66

The Venus of the Latins is said to be a compound of ben and jus, which literally signify the "first woman, the letter b in Gaelic being softened into v. Edag and dag signify "food." These words are compounded of the Gaelic words ed or eid and ar; the former denotes food simply, and the latter ploughed land. These are the roots of the Greek and Latin words tow, edo; agow, aro. Edge, which signifies "a seat," has an evident reference to food. It is compounded of two Gaelic words ed and ira, which literally signifies "meal-time." Edva, which signifies "the presents which a bridegroom made to his bride," is a compound of two Gaelic words ed and na or nuah, literally signifying "raw food." From ar there are many Greek derivatives. Agga signifies "ploughed land," also "crop of corn;"Agros, "bread." In Gaelic a crop of corn and bread are expressed by arbhar, commonly pronounced arar and aran; all being equally derivatives of the root ar. So the Greek and Latin words agoros, arabilis, "arable;" agorgov, aratrum, a plough;" agorne, arator, "a ploughman," and many others, are evidently derived from the same source. We would not, however, suggest, in conse quence of this coincidence, that either the Greek or Latin languages was derived from the Gaelic; we rather believe that these are remains of a primeval tongue, which are still retained in all the three; and we produce them upon the present occasion as presumptions that the Gaelic is an original, underived language, and of course the most pure and unadulterated relick of the Celtic now existing. If our readers should incline to know more of this subject, they may consult Pezron's Origin of Ancient Nations, Bullet's Mem. de la Langue Celtique, Parson's Rem. of Japhet, Gebelin's Monde prim. &c. When the Celtie language was generally spoken over ness and Europe, it seems to have been amazingly copious. By antiquity of consulting Bullet's Memoires, it appears that its names the Celtic. for the common and various objects of nature were very numerous. The words denoting water, river, wood, forest, mountain, lake, &c. were most precisely accommodated to specify each modification and variety, with such peculiar exactness as even the Greek, with all its boasted idiomatical precision and copiousness, has not been able to equal. The appearances which diversify the visible face of animated nature, arrest the attention of men in an uncultivated state. Unaccustomed to thought and abstract reasoning, their minds expand and exercise their powers upon sensible objects, and of course mark every minutia and almost imperceptible distinction with an accuracy to us seemingly impossible.

210

Copious

We hope it now appears to every reader, that the Celtic was one of the dialects of the primitive language; that it once overspread by far the greatest part of Europe; that the Gaelic now spoken in the northern parts of Scotland and the adjacent islands is the most pure and unmixed relick of that tongue now anywhere existing. We would willingly refer our readers to some well composed grammar of that language; but indeed we know of none that deserves our recommendation. Some years ago we were flattered with the prospect of seeing one published by a gentleman whose deep skill in that language is universally acknowledged. We have likewise

but Celtic

heard of an intended dictionary of the same tongue; hitherto our hopes have been disappointed. We are, however, happy to find that there is now publishing an excellent translation of both the Old and New Testaments into Gaelic, which has hitherto been a desideratum among those who speak this language. Such a translation will at once contribute to preserve that ancient tongue, and disseminate the knowledge of the truth among the natives of that country.

Every assistance towards acquiring the knowledge of a tongue which was once universal over a great part of Europe, will certainly be an acceptable present to the public. The antiquary, who is desirous of tracing the affinity of languages, and wishes to mark the migrations of people, ought certainly to apply himself to the study of its remaining branches; and, if we mistake not, he will soon be convinced, that they all breathe a spirit congenial to the manners and sentiments of a people who are just entering upon the first stage of improvement and civilization.

Language.

211

Gaul and

Perhaps it may be expected, that, before we con- Origin of clude this short sketch of the Celtic tongue, we should the words give some account of the origin of the words Gaul and Gal. Gal, the two names by which this people was distinguished by the Greeks and Romans. Mr M'Pherson imagines, that the appellation of Celt is an adjective derived from Gael, the aboriginal name of the inhabitants of ancient Gaul. For our part, we can see no connection between Gael and Kelt, nor do we think that the latter is an adjective. We believe that those people called themselves Cacl and not Gael. We are sure that Caledonia, or Cal-don or dun, was an ancient name of the mountainous parts of Scotland.

