Llythyrau Goronwy Owen/Llythyr 21
| ← Llythyr 20 | Llythyrau Goronwy Owen golygwyd gan John Morris-Jones |
Llythyr 22 → |
𝔏𝔩𝔶𝔱𝔥𝔶𝔯 21.
At WILLIAM MORRIS.
GAREDICAF SYR,
LLYMA'CH llythyr o'r ugeinfed o Dachwedd wedi cyrraedd Walton. Y mae hi, yn wir, yn gryn ennyd er pan yrrais attoch ddiweddaf, ond nid cyhyd ag yr ych chwi yn yn ei haeru, mi a'i profaf. Ni welais i olwg etto ar "Sion Dafydd Rhys," ac felly nid gwiw bwrw'r bai ar y truan hwnw am fy llestair i ysgrifenu. Nage. Nage. Prysur iawn a fum yn croesawu dieithriaid. Fe aeth y wraig Elin yn ddwy Elin o fewn y pum wythnos yma; a gwae a gaffo eneth, meddaf fi. Ni fu yma ddim gwastadfyd ar ddim er pan. welwyd eu hwyneb hi. Codi ddengwaith yn y nos, a dihuno'r cymydogion o'u gorphwysfa i'w hedrych, disgwyl iddi drengu bob pen awr, ac wylofain a nadu o'i phlegid, y fu'r gwaith penaf yma, er pan anwyd hi, hyd o fewn yr wythnos neu naw diwrnod, a llawer dychryn, ac oer galon, o'i hachos hi, ddydd a nos. Mi a'i bedyddais hi fy hun y noswaith y ganwyd hi; ac yr wyf yn gobeithio bellach ei bod, gyda. Duw, wedi gorchfygu y Convulsion Fits, ac y deil i fyned. i'r Eglwys i gael bedydd public; yr hyn a gaiff, os bydd byw, Dyddgwyl Domas; oblegid ni chair dim bedyddio yma ond naill ai ar y Sul neu Wyl. Ac y mae'r Vicar yn addo o hono ei hun, ei bedyddio a chymmeryd rhan o'm ciniaw, a rhoi imi alwyn o hen Rum i fod yn llawen gyda'r Tad Bedydd ac ynteu. Dyna hen wr gwiw!
Y mae "Cywydd y Farn," a'r nodau goreu a fedrwn wneuthur, wedi myned i Allt Fadawg er Dydd Mercher diweddaf, i gael barn Llewelyn arnaw, ac oddi yno yn union i Lundain. Ac os bydd y nodau hyny yn boddio, mi arlwyaf "Fonedd yr Awen" â'r un fath saig. Mi yrrais hefyd yr un pryd "Briodasgerdd" i'ch nith, Mrs. Elin Morris, i Allt Fadawg, yr hon gerdd a yrraswn i chwithau hefyd oni bai fod yr amser yn rhy brin weithion. Chwi a'i cewch, ysgatfydd, ryw dro arall, pan gaffwyf wybod a dâl ei dangos ai peidiaw. Gwych yr newyddion a glywaf o Allt Fadog, a Llundain, a Chaer Gybi Sant yn nhylch Iarll Powys. Duw a dalo i'r tri brawd yn dri dyblyg am eu caredigrwydd, pe na ddigwyddai dim amgen nag wyf fi yn ei ddysgwyl. Gwychach genyf fi na dim yr anrhydedd a wnaed imi o'm dewis yn Aelod anwiw o Gymdeithas y Cymmrodorion. Oni chaf rent, fe allai y caf fod naill ai'n "Gadeirfardd " neu'n "Gyff Cler" i'r Gymdeithas. Nid oes arnaf faint yn y byd o eisiau swmbwl, pe cawn lonyddwch ac amser. Yr archlodi Ieuan Brydydd Hir, na chaid gweled rhyw faint o'i waith ynteu! Dyna'r swmbwl goreu a'm gyrrai fi 'mlaen. Paham i mi'n wastadol
'Ganu pennill mwyn i'm nain,
Oni chân fy nain i minnau'
(chwedl y bobl)? Ond tawant hwy os mynnant, ni thaw mo'm gafn i, hyd oni bo arnaf ddiffyg testun, yr hyn ni ddigwydd yrhawg etto, oni ddaw rhyw droiad chwith ar fyd. I am under no manner of concern about my Works. It is equal to me whether they are printed or continue, as I have written them, for eighty or a hundred years longer. Let them take their chance, and shift for themselves, and share the common fate of all sublunary things. If I have not a better immortality than they can procure me, I had even as good have none. Yet they, amongst others, may help to preserve our language to posterity; and so far, and no further, a wise man and a lover of his country ought to regard them. Y mae'n resynol (chwedl chwithau) weled mor ddigydwybod y mae poblach yn llurguniaw ac yn sychmurniaw gwaith yr hen Ddafydd ap Gwilym druan. Let everybody say what they please, I can hardly forbear thinking that the word tyg is genuine and right. I take tyg to be nothing else but the masculine gender of teg. And the analogy it bears to other. words of the same sort, seems to me a sufficient ground for this opinion. Does not the masculine hysp make hesp in feminine? So