1 14 ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. Book IL 



of barbarians is nothing but thofe cries, joined with fome aniculation*. 

 But even with their articulation and their words of great length, 

 very diflrerent in that refped from the Chinefc words, they could 

 not exprefs their meaning fully without figns and geftures, fuch as 

 our dumb men ufe. So that their language may be faid to be little 

 better than the language of dumb men, aided by fome articulation. 

 And the fame may be faid of the language of the Chinefe, who, as I 

 have obferved, ufe a great many figns and geftures to help out their 

 very imperfe£l articulation, more imperfedl I believe than that of 

 any of the barbarous nations. 



But, it will be afked, how did thofe nations get their articulation, 

 imperfed as it is ? That they may have learned to articulate fome 

 few founds from fuch birds as the Cuckoo or Cockitoo, if they 

 happen to be in their country, is, as I have faid, pofnble3 

 But even thefe few founds they could not learn to articulate per- 

 fectly, as they could hear thefe birds but feldom, and only at certain 

 feafons of the year : For though our children learn to articulate 

 founds very mugh mbre various and more difficult, by m.ere imita- 

 tion, it is by hearing them continually for years together, without 

 any interval, except when they are fleeping. There muft, therefore, 

 have been fome country where the difcovery was made, how much 

 the expieffion of the human voice might be enlarged by articula- 

 tion, and where it was ftudied as an art of the greateft ufe ; nor do 

 1 think, that articulation, fuch as is fit for a language of art, of which 

 only I am now fpeaking, could otherwife have been invented. 



In 



* Who woulJ know more of the found of barbarous languages, may corifult voL I. 

 Origin of Language ; and the paflages from that vol. quoted in vol. II. p. 6. 7. 8. As 

 to the length of their words, there is one mentioned by Mr de la Condunrine, ufed by 

 a people that he fell in with upon his voyage down the river Amazons, of no lefs than 

 eight fyllables, denoting the number three, the word is, Sohzzjrorincouricie. 



