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

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

OF THE ARTICLE.

Our article a is supplied in Persian by adding the letter to a noun, which restrains 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 rose, when on a sudden the voice of a nightingale ftruck my ear.

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

می خواه و گل فشان كن

Call for wine, and scatter flowers around.

When

Per

CC

When a noun ends in the idea of unity is expreffed by the mark

୪

chefhmeï a fingle fountain.

&

Hamza, as a

OF NUMBERS.

From the two examples in a preceding fection it appears that the 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_coolrves كركان .pelenk a tyger پلنگ .pelenkan tygers پلکان

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

.bal a wing بال

.fahil a Jhore ساحل

.balha wings بلہا

.fahilha Jhores ساحلها

Both these plurals occur in the following elegant distich.

شب تاریک و بیم 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

animals fometimes make their plurals in shütür a camel, §äshütürha and

There are, however, a few exceptions to thefe rules: the names of as well as in, as shütüran camels; and on the

other fide the names of things fometimes have plurals in, as leb a lip, leban lips.

دانایان

شترار

Names of perfons ending in | or form their plurals in, as Lila dana a learned man, danayan learned men; and those that end in ୪ are made plural by changing the last letter into, as a peché an infant, pèchégan infants; and sometimes by adding:

i ferifhte

فرشته گان ,ferihte an angel فرشته ,a feparate fyllable ; thus

gan angels.

the final letter is absorbed in the

If the name of a thing ends in plural before the fyllable, as al

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

Sing.

Plur.

شتر:

.nawazish a favour نوازش .nawazifhat favours نوازشات .kalat a cafile قلعة .kalajat calles تلعجات

as

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, Leus aibha and us avaîb vices; a kalah a castle,

قلعها

نواب .nayib a viceroy, plur نایب ; kalaa cafiles قلاع kalaha and قلعها

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 tranflate a Perfian manufcript.

OF ADJECTIVES.

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

ترین fuperlative by adding

خوبترین ,khubter fairer خوبتر ,khub fair خوب

khubterin faireft.

Our than after a comparative is expreffed by the prepofition 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 fecond 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 thefe editions are scarce, and Meninski has inferted in his grammar the fubftance of Erpenius, with many new remarks.

VOL. II.

X

مياه

ماه نیکوست و لی روی تو زیباتر ازوست 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 fhape is more graceful than the cypress.

An adjective is fometimes 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 Jolo fahibdil an honeft man; oblique

fahibdilanra; as

صاحبدلان fahibdilan, oblique صاحبدلان fahibdilra; plural صاحبدلا

فرو مانند پري رويان زآن عارض خجل كشتند 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.