arrows.The herald makes the presentation in silence and departs.That terrible harangue was understood; and Darius returned to his own country as quickly as he could.Substitute a letter for this sign:the more menacing it is,the less frightening will it be.It will be no more than a boast,which would draw merely a smile from Darius. 8.When the Levite of Ephraim wanted to avenge the death of his wife,he wrote nothing to the tribes of Israel,but divided her body into twelve sections which he sent to them.At this horrible sight they rushed to arms,crying with one voice:Never has such a thing happened in Israel,from the time of our fathers'going out of Egypt,down to the present day!And the tribe of Benjamin was exterminated(there remained only 600 men,with no women or children).In our day,this affair,recounted in court pleadings and discussions, perhaps in jest,would be dragged out until this most horrible of crimes would in the end have remained unpunished.King Saul,returning from the fields,similarly dismembered his plow oxen,thus using a similar sign to make Israel march to the aid of the city of Jabez.The Jewish prophets and the Greek lawgivers,by frequently presenting sensate objects to the people,spoke to them more effectively through these objects than they would have by means of lengthy discourse.The way the Athenaeum yields when the orator Hyperides made them acquit the courtesan Phryne,without alleging a single word in her defense,is another mute eloquence,the effects of which are not unusual in any age. 9.Thus one speaks more effectively to the eye than to the ear.There is no one who does not feel the truth of Horace's judgment in this regard.Clearly the most eloquent speeches are those containing the most imagery;and sounds are never more forceful than when they produce the effects of colors. 10.But when it is a question of stirring the heart and inflaming the passions,it is an altogether different matter.The successive impressions of discourse,which strike a redoubled blow,produce a different feeling from that of the continuous presence of the same object,which can be taken in at a single glance.Image someone in a painful situation that is fully known;as you watch the afflicted person,you are not likely to weep.But give him time to tell you what he feels and soon you will burst into tears.It is solely in this way that the scenes of a tragedy produce their effect(I have said elsewhere why feigned misfortunes touch us more than real ones.There is a type that weeps at a tragedy,yet has never had any pity for the suffering. The invention of theater is remarkable for inflating our pride with all the virtues in which we are entirely lacking.). 11.Pantomime without discourse will leave you nearly tranquil;discourse without gestures will wring tears from you.The passions have their gestures,but they also have their accents;and these accents,which thrill us,these tones of voice that cannot fail to be heard,penetrate to the very depths of the heart,carrying there the emotions they wring from us,forcing us in spite of ourselves to feel what we hear.We conclude that while visible signs can render a more exact imitation,sounds more effectively arouse interest. 12.This leads me to think that if the only needs we ever experienced were physical,we should most likely never have been able to speak;we would fully express our meanings by the language of gesture alone.We would have been able to establish societies little different from those we have,or such as would have been better able to achieve their goals.We would have been able to institute laws,to choose leaders,to invent arts,to establish commerce,and so on,in a word,almost as many things as we do with the help of speech. Without fear of jealousy,the secrets of oriental gallantry are passed across the more strictly guarded harems in the epistolary language of salaams.The mutes of great nobles understand each other and understand everything that is said to them by means of signs,just as well as one can understand anything said in discourse.M.Pereyra and those like him who not only consider that mutes speak,but claim to understand 22 arrows. The herald makes the presentation in silence and departs. That terrible harangue was understood; and Darius returned to his own country as quickly as he could. Substitute a letter for this sign: the more menacing it is, the less frightening will it be. It will be no more than a boast, which would draw merely a smile from Darius. 8. When the Levite of Ephraim wanted to avenge the death of his wife, he wrote nothing to the tribes of Israel, but divided her body into twelve sections which he sent to them. At this horrible sight they rushed to arms, crying with one voice: Never has such a thing happened in Israel, from the time of our fathers’ going out of Egypt, down to the present day! And the tribe of Benjamin was exterminated (there remained only 600 men, with no women or children). In our day, this affair, recounted in court pleadings and discussions, perhaps in jest, would be dragged out until this most horrible of crimes would in the end have remained unpunished. King Saul, returning from the fields, similarly dismembered his plow oxen, thus using a similar sign to make Israel march to the aid of the city of Jabez. The Jewish prophets and the Greek lawgivers, by frequently presenting sensate objects to the people, spoke to them more effectively through these objects than they would have by means of lengthy discourse. The way the Athenaeum yields when the orator Hyperides made them acquit the courtesan Phryne, without alleging a single word in her defense, is another mute eloquence, the effects of which are not unusual in any age. 9. Thus one speaks more effectively to the eye than to the ear. There is no one who does not feel the truth of Horace’s judgment in this regard. Clearly the most eloquent speeches are those containing the most imagery; and sounds are never more forceful than when they produce the effects of colors. 10. But when it is a question of stirring the heart and inflaming the passions, it is an altogether different matter. The successive impressions of discourse, which strike a redoubled blow, produce a different feeling from that of the continuous presence of the same object, which can be taken in at a single glance. Image someone in a painful situation that is fully known; as you watch the afflicted person, you are not likely to weep. But give him time to tell you what he feels and soon you will burst into tears. It is solely in this way that the scenes of a tragedy produce their effect (I have said elsewhere why feigned misfortunes touch us more than real ones. There is a type that weeps at a tragedy, yet has never had any pity for the suffering. The invention of theater is remarkable for inflating our pride with all the virtues in which we are entirely lacking.). 11. Pantomime without discourse will leave you nearly tranquil; discourse without gestures will wring tears from you. The passions have their gestures, but they also have their accents; and these accents, which thrill us, these tones of voice that cannot fail to be heard, penetrate to the very depths of the heart, carrying there the emotions they wring from us, forcing us in spite of ourselves to feel what we hear. We conclude that while visible signs can render a more exact imitation, sounds more effectively arouse interest. 12. This leads me to think that if the only needs we ever experienced were physical, we should most likely never have been able to speak; we would fully express our meanings by the language of gesture alone. We would have been able to establish societies little different from those we have, or such as would have been better able to achieve their goals. We would have been able to institute laws, to choose leaders, to invent arts, to establish commerce, and so on, in a word, almost as many things as we do with the help of speech. Without fear of jealousy, the secrets of oriental gallantry are passed across the more strictly guarded harems in the epistolary language of salaams. The mutes of great nobles understand each other and understand everything that is said to them by means of signs, just as well as one can understand anything said in discourse. M. Pereyra and those like him who not only consider that mutes speak, but claim to understand