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&
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY
roR
1848-49 AND 1849-50,
VOL. IV.
•- • • •
• *
• *
• • • «
• •■ - ■
• • •
~ • < ■ <
LONDON:
PRINTED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR,
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.
1850.
iiicAJ rf 9
• . •
* • • I
• •
• • •
» «
/'
CONTENTS.
On npeculJEiruBeof the Anglo- Saxon Patronymical Termination
ing. By John MircnaL Kbmble, Esq 1
On certain Additions to the Vocabulariea of the Caffre Lao-
guagea. By R. G. Latham, M.D 10
On the Nature and Analysis of the Verb (coHfinuerf). By the
Rev. R. Garnett 15
On the Pronouns of the First and Second Persons. By T, H.
Key, Esq 25
Fragments of Orations in Accusation and Defence of Demo-
sthenes, respecting' the Money of Harpaluti. Arranged and
translated by Samubl Sharps, Esq 39
Remarks upon a Vocabulary of the Bonny LanguBge. By R.
G. Latham, M.D 73
On tlie Nomen of C. Verres. By the Rev. J. W. Dokaldbon 75
On the Connexion between the Ideas of Association and Plu-
rality as an Influence in tlie Evolution of Inflection. By R.
G. Latham, M.D 79
On the word Cvjvm. By R. G. Latham, M.D 81
On the Anglo-Saxon Termination ing. By Thomas Watts,
Esq 83
An Attempt to prove the identity of the Roots j>, teas, and be.
By T. H. Key, Esq 87
On the Nature and Analysis of the Verb (^conttHued). By the
Rev. 11. Garnbtt 93
'•Vocabularies of certain Nortb American Indian Languages.
By J. HowaE, Esq 102
On the conjectural Affinities of certain Hebrew and English
Words. By Dr. Benisch 122
On English Etymologies (con ((nufrf). By H. Wbbgwood, Esq. 125
Note upon an Extract from a Copy of a Letter from the Rev.
W, KoeUe, announcing the Discovery of a written African
Language. By E. Norris, Esq 135
Communication concerning the Vei and Mendi Dialects. By
the Rev. A. W. Hanson ib.
Remarks on a Vocabulary of t!ie Cameroons Language. Ry
R. G, Latham, M.D 136
IV CONTENTS.
Page
Oa the Tumali Alphabet. By Dr. L. Tutshek 138
A Vocabulary of the Fazoglo Language. By Dr. L. Tutshek . 139
On the Nature and Analysis of the Verb. By the Rev. R.
Garnett 155
On the Connexion of Pope Gerbert with the Geometry of
Boethius. By G. Sloane, Esq 163
On the Nature and Analysis of the Verb {continued). By the
Rev. R. Garnett 173
On a Vocabulary of the Avekvom Language. By R. G.
Latham, M.D 183
On a short Vocabulary of the Loucheux Language. By J. A.
Isbester 1 84
On the Use of the Verbs shall and will. By Professor De
Morgan 185
On the Original Area of the Slavonic Population. By R. G.
Latham, M.D 187
Vocabularies of certain North American Languages. By T.
Howse, Esq 191
On the Probable Future Position of the English Language. By
T. Watts, Esq 207
On the Original Extent of the Slavonic Area. By R. G.
Latham, M.D 215
A Vocabulary of the Maiongkong Language. By Sir R.
Schomburok 217
A List of Words from the Gower Dialect of Glamorganshire.
By the Rev. J. Collins 222
On the Position occupied by the Slavonic Dialects among the
other Languages of the Indo-European Family. By Pro-
fessor Trithen ^ • . 225
On the Nature and Analysis of the Verb (^concluded). By the
Rev. R. Garnett 233
On the Elements of Language, their Arrangement and their
Accidents. By Edwin Guest, Esq 239
English Etymologies (continued). By H. Wedgwood, Esq. . . 247
English Et3rmologies (continued). By H. Wedgwood, Esq. . . 255
On the Elements of Language, their Arrangement and their
Accidents. By Edwin Guest, Esq 261
Further Observations on the Geometry of Boethius. By G.
Sloane, Esq 269
'- ' -
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV.
NOVEMBER 24, 1848.
No. 76.
Hbnslbioh Wbdowood, Esq. in the Chair.
The following papers were read : —
1. " On a peculiar use of the Anglo-Saxon Patronymical Termi-
nation, iNO." By John Mitchel Kemble, Esq.
The author wished to call the attention of the Society to a peculiar
use of the termination ino in Anglo* Saxon, which he considered as
well deserving the serious consideration of the philologist.
It is well known that its ordinary force is the expression of a pa-
ternal and filial relation : that when added to a proper name it im-
plies the son or other descendant of the person who bore that name :
thus, when the Saxon Chronicle says, Fri'Sog^ Bronding, Brond
Baeldseging, Baeldaeg W6dening (anno 855), we are well aware that
it means Frit^ogar the son q/'Brond, Brond the son q/'Baeldseg, Beeldaeg
the son of Woden, and so on. And when the kings of Kent are
termed CEscings, we know that this name implies their being de-
scendants of Eoric surnamed CEsc or Oisc.
Another use however of this termination is to denote the persons
who live in, or possess a particular place or district : as we meta-
phorically say, the sons or children of such and such a place : thus,
the Brytfordingas are the inhabitants of Brytford* ; Beorhfeldingas
are the possessors or inhabitants of a place called Beorhfeldf ; Brom-
leagingas, the people of Bromleah, Bromley in Kent| ; Beorgan-
stedingas, the people of Berstead in Sussex § ; Dentdningas, the
people of Denton in Northamptonshire || . A very striking example
of this is iEtSelswi'Se tiininga ledh, the lea or meadow of those who
live in ^tSelswi'S's tt!in or settlement^. Here there is of course no
real expression of descent, and the well-known meanings of the
words feld, ford, leah, stede, and ttin, leave no doubt as to the re-
lation intended to be marked.
But this affain requires to be carefully distinguished from the
patronymic when used to denote the name of a place, and when it
occurs in the plural only. In this case the people are in fact men-
tioned, and not the place ; or if the place, it is coupled with the name
in the genitive plural : thus Cystaninga mearc, the mark of the Cysta-
nings or people of Keston in Kent*'*'. Besinga hearh, the idolatrous
building or temple of the Besingas, probably in Sussexft. Of such
names as these about thirteen hundred and thirty are yet extant in
* Cod. Dipl. No8. 421, 985, 1108. || Cod. Dipl. No. 445.
t Ibid, No. 1175. ^ Ibid, No. 657.
t Ibid, No. 657. ♦* Ibid. No. 994.
§ Ibid. No. 663. ft Ibid. No. 1163.
VOL. IV. B
I England, and may be recognized in the modern forms : thus Mailing,
Tarring, Charing, Lancing, Worthing, Harling, Poling, Poynings,
Erpingham, Effingham, Hallington, Bensington, Billinghurst, Brent-
ingford, and a host of similar appellations.
But the use of the patronymic to which the author was anxious to
call attention was this. In local names it replaces the genitive sin-
gular of a person. Thus if the estate of earl ^EtSelwulf is to be de-
scribed, it is denoted by the term iEtSelwulfing land, not iEtSelwulfes :
I Swii$rsedingden, now Surrenden, in Kent*, is the pasture belonging
! to SwitSrsed, and fully equivalent to SwitSrsedes den. ITie following
examples of this usage will show, by their very number, that this is
no accidental thing, but a genuine Saxon use of the particular form.
: 1. ^«elwaldingtiin, a.d. 955 Cod. Dipl. No. 433
i 2. iE«elwulfingland, Kent, 801 179
! 3. Aldberhtingtiin, Kent, 823 21Z
i 4. Alhmundingtiin, Warw., 860 305, 315
I 5. Alhmundingms&d, ibid, ibid ibid,
6. ^Ifredingtiin, Derby 710, 1298
7. -^^eledingwudu 1171
8. iE«elhuninglond 984, 990
9. -aE«eredingtiin 1234
10. Beorhtwaldingtiin 1 123
1 1 . Brihtulfingtiin, Worcest 570
12. Brynmgtdn, Berks 1 152
13. Cyneburgingtiin, Worcest., 840 245
14. Ce61mundingha^a, London, 857 280
15. Cynemundingwk, 869 299
16. Ce61baldingtun, Hants, 908 342, 642, 1 110
17. Ce61ulfing&i 425
18. Cumbringtiin, Worcest 570
19. Cu«eringcotu 1297
20. Cynelmmghdm 1078
21. Dunwalinglond, Kent, 811 195
22. De6ringland, Kent, 845 295
23. Duningland, 860 283
24. Dagardingweg 570
25. DenewaldingMm 570
26. Dinwaldingden 1014
27. Ecgheang (Ecghe^ing) land^ Kent, 812 199
28. Eddbaldingtiin, Gloucest., 855 277, 325
29. Edderingtdn, 880, 885 314
30. E^byrhtingle^ 516
31. Eddbyrhtingtiin 570
32. E^elming^a 1368
33. EAdulfing^ 274
34. Eddulfingtiin 672, 716
35. EWwaldmgleah 570
36. Ealhmundingweg 1368
37. Ednulfingfom 1252
* Cod. Dipl. No. 1315.
84. WulMfingland* Cod. Dipl. No. 688
85. Werburgingwlc, Kent 217
86. Wermundingford, Worcest 649
87. Wilmundingcotu, Worcest 724
88. Wulfweardingledh, Worcest 766
The following names, though not so clearly and obviously recog-
nizable, appear to be of the same character. They do not strike us
quite so immediately, because the names themselves are not so com-
mon as those which are recorded in the foregoing' list ; but it is
impossible to account for them upon any other supposition than that
of their being formed upon the names of men, the owners or holders
of the estates intended.
89. iEdcdngtiin, Northampt.. . Cod. Dipl. No. 233, 265
90. JSmingweg 1 1 54
91. iEfingtdn, Hants 642, 1229
92. Aggingbeorgas 1 149
93. Aldingbume, Sussex 464, 992
94. Alingm^d 259
95. Angema&ringtiin, Sussex 314, 1067
96. Antinghdm, Norfolk 785
97. Appingland 1027
98. Babbingden 187
99. Babbinglond 195
.00. Babbingpom 685, 1222
01. Baclm^iin 984
02. Badmingtiin, Gloucest 570
.03. Badingm^d 355
.04. Baldingcotu 161
.05. Beaddmgbrycg 1064
.06. Beaddingbr6c 1051, 1052
.07. Beaddingtlin 342, 606
08. Beardingford, Worcest , 570
09. Bening(Mn, Lincoln 265
10. BeninffwurS, Worcest 61, 64
1 1 . Beoccmgmsed 743
12. Beringtiin, Kent 1049
13. Be«linghop 1027
14. Billingbr6c, Worcest 570
15. Billingden, Kent 1 14
16. Blecdngden, Kent 288
17. Bobingseata, Kent 1 75
18. Boddingmaed 1063
* There are several Lavingtons in different parts ot England, all of which arose
in this way. They are sometimes, amusingly enough, distinguished by their first
syllable being prefixed as a separate word : thus in Sussex, Wool Lavington is care-
fully distinguished from Bar Lavington. Yet they ran less risk of being con-
founded in ancient times, when Wulflafs property was very clearly defined and
marked off from BedrlaTs, WuIfl6fingtCin from Be6rl4fingtCin. Elsewhere we have
Hul Lavington, which is only Hunldfing tCin, Wool Bedington, once Wulf bssding tun ;
nnd many other instances may be found.
119. Boddiugweg, Dorset Cod. Dipl. No. 454
120. Bradingletih 272
121. Brildiagcotu 242,683
122. Bretingmted 1827
123. BreSlingmKd 474
124. Brihtingbr^c 268
125. Biyningland 1020, 1021
126. Bnlningberli 419
127. Budingwfe, Worcest 209
128. Bunningfald ' 1243
129. Bimningtiin, Warwick 62
130. Buntinplic 60
131. Burtingburh 939
132. Buttinggr^ 126, 682
133. Bynningtun, Northampt 898, 984
134. Bynningwui*, Hants ■ 625, 1368
135. Byrdingwic 764
136. BjThtringden 385
137. B^ringfaJod 364
138. Bymfseringhim 1131
139. Cflhingle^ 330
140. Casingburae, Kent 199, 1027
141. Casingstrat, Kent 204
142. Ceoferingtreow 1 145
143. Cicelingweg 1035, 1070
144. Cillingcotu, Worcest 570
145. CiUingtiin, Middlesex 483, 555
146. Cifiogtiin, Worcest 570
147. Colingham, Nottingliamah 984
148. Collingtdn. Middlesex 824
149. CotinghAm, NortLampt 984
150. Cotingtiin, Surrey 988
151. Cndii^itiia, Surrey 363, 812
152. CeiJlingmdr 1 121
153. Cybeling grif, Hauta 673
154. Dtedingtiln, Oxford 950
165. Didelingtiin, Dorset 412, 454
156. Dillingtiin, Norfolk 581
157. Doddinghym, Kent 1, 144, 295
158. Dorsingtiin, Warwick 62, 964
159. DnitingstTSBt,. Kent 2, 3
160. Ducelingddn, Oxford 775
161. Duclingtdn 1218
162. Duddingbcaro, Somerset 1052
163. Duddiagden, Somerset 461
164. Dminingheafod, Kent 458
165. Diiiiiungland, Essex 685
166. Dunninglaad, Kent 153
167. Ihinningwic 1241
168. Dydingcotu, Worcest 308, 638
169. Dynningden, Gloucest Cod. Dipl. No. 385
170. Eabbingwyl 272
171 . E^ngham, Somerset 461
172. Ealdingburne, Sussex 314
173. Ealdingtiin, Kent 1237
174. Ebingtiin, Wilts 1076
175. Eccingtiin, Worcest 570, 1298
176. Effingknap 505
177. EfretSingdenn 288
178. Elmingtiin, Northampt 520
179. Emeeingm^re 385
180. Eoredingden , 385
181. Erpinghdm, Norfolk 785
182. Esmgburae, Hants 131, 346
183. Farlingm^re, Somerset 567
184. Feodecingledh, Worcest 308, 538
185. Fittingtiin . . ; 716
186. Frseciiighyrst, Kent 179, 198
187. Frangsing secer 1225
188. Fri««ingden, Kent 187, 1049
189. Frumesingledh 204
190. Geaflinglacu 1171
191. Giddingford, Suffolk 685
192. Gyselinghdm, Suffolk 1340
193. Grutelingtiin, Wilts 381
194. Gynddinggserstdn 308, 538
195. Haewiningland 1098
196. Halingtiin, Lincoln 192, 233
197. Haningtiin, Hants 739
198. Helmingtiin, Northampt 420
199. Hemin^ord, Huntingdon 581, 809
200. Hemingtiin, Northampt 809
201 . Heortingtiin, Somerset 314
202. Herbedingden 288
203. Hocingmaed 1091
204. Hoingden 1363
205. Honingtdn, Lincoln 939
206. Homingdiin, Somerset 816
207. Hrempingwlc 175
208. Humbinglond 1020
209. Hummingtiin, Wilts •. 1188
210. Hwitingh6, Suffolk 685
211. Hwitingtun, Worcest 210, 670
212. Hyldingbrdc, Hants 626
213. Hyringden 1041
214. Icelingtiin, Cambridge 967
215. Ilbingtiin, Kent 1025
216. Illin^iin, Norfolk 957
217. Impmgtdn, Cambridge 907
218. Ircelingburh 984
219. Lacingbrdc Cod. Dip]. No. 1253
220. Liccingden 385
221. LUlingleai, Berks 356, 762
222. Lissiagliin, Essex 685
223. Ludadingwic 339
224. Ludingtun ... J 924
225. LuSinglond 957
226. Manningstii 1243
227. MarSingford, Suffolk 946, 947
228. Monningham, Worcest 645
229. Mundingwyl 721
230. Mundlinghiim 107
231. Oflingiecer, Hants 556
232. Orpedingtiin, Kent 745, 896
233. Osmingtiin, Dorset 375, 1 1 19
234. Piedingtiin, Middlesex 1223
235. Paningtdn 579
236. Partingdnin 749
237. Peattingtiin 330
238. Piplingtun, Worcest 670
239. Ptussiiighyrat 187
240. Pocgiiigrdd 1164
241. Poingwic, Worcest 570
242. Fontingtaa, Surrey 363, 532
243. Potingdiin 1368
244. Pottiil^iin, Worcest 1299, 1358
245. Punniiigstoc 208
246. Pyndingmersc, Wilts 395
247. Radingtiin, Wilts 319
248. Rielingbergaa 780
249. Rtcinghal, Suffolk 1349
250. RumiuingEet, Kent 47
251. Rustingdeu 1049
252. SceaceLingsecer 1171
253. SceoUingtiiD, Kent 1223
254. Scillinghangra, Berks 427
255. Scillingtiin, Bedfordsh 953
256. Scyfijngdun, Wilts 571
257. Seufelingford, Kent 282
256. Siblinghyrst, Hants 589
. 259. Snattingden, Kent 187
260. Stacingwfe 1131
261. Stferfinghyrat 1131
262. Stifingwcg, Berks 762
263. SubbingwJc, Worcest 210
264. Suclingdiin, Lincoln 809
265. Sugginguiasd, Dorset 376
266. SuSlingledb 382
267. SwseBelingwyi, Hants 342
268. SwteaelingfoVd, Hants 713
8
269. TaBtli^gtdn, Worcest Cod. Dipl. No. 676
270. Talingdiin, Lincoln 297
271. Tiningtiin, Kent 1041, 1042
272. Teottinfftdn, Worcest. 146, 514
273. Tettingford, Gloucest S8o
274. Deningden, Kent 1014
275. Drifingden 335
276. Tillinghdm, Essex 957, 982
277. Timbingtiin, Worcest 150
278. Totingtiin, Norfolk 785
279. Tredingtiin, Worcest 620, 676
280. Tredingddn, Gloucest 102
281. Tricinghdm, Northampt 984
282. Trostingtiin, Suffolk 967
283. Trowingsceaddas, Hants • 589
284. Tnimpingtiin, Cambridge 907
285. Tucingnces, Kent 132
286. Tudin^dn, Middlesex 483
287. Tullingt(in, Sussex 481
288. Turdingsceat, Hants 673
289. Turtlingford, Worcest. 515
290. Udngcumb 1186
291. Ucmgsecer 178
292. Ucingford, Hants 374, 488
293. Uffingtiin, Hants 604, 642
294. Unningland, Sussex 18
295. Uppingbdm, Hants 590
296. W8etlingt(in, Oxford 311
297. WsetlingwortS, Sussex 809
298. Wafingden, Kent 288
299. Wasingburh, Lincohi 984
300. Wassingwyl, Kent 281
301. Wermingtiin, Northampt 984
302. Wseringwlc, Warwick 705
303. Weascingweg 1035, 1070
304. Welingtiin, Somerset 816
305. Wendlingburh, Northampt 420
306. Widefingden, Kent 288
307. Wifelingfald 353
308. Witinghdm, Suffolk 959
309. Winlinghdm, Cambridge 907
310. Wihteringtiin, Northampt 575, 984
311. Wopinghangra 427
312. Wreninghdm, Norfolk 921
313. Wufingfald 1243
314. Wuhingland, Hants 624
315. Ylfingden 1198
316. Ytingstoc 1227*
* Note. — Many of the names rn this second list will not be familiar to the general
reader of Anglo-Saxon. The author would call his attention to a few, which he
These it must be admitted form a respectable body of evidence.
mxr when we look at the names themselves would it be easy to avoid
the conclusion that has been drawn. Were there indeed an a in-
serted, were it for example Cedlholdingatdn instead of Ce61bold-
ingtiin, we should at once conclude that Chilbolton derived its name
from the Cedlboldings, or sons of Cedlbold, its first possessor. Were
it ^Selhuningalond, we might talk of the iEtSelhuningas, sons or
descendants of iESelhun. But this is not the case, and in every in-
stance which I have cited, the patronymic stands in the nominative
singular, not in the genitive plural.
Further, we are enabled to show that the places thus described
did sometimes stand in the closest and most immediate connexion
with the perscms from whom they derive their names. For example,
we have Ce61munding haga, the Ce61munding tenement or house in
London. Now the charter which names this tenement states also
that Cedilmund sold it to the bishop of Worcester, and that the king
confirmed the sale. This Ce61mund was at the time Prsefectus,
ger6fa or governor of the city, and is probably the same person as
afterwards became a duke or ealdorman in Kent. Ce61munding haga
is " the house that Cedlmund possessed," and which he sold. The
genius of the modem German would be to form an adjective in isk,
and say Das Ceolmundische Haus, Die Cedlmundische Wohnung,
and the like.
Again, we have Wulferdinglea, now Wolverley in Worcestershire,
and here Wulfherd or Wulfheard is distinctly mentioned as its
owner, paying various sums to the king for privileges which he
desired to have conferred upon it. We may therefore assure our-
selves that in every instance a similar reason existed for the name.
There is one very striking case, namely that of Oswaldingtiin, a
farm belonging to bishop Oswald, but which in this list appears in
the motley garb, half Latin and half Saxon, of Oswalding villaro*
It is also remarkable that in so large a list, embracing such dif-
ferent periods of time and localities, there should be only two names
compounded with that of a woman, viz. Cyneburgiogtdn, now Ke-
merton, and once a celebrated religious foundation of the Mercian
princess so named, and Werburgingwlc or St. Werburh in Kent ;
Nos. 13 and 85 in this list. As feminine proper names for the most
part form their genitive singular in e, there would have been no dif-
mu8t be good enough to accept as existing names upon the author's authority. The
names in the first list speak for themselves, being of common occurrence ; those
that follow are rarer, but still are found. Nos. 98, 99, 100, Beebba, or Bebbe. 105,
106, 107, Beadda. Ill, Beocca. 116, Blecca. 117, Boba. 118, 119, Boda.
124, Beorhte. 125, 126, Brun. 133, 134, Bynna. 151,Cuda. 152,Ce6I. 153.
Cytel. 157, Dodda. 162, 163,Dudda. 164, 165, 166, 16/, Dun, Dunna, and
Dunne. 169, Dynne. 170, Eaba. 175, Kcca. 176, Effi. 181, Erp. 184,
Fiduc. 192, Gisel. 197, Hana. 198, Helm. 199, 200, Uama. 201, Heort. 203,
Hoce. 206, Horn. 214, Icel. 217, Impe. 226, 228, Manna, Monna. 234,
Pada. 246, Pynda. 251, Rust. 256, 257, Sceaf, Scuf. 265, Suga. 27S,
Teotta. 286, Tuda. 289, Torhtel. 290, 291, 292, Ucca. 293, Uffa. 313, Wuffa.
314, Wuha.
10
ficulty on the score of euphony, which may possibly have had some-
thing to do with the substitution of ing for es in the genitive sin-
gular of the masculine nouns. ^Iflasde land, Beahhilde tdn, are even
more easy and euphonious than iElfla&dingland, Beahhildingt(in»
and can be easier pronounced.
As these words are compounds, of which the patronymic is the
first part, they take the articles, pronouns, etc. which belong to the
second word of the compound, as is usual in Anglo-Saxon con-
structions : thus we have ^aet Folcwiningland, the land of Folcwine ;
se Alhmundingsnsed, the underwood of Alhmund.
This use of the patronymic appears to be unknown to every other
Teutonic tongue, and it certainly brings considerable difficulties with
it : but the facts allow of no dispute. They are not easily accounted
for, but they are too numerous and well-authenticated not to chal-
lenge investigation. It is clear beyond cavil that the syllable ing
is in these words used as an equivalent for the syllable es, that is,
for the usual masculine genitive singular ; the few cases where it
might seem merely an euphonic change for an, as in Wufingland,
Wuhingland,Lullingland, which imply the nominatives Wufa, Wuha,
LuUa, forming no valid argument against the Folcwines, Cynemundes,
E&dheres, Wigbaldes, which are represented by Folcwining, Cyne-
munding, Eddhering, Wigbalding. Nor is there any reason to
suppose that these words are adjectives, seeing that there is no such
adjectival form in any Teutonic language. In addition to which we
observe that £he patronymic in these words does not take any sign
of number or declension, as an adjective would do, but retains its
simple ing, although the word itself in the accusative singular, or in
the nominative and accusative plural — all of which occur — would
require particular inflections.
On the whole it seems most probable that some feeling of the
power of the genitive itself as the generative case, lurks at the foun-
dation of this usage, and that as the simple genitive may replace the
patronymic, so the patronymic may be used to denote a simple ge-
nitive. Folcwining land seems to me to be no more than the gram-
matical converse of "Adafx rov deov,
2. ** On certain Additions to the Vocabularies of the Cafifre Lan-
guages." By R. G. Latham, M.D.
The present paper is submitted to the Society with the view of
directing attention to two recent statements respecting the philology
of the great Caffre stock of languages. It by no means pretends to
exhaust the question.
The first of these is the position of a language of the east coast of
Africa, called the Ukuafi. The second relates to the subdivisions of
the Caffre group of tongues.
The most valuable additions in the way of vocabularies that have
been supplied within the last few months, in respect to the philo-
logical ethnography of Southern Africa, are : —
1 . The collections of Krapf on the eastern coast of Africa.
11
2. The Tocabularies of the United States Eiploring Expedition,
collected by Mr. Hales.
The subjoined tabular vocabulary, is due to the courtesy of the
Chevalier B.unsen, by whom it was received in the August of 1845,
since which time the attention of Ewald and other German scholars
has been directed to the group of languages which it represents.
Comparative Exhibition of Six East-African Languages,
English.
man
Suaheli.
woman. %.
father ...
mother...
brother..,
heaven ...
earth ...
tun
moon ...
Mtar
water ...
etone ...
tree
fruitt ...
bread ...
j»re ••••••
head
hair
'y'
note
tongue ...
tooth ...
ear
^>
hand.
foot
heart ...
beUy
blood ...
bone
thin
mtu
mtumke
baba
mama .....
eadugu....
mbingo
enti
(Uhua
miiesi ....
aiota
madshi....
dshiwe....
mti
matunda .
mukate....
muotto
Kivoa •••...•••
nuelle
dshito
pua
ulimi
dshino
shikio
miidmo
shengo
mukdno . . .
gu
moio
tumbo
damu
emfupa ,
engdfi
dshanda ..
Wanika. Wakamba.
•{
mutu
mtshetu
baba
maio ,
menehu . .
mbingo
tzi
dzua
muesi
nioha
madzi
dziwe
muhi
mahunda . .
mukihe
muoho
dshitzSa ..
nuerre
dshitzo
pula
lurimi
dzino
sikiro
emlomo
tzingo
mukono . .
gulu
moio
endani
milatzo
emsosa
mundu ...
muka {pU
aka)
adza
ia
endui ...
mulungo
endn
kua
m5i
nida
mandzi...
}
Msarab&ra. Msegiia.
mg088i ...
mdere ...
d&de
mame ..
endugu..
mulungo
shanga...
zua
muesi ...
niniesi ..
mftzi
dziwe 'ziwe
finger
cloth unguo
food ...... dshakula
theep ...Ikondo .
goat ^embusi.
gnombe
niuni
endofu .
ombiia .
mutti ...
mahunda
muagi
mutue
endziu
ido
embiSla
uimi
ino
idu
muomo
engingo ...
mukono ...
mudumiio...
engdlo
iwu
endak&me ...
emsosa
dshingo .
dshala dshaa
cow
bird
elephant
dog
lion
hyena
fowl ..
simba
Hsi .
kuku
unguo ....
dshakuria.
muti
tundu ..
maboko
muotto . .
mt5e
mefusi ..
zisso
pura
ur&ka ..
zino
gutiii . .
muromo
sengo . .
mukono
emrondi
kifua
tumbo ..
pome
emfupa..
kingo ..
dshftra ,.
gnonsi .
embusi.
gnombe
tzongo .
endzofu
dia ....
simba
fisi
kuku.
itama ...
kando ...
engddo...
embiii ...
gnombe
entzongo
endzofu
dia
dsimba ,
embidi .
simba
kuQgili
engugu enguku
suke
kande ...
engoto ...
embusi . . .
engombe
endege ...
tembo ...
kuri
UkuSfi.
mtu
aito.
mfiere endangtli.
dade
mlala
endugu
mulungo ...
zii
zua
muesi
tondo
madshi
iwe
mti
matunda ...
erogade.
muotto
mtui
fin
sudshe .,
kande .,
engoto ..
embiisi.,
gnombe
Ikatege .
itembo .
mbua .
simba
b&u .
I
kuku.
Z1880
em pula
ulimi
zino
gutui
emlomo ...
sengo
mukono ...
kiga
moio
utumlK) ...
sak&me
emfuha
dshingo . . .
ehdole
baba.
ygyu.
enganasbe.
engai.
ank5po.
engolo.
labba.
liiaklri.
engaire.
85itL
endshedda.
sitedi.
engima.
lukunia.
lebablte.
engogno.
engume.
egnedshSpe.
lala.
engi5ko.
enkutuku.
emurtu.
eng&ina.
engedu.
olgossi.
engosh5ge.
sarge.
luito.
endshoni.
j likomod-
\ shino.
nanga.
endaa.
engerre.
enginne.
engidde.
engueni.
oldome.
oldia.
I luwarigi-
\ doko.
{luwari-
uadshine.
guguseki.
12
Bnglish.
fish
town
house ...
my house
thy
his —•
children
men ......
slaves ...
friends...
truth ...
Ue,
black
white
great
smaU
bad .
good,
long .
low
far
near
I know .,.
I know not
he has de-
sired
he has
beaten
lean ...
he cannot
he comes
tomorrow
do thy bu-
siness
bring ye
nowfbod
one ...
two ...
three ...
four
five
six
seven ...
eight
nine
ten
Suaheli.
samaki
emdshi
niumba
r niumba
I yango
yako...
yakwe
watoto
watu
watuma
maraffiki
koeUi ...
Wanika.
8U1
mudzi
niumba
niumba
yango
yako...
ye
Wakamba.
urongo
meaussi ..
meauppe ..
emku ,
emdogo ..
mudfu
muema
emrefii
dshu
tint
emballi
kariba
nadshua ..
sidshui
[•amedaka
>- amepiga
nawesa....
hawSsi....
aiakadsha
kesho
£Emia kasi-
yako
' ettAibring)
8a8a(noK;}
dshakula
(food)
emmodsha..
ombm ...
tatu
enne
tano
setta
sabaa ...
nine
kenda ...
kiimi
wahoho
atu
asunnie
asena .
dsheri .
••••••••
kuvu
mulaogo .
niumba .
niumba
yak6a
yagu..
yagiie
ulongo
mulru
meruffe ...
emkiilu
emdide
miii
mutzo
mure
dzulu
tzini
kurre
vevi
namdnia ...
kamania ...
udzilonda...
udzipiga ...
naidima ...
kaidima ...
undakudza
madshero
henda maka
sigo
rehe sambe
dshakuria
emmenga . . .
embiri
tahu
enne
tzano
tandahu ...
fungahe ...
nane
kenda
kiimk
owungu
muilu ...
mukeu ...
munene
muniguie
mui
mutzeo...
emnene
dzulu ...
endini ...
kuatza ...
fag^Yi ...
naiwa ...
enditzi ...
wiwidzi
andu
madomba...
muguiaguia
uwo
Msambara.
ungo manda
kukuna.
emsisin
dshegnara ..
emkulu
kidddo
kadama ...
mueddi
mure
uranga
hisi
harre
hehi
niamania ...
kimanire ...
niakonda...
amekoma...
nadonia ...
endidonia...
adshoka 1
dshoko J
enda undu-
yagu
ette endino
kando
nmue ..
iU
itatu
inna
idano .
dandlltn
niania ..
munda . ,
kenda ..
kumi.....
fi
kaia
kumbi
kumbi
yango
— yako
— yakwe
wibanga ...
wagossi ...
wasumba...
embue
kuerri ....
Msegiia.
kabUa
omsi.........
niumba
niumba 1
angoj
ako ...
akwe
Uku&fi.
sengin.
angang.
angadsbi.
angadshi^
ulongo
ad&ta
emditu
dshagnala...
emkulu
endodo
kaiba
kidamltna...
mtalle
kulanga ...
basse
halle
hagiihe
dsheliamania
simanise
m'aonga
katoa . .
nad&ha
niahuma ...
esa mfondo
gossora en-
dima yako
nika kande
wiriishe
mosi
kaidi
katatu ....
kanne ....
kashano .
emientatu
fimgate....
nane
kenda ....
kumi
wana dddo .
watu
wasumba...
embuia
kendedi .
...{
nad&ha ,
alCima ,
lufi nese ..
tenda endi-
ma ako
naiiise hal-
lusi kande
mosi....
pili ....
tatu ....
kanne .
sbano .
endatu .
fiingate.
nane....
kenda .
Inimi....
— m.
— egnie.
engera.
kulumuroa.
singa.
shdre.
ardislwa.
edumulad-
sharre.
eroko.
aib6ru.
kidoko.
kanignie.
toronno.
sidei.
eada.
kewer.
ang6ff.
Iak5a.
d&na.
ayullu.
mayuUu.
ajTub.
tosbo.
aidimu.
emiii.
mabe leflU.
endo biri-
shdni.
yaukuleyau-
tata endaa.
obo.
ari.
okiini.
otdni.
himmieti.
ille.
nabishana.
issieti.
sal.
tomon.
That the Wanika, the Wakamba, the Msambara, the Msegua,
and the Suaheli (Sowaiel), are either closely allied languages, or
dialects of one common tongue, is evident. The position of the
Ukuafi is more equivocal.
In the original MS. it is placed between the Wakamba and the
13
Msambara, t. e . the fourth in order, lliis is primd facie evidence of
its having been considered by the original author as allied to the
other five.
In a notice of Ewald's upon the same languages, the statements
that are made concerning the Sowaiel (or North-eastern Caffre) lan-
guages in general are made in an unqualified manner, or without any
exception in respect to the Ukuafi.
Without stating whether such be or be not the case, the present
writer has satisfied himself that no such assertion is borne out by
the present table ; of this the reader may judge for himself.
Neither is a Ci^e afiinity made out by the comparison with other
vocabularies, either simple or tabulated.
Nearly hdf the Ukus^ words of the present table are common to
Mr. Hales's vocabularies, yet none coincide ; although Mr. Hales's
vocabularies represent as many as fourteen Cafire dialects. Hence it
is considered the safest way in the present state of our knowledge to
consider the Ukuafi as an unplaced rather than as a Caffre language.
On the other hand, the Ukuafi, although an unplaced language,
is by no means a language without several miscellaneous afiinities.
The syllable en-, with which almost all the Ukuafi words, quoted
below, begin, may or may not be the Caffre prefix. Even if it be so,
its presence is by no means conclusive as to the position of the lan-
guage in the Caffre group ; a point upon which the present writer
hopes, hereafter, to lay before the Society full evidence.
English
Ukuafi
head.
lukunia.
Mandingo
hung.
English
Ukuafi
Agow
ear.
engioko,
ankwaghi.
English
Ukuafi
Koldagi
Timmani
foot.
engedu.
kuddo.
katuk.
English
Ukuafi
belly.
engoshoge.
Falasha
Agow
gozigu,
guzig, gusge, gizu.
English
Ukuafi
Somauli
Danakil
Howssa
hand.
engaina.
gunna.
ginnaetu.
hanu.
English
Ukuafi
Denka
sun.
engolo,
akol.
English
Ukuafi
Gonga
Woratta
fire.
engima.
tamo,
tammo.
Wolaitsa
tamma.
English
Ukuafi
Darfur
water.
engarre,
koro.
English
Ukuafi
tree.
endsheddu.
Agow
satsi.
English
Ukuafi
Gafat
Gonga
Woratta
house.
angadshi.
gedjish,
kecho,
ketsa.
Kaffa
ketto.
English
Ukuafi
Karaba
sheep.
engerre,
erong.
English
Ukuafi
ten.
toman.
Woratta
tama.
Wolaitsa
tamma.
14
Krapfs vocabularies illustrate the languages on the east coast
of Africa, and verify the current doctrine concerning the ettent of
the Caffre languages northwards.
Mr. Hales's vocabularies illustrate both sides of the continent.
1. For the parts between the Equator and the Hottentot country, —
Here we have, besides specimens of the Kambinda, Congo, and
Angola languages, the addition of the (a.) Mundjola, (6.) and Bengcra
dialects. The Mundjola is the name of a savage tribe in the interior
of Congo. The Bengera is the language of Benguela ; an area for
which a good vocabulary has long been wanted.
2. The Makua, Mudjana, and Makonde vocabularies are also im-
portant additions. The fullest Makua vocabulary known to the pre-
sent writer is still in MS. and belongs to the Asiatic Society. The
best proof of the Monjou and Makooa dialects being CafFre is sup-
plied by Mr. Hales.
3. The last four vocabularies of Mr. Hales are the most important.
For the country between Delagoa Bay and the Mozambique ; for
the parts about the river Zambeze ; for Inhambane, Sofala, Botonga,
Manica, and Mocaranga, the published data have been pre-eminently
insufficient Now, besides a Nyambana (Inhambane) vocabulary,
Mr. Hales has published a Takwani, a Masena, and a Sofala voca-
bulary, representing the languages of the river Zambeze.
These important materials place the great extension of the Caffre
languages beyond doubt. We are now enabled to state not only
that they are spoken at the Cape and at the Equator, but that it is
nearly certain that they are spoken /rom the Cape to the Equator —
t. e, continuously.
Thus far the current doctrines respecting the philology of South
Afirica remain unmodified, or modified only in the way of confir-
mation. The following sentences from Mr. Hales indicate a new
and important fact : — '* From a comparison of our vocabularies with
others already published, two inferences may be deduced, one of
which is familiar to ethnographers, whilst the second has not, so far
as we are informed, been distinctly stated. The first is, that from
the Equator to 30° south latitude the continent of Africa is occupied
by a single people, speaking dialects of one language. Secondly, it
appears that this general language, or rather family of languages, has
two distinct subdivisions, which may be entitled (1.) the Congo-
Makua, and (2.) the Caffrarian, each including under it several dia-
lects or minor divisions."
The present writer doubts whether the evidence of Mr. Hales is
quite sufficient to prove that the Congo and Makua languages are
more allied to each other than either is to the Caffre ; admitting,
however, that there is considerable probability of such being the
case.
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. DECEMBER 15, 1848. No. 77.
James Yates, Esq. in the Chair.
The following pajier was read —
•*0n the Nature and Analysis of the Verb:'* — Continued. By
the Rev. Richard Gamett.
We proceed to consider the evidence deducible from a class of
languages nearly related to the Turco-Tartarian family, namely the
Tschudish or Finnish, of which the Lappish and Hungarian are now
generally admitted to be members. I'he Hungarian was indeed for
a long time regarded as a language sui generis ; but in the last cen-
tury, Sajnovics, and subsequently Gyarmathi, brought abundant
evidence to show that it is closely related to the Lappish, Finnish,
and Esthonian, both in words and construction. Though their de-
monstration was in some respects more empirical than scientific, and
was capable of being carried much further, it was sufficient to esta-
blish their leading position ; insomuch that Adelung, whose ideas
respecting the origin of language inclined him to believe in the ex-
istence of perfectly isolated ones, admitted that the connexion could
not be denied.
A still greater step was made in our own time by Dr. W. Schott
of Berlin, who showed by an able and extensive induction, that the
Manchu, Mongolian, Calmuck, Turco-Tartarian, Tschudish, and
Hungarian are all members of one great family of tongues, divisible
indeed into classes, but still bearing abundant marks of a community
of origin. One general point of agreement among them is, that they
have no single class of words bearing the distinct and exclusive cha-
racter of roots of verbs. The abstract noun forms most commonly
the basis of the conjugational system, but by no means necessarily
and peculiarly so ; other parts of speech, not excluding particles,
being often capable of construction with pronominal terminations, so
as to be perfectly equivalent to verbs in other languages.
The following remarks of Gabelentz, in his valuable sketch of the
Grammar of the Mordwinian language in Lassen's ' Zeitschrift fiir die
Kunde des Morgenlandes,' will help to place the capabilities of this
member of the great Finnish family in a clearer light. After ob-
serving that it is important to study all the languages of the class in
conjunction, in order to form an adequate idea of the variety and
copiousness of their forms, he adds : —
** In this point of view, the Mordwinian is not one of the least
interesting. One circumstance in particular is well calculated to
attract the attention of the philologist. It has hitherto been con-
sidered a distinctive characteristic of the American languages — at
all events of the greater part of them — that they can employ almost
every word as a verb, and represent the varied relations for which
VOL. IV. c
n;
uthcr lan<;uair(-> employ niixiliuric?. particles, pronouns, and rach-
likL", !iy till* f«»rins of tin* wrb itM*lt'. As the!«e forms are rather su-
peraddi-d ti» tlu' vi'ih from without than developed from it inwardly,
tho!*i' laiiL:u!iir*.'> have bocii falU'd poly synthetic, with the intention
of thereby (K si;;natintr a peculiar clas<( of tongues. But the Mord-
winiau furni>hi-s cvidtiiee that the OKI Continent can produce an
instance of puK>ynthe;*is, thuutrli it may be not quite so perfect. Or
c(»uld >uv\\ forms as asfufav-tasaMisk, ' you will not let me know';
MftroMzoif, ' they were aloui; with him' ; kostondddo^ ' whence are
you?' priirfrtnmit, 'they were without understanding'; pazonSn,
'I am the Lord's'; fsiiraUift, *\ am thy son'; and many similar
ones, l)e well rejfarded in any other light*?"
It will be sutHeient to ol)serve for the present, that though the
above combinatiuui^ are employed as verbs, and have regular con-
jugational endings, tlu-y are for the most part nothing hut particles
or nouns in construction with pronominal suffixes in obliquo. Thus
the base of marunzolt is simply the particle maro =: apud ; and of
kostontlfido, kosto = umle ; pnivrvtemelt being a formation on the ca-
ritive ca>e of an abstact iioim, pazoniin a similar one on the genitive
of paz, * I/ord,' and tsiiratun a combination of a concrete noun with
the suffixes of two personal ])ronuuns, equivalent to vio% -trov -pov,
q.f/. 'son of thee- [condition] of me.' It is sufficiently obvious that
no one of the above combinations is or can contain in itself a verh,
as that part of s])eech is u>ually conceived by grammarians, and that
their a])parent verbal character consists in the predicative form in
which they stand, and nothing else whatever.
The so-called reguhir verbs in this family of languages will he
found on examination to consist of the same or very similar ma*
terials. The analysis of the forms is more clear and certain in some
than in others, owing to a variety of causes. Several of those
tongues, particularly the Finnish and Esthonian, are remarkably sen-
sitive to peculiar laws of euphony, in obedience to which vowels are
modified and consonants changed or elided so as greatly to disguise
the original forms of words. In some also the so-called inflexions of
the verb do not appear to be sim])le modifications of pronouns, but
coalitions of the oblique pronoun with particular case-endings or post-
positions of the verbal noun, occasionally so transposed, abbreviated
or softened down as to render the analysis of them somewhat difficult.
There are however several languages in which the conformity be-
tween the respective persons of the verbs and ordinary nouns in
construction with oblique personal pronouns is almost complete. In
the Wotiak, nouns ending in vowels are combined with this class of
pronouns according to the following paradigm : —
pi [for pi-i] filius met,
pi-ed tui.
pi-ez ejus.
pi-my nostri.
pi-dy vestri.
pi-zy eorum.
* ZeJUchrift fiir die Kundc dcs Morgcnlandes, vol. ii. pp. 256, 257.
17
In verbs, the endings of the simple preterite are as follow : —
Singular. Plural.
1. bera-i, dixi, bera-my, disimus.
2. bera-d, bera-dy,
3. bera-z, bera-zy,
Here it is evident, that, with the exception of the coalition of two
short vowels into the corresponding long one in pi, the two sets of
terminations are perfectly identical.
In Tcheremissian the noun is combined with pronouns according
to the following scheme : —
ata-m pater met,
ata-t tut,
ata-*sha .... sui, ejus.
ata-na nostri.
ata-da -.^— vestri,
ata-sht .... eorum.
Compare the conjunctive form of the verb : —
Singular. Plural.
1. ischtene-m, yact'am. ischtene-na, /aciamti^.
2. ischtene-t, ischtene-da.
3. ischtene-she, ischtene-sht.
Here again the agreement is complete, except that the third person
singular ends in -she instead of -sha.
The endings of the present and perfect indicative ischte-m, facio ;
ischtena-m, feci, are perfectly analogous, as far as the first and se-
cond persons of both numbers are concerned. In the third person
there is some discrepancy ; but Wiedemann, in his elaborate Tche-
remissian Grammar, p. 122, shows clearly that the third person sin-
gular of the present tense, tschta or ischtesch, has no pronominal
ending or proper sign of person at all, being in fact a mere verbal
noun, employed indifferently as substantive, adjective, or verb ; and
that the third person singular of the preterite, ischten, is another
verbal noun, having frequently the construction of a present or aorist
participle, or a Latin gerund in do. In fact, ischt-esch has precisely
the form of the predicative case, used in various Finnish dialects to
express the category, circumstances or condition of a given subject,
as the instrumental is in Slavonic. According to this analysis,
ischtesch denotes in the act or category of doing, just as mar-esch
signifies in the character, condition or category of a man. Fre-
quently this form requires to be rendered /or, in which case it is
nearly equivalent to a dative. Ischt-en, used as the third person of
the preterite, seems to bear a like analogy to an ablative or locative,
not unlike the Welsh construction of the preposition yn with nouns,
adjectives, and infinitives. It is believed that the conjunctive form
given above has the same element for its basis : e. gr. ischtenesh-em,
in [the case of] my doing = if I do.
It is unnecessary to enter minutely into the investigation of the
corresponding forms in Finnish and Esthonian. For the most part
♦ Pronounced like s in pleasure. The English sound of «/» is expressed by sch,
c2
18
they are of the same origin as those already specified, m being
usually attenuated to n, t to d, &c., apparently for the sake of
euphony. It is somewhat remarkable that in Syrianian the personal
endings of verbs differ from the suffixes of nouns throughout the sin-
gular and closely agree with them throughout the plural. In Lap-
pish, the pronominal suffixes employed with nouns do not appear in
any single tense of the verb, but most of them may be elicited from
the various parts of the entire conjugation. In Mordwinian also,
the adjuncts of the noun not found in the indicative tenses present
themselves in the conjunctive and the imperative.
The reason of these discrepancies appears to be, that in their earlier
state those languages, like many others, had duplicate and even tri-
plicate sets of pronouns, some of which were employed in one kind
of construction and some in another. For example, the termination
of soda-tado, * ye know,' does not bear the smallest resemblance to
that of tel-ante, * your body.' But that tado is really a pronoun of
the second person plural is proved by its being employed in the de-
finite conjugation, in which the verb and its regimen are included in
the same combination : — e, gr. soda-tady-z, * he judges you,' where
the final consonant is the regular sign of the third person, abbre-
viated from zo = ejus, and tady the regimen or objective case = vfias.
In fact, a general comparison of the dialects shows that the guttural
and dental forms are used interchangeably with nouns and verbs,
and that one is often merely a modification or mutation of the other.
Thus in Hungarian and Lappish the plural of nouns ends in k, in
Finnish in t, and in Esthonian in d. As all the languages have the
same origin, it is reasonable to conclude that the dental forms are
mere softenings of the guttural, like our modern mate from the Old-
English maket A. -Sax. mceg.
' The last language of this class which we shall have occasion to
consider is the Hungarian, perhaps as remarkable as any for the
distinctness of its forms and the striking similarity of the two classes
of words which it is at present attempted to identify with each other.
As in most languages of the class, the place of pronouns possessive
is supplied by suffixes attached to the noun, and it is hardly possible
to compare these suffixes with the personal endings of the verb with-
out admitting a community of origin. For example, kezy * hand,' is
connected with oblique forms of pronouns as follows : —
k6z-em, k6z-ed, kez-e.
manus met, — tut, — ejus,
k6z-unk, k^z-etek, k^z-ek.
— nostri, — vestri, — eorum.
Compare the preterite of the definite conjugation, i. e, of a verb
followed by a regimen with a definite article, an objective personal
pronoun, v. t, q.
Singular. Plural.
1. esmert-em, co^no. /. 1. esmert-uk [indef, conj: esmert-iink].
2. esmert-ed, 2. esmert-^tek.
3. esmert-e, 3. esmert-^k.
19
It will be seen that the correspondence of the two sets of endings
is perfect, with the exception of Uk instead of unk in tlie first person
plural ; which form however duly appears in the indefinite conju-
gation. Some of the remaining tenses, both of the definite indi-
cative and conjunctive, differ slightly, in one or two persons, chiefly
as it seems for the sake of euphony, or through the retention c^
older forms. There is considerable discrepancy between the in-
flexions of the definite and the indefinite conjugations, owing to the
latter having adopted forms of pronouns now obsolete in other com-
binations.
The resemblance between the two classes of endings did not escape
the notice of the Hungarian grammarian Morton, who however
strangely assumes tbat the pronominal suffixes of nouns, — and infi-
nitives, which have precisely the construction of nonns, — are borrowed
from the finite verb ; thus taking it for granted, without evidence,
that the verbal combination is the older of the two. Another native
grammarian, Revdy, whose acumen unfortunately was not quite
equal to his industry, shows by an elaborate induction that the
endings of finite verbs are all of pronominal origin, and that those of
the definite conjugation are identical with the suffixes of nouns. On
these and similar phenomena he grounds some speculations respect-
ing the rudimentary state of the language, which appear to contain
a strange mixture of truth and error.
After observing that the radical terms employed to denote action,
passion, or state, had originally rather the force of nouns than verbs,
and that they became verbs first by the annexation of personal pro-
nouns, and then by the progressive augmentation of the forms of
moods and tenses, he remarks : —
" In the early state of language the primary names of things were
chiefly monosyllables, which also furnished verbs in their most simple
form, before the more enlarged and artificial forms made their ap-
pearance. There remain, even at the present day, some nouns of
this kind, being at the same t^'me verbs ; for example, /o^, signifying
both 'frost* and 'it freezes'; also lak*, ' habitation,' which, aug-
mented by the affixing of a pronoun, is used as a verb, lak-ik, * ha-
bitat.' In the infancy of the language, the forms fagy-en, fagy-te,
fagy-^t arose from the inartificial annexation of the pronoun, having
both the force of the noun and of the verb, when predicated of
persons: primarily denoting gelu, ego, tu, ille, instead of gelu,
meum, tuum, suum, and then gelasco, gelascis, gelascit. After-
wards, by a more perfect formation which is still in nse, a distinction
was made between them in this way, namely thsit fagy'Om,/agy-od,
fagy-a or -ja, lak-om, lak-od, lak-ja, were employed as nouns, and
fagy-okf/agy-ozt/agy, lak-om, lak-ol, lak-ik, as verbs."
lliat the rudimentary words of language were nouns, and that
verbs arose out of them by the annexation of personal pronouns, are
positions which we feel by no means inclined to dispute. But that
the pronouns thus employed as the subjects of propositions were, as
Rev4y imagines, originally nominatives, is not only unsupported by
♦ Now only used in composition.
20
evidence, but repugnant to the very nature of things. It is totally
incredible that habitatio ego could ever be used in regular and con-
nected speech to express either habitatio met or habito. All known
languages are constructed on strictly logical principles, and one in
which no distinction could be made between asinus ego and asinus
mei would be unfit for the purposes of intercourse between man and
man. From the very earliest period there must have been some
method of expressing attribution ; and when pronouns were em-
ployed, this was done either by putting them in oblique cases, or by
means of possessive pronouns, nearly all of which are formed on ob-
lique cases ; and in many languages more than one pronoun is em-
ployed in order to render the attribution more clear. Sometimes,
as in Welsh and Finnish, the nominative is used pleonastically along
with the oblique case for the sake of emphasis ; but the proof that
the oblique form is the essential element is, that it is optional to omit
the former, but not the latter. Even in ancient Chinese, a marked
distinction is made between apposition and attribution. Notwith-
standing this fundamental error as to the nature of the relation be-
tween the noun employed as a verb and its pronominal affix, Revdy's
remarks, as applied specifically to the Hungarian language, are ex-
tremely valuable and contain the germ of an important principle. He
gives elsewhere various examples of nouns which are at the same
time verbs, and observes that many more such were current in an
earlier state of the language. The formal difference which he at-
tempts to establish between the verb and the noun is fallacious, as
the examples which he gives are both in the indefinite conjugation.
When the definite conjugation is 'employed, there is, as we have
already shown, no external diflference worth mentioning. For in-
stance, t^r may be indiiFerently noun, adjective, or verb, in the re-
spective acceptations of spatium, spatiosus, spatium habeo, or transeo ;
and t^r-emy iir-ed, ter-i, might either denote spatium mei, tui, sui,
or, as verbs in the definite conjugation, transeo, transis, transit.
Thus ir-om may be either unguentum mei or scribo ; tudat-om, scientia
mei or scire f ado ; vadasz-om, venator mei or venor ; nyom-om, vesti*
gium mei or calco ; and lep-em, tegimen mei or tego. In modern
Hungarian, esd denotes pluvia, and es-ik^ pluit ; but in the fifteenth
century the simple root es was employed in both senses. There
is little doubt that at an early period this identity of the verbal
root with the noun was a general law of the language. At present
the abstract noun commonly differs horn the simplest form of the
verb by the addition of a formative syllable, usuafly a^ or a^ : e. gr,
ir, scribit ; iras, scriptio ; ir-at, scrip tum. Such formatives, intro-
duced for the sake of explanation or distinction, often belong to a
comparatively recent period of a language, as may be seen by com-
paring Gothic with modern German.
The observation already made respecting the Turco-Tartarian
verb, that it is almost entirely an aggregation of participles and pro-
nouns, is in a great measure equally applicable to the Hungarian.
The present tense has been already analysed, as consisting of the
simple root in construction with personal pronouns, in obliquo. The
/
».
21
imperfect esmerhm, anciently esmereve-m or esmereje-m, is formed
on a modification of the present participle : the perfect esmert em is
nothing but the perfect participle esmert, with the usual pronominal
endings ; and esmertend-O, the future participle, is equally the basis
of the future tense, esmertend-em. In a former paper, ** On the Origin
of the Present Participle," the writer took occasion to show that the
Hungarian participles have generally the forms and the construction of
ablative or locative cases. We have also seen that the personal endings
of the definite conjugation are recognized by the native grammarians
as identicalwith the pronominal suffixes regularly employed withnouns.
If we admit both parts of this analysis, it seems to follow that there
is an oblique relation in both constituents of the verb, constituting the
same kind of double attribution that has already been pointed out
in Burmese and Tibetan. It is not a little remarkable moreover,
that inTibetan and Hungarian this phenomenon is exhibited in verbs
with a definite regimen, or in the language of Latin grammarians,
transitive verbs. A similar construction also prevails in Basque and
Greenlandish ; in the latter of which the subject of the transitive
verb has regularly the form of a genitive. Now we can scarcely
conceive anything more repugnant to the ideas usually entertained
of the finite verb, than that it should be formed out of the combi-
nation of an ablative base in construction with a pronominal geni-
tive ; yet this is the case in a variety of languages, if identity of
form is to be trusted. The simpler form, in which the pronoun
alone is put in the oblique case, occurs however more frequently. It
is indeed asserted by some grammarians, that those apparent oblique
cases are, in the conjugation of the verb, really abbreviated nomina-
tives ; but this explanation will not account for instances where the
element is lengthened instead of being shortened, nor for those where
the actual nominatives have nothing in common with the verbal in-
flexions, being in fact composed of letters of totally different organs.
It seems much more legitimate and rational to consider identity of
form as an indication of identity of power and meaning, till some
good reason is given to the contrary.
It may not be amiss to add a few supplementary remarks on some
Caucasian languages, the exact place of which has not as yet been
accurately determined, but exhibiting some points of resemblance
with the Finno-Tartarian family. In the principal of these, the
Georgian, the conjugation of the verb is singularly intricate, and the
attempts of grammarians to analyse it have not been very successful.
Many of the paradigms in Brosset's Grammar are confessedly erro-
neous ; and Bopp's attempt to account for the characteristic forms
from the Sanscrit is little calculated to produce conviction. Thus
much may be affirmed, that the root of the verb is regularly an abs-
tract or verbal noun, which becomes a verb by the instrumentality
of particles and personal pronouns. It is remarkable that these
elements, indicating the person or subject, are not, as in the Indo-
European and most other languages, terminational, but prefixed,
and in some dialects curiously infixed in the middle of the verb. In
some tenses they are only employed in a fragmentary manner, but
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. JANUARY 26, 1849. No. 78.
HEN8LEIGH Wedowood, Esq. iu the Chair.
The following gentlemen were elected Memhers of the Society : —
Rev. Jos. Power, Fellow of Clare Hall and Keeper of the Uni-
versity Library, Cambridge.
John H. Elliott, Esq., Martin's Lane, Cannon Street, London.
Herbert Ashton Holden, Esq., Fellow of Trin. Coll., Cambridge.
A paper was then read : —
'* On the Pronouns of the First and Second Persons." By Pro-
fessor Key.
In a paper on the words good, better, best, well, as they appear in
the Teutonic and clsissical languages, one part of which was read
before this Society, the writer requested the attention of philolo-
gists to those cases of alleged irregularity, in which a deficiency of
forms from one root is said to be supplied frojn what upon this theory
might be called a complementary root. In particular he referred to
the second aorists in use with aipew, <priijn, ep^ofiai, rpe^ta, <^€pta and
ipaio ; to the apparent anomalies in the conjugation of the lAtin/ero
and sum ; of the English be and go ; of the pronouns he, she, it, they ;
and of the French verb aller. He has since taken occasion to deal
with a large majority of these within the pages of the Society's Pro-
ceedings ; and in every case with which he has so dealt, he has en-
deavoured to establish the position that the varieties are deducible
by the principles of letter- change from one common root.
In the same spirit he now proposes to question the accuracy of the
assertion that " in all the sister dialects of the great Indo-European
language, the nominative singular of the pronoun of the first person is
from a different base from that from which the oblique cases come"
(Bopp's V. G. § 326, TransL) ; and the additional assertion that " the
plural of the same pronoun is in most of the same dialects distinct in
base from the singular" (lb, § 331). In other words, he is disposed
to maintain that /, me, we, us ; that ego, me, nos ; that eyoi, vwi and
ilfjL€is, have all arisen from one common stem. Secondly, in as much
as a just objection might be taken against any theory which claimed
to account for the irregularities of the pronoun /, and was not at the
same time applicable to the anomalies of the pronoun of the second
person, it is intended likewise to discuss the declension of the words
thou, tu, and av.
It is a commonly received, and the writer believes a well-founded
opinion, that ego is intimately connected with the Sanscrit numeral
eka, ' one,' and in like manner that tu is all but identical with the
second numeral duo or two. Such an origin is in perfect harmony
VOL. IV. D
2G
with the grammatical terms /r«^ person and second person, and with
our own idiomatic phrase, take care of number one. It seems more-
over to be remarkably confirmed by the fact that the Chinese alike
for the second person and the second numeral employ one common
sound, which partakes of a liquid character somewhere intermediate
between our r and our /, and has therefore been variously written,
the French preferring the letters eul, the English irr or urh. It
must be admitted that the pictorial symbols are different, but the
objection seems to be of no great weight, as the Chinese frequently
interchange these symbols. Thus when two utterly unconnected
notions happen by the merest accident to be represented by one and
the same sound, we often find in that language that a symbol whose
form evidently shows that it was at first attached to but one of the
two notions, is borrowed by a convenient and pardonable license to
represent the other. For example, this very sound eul happens also
to have the signification of our conjunction ' and,' and in that sense
has its own proper symbol. This symbol however is «at times
employed to denote the pronoun of the second person (Endlicher,
p. 252). Similarly a certain combination of lines intended to re-
present a ship, which the Chinese denote by the sound t'ceu^ is also
employed at times to represent the ideas of ' water,* ' horse,' 'wagon/
' arrow,' ' fish,' &c., because the sound t'ceu happens also to have
these significations (lb, p. 10). A third example may be the symbol
for a horse, where the four legs, head, mane and tail are visible.
Now the phonetic name for a horse is the syllable ma. But this
same syllable has also the signification, as with us, of ' mother.' Ac-
cordingly the symbol for a horse is also used for ma, 'mother'
(Morrison's Diet. 7465). It has indeed been gravely suggested that
the word was applied to a female parent of the human species on
the ground that among horses there are mares, and among mares
there are mothers. But such reasoning will not nowadays have
much weight. We repeat then that the Chinese in its word eul^
with the double, sense of thou and two, gives all but irresistible weight
to the doctrine that the pronouns of the first and second persons,
and the first pair of numerals, are in origin the same.
Now the first of the cardinal numbers has undergone a remarkable
number of changes. At first sight there is little of resemblance
between the Greek els and the Latin unus ; and in truth the letter
s, which alone appears in common, is precisely that part of the two
words which is not radical. But when we take into account the
oblique cases of the Greek numeral with the letter v, and the ad-
m itted fact that a Greek aspirate has often supplanted an initial
d ^gamma, and when, on the other hand, we take the oldest known
f^rm of the Latin numeral, viz. oenus, and call to mind that an
initial o before a vowel is likewise a substitute for a digamma, as in
oiKos, oivosy Oa^os, for Pikos, Fcvos, Fa^os, we at last perceive that a
syllable wen will account for both unus and els; and the existence of
such a syllable is placed beyond dispute by the facts that we ourselves
pronounce an initial w in one, and that in some tongues it is actually
written, as, in the Lithuanian wiena-s.
{
27
But we must here request attention to a preliminary matter.
On more than one occasion the writer has pressed on the consi-
deration of philologists the doctrine that words possessed of an
initial m readily interchange it with a w, and often discard that w, or
at least change it to an h. As the doctrine forms the hase of the
present argument, he may be excused for repeating and enlarging the
list of examples, some of which he obtains from Buttman's Lexilogus
V. ovXai), and some from the Dictionary of Liddell and Scott.
1) MoxXev- and ax^ev, ' heave by a lever* ; (2) fiotrxo- and otrxo't
' young shoot' ; (3) ixaaxakti, fiaXri, and axilla, ala ; (4) fjiovdvXtV'
and ovdvktv', 'fill with stuffing'; (5) fjiaXevpo- and aXevpo-, 'wheaten
flour/ aXe- and mol-, 'grind/ ovXa-, oXa-, and mola, 'sacred meal';
(6) fiep of fjeipofiat, ' divide/ and dpo-y 'limit/ thpa, kora, any limited
portion of time, a season or an hour, and ora, ' limit,' ' border' ;
(7^ lw\B€'r *be weary with toil,' and oyfie-, ' be heavy at heart* ;
(8) ^e\- of /leXXw, and vo/-, ' will' ; (9) fiiav- of fnaiyta and vio/a- ;
(10) fjifoo' and xvoo-', 'down' ; (11) f^npfi and xep" of x€ip, 'hand';
(12) Mars, War, and Aprif ; (13) mi/t- oimille, milia and x<^'o- : (^'^)
miU of mitto the factitive of i/- or i-, * go,' and FiFiy/ii, afterwards «iy/ii,
which is related in the same way to ci/ii, ' I go' ; (15) maS', mar^ia,
and app'€V' (n. apptiv) ; (16) mart- (n. mare), Sansc. vari- or fourt-,
Greek or rather AMcan oaoi-. Germ, toass-er, Eng. tneer, mar-sh,
mor-ass, wash, toat-er, wet ; and without any initial -consonant udih,
and ara, the suffix of Sam-ara, the river Somme, and Is^ara, the river
Oise ; (17) man, av-ep- or Fav-ep- (n. avrip), Ital. uamo, Lat. Aom-ofi-
(n.Aomo), Romance Aom, the second syllable of ii#-mon-, nie-mand, the
sound trim of no-one, in which no being an abbreviation of none, has
already in it, like the German nWn, the numeral one; the on of the
French on dit, originally written kom dit, and the one of our own one
knowB not, the idiom of which corresponds exactly to the German
man eagt ; ( 18) mui- of the Lat. min-or, min-umO', Germ, mind-er and
wen-ig, Scotch wee ; (19) mer- of mereo and Eng. earn — comp. for the
addition of the n after r, maer- of maereo and Goth. maurn'On, Eng.
mourn, bur^ of eomburo, amburo, bustum, and Eng. bum, cur' of curro
and Dorsetshire him, Eng. run ; (20) rno^-, ' grow,' an obsolete verb
of the Latin, which however is sufficiently guaranteed by its par-
ticiple mactO'f the freq. maeta-, the old subst. mag-mento; and the
adj. mag -no-, which stands to it in the same relation as ple^no- to
the verb pie-, ' fill * — this verb mag-, * grow,' and aug- of augeo,
av£avw, Eng. waje; (21) Germ, mit and Eng. with; (22) mutter,
'belly' or 'Womb,' as seen in bdr -mutter ^ our own mother, in the
phrase rising of the mother for hysterics, Lat. venteri-, utero-, &c. ;
(23) Germ, muth and wuth, both of which correspond to the A.*Sax.
mod, Eng. mood ; (24) Eng. wench, and Germ, mensch.
The belief in the possibility of the interchanges which these ex-
amples go far to establish, will perhaps ripen into a strong persuasion
when the case of the numeral one is examined. The nom. of the
Greek numeral is els /ica kv, thus already presenting in the feminine
a n ; and what greatly strengthens the suspicion thus excited is the
twofold consideration that the Ionic form for the fem. is la, and
D 2
28
that the so-called particle /leis and its usual correlative he, may fairly
be represented by * one' and ' two/ In form they have again and
again been compared with iy and 3vai ; and as regards meaning, Lid-
dell's very first signification of fiey and ^e is : first .... then ....
But connected with the base fiey we have a secondary adjective
ftovo'* ; and to keep up the parsdlelism, this very word appears with-
out a /i in the form oi o-, as used in the sense ' the ace on the dice/
• the one/ The word ovo-, in the sense of the animal so called, is of
course an unrelated word, however similar in form. Still it may be
turned to account in tracing the letter- changes. A.yf in Greek
usually appears as an « in Latin. Compare ed^Lev, eafies, and sumus,
the termination of the Greek comparative in lov (n. luti), and of the
Latin comparative in ios, afterwards ior, as melios, whence melior
and melius. Hence oto-, the animal so called, has in its first syllable
the analogue of the first syllable of the Latin as-inO", our ass, and the
Germ, es-el. Following this analogy, we may safely identify the
010- as signifying the lowest mark on the dice with as (assis), the
ordinary term for unity among the Romans, to which all their frac-
tions semis, triens, &c. are referred as a standard. Again, from the
Latin as, assis, is deduced the French and English word ace, i. e, the
one of the dice or of the pack of cards. This part of the argument
may as well end with what may more suitably be put in the form of
a question than an assertion. It being a well-known fact that an s
and a guttural often interchange, — Is it possible that the Sanscrit
eka, * one,' is akin to the word as, * a unit' ?
We turn again to the pronoun of the first person. Our own / is
as short a form as it can well appear in, but we have also another
and very different shape given to this pronoun, as heard in certain
phrases in the south-west of England, as chill for ' I will,' cham
for * I am' (see Jennings's Glossary sub v. utchy). Combining the
two forms / and ch into one word, we have the exact representative
of the German pronoun ich. That the English should drop the gut-
tural in their ordinary pronoun is consistent with the pronunciation
of many words, as night, might, Hght, &c., in all of which the sup-
pression of the guttural is in part compensated by the strengthening
of the vowel ; and this strengthening is shared by the pronoun itself.
The Italian to, as contrasted with the Latin ego, has also lost the
guttural. Indeed there is strong reason for believing that though the
Latin was written with the g, no pains were taken to pronounce it, for
the word in the comic writers seems to have been monosyllabic, and in
equidem, * I at least,* the e alone represents the pronoun. What was
just now said of the English pronoun / owing its length of sound to
the suppression of the guttural element, would naturally lead one to
expect that in equidem the first syllable should be long ; and the writer
has elsewhere given his reasons for believing that in equidem, as also
in siquidem and quandoquidem, the vowel which immediately precedes
* Not from fiev-ta, say L. and S.
f This change, however well established, still surprises, because the two sounds
are to the ear so different. A friend informs me that a little girl of his aged two
years, has the habit of substituting n for s, saying nit, nut, una, for sit, shut, Susan.
29
the enclitic was really long, the several words heing pronounced, if
his view be correct, as e-ke', stke\ kandoke*.
The Latin, Italian, and Greek pronouns give us still another letter
for our word in ego, to, and cyw; and the Greek cywi'*, as seen alone,
and also in the dialectic eyaivya, Bceot. itoyya, for eyo^ye, adds yet a
fourth. This final nasal has been justly compared with the final m of
the Sanscrit aham and Zend azem. But even yet we have not arrived
at the full form of the word. We venture to suggest that the Latin
egomet is the original pronoun. This has been long the writer's con-
viction, but he would scarcely have ventured to publish so strong a
conjecture, had he not found it confirmed in the most decided manner
by the Sanscrit grammarians, who give as the datou of this pronoun
the disyllabic asmat. Nay, the declension of the Sanscrit pronoun in
the plural bears evident traces of this additional syllable mat. Thus
the instrumental in that number is asmd-bhis, the dat. is asmd-bhyemt,
the gen. asmd-kam, the locat. asma'SU, in which the length of the
second a is again a compensation for a lost consonant. The Greek
also comes to our aid, not merely with ///leo, iifieuty, v/ieaf, &c., words
which may fairly be thought to be corruptions of cy/ieres, kyixtrtav,
&c. ; the long rj as before representing the loss of a consonant im-
mediately preceding another consonant, and the r disappearing be-
tween vowels, as in rvrrei for rvirrerc, and what is a more apposite
illustration, in the declension of yepat, yripas, &c. ; but this very r
presents itself in the possessive tinerepos. To be satisfied of this, it
is perhaps sufiicient to observe that possessive pronouns f are nothing
more than genitives of the personal pronouns which have been some-
what violently subjected to the process of adjectival declension. The
most familiar example is the Latin cujus, cuja, cuj'um, as seen in the
phrases cujum pecus ? cuja res est P Now the regular suffix of the
Latin genitive plural, when seen in the fullest shape, is erum : for
example, boverum, nucerum, the oldest recorded forms, which were
afterwards reduced to bourn and nucum, just as duorum was com-
pressed to duum. The Greek then ought to have had a corresponding
suffix €p(oy, and if the supposed fjiierepufy is to be forced into the
changes called declension, what can be more natural than to proceed
as from a nom. fifiCTepos ? Of course it would be incorrect to claim
the r as part of a suffix repos, similar to iro-Tcpos from the base tro',
because these pronominal adjectives in repos have a reference to one
of two, precisely as is the case with the ordinary comparatives in
repos. But such a limitation of meaning never exhibits itself in the
possessives.
