N U : M 
The term hundred, which alfo runs unvaried through all 
the filiations of the Gothic, is formed of hind, which 
anciently fignified only ten, and red or ret, a participle from 
the verb reitan. to reckon, or place in rows. The com¬ 
pound would therefore intimate as much as “ ten times 
told;" that is, the re-duplication of ten, or ten added ten 
times. In the Gothic tranflation of the Gofpels made 
by Ulphilas, in the fourth century, one hundred is ex- 
prefi'ed by tacliund tachund, or the word for ten merely 
doubled ; exaftly like the tunca-tunca of the Sabiconos of 
South America. But, in the Anglo-Saxon verfion, which 
was made about three centuries later, one hundred is de¬ 
noted by ■ hund teoritig, meaning “ ten of ten drawings.” 
In the fame curious monument of our early language, 
hund feafontig, or “ ten of feven drawings,” is employed 
to exprefs feventy. It feems probable, that hand and ten, 
or teon, were only variations of the fame word. The term 
a thoufand is merely an abbreviation of diuis-liund, its 
earlieft form. The prefix diuis is the fame as the word 
twice, and hund was probably contrafted for one hundred. 
The combined expreflion would therefore fignify “ a 
re-doubled hundred, or one hundred repeated ten 
times.” 
We might fuppofe that the properties of the decimal 
fcale, whether in afeending or defeending, would foon be 
difeerned and reduced to aftual practice. But the ufe of 
fraftions is aflbciatecl with a more advanced ftate of fo- 
ciety. Men very feldom take large and connefted views 
of things; they generally grope their way flep by ftep, as 
aftual wants and circumfiances chance to direft them. 
In the fubdivifion of the unit, they have often proceeded 
by bifeclion, fometimes by trifcclion, and frequently by 
joining together thefe inodes, or combining them with 
decimation. This irregular and unfteady procedure is 
apparent in our own difieftion of weights and meafures. 
The fimpleft divifion is that of halving, which feems very 
naturally to fpring from the competition between feller 
and buyer. Our dry-meafure is, accordingly, broken 
down by a feries of bifeftions. Thus, the chaldron is 
divided by a redoubled bifeftion into four quarters, each 
of thefe by a triple bifeftion into eight buihels, each of 
thefe again by a redoubled bifeftion into four pecks, each 
peck bifefted into two gallons, each gallon by a redoubled 
bifeftion divided into four quarts, and each of thefe 
bifefted into two pints. The avoirdupois-weight, which 
is the fort generally tifed in bufinefs, appears both to 
afeend and defeend from a common point. The pound 
is divided by a quadruple bifeftion into fxteen ounces, 
and each of thefe again into Jixteen drams. But were it 
defired that a hundred pounds fliould conftitute the 
quintal, this would be reduced, by a l’ucceflive quartering, 
to fix anda fraction. Wherefore, the neareft round number, 
feven, was taken, which, being doubled, gives fourteen 
pounds for a lfone of horfeman’s weight; and this, 
doubled again, makes twenty-eight for the quarter, which 
confequently furniihes one hundred and twelve pounds for 
the nominal hundred-weight. Twenty times this corn- 
poles the ton. In the fubdivifion of money, the pro- 
greflion is Itill more irregular. The pound is firft di¬ 
vided into twenty Ihillings, next each of thefe into twelve 
pence, and then each penny into four farthings. 
All the calculations in theoretical mathematics are 
now condufted invariably on the decimal fcale. The 
fame kind of fubdivifion has, to a certain extent, been 
introduced, for the fake of its great convenience, into 
the praftice of gauging and land-furveying. But we 
may defpair of ever leeing the decimal progrefiion adopted 
in the general intercourfe of fociety. The French, in¬ 
deed, at the beginning of their revolution, fet an exam¬ 
ple to the reft of Europe, in this cafe at leaft perfeftly 
liarmlefs, and highly worthy of imitation, by framing a 
conliftent and univerfal fyftem of meafures, weights, and 
coins, drawn from nature itfelf, and difpofed with ad¬ 
mirable fimplicity and elegance. Yet, even in France, 
that feduftive plan has, amidft the collifion of oppofite 
views and interefts, experienced only a partial fuccefs. 
