248 THEORr of the 



That this has taken place, to a certain degree, in many- 

 languages, and to a very great degree in fome, cannot be dis- 

 puted. In Greek, for example, we can, with the greateft eafe, 

 refer fome thoufands of words (counting every variation by 

 inflection, by augment, or by compofition, as a different word) 

 to one fimple root, fuch as Xey. 



In fome languages, it feems probable that the ufual progrefs 

 and improvement has not taken place, they remaining very long 

 in a monofyllabic ftate. This has certainly been the cafe with 

 the Chinefe language, for fome thoufands of years ; probably, 

 in part at lead, the confequence of that great, civilized and 

 ingenious people perfifting in the ufe of hieroglyphic characters, 

 immediately fignificant of thought, without any direct relation to 

 audible words, like the Indian figures that we ufe in common 

 arithmetic, and never adopting the noble invention of alpha- 

 betic characters, directly expreilive only of founds, the combi- 

 nations of which founds are immediately fignificant of thought. 



But fome ingenious men have been of opinion, confirmed, 

 as it is faid, by actual obfervations of the languages of fome 

 very rude nations, efpecially in America, that fome languages 

 at lead:, perhaps all, were, in a very early period, polyfyllabic 

 to a moft inconvenient degree m , the words of them being very 

 long, and fignificant of very complicated meanings, like 

 phrafes or whole fentences of ours. It has been thought, that 

 thefe unwieldy long words may have been gradually broken 

 down into fhorter, and even into monofyllables ; which, in a 

 further progrefs, might be varied again by inflection and other- 

 wife. 



It is certainly conceivable, and not very improbable, that 

 mankind, in their firft rude attempts towards forming a lan- 

 guage, might not perceive the vaft advantage to be gained by 

 fubdividing, and breaking down as it were, the great mafs of 

 thought which they conceived, and wifhed to communicate. 

 They might attempt to give utterance by one word to all the 



mafs 