* Bopp thinks that eyov ought to have been the form of this. Perhaps his view
may be supported by the consideration that n was often written without being pro-
nounced ; in such cases the preceding vowel had a long sound, and hence a long
vowel was written. Thus the Greeks wrote the Latin words censor, Constantinus,
KTivtTijjp, Kiaveravrivos,
f Some writers maintain that from the possessive the genitive is derived, but this
seems highly unphilosophical. At any rate the argument deduced in the V. G.
§ 341, from yushmdkdbhir, tells neither way, as either theory will explain it; and
why should the am of yushmdkam bo anything else than whut is found in yushmah-
hyam, viz. the suffix of plurality I
30
The writer has not forgotten the ordinary doctrine that egomet is
formed from the pronoun eyo by the addition of a suffix met, and
that vosmet, sibimet, &c. contain the same suffix. As regards the
first part of this statement, it may be replied that a reduction of
form from egomet down to egom and ego is anything but improbable
in a word which a proper modesty and delicacy of feeling urge one
to compress into the narrowest limits. In the second place, those
who contend for the composition of ego with met have two questions
still to answer, viz. whence comes the liquid at the end of cywv*,
aham, and azem, and then whence comes this suffix met ? This last
indeed is a question which must be answered in any view of the sub-
ject, and we may as well proceed at once t^o the examination of it.
fiopp, leaving wholly out of view the Sanscrit datou asmat, and find-
ing in the Sanscrit declension no traces of the t, has on the other hand
connected with the syllable ma the s which precedes it in the forms
asmdbhis, asmdkfim, &c. ; and this syllable sma he tells us is a prono-
minal base, referring among other arguments to the appearance of
the same syllable in the declension* of several Sanscrit pronouns of
the third person (V. G. § 16d» &c.), as the masc. dat. of the inter-
rogative kasmaif 'to whom?' and several masculine cases of the
pronoun signifying ' this,' viz. D. tasmdi, Ab. tasmat, Loc. tasmin.
In the very examples on which he thus depends, there will be found
perhaps reason for attaching the 8 to the initial rather than the
second syllable. The German language has something exceedingly
similar. Thus the so-called adverb (2a of pronominal origin is by a
hasty observer considered to be the whole of the word, and when the
compounded forms darein, daraus, dariiber, &c, present themselves
the r becomes a stumbling-block, which however is at once removed
when we regard das as the more correct form of the pronominal base.
This before the prepositions which begin with a vowel, as ein, aus,
iiber, naturally changes its sibilant into an r. In discussing the
pronouns of the third person in the pages of the Society in the course
of last year, the writer drew attention to the German neuters das,
wasy es, contending that the final s was an equivalent of the n which
belongs to the original form of the third-person-pronoun. It is only
consistent then with the views there put forward, that in the San-
scrit pronouns just quoted, kas and tas, rather than ka and ta, should
be allotted to the pronominal base, leaving only a syllable ma for the
second element of the several words. This ma we believe to be
identical in origin and power with the same syllable ma as it appears
in the declension of the first and second personal pronouns, and so
to be a corruption of the syllable mat. But of this more presently.
It will be convenient briefly to consider the pronoun as it appears in
other cases than the nominative.
Now the German gives us for the ace. mick, which bears a remark-
able resemblance to the nom. ich, and as the consonant cAf seems to
* It was once proposed to deduce eyiav and so eyo) also from Xeytov, 'the
speaker.' But no trace of an Xever presents itself in the pronoun.
t Yet, as the accusatives micA, dick and sich all share this guttural aspirate, the
point should not be regarded as certain.
81
have no title to be considered as an accusatival suffix, it is probably
to be considered as a radical part of the pronoun. Thus those who
think it no great difficulty to suppose that a root should appear at
one time with, at another without, an initial m, can scarcely refuse
their consent to the doctrine that ich and tnich are words immediately
related to each other. But this once admitted, it follows also that
the Latin me, met, mihi (the last above all as containing a gut-
tural), must also be connected with ego. That the nominative in
particular should have been mutilated and deprived of its first letter,
while the other cases retain the m, seems to be explained by that
feeling of modesty to which reference has already been made ; for the
nominative being the case of the agent, is much more subject to the
charge of egotism than the oblique cases where the first .person for
the most part appears in a light no way invidious, viz. that of a
sufierer*.
We are now better prepared to consider the meaning of the Latin
egomet and Sanscrit asmat. The first syllable, we contend, is im-
mediately connected with the first numeral, nnd the second we hold
to be the well-known noun which appears in our own tongue in the
form man. This root we have already had occasion to speak of as
existing in the first syllable of the Greek Par-ep- (n. avrip) ; it also in
all probability enters into the composition of wot-fier" (n. voi-fAtiv),
the verb iroi-/iai/- (1st person iroc/iad'-w) and substantive TOi-fta i^wpf*
the last of which is most intelligible, being in its first syllable derived
from trtav, the equivalent, as is well known, of the Gothic/atAti , Germ.
viehy and laXmpecU' ; while ^avtop stands to fiav-rip exactly as irariap
in evwarufp to varrfp. As to the change of man to the mat oi asmat, or
met of egomet, it is precisely what has occurred between the Greek
noun ovofiar (n. ovofAo) and the verb oi^o/iai^- (Ist person ovofjacw),
or between otiixaT- and the adj. atrri^ov' (n. aarifjuay). Nay, the
Icelandic root man actually takes the form of mathr in the nomi-
native, the final r being the suffix of the case. Our explanation is
at the same time applicable to those Sanscrit pronouns which take a
* In a paper lately read before the Society, and also in a work of Carl Bock*8, it
was contended that the suffix of the first'person in verbs was oflen a genitive. The
writer i« not unwilling to admit such a doctrine, because be himself long ago pub-
lished the opinion that the nom. and gen. alike had /rom for their original significa-
tion, and indeed were in origin the same word. As regards the present question
the matter is one of no importance, for whether nom. or gen., the personal suffix of
the verb is always brief in form and so commits no offence agajnst modesty.
f It has been proposed (see Liddell and Scott) to deal with iroipavmp as a con-
traction of voifiav-avtop, just as idolatreia is a corruption of idolo-latreia, and
/ift)vv%os of /iovovv%os. Of such a compression the examples it is true are very nu-
merous, and ayavutp, if really derived from ayav-aviop, is one remarkably in point.
Had TToipaviop been used only in the same sense as Homer's rroipeva Xaoiv, and it
sometimes is so used, the derivative would have been plausible, for if derived from the
verb 9ro(/ia(vw, the word must signify 6 7roi/ia(V6>v tov9 avSpas, seeing that every
compound adjective formed by the addition o( avrip to a verb, deals with the noun
as the accusative of the verb. Compare vrvyaviap, Tpvvavtop, aXeKriViop, ptiKrivup,
^%riv(t)p, ayaTTtiVbip, oXetrrivtop, Xnretrrivojp, <p9i<TtiViiip, airarrivktpt inf/riviap.
But the fact appears to be, that the original meaning of the word is simply * a shep-
herd' (see Hesych.), which it ought to be if the derivation from Trtov-^pavrip b«
admitted.
32
Buffix ma, viz. kasmai, tasinai. The syllable enters, be it observed, only
in the masculine cases, and we have therefore merely to translate
kas-ma-i, * to what man/ tas-ma-i, ' to this man.' In fact a final
n and t are especially liable to interchange, so that it would be idle
to dwell upon it. As regards the first element of egomet and astnat,
a comparison with the varying forms of the first numeral may be
useful. The eka of the Sanscrit numerals corresponds to the forms
ego, eyo;, ich, and the Gothic ik ; as (tissis) of the Latin to as of the
Sanscrit asmat, az of the Zend azem^ the Lithuanian asz, and the
Old Slavonic az ; to- of the Greek (whence the Homeric masc. dat.
lip and the Ionic fem. la, as also ei of the Germ, eilf) to the Italian
io and English /; yn of /im to the /ic of €(rfjn, h^wfii ; e of e-leven
and the Germ, e-lf to the e of e-quidem ; wen of oenus and Fey (n. els)
to the Edgiish we and the verbal sufiix vas of the^Sanscrit ; the aspi-
rated els to the aspirated ri-fieis ; and lastly, fiev, novo-, to the Lithu-
anian man as found in the Ac. man-en, Instr. man-imi, G. man-ens,
&c., and also in the oblique cases of the Mantchou (Gabelentz Gr.
p. 36).
' In these last words a caution may perhaps be important. The syl-
lable man, or mat, or something like it, appears twice in the pronouns
we have been considering. In the Lithuanian forms man-imi, &c. it
corresponds, according to our view, to the numerical element oTfiev;
whereas in asmat or egomet, the mat or met is the substantive ; and
the possibility of an error as to our meaning would have been the
greater but for this caution, because the first or numerical element
is subject to the same interchange between the final consonants n
and t. Thus what appears as man in man-imi is in the abl. of the
Sanscrit mat-tas, where tas and tas alone seems to be tlie suffix of
the case, corresponding, as Bopp himself has pointed out, to the Latin
tus of fundilus, caelitus, &c., and the Qev of the Greek no-dey,
ovpayo-dev. Again the same syllable appears as med (pronounced
met) in the ace. as well as abl. of the old Latin pronoun.
There still remain a few questions regarding the pronoun of the
first person. The Slavonic, instead of a mere initial m, has in several
cases the more difficult combination of mn, as in the instr. mnoyu,
dat. mnye or mi. Such a form is an easy stepping-stone from an m to
a simple n ; and hence probably the Greek dual yw-i, the Latin nos,
nobis, nostrum, Sanscrit nas, &c. Indeed the examples of a direct
change from an initial m to « are far from rare (see Liddell and Scott
sub V. fjLtijy, and Mr. Talbot's English Etymologies). The initial
vowel € of €fi€, efioi, &c. Bopp has explained, and it would seem cor-
rectly, by the parallel cases of e-OeXu), o-tpfjvs, &c. ; and probably the
form of the GermRnuns (whence our us) arises from a similar cause.
As the Latin umbon- (n. umbo) and ungui- (n. unguis) were traced by
the writer in a recent paper through o-nub-on and o-nug-ui to roots
nub and nug, which correspond to the roots nab and nag of the Ger-
man nab-el and nag -el, Eng. navel and nail, so uns may be a con-
traction of o-nos. Lastly, the vas (va) and mas {ma), which serve as
the respective suffixes of the Sanscrit verb in the first person of the
dual and plural, seem to be but dialectic varieties of the same word.
33
Before proceeding to any particular examination of the pronoun
of the second person, it may be as well to observe that a love of uni-
formity seems to have influenced most languages, and led to the
creation of forms which probably would not otherwise have been
found. This may perhaps explam why in the Gothic there is an
ace. thuk, corresponding to the ace. mik^ and a sibilant in the first
syllable of the instr. yushmabhis, dat. yushmabhyam. If such be not
the correct explanation, then it is probable that the second numeral,
which is commonly written with a final vowel, as Sansc. dva, Goth.
tva, Gr. ^vo, Lat. duo. Germ, zwei, Eng. two, had at one time a final
consonant which has disappeared*. Or again, another view may be
offered, that some suffix by which ordinals are deduced from car-
dinals may have attached itself, so that yu8h of the datou yush-mat
shall signify not merely ' two,* but ' second.' Be this as it may,
there is little danger of error in assuming that either yu or yush in
yushmat is a numerical element signifying either 'two' or 'second.'
If we start from the Sanscrit dva, we have an explanation of the
dental in the Lat. tu, Goth, thu^ and Germ, du ; the tvam of the
Sanscrit is precisely parallel in termination to the first person aham.
That du before a vowel should take the shape of a labial b is familiar
not merely in duono-, duello-, which became bono-, bello-, but even
among the derivatives of the numeral itself, as in bis, bint, for duia^
duini ; and even the more violent change between duo and vos is
precisely parallel to what has occurred in viginti for duiginti. The
appearance of an « instead of a ^ in the ordinary form of the Greek
pronoun (rv, aoi, and in the verbal suffix of eacri, scribis, will cause
no difficulty. Much less then should st in our own verbs, as lovest,
be a stumbling-block, since this combination gives a sound inter-
mediate between s and t. All that we have just stated is without
pretension to novelty, but was necessary to a full statement of the
case. But we object to those who would treat the sti and stis of the
Latin perfects as parallel to our $t in Invest. But rather than in-
terrupt our argument by an immediate discussion of this point, we
reserve it for an appended paper.
While the Latin has vos, the Greek has exchanged the digamma
for an aspirate, just as it preferred ///lecs to what might have been
Ff7/iecs, and in a manner not very dissimilar to the preference in the
same tongue of eiKuri or eiKOffi, where the older form is Fufnrt, and
the Sanscrit has vin^ati and the Latin vinginti or viginti. The dual
oi^iiiL seems to have been rightly accounted for by Bopp and others
on the theory that <r corresponds to the dental of dva or tva, and the
^ to the r or t< of the same forms. Our own you has probably been
produced by an insertion of a y- sound in the middle of the syllable
du, just as the substantive dew is often pronounced dyew, or almost
jew ; and then the degradation to you is easy. The same applies to
* Our words twin, twain^ have such a consonant, and the Sanscrit vin-qati, Latin
viri'ginti, exhibit the same liquid. This would also in part account for the form rvvf|
used by Homer and Hesiod. Again, as n becomes s and «A, and s and sh themselves
interchange with the guttural, we may here also have the explanation of the Ger>
man dich, each, &c., and the Sanscrit yushmat, tjushmakam, &c.
34
the JSanscrit yushmat, &c., and the Lithuanian dual yu-du and plural
yU'S, yu-mus, yu-su, &c. As to the latter part of v/bieu , vfitrefms, what
has been said of the terminal syllables of iifjieis, fi/jLcrepos, of course
applies letter for letter.
It may be expected that the Latin pronoun of the third person, se,
sui, &c. and its analogues in the other allied tongues should be
treated in the present paper, and it may by some at first sight be
regarded as a serious flaw in our theory, if we fail to point out in
that pronoun some representative of the third numeral. The answer
is twofold : first, that although the speaker is the first person, and
the party addressed the second person, the idea of a third person is
an imagination of the grammarians, as the exclusion of the first and
second persons brings us to no definite individual, but to millions.
Secondly, the pronoun se, sui, is more fitly described as the reflective
pronoun, and indeed in the Slavonic languages is so thoroughly a
reflective pronoun, that it is applicable even to the first and second
persons. It is then no difficulty that we have for the Greek pos-
sessive a<l>€r-€pos, not a<l>riiJi€repos. We have purposely divided the
word as a^er-epos, so as to give <r0er to the base of the word, but
we must leave to future consideration the origin of the reflective
pronoun.
Appendix on the Formation of the iMtin Perfect Tenses amavi, SfC,
The use of the auxiliary es (of esse) in the passive perfects both of
ancient and modem languages is familiar to all ; but it has been less
carefully observed that it is likewise employed in the perfect tenses
of the active voice, at least in the Latin'*' language. Amaveram,
amavero, amavissem, amavisse, evidently contain the forms eram, ero,
essem, esse ; and in the perfect subjunctive, an older form, amavesim,
may be inferred from the three existing forms, amassim, amaverim,
amarim ; and in amavesim we see the full form esim, which preceded
sim (just as esum, esumus, esunt, preceded sum, sumus, sunt).
But the root es or is, * be,' as seen in the forms ea-rt, esse, and
English is, &c., and the root wes or wis, * be/ as seen in the German
wes-en, the Gothic vis-an, English was^ were, &c., are one and the
same word f . It follows then that the v in amaveram, amavero, &c.
should be attached to the following letters, so that the division should
be directly after the crude form or simple root ama, viz. ama-vera-m,
ama-ver-o, ama-vesi-m, ama-visse-m, ama-visse. In this way the suf-
fixes contain the various tenses ofi^the Latin verb ' to be' in the form
wes instead of es.
The simple perfect presents a few difficulties. But when every
* The Greek past perfect too was formed in the same way. Of eram, era alone
belongs to the verb and tense, m being only the pronominal suffix, and of course
the Greek form corresponding to era would be tsva or 6a. Thus we have explained
«r6rv^-6a for €Terv<p-€afA, and ererv^'eaav for ererv^-eiravr, the idiom of the
Greek language never tolerating a final ft or r. Ererv^ettrav is not the legitimate
form.
f See the paper read March 24th, 1849.
S5
ether perfect in the verb has been explained on one principle, no
trifling difficulty should stop us in applying the same explanation to
the one tense remaining. Now the second person plural gives us
all we could desire — afna-viS'tis ; and striking off the final s, which
denotes only plurality, we have the singular amO'Vis-tu The third
person plural, we know, is often found in the poets with a short pe-
nult ; and poets, I may observe, are apt to retain antiquated forms.
But ama-ver-unt has again a most fitting form for our purpose, viz.
vi^r-unt for wes-unt, I take next the fiirst person singular, aiiNit;t.
The t no judicious philologer will look upon as a pronominal suffix.
I believe an older form to have been ama-vitm^ which would soon
become amavim^ and that amavu Compare, in the first place, the
loss of the pronominal suffix m in the Greek rvirrw for rvvroft (as
seen in rvxro/A-ai beside rmrre^-ai, rvurer-ai), erv«f«i for erv«f«i-/A,
eridea for triOea-fi, and ertrv^ea for erervtpta'fji ^see Bopp, Verglei'
chende Grammatik), and also in the L^tin scribo, scripsero. Secondly,
the supposed degnulation from ammnsm to amavim has its parallel in
the French changes from FncuUsma, Quadragesima, mestne, to Angou-
l^me, CarAne, mime. Cases more decidedly in point are found in the
Ghreek ec/ii for €<r/u, and English am for Mm, for in these words we
have the very root in question, with the very same pronominal
suffix. But if amavim was ever employed as the first person in the
singular, we may expect as a matter of course amavimM8 in the plural.
The Latin superlative has two forms, one in isstmO', and one in l^mo-,
as longi8simo->, optimo-. If these two suffixes be of the same origin,
which, however, I do not assert, because the shorter one seems to
have been the older, then we have a case remarkably parallel to that
of the theoretic and actual forms ama-visimus and ama-vimu^ There
remains the third person singular. Now it has often been observed
that the poets take the liberty of lengthening the final syllable of
this form, even though it ends in a /, as perrupit Acheronta and
subut onu8 in Horace ; redHt animus and praeternt hora in Ovid. My
theory explains this apparent anomaly, for perrupit will be a cor-
ruption of perrup'ist, precisely as the French once wrote fitst (be-
side fusse, fusses), but now fdt. Other parallel examples of the
actual or virtual omission of an « in the same position are seen in
the French words, nostre or notre, maistre or maitre, fenestre or/f-
n^re, est, &c. Lastly, those verbs which ended in a vowel naturally
preserved the v, while the consonant- verbs, as fud-i, col-ui, either
discarded it or substituted the cognate vowel- sound v.
A word or two on the ordinary doctrine that amavi = ama -{-fui,
I have elsewhere pointed out that this theory is wholly defective,
unless an independent formation be found for fui or fuvi itself.
Bopp indeed tells us that fuit is an aorist, being the representative
of the Sanscrit ab*dt, or Greek €0v(r). When he wrote this, he
appears to have forgotten the existence of fuvi. Now this latter
form one would be naturally disposed to class with such perfects as
annuvi from annuo (a form, I may observe, not theoretical, but ac-
knowledged by ancient writers ; besides Livy always writes pluvit),
and thus/t<t;t would be in the class of perjfects from vowel^verbs.
36
But this would be fatal to the proposed theory, as it would in
the absurdity of supposing /Bi^i to be its own parent. This defect
in the theory would be remedied if a different origin were found for
fuvi, and accordingly it has been contended that it is a reduplicated
perfect of^o. I am aware that it is a common practice with philologera
to connect Che forms o(/uit with^o ; but I have long thought the idea
to be without foundation. First, we have Blready fuam./oreta./Sre,
and ySlurus, besides the perfect tenses of the verb^u, which differ
considerably, both in form and quantity, from /~iam, fierem, &e.
Moreover, the more correct view, it seema to me, is to attach JJo to
facio. In the comic writers, /act/, /acfrf, &c. require an abbreviated
pronunciation, such as fait, fnere — forms which remind one of the
French representatives of the eame words. So, again, su^ceix. con-
fieere, in the same poets, require a reduction in sound to svffire, eon-
fire, which are identical with the French. Indeed, I would more
readily assent to the connexion of facio with the Greek iroiEu> than
with the Greek <jivu>. But if we admit this principle of condensadon
of form, then facio would become /oio oi fjo; and thns we should
have an explanation of the long vowel, and an explanation too,
parallel to that of masis, inquiro, from mveaig, iiiquairo. Add to all
this the fact, that the perfect tenses of fio are made up with the
acknowledged participle oi facio ; and the question of form seems to
me divested of all difficulty.
But is the logical connexion intelligible ? All languages, the Latin
among others, abound in verbs which have at ouce an active and
neuter, or rather let me call it, a reflective sense. Thus, moveo, ' I
move (anything else),' or ' move myself,' Moves, fays Terence,
sed non promoves. So verlil is often nscd in Irath significations ;
&c. &c. Apply this to facere, and we have all we want. Fio, ' I
make myself,' ' I become.' We have a parallel case in a compound
of this verb, viz. deficere, which has caused some trouble to gram-
marians by its double construction. But the principle I am con-
tending for explains both. With the accusative — the construction,
for example, which Csesar always uses — it means ' to put down and
abandon,' or, to use a colloquial phrase, 'to leave in the lurch;'
while with a dative it signifies, ' to become low,' or, again to speak
in a less dignified phraseology, ' to run low,' " to run short.' Nay,
in this last sense defit is equivalent to deficit. Svfficit also has the
neuter sense, being, as might be expected from its preposition, the
exact opposite of deficit. Nor should it be left out of view, that the
constructions oi fio have a very exact agreement with those of facto.
We say potestatem facio and polestaafi I; in speaking of ' sacrifices,'
even with the omission of the word sacra, pro populo fieri and^ro
populo facere ; in the sense of ' estimation,' ut qufinii quisque se ipse
faciat, tanti fiat ab amicis. I'here is the same similarity between
such phrases as Nescio quid facial auro and Quid Tiilliola mea fiet.
Lastly, though we may have a difficulty in explaining Low the notion
of destruction is introduced by the preposition iiUer, yet it is a diffi-
culty which applies no more to inlerficere than to the Lucretian word
interfieri. On the other hand, it is true that the Latin writers.
37
tempted perhaps by the aUiteration, at times use /o where sum might
be expected, as Miserior necfuit necfiet; and the participle /n/vrtfi
still more frequently appears as a deputy for a lost future participle
of ^0, as Nescio quid tefuturum sit.
Besides these general considerations, I doubt much whether, in
point of signification, /tftV be well adapted to serve as a suffix for the
simple perfect. This tense — the simple perfect — commonly denotes
the present result of a past action : Domus aedificata est, * The
business of building is now over, and the house exists.' No Latin
writer would say, Domus aedificata Juit in the same sense» any more
than he would make Troja/uit equivalent to Troja est.
In the theory here given, the main difficulty lies in the assomptioii
of an archaic amavisimus for amavimus. This defect in the argu-
ment is supplied by a reference to the grammars of other languages.
For example, in the Ill3rrian the present and perfect tenses of the verb
vidi'ti, * to see.' are respectively :—
vidim, vidisk, vidi ; vidimo, vidite^ vide ;
vidyeh, vidye, vidye ; vidyetmo, vidyeste, vidyeske.
Now as ye, yesmjb and yeste are the 3rd sing, and Ist and 2nd
persons pi. of the lUyrian verb ' to be,' there can be little doubt as to
the formation of the lUyrian perfect*.
A still stronger confirmation will be seen in the formation of one
of the Welsh perfects as exhibited in a subsequent paper by the writer
on the so-called substantive verb.
* It is but right to add, that thif explanation if at yariance with Bopp'f viewf at
deuiled in hia V. O. § 454.
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. FEBRUARY 11, 1849. No. 79.
ProfetBor Wilson iu the Chair.
Two papers were read —
1. " Fragments of Orations in Accusation and Defence of Demo-
sthenes respecting the Money of Harpalus." Arranged and trans-
lated by Samuel Sharpe, Esq.
The following Fragments were brought from Thebes in Upper
Egypt by my friend A. G. Harris, Esq. of Alexandria, who published
a lithographed facsimile of them in London in 1848. They were
written on papyrus of a better kind twelve inches and a quarter wide.
How long the roll may have been cannot now be known, as the
small portion that remains is broken into thirty-two pieces.
The columns, or pages, usually contain twenty-nine short lines of
about fourteen letters each. There are no spaces between the words,
no stops or accents, no large letters at the beginning of the sentences.
The letters are square and well-written, for the most part in the
form of capitals, except the Omega and the Mu ; but in many cases
are joined together as in a running hand. The Eta and Ft are nearly
alike. The Iota is sometimes added to the dative case of the nouns,
but not always. Upon the whole we may suppose that this in-
teresting manuscript was written under the Ptolemies ; and when the
writer corrected eiXaTo into eiXero, we see that he had detected his
own Alexandrian provincialism.
Mr. Harris had remarked that the subject-matter of the fragments
was an accusation of Demosthenes respecting the money of Hi^palus,
which he naturally conjectured might be that spoken by Hyperides.
But on further examination there seem to be parts of more than one
oration. But by which of the several orators these words were
spoken, or indeed whether they are the original speeches spoken
before the judges i^ the court of Areopagus, is of course open to
doubt, as it was not uncommon for men of letters to try their skill
in oratory by writing and delivering in their schools, speeches which
might have been spoken on any great occasion.
When Alexander of Macedon set out from Babylon on his Indian
expedition, he left to Harpalus the collection of the taxes and the
charge of his treasure in that city. But Harpalus was unfaithful to
his trust ; he fancied that Alexander would never return alive, and
he spent large sums of the royal treasure in wasteful luxury and
vice. And when Alexander returned westward, he fled from punish-
ment with such treasure as he could carry with him. He came to
Athens as a place of safety, and scattered large sums among the
orators to buy their support. At Athens he was followed by letters
from Antipater and Olympias, accusing him to the Athenians, and
calling upon them to deliver him up. (Diodorus Siculus, xvii. 109.)
yOJL. IV. E
40
Before the arrival of Harpalus, Demosthenes had proposed to the
Athenians that he should not be received, as he would embroil them
in a quarrel with Alexander : but when he landed the orator changed
his mind, on receiving, as Plutarch says in his * Lives of theTTen
Orators,' one thousand darics as a bribe. The Athenians however
decided that Harpalus should be arrested and given up to Antipater
as a criminal, and that his treasure should be placed in the Acropolis
for safety ; and they ordered him to give an account of its amount.
Harpalus said it was seven hundred and fifty talents, or not much
less. Harpalus however escaped from his Athenian keepers, and it
was then that Demosthenes was put on his trial ; first, for receiving
bribes from Harpalus ; secondly, for not giving in the account of the
treasure ; and thirdly, for not having the keepers punished who al-
lowed their prisoner to escape. H3rperide8, Pytheus, Menessemachus*
Himereus, and Patrocles, were the orators who accused Demosthenes
in the court of Areopagus. He was found guilty of having received
thirty talents, and sentenced to banishment because he could not
pay the penalty of five times that sum.
Plutarch, in his ' Life of Demosthenes,' adds the well-known story
of the manner in which the bribe was given. When Demosthenes,
on behalf of the Athenians, was taking an account of the treasures
which Harpalus had landed from his ships, he was much pleased
with one of the king's cups. He admired the workmanship ; he felt
the weight of gold in his hand ; he asked how much it might bring.
•' To you," said Harpalus, " it will bring twenty talents." And as
soon as it was night he sent him the golden cup with that sum in it.
The next day Demosthenes came to the assembly with his neck
bandaged. He was expected to make a speech against Harpalus ;
but he had lost his voice and could not speak through hoarseness.
The pretence was laughed at, the reason for his silence was guessed,
and he was ordered to be tried in the court of Areopagus.
This was not the first time that Demosthenes was suspected of
taking bribes. Diodorus Siculus (lib. xvii. 4) says, he was thought
to have received large gifts from the Persian monarch in payment
for his speeches against Philip of Macedon ; and ^schines charges
him with being enriched by these royal moneys. The Athenian
treaty with Alexander may again have given occasion to the belief
that the orator had received bribes from the foreigners.
The oration of Dinarchus against Demosthenes on the same charges
is still remaining to us. It was spoken before the council of 1500
judges, after Stratocles had opened the accusation^ Dinarchus says
that Demosthenes had himself asked to be tried, and had proposed
that deatli should be the punishment if he were found guilty. He
says that the Areop£fc||us had reported that Demosthenes had taken
twenty talents out of the sum brought by Harpalus. He mentions
the sum of three hundred talents received by Demosthenes from the
kings of Persia, the money received by him from Alexander, the
bribes which he took for getting Taurosthenes, the brother of Callias,
made a citizen, and his going to Olympia to meet Nicanor, Alex->,
ander's agent. He begs the judges not to be moved by the tears of
41
Demosthenes, nor to listen to any orator who may rise to speak on
his behalf.
Demosthenes, as is well known, was found guilty of the accusation,
but we may console ourselves with remarking that Pausanias thought
him innocent.
Julius Pollux repeatedly quotes H3rperides, and once (lib. x. ch. 36)
his oration for Harpalus, but adds Uie i\;mark, *' if it is genuine."
In no case are the words quoted by Pollux found in these fragments.
The fragments seem to admit of the following arrangement : —
Ist. The accusation, consisting of fragments 7, 25, 30, and 16;
4 ; 26 and 27 ; 8 and 14 ; 1 ; 11 ; 6 and 12 ; and perhaps frag-
ments 19, 21, and 18.
2nd. Fragments 10 and 5 are not quite on th^ same subject, and
seem against some one who had actusdly spoken in behalf of Har-
palus, which was not one of the charges against Demosthenes.
3rd. The defence of Demosthenes, which we might conjecture was
spoken by Agnonides, who is mentioned in fragment 6 ; this con-
sists of fragments 1 5 and 2.
4th. Demosthenes's oration in his own defence, fragments 13
and 9.
5th. A speech in answer to an accusation respecting Euphemus,
which may possibly be part of the last, fragment 1 7.
In several lines there seem to be grammatical errors, which might
perhaps disappear in the hands of a more skilful editor.
The other fragments are too small to be used.
E 2
42
I. Accusation.
Frag. 7, 25, 30, and 16.
10
. •]'7rcTpe^a9
iroXtv Ktu
■
15
20
25
ov iroi
nrf»]Si; yapi^X-
6i¥ f 00 ay]S/o€9 Succt-
(TTai, ApiraX]o^ ei^ nyv
i^TTixijv,] #eai oi 9ra
. yov €^ai
. rov afUL
. ov 9rpo9
Jijftjoo'&evi;?
. . pov
. Kotvovre
vtri KaXoD^
ApTToKov
r]fiv woXiy
vt[ Ivov
• V 'rrapa
V Kcu aXei
For when, O Jndges,
Harpalus came into
Attica, and • . • - .
43
■
I. ACCU^ATIOK.
Frag. 7, 25, and 16 (eimiimiid).
10
15
20
25
T
avB
fjuira airlpjalxra ng Ti)y
€)(wy AfyrraXo^ €i[f
Arrucffv . €v 177 avpi[ov
fjfiepa A/97raXo[y ffi-
S17 OTToSeifat ra [xp^-
ft ara o^rcxra e<rr[i * iva
rov etpltOfioy
atnoov
otr^jT i]oi4e€y oirotra rjy,
aXK* tva eiSrf a^ wrtov
avTov Sei Toy fiurSoy
irpaTT€<T0ai • Kai, KaOrj^
fieyo^ Kartp vtto
Tq #caTaiT[iaJf]t9 tnrep
e«€-
X€i;[o*f . . .]ovTov
')(pp€VT [ijv a'Tij] trai,
Toy Afy/raXoy oiroaa
€irf ra j^fjuira a-
vourOriaofieva €t9
Tqy \Kpoiro\iy : OS'a-
TreKpivarOy on ETrra-
and to carry up those
moneytt undiminislied
into the Acropolis^which
Harpalus brought with
him into Attica. The
next day he knew that
Harpalus would show
what his treasures were;
so that not only he
heard their number^
that they were as many
as they seemed^ but
that he knew from how
many he should take
his wages; and sitting
down
he com-
manded . . . the
dancer to ask Harpalus
how many were the mo-
neys carried up into the
Acropolis. And he an-
8wered,They were seven
44
I. Accusation.
Frag. 16 {continued).
10
15
20
25
hundred and . . •
' ava^epofjbev [o j vkto, -
KaL . 7r6VT[i2xoyra oKKol
v] eifcoai Ta\a[vT»v
. . . . the num-
ber of seven hundred
and fifty talents was
declared to you in the
assembly as earned
up^ but
-
only seven hundred
and twenty talents
TO
/cocr^a ^ [<r] a9 etv [a ra
atf ava<l>€p€i<i tea
in the assembly having
said that there were
seven hundred talents^
now thou earnest up the
45
I. Accusation.
Frig. 4,
. • ov
KBrivai
irpa
10
• •
CKpivoy
V€ TTpl
09 • • <l>€
• • •
. . , ay , . ov€
kX . . . ^o
• • ctW
15
VTOV
€9
20
25
/Lt6>9 €T
TOW
yei
yjp\ vtriov
. V0K19
ap on
V
vev
V
46
I. Accusation.
Frag. 4 (coniimted).
10
15
20
25
pa9 eXafielijj ovBe Tq>
fJMTO^ aVTOV Tr)V <f)V'
XoKTfy KaraoTfiaa^,
Kac oxn eykeiirofie'
vqv €7ravop0<0V,
ovT€ xaraXvOeunf^
Tov^ aiTiov^ Kpiva<i
wpoc/ca , SfjXjoy or [•] tov
KaipOV TOVTOV T€ TO-
fjLievaai, koi tois: fiev
eXaTToai pi^ropaiv
airenvev o ApirdKo^
XPVo**ov Toi^ OopvjSov
fjbovov Kac Kpavyrjf;
KVpiOl^y OvBe TOV TODV
oXayv wpar/fiaTayv
eiriaraTrjv irapeiZev
fCaCTOD TOVTO TTtOTOV •
ToaovTOv 8\(0 avSpe^
BucaaTcUy tov Trpar/fia-
T09 tcaTaire^povrficev
^LTj/Moa-ffevrf^, /xaX-
\ov So[K]€Cy Sec fiera
Trapprja-cafi eiirecv^ v-
IIWV Kac TOiV VO"
fJLtOV (OaT€ TO fiev
irpfOTov ft) . .
. . thou tookest; neither
having by the decree ap-
pointed a guard over his
body ; nor re-appointed
it when it was neglect-
ed; nor^ when it was
broken through^ having
willingly brought the
guilty to justice. It is
clear when on this oc-
casion Harpalus conti-
nued to dole out money
even to the lesser ora-
tors, who were masters
only of noise and cla-
mour^, he did not pass
by him who was chief
of all the business and
faithful in this matter.
And so much of this
matter, O Judges, hath
Demosthenes despised,
he rather seemeth, (as
one ought to speak
with boldness,) of you
and of the laws as the
first
47
I. ACCUBATIOK.
Frag. 4 (dmimued).
0/JL€
yai ra ^^pi;/ui[ra . .
Karaxej^pfftrOai, avra
vfiiv irpoBeBaveia''
fJLeVO^ €49 TO OetOpIn
KoVf Ktu irepi toy Kva>-
ai(0y /ecu 01 aXXot ^^
Xot avTOv eXeyoy ori
avarfKoaotXTi rov av-
10 OptuTToy 01 airiM/Me"
vol €49 TO if>av€poy
€V€yic€i,y a ov fiovXerai,
xai ettreiy ori tod Siy-
fiq> TrpoBeBavtorlci
15 Ta yptffiara ct? Ti/y
StoiscTfaiy • e7r€4Si7
S^vfjuoy 01 aKovaaV'
. T€9 woXXo) /AaXXov
fjyaya/cTovy ein T0t9
20 #caTa Tov wXi/tfow
Tov vfierepov Xoyoi^
€1 fif) fioyov ue[ei'
yov evq avrtp [rm
SeStopoSo/crj [ftf vcp
• ... to refund
the money, putting it
for yon to interest into
the theatrical fund; and
respecting it Cnosion
and his other friends
said that 'those who
' are accusing the man
'will make him bring to
' light things which he
' does not wish, and own
' that the money ought
'to be put to interest
' for the Assembly into
' the magistracy/ And
when those of you
who heard him would
have been much more
angry at the arguments
against your rabble, if
it had not been quite
fit for him who had
received bribes . . .
48
I. Accusation.
Frag. 26 and 27.
CO otv^psg] SitcaaT[at
. . y€vo .
trOcu €1
V
V eoare .
rj aura aXKa
%]ain'Ci)[i/ f^avqaov .
ficCKKaoTa Brf .
• yarla tod Trpcuy/Ma"
jxe] V yap aSiKovvra^
ciif\€tfyqvav /cat rav-
Tou 6]i7/ioi; 7ro\Xa/c^9
• x6]\aaai, rov^ aSt[x-
49
I. AOCUIATION
Frag. 8 and 14.
f<r]Ttv Ofiouo^
• €i O0€V flf}
10
ovre^ TO yfpvcioy
oi] fyrjTope^ tuu oi
OT^arijy] oi Bianon roi^
t]BuOT(U9 ApTTO-
li
20
25
17. iKOi €i/>17 • .
. (oy eve/ca
V oiSev o
. €V oBi/cov
iroSiS
• •
• •
30
OTi fir)
<my€K
TOVTOC^
ovTq> /cat
Ttap vyuav
Kar avTto
V o irep yap
r]<p ivifup €c
ir]oXKa v/i€t9^ a>
ayS^]€9 BiKOOTac, Bi-
«8f»]/COVT€9 T0fc9
to the people
while yon, O Judges^
were pointing out
many things to the
50
I. Accusation.
Frag. 8 and U {continued).
oTparriyoi^ xai roi^
fyriroptriy (0(f>€\ei^
aOai ov Toav yofimv
atrroi^ SeSwKorwv
TOVTO TToieiy aXKa rrj^
Vfjb€T€pa/i 'irpaoTfjTO^
tcai ^CKavOpairuL^j
€v /Movov irapa^vKar-
Toin"€9, 07ra)9 St' vfia^
10 x|ai firi padvfJL[o']y f-
o']Tafr TO \a/Ml3avofi€'
vov. Ka* ArjfioaOevrjv
/cat, ArjfiaSrjv airavrtov
TCOV €V Tff TTOXei '^-
15 (f>ta'fiaTa>v koi irpo^e-
vuov oifjuii irkeuo
ff e^Kovra roKavra
€KaT€pov €LXrj<f)€yai^
€^0) TCtfi' fiaaiXLfcwv
20 Kcu TCOV Trap" AXe^av-
Spov • oi^Se fj/r}T€ rav-
ra tfcava eariv firjT e-
K€iva ' aX\' i;&7 eTr' av-
T<p Tip acofiari T179
25 7roX€a>9 Siopa eiXrf'
^xuTi, na>9 ovfc a^C'
ov rovTOv^ KoXa^eiv
eoTiv; AXKa rtov fiev
SuoTODV Vfuov eav
generals and the ora-
tors^ that you ought
to do this^ not for the
sake of the laws which
have been given to
them^ but of your own
goodness and kindness;
taking care of one thing
only, how on your ac-
count that which has
been taken shall not be
neglected. And I be-
lieve that Demosthenes
and Demades for all the
decrees and strangers'
votes in the city re-
ceived more than sixty
talents each, beside the
royal [sums] and those
from Alexander. And
neither these [sums]
nor those satisfied them ;
but now in the very
heart of the city they
have received gifts.
How then, is it not
right to punish these
men ? Why even if
any one of you com-
51
I. Accusation.
fng. 8 and 14 (etmiiimed).
10
15
20
25
TffKucawra
TA9 o^^X^y Ti\ya xat
iuvfyouLv [•x^y . • •
puiv afiafyni\iru • .
VTTO Totntov ....
iropevOei^ ev T<p [$ixa-
trrqpupy rj airo [tavii-
raiy ff €K T179 irar[pilo$
€Kir€a€$Tai . avr[oi . .
aBcKmcaV'
T€9 TTfy TTOTuW Ol/Slf-
fua^ rt/udpuoK ^ «;-
(oyrcu. Kai /ic* 0F[ti&^
/i€v OTi Aiviev^ . . .
virep Tov ovx ^Ka . . .
TO 0€€op$Koy a[voytfb
flOUVTO^ ir€VT[i 5f«-
;^Aa»v €V6/ic€v [tXou-
T6Utt>v t;/Lia9 ToXav-
Tov m^Xey ev t^
iuccurrqpup TOUTto\y
KarfiyopowTwv^;
Kai ApUJTOfUlJ(p^ ۥ
TrwrTaTiy? 7€vo/a«-
V09 Tf;9 OKaBfffiui^
OTi axa^eiov €/e T179
7raXatoTpa9 psrevey-
tCtOV €IS TO KT/irOV
TOY avTov irXi^aioy
oyra expffro suu eifyrf
mon people having
any o£Sce and decree
going into the court of
justice^ he will either be
put to death or banished
fromhis country. When
they have wronged the
city in such matters,
they will escape no kind
of punishment. Audit
would indeed be a dis-
grace that Aineus • • .
because he did not. . . .
repay the theatrical mo-
ney^ for the sake of five
drachmas^ shouldenrich
you by a talent which
became due in the
court of justice under
the accusation of these
very men. AndArirto.
machus when he was
keeper of the academy^
because whenhehadcar-
ried a spade out of the
wrestUng ground into a
garden that was near^
he used it^ and said
5. MS. ropevOect. 14. MS.
rotnov.
52
I. Accusation.
Frag. 1.
10
15
20
25
avTOV 070)^09 Ot€-
rat Setv v/i^? 7rap[a-
Kpov<ra<rdai, 8ui/3a\[}s,eiv
TTjy airotfyaaiVy aXKa
Kai T0V9 aXkov^ ayo^
va9 airavTO^ a<f>e\€*
aOai ^r)T€i tov9 ttj^
TToXeoj^ • XTTreplyis] Set,
VfJLa<; vwL fiovXevca'
aOac wpoaexovra^
ray vouvy kcll firf Tq>
Xoytp VTTO Tov[r]ov e-
^o^Trarr)6r)vaL • Ta<; yap
aTTOifxKreif: rama^ ra^
virep TG)v ')(prj/jLaT(ov
ApiraXov Trcura^ ofwi,'
0)9 V fiovkr) ireirot-
vraij Kai ra^ avra^ Ka-
ra TravTfoVy KOd, ovSe-
fiuL Trpoayeypa^ey
a l/jir eKoarov airo-
^[ai]v€t, dKKa en k€-
ifxiKaiov ypayfraaa owo'
<rov eKaoTO^ etXytfyey
^pvaLov • rovTovv
a^i] CkeroD . . . <r^ ....
. . • €v 17 . . Trai V .
p X
3. MS. Sia\al3.
in this contest he thinks
that you ought to be de-
ceived into putting off
the decision; but he
also wishes all the other'
contests to be got rid of,
even those which relate
to the city ; over which
you ought now to be
taking counsel, and gi-
vingyour attention, and
should not be deceived
by his reasons aboutthis
matter. Because all
these decisions, which
are about the moneys of
Harpalus, in the same
way the Senate hath
made, and the same
against all; and hath
by no means added
what it hath decided
against each; but yet
it hath written down the
total how much money
each took. This there-
fore ......
53
10
15
20
25
I. Accusation.
Frag. 1 (eontmued).
air
OVK aei
(vrroye
a/iro<l>a[ans
eKafie *
01 /cat 01
ov yap S[ .
adeve • .
Jl}/XO-
TO Layypo . . . .
8'aWot9 o . . . .
ovj^ mrep [rpiaxovra ra-
XavToiv S
aXX' UTrep T[a)v eirraxoo'-
(TMov • ovS' i;[Tep tootou
Tre/} a7ray[T»y • • .
ctt; a7rovo[ • • • • Jtijio-
adeve^ • u7r[o touiov a-
7o>va St/c [eKTTyipiou
vw 7rpoKiySvv[it)'
€1 Kai irpoavaiayyly-
rei • €7© S[ijXov on
eXajSe^ to ')(pvau)v
LKavov oifuu €iv[ai
(prffiepov TOi^ AIko-
orat^f TO Tiyv fiovXrjy
aov KaToirfvwvai,
.
not about [thirty]
talents
but about the seven
hundred; not about
this crime^ but about
all you will be . .
. . . , Demosthe-
nes. In this judicial
contest he is now
in danger^ and yet
he is impertinent. I
think that it will be
clear today to the
Judges that thou
hast taken the money ;
the rejection of thy
advice
54
I. Accusation.
10
15
Frag. 11 {eontmued).
/Jbo^ eTToiffaevy war
airro^ vtto T179 tu^^
aAfxup€0€L^ Toy are"
<l>ayoy tf^ujy ov €-
Sa/eeyy ov/e [af)]€t\€TO
oirrto^ ouv ffficv, tov
Sr^fiov TTpoa-evrfve'
y/i€vov, ov iravra hi-
• . . • avTto fffiei^
. . . peroi fiey Kai
fiey
yq KOI
axnov eyao
Kara
00
UL
• . . .[the assem-]
bly acted^ so that when
he by chance was
deprived of oar crown
which it had given^
he did not then
thus take it from us^
though the assembly
offered it^ ....
5. MS. €i\aTO,
55
I. Accusation,
Frag. 11 {eon(inued).
10
15
avy Kai \oyov Swa-
fiiv OTroSei/cyvfie'
ore fiev Tjyovyrjv
fiovkrjv aTro<l>atveLV
rov^ e)(pvra<; to %pv-
avovy TToXefiLKO^ toy
tcac Taparrayv rrjv iro^
Xiv \}\va rrjv ^rfTrjo-iv
etc/cpovoc^ • eireiSr) Se
avajSaXoLTO to aTro-
(f>rjyai r) /3ov\r) oinrto
^oaKovaa evprjKC'-
yaiy TO T€v Tq> 'Srjfiq)
oi/y^toptoy AXefav-
Bpeo, Kai Tov Ato^ k[oh
Tov Tloa'€tSa)VQ[(; . .
• • p » • OTTO • •
. , and thou perse-
veredst in patting forth
a quantity of reasoning ;
and indeed when I
was leading the council
to declare who had the
gold, thou wast hostile
and disturbing the city,
so that thou mightest
stop the inquiry; and
when the council put oflF
the declaration, saying
that it was not yet dis-
covered ; and in the as-
sembly conceding this to
Alexander; and Jupiter's
and Neptune's . . .
•
• ••••• • •
'
VOL. IV.
56
I. Accusation.
Frag. 11 (continued).
Frag. 6.
09
OTO
€/8ovX€ [to
Spov l3a(n[XHos . • .
TTpOTOV
KrfTrjaOe • . . • •
10
0€l.
Kaie
yevav
7rui9
V1JV
10
Tre/) airrcov e-
• ot9 Tfjy eipff'
.locrjaafieOa
. . ovXo/co
Wfyrf
57
I. Accusation.
Frag. 6 {eonimued).
10
15
avrqt, Trap eicaarov
ffpuav yvyyeaOcu teat
TO fjL€v tcaTTjyopeiv
ey T<p Succurrrfpi^
/cat e^ekey^eiv Tai/9
€i\ff<l>oTa^ ra ;^/>i7/Lta-
ra K(u SeBwpoBo/cfj'
icOTOf; Kara T179 warpi"
S09 17 • • • • • .
f €V
KaTTf . . ToB . .
• . • TOU; t]l\f)<f>OTa^
fe . . • 17 fiovXi]
• • • • a6 ov ff
• • r]ov Sff
ftoy . . . l^evTO
unto him ; that it is in
the power of each of us^
both to accuse in the
court of justice and
to convict those who
have taken the money
and have received
bribes against their
country, . . . . ,
of the Areo-
f2
58
I. Accusation.
10
15
20
25
Frag. 6 (continued).
TTcvyov ' eav Se rj '^-
Kai T0i9 SiKacoi<; • tov-
ro Srjy 0) avBp€<: Siko-
crraiy irap vfitv eorai
KaTaXeXeifJuevov •
iumep Set iravra^
pagus ; and if the vote
should not be agree-
able to the laws and
to what is rights That
indeed^ Judges^ is
to be left to your care.
Wherefore allmen ought
Frag. 12.
To]X€a)9 • • T97V av-
. . V Tr)v evSaifiovL-
av TTjv V7rapj(pv<rav
v/jLiv ev Tp X^P^
Kai Koivp iraai kcu lica
evi €KaaT<p xai ei^
TOl/9 Ta<f>0V9 TOV^ TCDV
7rpoyov€ov t4/u»/W7-
aaadai tov9 aBiKow-
Ta9 virep aira^rq^ Tr)^;
7ro\6Q)9. /cat, fJJ)T€
. . yov TrapaKkrfaiv
. . . the happiness
which belongs to you
in the land which is
common to us all and
peculiar to each^ and
into the tombs of our
fore-fathers, that the
wrongdoers should be
punished for the sake
of the whole city, and
59
I. Accusation.
10
15
20
25
Frag. 6 (eoniimied),
TO^ S<jO [pioi$ xara
waTpiSo^ icoL [tcov
yofjuev, firjS [wft«;
SaKpvoi^ T0t9 Ay [yeo-
viBov trpoaexerlty
vow €K€ivoy [i%o-
fievot oTi arvxljotv
TLfJLeV
bribes against their
country and against
the laws. And do ye
give no heed to the tears
of Agnonides, but have
such a frame of mind
that
Frag. 12 {emthiued).
^S[ .... roi-
ov Sucaia trotrflaasy
axrrrep xai oi a[\K-.
ov eirirpo [toi] TOV')(pp [tou
0VT69, €f ov av [too J
fiT] €fil3aiy€[iv eig
tottXolov; oi;to)[j fio-iv
AyvoDvcSrj^ xai Ai/ljxo-
adevrj^;. ti irpo^ \yn*^i
icKaLr}<r€\Ti ras dwptas
fjuy Xa/ji
such a man when he has
not done what is rights
like any others who are
stewards of property; is
it not the law that
they should be ba-
nished ? And so acted
Agnonides and Demo-
sthenes. Why do ye
weep
60
I. Accusation.
FMg. 19.
yo9 OTi Ake^avlPpco
'Xapt'^ofievi] [ij /3ov-
\i] av€[x]€tv av[rov |
^ovXerai (o<rn-[ep a-
TOiovTov ay . .
eoTiy TTpiaae .
\oy Tiya fit) . .
aac eoTiy fir) . .
• ui><l>0€ •
Frag. 21.
. • rjrat /jltj t[oi ^<f>t-
a/juara tov Srj[jjiou
0a vfiei^ fiey . .
/jLO/care T7)y yfr[rj^ov
049 ety eypa^lre ,
aXV auT09 0VT09 . .
• 06 017
To]vTOv K€\€vo[yros
. . . . ovx . •
. . . that in order to
please Alexander the
Senate wished to kill
him;
10
15
Frag. 18
01/0*09
vtrur . ra . T179
Soae 69 fca$
^ KOL Kara
y\oy fjL av
. irovqaa^ tearrf
. 9 Se €K Ta)V
ejttTp] oo-^€V '^oytoy
, . TOIV 7r/3o
. lov . . vefov
• \afi7rpo . •
. t] apa TO) Si;/^
. ITTTO XotTTOV
tiJTTo 80^179 X/wy-
. . pa irefjL^dfi
yra raura ay
ovK avax •
61
II. Accusation.
Frag. 10.
T»7^ Toirro) [v
80KU19 Ta TV
irpcuyfiaTO
• . €<T0€U O
eOTLV OTL
OL eircfiovkevovrels
T019 lSX\i]yiK0t9 7rp[a'
yfUKTiv ra^ fiey /jlit-
10 fCp<K 7ro\€t9 T0t9 O-
7rXot9 <Tvv<rK€va^0V'
rat, Tttf Se ^leydXa^
€v aurat? (avovfie-
15 Vai • o]8' 0T4 ^^XtTTTTO?
TijAix]oin-09 eyeyero,
• ' ^^ [xpl^A'^'''^ ^^^
. . . . o[X)j]9 IleXo-
«ovvi}(rou . ] /cat 0€t-
20 raXias] /c[ou'] Tr)v aWrjv
«
. . Kav TOVV €V
ovra? €v
V /cat wpo
those who consult for
the affairs of Greece,
furnish the lesser
cities with arms, but
the greater with those
who can purchase them
therein.
And he, because
Philip was so important
\
62
II. AccusATioy.
Frag. 5.
ID
rexrrfy Kai ov^ airaaiv
oi€L <l>av€pov et,v(u
OTi ^XLaiuov mrep rov
Apirot\ov] \eyeiv virep
AXi^av]Spov <f>avep<o^
wapy\y]op€i^. £7® yap
. , . . efi'TTpoaOey
. . . . Travra? on
iroifft
. . LKa^ Kai irepi drj-
. . ov Kav • irepv rmv
aXX]Q)v aTTavTOJv
. V OTI, ')(prf/jLara ei^
. . . hoOevra €K T979
And dost thou not
think that it is* clear
to all that when saying
that thou art speaking
for [Harpalus] thou art
clearly pleading for
Alexander. For I . .
• •
# • »
avTtp
15
ocrjo'afjL€-
a? ra
63
II. Accusation.
Frag. 5 (eoniinMed).
10
15
7rpoa'€[wi']a'ev (ocrre
li/rfieva irpoaiaOe-
aOcu ra S'cv UeXoTTov-
yqaco xai rrj aXKtf EX-
\aSi ovrto^ €')(pvTa. Ka^
rekafiev tnro T179 aif>tr-
feo)? T»79 "NiKavopo^
Kai TO)v eirvrarffuir-
TO)V tOV r)K€V (f>€p<OV
irap AXe^avSpov irepi
T€ TO)v if>vyaB<oy Kai
irepi TOV TOl/9 tCOIr-
yov<; avKXoyov^ Ajxatr-
(ov . €K , ap Ka . V
it fell out according
to hope^ 80 that no-
body perceived that the
affairs in the Pelopon-
nesus and in the rest of
Greece were in such a
condition. He under-
stood from the departure
of Nicanor and from
the commands which he
brought from Alexander
about the deserters^ and
also about the . . the
general assemblies of
the Greeks ....
64
II. Accusation.
Frag. 5 (coniinued).
ravra^ vtt . . . .
avWa^tov rov [Apira"
\0V K€tt TOW /a€[to-
Xov^ OTravra^ [Aa-
/x])8[«v]€o-tfa^ 7re7r[ei-
Ka^ 0)9 A\€^avS[pou
ovK eXovra? aXX[ijy
ovSe/iiav aTTOtrlTfO'
10 ^v • TOif? Se, [ore
01 avTdi avrfKolv'
re? •jr/309 Tai;[Tijv
ra ')(p7jfiaTa /cat tovI$
oTpaTUOTo^ otrov^ €[x«-
TOirrou? aufiTravra^
OV fJbOVOV KCKoaikv-
Ka^ airo {m;vva^ /c[oi-
20 vov Tq avWrjyltei t^
ApwcLKoVy aWa kcu
. . . ixjaoTOV .
15
. . embracing by this
decree^ Harpaius and
all his companions thou
persuadedst that they
should be received as
though they were from
Alexander^ though they
brought no other help ;
and those other men^
when they came up to
the army having money
and as many soldiers as
each of them had^ all
those thou not only
forbadst from the com-
mon feast by embracing
Harpaius^ but also . .
65
III. Dkfbkck.
Frag. 15.
trcWei^ wapa [OXu/x-
ttmBi KaXXui9 o • •
15 x^Sev^ o Tavpoade^
vov^ aS€\<^09 ' TOirrov^
yap eypayjre Lffifwade-
K179 AOrjyaiov^ €t-
vat, Kai j^prjrai tovtol^
20 fr]avT(dy fiaXurra*
xot]i ovBev davfiaoTOV
ovB]€ wore yap oifiai
. . • y avTtoy fie
. . • eCKOTCO^ ^t[-
25 • . Tovq aiT^ ^vpLirov
• . TqTaL et ra^ tnro t
ta9 irpO^ €/JL€ T0\
. . . at the Olympic
game^ Kallias the . .
. . . the brother of
Taurosthenes. For De-
mosthenes brought for-
ward a law that these
men should be Athe-
nians; and he is inti-
mate chiefly with them;
And it is not wonderful,
for I never think •
66
III. Defence.
Frag. 15 {continued''
20
25
va
'TP
V [eyvv] VL TrjXcKom^
(OV VTTO flipafCCODV
Kpivofievo^ Trept
hwpoioKLa^y /cat roc
eSet rovvavTLov v-
if> vfjuav TratSevaOac
t]0U9 V€a)T€/0OU9 TCOV
t]<»v prjTOpoov^ Kav
ot\tl TrpoTrerearepov
. . . . being judged
by such children as these
about bribery, whereas
on the other hand they
who are the younger
among the orators
ought to be taught
^y you, and whatever
they have too rashly
67
III. Dbfbkcb.
10
15
20
25
Frag. 3.
eirparrov eTrtrifiO'
aOai KOI KoXa^eaOcu,
Ntn' Be Towavrioy
oc veoc Tov^ wrep
e^Kovra enj cro)-
<l>povi^ovai,v. Ato
irep, <o avSpe^ SiKcurraiy
o]c Kai a>9 av opyc^av-
Tsg] A'qfioaOevei
€1 Kcu • . Tcu^ i/eavff^
irJKjovTOV TToXKov
eirv iniptp
Xercu T179
. ayy .
0V9 u . . . eoTrjKOTa
EXXrjvtov ore
V KaTe)(€ . . o
^]rjfiarfovyot^ #c[ai
<rTp]aTriyov^ Ktu ^[uXa-
x«]9 Twv irparyfjL[aToo¥
done should be blamed
and punished. But
now on the other
hand the young men
wish to teach such as
are above sixty years
old. Wherefore, O
Judges, these men,
as though they would
irritate Demosthenes .
68
III.
2(
ickqiiarwy' Koi [xi|-
pvyfia ir^[i TOtrr]«[f
erroiffa-aTo ' oi • •
Tov ajroSoyr^ a €Xa/5[ef
pta9 Koff avrmv* xai
TOV? Sff TO fiev ef apxv*
oBucTjaavrm Ktu &»-
10 pohoicqaavrtK aSei"
at; Saxnovi hoOeurq^y
fjuq OTToBovra^ to
')(pvaiov, TL ')Qyq iroieiy
eav aTifuoprjTov^ ;
15 AW^ aur)(poVf€oAvSp€^
AiKaaT[en, f]SMk>v evC"
Ka €yfc[X.ii]fiaT<ov iro-
^wn'\v€iv' ov yap e-
20 Sffiv] Vfia^ TOVTCJV
uir]oylrrf<f>La'a[<r^0at fir)
•••••• €^a
a
€€
€t
of the aecnsatKHis. And
a jnrodamatioD was
made aboat these ;
^' That those who give
" hack what they have
''taken shall be fireed
from punishment in
respect of it/' And
they pnqposed inquiries;
'' as to those who have
done wrong in it from
the beginning and
taken bribes, and
when liberty was
given to them did not
give back the money,
''what must be done
"with them if unpu-
"nished?'' But it is
disgraceful^ O Judges,
to endanger the safety
of the city for their pri-
vate accusations. For
it was not becoming for
you to
€1
ti
€€
t€
€t
€€
€
4* MS* rov awodovro9.
69
111. Dbfbncb.
Frtg. 2 (eontintied).
10
15
V
Bp.
an
20
25
/Lt[ • . . yd) Avip§S
Aiic(ur\rM ....
nyf tovt[(ov wXto-
ve^ULV T
/:>a9 atn'a)^ ....
a9 fJLfjBev
aKTyptov €[}ifai . . .
irdkefiov a . . . .
, . Tft)V af * . . .
10
15
20
25
70
IV. Defence.
Frag. 13.
• . . vofio^ Ka
. . pel fiev rq) /Sou-
• €va) . . Kara rtov
yBv]ofi€va)v ef ov
. • SiSaxri, €LV airo-
• . TOai Se KooiXv-
€va Be TTpO TOV
'rrparyfULTOf: iro , , ,
X070U9 avaX
eir avrrjv ttjv [01-
xjULV iropevaofiloLif
T0i9 fiev 0€oc<; eu-
^afievo^ ^orjOrj-
aac fiOL /cat, acoaai [ex
TrapovTo^ cuycDVO^i
vfia^ Scy (o AvSp€<; Ai-
KaoTaLy €/C€tvo TrapaL-
Tfilaafievo^ irpcorov
. • . to the temple
itself will I go and
unto the Gods will
I pray to help
me and save me
from the present con-
tention: asking from
you, Judges, this first
•ff^ t t • • •
• • • •
• • • •
• :••. !•• •• • : • •
i, ; ;•• • t •
• • •
.^.<^^*-\
5fO ) CJUTN ^ifO icy*
J Q
ir.
fj\ p>^rAA^anft r-n owe .
nrmtY
M") /
t
J
FRAGMENT IS < J
M" HARRIS'S
PAPYRUS
t ;
t •
V
•••
• ••
• • "0 •
• •
.:
• • • a *
• • •
• C0 f)
• • »
• • • •
• %
71
IV. Defence.
10
25
Frag. 9.
Tji Karrjyopia XP^' ■
aOac ovTtp Kcu ejj^e I
eareov rpoiroy irpo-
r)pTffiaiy KCU a>9 av
huvtofiai airoXoyei-
aOaiy Kai firfSei^ v/j^v
airavTarm fioi iMeror-
^vXeyovTi riy Ovff
irpotmOere rtf Karrj-
yopui trap* v/juov av-
Ttov p/ffievy dXKa
ftaJXXov rri airdkoyia
€V
Frag. 13 {continued).
e .
s ,
K .
V •
av
Kpo
to employ the accusa-
tion thus ; and for my-
self I choose the manner
that is to be disconti-
nuedy and thus may I
be able to defend my-
self; and do no one of
you stop me if I digress
at all by sayings " Thou
art not speaking to us/'
nor do ye add anything
to the accusation of
yourselves^ but rather
to the defence . . .
Frag. 17.
€V
. (OTOV
St) €T€
V09 20
o? o (l>\v
avTOv
o av Tov
Kai ff^i
wo ' 25
€0€
€
TO
VOL. IV.
72
V. Defence.
Frag. 17 {continued).
15 . . . ary yevo
yeifV Tov Eu^[ij-
fjLOv oXX' eav v[vv
Se TOVTO TTOirjaaV'
20 pff/ccuTLV avTOL 0)9 yjrev-
S?79 eartv r) airia ko^
T €fiov irpo^ he TOV-
T049 7ra)9 ovK aroirov;
€(, fJUeV TA9 TTodev
25 TO TratSiov 7) yir/vo'
fjL€vov ff /cat vare-
pov ravTUL^ Ta*9 Sta-
07jKaL^ ur')(ypi,fya0aL
av avTOV^ eivat av-
Enphe-
mus. But if now when
doing this they have
themselves borne wit-
ness that the accusation
against me is false, in
respect to these mat-
ters ; how is it not ab-
surd, if any one suffered
the child, whether now
bom or hereafter, to be
bound by these bar-
gains, that they should
be
Frag. 17 (continued).
25
TOV Elk^Ijxov
/ccoXvea
TOV
'XpvTa
TvpLa<;
T€pa) .
axe
73
2. " Remarks upon a Vocabulary of the Bonny Language." By
R. G. Latham, M.D.
The following short notices have been suggested by a Vocabulary
of the Bonny Language, collected by Dr. Hermann Koler, M.D., in
1 840, and published in his work entitled 'Einige Nolizen uber Bonny
an der Kuste von Guinea, seine Sprache und seine Bewohner : ' Got-
tingen, 1848, pp. 182.
The imperfect and fragmentary nature of our information upon the
number, character, and distribution of the languages between the
kingdom of Ashantee and the Portuguese settlements on the Congo
river (including, of course, the Delta of the Niger) was indicated by
the present writer in his Report upon the state of African Ethno-
graphical Philology, published in the Transactions of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science, 1847.
In the same report the notices of the Bonny Language were con-
fined to the following statements : —
a. That the only Bonny vocabularies were one of Dr. Darnell's,
with which I had been favoured by the author ; the Bonny numerals
in the African vocabularies of the Niger expedition ; and a short vo-
cabulary by Koler, known to me only through a reference of Jiilg's.
b. That the Bonny was an Ibo dialect. Upon this point I ex-
pressed myself in the following words : " I class this " (t. e, the Bonny)
"with the Ibu languages upon the faith of several current statements
as to its affinity, as well as upon geographical grounds. The short
vocabulary of Daniell is insufficient for a proper philological proof."
Now that I am acquainted with Koler's vocabulary, I wish to cor-
rect the position which has thus been given to the Bonny language
by classing it as an Ibo dialect, qualified as was the manner in which
that classification was adopted, and provisional as was its character.
The Bonny is to be considered as a separate substantive language.
Such is the external evidence of Dr. Koler, the first page of whose
work supplies us with the following statements : —
1. That the Bonny language is spoken over a limited area. The
dialect of New Calebar, about thirty sea-miles westward, although a
dialect of the Bonny, contains many peculiar words.
2. That it is different from the Ibo language.
3. That it is unintelligible to the people of the Brass-Town lan-
guage.
4. That it is different from the Andonny language, spoken on the
south-east.
5. That it is wholly different from the Kwa language, spoken on
the eastern limits of the Delta of the Niger.
By a comparison of the Bonny of Dr. Koler with the Bonny of
Mrs. Kilham's vocabularies, we arrive at the same conclusion, and
we arrive at it by the way of internal evidence. The languages
there enumerated most conterminous with the Bonny are the Ako,
Ibu, Akuonga, Karaba, and Uhobo. Each of these are as different
from the Bonny as they are from each other.
Upon the second question connected with the Bonny language,
viz. the extent to which it has particular or miscellaneous affinities,
I have only to state that even the limited Vange of comparison sup-
G 2
plied br Mn. KiUuim's tablei, shows that it is anything but an
isolated language. It baa MfcellaMeoa,* affinities, and, M fu aa the
comparison has hitherto gone, those affinitie* ate quite aa nnmeioua
with the language* akin to the Mandingo and Asbanti tangnes, as
with the more contiguous dialects of the Ibo ; riieilar instances erf
distant rather than of conterniinoua affinity being by no meant nn-
common phjenomena in African philology.
English, tree. \ EngUah. k<md.
Brnmy. Uulu. j Bofuy. barra.
Rungo. ireri. Mondtngo. bulo.
Bongo, i-leli. Bambarra. buln.
I En^ish. /oof.
English, /re. , Bmity, bo.
Botmy, finneh. Batta. hO.
Ako, inna. , pgpo, ,Uh.
Koari, min. ^ Ba/iw.. beh.
English, waler.
Bonn;/, mlnggi.
Akuonga. manil'.
Jtungo. aningo.
Bulhm. men.
Timmani munt
Kir n't, mendnng.
Fot, minie.
Engiisb. moon.
Bonnij. akallo.
Jiambarra, kalo.
Mandingo, karo.
KoMO, ngoli.
Pegxa, n^u.
Rungo. ogueri.
English, »(op.
Bonny, balilo.
Mandingo, lol
Bambarra, doli
lolo.
English, head.
Bonny, tschibbeb.
Timmani, dahum.
Englbh, heart.
Bonny, temmeh.
Rungo, urema.
£01170, lema.
AfoAo, lem.
Benin, nleio.
Popo, ajanil.
Boa»y, nga.
Ako, enni.
English, two.
Bomty, ma. me.
Ahtonga, epa.
Karaba, uba.
Vhobo, iva.
English, Ibree,
Bonny, terra.
Rungo, nteharu.
English./oKr.
Bonny, inni.
Ibu, ano.
Rungo, nai.
Vhobo, ^ncii.
English.jiue
Bonny, szonna.
Rungo, otani.
Karaba, iden.
English, seven.
Bonny, Bzunju.
English, eight.
Bonny, inninne.
Rungo, inanani.
Akuonga, enun.
Kongo, inana.
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. FEBRUARY 23, 1849. No. 80.
O. Sloanb, Esq. in the Chair.
A paper was read : —
•• On the Nomen of C. Verres." By the Rev. J. W. Donaldson.
It seems to be worth while to establish definitively the fact that the
notorious C. Verres belonged to the great Cornelian gens. In the
usefid Onomasticon TuUianum by Orelli and Baiter, it is stated con-
fidently enough " fuit e Comeliis" (p. 641) ; but the authors have
not placed the Verres among the other Comelii, and have given
no reasons for assigning him to this gens. Nor has any one, it
would appear, either established the point directly or answered the
arguments for the negative of the proposition, which were long ago
put forth by Muretus. The author has always attached a good
deal of importance to the gentile distinctions of the ancient Romans,
not only because they sometimes contain the clue to useful infor-
mation, but still more because ignorance on this subject necessarily
leads to ignorance on many other subjects, the importance of which
is more generally recognized.
