[Jan. 1, 
Cleans of Learnmg the Anglo-Saxon 
to assist in the determination of a much 
contested point of ancient history and 
topography, on which I have, for some 
time past, been busy in assembling ma¬ 
terials: I mean the course followed by 
Annibal from the banks of the Rhone, in 
the south of France, over the Alps, to 
those of the Po in Italy. If therefore 
this latter shall deserve to be noticed in 
the Monthly IVIagazine, I doubt not but 
that some one of your correspondents 
will* take the trouble either to afford me 
the information requested, or to point 
out proper sources from which it may be 
procured. Meloxenus. 
London^ 18, 1811. 
To the Editor of the Monthly/ Magazbie. 
SIR, 
'^T^OUR correspondent L. (No. 317, 
page 129,) asks, “ What means 
there are of acquiring the knowledge of 
our language, as written or spoken in this 
country during the Heptarchy.” With 
your permission I will endeavour briefly 
to answer his question. 
First, Let the student read, in Ver- 
stegairs ‘‘ Restitution of Decayed In¬ 
telligence,” what relates to language, 
taking heed, however, not to depend on 
all bis etymologies. He may also look 
at an interesting chapter on the same 
subject, in Camden’s “ Remaines con¬ 
cerning Britain.” In the editor’s preface 
and notes to Fortescue, on Monarchy, 
(a work on all accounts deserving at¬ 
tention) the advantages of Saxon learning 
are pointed out, and many curious ety¬ 
mologies explained. He will, however, 
find his chief assistance in Mr. Turner’s 
“ History of the Anglo-Saxons,” which 
contains dissertations on the language, 
literature, and poetry, of our ancestors, 
and will give the reader a distant pros¬ 
pect of that field of knowledge, which I 
N trust he will be induced to explore with a 
closer attention : his labour will not be 
unrequited. 
The student must no’w be possessed of 
Lye’s Saxon and Gothic Dictiontiry, by 
f.ranning; the foundation of a Saxon 
library; this work is still to be procured 
without difficulty’, but it is much to be 
regretted that all other books of this 
kind are extremely scarce. As to Gram¬ 
mars, let the enquirer take any he can 
meet with. The best are, perhaps, that 
in Hicks’s “ Thesaurus” (an excellent 
abridgment of which is in a thin octavo 
volume), a work in quarto by the same 
learned hand ; and the grarnniar prefixed 
to Lye’s Dictionary, before-mentioned. 
These works, very properly, are written 
in Latin : it is surely much better to ex¬ 
plain a language through the medium of 
another language, than by its own syno- 
nyma, or by a different orthography of 
the self-same words; either of which 
methods must often confuse the learner; 
besides, the Latin tongue is conveniently 
fixed, definite, and universal. There is 
an “ English Saxon Grammar,” (by Mrs, 
Elstob) in the English language; but its 
rules are verbose, and sometimes re¬ 
dundant or unnecessary. 
After a little of the common gramma- 
tical exercise which is necessary to the 
attainment of every language, I would 
advise the student to read any part of 
the Saxon Gospels; either Foxe’s, (pub¬ 
lished in the reign of Elizabeth,) or 
IMarshall’s, with the vulgate Latin. He 
may also use the Gospel of S’’. Matthew, 
with a literal version, by the late Mr, 
Henshall,* but too much reliance must 
not always be placed on the ingenious 
notes of this writer. 
Other portions of the Holy Scriptures, 
yvhich Lave been printed in a Saxon 
dress, are curious reliques of the lan¬ 
guage ; as the Psalter, by John Spelman ; 
and the Heptateuch, Book of Job; and 
Gospel of Nicodemus, by Thwaites. 
The New-Testament w'riters are, how¬ 
ever, to be preferred by the learner, as 
he may compare the early versions above- 
mentioned with that of Wiclif; and this 
will be found a high.ly entertaining and 
instructive mode of study. 
Your correspoiident has limited his 
enquiry to the time of the Heptarchy, 
but I would not recommend him to con¬ 
fine hiS researches only to that era, 
riters, down to the age of the Norman 
kings, though they gradually lose the 
idiomatic purity of our language, become 
more intelligible to the modern reader, 
as they begin to approach the corrupted, 
degenerate, standard of modern English. 
Indeed the difficulty of reading pure 
Saxon is comparatively trifling to one 
who is familiar even with the dialect of 
Chaucer and Gower; or our elder his¬ 
torians, Langtofc and Robert Gloucester, 
With the books recommended above, 
and others to w hich they will refer him, 
togetlier with a little zeal in the use of 
them, any person may soon be enabled 
to read the w oiks of our immortal Alfred, 
the poems of Ctedinon, the Histories of 
* Published by Messrs. White and Co. 
Fleet-street, of whom I believe Lje’s Dic¬ 
tionary may be had. 
Beda, 
