LANGUAGE AND ART AS A MEANS OF CULTURE AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
_The Origin of Language Has Been a Subject of Controversy_.--Since man
began to philosophize on the causes of things, tribes and races and,
indeed, philosophers of all times have attempted to determine the
origin of language and to define its nature. In early times language
was a mystery, and for lack of better explanation it was frequently
attributed to the direct gift of the Deity. The ancient Aryans deified
language, and represented it by a goddess "which rushes onward like the
wind, which bursts through heaven and earth, and, awe-inspiring to each
one that it loves, makes him a Brahmin, a poet, and a sage." Men used
language many centuries before they seriously began to inquire into its
origin and structure. The ancient Hindu philosophers, the Greeks, and
all early nations that had begun a speculative philosophy, wonderingly
tried to ascertain whence language came. Modern philologists have
carried their researches so far as to ascertain with tolerable accuracy
the history and life of language and to determine with the help of
other scientists the facts and phenomena of its origin.
Language, in its broadest sense, includes any form of expression by
which thoughts and feelings are communicated from one individual to
another. Words may be spoken, gestures made, cries uttered, pictures
or characters drawn, or letters made as means of expression. The
deaf-mute converses with his fingers and his lips; the savage
communicates by means of gesticulation. It is easy to conceive of a
community in which all communication is carried on in sign language.
It is said that the Grebos of Africa carry this mode of expression
{122} to such an extent that the persons and tenses of the mood are
indicated with the hands alone.
It has been advocated by some that man first learned to talk by
imitating the sounds of nature. It is sometimes called the "bow-wow"
theory of the origin of language. Words are used to express the
meaning of nature. Thus the purling of the brook, the lowing of the
cow, the barking of the dog, the moaning of the wind, the rushing of
water, the cry of animals, and other expressions of nature were
imitated, and thus formed the root words of language. This theory was
very commonly upheld by the philosophers of the eighteenth century, but
is now regarded as an entirely inadequate explanation of the process of
the development of language. It is true that every language has words
formed by the imitation of sound, but these are comparatively few, and
as languages are traced toward their origin, such words seem to have
continually less importance. Nothing conclusive has been proved
concerning the origin of any language by adopting this theory.
Another theory is that the exclamations and interjections suddenly made
have been the formation of root words, which in turn give rise to the
complex forms of language. This can scarcely be considered of much
force, for the difference between sudden explosive utterance and words
expressing full ideas is so great as to be of little value in
determining the real formation of language. These sudden interjections
are more of the nature of gesture than of real speech.
The theologians insisted for many years that language was a gift of
God, but failed to show how man could learn the language after it was
given him. They tried to show that man was created with his full
powers of speech, thought, and action, and that a vocabulary was given
him to use on the supposition that he would know how to use it. But,
in fact, nothing yet has been proved concerning the first beginnings of
language. There is no reason why man should be fully equipped in
language any more than in intellect, moral quality, or economic
condition, and it is shown conclusively that in all these {123}
characteristics he has made a slow evolution. Likewise the further
back towards its origin we trace any language or any group of languages
the simpler we find it, coming nearer and yet nearer to the root
speech. If we could have the whole record of man, back through that
period into which historical records cannot go, and into which
comparative philology throws but a few rays of light, doubtless we
should find that at one time man used gesture, facial expression, and
signs, interspersed with sounds at intervals, as his chief means of
expression. Upon this foundation mankind has built the superstructure
of language.
Some philosophers hold that the first words used were names applied to
familiar objects. Around these first names clustered ideas, and
gradually new words appeared. With the names and gestures it was easy
to convey thought. Others, refuting this idea, have held that the
first words represented general notions and not names. From these
general notions there were gradually instituted the specific words
representing separate ideas. Others have held that language is a gift,
and springs spontaneously in the nature of man, arising from his own
inherent qualities. Possibly from different standpoints there is a
grain of truth in each one of these theories, although all combined are
insufficient to explain the whole truth.
No theory yet devised answers all the questions concerning the origin
of language. It may be truly asserted that language is an acquisition,
starting with the original capacity for imperfect speech found in the
physiological structure of man. This is accompanied by certain
tendencies of thought and life which furnish the psychical notion of
language-formation. These represent the foundations of language, and
upon this, through action and experience, the superstructure of
language has been built. There has been a continuous evolution from
simple to complex forms.
