PART
7 –
Ch.XLI.17 (I – III)
The
great Pelasgian empire
(The
Pelasgian language)
XLI.
17. The origin of the definite post-posed article “lu”, “le”, and “a”.
I.
The origin of the
post-posed article lu (l), le, m. and a (la), fem. in the
Romanian language is much older than it has been so far believed.
“Our mode of
speech, noster sermo”, writes Quintilianus, “has no need of article” (Inst.
I. 4). With these words the Roman orator meant the literary Latin language
(noster sermo), and in no way the rustic popular language, in which we find in
fact numerous and important traces of usage of the postpositive article lus,
la, lum singular, li, lae (le), la plural.
On the
Personal names: Forculus, an ancient divinity of Rome; Aremulus, a king in Alba; Romulus, the first king of Rome, Proculus, Faustulus, Ceculus, Venulus (Venu with the Etruscans), Tremulus, Catulus and Catus, Lentulus and Lentus, Romanulus, Brutulus, Paculus (Paakul with the Samnites), Sabullos
(Sabullus) in Sicily, Ursulus, Ursolus and Ursus (C. I. L. vol. I; Livy,
Rer. Rom. libri; Varro, De l. lat.; Virgil, Aeneid; Fabretti, Corpus Inscr. Ital.).
In various names of
cities, castles and mountains: Asculum,
Batulum, Brundulus, Corniculum, Cuculum, Cingulum, Hetriculum, Ianiculus and
Ianiculum, Capitulum (Romanian Capetul), Larolum, Nerulum, Ocriculum, Tusculum,
Trossulum, Vesulus, mountain in
Aqulia, another Vesulus in the
Alpes, at the sources of the river Pad.
Pliny mentions a number of peoples and tribes
which had disappeared from Latium many centuries before his times, among which
were: Aesulani, Longulani, Olliculani,
Octuloni, Querquetulani, Venetulani, names which derive from ancient
topical forms like Aesulum, Longulum,
etc (lib. III. 9. 16).
We find in Etruscan
inscriptions the personal names: Cemul
Mlescul Srancxl (Stanciul?);Tunchul;
Jupetrule pure = Jupiter puer,
probably a vocative. Vulcan as a god is called Sethlan (Theil, Gr.
Dict. de la l. latine by Freund, I. p. XI; Orell.
Nr. 1384), without u in the last syllable, as we find in “Srancxl” and as in the
Macedo-Rom. dialect “fiicior-lu, picurar-lu”.
Other Latin words
in which the post-posed article lus appears, are: cuculus (cucus in Spanish, cucul in
Rom.); ullus (Rom. unul), a
contracted form of unulus = unlus = ullus; ninculus (Rom. nici unul); focus
and foculus in the acts of the
Arvali Brothers. In tonitrus and tonitrum, as well as in other words
with similar terminations, l of the post-posed article has
changed into r. The original form could only be tonitus, as in strepitus,
fremitus, sonitus.
In the Romanian
language we are also presented with the changing of l into r
in the forms of the postpositive article: Dumnezeur
= Dumnezeul (Puscariu, Doc. p.
limba, p. 14); inremire = iremile =
inemile (Sbiera, Cod. Voron. p. 104,
14; 129, 2); trupureror = trupurelor
(Hasdeu, Cuv. II, 215); tuturor = tutulor.
On the territory of
Italy, the words ending in lus, la, lum appear especially in
the rustic language.
Cato the Old, born around 234bc in Tusculum, who alone
cultivated his estate on the territory of the Sabines, who worked from morning
till night alongside his peasants and slaves, uses in his treaty on “rural
economy” a number of curious forms of words ending in lus, la, lum, usually in
names of farming tools and other words from the popular language, like: asserculus, corbula, craticula, clavulus,
coculum, convolvulus, coliculus, foculus, funiculus, foeniculum, felicula, falcula, incerniculum, modiolus, orcula,
porculus, ramulus, rutabulum, sarculum, situlus, sirpicula, sucula, scopula,
surculus, scutula, serputum (De re rustica; passim.).
The Latin
grammarians have considered these forms as diminutives. But in the rustic
language the words ending in lu (s), la, lu (m) were not
diminutives, but normal nouns.
