have a better taste and understanding than you; and that this is the truth, we have proofs, amongst others, in the works of that excellent poet and renowned cavalier, Mossen (Mr.) Ausias March, whom, being a native of Valencia, the Catalonians have wished to claim as their own, and the Castilians have labored to understand, having him read in their public Academies. And as this is unnatural to those, whom I have mentioned, both on account of the difficulty of understanding the full force of the language, and moreover on account of the variety of opinions, and the long course of time which has elapsed since his day,-in the abovementioned works, and in these which I here present,-(not to mention many others worthy of being offered to the notice of men, and held in well-merited esteem,)—the language is becoming daily corrupted. And some times thinking to improve it, as poetry is a delicate matter, they change the expressions and alter the verses in such a manner, that if, at the present day, some of them should again reach the hands of their authors, they would not recognize them. Hence I exhort you, and charge you as strongly as I am able that you should return to yourselves, and vindicate your honor, by not suffering the works of so many celebrated authors to be lost, but by renovating them again, show to foreign nations the capacity of your writers, the richness of your language, and the noble things, which are written therein.

3. The Majorcan. This is the name generally given to the dialect spoken in the three islands of Majorca, Minorca, and Iviza. Even this patois is not uniform in these three islands but seems to have some local peculiarities, as we shall have occasion to observe in presenting our extracts. The first exhibits the language as spoken in the island of Majorca. It is extracted from a little catechism of Christian doctrine, printed in the city of Palma in 1817.*

Tot bon Christiá

es molt obligat

á tanir devoció

á la Santo Creu

de Jesu-Christ nostron Deu.

Puis en ella volgué morir

para nos redimir

de la captividat

de nostron pecat.

* Doctrina Christiana a manera de Dialogo entre el mestre y lo dexeble. Composta pu lo R. P. Diego de Compañia de Jesus.

This is so very simple, that we shall not take up the room with a translation. We pass to the dialect spoken in Minorca. Dr. Ramis y Ramis, speaking of this dialect, says; 'It is evident, that although our language is derived from the ancient Lemosin, which is spoken alike by Catalonians, Valencians, and Majorcans, this does not excuse us from the necessity of having some elementary reading-book in our own peculiar dialect; since there is a difference between it and that spoken by them, both in the pronunciation and the orthography.' To show the difference which exists between these two forms of the same dialect, we subjoin the Pater-noster and the Ave-Maria in both, marking those words wherein they differ.

*

MAJORCAN.

'Lo Pare nostro. Pare nostro qui estan en lo cel, sia santificat lo vostro Sant Nom. Vinga á nosaltres lo vostro Sant Reyne. Fassas la vostre voluntat, axí en la terra, com se fà en lo Cel. Lo nos

* 6

MINORCAN.

'El Pare nostro.

Pare nostro qui estan en el cel, sie santificat el vostro Sant Nom; venguie anosaltres el vostro Sant Reine; fassies la vostra voluntat axi en la terra com se fá en el Cel. Nostro pá

Aparex qu' encare qu'el nostre (idiome) sie trét de l'antig llemosí del qual usan igualment los Cataláns, Valenciáns y Mallorquins, açó no nos escúsa d'haver de tenir principis de lectura própis d'el nostro dialéctic; assent axi qu' aquest se diferencia d' el d'aquells lant en la pronúncia, cóm en l' ortografia.-Principis de la Lectura Menorquina. Per un Mahonés. Mahò. 1804. Prefaci.

Y

tro pá, de cada dia, donaulonos Señor en lo dia de vuy. perdonaunos las nostras culpas, axí com nosaltres perdonam á nostros deutors. Y no permeteu que nosaltres caygem en la tentaciò ans deslliuraunos Señor de qualsevol mal. Amen.

La Ave Maria.

Deu nos salve Maria plena de gracia lo Señor es ab vos. Beneyte sou Vos entre totas las donas, y beneyt es lo Fruyt del vostro Sant ventre, Jesus. Santa Maria Mara de Deu, pregau per nosaltres pecadors, are, y en la hora de la nostra mort. Amen.'

de cade die, donaunoslo Señor en el die d' avui, y perdonaunos las nostras culpas, axi com nosaltres perdonam a los nostros deutors, y no permeteu que nosaltres caiguem en la tentaciò; ausbè alliberaunos, Señor, de qualsevol mal; axi sie.

