49 
I 
adopted that opinion. Comparative 
Philology has always confirmed pt. 
The results of the most extensive 
researches have proved, 
I. That words are the elements of 
languages. 
% That the names given to the 
most common and obvious objects 
are their first elements, and the least 
subject to variations. 
S. That words resembling each 
other more or less are the links uni- 
ting the dialects and languages, into 
groups or clusters. 
4. That these words must be such 
as apply to the same objects, or are 
synonymous in many cases. 
5. That Syntax and Grammar or 
the modes in which words are modi- 
fied and combined are subservient 
to the radical or elementary words, 
and thus of much less relative im- 
portance. 
To these obvious results and rules, 
I add three others which I have my- 
self ascertained. 
1. That a small number of these 
words taken almost at random in 
two languages or dialects, are suffi- 
cient to indicate their degree of ana- 
logy, without puzzling ourselves 
with comparing all the words of 
both, which may often be impos- 
sible. 
2. That the degree of similarity, 
analogy or affinities between 2 or 
more languages ought to be express- 
ed numerically. 
3. That when needful to pursue 
the enquiry still further or very mi- 
nutely, the deviations or variations 
of sounds in the compound words 
might be divided into 5 or 10 series 
of successive or combined changes, 
additions or elision of sounds and 
letters^ whose numbers should ex- 
press the analogy, and by a division 
of the total by 5 or 10, the whole 
numerical and strict amount of iden- 
tity is ascertained. 
To prove the correct principle of 
these rules, without enlarging much 
the subject, I shall merely select 
as an example and illustration the 
cardinal numbers in 2 well known 
languages, English and French, so 
as to proceed from the known to 
the unknown, as always desirable in 
science. 
I have discovered and applied a 
strict formula to fulfil these indica- 
tions, and have thus almost reduced 
Philology and Ethnology to a mathe- 
matical demonstration of combined 
or compound affinities. I call it the 
Synoremic formula , or the* Numeri- 
cal and Analogical Rule. Thus, 
Problem . A number whatever of 
elementary words in two dialects or 
languages being known, to find what 
is their numerical degree of mutual 
analogy or reciprocal affinities. v 
Answer or Solution . Compare 
each word, count those which are 
alike or similar; their amount is the 
numerical degree of affinity when 
compared with the whole amount of 
given words. 
Examples. Let 10 words be com- 
pared, if two are found similar, the 
result will be 2 in 10 == 20 per cent. 
If 45 words are compared and 20 
found similar, the result is 20 in 45 
= 44\ per cent. 
Till now Philologists in compar- 
ing languages had omitted to state 
upon- how many words they had 
operated. By attending to this im- 
portant basis of their labours, we 
shall achieve a great improvement, 
and give a kind of mathematical 
certainty to the whole. 
I shall not pursue now this for- 
mula upon the plan of my 3d rule, 
so as to find the numerical degree of 
identity of two languages, as it re- 
quires many explanations; but the 
mode, problem, answer and exam- 
ples are upon the same principle. 
Let us apply it to the cardinal 
numbers in English and French, re- 
membering that these two languages 
are double in form, having each a 
written and a spoken dialect: the 
spoken form will be written on the 
principles of universal and strict 
phonology, as far as our letters and 
signs in use allow it. 
