the laws for which he must shed his blood The nearest approach we ha veseen, to a and offer his last rye-sheaf, are monopolized correct statement of the wealth and poverty by an omnipotent and unfeeling middle- of the Swedish people, is* as follows:

caste? The whole system of European finance must undergo a severe revision, or it will

end in general European demoralization.

Thus about three-thirteenths, or nearly labourer, become continually poorer, and one-fourth of the whole population, are property is more and more centralized in the paupers, or approaching thereto. The pro- hands of an increasingly powerful middle portion, however, becomes annually more and manufacturing class. Some years back,‡ unfavourable. Singularly enough, the two the landed and other real property of the extremes of society, the nobility and the

Nobility was officially valued at 75 millions of dollars banco, or about £6,250,000 sterling.

Clergy

Burgesses

Yeomanry

1 do 35 do

do

do

£83,333

£2,916,500

£14,333,333

We find however that the nobility-as a class principally consumers on an average of the last seventeen years, from 1822 to 1839,§ diminish their real property by sales to the amount of about 696,110 rix-dollars banco (or 58,000l. sterling) per annum, of which sum about 31,000l. is annually added to the property of the wealthier untitled classes, and about 27,000l. to that of the yeomanry. We must not therefore be surprised that this last class, "Sveriges Allmoge," the commons of Sweden, whose labour produces all and pays all, whose numbers are as sixteen to one of all other classes put together, || and which owns and with its own hands cultivates

about three-fifths of all the land in their country, should become more and more indignant at the continuance of constitutional enactments which give them only a onefourth part in the representation and legislation of the state.

It is remarkable enough, that with the above-mentioned steady progression of poverty and crime, there is in Sweden, as in so many other countries, a corresponding increase of production and commerce. This can only be explained by remembering that modern legislation confounds production with prosperity, and manufactures with morals, and sacrifices the dreadfully burdened yeoman and unrepresented mechanic to untaxed machinery and middle-class monopoly.

For our present Number we must, from an immense press of matter from nearly all quarters of the world, here conclude our no

See Forsell's Statistik, p. 385. Swedish pauperism is increasing so rapidly, and is assuming so threatening an appearance, that the government lately appointed a commission to inquire into its causes, and to draw up the heads of a new poor law. Their report has already been presented, and some decisive change will doubtless be made at the next diet on this important question. The late diet has empowered the king to take measures for that purpose, on principles which they have drawn out. One of these, for the first time in modern European legislation, makes the manufacturer to a certain extent and in certain cases liable for the support of his poor work-people. This precious and golden enactment, "the beginning of the end," was the motion of Professor Geijer.

tice, reserving for the next further details and | dering that few English bestow their time

statistical tables of the commerce and manufactures, navy, representation, criminal jurisprudence, and mortality, together with the present claims of Sweden to the attention of, God-be-praised, a Conservative ministry at home, and of the world at large.

on the Continent so well, or seize with the same avidity on its advantages. The view taken of the origin of the Romance tongues gives them a far higher antiquity than is commonly assigned them; still there is great difficulty in referring them to anything like the era of classicism, and Professor Jäkel and some other German writers seem rather disposed to place classicism at a far more modern period. We refer our readers to No. XX. of this Review, in which "The German Origin of the Latin Language and of the Roman Peoples" is curiously considered, and the derivation tried the reverse way; and deeply should we injure Professor Jäkel did we not fully admit that he has thrown considerable light on many points. It is an extremely difficult question to determine how tongues so discrepant as the eastern, the classical, and romantic, could ever THE work before us, which must have be fused into one compound, and become cost the author many years of hard labour, tongues in existing parlance; but it is asthough it appears in the French language, suredly the case, and the further investigawas composed by an Englishman in his own tion proceeds, the clearer does the truth of tongue, and then translated into French. the Scripture, with respect to one great The celebrated author of Vathek, we believe, common language, become predominant.

ART. VIII.-Histoire des Langues Romanes et de leur Littérature, depuis leur Origine jusqu'au XIV. Siècle. Par M. A. Bruce Whyte. (History of the Romance Languages, and of their Literature, from their Origin to the 14th Century. By M. A. Bruce Whyte.) 3 Vols. Treuttel aud Wurtz. Paris, 1841.

