Abbot Mechitar
Founder of the Mechitarist Congregation
"From the beginning I as well as our Congregation have devoted ourselves
to improve the language of the Armenian Nation for the glory of J. C. our
Lord".
Mechitar
TO Mr. MURRAY
Venice, Dec, 4th, 1816
I should think that and
the Armenian alphabet will last the winter. The lady has, luckily for me,
been less obdurate than the language, or, between to two. I should have
lost my remains
of sanity. By-the-way, she is not an Armenian
but a Venetian, as I believe I told you in my last.
TO Mr. MOORE
5 December 1816
By way of the divertissement,
I am studying daily at an Armenian monastery, the Armenian language. I
found that my mind wanted something craggy to break upon;
and this-as the most
difficult thing I could discover here for an
amusement - I have chosen, to torture me into attention. It
is a rich language, however, and would amply repay any
one the trouble of learning
it. I try, and shall go on; - but I answer for
nothing, least of all for my intentions or my success. There are some very
curious Mss. in the monastery, as well as books; translations also
from
Greek originals, now lost, and from
Persian and Syriac etc.; besides works of their own people.
Four years ago the French instituted an Armenian
professorship. Twenty pupils presented
themselves on Monday morning, full of
noble ardor, ingenuous youth, and impregnable
industry. They persevered, with a courage worthy of the nation
and of universal conquest, till Thursday; when fifteen of the twenty succumbed
to the six-and-twentieth letter of the alphabet. It is, to be sure, a Waterloo
of an alphabet - that must be said for them. But it is so like
these fellows, to do by it as they did by
their sovereigns - abandon both; to parody the old rhymes,
"Take a thing and give a thing"
-
"Take a thing and give a king".
The Mechitarist Convent of St.
Lazarus, Venice.
"A small island situated in the midst of a tranquil
lake".
Biogr. Notes: Lett. N.
340 of Byron.
St. Lazzaro. -
An Arial view of the island of
the
Armenians.
TO Mr. MURRAY
Venice Dec. 9th, 1816
I am begun, and am proceeding
in, a study of the Armenian language, which I acquire, as well as
I can, at the Armenian convent,
where I go every day to lake lessons of a
learned friar*, and have gained some singular
and not useless information with regard to the
literature and customs of that oriental people. They
have an establishment here, a church and
convent of ninety monks, very learned and accomplished
men, some of them. They have also a press, and make
great efforts for the enlightening of their nation. I find
the language (which is
twin, the literal
and the vulgar) difficult, but not
invincible (at least, I hope not). I shall go on. I found it necessary
to twist my mind round some severer study, and this, as being
the hardest I could devise here, will be a file for the serpent.
* R. P. Paschal Dr. Aucher
LORD BYRON
"Of the lost line of gods he seemed to be, An
eagle in the heaven of poesy".
Ch. R. Cammell:
"To the Armenian Fathers at Venice".
TO Mr. MOORE
Venice, December 24th,
1816
May "way of life", is
fallen into great regularity. In the mornings I go over in my gondola
to hobble Armenian with the friars of the convent
of St. Lazarus, and to help one of them in correcting the English
of an English and Armenian grammar which he is publishing.
TO Mr. MURRAY
Venice, Dec. 27th, 1816
I am going on with my
Armenian studies in a morning, and assisting and stimulating
in the English portion of an English and Armenian grammar,
now publishing at the convent of St.
Lazarus. - The superior of the friars is a bishop,
and a fine old fellow, with the beard of a meteor. Father Paschal
is also a learned and pious soul. He was two years in England.
Aivazovsky: Arrival of Lord Byron
at St. Lazarus
"In the mornings I go over in my gondola to hobble
Armenian with the friars of the Convent of St. Lazarus".
Byron to Moore, Venice
December 24th, 1816.
TO Mr. MURRAY
Venice, Jan. 2. 1817
In another sheet, I send you some sheets of a grammar, English and Armenian, for the use of the Armenians, of which I promoted, and indeed induced, the publication. (It cost me but a thousand francs-French livres). I still pursue my lessons in the language without any rapid progress, but advancing a little daily. Padre Paschal, with some little help from me as translator of his Italian into English, is also proceeding in a Mss. Grammar for the English acquisition of Armenian, which will be printed also, when finished. - We want to know if there are Armenian types and letter-press in England, at Oxford, Cambridge, or elsewhere? You know, I suppose that, many years ago, the two Whistons published in England an original text of a history of Armenia, with their own Latin translation? Do those types still exist? And where? Pray inquire among your learned acquaintance. - When this Grammar (I mean the one now printing) is done, will you have any objection to take forty or fifty copies, which will not cost in all above five or ten guineas, and try the curiosity of the learned with a sale of them? Say yes or no, as you like. I can assure you that they have some very curious books and Mss, chiefly translations from Greek originals now lost. They are, besides, a much respected and learned community, and the study of their language was taken up with great ardour by some literary Frenchmen in Buonaparte's time*.
