Page:Ralcy H. Bell - The Mystery of Words (1924).pdf/121

 of Alexandria, but not until the latter part of the 18th century was it brought under the methods of study known as modern-scientific.

The method of comparative grammar was introduced early in the 19th century. Tongues were compared with each other; they were grouped under family names; and their relationships were investigated with more or less success. Later, in close succession, came the etymologists who contributed less than was expected of them, but who did discover bonds of union between comparative mythology and linguistics, between comparative grammar and classic philology. Then these bonds or laws were codified; and they have been commented on without end.

Since the middle of the 19th century perhaps, the most progress has been made in the discovery of laws which condition language as a whole—which connect its parts—and which relate its factors with their combined functions. A study of these laws has shown somewhat the real nature of language; even