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§ 70. The Teutonic branch falls into three divisions:—

1. The Mœso-Gothic.

2. The High Germanic.

3. The Low Germanic.

§ 71. It is in the Mœso-Gothic that the most ancient specimen of any Gothic tongue has been preserved. It is also the Mœso-Gothic that was spoken by the conquerors of ancient Rome; by the subjects of Hermanic, Alaric, Theodoric, Genseric (?), Euric, Athanaric, and Totila.

This history of this language, and the meaning of the term by which it is designated, is best explained by the following passages:—

a. A.D. 482. "Trocondo et Severino consulibus—Theodoricus cognomento Valamer utramque Macedoniam, Thessaliamque depopulatus est, Larissam quoque metropolim depredatus, Fausto solo consule (A.D. 485)—Idem Theodoricus rex Gothorum Zenonis Augusti munificentia pene pacatus, magisterque præsentis militiæ factus, consul quoque designatus, creditam sibi Ripensis Daciæ partem Mœsiæque inferioris, cum suis satellitibus pro tempore tenuit."—Marcellini Comitis Chronicon, D.N.

b. "Frederichus ad Theodoricum regem, qui tunc apud Novam Civitatem provinciæ Mœsiæ morabatur, profectus est."—Vita S. Severini, D.N.

c. "Zeno misit ad Civitatem Novam, in quâ erat Theodoricus dux Gothorum, filius Valameris, et eum invitavit in solatium sibi adversus Basiliscum."—Anon. Valesii, p. 663, D.N.

d. Civitas Nova is Nicopolis on the Danube; and the nation thus spoken of is the Gothic nation in the time of Zeno. At this time they are settled in the Lower Mœsia, or Bulgaria.

How they got here from the northern side of the Danube we find in the history of the reign of Valens. When pressed by intestine wars, and by the movements of the Huns, they were assisted by that emperor, and settled in the parts in question.

Furthermore, they were converted to Christianity; and the Bible was translated into their language by their Bishop Ulphilas.

Fragments of this translation, chiefly from the Gospels, have come down to the present time; and the Bible translation of the Arian Bishop Ulphilas, in the language of the Goths of Mœsia, during the reign of Valens, exhibits the earliest sample of any Gothic tongue.

§ 72. How Gothic tribes reached the Lower Danube is a point upon which there is a variety of opinion. The following facts, however, may serve as the basis of our reasoning.

A.D. 249-251—The Goths are found about equidistant from the Euxine Sea, and the eastern portion of the range of Mount Hæmus, in the Lower Mœsia, and at Marcianopolis. Here they gain a great battle against the Romans, in which the Emperor Decius is killed.

His successor, Gallus, purchases a peace.

Valerian defends himself against them.

During the reign of Gallienus they appear as maritime warriors, and ravage Asia Minor, Greece, and Illyria.

A.D. 269—Are conquered at Naissus, on the western boundary of Mœsia Superior by Claudius.

A.D. 282—Are defeated by Carus.

A.D. 321—Ravage Mœsia (Inferior?) and Thrace.

A.D. 336—Attacked by Constantine in Dacia—north of the Danube.

A.D. 373—In the reign of Valens (as already stated), they were admitted to settle within the limits of the empire.

§ 73. Now, although all this explains, how a Gothic language was spoken in Bulgaria, and how remnants of it have been preserved until the nineteenth century, the manner in which the tribe who spoke it reached Marcianopolis, so as to conquer the Emperor Decius, in A.D. 249, is unexplained.

Concerning this there are three opinions—

A. The Baltic doctrine. According to this the Goths migrated from the Baltic to the Mæotis, from the Mæotis to the Euxine, and from the Euxine to the Danube, along which river they moved from east to west.

B. The Getic doctrine.—Here the Goths are made out to be the aborigines of the Lower Danube, of Dacia, Mœsia, and even Thrace; in which case their movement was, also, from east to west.

C. The German doctrine.—Here the migration is from west to east, along the course of the Danube, from some part of south-eastern Germany, as its starting-point, to Asia Minor as its extreme point, and to Bulgaria (Mœsia Inferior) as its point of settlement.

§ 74. Respecting the first of these views the most that can be said in its favour is, that it is laid down by Jornandes, who wrote in the fifth century, and founded his history upon the earlier writings of Ablavius and Dexippus, Gothic historians, who, in their turn took their account from the old legends of the Goths themselves—in priscis eorum carminibus, pæne historico ritu. On the other hand, the evidence is, at best, traditional, the fact improbable, and the likelihood of some such genealogy being concocted after the relationship between the Goths of the Euxine, and Germans of the Baltic had been ascertained exceedingly great.