sych, sech; gwlyb, gwleb; gwyn, gwen; tyn, ten; llyfn. llefn; etc.; and why not tyg, teg? though the former is now disused. To these may be added gwyrdd, crych, brych, and innumerably more. Neither do I make any doubt but that Dafydd ap Gwilym, or Gruffydd Grug, could have heard one say merch wech or gafr wellt without any offence to their ears. though feminines are now no more used than the masculine tyg. What do you imagine gave a little island, or rather rock, not far from your Holy Head, the name of Ynys Wellt? What! because it was a straw island? or abounding in straw? Nothing more unlikely. Was it not rather, because it was a barren and wild island? What if we do not understand some words in this age? Must we therefore banish them from the works of those that did understand them? and foist others out of our own noddles in their place? It is cruel. I wish people were once so far in their right minds as to think they could not mend Dafydd ap Gwilym's work; then they would certainly never mar them. Dafydd ap Gwilym, it is true, had his foibles, as well as other mortals. He was extravagantly fond of filching an English word now and then, and inserting them in his works, which makes me wonder what should induce the judicious Dr. Davies to pitch upon him as the standard of pure Welsh. Whereas he, of all others of that age, seems least deserving of the honour. I know that that babbler, Theophilus Evans, author of Drych y Prif Oesoedd, pretends to say that 'Davy' understood never a word of English; but the way he goes about to prove his barefaced assertion, is a sufficient confutation of it, and enough to make the bold assertor ridiculous to boot. How many English words are there to be met with, in those fragments of his only, that are quoted by Dr. Davies? Mutlai is one of them; and what is that else but the English word 'mottley'? Is lifrai a pure Welsh word? And what can you make of habrsiwn, mên, and threbl, and a great many more? I think 'livery,' 'habergeon,' 'mean', and 'trebble', are but indifferent Welsh words for purity. But, all that notwithstanding, I think it would be a notable piece of service to our language, to have his works printed; though it would give to the English a pleasure they have long wanted; I mean of making it appear that we borrow as many words at least from them, as they did from us, which yet would be true of no one else but Dafydd ap Gwilym himself; for I do not think he made many proselytes to his fond way of blending Welsh and English together; else our language had long before now been a most horrid gibberish.
Digon yw hyn ynghylch Dafydd. Ond ni ddarfu mi a chwychwi etto. Yn rhodd, a fyddwch cyn fwyned yn y nesaf a gadael i mi wybod, pa newydd annghysurus a glywsoch o Gaer Nerpwl; oblegid ni chlywais i ddim rhyfedd sydd nes atti. Gwir yw nis bum yno er ys ennyd. Ond odid i ddim a dalo i son am dano ddigwydd yno na chlywyf mewn amser. Ac am eich gweddi" Duw o'i drugaredd a ystyrio wrth ein gwendidau," yr wyf yn dywedyd "Amen" o ewyllys fy nghalon, er nas gwn ar ba achos yr ystwythwyd y weddi.
Give my compliments to Mr. Ellis, if he is come home; God send him his health for the good of his charge! But I am afraid this going so often to seek it in Ireland bodes no good.
Annerchwch bawb a ofyno am danaf; ac mae yn debyg nad anhawdd. Duw gyda chwi, a chan diolch am bob
cymmwynas.
Wyf eich ufuddaf, wirddiolchgar a rhwymedig Wasanaethwr,
P.S.—Llyma Wyddel wedi myned i Hirgaer i garchar, am briodi dwy wraig o fewn llai na dwy filldir at eu gilydd. Mae'n debyg y caiff ymystyn; ac ni haeddai amgen, am fod mor ryfygus a chynyg boddio dwy, lle mae digonedd o rai eraill yn methu boddloni un. Byddwch wych etto. Duw gyda chwi a'r eiddoch. Gyrrwch lythyr gyda'r post nesaf, da chwithau.