1000000030

895 / 1042

L A N
child of lhe Latio !l~guage, ami is commonly believed
lo' be lbe aneieot Latin a lillle debaCed by the mixture of
Ihe barbarous langulge of thoCe people who l·
laly. The trutb is, il is direaly the reverCe: for tbis
language, in ilS general idiom, and fundamental princi.
pIes, is evidently of the analogous kiod, firH intr08uced
by theCe 6erce iovadera, altbough it has borrowed maay
of in words, aod Come of in modes of phraCeology, from
(he Latin, with which they were fo iatimately blended
that tbis could fcarcely be avoided j and it bas been from
remarking this Oight connetlion fo obvious at 6rll fight,
Ihat fuperficial obCervers have beeo led tO draw this gene·
ral conclufoon, fo contrary 10 faa.
When ltaly was over·ruo Wilh the Lombards, and Ibe
empire deflroyed by theCe northero iftvadm, they, as
(ooquero", Cpeak their owo native laoguage.
Fieree and illiterale, they would OOt floop tO the Cervility
of fludyiog a language Co clogged with rules, aod diffieult
of attaiomeo!, as the Latin behoved tO be to a people al·
togelber unacquainled wi!h nice grammatical dillinaioos!
.while tbe Romao! of oeceílity were obliged 10 fludy Ihe
laoguage of !heir cooquerors, as wdl !O oblain fome re·
lief of their griev¡nces by prayers aod fupplicalions, as
tO dellroy that odious diflioélion whieb fubfined betweeo
.Ihe cooquerors aod conquered while !hey eonlioued as
dininft people. As !he language of their oew ma(len,
although rude aod confoned, was natural io its order, and
cafy tO be acquired, !he Latios would fooo attaio a como
pe!enllkill io it: and as lhey bore fuch a proportiDo to
Ihe whole oumber of p~ople, !be whole Janguage behoved
lo pamke fome\9bat of the general fouod of!he former:
for, io fpite of all their effortl tOlhe contrary, the organs
of Cpeech could 001 a! ooee be made 10 acquire a perfeél
power of ullering any uoaccuflomed Couods; aod as the
language ~f the barbariaD.l behoved 10 be mueh lefs eo·
pious Ihao Ihe Latin, whenever they found themCelves a!
a IoCs for a word, they would ealurally adopt IhoCe whieh
inofl readily preCented IhemCdves from !heir oew fub·
jeas. Thus a language in time was formed, COf1jewhal
reCembling Ihe Latio, bolh io the general tenor of the
founds, and in !he meaniog of many words: and as the
barbarians gove themfclns liule trouble about Janguage,
aod in fome cafes' p~rhaps'hardly knew the general ana,
logy of their owo language, i! is ROt Curprifiog if their
new.Cubjefts fhoald find themftlvcs Cometimes at a lofs on
that aecount, or if, in IheCe fitllA\ions, Ihey followcd,
on fome ,occafions, the ,ánalogy Cuggefied to Ihem' by
Iheir own: ",hieh aecounts for Ihe ,flraoce degree of
mixture of helerogeneoos grammatical analogy we meet
\IIilb io Ibe ltaliao as weU as Spanilh and Freneh lao.
guages.-The ldiom of all the Gothie languages is pureo
Iy analogous; aod io all probabililY, before their mix·
ture witb the LalÍns and otber peop:~ in lhe;r provioees,
the feveral grammatieal pans of (peech followed the
plaio ftmple idea which that fuppofes; thevcrbs and oouns
\Vere a1l probably varicd by auxiliaries, and their adjee.
lives relaincd Iheir fompleua alterahle 11m :-but by cheir
mixlure ,with the L~tins, Ibis fimple form has betn ilr
many caCes altered; !heir verbs become io fome cafes
inftetled; bUI their nouns in all the(e langu~ges lIill re·
uiaed Ihei¡ original forOl i althouch II:ey hare r~,rit'd
L A N
Iheir adjetli\'es, and (ool,fhly c10gged lheir oOllns Wilh
gender, aeeording to Ihe Latin idioms. From lhis he.