§ 75. The second is supported by no less an authority than Grimm, in his latest work, the History of the German Language;—and the fact of so learned and comprehensive an investigator having admitted it, is, in the mind of the present writer, the only circumstance in its favour. Over and above the arguments that may be founded on a fact which will soon be noticed, the chief reasons are deduced from a list of Dacian or Getic plants in Dioscorides, which are considered to bear names significant in the German. Whether or not, the details of this line of criticism will satisfy the reader who refers to them, it is certain that they are not likely to take a more cogent form than they take in the hands of the Deutsche Grammatik.

§ 76. The third opinion is the likeliest; and if it were not for a single difficulty would, probably, never have been demurred to. The fact in question is the similarity between the words Getæ and Gothi.

The fact that a tribe called G-O-T-H-I should, when they first peopled the Mœsogothic country, have hit upon the country of a people with a name so like their own as G-E-T-Æ, by mere accident, is strange. English or American colonies might be sent to some thousand places before one would be found with a name so like that of the mother-country as Get is to Got. The chances, therefore, are that the similarity of name is not accidental, but that there is some historical, ethnological, or geographical grounds to account for it. Grimm's view has been noticed. He recognises the difficulty, and accounts for it by making the Goths indigenous to the land of Getæ.

To a writer who (at one and the same time) finds difficulty in believing that this similarity is accidental and is dissatisfied with Grimm's reasoning, there seems to be no other alternative but to consider that the Goths of the Lower Danube had no existence at all in Germany under that name, that they left their country under a different^[5] one, and that they took the one by which they were known to the Romans (and through them to us), on reaching the land of the Getæ—as, in England, the Saxons of Essex and Wessex did not (since they brought their name with them), but as the East and West Kent-ings^[6] did.

This doctrine, of course, falls to the ground directly it can be shown that the Goths of Mœsia were either called Goths in Germany, or any where else, anterior to their settlement in the Geta-land.

Be this, however, as it may, the first division of the Teutonic branch of languages is the Mœso-Gothic of the Goths of the Lower Danube, in the fourth century, as preserved in the translation of Ulphilas, and in other less important fragments.

SPECIMEN.

Luke i. 46-56.

Jah quaþ Mariam. Mikileid saivala meina Fan, jah svegneid ahma meins du Goþa nasjand meinamma. Unte insahu du hnaivenai þiujos seinaizos: sai allis fram himma nu audagjand mik alla kunja. Unte gatavida mis mikilein sa mahteiga, jah veih namo is. Jah armahairtei is in aldins aldê þaim ogandam ina. Gatavida svinthein in arma seinamma; distahida mikilþuhtans gahugdai hairtins seinis; gadrausida mahteigans af stolam, jah ushauhida gahnaividans; gredigans gasôþida þiuþe, jah gabignandans insandida lausans; hleibida Israela þiumagu seinamma, gamundans armahairteins, sva sve rodida du attam unsaraim Abrahaima jah fraiv is und aiv.

§ 77. The Old High German, called also Francic and Alemannic, was spoken in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries, in Suabia, Bavaria, and Franconia. It is in the Old High German that the Krist of Otfrid, the Psalms of Notker, the Canticle of Willeram, the Glosses of Kero, the Vita Annonis, &c., are composed.

SPECIMEN.

Krist, i. 12. (Edit. Graff.)

Tho uuarun thar in lante hirta haltente;

Thes fehes datun uuarta uuidar fianta.

Zi ín quam boto sconi, engil scinenti;

Joh uuurtun sie inliuhte fon himilisgen liohte.

Forahtun sie in tho gahun so sinan anasahun;

Joh hintarquamun harto thes Gotes boten uuorto.

Sprah ther Gotes boto sar. "Ih scal íú sagen uuuntar.

Ju scal sin fon Gote heil; nales forahta nihein.

Ih scal iu sagen imbot, gibot ther himilisgo Got;

Ouh nist ther er gihorti so fronisg arunti.

Thes uuirdit uuorolt sinu zi euuidon blidu,

Joh al giscaft thiu in uuorolti thesa erdun ist ouh dretenti

Niuuui boran habet thiz lant then himilisgon Heilant;

The ist Druhtin Krist guater fon iungeru muater.

In Bethleem thiue kuninga thie uuarun alle thanana,

Fon in uuard ouh giboran iu sin muater magad sconu.

