1. The Mœso-Gothic.
2. The High Germanic.
3. The Low Germanic.
§ 71. It is in the Mœso-Gothic that the most ancient specimen of any Gothic tongue has been preserved. It is also the Mœso-Gothic that was spoken by the conquerors of ancient Rome; by the subjects of Hermanic, Alaric, Theodoric, Genseric (?), Euric, Athanaric, and Totila.
This history of this language, and the meaning of the term by which it is designated, is best explained by the following passages:—
a.A.D.482. "Trocondo et Severino consulibus—Theodoricus cognomento Valamer utramque Macedoniam, Thessaliamque depopulatus est, Larissam quoque metropolim depredatus, Fausto solo consule (A.D.485)—Idem Theodoricus rex Gothorum Zenonis Augusti munificentia pene pacatus, magisterque præsentis militiæ factus, consul quoque designatus,creditam sibi Ripensis Daciæ partemMœsiæqueinferioris, cum suis satellitibus pro tempore tenuit."—Marcellini Comitis Chronicon, D.N.
b."Frederichus ad Theodoricum regem, qui tunc apud Novam Civitatem provinciæ Mœsiæ morabatur, profectus est."—Vita S. Severini, D.N.
c."Zeno misit ad Civitatem Novam, in quâ erat Theodoricus dux Gothorum, filius Valameris, et eum invitavit in solatium sibi adversus Basiliscum."—Anon. Valesii, p. 663, D.N.
d.Civitas Novais Nicopolis on the Danube; and the nation thus spoken of is the Gothic nation in the time of Zeno. At this time they are settled in the Lower Mœsia, or Bulgaria.
How they got here from thenorthernside of the Danube we find in the history of the reign of Valens. When pressed by intestine wars, and by the movements of the Huns, they were assisted by that emperor, and settled in the parts in question.
Furthermore, they were converted to Christianity; and the Bible was translated into their language by their Bishop Ulphilas.
Fragments of this translation, chiefly from the Gospels, have come down to the present time; and the Bible translation of the Arian Bishop Ulphilas, in the language of the Goths of Mœsia, during the reign of Valens, exhibits the earliest sample of any Gothic tongue.
§ 72. How Gothic tribes reached the Lower Danube is a point upon which there is a variety of opinion. The following facts, however, may serve as the basis of our reasoning.
A.D. 249-251—The Goths are found about equidistant from the Euxine Sea, and the eastern portion of the range of Mount Hæmus, in the Lower Mœsia, and at Marcianopolis. Here they gain a great battle against the Romans, in which the Emperor Decius is killed.
His successor, Gallus, purchases a peace.
Valerian defends himself against them.
During the reign of Gallienus they appear asmaritimewarriors, and ravage Asia Minor, Greece, and Illyria.
A.D. 269—Are conquered at Naissus, on the western boundary of MœsiaSuperiorby Claudius.
A.D. 282—Are defeated by Carus.
A.D. 321—Ravage Mœsia (Inferior?) and Thrace.
A.D. 336—Attacked by Constantine in Dacia—northof the Danube.
A.D. 373—In the reign of Valens (as already stated), they were admitted to settle within the limits of the empire.
§ 73. Now, although all this explains, how a Gothic language was spoken in Bulgaria, and how remnants of it have been preserved until the nineteenth century, the manner in which the tribe who spoke it reached Marcianopolis, so as to conquer the Emperor Decius, inA.D.249, is unexplained.
Concerning this there are three opinions—
A.The Baltic doctrine.According to this the Goths migrated from the Baltic to the Mæotis, from the Mæotis to the Euxine, and from the Euxine to the Danube, along which river they moved fromeast to west.
B.The Getic doctrine.—Here the Goths are made out to be the aborigines of the Lower Danube, of Dacia, Mœsia, and even Thrace; in which case their movement was, also, fromeast to west.
C.The German doctrine.—Here the migration is from west to east, along the course of the Danube, from some part of south-eastern Germany, as its starting-point, to Asia Minor as its extreme point, and to Bulgaria (Mœsia Inferior) as its point of settlement.
§ 74. Respecting the first of these views the most that can be said in its favour is, that it is laid down by Jornandes, who wrote in the fifth century, and founded his history upon the earlier writings of Ablavius and Dexippus, Gothic historians, who, in their turn took their account from the old legends of the Goths themselves—in priscis eorum carminibus, pæne historico ritu. On the other hand, the evidence is, at best, traditional, the fact improbable, and the likelihood of some such genealogy being concocted after the relationship between the Goths of the Euxine, and Germans of the Baltic had been ascertained exceedingly great.