terogeoeous, and fortuitous (as we may fay, beCdu(e in.
judicions) miKture of parts, reCults a language po{!'e!liog
almofl all the defeéls of eaeh of the Janguages of ",hieh
it is compoCed; with few of the excellencies of either :
for il has nei!her the cafe and precifion of the Ql1a¡ogoul.
nor die pomp and boldnefs of the 'ranfpojilíve langua.
ges; at the Came time !hat it is c10gged with almol! as
many rules, and liable to as gual abuCes.
TheCe obCervations are equally applicable to the French
and Spanifh, a~ 10 the ltalian language.-With regarel
10 this lall io particular, we may obCerve, Iha! as !he
Datural iohabitantS of Ilaly, before the la(l. invafiol\
of the barbariaos, were funk and enervated by luxury
aod tba! depreffion of mind aod geoius whicb anarchy
always produces j !hey had become fond of feafling and
eotertaioments, and Ihe enjoymeDI of fenCual pleaCures
eooflituted their higbetl deligbl i and Iheir language par.
took of Ihe fame debililYas their body.--The barba–
riaos loo-uoaceu(lomed tb the reduaions of plearure _.
foon fel! from Iheir origioal boldnefs and intrepidiIY,_
and, like Haonibal's Iroops of old, were eoervated by !he
feoCual grali6cations ioto, which a oation of conquerors.
unaccuflomed !O the reflraiot of governmeot freely in–
dulged.-The· foflneCs of Ihe air-rhe ferlilily of Iho
dimale-Ihe uo.ccuflomed flow of riche, which they ac
once aC'luired,-logether with !he voluptuous manoer
of their conquered fubjeas,-aU coaCpired 10 eoer–
vate their miads, and reoder them Coft and eff~mioa!
\Vooder lhen, if a language oew·mouldcd fhould al
tbis juoaure partake of the genius of the people wh()
formed it; aod infiead of participating of Ibe mmiaJ.
boldnefs and ferocity ofeilherof !heir aDcdloT!, fhould bG
foftened and eofeebled by every device which an efl'cmi.
nale people eould iDvenl.--The firongeonConaotl whicb.
terOlinated the words, and gave tbem life and boldners.
being thought too harlh for the dclieate ears of theCefona
of Ilotb, were Danilhed t\leir language ó-while ConorouS'
voweh, wh.ich eould be protratled to any length Í1l mufie,
were fubflilu!ed iD Ihei r lIead.--Thos the Italian lao–
guage is forrned flowiog aod barmonious, but deflitu!e of
Ihofe oerves which contlitute the tlrenglh and vigour.
of a language: at tbe fame time, the founds are neitbe!
enougb diverfified, 'Dor io IbemCelves of fueh al> agreeable
lone, a~ !o afFord great pleaCure witbout the .id of mufo.
eal nOtes ;-and the fmaUpleaCure whichthis affords is flilL
leG'ened by the little variety of mea(ure which the grcae
Gmilarity uf the lerminatioo of words occafioos.-Hence
il happeos. that tbis laoguage is fitted for excelling in
fewer branches of literature than almollany other :-aod
althollgb we haye exceUent I~tlorians, and more than Dr·
dinary pom, in this languagt: ye! they labour under
great inconveniences from the language in \Vhich tbey'
write,-as it w,nts nerves aod lIatclinefs for the foro
mer,-and fufficient yariety of modulacion for the h t·
ter.-lt is, more particul. r1y on rhis aceount, alcogether
uofit ror an epie poeOl :-aod although attcmptshayeb« n
made in Ihis w. y by l\VO m, n, ",hoCe genius, if not
fctrered by th~ languase, might llave beco crownecl
\\ itb Cuceds j y~t Ih&, notll'lt!.!l.\nding lite fame th.L
w¡tlt