8249. I have been informed by the angels that the first speech of all in every earth was a speech by means of the face, and this from two origins in the face-from the lips, and from the eyes. The reason why such speech was the first, is that the face was formed just to effigy the things which a man thinks and which he wills; from this the face has also been called the effigy and index of the mind; and also because in the most ancient or first times there was sincerity (see n. 8118), and man thought nothing, and wished to think nothing, but what he was willing should shine forth from his face; so that the affections of the lower mind and the ideas of the thought could be presented to the life, and fully. In this way they appeared to the eye also, as in a form, and very many together. This speech therefore surpassed the speech of words as much as the sense of sight surpasses that of hearing; that is, as the sight of a country surpasses hearing a description of it. They added that such speech was in agreement with the speech of the angels, with whom, furthermore, men in those times had communication. Moreover when the face speaks, or the mind through the face, it is the angelic speech with man in an ultimate natural form; and there is a presence of the internal sight or thought of one in that of another, but not when the mouth speaks by means of words. (That the most ancient people on this earth spoke in a similar way, see n. 607, 608, 1118, 1120, 7361.) Everyone also can know that the speech of words was not possible to the most ancient people, because the words of language were not imparted immediately, but had to be invented and applied to the things, which could not be done except in course of time.