§ 75. The second is supported by no less an authority than Grimm, in his latest work, the History of the German Language;—and the fact of so learned and comprehensive an investigator having admitted it, is, in the mind of the present writer, the only circumstance in its favour. Over and above the arguments that may be founded on a fact which will soon be noticed, the chief reasons are deduced from a list of Dacian or Getic plants in Dioscorides, which are considered to bear names significant in the German. Whether or not, the details of this line of criticism will satisfy the reader who refers to them, it is certain that they are not likely to take a more cogent form than they take in the hands of theDeutsche Grammatik.
§ 76. The third opinion is the likeliest; and if it were not for a single difficulty would, probably, never have been demurred to. The fact in question is the similarity between the wordsGetæandGothi.
The fact that a tribe called G-O-T-H-I should, when they first peopled the Mœsogothic country, have hit upon thecountry of a people with a name so like their own as G-E-T-Æ, by mere accident, is strange. English or American colonies might be sent to some thousand places before one would be found with a name so like that of the mother-country asGetis toGot. The chances, therefore, are that the similarity of name isnotaccidental, but that there is some historical, ethnological, or geographical grounds to account for it. Grimm's view has been noticed. He recognises the difficulty, and accounts for it by making theGothsindigenous to the land of Getæ.
To a writer who (at one and the same time) finds difficulty in believing that this similarity is accidental and is dissatisfied with Grimm's reasoning, there seems to be no other alternative but to consider that the Goths of the Lower Danube had no existence at all in Germanyunder that name, that they left their country under a different[5]one, and that they took the one by which they were known to the Romans (and through them to us), on reaching the land of theGetæ—as, in England, the Saxons ofEssexandWessexdidnot(since they brought their name with them), but as the East and WestKent-ings[6]did.
This doctrine, of course, falls to the ground directly it can be shown that the Goths of Mœsia were either calledGothsin Germany, or any where else, anterior to their settlement in theGeta-land.
Be this, however, as it may, the first division of the Teutonic branch of languages is the Mœso-Gothic of the Goths of the Lower Danube, in the fourth century, as preserved in the translation of Ulphilas, and in other less important fragments.
SPECIMEN.
Lukei. 46-56.
Jah quaþ Mariam. Mikileid saivala meina Fan, jah svegneid ahma meins du Goþa nasjand meinamma. Unte insahu du hnaivenai þiujos seinaizos:sai allis fram himma nu audagjand mik alla kunja. Unte gatavida mis mikilein sa mahteiga, jah veih namo is. Jah armahairtei is in aldins aldê þaim ogandam ina. Gatavida svinthein in arma seinamma; distahida mikilþuhtans gahugdai hairtins seinis; gadrausida mahteigans af stolam, jah ushauhida gahnaividans; gredigans gasôþida þiuþe, jah gabignandans insandida lausans; hleibida Israela þiumagu seinamma, gamundans armahairteins, sva sve rodida du attam unsaraim Abrahaima jah fraiv is und aiv.
Jah quaþ Mariam. Mikileid saivala meina Fan, jah svegneid ahma meins du Goþa nasjand meinamma. Unte insahu du hnaivenai þiujos seinaizos:sai allis fram himma nu audagjand mik alla kunja. Unte gatavida mis mikilein sa mahteiga, jah veih namo is. Jah armahairtei is in aldins aldê þaim ogandam ina. Gatavida svinthein in arma seinamma; distahida mikilþuhtans gahugdai hairtins seinis; gadrausida mahteigans af stolam, jah ushauhida gahnaividans; gredigans gasôþida þiuþe, jah gabignandans insandida lausans; hleibida Israela þiumagu seinamma, gamundans armahairteins, sva sve rodida du attam unsaraim Abrahaima jah fraiv is und aiv.
§ 77. The Old High German, called also Francic and Alemannic, was spoken in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries, in Suabia, Bavaria, and Franconia. It is in the Old High German that the Krist of Otfrid, the Psalms of Notker, the Canticle of Willeram, the Glosses of Kero, the Vita Annonis, &c., are composed.
SPECIMEN.
Krist, i. 12. (Edit. Graff.)
