Ge Ay De; Me Up. S: 508 
‘carinot be engaged to form another at the fame inftant.— 
It would be as difficult to allow this, as to admit that two 
atoms can occupy the fame fpace. No complex founds 
can be produced even on inftruments, any more than com- 
plex ideas by the mind —When feveral inftruments play 
a note, the ear either hears one found or more; if only 
one it is a fimple found, if more than one, they cannot be 
called a found, fimple or complex, but diftin@ founds. It 
is impoflible for the mind to form a complex idea: there 
may be a rapid fucceffion of ideas, but that feveral ideas 
can be reduced into one is an abfurdity. The Mexicans, 
according to Glavigero, compounded fometimes one word 
of the initials or firft fyllables of a great number of other 
words, which term became very long, and comprehended 
a whole fentence; but this abbreviated fentence gives no 
‘complex idea, it only givesa more rapid fucceflion of ideas 
than a fentence compofed of long words. If a new found 
interpofe two others in {peech, a new character ought to be 
made; ifitdonot, we ought to confider whether or not it 
is a found rapidly fucceeding another, and the two or three 
miftaken for one only: of this clafs many are to be found, 
particularly in very ancient languages, and fome in the beft 
written modern. 
The celebrated Euler, attempts very ingenioufly to 
prove, that a mixed found may be formed of two different 
founds, by ftriking two ftrings together, and next to each 
other, of different tone, which will prevent either of them 
from its natural vibration; that a note will be produced 
partaking of each, and that if one of the ftrings be ftopt, 
the vibrations of the other, will remain as a mixed found, 
for fome moments, after which it will gradually re- 
cover its natural vibrations, and give its natural found. 
But the truth is, that the agitation of the air occafioned by 
the firft, within the verge of the fecond, continues a few 
VOL. III. Q gq moments 
