members of the common family are become scarcely recognizable to each other."-Borr's Comparative Grammar. The received opinion is, that these languages took their origin from a common parent, namely, a language spoken somewhere in the central or southern part of Asia, not far from the birth-place of man, and that they spread from thence into Europe. Hence the term Indo-European.

§ 34. This word Sanscrit refers not to the locality where it was spoken, or to the nation that spoke it, but to the character of the language. It is equivalent to the term Classical. It is derived from that common parent just mentioned, and is itself the mother of the present languages & India, namely, the Hindostanee, the Bengalee, the Pali-Manratta, &c. The name is from sam, "altogether," and krita, "completely done," "perfected." This very name points to an antecedent state of the tongue, before it had become settled, and not entitled to the appellation "completely formed." Sir William Jones says, "The Sanscrit language is a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and in the forms of grammar, than could have been produced by any accident; so strong, indeed, that the philologer could not examine them all without believing them. to have sprung from a common source."

It has five vowels, twenty-three consonants, and an alphabet of fifty characters. It has three numbers, three genders, eight cases; namely, the nominative, vocative, dative, accusative, ablative, locative, instrumental, and genitive. It has two voices; one of which, the active, has two forms, one of them being reflexive, corresponding to the middle voice in Greek. It has ten conjugations, five modes, six tenses, all formed by inflection. Its Syntax is logical and simple. It is itself a dead language, and is studied in India as the Latin and the Greek are with us. It is regarded as the most composite, flexible, and complete language known. It was spoken only by the privileged classes, while the common people spoke the Pacrit, the "spontaneous" tongue. This ancient tongue once prevailed throughout all

Hindostan, from the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea, and from the southern extremity of the country to the Himalaya Mountains in the north. The Sanscrit, the Zend, and the Classical stocks, may well be called, as they have been, "the language of the immortals." The Vedas, the Laws of Menu, the Sacontala, are among the works extant in this language.

THE IRANIAN FAMILY.

§ 35. This is the ancient language of Persia, the sacred idiom of the Magi. It is sometimes called the Zend. Coming from the same source as the Sanscrit, it spread itself among the worshipers of the Sun, and is the parent of the several dialects now spoken in Persia. It was in this language that the Zendavesta was composed by Zoroaster, fragments of which still remain.

THE LATIN FAMILY.

$36. The Latin is the language which was spoken in Italy by the Romans. It is more ancient than the Greek, and is the mother tongue of the Roman languages, namely, the Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Wallachian, and the Provençal.

1. In principio erat verbum, et verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat verbum. 2. Hoc erat in principio apud Deum. 3. Omnia per ipsum facta sunt; et sine ipso factum est nihil, quod factum est. 4. In ipso vita erat, et vita erat lux hominum. 5. Et lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebræ eam non comprehenderunt. 6. Fuit homo missus a Deo, cui nomen erat Joannes. 7. Hic venit in testimonium, ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine, ut omnes crederent per illum. -ST. JOHN, chap. i., v. 1-7.

THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE.

Of the

§ 37. This is the Latin language in new forms, produced by the union of its ancient elements with the languages of the northern nations, which came into Italy as conquerors. various languages produced by the union of Latin with northern languages, the Italian is the softest and the most harmonious. In receiving the Latin, it was governed by true principles of euphony. Two consecutive consonants occurring in a Latin

word are not allowed to stand in Italian; but generally, for the sake of euphony, the repetition of the one consonant is substi tuted for the other, as in the Latin words obviare, acto, facto, which, in Italian, become ovviare, atto, fatto. All consonants which interfere with the established principles of euphony are totally rejected. Hence we find, in Italian, fiore for flore; fiocco for flocco.

1. Nel principio la parola era, e la parola era appo Iddio, e la parola era Dio. 2. Essa era nel principio appo Iddio. 3. Ogni cosa è stata fatta per essa: e senza essa niuna cosa fatta è stata fatta. .4. In lei era la vita, e la vita era la luce degli uomini. 5. E la luce riluce nelle tenebre, e le tenebre non l' hanno compresa. 6. Vi fu un' uomo mandato da Dio, il cui nome era Giovanno. 7. Costui venne per testimonianza, affin di testimoniar della Luce, aciochè tutti credessero per lui.-ST. JOHN, chap. i., v. 1–7.

THE FRENCH LANGUAGE.

§ 38. The French language was formed by the union chiefly of the Latin with the Celtic, and was, from the number of Roman words and elements, called the Romance. About the tenth century, it diverged into two principal dialects, the langue d'oc,

spoken in the south, and the langue d'oil. During the thirteenth century, the langue d'oil became the language of the court and capital of France, and superseded the langue d'oc. It is in the habit of contracting the Latin words which enter into its composition. This it often does by omitting one of the internal consonants: thus, ligare, in French, is converted into lier, laudare into louer, sudare into suer. In point of construction, the French is remarkable for its clearness and uniformity, and its idiomatic phrases are particularly concise and expressive.

