AN GAOḊAL.
737
riculum of our schools and colleges modern lan¬
guages have a very prominent place, and perhaps,
learned in a way that might pass current in certain
circles, whilst not a word is said about our noble
tongue, which, in the opinion of the most eminent
philologists, is fit to rank with the classic languages
of antiquity. Everything considered, it would
indeed be an indellible disgrace should we allow
our national tongue hitherto so proscribed by the
foreigner, and bequeathed to us with such sacrifices
by our ancestors, to perish through neglect. Such
censurable indifference on our part world evidently
imply an avowed contempt for all that men have
hitherto loved or respected. We would indeed
prove ourselves unworthy sons of Erin, and justly
deserving the unmitigated censure of posterity
should we not appreciate our mother tongue,
connected, as it is so, intimately with that glorious
period of our history, when Ireland bore the time
honored appellation, "Insula Sanctorum et Docto¬
rum." Its disappearance from the category of
spoken languages would be disastrous alike to the
interests of history and philology. It should
indeed stimulate us to cultivate it, when we now see
it so much studied throughout the country for the
sake of philology. The cultured Germans have
taken the lead in this movement. Zeuss, the
renowned Keltic scholar, was the first in the field.
He wrote his great work, Grammatica Keltica, from
the old time worn manuscripts, written ages ago
by the hands of Irish monks, who brought the
blessings of religion and civilization to the Father¬
land. In his efforts he has been ably seconded by
the labors of Schleicher, Ebel, Bopp, Windisch,
and Zimmer. France, too, has supplied able
students in the same field, namely, de Jubainville,
Gaidoz, and Lizeray. Switzerland claims its
Pictet. Italy, its Nigra and Ascoli. Scotland
which owes so much to Gaelic civilization, has
earnest advocates of our language in the persons
of Blackie, Geddes, Mackey and many others.
In America, also, Irish is cultivated with an energy
characteristic of the great Republic. Even the
Saxon, whose hatred of our language in former
times knew no bounds, as if ashamed of the past,
and with a view to make the amende honorable,
has founded chairs for its culture in his univer¬
sities. Already he has given us Keltic scholars
whose names have acquired a world-wide reputa¬
tion, namely, Latham, Pritchard, Arnold and Max
Muller. Such being the case, shall we be indiffer¬
ent concerning the national trust of our language,
when other nations are doing so much in its be¬
half? Shall we allow this priceless inheritance,
our glorious tongue, to perish, inseparably connec¬
ed, as it is, with the glory, the fame, the history,
and the traditions of our noble and long suffering
land?
P. A. YORKE, C C.
We have just received one of the prettiest songs
ever written, called "There's no one like other
me," by Charles A. Davis. For a nice home song,
in which both the words and music are so very
pretty, it is hard to equal. It can be played on the
piano or organ, and will be sent to any address, for
only 11 2-cent stamps. Address the publisher, J.
C. Groene & Co., 30 and 42 Arcade, Cincinnati, O.
Let every subscriber of THE GAOḊAL'
whether new or old, endeavor to get
another. That is the way to spread
the movement.
MR. YORKE'S LETTER.
St. Charles College, Ellicott City, Md.
July 21, 1887.
To the Editor of the GAEL.
DEAR SIR — Would you be so kind as to allow me
to make a few remarks on the letter of Canon
Bourke published in your last issue. Summing up
his opinions and his reasons therefor, that letter
comes to this; (1) It is certain that all verbs of one
syllable make the future indic. in fad; (2) Equally
certain that derivative verbs ending in uigh or igh
make same tense in ochad. Proofs. (1) Every Irish
work in manuscript or in print since the 12th cen¬
tury (2) The two forms are the result of the pre¬
fixing of beidh. I intend to examine this opinion
and the proofs in favor of it in order to see how
facts tally with assertions.
§1. First Prop. All monosyllabic verbs make
fad.
Since the proof refers to all approved MSS. etc.,
since the 12th century, we must suppose that the
meaning of the proposition is, that since the 12th
century, all monosyllabic Irish verbs make the
future in fdd.
1. In O'Curry's MSS. Mat. p. 620, we find two con¬
cluding stanzas of a poem or prophecy which, at p.
390, is attributed to after 1169, the beginning of the
proof-period mentioned above. They are:
Firfid cath Fidruis matain Mucraime,
Ima toetsad mair-bili,
Ba dirsan do Art mac Cuind
Cu meic Ailella Oluim.
Diadardoin ficid cath
A taotus la sil Lugach,
Tricha bliadain nama
In tan no dot ibdaa.
The italicised words are toetsad and tdotus, the
first, the future, the second, rel. pres, of the word
now called tuit, fall. It is monosyllabic, yet it
does not make its future in f or och, but strikes out
a new departure in s. (cf. Greek luo fut, luso.) But
no new departure after all, for this S-future is
found in all the Aryan Languages except the Teu¬
tonic, and was common enough too in Old Irish:
extract from Tripartite Life, MSS. Mat. p. 601.
"Ni gebsu, ol Patraic, co tarda fein a bachoill dam,"
and Windisch (§285-289. Facts then place a
very decided objection to the first proposition in
the very beginning of the proof period.
2. We now take an example from about the
middle, namely the end of the 15th century. In the
MSS. Mat. again at p. 533 there is an entry from
the annals of Ulster A. D. 1498. The last sentence
runs as follows, "Ocus tabradh gach nech dia
leghfa ind lebarsa, ocus dia foighena, a bennacht
for an anmainsin Mhic Mhaghnusa." This foigh¬
ena is yet another style of future side by side with
the F-future. Foighena is from fogniim derived
from fo-gnum a monosyllabic verbal i-stem, to
serve, nor is it a solitary example for we have nad-
cel, which I will not conceal, from celim, and the
Pauline Codex of Wuerzburg, has dober I will give
proving that foighena is a regular formation used
in all the early stages of the language. It is
called the Reduplicated and E-future, and Wind¬
isch §§275-281 gives numerous examples of it.
But it would take up too much time is I multipli¬
ed quotations proving that the first proposition is
not exact.
In Irish there were at least four futures: 1. The B