Though many different opinions have been advanced with relation to the etymology of this word, we imagine that none is so probable as that which supposes that it is compounded of the two Celtic words Cal or Kal, that is, "Gal or Gaul," and dun, which signifies " a hill or mountain.” Upon this ground, the Caledonii will import the Gauls of the mountains, or which is the same, the Highland Gauls. The Irish and Highlanders reciprocally denominate themselves by the general title of Cael, Gael, or Gauls. They also distinguish themselves, as the Welsh originally did, and as the Welsh distinguish them both at present, by the appellation of Guidhill, Guethel, and Gathel. thel. The intermediate th, they say, is left quiescent in the pronunciation, as it is in many words of the British language; in which case Gathel would immediately be formed into Gael; and Gathel is actually sounded like Gael by both the Irish and Highlanders at present. The appellation of Gathel, therefore, say they, was originally the same with Gael, and the parent of it. The quiescent letters in British are frequently transferred from the middle to the conclusion of the word; by which manoeuvre, Gathel is changed into Galath, Galat, Galt, and Celt. It is true, that Gael of the continent is universally denominated Galatæ and Celta by the Grecians, and Gallt and Gallia by the Irish. The appellations, therefore, of Gathel-i, Gall-i, Gallat-æ, Calet-es, An-calit-es, and Celt-æ, are all one and the same denomination, only varied by the astonishing ductility of the Celtic, and disguised by the alterations ever incident to a language that has been merely oral for ages.

It may perhaps appear presumptuous in us to dif

fer

Celtic

fer from two such respectable authorities as M'PherLanguage, son and Whitaker: we must, however, acknowledge, that neither the one nor the other appears to us well founded. Besides, they convey no idea of the signification of the words, though in the Celtic language they must have been significant. The name Cael, the same with Gal, was probably giving them in the East from the Greek xaλ, which in many oriental languages denotes fair; and yλaria may be easily derived from yaλ or yaλne, Gal or Galath.—This denomination might be given them by their neighbours, in allusion to their fair complexion.

212 Ancient Gothic.

* Lib. i. cap. 2. + Lib. ii. cap. 23.

$2. Of the Gothic Language.

THE Celtic and Gothic tongues at one time divided Europe between them. Both were of equal antiquiBoth were of equal antiquity, both originated in Asia, both were dialects of the original language of mankind. The Celtic, however, was first imported into Europe. The Gauls or Celts had penetrated farthest towards the west; a circumstance which plainly intimates the priority of their arrival. In the population of countries, we believe it may be held as a maxim, that the colonies who emigrated first were generally impelled by succeeding emigrants; and that of consequence the most early were pushed forward to the parts most distant. The Celts, then, having overspread the most western parts of Europe, must have arrived more early in those regions.

The Goths and Geta were the same race of people, according to Procopius, de bello Goth.; and Strabo + (B) informs us, that they spoke the same language with the Thracians, from whose confines they had spread themselves northward as far as the western banks of the 213 Danube. Vopiscus, in the History of Probus tells us, The same that this emperor ‡ obliged "the Thracians, and all the with the language Getic tribes, either to surrender or accept of his friendof the ship." This expression indicates, that the Thracians Thracians, and the Getic tribes were deemed the same race of Lib. 7. people. From this deduction it is clear, that the Getæ and Thracians were brethren; that they spoke the same language: and that their laws, manners, customs, and religious tenets, were the same, might easily be shown, were this a proper place for an inquiry of that

corresponding with many names in Europe, evidently Gothic imposed by our Gothic progenitors. Any person to- Language. lerably acquainted with the remains of the Gothic tongue, will be able to trace these with little difficulty.

We learn from Herodotus*, that Darius in his * Lib. iv. expedition against the wandering Scythians who lived passim. on the other side of the Ister or Danube, in his progress subdued the Geta; and in the same passage the historian informs us, that these people held the immortality of the human soul, and that they were the bravest and most just of all the Thracians. After this period, we find them mentioned by almost every Greek writer, even familiarly; for Geta, in the comedies of that nation, is a common name for a slave. The Geta then occupied all that large tract of country which extended from the confines of Thrace to the banks of the Danube; were a brave and virtuous people; and spoke the same language with the Thracians, with whom they are often confounded both by Greek and Roman historians.

