Do you tell us that society made language? Then society must be older
than language, for the maker is always, of necessity, older than the
thing made. But without language there could be no interchange of ideas,
and without this society could not exist. Where there is no intelligent
communication of ideas we never think of society. Society does not exist
where there is no intelligent communication of ideas between persons.
The trees in the grove are never spoken of as a society. They are not
and can not be in the social state. Neither are the brutes around us.
Man is the only being upon earth capable of becoming a constituent
element or part of society. Mr. Blair says, in his lectures on
Belleslettres, "It would be extremely difficult to conceive how society
could exist without language." Now, as society can not exist without
language, it is certain that society could not be the author of
language, for the author must be older than his production. But Mr.
Blair springs another difficulty. It is in these words: "It would be
equally difficult to conceive how language could exist without society."
A moment's reflection will satisfy all reasonable persons that language
can not exist without society, and that which can not exist without the
other can not be the maker--author--of the other, for the maker must be
older than the thing made. Then, as neither of these could exist without
the other, neither could be the author of the other. So language and
society are both effects, and their cause is outside of or antecedent to
both, for every effect has an antecedent cause.