Page:Science vol. 5.djvu/437

 lVi.r 15, 1863,]

��aalronomical work nnalogoiis tt that to which lie gave his energies at Corduba. He has already undertaken some longitude (I eterm) nations, and arranged a tlme- batl, nhicb ia probably already giving daily signals, bj which the shipping in the outer roads, twelve mllea away, tnay correct and rate their chronome-

I have spoken longer than I intended, but will make no apologies, fur I know your friendly indulgence. It only remains to say for these Argentine scientific In- ■titutlons, that I believe their lucceas to be now aa- mired; Uiey will enter upon new and enlarged fields of usefulness, as Indeed they ought, for the world moves; and, for myself, that the remembrance of this occasion and of your overwhelming kindness will be a source of pride to me llirough life, and to my children afterwards.

��SEMITIC LANGUAGES AT HARVARD.

Is a programme of the Semitic courses given by Professors Toy and Lyon in Uarvard universlly, we And the fiillowing statements interesting to the young student. The Semitic family (one of the two Inflecting families of the world, the other being the Indo-Europuan) is divided Into two groups. In which ! several languages are distributed aa follows: — f ( 1, BiibyIonl«i.A»jr-

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��1= ISjrl.

��(.'ununlilc, J

��er(Pun

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��b1teiiluidiW4l-blbllcal. I I MoibMB, i-le.

t 4. Arabic. cluilrJil. and modcra dUlccu at the Bed.wlii.MdofEg>-pi.AlgBn..iuidBrri.. eoalh- J 5 B,biM.n, cmbracInK leTi-nl dlBlwUi, 8«°^»l«- ) \ 6. Ethloplc, UDd Iho moaeni reiiitol dUil.cto. Ata- I I h«r1c,Tlgr«.TIi!rluo.

The two groups differ from each other considerably In grammar and lexicon, A member of either is much nearer lo its fellow-members than to any member of the other; thus, Assyrian is moi-e Important than Arabic for Hebrew lexicogrnpUy, and Eihlopic and Arabic are of more value than Hebrew or Aramaic for Sabean. Still, all these languages have much in common with one another, and each throws light on the others.

The choice of a student will depend on his special Mm. Aramaic is the simplest Semitic language fn forms, is necessary for the study of the Talmud (Geinara), and contains material for biblical textual criticism, and fur the eccle!ta«lical and secular history of the first sixteen or seventeen centuries of our era. Hebrew is Indispensable for the critical study of the Old Testament and Talmud (Mishna). Assyrian \a grammatically interesting, and valuable for the early history of western Asia, and for North-Semitic civ- ilization in general. Phoenlclnn exlsli almost whully in Inscriptions, — a few of which are of bistorlciil im- portance (B.C. 5IX>-A.D. 150), — and In I^aiin Inin-

��scriptlon in the Pocnulus ol riiiulu<. Arabic has most fully preserved the old inflectional fonus. is indispensable in the study of general Semitic gram- mar, and has a Urge and varied liieratnre, of which the bislorical part Is of great value, and the poetrj interesting. Sabean, or Himyarillc, Is found only in inscriptions, which have recently revealed the exist- ence of an ancient and remarkable civilization in southern Arabia, and a language preseuting note- worthy peculiarities. Ethioplc, nearly related to Sabean, is the language of Ihe Christiau period of the Semitic colony in eastern Africa. Its literature consists of a Bible translation, monkish chronicles, and versions of several important apocalyptic Iroiiks. The grammar is remarkable for the symmetry of the verb. At present it has been replaced l>y various related dialects, one of which was the langnnge of the late King Theodore of Abefsinia.

Ii'o genetic relation between the Semitic and Indo- Eiiropeau families has yet been diacovercil. Tbe lexi- con of the one does not help that of the other, and only the most general connection ext-ls bt-lweea their grammars. It is only a seeming e.<:rcpiion to this statement, where one language has borrowed fiom another, as is the case with the nicidern J'ersiin and the Hindustani, a large part of whose vocabularies is taken from Ihe Arabic, and the Eranlan Uuiva- resh, whichhas taken much from Ammalc. Turkl»h, a member of still another family, is similarly Indebted

��THE STONE AGE IN AFRICA.

At the meeting of the Royal society of northern antiquaries, held April 14. 1^^, I.. Zinck gave an ac- count of the discoverie* hitherto made regarding the stone age of Africa. There wa* now no doubt that Africa bod its stone age. as well as Europe. Both in the old cultivated land of Egypt and the well-known desert of Sahani, the Inhabitants in their time had only Instruments of atone ; but be would speak only about the stone age of South Africa. About twenty years since, u as made the first And of stone objects in the region of the Cape of Good dope. We know now that the nstWi^B on the south-west coast of Cape- land, evi'n al the end of the sixteenth century, paid extravngiiiil prices for iron,«nd Mi^aethens had before found the nHtlves of Madagascar using weapons of Iron, llelii-s of the stone age ore also found among the liii-linien. whi> were driven back to Ihe Kalahari deferi. titid wliote arrow-heads were of slone. There arc (iiitnd in South Africa, from an ethnological point nl view, three peoples, — the Kafflrs, Hottentots, and llusliiiifii, — who represent three waves of migration. The ItKt are the oldest people of Ihe land, and have Intbdrilme i-xietided themselves far to the south, where. In Ilie rocky htillowf, they have left monuments of various kinds, executed with much ability. They were acquainted with perspective, and bail an appre- eiiiiiiiiL of caricature. The llotlenlots inter drove them back, but were themselves drlten hack by the ELiropeans and the Kaffirs. The latt, who came Irom till' north, began to encroach on ihe Ca]ie territory

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