402 THE LAW OF EVOLUTION CONCLUDED. 



psychological. The phenomena subjectively known as 

 changes in consciousness, are objectively known as nervous 

 excitations and discharges, which science now interprets into 

 modes of motion. Hence, in following up organic evolution, 

 the advance of retained motion in integration, in hetero- 

 geneity, and in definiteness, may be expected to show itself 

 alike in the visible nervo-muscular actions and in the cor- 

 relative mental changes. We may conveniently look at the 

 facts as exhibited during individual evolution, before look- 

 ing at them as exhibited in general evolution. 



The progress of a child in speech, very completely ex- 

 hibits the transformation. Infantine noises are comparative- 

 ly homogeneous; alike as being severally long-drawn and 

 nearly uniform from end to end, and as being constantly 

 repeated with but little variation of quality between narrow 

 limits. They are quite un-coordinated — there is no integra- 

 tion of them into compound sounds. They are inarticulate, 

 or without those definite beginnings and endings character- 

 izing the sounds we call words. Progress shows itself first 

 in the multiplication of the inarticulate sounds: the extreme 

 vowels are added to the medium vowels, and the compound 

 to the simple. Presently the movements which form the 

 simpler consonants are achieved, and some of the sounds 

 become sharply cut; but this definiteness is partial, for only 

 initial consonants being used, the sounds end vaguely. 

 TThile an approach to distinctness thus results, there also 

 results, by combination of different consonants with the 

 same vowels, an increase of heterogeneity; and along with 

 the complete distinctness which terminal consonants give, 

 arises a further great addition to the number of unlike 

 sounds produced. The more difficult consonants and the 

 compound consonants, imperfectly articulated at first, are 

 by and by articulated with precision; and there comes yet 

 another multitude of different and definite words — words 

 that imply many kinds of vocal movements, severally per- 

 formed with exactness, as well as perfectly integrated into 



