New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-07-27
PHILOLOGY.
asst DAY OF THE LINGUISTS.

DIAN LOCAL NAMES-THE VALUE OF SANS
CRIT.
PROVIDENCE, r. l., July 25.-The gentlemen
composing the local committee Of the citizens OF Prov
dence deserve great credit for the generous and efficient
manner in which they extended hospitality to the
members the Association and promoted their comfort
Turing their soourn The public reception given by the
,itizens Tuesday evening, at the Horse GUARDS
lrmory, was managed by this committee, and was
cry pleasant affair. The utmost sociability prevailed
and both guests and hosts seemed to enjoy themselves.
THE HERO OF THE ILIAD.
AT this mornings session, DR.. Kendrick took the
cair. The fist paper read by Prof. H. W. Tyler
o. Knox College, Illinois. He doubted whether u WAS
tie intentonof Homer glorfy Achilles as his hero
lie seems at tines to depict Hector the real hero VINO
isto be honoed by the poem. close examination,
hweyer, ndhates that Homer idolizes snper-humah
energy ratherthan any individual person. tnis was
tie reason WIN Hector is depicted as Inferior to Achilles
II his heroic ravery while, nevertheless, many noble
virtues are attributed TO him. But the destructive
wrath of hhlles Is the real hero OF the
p,em and tie manner in which this Is de-
sribed and themOral reflections thrown In, show the
genius of the auhor and for the ongcontnued
popularity of th poem Prof Hardness remarked that
tie author had Undoubtedly caught the true idea Oh the
penn The trm subject is the wrath OF Achilles; and
yet 1t is the wrath Of no ordinary person. Prof. Deway
thought poet would not select abstract idea as his
subject the subject lay back OF this IL was the struS
go between twogreat races and depicts the subjecon
q the Semitic to the Aryan and when this was ac-
c,mpshed in tn death OF Hector the poem ends. Prof
snson thought highly OF this suggestion, and that 1t
was the real key Homer He said every one regarded
work OF art as he would statue, and saw some pecu-
thrifty noidscered by others. President Caswel said
that fifty years ago there much discussion upon
ills subject; md he wished TO know whetner
it was still Den question among Greek SCHOLARS
P;of Kendrick sad that years ago man would nave
been ridculed in Germany who should express the op-
ion that such Homer ever lived There mas
been great chane Of opinion on this subject even In Ger
many. He ncnel to the opinion that the liad was he
production OF single mind. There may be some inter
DO aons but 1t spossble for the whole to be produced
by one mind, ant Homer is probably the substantial
auhor He doubled whether the idea that the poem de-
ped the contestbetween the Semitic and Aryan races
was tenable Thepaper further discussed by Profs
Whitney, Wallace and Others
ILLUSTRATIONS IN ETYMoLoGY.
Prof. Comfort rad the next paper In etymology. or
tie history OF worevelopment there the same diff
Guilty that in all other kinds of history that
changes constantly taking place which not OBJ
served and not recorded Thus the historian OF words Is
often perpexed, after ages, to find the true clue to
changes in word4orms and in the uses OF words. BY
Noticing few among many OF the most anomalous
changes that are taking place in our own time,
understand the difficulties that the professional eyno-
Ogt meets with IN tracing the origin ana Development
OF words In languages that have long since ceased TO be
spoken, and the extreme caution with which assumed
relations between words and languages should often be
accepted. Among the many instances where the
original idea Is not only changed but en-.
