174 Elementary Principles of 



secondary triliteral, or a second series of triliterals, and each 

 such secondary triliteral is endowed with the import of its parent. 

 Thus from the triliteral ^\Vp is formed (by exchanging its first, 

 or its second letter, or both these, for a letter or letters of similar 

 phonic character) a long string of secondary triliterals, all and 

 each of which derive their import as well as their origin from that 

 parent triliteral, which is the derivative of Wp, a secondary 

 biliteral, (who^e import is communicated to its derivative ^^p)^ 

 which derives its origin and its import from the primary biliteral 

 t^D, which is formed from the significant D, whose ideal charac- 

 ters I. and II. are exerted in it. 



These, then, are the modes in which triliterals are constructed^ 



In these several ways, then, the bow-letter 3 communicates 

 one or more of its ideal characters to biliterals and triliterals ; 

 and, in a similar manner, other significants impart their im- 

 port to their derivative biliterals and triliterals. The bow-letter 

 is, however, the most important of all the significants, inasmuch 

 as we may trace up to it a greater number of what are called 

 rootSj than can be traced to any other significant. The phonic 

 character of this significant (d) is, as we have stated, palatine, 

 (it having the sound of the Latin C or K, and it being, hence, 

 mutable with the palatines p, ^, and H, which answer to Q or 

 K, G, harsh H or Ch.) But the harsh sound of D seems to have 

 been sometimes exchanged for a softer sound, approaching to 

 that of a sibilant. 



So the letter C (which is formed by inverting the bow-letter) 

 is both a palatine and a sibilant, (" aut comix aut serpens,^') in 

 English as well as in Latin (a palatine in cup, a sibilant in 

 city), and in the older Greek alphabet, the sibilant S was de- 

 noted by the character C. 



For we find, not only that there is a set o£ secondary biliterals 

 formed from the primary biliteral derivatives of D, by exchang- 

 ing the significant D for some other palatine (as when C]p_, 5)J> 

 P)rf, are formed from 5)j), but that there is also, in some 

 instances, a second series of secondary biliterals, which is 

 also formed from a primary bililiteral derivative of this bow- 

 letter, but which is constructed by the substitution of a sibi- 

 lant or dental letter for the bow-letter. Such we find to be 



