Note 83 — Chapter XVII · PROGRESS OR DECAY?
Reading edition
On the other hand, it is not, perhaps, fair to count the number of syllables, as these may vary very considerably, and some languages favour syllables with heavy consonant groups unknown in other tongues. The most rational measure of length would be to count the numbers of distinct (not sounds, but) articulations of separate speech organs—but that task is at any rate beyond my powers.