The
Hebraic Tongue
Restored
Fabre d' Olivet
t w
**-r
nr
a r$
This Edition of " The Hebrew Tongue Restored''
is printed from type and is Limited to 500 copies,
By Fabre d'Oliuet
Done in English by Mayan Louise Redfield
Hermeneutic Interpretation of the Origin of the
Social State of Man and of the Destiny
of the Adamic Race
The Golden Verses of Pythagoras
The Hebraic Tongue Restored and the True
Meaning of the Hebrew Words Re-estab-
lished and Proved by their Radical
Analysis
The Hebraic Tongue
Restored
And the True Meaning of the Hebrew
Words Re-established and
Proved by their Radical
Analysis
By
Fabre d'Olivet
Done into English by
Nayan Louise Redfield
rnrp
'He who can rightly pronounce it. causeth
heaven and earth to tremble, for it la the
NAME
which rueheth through the universe.'
G. P. Putnam's Sons
New York and London
Cbe Knickerbocker press
1921
COPYRIGHT 1921
BY
NAYXN LOUISE REDFIELD
SET UP BY
THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS, NEW YORK
Printed in the United States of America
To THE TORCH-BEARERS OF THE SEVEN-TONGUED-FLAME
WHO HAVE EVER BEEN THE PATH-FlNDERS AND
LIGHTS ON THE WAY-OF-KNOWING
AND BEING, I OFFER AT THE
DAWN-OF-THE-NEW-DAY
THIS VOLUME
Sfacg]
Annex j
fj
TO THE READER
I would direct attention to the English word-for-word
translation given in the Literal Version of the Cosmogony
of Moses. This translation is d'Olivet's, and in the foot-
notes which accompany it I have retained his selection of
words some of which are now obsolete. In the "Correct
Translation" at the close of the volume I have, however,
set aside some of the quaint words making choice of more
modern ones.
N. L. R.
TRANSLATOR'S FOREWORD.
THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED is a strong appeal to
those who, realizing that the time of philosophy is past
and the time of religion at hand, are seeking for those
higher truths the spreading knowledge of which has
already altered the complexion of the world and signalled
the approaching end of materialism.
In this prodigious work of Fabre d'Olivet, which first
appeared in 1815, he goes back to the origin of speech and
rebuilds upon a basis of truly colossal learning the edifice
of primitive and hieroglyphic Hebrew, bringing back the
Hebraic tongue to its constitutive principles by deriving
it wholly from the Sign, which he considers the symbolic
and living image of the generative ideas of language. He
gives a neoteric translation of the first ten chapters of the
SEPHER OF MOSES (Genesis) in which he supports each
with a scientific, historic and grammatical commentary
to bring out the three meanings: literal, figurative and
hieroglyphic, corresponding to the natural, psychic and
divine worlds. He asserts plainly and fearlessly that the
Genesis of Moses was symbolically expressed and ought
not to be taken in a purely literal sense. Saint Augustine
recognized this, and Origen avers that "if one takes the
history of the creation in the literal sense, it is absurd
and contradictory."
Fabre d'Olivet claims that the Hebrew contained in
Genesis is the pure idiom of the ancient Egyptians, and
considering that nearly six centuries before Jesus Christ,
the Hebrews having become Jews no longer spoke nor
understood their original tongue, he denies the value of the
Hebrew as it is understood today, and has undertaken to
restore this tongue lost for twenty-five centuries. The truth
ix
of this opinion does not appear doubtful, since the Hebrews
according to Genesis itself remained some four hundred
years in Egypt. This idiom, therefdre, having become
separated from a tongue which had attained its highest
perfection and was composed entirely of universal, intel-
lectual, abstract expressions, would naturally fall from
degeneracy to degeneracy, from restriction to restriction,
to its most material elements; all that was spirit would
become substance; all that was intellectual would become
sentient ; all that was universal, particular.
According to the Essenian tradition, every word in
this Scphcr of Moses contains three meanings the positive
or simple, the comparative or figurative, the superlative
or hieratic. When one has penetrated to this last mean-
ing, all things are disclosed through a radiant illumina-
tion and the soul of that one attains to heights which those
bound to the narrow limits of the positive meaning and
satisfied with the letter which killeth, never know.
The learned Maimonides says "Employ you reason,
and you will be able to discern what is said allegorical-
ly, figuratively and hyperbolically, and what is meant
literallv."
HARTFORD, CONN.
October, IQI&
NAYAN LOUISE KEDFIELD
NOTE.
It may be noted by the careful student that the Syriac characters
in this volume are in some instances not exactly correct. Unfor-
tunately, the impossibility of securing better types necessitated the
use of these unsatisfactory forms. For this the author and the pub-
lishers ask the indulgence of the reader.
THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
AND THE TRUE MEANING OF THE HEBREW
WORDS RE-ESTABLISHED AND PROVED
BY THEIR RADICAL ANALYSIS.
In this work is found:
1st INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION upon the
Origin of Speech, the study of the tongues which
can lead to this origin and the purpose that the
Author has in view;
2nd. HEBRAIC GRAMMAR founded upon new prin-
ciples, and made useful for the study of tongues in
general ;
3rd. SERIES OF HEBRAIC ROOTS considered
under new relations, and destined to facilitate the
understanding of language, and that of etymological
science ;
4th. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE;
5th. Translation into English of the first ten chapters
of the Sepher, containing the COSMOGONY OF
MOSES
This translation, destined to serve as proof of the
principles laid down in the Grammar and in the Dictionary,
is preceded by a LITERAL VERSION, in French and in
English, made upon the Hebrew Text presented in the orig-
inal with a transcription in modern characters and accom-
panied by critical and grammatical notes, wherein the
interpretation given to each word is proved by its radical
analysis and its comparison with the analogous word in
Samaritan, Chaldaic, Syriac, Arabic or Greek.
CONTENTS
OF PART FIRST
INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.
PAGE
1. Upon the Origin of Speech and upon the Study of
the Tongues which, can lead to it .-.; 3
11. Hebraic Tongue : Authenticity of the Sepher of
Moses; Vicissitudes experienced by this book. . 21
111. Continuation of the Re volutions of the Sepher. Origin
of the Principal Versions which have been made 37
HEBRAIC GRAMMAR.
Chapter I. General Principles.
1. The Real Purpose of this Grammar 55
11. Etymology and Definition 60
111. Division of Grammar: Parts of Speech 65
IV. Hebraic Alphabet : Comparative Alphabet 70-71
Chapter II. Signs Considered as Characters.
1. Hebraic Alphabet: its vowels: its origin 73
xiii
Xi v CONTENTS
PAGE
11. Origin of the Vowel Points 77
111. Effects of the Vowel Points. Samaritan Text. ... 84
Chapter III. Characters Considered as Signs.
1. Traced Characters, one of the elements of Language :
Hieroglyphic Principle of their Primitive Form 89
11. Origin of Signs and Their Development: Those of
the Hebraic Tongue 93
111. Use of the Signs : Example drawn from the French 99
Chapter IV. The Sign Producing the Boot.
1. Digression on the Principle and the Constitutive
Elements of the Sign 103
11. Formation of the Root and of the Relation 107
111. Preposition and Inter jectiom 114
Chapter V. The Noun.
1 The Noun Considered under seven relations:
Etymology 119
11. Quality 124
111. Gender 132
IV. Number 135
V. Movement 139
VI. Construct State 147
VII. Signification 150
Chapter VI. Nominal Relations.
1. Absolute Pronouns 151
11. Affixes , 155
111. Use of the Affixes 161
Chapter VII. The Verb.
1. Absolute Verb and Particular Verbs 167
CONTENTS .XV
MM
11. Three Kinds of Particular Verbs '17S
111. Analysis of Nominal Verbs: Verbal Inflection 17Y
Chapter VIII. Modifications of the Verb.
1. Form and Movement 183
11. Tense 187
111. Formation of Verbal Tenses by Means of Pronom-
inal Persons 192
Chapter IX. Conjugations.
1. Radical Conjugation 197
Remarks upon the Radical Conjugation 207
11. Derivative Conjugation 212
Remarks upon the Derivative Conjugation 220
111. Compound Radical Conjugation with the Initial Ad-
junction * . 225
Remarks on the Compound Radical Conjugation.
Initial Adjunction 230
IV. Compound Radical Conjugation with the Initial Ad-
junction J 233
Remarks on the Compound Radical Conjugation. . 238
V. Compound Radical Conjugation with the Termina-
tive Adjunction 241
Remarks on the Compound Radical Conjugation. . 246
VI. Irregular Conjugations 250
Chapter X. Construction of Verbs : Adverbial Relations :
Paragogic Characters: Conclusion.
1. Union of Verbs with Verbal Affixes 255
11. Adverbial Relations 262
111. Paragogic Characters 271
IV. Conclusion 275
XV 1 CONTENTS
PAQB
Radical Vocabulary : Prefatory Note 279
HEBRAIC ROOTS.
K A. .. 287
2 B 300
2 G 310
-I D 318
H H. E 326
1 0. OU. W 334
I Z 339
n E. H. CH 345
ID T 356
" 1 361
D CH. KH 368
? L 377
ID M 385
: N 394
D S 405
P U. H. WH 413
B PH 422
X TZ 430
p KQ 438
1 R 446
5? SH 455
n TH. . 465
The
Hebraic Tongue Restored
PART FIRST
I
INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION
INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.
I.
UPON THE ORIGIN OF SPEECH AND UPON THE
STUDY OF THE TONGUES WHICH CAN LEAD
TO IT.
The origin of speech is generally unknown. It is in
vain that savants of the centuries past have endeavoured to
go back to the hidden principles of this glorious pheno-
menon which distinguishes man from all the beings by
which he is surrounded, reflects his thought, arms him
with the torch of genius and develops his moral faculties;
all that they have been able to do, after long labours, has
been to establish a series of conjectures more or less in-
genious, more or less probable, founded in general, upon
the physical nature of man which they judged invariable,
and which they took as basis for their experiments. I do
not speak here of the scholastic theologians who in order
to extricate themselves from perplexity upon this dif-
ficult point, taught that man had been created possessor
of a tongue wholly formed; nor of Bishop Walton who,
having embraced this convenient opinion, gave as proof,
the conversation of God Himself with the first man, and
the discourses of Eve with the serpent ; l not reflecting
that this so-called serpent which conversed with Eve, and
to which God also spoke, might, therefore, have drawn
from the same source of speech and participated in the
tongue of the Divinity. I refer to those savants who, far
from the dust and clamours of the school, sought in good
faith the truth that the school no longer possessed. More-
over, the theologians themselves had been abandoned long
since by their disciples. Richard Simon, the priest, 2 from
1 Walton, Prolegom I.
2 Rich. Sim. Histoire crit. L. I, ch. 14 et 15.
4 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
whom we have an excellent critical history of the Old
Testament, did not fear, relying upon the authority of
Saint Gregory of Nyssa, to reject theological opinion in
this respect, and to adopt that of Diodorus Siculus and
even that of Lucretius, who attribute the formation of
language to the nature of man and to the instigation of
his needs. 3
It is not because I here oppose the opinion of
Diodorus Siculus or Lucretius to that of the theologians,
that one should infer that I consider it the best. All the
eloquence of J. J. Rousseau could not make me approve
of it. It is one extreme striking another extreme, and by
this very thing departing from the just mean where truth
abides. Rousseau in his nervous, passionate style, pictures
the formation of society rather than that of language : he
embellishes his fictions with most vivid colours, and he
himself, drawn on by his imagination, believes real what
is only fantastic. 4 One sees plainly in his writing a pos-
sible beginning of civilization but no probable origin of
speech. It is to no purpose that he has said that the
meridional tongues are the daughters of pleasure and those
of the North, of necessity : one still asks, how pleasure
or necessity can bring forth simultaneously, words which
an entire tribe agrees in understanding and above all
agrees in adopting. Is it not he who has said, with cold,
severe reason, that language could be instituted only by
an agreement and that this agreement could not be con-
ceived without language? This vicious circle in which a
modern theosophist confines it, can it be eluded? "Those
who devote themselves to the pretension of forming our
tongues and all the science of our understanding, by the
expedients of natural circumstances alone, and by our
human means alone," says this theosophist, 5 "expose
s Diod-Sic. L. II. "At varies linguae sonitus natura subegit
Mittere, et utilitas expressit nomina rerum."
L.UCRET.
* Essai sur I'origlne des Langucs.
5 St.-Martin Esprit des choses, T. II p. 127.
ORIGIN OF SPEECH 5
themselves voluntarily to this terrible objection that they
themselves have raised; for he who only denies, does not
destroy, and he does not refute an argument because he
disapproves of it : if the language of man is an agreement,
how is this Agreement established without language?"
Read carefully both Locke and his most painstaking
disciple Condillac; 6 you will, if you desire, have assisted
at the decomposition of an ingenious contrivance; you
will have admired, perhaps, the dexterity of the decom-
poser ; but you will remain as ignorant as you were before,
both concerning the origin of this contrivance, the aim
proposed by its author, its inner nature and the principle
which moves its machinations. Whether you reflect ac-
cording to your own opinion, or whether long study has
taught you think according to others, you will soon per-
ceive in the adroit analyst only a ridiculous operator who,
flattering himself that he is explaining to you how and
why such an actor dances in the theatre, seizes a scalpel
and dissects the legs of a cadaver. Your memory recalls
Socrates and Plato. You hear them again rebuking harsh-
ly the physicists and the metaphysicians of their time ; 7
you compare their irresistible arguments with the vain
jactancy of these empirical writers, and you feel clearly
that merely taking a watch to pieces does not suffice to
give reason for its movement.
But if the opinion of the theologians upon the origin
of speech offends reason, if that of the historians and the
philosophers cannot hold out against a severe examina-
tion, it is therefore not given to man to know it. Man,
who according to the meaning of the inscription of the
temple of Delphi,* can know nothing only so far as he
Locke. Essay concern. Human Understand. B. Ill; Condillac
Looique.
^ Plat, dial Thcact. Phaedon. Crat.
This famous inscription, Know thyself was, according to Pliny,
a saying of the sage Chilo, a celebrated Greek philosopher who lived
about 560 B. C. He was from Lacedaemon and died of joy, it was
said, embracing his son, victor in the Olympic games.
G THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
knows himself, is therefore condemned to be ignorant of
what places him in the highest rank among sentient
beings, of what gives him the sceptre of the earth, of what
constitutes him veritably man, namely Speech! no! that
cannot be, because Providence is just. Quite a consider-
able number of the sages among all nations have pene-
trated this mystery, and if, notwithstanding their efforts,
these privileged men have been unable to communicate
their learning and make it universal, it is because the
means, the disciples or the favourable conditions for this,
have failed them.
For the knowledge of speech, that of the elements
and the origin of language, are not attainments that
can be transmitted readily to others, or that can be taken
to pieces after the manner of the geometricians. To what-
ever extent one may possess them, whatever profound
roots they may have thrown into the mind, whatever
numerous fruits they may have developed there, only the
principle can ever be communicated. Thus, nothing in
elementary nature is propagated at the same time: the
most vigorous tree, the most perfect animal do not pro-
duce simultaneously their likeness. They yield, according
to their specie, a germ at first very different from tty&rn,
which remains barren if nothing from without cooperates
for its development.
The archaeological sciences, that is to say, all those
which go back to the principles of things, are in the same
category. Vainly the sages who possess them are exhaust-
ed by generous efforts to propagate them. The most fertile
germs that they scatter, received by minds uncultivated
or badly prepared, undergo the fate of seeds, which fall-
ing upon stony ground or among thorns, sterile or choked
die there. ; v Our savants have not lacked aid; it is the apti-
tude for receiving it that has been lacking. , The greater
part of them who ventured to write upon tongues, did not
even know what a tongue was ; for it is not enough merely
to have compiled grammars, or to have toiled laboriously
ORIGIN OF SPEECH 7
to find the difference between a supine and a gerund; it
is necessary to have explored many idioms, to have com-
pared them assiduously and without prejudices; in order
to penetrate, through the points of contact of their parti-
cular genius, to the universal genius which presides over
their formation, and which tends to make only one sole
and same tongue.
Among the ancient idioms of Asia, are three that it
is absolutely imperative to understand if one would pro-
ceed with assurance in the field of etymology and rise by
degrees to the source of language. These idioms, that I
can justly name tongues, in the restricted meaning which
one has given to this word, are Chinese, Sanskrit and
Hebrew. Those of my readers who are familiar with the
works of the savants of Calcutta and particularly those
of Sir William Jones, may perhaps be astonished that I
name Hebrew in place of the Arabic from which this
estimable writer derives the Hebraic idiom, and which he
cites as one of the mother-tongues of Asia. I shall explain
my thought in this respect, and at the same time state why
I do not name either Persian, or Uigurian Tataric, which
one might think I had forgotten.
'When Sir William Jones, glancing with observant
eye over the vast continent of Asia and over its numerous
dependent isles, placed therein the five ruling nations,
among which he divided the heritage, he created a geo-
graphical tableau of happy conception and great interest
that the historian ought not to overlook. 8 But in establish-
ing this division his consideration was rather of the
power and extent of the peoples that he named, than of
their true claims to anteriority; since he did not hesitate
to say that the Persians, whom he ranked among the five
ruling nations, draw their origin from the Hindus and
Arabs, 9 and that the Chinese are only an Indian colony; 10
8 Asiat. Research. T. I.
Ibid. T. II. p. 51.
10 Asiat. Research. T. II. p. 368, 379.
8 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
therefore, recognizing only three primordial sources, viz.,
that of the Tatars, that of the Hindus and that of the
Arabs.
Although I may not agree wholly with him in this
conclusion, I infer nevertheless, as I have already said,
that this writer, in naming the five principal nations of
Asia, considered their power more than their true rights
to anteriority. It is evident, to say the least, that if he
had not been obliged to yield to the eclat with which the
Arabic name is surrounded in these modern times, due
to the appearance of Mohammed, to the propagation of
the cult, and of the Islamic empire, Sir William Jones
would not have chosen the Arabic people instead of the
Hebrew people, thus making the former one of the primor-
dial sources of Asia.
This writer had made too careful a study of the
Asiatic tongues not to have known that the names which
we give to the Hebrews and to the Arabs, however much
dissimilar they may appear, owing to our manner of writ-
ing them, are in substance only the same epithet modified
by two different dialects. All the world knows that both
these peoples attribute their origin to the patriach
Heber:* now, the name of this so-called patriarch, signi-
fies nothing less than that which is placed behind
or beyond, that which is distant, hidden, deceptive, de-
prived of light; that which passes, that which terminates.
that which is occidental, etc. The Hebrews, whose dialect
is evidently anterior to that of the Arabs, have derived
from it hebri and the Arabs harbi, by a transposition of
letters which is a characteristic of their language. But
whether it be pronounced hebri. or harbi, one or the other
word expresses always that the people who bear it are
found placed either beyond, or at the extremity, at the
confines, or at tho occidental borders of a country. From
* Following the Hebraic orthography isy Tiabar, following the
Arabic L, Tiabar. The Hebraic derivative is-n^y habri, a Hebrew: the
Jl*
Arabic derivative Is ^ - harbi, an Arab.
ORIGIN OF SPEECH 9
the most ancient times, this was the situation of the
Hebrews or the Arabs, relative to Asia, whose name in its
primitive root signifies the unique continent, the land, in
other words, the Land of God.
If, far from all systematic prejudice, one considers
attentively the Arabic idiom, he discovers there the cer-
tain marks of a dialect which, in surviving all the dialects
emanated from the same branch, has become successively
enriched from their debris, has undergone the vicissi-
tudes of time, and carried afar by a conquering people,
has appropriated a great number of words foreign to its
primitive roots; a dialect which has been polished and
fashioned upon the idioms of the vanquished people, and
little by little shown itself very different from what it
was in its origin; whereas the Hebraic idiom on the
contrary (and I mean by this idiom that of Moses), long
since extinct in its own country and lost for the people
who spoke it, was concentrated in one unique book, where
hardly any of the vicissitudes which had altered the Arfr-
bic had been able to assail it ; this is what distinguishes
it above all and what has made it my choice.
This consideration has not escaped Sir William Jones.
He has clearly seen that the Arabic idiom, toward which
he felt a strong inclination, had never produced any work
worthy of fixing the attention of men prior to the
Koran, 11 which is, besides", only a development of the
Sepher of Moses; whereas this Sepher, sacred refuge of
the Hebrew tongue, seemed to him to contain, independent
of a divine inspiration, 12 more true sublimity, exquisite
beauties, pure morals, essential history and traits of
poetry and eloquence, than all the assembled books writ-
ten in any tongue and in any age of the world.
However much may be said and however much one
may, without doing the least harm to the Sepher, com-
pare and even prefer certain works equally famous among
11 Asiat. Research. T. II. p. 13.
12 Ibid. T. II. p, 15.
10 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
the nations, I affirm that it contains for those who can
read it, things of lofty conception and of deep wisdom;
but it is assuredly not in the state in which it is shown
to the vulgar readers, that it merits such praise. Sir
William Jones undoubtedly understood it in its purity
and this is what I like to believe.
Besides, it is always by works of this nature that a
tongue acquires its right to veneration. The books of uni-
versal principles, called King, by the Chinese, those of
divine knowledge, called Veda or Beda, by the Hindus,
the Sepher of Moses, these are what make illustrious the
Chinese, the Sanskrit and the Hebrew. Although Uigurian
Tataric may be one of the primitive tongues of Asia, I
have not included it as one that should be studied by the
student who desires to go back to the principle of speech ;
because nothing could be brought back to this principle
in an idiom which has not a sacred literature. Now, how
could the Tatars have had a sacred or profane literature,
they who knew not even the characters of writing? The
celebrated Genghis Khan, whose empire embraced an im-
mense extent, did not find, according to the best writers,
a single man among his Mongols capable of writing his
dispatches. 13 Tamerlane, ruler in his turn of a part of
Asia, knew neither how to read nor write. This lack of
character and of literature, leaving the Tataric idioms
in a continual fluctuation somewhat similar to that which
the rude dialects of the savage peoples of America ex-
perienced, makes their study useless to etymology and
can only throw uncertain and nearly always false lights
in the mind.
One must seek the origin of speech only from authen-
tic monuments, whereon speech itself has left its inefface-
able imprint. If time and the scythe of revolutions had
respected more the books of Zoroaster, I doubtless might
have compared with the Hebrew, the ancient tongue of the
Parsees, called Zend, in which are written the fragments
13 Traduct. franc, des Recher. Asiat. T. II. P. 49. Notes.
ORIGIN OF SPEECH 11
which have come down to us; but after a long and im-
partial examination, I cannot refrain from believing, not-
withstanding all the recognition that I feel for the extra-
ordinary labours of Anquetil-Duperron who has procur-
ed them for us, that the book called today, the Zend-
Avesta, by the Parsees, is only a sort of breviary, a
compilation of prayers and litanies wherein are mingled
here and there certain fragments from the sacred books of
Zeradosht, the ancient Zoroaster, translated in the living
tongue; for this is precisely what the word Zend signi-
fies living tongue. The primitive Avesta was divided into
twenty-one parts, called Nosk, and entered into all the
details of nature, 14 as do the Vedas and Pouranas of the
Hindus, with which it had perhaps more affinity than one
imagines. The Boun-Dehesh, which Anquetil-Duperron has
translated from the Pchlcci, a sort of dialect more modern
still than the Zend, appears to be only an abridgment
of that part of the Avesta which treated particularly of
the origin of Beings and the birth of the Universe.
Sir William Jones, who believes as I do that the orig-
inal books of Zoroaster were lost, thinks that the Zend,
in which are written the fragments that we. possess, is a
dialect of Sanskrit, in which Pehlevi, derived from the
Chaldaic and from the Cimmerian Tatars, has mingled
many of its expressions. 15 This opinion, quite com form-
able with that of the learned d'Herbelot who carries the
Zend and Pehlevi back to Nabatsean Chaldaic, 16 that is,
to the most ancient tongue of Assyria, is therefore most
probable since the characters of Pehlevi and Zend are
obviously of Chaldaic origin.
I do not doubt that the famous inscriptions which are
found in the ruins of ancient Isthakr, 17 named Persepolis
by the Greeks, and of which no savant, up to this time,
14 Zend-Avesta. T. I. part II. p. 46.
ir> Asiat. Research, T. II. p. 52 et suiv.
16 Bibl. ori. p. 514.
IT Millin: Monumens inedits.
12 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
has been able to decipher the characters, belong to the
tongue in which the sacred books of the Parsees were
originally written before they had been abridged and
translated in Pehlevi and Zend. This tongue, whose very
name has disappeared, was perhaps spoken at the court
of those monarchs of Iran, whom Mohsenal-Fany men-
tions in a very curious book entitled Dabistan* and
whom he assures had preceded the dynasty of the Pish-
dadians, which is ordinarily regarded as the earliest.
But without continuing further upon this digression,
I believe I have made it sufficiently understood that the
study of Zend cannot be of the same interest, nor produce
the same results as that of Chinese, Sanskrit or Hebrew,
since it is only a dialect of Sanskrit and can only offer
sundry fragments of the sacred literature translated from
an unknown tongue more ancient than itself. It is enough
to make it enter as a sort of supplement in the research of
the origin of speech, considering it as a link which binds
Sanskrit to Hebrew.
It is the same with the Scandinavian idiom, and the
Runic poetry preserved in the Edda. 18 These venerable
relics of the sacred literature of the Celts, our ancestors,
ought to be regarded as a medium between the tongues
of ancient Asia and that of modern Europe. They are not
to be disdained as an auxiliary study, the more so since
they are all that remains to us really authentic pertaining
to the cult of the ancient Druids, and as the other Celtic
dialects, such as Basque, Armoric Breton, Welsh Breton
or Cymraeg, possessing no writings, can merit no sort of
confidence in the important subject with which we are
engaged.
But let us return to the three tongues whose study
I recommend: Chinese, Sanskrit and Hebrew; let us
* This work which treats of the manners and customs of Per-
sia, is not known except for a single extract inserted in the New
Asiatic Miscellany, published by Gladwin, at Calcutta, 1789.
is Edda Islandonim Haoniae, 1665, in-4.
ORIGIN OF SPEECH 13
glance at them without concerning ourselves for the
present, with their grammatical forms; let us fathom
their genius and see in what manner they principally
differ.
The Chinese tongue is, of all the living tongues today,
the most ancient ; the one whose elements are the simplest
and the most homogeneous. Born in the midst of certain
rude men, separated from other men by the result of a
physical catastrophe which had happened to the globe, it
was at first confined to the narrowest limits, yielding
only scarce and material roots and not rising above the
simplest perceptions of the senses. Wholly physical in its
origin, it recalled to the memory only physical objects:
about two hundred words composed its entire lexicon, and
these words reduced again to the most restricted significa-
tion were all attached to local and particular ideas.
Nature, in thus isolating it from all tongues, defended it
for a long time from mixture, anol when the men who
spoke it, multiplied, spread abroad and commingled with
other men, art came to its aid and covered it with an im-
penetrable defense. By this defense, I mean the symbolic
characters whose origin a sacred tradition attributes to
Fo-Hi. This holy man, says the tradition, having examined
the heavens and the earth, and pondered much upon the
nature of intermediate things, traced the eight Koua, the
various combinations of which sufficed to express all the
ideas then developed in the intelligence of the people. By
means of this invention, the use of knots in cords, which
had been the custom up to that time, ceased.*
Nevertheless, in proportion as the Chinese people ex-
tended, in proportion as their intelligence made progress
and became enriched with new ideas, their tongue fol-
lowed these different developments. The number of its
words fixed by the symbolic Koua, being unable to be
augmented, was modified by the accent. From being par-
* This tradition is drawn from the great history Tsee-tchi-Kien-
Kang-Mou, which the Emperor Kang-hi ordered translated into Tataric
and embellished with a preface.
14 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
ticular they became generic ; from the rank of nouns they
were raised to that of verbs; the substance was distin-
guished from the spirit. At that time was felt the neces-
sity for inventing new symbolic characters, which, uniting
easily, the one with the other, could follow the flight of
thought and lend themselves to all the movements of the
imagination. 19 This step taken, nothing further arrested
the course of this indigenous idiom, which, without ever
varying its elements, without admitting anything foreign
in its form, has sufficed during an incalculable succession
of ages for the needs of an immense nation; which has
given it sacred books that no revolution has been able to
destroy, and has been enriched with all the profoundness,
brilliancy and purity that moral and metaphysical genius
can produce.
Such is this tongue, which, defended by its symbolic
forms, inaccessible to all neighbouring idioms, has seen
them expiring around it, in the same manner that a vig-
orous tree sees a host of frail plants, which its shade de-
prives of the generating heat of day, wither at its feet.
Sanskrit did not have its origin in India. If it is
allowable for me to express my thought without promis-
ing to prove it, since this would be neither the time nor
the place; I believe that a people much older than the
Hindus, inhabiting another region of the earth, came in
very remote times to be established in Bharat-Wcrsh, to-
day Hindustan, and brought there a celebrated idiom call-
ed Bali or Pali, many indications of which are found in
Singhala, of the island of Ceylon, in the kingdoms of
Siam, of Pegu, and in all that part which is called the em-
pire of the Burmans. Everywhere was this tongue consider-
ed sacred. 20 Sir William Jones, whose opinion is the same
as mine relative to the exotic origin of Sanskrit, without
however giving the Pali tongue as its primitive source,
19 Mtm. concer. les Chinois. T. I. p. 273 et suiv. Ibid. T. VIII. p 133
et suiv. Mem. de VAcad. des Inscrip. T. XXXIV. in-4. p. 25.
20 Descript. de Siam. T. I. p. 25. Asia*. Resear. T. VI. p. 307.
ORIGIN OF SPEECH 15
shows that the pure Hindi, originating in Tatary, rude
jargon of the epoch of that colonization, has received from
some sort of foreign tongue its grammatical forms, and
finding itself in a convenient position to be, as it were,
grafted by it, has developed a force of expression, harmo-
nious and copious, of which all the Europeans who have
been able to understand it speak with admiration. 21
In truth, what other tongue ever possessed a sacred
literature more widespread? How many years shall yet
pass ere Europeans, developed from their false notions,
will have exhausted the prolific mine which it offers!
Sanskrit, in the opinion of all the English writers
who have studied it, is the most perfect tongue that men
have ever spoken. 22 It surpasses Greek and Latin in reg-
ularity as in richness, and Persian and Arabic in poetic
conceptions. With our European tongues it preserves a
striking analogy that holds chiefly to the form of its
characters, which being traced from left to right have
served, according to Sir William Jones, as type or proto-
type of all those which have been and which still are in
use in Africa and in Europe.
Let us now pass on to the Hebraic tongue. So many
abstract fancies have been uttered concerning this tongue,
and the systematic or religious prejudice which has guid-
ed the pen of its historians, has so obscured its origin,
that I scarcely dare to say what it is, so simple is what
I have to say. This simplicity will, nevertheless, have its
merit; for if I do not exalt it to the point of saying with
the rabbis of the synagogue or the doctors of the Church,
that it has presided at the birth of the world, that angels
and men have learned it from the mouth of God Himself,
and that this celestial tongue returning to its source, will
become that which will be spoken by the blessed in heav-
en ; neither shall I say with the modern philosophists, that
21 Ibid. T. I. p. 307.
22 Wilkin's Notes on the Hitopadcsa. p. 294. Halhed, dans la preface
de la Gramm. du Bengale, ct dans le Code dcs lois des Oentoux.
1C THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
it is a wretched jargon of a horde of malicious, opinion-
ated, suspicious, avaricious and turbulent men ; I shall
say without any partiality, that the Hebrew contained in
the Sepher, is the pure idiom of the ancient Egyptians.
This truth will not please those prejudiced pro or con,
I am certain of this; but it is no fault of mine if the
truth so rarely flatters their passions.
No, the Hebraic tongue is neither the first nor the
last of the tongues; it is not the only one of the mother-
tongues, as a modern theosophist, whom I esteem greatly
otherwise, has inopportunely believed, because it is not
the only one that has sprung from the divine wonders; 23
it is the tongue of a powerful, wise and religious people;
of a thoughtful people, profoundly learned in moral sci-
ences and friend of the mysteries; of a people whose
wisdom and laws have been justly admired. This tongue
separated from its original stem, estranged from its cradle
by the effect of a providential emigration, an account of
which is needless at the moment, became the particular
idiom of the Hebrew people ; and like a productive branch,
which a skillful agriculturist has transplanted in ground
prepared for this purpose, so that it will bear fruit long
after the worn out trunk whence it comes has disappeared,
so has this idiom preserved and brought down to us the
precious storehouse of Egyptian learning.
But this storehouse has not been trusted to the cap-
rice of hazard. Providence, who willed its preservation,
has known well how to shelter it from storms. The book
which contains it, covered with a triple veil, has crossed
the torrent of ages respected by its possessors, braving
the attention of the profane, and never being understood
except by those who would not divulge its mysteries.
With this statement let us retrace our steps. I have
said that the Chinese, isolated from their birth, having
departed from the simplest perceptions of the senses, had
reached by development the loftiest conceptions of intel-
23 St-Martin: Esprit des cTioses, T. II. p. 213.
ORIGIN OF SPEECH 17
ligonce; it was quite the contrary with the Hebrew: this
distinct idiom, entirely formed from a most highly perfect-
ed tongue, composed wholly of expressions universal, intel-
ligible and abstract, delivered in this state to a sturdy
but ignorant people, had, in its hands fallen from degen-
eracy to degeneracy, and from restriction to restriction,
to its most material elements; all that was intelligible had
become sentient ; all that was universal had become parti-
cular.
Sanskrit, holding a sort of mean between the two,
since it was the result of a formed tongue, grafted upon
an unformed idiom, unfolded itself at first with admirable
promptness: but after having, like the Chinese and the
Hebrew, given its divine fruits, it has been unable to re-
press the luxury of its productions: its astonishing flex-
ibility has become the source of an excess which neces-
sarily has brought about its downfall. The Hindu writers,
abusing the facility which they had of composing words,
have made them of an excessive length, not only of ten,
fifteen and twenty syllables, but they have pushed the
extravagance to the point of containing in simple inscrip-
tions, terms which extend to one hundred and even one
hundred and fifty. 24 Their vagabond imagination has
followed the intemperance of their elocution; an im-
penetrable obscurity has spread itself over their writ-
ings; their tongue has disappeared.
But this tongue displays in the Ycdas an economical
richness. It is there that one can examine its native flex-
ibility and compare it with the rigidity of the Hebrew,
which beyond the amalgamation of root and sign, does not
admit of any composition : or, compare it with the facility
with which the Chinese allows its words, all monosyl-
lables, to be joined without ever being confused. The prin-
cipal beauties of this last idiom consist in its characters,
the symbolic combination of which offers a tableau more
or less perfect, according to the talent of the writer. It
24 Asiat. Research. T. I. p. 279, 357, 366, etc.
18 THE HEBKAIC TONGUE KESTOKED
can be said without metaphor, that they paint pictures in
their discourse. 25 The written tongue differs essentially
from the spoken tongue.- 6 The effect of the latter is very
mediocre, and as it were, of no importance; whereas, the
former, carries the reader along presenting him with a
series of sublime pictures. Sanskrit characters say nothing
to the imagination, the eye can run through them without
giving the least attention; it is to the happy composition
of its words, to their harmony, to the choice and to the
blending of ideas that this idiom owes its eloquence. The
greatest effect of Chinese is for the eyes ; that of Sanskrit,
for the ears. The Hebrew unites the two advantages but
in a less proportion. Sprung from Egypt where both hiero-
glyphic and literal characters were used at the same
time, 27 it offers a symbolic image in each of its words, al-
though its sentence conserves in its ensemble all the elo-
quence of the spoken tongue. This is the double faculty
which has procured for it so much eulogy on the part of
those who felt it and so much sarcasm on the part of those
who have not.
Chinese characters are written from top to bottom,
one under the other, ranging the columns from right to
left; those of Sanskrit, following the direction of a hori-
zontal line, going from left to right; Hebraic characters,
on the contrary, proceed from right to left. It appears
that in the arrangement of the symbolic characters, the
genius of the Chinese tongue recalls their origin, and
makes them still descend from heaven as, it was said,
their first inventor had done. Sanskrit and Hebrew, in
tracing their lines in an opposite way, also make allusion
to the manner in which their literal characters were in-
vented ; for, as Leibnitz very well asserted, everything has
its sufficient reason ; but as this usage pertains especially
to the history of peoples, this is not the place to enter in-
25 Mem. concern, les CMnois. T. I.
20 Ibid. T. VIII. p. 133 & 185.
2T Clem. Alex. Strom. L. V. Herodot. L. II. 36.
ORIGIN OF SPEECH 19
to the discussion that its examination would involve.
I shall only observe that the method which the Hebrew
follows was that of the ancient Egyptians, as related
by Herodotus. 28 The Greeks, who received their letters
from the Phoenicians, wrote also for some time from
right to left; their origin, wholly different, made
them soon modify this course. At first they traced
their lines in forms of furrows, going from right to
left and returning alternately from left to right ; **
afterward, they fixed upon the sole method that we
have to-day, which is that of Sanskrit, with which the
European tongues have, as I have already said, much
analogy. These three styles of writing merit careful con-
sideration, as much in the three typical tongues as in the
derivative tongues which are directly or indirectly attach-
ed to them. I conclude here this parallelism: to push it
further would be useless, so much the more as, not being
able to lay before the reader at once the grammatical
forms of Chinese, Sanskrit and Hebrew, I should run the
risk of not being understood.
If I had felt sure of having the time and the assist-
ance necessary, I should not have hesitated to take first
the Chinese, for basis of my work, waiting until later to
pass on from Sanskrit to Hebrew, upholding my method
by an original translation of the King, the Veda and the
Sepher; but being almost certain of the contrary, I have
decided to begin with the Hebrew because it offers an in-
terest more direct, more general, more within the grasp
of my readers and promises besides, results of an early
usefulness. I trust that if the circumstances do not per-
mit me to realize my idea in regard to Sanskrit and Chin-
28 Herodot. Ibid.
20 Mtm. de I'Acnd. des Inscript. T. XXXIX. in-12 p. 129. Court-de-
GSbelin, Orig. du Lang. p. 471.
20 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
ese, that there will be found men sufficiently courageous,
sufficiently obedient to the impulse which Providence gives
toward the perfecting of the sciences and the welfare of
humanity, to undertake this laborious work and terminate
what I have commenced.
II.
HEBRAIC TONGUE: AUTHENTICITY OF THE
SEPHER OF MOSES; VICISSITUDES
EXPERIENCED BY THIS BOOK.
In choosing the Hebraic tongue, I have not been
ignorant of an}' of the difficulties, nor any of the dangers
awaiting me. Some knowledge of speech, and of ton-
gues in general, and the unusual course that I had given
to my studies, had convinced me long since that the Heb-
raic tongue was lost, and that the Bible which we possess
was far from being the exact translation of the Sepher
of Moses. Having attained this original Sepher by
other paths than that of the Greeks and Latins, and
carried along from the Orient to the Occident of Asia by
an impulse contrary to the one ordinarily followed in the
exploration of tongues, I saw plainly that the greater
part of the vulgar interpretations were false, and that,
in order to restore the tongue of Moses in its primitive
grammar, it would be necessary to clash violently with
the sc'entific or religious prejudices that custom, pride, in-
terest, the rust of ages and the respect which it attached
to ancient errors, concurred in consecrating, strengthen-
ing and preserving.
But if one had to listen always to these pusillanim-
ous considerations, what things would ever be perfected?
Has man in his adolescence the same needs that he has in
his infancy? Does he not change his apparel as well as
his nourishment? Are not the lessons of manhood dif-
ferent from those of youth? Do not the savage nations
advance toward civilization and those which are civilized
toward the acquisition of sciences? Does not one see the
cave of the troglodyte make way for the lodge of the hun-
21
22 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
ter, the tent of the herdsman, the hut of the agriculturist,
and this cabin transformed successively, thanks to the
progressive development of commerce and the arts, into
a commodious house, castle, magnificent palace or sump-
tuous temple? This superb city that we inhabit and this
Louvre which spreads before our eyes such rich architec-
ture, do not these all repose upon the same soil where a
few miserable hovels of fishermen stood not long ago?
Be not deceived : there are moments indicated by
Providence, when the impulse that it gives toward new
ideas, undermining precedents useful in their beginning but
now superfluous, forces them to yield, even as a skillful
architect clears away the rough framework which has
supported the arches of his edifice. It would be just as
foolish or culpable to attack these precedents or to dis-
turb this framework, when they still support either the
social edifice or the particular one, and proceeding, un-
der pretext of their rusticity, their ungracefulness, their
necessary obstruction, to overthrow them as out of place;
as it would be ridiculous or timid to leave them all there
by reason of a foolish or superannuated respect, or a
superstitious and condemnatory weakness, since they are
of no further use, since they encumber, since they are an
obstruction, since they detract from the wisest institu-
tions or the noblest and loftiest structures. Undoubtedly,
in the first instance, and following my comparison, either
the prince or the architect should stop the audacious ig-
noramus and prevent him from being buried beneath the
inevitable ruins: but in the second instance, they should,
on the contrary, welcome the intrepid man who, present-
ing himself with either torch or lever in hand, offers them,
notwithstanding certain perils, a service always difficult.
Had I lived a century or two earlier, even if fortunate
circumstances assisted by steadfast labour had placed the
same truths within my grasp, I would have kept silent
about them, as many savants of all nations have been ob-
liged to do; but the times are changed. I see in looking
AUTHENTICITY OF THE SEPHER 23
about me that Providence is opening the portals of a New
Day. On all sides, institutions are putting themselves
in harmony with the enlightenment of the century. I
have not hesitated. Whatever may be the success of my
efforts, their aim has been the welfare of humanity and
this inner consciousness is sufficient for me.
I am about therefore, to restore the Hebraic tongue
in its original principles and show the rectitude and force
of these principles, giving by their means a new transla-
tion of that part of the Sepher which contains the Cos-
mogony of Moses. I feel myself bound to fulfill this double
task by the very choice that I have made, the motives of
which it is 'useless to explain further. But it is well,
perhaps, before entering into the details of the Grammar,
and of the numerous notes preceding my translation
which prepare and sustain it, that I reveal here the true
conditions of things, so as to fortify upright minds
against the wrong direction that might be given them,
showing the exact point of the question to exploring
minds, and make it clearly understood to those whose in-
terests or prejudices, of whatever sort, might lead them
astray, that I shall set at naught all criticism which may
come from the limits of science, whether supported by
delusory opinions or authorities, and that I shall recog-
nize only the worthy champion who shall present himself
upon the field of truth, armed with truth.
It is well known that the Fathers of the Church have
believed, until Saint Jerome, that the Hellenistic version
called the Scptuagmt, was a divine work written by pro-
phets rather than by simple translators, often even un-
aware, from what Saint Augustine says, that another
original existed; * but it is also known that Saint Jerome,
judging this version corrupt in innumerable passages, and
by no means exact, 31 substituted a Latin version for it
30 Walton. Proleg. IX. Rich. Simon, Hist. crit. L. II. ch. 2. August.
L. III. c. 25.
31 Hieron. in qua'St. heir. Rich. Simon. Ibid. L. II. ch. 3.
24 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
that was considered the only authentic one by the Council
of Trent, and in defense of which the Inquisition has not
feared to kindle the flames of the stake. 3 - Thus the
Fathers have contradicted beforehand the decision of the
Council, and the decision of the Council has, in its turn,
condemned the opinion of the Fathers; so that one could
not find Luther entirely wrong, when he said that the
Hellenistic interpreters had not an exact knowledge of
Hebrew, and that their version was as void of meaning as
of harmony, 33 since he followed the sentiment of Saint
Jerome, sanctioned in some degree by the Council; nor
even blame Calvin and the other wise reformers for hav-
ing doubted the authenticity of the Vulgate, notwith-
standing the infallible decision of the Council, 34 since
Saint Augustine had indeed condemned this work accord-
ing to the idea that every Church had formed in his time.
It is therefore, neither the authority of the Fathers,
nor that of the Councils that can be used against me; for
the one destroying the other, they remain ineffectual. It
will be necessary to demonstrate by a complete and per-
fect knowledge of Hebrew, and not by Greek and Latin
citations to which I take exception, but by interpreta-
tions founded upon better principles than mine, to prove
to me that I have misunderstood this tongue, and that
the bases upon which I place my grammatical edifice are
false. One clearly realizes, at this time in which we are
living, that it is only with such arguments one can ex-
pect to convince me.*
32 Mariana: pr. Edit. vulg. c. I.
33 Luther sympos. Cap. de Linguis.
34 Fuller, in miscell. Causabon. adv. Baron.
* The Fathers of the Church can unquestionably be quoted like
other writers, but it is upon things de facto, and in accordance with
the rules of criticism. When it is a question of saying that they have
believed that the translation of the Septuagint was a work inspired
of God, to quote them in such case is unobjectionable; but if one pre-
tends thus to prove it, the quotation is ridiculous. It is necessary,
before engaging in a critical discussion, to study the excellent rules
AUTHENTICITY OF THE SEPHER 25
But if honest minds are astonished that after more
than twenty centuries, I alone have been able to penetrate
the genius of the tongue of Moses, and understand the
writings of this extraordinary man, I shall reply frankly
that I do not believe that it is so; I think, on the con-
trary, that many men have, at different times and among
different peoples, possessed the understanding of the
Sepher in the way that I possess it ; but some have pru-
dently concealed this knowledge whose divulgence would
have been dangerous at that time, while others have en-
veloped it with veils so thick as to be attacked with dif-
ficulty. But if this explanation will not be accepted, I
would invoke the testimony of a wise and painstaking
man, who, being called upon to reply to a similar objec-
tion explained thus his thought : "It is very possible that
a man, secluded in the confines of the Occident and liv-
ing in the nineteenth century after Christ, understands
better the books of Moses, those of Orpheus, and the frag-
ments which remain to us of the Etruscans, than did the
Egyptian, Greek and Roman interpreters of the age of
Pericles and Augustus. The degree of intelligence re-
quired to understand the ancient tongues is independent
of the mechanism and the material of those tongues. It
is not only a question of grasping the meaning of the
words, it is also necessary to enter into the spirit of the
ideas. Often words offer in their vulgar relation a mean-
ing wholly opposed to the spirit that has presided at their
rapprochement. . . ." 35
I have said that I consider the Hebraic idiom con-
tained in the Sepher, as a transplanted branch of the
Egyptian tongue. This is an assertion the historic proof
of which I cannot give at this moment, because it would
draw me into details too foreign to my subject; but it
seems to me that plain, common sense should be enough
laid down by Fre"ret the most judicious critic that France has possessed.
Voyez Acad. de Belles-Let. T. VI. Memoir, p. 146. T. IV. p. 411. T. XVIII.
p. 49. T. XXI. Hist. p. 7.
35 Court-de GSbelln: Mond. primit. T. I, p. 88.
26 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
here: for, in whatever manner the Hebrews may have es-
caped, one cannot deny that they made a long sojourn in
Egypt. Even though this sojourn were of only four or
five centuries duration as everyone is led to believe;* I
ask in all good faith, whether a rude tribe deprived of all
literature, without civil or religious institutions that
might hold it together, could not assume the tongue of
the country in which it lived; a tribe which, transported
to Babylon for only seventy years, and while it formed
a corps of the nation, ruled by its particular law, sub-
missive to an exclusive cult, was unable to preserve its
maternal tongue and bartered it for the Syriac-Aramrean,
a sort of Chaldaic dialect; 36 for it is well known that
Hebrew, lost from this epoch, ceased to be the vulgar
tongue of the Jews.
Therefore, I believe that one cannot, without volun-
tarily ignoring the evidence, reject so natural an asser-
tion and refuse to admit that the Hebrews coming out
from Egypt after a sojourn of more than four hundred
years, brought the tongue with them. I do not mean by
this to destroy what Dochart, Grotius, Huet, Leclerc, 37
and other erudite moderns have advanced concerning the
radical identity which they have rightly admitted be-
tween Hebrew and Phoenician; for I know that this last
dialect brought into Egypt by the Shepherd kings became
identified with the ancient Egyptian long before the ar-
rival of the Hebrews at the banks of the Nile.
Thus the Hebraic idiom ought therefore to have very
close relations with the Phoenician, Chaldaic, Arabic and
all those sprung from the same source; but for a long
time cultivated in Egypt, it had acquired intellectual de-
velopments which, prior to the degeneracy of which I
have spoken, made it a moral tongue wholly different
* In the Second Book of the Sepher, entitled mcty fl^W WAleh-
Shemoth ch. 12 v. 40, one reads that this sojourn was 430 years.
36 Walton Proleg. III. Rich. Simon: Hist. crit. L. II. ch. 17.
37 Bochart, Chanaan L. II. ch. I. Grotius: Comm. in Genes, c. II.
Huet: Dtmonst. Evan. prop. IV. c. 3. Leclerc: Diss. de Ling. hebr.
AUTHENTICITY OF THE SEPHER 27
from the vulgar Canaanitish tongue. Is it needful to say
to what degree of perfection Egypt had attained? Who
of my readers does not know the stately eulogies given it
by Bossuet, when, laying aside for a moment his theolog-
ical partiality, he said, that the noblest works and the
most beautiful art of this country consisted in moulding
men ; 38 that Greece was so convinced of this that her
greatest men, Homer, Pythagoras, Plato, even Lycurgus
and Solon, those two great legislators, and others whom
it is unnecessary to name, went there to acquire wisdom.
Now, had not Moses been instructed in all the scien-
ces of the Egyptians? Had he not, as the historian of the
Acts of the Apostles insinuated, 39 begun there to be
"mighty in words and deeds?" Think you that the dif-
ference would be very great, if the sacred books of the
Egyptians, having survived the debris of their empire,
allowed you to make comparison with those of Moses?
Simplicius who, up to a certain point had been able to
make this comparison, found so much that was conform-
able, * that he concluded that the prophet of the Hebrews
had walked in the footsteps of the ancient Thoth.
Certain modern savants after having examined the
Sepher in incorrect translations, or in a text which they
were incapable of understanding, struck with certain re-
petitions, and believing they detected in the numbers
taken literally, palpable anachronisms, have imagined,
now, that Moses had never existed, and then, that he had
worked upon scattered memoirs, whose fragments he him-
self or his secretaries had clumsily patched together. 41
It has also been said that Homer was an imaginary being;
as if the existence of the Iliad and the Odyssey, these
master-pieces of poetry, did not attest the existence of
88 Bossuet: Hist. Univers. III. part. 3.
39 Act. VII. v. 22.
40 Simplic. Comm. phys. ariftt. L. VIII p. 268.
41 Spinosa: tract, theol. c. 9. Hobbes: Leviath. Part. Ill, c. 33.
Isaac de la Peyrere: Syst. thcol. Part. I. L. IV. c. I. Leclerc, Bolin-
broke, Voltaire, Boulanger, Fr6ret, etc.
28 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
their author! He must have little poetic instinct and
poor understanding of the arrangement and plan of an
epic work, who could conceive such a false idea of man
and his conceptions, and be persuaded that a book like
the Sepher, the King or the Veda could be put forward as
genuine, be raised by fraud to the rank of divine Writ-
ings, and be compiled with the same heedlessness that
certain authors display in their crude libels.
Undoubtedly certain notes, certain commentaries,
certain reflections written at first marginally, have slip-
ped into the text of the Sepher ; Esdras has restored badly
some of the mutilated passages; but the statue of the
Pythian Apollo on account of a few slight breaks, remains
none the less standing as the master-piece of an unrival-
led sculptor whose unknown name is a matter of less con-
sequence. Not recognizing in the Sepher the stamp of a
grand man shows lack of knowledge; not wishing that
this grand man be called Moses shows lack of criticism.
It is certain that Moses made use of more ancient
books and perhaps of sacerdotal memoirs, as has been sus-
pected by Leclerc, Richard Simon and the author of Con-
jectures upon Genesis. 42 But Moses does not hide it ; he
cites in two or three passages of the Sepher the title of the
works which are before his eyes: the book of the Genera-
tions of Adam; 43 the book of the Wars of the Lord; 44 the
book of the Sayings of the Seers. 45 The book of Jasher
is mentioned in Joshua. 4<J The compiling of old memoirs
the causing of them to be compiled by scribes as these
writers have advanced, or indeed the abridging them as
Origen supposed, is very far from that. 47 Moses created
in copying : this is what a real genius does. Can one im-
42 Leclerc, in Diss. III. de script. Pentateuch. Richard Simoa:
Hist. crit. L. I. c. 7.
43 Gen. c. 5. v. 1.
Num. c. 21. v. 14.
45 Chron. II. c. 33, v. 19.
46 Jos. C. 10. V. 13.
Evist. ad Affric.
AUTHENTICITY OF THE SEPHER 29
agine that the sculptor of the Pythian Apollo had no
models? Can one imagine, by chance, that Homer imitat-
ed nothing? The opening lines of the Iliad were
copied from the Demetreide of Orpheus. The history
of Helen and the war of Troy were preserved in the
sacerdotal archives of Tyre whence this poet took it.
It is asserted that he changed it to such an extent, that,
of the simulacrum of the Moon he made a woman, and
of the Eons, or celestial Spirits who contended for its
possession, the men whom he called Greeks and Trojans. 48
Moses had delved deeply into the sanctuaries of
Egypt, and he had been initiated into the mysteries; it is
easily discovered in examining the form of his Cosmo-
gony. He undoubtedly possessed a great number of hiero-
glyphics which he explained in his writings, as asserted
by Philo ; 49 his genius and particular inspiration pro-
duced the rest. He made use of the Egyptian tongue in
all its purity.* This tongue had at this time attained its
highest degree of perfection. It was not long becoming
deteriorated in the hands of a rude tribe left to their own
fate in the deserts of Idumea. It was a giant that found
itself suddenly among a troop of pygmies. The extraor-
dinary movement which this tongue had stamped upon its
nation could not last, but in order that the plans of Pro-
vidence should be fulfilled it was sufficient that the sacred
storehouse in the Sepher should be guarded carefully.
It appears, in the opinion of the most famous rab-
bis, 50 that Moses himself, foreseeing the fate to which his
48 Beausobre, Hist, du Manich. T. II. p. 328.
4 De vitA Mos.
* I shall not stop to contend with the opinion of those who seem
to believe that the Coptic differs not in the least from the ancient
Egyptian; for can one imagine such an opinion as serious? One might
as well say that the tongue of Boccaccio and Dante is the same aa
that of Cicero and Vergil. One can display his wit in upholding such
a paradox; but he could prove it neither by criticism nor even by
common sense.
