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Transparence Quality of print varies/ Qualite inegale de I'impression Continuous pagination/ Pagination continue • ■ .1/ a Includes index(es)/ Comprend un (des) index Title on header taken from:/ Le titre de l'en-t£te.provient: j I Title page of issue/ □ Page de titre de la livraison Caption of issue/ Titre de depart de la livraison □ Masthead/ Ge Generique (periodiques) de la livraison < -Twr Tsnr Twr \i 22X 26X 30X >/l I ill ill II IL . 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32 X MICROGOfY RESOiUTION TBT CHAKT (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) .\ 1^: B ii|2j8 y£ 1 4.0 1.25 i 1.4 1.8 1.6 V >.\' .^) ^ VlF^UEP'lM/IGfe Inc lar: 1653 East Mairt street SrjS- Roctiesfer. New rork U609 USA vaS - (716) 482 -0300 -Phone ^5' (716) 288 - 5989 - Fax"\^ % THE HISTORY OP THE 5/-7 '("" ' V -^ y^ ■ > ENGLISH LANGUAGE. A LECTURE DEUVEBED AT £OBOURG, C. W., MARCH 15th, 1852, BY EDWARD H. DEWAtt, M. A., LATE OF EXETER COLL?e% OXFOBD. TH. .imiUE PROCEEDS OF ^E SALE WIIX BE GIVEN rtr^lD OF THE 7 ■« . COBOURG: PUBLISHED BY GPODEVE * CORRWAL.^^ , ,, «I»TED AT THE OFFICE OF THE " COBO^KG f^"' ■ 1852.. ./. ■.^. ....:■ \.,^- • '■■'-■ 1 . / ■ ■-' / /.' '■.'■7 // ■ V ■ . •■ V ■ . - ■ ■ .■ X : .. - - ■■ . . . - . \» ■ ' '■:*'•'■ . ,' ' ■ •■ ■■ ■.■■■•-'■■■ ■■■•■■.'■■■'■■ / • ." :% / HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE /ENGLISH LANQUAGE. Th^ hisiory of a nation, not the mere outward acts, the petty squabbles and miserable cal)al3 of political parties, but the ^history of the inner liJe, the heart and mmd of a nation, can nowhere be so distinctly read, as in the history of its language. And who, in this sense of the word, would be ignorant of the history of that nation to which it is his proud boast that he belongs. VVho/is there that cares not to know of the progress from barbarity to civili- zation, from the night of ignorance to the glowing dawn and noorilKrri?pW*mlowujiJkDQwledge and sconce, from slavery of body and mind to liberty, pliysieal and inteHec- tual, which during the thousand years that England has, been an independent country, has been proceeding slowjy and surely. Ii^the language of England ;ire the recot'ds of that progr^sj; there are they most indelibly presehred. Brass and marble pe/nh, but so long as the literature of a country survives, so long as its language lives, there can you read its true history, written in chai'acters which can- not lie. . . Again the history of every nation is important in exact proportion to the influence which that nation exercises upon the fate of the bulk of mankind ; and by no other means is that influence so decisively exercised as by its language. Its language therefore becomes worthy of study in proportion to its effect upon the moral destiny of the hutpan race, and their general advancement in refinement, civilization, the arts and sciences, and religious knowledge. And what langnage in these respects ever had the power which our own now exert^ises, and which yet is as nothing when compared with iliat wliich appears to be reserved /^r h. Tlie foremost" of American orators in our day has employed words of glowing elocjuonj^e to describe the present magi\ilude of the British empire. H«? speaks of it as "a powetlo' which Rome, in the height of her glory, was not to be comparejl, — a power which has dotted over the whole surface of the globe wiih her possessions and military posts,— whose morning diuni-beat, following the sun, and keeping company with the hours, circles the earth daily ovith one continuous and unbroken strain of its mar- tial airs*" And to the empire thus described must be ad- ded that of its illustrious offspring, the country of which that orator is so disiinguis')ed an ornament. Tlie United Slates claim the English language as their birthright ; they assert an equal right with ourselves to Shakspenre ahd Milton ; they speak in the same free and vigorous ac- cents; their minds are informed by lUe sdme, Sounds , their^passions are aroused by the same imoges. The «m- ^ pire of England and of the United States encircles the earth; the former stretching out her giant arms, and em- bracing within her powerful grasp countless colonies, which /^ minister to her riches and honour", and to whom she gives in return the blessings of civilization and knowledge; the latter but newly started upon a career of greatness the probable limits of which exceed aiPhuman calculation. And those two mighty nations have one common interest, are the champions of one common cause. The extension pi civil liberty, not by force of arms, but by means of an enlightened policy ^d a pure example, is the high mission entrusted to them by the Almighty,— a mission for the accomplishment of which a common language is the most powerful and the most effective instrument. Who then that can claim this language as the langiiage of bis fathers, woidd be ignorant of its history ; of its origiii * V M, 5 mnd progress ; of the great cliaii-«s which it hasjindergone, and of the causes of those ( ha.iyes ; of its uninilies with other languufies, and of the laws and anoniahes hy whicli U is affected. And yet on all these sulijecls there ha» been among Enij^lishnien fifni-raliy a stranj^e apaihy and ignorance. In Enj;land this apathy diinnj^ the last few years has been givin..' way to a heller spirit. Even « Oxford, where so many other studies demand unremitting attention, the professorship of Anulo-Saxon has ceas«^d t« be