The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-09-07
TIE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE OLDEh
THAN HOMER.
Cardinal Newman-How hawthorne ""'
Into Print--Mr. Howeiis an Id'a'-t-
.,,ho,s. EarnIngs-Toistors View OF
vyo,neu-Iiterary Notes. =

quest OF EnRianu, Dut ~
ming dates far back of that period and
of all written history. The language
NAV b. traced with certainly 10 a
time when Homer had not wii.leu OF
the wrath of Achilles and the patriot
ism of Hector. 1t was spoken in its ru-
diments before Moses lei the children
of Israel through the wilderness. In
these rudIments it is older than the
greatest invention ever made by man
the invention on which all others de-
pend-the art of writing, which makes
the transmission of human thought
something more than a temporary vl0ra-
ton of the air. aud enables the human
mind to store itself up rs a capital
Welding to future generations what
ever increment they are worthy
to receive. When Doctor John
son wrote his dictionary, aud even
when Webster compiled his, tnglish
was treated as mosaic, formed 10 the
blending of parts from other languages
but labori0is research and hard think
ing are making it plain and palmer that
this is only bali truth. English Is
growth. such as that Of tree, which,
through a vital force inherent in It..
takes I'D and assimilates nutriment
from all substances that are fit 10 feed
il. 1t has it's roots deep down in the
most remote antiquity and If its history
could be fully written il would be
history Of the development OF the
human mimi from the lowest bar
SarIsm TO the highest existing clvihza'
ton. It's Asiatlc origin Is as certain as
ANYTHING can be which depends entirely
on reasoning. However unscicntiiic
and untrusi worthy TIE chronologies of
Asiatic civilization, extending as they
do into what is. to us. the prehistoric
period of the world. there Is every rea-
son TO believe that civilization existed IN
Asia for many centuries before there
was a trace of it even in southern Eu-
rope. where civilization was CLEARLY or
Asiatic origin. AT comparatively re-
cent period Europe has borrowed from
Asia means of thought so important
that they are second to language only
itself. All modern invention IN me-
chanics. and in those vast works OF en-
cheering which depend on mathemat-
les. are a debt we owe to what we call
the Arabic numerals-numerals which
were borrowed by the Arabs or the Per
slams from she East Indians. where they
were in use at a period which cannot
be historically fixed. The Greek and
Roman mathematical processes We're so
cumbersome for the lack of them that
only the few OF the strongest minds
could use them in the intricate
processes and dark ways through which
mind must 20 IN its struggle for the
mastery OF matter. If we con-
slider language as Il part Of this struggle
we gain much juster view OF English
and all other languages We need not
concern ourselves with riddles OF
whether mln was crea,a I'd with the
power Of speech. Investigation has
proven that he has been speaking rs
far back as il has been able to reach.
and in doing SO, 1t has proven. too.
that be once spoke in a very childish
way. II we compare the life of the race
with that of the single man. we may
say that We have found man speaking
aud learning to speak In hi. infancy.
And iI ?, back % this infancy Of man
tat the English language extends 1t
had attained its majority when 10 came
into England. II was then simple but so !
flexible and strong that in compare !
lively short time thereafter King A |
fred, one Of the best and greatest men |
of the Christian era. could translate !
into it the thought Of the Greek and |
Roman civilization --as he did IN the /
midst of the constant danger aud ha- |
rassment of war, rom pure love Of his /
feliOws, at time when all Northern |
Europe was in the darkness Of savage |
ry, The languagehe wrote remalnss still |
unchanged as the means |
Of exchange of thought in our |
every day life. It cannot be read and |
from a mere knowledge of /
modern everyday English. but iis lden-
lily with everyday Ergli9h becomes /
plain atOncc under examination. With /
less study than is necessary to under
stand common fractions thoroughly. |
any child of ten who has learned every
lay English can learn TO understand |
KING Aiired's English. When that l.
lone only one step has % b. taken C.
make it sure that King Alfred English
was once identical with Icelandic. with
swedish, with Danish. with the Dutch
# the Netherlands, and with German,
none Of which as they exist to-day were
n the ordinary sense derived " from
zach other. all being growths from
COMMON stock. A step further back
md similar identity is established
With Greek, with Latin, and
With those languages of which
Russian is the leading European
When this much has
,een done we may return TO the langu
.ee OF Alfred and take a steo forward.
.eaching the time when English and
attn j)ined after the Norman conquest
IS TWO streams from the same spring
mite after long separation. Alfred s
english was hot displaced as the Ian
,uage Of everyday life but it was polish
ii and enriched with many hundreds
# words which Rom1n victories and,
It an earlier period, Greek commerce
lad given TO the barbarous Celts of con-
mental Europe. This completes the
anguage as 1t STANDS to-day, except
hat its pronunciation has been raGi-
ally changed by a movement of the
'oice from the throat toward the front !
# the mouth; and except for a great
mass of words imported one at a time.
hiehy from Greek and Latin. but 20
ONE extent from the low Latin dialects !
low spoken in Italy, France. aud Spain. !
mis- importation is still going on, but s.
English is not necessarily
English. \ least athird OF the ponderou3 I
dictionaries which enteTprising pub !
shers vie with each other in making
lOre pOnderous, are made up Of words /
,hich have taken no root IN English; y
nd which never may. A man who
,rites chiefly in English may embody y
bought in Greek, Hebrew, or Sanskril :
7ords coined into English fosm. but |
hese can only become a part Of Eng /
sh when the mind of the English '
peakiEg people receives the thought /
nd assimilates the word into its Ian 5
uage memory. But excluding such c
lords as thse, and thereby reducing I
ne volume of the language to its mini. {
lum, the necessity Of a more thorough 5
lucation in it is apparent. Every /
lind ia limited i'm thin L M, hv tho ,u,, I y