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第51章

  butkutaandcodadhareonlysecondarywords。TheSanscritpossessestheradicalofkuta,andthatiskuda,toheapup,buttheIrishdoesnotpossesstheradicalofcodadh。TheWelsh,withoutpossessinganywordforahillatalllikecodadh,hastheprimaryorradicalword;thatwordiscodi,toriseorraise,almostidenticalinsoundandsensewiththeSanscritkuda。Tillahouseisraisedthereisnohouse,andthereisnohilltilltheNaraorOmnipotentsaysARISE。
  TheWelshisoneofthemostcopiouslanguagesoftheworld,asitcontainsatleasteightythousandwords。Ithassevenvowels;winWelshbeingpronouncedlikeoo,andylikeuandi。Itsmostremarkablefeatureisthemutationofinitialconsonants,toexplainwhichproperlywouldrequiremorespacethanIcanafford。
  (27)Thenounsareoftwonumbers,thesingularandplural,andafewhaveadualnumber。Thegendersarethree,theMasculine,theFeminineandtheNeuter。Therearetwelvepluralterminationsofnouns,ofwhichthemostcommonisau。Somesubstantivesarewhatthegrammarianscallaggregateplurals,(28)"whicharenotusedinthepluralwithouttheadditionofdiminutiveterminations,forexampleadar,birds,aderyn,abird;gwenyn,bees,gwenynen,asinglebee。"Therearedifferentkindsofadjectives;somehaveaplural,somehavenone;somehaveafeminineform,othershavenot;
  themostcommonpluralterminationision。Itissaidbysomethattheverbhasproperlynopresenttense,thefuturebeingusedinstead。Theverbspresentmanydifficulties,andtherearemanydefectiveandirregularones。IntheirregularitiesofitsverbstheWelshlanguageverymuchresemblestheIrish。
  Thenumeralsrequiresomeparticularnotice:forty,sixtyandeightyareexpressedbydeugain,trigain,andpedwarugain,literally,twotwenties,threetwenties,andfourtwenties;whilstfifty,seventy,andninetyareexpressedbywordscorrespondingwithtenaftertwotwenties,tenafterthreetwenties,andtenafterfourtwenties。WhethertheWelshhadeveralessclumsywayofexpressingtheabovenumbersisunknown—somethingsimilarisobservableinFrench,andthesamepracticeprevailsinthemodernGaelic;intheancientGaelic,however,therearesuchnumeralsasceathrachad,seasgad,andnaochad,whichcorrespondwithquadraginta,sexaginta,andnonaginta。Thenumeralsdau,tri,andpedwar,ortwo,three,andfour,havefeminineforms,becomingwhenprecedingfemininenouns,dwy,tair,andpedair。InGaelicnonumeralhasafeminineform;certainnumerals,however,haveaninfluenceovernounswhichothershavenot,andbeforecead,ahundred,andmile,athousand,do,two,ischangedintoda,foritisnotcustomarytosaydochead,twohundred,anddomhile,twothousand,butdacheadanddamhile。(29)Withrespecttopedwar,theWelshforfour,IhavetoobservethatitbearsnosimilitudetothewordforthesamenumberinGaelic;thewordforfourinGaelicisceathair,andthedifferencebetweenceathairandpedwarisgreatindeed。CeathairiswhatmaybecalledaSanscriticnumeral;anditispleasanttotraceitinvariousshapes,throughvariouslanguages,uptothegrandspeechofIndia:Irish,ceathair;Latin,quatuor;Greek,tessares;Russian,cheturi;
