94 On an Universal Character. 
a variety of types as seemed to be indispensibly 
necessary? I own these appeared to be absolute 
impossibilities; and these considerations had well 
nigh stopped me from going farther, as I presume 
has been the case with many others. 
It chanced, however, that I was not quite dis- 
heartened. Upon a little investigation I fownd, 
that, on account of derivatives and compounds, the 
number of characters would be procigiously dimin- 
ished. Diminutives, augmentatives, opposites, inflec- 
tions, &c. would furnish the means of an infinitely 
ereater reduction in that respect; so that the first 
objection vanished in a moment. 
As to the second :—Is it not as easy to recollect 
the meaning of an obvious distinct mark placed be- 
fore the eye, as to recollect the meaning of a dis- 
tinct sound pronounced, by means of the ear? Yet 
it is well known that this must be done, by every one 
who learns a foreign language, with regard to every 
word in that language; so that, if the signs were as 
much multiplicd as the words are, they must be as 
easily recollected. And it is well known that it does 
not exceed the human powers to acquire ten or 
twelve languages. 
_ As to the difficulty of devising signs, this was so 
very easy, that at the very first trial I made, I found, 
that taking a perpendicular straight stroke as the 
basis, thus |, it might be easily so varied, by slight 
but distinct marks, without a-probability of one being 
