should be to any of the Indian dialects, were we on a fudden conveyed to one of the remoteft habitations on either continent of America. Not only the language is changed, but the drefs, the food, the agriculture, the arts, the arms, the architecture, of this little fpot of earth, have undergone as great an alteration; nay, the very face and appearance of the island itself has been changed as much; and our great progenitor above mentioned would be as much perplexed to find now the fpot of his own habitation, as the five Indian chiefs, who lately made us a vifit from the Cherokees, would have been to have found the way to their own lodgings without the help of their guide. Since then our language has moft certainly undergone this mighty alteration for the better, and this great improvement has been intirely owing to the numberless words that have been adopted into it from the Greek and Roman languages, (other adoptions are but trivial in comparison with them) as Englishmen, and as fcholars, let us cultivate the study of those two languages, and we shall presently find, that by having acquired a greater degree of knowledge in them, we shall have acquired at the fame time a greater degree of knowledge in our own; by obferving the wonderful connexion, and the close conformity there is between all three. Having faid thus much on the general texture of the English tongue, it may now be proper to give an hiftorical account of those feveral languages, which chiefly conftitute the basis of the English in particular; an investigation that may prove the more entertaining, as it will in fome measure enable us to account for that great variety of expreffion, which is to be found in modern English writing, both poetry, and history, beyond that of any other modern tongue; because it is compounded of more. The bafis then of the English language having been founded chiefly on the fix following; viz. I. The Hebrew, or Phænician; II. The Greek ; III. The Latin, or Italian; IV. The Celtic, or French; V. The Saxon, Teutonic, or German; and, VI. The Icelandic, and other Northern dialects; permit me to fay fomething on the antiquity of these feveral languages, and fhew the connexion, which the different nations and people who fpoke them, have had with this our inland: And, I. Of the HEBREW, or PHOENICIAN Tongue. The very few words in our language, that are immediately defcended to us from the Hebrew or Phoenician tongues, would fcarce have juftified me in ranking those languages among the fix that principally conftitute the bafis of our own; but, fince the Phoenicians trafficked very early in this island, no doubt there have been a great number of their words adopted into our language, thro' the channel of other nations; but not being myself converfant enough in those or the oriental tongues, to discover all of them, let me hope, that whenever the reader may happen to meet with any, he will be satisfied with my having traced the etymology of them up to the Greek language, without taking any notice of b the the Hebrew or Phenician, any more than I do of the Egyptian, Coptic, Arabic, Syriac, or Chaldæan languages; from every one of which, no doubt, the Greeks took many words, and tranfplanted them into their own tongue * : whatever connexions therefore we may have had with the Hebrew, Phænician, or with any other of the Eastern nations, they have been derived to us thro' the channel of thofe traders, and the Greek and Roman writers. Let me then only add a few reflexions on the antiquity of the Hebrew tongue. Whenever we fpeak of the Hebrew, we mean the language, unconnected with writing; for undoubtedly the language itself, like that of all others, must have been many centuries prior to the invention and ufe of those letters, or marks, that characterise the writings of their authors; because we muft naturally fuppose, that the first ages of mankind could speak, before they could write †. Now it is generally fuppofed, that the Hebrew is the most antient language; but how it can clame a priority over the Chaldean, Syrian, and Egyptian, would perhaps be no very easy task to fhew. The earliest mention made in fcripture of the Hebrews is in Gen. x. 21, where Shem is called the father of the children of Eber; i. e. the Hebrews were defcended in the third generation from Shem, who was the great-grandfather of Eber, who must confequently have been defcended from Noah in the fourth generation; viz. 1. Shem, being the fon of that patriarch; 2. Arphaxad, the fon of Shem; 3. Selah, the fon of Arphaxad; *Meric Cafaubon de Quatuor linguis, p. 19, quotes his father Ifaac in thefe words; "Nos autem obfervamus, in antiquiffimis quibufque Græcorum fcriptoribus, multa vocabula Hebraica, quæ poftea vel