800 
DIEU ET MON DROIT. 
have been sufficient to explain the sentiments of such an innumera* 
ble multitude, as well as the past and present generations of men 
Mr. Sheridan says, that the number of simple sounds in our tongue 
are twenty-eight ; while Dr. KenricU says, that we have only eleven 
distinct species of articulate sounds, which, even by contraction, 
prolongation, and composition, are increased only to the number of 
sixteen ; every syllable or articulate sound in our language being one 
of the number. Bishop Wilkins and Dr. William Holder speak of 
thirty-three distinct sounds. 
After the analysis or decomposition of language into the elemen- 
tary sounds, the next, towards the notation of it by alphabetical 
character, would be the delineation of a separate mark or letter to 
represent each sound ; which marks, though few in number, would 
admit of such a variety of arrangements and combinations as might 
be capable of producing that infinity of articulate sounds which 
compose language. The ingenious Wachters, in his “ Natura et Scrip- 
tura Concordia,” p. 64, endeavours to shew that ten marks or characters 
are sufficient for this purpose. If this is the case, the most simple 
alphabet, which consisted only of thirteen letters, must have been 
sufficient to answer all the purposes of mankind, and much of our 
alphabet may appear superfluous. From a calculation made by 
Mr. Prestet, it appears that, allowing only twenty-four letters to an 
alphabet, the different words that may be made out of those letters, 
take them first one by one, and then two by two, three by three, &c. 
would amount to the following number 1,391,724,288,887,252, 
999,425,128,493,402 200 ! And that able mathematician, Taequet, 
has calculated the various possible combinations of twenty-four 
letters, even without any repetition, to amount to no fewer than 
620,448,401,733,239,439,360,000; while Cluvius makes them only 
5,852,616,738,497,664,000. The smallest of these numbers, 
however, is infinite to the human conceptions, and much more than 
sufficient to express aM the sounds that ever were articulated by 
man. 
Of all known languages, the Greek is looked upon as one of the 
most copious, the radices only of which are esteemed about 3244, but 
then it abounds so exceedingly in compounds and derivatives, that 
Wilkins thinks they may be moderately computed at 10,000. Her- 
mannus Hugo asserts, that no language has so few as 100,000 words; 
and Varro is frequently quoted by learned men, as having affirmed 
that there are in the Latin no fewer than 5,000,000, reckoning all 
the variations of nouns and verbs by composition, conjugation, de- 
clension, and inflection. 
Dieu et MON Droit. 
These words are French, and signify in English, “God and my 
Right.” They form the motto of the arms first assumed by Richard I. 
to intimate that he did not hold his empire in vassalage of any mortal. 
It was afterwards taken up by Edward III. and was continued with- 
out interruption to the time of king William JII, who used the motto 
“ Je mainten dray,” though the former was still retained on the great 
