virtus undoubtedly is, upon the same principle that avopa, in Greek, is derived from amp, and gwrol, a hero, gwrdd, strong, and many other similar words in Welsh, are from the primary term GWR. But, it will, I think, place the primitiveness of this word in a still stronger light, if we examine the etymology of GWRAIG, which implies, as already observed, a woman or wife. The consanguinity, if I may be allowed the expression, of these two terms must be obvious to the most common observer, and must, therefore, have had its source in the original principles of the language*. And, in fact, GWRAIG is formed by the addition to GWR of the primitive term AIG, which denotes, in an elementary sense, the producer of life, and, in its more limited significations, a female, a herd, or a shoal, while its plural, EIGION, is used for the ocean, all of these secondary senses having thus a manifest reference to the primary or fundamental idea. It is, by no means, unreasonable, then, to infer, that GWR and GWRAIG are genuine Cimbric words, since it is unnecessary to travel out of the language to give a clear and rational account of their origin; while of the Irish fear and frag, which are used synonymously with them, it is impossible to find in that language any plausible etymology, a circumstance, which proves them to be corrupted from the Welsh. Nor have I any doubt, that the Latin virago is also a metamorphosis of the Welsh GWRAIG, upon the system already adverted to, notwithstanding that perversion of the original meaning in the Latin†, of which all languages furnish abundant examples. Among the numerous words, which bear a resemblance in various languages, and particularly the more ancient, that, used to express a lion, is somewhat remarkable. In Welsh the word is LLEW, in Hebrew laish, in Greek Awv, in Latin leo, in Irish beovan, and in the other cognate dialects, which are called Celtic, the same similarity is observable. Now, the Latin and Greek lexicographers, in their visionary speculations in the region of * The Hebrew words ish and isha, employed to denote man and woman, present a similar correspondence, as indeed do the English words themselves, and which cannot have been merely accidental. The Latin language, too, as will be seen in the sequel, has also preserved this natural affinity. t Virago, it is well known, implies, in Latin, a heroine, or masculine woman z and in this sense the English have adopted it. Isidorus, with his usual discernment, discovers the etymology of the word to be " quòd ut vir agat," be cause she acts the part of a man. But non omnia videt Aristarchus. etymology, derive this word, according to their several caprices, one from a Hebrew word, signifying strong, another from an old Greek term for king, but the greatest number, with a singular sagacity, from the Greek verb λaw, to see, because the lion is "most terrible to behold." It is surely unnecessary to dwell on the absurdity of this etymology, which would apply with equal justice to a beautiful, as to a terrible, aspect, and can, at all events, have no peculiar reference to the lion. We must, therefore, look somewhere else for the probable origin of this appellation. Among the varieties, which I have enumerated of it in different languages, it will, perhaps, be acknowleged, that the Welsh term LLEW is distinguishable for its simplicity, as embracing no more than a single articulation, to which, or at most to the simplest combinations, the first language must have been confined. This word, simple as it is, Mr. Owen, in his Dictionary, conceives to be a compound of the two still more primitive sounds, LLY and EW, and thus to signify, in its elementary sense, a swallower or devourer, and, by analogy, to have been appropriated to a lion. In confirmition of this surmise, the verb llewa, to swallow or devour, may be adduced, and which frequently occurs in the poets. Thus Taliesin— Llewais wirawd Gwin a bragawd. Of beverage I swallowed To this I might add several other instances of words of a similar construction, still preserving the primary idea,—as llewydd, a focus, or point to which any thing verges,-llwch, a lake, or influx of water, and llwnc, a gulp, a swallow, or, more particularly, the gullet, all of which may be resolved into the same elementary roots as the word LLEW; and it will not be denied, that voracity forms an appropriate characteristic of this animal. I should, therefore, be disposed to set down the Greek and Latin names as no more than variations of the old Cimbric word, thus preserved in the Welsh, and of which the etymology is at once easy and natural. Before I conclude my letter, already, I fear, swollen to an inconvenient bulk, I beg to make one other etymological speculation, which will, at least, have the merit of novelty, if it have no other, to recommend it. During a late perusal of the Æneid I was much struck with the name of a town, called CERE, mentioned in the eighth book, and which the poet thus introduces,— "Haud procul hinc saxo colitur fundata vetusto and which he farther describes in the following passage:- Of these two extracts I shall now, for the sake of the general reader, subjoin Dryden's version: "Not far from hence there stands a hilly town, Of ancient building and of high renown, "A greenwood shade, for long religion known, Which add a holy horror to the grove: The first inhabitants, of Grecian blood, That sacred forest to Sylvanus vow'd, The guardian of their flocks and fields,-they pay Servius, the celebrated commentator on Virgil, in a note upon the extract first cited, makes a singular observation, which I shall here translate." Agylla, a Tuscan city, was so called,” he says, "from its founder Agella, but afterwards, owing to the ignorance of the Romans, received a different appellation. For, as the Romans were on their way through Tuscany, they enquired the name of the city, but the inhabitants, who were Greeks, not understanding the question, and being moreover desirous of cultivating the friendship of the Romans, addressed them by the Greek salutation, Xape, which the Romans mistook for the name of the town, and so, dropping the aspirate, called the place afterwards CARE." *Eneid. 