a sinecure, and ihe ntiniher of voluntary students m that branch of insiruciion has increased from three or four te nearly forty. And in London several Societies liave been formed, such as the iEUiic and the Camden, for »'« pur- pose of reproducing the more valuable works of Anslo Saxon and early Enj;lish writers, which have greatly facK litated the acquisition of these lartguajres. Our neighbours «eem likewise to have become aware of the importance ol these studies : for I perceive tha||L,com-p1ete series of An»-^ '>""» ^^''"'" ''"' K'"''"^*''' P'""* "' *^® «re«(enrinlial)itani.s ol Ku:opo, and <^onsoquenlly of Ame- rica, are (l»rscentlc;(l. When tlin n'i;ion which tradition as Svt'll as Sciiptiiro points out as the biith.placi- ol man, , namely iht^ hiuliiands of Asiii, bt'c.amc overpopnlated, on« ,. .rreal division of tlie hiiinan race, Uiiown as the Caucasian, or Indo-Cifrmanic, moved in a north-westerly dueciioQ. Their progress \Vas slow, coinmi-'ii->m'ate we may suppose vvilh the increasiiYii scaieily of pa^ttne for their Hocks and herds, in the va.si plains \^llich ihi-y lraver-«:'d. When ihey readied U.io confines of mi )dern Buio|n% this large , body separated into several siiialh-r ones. One branch, the Felasgrc, from which are descended the Greeks and Romans, uinied towanl^ tlie south-west, and colonized the sunny .peninsulas which stretch into the Mediierranean and the lovclv islands scatierud along its shores. Another branch, the Celtic, look possession of tii*; central and wes- tern portions of Kmope, the greater part of Germany, France and Great Britain. But these after aAonsiderable^ ■ interval were followed by another body, the Teiljlomc tribes, who weie iiiortMinmeious and more warlike. They v dislodged the Celtic tribes, and at last coitipelled them to seek refuge in all the nunt dislanl and inaccessible of the ' western "xiiemiiies of Kmopu ; Hriiiany in France, the rocky mountains in ilie soulli of Spain, Cornwall, Wales, the Hiirhlands of Scotland, and Ireland. In these rt^gions is yet to be found what rcinains of the Celiic race and lan'ma.'e ; but there are the siiongest grounds for believ- in.AliaT the Eiruscans ol northern Italy also derived their oi-rgin from the Celts. The Teutonic tribes who dislodged ■ thejTi from their otiginal habitations spread over a large tract o( countrv, extenling fri3m the middle.of Scandinavia and the gulf o'f Riga, to the Rhine, the Alps, and the junction of the Theiss with the Danube. They were not ^ "however sulTciTd to retain posseission ol these rej-ions |^ # Wnh«mia Ttiere was yet n fifth- divisioi, d.^tmct iiwii i« Their "«l.-r"^«sc«H^.ns arc *,eU^^^^^^^^^^ ^i,her■. ■,a,ni> ncrly savage Ir.bos on >!>« ' " ;^ °' ,;^,^. „,,„_ i,„, >-k 'ri»« Av^n•^ or true ilun<'i^riaii» \ia\^ ... ilKir respective dialefcts. VVe must incrciu career somewhat fuiilier. . . ^.j-^ ^^j From the Pelasgic race are d^^^'^^^.f^;^ f,,^,^^^^^^ Romans ; but we must not suppose ' '«^;''** ';""ThJrr ^ ^ their^oets (ei,^^^ colony ^^^^ ^'^'^^X^ - ianc'uages War a striking «''«'»«r'^y/« f"? ^'^^^ ' ^ ^ ^^rtant features, but not the ku,d of s.maa^ny t^ would subsist, between two languages, «''« ^^ ^^"'^, J^ ' riediately derived from the other It 3^^^^^ Ihal both these nations are descended, mdeprndeni.j o^ m t ■ ■.-.■.t'li:- t • ' !;- ■ 'I ■ ■■' ! I-. •!•■■,. ! I' ■!!■ I.' '^- It'i? ill if -.-., :■■■■:-■■,-' ;■'■■■ .'"V:- .^•'■.■"■' ■ ■,■•■■■ :"--^.'-, ^ ■■ ' ' ' -^ ' .' ' ■' ■ '' '■''■' ' each ol(ier» from the ancient iij^habitants of Thdssaty; but titat the language of the Romans was much modified by admixture with that of the Etrijj^eans, who, as I have* alreadyremarked, were doubtless of Celtic origin. - The Greek language" surpassed all others in copiousness, in the different arrangecnents of which its words were sus- ceptible, and in the variety and beauty of its sounds. The Lia'tin had a more fixed character of stateliness and gravity; it was always firm and masculine In the tenor of its sounds and moves with an air of conscious dignity. The character of a language i^ affected by the same . causes as the character of the nation whichv speaks it. When the conquering legions of Romdl began to extend the limits of her empire, they found the Celts in posses- sion .of the western extremities of Europe. This race consisted of two divisions, the 0aels and the Cymri. The former of vlrese had probably been the original or first inhabitants of Gdul, ^paiiiand the British islands; but they hid been the firsfttp retreat into the remotest fast- nesses, and the Romlins found the latter in possession of* western Gaul $nd Britain. The Irish and the Highland- ers of Scotlaifid are the descendants ol the. Gaels, the W%lch of the Cymri. Both these Celtic tribes had, as we have seen, been driven to the western borders of Eu- rope by the gradual advance of the Teutonic tribes ; and from these the greatei; part of the modern nations of Eu- rope, and their descendants upon this contineut, derive their origin.- These tribes also at a very early period of their history were divided Into two great bodies ;, namely into thosp which belonged, and those which did not belong, to the great Suevian confederation. Several broad marks of distinctidn were attached to these bodies. The Suevi / were all nomadic tribes ; thigy were divided into iaob\eSi freemen, and serfs; and when they were converted to Christianity they adopted the Arian doctrines. The Noo- Suevi were the first tb build fixed dwellings, and tp>i)(ns, and to cultivate the soil ; thei^ tribes consisted of freemepr :/■ :kMi- p'.?' '' \ word slave ; and u is not ibe leasi ^'"fe" "...