WRITING PHYSIOLOGICALLY COXSIDERED. 621 



The subordination of these three so different directions of writing 

 to a single physiological principle is possible only in case we can show 

 that there is only one normal direction in writing, and that the devia- 

 tions from this normal direction are due to powerful causes and influ- 

 ences, which have prevailed over the direction primarily imposed by 

 the structure of the brain. 



It is necessary, while we are occupied with this question, to distin- 

 guish between the order of the lines and the letters and the formation 

 of the letters themselves. The two things are in a certain degree in- 

 dependent one of the other. The individuality of the writer is mani- 

 fested in the form, in the proportions of the letters, while the manner 

 in which the lines and the letters are arranged one after the other dis- 

 plays no character of individuality. 



A complete analysis of all the external influences that can have 

 acted on the manner of writing is necessary to decide whether there 

 exists only a single order of letters and lines imposed by nature, or 

 whether the diversity which Ave see to-day is produced solely by exter- 

 nal causes. 



But the solution of this question, whatever it may be, will not suf- 

 fice to furnish a detailed analysis of the cerebral functions that are 

 put in action by writing. The formation of a letter by the hand that 

 writes supposes necessarily that, by the movements of the fingers and 

 the hand on one side and the visual impression of the eyes on the other, 

 V. concejDtion of the figure produced is formed in the brain, which is 

 retained for a certain time by the memory. The time required for the 

 formation of the conception and the transmission from the brain of 

 the will to produce the action is shortened by frequent exercise till 

 the act comes to appear nearly unconscious. The more frequently a 

 man writes, the more also will the figurative images produced by writ- 

 ing be fixed in his brain. But as his impressions and images are trans- 

 mitted to his brain only by the muscular sensation of the single right 

 hand with the cooperation of the eyes, indeed we have a right to ex- 

 pect that experiments and observations made on certain cerebral parts 

 of paralytic patients will cast some light on the manner in which these 

 figurative and largely unilateral images of the writing are formed and 

 preserved in the brain. 



For the present, we will occupy ourselves with the question. How 

 did the ancients, how do the moderns, write ? AVhat were and what 

 are the materials that they employ ? Can we discover any connection 

 between purely external causes and the manner of arrangement of the 

 letters and lines ? 



So far as we know, representation by images has been the point of 

 departure for all writing. Three primitive methods of writing were 

 developed in the Eastern Hemisphere from the initial imagery : that 

 of the East of Asia, or the Chino- Japanese method ; that of the West 

 of Asia, or the cuneiform ; and the Egyptian, or hieroglyphic writing. 



