282 Onan Universal written Character. 
find, that the compound word is formed from an 
arbitrary sign denoting a simple idea, bearing some 
relation to the idea now to be represented, modified 
by one of the second class of arbitrary marks. 
I have only farther to observe concerning this 
class of signs, that I consider every word, the mean- 
_ ing of which is not indicated by its structure, as an 
arbitrary mark, whether it has been so originally or 
not. If we have lost the signification of its consti- 
tuent parts, we can only get a knowledge of its 
| meaning by being told that it means so and so; and 
this knowledge is preserved by memory alone. 
Thus neobhodimos¢ is merely an arbitrary mark for 
necessity to a person who does not understand the 
Russian tongue, as necesst/y is for unavoidableness to 
a person who does not know the derivation of the 
word necessity. Buta Russian would be at no loss 
to know the meaning of neobhodimost, though he 
had seen it for the first tame. He knows the signi- 
fication of the various signs of which it is compos- 
ed, viz. ne, negative ; ob, preposition, expressive of 
circuity; hodit, verb to walk; and ost, the termina- 
tional sign, denoting quality abstractly substantiat- 
ed. Farther, he would observe that the verb hodié 
is modified by the terminational my, expressing that 
the substantive with which verbs modified by this 
sign is joined, possess the capacity of undergoing 
the action of the verb so modified: thus, hodimy 
signifies. that can be walked, or gone, walkable, or go- 
