184 JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS. 



cases where this shortening had taken place before the power of 

 noting relations had been properly developed, other means of repre- 

 senting them would be sought. But as at this early stage the physi- 

 cal element would still be comparatively strong, the musical element 

 would lead to the adoption of internal change or vowel gradation as 

 an additional method. 



Since, however, it is a universal supposition that inflections 

 arose from another source, the relative claims of the two theories 

 must now be considered. The prevaihng theory has been that, 

 since imagination and conception in their development produces 

 the tendency of dropping from the mind the accidental qualities of 

 an object of thought, and as this tendency enlarged will produce 

 pure symbolic words, inflections may have had their origin by the 

 addition of these to the word. That the former view, however, is- 

 more consistent must appear from the following reasoning : 



1. The latter view supposes that the noting of relations was 

 postponed until such intellectual propress had been made as would 

 enable pure symbolization to take place. The history of symbolic 

 words, however, shows them to be the product of an advanced state 

 of thought. 



2. The musical element in inflection points to its primitive na- 

 ture as opposed to a symbolic origin. 



3. All late developments, the result of J^inguistic revolutions are 

 marked by analytic means, and never make use of flection, which 

 fact would imply that flection was a characteristic of early develop- 

 ments alone. 



4. Our view of the origin of flectional endings and internal 

 change would be strengthened, if it were found that people whose 

 early development showed a marked progress on the objective side 

 made use for the most part of flectional endings. 



For the objective mind directing its flow of energy toward the 

 external matter would at once acquire great discriminating power. 

 It would be intellectual, critical, an examiner of external nature. 

 Such a mind would early require verbal distinctions to accompany 

 this discriminating power, and would thus overtake these decaying 

 final sounds and retain them for such a purpose. But the subjective 

 mind, looking only within, is emotional, figurative and non-scientific, 

 and thus lacking discriminating power, would be late in noting ex- 

 ternal relations^ and must consequently make use of internal change. 



