Chapter IV. On The Original Identity Of The English, Welsh, Hindoos, And Other Nations Classed As Indo-European With The Jews, Arabians, Etc.
Section I.
Sir William Jones's Opinion that the Languages and Religions of these two Classes of Nations are quite distinct. The Names of the Gods of Greece, Italy, and India significant in the Hebrew. Arts brought by the Ancestors of the European Nations from the East. Names of Fermented Liquors. Arts of the Pastoral State. Words for Butter, &c. Close Connexion of the Hebrew with the English. No specific difference between the Semetic and Indo-European Tongues.
Among Orientalists, both in Germany and in this country, an opinion prevails that there is a specific connexion among certain Asiatic and European Nations, which they have accordingly classed together as members of what they term the Indo-European race. The principal Nations included in this class are the Hindoos, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Russians, and other Sclavonic Nations; the English, Germans, and other Gothic Nations; the Irish and Welsh, and other Celtic Nations, have more recently been ranged under the same appellation, in consequence of the researches of Dr. Prichard, M. Pictet, and Dr. Karl Meyer. The advocates [pg 113] of a distinct Indo-European race assume either that there is no connexion, or a comparatively slight one, between the various languages of that race and those of the ancient inhabitants of Judea, Arabia, and other contiguous nations. This theory may be viewed as a modification of a conclusion expressed by Sir William Jones in his Discourse on the Origin and Families of Nations.
“That the first race of Persians and Indians, to whom we may add the Romans and Greeks, the Goths, and the old Egyptians or Ethiops, originally spoke the same language and professed the same popular faith, is capable, in my humble opinion, of incontestible proof; that the Jews and Arabs, the Assyrians or second Persian race, the people who spoke Syriack, and a numerous tribe of Abyssinians, used one primitive dialect wholly distinct from the idiom just mentioned, is, I believe, undisputed, and, I am sure, indisputable.”[94]
While one class of writers have adopted the views of Sir William Jones, another class have maintained a very opposite opinion, viz. that the Hebrew is connected, not merely as a sister but as a parent, with all the other languages of the globe. The unreasonableness of this opinion, which is totally unsupported by authority, sacred or profane, has been forcibly pointed out by Adelung, who observes, “Of all the Semetic languages the Hebrew is the youngest; the Hebrew nation still slumbered in the loins of their patriarch Abraham at a time when the whole south-west of Asia, even including the eastern banks of the Tigris, was already filled with Semetic[95] nations and tongues.”
The proofs of affinity between the Hebrew and other tongues which have been adduced by the writers last referred to, are in many instances perfectly sound and legitimate. But owing to the untenable nature of the proposition with which they are associated, they have had no influence in opposition to the opinions of those celebrated men who have denied the existence of any such affinity between the Hebrew and the Indo-European tongues.
Truth in this, as in many other inquiries, has been lost in the collision of opposite errors! The Hebrew, it is true, is not the Parent Tongue, but on the other hand, notwithstanding the weight that must necessarily be attached to the memorable passage quoted above, and also to the views of recent Orientalists, it can be shown, by evidence too clear and simple to be neutralized by any authority however eminent, that the languages termed Indo-European are as closely connected with the Hebrew as they are among themselves. To these languages, the relation which it bears is that of an ancient collateral, exhibiting many of the features of a parent in consequence of the antiquity of its earliest remains, which contain specimens of Language near to its source. This relation, except as regards the Sanscrit, is strikingly analogous to that which specimens of the Scandinavian dialects near to their common source have been shown to bear to the modern languages of Denmark, Sweden, and Iceland. (See Proposition 6, p. 46.)
As the proofs contained in Appendix A and in other parts of this work, are sufficient to establish that such is the nature of the connexion between the Hebrew and the Indo-European languages, I shall here confine myself to such illustrations as possess an independent interest by reason of the [pg 115] light, they throw on the institutions and condition of ancient nations.
The identity of the Gods of three of the principal Indo-European nations has been shown by Sir William Jones in his luminous and graceful Dissertation on the Gods of Greece, Italy, and India. But in the passage above quoted from the same great writer, the conclusion is conveyed that these Indo-European nations, agreeing among themselves, fundamentally differed with the Jews and other Syro-Phœnician nations in two important points, viz. Religion and Language.
