There are eight languages in the bounds of Christian civilisation that
may be accounted powerful, because they are the tongues of vigorous
people; they are the English, Russian, German, French, Spanish, Italian,
Portuguese, and Scandinavian. But of these all are indigenous, except
the English, so that they die if transplanted. Look at this country and
behold what a cemetery it is for languages. Once the French had strong
hold and promised to abide here; but it is now nearly gone, even from the
state of Louisiana and Canada, the last places of retreat.
If we take note of the population according to these several languages,
we shall see the prophetic future of the English. It is spoken by about
ninety millions, Russian seventy-five, German fifty-six, French forty,
Spanish thirty-eight, Italian twenty-nine, Portuguese fourteen, and
Scandinavian nine. Within the control of the governments of these
languages we find England to have rule over 255,000,000 people, who do
not as yet speak English, and we find that the other seven have only
seventy-five millions outside of themselves. Here is an important
difference. If we look at them by territorial limits, leaving out
Russia, we find the English language to own 13,382,686 square miles,
Germany 449,684, French 571,578, Spanish 4,694,811, Italian 114,466,
Portuguese 4,028,311, and Scandinavian 1,308,830. The aggregate number
of square miles possessed by these six languages, is 11,167,620, which
altogether, you see, own 2,215,066 miles square less than the English.
The balance itself is more than Germany, France, and Spain put together.
The English language is divided only into two governments, but the other
six are divided into twenty-six, all of which governments are bitter one
toward the other; each trying to supplant one another, while England and
the United States are at peace, and will ever remain so. In one hundred
years from now the English language will be spoken by a thousand million
people. Thus we need no stretch of fancy to see that what the prophet
speaks of in the text will be accomplished in due time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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