theorique", Paris, 1908.), and Mauthner's
brilliantly written "Beitrage zu einer Kritik der Sprache" (In three
parts: (i) "Sprache und Psychologie, (ii) "Zur Sprachwissenschaft", both
Stuttgart 1901, (iii) "Zur Grammatic und Logik" (with index to all three
volumes), Stuttgart and Berlin, 1902.) give some reason to hope that, on
one side at least, the future may be better than the past.

Where Charles Darwin's special studies came in contact with the Science
of Language was over the problem of the origin and development of
language. It is curious to observe that, where so many fields of
linguistic research have still to be reclaimed--many as yet can hardly
be said to be mapped out,--the least accessible field of all--that
of the Origin of Language--has never wanted assiduous tillers.
Unfortunately it is a field beyond most others where it may be said that

"Wilding oats and luckless darnel grow."

If Comparative Philology is to work to purpose here, it must be on
results derived from careful study of individual languages and groups of
languages. But as yet the group which Sir William Jones first mapped out
and which Bopp organised is the only one where much has been achieved.
Investigation of the Semitic group, in some respects of no less moment
in the history of civilisation and religion, where perhaps the labour
of comparison is not so difficult, as the languages differ less among
themselves, has for some reason strangely lagged behind. Some years ago
in the "American Journal of Philology" Paul Haupt pointed out that if
advance was to be made, it must be made according to the principles
which had guided the investigation of the Indo-Germanic languages to
success, and at last a Comparative Grammar of an elaborate kind is in
progress also for the Semitic languages. (Brockelmann, "Vergleichende
Grammatik der semitischen Sprachen", Berlin, 1907 ff. Brockelmann and
Zimmern had earlier produced two small hand-books. The only large work
was William Wright's "Lectures on the Comparative Grammar of the
Semitic Languages", Cambridge, 1890.) For the great group which includes
Finnish, Hungarian, Turkish and many languages of northern Asia, a
beginning, but only a beginning has been made. It may be presumed from
the great discoveries which are in progress in Turkestan that presently
much more will be achieved in this field. But for a certain utterance
to be given by Comparative Philology on the question of the origin of
languag