With this question, however, we shall not, on the present occasion, interfere-though we admit that into this, the ground that we are at present breaking must lead-but look simply to a part of this great question, the origin of Romance. The researches of our author are not eminently encouraging as to its era, since at the commencement of his work he informs us :

proceeded on the reverse principle, and his French is even considered to equal his mother tongue. The reasons which induced Mr. Bruce Whyte to adopt this singular plan were the following: first, his own residence in France, where it is nearly impossible to get English printed correctly (and certainly where the French have tried their hands, unhappily, on Mr. Whyte's own poetry, they have made sad work of it); next, the constant superintendence required for such a work; and, lastly, that the French feel more interest in the history and analysis of Romance than the English. On this last point we avow our incredulity; the taste infused by our great romancer into England, l'Europe Latine, en étouffant completement les

"Jusqu'ici le but principal des auteurs semble avoir été de simplifier la question et d'assigner à l'or l'origine de Romance une date positive et un lieu special, où il prit tout à coup naissance, et d'où il se ramifia sur divers points jusqu'à ce que, par son energie propre, il se repandit dans toute dialectes indigenes de chaque peuple. Nous avouerons franchement que quant à nous, après les recherches les plus assidues, nous n'avons pas la date ou le berceau de cette langue; et ici nous devons faire observer que, si nous parlons de son origine dans le titre de notre ouvrage, nous ne pretendons pas remonter au-delà des preuves, qui ressortent, soit de l'idiome même, soit de la tradition ou de l'histoire, soit de sa comparaison avec les langues mortes ou vivantes."

and which, like the spell of the wizard, works its way even after his entombment, is, we think, scarcely appreciable by those réussis à determiner, ni même à conjecturer,

Englishmen who have not been domiciled here, and thus enabled to trace the mutations of their native isle.

Mr. Whyte has given up to the tracing of the origin of the Romance* tongues so much of time and leisure, and has so dili gently examined the foreign libraries to illustrate his subject, that we forgive him this ungentle treatment of his own land, consi

• We are greatly at a loss in English for expressions of this character. The Dictionnaire de l'Académie gives " Romane, adj. langue Romane ou Ro mance, composée de Celtique et de Latin, qui fut en usage en France sous les deux premières races;"

With this opinion thus expressed, and further that the discovery of the origin of languages is as untraceable as that of the nations who used them, but with the full conviction also that no national dialect can ever be uprooted, our author proceeds to inform us of the views and motives on which his book has been constructed; 1st, to repair

obviously not the full extent of the term, giving only the injustice with which Latin Europe has

been treated in all the middle age details; hope to give. To the attentive observer of 2d, to indicate what circumstances moral languages it will be perfectly apparent that in and political, have favoured the develop- the European, more especially in the French, ment and progress of the common tongue; Italian, and Spanish, there exists a kind of 3d, to combat the idea so commonly enter- general analogy between them which would tained that the Arabs have powerfully influ- appear to indicate a common base. Various enced the revival of science in Europe; writers in these countries have indited

4th, to prove that all the branches of the family have created their literature by a spontaneous effort in the mutual interchange of words, idioms, phrases, rules, and forms of their respective poetry.

Some idea of the extent of the work conducted on the above principles may be formed from the subjoined statement. It

We

learned works on their individual tongues;
but anything like an attempt to deduce
principles from the general analogy has not
been made with any degree of success.
think the time is probably past when we
shall begin to trace everything in language
back to the classical tongues, and when we
shall begin to see that there must have been

