alect of Greek, Latin,
of German, Keltic, and Slavonic, and that if the Greek says _es-ti_, he
is, if the Roman says _est_, the German _ist_, the Slave _yeste_, the
Hindu, three thousand years ago, said _as-ti_, he is. This _as-ti_ is a
compound of a root _as_, to be, and the pronoun _ti_. The root meant
originally _to breathe_, and dwindled down after a time to the meaning of
_to be_. All this must have happened before a single Greek or German
reached the shores of Europe, and before a single Brahman descended into
the plains of India. At that distant time we must place the gradual growth
of language and ideas, of a language which we are still speaking, of ideas
which we are still thinking; and at the same time only can we explain the
framing of those names which were the first attempts at grasping
supernatural powers, which became in time the names of the deities of the
ancient world, the heroes of mythology, the chief actors in many a legend,
nay, some of which have survived in the nursery tales of our own time.(44)

My time, I see, is nearly over, but before I finish, I feel that I have a
duty to perform from which I ought not to shrink. Some of those who have
honored me with their presence to-night may recollect that about a year
ago a lecture was delivered in this very room by Professor Blackie, in
which he tried to throw discredit on the scientific method of the
interpretation of popular myths, or on what I call Comparative Mythology.
Had he confined his remarks to the subject itself, I should have felt most
grateful for his criticisms, little minding the manner in which they were
conveyed--for a student of language knows what words are made of. Nor, had
his personal reflections concerned myself alone, should I have felt called
upon to reply to them thus publicly, for it has always seemed to me that
unless we protest against unmerited praise, we have no right to protest
against unmerited abuse. I believe I can appeal to all here present, that
during the many years I have had the honor to lecture in this Institution,
I have _not once_ allowed myself to indulge in any personal remarks, or
attacked those who, being absent, cannot defend themselves. Even when I
had to answer objections, or to refute false theories, I have always most
carefully avoided mentioning the names of living writers. But as Professor
Blackie has directed his random blows, not against myself, but against a
friend of mine, Mr. Cox, the author of a