Tho uuarun thar in lante hirta haltente;Thes fehes datun uuarta uuidar fianta.Zi ín quam boto sconi, engil scinenti;Joh uuurtun sie inliuhte fon himilisgen liohte.Forahtun sie in tho gahun so sinan anasahun;Joh hintarquamun harto thes Gotes boten uuorto.Sprah ther Gotes boto sar. "Ih scal íú sagen uuuntar.Ju scal sin fon Gote heil; nales forahta nihein.Ih scal iu sagen imbot, gibot ther himilisgo Got;Ouh nist ther er gihorti so fronisg arunti.Thes uuirdit uuorolt sinu zi euuidon blidu,Joh al giscaft thiu in uuorolti thesa erdun ist ouh dretentiNiuuui boran habet thiz lant then himilisgon Heilant;The ist Druhtin Krist guater fon iungeru muater.In Bethleem thiue kuninga thie uuarun alle thanana,Fon in uuard ouh giboran iu sin muater magad sconu.Sagen ih íú, guate man, uuio ir nan sculut findan,Zeichen ouh gizami thuruh thaz seltsani.Zi theru burgi faret hinana, ir findet, so ih íú sageta,Kind niuuui boranaz in kripphun gilegitaz.Tho quam unz er zin tho sprah engilo heriscaf,Himilisgu menigi, sus alle singenti—In himilriches hohi si Gote guallichi;Si in erdu fridu ouh allen thie fol sin guates uuillen
Tho uuarun thar in lante hirta haltente;Thes fehes datun uuarta uuidar fianta.Zi ín quam boto sconi, engil scinenti;Joh uuurtun sie inliuhte fon himilisgen liohte.Forahtun sie in tho gahun so sinan anasahun;Joh hintarquamun harto thes Gotes boten uuorto.Sprah ther Gotes boto sar. "Ih scal íú sagen uuuntar.Ju scal sin fon Gote heil; nales forahta nihein.Ih scal iu sagen imbot, gibot ther himilisgo Got;Ouh nist ther er gihorti so fronisg arunti.Thes uuirdit uuorolt sinu zi euuidon blidu,Joh al giscaft thiu in uuorolti thesa erdun ist ouh dretentiNiuuui boran habet thiz lant then himilisgon Heilant;The ist Druhtin Krist guater fon iungeru muater.In Bethleem thiue kuninga thie uuarun alle thanana,Fon in uuard ouh giboran iu sin muater magad sconu.Sagen ih íú, guate man, uuio ir nan sculut findan,Zeichen ouh gizami thuruh thaz seltsani.Zi theru burgi faret hinana, ir findet, so ih íú sageta,Kind niuuui boranaz in kripphun gilegitaz.Tho quam unz er zin tho sprah engilo heriscaf,Himilisgu menigi, sus alle singenti—In himilriches hohi si Gote guallichi;Si in erdu fridu ouh allen thie fol sin guates uuillen
Tho uuarun thar in lante hirta haltente;
Thes fehes datun uuarta uuidar fianta.
Zi ín quam boto sconi, engil scinenti;
Joh uuurtun sie inliuhte fon himilisgen liohte.
Forahtun sie in tho gahun so sinan anasahun;
Joh hintarquamun harto thes Gotes boten uuorto.
Sprah ther Gotes boto sar. "Ih scal íú sagen uuuntar.
Ju scal sin fon Gote heil; nales forahta nihein.
Ih scal iu sagen imbot, gibot ther himilisgo Got;
Ouh nist ther er gihorti so fronisg arunti.
Thes uuirdit uuorolt sinu zi euuidon blidu,
Joh al giscaft thiu in uuorolti thesa erdun ist ouh dretenti
Niuuui boran habet thiz lant then himilisgon Heilant;
The ist Druhtin Krist guater fon iungeru muater.
In Bethleem thiue kuninga thie uuarun alle thanana,
Fon in uuard ouh giboran iu sin muater magad sconu.
Sagen ih íú, guate man, uuio ir nan sculut findan,
Zeichen ouh gizami thuruh thaz seltsani.
Zi theru burgi faret hinana, ir findet, so ih íú sageta,
Kind niuuui boranaz in kripphun gilegitaz.
Tho quam unz er zin tho sprah engilo heriscaf,
Himilisgu menigi, sus alle singenti—
In himilriches hohi si Gote guallichi;
Si in erdu fridu ouh allen thie fol sin guates uuillen
The Same, in English.
