302 



PART V,- WORKING STAGE. 



grammars, and rich meanings, will evolve necessarily and with 

 astonishing rapidity. 1 



(/) Needless to state that the application of the simplest 

 practicable case to the problem of the nature of an ideal lan- 

 guage should prove, as it is already proving in modern arti- 

 ficial languages, fruitful of good results. (See, however, 205.) 



149. The whole of the above analysis suggests therefore 

 the decided advantage of simplifying our problem as completely 

 as possible, for this enables us with a minimum of effort to 

 explore a subject systematically. There is scarcely a sphere of 

 knowledge where the utilisation of the simplest practicable case 

 is not applicable and of appreciable value, as, for example, in 

 all cultural matters of a practical character where, instead of 

 beginning forthwith de novo, we should first search for the best 

 that has been accomplished in a particular or cognate direction. 

 Thus, for instance, instead of assuming that armies and navies 

 are necessary in the same sense as a police force is, we note 

 that neutralised States exist and flourish without rattling or 

 drawing the sword, 2 and that this is even truer of towns and 

 provinces. Or if national sentiment is said to be indissolubly 

 connected with a common tongue, the case of Switzerland is 

 an apt reminder of the limitations of the generalisation. 



150. Another social problem of formidable dimensions 

 might with advantage be approached by the same avenue 

 that is, the question of an adequate normal income for all. As 

 is pointed out in Conclusions 14 and 15, the solutions custom- 

 arily proposed are on this subject disappointing. 



We might, then, proceed as follows. Having found that ster- 

 ling material and efficient workmanship are really cheapest, 

 we consider, say, the durability of a suit of clothes worn by a 

 careful person. We repeat the enquiry in regard to each portion 

 of the suit, and assume throughout (a) that we select colours, etc., 

 which, other things being equal, are least affected by sun, wear, 

 or fashion, and (6) that the individual has been trained to be 

 careful with his garments and to undertake practically all minor 



1 The problem of an effective medium of lingual communication is not 

 entirely solved until the question of the juxtaposition of words is considered. 

 For example, two words may express one idea, as silver wedding, golden 

 wedding, diamond wedding, and so with analogously framed word couplets 

 and triplets. Even beyond this, the more cautiously we examine cultured 

 speech, the more we discern the frequent associating of certain terms. Thus 

 we often speak, for instance, of an invincible army, an implacable foe, an 

 inexorable fate, an indomitable will, an inflexible determination, an unshake- 

 able conviction. Those who are best capable of expressing their thoughts 

 clearly and forcibly, exemplify in a convincing manner this trend of select- 

 ing and fixing the most appropriate correlates of words. This process is, 

 moreover, extended to sentences, as in idiomatic expressions, conventional 

 tormulae, and polished diction. The ordinary dictionary, which by its method 

 suggests that the nature and history of language are summed up in isolated 

 words, is seriously misleading. 



- This sentence was penned before the war. 