Vol. XVII. No. 1179. 
B E R. cm 
National prejudice, inflamed by ignorance, is too often 
oppofed to etfery fpecies of improvement; and the in¬ 
fluence of a country, now ftiOrn of her glory, is not 
likely to extend beyond her own frontiers. 
The Chinefe are the only people who have for ages 
been accuftomed to employ the defeending terms of the 
denary fcale, or to reckon by decimal parts in all their 
commercial tranfaftions. The fame uniform fyftem di-- 
refts the whole fubdivifion of their weights and meafures ; 
an advantage of the higheft importance, fince it gives to 
the calculations of thofe ingenious traders the utmoft 
degree of fimplicity and readinefs. The natives of India, 
who have fo long been acquainted with the ufe of the 
denary Icale of numeration, are yet ignorant of its ap¬ 
plication to denote fraftions. Below the place of unity 
they change the rate of progreflion, and defeend merely 
by a continued bifeftion, adopting lucceflively the half, 
the fourth, the eighth, and the fixteenth ; beyond which 
partition they (eldom advance. 
We did not think that any greater friend to the denary 
or common decimal arithmetic would be found than our- 
felves. But a pamphlet has juft been lent us, the author of 
which propofes to divide time/weights, meafures, coins, 
in fliort, every thing that can be divided, by the decimal 
notation only. The title of this fmall work is “ Chro¬ 
nological Trafts ; containing Propofals for a New Uni- 
verfal Divifion of Time, with a Sketch of a New Univerfal 
Syftem of Weights, Meafures, and Coins.” The date is 
London, 1819 ; but we are inclined to think that the body 
of the work is of an older date than the title, and that 
the two were not printed at the fame time and place; in- 
fhort, that we have here an old friend with a new face. 
It is not, however, with the date of the communication 
that we have to do, but witli its contents. With the 
author’s opening remarks we fully concur: “ The ten 
fingers of the hands were, no doubt, the origin of our 
numerical fcale, when, in the infancy of language, figns 
were fubftituted for words to exprefs ideas. It was then 
natural to make ten the bafis ofcomputation ; but it is the 
application of the cipher to this fyftem that renders it fo 
ferviceable to mankind. It has been propofed to remove 
the cipher from its prefent fituation at 10, to 8, 12, 16, 
or 60. But it Ihould be fliown with what arithmetical 
advantages fuch an alteration would be attended ; and, 
as in all thefe fyftems of numeration there muft be rules 
for performing arithmetical operations, it fliould be fliown 
that thefe operations can be performed eafier in one fyftem 
than in another. As, in all probability, this cannot be 
fhown, there feems to be no argument of fufficient weight 
for deferting the prefent fyftem, the fcale of which nature 
itfelf feems to have fettled, and which is, at prelent, our 
only univerfal language.” 
The author then proceeds: “Since in geometry the 
right angle is made the ftandard with which to compare 
all other angles, it is but following the fame fyftem to 
exprefs parts of right angles by decimal fraftions, fon- 
fidering the right angle as the ‘ unity of angles.’ Hence 
the divifion of the quadrant, or meafure of a right angle, 
into 100 equal parts, called degrees ; each degree into 
100 equal parts, called minutes; and each minute into 
100 equal parts, called feconds. 
“ If the 10 arithmetical digits were fubftituted by 10 
correfponding vowel-founds, and the fame number of 
confonants, methodically arranged, the longitude and 
latitude of any given place may be converted into a word, 
compofed of confonants and vowel-founds alternately. By 
this method, when the mere name of any place is known, 
its pofition on the globe is alfo known, without the af- 
fiftance of geographical tables. This method furniihes a 
univerfal nomenclature, not only for places, but alfo for 
perfons. For a perfon may have two names, which may be 
called his local and his temporal names : the former being 
called from the place of his birth ; and the latter, derived 
from the time of his birth, converted into letters in the 
fame manner. 
“ Since the day is the leaft unit of time pointed out by 
4 K. 1 nature* 