_Language Is an Important Social Function_.--Whatever conjectures may
be made by philosophers or definite knowledge determined by
philologists, it is certain that language has been {124} built up by
human association. Granted that the physiological function of speech
was a characteristic of the first beings to bear the human form, it is
true that its development has come about by the mental interactions of
individuals. No matter to what extent language was used by a given
generation, it was handed on through social heredity to the next
generation. Thus, language represents a continuous stream of
word-bearing thought, moving from the beginning of human association to
the present time. It is through it that we have a knowledge of the
past and frame the thoughts of the present. While it is easy to
concede that language was built up in the attempt of man to communicate
his feelings, emotions, and thoughts to others, it in turn has been a
powerful coercive influence and a direct social creation. Only those
people who could understand one another could be brought into close
relationships, and for this purpose some generally accepted system of
communicating ideas became essential. Moreover, the tribes and
assimilated nations found the force of common language in the coherency
of group life. Thus it became a powerful instrument in developing
tribal, racial, or national independence. If the primal force of early
family or tribal organization was that of sex and blood relationship,
language became a most powerful ally in forcing the group into formal
social action, and in furnishing a means of defense against the social
encroachments of other tribes and nations.
It must be observed, however, that the social boundaries of races are
not coincident with the divisions of language. In general the tendency
is for a race to develop an independent language, for racial
development was dependent upon isolation from other groups. But from
the very earliest associations to the present time there has been a
tendency for assimilation of groups even to the extent of direct
amalgamation of those occupying contiguous territory, or through
conquest. In the latter event, the conquered group usually took the
language of the conquerors, although this has not always followed, as
eventually the stronger language becomes the more important {125}
through use. For instance, for a time after the Norman Conquest,
Norman French became, in the centres of government and culture at
least, the dominant language, but eventually was thrown aside by a more
useful language as English institutions came to the front. As race and
language may not represent identical groups, it is evident that a
classification of language cannot be taken as conclusive evidence in
the classification of races. However, in the main it is true. A
classification of all of the languages of the Indians of North America
would be a classification of all the tribes that have been
differentiated in physical structure and other racial traits, as well
as of habits and customs. Yet a tribe using a common language may be
composed of a number of racial elements.
When it comes to the modern state, language does not coincide with
natural boundaries. Thus, in Switzerland German is spoken in the north
and northeast, French in the southwest, and Italian in the southeast.
However, in this case, German is the dominant language taught in
schools and used largely in literature. Also, in Belgium, where one
part of the people speak Flemish and the other French, they are living
under the same national unity so far as government is concerned,
although there have always remained distinctive racial types. In
Mexico there are a number of tribes that, though using the dominant
Spanish language, called Mexican, are in their closer associations
speaking the primitive languages of their race or tribe which have come
down to them through long ages of development. Sometimes, however, a
tribe shows to be a mosaic of racial traits and languages, brought
about by the complete amalgamation of tribes. A very good example of
this complete amalgamation would be that of the Hopi Indians of New
Mexico, where distinctive group words and racial traits may be traced
to three different tribes. But to refer to a more complete
civilization, where the Spanish language is spoken in Spain, we find
the elements of Latin, Teutonic, Arabic, and Old Iberian speech, which
are suggestive of different racial traits pointing to different racial
origins.
{126}
Regardless of origin and tradition, language gradually conforms to the
type of civilization in existence. A strong, vigorous industrial
nation would through a period of years develop a tendency for a
vigorous language which would express the spirit and life of the
people, while a dreamy, conservative nation would find little change in
the language. Likewise, periods of romance or of war have a tendency
to make changes in the form of speech in conformity to ideals of life.
On the other hand, social and intellectual progress is frequently
dependent upon the character of the language used to the extent that it
may be said that language is an indication of the progress of a people
in the arts of civilized life. It is evident in comparing the Chinese
language with the French, great contrasts are shown in the ease in
which ideas are represented and the stream of thought borne on its way.
The Chinese language is a clumsy machine as compared with the flexible
and smooth-gliding French. It appears that if it were possible for the
Chinese to change their language for a more flexible, smooth-running
instrument, it would greatly facilitate their progress in art, science,
and social life.
_Written Language Followed Speech in Order of Development_.--Many
centuries elapsed before any systematic writing or engraving recorded
human events. The deeds of the past were handed on through tradition,
in the cave, around the campfire, and in the primitive family. Stories
of the past, being rehearsed over and over, became a permanent
heritage, passing on from generation to generation. But this method of
descent of knowledge was very indefinite, because story-tellers,
influenced by their environment, continually built the present into the
past, and so the truth was not clearly expressed.
