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HOUGH the Britains or Welh were the firt poeors of this iiand, whoe names are recorded, and are therefore in civil hitory always conidered as the predeceors of the preent inhabitants; yet the deduction of the Englih language, from the earliet times of which we have any knowledge to its preent tate, requires no mention of them: for we have o few words, which can, with any probability, be refered to Britih roots, that we jutly regard the Saxons and Welh, as nations totally ditinct. It has been conjectured, that when the Saxons eized this country, they uffered the Britains to live among them in a tate of vaalage, employed in the culture of the ground, and other laborious and ignoble ervices. But it is carcely poible, that a nation, however depreed, hould have been mixed in coniderable numbers with the Saxons without ome communication of their tongue, and therefore it may, with great reaon, be imagined, that thoe, who were not heltered in the mountains, perihed by the word.

The whole fabrick and cheme of the Englih language is Gothick or Teutonick: it is a dialect of that tongue, which prevails over all the northern countries of Europe, except thoe where the Sclavonian is poken. Of thee languages Dr. Hickes has thus exhibited the genealogy.

Of the Gothick, the only monument remaining is a copy of the gopels omewhat mutilated, which, from the ilver with which the characters are adorned, is called the ilver book. It is now preerved at Upal, and has been twice publihed. Whether the diction of this venerable manucript be purely Gothick, has been doubted; it eems however to exhibit the mot ancient dialect now to be found of the Teutonick race, and the Saxon, which is the original of the preent Englih, was either derived from it, or both decended from ome common parent.

What was the form of the Saxon language, when, about the year 450, they firt entred Britain, cannot now be known. They eem to have been a people without learning, and very probably without an alphabet; their peech therefore, having been always curory and extemporaneous, mut have been artles and unconnected, without any modes of tranition or involution of claues; which abruptnes and inconnection may be oberved even in their later writings. This barbarity may be uppoed to have continued during their wars with the Britains, which for a time left them no leiure for ofter tudies; nor is there any reaon for uppoing it abated, till the year 570, when Augutine came from Rome to convert them to Chritianity. The Chritian religion always implies or produces a certain degree of civility and learning; they then became by degrees acquainted with the Roman language, and o gained, from time to time, ome knowledge and elegance, till in three centuries they had formed a language capable of expreing all the entiments of a civilied people, as appears by king Alfred's paraphrae or imitation of Boethius, and his hort preface, which I have elected as the firt pecimen of ancient Englih.

N ðære tide þe Gotan of Siððiu mægþe wiþ Romana rice gewin up ahofon. & miþ heora cyningum. Rædgota & Eallerica wæron hatne. Romane burig abræcon. and eall Italia rice ꝥ is betwux þam muntum & Sicilia ðam ealonde in anwald gerehton. & þa æfter þam foresprecenan cyningum Ðeodric feng to þam ilcan rice. se Đeodric wæf Amulinga. he wæs Cristen. þeah he on þam Arrianiscan gedwolan ðurhwunode. Đe gehet Romanum his freondscipe. swa ꝥ hi mostan heora ealdrihta wyrðe beon. Ac he þa gehat swiðe yfele gelæste. & swiðe wraþe geendode mid manegum mane. ꝥ wæs to eacan oþrum unarimedum yflum. ꝥ he Iohannes þone papan het ofslean. Đa wæs sum consul. ꝥ we heretoha hataþ. Boetius wæs haten. se wæs in boccræftum & on woruld þeawum se rihtwisesta. Se ða ongeat þa manigfealdan yfel þe se cyning Đeodric wiþ þam Cristenandome & wiþ þam Romaniscum witum dyde. he þa gemunde ðara eþnessa & þara ealdrihta. ðe hi under ðam Caserum hæfdon heora ealdhlafordum. Đa ongan he smeagan & leornigan on him selfum hu he ꝥ rice ðam unrihtwisan cyninge aferran mihte. & on ryht geleaffulra and on rihtwisra anwald gebringan. Sende þa digellice ærendgewritu to þam Casere to Constantinopolim. þær is Creca heah burg & heora cynestol. for þam se Casere wæs heora ealdhlaford cynnes. bædon hine þæt he him to heora Cristendome & to heora ealdrihtum gefultụmede. Đa ꝥ ongeat se wælhreowa cyning Đeodric. ða het he hine gebringan on carcerne & þær inne belucan. Đa hit ða gelomp ꝥ se arwyrða wæs on swa micelre nearanesse becom. þa wæs he swa micle swiðor on his Mode gedrefed. swa his Mod ær swiðor to þam woruld sæiþum ungewod wæs. & he ða nanre frofre be innan þam carcerne ne gemunde. ac he gefeoll niwol of dune on þa fior. & hine astrehte swiþe unrot. and ormod hine selfne ongan wepan & þus singende cwæþ. Rh