplied from Coverdale s version. The printers, Grafton and Whitchurch, bore
unaided the entire expense of the publication of this work ; and from prudential motives Eogers
affixed to it the fictitious name of Thomas Matthew. It was printed in folio in 1537, probably at
Marlborow in Hesse. It is remarkable that up to the day of its arrival in London, the very existence
of this Bible was unknown to Henry and his ministers. During the previous ten years this version
had been denounced and proscribed ; the copies surreptitiously imported into England had been
searched for and burnt ; even the persons by whom they had been read had been committed to the
flames, and, only the year previously, the death of the translator himself had been compassed ; and yet,
no sooner was the entire version, "the desire of Tyndale s heart," printed for the first time in one
volume and sent to England, than the hearts of those who had heretofore been persecutors were over
ruled to receive and to sanction it. 2 The volume received the royal license, and enactments were
forthwith issued commanding the clergy to place copies in all the churches that the parishioners might
obtain constant access to them.

CRANMER S GREAT BIBLE (so called from its containing a prologue by Archbishop Cranmer,
as well as from its size) is a revision of Matthew s Bible. The edition was commenced at Paris, where
the paper was better and cheaper, and the workmen more skilful than in England. But before the
work could be completed at press, the Inquisition interfered, and the edition, consisting of 2500 copies,
was seized and condemned to the flames. Some copies, however, were rescued and brought to
England; the French printers were prevailed upon to bring their types and presses to London, and
the edition was completed under the correction and revision of Coverdale in 1539.

TAVERNER S BIBLE is likewise a revision of Matthew s Bible, edited, as the name imports, by
Richard Taverner. It appeared in folio in 1539, and was dedicated to the king.

THE GENEVA VERSION of the Bible is a revision of Tyndale s version, executed after the
immortal work of Tyndale had been again diligently compared with the Hebrew and Greek texts. It
was usual to ascribe this translation to the principal reformers who had taken refuge in Geneva during
the persecutions of Mary. Anderson, however, has shown that so far from this version being the
collective work of several individuals, the New Testament can in all probability be correctly attributed
only to^one individual, the Rev. William Whittingham, afterwards dean of Durham; 3 while in the
translation of the Old Testament, the names of Gilby and Sampson only are to be associated with that
of Whittingham. 4 The New Testament was published at Geneva in 1557, and is the first in our language
which contains the distinction of verses by numerical figures. The Old Testament appeared in 1540.

1 Introduction of the English Bible, by Anderson, p. 8. 3 Annals of the English Bible, vol. ii. pp. 308, 312.

2 Introduction of the English Bible, by Anderson, p. 13. * Annals of the English Bible, vol. ii. pp. 320, 321.

162 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

ARCHBISHOP PARKER S, OR THE BISHOPS BIBLE, was completed in 1568, after having
"been in course of preparation during three years. Several individuals were engaged in the work,
for the Bible was divided into at least fourteen different portions, each of which was allotted to
persons of learning and ability: eight of the individuals who thus took part in the revision were
bishops ; hence the edition is generally known as the " Bishops Bible." Archbishop Parker, the
promoter of this revision, employed other critics to compare the version with the sacred texts, and he
directed and reviewed the whole work himself. His object in setting forth this edition was, not to
produce a new version, but to test and correct Cranmer s Bible, the translation then commonly in use,
by a critical examination of the inspired originals. This Bible was in 1571 appointed to be used in
churches, and for forty years it continued to be the church version, although the Geneva Bible was
more generally used in private houses. A reprint of the Bishops Bible, published in 1572 in large
folio, with corrections and prolegomena, is commonly called " Matthew Parker s Bible."

KING JAMES S BIBLE, as our present authorised version is sometimes called, was commenced
with the sanction of that monarch in the year 1604. It was undertaken on account of several objections
having been made to the Bishops Bible at the Conference held at Hampton Court during the
preceding year. Fifty-four men, selected on account of their eminent classical attainments, were
appointed to execute the work; but from death, or some other cause, only forty-seven eventually
engaged in it. They were divided into six companies, to each of whom a separate portion was assigned.
They met periodically, for the purpose of conferring on the result of their individual labours ; and at
these meetings, says Sclden, " one read the translation, the rest holding in their hands some Bible,
either of the learned tongues, or French, Spanish, Italian, etc. If they found any fault, they spoke ;
if not, he read on." The basis of the excellent version thus produced still continued to be Tyndale s ;
for, according to the directions given them at the outset, the translators followed the Bishops Bible
(which, as we have shewn, was based on that of Tyndale) as closely as the original would permit; but
they compared it with the early editions of Tyndale s version, and with Coverdale s, Matthew s,
Cranmer s, Taverner s, and the Genevan Bibles, and adopted from each the renderings which were
the most faithful to the sacred text. Our present authorised version, therefore, so far from being a
new translation, was a compilation from previous translations ; but its inestimable value arises from
the fact, that it is a compilation founded on a collation with the original Scriptures, conducted by men
duly qualified for so momentous an undertaking. 1 It was commenced in the spring of the year 1607,
and was completed at press in 1611. Selden, Lowth, Horsley, Middleton, and other learned men who
have critically examined this Bible, bear testimony to its great excellence. Dr. Adam Clarke justly
remarks, that " the translators have seized the very spirit and soul of the original ;" and that, of all
European translations, King James s version is "the most accurate and faithful." Although this
precious volume bears the name of King James, we are not indebted to him even for pecuniary aid in
its production. Its publication was a mere business transaction ; the entire expenses of the work were
undertaken by Kobert Barker, patentee of the office of king s printer, and it was printed and published
by him as a speculation in trade. This Bible of 1611 is, with some trifling emendations and
orthographical alterations, the Bible of all who use the English language at the present day.

It must be observed, however, that the Koman Catholics have a version of their own, which is in
general use among them in preference to ours. Their version of the New Testament was printed at
Rheims in 1582, and that of the Old Testament at Douay in 1609-10. The real character and object
of this version can only be learned from the preface and notes : the text does not contain many real
departures from the Vulgate, although a studied obscurity involves the entire diction. A great number
of Greek words, such as azymes, pasche, etc., are left untranslated, for the purpose, no doubt, of
misleading and perplexing common readers. And the notes breathe such a spirit of treason, and such
a recklessness of assertion, that now they are commonly omitted in reprints. The text has been
frequently revised and printed for distribution among Roman Catholics, and from time to time it has
been rendered more and more conformable to our own authorised text.

The Socinians have also a version of the New Testament : it was published in London in 1808,
by anonymous editors, professedly on the basis of Archbishop Newcome s translation ; but his authority
is disregarded in all passages where their peculiar sentiments can be obtruded.

Several translations of portions of the Scriptures have been executed in English since the year
1611 ; but our venerable authorised version has not hitherto, in whole or in part, been superseded by

i Bishop Marsh on the Criticism of the Bible, Appendix, p. 2.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES. ENGLISH. 163

any. Passing over the translations of Bellamy and Geddes, which are too extravagant to deserve
mention, several translations of particular books of Scripture by Lowth, Newcome, Horsley, Lee,
Henderson, and others, might be enumerated; yet these can scarcely be called versions in the popular
sense of the term, being adapted rather for the learned than for the people.

PRINTED EDITIONS OF THE ENGLISH SCRIPTURES. The editions of the Bible and Testament
in our language have been so numerous, that even the bare enumeration of them would be a matter of
absolute impossibility. During the eighty-seven years which elapsed from the appearance of the first
portion of Tyndale s version (A.D. 1524) to the publication of the authorised version in 1611, at least
278 editions of the Bible and Testament are known to have been printed ; of these the principal are
the following :

1524. The Gospels of Matthew and Mark, translated by Tyndale, printed at Hamburgh.

1525. The New Testament of Tyndale s version in 4to., published at Cologne and Worms : only

one fragment of this work is known to be in existence : it was discovered in 1834 by
Mr. Rodd, a bookseller, who happening to examine a quarto tract by (Ecolampadius,
which he had received from a friend, perceived that there was attached to it, by binding,
a portion in the English language, black letter. This proved to be a relic of the three
thousand copies of Tyndale s first edition of the New Testament. It afterwards adorned
the library of the Hon. Thomas Grenville, and by his munificent gift it is now in the
British Museum.

1526. The New Testament of the same version in 18mo., published at Worms. Until recently

this has been generally believed to have been the first edition of Tyndale s version.
A copy, wanting the titlepage, is in the Baptist Museum at Bristol, from which the
London reprint, published by Mr. Bagster in 1836, was executed.

1526. The New_ Testament of the same version, published at Antwerp. This was the first
surreptitious edition, and was followed by two other editions, printed at the same place,
during the two subsequent years. A corrected edition, compared with the Greek by
Tyndale, was published in 1534 : it forms one of the versions in the English Hexapla.

1535. The^ entire Bible, translated from the Latin and Dutch, or rather German versions, by
Cpverdalc, some time lord bishop of Exeter, published in London, in folio. This
Bible was reprinted in 4to. in 1838, from a copy in the possession of the late Duke of
Sussex. The second edition, likewise published by Mr. Bagster, appeared in 1847.

1537. Matthew s Bible in folio, probably printed at Marlborow, in Hesse. Matthew was the
cognomen adopted by Rogers, the translator. This Bible was a revised edition of
Tyndale s ^ version, with the chapters which he had left untranslated supplied from
Coverdale s version, the whole being carefully corrected by Rogers.

1539. Hollybushe s New Testament, 8vo., London. This is a reprint of Coverdale s translation,
with the Latin version. The printer, Nicolson, inserted the name of Hollybushe, a man
employed by him, in the titlepage. This New Testament was reprinted in 8vo., in
London, A.D. 1839.

1539. Cranmer s Great_ Bible, folio. This edition was commenced at Paris, and finished in
London. It is a revision of Matthew s Bible, produced by a re-examination of the
sacred texts; and with the prologues and notes by Tyndale, and the other notes
appended to Matthew s Bible, wholly omitted. It contains a prologue, or preface, by
Archbishop Cranmer.

1539. Taverner s^ Bible, folio, London. This was a correction of Matthew s Bible, with a large
proportion of his marginal notes retained, and others added by Taverner.

1550. The Gospel of Matthew, and part of the first chapter of Mark s Gospel, was translated by
Sir John Cheke, from the Greek, about the year 1550; but this version, with the
original notes that accompanied it, remained in MS. till 1843, when it was committed
to the press under the editorship of the Rev. James Goodwin. Sir John Cheke made
much use of the older English versions, and especially endeavoured to avoid the
introduction of any word derived from a Latin root. 1

1557. The Geneva New Testament in 8vo., printed at Geneva, by Conrad Badius. The second
edition was published at the same place in 1560. An exact reprint of the edition of

1 Introduction to the Scriptures, by the Rev. T. H. Home, vol. v. p. 90.

164 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

1557, -with the italic supplements and marginal annotations of the original, was
published by Mr. Bagster in 1842 : it also appears as one of the versions of the English
Hexapla.

1560. The Geneva Bible (containing the Old and New Testaments, with annotations), printed in
4to. at Geneva. The second edition was published in folio, in London, the following
year : numerous other editions were subsequently printed at Geneva and London.
Some editions of the Geneva Bible (as those of 1599 and of 1611) contain Beza s
translation of the New Testament, Englished by L. Tompson. 1 At least 129 editions
of the Geneva Bible and Testament are known to have been printed between the years
1560 and 1611.

1568. Archbishop Parker s, or the Bishops Bible, folio, London : another edition, in quarto, was
issued the following year for the use of families. This Bible has numerous marginal
references, notes, and tables. The words which are printed in italics by James s trans
lators are here printed in a smaller type, and placed between brackets. The chapters
are divided into verses, and the 7th verse of 1 John v., which was before printed in a
different letter, is here inserted in the same type as the rest of the volume.

1611. The present authorised version, commonly called King James s Bible, folio, London. In
1649, in consequence of the high estimation in which the Genevan version continued to
be held, this version was printed with the Genevan notes ; but about this period, says
Anderson, it prevailed, and took the place it has occupied ever since.

1769. A revised edition of the authorised version, prepared by Dr. Blayney, under the ^direction
of the vice-chancellor and delegates of the Clarendon press at Oxford. This is con
sidered the standard edition, on account of its great accuracy ; yet one hundred and
sixteen typographical errors, which evaded the scrutiny of Dr. Blayney, were rectified
by Eyre and Strahan in their editions of 1806 and 1813.

There is no land which has been so highly favoured as Britain in the multiplicity of editions of
the Scriptures printed since the year 1611. The number of copies of the Scriptures printed by the
British and Foreign Bible Society alone, since its establishment in 1804 to March, 1849, is as follows:

Bibles . . ... 6,048,430

Testaments 7,010,413

Psalms .... 359,296

Gospels and Acts . . . . 5,198

If to these be added the number published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge,
and other kindred Societies, with the numerous editions published by Mr. Bagster, as well as those
issued in Scotland, the aggregate amount seems almost incredible. " The number of English Bibles
and New Testaments separately, which have passed through the press within the perfect recollection
of many now living, has exceeded the number of souls in Britain ! It has been more than double the
population in 1801 !" 2 And yet there is in many places an awful destitution. A large proportion
has been sent to the colonies ; and if Mr. Dudley s calculation be correct of wear and tear (in schools
particularly) of 15 per cent, per annum, we shall cease to wonder at the continued demands.

Introduction to the Scriptures, by the Rev. T. H. Home, vol. v. p. 91. 2 Anderson s Annals of the English Bible, vol. i. Preface, p. viii.

FLEMISH.

SPECIMEN OF THE FLEMISH VERSION.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

[BRUSSELS, 1838.]

IN het beginne was het Woordt, en het Woordt was by Godt, en het Woordt was
Godt. 2 Dit was in het begin by Godt. 3 Alle dingen zyn door het zelve gemaekt, en zonder
dat en is er niet gemaekt van al dat er gemaekt is. 4 In t zelve was het leven , en t leven
was het licht der menschen. 5 En het licht schynt in de duysternisse , en de duysternis
en heeft et niet begrepen. 6 Daer was eenen mensch van Godt afgezonden , met name
Joannes. 7 Dezen quam als getuyge , om getuygenisse van het licht te geven , op dat sy
alle door hem gelooven zouden. 8 Hy en was het licht niet , maer om getuygenisse te
geven van het licht. 9 Dit was het waeragtig licht , het welk alle menschen verlicht ,
koinende in deze wereldt. lo Hy was in de wereldt , en de wereldt is door hem gemaekt ,
en de wereldt en heeft hem niet gekent , u Hy quam in syn eyge , en de syne en namen
hem niet aen. 12 Maer aen alle , die hem aengenomen hebben , heeft hy de magt vergunt
van kinderen Godts te worden , aen hen , die in synen naem gelooven. 13 Welke niet uyt
den bloede , noch uyt den wille des vleesch , noch uyt den wille des mans , maer uyt Godt
geboren zyn. u En het Woordt is vleesch geworden , en heeft onder ons gewoont : en wy
hebben syne glorie gezien, een glorie als van den eenig-geboren des Vaders, vol van
gratie en waerheyt.

ON THE FLEMISH LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Flemish, though merely a dialectic variety of
the Dutch, is entitled to prior consideration on account of its being the older dialect of the two. It
is spoken in East and West Flanders, in Antwerp, and in part of Limburg, the collective population
of which, according to the last census, is about 2,000,000. 1 It is also spoken in the arrondissements
of Brussels and Louvain, in Brabant, and even in parts of the neighbouring departments of France.
In the other provinces of the kingdom of Belgium, (namely, Liege, Namur, Hainault, part of Luxem
burg, and the arrondissement of Nivelles in Brabant,) Walloon, which is derived from the French of
the thirteenth century, is spoken. German is extensively spoken in portions of Luxemburg and
Limburg ; but Modern French is the language of the court, of the legislature, and of general litera
ture throughout Belgium. It is extensively cultivated by the educated classes, and even in the
proper Flemish provinces, all government notices are drawn up in French as well as in Flemish. The
dominant religion in Belgium is Roman Catholicism: during the frightful persecutions of the Duke
of Alva, under Philip II. of Spain, the Protestants of Belgium, having no alternative between recanta
tion and martyrdom, fled the country; and it was not until the period of the French revolution that
Protestantism was even tolerated.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. One language, sometimes called the Belgic, a branch
of the Platt-Deutsch, or Low German, was originally common to the people of Holland and Belgium.
It was introduced into this country by various Germanic tribes, among whom may be mentioned as
the most remarkable the Batavi, celebrated as the brave allies of the Romans, and the Saxons and

1 M Culloch s Dictionary of Geography, vol. i. p. 337.

166 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

Salian Franks, who, on the fall of the Roman empire, dispossessed the Batavi, and established them
selves in their territories. The Belgce, from whom the whole country received its ancient denomina
tion, are by some regarded as a Celtic, and by others as a Germanic, race ; while others contend that
they were a mixed race of borderers. It is, however, generally admitted that the present language of
the Netherlands results from the coalescence of the petty dialects of numerous tribes of Germanic
extraction, among whom the country was subdivided. In the thirteenth century, the language then
predominant in Holland as well as in Flanders, received the appellation of Flemish on account of the
flourishing state of the Flemings, and the superior diction and grammatical accuracy of their writers;
and by this name it continued to be frequently designated until the language we now call the Dutch,
from being a mere provincial dialect of the Flemish, acquired the dignity of a written and polished
tono-ue. " Even at the present day," says a recent writer, " Flemish appears nothing more than the
Dutch of the preceding century." Flemish differs from Dutch chiefly in orthography and pro
nunciation ; and owing, perhaps, to the great ascendancy of the French language in Belgium, it has
adopted many French words.

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. The earliest specimen of the lan-
guao-e of the Netherlands, is by some thought to be a translation of the Psalms, made about A.D. 800,
and published by Von der Hagen at Brcslaw, in 1816, under the title of " Niederdeutsche Psalmen" 1
Brandt, in his History of the Reformation, speaks of certain Protestants in the Netherlands turning the
Scriptures into Low Dutch rhymes, in the early part of the thirteenth century, " according to the
custom of these ages, and in imitation of the Old Germans, who used to record their most memorable
transactions in verse." 2 A prose version of the Scriptures is also said to have been executed about
the year 1300, and Le Long gives the following short list of ancient MSS.:

1. Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, four Books of Kings, Tobit, Daniel, Judith, Esdras, Esther, and

Maccabees, in Belgic; folio. In the Colbert Library.

2. Four Gospels, written 1472. In the Bodleian Library.

3. Epistles of Paul, the Acts, and the Apocalypse; also in the Bodleian Library.

4. Apocalypse in the Brabant (or Flemish) language. In the Basle Library.

The first printed edition of the Belgic, or Flemish, Bible appears to have been that published in
two volumes, folio, at Cologne in 1475 : it was reprinted in folio, in two volumes, at Delft in 1477, and
again at Gouda, in folio, in 1479. It is unknown when the translation was executed ; Le Long
says, that the text is the same as that of 1300. It is evidently translated from the Latin Vulgate, and
the Gouda edition of 1479 contains several fabulous narratives intermixed with the text. Other
editions were printed at Antwerp in 1518 and 1525.

In 1526 another translation of the Scriptures into Belgic was made by several learned men, whose
names, unfortunately, have not been transmitted to us, and was published at Antwerp. It seems to
have been collated with such parts of Luther s version as had then been published; and in later
editions was rendered still more conformable to that celebrated version. The printer, Jacob a Lies-
veldt, published several successive editions of this Belgic translation at Antwerp, but he was at last
condemned and beheaded, because, in the annotations of one of his Bibles, he had said that "the
salvation of mankind proceeds from Christ alone." 3

The next edition was that of the Old Testament by William Vosterman, who represented it as
having been printed from a very carefully corrected translation of the Latin text ; but Le Long says,
that " it sometimes departs from Luther s version, and in other cases follows it." The Old Testament
was published at Antwerp, in folio, in 1528, and the New Testament in 1531, and again in 1533.

This edition was followed by others, almost too numerous to be here specified. Many of these
editions were afterwards prohibited by the Inquisition, and their continued publication was suspended
by the edict of Charles V. in 1546, which ordered " that none should presume to print any books
unless they first obtained from the emperor a license for exercising the trade of a printer, &c. , on pain
of death." It was, however, found impossible to withhold the Scriptures from the people, and certain
divines of the University of Louvain took upon themselves the task of revising and correcting the
Belgic version according to the last revision of the Latin Vulgate. Nicholas von Wingh, a regular
canon of Louvain, was the principal conductor of this work : an edition of the whole Bible was

1 Bosworth s Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon, Preface, p. xcvi. 2 Townley s Illustrations, vol. i. p. 452.

3 Townley s Illustrations, vol. ii. pp. 348, 353.

iNDO-EtJBOPEAN LANGUAGES.] FLEMISH.

167

published by him and his assistants in folio at Louvain and Cologne in 1548 This version was
examined and approved by learned doctors of the faculty of theology of Louvain, deputed by Charles
V.; and it was published under the sanction of that emperor.