  Persian,chahar;Sanscrit,chatur。Astopedwar,itbearssomeresemblancetotheEnglishfour,theGermanvier,isalmostidenticalwiththeWallachianpatrou,andisverymuchliketheHomericword[Greektextwhichcannotbereproduced],butbeyondWallachiaandGreecewefindnothinglikeit,bearingthesamemeaning,thoughitisrighttomentionthattheSanscritwordpadasignifiesaQUARTER,aswellasafoot。ItiscuriousthattheIrishwordforfive,cuig,isinlikemannerquiteasperplexingastheWelshwordforfour。TheIrishwordforfiveisnotaSanscriticword,pump,theWelshwordforfive,is。PantschanistheSanscritwordforfive,andpumpislinkedtopantschanbytheAEolickpempe,theGreekpenteandpemptos,theRussianpiatandthePersianPantsch;butwhatiscuigconnectedwith?WhyitisconnectedwiththeLatinquinque,andperhapswiththeArabickhamsa;buthigherupthanArabiawefindnothinglikeit;orifonethinksonerecognisesit,itisundersuchadisguisethatoneisrathertimorousaboutswearingtoit—andnownothingmoreonthesubjectofnumerals。
  IhavesaidthattheWelshisexceedinglycopious。Itscopiousness,however,doesnotproceed,likethatoftheEnglish,fromborrowingfromotherlanguages。Ithascertainlywordsincommonwithothertongues,butnotongue,atanyrateinEurope,canprovethatithasabetterclaimthantheWelshtoanywordwhichithasincommonwiththatlanguage。NolanguagehasabettersupplyofsimplewordsforthenarrationofeventsthantheWelsh,andsimplewordsarethepropergarbofnarration;andnolanguageaboundsmorewithtermscalculatedtoexpresstheabstrusestideasofthemeta—physician。Whoeverdoubtsitscapabilityforthepurposeofnarration,lethimperusetheWelshHistoricalTriads,inwhicharetoldthemostremarkableeventswhichbefelltheearlyCumry;andwhosoeverdoubtsitspowerforthepurposeofabstrusereasoning,lethimstudyaworkcalledRhetorick,byMasterWilliamSalisbury,writtenabouttheyear1570,andIthinkhewilladmitthatthereisnohyperbole,or,asaWelshmanwouldcallit,GORWIREB,inwhatIhavesaidwithrespecttothecapabilitiesoftheWelshlanguage。
  Astoitssounds—Ihavetoobservethatatthewillofamasteritcanbesublimelysonorous,terriblysharp,diabolicallygutturalandsibilant,andsweetandharmonioustoaremarkabledegree。
  WhatmoresublimelysonorousthancertainhymnsofTaliesin;moresharpandclashingthancertainlinesofGwalchmaiandDafyddBenfras,describingbattles;morediabolicallygratingthantheDrunkard’sChoke—pearbyRhysGoch,andmoresweetthanthelinesofpoorGronwyOwentotheMuse?Ah,thoselinesofhistotheMusearesweetereventhantheversesofHorace,ofwhichtheyprofesstobeanimitation。WhatlinesinHorace’sodecanvieinsweetnesswith"TydiroitadiwairwenLaiseosilysowen!"
  "Thoucouldstendow,withthydearsmile,Withvoiceoflarkthelizardvile!"
  Eossignifiesanightingale,andLysowenaneel。PerhapsinnolanguagebuttheWelsh,couldaneelbementionedinloftypoetry:
  Lysowenisperfectmusic。
  HavingstatedthatthereareWelshandSanscritwordswhichcorrespond,moreorless,insoundandmeaning,Ihereplacesidebysideasmallnumberofsuchwords,inorderthatthereadermaycomparethem。
  WELSHSANSCRIT
  Aber,ameetingofwaters,anAp,apah,water;apaga,outflowing;Avon,ariver;ariver;Persian,ab,Aw,aflowingwater;Wallachian,apaAnal,breathAnila,airArian,silverAra,brass;Gypsy,harko,Aur,goldcopper(30)
  Athu,togoAt’ha;Russian,itiBod,being,existenceBhavat,bhutaBrenin,akingBharanda,alord;RussianbarinCaer,awall,acityGriha,geha,ahouse;Hindu—
  stani,ghar;Gypsy,kair,kaerCain,fine,brightKanta,pleasing,beautiful;