La Salutaciò Angelica. Dèu vos salve Maria plena de gracia; el Señor es ab vos; beneita sou vos entre totas las donas, y beneit es el fruit d'el vostro Sant ventre, Jesus. Santa Maria, Mara de Déu, pregau per nosaltres pecadors, are, y a l'hora de la nostra mort; axi sie.'

We now hasten to the last of the three leading dialects of Spain.

III. THE GALICIAN. The name of this dialect,-Gallego or Lingoa Gallega,—sufficiently indicates its native province. Originally, however, it was not confined as now to the northwestern corner of Spain, but extended southward along the Atlantic sea-coast through what is now the kingdom of Portugal. From the old Galician Romance, the Portuguese language had its origin. The Galician dialect is now confined to a single province, and even there limited to the peasantry and common people ;-among the educated classes the Castilian is spoken. A strong resemblance appears to exist between the Gallego and the Catalan. The bishop of Orenze,' says Raynouard, having been requested to examine the vulgar dialect of Galicia, and to ascertain whether it bore any resemblance to the Catalan, answered, that the common people, by whom alone the vulgar idiom of Galicia is spoken, employ not only nouns, and verbs, and other parts of speech identically the same as those of the Catalan, but even entire phrases.'

This dialect has been very little employed in literature. Alfonso X., however, composed in it a book of Cánticas;* and Camoens two or three sonnets.† Some other writers are mentioned in the letter of the Marques de Santillana.‡

Adelung gives the Lord's prayer in the forms of this dialect. We subjoin them both.

'Padre nostro que estas no ceo, santificado sea o teu nome; venja a nosoutros o teu Renjo; fagase a tua voluntade asi na terra, come no ceo; o pan nostro de cada dia danolo oje; e perdonainos as nostras deudas, asi come nosoutros perdonaimos aos nostros deudores; e non nos deixes cair na tentazon; mas libra nos de male.'

'Padre noso, que estais no ceo, santificado sea il tu numbre; venja a nos il tu renjo; hajase tu voluntade asi na tierra, come nel cielo; il pan noso de cada dia da nosle oje; e perdonanos as nosas deudas, asi come nosautros perdonamos a os nosos deudores; e non nos deixes cair na tentazon; mas librainos de male.'

Thus have we given, as briefly as possible, a sketch of the several languages or dialects of Spain. Perhaps we have not gone sufficiently into detail for the professed scholar, but the majority of our readers will, we think, pardon us any omissions on this head. Our object has been to present the most striking features in the history of a language, which is justly popular among us. We have given the broad and general outlines;-those who would fill them up are referred to the works from which we have drawn our illustrations, and which we have had occasion to cite in the course of this article.

* Sanchez. T. I.

p. 150.

p. 58.

Obras de Grande Luis de Camôes. T. III. pp. 148, 149.
Sanchez. T. I.

ART. III.—McIlvaine's Evidences of Christianity. The Evidences of Christianity, in their external Division, exhibited in a Course of Lectures delivered in Clinton Hall, in the Winter of 1831-2, under the Appointment of the University of the City of New York. By CHARLES P. McILVAINE, D. D., Rector of St. Ann's Church, Brooklyn; Professor of the Evidences of Revealed Religion and of Sacred Antiquities in the University of the City of New York. New York. 1832.

It was the fate of Christianity to struggle into existence amidst a host of violent prejudices, and, from the first hour of her being, to encounter a bitter and malignant opposition. Judaism on the one hand, and Paganism on the other, were startled by her claims; and though for a time, while they looked at her in the feebleness of her infancy, they might have imagined that they could see signs of impotence enough to keep down their fears, yet they soon found that there was an energy and a majesty in her movements, which they could not contemplate without apprehension. They soon saw the infant, which they supposed too powerless to be regarded, putting forth the strength of a giant; and before many years had gone by, they could not resist the conviction, that she had reached a maturity and was exerting an influence, which had no propitious bearing on their own probable destiny. Then came the assault in good earnest; an assault, which grew out of the conviction that religious usages, which had been consecrated by the practice and prejudices of many generations, were in danger of being set aside, and that the principalities and powers of Paganism, if not guarded with extraordinary care and sacrifice, were likely to receive their death-blow ;—an assault, which was sustained by the most vigorous and uncompromising efforts of Jewish prejudice on the one hand, and heathen superstition on the other. Every one, who has looked at all at the history of the church during the first few centuries, knows that Christianity had to make her way against an array of opposition, which no other system of religion has ever had to encounter; and that, though she marched forward with a VOL. XXXVI.-NO. 79. 44