50 Moyse de Cotsi: Pref. au grand Livre des Command, de la Loi.
Aben-Esra, Jesud Mora, etc.
30 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
book must be submitted and the false interpretations that
must be given it in the course of time, had recourse to an
oral law which he gave by word of mouth to reliable men
whose fidelity he had tested, and whom he charged to
transmit it in the secret of the sanctuary to other men
who, transmitting it in their turn from age to age might
insure its thus reaching the remotest posterity. 51 This
oral law that the modern Jews are confident they still
possess, is named Kabbala,* from a Hebrew word which
signifies, that which is received, that which conies from
elsewhere, that which is passed from hand to hand, etc.
The most famous books that they possess, such as those of
the Zohar, the Bahir, the Medrashim, the two Gemaras,
which compose the Talmud, are almost entirely kabbal-
istic.
It would be very difficult to say today whether Moses
has really left this oral law, or whether, having left it, it
has not become altered, as the learned Maimonides seems
to insinuate when he writes that his nation has lost the
knowledge of innumerable things, without which it is al-
most impossible to understand the Law. 52 Be that as it
may, it is quite possible that a like institution might have
been in the mind of the Egyptians whose inclination for
the mysteries is quite well known.
Besides, chronology, cultivated but little before the
conquest of Chosroes, that famous Persian monarch
whom we call Cyrus, hardly permits fixing the epoch of
the appearance of Moses. It is only by approximation
that one can place, about fifteen centuries before the
Christian era, the issue of the Sepher. After the death of
this theocratic lawgiver, the people to whom he had con-
fided this sacred storehouse, remained still in the desert
for some time and were established only after many
struggles. Their wandering life influenced their lang-
51 Boulanger: Antiq. dev. L. I. c. 22.
*bp
52 Rambam. More. Nebuch. Part. I. c. 21.
AUTHENTICITY OF THE SEPHER 31
uage which degenerated rapidly. Their character became
harsh; their spirit was roused. They turned hands
against each other. One of the twelve tribes, that of Ben-
jamin, was almost wholly destroyed. Nevertheless, the
mission that this people had to fulfill and which had nec-
essitated their exclusive laws, alarmed the neighbouring
peoples; their customs, their extraordinary institutions,
their pride irritated them ; they became the object of their
attacks. In less than four centuries they w r ere subjected
six times to slavery, and six times they were delivered
by the hand of Providence who willed their preservation.
In the midst of these terrible catastrophes, the Sepher
was respected : covered with a providential obscurity it
followed the vanquished, escaped the victors, and for a
long time remained unknown to its possessors themselves.
Too much publicity would have brought about its loss.
Whether it is true that Moses had left oral instructions
for evading the corruption of the text, it is not to be
doubted that he did not take all possible precaution to
guard its preservation. It can therefore be regarded as
a very probable thing that those who handed down in sil-
ence and in the most inviolable secrecy, the thoughts of
the prophet, confided his book to each other in the same
manner, and in the midst of troubles preserved it from
destruction.
But at last after four centuries of disasters, a more
peaceful day seemed to shine upon Israel. The theocratic
sceptre was divided; the Hebrews gave themselves a king,
and their empire although restricted by neighbouring
powers did not remain without some glory. Here a new
danger appeared. Prosperit}' came to do what the most
frightful reverses had been unable to achieve. Indolence
seated upon the throne crept into the lowest ranks of the
people. Certain indifferent chronicles, certain misunder-
stood allegories, chants of vengeance and of pride, songs
of voluptuousness, bearing the names of Joshua, Ruth,
Samuel, David and Solomon, usurped the place of the
32 THE HEBEAIC TONGUE RESTORED
Sepher. Moses was neglected; his laws were unheeded.
The guardians of his secrets, invested with luxury, a prey
to all the temptations of avarice gradually forgot their
oaths. The arm of Providence raised against this intractable
people, struck them at the moment least suspected. They
were stirred by intestine struggles, they turned against
each other. Ten tribes separated themselves and kept the
name of Israel. The other two tribes took the name of
Judah. An irreconcilable hatred spread between these
two rival peoples; the} T erected altar against altar, throne
against throne; Samaria and Jerusalem had each its
sanctuary. The safety of the Sepher was the outcome of
this division.
Amid the controversies born of this schism each peo-
ple recalled its origin, invoked its unheeded laws, cited
the forgotten Sepher. Everything proves that neither one
nor the other possessed this book any longer and that it
was only by favour of heaven that it was found long af-
terward, 53 at the bottom of an old coffer covered with
dust, but happily preserved beneath a heap of pieces of
money, which avarice had in all probability accumulated
secretly and hidden from all eyes. This event decided the
fate of Jerusalem. Samaria deprived of her palladium,
having been struck a century before by the power of the
Assyrians, had fallen, and her ten tribes, captive, dispers-
ed among .the nations of Asia, having no religious bond,
or to speak more clearly, entering no more in the con-
servative plans of Providence, were dissolved there;
whereas Jerusalem, having recovered her sacred code in
the moment of her greatest peril, attached herself to it
with a strength that nothing could break. In vain were
the peoples of Judah led away into bondage; in vain was
their royal city destroyed as Samaria had been, the Seph-
er which followed them to Babylon was their safe-guard.
They could indeed lose, during the seventy years of their
captivity, even their mother tongue, but they could not
53 Voyez Chronig. II. c. 34. v. 14. et suiv.; et conf6rez Rois II. ch. 12.
AUTHENTICITY OF THE SEPHER 33
be detached from the love of their laws. It was only
needful that a man of genius should deliver these laws to
them. This man was found; for genius never fails to
come forth when summoned by Providence.
Esdras was the name of this man. His soul was
strong and his constancy unflinching. He saw that the
time was favourable, that the downfall of the Assyrian
empire, overthrown by the hands of Cyrus, gave him the
means for reestablishing the Kingdom of Judah. He skill-
fully profited by this. From the Persian monarch he ob-
tained the liberty of the Jews and led them to the ruins
of Jerusalem. But previous even to their captivity, the
politics of the Assyrian kings had reanimated the Sam-
aritan schism. Certain tribes, Cuth?eans or Scythians,
brought into Samaria, had intermarried with certain sur-
viving members of Israel and even with certain remnants
of the Jews who had taken refuge there. At Babylon the
plan had been conceived of opposing them to the Jews,
whose religious obstinacy was disturbing. 54 A copy of the
Hebraic Sepher had been sent to them with a priest de-
voted to the interests of the court. Accordingly when Es-
dras appeared, these new Samaritans opposed its estab-
lishment with all their strength. M They accused him
before the great king, of fortifying a city and of making
a citadel rather than a temple. It was even said that not
content with calumniating him they advanced to fight.
But Esdras was hard to intimidate. Not only did he
repulse these adversaries and thwart their intrigues, but
anathematizing them, raised up between them and the
Jews an insurmountable barrier. He did more: being un-
able to take away from them the Hebraic Sepher, a copy
of which they had received from Babylon, he conceived
the idea of giving another form to his and resolved upon
the change of its characters.
This was comparatively easy, since the Jews, having
M Kings II ch. 17. v. 27.
65 Joseph: Hist. Jud. L. XI. c. 4.
34 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
at that time not only become denaturalized, but having
lost completely the idiom of their forefathers, read the
ancient characters with difficult}', accustomed as they
were to the Assyrian dialect and to the modern charac-
ters of which the Chaldeans had been the inventors..
This innovation that politics alone seemed to order,
and which without doubt was done from the loftiest
motives, had most fortunate results for the preserva-
tion of the text of Moses, as I shall relate in my Gram-
mar. It called forth between the two peoples an emula-
tion which has contributed not inconsiderably to bring
down to us a book to which the highest interests must
ever be attached.
Furthermore, Esdas did not act alone in this matter.
The anathema which he had hurled against the Samar-
itans having been approved by the doctors of Babylon, he
convoked them and held with them that great synagogue,
so famous in the books of the rabbis. 56 It was there that
the changing of the characters was arrested ; that the
vowel points were admitted in the writing for the use of
the vulgar, and the ancient Masorah began, which one
should guard against confusing with the modern Masorah,
a work of the rabbis of Tiberias, the origin of which does
not go back beyond the fifth century of the Christian era.*
r >6 R. Eleasar.
* The first Mashorah, whose name indicates Assyrian origin as I
shall show in my Grammar, regulates the manner in which one should
write the Sepher, as much for usage in the temple as for its particular
use; the characters that should be employed, the different divisions
in books, chapters and verses that should be admitted in the works
of Moses; the second Masorah, that I write with a different orthography
in order to distinguish it from the first, aside from the characters,
vowel points, books, chapters and verses with which it is likewise
occupied, enters into the most minute details pertaining to the number
of words and letters which compose each of these divisions in parti
cular, and of the work in general; it notes those of the verses where
some letter is lacking, is superfluous, or. else has been changed for
another; it designates by the word Kere and Ketib, the diverse rendi-
tions that should be substituted in the reading of each; it marks the
AUTHENTICITY OF THE SEPHER 35
Esdras did still more. As much to estrange the Sam-
aritans as to humour the Jews, whom long custom and
their sojourn at Babylon had attached to certain writings
more modern than those of Moses and much less authen-
tic, he made a choice from them, retouched those which
appeared to him defective or altered, and made up a col-
lection which he joined to the Sepher. The assembly over
which he presided approved of this labour that the Sam-
aritans deemed impious; for it is well to know that the
Samaritans received absolutely only the Sepher of Mo-
ses, 57 and rejected all the other writings as apocryphal.
The Jews themselves have not today the same veneration
for all the books which constitute what we call the Bible.
They preserved the writings of Moses with a much more
scrupulous attention, learned them by heart and recited
them much oftener than the others. The savants, who
have been in a position to examine their various manu-
scripts, state that the part consecrated to the books of the
Law is always much more exact and better treated than
the rest. M
number of times that the same word is found at the beginning, the
middle or the end of a verse; it indicates what letters should be pro-
nounced, understood, inverted, suspended, etc., etc. It is because they
have not studied to distinguish these two institutions from each other,
that the savants of the past centuries have laid themselves open to such
lively discussions: some, like Buxtorf who saw only the first Mashorah
of Esdras, would not grant that it had anything of the modern, which
was ridiculous when one considers the minutiae of which I have just
spoken: others, like Cappell, Morin, Walton and even Richard Simon
who saw only the Masorah of the rabbis of Tiberias, denied that it had
anything of the ancient, which was still more ridiculous, when one
considers the choice of characters, vowel points, and the primitive
divisions of the Sepher. Among the rabbis, all those who have any
name, have upheld the antiquity of the Mashorah; there has been only
Elijah Levita who has attributed it to more modern times. But per-
haps he heard only the Masorah of Tiberias mentioned. Rarely do the
rabbis say all that they think.
57 Walton. Prolcg. XI. Richard Simon. Hist. crit. L. I. ch. 10.
08 Rich. Simon: Hist. Crit. L. I. ch. 8.
36 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
This revision and these additions have given occasion
in later times for thinking that Esdras had been the
author of all the writings of the Bible. Not only have
the modern philosophists embraced this opinion, 59 which
favoured their skepticism, but many Fathers of the
Church, and many thinkers have ardently sustained it,
believing it more consistent with their hatred of the
Jews: 60 they rely chiefly upon a passage attributed to
Esdras himself. 61 I think I have sufficiently proved by
reasoning, that the Sepher of Moses could be neither a
supposition nor a compilation of detached fragments: for
one never takes for granted nor compiles works of this
nature, and as to its integrity in the time of Esdras, there
exists a proof dc facto that cannot be challenged: this is
the Samaritan text. It is well known, however little one
may reflect, that considering the condition of things, the
Samaritans, mortal enemies of the Jews, anathematized
by Esdras, would never have received a book of which
Esdras had been the author. They were careful enough
not to receive the other writings, and it is also this which
can make their authenticity doubted. 62 But it is not my
plan here to enter into a discussion in regard to this. It
is only with the writings of Moses that I am occupied; I
have designated them expressly by the name Sepher, in
order to distinguish them from the Bible in general, the
Greek name of which, recalls the translation of the Sep-
tuagint and comprises all the additions of Esdras and
even some more modern ones.
59 Bolingbroke, Vo'.taire, Fre"ret, Boulanger, etc.
o St. Basil. Epist. ad Chil. St. Clm. Alex. Strom. I. Tertull. dc
habit, mulier. c. 35. St. Iren. L. XXXIII. c. 25. Isidor. Etymol. L. VI
c. 1. Leclerc. Sentim. de quelq. thcolog. etc.
61 Esdras ch. IV. v. 14. This book is regarded as apocryphal.
2 Rich. Simon. Hist. crit. L. I. ch. 10.
III.
CONTINUATION OF THE KEVOLUTIONS OF THE
SEPHER. ORIGIN OF THE PRINCIPAL
VERSIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN MADE.
Let us rely firmly upon this important truth: the
Hebraic tongue already corrupted by a gross people, and
intellectual as it was in its origin, brought down to its
most material elements, was entirely lost after the cap-
tivity of Babylon. This is an historic fact impossible to
be doubted, whatever skepticism we may profess. The
Bible shows it; 63 the Talmud affirms it; 64 it is the sen-
timent of the most famous rabbis; 63 Walton cannot deny
it ; 66 the best critic who has written upon this matter,
Richard Simon, never wearies of repeating it. 7 Thus
therefore, nearly six centuries before Jesus Christ, the
Hebrews, having become Jews, no longer either spoke or
understood their original tongue. They used a Syriac
dialect called Aramaic, formed of the union of several
idioms of Assyria and Phoenicia, and quite different from
the Nabathrean which according to d'Herbelot was pure
Chaldaic. 68
On and after this epoch, the Sepher of Moses was al-
ways paraphrased in the synagogues. It is known that
after the reading of each verse, an interpreter was charg-
ed with explaining it to the people, in the vulgar tongue.
From this came the name of Tar gam* It is somewhat
3 Nehem. ch. 8.
M Thalm. devot. ch. 4. '. "
05 Elias, Kimchi, Ephode, etc.
Proleg. Ill et XII.
C7 Hist. crit. L. I. ch. 8, 16, 17. etc.
es Biblioth. ori. p. 514.
From the Chaldaic word,Q?|jJ")^, version, translation: R. Jacob:
in compend. thalm.
38 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
difficult to say today, whether these versions were at first
written by the doctors or entrusted to the sagacity of the
interpreters. However that may be, it appears certain
that the meaning of the Hebraic words, becoming more
and more uncertain, violent discussions arose concerning
the diverse interpretations which were given to the Se-
pher. Some, claiming to possess the oral law secretly
given by Moses, wished to introduce it for everyone in
these explanations; others, denied the existence of this
law, rejected all kinds of traditions and required that they
hold to the most literal and the most material explana-
tions. Two rival sects were born of these disputes. The
first, that of the Pharisees was the most numerous and
the most esteemed : it admitted the spiritual meaning of
the Sepher, treated as allegories what appeared to be ob-
scure, believed in divine Providence and in the immortal-
ity of the soul. 69 The second, that of the Sadducees,
treated as fables all the traditions of the Pharisees, scorn-
ed their allegories, and as it found nothing in the mater-
ial meaning of the Sepher which might prove or even ex-
press the immortality of the soul, denied it ; seeing no-
tling in what their antagonists called soul, only a conse-
quence of the organization of the body, a transient fac-
ulty which must become extinguished with it. 70 In the
midst of these two contending sects, a third was formed,
less numerous than the other two, but infinitely more
learned : it was that of the Essenes. These held a median
position between the Pharisees, who made every thing give
way to the allegorical, and the Sadducees who, by the dry-
ness of their interpretations perverted the dogmas of Mo-
ses. They preserved the letter and the material meaning
outwardly, but guarded the tradition and the oral law
for the secret of the sanctuary. The Essenes, living far
from cities, formed particular societies, and in no wise
69 Joseph. Antiq. L. XII. 22. XVII. 3.
TO Joseph. Ibid. L. XIII. 9. Budd. Introd. ad phil. hebr. Basnage:
Hist, des Juifs. T. I.
ORIGIN OF PRINCIPAL VERSIONS 39
jealous of the sacerdotal charges filled by the Pharisees, or
of the civil honours intrigued for by the Sadducees, they
applied themselves much to ethics and the study of nat-
ure. All that has been written upon the mode of life and
intelligence of this sect has redounded greatly to its cred-
it. 71 Wherever there were Jews, there were Essenes ;
but it was in Egypt that they were mostly found. Their
principal retreat was in the environs of Alexandria,
toward the lake, and Mount Moriah.
I beg the reader seriously interested in ancient
secrets to give attention to this name;* for if it is true, as
everyone attests, that Moses has left an oral law, it is
among the Essenes that it has been preserved. The Phari-
sees who boasted so haughtily that they possessed it, had
only its semblances, for which Jesus constantly reproach-
es them. It is from these Pharisees that the modern Jews
descend, with the exception of certain true savants
through whom the secret tradition goes back to that of
the Essenes. The Sadducees have brought forth the pre-
sent Karaites, otherwise called Scripturalists.
But even before the Jews possessed their Chaldaic
targums, the Samaritans had a version of the Sepher
made in the vulgar tongue; for they were even less able
than the Jews to understand the original text. This ver-
sion which we possess entire, being the first of all those
which had been made, merits consequently more confid-
ence than the targums, which succeeding and destroying
one another do not appear of great antiquity : besides, the
dialect in which the Samaritan version is written has
more affinity with the Hebrew than with the Aramaic or
the Chaldaic of the targums. To a rabbi, named Onkelos,
has ordinarily been attributed the targum of the Sepher,
71 Joseph: de bello Jud. L. II. c. 12. Phil, de vitA contempt Budd:
Introd. ad phil. hebr. etc.
* It is unnecessary, I think, for me to say that Mount Moriah has
become one of the symbols of Adonhiramite masonry. This word
signifies the reflected light, the splendour.
40 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
properly so-called, and to another rabbi named Jonathan,
that of the other books of the Bible; but the epoch of
their composition has not been fixed. It can only be in-
ferred that they are more ancient than the Talmud, be-
cause the dialect is more correct and less disfigured. The
Talmud of Jerusalem particularly, is in a barbarous
style, mixed with a quantity of words borrowed from
neighbouring tongues and chiefly from Greek, Latin and
Persian. 72 This was the vulgar idiom of the Jews in the
time of Jesus Christ.
Nevertheless, the Jews, protected by the Persian
monarchs, had enjoyed some moments of tranquillity;
they had rebuilt their temples; they had raised again the
walls of their city. Suddenly the face of things was
changed: the empire of Cyrus crumbled; Babylon fell in-
to the power of the Greeks ; all bent beneath the laws of
Alexander. But this torrent which burst forth in a mo-
ment, both upon Africa and upon Asia, soon divided its
waves and turned them in different channels. Alexander
died and his captains parcelled out his heritage. The
Jews fell into the power of the SeleucidcP. The Greek
tongue carried everywhere by the conquerors, modified
the new idiom of Jerusalem and drew it further away
from the Hebrew. The Sepher of Moses already disfig-
ured by the Chaldaic paraphrases disappeared gradually
in the Greek version.
Thanks to the discussions raised by the savants of the
last centuries upon the famous version of the Hellenist
Jews, vulgarly called the Septuagint version, nothing had
become more obscure than its origin. 73 They questioned
among themselves, at what epoch, and how, and why it
had been done ; 74 whether it was the first of all, and
whether there did not exist an earlier version in Greek,
72 Hist. crit. L. II. ch. 18.
73 Hist, crit. L. II. c. 2.
74 Despierres: Auctor, script, tract. II. Walton. Proleg. IX.
ORIGIN OF PRINCIPAL VERSIONS 41
from which Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle had drawn
their knowledge; who the seventy interpreters were and
whether they were or were not, in separate cells while
labouring at this work ; 76 whether these interpreters were,
in short, prophets rather than simple translators. "
After having examined quite at length the divergent
opinions which have been put forth on this subject, these
are what I have judged the most probable. Anyone can,
if he is so inclined, do this difficult labour over again,
which after all will produce only the same results, if he
is careful to exercise the same impartiality that I have
chown.
It canii^t be doubted that Ptolemy, son of Lagus, not-
withstanding some acts of violence which marked the be-
ginning of his reign and into which he was forced by the
conspiracy of his brothers, was a very great prince. Egypt
has not had a more brilliant epoch. There, flourished at
the same time, peace, commerce, the arts, and the cultiva-
tion of the sciences, without which there is no true grand-
eur in an empire. It was through the efforts of Ptolemy
that the splendid library in Alexandria was established,
which Demetrius of Phalereus, to whom he had confided
its keeping, enriched with all the most precious literature
of that time. The Jews had long since been settled in
Egypt. 78 I cannot conceive by what spirit of contradic-
tion the modern thinkers insist that, in the course of
circumstances such as I have just presented, Ptolemy did
not have the thought that has been attributed to him of
making a translation of the Sepher in order to place it
in his library. 79 Nothing seems to me so simple. The
75 Cyril. Alex. L. I. Euseb. pra;p. evan. c. 3. Ambros. Epist. 6.
Joseph Contr. Api. L. I. Bellarmin. dc verbo Dei. L. II. c. 5.
76 St. Justin, orat. par. ad gent. Epiph. Lib. de mens. et ponder.
Clem. Alex. Strom. L. I. Hieron. Prwf. in Pcntat. J. Morin. Exercit. IV.
77 St. Thomas: quwst. II. art. 3. St. August, de Civit. del. L. XVIII.
c. 43. Iren. adv. hoeres. c. 25, etc.
78 Joseph. Antiq. L. XII. c. 3.
7 Horcc Biblical 2.
42 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE HE STORED
historian Josephus is assuredly believable on this point
as well as the author of the letter of Aristeas, 80 notwith-
standing certain embellishments with which he loads this
historic fact.
But the execution of this plan might offer difficulties ;
for it is known that the Jews communicated with reticence
their books, and that they guarded their mysteries with
an inviolable secrecy. sl It was even a customary opinion
among them, that God would punish severely those who
dared to make translations in the vulgar tongue. The
Talmud relates that Jonathan, after the appearance of
his Chaidaic paraphrase, was sharply reprimanded by a
voice from heaven for having dared to reveal to men the
secrets of God. Ptolemy, therefore, was obliged to have
recourse to the intercession of the sovereign pontiff
Eleazar, showing his piety by freeing certain Jewish
slaves. This sovereign pontiff whether touched by the
bounty of the king, or whether not daring to resist his
will, sent him an exemplar of the Sepher of Moses, per-
mitting him to make a translation of it in the Greek
tongue. It was only a question of choosing the trans-
lators. As the Essenes of Mount Moriah enjoyed a meri-
ted reputation for learning and sanctity, everything leads
me to believe that Demetrius of Phalereus turned his at-
tention upon them and transmitted to them the orders
of the king. These sectarians lived as anchorites, seclud-
ed in separate cells, being occupied, as I have already
said, with the study of nature. The Sepher was, according
to them, composed of spirit and substance: by the sub-
stance they understood the material meaning of the Hebra-
ic tongue; by the spirit, the spiritual meaning lost to the
vulgar. 83 Pressed between the religious law which for-
bade the communication of the divine mysteries and the
authority of the prince who ordered them to translate
so Joseph. lUd. propf. et L. XII. c. 2.
81 Hist. crit. L. II. ch. 2.
82 Joseph, de Bello Jud. L. II. ch. 12. Phil, de vitA contempt Budd.
introd. ad phil, hebr.
ORIGIN OF PRINCIPAL VERSIONS 43
the Sepher, they were astute enough to extricate them-
selves from such a hazardous step : for, in giving the sub-
stance of the book, they obeyed the civil authority, and
in retaining the spirit, obeyed their conscience. They
made a verbal version as exact as they could in the re-
stricted and material expression, and in order to protect
themselves still further from the reproaches of profana-
tion, they made use of the text of the Samaritan version
whenever the Hebraic text did not offer sufficient
obscurity.
It is very doubtful whether there were seventy in
number who performed this task. The name of the Sept-
uagint Version comes from another circumstance that I
am about to relate.
The Talmud states that at first there were only five
interpreters, which is quite probable; for it is known that
Ptolemy caused only the five books of Moses to be trans-
lated, those contained in the Sepher, without being con-
cerned with the additions of Esdras. 83 Bossuet agrees
with this in saying that the rest of the books were, in
the course of time, put into Greek for the use of the Jews
who were spread throughout Egypt and Greece, where
they had not only forgotten their ancient tongue, the
Hebrew, but even the Chaldaic which they had learned
during captivity. 84 This writer adds, and I beg the reader
to note this, that these Jews made a Greek mixture of
Hebraisms which is called the Hellenistic tongue, and that
the Septuaffint and all the New Testament are written
in this language.
It is certain that the Jews, dispersed throughout
Egypt and Greece, having entirely forgotten the Aramaic
dialect in which their Targums were written, and finding
themselves in need of a paraphrase in the vulgar tongue,
would naturally take the version of the Sepher which al-
ready existed in the royal library at Alexandria: this is
83 Joseph. Antiq. L. XII. ch. 2.
84 Disc, sur VHist. untv. I. part. 8.
44 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
what they did. They joined to it a translation of the addi-
tions of Esdras and sent the? whole to Jerusalem to be ap-
proved as a paraphrase. The sanhedrin granted their de-
mand, and as this tribunal happened to be of seventy judges
in conformity with the law, 85 this version received the
name of Scptuagint version, that is to say, approved by
the seventy. 86
Such is the origin of the Bible. It is a copy in the
Greek tongue of the Hebraic writings wherein the mater-
ial forms of the Sepher of Moses are well enough pre-
served, so that those who see nothing beyond the material
forms may not suspect the spiritual. In the state of
ignorance in which the Jews were at that time, this book
thus disguised suited them. It suited them to such an
extent, that in many of the Greek synagogues, it was
read not only as paraphrase, but in place of and in prefer-
ence to the original text. 87 Of what use was the reading
of the Hebrew text? The Jewish people had long since
ceased to understand it even in its most restricted ac-
ceptance,* and among the rabbis, if one excepts certain
85 Sepher. L. IV. c. 11. Elias Levita: in Thisbi.
86 Hist. crit. L. II. c. 2.
87 Wa'.ton: Prolcg. IX. Horoc biblicoe. . 2. Hist. Crit. L. I. c. 17.
* Philo, the most learned of the Jews of his time, did not know a
word of Hebrew although he wrote a history of Moses. He praises
much the Greek version of the Hellenists, which he was incapable of
comparing with tho original. Josephus himself, who has written a
history of his nation and who should have made a special study <jf
the Sepher, proves at every step that he did not understand the
Hebrew text and that he often made use of the Greek. He laboured
hard in the beginning of his work to understand why Moses, wishing
to express the first day of creation, used the word one and not the
word first, without making the very simple reflection that tha word
inx in Hebrew, signifies both. It is obvious that he pays less attention
to the manner in which the proper names were written, than to that
in which they were pronounced in his time, and that he read them
not by the Hebraic letter, but by the Greek letter. This historian who
promises to translate and to render the meaning of Moses, without
adding or diminishing anything, is however far from accomplishing
tLis purpose. In the very first chapter of his book, he says that God
ORIGIN OF PRINCIPAL VERSIONS 45
Essenes initiated in the secrets of the oral law, the most
learned scarcely pretended to go back of the Greek, the
Latin, or the barbarous jargon of Jerusalem, to the Chal- "
daic Targums which had become for them almost as diffi-
cult as the text.*
It was during this state of ignorance and when the
Greek Bible usurped everywhere the place of the Hebraic
Sepher, that Providence wishing to change the face of
the world and operating one of those necessary move-
ments whose profound reason I believe it useless to re-
veal, raised up Jesus. A new cult was born. Christianity,
at first obscure, considered as a Jewish sect, increased,
was spread abroad and covered Asia, Africa and Europe.
The Roman empire was enveloped by it. Jesus and his
disciples had always quoted the Greek Bible, the Fathers
of the Church attaching themselves to this book with a
religious respect, believing it inspired, written by the
prophets, scorned the Hebraic text, and as Saint Augus-
tine clearly says, M were even ignorant of its existence.
Nevertheless the Jews, alarmed at this movement which
was beyond their comprehension, cursed the book which
caused it. The rabbis, either by politics or because the
oral law became known, openly scoffed it as an illusory
version, decried it as a false work, and caused it to be
considered by the Jews as more calamitous for Israel
than the golden calf. They publicly stated that the earth
had been enveloped in darkness during three days on
account of this profanation of the holy Book, and as one
took away speech from the serpent, that he made its tongue venomous,
that he condemned it henceforth to have feet no more; that he com-
manded Adam to tread upon the head of this serpent, etc. Now, if
Philo and Josephus showed themselves so ignorant in the understand-
ing of the sacred text, what must have been the other Jews? I make
exception always of the Essenes.
* It is related in St. Luke that Jesus Christ read to the people a
passage from Isaiah paraphrased in Chaldaic and that he explained it
(ch. 4. v. 17). It is Walton who has made this observation in his
Prolegomena. Dissert. XII.
88 "Ut an alia esset ignorarent." August. L. III. c. 25.
46 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
can see in the Talmud, ordained an annual fast of three
days in memory of this event.
These precautions came too late ; the storehouse badly
guarded had changed hands. Israel, resembling a crude
coffer closed with a triple lock but worn out by time,
afforded no longer a sufficiently sure shelter. A terrible
revolution drew nigh : Jerusalm fell, and the Roman em-
pire, a political moribund body, was destined to the vul-
tures of the North. Already the clouds of ignorance were
darkening the horizon ; already the cries of the barbarians
were heard in the distance. It was necessary to oppose
these formidable enemies with an insurmountable obstacle.
That obstacle was this same Book which was to subdue
them and which they were not to understand.
Neither the Jews nor the Christians were able to
enter into the profoundness of these plans. They accused
each other of ignorance and of bad faith. The Jews,
possessors of an original text which they could no longer
comprehend, anathematized a version which rendered
only the gross and exterior forms. The Christians, con-
tent with these forms w r hich at least they grasped, went
no further and treated with contempt all the rest. It
is true that from time to time there appeared among
them men who, profiting by a last gleam of light in those
dark days, dared to fix the basis of their belief, and judg-
ing the version in its spirit to be identical with its forms,
detached themselves abruptly and disdainfully from it.
Such were Valentine, Basil, Marcion, Apelles, Bardesane,
and Manes, the most terrible of the adversaries that the
Bible has encountered. All treated as impious the author
of a book wherein the Being, preeminently good, is re-
presented as the author of evil; wherein this Being cre-
ates without plan, prefers arbitrarily, repents, is angered,
punishes an innocent posterity with the crime of one
whose downfall he has prepared. 89 Manes, judging Moses
by the book that the Christians declared to be from him,
89 Beausobre: Hist, du Manich. Passim. Epiphan, hceres, passim.
ORIGIN OF PRINCIPAL VERSIONS 47
regarded this prophet as having been inspired by the Gen-
ius of evil. M Marcion, somewhat less severe saw in him
only the instrument of the Creator of the elementary
world, very different from the Supreme Being. 91 All of
them caused storms, more or less violent; according to
the force of their genius. They did not succeed, because
their attack was imprudent, unseasonable, and because
without knowing it they brought their light to bear in-
opportunely upon a rough structure prepared for sustain-
ing a most true and imposing edifice.
Those Fathers of the Church whose eyes were not
wholly bli ded, sought for expedients to evade the great-
est difficulties. Some accused the Jews of having foisted
upon the books of Moses things false and injurious to
the Divinity ; 92 others had recourse to allegories. 93 Saint
Augustine acknowledged that there was no way of con-
serving the literal meaning of the first three chapters of
Genesis, without attributing to God things unworthy of
him. 94 Origen declared that if the history of the creation
was taken in the literal sense it was absurd and con-
tradictory. 95 He complained of the ignorant ones who,
led astray by the letter of the Bible, attributed to God
sentiments and actions that one would not wish to attri-
bute to the most unjust, the most barbarous of men. 96
The wise Beausobre in his Histoire du Manicheisme, and
Ptau in his Dogmes theologiques, cite numerous similar
examples.
The last of the Fathers who saw the terrible mistake
of the version of the Hellenists and who wished to remedy
it, was Saint Jerome. I give full justice to his inten-
se Act. disput. Arcnel. 7.
81 Tertull. Contr. Marci.
82 Recognit. L. II. p. 52. Clement. Homel. III. p. 642-645.
3 pgtau: Dogm. thtol. de opif. L. II. 7.
94 August. Contr. Faust. L. XXXII. 10. De Genes. Contr. Manich.
L. II. 2.
5 Origen. philocal. p. 12. .
86 Origen. Ibid. p. 6 et 7.
48 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
tions. This Father, of an ardent character and search-
ing mind, might have remedied the evil, if the evil had
been of a nature to yield to his efforts. Too prudent to
cause a scandal like that of Marcion or of Manes; too
judicious to restrict himself to vain subtleties as did
Origen or Saint Augustine, he felt deeply that the only
way of arriving at the truth was to resort to the original
text. This text was entirely unknown. The Greek was
everything. It was from the Greek, strange and extraordi-
nary fact, that had been made, according as was needed,
not only the Latin version, but the Coptic, Ethiopic, Arabic,
and even the Syriac, Persian and others.
But' in order to resort to the original text it would
be necessary to understand the Hebrew. And how was
it possible to understand a tongue lost for more than a
thousand years? The Jews, with the exception of a very
small number of sages from whom the most horrible tor-
ments were unable to drag it, understood it hardly better
than Saint Jerome. Nevertheless, the only way that re-
mained for this Father was to turn to the Jews. He
took a teacher from among the rabbis of the school of
Tiberias. At this news, all the Christain church cried
out in indignation. Saint Augustine boldly censured
Saint Jerome. Rufinus attacked him unsparingly. Saint
Jerome, exposed to this storm, repented having said that
the version of the Septuagint was wrong; he used subter-
fuges; sometimes, to flatter the vulgar, he said that the
Hebraic text was corrupt; sometimes, he extolled this
text concerning which, he declared that the Jews had
not been able to corrupt a single line. When reproached
with these contradictions, he replied that they were ig-
norant of the laws of dialectics, that they did not under-
stand that in disputes one spoke sometimes in one man-
ner and sometimes in another, and that one did the oppo-
site of what one said. 97 He relied upon the example of
Saint Paul ; he quoted Origen. Rufinus charged him with
vt P. Morin. Exercit. Bill. Rich. Simon. Hist. crit.
ORIGIN OF PRINCIPAL VERSIONS 49
impiety, and replied to him that Origen had never for-
gotten himself to the point of translating the Hebrew,
and that only Jews or apostates could undertake it. 98
Saint Augustine, somewhat more moderate, did not ac-
cuse the Jews of having corrupted the sacred text; he
did not treat Saint Jerome as impious and as apostate;
he even agreed that the version of the Septuagint is often
incomprehensible; but he had recourse to the providence
of God," which had permitted that these interpreters
should translate the Scripture in the way that was judged
to be the most fitting for the nations who would embrace
the Christian religion.
In the midst of these numberless contradictions,
Saint Jerome had the courage to pursue his plan; but
other contradictions and other obstacles more alarming
awaited him. He saw that the Hebrew which he was so
desirous of grasping escaped from him at each step; that
the Jews whom he consulted wavered in the greatest un-
certainty; that they did not agree upon the meaning of
the words, that they had no fixed principle, no grammar;
that, in fact, the only lexicon of which he was able to
make use was that very Hellenistic version which he
aspired to correct. 100 What was the result of his labour?
A new translation of the Greek Bible in Latin, a little less
barbarous than the preceding translations and compared
with the Hebraic text as to the literal forms. Saint
Jerome could do nothing further. Had he penetrated
the inner principles of the Hebrew; had the genius of
that tongue been unveiled to his eyes, he would have been
constrained by the force of things, either to keep silence
or to restrict it within the version of the Hellenists. This
version, judged the fruit of a divine inspiration, dominated
the minds in such a manner, that one was obliged to lose
one's way like Marcion, or follow it into its necessary
98 Ruffin. Invect. Llv. II. Richard Simon. Ibid. L. II. chap. 2.
t August, de doct. Christ. Walton: Prolog. X.
100 Rich. Simon. Ibid. L. II. ch. 12.
50 THE HEBKAIC TONGUE RESTORED
obscurity. This is the Latin translation called ordinarily,
the Vulgate.
The Council of Trent has declared this translation
authentic, without nevertheless, declaring it infallible;
but 101 the Inquisition has sustained it with all the force
of its arguments, 102 and the theologians with all the weight
of their intolerance and their partiality.*
I shall not enter into the irksome detail of the num-
berless controversies which the version of the Hellenists
and that of Saint Jerome have brought about in the more
modern times. I shall pass over in silence the transla-
tions which have been made in all the tongues of Europe,
whether before or after the Reformation of Luther, be-
cause they were all alike, only copies more or less re-
moved from the Greek and Latin.
No matter how much Martin Luther and Augustine
Eugubio say about the ignorance of the Hellenists, they
still use their lexicon in copying Saint Jerome. Though
Santes Pagnin or Arias Montanus endeavour to discredit
the Vulgate; though Louis Cappell pass thirty-six years
of his life pointing out the errors; though Doctor James
or Father Henri de Bukentop, or Luc de Bruges, count
minutely the mistakes of their work, brought according to
some to two thousand, according to others, four thousand ;
though Cardinal Cajetan, or Cardinal Bellarmin perceive
them or admit them; they do not advance one iota the
101 Hist. crit. L. II. ch. 12.
102 Palavic. Hist. M. VI. ch. 17. Mariana: pro. Edit. vulg. c. I.
* Cardinal Ximenes having caused to be printed in 1515, a poly-
glot composed of Hebrew, Greek and Latin, placed the Vulgate between
the Hebraic text and the Septuagint version: comparing this Bible
thus ranged in three columns, to Jesus Christ between the two robbers:
the Hebrew text according to his sentiment, represented the wicked
robber, the Hellenistic version the good robber and the Latin transla-
tion Jesus Christ! The editor of the Polyglot of Paris, declares in
his preface that the Vulgate should be regarded as the original source
wherein all the other versions and the text itself should agree. When
one has such ideas, one offers little access for truth.
ORIGIN OF PRINCIPAL VERSIONS 51
intelligence of the text. The declamations of Calvin, the
labours of Olivetan, of Corneille, Bertram, Ostervald and
a host of other thinkers do not produce a better effect.
Of what importance the weighty commentaries of Calmet,
the diffuse dissertations of Hottinger? What new lights
does one see from the works of Bochard, Huet, Leclerc,
Lelong and Michaelis? Is the Hebrew any better under-
stood? This tongue, lost for twenty-five centuries, does
it yield to the researches of Father Houbigant, or to the
indefatigable Kennicott? Of what use is it to either or
both, delving in the libraries of Europe, examining, com-
piling and comparing all the old manuscripts? Not any.
Certain letters vary, certain vowel points change, but the
same obscurity remains upon the meaning of the Sepher.
In whatever tongue one turns it, it is always the same
Hellenistic version that one translates, since it is the sole
lexicon for all the translators of the Hebrew.
It is impossible ever to leave the vicious circle if
one has not acquired a true and perfect knowledge of the
Hebraic tongue. But how is one to acquire the knowledge?
How? By reestablishing this lost tongue in its original
principles : by throwing off the Hellenistic yoke : by re-
constructing its lexicon: by penetrating the sanctuaries
of the Essenes: by mistrusting the exterior doctrine of
the Jews : by opening at last that holy ark which for more
than three thousand years, closed to the profane, has
brought down to us, by a decree of Divine Providence,
the treasures amassed by the wisdom of the Egyptians.
This is the object of a part of my labours. With the
origin of speech as my goal, I have found in my path
Chinese, Sanskrit and Hebrew. I have examined their
rights. I have revealed them to my readers, and forced
to make a choice between these three primordial idioms
I have chosen the Hebrew. I have told how, being com-
posed in its origin of intellectual, metaphorical and uni-
versal expressions, it had insensibly become wholly gross
in its nature because restricted to material, literal and
52 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
particular expressions. I have shown at what epoch and
how it was entirely lost. I have followed the revolu-
tions of the Sepher of Moses, the unique book which con-
tains this tongue. I have developed the occasion and the
manner in which the principal versions were made. I
have reduced these versions to the number of four; as
follows : the Chaldaic paraphrases or targums, the Samari-
tan version, that of the Hellenists, called the Septuagint
version, and finally that of Saint Jerome, or the Vulgate.
I have indicated sufficiently the idea that one ought to
follow.
It is now for my Grammer to recall the forgotten
principles of the Hebraic tongue, to establish them in a
solid manner, and to connect them with the necessary
results : it is for my translation of the Cosmogony of Moses
and the notes which accompany it, to show the force and
concordance of these results. I shall now give myself
fearlessly to this difficult labour, as certain of its success
as of its utility, if my readers vouchsafe to follow me
with the attention and the confidence that is required.
Hebraic Grammar
HEBRAIC GRAMMAR
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
I.
THE REAL PURPOSE OF THIS GRAMMAR.
Long ago it was said, that grammar was the art of
writing and of speaking a tongue correctly : but long ago
it ought also to have been considered that this definition
good for living tongues was of no value applied to dead
ones.
In fact, what need is there of knowing how to speak
and even write (if composing is what is meant by writ-
ing) Sanskrit, Zend, Hebrew and other tongues of this
nature? Does one not feel that it is not a question of
giving to modern thoughts an exterior which has not been
made for them ; but, on the contrary, of discovering under
a worn-out exterior ancient thoughts worthy to be revived
under more modern forms? Thoughts are for all time,
all places and all men. It is not thus with the tongues
which express them. These tongues are appropriate to
the customs, laws, understanding and periods of the ages ;
they become modified in proportion as they advance in
the centuries; they follow the course of the civilization
of peoples. When one of these has ceased to be spoken
it can only be understood through the writings which
have survived. To continue to speak or even to write it
when its genius is extinguished, is to wish to resuscitate
a dead body; to affect the Roman toga, or to appear in
the streets of Paris in the robe of an ancient Druid.
55
56 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
I must frankly say, despite certain scholastic pre-
cedents being offended by my avowal, that I cannot ap-
prove of those sorry compositions, whether in prose or in
verse, where modern Europeans rack their brains to
clothe the forms long since gone, with English, German
or French thoughts. I do not doubt that this tendency
everywhere in public instruction is singularly harmful to
the advancement of studies, and that the constraint of
modern ideas to adapt themselves to ancient forms is an
attitude which checks what the ancient ideas might pass
on in the modern forms. If Hesiod and Homer are not
perfectly understood; if Plato himself offers obscurity,
for what reason is this so? For no other reason save that
instead of seeking to understand their tongue, one has
foolishly attempted to speak or write it.
The grammar of the ancient tongues is not therefore,
either the art of speaking or even of writing them, since
the sound is extinct and since the signs have lost their
relations with the ideas ; but the grammar of these tongues
is the art of understanding them, of penetrating the geni-
us which has presided at their formation, of going back
to their source, and by the aid of the ideas which they
have preserved and the knowledge which they have pro-
cured, of enriching modern idioms and enlightening their
progress.
So then, while proposing to give an Hebraic gram-
mar, my object is assuredly not to teach anyone either
to speak or to write this tongue; that preposterous care
should be left to the rabbis of the synagogues. These
rabbis, after tormenting themselves over the value of the
accents and the vowel points, have been able to continue
their cantillation of certain barbarous sounds; they have
been indeed able to compose some crude books, as hetero-
geneous in substance as in form, but the fruit of so many
pains has been to ignore utterly the signification of the
sole Book which remained to them, and to make them-
selves more and more incapable of defending their law-
PURPOSE OF THIS GRAMMAR 57
maker, one of the noblest men that the earth has produc-
ed, from the increased attacks that have never ceased to
be directed against him by those who knew him only
through the thick clouds with which he had been envelop-
ed by his translators.* For, as I have sufficiently intim-
ated, the Book of Moses has never been accurately trans-
lated. The most ancient versions of the Sepher which
we possess, such as those of the Samaritans, the Chaldaic
Targums, the Greek version of the Septuagint and the
Latin Vulgate, render only the grossest and most exterior
forms without attaining to the spirit which animates
them in the original. I might compare them appropriate-
ly with those disguises which were used in the ancient
mysteries, 1 or even with those ' symbolic figures which
were used by the initiates ; the small figures of satyrs and
of Sileni that were brought from Eleusis. There was
nothing more absurd and grotesque than their outward
appearance, upon opening them, however, by means of a
secret spring, there were found all the divinities of Olym-
pus. Plato speaks of this pleasing allegory in his dia-
logue of the Banquet and applies it to Socrates through
the medium of Alcibiades.
It is because they saw only these exterior and mate-
rial forms of the Sepher, and because they knew not how
to make use of the secret which could disclose its spiritual
and divine forms, that the Sadducees fell into material-
ism and denied the immortality of the soul. 2 It is well
known how much Moses has been calumniated by modern
philosophers upon the same subject. 8 Freret has not
failed to quote all those who, like him, have ranked him
among the materialists.
* The most famous hereslarchs, Valentine, Marclon and Manes re-
jected scornfully the writings of Moses which they believed emanated
from an evil principle.
1 Apul. I. XL.
2 Joseph. Antig. I. XIII. g.
8 Freret: des Apol. de la Rel chrtt. ch. II.
58 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
When I say that the rabbis of the synagogues have
put themselves beyond the state of defending their law-
giver, I wish it to be understood that I speak only of those
who, holding to the most meticulous observances of the
Masorah, have never penetrated the secret of the sanctu-
ary. Doubtless 1 iere are many to whom the genius of the
Hebraic tongue is not foreign. But a sacred duty im-
poses upon them an inviolable silence. 4 It is said, that
they hold the version of the Hellenists in abomination.
They attribute to it all the evils which they have suffered.
Alarmed at its use against them by the Christians in the
early ages of the Church, their superiors forbade them
thereafter to write the Sepher in other characters than
the Hebraic, and doomed to execration those among them
who should betray the mysteries and teach the Christians
the principles of their tongue. One ought therefore to
mistrust their exterior doctrine. Those of the rabbis who
were initiated kept silence, as Moses, son of Maimon,
called Maimonides, expressly said : 5 those who were not,
had as little real knowledge of Hebrew, as the least learn-
ed of the Christians. They wavered in the same incer-
titude over the meaning of the words, and this incertitude
was such that they were ignorant even of the name of
some of the animals of which it was forbidden them, or
commanded by the Law, to eat. 6 Richard Simon who has
furnished me with this remark, never wearies of repeat-
ing how obscure is the Hebraic tongue: 7 he quotes Saint
Jerome and Luther, w r ho are agreed in saying, that the
words of this tongue are equivocal to such an extent that
it is often impossible to determine the meaning. 8 Origen,
according to him, was persuaded of this truth; Calvin
felt it and Cardinal Cajetan himself, was convinced. 9 It
4 Richard Simon, Hist. Crit. L. I. ch. 17
5 Mor. Nebuc. P. II. ch. 29.
6 Bochart: de Sacr. animal.
1 Ibid. I. III. ch. 2.
8 Hieron. Apelog. adv. Ruff. I. 1. Luther, Comment. Genes.
9 Cajetan, Comment, in Psalm.
PURPOSE OF THIS GRAMMAR 59
was Father Morin who took advantage of this obscurity
to consider the authors of the Septuagint version as so
many prophets ; 10 for, he said, God had no other means
of fixing the signification of the Hebrew words.
This reason or Father Morin, somewhat far from be-
ing decisive, has not hindered the real thinkers, and Rich-
ard Simon particularly, from earnestly wishing that the
Hebraic tongue lost for so long a time, might finally be
reestablished. u He did not conceal the immense diffi-
culties that such an undertaking entailed. He saw clear-
ly that it would be necessary to study this tongue in a
manner very different from the one hitherto adopted, and
far from making use of the grammars and dictionaries
available, he regarded them, on the contrary, as the most
dangerous obstacles; for, he says, these grammars and
these dictionaries are worth nothing. All those who have
had occasion to apply their rules and to make use of their
interpretations have felt their insufficiency. 12 Forster
who had seen the evil sought in vain the means to remedy
it. He lacked the force for that: both time and men, as
well as his own prejudices were too much opposed.*
I have said enough in my Dissertation concerning
what had been the occasion and the object of my studies.
When I conceived the plan with which I am now occu-
pied, I knew neither Richard Simon nor Forster, nor any
of the thinkers who, agreeing in regarding the Hebraic
tongue as lost, had made endeavours for, or had hoped to
succeed in its reestablishment ; but truth is absolute, and
it is truth which has engaged me in a difficult under-
taking ; it is truth which will sustain me in it ; I now pur-
sue my course.
10 Exercit. Bill. L. I. ex. VI. ch. 2
11 Hist. crit. I. III. ch. 2.
12 Hist. Crit. I. III. ch. 3.
* The rabbis themselves have not been more fortunate, as oue can
see in the grammar ot Abraham de Balmes and in several other works.
II.
ETYMOLOGY AND DEFINITION.
The word grammar has come down to us from the
Greeks, through the Latins; but its origin goes back much
further. Its real etymology is found in the root "U ,"D ,")p
(gre, ere, kre), which in Hebrew, Arabic or Chaldaic, pre
&ents always the idea of engraving, of character or of
writing, and which as verb is used to express, according
to the circumstances, the action of engraving, of charac-
terizing, of writing, of proclaiming, of reading, of de-
claiming, etc. The Greek word YPW*TIXT] signifies pro-
perly the science of characters, that is to say, of the char-
acteristic signs by means of which man expresses his
thought.
As has been very plainly seen by Court de GSbelin,
he who, of all the archaeologists has penetrated deepest in-
to the genius of tongues, there exist two kinds of gram-
mars: the one, universal, and the other, particular. The
universal grammar reveals the spirit of man in general ;
the particular grammars develop the individual spirit of
a people, indicate the state of its civilization, its know-
ledge and its prejudices. The first, is founded upon
nature, and rests upon the basis of the universality of
things; the others, are modified according to opinion,
places and times. All the particular grammars have
a common basis by which they resemble each other
and which constitutes the universal grammar from
which they emanate : 13 for, says this laborious writer,
"these particular grammars, after having received the life
of the universal grammar, react in their turn upon their
18 Mond. prim. Gramm. univ. t. I, ch. 13, 14 et 15.
60
ETYMOLOGY AND DEFINITION 61
mother, to which they give new force to bring forth
stronger and more fruitful off-shoots."
I quote here the opinion of this man whose gram-
matical knowledge cannot be contested, in order to make
it understood, that wishing to initiate my readers into the
inner genius of the Hebraic tongue, I must needs give to
that tongue its own grammar ; that is to say, its idiomatic
and primitive grammar, which, holding to the universal
grammar by the points most radical and nearest to its
basis, will nevertheless, be very different from the par-
ticular grammars upon which it has been modelled up to
this time.
This grammar will bear no resemblance to that of
the Greeks or that of the Latins, because it is neither the
idiom of Plato nor that of Titus Livius which I wish to
teach, but that of Moses. I am convinced that the prin-
cipal difficulties in studying Hebrew are due to the adop-
tion of Latin forms, which have caused a simple and easy
tongue to become a species of scholastic phantom whose
difficulty is proverbial.
For, I must say with sincerity, that Hebrew is not
such as it has ordinarily been represented. It is neces-
sary to set aside the ridiculous prejudice that has been
formed concerning it and be fully persuaded that the first
difficulties of the characters being overcome, all that is
necessary is six months closely sustained application.
I have said enough regarding the advantages of this
study, so that I need not dwell further on this subject.
I shall only repeat, that without the knowledge of this
typical tongue, one of the fundamental parts of universal
grammar will always be unknown, and it will be impos-
sible to proceed with certainty in the vast and useful
field of etymology.
As my intention is therefore to differ considerably
from the method of the Hebraists I shall avoid entering
into the detail of their works. Besides they are suffi-
ciently well known. I shall limit myself here to indicate
C2 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
summarily, those of the rabbis whose ideas offer some
analogy to mine.
The Hebraic tongue having become absolutely lost
during the captivity of Babylon, all grammatical system
was also lost. From that time nothing is found by which
we can infer that the Jews possessed a grammar. At
least, it is certain that the crude dialect which was cur-
rent in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus Christ, and which
is found employed in the Talmud of that city, reads more
like a barbarous jargon than like an idiom subject to fix-
ed rules. If anything leads me to believe that this de-
generated tongue preserved a sort of grammatical system,
before the captivity and while Hebrew was still the vul-
gar tongue, it is the fact that a great difference is found
in the style of writing of certain writers. Jeremiah, for
example, who was a man of the people, wrote evidently
without any understanding of his tongue, not concerning
himself either with gender, number or verbal tense;
whilst Isaiah, on the contrary, whose instruction had been
most complete, observes rigorously these modifications
and prides himself on writing with as much elegance as
purity.
But at last, as I have just said, all grammatical sys-
tem was lost with the Hebraic tongue. The most learned
Hebraists are agreed in saying, that although, from the
times of the earliest Hellenist interpreters, it had been
the custom to explain the Hebrew, there had been, how-
ever, no grammar reduced to an art.
The Jews, dispersed and persecuted after the ruin of
Jerusalem, were buried in ignorance for a long time.
The school of Tiberias, where Saint Jerome had gone,
possessed no principle of grammar. The Arabs were the
first to remedy this defect. Europe was at that time
plunged in darkness. Arabia, placed between Asia and
Africa, reanimated for a moment their ancient splendour.
The rabbis are all of this sentiment. They assert
that those of their nation who began to turn their atten-
ETYMOLOGY AND DEFINITION 63
tion to grammar did so only in imitation of the Arabs.
The first books which they wrote on grammar were in
Arabic. After Saadia-Gaon, who appears to have laid
the foundation, the most ancient is Juda-Hayyuj. The
opinion of the latter is remarkable. 14 He is the first to
speak, in his work, of the letters which are hidden and
those which are added. The greatest secret of the Heb-
raic tongue consists, according to him, of knowing how to
distinguish these sorts of letters, and to mark precisely
those which are of the substance of the words, and those
which are not. He states that the secret of these letters
is known to but few persons, and in this he takes up again
the ignorance of the rabbis of his time, who, lacking this
understanding were unable to reduce the words to their
true roots to discover their meaning.