  Kana,toshineCanu,tosingGana,singingCathyl,ahymnKheliasong;Gypsy,gillieCoed,awood,treesKut’ha,kuti,atreeCumro,aWelshmanKumara,ayouth,aprinceDaear,daeren,theearthDhara,fem。dharaniDant,atoothDantaDawn,agiftDanaDerw,anoakDaru,timberDewr,bold,braveDhiraDrwg,badDurgati,hell;Durga,thegoddessofdestructionDuw,GodDeva,agodDwfr,dwfyr,waterTivara,theocean(Tiber,Tevere)
  Dwr,waterUda;Greek,[Textwhichcannotbereproduced]
  Sanscrit,dhlira,theocean;Persian,deria,dooria,thesea;Gypsy,dooriaEn,abeing,asoul,thatAn,tobreathe,tolive;
  whichlivesana,breath;Irish,an,aman,fireGair,awordGir,gira,speechGwr,amanVira,ahero,strong,fire;
  Gwres,heatLat。vir,aman;Dutch,vuur,fire;Turkish,er,aman;
  Heb。,ur,fireGeneth,girlKaniGeni,tobebornJanaGwybod,toknowVidHocedu,tocheatKuhaka,deceitHuan,thesunInaIeuanc,youngYouvanIr,fresh,juicyIra,waterIrdra,juicinessLlances,agirlLagnikaLleidyr,athiefLataMaen,astoneMani,agemMam,motherMaMarw,todieMara,deathMawr,greatMahaMedd,meadMad’hu,honeyMeddwi,tointoxicateMad,tointoxicate;Mada,intoxication;Mada,pleasure;
  Madya,wine;Matta,intoxicated;Gypsy,matto,drunk;Gr。[Textwhichcannotbereproduced],wine,[Textwhichcannotbereproduced],tobedrunkMedr,ameasureMatraNad,acryNad,tospeak;Nada,soundNant,ravine,rivuletNadi,ariverNeath,Nedd,nameofariver;Nicha,low,deep;nichaga,nedd,adingle,whatislow,ariver,thatwhichdescends;
  deep(Nith,Nithsdale)nitha,waterNef,heavenNabhas;Russian,nabeca,theheavens;Lat。,nubes,acloudNeidiaw,toleap;Nata,todance;Nata,dancingNer,theAlmighty,theLord,Nara,thatwhichanimatestheCreatoreverything,thespiritofGod(31)
  Nerth,strength,powerNara,man,thespiritofGod;
  Gr。[textwhichcannotbereproduced],aman,[textwhichcannotbereproduced]
  strength;Persian,nar,amale;Arabic,nar,fireNoddwr,aprotectorNathaNos,nightNisaPair,acauldronPit’haraPed,afoot;pedair,fourPad,afoot;pada,aquarterPridd,earthPrithivi,theearthPrif,principal,primePrabhu,alord,arulerRhen,theLordRajan,akingRhian,aladyHindustani,raniRhod,awheelRatha,acarSwm,beingtogetherSamSwynwr,awizard,sorcererSanvanana,awitch;
  Hindustani,syaniTad,fatherTataTan,fireDahanaTant,astringTantuTanu,toexpandTanaToriad,abreaking,cuttingDari,cuttingUchafedd,heightUchch’yaYch,oxUkshanTheNaraiscalledbytheTartarssoukdoun,andbytheChineseki:
  "Principequiestdansleciel,surlaterre,dansl’homme,etdanstoutesleschosesmateriellesetimmaterielles。"—DICTIOINNAIRE
  TARTAREMANTCHOU,parAmyot。Tomesecond,p,124。
  IntheabovelistofCumricandSanscritwordstherearecertainlysomeremarkableinstancesofcorrespondenceinsoundandsense,themostinterestingofwhichisthataffordedbyNer,theCumricwordfortheLord,andNara,theSanscritwordfortheSpiritofGod。
  FromcomparingthewordsinthatlistonemightfeeldisposedtorushtotheconclusionthattheCumricsprangfromtheSanscrit,thesacredlanguageofsunnyHindustan。Buttodosowouldbeunwise,fordeeperstudywouldshowthatiftheWelshhassomehundredsofwordsincommonwiththeSanscrit,ithasthousandsuponthousandswhicharenottobefoundinthattongue,aftermakingallpossibleallowanceforchangeandmodification。