speech, but the actual history of man which is recorded in language. I appre- 
hend that the Greek language contains proof that, from the earliest dawn of 
history, the persons who used it were, long previous to their first use of it, a 
civilized race of men. I maintain further, that the changes of that kind in 
language are exceedingly slow. No doubt savages rapidly change their lan- 
guage ; but their languages are not the vehicles of thought, while the Greek 
language contained the whole previous mental history and thought of the 
people using it. The word used by Homer for man shows the civilization of 
the race, and that they had observed that it was one of the prominent features 
of men to speak articulately. We trace a similar progress of language in the 
Saxon and English. We are all aware that the names of living animals in the 
English language are of Saxon origin ; but when we get them in the form of 
meat upon our tables, their names are all of Norman-French origin. Now, 
any one can see at once that it must have required a considerable lapse of 
time for such a change to take place. In the same way we find, with regard 
to the Greek tongue, that whenever it originated, it shows that the Greek 
race must have existed in a previous state of civilization. If we trace 
the Greeks back to their ancestors, the same thing applies ; and whether 
we trace them back to India, or wherever we go, we can find nothing to show 
that they originated in barbarism. We may do the same thing with regard 
to nearly all the civilized races of man, and we arrive in each case at a similar 
conclusion. (Hear, hear.) So far as history guides us, I do not know of any 
testimony whatever to show that during the historical periods any race of men 
whom we should call civilized have acquired their civilization, apart from some 
external agency which has been exerted upon them. Let us look at some of 
the savage races of the ancient world, who were not in that savage state in 
which we now find the savage races of Australia or the more degraded 
types of Africa, but who were still not what we call civilized. The first 
instance of a savage race of which we have any authentic account in history 
is found in the case of Scythians, who invaded Asia in the time of the Lydian 
kings. We get their character from Herodotus, who is certainly not always 
trustworthy, and who is too much in the habit of putting speeches into the 
mouths of persons when there was no reporter present to have reported what 
they said, and which speeches were no doubt composed by himself. Herodotus 
was a man who united in himself a singular, though not uncommon, admixture 
of credulity and scepticism, and no one can read him without being struck 
by that characteristic. Still it must be said for him, that, though he was in 
the habit of giving reports which show the extent of his credulity, he never 
exaggerated what he saw himself. The earliest accounts of the Scythian race 
we find in Herodotus, and then we find them again at the destruction of the 
Roman empire in the time of Attila. They were then existing in a greater 
degree of barbarism than is found in the modern Tartars, my knowledge of 
whom is drawn from the accounts of Hue and Gal4, which, I think, may 
generally be taken as tolerably authentic, so far as the habits and character 
of the people are concerned. There is a considerable admixture of civilization 
among the Tartars of the present day, but they have had a mighty influence 
YOL. 1Y. Q 
