PANTOGRAPHIA;

CONTAINING

ACCURATE COPIES OF ALL THE KNOWN ALPHABETS IN THE WORLD;

. TOGETHER WITH

AN ENGLISH EXPLANATION OF THE PECULIAR FORCE OR POWER OF EACH LETTER !

TO WHICH ARE ADDED,

SPECIMENS OF ALL WELL- AUTHENTICATED

ORAL LANGUAGES;

FORMING

A COMPREHENSIVE DIGEST OF

PHONOLOGY.

By EDMUND FRY,

LETTER-FOUNDER, TYPE-STREET.

. Printed ly COOPER and WILSON, For JOHN and ARTHUR ARCH, Gracechurch-Street ; JOHN WHITE, Fleet-Street ; JOHN EDWARDS, Pall-Mall ; and JOHN DEBRETT, Piccadilly. *

MDCCXCIX.

TO

Sir JOSEPH BANKS, Bart. K. B.

PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY, &c,

Whose Patronage and Encouragement Are liberally extended to the Promotion of

All the Useful and ornamental Arts ;

With his Permission,

THIS WORK

Is respe&fully inscribed, by

The AUTHOR

1102714

ERRATA.

PREFACE, pagexvii, line 18— For impression, read imperfection. Page 31, line 4 — For Chap. 4, read Chap. 3. Page 41, line 5 — For version, read reading. Page 121, line 10 — For antiquarians, read antiquaries, Page 173, line 35 — For their, read it's; and for 'were, readimf. Page 19 1 , line 6 — For five being simple, read fi<ue simple. "-Page 237, line 14 — For Political, read Philosophical.

PREFACE.

WE

cannot expecl: that all our Readers will be unanimous in their opinions respecting a Work of such novelty, variety, and extent, as this : some may notice redundancies, or omissions ; others, we fear, will find deficiencies and imperfections : for some of these, we fhall make the best apology in our power. There is one point, however, on which, we believe, there will be no diver- sity of opinion — the importance of the subject. — The noblest acquisition of mankind is speech ; and the mod useful art is that of rendering it visible: that distinguishes Man from the brute creation ; this raises him to a pre-eminence above the savages of his own species.

The uses of legible language are too various to be enume- rated. By the wonderful invention of writing, we are enabled to record and perpetuate our thoughts for our own benefit, or give them the moft extensive communication for that of others. Without this art, the labors of our ancestors, in every branch of knowledge, would have been lost to us; tradition being so nearly allied to fable, that no authentic history can be compiled but from written materials. — From this source, and from ancient paintings, sculptures, and medals, have philosophy, science, and the arts, derived all their successive improvements : succeeding generations have been enabled to add to the stock they received from the past, and to prepare the way for future acquisitions.

By

il PREFACE.

By this happy mode of communication, distance is, as it were, annihilated, and the merchant, scholar, and statesman, be- come present to every purpose of utility, in the most remote regions.

The desire of communicating ideas seems to be implanted in every human breast : the two most useful methods of gratifying this desire are, by sounds addressed to the ear, or by representa- tions or marks exhibited to the eye ; or, in other words, by Speech, and Writing. The first method was rendered more com- plete by the invention of the second, because it opened a door to the communication of ideas, through the sense of sight, as well as that of hearing. — Speech may be considered as the substance ; and writing, as the shadow that follows it.

The art of drawing ideas into vision, or of exhibiting the con- ceptions of the mind, by legible characters, may justly be deemed the noblest and most beneficial invention of which human inge- nuity can boast — an invention which has contributed, more than all others, to the improvement of mankind.

The incalculable advantages that Man enjoys in consequence of his possessing the privilege of language, and the apparent im- possibility of it's being the production of human beings, has in- duced ancient philosophers and modern philologists, very gene- rally, to conclude that it was originally derived from the imme- diate communication of t'he DEITY. — As this is a queftion on which sacred history has been silent, our opinions must rest upon the probability of the thing itself.

If language consisted of simple vocal sounds, as those uttered by cattle, sheep, or new-born children ; of those varied by mu- sical tones ; or of signs produced by the motions, positions, and attitudes of the human body and limbs ; there would be no dif- ficulty in ascribing it's origin to the natural progress of human beings in a state of society : but the wonderful circumstance re- specting language is, that it consists of vocal sounds modified by ARTICULATIONS. Homer and Hesiod add the epithet articu- lating to Man, as characteristic of his pre-eminence.

