5

386 ISfOTES,
nitjr of the Celtic language to the Roman, that the Celts derived
their letters, books, writing, reading, chronology, numbers, and
the art of calculating, from St. Patrick, it must follow from the
Tery same argument, that the Indian Bramins also derived the
art of writing, &c. from St. Patrick, which is impossible.
That the Celtic, Sanscrit, and Roman languages bear the
strongest marks of affinity, is self-evident. Mr. Innes (and he
has been too generally followed) endeavours to shew that the
Celtic has borrowed largely from the Latin.
Were we even to
grant this postulatum, we are only involving ourselves in a new
difficulty, for the affinity of the Sanscrit to the Latin remains
still to be accounted for. I flatter myself the boldest speculator
will not even venture to insinuate that the Sanscrit has borrowed
from the Latin, or vice versa. These languages never came in
contact. The Celtic cannot, therefore, have derif^ed its affinity
to the Sanscrit through the medium of the Roman language. It
is, on all hands, allowed that the Sanscrit and Celtic are Asiatic
languages, or (in other words^ primary dialects of the aboriginal
language of Asia. The Roman language has no such early
claim. Fortunately for our present purpose, Rome reared its
head within the period of authentic history.
The Romans were
not (like the Celts or Bramins) acolony direct from Asia. They
were a few Italian shepherds, and lawless banditti, and could
not possibly speak any other language than that of the country
which produced. them. That the Celtic was the aboriginal Ian.
guage of Europe, is a point unquestioned and unquestionable.
It is even sanctioned by Pinkarton himself. The Celtic or Um.
brian language was, therefore, the aboriginal language of Italy,
and consequently of Rome. The Greek colonies, which, from
time to time, settled in Italy prior to the Roman xra, do doubt
effected some alteration in the language of Italy ; and it is most
probable that the Doric dialect of the Greek, fotinded on the
Celtic, or (in other words) the Celtic Doricizcd, laid the founda.
lion of the Roman language. Hence the affinity of the Celtic,
Sanscrit, and Roman languages, can be satisfactorily accounted
for.
The CeUic and Sanscrit were primary dialects of the abo.