guage, or Pronuntiation of the Charafters be loit ( as I con- 
ceive it is ) and that the difpofition, order, method, tex- 
ture, or manner of placing the more Simple in the more 
Compounded Characters be alio loft, forgotten, or not un- 
derftood ; then the whole Characters becomes a Real and 
nota Litteral Character; And an Immethodical one to fucli 
as want a method, that muft be learnt by roat and depend 
wholy upon the ftrength of the Memory to retain it. But 
I conceive it might be at firft either a Litteral Character, 
and ib the whole fquare Character was compofed of fb ma- 
ny diftinct Letters or Syllables,^ which compofed the word 
fignifyed thereby ; And fo there might be a regular order 
of placing theft Letters in the Character, lliat is, that the 
whole fquare being divided into fo many p^rts,. there was a 
Rule which was the firft '^d. <^d, and place 7 that there; 
being placed in thole the feveral Letters that made up the 
word, according to the order they had in the word, it was< 
eafy by that Rule to Decipher the laid Character, and thence 
to finde the word and tlie Signification, As Regularly as 
if the Letters had bee:ri, written one after another, as moft 
other Litteral Characters we know are at this day written.; 
Or Secondly, it might be a ^Leal , Character confifting pf . 
divers Marks or Letters, that exprlfed fo many fimpleNo-! 
tions, feveral of which jpyned together might make up the 
more compounded Qiaracters^ of which I( 
examples in the Plate wjbich may be afe made Litteral and 
Pronouncable, tho' that cpnficjeration were not made. ufe of 
when they were firft invented. What things I have Qblerv- 
ed in my Chine fe Books that leem tp -rflpeet i^to^^ 
will give more particulers of by-^tfe 
by Printing a Specimew of theBc^ Ti^-^i^ which eKplkat^j 
ed by thefe Notions will I conceive appear more Iiitelligible^j 
than by the accounts we find given of it by the C^//??^y^^^ 
men ta tors, and thole that have ;tranflated thern into^Latinej^ , 
