“The Faithful of the Bible.” (A.) The government and the worship of the faithful. Two books, one volume. (B.) The congregational and family book (remodeling of the earlier devotional books for the faithful of the Bible), two volumes.
At the same time “Egypt” was at last ready for press as two volumes; and so I took courage to take up again that old idea, especially that which we had so often discussed. But first I can and will make a pretty little volume from the historical portraits in Hippolytus: “The first seven generations of Christians.” A translation (by Pauli) of the exact text of the first English volume, preceded by the restoration of the line and the chronology of the Roman bishops down to Cornelius, since revised and much approved of by Röstell (quite clearly written out; about ten printed sheets with the documents).
This gives me hardly any trouble, and costs me very little thought. But secondly, to use Ewald's expression: “The Kosmos of Language” (in four volumes). This is your book, if it is to exist. It appears to me before anything else to be necessary to draw proper limits, with a wisdom worthy of Goethe.
I do not think that the time has come for publishing in the German way a complete or uniformly treated book; I think it is much more important to fortify our view of language from within, and launch it forth armed with stings upon these inert and confused times. Therefore method, and satisfactory discussion of that on which everything depends; with a general setting forth of the points which it concerns us now to investigate. I could most easily make you perceive what I mean, by an abstract of the prospectus, which I have written off, in order to discuss it thoroughly with you as soon as you can come here. As you would have to undertake three fourths of the whole, you have only to consider all this as a proposal open to correction, or rather a handle for discussion.
First Volume. (Bunsen.)
General Division.
Introduction. The Science of Language and its Epochs (according to Outlines, 35-60).
1. The Phenomena of Language (according to Outlines, ii. 1-72).
2. The Metaphysics of Language (according to Outlines, ii. 73-122)—manuscript attempt to carry out Kant's Categories, not according to Hegel's method.
3. The Historical Development (Outlines, ii. 123-140; and Outlines of Metaphysics, second volume, in MS.). Müller ad libitum. (With this an ethnographical atlas, colored according to the colors of the three families.)