270 Lassen on the History traced [No. 99. 



Lastly, in discussing this question, the great similarity of t and 

 d with r must be kept in sight, so that it becomes very difficult 

 to distinguish them ; however, it would lead to an extreme con- 

 clusion to throw these three letters in the same mould. 



8. I n. For this Mr. Prinsep adopts £ ; so does Mr. Grote- 

 fend, who adds besides five other entirely different characters, as 

 representing n ; but they have been produced from mistakes in 

 reading, as will be proved hereafter ; c occurs indeed in the 

 syllable na of the name Menandros upon many coins ; As. Trans. 

 Vol. iv. PL xxxvi. No. 1 has £ ; on the other hand, No. 2. a. b. 

 has my character. No. 3. likewise has it, only a little distorted ; 

 also As. Trans. Vol. v. PL xlvi. No. 5 and No. 8. particularly 

 the latter, where the curvature is more prominent than in my 

 character, and a point is superadded (i*) At the same place, No. 6 

 has indeed the character as exhibited by Messrs. Prinsep and 

 Grotefend. At R. R. I. No. 12, the form is quite indistinct, also 

 No. 8. No. 9 ; at No. 10, the drawer seems to have been incor- 

 rect. The copy, according to Tod,* is of much less use. In 

 Philoxenos, As* Trans, iv. PL xxi. No. 1, my symbol occurs ; 

 No. 2 has got the other R. R. II, No. 6 some mixture of both. 



The cross-line below, being proved to be an unmeaning 

 ornament, we have in fact but to choose between I and £ ; and 

 these appear to me varieties only of the same character, ac- 

 cording as the middle part of the letter was bent in another 

 way. But since the figure c occurs also in instances, where it 

 cannot be n, I preferred the figure I for the type. 



It might be supposed that, because n appears so often, the 

 distinction was to be easily effected, and the foregoing dis- 

 cussion therefore might be quite superseded. For we have 

 also to expect n in Antialkides, in Antimachos, and in Amyntas. 

 But on looking for n in the corresponding places, we find 

 nothing at all, and it must be directly evident to the unpre- 

 judiced inquirer, that here the letter n was not expressed, viz. 

 not before t, at least not by a symbol, placed in the line. 

 As to the supposition, however, that the point (i') near i, often 



Trans, of the R. A. S. vol. 1. p. xn. No. 2. 



