"Jehovah created the earth, Can you become the disciples of Jehovah? They live apart regardless of religion. Why do they strike Jehovah's left ear-drop, Why do you strike Jehovah's left-ear ornament, Jehovah will return with the Sesamy blossom, Prepare for Jehovah a seat." 8.-They are expecting to be restored to a glorious city. "O children and grandchildren! the Karen nation will yet dwell in the city with the golden palace. If we do well, then the existence of other kings is at an end. The Karen king will yet appear, and when he arrives, there will be happiness." "Good persons, the good Shall go to the silver town, the silver city; The righteous persons, the righteous Shall go to the new town, the new city; Persons that believe their father and mother Shall enjoy the golden palace." The following is a fragment obtained from a Siamese Karen. The same is meant by mountain height in this, as by new city in the piece above, and is decidedly a scriptural expression for the re-instatement of the Jews in their own land. "At the appointed time our father's Jehovah will return; At the appointed year our father's Jehovah will return; That Jehovah may bring the mountain height, Let us pray both great and small; That Jehovah may establish the mountain height, That Jehovah may prepare the mountain summit, You call yourselves the sons of Jehovah ; How often have you prayed to Jehovah? You call yourselves the children of Jehovah ; How many nights have you prayed to Jehovah?" 9.-They are expecting a King or Saviour, who will lead them to a high degree of temporal prosperity. Their ideas of a Saviour are precisely the ideas of the Jews. He is not to be a divine person, but a man favoured of God; they are not looking for a Saviour to make atonement for their sins, but for one who is to conduct them to a high degree of worldly prosperity. The Karens believe that when they obtain a king, he will be sole monarch of the world, and that every one will be happy. Rich and poor will not exist; much in accordance with the scriptural representation of the return of the Jews. "When the Karen king arrives, They believe when the Karen king comes, the beasts will be at peace, and cease to bite and devour one another, in accordance with the Scripture view of the millenium. When the Karen king arrives, Every thing will be happy; Lions and leopards will lose their savageness." 10.-They have none of the peculiar rights of the Jews. This too The Karens have no idea of offering sacrifices to God, and have no knowledge of circumcision or any other Jewish rite. accords with prophecies concerning the lost Israelites. God says, "I will cause all her mirth to cease, her feast-days, her new moons and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts; and," the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim." 11.—Their readiness to receive the Gospel is unprecedented in the history of modern missions*. This is a fact which cannot, it is believed, be reasonably doubted, and that the cause of the success lies not in the instruments, but in the people, is manifest from the fact, that the same instruments produce but the ordinary effect, when applied to other classes of the population. The writer has but a small portion of the field under his charge, yet from the first baptism of Tavoy Karens in October, 1829, to October, 1833, a period of only four years, one hundred and eightyseven persons were baptised, not one of whom has ever behaved so unworthy of his profession as to require exclusion or suspension. Since that time nine more have been baptized, and I have the names of more than thirty on the list of inquirers, many of whom, it is believed, are converted persons. Add to this a respectable deputation lately arrived from the southern part of the province, requesting the teacher to visit them, and expressing a desire to embrace the Gospel. It is said that at the advent of Christ, "the whole world were in expectation of some grand and impending event." Such an expectation now prevails among the Karens; they believe that in some unknown way, God is about to restore them to * This is what we have reason to expect from Isaiah lxiv. 7-9. his favour. This may be seen from the following hymn, which is the production of a well-known individual, but was in existence long before the arrival of the English on the coast. The Prophet's Hymn. "The end of the world" is not to be understood literally. They change in the state of things, which the Karens are expecting, is the thing intended. In relation to the staff, they say, that one of their ancient chiefs or kings had a staff, which, on stretching over the waters, they fled away before him, and on stretching it out again, they returned to his feet. This staff is now lost, but some say, it will be possessed again by their coming king, who will stretch it out, and the people will all gather around him, and on again extending it, the new city" will spring into existence. On this account, every prophet, of whom they have a goodly number among them, uses a staff, sometimes of wood, and often of iron. 66 "The clouds rise up in the dark, dark heavens, The clouds rise up in the pale, pale heavens ; The grandmother has finished her weaving, Happiness will return to the land, and peace as a stream: Happiness will return to the land, and peace to the mind. The ten virtues, the nine virtues, the great virtues, With strong desire I thirst for mother's milk, Without partaking I cannot exist; With strong desire I thirst for mother's excellent milk, The time draws near, Act with one accord, with one accord act virtuously; The time draws nearer and nearer, Act with one accord, together act virtuously. The wooden staff, the iron staff, Stretched forth; the people are obtained; The wooden staff, the silver staff, Stretched forth, the town is obtained, the city is obtained. The persons who act with harmony, the harmonious Shall dwell in the town, in the city; The persons who act harmoniously, the united Sing well, and God will listen well. Let worship be performed as evening comes, Let worship be performed at evening tide, Tavoy, Jan. 1st, 1834. EE FRANCIS MASON. II.