ORIGIN OF LKTTERS, 



learned bishop of Gloucester observes, that the ancient^ gave no. 

 thing to the gods, of whos; 1 original they had any records; bat 

 where the memory of the invention was lost, as of seed corn, wine, 

 writing, civil society, &c. the gods seized the property, by that 

 kind of right which gives strays to the lord of the manor *. 



The holy scriptures having left this subject open to investigation, 

 and the prophane writers having given us nothing satisfactory upon 

 it, we are at liberty to pursue our inquiry into the origin of let- 

 ters ; but, in order to qualify ourselves for this task, it may be 

 proper to enter into a philosophical contemplation of the nature of 

 letters, and of their powers, which will best enable us to discover 

 the true origin of their invention. 



A little reflection will discover, that men, in their rude unculti- 

 vated state, had neither leisure, inclination, nor inducement, to 

 cultivate the powers of the mind to a degree sufficient for the for- 

 mation of an alphabet ; but when a people arrived at such a state 

 of civilization, as required them to represent the conceptions of the 

 mind which had no corporeal forms, necessity, the mother of inven- 

 tion, would occasion further exertions of the human faculties, and 

 would urge such a people to find out a more expeditious manner 

 of transacting their business, and of recording their events, than by 

 picture-writing; for the impossibility of conveying a variety of 

 intellectual and metaphysical ideas, and of representing sounds by 

 the emblematic mode of writing, would naturally occur, and there- 

 fore the necessity of seeking out some other that would be more 

 comprehensive, would present itself. 



These exertions would take place whenever a nation began to 

 improve in arts, manufactures, and commerce ; and the more ge- 

 nius such a nation had, the more improvements would be made in 

 the notation of their language, whilst those people who had made 

 less progress in civilization and science, would have a less perfect 

 system of elementary characters; or would for ages advance no 

 further in this art, than the marks or characters of the Chinese ! 

 Hence it results, that the business of princes, and the manufactures 



* Bishop \Varl)iirfoii's Divine Legation, vol. iii. p. 62. 



+ If it should be asked, why the Chinese still adhere to the ancient mode of 

 writing; it may be answered, that their adherence to aibitrary marks, formed, 

 and -aill continues to form, a part of the civil and religious policy of their 

 country ; in the same manner as the prohibition of printing, forms a part of 

 the civil policy within the dominion, of the emperor of Constantinople. 



