72 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



constellations of astronomy and zodiacal signs now in current 

 use. Our learned associations are invaded by monomaniacs, harm- 

 less, save for their occupation of valuable time, who show that 

 every ancient cisatlantic object means something different from 

 what is obvious to common sense, and their researches are gratified 

 by frauds and forgeries, sometimes originating in mischief and 

 sometimes in desire for gain. 



The speaker then gave, at some length, the account of an at- 

 tempt, fortunately not successful, of an apparently honest enthusiast 

 to compromise the American Association for the Advancement of 

 Science at its late session in Cincinnati. 



Such fanciful and misleading theories and statements require a 

 note of warning. 



In examining the subject it seems proper to establish the precise 

 relation between signs and symbols. Those terms are often used 

 interchangeably, but with liability to misconstruction, as most per- 

 sons, whether with right or wrcng lexical definition, ascribe to 

 symbols an occult and mystic significance. 



A sign is the most general — that by which anything is made 

 known or represented. A symbol has been defined as the sign of 

 something moral or intellectual by the images or properties of nat- 

 ural objects ; but that would include an emblem in which, by a 

 figure of thought, corporeal objects stand for moral and intellectual 

 qualities, and a symbol should be distinguished as that species of 

 emblem which is a constituted sign among men of such qualities. 



An alphabet, or scheme of signs by which a language is written r 

 is not in its essence symbolical, and the Semitic scheme, the parent,, 

 notwithstanding the wide diversity of languages, of nearly all the 

 graphic systems prevailing in the world, had not even its origin in 

 symbols. The first step toward writing was the rude pictorial rep- 

 resentation of objects without indication of any accessories, fol- 

 lowed by application of symbolic meaning to some of the figures 

 most used and known, and some pictures, more and more abbre- 

 viated, also gradually became conventional signs, which, in time,. 



