100 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CANADIAN INSTI'l'Ui K. 



the qualifying adverbs had come into use, some youth in whom the- 

 linguistic instinct was particuhirly strong, woukl hit upon a compen- 

 dious mode of expressing the sense of these qualifying words, not by 

 incorporating them with the verb or the noun, but by changing the 

 vowel of the verb or the noun to correspond witli that of the adverb. 

 The difference in the two methods is easily understood, and we can 

 readily see how either of them might occur to an intelligent boy or 

 girl. If bodha signifies " to know," and am or ami is '• I," and an is- 

 " then," the Aryan lad might affix the pi'onoun to the verb, and for 

 "I know," would say succinctly, bodhami, know I. If he wishes to 

 sj^eak of a past time, he will prefix the adverb in an abridged form, 

 and for ease of pi-onunciation will shoi'ten the suffixed pronoun. In- 

 stead of saying an bodhami, "then know I," he will say, bi'iefly, but 

 intelligibly, aboiham, and thus produce the Aryan imperfect with its 

 well-known " augment." Another lad, the leader in a second 

 isolated group, has been accustomed to use the word daraba for 

 " strike " or " struck," in a vague and general sense, with no particu- 

 lar reference to time. He wishes on some occasion to say distinctly,. 

 " now striking." Hu is " now " or " here," and he might say, '' hio 

 daraba ; " but a quick sense of euphony suggests to him the happy 

 idea of changing the vowels of the verb to coiTespond with that of the 

 adverb ; he says, " darubu," or, in an abridged form (with the jiro- 

 noun prefixed) yalrubu, " he is now striking ; " and his companions, 

 witli equally ready apprehension, at once catch his meaning, and con- 

 form to his method of speaking. The germ of a new system of inflec- 

 tion is thus formed, and is quickly developed into a language of the 

 Seuiitic type. This, however, it should be observed, is not the oniv 

 mode in which languages of this type may have originated. As wo 

 shall see presently, there is evidence to show that the method of in- 

 flection by internal vocalic change may have been, in some cases, 

 among the very earliest products of the language-making faculty. 



The logical result to which we are brought by our course ol 

 reasoning is evident enough. The inflections of a language must be 

 coeval with the language itself, and vuist originate loith its first speak- 

 ers. This, as has been seen, is the view of Renan. But no writer 

 lias expressed more clearly and forcibly than Professor Max Miiller 

 the impoi'tant truth, that the mould of each linguistic stock beai's. 

 evidence of bavins; been formed at once for all time. " In the gram.- 



