Itmayhavebeenslowerwithsome，quickerwithothers。Sometribesmayhaveusedshorter，otherslongerwordsorcries：theymayhavebeenmoreorlessinclinedtoagglutinateortodecomposethem：theymayhavemodifiedthembytheuseofprefixes，suffixes，infixes；bythelengtheningandstrengtheningofvowelsorbytheshorteningandweakeningofthem，bythecondensationorrarefactionofconsonants。Butwhogavetolanguagetheseprimevallaws；orwhyoneracehastriliteral，anotherbiliteralroots；orwhyinsomemembersofagroupoflanguagesbbecomesp，ord，t，orch，k；orwhytwolanguagesresembleoneanotherincertainpartsoftheirstructureanddifferinothers；orwhyinonelanguagethereisagreaterdevelopmentofvowels，inanotherofconsonants，andthelike——arequestionsofwhichweonly’entertainconjecture。’Wemustrememberthelengthoftimethathaselapsedsincemanfirstwalkedupontheearth，andthatinthisvastbutunknownperiodeveryvarietyoflanguagemayhavebeeninprocessofformationanddecay，manytimesover。
（ComparePlato，Laws）：——
’ATHENIANSTRANGER：Andwhatthenistoberegardedastheoriginofgovernment？Willnotamanbeabletojudgebestfromapointofviewinwhichhemaybeholdtheprogressofstatesandtheirtransitionstogoodandevil？
CLEINIAS：Whatdoyoumean？
ATHENIANSTRANGER：Imeanthathemightwatchthemfromthepointofviewoftime，andobservethechangeswhichtakeplaceinthemduringinfiniteages。
CLEINIAS：Howso？
ATHENIANSTRANGER：Why，doyouthinkthatyoucanreckonthetimewhichhaselapsedsincecitiesfirstexistedandmenwerecitizensofthem？
CLEINIAS：Hardly。
ATHENIANSTRANGER：Butyouarequitesurethatitmustbevastandincalculable？
CLEINIAS：Nodoubt。
ATHENIANSTRANGER：Andhavetherenotbeenthousandsandthousandsofcitieswhichhavecomeintobeingandperishedduringthisperiod？Andhasnoteveryplacehadendlessformsofgovernment，andbeensometimesrising，andatothertimesfalling，andagainimprovingorwaning？’
Aristot。Metaph。：——
’Andifapersonshouldconceivethetalesofmythologytomeanonlythatmenthoughtthegodstobethefirstessencesofthings，hewoulddeemthereflectiontohavebeeninspiredandwouldconsiderthat，whereasprobablyeveryartandpartofwisdomhadbeenDISCOVEREDANDLOSTMANYTIMESOVER，suchnotionswerebutaremnantofthepastwhichhassurvivedtoourday。’）
Itcanhardlybesupposedthatanytracesofanoriginallanguagestillsurvive，anymorethanofthefirsthutsorbuildingswhichwereconstructedbyman。Norareweatallcertainoftherelation，ifany，inwhichthegreaterfamiliesoflanguagesstandtoeachother。Theinfluenceofindividualsmustalwayshavebeenadisturbingelement。Likegreatwritersinlatertimes，theremayhavebeenmanyabarbaricgeniuswhotaughtthemenofhistribetosingorspeak，showingthembyexamplehowtocontinueordividetheirwords，charmingtheirsoulswithrhythmandaccentandintonation，findinginfamiliarobjectstheexpressionoftheirconfusedfancies——towhomthewholeoflanguagemightintruthbesaidtobeafigureofspeech。Onepersonmayhaveintroducedanewcustomintotheformationorpronunciationofaword；hemayhavebeenimitatedbyothers，andthecustom，orform，oraccent，orquantity，orrhymewhichheintroducedinasinglewordmayhavebecomethetypeonwhichmanyotherwordsorinflexionsofwordswereframed，andmayhavequicklyranthroughawholelanguage。Forliketheothergiftswhichnaturehasbestoweduponman，thatofspeechhasbeenconveyedtohimthroughthemedium，notofthemany，butofthefew，whowerehis’law-givers’——’thelegislatorwiththedialecticianstandingonhisrighthand，’inPlato’sstrikingimage，whoformedthemannersofmenandgavethemcustoms，whosevoiceandlookandbehaviour，whosegesticulationsandotherpeculiaritieswereinstinctivelyimitatedbythem，——the’kingofmen’whowastheirpriest，almosttheirGod……Buttheseareconjecturesonly：solittledoweknowoftheoriginoflanguagethattherealscholarisindisposedtotouchthesubjectatall。
（2）Thereareothererrorsbesidesthefigmentofaprimitiveororiginallanguagewhichitistimetoleavebehindus。Wenolongerdividelanguagesintosyntheticalandanalytical，orsupposesimilarityofstructuretobethesafeoronlyguidetotheaffinitiesofthem。WedonotconfusethepartsofspeechwiththecategoriesofLogic。Nordoweconceivelanguagesanymorethancivilisationstobeinastateofdissolution；theydonoteasilypassaway，butarefarmoretenaciousoflifethanthetribesbywhomtheyarespoken。’Wheretwoorthreearegatheredtogether，’theysurvive。Asinthehumanframe，asinthestate，thereisaprincipleofrenovationaswellasofdecaywhichisatworkinallofthem。Neitherdowesupposethemtobeinventedbythewitofman。
Withfewexceptions，e。g。technicalwordsorwordsnewlyimportedfromaforeignlanguage，andthelike，inwhicharthasimitatednature，’wordsarenotmadebutgrow。’Nordoweattributetothemasupernaturalorigin。
Thelawwhichregulatesthemislikethelawwhichgovernsthecirculationoftheblood，ortherisingofthesapintrees；theactionofitisuniform，buttheresult，whichappearsinthesuperficialformsofmenandanimalsorintheleavesoftrees，isanendlessprofusionandvariety。
Thelawsofvegetationareinvariable，butnotwoplants，notwoleavesoftheforestarepreciselythesame。Thelawsoflanguageareinvariable，butnotwolanguagesarealike，notwowordshaveexactlythesamemeaning。
Notwosoundsareexactlyofthesamequality，orgivepreciselythesameimpression。
Itwouldbewelliftherewereasimilarconsensusaboutsomeotherpointswhichappeartobestillindispute。Islanguageconsciousorunconscious？
Inspeakingorwritinghavewepresenttoourmindsthemeaningorthesoundortheconstructionofthewordswhichweareusing？——Nomorethantheseparatedropsofwaterwithwhichwequenchourthirstarepresent：
thewholedraughtmaybeconscious，butnottheminuteparticlesofwhichitismadeup：Sothewholesentencemaybeconscious，buttheseveralwords，syllables，lettersarenotthoughtofseparatelywhenweareutteringthem。Likeothernaturaloperations，theprocessofspeech，whenmostperfect，isleastobservedbyus。Wedonotpauseateachmouthfultodwelluponthetasteofit：norhasthespeakertimetoaskhimselfthecomparativemeritsofdifferentmodesofexpressionwhileheisutteringthem。Therearemanythingsintheuseoflanguagewhichmaybeobservedfromwithout，butwhichcannotbeexplainedfromwithin。Consciousnesscarriesusbutalittlewayintheinvestigationofthemind；itisnotthefacultyofinternalobservation，butonlythedimlightwhichmakessuchobservationpossible。Whatissupposedtobeourconsciousnessoflanguageisreallyonlytheanalysisofit，andthisanalysisadmitsofinnumerabledegrees。Butwoulditnotbebetterifthisterm，whichissomisleading，andyethasplayedsogreatapartinmentalscience，wereeitherbanishedorusedonlywiththedistinctmeaningof’attentiontoourownminds，’
