Over the generations, there have been many proposals for an international auxiliary language, too many in number and of too many kinds to try to describe here. Some of them have been completely ad hoc and a priori. Others have been based or modeled on one or more existing languages. One such language which has served as a model or a base is Latin, which for a long time was in fact for practical purposes the international auxiliary language of western civilization.
Perhaps the best known of international auxiliary languages based directly on Latin is the Italian mathematician Giussepe Peano's Latino sine Flexione, which he originally published early in the twentieth century. (At times Latino sine Flexione was also known as "Interlingua," not to be confused with the auxiliary language of that name published in 1951 by the International Auxiliary Language Association.)
Another such, which is described in the book reproduced here in its entirety, along with some comments, is The Master Language, published privately in 1907 by Stephen Chase Houghton. The name, "The Master Language," is a deplorable one, as it would seem to represent a sort of cultural arrogance and today might disincline some to consideration of the language. However, the language itself is a respectable attempt at an international auxiliary language based squarely on a modified Latin vocabulary with English word order in place of the Latin inflectional system. (As for the name, it might be noted that there have been various projects with the words "Latin," "Latino," or "Latina" in their names, and perhaps Houghton wanted something more distinctive, however unfortunate his choice. However, one possibility might be "Latinulo" meaning Little Latin or Offspring of Latin.)
Although The Master Language is based on Latin, it will be seen that in a few respects, such as with the personal pronouns and pronominal adjectives, an original Latin word becomes merely the basis for a rather artificial and highly schematized system.
The Master Language has several notable characteristcs. Because the vocabulary is based on Latin, there is no need for separate dictionaries of the language. Two-way Latin dictionaries exist for many languages, and one of these, together with a brief description of this language (which would need to be available in various native tongues), are all one needs. One looks up a needed Latin word, applies any necessary transformation to it, and uses it forthwith. Another major advantage of the Master approach to vocabulary is that one has the entire range of the Latin lexicon to allow for many shades of meaning, facilitating its use for many purposes with less periphrasis or paraphrase than may be necessary in auxiliary languages with limited vocabularies.
Translation back from Master to one's own tongue may be a little more involved, as many nouns and adjectives are formed on the oblique stem, whereas most Latin dictionaries list first by the nominative form. However, the nominative and oblique stems are usually the same in their first few sounds/letters, so lookup should not be a major problem. Verbs, being formed on the supine stem in most cases, might take a little more looking to find them in the dictionary, inasmuch as the supine stem can vary somewhat from the present stem by which most dictionaries list verbs.
There is also the matter of changing the spelling of words to bring them more in line with phonetic orthography: nymph, for example, becomes nimfa. Furthermore, Latin double consonants are changed to singles. Awareness of these transformations, on the other hand, may facilitate searching the dictionary. Presumably, of course, with most auxiliary languages the goal is that sooner or later one would not need to depend on a dictionary in either direction.
Another characteristic of Master is that, perhaps somewhat unusually for its time, it has sex-neutral noun and pronoun forms applicable to sexually differentiated living organisms. Lack of such forms has been a frequent criticism applied to some constructed auxiliary languages. In Master, for sexually differentiable beings one could consider the epicene form as the semantically basic form with female and male forms being available when needed or desired.
The Master Language also has partial, although not complete, part of speech marking. For example, a word ending in i which is not one of the few primitive grammatical words with that ending is probably a possessive, an adjective in the positive, or a present participle. A word ending in o is likely to be a substantive, either masculine or neuter if such characteristics apply. And so on.
One issue for Latin-based auxiliary languages which were published a few generations ago is the issue of vocabulary for modern terms which did not appear in classical or medieval Latin. However, those who have sought to keep Latin itself alive as a language have faced this issue, and wordlists do exist for modern terminology. One might say that according to Rule 27, the Master form of "television" would be televisio. Other modern terms, such as "radio" and "modem," would have to be resolved. Rules 17, 18, and 19 partially address this issue, and Rules 35 through 43 might provide some additional words. (Presumably, according to Rule 39, a computer would be a computago.) Current terms derived from Greek and Latin roots can in many cases be turned into corresponding Master words with little difficulty. Although the penultimate paragraph of Houghton's Introduction indicates that the work was preliminary, with few modifications and elucidations it might be usable forthwith as an auxiliary language.
Insofar as feasible, layout and bolding follow the original work (although most of the tables were originally left aligned in the page column). There are, however, some small departures from the original typographic scheme, which are described here. Houghton placed his tables of "primitive adverbs," prepositions, and conjunctions at the end of the book after his translations. They are here moved to the end of the rules and before the translations, seemingly a more appropriate place for them. (Actually, these three tables are rather superfluous, inasmuch as they are simply the Latin words, some being partially respelled according to the phonetic rules.) All the type in the book was in Roman faces, which may not be reproduced exactly here when read via some media. (To allow for distinctiveness, the originals for the translations may appear in a sans-serif face in some media.)
Houghton provided several translations into Master from Latin, Italian, French, and English. Here, the translations and originals appear one over the other instead of in Houghton's parallel columns. (In the original texts from which the translations were made, misspellings have been left as they were. These may have been typesetting errors, as they are not consistent.) Comments in italics are those of the transcriber, partly for clarification (some being clarification based on the sample translations) and partly for variation on Houghton's ideas.
It may be noted that Houghton's book is out of copyright, at least in the United States, and therefore in the public domain, so that it may be reproduced without infringement.
(A modified verson of Master Language, under the name Latinvlo,
is available at this :link:.)
In the summer of 1900, the Société Philomatiqe de Paris inaugurated a movement looking to the devisement and adoption of an artificial language, adaptable to the requirements of international intercommunication in general and to the needs of science in particular -- a language to be used as a vehicle for conveying standard scientific works to the readers of all nations. The several conventions and congresses of scientific organizations which convened in Paris during the year named were addressed on the subject, and all of these, to the number of twenty-four, joined in the movement, thirty members of the Institute subscribed their names to its support, and scholars in all parts of Europe expressed approval of the project. L'Association National des Académies assumed charge of the movement, a delegation representing all the societes referred to was chosen, and this delegation appointed a sub-committee to take active charge of the matter. Under the direction of the sub-committee a "Declaration" was prepared, published and spread broadcast, setting forth the urgent need of a Langue International Auxiliare, and the conditions required to be met in its construction, and calling upon scholars throughout the world to "prêter leur concours a la délégation et de hâter ansi cette grande réforme, qui marquera dan l'histoire de l'humanité une époque comparable á [sic] celle de l'invention de l'imprimerie, e qui contribuera puissement aux progrès de la science et de la civilization."
In the "Declaration" it was prescribed that the international auxiliary language should satisfy the conditions following:
1. It must be capable of serving for the habitual relations of social life, for commercial exchanges, and for scientific and philosophical reports.
2. It must be easy of acquirement by all persons of fair education, especially Europeans.
3. It must not be an existing national language.
While the sense of need of scientific Europe in this regard and an earnest desire on the part of its representatives that the need shall be supplied are thus made manifest, and the conditions required to be met are sufficiently simple and reasonable, it is undoubtedly the fact that the acceptable new language must be truly and thoroughly scientific, both in foundation and superstructure. For a scientific basis the mind at once turns to Latin, for centuries the universal language of scholarship and literature, rich and prolific mother of mother tongues, substantial foundation of English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and the other Romance languages of today and of the past, supplying to a greater or less degree elements to all the languages of modern civilization, chief basis of the nomenclature of science, and familiar to the scholars of all lands, Obviously, Latin, more than any other source of supply, affords material for a broad and homogeneous foundation for the proposed innovation.
But pure Latin, complex, unwieldy, out-of-date, is inadaptable to present-day requirements. The key-note of the desired artificial language must be simplicity. It should be logical, systematic and exact. It should have few forms, few rules, few exceptions. If upon Latin may be built up such a language, one which, while preserving the universally recogizable lineaments of the royal parent, shall be modern, simple, scientific in root and in construction, free from the complications, irregularities and involved methods characterizing the great mother tongue and inherited in great degree by her progeny, so nearly akin to existing languages as to be easily learned and readily adapted to the ordinary uses of international intercommunication, and at the same time so precise and complete as to meet the exactions of science, such a langage should satisfy the required conditions, if they may be satisfied at all.
