the zincali-第51部分

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or；　the　land　watered　by　the　river　Indus。







The　most　celebrated　of　these　languages　is　the　Sanskrida；　or；　as　it　



is　known　in　Europe；　the　Sanscrit；　which　is　the　language　of　religion　



of　all　those　nations　amongst　whom　the　faith　of　Brahma　has　been　



adopted；　but　though　the　language　of　religion；　by　which　we　mean　the　



tongue　in　which　the　religious　books　of　the　Brahmanic　sect　were　



originally　written　and　are　still　preserved；　it　has　long　since　



ceased　to　be　a　spoken　language；　indeed；　history　is　silent　as　to　any　



period　when　it　was　a　language　in　common　use　amongst　any　of　the　



various　tribes　of　the　Hindus；　its　knowledge；　as　far　as　reading　and　



writing　it　went；　having　been　entirely　confined　to　the　priests　of　



Brahma；　or　Brahmans；　until　within　the　last　half…century；　when　the　



British；　having　subjugated　the　whole　of　Hindustan；　caused　it　to　be　



openly　taught　in　the　colleges　which　they　established　for　the　



instruction　of　their　youth　in　the　languages　of　the　country。　　Though　



sufficiently　difficult　to　acquire；　principally　on　account　of　its　



prodigious　richness　in　synonyms；　it　is　no　longer　a　sealed　language；　



…　its　laws；　structure；　and　vocabulary　being　sufficiently　well　known　



by　means　of　numerous　elementary　works；　adapted　to　facilitate　its　



study。　　It　has　been　considered　by　famous　philologists　as　the　mother　



not　only　of　all　the　languages　of　Asia；　but　of　all　others　in　the　



world。　　So　wild　and　preposterous　an　idea；　however；　only　serves　to　



prove　that　a　devotion　to　philology；　whose　principal　object　should　



be　the　expansion　of　the　mind　by　the　various　treasures　of　learning　



and　wisdom　which　it　can　unlock；　sometimes　only　tends　to　its　



bewilderment；　by　causing　it　to　embrace　shadows　for　reality。　　The　



most　that　can　be　allowed；　in　reason；　to　the　Sanscrit　is　that　it　is　



the　mother　of　a　certain　class　or　family　of　languages；　for　example；　



those　spoken　in　Hindustan；　with　which　most　of　the　European；　whether　



of　the　Sclavonian；　Gothic；　or　Celtic　stock；　have　some　connection。　　



True　it　is　that　in　this　case　we　know　not　how　to　dispose　of　the　



ancient　Zend；　the　mother　of　the　modern　Persian；　the　language　in　



which　were　written　those　writings　generally　attributed　to　



Zerduscht；　or　Zoroaster；　whose　affinity　to　the　said　tongues　is　as　



easily　established　as　that　of　the　Sanscrit；　and　which；　in　respect　



to　antiquity；　may　well　dispute　the　palm　with　its　Indian　rival。　　



Avoiding；　however；　the　discussion　of　this　point；　we　shall　content　



ourselves　with　observing；　that　closely　connected　with　the　Sanscrit；　



if　not　derived　from　it；　are　the　Bengali；　the　high　Hindustani；　or　



grand　popular　language　of　Hindustan；　generally　used　by　the　learned　



in　their　intercourse　and　writings；　the　languages　of　Multan；　



Guzerat；　and　other　provinces；　without　mentioning　the　mixed　dialect　



called　Mongolian　Hindustani；　a　corrupt　jargon　of　Persian；　Turkish；　



Arabic；　and　Hindu　words；　first　used　by　the　Mongols；　after　the　



conquest；　in　their　intercourse　with　the　natives。　　Many　of　the　



principal　languages　of　Asia　are　totally　unconnected　with　the　



Sanscrit；　both　in　words　and　grammatical　structure；　these　are　mostly　



of　the　great　Tartar　family；　at　the　head　of　which　there　is　good　



