•' ""^••'"•^' ' LIBRARY Purchased bv Simdry Ftuad Vr/c 214635 3 A FIRST BOOK IN OLD ENGLISH GRAMMAR, READER, NOTES, AND FOCABULART BY ALBERT S. COOK PROFESSOR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE IN YALE UNIVERSITY THIRD EDITION GINN AND COMPANY BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON ATLANTA • DALLAS • COLUMBUS • SAN FRANCISCO L 3 COPYRIGHT, 1894, 1903, 1921, BY ALBERT S. COOK ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 227.1 gfic gtbengam jgregg GINN AND COMPANY • PRO- PRIETORS • BOSTON U.S.A. TO JAMES MORGAN HART Author of "German Universities" and Scholar in Old English y PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. The present volume is an attempt to be of service to those who are beginning the study of our language, or who desire to acquaint themselves with a few speci- mens of our earliest literature. It has seemed to the author that there were two extremes to be avoided in its compilation — the treatment of Old English as though it consisted of wholly isolated phenomena, and the procedure upon a virtual assumption that the student was already acquainted with the cognate Germanic tongues and with the problems and methods of comparative phi- lology. The former treatment robs the study of its significance and value, which, like that of most other subjects, is found in its relations ; the latter repels and confounds the student at a stage when he is most in need of encouragement and attraction. How well the author has succeeded must be left to the judgment of others — the masters whom he follows at a distance, and the students whose interests he has constantly borne in mind. Of one thing, however, he can assure such as may care to inspect his book — that he has spared no pains in treading the path which seemed to be thus marked out for him in advance. Errors there doubtless are — errors of judgment, and errors of fact; but for both he must plead the best excuse eve^ VI PREFACE. offered for similar imperfections, that of King Alfred in the last sentence on page 162 of this volume. The selections have been made with reference to giving a fairly just, though necessarily incomplete, view of the surroundings, occupations, problems, ideals, and senti- ments of our English ancestors. The earlier pieces of both prose and poetry are short; the longer ones that follow either have more sustained interest, or are sup- ported by their reference to preceding ones ; but they, too, fall into natural subdivisions, partially indicated in the printing, so that they may be read as successions of short extracts. It may be objected that Latin and Greek have been too freely used for illustration. The reply to such an objection is twofold : that the book is likely to fall into the hands of some who possess at least an elemen- tary acquaintance with one or both of these languages, and that to these the disclosure of the relations involved in a comparison with the ancient tongues will materially increase their pleasure and their gain; and, secondly, that the book may be intelligently read, from cover to cover, without the slightest knowledge of either Greek or Latin. The passages from Bede have been taken from Miller's edition ; the portion of ^Ifric's Colloquy from the Wright- Wiilker Vocabularies ; the extracts from Wulfstan from Kapler's edition; the selections from BeowuK and Andreas are based upon the Grein-Wiilker edition of the Bibliothek derAngelsachsischen Poesie ; that from the Judith upon my own edition. The originals of the others are either indi- cated, or will be patent to scholars. ; PREFACE. Vll The normalization of the texts to an Early West Saxon basis — Cosijn's Altwestsachsische Grammatik being the chief authority for norms — will doubtless be criticised by some scholars whose judgment is entitled to respect but here again the author has had in mind the beginner, for whose especial use the book is intended. If he wel- comes this introduction on account of its greater ease, and is yet not led astray by it ; if he becomes solidly grounded in the elements, so that further progress is faci> -tjated, while yet he has nothing to unlearn in the future ; the author will be consoled by his approbation for the censure of those who entertain a different opinion on this head. To the normalization of the texts exception has been made in the case of the poetry. For this there are two reasons. In spite of the greater difficulty of the poetry, the student should have had sufficient practice in reading, and particularly in parsing — the importance of which cannot be too much insisted upon — to proceed in the poetry without great obstruction from the retention of manuscript forms, especially as the cross-references of the Vocabulary will furnish him with the necessary assist- ance ; and, secondly, the normalization of the poetry would sometimes have been attended with considerable uncer- tainty, an uncertainty