Epistolæ Ho-elianæ familiar letters domestic and forren divided into sundry sections, partly historicall, politicall, philosophicall, vpon emergent occasions / by James Howell.

XL. To the right Honble the E R.

My Lord,

MY last was a discourse of the Latin or Primitive Roman tongue, which may be said to be expir'd in the mark•…•… though living yet in the Schools, I mean she may be said to be de∣funct in point of vulgarity any time these 1000 yeers pass'd: Out of her urne have sprung up the Italian, the Spanish and the French, wherof I am now to treat, but I think it not improper to make a research first what the radicall prime mother tongues of these Countreys wer before the Roman Eagle planted her talons upon them.

Concerning Italy, doubtles ther wer divers before the Latin did spread all over that Countrey, the Calabrian and Apulian spoke Greek, wherof som reliques are to be found to this day, but it was an adventitious no mother language to them; 'tis confess'd that Latium it self and all the territory about Rome had the Latine for its maternall and common first vernacular tongue, but Toscany and Lig•…•…ria had others quite discrepant, viz. the Hetruscane and Mesapian, wherof though ther be som records yet extant, yet ther are none alive that can understand them; the Oscan, the Sabin and Tusculan, are thought to be but dialects to these.

Now the Latine Tongue with the coincidence of the Goths lan∣guage, and other Northern peeple, who like waves tumbled off one another, did more in Italy then any where else, for she ut∣terly abolished (upon that part of the continent) all other ma∣ternall tongues as ancient as her self, and therby her eldest daughter the Italian came to be the vulgar universall tongue to the whole Countrey; yet the Latine tongue had not the sole hand in doing this, but the Goths and other septentrionall Nations who rush'd into the Roman dition, had a share in't as I said before, and pegg'd in som words which have been ever since irremovable not only in the Italian, but also in her two younger sisters the Spanish and the French who felt also the fury of those peeple: Now the Ita∣lian is the smoothest and softest running language that is, for ther is not a word except som few Monosyllables Conjunctions and

Propositions, that ends with a Consonant in the whole language, nor is ther any vulgar speech which hath more subdialects in so small a tract of ground, for Italy it self affords above eight. There you have the Romane, the Toscane, the Venetian, the Mi∣l•…•…tz, the Neapolitan•…•…, the Calabresse, the Genoevais, the Picmon∣lez, you have the Corsican, Sycilian, with divers other neigh∣bouring Islands; and as the cause why from the beginning ther wer so many differing dialects in the Greek tongue was because it was slic'd into so many Islands; so the reason why ther be so many subdialects in the Italian is the diversity of governments that the Countrey is squandred into, there being in Italy at this day two Kingdomes, viz. that of Naples and Calabria; Three Republicks, viz. Venice, Genoa and Luca, and divers other absolute Prin∣ces.

Concerning the originall language of Spain it was without any controversie, the Bascuence or Cantabrian, which tongue and ter∣ritory neither Roman, Goth, (whence this King hath his pedigree, with divers of the Nobles) or Moore, could ever conquer; though they had overrun and taken firm footing in all the rest for many ages, therfore as the remnant of the old Britaines heer, so are the •…•…scainers accounted the ancient'st and unquestionablest Gentry of Spain; insomuch that when any of them is to be dubbed Knight, ther is no need of any scrutiny to be made whether he be clear of the bloud of the Morisco's who had mingled and incorporated with the rest of the Spaniards about 700 yeeres: And as the Arcadians and Attiques in Greece for their immemoriall antiquity, are said to vaunt of themselves, that the one are 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 before the Moone; the other 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 issued of the earth it self, so the •…•…iscayner hath such like Rodomontados.

The Spanish or Castilian language hath but few subdialects, the Portugues is most considerable touching the Catalan, and Valen∣tiane; they are rather dialects of the French, Gascon or Aquitani∣•…•…; The purest dialect of the Castilian tongue is held to be in the Town of Toledo, which above other Cities of Spain hath this pri∣viledg to be arbitress in the decision of any controversie that may a∣rise touching the interpretation of any Castilian word.

It is an infallible rule to find out the mother and ancient'st tongue of any Countrey, to go among those who inhabit the bar∣ren'st and most mountainous places, which are posts of security and fastnes, wherof divers instances could be produc'd, but let the Biscayner in Spain, the VVelsh in great Britain, and the Moun∣taineers in Epire serve the turn, who yet retain their ancient un∣mixt

mother tongues, being extinguish'd in all the Countrey be∣sides.

Touching France it is not only doubtfull, but left yet undeci∣ded what the true genuine Gallic tongue was, som would have it to be the German, som the Greek, som the old British or Welsh, and the last opinion carrieth away with it the most judicious An∣tiquaries; Now all Gallia is not meant by it, but the Countrey of the Celtae that inhabit the middle part of France, who are the true Gaules; Caesar and Tacitus tell us that these Celtae, and the old Britains (wherof I gave a touch in my first letter) did mutually understand one another, and som do hold that this Island was tied to France, as Sycily was to Calabria, and Denmark to Germany by an Istmos or neck of land 'twixt Dover and Bullen, for it one do well observe the rocks of the one, and the cliffes of the other, he will judge them to be one homogeneous piece, and that they wer cut and shivered asunder by som act of violence.

The French or Gallic tongue hath divers dialects, the Picard, that of Iersey and Garnsey (appendixes once to the Dutchy of Nor∣mandy) the Provensall, the Gascon or speech of Languedoc, which Scaliger would etymologize from Languedo'uy, wheras it comes ra∣ther from Langue de Got, for the Saracens and Goths who by their in∣cursions and long stay in Aquitain corrupted the language of that part of Gallia: Touching the Britain and they of Bearn, the one is a dialect of the Welsh, the other of the Bascuence; The VVall•…•…n who is under the King of Spain, and the Liegois is also a dialect of the French, which in their own Countrey they call Romand: The Spaniard also terms his Castilian Roman, whence it may be infer'd that the first rice and derivation of the Spanish and French wer from the Romane tongue, not from the Latine, which makes me think that the language of Rome might be degenerated and becom a di∣alect to our own mother tongue (the Latine) before she brought her language to France and Spain.

Ther is besides these subdialects of the Italian, Spanish and French another speech that hath a great stroke in Greece and Turky call'd Franco, which may be said to be compos'd of all the three, and is at this day the greatest language of comerce and negotiation in the Levant.

Thus have I given your Lordship the best account I could of the sister dialects, of the Italian, Spanish, and French; In my next I shall cross the Mediterranean to Afric and the Hellespont to Asia, wher I shall observe the generall'st languages of those vast con∣tinents where such numberless swarmes and differing sorts of Na∣tions

do crawl up and down this earthly Globe, therfore it can∣not be expected that I should be so punctuall there as in Europe, so I am still,

My Lord,

Your obedient Servitor, J. H.

Wystmin. 7. Iul. 1630.