Then there was in the land herdsmen feeding:Of their cattle they made watch against foes.To them came a messenger fair, an angel shining,And they became lit with heavenly light.They feared, suddenly as on him they looked;And followed much the words of God's messenger:Spake there God's messenger strait, "I shall to you say wonders.To you shall there be from God health; fear nothing at all.I shall to you say a message, the bidding of the heavenly God:Also there is none who has heard so glad an errand.Therefore becomes his world for ever blythe,And all creatures that in the world are treading this earth.Newly borne has this land the heavenly Savior,Who is the Lord Christ, good, from a young mother.In Bethleem, of the kings they were all thence—From them was also born his mother, a maid fair.I say to you, good men, how ye him shall find,A sign and token, through this wonder.To your burgh fare hence, ye find, so as I to you said,A child, new born, in a crib lying."Then came, while he to them spake, of angels an host,A heavenly retinue, thus all singing:"In the heavenly kingdom's highth be to God glory;Be on earth peace also to all who are full of God's will."
Then there was in the land herdsmen feeding:Of their cattle they made watch against foes.To them came a messenger fair, an angel shining,And they became lit with heavenly light.They feared, suddenly as on him they looked;And followed much the words of God's messenger:Spake there God's messenger strait, "I shall to you say wonders.To you shall there be from God health; fear nothing at all.I shall to you say a message, the bidding of the heavenly God:Also there is none who has heard so glad an errand.Therefore becomes his world for ever blythe,And all creatures that in the world are treading this earth.Newly borne has this land the heavenly Savior,Who is the Lord Christ, good, from a young mother.In Bethleem, of the kings they were all thence—From them was also born his mother, a maid fair.I say to you, good men, how ye him shall find,A sign and token, through this wonder.To your burgh fare hence, ye find, so as I to you said,A child, new born, in a crib lying."Then came, while he to them spake, of angels an host,A heavenly retinue, thus all singing:"In the heavenly kingdom's highth be to God glory;Be on earth peace also to all who are full of God's will."
Then there was in the land herdsmen feeding:
Of their cattle they made watch against foes.
To them came a messenger fair, an angel shining,
And they became lit with heavenly light.
They feared, suddenly as on him they looked;
And followed much the words of God's messenger:
Spake there God's messenger strait, "I shall to you say wonders.
To you shall there be from God health; fear nothing at all.
I shall to you say a message, the bidding of the heavenly God:
Also there is none who has heard so glad an errand.
Therefore becomes his world for ever blythe,
And all creatures that in the world are treading this earth.
Newly borne has this land the heavenly Savior,
Who is the Lord Christ, good, from a young mother.
In Bethleem, of the kings they were all thence—
From them was also born his mother, a maid fair.
I say to you, good men, how ye him shall find,
A sign and token, through this wonder.
To your burgh fare hence, ye find, so as I to you said,
A child, new born, in a crib lying."
Then came, while he to them spake, of angels an host,
A heavenly retinue, thus all singing:
"In the heavenly kingdom's highth be to God glory;
Be on earth peace also to all who are full of God's will."
The Middle High German ranges from the thirteenth Century to the Reformation.
§ 78. The Low Germanic Division, to which the Anglo-Saxon belongs, is currently said to comprise six languages, or rather four languages in different stages.
I. II.—The Anglo-Saxon and Modern English.
III.—The Old Saxon.
IV. V.—The Old Frisian and Modern Dutch.
VI.—The Platt-Deutsch, or Low German.
§ 79.The Frisian and Dutch.—It is a current statement that the Old Frisian bears the same relation to the Modern Dutch of Holland that the Anglo-Saxon does to the English.
The truer view of the question is as follows:—
1. That a single language, spoken in two dialects, was originally common to both Holland and Friesland.
2. That from the northern of these dialects we have the Modern Frisian of Friesland.
3. From the southern, the Modern Dutch of Holland.
The reason for this refinement is as follows:—
The Modern Dutch has certain grammatical formsolderthan those of the Old Frisian;e.g., the Dutch infinitives and the Dutch weak substantives, in their oblique cases, end in-en; those of the Old Frisian in-a: the form in-enbeing the older.
§ 80. The true Frisian is spoken in few and isolated localities. There is—
1. The Frisian of the Dutch state called Friesland.
2. The Frisian of the parish of Saterland, in Westphalia.
3. The Frisian of Heligoland.
4. The North Frisian, spoken in a few villages of Sleswick. One of the characters of the North Frisian is the possession of a Dual Number.
