CLASS IV.-DETACHED FAMILIES.

A. EUSKARIAN FAMILY.

FRENCH BASQUE.

SPECIMEN OF THE FRENCH BASQUE VERSION.

3

ST. JOHN, CHAP. I. v. 1 to 14.

4

5 Eta Bacen guicon

9

8

Argui hau 10 Munduan cen,

Hastean Hitça cen, eta Hitça Jaincoarequin cen, eta Hitz hau Jaincoa cen. 2 Hastean Jaincoarequin cen. Gauça guciac eguinic içan dire hartaz, eta hura gabe deus ezta eguin içan, eguin direnetaric. Hartan cen bicia, eta bicia guiçonen arguia cen. arguiac arguitcen du ilhumbetan, bainan ilhumbec ez dute errecebitu. bat icena çuena Joannes; cein baitcen egorria Jaincoaz. 'Ethorri cen lekhucotassunean, bihurceco lekhucotassuna arguiari, amoreagatic guciec sinhex ceçaten hartaz. Hura ezcen arguia, bainan egorria cen lekhucotassunaren bihurceco arguiari. eguiazcoa cen, arguitcen duena mundurat ethorcen diren guiçon guciac. eta mundua eguin içan da hartaz; bainan munduac ez du eçagutu. 11 Bererat ethorri cen, eta bereenec ez dute errecebitu. 12 Bainan errecebitu duten guciei, eman dei çucena Jaincoaren haur eguinei içaiteco, erran nahi da haren Icenean sinhexten duenei. 13 Ceinac ez baitire sorthuac odolez, ez haraguiaren borondateaz, ez guiçonaren borondateaz ; bainan sorthu dire Jaincoaz. 14 Eta Hitça eguin içan da haragui; egotu da gurequin graciaz eta eguiaz bethea; eta behondaztu dugu haren loria, Aitaren Seme bakharrari darocan loria beçala.

ON THE FRENCH BASQUE DIALECT AND VERSIONS.

THE French dialect of the Basque language is spoken in the south-western extremity of France, on the frontiers of Spain, by a population of about 120,000 individuals. This district is about sixty miles in length by forty in breadth; it formerly included the three subdivisions of Labour,_ Lower Navarre, and Soule, and it is now comprehended in the department of the Lower Pyrenees. In parts of the neighbouring departments of Gers and Upper Pyrenees, Basque is still the language of the peasantry, while French is spoken in the towns.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE.-The Basque is one of the most singular idioms of Europe. In some of its characteristics it exhibits remarkable traits of analogy with Mandchou, with Finnish, and with several distinct families of languages spoken in the north of Europe, and of Asia. Like them, it has no difference of terminations in nouns and pronouns to mark the variation of gender; and, like them also, it subjoins prepositions and other particles, and even personal and relative pronouns, to nouns and verbs. On the other hand, it differs from them in the abundance of its inflections, and in its use of auxiliary verbs. In its elaborate system of verbal conjugation, Basque approximates closely to the American or Polysynthetic class of languages; and it is rather a singular circumstance, that the sound of Fis wanting in most American languages and in Basque, and that in both a strong antipathy

is manifested to the immediate junction of mute and liquid consonants. Many Sanscrit words exist in Basque; but in the collocation of these words, says Mr. Borrow, the Tartar form is most decidedly observable. These Sanscrit derivatives are usually divested of their initial consonant, and made to commence with a vowel; for Basque is emphatically a vowel language, employing comparatively but few consonants, and out of every ten words perhaps eight may be said to begin and to end with a vowel. The natural result of this preponderance of vowels is a high degree of softness and melody, in which the Basque is said to exceed even the Italian. In point of antiquity, Basque far surpasses most of the languages now spoken in Europe; it was originally the vernacular tongue of the Iberi, a people generally regarded as the earliest settlers in Spain; and from them, as Humboldt has clearly proved, the present Euskaldunes, or natives of the Basque provinces, are descended. Basque does not appear to have ever possessed an alphabet proper to itself, and in all books which have been printed in this language Roman letters are used.

3

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. The entire New Testament, in Basque, was printed at Rochelle in 1571. It was translated by John de Licarrague, and was dedicated to Jeanne d'Albret, queen of Navarre, and brought out at her expense. The dialect in which it is written is that of Lower Navarre. The translator is said to have been a minister of the Reformed Church, and a native of Bearn.