The opinion of Juda-Hayyuj is confirmed by that of
Jonah, one of the best grammarians the Jews have ever
had. He declares at the beginning of his book, that the
Hebraic tongue has been lost, and that it has been re-
established as well as possible by means of the neighbour-
ing idioms. He reprimands the rabbis sharply for put-
ting among the number of radicals, many letters which
are only accessories. He lays great stress upon the in-
trinsic value of each character, relates carefully their
various peculiarities and shows their different relations
with regard to the verb.
The works of Juda-Hayyuj and those of Jonah have
never been printed, although they have been translated
from the Arabic into rabbinical Hebrew. The learned
Pocock who has read the books of Jonah in Arabic, un-
der the name of Ebn-Jannehius, quotes them with praise.
Aben Ezra has followed the method indicated by these
two ancient grammarians in his two books entitled ZaJiot
and Moznayim. David Kimchi diviates more. The Chris
tian Hebraists have followed Kimchi more willingly thnn
they have Aben Ezra, as much on account of the clear
14 Richard Simon. Hist. Crtt. L. I. ch. 31.
64 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
ness of his style, as of his method which is easier. But iL
this they have committed a fault which they have aggrav-
ated further by adopting, without examining them, near-
ly all of the opinions of Elijah Levita, ambitious and sys-
tematic writer, and regarded as a deserter and apostate
by his nation.
I dispense with mentioning other Jewish grammar-
ians.* I have only entered into certain details with regard
to Juda-Hayyuj, Jonah and Aben Ezra, because I have
strong reasons for thinking, as will be shown in the de-
velopment of the work, that they have penetrated to a
certain point, the secret of the Essenian sanctuary, either
by the sole force of their genius or by the effect of some
oral communication.
Although Maimonides is not, properly speaking, a grammarian,
his way of looking at things coincides too well with my principles to
pass over them entirely in silence. This judicious writer teaches that
as the greater part of the words offer, in Hebrew, a generic, universal
and almost always uncertain meaning, it is necessary to understand the
sphere of activity which they embrace in their diverse acceptations,
so as to apply that which agrees best with the matter of which he is
treating. After having pointed out, that in this ancient idiom, very
few words exist for an endless series of things, he recommends mak-
ing a long study of it, and having the attention always fixed upon the
particular subject to which the word is especially applied. He is in-
defatigable in recommending, as can be seen in the fifth chapter of
his book, long meditation before restricting the meaning of a word,
and above all, renunciation of all prejudices if one would avoid falling
Into error,
III.
DIVISION OF GRAMMAR:
PARTS OF SPEECH.
I have announced that I was about to reestablish the
Hebraic tongue in its own grammar. I claim a little at-
tention, since the subject is new, and I am obliged to pre-
sent certain ideas but little familiar, and also since it is
possible that there might not be time for me to develop
them to the necessary extent.
The modern grammarians have varied greatly con-
cerning the number of what they call, parts of speech.
Now, they understand by parts of speech, the classified
materials of speech; for if the idea is one, they say, the
expression is divisible, and from this divisibility arises
necessarily in the signs, diverse modifications and words
of many kinds.
These diverse modifications and these words of many
kinds have, as I have said, tried the sagacity of the gram-
marian. Plato and his disciples only recognized two
kinds, the noun and the verb ; 15 neglecting in this, the
more ancient opinion which, according to the testimony
of Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Quintilian, admitted
three, the noun, the verb and the conjunction. 16 Aris-
totfe, more to draw away from the doctrine of Plato than
to approach that of the ancients, counted four: the noun,
the verb, the article and the conjunction. 17 The Stoics
acknowledged five, distinguishing the noun as proper and
appellative. 18 Soon the Greek grammarians, and after
is Plat, in Sophist. Prise. L. fl. Apollon. Syn.
i Denys Halyc, de Struct, oral. 2. Quint. Inst. L. I. ch. 4.
IT Arist. Poet. ch. 20.
18 Diog. Laert. L. VIII, . 57.
65
66 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
them the Latins, separated the pronoun from the noun,
the adverb from the verb, the preposition from the con-
junction and the interjection from the article. Among the
moderns, some have wished to distinguish the adjective
from the noun; others, to join them; again, some have
united the article with the adjective, and others, the pro-
noun with the noun. Nearly all have brought into their
work the spirit of the system or prejudices of their school.
Court de Gebelin 19 who should have preferred the sim-
plicity of Plato to the profusion of the Latin gram-
matists, has had the weakness to follow the latter and
even to surpass them, by counting ten parts of speech
and giving the participle as one of them.
As for me, without further notice of these vain "dis-
putes, I shall recognize in the Hebraic tongue only three
parts of speech produced by a fourth which they in their
turn produce. These three parts are the Noun, the Verb,
and the Relation t Dt5> 0%em,7#d phahal, ff7D millah. The
fourth is the Sign, niN aoth*
Before examining these three parts of speech, the 'de-
nomination of which is quite well known, let us see what
19 Gramm. univ. L. II. ch. 2. 3 et 4.
* An English grammarian named Harris, better rhetorician than
able dialectician, has perhaps believed himself nearer to Plato and
Aristotle, by recognizing at first only t\vo things in nature, the sub'
stance and the attribute, and by dividing the words into principals and
accessories. According to him one should regard as principal words,
the substantive and the attributive, in other words, the noun and the
verb; as accessory words, the definitive and the connective, that is
to say, the article and the conjunction. Thus this writer, worthy pupil
of Locke, but far from being a disciple of Plato, regards the verb only
as an attribute of the noun. "To think," he said, "is an attribute of
man; to be white, is an attribute of the swan; to fly, an attribute of
the eagle, etc." (Hermes, L. I. ch. 3.) It is difficult by making sue*
grammars, to go far in the understanding of speech. To deny the
absolute existence of the verb, or to make it an attribute of the sub-
stance, is to be very far from Plato, who comprises in it the very
essence of language; but very near to Cabanis who makes the soul a
faculty of the body.
PARTS OF SPEECH 67
is the fourth, which I have just mentioned for the first
time.
By Sign, I understand all the exterior means of which
man makes use to manifest his ideas. The elements of the
sign are voice, gesture and traced characters: its mater-
ials, sound, movement and light. The universal grammar
ought especially to be occupied with, and to understand
its elements: it ought, according to Court de Gebelin, to
distinguish the sounds of the voice, to regulate the ges-
tures, and preside at the invention of the characters. 20
The more closely a particular grammar is related to the
universal grammar, the more it has need to be concerned
with the sign. This is why we shall give very consider-
able attention to this in regard to one of its elements,
the traced characters; for, as far as the voice and gesture
are concerned, they have disappeared long ago and the
traces they have left are too vague to be taken up by the
Hebraic grammar, such as I have conceived it to be.
Every sign produced exteriorly is a noun; for other-
wise it would be nothing. It is, therefore, the noun which
is the basis of language; it is, therefore, the noun which
furnishes the substance of the verb, that of the relation,
and even that of the sign which has produced it. The
noun is everything for exterior man, everything that he
can understand by means of his senses. The verb is con-
ceived only by the mind, and the relation is only an ab-
straction of thought.
There exists only one sole Verb, absolute, indepen-
dent, creative and inconceivable for man himself whom it
penetrates, and by whom it allows itself to be felt: it is
the verb to be-being, expressed in Hebrew by the intel-
lectual sign 1 o, placed between a double root of life
J"Tin, hoeh.
It is this verb, unique and universal, which, pene-
trating a mass of innumerable nouns that receive their
20 Gramm, univ. L. I, ch, 8. et 9.
68 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
existence from the sign, forms particular verbs. It is the
universal soul. The particular verbs are only animated
nouns.
The relations arc abstracted by thought from signs,
nouns or verbs, and incline toward the sign as toward
their common origin.
We shall examine in particular each of these four
parts of speech in the following order : the Sign, the Rela-
tion, the Noun and the Verb, concerning which I have as
yet given only general ideas. In terminating this chap-
ter, the Hebrew alphabet, which it is indispensable to un-
derstand before going further, is now added. I have taken
pains to accompany it with another comparative alphabet
of Samaritan, Syriac, Arabic and Greek characters; so as
to facilitate the reading of words in these tongues, which
I shall be compelled to cite in somewhat large number,
in my radical vocabulary and in my notes upon the Cos-
mogony of Moses.
It must be observed, as regards the comparative Al-
phabet, that it follows the order of the Hebraic charac-
ters. This order is the same for the Samaritan and
Syriac; but as the Arabs and Greeks have greatly invert-
ed this order, I have been obliged to change somewhat tho
idiomatic arrangement of their characters, to put them
in relation to those of the Hebrews. When I have encoun-
tered in these last two tongues, characters which have
no analogues in the first three, I have decided to place
them immediately after those with which they offer the
closest relations,
Hebraic Alphabet
and
Comparative Alphabet
HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
HEBRAIC ALPHABET
N A, a,
n B, b, bh.
J G, g, gh.
1 D, d, dh.
H H, he, h.
(it is
111
f
n
D
t
"P
DD
D
f V
mother- vowel, this is a: as consonant,
is a very soft aspiration.
English b.
English g before a, o, u.
English d.
as mother- vowel, this is e: as consonant,
it is a simple aspiration: h.
( 0, o, W or (as mother- vowel, this is o, u, ou: as con-
(U, u, y. (sonant, it is v, w or /.
Z, z. English z.
as mother- vowel, this is he: as consonant,
it is a chest aspiration : h, or ch.
English t.
(as mother- vowel, this is i or at: as con-
\sonant, it is a whispering aspiration: j.
German ch, Spanish iota, Greek x-
H, he, h, ch.
T, t.
I, i, J, J.
C, c, ch.
same as English analogues.
M, m.
S, s.
^as mother- vowel, it is the Arabic ho:
H, ho, gh, gho \ as consonant, it is a guttural aspiration,
Uhe nasal gh, the Arabic j;
Greek A.
PH, ph.
TZ, tz.
K, k, qn.
R, r.
SH, sh.
TH, th.
Same as English.
French cA, or English
English th or Greek 6.
COMPARATIVE ALPHABET
COMPARATIVE ALPHABET
Hebrew Sowar'tan Syriac
Arabic Cfcck Frcndf
t**t K aleph. ft 1
U A a A d.
3 belh. ^ 9
<^A x J B |3 6 B b.
Jl ghimcl. 1 ^
,>. r/r Gggh.
1 dalelh. T 9
JLi> AJ Dd.
j.i DZ dz, d wcaft.
v,^, DH dh, dsfronflr.
j i n hi. ^ o
vA E E.He.
n*l wao. fc o
9 Oo,ft,Yw Oo,OUou,Uu.
T zaTn. 5 1
Z C Z z.
n beih. n ~
f * Hn tiW.
^ i. X X Cft ch -
U teth. 7 3
0*xy Tt? Tt.
1> Tfi th, t <rw0.
Yod. flf
;J A3 I. It
j 3 caph. 2t a
':: x s Kik kb.
t7
^S lamed. 2 ^
Jl) AX LI
CDD mem. ia ^
> M f* M- m -
.
>XJ W v N n.
7 i noun. Jj *
9
D samech. v *tt
J~AU 2C ff ^ s>
^ f>0 SS ss s ?ronfir.
y haYn. V
'Tjip OY flho.wh.
iip CHgti
P] a phfe. 3 a
Si <p ? PHphPf.
n^ PP.
V ^ PS ps.
y X tzad. m 5
p coph. Y *
Uy XZ tZ,
j K> Cc.KWQq.
n
^ resch. -^ J
1 Pp* R r -
\P shin. *" *
* ^ SH sh.
r-> n thao. Af ^
4^>* 09^ Tilth.
CHAPTER II.
SIGNS CONSIDERED AS CHARACTERS.
I.
HEBRAIC ALPHABET: ITS VOWELS: ITS ORIGIN.
Before examining what the signification of the char-
acters which we have just laid down can be, it is well to
see what is their relative value.
The first division which is established here is that
which distinguishes them as vowels and as consonants.
I would have much to do if I related in detail all that has
been said, for and against the existence of the Hebraic
vowels. These insipid questions might have been solved
long ago, if those who had raised them had taken the
trouble to examine seriously the object of their dispute.
But that was the thing concerning which they thought the
least. Some had only a scholastic erudition which took
cognizance of the material of the tongue; others, who
had a critical faculty and a philosophic mind were often
ignorant even of the form of the Oriental characters.
I ask in all good faith, how the alphabet of the Heb-
rews could have lacked the proper characters to designate
the vowels, since it is known that the Egyptians who were
their masters in all the sciences, possessed these charac-
ters and made use of them, according to the report of De-
metrius of Phalereus, to note their music and to solmizate
it; since it is known, by the account of Horus-Apollonius.
that there were seven of these characters; 1 since it is
known that the Phoenicians, close neighbours of the Heb-
rews, used these vocal characters to designate the seven
planets. 2 Porphyry testifies positively to this in his
1 ffyeroglyph. L. II. 29.
2 Cedren. p. 169.
73
74 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
Commentary upon the grammarian Dionysius Thrax, 8
which confirms unquestionably, the inscription found at
Milet, and concerning which we possess a learned disser-
tation by Barthelemy. 4 This inscription includes invoca-
tions addressed to the seven planetary spirits. Each spirit
is designated by a name composed of seven vowels and be-
ginning with the vowel especially consecrated to the
planet which it governs.
Let us hesitate no longer to say that the Hebrew al-
phabet has characters whose primitive purpose was to
distinguish the vowels; these characters are seven in
number.
N soft vowel, represented by a.
J"T stronger vowel, represented by e, h.
n very strong pectoral vowel, represented by e, h, ch.
1 indistinct, dark vowel, represented by ou, u, y.
1 brilliant vowel, represented by o.
* hard vowel, represented by i.
y deep and guttural vowel, represented by ho, who.
Besides these vocal characters, it is further neces-
sary to know that the Hebrew alphabet admits a vowel
which I shall call consonantal or vague, because it is in-
herent in the consonant, goes with it, is not distinguish-
able, and attaches to it a sound always implied. This
sound is indifferently a, e, o, for we ought not to believe
that the vocal sound which accompanies the consonants
has been as fixed in the ancient tongues of the Orient as
it has become in the modern tongues of Europe. The
word ^^D, which signifies a king, is pronounced indiffer-
ently malach, melech, moloch, and even milich; with a
faint sound of the voice. This indifference in the vocal
sound would not have existed if a written vowel had been
inserted between the consonants which compose it; then
the sound would have become fixed and striking, but of
3 M6m. de Gotting. T. I. p. 251. sur Vouvrage de Dm6trius de Phal
IlepJ 'EpM^e/aj.
Mtm. de VAcad. des Belles-Lettres, T. XLI. p. 514.
SIGNS AS CHARACTERS 75
ten the sense would also have been changed. Thus, for
example, the word *]70, receiving the mother vowel N , as
in "JN^D , signifies no longer simply a king, but a divine,
eternal emanation; an eon, an angel.
When it was said that the Hebrew words were writ-
ten without vowels, it was not understood,and Boulanger
who has committed this mistake in his encyclopaedic ar-
ticle, proves to me by this alone, that he was ignorant of
the tongue of which he wrote.
All Hebrew words have vowels expressed or implied,
that is to say, mother vowels or consonantal vowels. In
the origin of this tongue, or rather in the origin of the
Egyptian tongue from which it is derived, the sages who
created the alphabet which it has inherited, attached a
vocal sound to each consonant, a sound nearly always
faint, without aspiration, and passing from the a> to the
ae, or from the a to the e, without the least difficulty ; they
reserved the written characters for expressing the sounds
more fixed, aspirate or striking. This literal alphabet,
whose antiquity is unknown, has no doubt come down to
us as far as its material characters are concerned; but as
to its spirit, it has come down in sundry imitations that
have been transmitted to us by the Samaritans, Chalde-
ans, Syrians and even the Arabs.
The Hebraic alphabet is that of the Chaldeans. The
characters are remarkable for their elegance of form and
their clearness. The Samaritan much more diffuse, much
less easy to read, is obviously anterior and belongs to a
more rude people. The savants who have doubted the
anteriority of the Samaritan character had not examined
it with sufficient attention. They have feared besides, that
if once they granted the priority of the character, they
would be forced to grant the priority of the text ; but this
is a foolish fear. The Samaritan text, although its alpha-
bet may be anterior to the Chaldaic alphabet, is neverthe-
less only a simple copy of the Sepher of Moses, which the
politics of the kings of Assyria caused to pass into Sam-
76 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
aria, as I have already said in my Dissertation; if this
copy differs it is because the priest who was charged with
it, as one reads in the Book of Kings, 5 either conformed
to the ideas of the Samaritans with whom he wished to
keep up the schism, or he consulted manuscripts by no
means accurate. It would be ridiculous to say with Le-
clerc, 6 that this priest was the author of the entire Seph-
er; but there is not the least absurdity in thinking that
he was the author of the principal different readings
which are encountered there; for the interest of the court
of Assyria which sent him was, that he should estrange as
much as possible th& Samaritans and the Jews, and that
he should stir up their mutual animosity by all manner
of means.
It is therefore absolutely impossible to deny the
Chaldean origin of the characters of which the Hebraic
alphabet is composed today. The very name of this al-
phabet demonstrates it sufficiently. This name written
thus /VYIBftt i"OTO (chathibah ashourith) signifies, Assy-
rian writing: an epithet known to all the rabbis, and
to which following the genius of the Hebraic tongue,
nothing prevents adding the formative and local sign O
to obtain rVWXD PQTG (chathibah mashourith), writ-
ing in the Assyrian style. This is the quite simple de-
nomination of this alphabet; a denomination in which,
through a very singular abuse of words, this same Elijah
Levita, of whom I have had occasion to speak, insisted on
seeing the Masorites of Tiberias; thus confusing beyond
any criticism, the ancient Mashorah with the modern
Masorah, and the origin of the vowel points with rules
infinitely newer, that are followed in the synagogues re-
lative to their employment.*
B Kings L. II. ch. 17. v. 27.
9 Leclerc: Sentimens dc guelq. theol. de Hollande. L. VI.
* No one is ignorant of the famous disputes which were raised
among the savants of the last centuries concerning the origin of the
vowel points. These points had always been considered as contem-
II.
ORIGIN OF THE VOWEL POINTS.
Thus therefore, the Hebraic alphabet, whatever might
have been the form of its characters at the very remote
epoch when Moses wrote his work, had seven written
vowels : N /H ,tt /I /I ,* ,$ ; besides a vague vowel at-
tached to each consonant which I have called on account
of this, consonantal vowel. But by a series of events which
hold to principles too far from my subject to be explain-
ed here, the sound of the written vowels became altered,
materialized, hardened as it were, and changed in such,
a way that the characters which expressed them were con-
poraries of the Hebraic characters and belonging to the same inven-
tors; when suddenly, about the middle of the sixteenth century, Elijah
Levita attacked their antiquity and attributed the invention to the
rabbis of the school of Tiberias who flourished about the fifth century
of our era. The entire synagogue rose in rebellion against him, and
regarded him as a blasphemer. His system would have remained
buried in obscurity, if Louis Cappell, pastor of the Protestant Church
at Saumur, after having passed thirty-six years of his life noting down
the different readings of the Hebraic text, disheartened at being unable
to understand it, had not changed his idea concerning these same
points which had caused him so much trouble and had not taken to
heart the opinion of Elijah Levita.
Buxtorf, who had just made a grammar, opposed both Elijah
Levita and Cappell, and started a war in -which all the Hebrew scholars
have taken part during the last two centuries, never asking them-
selves, in their disputes for or against the points, what was the real
point of question. Now, this is the real point. Elijah Levita did not
understand Hebrew, or if he did understand it, he was very glad
to profit by an equivocal word of that tongue to start the war which
drew attention to him.
The word 'i)K>S (ashouri), signifies In Hebrew, as In Chaldaic,
Assyrian, that which belongs to Assyria, Its root "\\ff or 11B> indicates
all that which tends to rule, to be lifted up; all Uiat which emanates
from an original principle of force, of grandeur and of 6clat. The
77
78 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
fused with the other consonants. The vowels N ,fi and
n offered only an aspiration more or less strong, being
deprived of all vocal sound; 1 and 1 became the con-
sonants v and w; * was pronounced ji, and y took a
raucous and nasal accent.*
If, as has very well been said by the ancients, the
vowels are the soul and the consonants the body of the
words, 7 the Hebraic writing and all which, generally
alphabet of which Esdras made use in transcribing the Sepher, was
called mw RTfO Assyrian writing, or in a figurative sense, sovereign,
primordial, original writing. The addition of the sign 13 having ref-
erence to the intensive verbal form, only gives more force to the ex-
pression. JVWNB M3T13, signifies therefore, writing in the manner of
the Assyrian, or writing emanated from the sovereign radiant principle
This is the origin of the first mashorah, the real mashorah to which
both the Hebraic characters and vowel points which accompany them
must be related.
But the word 11DK assour, signifies all that which is "bound, obliged
and subject to rules, flTOK a college, a convention, a thing which
receives or which gives certain laws in certain circumstances. This
is the origin of the second Masorah. This latter does not invent the
vowel points; but it fixes the manner of using them; it treats of every-
thing which pertains to the rules that regulate the orthography as
well as the reading of the Sepher. These Masorites enter, as I have
said, into the minutest details of the division of the chapters, and the
number of verses, words and letters which compose them. They know,
for example, that in the first book of the Sepher called Berceshith, the
Parshioth, or great sections, are twelve in number; those named Seda-
rim or orders, forty-three in number; that there are in all one thousand
five hundred and thirty-four verses, twenty thousand seven hundred
and thirteen words, seventy -eight thousand, one hundred letters; and
finally, that the middle of this book is at chapter 27, v. 40, at the
centre of these words: rvnn 13")n !?JM "And by thy sword (extermina
tion) shalt thou live."
* I render it by gh or tcft.
7 Priscian L. I.
ORIGIN OF THE VOWEL POINTS 79
speaking, belonged to the same primitive stock, became
by this slow revolution a kind of body, if not dead, at
least in a state of lethargy wherein remained only a vague,
transitory spirit giving forth only uncertain lights. At
this time the meaning of the words tended to be material-
ized like the sound of the vowels and few of the readers
were capable of grasping it. New ideas changed the
meaning as new habits had changed the form.
Nevertheless, certain sages among the Assyrians,
called Chaldeans, a lettered and savant caste which has
been inappropriately confused with the corps of the na-
tions ; * certain Chaldean sages, I say, having perceived
the successive change which had taken place in their
tongue, and fearing justly that notwithstanding the oral
tradition which they strove to transmit from one to the
other, the meaning of the ancient books would become
lost entirely, they sought a means to fix the value of the
vocal characters, and particularly to give to the implied
consonantal vowel, a determined sound which would pre-
vent the word from fluctuating at hazard among several
significations.
For it had come to pass that at the same time that
the mother vowels, that is to say, those which were de-
signated by the written characters, had become conso-
nantal, the consonants, so to speak, had become vocalized
by means of the vague vowel which united them. The
* The Chaldeans were not a corps of ths nations, as haa been
ridiculously believed; but a corps of savants in a nation. Their
principal academies -were at Babylon, Borseppa, Sippara, Orchoe, etc.
Chaldea was not, properly speaking, the name of a country, but an
epithet given to the country where the Chaldeans flourished. These
sages were divided into four classes, under the direction of a supreme
chief. They bore, in general, the name of pNlK'D/ Chashdaln or of
I'Klba , Chaldain, according to the different dialects. Both of these
names signified alike, the venerable*, the eminent ones, those who
understand the nature of things. They are formed of the assimilative
article S.and the words H{? or T^n which have reference to excellence,
to eminence, to infinite time and to eternal nature.
80 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
many ideas which were successively attached to the same
root, had brought about a concourse of vowels that it was
no longer possible to blend as formerly with the spoken
language, and as the written language afforded no as-
sistance in this regard, the books became from day to day
more difficult to understand.
I beg the readers but little familiar with the tongues
of the Orient, to permit me to draw an example from the
French. Let us suppose that we have in this tongue, a
root composed of two consonants bl, to which we attach
an idea of roundness. If we conceive trifling objects un-
der this form, we say indifferently bal, bel, bil, bol, bul
boul; but in proportion as we distinguish the individuals
from the species in general, we would know that a bale
is neither a bille, nor a boule; we would be careful not to
confuse the bol of an apothecary, with the bol which is
used for liquors, nor the bill of the English parlia-
ment with a biille of the pope; in short, we make a great
difference between this last bulle and a bulle of soap and
a balle of merchandize, etc.
Now it is in this manner that the Chaldeans thought
to obviate the ever growing confusion which was born of
the deviation of the mother vowels and of the fixation of
the vague vowels. They invented a certain number of
small accents, called today vowel points, by means of
which they were able to give to the characters of the al-
phabet under which they placed them, the sound that
these characters had in the spoken language. This in-
vention, quite ingenious, had the double advantage of
preserving the writing of the ancient books, without
working any change in the arrangement of the literal
characters, and of permitting the noting of its pronuncia-
tion such as usage had introduced.
Here is the form, value and name of these points,
which I have placed under the consonant 2 solely for the
purpose of serving as example; for these points can be
ORIGIN OF THE VOWEL POINTS 81
placed under all the literal characters, consonants as
well as vowels.
LONG VOWELS SHORT VOWELS
D bA, kametz 5 ba patah
D be zere 5 be segol
D bi hirek 3 bu kibbuz
jj b6 holcm D bo kamez-hatcf
The point named shewa, represented by two points
placed perpendicularly under a character, in this man-
ner ?, signifies that the character under which it is
pla,ced lacks the vowel, if it is a consonant, or remains
mute if it is a vowel.
The consonant W always bears a point, either at the
right of the writer, Iff , to express that it has a hissing
sound as in sh; or at the left Iff , to signify that it is only
aspirate. This difference is of but little importance; but
it is essential to remark that this point replaces on the
character W , the vowel point called holem, that is to say
o. This vocal sound precedes the consonant W when
the anterior consonant lacks a vowel, as in Jl^O moshe,
it follows it when this same consonant fc* is initial, as in
shone.
Besides these points, whose purpose was to fix the
sound of the vague vowels and to determine the vocal
sound which remained inherent, or which was attached to
the mother vowels either as they were by nature or as
they became consonants, the Chaldeans invented still an-
other kind of interior point, intended to give more force
to the consonants or to the mother vowel, in the bosom
of which it is inscribed. This point is called dagcsh, when
applied to consonants, and mappik, when applied to vow-
82 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
els. The interior point dagesli, is inscribed in all of the
consonants except *). It is soft in the following six, /I
,Q ,3 >""] J /3 when they are initial or preceded by the
in lite point called shewa; it is hard in all the others and
even in those alluded to, when they are preceded by any
vowel whatever; its effect is to double their value. Cer-
tain Hebrew grammarians declare that this point, inscrib-
ed in the bosom of the consonant ), pronounced ordinar-
ily ph f gives it the force of the simple p; but here their
opinion is sharply contested by others who assert that the
Hebrews, as well as the Arabs, have never known the ar-
ticulation of our p. But as my object is not to teach the
pronunciation of Hebrew, I shall not enter into these dis-
putes.
Indeed it is of no importance whatever in understand-
ing the sole Hebrew book which remains to us, to know
what was the articulation attached to such or such char-
acter by the orators of Jerusalem; but rather, what was
the meaning that Moses, and the ancient writers who have
imitated him, gave to these characters.
Let us return to the point mappik. This inner point
is applied to three vowels H /1 /'/ and gives them a new
value. The vowel H, is distinguished from the word, and
takes an emphatic or relative meaning ; the vowel 1 ceases
to be a consonant, and becomes the primitive vowel ou,
and if the point is transposed above it, 1 it takes the
more audible sound of o or u. The vowel *, is distin-
guished from the word, even as the vowel Jl, and takes
an emphatic sound or becomes audible from the mute that
it had been.
The diphthongs, however, are quite rare in Hebrew.
Nevertheless, according to the Chaldaic pronunciation,
when the pure vowels 1 or ', are preceded by any vowel
point, or joined together, they form real diphthongs as
in the following words : Wty hcshaou, ^t? shaleou, *Jp
phanai *1JI got, ^Jl galoui, etc.
ORIGIN OF THE VOWEL POINTS 83
The reading of the Hebraic text which I give further
on in the original, and its carefully made comparison with
the transcription in modern characters, will instruct those
who desire to familiarize themselves with the Hebrew
.characters, much more than all that I might be able to
tell them now, and above all they will acquire these same
characters with less ennui.
111.
EFFECTS OF THE VOWEL POINTS.
SAMARITAN TEXT.
Such was the means invented by the Chaldeans to
note the pronunciation of the words without altering
their characters. It is impossible, lacking monuments, to
fix today even by approximation, the time of this inven-
tion; but one can without deviating from the truth, de-
termine when it was adopted by the Hebrews. Every-
thing leads to believe that this people, having had occa-
sion during its long captivity in Babylon to become ac-
quainted with the Assyrian characters and the Chaldaic
punctuation, found in its midst men sufficiently enlighten-
ed to appreciate the advantage of each, and to sacrifice the
pride and national prejudice which might hold them at-
tached to their ancient characters.
To Esdras is due the principal honour; a man of
great genius and uncommon constancy. It was he who,
shortly after the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, revised
the sacred Book of his nation, repaired the disorder
brought upon it by the numerous revolutions and great
calamities, and transcribed it completely in Assyrian char-
acters. It is needless to repeat here the motives and oc-
casion of the additions which he judged proper to make.
I havp spoken sufficiently of this in my Introductory Dis-
sertation. If any fault was committed in the course of
a work so considerable, the evil which resulted was slight ;
while the good of which it became* the source was im-
mense.
For if we possess the very work of Moses in its in-
tegrity, we owe it to the particular care of Esdras and to
84
SAMARITAN TEXT 85
his bold policy. The Samaritan priests who remained ob-
stinately attached to the ancient character, finally cor-
rupted the original text and this is how it was done.
Since they no longer pronounced the words in the
Same manner, they believed the changing* of the ortho-
graphy immaterial, and since they were deprived of means
for determining the sound of the vague vowels which
were fixed, they inserted mother vowels where there were
none.* These vowels whose 'degeneration was rapid, be-
came consonants; these consonants were charged with
new vague vowels which changed the meaning of the
words, besides taking from them what had been hiero-
glyphic, and finally the confusion became such that they
were forced, in order to understand their Book, to have
recourse to a translation in the language of the time.
Then all was lost for them; for the translators, whatever
scruples they might have brought to bear in their work,
could translate only what they understood and as they
understood.
What happened, however, to the rabbis of the Jewish
synagogue? Thanks to the flexibility of the Chaldaic
punctuation, they were able to follow the vicissitudes of
*Only a glance at the Samaritan text is sufficient to see that it
abounds in the added mother vowels. Father Morin and Richard
Simon have already remarked this: but neither has perceived how
this text could in that way lose its authenticity. On the contrary,
Morin pretended to draw from this abundance of mother vowels, a
proof of the anteriority of the Samaritan text. He was ignorant of
the fact that the greater part of the mother vowels which are lacking
in the Hebraic words, are lacking designedly and that this want adds
often an hieroglyphic meaning to the spoken meaning, according to
the Egyptian usage. I know well that, particularly in the verbs, the
copyists prior to Esdras, and perhaps Esdras himself, have neglected
the mother vowels without other reason than that of following a de-
fective pronunciation, or through indolence; but it was an inevitable
misfortune. The Masorites of Tiberias may also have followed bad
rules, in fixing definitely the number of these vowels. One ought in
this case to supply them in reading, and an intelligent person will
do so.
86 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
the pronunciation without changing anything in the sub-
stance, number or arrangement of the characters. Where-
as the greater part yielding to the proneness of their gross
ideas, lost as had the Samaritans, the real meaning of
the sacred text; this text remained entirely concealed in
its characters, the knowledge of which was preserved by
an oral tradition. This tradition called Kabbala, was espe-
cially the portion of the Essenes who communicated it sec-
retly to the initiates, neglecting the points or suppressing
them wholly.
This has been the fate of the Sepher of Moses. This
precious Book more and more disfigured from age to age,
at first by the degeneration of the tongue, afterward by
its total loss, given overto the carelessness of the ministers
of the altars, to the ignorance of the people, to the inevit-
able digressions of the Chaldaic punctuation, was pre-
served by its characters which like so many of the hiero-
glyphics have carried the meaning to posterity. All of
those whom the synagogue has considered as enlightened
men, all of those whom the Christian church itself has
regarded as true savants, the sages of all the centuries,
have felt this truth.
Therefore, let us leave to the Hebraist grammarians
the minute and ridiculous care of learning seriously and
at length, the rules, wholly arbitrary, which follow the
vowel points in their mutations. Let us receive these
points in the Hebraic tongue, as we receive the vowels
which enter in the composition of the words of other
tongues without concerning ourselves as to their origin
or their position. Let us not seek, as I have already said,
to speak Hebrew, but to understand it. Whether suck
or such word is pronounced in such or such fashion in the
synagogue, matters not to us. The essential thing is
to knew what it signifies. Let us also leave the musical
notes which the rabbis call the accents, and without dis-
turbiiig ourselves as to the tones in which the first chap-
ters of the Sepher were cantillated at Jerusalem, let us
SAMARITAN TEXT 87
consider what profound meaning was attached to it by
Moses, and with that object let us seek to penetrate the
inner genius of the Egyptian idiom which he has em-
ployed under its two relations, literal and hieroglyphic.
We shall attain this easily by the exploration of the roots,
few in number, which serve as the basis of this idiom and
by an understanding of the characters, still fewer in num-
ber, which are as their elements.
For, even in the richest tongues, the roots are few
in number. The Chinese tongue, one of the most varied
in the whole earth, which counts eighty-four thousand
characters, has scarcely more than two hundred or two
hundred and thirty roots, which produce at the most,
twelve or thirteen hundred simple words by variations
of the accent.
CHAPTER III.
CHARACTERS CONSIDERED AS SIGNS.
I.
TRACED CHARACTERS, ONE OF THE ELEMENTS
OF LANGUAGE :
HIEROGLYPHIC PRINCIPLE OF THEIR
PRIMITIVE FORM.
We are about to examine the 'alphabetical form and
value of the Hebrew characters; let us fix our attention
now upon the meaning which is therein contained. This
is a matter somewhat novel and I believe it has not been
properly investigated.
According to Court de Ge~belin, the origin of speech
is divine. God alone can give to man the organs which
are necessary for speaking; He alone can inspire in him
the desire to profit by his organs; He alone can establish
between speech and that multitude of marvelous objects
which it must depict, that admirable rapport which an-
imates speech, which makes it intelligible to all, which
makes it a picture with an energy and truthfulness that
cannot be mistaken. This estimable writer says, "How
could one fail to recognize here the finger of the All Pow-
erful? how could one imagine that words had no energy
by themselves? that they had no value which was not con-
ventional and which might not always be different; that
the name of lamb might be that of wolf, and the name
of vice that of virtue, etc." *
1 Monde primi. Orig. du lang. p. 66.
89
90 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
Indeed a person must be the slave of system, and
singularly ignorant of the first elements of language to
assert with Hobbes and his followers, that there is no-
thing which may not be arbitrary in the institution of
speech; 2 that "we cannot from experience conclude that
anything is to be called just or unjust, true or false, or
any proposition universal whatsoever, except it be from
remembrance of the use of names imposed arbitrarily
by men." 3
Again if Hobbes, or those who have followed him,
having delved deeply in the elements of speech, had de-
monstrated the nothingness or absolute indifference of it
by a rational analysis of tongues or even simply by the
analysis of the tongue that they spoke; but these men,
compilers of certain Latin words, believed themselves so
wise that the mere declaration of their paradox was its
demonstration. They did not suspect that one could raise
his grammatical thoughts above a supine or a gerund.
May I be pardoned for this digression which, distant
as it appears from the Hebraic grammar, brings us, how-
ever, back to it; for it is in this grammar that we shall
find the consoling proof, stated above by Gebelin and the
response to the destructive paradoxes of Hobbes and all
his acolytes. It is even one of the motives which has
caused me to publish this grammar, and which, being
connected with that of giving to my translation of the
Cosmogony of Moses an incontrovertible basis, engages me
in a work to which I had not at first destined myself.
I shall show that the words which compose the
tongues in general, and those of the Hebraic tongue in
particular, far from being thrown at hazard, and formecl
by the explosion of an arbitrary caprice, as has been as-
serted, are. on the contrary, produced by a profound
reason. I shall prove that there is not a single one that
may not, by means of a well made grammatical analysis,
2 Hobb. de la nat. hum. ch. 4. 10.
Ibid: oh. 5. 10. Leviath. ch. 4.
CHARACTERS CONSIDERED AS SIGNS 91
be brought back to the fixed elements of a nature, im-
mutable as to substance, although variable to infinity as
to forms.
These elements, such as we are able to examine here,
constitute that part of speech to which I have given the
name of sign. They comprise, as I have said, the voice,
the gesture, and the traced characters. It is to the traced
characters that we shall apply ourselves; since the voice
is extinct, and the gesture disappeared. They alone will
furnish us a subject amply vast for reflections.
According to the able writer whom I have already
quoted, their form is by no means arbitrary. Court de
Gebelin proves by numerous examples that the first in-
ventors of the literal alphabet, unique source of all the
literal alphabets in actual use upon the earth, and whose
characters were at first only sixteen in number, drew
from nature itself the form of these characters, relative
to the meaning which they wished to attach to them. Here
are his ideas upon this subject, to which I shall bring
only some slight changes and certain developments neces-
sitated by the extent of the Hebraic alphabet and the com-
parison that I am obliged to make of several analogous
letters ; in order to reduce the number to the sixteen prim-
ordial characters, and make them harmonize with their
hieroglyphic principle.
N A. Man himself as collective unity, principle:
master and ruler of the earth.
D ) B. P. PH. The mouth of man as organ of speech ;
his interior, his habitation, every central object.
J 3 G. C. CH. The throat: the hand of man half closed
and in action of taking: every canal, every en-
closure, every hollow object.
f n D. DH. TH. The breast : every abundant, nutritive
object: all division, all reciprocity.
H H. EH. AH. The breath: all that which animates:
air, life, being.
92 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
1 O. U. The eye : all that which is related to the light,
to brilliancy, to limpidness, to water.
OU. W. WH. The ear: all that which is related to
sound, to noise, to wind: void, nothingness.
S. SH. A staff, an arrow, a bow; the arms, the
instruments of man: every object leading to an
end.
H H. HE. CH. A field, image of natural existence:
all that which requires work, labour, effort: all
that which excites heat.
D T. TZ. A roof : a place of surety, of refuge : a haven,
a shelter ; a term, an aim : an end.
* I. The finger of man, his extended hand: all that
which indicates the directing power and which
serves to manifest it.
*? L. The arm: everything which is extended, raised,
displayed.
ID M. The companion of man, woman : all that whicK
is fruitful and creative.
J N. The production of woman: a child: any fruit
whatsoever: every produced being.
p Q. K. A positive arm : all that which serves, defends,
or makes an effort for man.
") B. The head of man: all that which possesses in
itself, a proper and determining movement.
Now it must be observed that these characters received
these symbolic figures from their first inventors only
because they already contained the idea; that in passing
to the state of signs, they present only abstractly to the
thought the faculties of these same objects: but, as I have
stated, they can fulfill the functions of the signs, only
after having been veritable nouns: for every sign mani-
fested exteriorly is at first a noun.
II.
ORIGIN OF SIGNS AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT:
THOSE OF THE HEBRAIC TONGUE.
Let us try to discover how the sign, being manifested
exteriorly, produced a noun, and how the noun, charac-
terized by a figured type produced a sign. Let us take for
example, the sign D M, which, expressing by means of its
primordial elements, the sound and organs of the voice,
becomes the syllable aM or Ma, and is applied to those
faculties of woman which eminently distinguish her, that
is to say, to those of mother. If certain minds attacked
by skepticism ask me why I restrict the idea of mother
in this syllable aM or Ma, and how I am sure that it is
applied effectively there, I shall reply to them that the
sole proof that I can give them, in the material sphere
which envelops them is, that in all the tongues of the
world from that of the Chinese to that of the Caribs, the
syllable aM or Ma is attached to the idea of mother, and
aB, Ba, or aP, Pa, to that of father. If they doubt my
assertion let them prove that it is false; if they do not
doubt it, let them tell me how it is that so many diverse
peoples, thrown at such distances apart, unknown to each
other, are agreed in the signification of this syllable, if
this syllable is not the innate expression of the sign of
maternity.
This is a grammatical truth that all the sophisms of
Hobbes arid his disciples knew not how to overthrow.
Let us settle upon this fundamental point and pro-
ceed. What are the relative or abstract ideas which are
attached to, or which follow from, the primordial idea re-
presented by the syllable aM or Ma? Is it not the idea of
94 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
fecundity, of multiplicity, of abundance? Is it not the
idea of fecundation, of multiplication, of formation? Does
not one see from this source, every idea of excited and
passive action, of exterior movement, of plastic force, of
characteristic place, of home, of means, etc?
It is useless to pursue this examination : the mass of
ideas contained in the primordial idea of mother, is either
attached to the figured- sign, to the typical character
which represents it, or is derived from and follows it.
Each sign starts from the same principles and ac-
quires the same development. Speech is like a sturdy tree
which, shooting up from a single trunk begins with a few
branches; but which soon extends itself, spreads, and be-
comes divided in an infinity of boughs whose interlaced
twigs are blended and mingled together.
And do not wonder at this immense number of ideas
following from so small a number of signs. It is by
means of the eight keys called Koua, that the Chinese
tongue, at first reduced to two hundred and forty prim-
ordial characters, is raised to eighty and even eighty-four
thousand derivative characters, as I have already said.
Now the newer a tongue is and closer to nature, the
more the sign preserves its force. This force dies out in-
sensibly, in proportion as the derivative tongues are
formed, blended, identified and mutually enriched with
a mass of words which, belonging to several tribes at
first isolated and afterward united, lose their synonymy
and finally are coloured with all the nuances of the im-
agination, and adapt themselves to every delicacy of sen-
timent and expression. The force of the sign is the gram-
matical touchstone by means of which one can judge
without error the antiquity of any tongue.
In our modern tongues, for example, the sign, be-
cause of the idiomatic changes brought about by time, is
very difficult to recognize; it yields only to a persistent
analysis. It is not thus in Hebrew. This tongue, like a
vigorous shoot sprung from the dried trunk of the pri-
ORIGIN OF SIGNS OF HEBRAIC TONGUE 95
mitive tongue, has preserved on a small scale all the forms
and all the action. The signs are nearly all evident, and
many even are detached : when this is the case, I shall
give them name of relations for I understand by sign
only the constitutive character of a root, or the character
which placed at the beginning or at the end of a word,
modifies its expression without conserving any in itself.
I now pass, after these explanations, to what the
Hebraic signs indicate, that is to say, to a new develop-
ment of the literal characters of the Hebraic tongue con-
sidered under the relation of the primitive ideas which
they express, and by which they are constituted repre-
sentative signs of these same ideas.
'N A. This first character of the alphabet, in nearly
all known idioms, is the sign of power and of
stability. The ideas that it expresses are those of
unity and of the principle by which it is deter-
mined.
D B. P. Virile and paternal sign : image of active and
interior action.
J G. This character which offers the image of a canal,
is the organic sign; that of the material covering
and of all ideas originating from the corporeal
organs or from their action.
"1 D. Sign of nature, divisible and divided: it ex-
presses every idea proceeding from the abundance
born of division.
H H. He. Life and every abstract idea of being.
1 OU. W. This character offers the image of the most
profound, the most inconceivable mystery, the
image of the knot which unites, or the point which
separates nothingness and being. It is the uni-
versal, convertible sign which makes a thing pass
from one nature to another; communicating on the
9G THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
one side, with the sign of light and of spiritual
sense 1 , which is itself more elevated, and con-
necting on the other side, in its degeneration, with
the sign of darkness and of material sense y which
is itself still more abased.
f Z. C. S. Demonstrative sign : abstract image of the
link which unites things : symbol of luminous re-
fraction.
H H. HE. CH. This character, intermediary between fl
and D, the former designating life, absolute exist-
ence; the latter, relative life, assimilated existence.
is the sign of elementary existence : it offers the
image of a sort of equilibrium, and is attached tt>
ideas of effort, of labour, and of normal and of
legislative action.
D T. Sign of resistance and of protection. This char-
acter serves as link between 1 and H, which are
both much more expressive.
* I. Image of potential manifestation : of spiritual
duration, of eternity of time and of all ideas relat-
ing thereunto : remarkable character in its vocal
nature, but which loses all of its faculties in pass-
ing to the state of consonant, wherein it depicts
no more than a material duration, a sort of link
as t, or of movement as '.
D C. CH. Assimilative sign : it is a reflective and tran-
sient life, a sort of mould which receives and makes
all forms. It is derived from the character fl
which proceeds itself from the sign of absolute
life H. Thus holding, on the one side, to elemen-
tary life, it joins to the signification of the char-
acter tl, that of the organic sign J, of which it is,
besides, only a kind of reinforcement.
** L. Sign of expansive movement : it is applied to all
ORIGIN OF SIGNS OF HEBRAIC TONGUE 97
ideas of extension, elevation, occupation, posses-
sion. As final sign, it is the image of power de-
rived from elevation.
M. Maternal and female sign: local and plastic
sign: image of exterior and passive action. This
character used at the end of words, becomes the
collective signD. In this state, it develops the be-
ing in indefinite space, or it comprises, in the same
respect, all beings of an identical nature.
N. Image of produced or reflected being: sign of
individual and of corporeal existence. As final
character it is the augmentative sign f, and gives to
the word which receives it all the individual ex-
tension ol which the expressed thing is susceptible.
8. X. Image of all circumscription: sign of cir-
cular movement in that which has connection
with its circumferential limit. It is the link t re-
inforced and turned back upon itself.
H. WH. Sign of material meaning. It is the sign
1 considered in its purely physical relations. When
the vocal sound # , degenerates in its turn into con-
sonant, it becomes the sign of all that which is
bent, false, perverse and bad.
PH. F. Sign of speech and of that which is related
to it. This character serves as link between the
characters D and 1, B and V, when the latter has
passed into state of consonant; it participates in
all their significations, adding its own expression
which is the emphasis.
TZ. Final and terminative sign being related to all
ideas of scission, of term, solution, goal. Placed
at the beginning of words, it indicates the move-
ment which carries toward the term of which it is
the sign : placed at the end, it marks the same term
98 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
where it has tended; then it receives this form lf t
It is derived from the character D and from the
character t, and it marks equally scission for
both.
p Q. K. Sign eminently compressive, astringent and
trenchant; image of the agglomerating or repres-
sive form. It is the character D wholly material-
ized and is applied to objects purely physical. For
this is the progression of the signs : fl, universal
life; fT, elementary existence, the effort of nature;
5, assimilated life holding the natural forms: p
material existence giving the means of forms.
*) R. Sign of all movement proper, good or bad: ori-
ginal and frequentative sign : image of the renewal
of things as to their movement.
W SH. Sign of relative duration and of movement
therewith connected. This character is derived
from the vocal sound *, passed into the state of
consonant; it joins to its original expression the
respective significations of the characters f and D.
H TH. Sign of reciprocity: image of that which is
mutual and reciprocal. "Sign of signs. Joining to
the abundance of the character "1, to the force of
the resistance and protection of the character C>
the idea of perfection of which it is itself the sym-
bol.
Twenty-two signs: such are the simple bases upon
which reposes the Hebraic tongue, upon which are raised
the primitive or derivative tongues which are attached to
the same origin. From the perfect understanding of these
bases, depends the understanding of their genius : their
possession is a key which unlocks the roots.
5 III.
USB OF THE SIGNS : EXAMPLE DRAWN FROM
THE FRENCH.
I might expatiate at length upon the signification of
each of these characters considered as Signs, especially if
I had added to the general ideas that they express, some
of the particular, relative or abstract ideas which are nec-
essarily attached; but I have said enough for the attentive
reader and he will find elsewhere in the course of this
work quite a considerable number of examples and deve-
lopments to assure his progress and level all doubts which
he might have conceived.
As I have not yet spoken of the noun, fundamental
part of speech, and as it would be difficult for those of my
readers, who have of the Hebraic tongue only the knowl-
edge that I am giving them, to understand me if I pro-
ceeded abruptly to the composition or the decomposition
of the Hebraic words by means of the sign, I shall put off
demonstrating the form and utility of this labour. In or-
der, however, not to leave this chapter imperfect and to
satisfy the curiosity as much as possible, without fatigu-
ing too much the attention, I shall illustrate the power of
the sign by a French word, taken at hazard, of a common
acceptation and of obvious composition.
Let it be the word emplacement.* Only a very super-
At the very moment of writing this, I v< as at the Bureau det
Operations militaires du Ministere de la guerre, where I was then
employed. Just as I was seeking for the French word announced in
the above paragraph, the chief of the division interrupted me, In order
to give me some work to do relative to an emplacement of troops. My
administrative labour terminated, I again took up my grammatical
work, retaining the same word which had engaged my attention.
100 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
flcial knowledge of etymology is necessary to see that the
simple word here is place. Our first task is to connect it
with the tongue from which it is directly derived; by this
means we shall obtain an etymology of the first degree,
which will set to rights the changes which might be ef-
fected in the characters of which it is composed. Now,
whether we go to the Latin tongue, or whether we go to
the Teutonic tongue, we shall find in the one platea, and
in the other platz. We shall stop there without seeking
the etymology of the second degree, which would consist
in interrogating the primitive Celt, common origin of the
Latin and the Teutonic; because the two words that we
have obtained suffice to enlighten us.
It is evident that the constitutive root of the French
word place, is aT or aTz. Now, the sign in at, indicates
to us an idea of resistance or of protection, and in atz an
idea of term, of limit, of end. It is, therefore, a thing
resisting and limited, or a thing protective and final. But
what is the sign which governs this root and which makes
it a noun, by proceeding from right to left following the
Oriental manner? It is the sign L, that of all extension,
of all possession. Lat is therefore, a thing extended as
lot, or extended and possessed as latitude. This is un-
impeachable.
Next, what is the second sign which stamps a new
meaning On these words? It is the sign P, that of active
and central action; inner and determinative character;
which, from the word Icet, an extended thing, makes a
thing of a fixed and determined extent, a plat, or a place
by changing the t into c, as the etymology of the first de-
gree has proved to us the reality of this change.
Now that we understand clearly in the word em-place-
ment, the simple word place of which it is composed, let
us search for the elements of its composition. Let us
examine first the termination ment, a kind of adverbial re-
lation, which added to a noun, determines, in French, an
action implied, The etymology of the first degree gives
USE OF THE SIGNS 101
us mem, in Latin, mid mind in Teutonic. These two words
mutually explain each other, therefore it is unneces-
sary for us to turn to the second degree of etymology.
Whether we take mem or mind, it remains for us to ex-
plore the root eN or iN, after dropping the initial cha-
racter M, and the final S or D, that we shall take up
further on. To the root en, expressing something even in
the tongue of the Latins, we shall now direct our attention.
Here we see the sign of absolute life E, and that of
reflective or produced existence N, joined together to de-
signate every particular being. This is precisely what the
Latin root EN, signfies, lo, behold; that is to say, see;
examine this individual existence. It is the exact transla-
tion of the Hebrew [Jl hen! If you add to this root the
luminous sign as in the Greek alwv (aon), you will have
the individual being nearest to the absolute being; if, on
the contrary, you take away the sign of life and substitute,
that of duration as in the Latin in, you will have the most
restricted, the most centralized, the most interior being.
But let the root EN be terminated by the conscriptive
and circumferential sign S, and we shall obtain ens, cor-
poreal mind, the intelligence peculiar to man. Then let
us make this word rule by the exterior and plastic sign M,
and we shall have the word mens, intelligence manifesting
itself outwardly and producing. This is the origin of th.e
termination sought for : it expresses the exterior form ac-
cording to which 'every action is modified.
As to the initial syllable em, which is found at the
head of the word em-place-ment, it represents the root EN,
and has received the character M, only because of the con-
sonant P, which never allows N in front of it, and this, as
though the being generated could never be presented prior
to the generating being. This syllable comes therefore
from the same source, and whether it be derived from the
corresponding Latin words en or in, it always character-
izes restricted existence in a determined or inner point.
102 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
According to these ideas, if I had to explain the
French word em-place-ment, I would say that it signifies
the proper mode according to which a fixed and determin-
ed extent, as place, is conceived or is presented exteriorly.
Moreover, this use of the sign which I have just il-
lustrated by a word of the French tongue, is much easier
and more sure in the Hebrew, which, possessing in itself
nearly all the constitutive elements, only obliges the ety-
mologist on very rare occasions to leave his lexicon;
whereas, one cannot analyze a French word without going
back to Latin or Teutonic, from which it is derived, and
without making frequent incursions into Celtic, its primi-
tive source, and into Greek and Phoenician, from which it
has received at different times a great number of expres-
sions.
CHAPTER IV.
THE SIGN PRODUCING THE ROOT,
I.
DIGRESSION ON THE PRINCIPLE AND THE
CONSTITUTIVE ELEMENTS OF THE SIGN.
I have endeavoured to show in the preceding chapter,
the origin of the sign and its power: let us again stop a
moment upon this important subject, and though I might
be accused of lacking method, let us not fear to retrace our
steps, the better to assure our progress.
I have designated as elements of speech, the voice, the
gesture and the traced characters ; as means, the sound, the
movement and the light: but these elements and these
means would exist in vain, if there were not at the same
time a creative power, independent of them, which could
take possession of them and put them into action. This
power is the Will. I refrain from naming its principle;
for besides being difficult to conceive, it would not be the
place here to speak of it. But the existence of the will
cannot be denied even by the most determined skeptic;
since he would be unable to call it in question without
willing it and consequently without giving it recognition.
Now the articulate voice and the affirmative or nega-
tive gesture are, and can only be, the expression of the
will. It is the will which, taking possession of sound and
movement, forces them to become its interpreters and to
reflect exteriorly its interior affections.
Nevertheless, if the will is absolute, all its affections
although diverse, must be identical; that is to say, be res-
pectively the same for all individuals who experience
103
104 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
them. Thus, a man willing and affirming his will by ges-
ture or vocal inflection, experiences no other affection
than any man who wills and affirms the same thing. The
gesture and sound of the voice which accompany the affir-
mation are not those destined to depict negation, and there
is not a single man on earth who can not be made to un-
derstand by the gesture or by the inflection of the voice,
that he is loved or that he is hated ; that he wishes or does
not wish the thing presented. There would be nothing of
agreement here. It is an identical power which is mani-
fested spontaneously and which radiating from one voli-
tive centre reflects itself upon the other.