suchasiscalledforth，notbyfamiliarmentalprocesses，butbytheinterruptionofthem？Nowinthissensewemaytrulysaythatwearenotconsciousofordinaryspeech，thoughwearecommonlyrousedtoattentionbythemisuseormispronunciationofaword。Stillless，eveninschoolsandacademies，doweeverattempttoinventnewwordsortoalterthemeaningofoldones，exceptinthecase，mentionedabove，oftechnicalorborrowedwordswhichareartificiallymadeorimportedbecauseaneedofthemisfelt。Neitherinourownnorinanyotheragehastheconsciouseffortofreflectioninmancontributedinanappreciabledegreetotheformationoflanguage。’Whichofusbytakingthought’canmakenewwordsorconstructions？Reflectionistheleastofthecausesbywhichlanguageisaffected，andislikelytohavetheleastpower，whenthelinguisticinstinctisgreatest，asinyoungchildrenandintheinfancyofnations。
Akindrederroristheseparationofthephoneticfromthementalelementoflanguage；theyarereallyinseparable——nodefinitelinecanbedrawnbetweenthem，anymorethaninanyothercommonactofmindandbody。Itistruethatwithincertainlimitswepossessthepowerofvaryingsoundsbyopeningandclosingthemouth，bytouchingthepalateortheteethwiththetongue，bylengtheningorshorteningthevocalinstrument，bygreaterorlessstress，byahigherorlowerpitchofthevoice，andwecansubstituteonenoteoraccentforanother。Butbehindtheorgansofspeechandtheiractionthereremainstheinformingmind，whichsetstheminmotionandworkstogetherwiththem。Andbehindthegreatstructureofhumanspeechandthelesservarietiesoflanguagewhichariseoutofthemanydegreesandkindsofhumanintercourse，thereisalsotheunknownorover-rulinglawofGodornaturewhichgivesordertoitinitsinfinitegreatness，andvarietyinitsinfinitesimalminuteness——bothequallyinscrutabletous。WeneednolongerdiscusswhetherphilologyistobeclassedwiththeNaturalortheMentalsciences，ifwefranklyrecognizethat，likeallthescienceswhichareconcernedwithman，ithasadoubleaspect，——inwardandoutward；andthattheinwardcanonlybeknownthroughtheoutward。Neitherneedweraisethequestionwhetherthelawsoflanguage，liketheotherlawsofhumanaction，admitofexceptions。Theanswerinallcasesisthesame——thatthelawsofnatureareuniform，thoughtheconsistencyorcontinuityofthemisnotalwaysperceptibletous。Thesuperficialappearancesoflanguage，asofnature，areirregular，butwedonotthereforedenytheirdeeperuniformity。Thecomparisonofthegrowthoflanguageintheindividualandinthenationcannotbewhollydiscarded，fornationsaremadeupofindividuals。Butinthis，asintheotherpoliticalsciences，wemustdistinguishbetweencollectiveandindividualactionsorprocesses，andnotattributetotheonewhatbelongstotheother。Again，whenwespeakofthehereditaryorpaternityofalanguage，wemustrememberthattheparentsarealiveaswellasthechildren，andthatalltheprecedinggenerationssurvive（afteramanner）
inthelatestformofit。Andwhen，forthepurposesofcomparison，weformintogroupstherootsorterminationsofwords，weshouldnotforgethowcasualisthemannerinwhichtheirresemblanceshavearisen——theywerenotfirstwrittendownbyagrammarianintheparadigmsofagrammarandlearnedoutofabook，butwereduetomanychanceattractionsofsoundorofmeaning，orofbothcombined。Somanycautionshavetobeborneinmind，andsomanyfirstthoughtstobedismissed，beforewecanproceedsafelyinthepathofphilologicalenquiry。Itmightbewellsometimestolayasidefiguresofspeech，suchasthe’root’andthe’branches，’the’stem，’the’strata’ofGeology，the’compounds’ofChemistry，’theripefruitofpronounsdroppingfromverbs’（seeabove），andthelike，whicharealwaysinteresting，butareapttobedelusive。Yetsuchfiguresofspeecharefarnearerthetruththanthetheorieswhichattributetheinventionandimprovementoflanguagetotheconsciousactionofthehumanmind……Lastly，itisdoubtedbyrecentphilologianswhetherclimatecanbesupposedtohaveexercisedanyinfluenceworthspeakingofonalanguage：
suchaviewissaidtobeunproven：ithadbetterthereforenotbesilentlyassumed。
’Naturalselection’andthe’survivalofthefittest’havebeenappliedinthefieldofphilology，aswellasintheotherscienceswhichareconcernedwithanimalandvegetablelife。AndaDarwinianschoolofphilologistshassprungup，whoaresometimesaccusedofputtingwordsintheplaceofthings。Itseemstobetrue，thatwhetherappliedtolanguageortootherbranchesofknowledge，theDarwiniantheory，unlessverypreciselydefined，hardlyescapesfrombeingatruism。Ifby’thenaturalselection’ofwordsormeaningsofwordsorbythe’persistenceandsurvivalofthefittest’themaintainerofthetheoryintendstoaffirmnothingmorethanthis——thattheword’fittesttosurvive’survives，headdsnotmuchtotheknowledgeoflanguage。Butifhemeansthatthewordorthemeaningofthewordorsomeportionofthewordwhichcomesintouseordropsoutofuseisselectedorrejectedonthegroundofeconomyorparsimonyoreasetothespeakerorclearnessoreuphonyorexpressiveness，orgreaterorlessdemandforit，oranythingofthissort，heisaffirmingapropositionwhichhasseveralsenses，andinnoneofthesesensescanbeassistedtobeuniformlytrue。Forthelawsoflanguageareprecarious，andcanonlyactuniformlywhenthereissuchfrequencyofintercourseamongneighboursasissufficienttoenforcethem。Andtherearemanyreasonswhyamanshouldpreferhisownwayofspeakingtothatofothers，unlessbysodoinghebecomesunintelligible。Thestruggleforexistenceamongwordsisnotofthatfierceandirresistiblekindinwhichbirds，beastsandfishesdevouroneanother，butofamildersort，allowingoneusagetobesubstitutedforanother，notbyforce，butbythepersuasion，orratherbytheprevailinghabit，ofamajority。Thefavouritefigure，inthis，asinsomeotherusesofit，hastendedrathertoobscurethanexplainthesubjecttowhichithasbeenapplied。Norinanycasecanthestruggleforexistencebedeemedtobethesoleorprincipalcauseofchangesinlanguage，butonlyoneamongmany，andoneofwhichwecannoteasilymeasuretheimportance。ThereisafurtherobjectionwhichmaybeurgedequallyagainstallapplicationsoftheDarwiniantheory。Asinanimallifeandlikewiseinvegetable，soinlanguages，theprocessofchangeissaidtobeinsensible：sounds，likeanimals，aresupposedtopassintooneanotherbyimperceptiblegradation。Butinbothcasesthenewly-createdformssoonbecomefixed；therearefewifanyvestigesoftheintermediatelinks，andsothebetterhalfoftheevidenceofthechangeiswanting。