The elaborate terminology of the Latin must, of course, be discarded, and a modernized syntax provided. The regular terminology of the inflected words of the language is made up of the vowels a, e, i, o and u, giving a systematic resemblance to that most systematic and most melodious of tongues, the Italian. The advantages to be derived from the adoption of an established syntactic system are manifest and controlling; and since the English is simpler than that afforded by any other Latin-derived tongue, it is here followed, with few modifications.
This publication is issued with the purpose of submitting to scholars and others who may be interested an exposition of the fundamental principles and rules of the proposed artificial language, in the hope of eliciting criticisms and suggestions which may aid the author in improving the plan of the language before presenting to the public a complete grammar.
No attempt is here made to demonstrate the adaptability of the language to general social and commercial usages. The translations from various languages, though few and brief, are deemed sufficient for present purposes.
Rome, N. Y., July, 1907.
1. The words of this language are adopted or derived from the Latin or the Greek.
2. All words of classical Latin, and words of medieval, modern or law Latin from which words of modern Romance languages have been derived, may be bases of words in this language.
3. Greek derivatives are comparatively few, and chiefly relate to the arts and sciences.
4. The letters of the alphabet are twenty-three in number.
They are:
a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v,
x and z.
5. The language has twenty-one sounds.
6. The spelling is phonetic, though j, qu and x have have respectively the same sounds as i, c and cs.
J, q and x might be dispensed with, but are retained to indicate derivation and avoid confusion.
COMMENT: It is the opinion of the transcriber that one could also do away with j and u. J is a medieval invention originally the same in pronunciation as i, but it came later to represent sounds in national languages that did not exist in Latin, so is here superfluous. Also, as the next paragraph makes clear, v has the same sound as it did in classical Latin when used as a consonant (really a semi-consonant), close in pronunciation to the vowel u, so one could do as the Romans did and use v for both sounds. Elimination of j and u would bring the orthography more in line with that of original Latin texts, facilitating use (although some dictionaries do use j as an initial as well as u). Furthermore, in keeping with a principle of phoneticity and recognizability of derived words, it might be suitable to pronounce qu not like c but as in the original Latin. If one really wanted to emulate the Romans, one could do away with with the distinction between uppercase and lowercase letters, which are also a medieval invention unknown to many of the world's scripts. (And even in those modern languages which do use the Roman alphabet, one often sees texts, such as signs and announcements, entirely in uppercase letters.)
7. All letters are pronounced as in the Roman pronunciation of Latin. A is pronounced as in part, e like a in made, i and j like e in me, o as in no, u like oo in noon. C is pronounced as in cap, g as in gap. H is aspirated. V has the sound of w in wet. All other consonants are pronounced as in Latin-derived languages generally.
8. Ch is represented by c, ph by f,
th by t, y by i.
Examples: Eco (from echo), echo;
filosofio (from philosophia), philosophy; trono
(from thronus), throne; tipo (from typus), type.
9. In derivatives from Latin words in which double letters
occur, one of these is omitted.
Posesio (from possessio), possession;
apelata (from appello, appellatum), call.
10. In derivatives from Latin words in which cqu, xce, or xci
occur, c is omitted.
Aquisitio (from acquisitio),
acquisition; exelentio (from excellentia), excellence;
exitata (from excito, excitatum), call out, excite.
11. This language contains no diphthongs. In derivatives from
Latin words in which the diphthongs ae or oe
occur, the first of the two letters is omitted:
Pene (from paene), almost; peno (from
poena), punishment.
COMMENT: Houghton's first sentence is not strictly true, because he did retain the Latin diphthong au. One might question whether it is really necessary to convert ae and oe. Retaining them would give a little variety to the vowel structure of the language and would facilitate recognizability and dictionary use.
12. Accent or stress of voice is placed upon no syllable.
13. The parts of speech are nouns, pronouns, articles, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions.
14. Nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs derived from adjectives or participles are composed of two parts, a stem and a terminal, and have regular terminations, in all their parts and forms. Nouns end in o, a, or e; adjectives (including adjectives proper, present participles, pronominal adjectives and possessives), as to their positive form, in i; the indicative present, infinitive and imperative of verbs in a; the past indicative and past participle in e; derivative adverbs, of positive form, in u.
15. Adverbs not derived from adjectives or participles, and prepositions and conjunctions, are adopted from the Latin without other change than that incident to phonetic spelling.
16. Words may be compounded or constructed on Latin bases
according to usages common to Romance languages.
Civilizata, civilizatio, civilize,
civilization; supersensitivi, supersensitive;
inamate, loveless -- unloved; inamati, loveless
-- unloving; disincorporata, disincorporate;
malcontenti, malcontent; disorganizata,
disorganize.
17. Scientific words and terms adopted or derived from Latin or
Greek and common to modern languages are used without
change.
Species, genera, spectrum, spectra, bacillus,
bacilli, os[,] coccyx.
18. Other words derived from the Greek are formed by the
addition to Greek stems of terminals characteristic of this
language.
Fenomeno, fenonemos, phenomenon, phenomena;
hipoteso, hypothesis; analiso, analysis;
antiteso, antithesis; fotografo,
fotografa,
photograph (noun and verb).
COMMENT: Houghton does not make clear how one determines which words fall under each of the two preceding rules.
19. This language contains no proper names. Names of persons
and places, titles, forms of address and of salutation, articles
of merchandise, weights, measures, moneys, and other things
peculiar to any country or language, and words or phrases having
no Latin equivalents, are written and pronounced as in the
countries to which they respectively belong.
John, Jean, Juan, Jan, France (or La France), Italia,
Roma, Wien, Count, Compte, Conte, Conde, Graf, Mr., Mrs.,
Monsieur, Madam, Senor, Signor, Senhor, Herr, Good morning, bon
voyage, good bye, adieu, adios, lebe wohl, hat, chapeau,
sombrero, capello, chapéo, hüt, pound, gramme, foot, mètre,
dollar, sovereign, franc, peso, real, thaler, ländler, jodel,
bolero, obeisance, environment, ennui, chiaroscuro, en route.
COMMENT: Some might remark that several of these and similar terms do in fact have usable Latin or neo-Latin forms or equivalents. It might possibly be less confusing with some proper names to use a base form and then apply any plural and/or possessive formant to it. Thus, in the sample translation from Caesar (below), one might use the forms Belges, Aquitanes, and Celtes in place of the purely Latin Belgae, Aquitani, and Celtae respectively, particularly in light of the fact that Caesar used the names in different grammatical cases, whereas Houghton, perhaps somewhat inconsistently, used the Latin nominative plural in all instances.
20. Nouns and personal pronouns only have gender.
COMMENT: By this he seems to mean that only nouns and pronouns refer to biological sex, rather than to grammatical categories of gender, which do not necessarily refer to biological sex.
21. The only plural forms are those of nouns and personal pronouns and the pronominal adjectives istis, these, ilis, those, and alis, others.
22. The arrangement of words in declarative sentences is as in
English, in order as follows:
The article, adjectives modifying the subject, the
subject, other modifiers of the subject, adverbs modifying the
verb, the verb, adjectives modifying the object of the verb, the
object, prepositions and the words depending on them.
COMMENT: Except for possessive nouns, which might here be thought of as a type of adjective, in this language nouns and adjectives have different endings. Therefore, one could introduce a little variety by allowing relatively long adjectives to follow their nouns, as is so in many languages.
23. English syntactical construction is followed, with the exceptions following:
(1) The negative adverb no precedes the
verb.
Me no vel ira, I shall not go.
(2) The language contains no equivalents of the
English auxiliaries do, does, did. In interrogative
sentences in which in English these auxiliaries are used, the
subject follows the verb.
Ea no sensa sani, she does not feel well.
Habitata ili homo isti domo? Does that man live in this
house? Abire is hodie? Did he depart today?
