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CHAP. X.

The names of the numerals of most of the nations of Europe; a table of the names, with remarks upon their deviations; and on the names of fome of those of Afia and America.

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ལ ཡ ལ ར

HE neceflity of fome manner of counting began as foon as man poffeffed the feveral things that tended to his prefervation, or that, in process of time, became commercial: accordingly, we find a method of reckoning, which has the fame origin all over the world, both in babarous and civilized nations. They all count by decimals, and ten being the determinate number, the accumulation of these tens with units makes the amount of any defired fum; and, indeed, this must have been founded upon the number of the fingers natural to mankind.

I FIND the Indians, all over America, except the Caribeans, in this method, who, according to their several languages, give names to each unit, from one to ten; and proceed to add an unit to the ten, till there are two tens, to which fum they give a peculiar name; and fo on to three tens, four tens, and till it comes to ten times ten, or to any number of tens. This is the cafe all over the Eaft alfo, even among the Malays, of whofe numbers I had the names given me by perfons who refided among them for many years, and spoke their language.

IN America, the names of the numerals are very different in every nation, except the five nations and the Wanats; and I am informed that their dialects are fo various, that those of one tribe can scarce understand their neighbours of another; perhaps this is pretty much the case in Africa, and in several parts of Afia; which makes me imagine, that it would be very difficult to trace out any harmony, or affinity, in their feveral tongues. This, however, being not what I propose, in my prefent undertaking, I shalk pass on to my particular bufinefs, which is to confider the appellations of the numerals of the feveral countries in Europe, and, in this pursuit, I shall lay before my readers a table of their respective names, as I have before of fome of their words, which will produce a very curious and furprizing refult.

THE chain of anecdotes, which appears, in the course of the foregoing chapters, fhews very ftrongly how much the nations of Europe have derived from the Gomerians and Magogians, or Celts and Scythians: and a due confideration of the names of their numerals every where, will add much force to what has been thus fuggefted.

I HAVE faid before, that the Indians of the Western world counted by tens, differing only in the names, to which they, and all the world, were originally led by the num ber of their fingers; but I find, in the names given to numbers by the ancient Caribeans, they made their period at five, and added one to the name of each of thofe five, till they had compleated ten; and when, by adding the number of the toes of each foot refpectively, they arrived to twenty, that was their ne plus; for they had no notion

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of reiterating the fingers and toes to exprefs any further number: and they had no other words to exprefs ten, and twenty, than a fentence for each: for the firft, chonn oucabo raim, i. e. all the little ones of both hands; and, for the fecond, chon nou gouchi raim, the little ones of both hands and feet; beyond this, they were incapable of advancing in numbers. Whereas, among the North Americans, they all counted to ten, and by adding one, two, three, &c. to ten, advanced to any number of units and tens up to one thousand; now, as it is proved, that the Caribeans went from the continent, from among the Apalachians, to inhabit the islands called by their name, it is probable, that the Indians about Florida may have had formerly no better genius for numbers than they; I have collected the names given to numbers in several parts of North America, as well as in some of the Eastern parts, and cannot find any apparent affinity between them and thofe of Europe, except in a very few; ; yet, by decompofing many of their names of things and places, it is very eafy to derive them from the Celtic; of which I fhall produce feveral examples, in a proper place.

BUT the fameness of the numeral names in most parts of Europe, with thofe in the Gomerian and Magogian tongues, is fo amazingly palpable, that it will not be unworthy of a. particular enquiry into the reason of fo curious a circumftance. There muft, however, be the fame allowance made for the feeming difference in those names of different nations, that we have fhewn to be very reasonable in the foregoing chapter, concerning the deviation, and other alterations, in the words of the languages; for, it is impof

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