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break our vows of repentance in the midst of the roses. O Hafiz, thou defireft, like the nightingales, the prefence of the rofe: let thy very foul be a ransom for the earth where the keeper of the rofe-garden walks!

I fhall in this manner quote a few Perfian couplets, as examples of the principal rules in this grammar: fuch quotations will give fome variety to a subject naturally barren and unpleafant; will ferve as a fpecimen of the oriental style; and will be more eafily retained in the memory than rules delivered in mere profe.

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OF THE ARTICLE.

Our article a is supplied in Persian by adding the letter to a noun, which reftrains it to the fingular number; as

fingle rofe;

guli a كلي

رفتم بباغ صبحدمی تا چینم گلي آمد بكوش ناكهم آواز بلبلي

One morning I went into the garden to gather a rofe, when on a fudden the voice of a nightingale ftruck my ear.

Without this termination gul would fignify rofes or flowers collectively, as

می خواه و كل نشان كن

Call for wine, and fcatter flowers around.

When

When a noun ends in

୪ the idea of unity is expreffed by the mark

Hamza, as a chefhmeï a fingle fountain.

OF NUMBERS.

From the two examples in a preceding section it appears that the

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Perfian plural is formed by adding or to the fingular: but these terminations are not, as in many languages, wholly arbitrary; on the contrary they are regulated with the utmost precifion. The names of animals form their plural in, as

gurk a wolf.

.gurkan wolves كركان

.pelenk a tyger پلنگ .pelenkan tygers پلنگان

but words which fignify things without life make their plurals by the addition of the fyllable , as

.bal a rwing بال

.fahil a fore ساحل

.balha awings بلها

.fahilha bores ساحلها

Both these plurals occur in the following elegant distich.

شب تاریک و بيم موج وكردابي چنين هايل

کجا دانند حال ما سبكباران ساحلها

The night is dark; the fear of the waves opprefs us, and the whirlpool is dreadful! How fhould thofe, who bear light burdens on the fhores, know the mifery of our fituation?

There

شتر :

There are, however, a few exceptions to thefe rules: the names of animals fometimes make their plurals in as well as in, as shütür a camel, fhütürha and other fide the names of things fometimes have plurals in, as leb

a lip, leban lips.

fhütüran camels; and on the

Names of persons ending in I or form their plurals in, as lilʊ dana a learned man, danayan learned men; and those that end

in 。 are made plural by changing the last letter into, as a peché

شان pechégan infants; and fometimes by adding پیشان,an infant

فرشته

فرشته

a separate syllable; thus, & ferischte an angel, „Ử¿ï gan angels.

as

ferifhte

If the name of a thing ends in s, the final letter is absorbed in the plural before the syllable, as ali khané a house, khanha houses.

In fome modern Perfian books, as the Life of Nader Shah and others, the plural often ends in or in if the fingular has a final

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.nawazith a favour نوازش .nawazifhat favours نوازشات

.kalajat cafiles تلعجات

.kalat a caftle قلعة

But these must be confidered as barbarous, and are a proof that the late dreadful commotions which have ruined the empire of the Perfians, have begun to destroy even the beautiful fimplicity of their language.

It must not be omitted, that the Arabick substantives frequently have. two forts of plurals, one formed according to the analogy of the Perfian nouns, and another after the irregular manner of the Arabians; as us aib a vice, les aibha and us avaîb vices; aNo kalah a castle,

قلعها

kalaha and ε kalaa castles; nayib a viceroy, plur. ❤lj naváb, which our countrymen have mistaken for the fingular number, and fay very improperly a nabob. This is one argument out of a great number to prove the impoffibility of learning the Perfian language accurately without a moderate knowledge of the Arabick; and if the learner will follow my advice, he will perufe with attention the Arabick grammar of Erpenius* before he attempts to translate a Persian manufcript.

OF ADJECTIVES.

The Persian adjectives admit of no variation, but in the degrees of comparison. The positive is made comparative by adding to it, and

as

ترین fuperlative by adding

خوبترین khubter fairer خوبتر khub fair خوب

khubterin faireft.

Our than after a comparative is expressed by the preposition _jl az, as

بياض روي تو روشنتر از رخ روز

سواد زلف تو تاریکتر از ظلمت داج

The brightness of thy face is more fplendid than the cheek of day; the blackness of thy locks is darker than the hue of night.

* There are two fine editions of this grammar, the first published by the very learned Golius, and the second by the late Albert Schultens; both these Orientalifts have added a number of Arabick odes and elegies, which they have explained in excellent notes: but these editions are scarce, and Meninski has inferted in his grammar the substance of Erpenius, with many new remarks.

VOL. II.

X

ماه

ماه نیکوست و لي روي تو زیباتر از وست سرو دلجوست ولي قد تو دلجوتر از وست

The moon is bright, but thy face is brighter than it; the cypress is graceful, but thy shape is more graceful than the cypress.

An adjective is sometimes used substantively, and forms its plural like

,hakiman the wife ; if it be a compounded adjective حکیمان

a noun, as

the fyllables and I denoting the plural number and the oblique cafe, are placed at the end of it, as Jo fahibdil an honest man; oblique

صاحبدلانرا fahibdilan, oblique صاحبدلان fahibdilra; plural صاحبدلا

fahibdilanra; as

فرو مانند پري رويان زآن عارض خجل کشتند سمن بویان زان كاكل

The damfels with faces like angels are dejected at the fight of that cheek; the nymphs with the fragrance of jeffamine are filled with envy when they view those curls.

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