104 Additional Notes. 



as may, can, shall, all which are pvohably the remains of verhs other- 

 wise obsolete. Lastly, when we recollect, that in the moods and 

 tenses of verbs one word expresses never less than three ideas in our 

 language, and many more in the Greek and Latin ; as besides those 

 three primary ideas the idea of person, and of number, are always 

 expressed in the indicative mood, and other ideas suggested in the 

 other moods, we cannot but admire what excellent abbreviations of 

 language are thus achieved ; and when we observe the wonderful in- 

 tricacy and multiplicity of sounds in those languages, especially in the 

 Greek verbs, which change both the beginning and ending of the ori- 

 ginal word through three voices, and three numbers, with uncounted 

 variations of dialect; we cannot but admire the simplicity of modern 

 languages compared to these ancient ones; and must finally perceive, 

 that all language consists simply of nouns, or names of ideas, disposed 

 in succession or in combination, all of which are expressed by sepa- 

 rate words, or by various terminations of the same word. 



Conclusion. 



The theory of the progressive production of language in the early 

 times of society, and its gradual improvements in the more civilized 

 ones, may be readily induced from the preceding pages. In the com- 

 mencement of Society the names of the ideas of entire things, which 

 it was necessary most frequently to communicate, would first be in- 

 vented, as the names of individual persons, or places, fire, water, 

 this berry, that root ; as it was necessary perpetually to announce, 

 whether one or many of such external things existed, it was soon 

 found more convenient to add this idea of number by a change of ter- 

 mination of the word, than by the addition of another word. 



As many of these nouns soon became general terms, as bird, beast, 

 fish, animal; it was next convenient to distinguish them when used 

 for an individual, from the same word used as a general term ; whence 

 the two articles a and the, in our language, derive their origin. 



Next to these names of the ideas of entire things, the words most 

 perpetually wanted in conversation would probably consist of the 