Slowly man began to make a permanent record of deeds and events, the
first beginnings of which were very feeble, and were included in
drawings on the walls of caves, inscriptions on bone, stone, and ivory,
and symbols woven in garments. All represented the first beginnings of
the representative art of language.
{127}
Gradually picture-writing became so systematized that an expression of
continuous thought might be recorded and transferred from one to
another through the observation of the symbols universally recognized.
But these pictures on rocks and ivory, and later on tablets, have been
preserved, and are expressive of the first steps of man in the art of
written language. The picture-writing so common to savages and
barbarians finally passes from a simple _rebus_ to a very complex
written language, as in the case of the Egyptian or Mexican. The North
American Indians used picture-writing in describing battles, or an
expedition across a lake, or an army on a march, or a buffalo hunt. A
simple picture shows that fifty-one warriors, led by a chief and his
assistant, in five canoes, took three days to cross a lake and land
their forces on the other side.
The use of pictographs is the next step in the process of written
language. It represents a generalized form of symbols which may be put
together in such a way as to express complete thoughts. Originally
they were merely symbols or signs of ideas, which by being slightly
changed in form or position led to the expression of a complete thought.
Following the pictograph is the ideograph, which is but one more step
in the progress of systematic writing. Here the symbol has become so
generalized that it has a significance quite independent of its origin.
In other words, it becomes idealized and conventionalized, so that a
specific symbol stood for a universal idea. It could be made specific
by changing its form or position. All that was necessary now was to
have a sufficient number of general symbols representing ideas, to
build up a constructive language. The American Indian and the Chinese
have apparently passed through all stages of the picture-writing, the
use of the pictograph and of the ideograph. In fact, the Chinese
language is but an extension of these three methods of expression. The
objects were originally designated by a rude drawing, and then, to
modify the meaning, different characters were attached to the picture.
Thus a monosyllabic {128} language was built up, and the root word had
many meanings by the modification of its form and sometimes by the
change of its position. The hieroglyphic writings of the Egyptians,
Moabites, Persians, and Assyrians went through these methods of
language development, as their records show to this day.
_Phonetic Writing Was a Step in Advance of the Ideograph_.--The
difference between the phonetic writing and the picture-writing rests
in the fact that the symbol representing the object is expressive of an
idea or a complete thought, while in phonetic writing the symbol
represents a sound which combined with other sounds expresses an idea
called a word and complete thoughts through combination of words. The
discovery and use of a phonetic alphabet represent the key to modern
civilization. The invention of writing elevated man from a state of
barbarism to a state of civilization. About the tenth century before
Christ the Phoenicians, Hebrews, and other allied Semitic races began
to use the alphabet. Each letter was named from a word beginning with
it. The Greeks learned the alphabet from the Phoenicians, and the
Greeks, in turn, passed it to the Romans. The alphabet continually
changed from time to time. The old Phoenician was weak in vowel
sounds, but the defect was remedied in the Greek and Roman alphabets
and in the alphabets of the Teutonic nations. Fully equipped with
written and spoken speech, the nations of the world were prepared for
the interchange of thought and ideas and for the preservation of
knowledge in an accurate manner. History could be recorded, laws
written and preserved, and the beginnings of science elaborated.
_The Use of Manuscripts and Books Made Permanent Records_.--At first
all records were made by pen, pencil, or stylus, and manuscripts were
represented on papyrus paper or parchment, and could only be duplicated
by copying. In Alexandria before the Christian era one could buy a
copy of the manuscript of a great author, but it was at a high price.
It finally became customary for monks, in their secluded retreats, to
spend a good part of their lives in copying and preserving {129} the
manuscript writings of great authors. But it was not until printing
was invented that the world of letters rapidly moved forward. Probably
about the sixth century A.D. the Chinese began to print a group of
characters from blocks, and by the tenth century they were engaged in
keeping their records in this way. Gutenberg, Faust, and others
improved upon the Chinese method by a system of movable type. But what
a wonderful change since the fourteenth century printing! Now, with
modern type-machines, fine grades of paper made by improved machinery,
and the use of immense steam presses, the making of an ordinary book is
very little trouble. Looking back over the course of events incident
to the development of the modern complex and flexible language we
observe, first, the rude picture scrawled on horn or rock. This was
followed by the representation of the sound of the name of the picture,
which passed into the mere sound sign. Finally, the relation between
the figure and the sound becomes so arbitrary that the child learns the
a, b, c as pure signs representing sounds which, in combination, make
words which stand for ideas.