* To the Armenian Grammar
mentioned above, the following interesting fragment, found
among his (Lord Byron's) papers, seems to have
been intended as a preface. "The English reader will
probably be surprised to find my name associated with a work of the present
discription, and inclined to give me more credit for my attainments
as a linguist than they deserve. - As I would not willingly
be guilty of a deception, I will state, as
shortly as I can, my own share in the compilation,
with the motives which led to it. On my arrival at Venice in the year 1816,
I found my mind in a state which required study, and study of a nature
which should leave little scope for
the imagination, and furnish some difficulty in the pursuit.
- At this period I was much struck - in common, I believe,
with every other traveller - with the society of
the Convent of St. Lazarus, which appears to
unite all the advantages of the monastic
institution, without any of its vices. - The neatness, the
comfort, the gentleness, the unaffected devotion,
the accomplishments, and the virtues of the brethren of the
order, are well fitted to strike the man
of the world with the conviction that "there is
another and a better" even in this life. - These
men are the priesthood of an oppressed and a noble nation, which has partaken
of the proscription and bondage of the Jews and of the
Greeks, without the sullenness of the former or the servility of
the letter. This people has attained riches without usury, and all
the honours that can be awarded to
slavery without intrigue. But they
have long occupied, nevertheless, a part of "the
House of Bondage", who has lately multiplied her many mansions.
It would be difficult, perhaps, to find the annals of a nation less stained
with crimes than those of the Armenians, whose virtues have
been those of peace and their vices those of compulsion. But
whatever may have been their destiny - and it has been better
- wathever it may be in future, their country must ever be
one of the most interesting on the globe; and perhaps their language only
requires to be more studied to become more attractive. If the
Scriptures are rightly understood it was in Armenia that Paradise was placed,
Armenia, which has paid as dearly as the descendants of
Adam for that fleeting participation of its soil in the happiness
if Him who was created from its dust. It was in
Armenia that the flood first abated. and the dove alighted.
But with the disappearance of Paradise itself may be dated almost
the unhappiness of the country, for though long a
powerful kingdom, it was scarcely ever an independent one, and the satraps
of Persia and the pachas of Turkey have alike desolated the region
wheri God created man in his own image".
Byron on the terrace with the
Fathers of St. Lazarus.
"He (Byron) was a young man quick, sociable,
with burning eyes".
Father Paschal: Autobiographical
Diary;
The "Pazmaveb", April
1924. p. 142.
Dr Father Paschal Aucher Byron's
Teacher
"Father Paschal is a learned and pious soul".
Byron to Murray Venice,
Dec. 27th, 1816.
TO Mr. MURRAY
Venice, March 3rd, 1817
The Armenian Grammar
is published; but my Armenian Studies are suspended for the
present till my head aches a little less.
TO Mr. MURRAY
Venice, March 25th, 1817
The Armenian Grammar
is published-that is, one; the other is still in MS. Illness has
prevented me from moving this month past, and I
have done nothing more with the Armenian.
TO Mr. MURRAY
Venice, June 8th, 1817
The present letter will
be delivered to you by two Armenian friars, on their way, by England,
to Madras. They will also convey some copies, of
the grammar, which I think you agreed to take. If you
can be of any use to them, either amongst
your naval or East Indian acquaintances, I hope
you will so far oblige me, as they
and their order have been remarkably attentive
and friendly towards me since my arrival at Venice. Their
names are Father Sukias Somalian and
Father Sarkis Teodorosian. They speak Italian,
and probably French, or a little English.
Repeating earnestly my recommendatory request, believe
me, very truly, yours, Byron.
Perhaps you can help
them to their passage, or give or get them letters for India.
The Library with the section
of Armenian manuscripts.
There are some very curious Mss. in the monastery,
as well as books; translations also from Greek originals, now lost,
and from Persian and Syriac etc.
Byron to Moore Dec. 5th,
1816.
TO Mr. MURRAY
Venice, January 27th,
1818
My Father - that is,
my Armenian father, Padre Pasquale - in the name of all the
other fathers of our Convent, sends you the enclosed
greeting. - Inasmuch as it has pleased
the
translators of the long lost and lately - found
portions of the text of Eusebius to put forth the enclosed prospectus,
of which I send six copies, you are hereby implored to obtain subscribers
in the two Universities,
and among the learned, and the unlearned who would
unlearn their ignorance. - This they (the Convent) request,
I request, and do you request.
TO Mr. MURRAY
Venice, March 31st, 1818
Did I tell you that I
have translated two Epistles? - a correspondence
between St. Paul and the Corinthians, not to be found
in our version, but the Armenian - but which seems to me very
orthodox, and I have done it into scriptural prose English.
Byron studying the Armenian language
"It is a rich language, and would amply repay
any one the trouble of learning it".
Byron to Moore, Dec. 5th,
1816.