Sagen ih íú, guate man, uuio ir nan sculut findan,

Zeichen ouh gizami thuruh thaz seltsani.

Zi theru burgi faret hinana, ir findet, so ih íú sageta,

Kind niuuui boranaz in kripphun gilegitaz.

Tho quam unz er zin tho sprah engilo heriscaf,

Himilisgu menigi, sus alle singenti—

In himilriches hohi si Gote guallichi;

Si in erdu fridu ouh allen thie fol sin guates uuillen

The Same, in English.

Then there was in the land herdsmen feeding:

Of their cattle they made watch against foes.

To them came a messenger fair, an angel shining,

And they became lit with heavenly light.

They feared, suddenly as on him they looked;

And followed much the words of God's messenger:

Spake there God's messenger strait, "I shall to you say wonders.

To you shall there be from God health; fear nothing at all.

I shall to you say a message, the bidding of the heavenly God:

Also there is none who has heard so glad an errand.

Therefore becomes his world for ever blythe,

And all creatures that in the world are treading this earth.

Newly borne has this land the heavenly Savior,

Who is the Lord Christ, good, from a young mother.

In Bethleem, of the kings they were all thence—

From them was also born his mother, a maid fair.

I say to you, good men, how ye him shall find,

A sign and token, through this wonder.

To your burgh fare hence, ye find, so as I to you said,

A child, new born, in a crib lying."

Then came, while he to them spake, of angels an host,

A heavenly retinue, thus all singing:

"In the heavenly kingdom's highth be to God glory;

Be on earth peace also to all who are full of God's will."

The Middle High German ranges from the thirteenth Century to the Reformation.

§ 78. The Low Germanic Division, to which the Anglo-Saxon belongs, is currently said to comprise six languages, or rather four languages in different stages.

I. II.—The Anglo-Saxon and Modern English.

III.—The Old Saxon.

IV. V.—The Old Frisian and Modern Dutch.

VI.—The Platt-Deutsch, or Low German.

§ 79. The Frisian and Dutch.—It is a current statement that the Old Frisian bears the same relation to the Modern Dutch of Holland that the Anglo-Saxon does to the English.

The truer view of the question is as follows:—

1. That a single language, spoken in two dialects, was originally common to both Holland and Friesland.

2. That from the northern of these dialects we have the Modern Frisian of Friesland.

3. From the southern, the Modern Dutch of Holland.

The reason for this refinement is as follows:—

The Modern Dutch has certain grammatical forms older than those of the Old Frisian; e.g., the Dutch infinitives and the Dutch weak substantives, in their oblique cases, end in -en; those of the Old Frisian in -a: the form in -en being the older.

§ 80. The true Frisian is spoken in few and isolated localities. There is—

1. The Frisian of the Dutch state called Friesland.

2. The Frisian of the parish of Saterland, in Westphalia.

3. The Frisian of Heligoland.

4. The North Frisian, spoken in a few villages of Sleswick. One of the characters of the North Frisian is the possession of a Dual Number.

§ 81. In respect to its stages, we have the Old Frisian of the Asega-bog, the Middle Frisian of Gysbert Japicx, and the Modern Frisian of the present Frieslanders, Westphalians, and Heligolanders.

Asega-bog, i. 3. p. 13, 14. (Ed. Wiarda.)

Thet is thiu thredde liodkest and thes Kynig Kerles ieft, theter allera monna ek ana sina eyna gode besitte umberavat. Hit ne se thet ma hine urwinne mith tele and mith rethe and mith riuchta thingate, sa hebbere alsam sin Asega dema and dele to lioda londriuchte. Ther ne hach nen Asega nenne dom to delande hit ne se thet hi to fara tha Keysere fon Rume esweren hebbe and thet hi fon da liodon ekeren se. Sa hoch hi thenne to demande and to delande tha fiande alsare friounde, thruch des ethes willa, ther hi to fara tha Keysere fon Rume esweren heth, tho demande and to delande widuon and weson, waluberon and alle werlosa liodon, like to helpande and sine threa knilinge. Alsa thi Asega nimth tha unriuchta mida and tha urlouada panninga, and ma hini urtinga mi mith twam sine juenethon an thes Kyninges bonne, sa ne hoch hi nenne dom mar to delande, truch thet thi Asega thi biteknath thene prestere, hwande hia send siande and hia skilun wesa agon there heliga Kerstenede, hia skilun helpa alle tham ther hiam seluon nauwet helpa ne muge.