I would it were as easy to demonstrate that it is
equally without agreement and by the sole force of the
will, that the gesture or vocal inflection assigned to affirm-
ation or negation, is transformed into different words,
and how it happens, for example, that the words N 1 ?, no,
and PO, yes, having the same sound and involving the same
inflection and the same gesture, have not, however, the
same meaning; but if that were so easy, how has the ori-
gin of speech remained till now unknown? How is it that
so many savants armed with both synthesis and analysis,
have not solved a question so important to man? There is
nothing conventional in speech, and I hope to prove this
to my, readers; but I do not promise to prove to them, a
truth of this nature in the manner of the geometricians;
its possession is of too high an importance to be contained
in an algebraic equation.
Let us return. Sound and movement placed at the
disposition of the will is modified by it ; that is to say, that
by certain appropriate organs, sound is articulated and
changed into voice; movement is determined and changed
into gesture. But voice and gesture have only an instan-
taneous, fugitive duration. If it is of importance to the
will of man, to make- the memory of the affections that it
manifests exteriorly survive the affections themselves
i(for this is nearly always of importance to him) ; then,
THE SIGN PRODUCING THE ROOT 105
finding no resource to fix or to depict the sound, it takes
possession of movement and with the aid of the hand, its
most expressive organ, finds after many efforts, the secret
of drawing on the bark of trees or cutting on stone, the
gesture upon which it has at first determined. This is the
origin of traced characters which, as image of the gesture
and symbol of the vocal inflection, become one of the most
fruitful elements of language, which extend its empire
rapidly and present to man an inexhaustible means of
combination. There is nothing conventional in their prin-
ciple; for no is always no, and yes always yes: a man is
a man. But as their form depends much upon the de-
signer who first tests the will by depicting his affections,
enough of the arbitrary can be insinuated, and it can be
varied enough so that there may be need of an agreement
to assure their authenticity and authorize their usage.
Also, it is always in the midst of a tribe advanced in civil-
ization and subject to the laws of a regular government,
that the use of some kind of writing is encountered. One
can be sure that wherever traced characters are found,
there also are found civilized forms. All men, however
savage they may be, speak and impart to each other their
ideas; but all do not write, because there is no need of
agreement for the establishment of a language, whereas
there is always need of one for writing.
Nevertheless, although traced characters infer an
agreement, as I have already said x it must not be forgotten
that they are the symbol of two things which are not in-
ferred, the vocal inflection and the gesture. These are the
result of the spontaneous outburst of the will. The others
are the fruit of reflection. In tongues similar to Hebrew,
where the vocal inflection and the gesture have long since
disappeared, one must devote himself to the characters,
as the sole element which remains of the language, and
regard them as the complete language itself, not consider-
ing the agreement by which they have been established.
This is what I have done, in constituting them represen-
106 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
tative signs of the fundamental ideas of the Hebraic
tongue. I shall follow the same method showing success-
ively how this small quantity of signs has sufficed for the
formation of the roots of this tongue, and for the composi-
tion of all the words which have been derived therefrom t
Let us examine first what I mean by a root.
II.
FORMATION OF THE ROOT AND OF THE
RELATION.
A root is, and can never be anything but, monosyl-
labic : it results from the union of two signs at the least,
and of three at the most. I say two signs at the least, for
a single sign cannot constitute a root, because the fun-
damental idea that it contains, being, as it were, only in
germ, awaits the influence of another sign in order to be
developed. It is not that the sign before being constitut-
ed such, may not have represented a noun, but this noun
becomes effaced, as I have said, to constitute the sign.
When the sign is presented alone in speech, it becomes, in
Hebrew, what I call an article ; that is to say, a sort of re-
lation whose expression entirely abstract, determines the
diverse relations of nouns and verbs to each other.
The root cannot be composed of more than three
signs, without being dissyllabic and consequently without
ceasing to be of the number of primitive words. Every
word composed of more than one syllable is necessarily a
derivative. For, two roots are either united or contract-
ed; or else one or several signs have been joined to the
radical root for its modification.
Although the etymological root may be very well em-
ployed as noun, verb or relation, all that, however, does
not matter, so long as one considers it as root ; seeing that
it offers in this respect no determined idea of object, ac-
tion or abstraction. A noun designates openly a parti-
cular object of whatever nature it may be, a verb ex-
presses some sort of action, a relation determines a rap-
port: the root presents always a meaning universal as
noun, absolute as verb, and indeterminate as relation,
107
108 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
Thus the root 'N, formed of the signs of power and of
manifestation, designates, in general, the centre toward
which the will tends, the place where it is fixed, its sphere
of activity. Employed as noun, it is a desire, a desired
object: a place distinct and separate from another place;
an isle, a country, a region, a home, a government : as verb,
it is the action of desiring a thing eagerly, of tending
toward a place, of delighting therein : as relation, it is the
abstract connection of the place where one is, of the ob-
ject to which one tends, of the sphere wherein one acts.
Thus the root IK, which unites to the sign of power,
the universal, convertible sign, image of the mysterious
knot which brings nothingness to being, offers even a
vaguer meaning than the root 'tf, of which I have spoken,
and of which it seems to be a modification. Nor is it yet
a desire, even in general; it is, so to speak, the germ of
a desire, a vague appetence, without aim and without ob-
ject; a desirous uneasiness, an obtuse sense. Employed
as noun, it designates the uncertainty of the will; if it is
made a verb, it is the indeterminate action of willing; if
it is used as relation, it is the abstract expression of the
affinity that the uncertainty or indetermination of the
will, establishes between one or the other object which at-
tracts it. This root, considered rightly as primitive, pro-
duces a great number of derivative roots by becoming
amalgamated with other primitive roots, or receiving them
by the adjunction of the signs which modify it. One finds,
for example, the following, which are worthy of closest at-
tention.
3%t All desire acting inwardly and fructifying. It
is, as noun, the matrix of the Universe, the vessel of Isis,
the Orphic egg, the World, the Pythonic spirit ; etc.
TIN Every desire acting outwardly and being pro-
pagated. As noun, it is that which binds cause to effect,
the causality ; any sort of emanation ; as verb, it is the ac-
tion of emanating, of passing from cause to effect ; as re-
lation, it is the abstract affinity according to which one
FORMATION OF ROOT AND RELATION 109
conceives that a thing exists, or takes place because of an-
other.
^IK Every expansive desire being projected into
space. As noun, it is an interval of time or place ; a dura-
tion, a distance ; as verb, it is the action of being extended,
of filling, of invading time or space; that of waiting or
lasting ; as relation, it is the abstract affinity expressed by
perhaps.
[IN Every desire spreading into infinity, losing itself
in vacuity, vanishing: as noun, it is everything and no-
thing according to the manner in which one considers in-
finity.
fyitf Every desire subjugating another and drawing it
into its vortex: as noun, it is the sympathetic force, the
passion ; a final cause : as verb, it is the action of drawing
into its will, of enveloping in its vortex : as relation, it is
the abstract affinity expressed by same, likewise.
ptf Every desire leading to a goal. As noun, it is
the very limit of desire, the end to which it tends ; as verb,
it is the action of pushing, of hastening, of pressing tow-
ard the desired object : as relation, it is the abstract affinity
expressed by at.
"TIN Every desire given over to its own impulse. As
noun, it is ardour, fire, passion : as verb, it is that which
embraces, burns, excites, literally as well as figuratively.
niK All sympathizing desire; being in accord with
another. As noun it is a symbol, a character, any object
whatever : as verb, it is the action of sympathizing, of be-
ing in accord with, of agreeing, of being en rapport, in
harmony; as relation it is the abstract affinity expressed
by together.
I shall give no more examples on this subject since
my plan is to give, in the course of this Grammar, a series
of all the Hebraic roots. It is there that I invite the reader
to study their form. I shall be careful to distinguish the
primitive roots from the compound, intensive or onoma-
topoetic roots. Those of the latter kind are quite rare in
110 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
Hebrew. One finds them in much greater numbers in
Arabic where many local circumstances have called
them into existence. This concurrence of imitative sounds,
very favourable to poetry and to all the arts of imitation,
must have been greatly prejudicial to the development of
universal ideas toward which the Egyptians directed their
greatest efforts.
It is an unfortunate mistake to imagine that the ex-
amination of Hebraic roots is as difficult as it is in the
modern idioms. In these idioms, raised, for the most part,
upon the debris of many united idioms, the roots deeply
buried beneath the primitive materials, can deceive the
eye of the observer; but it cannot do thus in Hebrew. This
tongue, thanks to the form of the Chaldaic characters
which have changed scarcely anything but its punctua-
tion, offers still to an observant reader who does not wish
to concern himself with the vowel points, the terms used
by Moses in their native integrity. If, notwithstanding
the precautions of Esdras, there have crept in certain al-
terations in the mother vowels and even in the consonants,
these alterations are slight and do not prevent the root,
nearly level with the ground, if I may thus express it,
from striking the eye of the etymologist.
Let us examine now what I mean by the relations.
The relations are, as I have said, extracted by thought
from the signs, nouns or verbs. They express always a
connection of the sign with the noun, of the noun with
the noun, or of the noun with the verb. Thence, the simple
and natural division which I establish, in three kinds, ac-
cording to the part of speech with which they preserve the
greatest analogy. I call designative relation or article,
that which marks the connection of the sign with the
noun: nominal relation or pronoun, that which indicates
the connection of the noun with the noun, or of the noun
with the verb; and finally adverbial relation or adverb.
that which characterizes the connection of the verb with
the verb, or of the verb with the noun. I use here these
FORMATION OF ROOT AND RELATION 111
denominations known as article, pronoun and adverb to
avoid prolixity; hut without admitting in Hebrew the
distinctions or the definitions that grammarians have ad-
mitted in other tongues.
The relations, forming together a kind of grammatic-
al bond which circulates among the principal parts of
speech, must be considered separately, kind by kind, and
according as they are connected with the sign, noun or
verb. I am about to speak of the designative relation or
article, since I have already made known the sign : but I
shall put off speaking of the nominal relation, because I
have already spoken of the noun, and shall deal later with
the adverbial relation having already dealt with the verb.
The designative relation or article, is represented un-
der three headings in the Hebraic tongue, namely: under
that of the relation properly speaking, or article, of the
prepositive relation, or preposition, and of the interjective
relation, or interjection. The article differs principally
from the sign, by what it preserves of its own peculiar
force, and by what it communicates to the noun to which
it is joined ; a sort of movement which changes nothing of
the primitive signification of this noun ; nevertheless it is
strictly united there and is composed of but one single
character.
I enumerate six articles in Hebrew, without includ-
ing the designative preposition HN> of which I shall speak
later. They have neither gender nor number. The fol-
lowing are the articles with the kind of movement that
they express.
H DETERMINATIVE ARTICLE. It determines the noun ; that
is to say, that it draws the object which it designates
from a mass of similiar objects and gives it a local
existence. Derived from the signfl, which contains
the idea of universal life, it presents itself under several
acceptations as article. By the first, it points out
simply the noun that it modifies and is rendered by
the corresponding articles the; this, that, these, those:
112 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
by the second, it expresses a relation of dependence or
division, and is translated of the; of this, of that, of
these, of those: by the third, it adds to the noun before
which it is placed, only an emphatic meaning, a sort
of exclamatory accent. In this last acceptation, it is
placed indifferently at the beginning or at the end of
words and is joined with the greater part of the other
articles without being harmful to their movement.
Therefore I call it Emphatic article, and when I tran-
slate it, which I rarely do lacking means, I render it
by o! oh! ah! or simply by the exclamation point ( !).
7 DIRECTIVE ARTICLE. It expresses, with nouns or
actions whose movement it modifies, a direct relation
of union, of possession, or of coincidence. I translate
it by to, at, for, according to, toward, etc.
Q EXTRACTIVE OR PARTITIVE ARTICLE. The movement
which this article expresses, with nouns or actions that
it modifies, is that by which a noun or an action is
taken for the means, for the instrument, by which they
are divided in their essence, or drawn from the midst
of several other nouns or similar actions. I render it
ordinarily by from, out of, by; with, by means of,
among, between, etc.
1 MEDIATIVE OR INTEGRAL ARTICLE. This article charac-
terizes with nouns or actions, almost the same move-
ment as the extractive article 0, but with more force,
and without any extraction or division of the parts.
Its analogues are : in, by, with, while, etc.
3 ASSIMILATIVE ARTICLE. The movement which it ex
presses, with nouns or actions is that of similitude, of
analogy, and of concomitance. I render it by: as,
similar; such as, according to, etc.
1 CONJUNCTIVE OR CONVERTIBLE ARTICLE. This article,
in uniting nouns, causes the movement of nothingness,
of which the character 1 becomes the sign, as we havo
seen : in making actions pass from one time to another.
FORMATION OF ROOT AND RELATION 113
it exercises upon them the convertible faculty of which
this same character is the universal emblem. Its con-
junctive movement can be rendered by: and, also, thus,
then, afterward, that, etc. But its convertible move-
ment is not expressible in our tongue and I do not
know of any in which it can be expressed. In order
to perceive it one must feel the Hebraic genius.
The chapters wherein I shall treat of the noun and the
verb will contain the necessary examples to illustrate the
use of these six articles whether relative to the noun or
the verb.
III.
PREPOSITION AND INTERJECTION.
Articles, which we shall now examine, remain ar-
ticles, properly speaking, only so far as they are com-
posed of a single literal character and as they are joined
intimately to the noun, the verb or the relation which they
govern ; when they are composed of several characters and
when they act apart or are simply united ta words by a
hyphen, I call them prepositive articles or prepositions:
they become interjections when, in this state of isolation,
they offer no longer any relation with the noun or the
verb, and express only a movement of the mind too intense
to be otherwise characterized.
Prepositions, 'intended to serve as link between things,
and to show their respective function, lose their meaning
when once separated from the noun which they modify.
Interjections, on the contrary, have only as much force as
they have independence. Differing but little in sound,
they differ infinitely in the expression, more or less accen-
tuated, that they receive from the sentiment which pro-
duces them. They belong, as a learned man has said, "to
all time, to all places, to all peoples" : they form an uni-
versal language. 1
I am a.bout to give here, the prepositions and inter-
jections which are the most important to understand, so
as to fix the ideas of the reader upon the use of these kinds
of relations. I am beginning with those prepositions
which take the place of the articles already cited.
J NH determinative prep, replaces the article n
J ty or *?$ ^N directive " " *? ,
or iO /|P extractive " 0.
1 Court de Geb: Gramm. Univ. p. 353.
114
PREPOSITION AND INTERJECTION
115
or HD ,O mediativc prep, replaces the article 3 ,
or ftp ,'p assimilative " " " ^,
The conjunctive and convertible article
1 is not replaceable.
fiN dcsignative preposition: has no correspond-
ing article.
D.3 'DJ same, also, as
J '3 that
y ^k conjunctive prepositions
N likewise, even
X either, or }
5 neither, nor > disjunctive prepositions
5 without )
Nf but, except \
nevertheless > restrictive prepositions
' p"1 save, at least )
D^ 3 DN if, but if
j >^x perhaps
besides, moreover L^.^
very, more )
conditional prepositions
near, with /
at, as far as j
for
according to
for, because
on account of
since
therefore
V now then, so
m
tc., etc.,
prepositions
discursive prepositions
116 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
INTERJECTIONS.
/IN n ah ! woe ! alas !
: KH ul oh ! heavens !
J flNH now then ! come now !
take care ! mind !
indeed !
would to God!
etc., etc.,
I believe it quite useless to prolong this list and to
dwell upon the particular signification of each of these re-
lations; however, there is one of which I must speak, be-
cause its usage is very frequent in the tongue of Moses,
and also because we shall see it soon figuring in the nom-
inal inflection, and joining its movement to that of the ar-
ticles. This is the designative preposition fiN, which I
have mentioned as having no corresponding article.
The movement which expresses this preposition with
the nouns which it modifies, is that by which it puts them
en rapport as governing or governed, as independent one
of the other and participating in the same action. I name
it designative, on account of the sign of signs, fi, from
which it is derived. It characterizes sympathy and reci-
procity when it is taken substantively. Joined to a noun
by a hyphen TIN, it designates the substance proper and
individual, the identity, the selfsameness, the seity, the
thou-ness, if I may be permitted this word; that is to say,
that which constitutes tliou, that which implies something
apart from me, a thing that is not me; in short, the pre-
sence of another substance. This important preposition,
of which I cannot give the exact meaning, indicates the
coincidence, the spontaneity of actions, the liaison, the
ensemble and the dependence of things.
The designative relation that I am considering in con-
nection with the article, preposition and interjection, will
PREPOSITION AND INTERJECTION 117
be easily distinguished from the nominal relation concern-
ing which I shall speak later on; because this relation is
not intended either to modify nouns or to set forth the
confused and indeterminate movements of the mind; but
serves as supplement to nouns, becomes their lieutenant,
so to speak, and shows their mutual dependence. This
same relation will not be, it is true, so easy to distinguish
from the adverbial relation, and I admit that often one
will meet with some that are, at the same time, preposi-
tions and adverbs. But this very analogy will furnish the
proof of what I have advanced, that the relation extracted
by thought, from the sign, the noun and the verb, cir-
culates among these three principal parts of speech and is
modified to serve them as common bond.
One can observe, for example, that the designative re-
lation tends to become adverbial and that it becomes thus
whenever it is used in an absolute manner with the verb,
or when the article is joined, making it a sort of adverbial
substantive. Therefore one can judge that upon, in, out-
side, are designative relations, or prepositions when one
says: upon that; in the present; outside this point: but
one cannot mistake them for adverbials when one says:
/ am above; I am within; I am icithout. It is in this state
that they are taken to be inflected with the article. I see
the above, the icithin, the without; I come from above,
from within, from without; I go above, within, without;
etc. The Hebraic tongue, which has not tliese means of
construction, makes use of the same words JTD pH /*?#
to express equally upon, above, the upper part; in, the in-
side; out, beyond, the outside. It is to these fine points
that great attention must be given in translating Moses.
As to the vowel points which accompany the different
relations of which I shall speak, they vary in such a way,
that it would be vainly wasting precious time to consider
them here; so much the more as these variations change
nothing as to the meaning, which alone concerns me, and
alters only the pronunciation, which does not concern me.
118 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
I am always surprised, in reading the majority of the
Grammars written upon the Hebraic tongue, to see with
what scruples, with what tedious care they treat a miser-
able kamez, or a still more miserable kamez-hatif; whereas
they hardly deign to dwell upon the meaning of the most
important words. Numberless pages are found jumbled
with the uncouth names of zere, segol, patah, holem, and
not one where the sign is mentioned, not one where it is
even a question of this basis, at once so simple and so
fecund, both of the Hebraic language and of all the lang-
uages of the world.
CHAPTER V.
THE NOUN.
THE NOUN CONSIDERED UNDER SEVEN
RELATIONS.
I.
ETYMOLOGY
The noun, I repeat, is the basis of speech; for, al-
though it may be the product of the sign, the sign with-
out it would have no meaning, and if the sign had no
meaning, there would exist neither relations nor verbs.
We shall consider the nouns of the Hebraic tongue,
under seven relations, namely : under the first six, of Ety-
mology, Quality, Gender, Number, Movement and Con-
struction, and then, under the seventh relation of Signi-
fication, which includes them all.
The Hebraist grammarians, dazzled by the eclat of
the verb and by the extensive use of the verbal faculties,
have despoiled the noun of its etymological rank to give
it to the verb, thus deriving from the verb not only the
equi-literal substantives, that is to say, compounds of the
same number of characters, but even those which offer
less : claiming, for example, that ^Jl a heap, is formed from
*7ty he heaps up; that D^ father, is derived from I"QN he
willed; that C'K the fire, finds its origin in WffK he was
strong and robust, etc.
It is needless for me to say into how many errors they
have fallen by this false course, and how far distant they
are from the real etymological goal. The lexicons also,
119
120 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
of these Hebraists, all constructed after this method, are
only crude vocabularies, where the simplest words, thrown
more or less far from their root, according as the verb bids
it, are presented almost never in their real place, or in the
true light which would facilitate their comprehension.
I have spoken sufficiently of the sign and its value,
of the root and its formation ; I now intend to give certain
simple rules to lead to the etymological understanding of
the noun.
Often a noun properly speaking, is, in the tongue of
the Hebrews, only its root used in a more restricted sense :
as when uniting the idea of paternity and maternity upon
a single subject, one pronounces 3K, father, or ON mother.
It is then a movement of the thought upon itself, which
makes of a thing that it had conceived in general, a deter-
mined thing, by which it qualifies a particular subject.
This movement is very common in the idiom of Moses, and
it merits so much the more attention, because, not having
observed it, the greater part of the translators have been
mistaken in the meaning of the words and have ridicul-
ously particularized what was universal. As when, for
example, inj^y, a vegetable substance, a vegetation in
general, they have seen a wood, or a tree: or in p , an en-
closure, a circumscription, a sphere, only a garden : or even
in D"f, the universal idea of an assimilation of homogene-
ous parts, they have seen only blood; etc.
When a noun is composed of three or more conson-
ants, and when it is of more than one syllable, it is obvi-
ously a derivative. It is in the examination of its root that
the art of the etymologist shines. He must master both
the value of each sign and the position that it takes,
whether at the beginning or the end of words, and the dif-
ferent modifications which it brings about; for, to under-
stand the root clearly, it is necessary to know how to dis-
tinguish it from the sign, or from the article by which it
is modified. If the etj^mologist would acquire a science
which opens the door to the loftiest conceptions, he must
NOUN UNDER SEVEN RELATIONS 121
be provided with the faculties and the necessary means.
If long study of tongues in general, and the Hebraic
tongue in particular, can lend a little confidence in my
abilities, I beg the reader, interested in an art too little
cultivated, to study carefully, both the series of Hebraic
roots which I give him at the close of this Grammar and
the numerous notes which accompany my translation of
the Cosmogony of Moses.
The work of Court de Gobelin is a vast storehouse of
words, which one ought to possess without being a slave
to it. This painstaking man had intellect rather than
etymological genius ; he searched well ; he classed well his
materials ; but he constructed badly. His merit, is having
introduced the Primitive tongue; his fault, is having in-
troduced it to his reader in a thousand scattered frag-
ments. The genius will consist in reassembling these
fragments to form a whole. I offer in this Grammar an
instrument to attain this end. It is THE HEBRAIC TONGUE
DERIVED WHOLLY FROM THE SIGN.
Here are the general principles which can be drawn
from the work of Gebelin relative to etymological science.
I add some developments that experience has suggested
to me.
Particular tongues are only the dialects of an uni-
versal tongue founded upon nature, and of which a spark
of the Divine word animates the. elements. This tongue,
that no people has ever possessed in its entirety, can be
called the Primitive tongue. This tongue, from which all
others spring as from an unique trunk, is composed only
of monosyllabic roots, all adhering to a small number of
signs. In proportion as the particular tongues become
mingled with one another and separated from their pri-
mitive stock, the words become more and more altered:
therefore it is essential to compare many languages in
order to obtain the understanding of a single one.
It is necessary to know that all vowels tend to be-
come consonants, and all consonants to become vowels;
122 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
to consider this movement; to follow it in its modifica-
tions; to distinguish carefully the mother vowel from the
vague vowel and when one is assured that the vocal sound
which enters into the composition of a word, descends from
a vague vowel, give it no further attention. One will at-
tain to this final understanding, by the study of the Heb-
raic tongue, where the difference which exists between
these two sorts of vowels is decisive.
It is necessary to consider besides, that, in the gen-
eration of tongues, the consonants are substituted for one
another, particularly those of the same organic sound.
Therefore it is well to classify them by the sound and to
know them under this new relation.
Labial sound : 2, )/ 1 : B, P, PH, F, V. This sound,
being the easiest, is the first of which children make use ;
it is generally that of gentleness and mildness considered
as onomatopoetic.
Dental sound: "I/ D : D, T. It expresses, on the con-
trary, all that which touches, thunders, resounds, resists,
protects.
Lingual sound : *?/ *1 : L, LL, LH, R, RH. It expresses
a rapid movement, either rectilinear or circular, in what-
ever sense one imagines it, always considered as onoma-
topoetic.
Nasal sound : O , 1 : M, N, GN. It expresses all that
which passes from without within, or which emerges from
within without.
Guttural sound : J , 2 , # , p: GH, CH, WH, K, Q. It
expresses deep, hollow objects, contained one within the
other, or modelled by assimilation.
Hissing sound: I D, : Z, S, X, TZ, DZ, PS. It is
applied to all hissing objects, to all those which have re-
lation with the air, or which cleave it in their course.
Sibilant sound: \ V, D : J, G, CH, SH, TH. It ex-
presses light movements, soft and durable sounds; all
pleasing objects.
NOUN UNDER SEVEN RELATIONS 123
The consonants thus distinguished by sound, become
the general signs from which the onomatopoetic roots of
which I have spoken, are formed, and are very easily put
one in the place of the other. In the derivative tongues
they even lend mutual aid in passing from one sound to an-
other, and it is then that they render the etymology of the
words more and more uncertain. The etymologist can
only surmount the numerous obstacles in the modern
idioms, by having stored in his mind a number of tongues
whose radical words can assist him readily in going back
to the idiomatic or primitive root of the word which he
analyzes. Never can one hope by the aid of a single
tongue, to form good etymology.
As to the mother vowels, X, tl, fl 1, 1, , $; A, E, E, OU,
O, I, HO; they are substituted successively one for the
other, from K to V ; they all incline to become consonants
and to become extinct in the deep and guttural sound D,
which can be represented by the Greek x or the German ch.
I always mark this ch with an accent grave in order to dis-
tinguish it from the French ch, which is a hissing sound
like the t^of the Hebrews, or the sh of the English.
After having set forth these etymological principles,
I pass on to the next rules, relative to their employment;
very nearly such as Court de Gebelin gives them.
One should not take for granted any alteration in a
word that one may not be able to prove by usage or by
analogy; nor confuse the radical characters of a word
with the accessory characters, which are only added signs
or articles. The words should be classified by families
and none admitted unless it has been grammatically ana-
lyzed: primitives, should be distinguished from com-
pounds and all forced etymology carefully avoided: and
finally, an historical or moral proof should corroborate
the etymology; for the sciences proceed with certain step
only as they throw light upon each other.
511.
QUALITY
I call Quality, in the Hebraic nouns, the distinction
which I establish among them and by means of which I
divide them into four classes, namely : substantives, qua-
lificatives, modificatives, and facultatives.
Substantives are applied to all that has physical or
moral substance, the existence of which the thought of man
admits either by evidence of the senses, or by that of the
intellectual faculties. Substantives are proper or com-
mon: 'proper when they are applied to a single being, or
to a single thing in particular, as fl^'D Mosheh (Moses),
PO Noah, DHQ Mitzraim (Egypt) etc.; common, when
they are applied to all beings, or to all things of the same
kind, as Btyt man (intelligent being) ; &5>N*l head (that
which rules or enjoys by its own movement) ; ^P king (a
temporal and local deputy) ; etc.
Qualificatives express the qualities of the substantives
and offer them to the imagination under the form which
characterizes them. The grammarians in naming them
adjectives, have given them a denomination too vague to
be preserved in a grammar of the nature of this one. This
class of nouns expresses more than a simple adjunction;
it expresses the very quality or the form of the substance,
as in DID good, VhJ great, pHV just, H^p Hebrew; etc.
The tongue of Moses is not rich in qualificatives, but
it obviates this lack by the energy of its articles, by that
of its verbal facultatives and by the various extensions
which it gives to its substantives by joining them to certain
initial or terminative characters. It has, for example, in
the emphatic article JT a means of intensity of which it
124
QUALITY 125
makes great use, either in placing it at the beginning or
the end of words. Thus, of ^HJ a torrent, it makes rfrro
a very rapid torrent; of "ffif? disappearance, absence, it
makes niflf) an eternal absence, a total disappearance;
fllO death, it makes nfiiOJl a violent, cruel, sudden death,
etc. Sometimes it adds to this article, the sign of reci-
procity n , to augment its force. Then one finds for 1J^
a support, an aid, ftfTW a firm support, an accomplished
aid; for fTO'K terror, ?V10'N extreme terror, frightful ter-
ror; for fTjfllP* safety, refuge, finjW* o>n assured safety,
an inaccessible refuge; etc.
The assimilative article 3 . forms a kind of qualifica-
tive of the noun which it governs. It is thus that one
should understand D*!!f?SO like unto the Gods, or divine;
|n33 like unto the priest, or sacerdotal; D^p like unto the
people, or vulgar; Dl'CO like to-day, or modern; etc.
On the other hand, the sign fi placed at the beginning
of a word expresses reciprocity. JT3f signifies pain, iTJtffi
mutual pain.
The sign D. when it is initial, is related to exterior
action; when final, on the contrary, it becomes expansive
and collective. "TIN signifies any force whatever, *7lNO
a circumscribed and local force; 0*7)8 an exterior, inva-
ding force.
The sign 3 . is that of passive action when it is at the
head of words; but at the end, it constitutes an augmen-
tative syllable which extends its signification. fTJOtf
signifies a veil, |"]!$ an immense veil, the enclosure of a
tent; NJ4 characterizes an extension, and JK13 an unlimited
extension, inordinate; DP? expresses a noise, and |10JJ
a frightful noise, a terrible tumult, a revolt; etc.
I pass over these details of which my footnotes on
126 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
the Cosmogony of Moses will afford sufficient examples.
It will be enough for me here to indicate the grammatical
forms.
The rabbis, in writing modern Hebrew, form the qua-
lificatives by the addition of the character * to the mascu-
line, and the syllable JT to the feminine. They say, for
example, T^K divine (mas.) and JVn 1 ?^ divine (fern.).
'K^jJ spiritual (mas.) and JVi^'jM spiritual (fern.). Then
they draw from these qualificatives a mass of substantive
nouns, such as mn^tf the divinity; JTfrlK fortitude; fW'dJ
spirituality; fiWT tenderness; etc. These forms do not
belong to primitive Hebrew.
The comparative among qualificatives is not strictly
characterized in the Hebraic tongue. When it is estab-
lished, which is somewhat rare, it is by means of the ex-
tractive article 0. or by the preposition |D which cor-
responds.
The superlative is expressed in many ways. Some-
times one finds either the substantive or the qualificative
doubled, in order to give the idea that one has of their
force or their extent; sometimes they are followed by an
absolute relative to designate that nothing is comparable
to them. At other times the adverbial relation "TNp very,
very much, as much as possible, indicates that one con-
ceives them as having attained their measure in good or
in evil, according to their nature. Finally one meets dif-
ferent periphrases and different formulas of which I here-
with offer several examples.
QUALITY 127
p'"!V &** n'j N o a h, intelligent b e i n g
(man), just with integrity
(as just as upright).
J9$r0 Dt? aiD a good name, of good essence
(a name of high repute is the
best essence),
n D'aitO good the two of a single one
(two are better than one).
J TOQ Hop J IT) JH b ad, e v i 1 (wicked) ; down,
down (beneath).
: on^TT DHNrrfO among the red, red (much
redder).
JDf) small among people (very
small).
n& a mountain, the good, that
one (the best of all).
DID good exceedingly (as much
as possible).
: D'OfcT? W'l D0pn the heavens and the heaven
of heavens.
God of Gods and Lord of
Lords.
servant of the servants.
the obscurity of darkness.
the flame of Jah ! the dark-
ness of Jah! (extremes),
the cedars of God! (admir-
able, very beautiful),
a great city ! according to
Him-the-Gods !
strong according to the Lord !
(very strong).
a burning; with might of
might.
128 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE EESTORED
Modificatives are the substantives or the qualificatives
modified either by a simple abstraction of thought, or by
the addition of an adverbial relation, so as to become the
expression of an action understood. It is not unusual to
find in Hebrew, nouns which can be taken, at the same
time, as substantives, qualificatives or modificatives ; all
by a movement of abstraction, and this is easy when the
idiom is not far removed from its source. Thus, for ex-
ample 31D good, signifies equally the good, and the good
manner in which a thing is done : JD evil, signifies equally
that which is evil, and the evil manner in which a thing
is done. One perceives that the words good and evil, have
exactly the same signification as the Hebraic words DID
and JTl. as substantives, and that they contain the same
qualificative and modificative faculties. I have chosen
them expressly so as to show how this abstraction of
thought of which I have spoken, is accomplished.
Modificative nouns which are formed by the addition
of a designative or adverbial relation as in French, a-la-
mode (in the fashion), a-outrance (to the utmost), forte-
ment (strongly), douce-ment (gently), are very rare in
Hebrew. One finds, however, certain ones such as
JV"tWl~3 in the "beginning, in-principle; fV'TliT. in Jew-
ish; rV"*Wy'N"0 from the Assyrian; etc. The nouns of
number belong at the same time to substantives, qualifica-
tives and modificatives. ^fTN f one, can signify alike, unity,
unique and uniquely.
Facultative nouns are the substantives, verbalized, as
it were, and in which the absolute verb filn to be-being,
begins to make its influence felt. The grammarians have
called them up to this time participles, but I treat this
weak denomination, as I have treated the one which they
have given to qualificatives. I replace it by another which
I believe more just.
Facultatives merit particular, attention in all tongues,
but especially in that of Moses, where they present more
QUALITY 129
openly than in any other, the link which unites the sub-
stantive to the verb, and which, by an inexplicable power,
makes of a substance inert and without action, an ani-
mated substance being carried suddenly toward a deter-
mined end. It is by means of the sign of light and of
intellectual sense, 1, that this metamorphosis is accom-
plished. This is remarkable. If I take, for example, the
substantive t<p . which expresses all physical movement all
moral affection; if I introduce between the first and sec-
ond character which compose it, the verbal sign 1i
I obtain immediately the continued facultative, UV)i
to bc-moving, affecting, agitating. If I modify this sign,
that is to say, if I give it its convertible nature 1> and if I
place it between the second and third character of the
substantive in question, I obtain then the finished facul-
tative fijn . to be-moved, affected, agitated. It is the same
with TI^O a king, whose continued and finished facul-
tatives are H^iO to bc-ruling, governing; HwO to be-ruled,
governed, and many others.
It can be observed that I name continued facultative,
what the grammarians call present participle, and finished
that which they call past; because in effect, the action
expressed by these facultatives is not, properly speaking,
present -or past, but continued or finished in any time
whatever. One says clearly it was burning, it is burning,
it will be burning; it was burned, it is burned, it will be
burned. Now who cannot see that the facultatives burn-
ing and burned, are by turns, both past, present and
future? They both participate in these three tenses with
the difference, that the first is always continued and the
other always finished.
But let us return. It is from the finished facultative
that the verb conies, as I shall demonstrate later on. This
facultative, by means of which speech receives verbal life,
is formed from the primitive root by the introduction of
130 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
the sign 1 between the two characters of which it is
composed. Thus, for example:
The root Dt^ contains every idea of eleva-
tion, erection, or monument,
raised as indication of a
place or thing:
thence: Dt^ or Dl> to be erecting, stating, de-
creeing, designating:
D15? to be erected, stated, etc.,
whence the verb DIC^ to erect.
The root ^3 contains every idea of con-
summation, of totalization,
of agglomeration, of absorp-
tion:
thence: ^J or *7O to be consummating, totaliz-
ing, agglomerating:
*TO to be consummated, agglome-
rated: whence the verb 'TO,
to consummate.
The root *?) expresses every idea of heap-
ing up, lifting up, of move-
ment which carries upward
from below:
thence: *7j or 'Ttt to be heaping up, lifting up,
pushing, leaping:
'n.J to be heaped up, lifted up;
whence the verb ^U) to heap
up.
As I shall be obliged to return to this formation of
the facultatives, in the chapter in which I shall treat of
the verb, it is needless for me to dwell further upon it
now. I cannot, however, refrain from making the observa-
tion that since the institution of the Chaldaic punctua-
tion, the points kamez, holem, and even zere, have often
replaced the verbal sign 1 in the continued facultative,
QUALITY 131
whether of compound or radical origin, and that one finds
quite commonly Ul to be moving; Tj^O to be ruling; Dp
to be establishing; fiD to be dying; etc. But two things
prove that this is an abuse of punctuation. The first is,
that when the continued facultative presents itself in an
absolute manner, and when nothing can determine the
meaning, then the sign reappears irresistibly; as in the
following examples, Dip the action of establishing, or to
be establishing: filO the action of dying, or to be dying.
The second thing which proves the abuse of which I am
speaking, is that the rabbis who preserve to a certain
point the oral tradition, never fail to make the mother
vowel 1> appear in these same facultatives unless they
deem it more suitable to substitute its analogues * or 'K,
writing Dip/ D'p or D'Np, to be establishing, to establish,
the action of establishing.
I shall terminate this paragraph by saying that
facultatives both continued and finished, are subject to
the same inflections as the substantive and qualificative
nouns, that is, of gender, number, movement and con-
struction. The modificative noun does not have the inflec-
tions of the others because it contains an implied action,
and since it has, as I shall demonstrate, the part of itself
which emanates from the verb to be, wholly immutable
and consequently inflexible.
III.
GENDER
Gender is distinguished at first by the sex, male or
female, or by a sort of analogy, of similitude, which ap-
pears to exist among things, and the sex which is assigned
to them by speech. The Hebraic tongue has two genders
only, the masculine and the feminine; notwithstanding
the efforts that the grammarians have made to discover
in it a third and even a fourth which they have called
common or epicene. These so-called genders are only the
liberty allowed the speaker of giving to such or such sub-
stantive the masculine or feminine gender, indifferently,
and according to the circumstance : if these genders merit
any attention, it is when passing into the derivative
tongues, and in taking a particular form there, that they
have constituted the neuter gender which one encounters
in many of them.
The feminine gender is derived from the masculine,
and is formed by adding to the substantive, qualificative
or facultative noun, the sign fl which is that of life.
The modificative nouns have no gender, because they
modify actions and not things, as do the other kinds of
words.
I beg the reader who follows me with any degree of
interest, to observe the force and constancy with which
is demonstrated everywhere, the power that I have attri-
buted to the sign, a power upon which I base the whole
genius of the tongue of Moses.
I have said that the feminine gender is formed from
the masculine by the addition of the sign of life HJ was
it possible to imagine a sign of happier expression, to
indicate the sex by which all beings appear to owe life,
this blessing of the Divinity?
132
GENDER 133
Thus T|p a king, produces POO a queen; Din a
wise man, H^Dr? a wise woman; JH a male fish, H^H
a female fish.
Thus DID good (mas.), becomes PQlD good (fem.) :
J 'rllJI flrreat ( mas. ) , H^IIJ great ( fern. ) .
Thus Tl^lOio be ruling (mas.), becomes HD^lD to be
ruling (fern.): Dit^ or Dp to be raising (mas.), iTJiJP
to be raising (fern.).
It must be observed, in respect to this formation, that
when the qualificative masculine is terminated with the
character H. which is then only the emphatic sign, or by
the character * sign of manifestation, these two characters
remain wholly simple, or are modified by the sign of reci-
procity D . in the following manner: tl& beautiful (mas.),
Hfi* or JlpJ (fern.); '$? second (mas.), tJ'Xtf or fi^
(fern.). '
Besides, this sign fi . image of all that is mutual,
replaces in almost every case the character J"T when it
is a question of the feminine termination of qualificative
or facultative nouns; it seems even, that the genius of
the Hebraic tongue is particularly partial to it in the
latter. One finds H^IJ , rather than fl^tt, to be falling;
fiCni3 , rather than niTYD to be fleeing; etc.
It is useless, in a Grammar which treats principally
of the genius of a tongue, to expatiate much upon the
application of the genders; that is a matter which con-
cerns the dictionary. Let it suffice to know, that, in
general, the proper names of men, of occupations, of titles,
peoples, rivers, mountains and months, are masculine;
whereas the names of women, of countries, of cities, the
members of the body, and all substantives terminating
with the sign fl > are feminine.
As to the common gender, that is to say, that of the
substantive nouns which take the masculine and feminine
134 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
alike, it is impossible to apply any rule even approxim-
ately; it is by use alone that it can be shown. These are
the substantives of the common gender which come to my
mind at the moment : |J enclosure, organic sphere; K'Pt^
sun; jHN earth; JTiK sign; W time; ITH spirit, expan-
sive breath; t^04 soul; [i"1N. chain of mountains; "Vt("l
etc -
IV.
NUMBER
There exist only two characteristic numbers in
Hebrew; these are the singular and the plural j the third
number, called dual, is but a simple restriction of thought,
a modification of the plural which tradition alone has
been able to preserve by aid of the Chaldaic punctuation.
This restricted number, passing into certain derivative
tongues, has constituted in them a characteristic number,
by means of the forms which it has assumed; but it is
obvious that the Hebraic tongue, had it at first either
alone, or else distinguished it from the plural only by
a simple inflection of the voice, too little evident to be
expressed by the sign; for it should be carefully observed
that it is never the sign which expresses it, but the punc-
tuation, at least in masculine nouns : as to feminine nouns,
which, in the dual number, assume the same characters
which indicate the masculine plural, one might, strictly
speaking, consider them as belonging to common gender.
Masculine nouns, whether substantive, qualificative or
facultative, form their plural by the addition of the syl-
lable D* which, uniting the signs of manifestation and
of exterior generation, expresses infinite succession, the
immensity of things.
Feminine nouns of the same classes form their plural
by the addition of the syllable Hi . which, uniting the signs
of light and of reciprocity, expresses all that is mutual
and similar, and develops the idea of the identity of things.
The two genders of the dual number are formed by
the addition of the same syllable D* designating the
masculine plural, to which one adds, according to the Chal-
daic punctuation, the vague vowel named kamez or patah,
135
136 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
in this manner: D_>> or D*. One should realize now that
this number is not really characteristic, as I have stated,
since, if we remove the Chaldaic punctuation, and if we
read the tongue of Moses without points, which should
always be done in order to go back to its hieroglyphic
source, this number disappears entirely; the dual mascu-
line being absorbed in the plural of the same gender, and
the feminine being only an extension of the common num-
ber. The modern rabbis who have clearly seen this diffi-
culty (considering the disadvantage of the Chaldaic punc-
tuation, and furthermore, not wishing to loose this third
number which presented certain beauties, and had been
orally transmitted to them), have adopted the plan of ex-
pressing the inflection of the voice which constituted it in
its origin, by doubling the sign of manifestation M in this
manner : D? 1 ?^ the two feet DVl* the two hands. This
number, furthermore, is usually applied to the things
which nature has made double, or which the mind conceives
as double, as the following examples will demonstrate.
Examples of the masculine plural.
^P king, D'?^ kings; IpP book, Onfijp looks: pHV
just one, D'pHV just ones; *p3 innocent, D"p3 innocents;
"Tp1fl to be visiting, caring for, DHplfl (plural) ; TlpS
to be visited, cared for, D'"fip (plural) ; etc.
Examples of the feminine plural.
np^D queen, Dl^'pp queens; DN mother, J"ViDtf moth-
ers; np.ny just one, nipny just ones; rnpJD or rnpiD
to be visiting, caring for, fi1"tplB (plural) ; fTTlpI) to be
visited, cared for, JTHp*? (plural) ; etc.
Examples of the dual.
IV breast, DH'' both breasts; TpV thigh, D^") both
thighs; Hfi^ Up, D7lB> both lips; 'D water, D.'O the
waters ;'ft& heaven (singular obsolete) , D*tP the heavens;
11 hand, DH* both hands; etc.
NUMBER 137
It can be observed in these examples that the final
character * is sometimes preserved in the plural as in
*JM innocent, D"pJ innocents; or in HJ$ lion, D""}1< lions;
but it is, however, more customary for this final char-
acter *, to become lost or amalgamated with the plural, as
in '"Tint Jew, DH1JT the Jews.
It can also be observed that feminine nouns which
terminate in n in the singular, lose this character in
taking the plural, and that those which take the dual num-
ber, change this same character to A as in nfifr Up, D'Jlfit?
both lips; ilDin wall, D'JPlDn both walls.
Sometimes the plural number of the masculine in D' >
is changed into f* . after the Chaldaic manner, and one
finds quite frequently "IPTN other, |nHK others; |3 son,
|*J3 sons,, etc.
Sometimes also the feminine plural in fil, loses its
essential character and preserves only the character D>
preceded thus by the vowel point holem as in m^lH the
symbol of generations (genealogical tree) :rip"| righteous
acts, etc. This is also an abuse born of the Chaldaic punc-
tuation, and proves what I have said with regard to the
facultatives. The rabbis are so averse to the suppression
of this important sign 1 in the feminine plural, that they
frequently join to it the sign of manifestation ' > to give it
more force; writing JllX sign, symbol, character, and
nJTTitf signs, symbols, etc.
One finds in Hebrew, as in other tongues, nouns which
are always used in the singular and others which are
always in the plural. Among the former one observes
proper names, names of metals, of liquors, of virtues, of
vices, etc. Among the latter, the names of ages, and of
conditions relative to men.
One finds equally masculine or feminine nouns in the
singular which take, in the plural, the feminine or mascu-
138 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
line termination inconsistent with their gender; as DN
father,, DiDJJ fathers; *Vp city, DHJJ cities; etc. One also
finds the gender called common or epicene, which takes
indifferently the masculine or feminine plural, as I have
already remarked; as ^D'H palace, D**JOV7 or fito'Pt
palaces. But these are anomalies which the grammar of
an unspoken tongue can only indicate, leaving to the dic-
tionary the care of noting them in detail.
V.
MOVEMENT
I call Movement, in the Hebraic nouns, that accidental
modification which they undergo by the articles of which
I have spoken in the second section of chapter IV.
In the tongues where this Movement takes place by
means of the terminations of the nouns themselves, the
grammarians have treated it under the denomination of
case; a denomination applicable to those tongues, but
which can only be applied to a tongue so rich in articles
as the Hebrew, by an abuse of terms and in accordance
with a scholastic routine wholly ridiculous.
I say that the denomination of case was applicable
to those tongues, the nouns of which experience changes
of termination to express their respective modifications;
for, as Court de Gebelin has already remarked, these cases
are only articles added to nouns, and which have finally
amalgamated with them. l But the grammarians of the
past centuries, always restricted to the Latin or Greek
forms, saw only the material in those tongues, and never
even suspected that there might have been something be-
yond. The time has come to seek for another principle in
speech and to examine carefully its influence.
As I have dilated sufficiently upon the signification
of each article in particular, as well as upon those of the
corresponding prepositions, I now pass on without other
preamble to the kind of modification which they bring in
the nouns and which I call Movement.
Now, movement is inflicted in Hebraic nouns accord-
ing to the number of the articles. We can, therefore,
admit seven kinds of movements in the tongue of Moses,
including the designative movement which is formed by
l Gramm. univers., p. 379.
139
140
THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
means of the designative preposition J"!^ and without
including the enunciative which is expressed without an
article.
I shall call this series of movements Inflection, and
by this term I replace that of declension which should not
be used here.
Example of nominal inflection.
enunciative ""^1 word, a word.
"PI?
the word, lo the word !
t the word; of, for or con-
cerning the word.
from the word ; out of or by
the word.
^ n tne word ; by means of the
word.
*"* tne word 5 like tne word J
according to the word.
and the
determinative
directive
extractive
mediative
I assimilative
conjunctive
designative "O"!J~rtt* tne se lfsameness of the word,
the word itself; that
which concerns the word.
The first remark to make with regard to this nominal
inflection is, that the articles which constitute it, being
of every gender and every number, are applied to the mas-
culine as to the feminine, to the singular as to the plural
or dual.
The second is, that they are often supplied by the cor-
responding prepositions of which I have spoken, and there-
fore, that the movement through them acquires greater
force; for example, if it is a question of direct movement,
the prepositions '*?# > *^/"^ which correspond with
MOVEMENT 141
the article *?> have an energy, drawing nearer, imminent:
it is the same with the prepositions |D, *Jp/ >JQO, which
correspond with the extractive article D I with the prepo-
sitions '3' H?, 103 > analogous to the mediative article D:
the prepositions *D , fQ > 10? which correspond with the
assimilative article 31 all of these augment in the same
manner, the force of the movement to which they belong.
The third remark to make is, that the vague vowel
which I have indicated by the Chaldaic punctuation, be-
neath each article, is the one which is found the most com-
monly used, but not the one which is always encountered.
It must be remembered that as this punctuation is only
a sort of vocal note applied to the vulgar pronunciation,
nothing is more arbitrary than its course. All those He-
braists who are engrossed in the task of determining its
variations by fixed rules, are lost in an inextricable labyr-
inth. I beg the reader who knows how much French or
English deviates from the written language by the pro-
nunciation, to consider what a formidable labour it would
be, if it were necessary to mark with small accents the
sound of each word, often so opposed to the orthography.
Without doubt there are occupations more useful, par-
ticularly for the extinct tongues.
The vague vowel, I cannot refrain from repeating, is
of no consequence in any way to the meaning of the words
of the Hebraic tongue, since one does not wish to speak
this tongue. It is to the sign that one should give atten-
tion : it is its signification which must be presented. Con-
sidered here as article, it is invariable : it is always H > *7 /
/ 3 , D , or 1 , which strikes the eye. What matters it to
the ear, whether these characters are followed or not, by
a kamez, a patah or a zere, that is to say, the indistinct
vowels a, o, e? It is neither the zere, nor the patah nor
the kamcz which makes them what they are, but their
nature as article. The vague vowel is there only for the
compass of the voice. Upon seeing it written, it should
142 THE HEBKAIC TONGUE RESTORED
be pronounced as it is pronounced in the modern tongues
without giving it further attention, and if one insists on
writing Hebrew from memory, which is, however, quite
useless, one should learn to put it down as one learns the
orthography, often very arbitrary, of French and English,
by dint of copying the words in the manner in which they
are written.
The meaning of the article in itself is already suffi-
ciently difficult without still tormenting oneself as to how
one shall place a fly speck.
Asiatic idioms in general, and Hebrew in particular,
are far from affecting the stiffness of our European
idioms. The nearer a word is to its root, the richer it is
in pith, so to speak, and the more it can, without ceasing
to be itself, develop various significations. The more dis-
tant it is, the less it becomes fitting to furnish new ramifi-
cations. Also one should guard against believing that an
Hebraic word, whatever it may be, can be accurately
grasped and rendered in all its acceptations by a modern
word. This is not possible. All that can be done is to
interpret the acceptation which it presents at the time
when it is used. Here, for example, is the word "O*T
which I have used in the nominal inflection; I have ren-
dered it by word; but in this circumstance where nothing
has bound me as to the sense, I might have translated it
quite as well by discourse, precept, commandment, order,
sermon, oration; or by thing, object, thought, meditation;
or by term, elocution, expression; or by the consecrated
word verb, in Greek X6yo<;. All these significations and
many others that I could add, feel the effects of the root
D"l which, formed from the signs of natural abundance,
and of active principle, develops the general idea of effu-
sion; of the course given to anything whatsoever. This
root being united by contraction with the root *"O all crea-
tion of being, offers in the compound "^H' a ^ * ne means
of giving course to its ideas, of producing them, of distin-
MOVEMENT 143
guishing them, of creating them exteriorly, to make them
known to others.
This diversity of acceptations which must be observed
in the words of the Mosaic tongue, must also be observed
in the different movements of the nominal inflection.
These movements are not, in Hebrew, circumscribed in the
limits that I have been obliged to give them. To make
them felt in their full extent, it would be necessary to
enter into irksome details. I shall give a few examples.
Let us remark first that the article fl > is placed, not
only at the head of words as determinative, or at the end
as emphatic, but that it becomes also redundant by resting
at either place, whereas the other articles act. Thus, one
finds *D?DCP'n the heavens, np*0tf heavens, flO^plPn
o heavens! D?t?tVf7 to the heavens, toward the heavens,
nplO^rrnt^ the heavens themselves, that which consti-
tutes the heavens.
Such are the most common acceptations of this article :
but the Hebraic genius by the extension which it gives
them, finds the means of adding still a local, intensive,
generative, vocative, interrogative and even relative force.
Here are some examples.
Locative Force.
in the city; toward Palestine.
: 10X rnjp rftfjfcr? in the tent of Sarah his
mother.
I np.W : Witt on earth ; in heaven.
np"lpj fpjjl rglfiy toward the north and toward
the south, and the east and
the west.
Intensive Force.
rapid torrent : a profound
obscurity.
144 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
an extreme terror; a violent
death.
Generative Force.
selfsameness of the earth :
that which constitutes it.
the altars of brass.
the kingdoms of the earth.
n ni")|pDn the abomination of the peo-
ples.
Vocative Force.
D\*I o waters ! o mountains !
OH o daughters of Jerusalem!
'JO come, o spirit, o thou who
dwellest !
Interrogative Force.
ri^h?n is that the tunic of thy son?
J DJTN-]n : 30\n was it good? did you see?
is it the truth? is it the time?
is it I?
Relative Force.
the son of the stranger who
was come.
he who was born to him.
n : Nn he who is healing; he who is
redeeming.
The other articles without having so extended a use,
have nevertheless their various acceptations. I give here
a few examples of each of the movements which they
express.
MOVEMENT 145
Directive Movement.
11DTO the canticle of David.
^P 1 ? f r the king: for the people:
for the altar.
l"^ 1 ? forever: for eternity: to sa-
tiety.
.*3? f 'n~ t ?$ toward the heavens : upon the
earth.
J IfO'p 1 ? according to his kind.
Extractive Movement.
: DID among the multitude : among
the priesthood.
by Yahweh: by the nation.
by means of their power :
from the depths of his
heart.
with thy. pain and thine emo-
tion.
as it was from the beginning.
beyond the land.
J pNH HVRP J ^1 *P'P from the days of evil : from
the end of the earth.
Mediative Movement.
by means of a rod of iron.
with our young men and with
our old men.
in the festivals of the new
moon.
to the heavens : on the way.
146 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
Assimilative Movement.
:jPb3 : D^3 like the people: like the
priest: like the servant.
DiTp J Dpnri? like the wise man : the same
as to-day.
like the windows : about two
thousand.
")JO stranger as well as native.
Conjunctive Movement.
wisdom and knowledge.
D1D1 D5")"| the chariot and the horse.
") *?1^ D^ the great nation both numer-
ous and powerful.
Designative Movement.
the sameness of the heavens
and the sameness of the
earth.
tne essence of that same
thing.
with Noah.
Shem himself, and Ham him-
self, and Japheth himself.
These examples few in number, are sufficient to awak-
en the attention; but understanding can only be obtained
by study.
VI.
