]
It is impossible to contemplate without interest the struggles
made by different nations, as they emerge from barbarism, to
supply themselves with some visible symbols of thought, - that
mysterious agency by which the mind of the individual may be put
in communication with the minds of a whole community. The want
of such a symbol is itself the greatest impediment to the
progress of civilization. For what is it but to imprison the
thought, which has the elements of immortality, within the bosom
of its author, or of the small circle who come in contact with
him, instead of sending it abroad to give light to thousands, and
to generations yet unborn! Not only is such a symbol an
essential element of civilization, but it may be assumed as the
very criterion of civilization; for the intellectual advancement
of a people will keep pace pretty nearly with its facilities for
intellectual communication.
Yet we must be careful not to underrate the real value of the
Peruvian system: nor to suppose that the quipus were as awkward
an instrument, in the hand of a practised native, as they would
be in ours. We know the effect of habit in all mechanical
operations, and the Spaniards bear constant testimony to the
adroitness and accuracy of the Peruvians in this. Their skill is
not more surprising than the facility with which habit enables us
to master the contents of a printed page, comprehending thousands
of separate characters, by a single glance, as it were, though
each character must require a distinct recognition by the eye,
and that, too, without breaking the chain of thought in the
reader's mind.
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