The Speech of Monkeys

It appears to me that their speech is capable of communicating the ideas that they are capable of conceiving, and, measured by their mental, moral, and social status, is as well developed as the speech of man, measured by the same units. Strange monkeys of the same species seem to understand each other at sight, whereas two monkeys of different species do not understand each other until they have been together for some time. Each one learns to understand the speech of the other; but, as a rule, he does not try to speak it. When he deigns an answer, it is usually in his own tongue. The more fixed and pronounced the social and gregarious instincts are in any species, the higher the type of its speech. They often utter certain sounds under certain conditions in a whisper, which indicates they are conscious of the effect which will result from the use of speech. Monkeys reason from cause to effect, communicate to others the conclusion deduced therefrom, and act in accordance therewith. If their sounds convey a fixed idea on a given subject from one mind to another, what more does human speech accomplish? If one sound communicates that idea clearly, what more could volumes do? If their sounds discharge all the functions of speech, in what respect are they not speech? [Sidenote: CANNOT THINK WITHOUT WORDS]