Nosubjectconnectedwithwhatiscalledphilosophyismoremortifyingtoproudhumanreasonthantheinvestigationoflanguages,forinwhatdotheresearchesofthemostunweariedphilologistterminatebutachaosofdoubtandperplexity,elsewhysuchexclamationsasthese?WhyistheWallachianwordforwaterSanscrit?forwhatisthedifferencebetweenapaandap?WallachianisformedfromLatinandSclavonian;whythenisnotthewordforwatereitherwodaoraqua,oramodificationofeither?WhyistheArabicwordfortheseaIrish,forwhatisthedifferencebetweenbahar,theArabicwordforsea,andbeathra,anoldIrishwordforwater,pronouncedbarra,whencetheriverBarrow?HowisitthatoneofthenamesoftheGangesisWelsh;forwhatisthedifferencebetweenDhur,anameofthatriver,anddwr,thecommonWelshwordforwater?Howisitthataequor,aLatinwordforthesea,somuchresemblesAEgir,thenameoftheNorseGodofthesea?andhowisitthatAsaer,theappellativeoftheNorthernGods,issolikeAsura,thefamilynameofcertainHindudemons?WhydoesthescantyGailk,thelanguageoftheIsleofMan,possessmoreSanscritwordsthanthemightyArabic,therichestofalltongues;andwhyhastheWelshonlyfourwordsforahill,anditssisterlanguagetheIrishfifty—five?Howisitthatthenamesofsomanystreamsinvariouscountries,forexampleDonau,Dwina,Don,andTyne,somuchresembleDhuni,aSanscritwordforariver?HowisitthattheSanscritdevilastandsforwhatiswiseandvirtuous,andtheEnglishdevilforallthatisdesperateandwicked?HowisitthatAlpandApennine,Celticwordsforahill,somuchresembleapandapah,Sanscritwordsforwater?WhydoestheSanscritkalyameanto—morrowaswellasyesterday,andtheGypsymerripenlifeaswellasdeath?Howisitthatur,aGaelicwordforfire,issolikeuratheBasquewordforwater,andUrethenameofanEnglishstream?Whydoesneron,theModernGreekwordforwater,solittleresembletheancientGreek[textwhichcannotbereproduced]andsomuchresembletheSanscritnira?andhowisitthatnara,whichlikenirasignifieswater,somuchresemblesnara,thewordformanandtheDivinity?HowisitthatNereus,thenameofanancientGreekwatergod,andNar,theArabicwordforfire,aresoverylikeNer,theWelshwordfortheCreator?HowisitthatacertainScottishriverbearsthenameofthewifeofOceanus,forwhatisTeithbutTeithys?Howindeed!andwhyindeed!totheseandathousandsimilarquestions。Ahman,man!humanreasonwillneveranswerthem,andyoumayrunwildaboutthem,unless,droppingyourpride,youarecontenttoturnforasolutionofyourdoubtstoacertainoldvolume,onceconsideredabookofdivinerevelation,butnowacollectionofoldwives’tales,theBible。
  Footnotes:
  (1)Thatviraatonetimemeantmaningeneral,aswellasfire,therecanbenodoubt。Itissingularhowthiswordorsomethingstrikinglylikeit,occursinvariousEuropeanlanguages,sometimesasman,sometimesasfire。VirinLatinsignifiesman,butvuurinDutchsignifiesfire。InlikemannerfearinIrishsignifiesaman,butfireinEnglishsignifiestheconsuming,or,astheHinduswouldcallit,theproducingelement。
  (2)"Pawba’icenfydd,obyddbai,ABawddyn,ernabyddai。"—GRONWYOWEN。
  (3)OneortwoofthecharactersandincidentsinthisSagaarementionedintheRomanyRye。London,1857,vol。i。p。240;vol。
  ii。p。150。
  ApartialtranslationoftheSaga,madebymyself,hasbeenmanyyearsinexistence。ItformspartofamountainofunpublishedtranslationsfromtheNorthernlanguages。InmyyoungerdaysnoLondonpublisher,orindeedmagazineeditor,wouldlookatanythingfromtheNorse,Danish,etc。
  (4)AllthesethreenamesareverycommoninNorfolk,thepopulationofwhichisofNorseorigin。SkarphethinisatpresentpronouncedSharpin。HelgiHeely。Skarphethin,interpreted,isakeenpirate。
