L^7l 
-Oae thing is remarkable in the CJjmefe.thzt I find the places 
in the a!?acus to he horizmtal, and their firft place to be that 
next the left hand, which I judge was alio the firft in their 
old way of reading, much the fame with ours^ though their 
other Charaaers are erected (asl fliall by and byfliew) 
from the pofture of Writing and Reading, which I conject- 
ure they did at firft makeuleof, and what does yet further 
agree with this conjecture, is Remarkale in the newly men- 
tioned Treatife of /^/^^ Beig, That whereas the way of Writ- 
ing and Reading uftd by the Jr^/^j-, was from the right to 
the left,^ the firft place or the place of Units in their Nume- 
ration, was that next the right Hand ; and fb came firft to 
be read' : as did that of Chma, who as I conceive read the con- 
trary way, from the left to the right. 
It appears therefore by this remark that we received this 
way of expreffing Numbers from tbQ- Jrab^a/^Sy for that 
we keep the fame pofture or poflition of places with thejB, 
though our progrffion in Writing and Reading be the con- 
trary way. And though we now Read them aifo in the or- 
der they are fet, twenty one, twenty two, thirty fix, forty 
eight, &:c.- yet we retaine alfo the other way ofPronounce- 
ing, viz^ one and twenty j two and twenty, M and thirty , 
eight and forty, &c. 
Now as the Chimfe and Roman Abacus do much agree iave 
only that they proceed coiifrary wayes, fb doth their way of 
expreffing Numbers by Letter^s <3f Marks, c^ie- ftroke or line 
fighifying bne;^ two fines, twc^^ tliree fines, three, a crofi 
ten,- wo crofles, twenty, three rcrofies thirty, and fo ©n» 
wards to a hundred, which they ^xpreflfed by a fquare mark, 
and-ii^ crofi with a ftroake added^^^^ as wdll ap- 
pear by the Table'anexed. And though the- Characters are 
jtiot all the fame ; yet the order &- method of one agrees very 
near with that of the other, efpecially if I may be allowed 
my fuppofition, that t^e Primitive way of Writing and 
Reading with the was Horizontal, and fike the 
Greek and Laime or Eurasian way. Now that thefe are pr^^ 
