98 NARRATIVE, &c. 



time and by distance, without means of intercommunication, 

 without letters, and without arts. If compared by these prin- 

 ciples there is reason to believe, philologists would find the primi- 

 tive languages of America extremely few, and their grammatical 

 principles, either identical or partaking largely of the same fea- 

 tures. And to this result, the tendency of inquiry on this side the 

 Atlantic is slowly verging, however it may contravene the theo- 

 ries of learned and ingenious philologists in Europe . The inquiry 

 is fraught with deep interest to the philosophical mind ; and it 

 offers a field for intellectual achievement, which it may be hoped 

 will not be left uncultivated by the pens of piety, philosophy, 

 or genius. 