The Same, in English.

That is the third determination and concession of King Charles, that of all men each one possess his own goods (house?) unrobbed. It may not be that any man overcome him with charge (tales), and with summons (rede), and with legal action. So let him hold as his Asega (judge) dooms and deals according to the land-right of the people. There shall no Asega deal a doom unless it be that before the Cæsar of Rome he shall have sworn, and that he shall have been by the people chosen. He has then to doom and deal to foes as to friends, through the force (will) of the oath which he before the Cæsar of Rome has sworn, to doom and to deal to widows and orphans, to wayfarers and all defenceless people, to help them as his own kind in the third degree. If the Asega take an illegal reward, or pledged money, and a man convict him before two of his colleagues in the King's Court, he has no more to doom, since it is the Asega that betokens the priest, and they are seeing, and they should be the eyes of the Holy Christendom, they should help all those who may nought help themselves.

§ 82. The Low German and Platt-Deutsch.—The words Low German are not only lax in their application, but they are equivocal; since the term has two meanings, a general meaning when it signifies a division of the Germanic languages, comprising English, Dutch, Anglo-Saxon, Old Saxon, and Frisian, and a limited one when it means the particular dialects of the Ems, the Weser, and the Elbe. To avoid this the dialects in question will be henceforth called by their continental name of Platt-Deutsch; which although foreign, is convenient.

§ 83. The points of likeness and difference between two languages belonging to different branches of the same Gothic stock may be partially collected from the following comparison between certain Icelandic, Norse or Scandinavian, and certain Anglo-Saxon or Germanic inflections.

Declension of substantives ending with a vowel.

		Saxon.	Icelandic.
		Neuter.	Neuter.
Sing.	Nom.	Eáge (an eye).	Auga (an eye).
	Acc.	Eáge	Auga.
	Dat.	Eágan	Auga.
	Gen.	Eágan	Auga.
Plur.	Nom.	Eágan	Augu.
	Acc.	Eágan	Augu.
	Dat.	Eágan	Augum.
	Gen.	Eágan	Augna.
		Masculine.	Masculine.
Sing.	Nom.	Nama (a name).	Bogi (a bow).
	Acc.	Naman	Boga.
	Dat.	Naman	Boga.
	Gen.	Naman	Boga.
Plur.	Nom.	Naman	Bogar.
	Acc.	Naman	Boga.
	Dat.	Namum	Bogum.
	Gen.	Namena	Boga.
		Feminine.	Feminine.
Sing.	Nom.	Tunge (a tongue).	Túnga (a tongue).
	Acc.	Tungan	Túngu.
	Dat.	Tungan	Túngu.
	Gen.	Tungan	Túngu.
Plur.	Nom.	Tungan	Túngur.
	Acc.	Tungan	Túngur.
	Dat.	Tungum	Túngum.
	Gen.	Tungena	Túngna.

Declension of Substantives ending with a Consonant.

		Saxon.	Icelandic.
		Neuter.	Neuter.
Sing.	Nom.	Leáf (a leaf).	Skip (a ship).
	Acc.	Leáf	Skip.
	Dat.	Leáfe	Skipi.
	Gen.	Leáfes	Skips.
Plur.	Nom.	Leáf	Skip.
	Acc.	Leáf	Skip.
	Dat.	Leáfum	Skipum.
	Gen.	Leáfa	Skipa.
		Masculine.	Masculine.
Sing.	Nom.	Smið (a smith).	Konungr (a king).
	Acc.	Smið	Konung.
	Dat.	Smiðe	Konungi.
	Gen.	Smiðes	Konungs.
Plur.	Nom.	Smiðas	Konungar.
	Acc.	Smiðas	Konunga.
	Dat.	Smiðum	Konungum.
	Gen.	Smiða	Konunga.
		Feminine.	Feminine.
Sing.	Nom.	Sprǽc (a speech).	Brúðr (a bride).
	Acc.	Sprǽce	Brúi.
	Dat.	Sprǽce	Brúði.
	Gen.	Sprǽce	Brúðar.
Plur.	Nom.	Sprǽca	Brúðir.
	Acc.	Sprǽca	Brúðir.
	Dat.	Sprǽcum	Brúðum.
	Gen.	Sprǽca	Brúða.