In the first place then, Verres could not be a gentile name, any
more than Scro/a, Porous, or Asina. A Roman wag might have
invented a gens Verrina as a designation for Epicurus and his school
(Hor. I. Epist. 4 16), but no philologer would nowadays acquiesce
in such a gentilitds.
The reasons adduced by Muretus (Varise Lectiones, III. c. 8) are
the following: (1.) In tampering with the accounts Verres sub-
stituted for his own name the designation C. Verrutius C F. (II. 76.
§ 187). Now if he had originally described himself as C. Cornelius
Verres, this substitution could not have been made. Moreover,
Cicero speaks of the imaginary Verrutius, as, in a manner, the gentUis
of Verres : " Responde mihi nunc tu, Verres, quem esse hunc tuum
psene geniilem putes ?" (II. 77. § 190.)
This argument is more easily answered than would at first sight
appear probable. There is no doubt that a freedman took his nomen
and pranomen from his patron ; and that men bom in a provincial
town, which obtained the franchise, often assumed the nomen and
pranomen of the proconsul whose influence had gained that privilege
for them. Hence we meet with so many Julii in Gaul. But in
many cases the cognomen was better known in the provinces than
the nomen, which was generally omitted in ordinary documents ; and
individuals in the provinces often formed their new gentile name
from the cognomen of some leading man. For instance, the Spaniard
Q. Varius may have derived his name from some Quinctilius or
Atius Varus, who held ofi&ce in that province, and the name Verrius
was similarly formed from this very surname Verres. In general
VOL. IV. H
76
the formation of a nomen from a cognomen was of the commonest oc-
currence, not only in the case of adjectives like Varus (e. g. Maxi-
mius, Postumius, &c.), hut also when the cognomen was a suhstantive
like Verres (e. g. Porcius, Tullius, &c.). There are reasons for be-
lieving that the Greeks in Sicily regularly neglected the gentile
names of their Roman governors, who would practically acquiesce
therefore in the more special designation. Thus, the law made by
Verres for the sale of corn in Sicily was called lex Verria, not lex
Cornelia (III. 49. § 117), and the Sicilian festivals were called Verria
and Marcellia , not Cornelia or Claudia ( II. 2 1 . §§ 5 1 , 52) . And what
was regularly done in Sicily was also practised in the names of towns
elsewhere. Thus we have not only towns called after the Julian
nomen, e. ^. forum Julii (Frejus), &c., but also after the cognomen and
agnomen of the same gens, as CiBsarea, and Casarea Augusta (Sara^
gossa). With regard to the joking use of the word gentilis, we find
in the Div. in Q. Ccecilium, 4. § 13 : " Scit is qui est in consilio,
C. Marcellus : scit is, quem adesse video, On. Lentulus Marcellinus :
quorum fide atque praesidio Siculi maxime nituntur, quod omnino
Marcellorum nomini tota ilia provincia addicta est." On which the
Pseudo-Asconius writes : '* et Marcellus et Marcellinus inter se gen^
tiles sunt/' &c. ; and yet every scholar knows that the nomen of this
C Marcellus was Claudius, and that the nomen of this Cn. Lentulus
Marcellinus was Cornelius, so that they could not truly be called the
gentiles of one another.
(2.) Muretus finds in IV. 25, § 57, what he thinks a conclusive
evidence for his theory that Verres was the nomen and not the cog^
nomen of the accused : ** Ridiculum est," says the orator, " nunc de
Verre me dicere, quum de Pisone Frugi dixerim. Verumtamen,
quantum intersit, videte. Iste, quum aliquot abacorum faceret vasa
aurea, non laboravit quid non modo in Sicilia, verum etiam Romse
in judicio audiret. Ille in auri semuncia totam Hispaniam scire
voluit, unde prsetori annulus fieret. Nimirum, ut hie nomen suum
comprobavit, sic ille cognomen^* On which Muretus remarks : " Nun-
quam, ut opinor, ita locutus esset Cicero, si et Verres et Frugi
cognomina fuissent." This argument would have been valid had
Piso been the nomen of the L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi here spoken of:
but it is obvious that Cicero places the name Verres on the same
footing as the name Piso, both being cognomina, and applies to the
agnomen, Frugi, the term which belonged equally to Piso and Verres.
I think the passage is rather conclusive in favour of the supposition
that Verres was not a gentile name, like Calpiirnius^ but a cognomen
like Piso.
Besides these reasons for believing that Verres was a nomen gen^
tilicium, Muretus argues (a.) that a man whose father is called ^wr
and divisor (III. 69. § 161) could hardly have belonged to a pa-
trician gens like the Cornelian ; and (b,) that the indictment being
laid under the lex Cornelia, it is very surprising that Cicero does not
allude to his name, if it really was Cornelius. With regard to the
former objection, it cannot be supposed that any one who knows the
character of the Cornelian family in the days of Sulla and Cicero
77
will allow much weight. to it. Lentulus and Cethegus, the leaders
of the Catilinarian gang, were both Comelii; so was the Roman
knight who undertook to bear a part in the assassination of Cicero
(Sdust. Cat. 28). The father of Verres was a senator (II. 39. § 95),
which is more than can be said of the majority of the Comelii in
those days. With regard to the second objection, it would seem
that the fact about to be mentioned, respecting the common use of
the name Cornelius, is the best way of explaining the circumstance.
It did not occur to the orator to make any allusion to the name of the
culprit, whose uncomplimentary surname was so much better suited
for his punning invectives.
But if the objections to the statement that C. Verres was a Cor-
nelius will not stand the test of an accurate examination, but rather
tend the other way, the positive arguments in favour of that position
seem quite conclusive.
In the first place, if Verres was not his nomen, he must have had
some other nomen. Now as this family name is nowhere mentioned,
it is reasonable to conclude, d priori, that it was a very common
name. For as proper names are distinctions of individuals, the
constant omission of the nomen of this individual shows that it was
not an appellation likely to distinguish him from others. Thus,
when an eminent man bears a very common name among ourselves,
we constantly drop the surname, or subordinate it, as an unimportant
adjunct, to his christian name : for example, we never spe^ of " Mr.
Smith," the witty clergyman, or " Mr. White," the youthful poet, but
of ** Sydney- Smith," and ** Kirke- White." On the continent, even
when the surname is not so common, it has occasionally become ob-
solete, and the christian name of a distinguished individual is alone
retained; take the cases of " Dante," " Michael-Angelo," " Jean-
Jacques," •' Jean-Paul," " Rahel," &c. To return to the Romans,
the combination Servius Sulpicius was so familiar to their ear, that a
second prsenomen was often placed before /S«n;ttt9(Niebuhr, 'Lectures,'
II. p.226,note). Now, what name, of all others, was least likely to be
a distinctive appellation at Rome in the days of Cicero ? The orator
tells us himself (Fragm. I. Orat. pro C. Comelio, p. 450, Orelli) :
" Quid ego nunc tibi argumentis respondeam, posse fieri, ut alius
aliquis Cornelius sit, qui habeat Philerotem ? Res nota est vulgare
esse nomen Philerotis, Comelios vero ita multos ut jam etiam Col"
legium constitutum sit." On the supposition that tiie accused was
a Cornelius, this passage alone seems a sufiicient explanation of the
manner in which Cicero has left the nomen of Verres to be taken for
granted: and we might confirm the inference by the fact which
Appian mentions, that Sulla added more than 10,000 Comelii (t. e.
freedmen of his own) to the roll of Roman citizens (De Bello Civili,
I. 100).
Again, if Verres had any freedman who was called Cornelius, this
must have been the gentile name of the praetor himself. As Appius
Claudius the decimvir had a freedman Claudius who pandered to his
passions, so Verres had a freedman Cornelius, who leads, but is di-
stinguished from, the slaves, employed in carrying off the daughter of
78
Philodamus : " Hie lictor istius, Cornelius, qui cum ejus servis erat a
Rubrio, quasi in praesidio, ad auferendam mulierem coUocatus, occi-
ditur, servi nonnuUi vulnerantur" (Actio Secunda, I. 26. § 67).
An equally decisive case is that of Artemidorus of Perga. who was
the medical attendant of Verres, and had been, in Asia as well as in
Sicily, the willing instrument of his crimes. Now^this man is not
only called Cornelius (Actio Secunda, III. 11. § 28, 21. § 54), but
we expressly read that he and other attendants of Verres, though
Comelii, were not Roman citizens (III. 28. § 69) : " Ingerebat iste
Artemidorum Comelium medicum, Tlepolemum Comelium pictorem,
et ejusmodi recuperatores ; quorum civis Romanus nemo erat ; sed
Gh^ci sacrilegi, jampridem improbi, repente Comelii" t. e. " rascals
all their lives, but Comelii of yesterday." It is dear that Artemi-
dorus and his suite were clients or freedmen of Verres : if so, they
had the nomen of their patron ; but they were Comelii ; therefore
Verres was a Cornelius, Tlepolemus and his brother Hiero are else-
where described in much the same manner as the lictor Cornelius,
namely, as jackals of Verres (IV. 13. § 30).
From the fact that Metellus, who was connected with Sulla by
marriage, was a friend of Verres (Act. I. 9. § 26), we might con-
clude that Verres was probably a friend or kinsman of SuUa. But
in any case there cannot be any doubt that he belonged to the same
gens. The prsenomen Caius, which was borne by Verres, was not a
favourite one with the more distinguished members of this gens ;
Cneius, Lucius, and Publius were the most usual designations of the
Balbi, Lentuli, Scipiones, Dolabella, Cinna, and Sulkt, But we are
not without examples of Caii Comelii, including the seditious tribune
for whom Cicero pleaded. Nor is the cognomen Verres without its
parallel in this gens, for there was a P. Cornelius Asina, We may
therefore hope that in the next Onomasticon Tullianum we shall find
the name C, Cornelius Verres in its proper place.
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. MARCH 9, 1849. No. 81
James Yatss, Esq. in the Chair.
The followiog papers were read : —
1 . *' On the Connexion between the Ideas of Association and Plu-
rality as an Influence in the Evolution of Inflection." fiy R. G.
Xjatham, M.D.
It is well-known that by referring to that part of the Deutsche
Grammatik which explains those participial forms which (like
y-cleped in English, and like ge-sprochen and the participles in general
in German) begin with ge or g, the following doctrines respecting
this*same prefix may be collected : —
1. That it has certainly grown out of the fuller forms ka or ga,
2. That it has, probably, grown out of a still fuller form kam or
gam.
3. That this fuller form is the Gothic equivalent of the Latin
cum = with.
Such are the views respecting the form of the word in question.
Respecting its meaning, the following points seem to be made out :—
1. That when prefixed to nouns (as is, not rarely, the case),
it carries with it the idea of association or collection : — M. G. sinfs =
a journey, ga-siripa = a companion ; O.M.G. perc = a hill ; ki'pirki =
(ge-birge) a range of hills,
2. That it has also a frequentative power. Things which recur
frequently recur with a tendency to collection or association : —
M. H. G. ge-rassel^ rustling ; ge^rumpel^ crumpling,
3. That it has also the power of expressing the possession of a
quality : —
A.-S. Eng. A.S. Latin,
feax hair, ^e-feax comatus,
heorte heart, ^e-heort cordatus.
This is because every object is associated with the object that pos-
sesses it — a sea with waves = a wavy sea.
The present writer has little doubt that the Tumali grammar
of Dr. Tutshek supplies an additional (and at the same time a very
intelligible) application of a particle equivalent to the Latin cum.
He believes that the Tumali word = with is what would commonly
be called the sign of the plural number of the personal pronouns ; just
as me-cum and te-cum would become equivalents to nos and vos, if the
first syllables were nominative instead of oblique, and if the prepo-
sition denoted indefinite conjunction. In such a case
mecum would mean / conjointly^ we,
tecum would mean thou conjointly = ye.
Such is the illustration of the possible power of a possible combination.
VOL. IV. I
so
The reasoHB far tliiriking it to have a r<
lie in the following forma; —
1. The Tuniali word for with is da.
2. I'he Tuiaali words for /, Ihov,
e language tit leaat
ind hf t
i for
peetively are npi,
they, are ngin-de, ngon-da,
such plural. With them it ia
ngPH-da reBpectively.
4. The Tumali substantives have n
formed on a totally different principle.
5. The Tumali adjectives have no plural at all.
6. The Tumali numerals (even those which e^tpress more than
unity and are, therefore, naturally plural) have a plural. When,
however, it occurs, it is formed on the Bame principle as that of the
plurals of the suhstantive.
7. The word da = with ia, in Tumali, of a more varied application
Ihan any other particle ; and that both aa a pre- position and apoel-
poaition ; — daura ^soon (da = in, aura ^neighbourhood^ ; datom i=ib
(vitk) front (face'); d-ondul = roundabout (ondul = circle) ; dale =
near (le=^side), &c.
8. Prepositions, which there ia every reason to believe are already
compounded with da, allow even a second da to precede the word
which they govern : — daber deling ^ over the earth (ber = earth).
9. The ideas with me, with thee, vrith him, are expressed by ngi-dan,
ngo-dan, and ngu-dan respectively ; but the ideas of with v$, withyou,
with them, are not expressed by nginde-dan, ngonda-dan, ngenda-dan ;
but by peculiar words — tinem =^ with vs ; toman = with you ; tenant
with them.
On the other hand, the following fact is, as far as it goes,
against this view, a fact upon which others may lay more stress
than the present writer. " T>a admits of a very varied application.
Respecting its form the following should be observed: (a.) That a
may be elided when it happens to stand as a preposition before words
■which begin with a vowel : for instance, arrfpen, 'thevalley',- dardgen,
■in the valley'; ondul, 'the circle'; dondid, 'round about in the
circle.' (i.) It changes its a into ^, e, i, o, u, according to the vowel
of the syllable before which the da is placed, or even without any
regard to it. Instances of thia are found in diring, dorong, &c. ;
further io stances are, doromko, ' into the hut' (rom) \ d^tmn or dotvm,
"in the grave.' (c) As a postposition it appends an n: adgdan,
' on the head ' ; aneredan, ' on the day,' " Taking the third of these
rules literally, tbe plural pronouns should end in ifan rather than in da
and de.
It is considered that over and above the light that this particular
formation (if real) may throw upon the various methods by which
an inflection like that of the plural number may be evolved, and
more especially upon the important hut neglected phienomeaa of the
so-called inclusive and exdiisive plurals, many other points of general
grammar may he illustrated.
81
2. '* On the word Cujum" By R. O. Latham^ M.D.
The writer wishes to make the word cujum, as found in a well-
known quotation from the third seclogue of Virgil, —
" Die mihi Damaeta cvjutn pecus ?"
the basis of some remarks which are meant to be suggestions rather
than doctrines.
In the second edition of a work upon the English language, he
devoted an additioncd chs^ter to the consideration of the grammatical
position of the words mine and tMne, respecting which he then consi-
dered (and still considers) himself correct in assuming that the current
doctrine concerning them was, that they were, in origin, genitive or
possessive cases, and that they were adjectives only in a secondary
sense. Now whatever was then written upon this subject was
written with the view of recording an opinion in favour of exactly
the opposite doctrine, viz. that they were originally adjectives, but
that afterwards they took the appearance of oblique cases. Hence
for words like mine and thine there are two views : —
1. That they were originally cases^ and adjectives only in a
secondary manner.
2. That they were originally Mtffeetioes, and casei only in a
secondary manner.
In which predicament is the word cujum ? If in the first, it sup-
plies a remarkable instance of an unequivocally adjectivcd form, as
tested by an inflection in the way of gender, having grown out of a
case. If in the second, it shows how truly the converse may take
place, since it cannot be doubted that whatever in this respect can
be predicated of cujus can be predicated of e;u8, and hujus as well.
Assuming this last position, it follows that if cuju9 be originally a
case, we have a proof how thoroughly it may ^oAre a gender ; whereas
if it be originally an adjective, ejus and k^;u9 (for by a previous as*
sumption they are in the same category) are samples of the extent
to which words like it may lose one.
Now the termination -v« is the termination of an adjective, and is
not the termination of a genitive case ; a fact that fixes the onus
probandi with those who insist upon the genitival character of the
words in question. But as it is not likely that every one lays so
much value upon this argument as is laid by the present writer, it is
necessary to refer to two facts taken from die Greek : —
1. lliat the class of words itself is not a class which (as is often
the case) naturally leads us to expect a variation from the usual
inflections. The forms iv, ol, t, and os, uv, iJ, are perfectly usual.
2. That the adjectives bs = cos, tcolos = irotos, and olos, are not
only real forms, but forms of a common kind. Hence, if we con-
sider the termination -jus as a case-ending, we have a phaeno-
menon in Latin for which we miss a Greek equivalent ; whilst on
the other hand, if we do not consider it as adjectival, we have the
Greek forms oZoc, tcolos = iroios and os = iosy without any I^atin ones.
I do not say that this argument is, when taken alone, of any great
weight. In doubtful cases, however, it is of value. In the present
I 2
82
case it enables us to ^t rid of an inexplicable genitival form, at the
expense of a slight deflection from the usual power of an adjective.
And here it should be remembered that many of the arguments in
favour of a case becoming an adjective are (to a certain extent in
favour of an adjective becoming a case — to a certain extent) because
a change in one direction by no means necessarily implies a change
in the reverse one, although it is something in favour of its pro-
bability.
Probably unitts, uUius^ illius, and alteriw, are equaDy, as respects
their origin, adjectival forms with efus, cuju9, and hnjus.
Now it must not be concealed that one of the arguments which
apply to words like mine and thine being adjectives rather than ge-
nitives, does not apply to words like ejus, cujus, and hujus. The
reason is as follows ; and it is exhibited in nearly the same words
which have been used in the work already mentioned. — ^The idea of
partition is one of the ideas expressed by the genitive case. The
necessity for expressing this idea is an element in the necessity for
evolving a genitive case. With personal pronouns of the singular
number the idea of partition is of less frequent occurrence than with
most other words, since a personal pronoun of the singular number is
the name of a unity, and, as such, the name of an object far less likely
to be separated into parts than the name of a collection. Phrases
like some of them, one of you, many of us, any of them, few of us, &c.,
have no analogues in the singular number, such as one of me, a few
of thee, &c. The partitive words that can combine with singular
pronouns are comparatively few, viz. half, quarter, part, &c. ; and
they can all combine equally with plurals-^ Aa(^ of us, a quarter of
them, a portion of us. The partition of a singular object with a pro-
nominal name is of rare occurrence in language. '* This last state-
ment proves something more than appears at first sight. It proves
that no argument in favour of the so-called singular genitives, like
mine and thine, can be drawn from the admisnon (if made) of the
existence of the true plural genitives ou-r, you-r, the-ir. The two
ideas are not in the same predicament."
Again, the convenience of expressing the difference between
suus and ejus, is, to a certain extent, a reason for the evolution
of a genitive case to words like is ; but it is a reason to a certain
extent only, and that extent a small one, since an equally conve-
nient method of expressing the difference is to be found in the
fact of there being two roots for the pronouns in question, the root
from which we get ea, id, eum, ejus, &c., and the root from which
we get ^t, sibi, suus, &c.
' Here the paper should end, for here ends the particular suggestion
supplied by the word in question. Two questions however present
themselves too forcibly to be wholly passed over : —
L The great extent to which those who look in Latin for the
Mune inflections that occur in Greek, must look for them under new
aunes. That two tenses in Greek (the aorist like e-ruTr-era, and the
perfect like re-rv0-a) must be looked for in the so-caWed. double form
of a single tense in Latin (yic-si, mo-mordi) is one of the oldest /acts
83
of this sort. That the Greek participle in -fteyos (ruirTOfjiepos) must
be sought for in the passive persons in -mint is a newer notice.
II. The fact that the character of the deflection that takes place
between case and adjective is not single but double. It goes both
ways, llie change from cAse to adjective is one process in philology ;
the change from adjective to case another ; and both should be re*
cognized. This is mentioned for the sake of stating, that except in
a few details, there is nothing in the present remarks that in meant
to be at variance with the facts and arguments of five papers already
laid before this Society, vi2. those of Mr. Garnett on the Formation
of Words from Inflected Cases, and on the Analysis of the Verb.
The papers alluded to really deal with two series of facts : —
(A.) Defiectum with identity of form. — In this the inflection is still
considered an inflection, but is dealt with as one difierent from what
it really is, t.^.as a nominative instead of an oblique one. Some
years back the structure of the Finlandic suggested to the present
writer : —
1. A series of changes in meaning whereby such a term as with
waves might equal wavif,
2. The existence of a class of words of which sestertium was the
type, where an oblique case, with a convertible termination, becomes
a nominative.
3. The possible evolution of forms like fluctuba^ fluctubum =-^c-
tuosa, fluctuosum^ from forms like^tfc^tf^tc^.
Mr. Garnett has multiplied cases of this kind ; his illustrations
from the Basque being pre-eminently typical, t. e, like the form ses^
tertivm. If the modem vehicle called an omnibus had been invented
in ancient Rome, if it had had the same name as it has now, and if its
plural form had been omnibi, it would also have been a typical instance.
Words of the hypothetical form fiuctuba, fluctubum, have not been
discovered. They would have existed if the word just quoted had
been (if used in ancient Rome at all) used as an adjective, omnibus
currus, omniba esseda, omnibum plaus^rum,
(B.) Deflection with superaddition, — Here the inflection is dealt
with as if It were not inflectional but radical. This is the case with
li^ios. Words like it', as proved by the genitive i-t-s, and the so-called
petrifled (versteinerte) nominative cases of the German grammarians,
are of this class.
3. " On the Anglo-Saxon termination inc." By lliomas Watts,
Esq.
At a recent meeting of the Society a paper* was read * On a pe-
culiar use of the Anglo-Saxon Patronymical Termination ing ' ; and
the author, Mr. Kemble, has also introduced some observations on
the same subject in his valuable work ' The Saxons in England.' In
the discussion that followed the reading of the paper, the present
writer made some remarks which appeared to elicit considerable dif-
ference of opinion. They are now presented to the Society in a
more tangible shape.
* Proc. of the Phil. Soc, vol. iv. No. 76.
84
In the Anglo-Suxun grammars it is generally ittited. as Mr. Kembfa <
observes, that tilt ordinary force of this termination, tag, l
expression of a pBtemo) and filial relation," and a passage of the
Saxon Chronicle is often cited in confirmation of this position.
" FriCogar Bronding. Broiid Bseldeeging, Baeldicg Wodening," which
is translated " FriSogar the son of Brond, Brond the son of Bceldx^,
BicldKg the SOD of Woden." But in his careful esaminatian of the
Saxon charters, since published in hts ' Codex Diplomatic us,' Mr,
Kemble discovered numerous instetices in which the termination
. cannot bear the meaning which has hitherto been assigned to it.
~"s paper specifies many of these instances ; for the present purpose
I it will only be necessary to refer to one. He finds in a charter the
" Cerilmundiug haga," a tenement in London, raentioned as sold by
its possessor CetSlmund to the bishop of Worcester. The house or
tenement in question cannot of course stand in a 'filial relation' to
Ce61mund ; the supposition that it is called Ce<>lmunding haga from
being in the possession of a ' Ceolmunding' or son of Ceiilmund, is
also shown to be inadmissible, because the document states it to have
belonged to Ceiilmund himself; and the effect iif Mr. Kemble's dis*
covery will obviously be to cause an alteration in that paragraph of
all future Anglo-Saxon grammars which treats of the meaning of tha
termination in ing.
There was no difference of opinion manifested in the Society on
the point that Mr. Kemble bad shown what the termination in inff
is not, but it was not considered so indisputable that he had shown
what it is. Supposing it to be granted that the meaning of such a
word as, for instance, Cedlmunding, ia merely "of or belonging
to Ceulmund," there may at first sight be some reason to doubt
whether it is to be considered as the genitive of the name of Ce6U
mund, or as an adjective formed from it. Mr. Kemble has decided
in favour of its being a genitive ; the writer of the present paper
arrived, and chlefiy from the data furnished in Mr. Kemble'a pa])er,
at the opposite conclusion.
Mr. Kemble brings forward, ns a reason against its being an adjec-
tive, that " there is no such adjectival form in any Teutonic Ian.
guBge." This statement seems to require some limitation. There is the
same termination in one language — our own, the direct descendant of
the Anglo-Saxon, — and it is used for the active participle jiresent,
which is not very remote in some of its functions from an adjective.
But if the objection be fatal, it is not fatal to the adjectival theory
only, but to that also which is set up against it. There is no such
genitival termination in any Teutonic language.
It may be further remarked, in a])position to Mr. Kemble's views,
that it is quite contrary to the genius of Anglo-Saxon that the same
genitival termination should be used for dilferent genders and dif-
ferent declensions. Mr. Kemble mentions the instance of " Wer-
burging-wic," named after St. Werburg, and he has found at least
one other compounded with the name of a woman. Yet he says it
is " clear beyond cavil that the syllable itiff ia used as an equivalent
for the syllabic es, that is for the masculine genitive singular." The-
i
85
hypothesis scarcely liarmonizes with the facts to which he has him-
self called attention.
On the other hand, what are the objections to considering the
WOTds ending in ing to he adjectives ? One of these objections has
already been considered — ^the alleged non-existence of such an adjec-
tival termination in any Teutonic language. The other is thus
stated by Mr. Kemble : — '* We observe Uiat the patron3rmic in these
words does not take any sign of number or declension, as an adjective
would do, but retains its simple ing, although the word itself in the
accusative singular, or in the nominative and accusative plural^all
of which occur — ^would require particular inflectiouB." To this it
may be answered, that there is in one of the modem Teutonic lan-
guages a grammatical usage exactly in point. In German, as in
Anglo-Saxon, the adjectives in general are inflected according to
gender, number, and case, but there is one remarkable class of ex-
ceptions. The adjectives ending in er, and formed from the names
of places, such as "Pftriser," Parisian, from Paris, "Londoner,"
from London, " Breslauer," from Breslau, &c., are absolutely exempt
from the rules of inflection. They remain the same whether in the
accusative singular or in the nominative and accusative plural, or in
whatever case the other adjectives would undergo modifications.
There is thus proof positive that in a Teutonic language the adjec-
tives formed from the proper names of places may be exempted from
the rules which govern the declension of all other adjectives, and it
seems no violent stretch of hypothesis to suppose that in Anglo-
Saxon the same exemption may have applied to adjectives formed
from the proper names of persons.
It is worthy of remark that the German words ending in er are
used not only as adjectives but as substantives, *f Pariser," for in-
stance, signifying Parisian, " ein Pariser," a Parisian ; " die Pariser,"
the Parisians, &c. The Saxon words ending in ing are often em-
ployed like the German ones in fr as substantives in the nominative
case, an additional reason for not supposing them also to be sub-
stantives in the genitive.
In the Russian language, which is remarkably profuse in patro-
nymics, it is stated by grammarians that their original character is
that of an adjective, though the usage of conversation tends more
and more every year to give them a substantive character. Maudru,
in his '£l^mens Raisonn^s de la Langue Russe (vol. i. p. 165)',
states as an instance, that from the name Alexander, the Russian
can form the adjective Alexandrov, which may be regularly declined
and applied to objects of all three genders, as Petr suin Alexandrov,
' Peter the Alexandrine son,' Anna dock Alexandrova, * Anna the
Alexandrine daughter,' imienie Alexandrovo, * the Alexandrine pro-
perty.' He adds, that in the case of persons of a superior grade of
society, this class of adjectives admits of an honorific amplification,
and the Russians use the phrases, Petr suin Alexandrovich, Anna dock
86
Alexandrovna. It is this termination vich, iichich has often, like img,
been mistaken for a word denoting son; and one Engfish author has
thought he could trace an analogy between witx, a mere erroiieoiia
spelling of it, and the Norman Fitz, Heym, in his 'Russiache
Sprachlehre ( p. 1 8)/ states, that in legal documents it was eostomflry
to sign the name in this manner, Petr Alexondrw sum, though in
more familiar writing the suin was omitted. Heym'a grammar ap«>
peared in 1804 : the writer has been informed that since that period
the patronymics have come to be more and more considered as sub-
stantives, and he has never met with an instance in his own reading
of the word suin annexed to the patronymic.
It seems to the writer not improbable that the Anglo-Saxon tJi^
may have had an origin and history very similar to those of the
Russian ov, and that the hypothesis is strongly supported by the
existence of such a phrase as *' Ce61munding haga."
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. MARCH 23, 1849. No. 82.
Professor Maldbn iu the Chair.
J. F. Von Bach, Esq., of the British Museum, was elected a Mem-
ber of the Society.
A paper was then read —
** An Attempt to prove the identity of the roots is, was, and be,"
By Thomas Hewitt Key, Esq.
The so-called substantive verb was very briefly discussed by the
writer in an article which was published in the year 1835, and con-
tained some views much at variance with those commonly entertained.
He has since found .additional evidence in support of the opinions
he then put forward, and that a correct decision may be arrived at
upon the value of his theory, he now proposes to put together all the
arguments, whether old or new, that have presented themselves to
his mind
He believes it is a very generally received opinion* that the con-
jugation of the verb 'to be,' in the several members of the Indo-
European language, is made up by the union of forms from not leas
than three independent roots, of which, in our own tongue, the re-
presentatives are said to be, is, was, and be. The object of the pre*
sent paper is to prove that these three forms are but varieties of one
stem. The Sanscrit asmi, asi, asti, the Lithuanian esmi, essi, esti,
the Gothic 'im, is, ist, are admitted to represent the same root,
and the present of the Latin verb readily connects itself with the
same, if, on the valid authority of Varro, we prefix an e to the first
person of the singular and first and third of the plural, esMn, es,
esf, es^umus, esfis, es^unt, in which the letters which follow the syl-
lable es clearly belong to the personal suffixes. In the Irish is me»
is tu, is €, is Stan, is sibh, is iad, and the Gaelic is mi, is tu, is e,
is sinn, is sibh, is iad, the root maintains the same form unaltered
through all the persons, and Mr. Guest (vol. ii.p. 151) has shown by
examples that northern dialects of our own tongue felt nothing of a
solecism in / is, thou is, you is, they is.
It is also admitted that with this same root as, es, or is, are imme-
diately connected those parts of the substantive verb which after an
initial vowel present an r in place of an s, as in our words art, are.
Thus the Icelandic em, ert, er, erum, erti^, eru, has this consonant in
nearly every person, and we also see it throughout the past and fu-
ture tenses of the Latin erant, eras, &c., and ero, eris, &c.
The total disappearance of the vowel of the root has already been
seen in the Latin sum, sumus, sunt ; it is equally wanting in the sub-
junctive sim, sis, sit, and in the three compound participles /»rae,«ffit^,
ab^^ens, con^s^ns (in Di consentes), which in the s alone retain a
♦ Grimm, D.G. i. 851 ; Bopp, V.G.
VOL. IV. X
88
trace of the verbal base, 'i'he Gothic dual and plural fiju, sijuts,
sijum, sijup, sind, has suffered the same aphaeresis, and thus prepares
us for a similar reduction of form in the German sind and infinitiye
sein. The subjunctive mood nl§o in the Gothic, Icelandic, German,
&c., give us merely an initial s. Nay, the very s itself at times dis-
appears, as in the Greek ec^ic, Gothic tm, Icelandic em, English am,
the French est as pronounced, and Italian e, as also in the participle
ens of the later Latin, and other examples will be seen .below.
So far we have been dealing with what is admitted : we proceed
next to the assertion that be had originally a final sibilant One
proof is in the acknowledged fact that the Old German gives a first
person birin, as well as bin or pin, * I am,' also a first person plural,
pirumes, pirum, or birum, * we are,' and a second person plural, pirui
or birut, * ye are.' For, as warumes or warum, * we were,' warut, * ye
were,' warun, * they were,' are admitted by Grimm himself to be
connected with an infinitive toes-an^ it seems but reasonable to con-
nect bir-in, pir-umes, pir-um, bir-um^ pir-ut, bir-ut, with an infinitive
bis-an or pis- an. In fact the four letters umes of war-umes vjid pir^
umes, and these alone, belong to the personal suffix which signifies
' we,' corresponding to the termination of the Latin s-umus, vol-umus,
and the Doric TuirT-ofies. But the most distinct evidence is found in
the Celtic dialects. In the Breton, for example, whether we com-
pare the infinitive biz-a, * to be,' with kan-a, * to sing,' or the indi-
cative present bez-ann^ biz-ez, bez, pi. bez-omp, biz-it^ bez-ont, with
kdn-ann, kan-ez, kdn, pi. kan-omp, kan-it, kan-ont ; or the future
biz'inn, bSz-i, bez-o, pi. biz-imp, bdz-ot, biz-iht, with ^an-tiifi,
han-i, kan-d, pi. kan-imp, kan-ot, kan-int; we always arrive at the
result that bez is the real stem of the Breton verb. A connexion of
this verb bez with our own be, becomes almost a certainty when we
find the Breton often possessed of duplicate forms, one with and one
without a sibilant. Thus the infinitive beza (itself a corruption of
biz-an) appears in the . dialect of Tr^guier as bi-an, and in that of
GornouaiUes as bi-a. So also ' ye will be ' is expressed indifFereutly
by biZ'Ot or bi-ot. And the conditional has running throughout a
twofold form biz-enn, biz-ez, biz-i, pi. biz-emp, biz-ec'k, biz-ent or
bi^enn, bi-ez, bi-d, pi. bi-emp, bi-ec'h, bi-ent.
The Gaelic also upon a closer inspection bears evidence that the
root had for its final letter, if not an s, yet what is most closely allied
to that letter, a dental aspirate. The present it is true has bi mi,
bi thu, bi se, &c. ; yet when we compare the future bithid mi, bithid
tu, bithid se, with the future of the verb buail, * strike,* viz. buailidh
mi, buailidh tu, buailidh se, we canuot but admit bith to be the stem
of the substantive verb. A comparison of the subjunctives past and
future, viz. bhithinn and bhitheas of the one verb, with bhualinn and
bhuaileas of the other, leads to precisely the same result. As in the
Breton, so also in the Gaelic, the final consonant of the root is often
absorbed. Thus the imperative has bitheam or biom, * let me be.*
From O'Brien's Irish Grammy we will merely quote the archaic
form of the indicative present of the substantive verb, and of an or«
dinary or regular verb signifying ' to deceive.'
89
SING. PLUR.
bidhim, bidhir, bidhin biodhmur, biodhbhur, bidhidh
mealam, mealair, mealan or mealaidh inealamar, mealabhar, mealaid.
The final r in the second person singular, and in the first two
persons of the plural, evidently corresponds to the final s of the Old
German and Latin pronominal suffixes ; and it then requires no very
nice anatomical talent to see that bidh is the base of the Irish verb,
as hith is of the Gaelic. The law for the assimilation of vowels,
which so generally characterizes the Celtic tongues, will account for
the introduction of an o in biodk-mur, biodh-bhur, before the u of the
final syllable, and also for the appearance of the vowel a in all the
syllables affixed to the base meal. The comparison with what has
been said above is tolerably complete, when we add that the disyl-
labic bidhim is at timte reduced to biom, ' I be.'
From Owen's Welsh Grammar, prefixed to his Welsh Dictionary
(London 1793), our quotation must be less limited, as the great
variety of form prevailing in that language seems to throw much
light on the anomalies of the other languages. Here also, for the
sake of easy comparison, we add the corresponding tenses of another
verb, so that it may be more readily seen what portion of each word
belongs to the base, and what to the suffixes. As the orthography
of Owen is peculiar, it is but proper to warn the reader that for the
letter v, where it occurs in the specimens subjoined, he will find in
the ordinary Welsh orthography/ pronounced as the English v, for
z the letters dd pronounced as the English th ia thou, and for p, ch
pronounced as ch in German.
Indicative Mood, Present Tense,
SING.
elwyv elwyt elyw
byzwyv byzwyt byzyw
wyv wyt yw
ydwyv ydwyt ydyw
elwn elit elai
byzwn byzit byzai
oezwn oezit oez
elais elaist eles
buais buaist .hues
bum J buost bu§
elaswn elasit elasai
elswn elsit elsai
buaswn buasit buasai
buwn buit buai
buoezwn buoezit buoezai
Here in the first place it
♦ Also ywq. f Also wyn.
FLUB.
elym ely9 elwynt / am going, &c.
byzym byzy^ byzwynt / be, &c.
/ am, &c.
I am, OLC,
I was going.
1 was, &c.
/ was, &c.
ym y9 * ynt
ydymtydy9 ydynt
Imperfect Tense,
elem ele9 elent
byzem byze9 byzent
oezem oeze9 oezent
Perfect Tense.
elasam elasa9 elasant / have gone.
buasam buasa9 buasant / have been,
buam bua9 buant.
Pluperfect Tense\
elasem elasec elasent In.
, 114.?-* had gone,
elsem else9 elsent J ^
buasem buase9 buasent S
buem bue9 buent \ I had been,
buoezem buoeze9 buoezent J
is evident that byz is the base of the sub-
t Also butvyv. § Also buws, buwys or buoez,
K 2
90
stantiye verb, though we also find this base taking the form of yd,
and indeed absolutely disappearing in the forms ym,yf,ynty ' we are/
* you are,' * they are.* We must also request attention to the two forms
of the past imperfect, and particularly to the second, where the o before
e is in power nearly akin to a w, so that we have something very
similar to our own was. The perfect and pluperfect by the way seem
to throw much light on the corresponding tenses of the Latin verb. In
a recent paper the writer contended theit fuimus was a corrupted form
from fuisimus. The twofold form of the Welsh buasam and buam is
in exact agreement with this. Moreover the appearance of the u in
buasam and buam makes one more willing to admit the received doc-
trine that the Latin fu is connected with our base be. It is also an
interesting fact that the Welsh hu-oezwn has in the last two syllables
the exact representative of the Welsh imperfect, SL^/u-eram has that
of the Latin imperfect.
We have thus seen evidence of a final dental, both in the Ger-
man and the four leading dialects of the Celtic tongue ; we will next
point to a language geographicaUy most remote. But if two lan-
guages, for the most part utterly distinct, are to have a point of
contact, such contact is most likely to be found in a root like that
with which we are dealing. Now the Mantchoo seems beyond a
doubt to possess this verb, and that too in the double form which
we have claimed for our European tongues. The evidence will be
at once comprehended by a comparison of the substantive verb in
Mantchoo with the conjugation of an ordinary verb in that language.
Now Gabelentz tells us that khdacha, * nourish,' has an infinitive
khdacha-me, an imperative khdacha, and a future khdachara, whereas
the corresponding parts of the substantive verb are bi-me, bis-ou, and
bis ire. In the Mantchoo, even more than in the Celtic tongues,
the assimilation of vowels holds good, so that the strong vowels in
the termination of the future khdacharar, following the strong vowel
in the root of the verb, differ only, as is to be expected, from the weak
vowels in the final syllables of bis-ire.
The varieties of form which stand in the closest connexion with
our was, wert, were, are the Gothic vis-an, * to be,' vis-and, ' being'
(nom. visands), &c., the Icelandic infinitive ver-a, * to be/ the past
tense var, vart, var, vorum, voru^, voru, the imperative veri, ver-tu,
veri, &c., verandi, ' being,' and ver-ity * been.' An Englishman, pre-
judiced by the accidents of his own grammar, and disposed to con-
nect the idea of past time alone with this form of the word, may
perhaps be surprised to find the same root employed, as has been
just seen, in the present participle of the Gothic and Icelandic, and
in a tense so much more connected with futurity than with the past
as the impeititive. The German wes-en, ^ existence,' also, though
called a substantive, is only another form of the Gothic infinitive
vis-an. The Latin scholar too, when he considers the forms fui,
fueram, fuero, begins to fancy that the idea of a perfect tense is con-
nected with the base/tt, but he is soon set right by finding /ore,
forem, and futurus from the same base, and also the archaic sub-
ive/ttflw.
91
But let UB again turn our eyes to the Breton. It will be reool«
lected in particular, that'* ye \nll be' was represented by the double
form b^'Ot or bi-ot. The same appearance and disappearance of the
sibilant occurs with the stem vez. Thus the subjunctive present is
ra v4z'inn, ra v^z-i, ra viz-o, ra vez-imp, ra vi-ot, ra vez-int. Here
the second person plural has vi-ot, where analogy would have led us
to expect viZ'Ot ; and indeed in the past tense of the same mood,
the z almost systematically disappecuv, viz. ra venn, ra viz, ra vi, ra
vemp, ra vec*h, ra veiii, which are evidently deduced from vSz-enn, &c.
The loss of the sibilant from this form of the root is also very visible
in the Manx branch of the Celtic tongue, as dy ve, ' to be/ va mee,
* I was,' va 00 or voo^ * thou wast,* va eh or v*eh, * he was.'
It appears then that the three roots alleged to be unconnected
have this in common, that they all appear, now with a final s, now
with a final r, and now with no final consonant; secondly, that
while the two roots beginning with a w and a vowel have in their
vowel portion a common readiness to interchange a, e, and i, as seen
in the forms asmi Sanscr., esmi Lith., im Gothic, of the one, and wai
English, wes-en German, vis-an Gothic, of the other, even those forms
which commence with b have a vowel which varies between t, e, and
« ; the sole marked difference therefore lies in the initial consonants.
We might here avail ourselves of the fact that the lip letter b, and the
digamma or w, are intimately related; and also of the second fact, that
an initial digamma is apt to disappear. But the matter may be placed
beyond doubt by examples closely parallel. The Latin language had
an old form bur-o, as well as tir-o, ' I bum,' represented in fact by
our own word burn, just as maer-eo is represented by mourn, cur of
curro by him (Dorsetshire) or run. The existence of buro is partly
seen in am-buro, com-buro ; but more indisputably in busium, the place
for burning a corpse. And in the first syllables of Ves-ta, Ves-evus^
we see an intermediate form between bus of bustum and ua- of uatui.
Indeed the long « of uro, ussi, prepares us for a form oes, which is
nearly the same as ves, just as unus, cur a, utor, are known histori-
cally to have arisen from oemLS, coera, oetor. Secondly, ed-o, ' I eat,'
had an older form bed-o, as seen in am-bed-o, * I nibble,' and here also
we have an intermediate form in vescor. Thirdly, the root f , * go,'
while it had originally a final t, as seen in it-er, in-it-ium^ comes^
com-it-is, &c., so also had once an initial b, as seen in the forms
BO familiar in Plautus, adbitere, ' to approach,' perbitere, * to perish,'
&c. But we need not travel beyond our own verb for evidence.
The Grammar of the Highland Society tells us, that although the
negative form of the substantive verb is commonly bheil (p. 14), yet
after the conjunctions mur, * if not,' nach, ' that not,' the initial
bh is lost, as mur *eil, nach 'eil. Similarly the Breton verb when used
impersonally has three forms, bo-ar, vo-ar, or o-ar, all signifying the
same as the French ' on est' ; bo-ad, vo-ad, id-od, all signifying 'on
^tait' ; boer, voer, ' on sera' ; bijed or vijed, * on serai t.'
The forms bo-ar, vo-ar, o-ar, &c., which have been just quoted
from the Breton, remind us that the vowel o also claims an occasional
place in the root. This is nearly in agreement with the Lithuanian
92
Intw of the pres. perf. buw-au, the past imperfect 6»-tfBtp«ai» and inf.
bu'ti, &c. ; the last of which is all but identical with that form of the
Breton infinitive which prevails in the Vannes dialect, vis. bamt. It
corresponds also pretty closely with the Sanscrit bhmMimi, and, at
has been so often noticed, with the Latin /if or fo, of /mam, /w, Jk-
turns and /ore. But the Latin also virtually exhibits the subatantiTe
verb with an initial b, for arbitero- (nom. arbiter) is formed from tht
old preposition ar, ' near/ and bi, or perhaps rather bit, in the senat
of being, for this substantive means, ' one who is present,' ' a by-
stander,' and only in a secondary sense ' an umpire' or ' judge.'
We now turn to a question of entirely a different character, tht
original meaning of the so-called substantive verb. Logicians will
naturally be unwilling to give up what plays so conspicuous a part
in their system, as the Copula. But it must be admitted that thert
is something so metaphysical and indefinite in the idea of being or
existence, that it can hardly have been the primitive meaning of the
word ; and in truth the most trustworthy writers on language have
long taught us to regsu-d the physical meaning of a word, or that
which belongs to the senses, as antecedent to that which belongs
to the mind.
Now it is a familiar fact that esse^ est, esset, have the signification
of ' eating,' a notion which is of the first moment to uncivilized man,
and therefore well -entitled to an early place in the most limited vo-
cabulary. The same root appears in es-ca and es-culentns, for when
these are placed alongside of posca and poculentus, we can be at no
loss to assign the syllable es to the base. And here a consideration
of the forms of the root signifying ' to eat,' will in a remarkable de-
gree confirm the changes for which we have contended in our inves-
tigation of the verb ' to be.* The Sanscrit ad, the Old High- German
iz-an, izu, az, azumes, ezaner, the German essen, and its third person
isst, have the same variety of vowels as the substantive verb. Se-
condly, vescorj ' I eat,' has the initial digamma, which is found in
our past tense was. . The Greek fiovKUf, popa, correspond to the forms
be, bim, &c. ; and still nearer to those which have already been quoted
from the Welsh and Breton, as commencing with bu and bo. Here
also we bring in not merely bedo, the longer form of edo, but also the
German bissen and our own bite. But perhaps the strongest confir-
mation of what we are saying is seen in the Gaelic, where to bith,
the base of the substantive verb, corresponds itk, the base of the verb
* to eat.' The very letters of edo occur in the Breton substantive verb
Sd-od ; and but slightly modified in the Welsh yd-ym, yd-y^, ydynt.
With the digamma of vescor, the second g of the German participle
ge-gessen seems connected, and with this again gee, the ordinary
word used in Manx.
That from the idea of eating there is but a slight step to that of
living will be at once admitted. Thus, for example, Sallust and
Caesar express the very same notion, one by lacte vescuntur, the other
by lacte vivunt. Here again there is not merely an identity of sense,
but also an identity of origin. We should not have thought the form
of the Greekflt'os, (ii-orrj, though highly favourable to the idea of their
93
being connected with our verb be, as affording by itself a sufficient
foundation to rely upon. But the Manx and the Gaelic seem to re-
move all doubt. The verb he-agh of the Manx is indisputably formed
from he, or as the Manx writes it, bee, by a process common to all
verbs in that language ; and indeed a verb so lengthened is called the
modus consuetudinalis. Now beagh has commonly the notion ' to
live/ although in the third chapter of Genesis (v. 18) it corresponds
to 'eat' of the English translation. It will be remembered that the
word ' eat' occurs repeatedly in that chapter, but in all the other in-
stances a single act of eating is spoken of, and tlien the Manx uses
gee. So in Gaelic, from the verb bi, 'to be,' come biadh, *food,'
beatha*, 'life,' bith, 'existence,' beath-ach, *an animalf.' Thus an
explanation of the guttural belonging to vijcsi, victus, ' food.' is found
in the derivation of the Manx beagh from the simple verb bee of that
tongue.
The ideas of children often supply the best instruction in questions
of the highest philology. The writer remembers a child being sadly
puzzled by the first attempt to explain to him the death of an absent
friend. At last his mother said to him. Poor so-and-so will never
eat any more, and the child was at once satisfied. Again, as to live
is to eat, so on the other hand with an Esquimaux, starvation is the
ordinary form of death. Such also was probably the case with the
uncivilized tribes of ancient Germany, and the word sterben might
well be synonymous with the Latin mori,
* Compare the Greek Ptorri, Latin vita. f Compare the Litin het-tia.
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. APRIL 27, 1849. No. 83.
Hensleigh Wedgwood, Esq. in the Chair.
A paper was read : —
•* On the Nature and Analysis of the Verb :" — Continued. By the
Rev. Richard Gamett.
The next division of the general subject which it is proposed to
consider, is that of the great family of Polynesian languages ; a class
equally remarkable for its peculiar structure and the immense extent
of territory over which it is spoken.
It is still a controverted question how far this family may be
affirmed to consist of several distinct races partially intermixed, or
to be in reality reducible to one common type. If physical charac-
teristics were to- form a criterion, there appears a marked distinction
between certain light- and dark- coloured populations, and several
writers have supposed that there is nothing in common between the
two except a few borrowed words. On this ground the Australians,
the Papuans, the Feejees, the Harafooras of the Philippine and Mo-
lucca islands, and the Malagassy, have been sometimes separated
from the proper Malayan and Polynesian tribes, and assumed to be
radically distinct from them, both in race and language.
The Australian languages certainly differ materially from those of
the Malayan type, though a similarity of structure may be traced.
Respecting the Papuan Negrito, there is great want of information,
especially as to grammatical cliaracter ; however, the vocabularies
hitherto collected present a number of Malayan words. But if lan-
guage is to be regarded as a criterion, the Feejee, the Moluccan
Harafoora, and the Malagassy are closely connected with the main
stock ; in fact they are in several respects more perfectly organized
than the Malay or Javanese. We may therefore venture to include
them in the class of which we are now treating, and reason from
the phenomena which they present.
It was observed in the first paper of the present series, that in the
Feejee language the functions of a verb may be discharged by a noun
in construction with an oblique pronominal suffix, e, gr, loma-qu^s
heart, or will of me, for / will. Though there are examples of this
in other languages of the family, it is not the ordinary way in which
the Polynesian verb is formed. So far is the finite verb from being
a simple original element, that it commonly requires to be equipped
with an array of particles, prefixed, infixed, or postfixed, as the case
may be, before it can act in that capacity ; and the basis on which
this complex expression rests is generally a noun, sometimes a mere
adverb or preposition. The peculiar organization of the class is
most fully exlubited by the languages of the Philippine Islands, and
VOL. IV. L
next by the Malagasiiy ; the Malay aud Javanese having lost a good
deal of their original type, though they exhibit traces of it in par-
ticular instances.
Almost all philologists who have paid attention to the Polynesian
languages, concur in observing that the divisions of parts of speech
received by European grammarians are, as far as external form ia
concerned, inapplicable, or nearly so, in this particular class. The
same element is admitted to be indifferently substantive, adjective,
verb or particle, and the particular category in which it is employed
can only be known by means of its accessories. Thus Iloonda, in
his notes to Gericke's Javanese Grammar, observes that the root of
every verb is necessarily a noun, and that its verbal character de-
pends entirely on the pronouns and particles by which it is modified.
William Humboldt also, in his great work ' Ueber die Kawi-Sprache,'
repeatedly states that no very distinct line of discrimination can be
drawn between nouns and verbs, and that the passive verb in par-
ticular, the class most commonly employed in the more perfectly
organized tongues, can only be resolved into a formation equivalent
in force and construction to an abstract noun.
In Tagala there are two principal modes of formation, commonly
called active and passive. In the former, the ostensible verb is con-
strued with the nominatives of the personal pronouns, according to
the following paradigm : —
1. 2. 3.
Ist Future Sing, susulat . . aco, cay sty a,
Plur. . . tat/o, cayo, sUa ;
usually considered as equivalent to scribaniy scribes, &c.
In the passive voice the personal pronouns are regularly appended
in the genitive case ; e, gr.,
1. 2. 3.
Sing, susulatin, co, mo, niya,l • .. -
Plur. atin, inyo, nila, J '
Here it might be alleged, that in the active voice the personal pro-
nouns are plainly nominatives, and consequently susulat, the base to
which they are appended, must have the true force of a verb.
It is however easy to show that the formations above specified are
neither actives nor passives, nor verbs at all, in the sense in which
that part of speech is commonly understood. The root of the for-
mation is a noun — sulat, Arab, surat, writing. The aggregation of
particles expressing the various modifications of time, converts it
into a nomen nctoris, nearly equivalent to an active participle, in the
former class ; and into a nomen actionis or passionis in the latter.
The proof of this is, that the entire phrase in both classes is con-
vertible into a virtual participle by merely prefixing the definite
article, thus: —
Active Pres. . . any sungmusulat . . 6 ypd(^tav,
Perf. . . any sungmulat b yeypa^oif .
Fut. . . any susulat 6 ypd\pi»n'.
Passive Pres.. , any sinulat = T6 ypa^dfievov, &c.
97
In this construction the force is the same whether the personal pro-
noun is expressed or not. Ang sungmusvlat aco is simply scribetu
ego, and ang sinulat co, — scriptum or scriptio mei. This explains at
once the reason why nominatives are employed in the so-called
active form and oblique cases in the passive. It is also completely
subversive of the supposed verbal character of the phrase. 'O
ypa<p(M>y iyit is sufficiently intelligible ; but it is not so easy to make
sense or grammar of o eyio ypd<i>w.
Another strong argument against this presumed verbal character
is furnished by the remarkable fact, that in transitive constructions
the so-called passive form is preferred to the active, especially with
a definite regimen. When the object of the action is a personal
pronoun, a noun in construction with a possessive pronoun or a de-
finite article, or anything of which the individuality is plainly spe-
cified, the passive form of construction is indispensably requisite.
Thus the absolute phrase, / will eat, is expressed by the active voice,
with the personal pronoun in the nominative, cacan-aco ; but, / will
eat the rice, by the passive, cacanin-co ang palay, the personal pro-
noun being here in the genitive. This is seemingly analogous to
the Latin construction comedeiur a me; but the true analysis is,
the eating of me, or my eating, \_wiU be"] the rice, = comestio mei, or
mea. The supposed verb is in fact an abstract noun, including in
it the notion of futurity of time (forthwith, hereafter, v. t, q.),
in construction with an oblique pronominal suffix; and the osten-
sible object of the action is not a regimen in the accusative case,
but an apposition. It is scarcely necessary to say how irrecon-
cileable this is with the ordinary grammatical definition of a
transitive verb; and that too in a construction where we should
expect that true verbs would be infallibly employed, if any existed
in the language.
The Malagassy stands next to the Philippine dialects in the regu-
larity of its forms and the apparent complexity of its structure, being
capable, by means of its numerous prefixes and affixes, of expressing
the times, circumstances and other relations of actions with great
nicety of discrimination. In one particular it seems at a first glance
to differ materially from the branch which we have just been con-
sidering. Each of the fifteen voices of the Tagald has its corre-
sponding passive, the oblique form of construction already noticed
prevailing in all. But the thirteen voices of the Malagassy verb, as
classed by grammarians, have all the forms of actives or neuters, and
though the oblique form of expression is not absolutely unknown, it
is of comparatively infrequent occurrence. Tliis difference is how-
ever more apparent than real. The place of the passive forms is
sufficiently supplied by participial or abstract nouns, having pre-
cisely the same oblique form of construction as the Philippine pas-
sives, and often modified by prefixes and affixes in a similar manner.
The rule of employing the oblique construction with a definite
regimen does nut appear so imperative as in Tagald ; but, whether
necessary or not, it is a very common idiom, examples occurring in
almost every page of the Malagassy version of the Scriptures. Thus,
l2
98
' 1 love * may be expressed by the simple form izako tiih or with the
pronoun in the genitive, tia ko. It is equally permissible to say
fitiava* kOf the literal rendering of which is simply amor mei, Mr.
Freeman observes, in the short sketch of grammar appended to his
'Account of Madagascar/ that verbal roots are transformed into
participles by prefixing the particles voa, ova, or a ; and that the
pronominal affixes again convert these participles into verbs; e. gr,
ova = change ; a-ova = changed ; a-ova-ko =1 changed. He further
observes that another form is made by giving a participial termina-
tion to the root, adding -ena, -ina, -ana or -aina, and sometimes -vtiia,
'Vana, -zena, 'Zana, or some similar adjunct; the final syllable being
rejected when the pronominal affix is appended, as yan/o/ra, known;
fantatr ao, thou knowest, or knewest ; fanta-ny, he knows or knew.
It is stated in the Malagassy dictionary that there has been a dif-
ference of opinion among the Missionaries as to some of those forms
being really participles, or more properly participial nouns. There
are ample grounds for believing that, in point of fecf, there is not
such a thing as a true participle, analogous to a Greek or Latin one,
either in Malagassy or in any other Polynesian language. Their
place is supplied, as in the Celtic languages, by a circumlocution
with the abstract noun and particles expressive of time, place, or
some similar adjunct ; and the formative syllables, as well as the
grammatical construction, are those of nouns, and not those of verbs.
Fitiavana, for example, corresponds accurately to dilectio, and is
currently employed in that sense ; though, with a suitable prono-
minal affix, it is used as equivalent to a verb. The form of the
personal pronoun clearly shows the true character of the word. If
it were analogous to the passive participle dilectus, or the active
aorist ^iX^^cas, it would be construed with the nominative, izaho fiti-
avana — not with the genitive, ^/laua'-Ao.
The abqve examples from the Tagala and Malagassy, to which
many similar ones might be added from other languages, are of con-
siderable value as establishing one important point in the general
argument. Whatever may be thought of the proposition that all
verbs were originally nouns, there can be no question that nouns in
conjunction with oblique cases of pronouns may be and, in fact, are
employed as verbs. Some of the constructions above specified
admit of no other analysis ; and they are no accidental partial phae-
nomena, but capable of being produced by thousands. They may
therefore be safely regarded as organically belonging to the lan-
guages in which they are found ; and they are the most marked and
prevalent in the most fully organized tongues, and employed pre-
cisely in those constructions in which, according to European ideas,
a bond fide verb would appear to be most imperatively called for.
The true character of many of the forms to which we have ad-
verted is so obvious, that it was hardly possible that it could alto-
gether escape the notice of philologists, llius, Roorda observes,
that in the Harafoora of Ceram, a language allied in some respects
to Malay, and in others to Javanese, but presenting more of the
original type than either, the personal pronouns used in conju-
I
I
9»
gating verbs are often in the oblique or genitive form ; and that
many combinations called verbs are En reality nothing but nouns.
For instance, pina-sanih-an, the ostensible passive of sanik, to agree,
immediately acquires the sense of agreement, determination, through
the mere prefixing of the indetiaite or definite article.
William Humboldt also admits that theTagala passive forms and
the Malagasay participial ones are in reality to be resolved by
abstract nouns, and that the noun lies at the base of all the verbal
formations. But being unable to dirtst his mind of the prevalent
idea of an essential and radical difference between the verb and other
parts of speech, he endeavours to make it appear that this character
resides in the verb substantive, which is to he supplied by the mind
in all cases where the functions of the verb proper are to be called
in requisition. This theory presupposes the existence of a verb sub-
stantive in the languages in question, and consciousness of that
existence and of the force and capabilities of the element in those
who Sjieak them. Unfortunately the Spanish grammarians, to whom
we are indebted for what knowledge we possess of the Philippine
dialects, unanimously concur in stating that there is no verb sub-
stantive either in Tagala, Paropanga, or Bisaya, nor any means of
supplying the place of one, except the employment of pronouns and
particles. Mariner makes a aiinilar remark respecting the Tonga
language, and we may venture to affirm that there is not such a
thing as a true verb substantive in any one member of the great
Polynesian family.
It is true that the Malayan, Javanese and Malagassy gram-
marians talk of words signifying to be ; but an attentive comparison
of the elements which they profess to give as such, shows clearly
that they are no verbs at all, but simply pronouns or indeclinable
pnrticles, commonly indicating the time, place or manner of the spe-
cified action or relation. It ia not therefore easy to conceive how
the mind of a Philippine islander, or of any other person, can supply
a word totally unknown to it, and which there is not a particle of
evidence to show that it ever thought of. To say tfiat it is suffi-
cient for the mind to supply the idea of existence, would attempt to
prove too much, it being clear that the mind is equally capable of
supplying it in any other case whatever. A more suitable oppor-
tunity may perhaps occur of showing that many of the current no-
tions respecting the nature and functions of the verb substantive are
altogether erroneous, and that they have been productive of no small
confusion in grammar and logic.
A second theory respecting the so-called Polynesian verbs is, that
their essential character resides in the formative prefixes employed
to distinguish the different tenses and voices. This will be found
on examination to be equally untenable. Those formatives cannot
communicate the character of a verb to any other part of speech ;
for this plain reason, that they do not possess any such character
themselves. They are in fact mere particles, indicating some at-
tendant circumstance, and occurring in other combinations in the
imequiTocal senses of to, for, qfler, further, like, or something si-
100
milar. Thus the Malayan ds, the formative of the 8o«called passive
voice, is simply in, os, at ; the Malagassy Ao« interpreted #Aa//, or
zhall be, in reality means /or ; and the Harafoora toro, also a forma-
tive of the future, answers pretty exactly to the Fr. pour or G^erm.
um = in order that. It is evident therefore that the combination of
such elements with nouas or adjectives cannot convert them into
verbs, any more than the prefixing a Greek or Latin preposition can
make a verb out of a word that is not one already. Explanations of
this sort, which are in fact mere suggestions of a non causa pro
causa, are little calculated to advance the progress of philology, and
only lead one to suspect that there is something unsound and un-
substantial in the hypothesis which they are advanced to support.
99
gating verbs are often in the oblique or genitive form ; and that
many combinations called verbs are in resJity nothing but nouns.
For instance, pina-sanih-an, the ostensible passive of sanih, to agree,
immediately acquires the sense of agreement, determination, through
the mere prefixing of the indefinite or definite article.
William Humboldt also admits that theTagald passive forms and
the Malagassy participial ones are in reality to be resolved by
abstract nouns, and that the noun lies at the base of all the verbal
formations. But being unable to divest his mind of the prevalent
idea of an essential and radical difference between the verb and other
parts of speech, he endeavours to make it appear that this character
resides in the verb substantive, which is to be supplied by the mind
in all cases where the functions of the verb proper are to be called
in requisition. This theory presupposes the existence of a verb sub-
stantive in the languages in question, and consciousness of that
existence and of the force and capabilities of the element in those
who speak them. Unfortunately the Spanish grammarians, to whom
we are indebted for what knowledge we possess of the Philippine
dialects, unanimously concur in stating that there is no verb sub-
stantive either in Tagald, Pampanga, or Bisaya, nor any means of
supplying the place of one, except the employment of pronouns and
particles. Mariner makes a similar remark respecting the Tonga
language, and we may venture to affirm that there is not such a
thing as a true verb substantive in any one member of the great
Polynesian family.
It is true that the Malayan, Javanese and Malagassy gram-
marians talk of words signifying to be; but an attentive comparison
of the elements which they profess to give as such, shows clearly
that they are no verbs at all, but simply pronouns or indeclinable
particles, commonly indicating the time, place or manner of the spe-
cified action or relation. It is not therefore easy to conceive how
the mind of a Philippine islander, or of any other person, can supply
a word totally unknown to it, and which there is not a particle of
evidence to show that it ever thought of. To say that it is sufli-
cient for the mind to supply the idea of existence, would attempt to
prove too much, it being clear that the mind is equally capable of
supplying it in any other case whatever. A more suitable oppor-
tunity may perhaps occur of showing! that many of the current no-
tions respecting the nature and functions of the verb substantive are
altogether erroneous, and that they have been productive of no small
confusion in grammar and logic.
A second theory respecting the so-called Polynesian verbs is, that
their essential character resides in the formative prefixes employed
to distinguish the different tenses and voices. This will be found
on examination to be equally untenable. Those formatives cannot
communicate the character of a verb to any other part of speech ;
for this plain reason, that they do not possess any such character
themselves. They are in fact mere particles, indicating some at-
tendant circumstance, and occurring in other combinations in the
unequivocal senses of to, for, aftery further, like, or something si-
lOi
ye lone zince th 'ast ee cam, prooth»
y'at .we alane needed ye giftes o' ge-
neral riochts, az be displayte bie ee
factes o' thie governmente. Ye state
na dicke die o'ye lone, na whilke be
ne'er fash n'ar moil, albeit ** Constitu-
tional Agitation," ye wake o*hopes ee
blighte, stanipe na yer zwae ee be rare
an lightzom. Yer name var zetch
avanct avare yie, e'en a dicke var hie,
arent whilke ye brine o' zea, an ee
crags o'noghanes cazed nae balk. Na
oure glades ana whilke we delite wi'
mattoc, an zing t'ourc caules wi plou,
we hert ee zough o'ye colure o' pace
na name o* ** Mulgrave.*' Wi '* Irish-
men " oure general hopes be ee bond,
az ** Irishmen," an az Dwellers na
coshe an loyale o' Baronie Forthc,
w'oul dei an ercha dci, oure maunes
an aure gurles, prie var lang an happie
zins, borne o'leumagh, an ee vilt wi
benizons, an yersel an oure zoverine
'till ee zin o'oure dels be var ay be ee
go t'glade.
public virtue. The peace, yet we may
say the profound peace, which over-
spreads the land since your anival,
proves that we alone stood in need of
the enjoyment of common privileges,
as is demonstrated by the results of
your government. The condition, this
day, of the country, in which is nei-
ther tumult nor confusion, hut that
constitutional agitation, die conse-
quence of disappointed hopes, confirm
your rule to be rare and enlightened.
Your fame for such came before vou,
even into this retired spot, to which
neither the waters of the sea yonder,
nor the mountains above, caused any
impediment. In our valleys where
we were digging with the spade, or as
we whistled to our horses in the plough,
we heard in the word "Mulffrave,"
the sound of the wings of the dove of
peace. With Irishmen our common
hopes are inseparably wound up ; as
Irishmen, and as inhabitants, faithful
and loyal, of the Barony Forth, we will
daily and every day, our wives and
our children, implore Ions and happy
days, free from melancholy and full of
blessings, for yourself and good Sove-
reign, until the sun of our lives be for
ever gone down the dark valley of
^ death.
The Barony of Forth lies south of the city of Wexford, and is
bounded by the sea to the south and east, and by the Barony of
Bargie to the west. It is said to have been colonized by the Welsh'
men who accompanied Strongbow in his invasion of Ireland ; but by
the term Welshmen, as here used, we must no doubt understand the
English settlers of Gower and Pembroke. Vallancey published a
specimen of their language. Some of the grammatical forms can
hardly fail to interest the English scholar, and we may venture more
particularly to call his attention to the verbal ending th. In no
other of our spoken dialects do we find the th still lingering as an
inflection of the plural verb.
The following papers were then read —
1. "Vocabularies of certain North American Indian Languages."
By J. Howse, Esq.
The following words and forms of speech were collected partly by
myself, and partly by such missionary and commercial agents as
were known to have the requisite opportunities ; the same list of
names and phrases being transmitted to all.
Over and above the information concerning the general affinities
between the different aboriginal languages of North America that
103
was thus expected, the particular evidence as to the extent to
Mrhich the remarkable structure of the Cree and Chippeway verb was
common to the other languages of the Algonkin family, and to lan-
guages still further removed, was a very prominent object of the
inquiry. Upon this principle, phrases like who gave it to him ? whom
did he give it to ? were preferred to the names of natural objects, the
degrees of relationship, and the like.
The dates, which occasionally accompany either the vocabulary
itself, or some remarks upon it, will show that the collection was
made previous to more recent investigations in Indian philology.
A.
1. Equivalents in the language of the Nipissingue and Algonquin
Indians of the Lake of the Two Moimtains, in the district of Mon-
treal, Lower Canada. Date 1835. Signed Ch* de Bellefeuille,
P'" Director of the Mission of the Lake of the Two Mountains.
D. Ducharme, In*'. J. Dupont. Note on the orthography : *' Dans
ce tableau, le lettre u se prononce comme le diphthongue ou, en
Fran^ais. Tous les autres voyelles comme en Fran^ais. La lettre
g» devant t, et devant e, se prononce comme dans les mots Fran^ais
gui.gui/*
2. Equivalents in the language of the Shawnees, Miami River.
3. Equivalents in the language of the New Brunswick Indians
All these are in one dialect — the Micmac. It seems that the sound
of the letter r is wanting in this language. The vocabulary was
originally made by Antony Rogers, an old intelligent hunter (but
not an Indian), who had lived some time amongst the Indians, and
is believed to be well acquainted with their language. He was as-
sisted by Abitase, said to be half Indian and half English.
4. Equivalents in the language of the Blackfoot, Blood or Paegan
Indians. Duplicate Vocabulary.
M 2
104
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106
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The Nipissing, Shawnee, and New Brunswick dialects are un-
doubtedly Algonkin. The position of the Blackfoot is uncertain.
It has been placed, however, in juxtaposition with the three former
for the sake of comparison.
B.
1 . Equivalents in the language of the Iroquois Indians of Caugh-
nawassa and St. Regis, date 1835.
2. Equivalents in the language of the Mohawks living on the
Grand River.
3. Equivalents in the language of the Hurons.
4. Equivalents in the language of the Stone Indians. Collected
by J. Bird, Esq. of the Red River Settlement. Accompanied with
the note, that '* the Stone Indians are the most numerous of any of
the tribes of this part of North America. There are about 1 200 to
1400 tents. They inhabit the mid-country from between the Mis-
souri and Assineboin rivers from within fifty miles of Red River
westward to the sources of Qu'appelle River, about the source of the
elbow or north branch of the Assineboin River, and from thence to
the Red Deer's Hills on the Saskatchewan. The Swampy-ground
Stone Indians are now living close to the Rocky Mountain near the
source of the Red Deer's River, Saskatchewan. The Stone Indians
have nothing of the gravity which characterizes all the other tribes of
North America, but seem, on the contrary, to have an excessive flow of
spirits, and to give way to it entirely ; they speak with the utmost ra-
pidity and exhibit wonderful quickness in every motion. Active and
restless, they continually harass other tribes^ from the Mandans in
the south-east to the Blackfoots in the west, and may truly be called
the Frenchmen of North America, like whom they are considered
bold and impetuous in war, but soon discouraged when they meet
with persevering resistance."
The Iroquois, Mohawk and Huron are members of the same class
of languages. The place of the Stone Indian is more equivocal.
Although generally separated by most authors from the Mohawk (or
Iroquois) tongues, it has, by some, been connected with that group.
In the present tables it is placed in juxtaposition with the other
three, on the same principle that the Blackfoot was arranged with
the Nipissing, Shawnee, and New Brunswick, i. e. for the sake of
comparison.