§ 81. In respect to its stages, we have the Old Frisian of the Asega-bog, the Middle Frisian of Gysbert Japicx, and the Modern Frisian of the present Frieslanders, Westphalians, and Heligolanders.
Asega-bog, i. 3. p. 13, 14. (Ed. Wiarda.)Thet is thiu thredde liodkest and thes Kynig Kerles ieft, theter allera monna ek ana sina eyna gode besitte umberavat. Hit ne se thet ma hine urwinne mith tele and mith rethe and mith riuchta thingate, sa hebbere alsam sin Asega dema and dele to lioda londriuchte. Ther ne hach nen Asega nenne dom to delande hit ne se thet hi to fara tha Keysere fon Rume esweren hebbe and thet hi fon da liodon ekeren se. Sa hoch hi thenne to demande and to delande tha fiande alsare friounde, thruch des ethes willa, ther hi to fara tha Keysere fon Rume esweren heth, tho demande and to delande widuon and weson, waluberon and alle werlosa liodon, like to helpande and sine threa knilinge. Alsa thi Asega nimth tha unriuchta mida and tha urlouada panninga, and ma hini urtinga mi mith twam sine juenethon an thes Kyninges bonne, sa ne hoch hi nenne dom mar to delande, truch thet thi Asega thi biteknath thene prestere, hwande hia send siande and hia skilun wesa agon there heliga Kerstenede, hia skilun helpa alle tham ther hiam seluon nauwet helpa ne muge.
Asega-bog, i. 3. p. 13, 14. (Ed. Wiarda.)
Thet is thiu thredde liodkest and thes Kynig Kerles ieft, theter allera monna ek ana sina eyna gode besitte umberavat. Hit ne se thet ma hine urwinne mith tele and mith rethe and mith riuchta thingate, sa hebbere alsam sin Asega dema and dele to lioda londriuchte. Ther ne hach nen Asega nenne dom to delande hit ne se thet hi to fara tha Keysere fon Rume esweren hebbe and thet hi fon da liodon ekeren se. Sa hoch hi thenne to demande and to delande tha fiande alsare friounde, thruch des ethes willa, ther hi to fara tha Keysere fon Rume esweren heth, tho demande and to delande widuon and weson, waluberon and alle werlosa liodon, like to helpande and sine threa knilinge. Alsa thi Asega nimth tha unriuchta mida and tha urlouada panninga, and ma hini urtinga mi mith twam sine juenethon an thes Kyninges bonne, sa ne hoch hi nenne dom mar to delande, truch thet thi Asega thi biteknath thene prestere, hwande hia send siande and hia skilun wesa agon there heliga Kerstenede, hia skilun helpa alle tham ther hiam seluon nauwet helpa ne muge.
The Same, in English.
That is the third determination and concession of King Charles, that of all men each one possess his own goods (house?) unrobbed. It may not be that any man overcome him with charge (tales), and with summons (rede), and with legal action. So let him hold as his Asega (judge) dooms and deals according to the land-right of the people. There shall no Asega deal a doom unless it be that before the Cæsar of Rome he shall have sworn, and that he shall have been by the people chosen. He has then to doom and deal to foes as to friends, through the force (will) of the oath which he before the Cæsar of Rome has sworn, to doom and to deal to widows and orphans, to wayfarers and all defenceless people, to help them as his own kind in the third degree. If the Asega take an illegal reward, or pledged money, and a man convict him before two of his colleagues in the King's Court, he has no more to doom, since it is the Asega that betokens the priest, and they are seeing, and they should be the eyes of the Holy Christendom, they should help all those who may nought help themselves.
That is the third determination and concession of King Charles, that of all men each one possess his own goods (house?) unrobbed. It may not be that any man overcome him with charge (tales), and with summons (rede), and with legal action. So let him hold as his Asega (judge) dooms and deals according to the land-right of the people. There shall no Asega deal a doom unless it be that before the Cæsar of Rome he shall have sworn, and that he shall have been by the people chosen. He has then to doom and deal to foes as to friends, through the force (will) of the oath which he before the Cæsar of Rome has sworn, to doom and to deal to widows and orphans, to wayfarers and all defenceless people, to help them as his own kind in the third degree. If the Asega take an illegal reward, or pledged money, and a man convict him before two of his colleagues in the King's Court, he has no more to doom, since it is the Asega that betokens the priest, and they are seeing, and they should be the eyes of the Holy Christendom, they should help all those who may nought help themselves.