which is decidedly less in the case of the prose. Besides, such profit as accrues to the student from the inspection of the irregular orthography of the manuscripts may, by the literal reproduction of the orthography, be gained from this part. The device noted on page 202 is presented with some VIU PREFACE. persuasion of its utility, though frankly as an experi- ment on which the author would gladly take, after sufficient trial, the judgmeDt of his colleagues. The Grammar is the merest outline. Its condensation has been largely effected by confining the treatment almost entirely to Old English itself, excluding all refer- ences to the theoretical Primitive Grermanic. This method is accompanied with some loss ; but, again, it is the beginner whom the author has had in view. More doubt- ful, perhaps, is the expediency of an empirical classi- fication of nouns, instead of the scientific arrangement according to stems ; many of us have unquestionably found, however, that the more purely scholarly classi- fication occasions not a little trouble in practice, and that its theoretical advantages are dearly purchased at this stage, before there is any adequate conception of com- parative philology and its postulates. The author is not so clear with regard to the probable utility of paragraphs 12-14, on original and derivative vowels; criticism on this point will be especially welcome. The Appendixes include illustrative matter for which there was no natural place elsewhere, or materials and hints for those who would prosecute their researches a little further. The first three of them carry their mean- ing on their face ; the last is provided in order to facilitate the beginning of dialectic study. It — Appendix IV. — has cost more thought than is likely to aj^pear on the surface. The dialects have as yet been but imperfectly discriminated ; it is easier to say what is non-West Saxon than what is Mercian or Kentish ; the residuum of demon- PEEFACE. IX strably pure Northumbrian forms in Csedmon's Hymn, for example, turns out to be surprisingly small. Care has been devoted to the unification of the book — to making its parts mutually coherent ; the illustrations of syntax are therefore taken from the texts printed in the Reader, and the Vocabulary contains copious refer- ences to the Grammar. It is hoped that this plan will prevent distraction on the part of the student, and con- duce to a nearly absolute mastery of the matter here pre- sented. The book ought to occupy at least a semester, and could readily be used for a longer time. The author believes that the history of the English language may most profitably begin with such a manual, studied under a competent teacher and with access to a few good refer- ence books. Thus used, it might advantageously be intro- duced into the earlier part of College courses, and perhaps into the better sort of High Schools and Academies. In conclusion, it is a pleasure to the author to acknowl- edge his indebtedness to Miss Elizabeth Deering Hanscom, graduate student of Yale University and American Eellow of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae, who has rendered material assistance in the preparation of the Vocabulary. Yale University, December 11, 1893. PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. The favorable reception accorded to the first editior^ has encouraged the author, besides correcting several small errors, to amplify Appendix I., and to add a new Appendix, numbered V. The provision of a brief bibli- ography has been so generally welcomed that it has seemed desirable to append a list of books of a more advanced character, while retaining the former one essen- tially unchanged. No attempt at completeness has been made, but perhaps not many books of primary value have been omitted. The illustration of umlaut from Gothic, suggested by a reviewer, now constitutes Appendix V. Certain teachers having expressed a wish that the Vocabulary should give the gender of nouns, the authoi thinks it proper to state the principle upon which the designation of gender was omitted. This principle was that the Grammar should be in constant use. The car^ dinal use of a knowledge of the gender is with reference to declension given the declension, and the gender fol- ; lows. Now the references to the Grammar under nouns primarily indicate the declensions. If, then, the student recognizes the meaning of such references as 43, 47, etc., it is a proof that he is sufficiently acquainted with the paradigms they indicate ; if not, it is a clear sign that he ought to refer to them, and that a mere knowledge PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XI of the gender would not suffice. This is the author's opinion, but he holds himself prepared to defer to the expressed wish of his colleagues, when he can believe that that wish is at all general among those who have given the book a fair trial.