After numerous editions of this version had been issued at Antwerp, it was revised and corrected by
the doctors of Louvain, according to the text of the Vulgate, as revised by order of Pope Clement VIII
This revised translation was printed at the celebrated Plantin press, at Antwerp, in 1599- again at
Cologne m 1604, and at Antwerp, 1626: and it may, perhaps, be regarded as the standard Flemish

vf&gt;roi rn

version.

_ Several other revised editions of this version followed. In 1717 another version of the Belffic
Scriptures was published with short notes on difficult passages, by (Egidius Wit, a Ghent divine
I his version chiefly follows the Vulgate, but in certain parts the original texts have been consulted-
the idiom m which it is written is that of the provinces of Flanders and Brabant.

About the same time another translation of the Belgic Bible was commenced by Andrew
bcurrms of Gorcum, licentiate of the University of Louvain. Two volumes were printed at Utrecht
m 1715, 1717: but the death of the translator in 1719 put an end to the work, when he had carried
it only as far as the Second Book of Kings. It is said to be in the purest dialect of the Flemish

Several other translations of the whole, or parts, of the Scriptures into Flemish might be

enumerated, but little is known concerning them beyond the mere name of the translator, and date

i execution In 1689-90 a Flemish version was published at Emmerick, which had been made by

Andrew Vander bchuren, from the French edition of Mons, the first edition of De Sacy s French

This version went through several editions at Emmerick and at Antwerp. Another

flemish translation according to the Vulgate was printed at Antwerp in 1717, and again at Utrecht

Ihis is the last Flemish version mentioned by Le Long.

In 1820, in accordance with the wishes of the people, permission was given by the Archbishop
of Malmes to an individual to print an edition of the Flemish New Testament, translated by Maurentorf
without note or comment, for the use of the Roman Catholics; and it was at the same time stated that
no such edition had been printed since the year 1717. The edition, sanctioned by the archbishop
appeared at Brussels about the year 1821 ; and an edition of the whole Bible was printed at the same
time from the Louvain edition of 1599. This latter edition found a wide circulation, the Bible
vmg, from the scarcity of copies, become almost an unknown book in the Flemish provinces It
does not appear that the British and Foreign Bible Society granted any assistance in the publication
this edition; but owing to its favourable reception, an edition consisting of 2656 copies was printed
by order, it is generally supposed, of that Society at Brussels in 1825. It was printed from the
Antwerp edition of the Flemish Testament published in 1717, and in the same 12mo. form Owin ff
however to the overthrow of the Orange family, and the consequent increased influence of the priests
this edition remained very much as a dead stock upon the hands of the Society, until the arrival of
***; 7 V *J m f ^ G C untr 7 about the J ear 1833. AfTected with the state of Belgium, and its
awful destitution of the Scriptures, he made several applications for small supplies in French and
Memish, which were cheerfully granted. At length, in 1835, he was invited to settle at Brussels as
the agent of the Society, when he very soon disposed of the remaining copies of the Flemish Testament
A second edition of the Flemish Testament, of 8000 copies, was printed under his superintendence
at Brussels in 1837, followed by a third edition of the Testament, and an edition of the entire Bible
;otal number of copies issued by the Society have been 5000 Bibles, and 70,350 Testaments

DUTCH.

SPECIMEN OF THE DUTCH VERSION.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

IN den beginne was het Woord, en het Woord was bij God, en het Woord was God.
2 Dit was in den beginne bij God. 3 Alle dingen zijn door hetzelve gemaakt, en zonder
hetzelve is geen ding gemaakt, dat gemaakt is. 4 In hetzelve was het leven, en het leven
was het licht der menschen. 5 En het licht schijnt in de duisternis, en de duisternis heeft
hetzelve niet begrepen. 6 Er was een mensch van God gezonden, wiens naam was
Johannes. 7 Deze kwam tot eene getuigenis, om van het licht te getuigen, opdat zij alien
door hem gelooven zouden. 8 Hij was het licht niet, maar was gezonden, opdat hij van
het licht getuigen zou. 9 Dit was het waarachtige licht, hetwelk verlicht een iegelijk
mensch, komende in de wereld. 10 Hij was in de wereld, en de wereld is door hem
gemaakt ; en de wereld heeft hem niet gekend. Hij is gekomen tot het zijne, en de
zijnen hebben hem niet aangenomen. 12 Maar zoo velen hem aangenomen hebben, dien
heeft hij magt gegeven kinder en Gods te worden, namely k die in zijnen naam gelooven ;
13 Welke nietuit den bloede, noch uit den. wil des vleesches, noch uit den wil des mans,
maar uit God geboren zijn. 14 En het Woord is vleesch geworden, en heeft onder ons
gewoond (en wij hebben zijne heerlijkheid aanschouwd, eene heerlijkheid als des
eeniggeborenen van den Vader), vol van genade en waarheid.

ON THE DUTCH LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Dutch is a language spoken by all classes of society
in Holland. This kingdom comprises the territories which formerly belonged to the Seven United
Provinces; and its total area, including Dutch Limburg and Dutch Luxemburg as 13,o98 square
miles. The population, according to the last census, is 2,915,396. The number of Roman Catholics
in Holland has been estimated at from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000: the majority of the Protestants belong
to the Calvinistic or Dutch Reformed Church, which is similar m many respects to the Presbyterian
Church of Scotland. There are, likewise, considerable numbers of Lutherans, Remonstrants, and
Mennonitesin Holland; all sects are freely tolerated ; and the Church and State having been separated
since 1816, the teachers of every denomination can receive pay from the State. The Dutch language
is also spoken to a great extent in Southern Africa, which was formerly under the dominion of
Holland? it is likewise spoken, more or less, in Java, the Moluccas, and the other Dutch colonies, and
among the Dutch colonists of the United States.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. Except in orthography and pronunciation, Dutch, in
almost every respect, resembles the Flemish language. Like Flemish, it is very rich in c?inpound
words, which it forms freely from its own indigenous roots : it possesses more terms of Latin ongii
tTan the German, though fewer than the English ; and being derived, like the English from the low
German stem, many of its words present a remarkable analogy to the corresponding English terms.
In pronuncia ion it is more guttuml than the Flemish, and even than the German ; but although
neither soft or musical, it is sonorous and emphatic: it has not," says Dr. Bowring, the "s of
the vowelled idioms of the South, but it has beauties they can never possess ; and especially i

Meidinger s Diet, des Langues Teuto-Gothiques, p. xxxiii.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] DUTCH. 169

variety and grace of its diminutives (a quality in which our language is singularly deficient), it may
be compared with the richest among them."

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. It has been remarked, that the ex
perience of the Dutch churches in the production of a standard version has been rather similar to our
own, for, like us, they had long to wait before the great work could be completed. The first Dutch
version, concerning which any thing is accurately known, was a bad translation of Luther s German
version, made about the middle of the sixteenth century, by an elder of the Reformed Church, at
Embdcn. The necessity of procuring an improved version was publicly discussed as early as 1571,
and seems to have occupied the attention of all the synods of the Dutch churches from that period till
1618. Political troubles, however, drew the public funds into another channel; and it was not till
the famous Synod of Dort, in 1618-19, that actual preparations were made for the immediate
commencement of a new translation. Six translators and eight revisers for the Old, and as many for
the New Testament, were chosen by the votes of the Dutch members of the synod ; and the States
General were requested to undertake the expense of the work. In the directions delivered to the
translators, the foremost were, " That they should adhere religiously to the original text, and
solicitously retain the very phrases of the original tongues, so far as perspicuity and the idiom of the
Dutch language permitted ; and that in supplying ellipses, when the sense actually required it, they
should use as few words as possible; and express those in the text by a different character, and included
in brackets, that they might be distinguished from the text itself." 1 The translators of the Old
Testament entered upon their work at Leyden, in 1626, and held daily meetings, which they
invariably commenced with prayer. The translation of the New Testament was conducted in the
same spirit of prayer; it was commenced in 1628, and finished in 1634: the translation of the Old
Testament was completed in 1632. Each book was printed as soon as finished, and a copy was sent
to each of the revisers. The revision of the Old Testament was begun in 1633, and completed in
1634. Six hours daily were devoted to the work, and the revisers commenced each meeting with
prayer, and ended with thanksgiving ; those who were not punctual in attendance were fined a small
sum, which was given to the poor. The revisers of the New Testament commenced their undertaking
in 1634, and during the latter part of the year which they devoted to it, the plague was raging at
Leyden; yet, although their meetings were held in a room overlooking a churchyard, in which
interments were continually taking place, not one of their number was attacked by the disease. It is
also remarkable, that none of the translators long survived the completion of the work. It may have
been that the arduous nature of the undertaking tended to abridge their lives, for, although they were
all men of great literary attainments, many of them declared that they had never before laboured as
they did at the translation of the Bible.

The first edition was printed at Leyden, in 1637. The Remonstrants, who were followers of
Arminius, and vehemently opposed to the translators in their religious opinions, deputed four of their
most learned men to examine the translation. After strict investigation, they were so struck with the
faithfulness and accuracy of the version, that they adopted it as their own, and the Old Testament has
been in use among the Remonstrants ever since. After the lapse of more than forty years, a version
of the New Testament was executed expressly for their use by Christian Hartsoeker, an Arminian
minister, at Rotterdam. It was printed at Amsterdam in 1680 ; but although professedly a neAV
translation from the Greek, it chiefly follows the version of the synod.

The orthography of the established version was altered in one edition, according to the system
introduced in 1806 by Professor Siegenbeek, and which received the sanction of the government.
The Rev. Henry Cats, minister of the Dutch Reformed Church at Leyden, was employed to effect
the necessary alterations ; but he died before he had finished the work, and it was completed by
Professor Van Hengel ; and the revised edition appeared in 4to. in 1834. Siegenbeek s system has
since fallen into disrepute, and has not been adopted in subsequent editions.

This beautiful and emphatic version still retains its place, as the authorised text of the Dutch
Church ; but a new translation has since been made, in the modern style and orthography, by the
learned Professor Van der Palm, of Leyden : it was published in 1825, and though not adopted in
churches, it is greatly esteemed and extensively used. 2 Another translation, which, however, included
only the Gospel of Matthew and the Epistle to the Romans, was made from the Greek, by Adam
Boreel, of Zealand: it was published at Amsterdam in 1693, with the Greek text.

i Christian Review, vol. i. 2 Bosworth s Diet, of the Anglo-Saxon, p. cix.

!70 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

Within the last two or three years the Netherlands Bible Society appointed a commission to
modernise the orthography of the Bible, and the alterations which were introduced both in spelling
and in some points of grammar were considerable. All the editions of that Society are now printed
with these alterations.

Several editions of the authorised Dutch version have been issued by the British and ^ Foreign
Bible Society. Their first edition, consisting of 5000 copies of the New Testament, appeared in 1809 ;
and was designed primarily for the Dutch prisoners of war in this country, and eventually for the
Dutch settlements and colonies. Considerable numbers of these copies were forwarded to the Cape of
Good Hope, and were most thankfully received ; for it was ascertained, that not a single Dutch Bible
could be had for money throughout that extensive colony. On receipt of this intelligence, the Society
immediately commenced a large edition of the entire Dutch Bible. The total number of copies issued
by the Society up to the present year (1849) amounts to 91,395 Bibles, 450,104 Testaments, and
5000 Psalters. 1 The Netherlands Bible Society has distributed since its formation altogether 378,667
copies.

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. During the last five years no less than
236,000 copies of the Scriptures have been sold in Holland by colporteurs, and manyjnstances have
been reported of the blessing of God accompanying their perusal. A colporteur, labouring in Drenthe
and Groningen, met with an instance in which one New Testament had been blessed to several persons.
A Roman Catholic family, in whose house there were continual quarrels before the introduction of
the Scriptures, now live in peace and harmony. The parents, through the power of the word, have
become converted characters. " We have evidence," it is further stated in the kst Report, " that the
work in Holland has been blessed, by the Lord. Many who, when first offered the Scriptures, mocked or
insulted the colporteurs, have more lately purchased them with avidity. Others, who were remarkable
for their awful oaths, have become humble worshippers of the living God. At Rotterdam^, and in the
environs, there has been a great revival, through the distribution of the Bible." 2 Recent issues of the
Dutch Scriptures by the British and Foreign Bible Society to the_ Cape have been very large, and
have been attended with a great blessing to the colony, particularly in schools.

i Forty-fifth Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 51. * Forty-fifth Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xliv.

ALEMANNIC, OR OLD HIGH GERMAN.

SPECIMEN OF OLD TEUTONIC.
FROM OTFRID S "HARMONY," IN SCHILTER S "THES. ANT. TEUTONICARUM."

ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1, &c.

ER alien uuorolt kreftin,

job engilo gisceftin,
So rumo ouh so mahton,

man ni mag gidrahton
Er so ioh himil uuurti,

job erda ouh so herti.
Ouh uuiht in thiu gifuarit

thaz siu ellu thriu ruarit
So mias io uuort uuonanti,
er alien zitin uuorolti.
Thaz uuir nu sehen offan,

thaz uuas thanne ungiscafan.
Er alleru anagifti

them Druhtines giscefti,
So uuas iz mit gilusti

in theru Druhtines brusti.
Iz uuas mit Druhtine sar,

ni brast imo es io thar.

ANTE omnes mundi vires,

et Angelos creates
Turn spatium turn potentias,

nemo potest concipere,
Antequam ccelum factum

ac terra atque mare horridum,
Et quicquid in his productum,

quod hsec omnia tria movet,
Erat verbum habitans

ante omnia secula mundi.
Quae nunc conspicimus palam

erant tune nondum creata.
Ante principium omnium

Domini creaturarum,
Erat id cum jucunditate

in Domini pectore.
Erat cum Domino illico

nee defecit ipsi unquam.

ON THE ALEMANNIC LANGUAGE AND HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS.

THIS ancient language was spoken by a people of the Teutonic, or High German race, who at
one period of their history were called the Suevi, or Suahians, probably from their having settled near
the Baltic, then known as the Mare Suevicum, or Suabian Sea. In the beginning of the third
century they migrated to the borders of the Roman empire, between the Danube, the Rhine, and the
Main, and they there associated themselves with other Germanic tribes, forming a confederacy to
which the designation of Alemannic was subsequently applied. 1 The modern Germans, who are
partly descended from these confederated tribes, are still called Alemanni (or Allemands) by the
French and Spanish.

This language appears to have been in use from the sixth to the eleventh or twelfth century, nor
can it even yet be said to be extinct, for it is still spoken with slight modifications in the north of
Switzerland, Alsace, the grand duchy of Baden, Wurtemburg, Bavaria, the Tyrol, and Styria. ^ In
this ancient dialect we can distinctly trace the rudiments of the modern German ; its chief peculiarities
consist in the prevalence of the first vowel a, which is generally used in cases where the modern
Germans use e ; and in the general substitution of the diphthong au for the German o.

1 Bosworth s Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon, Preface, p. cxx.

172 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

The earliest and most important monument of this language which has been transmitted to our
times, is a Harmony of the Gospels, composed by Otfrid, a Benedictine monk of Weissenburg in
Alsace, about the year 870. We are told of this Otfrid that " he was profoundly versed in the know
ledge of the Holy Scriptures, and extensively acquainted with literature in general ; a philosopher, a
rhetorician, and a famous poet ; eloquent in speech, and excellent in disposition." His Harmony is
written in verse, and is the first German poem in which rhyme is introduced, for, in all previous
poetical compositions, alliteration is adopted instead of rhyme. His motive in composing it was, as
he himself tells us, to provide a substitute for the vain and worldly songs which his countrymen were
in the habit of singing. This Harmony can scarcely be called a translation, for although it relates
the facts of the Saviour s life as recorded by the four evangelists, yet the events are not ranged in
chronological order, but seem to be related as they occurred to the memory of the writer. There are
three MSS. of this work extant, preserved at Munich, Heidelberg, and Vienna. It was first printed
at Basle in 1571, and in Schilters Thes. vol. i. with Scherz s annotations. It was afterwards published
at Bonn in 1821 ; and again at Konigsberg in 1831, under the title of Krist. 1

The gradual transition of Alemannic into pure High German may be traced by means of the
Alemannic version of the Psalms, executed by Notker, abbot of St. Gallen, in- Switzerland. He is
said to have undertaken the work for the benefit of the monks under his care, that they might under
stand what they read. This Notker is distinguished from others of the same name by the surname of
Labeo, given to him on account of his thick lips. He died in 1022. Besides the Psalms he translated
the book of Job, but this version is lost. His translation of the Psalms is in prose, and is much
valued on account of its grammatical accuracy, its eloquence, and its faithfulness. It was published
by Schilter, in his Thesaurus, at Ulm, 1726.

The Paraphrase of the Canticles, by Willeram, may be here mentioned. Willeram was abbot of
Ebersberg in Bavaria, and died 1085. Between the years 1070 and 1084 he composed a prose para
phrase of the Canticles in the Francic, (a dialect akin to the Alemannic,) accompanied by a rhythmical
Latin version. This work was published at Leyden in 1598, edited by P. Merula, and at Worms in
1631, under the editorship of F. Vogelin. It also appeared in Schilter s Thesaurus; and was again
published by Hoffman, at Breslaw, in 1827.

i Bosworth s Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon, Preface, p. cxxx.

GERMAN.

SPECIMEN OF THE GERMAN VERSIONS.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. I to 14.

LUIHEK, Leipsic, 1825.

3m 5tnfang war bag Sort, unb bag Sort war fa$ ott,
unb ott tear bag Sort.

2 2)affef6ige war im $nfang faty ott.

3 9lUe 2) Inge ftnb burcfy baffettnge gemacfyt, unb oljne
baffeloige ijt nicfytg gemacfyt, wag gemacfyt ifl.

4 3n ifym war bag efan, unb bag Sefan war bag
Sicfyt ber SKntfcfyen.

5 Unb bag Sicfyt fcfyeinet in ber SHnfiernifj, unb bie
Sinfiernifj Ijafan eg nicfyt fagriffen.

6 @g war ein -sKenfcfy ton ott gefanbt, ber fyiefi
3of)anneg.

7 2)erfeflnge fam jam Seugnifi, bafi er Son bent id)t
jeugete, auf bafi fie afle burd) i^n glau^ten.

8 (Sr war nic^t bag Si^t, fonbern baf er geugete Son
bem Sic^t.

9 $Dag war bag wa^aftige Sid^t, welc^eg atte 3Kenfcfyen
erleuc^tet, bie in btefe SBelt lomnten.

10 @g war in ber SBelt, unb bie SBelt iji bur^ baf=
felfeige gemac^t ; unb bie QBelt f annte eg ni^t.

1 1 @r !ant in fein gentium, unb bie (Seinen natymen
i^)n nic^t auf.

12 SSie tjtete i^n ater aufna^nten, benen gat er 2ftacf?t,
otteg $tnber ju werben, bie an feinen !ftamen glaufeen.

13 SBel^e nicfyt tion bem eBtut, noc^ son bem SBiflen
beg ^leifctieg, nod? on bem SSillen eineg 3Kanneg, fonbern
yon ott getoren finb.

14 Unb bag 9Bort warb ftleifcfj!, unb wo^nete unter
ung, unb wir fa^en feine -^errticfyfeit, eine errtid;fcit
alg beg eingefcornen (So^neg ijom SSater, hotter nabe
unb

VAN Ess, Sulbach, 1842.

3m 5tnfange war bag Sort, unb bag Sort war fai ott;
unb ott war bag Sort.

2 iDief? war im Qtnfang fat ott.

3 9lfle8 tft burd? baffelfa erfdjaffen, unb oljne baffelbe
iji nidjtg, wag ba ifl, erfdjaffen.

4 3n U)m war efan, unb bag Sefan war bag
ber 3Kenfd;en.

5 S)iei id)t leud^tet in ber Sinjiernifi; afar bie
^inflernifi fafite eg nid)t.

6 @g war ein -iKenfd) Son ott gefanbt, 0iameng
Sofjanneg.

7 liefer trat gum Seugnifi auf, urn *&gt;on bem Sicfyte gu
geugen, bamit Qlfle burd? u)n glaufcten.

8 @r felfcft war nid;t bag Sidjt ; nur fotlte er jeugen
on bem J}id}te.

9 @g war bag waljre Sid^t, bag jeben SKenfd^en er=
teud^tet, ber in bie Selt fommt.

10 @r war in ber Sett; unb bie Sett iji burd? i^n
erfd^af en ; bod; erf annte bie Selt U)n nid?t.

11 @r fam in bag einige; attein bie @einigen
na^men in nid)t auf;

12 wie 3Siete i^)n afar aufna^men, benen gafc er bag
SSorred^t, ^inber otteg ju werbcn, benen na mtid;, weldje
an feinen 0tamen gtaufan ;

13 wetd^e nid)t aug bem efclute, nid^t nad? bem
Silten beg 5teifd;eg, nod? nad) bem Sillen eineg 3Kanneg,
fonbern son ott gefcoren finb.

14 2)ag Sort wurbe Sleifd;, unb wotynte unter ung,
(wir fa^en feine &gt;errlid?feit, eine ^errlid^feit, wie beg
ingefcornen com SBater) ott nabe unb Sa^eit.