defierunt effe in ufu, vel admodum funt mutata: obfervamus etiam Afiaticos Græcos magis 'Efezie, quam Europeos"-and Sheringham, in his Preface, fays, " initio quidem ipfa Græca lingua rudis, inopfque fuit, fed decurfu temporis, ab Hebræis, aliifque gentibus mutuatis vocabulis exculta eft." Thus, for example, we know that the kingdom of Egypt was founded by Mizraim, fo early as the year 2288 before Chrift; but we do not find that the Egyptians had any letters among them, till they were faid to have been invented by Memnon in 1822, i. e. 466 years after the founding of their monarchy: but can we fuppofe, that they were all that time without a language? certainly not:-thus likewife we find that Greece was colonized from Egypt, under Egialeus, in the year 2079; but letters were not brought into Greece by Cadmus from Phoenicia, till the year 1450, i. e. 629 years after their establishment: and lastly, with refpect to the Hebrews, we find that Eber was born 2281 years before Chrift; but we do not find that they had any letters till the time of Mofes, who was born in 1571, and was 80 years old at the Exodus; after which, he received the two Tables of the law on Mount Sinai; i. e. from the birth of Eber, 790 years.-But Sammes, p. 428, fays, "I am fure, Scaliger, Voffius, Grotius, and the common confent of the critics, make the prefent Hebrew character of no higher date than the days of Efdra:"-now Efdra is known to have lived in the time of Artaxerxes; i. e. only 457, or, according to Rollin, 467 years before Chrift; which is no less than 1100 years after the birth of Mofes ;-then in what character and language did Mofes write his Pentateuch particularly after he himself had been brought up in all the learning of the Egyptians; among whom the Ifraelites had fojourned for 430 years before he conducted them out of the land of Egypt nay, what is still more remarkable, Sammes tells us, in p. 149, that "Saron, the third king of the Britains and Celts in this ifland, reduced the laws and conftitutions of his father and grandfather into one volume; and is faid to have erected public places for ftudents :"-this Saron he tells us died 1936 years before Chrift, which is 114 years before letters are faid to have been invented by Memnon; 365 before Mofes; and 1469 before the times of Efdras; if there be any truth in Sammes' author, who is quoted likewife by Selden. 1 Cæterum, fays Cafaubon, p. 413, de primævâ illâ lingua, ut pauca quædam etiam hic dicam : minimè eorum proba mihi videtur fententia, qui Hebraicam hanc fuiffe ftatuunt; à quâ illi, non modo omnes alias per totum terrarum orbem linguas, fed noftram quoque Germanicam, i. e. Celticam, derivatam arbitrantur. *To folve this point, Cafaubon, p. 163, fays, “Hebræi certe in Ægypto per trecentos plus minus annos, primo hofpites, deinde fervi, propriam linguam, puram, illibatamque (uno fortaffe, aut altero verbo, quo linguam fuam locupleterunt, excepto) confervarunt:"-and then, which is very remarkable, he immediately adds, " iidem in Babylonia non toris centum annis captivi, adeo patriam linguam dedicerunt, ut interpretibus, quod ex facrâ difcimus hiftoriâ, opus haberent, cùm Hebræa legerent.” and, and, 4. Eber, the fon of Selah:-but Mizraim, the founder of the Egyptian monarchy, was defcended likewife from the fame patriarch in only the fecond generation; viz. 1. Ham, being another fon of Noah; and, 2. Mizraim, the fon of Ham:-nay, even Nimrod, the founder of the Babylonian kingdom in Chaldea, was prior to Eber; for he was defcended likewife from the fame patriarch, in only the third generation; viz. 1. Ham, being the fon of Noah; 2. Cush, the son of Ham; and, 3. Nimrod, the fon of Cufh: fo that their generations and establishments may be more vifibly deduced from the four following Tables, taken from the chronological index to the Holy Bible. the Hebrew or Phenician, any more than I do of the Egyptian, Coptic, Arabic, Syriac, or Chaldæan languages; from every one of which, no doubt, the Greeks took many words, and tranfplanted them into their own tongue *: whatever connexions therefore we may have had with the Hebrew, Phenician, or with any other of the Eastern nations, they have been derived to us thro' the channel of thofe traders, and the Greek and Roman writers. Let me then only add a few reflexions on the antiquity of the Hebrew tongue. Whenever we speak of the Hebrew, we mean the language, unconnected with writing; for undoubtedly the language itself, like that of all others, must have been many centuries prior to the invention and ufe of those letters, or marks, that characterise the writings of their authors; because we must naturally fuppose, that the first ages of mankind could fpeak, before they could write †. Now