Ethiopic

“ It has not the slightest connection in any part of its grammatical constitution, or in the roots, either with the Semetic languages, nor with the Egyptian, or with our own; and therefore, certainly belongs to the original African stock, unconnected with the Ethiopic-Egyptian family, though the nation may be comprehended by the ancients under the general name of Ethiopians, and though their physical race may stand in a nearer relation to them. They are not a commercial people, and therefore can only count up to twenty in their language ”

“ The highlands included betwixt Abyssinia and the equator are unquestionably among the most interesting regions in Africa, whether viewed with reference to their climate, their soil, their productions, or their population. When the Ethiopic empire extended its sway over the greater part of the eastern horn, they doubtless supplied myrrh and frankincense to the civilised portions of the globe, together with the “sweet cane,” mentioned by the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, as being brought “from a far country.” The slave caravan still affords a limited outlet to their rich produce ”

“ From the various accounts which I received of the above provinces, there is just reason to suppose that Ethiopic literature might be found in a more flourishing condition there than in any other part of Abyssinia; and that the inhabitants retain more of the ancient customs and peculiar manners of their forefathers than either of the other two states, which, together with them, once constituted the empire of Abyssinia. ”

“ The third or Ethiopic division includes as its chief members the Beya or Bisharin, the Saho, the Dankali, the Somali, and the more inland Galla; the first two lying along the Red Sea north of Semitic Abyssinia, the others south of it, to the equator. By some authorities (Lepsius, Bleek) there is added to the Hamitic family as a fourth division a group from extreme southern Africa, the Hottentot and Bushman languages. ”

“ Ethiopic.
Semitic: An extinct dialect of Arabic, closely resembling Amharic, and written in large uncial characters resembling Himyaritic; it was spoken in Abyssinia, anciently called Ethiopia, and is known to the natives as “Lisana Gheëz.” See Ludolph; Schrader: “De Lingua Æthiopica,” Göttingen, 1860; Dillman: “Lexicon, Grammar, and Chrestomathy,” Leipsig, 1857-66.
Ethnology.
The study of mankind in tribes, races, and nations; treating of all that relates to their physical characteristics, their language, manners, customs, religion, &c. ”

“ Every house possesses its slaves; but those both of king and subject are permitted to work for themselves one day out of the seven. All occupation is interdicted on the Sabbath, as well as on the festivals of Gabriel, Michael, and Georgis, which are the only saints’ days observed in Susa.
The language spoken is quite distinct from that of the Galla, from the Amháric, and from the ancient Geez or Ethiopic. It possesses a written character. The houses are constructed upon a circular plan of wattle and thatch. ”

“ African.—The best way to study the wide and complex philology of Africa is to begin with the frontier of the Semitic languages, remembering that the Ethiopic branch of them is, to all appearance, indigenous to Africa; then to bear in mind that the Arabic, by intrusion and extension, is spread over a great part of Northern and Eastern Africa. The Eastern frontier, however, of the Arabic and the Syriac is in Asia, and in Asia it begins where the Persian and Turk areas end. ”

“ A few more names of kings occur on coins, which were struck in Greek characters till about A.D. 700, after which time that language seems definitely to have been displaced in favour of Ethiopic or Geez: the condition of the script and the coins renders them all difficult to identify with the names preserved in the native lists, which are too fanciful and mutually contradictory to furnish of themselves even a vestige of history. For the period between the rise of Islam and the beginning of the modern history of Abyssinia there are a few notices in Arabic writers ”

“ He who neglects to undergo the annual purification enjoined on this day by the Ethiopic church, is considered to carry with him the burden of every sin committed during the preceding twelve months, and to be surely visited by sickness and misfortune, whereas those who perform the rite, are believed to have emerged thoroughly cleared and regenerated. ”

“ Ethiopic inscription of Aeizanes (so Littmann) , son of Ela Amida, discovered by Eduard Rüppell in 1833. (6) Ethiopic inscriptions of Hetana-Dan’el, son of Dabra Efrem. These are all long inscriptions giving details of wars, &c. The sixth is later than the rest, which are to be attributed to the most flourishing period of the kingdom, the 4th and 5th centuries A.D. The fourth is pagan, the fifth Christian, Aeizanes having in the interval embraced Christianity. ”