„ brave *^ . . c .•«„' T"hp Non-Suevi upon tinSlr con version in its s.gmficauon ^^e Won ^u ) ^ mark of all becannre Cathohcs. , .^^^^h",^^^^^^^^ distinctic. and one w^^^ ^^J^ ,^,^y J'differ- enquiry h of "^""^.fj^^'^man lariouage from those remote ence of dialect. The German lan g .^^^ ^^ ^^ JT^ *^^"" Tl^S r^ S^i -re all speakers ^ German and Low German. I ^^ Among remains of early !u.d r,"*'?' Itl^rm^rW the accideot .e» in U.W G""'»»/'»'^f ;Ji^r;tX BiSe in High that Luther «ecuied k« ^^'^-^ °^ ,he preponder- German inrhicli gave to ^^" /'''"riorUv in mSk and ance, and bestowed "?<> V' %VXnTeUl "" »re »..y Jignitjwhich it now enjoys B"X™S.f Germany. A '»*■ i'l ^ V If /, ' . ii! ■;■ 'i; ' ■■; 10- •;■■;" ;■■,•■:.■ part of Prussia^ where the masses of ihe people cannot speak, even if ihey understand, the High German dialect. In some of the country parishes the T^ow German is still used by the clergy in preaching to the peo|vie ; and I have seen a volume of setmons in it published at the commence- ment of the present century. There cannot be a greater mistake than to suppose the language spoken throughout this region by the lower and even the middle classes to be ^corrupt and vulgar German ; it is to all intents and pur- • poses a distinct dialect, of equal antiquity, equal purity^ equal and in some respects superior beauty ; for it is more Soft in its soundsj and niore harmonious in the structure of its sentences. . JNow the important (act to us is, that the Teutonic element in the English I-ianguoge is derived not from the High German but from the Low German. The Friesians, the Saxons and the Angles of Holstein, the tribes that settled in Great Britain, were all speakers of Low German. An EngUshumn at the present day can gener- ally manage to make himself understopd in the parts of Germany where this dialect is spoken by the people, while to iliose acquainted only with the Higb German of society and literature he would be wholly unintelligible. I have been led#)wever to anticipate in these remarks the narrative and we must now return to the earlier period ol the Suevian confederation. That confederation in process of time was broken up; violent convulsions ensued of which we possess but very imperfect details ; we only know that most of the smaller tribes disappeared, and that.new con- federations were formed. The most powerful were those of the Franks, the Alemans, the Goths, and the Saxons. Th'e language of all these tribes was however essentially the same; tlifferences there were between the dialects spoken in difFerent parts oC the country ; but those differ- ences were not greater than tlrey are at the present mo- ment. We have the evidence of history to the jaCt that an embassy from the Marcomanni on the bqrders of Hun- gary could be delivered in the dialect peculiar to the tribe I i-r U n?^ SS'^VW '■•"jw^ "■ ) 11 U« sen. k on .be banks of .he Elbe «ml U.e Ode^ »i^ r.,1 ihe in.ervention of m.eipielers. And mere » luo LL evidence .o piove .ha. 'luring a lonjf succession of X this »del» s'preadlanuuase was sui,j«c.ed o very «fr Zn^esJ Two hundred and seven.y-e.sh. yea« £l^';»s,;an era ^n« Ten^.n. . « >^. JorU, «''"rr» lueof^he secmu cen.ury ate.he bir.h;«f '^. %^lr!^^^: ...ere .<^n.ide™hje *s.rc. A^nnsi. * I"" i-r-r^tiilMnrr thev ciossid the mine, S.U1 bears Ihe "™7'„^°^ir '^^^^^^ asceo- 7i Z vTsi a td'eadd'L shores of .he Black Seav Here lh!r inc^^sed in numbers and ,»we.-, and soon A Here iney mi-i ^ _,,„„;., ^ii'^ He Roman empire. procession vi ^^ amoiv' whom were a considerable • captured l^^^y."^^"^'^'" ^^e, ia process of lime, they number oi ^ ;;- ••^" ;^ ^^^^^ , J tirst Teniunic iribe were converted ; d"" uiey vv«ie which acknowledged the 16eso-Goths belongs the honor of having invented the one and of having executed the other. A portion of his version of the Bibl^'has fortunately been .nreserved, almost ihe sole reiiiaining monument of the Gothic laflguage, and separated by an interval of nearly • three centuries from any other com position in any di;>lect of the great Teutonic race. Its value in a philological jioint of view is very great. It resolves innumerable diffi- t^ in the study of the history of the E^uropean langua- ges, and by its assisiance we can account for, the appear- ance which U»«y gradually assuined. The single imper- fect copy in which this language has been preserved was found in an Abbey of Westphalia, and after having been several times lost and recovered during periods of wart'are, ire-appeared at Upsala in Sweden, and is now preserved in the library of that university. It is a manuscript of singu- lar beauty ; the letters are all silver, except the initials which are gold, upon vellum of a violet colour. The work itself gives evidence that iheGothic language, at this early period, was not only remarkably vigorous and ex- pressive j but also exceedingly copious, and of a very per- fect form. It possessed not only all the inflections of the Greek, but all us facilities for the com|Wition of words and all its variety and Harmony in the s true lure of senten- ces. I have already stated that the version of UJphilas is nearly three centuries older than any other com positicto now exient in any Tetitpnic dialect. The next in order of time are the Anglo-Sajtpn poems of Caedmon, a naUv« of England. The poem W Beowulf was* indeed cpni- posed^at an earlier period ;\but the most ancient manu- script copy of it is of mnch l^ter date, and bears internal evidence that the language has. suffered many alteratioas firom succeisive transcribers. Mir i :V::'\.,., 1 ':■■:■■-■:.:' ::^ is .;. It hfl/Mciled noless surprise than rej-ret thai no^re- • . o? .Suralure of the long interval between these rr^i d^ S been handed clown Jo ^^^^^^^^ • «^f ITlnhdas was made between A. D. 360 and 3«0. ZvSn," '"insid^L chafes «.nch were .atag " T. ■■^f.vorVbr.o.L p«.d»c.lon of literary works, Sr«rSt^£.evideL»show^U.