COMMENT: One might introduce a little variety into interrogative sentences by the use of none (= nonne) and num in the Latin manner. The first begins a question to which the expected answer is "yes," and the second to which the expected answer is "no," with the word order remaining that of the corresponding declarative sentence. Also, one could suffix the Latin enclitic particle -ne to a leading verb to avoid ambiguity.
(3) No equivalent of there as an expletive
is used.
Ubi es igno es caloro, where there is fire there is heat.
24. In the nominative and objective case and singular number,
masculine and neuter nouns end in o, nouns denoting the
female sex in a, nouns of common gender in e.
Homo, man; homa, woman; home,
man (an individual of the genus).
25. The possessive is formed by adding i to the
nominative.
Homoi, homei, man's; homai, woman's;
homosi, homesi, men's; homasi, women's.
26. The plural of nouns is formed by adding s to the singular.
27 Latin nouns ending in the nominative singular in o or
a are adopted, but nouns not denoting the
female sex ais changed to o.
Homo, poemo, misio, manio, positio, fortitudo,
fantasio, discrepantio, parsimonio.
COMMENT: See the comments after Rule 30 as to nouns ending in -io.
28. Indeclinable Latin nouns are converted into Master nouns by
the addition of the terminal o.
Faso, right; nefaso, wrong;
instaro, image; nihilo, nothing; maneo,
morning.
29. The terminals ito, ieto, distinguish abstract nouns derived from adjectives, corresponding to the Latin suffices itas, ietas.
30. Nouns derived from Latin declinable nouns not ending in the
nominative singular in o, a or tas are formed by
the addition of the terminals o, a or e to the
stem, or root, of the genitive singular, phonetically
spelled.
Nomino, name; parto, part;
linguo, tongue; patro, father; milito,
soldier; argumento, argument; parente, parent;
mendicanto, mendicanta, mendicante, medicant.
COMMENT: There is a reference to nouns whose Latin nominative singular ends in -tas, as if they were to be dealt with separately. However, in the sample translation from Latin, the third declension dative singular civitati is rendered as civitato, leading one to think that nouns in -tas are also built on the oblique stem. Perhaps the reference is to Rule 29.
Note also that a number of Latin nouns, especially in the third declension, have nominative singular forms ending in -io. However, according to Rules 31, 33, 42, and perhaps 72, the ending -io can have special meanings. Consequently, in order not to overload the -io ending, it might be preferable that nouns whose nominative singular ends in -io also use the supine stem to form the Master noun, e.g., petitiono in place of petitio.
31. In nouns formed from Master nouns io or ia
is substituted for final o, a, or e.
Nominio, noun; partio, party;
linguio, language; mendicantio, mendicancy;
homio, mankind; homia, womankind;
parentio, parentage; credio; creed.
COMMENT: Houghton does not specify an ending ie, but presumably it might be used for a sex-neutral term such as homie, humankind.
32. Master adjectives converted into nouns take the terminals
o, a, or e in place of the adjective terminal.
Bono, good; malo, evil; captivo,
captiva, captive, captive.
33. Participles are converted into nouns by the addition of
o, a or e.
Amateo, amatea, amatee, beloved one,
sweetheart; condemneo, condemnea, condemnee, condemned
one; sensio, feeling; pensio, thinking;
auditio, hearing
34. Verbal concrete nouns are formed by the substitution of
o for the verb terminal.
Amato, love; penso, thought;
credo, belief; scito, knowledge; creto,
growth.
COMMENT: Also see the comments following Rule 79 concerning verbs.
35. Verbal nouns denoting agency (one who, that which) are
formed by the addition of ro, ra, or re to
the infinitive.
Amataro, amatara, amatare, lover;
rectaro, rectara, rectare, ruler; volutaro,
roller; tipografaro, tipografara, tipografare,
typewriter.
36. The terminal ico denotes an art or science.
Cemico, chemistry; matematico,
mathematics; fisico, physics; organico,
the art of playing on the organ; telefonico,
telephony; fotografico, photography.
37. The terminal ismo denotes a system, theory,
principle or practice.
Deismo, deism; panteismo,
pantheism; cinicismo, cynicism.
38. The teminals isto, ista, iste denote an adherent
or expositor of a science, art, system or theory.
Cemisto, chemist; artisto, artista,
artiste, artist; fatalisto, fatalista, fataliste,
fatalist.
39. The terminal ago denotes a machine, apparatus or
instrument.
Cemicago, chemical apparatus;
telegrafago, telegraph instrument;
fotografago, camera; aerago, aerial
machine; tipografago, typewriter.
40. The terminal ario denotes a place where.
Cemicario, chemical laboratory;
sanatario, sanatarium; somnario, dormitario,
bed-chamber; fotografario, photograph gallery.
41. The terminals ulo, ula, ule denote
diminutiveness or offspring.
Particulo, particle; globulo,
globule; agnulo, agnula, agnule, lambkin.
42. Nouns denoting species end in io.
43. The terminal ilo denotes a variation in a
species.
Homio, mankind; home man --
an individual of the species; homo man -- the male;
homa, woman; homule, child;
homulo, boy; homula, girl.
Taurio, the bovine species;
taure, head of cattle; taures, cattle;
tauro, bull; taura, cow;
taurule, calf; taurulo, bull
calf; taurula, heifer calf; taurilo,
ox.
Canio, the dog species; cane, cano,
cana, canule, canulo, canula, canilo.
COMMENT: Rules 24, 31, and 34 through 43 introduce a certain artificiality into the vocabulary, inasmuch as Latin has perfectly good words for some of these forms. For example, he gives homa for "woman," using a distinctive termination, but Latin has the perfectly acceptable words mulier, mulieris and femina, so that one could use either of the forms muliera or femina. Some might argue that such a schematization cuts down on the vocabulary to be learned, but the risk with such an approach is that if one person learns only the schematically derived forms and a second uses the direct forms, the first may have trouble understanding. As an aside, the terminal -ilo seems somewhat ambiguous. Just what is a canilo? If it is a "variation in a species," presumably it is a general term meaning "breed of dog."
44. Adjectives in the comparative and superlative remain
unchanged when used as nouns.
Il grandior inclusa il parvior, the
greater includes the less.
45. Excepting me, the nominative singular of Latin
pronouns and pronominal adjectives is made the basis of pronouns
and pronominal adjectives of this language.
| Ego or me I, me | Mes, we, us. |
| Vo, you (singular). | Vos, you (plural.) |
| Is, lo, he, him. | Ises, los, they, them. |
| Ea, la, she, her (objective.) | Eas, las, they, them. |
| Ile, one, he or she, him or her. | Iles, they, them. |
| Id, it. | Ids, they, them. |
| Mei, my, mine. | Mesi, our, ours. |
| Voi, your, yours. | Vosi, you, yours. |
| Isi, loi, his. | Isesi, losi, their, theirs. |
| Eai, lai, her, hers. | Easi, lasi, their, theirs. |
| Ilei, ones, his or her, his or hers. | Ilesi, their, theirs. |
| Idi, its. | Idsi, their, theirs. |
| Mese, myself. | Meses, ourselves. |
| Vose, yourself. | Voses, yourselves. |
| Ise, lose, himself. | Ises, loses, themselves. |
| Ease, lase, herself. | Eases, lases, themselves. |
| Ilese, oneself. | Ileses, themselves. |
| Idse, itself. | Idses, themselves. |
| Mesei, my own. | Mesesi, our own. |
| Vosei, your own. | Vosesi, your own. |
| Isei, losei, his own. | Isesi, losesi, their own. |
| Easei, lasei, her own. | Easesi, lasesi, their own. |
| Ilesei, ones own. | Ileses[i], their own. |
| Idsei, its own. | Idsesi, their own. |
50. Tu (thou) tui, tuse, tusei are used infrequently.
COMMENT: Forms resembling tu and its derivatives are commonly found in European-based auxiliary languages as well as in some Romance languages (such as French), so the tu-forms might actually be preferable for second-person singular constructions.
51. Pronouns have the same form for nominative and
objective.
Me vise iles, I saw them. Iles vise
me, they saw me.