More than two centuries elapsed before any other edition of the Testament was printed for the Basque people, and soon after the commencement of the present century it was found impossible, notwithstanding the most diligent search, to meet with a single copy among them. A copy of the New Testament of 1571 had, however, been providentially deposited, probably by a French refugee, in the library of the University of Oxford. From this copy the British and Foreign Bible Society printed, in 1825, at Bayonne, 1000 copies of the Gospel of St. Matthew, under the superintendence of Mr. Pyt, a minister of the Reformed Church in Bearn. The Roman Catholic Bishop interposed to prevent the circulation of this edition, and he possessed himself of no less than 800 copies, which he destroyed. Far from being discouraged at this opposition, the British and Foreign Bible Society proceeded with their important work, and, after some delay, a new and well-qualified editor was met with, named Montleza. Under the care of this editor, and the superintendence of friends at Bourdeaux and Bayonne, the text of 1571 was altered in accordance with the modern forms of the language, and so many changes were introduced as virtually to constitute a new version. An edition, consisting of 1000 copies of the Four Gospels and Acts, with 1000 separate copies of St. Matthew, and 1000 copies of the entire New Testament, was completed at press in 1829. The distribution of this edition was carried on with much activity, and the opposition it encountered had only the effect of drawing the attention of many to the contents of the sacred book.

As to the results produced in these provinces by the circulation of the Basque and French Scriptures, the testimony of the late Mr. Pyt (above mentioned) is remarkable. "In 1821," he said, "I found the people of Bearn utter strangers to the doctrine of the Gospel, and consequently to the life of God. I have left it in 1830 in a very different condition. It is to the Bible that the change must be attributed. The preaching of the Gospel had little success before the establishment of Bible Societies in Bearn; but when they had spread the word of the Lord,-when this word had found its way to each church, and in each church to a goodly number of families, then they began seriously to think about that which the servants of God were preaching. There was much inquiry about the truth, and from that time the blessed work proceeded; and it continues to do so still, with the same happy results."

3 Lecluse, Grammaire Basque, p. 21.

1 Prichard's Researches, vol. iii. pp. 23, 24. 2 Borrow's Bible in Spain, p. 218. 4 Twenty-sixth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xxix. • Twenty-sixth Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xxix.

SPANISH BASQUE.

SPECIMEN OF THE SPANISH BASQUE VERSION.

ST. LUKE, CHAP. XV. v. 11 to 24.

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"Gueyago esan zuan: Guison batec izan cituan semebi. 12 Eta ayetaco chiquienac esan cion bere aitari; Aita, ecarzu tocatcen zaidan haciendaren partea. Eta berac partitu cien hacienda. 13 Eta ez egun asco gueroz juntatu zuan seme chiquienac berea san gustia, eta juan zan, pais urruti batera, eta an ondatu zuan bere arceco gustia, vicio etan viciaz. "Eta gustia gastatu zuan ean, etorri zan goce aundi bat paraje artan, eta bera asi zan premia e duquitcen. 15 Eta juan zan, eta alderatu zan paraje artaco batengana; ceñec bialdu zuan bere baserrira, cerriac gordetcera. 16 Eta deseatcen zuan, bere zabela, cerriac jaten zutenaren asalaquin betetcea: eta etzion iñorc ematen. Baño, bereganatu zanean esan zuan: ¡Cembait jornalaric daucate nere aitaren echean oguia sobratua, eta ni emen goceac ilcen nago! 18 Alchatuco naiz, eta juango naiz nere aitagana, eta esango diot: Aita, pecatu eguin nuen ceruaren contra, eta zure aurrean : Ezdet mereci zure semea deitua, izatea eguinazazu zure jornalariac becela. 20 Eta alchatu eta juan zan bere aitagana. Eta nola oraindic cegoan urruti, icusi zuan bere aitac, eta muvituzan misecordiara, eta beragana corrica juanaz, botacion besoac lepora, eta lastana emancion. Eta semeac esan cion: Aita pecatu eguindet ceruaren contra eta zure aurrean: ez det mereci zure semea deitua izatea. 22 Baño aitac esan cien bere morroyai: Ecarri itzazute onera aguro arroparic ederrena, eta janciozute, eta jarriozute eraztuna beatcean, eta onetacoac onetan: 23 Eta ecarriezazute idisco guicen bat, ilzazute, eta jan zagun, eta celebradaigun banquete bat : Cergatic nere seme au illazan, eta berriz vicitu da: galduzan, eta arquitua izanduda. Eta asiciran banquetea celebratcen.

24

19

21

ON THE SPANISH BASQUE DIALECT AND VERSION.