^^ CfintPver was made in civilization. War was (wbatever was m „ j .Kp,- ^^le recreation was the neglect, except l^creat«onoipo . ^^^ valiani Xt.^^nl'l- cSJ«0. abou. the year ^ Sr^s.er» Goto and Va„dals =7 '/'S;*"! ,V to Bor«ai.di«M at the comroencemem and the F-rH" V" ' etee of the Bfth centnry ; the AlemaBs and the Longfl- ffin te sixth ; tbekvariao, "ow*-^/ 'f ''^At ♦w «nA tVift Thurineians and Friesians in the eignm. T;:tC Se So abandon their old religion and Wa^e'Sans only on *7 fi»»' .f Surv ^ ■ Vntks at the commencement of the n.nth ceniary. » n« S Br^ls had accepted the Christian MhaM^^^ ■ S date; but harassed and threatened with «n.iUitaoo» ■v%... ■ I il t 1'.- I' . V\ ■• -M* ti, V ■fr-f: 1 1 ■ by. their neighbours the picts and Scots, they implored,, duriiip the reign of Voitigern, the nid of thetribes inhab- iting the North of Germniiy. The first who came to their assistance were Jiiles, under the command of Hengist and Horsa ; it is worthy. "of remark however that Hengist is called a Friesian by one of the 'earliest Saxon writers. The services of tbvjse allies \vere rewarded by a grant of the Isle of Thanet ; hut they soon made themselves masters of a considerable part of the southern coast of England and the Isle of Wight, Next came the Saxons, and founded the kinsidom ofSussex under Ella in 491; of Wessex under Cerdic in 491 and of Essex in &27. ^ About this time the Angles began to arrive ; they inhabited a district on the' borderis of Holstein and Schleswig which still bears the name of Angeln, and Sending forth siicccssi ye colonies from 527 until 586, they finally became the most nume- rous and powerful of the immigrants, and gave their name to the country and people. The Christian Britons had been oblieed to retreat before the invaders into the moun- tain fastnesses of Wales and Cornwall, and Heathenism was once more the prevailing religion of England. In the year 597 St. Augustine arrived at Canterbury, and devoted himself to the noble project of accomplishing the conver- sion of our Saxon ahcesters. It isj as I have observed, ip the spread of Christianity, extending oyer a long period of time, that we find an ex- planation of the fdct, that scarcely a vestige of the poetry of older ■ tim,es has been preserved. That poetry was doubtless intimately connected with the existing religious system: it has always, and, it would seem, necessarily been so among rude' nations. We must therefore take into consideration the circumstances in which the first preachers of Christianity found themselves placed. We have, it is true, but little positive knowledge respecting the religion of the Teutonic tribes ; but there is sufficient evi- dence to prove that their heathenism was what may be terrtied a somewhat developed form of natural religion; lilU V I. i ■">-, ' t ,■ > ■ '\ ■■::;■ :-\ (( mach more lik« U.at pure religion whirl, was first &veu^ nian,^.m.cl. le«^s corrupted, less artificial, less palpably untrue,--than tite professed belief of the philosophical Greek or the le.id Roman, who looked down with con- tempt upon the igIS,rant barbarians, and made it a repiooOb to them that, as Caesar observes, " they worshipped oi.ly « those deities they saw, or from whose poNV^r they rece.v- « ed visible aid, and ibat of any others they had not even ^^ "heard." Our Germanic ancestors had fortjotten Hun . who alone is God, but still they- worshipped H.mm the ^ manifestations of His power, and ihey worshipped with laitli : " , " They worshipped Nature in the hill and valley Not knowing what they loved." The sun and moon through which He dispenses light aiid warmth ; the fruitful eanh which be blesses with inqreasei ihe mysterious elements of fire and wftter and air,--lhese were ihe objects of their worship, and not idols of wood and stone, the works of men's bands. In the source pf stream and river, in the womb of the mountain teeming with metals, in the dark cave and ancient tree, they iraa- gined the dwelling-places of their inferior de.ties. In the stillness of untrodden forests were the fitting temples of such a worship ; prayer and sacrifice were still, as m purer times' its observances. It is obvious that the conversion ' of such a people from such a religion ; of a people rude and uncullivated, but highly poetical and .maginative in disposition, from a religion which was simple but^strikng which presented itself to their memory in ^very object tHat met thLir eyes, and appealed to Uieir ^hearts m^eve|y solemn tradition of the past ;-.t is />b^»°"«>^Jfy.^ J^'^ such a conversion must have. bben^ far more d'^^tjl task than any which the preachers of Christianity, "na'^^d ^y the power of working visible miracles, bad yet beencal ed ^pon to perform, ^nd it is this which accounts for the fact now under consideration. The^zeaous men whb were labouring for. their conversion could alone have com- ^,-^, il Ml .1 .* Ill ( •( !'!■;■ t- 1 IP I Il I. ] :--1 i ■•:..■;■.■;.■■ ■•16-;: :.,•:'■• .■.■•■.-:, ,.-'■,.