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magnam continentis nostri partem, lingue cujusdam antique, 
latissime fuse, vestigia in linguis hodiernis superesse; cum 
multa sint vocabula que inde ab Oceano Britannico ad 
usque Japonicum protenduntur.—Itaque lingua Hibernica 
refert nobis antiquiores Britannos, et adhuc antiquiores 
Germanos et Gallos. Proinde ex Hibernica antiquissimi 
Celtz in lucem revocabuntur.”—De orig. Gentium. Also, 
that a great modern philologer, Adelung, has arrived at 
similar results from collating the Parsee, Sanscrit, Greek, 
Latin, Sclavonian, and Germanic languages; viz., ‘‘ That 
men of the same race peopled all these countries, previously 
to any historical record.” 
He holds, however, that colonies from Carthage did settle 
in Gaul and Britain, though not in Ireland ; that they spoke 
the Lybian language only, not the Hebrew ; and that this 
language is still in being, though much altered from its origi- 
nal, in the languages of Wales, Cornwall, and Bretagne. 
It ought to be observed that he claims the settlement, 
incidentally, of some points of great interest to, and much 
contested by, antiquarians. 1. The meaning and applica- 
tion of the word Caledonia. 2. Of the Greek and Roman 
name for Carthage. 3. The roots and meaning of the Welch 
names, Menay and Meneu, words which baffled Lhuyd and 
Rowland. 4. The ancient names and uses of Cromlechs. 
He holds that their original purpose was that of hearths or 
bloomeries for the smelting of metals. That Hedar (of 
which he assigns the roots) in Danish Hothr, now Hoath, is 
the same word as erath, arath, hearth,—differing from it 
only in the transposition of the roots. That chabar is but a 
different dialect of the same word, whence the Cabiri, Gue- 
bres, derived their name and ceremonies. Also, that the 
hearth-stone was deified by the Germans, under the name of 
hertha, not terra mater, as Tacitus says, misinformed by 
persons who confounded the Germanic erde and herde, erth 
and herth. 
