18 
Ta the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIRs), - ‘ 
NSTANCES occur in ancient hiftory 
I of dumb perfons acquiring the ufe of 
fpeech in confequence of fome fudden emo- 
tion or exertion. We are told by Aulus 
Gellius that Egles, the Samian, conceiy- 
ing that he was unfairly treated in regard 
to the diftribution of certain prizes, after 
a conteft at the facred games, made an et- 
fort to upbraid one of his antagonifts on 
that account, and by thefe means over- 
came the impediments which deprived him 
“of the power of articulation.* A fimilar 
ftory is related by Herodotust relpecting 
the fon of Creefus. When Sardis was 
taken, a Perfian, not knowing the king, 
was going to put him to death: but his 
fon, who was dumb, ftruck with the 
danger to which his father was expofed, 
made a violent effort to {peak and fucceed- 
ed. The words which he firft uttered, ac- 
cording to the hiftorian, were: “AySpens 
wh urcive Kesicov. In this manner he 
faved his father’s life, and ever after re- 
tained the faculty which he had acquired 
in fo extraordinary a manner. Whether 
thefe anecdotes be true or falfe, and whe- 
ther they furnifh any hints that might be 
applied to practical utility, I fhall not 
here inquire; the queftion, I believe, has 
been already determined by anatomitts, 
and thofe who have examined the organs 
of perfons born dumb. I mutt however 
obferve, that as we no where read of the 
ancients being acquainted with any me- 
thod of ameliorating the condition of fuch 
perfons by communicating inftruéticns to 
them, this art may be confidered as one 
of thofe improvements by which the pre- 
fent age is diftinguifhed ; and asits utility 
cannot be denied, it deferves every fupport 
andencouragement. I was led into thefe 
refleétions by reading in your ufeful Ma- 
gazine for November an account of the 
progrefs made by the pupils of Nérs. 
Braidwood’s feminary at Hackney. It 
muft give great fatisfaction to every friend 
of humanity to find that the valuable art 
of teaching fuch children of misfortune, 
not only to read and write, but even to 
converfe, has been brought to fo great per- 
feStion in this country. It fhews how 
‘much may be effected by genius, patience, 
and perfeverance ; and there can be no 
doubt that by proper affiftance a clafs of 
humen beings, formerly configned to obli- 
vion and obfcurity, will, in future, be én- 
* Aul. Gell. lib. v.c. 9. 
+ Herodot, lib, i. 
~ 
Cure of the Dumb.—Hiftory of Mathematics. - Feb. I, 
‘abled to employ their rational faculties 
with far more advantage to the public; 
to enlarge the {phere of their own enjoy- 
ments, and to become aétive and ufeful 
members of fociety. 
Lincoln's Inn. PHILOCOPHOS. 
= . 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
Ox the Word Dabo. 
anole philological correfpondent (p. 
298, vol. xii.) obferves rightly that 
dado means a die in Italian. It therefore 
‘means'(1) the cubic part of the pedeltal ofa 
column, or of a ftatue, included between 
the bafe and the entablement. It means 
(z) that part of the pedeftal of a pilafter, 
which correfponds with the dado in folid 
work. It means (3) that pare of the 
wainfcotting, or ftucco work, which is a 
lateral prolongation of the dado of a pi- 
lafter . .°. . . «. thats, the {pace m- 
cluded between the foot-board and the 
cornifh of the wainfcotting. 3 
PALLADIO. 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
AsKETCH of the HIsTORY of PURE MA- 
THEMATICS, tranflated from * Traité 
elementaire de Mathematiques Pures, 
par LEMOINE, Profefeur de Mathe- 
matiques et de Phifique, Ge. 
ARITHMETIC, 
x. \f N the pure mathematics, quantities 
are confidered in an abftraét man- 
ner, and only in fo far as they are fuf- 
ceptible of augmentation or diminution. 
They comprehend Arithmetic, or the art 
of computing ; Geometry, or the {cience of , 
extenfion ; and Algebra, or the feience of 
magnitudes in general. 
2. The origin of Arithmetic is of the 
higheft antiquity. Nothing, indeed, being 
more clear and familiar than the’ idea of 
number, the firft men muft have counted, 
their fingers, their cattle, their days, their 
trees, &c.3 and it is plain, that the fon- 
mation of focieties, and the poffleffion of 
property, fuppoie the neceffity of calcu- 
lation, |’ 
3. The Phoenicians, who were the 
firft and the moft fkilful merchants in the 
world, probably extended the limits of na- 
tural arithmetic, by inventing figns and 
compendious procefies ; and, in this fenfe, 
they may be regarded as the firft arith- 
meticians. But we may fafely treat as 
fabulous the opinion of thofe who tell us, 
that Phoenix the fon of Agenor firft wrote 
on Arithmetic in the Pleenician lan- 
guage, 
Ze a 
7. othe Ae We 
