si OE aiid 
624 
ble our readers to judge of their age and au- 
thenticity. This chapter necessarily contains 
much ancient history, and establishes many 
important truths, hitherto little known or 
attended to.” 
* * * * 
<¢ The sixth chapter treats of the writing 
of the Chinese, and of various Characters and 
Literary Signs, used both by the antients and 
moderns, for brevity, expedition, or secrecy. 
"Phe facts which appear im the course of this 
chapter, fully confirm the doctrine laid down 
in, the second and fourth chapters, that aif 
marks whaiever are significantly compact, and 
that werveRs do not derive their powers from 
their forms, but from the sounds which men 
have agreed to annex to them. 
me The seventh chapter treats of Numerals, 
and of Numeral Characters, which were pro- 
bably used before letters. 
«© The eighth chapter treats of the Libra- 
rii, Notarii, and Antiquarii, among the an- 
tients: of Paintings and Ornaments: of the 
materials for writing upon: of Instruments 
for writing with: and some account of Inks, 
both antient and modern.” 
The first step toward the invention of 
alphabetic writing was indubitably pic- 
ture-writing : this invention is thus trac- 
ed. 
« Tt will presently be demonstrated that 
men, even in their most uncivilized state, 
display a faculty of imitation, which enables 
them to delineate objects, and communicate 
information by rade pictures or representa- 
tions. For example, a man who had seen a 
strange animal, plant, or any other new ob- 
ject, for which he wanted a name, would have 
been almost mechanically Jed to illustrate 
hus description by signs: and, if they were 
not readily comprehended, by a rude delinea- 
tion in the sand, on the bark of a tree, on a 
slate, or a bone, or on such materials as first 
presented theraselves: these being banded 
about, naturally suggested the hint of using 
this method of conveying intelligence to a 
distant friend. The exercise of this faculty 
of imitation, so eminently conspicuous in the 
human species, will be found, on an accu- 
rate investigation, to have been common to 
all natious, and perhaps coeval with the first 
societies or communities of mankind, 
_ “ [tis not probable that the art of preture- 
writing was brought to any degree of perfec- 
ton by one man or nation, or even by one 
generation ; but was gradually improved or 
extended, by the successive hands of indivi- 
duals, in the societies through which it pass- 
ed; and that more or less, according to the 
genius of people, and their state of civiliza- 
tion; the ruder nations requiring fewer signs 
‘or representations, than the more cultivated. 
At first, cach figure meant specifically what 
it represented. ‘Thus, the figure of the sua 
expressed or denoted that planet only ; a lion 
or a dog, simply the animals there depicted : 
b.t in-process ef time, when men acquired 
ew ot se i 
’ tid 
PHILOLOGY AND.CRITICISM. 
more knowledge, and attempted to describe 
ualities, as well as sensible objects, these 
delinestitns were more figuratively explain- 
ed; then the figure of the sun, besides its ori- 
ginal meaning, denoted glory and genial 
warmth; that of the lion, courage; and that 
of the dog, fidehty. 
«* A still further improvement in civiliza- 
tion occasioned these delineations to become 
too voluminous ; every new object requiring 
a new picture, this induced the delineator to 
abridge the representations, retaining so much ~ 
of each figure as would express its species. 
Thus, for example, instead of an accurate re- 
presentation of a lon, a slight sketch, or more 
general figure of that animal was substiinted ; 
and for a serpent, either a spiral or crooked 
line, like the letter S. Besides this, as. there 
occurred a number of ideas; not to be repre 
sented by painting, fot these it was necessary 
to attix arlifrary signs. 
«« The transition was not so. great as at 
first it may appear. In all probability these 
signs were introduced slowly, and by sea 
and ia such manner, as to be always explain- 
ed by the context, until generally known and 
adopted. 
«© That such was the origin and progress 
of this invention, history, and the journals 
of travellers, furnish us with variety of proofs ; 
hicroglyphics, in all their different stages, 
being found in very distant parts of the glote. 
Of these we shall mention soine instances. 
“« Jacob d’Acosta relates, that onthe first 
arrival of the Spanish squadron on the coast 
of Mexico, expresses were sent to Montezu- 
ma, wilh exact representations of the ships, 
painted on cloth; in which manner they 
kept their records, histories, and calendars ; 
representing things that had bodily shapes in 
their proper figures, and those that had none, 
in arbitrary significant characters. It is here to 
be observed, that the Mexicans had long been 
a civilized people; so that this kind of writ- 
ing may be considered among them as almost 
advanced to its most perfect state: Speci- 
mens of Mexican painting have been given 
by Purchas in sixty-six plates... His work is 
divided into three parts. . The first contains 
the history of the Mexican empire, under its 
ten monarchs: the second is a tribute-roll, - 
representing what each conquered town paid 
inio the royal treasury: and the third is a 
code of their institutions, civil, political, and 
military. Another specimen of Mexican 
painting ‘has been pubiished, in thirty-two 
plates, by the present archbishop of ‘Toleda. 
‘o all these is annexed a full explanation of 
what the figures were invended to represent, 
which was obtained by the Spaniards from 
the Indians well acquainted with their own. 
- acts. The stile of painting in all these is the 
same; and they may be justly considered as 
the most curious monuments of art, brought 
from the new world.” - * 
Our author proceeds to ‘prove that al- 
phabetic writing preceded the time of 
* 