-On Idiotisms in the order and in the choice of words-in connection with Scripture Translations. The very kind way in which you noticed my paper on translation, in your number for August, 1833, induces me to continue the subject: the remarks which I shall offer are just those which suggested themselves, in the course of my studies, and my intercourse with the natives. Fearing lest any of your readers should suppose, that I intrude myself upon a subject beyond my reach, I beg to say, that if they would consider my observations as queries, and furnish a reply, they may greatly assist me and my brethren, in the work of revision. In the present paper, I shall point out some errors, into which translators have fallen, and I class the principal under two heads, using the terms not opprobriously, but for the sake of conciseness. I. Idiotisms. II. Barbarisms. I. Idiotism is when the manner of expression peculiar to one language is used in another. Every language has an idiom more or less peculiar to itself. In order that a translation may be good, it is necessary for a translator to understand the idiom of the language into which he translates; and his translation is to be according to its manner of expression. If he prefer verbal closeness to the original, in the construction of his sentences, to the proper mode of idiom in the language in which he makes the translation, his readers will be liable to misinterpret, or remain in ignorance of his meaning. The translator is particularly to bear in mind his readers, and what impression his language will make on their minds :-he is to ask himself, if his language conveys the precise idea, which the original conveys to his mind. Let us notice more particularly two kinds of idiotisms. 1. 2. Idiotisms in the ORDER of words. Idiotisms in the CHOICE of words. Idiotism in the order of words, is when the order of words peculiar to the original is retained in the translation; thus, should TOV aρтov nμw Matt. vi. 11, be translated, the bread our, instead of our bread, this would be an idiotism in the order of words: not that the idiotisms are generally of this simple kind, but they are similar to this. The following is an instance, which occurs in a certain translation, Matt. viii. 28, " When he was come to the other side, met him two possessed with devils;" which ought rather to be, "two possessed with devils met him :" we immediately detect the awkwardness of the expression: and if the whole book were in this style, we should greatly object to such a mode of translation: in our English translation the word "there" is inserted, which makes the English idiom tolerably accord with the Greek but in the language alluded to, the word "there" cannot be inserted, and without it, the rendering is an idiotism. If then our oriental translations (I do not say as a whole, for they do not) at all resemble this, some in a greater, some in a less, degree, do they not need revision? how much more then if such idiotisms invert the sense, as some of them do! We notice next, Idiotisms in the choice of words. Idiotism in the choice of words, is, when certain words peculiar to the original are retained in the translation. What would a plain Englishman think of a thick friend,' ‹ a far man,'' a cold laugh? and yet these expressions convey most aptly in a certain language the ideas, an intimate friend,' a stranger,'' a smile :' but the expressions, a hard saying,'' quick understanding,' short memory,' if literally translated, would sound just as awkward in the language alluded to, as the first expressions do to us :-these phrases particularly illustrate the case of the adjective; that of the verb and adverb is very similar.-In order to prevent such idiotisms, such expressions should be selected, as are perfectly idiomatical in the language of translation, and convey a parallel idea to the original:-a parallelism of words is often very far from a parallelism of ideas. There are indeed some expressions, aptly termed 'Christian expressions,' to which nothing parallel may be found, such as "quench not the Spirit," 1 Thess. v. 19; here the Greek has adeVvUTE, which is mostly used as our word extinguish,' and particularly applies to fire. Now the idea of extinguishing the Spirit will be perfectly new, perhaps in every heathen language: but the phraseology is not to be rejected on that account. Whatever word is used, in any given language, for extinguishing fire, such word I apprehend is to be used in this place. It must be remembered that the Holy Spirit is often represented in Scripture under the figure of fire: and not to use this very word, would be to detract from the meaning of the passage. To extinguish the Spirit, may at first hearing sound as awkward to a heathen, as his far man' does to us: but extinguishing the Spirit, is a "Christian expression," which no heathen expression will suitably render. These hints are sufficient: there is no need to prove elaborately that idiotisms do exist, nor to enter more minutely into their nature, since enough has been said for practical utility. In revising them let us bear in mind two things more especially relative to idiotisms, namely, 1. That we aim to be idiomatical in the order of words. 2. That we aim to be idiomatical in the choice of words; and one word by way of caution: That we never abate the energy of "Christian expressions," and Christian ideas, by using such as are heathenish and unchristian. My observations on Barbarisms I beg to reserve for another communication, and remain for the present, $iλo***** |