The names of
farming tools, with endings in lus, la, lum, did not expressed the
idea that the same tools and objects used by the peasants of Cato were small,
thin, gracious, or delicate. The peasant of the times of Cato, as the peasant
of today, did not need to sweeten the harshness of labor with diminutive forms,
and to say the tools used by him for entire weeks, months and years, were
small, less solid, or simple toys.
The use of the
post-posed article lu, la in personal names and localities of Italy has been in
use until late in the 11th century. As proof we reproduce here the
following examples from the diplomatic papers published by the learned Italian
archeologist Marini:
- An. 906, p.
262-263: Volo liberum esse Petrulum,
Amola….et habeat baccam unam praegnantem cum betellu anniclu. Volo liberum esse Lupolo
porcaru.
- An. 906, p.
262-233: Et fundu casa lupuli…Perheredes
Sclauculu….De sex uncie fundi Cecci
per Bassulu….Per hd. Vibulo….Per Romanulo….Per heredes Clauculo….Per
hd. Cauculo….de fundu Cupressuli….et fundum Caselle….et fundum Capolu….et fundum Caniclu
de fund. q. voc. Facile….fundi casa Majuli de….fund. Gimelle….Per Bastulu
parvulus….Per Surulu miles….Per Sindulus miles….Per Prandulo….Per Graciculu mil….Per Calbulus.
- An. 962, p. 48:
ab uno latere Caselle et a secundo
latere Fluvium decurente.
- An 978, p. 229:
fundum Quintiliolum….et Pertesulo….fundum Ianule…fundum Gimelle….fundum
Cufulo….terra posita in Griptule….fundum qui vocatur Zetulo….a quarto latere rivo puzzulo….fundum Circulo, fundum Circulanum
fundum Finistelle….fundum Casalupuli….territorio Afile.
- An. 1018, p. 66:
de monte qui vocatur Zunul….in campo
qui vocatur Merul.
- An. 1025, p. 79:
fundus qui vocatur Mons Grunduli….vallis
de Grutul….juxta ipsam viam Castangetul…Casa….Savinuli, qui et Sanbuculus
vocatur.
- An. 1027, p. 74:
fundum qui appellatur Mons Grundul….fundus
Criptul et Bibariol.
II.
We have spoken so
far about the post-posed article in the Italic peninsula.
On the territory of
Hellada and Asia Minor, we can follow this phenomenon back to Homeric times. In
personal names: Itulus and Itus, Greek ‘Itulos, ‘Itus
(Pher. Apollod.); Oxulus (Apollod.);
Dasculus (Herod.); Baetulus (Philo); Sipulus (Hom.); Asbolus
centaur (Hes.).
In names of
localities: Octulus, Sipulus (Hom.), Cotulus (Strabo), Homolus
(Ephor).
In Thrace and Illyria, names of localities: Araplus
(Scylax). It is the same form as the Macedorom. Araplu = Arabul (Arab); Tunarullo
(Itin. Hier.); Terpullus (Ptol.); Morullus (Ptol.); Tzurulus (Procop.); Sburulus
vicus (L. I. L. VI; Ptol.); Cusculus (Proc.); Lutrolo (Proc.); Nantianulus
(Itin. Ant.).
In the two
provinces of Mesia, personal names: Ursulus, Masclus (Bessus); the form Zal – the god, in “Zal-mox(is)”.
Macedorom. Dumnidra = Dumnezeu, art.
Dumnizalu, gen. a Dumnizalui, voc. Dumnizale
(Dalametra, Dict. macedo-roman; Papahagi, Basme aromane, p. 588).
On the territory of
Dacia, in the names of localities: Apulum and Aplum (A[l]bulum), Tripbulum, statio Resculi.
In Pannonia, Noric and Dalmatia.
Personal names: Aiatullus, Berullus,
Comatullus, Comatlus and Comatus,
Ciutul(lus), Diastullus, Deculus, Ittu, Itulus and Itul(us), Lupus and Lupulus, Mosculus Ituli f. filius, Tattus
and Tatulo, Ursus, Ursulus and Ursolus (C.I.L. vol. III).
In Gallia: Antullus, Antulla, Aviulus, Berullus, Comula, Catus and Cattulus, Certus and Certulus, Ciutulus, Firmula, Fedula,
Lucinulus, Lucullus, Lupus, Lupulus and Lupula, Homullus, Paculus,
Parvolus, Pedo and Pedulus, Primus and Primulus, Quortus and Quortulus, Vitus, Vitulus and Vitlus,
Ursus, Ursulus and Ursolus (C. I. L. vol. XII).
