THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 423 



with a view to incrcafc the difference flill more between 

 the writing then in ufc among the nations, and what he 

 intended to be peculiar to the Jews. The firft was altering 

 the direction, and writing from right to left, whereas, the 

 Ethiopian was, and is to this day, written from left to right, 

 as was the hieroglyphical alphabet *. The fecond was ta- 

 king away the points, which, from all times, mufl have ex- 

 illed and been, as it were, a part of the Ethiopic letters in- 

 vented with them, and I do not fee how it is poffibie it ever 

 could have been read without them ; fo that, which way 

 foever the difpute may turn concerning the antiquity of 

 the application of the Maforetic points, the invention was 

 no new one, but did exiit as early as language was written. 

 And I apprehend, that thefe alterations were very rapidly 

 adopted after the writing of the law, and applied to the 

 new character as it then flood; becaufe, not long after, 

 Mofes was ordered to fubmit the law itfelf to the people, 

 which would have been perfectly ufelefs, had not reading 

 and the character been familiar to them at that time. 



It appears to me alfo, that the Ethiopic words were al- 

 ways feparated, and could not run together, or be joined 

 as the Hebrew, and that the running the words together in- 

 to one muft have been matter of choice in the Hebrew, to 

 increafe the difference in writing the two languages, as 

 the contrary had been practifed in the Ethiopian language. 

 Though there is really little refemblance between the Ethio- 

 pic and the Hebrew letters, and not much more between 



that 



' Vide the hieroglyphics on the drawing of the ftair. 