CONSTRUCT STATE
Hebraic nouns, being classed in the rhetorical sen-
tence according to the rank which they should occupy in
developing the thought in its entirety, undergo quite com-
monly a slight alteration in the final character; now this
is what I designate by the name of construct .state.
In several of the derivative tongues, such as Greek
and Latin, this accidental alteration is seen in the ter-
mination of the governed noun; it is quite the opposite
in Hebrew. The governed noun remains nearly always un
changed, whereas the governing noun experiences quite
commonly the terminative alteration of which we are
speaking. I call the noun thus modified construct, because
it determines the construction.
Here in a few words are the elements of this modifica-
tion.
Masculine or feminine nouns in the singular, termi-
nated by a character other than H, undergo no other alte-
ration in becoming constructs; when the Hebraic genius
wishes, however, to make the construct state felt, it
connects them with the noun which follows with a hyphen.
the door of the tent.
H the integrity of my heart.
This hyphen very frequently takes the place of the
construct, even when the latter itself could be used.
I rV?b~nND a measure of meal.
' r\Trt?y : a branch of the olive tree.
One recognizes, nevertheless, three masculine substan-
tives which form their construct singular, by the addition
147
148 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
of the character ' I these are 3N father, HN brother, and
DH father-in-law; one finds:
J | yj? }g the father of Canaan.
: iTpn : n) T ' n the brother of Japheth; fa-
ther-in-law of her.
But these three substantives are rarely constructed in
this manner except with proper nouns, or with the nominal
relations called affixes, of which I shall speak in the chap-
ter following.
Feminine nouns terminating in ft. and masculine
nouns which have received this final character as emphatic
article, change it generally into fi
J HfrpO nT beautiful of form.
J DH^rrr? fi")## the ten commandments.
: D'U fiJ? the counsel of the peoples.
Masculine nouns in the plural lose the final character
0, in becoming constructs; feminine nouns add to their
plural the character ' and lose in the dual the character
0> as do the masculine. But feminine constructs in the
plural are only used with affixes. Masculine constructs,
in the plural and in the dual, like feminine constructs in
the dual, are, on the contrary, constantly employed in the
oratorical phrase, as can be judged by the following ex-
amples.
J Silt nifl the ornaments of gold.
J DTT *F\ : "TODD O the waters of the deluge: the
fish of the sea.
J nin!"fi*!l '*?? the vessels of the house of
Yahweh.
0* the days (or luminous pe-
riods) of the years (or
temporal mutations) of the
lives of Abraham.
CONSTRUCT STATE 149
It is easy to see in these examples that all the plurals
terminating in D, as DHln/ D'E, OVH/ D^p/ D'0' T / DW,
D"ll) have lost their final character in the construct
state.
I refrain from enlarging my Grammar on this sub-
ject, for I shall have occasion to refer again to the con
struct state in speaking of the affixes which join them-
selves only to nominal and verbal constructs.
VII.
SIGNIFICATION
The Signification of nouns results wholly from the
principles which I have laid down. If these principles have
been developed with enough clarity and simplicity for an
observant reader to grasp the ensemble, the signification
of nouns should be no longer an inexplicable mystery whose
origin he can, like Hobbes or his adherents, attribute only
to chance. He must feel that this signification, so called
from the primordial signs where it is in germ, begins to
appear under a vague form and is developed under general
ideas in the roots composed of these signs; that it is res-
trained or is fixed by aid of the secondary and successive
signs which apply to these roots; finally, that it acquires
its whole force by the transformation of these same roots
into nouns, and by the kind of movement which the signs
again impart to them, appearing for the third time under
the denomination of articles.
150
CHAPTER VI.
NOMINAL RELATIONS.
I.
Absolute Pronouns.
I have designated the nominal relations under the
name of pronouns, so as not to create needlessly new
terms.
I divide the pronouns of the Hebraic tongue into two
classes; each subdivided into two kinds. The first class
is that of the absolute pronouns, or pronouns, properly
so-called ; the second is that of the affixes, which are deri-
vatives, whose use I shall explain later.
The pronouns, properly so-called, are relative to per-
sons or things; those relative to persons are called per-
sonal; those relative to things are named simply relative.
The affixes indicate the action of persons or things
themselves upon things, and then I name them nominal
affixes; or they can express the action of the verb upon
persons or things and then I give them the name of verbal
affixes. Below, is the list of the personal and relative
pronouns.
Personal Pronouns.
Singular Plural
(mas. Kin he (raa. Dflh
6 \fem. Mil f) r N'H she (fem. fn/ they
151
152 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
Relative Pronouns.
Of every Gender and of every Number.
*7X or rf?N this, that, these, those.
"10f who, which, whom, whose, that which; what.
*H' H or p this, that, these, those. (Chaldaic.)
nj/ It or fltft this, that, these, those.
Nn this, that, these, those; lo! behold!
fP?/ nJjPT lo! behold! is there?
*?n is it ? (interrogation sign).
who? HO what?
nS that thing there, that place there. (Egyptian.)
I have a few remarks to make concerning this class
of pronouns. The first is, that I present the table accord-
ing to the modern usage, which gives the first rank to the
pronoun / or me; and that in this, I differ from the ideas
of the rabbiSj who, after a false etymology given to the
verb, have judged that the rank belonged to the pronoun
he or him. It is not that I am unaware of the mystical
reasons which lead certain of them to think that the pre-
eminence belongs to the pronoun of the third person Kin .
he or him, as forming the basis of the Sacred Name given
to the Divinity. What I have said in my notes explaining
the Hebraic names D'rfpjjJ and niTP proves it adequately ;
but these reasons, very strong as they appear to them,
have not determined me in the least to take away from the
personal pronoun 'JN or 'pUN / or me, a rank which be-
longs to its nature. It is sufficient, in order to feel this
rank, to put it into the mouth of the Divinity Itself, as
Moses has frequently done ^D^tf "T|JT *P1^ > / cw* YAH-
WEH (the Being-Eternal}, JELOHIM (HE-the-Gods) thine.
It is also sufficient to remember that one finds niTBJ
written in the first person, and that therefore, this name
has a greater force than YAHWEH.
ABSOLUTE PRONOUNS 153
The second remark that I have to make is, that all
these pronouns, personal as well as relative when they are
used in an absolute manner, always involve the idea of the
verb to be, in its three tenses, following the meaning of
the phrase, and without the need of expressing it, as in
the greater part of the modern idioms. Thus 'JJJ> HfiN>
Kin, etc., signifies literally: I-being, or I am, I was, I
shall be: thou-bcing, or thou art, thou wast, thou shalt
be: he-being, or he is, he was, he shall be; etc. It is the
same with all the others indiscriminately.
The third remark finally, concerns the etymology of
these pronouns; an etymology worthy of great attention,
as it is derived from my principles and confirms them.
Let us content ourselves with examining the first three
persons ^ ' Hftt* and N1H . so as not to increase the ex-
amples too much, besides leaving something for the reader
to do, who is eager to learn.
Now, what is the root of the first of these pronouns?
It is |N, where the united signs of power and of produced
being, indicate sufficiently a sphere of activity, an indivi-
dual existence, acting from the centre to the circumference.
This root, modified by the sign of potential manifestation
', which we shall presently see become the affix of posses-
sion, designates the /, active, manifested and possessed.
The root of the second pronoun HJ1N, is not less ex-
pressive. One sees here as in the first, the sign of power
K, but which, united now to that of the reciprocity of
things n, characterizes a mutual power, a coexistent being.
One associates with this idea, that of veneration, in
joining to the root flN. the emphatic and determinative
article fl.
But neither the pronoun of the first person, nor that
of the second, is equal in energy to that of the third K1H
particularly when it is used in an absolute manner: I
must acknowledge it, notwithstanding what I have said
154 THE HEBKAIC TONGUE RESTORED
concerning the grammatical rank that ought to be accorded
the pronoun *JJ^ . This energy is such that uttered in an
universal sense, it has become throughout the Orient, one
of the sacred names of the Divinity. The Arabs and all
the peoples who profess Islamism, pronounce it even in
this day, with the greatest respect. One can still remem-
ber the righteous indignation of the Turkish ambassador,
when this sacred name was profaned in our theatre in the
farce of le Bourgeois-Gentilhomme, and travestied in the
ridiculous syllable hou! hou!
Here is its composition. The sign of power tf> which
as we have seen, appears in the first two pronouns, '4*
and nritf. forms also the basis of this one. As long as this
sign is governed only by the determinative article Hi it is
limited to presenting the idea of a determined being, as
is proved by the relative KH I even though the convertible
sign 1 adds to it a verbal action, it is still only the
pronoun of the third person ; a person, considered as acting
beyond us, without reciprocity, and that we designate by
a root which depicts splendour and elevation, he or him:
but when the character H instead of being taken as a
simple article, is considered in its state of the sign of
universal life, then this same pronoun Klfli leaving its
determination, becomes the image of the Ail-Powerful : that
which can be attributed only to GOD !
IL
Affixes.
Those of the affixes which I have called nominal, are
joined without intermediary to the construct noun, to ex-
press dependence and possession in the three pronominal
persons; for the Hebraic tongue knows not the use of
the pronouns called by our grammarians, possessive.
Verbal affixes are those which are joined without in-
termediaries to verbs, whatever their modifications may
be, and express the actual action either upon persons or
upon things: for neither do the Hebrews know the pro-
nouns that our grammarians call conjunctive.
Without further delay, I now give a list of the nominal
and verbal affixes.
Nominal.
Singular
or 13 my, mine
m. ?| or I"O "j
> thy,
f. T| or Oj
V thv. thine
m. 1, 1, J|H his, his
f. H or HJ her, hers
Plural
( m. p. Di>
f. no
our, ours
your, yours
or 1O
their, theirs
155
156
THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
Verbal.
Singular
m -
i) or \ of me
ttor?n
2< ^ V ofthee
m. in/ 1/ or 1 of him
f. nj or fl of her
Plural
m.
1 < > 13 of us
V- )
( m - D ?)
2 < ' V of you
l f - R)
. i"O/ D or ID
or f
of them
It can be seen, in comparing these two lists, that the
nominal and verbal affixes in the Hebraic tongue differ not
in the least as to form, but only as to sense. However I
must mention that one finds the simplest of these pronouns
such as '/ ?| 1 f etc., used quite generally as nominal af-
fixes, and the most composite such as ^ / i*"D / m as verbal
affixes, but it is not an invariable rule.
When the personal pronouns ^ I, nriX thou,
he, etc., are subject to the inflection of the articles, it is
the nominal affixes which are used in determining the dif-
ferent movements as is shown in the following example :
AFFIXES
Example of the Pronominal Inflection.
Singular
Enunciative ^ I
Determinative
Directive
Extractive
Mcdiative
Assimilative
Conjunctive
Designative
157
it is I !
'*? to me
'30 from me
J ^ in me, with me
J *3 as I
^ and I
JfYiN I TliN myself, me
Plural
UPU we
us! it is us!
l to us
t WO from us
U3 in us, with us
JU? as we
and we
ourselves
I have chosenj in giving this example, the pronoun of
the first person, which will suffice to give an idea of all
the others. It will be noticed that I have added to the
preposition HK of the designative movement, the sign 1.
because the Hebraic genius affects it in this case and in
some others, as giving more importance to this movement.
158 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
The designative relations which I have made known
under the name of prepositions, are joined to the nominal
affixes in the same manner as the articles. Here are some
examples of this liaison.
?tf unto me, unto thee, unto
them.
beside him; with him.
: itltt for him; for them.
upon me ; under me ; as far as
me.
with me; with thee; with him.
Relative pronouns are inflected with articles and with
prepositions in the same manner as nouns. I shall not stop
to give any particular examples of this inflection which
has nothing very remarkable. I prefer to illustrate it by
the following phrases :
J nll h ln rf?N these are the symbols of the
generations.
that which he had done.
I am YAHWEH, HE-THE-GODS
thine, who ....
"Tt^'K. l /31 and all that which . . .
why hast thou done that?
who art thou? who are those?
* 'Tip HO I 5\iytf~*D what is thy name? what is
this voice?
H,p what is the fashion of this
man?
HO how good it is! how pleasing!
np what has happened to him?
"H3 the daughter of whom art
thou?
AFFIXES 159
'0 s ? to whom belongs the young
woman there?
nD^ why mine? upon what?
upon what futility?
:U*?3 I^jn J^n here am I: behold us: both:
them all.
J n:rO J .ID like this one; like that one.
HJ9 like this and like that.
: n.D in this one: in that one.
The relative *Ki?&$ whose use I have just shown in
several examples, has this peculiarity, that it furnishes
a sort of pronominal article which is quite commonly em-
ployed.
This article, the only one of its kind, is reduced to
the character W > and comprises in this state all the pro-
perties of the sign which it represents. Placed at the head
of nouns or verbs, it implies all the force of relative move-
ment. Sometimes in uniting itself to the directive article
*?. it forms the pronominal preposition W which then
participates in the two ideas of relation and direction
contained in the two signs of which it is composed.
It is most important in studying Hebrew, to have the
foregoing articles ever present in the mind, as well as those
which I give below; for the Hebraists, unceasingly con-
fusing them with the nouns that they inflect, have sin-
gularly corrupted the meaning of several passages. Here
are a few examples which can facilitate understanding the
prenominal articles in question.
"117 as much as I was opposed, so
much was I strengthened.
J '*?$ l-tf? fVn^ who was for us? who, for me?
: Hint? : nrm' for whom thou : for whom he :
for whom YAHWBH.
160 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
J fi;D# whose fellow-creature? in
what also?
what therefore? What is the
why (the cause),
that which she loved. . . That
which descends. . .
that which I passed over. . .
the border of the tunic which
was Saul's,
of that which is ours.
in that which is the why (the
cause) of evil.
S III.
Use of the Affixes.
Let us examine now, the use of nominal affixes with
nouns : later on we shall examine that of verbal affixes with
verbs. These affixes are placed, as I have already stated,
without intermediary after the nouns, to express depend-
ence or possession in the three pronominal persons. It is
essential to recall here what I said in speaking of the con-
struct state; for it is the affix which makes a construct
of every noun.
Thus, among the masculine nouns which do not ter-
minate with n. three only take the character *. in the
construct singular, that is: ON father, TTN brother, and
*OH father-in-law, the others remain inflexible.
Thus, among the masculine and feminine nouns, all
those which terminate in H. or which have received this
character as an emphatic article, change this character in
the singular, to fl.
Thus, all of the masculine nouns terminating in the
plural with D. lose the character D in becoming con-
structs; it is the same with the dual for both genders.
Thus, generally, but in a manner less irresistible, the
feminine whose plural is formed with Hi. adds * to this
final syllable in taking the nominal affix.
This understood, I pass now to the examples.
161
the word
162 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
enunciative
construct
(mas.
{/em.
mas.
Mas. Sing.
my word
thy word
word
his )
fern.
( mas.
3<
(fern.
(mas. ^
(fern. $
( mas.
(fern,
mas.
fern.
(enunciative DHTJ}
Mas. Plu. < > the words
I construct t% ^H )
her j
our word
V your word
> their word
(
mas.
mas.
my words
thv words
inrn MS )
^ > words
( /em. 7^? >r !. her )
USE OF AFFIXES
163
( mas. \
?fcnyi
( /em. )
our words
mas.
(
<
{ /6m . pirn)
your words
<mas. 017131)
> their words
Fern. Sing.
enunciative
construct
^mas. ^
1 < > *
(fern. )
mas.
mas.
fern.
mas.
fern,
mas.
fern,
mas.
JV )
my distress
thy distress
the distress
his
her
distress
fem. frny
our distress
your distress
their distress
164 THE HEBEAIC TONGUE KESTORED
Fem. Plu.
en initiative
construct
l mas.
I /em.)
( mas
gJ
I /em.
f was.
{
mas.
1 <! >
( fern. )
(
mas.
(/em.
3 .<
the distresses
iv distresses
thy distresses
his,
distresses
our distresses
> your distresses
> their distresses
Denunciative DO'lf ")
Mas. or fem. dual< > the eyes
( construct - * )
eyes
USE OF AFFIXES
165
em.
mas.
fern.
was.
fern.
our eyes
their eyes
Nouns, whether masculine or feminine, which take
the common or dual number, follow in the singular, one of
the preceding examples according to their gender.
The anomalies relative to the vague vowel marked by
the Chaldaic punctuation are still considerable: but they
have no effect, and should not delay us. The only im-
portant remark to make is, that often the affix of the third
person masculine of the singular, is found to be 1H or 10
in place of 1 and again in the plural 10 in place of 0.
or of DH : so that one might find liDyi or lO^D"] his word,
and lOH?" 7 ! his icords or their words; or IflJTntf or lOrny
his distress, and lOT^V his distresses or their distresses.
Besides it seems that the affix 1H may be applied to the
emphatic style., and the affix 10, to poetry.
CHAPTER VII.
THE VERB
I.
Absolute Verb and Particular Verbs.
If in the course of this Grammar I have been com-
pelled, in order to be understood, to speak often of the
plural verbs, it must not be thought for this reason, that
I have forgotten my fundamental principle, namely, that
there exists but one sole Verb : a principle which I believe
fixed. The plural verbs, of which I have spoken, should
only be understood as nouns verbalised as it were, by the
unique Verb Hlf! to be-being, in which it develops its in-
fluence with more or less force and intensity. Let us for-
get therefore, the false ideas which we have kept through
habit, of a mass of verbs existing by themselves, and re-
turn to our principle.
There is but one Verb.
The words to which one has ordinarily given the
name of verbs, are only substantives animated by this
single verb, and determined toward the end peculiar to
them : for now we can see that the verb, in communicating
to nouns the verbal life which they possess, changes in
no respect their inner nature, but only makes them living
with the life whose principles they held concealed within
themselves. Thus the flame, communicated to all com-
bustible substance, burns not only as flame but as enflam-
ed substance,, good or evil, according to its intrinsic
quality.
The unique Verb of which I speak is formed in Heb-
rew, in a manner meriting the attention of the reader. Its
167
168 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
principle is light, represented by the intellectual sign 1;
its substance is life universal and absolute, represented
by the root fin. This root, as I have before stated, never
leaves the noun: for when it is a question of designating
life proper, or, to express it better, existence, which men
ought never to confuse with life, the Hebraic tongue em-
ploys the root 'H, in which the character H, carries the
idea of some sort of effort causing equilibrium between two
opposed powers. It is by means of intellectual light,
characterized by the sign 1, that this unique Verb dis-
penses its verbal force to nouns, and transforms them into
particular verbs.
The verb in itself is immutable. It knows neither
number nor gender; it has no kind of inflection. It is
foreign to forms, to movement and to time, as long as it
does not leave its absolute essence and as long as the
thought conceives it independent of all substance. fllPF
to be-being, belongs to the masculine as well as to the
feminine, to the singular as to the plural, to active move-
ment as to passive movement; it exercises the same in-
fluence upon the past as upon the future; it fulfills the
present; it is the image of a duration without beginning
and without end: HlH to he-being fulfills all, compre-
hends all, animates all.
But in this state of absolute immutability and of
universality, it is incomprehensible for man. When it
acts independently of substance man cannot grasp it. It
is only because of the substance which it assumes, that it
is sentient. In this new state it loses its immutability.
The substance which it assumes transmits to it nearly all
its forms; but these same forms that it influences, acquire
particular modifications through which an experienced
eye can still distinguish its inflexible unity.
These details may appear extraordinary to the gram-
marians but little accustomed to find these sorts of specu-
lations in their works; but I have forewarned them that
it is upon the Hebraic grammar that I am writing and not
ABSOLUTE VERB AND PARTICULAR VERBS 169
upon any from their domain. If they consider my method
applicable, as I think it is, they may adopt it; if they do
not, nothing hinders them from following their own
routine.
Let us continue. As the verb Hln becomes manifest
only because of the substance which it has assumed, it
participates in its forms. Therefore, every time that it
appears in speech, it is with the attributes of a particular
verb, and subject to the same modifications. Now, these
modifications in particular verbs, or rather in facultative
nouns verbalized, are four in number, namely, Form,
Movement, Time and Person.
I shall explain later what these modifications are and
in what manner they act upon the verbs ; it is essential to
examine first of all, how these verbs issue from the primi-
tive roots or derivative nouns, subject to the unique Verb
which animates them.
If we consider the unique Verb nlfl, to be-being, as
a particular verb, we shall see clearly that what consti-
tutes it as such, is the intellectual sign 1, in which the
verbal esprit appears wholly to reside. The root fin, by
itself, is only a vague exclamation, a sort of expiration,
which, when it signifies something, as in the Chinese
tongue, for example, is limited to depicting the breath, its
exhalation, its warmth, and sometimes the life that this
warmth infers; but then the vocal sound o is soon mani-
fest, as can be seen in ho, houo, hoe, Chinese roots, which
express all ideas of warmth, of fire, of life, of action and
of being.
The sign 1, being constituted, according to the genius
of the Hebraic tongue, symbol of the universal verb, it is
evident that in transferring it into a root or into any com-
pound whatsoever of this tongue, this root or this com-
pound will partake instantly of the verbal nature : for this
invariably happens.
We have seen in treating particularly of the sign,
that the one in question is presented under two distinct
170 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
modifications, first, as the universal convertible sign 1 , and
second, as the luminous sign 1: these two modifications
are employed equally in the formation of verbs. I have
already spoken of this in dealing with the facultatives
in the Second section of the Fifth chapter. Here it is on-
ly a matter of verbs.
The facultative by which the Hebraic genius brings
out the verbal action, is the finished facultative. It is in
this manner.
This facultative is formed from roots by the insertion
of the sign % between the two characters which compose
it, as DW to be placed, *71JI to be exhausted; and from
compound nouns by the insertion of this same sign be-
tween the last two characters of these nouns, as JU*! to
be moved, ^^9 t ^ e ru ^ e< ^-
Now if we take the finished facultative coming from
the root, it will be sufficient, by a simple abstraction of
thought, to make a verb of it, in that sort of original state
which the grammarians call infinitive, though I cannot
very well see why, and which I call, nominal, because it is
governed by the articles and is subject to the nominal in-
flection. And as to the finished facultative coming from
the compounds, we make a nominal verb of it by enfight/-
ening the sign 1 that is to say, replacing it with the sign 1 .
as the following example illustrates :
root Dp I every idea of substance and of
material establishment
finished facultative Dip! to be established
nominal verb Dip! the action of establishing
compound t-TU physical or moral movement;
an emotion
finished facultative Wl * to be moved
nominal verb fi^l! the action of moving
ABSOLUTE VEKB AND PARTICULAR VERBS 171
It is well to observe that sometimes 1 is enlightened
in order to form the verb from the root, as in CIO to
waver, and in some others. As to the nominal verbs coming
from compounds, the rule is without exception in this re-
spect. If the Chaldaic punctuation replaces this sign by
the points holcm or kamez these points have then the same
value and that suffices. This abuse due to the indolence
of the copyists was inevitable.
II.
Three kinds of Particular Verbs.
There is no need I think of calling attention to the
effect of the convertible sign, which, insinuating itself into
the heart of the primitive roots, makes them pass from the
state of noun to that of verb, and which being enlightened
or extinguished by turn, and changing its position in the
compound substantives, produces the sentiment of an ac-
tion, continued or finished, and as it were, fixes the verbal
life by the successive formation of the two facultatives and
the nominal verb. I believe that there is none of my readers
who, having reached this point of my Grammar, and being
impressed by this admirable development does not disdain-
fully reject any system tending to make of speech a mech-
anical art or an arbitrary institution.
Indeed! if speech were a mechanical art or an arbit-
rary institution as has been advanced by Hobbes, and be-
fore him by Gorgias and the sophists of his school, could
it, I ask, have these profound roots which, being derived
from a small quantity of signs and being blended not only
with the very elements of nature, but also producing those
immense ramifications which, coloured with all the fires
of genius, take possession of the domain of thought and
seem to reach to the limits of infinity? Does one see any-
thing similar in games of chance? Do human institu-
tions, however perfect they may be, ever have this prog-
ressive course of aggrandizement and force? Where is
the mechanical work from the hand of man, that can com-
pare with this lofty tree whose trunk, now laden with
branches, slept not long since buried in an imperceptible
germ? Does not one perceive that this mighty tree, which
at first, weak blade of grass, pierced with difficulty the
172
THREE KINDS OF PARTICULAR VERBS 173
ground which concealed its principles, can in nowise be
considered as the production of a blind and capricious
force, but on the contrary, as that of wisdom enlightened
and steadfast in its designs? Now speech is like this
majestic tree; it has its germ, it spreads its roots gradual-
ly in a fertile nature whose elements are unknown, it
breaks its bonds and rises upward escaping from terres-
trial darkness and bursts forth into new regions where,
breathing a purer element, watered by a divine light, it
spreads its branches and covers them with flowers and
fruit.
But perhaps the objection will be made that this com-
parison which could not be questioned for Hebrew, whose
successive developments I have amply demonstrated, is
limited to this tongue, and that it would be in vain for me
to attempt the same labour for another. I reply, that this
objection, to have any force must be as affirmative as is
my proof, instead of being negative; that is to say, that
instead of saying to me that I have not done it, it is still
to be done; he must demonstrate to me, for example, that
French, Latin or Greek are so constituted that they can
not be brought back to their principles, or what amounts
to the same thing, to the primordial signs upon which the
mass of words which compose them rest; a matter which
I deny absolutely. The difficulty of the analysis of these
idioms, I am convinced, is due to their complexity and
remoteness from their origin; however, the analysis is
by no means impossible. That of Hebrew, which now ap-
pears easy owing to the method I have followed, was none
the less before this test, the stumbling-block of all ety-
mologists. This tongue is. very simple ; its material of-
fers advantageous results; but what would it be if the
reasons which have led me to chose Hebrew had also in-
clined me toward Chinese! what a mine to exploit! what
food for thought!
I return to the formation of the Hebraic verbs. I
have shown in the preceding section that it was by the
intermediarv of the facultatives that the convertible
174 THE HEBKAIC TONGUE RESTORED
sign V raised the noun to the dignity of the verb. It is
essential that we examine what the idiomatic genius adds
to this creation.
This genius affects particularly the words composed
of three consonant characters ; that is to say, words which
come from a primitive root governed by a sign, or from
two roots contracted and forming two syllables. It is this
which has caused the superficial etymologists and those
who receive things without examination, to believe that
the tongue of the Hebrews was essentially dissyllabic and
that its roots could consist only of three characters. Ridi-
culous error, which veiling the origin of the words, and
confounding the auxiliary sign and even the article, with
the root itself, has finally corrupted the primitive mean-
ing and brought forth in Hebrew, a sort of jargon, wholly
different from the Hebrew itself.
Primitive roots are, in all known tongues, mono-
syllabic. I cannot repeat this truth too strongly. The
idiomatic genius can indeed, as in Hebrew, add to this
syllable, either to modify its meaning or to reinforce its
expression; but it can never denature it. When by the
aid of the convertible sign 1, the nominal verb is formed,
as I have said, it is formed either of the root, as can be
seen in D1^ to constitute, to put up, to decree; or of the
compound substantive t|1^0 to rule : but one feels the pri-
mitive root always, even in the nominal ^["to, when he
is intellectually capable of feeling it, or when he is not
fettered by grammatical prejudices. If the reader is
curious to know what this root is, I will tell him that it is
~|N, and that the expansive sign *?, governs jointly with
that of exterior and local action, . Now ^7, de-
velops all idea of legation, of function to which one is
linked : of vicariate, of mission, etc., thus the word T^P
a king, the origin of which is Ethiopic, signifies properly,
a delegate, an envoy absolute; a minister charged with
representing the divinity on earth. This word has had in
THREE KINDS OF PARTICULAR VERBS 175
its origin, the same meaning as ^70, of which we have
adopted the Greek translation ayyeXo.;, an angel. The
primitive root ay, which forms the basis of the Greek
word <2yY e ^s is precisely the same as the Hebraic root
*]N , and like it develops ideas of attachment and of lega-
tion. This root belongs to the tongue of the Celts as well
as to that of the Ethiopians and the Hebrews. It has be-
come, through nasalization, our idiomatic root ang, from
which the Latins and all modern peoples generally, have
received derivatives.
Taking up again the thread of my ideas, which this
etymological digression has for a moment suspended, I re-
peat, that the Hebraic genius which is singularly partial
to words of two syllables, rarely allows the verb to be
formed of the root without adding a character which
modifies the meaning or reinforces the expression. Now
it is in the following manner that the adjunction is made
and the characters especially consecrated to this use.
This adjunction is initial or terminative; that is to
say, that the character added is placed at the beginning
or the end of the word. When the adjunction is initial,
the character added at the head of the root is * or J; when
it is terminative it is simply the final character which is
doubled.
Let us take for example the verb D1JT that I have al-
ready cited. This verb will become, by means of the initial
adjunction DIC" , or Dlfe^l, and by means of the termi-
native adjunction, DpIJ^: but then, not only will the
meaning vary considerably and receive acceptations very
different from the primitive meaning, but the conjugation
also will appear irregular, on account of the characters
having been added after the formation of the verb, and
the root will not always be in evidence. The result of this
confusion of ideas is that the Hebraists, devoid of all ety-
mological science, take roots sometimes for radical verbs,
relative to the new meaning which they offer, and some-
176 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
times for irregular verbs, relative to the anomalies that
they experience in their modifications.
But the truth is, that these verbs are neither radical
verbs nor irregular verbs: these are verbs of a kind, dis-
tinct and peculiar to the Hebraic tongue; verbs of which
it is necessary to understand the origin and development,
so as to distinguish them in speech and assign them a
rank in grammar. I shall name them compound radical
verbs, as holding a mean between those which come di-
rectly from the root and those which are formed from the
derivative substantives.
I classify verbs in three kinds, with regard to conju-
gation, namely: the radical, the derivative and the com-
pound radical. By the first, I mean those which are de-
rived from the root and which remain monosyllables, such
as D1JT * *7Q / 'Ttf etc. By the second, those which are
derived from a substantive already compound, and which
are always dissyllables such as "^p3 ftH ^]^9 etc.
By the third, those which are formed by the adjunction
of an initial or terminative character to the root, and
which appear in the course of the conjugation sometimes
monosyllabic and sometime dissyllabic, such as
etc.
III.
Analysis of Nominal Verbs: Verbal Inflection.
The signification of radical verbs depends always
upon the idea attached to their root. When the etymolog-
ist has this root firmly in his memory, it is hardly pos-
sible for him to err in the meaning of the verb which is
developed. If he knows well, for example, that the root
Dt^ contains the general idea of a thing, upright, straight,
remarkable; of a monument, a name, a sign, a place, a
fixed and determined time ; he will know well that the verb
Dlt^ which is formed from it, must express the action
of instituting, enacting, noting, naming, designating,
placing, putting up, etc. according to the meaning of the
context.
The compound radical verbs offer, it is true, a few
more difficulties, for it is necessary to join to the etymo-
logical understanding of the root, that of the initial or
terminative adjunction; but this is not impossible. The
first step, after finding the root, is to conceive clearly the
sort of influence that this same root and the character
which is joined to it, exercise upon each other; for their
action in this respect is reciprocal : here lies the only dif-
ficulty. The signification of the joined characters is not
in the least perplexing. One must know that the char-
acters * and J express, in their qualities as sign, the first,
a potential manifestation, an intellectual duration, and
the second, an existence, produced, dependent and pass-
ive. So that one can admit as a general underlying idea,
that the adjunction * will give to the verbal action, an
exterior force, more energetic and more durable, a move-
ment more apparent and more determined; whereas the
adjunction j. on the contrary, will render this same ac-
tion more interior and more involved, by bringing it back
to itself.
177
178 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
As to the terminative adjunction, since it depends'
upon the duplication of the final sign, it also draws all
its expression from this same sign whose activity it
doubles.
But let us take as an example of these three modifi-
cations, the root 05?, which we already know as radical
verb, and let us consider it as compound radical verb. In
taking this verb Dlt^, in the sense of setting up, which
is its simplest acceptation, we shall find that the initial
adjunction manifesting its action, gives it in DiK^i the
sense of exposing, of placing in sight, of putting in a pro-
minent place: but if this verb is presented in a more fig-
urative sense as that of elevating, we shall see that the
initial adjunction J, bringing back its action in itself,
makes it signify, to elevate the soul, to be inspired, to be
animated; to assume, as it were, the spirit of the loftiest
and most radiant parts of universal spirituality. These
are the two initial adjunctions,
The terminative adjunction being formed by the dup-
lication of the final character, it is expedient to examine
this character in the root D6T. Now, this character, con-
sidered as the sign of exterior action, is used here in its
quality of collective sign. But this sign which already
tends very much to extension, and which develops the be-
ing in infinite space as much as its nature permits, can
not be doubled without reaching that limit where ex-
tremes meet. Therefore, the extension, of which it is the
image, is changed to a dislocation, a sort of annihilation
of being, caused by the very excess of its expansive action.
Also the radical verb Oil?, which is limited to signifying
the occupation of a distinguished, eminent place, presents
in the compound radical DDit!% only the action of ex-
tending in the void, of wandering in space, of depriving of
stability of making deserted, of being delirious, etc.
In this manner should the radical and the compound
radical verbs be analyzed. As to the derivative verbs,
their analysis is no more difficult; for, as they come for
VERBAL INFLECTION 179
the most part from a triliteral substantive, they receive
from it verbal expression. I shall have many occasions
for examining these sorts of verbs in the course of my
notes upon the Cosmogony of Moses, so that I shall dis-
pense with doing so here: nevertheless, in order to leave
nothing to be desired, in this respect, for the reader who
follows me closely, I shall give two examples.
Let us take two verbs of great importance. NV13 to
create and Tibtf to speak, to say, to declare. The first
thing to do is to bring them both back to the substantives
from which they are derived: this is simply done, by tak-
ing away the sign 1, which verbalizes them. The former
presents to me in N*n, the idea of an emanated produc-
tion, since 13 signifies a son, an exterior fruit; the latter,
in ION, a declaration, a thing upon which light is thrown,
since *)NO signifies a luminous focus, a torch. In the first,
the character X is a sign of stability ; in the second, it is
only a transposition from the middle of the word to the
beginning to give more energy. Let us take the first.
The word "G, considered as primitive root, signifies
not only a son, but develops the general idea of every
production emanated from a generative being. Its ele-
ments are worthy of the closest attention. It is on the
other hand, the sign of movement proper *">, united to that
of interior action 3- The first of these signs, when it is
simply vocalized by the mother vowel N as in "IN, is ap-
plied to the elementary principle, whatever it may be, and
under whatever form it may be conceived; ethereal, igne-
ous, ferial, aqueous or terrestrial principle. The second
of these signs is preeminently the paternal symbol. There-
fore the elementary principle, whatever it may be, moved
by an interior, generative force, constitutes the root "1ND
whence is formed the compound substantive N"}3 and the
verb that I am analyzing, Kl"1D : that is to say, to draw
from an unknown element; to make pass from the prin-
ciple to the essence; to make same that which was other;
180
THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
to bring from the centre to the circumference; in short,
to create.
Now let us see the word *")NO This word is sup-
ported likewise by the elementary root "IN, but this root
being enlightened by the intellectual sign 1, has become
T)X the light. In this state it assumes, not the paternal
sign 3, as in the word N13, that I have just examined,
but the maternal sign 0, image of exterior action, so as to
constitute the substantive "1X0 or "llNO : also, it is no
longer an interior and creative action, but an action ex-
terior and propagating, a reflection; that is to say, a
luminous focus, a torch diffusing light from which it has
received the principle.
Such is the image of speech. Such at least is the ety-
mology of the Hebraic verb T)OX , which is to say, to
spread abroad its light; to declare its thought, its will; to
speak, etc.
I have now shown how verbs are formed and ana-
lyzed ; let us see how they are inflected with the aid of the
designative relations which I have called articles. This
inflection will prove that these verbs are really nominal,
partaking, on the one hand, of the name from which they
are derived by their substance, and on the other, of the
absolute verb from which they receive the verbal life.
/ enunciative T^P the action of ruling
determinative Tjl^OH
directive
extractive
mediative
assimilative
conjunctive
designative
of the action of ruling
to the action of ruling
from the action of ruling
* n * ne action of ruling
conformable to the action
of ruling
and tne action of ruling
Tjl^O'DJ* that which constitutes
the action of ruling
VERBAL INFLECTION 181
I have a very important observation to make con-
cerning this verbal inflection. It is with regard to the
conjunctive article 1. This article which, placed in front
of the nominal verb, expresses only the conjunctive move-
ment as in the above example, takes all the force of the
convertible sign, before the future or past tense of this
same verb, and changes their temporal modification in
such a way that the future tense becomes past and the
past tense takes all the character of the future. Thus for
example the future iT'T it shall be, changes abruptly the
signification in receiving the conjunctive article 1, and be-
comes the past "TOT and it was: thus the past fTH it
was, loses too its original meaning in taking the same
article 1, and becomes the future flT?! and it shall be.
It is impossible to explain in a satisfactory manner
this idiomatic Hebraism without admitting the intrinsic
force of the universal, convertible sign 1 and without
acknowledging its influence in this case.
Besides, we have an adverbial relation in our own
tongue, that exercises an action almost similar, upon a
past tense, which it makes a future. I do not recall hav-
ing seen this singular idiomatism pointed out by any
grammarian. It is the adverbial relation if. I am giving
this example to the reader that he may see in what man-
ner a past can become a future, without the mind being
disturbed by the boldness of the ellipsis and without it
even striking the attention. They ivere is assuredly of
the past; it becomes future in this phrase: if they were in
ten years at the end of their labours they would be happy !
The nominal verb participating, as I have said, in
two natures, adopts equally the nominal and verbal af-
fixes. One finds 'b'frp and 4?^P the action of ruling,
mine (my rule) : 1D1^9 and IHD^P the action of ruling,
his (his rule) : etc.
One perceives that it is only the sense of the sentence
which can indicate whether the affix added here is nom-
182 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
inal or verbal. It is an amphibology that Hebrew writers
would have been able to evade easily, by distinguishing
the nominal affixes from the verbal.
Here is an example of the verbal and nominal affixes
united to the nominal verb. I have followed the Chaldaic
punctuation, which, always submissive to the vulgar pro-
nunciation, replaces the verbal sign 1 , on this occasion,
by the weak vowel point, named shewa.
THE ACTION OF
mas.
my visiting
THE VISITATION
fem.
mas.
2{ ^ thy visiting
fem.
mas . his visiting
3!
fem. her visiting
Tips
r
{mas. 1 ( ^HpT?
V thy visiting < ^^
fem.}
( mas. his visiting ''''"HP*? or 'lp?
mine
thine
THE ACTION OF
f mas. \
1 < > our visiting
mas.
C m,as.\
3 (/em.)
your
their "
m-1pfiornip) hers
THE VISITATION
Ulpfi ours
I T > yours
I P"^pr I
i ml
theirs
CHAPTER VIII.
MODIFICATIONS OF THE VERB.
1.
Form and Movement.
In the preceding chapter I have spoken of the absolute
verb, of the particular verbs which emanate from it, and
of the various kinds of these verbs. I have stated that
these verbs were subject t four modifications: form,
movement, time and person. I am about to make known
the nature of these modifications; afterward, I shall give
models of the conjugations for all the kinds of verbs of
the Hebraic tongue: for I conceive as many conjugations
as I have kinds of verbs, namely: radical, derivative and
compound radical conjugations. I do not know why the
Hebraists have treated as irregular, the first and third of
these conjugations, when it is obvious that one of them,
the radical, is the type of all the others and particularly
of the derivative, which they have chosen for their model
in consequence of an absurd error which placed the tri-
literal verb in the first etymological rank.
I am beginning with an explanation of what ought
to be understood by the form of the verb, and its move-
ment which is here inseparable.
I call verbal form, that sort of modification by means
of which the Hebraic verbs display an expression more or
less forceful, more or less direct, more or less simple or
compound. I recognize four verbal forms: positive, in-
tensive, excitative and reflexive or reciprocal form.
The movement is active or passive. It is inherent
in the form; for under whatever modification the verb
may appear, it is indispensable that it present an active
or passive action ; that is to say, an action which exercises
183
184 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
itself from within outwardly by an agent upon an object,
or an action which exercises itself from without inward-
ly, by an object upon an agent. One loves or one is loved;
one sees or one is seen, etc.
The verbs to which modern grammarians have given
fehe somewhat vague name of neuter verbs and which ap-
pear indeed to be neither active nor passive, such as to
sleep, to walk, to fall, etc., are verbs, not which unite the
two movements, as Harris 1 believed because this defini-
tion agrees only with the reflexive form ; but verbs where-
in the verbal action itself seizes the agent and suspends
it between the two movements, making it object without
taking from it any of its faculty of agent. Thus, when I
say : / sleep, I walk, I fall; it is as if one said : / devote
myself to the action of sleeping, of walking, of falling,
which now exercises itself upon me. Far from having
called these verbs neuter, that is to say, foreign to active
and passive movement, the grammarians should have
named them supcractives; for they dominate the active
movement, even as one has proof in considering that there
is not a single active verb which, by an abstraction of
thought, being taken in a general sense independent of
any object, cannot take the character of the verbs in ques-
tion. When one says, for example, man loves, hates, wills,
thinks, etc., the verbs to love, to hate, to will, to think are
in reality superactives ; that is to say, that the verbal ac-
tion which they express, dominates the agent and suspends
in it the active movement, without in any manner render-
ing it passive.
But let us leave modern grammar which is not my
domain and enter that of the Hebrews, to which I would
confine myself. It is useless to speak of the superactive
movement, which all verbs can take, which all can leave
and which besides, differs in nothing from the active
movement in its characteristic course. Let us limit our-
selves to the two movements of which I have first spoken
i Hermes, L. I. c. 9.
FOKM AND MOVEMENT 185
and see how they are characterized according to their in-
herent form.
I call positive, the first of the four forms of Hebraic
verbs. In this form the verbal action, active or passive,
is announced simply and in accordance with its original
nature. The passive movement is distinguished from the
active by means of the two characters J and H ; the first,
which is the sign of produced being, governs the contin-
ued facultative; the second, which is that of life, governs
the nominal verb. Therefore one finds for the active move-
ment, Dip or Dj!> to be establishing, Dip. the action of
establishing; and for the passive movement DipJ. being
established, DlpH. the action of being established.
The second form is what I name intensive, on account
of the intensity which it adds to the verbal action. Our
modern tongues which are deprived of this form, supply
the deficiency by the aid of modificatives. This form,
which a speaker can use with great force, since the accent
of the voice is able to give energetic expression, is very
difficult to distinguish today in writing, particularly,
since the Chaldaic punctuation has substituted for the
mother vowel ', placed after the first character of the
verb, the imperceptible point called hirek. The only
means which remains to recognize this form, is the re-
doubling of the second verbal character, which being mark-
ed unfortunately again by the insertion of the interior
point, is hardly more striking than the point hirek.
The rabbis having recognized this difficulty have as-
sumed the very wise part of giving to the mother
vowel *, the place which has been, taken from it by this
last mentioned point. It would perhaps be pTudent to
imitate them, for this form which is of the highest im-
portance in the books of Moses, has scarcely ever been
perceived by his translators. The active and passive fac-
ultative is governed by the character 0, sign of exterior
i n tion, and the second character is likewise doubled in
both movements; but in the active movement, the nominal
18G THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
verb adopts the mother vowel ', or the point hirek after
the first character; in the passive movement it takes the
mother vowel 1, or the point kibbuz. For the active move-
ment, one finds "IpSO / to be visiting, inspecting with dil-
igence: "Tp'9 or "Tp5 the action of visiting, etc. ; for the
passive movement "lp5P> being visited, inspected with
diligence: TipID or "Tip) the action of being visited f
etc.
I qualify the third form by the name of excitative, in
order to make understood as much as possible, by one
single word, the kind of excitation that it causes in the
verbal action, transporting this action beyond the subject
which acts, upon another which it, is a question of making
act. This form is of great effect in the tongue of Moses.
Happily it has a character that the Chaldaic point has
never been able to supply and which makes it easily re-
cognized: it is the sign of lifell, which governs the nom-
inal verb in the two movements. For the active move-
ment P'pP to be establishing; Dp?! or O'pn the action of
establishing: and for passive movement DpID being es-
tablished; Dpin the action of being established.
The fourth form is that which I name reciprocal or
reflexive, because it makes the verbal action reciprocal or
because it reflects it upon the very subject which is acting.
It is easily recognized by means of the characteristic syl-
lable fill composed of the united signs of life and of re-
ciprocity. The second character of the verb, is doubled in
this form as in the intensive, thus conserving all the en-
ergy of the latter. The two movements are also here united
in a single one, to indicate that the agent which makes the
action, becomes the object of its own action. One finds
for the continued facultative "IpfifiO visiting each other;
"Ip.OfiH the action of visiting each other.
I shall now enter into some new details regarding
these four forms in giving models of the conjugations.
II.
Tense.
Thus Hebraic verbs are modified with respect to form
and movement. I hope that the attentive reader has not
failed to observe with what prolific richness the principles,
which I have declared to be those of the tongue of Moses
in particular, and those of all tongues in general, are de-
veloped, and I hope it will not be seen without some in-
terest, that the sign, after having furnished the material
of the noun, becomes the very substance of the verb and
influences its modifications. For, let him examine care-
fully what is about to be explained two movements be-
ing united to four forms. One of these movements is pas-
sive, and from its origin, is distinguished from the active,
by the sign of produced being. The form, if intensive, is
the sign of the duration and the manifestation which con-
stitutes it : if it is excitative, it is the same sign united to
that of life: if it is reflexive, it is the sign of that which
is reciprocal and mutual, which is presented. There is
such a continuous chain of regularity that I cannot be-
lieve it is the result of chance.
Now, let us pass on to the different modifications of
Hebraic verbs under the relation of Tense. If, before see-
ing what these modifications are, I should wish to exa-
mine, as Harris l and some other grammarians, the nature
of this incomprehensible being which causes them, Time,
what trouble would I not experience in order to develop
unknown ideas; ideas that I would be unable to sustain
with anything sentient ! for how can Time affect our mat-
erial organs since the past is no more; since the future is
not; since the present is contained in an indivisible in-
i Hermes, L. I. ch. 7.
187
188 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
stant? Time is an indecipherable enigma for whatever is
contained within the circle of the sensations, and never-
theless the sensations alone give it a relative existence. If
they did not exist, what would it be?
It is measure of life. Change life and you will change
Time. Give another movement to matter and you will
have another space. Space and Time are analogous things.
There, it is matter which is changed; here, it is life. Man,
intelligent and sentient being, understands matter through
his corporeal organs, but not through those of his intel-
ligence; he has the intellectual sentiment of life, but he
grasps it not. This is why Space and Time which appear
so near, remain unknown to him. In order to understand
them, man must needs awaken a third faculty within him,
which being supported at the same time both by sensa-
tions and by sentiment, and enlightening at the same time
the physical and mental qualities, unites in them the sep-
arated faculties. Then a new universe would be unveiled
before his eyes; then he would fathom the depths of space,
he would grasp the fugitive essence of Time; it would be
known in its double nature.
Still if one asks me if this third faculty exists, or even
if it can exist, I shall state that it is what Socrates called
divine inspiration and to which he attributed the power
of virtue.
But whatever Time may be, I have not dwelt a mo-
ment upon its nature, I have only tried to make its pro-
found obscurity felt, in order that it be understood, that
all peoples, not having considered it in the same manner,
could not have experienced the same effects. Also it is
very necessary in all idioms, that verbs conform to the
tenses, and especially that the idiomatic genius should
assign them the same limits.
The modern tongues of Europe are very rich in this
respect, but they owe this richness, first, to the great num-
ber of idioms whose debris they have collected and of
which they were insensibly composed ; afterward, with the
TENSE 189
progress of the mind of man whose ideas, accumulating
with the centuries, are refined and polished more and
more, and are developed into a state of perfection. It is
a matter worthy of notice, and which holds very closely
to the history of mankind, that the tongues of the North
of Europe, those whence are derived the idioms so rich
today in temporal modifications, had in their origin only
two simple tenses, the present and the past : they lacked
the future ; whereas the tongues of Occidental Asia, which
appear of African origin, lacked the present, having like-
wise only two simple tenses, the past and the future.
Modern grammarians who have broached the deli-
cate question of the number of tenses possessed by the
French tongue, one of the most varied of Europe, and of
the world in this regard, have been very far from being
in accord. Some have wished to recognize only five, count-
ing as real tenses, only the simplest ones, such as I love,
I loved, I icas loving, I shall love, I should love; consider-
ing the others as but temporal gradations. Abbe Girard
has enumerated eight; Harris, twelve; Beauzee, twenty.
These writers instead of throwing light upon this matter
have obscured it more and more. They are like painters
who, with a palette charged with colours, instead of in-
structing themselves or instructing others concerning their
usage and the best manner of mixing them, amuse them-
selves disputing over their number and their rank.
There are three principal colours in light, as there
are three principal tenses in the verb. The art of paint-
ing consists in knowing how to distinguish these principal
colours, blue, red and yellow; the median colours violet,
orange and green; and those median colours of infinite
shades which can arise from their blending. Speech is a
means of painting thought. The tenses of the verb are the
coloured lights of the picture. The more the palette is
rich in shades, the more a people gives flight to its ima-
gination. Each writer makes use of this palette accord-
ing to his genius. It is in the delicate manner of compos-
190 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
ing the shades and of mixing them, that painters and
writers are alike distinguished.
It is well known that ancient painters were ignorant
of the shades and half-tones. They used the primary
colours without mixing them. A picture composed of
four colours was regarded as a miracle of art. The colours
of speech were not more varied. These shades of verbal
light which we call compound tenses were unknown. The
Hebrews were not poorer in this respect, than the Ethiop-
ians and the Egyptians, renowned for their wisdom; the
Assyrians, famous for their power; the Phoenicians, re-
cognized for their vast discoveries and their colonies; the
Arabs finally, whose high antiquity can not be contested :
all of these had, properly speaking, only two verbal tenses :
the future and the past.
But one must not think that in these ancient tongues,
and particularly in the Hebrew, these two tenses were so
determined, so decisive, as they have since become in our
modern idioms, or that they signified precisely that which
was, or that which must be, as we understand by it has
been, it shall be; the temporal modifications n*n and
n*n| express in Hebrew, not a rupture, a break in tem-
poral continuity, but a continued duration, uniting, with-
out the slightest interruption, the most extreme point of
the past to the indivisible instant of the present, and
this indivisible instant to the most extreme point of the
future. So that it was sufficient by a single restriction of
thought, by a simple inflection of the voice, to fix upon
this temporal line, any point whatever from the past to
the present, or from the present to the future, and to ob-
tain thus by the aid of the two words JTPI and JTf?* the
same differences which modern tongues acquire with dif-
ficulty, through the following combinations: / was, I have
been, I had been, I shall be, I should be, I may have been,
I might have been, I ought to be, I would be, I have to be,
I had to be, I am about to be, I was about to be.
TENSE 191
I have purposely omitted from this list of tenses the
indivisible instant / am, which makes the fourteenth, be-
cause this instant is never expressed in Hebrew except
by the pronoun alone, or by the continued facultative, as
in nirr O^f / am YAHWEH: N^b ^H behold me
leading; etc.
It is on this account that one should be careful in a
correct translation, not always to express the Hebraic
past or future, which are vague tenses, by the definite
tenses. One must first examine the intention of the writer,
and the respective condition of things. Thus, to give an
example, although, in the French and English word-for-
word translation, conforming to custom, I have rendered
the verb N"p, of the first verse of the Cosmogony of
Moses, by he created, I have clearly felt that this verb sig-
nified there, he had created; as I have expressed it in the
correct translation; for this antecedent nuance is irresis-
tibly determined by the verb tlfVtl it existed, in speak-
ing of the earth an evident object of an anterior creation.
Besides the two tenses of which I have just spoken,
there exists still a third tense in Hebrew, which I call
transitive, because it serves to transport the action of the
past to the future, and because it thus participates in both
tenses by serving them as common bond. Modern gram-
marians have improperly named it imperative. This name
would Le suitable if used only to express commands; but
as one employs it as often in examining, desiring, demand-
ing and even entreating, I do not see why one should re-
fuse it a name which would be applicable to all these
ideas and which would show its transitive action.
III.
Formation of Verbal Tenses by Means of Pronominal
Persons.
After having thus made clear the modification of Heb-
raic verbs relative to tense, there remains only for me to
say how they are formed. But before everything else it is
essential to remember what should be understood by the
three Pronominal Persons.
When I treated of nominal relations, known under
the denomination of Personal and Kelative pronouns, I
did not stop to explain what should be understood by the
three Pronominal Persons, deeming that it was in speak-
ing of the verb that these details would be more suitably
placed, so much the more as my plan was to consider per-
son,, as one of the four modifications of the verb.
Person and tense are as inseparable as form and move-
ment; never can the one appear without the other; for it
is no more possible to conceive person without tense, than
verbal form without active or passive movement.
At the time when I conceived the bold plan of bring-
ing back the Hebraic tongue to its constitutive principles
by deriving it wholly from the sign, I saw that the sign had
three natural elements: voice, gesture and traced charac-
ters. Now by adhering to the traced characters to develop
the power of the sign, I think I have made it clearly un-
derstood, that I consider them not as any figures what-
ever, denuded of life and purely material, but as symbolic
and living images of the generative ideas of language, ex-
pressed at first by the sundry inflections which the voice
192
FORMATION OF VERBAL TENSES 193
received from the organs of man. Therefore these char-
acters have always represented to me, the voice, by means
of the verbal inflections whose symbols they are; they
have also represented to me, the gesture with which each
inflection is necessarily accompanied, and when the sign
has developed the three parts of speech, the noun, the rela-
tion and the verb, although there may not be a single one
of these parts where the three elements of speech do not
act together, I have been able to distinguish, nevertheless,
that part where each of them acts more particularly. The
voice, for example, appears to me to be the dominant fac-
tor in the verb; the vocal accent or the character in the
noun, and the gesture finally in the relation. So that if
man making use of speech follows the sentiment of nature
he must raise the voice in the verb, accentuate more the
noun and place the gesture upon the relation. It seems
even as though experience confirms this grammatical re-
mark especially in what concerns the gesture. The ar-
ticle and the prepositions which are designative relations,
the pronouns of any kind which are nominal relations, the
adverbs which are adverbial relations, always involve a
gesture expressed or understood. Harris had already ob-
served this coincidence of the gesture and had not hesi-
tated to place in it the source of all pronouns, following
in this the doctrine of the ancients, related by Apollonius
and Priscian. 1
Harris was right in this. It is the gesture which, al-
ways accompanying the nominal relations, has given birth
to the distinction of the three persons, showing itself by
turn identical, mutual, other or relative. The identical
gesture produces the first person I, or me, ',){$* this is a
being which manifests itself; the mutual gesture produces
the second person, thou or thcc HH^ J this is a mutual be-
ing ; the other, or relative gesture, produces the third per-
iHermes. Liv. I. Chap. 5 Apoll. de Synt; Llv. II, Chap 5. Prise.