（3）Amongtheincumbrancesorillusionsoflanguagemaybereckonedmanyoftherulesandtraditionsofgrammar，whetherancientgrammarorthecorrectionsofitwhichmodernphilologyhasintroduced。Grammar，likelaw，delightsindefinition：humanspeech，likehumanaction，thoughveryfarfrombeingamerechaos，isindefinite，admitsofdegrees，andisalwaysinastateofchangeortransition。Grammargivesanerroneousconceptionoflanguage：foritreducestoasystemthatwhichisnotasystem。Itsfiguresofspeech，pleonasms，ellipses，anacolutha，prostosemainomenon，andthelikehavenoreality；theydonoteithermakeconsciousexpressionsmoreintelligibleorshowthewayinwhichtheyhavearisen；theyarechieflydesignedtobringanearlieruseoflanguageintoconformitywiththelater。OftentheyseemintendedonlytoremindusthatgreatpoetslikeAeschylusorSophoclesorPindaroragreatprosewriterlikeThucydidesareguiltyoftakingunwarrantablelibertieswithgrammaticalrules；itappearsnevertohaveoccurredtotheinventorsofthemthatthesereal’conditoreslinguaeGraecae’livedinanagebeforegrammar，when’GreecealsowaslivingGreece。’Itistheanatomy，notthephysiologyoflanguage，whichgrammarseekstodescribe：intotheidiomandhigherlifeofwordsitdoesnotenter。TheordinaryGreekgrammargivesacompleteparadigmoftheverb，withoutsuggestingthatthedoubleortrebleformsofPerfects，Aorists，etc。arehardlyevercontemporaneous。
ItdistinguishesMoodsandTenses，withoutobservinghowmuchofthenatureofonepassesintotheother。ItmakesthreeVoices，Active，Passive，andMiddle，buttakesnonoticeoftheprecariousexistenceanduncertaincharacterofthelastofthethree。Languageisathingofdegreesandrelationsandassociationsandexceptions：grammartiesitupinfixedrules。Languagehasmanyvarietiesofusage：grammartriestoreducethemtoasingleone。Grammardividesverbsintoregularandirregular：itdoesnotrecognizethattheirregular，equallywiththeregular，aresubjecttolaw，andthatalanguagewhichhadnoexceptionswouldnotbeanaturalgrowth：foritcouldnothavebeensubjectedtotheinfluencesbywhichlanguageisordinarilyaffected。Itisalwayswantingtodescribeancientlanguagesinthetermsofamodernone。Ithasafavouritefictionthatonewordisputintheplaceofanother；thetruthisthatnowordiseverputforanother。Ithasanotherfiction，thatawordhasbeenomitted：wordsareomittedbecausetheyarenolongerneeded；andtheomissionhasceasedtobeobserved。Thecommonexplanationofkataorsomeotherpreposition’beingunderstood’inaGreeksentenceisanotherfictionofthesamekind，whichtendstodisguisethefactthatundercaseswerecomprehendedoriginallymanymorerelations，andthatprepositionsareusedonlytodefinethemeaningofthemwithgreaterprecision。Theseinstancesaresufficienttoshowthesortoferrorswhichgrammarintroducesintolanguage。Wearenotconsideringthequestionofitsutilitytothebeginnerinthestudy。Eventohimthebestgrammaristheshortestandthatinwhichhewillhaveleasttounlearn。Itmaybesaidthattheexplanationsherereferredtoarealreadyoutofdate，andthatthestudyofGreekgrammarhasreceivedanewcharacterfromcomparativephilology。
Thisistrue；butitisalsotruethatthetraditionalgrammarhasstillagreatholdonthemindofthestudent。
Metaphysicsareevenmoretroublesomethanthefigmentsofgrammar，becausetheyweartheappearanceofphilosophyandthereisnotesttowhichtheycanbesubjected。Theyareusefulinsofarastheygiveusaninsightintothehistoryofthehumanmindandthemodesofthoughtwhichhaveexistedinformerages；orinsofarastheyfurnishwiderconceptionsofthedifferentbranchesofknowledgeandoftheirrelationtooneanother。
Buttheyareworsethanuselesswhentheyoutrunexperienceandabstractthemindfromtheobservationoffacts，onlytoenvelopeitinamistofwords。Somephilologers，likeSchleicher，havebeengreatlyinfluencedbythephilosophyofHegel；nearlyallofthemtoacertainextenthavefallenunderthedominionofphysicalscience。EvenKanthimselfthoughtthatthefirstprinciplesofphilosophycouldbeelicitedfromtheanalysisoftheproposition，inthisrespectfallingshortofPlato。Westphalholdsthattherearethreestagesoflanguage：（1）inwhichthingswerecharacterizedindependently，（2）inwhichtheywereregardedinrelationtohumanthought，and（3）inrelationtooneanother。Butarenotsuchdistinctionsananachronism？fortheyimplyagrowthofabstractideaswhichneverexistedinearlytimes。LanguagecannotbeexplainedbyMetaphysics；foritispriortothemandmuchmorenearlyalliedtosense。Itisnotlikelythatthemeaningofthecasesisultimatelyresolvableintorelationsofspaceandtime。Norcanwesupposetheconceptionofcauseandeffectorofthefiniteandinfiniteorofthesameandothertobelatentinlanguageatatimewhenintheirabstractformtheyhadneverenteredintothemindofman……IfthescienceofComparativePhilologyhadpossessed’enoughofMetaphysicstogetridofMetaphysics，’itwouldhavemadefargreaterprogress。