§ 84. The most characteristic difference between the Saxon and Icelandic lies in the peculiar position of the definite article in the latter language. In Saxon, the article corresponding with the modern word the, is þæt, se, seó, for the neuter, masculine, and feminine genders respectively; and these words, regularly declined, are prefixed to the words with which they agree, just as is the case with the English and with the majority of languages. In Icelandic, however, the article, instead of preceding, follows its noun, with which it coalesces, having previously suffered a change in form. The Icelandic article corresponding to þæt, se, seó, is hitt (N.), hinn (M.), hin (F.): from this the h is ejected, so that, instead of the regular inflection (a), we have the forms (b).

			a.
		Neut.	Masc.	Fem.
Sing.	Nom.	Hitt	Hinn	Hin.
	Acc.	Hitt	Hinn	Hina.
	Dat.	Hinu	Hinum	Hinni.
	Gen.	Hins	Hins	Hinnar.
Plur.	Nom.	Hin	Hinir	Hinar.
	Acc.	Hin	Hina	Hinar.
	Dat.	Hinum	Hinum	Hinum.
	Gen.	Hinna	Hinna	Hinna.
			b.
Sing.	Nom.	—it	—inn	—in.
	Acc.	—it	—inn	—ina (-na).
	Dat.	—nu	—num	—inni (-nni).
	Gen.	—ins	—ins	—innar (-nnar).
Plur.	Nom.	—in	—nir	—nar.
	Acc.	—in	—na	—nar.
	Dat.	—num	—num	—num.
	Gen.	—nna	—nna	—nna.

whence, as an affix, in composition,

		Neut.	Masc.	Fem.
Sing.	Nom.	Augat	Boginn	Túngan.
	Acc.	Augat	Boginn	Túnguna.
	Dat.	Auganu	Boganum	Túngunni.
	Gen.	Augans	Bogans	Túngunnar.
Plur.	Nom.	Augun	Bogarnir	Túngurnar.
	Acc.	Augun	Bogana	Túngurnar.
	Dat.	Augunum	Bogunum	Túngunum.
	Gen.	Augnanna	Boganna	Túngnanna.

§ 85. In the Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish this peculiarity in the position of the definite article is preserved. Its origin, however, is concealed; and an accidental identity with the indefinite article has led to false notions respecting its nature. In the languages in point the i is changed into e, so that what in Icelandic is it and in, is in Danish et and en. En, however, as a separate word, is the numeral one, and also the indefinite article a; whilst in the neuter gender it is et—en Sol, a sun; et Bord, a table: Solen, the sun; Bordet, the table. From modern forms like those just quoted, it has been imagined that the definite is merely the indefinite article transposed. This it is not.

Reference will be made to this passage on more occasions than one, to show how words originally distinct may, in the process of time, take the appearance of being identical. To apply an expression of Mr. Cobbett's, en=a, and -en=the, are the same combination of letters, but not the same word.

DECLENSION OF ADJECTIVES.

Saxon.	Icelandic.
Definite.[7]	Definite.[7]
Singular.	Singular.
	Neut.	Masc.	Fem.		Neut.	Masc.	Fem.
Nom.	Góde	Góda	Góde.	Nom.	Haga	Hagi	Haga.
Acc.	Góde	Gódan	Gódan.	Acc.	Haga	Haga	Högu.
Abl.	Gódan	Gódan	Gódan.	Abl.	Haga	Haga	Högu.
Dat.	Gódan	Gódan	Gódan.	Dat.	Haga	Haga	Högu.
Gen.	Gódan	Gódan	Gódan.	Gen.	Haga	Haga	Högu.
Plural.	Högu is the Plural form for all the Cases and all the Genders.
Nom.	Gódan	Gódan	Gódan.
Acc.	Gódan	Gódan	Gódan.
Abl.	Gódum	Gódum	Gódum.
Dat.	Gódum	Gódum	Gódum.
Gen.	Gódena	Gódena	Gódena.
Indefinite.	Indefinite.
Singular.	Singular.
	Neut.	Masc.	Fem.		Neut.	Masc.	Fem.
Nom.	Gód	Gód	Gód.	Nom.	Hagt	Hagr	Hög.
Acc.	Gód	Gódne	Góde.	Acc.	Hagt	Hagan	Hög.
Abl.	Góde	Góde	Gódre.	Abl.	Högu	Högum	Hagri.
Dat.	Gódum	Gódum	Gódre.	Dat.	Högu	Högum	Hagri.
Gen.	Gódes	Gódes	Gódre.	Gen.	Hags	Hags	Hagrar.
Plural.	Plural.
Nom.	Góde	Góde	Góde.	Nom.	Hög	Hagir	Hagar.
Acc.	Góde	Góde	Góde.	Acc.	Hög	Haga	Hagar.
Abl.	Gódum	Gódum	Gódum.	Abl.	Högum	Högum	Högum.
Dat.	Gódum	Gódum	Gódum.	Dat.	Högum	Högum	Högum.
Gen.	Gódra	Gódra	Gódra.	Gen.	Hagra	Hagra	Hagra.

