Obf. V. writers, who have endeavoured to explain history by the primitive fignification of words, and the names impofed on things, M. Court de GEBELIN' feems to have made the most ftriking and extenfive application of Etymology to every part of remote Antiquity civil and domeftic, in his great and laborious work entitled, Monde primitif, analysé et comparé avec le monde moderne, of which seven Volumes in quarto have already been published. The ninth Volume is to contain a Dictionaire Etymologique de la langue Grecque. Some account of his fyftem will be given at the end of the Specimen below mentioned. See alfo p.99.107.111. of thefe Obfervations.

The investigation of the original force of words leads us to the knowledge of primitive opinions and customs to which the latent fignification alludes; and affords the most certain evidence of the progrefs of Ideas. Ός αν τα ονόματα ειδη, (fays PLATO in the Cratylus, fpeaking of Etymology,) OETRY HOY TO wegyμata. The truth of this obfervation

has

has been, partly, illuftrated by Dr. PET- Obf. V. TINGALL, in his Differtation on the Gule of Auguft, ARCHEOLOGIA, Vol. II. p. 63, 64. 63,64. The influence of Language on Opinions has been profeffedly treated of by M. MiCHAELIS in his Differtation on the influence of Opinions on Language, and Language on Opinions, Sect. II. p. 10, &c. of Bingley's Tranflation 1769.

Perhaps to this influence of Language on Opinions may in fome measure be imputed, that opinion fo univerfally established of the great veneration faid to be paid by the Druids to the Oak. The Greeks and Romans not fufficiently acquainted with the manners or the language of the Druids, derived the name of those venerable fages from Agus, an oak. But this notion has been rejected by our best Etymologifts. A late writer on Galic Antiquities feems to have offered a probable conjecture, that the Druids were fo called from DRUIDH, wife men. Of this word we have feemingly traces in trow, true, troth, truth, which,

I

Obf. V. which, according to the ancient orthography would be drudh; as Fadber for Father.

May I venture to propofe a conjecture fuggefted by the above remark that many * of

* I have faid many, because there are many others, which by no means belong to the fame mode of formation. And it does not feem neceffary to fuppofe, that all words of the fame termination fhould have been formed in the fame manner: confi. dering how eafily different forms may have been affimilated by inadvertence or vicious imitation. Perhaps the fame may be said of the French fubftantives in age, fuch as courage, &c. and the adverbs in ment, fuch as prudemment. The former of which the Prefident DE BROSSES fuppofes to be derived from cor agere, &c. and the latter from prudenti mente: but which M. Court de GEBELIN thinks owes its termination to the old French word mant, that is beaucoup, the fame with the Italian and Provençal manto. If I might be allowed to differ without prefumption from these learned Men on their own language, I should rather think that the termination age came from the Latin atio, as did the Italian agio. Thus for ratio the Italians fay ragion. And thus for pilatio, which exifts at prefent only in the compounds compilatio, expilatio, &c. was faid pillage: for operatio, ouvrage, &c. And thus it is probable once exifted viatio, from whence viaggio and voiage; foliatio, from whence foliage, &c. It is well known that great part of the Italian and French languages came from the Latin in its moft corrupted ftate: and thence many words acquired forms and terminations which were unknown to the earlier ages of genuine Latinity. For this reason I fhould refer the termination ment both in the fubftantive and adverb, fuch as mouvement and largement, to the Latin mentum. The terminations tio, tas, tudo, men, mentum, were used to exprefs any action in the abstract. Thus motio, momen, momentum, are fynonimous; molitio, molimen, molimentum ; largitio, largitas, largitudo, largimen; which laft fignifies a gift as donatio

for

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our abstract fubftantives in th were originally participles of the past time. Thus from trow,

for donum, &c. Now as the Latin writers ufed the ablative cafe for the adverb, fuch as afta, that is, cum aftu, for aftute; commodo, i. e. cum commodo, for commoditer, &c. the modern adverbs, such as LARGEMENT, i. e. largiter, feem to have been ufed for cum largitate, largimento; FIERMENT for avec fierté, cum feritate, ferimento; FORTEMENT, cum fortitudine, &c. When established terminations had taken place, other words might have adopted the fame termination without any intermediate process of formation. Thus from cour might come couRAGE; and from prudent, PRUDEMMENT, from inftant, INSTAMMENT, &c.-Many of the old Greek and Latin Grammarians, not attending to the progress and variety of formation, have also affigned a compound origin to words thus lengthened in their termination. See the Appendix to the new edition of DAWESES Mifcellanea Critica, p. 459, and 522.—In the Appendix and particularly in the Addenda to Dawes, fome pains have been taken to open and illuftrate the Grammatical and Etymological principles, on which the INQUIRY below mentioned is founded. To prevent a repetition of observations already propofed, frequent reference has been made to the new edition of Dawes, which therefore the candid and learned reader will excuse.

Obf. V.

The affimilation of words proceeding from different origins may be, I think, further illuftrated by the Latin words IN and jus, the former in compofition both increafing and diminishing the fignifica tion of words; and the latter fignifying right and broth. In when it increases the fignification of words, is manifeftly the common præposition in, which, from the notion in loco, is eafily transferred to exprefs quod finem et fummum attigit. When it diminishes I conceive it to be of the fame origin as the old word fin, which afterwards was written fine: and that this is the fame as aviv, in which the final fyllable feems to be adventitious like the e in fine. Aviv appears to be nothing more than the negative av in compounds, fuch as avaduvos, &c, in which the, is added to prevent the concurrence of two vowels. See the Index to

Obf. V. (to know,) troed, tro'd, known, trodh, troth, Healed, heald,

a thing known, or truth:

DAWES, V.A. From which it will appear, that the idea of
negation is expreffed by that of abfence, feclufion, privation;
and be obvious why a, a, a, avtu, are of the fame origin.
According to this doctrine, I have endeavoured to fhew in the
Appendix beforementioned, p. 506. that nego and neco are of
the fame origin, and properly fignify aufero. In confirmation
of which, I will beg leave to add, that aprique, nego, is plainly
of the fame origin as apvμm, namely, from αρνών.
ab
сер
unde
aspor, asgew, &c.—And that as the idea of dying was expreffed
by that of going away, (abiit, gero, &c.), fo the notion of
killing was by that of taking away, thus abftulit, perimo, inte-
rimo, &c. From the above I conclude, that in, when it in.
creases the fignification of words, is the fame as the præpofition
but when it decreases, and takes away, that it is from the
Greek negative a, with the fame variety as caniftrum and
asgov; buccina and Bungon; fifcinus and Baangvos, &c. I have
dwelt longer on the origin and power of the negative, in, in
deference to the great authority of Mr. HARRIS who explains
it in a different manner, Hermes, B. II. C. 3. p. 271, 272.

in;

Perhaps few words are of more disputed origin than jus. The etymologies most commonly received are jus right, a jubendo; jus broth, a juvando. Some think jus right, to be only metaphorically ufed from the latter jus, confidered as a portion, a fhare. M. Court de GEBELIN was of this opinion in his Origines Françoifes, which he afterwards changed in his Origines Latines, P. II. p. 993. "Dans nos Origines Françoiles nous avons dérivé ce mot Jus, droit, de Jus, potage; "la Juftice confiftant a rendre a chacun fa portion, &c. Cette Etymologie n'a pas plû: en voici donc une autre qu'on gou"tera peut-être davantage. Le droit, l'autorité font relatifs a "l'elevation, mais c'eft que fignifie Jus."-That there should be a neceffary relation between elevation and right, seems to be an opinion worthy of a fubject of the GRAND Monarque;

66

but