But the name of Goths is by no means so ancient. It was utterly unknown both to the ancient Greeks and Romans. The first time that the name Goth is mentioned is in the reign of the emperor Decius, about the year of Christ 250. About that time they burst out of Getia, and, rushing like a torrent into the empire, laid waste every thing with fire and sword. The name of their leader or king was Cneva. Decius, endeavouring to expel them from Thrace, was vanquished and slain.

. lib. i.

After this irruption, we find them frequently in the Latin authors under the name of Geta or Gothi; though the Greeks generally denominate them Scytha. Torfæus tells us, that get + and got are actually the same + History of word, which anciently, according to him denoted a Norway, "soldier." Got in Icelandic signifies a horse or horseman," and gata a "wanderer;" and this last was perhaps the import of the term Geta, they being originally an unsettled vagrant people. As nations generally assume to themselves some high auspicious denomination, we may believe the Goths did the same. We may therefore rest satisfied, that the Getæ assumed the Icelandic name above mentioned as their national one : or perhaps, notwithstanding their Greek denomination, they called themselves Gots or Goths from the beginning.

215

The orginal seat of the Goths was the country Their prinow called Little Tartary, into which they had ex-mary seat. tended themselves from the frontiers of Thrace. This country was called Little Scythia by the Greek writers; and it was the station whence those innumerable swarms advanced, which, in conjunction with the Alani and other barbarous tribes, at length overran and subverted the western empire. One part of the Gothic nation was allowed by Constantine to settle in Moesia. Before the year 420 most of the Gothic nations who had settled within the limits of the Roman empire had been converted to the Christian faith; but,

dence. To confirm this position, we shall annex a few Gothic instances. Language.

Gothic but, unhappily, the greater part of the apostles by Language, whom they had been proselyted, were Arians, which proved fatal to many of the orthodox Christians; for the Arian Goths persecuted them with unrelenting cruelty.

216 Remains.

About the year 367, Ulphilas bishop of the Mœof genuine sian Goths, translated the New Testament into the Gothic. Gothic language. The remains of this translation furnish a genuine, and at the same time venerable, monument of the ancient Gothic dialect. Nor more is now extant of that valuable translation than the four Gospels, and another fragment containing part of the epistle to the Romans. The Gospels have been repeatedly published since the first edition by Junius 1665, down to that of Mr Lye. Other fragments of the Gothic language have also been found, which our curious readers may see in Lye's Notes to his Edition of the Gothic Gospels. The fragment of the Epistle to the Romans was lately discovered in the library at Wolfenbuttle, and published by Knitel archdeacon of Wolfenbuttle.

217 Gothic alphabet.

218

The Thracian tribes, in all probability, first took" possession of those tribes of Asia Minor which stretch towards the east. Thence they crossed the Hellespont, and spread themselves far and wide northward. Strabo supposes that they first settled in the regions to the north of those straits, and thence transported numerous colonies into Asia Minor. The reverse was probably the case; but be that as it may, it is universally agreed, that both sides of the Hellespont were peopled with Thracians.

In Asia Minor we meet with the city Perga, which, throwing away the a, is Perg. In every tongue descended from the Gothic, the word Berg signifies "a rock," and metaphorically a "town or burgh ;" because towns were originally built on rocks for the sake of defence. Hence likewise Pergamos, the fort or citadel of Troy. Beira in Thracian signified a "city;" the Chaldaic and Hebrew word Beer imports a “well,” and is possibly the original of the Gothic word beer,

former.

This alphabet consists of 25 letters (see Plate XV.). Junius has carefully analyzed those letters, and pointed out their powers and sounds in his Gothic alphabet, prefixed to his Glossarium Gothicum. They were long retained in all the European languages derived from the Gothic source, which will be enumerated in the sequel.

What kind of language the ancient Gothic was, is plain from the fragments above mentioned; but in what respects it agrees with the oriental tongues, or differs from them, is not easy to ascertain with precision. We have observed in our section on the Greek, that a considerable part of that language must have been derived from the Thracian; which, according to Strabo there Gothic lan- quoted, was the same with the Getic or Gothic. The guage de- Thracian tongue will, we are convinced upon comparison, be found analogous to the Chaldean or Syrian. The German, which is a genuine descendant of the Gothic, is full of Persian words: the old Persian or Pahlavi appears to be a dialect of the Chaldean. The learned Junius, near the beginning of his Gothic alphabet, remarks that a very considerable part of the language in question is borrowed from the most ancient Greek.

rived from the Chaldean, &c.

