ON A DOMINANT LANGUAGE FOR SCIENCE. 243 



tious in French. If English or American publishers would adopt the 

 idea of having translations made into their language of the best works 

 that appear in Russian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, &c., they would satisfy 

 a public dispersed over the whole Viorld, and particularly the numerous 

 Germans who understand English. Yet we are but at the beginning of 

 the numerical preponderance of the English-speaking populations. 



The nature of a language does not, at first sight, appear to have very 

 great influence on its diffusion. French was preferred for two centu- 

 ries; and yet Italian was quite as clear, more elegant, more harmonious, 

 had more affinity with Latin, and, for a length of time, had possessed a 

 remarkable literature. The number, the activity of the French, and the 

 geographical position of their country were the causes of their prepon 

 derance. Yet the qualities of a language, especially those preferred by 

 the moderns, are not without their influence. At the present time brief- 

 ness, clearness, grammatical simplicity are admired. Nations, at least 

 those of our Indo-European race, began by speaking in an obscure, 

 complicated manner; in advancing they have simplified and made their 

 language more ])recise. Sanscrit and Basque, two very ancient lan- 

 guages, are exceedingly complicated. Greek and Latin are so in less 

 degree. The languages derived from Latin are clothed in clearer and 

 simpler forms. I do not know how philosophers explain the phenomenon 

 of the complication of language at an ancient period ; but it is un- 

 questionable. It is more easy to understand the subsequent simplifica- 

 tions. When a more easy and convenient method of acting or speaking 

 has been arrived at, it is naturally preferred. Besides, civilization en- 

 courages individual activity ; and this necessitates short words and short 

 sentences. The progress of the sciences, the frequent contact of per- 

 sons speaking diflerent languages, and who find a difficulty in under- 

 standing each other, lead to a more and more imperious need for clear- 

 ness. You must have received a classical education to avoid the per- 

 ception of absurdity in the construction of an ode of Horace. Translate 

 it literally to an uneducated workman, keeping each word in its place, 

 and it will have to him the effect of a building the entrance-door of 

 which is on the third story. It is no longer a possible language, even 

 in poetry. 



Modern languages have not all, to the same degree, the advantages 

 now demanded, of clearness, simplicity, and briefness. 



The French language has shorter words and less complicated verbs 

 than the Italian ; this in all probability has contributed to its success. 

 The German has not undergone the modern revolution by which each 

 sentence or portion of a sentence begins with the principal word. Words 

 are also cut in two, and the fragments dispersed. It has three genders, 

 whereas French and Italian have but two. The conjugations of many 

 verbs are rather complicated. Nevertheless, modern tendencies weigh 

 with the Germans, and it is evident that their language is becoming a 

 little modified. Scientific authors especially exert themselves to attempt 



