THE NATURAL SCIENCIES: THEIR NEWNESS AND VALUE. 481 
Gradually, however, this period passed away, and the era of imitation began 
to develop itself. What constitutes the knowledge of man which may be called 
imitative? For answer let us look to history. Out of the dim mists of the past 
we gather the grandest forms of poetry, oratory, sculpture, architecture, etc., that 
the world has ever seen or can see. And why? Because they are all imitative 
in their origin, and employed the minds of men during the childhood days of the 
human race. For instance, let us consider sculpture. From the hands of the 
Creator—the Master of the universe—came models as perfect as could be. Forms 
of men, of animals, of trees, of all natural objects were perfect. There was only 
required in man genius with suitable materials placed at its disposal to produce 
an imitation as nearly as possible like the original model, and afterward it would 
be impossible to go any further in this line. As to painting, nature showed the 
landscapes, the light and shadow to colors, and the artist must only copy the 
objects correctly and color them properly, and human hand could do no more. 
In architecture, the growth was somewhat slower, and yet the noblest forms 
and most admirable styles were early reached. Language was another imitative 
acquirement. The earliest words, I doubt not, were articulated in imitation of 
sounds produced by various animals or various phenomena. Soon all the more 
noticeable objects and acts in any locality had received names, and these names 
became fixed for that locality. ‘They descended from father to son and were 
carried in their migrations from one country to another. Thus spoken language 
began. Written language was a thing of later birth, and grew out of signs and 
symbols made to represent things. The earliest written language of human 
origin is hieroglyphic. The multiplication of symbols, as knowledge increased, led 
to the adoption of a few artificial characters as symbols of sounds, which, being 
combined, would represent all objects and phenomena whatsoever. ‘Then as 
soon as possible came the poets and historians, who gathered up the traditions of 
their peoples and wrote them down, ‘They appropriated all the imagery and 
tropes and figures of earliest speech, and left behind them works which lose no 
luster with the flight of years. After them, everything must be taken second- 
hand—the best had been done. Out of the written language arose grammar, 
rhetoric, etc., as the laws of both spoken and written language. The science of 
numbers arose partly from imitation and partly from experiment. ‘The rise and 
set of the sun would naturally become the unit of measure of time. The course 
of the four seasons, and their constant recurrence in the same order would fix the 
length of the year. In measuring magnitudes, what more easy of access than the 
hand, or arm, or foot, or stride, or height? Men having become accustomed to the 
use of these, the need of uniformity would lead them to adopt a measure taken from 
the arm or foot of a king or leading man. A unit once adopted would be handed 
down, as our yardstick, which dates from the reign and arm of Henry I. of Eng- 
land (1120 A. D.) The origination of a system of notation and numeration soon 
followed, to be transmitted from generation to generation. 
Now, the sciences we have thus far glanced at were to a greater or less de- 