52. Possessives and independent possessives are identical in
form.
Id es mei libro, it is my book. Il libro
es mei, the book is mine.
53. Possessive pronouns agree with their antecedents in number
and gender.
Is es eai fratro, he is her brother.
54. Lo or la denotes the person first or chiefly
spoken of. Thus, the sentence, "Smith told Jones he had killed
his dog," may be rendered:
Smith dicte Jones is habe ocise isi cane,
Smith dicte Jones is habe ocise loi cane,
Smith dicte Jones lo habe ocise isi cane, or
Smith dicte Jones lo habe ocise loi cane.
and it will be plain to the reader or listener who killed the
dog, and whose dog was killed.
COMMENT: Houghton's use of the forms is/lo, ea/la, ises/los, eas/las
, and the rest, may not be entirely clear to some, despite his claim
above. His remark in Rule 54 (and usage in some of the sample
translations, especially that of Télémaque) would seem to indicate that
one uses lo and la, for example, in first instance when a
sex-specific third person pronoun is needed. Then, if one needs another
third person pronoun of the same number and sex to refer to another
individual, one uses is or ea for that other individual.
Careful attention to the sample translations compared to the originals
may clarify this usage. Hence, the above sentences would appear to be
rendered, respectively, as:
Also, these examples are another illustration of Houghton's sometimes
slavish imitation of English. He follows English usage of placing an
indirect object with no preposition ahead of the direct object and
elides the relative "that."
Smith said to Jones that Jones had killed Jones's dog.
Smith said to Jones that Jones had killed Smith's dog.
Smith said to Jones that Smith had killed Jones's dog.
Smith said to Jones that Smith had killed Smith's dog.
On the other hand, for a seemingly contrary usage, see the
examples in Rules 23(2) above and 78 below as well as some of the
sample translations. It is possible, of course, that Houghton
himself was not entirely consistent in his use of third person
pronouns. If this language were to come into use as an auxiliary,
the pronoun system of the third person would have to be more clearly
delineated.
55. Ile is of common gender. It corresponds to the
English pronoun one, the French on, the German
mann. It is also used in cases where the sex of the
person spoken of is doubtful, and, in the plural, where persons
of both sexes may be referred to.
Ile opa judicata pro ilese, one should judge
for oneself. Il homule deb amata ilei parente, the child
should love his or her parent. Mei amicos amata me et me
amata iles, my friends love me and I love them.
| Qui, who, whom. | Quiquis, whoever. |
| Que, which, that. | Quequis, whichever. |
| Quis, what. | Quisquis, whatever. |
| Ut (as) is sometimes a relative pronoun. | |
57. Qui, que and quis are interrogative
pronouns.
| Isti, this, the latter. | Ali, other. |
| Istis, these, the latter. | Alis, others. |
| Ili, that, the former. | Parvi, little. |
| Ilis, those, the former. | Nuli, no, none. |
| Ambi, both. | Uli, any. |
| Aliqui, some. | Omni, all. |
| Quisqui, each, every. | Tali, such. |
| Utri, either. | Pluri, many. |
| Nutri, neither. | Multi, much. |
59. Pronominal adjectives remain unchanged when used as nouns.
COMMENT: It will be seen that the scheme of personal pronouns and pronominal adjectives is a rather artificial one. However, in their structure the pronoun tables may for some people be easier to learn and use than the set of original Latin forms for the same words.
60. Participles of this language are used as adjectives without change.
61. All adjectives, other than past participles used as such and cardinal numbers, end, as to their positive form, in i.
62. The comparative of all adjectives is formed by the
addition of or, and the superlative of all adjectives by
the addition of us, to the positive form.
Boni, good; bonior, better;
bonius, best.
Amati, loving; amatior, more loving;
amatius, most loving.
Amate, loved; amateor; more loved;
amateus, most loved.
63. Adjectives derived from Latin adjectives are formed by the
addition of the terminal i to the stem, or root of the
genitive singular. The various Latin adjective terminations are
shown in the examples.
Boni, durabili, sensibili, cardiaci, primali,
humani, singulari, plenari, demonstrativi, captivi, animati,
presenti, fanatici, fluidi, facili, masculini, verbosi.
64. Adjectives derived from Latin adjectives ending in the
nominative singular in us, and denoting quality or
resemblance, take the terminal osi.
Eroneosi, fatuosi, bibulosi, variosi, nefariosi,
fictitiosi, factitiosi, igniosi, continuosi, preposterosi,
conspicuosi, frivilosi, dubiosi, anxiosi, seriosi, asiduosi,
barbarosi, extraneosi, censoriosi.
COMMENT: Such forms, of course, are structurally identical to masculine/neuter nouns in the possessive plural. Presumably word order would disambiguate instances.
65. Master nouns are converted into adjectives by substituting
i for the noun terminal.
Auri; gold, golden; argenti, silver;
metali, metal; ligni, wooden; lani, woolen.
COMMENT: There is some potential ambiguity is this construction. Is a stramenti horeo a barn in which straw is stored or a barn which is itself made out of straw? In some instances of this noun to adjective transformation, the meaning may not always be unambiguous. However, the same potential for ambiguity occasionally exists with attributive nouns in English.
66. Comparative and superlative forms of Latin adjectives may
be made the basis of words of this language.
Supremi, supreme; extremi, extreme;
proximi, next; ultimi, last;
infinitesimi; infinitesimal; majorito, majority;
optimisto, optimista, optimiste, optimist.
67. The adjective suffix pli corresponds to the English
suffix fold.
Dupli, twofold; trepli, threefold;
displi, tenfold; pluripli, manifold.
| Uno, one. | Dute, twenty. |
| Du, two. | Dute-uno, twenty-one. |
| Tre, three. | Dute-du, twenty-two. |
| Quat, four. | Trete, thirty. |
| Quin, five. | Quate, forty. |
| Sex, six. | Quinte, fifty. |
| Set, seven. | Sexte, sixty. |
| Oc, eight. | Sete, seventy. |
| Nem, nine. | Octe, eighty. |
| Dis, ten. | Nemte, ninety. |
| Undis, eleven. | Cent, hundred. |
| Dudis, twelve. | Mil, thousand. |
| Tredis, thirteen. | Milion, milion. |
| Quatdis, fourteen. | Bilion, billion. |
| Quindis, fifteen. | Cent uno, hundred and one. |
| Sexdis, sixteen. | Milion cent mil cent dis, million |
| Setdis, seventeen. | one hundred thousand |
| Ocdis, eighteen. | one hundred and ten. |
| Nemdis, nineteen. |
COMMENT: Houghton does not treat of fractional numbers, which are not intrinsically the same as ordinal numbers, despite the fact that the two have the same form in English and were used somewhat similarly in Latin. One might use an expression like quin ex oc partos for "five-eighths."
70. The definite article is il, the.
71. The indefinite article is un, a.
COMMENT: Articles are a difficult matter for any non-native learner of languages. Many languages prosper without them, and indeed, Latin itself does not have them. Modern languages such as Russian also do without them. Because consistency of use of articles is so difficult a matter to delineate, it would be better to dispense with them entirely. In instances in which a speaker/writer thinks that some function of an article simply must be used, then demonstratives such as isti(s) or ili(s) may be used to mark definiteness. Marking for indefiniteness is almost never necessary. Persons whose native languages use articles must realize that few people in the world use articles in the same way that they do, and many speak languages without articles, so that for an international auxiliary language, it is preferable not to use articles at all. Nothing actually requires the use of articles.
72. The indicative present of all verbs except the auxiliaries es, hab, deb and vel, and the infinitive and imperative of all verbs, are formed by the addition of the terminal a, the past indicative and past participle of all verbs by the addition of the terminal e, and the present participle of all verbs by the addition of the terminal i, to Latin verbal stems.
73. All other parts of verbs are formed by the use of auxiliaries.
74. In general, Master verbs are formed on the supine stem.
Amata, love; monita, advise;
recta, rule; capta, take; audita, hear;
scripta, write; posita, place, put; visa,
see; incepta, commence; inventa; find.