ON THE GERMAN LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. [The limits of Germany have varied considerably at
different eras of its history. It now consists, politically, of a confederation of about thirty-five independent
sovereignties and four free cities. The territories of this confederation include an area of 242,867
English _ square miles, and a population of 38,7 15,600. * The population is composed partly of the
Germanic, partly of the Sclavonic, and partly o. the Greco-Latin race : the Germanic race, however,
preponderates, _for about four-fifths of the inhabitants of Germany are of German extraction. The
whole of Austria, and the greater part of Styria and of the Tyrol are occupied by Germans; but they

1 M Culloch s Dictionary of Geography, vol. i. p. 8Q4.

174

THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND.

[CLASS III.

form a minority of the population in Illyria, Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Hungary, and Transylvania.
German is the predominant language throughout the German states properly so called; it also prevails
in the north of Switzerland, and in the German colonies in various parts of Kussia. Calvinism,
Lutheranism, and Eoman Catholicism are all professed in Germany; but at least one half of the
inhabitants are said to be Eoman Catholics, and this form of religion predominates in the Austrian
states. Calvinism and Lutheranism have for some years been united, in almost all the other states,
under the denomination of the Evangelical Church.

GOSNEE, Munich, 1836.

3m 2lnfange teat bag SBDSftS, unb bag Sort war Iq
ott, unb bag Sort rear ott

2 &lt;Da8feflJe rear int ^nfange fieS) ott.

3 *Jiaeg ifi bur$ bagfelbe gema^t, unb o$ne bagfelbe
ijl nid)tg gemacfyt, wag ba gemadjt ift

4 3n 3tym war bag ekn, unb bag eben war bag

5 Unb bag 8t$t leuc^tete in ber gftaffctnif , afcr bie
ftinjlernij? $at eg nictyt fcegrtffen.

6 @g war ein SKenfd? son ott gefanbt, ber tyejj

Soljanneg.

7 2)iefer lam $um Seugniffe, urn Seugntjj ju gefon
on bent ic^te, bamit atte burc^ i^n glauBen molten.

8 @r felbjl war ni$t bag Sic^t ; fonbern nur
foflte er om fii^te geben.

9 2)ag [Sort] ijl bag wa^re 8l$t, bag atte
erleucfytet, bte in btefe Sett fommen.

10 &lt;gr war tn ber SCBelt, unb bie SBelt ijl bur^ 3^n
gemac^t, unb bte SBelt erJannte 3^n ni^t.

11 @r !am in fein (Sigent^unt, unb bte einigen
na^men 3^n ni^t auf.

12 bitten ater bie S^n aufna^men, gat r SKa^t,
Rtnber otteg ju werben, benen namlidj, bie an feinen
0lamen gtauBen,

13 Die ni^t aug SBIut, ni^t aug bent SSttten beg
8rleifc^e8, nit^t aug bem Smitten beg 3anneg, fonbern aug
ott gefcoren finb.

14 Unb bag SSort ijl Sleifc^ geworben, unb $at unter
ung gewo^nt (wtr fa^en feine ^errlic^fett, etne errlicf^
feit, wie fie ber (Singeforne beg -9Saterg H) &otl nabe
unb

KISTEMAKEB, Minister, 1848.
3m Qlnfang war bag Sort j unb bag Sort war fcei ott ;
unb ott war bag Sort.

2 &gt;tefeg war im 5lnfang tei ott.

3 3ltleg ijl burd? &gt;ajfetf&gt;tge getnad)t ; unb ot)ne 5&gt;affel*
Btge ijl nicJjtS gemadjt, wag gemadjt ift.

4 3n 3fym war bag Sefcen, unb bag Men war bag

5 Unb bag Sidjt fd?einet in ber ^injlemi^ ; unb bie
ginjlerni $at 2&gt;ajfetfcige nid)t erfaffet.

6 @g war ein Sftenfd?, gefanbt ton ott ; fein 0lame
war : 3of)anneg.

7 Dtefer fam gum 3ugnifi, bamit er jeugete Son bem
id)t, auf bajj alle gtaufcen witrben burd) tijn.

8 @r war nid?t bag Sic^t j fonbern bamit er jeugete
Son bem Sic^t.

9 S)ag war bag wafjrfyaftige Stdit, Seld)eg erleudjtet
jeben 3Kenfd]en, ber in biefe Sett fommt.

10 3n ber Sett war @g ; unb bie Sett ift burd? 3^n
gemacfyt worben; unb bie Sett fannte 3^n ntc^t.

11 @r ?am in ein (Sigent^um; unb bie etnen
na^men 3^n nid)t auf.

12 Sie iriet 3|n afcer aufha^men, benen gab @r
3#ad)t, Jlinber otteg ju werben, benjentgen, cie an
einen 91amen gtaufcen j

13 wett^e nid?t aug bem eWitt, nod? aug bem Silten
beg &tetfd)eg, nod) aug bem Silten eineg Cannes, fonbern
aug ott getoren finb.

14 Unb bag Sort ijl Sletfcty geworben; unb @g
wo^nete unter ung: unb wir fctyn eine ^errtid^feit eine
^errltd)feit atg beg (Singebornen om SSater, Sott nabe
unb Sa^r^eit.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The German language branches off into two grand
divisions, the High German, or Hock Deutsch, distinguished by its rough, guttural sounds, and the
Low German, or Nieder Deutsch, characterised by a softer enunciation The former prevails in
Southern, and the latter in Northern, Germany, and both are subdivided into several minor dialects
One lamma-e, however, pervades all Germany as the medium of intercourse between the educated
classes, andas the language of religion, legislation, and literature: this language, called by way of
preemnence the GermVwas orighially merely a dialect of Hoch Deutsch, and was spoken in the
circle of Misnia in Saxony. It was the native dialect of Luther, and to the influence of that great
man is to be ascribed its present predominance. The primitive elements of Modern German are to
e found in the Gothic, the Francic, and more especially the Alemannic dialects. Somewhere about
the twelfth century the language termed the Old High German gradually displaced the more ancient
dialects, and in this language the lays of the Minnesingers, the troubadours of Germany, were com
posed The writings of LSther gave stability to his own provincial dialect of this language, and in

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] GERMAN. 175

point of copiousness, vigour, and flexibility, it now ranks among the most cultivated tongues of
Europe. The character in which it is in general written is an ancient form of the Latin, or Roman
alphabet; it is called the Gothic, and is very similar to old English.

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. Montfaucon in his Diarium Italicum says,
that there are several ancient Bibles in German preserved in the Vatican Library. But the earliest
German version of which anything is known with certainty, appears to have been executed about A.D.
1405, at the expense of Wenceslaus, emperor of Germany: it is in the Vienna Library, and consists of
three folio volumes : it only contains the Old Testament as far as the end of Ezekiel. Struvius, how
ever, in the introduction to his Historia Literaria (sect. 9), speaks of a German Bible of earlier date
in the library of Gotha in Upper Saxony; and a triglot version of the Gospels, in German, Bohemian,
and Latin, is said to have been in the possession of " the good Queen Anne," wife of Richard II. of
England. Several early German versions of the Psalms are mentioned by Le Long, and also a trans
lation of the Old Testament as far as Amos, executed A.D. 1458. The other principal MSS. enumerated
by him are, a version of the Bible in two volumes folio, written on vellum in the year 1464, and
preserved in the Vienna Library; a Bible in the Zurich Library, translated by Nicholas Bruchmal,
and bearing date 1472 ; and a version of the Bible from the Vulgate, translated by Melchior Brunus,
of Cologne, in 1590. Other translations of the Bible, but of a very inferior kind, appeared at
Nuremburg in 1477, 1483, 1490, and at Augsburg 1518. 1 The first German edition ever issued
from the press was that of 1466, translated by an unknown writer from the Vulgate: a copy of this
scarce work is in the collection of Earl Spencer.

But the most important version that has ever appeared in Germany is unquestionably that of
Luther, the great reformer. Although the New Testament was published as early as the year 1522,
yet this version still continues to be the standard, not only of the German Scriptures, but of the
German language. Luther s first biblical publication consisted of the seven penitential Psalms from
the Latin of John Reuchlin, which appeared in 1517. His version of the entire Scriptures, which
was executed immediately from the original text, was issued in successive portions. The Pentateuch
was published in 1523; the book of Joshua and the other historical books, the book of Job, the
Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Canticles followed in 1524: the prophecies of Jonah and
Habakkuk were published in 1526, and it was not till 1530 that the remaining portions had all issued
from the press. Melanchthon, and some of the most eminent scholars of Germany, aided in the revision
of this version. " A select party of learned men at Wittemberg assembled every day with Luther to
revise every sentence ; and they have been knoAvn to return fourteen successive days to the reconsider
ation of a single line, and even of a word." 2 Each individual in this little assembly had a separate
task assigned him, according to his peculiar qualifications. Luther collated the ancient Latin versions,
and the Hebrew text ; Melanchthon examined the Greek original, Crucigcr the Chaldee, and other
professors referred to the rabbinical writings. Besides Melanchthon and Cruciger, the principal
coadjutors in this most important undertaking were Justus Jonas, John Bugenhagius or Pomeranus,
and Matthew Aurogallus. George Rorarius was the corrector of the press. The revised edition of
the entire Bible was published in 1530, and again in 1534, 1541, and 1545. Luther is said to have
devoted the greatest care to the revision of the edition of 1541 ; he had it printed in two folio volumes,
ornamented with woodcuts; and a copy of this edition, which was constantly used by him, and which
was in fact his own copy, after having passed through several hands, is now deposited in the British
Museum.

Immediately on the publication of Luther s version, other translations were undertaken on its
basis by friends of the Reformation. A version in the Low German, or Saxon dialect, executed at
the suggestion of Luther, was published almost simultaneously with his own: Bugenhagen superin
tended the work, and the first edition was printed in 1533-4 at Lubeck. A version in the
Pomeranian dialect was made from Luther s Bible, by command of Bogislaus XIII., duke of Pome-
rania, and printed in 1545. In 1525-1529, a translation was published at Zurich, in the German
Swiss dialect, for which Luther s version, so jfar as it was then printed, was also used. A revision of
this German Swiss version was published at Zurich in 1667, by Hottingcr, Muller, Zeller, and others;
and so many were the alterations and corrections introduced, that it was regarded as a new translation;
and^it is still generally called the New Zurich Bible, to distinguish it from the first edition. The
original texts, Luther s German, and Diodati s Italian versions, the Septuagint, the Latin, and the

1 Cox s Life of Melauchthon, p. 221 . 2 Cox s Life of Melanchthon, p. 222.

176 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

Belgian Bible were consulted during the progress of this revision. Another version in the German
Swiss dialect was published in 1602-1604, by John Piscator, from the Latin version of Junius and
Tremellius.

The publication of Luther s version was, likewise, the proximate cause of the production of other
German translations, even by the enemies of the Reformation. Emser, one of the counsellors of
George, duke of Saxony, was the first who undertook a new translation with the view of disparaging
that of Luther ; yet so far from succeeding in his design, his version when completed proved, says
Milner, to be little more than a transcript of Luther s labours, some alterations in favour of the
peculiar tenets of the Church of Rome alone excepted. Yet several editions of Eraser s New Testa
ment were speedily printed ; and, in 1530, the monks of Rostock published a version of it in the
dialect of Lower Saxony. In these later editions, various alterations were made, causing them to
differ exceedingly from those of an earlier date.

A German version of the whole Bible was next undertaken at the request of Albert II., by John
Dietenburg, a Dominican monk, with the same design of counteracting the labours of Luther. It was
printed in folio at Mentz, in 1534. In this version Dietenburg had no recourse to the Hebrew and
Greek originals, with which he confessed himself unacquainted, and, like Emser, he only succeeded in
producing a bad transcript of Luther ; so that the truth triumphed in consequence of the very efforts
made to subvert it, and the version of Luther was read and studied in the pages of his enemies.
Dietenburg s version has gone through many editions. It was published at Cologne in 1550, 1556,
1564, 1572, 1575, 1584, 1587, 1592, 1594, 1600, 1604, 1607, 1609, 1610, 1619, 1621, 1626, 1702,
and other editions were published at Mentz and at Nuremberg.

Another of Luther s opponents, John Eckius, of Ingolstadt, in Bavaria, published a German
translation of the Old Testament in 1537, to which he subjoined a corrected edition of Emser s version
of the New Testament. It is without the name of the place or printer, and is dedicated to the Arch
bishop of Saltsburg. Several editions were afterwards published, and in 1602 the version was corrected
according to the Sixtine edition of the Vulgate. A version of the Old and New Testaments was
made immediately from this edition of the Vulgate in 1630 by Caspar Ulenberg, under the patronage
of Ferdinand, archbishop and elector of Cologne : this version has gone through numerous editions.
Another version of the Vulgate was published by Kistemaker in 1825, at Munster. In 1806, in con
sequence of the impulse given to the circulation of the Scriptures by the formation of the British and
Foreign Bible Society, a Roman Catholic Bible Society was formed at Ratisbon, and, under the
direction of Regens Wittman and other Catholic clergymen, an edition of the New Testament from
the Vulgate was published in 1808. In 1813, this version had reached the eighth edition, and the
copies had found a ready sale among the Catholics of Bavaria, Suabia, Franconia, and Switzerland.
About the year 1812, another translation of the New Testament was executed by two Catholic clergy
men, Charles and Leander Van Ess, from the Greek text. The British and Foreign Bible Society
assisted liberally in the publication and circulation of the numerous editions through which this version
has passed. Another Roman Catholic clergyman, named Gosner, printed a German version at Munich
in 1815.

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. The mighty results of the publica
tion of Luther s version are to be traced throughout the whole history of the Reformation in Germany.
The effect of recent endeavours to circulate the Scriptures in that country has been the conversion of
many individuals from the vain, theoretical systems of German metaphysicians, to the simplicity of
the Gospel of Christ. The results of the labours of the Bible Society were described as follows in
1838, by Dr. Pinkerton, the agent of the Society: " That we have laboured successfully in Germany
during the last twenty-four years, against infidelity in every form, will not be questioned by impartial
judges ; and though the success we have had has not been everywhere in proportion to our expecta
tions, yet, be it remembered, it is the return of evangelical light to many districts of this country,
which is daily exposing, more and more, the fearful extent of the spiritual darkness in which human
systems have involved the present generation. We lament over the chaos encompassing us, but we
are not in despair ; we know and believe that the wisdom and power of Divine truth shall finally
triumph." l

i Thirty-fourth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xxvi.

NORSE, OR ICELANDIC.

SPECIMEN OF THE NORSE, OR ICELANDIC, VERSION.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

[COPENHAGEN, 1813.]
3 it^afe fcar orb, og fat orb ar iaube, og orbeb sar ub. 2 *pat fama fcar t ufltytfe $td ube. 3

fitter ern fyrer |&gt;at gerber, og art fcefS er ecfi igert, ^ab gert er. * 3 fanum tiar I tfeb, og lifeb i?ar lift* mannanna.
5 Og lioftb ffetn t ntytfrunum, og mspfurenn $afa fat eigt ^nbtab. 6 $ar ar etnn mabur af ubc fmbur, fa $et
SoljanniS. 1 ann font tit intniS&urbar, at Jjann toere fcitniSBurb af liofinu, at after ftyflbu fsjrer fann tnia. 8 &lt;igi
uar $ann liofeb, $ellbut at $ann Boere intni6urb af IWfenu. 9 $at &ar |)at fanna IW8, ^ert u^^fcr alia menn, fern
fonta { ^ennann ^eint. w $at i?ar i ^etmenum, og ^eimurenn ar ft)rer ^at gerbur, og ^tmurenn ^ecfte ^at eigt.
1 atm fom tit flnnar eigttar, og $an8 eigntr mebiofu ^ann etgi. @nn fo marger, fern fann mebiofu, ^d gaf $ann
^eim malt ubg 60rnum at iwba, faim fern a fans nafn tnia. 13 ^)eim fern eigt af Blobmn, ne af $oHb8irt8 ib, ne
mannflns ijtlia, ^ettbur ^etm fern af ube ern corner. 14 Og orbeb ijar ^ottb, og B%be meb ofS, og er fdum fans tyrb,
bfprb fo fern eingetinS fonar af f^burnum, fuKann ndbar og fannleifa.

ON THE NORSE, OR ICELANDIC, LANGUAGE AND VERSION.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Iceland lies on the confines of the polar circle
and comprises an area which has been roughly estimated at 30,000 square miles. Its population in

**&lt; ? WaS &St pe pled about the ^ ear 874 b 7 refugees from Norway, who

fled thither to escape the tyranny of Harald Harfager, or the Fair-haired, king of Norway In the
course of the next half century all the inhabitable parts of Iceland became occupied by Scandinavian
settlers ; and about 928, the inhabitants established a republic, which form of government subsisted till
275, when Iceland became subject to Norway. On the annexation of that kingdom to Denmark
Iceland was transferred with it; and the island is now governed by a stiftamtman, or governor

bE l4n 1 ng of A ^T ar H J He esta H ished church ^ "aid * the Lutheran, under one
ishop and 300 clergy. A dialect of Norse was formerly spoken in the isles of Orkney and Shetland
but all vestiges of it have now disappeared.

CHAEACTEEisncs OF THE LANGUAGE. -The ancient language of the Scandinavians was
planted m Iceland by the Norwegian refugees, in the ninth century. The insular and remote position

, . nsuar an remoe poston

3eland and its consequent isolation from foreign intercourse, have caused the language to be Dre-

s^tt^ i JTt PTf 7 /!^ S , feW ^ the Chan eS wMch the 1& P Se Of a S es have e ^ed in its
structure that the humblest Icelandic peasant can read and understand the most ancient written docu

ments extant in the island. By means of the Icelandic, the connexion of the Scandinavian with the
Teutonic languages is distinctly to be traced. The Old Danish, or Scandinavian, now the living
language of Iceland, was intimately connected with the Gothic, Alemannic, Francic, and other cognate
Jte ,so that the members of these nations were intelligible to each other without the aid of inter-
rs ; and in the Young Edda," a compilation of the eleventh century, it is said of the Anglo-
baxons and the Icelanders, tjer erum einnar tungu, we are of one tongue." The aspiration of the
consonants / and w is an mfaUible characteristic of the Gothic, Anglo-Saxon, and Icelandic languages
these peculiar sounds cannot be enunciated by Germans or Danes; and, except in the province of
lia, in bweden, they are now no longer to be heard in the Scandinavian peninsula.

1 Meidinger s Diet, des Lang^ies Teuto-Gothiques, p. xxviii.

178 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

VERSIONS or THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. No version of the Scriptures was
made in Icelandic before the Information, although an ancient compendium of scriptural history,
entitled the Stiorn, has sometimes been mistaken for a biblical translation. Oddur Gotshalkson, son of
a bishop of Holum, in Iceland, was the instrument chosen by God to impart to his countrymen the
first version of the Bible in their own language. Oddur was educated in Norway ; and, happilv for
himself and for Iceland, he remained abroad till the doctrines of the Keformation began to excite a
general sensation throughout the North of Europe. His own attention was forcibly arrested by the
truths which were then unfolded ; and we are told that, for three successive nights, he prostrated him
self half-naked before the Father of lights, beseeching him to open the eyes of his understanding, and
to show him whether the principles of Eome or those of Luther were from heaven. The result of his
prayers and meditations was a deep-rooted conviction that the cause of the reformer was the cause of
God ; and with the view of obtaining further information he repaired to Germany, and attended the
lectures of Luther and Melanchthon. On his return to Iceland he entered upon a translation of the
Scriptures; and, to avoid persecution, he commenced his important labours in a^small cell in a cow
house. He completed a version of the New Testament in 1539 ; btit finding it impossible, from the
state of public opinion, to print it in Iceland, he sailed for Denmark, and published it at Copenhagen,
under the patronage of Christian III. The translation was made from the Vulgate, except in a, few
passages where Oddur mistrusted that version, and where he consequently followed Luther. Besides
the New Testament, Oddur is believed to have translated part of the Old Testament ; but the only
portion of this latter translation which he committed to the press was the 53rd chapter of Isaiah,
printed with some short expository notes, at Copenhagen, in 1558. All his translations were published
at his own private expense.

In 1562, Olaf Hialteson, the first Lutheran bishop of Holum, published the Gospels and Epistles
in the order appointed to be read in churches : this was chiefly a reprint from Oddur s version,

In 1580, the Proverbs of Solomon and the Book of Sirach were published at Holum, translated, it
is supposed, by Gissur Eincerson, the first Lutheran bishop of Skalholt. This version of the Proverbs
was made from Luther s translation, except in a few passages where it follows the Vulgate.