Akin to the Stone Indian (which is also called Assineboin) are
the Sioux (Nadowessioux or Dahcota), Winnebago, Otto, Osage,
Omahaw, Yancton, Quappa, and other dialects ; a fact which gives
importance to the present vocabulary ; since, if the language which
it represents be considered Iroquois (or Mohawk), the allied dialects
must have a similar ethnological position.
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122
VocnbularieH of the Oiipewynn, the Beaver- Indian, the Kootonay,
the SikaoDi, the Flat-head, the OkaDogan, end the Atnah (or
Shuahwaji) languages, spoken in Oregon and New Caledonia, will
be laid before the Society at some future meeting.
2. " On the Conjectural Affinity of certaiM Hebrew and English
words." By Dr. Benisch. '
There was a time when Hebrew was eunsidered as the parent of
all languages, and consequently as the prototype of the Teutonic
dialects. At present the Sanscrit is generally beld to he the origin
of the Indo-European tongues, yet there are certainly some elements
which are common to the English and the Hebrew. The following
examples are submitted to the reader as illustrating generally the
connexion supposed to exist between the Shemitic languages and
those which are more immediately allied to the Sanscrit.
The Hebrew verb debber. generally translated ' he spake,' origi-
nally meant ' he induced to go," ' ke led,' ' he drove.' This Is the
signification at least which it still has in Chaldee, as may be seen
from Gen. ii, 15, where the verb look, in the passage " And the Lord
God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden," is ren-
dered by OnkeloB udebar. Nor is this primitive signification of
debber quite obsolete in Hebrew, it being still discernible in the de-
rivatives deber, generally translated ' pestilence,' but really meaning
sweeping or driving away ; dabroth, ' floats of timber,' and midbar,
rendered ' wilderness,' but in fact meaning pasturage to which cattle
were driven ; and by transposition, darban, ' a goad," that is, an in-
strument used to stimulate or drive. Such transpositions in Hebrew
are not rare, as may be seen, for instance, from the words keseb and
kebes, ' a lamb,' simlah and salmah, ' an outer garment,' kesil and
sakal, ' a fool.' Nor are they uncommon between the Hebrew and
its cognate dialects. Compare the Heb. alal, ' be wrapped up,' with
the Arabic atala ; the Heb. lakach, ' he took,' with the Arab, lakaka ;
the Heb. ghaar, ' a gate,' with the Chaldaic tra*.
In this transposed form the word dibber seems to exist (with its
primitive signification) in the Arab, daraba (percutit), that is, wielded
or drove the striking instrument ; in the Sansc. dkurv, ' to press on,'
in the G. Ireiben, and the Eng. io drive, &c. The connexion between
the primitive signification of dibber, ' he drove," and the secondary
one ' he spoke,' is natural, and analogous to what we find in other
languages ; compare the G. brechen and sprechea, &c.
The Eng. words hole, holloK, and hell, answer to the G. hoM,
hoehle, and the corresponding terms in the Swedish and Icelandic
languages ; and after a little consideration the philologist may pro-
bably assign the same root to the Eug. cell, cellar, caul, and quill, to
the corresponding Ger. zelle, Iceller, and Hel, to the Gr. soiAoi and
KoiXia, and the Lat. cmlum. These words may be coUated with the
Sansc. hal, ' to hollow, dig, or work,' but may with still greater pro-
' priety be compared with the Heb, and Arab, ckelal, ' to perforate.'
n Chak
The lubstUulion
of ihe n in ihe cognaic dialects for ihe Heb. v
neace: Tor insu
nee, the Heb. **=r, 'a head of homrf cattle
DC and Arabic la
ro. Thus also the Qreek and Lalln tmna, lb
123
The Eng. word basalt is from the Greek. That this substance
originally received its name from its hardness and similarity in
colour to iron, appears from Pliny, who says, " Invenit i£g3rptus
in ^Ethiopia quem vocant basalten, ferrei colons atque duritiei,
unde et nomen ei dedit." (See Furst's Concordance sub v.) Now
this word is identical with the Heb. barsel, 'iron.' The Hebrew
scholar, acquainted with the researches of modem grammarians,
will no doubt remember various other words into which a formative *^
is inserted, as for instance sharbet, * a sceptre,' from shebet, * a staff/
&c. ; he will therefore have no difficulty in pointing out basal as the
root of barsel. In this root the writer also thinks he discovers the
origin of the Ghr. fiatriXevs, and not in the Heb. mashal or bashan, as
Gesenius and Furst conjecture. The form barsila, in the signifi-
cation of ' ruler,' is plainly found in the targum of Canticles I.
The sound pur, an onomatopoeia for the action of bursting, break-
ing, &c., has been shown to exist in a large number of languages
belonging to widely different families. The philologist will at once
be reminded of the G. brechen, the Eng. to break, &c. In no language
however, known to the writer, has such an extensive use been made
of this root as in the Hebrew.
The syllable per is found quite pure without any addition in the
verb pur, ' to burst' ; it has a suffix in par-ats, * to burst forth' ; a
prefix in sha-bar, ' to break ' ; a suffix in par-ak, 'to break off,' par-ach,
' to break forth,' viz. to blossom, par-ah, * to break forth as from
under cover,' viz. to be fruitful ; in the substantives per-ach, * a
blossom,* bar, ' grain/ she-ber, ' com,' from which is derived the verb
sha-bar, ' he deaJt in com,' &c. We are thus led to the Lat. pario,
the G. gebaeren, the Eng. to bear, with the analogous terras in the
cognate dialects ; the Lithuanian peru, the Russian beru, the Sansc.
bhar, ' to produce, to carry,' the Lat. fruoryfructus,fruges,far, and
frumentum, the Q.frucht, with the sirailar terms in the Romanic
and Teutonic languages, the Polish fruct, the Welsh ffrwythy the
Wallachian/?^rtt//a, the Albanian j^Artii/, the G. beere, the Eng. berry,
the Polish ber^ the Eng. barley, &c.
The Latin verb capio, the Ghaelic gabhan, * to take/ and the Welsh
cipiaw, ' to snatch/ sound very like the Heb. kaf, ' the hollow of
the hand.' This substantive is formed from the verb kapap, * he
bent,* inasmuch as through the bending of the hand objects are laid
hold of. In Sansc. the root kup or kub means ' to cover,' — the same
signification as the Heb. chapap. This latter root apparently ac-
counts for the origin of the words ire^aXi; (old form Kvfiri), caput,
kopf, the French chef, the Eng. chief, and for similar terms in the
Hungarian and Welsh languages.
The English words circle, to circulate, &c., with the corresponding
terms in the other Teutonic dialects, are derived from the Gt. KipKos
or KfiiKos, and these Greek words may easily be traced to the Sansc.
garhan, ' circuit.' Now the same word in the same signification is
extant in the Heb. kikkar, contracted from kirkar, and applies to
several objects having a round shape. From this root may be deduced
the Heb. kir (with a p), meaning that which surrounds, viz. a wall,
and kiriah (in the Syriac and Phoenician kert), signifying that which
is surrounded by a wall, viz. a town. By softening down the pa-
124
latic p into the guttural V, we liave the Heb. TJf, 'a town.' l"hat
the interchange of the p and 3 with the weaker aspirates, and vice
versd, are not rare, will appear by comparing the Heb. koterelh and
aterHh, ' a crown' ; ketor-elk and athar, ' incense' ; the Heb. or and
the iat corium ; the Heb. Oreb and the Lat. corvus ; the Heb. agil.
something round, ' a finger-ring' ; agalak, something rolled, ' a car' ;
and the G. htgel, " a ball,'
The English words masculine, marriage, &C,, are derived from the
Latin mas, which ia also found in the Sansc. mas, Russian and Bo-
hemian mvsA, and the Finnish mics. Now this word, in the same
signification, exists also in the Heb. The word alluded to is that
pronounced by the German Jews mesim (DTltS). meaning 'men,'
the singular of which, if it were found, would, according to analogy.
There are several conjectures as to the origin of the name of Star-
chamber. The most probable appears to be that stated by Black-
stone, who thinks that the chamber may have received its name from
its having been a deposit for the contracts of the Jews called starrs,
under an ordinance of Richard II. This etymology seems to be a
probable one, inasmuch as it is certain that public officers were ap-
pointed during the middle ages to superintend the monetary dealings
then extensively carried on by the Jews, and the extent of these
dealings must have given importance to the office in which the va-
rious disputes arising therefrom were settled. It is true that the
Chamber is also called Camera Stellata, or Chambre des Estoyllea, but
this may be merely a blundering translation of the EngUsb name.
Dr. Johnson derives the verb to ckirp from to cheer vp. In this
he is no doubt mistaken. The expression is probably an onomatopteia,
and seems to correspond with the Sanscrit root gvart, ' to resound,'
■ growl,' and with the Heb. tsippor, ' a bird.' This Hebrew word
seeraa also to offer a satisfactory etymology for the Eng. sparrow
and the German Sperling.
The Eng. verb to seelh, Germ, sieden, may be compared with the
Hebrew sood of the same signification ; and if this root, as Gesenius
thinks, isBnonomatopceia, we may also compare with 'ittheGi. aiCiii,
the G. xischen, the Eng. hiss, the G. sauaen, and the Sansc. teis, ' to
resound.*
The word/aMoin, formed from the A.-Sas. faelhem, the O.faden,
as well as the similar words in the other Teutonic languages, have
been compared with the Sansc. vat and vanl, 'to bind,' the Irish
fead, &c. To these the writer thinks may be added the Hebrew
abnet, 'a certain kind of girdle,' the (^ not being radical. The
Sansc. vant and the Heb, hand olfer a satisfactory etymology for the
Eng. to bind, the G. binden, and their numerous cognate terms and
derivatives.
The English words measure and to mete, the G. tnessen, together
with the cognate terras in other I'eutonic languages, also the Welsh
medratE, the Russian nif^uin, the Lat. metior, modus, and the Gr.
/lerpeoi, are clearly connected with the Hebrew verb madad, and the
substantive iniJiAi A, ' measure.' 'I'he number of these examples might
he readily increased.
i
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY:
Vol. IV. MAY 24, 1849. No. 85.
Professor Mald'kn in the Chair.
A paper was read : —
" On English Etymologies : "-^Continued. By Hensleigh Wedg-
wood, Esq.
Christmas Box. — Difficulty has been felt with respect to the
meaning of the word Box in this expression, and resort has even
been hsid to the oriental Bakshish, a present, in order to explain it.
The sense is however made perfectly clear by a reference in Cot-
grave: —
Pille-niaille— such a box na our London prentices beg withal before
Christmas.
To Scorch.— Properly to contract, to shrivel up, which may
happen either from heat or cold. From curtus, short ; It. scorciare,.
to shorten ; Provencal acorchar, acorsar, to shorten or contract ;
Sp. escorsar, to foreshorten ; escarchar, to curl the hair, to nip
or cover with hoar-frost; escarchado, that which is crisp and
crackles.
To Pant. — ^To go piUa-pat is a common expression for the beat-
ing of the heart, and in Bailey's Dictionary it is said that pintledy-
pantledy, in Lincolnshire, is used in the same way. From Fr.pantehr,
according to the author ; but that is evidently putting the cart before
the horse, as pintle-pantle might easily grow out of pit-a-pat, but
not vice versd. Fr. panteler, panteiser, to pant.
Rblat, Relt. — A relay, Fr. relais. It. rilasso, is a supply of
horses, dogs, &c. prepared beforehand, " for the ease of those one
has already rid hard on" (Cotgr.) ; a relief, from relaxare, ' A relais —
spared, at rest, that is not used' (Cotgr.) : —
Ses fin et ses relays. — Provencal.
Sans fin et sans rel&che.
Let wife and land lie lay till I return. — B. & F. Love's Pilgrimage.
Now to rely on a thing — ' to rest or repose upon it ' (Richardson) —
is to use it as a relay — to look to it for rest or relaxation.
Housings. — More properly houssings ; Fr. housse, the long cloths
of parade, sweeping the ground, formerly laid over horses on state
occasions, from housser, to sweep. Houssie de pluie, a driving
shower ; houssine, a switch ; housson, butcher's broom, because used
as a whisk ; houssu, tufted. '
The verb housser is, I believe, the French representative of our
whisk or swish, Ger. wischen, from the noise of moving a loose body
rapidly through the air. For the equivalence of housse and whisk,
compare hush ! and whisht !
" Whist, hist, hush, are the same word," says Richardson, '* with a
little variation in the sound."
VOL. IV. o
126
Whip, Wipe, Whap ; Swip, Swipe, Sweep, Swap. — The foun-
dation of all these words is an imitation, by means of the syllable
whip or swip, of the sound made by something pliable moved smartly
through the air ; hence a whip is the instrument employed in such a
motion, and the motion itself is expressed by the same word in
many branches of the Teutonic stock. Thus we speak of whipping
a thing out of sight ; of whipping away, for being off in a hurry.
Icel. vippa i lopt, to snatch up; Dutch wippen, to vibrate, to totter,
to twinkle; wipsteert, a wagtail; Dan. vippe^ to wag, move up
and down.
It then expresses the momentary character of an action. Dan.
Vips ! var fuglen borte, Whip ! the bird was off; Sc. in a whip, in
a moment (Jamieson) ; PI. Deutsch., up de wippe sitten, to be on
the point of doing a thing.
TTien as every rapid motion of the arm is brought round with a
swing, we have Icel. vippa, to whirl; to wip, to bind round
(Jamieson) : —
Thair bricht hair hang glitterand on the strand
In tresis clear wypit with golden threads. — Dunbar.
Hence wyp, a wreath ; Goth, vaip, corona. The insertion of the
nadal m gives Dan. wimpe or winke, G. wimpem, to wink or twin-
kle ; wimp'hrauwe, wijm~, wijn-, wijng-, wind-brauwe (Kilian), the
eyelid; Du. wimpel, a veil, a streamer, a Wimple \ wimpelen, to
veil, to wrap up ; wimpel, a Wimble, an instrument for boring by
circular motion; Sw. wimla, to be dizzy, or, as the G. wimmelen,
for the confused motion of insects, of a crowd of people, he, ; D.
wemelen, to drive round, to twinkle, to palpitate ; Sc. wammle or
wamble, to turn round, to move in an undulating manner, like an
eel in water (Jam.) : —
Wi' her tail in her teeth she ivammled it roim'.— Scott.
Isl. hvim or hvimp, motus celer ; a whim, a momentary intention ;
Dan. vimse, to wander idly about ; whimsical, turning to and fro,
changeable in disposition.
Again, from whip, by lengthening the vowel to express a more de-
liberate, continued action, we have to wipe ; while the broader a in
whap adapts the word to represent a stroke with a larger or less
pliable instrument than that signified by whip.
The addition of an initial s without change of meaning is a com-
mon sign of living onomatopoeia, as in plash and splash ; whirl and
swirl; knap and snap. So we find swip with precisely the same
force as wip in the expression of rapid, sudden, reciprocating or cir-
cular motion ; rapidity, or instantaneousness : —
Ridwsethlan his sweord droh
And twipte to than kinge. — Layamon.
Ridwaethlan drew his sword
And struck at the king.
A.-S. swipe, a whip ; Icel. svipa, to flog, to wield or brandish, to
hasten; Icel. svipan, svipr, Dan. svip, a moment; Isl. svipta, to
127
snatch ; G. schwipps, cito (Wachter); Sc, swipper, swippert, swift;
Isl. 8vif, a sudden motion, brandishing, bending ; svoiff^ rotatory
motion, or the sound produced by it, as the swiff of a mill (Jam.^ ;
£ng. swift, in Chaucer ^i&ijf, rapid ; Icel. sveifla, to whirl, to brandish;
sveif ansa rotatilis, a swivel.
Here too the longer vowel in sweep, G. schweifen, expresses a
longer, more continuous action, as in wipe compared with whip.
What a swipe ! says the boy, when he sees the cricket-ball struck
with a wide sweep of the bat.
To swap represents the motion of a larger body : —
All sodeinly she swapt adown to ground. —
Swap oflThis head. — Chaucer in Richardson.
The sense of changing, in which swap is now commonly used, is
derived from the notion of turning, so intimately connected with all
these words expressive of sudden rapid motion.
The change of p into the sonant b in swab seems to represent the
resisted effort in rubbing with such an instrument.
It is not in our power to show any form of the word with an ini-
tial s exactly corresponding to the Dan. or G. wimpe, wimpem, but
parallel with hvima, wimmelen, &c., we have to swim, to turn round,
as a swimming in the head ; Dutch swijmen, swijmelen, to doze,
to be dizzy, to faint; swijmelinge, levis somnus, sopor (Kil.), bring-
ing us very close to the Fr. somme, sommeil. To swim, in the
sense of floating on the water, is probably derived from the tre-
mulous motion of a liquid surface, so that, when we speak of a table
or floor being * all swimming with water/ it is in exact conformity
with the original force of the word, and the sense of supporting our-
selves on the surface is a secondar}' application.
Again, corresponding to the forms above cited ending in p, mp,
m or/, we find others precisely equivalent ending in A, nky ng, n, nd.
Thus whack and whap are used colloquially in the same sense, and
swak and swap : — .
And with a noake there of his swerd
He straik the Lyndsay to tlie bane. — Wyntown in Jam.
And thai —
Swappit out swerdys hastily. — Barbour.
A.-S. swicol, deceitful (t. e, unstable, apt to turn), stands parallel
with Isl. swipvl, fugax, caducus ; our switch with swipe, a whip ;
Dan. vimpe with wink ; Germ, wickeln, to wrap up, with wimpcln
in the same sense; vik (Molbech, Dialect- Lexicon), lively, brisk, or
our quick with wip ; compare quink-steert (Outzen) with wip-steertf
a wagtail. So quink-jacht, queck-jacht, tweig-jacht, a jack-a-lanthom
(Outzen). The Germ, schwindel, dizziness, schwind, geschwind,
swift, must rest upon a form schweinen, parallel with swim in the
sense of turning round, which also appears in the Plat D. swinen,
swinden, dwine/iy to disappear, waste away, to dwindle. Compare Sw.
swindel, swingel, or swimmel darnel, so called like the Fr. ivraie,
from its intoxicating quality, inducing dizziness. The Du. wijng^
brauwe, an eyelid, would lead us to suppose that the icing of a bird
o 2
128
mky also derive its name from the vibratory motion which is the
special function of that member. The addition of an initial s gives
rise to verbs in all the Teutonic dialects equivalent to our svoing, ex-
pressive of rapid or forcible whirling movement.
To Caulk. — To stuff the cracks between the planks of a ship with
tow, &c. From calcare, to tread. Proven9. calca, calgua, a tent
of lint
Pausa en quascuna fissura calgiia de coto vielh (Llaynouard). He puts
in each crack a tent of old cotton — he caulks it with cotton.
Pantaloon. — Yrompannu8y cloth, we have Sp. pmo\ pahal, a clout;
panqlon, a great clout, a slovenly fellow whose shirt hangs out at
his breeches (Baretti). Hence probably applied to the old man
careless of dress — the lean and slipper'd Pantaloon,
Muscovado. — Port, mascabado, ill-conditioned, unmarketable;
hence applied to the coarsest kind of sugar. Mascabar, to discredit,
dishonour ; Sp. menoscabar, to diminish, impair ; Provencal mescabar,
menescabar, to lose, to fail, to come to ill. The whole equivalent to
our word mischief, from minus, Port, menos, and cabo, chef, head, end,
conclusion.
Dungeon. — The true derivation of this word was pointed out by
Menage, and the currency of any other at the present day is an in-
stance of the uselessness of merely suggesting etypiologies without
supporting them by adequate evidence. It is singular however that
the quotations brought together by DuCange should not have made
clear to him the erroneousness of the derivation which he adopts,
and which still appears in our dictionaries, from dun, a lull :
*' minus propugnaculum in duno sive colle sedificatum.*'
We see from Ducange and Muratori (Diss. 26), that the part of
a stronghold which from its position or structure had the command
over the rest was called dominio, gradually corrupted into domnio
(as domnus for dominus), domgio, dongeo, Fr. donjon (as songer from
somniare)^ examples of all whicli forms may be seen in Du-
cange. In a charter of the year 1179, given by Muratori, is an
agreement, " quod de summitate Castri Veteris quae Dongionem ap-
pellatur, prsedictus episcopus ejusque successores debeant habere
duas partes ipsius summitatis, scilicet ab uno latere usque ad vineam
episcopi et ab altero usque ad flumen,'* showing that in this case the
dominio was mere open ground. In general however it was applied
to a tower or other work which had the command of the rest of the
fortress.
Milites ocyiis conscenso Domnione, domo scilicet principali ct defen-
sivfi.— Ducange.
The name of Dungeon has finaUy been bequeathed to such an un-
derground prison as was formerly placed in the strongest part of a
fortress.
Quoit. — Properly a flat stone, Dutch kaeye, key, originally doubt-
less haedcy the d corresponding to the final s in G. kies, gravel ;
A. - S. ceo5^/, a pebble : —
De kaeye schieten, ludere silice, lapide, disco — certare disco saxeo, ferreo
plumbco. — Kilian.
129
Perhaps a quai^. Port, cais, Du. hade, kaa, kaey, * acte, littus, lapi-
deus ad ripam agger' (Biglotton, 1624), was originally some such
word as kaey-werk, a mole, or stone embankment, which we actually
iind in the dictionary last quoted, the latter half of the word being
omitted, so as to leave only that which signifies stone.
To Bale a vessel — to empty out the water with a scoop or
bucket ; Du. baalien, from baalie, a bucket. In the same way Fr.
bacqueter, to bale, from bacquet, a bucket.
BoABD. — A plank. A probable origin of this word is suggested
by the Isl. bord-vidr, edge-wood; wood cut so as to have edges
to it, from bord^ an edge, and vidr, wood :—
Oc med endilongum bsenom war umbuiz a husum uppi, reistr up bord-
vidr a utau-verdom thaukom sva sem vig-gyrdiat vaeri. — Sverris Saga, 156.
And along the side of the town preparation was made up on the houses —
edge-wood (or boarding) raised up on the roofs like the war-girdle (or
boarding-netting, as we should now say) in a sea-fight.
To Peep, Teet, Keek. — So long as Onomatopoeia is a living
principle in a word, the consonants are extremely moveable, and rea-
dily interchange with those of similar character in other classes. It
is nearly indifferent whether we make use of a p, a /, or a k, in the
imitation of most kinds of inarticulate sounds, as is seen in the names
of the pee-wit, Sc. tu-quheit, tee-whoap, pees-weep ; Du. kie-vit.
When therefore we find such synonyms sls peep, keek, teet, in the
most familiar part of the language (compare Sc. keek-bo, teet-bo —
bo-peep), we are led to suppose that the imitative source is not far
off. Now the most natural imitation of a sharp sound is made by
the syllables peep, keep^ keek or teet. In Latin accordingly we find
pipire, pipiare, pipilare, to peep or cheep like a chicken, to cry like
a child or small bird ; hence pipio, a young bird ; It. pippione,
piccione, a pigeon, properly a young one ; to pipe, to make a shrill
sound; to cheip (Jamieson), to squeak with a shrill and feeble
voice — ^to creak, as shoes or a door ; cheiper, a cricket ; Isl. keipa,
to cry as a child.
The note of a little bird is commonly imitated by the syllables
tweet- tweet, whence to twitter as a swallow ; Dutch tij'te, tijtken, a
chicken or any small bird : a torn- tit. A tit is subsequently applied
as a term of contempt to anything weak or small, as a child or
small horse : —
Besides, when born the tiis are little worth,
Weak puling things, unable to sustain
Their share of labour, or their bread to gain.
Dry den in Richardson.
To titter is applied to suppressed, high-pitched laughter.
Again, the same kind of sound is represented by the syllable ^t^
or keek in the Latin cicada, a cricket or cheiper ; the Dutch kieck-
hoest, kinck-hoest, the chin- cough or hooping-cough, from the shrill
sound of drawing the breath in that disorder ; Dutch kiecken, a chick
or chicken, is probably direct from the sharp chirp of the young
bird, as cock from the fuller cry of the grown fowl.
To chink is said of the sound of smtUl pieces of metal striking to-
130
gethet, or of the sbarp sound of an infant'a laugh, — to chink with
laughter. In the secondary application of chink or crack to a fissure,
we Bee the paeaiLge of a word from a direct imitation of sound to a
representation of the cause by which the aound was produced. A
hard thing, ia breaking, makes such a noise as we have seen repre-
sented by the syllables chink, crack, cheip • hence a crack or chink
is applied to a. fissure or incomplete rupture in sumethiDg hard. A
creek ia a narrow piece of water running up like a crack into the
solid land. A piece of earthenware ie said to chip, when a piece
flies otf with a creaking sound, and a chip is the part that separates.
To chap, to form chicks or cracks. 'JTie creek or skreek of day
(Jamieson); Dutch kriecke, krtekeling (Kilian), the peep or first
appearance of day, the land and sky separating and letting a bright
streak be seen, as a light room through the crack of the door. We
thus are led to the notion of separation between the parts of the
breaking body and the appearance of something beyond, — to the
bursting of a bud or a shell, to the idea of sprouting, germinating or
coming into life, or of simply looking through a narrow opening ; —
The roBo knoppis teland forth their head,
Oaii nhyp and kythe their venial lippis red.
Doug. Virg, in Jamieaon.
The egg ia chipped, the bird ia fluwn. — Jamieaon.
Dutch kippen, to hatch; kip, a young chicken. In the same way
chick, a Haw in earthenware ; to chick, to crack ur chap, also to
sprout or germinate (Forby).
Finally kiecken (Da.), kige (Dan.) — tofceeA:, tolook through a nar-
row opening, to peep. It is true that we cannot show either peep or
teet iu the sense of a mere crack, but as a proof of the natural con-
nexion between a sharp sound and a narrow opening, we may quote
the Sp. silbar, to whistle ; sUbalo, a crack ; we then have at pippe
(Dan.), to sprout or ahoot forth as a bud or seed, whence our pip,
that which sprouts; pip-Ung (Dan.), a pippin or small tasty apple,
originally probably a seed-ling. To teel, we have already seen in
the sense of shooting forth. At titte (Dan.), to peep or look through
a narrow opening ; hence by broadening the vowel to express a
fuller action, we have O.-E. to tote, Swed. tota, to look, and tite
vulgar tauter, a. person employed to look out for custom.
Chabcoal is commonly explained as if from A,-S. cerran, to
turn; jaewj tumed-to-coal:-~
And Nestor broii'd them on the coal-tnm'd wood.
Cliapmaii'a Homer in Richardson.
But such a composition as turn-coal for tara-lo-coal, or for coal-turaed,
is quite contrary to the analogy of our language, and the first syl-
lable seems more properly chark than char :—
Orif itflBineanoloul, charka)\\\aia scoal. — Quotation in 'Kichardson .
Now to chark or chirk is to make a grating or creaking noiae : —
There is no fii'e, iherc is no apark,
There is no door which moie chark. — Gower in Riehardaoii.
131
Hence chark- coals would be equivalent to creak-coals, from the
grating or creaking sound heard in moving charcoal or coke. It
seems to be the same with the Old-Dutch krick-kolen, carbones
creperi (Biglotton) ; " car bones acapni minusculi q. d. carbones cre-
pitantes*' (Kilian); " a sono quem ardentes edunt," he adds; but
this must be a mistake, for no charcoal crackles in burning.
Jadb. — A worn-out horse. To Jadb. — ^To fatigue. From ilia
(Lat.), the flanks, " quae in respiratione attolluntur et contrahuntur
in cursu vero et anhelitu maxime concutiuntur** (Forcellini), the
Portuguese have formed ilhal ; the Spanish ijar, ijada^ the flanks ;
ijadear, to pant or palpitate ; and dropping the t, jadear, to pant,
to fatigue, to jade ; hence Ajade, a worn-out animal.
To Stroll. — Derived by Richardson from straggle, as sprawl
(not from spraddle but) from spraggle ; sprawle, to throw out the
hands and feet, undoubtedly, says Outzen, from sprage, spragle;
Dan. sparke, to kick ; sprakelig, sprawlig, lively, kicking about.
But the word is stroll, not straiol, and there seems an essential dif-
ference in the application of the two words. In straggle, the leading
idea is separation from the main body or purpose that is had in view.
In stroll, the idea is movement in a variety of directions, which might
well be derived from the Dan. straale, to radiate, to stream out from
a centre.
Abbidoe, Allay, Assuage. — We sometimes meet with words in
English which seem to possess claims of nearly equal strength to a
Teutonic and a Roman parentage having no connexion with each
other. Thus, as Mr. Fox Talbot has pointed out, the verb to betray
bears the closest resemblance to the G. betriegen, Du. bedriegen, to
deceive, while the forms trash, betrash, which we find in Chaucer,
(the sh corresponding to the ss in the Fr. trahissois, trahissons, &c. : —
Bien t'a trahie.'-K, R. 3230.
She hath thee Irashid without wene.)
leave no doubt that it actually descends from the Fr. trahir, which
is itself the It. tradire, Lat. tradere, to give up ; the d being soft-
ened down (as in guadagnare, O.-Fr. gaagner, to gain, and so many
other cases), while between triegen and tradere there can be no sus-
picion of the most distant relationship.
It is possible that the resemblance, in sense and sound, to the
G. betriegen, may have led to the addition of the particle be to the
simple tray or trash, though it is not easy to see how the influence
of a German or Dutch word could be felt at the time that trahir was
so translated into our language.
In other cases of a like nature there may be a real though remote
connexion between the Teutonic and the Latin root. To abridge is
certainly from the Fr. abriger, and that from abbreviare (as soulager
from It. sollevare), the t; passing into u, and the t into j or soft g.
Compare Provencal brevitat, breugetat, brevity ; breuges, abridges
(Raynouard). On the other hand, to abridge is referred by Ri-
chardson without hesitation to the G. abbrechen, to break ofl; con-
tract, abridge. But though I believe there is no lineal descent
oetween abridge and abbrechen, it is possible their resemblance uolj
132
be explained by collateral relationship, as the Gr. fipa^vs seems to
show that bfevis itself may originally be derived from the notion of
breaking or curtailing. In the case of allay, or allegge (as it was
formerly written), to ease or lighten grief, to quiet pain, to calm the
wind, &c., there seems no such fundamental relationship between
the Latin and Teutonic root. We find cases in which we cannot
doubt that the word is a mere adoption of the Fr. alleger, to lighten,
assuage, allay, Cotgr. ; It. alleggiare, alleviare, from levis. In other
cases we seem led with equal certainty to the A.-S. alecgan from
lecgan, to lay, a derivation corroborated by such expressions as the
Swedish wadret logger sig, the weather abates ; warken l&gger sig, the
pain is allayed. So in Virg., venti poau&e, the winds were laid : —
She (Old Age) wepith the time that she hath wasted.
Complaining of the preterite,
And of the present that not abitte,
And of her olde vanitie,
That but afome her she may see
In the future some small socoure
To leggin her of her doloure. — R. R. 6018.
Here it is manifestly the Fr. alieger, to lighten : —
The joyous time now nigheth fast
That shall allegge this bitter blast
And slake the winter sorrow.— Shepherd's Calender, March.
He bihet God and that folk an behest that was this
To alegge all luther lawes that yholde were before,
And better make than were suththe he was ybore.
R. of G. 422.
In these quotations alegge is certainly the A.-S. alecgan, to put
down, repress.
But in such passsiges as the following, we feel at a loss to which
stock to refer the word : —
Heart that is inly hurt is greatly eased
With hope of thing that may alledge his smart. — F. Q. III. 2.
The fact seems to be that both alecgan and alldger passed into En-
glish in the forms of alledge or allag, furnishing a word that may
with equal propriety be applied to the relieving of pain, grief, or the
like, whether we consider it as used in the sense of lightening or
setting to rest. Thus at length allay from alleviare became con-
founded with allay from alecgan, as well in meaning as in form,
while levis and lecgan themselves are fundamentally unconnected.
The confusion is increased by still another allay, or alloy (as we
now write it), signifying the mixture of baser metal with gold or
silver in coinage ; —
The gold of hem hath now so base alayes
With brass, that tho the coin be faire at eye,
It wolde rather brast atwothan pile. — Chaucer in Richardson.
from lex — ''monetarum in metallo probitas a lege requisita ac definita.
Italis lega ; nobis Loi, Aloy." — Ducange.
Unusquisque denarius cudatur et fiat ad legem undecim denariorum, &c.
— Charta, an. 1312.
133
To alloy or allay was then applied, by a natural metaphor, to bringing
down the quality of other things besides coin to a lower standard, —
to making them less active or obnoxious, and thus it came to trench
upon the senses of the same word from the other derivations. In
the following passage —
When flowing cups run swiftly round,
With no allaying Thames. — Lovelace in Rich.
the water may be considered either as constituting an alloy of the
more precious beverage, or as calculated to bring down and assuage
the fiery qualities of the latter liquid.
Again, in assuage, we waver in a similar manner between a Saxon
and a Latin root. We cannot doubt that it comes to us directly
from the Fr. assouagery which seems unquestionably formed from
the O.-Fr. souef, soft, sweet, equivalent to the Lat. suavis, as
alleviare, alUger, from levis ; ahhreger from hrevis.
Mais moult m'astouagea I'oingture,
D'une part m'oingt, d'autre me cuist ;
Ainsi m'aide, ainsi me nubt. — R. R. 1890.
translated by Chaucer, —
Now softening with the ointment
It softinid here and pricked there,
Thus ease and anger were yfere.
On the other hand, the A.-S. aswefian, to soothe, appease, set at
rest, sopire (Bosworth), affords a perfect explanation of the vord in
such expressions as assuaging grief, pain, anger, &c. Perhaps in
this instance also the resemblance between the French and the Saxon
verbs may be explained by a common original.
In the Sc. souch, soogh, swough^ for the sound of the wind blowing
through trees, the roaring of flames, or the like, the imitative inten-
tion is distinctly felt : —
Ane sound or swoueh I heard there at the last.
Like quhen the fire by felloun windis blast
Is driven amid the flat of comes rank,
Or when the bum in spait hurls down the bank. — D. V.
November's wind blaws loud with angry sugh, — Bums.
This is manifestly the same with the A.-S. swegan, swogan, sonare,
cum impetu irruere. Swegde swithlic wind, cum strepitu irruit ve-
hemens ventus (Lye). Tha wudu-beamas swegdon^ the trees were
sooching (Jamieson). Another application of souch is to the long
quiet breathing in sleep or stupor : —
I hear your mither souch and snore. — Jam.
Hence applied to sleep itself, —
John keikit up at screik of day
And fand her sowchand sound. — Jam.
Over all landis were at rest ilkane,
The profound swoueh of sleep had them overcame.
D.V. inJ^
VOL. IV. »
134
We constantly find sviaagK in Chaucei for a stute of insensitiilit]
She lost at oaa both her ntC and bretb,
And ill n itBoagh she lay and woxe sn ded,
Men mightin amiteii Of lier atme or Led,
She felith nothing neither foule no faire. — Lucrece, 134.
Hence our modem swoon, and Spenser's gwound, sound: —
The prEnce himself lay all alune,
Loosely displayed upon the grassy ground,
Fosaessed of swete sleep that hdled him Eoft in iwouud. — F. Q.
For within that stound.
Half slunibering in a sound,
I fel! down t« the ground. — Skelton.
Here we are brought very near the Italian aonno, which we shall
find coming from the same source by a different route.
From the sound of breathing ia eteep, or sleep itself, it was
an easy passage to the notion of calmness, quiet, silence. Keep
a calm'iOBjA — Be silent. He grew quite savck — He became en-
tirely calm (Jamieson). Thus we are broug-ht to the Germ.
gchweigen, A.-S. swigan, swugan, suvtian, Gr. aiyay. Let. silere. In
the same way from whish, whash, a rushing or whizzing isoiae, a
whisper or the noise of breathing, we have whiaht ! hush ! be silent.
The change of the guttural ch into f.vx'ra laugh, gives to sou/,
used in many of the same senses as souch. To fouf, to breathe high
in sleep, to slumber or sleep ia a disturbed manner, expressive of the
sounil (Jamieson) : —
Then softly did 1 siiofi and sleep,
Howbeil my bed was hard. — Burei'a Pilgrimage,
come up with the Isl. so/a, Sw. »o/wa, Dan, sove, to
!U<e/n, aopire; se/a, mitigare, lenire ; A,-S. asmefiaa;
D fall asleep, and Dan. sovn, Swed. sSmn, sleep, somnus.
; Sp, suenno ; Ft. somme, sommeil. To the latter, the Dan,
alumme, to slumber, is related in the same way as the G. sckluckzen.
to sob, to the Sw. aucka, to sigh ; or the Lat. sorbere to the
Germ, schliir/en, to sup or sip. Thus we find sleep itself (which
cannot be separated from slumber) brought within the extended
circle of words springing from this source.
If the O.-Fr. soue/, soft, be really from this root, it must he con-
sidered as parallel with the Sc. souch, quiet, tranquil, and the pri-
mitive meaning would be, that which was lulling or soothing to the
senses, to any of which it might be applied in particular. Thus the
Lat. suavis is properly applied to the senses of smell or taste ; the
Fr. soue/' quite as much to that of touch : —
Here we
sleep ; lal. .
Pali lut el
a tacL— R. R.
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. JUNE 8, 1849. No. 86.
Thomas Dtbr, Esq.. in the Chair.
The following papers were read : —
1 . " Note upon an Extract from a Copy of a Letter from the Rev.
W. Koelle, dated Foursh Bay, West Africa, Jan. 14» 1849, addressed
to the Rev. H. Venn, and announcing the Discovery of a Written
African LAnguage." By E. Norris, Esq., Assistant Secretary to the
Royal Asiatic Society.
After stating the contents of Mr. Koelle's letters, to the effect
that a written book in a native African character had been discovered,
that the language in which it was written was the Vei language,
and that the locality of the tribes that spoke the Vei was to the back
of the settlement of Liberia, the writer added the following brief
notices of his own, founded upon the examination of a few short
extracts from the ali)habet and vocabulary in question.
llie only specimen of the Vei language hitherto published is a
vocabulary taken by Professor Gibbs from the mouth of John Ferry,
an African of the Kissi (or Gissi) nation, who was brought from his
native country about 1821, at the age of eleven or twelve, and who
besides his own tongue, spoke the Vei language also. This, along
with a Kissi and Mendi vocabulary, was published, with remarks by
the collector (Prof. Gibbs), in SiUiman's Journal, vol. xxxviii., a.d.
1840* The numerals of these three dialects from Professor Gibbs's
paper were published in England, in the Vocabularies collected for
the Niger expedition.
The philological position of the Vei language, as determined both
by Professor Gibbs's vocabulary and the extracts from the book in
question, is that of either a dialect of the Mandingo, or of a separate
language closely allied to it.
In respect to the alphabet itself, it has the appearance of being a
syllabarium.
2. " Communication concerning the Vei and Mendi Dialects."
By the Rev. A. W. Hanson.
In the year 1847 the present writer was attended, during his voy-
age from Africa to England, by a young Vei girl, who acted as nurse-
maid to his child. Her name was Ann Hicks ; and she died in the
Westminster Hospital in April 1848. A short vocabulary of her lan-
guage coincided with that of Professor Gibbs ; it was evidently closely
allied to the Mandingo. The ey in the word Vey was pronounced as
the pronoun I ; and the name was the native name by which the in-
habitants of the Vei country designated themselves.
Respecting a language (or dialect) called the Mendi* and wV*
(as may be seen by reference to a paper* of Frofesaor G*
Yale College) is closely allied to the Vei, the foUowini
* The one referred to in the previous p«p0r.^EB.
VOL. IV.
be added to cur present scanty amount of Information coDcerniug
the tribes between the ManiUngo and the Cru country.
In 1840, a crew of Africans who had risen upon and destroyed
their captors, put in to one of the liarbours of one of the Northern
States of America, Attention being directed to their language, the
present writer was consulted. He decided that it was almost iden-
tical with the language known to himself, from previous specimens,
as the Vei. It was also a language spoken in a country within
nght uf mountains covered during part of the year with snow;
probably of the country due east of the Vei diBtriot. From this
country bo few of the Africans of the United States had been
imported, that only one American negro was found who understood
the language. The name by which these people called themselves
was Mendi. ITiese Mendi were ejcpressly questioned by Professor
Gibbs whether they had any written character, and expressly stated
that they knew of none.
3. "Remarks on a Vocabulary of the Cameroons Language."
By R. G. Latham, M.D.
In Captain Allen's and Mr. Thompson's Narrative of the Niger
Expedition, is an Appendix, by the present writer, on three African
vocabularies, with which he was favoured by Mr. Thompson, These
are the (1) Edeeyah, or language of Fernando Po ; (2) the Fishman
dialect of the Cru ; and (3) a language called the Bimbia.
This last language being spoken on a part of the west coast of
Africa, south of any of the known dialects of the delta of Niger,
and north of the dialect of the Gaboon, was wholly new aad un-
placed.
The language in which the affinities of the Bimbia were most
likely to be found was the language of the Cameroons Itiver ; indeed
it was very likely that the Bimbia and Cameroons languages might
be identical. And this last was the quarter to which the comparison
(as far as it went) was more particularly applie'd. The data, how-
ever, for the Cameroon* itself were insufficient, consisting of a single
MS. vocabulary in the library of the Asiatic Society. Of this single
vocabulary the present writer had only some short extracts, an
upon wishing to refer to the original, found that it had only been
lent to the Society, and that it was in the hands of the original
collector.
With materials thus scanty, {viz. the Bimbia vocabulary of Mr.
Thompson, and the extracts from the Cameroons vocabulary), all
that could be made out was, that —
A. The Bimbia had no "very close or unmistakeable affinity"
with any of the languages in its neighbourhood. — Appendix to Capl.
Allen's and Mr. Thompson's Narrative.
B. The Cameroons, "without being particularly allied to any
known language to either the uorth or south, had certain miscella-
neous affinities." — Report on (S# present state and recent progreas of
Ethnographical Philology, Transactions of the British Association,
ia47.
Now after the Appeadix to the Narrative had been placed in the
Laada of Mr. Thomijaon, that gentleman met with the Cameroons
vocabulary, from which the extracts had been taken, in extenso, and
has printed it with the Fiahman, Bimbia. and Edeeyah ones. By
this increase of materials he has been able to attach to the Appendix
a note of his own containing an ex.ception against the statement aa
to the Bimbia and Cameroon? languages having no particular and
unmistakeable affinities. He considers it " unfortunate that the Ca-
meroune vocabutary tu which Dr. Latham had access should have
been so scanty. 'ITie merest glance at the arranged vocabularies
of the several languages now given, ahowa the evident affinity be-
tween the Dualla and Bimbia," As this is precisely the observation
that would have appeared in the Appendix bad the Cameroons vo-
cabulary been seat to the present writer along with the others, we
have a new fact ia philology, viz. that the Caraeroona and Bimbia
are dialects of one and the same language, and that instead of the
former language being known only by one vocabulary, it is known
by two, i. e. the Cnmeroona proper and the Bimbia. 'iliis subtracta
something from the numerous elements of confusion for the phi-
lology of the parts in question. Furthermore we learn from Mr.
Thompson that the name of the Cameroons language is Dualla \ that
the dialect of the Amboise islands is a dialect of the Dualla ; and
that it is probable that the difference between the Dualla of the
Continent and the Edeeyah of Fernando Po ia overrated.
It may now be remarked that Captain Allen and Mr. Thompaon'a
Narrative aupplies us with the firat ten numerals of a dialect (or
language) called the Bamboko, collected by the collector of the Ca-
meroons vocabulary. Upon this Mr. Thompson truly remarks, that
"it corresponds closely with the DuallaandBimbia." It does more
. than this ; it coincides with three of the thirty dialects represented
by their numerals in Bowdich's Ashantee, viz. the Sheekan, Kaylee,
and Ooogoomai : of which, however, only the first five numbers are
given.
English, one.
Bamboko, j'a yokoh.
Bimbia, yoko.
Dualla, kau.
Sheekan, illwaloe.
Kaylee, woto.
Oongoomai, woottn.
English, two.
Bamboko, bia bibahi.
Bimbia, bibah.
Dualla. ibah.
Sheekan, ibha.
Kaylee, Ma.
Oongoomai, beeba-
Bngliah, three,
Bamboko, bia bilalo.
Bimbia, bilalo.
Dualla, Hallo.
Sheekan, bittack.
Kaylee, batlach.
Oongoomai, hittach.
English, four.
Bamboko, bia biai.
Bimbia, bini.
Dualla. inai.
Sheekan, binnay.
Kaylee, binnay.
Oongoomai, binnay.
Oongobai. binnay.
138
English, five.
Bamboko, bia bitah.
Bimbia, bitanoh.
Dualla, bitamo.
Sheekan, bitta,
Kaylee, bittan.
Oongoomai, bitten.
Oongobai, bittan.
This clears the ground a little further, and leaves it probable that
any future specimens representing the Bamboko, Sheekan, Kaylee,
Oongoomai and Oongobai dialects may represent different dialects of
what may provisionally be called the Dualla-Bimbia language.
4. " On the Tumali Alphabet." By Dr. Lorentz Tutshek of
Munich.
In a note appended to an elaborate paper of Dr. Tutshek's, read
on the 2drd of June 1848, it was stated that "the portion of the
papers relating to the Tumali alphabet having been unfortunately
mislaid, had been unavoidably omitted." The omission is now re^
medied ; the following remarks upon the alphabet in question being
a translation of the missing extracts. Hence the present number
serves as the complement to No. 75.
There is no proper Tumali alphabet. If at any future time either
their priests, medicine-men or impostors, find an alphabet necessary,
it will most likely be the Arabic alphabet adopted from foreign
Fakirs. I cannot say whether hitherto anything has been written
in such an alphabet or not. The language however is such, that
with a few additional signs our own is sufficient for its representation.
The following is the system which a careful investigation leads me
to adopt : —
11. «•(•),
12. k,
13. /.
14. m,
15. w.
16. n.
17. ng.
18. ng.
19. o(»).
20. r.
21. 8,
22. t.
23. tt(-).
24. u.
25. w.
26. y.
N.B. The vowels a, e, i, o and u are pronounced as in German,
or (to take English examples), —
a as the a m father,
e „ e ,t method,
i ,, i ,, indicate.
as the o in holy,
u „ u „ full,
4 „ e „ were;
»>
u represents a peculiar sound intermediate between o and do. It
differs from, yet resembles both. Hence in the earlier dictations it
is written sometimes as o, sometimes as u (oo). Each of these vowels
may be either long or short.
Of the consonants, b, rf, dsh, f A, k, I, m, n, r, s, t, w, y, are pro-
nounced as in English.
Dg is sounded as the dch of those diminutives which ending in
d have attached to them a ch, as Mdd-chen, Kleid-chen, This sound
is the same before all vowels and consonants indifferently.
A peculiar phsenomenon of the Tumali language is the fact that
131>
a, e, i, and u may appear as ^//'-vowels, separating
from one another precisely after the manoer of full
vowels ; but at tlie same time being esceedingly sliort. Each how-
ever forms its syflable ; indeed it sometimes hajipena that in a tri-
syllable, or even in a quadii-sy liable, there may be no more than
one single full. toned vowel — the remaining syllables being formed
by the half- vowels — abd'rr'k^a. aort of snake; ngiy's'iub°k=I stride
over; ng'nda A's'i'i=Mey divide. Here we may see that in one and
the same word (as in the second oxaraple quoted above) three dif-
ferent half-vowels may occur, any one of which may take an accent,
just like a full-toned vowel. Nevertheless it is easy to believe that
the ear has difficulty in distinguistiing between them, although in
some cases it is important to do so, inasmuch as a difference of
meaning may depend upon the distinction. 'Z'hus ng'n^milk, ng'n
an adverbial suffix, signifying ioio, whilst ng'n^the hand. These
half-vowels continuaily occur, the two commonest being a and e.
G has always the sound of the English g in go. Followed by n
it becomes the nasal ng, as in long, going. Whether initial or middle
it preserves this sound, or rather that of the German ag in words
like Kiengen, Engel, where the harder after-sound of the English g
is wholly wanting.
Of the ng there is a modification which I represent by hg. This
sound diiFers but slightly from that of the next letter.
The Spanish n. I do not attempt to describe the manner in which
these two allied sounds differ from each other. Examples occur in
the words ng^=^a looth, dcleiig^above, nuwrn^the descendant, dgeii
(or on)=father, master.
The diphthongs are au, ai, ei, oi. ui aud ui.
In the Tumali language the consonants decidedly prevail ; tite
utterance is harsh, and there is a total absence of rhjLhm.
5. "A Vocabulary of the Fazoglo Language." By Dr. Lorenlz
Tutshek of Munich,
The following vocabulary was collected from a hoy born at Hobila,
in the south of the Fazoglo country, purchased 6ut of slavery at
Alexandria by the Duke Maximilian, and entrusted for education to
the present writer, a.d. 1844.
The only Fazoglo words hitherto known are found in the Voyage
de Miroi by Caillaud ; where however they are given, not under the
present name, but under the title Qdmami//.
Vocabulary of the Fazoglo (^HobilA) Language.
accustomed {to he), buogane'.
active, maha.
acnte, b'iliudu.
adopt, biiza. 2, gida.
afraid, hiba, ghiba.
afleraooa (the time between 3 and
4 o'clock), galguru.
abandoned, wao ; an abandoned
house, sbuUwa(3,
above, assur.
abroad, hoii.
accuatom, hiiagane'(?).
140
agreeable, dzab.
all, d'Ul.
allure, iimala.
alone, m^^d6.
also, hdzizi.
altercate, b'il&.
and, o.
anger, mog6diyo.
^f^l^f g^lg^'dz.
animal (^generally), ging.
ankle (of the eye), ar6 ho.
ankle-bone (on thefoot),mo^r^d,
arm, bo6.
armiger {of the king), domb6iT.
arms {of a fish), gjirg&'d.
as, na.
ash, d^'^&ta.
ashes, hogoa.
ass, shil6rr.
astray, d*6gari (?).
attack (milit.), d'ala.
aunt {father's sister), mamd.
aunt {mother* s sister), dad6 g6ale'.
autumn (?), golan^'.
avaricious, gaz*gdnn.
B.
babbler, munduU.
back, gundi.
bad, dagdazi. 2. zuni.
bag,V'gM; (of leather), ho^dUsi.
2. orra.
balance, muddll.
bald-head, ^arall6.
bark (of dogs), g&'la.
bashful, bud6.
basket, n^nde; (twisted of g^gn,
reed, for preserving grain),
unddng.
bast, z6rd'o.
beal, latuss.
bear (a child), ail6 (?).
bear, torong.
beat, fia.
beast, ging.
beer, zdra.
before, hare.
beg, gdzinga.
behind, gundi.
believe, gdmula.
bellows (a pair of), 6rra.
belly, io.
beloved, h&lla (}).
below, hSri.
beseech, gdzinga.
bestow, Biidk,
between, nidzi (?), beda (?).
betray, b'dla.
big (with child), gumberr.
bile, galodng.
bind, d'&za.
bird, rnidz^'.
bite, gork,
bitter, ^assi.
black, mill.
bleed, ^aua.
blind, milar^ . ( When the blindness
is caused by extirpating the eye-
balls, butar§.)
blood, ^^ua.
blow, h^ na or hula.
blue, laht!iri ; bubug6.
blunt, nuzdr.
boar, mad^ng.
boat, hongg6rr.
body, budzlg^'.
boil, b(iza.
bone, ^ara.
border, ngingls (?).
bore, fay a.
bound (between meadows, fields,
Sfc), *b41a.
bow, goda. 2. dog6dza.
bow,deuBk(only used by children).
bowl (of clay), lagat.
box, aholo.
boy, haz6.
braid, g&'ra.
brains, huh^'dz.
branch, 'nggolboi.
bread, h6zo ; crust of the bread,
ger6; the soft interior part,
dud(jg; properly, yelk (of an
break, bezoa. 2. gola, to break in
pieces, 6fa.
breast, gohorr.
breathe, dmula. 2. z&'ra.
brick, malin6.
bridge, h6go.
141 ^^^^^^1
brlia, brink, antulo.
clap, ^^^^^^1
brine/ back, ngS'a.
"^^^^^^^^H
broad, tanguali.
m&dar€. ^^^^^^^^H
broom, ^a^i.
^^^^^H
brother, agudi.
cling, tmtUinga. "^^^^^^^^H
brother-in-law, mazi.
close up, mimidzinga. 2. nida. ^^^^|
broion, t£rio.
coat, gftlgaahya. ^^1
bud(o/aJtower),mo^oT^6t: (of
com), bu^uli.
cod (of caterpillars), go. ^^H
bufalo. d'&'tio.
cold, d'i^ht; / feel cold, 6h ^H
bull, b'od-6.
^H
buri/, dira.
column. hQztt. 2. -bdla. ^H
batcher, fihang.
combat, h'ila.. ,2.\i&3saa.. (To com- ^^M
butterfly, burbudu.
bat from a distance by casting ^^H
by (near), nldzf.
spears, dz^da.) ^H
C.
compare, anam" (?). ^^H
conceal. b^nS. ^^H
calf. bSbgng. ■
conduct. h6za, ^^H
coif (of the leg), ^k-jo.
congregate, hurillo (?). ^^H
called (to be), dztilla.
content, dzobio. ^^^|
camel, hSmbal.
^^^^1
caress, d'ab'ala.
coquelish (to be), gagSda. ^^H
carob-lree, mag&l.
corner, gSlgg'dz. ^^^^1
cornhouse, gadzarna. ^^^H
cartilage, ggnggerfidz.
cast, d'liga. 2. fa.
cof^a^e, ggmbuk. 2. tu^'uI(Ar.). ^^^1
catch, mufa.
cough, hoainga. ^^^H
ca(cA {something which falls from
council, bur^o. ^^H
above), lagargadinga.
count, ^@'ra, bdna. ^^^H
caterpillar, mud (?).
country, *dir. ^^^|
cautious, garg.
«(.«. ba|a.
courageous, bonggdng. '2. b'il- ^^H
b'izi (;<(. viar)-ior-hearted). ^H
ceiling {of a room), hogo.
cousiB (son o/my mother's sister). ^^H
cmimf, dia^a.
od°bo. ^H
chain of iron {for cajilwes).
cousin (daughter of my mother's ^^H
d-ong(?).
sister), 'mbri. ^^|
chalk. beib6t6'.
bang. ^^H
cAase aicoy, gaga.
coward. bOmo. ^^^|
cheat, ma'&la.
1 cheek, haiigg6.
crocodile, dabr6. ^^^H
eheerfal. bisar^.
crois, duk'm. ^^^M
cAno, dzagala.
crow. g6rno. ^^H
child. giSfi i g65.
crude (not cooked), gugoang. ^^H
chisel, gal6.
cnxel. b'Ub'iz! (tit. warrior- ^H
chlorosis (green sickness), d'fi'za.
church (grayer-house), fibiilli
hearted). ^H
crup. crupper, abongo. ^^^|
ngi'nS or ahuUberfi.
cry, mtlra ; to cry, weep, ba. ^^^H
cistern, ^fimbulang.
cuckoo, gugfl. ^^^H
cfiSar (/nusic. instr.viith strings).
cucumber. eriS'. ^^^^^1
banggarang.
^^^^^^H
c/aci(iM(A(Ae/n?ers), U'da.
geda, gyi (?). ^^^^^^B
142
D.
dance, h&'ssa.
daughter, muz^ng.
day, ^moshyo.
deady muz^'.
dead body, fifid.
dear, hdlla.
deceive, m&'&la.
deep, b*ili6.
desirous, gugdz.
despise, hafi^.
devour, hiiga.
dew, gadzia.
die, gid.
dig, hud*a. 2. b*dla ; /o dig up,
b^ra.
diligent, maha.
dirt, f^ra. 2. did'e. 3. gurr^'.
disappear, d'oga.
disdain, hafia.
disgust, bubiidz.
disgusted (to he), bubddza.
divide, b*(ia. 2. talaba.
diviner, nagurge.
dogt kal6 ; a sort of greyhound,
zollLg.
door, darhad*e.
dough, idze'.
</ot;e, zanggoar. 2. gorl. 3.
^urgddu.
down, hoa.
rfott7«, /ix, f§d'6f6d'e.
draw, zua. 2. dz6d*a ; to draw
along, gur&; ^o draw atpay, zi-
baho (?).
dream, fe'zinga.
drink, me'ra.
drive (cattle), mag^.
dry, sht^.
rfwcA: (wild), mare (?).
</tf//, ung.
dung, gddlng. 2. unggdng.
c/ti^^, runggii; dust- cloud, g(il-
gulu.
dwelling (under the earth), diho.
dwarf, humuri.
ea^/e, bdsmia (bashmia).
ear, ill6.
ear -wax, ill^o gassi (/i7. 6*'«er q/"
Me ewr).
earn, d*edza.
earth, dzaga; a white sort of
earth for cleansing weapons,
bdrbuza.
east, ^ssur.
eat, ghinga.
ebony, dari.
echo, goe ghyo.
eclipse (of the moon), lawinzo ;
properly the name of a mytho-
logical animal which is said to
devour the moon (during the
eclipse),
egg, holholo.
eight, madabhaleng (?).
elbow, gong^&'leng.
elephant, mad6.
empire, dar.
envious, ne'dzio.
equal, namui.
exchange, mdla,
exercise, dabard.
extinguish (fire for inst,)y le'b'za.
eye, ar6.
evening, gud'uffe .
F.
face, ar^'dyo.
fainting, gudufi (?).
fall, Ifl^dssa.
false, gudzdng.
falter, dagana.
famine, *hul6no.
finger, habb^lo.
finish, mlidza or mddziuga.
fire, mo.
first 'born, h^gaga.
fish, d'&gul.
five, mag^zd.
flaily b'ab'a.
flame, tuti'.
flash of lightning, agassa.
flower, gugd.
flute, alfendzin.
fly, biina.
fly, hor6ng.
foaly mur%5d.
fog, buk.
^^1
fold up, tnuguiia.
go on horseback, haya or hayn ^^^|
food, binding.
maragundi {lit. to mount on ^^H
fool, dzure .
horseback). ^^H
foot, ho.
ifoat. mia ; roebuck, h&t ; the lap- ^^M
fool-step, ftnhS'ra.
pels of a goat, gargade, ^^M
forehead, aregundi {lit. above the
goatherd, h£zemi6. . ^^H
eyes).
gold, hodai a certain piece of gold ^^H
foreign, dzidz6.
used as coin, d'ill. ^^H
forest, adod6.
good. dzab. 2. godi. ^^H
foreteller, nagurge ; {another
gourd, ging^azi ; {another sort), ^^^|
sort), zauggur.
ago are. ^^H
forge, didza.
grandfather, bobod'uni. ^^H
forget, d'o^ or d'oSoinga.
grandmother. o6. ^^H
forgetful, zhh'is&'i {lit. heartless).
grape. iaaiigg6. . ^H
fortune, kin.
grass, n^'ra; {another sort),A'azo. ^^H
/ounfain, hugtld'.
four, man^mo.
b'rr'nggadu. ^H
free, bade .
^I'^et, g^ra. ^^H
freei;e (I feel cold), ali d'az6.
guinea-worm, lagunzg. ^^H
friend. habS. 2. mSad'S'.
gun (or something similar, carried ^^H
frightened, raarang.
on a camel's bark). ermeS. ^^H
frog, gSiiMft'ss ; (another kind).
^H
g6£'ghot.
j^H, harSlo (?).
hail, g'shyo. ^^^H
funnel. gad6.
^^^^1
half d'itfa. 2. -zaloa. ^^H
G.
Ao^^hed'a. ^^H
join, d'edza.
halting, d'aguti. ^^^^|
ffarden, gong. 2. gft'aga.
hammer, duge'U ; a great ham- ^^^H
gargariae. lugurgfidinga.
^^^H
general {Qommander-in-chief per-
hang, raarad'a ; to hang, ^rad'a. ^^^H
haps also vice-king), mag&Aaa^.
hand, h^bba. ^^M
hand-boa. denak {only used by ^^M
genius {tutelar), aiiumang (not
everybody has his tutelar genius.
children, this weapon not being ^^^^
but only distinguished persons).
in use with men). ^^^H
gemini, bure.
get ready, mfldza or mtidzmga.
hard. Uzm. ^H
get up {from bed), hfiya.
Aare, ho^6rv. ^^^M
giant, g^nzul.
hare-lip. b'uantSe. ^^H
giddy, zirlng.
hawk, glgza. 2. zl>ngga. ^H
give, andd or &L
^^H
give may, b^rshiaga. 2. zibah6(?).
head. alio. ^^H
giraffe, 'hhrT&'yo{}).
headache, bun alio. ^^^H
girl, muzang.
A«aA&y. bade'. ^^1
gland, dizo.
Aeop. dy&ma {Arab, ?). ^^1
gla^s. bad6.
Aeu;J up. h6dza. ^^^H
globe, migit.
hear, hal^yo (f). ^^H
glowing {of coals or iron), h6gaga.
Aeart, ^6. ^^H
2. ror^gin iigat, d'ammiit.
heavy, ne'd'i, ^^^^|
go, ada ; to go away, ngenzia ; to
Aei^jre, dzaudzalar^ (?). ^^^^^H
144
heel, holng.
hem, glgza.
hen, midz^' hao.
herdsman, haz6.
here, an#. 2. 1^.
high, g&d&rl.
hill, b'ago.
hiss, sh6k,
hit (a mark), 4clza.
hoarse (of the voice), shill'^-ngdlo.
hobble, h^d'a.
hold, Xk'mA ; to hold fast, f^n-
ge'dza. 2. gelg^Ldza.
hollow, bdrio.
home, ha6ai.
honest. Vizi.
honey, ngllnz^'. 2. dud(ig (?).
Aoo/i d*6d'oro.
Aor», balulo.
horse, mure', mur4; a black horse,
digiling; to go on horseback,
hdga or haga murd gundi.
hot, darang, 2. bad*e'.
house, shlilli. 2. hao. back-
house, ngandung.
how, as, mid'^L 2. na.
hump (of a camel or buffalo), \)?jg6.
hump-back, shilgit.
hundred, g^dzri (?).
hunger, hulang. The ngari (see
Annotations) is able to see the
hunger; he says that it looks
like an ass, — To die by hunger,
gik hulangyo.
hunt, fid*a.
husk (of a nut, 8(C,), gundi (lit
back),
hydrophobia, m^ala.
hydrophobous, melUa.
I.
/, ali.
idle, zk'zk,
increase, h6dza.
inflamed (of the eyes), galbang.
insult, bH za.
invite, b'dha.
iron, d*ong.
island, ghi^lo.
J.
Jerk out (of horses), gia^
Joint, bulz(i. The knots on a reed
are also called bulzu.
Joy/ul, hodyo.
Jump, gud'a.
Junket, ^muru (?).
K.
keep,d"k'm&; to keepfast, holj^odzB.
2. felinge'dza. 3. ge'lg^dza.
kid, ^mL
kind, bizare.
king, *gorr.
kiss, dzot.
kiss, dzota.
knee, ndub^ng (?), guzung (?).
knife, handgir.
knock, abdd. 2. fia. 3. zabuta.
knot (on a reed), bulzii.
knot, ldg"za.
^ow,m&'ada; (not to know), zk'la.
L.
ladle, aliing.
lamb, merre' g6a (lit. child of a
sheep),
lame, d'a^utl.
language, r&'a.
lappets of a goat, gargade.
larynx, b&M.
lazy, zA'zk,
lead, hoza.
leaf, ill6 (prop, ear),
leather (tanned leather), zargada.
lentil, hidT.
lie, alia.
lie (tell lies), zawa, or gyd zawa
(lit, to cut lies),
lie- teller, bochor (prop. hare),
light, haf^ti.
light, dara.
lion, lilacb^.
lip, indulo, ndulo.
listen,i^,Tli.6 (lit, to put on the ear),
little, gozl. 2. dz^'di.
lively, garur6.
liver, n^h^.
lizard, hond*ogo; the female,
l^nggio. 2. bok. 3. mimi.
145
load (a gun), zaffa.
load (to load upon), hod'a.
locust, band6. 2. zir6. 3. b'^r-
r^ngadu. 4. hdngu. ,
long (of time), bid'^.
long {of space), godzoni.
look (to look/or), fe d'a. 2. g^wa.
to look round, kina.
looking-glass, numdntara.
loose, gog6d.
loose, beda.
lose, d'ogoinga.
Lord, shar.
louse, d'ini.
low (not loud), medzede.
lukewarm, d'ess^.
lungs, d'od'oz.
M.
madman, dzure.
maize, muchul§.
make, ga, ganna.
ma;t, ndlmili. 2. giawule' or in-
dewul§'.
mane, sh°d(igu.
manure, gading. 2. unggung.
marry, ^&a.
mass, dyama.
meadow, d*afat. 2. gurr.
meagre, i&^dl. 2. y&nggld.
9n€al, g61a.
measure, anam" (?).
meat, o6ng.
medicaments, zammuk (Ar. ?).
melon, g^kun. 2. arabd.
mend, lagd'a or lah*d'a.
merchandize, zimbil.
merry, gM*a. 2, hodyo.
met (to meet with), bur5a.
middle, bular6.
milk, err.
milk, b'to'a.
mist, buk.
mix, ta^za.
modest, bud^.
money, h6da.
monkey, mog61.
mooit« zigi.
morning, 'zaba ; /tW before stm-
rt^e, o^ndye.
mo5^, gmgoni.
mother, dadl.
moulding (roundthe walls of aroom,
to place utensils), m^rgele.
mount, baya.
mouth, and(i ; antu (?).
much, many, d'uni.
muck'fly, gira.
N.
nail (on the fingers, toes), maz6.
naked, ^amVun.
nape, tl^'ng§,.
narrate, dzedzdma.
nauseousness, bubddz.
navel, inlLdz''rS,'mbS,^ 2. 'bullu.
near, lizd.
neck, tk'ngSt..
needle, ndllli.
nest, dula.
net, ddzdgi.
raet(;, hotl.
new-born , gawia (of men and ani-
mals), 2. nagadzi (of animals
only).
night, habi^n.
nine, haUi6.
nipple, errindu.
nod (of sleeping persons), nodoz-
dinga.
nod (to nod at), ^arbidza.
noise, gurgur. 2. h&'rrhlLrr.
north, hiri.
nose, amung.
not, wald (Ar,).
nothing, zari.
now, nahar^e (Ar.).
O.
oar, aliing.
obey, halayo (?).
oblivious, zarb issi (lit, heartless),
oblique, l^mguim^.
obtuse, nuziir.
offend, l&'nga.
offering, b'iind*u or Vand'u.
oil (to anoint the body, used by
warriors), b'ilbale.
old, bardng. 2. mill or milal6.
old man, baring gdal^.
146
old woman, madz.
olhe, shyo.
once (in old times), b^d*6.
one, mod'oeoDO.
onion, b*lya.
open, udd (ut^?).
orphan, wa6.
ostrich, midze amurCj.
ox (^castrated), huhii.
oxen-herd, bazahangu (?).
owl, horor688.
P.
pain, bun*e.
pan(of clay , for roasting), ng^z&'.
2. gigh6.
pass by, dzara.
patch {for mending), lagd*a.
pea, d*ab*ai1. 2. 'nggog6ng.
peace, zelea. 2. giimu.
pearl, manzi.
peel off, dzira.
penis, gurr^.
people, fa or b5^.
pepper (pip. nigr,), fllfil. 2.
(capsic. annuum), *ze'a.
pharynx, ngaloyo (?).
pick up, bera.
jp»7e, d'aDggul.
pincers, banggass. 2. domo.
pinch, dzama. 2. m^'daga.
j9tpe (tobacco), daiia.
j9t7c^, ninggd.
pitcher (water-), h&zi. 2. azli.
3. a very great one with a nar-
row opening, humbull.
place, ano.
place, h6d*a ; to place back, ng^'a ;
to place down, tdra (dara ?).
plate, lagat.
play, ilud (?).
pluck, b6ra. 2. flda or fira.
poisonous (of plants), fii.
polish, d*dVala.
pond, dz^rire.
jpoo/, zurr^'-
pork, hiissuru.
porcupine, •beng.
pot, gighi ; (a little one), di*^6ru.
/lOKr, b'od'a. 2. hod'a; to pour in,
dyd.
praise, ge g^a.
/7ray, ng^'na or ang&'na.
press, dirrhidza. 2. ghima. 3.
b^iaza.
property, kin.
proud, g&rri ; ^o 6e proud, g&rfa.
prudent, farar§.
/ni//, fida or fira ; /o /w// out, dzoda.
puncher, banggass.
punice, ^dze.
purling, wazwaz.
purse, boro.
put, h6d'a ; to put aside, te'h^la ;
to put a thing again on the place
from whence it has been taken,
ng&'a; to put in, tara; to put
down, agya.
Q.
quick, quickly, bira or biraho.
R.
rags, gedengge .
rain, r& ; it rains, rk bidfe.
rainbow, massa'll.
ram, bdnganga.
raven, gomo.
raw, crude, gogoang.
razor, gidzfe'.
red, bene', beni.
reed, male. 2. 'mbllili.
reflection (of light), dorrddrr.
relate, dz^dzama.
remain, g(ita.
resembling, namul.
rest, giita.
return, ngod.
reverberate, d^'g^la.
rib, hele.
rich, b'ad*i.
ring, dol6.
ripe, man§.
rise, hdya.
river, dal#.
rock, bar.
rod, mard.
roof, shuU all6 (liT. head of u
house). 2. g&gy^'.
147 l^^^^^^l
room, aiio.
kamiz (Ar.). ^^^^^^^^H
root. fill.
sAore, bulindu. 2. .bulo. ^^^H
rotted, dzoaingge.
short, gad'isei. 2. hatid'i. ^^^|
rough. gSagSazi.
shot. zawutA (Ar.), ^^^|
rounrf.nani«16(?),ngmgSr(?).
rub, htiza.
shove away. bana. ^^H
rudder, alQng.
shrug (ones shoulders), himidza. ^^1
ruiB, dzoaingg^. 2. bagalo.
shuttle, hon^orr. ^^H
sick, fimudzti . 2. badiagging. ^^H
run, bliaa.
rwnnn-, bumbdng.
sickle (a sickle-like instrument for ^^M
fT«i. aba.
culling grass), b'izida. ^^H
S.
side, gario. ^^H
sign (to make a), garbidza. ^^H
sack. Vgiif.
sign, garliidz. ^^H
sacrifice, b'uod'a or b'aiid'a.
silent (to be), gdda or guda Hah. ^H
saddle, mad'g.
