I WROTE last year that their language was very rich and very poor, full of abundance and full of scarcity, the latter appearing in a thousand different ways. All words for piety, devotion, virtue; all terms which are used to express the things of the other life; the language of Theologians, Philosophers, Mathematicians, and Physicians, in a word, of all learned men; all words which refer to the regulation and government of a city, Province, or Empire; all that concerns justice, reward and punishment; the names of an infinite number of arts which are in our Europe; of an infinite number of flowers, [175] trees, and fruits; of an infinite number of animals, of thousands and thousands of contrivances, of a thousand beauties and riches, all these things are never found either in the thoughts or upon the lips of the Savages. As they have no true religion nor knowledge of the virtues, neither public authority nor government, neither Kingdom nor Republic, nor sciences, nor any of those things of which I have just spoken, consequently all the expressions, terms, words, and names which refer to that world of wealth and grandeur must necessarily be absent from their vocabulary; hence the great scarcity. Let us now turn the tables and show that this language is fairly gorged with richness.
[22] Premierement ie trouue vne infinité de noms propres parmy eux, que ie ne puis expliquer en nostre françois, que par circumlocutions.
First, I find an infinite number of proper nouns among them, which I cannot explain in our french, except by circumlocutions.
Secondement, ils ont de Verbes que ie nomme absolus, dont ny les Grecs, ny les Latins, ny nous, ny les langues d'Europe, dont ie ne me suis enquis, n'ont riẽ de semblable, par exemple ce Verbe Nimitison, signifie absolument ie mange, sans dire quoy, car si vous determinez, la [176] chose que vous mangez, il se faut seruir d'vn autre Verbe.
Second, they have some Verbs which I call absolute, to which neither the Greeks, nor Latins, nor we ourselves, nor any language of Europe with which I am familiar, have anything similar. For example, the verb Nimitison means absolutely, "I eat," without saying what; for, if you determine the [176] thing you eat, you have to use another Verb.
Tiercement, ils ont des Verbes differents, pour signifier l'action enuers vne chose animée, & enuers vne chose inanimée, encore bien qu'ils conjoignent auec les choses animées, quelques nombres des choses sans ame, cõme le petun, les pommes, &c. donnons des exemples. Ie vois vn homme, Niouapaman iriniou, ie vois vne pierre, niouabatẽ, ainsi en Grec, en Latin, & en François, c'est vn mesme Verbe, pour dire ie vois vn homme, vne pierre, & toute autre chose. Ie frappe vn chiẽ ni noutinau attimou, ie frappe vn bois, ninoutinen misticou. Ce n'est pas tout: car si l'actiõ se termine à plusieurs choses animées, il faut vn autre Verbe, ie vois des hõmes niouapamaoueth irinioueth, ninoutinaoueth attimoueth, & ainsi de tous les autres.
Third, they have different Verbs to signify an action toward an animate or toward an inanimate object; and yet they join with animate things a number of things that have no souls, as tobacco, apples, etc. Let us give some examples: "I see a man," Niouapaman iriniou; "I see a stone," niouabatẽ; but in Greek, in Latin, and in French the same Verb is used to express, "I see a man, a stone, or anything else." "I strike a dog," ni noutinau attimou; "I strike wood," ninoutinen misticou. This is not all; for, if the action terminates on several animate objects, another Verb has to be used,—"I see some men," niouapamaoueth irinioueth, ninoutinaoueth attimoueth, and so on with all the others.
En quatriéme lieu, ils ont des Verbes propres pour signifier l'action qui se termine à la personne reciproque, & d'autres encore qui se terminent aux choses qui luy appartiennent, & l'on ne pût se seruir des Verbes enuers les autres personnes non reciproques sans parler impropremẽt. Ie me fais entẽdre le Ver[be] [177] nitaouin, signifie, ie me sers de quelque chose, nitaouin agouniscouehon, ie me sers d'vn bonnet: que si ie viens à dire, ie me sers de son bonnet, sçauoir est du bonnet de l'homme, dont on parle, il [24] faut changer de verbe, & dire Nitaouiouan outagoumiscouhon: que si c'est vne chose animée il faut encor changer le verbe, par exemple, ie me sers de son chien, nitaouiouan õtaimai, & remarquez que tous ces verbes ont leurs meufs, leurs temps, & leurs personnes, & que leurs conjugaisons sont dissemblables s'ils different de terminaisons. Ceste abondance n'est point dãs les langues d'Europe, ie le sçay de quelques vnes, ie le coniecture des autres.
In the fourth place, they have Verbs suitable to express an action which terminates on the person reciprocal, and others still which terminate on the things that belong to him; and we cannot use these Verbs, referring to other persons not reciprocal, without speaking improperly. I will explain myself. The Verb [177] nitaouin means, "I make use of something;" nitaouin agouniscouehon, "I am using a hat;" but when I come to say, "I am using his hat," that is, the hat of the man of whom I speak, we must change the verb and say, Nitaouiouan outagoumiscouhon; but, if it be an animate thing, the verb must again be changed, for example, "I am using his dog," nitaouiouan õtaimai. Also observe that all these verbs have their moods, tenses and persons; and that they are conjugated differently, if they have different terminations. This abundance is not found in the languages of Europe; I know it of some, and conjecture it in regard to others.
En cinquiesme lieu, ils se seruent d'autres mots sur la terre, d'autres mots sur l'eau pour signifier la mesme chose. Voicy comment, Ie veux dire, i'arriuay hier, si c'est par terre, il faut dire nitagochinin outagouchi, si c'est par eau, il faut dire nimichagan outagouchi: ie veux dire, i'ay esté mouillé de la pluye, si ç'a esté cheminant sur terre, il faut dire nikimiouanoutan, si c'est faisant chemin, par eau nikhimiouanutan, ie vay querir [178] quelque chose, si c'est par terre, il faut dire ninaten, si c'est par eau ninahen: si c'est vne chose animée & par terre, il faut dire ninatau: si c'est vne chose animée & par eau, il faut dire ninahouau: si c'est vne chose animée qui appartienne à quelqu'vn, il faut dire ninahimouau: si elle n'est pas animée niuahimouau, quelle varieté? nous n'auons en François pour tout cela qu'vn seul mot, ie vay querir, auquel on adiouste pour distinction par eau, ou par terre.