At length, in 1584, the entire Bible was printed in Icelandic at Holum. The work was con
ducted by Gudbrand Thorlakson, bishop of Holum. It is not known what share this prelate had in
the translation ; the Old Testament was evidently executed by several hands, but the whole was revised
and corrected by Gudbrand ; and the New Testament, and such portions of the Old as had been
translated by Oddur Gotshalkson, were adopted. The edition consisted of 1000 copies, small folio ;
the expense of which was defrayed partly by a munificent donation from Frederic II. of Denmark,
and partly by the collection of a rix-dollar from every church in the island. This version has been
called " a faithful mirror of Luther s German version," and, on account of the purity of its diction, it
is still held in high estimation. Another edition of the New Testament was published at Holum, by
Bishop Gudbrand, in 1609, "revised and corrected according to the best translations that could be
obtained."

A revised edition of this version was published at Holum, in 1644, by Thorlak Skuleson, the
grandson of Gudbrand, and his successor in the episcopate. The expense was partly defrayed by
Christian IV. of Denmark, and he directed the bishop to remodel the version according to the Danish
translation of Kesenius. But as the peculiar renderings of Resenius are only adopted in a few isolated
passages of this revision, Dr. Henderson has conjectured that the old version was rendered conformable
chiefly to the Danish Bible, published at Copenhagen in 1633, which^ follows Luther s version. The
text of this Icelandic edition may be considered as exhibiting the version now in standard use. _

Another Icelandic Bible was published in 1728, under the inspection of Stein Jonson, bishop of
Holum. He obtained from Frederic IV., of Denmark, a renewal of the grants made to his _ predeces
sors, of raising a rix-dollar from every church in aid of its publication : but instead of printing the
text of the former edition, he was enjoined to make a new translation from the Danish Bible, printed
at the Orphan-house, Copenhagen. In complying with this injunction, the bishop followed the Danish
version with so much servility, that his work, when complete, was found to be full of Damcisms, and
scarcely intelligible to the Icelanders. It never obtained much circulation, and is still considered the
worst edition of the Icelandic Bible.

In 1747, the fourth edition of the Icelandic Bible was published at Copenhagen, and the edition
of 1644 was adopted as the text. This was followed, in 1750, by an edition of 2000 New Testaments
in 8vo.

This supply of Bibles was not, however, sufficient to meet the wants of the population of Iceland ;

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] ICELANDIC. 179

and, in 1806, information was transmitted to the British and Foreign Bible Society, to the effect, that
although the island scarcely contained one person in a hundred, above the age of twelve or fourteen,
who could not read, yet that the Scriptures were no longer to be obtained for money; and that, as the
only press of which the Icelanders were possessed had not been used for many years, they had to
resort to the tardy expedient of transcribing books ; l and, moreover, that not above forty or fifty
copies of the Bible were to be found throughout Iceland. An edition of the Bible, consisting of 5000
copies, printed from the approved text of 1644, was accordingly undertaken, chiefly at the expense of
the British and Foreign Bible Society: it was carried through the press under the direction of
Justiciary Thorkelin, privy-keeper of the royal archives of Copenhagen, and himself a native of Ice
land. The impression was_ completed at Copenhagen in 1807, and 1500 copies were immediately
sent to Iceland. The remaining copies narrowly escaped destruction at the bombardment of Copen
hagen, where they were preserved in the midst of a conflagration which laid almost every thing on the
spot in ashes. 2

In 1812, in the midst of the war between Great Britain and Denmark, permission was given to
the Eev. Dr. Henderson to reside at Copenhagen, with every requisite privilege, for the purpose of
publishing another edition of the Icelandic Bible : this concession was obtained from the king of
Denmark, through the medium of a Danish member of the Committee of the British and Foreign
Bible Society. In the course of the year 1813, an edition of 5000 Bibles, and 5000 additional New
Testaments, was printed at Copenhagen, under the direct superintendence of Dr. Henderson, from the
text of 1644, or rather from the reprint of 1747. The Edinburgh Bible Society, the Fuhnen Society,
the British and Foreign Bible Society, and some friends in Holstein, combined to defray the expenses
of the edition. Before Dr. Henderson quitted Copenhagen in 1814, he had the satisfaction of seeing
the formation of a society for the purpose of furnishing Iceland with adequate supplies of the Scrip
tures. The first efforts of the Society were directed to a thorough revision of the existing Icelandic
text, but some time appears to have elapsed before they issued a fresh edition. In the Report for 1841,
it is stated that a version of the Bible was then being printed in the island, and that the type was of
large size, adapted to the use of the Icelanders, who, owing to the high latitude of their island, are for
the most part obliged to read by lamplight. 3

i Owen s Hist, of British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. ii. p. 221 . 2 Owen s Hist, of British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. ii. p. 221 .

3 Thirty-seventh Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Ii.

DANISH.

SPECIMEN OF THE DANISH VEESION.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

[CHBISTIANIA, 1848.]

3 SBegtynbetfen ar Drbet, og Drbet ar fyo ub, og Drbet sar ub. 2 &gt;et fcar i 93egftnbetfen I)o3 ub.
Sing ere eb bet tteime tit ; og uben bet er iff e enb een enejie (Sing) Wefcen tit (af bet), font er fcteoen til. 4 3 bet ttar
to, eg ii&gt;et fcar 2ftenneffetg t)8. 5 Dg jjfet (firmer i 2ft0rfet, eg 2R0rfet fattebe bet iffe. 6 &gt;er Hefc et SWenneffe
ubfenbt af ub ; J)an Ijebte 3of)anne. 7 2)enne f om til et 2Sibne3%b, at f)an ffulbe iribne om t)fet, :paa bet at 5lKe
ffulbe tree Seb 1)am. 8 &lt;an uar iffe Styfet, men (font for) at $an ffulbe snbne om Si^fet 9 &gt;et tar bet fanbe ^^S, font
opfyfer ^ert SKenneffe, ber fommer til SSerben. 10 an tiar i SSerben, og SSerben er Wesen til S)eb ^am, og 33erben
fjenbte |am iffe. n an font tit fit get, og (an) @gne annammebe tyam iffe. 12 2)?en faa 3Kange font ^am annam*
mebe, bent I)aer ^an giiiet STOagt at Mtoe ubg S30rn, bem, font troe aa ^an 9tai)n ; 13 ^Oitfe iffe ere fybte af SStob,
ei Better af %bg aSilltc, ei Better af 5Kanb0 33ittie, men af ub. 14 Dg Orbet Weij ^jpb, og toebe tBIanbt og, og si
faae fjang ^ertig^eb, en ^ertig^eb, font ben enBaarneg af ftaberen, futb af 9laabe og @anbi)eb.

ON THE DANISH LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

GEOGEAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The superficial area of the Danish territories,
exclusive of Iceland and the Faroe Isles, has been estimated at 21,856 square miles. The entire
population at the last census, February 1840, was 2,406,800, divided as follows :

Denmark Proper .... 1,355,000

Duchy of Slesvig 348,526

Duchy of Holstein . . . 455,093

Lauenborg . . . 43,342

Danish is the language of Denmark Proper; in Slesvig the Danish, German, and Frisic are all found;
and in Holstein, German prevails. Danish is, likewise, the vernacular tongue of the Norwegians, who,
in 1835, numbered 1,194,827 individuals.

Lutheranism is the established religion of the Danish states, but all others are tolerated. It has
been computed that there are 8000 Jews in Denmark, 2330 Roman Catholics, 1600 Calvinists, 678
Hernhutters or Moravians, and 30 members of the Anglican Church. 1

CHARACTEKISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. We have already shown that the Norse, or_ Old
Danish tongue, embalmed among the snow and ice of Iceland, has been preserved almost in its pristine
purity from the ninth to the present century; but this ancient language has in its parent country
undergone so many alterations, that an Icelander and a Dane, speaking in their respective dialects, are
utterly unintelligible to each other. So great, indeed, is the divergence of the modern idioms of
Denmark and Sweden from the parent stem, that the language of the Edda has not been understood
for at least four hundred years, by Swedes or Danes, without previous study. These modern dialects
are, however, still distinguished from the other branches of the Teutonic family by the possession of a
passive voice, and of two articles, one of which is prefixed, and the other affixed, to nouns. In point
of pronunciation the Danish is considered the softest language in Europe, the consonants being pro
nounced so softly as to be almost imperceptible.

i Seventeenth Report of the British Association, p. 96.

INDO-EUKOPEAN LANGUAGES.] DANISH. 181

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. The earliest translation of any portion
of the Scriptures into Danish is contained in a MS. preserved in the Royal Library of Copenhagen,
supposed to have been written in the thirteenth, or beginning of the fourteenth, century. It is a
servile imitation of the Vulgate, and defective in several parts ; it proceeds no further than the Second
Book of Kings. In 1515, Pedersen, who is said to have been the first Lutheran clergyman in
Zealand, published at Paris a Danish version of the Gospels and Epistles appointed to be read in
churches: this work was reprinted at Leipsic in 1518.

The first Danish version of the whole New Testament was made by Hans Mikkelsen, sometimes
called John Michaelis. It was published at Leipsic in 1524, and reprinted at Antwerp in 1529.
This version was executed by the command, and under the immediate patronage of Christian II.; "a
monarch," says Dr. Henderson, "whose character earlier writers have depicted in the blackest colours,
but whom posterity, though not blind to his faults, seems on the whole inclined to favour." Like
our Henry VIII., he seems to have been actuated less by zeal for the progress of truth than by the
desire of freeing his kingdom from the domination and tyranny of Rome. During a rebellion in
Denmark, he fled for safety to Holland, and it was during his state of expatriation that he promoted
the translation and publication of the New Testament. Hans Mikkelsen, the translator, was origin
ally mayor of Malmoe in Scania, and afterwards secretary to Christian II. ; he voluntarily forsook
his country, his connections and interests, and accompanied his sovereign into exile. When com
pelled at length, by the resentment of the Catholics of the Netherlands, to quit his royal patron, he
retired to Harderwick in Guelderland, where he died about eight years after his New Testament had
left the press.

This version is professedly "properly translated according to the Latin;" but Dr. Henderson has
shown that this designation in all probability applied only to the first part of the work which con
tained the Four Gospels, and in which the Latin version of Erasmus was followed. In the Acts, and
remainder of the New Testament, Mikkelsen has followed the German version of Luther so closely,
that his translation is little else than a verbal transmutation of Luther s. 1 Some writers have attempted
to account for this circumstance by suggesting that Mikkelsen had probably commenced his translation
before Luther s version had appeared; but that when he came to the Epistles, the first edition of
Luther s version having then been published, he preferred the version of the faithful and intrepid
reformer to that of the timid and indecisive Erasmus. The language in which Mikkelsen wrote is
partly Danish and partly Swedish, resembling the dialect still spoken in his native place Scania, in
the south of Sweden. 2 He has arranged the books of his New Testament in the same order as in that
of Luther, and the Epistle to the Hebrews, and those of James and Jude, are placed after the rest, on
account of the doubt then entertained by the reformers as to their authenticity. 3

In 1528, two versions of the Danish Psalms were published : the one at Rostock (by Francis
Wormord, originally a Carmelite friar, but who afterwards espoused the principles of the Reformation,
and became bishop of Lund), and the other at Antwerp, by Pedersen, who has been already mentioned
as the translator of the Gospels and Epistles of the church service. In his version of the Psalms,
Pedersen appears to have translated both from the Hebrew text and from Jerome s translation: his
diction is considered too paraphrastic, and too much accommodated to Christian sentiments ; yet the
style is remarkably pure for the age in which it was written, and an admirable preface on the beauty of
the Psalms enhances the value of the work. It was reprinted in 1531, and again in 1584 and 1586 at
Copenhagen.

In 1529, Pedersen translated and published the New Testament at Antwerp. This version was
executed on the basis of Mikkelsen s, but it is written in a superior style, foreign words and idioms
are excluded, and a better system of orthography is adopted. The Epistle to the Hebrews here finds
its proper place, but the Epistle of James is found last in order, as in Luther s version. Pedersen,
however, had obtained clearer views as to the real value and importance of the Epistle of James than
his predecessors, for he expresses his disapprobation of the irreverent manner in which Luther and
Mikkelsen had spoken of it. This version obtained so wide a circulation that Pedersen republished it
at Antwerp with the Psalms in 1531.

In 1535, some progress was made towards the production of a Danish version of the Old Testa
ment, by the publication of the Pentateuch at Magdeburg, translated by Hans Tausen, afterwards
bishop of Ripen. This version was made from the Hebrew text, with constant reference to the

i Henderson s Dissertation on Hans Mikkelsen s Translation, p. 19. 2 Henderson s Dissertation on Hans Mikkelsen s Translation, p. 22.

3 ..Towiilcy s Illustrations, vol. ii. p. 308.

182 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

Vulgate and to Luther s version : it was so well received that a second edition was printed at the same
place the following year. The book of Judges, translated by Peter Tideman, a clergyman of Zealand,
was published at Copenhagen in 1539: it sometimes follows the Vulgate, and sometimes Luther s
version.

It was not till 1550 that the whole Bible was published in Danish. Denmark was indebted for
this treasure to her monarch Christian III. The translation was undertaken at the suggestion of
Bugenhagius, the celebrated reformer, who had been invited to the court of Copenhagen to assist in
the correction of ecclesiastical abuses. The execution of the work was committed to the theological
faculty at Copenhagen, then consisting of Peter Palladius, Olave Chrysostom, John Synning, and
John Macchabceus, or Macalpine. Tideman, the translator of the book of Judges, was also engaged
in it; and Pedersen, the translator of the Psalms and of the New Testament above mentioned, was
employed in writing out a fair copy from the several translations which were made by those appointed
to the work. The version was made from that of Luther, and follows it closely, except in a few
instances, in which the translators have mistaken the meaning of the German. The first edition con
sisted of 3000 copies of the entire Bible, and, to meet the expense, a tax of two rix dollars was levied
on every church in Denmark. A separate edition of the New Testament of this version in 4to. was
published at Wittenburg, with some slight orthographical corrections. Le Long speaks of another
translation of the New Testament having been made by Jonas Turreson at Copenhagen in 1584, but
Dr. Henderson expressly states that no such translation is known in Denmark.

A revision of the entire version was undertaken in 1586 by the command of Frederick II. That
monarch wrote to the rector, professors, and others of the University of Copenhagen, ordering them,
" with the assistance of three of the Copenhagen preachers, to read through the version of the Bible,
which had been made in the reign of his royal father ; to collate it with the Hebrew text ; and where
any defect was found, or any passage in which the true sense had not been expressed, to amend and
correct it." The heads of the university appointed the most learned divines of the day to execute this
important undertaking. The New Testament was revised by Nicholas Hemmingius, D.D., whose name
is famous in the ecclesiastical history of Denmark for his attachment to the doctrines of Calvin. The
revision of the entire Scriptures was not brought to a close till 1589, when an edition was issued in
folio at Copenhagen, with Luther s notes.

Two editions of the Psalms, from the version of Palladius, were published at Copenhagen in 1591
and 1598; and, in 1599, an edition of the Psalms, in German and Danish, was published in 8vo. at
Lubeck. Early in the following century some more extensive measures were taken for the spread of
the divine word. An edition of the New Testament was issued at Copenhagen in 1604, printed from
the former text, as a temporary supply; and a royal letter was, at the same time, addressed to the
rector of the university on the subject of obtaining a more correct impression. The king, Christian
IV., eventually appointed Dr. Resen, bishop of Zealand, to superintend a fresh revision of the Scrip
tures. The old version was again collated with the original texts, and several European translations
were consulted; but Dr. Resen, considering the version of Luther too free and paraphrastic, fell into
the opposite error, and followed the originals too literally, without sufficiently considering the genius
and properties of his own language. The New Testament was published in two volumes, 18mo., in
1605 : an edition of the Pentateuch, also in 18mo., was published the same year; and, in 1607, the entire
Bible was completed at press in 8vo. These editions were printed at Copenhagen, at the expense of
the king.

Several editions of the Psalms succeeded the publication of Resen s Bible; among which was one
at Copenhagen, in 8vo., 1614, and another in 1632, at the expense of the benevolent Lady Marsvin.

An edition of the entire Bible, printed from the revised text of 1589, was published in 1633 at
Copenhagen; and Le Long speaks of it as "the mater of other smaller editions in 8vo., which the
printers from that time exposed for sale." The expense of its publication was borne by means of a
sum levied from every church in Zealand and Norway.

In 1639, the royal permission was obtained for reprinting Resen s _ Bible, the former impression
being completely exhausted. This edition is designated " Swaning s Bible," because it was corrected
principally by Hans Swaning, archbishop of Zealand. The New Testament appeared in 1644, and
the entire Bible in 1647, at Copenhagen. Another edition of this Bible was also published during the
same year at Copenhagen, in six volumes, 8vo. ; followed by several editions of the Psalms, and, in
1670, by another edition of the Bible in small 8vo. for common use.

The College of Missions was established at Copenhagen in 1714, and Denmark was indebted to
this institution for several successive editions of the Scriptures. The New Testament, from the edition

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] DANISH. 183

revised by Swaning, was issued from trie mission press in 1716; followed in 1717 and in 1720 by
editions of the entire Bible, also from Swaning s text. In the preface to a Bible printed by the college
in 1722 it is stated that, in the space &gt; of six years, 22,580 copies of the New Testament and 13,784
Bibles had been published at the mission press. In the fire which occurred at Copenhagen in 1728,
the mission press was destroyed, and the Orphan-house then obtained the exclusive privilege of
printing the Danish Bible ; and several editions of the New Testament and of the entire Bible were
published by that institution between the years 1732 and 1745. In the meantime efforts were made
to obtain a more correct and faithful edition of the Scriptures than any that had yet appeared, and a
specimen of a revised edition was published in 1742, by the Committee of Kevision appointed by royal
authority. In 1748, the Committee published a revised New Testament, but it is not believed that
they corrected any portion of the Old Testament.

About this period a specimen of a new and singular translation of the Scriptures was printed by
Schwartz, counsellor of justice to his majesty, but he does not appear at any subsequent period to
have published further portions of his translation. A translation of Habakkuk was given in 1752 by
Monrad, a clergyman in Aagcrup ; and in 1780 a new version of the Testament was printed at
Copenhagen, translated by Dr. Bastholm from the Greek, but disfigured by too servile an adherence to
the idiom of the original. Numerous other editions of the established text were printed at Copen
hagen before the formation of the Danish Bible Society.

The first edition of the Danish Scriptures, undertaken by the British and Foreign Bible Society, was
designed for the benefit of the Danish prisoners of war, of whom there were, in 1808, no less than 2782
in this country ; and also for distribution in the Danish colonies in the East and West Indies. This edition,
which consisted of 5000 copies of the New Testament, was printed in 12mo. in 1810, from the Copen
hagen edition of 1799; and the press was superintended by the Rev. W. F. Rosing, minister of the
Danish church in London. A second edition of 5000 copies of the New Testament, in the same form,
was published by the Society in 1814. In the course of the following year, another revision of the
Bible was commenced at Copenhagen by royal authority. Bishop Mlinter and five learned professors
were formed into a commission of revisal by his Danish majesty, and an edition of 10,000 New Testa
ments, corrected and revised by them, left the press in 1819. A second and stereotype edition, also
of 10,000 copies, was printed under the authority of the king at the Orphan-house, about 1820. The
same royal commissioners continued their labours in a similar revision of the Old Testament; and in
the year 1824 appeared, under the same royal sanction, from the Orphan-house press, a 4to. edition of
the whole Bible. The revised New Testament on its first appearance was received with general
approbation, and was reported by Dr. Pinkerton and others to be " a faithful and excellent version."
With its accustomed liberality, therefore, the British and Foreign Bible Society granted several sums
in aid of the publication ; but this assistance was afterwards withheld, on its being discovered that
several exceptionable renderings and marginal notes had been admitted by the revisors.

EDITIONS OF THE DANISH SCRIPTUKES FOR NORWAY. Upon the incorporation of Norway
with Sweden, a Norwegian Bible Society was formed at Christiania in 1816, under the patronage of
the King of Sweden; and, aided by a grant of 500 from the British and Foreign Bible Society, 1 an
edition of 6000 New Testaments was printed in 1819, not from the revised and exceptionable edition,
but from the former authorised version of the Danish Scriptures, which had been executed on the
basis of Luther s. In 1820 further assistance from London was granted to the Norwegian Society;
and another edition of 10,000 copies of the New Testament, from the same text as the preceding, left
the press at Christiania in 1823.

Representations having been laid before the British and Foreign Bible Society concerning the
scarcity of Bibles in Norway, an edition of 5000 copies was printed in London in 1823, from the
Christiania edition, under the editorship of the Rev. Mr. Treschow, a native of Norway. Another
edition of Mr. Treschow s revised Christiania New Testament, consisting also of 5000 copies, was
printed in 1827, Mr. Troilius correcting the press, and the Rev. C. Rahm reading the proof sheets.
An edition of the entire Bible was published by the Society in London in 1829 : the edition con
sisted of 5000 Bibles, and about 10,000 additional New Testaments, and was superintended by
Mr. Rahm. The text selected was the authorised version of 1644, or rather the reprint of 1744,
generally considered the most correct edition that had appeared.

The British and Foreign Bible Society established an agency of its own at Christiania about the

i Thirteenth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. 153.

