LETTER XXV.

TO MR. HECKEWELDER.

PHILADELPHIA, 1st October, 1816.

DEAR SIR.--Various professional avocations have prevented me from answering sooner your kind letter of the 5th ult. I thank you for the Delaware translation of the Lord’s prayer; it does not differ much from that in Loskiel, but the English explanations which you have given add greatly to its value.

The information which your letter contains on the subject of the annexation to the verb of the form or inflexion indicative of the gender, is quite new to me. Though I was already acquainted with the principle on which this takes place, I was not fully aware of the extent of its application. We have already noticed and remarked upon the combination of the pronominal form with the active verb[307] in “_getannitowit n’quitayala_, I fear God;” in which the pronoun _him_ is expressed by the last syllable _ala_ or _yala_, so that it is the same as if you said “_God I fear him_,” in Latin _Deus timeo eum_, and by contraction, _Deus timeum_. With this it is not difficult to pursue the same course or “plan of ideas,” by connecting not only the subject pronoun, but its gender, animate, or inanimate, with the verbal form. The idea of the sexes, if the language admitted of it, might be expressed in the same manner. Thus also Latin words might be compounded on the Delaware plan. If I wished to express in that manner “_I see a lion_,” I would say _leo video eum_, and by contraction _videum_; and if the object was of the feminine gender, I would say _videam_, for _video eam_. The difference between the Latin and the Delaware is that in the former the ideas of the pronoun and its gender are expressed by a _nominal_ and in the latter by a _verbal_ form. I consider _leonem video_, as a contraction of _leo eum video_; the _n_ being interposed between _leo_ and _eum_, and the _u_ in _eum_ left out for euphony’s sake. In the same manner _fœminam_ appears to me to be contracted from _fœmina eam_;[308] whence we may, perhaps, conclude that in the formation of different languages, the same ideas have occurred to the minds of those who framed them; but have been differently combined, and consequently differently expressed. Who would have thought that the barbarous idioms of the American savages could have thrown light on the original formation of the noble and elegant language of ancient Rome? Does not this very clearly shew that nothing is indifferent in science, and above all, that we ought by no means to despise what we do not know?

I thought we had exhausted all the verbal forms of the Delaware language, when I accidentally fell upon one which Zeisberger has not mentioned in his grammar, but of which he gives an example in his vocabulary or spelling-book. It is a curious combination of the relative pronoun “_what_” or “_that which_” with an active verb, regularly conjugated through the several transitions or personal forms. The author thus conjugates the present of the indicative.

FIRST TRANSITION.

_Singular._ _Plural._

Elan, _what I tell thee_, ellek, _what I tell you_, elak, _what I tell him_. elachgup, _what I tell them_.

SECOND TRANSITION.

_Singular._ _Plural._

Eliyan, _what thou tellest me_, eliyenk, _what thou tellest us_, elan, _what thou tellest him_. elachtup, _what thou tellest them_.

THIRD TRANSITION.

_Singular._ _Plural._

Elit, _what he tells me_, elquenk, _what he tells us_, elquon, _what he tells thee_, elquek, _what he tells you_, elat, elguk, _what he tells him_. elatup, elatschi, _what he tells them_.

FOURTH TRANSITION.

_Singular._ _Plural._

Elenk, _what we tell you_, ellek, _what we tell you_, elank, _what we tell him_. elanquik, _what we tell them_.

FIFTH TRANSITION.

_Singular._ _Plural._

Eliyek, _what you tell me_, eliyenkup, _what you tell us_, elatup, _what you tell him_. elaachtitup, _what you tell them_.

SIXTH TRANSITION.

_Singular._ _Plural._

Elink, _what they tell me_, elgeyenk, _what they tell us_, elquonnik, _what they tell thee_, elgeyek, _what they tell you_, elaachtit, _what they tell him_. elatschik, _what they tell us_.

Thus I have given myself the pleasure of transcribing this single tense of one of the moods of this beautiful verb, which I find is used also in the sense of “_as I tell thee_,” &c., and is a striking example of the astonishing powers of this part of speech in the Delaware language. Can you tell me where those powers end? Is there anything which a Delaware verb will not express in some form or other? I am no longer astonished to find that Mr. Zeisberger has not displayed in his grammar all the richness of this idiom. A single verb, with its various forms and transitions, would almost fill a volume, and there are no less than eight conjugations, all of which were to be explained and illustrated by examples!

But it is not in the verbs alone that consist the beauties of this language. The other parts of speech also claim our attention. There I find, as well as in the verbs, forms and combinations of which I had not before conceived an idea. For instance, Zeisberger tells us that there are nouns substantive in the Delaware which have a _passive mood_! Strange as this may appear to those who are unacquainted with Indian forms, it is nevertheless a fact which cannot be denied; for our author gives us several examples of this _passive noun_, all ending with the substantive termination _wagan_, which, as you have informed me, corresponds with the English _ness_, in “happiness,” and the German _heit_ or _keit_, in the numerous words ending with these syllables. Permit me to select some of the examples given by Zeisberger.

Machelemuxowagan, _honour, the being honoured_. Gettemagelemuxowagan, _the receiving favour, mercy, tenderness_. Mamschalgussiwagan,[309] _the being held in remembrance_. Witahemgussowagan, _the being assisted or helped_. Mamintochimgussowagan,[310] _the being esteemed_. Wulakenimgussowagan, _the being praised_. Machelemoachgenimgussowagan, _the receiving honour and praise_. Amangachgenimgussowagan, _the being raised or elevated by praise_. Schingalgussowagan, _the being hated_. Mamachtschimgussowagan, _the being insulted_.

You will, I am afraid, be disposed to think that we have changed places, and that I am presuming to give you instruction in the Delaware language; but I am only repeating to you the lessons that I have learned from Zeisberger, to save you the trouble of explaining what I can obtain from another source; to be corrected, if I have committed mistakes, and to receive from you the information which my author does not give. Besides, as our correspondence is intended for the use of the Historical Committee, my occasional extracts from Zeisberger, and the observations to which they give rise, are addressed to them as well as to you, and under your correction, may contribute to give them a clearer idea of the forms of the Indian languages. Our letters thus form a kind of epistolary conference between the scholar and his master, held before a learned body, who profit even by the ignorance of the student, as it draws fuller and more luminous explanations from the teacher. Had I proceeded otherwise, your task would have been much more laborious and troublesome, and it would have been ungenerous to have exacted it from you.

In this manner I have relieved you from the trouble of explaining the _passive substantives_ of Zeisberger, unless I should have mistaken his meaning, in which case, you will, of course, set me right. But this author does not tell us whether there are on the other hand _active substantives_, such as “_the honouring_,” “_the favouring_,” “_the remembering_,” “_the praising_,” “_the insulting_,” “_the hating_.” Here I beg you will be so good as to supply his deficiency, and explain what he has left unexplained.

I find also that there are diminutive words in the Delaware, as in the Italian, such as _lennotit_, a little man, (from _lenno_); _amementit_, a little child, (from _amemens_); _wiquames_, a little house, (from _wiquam_), &c. Pray, are there also augmentatives? Is there any difference between the diminutive terminations _tit_ and _es_, and what is it?

I have been told that you intend soon to visit Philadelphia; I shall rejoice to find it true, and to form a personal acquaintance with you, which, I hope, will produce a lasting friendship.

I am, &c.