Ossian Collection > Defence of the Scots Highlanders, in general; and some learned characters, in particular

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language, yet many do not. Indeed, fays
Mr. Webb, when an invader conquers a
country, and carries off the old inhabitants,
then his ov/n people eflablifhes his own
country language, as the Ifraelites did in Ca-
naan, after expelling the old inhabitants;
and the Jews that were carried to Babylon
loft their own, and adopted the language of
the neighbouring nations ; fo that they did
not even know their ov;n language, but
by an interpreter. *
On the contrary, when a conqueror mixes
with the natives j if fmaller in number, then
they adopt the language of the natives ; if
equal, it becomes a mixture of languages.
Thus the Lombards brought a new language
into Italy j and the Saracens and Moors
brought a new language into Spain. And
when an invader conquers a country with a
view to exa£t tribute in token of their fub-
jeO:ion, and immediately quitteth it again,
the language remains as formerly unchange-
able. Thus Alexander the Great never
eftabli(hed his own tongue in the kingdom
of Porus, becaufc he only leapt in, and im-
* Neh. cap. 8.
D 2 medi-