Art and Science 



raise the idea of a stone in our minds. See 

 how the same holds good as regards the dif- 

 ferent languages that pass current in different 

 nations. The letters p, i, e, r, r, e convey 

 the idea of a stone to a Frenchman as readily 

 as s, t, o, n, e do to ourselves. And why? 

 because that is the covenant that has been 

 struck between those who speak and those 

 who are spoken to. Our " stone " conveys no 

 idea to a Frenchman, nor his " pierre " to us, 

 unless we have done what is commonly called 

 acquiring one another's language. To acquire a 

 foreign language is only to learn and adhere to 

 the covenants in respect of symbols which the 

 nation in question has adopted and adheres to. 

 Till we have done this we neither of us know 

 the rules, so to speak, of the game that the 

 other is playing, and cannot, therefore, play to- 

 gether ; but the convention being once known 

 and assented to, it does not matter whether 

 we raise the idea of a stone by the word 

 "lapis," or by "lithos," "pietra," "pierre," 

 " stein," " stane " or " stone " ; we may choose 

 what symbols written or spoken we choose, 



and one set, unless they are of unwieldy length 



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