Some of the ancients who embraced the ATOMIC philosophy of Epicurus, and some moderns of high rank in the republic of letters, think language was the offspring of human invention, after

PREFACE. iii

men had lived long enough in a state of society, to perceive the insufficiency of inarticulate cries and gestures to express the in- creased variety and precision of their ideas.

It being thus evident that there is no instinctive, articulate language, it has become an inquiry of some importance, how mankind were first induced to fabricate articulate sounds, and to employ them for the purpose of communicating their thoughts. Children learn to speak by insensible imitation ; and, when ad- vanced some years in life, study foreign languages under proper instructors : but the first men had no speakers to imitate, no formed language to study : by what means they learned to arti- culate, becomes a question, on which, I apprehend, only two opinions can be formed. Either language must have been origi- nally revealed from HEAVEN, or be the fruit of human in- dustry. The greater part of Jews and Christians, and even some of the wisest Pagans, have embraced the former opinion ; which seems to be supported by the authority of Moses, who represents the SUPREME BEING as teaching our first parents the names of animals. The latter opinion is .held by Diodorus Siculus, Lucretius, Horace, and many other Greek and Roman writers, who consider language as one of the arts invented by Man.

In order to judge of the validity of the arguments which may be brought in support of either of these opinions, it will be proper to state what is agreed on by both parties.

First, Human beings invent, or make discoveries, either by accident, or by comparing means with their ends.

Second, Very few persons, even at this day, either know, or can describe, the exad means by which they articulate, though they have been employing them during the whole of their lives.

Third, To vary any invention, or improve upon it, is infinitely more easy, and totally different from being the author of such invention ; yet we do not find any improvement, or scarcely any difference in articulation, from the days of Moses to this time : and if any person now, with every advantage in his favor, were to attempt the invention or introduction of a few new articula- tions, he would be convinced of it's extreme difficulty.

Fourth, Therefore, if men did invent articulations, it muft

have

iv PREFACE.

have been by accidental discovery, and in a state of highly- improved society.

The principal arguments in favor of language being of human invention, may be comprised under the following heads, viz.

1. The silence of the sacred writers on the subject. But it muft be observed in reply, that Moses describes our first parents as using articulate language, immediately after their creation.

2. As the principal argument on the other side is drawn from the immense difficulty of inventing articulate language, so the sup- porters of human invention appear most anxious to diminish, and even annihilate the difficulty.

They state, that vocal sounds, tones, and gestures, are suf- ficient to unite men in the desire of forming societies, and to enable them to join in enterprizes, interesting to the whole com- munity; which part of the argument may be supported by the examples of the Bee and the Beaver.

When men are united in a state of improved society, and have been in habits of enterprize of common concern, the necessity of a rapid and distinct communication of ideas will make a forcible impression on them. Musical tones require a musical ear, or, at least, a power of sounding and distinguishing, in order to render them useful signs of ideas: and the difficulty of teaching speakers and hearers to understand each other distinctly by these means, is, perhaps, the reason that such sounds do not form a patt of any known language.

With respect to the communication of ideas by means of signs and gestures of the body, it is obvious that they can have no place, unless the speaker and hearer (if I may be allowed the expression) have the power of seeing each other distinctly. Such a part of language is therefore useless, in the night, to the blind, or to those who are prevented from seeing each other.

These considerations would fufficiently impress the advantage and importance of a language intelligible at all speaking dis- tances, and pave the way to the improvement of the powers of the human organs of utterance. The great difficulty appears in acquiring the frst articulations ; for when a few had been re- ceived and established, their utility and importance must have

been

PREFACE. T

been so striking, that attempts to extend and diverfify the little stock would not long be wanted.

Now, say the favorers of this side of the question, the hissing of the Serpent would teach us, by imitation, to articulate the S, which condensed becomes Z, and aspirated makes SH ; accord- ingly these are three radical articulations in all languages : and the hissing of the Goose would suggeft the TH and T, which lead to the dense TH in the words this, there, &c., pronounced by foreigners dis, dere, &c. ; thus seven articulations might have been produced. The sudden closing of the lips, by accident or design, during the enunciation of any vocal sound, would pro- duce P, which condensed is B or V, and are accordingly radical articulations in all languages.

Such a progress as this being made with so much ease, the argument drawn from the difficulty of the invention loses its force, and, as they infer, nodus deo -vindice dignus vanishes.

