C 398 ] 
With refped to the four firft letters of the third 
line, “ they form a difficulty, fays (13) this celebrated 
“ writer, embaraffing enough. The two lad give 
li the word p, ben, filivs, son j but this word 
“ here ought to be read in the plural number. Was 
<c not the plural number fometimes pointed out 
<c amongft the Phoenicians by the addition of an He 
and a Nun, in the fame manner as the Chaldees 
t{ had an Aleph added to the beginning and the end 
“ of this word alfo in the fingular ? Or rather did 
“ not the two letters, He , Nuu, forming the pro- 
noun j ( 1, is, ille, give us to underdand, that 
ft Abdadar and Aderemor were brothers only by 
cc adoption ? I dare not decide in this matter, and 
“ fhall content myfelf with obferving, that the dif- 
“ ficulty regards only the language of the Phoeni- 
cc cians, of which we are totally ignorant, and bv 
<c no means the powers of the letters, which have 
“ been fufficiently edablifhed in this memoir.” 
Here ’tis obvious, at fird fight, that M. 1’ Abbe 
is not only embaraffed, but feems adually to fink 
under the weight of the difficulty he has himfelf pro- 
poied ; as of this, notwithdanding his uncommon 
fagacity and penetration, he has not been able to 
fupply his readers with an adequate folution. For 1. 
The word pjn cannot be of the plural number, as he 
fuppofes, or rather politively aderts } both the cor- 
relpondent Greek and the tenor of the infcription, 
unlefs I am greatly 'deceived, being utterly repug- 
nant to fuch a fuppofition. 2. The Chaldee term 
he mentions being of the fingular number, and ab- 
folutely didimilar to the pretended Phoenician word, 
(13) Mem. de Litter, ubi fup. p 41 j. 
pan i 
