The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-09-22

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The Awsrioaw ESsosi;o.af7 5I s.;sT.. .,
AeGase contains & vsly reGaS6sX sESfSh 81
ne Sns e9as xsParkahls. liSSAIst that ever
I'VE. 4aieesepe GaspSrdo Msxr6fSnH,
s ws. P,5so s Who spoke aesy-six lansuasss.
were 10 bora wsa 10 iva. He disS A.
Home IL, ls49. His father desieueI hin
TOT she paterDal calling. HE wort 6e,sch
napPentng to bs under the window vhere
rasnsr Hcepighi was inssraotiPg como pri.
vMase Rnpils In Greek and Latin, young
. AosSoaantl picked up the words BY ear
eHd surprised his UNCONSCIOUS teacher
when, one day, without knowing the Greek
sip6abet OF ever having seea Greek
oook, he repeated, aad accurately explain
60 great number Of the words which had
taHe9 on his ear while at work. This
onscdote ia Paralleled BY one told by
Coler'dge IN bis table:taik. where SER
who was in the habit Of fesdins aloud his
Hebrew Bible in bis study, actually re-
peated, during intervals Of .delirIum whole
chapters Of the old Testament to the oripi-
nal taxi. She, like MeSsofanti, had no
Knowledge Of the alphabet, gram mar, or
casually caught the words ana their CON.
'nection, tenaciously held them
This gifted young man desired to leave
hfs trade. and enter The church. The kind.
hearted old oratorian assisted him. He
picked up languages With wonderful fsetii-
y. His memory retained every word his
ear had once heard. It was not only the
words bat the connectien-in idioms 10
vas peculiarly strong-and the intoustion.
He learned In college Latin, Greek, He
brew; and Arabic. His arss Lessons In
German were derived froea BOloSnese GO.
eiesisseic, the Abbate Thiutt. He picked
up French from an old priest, Of Blois,
settled a. Bologna, and Coptie from q
learned clergyman, the Csuonico Mingarel-
II. I'm 1877 he obtained priest's orders, aud
shortly Afterwards he wan appointed pro-
fessor Of Arabic In tho University Of Bo
logna. He refused to take the oath Of al.
iegiasee to the "Cisaipine Republic,n aud
n Consequence lost his position. In 1904
he was restored, and Ia 1908 again deprived
owing to bis fidelity to Plus VII. In 1919
he obtained the position Of assistant libra
rian Of his native city, and two years sf-
forwards he was made chief librarian.
Napoleon attempted to lure him 10 Paris,
Murat to Naples, the Grand Duke Of Tus-
Vienna, and even his Holiness Plus VII. to
Rome, bat 10 vain. He remained at Bo-
logna until 1882, when Gregory XVI, an
intimate friend of hts, after, as he laughing
ly pot IL, 80 regular siege" finally succeed
ed in installing him a Prebend Of st. John
Lateran's Church. He was subsequently
the successor Of the celebrated Mai as libra
predecessor we're elevated to the cardin-
alate.
It was during eighteen years which
elapsed between MezzOfanti's elevation to
the chief Hbrariansl,ip and his removal to
Rome that he extended and perfected his
kaowledge of the languages. He was
''foreiguers' confessor" at Bologna, posi-
ton usually Entrusted to large staff in
Roman Catholic cities. He visited the hos
pitfalls sssiduonsly, and never failed to in
prove an opportunity Of picking up new
language or perfecting his knowledge of
one with which he was already familiar.
It was not that he had simply knowledge
faency, pronounced them correctly, and
wrote them automatically. The porters
and runners at Bologna always mentioned
Mezzofanti as one OF the wonders Of the
town, and DO literary foreigner Visited the
city during his residence there Mo did not
call upon him. They were all impressed
with his proficiency. Lord Byron, Herr
Jacobs, Guido Gowes, DR.. Baines ia Miss
Mitford,s Recollections), and NJ. Manairt
all bear witness to the powers OF this gifted
priest, who, 1t he had lived at Babel,
would, 90 one of them has quantity remark
ed, have been able to have acted % general
DR.. Baines says: "T6e last
tlU0 = WAC Al IOIHO W0 WGue bOR0G00t 70
the Propaganda and heard speeches deiiv-
cred in thirty Ave or thirty six languages
by converts Of various nations. Among
them were natives Of no less than three
tribes Of rartars, each talking his own die-
ieet. They did not understand each other,
but the Cardinal understood them all, and
could tell with critical nicely the points in
which each jargoI. differed from tho others."
He mastered Chinese late i0 life, and yet he
was able not only to converse with the
Chinese students in the Propaganda, but to |
preach to them and. deliver a set Of homi- |
lice 10 their own tongue. Herr Gowes says
that he spoke eight languages In his pres
enee Of an evening, aad changed from one
to the other with the greatest facility and
without comic andinR the words or pronua-
citation of one language With those OF sn-
other. He sent this came traveller the
meme of God written with bis own hand
in Sc Languages, of which 80 were Earopo-
an, not counting their Subdivisions into
~ Asiatic without counting dia-
lecss ; S African, and four American. Nee.
Eofanti's life was simRle and ehiidlike, snd
devoid Of all preteDsiou.
A NEW RELIGIOUS SRcr.-A now re-