Blair Collection > Treatise on the language, poetry, and music of the Highland clans

14 THE LANGUAGE
Tlieid sinn tliiiir nii beiilaichen. Go we (shall) over the defiles.
lieyd siun liayr ua be]aycli-en
Fhuair fasan is foghlum. Eeceived accomplishments aud learning.
hu-ayr fasan is foghlum
Shiubhladh tu fasach airidh-glinne. Travel you would the desert sheiling-glen.
hi-uvla' tu fa-sach ayii'-gilinne
Gheibhte roinn agus orain is iomadh comh- Got would be (humorous) distiches, songs,
yeyv-te roynn agus oiayn is i-oma' cov- and anecdotes, them among.
radh* na measg.
ra' na mesg
Cha phill, clia phill, cha pliill sin tuille. Return, return, return shall we never.
clia fihll, cha filiU, clia flhll sin tuylle
The immutable consonants, 1, n, r, bave slightly aspirated sounds, like 1
in leek, n in knit, and r in rung. The double nn has always a decidedly
aspirated sound.
The Gaelic, like the Greek, has only the definite article, and speaks
indefinitely, by mentioning an object by itself, — as, duiiic, (duynct) a man, an
duine, the man ; dun, a fort or castle. The article is declined by gender,
number, and case, as follows : —
Singular.
Masculine.
Nom. An, am.
Gen. An, a.
Dat. An, a', 'm.
The rule whereby the initial letter of every root forming compound words
is preserved, is traditionally ascribed to the Druids, but of this there is no
written evidence, any more than there is for ascribing to them many practices,
medicinal aud agricultural, which must have originated in an extensive acquaint-
ance with natural science, and which have been can-ied down to the present
day. The absence of Druid records is ascribed to the deadly enemies their
patriotism had made them in the Romans. The enniitj' thus provoked not only
brought destruction on tlieir great college and manuscripts in Anglesea, but
also on their wives and families ; and all that had escaped the Romans of these in
all probability most valuable manuscripts, were afterwards destroyed by (Jolumba
and his monks at lona, where they established the seat of learning after the
destruction of Anglesea. But retribution seems to be an ordinance of Nature.
If the manuscripts of the Druids have not been preserved, neither have those
of the Culdees, with very few exceptions, been preserved by their Roman
Catholic successors; nor have theirs, in their turn, escaped the priesthood of
the Reformation ; so true it is that " priests of all religions are the same." But,
* TIlis and similar wonls are in gi>neral cuntiactcd ami iii-onounccd (hiis, coinliraclh, eo'ia. coiuh-
luiidli, co'nay, Ac. &('.
t Tlie vc.wcls arc alw;,ys im.iH.nii.cd iit the end o( syllal.lcs or Mords. Tlic English reader slinnld
eRpecially ri'incnilicr tliis. Tlicn^ arc no silent letters in my phonetic spelling.