Both the learned Thre in his Glossarium Suio-Gothicum, and Wachter in his excellent German and Latin Dictionary, often remark the coincidence of Gothic and German words with oriental vocables of the like sound and of the same signification. In the old Saxon, which is another ramification of the Gothic tongue, numberless terms of the very same complexion appear. From this deduction we hope it will follow, that the Gothic tongue, in its original unmixed state as it was spoken by the ancient Getæ, was a dialect of the primeval language; that language which the sons of Tiras brought with them from the plains of Shinar or from Armenia, or from any other region, where the primitive mortals had fixed their resi

customary to build cities in the neighbourhood of fountains. The ancients called the Phrygians Bevy, Bryges, or Bruges; the Gothic word coinciding is obvious. Dyndymus, the name of a city sacred to Cybele, is compounded of two Gothic words dun and dum, both signifying "a height, an eminence;" and hence a town, an inclosure. The word tros seems to be the very Gothic trosh, "brave, valiant." The words fa der, mader, dochter, bruder, are so obviously Persian, that every etymologist has assigned them to that language.

Many futile etymologies have been given of the sacred name God, which is in reality the Persian word Choda, commonly applied by them to their Hormazd or Oromazes. The Persian bad or bod signifies a "city;" the same word in Gothic imports a "house, a mansion, an abode." Band, in Persic, a "strait place;" in Gothic, "to bend." Heim or ham, a house," is generally known to be of Persian original. Much critical skill has been displayed in tracing the etymology of the Scotch and old English word Yule, "Christmas." Yule, derived from iul, was a festival in honour of the sun, which was originally celebrated at the winter solstice. Wick or wich is a Gothic term still preserved in many names of towns; it signifies "a narrow corner, or small strip of land jutting into the sea, or into a lake or river:" hence the Latin vicus, and Greek Poixos. In Spanish, we have many old Gothic words; among others hijo a son," the same with the Greek vios. some places of Scotland, we call any thing that is little, small, wee; originally spelt wi, if we mistake not, from the very same word.

66

In

These few examples we have thrown together, without any regard to order, persuaded that almost every word of the language, truly Gothic, may with a little pains and judgment be traced to some oriental root or cognate. We may observe in passing, that many Gothic nouns end in a, like the Chaldaic and Syriac; that their substantive verb very much resembles that of the Persian, Greek, and Latin; and that their active and auxiliary verb has furnished the common preterperfect tense of Greek verbs in the active voice: that verb is

huban,

Gothic haban, but originally ha, as the common people proLanguage. nounce it at this day, especially in the north of Scotland, and among the Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, and Icelanders.

219 Modern tongues deduced

We shall now leave the other inferior arrangements of this ancient language to grammarians and lexicofrom the graphers, and proceed to inquire what modern tongues are deduced from it as their stock, and which of them makes the nearest approaches to its simplicity and rusticity.

Gothic.

We have already observed that the Goths, formerly Getæ, were possessed of a vast extent of country, reaching from the frontiers of Thrace to the banks of the Ister or Danube. We have seen that a colony of them settled in Moesia under Constantine II. They then spread themselves into Dacia, and from thence into Germany. All these countries were situated in such a manner, that the progress of population was forward, and according to the natural course of emigration. From Germany they extended themselves into Scandinavia, that is, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. Their whole ancient Edda, Sigas, "Chronicles," show that the Goths arrived in Scandinavia by this route, without, however fixing the era of that event with any tolerable degree of accuracy. By the Germans, we believe the ancients understood all the nations eastward, westward, and northward, reaching from the Danube on the south up to the extremity of Scandinavia on the Northern ocean; and from the Rhine and German ocean on the west, to the river Chronus or Niemen on the east. All those nations spoke one or other of the Gothic dialects, some approaching nearer, and others deviating farther from, the parent language.