（4）Ourknowledgeoflanguageisalmostconfinedtolanguageswhicharefullydeveloped。Theyareofseveralpatterns；andthesebecomealteredbyadmixtureinvariousdegrees，——theymayonlyborrowafewwordsfromoneanotherandretaintheirlifecomparativelyunaltered，ortheymaymeetinastruggleforexistenceuntiloneofthetwoisoverpoweredandretiresfromthefield。Theyattainthefullrightsanddignityoflanguagewhentheyacquiretheuseofwritingandhavealiteratureoftheirown；theypassintodialectsandgrowoutofthem，inproportionasmenareisolatedorunitedbylocalityoroccupation。Thecommonlanguagesometimesreactsuponthedialectsandimpartstothemalsoaliterarycharacter。Thelawsoflanguagecanbebestdiscernedinthegreatcrisesoflanguage，especiallyinthetransitionsfromancienttomodernformsofthem，whetherinEuropeorAsia。Suchchangesarethesilentnotesoftheworld’shistory；theymarkperiodsofunknownlengthinwhichwarandconquestwererunningriotoverwholecontinents，timesofsufferingtoogreattobeenduredbythehumanrace，inwhichthemastersbecamesubjectsandthesubjectracesmasters，inwhichdrivenbynecessityorimpelledbysomeinstinct，tribesornationslefttheiroriginalhomesandbutslowlyfoundaresting-place。Languagewouldbethegreatestofallhistoricalmonuments，ifitcouldonlytellusthehistoryofitself。
（5）Therearemanywaysinwhichwemayapproachthisstudy。Thesimplestofallistoobserveourownuseoflanguageinconversationorinwriting，howweputwordstogether，howweconstructandconnectsentences，whataretherulesofaccentandrhythminverseorprose，theformationandcompositionofwords，thelawsofeuphonyandsound，theaffinitiesofletters，themistakestowhichweareourselvesmostliableofspellingorpronunciation。Wemaycomparewithourownlanguagesomeother，evenwhenwehaveonlyaslightknowledgeofit，suchasFrenchorGerman。EvenalittleLatinwillenableustoappreciatethegranddifferencebetweenancientandmodernEuropeanlanguages。Inthechildlearningtospeakwemaynotetheinherentstrengthoflanguage，whichlike’amountainriver’
isalwaysforcingitswayout。Wemaywitnessthedelightinimitationandrepetition，andsomeofthelawsbywhichsoundspassintooneanother。Wemaylearnsomethingalsofromthefalteringsofoldage，thesearchingforwords，andtheconfusionofthemwithoneanother，theforgetfulnessofpropernames（morecommonlythanofotherwordsbecausetheyaremoreisolated），aphasia，andthelike。Therearephilologicallessonsalsotobegatheredfromnicknames，fromprovincialisms，fromtheslangofgreatcities，fromtheargotofParis（thatlanguageofsufferingandcrime，sopatheticallydescribedbyVictorHugo），fromtheimperfectarticulationofthedeafanddumb，fromthejabberingofanimals，fromtheanalysisofsoundsinrelationtotheorgansofspeech。Thephonographaffordsavisibleevidenceofthenatureanddivisionsofsound；wemaybetrulysaidtoknowwhatwecanmanufacture。Artificiallanguages，suchasthatofBishopWilkins，arechieflyusefulinshowingwhatlanguageisnot。ThestudyofanyforeignlanguagemaybemadealsoastudyofComparativePhilology。Thereareseveralpoints，suchasthenatureofirregularverbs，ofindeclinablepartsofspeech，theinfluenceofeuphony，thedecayorlossofinflections，theelementsofsyntax，whichmaybeexaminedaswellinthehistoryofourownlanguageasofanyother。Afewwell-
selectedquestionsmayleadthestudentatonceintotheheartofthemystery：suchas，Whyarethepronounsandtheverbofexistencegenerallymoreirregularthananyotherpartsofspeech？Whyisthenumberofwordssosmallinwhichthesoundisanechoofthesense？Whydoesthemeaningofwordsdepartsowidelyfromtheiretymology？Whydosubstantivesoftendifferinmeaningfromtheverbstowhichtheyarerelated，adverbsfromadjectives？Whydowordsdifferinginorigincoalesceinthesamesoundthoughretainingtheirdifferencesofmeaning？Whyaresomeverbsimpersonal？Whyarethereonlysomanypartsofspeech，andonwhatprinciplearetheydivided？Theseareafewcrucialquestionswhichgiveusaninsightfromdifferentpointsofviewintothetruenatureoflanguage。
（6）Thusfarwehavebeenendeavouringtostripofffromlanguagethefalseappearancesinwhichgrammarandphilology，ortheloveofsystemgenerally，haveclothedit。Wehavealsosoughttoindicatethesourcesofourknowledgeofitandthespiritinwhichweshouldapproachit，wemaynowproceedtoconsidersomeoftheprinciplesornaturallawswhichhavecreatedormodifiedit。
i。Thefirstandsimplestofalltheprinciplesoflanguage，commonalsototheanimals，isimitation。Thelionroars，thewolfhowlsinthesolitudeoftheforest：theyareansweredbysimilarcriesheardfromadistance。Thebird，too，mimicsthevoiceofmanandmakesanswertohim。
Mantellstomanthesecretplaceinwhichheishidinghimself；heremembersandrepeatsthesoundwhichhehasheard。Theloveofimitationbecomesapassionandaninstincttohim。Primitivemenlearnttospeakfromoneanother，likeachildfromitsmotherornurse。Theylearntofcoursearudimentary，half-articulatelanguage，thecryorsongorspeechwhichwastheexpressionofwhatwenowcallhumanthoughtsandfeelings。
Wemaystillremarkhowmuchgreaterandmorenaturaltheexerciseofthepowerisintheuseoflanguagethaninanyotherprocessoractionofthehumanmind。
ii。Imitationprovidedthefirstmaterialoflanguage：butitwas’withoutformandvoid。’Duringhowmanyyearsorhundredsorthousandsofyearstheimitativeorhalf-articulatestagecontinuedthereisnopossibilityofdetermining。Butwemayreasonablyconjecturethattherewasatimewhenthevocalutteranceofmanwasintermediatebetweenwhatwenowcalllanguageandthecryofabirdoranimal。Speechbeforelanguagewasarudisindigestaquemateries，notyetdistributedintowordsandsentences，inwhichthecryoffearorjoymingledwithmoredefinitesoundsrecognizedbycustomastheexpressionsofthingsorevents。Itwastheprincipleofanalogywhichintroducedintothis’indigestamoles’orderandmeasure。ItwasAnaxagoras’omoupantachremata，eitanouselthondiekosmese：thelightofreasonlightedupallthingsandatoncebegantoarrangethem。Ineverysentence，ineverywordandeveryterminationofaword，thispowerofformingrelationstooneanotherwascontained。Therewasaproportionofsoundtosound，ofmeaningtomeaning，ofmeaningtosound。Thecasesandnumbersofnouns，thepersons，tenses，numbersofverbs，weregenerallyonthesameornearlythesamepatternandhadthesamemeaning。Thesoundsbywhichtheywereexpressedwererough-hewnatfirst；afterawhiletheygrewmorerefined——thenaturallawsofeuphonybegantoaffectthem。Therulesofsyntaxarelikewisebaseduponanalogy。
Timehasananalogywithspace，arithmeticwithgeometry。Notonlyinmusicalnotes，butinthequantity，quality，accent，rhythmofhumanspeech，trivialorserious，thereisalawofproportion。Asinthingsofbeauty，asinallnature，inthecompositionaswellasinthemotionofallthings，thereisasimilarityofrelationsbywhichtheyareheldtogether。
