Philological Proofs of the Original Unity and Recent Origin of the Human RaceJohnes, Arthur James
History
Philological Proofs of the Original Unity and Recent Origin of the Human Race
Johnes, Arthur James
Ethnology; Human beings -- Origin; Language and languages; Monogenism and polygenism
Jugum, “_A Yoke_ and A Hill,” (_Latin_,) Cadair Idris, “The chair of
Idris,” A Fabulous Giant and Astronomer, (_Welsh_,) are instances of
metaphors of a different kind. But generally names of hills are traceable
as above described, and are therefore mere forms of terms belonging to the
first class.
4. That terms of this Class, viz.: Words descriptive of the Operations and
Emotions of the Mind, consist of metaphors derived from words originally
appropriated to physical objects and agencies, has been indisputably
proved by the celebrated French writer, Court Ghebelin, and by Horne
Tooke, whose researches were applied to the analysis of the English
language only. Words appropriated to the members of the Human Frame and
their Functions, and other terms of the First CIass, are the chief sources
of these metaphorical terms.
This philological maxim was supposed by some of the most eminent of those
writers by whom it was established, to furnish an argument in favour of
the doctrines of Materialism, as when, for example, the English word
“Spirit” was derived from the Latin word for “Breath,” Spiritus. But the
premises do not appear to furnish any solid support to the inferences they
were thought to favour. The same Consciousness which in this case, and in
other similar instances, perceives an analogy, perceives also that the
connexion is one of analogy only. The true explanation of the relations
which exist between these two classes of words may, I conceive, be derived
from the consideration, that though Man is endowed with moral and
intellectual, as well as with perceptive, faculties,—inasmuch as the
perceptive powers are earliest exercised,—the language of his higher
sentiments consists of metaphors thence borrowed. “The Hand,” in like
manner, as may be inferred from several examples which occur in the course
of this work, has, in many instances, metaphorically given names to some
of the less conspicuous bodily organs of perception. At the same time, the
soundness of the philological principle developed by Ghebelin and Horne
Tooke can not reasonably be disputed. In these pages will be found
numerous illustrations of its truth. Moreover it will appear that this
principle forms the basis of some of the most convincing proofs—that
languages afford—of the common origin of nations very remotely situated
from each other, as of the Welsh and English, for example, with the
Hebrew, and other ancient Syro-Phœnician nations.
5. As regards Pronouns and other Grammatical Forms.
Pronouns enter very largely into the composition of languages, not merely
in a separate form, but also as the source from which the most striking
peculiarities of other parts of grammar have been derived. It has been
shown by Dr. Prichard that the various inflections which distinguish the
different persons of the Verb in the Latin and Sanscrit, and other
highly-complicated languages of the same class, are identical with
pronouns.
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