■THNOLOdY OP TH« INDO PACIFIC TSLAKOB. 



placed horizontally in the forma!, and verticfilly in the common, notft- 

 lion. Thw Indian and Artthic H^uto— tiieorijfiiiHls ul llie Euronean — ore 

 ohviinisly ourstve or coi-necttid Ibnns os stiuiLir synjhuls, and it is cari- 

 ous that in tUe Indian— from which the AraUtt; av© su]'|»o3pd to have 

 hetin derived — tht* strokes aro hrjrizontal, while in tUp Arohin they ara 

 vertii «l, from whit:h we may |*prhttijs infer- thai vtrtiL-uj synihdJs wtra 

 at onp titnp jmrtitilly rurrfnt in Indtw also, or ihnf fOiisiderabJe lict-nsa 

 prevailed in their [Kwiiiun, But ihp Arabic arn su much do*er to (he 

 ▼ertiral ('hine«« than to thu Indian, that if appears most jHoljaltJu thoy 

 Wfr« directly liorfo\vt:<l from tlml tystem. A comjuristui ofnlfdjai-Btf 

 fhmvH lUut wriiteti eymholnare very ajjt to he luine l ii* all flirectiuns, 

 richt or \&it, n\> or duwn, in iheir progre^* amongst ruile tribri*, prior 

 to tli^ adojition or unironn materials lor wr<ting. Lfavt>8, bark, hard 

 bamhu, i l.itb^ coarae mimr that hlois, styleja, reeda, qnrJis, brushes, 

 paint, ink &(*., all rnfiufnce the form and poBition of tin' syni hula. 

 TliH Chinese avmHo! lor 4 appt-ar;* anciendy to Jrrive been, in its ru- 

 diments, 4 strukf'S, tt hoiizoirtal wilh two liepcndent vertical, t^nd a 

 aurailcr horizontal carried out from the bottom ot the right one. It 

 haa b»*en compHi ated by adtJin^tvvo large vertical lities at ibe aiiU>B and 

 one at the b(}tfi>ni, forming \^itfi the upper horizontal line an ent^lusiiig 

 square whi{-h wtmld itaelf represent 4. In the common figure the four 

 Jinrs are olit.air-ed by a airafile croaking of tviro curved strokes. The In- 

 dtrin .symbol i» a Himilar cross, but mth the bottours of tiie curved 

 atrokes joim-d and rorrnilpd, that is, the figur-e is written wirhout lifting; 

 the pi*n, ttufl the two strokes run into one symbol, as with thelndo- 

 Arabic 2 nnd 3. In the Chirrese 9 the symbol for 4 is sometimes looped 

 in the same way, Tiie anrii?nt Cliinese 6 appears to have consisted rmii- 

 metifally of 3 horiioutai, crossed by 2 vertical, strokes. Tlie common fi- 

 gure ia a Tory remnrkub!et>ne. Itconatstaof a body preci eel v resembling 

 th« Imliitn Ibrm ol 4 (ihut is, a cro8H converted into a loop by writing it 

 without lilting the pen or biush), and a ^hort stroke carried up from the 

 left point, or it ia a stroke with the symbol lor 4 affixed (i. e, 4, 1). It 

 appears to be a rounded, cursive, unilinear modificaiioa of" the an- 

 cient stymbol for 5. The Indiarr, Arabic anil European figurea ior d 

 Vftrv ^reatl^, but some stnmgiy resetuble the Chiinese syntboi The 

 Zf'nd is evidenrfy iLia synrboi curtailed of the loop. The Devanagri, 

 Malirarta unti Euroi>ean are aJso close to it. The comtnon figures Jbr 

 6f 7, 8 and 9 are quinary, that is, they are the figm^es for 1. '2, 3, and 

 4 with a >hiirt vertical stroke to represent 6, or diutiuguiah tht-ra Jrota 

 the lowtir iSeries. In 9 it rests on a horizontal stroke, the figure 4 

 liaving no stroke of the kind to i-upport it, as in 1, 2 and 3. The form- 

 el ayifjbols are jirobably h'ss nruple compounds ot a similar kind. 

 The np|ier jnirt ot 6 is the common figure, (equivalent to 5, 1). The 

 nomenclature was nlan probably quinary. The ancient 8 and 9 appear 

 to be relaud, t> Is 4 without the three enclosing lines, and with the 

 left vertical strike prolonged above the horizontal line to represent 5* 

 I'ba ItidrHU^ Arabian and EuropuHU symbols lor the higher numhprs va- 

 ry greatly, and the same figure has dffFtri-nt powers in diJierent ays- 

 teuis, but, like the Chmese, they appear to have been originally tortrred 

 from the lower ones. Tims the Devanagri 6, is 3 reversed, with the addi- 

 tion of u smail curve at the top. 7 is, in general, two strokes likt? the letter 

 ^, but variously placed, sometimes curved in both or one of the stroties 

 •and frequently resembliiiig I, The 7 9i I>«vacragri and out) Yarii;;tjr of 



