CHAPTER I.

THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE. PAGE The faculty of speech.--Definition of language.--Importance of philology.--Three main theories on the origin of language--1. That language was innate and organic.--Curious errors.--Objections to this view.--2. That language was the result of imitation and convention.--Objections.--3. That language was revealed.--In what sense this may be held to be true.--The phrase obscure, and leads to many misconceptions.--Danger of a misapplied literalism.--Five objections to the common belief.--The real meaning of Gen. ii. 19, 20.--Rightly understood it exactly accords with the true theory.--Germ of truth in each of these views. 1