§ 82.The Low German and Platt-Deutsch.—The wordsLow Germanare not only lax in their application, but they areequivocal; since the term has two meanings, ageneralmeaning when it signifies a division of the Germanic languages, comprising English, Dutch, Anglo-Saxon, Old Saxon, and Frisian, and a limited one when it means the particular dialects of the Ems, the Weser, and the Elbe. To avoid this the dialects in question will be henceforth called by their continental name ofPlatt-Deutsch; which although foreign, is convenient.
§ 83. The points of likeness and difference between two languages belonging to different branches of the same Gothic stock may be partially collected from the following comparison between certain Icelandic, Norse or Scandinavian, and certain Anglo-Saxon or Germanic inflections.
Declension of substantives ending with avowel.
Declension of Substantives ending with aConsonant.
§ 84. The most characteristic difference between the Saxon and Icelandic lies in the peculiar position of the definite article in the latter language. In Saxon, the article corresponding with the modern wordthe, isþæt,se,seó, for the neuter, masculine, and feminine genders respectively; and these words, regularly declined, areprefixedto the words with which they agree, just as is the case with the English and with the majority of languages. In Icelandic, however, the article, instead of preceding,followsits noun,with which it coalesces, having previously suffered a change in form. The Icelandic article corresponding toþæt,se,seó, ishitt(N.),hinn(M.),hin(F.): from this thehis ejected, so that, instead of the regular inflection (a), we have the forms (b).
whence, as an affix, in composition,
§ 85. In the Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish this peculiarity in the position of the definite article is preserved. Its origin, however, is concealed; and an accidental identity with the indefinite article has led to false notions respecting its nature. In the languages in point theiis changed intoe, so that what in Icelandic isitandin, is in Danishetanden.En, however, as a separate word, is the numeralone, and also the indefinite articlea; whilst in the neuter gender it iset—en Sol,a sun; et Bord,a table: Solen,the sun; Bordet,the table. From modern forms like those just quoted, it has been imagined that the definite is merely the indefinite article transposed. This it is not.
Reference will be made to this passage on more occasions than one, to show how words originally distinct may, in the process of time, take the appearance of being identical. To apply an expression of Mr. Cobbett's,en=a, and-en=the, arethe same combination of letters, but not the same word.
DECLENSION OF ADJECTIVES.
§ 86. Observe in the Icelandic forms the absence of the termination-an. Observe also the neuter termination-t, ashagr,hagt. Throughout the modern forms of the Icelandic (viz.the Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian languages) this termination is still preserved: e.g.,en god Hest, a good horse;et godt Hjært, a good heart;en skön Pige, a beautiful damsel;et skarpt Svœrd, a sharp sword.
§ 87. Amongst the pronouns the following differences present themselves. The Saxon forms are, for the pronoun of the second person,þu(thou),git(yetwo),ge(ye); whilst in Icelandic they areþu,þið,per, respectively. Again, in Saxon there is no reflective pronoun corresponding with the Latinse. In Icelandic we havesik,sér,sin, corresponding to the Latinse,sibi,suus. Besides this, the wordsinis declined, so that like the Latinsuusit becomes adjectival.
In Saxon there is of course no such an adjectival form.Therethe Possessives of the Third Person correspond not with the Latinsuus,sua,suum; but with the Latinejusandeorum. The English wordshisandheraregenitivecases, notadjectives.
Further remarks upon the presence of the Reflective Pronounsikin Icelandic, and its absence in Saxon, will appear in the sequel.
THE NUMERALS.
Of the Icelandic verbs the infinitives end in-a; askalla, to call;elska, to love; whereas the Saxon termination is-an; aslufian, to love;wyrcan, to work.
§ 88. The persons are as follows:—
§ 89. The characteristic, however, of the Icelandic (indeed, of all the Scandinavian languages) is the possession of apassiveform, or apassivevoice, ending in-st:—Ek,þu,hann brennist=I,thou,he is burnt;Ver brennumst=We are burnt;þér brennizt=ye are burnt;þeir brennast=they are burnt. Past tense,Ek,þu,hann brendist;ver brendumst,þér brenduzt,þeir brendust. Imperat.:brenstu=be thou burnt. Infinit.:brennast=to be burnt.