Liv. XII.
194 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
son, he or him, K1H 5 this is another being, sometimes re-
lative, as in the English pronoun, sometimes absolute, as
in the Hebraic pronoun.
These personal pronouns whose origin I here explain,
are like the substantive nouns which they replace in
speech, subject to gender, number and inflection of the ar-
ticles. I have explained them under these different rela-
tions and now we can see how in Hebrew, they determine
the tense of the verbs. It is a matter worthy of attention
and it has not escaped the sagacity of Court de Gebelin. 2
After being contracted in such a manner as not to be con-
fused with the verbal affixes, the personal pronouns are
placed before the nominal verb, when it is a question of
forming the future, and to form the past, they are placed
after the verb so as to express by this, that the action is
already done.
By this simple yet energetic manner of showing ver-
bal tenses, the Hebraic genius adds another which is none
the less forceful and which proceeds from the power of
the sign. It allows the luminous sign 1 , which constitutes
the nominal verb, to stand in the future; and not content
with making it appear 1, in the finished facultative, makes
it disappear wholly in the past; so that the third person
of this tense, which is found without the masculine pro-
noun, is exactly the same as the root, or the compound
whence the verb is derived. This apparent simplicity is
the reason why the Hebraists have taken generally the
third person of the past, for the root of the Hebraic verb
and why they have given it this rank in all the diction-
aries. Their error is having confounded the moment when
it finishes, with that in which it begins, and not having
had enough discernment to see that if the nominal verb
2 Grammaire Univ. page 245. Court de Gobelin has put some ob-
scurity into his explanation; but although he may be mistaken in re-
spect to the tenses, it is plainly seen that what he said is exactly what
I say.
FORMATION OF VERBAL TENSES 195
did not claim priority over all the tenses, this priority
would belong to the transitive as the most simple of all.
Here is the new character which the personal pro-
nouns take in order to form verbal tenses.
we
The affixes of the future placed before the verb, with the
terminations which follow them.
( mas. \
1< >..., I
(/{
(mas. . ...n)
2 < f thou
(/em. _.,-, fij
( mas. , he
3<
/em. , , , , n she
!mas.
|
yewi.
'
4
!m-as.
, i,,n
S3
9 <
/em.
n: . , n
H
Smas.
..i..
i ) <
/em.
HJ . . n
they
Affixes of the past placed after the verb.
^ mas. s
( mas. '
1
) '
> . , , >n i
,..,. we
(/em.
( mas.
...,n)
>thou
J
3
-
( mas.
. . . on )
/ye
M
o
(/em.
.,..n)
P
(/em.
M
/
he
1-1
/ tYidS,
3<
> 1 they
(/em.
. . . . H she
l/^v
I do not speak of the affixes of the transitive, because
this tense, which holds a sort of mean between the future
and the past, has no affixes properly speaking, but has
terminations which it borrows from both tenses.
Hebraic words moreover, do not recognize what we
call verbal moods, by means of which we represent in our
modern idioms, the state of the will relative to the verbal
196 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
action, whether that will is influential or resolute, as in
/ am doing, I have done, I shall do; whether it is dubitative
or irresolute, as in / might have done, I should have done,
I would do; or whether it is influenced or constrained, as
in / must do, that I may do; I was obliged to do, that I
might have done; I shall be obliged to do; I should be ob-
liged to do; the modern tongue is of an inexhaustible
richness in this respect. It colours with the most delicate
shades all the volitive and temporal modifications of verbs.
The nominal verb and also the transitive show this fine
shading of the meaning. To do, for example, is an indef-
inite nominal, but / have just done, I am doing, I am go-
ing to do, show the same nominal expression of the past,
the present and the future. The transitive do, conveys
visibly the action from one tense to the other, but if I say
may have done, may have to do, this change marks first a
past in a future, and afterward a future in a future.
After this data I now pass on to the models of the
three verbal conjugations, according to their forms and
their movements, supporting them with certain remarks
concerning the most striking anomalies which can be
found.
CHAPTER IX.
CONJUGATIONS.
SI.
Radical Conjugation.
POSITIVE FORM.
ACTIVE MOVEMENT.
CONTINUED FACULTATIVE
mo*. Dp T orDip| tobe
fern. HDlp | establishing
PASSIVE MOVEMENT.
CONTINUED FACULTATIVE
fern. nolp J j established
FINISHED.
was. Dip ^
>to be established
/em. 1p)
NOMINAL VERB.
obol. V) to establish .-action
cowtr. Dip) of establishing
afeso?. ) } '
faction of being
cvnxtr) D1 P n j established
197
198 THE HEBKAIC TONGUE RESTOBED
TEMPORAL VERB. FUTURE.
/
/.
??l.
/.
/.
m.
m.
/.
{
a
'if
tr
a
/
m.
/
I shall or
establish
shalt
establish
he shall establish
Dlpn she "
(
Jwe shall or
I establish
you shall
establish
shall
( establish
I shall or will
be established
thou shalt
be established
Dip* he shall be established
Dipm
' 1
Dipfl she "
we shall or will
be established
(be established
)they shall
Tbe established
CONJUGATIONS 199
TRANSITIVE.
Dip)
> establish
'Dip)
E
J m 'l
P j
"UOIpj
oiprn
establish
I/. n ^P)
be established
m. ._,...
be established
PAST.
'fl?|2 I established
~ > thou established
^
S
|^m. Dp T ^ e established
3 )/. HOp T she
(
we established
t m.
2
l v-.
D ^P- L ou established
/. rwp.)
3 i m - 1 |Qp 4^ established
200 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE EESTORED
1 was
established
^"-"'^'thou wast
established
he was established
she " "
we were
established
.. i'-. i you were
established
j the y were
) established
INTENSIVE FORM.
ACTIVE MOVEMENT. PASSIVE MOVEMENT.
FACULTATIVE.
CONTINUED. CONTINUED.
mas.
. nooipp fem,, nopipo
FINISHED.
mas .....
like the passive
NOMINAL VERB.
absol. 1 absol.
DDlp
constr. \ constr.
CONJUGATIONS
201
TEMPORAL VERB. FUTURE.
in .
.(-
V
-
/
TRANSITIVE.
DOip 6 ( m.
2 2
1001P
P 2 (
I/.
PAST.
opip
nopip
-
opipn
looin
wanting
nppip
(m. DPlp
(/ nopip
202 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
EXCITATIVE FORM.
ACTIVE MOVEMENT. PASSIVE MOVEMENT.
FACULTATIVE.
CONTINUED.
was.
/m.
CONTINUED.
mas- DjTIO
/em.
FINISHED.
mas }
>lik
/em j
like the passive
NOMINAL VERB.
absol.
constr.
constr.
CONJUGATIONS
203
.
TEMPORAL VERB.
FUTURE.
Dpn
D'M
/
m.
/
-
Dpi*
opin
nyppin
TRANSITIVE.
wanting
204 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
PAST.
4}
f
{:}
i. opypg
rj W$OT
ir
a
/.
REFLEXIVE FORM.
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE MOVEMENT UNITED.
FACULTATIVE.
S {mas.
fern. HC
> wanting
CONJUGATIONS
NOMINAL VERB.
FUTURE.
205
absol.
constr.
TEMPORAL VERB.
FUTURE.
mas.
fern,
(mas.
(fern,
(mas.
\
(/em.
(mas. 1
(/em.)
f mas.
(/em.
(mas.
V-
206 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
TRANSITIVE
mas.
fern.
mas.
PAST.
mas.
fem.
nppipnn
/em.
mas.
fem.
mas.
(fem.
mas. Dflppiprin
fem.
mas.
t /em. )
CONJUGATIONS 207
Remarks upon the Radical Conjugation.
I have already clearly shown why the conjugation
which the Hebraists treat as irregular, should be consider-
ed as the first of all. The verbs which depend upon it are
those which are formed directly from the root. The one
that I have chosen as type is the same as that which the
Hebraists have ordinarily chosen. As to the meaning, it
is one of the most difficult of all the Hebraic tongue. The
Latin surgere expresses only the least of its acceptations.
As I shall often have occasion to speak of it in my notes,
I am limiting myself to one simple analysis.
The sign p is, as we know, the sign of agglomerative
or repressive force, the image of material existence, the
means of the forms. Now this sign offers a different ex-
pression according as it begins or terminates the root. If
it terminates it as in pH, for example, it characterizes
that which is finished, definite, bound, arrested, cut, shap-
ed upon a model, designed: if it begins it, as in Hp/ 1p
or 'p, it designates that which is indefinite, vague, inde-
terminate, unformed. In the first case it is matter put
in action; in the second, it is matter appropriate to be
put in action. This last root, bearing in the word 01p
or D'p, the collective sign, represents substance in gen-
eral; employed as verb it expresses all the ideas which
spring from substance and from its modifications: such
as, to substantialize, to spread out, to rise into space; to
exist in substance, to subsist, to consist, to resist; to clothe
in form and in substance, to establish, to constitute, to
strengthen, to make firm, etc. One must feel after this
example, how difficult and dangerous it is to confine the
Hebraic verbs to a fixed and determined expression; for
this expression results always from the meaning of the
phrase and the intention of the writer.
As to the four forms to which I here submit the verb
Dip, I must explicitly state, not only as regards this
208 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
conjugation but also for those which follow, that all verbs
do not receive them indifferently; that some affect one
form more than another, and finally, that there are some
which one never finds under the positive form. But once
again, what matter these variations? It is not a question
of writing but of understanding Hebrew.
Positive Form.
Active movement. Although the modern Hebraists,
with an unprecedented whimsicality, have taken the third
person of the past for the theme of all verbs, they are
forced to agree that in this conjugation, this third person
is not in the least thematic : one also finds in dictionaries,
the nominal Dip presented as theme: and this ought to
be, not only for all radical verbs such as this one, but for
all kinds of verbs.
The continued facultative is often marked by the
luminous, sign 1, as can be seen in *V)K to be shining. The
Chaldaic punctuation is not consistent in the manner of
replacing this sign. Instead of the point kamez which is
found here in Dp, one meets the sere, in "Uf to be watch-
ing, vigilant, and in some others. I state here once more,
that the feminine facultative, in the continued active and
passive, as well as in the finished, changes the character
Jl into n and that one finds equally fiOlp or ^^p ;
HDlp^ or riplp^ ; ilQIp or fiplp I have already men-
tioned this variation in chapter V. 3, in treating of gen-
der. I do not mention the plural of the facultatives, since
its formation offers no difficulties.
The future has sometimes the emphatic article H> as
well as the transitive. One finds HDlpK, / shall establish,
I shall raise up. ny\&> come! arise! return to thy first
state, etc.
The past, which, by its nature, ought to lose the lu-
minous sign, conserves it, however, in certain verbs where
CONJUGATIONS 209
it is identical; such as *V)K> it shone; IP'lii it reddened,
etc. One also finds the zere substituted by the kamez in
HO he died. I observe at this point, that all verbs in gen-
eral which terminate with H, do not double this character,
either in the first or second person of the past, but receive
the interior point only as duplicative accent. One finds
therefore *J1D / was dying, J1O thou wast dying, DJ1O you
were dying, etc.
Passive movement. The inadequate denomination
which the Hebraists had given to the facultatives in con-
sidering them as present or past participles, had always
prevented them from distinguishing the continued facul-
tative of the passive movement, from the finished faculta-
tive belonging to the two movements. It was impossible
in fact, after their explanations to perceive the delicate
difference which exists in Hebrew between DlpJ that
ivhich became, becomes or will become established, and
D1p that which was, is or will be established. When, for
example, it was a matter of explaining how the verb ftVH
or ni'.rr the action of being, of living, could have a pass-
ive facultative, they are lost in ridiculous interpretations.
They perceived not that the difference of these three fac-
ultatives iTifl JTrO and nVn was in the continued or
finished movement : as we would say a being being, living;
a thing being effected; a being realized, a thing effected.
It is easy to see, moreover, in the inspection of the
passive movement alone, that the Chaldaic punctuation
has altered it much less than the other. The verbal sign
is almost invariably found in its original strength.
Intensive Form.
Radical verbs take this form by redoubling the final
character; so that its signification depends always upon
the signification of this character as sign. In the case in
question, the final character being considered as collective
210 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
sign, its redoubling expresses a sudden and general usur-
pation. Thus the verb QDlp* can be translated, according to
the circumstance, by the action of extending indefinitely,
of existing in substance in an universal manner; of estab-
lishing, of establishing strongly, with energy; of resisting,
of opposing vigorously, etc.
In this state this verb is easily confused with a deriv-
ative verb, if the verbal sign, instead of being placed
after the first character, as it is, was placed after the sec-
ond, as is seen in "llpp to visit : notwithstanding this dif-
ference, the rabbis, not finding this form sufficiently char-
acterized, have substituted for it the hyphen of the Chal-
daic, some examples of which, one finds moreover, in the
Sepher of the Hebrews. This form consists in substitut-
ing the sign of manifestation and duration, for that of
light, and in saying, without doubling the final character,
D?p instead of DOip JTIl instead of 331(1 etc.
Sometimes too, not content with doubling the last
character of the root as in DDlp the entire root is doubled,
as in ^^O to achieve, to consummate ivholly; but these
sorts of verbs belong to the second conjugation and fol-
low the intensive form of the derivative verbs.
The passive movement has nothing remarkable in it-
self except the very great difficulty of distinguishing it
from the active movement, which causes it to be little used.
Excitative Form.
This form perfectly characterized, as much in the
passive movement as in the active, is of great usefulness in
the tongue of Moses. I have already spoken of its effects
and of its construction. It can be observed in this ex-
ample that the convertible sign *), which constitutes the
radical verb Dip , is changed into % in the active move-
ment, and is transposed in the passive movement, before
the initial character.
The only comment I have to make is, that the Chal-
CONJUGATIONS 211
daic punctuation sometimes substitutes the point zere for
the mother vowel */ of the active movement, and the point
kibbuz for the sign 1 of the passive movement. So that
one finds the continued facultative *150 making angry;
the future WH / thou shalt bring back, and even the past
he was aroused to establish himself; etc.
Reflexive Form.
This form differs from the intensive in its construc-
tion, only by the addition of the characteristic syllable DH ;
as can be seen in the nominal DOlpAl For the rest, the
two movements are united in a single one.
All that is essential to observe, is relative to this syl-
lable fin. Now it undergoes what the Hebraists call
syncope and metathesis.
The syncope takes place when one of the two charac-
ters is effaced as in the facultative DpipJ^O, and in the
future DOiprW*' where the character Jl is found replaced
by D or X ; or when, to avoid inconsonance, one supres-
ses the character D/ before a verb commencing with D
which takes its place with the interior point; as in *irttDfi
to be purified.
The metathesis takes place when the first character
of a verb is one of the four following : f / D / / tP Then
the H of the characteristic syllable fiTf/ is transposed after
this initial character, by being changed into"! after t, and
into tO after V; as can be seen in the derivative verbs
cited in the examples.
to praise, to exhalt iT3f)t#l to be praised
to be just pH&Vn to be justified
to close "VJflH to be closed
to prepare ['O^t'l to be prepared
212 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
II.
DERIVATIVE CONJUGATION
POSITIVE FORM
ACTIVE MOVEMENT PASSIVE MOVEMENT
FACULTATIVE
CONTINUED. CONTINUED.
mas. IiD mas.
/em. 'J fern.
FINISHED.
mas. T)p /em.
absol.
constr.
NOMINAL VERB
ip?
constr.
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE.
{;] TO
fra. -!ip9J1
{/. Hippn
-upon
n
(m.
i
(m.
V-
^m. npp*
<
(/ n;"tipfin
npsn
mas.
fern,
mas.
fern.
CONJUGATIONS
TRANSITIVE
2
213
mas.
fern.
(mas.
&<
* (/em.
PAST
( mas.
( /em.
mas.
fern,
mas.
fern,
mas.
fern,
mas.
fern,
f mas.}
(/em.)
fern,
mas.
fern,
mas.
fern.
fern,
mas.
fern.
214 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
INTENSIVE FORM
ACTIVE MOVEMENT PASSIVE MOVEMENT
FACULTATIVE.
CONTINUED
mas.
CONTINUED
mas.
fern. n 7R? fern.
FINISHED
mas. "1p T fern.
absol. }
constr.)
/
| m
NOMINAL VERB
absol.
constr
.
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE.
x
(m.
'
up?
/
m.
/
m.
g2
mas. "lp)
/em. "!P9
mas.
CONJUGATIONS
TRANSITIVE
'mas.
fern,
mas.
fern.
215
wanting
PAST
(mas. j
(/em. )
mas.
/em.
mas. }
Jem. )
rn?0
npo
216 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
EXCITATIVE FORM
ACTIVE MOVEMENT PASSIVE MOVEMENT
FACULTATIVE
CONTINUED CONTINUED
mas. TpfiO mas.
fern. iTVp
/em. rnp?p
FINISHED
mas
absol.
constr.
like the passive
NOMINAL VERB
absol.
constr
}
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
(mas.
1<
(/em.
em.
T-!
em.
( mas.
22
w { fern.
mas.
mas.
mas.
fcm.
mas.
fern.
CONJUGATIONS
TRANSITIVE
53
mas.
PAST
/em.
mas.
/em.
217
wanting
Dfnjn
npan
218 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
REFLEXIVE FORM
ACTIVE MOVEMENT PASSIVE MOVEMENT
FACULTATIVE
ma.s\
g
I (/em.
H f mas ..... ^
| < > wanting
E ( /em ..... )
NOMINAL VERB
absol.
absol. \
constr. )
2
CONJUGATIONS 219
TRANSITIVE
mas.
fern,
mas.
fem. nrrpsnrr
PAST
(mas. I
(fem.)
>i i mas.
I (fern.
C4
a
(mas.
\
( fem.
( mas. }
\ fem. )
fem.
mas. DJ-npSnn
/em. p^psnrr
mas. \
fem. )
3< npDnn
220 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
Remarks upon the Derivative Conjugation.
I have not judged it necessary to change the typical
verb which the Hebraists give as theme for this conjuga-
tion, because this verb lends itself to the four forms. I
am going to present only its etymological meaning.
The primitive root pl) from which it is derived, con-
tains the general idea of an alternating movement from
one place to another, such as one would see, for example,
in a pendulum. This idea coming out more distinctly in
the verbalized root, signifies to pass from one place to an-
other, to be carried here and there, to go and come. Here
is clearly observed the opposed action of the two signs )
and p, of which the one opens the centre and the other
cuts and designs the circumference. This root is joined,
in order to compose the word of which we are speaking,
to the root "IK or "1*, no less expressive, which, relating
properly to the forefinger of the hand, signifies figurative-
ly any object distinct or alone; an extract from abund-
ance born of division : for this abundance is expressed in
Hebrew by the same root considered under the contrary
relation H.
Thus these two roots contracted in the compound
"Jp), develop the idea of a movement which is carried al-
ternately from one object to another: it is an examina-
tion, an exploration, an inspection, a visit, a census, etc ;
from this results the facultative "lp.3/ to be inspecting,
examining, visiting; and the nominal verb "Tipfi/ to visit,
to examine, to inspect, etc.
Positive Form.
Active movement. It must be remembered that the
Chaldaic punctuation, following all the inflection of the
vulgar pronunciation, corrupts very often the etymology.
Thus it suppresses the verbal sign 1 of the continued fac-
CONJUGATIONS 221
ultative, and substitutes either the holem or the kamez as
in *lp appeasing, expiating; ^DN grieving, mourning,
sorrowing.
Sometimes one finds this same facultative terminated
by the character ', to form a kind of qualificative, as in
HDN/ linking, enchaining, subjugating.
I shall speak no further of the feminine changing the
final character H to fi / because it is a general rule.
The nominal assumes quite voluntarily the emphatic
article fl, particularly when it becomes construct; then
the Chaldaic punctuation again suppresses the verbal sign
1' as in nn^D*?, to annoint, according to the action of
annointing, to coat over, to oil, to paint, etc. I must state
here, that this emphatic article can be added to nearly all
the verbal modifications, but chiefly to both facultatives,
to the nominal and the transitive. It can be found even
in the future and the past, as one sees it in rnpt^i*/ / shall
guard; nfV"|^P> he lied.
When the nominal verb begins with the mother vowel
N / this vowel blends with the affix of the first person fut-
ure, disappears sometimes in the second, and has in the
third, the point holem; thus f)iDN to gather, makes
I shall gather; ]Dfi or ^b^r) thou shalt gather;
he shall gather: thus, 'TDK to feed oneself, makes
/ shall feed myself; thus "YiON to say, makes ION / shall
say; lONfi/ thou shalt say; "ipfc 1 , he shall say; etc. Some
Hebraists have made of this slight anomaly an irregular
conjugation that they call Quiescent Pe 'Aleph.
These same Hebraists ready to multiply the difficul-
ties, have also made an irregular conjugation of the verbs
whose final character 3 or H, is not doubled in receiving
the future ending J"0, or the affixes of the past T\> fi* fi/
1J> Dfl , [l; but is blended with the ending of the affix, being
supplied with the interior point : as one remarks it in
222 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
to suppress, which makes W3, / suppressed, fHD thou
suppressed; etc., or in Jl^'/ to inhabit, which makes
, you shall inhabit (fern); they shall inhabit;
, inhabit (fern.); 133^', we shall inhabit; etc.
There is nothing perplexing in this. The only real diffi-
culty results from the change of the character J into fi /
in the verb [IfO / to give, which makes '10 , / gave, flU /
thou gavest; etc., I have already spoken of this anomaly
in treating of the radical conjugation.
There exists a more considerable irregularity when the
verb terminates with N or H, and concerning which it is
necessary to speak more fully. But as this anomaly is seen
in the three conjugations I shall await the end of this
chapter to take up the subject.
Passive Movement. The Chaldaic punctuation some-
times substitutes the sere for the hirek in the passive nom-
inal, as can be seen in t|DNrt the action of being gathered;
or in < 70Nn, the action of being consummated. One ob-
serves in this last example the appearance even of the ho-
lem. It is useless to dwell upon a thing which follows step
by step the vulgar pronunciation and which yields to all
its caprices. The characteristic sign and the mother
vowel, these, are what should be examined with attention.
One ought to be concerned with the point, only when there
is no other means of discovering the meaning of a word.
Moreover, it is necessary to remark that the passive
movement can become reciprocal and even superactive
when the verb is not used in the active movement. Thus
one finds *IPt^4 he took care of himself; $2$$ he swore;
he bore witness, etc.
Intensive Form.
Ever since the Chaldaic punctuation has, as I have
said, suppressed the mother vowels * and 1, which are
placed after the first verbal character, the one in the ac-
CONJUGATIONS 223
tive movement and the other in the passive, there remains,
in order to recognize this interesting form, whose force
supplies the adverbial relation very rare in Hebrew, only
the interior point of the second character. Therefore the
utmost attention must be given.
All derivative verbs of two roots uncontracted as *?3?3 /
to achieve wholly , "UTP, to rise rapidly in the air, etc.;
in short, all verbs that the Hebraists name quadriliteral,
because they are, in effect, composed of four letters in the
nominal without including the verbal sign 1 , belong to this
form and follow it in its modifications.
Sometimes the point hirek which accompanies the
first character of the verb in the intensive past, is replaced
by the sere as in ?p2 he blessed fervently.
The intensive form takes place in the active move-
ment with as much method as without ; sometimes it gives
a contrary meaning to the positive verb: thus
the action of sinning, makes NDH he sinned; and
he is purged from sin; thus 6? 1*1^, the action of taking
root, makes B^f. it took root; and BH5P, it ivas rooted
up; etc. The passive movement follows nearly the same
modifications.
Excitative Form.
I have spoken sufficiently of the utility and usage
of this form. It is characterized clearly enough to be
readily recognized. One knows that its principal purpose
is to transport the verbal action into another subject
which it is a question of making act; however, it must be
noticed that when the positive form does not exist, which
sometimes happens, then it becomes simply declarative,
according to the active or passive movement, with or with-
out method. It is thus that one finds pHVn / ,he was de-
clared just, he was justified : JW'"irT he was declared im-
pious; |*pn/ he awakened, he was aroused, he made re-
224 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
pose cease; Tjt^n, he projected; t^Jl he was pro-
jected; etc.
Reflexive Form.
Besides this form being reciprocal at the same time
as reflexive, that is to say, that the nominal Ipfl^in, can
signify alike, to visit oneself, to visit each other, or to be
aroused to visit; it can also, according to circumstances,
become simulatory, frequentative and even intensive, re-
turning thus to its proper source; for, as I have said, this
form is no other than the intensive, to which was added
the characteristic syllable DH. One finds under these dif-
ferent acceptations: ^HW? he went about, he walked up
and down, he went without stopping; ^jDflr?, he offered
himself to administer justice, to be magistrate; etc.
I have spoken of the syncope and metathesis which
substitute the syllable flJl, for the article of the radical
conjugation. Its repetition is unnecessary. It is also un-
necessary for me to repeat that the emphatic article H
is placed indifferently for all the verbal modifications,
and that the Chaldaic punctuation varies,
tOTfc CONJUGATIONS 225
. III.
Compound Radical Conjugation with the
Initial Adjunction ^
POSITIVE FORM
ACTIVE MOVEMENT PASSIVE MOVEMENT
FACULTATIVE
CONTINUED
mas.
fern.
CONTINUED
mas.
/em.
FINISHED
absoL
constr.
mas.
/em.
NOMINAL VERB
absol
constr
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
ncnn
226 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
FUTURE
2
mas.
/em.
mas.
/em.
I/-
m.
Ofcnn
nfftfjn
TRANSITIVE
3$ < mas.
(/em.
mas.
fern.
PAST
>{;:
/
atrin
Wjn
CONJUGATIONS
INTENSIVE FORM
ACTIVE MOVEMENT PASSIVE MOVEMENT
FACULTATIVE
227
CONTINUED
mas.
fern.
absol.
constr.
mas.
Jem.
mas.
Jem.
mas.
Jem.
CONTINUED
mas.
fern.
FINISHED
mas
fern
' > wanting
NOMINAL VERB
absol.
constr.
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
mas.
Jem.
TRANSITIVE
mas.
PAST
Jem. )
mas.
Jem.
wanting
228 THE HEBKAIC TONGUE EESTOKED
EXCITATIVE FORM
FACULTATIVE
CONTINUED
mas.
CONTINUED
mas.
/em.
mas
fern
absol.
constr.
mas.
fern.
mas.
fern.
mas
Jem.
:}
Jem.
FINISHED
like the passive
NOMINAL VERB
absol.
constr.
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
mas.
Jem.
TRANSITIVE
mas. . .
Jem. . .
PAST
mas.
Jem.
wanting
CONJUGATIONS 229
REFLEXIVE FORM
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE MOVEMENT UNITED
FACULTATIVE
mas.
(mas
wanting
NOMINAL VERB
constr.
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
mas.
fern.
TRANSITIVE
mas.
/em.
PAST
mas.
fern.
230 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
REMARKS ON THE COMPOUND RADICAL
CONJUGATION.
Initial Adjunction
The verb presented here as model is 318P*. I am about
to proceed with its analysis. The root 3^ contains the
idea of a return to a place, to a time, to a condition or an
action, from which one had departed. It is the sign of the
relative movement t^/ which is united to that of interior,
central and generative action 2 This return, being deter-
mined and manifested by the initial adjunction * , becomes
a real sojourn, a taking possession of, an occupation, a
habitation. Thus the compound radical verb DifiJ^ can
signify, according to circumstances, the action of dwelling,
of inhabiting, of sojourning, of taking possession; etc.
Positive Form.
Active Movement. The initial adjunction * remains
constant in the two facultatives, in the absolute nominal
as well as in the past tense ; but it disappears in the con-
struct nominal, in the transitive and in the future. It-
seems indeed, that in this case the mother vowel *, ought
to be placed between the first and second character of the
verbal root, and that one should say rO't?/ the action of
occupying; 3ft&$, I shall occupy; 3'tP ' , occupy; etc. But
the Chaldaic punctuation having prevailed, has supplied
it with the segol or the zere.
The simplicity of the transitive tense in this conjuga-
tion has made many savants, and notably Court de Gebe-
lin, think that it should be regarded as the first of the ver-
bal tenses. Already Leibnitz who felt keenly the need of
etymological researches, had seen that in reality the tran-
sitive is, in the Teutonic idioms, the simplest of the tenses.
President Desbrosses had spoken loudly in favour of this
opinion, and abbe Bergier limited the whole compass of
CONJUGATIONS 231
Hebraic verbs to it. This opinion, which is not in the least
to be held in contempt, finds support in what Du Halde
said pertaining to the tongue of the Manchu Tartars whose
verbs appear to originate from the transitive. But it is
evident through the examination of the radical conjuga-
tion, that the nominal and the transitive of the verb, are
au fond the same thing in Hebrew, and that the latter
differs not from the former except by a modification purely
mental. The Hebrews said Dip the action of establishing
and Dip establish. The purpose of the speaker, the accent
which accompanied it could alone feel the difference. The
nominal DiC^ differs here from the transitive 3t^/ only
because the initial adjunction * is unable to resist the in-
fluence of the modification. In the verbs where this mother
vowel is not a simple adjunction but a sign, the transitive
does not differ from the nominal. One finds, for example,
t^VV possess, and B^i*V, the action of possessing.
Verbs similiar to the one just cited, where the sign
is not an adjunction, belong to the derivative conjugation.
It is only a matter of a good dictionary to distinguish
them carefully. A grammar suffices to declare their exist-
ence.
Passive movement. The initial adjunctiton *, being
replaced in this movement by the mother vowel 1 , varies
no further, and gives to this conjugation all the strength
of the derivative conjugation.
Intensive Form.
This form is little used in this conjugation, for the
reason that the positive form itself is only a sort of inten-
sity given to the radical verb by means of the initial ad-
junction . When by chance, it is found employed, one
sees that this adjunction has taken all the force of a sign
and remains with the verb to which it is united
232 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
Excitative Form.
The initial adjunction *, is replaced in the active move-
ment by the intellectual sign \ and in the passive move-
ment by the convertible sign 1. This change made, the
compound radical verb varies no more, and follows the
course of the derivative verbs as it has followed it in the
preceding form. \f it sometimes happens that this change
is not affected as in 3'P*J1 to do good, the verb remains
none the less indivisible. This changes nothing in its con-
jugation.
Reflexive Form.
The compound radical verb continues under this new
form to demonstrate all the strength of a derivative verb.
The only remark, somewhat important, that I have to
make, is relative to the three verbs following, which re-
place their initial adjunction *, by the convertible sign ^,
become consonant.
to understand JTNW to be understood
J to prove, to argue H21W to be proven
J to correct, to instruct "IBJW to be corrected
CONJUGATIONS
233
IV.
Compound Radical Conjugation,
with the Initial Adjunction}
POSITIVE FORM
ACTIVE MOVEMENT PASSIVE MOVEMENT
FACULTATIVE
CONTINUED CONTINUED
mas. t^'JIJ
mas.
fern.
mas.
alsoL
constr.
-
f em .
FINISHED
/em.
NOMINAL VERB
absol.
constr.
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
W
tftfl
itfZfi
m.
-
234 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
TRANSITIVE
3
m.
m.
g K
H u
(m.
fee
PAST
CONJUGATIONS
INTENSIVE FORM
ACTIVE MOVEMENT . PASSIVE MOVEMENT
FACULTATIVE
CONTINUED CONTINUED
mas. ^P mas.
/em. J~K?W /em.
FINISHED
235
mas ^
A )
like the passive
NOMINAL VERB.
absol. ) absol. )
> B^ >
constr.J constr.)
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
mas.
mas. \
fern. )
mas.
Jem.
mas. }
>
/m. )
TRANSITIVE
mas
Wanti
anting
PAST
mas. \
> wty
/w. )
236 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
EXCITATIVE FORM
ACTIVE MOVEMENT . PASSIVE MOVEMENT
CONTINUED
mas. VfiXQ
FACULTATIVE
CONTINUED
mas.
/em.
mas
f em
absol
constr.
Jem.
mas.
fem.
mas.
fem.
Jem.
FINISHED
like the passive
NOMINAL VERB
absol.
constr.
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
mas.
fem.
TRANSITIVE
mas.
PAST
tJ'jin mas.
wanting
CONJUGATIONS 237
REFLEXIVE FORM
ACTIVE MOVEMENT PASSIVE MOVEMENT
FACULTATIVE
(mas.
8 (fem-
H (mas.
| < J- wanting
E (j"
NOMINAL VERB
aftsoZ.
aZwof. )
constr. j
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
mos.
/em.
TRANSITIVE
mas.
PAST
mas
mas. "j
V 'nt^nr
fern. )
238 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
REMARKS ON THE COMPOUND RADICAL
CONJUGATION.
INITIAL ADJUNCTION i.
Here is the somewhat difficult etymology of the verb
tTiJD, which I give as type, thus following the usage of
the Hebraists, from which I never digress without the
strongest reasons.
The root U or iTti, offers the general idea of some
sort of detachment, destined to contain something in itself,
as a sheath; or to pass through, as a channel. This root
united to the sign of relative movement, offers in the word
BftJ, the most restrained idea of a local detachment, of
a letting go. This detachment being arrested and brought
back upon itself by the initial adjunction 3, will signify
an approaching, a nearness; and the compound radical
verb tttfJU, will express the action of drawing near, of
joining, of meeting, of approaching, etc.
POSITIVE FORM.
Active movement. The initial adjunction J, disap-
pears in the construct nominal, in the future and tran-
sitive, as I have already remarked concerning the initial
adjuction *; it remains the same in the two facultatives, in
the absolute nominal and in the past. I infer that in the
original tongue of Moses and before the Chaldaic punc-
tuation had been adopted, it was the sign 1 which was
placed between the first and second character of the verbal
root, and which read Mt^tJ, the action of approaching,
&})$ / shall approach^ t^iJI approach. This mother vowel
has been replaced by the point patah. A thing which
makes this inference very believable, is that one still finds
it in several verbs belonging to this conjugation, which
preserve this sign in the future, such as *7lDJ he shall fail,
etc.
CONJUGATIONS 239
It must be observed that in the verb HIpJ, to take,
to draw to oneself, the nominal sometimes takes the
character *? in place of the initial adjunction J, and fol-
lows the course of the compound radical conjugation,
of which I have given the example; so that one finds very
often nfi, or nilp_ the action of taking, tip** I shall take,
Hp take, etc.
Passive movement. The Chaldaic punctuation hav-
ing suppressed the mother vowel, which should character-
ize this movement, has made it very difficult to distinguish
the active movement, especially in the past. It can only
be distinguished in this tense by the meaning of the phrase.
INTENSIVE FORM.
This form is but little used. When it is however, it
should be observed that the initial adjunction J, takes
the forre of a sign and is no longer separated from its verb.
It acts in the same manner as the initial adjunction ', of
which I have spoken. The compound radical conjugation
therefore, does not differ from the derivative conjugation,
EXCITATIVE FORM.
This form is remarkable in both movements, because
the adjunctive character j, disappears wholly and is only
supplied by the interior point placed in the first character
of the root. It is obvious that in the origin of the Hebraic
tongue, the compound radical conjugation differed here
from the radical conjugation, only by the interior point
of which I have spoken, and that the mother vowel ', was
placed between the two radical characters in the active
movement; whereas the convertible sign 1, was shown
in front of the first radical character in the passive move-
ment. One should say tPMUt, I shall make approach; as
one finds tP'*jn to make approach, tPJIK / shall be ex-
cited to approach; as one finds tPJin, the action of being
240 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
excited to approach; but almost invariably the Chal-
daic punctuation has replaced these mother vowels
by tjie hirek or the zere, in the active movement, and by
the kibbus in the passive movement.
REFLEXIVE FORM
The initial adjunction 3, never being separated from
the root, reappearing in this form, gives it the character
of a derivative verb.
CONJUGATIONS 241
V.
Compound Radical Conjugation with the
Terminative Adjunction
POSITIVE FORM
ACTIVE MOVEMENT PASSIVE MOVEMENT
FACULTATIVE
CONTINUED CONTINUED
mas.
FINISHED
Mp fern. HMp
NOMINAL
VERB
absol DID
a&8(
constr. DIDp
con*
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
3
'{/*} ""
(m. DlDfl
C3
ij
I
1<
i
C5
9 <
2<
| y. *D 1DJT1
3
r
53
s| m ' . T
3<
i
242 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
TEMPORAL VERB. FUTURE
a
(mas.
(/em.
(mas.
(/em.
(m.
i
I.;]
131D ^
ru3pn g
*3D*
TRANSITIVE
DID
2
mas.
('
32^
^ (/
PAST
nso
HJ13P
op
V-
H3DJ
CONJUGATIONS
INTENSIVE FORM
243
ACTIVE MOVEMENT
PASSIVE MOVEMENT
FACULTATIVE
CONTINUED CONTINUED
mas. 25P mas.
/em.
ahol,
constr.
mas. \
fern.)
fern.
FINISHED
mas J
> like the passive
NOMINAL VERB
absol.
constr.
TEMPORAL VERB
FINISHED
mas. J
mas.
fern. )
fern.
TRANSITIVE
mas.
DD1D mas. . . .
fern.
OD1D fem
PAST
mas.
/cm.
331D
wanting
244 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
EXCITATIVE FORM
ACTIVE MOVEMENT PASSIVE MOVEMENT
FACULTATIVE
CONTINUED CONTINUED
mas. 2DD mas.
fern. ropo /em.
FINISHED
mas
\
>
)
like the passive
NOMINAL VEEB
absol. absol.
constr. ) constr.
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
mas.
fern.
mas. "j
/em.)
TRANSITIVE
3D7 mas.
wanting
fern. Oprr /em.
PAST
mas. I ma. j
v vrftprr v ni3pin
/em. ) /em. )
CONJUGATIONS 245
REFLEXIVE FORM
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE MOVEMENT UNITED
FACULTATIVE
zj ( mas.
IV-.
H f mas 1
g < > wanting
E l/ em j
NOMINAL VERB
absol.
constr.
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
was. v
fem.
TRANSITIVE
mas.
PAST
mew. )
y
fem. )
246 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
REMARKS ON THE COMPOUND RADICAL
CONJUGATION
TERMINATIVE ADJUNCTION
This conjugation is, in general, only a modification of
the radical conjugation. It seems also that this may be
the intensive form represented by the verb DDlp, for ex-
ample, which has been given as positive form, so that the
following forms may have greater energy.
The root 3D, from which is derived the compound
radical verb D31D, which I give here as type following
the Hebraists, being formed from the sign of interior and
central action 2, and from the sign of circular movement
D expresses necessarily any kind of movement which
operates around a centre. The duplication of the last
character 3, in giving more force to the central point,
tends to bring back the circumference D, and consequent-
ly to intensify the action of turning, of closing in turning,
of enveloping, of surrounding in fact, expressed by the
Terb in question.
POSITIVE FOBM
Active movement. The final character 2 , which has
been doubled to form the compound radical verb^lD^
is only found in the two facultatives. It disappears in all
the rest of the conjugation, which is, in substance, only
the radical conjugation according to the intensive form,
with a few slight differences brought about by the Chaldaic
punctuation. The sole mark by which one can distinguish
it, is the interior point placed in the second character of
the verbal root, to indicate the prolonged accent which
resulted no doubt from the double consonant.
Passive movement. This movement experiences a
great variation in the vowel point. The facultatives and
the nominals are often found marked by the zere, as in
DOJ, becoming dissolved, falling into dissolution; DDfl
CONJUGATIONS 247
to be dissolved, liquified ;?t3il to be profaned, divulged;
etc. It is necessary in general, to be distrustful of the
punctuation and to devote oneself to the meaning
INTENSIVE FORM
This form differs from the intensive radical only in
this; that the Chaldaic punctuation has replaced almost
uniformly the sign 1, by the point holcm. Care must be
taken, before giving it a signification, to examine well the
final character which is doubled; for it is upon it alone
that this signification depends.
EXCITATIVE FORM
Again here the excitative radical form, (exception
being made of the sign *, ) is replaced in the active move-
ment by the point sere. The passive movement is found
a little more characterized by the mother vowel 1, which
one finds added to the verbal root in some persons of the
past.
REFLEXIVE FORM
The characteristic syllable fin, is simply added to
the intensive form, as we have already remarked in the
radical conjugation; but here it undergoes metathesis:
that is to say, when placed before a verb which begins
with the character D, the fi must be transferred to fol-
low this same character, in the same manner as one sees
it in the nominal, where instead of reading DDlDJin one
reads 33lnDfl.
VI.
IRREGULARITIES IN THE THREE CONJUGATIONS
I have already spoken of the trifling anomalies which
are found in verbs beginning with the character N, or end-
ing with the characters J or fi.
Verbs of the three conjugations can be terminated
248 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
with the mother vowels N or H, and in this case they
undergo some variations in their course.
When it is the vowel K, which constitutes the final
character of any verb whatever, as in the radical MD
to come; the compound NTO , to create; the compound
radical N1VJ, to appear; or NiB^, to raise; this vowel
becomes ordinarily mute as to pronunciation, and is not
marked with the Chaldaic point. Nevertheless, as it re-
mains in the different verbal forms, the irregularity which
results from its lack of pronunciation is not perceptible,
and should be no obstacle to the one who studies Hebrew
only to understand and to translate it. The rabbis alone,
who still cantillate this extinct tongue, make a particular
conjugation of this irregularity.
There is no difficulty for us to know that the radical
NO, the action of coming, follows the radical conjuga-
tion,
I shall come 'flN? I came
thou wilt come flNJ thou earnest
N13* he will come K3 he came
etc. etc.
or that the compound Nl"tl or ^^9> the action of creat-
ing, is conjugated in a like manner.
or Nl-0tf I shall create W}? I created
thou wilt create HJOD thou createdst
he will create *TQ he created
etc. etc.
But when it is the vowel H which constitutes the
final character of the verb, then the difficulty becomes
considerable, for this reason. This vowel not only remains
mute, but disappears or is sometimes changed to another
vowel; so that it would be impossible to recognize the
CONJUGATIONS 249
verb, if one had not a model to which it might be related.
Therefore I shall present here this model, taking for type
the nominal Hl^JI or fiVW, and giving the etymological
analysis.
This verb belongs to the rootU, of which I spoke in
the case of the compound radical verb t&flU, and which
contains the idea of some sort of detachment. This root,
united to the sign of expansive movement *?, expresses as
verb, the action of being released from a place, or from
a veil, a vestment, a covering; the action of being shown
uncovered, revealed, released ; being set at liberty ; etc.
It must be observed that the greater part of the verbs
belonging to the three regular conjugations also receive
modifications from what I call the irregular conjugation,
according as they are terminated with the character H,
cither as radical, derivative or compound radical verbs.
Nevertheless there are some verbs "which terminate
in this same character M , ( marked with the interior point
to distinguish it,) which are regular; that is to say, which
follow the derivative conjugation to which they belong.
These verbs are the four following :
the action of excelling, of surpassing, of
exalting
the action of languidly desiring, of languish-
ing
the action of emitting, or of reflecting light
the action of being astonished by its 6clat,
of being dazzled.
250 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
/.
(.
'V
-
VI.
IRREGULAR CONJUGATIONS
POSITIVE FORM
ACTIVE MOVEMENT PASSIVE MOVEMENT
FACULTATIVE
CONTINUED CONTINUED
mas. ffTfo mas.
fem.
FINISHED
mas. "I
absol.
constr.
fem.
NOMINAL VERB
n
absol.
nfyj constr.
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
i
i y.
2 f""
V-
m,
/
CONJUGATIONS
TRANSITIVE
( mas.
5 2 (/em.
(mas.
< 2 (/em.
(fem.
( mas.
(/em.
PAST
-
{:}
e
251
ton
252 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
INTENSIVE FORM
ACTIVE MOVEMENT PASSIVE MOVEMENT
FACULTATIVE
CONTINUED CONTINUED
mas. ^^0 mas.
/em. *^%yp /em.
FINISHED
alsol
constr.
mas. i
/em. )
mas.
fern.
mas. 1
/em.)
ma * 1 like the passive
/ em ;
NOMINAL VERB
absol.
constr.
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
mas.
/em.
TRANSITIVE
rfaj mas-
fe> }
wanting
PAST
mas.
fern.
CONJUGATIONS 253
EXCITATIVE FORM
ACTIVE MOVEMENT PASSIVE MOVEMENT
FACULTATIVE
CONTINUED CONTINUED
mas. rtyO mas.
/em. ftyO fern.
FINISHED
mas }
' \ like the passive
fern ...... j
NOMINAL VERB
absol. rfryi absol
constr. nl^D corwir.
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
mas. \
rift*
TRANSITIVE
mas. Hn ma*
wantiiv
PAST
mas. \ mas.
mas. \
\
fem. }
254 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
REFLEXIVE FORM
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE MOVEMENT UNITED
FACULTATIVE
52; (mas.
I fern.
)
wanting
NOMINAL VEEB
absol
..}
constr.
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTURE
mas. 1
>
/em. )
TRANSITIVE
mas. "I
/em. j
. j
mas. C
Jem. \
CONSTRUCTION OF VERBS 255
CHAPTER X.
CONSTRUCTION OF VERBS: ADVERBIAL RELA-
TIONS: PARAGOGIC CHARACTERS:
CONCLUSION
I.
UNION OF VERBS WITH VERBAL AFFIXES
I call the Construction of Verbs, their union with
the verbal affixes. I have already shown the manner in
which the nominal affixes are united to nouns. It remains
for me to indicate here the laws which follow the verbal
affixes when united to verbs.
These laws, if we omit the petty variations of the
vowel points, can be reduced to this sole rule, namely;
every time that any verbal modification whatsoever, re-
ceives an affix, it receives it by being constructed with it :
that is to say, that if this modification, whatever it may
be, has a construct, it employs it in this case.
Now let us glance rapidly over all the verbal mod-
ifications according to the rank that they occupy in the
table of conjugations.
FACULTATIVES
The facultatives belong to nouns with which they
form a distinct class. When they receive the verbal affi
it is after the manner of nouns.
visiting me (him)
" (them, m.)
" (her)
(them,/.)
" " (him)
" " (them, m.)
" (her)
" (them, /.)
256 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
Those facultatives of the irregular conjugation which
terminate in the character H, lose it in the construct
state.
making me (him)
seeing me (him)
teaching thee (him)
D"p domineering them, m. (him)
JT) them, /. (him)
Hp'pp teaching me (them)
NOMINAL VEBB
I have already given the nominal verb united to the
nominal and verbal affixes. I have been careful, in giving
the table of the different conjugations, to indicate always
the nominal construct, when this construct is distin-
guished from the absolute nominal. So that one might
with a little attention recognize easily any \erb what-
soever, by the nominal when it has the affix. Here are,
besides, some examples to fix the ideas in this respect
and to accustom the reader to the varieties of the punc-
tuation.
*Qj3 or 'pip the action of establishing myself; my
establishment
*DH the action of perfecting myself; my
perfection
the action of restoring myself; my re-
turn, resurrection
the action of visiting myself ; of exam-
ining myself; my examination
the action of being visited by another;
his visit
the action of visiting myself, of in-
specting myself diligently
CONSTRUCTION OF VERBS 257
the action of making her visit, of
arousing her to visit
tne action of occupying, of inhabiting,
of dwelling
flfT] 1 ? the action of bringing forth (/em)
the action of thy approaching (mas) ;
thy approach
the action of giving myself
The emphatic article H, when added to a nominal,
is changed to D, following the rules of the construct state.
the action of loving him greatly
the action of pressing them closely
the action of consecrating me, of anointing
me with holy oil
The irregular conjugation loses sometimes the char-
acter H but more often changes it to fi.
258 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
TEMPORAL VERB
FUTUEE
The sign 1 which is in the greater part of the verbal
modifications of the future, is lost in the construct state.
The final character does not change in the three regular
conjugations. I shall now present in its entirety, one of
the persons of the future, united to the verbal affixes, tak-
ing my example from the derivative conjugation as the
most used.
02
mas.
IT = I he will visit
g
K
fem,.
HD5> ( me
1
mas.
T1R?!) he will visit
a
fem.
TtjXPt thee
p
g
mas.
irrp9 or1lp)M he
will visit him
00
fem.
njnpd'. orPnpfiM he
will visit her
will visit
he
he will visit
tern. |.|#r; them
It must be observed that the affix 1 is changed quite
frequently to VT, and usually one finds irnpjp* instead
In the irregular conjugation, the temporal modifica-
tions of the future which terminate in the character j"T.
lose this character in being constructed. Here are some
examples, in which I have compared designedly these ir-
regularities and some others of little importance.
CONSTRUCTION OF VERBS 259
he will surround him
thou wilt surround me
thou wilt establish me
he will see me
he will love me
he will crown me with blessings
he will separate me with care
he will make us surrounded
he will bless him fervently
he will see us
she will see me
he will fashion us
he will make me dwell
I will bless them
/
TRANSITIVE
The transitive modifications are very similar to those
of the future: that is to say that the verbal sign 1 dis-
appears in the construct state. The final character re-
mains mute.
visit me ( mas. ) \3np|) visit us
visit me (fern.) UI^Nt^ ask us
hear me D#l give them
gladden me well fin know them
accord me grace ^Q'pr| make us established
lead me ^3p gather us
curse him DIpH consider them
260 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
PAST
In the temporal modifications of the past, the first
person singular and plural, the second and third person
masculine singular, and the third person of the plural,
change only the vowel point in being constructed with
the affixes : but the second and third person of the feminine
singular, and the second of the masculine and feminine
plural, change the final character; as:
conatr.
I visited
jem.
(mas.
2 \ Hhou
I/em. flips
(mas.
[fem.
TRj? he
she
( mas. I
l< > U"Tpd Uir>S we
(fem. )
mas. DJrnp9 1
2 t
fem.
mas.
3 1 } HpS Hp T 5 they "
(fem. l
wnp?)
with affix
I visited thee ^"Oj?? sne visited him
DU'lpJ? we " them
thou " me
WHp$ you " us
he " her P"1p$ they " them
CONSTRUCTION OF VERBS 261
It is needless for me to dwell upon each of these
modifications in particular. I shall conclude by giving
some examples taken from different forms and from dif-
ferent conjugations.
1"lpQ he visited him diligently
he cursed her violently
I encircled thee well
I confirm thee much
thou madest us descend
thou madest us rise
he made himself scattered
he made himself known
he made us silent
he made them return
he placed thee
she placed him
they were placed
he called him
he made him
thou revealedst him
I subdued him
thou foundedst her
she perverted thee
I perceived thee
etc.
262 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
II.
ADVERBIAL RELATIONS
In Chapter IV of this Grammar, I have stated that
the Relation ought to be considered under three connec-
tions, according to the part of speech with which it pre-
serves the most analogy. I have called designative rela-
tion, that which appears to me to belong most expressly
to the sign, and I have treated it under the name of article:
I have then named nominal relation, that which has ap-
peared to me to replace more especially the noun and to
act in its absence, and I have, called it pronoun: now this
latter is what I qualify by the name of adverbial relation,
because it seems to form a sort of bond between the noun
and the verb, and without being either the one or the
other, to participate equally in both. I shall treat of this
last kind of relation under the name of adverb.
I beg my reader to remember that I do not confound
the adverb with the modificative. The latter modifies the
verbal action and gives it the colour of the noun by means
of the qualificative : the adverb directs it and indicates
its use. Thus, gently, strongly, obediently are modifica-
tives; they indicate that the action is done in a manner,
gentle, strong, obedient: above, below, before, after, are
adverbs : they show the direction of the action relative
to things, persons, time, place, number or measure.
When the modern grammarians have said, in speak-
ing of adverbs such as those just cited, that they were
indeclinable, I fear that following Latin forms, they may
be mistaken in this as in many other things. I know
well that the designative relation, for example, the article
which inflects the noun, could not be inflected, unless
there existed a new article for this use; I know well that
the modificative could not be inflected either, since it
contains an implied action which can only be developed
by the verb; but I also know that an adverbial relation,
a veritable relation becoming a noun by a simple deduc-
tion of thought, must be subject to inflection. I can go
ADVERBIAL RELATIONS 263
further. I say that a designative relation, an article, if
it is made absolute, will experience a sort of inflection.
Consider the adverbs below, above, before, after, today,
tomorrow, etc., all these are capable of being inflected to
a certain point. Does not one say : bring that from below
above; place yourself before; speak only after your opin-
ion; consider the usages of today; think of tomorrow, etc.,
etc.?
Nearly all the adverbial relations of the Hebraic
tongue receive the articles and lend themselves to their
movements. Many even have number and gender, as can
be noticed among those here cited.
ADVERBS OF PLACE
I iTfc J *N where? where
JNiO'tf { fiO'N where? wherein
* HO t NO here, in this place
J Dt^ there, in that place
I HOP * 100 hence, whence
: pn outside
inside, within
beyond
between, among
upon, on high
\Sf? : D';) : JD in front of, facing
J niDO down, beneath
: nnri : nrjfl below, from under
after, behind
round about
afar off etc.
264 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
OF TIME
: rtD when, how long
: TV until
then
now
again
continually
before
today
: "1HD tomorrow, yesterday
from before
quickly
etc.
J D"jP
J Di
OF NUMBER
how much more?
one, first
two, second
three
four
five
: WU? six
seven
eight
nine
ten
OP MEASURE
J Tj*N how?
: p thus
: ^ enough
a little
very much
in vain
J '*?? nothing
etc.
ADVERBIAL RELATIONS 265
AFFIRMATIVE ADVERBS
J [ON amen, verily : T]N wholly
J p : rO thus, so etc.
SUSPENSIVE AND INTERROGATIVE
perhaps : DNH J DN is it?
why :|0 lest
because J l^TTO therefore
on account of etc.
NEGATIVES
^ not, no more : *?$ ! }8 nothing
N 1 ? no, not J Dfjn empty
^3 no, not efc.
