168 Elementary Principles of 



We now come to the consideration of the biliterals which are 

 constructed from this significant. 



It is evident that, if this significant stood alone, it might be 

 the symbol of either, or of all the ideas which are associated 

 with it. In order to make it available for the purpose of ex- 

 pressing each ideal character distinctly, it was necessary to 

 couple it with different signs or letters. Nor was it necessary 

 that such adjunct signs or letters should exert any symbolical 

 character ; for if, for example, we possessed three letters which 

 were not endowed with any ideal character, we might affix or 

 prefix one of these to our significant, when we wished to employ 

 it with a reference to its first ideal character : we might use 

 another of these in conjunction with the same significant when 

 w^e intended to use it with a reference to its second ideal charac- 

 ter ; and the third might be connected with that significant when 

 it was used with a reference to its third ideal character. We 

 might thus construct three biliterals from this significant, in 

 each of which a different ideal character might be exerted, the 

 limitation of each biliteral to the expression of one particular 

 idea (to the exclusion of the two other ideas) being altogether 

 arbitrary, although, when once made, it would ever after re- 

 main fixed by the authority of usage. Auxiliary letters, such 

 as we have just supposed, for the sake of illustration, to exist, 

 actually do exist in the Hebrew alphabet ; letters which, al- 

 though they exert no symbolical character, are nevertheless 

 instrumental in enabling the same significant to exert, under 

 different combinations, its several ideal characters, or the 

 several modifications of which its single ideal character is 

 susceptible, separately and distinctly. Such letters are termed 

 formatives. 



Some of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet act always the 

 part of formatives ; others always act the part of significants ; 

 and there are some letters which, under certain circumstances, 

 are mereXy formative, while, under other circumstances, they 

 act the part of significants. 



Let us revert to the significant D, or the bow-letter. 



If we affix to this significant the letter b, (which here acts the 

 part of a formative) we construct the biliteral ^D, or CL, which 

 is expressive of in-CLosing, in-CLuding, keeping CLosCj or 



