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

C

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.

ON 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.

Picture-writing is thought to have been the first effort of this kind; and from this, it is generally supposed there has been a natural gradation to the alphabetic mode of writing now in use. In all ages, and in almost all countries, some method has been practised of tracing the likeness of sensible objects. It is therefore probable, that this practice might suggest the idea of using such representations, with a view to give information about any particular object But such a mode of communication must have been extremely imperfect; it could only delineate external objects. No passion or emotion of the mind, except in as far as it appears in the countenance, could ever be expressed in this manner; and even in as far as it could, the expression must havę been confined to a single instant; every change of expression or position must have required a new picture.

or event.

Picture-writing, however, is said to have been the only method of recording events or of communicating intelligence, known to the Mexicans at the discovery of America. Montezuma, the prince of Mexico, is

said to have been informed of the arrival of the Spanish fleet, by the drawing of a ship sketched on cloth, and conveyed by a messenger.

This method of preserving knowledge was practised by the ancient Egyptians; and of all the improvements made in it, that made by them, and known by the name of hieroglyphics, was the most celebrated. This abridgment was of three kinds, and, as appears from the greater or less art in the contrivance of each kind, made by just degrees and at three successive periods.

The first way was, to make the principal circumstance of the subject stand for the whole; thus, when they would describe a battle, or two armies in array, they painted two hands, the one holding a shield, and the other a bow; when a siege, a scaling-ladder. The second method of contraction was, putting the instrument of the thing, whether real or metaphorical, for the thing itself: thus, an eye, eminently placed, was meant to represent God's omniscience; an eye and sceptre, a monarch; and a ship and pilot, the Governor of the universe. The third method was, making one thing stand for, or represent another, where any quaint resemblance or analogy in the representative, could be collected from their observ ations of nature, or from their traditional superstitions.