This conclusion will be found to involve many fallacies of a very obvious nature. The Assyrians and other Syro-Phœnician nations were idolaters, though the Jews were not; and even the Jews were constantly lapsing into the idolatrous practices of the surrounding nations. We have no reason for inferring with certainty that the superstitions of the land of Canaan and of other Semetic countries were different from those of the Greeks, Italians, and Indians; the evidence rather favours the contrary supposition. Again, the ancient Egyptians, whom Sir William Jones classes with the Indo-European nations, from Language and Geographical position may reasonably be pronounced to have been more nearly related to the Semetic nations of Palestine and Arabia. Such are the errors even of an “all-accomplished” inquirer in exploring a new field!
That the Jews differed in religion from the nations of Greece, Italy, and India is a proposition which, in a general sense, cannot be disputed. But it will now be shown that this proposition must, nevertheless, be received with two qualifications, which entirely destroy its application as a proof of an aboriginal or remote difference of race, viz. 1. The same conceptions of the Supreme Being as are unfolded in the Hebrew Scriptures may be traced in the attributes of the principal Heathen Deities. 2. The names of the inferior [pg 116] Gods are perfectly preserved in the Hebrew language in appropriate senses, which distinctly indicate the recent origin of the superstitions of which they were the objects. While these inferior divinities appear to have been mere personifications of the powers of nature or of the passions of Man,—in the conceptions of the Creator of all things equally just and sublime,—which rise above this mass of error in the character of the Greek Zeus, the Latin Jupiter, and the Indian Brahma,[96] the barrier which is supposed so abruptly to have separated the primitive faith of these nations from that of the patriarchs disappears!
The following analysis of the names of Heathen divinities may be regarded as a continuation of a similar analysis which occurs at page 20. As regards the names and attributes of the Indian Gods, I have availed myself of Sir W. Jones's Dissertation on the Gods of Greece, Italy, and India:
The Gods Of Greece And Italy.
Jupiter, Jov-(is), Jov-(em), “The Supreme Being,” (Latin); Ee.e.v.e or J.ee.v.e, “Jehovah, The Deity,” from E.v.e, “To Be,” (Hebrew.) This name is believed to be expressive of eternal existence.[97]
Zeus or Zēn (Greek), “The Supreme Being,” the same as Jupiter; Zēn, To Live, Zē, He Lives, Zŏŏs, Living, (Greek.) Esse, “To Be,” (Latin.) Ee.sh.e, “To Be,” A.ce.sh, “A Being,” Ee.sh.sh, “Very old Ancient,” (Heb.)
Juno (Latin), Ērē (Greek), “The Goddess of the Firmament and The Queen and Mother of the Gods.”
Mercur-ius, “The God of Commerce,” (Latin.) M.c.r, “Merchandise, To Sell,” (Heb.) Merx, Mercari (Latin). Market (English.)
Min-erva, The Goddess of Wisdom, (Latin.) Mēn, “The Mind.”
Min-os, “The Supreme Judge in the Infernal Regions,” (Latin & Greek.) M.n.e, “To ordain, adjust, number,” (Heb.)
Aurora (Latin), Ēōs (Greek), “The Goddess of the Dawn.” (See p. [20].)
Phaeton, “Son of Apollo, or The Sun,” (Latin & Greek.) Phaethōn, Shining, (Greek.) Pha.o, To Shine, (Greek.) Ee.ph.o (Heb.) Phaethon in Greek was an epithet applied to “The Sun,” a word for “The Day” and for “The Star Jupiter.” (Compare Phoibos, Fos, &c. p. [21].)
Phos-phor-us (Latin), Phs Phor-os, The Morning Star, (Greek,) from Phero, “To Bear,” and Phōs, Light. The origin of this name will be plain from the last example and from the analogous terms at p. [21]. Phōs, “A Star,” (Japan.) Fosseye, “The Sun,” (Sereres, Negroes,) &c. &c.
Arēs, “The God of War,” (Greek.) War (English.) Or, “An Enemy;” O.r.ee.ts, “Formidable, Violent;” O.r.ts, E.r.s, Ee.ou.r.ee.sh, “To break in pieces, demolish,” (Heb.) Eris, “Strife,” (Greek.)
M-ars, Mart-is, M-avors, “The God of War,” (Latin.) M.Or.ts.e, “Violence, Terror,” from O.r.ts with M. formative. (See “Ares,” above.)
