South-Eastern Branch (continued): Bulgarian, Dalmatian, Croatian, Bosnian, In the basin of the Lower Danube, and on the Wendish, middle of Lower Germany. North-Western Branch: Polish, in Poland, on the Vistula and Niemen. Bohemian, or Tchekhian, in Bohemia and Moravia. Slowak, chiefly in the north-west of Hungary. Lettish, on the Baltic coast, between the Niemen and Lake Peïpus. Ancient Localities.-The early history of the Sclavic nations is involved in much obscurity. They probably left the banks of the Ganges in the seventh or eighth century before the Christian era. The early Greek and Roman historians frequently mention them under the names of Slavi, Anta, Vandals, Veneti, and Vends, all of whom were descendants of the ancient Sarmatæ. In the sixth century of our era they began to ascend the basin of the Danube, and to form settlements on both sides of that river: since then they are frequently mentioned by the Byzantine historians as performing an important part in European history. Physiological Character.-In stature stout, broad, and squat-built; neck thick and short; hardy in constitution, with strong bones and straight muscular limbs; complexion sallow, forming a mean between the Gothic and Celtic races; eyes grey or hazel-brown, and deeply set in the head; hair bristly, dark of different shades, and rarely curled; skull and face square and angular; cheek-bones prominent; brow low, and the hair growing far down on it; temperament phlegmatic, or sanguine-bilious. Intellectual and Moral Character.-Great mechanical, musical, and imi. tative talent; frank and open when in the enjoyment of freedom, but cunning, deceitful, and revengeful when subjected; their statesmen become admirable diplomatists; originally leading a nomadic life, they are still attached to the patriarchal form of government; blindly obedient to their sovereign, who is regarded as both father and God; extremely tenacious of the manners and prejudices of their ancestors. They are further characterised by a want of cleanliness; by their love of lyrical, and especially elegiac song; and above all by their invincible hatred of the Teutonic race, who have oppressed them for a thousand years, as well as by their long-cherished aspirations after Pansclavism. Greco-Latin Languages. These comprehend all the languages derived from the ancient classical tongues of Greece and Rome. They are spoken over the entire south of Europe, from the Atlantic to the Dniester, and from the southern limits of Germany to the Mediterranean, with the exception of the northern portion of the Hellenic peninsula, the Basque Provinces in the north of Spain, and the old province of Bretagne in France. All the larger islands of the Mediterranean, except Malta, are peopled by nations speaking Greco-Latin tongues. The origin of the Greeks and Latins, in common with that of the Celts, Goths, and Sclaves, is lost in the darkness of the pre-historic period. Modern ethnographic science, however, leaves little doubt that the two nations referred to were, respectively, the earliest inhabitants of Greece and Italy; that they stood to each other in the closest affinity, both of them being the immediate descendants of the Pelasgi, who formed the first great wave of population that broke on the shores of south-eastern Europe, and that permanently covered Asia Minor, Thrace, Macedonia, Greece, and Italy. This immigration probably took place about 2000 B.C.; but was succeeded by numerous similar immigrations of the same stock of nations (including the Hellenes, who were no doubt nearly allied to, if not identical with, the Pelasgi) down to 1350 B.C. Simultaneously with the Pelasgi other great bodies of colonists appear to have entered Europe from other parts of Asia, forming the ancestors of the Celtic, Teutonic, and Sclavonic nations; but the Pelasgi formed, from the very first, the great bulk of the population of Italy and Greece. The part of Asia from which the Pelasgi set out appears to have been Northern India; for the Sanscrit, the ancient and sacred language of India, has a marked and very decided affinity to both Greek and Latin. The Greek, especially, is more closely allied to the Sanscrit than any other European tongue. In some respects, however, the Latin surpasses the Greek in retaining the features of its venerable parent, and it is in no way to be regarded as a descendant, far less a corruption, of the language of Greece. They are sister-tongues, deriving from their common parent every feature in which they resemble each other; but exhibiting many differences, arising from the different fortunes of each.* TABLE OF THE GRECO-LATIN LANGUAGES. Greek, or Eastern Branch: Ancient Greek-Spoken in Greece from the earliest times, and after- Modern Greek or Romaic-Greece, the Archipelago, and parts of the Latin, or Western Branch: Ancient Latin-Now a dead language, was the original language of Italian-Italy, part of Switzerland, the Italian Islands, or Corsica, Spanish-Spain, Balearic Isles, Mexico, &c. Portuguese Portugal, Madeira, Azores, Brazil. French-France, Channel Isles, parts of Belgium and Switzerland, Wallachian-Wallachia, Moldavia, Bessarabia, Transylvania. Thraco-Illyrian Branch-viz.: Albanian or Arnaute-The eastern coast of the Adriatic, especially * For the precise relation in which the two ancient classical tongues stand to each other, we may refer to Bopp's Comparative Grammar of the Indo-European Languages; to Latham, On the English Language; and (what is more interesting and satisfactory than either) to the article "Language" in the Penny Cyclopædia, vol. xiii. p. 304, where all the languages of this family are treated of and compared in a very masterly manner. Ancient Localities.