Thus,
definite language permits more precise thought, and definite thought,
in turn, insists on more exact expression in language. The two aid
each other in development of cultural ideas, and invention and language
move along together in the development of the human race. It becomes a
great human invention, and as such it not only preserves the thoughts
of the past but unlocks the knowledge of the present.

Not only is language the means of communication, and the great racial
as well as social bond of union, but it represents knowledge, culture,
and refinement. The strength and beauty of genuine artistic expression
have an elevating influence on human life and become a means of social
progress. The drama and the choicest forms of prose and poetry in
their literary aspects furnish means of presenting great thoughts and
high ideals, and, thus combined with the beauty of expression, not only
furnish the best evidence of moral and intellectual progress but make a
perennial source of information in modern social life. Hence it is
that language and culture in all of their forms go hand in hand so
closely that a high degree of culture is not attained without a
dignified and expressive language.

_Art as a Language of Aesthetic Ideas_.--The development of aesthetic
ideas and aesthetic representations has kept pace with progress in
other phases of civilization. The notion of beauty as entertained by
the savage is crude, and its representation is grotesque. Its first
expression is observed in the adornment of the body, either by paint,
tattooing, or by ornaments. The coarse, glaring colors placed upon the
face or body, with no regard for the harmony of color, may attract
attention, but has little expression of beauty from a modern standard.
The first adornment in many savage tribes consisted in tattooing the
body, an art which was finally rendered {131} useless after clothing
was fully adopted, except as a totemic design representing the unity of
the tribe. This custom was followed by the use of rude jewelry for
arms, neck, ears, nose, or lips. Other objects of clothing and
ornament were added from time to time, the bright colors nearly always
prevailing. There must have been in all tribes a certain standard of
artistic taste, yet so low in many instances as to suggest only the
grotesque. The taste displayed in the costumes of savages within the
range of our own observation is remarkable for its variety. It ranges