COMPARATIVE PHILOLOGY. 251 



involves one of phylogeny, the matter does acquire con- 

 siderable interest in relation to our subject. 



Turning, then, from the classification of language-types to 

 their phylogeny, no one disputes that what I have called the 

 sub-order Incorporating is genetically connected with the 

 order Agglutinative ; or that the sub-order Analytic is 

 similarly connected with the order Inflectional. Indeed, 

 these sub-orders are merely branches of these two respective 

 trunks. The question before us, therefore, reduces itself to 

 the relations between the three orders inter se^ and also 

 between the polysynthetic type and Order II. I will deal 

 with these two cases separately. 



On the one hand it is argued that the isolating, monosyl- 

 labic, or " nursery " type of speech must be regarded as the 

 most primitive — in fact, that it presents to actual observation 

 the continued "survival" of that embryonic or "radical" 

 stage of development out of which all the subsequent growths 

 of language have arisen. Again, the proved fact of agglutina- 

 tion is seen to represent a long course of development, wherein 

 words previously isolated were run together into compounds 

 for the purpose of securing that higher differentiation of 

 language-growth which we know as parts of speech. Simi- 

 larly, the inflectional stage is taken to have been a further 

 elaboration of the agglutinative, in the manner already ex- 

 plained ; while, lastly, the use of auxiliary words in analytic 

 tongues is regarded as the final consummation of language- 

 growth. 



The theory thus briefly sketched is still maintained by 

 many philologists ; and, indeed, in some of its parts is not a 

 theory at all, but a matter of demonstrable fact. Thus, it is 

 manifestly impossible that the phenomena of agglutination 

 can be presented before there are elements to agglutinate : 

 these elements, therefore, must have preceded that process of 

 fusion wherein the " genius " of agglutinated speech consists. 

 Similarly, of course, agglutination must have preceded the 

 inflection of already agglutinated words ; while the use of 



