t
USE OF LANGUAGE.
45
mother, sister, or bearer, when amusing infants, now freely opening the mouth, teach them to pronounce letters and syllables properly, distinctly, and articulately, or even en(beginning always with the shorter,) or letters or This will be sufficient grammar for syllables separately. the second year, which exercise may be continued all along
tire words,
to the third year as on account of the children is occasionally necessary.
slowness of some
fifth, and sixth years, their language with their increase in the knowledge of things, provided exercise is not omitted, so that they may be accustomed to name whatever they see at home, or whatever they
In the fourth,
4.
will increase
are employed in, and therefore they should be often asked, "What is this ? "What are you about ? "What is this called ?
always taking care that they pronounce their answers
dis-
no further instruction is necessary, unless to please them by intermingling some playfulness for example, who can pronounce better and quicker than the others any rather long word as, Taratantara, NabucTiodo-
tinctly
;
in this respect
;
nosor, Constantinopolitan, Sfc. 5. The principles of rhetoric arise in the first year, and indeed in a great measure intuitively by gestures, for as
long as the intellect and power of speech in this early age remain in their deep roots, we are accustomed to draw
them
to the knowledge of ourselves and of things by cerand external actions ; for example, when we them up, put them to rest, shew them any thing, or
tain gestures lift
smile upon them by all these things we aim at this, that they in their turn should look on us, smile, reach out their hand and take what we give to them. And so we learn ;
mutually to understand first by gesture and then by speech, even aa we do with the deaf and dumb. I maintain that an infant immediately in its first and second year, is able to learn so as to understand what a wrinkled and what an un-
wrinkled forehead mean, what a threat indicated by the