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In this office Mezzofanti continued till the year 1840, when, in conjunction with the distinguished scholar just named, he was raised to the cardinalate.
The author of the memoir submitted to the Philological Society, has collected a number of notices of Mezzofanti by travellers in Italy, who had seen him at different periods of his career. Mr Stewart Rose, in 1817, tells of him that a Smyrniote servant, who was with him, declared that he might pass for a Greek or a Turk throughout the dominions of the Grand Seignior.
"A brother of the Propaganda, a very learned man, once told me I do not mean Mezzofanti, who has not five ideas this brother once told me that all we of the Old World, from Calcutta to Dublin, are of the same stock, and were originally of the same language, and " "All of one religion," I put in.
Oh, he was the cleverest man for language that I ever knew; not a word that he heard did he ever forget." "Just like Mezzofanti," said I, "the great cardinal philologist. But whilst learning Welsh, did he not neglect his collegiate studies?" "Well, I was rather apprehensive on that point," said the old gentleman, "but mark the event.
I do not wish anyone to come to the conclusion, from the facts stated above, that in course of time I shall come to boast what a Paganini I became in time, what a Mezzofanti as a linguist, what a Buonarotti in art, what a Vestris in the dance, or what a Michael Toddy in fencing: I hasten to remark that I do not even yet understand anything of all these things.
A Chinese has been promised, and a Turkish drama threatened; Danish has been given; there are awful hopes of Gaelic and Erse; and goodness knows why we have escaped Echegaray, Lope di Vega and Calderon in the original. A Mezzofanti would be at a premium in the craft if knowledge of languages alone were sufficient; but one may know many tongues and possess no judgment.
Although not acquainted with quite so many languages as Mezzofanti, Count Miniscalchi is a remarkable linguist, especially with regard to Arabic and other oriental tongues. He has availed himself of his talent, and published several works, the most interesting of which is a translation of the Gospel of St. The manuscript, from which this translation is made, is preserved in the Vatican.
But Mezzofanti declined both the invitations, and continued to reside in his native city, till the year 1832. At the close of those political disturbances, of which Bologna was the centre, in the early part of the pontificate of Gregory XVI., it was resolved to send a deputation to Rome on the part of the citizens.
Italy is not merely famous for painters, poets, musicians, singers, and linguists the greatest linguist the world ever saw, the late Cardinal Mezzofanti, was an Italian; but it is celebrated for men men emphatically speaking: Columbus was an Italian, Alexander Farnese was an Italian, so was the mightiest of the mighty, Napoleon Bonaparte; but the German language, German literature, and the Germans!
"It's a capital song," Dodd replied reassuringly; "do you know any more American words?" "Oh yes, your honour!" It was evident that he didn't! His American education was of limited extent and doubtful utility; but not even Cardinal Mezzofanti himself could have been more proud of his forty languages than poor Andrei was of "dam yerize" and "goaty hell."
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