COMMENT: Houghton specifies that the present indicative and the infinitive have the same form, so that the infinitive is not distinctive. However, in the example translations, except when following some primary verbs, he uses the proposition a to mark the infinitive. A is a preposition of motion or direction normally, but also the infinitive marker. In this he merely follows English usage. One might try to use some other inflectional-type infinitive marker, but inasmuch as most verbs are formed from the supine stem, where most simple Latin infinitives are formed from the present stem, the results might seem rather bizarre to Latinists. However, one might also note that Rumanian, a modern Latin-derived language, happens to form simple infinitives with the particle a. And the use of the supine stem is justifiable, as many words in modern languages derive from supine forms in Latin, so that supine-derived forms are an aid to familiarity and learning.
75. Master verbs derived from Latin verbs wanting the supine
stem, and those derived from the seven Latin irregular verbs,
namely, sum, volo, queo, fero, fio, eo and edo,
and their compounds, are formed on the stem of the present
infinitive.
Disca, learn; vada, go; trema,
tremble; fura, rage; plua, rain; esa, be;
abesa, be away; posa, be able; vela, wish,
be willing; nola, be unwilling; quia, can;
nequia, be unable; fera, bear, carry, bring;
transfera, carry over; confera, bring together;
fiera, become; ira, go; abira, go away;
edera, eat; exedera, peredera, eat up.
76. Verbs are formed from Master nouns by substituting verb
terminals for noun terminals.
Ocasia (ocasio), occasion; cemica
(cemico), practice chemistry.
COMMENT: Such verbs will have the same forms as female-sex and epicene
nouns in the singular. Again, word order and context would presumably
disambiguate instances.
78. Debe and ope are past tense.
Ope is
equivalent to had to, was obliged to.
Vo no deb ira hodie, vo debe haba ire
heri,
you ought not to go today, you should have gone yesterday.
Is ire quando is ope ira, he went when he had to
go.
79. The parts of passive verbs are formed with the aid of
auxiliaries.
A esa amate, to be loved.
Me es amate, I am loved.
Me ese amate, I was loved.
Me vel esa amate, I shall be loved.
Me hab ese amate, I have been loved.
Me habe ese amate, I had been loved.
Me vel haba amate, I shall have
loved.
Me vel haba ese amate, I shall have been
loved.
Me quia esa amate, I may be loved.
Me quie esa amate, I might be loved.
Me quia haba ese amate, I may have been
loved.
Me quie haba ese amate, I might have been
loved.
Esa amate, be (thou) loved.
THREE COMMENTS ON VERBS: First, the above rules demonstrate that
Houghton largely follows English verb forms, ignoring Latin
tense, mood, and voice forms. This is in keeping with The
Master Language being largely of Latin-derived vocabulary with
English syntax. Were this work to be translated into other
languages for other learners, there might need to be a fuller
explanation of verb forms with less taken for granted.
Second, Houghton does not discuss verb transitivity. Again, he
merely seems to follow English usage. For example, in one of
the example translations, he translates a French intransitive
verb with a Master transitive, as would English.
Third, the treatment of verbal nouns is somewhat eccentric, albeit
internally consistent. Under Rule 72, one forms the present participle
with the adjectival ending -i attached to the supine stem (in most
cases), rather than forming it from the present stem, as in Latin proper.
Then, according to Rule 33, one adds -o to form the gerund (although
Houghton does not use this term). This process rather overloads the
ending -io, which has disparate uses according to Rules 31
(nouns derived from other nouns), 33 (gerunds, and nouns formed from
the past participle), and 42 (species). (And, to complicate matters,
some nouns naturally end in -io apart from those rules.)
Then Rule 34 forms another class of nouns derived from verbs. One might
consider forming a present participle, say, with an ending in -ndi
and then a gerund in -ndo, giving, for example, amatandi
and amatando. Again, this would depart from Latin, but the whole
Master verb system is derivative and schematic. (Also, one might need
to consider what vowel or vowels were to come between the stem and the
ending, as these vary in Latin according to which conjugation the verb
falls in, or else one could just decree to use the same vowel for all,
possibly a, as this is used for present and infinitive forms,
regardless of a verb's original Latin conjugation.)
80. Adverbs, other than those derived from adjectives or participles, are adopted from the Latin without change other than that incident to phonetic spelling.
81. Adverbs are formed from Master participles by the addition of the terminal u.
82. Adverbs are formed from Master adjectives by substituting u for the adjective terminal.
83. All adverbs end in the comparative in uor, in the
superlative in uis.
Mox, soon; moxuor, sooner;
moxuis, soonest.
Uniteu, unitedly; uniteuor, more
unitedly; uniteuis, most unitedly.
Amatiu, lovingly; amatiuor, more
lovingly; amatiuis, most lovingly.
Liberu, freely; liberuor, more freely,
liberuis, most freely.
84. Excepting par, by, para, in order to, and sur, on, upon, the prepositions of this language are those of the Latin, phonetically spelled; and each is restricted to substantially a single signification.
85. Present participles are sometimes uses as prepositions.
Regardi, regarding; respecti,
respecting; exepti, excepting.
86. Latin conjunctions, phonetically spelled, are adopted.
87. Following are words which in derivation, form or
signification are exceptions to general rules.
| Il, the. | Lo, la, he, she. |
| Un, a. | Ile, one, he or she. |
| No, no, not. | Es, am, is, are. |
| A, to. | Hab, have. |
| Par, by. | Vel, shall, will. |
| Sur, on, upon. | Deb, ought to. |
| Di, with, by, from. | Quia, can, may. |
| Me, I, me. | Si, yes. |
| Vo, you. | Para, in order to. |
| Cardinal numbers, excepting uno. |
The mass of this as of all languages is composed of its inflected words, namely: nouns, verbs, adjectives and derivative adverbs. Dropping the terminal vowel of an inflected word, the Latin stem remains; and since Latin supplies the foundation for the majority of these words in English, their origin and signification may in most cases be ascertained by consulting a dictionary of any of these languages, excepting perhaps Italian, in which the original spelling is not closely followed. The Century Dictionary will be found particularly valuable, since it sets forth the Latin derivation of words not only of English but also of other languages.
Of two or more Latin words of like signification, that one will here be selected as a root which is most commonly used as a root of a word in several modern languages, whether such root may be classical, law, medieval or new Latin.
Although particles make up but a small percentage of a language,
their frequent recurrence makes a knowledge of them
indispensable. A table of particles in common use is appended.
COMMENT: In the original work, these tables came after the
sample translations.
| Abhinc, ago. | Nimis, too, too much. |
| Adeo, so far. | No, no, not. |
| Adhuc, as yet, hitherto. | Nondum, not yet. |
| Admodum, altogether, quite. | Nunc, now. |
| Alias, at another time. | Nunquam, never. |
| Alibi, elsewhere. | Nuper, lately. |
| Aliqua, anywhere, anyhow. | Nusquam, nowhere. |
| Aliquanto, somewhat. | Obiter, in passing. |
| Aliter, otherwise, else. | Pariter, in like manner, alike. |
| Aliunde, from another place. | Parum, too little. |
| Antea, before. | Parumper, awhile. |
| Aversus, backwards. | Pasim, here and there. |
| Cras, tomorrow. | Pene, almost. |
| Cur, why. | Poro, further, in the next place. |
| Denuo, anew. | Postea, afterwards. |
| Deorsum, downwards. | Posthac, postibi, hereafter. |
| Diu, for a long time. | Potius, rather. |
| Dum, while. | Pres, at hand, ready. |
| Equidem, indeed. | Pridem, long ago. |
| Etiamnum, still. | Procul, far, far away. |
| Extra, outside. | Propterea, on that account. |
| Heri, hesterno, yesterday. | Prorsum, forward, onward. |
| Hic, here. | Quam, quomodo, how. |
| Hinc, hence. | Quamvis, ever so much. |
| Huc, hither. | Quamlibet, as you please. |
| Ibi, there. | Quando, when. |
| Iluc, thither. | Quantopere, how much. |
| Impune, with impunity. | Quantum, as much as. |
| Inde, thence. | Quare, wherefore, whereby. |
| Insuper, besides, moreover. | Quasi, as if. |
| Interea, meanwhile. | Quidem, even. |
| Interdum, sometimes. | Quidni, why not. |
| Ita, so. | Quipe, by all means. |
| Iterum, again. | Quondam, once, formerly. |
| Jam, already. | Quoniam, since, whereas. |
| Modo, but, only. | Quotidie, daily. |
| Mox, soon. | Quamprimum, as soon as. |
| Nedum, much less. | Saltem, at least. |
| Nequaquam, by no means. | Satis, enough. |
| Necne, or not. | Semel, once, a single time. |
| Nilominus, notwithstanding. | Semper, always. |
| Sensim, by degrees. | Tunc, then. |
| Sepe, often. | Ubi, where. |
| Si, yes. | Ubique, everywhere, wherever. |
| Sic, thus. | Una, together. |
| Sicut, inasmuch as. | Unde, whence. |
| Simul, at the same time. | Undique, on all sides. |
| Solu, alone, only. | Usitate, as usual. |
| Statim, at once. | Valde, very. |
| Subter, under. | Vice, instead of, in place of. |
| Tandem, at length, by and by. | Vix, hardly, scarcely. |
| Tantum, so much. |
COMMENT: In keeping with the comment to Rule 11, the adverb
pene might be retained as paene and sepe as
saepe.