Some authors, and those too of considerable eminence, instead of attempting to shew how men could and did accomplish so dif- ficult a work as the formation of articulate language, content themselves with such observations as the following: — " Vocal " sounds are founded in nature, and man would vary those " sounds, as impelled by his passions, or urged by his necessities. " This exercise of the organs of speech would produce articulate *' voices, which are peculiar to the human species; vocal sounds " expressive of emotions, being natural to brutes, as well as to " men. These articulate voices are the first advances towards " the formation of a language. The human organs are not, " like those of moft brutes, confined to a particular species of " sound ; but as men are capable of learning to imitate the " several sounds of the brute creation, by those means they ac- " quire a greater variety of sounds than other animals."

In answer, however, to this way of getting rid of the dif- ficulty, we may observe,

I. That no nation, however savage, has been found destitute of sounds modified by articulation ; therefore, that they were not the inventors of them ; because savages are confessed, by the op- posers of our opinion, to be incapable of such an invention *.

2. Sup- * Vide Lord Monboddo, &c.

vi PREFACE.

2. Supposing any individual in a state of improved society, such as has been represented, to have invented the manner, or rather observed the power of the human voice to articulate, how could he persuade the rest of the community to adopt so- extraordinary an innovation ? If proposed to them on mere hu- man authority, would not the Elders rejeft it as a childifh sug- gestion, which they had neither motive nor power to adopt ? For we know that articulation cannot be learned after a certain age. — The inventor, if any, must have been young ; and his youth would be an obstacle to his success in propagating his discovery on one hand ; and the immense labor and time necessary for old people to acquire eighteen or twenty articulations, and that merely on speculation, would effectually prevent it's adoption on the other, as the importance of the invention could only be de- monstrated by learning and trial.

3. If every separate colony had invented it's own articulations, inftead of that uniformity we every where find, infinite diversity muft have presented itself.

4. We do not admit that any imitation of animals could have taught the letters above mentioned, much less the N, M, R, F, L, the guttural CH, or Welch LL ; therefore this account of the origin of articulations cannot be admitted on mere conjefture.

* Those who are of opinion that language is of divine origin, consider this account of it's being of human invention, as a series of mere suppositions, not founded on any fixed principle.

The opinions of Diodorus, Vitruvius, Horace, Lucretius, and Cicero, frequently quoted in it's support, are, in their eftimation, of no greater authority, than those of other men : for, as lan- guage was formed, and brought to a great degree of perfection, long before the sera of any historian with whom we are ac- quainted, the antiquity of the Greek and Roman writers does not give them any advantage in this inquiry over modern philo- sophers.

Aristotle has defined Man to be f«o» p/«j1«o» : and the defini- tion is certainly so far just, that Man is much more remarkable for imitation than invention ; and therefore, say the reasoners on

this * Warburton, Delancy, Johnfon, Beattie, Blair, &c.

PREFACE. vii

this side of the question, had the human race been originally mutum et turpe pecus, they would have continued so, unless they had been taught to speak by some superior intelligence.

Moses, setting aside his claim to inspiration, deserves, from the consistency of his narrative, at least as much credit as Mo- chus, Democritus, or Epicurus ; and, from his prior antiquity, if antiquity could have any weight on this subject, he would deserve more, having lived nearer to the period of which they all write. But the question respecting the origin of language may be de- cided without resting on authority of any kind, but merely by considering the nature of speech, and the mental and corporeal powers of Man.

Those who maintain it to be of human invention, suppose men, at first, to have been solitary animals, and afterwards to have associated without government or subordination ; then to have formed political bodies, and, by their own exertions, to have advanced from the grossest ignorance to the refinements of sci- ence. But, say the reasoners, whose cause we espouse, this is a supposition contrary to all history or experience : there is not on record a well-authenticated instance, of a people emerging, by their own efforts, from barbarism to civilization. There have, indeed, been many nations raised from the state of savages ; but it is known that they were polished by the influence of indivi- duals or colonies from nations more enlightened than themselves.

The original savages of Greece were tamed by the Pelasgi, a foreign tribe ; and were afterwards further polished by Orpheus, Cecrops, Cadmus, &c. who derived their knowledge from Egypt and the East. The ancient Romans, a ferocious and motley crew, received the blessings of law and religion from a succession of foreign kings ; and the conquests of the Romans, at later periods, contributed to civilize the rest of Europe. In America, the only two nations which, at the invasion of the Spaniards, could be said to have advanced a single step from barbarism, were indebted for their superiority over the other tribes, not to the gradual and unassisted progress of the human mind, but to the wise institutions of foreign legislators.*

It

* Fide Robertson's History of America.

viii PREFACE.

