Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ESSAY II. ON LANGUAGE, AS AN UNIVERSAL ACCOMPLISHMENT. IN tracing the origin of arts and fciences, it is not uncommon to afcribe to the genius of a few fuperior minds, what arifes necefiarily out of the fyftem of man. The efforts of an individual are familiar to the eye. The efforts of the fpecies are more remote from fight, and often too deep for our refearches. The connexion, therefore, of events with an individual, is a more popular idea, while it gratifies an admiration and enthufiafm natural to the human mind. Hence the conduct of hiftorians, who defcribe the origin of nations. Hence are celebrated among every people, the firfl inventors of arts, the founders of fociety, and the inftitutors of laws and government. Such revolutions, however, in the condition of the world, are more juftly reputed the flow refult of fituations than of regular defign, and have, perhaps, lefs exercifed the talents of fuperior genius, than thofe of mankind at large. Ufcges there furely are of mere arbitrary inftitution; inventions there furely are which originate with one only, or with a few authors. But other ufages and inventions as neceflarily refer themfelves to the multitude; nor ought the cafual exertions of the former to be confounded with the infallible attainments of the fpecies. Under this precaution, then, let us introduce the queftion concerning language. Is language, it may be afked, derived to us at firft from the happy invention of a few, or to be regarded as an original accom- plifhment and inveftiture of nature, or to be attributed to fome fucceeding effort of the human mind ? The fuppofed tranfition of the fpecies from filence to the free exercife of fpeech, were a tranfition indeed aftonifhing, and might well feem difproportioned to our intellectual abilities...