a

commences with the popular hypotheses to nations, and those of high civilisation, indeexplain the origin of the Romance tongues; pendent of them. A history, for example, reviews the system of M. Raynouard, to of Etruria, of which the Roman historians which the author opposes his own. The have furnished no details, and to which ancient inscriptions of Italy are next con- every day contributes something additional sidered; then the origin of the Basque lan- to our previous information, might have led guage, which is followed by a chapter on us to a very different position in the view of the permanence of indigenous dialects. the present subject to what we are at preThe unity of the language in France fol- sent enabled to command. In the considerlows, next an analysis of the Wallachian, ation of these questions we are further emthen a comparison of the primitive verbs; barrassed in the use of terms. The terms the Romaunch or language of the Tyrol; Roman and Romance are never used by the the gradual corruption of the Latin language, writers of the middle ages to designate Latin, with the fusion of this with Romance. A but to express the popular dialects derived view of the middle ages follows, and the from various countries which were in use first dramatic attempts. Our author here under the Roman rule. The French in raises his standard against the Arabs, and their vanity would confine them to Provence, then proceeds to the origin of chivalry, with which is absurd. Scholarship has exhaustwhich he closes his first volume. The ed itself in efforts to show that French, second contains an account of the Nibelun- Italian and Spanish, are of Latin origin, to gen, the Arabic tale of Yordhan, with the but little demonstrative efficacy. There are introduction of Arab tales in general. The four principal theories on this subject; 1st. development of Romanticism follows. A That which derives Romance from view of the inferior character of the old gradual corruption of grammatical or classiItalian is followed by one of Provence, the cal Latin: 2dly. From the Sermo Rusticus, Troubadours, with the declension of the or patois: 3dly. That which deduces it Provençal tongue in France, together with from the mixture of Latin and Gothic: 4thly. its advance in Catalonia. The progress of From the Romance or Provençal. Now no the Spanish language is next considered, the man will assuredly, when freed from the origin of the Langue d'Oil, and the elements fetters of classicism, admit the first. The of the French, with which the second part Latin is a language in all respects sui closes. The third embraces the poem of generis; the forms of its verbs, the inflexion Charlemagne, the lays and songs of the of its cases, are alike unique and wholly Trouveres, with the Fabliaux and chronicles varying from any modern language, saving of France. The rise of Italian literature is its passive, which is formed the same as the next considered, the French influence on Welch. Modern languages are certainly Italy, with a review of Dante and Petrarch; insusceptible of case or declension. It is and though we think scarcely within the impossible to consider that any derivative limits of the proposed subject, many new tongue from Latin only could so completely details connected with these writers are lose all traces of its original. At the same brought forward with boldness and consider- time the image that Mr. Bruce Whyte has able ingenuity. Such is the outline of our employed to convey his notion of this disauthor's labours. To attempt to do more than crepancy is most unfortunate, inasmuch as slightly touch upon these numerous points we do not see that it is impossible that the would far exceed our limits; but this we Greeks could derive their architecture from promise, though more than outline we cannot Egypt. On the contrary, we believe they did, and we trace in the Egyptian temple | fugio, non barbarismi confusionem devito, the basis of the Greek, and conceive the hiatusque motusque etiam et præpositionum Corinthian very clearly traceable out of the casus servare contemno; quia indignum Egyptian orders. Still, though the illustration fail, the principle receives our cordial support.

shown in Art. I. in this Number, in freedom unquestionably did not start into its perfection from Aspirates, which appears to have pre- at its birth. The genius of the Provençal is vailed at a very early period, even in the evidently totally distinct from both Italian second century; but this alone, and many and Spanish. Certainly the peculiarity of other points of similarity, are not adequate these languages in their definite article, while even to the demonstration of Italian forming it demonstrates them underived from the

this patois, and we are on the search for a principle that shall extend to many tongues. The third hypothesis has Emanuel Thesaurus for its author. This writer says, in his life of Theodoric, "Allora di due popoli si fece un popolo, e di due linguagge uno linguaggio; in cui latininizzando la barbarie e barbarizzando la Latinità nacque la bella lingua Italiana." Muratori and Tiraboschi incline to this opinion. Great names, doubtless, but on a diligent but simply when the common Italian emerged comparison of all extant of Gothic, the ver- from the Latin. Here you see blended to