2. bua mazing. ^^^H
saliva, murgit.
silver, zring. ^^^^|
save, b'ada.
^^^^1
scarf, marilgo.
^^^1
scorn, hifia.
sister, 'mbo. ^^^^^^H
scorpion, egg.
d'^'ngoza. I^^^^^^^l
•orfljw. scratch, ^"da. 2. feta.
^^^^H
secofe cornulum, kuzu.
slack, gogfid. ^^^^^1
sediment, badza.
slave, danddmm. ^^^H
sesrf. ne'bena.
sleep, zlza (>» Hobila). dersha ^^M
senseless (of a leg, for instance.
(in Fanoglo). ^^M
after having been pressed during
sleepy, nod6dziiigl. ^^^H
a certain time bg the other),
slide, ba'ra. ^^H
gadundfiiT.
slime, haring. ^^^^|
serpent. gurS. Different sorts of
slough, zurrg. ^^^^|
serpents are : gurg roili (black
smack, fia halio (?). ^^H
serpent) ; gure gaizi (green) ;
sma//, bidigidzl. 2.dzg'di. S.gozl. ^^H
gurfe beni (red, not poisonous ;
small-box, ger6ngger6ng. ^^H
children play with it) ; mab'ng
smell, ngoni (?). ^H
(green and very dangerous) ;
smiling, murgeES. i^^^H
gagu (green, changes the co-
jfmifA, ha|ull. 2. gihin. ^^H
lour); gagulo (very thick).
jDioie (fo6acco), mS'ra dada (lit. ^^H
servant, dandAmm.
fo rfrtnA the pipe). ^^H
set free, beda.
MioojA, rabazl. ^^^H
set on fire, dira.
smooth, d'ab'ala. ^^^H
shafi of a spear, mundfe.
snail, iQashg6. ^^^|
shake, ligirgidinffa.
snare, dghg'. ^^H
sharpen, abild.
snare, zgra. ^H
Steve, ge^dza.
«i]t#, za6t (Ar.). ^H
she. ni6r&.
vnuj^. zViVa. ^^^1
sheep, mfirre.
soak, biid'a. ^^^^^B
shell, ^ule.
^^^^^^1
shield, haru. 2. shild6 (if is qua-
soctcfy. °g:izoa. ^^^^^^^H
drangula,).
soft, d'az(iri. ^^^^^^^^^|
148
soften (by rubbing), huza.
soldier, bongg6rre.
son, godl.
son-in-law, mddu.
soot, bel^t.
sorceress, gira.
soul, guzCinggun.
sound, badi'.
sound, tintilinga.
sour, b'eti. 2. dzotl.
south, belgundi.
sow, fada ; to sow by sticking the
seed, f^dza.
spade, ho6 or hot 6.
spare, mudza.
sparkle, moTwckg^d (lit, fire-dust),
sparrow, d*id'i.
spawl, gudza.
speak, ^lla.
spear, berr ; a spear with barbel-
hooks, hereng or h^rheng ;
the iron piece on the shaft, to
make the spear heavy, b'^ss.
spectre, halal6.
spider, barbat.
spin, zud.
spindle, mud' a.
spirit, guziinggung; (man's : the
thinking principle in man),
oroingging.
spittle, gudzd. 2. murga.
splashing (of the water), dzanggoL
splendour, rarazingl (?).
splinter, fe'ra. 2. ddnak. 3.
ab'ald.
split, b'ud. 2. ab'ald.
spoon, '^b'ald.
spring (well), hugCit.
spring-time, guzdndu.
spy, magurg6.
squeeze, ghima. 2. dlrrhidza.
squinting, galare.
squirt (of the rain), rMza.
stable, mdda.
stag, turb^'n.
staggering, zirlng.
stained (grey and black, of ani-
mals), borr6ng.
stake, d'dnggul.
stammering, borodz.
stamp (on the ground), zild.
stand, b'e'la.
star, idzo.
stare (bird) ?, gordzodz6.
stay, bud.
stick, hadid.
stick (to stick in), zifa.
stiff, h&rre.
sting (of trees, plants), *rab*6.
2. anze ; (of animals), *fid.
sting, zu^a.
5^tr, miila. 2. bira.
*/ocA: (q/* trees, plants), ho (/iV.
stocking (royal), ar*ho.
stomach, tuldz.
stone, b^le.
stork, tara.
straight, bengy6.
strainer, atind.
stretch (to stretch oneself),
dzod"6(?).
string, marra ; (q/* Ao^^), dze ra.
5^2{^, zafa. 2. dia^a.
5/ttm;? (q/* a felled tree), hungiit.
stupid, ung.
stutter, ddgana.
stutterer, ddgan.
subterranean world (the future
world according to the creed of
the Fazoglo people), gule.
suck (to suck out), ngdra.
sun, m6zo.
swallow, zir6.
swallow, d'6Dga. 2. ndgua.
sweat, bar5dDg.
sweat, bar56 (barod ?).
sweep, fea.
swell (of rivers), hdza.
swing, shuinga.
swim, guda or guda feri.
swollen, ba^dshl.
sword, temmer.
T.
.ttsnia, miwa.
tail, 'bor6ng.
take, hdd*a« 2. domd.
talk, ^alla.
tallow, lumg6.
149
tamarind (?), malat.
tame, budza. 2. ha6.
tanning-bark, dzawa.
tape-worm, rdwa.
taste, her^'ba.
teacher, achorar^.
tear, dz^b'ira.
tear (to tear into pieces), b'u6 ; to
tear out, dz6da.
ten, madoma.
tendon, hd&m,
tent, gambuk.
tepid, bata16.
testicle, dosl (dori ?).
thrash, huma.
there, aganda .
thick, dundulung. 2. marzi.
thief, ■g&rra.
thigh {the upper part of the),
guniy6.
thing, gin'nd^.
thin, d'afet.
think, ehdringa.
thirst, ^uld.
this, U. 2. mb^le.
thong (of leather), z^lwa.
thou, 'ngg6.
thread, badyo ; thread for sewing,
harudze.
thretf mot6.
throat, ngallo (?).
throne {seat of the king), ■g6n*
mad*e6.
throw {to throw off), d'jQa.
thunder, bar^.
tickle, l^gergedinga.
tie, l^^g^ca ; to tie on, gdrra.
tiger, ndgura.
timorous, hurnli or hum6'.
tired, shillS'.
titillate, l^g^rg^'dinga.
tobacco, humbak.
toe, bolo ; the great toe, hodadene ,
lit. mother of the foot ; the little
toe, hogSal^', lit, the young of
the foot,
tomb, boll. 2. dlrza.
tomorrow, mufS ; the day after to^
morrow, muf^mang.
tongue, balla.
too, hazizi.
tooth-graping, horho.
torch, ahula,
tortoise, had&d&; (another sort),
rr6.
touch, b&aza or b&dza.
town, dar.
trace, anh^ra.
trachea, ngallo.
travel, r&'nga.
tree,*nggoU; ^ff(?).
tremble, gog6dinga.
trot, he'ra {}),
trumpet, btddng.
tuft {of hair), duling.
turn {to turn aside), b^hinga;
to turn back, ng&'a.
twig, *Dggolbo6 (lit, arm of a tree,
a dry twig), b^lb^za.
two, ma^&ling.
U.
udder, gez^\
ugly, bangar^.
uncle (father's brother), bobo or
g8al6(?); (father's mother's
brother), iilrw.
unequal, zanil6.
unkind, gudugdz.
unripe, j^rdS (of fruits), 2.
^^u:tlza {of com, Sfc).
untrue, gudz&ig.
urtica, b'amb'dlung.
V.
valley, bard*^.
vanquish, g&ra.
vanquisher, g&d. 2. manggd (see
Annotat,\
verge, mara.
victim (to be sacrificed), b*und*u.
vine, mangg6g&l&.
vivacious, garure.
void, zar^. 2. do|;§.
vomit, gulnga or g5^.
W.
wait, d*insa. 2. bud. 3. V^'la.
wanton, eaer&da.
war, b*ila.
warm, bati.
150
wart, gard*^.
wash, gidza.
wasp, mod*6ng.
water, feri, ferio (?).
wave, d^ak.
wax, ng&nzS,' ga'ss (lit, fat of the
honey),
way, g%al ; to give tc^ay , b^shinga.
we, ngani.
weak, nab'uti.
weave, gkri,
weep, ba.
weft of hair, fidzong.
weight (a certain), d'6ra; (an-
other), m^at ; btlish, &c. ; ^ ^
• d*6ra is, fadz5a.
well (spring), hugut.
west, sht^gundi (?).
wet, budzi.
whet, abila.
whip, marshing.
whistle, fendzinga.
whistle, hass^.
white, hot! ; (intens,), hohoti.
white of an egg, dighirr.
within, gbi6.
why ? *nggi6.
widow, wa6.
wild, ydru.
wind-up, nea.
wind (linen), dorbiza.
window (the hole by which light
enters into a room), ngandung.
winter (time of rains), adza^a .
wipe off, dz6a.
wire, zimmit (?).
witch, glra.
woman, n^nga.
wood, nara galla (?) ; (forest),
adod6.
woman in child-bed, habadi.
wood-worm, 'nggolmud',
wooden leg, mall.
wool (of sheep), shudugu. The
use of wool for making cloth
seems to be unknown in Fazoglo,
worm, hor6ng ; rain-worm, be-
rer6.
wound, orong. 2. acha.
wrap up, giiba. 2. nea.
wrestle, ddla.
wrestling, d^u.
wrong, perverse, gadab'i.
Y.
year, rond".
yelk (of an egg), duddg.
yellow, ho|;oz1 and galzl {two
nuances).
yes. To ; ayua (Ar.).
yesterday, b^olong ; the day be-
fore yesterday, gigbe.
you, hau.
young, godi ; a young man, giaghil
or bonggorr.
ANNOTATIONS.
Fazoglo Words which could not be taken up in the Vocabulary in
alphabetical order,
azanzang, a bird similar to our swan, but not web-footed ; it is
eaten. 2. a worm, very long, with many feet.
bang, a weapon of wood, about three feet long and of this form,
j^s. provided with iron stings. It is also worn by
^ women, but only as an ornament on holidays.
burbuza, a sort of white earth, like chalk.
balmoi, a plant; weedings in corn-fields.
bird, a beetle, similar to our gold-beetle.
bulmidz^, a tree with eatable fruits. According to the superstition
of the people, it has its origin from the dung of a sacred bird of
the same name (mtd^^ means bird).
151
Bubu, name of a fabulous persoo out of the old celebrated family of
the Horone. He was a ma^cian, and is eaid, among otlier deeds,
to have once saved the town ShutC, ■which was besieged by the
people of Met, by Eending against them swarms of bees as great
as birds, which etung the foes oa their noaea and killed them all.
In Hobila. the native town of Dabro, tiere is still now a very old
tree, {'nggole Bvbu), sacred to Bubu. Upon an altar which is
erected under this tree, sacrifices are offered to his memory on
certain days of the year. His spear is still preserved as a sacred
relic, 5
bdrbade, an ornament of silver of this form ^^^ worn in the alx nasi.
bob&rdss, a tree. £ ^J
°b&i, an animal : by touching it, it causes a burning on the hand,
similar to that caused by touching an urtica.
b'isd, an insect similar to our ant.
dagalgnzang, a long worm with many feet.
doloring, an armlet of silver engraved with Arabian words.
duhilu, a flower of red colour.
rfyrtnSe', a tree ; fruits red, of the form of our plums.
digil, n tree, growing- very high and extending its branches very far.
daboh, a tree.
d'tr'ad, a night bird.
d'iri, a water-beetle.
^od'off, a bird.
d'id'i, a little bird which is eald to have its nest between tbe horns
of the tarrio (buffalo f).
dzora, a part in tlie interior of the body (?).
dzememio, an insect which collects honey like the bees ; perhaps
bunJbte-bee (?).
dzargamio, a little insect of bad odour ; sometimes it becomes very
dangerous by creeping into the ear of sleeping persons.
diarr^ndyo, a bird.
dsabita, to suck (?).
dz^g^o, a beetle, the fteccs of which are so sharp and poisonous
that they corrode the human skin and make persons hUnd when
brought in contact with the eyes.
fita, a kind of broom, made of dago, a plant.
fio, a large free place, near Hobilit, for military esercises. It is also
the name of a saint,
jSfit, a reed, of the seed of which oil is expressed which is used to
anoint the body.
gagu, a reed, similar to tbe Spanish reed; it ia used like this for
twisting.
girdaga, a kind of salt, used as snuff.
ga£&, a red sort of clay, used to cover the interior walls of tlie room ;
by mixing it with clay of other colours a kind of artdficial marble
is manufactured.
galghlh, a tree which produces a very hard resin, used for cementing.
Goia, a Fazoglo saint ; his history is siuiilar to that of Bubu.
VOL. IV. a
152
gdrd^a, a tree, the touching of which is said to originate warts on
the hand; its root is used as a medicament against the con-
sequences of the scorpion's hiting.
ghfh, a tree extending its hranches very far, so that cottages may
be built upon them.
gurdzogo, a singing-bird, of a black-grey colour.
gagdnd^hl, an insect similar to our wasp.
gumbut a military covering of the head, a kind of cap made of leather
or fur, with a hair-bush. ^ ^
gondcdl, an ornament of silver of this form vTv^^;^?^ worn in
the septum narium. ^^=^ v^:^
gori, a bird similar to our dove.
gafa, a tree like the walnut-tree ; the nuts, which are very sweet, are
also called gafcu
gul^y the place whither the souls of deceased persons go.
hassar, a tree ; perhaps aloe.
hugunazo, a little animal which is said to be wholesome for wounded
parts.
Himbi, a lake near Hobila, with pure drinkable water, surrounded
with very high shadowy trees. Before drinking of the water it is
necessary to pray to the spirit Himbi, to whom the lake belongs.
hdndzara, a poisonous mushroom.
'Hodi, an old Fazoglo saint.
huU, a little wild beast, similar to a cat.
hadza, a plant by which it is possible to make oneself invisible,
which enables the eyes to see subterranean treasures, &c. &c.
Hdrmine, a female saint who is venerated as the goddess of the rain.
LibVd, a tower near HobilH, very old and in ruins. It has been built
to the memory of deceased distinguished warriors, by whose souls
it is said to be inhabited. Children are afraid to pass by it in
night-time.
lafe, two pieces of ebony, ^x^^^^^^^xN ^^^^^ ^® clapped one
against the other during ^^""^ vJ the dance.
mogOy an animal similar to our chamois ; its horns, gigM, are used to
preserve gold-corns.
mbillis, a precious stone, red ; another sort is mandyor.
milgia, a sort of grey clay used for manufacturing vessels ; it becomes
red when burnt.
7nar^, an insect which undermines the earth ; it is said to undermine
houses, so that they fall in ruins. It is afraid of ashes, and may
be chased away by strewing it on the ground.
mashgdf mabudzi, mahdz^ra, mamdt, mahorhen, mab^'lb^d^, mahazizi,
names of different sorts of beetles.
muri, a chain of differently coloured stones, used as ornament.
mog&'l, an animal similar to the monkey, but its meat is eaten (?;.
mdnzilu, a pendant of pearls, ornament worn in the ear-laps.
'mbadzara, the seed of the sugar-cane.
nuss, a plant similar to our ivy ; it bears eatable fruits (?).
nu8s nagura, ivy ; nagura means ' tiger' ; the tiger is said to like the
ivy and to make its harbour in it.
153
ngongonding, a rape-like plant, of narcotic effects ; the root is used
to send children to sleep. Dabro has dictated a little song, which
is an Aya bohaya of the Fazoglo people :
" ngong6ndinga ashinoa dya g5a-o, (repet,)
gawul6ng ^uldng gddya zur^b'edT'-o,
b^nda bulydnga gandm budz^bia'-o."
I am unable to give a translation of this song, Dabro not being in
Munich at this moment.
ozdnzolo, a bird of which Dabro has narrated a good many very sin-
gular things. It is black and of the size of a stare ; it has a human
voice, and is able to speak intelligibly, and really to converse with
men. When a child is in the neighbourhood of a poisonous serpent,
it babbles and speaks so long till the child understands the words
and saves himself by running away. When a wanderer has lost
the right way, the ozdnzolo comes to his aid and indicates the
direction in which he is to go. When warriors are following
an enemy and have lost the trace, the oz6nzolo speaks from a
tree to the chief and serves as his guide, &c. All this was
firmly believed and asserted as true by Dabro ; who said that he
himself had often spoken with the oz6nzolo when a child and a
boy of seven to eight years. Probably the song of the bird is of
such a kind that it seems to imitate the human language.
zqf^kf a bird of prey.
za'mo, a disease ; it is properly the name of an old magician who is
said to have created this disease.
ziring, an ornament of silver ^^"^^ worn in the exterior part of the
ear, fastened by a needle. \Jf
Ngari, a magician, who makes a very important figure in the nar-
ratives of Dabro ; but the indications are so obscure and often so
contradictory, that I wish to converse still oftener with my pupil
before giving an account of the ngart.
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
JUNE 22, 1849.
The Rev. W. J. Rbes in the Chair.
! elected a Member of the
Tlie Rev. Lord Arthur Hervey '
Society.
A paper was then read ; —
" On the Nature and AnalyBia of the Verb :" — Conlinwd. By the
Rev. Richard Garaett.
Wenowcume to a class of tongues, which, when the circumstance b
of those who speak them ore considered, might (2 priori bethought as
likely as any to eshibit the phajnomena of language in nearly their ori-
ginal state, namely those of the great Continent of America. Our
knowledge of them indeed only datee from the sixteenth century; hut
we also know, that before that time they had neither been corrupted
by the caprices of writers nor the refinements of grammarians. We
then may safely regard all principles of formation common to them
and those of the Old World as equally original, and inherent in the
very nature of language.
The scanty and unsatisfactory nature of the materials at present
accEEsible, renders a general and connected analysis of the verb tn
the South American languages an undertaking of no small difficulty.
Many dialects are barely known by name ; of many others we have
nothing beyond meagre and inaccurate vocabularies ; and those that
have been gTammatically analysed, have been commonly treated by
men disposed to refer everything to classical models, and to find
everywhere something like Latin cases, moods and tenses. The
multiplicity of forms and the uncertainty of their proper analysis is
another great obstacle. Besides the absolute, oblique and possessive
forms of the pronouns, we often find triplicate and even quadruplicate
sets employed in the conjugation of the verb, each tense having its
appropriate one. Sometimes those variations may he accounted for
as being combinations of several elements, namely of particles de-
noting the time of the action, and very frequently of other pronouns
in the objective or dative case, which coalesce with the proper sub-
ject of the verb iu such a manner as to make it hardly distin-
guishable.
In other cases this solution is only matter of conjecture, or to be
inferred by analogical reasoning. But, amidst much that is iit pre-
sent obscure and doubtful, there is no lack of instances in which
the analysis of the simple tenses of the verb is perfectly certain.
The pronouns employed in conjugation are readily recognised as
such, and when this is the case, it is important to observe that they
156
commonly a^ee with the oblique forms employed as possessives,
scarcely ever with the absolute form of the nominative, except in a
few cases where the same word is indiflferently used in both capacities.
For example in the Lule, a language 8})oken to the west of the Pa-
raguay, the personal pronouns are as follows : —
1. 2. 3.
Nominative Sing. quU, ue, meoto,
Plur. ua, mil, meoto.
Genitive or 1 Sing. s, c, ce, p.
Possessive j Plur. cen, lorn, pan.
The latter set of forms is identical with the personal endings of the
ordinary verb ; e.gr., mait-ce, thy will ; loot-ce, thou art; tanta-cen,
our bread ; lopsaui-cen, we forgive.
llie identity of the oblique cases of the pronouns with the per-
sonal formatives of verbs is equally close in the Moxan, the Maipurian,
and the Mixtecan. In the Araucanian, the Betoi, the Mexican, and
several other languages, the resemblances of the two classes are con-
siderable, but do not amount to perfect identity. In Guarani and
some other tongues the same forms serve both as absolute nomi-
natives and as possessives, the personal characteristics of verbs being
totally different, while in others no resemblance can be traced in
any of the three classes ; and again in some there are five, six or
seven sets of personal pronouns, with scarcely a single element in
common. It would be vain to attempt to reconcile all these discre-
pancies with the aid of our present means of information ; the com-
parison of a number of kindred dialects might possibly help to clear
up a part of them.
Some points, from which interesting and important conclusions
may be drawn, have been obscured by the erroneous views taken of
them by European philologists. W. Humboldt, in the introductory
part of his work * Ueber die Kawi Sprache,' vol. i. pp. 188-9, among
some remarks on the structure of the South American verb, all inge-
nious, but occadonally questionable, has the following observations
on the conjugation of the Maya dialect : —
*' The affixed pronoun of the second leading class is also employed
as a possessive pronoun in conjunction with substantives. It be-
trays a total misapprehension of the difference between the noun
and the verb to allot a possessive pronoun to the latter, — to confound
our eating with we eat. This however appears to me in those lan-
guages which are guilty of the fault, to consist chiefly in a want of
properly discriminating the different classes of pronouns from each
other. For the error is evidently more trifling when the conception
of the possessive pronoun is not laid hold of with due precision, and
this I believe to be the case in the present instance. In almost all
American languages, the perception of their structure is to be de-
duced from the pronoun ; and this, in the manner of two great
branches, winds itself around the noun as a possessive, and around
the verb as governing or governed ; and both parts of speech usually
remain united with it. Commonly the respective languages have
different forms of pronouns for each class. But when this is not
157
the case, the idea of the person is connected with either part of
speech in an uncertain, changeable and indeterminate manner."
The illustrious author seems to regard the agreement of the pos-
sessive and conjugational pronouns as a sort of error in language,
originating in the want of due discrimination on the part of those
who commit it. It is apprehended that the error is not in the lan-
guage, or the people who speak it, but in ourselves, when we attempt
to adjust apparently novel grammatical phsenomena to our own
preconceived ideas. Were the instance of the Maya language a soli-
tary one, there might be room for suspecting some error or cor-
ruption in the matter. But when we find a multitude of languages
in all parts of the known world in the same predicament, we may
venture to affirm that there must be some good reason for it. This
reason we believe to be, that there is no essential difference between
the simple noun and the verb ; and that in an early stage of lan-
guage our eating might very well mean precisely the same thing
that we eat does at present. With respect to the Maya language in
particular, the framers of it can hardly be suspected of inability to
discriminate between the different classes of pronouns, there being
few nations who make so many distinctions as they do. They have
four different sets of conjunctive pronouns : one employed before the
verb or noun as a sort of auxiliary or verb substantive ; another in
the same capacity after them ; a third serving as possessives and
conjugational pronouns with nouns commencing with consonants ;
and a fourth employed with the same parts of speech when they
begin with vowels. Besides all these they have long and distinctly
marked forms for nominatives absolute : tinmen, ego ; tinmenel, tu ;
tumen, ille ; tamen, nos, &c. Now they could certainly employ the
last-mentioned class in conjugating the verb, if they entertained the
same ideas about nominatives and their necessary conjunction with
verbs that are current among European grammarians. But instead
of saying tamen zaatzic, we forgive, as according to Humboldt's
reasoning they ought to have done, they choose to employ c'zaatzic,
just as they say, cziipil, our sin; or, ca-yum, our father. We
may surely give them credit for knowing how to combine the ele-
ments of their own language in a proper manner and according to
rational principles. And if we find it difficult to reconcile their
system with our own /, we, ye, they love, it may be as well to in-
quire whether they or ourselves have departed furthest from the ori-
ginal principle of formation.
With respect to the North American dialects, at least some of the
principal ones, our means of information are tolerably ample. Much
light has been thrown on their organization by the labours of Eliot,
Zeisberger, Hecke welder, Schoolcraft, and more recently by Howse,
whose Grammar cf the Cree language contains, along with a good
deal of questionable reasoning, a valuable collection of materials. It
is pretty universally recognized that these Northern languages do
not differ as to their general character from those of Southern and
Central America. Du Ponceau does not hesitate to say, that all the
languages from Greenland to Cape Horn are formed upon the same
s 2
158
principle. This is rather a hazardous assertion to make, while there
are so many of which we know absolutely nothing ; but it is be-
lieved to be substantially correct, as far as our present means of in-
formation extend. The most remarkable feature of the family to an
European is the polysynthetic character of the verb ; in other words,
its capability of aggregating the component parts of an entire clause
of a sentence into a single word, or at least what appears as such to
the ear, and is written as such by grammarians.
There has been however a great deal of exaggeration and misap-
prehension on the subject. It would be a mistake to suppose that
every person of every tense is an intricate polysynthetic combination.
Many such doubtless occur ; but there are many others just as sim-
ple as the ordinary verbs in other languages, and substantially formed
upon the same principles. The error has been in regarding elements
as integral portions of the verb which are mere accessories, variable
according to circumstances. An Indian, for example, if he wished
to say, ** I give him the axe," would not only embody the subject
/, the dative him, together with an objective pronoun it, in one
combination, but would moreover intercsdate axe, in an abbreviated
form perhaps, but still distinguishable by one familiar with the lan-
guage. It is however clear that him, it, axe, are no integral or ne-
cessary elements. The verb still remains a verb when they are
omitted ; the only essentials of it being the subject and the root or
verbal noun. The point which we are most concerned to investigate
is the nature of the connection between the two.
It was observed at an early period by grammarians that there is
no difference between the Indian possessive forms used in combi-
nation with nouns, and the personals employed in conjugating verbs.
Du Ponceau remarks, that Eliot, in his Grammar of the Massa-
chusetts language, does not consider the pronoun as a part of speech,
but only speaks of it as a possessive form of the noun and the verb ;
and that this is in fact the principal part which it plays in those lan-
guages. He further states that there is no difference in them be-
tween the personal and the possessive pronoun in the inseparable
fprm ; they are distinguished by the sense of the phrase and the no-
minal or verbal terminations of the word to which they are joined.
Heckewelder also observes in his grammar of the Lenni Lenape or
Delaware, that the possessive pronoun is the same as th^ personal,
separable and inseparable, which is used in a possessive sense, and
that no ambiguity results from this similarity ; the meaning being
always understood from the context, or the form or the inflection of
the word with which the pronoun is combined. Howse also states
in his Cree Ghrammar, that the possessive pronouns before nouns are
expressed in the same manner as the personal before verbs ; and his
paradigms show that the forms are the same in both cases.
In the Sahaptin, an Oregon dialect, it is remarkable that there is
a duplicate conjugation of the verb, the personal pronouns in one
. division being nominatives, and in the other regularly genitives ; the
form of the root also being different for each. For example, * he is,'
according to the former construction, is expressed by ipi hiwash ;
159
but according to the second by ipnim ush ; ipnim being the genitive
of the pronoun of the third person. It seems evident that in the
first instance the supposed verbal element is in the capacity of being
put in apposition with its subject, bearing in fact some analogy to
our present participle, but that in the second it can only be attri-
buted to it in the manner of a noun substantive.
It may be observed in general terms, that there are many dif-
ferences of detail in the Northern Indian languages. Scarcely any
two have precisely the same personal pronouns throughout, or arrange
them in the same order in construction. But the agreement of those
employed in conjugating the simple verb with the possessives used
in conjunction with nouns is a general feature among them. This
does not arise from poverty of forms, there being commonly a distinct
and marked form for the absolute nominatives. These, in Cree for
example, are in the singular: 1. net ha, I ; 2. ketha, thou; 3. wet ha,
he, or it ; while the possessives and formatives of verbs are, 1 . net,
2. ket, 3. oot; or still more briefly, ne, he, oo. If therefore the pos-
sessives have the force and construction of oblique cases, it is difficult
to assign a valid reason why the conjugationid ones, identical with
them in form, and admitting of the same analysis, should not partake
of the same character.
The Greenland, of which the Esquimaux is merely a dialect, was
for a time supposed to be generically distinct from the so-called
American Indian languages, but it is now allowed that it agrees
with them in all their most marked peculiarities of structure. It
differs from all of them hitherto known in its vocabulary ; but it has
the same polysynthetic character, embodying as they do the subject
and predicate along with all their accessories, in one compact phrase ;
being one word to the ear, or to the eye when written, but sometimes
capable of being resolved into a dozen. The same remarks that
have been made respecting the pronouns of the Northern Indian
tongues are applicable to the Greenland or Esquimaux. The ar-
rangement differs, the possessives and verbal formatives being com-
monly prefixed in the former and postfix'ed in the latter ; but the
personal terminations of the simple tenses regularly resemble the pro-
nominal suffixes of nouns, not the absolute forms or nominatives.
It is true that several forms are used with nouns which do not occur
in the conjugation of the verb, but this is owing to a regard to
euphony, not to any radical difference in the elements themselves.
It has already been observed that very exaggerated and erroneous
ideas have been advanced respecting the structure of the class of
languages of which we have been treating in the present paper.
They have been represented as the products of deep philosophic con-
trivance, and totally different in organization from those of every
known part of the Old World. The author of * Mithridates' regards
it as an astonishing phsenomenon, that a people like theGreenlanders,
struggling for subsistence amidst perpetual ice and snow, should
have found the means of constructing such a complex and artificial
system. It is conceived that there cannot be a greater mistake than
to suppose that a complicated language is, like a chronometer or a
160
locomotive engine, a product of deep calculation and preconceived
adaptation of its several parts to each other. The compound por-
tions of it are rather formed like crystals, by the natural affinity of
the component elements ; and, whether the forms are more or less
complex, the principle of aggregation is the same.
There is a logical faculty inherent in the mind of attributing its
proper relations to each given subject, and, when enunciated in words,
those subjects and relations which belong to each other are naturaUy
and properly placed in juxtaposition. In the Indian languages,
and probably in many others when in their original and inartificial
state, there is moreover an evident anxiety to leave nothing implied
that is capable of being expressed within a given compass. In the
abstract, giving is a single word, denoting a simple action ; but in
the concrete, there are implied the accessory notions of a person
giving, — a thing given and a receiver ; — all of which an American
Indian would think it necessary to express in mentioning a specific
act. Languages in a more advanced state are less solicitous about
formally enunciating what can be readily supplied by the under-
standing. In the well-known passage in Alciphron, ** I want fifty
pieces of gold, and not letters — ei fjc ^(Xets, Eos,'* it is clear from
the context that the full meaning of the last word is, "give [me
money'].*' Nevertheless an Algonquin would think that he left the
matter imperfect if he did not say, ** money — give — thou — ^it — me,*'
or something equivalent. A Basque would embody all the pronouns
with the verb, but would separate the word money ; a Mordwiuian
would perhaps strike out the objective pronoun it, as superfluous,
carefully retaining " give — me — thou" ; an European thinks the
simple lbs sufficiently significant and more emphatic. In none of
the combinations, long or short, is there anything marvellous, or
anytliing implying the exercise of profound ingenuity or previous
calculation. On this point Mr. Albert Gallatin well observes : —
" The fact, that, although the object in view was, in every known
Indian language without exception, to concentrate in a single word
those pronouns with the verb, yet the means used for that purpose
arc not the same in any two of them, shows that none of them was
the result of philosophical researches and preconcerted design. And
in those which abound most in inflections of that description, no-
thing more has been done in that respect, than to effect, by a most
complex process, and with a cumbersome and unnecessary ma-
chinery, that which in almost every other language has been as well,
if not better, performed through the most simple means. Those
transitions, in their complexness and in the still visible amalgamation
of the abbreviated pronouns with the verb, bear in fact the impress
of primitive and unpolished languages*."
To this we may add, that the same method of formation is not
unknown in other languages, modern as well as ancient. In the Se-
mitic dialects, for example, the objective pronoun is regularly incor-
porated with the diflbrent persons of the finite verb, just as it is in
Basque or American Indian. Du Ponceau observes, that the French
'*' Archacologia Americana, vol. ii. pp. 202-3.
161
phrase " tu m'6to\irdis,** only differs from the corresponding Al-
gonquin in the method of writing it. He might have remarked
that the Italian combination, <faro^/^/o =dare-habeo-tibi-illud, em-
bodies in itself more elements than many of the American poly-
synthetic forms represented as so very wonderful, but which we
may be assured were formed in the same manner and on exactly
the same principles.
There are two points connected with the leading object of the pre-
sent essay which it may not be amiss to notice. The first is, that in
the American languages generally, in the Basque, and to a great extent
in the Mordwinian dialect of the Finnish, the capability of receiving
conjugational inflections is not limited to one particular class of
words, but extends to all parts of speech. Not only substantives
and adjectives, but adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, interjections,
and even certain classes of pronouns receive the pronominal affixes
and are carried through the different persons according to the usual
analogy of a transitive or intransitive verb. Now it may be fairly
inferred that where all words are or may be verbs, none are essen-
tially or peculiarly so. Their capability of assuming personal forms
evidently depends upon some principle common to all, not the pro-
perty of a single class. This we believe to be nothing more or less
thwa predication. All words express relations, and all relations may
be predicated of the subjects to which they belong. When those sub-
jects are represented by pronouns, their union with the predicates,
if according to certain grammatical forms, becomes to all intents and
purposes a verb, whatever the term might originally denote, or what-
ever class of words it might belong to.
The same extensive principle of formation may be traced in other
classes of languages. To say nothing of denominative verbs from
nouns, we have evdaijiovi^tM), fxaKapii^u), cum plurimis aliis, from ad-
jectives; \(ii)pil^tti from an adverb; — Germ, twnow, wiarow,— our own
utter, and many other Teutonic verbs from prepositions ; — the Ice-
landic efa, dubitare, from a conjunction ; alaliii and the Germ, dchzen,
to groan, from inteijections. The fact is, that the current ideas of pri-
mitive verbs, constituting a sort of native privileged class or aristocracy
in language, is totally unfounded. There is no intrinsic difference
between them and the ordinary terms constituting the mass of lan-
guage, though there is an adventitious one, resulting from their com-
bination with an additional element.
The other point appearing to call for notice is the apparently sin-
gular practice in the Greenland and many American languages of em-
ploying a different verb for every different manner in which an action
may be done. Thus in Chilian, elun is, to give ; eluguen, to give more;
eluduamen, to desire to give ; elurquen, to appear to give ; and so on,
through a long list of possible modifications. Gallatin remarks of
the Northern Indian languages, that by affixing, prefixing, or inserting
an arbitrary particle, or rather an abbreviated noun, verb, adverb,
preposition, or conjunction, the verb is made to designate the spe-
cific modification of the action ; each modification apparently con-
stituting a different mood or voice of the primitive verb.
IG2
In the Greenland language this principle is carried to an almost
unb'mited extent. Fabricius gives in his grammar a list of nearly
three hundred postpositions, by the aid of which complex verbs may
be formed from simple ones, and this by no means exhausts the
number. Some of those postpositive elements correspond to Greek
or Latin prepositions in composition ; others are adverbs, or similar
words expressive of the manner or circumstances of the action ; and
not unfrequently three, four, or even more, are appended in closely
consecutive series ; the last regularly receiving the pronominal con-
jugational affixes. All this seems very strange and intricate to us ;
but it depends in reality on a very simple principle. In such Greek
words as eTiirpoyjkia, oiowoX^w (^soltis degere), aWo<^poviu>, erepoirpotna-
v^uff the modifying elements Bie prefixed to the verb, the combination
being regarded as one word and capable of being predicated of one
given subject. In Greenland similar elements are regularly postfixed,
and with less restriction as to their number. All however relating
to the same subject are considered as forming one aggregate, and are
predicable in the aggregate of that subject, just as the Greek combi-
nations above specified are of theirs, only in a different order. As
the genius of the language requires the personal terminations to be
placed last, they thereby become immediate appendages of the ad-
verb or other modifying word, instead of the leading verb, and fre-
quently with a separation of many syllables from it. This shows
clearly that the personal terminations are no inherent portions of the
verb, evolved as it were out of its substance, like the branches of a
tree out of its trunk, otherwise they would have adhered to it more
closely. There is no want of parallel examples in languages of the
Old World, some of which we may find occasion to advert to in the
further prosecution of the subject.
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. NOVEMBER 23, 1849. No. 88.
Hensleioh Wedgwood, Esq., in the Chair.
A paper was read : —
*' On the Connection of Pope Gerbert with * the Geometry of
Boethius.' " By George Sloane, Esq.
In the editions of Boethius's collective works we find a translation
of the first four books of Euclid, or rather of the propositions or
enunciations alone. This treatise is divided into two books, both of
which purport to be a translation of Euclid, although in fact the
first only is such, the- second being for the most part a collection of
problems in mensuration.
llie so-called translation is followed by a kind of supplement or
appendix, which in the printed editions bears the title of Boethii
liber de Geometria, but in the MSS. oi Demonstratio Arth Geometrica,
With the exception of a kind of catechism of geometry and some
arithmetical observations, which seem to be nothing more than con-
fused extracts from the Arithmetic of Boethius, it contains scarcely
an3rthing but fragments from Varro, Seneca, and the Agrimensors.
It begins with an introduction on the origin and value of geometry,
part of which is to be found in the ' Outlines of Geometry and As-
tronomy' of Cassiodorus. the friend and contemporary of Boethius,
and the rest is, in the opinion of Blume, a free imitation of a passage
inAgenus Urbicus*. 'I'his introduction is followed by a collection
of extracts from Frontinus, Balbus, Hyginus, and the Libri Colo-
niarum, on the qualitates agrorum, the controversiae and the limites
(p. 395-403) ; to which are subjoined lists of nomina Agrimensorum
and of lapides finales (p. 403-406).
If we turn from the printed editions to the MSS. of the Geometry,
we shall find that they difi^er exceedingly in their contents, as well
from the editions as from one another. In the library of Berne, for
instance, there are two MSS. of the Geometry, divided into five
books, the first two of which correspond to the appendix, the third
and fourth to the first, and the fifth to the last of the printed copies.
In the older of these MSS.f the matter contained from p. 1544 mid.,
of the Basil edition of 1570, to the end is wanting; and between
* " Bei aller Verschiedenheiten im Einzelen, doch in Gedanken und Wen-
dungen einer Stelle des Pseudosiinplicius werwandt ist, so dass man sie als eine
freie Imitation des Leztern bezeichnen konte." Blume, Ueber die Handschriften
der Agrimensoren, in Rhein. Mus. fUr Jurispr. vii. p. 229. Tbe two related pas-
sages are p 64, 24 — 65, 14, and 394, 11 — 395, 14. [The references are through-
out this paper to the pages and lines of the new edition.] I confess 1 can find
no similarity in the two, beyond both containing the praise of geometry.
f The contents of this MS,, which is of the lOih century, are minutely de-
scribed by Sinner, Catalogus Codd. MSS. Bibl. Bemensis, p. 292. The title given
to the book in the MSS. is * Boetii libri Artis Geometrise et Aritmeticae numero V
ab BttcUde translati de Grsco in Latioum.'
TOL. IV. T
164
the fourtli and fifth books is inserted a piece with the title Altercatio
geometricorum de figuris numeris et mensuris (p. 407 seq.); the
fifth, besides being fuller than the editions, contains a fragment, De
Mensuris et Jugeribus, which is expressly ascribed to Frontinus,
but which is partly taken from Columella (v. 1-3), and partly from
the fragment De Jugeribus Metiundis (p. 354).
The more recent of the Berne MSS., which was written a.d. 1004,
has all that is contained in the other, and in very nearly the same
order. It has, in addition, Frontinus de Agrorum Qualitate, with the
commentary of Agenus Urbicus (p. 1-8) ; an extract from Hyginus
de Limitibus Constituendis (p. 182-191 ) ; and a fragment of Censo-
rinus de Geometria*.
There are again other MSS. which do not contain so much as the
printed copies. Such are the Harleian, Lansdowne, and Arundel
MSS. in the British Museum, none of which have the appendixf .
The Harleian and Arundel MSS. coincide in their contents with the
editions down to the beginning of the Demonstratio,or Appendix, that
is, nearly the foot of p. 1536. Immediately after the table in that
page, there are a few lines which have never been published in the ori-
ginal Latin, and the existence of which was unknown until M.Chasles
gave a French translation of a portion, in his * Aper^u sur I'Histoire de
Geometric,' from a MS. belonging to the town of ChartresJ. At
the end of this passage the Harleian has the words epilogus finitur :
and then follows in both this sentence — " Si quis vero de contro-
versiis, et de qualitatibus et nominibus agrorum, deque limitibus, et
de statibus controversiarum scire desideret, Julium Frontinum necnon
Urbicum Agenum lectitet. Nos vero hsec ad prsesens dixisse sufliciat."
Here the Arundel MS. ends, but in the Harleian we find what is
a meagre abstract of Balbus, followed by a collection of geometrical
and arithmetical problems, which are taken, in part at least, from
Nipsus, Epaphroditus and Vitruvius§.
• Sinner, I. c. p. 292. In the library of Trinity College, Cambridge, there is a
MS. of Boethius's Geometry, the contents of which are very similar to, if not iden-
tical with, those of the second Berne MS. The loss of some papers prevents me
from giving a more detailed account of it. It does not agree with any of the MSS.,
the readings of which are given by Lachman, in the order of the Nomina Agri-
mensorum, unless, indeed, there is, as I suspect to be the case, a misprint as to the
order of the Munich MSS.(w), with which it agrees in reading Claudiiand Augustini.
It is also fuller in the Nomina Lapidum. The MS,, which is probably of the
eleventh century, deserves a closer examination. Five MSS. have been used for
the new edition of the Agrimensors, two of which (a and m) apparently do not
contain the Euclid, and one (z) has only the two books without the appendix.
t These MSS. are respectively numbered 3595, 842, and 339.
X Memeires Couronnees de I'Acad^mie de Bruxelles, t. xi. p. 457. The contents
of this MS. are fully given by M. Chasles in his 'Catalogue des Manuscrits de la
Biblioth^que de Chartres.' According to Bethman it is not older than the end of
the twelfth century.
§ Only a part of these problems are published in Lachman's edition (p. 297-301).
Some of them were also published from the Arcerian MS. by Hase, in Eredow's
* Epistolae Parisinae,' p. 201 seqq., and the whole of them by Schott in his ' Tabulae
Rei Nummarise Elom. etGtaec.(Ant 1615),' from a MS. in the Cistercian Monastery
at Duyn, which had also the 'Musica et Arithmctica' of Bocthius. Is the MS. in
the public library of Cambridge (Moore 74) similar to this?
16j
Such and so varied are the contents of the different MSS. We
have now to inquire whether any and what part is to be attributed
to their reputed author.
The opinion of NieLuhr on the authorship of this treatise is to be
found in the appendix to the first edition of the second volume of his
' History.' " It is absolutely certain," says he, " that the section on
the art of marking out boundaries in Boethius's Geometry can never
have been written by the learned and talented Consular. It is a
confused heap of rubbish, almost worse even than the great compi-
lation. Boethius's Geometry, until the appearance of Pope Gerbert's,
was, with Nipsua, Vitruvius and Epaphroditus, the manual of the
land surveyors ; and by one of them has this addition, which dis-
honours his name, been surreptitiously introduced ; just as the rude
ignorance of the copyist, at least of the MS. from which it was
printed, has stript the propositions and diagrams of what was most
essential*."
Blume agrees with Niebuhr in thioking that the Demonstratio is
spurious, but ditTcra from him as to the genuineness of the Euclid.
For allowing, on the authority of Cassiodorus, that Boethius indeed
translated the Elements, he contends that the translation, which now
passes under the name of Boethius, must he considered as spurious,
inasmuch as in most MSS. it is found mixed iip with the Demon-
Btratio, and that consequently both must stand or fall togetherf .
Although it is impossible to produce any positive proof in support
of the common opinion that the translation we possess is the work
of Boethius, stiU there is a certain amount of negative evidence to
that effect. It is not disputed that Boethius did translate the Ele-
ments. Besides the testimony of Cassiodorus already alluded to, we
find Gerbert, in his Geometry, referring to the definition of some
elementary terms in geometry given b)" Boethius, and which are
apparently identical with those which we find in the treatise in ques-
tiout. With this we must combine the fact, that until the resto-
ration of the Elements in their perfect form at the close of the
eleventh century by Adelard's translation from the Arabic, there was
no work, so far as is known, which professed to be a. translation of
Euclid, save and except the meagre list of propositions which now
goes under the name of Boethius.
ITiere seems to be more force in Niebuhr's assertion, that, though
• Hi>t. i>r Kaine, translnted by Wallers, <□!. ii. p. 557.
t Rhein. Mus. ftii Jurispr. B. vii. p. !35. He conjecturea Ihm a pnrt ot the
geuuine Iranslation probably survives in ihe 14th and 15ih books ofH malhematical
work to be found in a palinipieai MS. at Verona, which ia evidently sUied to the
printed tinnslBiioti of Ihe summary of HypBidei. Whatever grounds there may be
far denjing the genuineneu of the common tratislatioo, there can he no doubt thai
Ihia conjecture is Bllagelher unfounded. For thougli the Elemeiitg coniint of
lifteen books, it is quite clear, as well from the books IhemeelveB as from other lea-
limony, that the two last were not wriiten by Euclid; and there tire very good
groandi for saying that they are Ihe work of Hypaides, who cannot have written
earlier than the aiiddlc of Ihe tilth century, that is, al least Ave-and-lwenl; yean
after Ihe denlh of Boethius. See Mr. Dc Morguii'i arlitks on Euclid and Hypiiclei
In the ' Diet, of Classical Rlograpliy.'
: Pel, Thea. Anecdol. Noviai. I. ill. parlii. D.
166
the translation is genuine, we have it only in a mutilated form.
From the remarks with which Boethius prefaces the demonstrations
of the first three propositions of the first book, we may readily as-
sume that Boethius adopted the opinion of those who considered
that Euclid only arranged the propositions, and that the demon-
strations were the work of others. The admirable literary history
of the Elements by Mr. De Morgan, in the 'Dictionary of Classical
Biography,* shows how this error raay have arisen ; and when we
find Boethius confounding Euclid the geometer with his namesake
the philosopher of Megara — a most portentous error, and one quite
inexcusable in him, — we ought not to be surprised if he also adopted
the current opinion on the subject, viz. that Theon and not Euclid
was the author of the demonstrations.
The only argument against the genuineness of the translation which
seems to have any weight, is that derived from the circumstance of
a part of the Demonstratio being inserted in the midst of the Euclid
in most of the MSS. The part so interpolated is not any of that
continuous whole, if it may be so termed, which we have called the
Appendix, but a portion of the Aitercatio (p. 407, 1-410, 7), filling
nearly two leaves in the Bamberg (b), and about one leaf in the
Rostock (r) MS. of the Demonstratio. A careful examination of the
contents of each page of the MSS. will convince any one that Blume
has made a stronger assertion than the facts warrant, when he says
that the two are completely blended together (ganz und gar vermengt),
and will at the same time show us how the confusion probably
arose*. Leaving out of consideration the two propositions of the
third book, inserted in the Aitercatio (p. 408, 3-9), all that we find
is, that some few of the following propositions (389, 28-390, 20) are
placed at the end of the Aitercatio. This may, I think, be readily ac-
counted for by supposing that a leaf of the codex from which our pre-
sent MSS. are derived, containing the portion in question, had been by
some accident transposed out of its proper place, and inserted where
we now find it. This transposition may also be accounted for by sup-
posing that the writer of the original MS. having by accident probably
overlooked or omitted the matter contained in p. 489, 28 seq., did
not discover his mistake till he had got to p. 408, 3, where he in-
serted the two first of the missing propositions, but then changed
his mind and reserved the remainder for the conclusion of the piece
he was then engaged about. I say the conclusion, for it is evident
that the following part of the Aitercatio, from p. 410, 8, does not
cohere even with the Euclid f.
That the Demonstratio did not proceed from the pen of Boethius,
few persons will be inclined to dispute. Independent of the grounds
* The sequence of the matter in the MSS. is 387, 1-22 ; 388, 20-389, 20 ;
390, 21-391, 16; 391, 24-392, 17; 407, 1-408, 2; 408, 3-9 (389,21-27);
408, 10-410, 7 ; 389, 28-390, 20.
t The conclusion of Euclid (p. 390, 20) is not far from the heginning of p. 15
of the Rostock MS., while p. 410, 8, corresponds with the latter half of the following
folio. That the writer was very stupid or very careless, is evident. See for in-
stance the confusion in 385, 21-386, 7 ; 388 ; 391, 18-26.
167
assigned by Niebuhr and Blume for denying its genuineness, the
book itself shows that it is the production of a Christian, and that
consequently it cannot have had the author of the Consolatio for its
author*.
In order to understand and appreciate Blume's opinion on the
origin of the treatise we are considering, it is necessary to say a few
words on the classification of the different MSS. of the fragments of
the Agrimensors. In the article on these MSS. which we have al-
ready had occasion to refer to, and in which everything then known
and calculated to throw light on the subject has been carefully col-
lected by the learned and able author, Blume divides the different
MSS. into four classes : — 1, that of which the Arcerian is the repre-
sentative ; 2, the MSS. containing the extracts from the Digest ;
3, the MSS. of Nipsus ; 4, those of Boethius. In the course of the
article he has endeavoured to trace, as far as his data permitted, the
history of the several MSS. which pass under review, and particu-
larly of the celebrated Codex Arcerianus, which he identifies with
the MSS. said to have been discovered by Thomas Phsedrus in the
Monastery of Bobbio, in the year 1494, and translated by him to
Romef. The Arcerian is also considered by him to be the source of
the fourth-class MSS., or those containing the treatise attributed to
Boethius J.
After insisting that the genuineness of the Euclid is bound up
with that of the Demonstratio, Blume goes on to say : — Rather
* " In quibus locls arbores intacUe stare videntur, in quo loco veteres errantes sa-
crificium faciebant," p. 401, 6. In the passage of the Liber Coloniarum (p. 241, 5)
from which this is taken, errantes is not to be found. That Boethius was a heathen
has been clearly shown by Obbarus, in the introduction to his edition of the Con-
solatio, Jen. 1843.
f Though it is difficult to deny the extreme probability of this supposition, yet
there are difficulties which make the author hesitate. The known connection be-
tween John Lasco and the celebrated Erasmus would seem to raise a presumption
that .the Erasmus whose name appears on the MS. was no other than that great
philologist. But this would go far to show that the Arcerian was not the same
MS. with the Bobbio. The MS. is not mentioned either in the Catalogue of the
Bobbio library, printed by Muratori in the third volume of the Antiq. Ital., nor yet
in the one compiled in the year 1461, and published by Peyron in his ' Commeii-
tatio de Bibliotheca Bobiensi.' In the first-mentioned list, which is as old as the
tenth century, we 6nd * Libros Boetii iii. de Aritmetica et alterum de Astronomia.'
I have not been able to 6nd any mention of the Astronomy of Boethius, except in
the St. Gallen MS. and in the letter of Gerbert, hereafter quoted.
X Afler pointing out the supposed resemblance of a part of the introduction to a
passage in Agenus Urbicus, he proceeds : — " Das Uebrige schliesst sich dem Arce-
rianus meist wortlick, und oft selbst biichstablich in sichtbar corrumpirten Lesarten
an : doch steht auch Einiges darunter, was sich sonst tcils gar nicht, teils wenig-
stens nicht in Arcerianus erhalten hat." Though this is undoubtedly true, still in
many places it deserts the Arcerian, and agrees with the Erfurdt MS. which belongs
to the third class. See, for instance, 395, 20 ; 396, 4, 5, 15 ; 403, 8, 10 ; 409, 17,
20-25. If p. 27, 12 is to be considered as the original of what we have in Boethius,
p. 397, 6 and 409^ 6, then the writer must have had a MS. of the third class before
him, for in neither of the other two classes is the first- mentioned passage to be
found. The definition of measure, which Boethius attributes to Frontinus
(p. 415, 11), is in the Jena MS. (a transcript of the Arcerian) given to Balbus ; and
in the Gudian, which belongs to the second class, to Frontinus ; and in those of the
third class, to Nipsus.
168
may Gerbert be considered the compiler of tliis Appendix. For in-
dependently of Gerbert's probable connection with the Arcerian at
Bobbio, and without reference to the MS. of the third class, in which
Goesius says he found the Epistola ad Celsum ascribed to Gerbert^
we must most especially take into consideration a MS. belonging to
De Thou, which was used by Rigaltius, and is thus described in the
Catalogue of De Thou's library : — ** Boetii Musica, Arithmetica, Ger-
berti Geometria et Rhythmomachia*." It was from this MS. that
Rigaltius copied what he called the Fragmenta Terminalia, but which
is an almost literal extract from the Demonstratio (p. 401, 10-403, 4).
He most commonly refers to the second book of Boethius, but on one
occasion he expressly mentions the revision of Boethius by Gerbert
or some one else. Another proof is, that in a published treatise of
Gerbert on Geometry, we meet with at least part of one of the ex-
tracts from Hyginus, which are to be found in the second Bernese
MS. of Boethius f. Blume however is of opinion that the work in
its present form is unworthy of Gerbert also : — " For even Gerbert
could not have dealt with the contents of the Arcerian MS. in the
awkward and silly way in which the MSS. of the pseudo-Boethius
represent their compiler to have done : and a part also of its contents
must have been derived from a MS. of the second class with which
Gerbert was not acquainted so far as we know." He accordingly
conjectures that some person living on this side of the Alps got hold
of Gerbert's extracts from the Arcerian, and by the help of these and
other similar materials, fabricated the work in question. He ob-
serves that all the MSS. of the fourth class appear to have proceeded
from Alsace or Flanders, whilst those of the third class, on the con-
trary, had their origin in Italy : and Gerbert, who was continually
moving to and fro between France and Italy, was in those times the
best medium of commimication on such matters, though his words
were often mutilated and misunderstood by his ignorant contempo-
raries.
Ingenious and plausible as this hypothesis is, the author is unable
to assent to it. It is obviously founded on the double assumption
that the Arcerian is the identical MS. found at Bobbio by Inghirami,
* According to Oudin, this MS. came into Colbert's collection, and from thence
into the National Library at Paris. (Suppl. in Bellarmin. p. 313.) This leads us to
identify De Thou's MS. with the one numbered 7185 in that collection, and which
is said in the printed catalogue to have belonged to Peter Pithou and afterwards to
Colbert. It seems to be a collection of distinct MSS. bound up together. The
Arithmetic of Boethius is of the eleventh century, and the Musica of the fourteenth,
while Gerbert's Geometry belongs to the thirteenth. In the same collection, No.
7377 C, there is another volume, containing two letters on geometrical subjects, one
addressed to Gerbert, and the other written by him, and also a MS. with the title
* Geometria Kuclidis interprete Boetio.'
f- Pez, I. c. 81. Gerbert's work was printed from a single MS. belonging to the
Monastery of St. Peter at Salzburg, which is manifestly imperfect. Blume sug-
gests that if other copies were examined, its deficiencies might probably be supplied.
The copy in the Arundel collection is still more imperfect, containing only the first
thirteen chapters. The only MS. of Gerbert in England that I have been able to
discover, is one of the twelfth century, in Sir Thomas Phillips's collection at Middle-
hill, No. 4437.
and thftt Gerbert having become acquainted with it during liis
tenure of the abbacy of Bobbio, subsequently commuiiicated a part
of its contents to the nortbera and eastern parts of France, At the
time that Blume wrote his article it was universally supposed that
Gerbert's connection with Bobbio began as early as the year 969 and
did not finally cease till 983*. The subsequent researches of Hock
have established that Gerbert did not become abbot of Bobbio till
the year 981 or 982, and that he did not continue ao above a year.
during which lime he was so engaged with secular affairs, that it
was hardly possible for him to have bestowed any attention on the
corrupt and almost unintelligible MS. of the Agrimensorst- But
granting that Gerbert did become acquainted with the Arcerian
Bobbio, this is far from establishing the conclusion attempted to he
drawn from it. Indeed I hope to make it probable that part at least
of the matter common to Boethius and Gerbert was known long be-
fore the time of that prelate.
If we caunot connect Gerbert with the Arcerian MS. at Bobbio,
there are, it seems, no reasonable gi'ounds for saying that he was more
intimately acquainted with the writings of the Agriraenaors than
any other well-educated man of his time, unless such connection can
be inferred from the statement of Goesius, that part of the Expositio
Mensurarum, which in the Arcerian bears the name of Balbus, and
in the MSS. of the second class that of Frontinus, was in hia MS.
attributed to Gerbert (Goes, in not. p. 142). Goesius goes on to
say, that he has made some corrections and additions with the aid of
that MS., and he expresses his surprise that Higalthad not done the
same, as he had the aame MS. lent to him by Uutgcrsius. Now this
MS. lent to Rigalt was undoubtedly nothing more nor lees than a
traDScript of tlie Arcerian, made by Nansiust, and consequently
Goesius was mistaken so far ; but it would he too rash to say that he
is mistaken as to what he found in a MS. which he had before him.
His. words are, " Hkc in manuscriplis adscribi video partim M. J.
Ntpso, partim etiam, ut eat in manuscripto, Domno Gerberto Papse
et Philosopbo." He distinguishes between the MS, of Nipsus and
So far as Nipsus is concerned, the difficulty may
lupposing that Goesius had one or more MSS. of
Q which the preface is ascribed to Nipsus. With
that of Gerbert.
be got rid of by ai
the third class, i
respect to Gerbert it is not e
■ easy to give any satisfactory expla-
SSS teqq.
t Gerbert odi
ErPapilSylveiter II. and
, jejn ,
lah
rhunderl.
vonC.
F. Hock, pp.
1-07 and ma-
199. The n>
rraiivc
ofRiclieiiui
ho wai th.
! sehol
ar of Gerbert,
id orote his hi
ilory >I his r.
the ea
r'ly
career of 1
hlima
iter, is in my
ini'losive agaii
i.t the'
ion opl
»io
n M to th
: If hen he be-
wiih Bohhio.-
--ILkhi
t!. Hi!
It. lib! i
ill. I
c,43M5.i:
nPett!
erniBmoi Hiit
orica, L iii. H
;. Thj
ilhei
■ad Ddl
uch leisure for literary pursuits
proved by his
ovfi. vrotd.:-
-"Ce.
aiiDus
ergofi
ihk, sludla
I queii.
Ditra, tempore
LtermlaM, an-m
M tenia, repetimus'
■(Ep.
10). "
■Dl!
iparlbus In
Bebiei
nleCenobium
lerltii praBUiiH
laudali viri .
. .Ger
1 poiiiii
ID. Ob jura
abliati
iaiia YindicalR
, , . Gerbertus
.cienlias uni.
ma. altieit:
.s (0 rem Bo-
cniem modera
B. p. ri.
t See Blume,
tu5 esl,juribus potiu'
!, quatn itudi
lis I
evocandis
iutenti
as."— Peyron,
1. c. p. 180.
170
nation. I'lie only way of accounting for it, which occurs to me, is,
that as the matter which in ttic Arceriaa is distributed between
Epaphroditus, Vitruvius. and Balbus, ia in the third-class MSS. givea
to NipsuB, and aa a great part of it is also to be found in Gerbert,
all Goesius meant to say waa, that such was Che case, and not, as
bis words would lead us to suppose, that any part of Balbus waa
expressly ascribed to Gerbert ; or perhaps he only meant that there
was a. substantial resemblance between the account of measures, &c.
in Balbus, and in Gerbert.
Tlie next argument is, that Rigalttus has edited from a MS. of
Gerhert's Geometry .what ia in fact a part of the Demonstratio : and
Blume refers to Iligaltiua's note in p. 240 : — " Gerbertus, sive quia
aliuB fioetii Geometrica sublegit, postquara ad hujusmodi negolia
pervenit, de iis sese nihil attingere velle profitetur :" and he then
gives the sentence which has been before quoted from the Harleian
and Arundel MSS. This certainly creates a difficulty, which, in the
absence of more accurate information as to the MS. used by Rigal-
tiuH, it is not easy to overcome. It must he observed that this sen-
tence does not occur in the Salzburg MH. of Gerbert ; and in the
Arundel, which has a fragment of his Geometry, it forms a part of
the Boethiua, and not of Gerbert. And we may presume that it
was not in the original from which that MS, is copied ; for if Jt oc-
curred in Gerbert, it must have been in that part which is to be
found in the Arundel.
The last argument is derived from the Geometry of Gerbert con-
taining the identical extract from Hyginus as to the methods of
ascertaining the true direction of the meridian by observations of the
Bun. This argument, like the first, is baaed upon the supposition,
that aa there are no traces of the third-class MSS. to be found in
Flanders and Alsace, consequently the fragment could only have be-
come known in those quarters through some one who, like Gerbert,
was acquainted with the Arceriaa. We have however shown that
there are very slender grounds indeed for supposing that the Arcerian
was known to Gerbert*.
On the other hand, there are some reasons for believing that the
mathematical part of the Arcerian was known long before Gerbert's
time. We find a part of the problems attributed to Nipaua, Epa-
phroditus and Vitruvius, in the Propositiones ArithmeticEB, aaid to
be by Beda. but which was probably the work of Alcuinf,
Again, in the library of St. Gall there is an old MS. of which the
* Later reaearchea lisve proved (hai Blume is mistaken in confining Ihe MSS. of
Boethius to Flanders and Alsace. Besiden Ihe one at Charlrea ahove-mentioned,
there h one «i Middleliiir, which came from Toiir.. They are found at St. Gall,
■nd also in ihe Laurentian liUrsr; at Florence (Plul. iiii. cod. 19).
'a, Bas. ISfl3,i. 133. It l« printed in (lie Ralisbon edition of Alcuin
third cJB
442), from a MS. belonging to the Monsilery of Kkhen
name of Alcuin. In the library of Valenciennea there is a 1
which formBrl; belonged to the Monastery of Su Amand
intains the Podiamua (p. S96 leq.), but whether it ia detirei
SB MS. 1 an u'lable to say. It is described in Pertz, An
lich It
enth
171
following account is given by Haenel : — " 880. Boetius in periher-
menias, geometriam, de differentiis, divisionibus, cognatione, syllo-
gismis, topica Ciceronis, Ekkehardi IV. notse marginales, versus. Cod.
membr. optimus, eadem manu scriptus in pergameno solido*." The
age of the MS. is not mentioned, but as it contains marginal notes
by Ekkehardus IV., it cannot be later than the close of the tenth or
the beginning of the following century f* The oldest of the Berne
MSS. belongs, as has been already stated, to the tenth century ; and
the other, which came from Strasburg, was written in 1004. Here
then we have three MSS. almost coeval with Gerbert, and the most
modem of which must have been written about twenty-five years
after he became abbot of Bobbio, in which the work is attributed to
Boethius : and one of which was perused and annotated by the pupil
of Notker, the friend of Gerbert, and probably — for he also belonged
to St. Gall — by Notker himself. It is hardly possible to conceive
that a new forgery, the materials for which are supposed to have been
partially derived either from Gerbert, or taken from his work, could
in this short space of time have been palmed upon the world as
the work of Boethius.
* Haenel, Catal. MSS. 712. There is another MS. of the ninth century at 8t.
Gall (248), which contains Boetiuset Beda de Computo, Mathesi, Astronomia, Geo-
graphia et vi aelatibus mundi. Haenel, 681. Unfortunately this account does not
inform us which of the works are by Boethius. Is the Astronomia the same work
as the Astrologia mentioned in the old Bobbio catalogue, and by Gerbert ? In a letter
written at Mantua probably in the year 972, he says, " quod reperimus spesftis
id est octo volumina Boetii de Astrologia, prseclarissima quoque figurarum Geo*
metrifle, aliaque non minus admiranda." — Ep. 8.
f Ekkehard was born about a.d. 980 and died about a.d. 1036. — .\rx in Pertz,
Mon. Histor. t. ii. p. 74.
t3
DECEMBEK 14, 1849.
Ozc
a the ChKi
A paper was read : —
" On the Nature and Analysis of the Verb:" — Cuntinued, By
the Rev. Richard Gamett.
We now come to the most important and perhaps the moat difficult
portion of the general subject, namely the application of the prin-
ciple attempted to be established to the great and important family
of Indo-European languages. Many of the pha^nomena noticed in
the languages of which we have previously treated are both obvious
and unequivocal, as far as outward form ia concerned. Tliey are
indeed admitted in particular cases by philologists who hold the or-
dinary opinion respecting the distinct elementary nature of the verb.
But in the greatest part of the Indo-European languages the analysis
of the component elements of this part of speech is by no means so
simple and self-evident as it is in some other families. Various
causes may be assigned for this, one of which is, that in the early
period of the parent language a number of elements were employed
as personal terminations which cannot now be traced among the
separate personal pronouns. Another reason is, that in some of the
leading tongues, more particularly in Sanscrit and Greek, a vast
number of articulations have been sacrificed to considerations of
euphony, the restoration of which is often a matter of conjecture,
and sometimes altogether impracticable. One point however is
conceded, even by some who would be disposed to deny that the
theory of the original identity of noun and verb is applicable to lan-
guages of this type, namely that the personal terminations of the
simple verb, or at alt events a portion of them, are of pronominal
origin. This concession at once establishes a certain degree of
analogy between them and the tongues of which we have already
treated. It now remains to inquire how far this analogy may be
presumed to extend.
It would be both tedious and unnecessary to examine in detail all
the members of the family now under consideration. They are all
confessedly descended from the same general stock, and if a great
leading principle of orgautzation can be established respecting any
one of them, it must equally apply to all. It is proposed at present
to examine the Celtic portion, more especially the Welsh, which ap-
pears to exhibit phsenomena of considerable interest and importance
to the comparative philologist.
It was observed nearly a century and a half ago by Edward Lbuyd,
that the distinctive terminations of the Cornish verb were clearly
connected with the pronouns. It is but justice
174
ill-requited scholar, to give his own words on the subject, which show
how far he was in advance of his age as a scientific philologist : —
" We may observe, that the verbs have derived their distinction of
persons originally from the pronouns, in regard we find yet some
footsteps of them in their termination. For the last letter in Gue-
lav [I see] is taken from vi, I ; the last of Guelon [we see], from
ni, we; of Gueloch and Gueloh [ye see], from chui and kui, ye;
and in Guelanz, the third person plural, the pronoun [which] is
almost wholly retained for am, onz, or oinz, is but the same with our
Welsh uynt or huint, they*.**
Dr. Prichard, who does not appear to have been aware of the above
statement of Lhuyd, makes a perfectly analogous one with respect
to the personal terminations of the verb in Welsh, in his well-known
work, *The Eastern Origin of the Celtic Nations.' Both those
eminent scholars refer those terminations to the ordinary nomi-
natives of the personal pronouns, of which they consider them
to be abbreviated forms. As far back as a.d. 1836, the writer
believed that he saw reason to allege strong objections to this view
of the matter, which he expressed in the following terms in a cri-
tique on Dr. Prichard*s work : — " We have observed that Dr.
Prichard's statements respecting the Celtic languages throw a new
and important light on the formation of language ; and this we hold
to be particularly the case with respect to the verb. He has shown
that the personal terminations in Welsh are pronouns, and that they
are more clearly and unequivocally so than the corresponding end-
ings in Sanscrit or its immediate descendants. However, he lays
no stress upon a fact which we cannot but consider highly important,
viz. that they are evidently in statu regiminis, not in apposition or
concord: in other words, they are not nominatives, but oblique
cases, precisely such as are afiSxed to various prepositions. For
example, the second person plural does not end with the nominative
chvji, but with ech, tvch, och, ych, which last three forms are also
found coalescing with various prepositions — iwch, to you ; ynoch,
in you ; wrthych, through you. Now the roots of Welsh verbs are
confessedly nouns, generally of abstract signification : ex. gr. dysg
is both doctrina and the 2nd pers. imperative, doce ; dysg -och or -wch
is not, therefore, docetis or docsbitis vos; but doctrina vestrUm,
teaching of or by you. This leads to the important conclusion that
a verb is nothing but a noun, combined with an oblique case of a
personal pronoun, virtually including in it a connecting preposition.
This is what constitutes the real copula between the subject and the
attribute. Doctrina ego is a logical absurdity ; but doctrina mei^
teaching of me, necessarily includes in it the proposition ego doceo,
enunciated in a strictly logical and unequivocal formf .*'
The above theory was supported by a reference to the Syriac
periphrastic verb substantive, also alleged at the commencement of
the present series of papers. The application of the whole process
of induction from the Coptic, Semitic, Finno -Tartarian and other
* Archseologia Britannica, vol. iii. p. 246.
+ Quarterly Review, vol. Ivii. pp. 93, 94,
175
classes of languages is too obvious to be here insisted upon. No
one capable of divesting his mind of preconceived systems who com-
pares the Welsh prepositional forms er-ov, er-ot, er-o, er-om, er-och,
er-ynt, for me, thee, &c., with the verbal forma car-ov, car-ol, car-o,
carom, car-och, car-oat or car-wj/nt, I, 8tc. will love, will deny the
absolute formal identity of the respective sets of endings, or refuse to
admit that the exhibition of parallel phenomena in languages of all
classes and in all parts of the world, furnishes a atrong primd facie
ground for the belief of a general principle of analogy running
through all.
The above Welsh terminations are easily identified with the cor-
responding ones in Sanscrit, Greek, Latin, &c., with the exception of
the second person singular in (, and the second plural in ch. The
former may be readily understood to be an older form than the ordi-
nary sibilant, especially if we compere tfie Doric or Latin la with
the Ionic on- The guttural form of the second person plural is not
80 easily reducible to the ordinary dental endings in other languages.
