DO THE DEAF & DUMB THINK THEMSELVES UNHAPPY?
Reading edition
wo deaf and dumb scholars of the late Abbé Siccard were asked—Do the deaf and dumb think themselves unhappy? The following is the answer of Massien:—"No; because we seldom lament that which we never possessed, or know we can never be in possession of; but should the deaf and dumb become blind, they would think themselves very unhappy, because sight is the finest, the most useful, and the most agreeable of all the senses. Besides, we are amply indemnified for our misfortune by the signal favour of expressing by gestures and by writing our ideas, our thoughts, and our feelings, and likewise by being able to read books and manuscripts."
The following is the answer of Clerc, the other pupil, to the same question:—"He who never had anything has never lost anything, and he who never lost anything has nothing to regret; consequently, the deaf and dumb who never heard or spoke, have never lost either hearing or speech, therefore cannot lament either the one or the other. And he who has nothing to lament cannot be unhappy; consequently the deaf and dumb are not unhappy. Besides, it is a great consolation for them to be able to replace hearing by writing, and speech by signs."
