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all their physical wants and desires, — and other than physical 
they have not— is it likely that they would apply themselves to 
the difficult and strange task of inventing, to supply its place 
an artificial, non-natural language of vocal articulations ? 
Where would be the incentives — what the motives ? They had 
never witnessed speech,— it did not exist. Whence would 
originate the impulse ? 
Is it not more likely that as their experience enlarged and 
their wants increased, if this sign-language were felt to be 
inadequate, that they would engraft upon it conventional 
gestures, just as the deaf and dumb do ? If circumstances 
were favourable to it, or necessity required it, the gestural 
language of the deaf and dumb might be carried to a much 
greater extent than it ever has been carried. The deaf and 
dumb do not congregate together in distinct communities 
while m their uneducated state : they are isolated, coming into 
contact with one another only accidentally and occasionally 
and never m any considerable numbers. They thus have no 
opportunity, in that state, of amplifying their language by 
general compact or agreement. And when they assemble 
together in institutions set apart for their education, it is the 
business of their teachers to discourage and suppress the 
use of gesture so soon as it has served the purpose of facili- 
tating the acquisition of a spoken language. But that gesture- 
language can be greatly amplified there is no doubt, and this 
is the language that speechless savages would cultivate, and 
not an entirely new language, a language of articulation, an 
artificial contrivance they had never witnessed, and one which 
it is hard to imagine they could have any conception of. 
I think it therefore to be a reasonable conclusion that, in the 
absence of all aid from without, a speechless community would 
be, and would ever continue to be, a gesticulating community, 
io gesture they would add inarticulate vocal sounds, but 
nothing more. And this is my second position. 
^ n */ U1 ^h. er con fi rm ation of it I will merely submit to your 
consideration an additional remark or two. 
A primitive speechless race of men would be but little more 
than mere animals. Their gestural language, though amply 
sufficient for their uncivilized condition, would be very inade- 
quate to elevate them to a state of civilization ; for gesture 
alone could never be an adequate exponent of auo-ht but 
animal feelings, material objects, and visible appearances, a 
fact which must be especially borne in mind in speculating 
upon the capabilities of gestural language, to whatever extent 
it be cultivated. Speech (or the written symbols of it) is 
indispensable to any progress in moral, religious or intellectual 
