Page:Australia an appeal.djvu/70

67 but a descent from a state scarcely inferior to that of angels to the condition of a savage—a condition in which, though still distinguishable by the erectness of his form, he is, as to his mode of living, on a perfect level with the beasts that dispute his dominion and range the forest along with him. This is not a fine-spun theory, written to amuse and decoy the reader into the adoption of principles destructive of human happiness. It is the relation of a matter of fact, attested by ocular demonstration. It is truth, the handmaid of revelation, disclosing herself to view in the attractive singleness of unsophisticated nature. Few things, therefore, are more interesting than an examination of the tongues of different nations. The cognate character of languages goes far to prove the common origin of the human family, and establishes the great truth that "God made of one blood all nations of men."

Almost every tribe has a different dialect. The difference, in some eases, is merely provincial; but in others, it is so great as to require interpretation. Still, like the languages of India and those of Europe, it seems to have a common origin.

The following is a list of words that are precisely the same at Swan River and at King George's Sound, districts far asunder, and that have no communication one with another.