tirely lost in words, Prof. Comfort mentioned
Sodasountan and sodd-icater. terms originally
used when carbonate of soda was used in developing
carbonc acid NV that marble dust takes the place OF
soda. The term Dda- water has become msn0mer
The is the with lead pencil, in which no lead
Is usel but plum)ag0. compound OF iron ana carbon
IN its ead leirned Japanese or Chinese would have
tI.lf In Ias.afa lfFttF fhn
many words IN t history of the English language that
have lost their original Specification were mentioned
which runc letters and words were cut. The same
words now used in all the Germanc languages, and
Tow is from Anglo-saxon tun lin New German
zaub meaning fence, Enclosure, garden, village
haS lost et entirely the sense Of fence
In Ding to millinery shop. lady does not think OF
wet to England. Many examples might be adduced in
fosign languages, the German neke pink the dimn-
teeth century for the flower previously called grds
be from the resemblance OF its color to that OF the
Glow. called in Holland netken lsmall naD from lts
shae. The French auberg, Italian albergo, Spanish
nd9ortuguese abuerque hoteD have entirely lost the
significance of the original old German word heri6erger
(canp refugee Much aid would be given to future ETY.
mo9ss If careful and extensive record could DC
kept1f the variations and Specification than are
now ahng place The paper Orlglndted genera JUS
cussbn, in which large number OF the members par
e0piDsnccncnt as applied 10 college exercise de-
riyedfrom the old expression of commencing In arts
INDIAN LOCAL NAMES IN RHODE ISLAND.
Dr. Hammond Trumbull OF Hartford read paper
with ne above title Commencing with the voyage OF
Adra Block in the bark Onres from Manhattan Island
to Naraganset Bay 1914 and the first mention Of the
Nahians and Wapanocks, called by the English Nara
eansets and Wampanoags the writer proceeded to notice
the nmes and location Of the several Indian tribes III
Rhod Island and then gave analyses and TRANSACTIONS
of nery 100 Indian geographical names, following gem
erallthe order In winch the several sacheindOus De-
cameknown TO the English, from Pokano-Ktt, Masso
soiff
weston boundary Of the state The suggestion that the
namof Mount Hope" or "MontOp," Ia Bristol was OF
Iceladic origin, given it by ThOrfn Karlsefn, in
1905 seemed TO the writer not entitled to ser-
U name and never used unmeaning sounds for
name. 1t is not certain that Mount Hope
is OF hdlan origin but H. as tradition AYERS, tne ancient
the Nrraganset ROnup. head There Is much greater
dca in bS Sc h Srnna ns i So
yet cad language. The early recorders wrote such
1ameswithout much regard TO pronunciation. They
peIIeIndan words as badly they did English. These
nameshave become greatly corrupted, SO as to defy
amaSyag'set that Usauebaugh Wawoskepaug, or
Pappose Squaw Pepskuash; or could detect Neastogua
heagaIlck in the modern EascoheaS
THE AsGLosAXoy IN ENGLISH.
protNarch of Lafayette College read paper on the
ones,in "Haye we an Anglo-Saxon Language Z" Sew
aroi rosh scholars who are distinguished for their
studesn old English decry tho Anglo-saxon. They say
tho we'd is a modern innovation, and deny that the
speech so called is so different from modern
EnplisL as to require a separate name Anglo
saxon differs from English In the following
narticulrs: l. In phOnogy IL has sounds
not fonh English, and have sounds not found In
AneloSsOn; sounds common to both are used differ
! entity The written character stands for different
sounds The laws different. Umtaut, breaking
shifting has disappeared Laws OF assimilation Of CON
sonants ave passed by. q The inhexiOns nave dlsap
reared he five cases have decreased 70 two the verb
endngs ave obsolete. The succession or words
rs cba1gd There have been changes In the syntax
tbe case are rendered complex by many injections !;
the verbs and propositions govern some IN the accusa
tive sole In the genitiye some In the accusa-
i've and ntiye g. There Is body OF rules for the sub
iunctiye nd particples delight Prof Goodwin and to
The desndr OF Others 6. There has been change in
yersineaton The old Alternative meter with Its pecu-
liar passed away Chaucer and his successors
follow tp French and Italian, not the AngloSaxon
The tbouht different There IL dntculty with the
sense firm the popularity Of the turn OF Thought Stu
dents I'm. the Ango-Saxon poetry more dhcult than
Greek tagedy on account OF the strange turns OF
thnngb, Tine meaning OF the words and their order