Bell-ona, “The Goddess of War.” Bellum, War, (Latin.) Beli, Bela, War, (Welsh.) Beli, Bela, Havoc, Devastation, (Welsh.) B.l.ee, B.l.o (Hebrew.)
Vesta (Latin),[98] Hestia (Greek), “The Goddess of Fire.” “Her power was exercised about Altars and Houses.” Hestia also signifies a Hearth. Ee.ts.th, “To Burn, Kindle, To be kindled as fuel,” (Hebrew.)
Ceres, “The Goddess of the Fruits of the Earth,” (Latin.) G.r.sh, “Corn trodden out,” “To spring forth,” Tender, Green, in full Verdure, Vegetables, (Hebrew.) Grass (German & English.)
Harp-yæ (Greek & Latin), “Winged Creatures, the fabulous personifications of Hunger and Rapacity!” (See Æneid 3.)
C'H.r.b, “To Consume, waste.”
C'H.r.b.e, “Desolation,” (Hebrew.)
Harpazo, “To Snatch,” (Greek.)
Morpheus, “The God of Sleep,” (Greek & Latin.) M.r.ph.e, “Slothful,” (Heb.)
An interesting consideration deserves especial notice in this place. On referring to the doubtful and unsatisfactory explanations which have been suggested for many of these names of the Gods of Greece and Italy, both by Cicero and by modern writers, who have relied solely on the intrinsic resources of the Classical languages, the superior clearness and simplicity of the explanations afforded by the aid of the Hebrew will be strikingly apparent.[99]
The Gods Of India.
Brahma, “The Creator,” (Indian.) B.r.a, “To Create,” applied to the creative act of the Deity in the First Chapter of Genesis, (Hebrew.) Beri or Peri, “To Cause,” Bâr, or Pâr, “A Cause,” (Welsh.)
Siva, “The Destroyer,” (Indian.) Sh.v.a.e, “Desolate;” Sha-e, “To Desolate,” (Heb.)
Vish-nu, “The Preserver or Saviour,” (Ind.) Ee.sh.v.o.e, “Safety, Salvation.” (This root is applied to the Saviour with the prefix M. in M|Ou.sh.oe,“The Messiah.”) Ee.sho, “To save,” (Heb.)
Rama, “A conquering Deity, a great Deliverer,” the same as the Greek Hercules, (Indian.) R.m, “To be lifted up, exalted.” R.m.e, “To throw, cast down,” (Hebrew.)
Cama, “The Indian Cupid.” One of his titles is “Depaca, the Inflamer,” “Love,” (Indian.) Ee.ch.m, “To be lustful,” Ch.m, Ch.m.e, “Heat,” Ch.m.s, “To ravish,” (Hebrew.)
Sur-ya, “A God of the Sun,” (Indian.) See p. [20].
Sat-yavrata, “Saturn” of the Latins. Sat.ya, means “Truth or Probity,” (Indian.) Sh.th, “To set, settle, fix,” (Hence “Sooth,” English, not from “He saith,” as Horne Tooke conceived.) T.z.d.k, “Just,” T.z.d.k.e, “Justice, righteousness,” (Hebrew.)
I shall now advert to some features of considerable interest in the condition of the primitive founders of the European nations, of which language furnishes evidence.
The first emigrants must in many instances have brought with them from the East a knowledge of fermented liquors, as is shown by the following examples:
Wine (English), Vin-um (Latin), Oin-os (Greek), Ee.ee.n (Hebrew), primarily “The expressed juice of the grape,” from Ee.n.e, “To press, squeeze,” (Hebrew.)
Osai, “Cyder, sweet liquor,” (Welsh,) O.s.ee.s, “Wine,” (Hebrew,) from O.s, O.s.s, “To trample”, applied to the Grapes.
M.th.k, “Sweet, sweetness,” (Hebrew.) Metheg-lyn (Welsh,) i.e. M.th.k, “Sweet,” (Hebrew,) and-Lyn, “Liquor,” (Welsh.) Methu, “Wine,” (Greek.) Methou, “Drunk,” (Welsh.) These terms may be regarded as primarily derived from a word expressive “of Honey,” and of the wine made from that particular substance, as in Madhu, “Honey,” (Sanscrit,) “Mead” (English.)
