29 



end of the document, but intermixed among the cuneatic cha- 

 racters. Where the names are ideagraphic, the rest of the 

 writing must, a fortiori, be deemed of this nature also. 



18. Argument against the supposition of the Babylonian 

 species of cuneiform writing being phonetic, drawn from the 

 consequence to which this hypothesis leads, — at least in the 

 eyes of its supporters, — that alphabetic writing was known to 

 mankind before their separation took place in the plains of 

 Shinar. For had the sons of Noah been acquainted with such 

 writing, no people descended from them, that is, not one of 

 the nations on the face of the earth, could have since been 

 found destitute of the benefit of this invaluable instrument of 

 human learning. A people, indeed, who had long been accus- 

 tomed to the employment of ideagrams might, from preju- 

 dice, refuse admittance to an alphabetic mode of designation, 

 or, after its introduction, so, from ideagraphic habits, deterio- 

 rate and corrupt its nature, as gradually to render it useless, 

 and finally abandon it : but none who had begun with this 

 species of writing would ever have exchanged it for any other 

 kind. 



19. Argument against the supposition of the Babylonian 

 kind of cuneiform writing being phonetic, from the means 

 which it has been found necessary to resort to, for the pur- 

 pose of making out values of the characters in accordance 

 with this hypothesis. 



Sir William Betham read a paper on some Etruscan coins 

 which he had received from Mr. Cook of Parsonstown, and 

 Mr. Charles Haliday of Dublin : 



" It has often been observed, that there have been no coins 

 of the ancient Irish discovered, although so many curious and 

 interesting articles of the precious metals are of such constant 

 occurrence ; and that none are found but those of the Danish 

 kings of the Irish cities, and the Saxon kings of England. 