it is generally fuppofed, that the Hebrew is the most antient language; but how it can clame a priority over the Chaldean, Syrian, and Egyptian, would perhaps be no very eafy tafk to fhew. The earliest mention made in fcripture of the Hebrews is in Gen. x. 21, where Shem is called the father of the children of Eber; i. e. the Hebrews were defcended in the third generation from Shem, who was the great-grandfather of Eber, who must confequently have been defcended from Noah in the fourth generation; viz. 1. Shem, being the son of that patriarch; 2. Arphaxad, the fon of Shem; 3. Selah, the fon of Arphaxad; Meric Cafaubon de Quatuor linguis, p. 19, quotes his father Ifaac in thefe words; "Nos autem. obfervamus, in antiquiffimis quibufque Græcorum fcriptoribus, multa vocabula Hebraica, quæ poftea vel defierunt effe in ufu, vel admodum funt mutata: obfervamus etiam Afiaticos Græcos magis 'Eifer, quam Europæos:"-and Sheringham, in his Preface, fays, " initio quidem ipfa Græca lingua rudis, inopfque fuit, fed decurfu temporis, ab Hebræis, aliifque gentibus mutuatis vocabulis exculta eft." Thus, for example, we know that the kingdom of Egypt was founded by Mizraim, fo early as the year 2288 before Chrift; but we do not find that the Egyptians had any letters among them, till they were faid to have been invented by Memnon in 1822, i. e. 466 years after the founding of their monarchy but can we fuppofe, that they were all that time without a language? certainly not:-thus likewife we find that Greece was colonized from Egypt, under Egialeus, in the year 2079; but letters were not brought into Greece by Cadmus from Phoenicia, till the year 1450, i. e. 629 years after their establishment: and laftly, with refpect to the Hebrews, we find that Eber was born 2281 years before Chrift; but we do not find that they had any letters till the time of Mofes, who was born in 1571, and was 80 years old at the Exodus; after which, he received the two Tables of the law on Mount Sinai; i. e. from the birth of Eber, 790 years. But Sammes, p. 428, fays, "I am fure, Scaliger, Voffius, Grotius, and the common confent of the critics, make the prefent Hebrew character of no higher date than the days of Efdra:"-now Efdra is known to have lived in the time of Artaxerxes; i. e. only 457, or, according to Rollin, 467 years before Chrift; which is no less than 1100 years after the birth of Mofes ;-then in what character and language did Mofes write his Pentateuch particularly after he himself had been brought up in all the learning of the Egyptians; among whom the Ifraelites had fojourned for 430 years before he conducted them out of the land of Egypt: nay, what is ftill more remarkable, Sammes tells us, in p. 149, that "Saron, the third king of the Britains and Celts in this ifland, reduced the laws and conftitutions of his father and grandfather into one volume; and is faid to have erected public places for ftudents:"-this Saron he tells us died 1936 years before Chrift, which is 114 years before letters are faid to have been invented by Memnon; 365 before Mofes; and 1469 before the times of Efdras; if there be any truth in Sammes' author, who is quoted likewife by Selden. 1 Cæterum, fays Cafaubon, p. 413, de primævâ illâ lingua, ut pauca quædam etiam hic dicam : minimè eorum proba mihi videtur fententia, qui Hebraicam hanc fuiffe ftatuunt; à quâ illi, non modo omnes alias per totum terrarum orbem linguas, fed noftram quoque Germanicam, i. e. Celticam, derivatam arbitrantur. To folve this point, Cafaubon, p. 163, fays, "Hebræi certe in Ægypto per trecentos plus minus annos, primo hofpites, deinde fervi, propriam linguam, puram, illibatamque (uno fortafle, aut altero verbo, quo linguam fuam locupleterunt, excepto) confervarunt:"-and then, which is very remarkable, he immediately adds, iidem in Babylonia non toris centum annis captivi, adeo patriam linguam dedicerunt, ut interpretibus, quod ex facrâ difcimus hiftoria, opus haberent, cùm Hebræa legerent.", and, and, 4. Eber, the fon of Selah:-but Mizraim, the founder of the Egyptian monarchy, was defcended likewife from the fame patriarch in only the fecond generation; viz. 1. Ham, being another fon of Noah; and, 2. Mizraim, the fon of Ham:-nay, even Nimrod, the founder of the Babylonian kingdom in Chaldea, was prior to Eber; for he was defcended likewife from the fame patriarch, in only the third generation; viz. 1. Ham, being the fon of Noah; 2. Cush, the fon of Ham; and, 3. Nimrod, the fon of Cuth: fo that their generations and establishments may be more vifibly deduced from the four following Tables, taken from the chronological index to the Holy Bible. TABLE I. 3. Cainan. 4. Mahalaleel. 5. Jared. 6. Enoch. 7. Methuselah. 8. Lamech. 9. Noah. |