Add to this, if you please, the great difficulty of obtaining from them even the words that they have. For, as they neither know our language nor we theirs, except a very little which pertains to daily and commercial life, we are compelled to make a thousand gesticulations and signs to express to them our ideas, and thus to draw from them the names of some of the things which cannot be pointed out [49] to them. For example, to think, to forget, to remember, to doubt; to know these four words, you will be obliged to amuse our gentlemen for a whole afternoon at least by playing the clown; and then, after all that; you will find yourself deceived, and mocked anew, having received, as the saying is, the mortar for the level, and the hammer for the trowel. In short we are still disputing, after a great deal of research and labor, whether they have any word to correspond directly to the word _Credo_, I believe. Judge for yourself the difficulty surrounding the remainder of the symbols and fundamental truths of christianity. Or tout ce discours de la difficulté du langage, ne me servira pas seulement pour monstrer en quels efforts et ahan de langue nous sommes, ains aussy pour faire veoir à nos Europeans leur felicité mesme civile: car il est assuré qu'encore mesme enhanée,[I.] cette miserable nation demeure touiours en une perpetuelle enfance de langue et de raison. Ie dis, de langue et de raison, parce qu'il est évident que là où la parolle, messagere et despensière de l'esprit et discours, reste totalement rude, pauvre et confuse, il est impossible que l'esprit et raison soient beaucoup polis, abondans et en ordre. Cependant ces pauvres chetifs et enfants s'estiment [50] plus que tous les hommes de la terre, et pour rien du monde ne voudroyent quitter leur enfance et chetiveté. Mais ce n'est pas de merveille; car, comme j'ay dict, ils sont enfans. Now all this talk about the difficulty of the language will not only serve to show how laborious is our task in learning it, but also will make our Europeans appreciate their own blessings, even in civil affairs; for it is certain that these miserable people, continually weakened by hardships [_enhanée_],[II.] will always remain in a perpetual infancy as to language and reason. I say language and reason, because it is evident that where words, the messengers and dispensers of thought and speech, remain totally rude, poor and confused, it is impossible that the mind and reason be greatly refined, rich, and disciplined. However, these poor weaklings and children consider themselves [50] superior to all other men, and they would not for the world give up their childishness and wretchedness. And this is not to be wondered at, for, as I have said, they are children.