CHAPTER IV.
OF THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE.
"Tot fallaciis obrutum, tot hallucinationibus demersum, tot adhuc tenebris circumfusum studium hocce mihi visum est, ut nihil satis tuto in hac materia praestari posse arbitratus sim, nisi nova quadam arte critica praemissa."-- SCIPIO MAFFEIUS: _Cassiod.

Complexiones_, p.

xxx.
1.

The origin of things is, for many reasons, a peculiarly interesting point in their history.

Among those who have thought fit to inquire into the prime origin of speech, it has been matter of dispute, whether we ought to consider it a special gift from Heaven, or an acquisition of industry--a natural endowment, or an artificial invention.