up many usages of the Provençal writers, tional notices of the earlier nations of the and indicating that they are not arbitrary; it world are so extremely scant that his ineffihas rendered Provençal intelligible, but it ciency to establish what no one has any has not made it the solvent of all other lan- means of doing does not amount to much guage into one common base. The language against his proposition. A few nations, the of the Troubadours is of great and leading Egyptian, yet that not much, the Greek and importance on all these inquiries, and M. Latin have usurped the records of time; and Raynouard has shown the component parts though this journal has bestowed no small of it in such a manner as to induce us to pains on bringing to notice the Sclavonian refer all readers of that literature to his work, and other great stocks, with a view to dive which illustrates the period admirably. We into the past history of the species, and into next proceed to the hypothesis of our author. the origin of tongues, yet have our materials, He divides it into five propositions: -1st. At like the Germans in Greek, to use Porson's an epoch of a very remote period, and far doggerel, been "sadly to seek" (whether this anterior to the historical era, different dialects might not be reversed, we shall not stop to of an unknown mother tongue must have inquire): and we have had to draw largely prevailed in the west and south of Europe, on hypothesis, where materials were neither where they had produced the Gaelic or Cel- afforded to construct upon the solid basis of tic, and the ancient languages of Italy, Spain, analogy nor remains. Our author has then and Great Britain. 2d. We are led to think to show all that is left open to him, the that under the Roman rule the illiterate traces of the invisible past language in other classes of Italy and of the provinces never tongues, that common type from which the entirely abandoned their national dialects, but rest have been derived, and he proceeds to that some words, Latin and others, having the ancient inscriptions of Italy, to remains been introduced by the Roman proprietors of the ancient Breton, the Armorican, into the conquered countries, in the end pre- and the Basque, for the detection of the lost vailed in use in those countries, with modifi- mother tongue. Our author has here not cations, however, among each nation, accord- founded his observations on the coincidence ing to the genius of the mother tongue, and of isolated expressions, which may arise from according to the different circumstances which a multitude of causes. It is on general afexert an influence on the pronunciation. finities of structure, analogy, and govern3dly. We are authorized to conclude, from ment, that he attempts to establish his point. the historic testimonies and others, that, The ancient question of the first inhabitcounting from. the reign of Trajan, the Ro- ants of Italy, equally insoluble and unprofitamance dialects must have existed in substance ble as a question of debate, he abandons. in all parts of Latin Europe. 4thly. After The striking relation of Oscan and Etrusthe dismemberment of the empire, these dia- can to the ancient monuments, which dimilects, homogeneous in their character and nishes as the Greek gains the ascendency, he general construction, but different in forms indicates. The Breton he views as closely and details, received a great number of addi- analogous to them. Latin also is identical tions and modifications derived from the with it. The formation of the passive in idioms of the nations who established them- this language he ascribes to a root even at the selves in Italy and in the provinces; but they present day preserved in Welch. The genewere called Roman or Romance because sub- rality of our readers are fully aware that the stantially transmitted by the Romans, com- passive in Latin is formed by the simple letprising under that appellation all those who ter r, thus amo, amor, &c.; and they are obtained the right of citizenship. 5. Lastly, equally aware that there existed in use down it is sufficiently proved that from the com- to Virgil's time certainly, nay to Juvenal almencement of the middle age the Romance so, infinitives passive, such as amarier, lelanguage had sufficient stability to influence gier, mittier. Now it is certainly singular the Latin of that period, which, acting in its that in Welch the passive sense is given by turn on the Romance, has gradually ripened this suffix. Thus caru, amare; carer, amari and transformed it into the languages of Italy, or amarier; wilaw, plorare; wilawer, ploSpain, and France. rari, &c. The active torri or tori,

"to

Of his first proposition our author candidly break," becomes passive by adding er. The admits that he cannot claim any credence to root is tor, "breaking." Thus "Tor-er pen it from adducing examples of it, nor any his- y den," "Let this man's head be severed." torical trace of its diffusion, nor even tradi- We cannot fix the epoch of the Latin passive tion. Still he argues, and we think rightly, flexions, but we do know that they preceded that this is not a gratuitous and baseless sup- the conquest of Magna Græcia, since Ennius position; and assuredly historical and tradi- has them. We think this a tolerably fair