In the French
language soleil, Prov. solelh, can be explained only by an
ancient form, with the post-posed article le, solele, Rom. sorele (Freund,
Gr. Dict. d. l. langue lat. I. p. XII).
In Spain, as personal names: Anttulus, Antulla, Albula, Berullus,
Berulla, Badiolus, Catullus, Catlus, cormutonulus, Homullus, Homulla, Omul(la),
Lupus, Lupulus, Primus, Primulus, Ursus, Ursulus (C. I. L. vol. II).
In Roman Africa, names of localities: Tubus and Tubul, Siagu and Siagul, Cuicul, Tremulus, Tugulus,
Albula, Tramaricio and Tramaricido,
Mosulon (Itin.Ant.; Tab. Peut.; Ephem.
Epigr. III; Ptolemy, Geographia).
In the western
parts of the Balkan peninsula, the
post-posed article appears also in the documents of the Middle Ages:
In personal names: Ursul, Hraiul (from Raiul, Raiu), Daiul, Doiul, Negul, Stanul, Staiul, Vladul,
Rosul, Drajul, Gradul (Hasdeu, Arch. ist. III. p. 100). In Istria: Liczul, Musul, Burul.
In the documents of
Transilvania, from Tera Hategului,
15th century: Tatul, Dadul,
Danciul, Matul Stanchul (Stanciul), Valcul,
Balol, Litol, Bathul, Iarol, Lihul, Ladul, Vladul, Vladol (ant. Lado), Bobul, Volcul, Sorbul (A Hunyadm. tort. tars, Evkonyve, II,
1884, p. 24).
In the historical
documents of the Romanian Country: Radul, Lungul, Taraceanul, Micul, Stanciul,
Barbul, Tatul, Ursul, Guiul, Sandul, Tiful, Lupul, Albul (Hasdeu, Cuvente din betrani, vol. I).
The dative singular, with the ending
article lui appears in an inscription from the Roman epoch: Deo Marti cicollui (Revue celtique, XVI, p. 100). That
“Cicollui” is the form of a dative from the nominative Cicollus, results from
other similar examples in the Latin language: deo Marti Latobio, Leno Marti
Arte…io (Revue celtique, XIII, p.
315).
The singular vocative le is found in an
Etruscan inscription: Inpetrule pure
= Jupiter puer.
The masculine nouns ending in lus
formed the nominative plural in li.
So we have in Spain the names of peoples: Turduli, Bastuli, Varduli. In the Alpes, Medulli.
In Africa: Gaetuli Massuli, Masul
as personal name. In Ethiopia, Abulli (‘Abulloi), a people who
dwelt close to the Nile (Steph. Byz.), Turduli,
with its ancient form Turti = Turdi.
But, apart from the
articulated form of the plural nominative in (u)li, had also existed
in the Pelasgian barbarian language a non-articulated form ending in i.
As an example we
have the word Sphinx, which
corresponds to sancti, Rom. sfinti, term received in the Greek
language in the singular, and then passed on from the Greeks into the popular
Egyptian language. The same word, with two different forms in plural, sancti and sanctuli, appears in the
text of the confession from 1040-1095 (Monaci,
Facsimili di antichi manoscritti, Roma, Martuli, 1880).
Other ancient forms
of the nominative plural in li are also: On the territory of Hellada: Dauli (s), a locality near Delphi, with the etymology from Davus, Greek Daos, Romanian Daul.
In Arcadia, Pausanias mentions a mountain with the name Cotili-on, and another place Cotilos
(Descr. Gr. vII. 41). With Strabo, Cotulus (Kotulos) was a peak of
the mountain Ida near Troy. From “cotili”,
Pausania had formed a singular noun, adding the Greek suffix on.
The same word appears often in Romanian toponimy: Cot (angulus), art. Cotul,
pl. Coturi.
In European Sarmatia, Tacitus mentions the Osi,
a people who spoke the Pannonian language, or barbarian Roman. With Ptolemy, the Osili and Osuli (Osyli),
were neighbors with the Roxolani.
III.
We arrive now to
the feminine genus of the post-posed
article.
The articulated
form of the feminine nominative singular
ended in (u)la or (o)la.
On the territory of
Italy we have: Albula, ancient name of the Tiber. The word is not a diminutive.
The Tiber has been and still is today a great navigable river.