“ Twenty-eight MSS. of this version are in the different libraries of Europe, of which fifteen are to be found in England. This version was made from an ancestor of the Greek fragment discovered at Giza. Some of the utterly unintelligible passages in this fragment are literally reproduced in the Ethiopic. The same wrong order of the text in vii.-viii. is common to both. In order to recover the original text, it is from time to time necessary to retranslate the Ethiopic into Greek, and the latter in turn into Aramaic or Hebrew. ”

“ Wemmers, a Carmelite, has wrote a small Ethiopic dictionary in thin quarto, which, as far as it goes, has considerable merit; and I am told there are others of the same kind extant, written chiefly by Catholic priests. But by far the most copious, distinct, and best-digested work, is that of Job Ludolf, 426 a German of great learning in the Eastern languages, and who has published a grammar and dictionary of the Geez in folio. This read with attention is more than sufficient to make any person of very moderate genius a great proficient in the Ethiopic language. ”

“ It is difficult, in my opinion, to imagine, that any society, engaged in different occupations, could subsist long without them. There seems to be less doubt, that they were invented, soon after the dispersion, long before Moses, and in common use among the Gentiles of his time.
It seems also probable, that the first alphabet was Ethiopic, first founded on hieroglyphics, and afterwards modelled into more current, and less laborious figures, for the sake of applying them to the expedition of business. ”

“ The purity of the Arabic also appears to have been very questionable; for several expressions appear to be Ethiopic rather than Arabic, and the person whom the Meccans had in mind is likely to have been an Abyssinian Christian, since the Christian technicalities of the Koran are mainly derived from the Ethiopic Gospels and Acts. On one occasion when some questions suggested by learned foreigners had been propounded to the Prophet he required a fortnight’s delay before the revelation which solved them came ”

“ The Ethiopic and Latin Versions: Translations from the Greek.—The Ethiopic Version is translated from the Greek, for Greek words such as δρῦς, βάλανος, λίψ, &c., are transliterated in the Greek. Secondly, many passages must be retranslated into Greek before we can discover the source of the various corruptions. And finally, proper names are transliterated as they appear in Greek and not in Hebrew. That the Latin is also a translation from the Greek is no less obvious. ”

“ With all respect to Mr Ludolf’s opinion, I must think that, though the benediction prayed upon the patine, spoon, and chalice, is but an aukward expression, yet, if I understand the language, “converte” and “immutetur” are literal translations of the Ethiopic, and seem to pray for a transubstantiation as directly as words will admit, whether they believe in it or not; nor, as far as I know, can any stronger or more expressive be found to substitute in their place. ”

“ Probably before the close of Palaeolithic times all the primary divisions of man were specialized in their several habitats by the influence of their surroundings. The profound effect of climate is seen in the relative culture of races. Thus, tropical countries are inhabited by savage or semi-savage peoples, while the higher races are confined to temperate zones. The primary divisions of mankind, Ethiopic, Mongolic, Caucasic, were certainly differentiated in neolithic times, and these criteria had almost certainly occurred not consecutively in one area but simultaneously in several areas. ”

“ Other collections exist in Abyssinia, and many MSS. are in private hands. In 1893 besides portions of the Bible some 40 Ethiopic books had been printed in Europe (enumerated in L. Goldschmidt’s Bibliotheca Aethiopica) , but many more have since been published.
Geez literature is ordinarily divided into two periods, of which the first dates from the establishment of Christianity in the 5th century, and ends somewhere in the 7th ”

“ Other books, like the Ethiopic Enoch, exhibit a series of independent sources connected more or less loosely together. Such are to be explained on the “sources hypothesis.” Others, like the Ascension of Isaiah, betray the handiwork of successive editors, and are accordingly to be explained on the “redaction hypothesis.” Now modern scholars have with varying success used in turn these three hypotheses with a view to the solution of the problems of the New Testament Apocalypse. To these we shall now address ourselves. ”