■•■■ ' » inUted to writing and preserved for future generations th« leeends and songs which were current among the Teuionic tribes. But so far from desiring to perpetuate this poe rjr hey weVe, by the naturfe of their undertaking, compelled ^, . to labour for its utier destruction. They had no hope of wccceding in their holy worlc, unless they could eradicate all recollection of the false deities, the dem.gods and heroes, in whose honour most of those wild songs had been compdied. The existence of such songs, however is a matter of certainty ; for they are menl.oned by the histo- rians who recorded the lives of some of those early mis- sionaries, and copies of some of them appear to have been in their possession. And there remains yet another circum- Btance to be mentioned, as it doubtless stimulated the exertions which were made to destroy all traces of the old religion, and especially the poetry which served for its transmission from one generation to another., The^Chns- tians of that early age were tinged with a degree of super- «ition, which we cannot be surprised to find existing at a oeriod when the demoniacal influences which had mani- fested themselves during the period of our Saviour s sojour- nine on earth were still the subjects of vivid tradition. Accordingly they did not look upon the heathen deities of oor forefathers as the creations of ignorance or of a diseased fancy, but as'really existing evil spirits, who had obtained, ■nd, if possible, would continue to exercise, a spiritual dominion over their worshippers. Every object therefore which had reference to this worship, was regarded by them is unholy Und to be dreaded ; and this was peculiarly th6 case with regard to songs and legends, whicji if they did tmt all profess to be charms, were supposed to have thd 5Wnei»fure, and therefore to increase and perpetuate Ah6 ' Udwcr of the Devil and his angels over the souls of thos^ {vho used them. The council of Lestines promulgated A formula, according to which candidates for baptism were tdibiure theit old religion; this formula has fortunately bfeft pwserved, and it uot only prove* the f^ct 1 aitt l\«>^j%^l^^^^™' '■' Msertine, but is also possessed of peculiur !•;»«''«?»' «»V' Teutonic langoages gives h.s "^™^%^';«„;; \t ,on of week- and the latter appears as Saxneat, the son oi W^en in the Anglo-Saxon fienealogy of the kmgs of »n the works, and also all the words of ^^^^ Veviuoy, whiihar undoubtedly meant all ^he songs and legends U^tSre poetry, by -»-»> ^^e f ue^c^ heat^^^^^^^^^ was in a great measure sustained. And so soccesslui ™e the efforts of the missionaries, that m England no r^^s whatever of heathen poetry have survived ; and m GerLny all hat is known to exist consists of two short Uerraany »" "!^ „^ discovered about ten years ago, letrrbS .Wfeue. of a captive, .he ..... «"er ^ men oT.he language of our forefather, I now S:^;tsi:^r^^s?s=h:j^ ta^p»V.nil dialecs which .re .Ull P'P'J-;,'" ^^^^ «,, pais of England. Cdmon was an..." of Wto.kr. iill. I . .y< 18 . ■nd wrote iherefore in the iliHlecl of the Angles. He is .'aTdTo tve been in a drea.n inspired wilh the first vene- Xh he composed, and which are ,n honour of the CrTa or of the world. These verses have been preserved and they may be seen in a work which ou«hi to be foiTbd n ever/ family, Chamber's Cyclopaedia of En«hsh L.tera* ture The Editor is however miMaken m presenting them .s the Liest specimen of Anglo.S«xo^ Jhem,nol in their original for.n. or as they ^n^\^^r^^\ Lost ancient manuscript, but m the translaUon oMtm«^^^ > ^ | Alfred, which was made a century and a half laH?r. He ibouW certainly have informed his readers that^ tl.ey are Sng^ vLs of C^dmon in the dblect A a"«^»'« a?e and another part of the country. There ,^a manu- Script copy of theU verses in existence, wntten .J the year 737 ; the version of Alfred was executed m 8B5. The authir is a pious, prayerful monk ; an awful, reverend and . a rehgious man. He has all the s.mphcty of a ch.W. He calls his creator the " blithe-hearl U'ng' ; the patri- archs Earl., and their children Noblemen. Abrahams a ^e heedy one, a mighty earl, and h.s wife Sanih a woman of elfin beauty. Strikmgpoet.c passages and^ep.- theis are thickly scaiiered through his writings. The sky scaUed "theJoofof nations", the " roof adorned .with 8la« » After the overthrow qf Pharaoh and his host, he sl^s, « the blue air was with corruption tainted, and « the bursting ocean whooped a bloody slorin. _ , A ^ Durfng this interval the Danes had established nup^J- reus settlements on the coasts of England, and even nnlade Sem Wrmasters of the kingdom, wh-,^^ Y- afterwa^» wrested from them by Alfred. But the inAuence of these Sern adventure,^ upon the lar,|uage of ,the 6ountyr wa much less than might Fthapsllave beeji expe,t«dv U was confined to a small district, a^d its o^Jy «ff^' ^« thrformatic^n of tbeDano-Sa^xon or Northumbrian dmM. We possess'in this dialect the fragment ^^ ^^^^^f^J^^^l th« book of Judith, one of the noblest remams of the ear- ■.► ■ "■ M*»-^m B'/ ■ ■ .-■:/■ ; ■' 19 ■■-*■■■ '^^ IWUteralure of England. The enlightened and amiable Alld! Ins ated several Lalin works into the Anglo-Saxon ^ f/ nnd ihuslave to the West-Saxon dialed the same times What a sublime old character was Kuig Alfred. iTfrpa the truthleller ! Thus the ancient historian sur- Ia Wm Is o hers were snrna.ned the Unready, Iron- named h.m, as othe s we ^^^^^^ ^f i.-.