In the treaty on
rural economy of Cato we find a
number of nouns ending in ula, like: corbula, falcula, scopula, fossula, sucula, scutula, names of
farming implements and other words from the peasant language, which were in no
way diminutives.
A simple imitation
of the popular idiom with the post-posed article la is found in the verses
composed by the Emperor Hadrian on his deathbed:
“Animula, vogula,
blondula…
Quae nunc abibit in loca
Pallidula, rigida, nudula, etc” (Spartianus, Adrianus imp. c. 23).
In Spain, names of cities: Abula = Albula, Callicula and Callicua, Obucola, Obucula and Obuela (Ptolemy, Geogr. II. 4).
In Dacia, Pannonia Noric and Dalmatia, as barbarian feminine names: Attula (m. Attu and Attus), Litulia (m. Litu), Primula, Lupula, Ursula (C.
I. L. vol. III).
In the idiom spoken
on the territory of Thrace, the feminine nouns with post-posed article
formed the genitive singular in loe,
which corresponds to the Romanian form lei.
As example we have
the name of a soldier from the Hem peninsula: C. Iulius Dizaloe, domo Heraclea Sentica. Here Dizaloe is the form of an articulated genitive. The nominative
without article was Diza. So we find
one Aurr. Diza in lower Mesia, one Aur. Diza originally from Filipopolis, and
one Manta Dizae fil(ius) at Salonica (C.
I. L. vol. III, VI).
Another form of the
genitive singular with the article al
posed before the proper name appears in the Latin inscriptions of Numidia (of
the Getulii). We find here one Mosac,
Alurusae f. = Alu Rusae filius (Ephem. Epigr. VII. p. 14), exactly as
in Romanian popular language, “alu Drusa”,
and in the Macedorom. dialect, “al
Andreiu”.
This same al
has the place of il in the Italian dialect from around Bologna, used with all
the masculine words which begin with a consonant (Berti, Vocab. Bolognese-italiano I,1874, p. XXII).
This al
appears in the Etruscan language as a post-posed article, added to patronymic
and matronymic names: Aruth and Aruthal, Larth and Larthal, Ceina and Ceinal. Also in the ancient names of places passed from the
Etruscan language into the vulgar Roman language: Quirinal, Viminal, Fagutal (Theil in Freund, Gr. Dict. d. l. langue latine, p. XI).
The feminine nouns, like the masculine
ones, had at plural two forms, one
without article, with the nominative ending in e or i, and the other
articulated, ending with le and li.
The non articulated
form appears in Gauri (s), the name
of an island near Pamphilia (Aristotle,
Probl.), and in Gauri(on), the name
of a castle and island in the Cyclades (Diod.
Sic. XIII, 69). The nominative singular was Gaura (caverna, specus, antrum), Gaura mons in the Alpes.
The same word in
articulated form, had the nominative plural Gaurele, as results from the name of the island and city Gaurele-on (Livy, lib. XXXI.
45).
We find the same
forms in Spain. The city Bilbi(s), renowned for its gold and
iron mines, was also called Bilbili
(Ptolemy, lib. II. 6). The name of
the city derives, as Justinus tells
us, from the river Bilbilis (lib.
XlIV. 3). The same name appears also on the territory of Romania. Bulba is the name of the river which
flows near Baia de Arama. The meaning of the word is: the water which makes
bubbles (Rom. bulbuci), aqua bulliens.
We also find in
Spain the following nouns: striges
and strigiles, gatherings of native
gold. “Hispania strigiles vocat auri
parvas mostas… Quod in ramento capitur” (Pliny,
lib. XXXIII. 19; Diefenbach, Orig.
p. 423). The word derives from the verb “stringo”,
Romanian “a strange” (TN - to gather). We have the similar word striga with Columela, meaning small heaps of hay (Pliny, lib. II, Proem.).
In Roman Africa: Abile, the name of a mountain in Mauritania (Itiner. Prov. p. 15), in Romanian form Albele (Pietrele Albe). Ad
Albulas was a station in Mauritania Caesariensis (Itiner. Prov. p. 19); Nouis
and Ouli was a locality on the
territory of Carthage (Tab. Peut.; Itin. Ant. 159, 332, 333; Tomaschek, Haemus Sitzungsb, p. 334).
