220 MENTAL EVOLUTION IN MAN, 



large connotative extension of her words. The gesture-signs, 

 however, were still of the simplest or most receptual order, 

 such as pulling one by the dress to open a door, pointing to a 

 tumbler to signify her desire for a drink, &c. That is to say, 

 the indicative stage of language largely coincided with, or over- 

 lapped, the earliest phases of the denotative and receptually 

 connotative. I have already said that this indicative stage 

 of language constituted the earliest appearance of the sign- 

 making faculty which I observed in my own children, at a 

 time when the only desire expressed seemed to be that of 

 being taken to the object indicated ; and, so far as I can 

 ascertain, this is universally true of all children. But the 

 point now is, that when the logic recepts had become more 

 full, the desires expressed by pointing became of a more and 

 more varied kind, until, at the age of two and a half {i.e. after 

 significant articulation or true word-making had well set in), 

 the indicative phase of language developed into regular 

 pantomime, as the following instance will show. Coming into 

 the house after having bathed in the sea for the first time, she 

 ran to me to narrate her novel experience. This she did by 

 first pointing to the shore, then pretending to take off her 

 clothes, to walk into the sea, and to dip : next, passing her 

 hands up the body to her head, she signified that the water 

 had reached as high as her hair, which she showed me was 

 still wet. The whole story was told without the use of a single 

 articulate sound. 



Now, in the case of these illustrations (and many more of 

 the same kind might be added if needful), we find the same 

 general fact exemplified — namely, that the earliest phase of 

 language in the young child is that which I have called the 

 indicative, — i.e. tones and gestures significant of feelings, 

 objects, qualities, and actions. This indicative phase of 

 language, or sign-making, lasts much longer in some children 

 than in others (particularly in those who are late in beginning 

 to speak) ; and the longer it lasts the more expressive does it 

 become of advancing ideation. But in all cases two things 

 have to be observed in connection with it The first is that, 