-No other language, ancient or modern, has been so widely diffused as the Greek, except Arabic and English. Greece, Asia Minor, Macedonia, Thessaly, and Epirus were its earliest seats: it was diffused by the early Greek colonies along both sides of the Mediterranean, as Cyrene, Syracuse, Tarentum, and Smyrna; was extended by Alexander and his successors to a large portion of Western Asia, including Asia Minor, Syria, and the cities of Palestine; and was spoken in many parts of Egypt under the Ptolemies. The conquest of Greece by the Romans, B.C. 146, tended still further to its diffusion, while under the Cæsars it was more extensively cultivated than at any former time. After the fall of the Western Empire, and the extinction of learning in the West, Greek literature and philosophy found an asylum in Constantinople, till that city was taken by the Turks, A.D. 1453; at which time it ceased to be spoken in its purity anywhere. It still, however, remained a living language in its original home; and even to this day the modern Greeks can peruse with ease the productions of Homer, Xenophon, and Demosthenes. In short, it has remained a living language for the astonishing period of 3000 years. The Latin, in like manner, was the principal language of Italy from the earliest times. As the Roman power extended, it became more and more widely diffused, in many cases mingling with and remoulding the dialects of the conquered nations, and thus originating the modern languages of Southern Europe. After the fall of the Roman Empire it ceased to be a spoken language, but during the lengthened period of the middle ages it continued to maintain its supremacy as the language of literature, philosophy, legislation, and religion. Since the establishment of the papal hierarchy to the present day, it has maintained its place as the liturgical language of the Romish Church; and it is still extensively cultivated by every civilised nation, on account of the treasures contained in the vast repositories of its literature. Modern Languages belonging to this Stock.-The Romaic differs little more from ancient Greek than some of the dialects of that language differed from each other; and the changes that have arisen are more perceptible in the grammar than in the vocabulary. The main differences now existing between the various languages of the Roman branch arise from the different character of the languages spoken in these localities before the Latin was engrafted on the original stock; and still more from the widely different nations which, at various times, mingled with the original Celtic population of these countries. Thus, in the fifth century, Gaul passed into the hands of Teutonic nations; Spain, where Latin had been spoken in considerable purity, was overrun by the Goths, who introduced many Teutonic elements, and subsequently by the Moors, who spoke Arabic. Italian, Spanish, and French have diverged from the parent stem far more widely than the Romaic from the ancient Greek. The French has effected the widest separation, and the Italian and Spanish the least; while the Portuguese may be regarded as almost a dialect of the Spanish, the two languages being radically identical. Though the basis of the Wallachian is altered Latin, about onehalf of its words are derived from Greek, Turkish, and Sclavonian sources. The Albanian, or third branch, is so different from every other G member of this family that it seems doubtful whether it can claim a place among them. It contains the remains of a language now long extinct, but which probably formed a connecting-link between various families of tongues, more especially between the Greco-Latin and Sclavonic. III. RELIGIONS OF EUROPE.-These, though extremely numerous, may all be reduced to three classes, which harmonise in a very remarkable manner with the races and groups of languages above described. The Caucasian race are Christians; the Mongolian race, Heathens; while the Turks, who form a connecting-link between these races, profess Mohammedanisma religion which equally connects Christianity with Paganism. A similar generalisation arises when the various forms of their religion are compared with their languages. The Teutonic nations have embraced Protestantism-that is, Christianity reformed from the abuses of centuries; the Celtic and GrecoLatin nations profess Romanism, the most corrupt of all the forms of Christianity; while those speaking Sclavonic tongues belong to the Greek Church. To the latter generalisation, however, there are some important exceptions; because language does not strike so deeply into the roots of humanity as race does. Language shares in the fortunes of the nation that speaks it, and is subject to numberless vicissitudes; while the stamp derived from race remains indelible for ages. Accordingly we find considerable sections of the Celtic nations becoming Protestants, as the Scottish Gael and the Welsh; Austria, though speaking a Teutonic language, largely professes Romanism; the Magyars, a Mongolian race, and speaking a Mongolian language, are to a large extent Protestants; and the inhabitants of Greece, instead of belonging to the Romish, are stanch adherents of the Greek Church-a form of religion, however, which differs in no essential point from Catholicism. The following table shows the estimated numbers belonging at present to the different religious denominations of Europe: THE BRITISH EMPIRE. THE British Empire is the largest, the most powerful, and, with one exception, the most populous on the surface of the earth. In extent of territory it even exceeds the Russian Empire; in point of population it is second only to the Chinese; while in wealth, civilisation, and moral influence, it has no rival. Its magnitude, however, will be more easily realised by comparing it in a tabular view with the other largest states in both hemispheres. The following Table, which has been carefully drawn up from the most recent statistics, exhibits the names, capitals, areas, and populations of the various sections of this great empire. |