Itwouldbeamistaketosupposethattheanalogiesoflanguagearealwaysuniform：theremaybeoftenachoicebetweenseveral，andsometimesoneandsometimesanotherwillprevail。InGreektherearethreedeclensionsofnouns；theformsofcasesinoneofthemmayintrudeuponanother。
Similarlyverbsin-omegaand-muiotainterchangeformsoftenses，andthecompletedparadigmoftheverbisoftenmadeupofboth。Thesamenounsmaybepartlydeclinableandpartlyindeclinable，andinsomeoftheircasesmayhavefallenoutofuse。Hereareruleswithexceptions；theyarenothoweverreallyexceptions，butcontaininthemselvesindicationsofotherrules。Manyoftheseinterruptionsorvariationsofanalogyoccurinpronounsorintheverbofexistenceofwhichtheformsweretoocommonandthereforetoodeeplyimbeddedinlanguageentirelytodropout。Thesameverbsinthesamemeaningmaysometimestakeonecase，sometimesanother。
Theparticiplemayalsohavethecharacterofanadjective，theadverbeitherofanadjectiveorofapreposition。Theseexceptionsareasregularastherules，butthecausesofthemareseldomknowntous。
Language，liketheanimalandvegetableworlds，iseverywhereintersectedbythelinesofanalogy。Likenumberfromwhichitseemstobederived，theprincipleofanalogyopenstheeyesofmentodiscernthesimilaritiesanddifferencesofthings，andtheirrelationstooneanother。Atfirstthesearesuchaslieonthesurfaceonly；afteratimetheyareseenbymentoreachfartherdownintothenatureofthings。Graduallyinlanguagetheyarrangethemselvesintoasortofimperfectsystem；groupsofpersonalandcaseendingsareplacedsidebyside。Thefertilityoflanguageproducesmanymorethanarewanted；andthesuperfluousonesareutilizedbytheassignmenttothemofnewmeanings。Thevacuityandthesuperfluityarethuspartiallycompensatedbyeachother。Itmustberememberedthatinallthelanguageswhichhavealiterature，certainlyinSanskrit，Greek，Latin，wearenotatthebeginningbutalmostattheendofthelinguisticprocess；wehavereachedatimewhentheverbandthenounarenearlyperfected，thoughinnolanguagedidtheycompletelyperfectthemselves，becauseforsomeunknownreasonthemotivepowersoflanguagesseemtohaveceasedwhentheywereontheeveofcompletion：theybecamefixedorcrystallizedinanimperfectformeitherfromtheinfluenceofwritingandliterature，orbecausenofurtherdifferentiationofthemwasrequiredfortheintelligibilityoflanguage。Sonotwithoutadmixtureandconfusionanddisplacementandcontaminationofsoundsandthemeaningsofwords，alowerstageoflanguagepassesintoahigher。Thusfarwecanseeandnofurther。Whenweaskthereasonwhythisprincipleofanalogyprevailsinallthevastdomainoflanguage，thereisnoanswertothequestion；ornootheranswerbutthis，thatthereareinnumerablewaysinwhich，likenumber，analogypermeates，notonlylanguage，butthewholeworld，bothvisibleandintellectual。Weknowfromexperiencethatitdoesnot（a）
arisefromanyconsciousactofreflectionthattheaccusativeofaLatinnounin’us’shouldendin’um；’nor（b）fromanynecessityofbeingunderstood，——muchlessarticulationwouldsufficeforthis；nor（c）fromgreaterconvenienceorexpressivenessofparticularsounds。Suchnotionswerecertainlyfarenoughawayfromthemindofprimitiveman。Wemayspeakofalatentinstinct，ofasurvivalofthefittest，easiest，mosteuphonic，mosteconomicalofbreath，inthecaseofoneoftwocompetingsounds；buttheseexpressionsdonotaddanythingtoourknowledge。Wemaytrytograsptheinfinityoflanguageeitherunderthefigureofalimitlessplaindividedintocountriesanddistrictsbynaturalboundaries，orofavastrivereternallyflowingwhoseoriginisconcealedfromus；wemayapprehendpartiallythelawsbywhichspeechisregulated：butwedonotknow，andweseemasifweshouldneverknow，anymorethanintheparallelcaseoftheoriginofspecies，howvocalsoundsreceivedlifeandgrew，andintheformoflanguagescametobedistributedovertheearth。
iii。Nextinordertoanalogyintheformationoflanguageorevenpriortoitcomestheprincipleofonomatopea，whichisitselfakindofanalogyorsimilarityofsoundandmeaning。Inbyfarthegreaternumberofwordsithasbecomedisguisedandhasdisappeared；butinnostageoflanguageisitentirelylost。Itbelongschieflytoearlylanguage，inwhichwordswerefew；anditsinfluencegrewlessandlessastimewenton。Totheearwhichhadasenseofharmonyitbecameabarbarismwhichdisturbedtheflowandequilibriumofdiscourse；itwasanexcrescencewhichhadtobecutout，asurvivalwhichneededtobegotridof，becauseitwasoutofkeepingwiththerest。Itremainedforthemostpartonlyasaformativeprinciple，whichusedwordsandlettersnotascrudeimitationsofothernaturalsounds，butassymbolsofideaswhichwerenaturallyassociatedwiththem。Itreceivedinanotherwayanewcharacter；itaffectednotsomuchsinglewords，aslargerportionsofhumanspeech。Itregulatedthejuxtapositionofsoundsandthecadenceofsentences。Itwasthemusic，notofsong，butofspeech，inproseaswellasverse。Theoldonomatopeaofprimitivelanguagewasrefinedintoanonomatopeaofahigherkind，inwhichitisnolongertruetosaythataparticularsoundcorrespondstoamotionoractionofmanorbeastormovementofnature，butthatinallthehigherusesoflanguagethesoundistheechoofthesense，especiallyinpoetry，inwhichbeautyandexpressivenessaregiventohumanthoughtsbytheharmoniouscompositionofthewords，syllables，letters，accents，quantities，rhythms，rhymes，varietiesandcontrastsofallsorts。Thepoetwithhis’Break，break，break’orhisepasinnekuessikataphthimenoisinanasseinorhis’longiusexaltoquesinumtrahit，’canproduceafarfinermusicthananycrudeimitationsofthingsoractionsinsound，althoughaletterortwohavingthisimitativepowermaybealesserelementofbeautyinsuchpassages。Thesamesubtlesensibility，whichadaptsthewordtothething，adaptsthesentenceorcadencetothegeneralmeaningorspiritofthepassage。Thisisthehigheronomatopeawhichhasbanishedthecrudersortasunworthytohaveaplaceingreatlanguagesandliteratures。
