M. Arago on the Egyptlun Hieroglyphical Writing's. 41 



shall recognize that I have been able to avoid all prejudice on 

 the subject. 



Mankind have conceived two systems of writing, which are 

 completely distinct. The one is in use amongst the Chinese, 

 which is the hieroglyphical system ; and the other, now employ- 

 ed by every other people, bears the name of the Alphabetic or 

 Phonetic system. 



The Chinese have no letters properly so called. The charac- 

 ters which they employ in writing, and which are true hierogly- 

 phics, do not represent sounds nor elementary articulations, but 

 ideas. Thus a house is expressed by means of a particular and 

 special character which never changes, even although all the Chi- 

 nese might have designated their houses in the spoken tongue, 

 by a word totally different from that which they use at the present 

 time ! Let it likewise be recognised that our common numbers, 

 also, are all hieroglyphic. The idea of unity added eight times 

 to itself is every where expressed in France, and England, and 

 Spain, &c. by the help of two small circles placed vertically on 

 each other, and touching at a single point; but, in reading this 

 ideagraphic sign, the French pronounce huit ; the English, eight ; 

 the Spaniards, ocho. It is likewise known that it is the same 

 with all compound numbers. And we may here remark in 

 passing, that, if the Chinese ideagraphic symbols were generally 

 adopted in the manner that the Arabic ciphers are, every man 

 might read in his own tongue all the works he could meet with, 

 without having occasion to know a single word of the spoken 

 language of the writer. 



But it is very different with alphabetic writing : — 



That man who taught the truly wond'rous art 

 Our speech to paint, and to our sight to speak, 



having made the grand initial observation, that all the words of 

 the richest spoken language are composed of a very limited num- 

 ber of sounds or elementary articulations, invented symbols or 

 letters to the number of twenty- four or thirty, for their represen- 

 tation. With the help of these signs differently combined, he 

 could write every language he heard spoken, even when he knew 

 nothing of its meaning. 



The Chinese or hieroglyphic mode of writing appears to be 