^ reign ar» tni" to^ • t JMuL he (ought in t^ fi^ year : hf his reign ; his fliKht, his pov.r.y, his sufferings , his suJcLful ra ly, his vttories and his future glorious re.gn ; Ettls r^knowntoalli^^ But what does Br.tam not owe afthis day to Alfred? Liberty, laws, property, UterZre a that makes her great as a people, and SrpditLal society pure and honest, The rnost ^. SaxT avoiding the use of all ohscure and foreign words. & Xr Anglo-Saxon writers .night be "amed but thel^>^uld not^etimeto give any detailed account of '""^rtle Anglo-Saxon period of ^the^U-guage extends over about three centuries and « .JaU-, co™. fencing about 700 and^ terminating in the middle of the Seventh century. It was then that Edward ^theCc,nfe8Sor, \^hoSurirc^^e^reigns of Canute, Harold, and ^^ had been an exile in Normandy, returned to England and blouehrwith him many of the customs, manners, and ex- o^esloL of' he Norman nobles, and thus commenced the CXn of that mixed language which is known under Sename of ^English. Before Ipi-oceed to descnbe the S^^^which w^re eftected by ^J^ ^?"^^"^ J-^,"^ ^^^ elemfnt, I must briefly revert to the history of the pecuhar language which is called the Norman French. The coo- t. ;, II. W ^0 fedemtion of ih« Frai.ks (freemen) wa« chiefly compo.ed of tb« Cbutli, CheriKci. and oiher iribes ongintiUy dwel- lint on the banks of ibe lower llbine, and between ih.l m«r .nd th*, Weser, who during the fourth century made themselves masters of a -rent part of Gaul. At tlw commencement of the filth century they h«d "cqu.red t considerable degree of importance, on.i were divided mm Hipuarii and Salii; the latter chosej^mg m the ye« 420, and at the same time estnblishcdjfirritten code, lh« famous Salic laws. The third »SiP^X '"nl^^nlil founder of the Merovingnin dynasty, which reigned unlU 77 U and is noted for its strange imbecility, and lor the treat power which the Frnnki^ih nation acquired under lh« Jble government of their ministers, who were styled mayor, of thcv palace. The Franks were among the Low Oer- man t^ife^s ; but, except a few nroper names, we have btil Tant^mains of their original dialect. That whidi ^ . called tile Franco-Tudesque was the language of the ^igfc^ German tribes whom they conquered* In this dialed— there are some very beputiful and valuHlfe remams, Bm( which may be mentioned translations of a I^tio nomj^ by J^idore' Bishop of Seville, of the hymns of St. Ambrose, and of tfee Obspel of St. Matthew; but above all a poeti- cal hair of the n conTeot The held a had gene pels, written at the commencement Olfrid^ a Benedictine monk, in the )f their eniering Gaul had n withlj^Rbmaos, whose allies thef and in whose armies great number* onbem had repeatedly fought. So intimate was this con- nectioii* that the Franks gradually assumed the use ol the Roman language, and the Salic laws thcmselves^ere written in corrupted Latin. In the year 840 the em^ of Charlemagne was divid.d between his three grandsoiis; •od two years afterwards the two younger brothers, the kiBKS Of France and Germany, fbimed an aUiance, and at a solemn assembly held at Strasburg, they and their w^ .'mt^rr^'^"" '"'^J «#■ '^M^ ' •f 21 C(^»ctB *dk oatlMi of mutual fidelity, on oiie wde o th. p^^-fuSesaue dialect, and on the other side in th« to ^'i!"? .7 ^ Tw!X • Kuncric appellaiibn given to s^ ul u=*.bS;;: i:.^^: co^l. of t^e i^i- •" JL*'*' '^ !i.u . a,wl which are the foundation of modern •4 * jicu are m iai.» ^"■■-r- ■- „j„« . iRom.n°„««:l. ; ....1 wlnch.arc .1« fo""'';'™"/,™^.',™ * Italian, Spanish, I* i and WHICH urc lu^ .«-.."-•- this change is very obvious, and iBhall have occamo '*^^' ''^ Vinr^the death of Gharlemafine the repeated ... l>:n<4ii Norman. " Zoltn. popului. de isti. -— •b nnt«. ■apere. V ^otere (po»M). ecce iste. «djutar«. usque ad unanti (omnes) . causa. Iionao* h- jdirectuip* ' Jdebet. };_.;'. Norntan. poblo. dist. in avant. •avir. podir. cist. adjiidlis. cadhuaa. cosa. om. dreit. dist. Altreai. French. pen pie. dus. en arant ■avoir. pouvoir. cet, ce. aide. chacuo. chose. hommb droit.. doit.' auiti. aw k^WH* "■ " A . •O ■ ' ' " ' '■■■.■ ■'- ■■-■ . *' «t .a «■ • ;• .,_ y -ff. ' ,1;.' - ■ . ; ' • i''^..- ;'. ■ t ^:tt- ■'■>■'.' ■' :. . '. " .# ii M III n i l I • ■«?. '■ !'t • :. X ,22 V '' ■■ ■ ,;„dad wUb hi, Wlowi on .heFgnc^ o.«.^n4^^ liSd elapsed, the Norraan, had abandoned lhe,r own B'-'ldtrd -dop-ed in ■« place nhee«™pted La.m »';^,crfc;S;hri:J:^ui::rt^^nof^a„gin._^^ 1 oit^f his new dominions: and his successors per- ra ry gta. bfluenoron .he Anglo-.SaKon, but u Xied a^haogeof .he inflecions and lermmaLons mhet eeaaed to be spoken m England. »Vo .,'.vp«j Us ^t is a eeneral rule that a conquered nation gives its r° J: 1. L» ™ w..h heirdeseendan.,, v.ho conquered f^^land Bu. onX o.her hand .he nafional language ff"?^ ei^lred is usually found .o undergo a center- ui vXn^i The conquerors are obliged to learn liie . ^^'iJ^o Sir ^su^ts in order to nuke themselves ^'A ?ii Ut Lv will not take the trouble tQ acquire ;S;:Snga;!g^or EngUnd. For a long «n.e however .h. :if ■' . V • ■> :■"./:. 