280 THE COMING OF MAN 



having made the letters straighter and simpler, 

 they passed them on to us. The very word *' alpha- 

 bet" which we use is made from the names of the 

 first two Greek letters, alpha, beta. 



The Hebrews were another nation that adopted 

 the Phoenician alphabet and changed it to suit 

 their own spoken language. They were of the same 

 race as the Phoenicians, but their worship had 

 elevated them above those neighboring merchant 

 people of Tyre and Sidon. These trading Phoeni- 

 cians were rich in goods, in gold and silver and 

 tin, in amber and silks and spices; but the Hebrews 

 were rich in thoughts and in their love of the unseen 

 Spirit who '^made the world and all that therein 

 is." They knew that He had made them and they 

 tried to find out His will and to do it. They, too, 

 wrote their thoughts, so that, like the Greeks, the 

 Hebrews have given to the world a great literature. 

 It is largely found in the Bible, their sacred book 

 and ours, for it has come down to us from that time 

 long ago when it was first written. 



For a long time people have been writing their 

 thoughts, and the world contains many books which 

 tell us the thoughts of others. These may be a 

 great help in our lives or they may do us harm^ ac- 

 cording as the thoughts of the writers are noble and 

 high or low and unworthy. Books can be good 

 friends or they can be bad friends. When we choose 

 the best books to read we are filling our minds with 

 the best thoughts. When a good book is written it 

 lives on and on, often influencing the minds of 

 generations of men and women. 