It is easy to see in glancing through these adverbial
relations that their purpose is, as I have said, to show
the employment of the action, its direction, its measure,
its presence or its absence; and not to modify it. The
action is modified by the modificative nouns. In the
tongues where few nouns exist as in Hebrew for example,
then the verbal form assists. This form which I have
called intensive, lends itself to the intention of the writer,
receives the movement of the sentence and gives to the
verb the colour of the circumstance. This is what an in-
telligent translator ought never to lose sight of in the
idioms of the Orient.
The reader who follows with close attention the prog-
ress of my grammatical ideas, should perceive that after
having traversed the circle of the developments of speech,
under the different modifications of the noun and the verb,
we return to the sign from which we started : for the ad-
verbial relation with which we are at the moment oc-
cupied, differs little from the designative relation and even
266 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
mingles with it in many common expressions. I have al-
ready indicated this analogy, so that one can observe,
when the time comes, the point where the circle of speech
returning to itself, unites its elements.
This point merits attention. It exists between the
affirmative and negative adverb; between yes and no, T]N
and *7tf or PO and N 1 ? : the substance and the verb : it
can have nothing beyond. Whoever would reflect well
upon the force of these two expressions, would see that
they contain not alone the essence of speech but that of
the universe, and that it is only by affirming or denying,
wishing or not wishing, passing from nothingness to being
or from being to nothingness, that the sign is modified,
that speech is born, that intelligence is unfolded, that
nature, that the universe moves toward, its eternal goal.
I shall not dwell upon such speculations. I feel that
to limit every tongue to two elementary expressions, would
be too great a boldness in the state of our present gram-
matical knowledge. The mind encumbered with a multi-
tude of words would hardly conceive a truth of this nature
and would vainly attempt to bring back to elements so
simple, a thing which appears to it so complicated.
But it can, however, be understood that the adverbial
affirmation exists by itself in an absolute, independent
manner, contained in the verb whose essence it consti-
tutes: for every verb is affirmative: the negation is only
its absence or its opposition. This is why, in any tongue
whatsoever, to announce a verb is to affirm : to destroy it is
to deny.
Sometimes without entirely destroying the verb one
suspends the effect: then he interrogates. The Hebrew
possesses two adverbial relations to illustrate this modifi-
cation of speech : DK and DNH : it could be rendered
by is it? but its usage is quite rare. The interrogation
appears to have occurred most commonly in the tongue
of Moses, as it still occurs among most of the meridional
peoples : that is to say, by means of the accent of the voice.
ADVERBIAL RELATIONS
267
It indicates the meaning of the phrase.' Sometimes, as
I have said, the determinative article H, takes an inter-
rogative force.
The negation is expressed by means of the many ad-
verbial relations that I have already given. Those most
in use are N 1 ? and p5*. The former expresses cessation,
opposition, defense: the latter, absence and nothingness.
These merit very particular attention.
Besides, all the adverbial relations without exception,
are connected with the nominal and verbal affixes, and
often form with them ellipses of great force. I am about
to give some of these Hebraisms interpreting word-for-
word when necessary.
JDJ* J VN where- of - him? where-of-
them? (where is he, where
are they?)
behind-thee
: DOT :
: D2Htf3
under me (in my power)
between us and between
thee: between them
before me, before thee, be-
fore us
around me, around you,
around them
again us (we are again)
what! again them? (are
they again?)
a man between (wavering
between two parts)
toward the midst of the
deep (toward the centre of
ethereal spaces, of celestial
spheres, of worlds)
268 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
J D'TpI? riii*5D from between the cheru-
bims (from the midst of
that which represents the
manifold forces)
INTERROGATION
nO what him-to her? (what
did he say to her?)
HO what sin mine? (what is
my sin?)
'0 W-ntf of whom the ox I have
taken? (whose is the ox
that I have taken?
t 7)W'? in Sheol who will point out
to thee? (who will show
thee?)
OTO'ISI and-the-son-of Adam thus
shalt thou - visit - him?
( shalt thou visit him thus,
the son of Adam?)
J 13*7 |1"1N *p who is the Lord of us?
shall I lift mine eyes unto
these hills?
O whence will come help to
me?
DJ< dost thou consider the in-
iquities, Jah!
NEGATION
thou shalt add no more
thou shalt act no more
vindictively
he shall not see
ADVERBIAL RELATIONS 269
I commanded thee not to
eat
of nothing which... because
not
he found no help
* Dnn&t D'Ji 1 ?^ ^ iTi'P'Ni'? not shall-there-be-for-thee
other Gods (there shall
exist no other Gods for
thee )
nt^Jfn X*? thou shalt not make for
thee any image
D'Oil -liy -nn. N^l and - there shall not be
again the waters of deluge,
(the waters of deluge shall
no more be raised )
! 1fi& filDP] rfyzfy not to wound him
I knew it not
and he is not
and thou art not : and they
are not
nothing being spirit in the-
mouth-to-them
(there was nothing spirit-
ual in their mouth)
for nothing of the king
being able with you thing.
( for there is nothing of the
king which may be some-
thing with you)
and nothing seeing, and
nothing knowing and noth-
ing watching (he saw and
he knew and he watched
nothing)
270 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
JTID3 PN >:? for nothing in death to
remember thee (there is no
memory in death of thou
who survives)
HUT Yahweh no more in the
wrath thine shalt thou
chastise me (chastise me
no more in thy wrath)
PARAGOGIC CHARACTERS 271
III.
PABAGOGIC CHARACTERS
The thinkers of the last centuries in their innumerable
labours concerning the tongue of the Hebrews, many of
which are not without merit, must have seen that the He-
braic characters had nearly all an intrinsic value, which
gave force to the words to which they were added. Although
the majority of these savants were very far from going
back to the origin of the sign, and although nearly all of
them discerned that the meaning attached to these char-
acters was arbitrary, they could nevertheless, detect it.
Some, considering more particularly those characters
which appear at the beginning or the end of words to
modify the signification, have chosen six: N/ fl/ */ O/ J
and H: and taking the sound which results from their
union, have designated them by the barbarous name of
heemanthes. Others, selecting only those which chance
appears to insert in certain words or to add them without
evident reason, have named them para gogics; that is to say,
happened. These characters, likewise six in number are:
N/ ft/ '/ ")/ 3 and fi. The only difference which exists be-
tween the heemanthes and the paragogics, is in the latter,
where the vowel 1 is substituted for the consonant D
I might omit further discussion of these characters
since I have already considered them under the relation
of signs; but in order to leave nothing to be desired, I
shall state concisely what the Hebraists have thought of
them.
N In considering this character as belonging to the
heemanthes, the Hebraists have seen that it expressed
force, stability, duration of substance, denomination. As
paragogic, they have taught that it was found without
272 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
motives, added to certain verbal tenses which terminate
in 1, as in the following examples :
NO 1 ?! 1 ! they went JWJ they raised
N*Q they wished etc.
This addition is a sort of redundancy in imitation of
the Arabs. It expresses the force and duration of the ac-
tion.
H Whether this character is ranked among the he-
emanthes, or among the paragogics it is useless for me to
add anything more to what I have said, either as sign, or
as determinative or emphatic article. We know now that
it can begin or terminate all kinds of words, nouns, verbs
or relations.
1 It is not a question here of its astonishing power
of changing the temporal modifications of the verbs, by
carrying to the past those which are of the future, and to
the future those which are of the past. When the Heb-
raists called it paragogic, they considered it simply as
added to certain words without other reasons than of join-
ing them together.
the terrestrial animality (the animal
kingdom)
the son of Beor
the source of the waters
* The Hebraists who have considered this character
as heemanthe, have attributed to it the same qualities as
the vowel tf , but more moral and bearing more upon mind
than upon matter. Those who have treated it as paragogic
have said that it was found sometimes inserted in words
and oftener placed at the end, particularly in the feminine.
They have not given the cause of this insertion or this
addition, which results very certainly from the faculty that
PARAGOGIC CHARACTERS 273
it has as sign, of expressing the manifestation and the
imminence of actions. For example :
with a view to being informed, being
instructed; to inquire
it will be done without interruption:
by myself, openly
an immense crowd of people : a swift
arrow
establishing him with glory
hostile with boldness
D This character placed among the heemanthes by
the Hebraists is found equally at the beginning and the end
of words. When it is at the beginning it becomes, accord-
ing to them, local and instrumental ; it forms the names of
actions, passions and objects. When it is at the end it
expresses that which is collective, comprehensive, generic,
or more intense and more assured. It is very singular that
with these ideas, these savants have been able so often to
misunderstand this sign whose usage is so frequent in
the tongue of Moses. What has caused their error is the
readiness with which they have confused it with the verbal
affix D I shall produce in my notes upon the Cosmogony
of Moses, several examples wherein this confusion has
caused the strangest mistranslation. Here for instance,
are some examples without comment.
t DJPN a truth universal ; a faith immutable
' Dpi* all the day ; a name collective, generic,
universal
J DfiN the whole ; the collective self-sameness ;
the ipseity
ICtyW the universality of time, space, dura-
tion, ages
* DPO he ceased entirely ; he rested wholly
in the general action of declining, of
being lost
274 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
to degrade, to destroy, to ruin entirely
J Among the heemanthes, this character expresses
either passive action and turns back to itself when it ap-
pears at the beginning of words; or, unfoldment and
augmentation when it is placed at the end. Among the
paragogics. it is added without reason, say the Hebraists,
to the verbal modifications terminated by the vowels 1 or
': or is inserted in certain words to soften the pronuncia-
tion. It is evident that even in this case it retains its
character as can be judged by the following examples.
they knew at full length
thou shalt do without neglecting
' JOT*? so as to give generously
he surrounded it well
he closed it carefully
behold his manner of being (his being)
J flu* torment of the soul, sorrow, entire dis-
organization
t p"O? steadfast remembrance, very extended
J [1"ttO well-stored provisions
H The Hebraists who have included this character
among the heemanthes, have attributed to it the property
that it has as sign, of expressing the continuity of things
and their reciprocity. Those who have made it a paragogic
have only remarked the great propensity that it has for
being substituted for the character fl; propensity of which
I have spoken sufficiently. Here are some examples rela-
tive to its reciprocity as sign:
reciprocal sorrow
mutual estrangement, aversion
he desired mutually and continually
5 HOMJl sympathetic sleep
mutual retribution, contribution
CONCLUSION 275
5 IV.
CONCLUSION.
This is about all that the vulgar Hebraists have un-
derstood of the effects of the sign. Their knowledge would
have been greater if they had known how to apply it. Bui
I do not see one who has done so. It is true that in tht
difficulties which they found in the triliteral and dissyl-
labic roots, they applied, with a sort of devotion to the
Hebraic tongue, this application which already very difii-
cult in itself, obtained no results.
I venture to entertain the hope that the reader who
has followed me with consistent attention, having reached
this point in my Grammar, will no longer see in the
tongues of men so many arbitrary institutions, and in
speech, a fortuitous production due to the mechanism of
the organs alone. Nothing arbitrary, nothing fortuitous
moves with this regularity, or is developed with this con-
stancy. It is very true that without organs man would
not speak ; but the principle of speech exists none the less
independently, ever ready to be modified when the organs
are suspectible of this modification. Both the principle
and the organs are equally given, but the former, exists
immutable, eternal, in the divine essence; the latter, more
or less perfect according to the temporal state of the sub-
stance from which they are drawn, present to this prin-
ciple, points of concentration more or less homogeneous
and reflect it with more or less purity. Thus the light
strikes the crystal which is to receive it and is refracted
with an energy analogous to the polish of its surface. The
purer the crystal the more brilliant it appears. A surface
unpolished, sullied or blackened,, gives only an uncertain
dull reflection or none at all. The light remains immutable
although its refracted rays mav be infinitelv varied. In
this manner is the principle of speech developed. Ever
the same au fond, it indicates nevertheless, in its effects
the organic state of man. The more this state acquires
276 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
perfection, and it acquires it unceasingly, the more speech
gives facility to display its beauties.
According as the centuries advance, everything ad-
vances toward its perfection. Tongues experience in this
respect, the vicissitudes of all things, Dependent upon the
organs as to form, they are independent as to principle.
Now this principle tends toward the unity from which it
emanates. The multiplicity of idioms is a reflection upon
the imperfection of the organs since it is opposed to this
unity. If man were perfect, if his organs had acquired all
the perfection of which they were susceptible, one single
tongue would extend and be spoken from one extremity
of the earth to the other.
I feel that this idea, quite true as it is, will appear
paradoxical; but I cannot reject the truth.
From the several simple tongues I have chosen the
Hebrew to follow its developments and make them per-
ceived. I have endeavoured to reveal the material of this
ancient idiom, and to show that my principal aim has been
to make its genius understood and to induce the reader
to apply this same genius to other studies; for the sign
upon which I have raised my grammatical edifice is the
unique basis upon which repose all the tongues of the
world.
The sign comes directly from the eternal principle of
speech, emanated from the Divinity, and if it is not pre-
sented everywhere under the same form and with the same
attributes, it is because the organs, charged with pro-
ducing it exteriorly, not only are not the same among all
peoples, in all ages and under all climates, but also be-
cause they receive an impulse which the human mind
modifies according to its temporal state.
The sign is limited to the simple inflections of the
voice. There are as many signs possible as inflections.
These inflections are few in number. The people who have
distinguished them from their different combinations, re-
presenting them by characters susceptible of being linked
CONCLUSION 277
together, as one sees it in the literal alphabet which we
possess, have hastened the perfecting of the language with
respect to the exterior forms; those who, blending them
with these same combinations have applied them to an
indefinite series of compound characters, as one sees among
the Chinese, have perfected its interior images. The Egyp-
tians who possessed at once the literal sign and the hiero-
glyphic combination, became, as they certainly were in
the temporal state of things, the most enlightened people
of the world.
The different combinations of signs constitute the
roots. All roots are monosyllabic. Their number is lim-
ited; for it can never be raised beyond the combinations
possible between two consonant signs and one vocal at the
most. In their origin they presented only a vague and
generic idea applied to all things of the same form, of the
same species, of the same nature. It is always by a restric-
tion of thought that they are particularized. Plato who
considered general ideas as preexistent, anterior to par-
ticular ideas, was right even in reference to the formation
of the words which express them. Vegetation is conceived
before the vegetable, the vegetable before the tree, the tree
before the oak, the oak before all the particular kinds.
One sees animality before the animal, the animal before
the quadruped, the quadruped before the wolf, the wolf
before the fox or the dog and their diverse races.
At the very moment when the sign produces the root,
it produces also the relation.
Particular ideas which are distinguished from general
ideas, are assembled about the primitive roots which
thenceforth become idiomatic, receive the modifications of
the sign, combine together and form that mass of words
which the different idioms possess.
Nevertheless the unique verb until then implied, ap-
propriates a form analogous to its essence and appears in
speech. At this epoch a brilliant revolution takes place in
speech. As soon as the mind of man feels it, he is pen-
etrated by it. The substance is illumined. The verbal
278 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
life circulates. Thousands of nouns which it animates
become particular verbs.
Thus speech is divided into substance and verb. The
substance is distinguished by gender and by number, bj
quality and by movement. The verb is subject to move-
ment and form, tense and person. It expresses the dif-
ferent affections of the will. The sign, which transmits
all its force to the relation, binds these two parts of speech,
directs them in their movements and constructs them.
Afterward all depends upon the temporal state of
things. At first a thousand idioms prevail in a thousand
places on the earth. All have their local physiognomy.
All have their particular genius. But nature obeying the
unique impulse which it receives from the Being of beings,
moves on to unity. Peoples, pushed toward one another
like waves of the ocean, rush and mingle together, losing
the identity of their natal idiom. A tongue more extended
is formed. This tongue becomes enriched, is coloured and
propagated. The sounds become softened by contact and
use. The expressions are numerous, elegant, forceful.
Thought is developed with facility. Genius finds a docile
instrument. But one, two or three rival tongues are equal-
ly formed; the movement which leads to unity continues.
Only, instead of some weak tribes clashing, there are en-
tire nations whose waves now surge, spreading from the
north to the south and from the Orient to the Occident.
Tongues are broken like political existences. Their fusion
takes place. Upon their common debris rise other nations
and other tongues more and more extended, until at last
one sole nation prevails whose tongue enriched by all the
discoveries of the past ages, child and just inheritor of all
the idioms of the world, is propagated more and more,
and takes possession of the earth.
O France! O my Country! art thou destined to so
great glory? Thy tongue, sacred to all men, has it received
from heaven enough force to bring them back to unity of
Speech? It is the secret of Providence.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 279
PREFATORY NOTE
After all that I have said in my Grammar, both con-
cerning the force of the sign and the manner in which
it gives rise to the root, there remains but little to be
added. The strongest argument that I can give in favour
of the truths that I have announced upon this subject,
is undoubtedly the Vocabulary which now follows. I ven-
ture to say that the attentive and wisely impartial reader
will see with an astonishment mingled with pleasure, some
four or five hundred primitive roots, all monosyllables
resulting easily from the twenty-two signs, by twos, ac-
cording to their vocal or consonantal nature, developing
all universal and productive ideas and presenting a means
of composition as simple as inexhaustible. For as I have
already said, and as I shall often prove in my notes, there
exists not a single word of more than one syllable, which
is not a compound derived from a primitive root, either
by the amalgamation of a mother vowel, the adjunction
of one or several signs, the union of the roots themselves,
the fusion of one in the other, or their contraction.
This great simplicity in the principles, this uniform-
ity and this surety in the course, this prodigious richness
of invention in the developments, had caused the an-
cient sages of Greece, those capable of understanding and
appreciating the remains of the sacred dialect of Egypt,
to think that this dialect had been the work of the priests
themselves who had fashioned it for their own use; not
perceiving, from the irregular turn pursued by the Greek
idiom and even the vulgar idiom then in use in Lower
Egypt, that any tongue whatsoever, given its own full
sway, might attain to this degree of perfection. Their
error was to a certain point excusable. They could not
know, deprived as they were of means of comparison,
the enormous difference which exists between a real
mother tongue and one which is not. The merit of the
Egyptian priests was not, as has been supposed, in having
invented the ancient idiom, which they used instead of
280 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
the sacred dialect, but in having fathomed the genius, in
having well understood its elements, and in having been
instructed to employ them in a manner conformable with
their nature.
The reader will discern, in glancing through the
Vocabulary which I give and which I have restored with
the utmost care possible, to what degree of force, clarity
and richness, the tongue whose basis it formed, could at-
tain; he will also perceive its usefulness in the hands of
the wise and studious man, eager to go back to the origin
of speech and to sound the mystery, hitherto generally
unknown, of the formation of language.
The universal principle is not for man. All that falls
beneath his senses, all that of which he can acquire a real
and positive understanding is diverse. God alone is one.
The principle which presides at the formation of the
Hebrew is not therefore universally the same as that
which presides at the formation of Chinese, Sanskrit or
any other similar tongue. Although issued from a com-
mon source which is Speech, the constitutive prin-
ciples of the tongues differ. Because a primitive root
formed of such or such sign, contains such a general idea
in Hebrew, it is not said for that reason that it ought to
contain it in Celtic. Very close attention must be given
here. This same root can, on the contrary, develop an op-
posite idea; and this occurs nearly always when the spirit
of a people is found in contradiction with that of another
people concerning the sentiment which is the cause of
the idea. If a person, reading my Vocabulary, seeing the
most extended developments follow the simplest premises,
and discovering at first glance irresistible relations in
Hebrew with his own language and the ancient or modern
tongues which ho knows, ventures to believe that Hebrew
is the primitive tongue from which all the others descend,
he would be mistaken. He would imitate those number-
less systematic scholars who, not understanding the vast
plan upon which nature works have always wished to
restrict it to the narrow sphere of their understanding.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 281
It is not enough to have grasped the outline of one single
figure to understand the arrangement of a picture. There
is nothing so false, from whatever viewpoint one considers
it, as that impassioned sentence which has become a philos-
ophic axiom : db uno disce omnes. It is in following this
idea that man has built so many heterogeneous edifices
upon sciences of every sort.
The Radical Vocabulary which I give is that of Heb-
rew; it is therefore good primarily for the Hebrew; se-
condarily, for the tongues which belong to the same stock,
such as Arabic, Coptic, Syriac, etc; but it is only in the
third place and in an indirect manner that it can be of
use in establishing the etymologies of Greek or Latin, be-
cause these two tongues having received their first roots
from the ancient Celtic, have with Hebrew only coinciden-
tal relations given them by the universal principle of
speech, or the fortuitous mixture of peoples: for the Cel-
tic, similar to Hebrew, Sanskrit and Chinese in all that
comes from the universal principle of speech, differs essen-
tially in the particular principle of its formation.
The French, sprung from the Celtic in its deepest
roots, modified by a mass of dialects, fashioned by Latin
and Greek, inundated by Gothic, mixed with Frank and
Teutonic, refashioned by Latin, repolished by Greek, in
continual struggle with all the neighbouring idioms; the
French is perhaps, of all the tongues extant today upon
the face of the earth, the one whose etymology is most dif-
ficult. One cannot act with too much circumspection in
this matter. This tongue is beautiful but its beauty lies
not in its simplicity : on the contrary, there is nothing so
complicated. It is in proportion as one is enlightened con-
cerning the elements which compose it, that the difficulty
of its analysis will be felt and that unknown resources will
be discovered. Much time and labour is necessary before
a good etymological dictionary of this tongue can be pro-
duced. Three tongues well understood, Hebrew, Sanskrit
and Chinese can, as I have said, lead one to the origin of
speech; but to penetrate into the etymological details of
282 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
French, it would be necessary to know also the Celtic, and
to understand thoroughly all the idioms which are derived
therefrom and which directly or indirectly have furnished
expressions to that of the Gauls, our ancestors, of the
Romans, our masters, or of the Franks, their conquerors.
I say to understand thoroughly, for grammars and vocab-
ularies ranged in a library do not constitute real know-
ledge. I cannot prove better this assertion than by citing
the example of Court de Gebelin. This studious man un-
derstood Greek and Latin well, he possessed a slight know-
ledge of the oriental tongues as much as was possible in
his time; but as he was ignorant of the tongues of the
north of Europe or at least as their genius was unfamiliar
to him, this defect always prevented his grasping in their
real light, French etymologies. The first step which he
took in this course, was an absurd error which might have
brought entire discredit upon him if there had been any-
one capable of detecting his mistake. He said, for ex-
ample, that the French word abandon was a kind of ellipt-
ical and figurative phrase composed of three words a-ban-
don; and that it signified a gift made to the people, taking
the word ban for the people, the public. Besides it is not
true that the word ban may signify people or public in the
sense in which he takes it, since its etymology proves that
it has signified common or general, 1 it was not necessary
to imagine an ellipsis of that force to explain abandon.
It is only necessary to know that in Teutonic band is a
i We still say banal to express that which is common. It is worthy
of notice that the word banal goes back to the Gallic root ban, which
in a restricted sense characterizes a woman; whereas its analogues
common and general are attached, the one to the Celtic root gwym,
cwym or kum, and the other to the Greek root TW, which is derived
from it; now these two roots characterize alike, a woman, and ali
that which is joined, united, communicated, or generated, produced.
Cym in Gallic-Celtic, Suv or 2u/* in Greek, cum in Latin, servas equally
the designative or adverbial relation, to express with. The Greek
word yafteiv signifies to be united, to marry, to take wife, and the
word gemein which, in modern German holds to the same root, is
applied to all that is common, general.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 283
root expressing all that is linked, retained, guarded, and
that the word olin or ohnc, analogous to the Hebrew [V*
is a negation which being added to words, expresses ab-
sence. So that the compound band-ohne or aband-ohn,
with the redundant vowel, is the exact synonym of our
expressions abandon or abandonment.
Court de Gebelin made a graver mistake when he
wrote that the French word verite is derived from a so-
called primitive root var, or ver, which according to him
signified water and all that which is limpid and trans-
parent as that element : for how could he forget that in the
Celtic and in all the dialects of the north of Europe the
root war, wer, wir, or wahr, ward, develops the ideas of
being, in general, and of man in particular, and signifies,
according to the dialect, that which is, that which was,
and even becomes a sort of auxiliary verb to express that
which will be? It is hardly conceivable.
Now if a savant so worthy of commendation has been
able to go astray upon this point in treating of French
etymologies, I leave to the imagination what those who
lack his acquired knowledge would do in this pursuit.
Doubtless there is nothing so useful as etymological
science, nothing which opens to the meditation a field so
vast, which lends to the history of peoples so sure a link ;
but also, nothing is so difficult and nothing which demand?
such long and varied preparatory studies. In the past
century when a writer joined to Latin, certain words of
Greek and of bad Hebrew, he believed himself a capable
etymologist. Court de Gebelin was the first to foresee the
immensity of the undertaking. If he has not traversed
the route he has at least had the glory of showing the way.
Notwithstanding his mistakes and his inadvertencies
which I have disclosed with an impartial freedom, he is
still the only guide that one can follow, so far as general
maxims are concerned, and the laws to be observed in the
exploration of tongues. I cannot conceive how a writer
who appears to unite so much positive learning as tiie one
284 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
who has just published a book in German full of excellent
views upon the tongue and science of the Indians 1 can
have misunderstood the first rules of etymology to the
point of giving constantly for roots of Sanskrit, words of
two, three and four syllables ; not knowing or feigning not
to know that every root is monosyllabic; still less can I
conceive how he has not seen that, in the comparison of
tongues, it is never the compound which proves an original
analogy, but the root. Sanskrit has without doubt deep
connection with ancient Celtic and consequently with
Teutonic, one of its dialects; but it is not by analyzing
about thirty compound words of modern German that
these connections are proved. To do this one must go
back to the primitive roots of the two tongues, show their
affinity, and in compounds, inevitably diverse, distinguish
their different genius and give thus to the philosopher
and historian, materials for penetrating the esprit of these
two peoples and noting their moral and physical revolu-
tions.
In this Prefatory Note, my only object has been to
show the difficulty of the etymological science and to warn
the overzealous reader as much as possible, against the
wrong applications that he might make in generalizing
particular principles, and against the errors into which
too much impetuosity might lead him.
1 Ueber die Sprache und Weisheit der Indier. . . I vol. in-8 Heidel-
berg. 1808.
The
Hebraic Tongue Restored
HEBRAIC ROOTS.
RADICAL VOCABULARY
OB
SERIES OF HEBRAIC ROOTS.
J$ A. First character of the alphabet in nearly all
known idioms. As symbolic image it represents universal
man, mankind, the ruling being of the earth. In its hiero-
glyphic acceptation, it characterizes unity, the central
point, the abstract principle of a thing. As sign, it ex-
presses power, stability, continuity. Some grammarians
make it express a kind of superlative as in Arabic; but
this is only a result of its power as sign. On some rare
occasions it takes the place of the emphatic article H
either at the beginning or at the end of words. The rabbis
use it as a sort of article. It is often added at the head
of words as redundant vowel, to make them more sonorous
and to add to their expression.
Its arithmetical number is 1.
AB. The potential sign united to that of in-
terior activity produces a root whence come all ideas of
productive cause, efficient will, determining movement,
generative force. In many ancient idioms and particular-
ly in the Persian ^1, this root is applied especially to the
aqueous element as principle of universal fructification.
2N All ideas of paternity. Desire to have: a
father : fruit. In reflecting upon these different significa-
tions, which appear at first incongruous, one will perceive
that they come from one another and are produced mu-
tually.
The Arabic wl contains all the significations of the
Hebraic root. As noun, it is father and paternity, fruit
and fructification; that which is producer and produced;
that which germinates and comes forth as verdure upon
287
288 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
the earth. As verb * it is the action of tending toward a
desired end, proceeding, returning, etc.
DX or DDK (intensive] That which grows, is pro-
pagated: vegetation, germination.
DHN (compound) All ideas of lore, sympathy, in-
clination, kindness. It is the sign of life H which gives to
the idea of desire to have, contained in the root DX, the
movement of expansion which transforms it into that of
love. It is, according to the etymological sense, that which
seeks to spread out.
DIN (comp.) This is, in a broader sense, the Uni-
versal Mystery, the Matrix of the Universe, the Orphic-
Egg, the World, the Vessel of Isis, the Pythonic Mind:
in a more restricted sense, belly; leather bottle, cavity,
vase, etc.
JJ$ AG. This root, which is only used in composi-
tion, characterizes in its primitive acceptation, an acting
thing which tends to be augmented. The Arabic r-1 ex-
presses ignition, acrimony, intense excitation.
JN The Chaldaic ^N signifies a lofty, spreading
tree: the Hebrew p3N a walnut tree: the Arabic r-ji con-
tains every idea of magnitude, physically as well as mo-
rally.
l In order to conceive this root ^_j\ according to its verbal form,
we must consider the last character ^ doubled. It is thus that the
radical verbs in Arabic are formed. These verbs are not considered
as radical by the Arabic grammarians; but on the contrary, as de-
fective and for this reason are called surd verbs. These grammarians
regard only as radical, the verbs formed of three characters according
to the verb l^j to do, which they give as verbal type. It is therefore
from this false supposition , that every verbal root must possess three
characters, that the Hebraist grammarians misunderstood the true
roots of the Hebraic tongue.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 289
AD. This root, composed of the signs of power
and of physical divisibility, indicates every distinct, single
object, taken from the many.
The Arabic il conceived in an abstract manner and
as adverbial relation, expresses a temporal point, a de-
termined epoch : when, whilst, whereas.
*1N That which emanates from a thing: the power
of division, relative unity, an emanation; a smoking fire
brand.
TIN (comp.) That which is done because of or on
occasion of another thing : an affair, a thing, an occurrence.
"VK (coinp.) Every idea of force, power, necessity:
see T.
AH. Vocal principle. Interjective root to
which is attached all passionate movements of the soul,
those which are born of joy and pleasure as well as those
which emanate from sorrow and pain. It is the origin
of all interjective relations called interjections by the
grammarians. Interjections, says Court de Gebelin, vary-
ing but slightly as to sound, vary infinitely according to
the degree of force with which they are pronounced. Sug-
gested by nature and supplied by the vocal instrument,
they are of all times, all places, all peoples; they form
an universal language. It is needless to enter into the
detail of their various modifications.
HN The potential sign united to that of life, forms
a root in which resides the idea most abstract and most
difficult to conceive, that of the will; not however, that of
determined or manifested will, but of will in potentiality
and considered independent of every object. It is volition
or the faculty of willing.
niN Determined will: action of willing, desiring,
tending toward an object; See IN*
rptf or TTN Manifested will : place of the desire, ob-
290 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
feet of the will, represented by the adverbial relation
where. See 'K,
DHtt ( comp. ) Action of desiring, loving, willing. See
K.
7HN (comp.) A raised, fixed place, where one dwells
by choice, o tent. See 'TX.
^ AO. The potential sign united to the univer-
sal convertible sign, image of the mysterious link which
joins nothingness to being, constitutes one of the most
difficult roots to conceive which the Hebraic tongue can
offer. In proportion as the sense is generalized, one sees
appear all ideas of appetence, concupiscible passion,
vague desire: in proportion as it is restricted, one dis-
cerns only a sentiment of incertitude, of doubt, which
becomes extinct in the prepositive relation or.
The Arabic jl has exactly the same meaning.
y\K (comp.) Desire acting interiorly. See 2N.
T)K (comp.) Desire acting exteriorly. See "IN.
fTltf (comp.) Action of longing ardently, desiring,
inclining with passion. See TIN .
^IK (comp.) Desire projected into space, represented
by the adverbial relation perhaps. See *?&<
[IK (comp.) Desire vanishing, being lost in space in
nothingness. See |N
tyiK (comp.) Action of drawing into one's will. See
r|N.
PN (comp.) Action of hastening, pressing toward a
desired end. See f$
*)1X (comp.) Desire given over to its own movement,
producing ardour, fire; that which burns, in its literal as
well as its figurative sense. See "IN.
niN (comp.) Action of having the same desire, the
same will; agreeing, being of the same opinion. See fitf
RADICAL VOCABULARY 291
f J{ AZ. This root, but little used in Hebrew, de-
signates a fixed point in space or duration; a measured
distance. It is expressed in a restricted sense by the ad-
verbial relations there or then.
The Arabic j\ characterizes a sort of locomotion, agi-
tation, pulsation, bubbling, generative movement. As verb
it has the sense of giving a principle; of founding. The
Chaldaic N?K expresses a movement of ascension accord-
ing to which a thing is placed above another in conse-
quence of its specific gravity. The Ethiopic 3HH (azz) de-
velops all ideas of command, ordination, subordination.
DN This is, properly speaking, the action of gas
which is exhaled and seeks its point of equilibrium : figu-
ratively, it is the movement of the ascension of fire, ether,
gaseous fluids in general.
AH. The potential sign united to that of
elementary existence fl, image of the travail of nature,
produces a root whence result all ideas of equilibrium,
equality, identity, fraternity. When the sign H character-
izes principally an effort, the root HK takes the meaning
of its analogues JN ?]N. and represents a somewhat
violent action. It furnishes then all ideas of excitation
and becomes the name of the place where the fire is lighted,
the hearth.
flN Brother, kinsman, associate, neighbour: the
common hearth where all assemble.
The Arabic \ contains all the meanings attributed
to the Hebrew IIN
HN and "inN One : first : all ideas attached to ident-
ity, to unity.
^HN All ideas of junction, adjunction, union, re-
conciliation. Bulrush, reed, sedge.
NIK (comp.) All ideas of adhesion, apprehension,
agglomeration, union, possession, heritage.
292 THE HEBKAIC TONGUE RESTORED
(comp.) That which is other, following, pos-
terior; those who come after, who remain behind ; des-
cendants, etc.
^J$ AT. This root is scarcely used in Hebrew ex-
cept to describe a sound, or a slow, silent movement. The
Arabic il expresses any kind of murmuring noise.
COX A magic murmur; witchcraft, enchantment.
*ij$ AI. Power accompanied by manifestation, forms
a root whose meaning, akin to that which we have found
in the root 1tf , expresses the same idea of desire, but less
vague and more determined. It is no longer sentiment,
passion without object, which falls into incertitude: it
is the very object of this sentiment, the centre toward
which the will tends, the place where it is fixed. A re-
markable thing is, that if the root ^K is represented in
its most abstract acceptation by the prepositive rela-
tion or, the root 'K is represented, in the same accepta-
tion, by the adverbial relation where.
The Arabic ^\ expresses the same assent of the
will, being restricted to the adverbial relation yes. As
pronominal relation, <^l distinguishes things from one
another; when this root is employed as verb it expresses
in <^l or <^jl the action of being fixed in a determined
place, choosing an abode, being united voluntarily to a
thing; etc.
*K Every centre of activity, every place distinct,
separate from another place. An isle, a country, a region;
where one is, where one acts.
y& ( comp. ) Every idea of antipathy, enmity, anim-
adversion. It is an effect of the movement of contrac-
tion upon the volitive centre 'N by the sign of interior
activity 3.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 293
Ttf (comp.) A vapour, an exhalation, a contagion:
(hat which is spread without. See "V.
*N and JTK Every exact centre of activity: in a
restricted sense, a vulture, a crow: in an abstract sense,
ir here, there where.
*]'N (comp.) The restriction of place, of mode;
where and in what fashion a thing acts, represented by
the adverbial relations wherefore? hoic? thus? See *]N.
^N (comp.) A ram, a deer; the idea of force united
to that of desire. See *?K .
O'N (comp.) Every formidable object^ every being
leaving its nature; a monster, a giant. It is the root'Ni
considered as expressing any centre of activity whatso-
ever, which assumes the collective sign P to express a
disordered will, a thing capable of inspiring terror.
|*N Absence of all reality. See [N
tJ^tf (comp.) Intellectual principle constituting man.
I shall explain in the notes how the root *^ > united to the
root BWi has formed the compound root '*>* which has
become the symbol of intellectual man.
JVK (comp.) Every idea of constancy, tenacity of
will : that which is rude, harsh, rough, obstinate.
7jfc$ ACH. This root, composed of the feigns of power
and of assimilation, produces the idea of every compres-
sion, every effort that the being makes upon himself or
upon another, to fix him or to be fixed. It is a tendency
to make compact, to centralize. In the literal acceptation
it is the action of restraining, of accepting. In the figu-
rative and hieroglyphic sense it is the symbol of concen-
tric movement tending to draw near. The contrary move-
ment is expressed by the opposed root /H or ?X.
It must be observed as a matter worthy of the greatest
attention, that in an abstract sense the root T|K represents
the adverbial relation yes, and the root *?{< the adverbial
294 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
relation no. The root T]N expresses again in the same
sense, but, however, certainly.
The Arabic &\ contains, as the Hebrew ?]N' all ideas
of pressure, compression, vehemence.
TpN The Arabic ^j\ signifies anger, malice, hateful
passion. The Syriac JLao{ is a name of the devil.
?VN Every idea of intrinsic quality, mode, etc.
AL. This root springs from the united signs of
power and of extensive movement. The ideas which it
develops are those of elevation, force, power, extent. The
Hebrews and Arabs have drawn from it the name of GOD.
7^ Hieroglyphically, this is the symbol of excentric
force. In a restricted sense, it is that which tends toward
an end, represented by the designative or adverbial re-
lations to, toward, for, by, against, upon, beneath, etc.
The Arabic Jl is employed as the universal desig-
native relation the, of the, to the, etc. As verb, it ex-
presses in the ancient idiom, the action of moving quickly,
going with promptness from one place to another: in the
modern idiom it signifies literally, to be wearied by too
much movement.
*?N and T^N (intens.) In its excess of extension, it
is that which passes away, which is empty, vain; expressed
by the adverbial relations no, not, not so, nought, nothing;
etc.
^Htf A raised dwelling, a tent.
'TlK Action of rising, extending, vanishing, filling
time or space.
7*X All ideas of virtue, courage or vigour, of physical
and moral faculties: of extensive and vegetative force: an
oak, a ram, a chief, a prince; the door posts, threshold;
etc.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 295
AM. The potential sign united to that of ex-
terior activity; as collective sign it produces a root which
develops all ideas of- passive and conditional casuality,
plastic force, formative faculty, maternity.
ON Mother, origin, source, metropolis, nation,
family, rule, measure, matrix. In an abstract sense it is
conditional possibility expressed by the relation if. But
when the mother vowel tf , gives place to the sign of mate-
rial nature # , then the root Dtf loses its conditional dubi-
tative expression and takes the positive sense expressed by
ivith.
The Arabic *\ contains all the significations of the
Hebraic root. As noun it is mother, rule, principle, origin;
in a broader sense it is maternity, the cause from which
all emanates, the matrix which contains all ; as verb, it is
the action of serving as example, as model; action of rul-
ing, establishing in principle, serving as cause; as ad-
verbial relation it is a sort of dubitative, conditional in-
terrogation exactly like the Hebrew ON ; but what is quite
remarkable is, that the Arabic root *\ , in order to ex-
press the* adverbial relation with, does not take the sign
of material nature # before that of exterior activity 0>
it takes it after ; so that the Arabic instead of saying 0)7,
says in an inverse manner * . This difference proves
ihat the two idioms although having the same roots have
not been identical in their developments. It also shows
that it is to Phoenician or to Hebrew that the Latin
origins must be brought back, since the word cum (with)
is derived obviously from D#, and not from **.
DIN This modification, not used in Hebrew, signi-
fies in Chaldaic the basis of things.
D'K See **
!{$ AN.
BS of the
An onomatopoetic root which depicts the
BS of the soul ; pain, sorrow, anhelation.
296 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
The Arabic ^\ used as verb, signifies to sigh, to com-
plain.
|1K Every idea of pain, sorrow, trouble, calamity.
[N The signs which compose this root are those of
power and of individual existence. They determine to-
gether the seity, sameness, selfsameness, or the me of the
being, and limit the extent of its circumscription.
fX In a broader sense, it is the sphere of moral acti-
vity; in a restricted sense, it is the 'body of the being. One
says in Hebrew, *JN /; as if one said my sameness, that
which constitutes the sum of my faculties, my circumscrip-
tion.
The Arabic ^\ develops in general the same ideas as
the Hebrew JK In a restricted sense this root expresses,
moreover, the actual time, the present; as adverbial re-
lation it is represented by, that, but, provided that.
fltf When the root |K has received the universal
convertible sign, it becomes the symbol of being, in general.
In this state it develops the most opposed ideas. It ex-
presses all and nothing, being and nothingness, strength
and weakness, virtue and vice, riches and poverty; ac-
cording to the manner in which the being is conceived
and the idea that one attaches to the spirit or matter
which constitutes its essence. One can, in the purity of
the Hebraic tongue, make these oppositions felt to a cer-
tain point, by enlightening or obscuring the mother vowel
1 in this manner :
( TIN virtue, strength ")
? N the being < > etc.
( pX vice, weakness j
['K When the sign of manifestation replaces tha
convertible sign in the root JK, it specifies the sense; but
in a fashion nevertheless, of presenting always the con-
trary of what is announced as real: so that wherever the
word pi* is presented it expresses absence.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 297
AS. Root but little used in Hebrew where it is
ordinarily replaced by IP'tf . The Arabic ^\ presents all
ideas deduced from that of basis. In several of the an-
cient idioms the very name of the earth has been drawn
from this root, as being the basis of things; thence is also
derived the name of Asia, that part of the earth which,
long considered as the entire earth, has preserved, not-
withstanding all its revolutions, this absolute denomina-
tion.
The Chaldaic *DN has signified in a restricted sense
a physician; no doubt because of the health whose basis
he established. The Syriac, Samaritan and Ethiopic follow
in this, the Chaldaic.
y^ AH. Root not used in Hebrew. It is an onom-
atopoetic sound in the Arabic J, ah! alas! used in de-
fending something. The Chaldaic )?N, characterizes
vegetable matter.
The Arabic expression *\j as a defense, a rejection,
gives rise to the compound word A-P\ which signifies an
ironical hyperbole.
r|J$ APH. Sign of power united to that of speech,
constitutes a root, which characterizes in a broad sense,
that which leads to a goal, to any end whatsoever; a final
cause. Hieroglyphically, this root was symbolized by the
image of a wheel. Figuratively, one deduced all ideas of
impulse, transport, envelopment in a sort of vortex, etc.
The Arabic ^Jl is an onomatopoetic root, developing
all ideas of disgust, ennui, indignation. In the ancient
language it was received in the same sense as the Hebrew
]N, and represented the adverbial relation ichy.
t\tf That part of the mind called apprehension, or
298 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
comprehension. In a very restricted sense, the nose: figu-
ratively, wrath.
Fptf Action of conducting to an end, of involving,
enveloping in a movement of rotation; action of seizing
with the understanding; action of being impassioned,
excited, etc.
V ATZ. Every idea of bounds, limits; of repres-
sing force, term, end.
The Arabic ^\ expresses in general, that which is
closed and restricted; the central point of things. The
Chaldaic ftf contains every idea of pressure and com-
pression. The analogous Arabic root ^Je>\ in the modern
idiom, signifies every kind of doubling, reiteration. In
conceiving the root ^\ as representing the centre, sub-
stance, depth of things, one finds, in its redoubling ^U*!
a very secret, very hidden place; a shelter, a refuge.
j*)N Action of hastening, drawing near, pushing to-
icard an end. .
ACQ. Every idea of vacuity. Root little used
in Hebrew except in composition.
The Hebrew word p'N signifies literally, a wild goat;
the Arabic j' as verb, designates that which is nauseous.
AR. This root and the one which follows are
very important for the understanding of the Hebraic text.
The signs which constitute the one in question here, are
those of power and of movement proper. Together they
are the symbol of the elementary principle, whatever it
may be, and of all which pertains to that element or to
nature in general. Hieroglyphically "IX was represented
by the straight line, and W$ by the circular line. *1K>
RADICAL VOCABULARY 299
conceived as elementary principle, indicated direct move-
ment, rectilinear; JTN relative movement, curvilinear,
gyratory.
"IN That which belongs to the elementary principle,
that which is strong, vigorous, productive.
The Arabic j\ offers the same sense as the Hebrew. It
is ardour, impulse in general : in a restricted sense, amor-
ous ardour ; action of giving oneself to this ardour ; union
of the sexes.
*)N or IN' That which flows, that which is fluid : a
river. The Chaldaic *IN or "VN signfies air.
"TIN Fire, heat; action of burning.
TIN Light; action of enlightening, instructing. Life,
joy, felicity, grace; etc.
T)N (intcns.) In its excessive force, this root de-
velops the ideas of cursing, of malediction.
-TIN (comp.) Tapestry, woven material.
mN (comp.) A gathering, a mass.
HN (comp.) A cedar.
TON (comp.) Every prolongation, extension, slack-
ness.
or in Chaldaic p"lN (comp.) The earth.
ASH. This root, as the preceding one, is sym-
bol of the elementary principle whatever it may be. It
is to the root *1N, what the circular line is to the straight
line. The signs which constitute it are those of power
and of relative movement. In a very broad sense it is
every active principle, every centre unfolding a circumfer-
ence, every relative force. In a more restricted sense it is
fire considered in the absence of every substance.
t^N The Hebraic genius confounds this root with
the root DN, and considers in it all that which is of the
basis and foundation of things; that which is hidden in
its principle; that which is absolute, strong, unalterable;
as the appearance of fire.
300 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
The Arabic ^1 designates that which moves with agi-
lity, vehemence. This idea ensues necessarity from that at-
tached to the mobility of fire L^X,
*IK Action of founding, making solid, giving force
and vigour.
(comp.) Power, majesty, splendour.
(comp.} Man. See 'X,
ATH. The potential sign united to that of sym-
pathy and of reciprocity, constitutes a root which develops
the relations of things to themselves, their mutual tie,
their sameness or selfsameness relative to the universal
soul, their very substance. This root differs from the root
[tf in what the former designates as the active existence
of being, I, and what the latter designates as the passive
or relative existence, tliee. [X is the subject, following the
definition of the Kantist philosophers ; J"IN is the object.
fitf That which serves as character, type, symbol,
sign, mark, etc.
rV)X or JTX The being, distinguished or manifested
by its sign; that which is real, substantial, material, con-
sistent. In the Chaldaic, J"VX signifies that irhich is, and
JT 1 ? that which is not.
The Arabic ^\ or ^1 indicates as noun, an irresis-
tible argument, supernatural sign, proof; as verb, it is the
action of convincing by supernatural signs or irresistible
arguments.
3 B. BH. This character, as consonant, belongs to
the labial sound. As symbolic image it represents the
mouth of man, his dwelling, his interior. As gram-
matical sign, it is the paternal and virile sign, that of in-
terior and active action. In Hebrew, it is the integral
and indicative article expressing in nouns or actions, as
I have explained in my Grammar, almost the same more-
RADICAL VOCABULARY 301
ment as the extractive article D, but with more force
and without any extraction or division of parts.
Its arithmetical number is 2.
^2 BA - Tne sig 11 of interior action united to that
of power, image of continuity, forms a root, whence is
drawn all ideas of progression, gradual going, coming;
of passage from one place to another; of locomotion.
The Arabic \> indicates in the ancient idiom, a move-
ment of return.
N12 Action of coming, becoming, happening, bringing
to pass; action of proceeding, going ahead, entering, etc.
"1XD (comp.) That which is put in evidence, is
manifested, etc.; in its literal sense a fountain. See *O
&^&O (comp.) That which becomes stagnant, which
is corrupt. See Kft.
22 BB. Every idea of interior void, of exterior
swelling.
3D Pupil of the eye. In Chaldaic, an opening, a door.
The Arabic ,_ has the same sense.
M Action of being interiorly void, empty; every
image of inanity, vacuity.
J2 BG. That which nourishes; that is to say, that
which acts upon the interior; for it is here a compound
of the root JIN united to the sign D
The Arabic & expresses in general an inflation, an
evacuation ; it is in a restricted sense in ^l , the action of
permitting, letting go. As onomatopoetic root ^ char-
acterizes the indistinct cry of a raucous voice.
^2 BD. The root "IN, which characterizes every
object distinct and alone, being contracted with the sign
of interior activity, composes this root whence issue ideas
302 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
of separation, isolation, solitude, individuality, particular
existence.
From the idea of separation comes that of opening;
thence that of opening the mouth which is attached to this
root in several idioms, and in consequence, that of chat-
tering. babbling, jesting, boasting, lying, etc.
The Arabic JO signifies literally middle, between. As
verb, this root characterizes the action of dispersing.
BH. Onomatopoetic root which depicts the
noise made by a thing being opened, and which, represent-
ing it yawning, offers to the imagination the idea of a
chasm, an abyss, etc.
IPO An abyss, a thing whose depth cannot be fath-
omed, physically as well as morally. See HPT.
The Arabic *, as onomatopoetic root characterizes
astonishment, surprise. The Arabic word <u^ which is
formed from it, designates that which is astonishing, sur-
prising; that which causes admiration. V# signifies to
be resplendent, and *l glorious.
tO!"O (comp.) Marble; because of its weight. See
DH.
7PQ (comp.} A rapid movement which exalts,
which transports, which carries one beyond self: frightful
terror. See /l
OrQ (comp.) Everything which is raised, extend-
ed, in any sense; as a noise, a tumult; a corps, a troop:
it is literally a quadruped. See DH.
|fO (comp.) Every guiding object; literally the
finger.
]^ BZ. The root ttf, which depicts the movement
of that which rises to seek its point of equilibrium, being
contracted with the sign of interior activity, furnishes all
RADICAL VOCABULARY 303
ideas which spring from the preeminence that one assumes
over others, of pride, presumption, etc.
The Arabic j- signifies literally, the action of grow-
ing, sprouting, putting forth shoots.
PQ Action of rising above others, despising them,
humiliating them: every idea of disdain, every object of
scorn.
TQ (intens.) In its greatest intensity, this root
signifies to deprive others of their rights, of their pro-
perty ; to appropriate them : thence every idea of plunder.
The Arabic jy has the same sense. The word j\*
signifies a bird of prey, a vulture.
H. This root is used in Hebrew only in com-
position. The Ethiopic /i^iA (baha) signifies every kind
of acid, of ferment.
The Arabic ^ signifies in the modern idiom, to blow
water beticeen the lips.
^rO (comp.) Fruit which begins to mature, which
is still sour; an early fruit; metaphorically, a thing which
annoys, which fatigues.
fPO (comp.) The test of a fruit to judge if it is
ripe; metaphorically, any kind of experiment.
^I"O (comp.) An examination, a proof; in conse-
quence, that which is examined, proved, elected.
J23 BT. The root ON, which depicts a sort of dull
noise, of murmuring, being contracted with the sign of
interior activity, characterizes that which sparkles, glis-
tens: it is a vapid and thoughtless locution, futile dis-
course.
The Arabic ^ indicates that which cuts off physi-
cally as well as morally. The onomatopoeia Ja , char-
acterizes that which falls and is broken.
304 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
DD3 (intens.) A flash of wit; a spark.
VQ (comp.) Crystal. That which throws out
brightness, sparks. An emerald, marble, etc.
^2 BI. Root analogous to the roots N3, I"O. ID.
which characterize the movement of a thing which ad-
vances, appears evident, comes, opens, etc. This applies
chiefly to the desire that one has to see a thing appear, an
event occur, and that one expresses by would to God!
['3 (comp.) See J'
"VD (comp.) See "O
TO (comp.) See fO.
Tp BCH. The root TjN which develops all ideas
of compression, being united to the sign of interior acti-
vity, forms the root ?]D, whose literal meaning is lique-
faction, fluxion, resulting from a somewhat forceful grasp,
as expressed by the Arabic & . Thence Tp, the action
of flowing, dissolving in tears, weeping. Every fluid
accruing from contraction, from contrition: an overflow-
ing, a torrent, tears, etc.
The Arabic di has exactly the same meaning.
Tp3 State of being afflicted by pain, saddened to
tears.
BL. This root should be conceived according
to its two ways of composition : by the first, the root ^K ,
which designates elevation, power, etc., is united to the
sign of interior activity 3J by the second, it is the sign
of extensive movement *?, which is contracted with the
root fcG, whose use is, as we have seen, to develop all
ideas of progression, gradual advance, etc. : so that it is,
in the first case, a dilating force, which acting from the
centre to the circumference, augments the volume of
RADICAL VOCABULARY 305
things, causing a kind of bubbling, swelling; whereas in
the second it is the tLmg itself which is transported or
which is overthrown without augmenting in volume.
^3 Every idea of distention, profusion, abundance;
every idea of expansion, extension, tenuity, gentleness.
In a figurative sense, spirituality, the human soul, the
universal soul, the All, GOD.
The Arabic Jj characterizes in a restricted sense, that
which humectates, moistens, lenifies, dampens, and makes
fertile the earth, etc.
^D (intens.) From excess of extension springs
the idea of lack, want, neglect, weakness, nothingness: it
is everything which is null, vain, illusory: NOTHING.
The Arabic J is restricted to the same sense as the
Hebrew, and is represented by the adverbial relation
without.
*?rQ (comp.) An interior emotion, trouble, con-
fusion, extraordinary perturbation. See fO.
'TO Action of dilating, swelling, boiling, spreading
on all sides : a flux, an intumescence, a diffusion; an inun-
dation, a general swelling.
Q2 BM. The union of the signs of interior and
exterior activity, of active and passive principles, consti-
tutes a root little used and very difficult to conceive.
Hieroglyphically, it is the universality of things: figur-
atively or literally, it is every elevated place, every
sublime, sacred, revered thing; a temple, an altar, etc.
The Arabic +t signifies in a restricted sense the funda-
mental sound of the musical system called in Greek uxd-n).
See Dp.
?3 BN. If one conceives the root tG, which con-
tains all ideas of progression, growth, birth, as vested with
the extensive sign f, to form the root p, this root will
develop the idea of generative extension, of production
306 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
analogous to the producing being, of an emanation; if
one considers this same root [3, as result of the contrac-
tion of the sign of interior activity D with the root |N
which characterizes the circumscriptive extent of being,
then it would be the symbol of every active production
proceeding from potentiality in action, from every mani-
festation of generative action, from the me.
P In a figurative sense it is an emanation, intel-
ligible or sentient; in a literal sense it is a son, a forma-
tion, an embodiment, a construction.
The Arabic ^i has exactly the same acceptations as
the Hebrew.
I'D Action of conceiving, of exercising one's con-
ceptive, intellectual faculties; action of thinking, having
ideas, forming a plan, meditating; etc.
[O Intelligence; that which elects interiorly and
prepares the elements for the edification of the soul. That
which is interior. See *
BS. That which belongs to the earth, expressed
by the root Dtf ; that which is at the base.
The Arabic ^ indicates that which suffices, and is
represented by the adverbial relation enough.
D12 Action of throwing down, crushing, treading
upon, pressing against the ground.
