REASON AND CONSCIOUSNESS. 207 



and in the other by the utterance of a monosyllable. 

 The latter mode is only inferior in so far as it seems 

 incapable of being adapted to express the complex 

 ideas of later life. If it were only possible to follow 

 out that mode without confusion, then the use of mono- 

 syllables to express whole sentences, instead of being 

 inferior, would be the very highest ideal of language. 



Of course, as children grow up, they more and more 

 conform to their environment and imitate the adults 

 about them, and it is, as we have said, practically much 

 more convenient to use distinct articulate sounds to 

 express the several ideas involved in a sentence. Thus 

 it is natural enough that a child somewhat older should 

 say, " Ka in milk (Something nasty in the milk) ; milk 

 dare now (There is still some more milk in the cup)," 

 and so on ; also that a child, " towards the end of the 

 second year," should say, " Dat a big bow-wow (That is 

 a large dog) ; Dit naughty * (Sister is naughty)," and 

 " Dit dow ga (Sister is down on the grass)." 



It was with little short of amazement that we read 

 Mr. Romanes's comment f on these facts : — 



" Were it necessary, I could confirm all these state- 

 ments from my own notes . . . but I prefer ... to 

 quote such facts from an impartial witness. For / 

 conceive that they are facts of the highest importance\ in 

 relation to our present subject." 



sure, cries out " Grouse ! " is that less truly the expression of a 

 judgment than saying, " They are grouse " ? 



* It is very difficult to see what important difference exists 

 between the nineteen months expression, " Dit ki," and the nearly 

 two year old expression, " Dit naughty." 



f p. 203. X The italics are ours. 



