historical and political thought in the seventeenth - RePub - Erasmus ...

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Chapter 6. New tidings
later, in the De Hellenistica Commentarius (Commentary on the Greek Language,
1643), Salmasius concurred with Elichmann that German, Greek, and Persian
derived ‘from the same origin’ (ab eadem origine venientia). 27 If the undated letter
of Boxhorn to Salmasius is of a much later date than 1637, it could be that
Boxhorn followed in Salmasius’s (sic Elichmann’s) footsteps instead of the
other way around.
However, if Boxhorn cannot be credited for the discovery of the Scythian
origin of German, Greek, and Persian, he did take this field of language comparison
to a new level. As mentioned before, Boxhorn’s Scythian thesis in the
Bediedinge attracted questions that appeared in a pamphlet printed by Van der
Boxe. 28 Boxhorn reacted to these questions with a 112 page long treatise, the
Antwoord (Answer, 1647). 29 In short, the purpose of the Antwoord is the same
as the Bediedinge: to prove that the Germanic languages and Persian derive
from the same common origin, Scythian. There are, however, some important
differences between the Bediedinge and the Antwoord, and between Boxhorn’s
Scythian thesis and that of Elichmann and Salmasius. First, in the Antwoord
Boxhorn does not limit the discussion to the Germanic languages and Persian,
but also takes Latin, Greek, Old English, and the Baltic and Slavic languages
into consideration and connects them to each other. In the Originum Gallicarum
liber he would draw Celtic into this picture. 30 At the same time Boxhorn,
who counted Dutch among the Germanic languages, turns against the ‘Belgicophile’
theories of Becanus and Schrieckius, and he ridicules their ‘twaddles’
(beuselinghen), claiming that they had been too blind to see and that they had
been absolutely clueless about the ins and outs of the matter. 31
27 Van Driem, Languages of the Himalayas, pp. 1042-43. Claude Salmasius, De Hellenistica commentarius,
controversiam de lingua Hellenistica decidens, et plenissime petractans originem et dialectos Graecae linguae
(Elzevier; Leiden, 1643).
28 Anonymous, Vraagen voorghestelt ende opghedraaghen aan de heer Marcvs Zuerivs van Boxhorn, over
de bediedinge van de tot noch toe onbekende afgodinne Nehalennia, onlangs by hem uytgegeven (Willem Christiaens
van der Boxe; Leiden, 1647).
29 Marcus Zuerius Boxhorn, Antwoord van Marcus Zuerius Boxhorn, gegeven op de vraaghen, hem voorgestelt
over de Bediedinge van de afgodinne Nehalennia, Onlancx uytghegeven. In welcke de ghemeine herkomste van
der Griecken, Romeinen, ende Duytschen Tale uyt den Scythen duydelijck bewesen, ende verscheiden Oudheden van
dese Volckeren grondelijck ontdeckt ende verklaert worden (Willem Christiaens van der Boxe; Leiden, 1647).
30 For a more detailed study of the Originum Gallicarum liber, see Hofman, “Marcus Zuerius Boxhorn
(1612-1653)”, pp. 149-67.
31 Boxhorn, Antwoord, p. 15. ‘Van Becanus ende Scrickius, beide Nederlanders, ende andere haer
volghende, moet ick hier of niet, of immers weinich spreecken. Niet, om dat ick haer gevoelen verwerpe;
weinich, op dat niemant dencke dat mijne meininghe eenige gemeinschap heeft met hare beuselinghen.
Die mannen zijn al siende blindt gheweest. Sy hebben wel konnen sien de oudtheit van de Scythische
ende Duytsche, ende eene overeenstemminghe daer van met de Griecsche ende Latijnsche talen, maer
hebben den oorspronck daer van ghesocht, daer die niet te vinden was, ende de selve soecken te beweeren
met louter kracht ende gewelt te doen aen de waerheit. Op haer past het soete spreeckwoordt; Dat
sy wel hebben een klockjen hooren luyden, maer niet gheweten in wat Capelle; dat is, dat sy gantsch
niet gheweten hebben waer dat dese saeck vast is.’