A comparison with the Irish sibh, vas, and other etymological data,
seems to indicate a connexion with the reflective pronouns 3va, sui,
&c., aeif, which are frequently employed to represent more than
one person. Compare the Greek dual forms o^uji, mfiiu, and tlie San-
scrit Bva, suffix of the second jiers. ioaperative in the Ataianepadam
or middle voice.
The Armoric and Cornish terminations are for the most part mere
dialectical varieties of the Welsh. The Irish verb differs consi-
derably, the entire conjugation having every appearance of being a
iragmentary collection of synthetic and analytic as well as active and
deponent forms. I'he third person sin^tar of every tense is most
commonly analytic, while the terminations -maid, -maoid, -maoig,
which have no counterparts in Welsh or Armorican, exhibit a remark-
able resemblance to the Greek ijeOa and the Zend -maidhe. Many of
the other synthetic forms agree more or less closely with their corre-
spondents in other dialects, sometimes with one branch and some-
times with another. Thus the termination of the conditional -farut
or -finn, unknown in Welsh, appear* in the Breton han-fenn, I would
sing; and the dental characteristic of the second person plural in
several tenses, for which in Webh we find a guttural, also occurs in
the Breton present and fiittire kani-t, ye sing, kanot, ye will sing.
The most ancient and genuine forms of the preterite also manifest
a general i:ommunity of origin with their Cymric counterparts ;
ex. gr.
Irish. ^S'mg. 1. ghlanas. Plur. ghlansam.
2. ghlanais. ghlanabhar.
3. ghlanastar, ghlansat.
Welsh. — Sing, 1. gwelais. Plur. gwelaam (or -aom).
2, gwelaist. gwelsach (or -soch).
3. gwelodd (or gweles). gwelsant.
It may be here observed, that the Irish third |)ers. plural, as well
as many other cognate words, re^larly elides the nasal element of
176
the Armorican and Cymric dialects. The remarkable termination of
the second person plural, -bhar — unknown, it is believed, in all other
Indo-European dialects — is referred by Pictet to the Sansc. vas, vos,
Bopp, with his usual eagerness to find a Sanscrit archetype for every-
thing, likely or unlikely, endeavours to extract it from -dhvam, the
termination of the second pers. plural of the Sanscr. middle voice.
It is conceived that it would be a much more obvious process to
refer it to the oblique case of the personal pronoun bhar=ve8trtimf
which is not only the same word formally, but furnishes a very ap-
propriate meaning. Even admitting Pictet's identification with vos,
which involves no impossibility, it would not, if an original Sanscrit
element, be the nominative [yuyam], but the genitive, dative, or
accusative. In fact, examples of forms identical with actually ex-
isting nominatives, employed as personal terminations of synthetic
Indo-European verbs, have yet to be produced, and it is presumed
that such are not readily to be found. Pictet indeed alleges from
the Welsh " Englynion clywed" the formula "a glywaisti^s^audivistu
ne }" as an example of the full nominative form ^t, employed as an
inflexional termination. He might equally have quoted from several
poets caravi, I love, as a parallel instance of the use of the nomi-
native mi. Every Welsh scholar however knows them to be mere
euphonic abbreviations of glyvoaist ti, carav vi, the nominative being
annexed as in Latin or Italian, for the sake of emphasis or metre.
Besides the evidence deducible from the identity of the personal
terminations of verbs and the prepositional forms of pronouns in
Welsh, there is another of no small weight, furnished by the con-
sideration of the formation and structure of the entire body of verbs
in the language. In Sanscrit and the classical tongues, verbs are
usually divided into two distinct classes, primitive and derivative, a
large proportion of which latter class are styled denominatives, as
being formed directly from nouns. Thus cano is supposed to be a
primary or radical word, while vulnero, puerasco, &c. are allowed to
be formed from vulnus and puer. Such words are, it is well known,
very numerous in Greek, and they are perhaps still more so in
Welsh, which is excelled by no language of the family in the power
and variety of its s^jrnthesis. The following example will give some
idea of its copiousness and plastic power, and of the manner in which
verbs are formed from nouns, simple and derivative," abstract and
concrete : —
liyw, guide, ruler ; llywed, llywedu, llywiaw, to guide.
llywawdy guidance ; llywodu, to conduct.
llywiad; llywiadu.
llywiant ; llywiannu,
llywodraeth, governance ; llywodraethu, to govern.
llywodri ; Uywodtii,
llywydd, a president ; Uywyddu, to preside.
llywyddiad, presidency ; llywyddiadu,
Uywyddiaeth; llywyddiaethu.
To which may be added, as of the same origin, llyweth, a muscle,
i. e. a guider ; llywetku, to be muscular.
177
Here we see that a series of nouns from the same stem, denoting
guide, ruler, or guidance, governance, become respectively the bases
of verbs of cognate import. It is also obvious that the shorter and
the longer forms are all on the same footing ; Uywed and llywiaw
being as clearly formed from llyw, as llywyddiaethu from llywyddiaeth.
Except in the number and variety of forms, this phaenomenon is in
no way remarkable, and presents itself in one shape or other in most
languages. In all of them the concrete or abstract noun is pre-
dicated of the usual pronominal subjects, according to recognized
forms, and thus becomes a verb. But it is of no small importance
to observe, that it is impossible to establish any distinction in this
respect between Welsh denominative verbs and those which cor-
respond to the so-called primitives in other tongues. It has already
been observed that the roots of verbs in this language are con-
fessedly nouns ; dysg, for example, being at the same time teaching,
instruction, and the root of the verb dysg-u, to teach. In like manner,
can-u, to sing ; car-u, to love ; cas-au, to hate ; cel-u and cudd-io,
to conceal ; cwyn-o, to complain ; with multitudes of others, have
for their roots the still simpler forms and ideas, cUn, song; cHr, love;
clis, hatred ; eel, cudd, covering, concealment ; cwyn^ murmur ; and
the same may be affirmed of almost every verb in the language. The
correctness of the view taken by the native grammarians in regarding
the noun as the root may be supported by many considerations.
In the noun both notion and form are simple, either as subjects or
predicates; in the finite verb they are complex, necessarily com-
prising both subject and predicate, each element capable of being
separately conceived. Again, if the supposed primary verbs and the
denominatives are traced either in ascending or descending series,
it is impossible to discover that any one link of the chain is formed
on a different principle from the rest. Car-u, to love, is as readily
and legitimately referable to cdr as its basis, as its cognate car^
ueiddiaw is to caruaidd, or llywodraeth'U to llywodraeth.
If this is conceded respecting the Welsh, it must equally hold good
with respect to Greek, Latin, German, and other languages, now
universally admitted to be cognate with Celtic. Can-o, cel-o, KevOio,
Germ, ich weine, anciently wein-em, must have been formed in the
same manner and on the same principle as their counterparts can-af,
ceUaf, cuddi-qf, cwyn-af; and if one class originally meant song,
concealment, lamentation of or by me, the others must at one time
have had the same import. If the writer is not mistaken, this view
receives a strong confirmation from the Vedic Sanscrit, in which, as
Rosen observes, the assumed d'hatoo or verbal root is frequently
employed as a nomen actionis, and regularly inflected through most of
the ordinary cases. Thus, as to outward form, those roots appear to
be exactly on the same footing as the Welsh primitives of wluch we
have been speaking ; and when combined with the usual pertonal
terminations, or other words when in the form of £»?*• •«*«. ♦!— -
are capable of exactly the same aaaljsia. ^
lieves that they admit of no otbetf fSnt^
analogies of other langpages, or die pria
178
But it will perhaps be objected that the simple Welsh forms can,
eel, &c., though allowed to be nouns, are equally imperatives of the
second person, and^that this is the true root of the verb. This ob-
jection, though specious, admits of an easy reply. A little consi-
deration win show that no part of the verb approaches so nearly in
its nature to a noun as the second person of the imperative, and that
a simple noun is, in point of fact, often employed in the place of
it. When the crier of the court calls " silence ! " or the drill-ser-
jeant ** attention ! " the effect produced is exactly the same as if
verbs were used instead. The person addressed construes the term,
noun though it be, as a command to perform or refrain from a cer-
tain specified action, and does accordingly. Consequently according
to the axiom, " things equal to the same thing are equal to each
other," it seems that if nouns may be imperatives, imperatives may
very well be nouns.
Nor is this faculty restricted to the noun, a simple particle being
equally capable of exercising the same functions. The German in-
ter) ectionid adverb fort ! £ng. away ! may be legitimately rendered
by abi ! or abito ! the Ital. via, originally a noun, having precisely the
same force. In the phrascf " away with you ! " a pronominal adjunct
is introduced, and in this familiar expression we see the germ of the
process by which the simple noun or particle became arrayed with
personal suffixes, so as to put on the character of the complex term
called the verb. We may at the same time discern the precise nature
of the copula or connexion between them, which, when the pro-
nominal element is in obliquo, is necessarily a virtual preposition.
Many proofs indeed may be given that personal terminations are
neither the exclusive property nor integral portions of such verbs as
we find in Greek and Latin. In the Semitic languages many par-
ticles are construed with oblicjue sufiSixes, the combination having all
the force of a verb : ex. ^J'l.ly {pdeni), literally yet of me = I am
yet. The compound preposition 75^7 (la-al), over, upon, is in
Ethiopic conjugated throughout as a verb, in the sense to be over,
surpass, &c. The Gothic phrases hirjats^^irapetrrov, hirjith=^
Trdp€(TT€, are said by grammarians to be dual and plural imperatives ;
and so they are, as to import and outward form ; but when analysed,
they are confessedly mere modifications of the adverb her, which in
its turn is of pronominal origin. Many words, supposed to be pri-
mary and radical verbs, would, if properly examined, turn out to be
of similar descent.
In the writer's paper " On the Formation of Words from Particles,"
many instances were given of Old-German verbs formed directly from
prepositions and other indeclinables ; and many others might have
been produced from Welsh. At present, a couple of examples may
suffice. The adverb or conjunction mal, like, as, so, is obviously
the basis of the verb maUu, to guess, imagine, q, d, to liken* (Gr.
ctica^w). In the same manner the preposition rhag, before, is the
parent of rhag -u, to go before, also to oppose. Both are regularly
*. Still used for guess in some parts of Lancashire.
179
conjugated throughout, and their respective imperatives are mal,
rhag. Now we may fairly ask, if these supposed radical imperatives
really are radical in this particular application ; whether, in short,
they are anything more than particles employed with reference to a
particular subject ? whether, in short, our own forward ! is not, to
all intents and purposes, as good an imperative as rhag ? If this is
not the case, by what process did the particle become a word of a
totally different class ?
Some persons who still cling to the same species of mystical jargon
in philology that has been so long exploded in natural philosophy,
will be ready to say that the word used as a verb is endued with an
occulta vis, or innate vital energy, rendering it capable of expressing
action or motion ; in short, that can, sing ! differs from cdn, song,
in the same degree that a magnetized steel bar differs from an or-
dinary one, or a charged Leyden jar from a discharged one. It will
be time enough to consider this assumed energetic principle when it
has been made manifest by something like a rational analysis. At
present the writer expresses his total disbelief of its existence ; nay,
even of the possibility of its being infused into any sort of word
whatever. There is indeed such a principle connected with lan-
guage, but it resides in the human mind, not in the elementary
sounds or combinations of sounds of which human speech is com-
posed.
A few remarks on the formation of the. causative verb in Celtic
may serve to close this branch of the discussion. Pictet, who is as
usual followed by Bopp, has the following theory on the subject : —
*• Verbs of the tenth class [in Sanscrit] adding ay to the root,
which ay equally distinguishes the causatives and a portion of the
denominatives, find their representatives in the Irish verbs in igh or
aighy also comprehending causatives and denominatives. In Welsh,
the formation of causatives and denominatives is operated by the in-
sertion of ia or t, another modification of the Sanscrit ay; thus
bhavaydmi, I cause to be (causative of bhil), is in Welsh bywiwyv,
I vivify ; in the infinitive bywiaw. An example of a Sanscrit verb
of the tenth conjugation, having its analogous one in Irish, is bhilsh,
to adorn, forming in the present bhdshaydmi. The Irish beos-aigh-im,
I adorn, from the root beos, whence the adjective beosach, beautiful,
is the complete facsimile of it*."
The identification of the Celtic causative verb with the Sanscrit
form, would lead to consequences which Pictet was far from con-
templating, llie Irish terminations which he gives are the ordinary,
though by no means the only ones in that dialect ; but his statement
of the Welsh forms gives a very insufficient view of the matter.
Verbs implying causation are very frequent in this latter language,
which possesses an almost illimitable faculty of forming them. The
point of most consequence for our present investigation is, that the
great mass of them is based, not upon what are called primary verbs,
but on nouns and adjectives, most commonly on the latter. Either
the simple or the derivative adjective may become the stem, and as
* De r Affinity des Langues Celtiques, pp. 148, 149.
derivatipe forms nre pretty nutneroua, the array of causative verbs,
of synonymous or sliglitly varying import, is in a similar ratio. This
will appear clearly from an analysis of the example adduced by Pictet
himself; bywiaw, to vivify. Tliis has nothing whatever to do with
Sanscr. bhavaydrnt or its root, being directly formed from the adjec-
tive fiyuT, living, which it is hardly necessary to say is cognate
with Gr. (Itoi, Lat. vivv», &c., referred by Bopp himself to the San-
scrit lootjlv. Similar verbs are formed from the derivatives of bi/K,
as may be seeo from the following list : —
b}/w, living ; btfwAu, to vivify.
bywime.
bymtidd ; bywmddiau.
l^wiawff ; byKioccdv,
byitiogi.
byvtiawl ; byteioli.
Here we see that the simple adjective and its three enlarged forms
have branched out into six verbs, all signifying lo cause to live.
Theoretically speakiog, every adjective in the language is capable of
being treated in the same way, and examples of causatives from
nearly every known form might easily be collected. That the first
two verbs in the list are formed &om the adjective, and not from a
more primitive verb, is proved first by the analogy of many thou-
sands of similar formations ; and secondly by the fact that no simple
verb analogous to Lat. vivo exists either in Welsh or any other
Celtic dialect. ' I live' can only be expressed by ' I am living," or
more properly by ' I am ia living,' similar to " in vivis sum,' or the
Old-English ' I am on live,' of which alive is merely a various form.
With respect to the form bymogi (from byv>iaicg), it is important
to remark that it is etymologically cognate with the Irish forma in
aighim, or more frequently in uighim, also derived by the best Irish
grammarians from nouns or adjectives ia ack. Thus, among mul-
titudes of similar instances, Ir. salach, filthy; salaigkim, I pollute;
lorrach, pregnant ; torraigkim, ingravido, are etymologically the
same words as Welsh kalawg, kalogi; toravig, torogi. We may
therefore feel assured that Pictet's example beosaigklm is formed ac-
cording to the same analogy, directly from the adjective beosacA,
not from the imaginary root beos ; and consequently if it is formally
identical with Sanscrit bMshaydmi, it follows that the base of the
latter is equally an adjective or a noun. That this is a possible sup-
position would appear from the circumlocutory form of the perfect,
bhAshaydm-bahkuva, &c., where the first word has both the form and
the construction of a noun. This ia in fact admitted by modem
Sanscrit grammarians, though they are not exactly agreed as to the
analysis of the phrase. Bopp resolves it into the accusative femi-
nine, but Dr. Trithen observes, that though this solution may suit
the formations with the auxiliary chakdra=/eci, it will not do so well
for those with dsa or babkuva^fui, A locative case would be moat
according lo the analogy of other languages ; Irat this differs from
the Vedic locative masculine nivayd in the nasal t ' '
181
from the ordinary locative feminine sivdydm in the quantity of the
penultimate*. It can however hardly be separated from the base
of the entire verb, and consequently if it be a noun, that must be
equally so, or at all events closely related to that part of speech.
Denominatives, which are confessedly formed from nouns, have
nearly the same form of conjugation, and indeed there seems no' in-
vincible reason why a causative should not be formed from a noun
or adjective in Sanscrit as well as in other languages.
The Welsh forms bywiawl, hywioli, are of interest, from the cir-
cumstance that we know their precise analysis. The termination
awl is etymologically the same as Gael, ail, Jr. amAat7=:like, so that
bywiawl is literally ' life-like.' We may here observe that lick is a
common element in German causative verbs : ex. gr. ver-herT'lich-en,
to glorify. Many examples of a similar employment of the same
element in Old- High-German maybe found in Graff's Sprachschatz,
Art. LiK. It is also remarkable that in many Polynesian languages
the causative is formed by the pre£x maca, or same dialectical
variation of it, which as a separate particle denotes like, as, how.
There is reason to believe that many of the formative suffixes in a
multitude of languages had originally the same import, and that this
apparently simple element has exercised no small influence on the
organization of human speech.
Except as to the great variety of forms in Welsh, the connexion
of the causative verb with the adjective is no special peculiarity of
that language. In Lithuanian, almost every adjective has its cor-
responding causative, and nearly every page of a Greek, Latin, or
German Dictionary will furnish examples of the same class of words
formed according to the same or a similar analogy. Nor will it
avail to say that they may be in reality formed from the original
verbal root, and not from the noun or adjective derived from that
root. It is notorious that many of them are based directly upon
augmented forms, of which they include the full signification, and
of which the Lat. melior-are. Germ, besser-n, Qrger-n, verherrlich-en^
are sufficient instances. Now, if it be of the essence of a verb to
denote motion or action, and the faculty of doing this resides in the
roots of primitives, it might be expected that terms expressing action
causing another action, would, d. fortiori, be entitled to rank in the
same category ; or at all events that their relation to words endued
with the supposed characteristic would be clear and unmistakeable.
* Forms with a long penultimate are however found in particular roots, as well
as in many denominatives based upon nouns and adjectives : thus in pandydm-cha"
Ardra=»laudavi, the first word has precisely the form of a locative of the d declension.
It may not be irrelevant here to observe that the Indian grammarians usually define
the d'hatoos or roots by an abstract noun in the locative case : ex,gr, the numerous
roots signifying to go^ are commonly explained by gataw^'m going, Welsh yn
fuyfied. This is, in fact, the nearest approach that can be made to the abstract
notion of a verb, and would, in combination with a subject in the nominative, be
exactly equivalent to a Manchu or Mongolian one. It is however evidently not a
simple but a complex expression, combining the idea of an abstract relation with
an element denoting placet ^^^ parallel in every respect, except that of form, to
the analytic phrases with in or on in Celtic and other languages.
U3
182
On the contrary, we find that while many of the so-called primitive
verbs are neuters, those possessed of this double energy are formed
in countless multitudes from that third-rate part of speech, the ad-
jective, and may even come from particles, words still lower in the
grammatical scale. Thus vacare, to be empty, a term neither ex-
pressing motion, action, nor result, nor anything in short beyond
absolute negation, is allowed to enjoy all the native dignity of a
primary verb, including of course the motive and active energies di-
stinguishing that part of speech from others ; while vacnare, which
does express an action performed and an effect produced, must get
its energies as it can, through the medium of the adjective vacuus.
Tliis may be philosophical, but it seems hardly reconcileable to the
principles of common sense ; it is however only one out of thousands
of glaring inconsistencies which the usual theory involves.
The truth is, that the definition of a verb, as a word intrinsically
denoting action or motion, is exactly on a par with the old one of a
bird as a creature whose essential characteristic is to fly, of which the
production of an ostrich or an apteryx is a sufficient refutation. The
following appears to the writer a more legitimate view of the ques-
tion. All words denote relations, and every relation is capable of
being predicated of a suitable subject. When this is done according
to certain grammatical forms, the combined predicate and subject
become a verb, whatever the nature or import of the former may be.
Some languages, as was observed in the first paper of the present
series, can carry this principle of formation to an almost illimitable
degree ; in others it is more restricted in general practice. There
are however abundant traces in the latter class of the original ope-
ration of the principle. Almost every Indo-European language
furnishes instances of verbs formed from nouns, adjectives, pronouns
and particles ; and those secondary and tertiary formations are found
capable of expressing all the same modifications of idea as their
supposed primitives — in some cases still more emphatically. On the
other hand, the roots of those primitives are found in whole classes
of languages to be identical with simple nouns of cognate meaning,
while in others the noun only differs from the assumed root in au
adventitious termination, commonly of pronominal origin. We may
therefore rationally conclude that the simple verb is formed firom a
simple noun, pronoun or particle, and the derivative one from a form
that has received some augmentation ; but that, as to the original
and characteristic principle of structure, there is not the smallest
difference between the two.
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV.
JANUARY 25, 1850.
No. 90.
Thomas Watts, Esq. in the Chair.
The Rev. J. Richards, Fellow of Sidney Sussex CoUege, Cam-
bridge, was elected a Fellow of the Society.
The following papers were then read : —
1. ''On a Vocabulary of the Avekvom Language." By R. G.
Latham, M.D.
This is a vocabulary from the Ivory Coast, for the parts between
St. Andrew's and Dick's Cove, as published in the last number of
the Journal of the American Oriental Society. Its value, more espe-
cially, consists in suppl3dng, for the first time, one of the deficiencies
of the Mithridates; whilst it also explains one of its more frag-
mentary vocabularies.
A people calling itself Quaquas is mentioned as occupying the Ivory
Coast, but no specimen of their language is given. Now the voca-
bulary in question is one of the Quaqua language, called also Avek-
vom, and it is the first of any length that we have for these parts.
One of the Quaqua or Avekvom dialects is the Asini ; the Friscoe,
Basam, and Apollonia being the others. This Asini is most probably
the Issinesi of the Mithridates — a hitherto isolated specimen.
The following table, although short, is sufficient to verify the po-
sition so often laid before the Society by the present writer, viz. that
notwithstanding considerable differences, none of the African lan-
guages hitherto examined are isolated ; but, on the contrary, have
miscellaneous affinities, even when irreducible to a particular class,
lliis last however is not the case with the Avekvom (Quaqua). It
is evidently Ibo-Ashanti. At the same time it forms a separate sub-
division, different from the Grrebo or Km tongues on the north, and
the Fanti on the south and east.
ENGLISH.
AVEKVOM.
OTHER IBO-ASHANTI LANGUAGES.
ann . .
blood .
bone . .
bos . .
canoe .
chair .
dark. .
dog . .
door .
ear . .
fire . .
fish . .
fowl .
ground-nut
VOL, IV.
ebo ubok, Efik.
evie eyip, Efik ; eye, Jebu,
ewi beu, Fanti.
ebru br&nh, Grebo.
edie tonh, Grebo.
fata bada, Grebo.
eshim .... esum, Fanti ; ekim, Efik.
etye aja, ayga, Jebu.
eshinavi . . . usuny, Efik.
eshibe .... esoa, Fanti.
eya ija, Fanti.
etsi eja, eya, Fanti.
esu suseo, Mandingo ; edia, Jebu.
ngeti .... nkatye, Fanti.
1S4
ENGLISH.
AVEKVOM.
OTHER IBO-ASUANTI LANGUAGES.
hair . . .
. emu ....
. ihwi, Fanti,
honey . . .
. ajo ....
. ewo, Faiiti ; oyi, Jehu,
house . . .
. eva ....
. ifi, Fanti ; ufog, Efik.
moon . . .
. efe
. h&bo, Greho ; ofiong, Efik.
mosketo . .
. ef
. obong, Fanti.
oil . . . .
. inyu ....
. ingo, Fanti.
rain . . .
. efuzumo-sohn sanjio, Mandingo.
rainy seasOi
n . eshi ....
. ojo, rain, Jehu,
salt . . . .
. . etsa ....
. ta, Greho.
sand . . ,
. . esian-na . .
. utan, Efik.
sea . . . .
. etyu ....
. idu, Greho.
stone . .
. . desi ....
. sia, shia, Greho.
thread .
. . jesi ....
. gise, Greho.
/ooM . . .
. . enena . . .
. nyeng, Mandingo ; gne, Greho.
water . .
. . esoDh . . .
. nsu, Fanti.
«;(/<? . .
. . emise . . .
. muse, Mandingo-, mbesia, Fanii
cry . . .
. . yarn ....
. isu, Fanti.
give , . .
. . nae ....
. nye, Greho ; no, Efik.
go . . .
. . le
. olo, Jehu.
kill . . .
. . bai
. fa, Mandingo ; pa, Jehu.
English, one.
English^ five.
Avekvom, e/oii.
Avekvom, enyu.
Kossa, ita.
Fanti, enum.
Pessa, tah.
Ashanti, inni.
Kru, (ftt.
Bassa, do.
English, six.
Popo, rfa.
Haussa, dea.
Avekvom, awd.
Ako, effa.
English, two.
English, eight.
Avekvom,- awytt.
Avekvom, etye.
Popo, ono.
Ashanti, auotui.
English, three.
Fanti, auotui.
* . » -
Avekvom, aza.
Appa, tit a.
Uhobo, ezza.
Popo, tatu.
Kossa, shau.
Moko, tua.
Pessa, saua.
English, ten.
English, four.
Avekvom, ejiu.
Avekvom, ana.
Fanti, idu.
Mandingo, Slc, n
\ani.
Kissi, to.
Kru, &c., nnie.
Benin, ^t.
2. "On a Short Vocabulary of the Loucheux Language." By
J. A. Isbester.
The Digothi, or Loucheux, is the language of the North American
Indians of the lower part of the river Mackenzie, a locality round
which languages belonging to three different classes are spoken. —
the Eskimo, the Athabascan, and the Koldch of Russian America.
185
To vhiph of these classes the Loucheux belongs, has hitherto been
unascertained. It is learned with equal ease by both the Eskimo
and Athabascan interpreters ; at the same time an interpreter is ne-
cessary.
The following short vocabulary, however, shows that its more
probable affinities are in another direction, t. e, with the languages
of Russian America, especially with the Kenay of Cook's Inlet ;
with which, whilst the pronouns agree, the remaining words differ no
more than is usual with lists equally imperfect, even in languages
where the connexion is undoubted.
ENGLISH. LOUCHEUX. KKMAY.
white man . . manah-gool-ait.
Indian .... tenghie* .... teena=»<f/;?.
Eskimo . . . nak-high.
wind etsee.
headwind, . . newatsee.
fair wind . . . jeatsee.
water tchonf thun-agalgus.
sun shethie channoo.
moon shet-sill .... tlakannoo.
stars kumshaet . . . ssin.
meat beh kutskonna.
deer et-han.
head umitz aissagge.
arm tchiegen .... skona.
leg tsethan.
coat chiegee.
blanket .... tsthee.
knife tlay kissaki.
fort jetz.
yes eh.
no illuck-wha.
far nee-jah.
near ..... neak-wha.
strong .... nehaintah.
cold kateitlee .... ktckchuz.
long kawa.
enough .... ekcho, ekatarainyo.
eat beha.
drink chidet-leh.
come chatchoo.
go away . . . eenio.
/ see su.
thou nin nan.
(my) father . ^se) tsay .... stukta.
{my) son ... (se) jay .... ssi-^a,,
3. " On the Use of the Verbs shall and will.** By Professor De
Morgan.
On reading Dr. R. G. Latham's remarks on the origin of the custom
* The g is sounded fmrd, f Ai the French n in ban.
which now regulates the use of the verbs mill and shall, Professorl
De Morgan was first made acquainted with the theory propounded by
Archdeacon Hare on this subject. It was a subject that had not pre-
viously engaged his attention, but there immediately occurred to him
another explanation, that seemed to possess sufficient plausibility at
least to deserve discussion. He presumes it did not occur to either J
of the gentlemen above referred to, or they would have deemed i
worthy of some notice.
The matter to be explained is the synonymous character of loiVI i
in the first person with ghall in the second and third ; and of shall
in the first person with will in the second and third ; shall (I) and
will (2, 3) are called by Dr. R. G. Utbam predictive ; shall (2, 3)
and will (1) promissive. The suggestion now proposed will require .
four distinctive names. J
Archdeacon Hare's ksus elMcus is taken from the brighter side of fl
human nature : — " When speaking in the first person ive speak sub- '
missively ; when speaking to or of another, we apeak courteously."
This explains /siaW,/ftou ?ui7(; but I cannot think it explains /u>i7/,
thou shall *. The present explanation is taken from the darker side ;
and it is to be feared that the H-priori probabilities are in its favour.
In introducing the common mode of stating the future tenses,
Grammar has proceeded as if she were more than a formal science.
She has no more business to collect together I shall, thou mil, he
will, than to do the same with / rule, Ihou art ruled, he is ruled.
It seems to be the natural disposition of man to think of his ow
volition in two of the following categories, and of another man's i
the other two :
compelling, Don- compelling ; restrained, n on -restrained.
The ego, with reference to the non-ego, is apt, thinking of himself,
to propound the alternative, ' Shall I compel, or shall 1 leave him to
do as lie likesP' so that, thinking of tbe other, the alternative is,
' shall he be restrained, or shall he be left to his own will ? ' Accord-
ingly, the express introduction of hie own will is likely to have re- >
ference to compulsion, in case of opposition : the express introductioQ J
of the will of another, is likely to mean no more than the graciout I
permission of the ego, to let non-ego do as he likes. Correlatively, f
the suppression of reference to his own will, and the adoption of ■ 3
simply predictive form on the part of the ego, is likely to be the mode 1
with which, when the person is changed, he will associate the idea.|
of another having his own way ; while the suppression of reference 1
to the will of the non-ego is likely to infer restraint produced by the J
predominant will of the ego.
Occasionally, the will of the non-ego is referred to as undi
atroint in modem times. To / will not, the answer is sometimes you
shall, meaning, in spite of the will — sometimes you will, meaning that
the will will be changed by fear or sense of the inutility of resistance.
Of the strength of the objection to be derived from the departures
from the rule made by the Scots and Irish, the author does not feel
able to judge.
* It ollen huppcns that you mitt, n-Llh a perauasive lane, ii uied coniCeouiljr fbi |
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. FEBRUARY 8, 1850. No. 91-
Hbnslbigh Wedgwood, Esq., in the Chair.
A work, entitled *' Rimes Guemesiaises/' was laid on the table,
presented by P. S. Carey, Esq., Bsdliff of Guernsey.
Two papers were then read : —
1. *' On the Original Area of the Slavonic Population." By R. .
G. Latham, M.D.
The current opinion, that a great portion of the area now occupied
by Slavonians, and a still greater portion so occupied in the ninth
and tenth centuries, were, in the times of Caesar and Tacitus, either
German, or something other than what it is found to be at the be-
ginning of the period of authentic and contemporary history, has ap-
peared so unsatisfactory to the present writer, that he has been
induced to consider the evidence on which it rests. What (for
instance) are the grounds for believing that, in the first century,
Bohemia was not just as Slavonic as it is now ? What the arguments
in favour of a Germanic population between the Elbe and Vistula
in the second ?
The fact, that at the very earliest period when any definite and de-
tailed knowledge of either of the parts in question commences, both
are as little German as the Ukraine is at the present moment, is one
which no one denies. How many, however, will agree with the
present writer in the Value to be attributed to it, is another question.
For his own part, he takes the existence of a given division of the
human race (whether Keltic, Slavonic, Gothic or aught else) on a
given area, as a sufficient reason for considering it to have been in-
digenous or aboriginal to that area, until reasons be shown to the con»
trary» Gratuitous as this postulate may seem in the first instance,
it is nothing more than the legitimate deduction from the rule in
reasoning which forbids us to multiply causes unnecessarily. Dis-
placements therefore, conquests, migrations, and the other disturbing
causes are not to be assumed, merely for the sake of accounting for
assumed changes, but to be supported by specific evidence ; which
evidence, in its turn, must have a ratio to the probability or the impro-
bability of the disturbing causes alleged. These positions seem so
self-evident, that it is only by comparing the amount of impro-
babilities which are accepted with the insufficiency of the testimony
on which they rest, that we ascertain, from the extent to which they
have been neglected, the necessity of insisting upon them.
ITie ethnological condition of a given population at a certain time
is primd facie evidence of a similar ethnological condition at a pre-
vious one. The testimony of a writer as to the ethnological condition
of a given population at a certain time is also prima facie evidence
VOL. IV. Y
188
of audi a condition being a real one ; since even tlie worst aiitho-
rities are to be considered correct until reasons are shown for
doubting tbem.
It now remains to see how &r these two methods arc concordant
or antagonistic for the area in questiun ; all that la assumed being,
that when we find even a good writer asserting that at one period
(say the third century) a certain locality waa German, whereas we
know that at a subsequent one (say the tenth) it was other than
German, it is no improper scepticism to ask, whether it is more
likely that tlie writer was mistaken, or that changes have occurred in
the interval ; in other words, if error on the one side ia not to be
lightly assumed, neither are migrations, &c. on the other. Both are
likely, or unlikely, according to the jiarticular case in point. It is
more probable that an habitually conquering nation should have dis-
placed an habitually conquered one, than that a bad writer should be
wrong. It is more likely that a. good writer should be wrong than
that an habitually conquered nation should have displaced an habi-
tually conquering one.
The apphcation of criticism of this sort materially alters the rela-
tions of the Keltic, Gothic, Rotnan and Slavonic populations, giving
to the latter a prommeace in the ancient worid much more propor-
tionate to their present preponderance as a European population
than is usually admitted.
Beginning with the south-western frontier of the present Sla-
vonians, let us ask what are the reasons against supposing the jio-
pulation of Bohemia to have been in the time of Cfesar other than
what it ia now, i. e. Slavonic.
In the first place, if it were not so, it must have changed within
the historical period. If so, when? No writer has ever grappled
with the details of the question. It could scarcely have been sub-
sequent to the development of the Germanic power on the Danube,
since this would be within the period of annahsts and historians, who
would have mentioned it. As little ia it likely to have been during
the time when the Goths and Germans, victorious everywhere, were
displacing others rather than being displaced themselves.
The evidence of the language is in the same direction. Whence
could it have been introduced ? Not from the Saxon frontier, since
there the Slavonic is Polish ratlier than Bohemian. Still less from
the Silesian, and least of all from the Bavarian. To have developed
its difierential characteristics, it must have had either Bohemia itself
as an original locality, or else the parts south and east of it.
We will now take what is either an undoubted Slavonic locality, or
a locality in the neighbourhood of Slavonians, t. e. the country between
the rivers Danube and ITiiess and that range of hills which connect
the Bakonyer-wald with the Carpathians, the country of the Jazyges.
Now as Jaxyg is a Slavonic word, meaning speech or language, we
have, over and above the external evidence which makes the Jazyges
Sarmatian, internal evidence as well ; evidence subject only to one
exception, viz. that perhaps the name in question was not narive to
the population which it designated, but only a term applied by some
4
189
Slavonic tribe to some of tlieir neighbours, which neighbours might
or might not be Slavonic. I admit that this is possible, although
the name is not of the kind that would be given by one tribe to
another different from itself. Admitting, however, tliis, it still leaves
a Slavonic population in the contiguous districts ; since, whether
borne by the people to whom it was applied or not, Jazyg is a Sla-
vonic gloss from the Valley of the Ubiscus.
Next comes the question as to the date of this population. To put
this in the form least favourable to the views of the present writer, is
to state that the first author who mentions a population in these
parts, either called by others or calling itself Jazyges, is a writer so
late as Ptolemy, and that he adds to it the qualifying epithet MetO'
tuista (Meravdorac), a term suggestive of their removed from some
other area, and of the recent character of their arrival on the Danube.
Giving full value to all this, there still remains the fact of primary
importance in aU our investigations on the subject in question, viz.
that in the time of Ptolemy (at least) there were Slavonians on (or
near) the river Thiess.
At present it is sufficient to say that there are no H priori reasons
for considering these Jazyges as the most western of the branch to
which they belonged, since the whole of the Pannonians may as easily
be considered Slavonic as aught else. They were not Germans.
They were not Kelts ; in which case the common rules of ethno-
logical criticism induce us to consider them as belonging to the same
class with the population conterminous to them ; since unless we
do this, we must assume a new division of the human species alto-
gether; a fact, which, though possible, and even probable, is not
lightly to be taken up.
So much for the d, priori probabilities : the known facts by no
means traverse them. The Pannonians, we learn from Dio, were of
the same class with the Ill3rrians, t, e, the northern tribes of that
nation. These must have belonged to one of three divisions ; the
Slavonic, the Albanian, or some division now lost. Of these, the
latter is not to be assumed, and the first is more probable than the
second. Indeed, the more we make the Pannonians and Illyrians
other than Slavonic, the more do we isolate the Jazyges ; and the
more we isolate these, the more difficulties we create in a question
otherwise simple.
That the portion of Pannonia to the north of the Danube (t. e. the
north-west portion of Hungary, or the valley of the Waag and Gran)
was different from the country around the lake Peiso (Pelso), is a
position, which can only be upheld by considering it to be the country
of the Quadi, and the Quadito have been Germanic; — a view,
against which there are numerous objections.
Now, here re-appears the term Daci ; so that we must recognise
the important fact, that east of the Jazyges there are the Dacians
(and Getse) of the Lower, and west of the Jazyges the Daci of the
Upper £>anube. These must be placed in the same category, both
being equally either Slavonic or non- Slavonic.
a. Of these alternatives, the first involves the following real or
y2
190
apparent difi^culty, i. e. that if the Getae are vfheX the Daci are, the
lliracians are what the Getse are. Hence, if all three be Slavonic,
we magnify the area immensely, and bring the Slavonians of Thrace
in contact with the Greeks of Macedonia. Granted. But are there
any reasons against this ? So far from there being such in the nature
of the thing itself, it is no more than what is actually the case at the
present moment.
b. The latter alternative isolates the JazygeSy and adds to the
difficulties created to their ethnological position, under the suppo-
sition that they are the only Slavonians of the parts in question ;
since if out-lyers to the area (^exceptional, so to say), they must be
either invaders from without, or else relics of an earlier and more ex-
tended population. If they be the former, we can only bring them
from the north of the Carpathian mountains (a fact not in itself im-
probable, but not to be assumed, except for the sake of avoiding
greater difficulties) ; if the latter, they prove the original Slavonic
characters of the area.
The present writer considers the Daci then (western and eastern)
as Slavonic, and the following passage brings them as far west as
the Maros or Morawe, which gives the name to the present Mora-
vians, a population at once Slavonic and Bohemian : — " Campos et
plana Jazyges Sarmatse, mqyntes vero et saltus pulsi ab his Daci ad
Pathissum amnem a Maro sive Daria .... tenent." — P/in. iv. 12.
The evidence as to the population of Moravia and North-eastern
Hungary being Dacian, is Strabo's r€7oi'e rrjs x^pas fiepiafios
(rvfifiiuwy €K waXaiov' Tovi fikv yap Aaxovs wpoaayopevovvt, tovs ^k
Viras, Tiras fjikv irpos tov lldvToy KCKXifjierovs, rac irpos njv ew, Aaicovs
^e Toifs els r&yavTia irpos Tepfxaviay Kai rds tov "Itrrpov irriyas. —
From Zeuss, in w, Geta, Daci,
In Moravia we have as the basis of argument, an existing Slavonic
population, speaking a language identical with the Bohemian, but
different from the other Slavonic languages, and (as such) requiring
a considerable period for the evolution of its differential characters.
This brings us to Bohemia. At present it is Slavonic. When did
it begin to be otherwise ? No one informs us on this point. Why
should it not have been so ab initio, or at least at the beginning of
the historical period for these parts ? The necessity of an answer
to this question is admitted ; and it consists chiefly (if not wholly)
in the following arguments; — a, those connected with the term
Marconianni ; b. those connected with the term Boiohemum,
a. Marcomanni, — ^This word is so truly Germanic, and so truly
capable of being translated into English, that those who believe in
no other etymology whatever, may. believe that Marc-o-manni, or
Marchmen, means the men of the (boundaries) marches ; and without
overlooking either the remarks of Mr. Kemble, on the limited nature
of the word mearc, when applied to the smaller divisions of land, or
the doctrine of Grimm, that its primary signification is wood or fo-
rest, it would be an over-refinement to adopt any other meaning for it
in the presenUquestion than that which it has in its undoubted combi-
nations, Markgrave, Altmark, Mittelmark, Ukermark, and the Marches
191
of Wales and Scotland. If so, it was the name of a line of enclosing
frontier rather than of an area enclosed ; so that to call a country like
the whole of Bohemia, Marcomannic, would be like calling all Scot-
land or all Wales the Marches.
Again, as the name arose on the western, Germanic or OaUic side
of the March, it must have been the name of an eastern frontier in
respect to Gaul and Germany ; so that to suppose that there were
Germans on the Bohemian line of the Marcomannic is to suppose that
the march was no mark (or boundary) at all, at least in an ethnolo-
gical sense. This qualification involves a difficulty which the writer
has no wish to conceal ; a march may be other than an ethnological
division. It may be a, political one. In other words, it may be like
the Scottish Border, rather than like the Welsh and the Slavono-
Germanic marches of Altmark, Mittelmark, and Ukermark. At any
rate, the necessity for a march being a line of frontier rather than a
large compact kingdom, is conclusive against the whole of Bohemia
having been Germanic because it was Marcomannic^
b. The arguments founded on the name Boiohemum are best met
by showing that the so-called country (home) of the Boii was not
Bohemia but Bavaria. This will be better done in the sequel than
now. At present, however, it may be as well to state that so strong
are the facts in favour of Boiohemum and Baiovarii meaning, not the
one Bohemia and the other Bavaria, but one of the two countries, that
Zeuss, one of the strongest supporters of the doctrine of an originally
Germanic population in Bohemia, applies them both to the first-
named kingdom ; a circumstance, which prepares us for expecting,
that if the names fit the countries to which they apply thus loosely,
Boiohemum may as easily be Bavaria, as the country of the Baiovarii
be Bohemia ; in other words, that we have a convertible form of ar-
gument.
2. " Vocabularies of certain North American Languages." By
T. Howse, Esq.
The vocabularies of the first of the two following tables represent
languages or dialects of that section of the American Indians which
is known under the name of Chipewyan (different from the Chip-
peways or Ojibbeways) or Athabascan; this last being the term
recommended by Gallatin in his ' Synopsis,' and adopted by Prichard
in his ' Physical History of Man.'
Those of the second contain the Ktitani, a language hitherto un-
classified, and two dialects of the great Atna class of languages,
spoken from the head- waters of Frazer's River to the parts about
Puget's Sound.
192
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ENGLISH.
KUTANI.
Otter
th cow oh lit.
Ww%w9%^m
in new yah.
martin
nac suck.
mutmuuh
tmmbgrejfplain wolf
an CO.
-skin koots.
birdt
to coots cah nun nah.
bluejay
CO quis kay.
crow
coke kin.
ranen
nah nah key.
maket {rattletuaJte)
wilt le malt.
garter make
ah CO new slam.
roots (canuut)
hap pey.
xktSi cam me shou.
bitter root
tobacco root
mass mass.
Mweet potatoes
ah whis sea.
mooee berry
ac CO mo.
strawberry
ac CO CO.
pipe
couse.
pipe stem
ac coot lah.
axe
ah coot talt.
tobacco
yacket.
Jiesh
ah coot lack.
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. FEBRUARY 22, 1850. No. 92.
Professor Kbt in the Chair.
A paper was read : —
"On the Probable Future Position of the English Language."
By T. Watts, Esq. '
Since the revival of letters there has been a general tendency to
the establishment of what may be called a universal language, that
is, of a language universally understood by those who make any at
all an object of liberal study. At the present time there can be
no doubt that this honour, so far as possessed by any language in
Europe, is still in possession of the French, though its position is no
longer so commanding as it was. In any country foreign to France
in which two modem languages are made an object of cultivation,
French is one of the two ; in those countries where only one is cul-
tivated, French is the one.
The position now occupied by the French was, it is often said, for-
merly in the possession of the Latin language ; but this is not ex-
actly the case. The Latin language not only enjoyed the distinction
which French possesses, but one of much superior value. The
French is read by the scholars of different countries ; the Latin was
not only read, but written. The effects are widely different. At
the commencement of the sixteenth century Erasmus of Rotterdam
was the most distinguished author of Holland and the most distin-
guished author of Europe. His productions issued from the presses
of Rotterdam, London, and Basil ; they were read with equal ad-
vantage in every civilized country. At the commencement of the
nineteenth century Bilderdijk was the most distinguished author of
Holland, and almost unknown even by name beyond its boundaries.
Southey, in his epistle to Allan Cunningham, mentions his name,
and thus proceeds : —
" ' And who is Bilderdijk?' methinks thou sayest;
A ready question, yet which, trust me, Allan,
Would not be ask'd bad not the curse that came
From Babel, dipt the wings of Poetry.
Napoleon ask'd him once, with cold, fix'd look,
* Art thou then in the world of letters known?'
And meeting his imperial look with eye
As little wont to turn away before
The face of man, the Hollander replied,
* At least I have done that whereby I have
There to be known deserved.' '*
Perhaps Bilderdijk had a genius equal to that of Erasmus, but
Erasmus wrote in Latin and Bilderdijk Mrrote in Dutch, and these
were the consequences.
This difference in the universality of the Latin and French — that the
one was generally read and written, the other only read — is evidently
VOL. IV. 2 A
208
one of great importance. The effect of the diJBPunon of the Latin
language was to enable every writer of whatever country to assume
the station to which his talents entitled him ; the effect of the dif-
fusion of the French has been to concentrate the attention of Europe
on the writers of a particular nation, who might or might not be
worthy of it. There have been periods, such as during tiie reign of
Napoleon for instance, when the literature of France was, beyond
comparison, inferior to those of England and Germany. It was a
poor consolation for the Englishman who was unable to read in the
original Goethe and Schiller, or for the German who could have
wished to study Scott and Byron, to give his nights and days to the
pages of Ch&teaubriand and Lebrun.
There are no insuperable difficulties indeed in the way of a fo-
reigner's attaining a sufficient mastery over the French language to
use it as an author, at least as far as prose is concerned, and at one
time it seemed not unlikely that a fashion of doing so might arise.
** Several foreigners," says Gibbon, " have seized the opportunity of
speaking to Europe in this common dialect, and Germany may plead
the authority of Leibnitz and Frederick, of the first of her philo-
sophers and the greatest of her kings." England was once in the
danger of losing to a foreign language the immortal production of
Gibbon himself, who had indeed published his youthful ' Essay on
Literature,' in French, and it is to the advice of Hume, though he had
himself once conceived the notion of retiring to France and adopting
its language, that we are indebted for the enrichment of English
with the ' Decline and Fall.' Cbethe, it is said, regretted even in
later life, the abandonment of an early project to compose his wri-
tings in the best-known language of Europe.
For the last century, however, the torrent of example has set the
other way. It is now just about a hundred years ago that Klopstock
paved the way to the recultivation of German, and a language till
that time neglected and despised has assumed a position among the
first and richest in Europe, rich both in its native resources and in the
productions of genius. This lesson has been fertile in results, llie
countries of Scandinavia, though their combined population is scarcely
equal to that of the seventh of Germany, have brought two languages
into the field. These, from their similarity to English and German,
might be acquired without great effort by those already acquainted
with both, but with the Slavonic languages the case is very different.
The Russian and the Polish literatures, one of them brought into
existence during this period, the other revived after a long trance
which threatened to be fatal, are in languages quite unconnected with
any that had previously been considered worthy of the cultivation
of the scholar. The extent of Europe which belongs to the domain
of the Slavonic tribes is however so vast, that it might have been
considered probable that at some period one of their dialects, at all
events, would rise into literary importance. But the cultivation of
the Slavonic languages was followed by that of the Hungarian. A
language wholly remote from any other European speech, except
the Finnish and the Laplandic, has been made the vehicle, not only
of poetry and fiction, but of natural history and mathematics «
209
Tbe Himgarian makes the nxth language whieli, dtiiing the last
century, has risen to the dignity af a langnage o# books and literatnfe.
Within the centoiy before it there "was not one that had changed its
footing in this lespeet in a striking degree. There are still in
different comers of Europe a .few languages which remain in the
same position that they then occupied, or in very nearly the same ;
and of these there is a remarkable number in the British islands.
The progress of each of these six languages has been greeted as a
sign and harbinger of the progress of cultivation, but should we be
prepared to hail with similar gratulation a similar advance on the
part of the Oaelic, the Irish, or the Wdsh ? ^
The tendency of all these changes has been to lessen the predo-
minance of the French language, and to alter the literary centre of
Europe. The cause of thu pre-eminence of French has been the
subjeet of some interesting speculation, and in the year 1 783 the Aca-
demy of BeiUn proposed the question for a prize. The answer which
obtained the reward was tiie well-known dissertation of Rivarol, ' De
rUniversalit^ de la Lang^e Fran^aise,' which has been frequently
reprinted, and has obtained a reputation somewhat out of proportion
to its merits. In this essay Rivarol passes but lightly over the
claims of the Italian, the Spanish, and the German languages, to
that supremacy which the FVench has obtained, but enters at some
length into the examination of tiie comparative claims of the French
and ourselves. The Italian language, he observes, was too early
ripe ; at the time when it had the advantage over all its rivals, Europe
was not yet sufficiently senuble of the necessity of a general dialect
of literature to make choice of any. The harmony of Italian is also
too monotonous; the constant termination of its words in vowels
has been found so wearisome in prose, tiiat poetical license in Italian
has the unusual tendency to make the words shorter and harsher.
To Spanish he hardly considers any claim to have ever belonged,
yet that noble and harmonious language is free from the fault with
which he reproaches the Italian, and was at one period spoken by a
nation which held the fieurest portion of the old worid, and spread
its conquests far and wide in the new. There was a time when
Spanish was frequently introduced 'for whole scenes in Italian plays,
and even occasionally on the stage at Paris, — when it was commonly
spoken in the courts of Italy and in that of Vienna. To the defi-
ciencies of Spanish literature, and to the remoteness of the Peninsula
from the other civilized nations of Europe, must no doubt he ascribed
the singular neglect which has placed it as low in the list of culti-
vated languages as it once stood high. Of German, Rivarol main-
tains that it came too late — that the place was already taken, and
that it has the disadvantage of being a language entirely new in lite-
rature. There was he asserts, a necessity that the predominant lan-
guage of Europe should be connected with the venerated language
of ancient Rome, since to that all the cultivated tongues, with
the exception of German, exhibited undoubted affinities.
There is a geographical reason, on which Rivarol lays no stress, to
which the Marquis Du Roure, who subsequently touched on the same
subject, was inclined to attribute the whole weight of the decision.
2 a2
210
ITrance, saya Du Boure, is eituated preciBely in the centre of the five '
priocipal nations of Europe. The Englishmim who wishes to visit '
either Simin, or Italy, or Oermany, without incurring- the fatigue of a
long sea voyage, muat necessarily pass through France, and in the
same way the inhabitantof each of these other countries is compelled
to take the same road. What cau he more natural than for a nation to
study the language of its nearest neighbour ? and Prance is the only
neat neighbour of Home of these nations, as near as any to all. To
this motive the Marquis attaches so much importance, that he states
his belief, that if, owing to some startling revolution, the Baeque or
Breton were to become the general language of France, Basque or
Breton would immediately become the moat fashionable foreign Ian-
g^uage in England, Germany. Italy and Spain.
If however we admit the correctness of Du Roure'e hypotheeiB,
with regard to the original cause of the predominance of FVench, it
will not necessarily follow that the same causes arc now in operation.
Undoubtedly at the time tliat France was elected, the number of
voters who would be supposed to influence the decision was but five :
the constituency has now been extended ; the Russians, the Poles,
the Hungarians, the Scandinavians have obtained the suffrage. The
same reasons that formerly decided the predominance of French,
have now a tendency to promote the advancement of German. The
country of each of the rising hteratures touches on Germany, and, as
has been before remarked, the literary centre of Europe has changed.
There ha£ been a similar alteration with regard to the affinity of
the literary nations with the Latin language, the point which has
been dwelt upon by Rivarol, Among the new competitors in the
field, not one has the slightest connection with Latin or the Homanic
dialects ; many are closely akin to German ; the others are likely to
r^ard with more favour a language entirely dependent on its own
resources and that can be studied by itself, than one which to he
fully intelligihle requires some study of its ancient stock. Thus two
of the advantages which France formerly possessed are turned against
itself and transferred to German. ITiat language has in addition
a vast and striking recommendation whicli neither Rivarol nor Du
Roure has adverted to. Of the cultivated languages of Europe, none
is so weak an instrument of translation aa the French, and none is
more powerful than the German. Tlus consideration, which must
always have been an important one in discussing the cluima of a
language to the place of a representative, has become doubly so by
the circumstances of the modern hterary world. In French, there
is not even a tolerable translation of Tasso. or Arioito, or Dante, or
Calderon, much leas of Shakspeare, or Bums, or Byron. If only
one of the modern languages of Europe can descend to posterity, or
which is much the same, if posterity can only find time to make itself
master of one, it is the interest of the world that that one ahould
rather be German than French.
The time seems fast approacliing when the predominance in point
of language will have to undergo a revolution, and these consi-
derations would appear to be weighty enough to bend the decision
to the side of German, were it not for the existence of another
I
I
211
language whose claims are slUl more commanding. That language
is our owa. Two centuries ago the proud position that it now occu-
pies was beyond the reach of anticipation. We all smile at the well-
knowD boast of Waller in his linee on the death of Cromwell, but it
was the loftiest that at the time the poet found it in his power to
make: —
" Under the trouie ia our language spoke,
And part of Flandera hatb received our yoke."
"I care not," said Milton, "to be once named abroad, though
perhaps 1 could attain to that, being content with these islands as
my world." A French Jesuit Gamier, in 1678, laying down rules
for the arrangement of a library, thought it superfluous to say any-
thing of English books, because, as he observed, " libri Anglici
scripti linguS vix mare ttansmittunt." 8wift, in the earUer part of
the eighteenth century, in his ' Proposal for correcting, improving,
and ascertaining the English tongue,' observed, " the fame of our
writers is usually confined to these two islands." Not quite a hun-
dred years ago Dr. Johnson seems to have entert^ned far from a
lofty idea of the legitimate aspirations of an English author. He
quotes in a number of the Rambler (No. 118, May 4th, 1751)
from the address of Africanus as given by Cicero, in his Dream of
Scipio : — " The territory which you inhabit is no more than a scanty
island inclosed by a small body of water, to which you give the
name of the great sea and the Atlantic ocean. And even in this
known and frequented continent what hope can you entertain that
your renown will pass the stream of Ganges or the cliffs of Caucasus,
or by whom will your name be uttered in the extremities of the north
or south towards the rising or the setting sun? So narrow is the
space to which your fame can be propagated, and even there how
long will it remain?" " I am not inclined," remarks Johnson, " to
believe that they who among us pasa their lives in the cultivation of
knowledge or acquisition of power, have very anxiously inquired
what opinion^ prevail on the further banks of the Ganges The
hopes and fears of modern minds are content to range in a narrower
compass ; a single nation, and a few years have generally sufficient
amplitude to fill our imagination." What a singular comment on
this passage is supplied by the fact tliat the dominions of England
now stretch from the Ganges to the Indus, that the whole space of
India is dotted with the regimental libraries of its European con-
querors, and that Basselaa baa been translated into Bengalee ! A
few years later the great historian of England had a much clearer
perception of what was then in the womb of Fate. When Gibbon,
as has been already mentioned, submitted to Hume a specimen of
his intended History of Switzerland, composed in French, he received
a remarkable letter in reply : " Why," aaid Hume, " do you compose
in French and carry faggots into the wood, oa Horace says with
regard to Romans who wrote in Greek? I grant that you have a
like motive to those Romans, and adopt a language much more ge-
nerally diffused than your native tongue, but have you not remarked
the fate of those two ancient languages in following ages ? 'ITie
Latin, though then less celebrated and confined to more narrow
213
limits, hua in some measure outlived the Oreek, aod is aow more
geaerally understood by men of letterss Let the French tberefore
triumph in the present difiiiaioB of their tongue. Our solid and
increasing establishments in Americft, where we need less dread the
inundation of barbariane, promise a euperior stability and duration
to the English language."
Every year that has since ekpsed has added a superior degree of
probability to the anticipations of Hume. At present the prospects
of the English language are the most splendid that the worid has
ever seen. It is spreading in each of the quarters of the globe by
fashion, by emigration, and by conquest. 'I'he increase of popa-
lation alone in the two great states of Europe and America in which
it is spoken, adds to the number of its speakers in every year that
passes, a greater amount than the whole number of those who ^cak
some of the literary languages of Europe.either Swedish, or Danish, or
Dutch. It is calculated that before the lapse of the present century,
a time that so many now alive will live to witness, it will be the
native and vernacular language of about one hundred and ttfty mil-
lions of human beings.
What will be the state of Christendom at the time that this vast
prepanderance of one language will be brought to bear on all its
relations, — at the time when a leading nation in Europe andagigantic
nation in America make use of the same idiom, — when in Africa and
Australasia the same language is in use by rising and influential
communities, and the world is circled by the accents of Shakspeare
and MUton ? At that time such of the other languages of Europe
as do not estend their empire beyond this quarter of the globe will
be reduced to the same degree of insignificance in comparison with
English, as the subordinate languages of modem Europe to those of
the state they belong to, — the Welsh to theEnglish, die Basque to the
Spanish, the Finnish to the Russian. This predominance, we may
flatter ourselves, will be a more sigpnal blessing to literature than that
of any other language could possibly be. The English ia essentially
a medinm longuage ; — in the Teutonic femity it stands midway be-
tween the Germanic andScandinavian branches— it unites, as no other
language unites, the Romanic and the Teutonic stocks. This fits it
admirably in many cases for translation. A German writer, Prince
Piickler Muskau, has given it as his opinion that English is even
better adapted than German to be the general interpreter of the
literature of Europe. Another German writer, Jenieoh, in his ela-
borate ' Comparison of Fourteen Ancient and Modem Languages of
Europe,' which obtained a prize from the Berlin Academy in 1796,
assigns the general jialm of excellence to the English. In literary
treasures what other language can claim the superiority ? If Rivarol
more than sixty years back thought the collective wealth of its lite-
rature able to dispute the pre-eminence with the French, the victory
has certainly notrieparted from us in the timethathas since elapsed.—
the time of Wordsworth and Southey, of Rogers and Campbell, of
Scott, of Muure, and of Byron.
The prospect is so glorious that it seems an ungrateful task to
interrupt its enjoyment by a shade of doubt ; but as the English Ian-
213
guage has attained to this eminent station from small beginnings,
may it not be advisable to consider whether obstacles are not in
existence, which, equally small in their beginnings, have a probability
of growing larger ? The first consideration that presents itself is
that English is not the only language firmly planted on the soil of
America, the only one to which a glorious future is, in the probable
course of things, assured.
A sufficient importance has not always been attached to the fact,
that in South America, and in a portion of the northern continent,
the languages of the Peninsula are spoken by lai^ and increasing
populations. The Spanish language is undoubtedly of easier acqui-
sition for the purposes of conversation than our own, from the
harmony and clearness of its pronunciation ; and it has the recom-
mendation to the inhabitants of Southern Europe of greater affinity
to their own languages and the Latin. Perhaps the extraordinary
neglect which has been the portion of this language for the last
century and a half may soon g^ve place to a juster measure of
cultivation, and indeed the recent labours of Prescott and Hcknor
seem to show that the dawn of that period has already broken.
That the men of the North should acquire an easy and harmonious
Southern language seems in itself much more prolMible than that the
men of the South should study a Northern language not only rugged
in its pronunciation, but capricious in its orthography. The dominion
of Spanish in America is however interrupted and narrowed by that
of Portuguese, and to a singular degree by that of the native lan-
guages^ some of which are possibly destined to be used for literary
purposes in ages to come.
At the time when Hume wrote his letter to Gibbon, the conquest
of Canada had very recently been effected. The rivalry of the
French and English in North America had been terminatCNi by the
most signal triumph of the English arms. Had measures been taken
at that time to discourage the use of French and to introduce
that of English, there can be little doubt that English would now
be as much the language of Quebec and Montreal as it is of New
York and the Delaware. Those measures were not taken. At this
moment, when we are approaching a century from the battle of the
Heights of Abraham, there is still a distinction of races in Canada,
nourished by a distinction of language, and both appear likely to
continue.
Within the United States themselves, a very large body of the
inhabitants have remained for generation after generation igpiorant
of the En^ish lang^ge. The number is uncertain. According to
Strieker, in his dissertation * Die Verbreitung dee deutschen Volkes
liber die Erde,' published in 1845, the popukition of Oerman origin
in the United States in 1844 was 4,886,632, out of a total of
18,980,650. This statement, though made in the most positive terms,
is founded on an estimate only, and has been shown to be much ex-
aggerated. Wappaus (in his ' Deutsche Auswanderung und Colo-
nisation*), after a careful examination, arrives at the conclusion that
the total cannot amount to a million and a half. Many of these
are of doiurse acquainted with both languages — in several cases where
amslgaroation has taken place, the German language has died out j
and been replaced by the English, — but the number of communitieB
where it is still prevalent is much larger than is generally supposed.
Ill PennBylvania, Ohio, and Missouri, to say nothing of other
states, there are masses of populiition of German origin or descent,
who are only acquainted with German. 'I'hiB tendency has of late
years increased instead of declining. It has been a favourite project
with recent German emigrants to form in America a state, in which
the language should be Gennan, and from the vast numbers in which
they have crossed the Atlantic, there is nothing improbable in the
supposition, that, by obtaining a majority in some one state, this ob-
ject will be attained. In 1 835 the legislature of Pennsylvania placed
the German language in its legal rights on the same footing with the
English.
It may be asked if any damage will be done by this ? The damage,
it may be answered, will be twofold. The parties who are thns
formed into an isolated community, with a language distinct from
that of those around them, will be placed under the same disadvan-
tages as the Welsh of our own day, who find themselves always as
it were some inches shorter than their neighbours, and have to make
an exertion to be on their level. Those of them who are only masters
of one language arc in a sort of prison ; those who are masters of
two might, if English had been their original speech, have had their
choice of the remaining languages of the world to exert the same
degree of labour on, with a better prospect of advantage. In the
case of Welsh, the language has many ties : even those who see most
clearly the necessity of forsaking it, must lament the harsh necessity
of abandoning to oblivion the ancient tongue of an ancient nation.
But these associations and feelings could not be pleaded in favour
of transferring the Welsh to Otaheite ; and when these feelings are
withdrawn, what valid reason will remain for the perpetuation of
Welsh, or even, it may be said, of German ?
The injury done to the community itself is perhaps the greatest;
but there is also a damage done to the world in general. It will be
a splendid and a novel experiment in modem society, if a single lan-
guage becomes so predominant over all others as to reduce them in
comparison to the proportion of provincial dialects. To have this
experiment fairly tried is a great object. Every atom that is sub-
tracted from the amount of the majority has its influence— it goes
into the opposite scale. If the Germans succeed in establishing
their language in the United States, other nations may fallow. The
Hungarian emigrants who are now removing thither from the ven-
geance of Austria may perpetuate their native Magyar, and America
may in time present a surface as checkered as Europe, or in some
parts, as Hungary itself, where the traveller often in passing from one
village to another finds himself in the domain of a different lan-
guage. That this consummation may be averted must be the wish,
not only of every Englishman and of every Anglo-American, but of
every sincere friend of the advancement of literature and civilization.
Perhaps a few more years of inattention to the subject will allow the
evil to make such progress that exertion to oppose it may come toolate.
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. MARCH 8, 1850. No. 93.
Professor Key in the Chair.
The Rev. Richard Congreve, of Wadham College, Oxford, was
elected a Member of the Society.
The following papers were then read : —
1. "On the Original Extent of the Slavonic Area." By R. G.
Latham, M.D.
The portion of the Slavonic frontier which will be considered this
evening is the north-western, beginning with the parts about the
Cimbric peninsula, and ending at the point of contact between the
present kingdoms of Saxony and Bohemia ; the leading physical link
between the two extreme populations being the Elbe.
For this tract, the historical period begins in the ninth century :
the classification which best shows the really westerly disposition of
the Slavonians of this period, and which gives us the fullest measure
of the extent to which, at that time at least, they limited the easterly
extension of the Germans, is to divide them into — a. the Slavonians
of the Cimbric peninsula ; b. the Slavonians of the right bank of the
Elbe ; c, the Slavonians of the left bank of the JSlbe ; the first and
last being the most important, as best showing the amount of what
may be called the Slavonic protrusion into the accredited Germanic
area,
a. The Slavonians of the Cimbric Peninsula. — Like the Slavonians
that constitute the next section, these are on the right bank of the
Elbe ; but as they are north of that river rather than east of it, the
division is natural.
The Wagrians, — Occupants of the country between the Trave and
the upper portion of the southern branch of the Eyder.
The Polabi, — Conterminal with the Wagrians and the Saxons of
Sturmar, from whom they were separated by the river Bille.
b, Slavonians of the right bank of the Elbe. — The Obodriti, — ^This is
a generic rather than a specific term ; so that it is probable that several
of the Slavonic populations about to be noticed may be but subdivi-
sions of the great Obotrite section. The same applies to the divisions
already noticed — the Wagri and Polabi : indeed the classification is so
uncertain, that we have, for these parts and times, po accurate means
of ascertaining whether we are dealing with Mift-divbions or cross*
divisions of the Slavonians. Af any rate the won' nx*#--Wwoft aae
of the best-known of the whole Hat? '**
some cases, to have equalled in im?
The varieties of orthography an
from Zeuss (in voce), where T^
Abotridi, Apodrita, Abatamdt
VOL. IV.
216
more, as evidence of the generic character of the word, we find
East'Obotrites (Oster-Abtrezi), conterminous with the Bulgarains,
and the North- Obotrites (Nort-Abtrezi), for the parts in question.
These are the north of Mecklenburg- Schwerin, from the Trave to
the Wamow, chiefly along the coast. Zeuss makes Schwerin their
most inland locality, ll^e Descriptio Civitatum gives them fifty-
three towns.
In the more limited sense of the term, the Obotrites are not conter-
minous with any Grerman tribe, being separated by the Wagri and
Polabi. Hence when Alfred writes, Nortan Eald-Seojcvm is Apdrede,
he probably merges the two sections last-named in the Obotritic.
Although not a frontier population, the Obotrites find place in
the present paper. They show that the Wagri and Polabi were not
mere isolated and outlying portions of the great feunily to which they
belonged, but that they were in due continuity with the main
branches of it.
Varnahi, — This is the form which the name takes in Adam of
Bremen. It is also that of the Vami, Varini, and Viruni of the
classical writers ; as well as of the Werini of the Introduction to the
Leges Angliorum ei Werinorum, hoc est Thuringorum, Now what-
ever the Varini of Tacitus may have been, and however much the
affinities of the Werini were with the Angli, the Vamahi of Adam
of Bremen are Slavonic.
c. Cis-Albian Slavonians, — Beyond the boundaries of the Duchies
of Holstein and Lauenburg, the existence of Germans on the right
bank of the Elbe, and of anything other than Slavonians on the left
bank, except in cases of forcible transfer in the way of colonization,
is not to be found. Hence all the other divisions that stand over
for notice are Cis-Albian ; these being the Linones of Liineburgh, and
the Hevelli of Altmark.
With Altmark the evidence of a Slavonic population changes, and
takes strength. The present Altmark is not German as Kent is
Saxon, but only as Cornwall is, t. e, the traces of the previous Sla-
vonic population are like the traces of the Celtic occupants of Corn-
wall, the rule rather than the exception. Most of the geographical
names in Altaiark are Slavonic, the remarkable exception being the
name of the Old March itself.
The Slavonic- Germanic frontier for the parts south of Altmark
becomes so complex as to require to stand over for future consi-
deration. All that will be done at present is to indicate the train
of reasoning applicable here, and applicable along the line of fron-
tier. If such was the state of things in the eighth and ninth cen-
turies, what reason is there for believing it to have been otherwise
in the previous ones ? The answer is the testimony of Tacitus and
others in the way of external, and the certain etymologies, &c. in
the way of internal evidence. W'ithout at preseht saying anything
in the way of disparagement to eillier of these series of proofiB» the
present writer, who considers that the inferences which have gene-
rally been drawn from them are illegitimate, is satisfied with exhi-
biting the amount of it-priori improbability which they have to
217
neutralize. If, when Tacitus wrote, the area between the Elbe and
Vistula was not Slavonic, but Gothic, the Slavonians of the time of
Charlemagne must have immigrated between the second and eighth
centuries ; must have done so, not in parts, but for the whole fron-
tier ; must have, for the first and last time, displaced a population
which has even been the conqueror rather than the conquered ;
must have displaced it during one of the strongest periods of its
history; must have displaced it everywhere, and wholly ; and (what
is stranger still) that not permanently, since from the time in ques-
tion, those same Germans, who between a.b. 200 and a.d. 800
always retreated before the Slavonians, have from a.d. 800 to a.d.
1 600 always reversed the process, and encroached upon their former
2. "A Vocabulary of the MaiongkoBg Language," By Sir Robert
Schomburgk.
It has already been stated* that the villages of the Guinaus are
sometimes intermixed with those of the Maiougkong. The chief
abode, however, of the latter is on the banks of the rivers Paranu
(Padano) and Matakuri, tributaries of the Orinoko, and the south-
eastern affluents of the river Ventuari, Their territory lies between
west long. 64° and 66° {from Greenwich), and north latitude 3° and
5°, and comprises about 14,000 square miles.
The Muongkong Indians belong no doubt to those tribes who
were known to the Spaniards under the general name of Maquiritarea,
They were formerly so numerous that their name was given to the
river Paranu, which in La Cruz's great map is designated as Rio
Maquiritares. It is remarkable that though they frequently inhabit
villages with the Guinaus together, there is little analogy between
their languages, excepting a few local words. This may be taken
as a proof that their association has only occurred at a bter period.
The Maiongkong resembles most the dialects of the Carib origin,
chiefly the Tamanak.
MAIONGKONG VOCABULARY.
h^r, uphuhari.
head, hohuha.
front, opheri.
eyes, uyennru.
eye-lashes, yenitza-huha.
eye-browB, yeni-hatu.
eye-lid, yeautuptha.
nose, yoanari.
mouth, undatli. •
lips, yexitti.
teeth, htyeti or irerike.
tongue, vaurie.
ears, phanari.
neck, upkemtttli,
cheeks, poheltari.
chin, yetamuru.
beard, yetamumtti.
shoulder, moia.
elbow, intsehutti.
wrist, yamukenaUi.
hand, yamalli.
finger, yamviti ttakottko.
finger-nail, yetnitti.
thumb, yama-tmmt.
lat finger, yamu tenetika.