_Language Is an Instrument of Culture_.--Culture areas always spread
beyond the territory of language groups. Culture depends upon the
discovery and utilization of the forces of nature through invention and
adaptation. It may spread through imitation over very large human
territory. Man has universal mental traits, with certain powers and
capacities that are developed in a relative order and in a degree of
efficiency; but there are many languages and many civilizations of high
and low degree. Through human speech the life of the past may be
handed on to others and the life of the present communicated to one
another. The physiological power of speech which exists in all permits
every human group to develop a language in accordance with its needs
and as influenced by its environment. Thus language advanced very
rapidly as an instrument of communication even at a very early period
of cultural development. A recent study of the {130} languages of the
American Indians has shown the high degree of the art of expression
among people of the Neolithic culture. This would seem to indicate
that primitive peoples are more definite in thought and more observant
in the relation of cause and effect than is usually supposed. Thus,
definite language permits more precise thought, and definite thought,
in turn, insists on more exact expression in language. The two aid
each other in development of cultural ideas, and invention and language
move along together in the development of the human race. It becomes a
great human invention, and as such it not only preserves the thoughts
of the past but unlocks the knowledge of the present.
Not only is language the means of communication, and the great racial
as well as social bond of union, but it represents knowledge, culture,
and refinement. The strength and beauty of genuine artistic expression
have an elevating influence on human life and become a means of social
progress. The drama and the choicest forms of prose and poetry in
their literary aspects furnish means of presenting great thoughts and
high ideals, and, thus combined with the beauty of expression, not only
furnish the best evidence of moral and intellectual progress but make a
perennial source of information in modern social life. Hence it is
that language and culture in all of their forms go hand in hand so
closely that a high degree of culture is not attained without a
dignified and expressive language.
_Art as a Language of Aesthetic Ideas_.--The development of aesthetic
ideas and aesthetic representations has kept pace with progress in
other phases of civilization. The notion of beauty as entertained by
the savage is crude, and its representation is grotesque. Its first
expression is observed in the adornment of the body, either by paint,
tattooing, or by ornaments. The coarse, glaring colors placed upon the
face or body, with no regard for the harmony of color, may attract
attention, but has little expression of beauty from a modern standard.
The first adornment in many savage tribes consisted in tattooing the
body, an art which was finally rendered {131} useless after clothing
was fully adopted, except as a totemic design representing the unity of
the tribe. This custom was followed by the use of rude jewelry for
arms, neck, ears, nose, or lips. Other objects of clothing and
ornament were added from time to time, the bright colors nearly always
prevailing. There must have been in all tribes a certain standard of
artistic taste, yet so low in many instances as to suggest only the
grotesque. The taste displayed in the costumes of savages within the
range of our own observation is remarkable for its variety. It ranges
all the way from a small piece of cloth to the elaborate robes made of
highly colored cotton and woollen goods. The Celts were noted for
their highly colored garments and the artistic arrangement of the same.
The Greeks displayed a grace and simplicity in dress never yet
surpassed by any other nation. Yet the dress of early Greeks, Romans,
and Teutons was meagre in comparison with modern elaborate costumes.
All of this is a method of expression of the emotions and ideas and, in
one sense, is a language of the aesthetic.
Representative art, even among primitive peoples, carries with it a
distinctive language. It is a representation of ideas, as well as an
attempt at beauty of expression. The figures on pottery and basketry
frequently carry with them religious ideas for the expression and
perpetuation of religious emotion and belief. Even rude drawings
attempt to record the history of the deeds of the race. Progress is
shown in better lines, in better form, and a more exquisite blending of
colors. That many primitive people display a high degree of art and a
low degree of general culture is one of the insoluble problems of the
race. Perhaps it may be attributed primarily to the fact that all
artistic expression originally sprang from the emotional side of life,
and, in addition, may be in part attributed to the early training in
the acute observation of the forms of nature by primitive people upon
which depended their existence.
_Music Is a Form of Language_.--Early poetry was a recital of deeds,
and a monotonous chant, which finally became recorded as language
developed. The sagas and the war songs {132} were the earliest
expressions which later were combined with dramatic action. The poetry
of primitive races has no distinguishing characteristics except metre
or rhythm. It is usually an oft-recurring expression of the same idea.
Yet there are many fragmentary examples of lyric poetry, though it is
mostly egoistic, the individual reciting his deeds or his desires.