Mêl (Welsh), Mel (Latin), Meli (Greek), “Honey.” Melissa, “A Bee,” (Greek.) Mel-ys, “Sweet,” (Welsh.) Melitos, “Honeyed, placid,” (Greek.) M.l.ts, “To sweeten, to assuage,” (Hebrew.) Melith, “Honey,” (Gothic.)
Writers on subjects of this nature have inferred that in the earliest stage of society the human species subsisted on the spontaneous fruits of the earth or by the chase; the Pastoral state was the next step, and the adoption of agricultural pursuits the last stage in the progress. The Celtic and other European languages furnish very distinct evidence that some of the European nations must have advanced as far as the Pastoral state previously to their migration from the East.
The art of making “Butter” is expressed in the Celtic by a word of which the Oriental origin is clear:
Im,[100] “Butter,” (Gaelic.)
c'H.m.a.e, “Butter,” from c'H.m.a, “To agitate, to churn,” (Hebrew.)
As this Celtic word is quite unlike the Latin, its Oriental origin is clear. It also follows that the primitive art it describes could not have been borrowed from the Romans.
The evidence with regard to “Cheese” is doubtful. Caseus (Latin) may be viewed as allied to K.sh.e, “To harden, to stiffen,” (Hebrew.) But as the Hebrew does not present the secondary sense, there is no ground to infer that this art was brought from the east. Nor, considering the resemblance of the Latin Caseus and the Welsh Caws, “Cheese,” can we infer from language, as in the instance of “Butter,” that the Celts did not borrow this process from the Romans, which most probably they did.
The following is a comparison, showing at the same time the identity of the names for some of the most common animals in the Hebrew and the Indo-European languages, and also the interesting fact, which is evident from several of these examples, that many of the prevalent European names for Chattels and Money are identical with Hebrew words for Cattle, Sheep, &c., which form the only wealth of the Pastoral state!
B.k.r, “Cattle,” (Heb.) Pecora, plural of Pec-us, “Cattle,” (Lat.) Hence, Pecunia, “Money,” (Lat.) Buwch, “A cow,” (Welsh.)
R.c.sh, “Cattle, Riches,” (Hebrew.) Reikis, “Riches,” (Gothic.) Riches (English.)
A.l.ph, singular. A.l.ph-eem, plural, “Cattle,” (Heb.) Alav, singular. Alav-oedd, plural, “Cattle, Wealth,” (Welsh.)
“Sheep” (English.) Schaaf (German.) C.sh.b, C.b.sh (Heb.) Sh.e, “A Lamb,” (Heb.)
“Sheep,” Kaora, (Irish.) Cor-lan, “A Sheep-fold,” (Welsh.) C.r, “A Lamb, also a pasture or circuit for cattle,” (Heb.)
“A Horse,” Ashwah Eshuus (Sanscrit.) S.w.s, or [pg 122] S.ou.s,[101] (Heb.)—Pferd (German,) Peerdt (Belgian,) in the Hebrew, Ph.r.sh-eem, “Horsemen.”
“Cow” (English.) Go (Sanscrit.) G.o.e, “To low like an ox,” (Hebrew.)
“A Cat,” C'h.th.ou.l, (Hebrew.) Cath (Welsh.) Cat (English.)
“A Monkey,” Kăpi, (Sanscrit.) Kouph (Heb.)
“Goat,” Aix Aig-os, (Greek.) Aja (Sans.) A.k.ou (Heb.) “A name given to the wild goat from its cry.”
“Hog, Swine,” &c., Sukarah (Sans.) Khūk (Persian.) Hog (Eng.) Houch (Welsh.) Hus (Greek.) C'H.z.ee.r (Hebrew.)
“Serpent” (English.) Serpens (Latin.) Sarf (Welsh.) Sh.r.ph (Hebrew.) Serpo, “To Creep,” (Latin.)
“Reptile, Serpent,” &c., Neid-yr, “A Serpent,” (Welsh.) Newt, “A small Lizard,” (English.) N.d.l, “A Reptile,” (Chaldæ.)
“Turtle Dove” (English.) Turtur (Latin.) T.r, T.ou.r (Hebrew.)
