Llythyrau Goronwy Owen/Llythyr 17
| ← Llythyr 16 | Llythyrau Goronwy Owen golygwyd gan John Morris-Jones |
Llythyr 18 |
𝔏𝔩𝔶𝔱𝔥𝔶𝔯 17
At RICHARD MORRIS.
DEAR SIR,
MAE cyhyd amser er pan ysgrifennais attoch, na's gwn yr awrhon pa sutt i ddechreu, na pha afael a gymmeraf i esgusodi fy annibendod. Trafferthus oeddwn yn ceisio cynnull ynghyd ryw faint o ddodrefnach at gadw Tŷ. Ffei! Ffei! Esgus gwag yw hwn, ni thâl ddraen. Wele gadewch iddo. Llwyr ddigalon oeddwn o eisieu fy Llyfrau, ac ni fedrwn ystwytho at ddim o hiraeth am danynt. Ni thyccia hynny 'chwaith. 'Rwyf yn ofni y gorfydd cyfaddef y caswir a dywedyd, Rhyw huppynt o ddiogi a syrthni a ddaeth trosof, a phwy a allai wrtho?—Pa ddelw bynnag ni's gwn pa'r un wiriaf o'r tri esgus: cymmerwch eich dewis o honynt, neu'r cwbl ynghyd os mynnwch, am y rhoddwch i mi faddeuant. Bellach am eich caredig Lythyr diweddaf. Ie fi'n Esgob Bangor! Llwyr y darfu iw'ch gamgymeryd Llyfr y Daroganau. A ydych yn disgwyl weled yno Gymro'n y byd yn Esgob? Cynt y rhown goel ar y Brut sy'n addaw dyfodiad Owain Lawgoch, a'i orfodawglu, nag y disgwyliwn. weled byth Gymro uwch bawd na sawdl mewn unrhyw ragor barch gwledig nag Eglwysig. Am danaf fy hun, mi fum Wyth mlynedd bellach yn ymddygnu am gael rhyw fath o Offeiriadaeth Ynghymru, ac nis cefais. Ond yr wyf weithion wedi rhoi fy Nghalon mewn esmwythdra; per cynnygid i mi le ym Môn heddyw, ni fynnwn mo honaw, oni byddai'n werth 50£ o leiaf, h. y., oni byddai ddegpunt gwell na hwn sy gennyf. Mae gennyf yma lawn 40£ a Thy, a gwr mwyn, boneddigaidd yn Batron imi. Gwaethaf peth yw, yr wyf yn wastadol ar fy llawn hwde, rhwng yr Eglwys a'r Ysgol; a drud anferthol yw pob ymborth, o achos ein bod mor agos i Dref Lerpwl. Ond ofer disgwyl pob peth wrth ein bodd yn y byd yma.—I am charmed with the account you give me of your Society of Antient Britons, and hope it may flourish for the honour and preservation. of our Language. If your Body of Laws are printed I should be obliged to you for the perusal of them. Nothing can be more agreeable to me than the honour you design. me, in electing me for one of your Corresponding Members; but being conscious of my want of proper qualifications, and knowing how very little service I can do your Society in return, I know not how to accept of your kind favour. Were I as able as I am willing, something might be hoped for: but it were a piece of imprudence (to say no worse) to let my ambition carry me beyond my abilities. If I durst make any pretensions to your favour it should be entirely on the score of Poetry and Philology; (for I pretend not to any skill in History, Philosophy, &c.) But I am too well aware of my inconsiderableness, even in those, to expect to be honoured with such a distinguishing mark of the esteem of your honourable and learned Society. If being. merely a well-wisher to our Nation and Language were sufficient to recommend me to a Membership, my title would be indisputable, for none can be more so, (I speak with sincerity) than myself. And I conceive some hopes of the possibility of retrieving the antient splendour of our Language, which cannot possibly be better done, than by the methods pointed out by your Society, viz., laying open its worth and beauty to Strangers, and publishing something in it that is curious, and will bear perusing in succeeding ages. Such performances cannot fail of drawing on them the Eyes, and exciting the curiosity, of Strangers. Strangers! did I say? Good God what if we find our own Countrymen the greatest strangers to it? I blush even to think it, but am afraid the reflection will be found but too just on Cambria's ungratefull, undutifull Sons. An egregious instance of this I met with last week at my own house. For having been invited sometime ago to an afternoon's drinking at a neighbouring Clergyman's house, (according to the custom of this Country) I invited him again to my house, and desired he would bring a Countryman and name—sake of mine, that is Curate of a neighbouring Parish, along with him;[1] for I was desirous of creating and cultivating an acquaintance with him, as he was a Welshman and a man of very good Character for learning and Morals. My desire was accomplished; the Gentleman came, and, to compleat the happiness of the Day, Mr. Brook, my Patron, made me a Present of some rum, &c, and honoured us with his company. When we were set, the pleasure I expressed in seeing a Countryman at this first interview, turned the topick of discourse upon. Wales, and the Welsh Tongue. Mr. Owen, (like an honest. Welshman) readily owned, he was a Native of MontgomeryShire, which pleased me well enough, but being asked by my Patron (who tho' an Englishman, has a few Welsh words which he is fond of) whether he could speak or read Welsh, I found the young Urchin was shy to own either, tho' I was afterwards, that same day, convinced of the contrary. Then, when they alledged it was a dying Lan- guage not worth cultivating, &c., which I stiffly denied, the wicked Imp, with an Air of complacency and satisfaction. said, There was nothing in it worth reading, and that to his certain knowledge the English daily got ground of it, and he doubted not but in a 100 years it would be quite lost. This was matter of triumph to my Antagonists; but to me it was such a confounding overthrowing blow, as would certainly have utterly ruined and destroyed me out of the way, but that I have a queer turn of mind that disposes me to laugh heartily at an absurdity, and to despise ignorance and conceitedness. But he is not the first I met with of that. Stamp. Let them say so, and wish it so, if they will; but be not you discouraged in your laudable undertaking; and be sure, if I can contribute my mite towards it, it shall not be wanting. I shall always think it my duty, and greatest pleasure so to do. Llyma Lythyr neu ddau oddiwrth Wilym Ddu o Gybi yn deisyf arnaf ysgrifennu Notes and Explanations ar Gywydd y Farn, ac ar Gywydd Bonedd yr Awen, a'u gyrru yna i Lundain at y Gymdeithas i'w hargraphu. I have at present never a Book by me, neither a Dictionary, or any other, (tho' they are at Chester, and will be, I hope, at Liverpool this Week,) so I cannot find in my heart to take that work in hand without them, as they are so near coming. And besides, I don't think so proper to write Notes, and point out beauties (if there are any) or criticize on the faults in my own work. The former is by no means proper for me to do, and the latter (I'll uphold it) will be done. for me faster perhaps than I could wish. All that is proper for me to do, I will willingly and readily set about. (if you shall think proper, and acquaint me with your pleasure. in the next) which I take to be no more than barely expounding the hard words by some of more common use, and put a few Scriptural proofs and allusions, &c., in the margin. This I will do, if you please, and correct the copies as well as I can, and send them to you correctly written, (inclosed in a Frank) with large blank margins for any Critick to fill with Notes —To go any further would bear too hard upon modesty and decency.
