VIROIMA. THE PROPER NAME OF THE V. STATES. 159 



was of posteri<ir origin. It is true, Heber dwelt in Mesopotamia, the an- 

 cient Sliinar, anil must have spoken one of the languages of the confu- 

 sion, subsequently modified by the peculiar circumstances in which the 

 Hebrews were placed. 



In relation to the diversity of languages, upon the .supposition of an 

 original unity, the learned differ. Some assert contidently, that from the 

 examination of languages, the separation among mankind is shown to 

 have been violent. Not indeed that they voluntarily changed their lang- 

 uage, but that they were rudely and suddenly divided from one anoth- 

 er. (Herder.) 



Others, and among them Noah Webster, regard such a supposition 

 unnecessary, believing that the differences originated in the natural course 

 of events. Both unquestionably are true. Concerning the dispersion, 

 there can be no doubt, because it is sustained by divine authority. Con- 

 cerning the progressive changes, history and experience furnish suffi- 

 cient evidence. A comparison of our own language, as it now exists, 

 and in the days of Chaucer, will be sufficient. Some words become 

 obsolete, new words are coined. New modes of pronunciation and of 

 spelling are introduced. Words lose their original and obtain a new 

 signification, whilst other words are variously compounded, and chang- 

 ed by prefixes and suffixes. 



VIRGINIA, THE PROPER NATIONAL NAME FOR THE U. STATES OP 

 N. AMERICA. 



In the first No. of the Linnaean .Journal, Prof. Haldeman, in a very 

 interesting paper, proposes Hesperia, as a distinctive name for the U. 

 States. With the reasons there assigned for the assumption of a dis- 

 tinctive name for this confederation we are perfectly satisfied. Certainly 

 it is high time that we, who have so long taken our stand among the 

 nations of the earth, should have a National name. "The United States," 

 is not only an inconvenient phrase but it conveys no distinct idea. "Of 

 what country are you a citizen r" inquires a foreigner of one of our 

 travellers. Upon being told, of the United States, he asks again, "Of 

 what United States .^" and if he is told "of the United States of North 

 America," he may be asked if he resides in Mexico } But if we call 

 ourselves Americans, that term is o(|ually objectionable, as it is equally 

 descriptive of a dozen different nations. 



But I am not satisfied with the name IIesperia, which Prof. Halde- 

 man proposes as our cognomen. My principal objections to this are 

 two : 1st, it has already been appropriated to other nations ; and 2d, it 