SPECIMEN OF FRENCH.

1. Au commencement était la Parole, et la Parole était avec Dieu; et cette Parole était Dieu. 2. Elle était au commencement avec Dieu. 3. Toutes choses ont été faites par elle, et sans elle rien de ce qui a été fait n'a été fait. 4. En elle était la vie, et la vie était la lumière des hommes. 5. Et la lumière luit dans les ténèbres, mais

les ténèbres ne l'ont point reçue. 6. IL Y EUT un homme appele Jean, qui fut envoyé de Dieu. 7. Il vint pour rendre témoignage, pour rendre, dis-je, témoignage à la lumière, afin que tous crussent par lui.-ST. JOHN, chap. i., v. 1–7.

THE SPANISH LANGUAGE.

§ 39. The Spanish language more closely resembles the Latin than any other of the Romanic languages. It appears that the Cantabrian, the ancient language of the country, disappeared, and the Latin was almost exclusively spoken for centuries. This was greatly modified by the Gothic tongue, and afterward, in some degree, by the Arabic, while the Goths and Moors in succession held possession of Spain. Latin words are subjected to the following changes: The vowel o is generally changed into ue, as in dona, duena; cor, cuer; porta, puerta. When double consonants occur in Latin words, one of them is dropped in Spanish; and i is generally placed before e in the interior of words, as in mandimento, Sp. mandemiento. It retains much of the dignity of the Latin.

1. En el principio era el Verbo, y el Verbo estaba con Dios, y el Verbo era Dios. 2. El estaba en el principio con Dios. 3. Por él fueron hechas todas las cosas: y sin él no se ha hecho cosa alguna de cuantas han sido hechas. 4. En él estaba la vida, y la vida era la luz de los hombres. 5. Y esta luz resplandece en las tinieblas, y las tinieblas no la han recibido. 6. Hubo un hombre enviado de Dios, que se llamaba Juan. 7. Este vino como testigo, para dar testimoque por medio de él todos creyesen.-ST.

nio de la luz, á fin de JOHN, chap. i., v. 1-7. Јону,

THE PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE.

$40. The Portuguese language originated under the same circumstances as the Spanish. It is less guttural, but harsher and more unpleasing in sound than the Spanish. It has a class of words not found in the Spanish vocabulary, but which are supposed to be drawn from the dialects spoken on the coast of Barbary. The Latin words which have been incorporated in the language have undergone the following changes: the letter x, when final, is generally changed into z; as paz, voz, luz,

perdiz, from pax, vox, lux, perdix. Pl, when initial, is changed into ch, as plaga, chaga. The letter r, when in the middle of words, is often substituted for 1, as craro for claro; obrigar, obligar.

SPECIMEN

:

OF PORTUGUESE.

1. No principio era o Verbo, e o Verbo estava com Deos, e o Verbo era Deos. 2. Elle estava no principio com Deos. 3. Todas as cousas forão feitas por elle e nada do que foi feito, foi feito sem elle. 4. Nelle estava a vida, e a vida era a luz dos homens. 5. E a luz resplandece nas trevas, e as trévas não a comprehendêrão. 6. Houve hum homem enviado por Deos, que se chamava João. 7. Este veio por testemunha, para dar testemunho da luz, a fim de que todos cressem por meio delle.-ST. JOHN, chap. i., v. 1–7.

THE WALLACHIAN, OR DACO-ROMANO.

§ 41. The Wallachian language, now spoken in what was a part of ancient Dacia, retains so many Latin words, that a stranger, speaking in Latin, can render himself tolerably intelligible to the inhabitants. About half of the words have been borrowed from the Greek, the Turkish, and the Slavonian. The character used in printing is peculiar, differing both from the Roman and the Greek.

THE PROVENÇAL, OR ROMAUNT LANGUAGE.

42. This language was spoken in the south of France, and is so called in distinction from the Norman French, which was spoken in the north of France. A modification of this language was spoken by the Waldenses.

SPECIMEN OF THE PROVENÇAL.

1. Lo filh era al comensament; el filh era am Dieu, et filh era Dieus. 2. Aquest era al comensament am Dieu. 3. Totas causas foron fachas per el: e nenguna causa non fon fach senz el. 4. So que fon fach era en lui vida, e la vida era lus dels homes. 5. E la lus en tenebras e tenebras non comprehenseron lui. 6. Oms fon trames de Dieu local avia nom Johan. 7. Aquest venc en testimoni que dones testimoni de lum, que tug crezessan per el.-ST. JOHN chap. i., v. 1-7.