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Rev. S. Wajlnwright, D.D.— Among those referred to by Mr. Howard 
in his valuable paper are the Pelasgi, and after a reference to Herodotus he 
says, research tends to “ connect ” the Welsh with this vanished nation — you 
will observe he does not use the word “ identify,” as some rather enthusiastic 
writers have ; — but this connection of later nations with the earlier is one of 
the not least interesting of the obvious results of studies of this kind, which 
also show a common origin in respect to religious usages that have sprung 
from religious beliefs, while in the next place they lead us to a consideration 
of what have been the results of the migrations of different members of the 
human family ; results which have led a man like Professor Rawlinson to 
say that the tenth chapter of Genesis is our “ sheet-anchor ” after all, in 
investigating questions as to the human family, where we note that one 
branch being pastoral settled here, another with different tendencies went 
to another region, &c. ; and not only do we note that tendencies of this kind 
were in operation, but that they were favoured by the necessities, urgencies, 
and exigencies of the time about which nations were divided into peoples 
and among the lands after their tongues. I hope, therefore, that .what might 
be otherwise regarded as Mr. Howard’s dry linguistic notes will be seized 
on by readers as furnishing a terminus a quo from which we may push our 
researches. With regard to the Welsh language, there are those who would 
pull down a church, though they could not, to save their souls, build up a 
hovel, and I must say that attempts to eradicate the Welsh language are 
not to the advantage of civilization. To those engaged in philological 
research the Welsh language is of inestimable value as affording a landmark 
in the history of the world. It has the distinctive features of an original 
language ; the names of things not indigenous have quasi-European names ; 
whilst those which are indigenous are indigenous to the language itself. It 
is not so even with Hebrew, which consists of elements derived from other 
languages and at remote dates. Going back to the question of the Pelasgi, 
we find they came from the East, and if we read what Lightfoot says about 
an immigration from Chaldea to the shores of the Black Sea, we shall see that 
in the Galat or Kelti we have the Celts or Cymri of the present day. You 
have traces of this idea in the “ Old Testament ” where the pillar dividing 
the possessions of Jacob from those of Laban was called Galeed by the one 
and Jegar-sahadutha by the other. For Abraham and Laban spoke the 
language of Mesopotamia ; but Abraham having gone to the Canaanitish 
region, and adopted the language he found there, Jacob was born and bred 
to use the language which his father and mother had used, namely, that which 
we call Hebrew. Mr. Howard alludes to the Pythagorean system, and also 
to that of the Gnostics ; may I say in regard to the Gnostics of our day that 
there is no dictum of modern gnosticism more misleading than that which 
asserts, “ Law does this,” “ Law does that.” Law never caught a thief and 
never hanged a murderer : it is the power at the back of law which incites 
law to this or that end. Let us have done with all this ; and we shall have 
done with it as we fall back on the simplicity of that first faith which is 
at the root of all Religion. (Applause.) 