reason　for　placing　the　Chinese　and　Tibetian。







Bearing　the　same　analogy　to　the　Sanscrit　tongue　as　the　Indian　



dialects　specified　above；　we　find　the　Rommany；　or　speech　of　the　



Roma；　or　Zincali；　as　they　style　themselves；　known　in　England　and　



Spain　as　Gypsies　and　Gitanos。　　This　speech；　wherever　it　is　spoken；　



is；　in　all　principal　points；　one　and　the　same；　though　more　or　less　



corrupted　by　foreign　words；　picked　up　in　the　various　countries　to　



which　those　who　use　it　have　penetrated。　　One　remarkable　feature　



must　not　be　passed　over　without　notice；　namely；　the　very　



considerable　number　of　Sclavonic　words；　which　are　to　be　found　



embedded　within　it；　whether　it　be　spoken　in　Spain　or　Germany；　in　



England　or　Italy；　from　which　circumstance　we　are　led　to　the　



conclusion；　that　these　people；　in　their　way　from　the　East；　



travelled　in　one　large　compact　body；　and　that　their　route　lay　



through　some　region　where　the　Sclavonian　language；　or　a　dialect　



thereof；　was　spoken。　　This　region　I　have　no　hesitation　in　asserting　



to　have　been　Bulgaria；　where　they　probably　tarried　for　a　



considerable　period；　as　nomad　herdsmen；　and　where　numbers　of　them　



are　still　to　be　found　at　the　present　day。　　Besides　the　many　



Sclavonian　words　in　the　Gypsy　tongue；　another　curious　feature　



attracts　the　attention　of　the　philologist　…　an　equal　or　still　



greater　quantity　of　terms　from　the　modern　Greek；　indeed；　we　have　



full　warranty　for　assuming　that　at　one　period　the　Spanish　section；　



if　not　the　rest　of　the　Gypsy　nation；　understood　the　Greek　language　



well；　and　that；　besides　their　own　Indian　dialect；　they　occasionally　



used　it　for　considerably　upwards　of　a　century　subsequent　to　their　



arrival；　as　amongst　the　Gitanos　there　were　individuals　to　whom　it　



was　intelligible　so　late　as　the　year　1540。







Where　this　knowledge　was　obtained　it　is　difficult　to　say；　…　perhaps　



in　Bulgaria；　where　two…thirds　of　the　population　profess　the　Greek　



religion；　or　rather　in　Romania；　where　the　Romaic　is　generally　



understood；　that　they　DID　understand　the　Romaic　in　1540；　we　gather　



from　a　very　remarkable　work；　called　EL　ESTUDIOSO　CORTESANO；　written　



by　Lorenzo　Palmireno：　　this　learned　and　highly　extraordinary　



individual　was　by　birth　a　Valencian；　and　died　about　1580；　he　was　



professor　at　various　universities　…　of　rhetoric　at　Valencia；　of　



Greek　at　Zaragossa；　where　he　gave　lectures；　in　which　he　explained　



the　verses　of　Homer；　he　was　a　proficient　in　Greek；　ancient　and　



modern；　and　it　should　be　observed　that；　in　the　passage　which　we　are　



about　to　cite；　he　means　himself　by　the　learned　individual　who　held　



conversation　with　the　Gitanos。　（66）　　EL　ESTUDIOSO　CORTESANO　was　



reprinted　at　Alcala　in　1587；　from　which　edition　we　now　copy。







'Who　are　the　Gitanos？　　I　answer；　these　vile　people　first　began　to　



show　themselves　in　Germany；　in　the　year　1417；　where　they　call　them　



Tartars　or　Gentiles；　in　Italy　they　are　termed　Ciani。　　They　pretend　



that　they　come　from　Lower　Egypt；　and　that　they　wander　about　as　a　



penance；　and　to　prove　this；　they　show　letters　from　the　king　of　



Poland。　　They　lie；　however；　for　they　do　not　lead　the　life　of　



penitents；　but　of　dogs　and　thieves。　　A　learned　person；　in　the　year　



1540；　prevailed　with　them；　by　dint　of　much　persuasion；　to　show　him　