It is said, that before language could have been invented, mankind must have existed for ages in large political societies, and have united in some common work : but, if inarticulate cries, and the natural visible signs of the passions and affections, were modes of communication sufficiently accurate to keep a large society together for ages, and to direct it's members in the exe- cution of some common work, what could be their inducement to the invention of an art so useless and difficult as that of articu- late language ? Let us, however, suppose, that different nations of savages set about to invent an art of communicating their thoughts, which, no experience could have taught them, was ab- solutely necessary ; how came they all, without exception, to think of the one art of articulating the voice for this purpose ? Inarticulate cries, out of which language is fabricated, have an instinctive connection with our passions and affections ; but there are gestures, and expressions of countenance, with which our passions and affections are not in the same manner con- nected.

If the natural cries of passion could be so modified and en- larged as to be capable of communicating to the hearer every idea in the mind of the speaker, it is certain that the natural gestures could be so modified as to answer the very same pur- pose ; and it is strange, that among the several nations who in- vented languages, not one should have attempted visible signs of their ideas, but that all should have agreed to express them by articulated sounds.

Every nation, whose language is narrow and rude, supplies its defects by violent gesticulations; wherefore, as much less genius is exerted in the improvement of any art than was requisite for it's first invention, it is natural to suppose, that had men been left to devise for themselves a method of communicating their thoughts, they would not have attempted any other than that by which they now improve the language transmitted by their ancestors. It is vain to urge that articulate sounds are fitter for the purpose of communicating thought than visible gesticula- tion : for though this may be true, it is a truth which could scarcely occur to savages, who had never experienced the fitness of either j and if, to counterbalance the superior fitness of arti- culation.

PREFACE. ix

tulation, it's extreme difficulty be taken into view, it must appear little less than miraculous, that every savage tribe should think of it rather than the easier method of artificial gesticulation. — Savages, it is well known, are remarkable for their indolence, and their preferring ease to utility ; but their modes of life give such a pliancy to their bodies, that they could, with very little trouble, bend their limbs and members into any position agreed upon as the signs of ideas.

This is so far from being the case with respeft to the organs of articulation, that it is with extreme difficulty, if at all, that a man, advanced in life, can be taught to articulate sounds he has not been accustomed to hear. Foreigners coming to this country after the age of thirty, seldom pronounce the language tolerably well ; an Englishman at that age can hardly be taught to utter the guttural sound which the Welchman gives to the Greek %, or even the French sound of the vowel U: and of the solitary savages who have been caught in different forests, we know not that there has been one who, after the age of man- hood, learned to articulate any language so as to be readily un- derstood.

The present age has, indeed, furnished many instances of deaf persons, while young, being taught to speak intelligibly, by skilful masters moulding the organs of the mouth into the positions pro- per for articulating the voice ; * but who was to perform this task among the inventors of language, when all mankind were equally ignorant of the means by which articulation is effected ? In a word, daily experience informs us, that men who have not learned to articulate in their childhood, never afterwards acquire the faculty of speech but by such helps as savages cannot obtain j therefore, if speech was invented at all, it must have been either by children who were incapable of invention, or by meri who were incapable of speech.

A thou-

* In the Grange-road, Bermondsey, there has been establifhed, several years, an asylum for the deaf and dumb ; the beneficial effe&s of which are so obvious, that several children have already been discharged capable of un- derstanding what they read or see, and of expressing all their wants by articu- late language, and are now filling important stations in society.

x PREFACE.

A thousand, nay, a million of children, could not think of in- venting a language. While the organs are pliable, there is not understanding enough to frame the conception of a language ; and by the time that there is understanding, the organs are be- come too stiff for the task. Therefore, say the advocates for the divine origin of language, reason, as well as history, intimates, that mankind, in all ages, must have been speaking animals ; the young having constantly acquired this art by imitating those who were older : and we may warrantably conclude, that our first parents received k by divine inspiration.

To this account of the origin of language it may be objected— If the first language was communicated by inspiration, it must have been perfect, and held in reverence by all mankind : but a vast variety of languages have prevailed in the world ; and some of those which are now known, are very imperfect ; and there is reason to believe that many are lost. If different languages were invented by different nations, all this would naturally follow from the mixture of these nations : but what could induce men possessed of one perfect language of divine original, to forsake it for barbarous jargons of their own invention, and in every re- sped inferior to that with which their forefathers or themselves had been inspired ?