2nd finger, yatnu liratavona.
218
little finger, yamu ienerika,
arm, yaphori,
breast, irahuitL
belly, oweni.
navel, ophoneri,
heart, yewanni,
ribs, sutari,
skin, opM9pha.
blood, munu.
flesh, ophunu,
back, inkatti.
thigh, yupheti,
knee, yemuru.
leg, phoreti.
ancle, irekewari,
foot, ohutu,
toes, oAvre nakonko.
large toe, ohurume,
little toe, ohurenerika,
father, j^aAa.
mother, mama,
grandfather, pa/?a Arono.
grandmother, no^ammv.
son, tangwa.
daughter, inneti,
husband, tamua,
wife, wori.
brother, yakonno.
sister, wo'tsa.
man, areiiphe,
woman, aretbU'Worike,
boy, phekuka or murekuka,
girl, worike,
earth, nono.
fire, «;a^o.
heaven, kaphu,
clouds, karutu,
sun, ^^At.
moon, nuna*
star, yeiika,
wind, pephete.
rain, konoho.
thunder, karimeru.
lightning, twangko-kuru,
water, ^una.
river, eraiphe tuna.
house, ante,
grass, siphara or pampateka,
tree, tyeh*,
* Sound
flower, tyehkunt.
forest-wood, yuwurri.
savannah, t(H>'tA.
firewood, K^a^o.
mountain, wttipke.
rock, /aAtt.
bow, tsimarehuru.
arrow, tsimarei,
blowpipe, kurata.
war club, tsabeta.
poisoned arrow, kumaraba,
poisoned arrow for the blowpipe,
mussareku.
basket for carrying burdens,
wuiwa,
pot, atina.
matappa, tinkoi,
sieve, manarima.
rasp, taraU'Ure.
tiger (or jaguar), maro,
deer of the savannah, purika.
deer of the forest, kawari.
deer, smallest kind, tshibatu.
dog, tsepheti.
agouri, agouri.
laba, oroma.
fish, nar^aA:aii«.
cock, kwameriha.
hen, kwameriha wori,
peccary, fakir a .
, tohahanna,
calabash, wuisa.
plantain, paruru,
banana, mekaro.
cassada-plant, tsherapke,
cassada-bread, opu.
yams, pieke,
batata, tsaku,
urari poison, kumaraba,
coata, yarrakaru.
bat, ^e^e.
savannah dog, yurako,
sloth, wareratto,
armadillo, kakau,
armadillo, 3-banded, marura,
capybara, yttwutu.
porcupine, aruru,
antbear, pademu,
the t separate.
1 ^^1
^ aquirrel, karihuma.
six, amahahaltauim. ^^^|
parpoiBe, wasatti.
seven, amahahatsake. ^^^|
harpy eagle, timosi.
eight, amahaltatuaba. ^^^|
toucan, Uhahoko.
nine, amahattataketiba. ^^H
H bell-bird, kweiCara.
ten. amahatta. ^^H
H rock manakin, kabanaru.
north, Isuraauhe. ^^^|
f marudi, tuokirft.
south, iAa^o. ^^^|
marudi, white-headed, kayeiei.
black darter, kararaha.
povriB, pavk.
abiru, Aafta.
day, yawannatti. ^^^^^^^^H
knife, ^^^^^^^^H
WBUara, aviaha.
^^^^^^^^^H
musk duck, yuruma.
^^^^^^^^^1
viciasi duck, w'lwiyu.
fishhooks, ^^^^^^^^^1
cormorant, kayuv^ei.
turtle (large), wararakarma.
file, kirrikirri. ^^H
turtle (email), ;.Awe.
glass beads, meiyuru. ^^^H
_ alligator, ArimoBaSwna.
glass beads, mock coral, tsewilta- ^^^H
^L lizard, arakassi.
kong. ^^^1
■ guana, (/nmanan.
scissors, tsakiha. ^^M
■ rattlesnake, sererekema.
looking-glass, pskuru. ^^^H
H boa, maicari.
pin, ariphireru. ^^^H
H frog, Atcnn^a.
needle, makuaa. ^^^H
■ frog (Hyla Faber), kwitlav.
r."k}'— ■ m
■ ating ray, inja mam.
■ pirei, kaloa.
^^^^^^^^^H
H electrical eel, tjihusi.
^^^^^^^^^1
H shell (Melania spec. P), tna-xst.
yellow, sephiralto. ^^^^^^^^^|
■ shell (flyHo spec. ?), pamphatti.
white, tapherihatlo. '^^^^^^^H
sheU (Unto «pec. ?), (otoroAw.
it ia good, assika. ^^^^|
shrimp, ts^ura.
scorpion, maaata.
it is cold, iamrne*. ^^H
^ tarantula. ^toAtiya.
it is warm, tanne. ^^H
H scolopendra, komeheke.
it is a small river, inkvakasake ^^H
B grasshopper, kuratei.
^^H
^ mosquito, niaie.
give me a long stick, kuwari sue. ^^H
tsbigo, tshika.
that stick is too short, tuatigk ^^H
sandfly, maptre.
nonohei yanari luati. ^^H
flea, urevtle.
the basket is too heavy, iamani ^^H
H louse, 2sami.
wuiaa. ^^H
no, it is too tight, akekimreware. ^^H
H one, foni.
make the calabash full, tukena- ^^H
^1 two, oAe.
tiinki kankurruba, ^^^H
■ three, airtaaba.
it tastes sweet, (one kunareke. ^^1
the pot is clean, uicUhka arinya 1
^H five, palaurmna.
nari. 1
^H • Sound ihE final i in 'famwr, („
«, strong, «i "eto ^^^^J
220
it is hot today, tanerinari irua,
he is a strong man, waruphete-
nari tangwa.
she is a handsome girl, awisku'
nari wort.
I am sick, I have fever, wohuirika,
kammerewari.
my belly pains me, ingtoeni sent
watte yehoti,
my head pains me, huassenena.
I have toothache, senenanareti,
is it true ? ingJcane ?
it is not true, awankotarri,
come here quick^ asima akarre,
how long has he been here } asi-
ma rametaka ?
come tomorrow, /ifitama woyo.
it is late, kaumuraba roorita,
give me some more, puiaha kitya
nepoya,
yes, eghomarina,
no, unke.
I am tired, yetamituake.
make haste, ashekomakare.
go away, ashimaaphana,
here it is, eramane nineyehaw.
what will you have for it ? aneke
pyumana ?
I have none, inkyewane akanua.
there are no more, kameya.
will' you sell this ? uiwa hewas^
awanne ?
where is it ? ishanno ?
since yesterday, ashera kemuntane.
The following comparison of the Tamanak, Macusi, and Garib,
with the Maiongkong, will give us an idea of the affinity which
exists between these dialects. The Tamanak is quoted from Oilij,
Humboldt, and Mithridates.
ENGLISH.
earth
sky
water , , ,
father . . ,
sun
fire
bread,
tree
house
mouth ....
eyes (my) . .
lips
tongue (my),
shoulder{my)
blood
heart (my),.
wife
sister
moon
clouds • • . .
rain
young family
or little ones
MAIONGKONG.
nono
kaphu ....
tuna
paha
tshi
wato
opu
tyeh
aute
undati ....
uyenuru . .
yewiti ....
unuru ....
mota
munu ....
yewanni
TAMANAK.
nono
capu
tuna
papa
MACUSI.
CARIBISIS OF
BRITISH GUIANA.
nung yuporo.
ka kapu.
tuna tuna.
papa yumu.
, fweyu or
we-
vapto
ute . ,
jeje ..
aute . .
mdate
jauuru
nuru
wori puti
woisa
nuna
karutu
konoho
> nakonko*
apo wato.
akeh aripa.
yeh apu.
aute ...'.. uto.
mutta .... indarri.
uyenu .... yenuru.
hepito.
hunu nuru.
humota. .
mong .... munipe.
huyewang. . turopo.
wori poiti.
wurisi .... wewe.
kapoi .... nuno.
katurupu . . kapurote.
kono konobo.
munke.
* Nakonko in Maiongkong, or munke in Macusi, is the general term for a
person's family ; for example, Btuiko munke, Basiko's children ; but the word is
likewise used figuratively, as (in Maiongkong) yamuiti nakonko^ Bngers, or 6ga-
ratively, the hand's little ones ; ohure nakwuko, toes, or the foot's little ones.
221
These examples render it evident that the Maiongkong resembles
more the Tamanak and its sister dialect, the Macusi, than the Cari-
bisi ns it is at present spoken in Guiana. I do not possess any other
words in Tamanak to extend the comparison, but being in possession
of ample materials of the Macusi language, I shall add the following
phrases in Maiongkong and Macusi, which render their affinity still
stronger.
ENGLISH. MAIONOKONO. IfACUfl.
it is cold kamme komikenai.
it is hot tanne ane.
make it full or fill it .,, tukenaninki ...... tukeyaniki.
come tomorrow kaumuraba (worita) komamuya.
come here asheka asika.
what will you have/or it} aneka pyumena • • haneyuste pomanang.
However, there are some words in the Maiongkong language which
do not bear any affinity to the Carib-Tamanak dialects, namely tshi,
' sun/ hohuha, ' head,' and its derivative uphuhari, ' hair.' I am not
acquainted with any vocabulary in South and North America which
possesses words for 'head' and 'hair' which are similar to those in
Maiongkong. Echuja, ' head/ in Sapiboconi, one of the tribes of
the Peruvian family, comes nearest. ' Sun,' which in the Carib-
Tamanak dialects is expressed hf weyu, vejou, weyou, weh, or some
other sound closely allied to it, is tshi in Maiongkong, approaching
on the one hand the chioi (French pronunciation) of the Menieng,
a language now almost extinct, which Balbi enumerates among his
' Famille Machacaris-Camacan,' and on the other hand to tschikinuk
(German pronunciation) of the *Tcliouktche Americain' and ^cA^Are-
nak (German pronunciation) of the ' Tchouktche Asiatique du Cap
Tchouktchi,' as quoted by Balbi. It will be of interest to follow the
affinities of this word from the southern part of America to the
abodes of the Esquimaux and Tchouktches.
Sun in Maiongkong ^^Ai.
— Omagua huarassi.
Menieng chioii,
Kiriri uche.
Mundrucu uaschi.
Maypuri chie.
Huasteca aquieha,
Cora xeucat»
Eslenes tomanis-ashi,
Choctas hashe, hasce.
Muskhogee AflA5i>( Gallatin), hashseh (Mithrid.).
Shawanno (Buttlar) keeshathwa.
Kikkapoos (Sm. Barton) kishessua,
f Minsi •••••••••• (Sm. Barton) quishough^ gischuch.
KTawP •— "^^ub) cMssogh,
•m
222
Sun in Chippeways (Carver) kissis,
Messisaugis (Sen. Barton) keeshoo.
Chepewyan (Mackenzie) sah.
Tribes of the N.W. 1 (^rchaol. Amer. vol. ii. p. 380) tzue.
coast of America J ^ r /
Kinai (Lisiansky) tshanu*
Esquimaux (Long) shikonack,
Tchouktche Ameri- 1 ^g^^^ tschikimk.
cam or Aglemoute J ^ '
Tchouktche Asia-"1
tique du Cap >shekenak..
Tchouktchi . . J
Kadjak t (Robeck) tshinguguk.
3. " A List of Words from the Gower Dialect of Glamorganshire.
By the Rev. J. Collins.
»9
Angletouch, worm.
Bumbagus, bittern.
Brandis, iron stand for a pot or
kettle,
Caffle, adj. entangled.
Cammet, adj. crooked.
Cloam, earthenware.
Charnel, a place raised in the roof
for hanging bacon.
Clit, V. to stick together.
Deal, litter, of pigs.
Dotted, giddy, of a sheep.
Dome, adj. damp.
Dreshel, n.s. a flail.
Eddish, n.s. wheat-stubble.
Evil, n.s. a three-pronged fork
for dung, 8fC.
Firmy, v. to clean out, of a stable,
SfC.
Fleet, adj. exposed in situation,
bleak.
Flott, n.s. aftergrass.
Flamiring, s. an eruption of the
nature of erysipelas*
Fraith, ^dyfree- spoken, talkative.
Frithing, a fence made of thorns
wattled.
Foust, V. act. to tumble.
Flathin, n. s. a dish made of curds,
eggs, and milk.
Gloy, n.s. refuse straw after the
" reed" has been taken out.
Gloice, n. s. a sharp pang of pain.
Heavgar, adj. heavier (so also
near-ger, far-ger) .
Hamrach, n. s. harness collar made
of straw.
Hay, n.s. small plot of ground
attached to a dwelling.
Kittybags, n. s. gaiters.
Lipe, n. s. matted basket ofpecu'
liar shape.
Letto, n. s. a lout, a foolish fellow.
Main, adj. strong, fine (of grow-
ing crops).
Nesseltrip, n. s. the small pig in
a litter.
Nommet, n.s. a luncheon of bread,
cheese, SfC. — not a regular meal,
mlllity, } 'ively^convalescent.
Ovice, n. s. eaves of a building.
Plym, V. to fill, to plump up.
Plym, adj./ii//.
Planche, V. to make a boarded floor.
Peert, adj. lively, brisk.
Purty, V. n. to turn sulky.
223
Quat, v. act. to press downtflatten,
Quapp, v. n. to throb.
Ratbe» adj. early, of crops,
Reremouse, n. s. hat.
Kyle, y. to angle in the sea.
Riff, n.s. an instrument for sharp-
ening scythes,
Seggy, V. act, to tease, to provoke.
Semmatt, n. s. sieve made of skin
for winnowing.
Shoat, n. s. small wheaten loaf.
Showy, Y.n.to clear (of weather) ;
(show, with termination y, com-
mon).
Soul, n. s. cheese, butter, Sgc, (as
eaten with bread).
Snead, n. s. handle of a scythe.
Songalls, n. s. gleanings: ''to
gather songall,** is to glean.
Sul, or Zul, n. 8. a wooden plough.
Stiping, n. s. a mode of fastening
a sheep* s foreleg to its head by
a band of straw, or withy.
Susan,**]!, s. a brown earthenware
pitcher.
Sump, n. s. any bulk that is car-
ried.
Suant, part, regular, in order.
Slade, n. s. ground sloping to-
wards the sea.
Tite, V. to tumble over.
Toit, n. s. a small seat or stool
made of straw.
Toit, B.d}. frisky, wanton.
Vair, n. s. weasel or stoat.
Want, n. s. a mole.
Wirg, n. 8. a willow.
Wimble, v. to winnow.
Weest, adj. lonely, desolate.
Wash-dish, n. s. the titmouse.
VOL. IV.
2c
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
MARCH 22, 1850.
Wedowood, Esq., in tbe Chair.
The following gentlemen were elected Members of the Society : —
Dr. Carl Meyer, Secretary to His Hovel Highneas Prince Albert,
Uev. B. Jowett, Fellow and Tutor of Balliol College, Oxford.
A paper was then read —
"On the position occupied by the Slavonic Dialects among- the
other Languages of the Indo-European family." By Prof. IVithen.
It is proposed in this paper to point out the peculiar position
which the Slavonic dialects occupy among the other Indo-European
languages, to Khow the advantages which comparative philology lias
derived and may yet derive from the study of their grammar, and to
draw attention to the peculiar character of their literatures.
It is well known that the term " Slavonian" or " Slavonic," both
in the form in which it appears for th« first time in the sixth century,
in the writings of Procopius (as Sk\q/3i(iiji), and of Jornandes (aa
Sclavini}, and in the acceptation it bears at the present time, is em-
ployed to designate numerous nations of kindred origin inhabiting
the greater part of Europe eastward of the Vistula. It is also gene-
rally admitted that these Sclaveni of the Byzantine historian and
of the Gothic bishop, and the Slavonians of the middle ages, are
identical with the older Sarmalie of Ptolemy and Strabo ; that the
latter were the same people who had long been known to the Greeks
under the name of Scyt/iiang; and consequently that the present
inhabitants of the eastern parts of Europe are descended from those
nations of remote antiquity who lived to the north of the Black Sea.
of whom Herodotus speaks as having drawn on themselves the ven-
geance of Darius, and whose country, manners and customs he has
so fully described.
It is true, however, that these results of a strict and conscientious
criticism have not been arrived at without setting aside many pre-
vailing opinions, nor established without causing the downfall of
many a theory. For the names of Scythia and Scythians, as well aa
those of Sarmatia and Sarmatians, were used by the ancients in a
vague sense. Tins some of their authors have themselves acknow-
ledged. Strabo, for example, remarks, thai by many of the Greeks
all the nations of the extreme north were termed indefinitely Scy-
thians or Nomadee, just as those of the south were called Ethiopians.
And Pliny says that the northern nations in general were called
Scythians, but that as particular tribes became better known, they
were distinguished as Germans and Sarmatians, and the ancient
^pellation of Scythians was applied to Che inhabitants of unex-
plored regions.
It Is natural therefore that this vague and indelinite use of
226
term " Scythia" in the writings of earlier authors, should have pro<
duced many coDflictiog testimonies and iireconcileable Btatemeuts in
the works of Strabo, Mela, Pliny, and Ptolemy; hence that ines-
^cable confusion in the ancient geography and history of the coun-
triea northwards of the Black Sea, which has bewildered and misled
the moet eniinent acholars and antiquarians of our own times. Thoa
the late theories of the Ugriau origin of the Scythians ; the belief
tliat the I'urk? and Tatars are descended from them ; the absurd
hope which Klaproth has expressed, that " none of his readers are
eo ignorant as to confound or identify the Slavi with the older Sar-
matians ;" — all these and many other fallacies have sprung from the
futile attempt to reconstruct IScythia from materials contained in
ancient geographers, none of wliora had any better authority for their
assertions than hearsay and tradition. But Herodotus knew the
Scythians from personal knowledge. His residence in the Greek
colonies on tlie Euxine had given him the opportunity of studying
the history and customs of the people in whose land his enterprising
countrymen had succeeded in gaining a footing ; and the joumeya
which he himself is said to have undertaken into the interior, have
raised his testimony to that of an eye-witness. He describes the
Eiple whom he calls Scythians as a distinct nation, differing in
guage, religion, and institutions, from their fellow-barharians to
the north of the Danube, and as clearly defined by their name as
were the Greeks or Persians. Herodotus is more to be depended
upon than the authors who came after him, and it is from an im-
partial study of the fourth book of his history that we have derived
the conviction of the Scythian origin of the Slavonic nations of the
present day. For the proofs of the preceding statement, we must
refer the reader to the third volume of Dr. Prichard's ' Resesrches
into the Physical History of Mankind.'
These Scythians — who at a later period of their history were
known under the name of SaroDatians, who in the first centuries of
the middle ages overran almost the whole of Europe in swarms of
Slavonians, Antes, and Wendea, and who now hold a greater extent
of country than is occupied by any other aggregate of kindred na-
tions in Europe — these Scythians of Herodotus said of themselves
more than twenty-three centuries ago, that " they were the youngest
of all nations*." And what is the meaning of those words, but that
the Scythians considered themselves to be the youngest oi those
Asians to whose successive immigrations we owf the present popu-
lation of Europe } that they were the last to leave their common
fatherland south of the Himalaya, and were only then beginning
their history ?
What was true more than 2000 years ago is true at the present
time. Western Europe has now for nearly a century witnessed the
growth of a Slavonic empire, which has already made no small figure
in modem history, and of whose physical force it entertains great,
though it is believed unfounded apprehensions. The secret of the
surprising energy which this empire has displayed in acquiring the
• 'Qs^e Sitiftii Xeyouiri, veuiraroi' airdvTiuveSviuiviuvaiTiirpiTfpBv, — iv. 5.
227
latest results of modem civilization and applying them for purposes of
her own ; engrafting them as it were on her own existence, and yet
causing them to bear a different fruit ; the secret of this wonderful
vitality has been sought for in the youthfiilness of Russia. Indeed
it is not only because her name appears last in the pages of history,
that Russia has been called the youngest among the European
powers ; but because she represents in truth the youngest branch of
that great Asian family whose members have each in succession been
called upon to lead the destinies of Europe.
One tribe, and probably the oldest, of that primitive race, who from
the centre of Asia have carried civilization over the greater part of
the globe, has remained on its native soil. It spread itself quietly
and without much resistance over the whole of India. No disturbing
forces are known to have checked or even modified the original ten-
dency of its existence. The Brahman of the present time with his
religious ceremonies, is evidently the representettive of the primitive
priest who, in the earliest days of Asian society, presided over the
sacrifice, and invoked the elements of nature in those sacred hymna
which now form the body of the Veda. His religion, his laws, his
philosophy and institutions bear no traces of a foreign element ;
they all are the necessary consequence of the original constitution
of the people of Aryavasta ; they all follow naturally from the germs
contained in the Vedas. Tlie manners and customs of the people
of India, their superstitions, their very weakness, are to be referred
to the same source. They exhibit a principle carried out to its ut*
most extent with the strictest consistency. The Hindti is among
the Asians what the Jew is in the Semitic world. India — and here is
meant the India of Sanscrit literature — offers us therefore something
like a test by which we may estimate the comparative ages of the
nations of Europe.
None of these nations can at present be said to bear the slightest .
resemblance to India in their religious and civil institutions — so
complete is the change which Christianity has wrought in their
character. But the higher we ascend the stream of time, the greater
the similarity ; and the mythologies of Oreece and Rome, as well as
their domestic and religious rites, though modified by local influences*
are clearly connected with those first impressions of the powers of
nature and of their relation to man which we find embodied in the
Vedic hymns.
But if the nations of Europe have undergone so thorough a me-
tamorphosis in a religious, moral, and civil point of view, that none
but the faintest traces of their former state can be discovered in their
actual condition, it cannot be said that their languages have suffered
the same fette. However they be altered and disfigured, their con-
nexion with the Sanscrit may still be traced ; they may be compared
with it without much difficulty ; and by means of such a compa-
rison we may be able to test the truth both of the statement in He-
rodotus as to the recent origin of the Scythians, and of the asserted
youthfiilness of the Slavonic nations of the present day.
Before we proceed to compare the several languages of modem
2d2
236
Europe with the Sanscrit in respect of their grammattCBl
which in comparatiTe philology is of far greater importance
their stock of words, I shall choose some of the terms of relationship,
and the numerala, in English, French, and Russian, in order to point
out the degree of similarity thuC exists between them and the
Sanscrit.
structure, ^^^|
ance than ^^^H
Ationship, ■
mother
v^«^
mire
fils
fr6re
belle-'fitle ". '. ,
beau-p6re.. .
belle-mdre .
beau-frire. . .
. Otets ....
. Mat-
. Suin
Brat
Sestra ....
. Snokha ...
. Svekor
. STekrov' . .
. Dever' ....
Odin
Dra
Tri
Chetuire . .
Piaf ....
Shesf ....
Sedm' ....
Osro'
Deviat' . .
. Pitr.
. Matr.
Sunn
brother
niter..
daughter
father-h
mother-
hrolher-
-m-law
■law .
n-lau
n-lav,
. Bbratr.
. Svasr."
'. SVa^urii.
. S'vasru.
. Deyr.
Eka*
tKO ..
three..
deux
trois
qufttre
cjnq
sept ;.■...;.'
huil
neuf
dix
Dva.
Tri.
five
nx
Shash
: £C:
eight
ten
. Daia.
It will he observed that in the words denoting relationship, the
Russian, with the exception of the first (the term for father), ap-
proaches the Sanscrit more nearly than the other cognate languagea.
The French words are bo much altered that they require to be
brought back to their Latin, originals, in order to manifest their con-
nexion with the corresponding terms in Russian and Sanscrit, aa
well as in English. But the moat remarkable and interesting result
that follows from this comj)arison is, that while in the modem Lan-
guages of Romance and Teutonic origin, the ideas of indirect rela-
tionship are expressed by a combination of several words ; they are
in Russian (as in Sanscrit) rendered by a simple term, indicative
of the position which the person whom it designates occupies in the
family ; and this circumstance, we need not observe, sug'gests at
once a much more primitive, a much less complicated state of
society than the one in which we move, and which has given rise to
the compound words alluded to in the languages of the west of
But although this be an interesting fact, and one likely to lead to
considerations of no small importance in the history of human
society, yet is it scarcely of so great a value in determining the
position which the Slavonic dinlects occupy among the other lan-
guages of the Indo-European tnmily, as the fact which cannot have
* In this iniUnce Ihe Ssntcrit l> tingular.
229
escaped attention, that the sound of the Russian words differs but
little, if at all, from the Sanscrit terms. Indeed some of them are
almost identical: snokha and smtshd^ svekrov' and svasru, wekor and
svasura, dever* and devef.
The same remark applies to the numerals ; the Russian dva, tfi,
chetuire, are perfectly the same as the Sanscrit dva, tri, chatvarah;
while the English two, three, though the similarity be striking,
offer some no less striking differences both with regard to the vowels
and the consonants ; and in order to identify the numeral four, we
must trace it back to the A.S.feover, and Goth.^<li;^r ; we must
compare this with the Latin quatuor ; and again collate the Goth.
fimf with the Latin quinque, iu order to ascertain that a Gothic /
represents a Latin qu ; and even then we must know that the Latin qu
stands for a Sanscrit cha. All this complicated process is indispen-
sable for the purpose of connecting the Eng, four with the Sanscrit
chatvarah and the Russian chetuire,
llie French, with the exception of quatre, six, sept, and dix=:i
chatvarah, shash, saptan and dasa, is even further removed from the
Sanscrit than the English, which I have taken to represent the Teu-
tonic dialects.
It would therefore appear that the Russian words, having under-
gone a much less considerable change than the correspondmg terms
in French and German, have had a comparatively shorter existence ;
that their separation from the Sanscrit dates from a less remote pe-
riod, or in other words they are younger.
And indeed if we recollect the words snokha, svekor, svekrov,
dever, in Sanscrit snusha, svaiuray svasru, devjr, and compare with
them the Latin nurus (for snurus\ socer, socrus, and levir (for devir),
and the Ghreek Ikv/mi, igvpos, ana lafip, would it not appear that the
Russian terms approximate more to the Sanscrit than their Greek
or Latin equivalents ?
The existence of these words in the ancient languages and in the
Russian proves most distinctly that the nations who used them came
from one family ; and again, the circumstance that the Gh'eek and
Latin terms differ more considerably from the Sanscrit than their
Russian equivalents, may be taken as an evidence of their superior
age. Not that the Greek or Latin forms are more ancient than
those of the Russian or Sanscrit words. On the contrary, they ex-
hibit the most unmistakeable signs of decay ; thus the Latin nurus
appears without the original s ; and the sh is changed to r ; the v of
the Sanscrit and Russian words has been vocalized to o in socer and
socrus, to e in ixvpos and tKvpa, where, in addition to that change,
the sibilant s has been altered to the spiritus asper ; while in levir,
Sanscrit devr, Russian dever*, the d has been changed to / ; and the v
or digamma dropped in the Greek haiip. But if these marks of de-
terioration clearly indicate that the classical languages cannot claim
a higher antiquity than the Sanscrit, they nevertheless prove that
the Greeks and Romans left India at a very early period in the
history of mankind ; at a period greatly anterior to the emigration oi
S30
tlie Slavonic tribes from their primitive seat in Arj^avaata. For in
this caae the greater perfection of the Russian foriuB cannot, as in
San^Krit, be taken as a sign of higher antiquity ; it simply shows
that the Slavonic tribea had acquired their iudependence much later
than the Pelasgic races ; that they had spoken Sanscrit down to a
more recent period of history ; and that the languages they have
formed for themselves are consequently considerably younger than
those of Greece or Rome.
In order to prevent our drawing too large an inference from bo
scanty a supply of facts, it is desirable that we should continue our
comparison of tiie Russian language with its contemporaries in Eu-
rope, in regard of their grammar. And in order not to embarraei
the memory with too many wo-rds, we shall retain those which we
have first compared with one another, with a view to ascertain
their comparative similarity to the Sanscrit : " the mother of the
daughter," la mere de la fiile, moC docheri =; miitii duhiluh, and
'the daughter of the mother,' h Jille de la mere, dock' materi :=
iuhita ntaluh. We need not give any more instances; it is at
once seen that the Russian, like the Sanscrit, indicates the rela-
tioa which the words in a sentence bear to one another by means of
inflectional terminations (doch', docheri, mat' , materi) ; that it
disregards the use of the article and of the preposition ; and that
in this respect also, it stands nearer to the original languages of
Europe than their more immediate derivatives. Like the classical
languages, it is synthetic. This term, it is well known, has been
employed to distinguish those languages in which it is customary to
express with one word both the existence of a thing or action and
its relation to other things in space or ttme-~e. g. docheri, jilt
(hjynrpoi ; feci ; t)e,\u — from such languages as reduce the idea to
its elements, each of which requires a separate word ; e.g. de la jillt
of llie daughter, der Tochter • j'ai fait, I leant ■ and which have, in
oonsequence, been termed analytic.
Thus the Russian est', like the Iiatin est and the Gr. ioA, expresses
clearly enough that it is a third person of whom we speak, -withoal
its being necessary to add the pronoun of that person, which is in-
dispensable in moat of the modern languages of the west of Europe;
e.g. he is, er iat, il est, &c. •
But although the Russian be a synthetic language, and conse-
quently in this respect also more nearly allied to the ancient lan-
guages of Europe than to their modem derivatives, there are many
peculiarities in its grammar, more especially in the use of the tenses,
which prove it to be inferior in point of age to the Greek and Latin.
While the classical languages generally exhibit forms which have
their analogies in the Vedic dialect (the oldest known form of San-
scrit), the Russian has a peculiar and extensive use of the participle
in the formation of the past tense, which occurs only in the Sanscrit
literature posterior to the Veda, and is entirely foreign to other
known languages of Indo-European origin.
There are also many words, such as S. chashaka, R. chaahka,
4
231
S. tanka, R. tuga, Pol. iega, &c., which are common only to the
Sanscrit and Slavonian ; but it must be observed that these terms
occur only in the Sanscrit of a late period.
We have hitherto considered the modem languages of Europe as
the natural consequences or developments of their originals ; for
there is still enough of Latin in French, Italian and Spanish, of
Gothic in German and English, of Hellenic in modem Greek, to view
them merely in the light of continuations of the more ancient lan-
guages. And in so far only they are older than the Slavonic dialects.
But if we allow a break between what is commonly called the an-
cient world and the modem ; if we admit that the anal3rt]c principle
has created new languages, and we therefore call them modem ;
then the Slavonic dialects are undoubtedly ancient, and may be said
to belong to the old world.
No doubt the difference between the grammatical system of the
languages of the present day (excepting the Slavonian branch) and
the ancient tongues is very great, and difficult of explanation. Mr.
C. Lewis, in his ' Essay on the Romance Languages,' p. 26, thus
expresses himself on this subject : —
" It has been supposed by some writers that the anal3rtic system
was transferred from the Teutonic to the Latin language, and that
the Germans, accustomed to analytical forms in their own tongue,
copied them faithfully in the jargon which they produced by lite-
rally translating German thoughts into Latin words. But this hy-
pothesis, though it affords an easy solution of the problem, i» not
entirely consistent with fact. The ancient German or Gothic was
undoubtedly a synthetic language, like the Greek ; and at the time
when the Teutonic tribes settled over the western empire, it had as
yet made but little progress to the adoption of analytic forms. It
still used the inflexion of cases ; it had no indefinite article, and of
the definite article it made little use ; nor does it exhibit more than
the rudiments of conjugation by auxiliary verbs. Consequently,
although there appear to be some few instances of German idioms
having been adopted into Romance languages, yet we must seek some
other explanation of the new character assumed by the Latin at the
time of the German conquest. This explanation is doubtless to be
found in the remark of Schlegel, that ' when S3mthetic languages
have at an early period been fixed by books which served as models,
and by a regular instruction, they retained their form unchanged ;
but when they have been abandoned to themselves, and exposed to
the fluctuations of all human affairs, they have shown a natural ten-
dency to become analytic, even without having been modified by the
mixture of any foreign language.' He illustrates this position by
the history of the German language, ' which not having been fixed
by any artificial means till the beginning of the sixteenth century,
had full liberty to follow its natural course ; and the progress which
it made during that time towards analytical forms, by losing parts of
its synthetical forms, is immense.' "
It is possible, however (with regard to the Romance languages).
232
that the German influence increased and hastened the disposition to
change which already existed in the popular Latin. But then we
know of no other language to the influence of which we can ascribe
the metamorphosis of the synthetic Gothic into the analytic
German.
Perhaps this remarkable fiact may admit of another explanation.
When the introduction of a new moral element had ended in entirely
changing the modes of thinking, and the intellectual as well as the
moral natures of men ; when it was, in short, moulding the elements
of the old world into a new form of society — was it not to be ex-
pected that a corresponding change should take place in language ?
Was it possible, that when mind was undergoing so great a meta-
morphosis, the outward symbols in which it clothed itself should
continue fixed and unalterable ?
[To be continued.]
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. APRIL 12, 1850. No. 95.
Gborgk Sloane, Esq. in the Chair.
The following gentlemen were elected Members of the Society : —
John H. Stephen Smith, Esq., Balliol College, Oxford.
Rev. George Rawlinson, M.A., Exeter College, Oxford.
A paper was then read: —
" On the Nature and Analysis of the Verb : " — Concluded, By the
Rev. R. Gamett.
In closing, for the present, the discussion of this extensive subject,
it is proposed to msJce a few remarks upon the so-called verb-sub-
stantive, respecting the nature and functions of which there has
perhaps been more misapprehension than about any other element
of language.
It is well known that many grammarians have been accustomed
to represent this element as forming the basis of all verbal ex-
pression, and as a necessary ingredient in every logical proposition.
It would seem to follow, from this statement, that nations so unfor-
tunate as to be without it, could neither employ verbal expression
nor frame a logical proposition. How far this is the case will be
seen hereafter : at present we shall make some brief remarks on this
verb, and on the substitutes usually employed in dialects where it is
formally wanting. It will be sufficient to produce a few prominent
instances, as the multiplying of examples from all known languages
would be a mere repetition of the same general phsenomena.
In the portion of the essay relating to the Coptic, vol. iii. No. 66,
it was observed : '* What are called the auxiliary and substantive
verbs in Coptic are still more remote from all essential verbal cha-
racter (than the so-called verbal roots). On examination they will
almost invariably be found to be articles, pronouns, particles, or abs-
tract nouns, and to derive their supposed verbal functions entirely
from their accessories, or from what they imply." In fact any one
who examines a good Coptic grammar or dictionary will find that
there is nothing formally corresponding to our am, art, is, was, &c.,
though there is a counterpart to Lat. fieri (sthopi), and another to
poni (chi, neuter passive of cKe) ; both occasionally rendered to he,
which however is not their radical import. The Egyptians were not
however quite destitute of resources in this matter, but had at least
half-a-dozen methods of rendering the Greek verb- substantive when
they wished to do so. The element most commonly employed is the
demonstrative pe, te, ne ; used also in a slightly modified form for the
definite article ; pe = is, having reference to a subject in the singular
masculine ; te, to a singular feminine ; and ne = are, to both genders
VOL. IV. 2 B
334
in the plural. The past tense is indicated by the addition of a particle
expressing remoteness. Here then we find as the counteqiart of the
verb -substan live an element totally foreign to all the received ideas of
a verb ; and that instead of its beingdeemed necessary to say in formal
teima ' Pelrus est,' ' Maria eel,' ' hominee sunt,' it is quite sufficient,
and perfectly intelligible, to aay, ' Petrua hie,' ' Maria hae,' ' homines
Ai.' The above forms, according to Champollion and other investi-
gators of ancient hieroglyphics, occur in the oldest known monu-
mental inscriptions, showing plainly that the ideas of the ancient
Egyptians, as to the method uf expressing the category lu be, did
not exactly accord vith those of some modern grammarians.
Another word employed to represent the verb -substantive is ouon,
naed nearly in the same manner as pe to denote is, and with the ad-
dition of a demonstrative particle, was. Sometimes, with a slightly
varied form of construction, it is used in the sense of have, nearly as
the Latin formula est mihi. The radical import is however neither
is nor has, nor that of a verb of any sort, it being simply the inde-
finite pronoun corresponding to aligais, some one, and occasionally
employed in the sense uf unus. I'hus the literal rendering of Petros
ne ouon, is simply, ' Peier then one, or some oae' -^Pelrus erat.
Here then we find another pronominul element used as the counter-
part of is or was, much in the same way as the demonstrative already
indicated, except that the original signification is more vague and
indefinite. Several other worda are employed for the same purpose,
among which may be sjiecified a, o, are, cr, el, all apparently pro-
nouns or pronominal particles, and not differing materially in use or
construction from pe or ouon.
There is however another and a very common method of expressing
the verb -substantive, capable of more extensive development, and of
much greater variety of modification. Whoever refers to Peyron
and Tattam for the detailed conjugation of the verb to be, will find
a most imposing assemblage of forms, varied through all persons
singular and plural, and nominally comprising more tenses than
Greek or Latin can boast of. A little examination will however
Bhow that all this array consists of nothing more than the suffisen
of the personal pronouns, — exactly the same as those employed in
construction with nouns and verbs, combined with particles of time ,
and place that modify the sense of the phrase according to circum- i
stances. Thus the masculine suffixes of the three persons in the '
singular, either employed absolutely, ti, k.f, or with the preforma-
tives a or e, respectively denote sum, es, est, and by varying the
prcformative parrioles, th^y are made to express almost every pog-
uble modification of time or contingency. Again tlie consuetudinal
tense formed by the combination of the suffixes with sha, — sha-ti,
sha-k, sha-f, &c., 'to be usually, or habitually,' — is commonly ren-
dered soleo es^e. and most grammarians regard the formative as
a bond fide auxiliary verb, having the force of the Latin one. It
is however no verb at all, but a mere particle, having, among other
significations, that of usque, and therefore well-suited to express the
continuance or habituality of an action.
235
It will perhaps be said that such an abnormal language as the
Coptic is not to be taken as a criterion of others, which may be or-
ganized on totally different principles. There might be some force
in the objection, if other languages presented us with no instances
of parallel constructions. This negative argument will not however
hold good, nearly every apparent Coptic peculiarity having its coun-
terpart in languages belonging to almost every quarter of the globe.
Thus, every Semitic scholar knows that personal pronouns are em-
ployed to represent the verb-substantive in all the known dialects,
exactly as in Coptic, but with less variety of modification. In this
construction it is not necessary that the pronoun should be of the
same person as the subject of the proposition. It is optional in
most dialects to say either ego ego, nos nos, for ego sum, nos sumus,
or ego tile, nos illi. The phrase *' ye are the salt of the earth," is
in the Syriac version literally '* you they (i. e. the persons consti-
tuting) the salt of the earth." Nor is this employment of the per-
sonal pronoun confined to the dialects above specified, it being
equally found in Basque, in Galla, in Turco-Tartarian, and various
American languages.
It will be said that there are in all the Semitic dialects verbs re-
gularly conjugated in the acceptation of am, was, &c., and defined
as verbs-substantive by grammarians. This is true ; but at the same
time it may be observed, that the numerous substitutes employed
show that it would have been very possible to do without them.
Neither does it follow that every word conjqgated as a verb is formed
on a true verbal root. The Syriac periphr^tic form already noticed
more than once, itha-i, ithai-ch, &c., is indisputably based on a con-
struct noun in the plural number, and the etymologically cognate
Hebrew yesh, which, with the exception of the root being singular
instead of plural, has precisely the same construction, must be re-
garded as standing on the same footing. < In other Semitic words,
the signification ' to be' is not the primary one. The Arabic kan is
currently used in this sense, but a comparison with the other dialects
shows that the primary import is simply ' to stand,' a word, as it is
scarcely necessary to say, used as a substitute for the verb- substan-
tive in a variety of languages.
With respect to the term most commonly employed in Hebrew
and Aramaic (Heb. hayah, havah, Syriac hvo, &c.), the resemblance
to the pronoun of the third person, hu, hi, is so obvious, that many
of the best modern Semitic scholars regard the latter as the real
base of the verb. The possibility of this is readily conceived, if we
consider that when the pronouns themselves were familiarly used to
denote is, was, &c., it was a very easy matter to add the personal
terminations, pro re natd. Several eminent German philologists,
among whom may be specified Hoffmeist^r and Schwarze, have ge-
neralized this theory, regarding for example the Sanscrit a^-mt=
Lat. sum, with all their Indo-European cognates, as no proper verbal
root, but a formation on the demonstrative pronoun sa, the idea
meant to be conveyed being simply that of local presence. Pro-
2e 2
feasor Ncwmun seems tt
paper lately published ii
Rnally, we may briefly observe that particles, sometimea with
pronominal eiiffiwa, and sometimea without them, are used in varions
parts of the world in place of the verb-substEintive, some nations in
feet having no otiier way of expressing it ; while others neither
employ verb, pronoun, noun nor particle, but leave the predication to
be gathered from the arrangement of the terms of the proposition.
!niiB is in fact often done in languages which have a verb-snbs tan live,
or even several ; and in practice scarcely any difficulty or ambi^ity
ia ever found to arise from this ao-called ellipsis. The Magyars, for
example, have words denoting to be, or capable of being employed
in that sense. It is however considered rather inelegant to use
them in formal composition, and in the best writers whole conse-
cutive pages may be found without an is or a was enunciated in
Now it seems that the above- specified facts, to which a multitude
of analogous ones might easily be added, justify ns in entertaining a
doubt whether the ordinary theory of the verb- substantive as a sort
of aine-qua-non in language and logic, can be rationally or consist-
ently maintained. Whatever intrinsic vitality there may be in is or
was, it does not seem easy to extract much from this or that; still
less from here or there, words currently used as substitutes. Nor
are our difliculties lessened by finding that millions of people are
totally destitute of the term, or of any means of supplying its place,
not having in fact the smallest conception of the existence of such
an element. Indeed the writer believes that a verb-subetanlive,
such as is commonly conceived, vivifying all connected speech, and
binding together the terms of every logical proposition, ia much upon
a footing with the phlogiston of the chemists of the last generation,
regarded as a necessary pabulum of combustion, that is to say, I'oj
et prtEterea nihil.
He further believes that many of the extravagances promulgated
on the subject have arisen fronl the utterly erroneous idea of an
intrinsic meaning in words, constituring them the counterparts and
equivalents of thought. They are nothing more, and can be nothing
more than signs of relations, and it is a contradiction in terms to
affirm that a relation can be inherent. Nor had those employed to
express mental categories originally that power ; all, without ex-
ception, being metonyms adopted from terms indicating the sensible
relations of matter ; it is therefore obviously out of the question that
they should at the same time be capable of intrinsically expressing
the phenomena of mind. Moreover, of all mental categories, the
idea of beiny was perhaps the least capable of being so expressed.
Let any man endeavour to form a clear idea of the nature of exist-
ence in the abstract, and explain in what it consists -. he will then
see how likely it is that persons in a rude state of society should find
a term intrinsically expressing what the profoundcst metaphysician
is unable to give a tolerable detinition of. Happily there is no need
237 ■
for any such effort of the intellect* there being scarcely any ca-
tegory capable of being enunciated in so many different ways, all
and any of them amply sufficient for practical purposes. There
is surely nothing profoundly intellectual in the Latin words
exsisto and exsto, taken in their ordinary and literal acceptations.
The former, vi termini, denotes to put forth, present; the latter,
to stand forth, or out ; yet both are currently employed in a secon-
dary sense, to express existence or being. But though the primary
words say nothing about being, they both clearly imply it, and thiis
in fact is all that is wanted. What is put forth or stands forth is
prominent ; what is prominent is conspicuous ; and what is con-
spicuous may be lawfully presumed to exist. The same holds good
of the innumerable other terms used as substitutes for the cabalistic
to he. If a given subject be * I,* ' thou,' ' he,* ' this,* ' that,* * one' ;
if it be ' here,' • there,' ' yonder,' ' thus,' ' in,' ' on,' ' at,' ' by' ; if it
' sits,' ' stands,' ' remains,' or ' appears,' we need no ghost to tell us
that it is, nor any grammarian or metaphysician to proclaim that
recondite fact in formal terms. The same principle is applicable in
a great measure to language as a whole. Words are not to be in-
terpreted so much from what they actually say, as from what they
imply ; and they perform every function that they can be reasonably
expected to perform, when the implication is understood by the
speaker and the hearer.
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. APRIL 26, 1850. No. 96.
Hbnslbioh Wedgwood, Esq., iu the Chair.
G. Octavius Morgan, Esq., of Worcester College, Oxford, was
elected a Member of the Society.
A paper was then read —
" On the Elements of Language, their arrangement and their
accidents." By Edwin Guest, Esq.
When modern German philology first became an object of interest
to English scholars, their attention was more particularly fixed on
the new views it unfolded to them with respect to the laws of letter-
change. ' Grimm's Canons,' as they were termed, commanded al-
most universal deference, and were quoted as authorities in all cases
in which the analogies or the connexion of languages were matters
of discussion. It is now twelve years since the writer of this paper
first ventured to question their soundness, and the doubts he then ex-
pressed have certainly not been lessened by the more mature conside-
ration he has brought to bear upon the subject. But he has also been
aware of the great difficulties which surrounded the inquiry, and it
was with no sUght misgivings that he laid before the Society his own
views of the origin and the history of the labials*. He could have
wished not to have committed himself to any expression of opinion on
matters so obscure and difficult, till he had seen his way somewhat
more clearly to a proper arrangement of the elements of language. He
was however anxious to convince the reader that he was not ranging
these elements into groups according to the shifting exigencies of
his subject, but classifying them according to the laws of a certain
system, whatever might be thought of the grounds on which that
system rested. It has been said, that definitions might be dis-
cussed with more advantage in the last than in the first chapter of a
scientific treatise, but it is generally found convenient to smooth
the reader's way, by laying before him at the outset what has really
been the result of a laboured investigation.
One grave error, as it appears to the writer, disfigures all the
schemes of German philology with which he is acquainted f; he
* Phil. Proceedings, vol. iii. p. 165. Some time after the publication of this paper
appeared the ' Geschichte der Deutschen Sprache.' In this work the distinguished
author again recurs to the laws which regulate the changes of the letters, but the
results he has now arrived at vary widely from those he put forward in the
' Deutsche Grammatik.' All the more objectionable of his Canons are omitted, and
though some of his new views may not receive the reader's assent, they certainly
are not so obvious to criticism as his earlier ones. These changes of opinion on
the part of the German philologist afford us an instructive comment on the zeal-
ous and undistinguishing eulogies of our countrymen.
f An exception ought perhaps to be made of Grimm's last work, the * Geschichte
der Deutschen Sprache.*
VOL. IV. 2 F
240
means the very slight distinction which is made between the initial
and the final consonants. If the views he has endeavoured to sup-
port be true, and there really be a unity in language, it would be
difficult to resist the conclusion, that in the Chinese we see language
in the earliest stage of its development, of which any records have
come down to us. If this be so^^the initial and the final consonants
must have been elaborated at very different periods and under very
different circumstances. In the initial sounds of the Chinese roots we
recognize a large proportion of the consonants, with which the later
forms of language are conversant ; but with the exception of the
endings n, ng, all the terminal sounds in Chinese are vowel or
diphthongal. It follows that the final consonants must have been
developed at a period subsequent to that in which the Chinese took
its present shape ; and therefore must be of later growth than the
initial consonants which are found in that language. The circum-
stances under which the final consonants originated, it will be the
object of this and of some succeeding papers to investigate.
The papers on the " Elements of Language," which have hitherto
been submitted to the notice of the Society, may be considered as
attempts to show that the final n of the Chinese is often identical
with the final n of languages of later origin. It may be well to bring
before the reader's recollection the means by which the writer en-
deavoured to attain his object ; and it may be the more necessary to
do this, inasmuch as his attempt to arrange the roots, so as to exhibit
certain relations of language (which, though the expositioil might
serve other important purposes, could not be considered essential to
his main design), may have obscured the clear perception of truths
which lay more directly within the course of his investigations.
The mere fact that a particular word resembles a Chinese root in
sound and signification, may not perhaps justify the inference that it
is identical with it ; but if it has the same primary and secondary
meanings, then there certainly is, to say the least, a primd-facie evi-
dence of such identity. Now, according to Morrison*, the Chinese
root keun takes the following meanings : " one at the head of a com-
munity, to whom all hearts are directed, a chief, a king, &c. ; one in
a dignified and honourable position, honourable, most honourable, the
father or mother of a family." The Welsh word cdn is sometimes used
as an adjective, with the meaning, " attractive, kind, lovely, affable,"
and sometimes as a substantive, with the meaning, " one that attracts
or draws to himself, a leader, a chief." Here then we have a cor-
respondence both in the primary and the secondary meanings, and
therefore primd facie evidence of the identity of the Chinese keun
and the Welsh cUn, Again, the Icelandic kon-rf signifies " a man
eminent or noble, a king or commander — a kinsman." Here we
have two meanings, both of which appertain to the Chinese keun, and
whose connexion with each other can be traced only through a cer-
tain primary meaning, which though lost in the Icelandic, is still ex-
• Chin. Diet. 6219.
t The final r is merely the nominatiyal ending, and disappears in the inflected
cases.
241
tant in the Welsh and Chinese, viz. one that excites affection or re>
spect. Every one will admit that the chances in favour of identity
are now much greater than before, and with every fresh example
they increase, and that too in a very accelerated ratio.
The illustration of this principle was kept in view in the collection
of examples which accompanied each of the earlier papers. It would
however have been more satisfactory, if it had been kept altogether
distinct from other considerations, and so brought more clearly be-
fore the reader's notice. In the selection and arrangement of the
following examples, the writer has endeavoured to avoid his former
error, and to present his subject as much as possible unencumbered
with collateral questions.
One of the Chinese tones is called *• the abrupt tone," and among
Chinese scholars in this country is generally indicated by the same
mark C) which distinguishes the short quantity in Latin. The
reason which led them to adopt this symbol may be best seen in an
example. The root pa is pronounced abruptly like the English word
pat, with the final consonant omitted. In the ordinary Chinese, that
is, in the Mandarin dialect, which, no doubt, exhibits the language in
a form most nearly approaching its original purity, we find the roots
when affected with "the abrupt tone," still retaining their proper end-
ing. But in the provincial dialects, they are, when so affected, gene-
rally pronounced as if they ended in one of the hard consonants,
p, k, t. Thus at Canton pa is pronounced /?a/,j»o is pronounced pok,
and sd is pronounced either sap or sat. How natural was the passage
from the "abrupt tone" to one of these hard letters, may appear
from a passage* written many years ago, in reference to a subject
altogether different from that of which we are now treating, namely
the effect which the use of these letters might b^ made to subserve
in rhetoric or poetry : —
" The whisper letters p, t, are sometimes used at the end of words
with great effect in representing an interrupted action. The impos-
sibility of dwelling upon these letters, and the consequently sharp
and sudden termination which they give to those words in which
they enter, will sufficiently explain their influence : —
Till an unusual stop of sudden silence
Gave respite. — Comus.
Sudden he stops, his eye i&fix'd (fixt), Away !
Away! thou heedless boy. — Cbilde Harold, 1, &c.
— All unawares,
Fluttering his pinions vain, plumb (plump) down be dropt,
Ten thousand fathom deep. — Par. Lost. 2,"
The same properties which seem to have recommended the use of
these final letters to the poet, caused them to be adopted in the pro-
vincial dialects of China, as substitutes for the "abrupt tone" of
the older and purer dialect.
The history of the Chinese language, or rather of the Chinese
* Hist, of English Rhythms, vol. i. p. 20.
2 F 2
242
•
languages, is still very imperfectly known. But there is reason to
believe that the provincial dialects of which we have been speaking,
have from time immemorial co-existed with a dialect used for pur-
poses of state and government, and which is still the chief medium
of intercourse among the higher classes of society throughout the
empire. It would seem that the origin of these provincial dialects,
though generally speaking, they must be considered as merely de-
graded forms of the court-dialect, dates from a period of the most
remote antiquity, a period in which languages, which we generally
rank among the most ancient— such as the Hebrew and the Sanscrit
— had not yet exhibited the peculiar features by which they are
now distinguished.
The final p, after its adoption as a substitute for the abrupt tone,
seems to have been represented in the later languages by any one
of the labials p, b — ]f, o ♦. In some of these languages we have very
satisfactory proof that such was the feu;t. Thus Sanscrit nouns be-
ginning with any one of these four labials, may in the nominative take
either p ox h for their final letterf ; e. g, swap, having good water^
when used in a sentence as a nominative, may appear either as swap
or swah ; and kakub\ a quarter of the horizon, may appear either as
kakub or kakup. It would be difficult to account for this grammatical
law, except on the hypothesis that in the earlier stages of the Sanscrit
each of these four letters p, b, p\ b\ was considered as a representa-
tive of the final labial. Again, the Greek changes the characteristic/?
of its verb intop' (?r into 0), though no law of euphony require such
change ; and we find the final / of the Mseso-Gothic generally re-
presented by b, when another letter follows ; as the preterites tharf,
needed, gaf, gave, &c. make their plurals tharb-um, geb-um, &c. ; and
thiub'S, a thief, hlaib-s, a loaf, &c. make their accusatives thiuf,
Mai/, &c. In these cases the change of letters seems to be purely
conventional, and to show that at one period the w and 0, the /and
b, were used indifferently at the end of a syllable. The confusion
which prevails in Celtic MSS. between the final p and b, is too well
known to require any lengthened notice in this place. For these
several reasons we shall, when arranging the following examples,
consider the final p of the Chinese dialects as represented in the
later forms of language by any one of the four labials p, b, p (/), b\
Cooking by fire, a hearth, a cake.
bSpt Co.-Chin, a hearth; nha bip, a cooking place; isAa, a house.
pup-a ... Sansc, ... ah s.m. a cake.
TTOTT-ay ... Greek ... s.f. anything baked, especially a flat round cake often
used at sacrifices,
pap-a ... Rus8 bread.
* j9\ }t, represent the aspirates of p, h,
f Wils. Sanscr. Gram. p. 59.
X Generally speaking, the Chinese dialects have for their initial labial only the
hard letter p — no h. The Cochin-Chinese however is an exception to the rule. In
this language the initial p of the other dialects is always softened into a ft.— Vid.
Phil. Proc. iii. p. 169.
243
p^b H^ehk ... s.m. a bake, a baking; adj. baked, roasted, toasted.
pob-i .... V. to bnkc, to roasti to toast.
peb-i .... Breton,,, v. to cook.
In the preceding examples wb certainly have not those primary
and secondary meanings which we have been taught to look for ;
but as roots beginning and ending in p are comparatively rare in
language, the author considered these instances as not unworthy of
the reader's notice.
A blow — a smack, clap, report.
bdp Co,'Chiu. to beut the head with outstretched hand.
b6p a cJap; bi bop, report of a gun, &c.
froinr-vfo Greek. ... — to smack (as a loud kisc), &c.
pop EnglUh,, a smart sound.
)uu Danith ... a blow, a report, a snap, a clap.
We now come to roots which open with the guttural k.
Quickness — volatility, trifling, banter.
kap Can/. CAtn. 591 1 (keYli), haste, speed, promptly, &c.
5933 (kelh), — to play, to trifle— comedy.
5931 (keTli), he kap, trifling amusement, merriment.
kayf Arabic ... hilarity, good humour, high spirits produced by dnm-
kenness.
Kcir^-off. . Greek ... s.m. a lifi;ht sea-bird of the petrel kind, a feather-
brained simpleton, a booby, a noddy.
caf A, 'Saxon quick, sharp, nimble.
k&f-az ... IceL to banter, to chaffl
The connexion between the two next groups seems to be an ob-
vious one.
1. Striking, beating.
kap Can/. CAin. 5936 (kelh), to strike, to knock, to beat, &c.
koD Pers beating, striking, who beats or strikes.
K($ir-off ... Greek ... 8.m. a striking, a beating, &c.
cob Welsh ... s m. — a knock, a thump.
cob English . . a blow ( Evans, Leic. Words) ; to cob, to strike (Brocket) .
cuff* a blow.
2. Striking of hard substances one against another, a ringing sound.
kap Can/. CAin. 5908 (ke)fh), the noue made by a lance or spear
striking against something.
khap Ifok.Chin, the sound of stones striking against each other.
kabt>-a ... Arabic ... the sound of a falling sword.
chap English,, to strike (with a hammer), Jam.; to strike (as a
clock). Jam.
The three following groups also exhibit closely connected mean-
ings : first, the excitement produced by violence and outrage ; se-
condly, the general results of such outrage — distress and suffering ;
and thirdly, a special result — oppression of breathing.
1. Attacking, rousing to excitement — excitement, anger.
kap Cant, Chin, 5936 (keih), — to rouse what is dormant, to attack
as in war, &'c.
5937 (kelh), to excite as rocks which impede a ra-
pid stream, 8ic. ; excitement applied to the
feelings, to anger, or to gratitude, &c.
246
Protaberance-^a top, a tuft, a hill.
kap Cant. Chin. 5S90 (kelh)« a high hill, a small lofty peak rising
above a larger hill, &c.
- 5927 (kelh), a bunch of hair on the head, the manner
of Chinese females' head-dress, &c
c6b fFelth, ••• s.m. a top, a tuft, &c.
cob-caw.. y.n. to top, to tuft, to bunch, &c.
kup-a ... Swed, .... any protuberance in a circular form,
kapp-e ... Flem a top, a summit.
cop English., the topmost point of anything, as of a hill, of the
nose, &c.
The remaining examples have for their initial the dental t,
A hurried step — a slip, a blunder.
t*ap Cant. Chin. 9718 (ta), a kind of hurried, hasty, flying step.
9706 (tS), to slip the foot, &c.
tap Hok.Chin. to run suddenly against any one.
tap Irish sudden, quick.
a start, a blunder, a slip.
tif-a IceL to be ready of hand, to take quick steps.
The notion of impact may be traced in all the meanings contained
in the two groups v^rhich follow.
1 . Lapng the hand upon, striking, making an impression.
t*ap Cant.Chin,9699 (t$), to touch, to strike, to place upon, &c.
9713 (tk), to approach with the hand, to feel, to
strike, &c.
TVTr-os,.* Greek.,,, s.m. a blow, an impression, impress of a seal, stamp
(of a coin), &c.
tapp-en .. Germ. ... to touch awkwardly with the flat hand, to grope, &c.
2. Stamping, stepping, treading upon with the foot.
t*ap Cant. Chin. 9695 (tS), to tread, to beat on the ground with the
foot, as in singing.
9715 (tS), to tread upon with the feet, to place the
feet upon the ground.
teep Hok.Chin. to tread, to stamp, to walk.
Ttnr-os ... Greek .... 8.m. — print of footsteps, &c., the beat of horses* feet,
tapp-en .. Germ, ... — to walk in a heavy and negligent manner.
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. MAY 10, 1850. No. 97.
HiNSLiiGH Wbdowood, Esq., in the Chair.
A paper was read —
" English Etjrmologies :" — Continued, By Hensleigh Wedgwood*
Etq.
Fizz, Fuzz, Fbaze, Fuddle. — ^I'o Jiiz represents the sound of
water fl3ring off in rapid evaporation from a hot surftu^ ; of air
forcing its way through a confined opening obstructed with moisture ;
of the conflagration of wet gunpowder, &c. G. zischen, p/uscken,
pfi^ewy pfiuen. Hence fuxx, fuzzy, represents the condition of things
which jCnr, a frothy spongy texture, a confused mixture of air and
liquid or solid particles, a loose shapeless mass.
A drummer being had up for drunkenness at the opening of
London Bridge, pleaded that they gave him some fuzzy stuff out of
a long-necked bottle (meaning champagne), the strength of which
he did not understand.
A fuzz-ball is a round fungus which when dry becomes detached,
and on pressure flings out clouds of smoky dust, like steam from
water on hot iron.
Fuzzy or fozy turnips are spongy turnips, voose raepen, Kil. A
fuzzy outline is woolly and indistinct.
To fiizz or feaze, Q,fasen,faselH, is to ravel out a woven texture,
to break it up into &fuzz or loose mass of threads. Hence G. faten,^
flkzeken, fUzlein, a fibre or filament.
In a secondary sense to fuzz or fiizzle (subsequently conupted to
fuddle) signifies to confuse the head with drink, to make drunk, by
a similar metaphor to that by which we speak of a person ' muddled
with drink,' having his understanding thick and turbid like muddy
water.
'< The university troop dined with the Earl of Abingdon and came back
well AMBserf."— A. k Wood in Todd.
" The first night, having liberallv taken his liquor — ^my fine scholar was
•ofusled that," &c. — Anatomy of Mel.
By a like analogy the G. faseln is applied to that condition of the
mind in which it is incapable of definite conceptions or coherent
thought — to be light-headed, to talk nonsense, to rave, to dote. —
Kiittner.
Rayb, Ravel, Revel. — It is remarkable that there is precisely
the same connexion of ideas in rave and ravel as has been shown in
fuzz or feaze and fuzzle or fuddle, or in the two senses of the G.
faseln, although the order of ideas is reversed in the two cases.
The original root would seem to be preserved in Kilian's raven,
reven, revelen, to croak as a frog, a phenomenon which the advance
VOL. IV. 2 G
»5
of cvltifVtkMi Ihm If ilfifd
tkmn St fliiirt Uma t ul} lurte bmi, but rtill (f^rrjally as Wnd in
boCter or Banliirr r eg i on g tiun cum) it aiKifds a sliikiiig iastaBce
of a copfatcd iai im tiMt e wtt rrai i cr . Hcace tbe ^ipficatiom of tibe
Do. reveM,rmpdem,re9elem,tothe incohcicnt rmnmf of ■ uliif h, IbDj
or ddifimB/— derate, dc tip cre, bief^re (KDiaa). The saae root
■odoobt ayyeawin thcFr>rawKAgror i mpo ig e r, tDiaic,totJkid^
rmfmukr, to talk or act witfaoot andentauiding ; and in the riiplrr
Tester, to iare« dote, qxak idly (Cotgr.) ; or (m BMidena l an guage),
to dream, from die inooberent images in tieepi and again, as a
petioa dreamily is insennble to afl diat is pawmig in die ootcr
world* a reverie represents die condition of one absorbed in bis own
tboof^btSy aflTording a corioos example of a word sonifying ptofaond
stiUnesa growing oat of a radical wboee prinmry import is a cos-
fnsed importonate noise.
The step from a oonfnsed noise to tbe action by wbidi mdi a
noise is prodoced, gires Kiban's rtwelem, rmoeelem — aestnare, agitaii
et meumcanare, c on c ur sare; rpcelimge — ^rortez, gorges. Hence oar
revel, a jajKmt, noisy festinty, often errDneoo^ derived firom tbe
Fr« reveUUr, interpreted 'to wake, or keep awake — ^in feasting,
dandng, &c/ (Richardson). Bat reveiUer is to rooae firom skqi,
expergefaeere, and not to keep awake, and it does not give rise in
Fr. to any word eqoifralent to oar revel, i^iich on tbe otber band
answers exactij to Kiban's raveUn, Tbe vortex of diaapation is a
common metaphor.
The Fr. and Eng. ravage is in all probability anotber sboot from
the same stock, signifying the waste and disorder ptodnced by oxer-
powering violence, and not the spoil carried off by die invader, which
woald be tbe nataral meaning if tbe word were derived from Fr.
ravir, which besides, if it give rise to a noon of this natore at all,
would naturally form ravi$$age rather than ravage.
From the nodon of confused multifarious noise and movement in
our revel — Kilian's ravelen, concursare; ravelimge, vortex — we pass to
that of entanglement in his ravelen, intricare, and our ravel, as when
we speak of a raveled skein, or raveling out a web.
The same connexion of ideas is preserved in the Dan. vrevl, vrdvle^
1. to ravel or entangle, and 2. to talk loosely and confusedly.
In Kilian's raven, to croak, we have also probably an explanation
of the name of the Raven — ^the croaker.
Hxftoir, EoAiT. — ^The names of the common heron, and the egret
or small white heron, are superficially unlike enough, but may be
shown fundamentally to differ in termination only.
The Oloss. iElfr. apparently give us the word in the most com-
plete form — ardea, hragra. Hence on the one side by dropping the
n, tbe Germ, reiger ; and on the otber by dropping the initud r, the
IceL hegri, Sw. hUger, The addition of the intensitive termination
an and of the diminutive ette gives egron (Vocabulaire de Bern), a
heron, and egrette, the little heron or egret. The passage from egron
to the Fr. hiront Eng. heron, is made clear by the Italian agkirone,
airom.
ex oleribua erant,
C et qiiandoqiiB pro niBigDS.
to, vd lacte, oullft de vm
24?
Pittance. — Many etymologies have been auggeated. Pielancia
from the piety of the object in providing the monks vrith food
pitUsantia, from pH'issare, to Eip ; pilliicium, the ticket auppoaed to
be attached to each man's portion ; picla, Fr. pile, the small coin
of Poitou, the supposed limit of expenditure for each pittance.
If accident do not tliTow ud upun the right scent in a word like
this, it is impossible to hit upon it by mere guessing. In the first
place, the pruper meaning of the word has been very generally over-
looked. It dues not signify the whole share of each individual in a
conventual meal, but merely that smaller portion of more tasty
viands which in frugal housekeeping is used to give relish to the
bread or pottage constituting the substance of the meal ; what is
atiU called sowl or eowHag tn some parts of England. The Pem-
brokeshire peasant says, " I have not had a bit of soicl to my bread
for these six months." Pktantia ia explained bj Ducange —
" Portio inoiiacliica in esculentis lautior pulm
cum jjic((in(i(B essentde piscibus et bujuamodi.
" Aquaro etiain putain frequentiua bibeban
pictOTittS (fur a great relish) mixtam vel ace
faclft mentiune."— Uuc.
" Dum a celUriS per totum conventual pici
rsntur, invisibdcm ei pielaiiliam misil, quod oiiinibua diebus ptctaaliia
nibuB carere vellet." — ^Duc.
" Quod >i allqua secundo vocala venire contemscrit, iusEquenli prandi
«i pilaneia subtrahftur — she should lose lier aeKsoniiigs, should be put oi
bread and water." — Stalulea of the Arch. ofCauEeibur;', 1279, in Due.
Hence, as the piclaatia or sowling would form but a small portion
(jf the entire meal, and not from anything implying moderation in
tbe word itself, pittance has come in modern language to signify a
scanty allowance of anything. When once the proper use of the
term ia clearly understood, the derivation lies veiy near the surface.
The ' Vocabulaire de Berri ' gives us —
Apidan^ant, apitan^anl — app^tissant, what provokes an appetite.
" Un mete est apitaufant lorsqu'il fait manger beaucoup de pain."
Pidaace, viande, ration.
Perhaps the word suwl may be explained by reference to the Bret.
towbinel of theaame import, signifying the seasoning of melted butter,
honey or the like, eaten with the porridge which forms the principal
diet of the Breton peasant. The word soubinel itself is probably de-
rived from a sup of this seasoning being taken with each spoonful
of porridge. Bret, souba, to sup.
The dialect of Berri affords many examples of forms ap|iroaching
nearer either in sound or sense to their English con ela tires than those
which have been presen-ed in classical French,
We may cite from the ' Vocabulaire de Berri' —
AfFONUBKR— plonger, enfoncer dans I'eau — Ui/oaniier.
Alab!— <G. Sand) for helas!
Amort — beaucoup. Pruv. Eng. morl (E. Sussex, Kcnt,//oUou'Hy),
' Ily avait du momle k mort,' There was a murt of people, or a mortal
lot of people.
2aU
250
The Fr. derivation of morl is much corroborated by the vulgar use 1
of mortal, as in the foregoing passage, as a mere intensitive. To de-
rive it from the Icel. raargt, much, would be to take a highlj' emphatic
word, aa mort is still felt to be, from the simplest prose. But per-
haps the expressioo may be a remnant even of British times, as we
find marf.ad used in exactly the same manner in Breton. " Ce mot,"
Bays Legonidec, " ne s'emploie jamais au propre, mais aeulement an |
figure avec la signification de multitude, grand nombre, foule."
Arraybr — aminger, to array.
Bavkb — ahoyer, to bay, or bark.
Bbobbes— bruy&res, brushv/ooA, scrubs. The barren country
overgrown with underwood is called in Australia the truth. In
Berri, lei brossra is a common name of country placfcs, as Scrubi j
with us.
CAiCAS— body, carcase (G. Sand).
Dressagk (G. Sand). — Dreas, attire.
DaEssoia— buffet oil Ton range les plats. — A drester.
DiAcbe'. — Diable! the iJeMce! Bret. Teux. a phantom, spectre.
goblin (Legonidec), from (euri, to melt, to disappear. Fris. De \
Deukfr, tlie Deuce.
S'eueoek — s'^tonner, to be amazed.
MAlard — canard mile, a mallard — in Eng. confined to the
male of the wild-duck.
M0M.B — mure, a muAierry ; G. maulbeere ; Gael, maol-dhearc,
in all of which the I is probably only a change of the r in Lat.
morum. The O.H.G., according to Schwenk, was origJnEJly miir-
bouma, then mulbam. But perhaps the Gael, maol-dhearc may
really eshibit the original form, and may be explained thomless-
berry, from inaol.W. mael, hornless, without point, in contradistinction
to the mdre de ronce or blackberry, the fruit of the prickly bramble.
Ndibakck — dommage, prejudice — a nuisattce,
Packe— pauvre, poor.
PiouLSR — piauler, to jiiile.
Ponascia — poarsuivre, to pursue.
QuEftLUB — couilis, a curleic.
Repbntaitce— repenblr, repentance.
Rbtangb — vengeance, revenge (G. Sand).
SoowHANCB — tolerance, consentement — suffer an ce.
VfiTrRE — vfitement, vesture.
