HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF MYTH AND SCIENCE. 207 



that of animals, as far as the possibility of forming 

 abstract ideas is concerned, and they think in images. 

 There is a well-known instance in the deplorable 

 condition of Laura Bridgman, w r ho from the time she 

 was two years old, was deaf and dumb, blind, and 

 even without the sense of taste, so that the sense of 

 touch was all that remained. By persevering and 

 tender instruction, she attained to an intellectual 

 condition which was relatively high. A careful study 

 of her case showed that she had been altogether with- 

 out intuitive knowledge of causes, of the absolute, and 

 of God. Howe doubts whether she had any idea of 

 space and time, but this was not absolutely proved, 

 since as far as distance was concerned, she seemed 

 to estimate it by muscular sensation. Everything 

 showed that she thought in images. Although with- 

 out any sensation of light or sound, she made certain 

 noises in her throat to indicate different people when 

 she was conscious of their presence or when she 

 thought of them, so that she was naturally impelled 

 to express every thought or sensation, not externally 

 perceived, by a sign; and this shows the tendency 

 of every idea and image towards an extrinsic form. 

 She often conversed with herself, generally making 

 signs with one hand and repljdng with the other. 

 It was evident that a muscular sign or the motion of 

 the fingers was substituted for the phonetic signs of 

 speech, and in this way ideas and images received 



their necessarily extrinsic form. The image was em- 

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