184 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

year 1827, for the purpose of printing and circulating the Danish Bible alone, without the addition of
the Apocryphal Books, which the continental Societies were in the habit of binding up with the
inspired volume. Several stereotype editions have been issued under the superintendence of this
agency on behalf of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The total number of copies published at
the expense of that Society is 15,848 Bibles, and 85,810 New Testaments.

KESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VEKSION. To the light diffused in Denmark,
Norway, and Sweden by the early publication of Danish versions of the New Testament, ^may be
attributed the rapid progress which was made by the Keformation, on its first promulgation in those
countries. Concerning the result of modern efforts in the dissemination of the Danish Scriptures, much
encouragement may be obtained from the reports of the several Societies engaged in that important
work. In their annual statement (for 1847) the agency of Christiania write, that " almost everywhere
in Norway the desire for the word of God is to a certainty increasing, though, perhaps, only by slow
degrees." And in the same report there is the following account respecting Denmark : " If I can
not," says the writer, " point out many striking instances here of the triumphs of the divine word over
the world, sin, and infidelity, as the result of its abundant circulation among us, still the moral and
spiritual benefits which accompany it are great and undeniable; and the more^the saving truths of the
sacred volume are made known, the more they are appreciated, and its possession sought after."

Between March 4, 1848, and March 4, 1849, 736 Bibles and 2428 Testaments were issued
from the depot of the agency in Christiania, and concerning the results of these issues, the last report
contains the following remarks : " During the past eventful year, when the fearful judgments of the
Lord have been poured out on many of the countries and states of Europe, and when m our own
remote northern fatherland we have been reminded by sickness, famine, and unexampled distress, that
all below is vanity, and nothing but vanity, the Agency of the British and Foreign Bible Society have
nevertheless been privileged to continue their even course, and to dispense the bounty of their generous
benefactors among their suffering countrymen, whom outward evils have in many cases driven to seek
for spiritual comfort and hope in that never failing treasury, the word of God. Indeed the communi
cations of several clergymen bear ample testimony that their distributions of the sacred volume were
everywhere received with unfeigned gratitude; and our humble trust and persuasion is, that the Lord
will cause the divine truths of his gospel to sink deep into the hearts of many, and in due time to
bring forth abundant fruit."

SWEDISH.

SPECIMEN OF THE SWEDISH VERSION.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

[STOCKHOLM, 1848.]

3 *e$nnetfen war Drbet, ocfe Orbet war na r itbt, od&gt; ub war Drbet. 2 Set famma war i fcegi)nnelfen
ndr ubi. 3 enom bet arc att ting gjorb, od; t^ forittan ar intet gjorbt, bet gjorbf dr. * 3 t ^ ttar u ^ et .
o$ iifwet war menniffornag Ijug: )d; Ijufet fyfer i morfret, od) morfret $afwer bet icfe fcegrtyit. &lt;Sn man
war fanb af ubi, font $et 3oJ?anne3 : 7 an fom til wittneSborb, d bet tyan ffuttc wittno om Ijufet, at atle
ffutte tro geuom ^onorn. 8 3rfe war ^an Sjufet ; men $an war fdnb) til at wittna om Sjufet. Set war bet
fanna gjufct, ^wilfet ^fer alia menniffor, fom fomma i wertben. &gt; 3 werlbene war bet, od? igenom bet ar
werlben gjorb; ocf? werlben fdnbe bet ide. ^an fom til fttt eget, od; f)ang egne anammabe ^onom icfe. " SWen
altom bem r fom ^onom anammabe, gaf ^)an magt at fcltfwa ubS fcarn, bem fom tro ^d $an3 9lamn; " 13 ^wilfe
icfe af Blob, icfe feller af fottStig witja, icfe feller af ndgorg mang wilja, utan af itbi fobbe dro. 14 Od; Drbet
warbt fott, od) tobbe iBIanb o^; od; wi fdgom $anS ^drlig^et, fafom enba onfenS ^drlig^et af gabrenom, full
meb nab od; fanning.

ON THE SWEDISH LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Sweden forms the eastern, southern, and most
important part of the Scandinavian peninsula, and includes an area of about 170,700 square miles
with a population (in 1839) of 3,109,772. The religion of the state, and of almost all the inhabitants,
Lutheran. The hierarchy consists of 1 archbishop, 11 bishops, 70 archdeacons, and 102 provosts
r deans Although toleration is extended to all sects, there are not many dissenters from the
national form of religion in Sweden. The Swedenborgians, the only distinct religious community
e country has produced are comparatively few in number; and there are not more than
about 2000 Roman Catholics and 1000 Jews.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The Swedes are a branch of the same family as the
Danes ^Norwegians, and originally spoke the same language; at least, the most ancient documents
LUd Swedish are so similar in idiom to the coeval productions in Old Danish, that little
rence can be discerned between them. Long-continued political separation has, however,
occasioned the modern dialects of the Old Norse to differ considerably from each other, and now books
require to be translated from one language into the other. Yet it is said that the peasants of Norway
and bweden are able to converse together, and that their respective dialects do not differ much more
;han broad Scotch from vulgar English. The roots of words, and the rules of grammatical construc
tion, are still the same in Swedish as in Danish ; and both languages have been subjected to several
terations by the influence of the German language and literature. French words and forms have
.been adopted m Swedish, and the only region in which the old language is spoken with com-
;tive purity is in Dalecarlia, in the south of Sweden, where the Dalcarls, or Dalesman, still preserve
traces of the manners and customs of their Gothic forefathers.

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. A version of the Scriptures into

s said to have been made in the fourteenth century by order of St. Birgit, or Bridget, who

&gt;ut the year 1344 founded the religious order called from her the Brigittins ; but it is problem-

18 6 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

atical whether such a version was really executed, for no vestiges whatever of it remain, and it is not
even mentioned by early writers. A translation of the New Testament, according to Luther s German
version, (the first Swedish version of which we have any definite account,) was undertaken by com
mand of Gustavus Vasa in 1523, by Laurentius Andreas, then a priest of the church of Stengnas, but
afterwards archdeacon of Upsal, and at length chancellor. This New Testament was printed in 1526,
in folio, at Stockholm, and was afterwards republished in various forms. At the same time that
Gustavus Vasa gave directions for the translation of this New Testament from Luther s version, he
enjoined John Go thus, archbishop of Upsal, to prepare another version accommodated to the tenets of
the Church of Kome, in order that, by a careful comparison of both translations with the original, an
easier access might be opened to the truth. The archbishop, not daring to resist the royal mandate,
employed some of his clergy to prepare this translation ; but, to evade its publication, he secretly left
the kingdom, and died in 1544 at Rome; so that although the New Testament is said to have been
actually translated on this occasion, chiefly by a Catholic doctor named Benedict, yet no portion of the
work was printed.

The first Swedish version of the entire Bible was published at Upsal in 1541, along with the
Apocrypha. The Old Testament was translated by Laurentius and Olaus Petri from Luther s German
version of 1534, and the New Testament was that of Laurentius Andreas, printed, as we have seen, in
1526. Another version of the New Testament, prepared by Amund Laurent, was published at Stock
holm in 1550, and again in 1605 and 1621; and in the course of subsequent years several editions of
the Psalms were printed. But unless the Bible of 1541 was reprinted at Upsal in 1576, which seems
very doubtful, Sweden remained for about seventy years without a second edition of the entire
Scriptures. At length however, in the commencement of the seventeenth century, Charles IX.
ordered Jonas Petri, bishop of Strengnes, and other learned men to collate Luther s editions of 1534
and 1545, noting such discrepancies as appeared to them of any importance, with the view of pro
ducing an improved edition of the Swedish translation. These notes, when completed, were called
the " observations of Strengnes;" and it was decreed in the Synod of Stockholm in 1602, that they
should be incorporated with the old version in a new edition of the Bible. The edition however,
from various causes, did not make its appearance till 1617, when it was printed in folio at Stockholm.
This edition was carried through the press by John Reidbeck and John Leno3us, who were ordered to
retain the text of the former edition, (which followed Luther s of 1535,) but to correct its numerous
typographical errors, and to add summaries to the chapters, parallel references, brief annotations, and
necessary indexes. In 1622 not a copy of this edition remained on sale, and a reprint was, therefore,
issued in quarto at Lubeck, followed by several successive editions in 8vo. (but without the summaries
and notes) at Leyden; and by two editions in 1636 and 1646 at Stockholm. In 1650, the Strengnes
Bible was printed in 4to. under the care of Bishop Matthia ; but, through the carelessness of the
printers, whole verses were omitted in this edition. Several editions of the entire Bible in folio,
quarto, and octavo were published in 1655 and subsequent years at Stockholm, professedly from the
edition of 1618, but with many deviations from that text.

In 1671 the Four Gospels in the Sueo-Gothic, or vulgar Swedish dialect, translated by George
Stiernhielm, appeared in a polyglot containing the Gospels of Ulfilas, the Norse or Icelandic Gospels,
and the Vulgate.

A revised edition of the entire Bible was undertaken under the reign of Charles XII., and the
execution of the work was committed to Eric Benzel, bishop of Strengnes, and afterwards archbishop
of Upsal, assisted by Nicholas Berg and other learned men. Former editions were collated, and
the marginal notes were revised for this edition; but variations from the text of 1618 were very
sparingly admitted, except when they appeared more conformable to the originals and to Luther s
German version. It was printed in 1703, in folio, at Stockholm, and is considered superior to any
edition that has yet been published.

Another revised edition of the Bible appeared in 1709, in 4to., at Stockholm. ^ The preparation
for this edition was commenced by John Gezel, bishop of Abo, who collated it with the ^Greek and
Hebrew texts ; but he died in 1690, and the work was completed and published by his son. ^ It
is accompanied with the prefaces and notes of Luther, a portrait of Charles XII., and a chronological
index. So many editions of the Swedish Scriptures appeared in the course of the eighteenth century,
that the country was generally considered to be well supplied with Bibles; and it was^not till the year
1808, when Dr. Paterson visited Sweden, that the real facts of the case were ascertained; and it was
then found that the poorer inhabitants were almost destitute of the word of God, and that the high
prices of Bibles placed them beyond the reach of the humbler classes. This discovery led to the

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] SWEDISH. 187

formation of the Evangelical Society, by whom several editions for the poor were issued, aided by
grants from the British and Foreign Bible Society. The text used was that of the authorised version.
The_ Swedish Bible Society was formed in 1815, and, with its numerous auxiliary Societies, still
continues the important work of printing and disseminating the Scriptures. It received much
assistance from the British and Foreign Bible Society until the year 1826, when the decision of the
Apocryphal question in London severed the connexion between the two Societies.

In order to maintain the circulation of Bibles in Sweden without the Apocrypha, several editions
of the Old and New Testaments have been issued by the British and Foreign Bible Society. Their
first edition, which was stereotyped, was published in 1828, under the superintendence of the
Rev. J. P. Wahlin, chaplain to the Swedish Embassy in London. The text adopted was that of the
last edition of the Swedish Bible Society. Several editions from the same text have since been printed
by the same Society in London, and likewise at Stockholm, through the medium of their Agency.
The total number of copies printed by them has been 117,730 Bibles, 250,484 Testaments, 17,140
Testaments and Psalms, and 29,000 separate copies of the Psalms, besides 480 copies of Luke s Gospel,
in embossed characters for the blind.

RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION. Several signal instances of the blessing
of God accompanying the perusal of this version, have been manifested in individual cases. A
colporteur, writing in 1846, speaks of a family whom he visited during one of his journeys, and found
in great affliction: he passed a night at their house, and exhorted them to read the Scriptures; he
continues his statement as follows: "I did not see these people again before the month of March
this year, when I happened to travel that way, and called upon them. How gloriously had all been
changed with them ! From their formerly gloomy countenances, the peace of the Lord was now "shining
forth, which reigned within their hearts by faith in the Saviour, whom they had found revealed in the
Scriptures; and they were unable sufficiently to express their gratitude to the Lord, who had sent the
stranger to them, in order to show them the precious treasure which they possessed in the Bible without
knowing it. They could not comprehend their former blindness, which had not allowed them to under
stand that which was for them now as clear as the sun. The sick woman had received health for her soul,
and this evinced such an influence upon her body, that she was able to be out of bed the greater part
of the day, and could work at her distaff. But the good which proceeded from the great change
went still further. Their manservant, who had formerly been a thoughtless youth, came to an earnest
consideration of the welfare of his soul. Their nearest neighbour, a pedlar, had been a rude mocker
at all that is holy; but he was persuaded to read the Scriptures, and he soon became convinced of his
lost condition, and discontinued his unsteady life. Now the neighbours called upon each other by
turns, in order to read the Bible with humble prayer to the Lord, and to edify one another by psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs; for now even our pedlar had found the pearl of great price, which he
valued more than all his other riches. This man now commenced to read from the Bible for his
family every morning and evening; and his wife and both his servants, with repenting hearts, became
convinced of the saving grace that is in Jesus. This pedlar exercised likewise a blessed influence
upon the souls of others, and became much esteemed by all on account of his mild and christianlike
deportment: he died recently; and his last words were, Glory to the Lord! I have gained the
victory for the sake of the blood of the Lamb. "

1 Forty-third Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. Lxxii.

FAROESE.

SPECIMEN OF THE FAEOESE VERSION.
ST. MATTHEW, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 13.

[RANKERS, 1823.]

tao-iii $an faae ffolfje, gicef $an u aa att 33j0rg ; o taa*ui $an fcar febfhtr, gingu SHfctylar Ijanfara
til fjanS. 2 D $an leab u SWunn fuin, larbi tair, o feje : 3 @aali etu tei faatafu ui Qlanbini, tfyui &lt;immerigii
Shiigjc e r taira. 4 @aali eru tei, fum ffrgia, tyui tei ffuttu ljugfsealajt 5 &lt;aali eru tei agtmoutu, tfytt tei
ffitttit ara Sprina. 6 &lt;saali eru tei, ui tyungra o tifta ettur 9totteli$aib, ttyui tei ffuflu moettaft 7 &lt;aati eru
tei 9Barnu)iarttu, tfyii tei ffuflu njouba SBarm^arti^aib. 8 @aali eru tei reinu eao ^jartanun, t^ui tei ffuflu
fubja ub. 9 @aali eru tei griatiu, t^ui tei f!uttu lablaji ubg SB)?bn. 10 @aali eru tei, fum luja Sorftlgjilje
ftri 0lattelil;aib Qilb, t^jui taira e r ^intmerigiiS Otutgie. n aalijir eru Xlb, urn tei fyotta o forfilgia 3!i!uu,
o teala ui 0btun ^ubun ibla um Stfuu firi muina &lt;SijiIb, o Itgta tea. 12 Iaji o friji 2!ifun, tt)ui 00n Silara
fJeal cera ntigiit ui imtunim; t^ui fo ^eaa tei forftlgt ^ro^^etarnor, fum ouru firi Sifim. 13 Sib eru
30rina aft; men qi)i8ui @alti miffur 5)iiina, i qijorjun fleal tea faltaji? Sea biur tit oufje Qlnna, enn a
tleagaji ub, o traffajl unbur Solfa ftoubun.

ON THE FAROESE DIALECT AND VEESION.

GEOGEAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. The Faroe or Feroe Islands belong to Denmark,
and lie in the Northern Ocean, between the Shetland Isles and Iceland. They are twenty-two in
number, but only seventeen are inhabited. Their total area amounts to 495 square miles, and the
population is about 7000.

The islanders are of Scandinavian origin, and speak a dialect of the Old Norse, or Icelandic
language. All mercantile, judicial, and ecclesiastical affairs are carried on in Danish, but the natives
employ their own dialect as the common medium of colloquial intercourse.

VERSION OF THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW IN THIS DIALECT. About the year 1817,
the Rev. Mr. Schrceter, rector of one of the churches in the Faroe Isles, offered to produce a translation
of the New Testament into the Faroese dialect, provided that the directors of the Danish Bible Society
would undertake to print an edition. He urged, among other reasons for engaging in this work, that
the islanders are so situated that they cannot attend their churches more than from four to six times a
year; and that most of them, especially the younger part of the community, are so little acquainted with
Danish,that they are unable to read the Danish Bible. The Gospel of St. Matthew^was accordingly pre
pared by Mr. Schroeter, but as there was some difficulty in writing in a dialect in which neither grammars
nor even printed books existed, the publication was delayed, in order that greater accuracy might be
ensured. The Danish Committee at length found a learned pastor in Jutland, the Rev. Mr. Lyngbye,
who during his botanical rambles in the Faroe Isles had acquired a familiar acquaintance ^ with the
dialect. He was employed to correct the press, and under his superintendence 1500 copies of St.
Matthew s Gospel were printed in Faroese at Randers in Jutland, with no assistance from^the British
and Foreign Bible Society apart from the grants made for the general purposes of the Danish Society.
It does not appear that any other books of the New Testament have been printed, or even translated
into Faroese.

CLASS IIL-INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.

E. GRECO-LATIN FAMILY.

ANCIENT GREEK.

SPECIMEN OF THE ANCIENT GREEK VERSION,

ACCORDING TO THE " TEXTUS RECEPTUS."

ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. . 1 to 14.

EN dpxf) fy 6 Xo709, Kal 6 716709 r)V 777309 rbv ebv, teal @eo9 rjv 6 \6yos. 2 Ovro? rjv eV apxfj 777)09 rbv

Seov. 3 Hdvra oY aurov eyevero Kal %&&amp;gt;pt9 avrov eyevero ovSe ev o yeyovev. 4 Ev avraj ^wrj fy, real 77
&&amp;gt;?; fy TO &lt;/&gt;w9 TWV dvdpcoTTwv. Kal TO &lt;w9 eV T-fj ovcor/a &lt;aiVet, Kal rj ovama avTo ov KaTe\af3ev.
8 EyeveTo avOpwrros aTreo-raX/ie^o? irapa Seov ovojaa avTco Iwdvvr)?. 7 Ouro9 rf\.6ev et? /JLapTvpiav,
iva fjiapTvprjo-r) irepl TOV ^xaro?, iva, vrayre? TTLO-Teixrwa-i Si avTov. 8 OVK rjv eVeivo? TO &lt;^w?, aX\ iVa
/uiapTVpijar] rrepl TOV (f&gt;a)TO&lt;;. J Hv TO &lt;f&gt;a)s TO d\r)0ivbv, o ^wr/^ei TrdvTa avOpwirov ep^p^evov et? TOV
Kocr/JLov. JEv TO) Koap,w ^v, /cal o /cooyio? 8t avTov eyeveTO Kal 6 /cooyto9 ai&gt;Tov OVK eyvco. n 19 Ta
i^ta ?)A.^6, /cat ot I Stoi avTov ov TrapeKaftov. 13 "Ocrot 8e e\a/3ov auTov, eBaiKev avTols e^ovcriav T&K.VO,
Seov yeveadai, Tot9 TnarTevovcnv et9 TO ovo^a avTOV" 13 O? oy/c e^ at/u-aTwv, otSe e /c 0e\ij/j,aTO&lt;;
ovSe K 6e\r]^aTO^ avfy)09, aXX t ? /c @eoO eyevvijOrjcrav. u Kal 6 ^6709 o-ap^ eyeveTO Kal eo~Kr)Vwo-ev eV
(Kal edeao-d^eOa T^V Sofav auToO, 8oav 0)9 fiovoyevovs irapa 7raT/909,) 7r\r)p T]s ^dpiTo^ Kal d

ON THE ANCIENT GREEK LANGUAGE AND NEW TESTAMENT.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT. At the time of the first preaching of Christianity, the more civilised
nations of the Roman empire (however dissimilar their respective vernacular tongues) were united by
the bond of a common language, which to them was almost the only known medium of poetry,
learning, and philosophy. That language was the Greek. In certain countries, as in Greece itself, in
Egypt, and, as some say, in Syria, it was used in the common affairs of life ; but everywhere it was the
language of literature, and as such held the same position that was occupied by Latin during the middle
ages. The conquests of Alexander the Great had been the primary cause, under Providence, of the
wide diffusion of this language ; and although the Grecian empire was afterwards supplanted by the
Roman, yet the civilisation, the arts, and the language of Greece long remained predominant.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. The ancient Greek language was divided into four
principal dialects the Attic, the Ionic, the Doric, and the JEolic distinguished from each other
by varieties of orthography and pronunciation. When under Philip of Macedon the Grecian republics
lost their freedom, and became more or less united under one government, the various dialects were
gradually amalgamated into one. The language which thus sprang up from this intermixture of
dialects differed materially from that of books, as preserved in the writings of the early poets and
philosophers. It however became current wherever the Greek language was spoken ; it was even used
by the later writers ; and, on account of its wide diffusion, received the name of Koivr) StaXeT09, the
common dialect. The Septuagint version was written in this dialect, and it was also selected by Divine
Providence as the appropriate medium of communicating to man the new covenant in Christ Jesus.
It is characterised by the promiscuous employment of forms originally peculiar to one dialect ; Attic,
Ionic, and Doric words are indiscriminately used, and often placed in juxtaposition with words of
foreign origin. Planck has observed, that in the New Testament there are, in the flexion of nouns, no
traces of any of the ancient dialects except the Attic, but that in the flexion of verbs there is more
variety, the Attic furnishing most examples, and the Doric affording others, while many of the forms

190 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. .[CLASS III.

are exclusively to be met with in tlie later idiom. The influence of Hebrew characteristics is likewise
to be traced in the New Testament, in several passages the phraseology being Hebrew, while the words
are Greek. This is more especially observable in the frequent use of a double substantive (arising from
the paucity of adjectives in Hebrew), and in the use of the words of God as indicative of the superlative
degree. The Greek alphabet is a modification of the Phoenician, and it is to the adoption of this
alphabet, which is but ill-adapted to express any sounds except those of Shemitic origin, that many of
the anomalies of the Greek language are to be attributed. 1

CODICES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. There seems every reason to believe that the whole of the
New Testament was originally communicated by the Holy Spirit to the inspired penmen in the Greek
language. Some indeed have asserted, that the Gospel according to St. Matthew and the Epistle to
the Hebrews were originally written in Hebrew, and at a subsequent period transferred into Greek ;
but the data on which this opinion is founded are by no means conclusive. It is generally thought
that the autographs of the evangelists and apostles were not preserved beyond the commencement of
the third century, even if they remained in existence so long; but, prior to that period, many copies of
the sacred writings had been made and dispersed among the infant churches. The most ancient copies
appear generally to have been made on Egyptian papyrus, a very perishable material, and of these none
have been transmitted to us. As early as the fourth century we find vellum in common use for writing ;
and, in the eleventh century, paper made of cotton, wool, or linen, was adopted. The oldest MSS.
have no divisions of words, and no accents, and are all written in capital, or, as they were formerly
called, uncial letters. The earliest MS. written in letters of the present cursive form bears the date
890, but even after this period the old uncial characters were sometimes used on account of their
beautiful regularity. 2

Although the Scriptures were given in the first instance by the immediate inspiration of God, yet
no supernatural power was communicated to those who transcribed them. The multiplication of copies
was conducted on the same principle as that of other books which have been transmitted from ancient
times. The MSS. of the New Testament are not, therefore, free from the errors of copyists; but as it
is not likely, or even possible, that copies executed by different persons, and from different exemplars,
should all contain precisely the same errors, it seems reasonable to believe that, by the careful comparison
of copies, one copy can be used to correct another, and the purity of the original text be thus in a
great measure restored. An error in an ancient exemplar would be perpetuated in all copies and
versions made from it ; and it is probably owing to this cause that a sort of family resemblance is to be
traced in copies, certain MSS. indicating, by peculiar or faulty readings, the age and country of the
exemplar to which they owe their origin. This circumstance has led to the classification of MSS.
Griesbach has divided all MSS. of the New Testament into the following classes, generally termed
families, editions, or recensions :

I. The Alexandria?! recension, so called because it emanated from Alexandria : it is quoted by
Clement of Alexandria, by Origen, Eusebius, and other Greek fathers. The Coptic
version agrees wholly with it, and the Ethiopia and Armenian versions coincide with it
in part.

