The Portland daily press., 1877-04-14
THE ARYANs.
Their Language and Their Civilization.

Their Language and Their Civilization.
Last evening John Fiske delivered in the
Mercantile Library Association, before large,
Intelligent and very interested audience, the
second of his course of lectures on "The Ar
vans" In this lecture he considered the print
tive Aryan form of speech, and the evidence
which has convinced schalars beyond all shad-
ow OF doubt that the Indian and some other
Asiatic tongues, and the great group of Euro
pean languages are off-shoots from it. He then
proceeded to reconstruct from testimony which
might seem Enthusiastically improbable to the I'M
learned, but which all students know to be
indubtable. the ancient Aryan civilization
The lecture was one of remarkable interest ;
and it is to be regretted that, from the nature
OF Its subject, but scaht justice can be done to
1t in hurried newspaper report
His theme was consideration of the knowl-
edge which etymology gives of the ancient race
the key to which was furnished by the dscoy-
cry of the relationship existing between the
| European and the Hindoo tongues discovery
brought about by the Jealous study of Sanscrit
which followed the English conquest of India.
line idea that all languages were descended
from common tongue has, indeed prevailed,
but it was merely an assumption based on an
| Misunderstood tradition, and worthy only to be
classed with the crude speculations of astroogy.
In considering this subject. said Mr.. Fiske, L
| shall endeavor to present three things: First,
the character of the Aryan etymology; second,
| The prehistoric culture of that people; and
| third, the beginnings of the study of ancient
| myths. 1t is not enough to establish theory
of kinship that there should be a likeness be-
tween the words of two languages. The Eng
lish has borrowed many Latin words, as it has
taken many from the French; but this does
not place English among the Italic languages.
Even close and sustained likeness in vocabu-
larry is not enough unless it be accompanied by
likeness in grammatical forms. For all our
wealth of Latin words we cannot make single
sentence without introducing some Teutonic
shibboleth Now the demonstrated communi-
ty of the Aryan languages rests not merely on
their possession of a common vocabulary, but
on their retention, in various degrees, of gram
NAUTICAL forms originally common to all. AS
illustration the lecturer gave the forms of the
verb ''To Have in Persian, Kettle, Latin,
Greek, Lithuanian and other varieties of AIRY
an speech.
Community of vocabulary is, however, very
important matter when rightly considered. 1t
is true that any language may borrow large
proportion of its words from an entirely alien
source, as Persian has borrowed from Arabic.
But in comparing the various forms of Aryan
speech we have found criterion which enables
US to distinguish between words that are alike
in two languages because one has borrowed
them from the other, and words that are alike
because they are simply modified forms of the
same aboriginal word. This criterion is found
in "Grimms Law" This law, which the lee
turer illustrated by the varying forms of the
fully explained, and its wide bearings dis
cussed. Unfortunately the discussion and its
illustrations cannot easily be reproduced in
newspaper report. Suffice it to say that the
discovery of the law which regulates consonant
guages has enabled scholars to reconstruct large
portions of the common Aryan mother-tongue
BY comparing together the curiously modified
forms of its modern descendants. The problem
is quite similar to what it would be if classical
Latin were extinct and we were required to re-
produce as much as possible of it from an elab
crate comparison of the vocabularies and gram
NAUTICAL forms of French, Spanish, Italian and
their allied modern dialects.
In no respect do these pathological inquiries |
appear more interesting than in the light which
they throw upon the prehistoric civilization of
our Aryan-speaking forefatbers. No historic |
record, not even vague tradition, is preserved
OF the time when the ancestors of Kelt, Greek. |
Roman and Teuton dwelt in single commu-
nifty with the ancestors of Persian and Hindu.
Even the Oldest Aryan legends preserve only
dim reference to time when the Indo-Per-
sian branch of the family had not yet become
divided. Yet concerning the degree of culture
reached in these remote times, SO far antedat-
ing all conscious historic tradition, the upcou-
scious record of language has given us some
trustworthy information. From the SEEM
1nRly dry study of coDsonants and vowels an
easy process Of inference opens up to us fas-
oinating picture of the life and pursuits and
habits of thought of the people from whose
long-perished form of speech our vowels and
coDsonauts are derived.
Into Mr.. Fiske's method of reconstructing
the Aryan civilization, as the pal9ontologist
reconstructs, sometimes from a single bone
the frame of the long extinct animal of a far
back geologic epoch, this report cannot go.
The process of reconstruction was a fascinst-
ing one, and was watched by the audience with
deep and admiring attention. The conclusions
to which his method leads are that the early
Aryaps had outgrown the nomad stage of
civilization and acquired settled habitatoDs, not
that they gained livelihood chiefly from rear
ing cattle and tilling the ground; that their
women sewed and spun. their men worked in
leather and iron; that to defend their possess
soDs they used the lance, the bow and arrow
the sword and dagger, and to defend their per-
Sons the helmet and buckler; that they knew
and ploughed the seas as well as the land. The
people was doubtless coDgeries of petty
tribes, as Whitney says, under chiefs and kings
and with institutions of patriarchal cast,
among which the reduction to servitude of
prisoners taken in war appears not to have
been wanting
The lecturer concluded by saying, 'Inquir-
les of this sort need no doubt much caution
and sagacity to be conducted successfully; but
when properly sifted there is no more unim-
peachable testimony to the past than that
which the aspect of words gives us. For the
changes of vowel and consonant proceed &C.
cerding to general laws which observation may
detect, but with which no individual will is
able to tamper. And thus it is that in the
winged word which seems to perish in its flight
through the air, we have nevertheless the most
abiding record, though quite unwittingly pre-
served, of the knowledge and achievements of
mankind
The two concluding lectures of the course
will be delivered on Thursday and Friday of
next week. They will follow out the same
line of investigation, but are so complete in
themselves that they can be listened.t to with
profit and pleasure even by those who have
not heard the preceding lectures. On Thurs.
day Professor Fiske treats of the Interpretation
of myths, and on Friday of the Aryan Folk
lore. These discoures deal with much lighter
matter, are of more popular interest than their
predecessors. Instead of Sanskrit roots the
tale is adorned and the moral pointed with
Blue Beard and Red Riding Hood, and other
famous nursery legends which were the relig-
GUS myths ofthe ancient world.
Miss Rogers Benefie.
A large and enthusiastic audience greeted
Miss Genevieve Rogers at her benefit last eve
ming, and its appreciation found expression in
applause, in repeated calls before the curtain,
and in offerings of flowers. Among the floral
tributes" was an elegant boquet from Miss
Marsh, with card expressing her deep gratif
cation at Miss Rogers success and an earnest
hope for her happy future. The play of course
passed off well; it could receive no dull repre-
sentation in the face of so appreciative and de-
monstrative an audience. The talented young
actress has just reason TO be gratified at so
hearty recognition of her genius.
"Maud Muller" despite its fantastic varia
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