the　king's　letter；　and　he　gathered　from　it　that　the　time　of　their　



penance　was　already　expired；　he　spoke　to　them　in　the　Egyptian　



tongue；　they　said；　however；　as　it　was　a　long　time　since　their　



departure　from　Egypt；　they　did　not　understand　it；　he　then　spoke　to　



them　in　the　vulgar　Greek；　such　as　is　used　at　present　in　the　Morea　



and　Archipelago；　SOME　UNDERSTOOD　IT；　others　did　not；　so　that　as　all　



did　not　understand　it；　we　may　conclude　that　the　language　which　they　



use　is　a　feigned　one；　（67）　got　up　by　thieves　for　the　purpose　of　



concealing　their　robberies；　like　the　jargon　of　blind　beggars。'







Still　more　abundant；　however；　than　the　mixture　of　Greek；　still　more　



abundant　than　the　mixture　of　Sclavonian；　is　the　alloy　in　the　Gypsy　



language；　wherever　spoken；　of　modern　Persian　words；　which　



circumstance　will　compel　us　to　offer　a　few　remarks　on　the　share　



which　the　Persian　has　had　in　the　formation　of　the　dialects　of　



India；　as　at　present　spoken。







The　modern　Persian；　as　has　been　already　observed；　is　a　daughter　of　



the　ancient　Zend；　and；　as　such；　is　entitled　to　claim　affinity　with　



the　Sanscrit；　and　its　dialects。　　With　this　language　none　in　the　



world　would　be　able　to　vie　in　simplicity　and　beauty；　had　not　the　



Persians；　in　adopting　the　religion　of　Mahomet；　unfortunately　



introduces　into　their　speech　an　infinity　of　words　of　the　rude　



coarse　language　used　by　the　barbaric　Arab　tribes；　the　immediate　



followers　of　the　warlike　Prophet。　　With　the　rise　of　Islam　the　



modern　Persian　was　doomed　to　be　carried　into　India。　　This　country；　



from　the　time　of　Alexander；　had　enjoyed　repose　from　external　



aggression；　had　been　ruled　by　its　native　princes；　and　been　



permitted　by　Providence　to　exercise；　without　control　or　reproof；　



the　degrading　superstitions；　and　the　unnatural　and　bloody　rites　of　



a　religion　at　the　formation　of　which　the　fiends　of　cruelty　and　lust　



seem　to　have　presided；　but　reckoning　was　now　about　to　be　demanded　



of　the　accursed　ministers　of　this　system　for　the　pain；　torture；　and　



misery　which　they　had　been　instrumental　in　inflicting　on　their　



countrymen　for　the　gratification　of　their　avarice；　filthy　passions；　



and　pride；　the　new　Mahometans　were　at　hand　…　Arab；　Persian；　and　



Afghan；　with　the　glittering　scimitar　upraised；　full　of　zeal　for　the　



glory　and　adoration　of　the　one　high　God；　and　the　relentless　



persecutors　of　the　idol…worshippers。　　Already；　in　the　four　hundred　



and　twenty…sixth　year　of　the　Hegeira；　we　read　of　the　destruction　of　



the　great　Butkhan；　or　image…house　of　Sumnaut；　by　the　armies　of　the　



far…conquering　Mahmoud；　when　the　dissevered　heads　of　the　Brahmans　



rolled　down　the　steps　of　the　gigantic　and　Babel…like　temple　of　the　



great　image　…







＇Text　which　cannot　be　reproduced　…　Arabic？＇







（This　image　grim；　whose　name　was　Laut；



Bold　Mahmoud　found　when　he　took　Sumnaut。）







It　is　not　our　intention　to　follow　the　conquests　of　the　Mahometans　



from　the　days　of　Walid　and　Mahmoud　to　those　of　Timour　and　Nadir；　



sufficient　to　observe；　that　the　greatest　part　of　India　was　subdued；　



new　monarchies　established；　and　the　old　religion；　though　far　too　



powerful　and　widely　spread　to　be　extirpated；　was　to　a　considerable　



extent　abashed　and　humbled　b