NAMES. 47 



their meaning than can be loosely collected from 

 observing what objects they are used to denote. It is 

 in this manner that we all acquire, and inevitably so, 

 our first knowledge of our vernacular language. A 

 child learns the meaning of the words man, or white, 

 by hearing them applied to a variety of individual 

 objects, and finding out, by a process of generaliza- 

 tion and analysis of which he is but imperfectly con- 

 scious, what those different objects have in common. 

 In the case of these two words the process is so 

 easy as to require no assistance from culture ; the 

 objects called human beings, and the objects called 

 white, differing from all others by qualities of a 

 peculiarly definite and obvious character. But in 

 many other cases, objects bear a general resemblance 

 to one another, which leads to their being familiarly 

 classed together under a common name, while, 

 without more analytic habits than the generality 

 of mankind possess, it is not immediately apparent 

 what are the particular attributes, upon the posses- 

 sion of which in common by them all, their general 

 resemblance depends. When this is the case, men 

 use the name without any recognized connotation, 

 that is, without any precise meaning; they talk, 

 and consequently think, vaguely, and remain con- 

 tented to attach only the same degree of significance 

 to their own words, which a child three years old 

 attaches to the words brother and sister. The child 

 at least is seldom puzzled by the starting up of new 

 individuals, on whom he is ignorant whether or not 

 to confer the title ; because there is usually an 

 authority close at hand competent to solve all doubts. 

 But a similar resource does not exist in the generality 

 of cases ; and new objects are continually presenting 

 themselves to men, women, and children, which they 