| A, to. | Par, by. |
| Ab, from. | Para, in order to. |
| Ad, at. | Penes, in possession of, |
| Ante, before. | in the power of |
| Apud, chez, among. | Per, through, throughout. |
| Circum, about, around. | Permi, among. |
| Cis, on this side of. | Pone, behind. |
| Clam, without the knowledge of. | Post, after. |
| Contra, opposite to, against. | Preterea, besides. |
| Coram, in the presence of. | Pro, for. |
| Cum, with, along with. | Prope, near. |
| De, of. | Quoad, till, until. |
| Di, with, by, from. | Secundum, according to, along. |
| Desuper, down. | Sine, without. |
| Duranti, during. | Sub, under. |
| Erga, toward. | Super, over. |
| Ex, out of. | Sur, on, upon. |
| Gratia, for the sake of. | Sursum, up. |
| In, in, into. | Tenus, up to, as far as. |
| Infra, below, beneath. | Supra, above. |
| Inter, between. | Trans, across. |
| Intra, within. | Ultra, beyond, past. |
| Ob, propter, on account of. | Versus, towards. |
| Palam, with the knowledge of. |
COMMENT: Not all languages make the English distinction of between
and among. The Latin-English dictionaries available to the
transcriber do not list a preposition permi (although it could be
related to the French parmi) but give both between and
among as meanings for inter. Presumably in Master the
preposition inter could serve for both meanings.
| Aut, or else, or. | Ne, lest. |
| Aut--aut, either--or. | Nec--nec, neither--nor. |
| Dumodo, provided only. | Nisi, unless. |
| Ergo, therefore. | Sed, but. |
| Et, and. | Propterea quod, because. |
| Etiam, also. | Si, if. |
| Etsi, though, although. | Tam, as, so. |
| Igitur, then, thereupon. | Tamen, yet, however. |
| Quam, as, than. | Ut, as. |
| Quia, because. | Uti, in order that. |
| Quod, that. | Utrum, whether. |
| Nam, for. |
Omni Gallia es divise in tre partos; uno de que il Belgae incolita[,] un ali il Aquitani, il trei ilis qui es apelate in isesesi linguio Celtae, in mesi Galli. Omni istis difera inter iseses in linguio, institutos et legos. Il flumino Garumna divisa il Galli ab il Aquitani, il Matrona et Sequana ab il Belgae. De omni istis il Belgae es il fortius, propterea quod ises es longius ab il culto et humanito de il provincio, et mercatores sepeuis comeata ad ises, et importata quis pertenta a efeminata il animo; et propius es il Germani, qui incolita trans il Rhenus, cum qui los es contentu gesti belo. Pro que causo il Helvetii quoque precesa il reliquo de il Galli in virtuto, nam los contenta cum il Germani in fere quotidiani prelios, aut prohibiti ises ab losi finos, aut loses gesti belo sur ises. Uno parto de istis, que id es dicte il Galli obtenta, capta initio ab il flumino Rhodanus; id es contente (intra) il flumino Garumna, il oceano, (et) il finos de il Belgae; id atacta etiam ab il Sequani et Helvetii sur il flumino Rhenus; id vergita ad il septentrionos. Il Belgae orta ab il extremi finos de Gallia, pertenta a il inferiori parto de il flumino Rhenus, spectati a il septentrionos et il orti solo. Aquitania pertenta ab il flumino Garumna a il Pyrenaeos montos et illi [sic] parto de il oceano que es ad Hispani, id spectata inter il ocaso de il solo et il septentrionos.
Apud il Helvetii Orgetorix ese longu il nobilius et divitius.
Is, quando M. Messala et M. Piso ese consulos, inducte par
cupidito de regno, facte un conjuratio per il nobilito, et
persuase il civitato a exita ab il finos cum omni isesi copios;
(declarati id) a esa perfacili, quoniam ises prestate omni in
virtuto, a potita il imperio de il toto de Gallia. A isti is
facilior persuase ises, quod il Helvetii es contente undique par
il naturo de il loco; sur uno parto par il flumino Rhenus,
litisimi et altisimi, que divisa il agro de Helvetii ab il
Germani; sur un ali par il altisimi monto Jura, que es inter il
Sequani et il Helvetii, sur un trei par il laco Lemannus et il
flumino Rhodanus, que divisa mesi provincio ab il Helvetii. Ab
istis reos id fiere, et los quie vaga parvior latu, et quie
parvior facilu infera belo sur el [sic]
finitimos.
Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres; quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. Hi omnes lingua, institutis, legibus inter se differunt. Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen, a Belgis Matrona et Sequana dividit. Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae, propterea quod a cultu atque humanitate provinciae longissime absunt, minimeque ad eos mercatores saepe commeant, atque ea quae ad effeminandos animos pertinent important; proximique sunt Germanis, qui trans Rhenum incolunt, quibiscum continenter bellum gerunt. Qua de causa Helvetii quoque reliquos Gallos virtute praecedunt, quod fere quotidianis proeliis cum Germanis contendunt, cum aut suis finibus eos prohibent, aut ipse in eorum finibus bellum gerunt. Eorum una pars, quam Gallos obtinere dictum est, initium capit a flumine Rhodano; continentur Garumna flumine, Oceano, finibus Belgarum; attingit etiam ab Sequanis et Helvetiis flumen Rhenum; vergit ad septentriones. Belgae ab extremis Galliae finibur oriuntur, pertinent ad inferiorem partem fluminis Rheni, spectant in septentrionem et orientem solem. Aquitania a Garumna flumine ad Pyrenaeos montes et eam partem Oceani quae est ad Hispaniam pertinet, spectat inter occasum solis et septentriones.
Apud Helvetios longe nobilissimus fuit et ditissimus Orgetorix. Is, M. Messala et M. Pisone consulibus, regni cupiditate inductus, conjurationem nobilitatis fecit, et civitati persuasit ut de finibus suis cum omnibus copiis exirent; parfacile esse, cum virtute omnibus praestarent, totius Galliae imperio potiri. Id hoc facilius eis persuasit, quod undique loci natura Helvetii continentur; una ex parte flumine Rheno latissimo atque altissimo, qui agrum Helvetium a Germanis dividit; altera ex parte monte Jura altissimo, qui est inter Sequanos et Helvetios; tertia lacu Lemanno et flumine Rhodano, qui provinciam nostram ab Helvetiis dividit. His rebus fiebat, ut et minus late vagarentur, et minus facile finitimis bellum inferre possent.
Ese uno tempo un digni homo qui habe sposate in dui conjugio un domina tam pleni de superbio et arrogantio [sic] ut no a haba il equalo. Ea habe du filias de il ejusdi caractero de easei, et qui ese tam simile a ea du gutos de aquo.