In the Hem peninsula: Syrascellae, Siracellae and Sirogellae,
a locality in the southern parts of Thrace, on the road to Constantinople; Saragea and Saragele, villages and hamlets in Romanian toponimy; Babyle, a city on the territory of the
Odrysii in Thrace (Steph. Byz. Ad.
voc.), from Baba, Baba Iulia Campestris in Mauritania; Babe and Babele, various locations on the territory of the Romanian
countries; Cobenciles, a castle on
the territory of Dardania, in the times of the emperor Justinian (Procopius, De aedif. p. 280), Romanian Cobana, hut, Germ. Koben.
We arrive now to Italy.
The feminine
plural in ae (ilae, iler) appears here especially in the rustic or
popular language.
Furcillae, farming tool (Isidorus, Orig. XX. 14. 11; Varro,
R. R. I. 49), and Furcilles, “quibus
homines suspendu utur” (on which people hang). It is the same word, with the
same forms, as furca in the Romanian
language, pl. non-art. furci, art. furcile.
Novensiles Dii was the name of a class of divinities
borrowed from the Barbarians, but which the Roman authors could not identify
any more (Arnobius, III. 38).
Nevertheless, in the public cult had existed until late the feast day called Novendiale sacrum and Novendiales feriae, meaning festivities
lasting 9 days (feriae per novem dies). In the above words, siles corresponds to dies, Rom. dile, nom. pl. art. (TN – today “zile”). In some parts of Italy the
letter d followed by i had been replaced by s
a long time before, like in Clausus
instead of Claudius. We find Zebus =
diebos in an inscription from Mabilon (Rontsch,
Italia, p. 458).
The Romans called Vergiliae and Virgiliae the constellation of the Pleiades. According to ancient
legends, the Vergilies represented the seven daughters of the titan Atlas, born
from the nymph Pleiones, a daughter of the Ocean. We have here an ancient
popular name: the word Vergiliae or Virgiliae is an articulated plural of virgo, innocent, young girl, Fr. vierge, Prov. verge, Rom. virga (like
in the verses recited by children in Tera Hategului “luna, luna, virga –
luna”), pl. art. virgele.
There is now the
important matter regarding the religious language of the Pelasgian people.
The ancient
festivities of the Romans have usually the endings in plural with ilia and
alia:
Palilia, Ancilia Agonalia, Pacalia, Parcutalia,
Feralia, Matronalia, Cerealia, Vinalia, Floralia, Rosallia, Malralia, Apalia,
Ramalia, Fontinalia.
The origin of these
forms is obscure.
The names of the
feast days ending in ilia belonged to the rustic or
popular Roman language, and those ending in alia were of Etruscan
origin. We have here a post-posed article al with the plural in alia.
The Romans had borrowed from the Etruscans various forms of the cult, religious
terms, and names of festivities (Theil,
Grand Dictionnaire de la langue latine, 1882, I. p. XI).
The popular origin
of the forms ending in ilia and alia is found in the
Romanian religious language. With the Romanian people, the feast days have
usually their name in the plural, and even more, in the articulated form: Refenelele, Hopaitele, Babele, Floriile,
Joimarele, Pascile, Todorusale, Rusalele, Senzienele, Ponteliile, Parliile,
Oparliile, Fulgeratorele, etc.
Palilia of the religious language of the Romans is
the same word and has the same form as Paliile
of the Romanians. Floralia and Rosalia are the same feast days as Floriile and Rusalele of the Romanians.
So, we conclude
that the names of the ancient Roman feast days ending in ilia and alia,
present the name of an ancient plural feminine with the post-posed article.
We must also
consider as an ancient form of the feminine plural, the nouns from the rustic
or pastoral language ending in ile, added to the names of animals: ovile, caprile, bovile or bubile, equile, words which designated the place where were kept the sheep,
goats, cattle, horses.
To this class of
words also belong some popular nouns with a collective meaning, ending in ile:
sedile, the benches in public
places, cubile, the place where a
number of people or animals could sleep.
It is to be noted
that the feminine plural ending in le had been preserved on the
territory of Italy until late, in the Middle Ages, in various names of places
and feudal estates.
- We find in the
papers published by Marini “fundam Caselle”, from “casa” (I papyri dipl. p. 48, year 962), with the Latin grammarians
“multa casalia fundum constituent”,
“casales multos”, “multas casilias”
(Lachmann, Gromatici veteres, p.
315, 329).
- We find “Scomnile” instead of “Scomna” (Marini, ibid. p. 267, y. 564), in
Romanian toponimy “scaunele” from
the nom. sing. “scaun”.