8. 1. 495. † Ib. 1 579. Such is the account, which Servius gives of the origin of this name, and upon the various improbabilities of which it is not necessary to waste a remark. Subsequent commentators seem to have rejected the explanation, professing, at the same time, their inability to supply the genuine etymology. Now, if I might be allowed to offer my humble opinion on this subject, I would observe, that, as CÆRE is stated to have been anciently settled by strangers, and whom other authors describe, I believe, as having come originally from the confines of Gaul, it is not very improbable, that, although called Greeks, they may have been of some Cimbric tribe, and, consequently, that the original name of the city was CAER, which implies to this day, in Welsh, a strong fortified post, and was the name, by which several British towns were anciently known, and, most probably, some also in Gaul*. The situation, too, of CERE, as described by Virgil, agrees with such an appellation; and the other circumstances of the "sacred grove," and the ancient religion of the inhabitants, may be considered by some to mark their Druidical origin, and, consequently, to fortify my hypothesis, although this is a point, on which I have no wish, at present, to express an opinion: I will merely add, therefore, that the modern name of this town is Cer-veteri, which seems to retain the original designation, with the addition of a word to mark its antiquity. Allow me, in conclusion, to solicit, that some of your correspondents, who are versed in Cimbric lore, will favour the public, through the medium of the CAMBRO-BRITON, with the proper etymologies of the four ancient provinces of Wales,―Dyved, Gwent, Gwynedd, and Powys. If, however, no one, better qualified than myself, should comply with this request, I will, in my next, hazard some conjectures on the subject, together with a few remarks on the woful blunders, into which English etymologists have fallen on this very point, and which, with their general mistakes in similar matters, are to be ascribed to their ignorance of that ancient language, in which the seeds of philological learning are to be found in their purest and most primitive state. CELTA. * The Welsh word, CAER, is a derivative of Cae, to enclose, and conse-quently implies a city surrounded with walls and other means of defence. It formed the ancient British name of those English towns, which now terminate with cester, sister, or chester, as well as of many others. It is probable too, that the names of several ancient towns in other parts of the world, among which may be mentioned Carthage, were originally formed of the word CAER. VOL. II. ANTIQUITIES. INSCRIPTION AT PENTREVOELAS. IN the former volume of the CAMBRO-BRITON, page 359, a brief account was given of the Inscription discovered, about a year ago, in forming the new line of road to Holyhead, at Tre'r Beddau, near Pentrevoelas, in the county of Denbigh. Since that account was written the Editor has been favoured with two transcripts, or fac similes, of this curious relic of past times*, and of which the following, it is hoped, will be found to be a pretty accurate representation, BROHOMSL' The stone, on which this Inscription appears, and which is now at Lima Hall, in the neighbourhood of the place where the discovery took place, is about five feet and a half in length, two feet in breadth, and four inches thick, and is quite rough and unpolished. As to the Inscription itself, it cannot, perhaps, be deciphered with any certainty at this distance of time, and in the absence of any probable information respecting the event, to which it relates. It may not, however, be uninteresting to subjoin the opinions of the two correspondents above referred to, and to each of which considerable plausibility may be attached. P. B. W. thinks, that the Inscription ought to be read thus:"Brohomael (or Brochmael) hic jacet (or jacit) et uxor ejus Canne.'-Brochmael lies buried here, and his wife Canne or Canna. But I cannot," he adds, "discover the meaning of the I A at the commencement of the second line, unless we take the L and the I from the first line, and then it will be read thus Brohomael Lia or Leia, or Junior, (as there may have been two Brochmaels) lies buried here, and his wife Cann, or Canne, or Canna;-for Canne, as well as Gwen, signifies white or fair." For one of these he owes his thanks to P. B. W., a gentleman, to whom the readers of the CAMBRO-BRITON have before been so much indebted, and for the other to Mr. Owen Pughe, who received it from his son, Mr. Aneurin Pughe, by whom the transeript was made.-ED. |