THE three Basque provinces of Spain (Biscay, Guipúscoa, and Alava) are bounded north by the Bay of Biscay, west and south by Old Castile, and east by France and Navarre. They contain a population of 316,000; Basque is the language of the peasantry, but Spanish is spoken in the towns, and is understood throughout these provinces. The religion, as in the rest of Spain and in the French Basque districts, is Roman Catholicism. Spanish Basque also appears to be spoken in the north and west of Navarre. It does not differ very materially from French Basque, either in its structure or vocabulary. The Biscayan dialect in particular is distinguished by the natives by the name of Escuara, which simply means vernacular.

Many Spanish words have been engrafted on Spanish Basque, and in consequence of these additions, and of other alterations induced by the process of time, the version of 1571 (mentioned in our account of French Basque) is now scarcely intelligible. And although the British and Foreign Bible Society have given to the Basque districts of France an edition of the entire New Testament, yet no portion whatever of the Scriptures appears to have been printed in Spanish Basque until 1838, when Mr. George Borrow, with the aid of the Society, edited and published an edition of the Gospel according to St. Luke. The translation had been executed by a Basque physician, named Oteiza, and Mr. Borrow had retained the MS. two years in his possession before committing it to the press; during which interval he had sought the advice and opinion of Basque scholars. The translation did not meet with unqualified approbation, yet it seemed impossible at that time to obtain a better. In 1848 this version of St. Luke was revised and amended by the translator, and printed in a second edition, at the expense of the Society, through their agent, the Rev. Dr. Thomson. The Acts of the Apostles were also translated under the same circumstances, but are not yet printed.

CLASS IV.-DETACHED FAMILIES.

B. FINNISH FAMILY.

FINNISH.

SPECIMEN OF THE FINNISH VERSION.

ST. JOHN, CHAP. I. v. 1 to 14.

Alusa oli Sana, ja se Sana oli Jumalan tykönä, ja Jumala oli se Sana.

2 Tämä oli alusa Jumalan tykönä. 3 Kaikki owat sen kautta tehdyt; ja ilman sitä ei ole mitaan tehty, joka tehty on. 4 Hänesä oli Elämä, ja Elämä oli ihmisten Walkeus. 5 Ja se Walkeus pimeydesä paistaa, jota ei pimeys käsittänyt. 6 Vri mies oli lähetetty Jumalalde jonga nimi oli Johannes. 7 Se tuli siitä Walkeudesta todistamaan, että kaikki uskoisit hänen kauttansa. 8 Ei hän ollu: se Walkeus, mutta hän oli lähetetty Walkeudesta todistamaan. 9 Se oli totinen Walkeus, joka walistaa kaikki ihmiset, jotka mailmaan tulewat. 10 Se oli mailmasa, ja mailma on hänen kauttansa tehty; ja ei mailma händå tundenut. 11 Han tuli omillensa, ja ei hänen omansa händä ottaneet wastan. 12 Mutta niille, jotka hänen otit wastan, andoi hän woiman Jumalan lapsiri tulla; jotka uskowat hänen nimensa päälle. 13 Jotka ei werestä, eikä lihan tahdosta, ei myös miehen tahdosta, mutta Jumalasta syndyneet owat. 14 Ja Sana tuli Lihari, ja asui meidän seasamme, (ja me näimme hänen kunniansa niinkuin ainoan Pojan kunnian Isästä,) täynnä armoa ja totuutta.

ON THE FINNISH LANGUAGE AND VERSION.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS.-In the earliest periods of history of which we have any record, the northern regions of Europe and of Asia were inhabited by a race of men whom the Sclavonians called Tschoudi. All the tribes of this race were subjugated by the German, Tartar, or Sclavonian nations; and in many instances they were displaced by their conquerors, and driven to the most barren and mountainous districts of the north. In the extreme north-western portion of the Russian empire, we meet with one of the principal of these tribes, called the Finns, from whom the country which they inhabit derives its name. Finland formerly constituted one of the five divisions of Sweden, but since 1809 it has been subject to Russia; the rites of the Swedish Church are, however, still observed, and the inhabitants, who amount in number to about 1,300,000, are, generally speaking. of the Lutheran faith. The Finns were converted to Christianity about the middle of the twelfth century, by means of an English missionary, who was the first bishop and martyr in Finland.'

