LANGUAGE. 
consider as it is, without attempting to 
ascertain what it has been. We see all 
regularity and beauty, and we do not often 
ask ourselves the question, has language 
always been -thus regular and beautiful? 
When we look back into the earlier periods 
of human nature, we find that this which 
now wears so much the appearance of art, 
was originally the invention of necessity, 
gradually perfected and brought into a 
systematic form by causes which have ope- 
rated generally, but have received modifi- 
cation from the influence of local or tem- 
porary circumstances. A complete history 
of the origin and progress of language, 
would be a history of the human mind. 
Our direct evidence is not very extensive, 
and indeed we are too much obliged to 
have recourse to hypothesis in tracing the 
progress of improvement in any depart- 
ment of science. We are unable always to 
ascertain (as Mr. Stewart observes) how 
men have actually conducted themselves on 
particular occasions, and we are then led 
to inquire in what manner they are likely 
to have proceeded, from the principle of 
their nature, and the circumstances of their 
external situation. In such inquiries the 
detached facts which the remains of anti- 
quity, or the narrations of travellers, or 
the actual appearances of language at pre- 
sent, afford us, serve as landmarks for our 
speculations. “ In examining the history 
of mankind, as well as in examining the 
phenomena of the material v,rorld, when we 
cannot trace the process by which an event 
has been produced, it is often of importance 
to be able to show how it may have been 
produced by natural causes. The steps in 
the formation of language cannot probably 
be determined with certainty ; yet if we 
can show from the known principles of hu- 
man nature, how all its various parts might 
gradually have arisen, the mind is not only 
to a certain degree satisfied, but a check is 
given to that indolent philosophy which 
refers to a miracle whatever appearances 
both in tlie natural and moral worlds it is 
unable to explain.” 
6. Diodorus Siculus and Vitruvius sup- 
posed, that the first men lived for some 
time in the woods and caves, like the beasts, 
uttering only confused and inarticulate 
sounds; till, associating for mutual assist- 
ance, they came by degrees to use articu- 
late sounds, mutually agreed upon, for arbi- 
trary signs or marks of those ideas in the 
mind of the speaker, which he wanted to 
tomniiunicate to the hearer. By what de- 
grees they proceeded from inarticulate to 
articulate sounds, these writers do not at- 
tempt to point out, and unless we admit 
that those articulate sounds were connected 
with certain feelings, in the same manner 
as what are called the natural signs, or, 
that they were easily produced, (which will 
not be allowed by any who have attended 
to the structure of the organs of speech) 
the account we have received from a better 
informed historian will not lose its ground. 
Moses leads ns to understand tliat the rudi- 
ments of language were given to man by 
his Maker. Here was the first step, and 
here it is reasonable to believe the divine 
communications ceased, and that man was 
left to complete what he had been taught 
to begin. Let us then suppose the use of 
articulation given, and its application in 
some instances pointed out, in the invention 
of the names of animals ; which, we may 
observe, is in fact the first step which 
would probably have been taken, presup- 
posing the use of articulation, if no divine 
interposition had taken place. 
7. Words would originally be simply the 
signs of things, and further, of individuals. 
New objects, for which necessity required 
a name, would receive different names 
from those already given ; but if there were 
a striking similarity between a new object, 
andnne which had already received a name, 
the old name would be transferred. One of 
the principles of association is similarity, 
and the new impression would recal the 
idea of a former object which it resembled, 
and consequently the word with which that 
object was connected ; and thus, what ori- 
ginally was a name for an individual only, 
would gradually become the name of a 
multitude. Thus Lee Boo, who had been 
taught by his fellow voyagers to call a great 
Newfoundland dog by the name of Sailor, 
used to call every dog he saw Sailor. There 
is little or no difficulty attending the appel- 
lation and classification of sensible objects : 
it is an operation simple and easy, if some 
articulate sounds were known. 
8. When several objects had received 
the .same name, it would sometimes be 
necessary to distinguish them. Our proce- 
dure in such cases is to connect with the 
name of the object the name of a distinguish- 
ing quality, or some word of a restrictive 
force, (M' to specify some relation which it 
has with other objects ; but this supposes 
that to be already done, which we must 
suppose is to be done. Now we most 
bear in mind that similarity (sensible, ex- 
