To this Geiger objected. How could ideas be produced whilst no signs existed with which to represent them? Words came first, and thought, rendered possible by the development of language, followed; “language has created reason; before language, man was without reason.”[60] Max Müller replied to both. How could there be a sign when there was nothing to represent? Conceptions and words, inseparable from the beginning, were produced on the same day; the day when man’s history begins; before that what was a fugitive impression and a vocal sound void of sense, became a conception. Max Müller adds: “If Geiger had said that with every new word there is more reason, or that every progress of reason is marked by a new word, he would have been right, for the growth of reason and language may be said to be coral-like, each shell is the product of life, and becomes in turn the support of new life.”[61] The most important results obtained during the Middle Ages on these subjects find their representations in this discussion carried on by the three learned contemporaries. Max Müller’s point of view is one which reconciles the two diverse opinions. Men still find themselves under the magic influence of the past after some thousands of years; the first words which our ancestors used in the midst of their ordinary occupations have not ceased to appear in our daily conversations, in our philosophical writings, and in the reports of scientific proceedings; it is impossible to speak of our family or social relations, of our affections, our ordinary obligations, our most sacred duties, our observance of laws, without having recourse to words and expressions, which represent the acts of linking or _tying_, those early activities of our ancestors. The chemist speaks of the _affinity_ of the substances with which he is working; the poet and the devout believer when giving free scope to their highest aspirations do not find truer or loftier terms than _links_, _chains_, _ties_, for that which connects them with the Giver of all pure, sublime thoughts. As it is possible in the present day to speak of _delving_ into a question (_creuser_) and of _racking_ our brains (creuser) when we puzzle over a conundrum; of _linking_ one idea to another; of _polishing_ our manners by the help of art and letters; of seeking to _soften_ the heart of God by offerings (as if He were a mercenary Judge), of linking ourselves with others the better to accomplish a good work, of uniting in freeing ourselves from an undesirable opponent; it follows that our ancestors as they emerged from their condition of muteness found it necessary to _dig_ (creuser) cabins for themselves, to _polish_ stones, to weave and plait branches together, and to soften tough roots for their nourishment. The same words repeat themselves from time immemorial.