164 THE FIRST VERTEBRATE. 



dog, and the humblest plant than the costliest and most 

 beautiful stone. The other difficulty which he puts 

 forward of an abrupt transition between the first man 

 with reason and the parents of such a man without 

 reason is a difficulty, like that in regard to the first 

 vertebrate, one of words rather than of facts. As with 

 the origin of language and of languages, as with the 

 origin of the natural kingdoms and of every individual 

 form of life, so with the origin of reason ; could we see 

 the whole series of steps, with their infinitely numerous 

 and sometimes almost infinitely fine and subtle points of 

 discrimination, we should probably be unable to fix 

 upon any one definite division and say, here noise ends 

 and articulate language begins; or, here Saxon ends 

 and English begins ; or, this is the top of instinct, and 

 Ihis the dawn of reason. 



