838 Tables of Comparative Philology. QNo. 1 42. 



1. To insert no word except on the authority of standard Phi- 

 lological works, as " Bopp's Vergleichende Grammatik," or Comparative 

 Grammar of the Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Lithuanian, Sclavonian, Go- 

 thic and German languages ; " Eichhoff's Parallele des langues de 

 l'Europe et de l'lnde;" "Vans Kennedy's Researches into the origin 

 and affinity of the principal languages of Europe and Asia;" " Pri- 

 chard's Eastern origin of the Celtic nations;" and many other publi- 

 cations. 



2. Those words are considered as cognate, which are similar, or 

 nearly similar in sound and meaning. Though sometimes the significa- 

 tions be not precisely the same, yet the difference is only such as 

 might arise from a natural connection of ideas. Thus " the Sanskrit 

 kuma, a lake, and Kvju,a, a wave ; stoma the head and oro/xa, the 

 mouth; balam, an army, and helium, war, are clearly identical terms." 

 As no two nations ever had exactly the same alphabetical and gram- 

 matical systems, it is evident that words in passing from one into the 

 other, must have undergone some change in their consonants and vowels. 

 Sir W. Jones himself, who was a very cautious Etymologist, has ob- 

 served : " We know, a posteriori, that both jitz and hijo, by the 

 nature of two several dialects, are derived from filius ; that uncle 

 comes from avus : and stranger from extra; that Jour is deducible, 

 through the Italian, from dies ; and rossignol from luscinia." Ety- 

 mological studies have been fixed on a firm basis by the Germans, and 

 are conducted on ascertained principles. The great philological law 

 by which modern Etymologists are guided, is, that no permutation of 

 letters is allowed arbitrarily, it must be sanctioned by the usage and 

 genius of the languages compared. Sir I. Newton, by applying the 

 principles of the inductive philosophy to the material world, disclosed 

 the arcana of nature's laws. Cuvier acted on the same system in his 

 researches into Comparative Anatomy ; and Bopp has succeeded equally 

 well by grounding his rules for Comparative Philology on the broad basis 

 of groups of languages. Who would suppose at first sight, that stranger 

 is connected Etymologically with the Greek £/c ; here is the inductive 

 process; with zk, eE is cognate, then the Latin ex, extra, extraneus, the 

 old French estranger, modernFrench etranger, and English stranger. 

 The French eveque and English Bishop have not one letter the same, 

 yet they are both acknowledged to be derived from the Greek ziriaKOTroq. 