Wecanseeclearlyenoughthatlettersorcollocationsoflettersdobyvariousdegreesofstrengthorweakness，lengthorshortness，emphasisorpitch，becomethenaturalexpressionsofthefinerpartsofhumanfeelingorthought。Andnotonlyso，butlettersthemselveshaveasignificance；
asPlatoobservesthattheletterrhoaccentisexpressiveofmotion，thelettersdeltaandtauofbindingandrest，theletterlambdaofsmoothness，nuofinwardness，theletteretaoflength，theletteromicronofroundness。Thesewereoftencombinedsoastoformcompositenotions，asforexampleintromos（trembling），trachus（rugged），thrauein（crush），krouein（strike），thruptein（break），pumbein（whirl），——inallwhichwordswenoticeaparallelcompositionofsoundsintheirEnglishequivalents。
Platoalsoremarks，asweremark，thattheonomatopoeticprincipleisfarfromprevailinguniformly，andfurtherthatnoexplanationoflanguageconsistentlycorrespondswithanysystemofphilosophy，howevergreatmaybethelightwhichlanguagethrowsuponthenatureofthemind。BothinGreekandEnglishwefindgroupsofwordssuchasstring，swing，sling，spring，sting，whichareparalleltooneanotherandmaybesaidtoderivetheirvocaleffectpartlyfromcontrastofletters，butinwhichitisimpossibletoassignapreciseamountofmeaningtoeachoftheexpressiveandonomatopoeticletters。Afewofthemaredirectlyimitative，asforexampletheomegainoon，whichrepresentstheroundformoftheeggbythefigureofthemouth：orbronte（thunder），inwhichthefulnessofthesoundofthewordcorrespondstothethingsignifiedbyit；orbombos（buzzing），ofwhichthefirstsyllable，asinitsEnglishequivalent，hasthemeaningofadeepsound。Wemayobservealso（asweseeinthecaseofthepoorstammerer）thatspeechhastheco-operationofthewholebodyandmaybeoftenassistedorhalfexpressedbygesticulation。Asoundorwordisnottheworkofthevocalorgansonly；nearlythewholeoftheupperpartofthehumanframe，includinghead，chest，lungs，haveashareincreatingit；anditmaybeaccompaniedbyamovementoftheeyes，nose，fingers，hands，feetwhichcontributestotheeffectofit。
Theprincipleofonomatopeahasfallenintodiscredit，partlybecauseithasbeensupposedtoimplyanactualmanufactureofwordsoutofsyllablesandletters，likeapieceofjoiner’swork，——atheoryoflanguagewhichismoreandmorerefutedbyfacts，andmoreandmoregoingoutoffashionwithphilologians；andpartlyalsobecausethetracesofonomatopeainseparatewordsbecomealmostobliteratedinthecourseofages。Thepoetoflanguagecannotputinandpulloutletters，asapaintermightinsertorblotoutashadeofcolourtogiveeffecttohispicture。Itwouldberidiculousforhimtoalteranyreceivedformofawordinordertorenderitmoreexpressiveofthesense。Hecanonlyselect，perhapsoutofsomedialect，theformwhichisalreadybestadaptedtohispurpose。Thetrueonomatopeaisnotacreative，butaformativeprinciple，whichinthelaterstageofthehistoryoflanguageceasestoactuponindividualwords；butstillworksthroughthecollocationoftheminthesentenceorparagraph，andtheadaptationofeveryword，syllable，lettertooneanotherandtotherhythmofthewholepassage。
iv。Next，underadistincthead，althoughnotseparablefromthepreceding，maybeconsideredthedifferentiationoflanguages，i。e。themannerinwhichdifferencesofmeaningandformhaveariseninthem。Intotheirfirstcreationwehaveceasedtoenquire：itistheiraftergrowthwithwhichwearenowconcerned。Howdidtherootsorsubstantialportionsofwordsbecomemodifiedorinflected？andhowdidtheyreceiveseparatemeanings？Firstweremarkthatwordsareattractedbythesoundsandsensesofotherwords，sothattheyformgroupsofnounsandverbsanalogousinsoundandsensetooneanother，eachnounorverbputtingforthinflexions，generallyoftwoorthreepatterns，andwithexceptions。
Wedonotsaythatweknowhowsensebecamefirstalliedtosound；butwehavenodifficultyinascertaininghowthesoundsandmeaningsofwordswereintimepartedoffordifferentiated。（1）Thechiefcauseswhichregulatethevariationsofsoundare（a）doubleordifferinganalogies，whichleadsometimestooneform，sometimestoanother（b）euphony，bywhichismeantchieflythegreaterpleasuretotheearandthegreaterfacilitytotheorgansofspeechwhichisgivenbyanewformationorpronunciationofaword（c）thenecessityoffindingnewexpressionsfornewclassesorprocessesofthings。Wearetoldthatchangesofsoundtakeplacebyinnumerablegradationsuntilawholetribeorcommunityorsocietyfindthemselvesacquiescinginanewpronunciationoruseoflanguage。Yetnooneobservesthechange，orisatallawarethatinthecourseofalifetimeheandhiscontemporarieshaveappreciablyvariedtheirintonationoruseofwords。Ontheotherhand，thenecessitiesoflanguageseemtorequirethattheintermediatesoundsormeaningsofwordsshouldquicklybecomefixedorsetandnotcontinueinastateoftransition。Theprocessofsettlingdownisaidedbytheorgansofspeechandbytheuseofwritingandprinting。（2）Themeaningofwordsvariesbecauseideasvaryorthenumberofthingswhichisincludedunderthemorwithwhichtheyareassociatedisincreased。Asinglewordisthusmadetododutyformanymorethingsthanwereformerlyexpressedbyit；anditpartsintodifferentsenseswhentheclassesofthingsorideaswhicharerepresentedbyitarethemselvesdifferentanddistinct。Afigurativeuseofawordmayeasilypassintoanewsense：anewmeaningcaughtupbyassociationmaybecomemoreimportantthanalltherest。Thegoodorneutralsenseofaword，suchasJesuit，Puritan，Methodist，Heretic，hasbeenoftenconvertedintoabadonebythemalevolenceofpartyspirit。Doubleformssuggestdifferentmeaningsandareoftenusedtoexpressthem；andtheformoraccentofawordhasbeennotunfrequentlyalteredwhenthereisadifferenceofmeaning。Thedifferenceofgenderinnounsisutilizedforthesamereason。Newmeaningsofwordspushthemselvesintothevacantspacesoflanguageandretirewhentheyarenolongerneeded。Languageequallyabhorsvacancyandsuperfluity。Buttheremedialmeasuresbywhichbothareeliminatedarenotduetoanyconsciousactionofthehumanmind；
noristheforceexertedbythemconstrainingornecessary。