- We find “Fundum,
quod vocatur Facile” (ibid. p. 234),
instead of “Facies”, in Romanian language “Fata”
and “Fetele” (TN – read fatza and
fetzele), slopes of hills and mountains (as “in montis faciem” with Virgil / Georg. IV. 361); with Martial “Veteres Ficelias”, a part of the mountain Quirinal (Epigr. VI. 27).
- We find “Staphile lapideum” (Marini, ibid. p. 255, y. 990), Romanian
“stafia”, pl. art. “stafiile” (spectrum, simulacrum).
- We find “Mesalle” in the cosmography of Aethicus
(6-7th centuries): “praedium (quod) mesalle appellatur” (Riese,
geogr. Lat. min. p. 83), a place near the Tiber close to Ostia. On the Tab. Peut. “Ad Mensulas”, a station near the river Umbro; on the territory of the
Romanian countries, “Masa” as name
of places (pl. art. “mesele”).
- We find “Kemperele”, a locality in the district
of the Cenomanii of Gallia, according to the registers of pope Clement VI (Tom.
161, fol. 28, Arch. Vatic.), Romanian “camp”,
pl. art. “campurile”. The feminine
articulated nouns had the genitive plural in lor., for ex. “scrisu miovelor”, in an incantation
from Marcellus Empiricus (4th century).
As we saw from the
above, the article suffix lu(s), la, had once been common
to all the Arimic dialects, beginning from the regions of the Arameii (Chaldea
and Assyria) and ending at the western Ocean. The origin of this suffix is
prehistoric. It appears in the epic poems of Homer, in the religious language
of the Pelasgian people, as well as in the ancient names, topical and ethnic.
Later though, this definite article had been moved in front of the nouns, under
the form of olle or ollus, olla, ollum
or ille,
illa,
illua
in the Latin language, lo, lu, il and la in Italian, le,
la in French, el and la in Spanish.
This changing of
the position of the definite article had begun in the Italic peninsula in very
remote times. The great number of Greek colonists settled in the southern parts
of Italy, and scattered from there through all the cities of the peninsula, had
a strong influence not only on the customs, ideas and institutions, but also on
the Pelasgian idioms spoken in the various regions of Italy.
In the course of
time, these colonists mixed with the indigenous population, and by this merging
of families and nations, the Hellenism penetrated little by little in every
strata of the Italic society.
For a very long
time, the popular language of Italy was consequently considered a vulgar
language, unworthy of a literate person. The Greek slaves and free people
became the preceptors and teachers of the Italic youth. They invented the
theory, which most of the Roman literati started to believe, that the Latin
language derived from the Greek, that Rome had been in the beginning a Greek
city, that the origin of the Romans was reduced to Evandrus from Arcadia and
Aeneas from Troy.
These Greek
traditions were supported by Livius Andronicus, by Nevius and Conunius, and
Virgil did not sing Romulus in his epic poem, as the one born from Mars, the
national god of the barbarian Getae, but Aeneas the Trojan, a hero who had a
Greek civilization.
Under this
dissolving influence of the Greek language and ideas, the ancient form of the
Italic words was changed in many ways, and the natural position of the definite
article was altered, and it started to be posed before the nouns, like in Greek
language o, a, to.
We find traces of
the use of the demonstrative pronoun ille as definite article, also in
the classical literature of the Romans.
The Latin literary
language, as created by the school of Livius Andronicus, Ennius, Nevius, etc,
suffered of a capital defect. Not having a definite article, which could make
clear the meaning of the nouns in certain circumstances, it had become very
often difficult to understand, and this especially because of the transposition
of words made by the Latin authors.
In order to avoid
this lack of clarity in words and expressions, the Roman authors needed often
to replace the lack of the definite article by the demonstrative pronoun ille,
which they posed as a sort of determinative attribute either before, or after
the nouns.
So, Cicero, the great master of eloquence,
in order to give more clarity and force to his words, made a great use of the
demonstrative pronoun ille, giving it at the same time the
function of article. We cite here the following examples from his writings:
Antipater ille Sidonius (de Orat. III. 50);
Xenophon Socraticus ille (Ibid, 2,
14); ille…Gravissimus auctor et magister
Plato (Ibid, 3); ille Graecus (Brut.
16); Ambitus ille verborum (ibid.
