on the Englifh Alphabet. 143 
The Hebrews go ftill further in fupport of the 
dignity of letters, as may be feen at the beginning 
of the younger Buxtorf’s Chaldaic Lexicon, when 
‘they fay ‘‘that there is not a fingle letter in the 
law, whereon the fate of vaft mountains may not 
be fufpended.” 
If we confider the facility wherewith, Wis means 
of a few letters, the communication of all human 
ideas is’ effected, and the moft important employments 
of life promoted, all other modes of tranfmitting 
intelligence’ and’ recording the hiftory and fcience 
of the world muft hold a very inferior place in 
the comparifon. And yet there are people, whofe 
numerous productions are indubitable proofs of their 
ingenuity and induftry, who are, notwithftanding, 
fuch enthufiaftic worfhippers of cuftom, that, though 
they might acquire a readier and movie rational 
method of imbibing and communicating knowledge ; 
prefer, however, in defiance of all its difficulties, 
their own moft numerous, complicate, and almoft 
unattainable fcheme of arbitrary characters. 
More tardy and difficult, however, than this 
fcheme of Chinefe writing (though in reprefenting 
vifible things more precife) muft that of the Mexi- 
-cans have been, whereby they recorded*all their 
events; and were enabled to report to Motezuma 
all that they had obferved amongft the Spaniards < 
“« Era efta fu modo de efcribir, porque no alcanzaron — 
** el ufo de las letras, ni fupieron fingir aquellas 
_ fenales, o elementos, que inventaron otras naciones 
‘* para 
