for whom they can poffibly have no efteem; I mean fools, prudes, coquettes, gamefters, faunterers, endless talkers, of nonsense, splenetic idlers, intriguers, given to scandal and cenfure,

* *

Hh 3

A DIS

A

DISCOURSE

To prove the ANTIQUITY of the

ENGLISH TONGUE.

Shewing, from various Inftances, that HEBREW, GREEK, and LATIN, were derived from the ENGLISH.

D

URING the reign of parties, for

about forty years past, it is a melancholy confideration to obferve how Philology hath been neglected, which was before the darling employment of the greateft authors, from the restoration of learning in Europe. Neither do I remember it to have been cultivated, fince the Revolution, by any one perfon with great fuccefs, except our illuftrious modern flar, Doctor Richard Bentley, with whom the republic of learning muft expire; as mathematics did with Sir Ifaac Newton. My ambition hath been gradually attempting, from my early youth, to be the holder of a rushlight before that great luminary; which, at leaft, might be of fome little ufe during

thofe

those short intervals, while he was fnuffing his candle, or peeping with it under a bufhel.

My prefent attempt is to affert the antiquity of our English Tongue; which, as I fhall undertake to prove by invincible arguments, hath varied very little for these two thousand fix hundred and thirty-four years past. And my proofs will be drawn from etymology; wherein I fhall use my readers much fairer than Pezron, Skinner, Vorftigan, Camden, and many other fuperficial pretenders have done. For I will put no force upon the words, nor defire any more favour than to allow for the usual accidents of corruption, or the avoiding a cacophonia.

I think I can make it manifeft to all impartial readers, that our language, as we now speak it, was originally the fame with those of the Jews, the Greeks, and the Romans, however corrupted in fucceeding times by a mixture of barbarisms. I fhall only produce, at prefent, two inftances among a thousand from the Latin tongue, Cloaca, which they interpret a neceffary-house, is altogether an English word, the last letter a being, by the mistake of some fcribe, transferred from the beginning to

the end of the word. In the primitive orthography it is called a cloac, which had the fame fignification; and still continues fo at Edinburgh in Scotland: Where a man in a cloac, or cloak, of large circumference and length, carrying a convenient veffel under it, calls out, as he goes through the ftreets, Wha has need of me? Whatever cuftomer calls, the vessel is placed in the corner of the street, the cloac, or a cloak, furrounds and covers him, and thus he is eafed with decency and fecrefy.

The fecond inftance is yet more remark able. The Latin word Turpis fignificth nafty, or filthy. Now this word Turpis is a plain compofition of two English words; only, by a fyncope, the laft letter of the first syllable, which is d, is taken out of the middle, to prevent the jarring of three confonants together: And these two English words exprefs the two moft unfeemly excrements that belong to man.

But although I could produce many other examples, equally convincing, that the Hebrews, the Greeks, and the Romans originally spoke the fame language which we do at prefent; yet I have chosen to confine myself chiefly to the proper names of perfons, because I conceive they will be

of

of greater weight to confirm what I advance, the ground, and reason of thbfe names being certainly owing to the nat turd, or some distinguishing action or quality in those perfons, and confequently exprieffed in the true antient language of the feveral people.)

1 bor

S

will begin with the Grecians, among whom the moft antient are the

great

lead

ers on both fides in the fiege of Troy. For it is plain, from Homer, that the Trojans fpoke Greek as well as the Grecians. Of thefe latter, Achilles was the most valiant. This Hero was of a reflefs unquiet nature, -never giving himself any repofe either in peace or war; and therefore, as Guy of Warwick was called a Kill-cow, and another terrible man a Kill-devil, fo this General was called A Kill-eafe, or de ftroyer of ease; and at length, by corruption, Achilles.

Hector, on the other fide, was the brave eft among the Trojans. He had deftroyed fo many of the Greeks, by hacking and tearing them, that his foldiers, when they faw him fighting, would cry out, “Now "the enemy will be hackt, now he will "be tore." At last, by putting both words together, this appellation was given to

their