NOTES:
The only plausible claim of these Epistles to authenticity arises from the circumstance of St. Paul having (according to the opinion of Mosheim and others) written an Epistle to the Corinthians, before that which we now call his first. They are, however, universally given up as spurious. Though frequently referred to ac existing in the Armenian, by Primate Usher, Iohan, Gregorius, and other learned men, they were for the first time, I believe, translated from that language by the two Whistons, who subjoined the correspondence, with a Greek and Latin version, to their edition of the Armenian History of Moses Chorone, published in 1736. - The translation by Lord Byron is, as far as I can learn, the first that has ever been attempted in English; and as, proceeding from his pen, it must possess, of course, additional interest, the reader will not be displeased to find it in the Appendix. Annexed to the copy in my possession are the following words, in his own hand-writing: - "Done into English by me, January, February, 1817, at the Convent of San Lazaro, with the aid exposition of the Armenian text by the Father Paschal Aucher, Armenian friar - BYRON. I had also (he adds) the Latin text, but it is in many places corrupt, and with great omissions".
Archibishop Akontz Kiuver
(The 3rd Abbot General)
"The Superior of the friars is a bishop,
and a fine old fellow, with the beard of a meteor".
Byron to Murray, Venice,
Dec. 27th, 1816.
TO MURRAY
Venice, April 11th, 1818
Why have
you not sent me an answer, and
lists of subscribers to the translation to the Armenian Eusebius
of which I sent you printed copies of the prospectus
(in French) two months ago? Have you had the letter? - I shall
send you another: - You must not neglect my Armenians.
BIOGR. NOTES, LETT. N340
Bologna, August 29, 1819
His gymnastic exercises
were sometimes violent, and at others almost
nothing. His body, like his spirit,
readily accommodated itself to all his inclinations. During
an entire
winter, he went out every morning alone to row
himself to the island of the Armenians (a small island situated in the
midst of a tranquil lake, and distant from Venice about half a
league),
to enjoy the society of those learned and hospitable
monks, and to learn their difficult language; and, in the evening,
entering again into his gondola, he went but only for a couple of
hours
into company. A second winter, whenever the water
of the lake was violently agitated, he was observed to cross
it, and landing on the nearest terra firma,
to fatigue at least two horses whit
riding.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Of his household frugalities I speak
but on the authority of others; but it is not difficult to
conceive that, with a restless spirit like his,
which delighted always in having
something to conted with, and which, but
a short time before, "for want," as he said, "of something
craggy to break upon," had tortured itself with the study of
the Armenian language, he should, in default of all better
excitement, find a sort of stir and amusement in
the task of contesting, inch by inch, every encroachment
of expense, and endeavouring to suppress
what he himself calls
"That
climax of all earthly ills,
The
inflammation of our weekly bills".
The Printing-Office.
They have also a press, and make great efforts for the enlightening
of their nation.
Byron to Murray, Venice, Dec 9th, 1816.
TO Mr. MURRAY
Ravenna, March 28th, 1820
"I wish to know what
became of my two Epistles from St. Paul (translated from the Armenian three
years ago and more), and of the letter to R --- ts of
last autumn, which you never have attended
to?
There are
two packets with this.
TO Mr. MURRAY
Ravenna, October 9th,
1821
The Epistle of
St. Paul, which I translated from the
Armenian, for what reason have you kept it back,
though you published that stuff which gave rise to the "Vampire?".
Is it because you are afraid to print any thing in opposition to
that cant of the Quarterly about Manicheism? Let me have a proof
of that Epistle directly. I am a better Christian
than those persons of yours, though not paid for being so.
Byron's tempestuous mind is soothed
under the Olive-trees of St. Lazarus
For I have been accostom'd to entwine
My thoughts with Nature rather in the fields
Than Art in galleries...
Child Harold's Pilgrimage.
BIOGR. NOTES, LETT. N522
TO LADY***
May 17th, 1823
He had, previous to this
conversation, presented to each of the party some little farewell gift
- a book to one, a print from his bust by Bartolini to
another, and to Lady B** a copy of his Armenian Grammar, which had some
manuscript remarks of his own on the leaves. In now parting
with her, having begged, as a memorial, some trifle which she
had worn, the lady gave him one of her rings; in return for
which he took a pin from his breast, containing a small cameo of Napoleon,
which he said had long been his companion, and
presented it to her ladyship.
"You must not neglect my Armenians".
to Murray, Venice - April
11th, 1818
Byron's Olive-tree hill at St.
Lazarus, as it is now
"A part of his time he gave to
meditation on the various phases and secrets of life,
at one corner of the
garden under the olive trees".
The "Pazmaveb" 1924 April.
p. 143
Hucknall Church, Nottinghamshire
Byron's last resting-place
Lord Byron's Epitaph
"As ye pass by the tomb where my ashes
consume,
Oh! moisten their dust with a Tear".
Byron: "The Tear".