（7）Wehaveshownthatlanguage，althoughsubjecttolaws，isfarfrombeingofanexactanduniformnature。Wemaynowspeakbrieflyofthefaultsoflanguage。TheymaybecomparedtothefaultsofGeology，inwhichdifferentstratacrossoneanotherormeetatanangle，ormixwithoneanothereitherbyslowtransitionsorbyviolentconvulsions，leavingmanylacunaewhichcanbenolongerfilledup，andoftenbecomingsocomplexthatnotrueexplanationofthemcanbegiven。Soinlanguagetherearethecrossinfluencesofmeaningandsound，oflogicandgrammar，ofdifferinganalogies，ofwordsandtheinflexionsofwords，whichoftencomeintoconflictwitheachother。Thegrammarian，ifheweretoformnewwords，wouldmakethemallofthesamepatternaccordingtowhatheconceivestobetherule，thatis，themorecommonusageoflanguage。Thesubtletyofnaturegoesfarbeyondart，anditiscomplicatedbyirregularity，sothatoftenwecanhardlysaythatthereisarightorwrongintheformationofwords。Foralmostanyformationwhichisnotatvariancewiththefirstprinciplesoflanguageispossibleandmaybedefended。
Theimperfectionoflanguageisreallyduetotheformationandcorrelationofwordsbyaccident，thatistosay，byprincipleswhichareunknowntous。HenceweseewhyPlato，likeourselvesunabletocomprehendthewholeoflanguage，wasconstrainedto’supplementthepoorcreatureimitationbyanotherpoorcreatureconvention。’Butthepoorcreatureconventionintheendprovestoomuchforalltherest：forwedonotaskwhatistheoriginofwordsorwhethertheyareformedaccordingtoacorrectanalogy，butwhatistheusageofthem；andwearecompelledtoadmitwithHermogenesinPlatoandwithHoracethatusageistherulingprinciple，’quempenesarbitriumest，etjusetnormaloquendi。’
（8）Therearetwowaysinwhichalanguagemayattainpermanenceorfixity。
First，itmayhavebeenembodiedinpoemsorhymnsorlaws，whichmayberepeatedforhundreds，perhapsforthousandsofyearswithareligiousaccuracy，sothattothepriestsorrhapsodistsofanationthewholeorthegreaterpartofalanguageisliterallypreserved；secondly，itmaybewrittendownandinawrittenformdistributedmoreorlesswidelyamongthewholenation。Ineithercasethelanguagewhichisfamiliarlyspokenmayhavegrownupwhollyorinagreatmeasureindependentlyofthem。（1）
Thefirstoftheseprocesseshasbeensometimesattendedbytheresultthatthesoundofthewordshasbeencarefullypreservedandthatthemeaningofthemhaseitherperishedwholly，orisonlydoubtfullyrecoveredbytheeffortsofmodernphilology。Theverseshavebeenrepeatedasachantorpartofaritual，buttheyhavehadnorelationtoordinarylifeorspeech。
（2）Theinventionofwritingagainiscommonlyattributedtoaparticularepoch，andweareapttothinkthatsuchaninestimablegiftwouldhaveimmediatelybeendiffusedoverawholecountry。Butitmayhavetakenalongtimetoperfecttheartofwriting，andanotherlongperiodmayhaveelapsedbeforeitcameintocommonuse。Itsinfluenceonlanguagehasbeenincreasedten，twentyoronehundredfoldbytheinventionofprinting。
Beforethegrowthofpoetryortheinventionofwriting，languageswereonlydialects。Sotheycontinuedtobeinpartsofthecountryinwhichwritingwasnotusedorinwhichtherewasnodiffusionofliterature。InmostofthecountiesofEnglandthereisstillaprovincialstyle，whichhasbeensometimesmadebyagreatpoetthevehicleofhisfancies。Whenabooksinksintothemindofanation，suchasLuther’sBibleortheAuthorizedEnglishTranslationoftheBible，oragaingreatclassicalworkslikeShakspereorMilton，notonlyhavenewpowersofexpressionbeendiffusedthroughawholenation，butagreatsteptowardsuniformityhasbeenmade。Theinstinctoflanguagedemandsregulargrammarandcorrectspelling：theseareimprinteddeeplyonthetabletsofanation’smemorybyacommonuseofclassicalandpopularwriters。Inourowndaywehaveattainedtoapointatwhichnearlyeveryprintedbookisspeltcorrectlyandwrittengrammatically。
（9）Proceedingfurthertotracetheinfluenceofliteratureonlanguagewenotesomeothercauseswhichhaveaffectedthehigheruseofit：suchas（1）thenecessityofclearnessandconnexion；（2）thefearoftautology；
（3）theinfluenceofmetre，rhythm，rhyme，andofthelanguageofproseandverseupononeanother；（4）thepowerofidiomandquotation；（5）therelativenessofwordstooneanother。
Ithasbeenusualtodepreciatemodernlanguageswhencomparedwithancient。Thelatterareregardedasfurnishingatypeofexcellencetowhichtheformercannotattain。Butthetruthseemstobethatmodernlanguages，ifthroughthelossofinflectionsandgenderstheylacksomepowerorbeautyorexpressivenessorprecisionwhichispossessedbytheancient，areinmanyotherrespectssuperiortothem：thethoughtisgenerallyclearer，theconnexioncloser，thesentenceandparagrapharebetterdistributed。Thebestmodernlanguages，forexampleEnglishorFrench，possessasgreatapowerofself-improvementastheLatin，ifnotastheGreek。Nordoesthereseemtobeanyreasonwhytheyshouldeverdeclineordecay。Itisapopularremarkthatourgreatwritersarebeginningtodisappear：itmayalsoberemarkedthatwheneveragreatwriterappearsinthefuturehewillfindtheEnglishlanguageasperfectandasreadyforuseasinthedaysofShakspereorMilton。ThereisnoreasontosupposethatEnglishorFrenchwilleverbereducedtothelowlevelofModernGreekorofMediaevalLatin。Thewidediffusionofgreatauthorswouldmakesuchadeclineimpossible。Norwillmodernlanguagesbeeasilybrokenupbyamalgamationwitheachother。Thedistancebetweenthemistoowidetobespanned，thedifferencesaretoogreattobeovercome，andtheuseofprintingmakesitimpossiblethatoneofthemshouldeverbelostinanother。
ThestructureoftheEnglishlanguagediffersgreatlyfromthatofeitherLatinorGreek。Inthetwolatter，especiallyinGreek，sentencesarejoinedtogetherbyconnectingparticles。Theyaredistributedontherighthandandontheleftbymen，de，alla，kaitoi，kaideandthelike，ordeducedfromoneanotherbyara，de，oun，toinunandthelike。InEnglishthemajorityofsentencesareindependentandinappositiontooneanother；