23 •XV' .n.i« ,ubsOt»rK»._of '•>••■' "^"rSore resolutely re- Anglo-Saxon of ll.ecountl7,»nd 'here °ret ^ to'd to become "'I"''ttar.aken P Uon in 1142. Robert, brother of *»"'"'»• *'V^cape in disguis«, ihey and h« followers endeavoured .oesca^^_^» ^^^_^ were recognised by^lheir,gnorance of tl^laogg^^^ =b'nt':"^^-^eJl^^-^-^^ The first Roma^^worchs^V^eK^^ inta the language tWgli P^^S^ea W as 1085, pro- . thus we find clergy (clerecas)Msed^^^^^^ cession ia f l^^' ^-'^yi^^SwS as prison, jus- afterwards lawyers in reduced sucn w J , ^^^^^ tice, rents, tresor, P"^'>^g^^',,''t,'', Jo their verses by peri64 the rhymers began to add ^ ^^^/'^^^j, i^^wevir Adopting rose. I'ly v odour flow er>u^J^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ it was but very slowly that » le w J ^nder pecu- their way into the '^r^^^S^. J^" f "j^;^'^, i„ ibich -^liar tetiiptation to ^^opt word x,f the langua^^^^ ^ . the orisi*^al.i-c°!"P"^tclf^na^ivrUnv entitled .wrote, in^h^ nauve F^nc^ a ^^^^^j^,^ E„„H,h BrutMS of Ej^g^-ul. The^ ^a ^ ^^^^^ p^^st of translation of ^^.s wo.k, oy ^^^^^ters gays the Ernely on the Severn, of wh.ch in ^ ^^^^j .^^now- date is not ascertained. lt>s however ^ y ^^^ Sfi^tr oft^a/an-Str^otlonV^ t-. T^^w^-^yfii^ ,^ '|i; !!'Mi, ll . '"i 1 M^H ' In ' m 1 5 IKw ■ ' 11 I- 1 I i ■ ! t ■ \ ?4 lentences, proves that the other change* which I bav« described as usually attendant upon the successful inva- sion of a foreign race, had been silently progr^sing* Lit- tle more was now wanted than the substitution of a Jew French for the Saxon words, to produce the Anglo-Wor* man or En«^lish, which caroe into use during the succeed- ing, that is the thirteenth century. The year 1300 may be assumed as the period at which the transformation was effected, and ihe English language had taken the place of the Anglo-Saxon. The poem of Wace is taken fronra fabulous history, written in Latin a few years ^before his . time by a monk named Geoffrey of Monmouth. About the year 1297 Robert of Gloucester wrote a metrical En^Vtsh version of this chronicle. His language is full of Sawn peculiarities, the result probably of his living in ft remote district; but a comparison o[^ his poem with that of Layamon' about a century older shows not only an admission of many French words, more than on^e on an average in each line, but also an increase of French idioms and modes of expression. /r -a After this period our language did not suffer any more violent changes ; and as learning advanced, as the ancient classical works were more extensively studied, as the pro- , gross of science and art rendered new terms necessary, more words were constantly borrowed from the French and Latin, and the language gradually assumed that form in which we 6nd it in those two works that may be con- sidered the standards of pure English, our version of the Bible, and the writings of Shakspeare. ^ The commencement of the fourteenth century may be set down as the era of the metrical romances, which^ are ibe earliest compositions in what may be called, strictly speaking, the English language. They are however almost without exception, translations from the U rencli. Sir Guy, the Squire of Low Degree, Sir Dagore, King aobert of Sicily, the King of Tacrs, and the death of Afthur, are the names of the earliest. Others which U / ■y m iii i.;' ''•"!it ' »./':^ ,« of l.terd.te continued tot a much ^S^J^ ""^^ > popular .re «' Thop« S. U»br.s.^^d S r B^^^^^^^ metrical romance, «°" f '^"^^^En.lisU literalur. to. SSRW'y- •"''.;. Sd^^bclddle of the fourteenth -•^i'rrrv^rsevelT^t whose work, plainly prov. lip? j::jl;hle p^^J^Oeen^"^ ^^ -. «,„, Richard Rolle, a herraa of tleo^de^^^^ gp.^^^ and Robert Longland. The celebratea . i , Ploughman ^Y 'h« '«"« ^J'^^it", ne'inJentio. work, that appeared m&.^^^^^ and i, a much purer specimen of _ the E»= f'^^^-^^ than the poem, of Ch»ucer. . It . m fact m^.^^^^^ character, ind.cat.ve of a g'»f' '"^'"P ^ independence lu.K.n, in which the language as "f.'lle ascendency of the ^tnglo-Sawns had at '»f f''\'^y7,'„^ ,.«, if over those of the Normans. In 'h'^'J'^ V ,, „a\ •^'nh^inX'ortt.rVe^oSn element r.d W STerby the ;V„g.oW No.^^^^^^^ in either case, ^ithout^e^v.ng »me lastmg eff«t,^n« without shedd og ^m^Norman g^^J'/' ' ;„,„ *. «r.dity, not wthout ;°f"»'»S^'^:JJrtU so&^ "<> Saxon strength ; but ''»PP''j.3'"=dLihe admixture. •'ij,itet^;s:^rwrhth=^^^^^ •*>,.... \ .I|:|: ■ ,- •. : :...■ ■■•■.■- : ,■ - v.-;. ;. -; ■ V- ■ French and 6nally into English rin order, as he ^JP^J"^ himself, -that every man of my nanon may understapid h " and contains, as may readily be supposed, much ha b romantic and fabulous, mixed up w.ih a great deal that fs Westing and true. His work contams an unduj number oflomance words and phrases ; but th.s wdl Sy create surprise when we remember that the auOK^ had travelled thirty-four years in countries where he can iard y have heard .he sound of the English language and Siat his book was composed in Laim and translated mto French* before the English vei-sion was made. . The next autlior who deserves mention as having exerci- sed^SnceLon the language is Jolm Wicld.ffe, profe.. sor of theology i2^ihe University of Oxford, and a great .J- strument in relormW the faith of h.s^countrymen. In tM Year 1328 was borXGeoffrey Chaucer, who is generally Lied the father of Xnglish poetry. ^He was. however preceded by John GoXr. Mr. Chambeis ^P h.s Cydo- Ldia, places Cower aftW Chaucer, though he says that , the foimer is supposed toXhave been a few years older. m does not appi.1 to be a^are tl-t Gower .mse^.n^ Confession of a Lover calls Ghaueer h.s d.sc.ple. But the^ we«J both before the public at the sariie time, and .lis p.x)bably owing to the immense superiority of h.s contem- S^rary in aU the highest qualifications of a poet, that the reputation of Gower has perhaps never ^een so great as »t deserves to be. Chaucer on the other hand has always had his ardent admirers ; though .t must be confessed that his earlier pieces have much of the fr.g.d conce.t and pedantry of his age, when the pass.on ol love was elected iVito a sort of court, governed by statutes; and a system of chivalrous mythology,- such as ihe^poeixal worsh.p of • the rose and the daisy ,-supplanted the statel.ness of the old romance. In time he threw off these conceits, ^ He stooped to truth, and moralized hrs sorig.'' When about s\xxl in the calm evening of a busy hfe, he composed hjs Canterbury Tales, simple and vaned and beautiful M I!! ill w * ,1, .