40 Major Price’s Extracts from the Mualijat-i-Dara Shekohi. 
that lengthened or protracted sound necessary to speech cannot be 
obtained. 
Thus, a human being draws breath by means of the lungs, and retains it 
in the hollow of his chest ; then, without discharging the air thus received 
into the chest, it is protruded by the same organ of the lungs through the 
natural channel of the throat, and the sound produced becomes either fine 
or more powerful, just as the throat is contracted or widened ; that is to 
say, by contracting the throat the sound becomes finer, and by widening 
becomes stronger. The sound then entering the mouth, it is borne about 
between the palate, teeth, and lips, until being arranged into words, part 
escapes through the nostrils, and part through the teeth and lips, thus 
expanding into speech, and ushering into light what was before concealed. 
Then I say that protracted sound may be compared to a straight line 
extended out, which the speaking breath, or rather the reasoning faculty, 
breaks into parts between the tongue, teeth, and lips; and such parts being 
again shaken into links or nodules, under various figures, such nodules and 
figures become words—but to the ear only, not to the eye ; and each three 
or four words being more or less shaken, they assume the specific form of 
some certain name or thing, indicating, to such as are acquainted with the 
denomination some particular and essential principle. When they reach 
the ear these words have been adjusted into order, and the operation thus 
accomplished by the reasoning spirit, or breath, upon such forms, might be 
said to be the impinging of sound upon matter, _J ».2- 
What I have above advanced with respect to lungs and air, to throat, 
breast, palate, teeth, tongue, and writing, must be understood as consider- 
ing all tobe adjusted into form and order through the operation of the 
same reasoning spirit, or breath endowed with reason; which having con- 
structed all from the parts of a straight line, finally reduces them into 
known and intelligible nodules and figures, much in the same manner as it 
produces on protracted sound. But though the reasoning spirit or faculty 
is here said to operate on the parts of a straight line, which may be con- 
sidered to resemble a full and lengthened sound, the operation, in the one 
case, is conducted in a different manner from the other; for in the instance 
of the straight line it is conducted through the medinm of the hand, with 
the implements of pen and ink, and paper. Now the hand, it is to be 
observed, is considerably removed from the abode of the reasoning spirit, 
