to think, that Dr. Johnson had the Chinese in his mind when, in the inimitable piece of fine writing which prefaces his Dictionary, he made this remark, "the language most likely to continue long without alteration, would be that of a nation raised a little, and but a little, above barbarity, secluded from strangers, and totally employed in procuring the conveniencies of life:" an observation which is perfectly descriptive of that remnant of the Celtic people, whose language still exists as a living speech, in the mountainous regions of this island from the Grampian hills to the Hebrides, nearly in the same purity, as in the era of Ossian ?* All the living languages of Europe have words borrowed from the Greek and Latin; but the Gaelic, from the number and richness of its primitive roots, and the facility of forming a number of compound words, has distinct terms of its own in every art and science, and are so peculiarly descriptive of the sense, that an illiterate Highlander of this day easily comprehends their meaning. Thus astronomy is in Gaelic Reul-eolas, from reul, star, and eolas, knowledge. The common name for a star reul (or ruithuil) signifies the guide to direct the course. Reann is the name for a planet, compounded of Re, a star, and ann, a circle, or revolution. That astronomy had been studied by the druids and Celtic nations, we have sufficient proofs; as well as that many hazardous voyages were performed by men, in those days, without any chart, or compass, but the stars to guide * Dr. Johnson's Dictionary was published in 1755, and his Tour to the Hebrides in 1775. them. Speur, in Gaelic, is the sky, or firmament. We have in Greek Spheira, Latin Sphæra, Persian Sipehr, sphere. The word speur frequently occurs in Ossian's poems; "Talla nan speur," hall of the skies, sometimes translated airy halls : Fosgluibhse talla nan speur, Ye fathers of Toscar of hard blows; Solstice is grianstad, from grian, sun, and stad, stop. Zodiac is grian-chrios, from grian, sun, and chrios, belt. Eclipse is ur-dhubha, from ur, new, or fresh, and dubha, darkening. Automical is fein-gluasach, from fein, self, and gluasach, motion. As no people have technical terms in their own language for any art or science, to the practice of which they can be supposed to have been ignorant, we may reasonably infer that all the arts and sciences, in which Celtic terms are found, have been practiced by the ancestors of that people, long before other nations borrowed or adopted in their language such techuical expressions from the Greeks or Romans. Having given two or three examples in astronomy, of the indigenous terms applicable to that science, we shall now, by way of further illustration exhibit a few in other sciences. Geography is expressed in Gaelic by cèghrabha, compounded of cè, globe, or earth, and grabha, description; and from this last are the words yn and yeάow derived. Anatomy is expressed by corpshnasachd, from corp, body, and snasachd, * Cæs. L. VI. c. 14. Smith's Hist, of the Druids, c. 4. cutting, or dividing; and hence may be derived the Latin corpus and English corpse, a dead body, which alone is the subject of anatomy, and in French the word corps, body, is also expressive of a regiment, as being divisible into numerous parts, or sections. Geometry is cè-thomhas, from cè, globe or earth, and tomhas, measuring. Anemoscope is àil-innisan, from àile, air, and innisan, teller. Anemometer is àile-mheidh, from àile, air, and meidh, measure, scale, or balance. Mercury is airgad-beo, from airgad, silver, and beo, living. Amalgamate is co-leagha, from co or comh, together, or mixture, and leagha, melting, literally, melting together. The reason why the words and structure of the Celtic language appear so conspicuous in the Greek and Latin, is, with much erudition, given in the notes at the end of the Report of the Highland Society of Scotland.* In this place, it may not be improper to add, that in France, Spain, and Italy, as well as in several other countries of Europe, there are a number of names of cities, towns, rivers, mountains, capes, promontories, &c. found in the works of ancient geographers, and many of them even extant at this day, all which are evidently of Celtic origin; and for the propriety and aptness of the etymologies, we have only to compare some of these appellatives with the Celtic or Gaelic radical words.† Though the Celts in the most early ages retained * See App. to the Report, p. 267 et seq. + See the Alphabetical Table of Words, of which the etymologies are given in Monumens Celtiques par M. Cambry, of the Celtic Academy at Paris. an uniformity of manuers, and nearly the same language in all their different settlements, yet, in process of time, from various accidents, their language was altered, and they began to be distinguished by new. and different appellations. By the Roman conquest, the Celts in Gaul gradually lost their original name, and were, by subsequent conquests, confounded with the Franks. The Celts, however, who inhabited Britain, or Albion, did not share the same fate, especially those of the mountainous regions of Caledonia; they were a distinct people, as Cæsar tells us, from those in other parts, and have so continued, with little variation in their manners, customs, and language, since Cæsar's time. The learned Pezron, author of a small work on the antiquity of the Celtic nation, had in contemplation to publish a complete work on the origin of nations, but more especially on the antiquity of the Celtic language; and he had for some years before his death been collecting materials for that purpose. In a letter from Pezron to the Abbé Nicaise, published in Martiniere's Geographical Dictionary, under the article Celtes, he mentions that he had collected seven or eight hundred Greek words, or simple roots, which are derived from the Celtic, besides almost all the numerals; thus the Celts say dec, ten, and the Greeks dexa, the former undec, eleven, daudec, twelve, &c. the latter Evdena, doidena, &c.; the other numerals may be judged of by this specimen. With respect to the Latin, Pezron mentions having collected more than twelve hundred words, or roots, obviously derived from the Celtic; and concludes with observing that the Celtic language is diffused throughout almost all the languages of Europe, and that the Teutonic, or German, is full of Celtic words. It is much to be regretted, that Pezron died before the publication of the proofs, on which his system was founded; such a work is still a desideratum in the republic of letters.* Monsieur Cambry, a member of the Celtic Academy at Paris, has, in his ingenious work lately published, † announced his intention to exhibit, in the periodical papers of the academy, no less than two thousand Celtic words cited in various authors, and ancient monuments, which have the same sound and meaning as those in the Armoric, or language spoken As the subject is interesting to the Gaelic scholar, the following is an extract of Monsieur Pezron's letter to the Abbé Nicaise. "Pour revenir a ces princes Titans ou Celtes, comme ils ont regné assez long temps dans la Grece, et même dans d'Italie, où Saturne se refugia, étant persecuté par son propre fils, leur langue s'est tellement mêlée avec la Grecque, qui étoit alors l'Eolique, et avec l'ancienne Latine, qu'on peut dire qu'elles en sont toutes remplies. Vous serez surpris, Monsieur, quand je vous dira, que j'ai environ sept ou huit cens môts Grecs, je dis de simple racines, qui sont tous tirez de la langue des Celtes, avec presque tous le nombres; par example, le Celtes disent dec, dix, et les Grecs dena. Les Celtes disent undec, onze, daoudec, douze, &c. Les Grecs Erdexa, duidena, &c. Jugez du rest par cet échantillion. Pour ce qui est de la langue Latine, j'ai actuellement plus de douze cens môts, qui viennent tout visiblement du Celtique, et je repondrai solidement à ceux d'entre les savans, qui, ne pouvant nier un fait qui paroît sensible, sont reduits a dire que les Celtes ont emprunté ces môts de Grecs et de Latins. Je ne saurois finir cette lettre sans vous dire que le Celtique s'est repandu dans presque tout les langues de l'Europe, mais la Teutone ou l'Allemande en est toute remplie." + Monumens Celtiques, p. 381, 382. |