The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-04-09
THE GREA TEST LINGUJST.
of Some Eighty Languages, and
Able to Acquire IA New One in Three Weeks.

Able to Acquire n New one in Three weeks.
From n, Manchester Guardian.
It would he highly unjust that the world
should furGo:a:man so remarkable for the ac-
curacy and extent Of his memory as the famous
Cardinal Mez2oianti. Perhaps. however. it ia
as well to remind people in general that 1t will
be Just nifty wears next Wednesday since the
death OF that eXtraordinary.man. who passed
away. at the age Of 20. on March II. 1S49.
NiezHolanti's name has become rather dim to
HE present generation. indeed. as must always
be the ease with a reputation made by quail
ties that leave no lasting result to the world.
He was nothing Of II writer and only n philolo-
gist in the strict etymologicol sense of the
word-not a critical or exac. scholar. but a
man who knew an amazing number OF Ian
GuaGes and dialects. Perhaps he is best known
to the modern English reader from the eulcGy
to be folnd in ono Of Byron's memoranda.
published hy Moore. Your literary every
day man and L. says Byron. never went well
in company. especially your foreigner. whom
i never could abide. \ / don't remember
a man among them whom | ever wished to see
twice. except. perhaps. Mszzophanti. who is a
monster Of learning. the Briareus OF parts OF
speech. a walking %polyglot. and more. who
ought to have existed at the time Of the Tower
Of Babel as universal Interpreter. He is in
deed n Notwithstanding also. ! tried him
In all the tongues of which | knew a single
oath or adluration to the gods against post
boys. savaGes. Tartars. hUatmen. sailors. pilots.
.ondoliers. mul"teers. camel drivers. retturiui.
postmasters, posthorses. posthouses. post
everything. and. eGad! he astounded me
even to my English
Me2Ipiantls linguistic powers were indeed so
remarkaole that II is a thousand .ities that the
phonoE raph was not inV-nt-d in time to record
some OF his achievements. We. hink. and
riHntIy. that we Iay a man a ,siugularly high
TnnllllllslAnt when AZ ga fhnt hA = uaaEA III n n
guaEe other than his own 30 accurately as to
deceive cvsn those who are born to it,. In the
slcbla knowledge of french, for instance. could
only be assigned to three. EnGlishmen one OF
version Of Tocquevile's Democracy in.Amer-
i"a' was said to proTe that Il man may know a
Bur Me%Zotanti counted the languages that he
s?oke like a native literally in dozens. Car
dinal Mi.eman. who knew and loved him. has
ley a T'rtking testimony to this almost prefer
natural power. In the seventy or eighty Ian
Guagss Of which, he was master before his
death, Mezhoianti was familiar with all Tho
varieties OF dialect, provinciullsms and patois.
He would detect the particular county in Eng
lang iI0m which II Ierf 10 came; or the province
once, to hi. Cardinal HW,seimaaannT" : own In W.
edge, taken for a countryrlHn, and on another
occasion ho was similarlY-mistaken for an
EnGlishlnan.,, lie SPOKE German and french.
says Alfred Maury. with such perfection that
I was impossible To believe that il was an
Italian who was speaking" The mere cata-
l9gne which a learned German scholar gave
VI .Nh'EE''lhl.NI h''lIli tlllcIIlN III lof l Is as lb-
palliug to the average man, who is %pnrtict.
Iarly pleased with himself II he can easily read
-four or i've languages besides his own, as the
list Of Gibbun : or Mlcaulay's reading is TO
the average student. Il is worth quoting in
all its badness. for only n mass Of detail can
helm one TO appreciate what a knowledge II
seventy or eighty languages really means:
He II familiar, wrOteS CORES, with all
he EurOrean languages. and hy this ! under
stand not uhIN the ancient classical tongues
aud the modern ones OF the first class, ST.. h as
the Crock ur.LHtiu. or.thu italian. French,
herman, SuanISh, Portuguese and English.
his AnowledEe extends Also to languages OF
n" second "Ia-s VIZ. the Dutch. Danish and
Swcdl sh; to IA" whole Slayonic family. Rus
sian. 'iD.ISh, Bohemian or Czech: 10 the Ser
viaH. the hungariau, the Turkish: and even
TO. th"t,e Of the thirl, and fourth "lasses-the
Irish, tn" Welsh. the Wallarhian. the Albanian,
tho buIsaiian and the i%llyrian. Even tho Ru-
lrtni OF the Alps and the Iettish are not un-
Inuwn-to hiGn nay, lie has made himself ar-
quintet VIII lanItSh, llo is master Of the
language" which tall within the Inlo. Ger
mani, FAMILY. The SlnScrlt and Persian. the
koordIsh. m" Georgian. the Armsnisn he ia
familiar with all lie members Of the Semitic
family. the Hebrew. the Arabic, the Svriac.
the Samaritan. The thuldee, the Sahair: nay.
even win IA" Chinese. which he not only
reads. but steaks. Among the Na;citic Ian
Gunf"S he kl,pYS CoDtic. l%thIOllc. Ahyssinian.
Amharir and kugulcsc.
s~Aiter the lrrusHl Of this not verv scientific
bur nmNIlnE catalogue ono pauses TO take
breath. The IAguistl" attainments Of MeZzu-
iintl, which are suppOfted hv the most uneN.
he .comTared with the achievements ~ the
,."n!cul itlnE bows who now and then come 10
light With what seems 10 he a sneciHl and rare
iGcuiy for mental arithmetic. Mezzofanti nut
me- hhiltl 10 a much hetter use than any OF tho
calculating boys except Bidder. ever did.