  (5)Eryrilikewisesignifiesanexcrescenceorscrofulouseruption。
  ItispossiblethatmanywillbedisposedtomaintainthatinthecaseofSnowdonthewordisintendedtoexpressaruggedexcrescenceoreruptiononthesurfaceoftheearth。
  (6)Itwillnotbeamisstoobservethattheoriginaltermisgwyddfabutgwyddfa;beingafemininenounorcompoundcommencingwithg,whichisamutableconsonant,losestheinitialletterbeforeythedefinitearticle—yousayGwyddfaatumulus,butnotygwyddfaTHEtumulus。
  (7)EssayontheOriginoftheEnglishStagebyBishopPercy。
  London,1793。
  (8)TheaboveaccountischieflytakenfromthecuriousWelshbookcalled"DychyprifOesoedd。"
  (9)Spirits。
  (10)Eel。
  (11)Foranaccountofthisworm,whichhasvariousdenominations,seearticle"FasciolaHepatica"inanyEncyclopaedia。
  (12)Astheumbrellaisratherahackneyedsubjecttwoorthreethingswillofcoursebefoundintheaboveeulogiumonanumbrellawhichhavebeensaidbyotherfolksonthatsubject;thewriter,however,flattershimselfthatinhiseulogiumonanumbrellatwoorthreethingswillalsobefoundwhichhaveneverbeensaidbyanyoneelseaboutanumbrella。
  (13)Bitterroot。
  (14)Amongstothersakindofnovelcalled"TheAdventuresofTwmShonCatty,aWildWagofWales。"Itpossessesconsiderableliterarymerit,thelanguagebeingpure,andmanyofthedescriptionsgraphic。Byfarthegreaterpartofit,however,wouldserveforthelifeofanyyoungWelshpeasant,quiteaswellasforthatofTwmShonCatti。ItsgrandfaultisendeavouringtoinvestTwmShonwithacharacterofhonesty,andtomakehisexploitsappearratherthoseofawildyoungwaggishfellowthanofarobber。Thiswascommittingagreatmistake。Whenpeopletakeupthelivesofbadcharactersthemorerogueriesandvillainiestheyfind,thebettertheyarepleased,andtheyareverymuchdisappointedandconsiderthemselvesdefraudedbyanyattempttoapologisefortheactionsoftheheroes。Ifthethievesshouldchancetohavereformed,therespectablereaderswishtohearnothingoftheirreformationtilljustatthecloseofthebook,whentheyareveryhappytohavedonewiththemforever。
  (15)SkazkaOKlimkie。Moscow,1829。
  (16)HanesCrefyddYnNghymru。
  (17)ThegoodgentlewomanwasprobablythinkingofthecelebratedkingBrianBoromheslainatthebattleofClontarf。
  (18)Fox’sCourt—perhapsLondon。
  (19)DrychyPrifOesoedd,p。100。
  (20)YGreal,p。279。
  (21)HanesCrefyddYnNGhymru。
  (22)Fearcaoch:vircaecus。
  (23)Cursesofthisdescription,orevilprayersastheyarecalled,areverycommonintheIrishlanguage,andarefrequentlyturnedtoterribleaccountbythatmostsingularclassorsect,theIrishmendicants。Severalcaseshaveoccurredconnectedwiththeseprayers,correspondinginmanyrespectswiththecasedetailedabove。
  (24)Sanscrit,Kali,ahero。
  (25)Sanscrit,Rama,Ramana,ahusband。
  (26)Romanychal,sonofRome,ladofRome。Romanychi,daughterofRome,girlofRome。Chal,chiel,child,theRussiancheloviek,aman,andtheSanscritJana,tobeborn,areallkindredwords。
  (27)ForaclearandsatisfactoryaccountofthissystemseeOwen’sWelshGrammar,p。13。
  (28)Owen’sGrammar,p。40。
  (29)Pronouncedvileorwile—heretheprincipleofliteralmutationisatwork。
  (30)Lat。aurum,gold;AERis,ofbrass。Perhapsthetruemeaningofara,aurum,&c。,isunrefinedmetal;ifso,wehavetherootofthemallinourownwordore。
  (31)"TheEternal,thedivineimperishablespiritpervadingtheuniverse。"—WILSON’SSANSCRITDICTIONARY,p。453。
  End