§ 86. Observe in the Icelandic forms the absence of the termination -an. Observe also the neuter termination -t, as hagr, hagt. Throughout the modern forms of the Icelandic (viz. the Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian languages) this termination is still preserved: e.g., en god Hest, a good horse; et godt Hjært, a good heart; en skön Pige, a beautiful damsel; et skarpt Svœrd, a sharp sword.

§ 87. Amongst the pronouns the following differences present themselves. The Saxon forms are, for the pronoun of the second person, þu (thou), git (ye two), ge (ye); whilst in Icelandic they are þu, þið, per, respectively. Again, in Saxon there is no reflective pronoun corresponding with the Latin se. In Icelandic we have sik, sér, sin, corresponding to the Latin se, sibi, suus. Besides this, the word sin is declined, so that like the Latin suus it becomes adjectival.

Sing.	Nom.	Sitt	Sinn	Sín.
	Acc.	Sitt	Sinn	Sína.
	Dat.	Sínu	Sínum	Sinni.
	Gen.	Sins	Sins	Sinnar.
Plur.	Nom.	Sín	Sínir	Sínar.
	Acc.	Sín	Sína	Sínar.
	Dat.	Sínum	Sínum	Sínum.
	Gen.	Sinna	Sinna	Sinna.

In Saxon there is of course no such an adjectival form. There the Possessives of the Third Person correspond not with the Latin suus, sua, suum; but with the Latin ejus and eorum. The English words his and her are genitive cases, not adjectives.

Further remarks upon the presence of the Reflective Pronoun sik in Icelandic, and its absence in Saxon, will appear in the sequel.

THE NUMERALS.

	Saxon.	Icelandic.
1.	Án	Eitt, einn, ein.
2.	Twá	Tvö, tveir.
3.	Þreó	Þrju, þrir.
4.	Feower	Fjögur, fjórir.
5.	Fíf	Fimm.
6.	Six	Sex.
7.	Seofon	Sjö.
8.	Eahta	Átta.
9.	Nigon	Niu.
10.	Tyn	Tiu.

Of the Icelandic verbs the infinitives end in -a; as kalla, to call; elska, to love; whereas the Saxon termination is -an; as lufian, to love; wyrcan, to work.

§ 88. The persons are as follows:—

		Saxon.	Icelandic.
Pres.	Sing.	1. Bærne	Brenni.
		2. Bærnst	Brennir.
		3. Bærnð	Brennir.
	Plur.	1. Bærnað	Brennum.
		2. Bærnað	Brennið.
		3. Bærnað	Brenna.

§ 89. The characteristic, however, of the Icelandic (indeed, of all the Scandinavian languages) is the possession of a passive form, or a passive voice, ending in -st:—Ek, þu, hann brennist=I, thou, he is burnt; Ver brennumst=We are burnt; þér brennizt=ye are burnt; þeir brennast=they are burnt. Past tense, Ek, þu, hann brendist; ver brendumst, þér brenduzt, þeir brendust. Imperat.: brenstu=be thou burnt. Infinit.: brennast=to be burnt.

In the modern Danish and Swedish, the passive is still preserved, but without the final t. In the older stages of Icelandic, on the other hand, the termination was not -st but -sc; which -sc grew out of the reflective pronoun sik. With these phenomena the Scandinavian languages give us the evolution and development of a passive voice; wherein we have the following series of changes:—1st. the reflective pronoun coalesces with the verb, whilst the sense changes from that of a reflective to that of a middle verb; 2nd. the c changes to t, whilst the middle sense passes into a passive one; 3rd. t is dropped from the end of the word, and the expression that was once reflective then becomes strictly passive.

Now the Saxons have no passive voice at all. That they should have one originating like that of the Scandinavians was impossible. Having no reflective pronoun, they had nothing to evolve it from.

