Obsei'vations on Language. X$p ^ 



probability derived them, at some period or other in the 

 history of man, from that language : such a fact being 

 hardly attributable to chance. 



What would be true concerning persons,, thus ship- 

 wrecked, must be equiilly true concerning a body of 

 people, separated from a civilized stock, and wandering 

 into a wilderness so far, as to lose their intercourse with 

 that stock. All the effects produced on the state of so- 

 ciety in the case, which I have supposed, would be ef- 

 fected here. Such a colony would lose, ordinarily, the 

 the knowledge of the metals, and of course the employ- 

 ments, and ideas, to which they g-ave birth. Of civil- 

 ized men they would speedily become savages ; and 

 would sink their pastoral, agricultural, and commercial 

 employments, in hunting, fishing, and war. Of course, 

 their language would change in the very manner, which 

 is here supposed. 



The colonies, which emigrated from the family of A'^ 

 ah, were some of them verv difftrentlv situated from 

 others, with respect to the principal subject of this dis- 

 course. Some of these carried with them all their arts 

 and civilization ; and of course their language ; that is, 

 chiefly. Others speedily became mere savages, and 

 hunters; and were the first among mankind, who sus- 

 tained this character : there being no reason to suspect^ 

 that such a state of society, as is usually denominated 

 the hunting,, or savage, state, existed among the antedi- 

 hivians. The language of these colonies underwent the 

 very changes, which have been mentioned above, in the 

 case of the supposed shipwreck. Other coloines, still, 

 in various degrees lost more of their civilization than the 

 former, and less than the latter, of the classes, already 

 specified. These retained their language in different 

 degrees. As these several colonics settled in very dif- 

 ferent countries, and climates, where different sets of 

 objects were presented to their view ; as in these coun- 

 tries they pursued very dilterent employments, and had 

 occasion to communicate very diflferent ideas; the parts 

 of their languages, which were new, must have been 

 very different. In some instances they must have been 

 •almost wholly unlike ; in others very similar. 



