22 Universal. Terms. 
siderably smaller than ourselves. Nor does it at all affect the nature 
of the argument, if we find that individuals of a class sometimes, from 
certain peculiarities, so strike the mind as to be recalled, as such, — 
among numbers of undistinguishable similar things. ge 
To illustrate farther the subject of general perceptions, and its — 
bearing on the question proposed : suppose you are seated in a con- 
templative mood, at the hour when twilight is giving place to dark-— 
ness—a frightened child enters—you enquire the cause of his fears. 
As I was coming, says he, a man suddenly started from behind a tree. 
What man? Indeed, I do not know; it was so dark that I could not» 
distinguish whether he was white or black; all that I could see was” 
that it wasaman. But what tree was it? I cannot tell that either; 
1 merely remarked that it was a tree, but could not distinguish of what 
kind ; but I know that I saw a man and.a tree; I have them now in — 
my mind, The possibility of such an occurrence none will dispute. — 
The child then had actual perception of a tree and a man in general, _ 
and of course its transcript conception ; and he needed no name of — 
the thing or sort of thing conceived, to reason or speculate concern= 
ing it, so far as regarded his own mind, though without words he 
could not communicate his conceptions to others. ‘That we do, even 
in such cases, use words in our mental operations, there is no doubt, — 
but is it not owing chiefly to our social nature?) We delight in fan- 
cied conversations with those we love. We like to contend. with 
those who give us an opportunity to display our wit, in our own men-_ 
tal field, where we are sure of the victory; or if startled friendship — 
sees tokens of moral aberration, we plan the pathetic address which 
shall recall the wanderer to virtue. Hence we perpetually use words _ 
in.our thoughts, not always because we cannot think without them, 
but because we perpetually recur to the communication of our _ 
thoughts.to others. _S 
The perception of things according to their general characteristic 
marks, is what always occurs when objects are seen at certain dis- 
tances, or by dim lights. _When we look up a long street or avenue, _ 
we may see hundreds of human beings whom we know to be men, _ 
women and children, merely by means of general characters. The — 
size of the objects is to be regarded, when we treat of the distances af 
at which we cease to distinguish by particular marks. But bow — , 
should we ever recognise new objects, as belonging to certain class- _ 
es, but by their correspondence _to our general ideas. Can it be — 
doubted that the deaf and dumb ‘as perfectly conceive of men, horses, 
trees, &c. as classes of objects, as those who know their names in va- 
OT eS Sar ee ee 
