on the Englifh Alphabet. 157 
the Ancients have Aleph, Beth, Gimel, &c. Alpha, 
Beta, Gamma, &c. and of three fyllables, as lwre. 
and there are letters, at this time in ufe, named 
with three fyllables. | 
The charaétets which are, at prefent, made ufe of, 
to exprefs every found in the Englifh language, 
are in number twenty fix. ‘Thefe are well known; 
arid, 28 the vowels are held to be the firft of all 
human founds, and confequently the moft fimple; 
it feems fit that they fhould be confidered before the 
confonants, or fecondary letters. 
Archelaus, the mafter of Socrates, was, we are 
informed, the firft who taught that the origin of 
the voice was a percuffion of the air.* And it is 
the 
* Moar @s 32 Eire Quis yéveow Ty Ta déoog TAEW. 
Diog. Laert, Lib, ii. an Archelaum, 
And Ariftotle, moreover, where he writes TEgi Qavys 
Tay féwv, makes thefe diftin@ions: Qwvy dé, ual LéQos 
Eregdv eos’ ual teltov TovTwv didderioc. Quvd wev ovy 
Gudevl TAY aAAwy pogiay dudev, wAyY TA Ddovyli. did 
Gow wy exer mvevova dvdev OSéyleras.  Ardaexi@e 92, 
% THS Duvys Ecol TH yAdTin didgSewois, TH pev ovy 
Dovyjevra, 4 Quvy ual 6 rAdeuyk a@ivaw' cou 0¢ dQave 
 yrarla nai yedy é& cv % ducaexids eon. 
Ariftot. de Hift. Animal. L. iv. cap. 9. 
Ariftotle herein agrees, in moft refpeéts, with his predeceffor, 
Hippocrates, the whole of whofe theory of the voice was too 
long 