•-.■■■ 27 ■■ ' ■■'■ ■A . , - ., .,. :;■. ■■..■■. ^^ .If JmViiied with the results of extensive expe- •Zes wUliou, losing . e fel."e« ^^^ZS^L (ul feeling »"d '">«8™»V™-.^*"f^, ;V'e":„,ze , he merit, wanting those who, while ''^J^'y. 'flavin - exerted a of Chancer as a poet, charge '"" * '',1 Jl'^^he English :r^rhis":i^tlaUe„ fron. the Itali^^ Skinner, an English gra-pmananolth^^ ^•'''"''1'^^S^''^^'o:X.-;^J»;^^^S ^^^g^.e^^ had bad completed^he tnu.pph of ^the t^l^ o ^^^ ^^ seated it firmly m the h^^^^^,^«^J*;^ »^'°^ orei.„ courtiers acts of Parhament, no courts of l-^^' J j^^'^e^ acts of v^ere strong enough to expel . . An^ ^f ^^^^way , as - /„ substitute the use of W«hf^^ ^^^^^^^^^^ / cial proceedings ; and m the '»""= '^ = , ^e classical / ,l,e.6rst t"»%«»rw.'''r^''jiL':er n Parh^ on / authors into. English instead oltench. in r ^ ^ &"S'sfS a-Uig the 'alnvost incredihle period of / 7.. : / ./ % .-■•,>•. T"-^ II I' It, «■; .■'ill I ' ' 28..:,, ■,:,:: '-'^ . / . ..." " • ' ■ " ' ' . ' four centuries. It had %wever long before ihis time bjseo found necessary in acts of parliameot and other oUblic - documents to add the English translation of many t reach words. Thus in an act forbidding the importation of eery "Uin forei«rn manufactures we find enumerated "marteus vulgarement nommez Aamer*, agules pour Sacs vulgtr»- ment nommez »afcnce i(l»fcl ..'- laughj sigh, blusli. Germanic is the language of the mer- chant, the farnjtT, the seaman ; Germanic are ahiiost all our proverbs and popular sayings ; Germanic is the lan- guage of all sirono emotions, of hatred and contempt, of anger and love. Of French extraction on the other hand are the expressions ol science, of the learned professions, and of fasliionable society ; hence it comes that general terms 6re French, while all the individuals comprised under them are Sijxon ; niotion is French, but to '^o, walk, ride, drive, run, lie, stride, are Saxon ; sound is French, but buzz, hum, groan, splash, hiss are Saxon,; color is^ French, but white, black, green, yellowj blue, red, brown, are Saxon ; member and or<;an ^re French but ear, ey^, hand, foot, lip, mouthy hair, fiivjier, are Saxon ; number is French, but every single number from one to a million is of Saxon origin. All the terms of the law, all the expres- sions relerring to judicial proceedings, judge, jury, advo- cate, plead, defend, forfeit, *s also the whole vocabulary of the physician, are of Romance extraction. In fine when we would be energetic, forcible and intelligible to the mass of the people, we should seek for Germanic words ; when we would be learned, polite, refined, we should express ourselves in those wliich we have borrowed from the Ro- manoe. The English language is remarkably rich in synonymes ; and it will be/ found to be a universal rufe that the Germanic word is forcible but vulgar ; the French less expressive but better adapted to ears, polite ; such are, for instance, to sweat and to perspire, lo 'be drunk and to be intoxicated. I said at tlje comtriencement of this lecture that I could not attem(»t to give more than a slight sketch of the history of our language*; and even this, I fe!»r, has been very itftperfectly executed. I would fain hope that some of mjrnearers may be Jed to pursue the subject and to fill yp for themselves the numerous gaps and deficiencies. It IS a study which would amply repay them for any expen- diture of time and trouble. It is difficult to understand ■.. :31' - the mind of a nation, even when that nation still lives, and we can visit it, and its history, and the lives of men we know, hdp us to comment on the wiuten tt'xt. But here the dead Only speak. Voices half understood ; Iragments of song, ending abruptly, as il the poet nad sung no fur- ther, but died with these last words upon his lips ; homi- lies preached to congregations that have been asleep for many centuries; lives of saints who went to their reward lontf before the world began to scoff at sainthood ;— nothing entire, noihiug wholly understood, and no far- ther comment or illustration than may b*; drawn from an isolated fact found in an old chronicle, or perhaps a rude illumination in an old manuscript. Such is the literature we have been considering. Such fragments, and mutila- ted remains has the human mind left ofjlself, coming down through the times of old, step by step, and every step a century. Old men and venerable accompany us through the Past; and pausing at the threshold of the Present, they put into our hands, at parting, such written records of themselves as they have. We should receive these things with reverence. And we sliould not suffer them, iVom neglect, to pass into oblivion, and'^be lost to generations yet to come» v. .'I Hi ■I I' ■^ ■w M •■. i '* , • ■ * ' f ^ •'■"' ' ' , \ % , ' ** ' L" , . ;■' "■¥ 1 -■■ • ■ ■ " * ■■ ■ ■ •■, . 1 ■ ■ ., " ■. ■■ . : . - * . '■■ » * ^ • ^1 - ■ -. ■' ■ ' ■ ■. . . ■ ' ■' \ ■ ' ■ • ■■• f^ •1 : . •■• '■ -. J.. ' ' .,"■'". * : ■ :f ■ * , ,t "' ' I. /''■ » - ■ •■ ., t it'%> ■ ■ . . •■ ''f