The Auxiliary Verb.
	Saxon.	Icelandic.
Indicative. Present.
Sing.	1. Eom (I am)	Em.
	2. Eart.	Ert.
	3. Is.	Er.
Plur.	1. Synd (Syndon)	Erum.
	2. Synd (Syndon)	Eruð.
	3. Synd (Syndon)	Eru.
Indicative. Past.
Sing.	1. Wǽs	Var.
	2. Wǽre	Vart.
	3. Wǽs	Var.
Plur.	1. Wǽron	Vorum.
	2. Wǽron	Voru.
	3. Wǽron	Voru.
Subjunctive. Present.
Sing.	1. Sý	Sé.
	2. Sý	Sér.
	3. Sý	Sé.
Plur.	1. Sýn	Séum.
	2. Sýn	Seuð.
	3. Sýn	Séu.
Subjunctive. Past.
Sing.	1. Wǽre	Væri.
	2. Wǽre	Værir.
	3. Wǽre	Væri.
Plur.	1. Wǽron	Værum.
	2. Wǽron	Væru.
	3. Wǽron	Væruð.
Infinitive.
	Wesan	Vera.
Participle.
	Wesende	Verandi.

§ 90. Recapitulating, we find that the characteristic differences of the greatest importance between the Icelandic and Saxon are three in number:—

1st. The peculiar nature of the definite article.

2nd. The neuter form of the adjectives in -t.

3rd. The existence of a passive voice in -sc, -st, or -s.

§ 91. In the previous comparison the substantives were divided as follows:—1st. into those ending with a vowel; 2ndly, into those ending with a consonant. In respect to the substantives ending with a vowel (eáge, nama, tunge), it may have been observed that their cases were in A. S. almost exclusively formed in -n, as eágan, tungan, &c.; whilst words like skip and smið had, throughout their whole declension, no case formed in -n; no case indeed wherein the sound of -n entered. This enables us (at least with the A. S.) to make a general assertion concerning the substantives ending in a vowel in contrast to those ending in a consonant, viz. that they take an inflection in -n.

In Icelandic this inflection in -n is concealed by the fact of -an having been changed into -a. However, as this -a represents -an, and as fragments or rudiments of -n are found in the genitive plurals of the neuter and feminine genders (augna, tungna), we may make the same general assertion in Icelandic that we make in A. S., viz. that substantives ending in a vowel take an inflection in -n.

§ 92. The points of likeness and difference between two languages, belonging to different divisions of the same Germanic branch, may be partially collected from the following comparison between certain Mœso-Gothic and certain Anglo-Saxon inflections.

§ 93. It must, however, be premised, that, although the distinction between nouns taking an inflection in -n, and nouns not so inflected, exists equally in the Mœso-Gothic and the Icelandic, the form in which the difference shows itself is different; and along with the indication of this difference may be introduced the important terms weak and strong, as applied to the declension of nouns.

Weak nouns end in a vowel; or, if in a consonant, in a consonant that has become final from the loss of the vowel that originally followed it. They also form a certain proportion of their oblique cases in -n, or an equivalent to -n—Nom. augô, gen. aug-in-s.

Strong nouns end in a consonant; or, if in a vowel, in one of the vowels allied to the semivowels y or w, and through them to the consonants. They also form their oblique cases by the addition of a simple inflection, without the insertion of n.

Furthermore, be it observed that nouns in general are weak and strong, in other words, that adjectives are weak or strong, as well as substantives. Between substantives and adjectives, however, there is this difference:—

1. A substantive is either weak or strong, i.e., it has one of the two inflections, but not both. Augô=an eye, is weak under all circumstances; waurd=a word, is strong under all circumstances.

2. An adjective is both weak and strong. The Anglo-Saxon for good is sometimes god (strong), sometimes gode (weak). Which of the two forms is used depends not on the word itself, but on the state of its construction.

In this respect the following two rules are important:—

1. The definite sense is generally expressed by the weak form, as se blinde man=the blind man.

2. The indefinite sense is generally expressed by the strong form, as sum blind man=a blind man.

Hence, as far as adjectives are concerned, the words definite and indefinite coincide with the words weak and strong respectively, except that the former are terms based on the syntax, the latter terms based on the etymology of the word to which they apply.

Declension of Weak Substantives in Mœso-Gothic.

Neuter.
	Singular.	Plural.
Nom.	Áugô (an eye)	Áugôna.
Acc.	Áugô	Áugôna.
Dat.	Áugin	Áugam.
Gen.	Áugins	Áugônê.
Masculine.
Nom.	Manna (a man)	Mannans.
Acc.	Mannan	Mannans.
Dat.	Mannin	Mannam.
Gen.	Mannins	Mannanê.
Feminine.
Nom.	Tuggô (a tongue)	Tuggôns.
Acc.	Tuggôn	Tuggôns.
Dat.	Tuggôn	Tuggôm.
Gen.	Tuggôns	Tuggônô.