II. The Western recension, used in countries w T here the Latin language was spoken, and with which
the Latin versions coincide. The Sahidic and Jerusalem Syriac versions also agree with
it: Tertullian, Cyprian, Ambrose, Augustine, and other Latin fathers quote it.

III. The Constantinopolitan recension, to which the mass of modern MSS. and the Moscow codices
of Paul s epistles are referrible. Quotations from this recension appear in the works
of the fathers who lived from the end of the fourth till the sixth century in Greece,
Asia Minor, and the neighbouring provinces. 3 The Gothic and Sclavonic versions
coincide with it.

The classification of MSS. is, however, a very intricate subject, the classes being so blended that
it is difficult to separate them ; and, besides, the discrepancies are so trifling, being chiefly of an
orthographical nature, that in many cases it is not easy to determine to which class a given MS. may
belong. Hence various systems of classification have been proposed by different writers : some affirm
that there are four distinct classes, and others that there are only two. According to the system of
Scholz, MSS. are divisible into the Alexandrian or African (including the first two classes of Griesbach),
and the Constantinopolitan or Asiatic.

i Haughton s Short Enquiry into the Nature of Language, pp. 22, 23. 2 Davidson s Lectures on Biblical Criticism, p. 16.

3 Davidson s Lectures on Biblical Criticism, p. 230.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] ANCIENT GREEK* 191

Individual MSS. are conventionally distinguished from each other by one of the letters of the
alphabet being affixed to each. These marks do not point out the relative antiquity or value of the
MSS., but seem to have been applied in the first instance in a very arbitrary manner, and to have been
afterwards retained for the sake of convenience. The most ancient and valuable MSS. which have
been handed down to us are the following :

CODEX A, sometimes called the Alexandrine MS., having in all probability been written at
Alexandria, whence it was certainly brought. It is commonly referred to the fifth
century. It contains the Old Testament in three volumes, and the New Testament in
one volume : appended to the latter is the First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians,
and a fragment of the second. 1 This MS. was presented by Cyrillus Lucaris, patriarch
of Alexandria and afterwards of Constantinople, to Charles I. of England, in 1628, and
it is now in the British Museum. A facsimile edition of the New Testament was
published at the expense of the University of Oxford in 1726, under the editorship of
Dr. Woide : the Old Testament was afterwards edited by the Eev. H. H. Baber.
CODEX B, generally termed the Vatican MS., because it belongs to that library, marked 1209.
It is one of the most ancient MSS. extant, being ascribed to the middle of the fourth
century. It contains both the Old and New Testaments, but the book of Revelation has
been added to it by a modern hand. It wants the end of the Epistle to the Hebrews,
and those to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. The Old Testament was printed from this
MS. in 1587 by order of Sixtus V., and a translation of the New Testament has been
given by Granville Penn.

Another MS., also marked B, and therefore sometimes confounded with the precedino-,
is in the Vatican Library. It is supposed to belong to the seventh century, and contains
the Apocalypse, with the Homilies of Basil and Gregory of Nyssa : a facsimile of it is
given in Blanchini s Evangeliarium Quadruplex. The text has been published by
Tischendorf.

CODEX C, also called Codex Ephraemi, and sometimes Codex Regius, because preserved in the
Royal Library of Paris. This valuable MS., which originally contained the whole of the
New Testament, and the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, was written about
the sixth century in Egypt, but was erased in the thirteenth century to make room for
the works of Ephraem the Syrian, which were written over it. By means of chemical
applications, however, the original text has been in a great measure restored. Wetstein
succeeded in deciphering and collating it ; and, in 1843, a splendid facsimile edition
with prolegomena was published by Tischendorf.

CODEX D, also known as Codex Cantabrigiensis or Beza, because presented in 1581 to the University
of Cambridge by Beza. It had for years previously lain neglected in the monastery of
St. Irenaeus at Lyons, whence Beza had procured it. It contains the Gospels and Acts
with a Latin version. It belongs probably to the seventh century, but to what country
is uncertain. A beautiful facsimile edition was published by Dr. Kipling at Cambridge
in 1793.

CODEX D, or Codex Claromontanus, probably marked D, because erroneously believed by Dr. Mill
and other critics to form the second part of the preceding. It is a Greek and Latin
copy of St. Paul s epistles, and is called Codex Claromontanus because procured from
Clermont in France by Beza. It belongs either to the seventh or eighth century. It
is preserved in the Royal Library at Paris. In the beginning of the eighteenth century,
certain sheets were cut out of it by a thief, and sold in England, but they were restored
to the library by Lord Oxford in 1729.

Facsimiles of several other MSS. have been published, but the bare enumeration of all the MSS.
of the New Testament within our limits would be impossible. The number of MSS. known to have
been collated in whole or in part amounts, according to Scholz, to 674. By far the greater number of
these MSS. contain only the Four Gospels, this portion of Scripture having been most constantly in
demand, because most frequently used in the public service of the church. Ancient copies of the
entire New Testament are extremely rare. MSS. Lectionaria, which contain the detached portions of
the Testament appointed to be read in churches, are by no means uncommon. Copies of the book of
Revelation are remarkably scarce: there are in fact but three ancient MSS. in which this book is to be

1 Butler s Horae Biblicae, p. 89.

192 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

found, namely Codex A, one of the Codices marked B, and Codex C. Of these, Codex C is the most
valuable, but it is unfortunately very defective, about nine chapters being missing ; so that Codex B,
the text of which has been lately published by Tischendorf, and Codex A (the Alexandrine MS.) are
the only ancient exemplars to which we are indebted for our acquaintance with the whole of this
incalculably important book.

PRINTED EDITIONS or THE GREEK TESTAMENT. Six chapters of the Gospel of John were
printed at Venice as early as 1504, by Aldus Manutius, and the whole of that gospel^was printed at
Tubingen in Suabia, in 1512. But these editions are interesting only as literary curiosities, for though
they constituted the first portion of the Greek Testament ever committed to the press, yet they
exercised no influence whatever on succeeding editions.

The earliest printed edition of the entire New Testament is contained in the Complutensian
Polyglot, a work we have already described in our account of the Hebrew Scriptures. The MSS. used
for this impression were most probably, as it is stated in the prologue, furnished for the purpose by
Pope Leo X. from the Vatican Library. There is abundant internal evidence to prove that these MSS.
were of no great antiquity, for the text agrees with MSS. written in the thirteenth, fourteenth, and
fifteenth centuries in all passages wherein they differ from ancient exemplars.

The earliest published edition of the Greek Testament was that of Erasmus, which appeared at
Basle in 1516; whereas the Complutensian text, although printed in 1514, was not published till 1520.
Erasmus prepared the text from four MSS., the most ancient of which belonged to the tenth century,
and contained all the New Testament except the Apocalypse. His other three MSS. consisted of a copy
of the Gospels, written, according to Wetstein, in the fifteenth century; a copy of the Acts and Epistles
of rather earlier date, and a document containing the book of Revelation, which he asserted was
almost apostolic in age: but as the text in this MS. was accompanied with the Commentary of Arethas,
who lived at least 900 years after the time of the apostles, its antiquity seems very doubtful. 1 It
belonged originally to Reuchlin, but after its publication by Erasmus it seems to have disappeared,
and no one knows what has become of it. The other three MSS. used by Erasmus are still preserved
at Basle. In addition to these MSS., he seems to have possessed no other critical apparatus except the
Latin Vulgate, and a commentary of Theophylact containing part of the Greek text : but this
Theophylact was the last of the Greek fathers; he lived at the end of the eleventh century, and his
testimony is therefore of little weight as compared with that of the early fathers. Erasmus professed,
indeed, to have consulted Origen, Chrysostom, and Cyril ; but he could onljr have seen the Latin
versions of their writings, as no edition of their original texts had then been^ issued from the press. 2
He employed but nine months and a half in the preparation and printing of his first edition, although
it comprised copious annotations and a Latin version printed in parallel _ columns with the Greek.
Indications of this undue haste are clearly perceptible in many places, and it is nearly certain that in
several passages where his MSS. were illegible, he supplied the defects by words of his own translation
from the Vulgate. This is especially the case with the concluding six verses of the book of Revelation,
which are well known to have been wanting in Reuchlin s MS.

The second edition of the Greek Testament was published by Erasmus three years after the first,
and, according to Mill, it contains no less than 400 corrections. His third edition appeared in 1522,
and he then inserted the text 1 John v. 7, which he had rejected in his two first editions because it
was wanting in the MSS. he had originally employed. This alteration was made on the authority of
a MS. now in Dublin. The first English version from the Greek was made by Tyndale from this third
edition. A copy of the Complutensian text was not seen by Erasmus till after the year 1522, but his fourth
and fifth editions, which appeared in 1527 and 1535, contain many alterations made in conformity to
it. Dr. Mill states that in these editions there are ninety corrections from the Complutensian text in
the book of Revelation, and twenty-six only in all the other books. These editions are of especial
importance, as they form the basis of all subsequent editions, and contain, substantially, the Greek text
in general use at the present day.

During the nineteen years which elapsed between the publication of the first and last editions of
Erasmus, nine or ten other New Testaments were printed ; but they were all taken from one or other
of the editions of Erasmus, except that by Colinams, which was printed at Paris in 1534. 3 Colinasus
drew his text partly from those of Erasmus, partly from the Complutensian, and partly from MSS.
which he collated for the purpose. Three of these MSS. are preserved at Paris. This edition is

i Marsh s Lectures on Biblical Criticism, p. 101. 2 Marsh s Lectures on Biblical Criticism, p. 105.

3 Marsh s Lectures on Biblical Criticism, p. 110.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] ANCIENT GREEK. 193

particularly correct and valuable, but it met with undeserved neglect, and being shortly after its
appearance eclipsed by the more popular editions of Stephens, it had no share whatever in the
formation of the received text.

The four editions of Robert Stephens (the step-son of Colinseus) appeared in 1546, 1549,
1550, and 1551: his son published a fifth edition in 1569. These editions are more celebrated for
their typographical neatness than for their critical excellence : the text is drawn partly from Erasmus,
and partly from the Complutensian ; and even the third, or folio, edition, which was alleged by
Stephens to have been formed on the authority of ancient MSS., was found, on subsequent examina
tion, to be little more than a mere reprint of Erasmus s fifth edition, with marginal readings from
about sixteen MSS. The verses into which the New Testament is divided were invented by Stephens,
and first appeared in his edition of 1551.

The third edition of Stephens was reprinted by Beza, in 1565, with about fifty emendations.
It is rather surprising that Beza did not introduce further improvements in the text, as he had the
advantage of possessing two valuable MSS., the Codex Bezas and the Codex Claromontanus above
described, besides the Syriac version, then lately published with a very close Latin translation by
Tremellius : but Beza employed these critical materials almost exclusively in drawing up the polemical
disquisitions which he inserted in the notes of his editions. Like Stephens, he was a native of
France, and a Protestant; and being persecuted on account of his religion, he fled to Geneva, where,
between the years 1565 and 1598, he published five editions of his Testament. All these editions
are accompanied by the Latin Vulgate, and a Latin version executed by himself. The best reprint
of Beza s Greek text is generally considered to be the edition which appeared at Cambridge in 1642,
with the notes of Joachim Camerarius.

In 1624, the first of the celebrated Elzevir editions was published by the Elzevirs, printers at
Leyden. The editor is unknown; but it is evident he had little recourse to MSS. authorities, the
text, like that of Beza, being founded on the third edition of Stephens. This text, however, obtained
so much celebrity, that it became commonly known as the textus receptus ; and for upwards of a
century it was (with few exceptions) reprinted in every successive edition of the New Testament.
Among the most noted of the editions formed from this text, may be mentioned those published by
Curcellceus, at Amsterdam, in 1658, 1675, 1685, and 1699: these editions contain a collection of
parallel passages, and the greatest number of various readings to be found in any edition of the
New Testament prior to that in the sixth volume of Walton s Polyglot. Some of these readings are
said to be unfairly quoted, without authorities, in order to favour the Socinian heresy.

The Greek text in Walton s Polyglot is printed from the folio edition of Stephens. Dr. Fell
published another edition, chiefly from the same text, at Oxford, in 1675; he copied the numerous
readings of the Polyglot, to which he added collations from other sources.

A new era in biblical criticism commences with the year 1707, when the Rev. Dr. John Mill
published, at Oxford, his important edition of the New Testament, with 30,000 various readings and
useful prolegomena. He selected for his text the third edition of Stephens, as reprinted in Walton s
Polyglot, and added all the collections of readings that had then been published: he also formed
new collations himself of original editions, and of the quotations from the New Testament which
occur in the writings of the fathers; and he obtained extracts of MSS. that had not previously been
collated. During thirty years he devoted himself, with increasing assiduity, to the production of
this work, and he survived its publication but fourteen days. A re-impression of his edition was
executed by Kiister, at Rotterdam, in 1710, with the readings of twelve additional MSS. The editions
of the Greek Testament published at the present day are almost invariably, at least in this country,
printed from Mill s text.

An attempt towards a critical amendment of the text was made by Dr. Wells, in his edition
of the New Testament, published at Oxford, in detached portions, between the years 1709 and 1719.
But far more considerable corrections of the received text were introduced in the edition published
by Bengel, at Tubingen, in 1734: it is however remarkable, that except in the book of Revelation,
Bengel does not adopt one reading which is not to be met with in some of the printed editions.
His edition is distinguished by its accuracy; he does not alter the text itself, except in the book
of Revelation, but the relative value of the various readings is signified by the characters of the
Greek alphabet affixed to each citation.

The materials for the revision of the text were greatly increased in 1751-2 by the publication
of Wetstein s edition, with its valuable prolegomena and its vast collection of readings. Wetstein
collated several MSS. himself; (in thirty-eight ^y ears he collated about eighteen MSS. of the Gospels ;)

194

THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND.

[CLASS III.

others he examined, and the collations of others were diligently collected by him. This edition is
considered by Michaelis to be more important, in a critical point of view, than any other. The
notes are particularly useful; for they contain copious extracts from rabbinical writers, which greatly
serve to explain the idiom and turn of expression of the New Testament. 1 The text is simply a
reprint of the editio recepta of the Elzevirs. The emendations proposed by Wetstein, and indicated
by him in the margin, were adopted by Bowyer, a learned printer in London, who inserted them
in the text of his edition, published 1763: a second edition appeared in 1772.

Between the years 1775 and 1777, Dr. Griesbach published his revised text of the Greek Testa
ment; but the second edition of this work, which was completed in 1806, is by far the most important,
because it contains the results of collations made subsequently to the publication of the first edition.
The first vomme of this second edition was reprinted in 1796, at the expense of the then Duke of
Grafton. All the critical materials which had been amassed by Mill, Bengel, Wetstein, Matthsei,
Birch, and Alter, together with the results of his own extensive researches, were collected by Dr.
Griesbach, and applied by him to the general revision of the text. Besides the readings which
he admitted into the text, he formed a large collection of marginal readings, to which he affixed
marks to denote the various degrees of probability as to the genuineness of such readings. In 1805,
he published a manual edition, exhibiting, in a compendious form, the results to which he had been
led by his minute critical investigations. The various readings of this edition were printed, together
with Mill s text, in a foolscap 8vo. volume, by Mr. Bagster.

AOYKA, xi. 1-13.

KAI iyivf.ro ev TCO etrai avrov ev TOTTU Tti/t
ws eTraixraTO, elire TIS TWV tia0TiTa&gt;v avrov Trpos O.VTOV Ki&gt;pte,
OLOOL^OV Tata s Trpo&lt;rei&gt;;(eo-$ai, Ka$ws Kai Icoavvr/s eSi Safe rows
p.aOr]Ta&lt;s avrov. 2 EtTre Se auToTs "Orav Trpoo-ei/^o-tfe, Ae yere-
HdVep "rj/JiSiv" *6 cv rots ovpavois, dytacr$r;Tto TO oVo/m croir
eA$eTco c r] /3ao-iAeta o~ov d yevTi^TW TO $eAT7/xa &lt;rov, ws iv
ovpaya), Kat CTTI TT}S y^S- ^ Tov apTov rj/j-wv TOV eTnovcnov OLOOV
rjp.lv TO K0.9 T//xepav. 4 Kai a^&gt;es yfuv ras d/xapTias rjfJiwv KOL
yap avrol ^d^te/Aev" Travri o^etAovrt r^lv /cat /AT) eio-eveyKr/s
17/Aas 15 irapacr/Aov, s aAAa pvarai ^ftas GOTO TOV Trovrjpov."

5 Kat etTre Trpos O.VTOVS- T/s e^ v/J-Ctv e^et ^&gt;tAov, Kai Tropevo-eTat
Trpos avTOV /J.CO-OVVKTLOV, Kai h CITTTJ " airw- 4&gt;t Ae, -^prjaov [J.OL
rpeTs aprous, 6 Eireior] &lt;i Aos /x,ou Trapeyevero e^ 68ou Trpos
/AC, Kai OVK e^w o 7rapa@r](T&lt;t) avT&lt;a- 7 KaKeti/os crco$ev aTTOKpt^eis
eiiry- Miy /xot KOTTODS Trapeze- ^87; 17 6vpa /ceVAeio-rat, Kat ra
TratSta (JLOV /JLCT c/xoC ets T^V KOLTTJV elviv ov 8wa/x,at dvacrras
Sowat o~oi. 8 Aeyw vp2v, t Kat ov 8wo"et avrw a.vao~Tas, oia TO
clvai avTOv c^tAov, Sta ye TTJV dvat Setav O.VTOV eyep^eis 8wo-et
avrw ocrwv ^prj^et. 9 Kdyw VJJA.V Aeyw AtTetre, Kat So^^o-erat
vfuv ^7?retre, Kat eiip^o-cre- Kpoi^ere, Kat * dvotyiyo-erai " vfuv.
10 lias yap 6 atraJv Aa/xj8dvet, Kat 6 ^TWV eupto-Ket, Kat TW
Kpot ovTi dvotyTjo-erat. - 11 Ttva 8e " v/xwv " TOV TraTepa atTT/cret

6 vtos apTOV, pr] XiOov eTTtSwo-ct auTW ; " et " Kat t^^uv, /XT) dvTt
IY&JOS o&lt;f)LV CTrtStooret avT&lt;3 ; " 2 *H Kat eav aLTrjcrr) MOV, /AT)

a^7&lt;3 o-Kop-n-iov ; 13 Et orj/ v/xets, Trovrjpol

oloaTf p ayaOa 8o/taTa" StSovat TOIS TCKVOIS vp-dv, Troaw /xaAAov
6 IlaTTip, * "6 c ovpavou, 8ojo"ei IlveC/xa aytov Tots atToCcrti/

GRIESBACH.