Item il marito habe un filia, sed de un dulcitudo et de un bonito de que ile no quie data un ideo; et in isti la tracte ab lai mama, qui habe ese il bonius domina de il mundo.
Il conjugio ese vix facte, quando il noverca incepte, subitu a monstrata eai malignito. Ea no quie tolerata il boni qualito de il puera, propterea quod, ad isti confrontio, eai filias fiere antipaticior quam unquam. Ea destinate la a il trivialius laboros de il domo; id ese la qui operate in il culino, la qui verse (verro) il scalos et resarcite il dormitorios de il domina et il dominulas; la qui dormite sub il tecto, propriu in un granario, sur un mali matrato de stramento, dum il sororas manse in dormitorios di inserte lignos, ubi ese lectos de ultimi gustato, et speculos in que ile pose (possum) visa ab il capito a il pedos. Il pauperi filia tolerate omni reos cum patientio, et no habe il cordo a questa (queror) a lai patro, qui vele haba objurgate la, propterea quod is ese un homo qui facte ise ducte par il naso in toto et per toto par il uxora.
Quando la habe finite lai laboros, la ire a recesa in un angulo
de il foco, ubi la sese (sedeo) lase in il ceneros; propterea la
ese apelate il Culincenere. Sed il dui de il sororas, qui no
ese tam despicati quam il majori, apelate la
Cenerentola.
C'era una volta un gentiluomo il quale aveva sposate in seconde nozze una donna così piena di albagia e d'arroganza da non darsi l'eguale. Ella aveva due figlie dello stesso carattere del suo, e che la somigliavano come due gocce d'acqua.
Anche il marito aveva una figlia, ma di una dulcezza e de una bontà de non farsene un' idea; e in questo tirava dalla sua mamma, la quale era stata la piu buona donna del mondo.
Le nozze erano appena fatte, che la matrigna dette subito a dividere le sua cattiveria. Ella non poteva patire le buone qualità della giovinetta, perchè, al quel confronto, le sue figliuole diventavano piu antipatiche che mai. Ella la destino alle faccende piu triviali della casa; era lei che rigovernava in cucina, lei che spazzava le scale e rifaceva le camare della signora e delle signorine; lei che dormiva a tetto, proprio in un granario, sopra una cattiva materassa di paglia, mentre le sorelle stavano in camere coll' impiantito de legno, dov' erano letti d' ultimo gusto, e specchi da potervisi mirare dalla testa fino ai piedi. La povera figliuola tolerava ogni cosa con pazienza, e non aveva cuore di rammaricarsene con suo padre, il quale l' avrebbe sgridata, perchè era un uomo che si faceva menare per il naso in tutto e per tutto dalla moglie.
Quando aveva finito le sue faccende, andava a rincantucciarsi in un angulo del focolare, dove si mettava a sedere nella cenere; motivo per cui la chiamavano comunamente la Culincenere. Ma la seconda della sorelle, che non era cosi sboccata come la maggiore, la chimava Cenerentola.
Libro Primi. Summario.
Télémaque conducte par Minerve sub il figuro de Mentor, egresa, post un naufragio, in il insulo de il dea Calypso, qui dole etiamnum il abito de Ulysse. Il dea recepta lo favorabilu, concepta un pasio pro lo, ofera lo imortalito, et rogata de lo loi aventuros. Lo narata a la loi navigatio a Pylos et a Lacedomone, loi naufragio sur il oro de Sicile, il periculo que lo habe de esi imolate a il manes [sic] de Anchise, il sucurso que lo et Mentor date a Aceste in un incursio de barbarios, et il curo que ili rego habe a recognita isti servitio, in donati los un navo a redita a losi patrio.
Calypso no quie consolata lase di il abito du Ulysse. In lai doloro, la concepte lase infilici a esa imortali. Lai antro non longuor resonite di lai canto, il nimfas qui servite la no ause alocute la. La ambulate sepe solu sur il floridi pratos cum que un eternali vero margine lai insulo; sed istis pulcri locos, procul di moderati lai doloro, servite modo a revocata il tristi memorio de Ulysse, qui la habe hic vise multoties circa la. Sepe la remanse imobili sur il litoro de il maro, que la humectate di lai lacrimos, et la ese sine cesatio verse versus il oro ubi il navo de Ulysse, obniti il undos, habe disparite ab lai oculos.
Subito la percepte il reliquos de un navo que nunc ipsum habe facte naufragio, scamnos de remigataros fracte in fragmentos, il remos disjecte pasim sur il sabulo, un gubernaculo, un malo, restos, natati sur il litero; tunc la observata procul du homos, de qui un parite veteri; il ali, etsi juveni, similate Ulysse. Lo habe isi lenito et isi superbio, cum isi staturo et isi augusti inceso. Il dea comprense quod lo ese Télémaque, filio de ili hero; sed, etsi il dees exelsa procul in cognitio omni homes, la no quie discoperata qui ese ili venerabili homo di qui Télémaque ese atende. Propterea quod il superiori dees ocultata ab il inferiori omni reos que iles vela; et Minerve, qui atende Télémaque sub il figuro de Mentor, no vele a esa congnite par Calypso.
Interdum Calypso letate lase di un naufragio qui posite in lai insulo il filio de Ulysse, ita similari a loi patro. La admoto [sic] versus lo; et, sine pariti a scita qui lo es: Quomodo hab vo, la dicte a lo, il temerito a apulsa in mei insulo? Scita, juveni peregrino, quod iles no venta impune in mei imperio. La tente a ocultata sub istis minaci verbos il letitio de lai cordo, que efulgite contra lai volunto sur lai vulto. Télémaque response a la: O vo, quiquis vo quia esa, mortala aut dea, etsi a visa vo ile quia sumpta vo modo pro un divinita, vel vo esa insensibili a il miserio de un filio qui, quesiti isi patro ad il misericordio de il ventos et il undos, hab vise isi navo fracta contra il scopulos? Qui es igitur voi patro qui vo quesita? rogate il dea. Is es nominate Ulysse, dicte Télémaque; is es uno de il regos qui hab, post un obsidio de dis anos, subverse il famosi Troie. Isi nomino es celebrati in omni Grece et in omni Asie, pro isi valoro in il pugnos, et etiam multior par isi sapientio in il consilios.
COMMENT: Houghton here rigidly follows the French original in
the forms of proper names. However, these names have correct
transcriptions or forms in Latin, and he could have used them:
Telemachus, Minerva, Ulysses, Asia.
Livre Premier. Sommaire.
Télémaque conduit par Minerva sous la figure de Mentor, aborde, après un naufrage, dans l'île de la déesse Calypso, qui regrettait encore le depart d'Ulysee. La déesse reçoit favorablement, conçoit de la passion pour liu, lui offre l'immortalité, et lui demand ses aventures. Il lui reconte son voyage à Pylos et à Lacedemone, son naufrage sur la côte de Sicile, le peril ou il fut d'être immolé aux mânes d'Anchise, le secours qui lui et Mentor donnèrent à Aceste dans un incursion de barbares, et le soin que ce roi eut de reconnaître ce service, en leur donnant un vaisseau pour retourner in leur pays.
Calypso ne pouvait se consoler du depart d'Ulysse. Dans sa douleur, elle se trouvait malheureuse d'être immortelle. Sa grotte ne résonait plus de son chant, les nymphes qui la servaient n'osaient lui parler. Elle se promenait souvent seule sur les gazons fleuris dont un printemps éternal bordait son île; mais ces beaux lieux, loin de modérer sa douleur, ne faisaient que lui rappeler le triste souvenir de Ulysse, qu'elle y avait vu tant de fois auprès d'elle. Souvent elle demeurait immobile sur le rivage de lar me, qu'elle arrosait de ses larmes; et elle etait sans cesse tournée vers la côte ou le vaisseau d'Ulysse, fendant les ondes, avait disparu à ses yeux.
