Alphabetical Characters. 89 
siderable progress in the mathematical scien- 
ces, whose acquaintance with the properties of 
numbers was so extensive and profound, should 
have submitted for so many centuries to the 
inextricable difficulties and inconveniences 
‘occasioned by their unscientific notation? If 
‘the modern method of numeration were a hu- 
man invention, is it not extraordinary that a 
people whose acuteness and ingenuity seem ne- 
ver to have been surpassed, should have been 
so long engaged in philosophical enquiries, 
without ever discovering it? 
A fourth argument in favour of the opinion 
we are now examining, is derived from the 
alleged failure of all the attempts which have 
been made to trace the successive steps of the 
transition from the hieroglyphics in use among 
the Egyptians to alphabetical characters. 
From any knowledge we have, either of hie- 
toglyphics, picture writing, or any other 
contrivance of a similar nature, or of the 
various nations who made use of them, we 
have no ground to infer any progress or ten- 
‘dency toward such an improvement. On the 
contrary, we see nothing in these methods of 
expressing ideas immediately by written cha- 
‘racters, but a progress from bad to worse, 
from aukward and clumsy to unintelligible 
and inexplicable. Though originally modes, 
VOL. 111. M 