theyarelaidsidebysideorslightlyconnectedbythecopula。Butwithinthesentencetheexpressionofthelogicalrelationsoftheclausesiscloserandmoreexact：thereislessofappositionandparticipialstructure。Thesentencesthuslaidsidebysidearealsoconstructedintoparagraphs；theseagainarelessdistinctlymarkedinGreekandLatinthaninEnglish。GenerallyFrench，German，andEnglishhaveanadvantageovertheclassicallanguagesinpointofaccuracy。ThethreeconcordsaremoreaccuratelyobservedinEnglishthanineitherGreekorLatin。Ontheotherhand，theextensionofthefamiliaruseofthemasculineandfemininegendertoobjectsofsenseandabstractideasaswellastomenandanimalsnodoubtlendsanamelessgracetostylewhichwehaveadifficultyinappreciating，andthepossiblevarietyintheorderofwordsgivesmoreflexibilityandalsoakindofdignitytotheperiod。Ofthecomparativeeffectofaccentandquantityandoftherelationbetweentheminancientandmodernlanguageswearenotabletojudge。
Anotherqualityinwhichmodernaresuperiortoancientlanguagesisfreedomfromtautology。NoEnglishstyleisthoughttolerableinwhich，exceptforthesakeofemphasis，thesamewordsarerepeatedatshortintervals。Ofcoursethelengthoftheintervalmustdependonthecharacteroftheword。Strikingwordsandexpressionscannotbeallowedtoreappear，ifatall，exceptatthedistanceofapageormore。Pronouns，prepositions，conjunctionsmayorrathermustrecurinsuccessivelines。
Itseemstobeakindofimpertinencetothereaderandstrikesunpleasantlybothonthemindandontheearthatthesamesoundsshouldbeusedtwiceover，whenanotherwordorturnofexpressionwouldhavegivenanewshadeofmeaningtothethoughtandwouldhaveaddedapleasingvarietytothesound。Andthemindequallyrejectstherepetitionofthewordandtheuseofameresynonymforit，——e。g。felicityandhappiness。Thecultivatedminddesiressomethingmore，whichaskilfulwriteriseasilyabletosupplyoutofhistreasure-house。
Thefearoftautologyhasdoubtlessledtothemultiplicationsofwordsandthemeaningsofwords，andgenerallytoanenlargementofthevocabulary。
Itisaveryearlyinstinctoflanguage；forancientpoetryisalmostasfreefromtautologyasthebestmodernwritings。Thespeechofyoungchildren，exceptinsofarastheyarecompelledtorepeatthemselvesbythefewnessoftheirwords，alsoescapesfromit。Whentheygrowupandhaveideaswhicharebeyondtheirpowersofexpression，especiallyinwriting，tautologybeginstoappear。Inlikemannerwhenlanguageis’contaminated’byphilosophyitisapttobecomeawkward，tostammerandrepeatitself，toloseitsflowandfreedom。NophilosophicalwriterwiththeexceptionofPlato，whoishimselfnotfreefromtautology，andperhapsBacon，hasattainedtoanyhighdegreeofliteraryexcellence。
Topoetrytheformandpolishoflanguageischieflytobeattributed；andthemostcriticalperiodinthehistoryoflanguageisthetransitionfromversetoprose。Atfirstmankindwerecontentedtoexpresstheirthoughtsinasetformofwordshavingakindofrhythm；towhichregularitywasgivenbyaccentandquantity。Butafteratimetheydemandedagreaterdegreeoffreedom，andtothosewhohadalltheirlifebeenhearingpoetrythefirstintroductionofprosehadthecharmofnovelty。TheproseromancesintowhichtheHomericPoemswereconverted，forawhileprobablygavemoredelighttothehearersorreadersofthemthanthePoemsthemselves，andintimetherelationofthetwowasreversed：thepoemswhichhadoncebeenanecessityofthehumanmindbecamealuxury：theywerenowsupersededbyprose，whichinallsucceedingagesbecamethenaturalvehicleofexpressiontoallmankind。Henceforwardproseandpoetryformedeachother。Acomparativelyslenderlinkbetweenthemwasalsofurnishedbyproverbs。Wemaytraceinpoetryhowthesimplesuccessionoflines，notwithoutmonotony，haspassedintoacomplicatedperiod，andhowinprose，rhythmandaccentandtheorderofwordsandthebalanceofclauses，sometimesnotwithoutaslightadmixtureofrhyme，makeupanewkindofharmony，swellingintostrainsnotlessmajesticthanthoseofHomer，Virgil，orDante。
Oneofthemostcuriousandcharacteristicfeaturesoflanguage，affectingbothsyntaxandstyle，isidiom。Themeaningoftheword’idiom’isthatwhichispeculiar，thatwhichisfamiliar，thewordorexpressionwhichstrikesusorcomeshometous，whichismorereadilyunderstoodormoreeasilyremembered。Itisaqualitywhichreallyexistsininfinitedegrees，whichweturnintodifferencesofkindbyapplyingthetermonlytoconspicuousandstrikingexamplesofwordsorphraseswhichhavethisquality。Itoftensupersedesthelawsoflanguageortherulesofgrammar，orratheristoberegardedasanotherlawoflanguagewhichisnaturalandnecessary。Thewordorphrasewhichhasbeenrepeatedmanytimesoverismoreintelligibleandfamiliartousthanonewhichisrare，andourfamiliaritywithitmorethancompensatesforincorrectnessorinaccuracyintheuseofit。Strikingexpressionsalsowhichhavemovedtheheartsofnationsorarethepreciousstonesandjewelsofgreatauthorspartakeofthenatureofidioms：theyaretakenoutofthesphereofgrammarandareexemptfromtheproprietiesoflanguage。Everyoneknowsthatweoftenputwordstogetherinamannerwhichwouldbeintolerableifitwerenotidiomatic。Wecannotargueeitheraboutthemeaningofwordsortheuseofconstructionsthatbecausetheyareusedinoneconnexiontheywillbelegitimateinanother，unlessweallowforthisprinciple。Wecanbeartohavewordsandsentencesusedinnewsensesorinaneworderorevenalittlepervertedinmeaningwhenwearequitefamiliarwiththem。
Quotationsareasoftenappliedinasensewhichtheauthordidnotintendasinthatwhichhedid。TheparodyofthewordsofShakspereoroftheBible，whichhasinitsomethingofthenatureofalie，isfarfromunpleasingtous。Thebetterknownwords，eveniftheirmeaningbeperverted，aremoreagreeabletousandhaveagreaterpoweroverus。Mostofushaveexperiencedasortofdelightandfeelingofcuriositywhenwefirstcameacrossorwhenwefirstusedforourselvesanewwordorphraseorfigureofspeech。
Thereareassociationsofsoundandofsensebywhicheverywordislinkedtoeveryother。Oneletterharmonizeswithanother；everyverbornounderivesitsmeaning，notonlyfromitself，butfromthewordswithwhichitisassociated。Somereflectionofthemnearordistantisembodiedinit。
Inanynewuseofawordalltheexistingusesofithavetobeconsidered。
Uponthesedependsthequestionwhetheritwillbeartheproposedextensionofmeaningornot。AccordingtothefamousexpressionofLuther，’Wordsarelivingcreatures，havinghandsandfeet。’Whentheyceasetoretainthislivingpowerofadaptation，whentheyareonlyputtogetherlikethepartsofapieceoffurniture，languagebecomesunpoetical，inexpressive，dead。
Grammarswouldleadustosupposethatwordshaveafixedformandsound。