Thirdly, when the visible objects im press other vivid sensations besides those of sight, such as pleasant or unpleasant tastes, smells, warmth, or coldness, &c. with sufficient frequency, these must have relicts or ideas, (§ 7), which will be as sociated with the visible ideas of the ob jects, and with the names of the objects, so as to depend upon them. Thus, an idea of the taste of the mother's milk will rise up in the mind of the child, on his hearing her name ; and hence the whole idea belonging to the word mamma now begins to be complex, consisting of two sets of ideas derived from different senses ; and these ideas will be associated together, not only because the same word raises both, but also because the original sensations were often received to gether. The stronger idea will there fore assist the weaker. Now, in common cases, visible ideas are the strongest; or, at least, occur the most readily ; but in this case it appears to be otherwise. It would be easy to proceed to various other and more complex cases, in which the component ideas are united, and all made to depend on the respective names of visible objects ; but what has been said is sufficient to show what ideas the names . of visible objects, proper and appellative, raise in us.
Fourthly-, we must, however, observe, respecting appellatives, that sometimes • the idea is the common compound re sult of all the sensible impressions re ceived from several of the objects com prised under the general appellation ; sometimes, in a great measure at least, the particular idea of some one of these, namely, 'when the impressions arising from some one of the class are more fre quent and vivid than those of the rest. Fifthly, the names denoting sensible qualities, whether substantive or adjec tive, such as whiteness, white, &c. get their ideas in a manner which will be ea sily understood from what has been al ready stated. That visible impression which is common to all objects which have been frequently seen having the name, white, applied to them, becomes the leading feature of the ideas belong ing to them ; and the word excites that most vividly and universally, while it ex cites only faintly, or at least with great variation, the ideas of the peculiarities, circumstances; and adjuncts : and so of the other sensible qualities.
Sixthly, the names of visible actions, as walking, &c. raise the proper visible ideas by a like process. Other ideas may likewise adhere in certain cases, as in those of tasting, feeling, speaking, &c. Sensible impressions, in which no visible action is concerned, may also have ideas dependant upon words. However, seine visible ideas • generally intermix them-.
selves here. These actions and percep tions are generally denoted by verbs, though sometimes by substantives.
Seventhly, as children may learn to read words, not only in an elementary way, vi:. by learning the letters and syl lables of which they are composed, but also in a 'summary one, vi:. by associating the sound of entire words with their visi ble representations ; and must, in some cases, be taught in this latter method, that is, while the sound of the word•de viates from that of its elements ; so both children and adults often learn the ideas belonging to whole sentences, in a sum mary way, and not by adding together the ideas of the several words in the sentence. And wherever words occur, which, sepa rately taken, have no distinct proper ideas, their use can be learned in no other way than this ; and this will be the case where the words are extremely ge neral, applying to a vast variety of visible objects, and to circumstances and rela tions which are not obvious to the uncul tivated mind. Now, pronouns, and par ticles, and many other words, are of this sort. Thus, I walk, is associated at dif ferent times with the same visible impres sions with, mamma walks, brother walks, &c. and therefore can for a long time sug gest nothing permanently but the action of walking. However, the pronoun, I.
in this and innumerable other short sen tences, being always associated with the person speaking, (as thou with the person spoken to, and he with the person spoken of), the frequent recurrency of this teaches the child the use of the pronouns; that is, teaches him what difference he is to expect in his sensible impressions, ac cording as this or that pronoun is used ; the vast number of instances making up for the very small quantity of information which each, singly taken, conveys. In like manner different particles, (that is, adverbs, conjunctions, and prepositions), being used in sentences where the sub stantives, adjectives, and verbs are the same ; and the same particles, when these are different, in an endless recurrency, teach children the use of the particles in a gross general way. For it may be ob served, that children are much at a loss for the true use of the pronouns and par ticles for some years ; and that they often repeat the proper name of the person in stead of the pronoun ; which confirms the foregoing reasoning.
Eighthly, the attempts which children make to express their own wants, per ceptions, pains, &c. in words, and the corrections and suggestions of the atten dants, are of the greatest use in all the steps that we have hitherto considered, and especially in the last, respecting the particles and pronouns.