64 ANTIENTMETAPHYSICS. Book h 



Thus far, therefore, man is advanced from the folitary favage^ 

 fo as not only to be gregarious, but even political, in Ariftotle's fenfe 

 of the word. But he is ftill far removed from that ftate of civility, 

 which is abfolutely neceffary for the invention and cultivation 

 of arts and fciences, by which only he can make any progrefs in 

 this life, towards regaining the ftate from which he has fallen. 

 For thai purpofe, a regular polity muft be formed, and properly 

 carried on. Now, this cannot be done without language, 

 which, I think, I have fhewn clearly, is not from nature, but 

 more a thing of art, than any other thing among men. Lan- 

 guage, therefore, may be faid to be the foundation of all arts and 

 fciences : For it is only by that communication among men, 

 which language beftows upon them, that any art worth mention- 

 ing, or fcience, can be invented or cultivated ; for though men. 

 may herd together, and carry on fome joint work, by inarticulate 

 cries, or by figns and geftures, as the beavers do *, it is impoflible that 

 without language they can have any thing that can be called go- 

 vernment, or become an animal of inielle£t, not in capacity merely, 

 but in energy and adluality. But men, before they could have the 

 ufe of language, muft have formed ideas to be exprefled by words ;. 

 for a language, having only names for individual objects perceived' 

 by the fenfes, would not deferve the name, nor afford the ufe of a. 

 language. 



That language is a wonderful invention, every fcholar, and indeed 

 every man of fenfe and obfervation, muft know. This even a fa- 

 vage of North America knew, who, in converfation with a miflio- 

 nary, acknowledged that the Europeans had much more wit than 

 they J ' But,' fays he, ' has any of you invented a language f?' But 



that 



• Origin and Progrefs of Language, yo\, I. p. 4)7^ 

 f Ibid. p. 566. 



