The Nevada Democrat., 1860-04-18
rrlumph Of tho English Language.

Three centuries ago. the English tongue was
regarded, generally, by learned men in Europe
rs o dialect, which could not hopefully aspire
to great prominence in the empire OF letters.
Even in England, it was ordinarily treated with
contempt. A few persons wrote in style
which, in some respects, has never been sur
passed. We find, however. that the Norman
French, which had been introduced by William
the Conqueror, and which was welded to the
bold and dashing line Of monarchs that succeed
ed him, was most esteemed In aristocratic cir
Giles. The Norman tongue took complete pos
session Of the law proceedings. The most learn.
ed books we're usually written in Latin and
even the Greek was understood by the great
body of men that made any pretensions to
knowledge of literature. We find the splendid
Tudor Queens, Mary and Elizabeth, using the
classic tongues on the most familiar occasions
The latter replied orally to the addresses Of the
universities of Britain in the Greek language.
The savage Norman Kings labored in vain,
however, TO extirpate the Saxon tongue, hal
lowed by the glorious memories Of Alfred the
Great, and not less sacred on account of the
disastrous battle of Hastings. II was ordained
that the Norman language should be used IN
oil law proceedings and records; bat the COM
bined influences of fashion, aristocracy, royalty
and positive enactment were unavailing and
after an experiment of three hundred years.
the severe law was repealed The Normans
converted the richest lands Of Britain into
hunting grounds they drove the Saxons from
their Courts they. in fact, reduced them to
the condition of miserable serfs but the bloody
Richards and Henrys shed the public blood
without accomplishing their designs; the mass
es treasured and used the dialect which formed
for after ages the basis of
''That TONGUE
In which Shakespeare wrote in which our
Like diamonds hidden for centuries by
mountain weight, tho rich gems OF the Saxon
lost nothing by their incarceration. When the
mighty Norman incubus was removed, they
shone forth bright and pure and beautiful, as
In the days when Alfred fought the Danes.
Edward Everett in one of his Mount Vernon
papers, relates the following interesting annec-
dote
"There was curious association OF Gibbons
literary career with the diffusion OF the English
language in this country. He had In early life
lived q good deal on the continent, and under
the impression that French was to be the uni
versal tongue, wrote his first essay in that Tau
guage. He sent copy of 1t to David Hume
who wrote him 1867, in acknowledgement ofit
as follows: "Why do you compose in French
and carry faggots into the wood, as Horace
says with regard to those Romans who wrote
In Greek? grant that you have like motive
to those Romans, and adopt language much
more generally difTused than your native
tongue. But have you not remarked the fate
of those two languages in following agesH The
Latin, though then less celebrated, and confined
to more narrow limits, has in some measure
outlived the Greek and il now more generally
understood by men of letters. Let the French
therefore triumph in the present diffusion OF the
tongue. Our solid and increasing establish
ment in America where we need less dread the
inundation OF barbarians, promises superior
stability and direction of the English language"