86 On the Origin of 
yet nearly all the arguments brought to prove 
the divine original of letters are applicable 
with equal if not with greater force to shew 
that the Arabic numerals are derivable from 
such a source. 
An advocate of the divine origin of this 
art might argue thus. ‘As in the invention 
‘of letters, so here, the first effort seems to 
‘have brought it to perfection. No improve- 
“ments have ever been attempted on the 
‘Arabic cyphers; they have been handed 
‘¢down to us in their present state, througha 
period of more than a thousand years, and, 
‘in all that time, have scarcely been even 
‘altered in their figure. If any one should 
‘pretend that the less perfect attempts, in 
“ the gradual progress of this invention, may 
“have been neglected and forgotten, and 
“that all monuments of them may have long 
‘ago perished, I reply, “this is mere affirma- 
* tion unsupported by the shadow of a proof.” 
“Again, if we trace the history of this art» 
“we shall find precisely the same phenome- 
‘non which has been represented as so extra- 
“ ordinary in the history of letters. These 
‘“‘ characters seem never to have been inven- 
“ted but once, and all the nations who now 
‘use them have plainly derived them from 
“the samesource. All the modern European 