As for poor plodding Richards, you have said more of him. than ever I intended to do myself: but say what you will, you cannot injure him much. I have so much Charity for him as to believe he undertook it with a view to the publick Good; but can by no means allow that the Book will be useful to the next Compiler or indeed to anybody else. When Virgil gathered gold out of Ennius's ordure, I presume the former bore a proportion as one to ten to the latter, but here is not an ounce to a tun weight, so not worth raking for. I wish he had nothing to do with Moses. Williams, H. Salisbury, and Baxter. I am sure it had been better; but especially his own Glam: what has Glam. words to do with Welsh? I had rather he had made use of any Gibberish, and authorised it with an Hottentotice; that would never mislead Posterity; but we may be easy, for I dare say his Dictionary never will. The Dictionaries, Glossaries, &c., that he compiled from, might have been useful to a Judicious man, that could have picked and culled with Judgment and discretion. But I have no patience when I see H. Salisbury, or the late unaccountable Mr. M Williams quoted to justify a blunder or to legitimate and authorise the uncouthest Gibberish. He must be superstitiously bigoted to H. Salisbury &c., or else very injudicious with a witness to swell his Book needlessly with the same word three or four times over, where but one reading is true, and all the rest to be rejected as corruptions v. g. Myrddyn. H. S. See Murddyn, and so on to Merddyn, Murddun, &c. Dictionaries are or should be, made to understand Authors by, and to teach us to write correctly in imitation of them, and not to acquaint us with the different corruptions that words may be perverted to by the lisping prattle of Nurses and Children, and vicious phraseology and pronunciation of Clowns and Rusticks. The word addfed is pronounced afddyd by the greatest part of Denbighshire People. What then? Were I to compile a Dictionary, would it be commendable or even sufferable in me to write afddyd or afdded (tho' I should find it in a MS. Collection of words) and then add, see addfed? You will say, why not? Because it is not so found in any approved Writer, (and what ought to have more weight) because Etymology is against it the word being compounded of add and Medi. Most of the Writers and Collectors of those Glossaries and Collections of words for additions to Dr. Davies, are not to be depended upon, because they took all uncommon words, as they found them, and that commonly out of the mouths of illiterate. People; well or ill pronounced made no matter; their being New to their ears and understanding gave them a sufficient title to a place in the collection; Witness Tat a Swine in Llwyd's Archæl: Brit: and many more that I could quote, had I Books. And as most of them are not to be depended upon, so they are all to be suspected; for Most or all have an itch for establishing and propagating their own whims and conceits, (as flies have to blow Maggots) which it is every body else's interest to destroy. A Glossary writer had rather turn a Language topsy turvy, than quit a few etymologicial conjectures, the productions of his own dear brains and a bad Poet had rather write and pronounce fifty words wrong to secure his Cynghanedd than be obliged to alter one favourite faulty line.—It is a specious Ornament to a Title page to promise several Thousands of words, more than are in Dr. Davies's; but perhaps all those Thousands by the time they are well sifted and cleaned, will scarce amount to a Hundred. One of them I remember is Iet a Country-Gate, that is, the old (Yet still common) English word Yate. Is this adding to Dr. Davies? Is this enriching the Welsh Language? By the very same rule it may be made the general, universal, catholick Language of the universe. It is but making all words in the World free denizens of our Language; and call them our own, and the Jobb is done. Yet after all, it should seem that the Publick is in some sort obliged to an Author that writes for their pleasure or profit, for his good. intentions at least; but still we think it no injustice to see a bad actor (tho' he has nothing more at heart than to please us) hissed off the Stage. Let every one consider his own. ability.—My complts. to Llewelyn Ddû (os yw yna) and favour me with a line as soon as conveniency permits, and you'll greatly oblige your most hble. Servt.
Rhyfedd gennyf na chlywswn oddiwrth Mr. Lewis Morris cyn hyn; mae'n debyg ei fod bellach yn Gallt Fadawg.
Nodiadau
[golygu]- ↑ Ar waelod y ddalen yn y Llawysgrif—"The Revd. Mr. Edwd.Owen then Curate of Crosby, now Rector of Warrington, afterwards a great friend to Gronwy. He translated Juvenal and Persius."