most copious and the most elegant, some grammarians affirm that the primitives do not exceed three hundred. This however is perhaps below the truth, if we consider that nearly thirty words are required to name the different external parts of the human body; yet those who are acquainted with the composition and derivation of words, will at once perceive, that even from the small number mentioned, some thousands might thus be formed.

Were we to admit, with some philosophers, that different races of men were created in different parts of the earth, our theory of the origin of language would fall to the ground, as we might naturally, if not necessarily conclude, that dissimilar causes would produce dissimilar effects; nor would it be surprising that so great a diversity of languages should now prevail. But believing, as we do, that "God has made of one blood all the nations of men that dwell on the face of the earth," it must follow, that in whatever way language was at first formed, our first parents being in possession of it, their offspring must have spoken as they did, and consequently, while men continued to have intercourse with each other, their language must have been the same.

The particulars recorded in the sacred volume respecting the Antediluvians are few; and nothing is mentioned of a change of language till after the deluge. From the account given by Moses, it is generally believed that the present diversity of lan

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guages is owing to a miraculous interposition of Providence at the building of Babel; and certainly the language employed on the occasion naturally leads to such a conclusion. It is, however, a well known fact, that long after the period in question, the same language, or different dialects of the same language, prevailed, from the Gulf of Persia to the Straits of Gibraltar, and from the south point of Arabia to the Black Sea. This circumstance has led some commentators to conclude, that the confusion of tongues mentioned in the book of Genesis was temporary, or that it must be understood figuratively, as implying that discord was disseminated in their councils, to make them desist from an enterprise which was in its nature contrary to the will of Heaven.

Whatever were the effects of the building of Babel on the language of men, every one at all acquainted with the nature of language, and with the history of mankind, must perceive, that the languages of different nations must, of necessity, have become as different as they now are, though no such event had ever happened.

Whilst men continued to form one society, they would of course employ the same words, but when their numbers greatly increased, they must have separated for their mutual convenience; and as new objects were presented to those who had settled in different quarters, they could not, unless directed by some supernatural power, have made choice of the

same terms to express these accessions to their knowledge.

The words which they had in common, before their separation from the parent society, would, no doubt, be retained by each party; but as they gradually advanced in arts and knowledge, new words would be introduced, and even those which they possessed originally, would probably be pronounced so differently by succeeding generations, in the different places, that they would no longer be recognized as having the same origin. As a proof of this, it may be mentioned, that the English noun door, the German noun thur, the English preposition through, and the adjective thorough, are originally the same word with a different pronunciation, spelling, and application. Wars and their attendant changes would also contribute to the same end. The conquerors and the conquered living together, their respective dialects would necessarily be so blended, as to produce a language different from that of either. In proportion as these changes were more frequent, languages would become still more dissimilar in their vocables and constructions.

In this view of the changes of language, there is nothing chimerical. It is fully illustrated by an acquaintance with the history of the modern languages of Europe. Thus, the German, the Dutch, the Danish, the Swedish, the Icelandic, and the AngloSaxon, are only different dialects of the Gothic; a

language of Asiatic origin, which can still be recognized in the various languages, to which it has given birth. Circumstances of the kind that have been mentioned, have produced a very considerable diversity, but even after the lapse of many centuries, they possess a sufficient resemblance to prove their original affinity. In like manner, the languages at present spoken in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France, are modifications and combinations of the Latin, and the languages of the people that originally inhabited these

countries.

OF THE ORIGIN OF WRITING AND PRINTING.

IN considering the progress of language, our attention has hitherto been chiefly directed to the method of communicating our ideas by means of articulate sounds. We are thus enabled to enjoy the refined delight of a rational interchange of thought, when in company with others who speak the same language as ourselves; but great as are the advantages of oral communication, they sink into insignificance when brought into a comparison with those of that art by which we hold communion with our friends, though living in the remotest parts of the globe, and by which we become acquainted with the sentiments and the actions of the greatest, the wisest, and the best of

men, in whatever period of time, or in whatever part

of the world, they may have existed.

"Great was his genius, most sublime his thought,

Who first the curious art of writing taught ;

This image of the voice did man invent

To make thought lasting, reason permanent;
Whose softest notes in secrecy can roll,

And spread deep mysteries from pole to pole."

To whom we are indebted for the invention of the art of writing, or by what means it has attained its present state of perfection, it seems impossible to ascertain. The idea of adopting a few marks, to present to the eye, and through that medium to the mind, every possible combination of thought, seems, to those who are acquainted with it, so simple, and is at the same time so wonderful, that many have doubted whether human ingenuity unaided by supernatural influence, could ever have made the important discovery. It is possible to conceive that a man of more than ordinary observation may have discovered, that in the various articulations of human speech the organs employed assume a limited number of positions, and that these positions might be indicated by individual marks. Thus in pronouncing the word be the lips are first pressed together for the consonant and then opened in a peculiar manner for the vowel; and a mark being adopted for each, it might thus be intimated that such positions of the organs were to take place, and the placing of them