A Book of the Beginnings V2

This review is for the collective works of Gerald Massey. I discovered this author back in the 1990's when his works were scarce and available mostly through Kessinger Publisher Reprints. With the copyright out of date, I am now able to find his works on line in their entirety. My own personal copies are heavily highlighted.

I was impressed with the depth on which Massey wrote, wondering if his facts were correct or if he was making up information as did so many of his contemporaries. The fact is, I still don't know. I found his style of writing difficult to comprehend, finding myself re-reading paragraphs and sentences attempting to figure out what he means.

His theories are interesting and perhaps overall have some merit. But when one delves deep into his material, there is much that is incorrect and much more that is speculative. One can find errors in any writing of this type before the onset of modern dating techniques, even in the best of authors.

His theory is simple. Man started as a man-ape in sub-Sahara Africa. His original language originated there and then went to the rest of the world. He proposed this idea while man's origins were still being debated. Where Massey's works falls apart in when he compares languages and finds connections between ancient Egyptian and the language in New Zealand. He has a heavy emphasis on Egypt's influence in the world and goes so far as to compare British pub names to Egyptian mythology.

Now even if one was to suppose Massey is correct in his theory, there would really be no way to prove his details correct. He believes that any ancient word that has the same three consonant sounds in a row have a common etymology.