Page:China- Its State and Prospects.djvu/173

Rh That which constitutes the most striking superiority of the human over the brute creation is the ability of the former to conceive and communicate ideas to their fellows, by articulate sounds. The first employment of human speech is referred to in Gen. ii. 19, 20. "And God brought every beast of the field and every fowl of the air to Adam, to see what he would call them; and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to every fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field." Having once affixed a definite term to each object, that word continued to be the sign of the object referred to, and each called up the other to recollection, whenever presented to the mind. In communicating with their fellows, human beings soon found that the names of things were insufficient to express all they wished to say, and attributes and actions received appropriate appellations. The operations of the mind next required designation and description; and speech, at first poor, became gradually enriched, until it answered all the purposes of human society.

But the ear is not the only inlet to the soul, and as men derived knowledge to themselves by the organs of sight, they soon found that it was possible to communicate information to others through the same medium. Hence, when language failed, external action was resorted to, and the eye as well as the ear aided in the interchange of ideas. When both voice and gesture were insufficient for their purpose, delineation was employed; and objects were rudely pictured for the inspection of the bye standers. The same method was used for sending intelligence to a distance, or recording events for the benefit of posterity. Hence originated pictorial