122 A N T I E N T METAPHYSICS. Book IT. 



who lus never learned the grammaiical art, nor perhaps any arf, 

 and even a boy Co young as to he incapable of being taught any 

 art or k-ience, ftiould, by imiiatioti merely and habit, praftlfe a 

 thing of fo great art as language, and praftife it well too, if he has 

 been educated among people who fpeak well, is to a philofopher a 

 matter of very great wonder. Even that he fhould learn in that way 

 a laiv^iiage, fuch as ours, is wonderful : But it is much more won- 

 derful, that a boy in Athens Ihould be able lo learn, in that way, a 

 lan^ua"-e fo difficult as the Greek, of fuch variety of fledion, de- 

 rivation, and compofnion, and v;ith melody and rhythm too fo 

 difficult, that we can only learn to underftand it with a great deal of 

 fludy, but not to fpeak it *. It can only, I think, be accounted for, 

 by fuppofing that our organs of pronunciation have an inftindive 

 movement, fuch as there are many in our animal economy, by 

 which, upon hearing any articulate founds uttered, they put them- 

 felves in a pofition, and make the motions, neceflary for imitating 

 thefe founds ; — very imperfedly, no doubt, at firft, but more perfect- 

 ly by continual practice for a confiderable time. But for this pur- 

 pofe the organs muft be foft and pliable, fuch as they are when we 

 are young. But when we are advanced in years, and the organs 

 become rigid and ftiff, they cannot without the greateft difficulty 

 be made to accommodate themfelves to the various pofitions and mo- 

 tions which articulation requires. It was for this reafon that Peter 

 the Wild Boy could learn only to articulate a very few words. 

 For the fame reafon, Baron Ronton, as I have faid, could not teach 

 a Huron to pronounce the labial confonants, fuch as B, P, and M f , 

 which are among the firft that out children learn to pronounce : And 

 for this reafon, likewife, a Frenchman, when he is advanced in years, 

 cannot learn to articulate our afplrated T, in fuch words as ihee, 

 though^ thing, &c. 



Thus 



* See upon this fubjeft, vol. III. p. 220. 



f Page 1 J I. of this vol. ; and vol, I. of Origin of Language, p. 502. 