The Arabic ^ signifies the action of pounding and
of mixing; ^l contains every idea of force, violences com-
pulsion.
yj BHO. Every idea of precipitate, harsh, in-
ordinate movement. It is the root JO, in which the
mother vowel has degenerated toward the material sense.
The Arabic is an onomatopoetic root which ex-
the bleating, bellowing of animals.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 307
An anxious inquiry, a search; a turgescence, a
boiling; action of boiling, etc.
The Arabic il signifies in a restricted sense, to sell
and to buy, to make a negotiation ; i to interfere for an-
other. and to prompt him in what he should say. The
word il which springs from the primitive root JD, con-
tains all ideas of iniquity and of injustice.
(comp.) Action of kicking.
(comp.) Every idea of domination, power,
pride: a lord, master, absolute superior; the Supreme
Being.
"I1O (comp.) Every idea of devastation by fire,
annihilation., conflagration, combustion, consuming heat:
that which destroys, ravages; that which makes desert
and arid, speaking of the earth; brutish and stupid, speak-
ing of men. It is the root "IJ7 , governed by the sign of
interior activity 2*
flJD (comp.) Action of frightening, striking with
terror, seizing suddenly.
JJ2 tTZ. Onomatopoeic and idiomatic root which
represents the noise that one makes walking in the mud:
literally, it is a miry place, a slough,
The Arabic (J aj t does not belong to the onomatopoetic
root JO; it is a primitive root which possesses all the
force of the signs of which it is composed. In a general
sense, it characterizes every kind of luminous ray being
carried from the centre to the circumference. In a res-
tricted sense it expresses the action of gleaming, shining;
of glaring at. As noun, it denotes embers. The Chaldaic
3, which has the same elements, signifies to examine,
scrutinize, make a search.
Action of wading through the mud. It is the
name given to flax on account of its preparation in water.
308 THE HEBKAIC TONGUE RESTORED
p3 BCQ. Every idea of evacuation, of draining.
It is the root pN united to the sign of interior action 3.
plD Action of evacuating, dissipating, making
scarce.
The Arabic Jl signifies eternal; li to eternize.
*^2 BR. This root is composed either of the ele-
mentary root IN. united to the sign of interior activity
D or of the sign of movement proper "1 contracted with
the root JO; thence, first, every active production with
power, every conception, every potential emanation; sec-
ond, every innate movement tending to manifest exteriorly
the creative force of being.
~O Hieroglyphically, it is the radius of the circle
\vhich produces the circumference and of which it is the
measure: figuratively, a potential creation: that is to say
a fruit of some sort, whose germ contains in potentiality,
the same being which has carried it: in the literal sense,
a son.
The Arabic j. signifies in a restricted sense, a con-
tinent; and in a more extended sense, that which is up-
right.
TO (intens.) Every extracting, separating, elab-
orating, purifying movement: that which prepares or is
prepared; that which purges, purifies, or which is itself
purged, purified. Every kind of metal.
The Arabic j raised to the potentiality of verb, de-
velops the action of justifying, of purifying.
"1X3 (comp.) Every idea of manifestation, explan-
ation: that which brings to light, that which explores, that
which produces exteriorly. In a very restricted sense, a
fountain, a well.
"1"O (comp.) Every idea of lucidity, clarity. That
which is candid; resplendent.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 301)
"113 (comp.) Every idea of distinction, eclat,
purity. In a restricted sense, wheat.
"V3 or 113 (comp.} In a broad sense, an excava-
tion; in a restricted s^nse, a well; in a figurative sense,
an edifice, citadel, palace.
BSH. This root, considered as being derived
from the sign of interior activity 3, united to the root
&J>K which characterizes fire, expresses every idea of heat
and brightness: but if it is considered as formed of the
root N3 which denotes every progression, and of the sign
of relative movement B% then it indicates a sort of delay
in the course of proceeding.
The Arabic ^ or ^4 has also these two acceptations.
The word ^l which belongs to the first, signifies a
violence ; <JL> , which belongs to the second, signifies void.
CH3 Action of blushing: experiencing an inner sen-
timent of modesty or shame: action of delaying, diverting
one's self, turning instead of advancing.
IPX3 (comp.} That which is corrupted. Thence the
Chaldaic B>lO. IPO or NtP'O, that which is bad.
1*TH. Every idea of inside space, place, con-
tainer, proper dwelling, receptacle, lodge, habitation, etc.
The Arabic ^ characterizes a thing detached, cut,
pruned, distributed in parts. By Ju is understood a sort
of gushing forth; by ^ a brusque exit, a clashing.
fi13 Action of dwelling, inhabiting, passing the
night, lodging, retiring at home; etc.
n*3 A separate and particular place; a lodge, a habi-
tation; that which composes the interior, the family: that
which is internal, intrinsic, proper, local, etc.
310 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
J G. GH. This character as consonant, belongs to
the guttural sound. The one by which I translate it, is
quite a modern invention and responds to it rather imper-
fectly. Plutarch tells us that a certain Carvilius who, hav-
ing opened a school at Rome, first invented or introduced
the letter G, to distinguish the double sound of the C. As
symbolic image the Hebraic ^ indicates the throat of man,
any conduit, any canal, any deep hollow object. As gram-
matical sign, it expresses organic development and pro-
duces all ideas originating from the corporeal, organs and
from their action.
Its arithmetical number is 3.
J{J GA. The organic sign J united to the potential
sign S, constitutes a root which is attached to all ideas of
aggrandizement, growth, organic development, augmenta-
tion, magnitude.
The Arabic U signifies literally to come.
nJO That which augments, becomes wider, is
raised, slackens, increases, literally as well as figuratively.
Grandeur of height, eminence of objects, exaltation of
thought, pride of the soul, ostentation; etc.
*?M (comp.) Every idea of liberation, redemption,
release, loosening of bonds: figuratively, vengeance for an
offense ; metaphorically, the idea of remissness, defilement,
pollution.
3J GB. The organic sign united by contraction to
the root 2N, symbol of every fructification, develops, in
general, the idea of a thing placed or coming under another
thing.
^ A boss, an excrescence, a protuberance: a knoll,
an eminence; the back; everything convex.
D3 or y\$ A grasshopper. See 13*
DHJ (intens.) The sign of interior activity being
doubled, changes the effect of the positive root and presents
RADICAL VOCABULARY 311
the inverse sense. It is therefore every concavity; a
trench, a recess, a furrow: action of digging a trench, of
hollowing; etc.
The Arabic ^>- presents the same sense as the He-
brew. As verb it is the action of cutting, of castrating.
JJ GG. Every idea of elasticity; that which stretch
es and expands without being disunited.
The Arabic ~a~ contains the same ideas of extension.
JU or JU The roof of a tent ; that which extends to
cover, to envelop.
13 GD. The root iU, symbol of that which aug-
ments and extends, united to the sign of abundance born
of division, produces the root 1J whose use is to depict
that which acts in masses, which flocks, agitates tumul-
tuously, assails in troops.
The Arabic j r signifies literally to make an effort.
In a more general sense **> characterizes that which is
important, according to its nature; as adverbial relation
this root is represented by very, much, many. The verb
aW signifies to be liberal, to give generously.
"U An incursion, an irruption, literally and figura-
tively. An incision in anything whatsoever, a furrow; me-
taphorically, in the restricted sense, a kid: the sign of
Capricorn; etc.
TJ A nerve, a tendon; everything that can be
stretched for action.
HJ, 1J and ^ GHE, GOU and GHI. The organic
sign united either to that of life, or to that of universal
convertible force, or to that of manifestation, constitutes
a root which becomes the symbol of every organization.
This root which possesses the same faculties of extension
312 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
and aggrandizement that we have observed in the root W
contains ideas apparently opposed to envelopment and
development, according to the point of view under which
one considers the organization.
The Arabic y-> indicates universal envelopment, space,
atmosphere; *> characterizes that which protects.
nrU That which organises; that which gives life to
the organs : health, and metaphorically, medicine.
flU Every kind of organ dilated to give passage to
the vital spirits, or closed to retain them : every expansion,
every conclusion: that which serves as tegument; the body,
in general; the middle of things: that which preserves
them as, the sheath of a sword ; etc.
31J (comp.) Action of digging, ploughing. In a
restricted sense, a scarab.
TIJI (comp.} Action of making an irruption.
See "U.
rU (comp.} Action of mowing, removing with
a scythe. See U
(TlJI (comp.} Action of ravishing, taking by force.
See m.
V U A political organization; a body of people; a
nation.
*?W (comp.} That which brings the organs to dev-
elopment. See *%!
"M (comp.} An organic movement; an evolution,
a revolution.
JttJ (comp.) That which disorganizes; every dis-
solution of the organic system : action of expiring, of being
distended beyond measure, of bursting.
*yO (comp.) Action of closing.
*Vti (comp.) Action of prolonging, of continuing
a same movement, a same route ; action of voyaging: action
of living in a same place, dwelling there. See "U
RADICAL VOCABULARY 313
PM (intens.) See Btt.
J J GZ. The root ttf , which indicates the movement
of that which tends to take away, united to the organic
sign, constitutes a root whose use is to characterize the
action by which one suppresses, takes away, extracts every
superfluity, every growth; thence ttJ, the action of clip-
ping wool, shaving the hair, mowing the grass; taking
away the tops of things, polishing roughness.
The Arabic ^>. has the same meaning as the Hebrew.
The verb jV is applied in the modern idiom to that which
is allowable and lawful.
FIJI OH. That which is carried with force toward
a place, toward a point; that which inclines violently to
a thing.
ITU Action of acting with haughtiness, making an
irruption, rushing into a place, ravishing a thing.
The Arabic root ^ has the same meaning in gen-
eral; in particular, the verb fc signifies to swagger.
|I"U (com-p.) An inclination, a defective propensi-
ty, a winding course.
Q% GT. This root is not used in Hebrew.
The Arabic Ji>- denotes a thing which repulses the
effort of the hand which pushes it.
Jp GHI. Root analogous to the roots HJ and U
K'J Valley, gorge, depth.
The Arabic ^ indicates a place where water re-
mains stagnant and becomes corrupt through standing.
TJ (comp.) A nerve. See TJ.
yj (comp.) See fU and *?J.
"VJ (comp.) That which makes things endure, and
314 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
preserves them in good condition: in a restricted sense
lime.
7JJ GCH. This root is not used in Hebrew nor in
Arabic.
GL. This root can be conceived according to
its two ways of composition : by the first, it is the root 1J>
symbol of all organic extension, united to the sign of direct-
ive movement *? ; by the second, it is the organic sign J >
which is contracted with the root "W > symbol of elevation
and expansive force. In the first case it is a thing which
is displayed in space by unfolding itself ; which is develop-
ed, produced, according to its nature, unveiled; in the
second, it is a thing, on the contrary, which coils, rolls,
complicates, accumulates, heaps up, envelops. Here, one
can recognize the double meaning which is always attached
to the sign J under the double relation of organic develop-
ment and envelopment.
*7) That which moves with a light and undulating
movement; which manifests joy, grace, and ease in its
movements. The revolution of celestial spheres. The orbit
of the planets. A wheel; a circumstance, an occasion.
That which is revealed, that which appears, is uncov-
ered.
That which piles up by rolling : the movement of the
waves, the swell; the volume of anything whatsoever, a
heap, a pile; the circuit or contour of an object or a place :
its confines.
The Arabic Jo. presents the same ideas of unfoldment
and aggrandizement, as much in the physical as in the
moral : it is also the unfolding of the sail of a ship, as well
as that of a faculty of the soul. Je> expresses at the same
time the majesty of a king, the eminence of a virtue, the
extent of anything whatsoever.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 315
*?) or ^TU (intcns.) Excessive deployment shown
in the idea of emigration, transmigration, deportation;
abandonment by a tribe of its country, whether voluntarily
or by force.
^JO (comp.) A relaxation, either in the literal or
figurative sense. See NJ
"TO Action of unfolding or of turning. Every evo-
lution or revolution.
^U An appearance caused by the revelation of the
object; effect of a mirror; resemblance.
JJ GM. Every idea of accumulation, agglomera-
tion, complement, height; expressed in an abstract sense
by the relations also, same, again.
The Arabic **~ develops, as does the Hebraic root,
all ideas of abundance and accumulation. As verb, it is
the action of abounding, multiplying; as noun, and in a
restricted sense, U- signifies a precious stone, in Latin
gemma.
jj GN. The organic sign united by contraction to
the root fN or [1K, forms a root from which come all
ideas of circuit, cloture, protective walls, sphere, organic
selfsameness.
P That which encloses, surrounds or covers all
parts; that which forms the enclosure of a thing; limits
this thing and protects it; in the same fashion that a sheath
encloses, limits and protects its blade.
The Arabic ^ has all the acceptations of the He-
braic root. It is, in general, everything which covers or
which surrounds another; it is, in particular, a protecting
shade, a darkness, as much physically as morally; a tomb.
As verb, this word expresses the action of enveloping with
darkness, making night, obscuring the mind, rendering
foolish, covering with a veil, enclosing with walls, etc. In
310 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
the ancient idiom ^ has signified a demon, a devil, a
dragon; jU- a shield; ^^ bewilderment of mind ; ^V
an embryo enveloped in the womb of its mother; <;>.
a cuirass, and every kind of armour; etc. In the modern
idiom, this word is restricted to signify an enclosure, a
garden.
QJ GS. Root not used in Hebrew. The Chaldaie
draws from it the idea of that which is puffed up, swollen,
become fat. DU or DU signifies a treasure.
The Arabic ^ designates an exploration, a studious
research. As verb it is the action of feeling, groping.
sounding.
yj GH. Root analogous to the root 1J , but present-
ing the organism under its material view point.
The Arabic *- signifies in the modern idiom to be
hungry. In the ancient idiom one finds **> for a sort of
beer or other fermented liquour.
yjl Onomatopoetic and idiomatic root which repre-
sents the bellowing of an ox.
n#l Action of opening the jaw, of bellowing; every
clamour, every vociferation.
P\l (comp.} Action of bursting. See 13
*?$ (comp.} Action of rejecting from the mouth;
every idea of disgust.
*y?) (comp.) Every kind of noise, fracas, mur-
muring.
Vfyy (comp.} Action of troubling, frightening by
clamours and vociferations.
rij GPH. All ideas of conservation, protection,
guarantee : in a restricted sense, a body.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 317
The Arabic *Jb- develops the idea of dryness and of
that which becomes dry. The verb oV signifies literally,
to withdraw from.
f|U Action of enclosing, incorporating, embodying,
investing with a body; that which serves for defense, for
conservation.
WJ GTZ. Root not used in Hebrew. The Ethiopia
721 (gats) characterizes the form, the corporeal figure,
the face of things. The Arabic ^^o*- signifies to coat with
plaster, or to glaze the interior of structures.
p^ GCQ. Root not used in Hebrew. The Arabic
JP* indicates excrement.
^J GR. The sign of movement proper "1, united
by contraction to the root of organic extension KJ , consti-
tutes a root which presents the image of every iterative
and continued movement, every action which brings back
the being upon itself.
*U That which assembles in hordes to journey, or
to dwell together; the place where one meets in the course
of a journey. Every idea of tour, detour; rumination; con-
tinuity in movement or in action.
The Arabic j>- presents the idea of violent and con-
tinued movement. It is literally, the action of alluring,
drawing to one's self, ravishing. The verb jU signifies
to encroach, to usurp.
Vtt (intens.) Duplication of the sign 1, indicates
the vehemence and continuity of the movement of which
it is the symbol; thence, the analogous ideas of incision,
section, dissection; of fracture, hatching, engraving; of
rumination, turning over in one's mind; of grinding, etc.
318 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
(comp.) Every extending movement of the
body or of a member of the body. Action of reaching out
full length.
^Vtf Action of prolonging, continuing an action.
See U.
7J GSH. This root represents the effect of things
which approach, touch, contract.
Wi Action of being contracted, made corporeal,
dense and palpable; figuratively, matter and that which
is obvious to the senses : metaphorically, ordure, filth.
The Arabic J^- denotes every kind of fracture and
broken thing.
j^J GTH. That which exercises a force extensive
and reciprocally increasing ; DJI , in a restricted sense,
a vice, a press.
The Arabic ^>- expresses the action of squeezing,
pressing in the hand, etc.
*^ D. This character as consonant belongs to the
dental sound. It appears that in its hieroglyphic accepta-
tion, it was the emblem of the universal quaternary ; that
is to say, of the source of all physical existence. As sym-
bolic image it represents the breast, and every nourishing
and abundant object. As grammatical sign, it expresses
in general, abundance born of division: it is the sign of
divisible and divided nature. The Hebrew does not em-
ploy it as article, but it enjoys that prerogative in Chal-
daic, Samaritan and Syriac, where it fulfills the functions
of a kind of distinctive article.
Its arithmetical number is 4.
DA. This root which is only used in Hebrew
in composition, is the analogue of the root *"?, which bears
RADICAL VOCABULARY 319
the real character of the sign of natural abundance and
of division. In Chaldaic it has an abstract sense repre-
sented by the relations of, of which, this, that, of what.
The Arabic bi:> characterizes a movement which is
propagated \vithout effort and without noise.
Han (onom.) Action of flying with rapidity; of
swooping down on something: thence Han a kite; HH
a vulture.
(comp.) See m,
(comp.) See J"l.
2^ DB. The sign of natural abundance united by
contraction to the root DX , symbol of all generative pro-
pagation, constitutes a root whence are developed all ideas
of effluence and influence; of emanation, communication,
transmission, insinuation.
D~l That which is propagated and is communicated
by degrees; sound, murmur, rumour, discourse; fermenta-
tion, literally and figuratively; vapour; that which pro-
ceeds slowly and noiselessly: calumny, secret plot, con-
tagion.
The Arabic ^ develops in general the idea of that
which crawls, insinuates itself, goes creeping along.
Dan In a figurative sense, a dull pain, an uneasiness
concerning the future.
D 1 )"! In a restricted sense, a bear, on account of its
slow and silent gait.
^ DGH. The sign of natural abundance joined
to that of organic development, produces a root whose use
is to characterize that which is fruitful and multiplies
abundantly.
J1 It is literally, the fish and that which is akin.
JX1 (comp.) In considering this root as composed
of the sigu "1, united by contraction to the root Ja< which
320 THE HEBKAIC TONGUE RESTORED
represents an acting thing which tends to augment, one
finds that it expresses, figuratively, every kind of solici-
tude, anxiety, anguish.
*P DD. Every idea of abundance and division;
of propagation, effusion and influence; of sufficient rea-
son, affinity and sympathy.
"P That which is divided in order to be propagated ;
that which acts by sympathy, affinity, influence: literally
breast, mammal.
The Arabic ^ indicates a pleasing thing, game, or
amusement.
Til Action of acting by sympathy and "by affinity;
action of attracting, pleasing, loving; sufficing mutually.
In a broader sense, a chosen vessel, a place, an object
toward which one is attracted; every sympathetic and
electrifying purpose. In a more restricted sense, a friend,
a lover; friendship, love; every kind of flower and part-
icularly the mandragora and the violet.
and I") DHE and DOU. See the root H of
which these are the analogues and which bear the real
character of the sign "I.
*| ""j DOU. Onomatopoetic and idiomatic root which
expresses a sentiment of pain, trouble, sorrow.
iin Action of suffering, lamenting, languishing,
being weak.
The Arabic l^ ^ f o offers as onomatopoetic root,
the same sense as the Hebraic Vl. Thence, in Hebrew as
well as in Syriac, Ethiopic and Arabic, a mass of words
which depict pain, anguish, affliction ; that which is infirm
and calamitous. Thence, in ancient Celtic, the words dol
(mourning), dull (lugubrious); in Latin, dolor (pain x .
dolere (to feel pain) ; in the modern tongues, their num
berless derivatives.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 321
DH"! (camp.) That which overwhelms with aston-
ishment; every sudden calamity, astounding and stu-
pifying.
"H and nil Pain, languor, debility.
1H Metaphorically, that which is sombre, lugu-
brious, funereal, gloomy; mourning.
J1*"| DH. Every idea of forced influence, impulsion,
constraint.
The Arabic 3 contains the same meaning in general.
In particular ^-J^^ is a sort of exclamation to command
secrecy or to impose silence upon someone: hush!
Jim or ITn Action of forcing, necessitating, con-
straining; action of expulsion, evacuation; etc.
fTH That which constrains.
'PTT Separation, violent impulsion.
(com p.) Every idea of excitement,
(comp.) An impression, an extreme oppres-
sion.
[^ DT. This root is not used in Hebrew.
The Arabic b>$ contains the idea of rejection and
expulsion.
1*1 DI. The sign of natural abundance united to
that of manifestation, constitutes the true root character-
istic of this sign. This root develops all ideas of suffi-
ciency and of sufficient reason ; of abundant cause and of
elementary divisibility.
m or H That which is fecund, fertile, abundant,
sufficient; that which contents, satisfies, suffices.
The Arabic ^ or i indicates, in general, the distri-
bution of things, and helps to distinguish them. In parti-
cular, the roots i /L> ^ or o and ^Sare represented by the
322 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
pronominal demonstrative relations this, that; etc.
The root ^ which preserves a greater conformity with
the Hebraic root H, signifies literally possession.
[H (comp.) That which satisfies everybody; that
which makes a difference cease; a judgment.
pH (comp.) That which divides, that which re-
duces to pieces. See pi
C'*"! (comp.) Every kind of trituration. See tPTt
^n DCH. The sign of natural abundance con-
tracted with the root TJN, symbol of concentric movement
and of every restriction and exception, composes a root
infinitely expressive whose object is to depict need, neces-
sity, poverty and all ideas proceeding therefrom.
The Arabic Jp or ii^ constitutes an onomatopoetic
and idiomatic root which expresses the noise made in strik-
ing, beating, knocking; which consequently, develops all
ideas which are attached to the action of striking, as those
of killing, breaking, splitting, etc. In a restricted sense
Jb signifies to pillage; iJs to ram a gun; JS to push
with the hand.
T|"l That which is needy, contrite, sad, poor, injur-
ious, calamitous, vexatious; etc.
Tp"l Action of depriving, vexing by privation, op-
pressing, beating unmercifully; etc.
)"} L>L. This root, conceived as the union of the
dgn of natural abundance or of divisibility, with the root
?K symbol of elevation, produces the idea of every extrac-
tion, every removal ; as for example, when one draws water
from a well, when one takes away the life of a plant ; from
this idea, proceeds necessarily the accessory ideas of ex-
haustion and weakness.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 323
The Arabic J^ contains the same sense in general ;
but in particular, this root is attached more exclusively to
the idea of distinguishing, designating, conducting some-
one toward a distinct object. When it is weakened in Ji
it expresses no more than a distinction of scorn; disdain,
degradation.
^1 That which extracts; to draw or to attract above ;
that which takes away, drains; that which attenuates, con-
sumes, enfeebles: every kind of division, disjunction; empti-
ness effected by extraction; any kind of removal. In a
very restricted sense, a seal; a vessel for drawing water.
Q"l DM. The roots which, by means of any sign
whatever, arise from the roots DN or DX, symbols of active
or passive principles, are all very difficult to determine
and to grasp, on account of the extent of meaning which
they present, and the contrary ideas which they produce.
These particularly demand close attention. It is, at first
glance, universalized sympathy; that is to say, a homo-
geneous, thing formed by affinity of similar parts, and hold-
ing to the universal organization of being.
D"l In a broader sense, it is that which is identical;
in a more restricted sense, it is blood, assimilative bond
between soul and body, according to the profound thought
of Moses, which I shall develop in my notes. It is that
which assimilates, which becomes homogeneous; mingles
with another thing: thence the general idea of that which
is no longer distinguishable, which ceases to be different ;
that which renounces its seity, its individuality, is ident-
ified with the whole, is calm, quiet, silent, asleep.
The Arabic > has developed in the ancient language
the same general ideas ; but in the modern idiom this root
has received acceptations somewhat different, ^o expresses
in general a glutinous, sticky fluid. In particular, as noun,
it is blood; as verb, it is the action of covering with a
324 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
glutinous glaze. From the latter meaning results, in the
analogue *i , that of contaminating, calumniating, cov-
ering with blame.
D11 State of universalized being, that is, having
only the life of the universe; sleeping, being silent, calm;
metaphorically, taciturn, melancholy. Action of assimilat-
ing to one's self, that is, thinking, imagining, conceiv-
ing; etc.
|"| DN. The sign of sympathetic divisibility
united to the root ftf, symbol of the circumscriptive act-
ivity of being, constitutes a root whose purpose is to
characterize, in a physical sense, every kind of chemical
parting in elementary nature; and to express, in a moral
sense, every contradictory judgment, resting upon litigious
things.
The Arabic p offers the same sense in general. In
particular, ^i expresses a mucous excretion. One under-
stands by ^b the action of judging.
fn Every idea of dissension; literally as well as
figuratively; every idea of debate, bestowal, judgment.
JH A cause, a right, a judgment, a sentence.
DS. Root not used in Hebrew.
The Arabic ,jo designates that which is hidden, con-
cealed; which acts in a secret, clandestine manner.
y"| DH. Every thing which seeks to expose itself,
to appear. This root is not used in Hebrew except in
composition. The Arabic i characterizes that which
pushes, that which puts in motion.
#1 or Hjn Perception of things, consequently, un-
derstanding. knowledge.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 325
(comp.) The root #1 united by contraction
to the root T|N symbol of restriction, expresses that which
is no more sentient, that is extinct, obscure, ignorant.
rn DPH. Root not used in Hebrew. The Arabic
Ji or l>j expresses a sort of rubbing by means of which
one drives away cold, and is warmed, ^j* is also in Arabic,
an onomatopoetic and idiomatic root, formed by imitation
of the noise that is made by a stretched skin when rubbed
or struck. The Hebrew renders this root by the analogue
f]fi We represent it by the words drum, tympanum; to
beat a drum; etc. In the modern Arabic ^Ja signifies a
tambourine, and also a base drum.
The Chaldaic signifies a thing which is smooth as a
board, a table. One finds in Hebrew 'TT for scandal,
evil report, shame.
Y*] DTZ. Every idea of joy and hilarity.
The Arabic ^z characterizes the action of shaking
a sieve.
p"T Action of living in abundance; transported
with joy.
pT DCQ. Every idea of division by break, frac-
ture; that which is made small, slender or thin, by division :
extreme subtlety. This root is confounded often with
the root p*l
The Arabic Ji develops the same ideas.
*Tn Action of making slender, subtle; etc,
^ DR. This root, composed of the sign of abund-
ance born of division, united to the elementary root "M
characterizes the temporal state of things, the age, cycle,
326 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
order, generation, time. Thence Tl, every idea of cycle,
period, life, customs, epoch, generation, abode.
"Til Action of ordering a thing, disposing of it fol-
lowing a certain order ; resting in any sphere whatsoever ;
dwelling in a place ; living in an age : that which circulates,
that which exists according to a movement and a regulated
order. An orb, universe, world, circuit; a city.
Til (intens.) The broad and generalized idea of
circulating without obstacle, of following a natural move-
ment, brings forth the idea of liberty, the state of being
free, the action of acting without constraint.
The Arabic j* has lost almost all the general and
universal acceptations of the Hebrew; this ancient root
has preserved in the modern idiom only the idea of a
fluxion, of yielding plentifully, particularly in the action
of milking.
DSH. Every idea of germination, vegetation,
elementary propagation.
BH1 In a broad sense, action of giving the seed; and
in a more restricted sense that of thrashing the grain,
triturating.
The Arabic j*s has the same meaning as the Hebrew
vh.
DTH. Everything issued for the purpose of
sufficing, satisfying, serving as sufficient reason.
m A law, an edict, an ordinance.
In the modern idiom, the Arabic ^> is limited to
signifying a shower; a humid, abundant emission: broth.
p| E. HE. This character is the symbol of universal
life. It represents the breath of man, air, spirit, soul ; that
which is animating, vivifying. As grammatical sign, it
RADICAL VOCABULARY 327
expresses life and the abstract idea of being. It is, in the
Hebraic tongue, of great use as article. One can see what
I have said in my .Gjammar under the double relation of
determinative and emphatic article. It is needless to re-
peat these details.
Its arithmetical number is 5.
HA. Every evident, demonstrated and deter-
mined existence. Every demonstrative movement express-
ed in an abstract sense by the relations here, there; this,
that.
The Arabic U expresses only an exclamation.
HB. Every idea of fructification and of pro-
duction. It is the root DN of which the sign of life fi
spiritualizes the sense.
3\n It is again the root D1N , but which, considered
now according to the symbolic sense, offers the image of
being or nothingness, truth or error. In a restricted sense,
it is an exhalation, a vapoury-rising, an illusion, a phan-
tom, a simple appearance; etc.
The Arabic ^* characterizes in general, a rising, a
spontaneous movement, an ignition. As verb, ^* sig-
nifies to be inflamed.
JJ1 HEG. Every idea of mental activity, move-
ment of the mind, warmth, fervour. It is easy to recognize
here the root JN, which the sign of life spiritualizes.
Jin Every interior agitation; that which moves, stirs,
excites; eloquence, speech, discourse; an oratorical piece.
The Arabic > conserves of the Hebraic root, only
the general idea of an interior agitation. As noun, it is
literally a dislocation: as verb, it is the action of changing
of place, of expatriation.
328 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
^pj HED. Like the root "IN, of which it is only
a modification, it is attached to all ideas of spiritual ema-
nation, the diffusion of a thing absolute in its nature, as
the effect of sound, light, voice, echo.
The Hebraic root is found in the Arabic iU which is
applied to every kind of sound, murmur, noise; but by
natural deviation the Arabic root having become onomato-
poeiic and idiomatic, the verb .u signifies to demolish.
cast doum, overthrow, by similitude of the noise made by
the things which are demolished.
"Vn Every idea of eclat, glory, splendour, -najesty,
harmony, etc.
HEH. This is that double root of life of which
I have spoken at length in my Grammar and of which I
shall still have occasion to speak often in my notes. This
root, which develops the idea of Absolute Being, is the
only one whose meaning can never be either materialized
or restricted.
N1H In a broad sense, the Being, the one who is:
in a particular sense, a being; the one of whom one speaks,
represented by the pronominal relations he, that one. this.
The Arabic ^ has the same meaning.
fTifl Preeminently, the verbal root, the unique verb
To be-bcing. In an universal sense, it is the Life of life.
mn This root materialized expresses a nothingness,
an abyss of evils, a frightful calamity.
PITT This root, with the sign of manifestation t.
replacing the intellectual sign 1, expresses the existence
of things according to a particular mode of being. It is
the absolute verb to be-existing.
iTfl Materialized and restricted, this same root de-
signates a disastrous accident, a misfortune.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 320
^ HOU. The sign of life united to the convertible
sign, image of the knot which binds nothingness to being,
constitutes one of the roots most difficult to conceive that
any tongue can offer. It is the potential life, the power of
being, the incomprehensible state of a thing which, not yet
existing, is found, nevertheless, with power of existing.
Refer to the notes.
The Arabic roots U, ^ 4.^ j> having lost nearly
all the general and universal ideas developed by the analog-
ous Hebraic roots, and conserving nothing of the intel-
lectual, with the sole exception of the pronominal relation
y> in which some traces are still discoverable, are res-
tricted to the particular acceptations of the root iWi
of which I have spoken above; so that they have received
for the most part a baleful character. Thus O j* has de-
signated that which is cowardly, weak and pusillanimous;
}* that which is unstable, ruinous; the verb ^^ has
signified to pass on, to die, to cease being. The word \y>
which designated originally potential existence, designates
only air, wind, void; and this same existence, degraded
and materialized more and more in Jyb.* has been the
synonym of hell.
Din (comp.) This is the abyss of existence, the
potential power of being, universally conceived.
The Arabic ^ having retained only the material sense
of the Hebraic root designates a deep place, an abyss;
aerial immensity.
pH (comp.) ftubstancc, existence; the faculties
which hold to life, to being.
Jf] HEZ. Movement of ascension and exaltation
expressed by the root ?N, being spiritualized in this one,
330 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE EESTORED
becomes a sort of mental delirium, a dream, a sympathetic
somnambulism.
The Arabic ^ restricted to the material sense sig-
nifies to shake, to move to and fro, to wag the head; etc.
pj^ HEH. Root not used in Hebrew. The Arabic
,, indicates only an exclamation.
gn HET. Root not used in Hebrew.
The Arabic j> or Ja* indicates, according to the
value of the signs which compose this root, any force what-
soever acting against a resisting thing. In a restricted
sense ^ signifies to menace; Ja to persevere in labour;
Ik* to struggle; Ja* struggle. See ION.
^ HE I. Root analogous to the vital root HH
whose properties it manifests.
The Arabic ^ represents the pronominal relation
she, that, this. As verb, this root develops in ^ or ^
the action of arranging, of preparing things and giving
them an agreeable form.
N'il. See NT? of which this is the feminine: she,
that, this.
*n Onomatopoetic .root expressing all painful and
sorrowful affections.
'in Interjective relation, represented by oh! alas!
ah! woe!
"?|n HECH. See the root T|N of which this is but
a modification.
The Arabic j* expresses a rapid movement in march-
ing ; *! indicates, as onomatopoetic root, the noise of the
RADICAL VOCABULARY 331
sabre when it cleaves the air. These two words character-
ize a vigorous action.
T]T See 7]K.
HEL. The sign of life, united by contraction
to the root ^X, image of force and of elevation, gives it
a new expression and spiritualizes the sense. Hieroglyph-
ically, the root *?rr is the symbol of excentric movement,
of distance; in opposition to the root T|n, which is that of
concentric movement, of nearness: figuratively, it char-
acterizes a sentiment of cheerfulness and felicity, an ex-
altation ; literally, it expresses that which is distant, ulte-
rior, placed beyond.
The Arabic J develops in general, the same ideas as
the Hebrew. As verb, it is, in particular, the action of
appearing, of beginning to shine, in speaking of the moon.
As adverbial relation it is, in a restricted sense, the inter-
rogative particle.
*?n or ^n That which is exalted, resplendent, elevat-
ed, glorified, worthy of praise; that which is illustrious,
celebrated, etc.
^H and ^H (intens.} That which attains the de-
sired end, which recovers or gives health, which arrives in
or conducts to safety.
QJ1 HEM. Universalized life: the vital power of
the universe. See in
DH Onomatopoetic and idiomatic root, which indi-
cates every kind of tumultuous noise, commotion, fracas.
The Arabic ++ characterizes, in general, that which
is heavy, painful, agonizing. It is literally a burden, care,
perplexity. As verb, > expresses the action of being
disturbed, of interfering, of bustling about to do a thing.
DIPT Action of exciting a tumult, making a noise,
332 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
disturbing with clamour, with an unexpected crash ; every
perturbation, consternation, trembling, etc.
jj-J HEN. The sign of life united to that of indi-
vidual and produced existence, constitutes a root which
characterizes existences and things in general; an object,
a place; the present time; that which falls beneath the
senses, that which is conceived as real and actually ex-
citing.
[H That which is before the eyes and whose exist-
ence is indicated by means of the relations, here, behold,
in this place ; then, in that time.
The Arabic ^ has in general the same ideas as the
Hebrew. It is any thing distinct from others; a small
part of anything whatsoever. As onomatopoetic and idio-
matic root ^ expresses the action of lulling, literally as
well as figuratively.
pfl Every idea of actual and present existence:
state of being there, present and ready for something:
realities, effects of all sorts, riches.
HES. Onomatopoetic and idiomatic root which
depicts silence. The Arabic ^ seems to indicate a sort
of dull murmur, as when a herd grazes in the calm of
night.
yj-| HEH. Root not used in Hebrew. The Arabic
*A indicates a violent movement; a sudden irruption.
r|H HEPH. This root, which the Hebraic genius
employs only in composition, constitutes in the Arabic ^J*
an onomatopoeia which depicts a breath that escapes quick-
ly and lightly. As verb, it is the action of grazing, touch
ing slightly, slipping off, etc. See )N
RADICAL VOCABULARY 333
HETZ. The Chaldaic pH signifies a branch,
and the Arabic c;A > a thing composed of several others
united by contraction.
This root expresses also in the verb ^^ the action
of gleaming in the darkness, in speaking of the eyes of
a wolf.
HECQ. The Arabic j* indicates an extra-
ordinary movement in anything whatsoever; an impetuous
march, a vehement discourse; a delirium, a transport.
^pj HEE. The sign of life united by contraction
to the elementary root *1N, constitutes a root which dev-
elops all ideas of conception, generation and increase,
literally as well as figuratively.
As onoinatopoetic root, the Arabic ^ depicts a noise
which frightens suddenly, which startles. It is literally,
the action of crumbling, or of causing to crumble.
in Conception, thought; pregnancy; a swelling, in-
tumescence, inflation; a hill, a mountain; etc.
HESH. Root not used in Hebrew. The Arabic
^ signifies literally to soften, to become tender. As
onoinatopoetic root, ^p> indicates a tumultuous concourse
of any kind whatsoever.
HETH. Every occult, profound, unknown
existence.
nin Action of conspiring in the darkness, of schem-
ing, of plotting.
The Arabic > expresses the accumulation of clouds
and the darkness which results.
334 THE HEBEAIC TONGUE RESTORED
) O. OU. W. This character has two very distinct
vocal acceptations, and a third as consonant. Following
the first of these vocal acceptations, it represents the eye
of man, and becomes the symbol of light; following the
second, it represents the ear, and becomes the symbol Of
sound, air, wind : as consonant it is the emblem of water
and represents taste and covetous desire. If one considers
this character as grammatical sign, one discovers in it,
as I have already said, the image of the most profound,
the most inconceivable mystery, the image of the knot
which unites, or the point which separates nothingness and
being. In its luminous vocal acceptation 1, it is the sign
of intellectual sense, the verbal sign par excellence, as I
have already explained at length in my Grammar: in its
ethereal verbal acceptation |, it is the universal convertible
sign, which makes a thing pass from one nature to another ;
communicating on one side with the sign of intellectual
sense 1, which is only itself more elevated, and on the
other, with that of material sense J7, which is only itself
more abased: it is finally, in its aqueous consonantal
acceptation, the link of all things, the conjunctive sign.
It is in this last acceptation that it is employed more part
icularly as article. I refer to my Grammar for all the de-
tails into which I cannot enter without repeating what I
have already said. I shall only add here, as a matter
worthy of the greatest attention, that the character 1,
except its proper name 11, does not begin any word of
the Hebraic tongue, and consequently does not furnish
any root. This important observation, corroborating all
that I have said upon the nature of the Hebraic signs,
proves the high antiquity of this tongue and the regularity
of its course. Because if the character 1 is really the
universal convertible sign and the conjunctive article, it
should never be found at the head of a root to constitute
it. Now it must not appear, and indeed it never does ap-
pear, except in the heart of nouns to modify them, or
RADICAL VOCABULARY 335
between them for the purpose of joining them, or in front
of the verbal tenses to change them.
The arithmetical number of this character is 6.
The Arabic, Ethiopic, Syriac and Chaldaic, which are
not so scrupulous and which admit the character 1 at the
head of a great number of words, prove by this that they
are all more modern, and that they have long since cor-
rupted the purity of the principles upon which stood the
primitive idiom from which they descend ; this idiom pre-
served by the Egyptian priests, was delivered as I have
said, to Moses who taught it to the Hebrews.
In order to leave nothing to be desired by the ama-
teurs of etymological science, I shall state briefly, the most
important roots which begin with this character, in the
dialects which possess them and which are nearly all ono-
matopoetic and idiomatic.
J$1 QUA. Onomatopoetic root which, in the Syriac
lo(o(o expresses the action of barking. Thence the Arabic
^Ij signifies a hungry dog.
2^ OUB. Every idea of sympathetic production,
of emanation, of contagion. The Arabic Vi j signifies in a
particular sense, to communicate a plague or any other
contagious malady.
$] OUG. Aromatic cane. The Arabic, which pos-
sesses this root, is derived from Uj action of striking,
of amputating; of castrating animals.
^ OUD. In Arabic jj every idea of love, friend-
ship, inclination. It is the sympathetic root "Vi"l.
In the modern idiom $j signifies to cultivate friend-
ship for some one, to give evidence of kindness.
336 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
p}^ OUH. In Chaldaic and in Arabic, it is an ono-
matopoetic root which expresses a violent condition of the
soul; lj is* applied to a cry of extreme pain; fl y>^ denotes
the roaring of a lion. The verb j>j characterizes that
which is torn, lacerated, put to rout.
^ WOU. Is the name itself of the character 1
in a broad sense it is every conversion, every conjunction;
in a restricted sense, a nail.
ft OUZ. The Syriac {;o signifies literally a goose.
The Arabic ^ is an onomatopoetic root which repre-
sents every kind of excitation. Thence the verbs jj and
j*j which signify to excite, to act with violence, to trample
under foot, etc.
pj ' OUH. Onomatopoetic root which depicts in the
Arabic r-yj a Jwarseness of the voice. The Ethiopic root
(whi) characterizes a sudden emission of light, a
manifestation. It is the Hebraic root mil.
J^ 1 ) OUT. The sound of a voice, clear and shrill, a
cry of terror; the kind of pressure which brings forth this
cry: in Arabic Ij and JaV, .
^ WI. Onomatopoetic root which expresses dis-
dain, disgust, in Chaldaic, Syriac and Ethiopic: it is the
same sentiment expressed by the interjective relation fi!
The Arabic , has the same sense. In the Ethiopic
idiom (jpjj (win) signifies wine; in ancient Arabic o j
is found to designate a kind of raisin.
^P OUCH. Every agglomeration, every movement
given in order to concentrate; in Arabic 9
RADICAL VOCABULARY 337
The compound iijTj, signifies properly a roll.
OUL. Onoinatopoetic root which depicts a
drawling and plaintive sound of the voice; in Arabic Jjj ;
in Syriac (0^0X0- Thence the Arabic 4j every idea of
sorrow, anxiety of mind. The word j*^ which expresses
that which holds to intention, opinion, is derived from the
root ?.
Q^ OUM. Every kind of consent, assent, con-
formity.
The Arabic A signifies to form, make similar to a
model. It is the root DN
The verb Lj signifies to make a sign.
P OUN. Every kind of delicacy, corporeal soft-
ness, indolence. The Arabic Jj signifies to languish, to
become enervated. The Ethiopic ^Q^P (thouni) signifies
to be corrupted through pleasures.
Q*) OUS. Onomatopoetic root representing the
noise that one makes speaking in the ear: thence, the
Arabic ,r>o an insinuation, a suggestion. When this
word is written ^fj* then it signifies a temptation of the
devil.
y] OUH. Onomatopoetic root representing the
noise of a violent fire, conflagration ; thence, the Ethiopic
Q(SP (wohi], action of inflaming; the Arabic *c* or ^j
howling; crackling of a furnace; a clamour, etc.
m OUPH. Onomatopoetic root which expresses
338 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
a sentiment of pride on the part of one who sees himself
raised to dignity, decoration, power. Thence, the Arabic
^jUj every idea of exterior ornament, dress, assumed
power.
V] OUTZ. Every idea of firmness, solidity, con-
sistence, persistence: thence, the Arabic Jp) which sig-
nifies in general, that which resists, and in particular
necessity.
The verb I* signifies to vanquish resistance; also, to
make expiation ; a religious ablution.
|2 ^ OUCQ. Onomatopoetic root to express literal-
ly the voice of birds, in Arabic Jj and *yj : figuratively,
that which is made manifest to the hearing.
*)*) OUR. Onomatopoetic root which depicting the
noise of the air and the wind, denotes figuratively, that
which is fanned, puffed with wind, vain. In Arabic jj.
The verb jj^j which appears to be attached to the
root "IN, characterizes the state of that which is sharp,
which cleaves the air with rapidity.
{J7^ OUSH. Onomatopoetic root which expresses
the confused noise of several things acting at the same
time: it is confusion, diffusion, disordered movement, in
Arabic
The verb ^ij expresses the action of tinting with
many colours, of painting.
f]*\ OUTH. Onomatopoetic root which depicts the
difficulty of being moved and the moaning which follows
this difficulty : thence, in Arabic ^ f It, and j^ , all
idea of lesion in the limbs, numbness, decrepitude, afflic-
tion,, etc.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 339
] Z. This character as consonant, belongs to the
hissing sound, and is applied as onoinatopoetic means, to
all hissing noises, to all objects which cleave the air. As
symbol, it is represented by the javelin, dart, arrow; that
which tends to an end : as grammatical sign, it is the de-
monstrative sign, abstract image of the link which unites
things. The Hebrew does not employ it as article; but in
Ethiopic it fulfills the functions of the demonstrative
article.
Its arithmetical number is 7.
ji^J ZA. Every idea of movement and of direction;
noise, the terror which results therefrom : a dart; a lumin-
ous ray; an arrow, a flash.
The Arabic \j\j indicates, as onomatopoetic root the
state of being shaken in the air, the noise made by the
thing shaken.
DNt A wolf, on account of the luminous darts which
flash from its eyes in the darkness.
fiNf Demonstrative relation expressed by this, that.
See UN
21 ZB. The idea of reflected movement contained
in the root Nf united by contraction to that of all genera-
ting propagation, represented by the root 2$, forms a
root whose object is to depict every swarming, tumultu-
ous movement, as that of insects; or every effervescent
movement as that of water which is evaporated by fire.
The Arabic ^j develops the same ideas as the He-
brew. As verb, this root expresses in the ancient idiom,
the action of throwing out any excretion, as scum, slime,
etc. In the modern idiom it signifies simply to be dried, in
speaking of raisins.
Dlf Action of swarming as insects; of boiling, seeth-
ing, as water.
340 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
jf ZG. That which shows itself, acts exteriorly;
such as the bark of a tree, the shell of an egg, etc.
The Arabic r-j designates the butt-end of a lance. As
onomatopoetic root *j characterizes a quick, easy move-
ment ; *_j , the neighing of a horse.
^[] ZD. That which causes effervescence, excites
the evaporation of a thing; every idea of arrogance, pride.
"II? Action of boiling, literally; of being swollen,
puffed up icith pride, figuratively, to act haughtily.
HTf IT* IT ZHE > zou zo - Every demonstrative,
manifesting, radiant movement : every objectivity ex-
pressed in an abstract sense by the pronominal relations
this, that, these, those.
The Arabic e j expresses the action of shedding
light, of shining.
n*tf This, that.
fTf That which is shown, appears, shines, reflects
the light; in an abstract sense, an object.
3fTf (comp.) Gold, on account of its innate bright-
ness.
DiTf (comp.) That which is loathsome.
IPff (comp.) That which radiates communicates,
manifests the light. See *litf.
1? Absolute idea of objectivity; everything from
which light is reflected.
JTIf (comp.) A prism; by extension, the angle of
anything whatsoever.
71f (comp.) Action of diverging; by extension,
wasting, neglecting. See *7f*
pf (comp.) Corporeal objectivity. See |?
Jttf (comp.) See Jft.
"D? (comp.) Every idea of dispersion. See "1?
RADICAL VOCABULARY 341
ff ZZ. Every movement of vibration, reverbera-
tion; every luminous refraction.
The Arabic jj as onomatopoetic root develops the
same ideas. The verb ^jjj denotes the conduct of an
arrogant man.
fif Action of vibrating, being refracted as the light,
shining.
W Splendour, reflection of light, luminous bright-
ness.
fit ZH. Every difficult movement made with effort ;
that which is done laboriously ; a presumptuous, tenacious
spirit.
The Arabic J develops the same ideas. The verb j
expresses in general a vehement action of any nature
whatsoever; in particular to rain in torrents.
ffl ZT. Root not used in Hebrew. The Arabic J*j
is an onomatopoetic root which depicts the noise made
by insects when flying.
^Ht (comp.) That which is difficult to put in move-
ment, slow in being determined. That which drags,
creeps; which is heavy, timid, etc.
If ZI. Root analogous to roots Nf lit. if; but whose
sense is less abstract and more manifest, It is in general,
that which is light, easy, agreeable; that which is sweet,
gracious ; that which shines and is reflected as light. Every
idea of grace, of brightness.
The Arabic ^j develops in general, all ideas which
have relation with the intrinsic qualities of things. As
noun ^j characterizes the form, aspect, manner of being;
as verbal j expresses the action of assuming an aspect,
of being clothed in form, of having quality, etc.
342 THE HEBKAIG TONGUE RESTORED
IT In Chaldaic, splendour, glory, majesty, joi/,
beauty: in Hebrew it is the name of the first month of
spring.
Pf (comp.) An animal; that is to say, a being
which reflects the light of life. See ft*
f*t (comp. ) An armour: that is to say a resplendent
body. The Arabic jlj signifies to adorn.
p'f (comp.) A flash of lightning, a quick, rapid
flame, a spark, etc.
DV (comp.) An olive tree, the olive and the oil
which it produces; that is to say, the luminous essence.
^7f ZCH. The demonstrative sign united by con-
traction to the root T]tf , symbol of all restriction and ex-
ception, constitutes an expressive root whose purpose is
to give the idea of that which has been pruned, cleaned,
purged, disencumbered of all that might defile.
Tjf Every purification, every refining test ; that which
is clean, innocent, etc.
The Arabic iJj contains the same ideas. As noun j
designates that which is pure, pious ; as verb, ^ j charac-
terizes the state of that which abounds in virtues, in good
works.
ZL. The demonstrative sign united to the root
7K, symbol of every elevation, of every direction upward,
forms a root whence are developed all ideas of elonga-
tion, prolongation; consequently, of attenuation, weak-
ness; also of prodigality, looseness, baseness, etc.
'nr Action of icasting, profaning, relaxing; of rend-
ering base, weak, feeble, etc.
In a restricted sense the Arabic verb Jj signifies to
stumble, to make false steps.
RADICAL VOCABULARY 343
Qf ZM. That which gives form, figure; that which
binds many parts together to form a whole.
The Arabic *jj contains the same ideas. As onomato-
poetic and idiomatic root, it is in the Arabic ^y-j a dull
noise, a rumbling.
D1 A system, a composition, a scheme : every work
of the understanding, good or bad : a plot, a conspiracy, etc.
?f ZN. The demonstrative sign united to the root
fX, symbol of the moral or physical circumscription of
the being, constitutes a root which develops two distinct
meanings according as they are considered as mind or
matter. From the view point of mind, it is a moral mani-
festation which makes the faculties of the being under-
stood and determines the kind; from that of matter, it
is a physical manifestation which delivers the body and
abandons it to pleasure. Thence:
ff Every classification by sort and by kind accord-
ing to the faculties: every pleasure of the body for its
nourishment: figuratively, all lewdness, fornication, de-
bauchery: a prostitute, a place of prostitution, etc.
The Arabic <jj expresses a sort of suspension of
opinion in things of divers natures. As onomatopoetic
root >j , describes a murmuring.
fit Action of being nourished, feeding the body ; or
metaphorically the action of enjoying, making abuse,
prostituting one's self.
Q7 ZS. Root not used in Hebrew nor in Arabic.
y| ZH. This root, which is only the root fit or if,
inclined toward the material sense, develops the idea of
painful movement, of agitation, anxiety; of trouble caused
by fear of the future.
344 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED
In a restricted sense the Arabic ilj signifies to act
like a fox, to use round about ways.
pit Action of being troubled, fearful, trembling in
expectation of misfortune. Action of being tormented,
disquieted.
rtjfl Trouble, agitation of mind, fatigue; that which
is the consequence, sweat.
D.Jtt (comp.) Violent and general agitation; that
which results, foam : figuratively, rage indignation.
]Jtf ( comp. ) Tumult of irascible passions ; tempest,
storm; etc.
pjft (comp.) Great visible commotion: outburst of
voices, clamour, loud calling.
*Utt (comp. ) Ebbing, waning : diminution, exiguity;
that which is slender, moderate, small.
F|} ZPH. That which is sticky, gluey; that which
exercises a mutual action; literally, pitch.
It is, in the Arabic oj? an onomatopoetic root which
denotes the effect of a puff of wind. The verb jj expresses
the action of being carried away by the wind.
fpf Action of being attached, of experiencing a
mutual, reciprocal sentiment.
M
ZTZ. Root not used in Hebrew nor in Arabic.
P} ZCQ. Every idea of diffusion in time or space.
The Arabic JJ as onomatopoetic root denotes the
action of pecking.
pf A chain, suite, flux; a draught of anything what-
soever. That which spreads, glides, flows in space or time.
Thence, years, old age, and the veneration which is at-
tached to it : water and the purity which ensues : a chain
and the strength which attends it; an arrow, etc.
<J RADICAL VOCABULARY 345
In a restricted sense, the Arabic Jjj signifies a leather
bottle wherein one puts any kind of liquid. It is doubtless
the Hebrew word pt? or the Chaldaic pD, a sack.
*\] ZR. The demonstrative sign united to that of
movement proper, symbol of the straight line, constitutes
a root which develops the idea of that which goes from
the centre, spreads, disperses in every sense, radiates,
leaves a sphere, or any enclosure whatsoever and becomes
foreign.
*tt Every dispersion, dissemination, ventilation :
that which is abandoned to its own movement, which goes
from the centre, diverges : in a broad sense, a stranger, an
adversary, a barbarian: in a more restricted sense, a
fringe, a girdle.
The Arabic jj having lost all the primitive ideas
contained in this root, has preserved only those which are
attached to the word girdle and is restricted to signifying
the action of girding, tying a knot, binding, etc.
*Yl? Action of being disseminated, separated from
the centre, abandoned to its own impulsion ; considered as
estranged, alienated, scorned, treated as enemy; action of
sneezing, etc.
(PJ ZSH. Root not used in Hebrew. The Arabic
j*jj signifies a lout, a boorish fellow; lacking manners
and politeness.
f*\] ZTH. Every objective representation expressed
by the pronominal relations this, that, these, those.
This, that.
p E. H. CH. This character can be considered
under the double relation of vowel or consonant. As vocal
sound it is the symbol of elementary existence and repre-
346 THE HEBRAIC TONGUE RESTORED -
sents the principle of vital aspiration : as consonant it be-
longs to the guttural sound and represents the field of
man, his labour, that which demands on his part any effort,
care, fatigue. As grammatical sign it holds an interme-
diary rank between H, life, absolute existence, and D, life,
relative and assimilated existence. It presents thus, the
image of a sort of equilibrium and equality, and is attached
to ideas of effort, labour, and of normal and legislative
action.
Its arithmetical number is 8.
HA. Root is analogous with the root ITT, which
bears the real character of the sign H. This is used more
under its onomatopoetic relation, to denote the violence of
an effort, a blow struck, an exclamatory cry.
2H HEB. The sign of elementary existence un 
