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eaand pi; capable of forming by permutation twenty nine 
words, but twenty four without repeating the fame cha- 
racter three times ina word, each containing fix letters, 
and but three characters: if thefe charaters were prima- 
rily confidered as only each the reprefentative of one let- 
ter, this reafon is not valid, but the next becomes ftrong- 
er, andthe difficulties increafe; for, to form a language 
of exactly three letters in every radical word, pre-{uppofes 
a perfe& acquaintance with a diftina fet-of founds, betlide 
a general confent of the perfons engaged in the compofiti- 
on of the language, and memories fufficient to retain one 
compofed by permuting twenty two letters by three. It 
requires more genius to effet it without, than with cha- 
racters: by an alphabet it might be the compofition of one 
man, but is however the produGtion of a great effort of 
genius, and approaches towards a philofophical language. 
All the world have to lament that not only the circum- 
navigators of different nations, but even of the fame na- 
tion, who make vocabularies of the languages they hear, 
are fo little acquainted with the philofophy of fpeech, as 
never to write them alike: indeed the fame perfon cannot 
read in his fecond voyage, but with difficulty, what he 
wrote in the preceding one, witha pronunciation intelli- 
gible to a native: yet moft people are capable of repeating 
with tolerable corre€tnefs what they hear others pronounce 
immediately before, even in a different language, pro- 
vided the fame founds, contained in the word be found 
in the language of the imitator, otherwife new founds 
mutt be attempted, and every perfon is not fufficiently ac~ 
curate in his obfervations, to perceive the effort made by the 
fpeaker when he utters fuch founds, as we may obferve 
daily in the attempts of foreigners to {peak the #4 of the 
Englifh p 0, &c. 
VOL, II. Ll Shew 