SCHOLZ.

LACHMANN.

TlSCHENDOIlF.

1805.

1830.

1842.

1849.

torn.

aom.

1 b om.

bom.

C &lt;7"OU 1^ pflKT LACta.

[a&gt;S 6V ovpavw

d om, yei^jflijrto . . .

%%?**

/cat e:rt y^s.]

ri)s yij;.

r ,,.

;:r

6/&gt;et.

"OCT.

**t~

;--

t,.

*).

o aural CTTiSucret.

; P 8d(iiaTa ayaOa.

P So/J-ara. ayaSa.

P Sojuara ayaOa.

P So/xara ciyafla.

Q add v/Awr.

A revision of the Greek text, on the authority of a set of MSS. of the Byzantine family, was
published by Matthsei, at Riga, 1782-1788: he formed his edition from the rich collection of

1 Butler s Horae Biblicre, p. 109.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] ANCIENT GREEK. 195

Byzantine MSS. belonging to the Patriarchal Library at Moscow. Among the critical editions of the
New Testament must also be mentioned that of Dr. Harwood, published in London, 1776, and ao-ain
in 1784, in which the received text forms the basis, but corrected by readings from the Codex Bezse
and the Codex Claromontanus. Alter s edition of the New Testament, published 1786-7, is merely a
copy from a single MS., the Codex Lambccii I., in the Imperial Library at Vienna, accompanied with
various readings from Greek MSS. in the same library, and from the Coptic, Sclavonic, and Latin
versions. In 1781, an edition of the Four Gospels was published, with various readings from the
Vatican and other MSS., the results of the combined labour of Professors Birch, Adler, and Molden-
hawer, who Avere employed by the King of Denmark to traverse Germany, Italy, France, and Spain,
for the purpose of collating the most famous MSS. contained in those countries. This edition is
particularly valuable, on account of the large extracts it contains from the Codex Vaticanus. In 1798,
Birch published, at Copenhagen, a collection of various readings derived from the same sources; but a
calamitous fire, which destroyed the printing-office, types, and paper, prevented the completion of
the entire work.

Another revised Greek Testament was published in 1830- 1836, by Dr. Scholz, of Bonn, who had
for years been accumulating materials for this work from the principal libraries of Europe and the
East. This edition contains a greater number of readings than any of the preceding. In the correction
of the text, Griesbach had generally admitted the authority of the more ancient MSS.; but Scholz
was influenced by a contrary principle, for, as the ancient MSS. are very few in number, he contended
that their testimony is of less weight than that of the mass of more modern MSS. The text of Scholz
has been, twice reprinted in England; once, in 1840, in the " English Hexapla," and again, in 1841,
in the " Critical Greek and English New Testament:" in this latter edition, the text is accompanied
by the readings, both textual and marginal, of Griesbach, and the variations of the principal printed
editions.

In 1831, a revision of the New Testament was published by Lachmann: it is conducted on the
principle that the ancient MSS. are to be followed implicitly, even in cases where there are manifest
errors of transcription ; and no appeal except to Greek and Latin authorities is admitted. At the end
of this edition there is a list (extending to 42 pages) of the discrepancies between the received text
and that adopted by Lachmann. In the second edition of this work, the authorities on which the
corrections of the text were made are given, and the Latin Vulgate is added.

In 1841, Tischendorf published a critical edition of the Greek text, in which he partly adopted
the readings of ancient authorities : other editions have been issued by him ; among which may be
mentioned one published at Paris, for which he appears to have searched many MSS., with the view
of selecting such particular readings as exhibit any tendency to countenance the renderings of the
Latin Vulgate. Tischendorf has just completed a new edition of his Leipsic Greek Testament.

In consequence of the paucity of the MSS. in which the Apocalypse has been transmitted to us,
that book affords less scope for textual criticism than any other portion of the New Testament ; hence
it has been comparatively overlooked in many of the critical editions above enumerated. Erasmus, as
we have seen, edited it upon very slender authority; and Griesbach, finding that his system of
classification was inapplicable to this book, devoted but little critical attention to it. It was not
till 1844 that the full appliances of modern criticism were brought to bear upon this previously
neglected portion of holy writ. In that year, Mr. Tregelles published a revised edition of this book.
His text is formed entirely from ancient authorities, part of which were known but imperfectly to
Griesbach and Scholz ; and he has given a copious collection of various readings, including all that are
found in ancient MSS., and all that have any importance in themselves, or are supported by any
considerable number of authorities. To render the result of his critical investigations accessible to the
mere English reader, Mr. Tregelles has added a literal English version of his amended text.

A more important critical edition of the New Testament than any which has yet appeared is now
in course of preparation. The object contemplated in this edition is no less than the restoration of the
text commonly received among the churches during the fourth century. This is to be accomplished
by means of direct reference to the most ancient MSS. extant; and in all passages where these ancient
documents do- not precisely agree, or where there is the slightest room for doubt, conflicting evidence
on every side of the question is to be carefully adduced. The ancient versions are to be allowed
a voice as to the insertion or non-insertion of clauses; but no word is to be admitted into the text
which is not to be found in one or other of the most ancient MSS. The citations occurring in early
writers are to be carefully noted ; and even the readings of modern MSS. are to be impartially stated
in the margin. The received text is to be allowed no prescriptive authority whatever; and in all

196 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

cases in which its readings are retained, the MSS. authorities on which such readings rest are to be
systematically enumerated. The works of ancient and modern biblical critics have been closely
examined, and the errors into which many of them have fallen will be detected and avoided in this
edition, by means of a fresh and most laborious collation of several of the MSS. cited. The projector
and editor of this work is Mr. Tregelles, the editor of the Apocalypse, as above mentioned. Tenjears
of his life have been already devoted to this undertaking, and it is to be hoped that the period is not
far distant when this text of the pure and unadulterated word of God will be given to the Church.
In the meantime, it is a most satisfactory reflection, that all that human learning has done, or can do,
in the investigation of the sacred text, leads only to the conviction that Divine Providence has so
watched over the transmission of the divine word, that the utmost variations of the MSS. which
contain it are, after all, of comparatively little or no importance; so that, to all intents and purposes,
the most unlearned believer possesses, in the holy volume whence he draws his springs of hope and
consolation, as true a transcript of the revealed will of God, as if it had been communicated to him
personally and directly from heaven.*

KESULTS OF THE PUBLICATION OF THE GKEEK NEW TESTAMENT. The first application
of the art of printing to the multiplication of copies of the inspired text, may justly be said to form an
era in the history of the Church. Strong and bitter hostility was excited among the enemies of the
truth by the first appearance of the New Testament in a printed form. At Cambridge, when first
published by Erasmus, in 1516, it was absolutely proscribed, and the priests endeavoured to dissuade
the students from the study of the Greek language; and Standish (afterwards bishop of St. Asaph) is
said on one occasion to have flung himself on his knees before the king and queen, conjuring them, by
all they accounted sacred, to go on as their ancestors had done, and put down Erasmus. 1 Thomas
Bilney, the martyr of 1531, was at that period a fellow of Trinity Hall. His eyes had been opened
to the perception of his state of sinfulness by nature, and he had sought in vain for hope and
consolation under the distress and anxiety of mind which his convictions had engendered. _ At the
instigation of his ecclesiastical superiors, he had endeavoured to find relief in watching, fastings, and
other exercises ; but he soon discovered that all attempts made in his own strength towards the
attainment of holiness of life, or purity of heart, invariably proved abortive. When he heard of the
publication of the Greek Testament by Erasmus, in parallel columns with the Latin, he resolved, at
any risk, to possess himself of a copy. He succeeded in obtaining one, and the results of its perusal
were manifested to all ; among other tokens, by the powerful strain of his preaching, which was used
as the means of converting Hugh Latimcr, Robert Barnes, and many other individuals. The effects
of the study of this New Testament upon his own mind are best described in the simple eloquence of

his own words: "But at the last," says he, "I heard speak of Jesus, even then when the New

Testament was first set forth by Erasmus. Which, when I understood to be eloquently done by him,
bein&lt;r allured rather for the Latin than for the word of God for at that time I knew not what it

mea nt I bought it even by the providence of God, as I do now well understand and perceive. And

at the first reading, as I well remember, I chanced upon this sentence of St. Paul, (0 most sweet and
comfortable sentence to my soul!) in his first epistle to Timothy, and first chapter- - It is a true
sayino-, an d worthy of all men to be embraced, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
of whom I am the chief and principal. This one sentence, through God s instruction and inward
teaching, which I did not then perceive, did so exhilarate my heart, being before wounded with the
cniilt of my sins, and being almost in despair, that immediately I felt a marvellous comfort and
quietness, insomuch that my bruised bones leapt for joy. (Ps. li. 8.) After this the Scripture began to
be more pleasant to me than the honey, or the honeycomb. Wherein I learned that all my travels, all
my fasting and watching, all the redemption of masses and pardons, being done without truth m
Christ, who alone saveth his people from their sins ; these, I say, I learned to be nothing else but
even, as Augustine saith, a hasty and swift running out of the right way; or else much like to
the vesture made of figleaves, wherewith Adam and Eve went about in vain to cover themselves, and
could never before obtain quietness and rest, till they believed on the promise of God, that Christ the

* Messrs Barter have made preparations for immediately publishing an edition of the Greek Testament in large type, for the
convenience of general use. The common text is to be given, with the addition of those readings which are supported by great
authority : at the end there is to be a collation of the texts of Griesbach, Scholz, Lachmann, and Tischendorf.

i Anderson s Annals of the English Bible, i. 99-

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.]

ANCIENT GREEK.

197

seed of the woman should tread upon the serpents head. Neither could I be relieved or eased of the
sharp stings and biting of my sins, before I was taught of God that lesson which Christ speaketh of
in the third chapter of John Even as Moses exalted the serpent in the desert, so shall the Son
of man be exalted, that all which believe on him should not perish, but have life everlasting. As
soon as I began to taste and savour of this heavenly lesson, which no man can teach, but only God,
which revealed the same unto Peter, I desired the Lord to increase my faith; and, at last, I desired
nothing more than that I, being so comforted by him, might be strengthened by his Holy Spirit and
grace from above, that I might teach the wicked his ways, which are mercy and truth, and that the
wicked might be converted unto Him by me, who sometime was also wicked."

SPECIMEN OF THE SEPTUAGINT VERSION.

EHOAOX xv. 1-13.

TOTE Tjcre MCUVOT/S KO.I ot viol Icrpar/X rrjv toS-)v ravrqv TO&gt; " ecu, /cat etTrav,
4 Xeyovres, c *A.&lt;Tu&gt;p.(v " TO&gt; Kvpt co, evSocos yap SeSo^acrraf ITTTTOV Kal a.vaf3a.T7]v
eppL\l/ev eis 6dXa.cr&lt;rav. 2 Bo^^os /cat d crKeTracrnjs eyeVero pot ets crcor^pt av OVTOS
* p,ov cos, Kal Soacra) avTov eos TOV Trarpos fJ-ov, Kal ui^tocrco avrov. ^ Kvptos
o-uvrpt/Jcov TroXe/aovs, Kvptos ovo/Aa avra&gt;. 4 "Apfj.ara &lt;&apaa), /cat TYJV ovvapw avrov
cppuj/ev ets $aXacrcrav, eTrtXe /crous clva/3dVas TptcrrdVas f Kare7r60r]o-av " ev IpvOpa.
OaXdo-ay, 5 IIovTw e/caXvt^ev avTovV /care Sucrav ets /3v6ov cucret Xt$os. 6 H Sefta
crov Kupie SeSo^aorat. ev tcr^vt 1 17 Seia crou ^flp Kvpte Wpavvev e^Opov^. 7 Kat

TO) 7T\f]Ofl. TT/S So^S (TOT) CTWeTptl/ aS TOIIS 8 V7TVaVTlOV&lt;; " aTTCCTTetXaS TT]V OpyffV (TOV

Kar&lt;f&gt;ayev aurovs ws KaAa/x/tyT/. 8 Kat Sta TrveupvaTos TOV Qvpov crov Ste cm;
TO vSfop- iTrdyr) wo-et ret^os TO, vBara- lirdyT] TO. Kv^ara Iv /^eVa) riys Qa\d&lt;TO~r]&lt;s.
9 EtTrev 6 e^^pos, Atw^as KaraX^o^aL, /x,epta&gt; o-KvXa- e/ATrX^crtJ il/v^v pov, a
TTJ yLta^atpa /aov, Kuptevcret 17 ^etp /x,ou. 10 A.7reo-TetXas TO irvev^d crov *
avrous ^aXacrcra e8uo~ai wo"et ^aoXt/3os ev vSart O"&lt;j!)o8pa). - 11 Tts o/x,otos o~oi ev
Kvpie ; Tts o/x,otos o~oi ; SeSo^acryitevos ev dytots, Oavfj.ao~TO&lt;; ev So^-ats, irottov TepaTa.
12 i E^eTetvas T^v Se^tav crov KaTeViev aurows " " y^. 13 O8^y&gt;;cras "
crou " TOV Xaov crov TOUTOV, ov eXirrpcocrco- Trape/caXecras T^ to-^5t crou ets K
aytov crov.

ON THE SEPTUAGINT AND OTHER ANCIENT GREEK VERSIONS.

THE SEPTUAGINT. The Septuagint is unquestionably the most ancient and the most important
of all the versions of Scripture that have been transmitted to us. It derives its name from the now
exploded story of its having been translated by seventy or seventy-two translators, each of whom, it is
said, executed a separate translation from the Hebrew text ; and, on coming together afterwards to
compare the results of their labour, discovered a miraculous verbal agreement between their respective
productions. The accounts given by early writers concerning this version, when divested of fabulous
and improbable details, afford us little or no information as to its real history beyond the mere date of
its execution, which concurrent testimonies lead us to place somewhere about the year 285 B. C., or
during the joint reign of Ptolemy Lagus and Philadelphus his son. This version is far more ancient
than any Hebrew MS. now extant ; and it is therefore peculiarly valuable not only as exhibiting the
state of the Hebrew text at that early period, but also as showing the interpretation conventionally
attached to the words of sacred writ by the Jews of that epoch.

The Septuagint, on its first appearance, seems to have been received with comparatively little
favour by the Jews of Palestine, but afterwards it became regarded among them as an accredited
version of their Scriptures. The large and then rapidly increasing class of their countrymen called
Hellenistic or Grecian Jews, from their living in cities where Greek was spoken, adopted this version
as their own ; and it was habitually used in public and private among them, from the time of its
completion till about the close of the first century of the Christian era. The early Christians who

COD. ALEX.

HEXAPLORUM

a Kvptw.

. M".)

&lt;* VTrepacT7rio"ri)s, Alius.

e eos jotov.

/ KareTrovTicrev.

fAlius, ut Cod. Alex.

9 ex^pov? crov, Alius.

A a&lt;W /cat.

* ecrwpevflr;, Aquila, Sym-
machus, & Theodotion.

cure ei/ SvpaoTet ats, ovre

* a&lt;W /cat.

ey dyiacrju.^ eficr&lt;o07)i ai
Tt5 Sv^crerat, 17 Kara Tt
yovv w^OKofl^vai, Sym-
machus.

a&lt;W TJ.

ev Tta e^e ei crov, Aquila
(al. iv 177 eAejjfiocrviT}
crov).

o Sie/3aoTacras, Symma-
chus.

198 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

were generally ignorant of Hebrew, had recourse to this version in proving from the prophets that
Jesus was the promised Messiah; and the Jews being unable to meet the arguments drawn from this
source, endeavoured to throw discredit on the version itself, by alleging that it did not agree with the
Hebrew text. In order still further to evade the irresistible proofs that Jesus was the Christ, which in the
pages of the Septuagint were laid open to the gaze of all nations, the Jews, in default of better arguments,
instituted a solemn annual fast, in execration of the day in which the version was completed.

Thus rejected by the Jews, the Septuagint became the accredited version of the professing
Christian Church ; it was uniformly cited by the Greek and Latin fathers ; and from it the old Italic,
the Armenian, the Arabic, and most of the ancient versions of the Old Testament were made. The
Septuagint has been, moreover, honoured above all other versions, in being quoted by the inspired
writers of the New Testament. There are in all 244 quotations from the Old Testament in the New ;
and of these, according to Bishop Wetenhall, 147 are from the Septuagint, while 97 vary more or
less from it. Taking ten citations from each of the four evangelists as they rise, the bishop has shown
that, of these forty citations, twenty-two differ from the Septuagint, having been apparently translated
anew from the Hebrew, while fourteen agree both with the Septuagint and the Hebrew ; whence he
draws the conclusion, that " the Holy Ghost did not intend, in the style of the New Testament, to
canonise any translation by a constant and perpetual use of it." 1

The dialect in which this version is written resembles that of the New Testament, but it contains
more Hebraisms, and is even further removed from the idiom of the classical Greek writers. It is
evident that the translators were not Palestine but Alexandrian Jews, and that they were familiar with
the phraseology of Egypt. This is proved by the many Coptic words and terms appertaining to
Egyptian customs and philosophy, which appear in the translation. Thus, the Thummim of the high
priest is in the Pentateuch rendered by the term aX.r]Oeia (truth}, which same word was inscribed on
the sapphire collar worn about the neck of the chief priest in Egypt. 2 It is equally evident from the
style of the Septuagint, that different portions were executed by different hands, the various books of
which it is composed being very unequal in point of execution. The Prophetical and most of the
Historical Books, and the Psalms, were translated by very incompetent individuals. The Pentateuch,
the Proverbs, and the book of Job are generally considered the portions best translated. In several
passages of the Pentateuch, the Septuagint follows the Samaritan more closely than the Hebrew text.
The translator of the book of Job appears to have been familiar with the language of the Greek poets,
and though he often seems studious of elegance rather than of accuracy, yet his very faults, it has been
remarked by Jahn, are indicative of genius. 3 The discrepancy in point of chronology which exists
between the Septuagint and the Hebrew text is very remarkable, and not easily to be accounted for :
according to the Hebrew, a period of 2448 years elapsed between the creation and the giving of the
law by Moses ; whereas, in the Septuagint, this interval is represented as extending over 3953 years.

In consequence of the numerous transcriptions of the Septuagint made by Jews and Christians,
errors arising from the inadvertence of copyists crept into the text, and a revision was therefore under
taken, during the early part of the third century, by Origen, a learned father of the Church. His
object in engaging in this recension or revision was not only to detect and remove the errors of copies,
but by a thorough comparison of the Septuagint version with the Hebrew original, and with all other
existing Greek versions, to form a standard of appeal for the Christians in their arguments with the
Jews. He devoted twenty-eight years to the preparation of the work, and travelled all over the East
in quest of materials. During the course of these travels he met with six Greek translations, namely,
the version of Aquila, the version of Symmachus, and that of Theodotion, hereafter to be mentioned,
and three anonymous translations. He instituted a minute comparison between these six translations,
the Septuagint, and the Hebrew. The versions of Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, and the
Septuagint were written by Origen in parallel columns, forming what early writers termed the Tetrapla;
and when he added two columns of the Hebrew text, the one in Hebrew and the other in Greek
characters, the entire work was denominated the Hexapla, by which title it is still known. Origen
made no alterations whatever in the text of the Septuagint which he inserted in the Hexapla :
whenever he found that text deficient in a word which occurred in the Hebrew, or in any of the other
Greek versions, he indicated the omission, using for that purpose an asterisk (*:) and two large dots,
placed after the word itself; when, on the other hand, he met with a word or words redundant in the
Septuagint, he made no erasures in the text, but placed an obelus (^ } and two smaller dots, to show
that the reading was wanting in the original. 4 This great work extended to fifty volumes, and from

1 Spearman on the Septuagint, p. 1 78. 3 Davidson s Lectures on Biblical Criticism, p. 45.

2 Davidson s Lectures on Biblical Criticism, p. 44. * Hexaplorum Origenis quae supersunt, Bahrdt, vol. i. p. 75.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] ANCIENT GREEK. 199

its admitting in certain books fragments of other translations besides the four above enumerated, it
has accordingly been variously denominated the "Octapla," or the " Enneapla." Fifty years after
the death of Origen it was found at Tyre, where that great man had died, by Pamphilus and Eusebius ;
and by them it was deposited in the famous library of Pamphilus the martyr at Caesarea. It was
unfortunately consumed with that library in A. D. 653, when Caesarea was taken by the Saracens.
But although destroyed, this laborious compilation is not altogether lost to us, for the column
containing the Septuagint had been transcribed by Pamphilus and Eusebius, with the marks and
annotations of Origen. Of this transcription, however, we possess no perfect copy, for the asterisks,
obeli, and other marks were confused and interchanged by copyists, and readings and glosses from
later versions were added to those cited by Origen. Two other revisions of the Septuagint remain to
be noted, both of which were executed about the same period as the transcription of the Hexapla text
by Pamphilus and Eusebius. The principal of these revisions was executed by Lucian, a presbyter of
Antioch, A. D. 312, who confined himself to the comparison of the Septuagint with the Hebrew text,
without having recourse to other Greek versions. This recension was adopted by all the churches of the
East, from Antioch to Constantinople. The other revision was effected by Hesychius, an Egyptian
bishop, and, according to Jerome, was used in all the churches of Egypt.

