Note 66 — INTRODUCTION.

In the same way the Dravidian languages of Southern India count up to one thousand, but for higher numbers they have to borrow from Sanscrit. This is considered as one proof of the superiority of the Aryan Hindus over the Tamils in civilisation: and a similar conclusion may be drawn from the same fact, as regards the Quichuas and Aymaras. Adam Smith says that numerals are among the most abstract ideas that the human mind is capable of forming. See Mr. Crawfurd’s paper “On Numerals as Evidence of the Progress of Civilization.” (Ethnological Society, February 1862.)