The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-04-23
N EIGHTY TONGUES
Cardinal Mezzofanti Could
Converse With Ease.
MIRACLE IN LINGUISTICS
Could Acquire a New Lam
guage in Three Weeks.
MIRACLE IN LINGUISTICS

London, April 22.-1t would be highly
unjust that the world should forget a
man so remarkable for the accuracy and
extent Of his memory as the famous Car
dinal Mezzofanti. Perhaps, however. II
IS as well 10 remind people in general that
IL will Be just fifty years since the death
Of that extraordinary man. who passed
away. at the age Of %. on March Is, 1919
Mezzofantrs name has become rather dim
TO the present generation, indeed, as must
always be the case with a reputation made
by qualities that leave no lasting result
10 the world. He was nothing Of writer
and only a philologist in tte strict ETY.
mologicaI sense of the word-nOt a critical
or exact scholar, but man who knew an
amazing number Of languages and dialects.
Perhaps he is best known to the modern
English reader from the euIogy TO be found
in one OF Byrons memoranda, published
by Moore
Your literary everyday man and l."
says Byron, never went well in company,
especially your foreigner. whom I never
could abide. 1 don't remember q
man amonge them whom I ever wished
20 see twice, except, perhaps, Merchant
who is monster OF learning. the Bria-
reus Of parts Of speech. a walking poly
gIot. and more, who ought to have existed
at the time OF the Tower or Babel as uni
versal Interpreter. He Is indeed a marvel
unassuming also. I tried him IN all the
tongues OF which I knew a single (oath
or adjuration TO the gods against posi-
boys, savages, Tartars, boatmen, sailors
pilots, gondoliers, muleteers, camel drivers,
vetturinI, postmasters, posthorses. post
houses, post everythng), and, egad! he
astounded me-even TO my English"
Mezzofantis linguistic powers were in
deed so remarkable that it is a thousand
pities that the phonograph was not in
vented in time 10 record some Of his
achievements.
We think. and rightly. that we pay a
man a singularly high compliment when
we say that he speaks a language other
than his own so accurately as to deceive
even those who are born to it. In the
last generation a great authority decided
that such a knowledge Of French. for in
stance, could only be assigned to three
Engshmen, one Of whom was the late Mr..
Henry Reeve, whose version OF Tocque-
ville's Democracy in America" was said
to prove that man may know a language
very wen and translate it very badly.
But Mezzofand counted the languages that
he spoke like native" literally in doz-
ems. Cardinal Wiseman. who knew and
loved him, has left a striking testimony TO
this almost preternatural power. In the
seventy or eighty languages OF which he
was master before his death, Merchant
was familiar with all the varieties Of dia-
lect. provincial.sms and patois. He would
detect the particular county in England
from which person came. or the province
in France BY a Psrturuese he
was once 20 his Cardinal Wisemans)
own knowledge taken for a countryman,
and on another occasion he was similarly
mistaken for an EngIishman." He spoke
German and French. says Alfred Maury.
with such perfection that IL was impOs-
sible TO believe that II was an Ita-fan
who was speaking" The mere catalogue
which a learned German scholar gave OF
Mezzofantfs requirements IN 1881 is as
appalling to the average man. who IS
particularly pleased with himself II he
can easily read four or five languages
besides MS own. rs the list OF Gjbbon'y
or Macaulay's reading Is 10 the average
student.
He IS familiar" wrote Goerres. with
all the European languages. and by this
I understand not only the ancient class
| ical tongues and the modern ones OF the
first class. such as the Greek or Latin or
the italian. French. German. Spanish. Por-
tuguese and English; his knowledge eX-
tends also to languages Of the second class.
viz. the Dutch. Danish and Swedish; %
| the whole Sayonic family, Russian. Polish.
Bohemian or Czech; 20 the Serv.an. the
Hungarian, the Turkish, and even 10 those
| Of the third and fourth c'asses-the Irlsh.
the Welsh. the WaIac1ian. the Albanian.
the Bulgarian a7d the Hlyran. Even the
Romani OF the Alps and the Lett6h are
not unknown 70 him; nay. he has made
! himself acqua 'uted with Lapplsh- lie e
master ~ the languages which fail within
the Indo-Cfernanlc family, the Ssns~ri.
| and Persian. the K7ordlsh. the Georgian.
| the Arm niau. nc is familiar with ali the
members Ct the Semetc family. the He
brew. the Arabic. The Syrlac, ire Samar-
,tan. the ChaIEee the Sabaic, ray. even
with the Chinese. which he not cu,y reads
bur speaks. Among the Hanltc languages
he knows Copt.c Eth.'pic, Aoyszin.an.
Auhar-c and Anzo'e-e.
As,er The par1lsal u this not very &C.
e-..fs bit amazing catalogue one p isns
m take breath. The unEulT.c attain
re-ts ~ Mezzofanft. which are supported
-.- che most urcx-eoti5rar.- trstlrncnF
s-N-1 All sides. can only - 1900 p.th
inc 4rrte veno-.s - the ''ra'c-ls'irE t0F-
---c now and --en come % Erht E7
vrhs- seems - - a special and rare t.
rf-v or mental arithmetic Mezz1' 7'i
nut rfz abby - a much better Gee -~s1
any ~ The celebrating boys sTcs-t b.
der ever did. No ono ~7u'f have -aas
q hotter r-a - the "sT-e.5eut urru1rE
ana "r--~7~<af-e eeVcsry - ne c~Ea1 s
n, z7eseh'' 20 wh'-a MeEz7ts-t f11
s---l1rz-zS p = lsugui ste exploits. = Rome.
a. -ze secretary - re Fr1pagsn6e. 20
-,s os.f,e unusual o171--u-l-.e= 20 lz r
ard ex-en5rE Re forav IN Tongues II
,-s snare s-r,-s he 'sao-s5 hT ch1s-e III
80 peg7t prisons. where re -a1~i nat yes
~ every zz---sH5s country. EauT = there
--ers 75- z-k TtasH a-3 hsd s-
--a-~s ~ e-s-x -~iest ready a-s ale
Z, zsrs the- erf-st-a1 c--se'a-50a - a
tongue ths- -ssy caa.I understand car
f.-ai Hzzzsss--l get h.rse't 20 use. tss
zs-. He u8Ts1 a-rrE t-e = --e-s.
--5rsr.e--- p Hss ozr tongue 90 ea
g-rl T. wzz sss6 ;Ea- he Rad -rsel te
miracle - Pe-tecor- Ia h cen --
Ceases have bee- knosrn.'' SAYS Wss-- 70.
a7t persons c11zv 20 taas sEsra9- - p
rrsa - confession. hu. spesk,uE o- =