Declension of Strong Substantives in Mœso-Gothic.

Neuter.
	Singular.	Plural.
Nom.	Vaúrd (a word)	Vaúrda.
Acc.	Vaúrd	Vaúrda.
Dat.	Vaúrda	Vaúrdam.
Gen.	Vaúrdis	Vaúrdê.
Masculine.
Nom.	Fisks (a fish)	Fiskôs.
Acc.	Fisk	Fiskans.
Dat.	Fiska	Fiskam.
Gen.	Fiskis	Fiskê.
Feminine.
Nom.	Brûþs (a bride)	Brûþeis.
Acc.	Brûþ	Brûþins.
Dat.	Brûþai	Brûþim.
Gen.	Brûþais	Brûþê.

These may be compared with the Saxon declensions; viz. aúgô with eáge, manna with nama, tuggô with tunge, vaúrd with leáf, fisks with smið, and brûþs with spræc.

Declension of Weak (or Definite) Adjectives in Mœso-Gothic. ^[8]

Singular.
	Neuter.	Masculine.	Feminine.
Nom.	Blindô	Blinda	Blindô.
Acc.	Blindô	Blindan	Blindôn.
Dat.	Blindin	Blindin	Blindôn.
Gen.	Blindins	Blindins	Blindôns.
Plural.
Nom.	Blindôna	Blindans	Blindôns.
Acc.	Blindôna	Blindans	Blindôns.
Dat.	Blindam	Blindam	Blindôm.
Gen.	Blindônê	Blindanê	Blindônô.

Declension of strong (or indefinite) adjectives in Mœso-Gothic. ^[9]

Singular.
Nom.	Blindata	Blinds	Blinda.
Acc.	Blindata	Blindana	Blinda.
Dat.	Blindamma	Blindamma	Blindái.
Gen.	Blindis	Blindis	Blindáizôs.
Plural.
Nom.	Blinda	Blindái	Blindôs.
Acc.	Blinda	Blindans	Blindôs.
Dat.	Blindáim	Blindáim	Blindáim.
Gen.	Blindáizê	Blindáizê	Blindáizô.

Observe—In the neuter form blindata M. G. we have the sound of t, as in Icelandic. This becomes z (ts) in Old High German, and s in modern German.

The conjugation of the M. G. is as follows. From the Anglo-Saxon it differs most in its plural persons.

	Indicative.		Subjunctive.
	M.G.	A.S.		M.G.		A.S.
	Present.		Present.
Sing.	1. Sôk-ja	Lufie.	Sing.	1. Sôkjáu		Lufige.
	2. Sôk-eis	Lufast.		2. Sôkjáis
	3. Sôk-eiþ	Lufað.		3. Sôkjái
Plur.	1. Sôk-jam	Lufiað.	Plur.	1. Sôkjáima		Lufion.
	2. Sôk-eiþ	Lufiað.		2. Sôkjáiþ
	3. Sôk-jand	Lufiað.		3. Sôkjáina
	Præt.	Præt.
Sing.	1. Sôkida	Lufode.	Sing.	1. Sôkidêdjáu		Lufode.
	2. Sôkides	Lufodest.		2. Sôkidêdeis
	3. Sôkida	Lufode.		3. Sôkidêdi
Plur.	1. Sôkidêdum	Lufodon.	Plur.	1. Sôkidêdeima		Lufodon.
	2. Sôkidêduþ	Lufodon.		2. Sôkidêdeiþ
	3. Sôkidêdun	Lufodon.		3. Sôkidêdeina

The conjugation of the auxiliary verb in Mœso-Gothic is as follows. It may be compared with the A. S. § 89.

Indicative. Pres.	Subjunctive. Pres.
Sing.	Plur.	Sing.	Plur.
1. Im (I am)	Sijum.	1. Sijáu	Sijáima.
2. Is	Sijuþ.	2. Sijáis	Sijáiþ.
3. Ist	Sind.	3. Sijái	Sijáina.
Præt.	Præt.
1. Vas	Vêsum.	1. Vêsjáu	Vêseima.
2. Vast	Vêsuþ.	2. Vêseis	Vêseiþ.
3. Vas	Vêsun.	3. Vêsei	Vêseina.
Inf. Visan and Sijan—(to be).
Part. Visands—(being).