246 
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance,” so there, — “ Par- 
thians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopo- 
tamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 
Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya 
about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 
Cretes and Arabians,”— may all, in one language and one 
tongue, “ speak the wonderful works of God.” 
The Chairman. — I think I may at once thank Professor Young for his 
exceedingly valuable and logical paper, which I think will be read, as it has 
been listened to, with the greatest interest. I call upon any gentleman for any 
remarks he may wish to make on the subject. 
Mr. Warington. — In order to lose no time, as we have but little left for 
discussion, I will at once mention that it struck me, in listening to Professor 
Young’s paper, that there was this flaw running through the whole of it, — 
that he argued, because people who became deaf were not anxious to retain 
the power of articulation, therefore others, who had not got it, but who were 
not deaf, would not think of inventing articulate speech. But surely all 
here turns upon the fact of the people being deaf. They could not hear ^ the 
sounds made by them, and so were disinclined to use them as a medium of 
communication. But now apply this principle to a parallel case. Suppose 
a man who knew the gesture language became blind, would not he in like 
manner give it up '? You won’t find a man use the gesture language in the 
dark. Even if perfectly certain that another man could see he was using 
gestures, he yet would not use them, because he could not see them him- 
self. But again, is it quite certain that those who are deaf are always thus 
disinclined to use articulate language ? Let me read a short extract from 
a chapter on gesture language, written-by Mr. Tylor.* He writes thus : — 
“ Teuschner, a deaf-mute, whose mind was developed by education to a 
remarkable degree, has recorded that, in his uneducated state, he had 
already discovered the sounds that werejnwardly blended with his sensations. 
So, as a child, he had affixed a special sound to persons he loved, — his 
parents, brothers and sisters, to animals, and things for which he had no 
sign (as water) ; and called any person he wished with one unaltered voice.” 
Mr. Tylor accumulates several distinct cases of deaf-mutes who were 
thus anxious to use articulate language, although quite unable to hear 
what was said ; he refers also to the most remarkable case of all, that of 
Laura Bridgman, who though deaf, dumb and blind, was yet so anxious to 
use sounds that she was obliged to be restrained from making them, 
because it was inconvenient and painful to those who were near her. 
Then there is another point in Professor Young’s paper, I wish to allude to. 
He says that savages would not invent language of this kind, because they 
have no need for it. And if man was created in an utterly savage state, of 
* j Researches into the Early History of Mankind. By E. B. Tylor. 
Chap. iv. p. 72. 