“ Various hymn-books bear the names Degua, Zemmare and Mawasʽet (Antiphones) ; there is also a biblical history in verse called Mashafa Madbal or Mestīra Zamān. Homilies also exist in large numbers, both original and translated, sometimes after the Arabic fashion in rhymed prose. Hagiology is naturally an important department in Ethiopic literature. In the great collection called Synaxar (translated originally from Arabic, but with large additions) for each day of the year there is the history of one or more saints ”

“ The disparaging reflections cast by the chivalrous people of Shoa, in consequence of our refusal to slaughter defenceless pagans during the murderous expedition to Entótto, rendered it imperative that some decided step should be taken by which to wipe out the stain, and restore the tarnished lustre of the British name. The destruction of an adult elephant, which is reckoned equivalent to that of forty Galla, is an achievement that had not been accomplished within the memory of the present age, although mentioned in traditions connected with the exploits of the most renowned Ethiopic warriors. ”

“ The country which he passed along the Nile is very pleasant, and is described by him very properly. It does not owe its fertility to the overflowing of the Nile, the banks of that river being considerably too high. It is watered, however, by the industry of the inhabitants, who, by different machines, raise water from the stream.
We are not to attribute to Poncet, but to those who published, the story here put into father Brevedent's mouth about the fugitive Christians in Nubia, which fable gave rise to the first institution of the Ethiopic mission. ”

“ Tigre, Tigrinna.
Sub-Semitic: modern dialect of Ethiopic, called “lisana Gheez.” It is spoken in N. Abyssinia, and closely resembles Amharic. Grammar by Prætorius, Halle, 1871; Vocaby. by Beurmann, 1868.
Tihuex.
American: Keres Indians of New Mexico.
Tikomeri.
American: Moxos dialect spoken in the S. Xaverio Mission, Bolivia. It is allied to Maipur.
Tilangang, Tilanjang.
Malayan: same as Engano, an island west of Sumatra. P. J. V.
Timbiras.
American: tribes of Brazil, known as— (1) de Mata, (2) de Canella fina, (3) de Bocca furada. The language is closely allied to Geiko and Tokantin. ”

“ The real origin of the artistic decoration is unmistakable. It is what we call Byzantine, but ought rather to be called Ægypto-Grecian. The people of Abyssinia, who were mainly Southern Arabs or Sabæans, received their instruction in art along with their Christianity a few centuries after the beginning of the era, and they have never abandoned them. As for the writing which appears on the plate, it is in the old Geez or Ethiopic language, and descended from that of the Sabæan people whose monumental inscriptions in Himyaritic language and characters are now attracting considerable interest. ”

“ Bruce besides adding largely to our stock of general information, brought to our knowledge several new genera of plants, well as some valuable descriptions of rare animals. He also has the honour of having first introduced into Europe a complete copy of the Scriptures, and a set of the Abyssinian Chronicles, in the Ethiopic language; which valuable collection of MSS. still remains in the hands of the family. ↑ The inhabitants of this province are famous for their skill in cooking. ”

“ In the Vulgate, however, our author was, through the action of Jerome, degraded into the third place and called 3 Esdras, whereas the canonical books Ezra and Nehemiah (see Ezra and Nehemiah, Books of, below) were called 1 and 2 Esdras, and the Apocalypse of Ezra 4 Esdras. Thus the nomenclature of our book follows, and possibly wrongly, the usage of the Vulgate. [1] In the Ethiopic version a different usage prevails. The Apocalypse is called 1 Esdras, our author 2 Esdras, and Ezra and Nehemiah 3 Esdras, or 3 and 4 Esdras. ”

“ The MSS. of the Biblical books vary very much, and none of them can claim any great antiquity; the oldest extant MS. of the four Books of Kings appears to be one in the Museo Borgiano, presented by King Amda Sion (1314) to the Virgin Mary in Jerusalem (described by N. Roupp, ibid. xvi. 296-342) . Hence P. de Lagarde supposed the Ethiopic version to have been made from the Arabic, which indeed is in accordance with a native tradition. This opinion is held by few ”