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE.—The Finnish presents several striking points of resemblance to the languages and dialects spoken by the Turks, Tartars, Mongoles, Mandshurians, and Tungusians. Like them, its nouns are incapable of inflection, and an additional word is requisite to

1 Twenty-seventh Report of British and Foreign Bible Society, p. xxxviii.

denote the variations of case, number, and sex; its prepositions and pronouns are suffixed to the words they modify, and, moreover, the vocabularies of all these languages are pervaded by a peculiar system of vocalic harmony. Finnish verbs have only two tenses, the past and the present, and the future is expressed by adding to the form of the present some word indicative of a future action or state of being.' Many Russian and Swedish words enter into Finnish, the consequence of the political relations between

these nations.

2

VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE.-Soon after the introduction of the: Reformation into Finland, the New Testament was translated into Finnish by Michael Agricola, rector, and afterwards bishop, of Abo. He was a native of Finland, and after having studied divinity at Wittemberg, was recommended by Luther to Gustavus I., king of Sweden. His version was printed at Stockholm, in quarto, in 1548. It contains a preface by Agricola, in which he states that the translation was made from the Greek, with the aid of the Latin, German, and Swedish versions. A translation of the Psalms was undertaken about the same period by Paul Justèn, rector of the High School in Abo, in which work he engaged his scholars by way of exercise. The translation was revised by Agricola, and printed at Stockholm in 1551, with a curious poetical address to the reader, descriptive of the idolatry of the Finns. During the same year, several detached portions of the Old Testament were translated and published by Agricola. In his preface to these translations, he expressed his sorrow at the impossibility of proceeding with the work, unless adequate funds could be procured, and pledged himself to the completion of the translation of the Old Testament, provided that he met with encouragement in the sale of his previous editions. Certain political obstacles, however, impeded from time to time the publication of the entire Scriptures in Finnish; and at length, in 1636, the clergy of Finland appealed to Christina, queen of Sweden, to furnish them with a version in their vernacular tongue. In consequence of this petition, orders were given for the preparation of an accurate translation at Abo, the capital of the duchy of Finland, on account of the University established there, and the greater purity of the language spoken in that city. The execution of the work was intrusted to Eschillus Petræus, doctor and professor of Divinity, and afterwards bishop of Abo; to Martin Stodius, professor of Oriental Languages in the University of Abo; to Gregory Matthæi, pastor of Puken; and to Henry Hoffman, professor of Divinity, and pastor of Maschoen. The translation was made from the original texts, and Luther's marginal glosses were subjoined to the chapters. It was printed at Stockholm, in folio, with a dedication to Queen Christina. Another edition, in the same form, was published in 1644.

Another version, likewise executed from the inspired originals, by Henry Florin, pastor of Paemaren, was published at Abo in 1685; but this version is comparatively little known, the Bible sanctioned by Queen Christina having, from its first appearance, been received into general circulation as the authorised version of Finland.

Editions of the New Testament, from the text of Queen Christina's version, appeared in 1732, 1740, 1774, and 1776. But, except two quarto editions in 1758 and 1776 (the latter of which was published by subscription), no further attempt was made to publish the entire Bible in Finnish, until the introduction, in 1811, of the operations of the British and Foreign Bible Society in Finland. In consequence of the pecuniary aid afforded by that Society, and the zealous efforts of their agent, Dr. Paterson, a Bible Society was formed at Abo; a report was sent to the Emperor Alexander, and he contributed a large donation from his private purse, besides granting to the Society, for five years, that part of the corn tithes which was originally appropriated to printing the Scriptures, but which in latter times had been devoted to state purposes. Standing types were immediately prepared at St. Petersburg, and 8000 copies of the New Testament, in 8vo., were completed at Abo in 1815. In the following year, 5000 copies of the entire Bible, also in 8vo., left the press at Abo. A quarto edition of the whole Bible, aided by a further grant from the British and Foreign Bible Society, was commenced in 1821, and completed in 1827. A specimen copy may be seen in the Library of the British and Foreign Bible Society, but, with few other exceptions, this edition (consisting of 7500 copies) was destroyed in the extensive fire with which Abo was visited in 1827. Another edition of 5000 copies of the New Testament was, in consequence, immediately undertaken by the Society: this edition was completed at Stockholm in 1829. In 1832, the Bible Society of Abo was again in active operation, and had printed a new edition of the quarto Bible, and commenced an 8vo. edition of 10,000 copies of the New Testament.

1 Henderson's Biblical Researches in Russia, p. 4.

2 Henderson's Biblical Researches in Russia, p. 3.

3 Townley's Illustrations, vol. iii. p. 443.