From the natives of Greenland we have the following about the hovering
of the clouds about the mountain:
"The great Koonak mountain, over there--
I see it;
The great Koonak mountain, over there--
I am looking at it;
The bright shining in the South, over there--
I admire it;
The other side of Koonak--
It stretches out--
That which Koonak--
Seaward encloses.
See how they in the South
Move and change--
See how in the South
They beautify one another;
While it toward the sea
Is veiled--by changing clouds
Veiled toward the sea
Beautifying one another."
The emotional nature of savages varies greatly in different tribes.
The lives of some seem to be moved wholly through the emotions, while
others are stolid or dull. The variations in musical ability and
practice of savage and barbarous races are good evidence of this. Many
of the tribes in Africa have their rude musical instruments, and chant
their simple, monotonous music. The South Sea Islanders beat hollow
logs with clubs, marking time and creating melody by these notes. The
Dahomans use a reed fife, on which they play music of several notes.
In all primitive music, time is the chief element, and this is not
always kept with any degree of accuracy. The {133} chanting of war
songs, the moaning of the funeral dirge, or the sprightly singing with
the dance, shows the varied expression of the emotional nature.
No better illustration of the arts of pleasure may be observed than the
practices of the Zuni Indians and other Pueblo Indians of New Mexico.
The Zuni melodies are sung on various festival occasions. Some are
sacred melodies, used in worship; others are on the occasion of the
celebration of the rabbit hunt, the rain dances, and the corn dances.
Among the Pueblo Indians the cachina dance is for the purpose of
invoking bountiful rains and good harvests. In all of their feasts,
games, plays, and dances there are connected ceremonies of a religious
nature. Religion occupies a very strong position in the minds of the
people. Possessed of a superstitious nature, it was inevitable that
all the arts of pleasure should partake somewhat of the religious
ceremony. The song and the dance and the beating of the drums always
accompanied every festival.
_The Dance as a Means of Dramatic Expression_.--Among primitive peoples
the dance, poetry, and music were generally introduced together, and
were parts of one drama. As such it was a social institution, with the
religious, war, or play element fully represented. Most primitive
dances were conducted by men only. In the celebrated _Corroboree_ of
the Australians, men danced and the women formed the orchestra.[1]
This gymnastic dance was common to many tribes. The dances of the
Moros and Igorrotes at the St. Louis Exposition partook, in a similar
way, of the nature of the gymnastic dance. The war dances of the
plains Indians of America are celebrated for their grotesqueness. The
green-corn dance and the cachina of the Pueblos and the snake dance of
the Moqui all have an economic foundation. In all, however, the play
element in man and the desire for dramatic expression and the art of
mimicry are evident. The chief feature of the dance of the primitive
people is the regular time beat. This is more prominent than the grace
of movement. Yet this agrees with {134} the nature of their music, for
in this the time element is more prominent than the tune. Rhythm is
the strong element in the primitive art of poetry, music, or the dance,
but all have an immense socializing influence. The modern dance has
added to rhythm the grace of expression and developed the social
tendencies. In it love is a more prominent feature than war or
religion.
Catlin, in his _North American Indians_, describes the buffalo dance of
the Mandan Indians, which appears to be more of a service toward an
economic end than an art of pleasure. After an unsuccessful hunt the
returned warriors bring out their buffalo masks, made of the head and
horns and tail of the buffalo. These they don, and continue to dance
until worn out. Ten or fifteen dancers form a ring and, accompanied by
drumming, yelling, and rattling, dance until the first exhausted one
goes through the pantomime of being shot with the bow and arrow,
skinned, and cut up; but the dance does not lag, for another masked
dancer takes the place of the fallen one. The dance continues day and
night, without cessation, sometimes for two or three weeks, or until a
herd of buffaloes appears in sight; then the warriors change the dance
for the hunt.
The dancing of people of lower culture was carried on in many instances
to express feelings and wishes. Many of the dances of Egypt, Greece,
and other early civilizations were of this nature. Sacred hymns to the
gods were chanted in connection with the dancing; but the sacred dance
has become obsolete, in Western civilization its place being taken by
modern church music.
_The Fine Arts Follow the Development of Language_.--While art varied
in different tribes, we may assume in general that there was a
continuity of culture development from the rude clay idol of primitive
folk to the Venus de Milo or the Winged Victory; from the pictures on
rocks and in caves to the Sistine Madonna; from the uncouth cooking
bowl of clay to the highest form of earthenware vase; and from the
monotonous {135} strain of African music to the lofty conception of
Mozart. But this is a continuity of ideas covering the whole human
race as a unit, rather than the progressive development of a single
branch of the race.
