OP LANGUAGES. 



101 



and indefinite numeral adjectives, 160 by personal and determi- 

 native pronouns, and in some other peculiar manner. All 

 these expedients commend themselves and suffice for special 

 purposes. The latter are momentarily of greater importance 

 and require particular attention. In fact we only arrive 

 at general conclusions after observing strictly their special 

 constituents. In the same manner as the special precedes 

 the general, so also special expressions of plurality precede 

 general ones. 



Whenever dual forms 161 exist by the side of plural forms, 

 we may conclude with perfect safety that the former are of 

 an earlier origin than the latter. As two comes before three, 

 thus also is the dual anterior to the plural. 



Whatever may be the origin of a general plural form, 162 its 

 existence in a language shows certainly a higher degree of 

 cultivation ; but this development does not indicate so much 

 a mental superiority as it suggests a more intimate apprecia- 

 tion of practical wants. 



The change of a singular into a plural recognizes a material 

 difference, such as is implied when we speak of four books 

 instead of one. 



The faculty of counting is in the same way more dependent 

 on practice than indicative of greater or lesser mental ability. 

 It will increase when it receives adequate inducement or is 

 fostered artificially. 



(160) E.g. "all," "many." 



(161) That there exist special terms to express the number two or duality, 

 while other higher numerals do not generally possess a like distinction, may 

 be perhaps explained from the great impression created by the necessity of 

 abandoning the singular, and substituting for it a new number. As the dual 

 represents the first and therefore most impressive change, the dual and the 

 plural are in some languages the same. But the adoption of a concrete dual 

 formation does not prevent that other numerals as S, 4, &c, should be 

 noticed in a similar manner, and indeed these exist, as we have seen (page 95) 

 expressions for such numbers. 



(162) There is no reason why the plural affixes should not be regarded as 

 the representatives of words expressing "multitude," in monosyllabic lan- 

 guages such terms appear in their unchanged form. 



