tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32643111.post3356139839951305897..comments2024-03-04T22:23:43.352+08:00Comments on The Lectern: 'Decadence Mandchoue: The China Memoirs of Sir Edmund Trelawny Backhouse' Part 1Murrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03405708736012286214noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32643111.post-75414686861660088332015-10-05T04:24:53.701+08:002015-10-05T04:24:53.701+08:00I'd be surprised if there is real evidence tha...I'd be surprised if there is real evidence that Backhouse really did speak Russian, Japanese, Mongolian, Manchu, Latin and Ancient Greek 'as well as the usual European languages'. To think that he might have shows a lack of understanding of how difficult this is. It's no doubt put down to 'linguistic genius'. The reality is that these linguistic geniuses lived in a era before these things were investigated and documented.Budzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03089740661665159132noreply@blogger.com