Nine is,
then, the _new_ number; that is, the first number on a new count, of which
8 must originally have been the base. Pursuing this thought by
investigation into different languages, the same resemblance is found
there. Hence the theory is strengthened by corroborative evidence. In
language after language the same resemblance is found, until it seems
impossible to doubt, that in prehistoric times, 9 _was_ the new number--the
beginning of a second tale. The following table will show how widely spread
is this coincidence:
Sanskrit, navan = 9. nava = new.
Persian, nuh = 9. nau = new.
Greek, [Greek: ennea] = 9. [Greek: neos] = new.
Latin, novem = 9. novus = new.
German, neun = 9. neu = new.
Swedish, nio = 9. ny = new.
Dutch, negen = 9. nieuw = new.
Danish, ni = 9. ny = new.
Icelandic, nyr = 9. niu = new.
English, nine = 9. new = new.
French, neuf = 9. nouveau = new.
Spanish, nueve = 9. neuvo = new.
Italian, nove = 9. nuovo = new.
Portuguese, nove = 9. novo = new.
Irish, naoi = 9. nus = new.
Welsh, naw = 9. newydd = new.
Breton, nevez = 9. nuhue = new.[221]
This table might be extended still further, but the above examples show how
widely diffused throughout the Aryan languages is this resemblance.
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