The Francic is a dialect of the Teutonic, Tudesque, or old German; and the Gospels of Ulphilas bear such a resemblance to the Francic, fragments of which are preserved in the early French historians, that some learned men have pronounced those gospels to be part of an old Francic version; but others of equal respectability have refuted this opinion, both from history and comparison of the dialects. Schilter has given us large monuments of the Tudesque or old German from the seventh century, which evidently prove that the Gothic of Ulphilas is the same language. Wachter's learned Glossary of the ancient German likewise confirms this position. Mr Ihre, after hesitating whether the Gospels of Ulphilas bear most resemblance to the German or Scandinavian dialect of the Gothic, declares at last in favour of the former. The Anglo-Saxon is also known to be a venerable dialect of the Tudesque ; and is so intimately connected with the gospels, that some valuable works on this subject are wholly built upon that supposition.

The Icelandic is the oldest relick of the Scandinavian. It begins with Arius Frode in the eleventh century, and is a dialect of the German. The remains we have of it are more modern by four centuries than those of the German: they are more polished than the other. The words are shortened, not only because they are more modern than the German, but because the Icelandic was polished by a long succession of poets and historians almost equal to those of Greece and Rome. Hence the Icelandic, being a more polished language than the German, has less affinity with the parent Gothic. The Swedish is more nearly related VOL. XVI. Part I.

to the Icelandic than either the Danish or Norwegian. Gothic That the Swedish is the daughter of the Gothic, is fully Language. shown by Mr Ihre above mentioned, in his Glossarium Suio-Gothicum. There is, therefore, no manner of doubt as to the identity of the Gothic, preserved in Ulphilas and other ancient remains, with the German and Scandinavian tongue.

The modern German, a language spoken in a far greater extent than any other of modern Europe, resembles the Gothic Gospels more than the present Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish; and has certainly more ancient stamina. Its likeness to the Asiatic tongues, in harshness and inflexible thickness of sound, is very apparent.

Busbequius shows, that the clowns of Crim Tartary, remains of the ancient Goths, speak a language almost German. These clowns were no doubt descendants of the ancient Goths, who remained in their native country after the others had emigrated. It is therefore apparent from the whole of this investigation, that the Gothic was introduced into Europe from the East, and is probably a dialect of the language originally spoken by men.

§ 3. Of the Sclavonian Language.

220

There is another language which pervades a considerable part of Europe, and this, like the Gothic, seems to have originated in the east. The language Sclavonic we mean is the Sclavonic or rather Slavonic, which pre- language, vails far and wide in the eastern parts of this division of the globe. It is spoken by the Dalmatians, by the inhabitants of the Danubian provinces, by the Poles, Bohemians, and Russians. The word slab, that is, "slave," (whence the French word esclave, and our word slave), signifies "noble, illustrious;" but because in the lower ages of the Roman empire, vast multitudes of these people were spread over all Europe in the quality of slaves, that word came to denote the servile tribe by way of distinction, in the same manner as the words Geta, Davus, and Syrus, did among the Greeks at a more early period.

221

Sarmati

The Slavi dwelt originally on the banks of the Bo-spoken by rysthenes, now the Dnieper or Nieper. They were one the Slavi of the tribes of the European Sarmatians who in ancient one of the times inhabited an immense tract of country, bounded tribes of the on the west by the Vistula, now the Weisel; on the ans. south-east by the Euxine sea, the Bosphorus Cimmerius, the Palus Mootis, and the Tanais or Don, which divides Europe from Asia.

In this vast tract of country, which at present comprehends Poland, Russia, and a great part of Tartary, there dwelt in ancient times many considerable tribes. To enumerate these, we believe, would not much edify our readers we shall only inform them, that among these Sarmatian clans were the Roxolani, now the Russians, and likewise the Slavi, who dwelt near the Borysthenes, as was observed above.

The Slavi gradually advanced towards the Danube; and in the reign of Justinian having passed that river, they made themselves masters of that part of Illyricum which lies between the Drave and the Save, and is to this day from them called Sclavonia. These barbarians by degrees overran Dalmatia, Liburnia, the western parts of Macedonia, Epirus; and on the east they extended their quarters all along to the western

Zz

bank

landers and islanders of Scotland, who, according to Selavonian the general opinion, have preserved the Celtic dialect Language. pure and entire, in consequence of their having never mingled with foreigners.

the Poles,

223

Silesians, and

224 Russions

from the

Slavi.

The Poles are the genuine descendants of the ancient Sarmate (c), and consequently speak a dialect of their language, hut much adulterated with Latin words, in consequence of the attachment the Polanders have long professed to the Roman tongue.

The Silesians and Bohemians have corrupted their dialects in the very same manner. In those countries, then, we are not to search for the genuine remains of the ancient Sarmatian.

