DAD LANGI/AGIS; 337 



The jfeireft chara&ers in the fquare Hebrew, 



arc fuch as refer mblc the characters of the 



Spanim manufcripts : the next are thole of the 



in manufcripts, and then thofe of the French 



German. Many authors lay that the fquare 



cw is not the true ancient character that 



the Jews wrote from the origin of their language 



to the captivity or" Babylon, but an AfTyrian or 



ChJdcan character, which they adopted during 



their captivity and have fince retained The 



Rabbinic is a character not inelegant, and is 



formed from the fquare Hebrew by cutting 



off the greaieft part of its angles. 



CHAP. XX. 



Of thotc LANGUAGES that are 

 called dead, and of PALEO- 

 GRAPHY. 



LANGUAGES in genera!, properly fpcak- 

 ing, form no fcicnce that can enrich the 

 mind with real knowledge, but are to be con- 

 fidcred as introductions to the fcicnccs -, as keys 

 VOL. III. Y that 