In the modern Danish and Swedish, the passive is still preserved, but without the finalt. In theolderstages of Icelandic, on the other hand, the termination was not-stbut-sc; which-scgrew out of the reflective pronounsik. With these phenomena the Scandinavian languages give us the evolution and development of a passive voice; wherein we have the following series of changes:—1st. the reflective pronoun coalesces with the verb, whilst the sense changes from that of a reflective to that of a middle verb; 2nd. thecchanges tot, whilst the middle sense passes into a passive one; 3rd.tis dropped from the end of the word, and the expression that was once reflective then becomes strictly passive.
Now the Saxons have no passive voice at all. That they should have oneoriginatinglike that of the Scandinavians was impossible. Having no reflective pronoun, they had nothing to evolve it from.
§ 90. Recapitulating, we find that the characteristic differences of the greatest importance between the Icelandic and Saxon are three in number:—
1st. The peculiar nature of the definite article.
2nd. The neuter form of the adjectives in-t.
3rd. The existence of a passive voice in-sc,-st, or-s.
§ 91. In the previous comparison the substantives were divided as follows:—1st. into those ending with a vowel; 2ndly, into those ending with a consonant. In respect to the substantives ending with a vowel (eáge,nama,tunge), it may have been observed that their cases were in A. S. almostexclusively formed in-n, aseágan,tungan, &c.; whilst words likeskipandsmiðhad, throughout their whole declension, no case formed in-n; no case indeed wherein the sound of-nentered. This enables us (at least with the A. S.) to make a general assertion concerning the substantives ending in avowelin contrast to those ending in aconsonant, viz. that they take an inflection in-n.
In Icelandic this inflection in-nis concealed by the fact of-anhaving been changed into-a. However, as this-arepresents-an, and as fragments or rudiments of-nare found in the genitive plurals of the neuter and feminine genders (augna,tungna), we may make the same general assertion in Icelandic that we make in A. S.,viz.that substantives ending in a vowel take an inflection in-n.
§ 92. The points of likeness and difference between two languages, belonging to differentdivisionsof the same Germanicbranch, may be partially collected from the following comparison between certain Mœso-Gothic and certain Anglo-Saxon inflections.
§ 93. It must, however, be premised, that, although the distinction between nouns taking an inflection in-n, and nouns not so inflected, exists equally in the Mœso-Gothic and the Icelandic, the form in which the difference shows itself is different; and along with the indication of this difference may be introduced the important termsweakandstrong, as applied to the declension of nouns.
Weaknouns end in a vowel; or, if in a consonant, in a consonant that has become final from the loss of the vowel that originally followed it. They also form a certain proportion of their oblique cases in-n, or an equivalent to-n—Nom.augô, gen.aug-in-s.
Strongnouns end in a consonant; or, if in a vowel, in one of the vowels allied to the semivowelsyorw, and through them to the consonants. They also form their oblique cases by the addition of a simple inflection, without the insertion ofn.
Furthermore, be it observed thatnounsin general areweakandstrong, in other words, that adjectives areweakorstrong, as well as substantives. Between substantives and adjectives, however, there is this difference:—
1. A substantive iseitherweak or strong,i.e., it has one of the two inflections, but not both.Augô=an eye, is weak under all circumstances;waurd=a word, is strong under all circumstances.
2. An adjective isbothweak and strong. The Anglo-Saxon forgoodis sometimesgod(strong), sometimesgode(weak). Which of the two forms is used depends not on the word itself, but on the state of its construction.
In this respect the following two rules are important:—
1. The definite sense is generally expressed by the weak form, asse blinde man=the blind man.
2. The indefinite sense is generally expressed by the strong form, assum blind man=a blind man.
Hence, as far as adjectives are concerned, the wordsdefiniteandindefinitecoincide with the wordsweakandstrongrespectively, except that the former are terms based on the syntax, the latter terms based on the etymology of the word to which they apply.
Declension of Weak Substantives in Mœso-Gothic.
Declension of Strong Substantives in Mœso-Gothic.
These may be compared with the Saxon declensions; viz.aúgôwitheáge,mannawithnama,tuggôwithtunge,vaúrdwithleáf,fiskswithsmið, andbrûþswithspræc.
Declension of Weak (or Definite) Adjectives in Mœso-Gothic.[8]
Declension of strong (or indefinite) adjectives in Mœso-Gothic.[9]
Observe—In the neuter formblindataM. G. we have the sound oft, as in Icelandic. This becomesz(ts) in Old High German, andsin modern German.
The conjugation of the M. G. is as follows. From the Anglo-Saxon it differs most in its plural persons.