So if I happen to see--from my
window, say--two persons carrying on a lively conversation, without
my being able to catch a word, I can, nevertheless, understand the
general nature of it perfectly well; I mean, the kind of thing that is
being said and the form it takes. There is no mistake about it. The
speaker is arguing about something, advancing his reasons, then
limiting their application, then driving them home and drawing the
conclusion in triumph; or he is recounting his experiences, proving,
perhaps, beyond the shadow of a doubt, how much he has been injured,
but bringing the clearest and most damning evidence to show that
his opponents were foolish and obstinate people who would not be
convinced; or else he is telling of the splendid plan he laid, and how
he carried it to a successful issue, or perhaps failed because
the luck was against him; or, it may be, he is saying that he was
completely at a loss to know what to do, or that he was quick in
seeing some traps set for him, and that by insisting on his rights or
by applying a little force, he succeeded in frustrating and punishing
his enemies; and so on in hundreds of cases of a similar kind.
Strictly speaking, however, what I get from gesticulation alone is
an abstract notion of the essential drift of what is being said, and
that, too, whether I judge from a moral or an intellectual point of
view.
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