An essay on the origin of language, based on modern researches, and especially on the works of M. Renan

This compact volume brings together the leading linguistic thought of the mid‑nineteenth century, drawing heavily on the work of Ernest Renan and other scholars such as Grimm, Müller and Pictet. The author presents a clear, step‑by‑step survey of how scholars of the day traced the development of human speech from its primal beginnings to the complex families of Indo‑European and Semitic tongues. Written for curious readers rather than specialists, the prose strives to make dense philological arguments understandable without sacrificing rigor.

The essay treats language as both a divine gift and a natural phenomenon, exploring how articulated sounds become the “shadows of the soul” that bind individuals and entire cultures. It surveys comparative mythology, early alphabetic systems, and the philosophical implications of words as carriers of thought. Throughout, the writer emphasizes the wonder of speech as the bridge between humanity and the transcendent, inviting listeners to contemplate the mystery behind every spoken word.