Consider for a moment the mental and physical environment of the
ancient cave or forest dweller. The skies to him were marked only as
they affected his bodily comfort in sunshine or storm; the trees
invited his attention as they furnished him food or shelter; the
roaring torrent was nothing to him except as it obstructed his journey;
the sun and the moon and the stars in the heavens filled him with
portentous awe, and the spirits in the invisible world worked for his
good or for his evil. Beyond his utilitarian senses no art emotion
stirred in these signs of creation. Perhaps the first art emotion was
aroused in contemplation of the human body. Through vanity, fear, or
love he began to decorate it. He scarifies or tattoos his naked body
with figures upon his back, arms, legs, and face to represent an idea
of beauty. While the tribal or totemic design may have originated the
custom, he wishes to be attractive to others, and his first emotions of
beauty are thus expressed. The second step is to paint his face and
body to express love, fear, hate, war, or religious emotions. This
leads on to the art of decorating the body with ornaments, and
subsequently to the ornamentation of clothing.
The art of representation at first possessed little artistic beauty,
though the decorations on walls of caves show skill in lines and color.
The first representations sought only intelligence in communicating
thought. The bas-reliefs of the ancients showed skill in
representation. The ideal was finally developed until the aesthetic
taste was improved, and the Greek sculpture shows a high development of
artistic taste. In it beauty and truth were harmoniously combined.
The arts of sculpture and painting are based upon the imagination.
Through its perfect development, and the improvement in the art of
execution, have been secured the aesthetic products of man. Yet there
is always a mingling of the emotional nature {136} in the development
of fine arts. The growth of the fine arts consists in intensifying the
pleasurable sensations of eye and ear. This is done by enlarging the
capacity for pleasure and increasing the opportunity for its
satisfaction. The beginnings of the fine arts were small, and the
capacity to enjoy must have been slowly developed. Of the arts that
appeal to the eye there may be enumerated sculpture, painting, drawing,
landscape-gardening, and architecture. The pleasure from all except
the last comes from an attempt to represent nature. Architecture is
founded upon the useful, and combines the industrial and the fine arts
in one. The attempt to imitate nature is to satisfy the emotions
aroused in its contemplation.
_The Love of the Beautiful Slowly Develops_.--There must have developed
in man the desire to make a more perfect arrow-head, axe, or celt for
the efficiency of service, and later for beauty of expression. There
must early have developed an idea of good form and bright colors in
clothing. So, too, in the mixing of colors for the purpose of
expressing the emotions there gradually came about a refinement in
blending. Nor could man's attention be called constantly to the
beautiful plants and flowers, to the bright-colored stones, metals, and
gems found in the earth without developing something more than mere
curiosity concerning them. He must early have discovered the
difference between objects which aroused desire for possession and
those that did not. Ultimately he preferred a more beautifully
finished stone implement than one crudely constructed--a more beautiful
and showy flower than one that was imperfect, and likewise more
beautiful human beings than those that were crude and ugly.
The pleasure of sound manifested itself at an earlier stage than the
pleasure of form, although the degree of advancement in music varies in
different tribes. Thus the inhabitants of Africa have a much larger
capacity for recognizing and enjoying the effect of harmonious sounds
than the aborigines of America. While all nations have the faculty of
obtaining pleasure from harmonious sounds, it varies greatly, yet not
more {137} widely than between separate individuals. It may be
considered quite a universal faculty. The love of the beautiful in
form, color, and in harmonious sound, is a permanent social force, and
has much to do in the progress of civilization. Yet it is not an
essential force, for the beginnings of civilization could have been
made without it. However, it gives relief to the cold business world;
the formal association of men is softened and embellished by painting,
poetry, and music. Thus considered, it represents an important part of
the modern social development. Art culture, which represents the
highest expression of our civilization, has its softening influences on
human life.
SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY
1. The importance of language in the development of culture.
2. Does language always originate the same way in different localities?
3. Does language develop from a common centre or from many centres?
4. What bearing has the development of language upon the culture of
religion, music, poetry, and art?
5. Which were the more important impulses, clothing for protection or
for adornment?
6. Show that play is an important factor in society-building.
7. Compare pictograph, ideograph, and phonetic writing.
[1] Keane, _The World's Peoples_, p. 49.
{141}
_PART III_
THE SEATS OF EARLY CIVILIZATIONS