The Fact Of The Matter Is That

A Second Type Of Direct Evidence Is Formed By Statements, Whether As Formal Legends Or Personal Information, Regarding The Age Or Relative Sequence Of Events In Tribal History Made By The Natives Themselves.

What Fetters The Mind And Benumbs The Spirit Is Ever The Dogged Acceptance Of Absolutes.

Were A Language Ever Completely "grammatical" It Would Be A Perfect Engine Of Conceptual Expression. Unfortunately, Or Luckily, No Language Is Tyrannically Consistent. All Grammars Leak.

It Would Be Naïve To Imagine That Any Analysis Of Experience Is Dependent On Pattern Expressed In Language. Any Concept, Whether Or Not It Forms Part Of The System Of Grammatical Categories, Can Be Conveyed In Any Language. If A Notion Is Lacking In A Given Series, It Implies A Different Configuration And Not A Lack Of Expressive Power.

These Examples Of The Lack Of Simplicity In English And French, All Appearances To The Contrary, Could Be Multiplied Almost Without Limit And Apply To All National Languages.