Page:A discourse upon the origin and foundation of the inequality among mankind (IA discourseuponori00rous).pdf/114

 Let us conider how many Ideas we owe to the Ue of Speech; how much Grammar exercies, and facilitates the Operations of the Mind; let us, beides, reflect on the immene Pains and Time that the firt Invention of Languages mut have required: Let us add thee Reflections to the preceding; and then we may judge how many thouand Ages mut have been requiite to develop ucceively the Operations, which the Human Mind is capable of producing.

I mut now beg leave to top one Moment to conider the Perplexities attending the Origin of Languages. I might here barely cite or repeat the Reearches made, in relation to this Quetion, by the Abbé de Condillac, which all fully confirm my Sytem, and perhaps even uggeted to me the firt Idea of it. But, as the manner, in which this Philoopher reolves the Difficulties of his own Starting, concerning