44); Auditor Panaetii illius (De
Orat. I, 11); post Connensem illam
calomitatem (Brut. 3); Catulus erat ille
quidem minime indoctus (ibid. 74); His autem de rebus solme ille admonuit ut brevem assem (De Orat.
3, 55); utinam extavut illa carmina,
quae multis seculis in epulis esse cantitata (Brut. 19).
The use of the
pronoun ille as definite article is even more frequent in Latin church
literature.
In the oldest Latin
translation of the Bible, called Italia
(2nd century), which is characterized by barbarian and rustic words
and expressions, the nouns are often followed by ille, while in other
translations, one or two centuries later, this ille was omitted.
As we see, even in
the times of Cicero there existed the literary custom of using ille
as a sort of definite article. This corrupt mode of speech and writing spread
later from the Italic peninsula to the two western Roman provinces, Gallia and
Hispania. To this had contributed in large part, on the one hand the extensive
trade of Italy with the western provinces during the entire course of Roman
domination, and the great influence of the Latin administrative language, and
on the other hand, the public and private schooling, with all sorts of
pedagogues, preceptors, grammarians and masters of eloquence brought from
Italy.
Finally, the great
mixing of the Roman populations from the western provinces, with barbarian
peoples of German nationalities, had also contributed to this replacing of the
post-posed article with the separate pronoun illus, ullu, ille.
The great invasion
from 406ad throws upon Italy, Gallia and Hispania, a big number of German
tribes: Heruli, Ostrogoti, Longobardi, Vestgoti, Suevi, Vandali, Franci, Salici
and Burgundi.
All these nations
mixed with the indigenous population, and formed new peoples, and a new social
and political edifice is built on the ruins of the Roman provinces. The
barbarians who had destroyed the Roman Empire, also contributed in large part
to the destruction of the provincial language. The vulgar Roman language spoken
in the western parts of the empire was corrupted and modified, and from this
mixture of various languages were born the five neo-Latin languages: Italian, Spanish,
Portuguese, Provencal and French, having the definite article il,
el, le posed before the nouns, like o, a, to in Greek, and der,
die, das in German. In regard to the use of ille as definite article,
we cite here the following examples from Lex
Alamanorum from the year 630: et ille
praesumtor, qui contradixit, illam
multam, qua in charta continent persolvat. Si autem illa azxerit quam ille
homo fecit, tunc liceat illi heredi
(Baluzius, Capit. I. 57, 58).
Completely
different appears the situation at the Carpathians and the lower Danube.
On the territory of
Dacia had never existed Greek trading colonies in such a large number, to be
able to found cities, republics and kingdoms, to subject also the neighboring
inhabitants and to extend through schools, sciences, and arts the domination
and influence of the Greek language.
Even more, on the
territory of Dacia had never existed a mixing of races with barbarian peoples
of Gothic origin. The invasion of German tribes at the Carpathians and the
lower Danube was only temporary. The Goths did not have in those parts either
permanent settlements, or durable political domination, so that this invasion
of the German tribes had absolutely no influence on the national language of
the inhabitants of the territory of ancient Dacia.
The Goths had
appeared on the territory of Dacia and had been chased away by the Huns, and
the rule of the Gepidii had extended only over the southern parts of Hungary,
and only to the frontiers of Dacia (Aul.
Gell. Noct. XIX. c. 10). Because of this, the language material of the
Romanian people is totally lacking Gothic elements (Caner, Die rom. Aeneassage. Leipzig. Teubner, 1886). And it follows
at the same time that the constitutive elements and the grammatical forms of
the Romanian language have been formed under entirely different historical
conditions, than those under which were formed the Romanic languages from the
western parts of Europe. In Italy, in Gallia and in Hispania, we have new
groups of mixed peoples and languages, formed in the course of the Middle Ages.
At the Carpathians
and the lower Danube though, we have a Romanic people much closer to its
origin, with a Roman (Arimic) language more archaic, and less mixed than those
from the west (Duruy, Hist. d. rom.
I, 1870, p. 64). And more, the unity of the Romanian language is identical on
the entire territory of the two Roman Dacias, and the fact that it has no
particular dialect, although stretching from the Balkans to the plains of
Galitia, and from Crimea to the plains of Hungary, also attests to the fact
that this language is not a corrupt idiom formed in the course of the Middle
Ages, but on the contrary, the origin of its formation goes back to very
ancient times.
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