182 Proceedings of learned Societies. 



that, in all probability, such knowledge must, in those times, have 

 been very generally diffused. 



Of all sciences, natural history is one of observation. To 

 lock it up, therefore, in a dead language, or to give it less cur- 

 rency among the rural part of the population, whose business is 

 with the operations of nature, is to confine it within the bounds 

 of the closet. For the want of names, the attention of the Eng- 

 lish scholar is not arrested, or he has no means of recording his 

 observations ; and the learned, pent up in cities, or only making 

 an occasional excursion out of them, turn their more copious vo- 

 cabulary to less account, and their faculty of observation to such 

 trifling and minute particulars as their studies will afford. 



The great storehouse of botanical and zoological names is 

 still to be found in the writings of the Greeks. Among them 

 learning and science, philosophy and poetry, went hand in hand. 

 The people were taught every thing ; natural history was dif- 

 fused ; and they have handed down, for our use, a stock of names 

 which no other language can equal. 



It may, perhaps, remain doubtful, whether the old English 

 names are not too much forgotten to be revived ; and whether it 

 is not now, in many cases, as easy to establish the foreign names. 

 Still there would remain much that might be fam.iliarised to the 

 English scholar, by the use of his native language. 



Among living languages, ours is admirably adapted for the 

 teaching of sciences, in which new terms are requisite. Foreign 

 words are easily engrafted or transplanted into it. It allows of 

 a great variety of compounds and diminutives, and those termi- 

 nating either as substantives, adjectives, verbs or participles, 

 both active and passive. It has been asserted by competent 

 judges, that it is in these respects as accommodating as the La- 

 tin, and not much less so than the Greek., To the honour of 

 the late President of the Linnean Society, he did much to fa- 

 miliarize the recondite language of botany to the English stu- 

 dent. The probability is, that naturalists will very soon be 

 forced to adopt their native language as a vehicle of communi- 

 cation. Our popular schools, universities, gardens and publica- 

 tions, all tend this way. 



Such an occurrence need not prevent the learned of all na- 

 tions from still holding intercourse ; and it would throw open to 