The principal MSS. in which the Septuagint has been transmitted to us are the Vatican and
Alexandrine codices, already described in our notice of the New Testament. The Vatican MS. is
supposed to contain the earlier text, while the Alexandrine MS. apparently exhibits many of the
amendments and interpolations of Origen s Hexapla ; but these texts have been so often blended, that
it is difficult to distinguish between them.

The printed editions of the Septuagint, although very numerous, may all be considered as
belonging to one or other of the four following primary or original editions :

I. The Complutensian edition, so called because it appeared in the Complutensian Polyglot. Much
diversity of opinion exists as to the MSS. used for this edition. It approaches so closely
to the Hebrew, that it is questioned whether the editors corrected the readings of their
MSS. by comparison with the original, or whether they employed a MS. in which
portions of Aquila s version were blended with the Septuagint text. This might be
ascertained by examining the MSS. used, which are now at Madrid.

II. The Aldine edition, published at Venice, at the Aldine press, in 1518. Several ancient MSS.
were used in the formation of this text, and it is usually accounted considerably purer
than the Complutensian; yet, according to Archbishop Usher, it follows in many instances
the peculiar renderings of Aquila s version ; by some it is thought to contain readings

- rrrt J . 1 J B

trom Ineodotions version.

III. The Roman or Vatican edition, printed in 1586, chiefly from the Vatican MS. at Rome.

This edition was undertaken by order of Sixtus V., whence it is often called the Sixtine
edition. It was printed under the care of Cardinal Caraffa, who with his coadjutors
devoted nine years to its preparation and publication. In this edition the Vatican MS.
is rarely departed from, except when, through some inadvertence of the printer,
readings from the Aldine edition are inserted ; but such instances are comparatively
few. This text has been more frequently reprinted than any other, and may be called
the textus receptus of the Greek Old Testament Scriptures.

IV. The Alexandrine edition, printed at Oxford from the Alexandrine MS., between 1707 and

1720. This edition was prepared for the press, and partly printed, under the care of
Dr. Grabe, and after his death it was completed under the editorship of Lee and
Wigan. The defective and incorrect passages of the Codex Alexandrinus are supplied
in this edition, partly from the Vatican MS., and partly from the Complutensian edition;
and these amended portions are distinguished from the rest of the text by being printed
in smaller characters. The critical marks used by Origen are inserted, and copious
prolegomena were added by Dr. Grabe. A facsimile edition of the Alexandrine MS.
was published at the public expense, under the care of Rev. H. H. Baber, one of the
librarians of the British Museum, between 1816 and 1827.

Several valuable editions of the Septuagint have been published with various readings. The first
in point of time is that published by Breitinger, at Zurich, 1730-1732: it contains Grabe s text,
with the various readings of the Vatican edition printed at the foot of the page. In 1821, Mr. Bagster
issued an exact reprint of the Vatican text, with the various readings of the whole Alexandrian text
as edited by Grabe. A splendid folio edition was published at Oxford, 1818-1827, under the editorship

200 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

of Dr. Holmes, dean of Winchester, and, after his death, of Rev. J. Parsons. The text is that of the
Vatican edition, to which readings from all known MSS. are added, with quotations from the patristic
writings and from ancient versions. The various readings are so numerous, that they confirm the

fineral opinion, that " the text of the Septuagint is in a worse state than any other except the Latin
ulgate." This edition is furnished with prolegomena and other critical apparatus. Another edition
of the Vatican text, with readings from the Alexandrine and other MSS., from the Complutensian
and Aldine editions, and from the fragments of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, was published
at Paris in 1839, edited by the Abbe Jager. Mr. Bagster is now bringing out a critical edition of the
Septuagint, with all the various readings of the ancient MSS. Some important authorities omitted in
the edition of Holmes and Parsons have been used, and some documents which were then unknown
have been collated.

The Septuagint has been twice translated into English. The first translation was made by
Charles Thomson, late secretary to the Congress of the United States, and was published at Phila
delphia in 1808, in 4 vols. 8vo. In 1844, a close translation from the Vatican text, with the principal
readings of the Alexandrine copy, was completed by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, and published
in London, in 2 vols. 8vo.

GREEK VERSIONS COLLECTED BY ORIGEN. We have already seen that, during his travels
through the East, Origen met with six Greek translations of the Old Testament. All the information
we possess concerning these translations may be briefly summed up in a few words.

The versions of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion appear to have been executed during the
second century of the Christian era. The versions of Aquila and Theodotion are at least known to
have been completed before the year A. D. 160, for Justin Martyr, who wrote about that period, refers
to them. Aquila was a Jew born at Sinope in Pontus. He is supposed to have embraced Christianity,
and to have afterwards relapsed into Judaism. His object in writing this version was to assist the
Jews in their arguments with the Christians, and he is said to have wilfully perverted many of the
prophecies relating to the Messiah. When the Jews rejected the Septuagint, they adopted this version
in its stead; and, in token of their approbation, distinguished it by the name of " the Hebrew Verity."
It is a close and literal translation of the Hebrew, and is of some use in criticism, as exhibiting the
antiquity of certain contested readings of the Masoretic text.

The version of Symmachus (an Ebionite, or semi-christian) is less literal than that of Aquila,
but clearer and more elegant. The version of Theodotion, who was also an Ebionite, holds a middle
place between the literal exactness of Aquila and the freedom of Symmachus. Theodotion s version
conforms in so many instances to the text of the Alexandrine MS., that it has sometimes been
questioned whether his design was to produce a new translation, or simply to rectify the readings of
the Septuagint text.

Three other versions, but less ancient than the preceding, were discovered by Origen, but their
date and the names of their translators are unknown. They are usually distinguished by the numerals
5, 6, and 7, applied to them in accordance with the number of the column they occupied in the great
biblical work of Origen above described. The fifth translation contained the Pentateuch, the Psalms,
the Canticles, the twelve minor prophets, and the books of Kings. The sixth comprised the same
portions of the second volume with the exception of the books of Kings. The seventh contained
only the Psalms and the Minor Prophets.

All that now remains to us of these six translations, besides what we possess through Syriac
channels, consists of a few fragments, preserved by means of the transcription of the Hexapla text of
the Septuagint, made, as above stated, by Pamphilus and Eusebius, about A. D. 300. These fragments,
with the remains of Origen s Hexapla text, were published by Montfaucon at Paris, 1714, in 2 vols.
folio, with preliminary disquisitions on the Hebrew text, the ancient Greek versions, and the labours
of Origen. On account of the costliness and rarity of this work, a smaller and abridged edition was
published at Leipsic, 1769-70, by Bahrdt.

THE GR^CA VENETA. This appellation is usually given to a Greek version found in a unique
MS. of St. Mark s Library at Venice. This version is of little use in criticism: its age and author are
unknown, but it is supposed to have been executed at Byzantium for private use, after the close of the
ninth century. It is evidently a direct translation from the Hebrew, to which it adheres with rigid,
and even slavish, exactitude. The style is very peculiar, at times furnishing examples of Attic
elegance, yet occasionally admitting the grossest barbarisms. It contains the Pentateuch, the Proverbs,

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.]

MODERN GREEK.

Ecclesiastcs, Ruth, Canticles, Lamentations, and Daniel. The Pentateuch was published by Ammon
at Erlangen, 1790-91, in .3 vols. 8vo. ; the other portions had previously appeared at Strasburg in
1784, under the editorship of Villoison. Extracts from this version are given in Holmes edition
of the Septuagint.

To 2a/napeiTiicov. Certain Greek fragments, in all probability the remains of a Greek translation
of the Samaritan Pentateuch, are generally known by this appellation. These fragments are met with
in several ancient MSS., and are referred to by the fathers of the third, fourth, and following
centuries. They agree in a great measure with the Septuagint, but are accounted of little or no value
in criticism.

MODERN GREEK.

SPECIMEN OF THE MODERN GREEK VERSIONS.
ST. JOHN, CHAP. i. v. 1 to 14.

MAXIMUS CALLIOPOUTAN S VERSION, 1638.
EIS TT]V apxyv ^ TOV Xoyos Kai 6 Xoyos rjrov
eov Kal eos fjTOV 6 Xoyos. 2 ETOVTOS rjrov eis rrjv
apX*] v t*- T & eov. 3 OXa [TO, Trpay/xara] Sia //.eVov TOV
[Xoyov] eyivTjKav, Kal xpts avrov Sev eytve Kave va etn
eytve. 4 Eis avrov rjrov far) Kal YJ far) rjrov TO &lt;u&gt;s
Taiv dv0pa)7nov. 5 Kat TO &lt;a&gt;s eis Trjv (TKoreiav &lt;eyyet,
Kal rj o-KOTeta Sev TO KaTaXa/3e. 6 "Eytvev evas dv0p(07ros
aTreoraA/xeVos aTro TOV eov, TO ovo^d TOV itoavi^s.
7 ETOVTO? r/XOtv ets p.aprvpiav, va fj.apTvpio~r] Sta TO ^&gt;ws
TTLo-revo-ovv 0X01 Sta uto-ov avTov. 8 Aev T/TOV CKCIVOS TO
^&gt;a&gt;S, aAXa va fjiaprvpLO-rj Sia TO ^&gt;ws. S HTOV TO &lt;^&gt;a)s
TO a\r]6ivov, TO oirolov ^xoTt^et KaOc avOpwirov o TTOV
cp^eTat tts TOV KOO-/U.OV. 10 Eis TOV KOO-/XOV ^TOV Kal 6
Koo-jU,os Sta /aecrov avTOu eytvev, d/x^ 6 KOO-//.OS 8ev TOV
yvcopto*ev. ll Ets Ta eStKaTOv -fjXOev, Kal ol COLKOLTOV
Sev TOV eSe^^r/Kav. 12 Kat oo-ot TOV lof^OrfKav, TOV&lt;S
towKtv lovo~iav, va yevouv TratSta eou, T^yow] eKctvovs
6 TTOU 7TtcrTi;oi)v ets TO ovoyna TOV. 13 Ot OTrotot ov Se
aTTO alp.ct.Ta, ov Se (XTTO TO 6eXrjfj.a TOV o-apKos ovSe aTro
TO 6e\r)fj,a TOV dvSpos, aAAa aTro TOV eov eyevvT^o-av.
14 Kat 6 Xoyos lytve crap, Kal tKaTOLKrjo-tv ets eyaas, Kat
toa/xev T^V So^av TOV 8oav u)0"av (vtoi)) /aovoyevoDs OTTO
TOV TraTepa, yejaaTos X^P LV Ka

HILAKION S VERSION.

AH dp^s ^TOV 6 Xoyos, Kat 6 Xoyos ^TOV o/xou /AC TOV
eov, Kat 6 Xoyos ^TOV eos. 2 Avros ^TOV ctTr dp^^s
o^tou jne TOV eov. 3 "OXa (TO, KTiV/xaTa) eSij/uoupy^-
3"r)o~av ot awoG (TOT) Xoyov), Kat Kavev aTro oo~a e&^iu-
v, 8ev eSij/ttoupy^^ X W P S avTOi). 4 Ets avrov
a), Kat ^ ^w^ ^TOV TO ^&gt;ws Toiv dv^pwTrwv. ^ Kat
TO &lt;^&gt;ws Xd/x,7ret /xeo-a ets TO O-KOTOS, Kat TO O-KOTOS Sev TO
KaTeXaySev. 6 EyeVeTo Tts dv^pwTros ovo/x,a^o/u.evos Iw-
dwr)&lt;s, 6 OTTOtos ZarrdXr) airo TOV edv. 7 Auros ^X^e Sta
va yevT^Tat jutdprus, Kat va fjiapTvpyo~r) Sta TO &lt;^&gt;aJs, Sta va
Trto-rewwo-tv oXot Sta fjieo~ov avTov. 8 Aev ^TOV eVetvos
(6 Iwavvi^s) TO ^&gt;cos, (eo"TdX^) o/x,ws Sta va p.aprvprfo~ri
Sta TO &lt;^&gt;ws. To dX^^tvov (jiais ^TOV, TO OTTOIOV (^cort^et
Ka^eva av$p&lt;jyirov, 6 OTTOIOS ep^eTat ets TOV KOQ-/XOV.
- 10 Ets TOV Koo~jLtov ^TOV, Kat 6 Kocryxos eorjiAiovpyrjOr) OL
avTov TrX^v 6 KOO"/XOS Sev TOV eyvwpto~ev. - 11 T HX^ev eis
TO, tStd TOV, Kat ot tStot TOV Sev TOV eSe ^^crav. 12 "Ocrot
o/xcos TOV eSe^^T/crav, ets avTOVs eSwKe StKatco/xa TOV va
yevwvTat vtot eov, S^XaS^ ets eKetvovs. ot OTroloi eTrtiu-
Tevcrav ets TO OVO/JLOL TOV 13 Avrot Sev lyevvrjSirjo-av O.TTO
at/xa, //,^T aTro ^e X^crtv o-apKos, fi^Te aTro 6e\r)o-iv
dvSpos, dXX eyevviy^o~av aTro TOV eov. -^ Kat o Xoyos
eye veTO o-ap- Kat KaTiaKfjo-fv ets i^/xas, yeyadVos d^ro
X a P LV Ka ^ dX^etav, Kat rjp.fi&lt;s etSo/Aev T^V So^av avrov
(TOV Xoyov), u&gt;s So^av (vtov) 6 OTTOIOS elvat /txovoyev^s
aTro TOV IlaTepa.

ON THE MODERN GREEK LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS. Modern Greek, or Romaic, is the vernacular
language of about 1,180,000 descendants of the ancient Greeks, dispersed throughout the Turkish

202 THE BIBLE OF EVERY LAND. [CLASS III.

empire. 1 The modern kingdom of Greece, the original seat of the language, is bounded, as of old, on
three sides by the Mediterranean ; but on the north it extends no further than Albania and Thessaly :
its area has been estimated at 15,000 square miles, and its population at about 900,000. The
established religion of Greece is that of the Greek Church; but the authority of the Patriarch of
Constantinople is not recognised, the King of Greece being regarded by his subjects as the head of the
Church. Toleration is extended to all sects : Protestants are few in number, but there are 10,000
Koman Catholics and 4000 Jews in Greece.

CHARACTERISTICS or THE LANGUAGE. Although the yoke of foreign dominion has been
imposed upon Greece from the time of the Roman conquests till within the last half century, yet the
classical language of the ancient Greeks has never given place to that of the conquerors, but has
maintained its vitality in the midst of political ruin. It has been said that Modern Greek differs from
Ancient Greek but little more than the Doric from the Attic dialect : this statement must be received
with some reservation; yet it is certain that Italian, French, and Spanish have diverged far more
widely from Latin than Modern Greek from its parent source. The changes incident to time are not
so visible in the vocabulary as in the grammatical structure of Modern Greek. The dual number, the
dative case, the middle voice, and the optative mood have all disappeared; but, unlike the languages
of Latin origin, this modern tongue retains the three genders and the declension of nouns. The place
of the lost dative is commonly supplied by means of the accusative, either with or without the
preposition 19 : in all other respects, Greek nouns are still declined according to the analogy of the
ancient language. On the other hand, in the conjugation of verbs, the Modern Greek departs further
from the Ancient than Italian from Latin. The very system of conjugation is changed in Modern
Greek; three auxiliary verbs are brought into requisition, and almost all the simple tenses have ceased
to exist. Even the future is no longer expressed by a simple tense, but is construed in three ways :
thus, 0e\.co ypdi}ret, (I will write}. 6e\ei ypd-^ro), and 0e va ypd-^ro) (by crasis) 6a &gt;ypdtya), are all
equivalent to the ancient ypdtyw. The composition of most of the other tenses is susceptible of similar
variety. 2 In syntax, the Modern Greek preserves many ancient turns of expression, yet at the same
time admits of great innovations. In imitation of French and Italian, its verbs are accompanied by
personal pronouns, more frequently than was customary in the ancient tongue; and it often changes
the case formerly required by the particle or verb. Many peculiarities, characteristic of the New
Testament and ecclesiastical writers, are to be met with in Modern Greek. The language no longer
retains any possessive pronouns, but their place is supplied by the genitive case of the personal
pronouns, and in the third person plural by the accusative of the relative pronoun, with or without a
reflected pronoun. The ellipsis, or loss of the infinitive, is accounted the greatest imperfection of
Modern Greek: this mood is now construed by means of the particle va (an abbreviation of the
ancient tVa) and the subjunctive; for instance, the Hellenic proposition, eVt#ty/.co ISelv avrov (I wish
to see him), is now rendered eindv^S) va rov I8a). 3 The term Romaic, or Romeika, is often applied to
Modern Greek ; it arises from the name Romaioi or Romans, obtained or assumed by the Greeks during
the period of their subjection to the Roman empire of Constantinople.

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. Three versions of the New Testa
ment exist in Modern Greek. Of these, the earliest was printed at Geneva, in 1638, in parallel
columns with the inspired text : it was executed by Maximus Calliergi (or Callipoli, as he is sometimes
called), at the solicitation of Haga, the ambassador of the then United Provinces at Constantinople.
The translation is remarkable for its close and literal adherence to the Greek original text.

The expense of this work was borne by the United Provinces. It is preceded by two prefaces,
the one by the translator, and the other by Cyrillus Lucaris, patriarch of Constantinople, who, having
spent his youth at Geneva, had imbibed the principles of Calvinism: both prefaces treat on the
necessity of presenting the Scriptures in a language intelligible to the people. This version was
reprinted, with corrections, in 1703, in London, by the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign
Parts; and another edition was issued by the same Society in 1705. A reprint of this version, in
12mo., was published at Halle, in 1710, at the expense of Sophia Louisa, queen of Prussia.
From this edition, the British and Foreign Bible Society published an impression, under the
superintendence of the Rev. J. F. Usko, in 1808, with the Ancient and Modern Greek in parallel
columns. This edition was so favourably received, that, in 1812, it was found necessary to undertake

i Urquhart s Turkey and its Resources, p. 272. 2 David s Grammatical Parallel of Ancient and Modern Greek, p. 43.

* David s Grammatical Parallel of Ancient and Modern Greek, p. 125.

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.] MODERN GREEK. 203

another edition, for the supply of the urgent demands in the Levant, the isles of the Archipelago, and
certain other Greek stations. A strict and thorough revision of the text being deemed requisite, the
Rev. C. Williamson, and, afterwards, Dr. Pilkington, were directed by the British and Foreign Bible
Committee to inquire among the learned Greeks at Constantinople for an individual properly qualified
for so important an undertaking. The Archimandrite Hilarion (subsequently archbishop of Ternovo),
with two assistants, both ecclesiastics, was accordingly appointed, in 1819, to execute a revision, or
rather a new version, of the Testament; and as a great desire had been expressed for a version of the
entire Scriptures in Modern Greek, arrangements were at the same time made for the translation of
the Old Testament. Father Simon, in his " Critical History," speaks of a version of the Bible in this
language having been printed at Constantinople in the sixteenth century ; but this statement has
been doubted, and it is_ generally believed that the translation of the Old Testament undertaken
by Hilarion, for the British and Foreign Bible Society, is the first that has ever been executed in
Modern Greek.

In 1827, Hilarion s version of the New Testament was completed; and, after having been
submitted to the inspection of Constantius, archbishop of Mount Sinai, it was printed at the national
printing-office in the patriarchate, under the eye of the Greek Church. 1 This version was made from
the^inspired text; but though faithful and accurate as a translation, the diction is considered rather
stiff, and the forms of the ancient language are too frequently imitated. About the same time,
Hilarion executed a translation of the Old Testament from the Septuagint; and, in 1829, the whole of
his MS. was submitted to the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society, in London. After
mature and anxious deliberation, however, the Committee came to the conclusion that it would be
more desirable to circulate a version prepared from the Hebrew text itself, than a mere translation
of the Septuagint. The ^ Eev. H. D. Leeves was therefore appointed to reside in Corfu, where,
with the assistance of natives, he commenced a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Modern
Greek. In conjunction with the Rev. I. Lowndes (an agent of the London Missionary Society),
he engaged the services of Professors Bambas and Tipaldo, to which, for a short period, were
added those of Professor Joannides; and the plan pursued was the following: " A certain portion
of the books of the Old Testament was allotted to each of the Greek translators, who, with the
English authorised version, the French of Martin, and the Italian of Diodati before them, con
sulting also the Septuagint, the Vulgate, a