In answer to this objection, we urge, that nothing was given by inspiration but the faculty of speech, and the elements of language : for when once men had language, it is easy to con- ceive how they might have modified it by their natural powers, as thousands might improve what they could not have invented. The first language, if given by inspiration, must in its principles have had all the perfe&ion of which language is susceptible ; but, from the nature of things, it could not be very copious.

The words of language are either proper names, or the signs of ideas and relations ; but it cannot be supposed that the All- wise Instructor would load the memories of men with words to denote things then unknown, or with the signs of ideas which they had not then acquired. It was sufficient that a foundation was laid, of such a nature as would support the largest super- structure which they might ever after have occasion to raise upon it; and that they were taught the method of building it

by

PREFACE. xi

by composition and derivation. This would long preserve the language radically the same, though it could not prevent the introduction of different dialefts into the different countries over which men might spread themselves.

In whatever region we may suppose the human race to have been originally placed, the increase of their numbers would, in process of time, either disperse them into various nations, or ex- tend the one nation to a vast distance on every side. In either case, they would every where meet with new objects, which would occasion the invention of new names ; and as the dif- ference of climate, and other natural causes, would compel those who moved eastward or northward to adopt manners, in many respects, different from the modes of those who settled in the west and south, a vast number of words would in one country be fabricated, to denote complex conceptions, which must of course be unintelligible to the body of the people inhabiting countries where those conceptions could never be formed : thus would various dialects be unavoidably introduced into the ori- ginal language, even whilst all mankind continued in one society, and under one government. But after separate and independent societies were formed, these variations would become more nu- merous, and the several dialefts would deviate farther and farther from each other, as well as from the idiom and genius of the parent tongue, in proportion to the diversity of manners of the tribes by whom they were spoken. If we suppose a few persons to have been banished together from the society of their brethren, or to have wandered of their own accord to a distance, from which, through trackless forests, or other causes, they could not return, it is easy to see how the most copious language must soon have become narrow, and how the offspring of inspiration must in time have become so deformed, as scarcely to retain a feature of the ancestor whence it originally sprang.

Men do not long retain a practical skill in those arts which they never exercise : and there is an abundance of fafts to prove, that a single man cast upon a desart island, and having to pro- vide the necessaries of life by his own ingenuity, would soon lose the art of speaking his mother -tongue with fluency. A small aumber of person* cast away together, would be likely to retain

the

xii PREFACE.

the art somewhat longer ; but in a space of time, not very long, it would in a great measure be lost by them, or their posterity : in this state of banishment, as their time would be almost wholly- occupied by hunting, fishing, and other means within their reach, to support a miserable existence, they would have little leisure, and perhaps less desire, to preserve by conversation the remembrance of that ease, and those comforts, of which they would now find themselves for ever deprived ; and, of course, they would soon forget all the words which, in their native language, had been used to denote the accommodations and elegancies of polished life. This, at least, seems to be certain, that they would not attempt to teach their children a part of language, which in their circumstances could be of no use to them, and of which it would be impossible to make them comprehend the meaning ; for where there are no ideas, the signs of them can- not be made intelligible.

From such colonies as these dispersed over the earth, if is probable that all the nations of savages have sprung ; which has induced many philosophers to imagine, that the state of the savage was originally that of man : if so, we see, that from the language of inspiration a number of different diale&s must un- avoidably have arisen, all very rude and narrow, retaining nothing of the parent tongue, except, perhaps, the names of the most conspicuous obje&s in nature, and of those wants and en- joyments inseparable from humanity.

Habits of solitude dispose a savage to speak rarely ; and when he does, he uses the same terms to denote different ideas : Speech, therefore, in this rude condition of men, must be extremely narrow, and very imperfect. Every region or climate suggests a different train of ideas, and creates various wants, which must be expressed either by terms entirely new, or by old ones used in a new signification. Hence must originate great diversity, even in the first elements of speech, among all savage nations ; the words retained of the original language being used in various senses, and pronounced, as we may believe, with various accents. When any of those savage tribes emerged from their barbarism, whether by their own efforts, or by the aid of people more enlightened than them- selves,

PREFACE. *iii

selves, it is obvious that the improvement and copiousness of their language would keep pace with their own progress in knowledge, and in the arts of civil life ; but in the infinite mul- titude of words which civilization and refinement add to lan- guage, it would be little less than miraculous were any two nations to agree upon the same sounds to represent the same ideas. Superior refinement, indeed, may induce imitation, con- quest may impose a language, and extension of empire may melt down different nations and dialefts into one mass: but in- dependent tribes naturally give rise to diversity of tongues ; nor does it seem possible that they should retain more of the original language than the words expressive of those obje&s with which men are at all times equally concerned.