We cannot turn over a Welsh or Iriah dictionary with a little
rare without being struck, not merely with instances in which the
Celtic rncEB have jirovided us with words actually in use in
original signification, but with others which throw light on tl
lations or the intrinsic meaning of the words in English, and often
in the classic languages. Esamples of one and the other of tliese
casee have been given by Mr. Garnett in his papers on the languages
and dialectB of tlie British Islands, and by Professor Newman on the
intrusive elements of Latin, in the ' Classical Journal.' The fol-
lowing may be added as exaiii]jle^ of the latter class : —
251
Barrack. — From Gael, barr, the top or point of anything, comes
barrach, top-branches of trees, brushwood. Hence barrachad, a
cottage, hut, or booth, i. e. a hut made of branches, and thence
(through the Fr. baroque) our barracks, the lodging of a military
body, the plural form of which points to the time at which the sin-
gular barrack was a shelter for one or two men, and the barrackg
implied a collection of huts.
Basket, Mesh. — The Welsh has basg and masg In the sense of
plaiting or network, as ba and mu, a cow ; baban and maban, a
baby ; baeddu and maeddu, to beat. The former initial gives basged,
a basket ; the latter, masg, a mesh or stitch in netting.
NAVEL.^Parallel with our bow, G. bug, a bending ; the W. has
bog, a swelling, rising up, the nave of a wheel. Hence the dimi-
nutive bogel, a navel, which is remarkable from the word navel itself,
as well as umbilicus and 6/ifa\os being formed on the same principle.
We have O.H.G, naba, the nave or convesity of a wheel, for
the origin of which we perhaps need not look farther than our knob,
as it must be remembered that the nave would in the first instance
be nothing but the extremity of the axis projecting through the
solid wheel. The hollow nave and unconnected axis is an invention
nf later times, and therefore we ought not to look for the origin of
the word to the notion of per/oraliun, to which the Germans are in-
clined to refer it. From riaba the dim. nabalo, napulo, the navel-
In the samewayLat.BmSo, the boss of a shield; Gr. d^^iur, Afijiii,
the top of B. mountain, brow of a rock, eminence ; and the diminutives
umbilicus, opipnXoi, a navel.
To Buss. — W. bus. the human Up; Gael, bus, mouth, snout
(whence Fr. museau, the muzzle). Hence, tq buss, to kiss; as W.
cicinu>, to kick, from etc, the foot; treidiaw, to tread, to kick, from
trnad, a foot.
Can. — W. cannu, to contain. Hence our can, a vessel fur con-
t^iiing liquids; as rummer, a large glass, from Dan rumme, to
cuntain.
Cant. — The secret language of beggars and tiiieves, commonly
referred to the whining, singsong tone adopted in begging ; but it
should be observed that such a tone is adopted only towards the
public, while cant language is that which tiie initiated use among
themselves, when the professional whine would of course be laid aside.
It is then applied to the technical language of any art or pro-
fession :
" The doclor here, '
When he discouriielh of (liESPi:t[an,
Of Venn cnva snd of vena i-orti,
The msBerKum .
\Vhatdo.-aheel
To his judicial ai
.\aA Irowl the Iv
■ but i-w.t t or if he nm
mlogy.
le, the qnHrlile, and Ihe textile,
nhnhere can nnderataiiil him!
Gael. caiiMl, speech, language, from can, sing, speak, say, call.
CnoKB. — W. 'fy, a mouth, throat, opening; regimr, to rbakt o
strangle, tn thrortic.
233
Coot. — The notioa of cutting off gives Sc. cutty, thoit, abrupt ;
Mid the W. cwtl, a little piece, a exit, a short tail ; emtta, short.
abrupt, bobtailed, Heoce cviltyn, a plover ; cwt-iar, a coot or water-
rail; literally, a. bob-tailed lien.
CaANB. — From W. gar, the ham or shank (whence Fr. Jarret, the
ham, and jarretiere, a garter), we have garanu, to furnish with a
shank ; guranawg , long-ahanked ; atid garan, a crane or heron ;
yipayo", quasi Long-shanks.
Kite. — W. cSd. a hawk, a kite, from the hovering flight of
falcon genus; W, ciid, motion, flight ; cudatog, that hovers or flies
about; cudiad, hovering about. So in Eng. one apeciea of hawk u
called the wind-hover, W. cudyl y gvrynt.
A GrLL, Sba-Gull, — Bret, gmilan, from gw^la, to vail or cry,
on account of their plaintive cry.
CoNYGEB. — A rahbit warren ; a word which, though obsolete in
ordinary language, is frequently left as the name of a particular field,
L.-B. coningeria (Bailey). In W. cicaing-gaer, a rabbit warren of
burrow, from civaing, a rabhjt, and caer, a city or fastness, as the
Eiig. burrow from burg, fortress.
CaowD. — A fiddle. W. criotk, a bulging, paunch, box; crythu,
to make bulky, to swell ; croth, the belly ; croth esgair, the calf of
the leg. Hence crwth, a crowd or fiddle, from the convex sounding
Chaucer's ribible is the W, ribib, a reed pipe, from Kome equivalent
to the Gael, ribheid, a reed, and pib, a pipe.
Corsair. — Gael, corso, a coast, shore; coraaich,\,a coast or cruise.
Corsair, a coaster, cruiser, pirate, a corsair. From the form of the
Italian coraale, corsarg, or corsaro, I am inchned to believe that the
word was really adopted in the Romance languages from a foreign
source, and not independently formed from Lat. cursus, a course or
cruise at eca, which would rather have given corsario, and would un-
doubtedly have furnished a perfectly satisfactory etymology if we
had not been acquainted with the Celtic equivalent.
Cost. — GaeL coiseag, a small nook, a snug corner : coistagaek,
tuug, cosy.
Cravk. — W, cref, a cry. acream ; cr e/u, to cry, cry for, beg or
crave. In the same way creu>, a shouv or outcry, and creil, to beg
or desire earnestly.
CauM. — Gael, criom, to pick, bite, nip, nibble ; criomag, a small
bit or fragment of anything, a crum . In the same way Gael, bid,
to nip, pinch (probably the original sense out of which that of biting
has been developed) ; bideag, a little bit, a crucn. So also ^loc, tu
pick or nip, and pioc, a crum or smalJ portion.
DiiNTY, — ^W. daat, a tooth ; dantaeth, appertaining to a tooth,
toothsome — a dainty, 'fhe word is found also iu theBavarian d/iatsch,
leckerbisseii (Hchmeller) ; dilntschig, nice, pretty, dainty ; applied to
children, as Prospero's '• my dainty Ariel."
D^aN. — Gael, cforn, a fist, short closed hand. Hence, a hilt, handle
— what is held iu ihe closed hand — a sliort piece of anything. W.
dtrn, a piece, a patch; Fr. dame, a sUce, a thin flitt piece, whence
253
our dam, originally doubtless to patch or clout a garment, and sub-
sequently applied to the mode in which stockings are mended by '
interweaving threads over the broken part, in contradistinction to
sewing on a patch of new stuff.
Quilt, Countrrpanb. — W. cylch, a hoop, circle, parallel with
the Gr. kvkXos and the Lat. circa, circulus, &c. Hence cylched, a
bound, circumference, rampart — what goes round about or enwraps,
bedclothes, curtains. Gwely a* % gylchedau, a bed and its furniture ;
Gkiel. coilce, a bed, bedclothes ; coilceadha, bed materials, as feathers,
straw, heath ; Bret, golched, a feather-bed, chaff-bed. Hence the
Lat. culcita, originally probably a wadded wrapper, but applied in
Latin only to a mattress, and avowedly borrowed from the Gauls.
" Sicut in culcitris praecipuam gloriam Cadurci obtinent, Galliarum hoc
ei tomenta pariter inventum." — Pliny.
The Du. kulckt (Kil.) shows the passage to our quilt, Fr. coulte,
eoultre, coutil. The Spanish have colcedra and colcha, the one
through the Latin, the other perhaps direct from a Celtic stock.
When the stitches of the quilt came to be arranged in patterns
for ornament, it was called culcita puncta :
** Estque thoral lecto quod supra ponitnr alto
Ornatiis cau^d,, quod dicunt culcita jiiunc/a."— Due.
** Nullus ferat secum in vid pimctam culcitram ad jacendum nisi is cui in
eapitulo concessum fuerit." — Due.
This in Fr. became keulte pointe (Lacombe), coute pointe, courte
pointe, and finally, with that unconscious striving edfter meaning
which is so often a source of corruption in language, centre pointe,
from the opposite pits made by the stitches on either side of the
quilt or mattress. Hence finally our counterpane.
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. MAY 26, 1850. No. 98.
The Rev. Dr. Bobworth in the Chair.
A paper was read —
" English Etymologies : "^^Contimied. By Hensleigh Wedgwood,
Esq.
Baldbroash. — Gkiel. ballart, noisy boasting, clamour ; baUartaich,
a loud noise, shouting, hooting, strongly resembling both in sense
and sound the Eng. balderdash, noisy empty talk. Other words in
Gael, are formed on the same plan, as clapartaich, a clapping or
flapping of the wings ; plabariaich, the noise of waves gently beating
the shore, unintelligible talk.
PiB-BALLED. — Gael, ball, a word of wide signification, comprising
among other meanings that of a spot or mark: ballach, spotted,
speckled; balUbhreac, variegated. Hence pie-bald, marked like a
pie, chequered black and white. In Bret, ball is a white mark on
the face of a horse or cow ; also the animal so marked. Hence the
frequent use of the word in English as the name of a particular
horse, especially a cart-horse. In the same way Dun, Favel or Lyart
were used as the proper names of a dun, a bay, or a grey horse
respectively.
Fbnowed, Vinbwed — Mawkish.— Gael, fineag, a mite ; fineag^
ach, mity, motheaten. Hence, with some obscuration of the original
meaning, Eng,fenowed or vinewed, mouldy or musty.
" The old motheaten leaden legend and the foisty andfenowed festival are
still laid up in comers." — Quot. m Richardson.
A like analogy gives rise to Eng. mawkish, tasteless, vapid, sickly —
like half-decayed things, on the point of breeding worms, from
Prov. Eng. mawk, Icel. madkr, a maggot.
Gratb, Gridiron, Cradlb. — W. graH heat, whence greidiau,
Gael, gread, gradain, to scorch or parch ; W. greidel, a bakestone,
griddle or gridiron ; Fr. grille ; It. grata. Then as a gridiron con-
sists of a frame filled up with parallel bars, the It. grata, Fr. grille,
and Eng. grate have had their signification widened to designate any
structure made up of bars in a similar way.
On the other hand, the wide spread of words closely allied to
grate in the sense of wicker or wattled work, or the materials of
which it is made, would seem opposed to the h3rpothesis of so con-
fined a derivation as the foregoing. The Danish has krat, underwood,
brushwood, or, as they would call it in Staffordshire, cra^e- wood,
undoubtedly not derived from the Lat. crates, an implement of
wicker or wattled work, which is itself no doubt from the same
root. Fris. kratt, the growth from an old stool (Outzen). The
Eng. crate, a case made of rods wattled together, is probably from
VOL. IV. 2 H
this Dan. or Fris. term rather than from the Latin, while the latter
g^ves rise to the It. graticcia, a hurdle or lattice : the Fr. artiehe
and our cratch, r rack or crib, & receptacle of parallel rods for cattle
to pluck hay out of.
ilie Bame root appears in the Gael, crealhach, creuthach, under-
wood, brushwood ; creathait, a grate, a cradle ; as well as in the Eng.
cradle itself. A.-S. cradol, a wicker-baaket for holding an infant.
Gallant. — 'ITie metaphor of the genealogical tree is a very an-
»ent one. lliua the Measiah is spoken of as a rod or Branch out of
the etem of Jesse, and the familiar passage in the Psalms has made
olive-branches a trite expression for children. Two instances ap-
pear in Gaelic in which this analogy explains the origin of words
widely spread throughout Europe. Gael, gallon, a branch (of the
same stock probably with the Sjj. gajo, a branch) ; also a youth, a
handsome young man, Hence galand, by which Douglas commonly
translates ^'uu^n^, and the modern Sc. callait, callant, a stripling, a
boy.
"Tharfoc hftve done gatandi», cum on jaur way,
Euter wiihiu our lugeing we you pray." — D. V. in Jam.
" Qunre agite tea^n juxenca succeditc aostris,"
Hence the word gallant in all the Romance languages, and thence
adopted iu English, applied to the qualities which are most striking
or most admired in young men — to active bravery, attention to
women, joyousneas, brilliancy. We see the same analogy in Gael.
ogan, a young man, also a bough or branch, and gfuij, a branch, a
young female.
Vassal, Gain. — Again the Gaehc baa gas, a stalk, a bough, a
branch, as well as a young boy ; gasan, a little branch, a youth ; the
gossoon of the Irish novelists. In Welsh, gwas, gicasan, which origi-
nally signified a youth, have come, like puer in Latin, to mean a
servant; whence ^ico^anaef A, service ; ^toa^anf, ministration ; gwas-
awl, ministering; gwasaw, to serve; Bret, ginai, a man, a servant,
a vassal, one bound to feudal service ; L.-B. vassus, vasaallta.
"Devenio vester Homo" was the form used by the vassal in doing
homage or acknowledging his eervitude to his feudal lord. Prov.
gvasan, a vassal ; gvasandor, a labourer ; and hence (with an easy
passage from the notion of the labour itself to that of the object for
the sake of which it ia incurred) guasagnar, gasagnar; Catalan, ya-
zagnar, guadagnar, gnanyar ; It. guadagnare ; Fr. gaagner, gagner, to
gain, to attain the object of service or labour. So in Breton gouiud
u used both for gaining or profiting, iind also for labouring, tilling
the ground ; and those Bretons who speak only French use the words
gagier and calliver as synonymous.
We are thus in possession of every step of the process by which
the Eng. gain has been formed from a Romance development. Yet
it is singular that the same word appears in the Scandinavian lan-
guages with the same meaning, although apparently from a totally
different parentage. It is perhaps not easy to identify it with Ul-
philas' gageigan, to gain, to profit, the n of which, it must he remem-
257
bered, belongs only to the infinitive termination; but we have the Icel.
gagna, gagnaz ; Dan. gavne ; Sw. prov. genu, to profit, to be of use ;
I. geignaz, to gain or get possession ; gagn (letter for letter the same
with the Fr. gagner) ; Dan. gavn, gain, use, victory. I. gagnlegr,
Dan. gavnleg, convenient, useful, the negative of which is preserved
in our ungainly. The Sw. provincial has gen and ogen, utilis and
inutilis (Ihre), bringing us to the Prov. £ng. gain, direct, handy,
convenient.
The I. gagn, gign, through, against ; G. gegen, and our again,
against, are doubtless from the same stock, though it is not easy to
see their connexion with the notion of gaining or profiting.
Gather. — W. gwden, a wythe or twisted rod used as a band, a
coil, a ring (apparently from gwd, a twist or turn ; Bret, gwea, to
weave, to twist); Br. gweden, Gael, gad, a wythe; gadag, a straw
rope ; gadair, to tether or tie the fore-legs of a horse. Then from
the notion of tying or binding, A.-S. gegade, a collection ; gegada^
an associate, a fellow ; the G. gatte, a mate ; and Eng. gather, to
unite or bring several things into connexion with each other.
Gravel. — Gael, garbh, coarse, rough, harsh ; garbh-gaineamh
(literally, coarse sand), gravel; gairhheil, freestone, coarse sand,
gravel.
Hose. — Gael, cos or cas, a foot, leg, shaft; cois-eideadh, leg
clothing, shoes and stockings or hose, which formerly included the
clothing of the entire leg. The Gael, c seems in other cases to cor-
respond to our h, as in cuip, a whip; cuileann, A.-S. holen, holly;
cuibheoll, a wheel.
Last, Ultimate. — W. ol, an impression, trace, footstep ; ol, be-
hind, after, backward ; troi yn ol, to turn upon his traces, to turn
back ; olaf, hindmost, last ; oH, to proceed lastly, or to follow.
The root ol, of whose development in W. the foregoing are a few
of the specimens, would afford a much more satisfactory account of
the Lat. ultra, ultimus, than the pronominal origin commonly attri-
buted to them. It may be observed, in the first place, that the
phrase above cited, troi yn ol, suggests an explanation of the termi-
nation tra so common in Lat. prepositions, citra, contra, intra, &c.,
which may fairly be weighed against the theory that would derive
them from comparatives of the simple cis, cum, in, &c. If the ter-
mination tra be supposed identical with the W. tro, turning, it
would be precisely equivalent to the Eng. wards, looking to, giving
inwards, outwards, as the exact translation of intra, extra. The ori-
ginal signification of ultra on this hypothesis would be trace- wards
or backwards, having reference, when used in the sense of beyond, to
a person coming towards us in the distance, whose traces would lie
beyond him as our own are behind ourselves. The same condition
of things would explain the phrase ultro citroque, backwards and
forwards, viz. ultro, backwards, towards his own traces; citroy
hitherward, towards ourselves. The analogy of the W. superlative
olaf, hindmost, last, regularly formed from ol, a footstep, would
equally explain the formation of the Lat. ulterior, ultimus, from a
2 H 2
25 S
root vl equivalent to the W. ol, whatever may be thought of the
termination Ira or tro in nllra, ultra.
It in remarkable timt the same relation which has been shown be-
tween the two senses of the W. ol, holds good between the A.-S.
last, ft trace or footstep, and the Eng. last, hindmost. On taate waa
constantly used in A.-S. in the sense of after, behind; on lasle the.
behind thee ; on Uofes laste, after the loved one ] Cxd. on laste, at
last; /oj(-ie«irtf, trace -wards, lowaids tiie rear, finally. In these ex-
pressions it cannot he doubted that the true force of the word last
ie a footstep or trace, and when that meaning was no longer under-
stood, the word got confounded with the superlative of late, whieli
is always latost in A.-S„ and probably never would have been con-
tracted into lust, if it had not been for this confusion with last, a
footstep.
It is probably to the same source tliat we ought to trace the verb
to last, to perform or endure :
e and trailerous and laslen noght that tbei behoten."
Du. /eesfert.prw stare, perficere, and durare, permanere (Kil.). As the
W. oli, Bret, hevlia, to follow, spring from ol, heul, a trace, so from
the Teutonic equivalent la»t comes the M,-G. latslyan, to follow.
The Latin exseqiti, to follow up, to accomplish, would then show
how the sense of " performance' might be developed out of that of
' following,' and thence probably the notion of endurance. When
we speak of a coat lasting for a year, we meEin that it performs what
ia required of it for that time.
Finally, from signifying an impression, the word came in the Icel.
leystr to signify that which makes the impression, viz. the sole of the
iaot ; socka-lysir, sko-lei/slr, the sole of a sock or a shoe, explaining
the use of /os( for the wooden mould on which a shoe is made.
Maogot, — W. magv, to breed, to bring up; macat, magiod (that
which breeds of itself), maggots.
Mildew. — G. mehl-thau, a blight on corn, spots on linen, com-
monly explained as if it were identicul with honeydew, which is a
totally different phsenomenon. It seems in reality to be one of those
cases of false analysis in which some of the elements of a foreign
word have been unconsciously moulded, so as to give it significance
in the language which has adopted it, a process which in German
has affected both syllables, in English only the termination. The
true derivation appears to be the Gael, mill, to spoil, injure, destroy;
millteach, destructive; whence ceo-milUeach" , a destructive mist,
mildew, blight.
In a similar way one important element of a compouud word would
be lost on adoption into a foreign language, if we could suppose the
Eng. !■«/ to be from British pwi-rod (literally wheel-pit), the word
fkctually in use in that sense in Breton. The same thing seems to
i
4
■e ihe types weri
t ItiBl Armsci
nthivli is probably ihe real origin of Ihe Eng. ^
bligtU.
259
have taken place in the Lat. monile, from Gkiel. crios-muineai, a
necklace, composed of crios, a helt, and muineal, the neck. Nor
would this he hy any means a solitary instance of words in Latin
apparently borrowed from the Gaelic, a proof of the Romans having
been in intimate connexion with a tribe of that race at the time
when their language was forming, as is shown by Mr. Newman in
the paper cited in the preceding number, llie activity of the same
tendency to curtailment in the case of newly- imported words, the
principle of whose formation is not understood by the vulgar, is
witnessed by the formation of the words cab and butt from cabriolet
and omnibus.
Mien. — From Fr. mine, countenance, look, gesture. The ori-
ginal meaning of the word seems to be the lips, and thence the
mouth and countenance. Bret, m/n, beak, nose, snout, face ; point
of land, promontory. W. min, lip or mouth, margin ; min-vin, lip
to lip, kissing.
MuGGT. — W. mwg, smoke ; Gael, muig, cloudiness, gloom ; W.
mygu, to smoke, smother ; Bret, mougu, to suffocate ; *' mouguz,
etoufiant, qui rend la respiration difficile" (Legonidec). Hence
Eng. muggy f applied to steaming, oppressive weather.
Bob, Mob, Mop. — ^llie original force, of bob seems an imitation
of the sound made by a gentle blow, or of something softish striking
against another body. It is then applied either to the action of the
striking body, to any short jerking action, or to the body itself which
is set in motion, designating any small hanging body or object of a
short thick form, as the bobs of a fringe, ear bobs, bob- tailed. A
bobbin is tbe hanging bob of thread used in making lace, and then
the little piece of wood round which the thread is wrapped. It is
manifestly the same root which appears in the Gael, babag, baban,
babhaid, a tassel, cluster, fringe ; babaideach, tufted, tasseled. The
passage of the b into an m gives Gael, mab, a tassel or fringe;
maibean, a bunch or cluster ; moibeal, moibean, a broom or mop, t. e,
a bunch of twigs or rags for sweeping or rubbing ; W. mopp, moppa,
a mawkin or bundle of rags, a mop.
To mab, in the North, is to dress in a careless slatternly manner,
to bundle on one's clothes, to wrap together:
*' Men, having their faces mob'd in hoods and long coats like petti-
coats." — More in Richardson.
Hence a mob-cap, a cap that envelopes and conceals the face.
Pink. — ^The root pin in the sense of something sharp and pointed
is very widely spread, appearing in the Lat. spina, /^tnnaculum. In
W. as in Eng. it appears in the simplest form as pinn, a pin. Hence
pin-bren, pin-wydd (precisely equivalent to the G. nadel-hoh), lite-
rally pin- tree or pin- wood ; a pine or fir-tree.
Plkad, Plea. — W. plaid, a partition, originally probably a wat-
tled fence, from the notion of plaiting or wattling ; pleiden, a hurdle,
wattling, dead-fence; plaid-wellt, a straw partition ; Grael. /rairf or
fraigh, a partition wail, wattled partition. Tbe W. plaid is then
applied to that which is parted off — a side, part, party, cause. O
260
biaid, on'the part of, because of. Hence phidiaw. to take a part, to
side with one. and the Fr. plaider. to plead or take the part of one in
a court of justice. The derivationa in W. are numerous ; pletdnBr, a
partisan ; cyd-blaid, a confederate, &c. The Lat, placitum, to which
the word used commonly to be referred, is merely a latinizing of the
Celtic plaid, plegt/d. and never was itself in forensic use in Latin.
The word plaid ie found in the earliest Fr. monuments at a time
when none of the Latin consonants were lost, and when it would
certainly hove been written plaid if it had really been derived from
placitum.
" Et ab Ludher a»\ plaid nunquam prindrsi qui meon volcist meon fradrj
Ksrle in damna sit. — E[ cuni LoLhario nullimi pactum inibo quod quauCun
■ciam fratri Ksrob dainiio fuCurum lil."— Due.
Plod. — Gael, plod, a clod. Hence Eng, to plod, to make slow
and laboriouB progress, like that of a person walking over the clods
of a ploughed field.
Slbd, Slot. — We have formerly adverted to the verb to lead as
the causative of A.-S. lilAan, to move, to be carried. The causative
of our slide seems to be preserved in the Gael, slaod, slaoid, to drag,
to trail, and in the Suffolk ilade :
" Heavy weighta are easily daded on level ground." — Forty.
From this verb are formed the Gael, slaod, a raft or float, what drags
along, a sledge or sled, Suffolk slade, Icel. slodi, sledi; slaodan,
the rut or trauk of a wheel, explaining the slot of a deer, the trail
or mark of his feet, and the O.-Eng. sleuth, the track of a man.
Sleuth-hound, a hound for tracking the footsteps of a furtive. Again,
we have slaad, a clumsy or lazy person (one who drags or trails
along) ; slaodach, trailing, clumsy, lazy, ill-dressed, slovenly ; slaodag,
a slut or slattern ; Du. slodde, sordida et inculta mulier (Kil.). The
Du. elodderen, flaccere, seems to be from the notion of hanging and
trailing about; sladderhosen, caligK follicantes; sloddfrachlig, bot-
didus, negligens — slatternly.
Spur. — Gael, spar, a claw or talon as well as a spur ; cul-spor,
literally a back-claw, a spur. If spor had been borrowed from a
Teutonic language in the sense of spur, it never would have recdved
the qualification cul, binder, indicatbg the position in which it is
Worth. — W. gwyrdd, green ; gwerddon, a green spot, a meadow.
Hence the termination worth in the names of jdaces like Bosworth
and Lutterworth ; in G. werth and tnerder, as in Donauwerth, Ma-
rienwerder, interpreted a meadow, low land at the confluence or along |
the side of rivers.
4
4
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV. JUNE 14, 1850. No. 99,
Pbofbs8or Kbt in the Chair.
A paper was read —
" On the Elements of Language ; their arrangement and their
accidents." By Edwin Guest, Esq.
The elements which it is proposed to examine in the following
paper, are such as substitute the hard guttural for the "abrupt
tone/' which seems to have characterized all the earlier forms
of language. The same kind of reasoning which led us to con-
clude that the final p of the Chinese provincial dialects might, in
languages of later origin, be represented by any one of the four
labials /?, hy p, b\ appears to justify the opinion, that the-final k may
be represented by any one of the four gpitturals, k, g, k\ g\ Sanscrit
nouns ending in any one of these gutturals may, when used as no»
minatives in the construction of a sentence, take either A; or ^ as
their final letter (Wils. Sansc. Gr. p. 48) ; and in the perfect tense
of the Greek verb, we have the characteristic letters k, g, changed
into Ic (x). In the Gothic dialects we find the aspirated guttural,
or rather its representative h, frequently taking the form of g ; thus
the Anglo-Saxon preterites fleaht flew ; aloh, slew, &'c. make their
second persons .singular Jiug-e, slog-e, &c. ; and hurh, a fortress,
takes in the plural the form of byrig. These letter-changes appear
to be conventional, and not euphonic ; or to speak more explicitly,
they seem to have been adopted, not because they facilitated pro-
nunciation*, but because they served to mark with greater precision
the various forms of artificial grammar. If this be so, it is a rea-
sonable, if not a necessary inference, that the four gutturals ^, g,
k\ g\ were once used indiscriminately, or, as we may otherwise
phrase it, were, all of them, used as substitutes for the " abrupt
tone" of the earlier languages.
But there are also other forms occasionally assumed by the final
guttural. It seems at a very early period to have been subjected to
assibilation. Sanscrit nouns ending in ch and j, and occasionally
those ending in sh, assume ^ or ^ for their final letter in the nomi-
native : thus vdch, speech, becomes either vdk or vag. It was
necessary to mention this letter- change, as we may occasionally be
obliged to introduce in the following pages elements which end in
* If in some cases facility of pronunciation seems to be promoted by the change
of letter, this fact will not invalidate the author's argument ; for even in those,
letter-changes, which are generally allowed to be euphonic, the new letter seems
in most cases rather to have been selected as one of several candidates, than to have
been produced by any actual metamorphosis of the older one.
VOL. IV. 2 I
elcar^ ami «iitrairyi7 'y^saet, ae r?
azui gncua. *m as st aa s&eaiVi
|e« i5W. C3ms»-» irrs. a scraisea- » s-miciie^
fy JPmjittk ^ to ere, >> wearr. » Kac Tyid;^
F
Mfc CmmLCkmM^S^ ^^^ — - to v« «r arss wja art iEe-£»a,
toiby vick anoke ar £r^ to koc. to^
to
^ igM.akat,tofaaift»7dBs^ at defile.
aTUk ,,,. to dry ia dto «xtu
- ^ ^ akf^aLKatnntFaanaalar artifiaaLaa Aa ifci£eof
#*»*
bfl&Ty Ice.
|gi^ ^— — to aurtma W ranJnag ar riprgin^ to baO, to
tof^en.
polcMaa. P*f» to Wl, eook, fcc:, to
^&f^ ,.. Greek .,. to roast, toaft, pardL
pccrli Bmm. >... weotk.
^— a store.
loe^-fm »«.# X4it/at .».» a firc^-lieartli.
Ibe Wei$k,.,. a fire-place, a
It win be teen diat the Sanscnt word ^d&s signifies bodi rooftn^
and tiie opfreMmcm of a anmtnf. The tie which links these two
meantngs together is by no means an obrions one. The Chinese
lexicognq[»ben define /wit, ** to piea widi ^r^/* and jidb, " to prces
hard upon and embarrass as by an cnemj^s troops." If diey be cor-
rect in these definitions, — and we most remember that Morrison's is
little more than a new arrangement of the great imperial lexicon, —
then we see at once the connexion we are in seardi of, and how
closely allied are the two sets of meanings we have been considering.
The idea of $vbttance connects together the three groups which
follow.
1 . Substance, matter ; raw material, nnwronght iron, &c.
pok Cant.Chin.^Q^b (pd), crammed together in confiuioD, staffed all
ti^ether, to fill up.
-; — 8700 (piih), a clod of earth.
p'ok — 8649 (p«), plain hard close wood, &c., the matter Or
substance without the gloss or ornaments.
263
p*hok .... Hok.Chin, the substance of anything, &c.
an unpolished gem, a diamond in the rough.
unwrought iron, iron ore.
pakh Pers gold or silver full of dross or bad alloy, unrefined.
wrjy-as Greek .... earth dried and hardened after rain, &c.
2. Stiffness, viscidity, whatever is curdledor frozen, gum, scum, &c.
pak Coit^CAm. 8533 (pih), the dregs or faeces of wine.
pok 8659 (p8), frozen rain, hail, &c.
pichch-a. Sansc. ... a s.f. the gum of the silk cotton tree, &c., the scum of
boiled rice, &c.
pekh Pers a gummy substance adhering to the eyelids.
TFoy-os ... Greek,.,, s.m. anything that has become solid, thick, stiff or
hard, frozen water, ice, &c., the scum on the sur-
face of milk and other liquids ; salt deposited by
the evaporation of sea water, &c.
iraydcD,,, to freeze, to curdle.
nax-vs ... thick, curdled, clotted, &c.
TTTjyas ... s.f. anything that has become thick or bard, hoar
frost, rime, &c,
f8ec-s(f8ex) Latin dregs, lees of wine, sediment.
3. Large, thick, substantial— -the fleshy parts of the body.
pak Cant,Chin,S53l (plh), — large, great, &c.
pok 8631 (p5), the sides, me ribs, the shoulders.
p'hok Hok. Chin, the shoulders.
puk Pers thick, coarse, &c,
irax-vs ... Greek,,,, thick, large, stout, fat, great.
myy-hs ... firm, solid, hence in good condition, powerful, strong,
&c.
mry-ri the rump, buttocks, fat swelling land.
fadge English „ a lusty and clumsy woman (Jam.).
This root is also used, by way of metaphor, to signify wealth or
substance.
p*hok Hok.Chin. full of treasure, abundance of wealth.
irax'vs ... Greek..., ol irdxffs, the men of substance, the wealthy.
Diffusion, separation — a spring of water, a shower of rain or snow.
p*ok CanLChin.S653 (p5), to throw forth or sprinkle water, water
dripping out, a shower of rain, &c.
8706 (pSh), suddenly bursting forth as plants budding,
or as a spring bubbling up, &c.
pok 8714 (piih), water gushing from a spring, and rushing
down a precipice.
p*hak Hok.Chin. a fountain or cataract which sends out its waters far
and with noise.
payk-idan Pers to run (as water from the mouth), to sprinkle slightly,
to scatter.
mjy-fj Greek . .. s.f. a spring, a well, a fount, a source.
fok Icel. s.n. a fall of snow.
feyk-i .... to scatter to the winds.
With these meanings may be connected the English words fog, a
thick mist, and fog, to overcast.
The elements which take both an initial and a final k, are not very
2i2
264
numerous. In the three following groups of meanings, the leading
dea seems to be that of constraint.
1. Contraction, constraint, restraint.
kuk Can/. CAi7t.6552 (kiih), manicles, a collar for the neck; self- re-
strained by virtuous principles.
khek Hok. Chin, to constrain oneself.
kach Sansc, ... to bind.
kuch to be restricted or confined, to contract.
cu9 Welsh .... s.n. what is contracted, or drawn together, the knitting
of the brows, a frown.
2. To crouch, to be bent, to be crooked.
k'ok Cant.Chin,6203 (keiih), — bent, to stoop, to cause to bend, or
crouch, &c.
— 6210 (keiih), crooked, bent, distorted, bent down,
&c.
k*heuk ... Hok.Chin, hent, crooked, not straight.
kuch Sansc, ... to be crooked.
keik-iz . . . Icel to be bent or crooked.
kauch-en Germ, ... to squat or cower.
3 . Stoppage of the chest or windpipe— choking, retching, coughing.
k*ak Can/. CAifi.6314 (klh), to cough, to retch, to vomit, the noise
made in retching and vomiting.
koh 6448 (k8) — coughing and retching.
k*hak Hok. Chin. — to vomit.
khac Co.- Chin, to retch at vomiting.
k5h Pers a cough, &c.
ceg Welsh.... a strangling, a choking.
kuch Flem a cough.
kecb an asthma, a difficulty of breathing.
kok-en... Germ to vomit
keech-eu to pant, to gasp ; to cough.
cowk English .. to retch ineffectually, to vomit (Brockett).
kech to retch at vomiting (Johns.).
The three next seta of meanings may possibly be connected with
those we have just considered ; inasmuch as the cries they express
are generally produced by strong muscular effort, and contraction of
the throat.
1 . A shrieking, a wailing.
k*uk Cant,Chin.6666 (kiib'), the loud expression of grief by strong
crying and tears.
khok Hok.Chin. to weep, to bewail, to lament.
jcojc-vo ... Greek.,., to shriek, cry, wail.
2. The shrill shriek of an animal.
kok Cant.Chin,^A50 (k5), the noise of a cricket.
kachch-a Sansc. ... a s.f. a cricket.
3. The cry of a bird — a cock, a crow, a jay, a pigeon, &c.
kok Can/.CAm.6448 (k8), the cackling of a fowl. &c.
I ■ ■ 6455 (k8), a pigeon, &c.
265
kek Hoh.Chin, the cry of a wild fowl, the crowiog of a cock.
kec Cc'Chin, a parrot.
kayk Arabic, clucking (at a hen).
kuch Satue, ... to sound high, to utter a thrill cry ai a bird.
kak-a .... ah s.m. a crow.
klk-i ih s.m. a blue jay.
cdg Welsh ... a cuckoo.
coc j1,-Sax. .. a cock.
couk English .. to utter the cuckoo's note (Jam.).
cake to cackle like geese (the a pronounced ai in far),
Craven Dial.
The next group of meanings exhibits one of the processes by
which the idea of an aggpregate may be associated with that of the
individual.
Division, separation, a separate portion ; separated from the rest,
the uttermost, the last ; those who are separated, the rest ; each
separately, each one, all.
kok Cafi<.CAm.6447 (k8), to follow, calling to but disregarded by tha
person before ; no mutual understanding ; each
apart; each separately; each one of all;
various.
cac Co.'Chim. all.
kok Hok, Chin^ each, ever>'one.
kek to separate.
keuk to divide, a separate portion, a division of labour.
kak-ya.... Sansc, ... ya, s.f. division of a large building.
each Irish adi. all, every, each.
subs, the rest, the whole.
kack Flem last, uttermost
The remaining examples take for their initial the dental t.
Striking a blow, striking with the fist, or with the open hand.
t'ak Gifil.CiUfi.10196 (tYh), to strike with the fist, to thump, to beat,
to strike with the hands in order to indicate
commendation.
teuk JTok.Chin, to beat, to thump, to pound.
tak to gore, to push with the horns.
tik Sansc, ... to assail, to assault.
taag Irish a blow on the cheek.
tag-a Breton,,, to attack.
tag Swed. .... the stroke (of an oar).
tuck Flem a blow, a beating of the forehead.
tuck-en .. -^— to butt like a ram.
.tack English .. '' to tack means, in Devon, to give a stroke with the
palm of the hand, not with a clenched fist ; tack,
a blow so given." — Exmoor Scold. Gloss.
. " to tack hands, to clap hands either by way of
triumph or provocation." — Ibid.
To take, is the root idea, from which have branched out the fol-
lowing meanings : —
266
1. Taking, culling, plucking.
tok Cait^.C:6in.l0289(t8), to take with the haod as food.
t8k 1 0291 (t5), to take up, or lift with the hand, to receive
with the hand, &c.
t*ik 10172 (teih), to approach with the fingers, to twitch,
to pluck.
tek Hok,Chin, to pluck, to gather, to pick, to twitch, to choose, to
select.
togh-am . Irish I choose, pick, cull, take.
tek Icel to take, to receive.
tack-en .. Flem to touch, to seize, to take.
2. Taking by force or fraud, robbery.
t*ok CantChin.10307 (t8), to seize, to plunder, to take away.
10312 (t8), to take by violence, &c.
tak-a Icel s.f. a carrying off, a theft.
3. Attainments, personal qualities, or rights.
tek Hoh.Chin. virtue, kindness, favour, happiness, or whatever is at-
tained in one's own person.
thich Co,' Chin, natural propensity.
toic Irish a natural nght or property.
4. Acquisition, success.
tSk Cant, Chin, 1 1 94 Ctih) , to be successful in doing something, to ob-
tain what one wanted, to attain the end proposed.
10195 (tth), to obtain, to succeed.
tek Hok, Chin, to obtain .
tukh Arabic,,, gain, acquisition.
Tvx-ri .... Greek ... s.f. — luck, good fortune, &c«
twg Welsh ... s.m. what is forward, luck, prosperity.
tyc-iaw... v. a. to prosper, to succeed, to prevail, &c.
The Welsh lexicographer (Owen Pugh) seems to have given to
twg a different etymology from that which is here assigned to it.
But there can be little doubt that twg is connected with the Greek
Tvx-ri, and just as little that tvx'V is connected with Tvy\dyf$t ; and
as Tvyxayu) signifies " to hit a mark, to reach, to gain, to obtain
anything," it seems pretty clear that both rv^^-i; and iwg are pro-
perly ranged in the present group of meanings.
It should be observed that rvx-ri signifies, not only our good for-
tune, but any fortune whether good or bad, that is in store for us.
So the Irish toich-e signifies " Site or destiny." This latter fact is
important, not only as showing that both senses of tvx-v appertain
to its representatives in the Celtic languages (twg Welsh, toich^e
Irish), but also as sanctioning the position we have assigned to the
Irish toic, inasmuch as we find a collateral meaning assigned to the
Irish toich'€,
5. Taking by the hand, leading, pulling.
tik Can^CAm.l015&(teih), to take hold of with the hand, to lead,
to draw,
tek Hok, Chin, to lead, to take anything in the hand.
267
tog^ IceL to draw, to lead.
tog 8.n. a drawing, a pulling.
togh-en .. Flem to draw.
6. Leading, governing, directing, teaching.
t*uk Cant, Chin, 1 1 325 (tilb) , — to rule, to govern, to lead as a general,
to give orders and directions to, to correct.
tok IIok,Chin, to rule, to lead, to instruct, to warn.
roy-i^ Greek,;, s.f. an ordering, arraying, array, command, rule.
ray OS ... s.m. an arranger, oraerer, commander, ruler.
tsc-an ... jl.-Sax, .. to teach, instruct, direct,
teoch-e... a leader.
The two next sets of meanings explain themselves.
1. To cut up, to lop off, to shave — a knife, sword, razor, &c.
t'ok Can/. C^tn. 10312 (t8), to lop off, &c.
t*ik 10164 (teih), to cut up, to separate the flesh from the
bone.
t*ik Can/. CAin.l 01 68 (te!h), to shave off the hair, to pluck out the
hair of the head,
tik ....... Hok.Chin, anything originally long and made shorter.
t'hek to butcher, to slaughter, to cut up meat.
tigh Pers a sword, a scimitar, falchion, dagger, a knife, a razor,
a lancet, &c.
toc-iaw... WeUh ... to curtail, to clip, to trim, to dock.
twc — s.m. a cut, clip, or chip.
twc-a 8.m. a kind of knife, a tuck.
tack-en... Flem to lop (boughs).
2. To hew, chop, hack — an axe, a pick.
t'uk Can/. C/iin. 11333 (tiih), to strike with the axe, to hew or chop.
tok Hok, Chin, to cut and hack.
tak Co.- CAtn. to carve, to grave.
TVK-ot ... Greek,.,, a mason's hammer or peck, a battle-axe, a pole-axe.
tuagh ... Irish s.m. an axe.
Escape from, bursting forth — a birth, offspring.
t'ok Can/. CAin. 10297 (t5), to put off as clothes, to leave the womb,
to be born, to escape from, &c.
10296 (t5), to open, to cast off, to escape from.
-^— ' — 1 1318 (tiih), the posture of a child in a natural and
eusy parturition, &c.
t*hek Hok.Chin, to open, to burst open as seeds when vegetating.
tui Sansc, ... s.n. (nom. /tiAr), offspring, children.
tok-a s.n. a bringing forth, a birth, the offspring, young
child, son.
r6K'09 .... Greek,,,, s.m. a bringing forth, a birth, the ofi&pring, a young
child, a son.
The Sanscrit tuj is referred by Prof. Wilson to the d*atu tuj, to
guard or protect (Wils. Diet.), an etymology which would connect
the word with the Latin tego, and the class of meanings we shall
next consider. If we are justified in the present arrangement, it
should rather be connected with the d'atu tyaj, to quit, to abandon,
&c.
268
From the general idea of coveringy are derived the secondary
meanings.
1. A mat, a rug, a coverlet, &c.
tich Co.'Chin, a mat.
twach .... Sansc. ... to cover, to clothe, to invest.
t^-o Latin .... to cover.
teg-es ... a mat, a rug.
teigh Iruh,.m., any covering.
ta*ck-e... Swed, .... quilt, blanket, rug, coverlet
2. A case, a coffer, a wallet.
t*ok Caft^.CAtii.11336 (tiih), a covering or case for a box.
1 1338 (tiih), a sort of case for, a case for a sword, &c.
cases generally, a cofiin, &c.
11339, a box case, a press.
tok Hok, Chin, a chest, a coffer.
tiag Irith s.m. a wallet, a vessel.
taeg A,-Sax, „ a chest, a coffer. ^
«
i
«
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Vol. IV, JUNE 28, 1850. No, lOO,
Professor Kit in the Chair.
The following works were laid on the table : —
" On the use of Bronze Celts in' Military Operations," by James
Yates, Esq. — " On the Early English Settlements in South Britain,
by Edwin Guest, Esq.
f
A paper was read, entitled —
"Further Observations on the Geometry of Boethius." By
George Sloane, Esq.
The writer was desirous of correcting one or two mistakes which
occurred in his former paper (vol. iv. p. 163), and of making some
additional remarks on Blume's theory as to the origin of ^e De-
monstratio or Appendix. That theory, it will be remembered, is
principally founded on the presumed identity of the Arcerian MS.
with that discovered by Phaedrus at Bobbio, and with which Blume
supposes Gerbert to have become acquainted during his residence at
that place.
Independently of the presumption against Gerbert's familiarity
with the Arcerian, suggested by the examination of his personsd
history, the Geometry itself furnishes evidence almost amounting
to demonstration, that its author was unacquainted with it. The
most important, and, in an historical point of view, the most inter-
esting proposition of the mathematical part of the manuscript, so
far as its contents are known, is the general formula for the area of
any triangle in terms of its sides* (p. 300, 11—301, 5). Now
there b not the slightest hint to be found in any of Gerbert's
writings, of his acquaintance with this formula ; and as we know,
from his letter to Adelboldf , that his attention had been pointedly
directed to the rules then ordinarily used for determining the
areas of triangles, it is highly improbable that he should have
omitted all mention of it, if it had ever come under his notice.
The only rule applicable to all triangles given by him is, sub-
stantially, that the area is equal to half the sum of any side mul-
tiplied by the perpendicular let fall on it from the opposite vertex t.
* This formula is found also in some MSS. of Boethius, and has been published
from ihe second Berne by Venturi, * Comraentari sopra la Storia et le Teorie dell'
Ottica,* p. 125. The readings agree with the Ezcerpta Rostocbiensia, where this
differs from the Arcerian. In p. 300, 11, we have id est instead of ut puta, the
reading of all thi^ other manuscripts.
t Oerbertus ad Adelboldum ^e causa diversitatis arearum in trigono equilatero
geometrice arithmeticeve exposilo, in Pez. /. r. 83
t See the passages in Pez. 31 and 39.
VOL. IV. 2 K
On the other hand, the extnict from Hyginua (p. 188, 14 — 190,
IS), with which the Geometry ends, has been taken, not from
the Arcerian, but from the Gordian or some other MS, of tlie
second class: for not only does it agree with the, latter, where
this differs materially from tlic first- and third-class MS5., but
also faithfully copies its peculiar blunders and corruptions*, 'i'he
writer entertained great doubt whether Blume was not mistaken in
supposing that Rignltius copied the Fmgmenta Terminalia from the
MS. in De Tlion's library containing Gerbert's Geometry. That be
was acquainted with it is certain, for he refers more than once in
his notes to a MS. of Boethiue belonging to De Thon (p. 234. ed.
Goes.). It would seem from the espression used by him, — " vela*
membranapeaea illustriss. Thuanum," p. 21G — that these fragment*
were contained in a single leaf of parchment, which had once formed
a part of a perfect MS. of Boetbius. Though Rigaltius was aware
of the resemblance between the Fragmenta and Boetbius, he alto-
gether overlooked the actual identity of the two. That he did so
IB evident from his distinguishing between ttie ' eiiccrpta Boetiana '
and the 'vetua membrana" (ib. and not ad Fragra. Terra, p. 261).
I'he argument in favour of Blume's theory, arising from the Geo-
metry of Gerbert containing the extract from Hyginus. which we
find in some MSS.of Boethius, though apparently entitled tb greater
weight than the rest, Is far from conclusive, especially as it proceeds
upon an assumption, the truth of which, in the writer's opinion, is
at least doubtful, — that tbe part of the Geometry containing the
passage in question is tbe composition of Its reputed author. The
most cursory examination of the printed treatise will convince any
one that it could not possibly have emanated, in its present form,
from " the wise pope who was the instructor of his age," No man
of sense would have been bo absurd as to repeat the same matter
twice in so short a compass, or to insert in the body of his book a
second introduction not materially different from the one |)refixed to
it. Evidently two distinct treatises, tbe first of which ends with the
thirteenth chapter, have been somehow or another confounded in
the manuscript, and both have been published as one entire work by
Pez, who has overlooked the internal indications which they present
of having been originally unconnected with one another-f. If then
we have two separate tracts fortuitously united together, which of
them is to be considered as the work of Gerbert ? Unfortunately we
have no weighty, much less decisive evidence on this point, and the
* It is much to be wished that »e had same inronniilio
the Boelhisn MSS. of this pussge. Unfurlunately the wriUr's a
been directed la this paint HI [lie time be examined the Cambridge
. i This opinion leems la receive tome conStmsliDn rroiti the c
Ihe Arundel HS. has only the flret thirteen chapters, in atber words,
AtChailrea there is a MS. (No. 173), which has only ehaptei
Arutidel shows tauw the two booki probably cgme to be blended
concluding words of Gerbert are immediately ruliowed by the uppi
Hcniumtion, without the iligbtett itiiiicaiioii that all three do no
i
271
only, or at least principal reason, which with our present scanty
data can be urged in favour of the first and shortest, is, that it is
the one which bears his name not only in the Salzburg, but also in
the Arundel MS., which is apparently derived from some other
source*.
The writer is inclined to go a step fiirther, and ask — la there any
evidence that Gerbert ever wrote a work on Geometry ; or have
we any surer grounds for asserting that either of the two treatises
which bear his name was actually written by him, than we have for
attributing the work ' De Divisione Numerorum,' which we know
to have been composed by him, to Beda, viz. that in some MSS. his
name is attached to itf ? Beda, Alcuin and Gerbert were the repre-
sentatives of the learning of their respective centuries ; and to each
was ascribed indiscriminately every work of merit, the writer of
which was unknown or forgotten t.
* Since this paper was written, the author has discovered that Goesius was aware
of the distinction between the two tracts. In his * Index in Rei Agrar. Script.' ▼.
Latereuli, he quotes two definitions of latercttlut from * Oerbertus MS.' and ' Ano-
nymum itidcm MS./ the first of which is taken from c. 15, and the last from c. 13
of the printed treatise. What reasons Goesius had for attributing the second and
longer one to Gerbert, it is impossible to say. No manuscript of Gerbert is meu-
tioned in the catalogue of his library, unless it is included among the ' plura alia
artem geometricam spectantia' of No. 242 (Biblioth. Goes. p. 74). Is this manu-
script the same as that marked No. 138 in the ' Libri Append. Bibliolh. Scriver.,' and
there described as having formerly belonged to Nansius ? If so, we have a clue
to Goesius's mistake as to the manuscript lent by Ruuers to Rigaltius (see above
p. 169). He has confounded the transcript of the Arcerian made by Nansius, and
lent to Rigaltius with another MS. of the third class, which had been the property
of Nanbius before it came into the possession of Scriverius. That this, the * Codex
Nansii ' of Rigaltius, was a Nipsus or third-class MS., seems to follow from its having
given the name of Siculus to Frontinus, and from having 'teroplorum censita*
instead of * templi dese (or Idese) concessa,' the reading uf the first- and second-class
MSS. in p. 239, 10. (See Rigalt. not. pp. 210, 253, ed. Goes.)
f The ' Liber ad Grammaticum,' which Richerius (/. c. p. 618) says was written
by Gerbert as a companion or guide to the use of the Abacus invented by him, has
been printed by M. Chasles in the ' Comptes Rendus de 1' Academic Royale des
Sciences,' t. xvi., and is the same tract with that published in Beda's works with
the title ' De Divisione Numerorum' (Op. i. 159, ed. Bas.). The treatise of Her-
mannus Contractus, ' De Utilitatibus Astrolabii,' which has also been published by
Pez from the same Salzburg MS., is attributed to Gerbert in two MSS. Chasles,
Catalogue, p. 44.
X In addition to the ancient MSS. of Boethius at Berne and St. Gall, there is
another also of the tenth century, in the Imperial Library at Vienna. It is described
by Endlicher, Catalog. MSS, PhiloL Lat. Biblioth, Palat, Vindoh, p. 254. At the
end there is written in an ancient hand, ' Liber fratrum Prsedicatorum de Buda.'
Obbar (Prsef. ad Boeth. Cons. p. xxxvii. n. 42) suggests that the St. Gall MS.
No. 830, may be one of the two manuscripts of Boethius, bequeathed to that mo-
nastery by the abbot Hartmuth in (he last quarter of the ninth century (Ratpert
Cas. S. Galli in Pertz, Mon. Hist, ii. p. 72, 45). The words of Ratpert — Buethii
5 libri philosophicse consolationis in volum. i. Item alii 5 in altero volumine —
seem rather to mean that he gave two copies of the same work. Compare p. 70, 33.
And this was apparently the opinion of Arx, the learned librarian of St. Gall : for
he lias not marked it among the books mentioned by Ratpert, which are still to be
found in their ancient repository. Weidman also, in his history of the library, is
silent on this point.
INDEX TO VOL. IV.
A.
African languages: — vocabularies collected by Krapf and Hales, 11 ; Caffre
dialects spoken continuously fVom the Cape to the Equator, 14; seem to admit
of the subdivisions, the Congo- Makua and the CaffVarian, ib,
Koler's vocabulary of the Bonny language, 73; the Bonny language not a
dialect of the Iho language, as hitherto supposed, ih.
Formation of the plural of the pronouns personal in Tumali, 79 ; on the ele-
mentary sounds of the Tumali langu^e, 138.
Books written in the Vei language with native characters, 135 ; the Mend!
language closely allied to the Vei, ib. ; the Cameroons language with the Bimbia,
136; notice of the Fazoglo language, 139.
Vocabulary of the Avekvom (Quaqua) dialect, 183; the Avekvom clearly one
of the Ashanti languagesf ib.
America. Vid. North American DialtelM, Verb, &c.
Anglo-Saxon language : — peculiar use of the patronymical termination ing, 1 ; it
has the force of a genitival suflSx — £t$.'lwulfing land =» iEthelwulfs land, 2; is
sometimes affixed to a woman's name — Cyneburging tun ms the town of the
princess Cyneburh, ib,; this idiom unknown to the other Gothic languages, 10.
Suggestion that these derivatives in iiig may be adjectives corresponding to the
German forms Pariter, Breslauer, &c., 84 ; both forms independent of gender,
case, or number, ib. ; the Russian patronymics originally adjectives, 85.
B.
Beniach (Dr.), on the conjectural affinity of certain Hebrew and English words, 122.
Boethius : — in the printed editions of his works appears a translation of the first
four books of Euclid, followed by an appendix, generally known as the Demon-
ttratio, 163; the latter chiefly contains fragments from Varro, Seneca, and the
Agrimensors, ib. ; the MSS. differ both from each other, and from the printed
editions, ib. ; Niebuhr denies the genuineness of the Demonstratio, 165 ; Blume
denies the genuineness both of the Demonstratio and of the Euclid, ib, ; negative
arguments in favour of the genuineness of the Euclid, ib, ; arguments against it,
166; the opinion that Pope Gerbert ccynpiled the Demonstratio examined, 168;
Blume's theory, that the work was compiled by some person on this side of the
Alps, who had been in communication with Gerbert, untenable, 169; additional
arguments against Blume's theory, 269.
C.
Caucasian languages. Vid. Verb.
Chinese languages : — the " abrupt tone" of the Mandarin dialect, its nature, 241 ;
often represented in the provincial dialects by one of the finals p, k, t, ib, ; these
provincial dialects of indefinite antiquity, though merely degraded forms of the
Court dialect, 242 ; the final p represented in the later forms of language by p, b,
or p\ b\ ib, ; roots of language ending with these finals, 243, &c. ; the final k-
represented in the later languages by k, g, or k\ g\ 261 ; roots of language
ending with these finals, 262, &c.
Collins (J.), a short vocabulary of th6 Gower dialect, 222.
VOL. IV. 2 L
274 INDEX TO THE FOURTH VOLUME.
D.
De Morgan (Professor) on the use of the verbs shall and willt 1 85.
Donaldson (J. W.) on the Nomen of C. Verres, 75.
E.
Elements of language: — means of ascertaining their identity in different lan-
guages, 240 ; elements ending with p or its representatives, 242 ; elements
ending with k or its representatives, 246.
English language : — its probable future position, 207 ; tendency to the establish-
ment of a " universal language," tfr. ; the place, once filled by the Latin, now
occupied by the French, t6. ; the predominance of the French weakened by the
cultivation of several new languages — the Russian, Hungarian, &c., 209 ; theories
of Rivarol and Du Roure to account for the prevalence of the French lan-
guage, ib. ; circumstances which formerly contributed to it, now favour the spread
of the German, 210 ; Hume's opinion as to the future importance of the English
language, 211; its great prevalence at the present day, 213; circumstances
which may interfere with itsgeneral adoption as a medium of communication, 213.
On the use of the verbs «Aa// and will, 185.
Etymology of the Greek words vonds, 242 ; nowwit^u), Kewiftos, k6wo9, 243 ;
KSvoSf Kavviaf KtaTnjf 244 ; kowU, KOira^, KvireWov, cvj3ds, Kwds, 245 ;
rviros, 246 ; 0(uy(u, 262 ; iriiyds, vrayos, irayou;, irax^Sf wiiyds, 7r>jy6s, Trvyi),
iriiyi), 263 ; KiOKvutt 264 ; tvxv» ^^^ i ^^yi), raybs, tvkos, toko9, 267.
— — of the Latin words copto, capulus, 244 ; Jocui,f<Kx, 262 ; tego^ teges,
268.
of the English words Christmas-box^ to scorch, to pant, relay, rely,
housings, 125 ; whip, wipe, swip, swipe, to caulk, pantaloon, muscovado, 126 ; dun-
geon, quoit, 128 ; to bale, a board, to peep, 129 ; charcoal, 130 ; jade, to stroll, to
abridge, to allay, to assuage, 131 ; fizz, fuzz, feme, fuddle, rave, ravel, revel, 247 ;
heron, egret, 248 ; pittance, to founder, a mort, 249 ; brushwood, 250 ; ^barracks,
basket, navel, cant, choke, 251; coot, crane, kite, gull, conyger, crowd, corsair,
cosy, crave, crum, dainty, darn, 252 ; quilt, counterpane, 253 ; balderdash, pie-
balled, vinewed, mawkish, grate, gridiron, cradle, 257 ; gallant, vassal, gain,
256 ; gather, gravel, hose, last, 257 ; maggot, mildew, 258 ; mien, muggy, bob,
mob, mop, pine, plead, plea, 259 ; plod, sled, slot, spur, worth, 260.
Euphony : — in what it consists, 261 ; letter-changes said to be euphonic, often the
result of convention merely, ib, ; even when euphonic they do not necessarily
indicate any actual metamorphosis of a letter, ib.
F.
Final consonants : — their origin later than that of the initial consonants, 240 ;
the Chinese ** abrupt tone '' represented in the later languages by a final p, k, or
t, ib,i reason of such substitution, 241 ; the final p permuted into b, p\ or 6',
242 ; the final k into g, k\ or g\ 261 ; the final k sometimes assibilated, ib.
Finni&h languages. Vid. Ferb, Poly synthesis, &c.
Formation of the Latin genitives cujus, ejus, hujus, 81 ; of the plural of the pro-
nouns personal in the Tumali language, 80.
G.
Qarnett (R.) on the nature and analysis of the verb, 15, 95, 155, 173, 233.
INDBX TO THE FOURTH VOLUMB. 275
Greek language. Vid. Etymology,
Fragments of orations in accusation and defence of Demostbenei, respecting the
money of Harpalus, 39 ; probably written by an Alexandrian under the Pto-
lemies, t6. ; translation, 43.
Grimm (J.) his '* Canons," or the laws of letter-change propounded by him,
examined, 239.
Guest (R.) on the elements of language, their arrangement and their accidents,
239, 261.
H.
Hanson (A. W.) communication respecting the Vei and Mendel dialects, 135.
Hebrew language : — on the connexion which exists between the Hebrew and the
languages allied to the Sanscrit, 122 ; debher, he spoke, may perhaps be connected
with the German treibeUf ib, ; chalal^ to perforate, with the English hole, hollow,
&c, 123 ; pur, to break, with the German brechen, &c., ib. ; kaf, the hollow of
the hand, with the Latin cajno and Welsh cipiaw, ib. ; kikkar with Ktpicos, ib, ;
tsippor, a sparrow, with the German sper-ling and English tparrow, 124 ; xood
with the German siedefi^ Engl, to seethe, ib. ; madad, be measured, with the Latin
metior, &c., ib.
Howse (J.) Vocabularies of certain North American languages, 108, 191.
Humboldt (W.),his views of the verbal construction in Tagali and Malagassy ex-
amined, 99; of the verbal construction in Maya, 156.
I.
Initial consonants: — their origin earlier than that of the final consonants, 240.
Ireland : — specimen of the dialects spoken in the Barony of Forth, in the county
of Wexford, 101 ; the " Welshmen," whose descendants use it, must have come
from the English settlements in Gowerand Pembroke, 102.
Isbester (J. A.) on a sl^rt vocabulary of the Loucheux language, 184.
K.
Kemblc (J. M.) on a peculiar use of the Anglo-Saxon patronymical termination
ing, 1.
Key (T. H.) on the pronouns of the first and second persons, 25 ; an attempt to
prove the identity of the roots is, wot, and be, 88.
L.
Latham (R. G.) on certain additions to the vocabularies of the Caffire languages, 10;
remarks upon a vocabulary of the Bonny language, 73 ; on the connexion be-
tween the ideas of association and plurality as an influence in the evolution of
inflexion, 79; on a vocabulary of the Cameroon language, 136; on a vocabulary
of the Avekvom language, 183; on the original area of the Slavonic population,
189, 215.
Latin language and literature. Vid. Etymology, Formation of the Genitive, &c.
On the Nomen of C. Verres, 75 ; according to Muretus the family name was
Verres, ib. ; objections, ib. ; it seems to have been Cornelius, 77 ; this Nomen too
common to be distinctive, and therefore omitted in the designation C. Verres, 78.
2 l2
276 INDEX TO THE FOURTH VOLUME.
Suggestion that the latter element of the verbal forms ama^veramf ama-vero,
ama-vissem, &c. is connected with the German wesen, 34 ; also of the forms
amO'Vemntt ama-vistis, ama-vittit amO'Vif 35.
N.
Norris (E.) on ihe Vei language and its affinities, 135.
North- American languages. Vid. Polysynthetis,
Vocabularies of the dialects spoken by the Shawnees, the Nipissingue, the
New Brunswick, and the Blackfoot Indians, 102, &c. ; vocabularies of dialects
spoken by the Chipewyan, Beaver, and Sikanni Indians, 192; by the Kutani,
Flat-head, and Shoushwhap Indians, 199.
The Loucheux language probably connected with the languages of Russian
America, 184.
P.
Pictet : — his notions respecting the construction of the Welsh verb considered, 176 ;
also his theory relative to the causative verb in Sanscrit and Irish, 1 79.
Polynesian Languages. Vid. yerb.
Polysynthesis : — the great characteristic of the North- American languages, 158;
found also in the Basque and in the Mordwinian dialect of the Finnish, 160 ;
not the result of philosophic contrivance, 159 ; appears to have originated in a
desire to be explicit, 160.
Pronouns : — ^the doctrine, that in the Indo-European languages " the nominative
singular of the first personal pronoun is from a different base from that from
which the oblique cases proceed," impugned, 25 ; the Latin ego may be connected
with the Sanscrit eka^ one, and tu with the numeral duo, ib. ; els connected with
unus, 26; 'the initial m often interchanged with to, which is again changed for
A, 27 ; the n of cycjv answers to the m of the Sanscrit aham, 29 ; the Latin
egomet suggested as the original form of the first personal pronoun, ib, ; sug-
gestion that the German ich is the same word as mich with the loss of the m, 3 1 ;
that the last syllable oiegO'tnet is the English word moit, 1 6. ; the Slavonic initial in
mnoyUf tnnye, may perhaps point out the letter-change which led to the forms
vos, vobiSf &c., 32.
The Sanscrit dva, two, probably originated the Latin tu and Gothic tkuj 33 ;
du before a vowel often becomes 6, whence we may get vox, &c., and by changing
the IV into ft, the corresponding Greek pronoun, ib,
S.
Schoraburgk (R.): — a vocabulary of the Maiongkcng dialect, 217.
Sharpe (S.) on certain fragments of orations in accusation and defence of Demo-
sthenes respecting the money of Harpalus, 39.
Slavonic languages : — the position they occupy among the Indo-European dialects,
225 ; the Slavonians identical with the Sarmatse of Ptolemy and the Scythians
of earlier writers, ib.; " the youngest of all nations" in the time of Herodotus,
226 ; the same title may be applied to them at the present day, ib, ; in terms in-
dicatingrelationship, the Russian approaches nearer to the Sanscrit than any of the
related languages, 228 ; also in its numerals, 229 ; the Russian, like the classical
languages, synthetic, 230; but some of its forms appear to belong to a late
period, ib, ; perhaps it may be considered of later origin than the classical, but
of earlier origin than the modern languages of Europe, 231 ; change of the latter
from the synthetic to the analytic class, ib,
Slavonic races :— original area occupied by them, 187 ; Jazyges, a Slavish race on
the Theiss in the time of Ptolemy, 189 ; Daci east and west of them, and tliere-
INDSX TO THB FOURTH VOLUMB. 277
fore probmbly Slavonic races, 190; the Daci extended to the Morawe where the
Moravians are now settled, ib, ; arguments advanced to prove the existence of
ancient German settlements in Bohemia considered, 101.
Slavonic races in the Cimbric Chersonesus in the ninth century, 215; also
along the right (mnk of the Elbe, ib,, and in Alt-mark, 216; the testimony of
the Latin historians as to early German settlements between the Elbe and
Vistula examined, 217.
Sloane (G.) on the connexion of Pope Gerbert with the Geometry of Boethius, 163 ;
ftirther observations on the Geometry of Boethius, 269.
T.
Trithen (F. H.) on the position occupied by the Slavonic dialects among the other
languages of the Indo-European family, 225.
Tschudish or Finnish languages. Vid. Verb,
TuUhek (L.) on the Tumali alphabet, 138; his vocabulary of the Fasoglo lan-
guage, 139.
V.
Verb:— its formation in the Tschudish or Finnish languages, 15; in the Mord-
winian the verbal forms are clearly polysynthetic, 16 ; in certain tenses of the
Wotiak and Tcheremissian verb, the endings closely resemble the suffixes, which
nouns assume as equivalents for the possessive pronouns, 1 7 ; in the Hungarian
these two classes of endings almost identical, 19 ; opinions of the Hungarian
grammarians Marton and Rev&y on this subject, ib, ; the imperfect, perfect, and
future tenses of the Hungarian verb formed on modifications of the present, per-
fect, and future participles, 21 ; these participles appear to be ablative or locative
cases, and therefore when they take the pronominal suffixes, there is a case of
double attribution, as in the Burmese and Tibetan, ib.
The Caucasian languages appear to be connected with the Finno-Tartarian, 21 ;
the Georgian verb consists of an abstract noun combined with particles and pro-
nouns, ib. ; the pronoun may be prefixed or infixed, ib. ; it has the forms of the
oblique cases, 22 ; the pronominal elements of the Abchassian verb are also in
the oblique cases and identical with the pronominal prefixes of the noun, 23.
Polynesian languages, 95 ; the Feejee verb may be formed by a noun in con-
struction with an oblique pronominal suffix, ib. ; in Tagali the pronominal
element appears sometimes as a nominative, sometimes as a genitive, 96; in the
former case the verbal base is a nomen actoris, in the latter a nomen (ictionis vel
pagsioniSf ib. ; in transitive constructions the second of these two forms is ge-
nerally used, 97 ; the Malagassy verb, in what points it resembles the Tagal&, t6. ;
the opinions of Roorda and of W. Humboldt with respect to these verbal forms
examined, 99 ; the notion that the formative prefixes confer the verbal character
untenable, ib.
South- American languages, 155 ; the personal endings of the verb agree with
the oblique cases of the pronouns in the Lule, Araucanian, Moxan, Maipurian,
and Mixtecan, 156; the same construction found in the Maya, t6. ; W. Hum-
boldt's remarks on this construction, t^.
North- American languages all formed upon the same principle, 157 ; poly,
synthetic character of the verb, 158 ; in the Massachusetts and the Delaware
languages, the personal endings*of the verb the same as the possessive pronouns
in the inseparable form, ib, ; the same holds good in the Cree, 159 ; and in the
Greenland and Esquimaux, save that in the latter the verbal formatives are
postfixed and the possessive pronouns prefixed, 159 ; in the same language, by
affixing, prefixing, or infixing certain particles, &c., the action of the verb may be
modified, or in other words, different moods and voices may be formed to an al-
most unlimited extent, 161.
278 INDEX TO THE FOURTH VOLUME.
Indo-European languages: — in the Welsh the verbal endings are identical
with the prepositional forms of the pronouns, 174 ; all these endings, but two,
correspond with the verbal endings in the Sanscrit, Greek, Latin, &c., 175; the
verbal forms in Irish partly synthetic, partly analytic, ib, ; Welsh and Irish pre-
terites, ib. ; bhar, the Irish ending of the second person plural, the same as the
Sanscrit bhar, vestrum ?, 176; Latin primitive verbs may, in many cases, by aid
of the Welsh, be shown to be derived from nouns, ib, ; in the Sanscrit also of the
Vedas the (Tatu or verbal root is often treated as a nomen actionis, 177; the supposed
occulta vf> of the verb, 179; if, according to Pictet, the causative verb in the
Celtic answers to the causative verb in Sanscrit, the latter must have an adjective
for its base, 180 ; causative verbs very commonly formed from adjectives in Greek,
Latin, German, and Lithuanian, 181 ; definition of a verb, according to its es-
sential characteristics, 182.
Verb substantive :-^not essential to a logical proposition, 233 ; in the Coptic the
pronoun demonstrative or indefinite frequently substituted for it,'234 ; or the
sufllxes of the personal pronouns are combined with particles of time and space
to modify the sense of the phrase, according to circumstances, ib, ; the use of the
personal pronoun for the verb substantive occurs in the Hebrew, the Basque, the
Turco-Tartaric, and in various American languages, 238.
Attempt to prove the identity of the roots is, was, and be, 87 ; the s of is often
lost, ib. ; traces both in the German and the Celtic tongues of a final dental ap-
pertaining to the verb to be, 89 ; the Celtic verb which seems to answer to the
German verb wesen often loses its sibilant, 91 ; the interchange between a 6, a
w, and an open vowel common in language, t6. ; speculations as to the etymology
of the verb is, 92.
W.
Wales : — a vocabulary of the Gower dialect, 222.
Watts (T.) on the Anglo-Saxon termination ing, 83 ; on the probable future po-
sition of the English language, 207.
Wedgwood (H.) on English etymologies, 125, 247, 255.
Wexford. Vid. Ireland,
rRIKTBO BT BIGBABD AKD JOHN B. VAYItOB*
BBO MOB COOBT, BLBtfT fTBBBt.
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