121 ' CoiijeBurcs rrfpeBing the 



an opinion may be, it will flill find defenders : the focond 

 pofition, therefore, alone remains to be examined, viz. that 

 the Americans were tranfplanted to their prefent country 

 from fome other part of the world. 



Not only the divine revelation, by which we are exprefsly 

 taught that the firfl men originated in Alia, but the natural 

 indolence, dtilnefs, and want of all the arts and fciences 

 among the Indians — compared with the genius, livelinefs, 

 and induftry, of the nations in other parts of the world, 

 leave no doubt that the Americans never went out of their 

 own country to a foreign one ; and, on the contrary, that 

 foreign nations vifitcd them. But what nations, and how ? 

 Was it on purpofe, or by accident ? Thefe are difficult 

 queftions, the folution of which would require more than 

 common knowledge of the languages in every part of the 

 world ; of the features of the natives, and their religion, 

 manners, cuftoms, and ufages. It is not requinte, however, 

 that one fhould be acquainted with all the languages in the 

 four quarters of the globe ; it would be fuflicient, at firft, that 

 one fhould be able to compare the languages on the weflern 

 coafr. of Africa with thoi'e of the different countries of 

 America, fuch as Brazil, &c. But, though this would 

 require great labour, it is not impoilible that a vocabulary 

 containing fome hundred words in all the known languages 

 of the world might be collected. Condamine coincides 

 with my opinion when he fays, that this, perhaps, is the 

 only method of difcovering the real origin of the Americans. 

 Such a vocabulary would be much fitter for the purpofe than 

 the Lord's prayer, which has been tranflated into the lan- 

 guages of (b many favage nations ; for, as the favages have 

 few or no words exprefhve of moral or metaphyfical things, 

 bow can this prayer be properly tranflated into their lan- 

 guages r Befides, in learning any thing, people ought always 

 to begin with the eaiiefr. part, and to conclude with the mod 

 difficult ; but here the order prescribed by nature is reverfed. 



In regard to fuch a vocabulary, if, among fome hundred 

 words, a few fhould be found fimilar both in found and fig- 

 nilication to one of fome other language, one ought not 

 thence to conclude that thefe two languages were the fame. 

 Who, for example, will fay that the Latin and Greenlandic 

 languages have an affinity, becaufe the Greenlandic word 

 ignacb has the fame meaning as the Latin word ignis, fire* ? 



On 



* The fame thing. might be faid of the Shnnfcrit, which contains a 



great in.v.iy wottts that both in found and in meaning have a fimila- 



rnv ro the Latin. For example, c/tnetbti, dens, a tooth ; jug a, jugym, a 



; jundla, jun&us, juncia, jundtum, joined i «f**i navis, a fhip ; na- 



