We still lick envelopes, though fewer. We don’t wag tails since we have no tails. But otherwise, like dogs, we have ways of showing our delight or distress.
A dog’s tongue is important. It is vital. Dogs don’t sweat the way we humans do. They cool off through their tongues. That’s why we see so much of that particular canine future. The dog is doing what the slogan tells us: ‘Keep calm and carry on.’
As for the tail, a dog can’t restrain itself when it’s happy. Its tail is going at a rate an Olympic oarsman will envy when it is pleased with its place in the world.
That is not the end of the matter. We use the word ‘tongue’ to signify a language. We use the word ‘linguistic’ to describe patterns of communication involving teeth, air, tongue and voice-box. (One of those words comes from the Latin, the other from Old English.)
We English make poor use of our tongues. We have given the world an international language but we make little effort to speak the native tongue of, say, the Spaniard or the Chinese, (I am as guilty as anyone.) When I think of the influence of ‘Don Quixote’ or Confucius, I burn with shame.
No tails but plenty of high-fives is the way we humans show delight. We also celebrate by punching the air and performing a somersault (a gesture for a minority).
How dismal to have no tails to wag! No high-fives. No panting tongues. We are lost for words and lost for means of showing our celebratory instincts. What we can do is use our tongues to sing. Dogs can’t do that. Birds can.
When we worship, let us do all we can with what we’ve got. See Ephesians 5.19,20.
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