Mexico weekly ledger., 1876-11-02
The Bible in One Hundred Languages.

Sonlo 'no interesting
one of the Bible pavilion: = rs
A little to the southvard of 'Horticul-
tural Hall, upon a shady walk leading
from thence to the Dairy, is a pretty pa.
vilion, to which, attention is attracted
by a large sign upon its front, reading.
"Bibles in One Hundred Languages.T
1t is the pavilion of the American Bible
Society, and we are told it has been
erected ''by special contributions bv a
few friends of the Bible" who have de-
sired that a place should be set apart in
the Exhibition celebrating the Centen-
NAL anniversary of the nation 8 birth
for the especial display of the Book, the
pure teachings of which are the foun.
dations of all free and enlightened Gov
eminent.
The oddly of the sign attracts to the
pavilion a good many people who are
by no means in the habit of reading the
Bible in any language at all, and by
whom its reproduction in 100 languages
is regarded only as an interesting liter
airy curiosity as a curiosity, too, which
needs to be examined before it is
accepted as an absolute fact. The num-
bel seems excessive and to REQUIRE the
substantiation of ocular proof. But as
with the Bible itself, the fulillment is
greater than the promise, for the 100
languages include many dialects, and
the actual number of different versions
of the holy work is no less than 1854. A
mere list of names is not very enliven-
ing reading, yet a list SO fraught with
religious meaning-not to mention its
pathological -value-as is that into which
the Bible has been translated, can
scarcely prove uninterestiny, and may
therefore be given as follows: English,
Hebrew, Greek (ancient and modern,)
Latin, French, Spanish, Catalan, Por-
tuguese, Indo Portuguese, Italian,
Vaudois, Piedmontese, Ronnanese (Ober-
land and Enghadine), Rouman, Welsh,
Gaelic, Irish, Manx, Breton, German,
Dutch, Danish, Swedish, ~Icelandish,
Flemish, Negro-English (Surinam),
Creolese (West Indies), Albanian,
Basque, Russian, Sclavonic, Bohemian,
Bulgarian, Wendish upper and lower),
Slovenian, Servian, Croatian, Samogi-
tian, Lithuanian, Lettish (Livonia),
Polish, Finnish, Norway-Lapponese,
Lap, Esthonian (Russia, Dorpat and
RevaD, Hungarian, Turkish, Greco
Turkish, Tartar-Turkish, Tschuwas-
sian (Russia), Georgian, Syriac Can
Gent and modern), Arabic, Maltese,
Ethiopic, Tigre (Abyssinia), Am
haric (Abyssinia), Armenian Can
Gent and modern), Persian, Loaor-
dish, Sanscrit, Pail (Ceylon), Hindu,
Bengal lin native and Roman
Pasi-Guregati, Marathi, Sudhi Qndia),
Punjabi, Famil, Telugu, Canarese, Ma
layalin, Hindustani Tin native and Ro-
man characters), Orissa (1ndia), Jap
anese Tin native and Roman charac-
ters), Chinese (according to the Bridg-
man and CuIbertsOn version; in Man
DARN and in the %colloquial dialects of
Fuhchan, Ningpo, Amhoy and Shang-
hai-the first three in native. the last
three in Roman ch~aracters), Siamese,
Burman, Khassi Undia), Tibetan, Karen
(Burmah) Malay, Soerabayan Cor Low
Malay, Batavia), Dajak (Borneo), jap
anese, Niasian, Malagasy (Aladagas-
car) ,Narrineyri (Australia) Maori New
Zealand, Nengone (Loyalty Isles ,Lifu,
Iaran. Anertyum New Hebrides), Fro
manga, Fate, Fijian, Rotuman, Toor-
gan, Nieue Savage Island), Samoan,
Tabitian, Ehon, Kusaien, |
Gilbert Islands, Ponape, Swabili, Sc
chuna, Sesute, Zulu, Otiyeherero, Kafir,
Damara, Namacuqa, Dualla, Ibo,
Haussa, Yorubuha, Accra, Tsachi,
Mende, MandurZo, Terune, Benga,G Gre
DO, Mponwe, Greenland, Esquimaux,
Cree Tin native and Roman ~characters),
Time, Malisect, Mohawk, Choctaw,
Seneca, Dakota, Ojibway, Muskokee,
Cherokee (in native characters), Della
ware, Nez Perces, Mayau, Aymara and
The amount of labor expended upon
these translations can scarcely be rea-
liked even by those who have been en-
gagged in similar work, especially as
such work has been of a religious or
technical character, requiring the ut
most care to preserve sense and fact
one set of words into another of differ
powers and different construction.
In the majority of these translations it
has been primarily necessary to reduce
the foreign language to written signs,
an undertaking requiring years OF pa
tient laboriOus research which must be
counted in as a part of the work as a
whole. But al even greater difficulty
has been found in making the language
of heather nations and tribes express
Christian ideas. The theory of the
Christian religion is SO pure. its COM
misunderstanding 81 ~simple-are so
exalted that the vocabularies, ample for
the promotion of Pagan creeds, have
proved inadequate to express the purely
perfect doctrine of Christ. The tongues
framed only to describe the gross, ma
material wants of the body, have re-
quired infinite manipulation-some-
times entire remodeling-to adapt them
to the language of the soul, and it has
been upon this division of their noble
task that the greater portion OF labor
of translation has been expended. The
danger of mistakes in meaning
mistakes which have proved stumbling
blocks in the way of those who might
otherwise believe-rsnders caution OF
no ordinary kind necessary in the work,