The Descent of Man

in any extreme degree to those possessed at
present by the lowest savages; otherwise primeval
man could not have been so eminently
successful in the struggle for life, as proved by
his early and wide diffusion.
From the fundamental differences between
certain languages, some philologists have inferred
that when man first became widely diffused,
he was not a speaking animal; but it may
be suspected that languages, far less perfect
than any now spoken, aided by gestures, might
have been used, and yet have left no traces on
subsequent and more highly-developed tongues.
Without the use of some language, however
imperfect, it appears doubtful whether
man's intellect could have risen to the standard
implied by his dominant position at an early
period.
Whether primeval man, when he possessed but
few arts, and those of the rudest kind, and
when his power of language was extremely