The modern Russians, formerly the Rhoxani or descended Roxolani, are the posterity of the Sarmatæ, and are a branch of the Slavi: they inhabit a part of the country which that people possessed before they fell into the Ronan provinces; they speak the same language, and wear the very same dress; for, on the historical pillar at Constantinople, the Sclavonians are dressed like the Russian boors. If then the Slavi are Sarmatæ, the Russians must of course be the descendants of the same people. They were long a sequestered people, and consequently altogether unconnected with the other nations of Europe, They were strangers to commerce, inhospitable to strangers, tenacious of ancient usages, averse to improvements of every kind, wonderfully proud of their imaginary importance; and, in a word, a race of people just one degree above absolute savagism. A people of this character are, for the most part, enemies to innovations; and if we may believe the Russian historians, no nation was ever more averse to innovations than the one in question. From the ninth century, at which era they embraced Christianity, it does not appear that they moved one step forward towards civilization, till Peter the Great, not a century ago, in consequence of his despotic authority, compelled them to adopt the manners and customs of their more polished neighbours.

We may then conclude, that the Russians made as little change in their language during that period, as they did in their dress, habits, and manner of living. Whatever language they spoke in the ninth century, the same they employed at the beginning of the 18th. They were, indeed, according to Appian de bel. Mithrid. once conquered by Diophantus, one of Mithridates's generals, but that conquest was for a moment only: they were likewise invaded, and their country overrun, by the great Timor or Tamerlane; but this invasion was like a torrent from the mountains, which spreads devastation far and wide while it rages, but makes little alteration on the face of the country.

We find likewise, that upon some occasions they made incursions upon the frontiers of the Roman empire; but we hear of no permanent settlements formed by them in these quarters. Upon the whole, we take the Russians to have been, with respect to their language, in the very same predicament with the high

225

From this deduction we may infer two things; first, The Rus that the Russian language is the genuine Slavonian; sian lanand, secondly, that the latter is the same, or nearly the guage ge same, with the ancient Sarmatian.

In the Russian, there are found a great number of words resembling the old simple roots of the Greek both in sound and signification; its grammatical genius is nearly the same; and we are informed by the very best authority, that there is in this language a translation of Epictetus, in which there are whole pages, in both original and translation, without one single transposition. Mons. Leveque, who has published a translation of a history of Russia, is so entirely convinced of the strict analogy between the ancient Greek and the modern Russe, that he is positive that the former is derived from the latter. Mons. Freret, a very learned French academician, is clearly of the same opinion. We are, however, persuaded that this opinion is ill founded. We rather imagine, that those coincidences arise from the relicks of the primitive language of mankind; vestiges of which, we believe, are to be found almost in every tongue now existing.

nuine Scla

vonic.

226

sian and

It is, however, we allow, uncommonly difficult to render a reason for the syntaxical analogy of the two languages, without admitting the truth of the one or the other hypothesis. We have examined with some care a good number of Russian vocables, and compared them with Greek ones of the same signification. We have not, however, found such a resemblance as we think necessary to support the position advanced above. We have indeed found a very strong resemblance be- Resemtween the former and many oriental words, especially blance beHebrew, Chaldean, and old Persian, of which we could tween Rus produce several instances, did the nature of our present t inquiry admit such a deviation. Every body knows words. that the Sarmata were divided into two great nations, the Asiatic and European; the former extended very far eastward, behind the mountain Caucasus, the northern shore of the Euxine sea, and so forth. These, we may believe, derived their language from the original tongue long before the Greek language existed. This, in comparison of the Hebrew, Phoenician, Egyptian, Arabian, Chaldean, &c. was but of yesterday. The Greek, most learned men are now convinced, was a late composition of many different dialects, incorporated with the jargon of the aboriginal Ionim or Greeks. The Sarmatian, on the contrary, was the tongue of a great and populous nation, civilized, in all appearance, long before the Greeks began to emerge from a state of savagism. We are, therefore, by no means disposed to allow, either that the Greek is derived from the Russian, or the Russian from the Greek. We believe there is just the same reason for this conclusion, that the Abbé Pezron and Mons. Gebelin pretend to have discovered, in order to support their position that the Greek is derived from the Celtic. Certain it is, that the resemblance among the oriental