It is clear, even from a short consideration of these forms, first, that all are but varieties of one common type; secondly, that it is impossible to consider any one of these six paradigms as the original from which the others had been borrowed. To this we may add, thirdly, that in none of the languages to which these verbal forms belong, do we find the elements of which they could have been composed. If we find such forms as _j’ai aimé_, we can explain them by a mere reference to the radical means which French has still at its command, and the same may be said even of compounds like _j’aimerai_, i.e. _je-aimer-ai_, I have to love, I shall love. But a change from _je suis_ to _tu es_ is inexplicable by the light of French grammar. These forms could not have grown, so to speak, on French soil, but must have been handed down as relics from a former period—must have existed in some language antecedent to any of the Roman dialects. Now, fortunately, in this case, we are not left to a mere inference, but as we possess the Latin verb, we can prove how, by phonetic corruption, and by mistaken analogies, every one of the six paradigms is but a national metamorphosis of the Latin original. “Let us now look at another set of paradigms:— _Sanskrit._ _Zend._ _Old Slavonic._ _Gothic._ _Lithuanian._ _Doric._ _Latin._ _Armen._ I am ásmi esmi ahmi ἐμμι yesmě sum im em Thou art ási essi ahi ἐσσὶ yesi es is es He is ásti esti asti ἐστί yestǒ est ist ê We (two) are ’svás esva yesva siju You (two) are ’sthás esta stho? ἕστόν yesta sijuts They (two) are ’stás (esti) sto? ἐστόν yesta We are ’smás esmi hmahi ἐσμές yesmǒ sumus sijum emq You are ’sthá este stha ἐστέ yeste estis sijup êq They are sánti (esti) hěnti ἐντί somtě sunt sind en “From a careful consideration of these forms, we ought to draw exactly the same conclusions; firstly, that all are but varieties of one common type; secondly, that it is impossible to consider any of them as the original from which the others have been borrowed; and thirdly, that here again, none of the languages in which these verbal forms occur possess the elements of which they are composed.” All these languages resemble each other so closely that they point to some more ancient language which was to them what Latin was to the six Romance languages; and in the same way we are justified in supposing that all the classes of the vertebrate animals point to the existence of some elder type, now extinct, from which they were all developed.