The connexion between the Hebrew and the English is remarkably complete, the same words occurring in both languages unchanged in sound and sense! A few examples are subjoined, consisting in many cases of words of pure Anglo-Saxon origin, rarely or never used by the refined classes of society.
N.k.m, To avenge, (Hebrew,) To nick (English.)—N.g.o, To touch, To draw nigh, (Hebrew,) Nudge, Nigh (English.)—B.r, A Son, (Hebrew,) Bairn (L. Scotch,) Brat (English.)—Sh.c.l, To be wise, Wisdom, Cunning, (Hebrew,) Skill (English.)—B.k.sh, To seek, To petition, [pg 123] (Hebrew,) Bhikshati, Beggeth, (Sans.) Beg (English.)—Sh.l.t, A Shield, (Hebrew,) Shield (English,) Shalita, Covered, (Sanscrit,) Shalitra, “Shelter,” (Sanscrit,) Shelter (English,) Shieling (L. Scotch.)—L.b, The Heart, Feeling, Will, (Hebrew,) Liebe, Love, (German,) Lief, Dear, Willingly, (English.)
Colonel Vans Kennedy, to whom we are indebted for a very able work conclusively showing the original identity of the Sanscrit and English and other languages termed Indo-European, is one of the most strenuous opponents of the supposition that a connexion may be shown to exist between these languages and the Hebrew, an idea which he treats as in the highest degree visionary and delusive! In the following, as in some of the previous examples, the instances of resemblance between the Sanscrit and the English which this writer has himself selected are compared with Hebrew words, identical with these terms in sound and sense! In many cases it will be seen that the Hebrew terms are even nearer to the English than the Sanscrit terms are!
Măhătwah (Sans.) Might (Eng.) M.a.d, “Might,” (Heb.)—Rosha, Rāga (Sans.) Rage (Eng.) R.g.z (Heb.)—Kupam, A Receptacle, (Sans.) Coop (Eng.) K.ph.ts, To shut, close up, contract, (Heb.)—Duhitr (Sans.) Daughter (Eng.) Dochter (Scotch.) D.g, To multiply, (Heb.) Tek-os, Progeny; Tek-on, Bringing forth, (Greek.)—Shringa (Sans.) Horn (Eng.) Cornu (Lat.) K.r.n (Heb.)—Āpăt, A Calamity, (Sans.) Ab.ad.n, Destruction, (Heb.)—Bălăwān, Powerful, (Sans.) B.o.l, A Master, to have power, (Heb.) “Baal,” i.e. The Ruler, name of an idol.—Shira, The Head, (Sans.) Sh.r, A Prince, A Ruler, (Heb.)—Ghăshăti (Sans.) Gusheth (Eng.) G.sh.m, To rain, A violent Shower, (Heb.) “Geesers,” Fountains of Hot Water in Iceland.—Grŭshta (Sans.) Grist (Eng.) G.r.s, To break, crush to pieces, Wheat beaten out, (Heb.)—Torati (Sans.) Teareth, Tore, [pg 124] (Eng.) T.r.ph, To tear off, To tear to pieces, (Heb.) Tori (Welsh.)—Diyati (Sans.) Dieth (Eng.) Dee.e, Blackness of colour,[102] (Heb.) Dee.ou.a, The Devil, (Syriac.) Dee.ou.v, Ink, (Heb.) Dee, Black, (Welsh.)—Pesati (Sans.) Paceth (Eng.) Psh.o, To pass, a pace, (Heb.)—Rănăti (Sans.) Runneth (Eng.) R.n (Heb.)—Shara (Sans.) Gar. Arrow (Ang.-Sax.) Sh.r.ee.e, A Dart, (Heb.)—Shatati (Sans.) Shutteth; Sheath, (Eng.) S.th.m, To stop up, hide, conceal, S.th.ce.m.e, A Secret, (Heb.) Stum, Dumb, (Ger.)
It must be quite evident that in these examples the affinity in words between the Hebrew and the Indo-European languages is as close as that which exists among those languages themselves. The difference of grammatical forms has been much insisted upon. This ground, where it occurs, has already been proved to afford no evidence of a remote difference of race. (See p. [89].) But in treating of the North American Indian dialects, I shall show that no such grammatical difference does exist in this instance, the Hebrew pronouns, which are the basis of its grammar, being identical with those of the Welsh,[103] now considered to be a member of the Indo-European group of tongues.