Tout-a-coup, elle apperçut les debris d'un navire qui venait de faire naufrage, des bancs de rameurs mis en pièces les rames écartées çà et là sur le sable, un gouvernail, un mât, des cordages flottant sur la côte; puis elle decouvre de loin deux hommes, dont l'un paraissait âgé; l'autre, quoique jeune, resemblait à Ulysse. Il avait sa douceur et sa fierté, avec sa taille et sa demarche magesteuse. La déesse comprit que c'etait Télémaque, fils de ce héros; mais, quoique les dieux surpassent de loin en connaissance tous les hommes elle ne put découvrir qui était cet homme venérable dont Télémaque etait accompagné. C'est que les dieux supérieurs cachent aux inférieurs tout ce qu'il leur plait; et Minerve, qui accompagnait Télémaque sous la figure de Mentor, ne voulait pas être connue de Calypso.
Cependant Calypse se réjouissait d'un naufrage qui mettait dans son île le fils d'Ulysse, si semblable à son père. Elle s'avance vers lui; et sans faire semblant de savior qui il est; D'ou vous vient, lui dit-elle, cette témérité d'aborder en mon ile? Sachez, jeune étranger, qu'on ne vient point impunément dans mon empire. Elle tâchait de couvrir sous ces paroles menaçantes la joie de son coeur, qui éclatait malgré elle sur son visage; Télémaque lui répondait: O vous, qui que vous soyez, mortelle ou désse, quoiqu'à vous voir on ne puisse vous prendre que pour un divinité, seriez-vous insensible au malheur d'un fils qui, cherchant son père à la merci des vènts et des flots, a vu briser son navire contre les rochers? Quel est donc votre père qui vous cherchez? reprit la déesse. Il se nomme Ulysse, dit Télémaque; c'est un des rois qui ont, après un siège de dix ans, renversé la fameuse Troie. Son nom fut célebré dans toute l'Asie par son valeur dans le combats, et plus encore par sa sagesse dans les conseils.
Un Tipo de Evolutio -- Quisqui ile es familiari di il principali factos conecte de il excultatio de un ove. Mes omni cognita quod id incepta ut un microscopi germino-celo, tum creta in un ovo, tum organizata in un pulule, et in ultimu creta in un pulo; et quod il toti proceso secuta generali, bene recognite lego. Nunc, isti proceso es evolutio. Id es multior -- id es il tipo de omni evolutio. Id es ili ab que mes aquisita mesi ideo de evolutio, et sine que vele esa nuli tali verbo. Quandoque et ubique mes inventa un proceso de mutatio multior aut parvior simili isti, et secuti legos similari a ilis determinati il excultatio de un ovo, mes apelate id evolutio.
Universalito de Evolutio -- evolutio ut un proceso no es confine a uno reo, el [sic] ovo, nec ut un doctrino es id confine a uno departmento de scientia -- biologico. Il proceso pervasa omni il universo, et il doctrino concerna pariter quisqui departmento de scientio -- si, quisqui departmento de humani penso. Id es literalu uno dimidio de omni scientio. Ergo, idi verito aut falsito, idi receptio aut rejectio, es nuli triviali materio, afecti modo un parvi angulo de il penso-regnio. Sur il contrario, id afecta profundu il fundatios de filosofio, et ergo il toti dominio de penso. Id determinata il toti positio de il mento versus Naturo et Deo.
COMMENT: In the penultimate sentence we see Houghton's sometimes slavish reproduction of English in the phrase, "Sur il contrario." Other speakers might use another proposition for sur, such as a, or a Latin form such as ex contrario. Despite its English word order in place of the Latin inflectional system, if the Master Language is to be a truly global auxiliary language, it must be chary of excessively English constructions. It is an easy, but misleading, temptation to treat constructions in one's native tongue as is they were somehow "natural" to all persons, whereas in fact they might seem "unnatural" to native speakers of other languages.
Me hab dicte evolutio constituta uno dimidio de omni scientia. Isti quia parata a aliqui un surpensi propositio. Me pausa a facta id boni. Quisqui sistemo de corelate partos quia ese studite ab du punctos de observatio, que data origo a du departmentos de scientio, uno de que -- et il magnior et complicior -- es evolutio. Il uno concerna mutatios intra il systemo par actio et reactio inter il partos, producti equilibrio et stabilito. Il ali concerna il progresivi motio de il sistemo, ut un toto, a altior et altior conditios -- il motio de il puncto de equilibrio idse, par constanti levi disturbantio et reacomodatio de partos sur un altior plano, cum complicior inter-relatos. Il uno concerna il legos de sustentatio de il sistemo, il ali il legos de evolutio. Il uno concerna reos ut ids es, il ali il proceso par que ids fiera sic. Nunc, Natura ut un toto es tali un sistemo de corelate partos. Quisqui departmento et sub-departmento de Naturo, num id esa il solari sistemo, aut il organici regnio, aut humani societo, aut il humani corporo, es tali un sistemo de corelate partos, et es ergo subjecti de evolutio. Mes quia bonius facta isti penso clari par exemplos.
Sumpta, ergo, el [sic] humani corporo. Isti
complici et pulcri sistemo de corelate et subtilu adjuste partos
quia esa studite in un conditio de maturito et equilibiro, in
que omni il organos et functios par actio et reactio co-operata
a producta perfecti stabilito, sanito et fisicali felicito.
Isti studito es fisiologico. Aut il ejusdi quia esa studite in
un conditio de progresivi mutatio. Nunc, mes percepta quod il
stabilito es nunquam perfecti -- il puncto de equilibrio es
semper moti. Par il semper-mutati numero at [sic]
relativi potentio de il co-operati partos il equilibrio es
semper esi disturbate, modo a esa readjuste sur un altior plano,
cum quidem pulcrior et complicior inter-relatios. Isti es
creto, excultatio, evolutio. Idi studito es apelate
embriologico.
A Type of Evolution -- Everyone is familiar with the main facts connected with the development of an egg. We all know that it begins as a microscopic germ-cell, then grows into an egg, then organizes into a chick, and finally grows into a cock; and that the whole process follows general, well recognized law. Now, this process is evolution. It is more -- it is the type of all evolution. It is that from which we get our idea of evolution, and without which there would be no such word. Whenever and wherever we find a process of change more or less resembling this, and following laws similar to those determining the development of an egg, we call it evolution.
Universality of Evolution -- Evolution as a process is not confined to one thing, the egg, nor as a doctrine is it confined to one department of science -- biology. The process pervades the whole universe, and the doctrine concerns alike every department of science -- yes, every department of human thought. It is literally one-half of all science. Therefore, its truth or falsity, its acceptance or rejection, is no trifling matter, affecting only one small corner of the thought-realm. On the contrary, it affects profoundly the foundations of philosophy, and therefore the whole domain of thought. It determines the whole attitude of the mind toward Nature and God.
I have said that evolution constitutes one-half of all science. This may seem to some a startling proposition. I stop to make it good. Every system of correlated parts may be studied from two points of view, which give rise to two departments of science, one of which -- and the greater and more complex -- is evolution. The one concerns changes within the system by action and reaction between the parts, producing equilibrium and stability; the other concerns the progressive movement of the system, as a whole, to higher and higher conditions -- the movement of the point of equilibrium itself by constant slight disturbance and readjustment of parts on a higher plane, with more complex inter-relations. The one concerns laws of sustentation of the system, the other the laws of evolution. The one concerns things as they are, the other the process by which they became so. Now, Nature as a whole is such a system of correlated parts. Every department and sub-department of Nature, whether it be the solar system, or the earth, or the organic kingdom, or human society, or the human body, is such a system of correlated parts, and is therefore subject to evolution. We can best make this thought clear by examples.
Take, then, the human body. This complex and beautiful system of correlated and nicely-adjusted parts may be studied in a state of maturity and equilibrium, in which all the organs and functions by action and reaction co-operate to produce perfect stability, health and physical happiness. This study is physiology. Or else the same may be studied in a state of progressive change. Now, we perceive that the stability is never perfect -- the point of equilibrium is ever moving. By the ever-changing number and relative power of the co-operating parts the equilibrium is ever being disturbed, only to be readjusted on a higher plane, with still more beautiful and complex inter-relations. This is growth, development, evolution. Its study is called embryology.