The variety of tongues therefore, the copiousness of some, and the narrowness of others, furnish no good obje&ion to the divine origin of language ; for whether language was at first revealed from Heaven, or in a course of ages invented by men, a multitude of dialects would inevitably arise, as soon as the human race was separated into a number of distinct and independent nations. We do not pretend to decide for our readers in a question of this nature, but have given the best arguments on both sides which we could either devise or find in the writings of others ; and if it be seen, as we doubt not it will, that our own judgment leans to the side of revelation, let us not be hastily condemned by those, whose knowledge of languages extends no farther than to Greece and Rome, France and England ; for if they carry their philological inquiries to the East, they may, perhaps, be able to trace the remains of one original language through a great part of the Globe at present.

Whatever opinions we adopt with respect to the origin of the first language, or the causes of the great diversity in various tongues at this day, we shall doubtless entertain the sentiment, that languages must have preceded, by many centuries, any at- tempt to depict the ideas of them, or to denote the sounds by permanently visible marks. It is only in a highly-cultivated state of society that written language can be necessary. The first attempts to depict thought, would undoubtedly be rude and

imperfect

Sir PREFACE.

imperfect representations of visible obje&s ; such as were found among the Mexicans on the discovery of America.

A Ron might be sketched to import fierceness or valour ; an ox, to denote strength ; a stag, swiftness j and a bare, to inti- mate timidity, &c.

The next step in this process would naturally extend to the inventing and appropriating of a few arbitrary characters for representing abstract and other ideas, which could not be well ascertained by the methods above mentioned ; which arbitrary signs might readily acquire a currency by compact, as money and medals do over a great part of the world : upon this plan, we imagine, the ancient Chinese formed their manner of writing their language.

But neither the picture nor the hieroglyphic, nor the method of denoting ideas by arbitrary characters appropriated by com- pact, could ever have arrived at such perfection, as to answer all the purposes of ideal communication. The grand desideratum then would be, to fabricate characters to represent simple sounds, and to reduce these characters to so small a nnmber as to be easily learned and preserved in the memory. In this attempt the Chinese have notoriously failed: their letters, or rather their characters, being so numerous, that few, if any, of their most industrious scholars, have been able to learn and retain the whole catalogue : indeed those people are not able to conceive how any combinations of twenty or thirty characters should be com- petent to all the purposes of written language.

There is little difficulty in conceiving a gradual abridgement, or contraction of these pictures, till we arrive at the state in which tht Chinese alphabet (if we may use such an expression) is found at present ; but we cannot suppose that a people who had arrived at such a degree of perfection in expressing their ideas by \isible signs, should ever discover a gradual method of passing over to the use of alphabets, or suddenly abandon their inveterate habits at the instigation of any individual, who may have discovered the superior excellency of that manner of de- noting language.

These considerations lead us to inquire, whether it is proba- ble that men, in any state of society, could have invented and

introduced

PREFACE. x*

introduced among their fellow-citizens the use of an alphabet, without supernatural assistance ; or whether it is probable that any progressive improvement of the human mind, could change symbolic or picture writing into that of alphabetical characters.

That alphabets, as well as language, are of divine origin, is attempted to be supported by the following considerations, ^iz.

Much has been written, and numerous hypotheses proposed, to investigate the origin of alphabetic writing ; to give even an. abridged account of which, would far exceed the limits of this Preface.

Many nations have claimed the honour of this invention. The Greeks ascribed it to the Phenicians, and consequently used the word ^OIVEX»^»V, to a£l the Pbenlcian, in the same sense with a.iotyituux.t», to read: and Lucan ascribes the invention to the same ingenious people.

That the Assyrian, Chaldaic, and Hebrew languages, were the same, most of the learned are fixed in their opinions ; and that their alphabets are of antidiluvian antiquity, appears highly probable : for had an invention of such vast importance to mankind been made since that period, we conclude the author would have been commemorated in the annals of the country in which he lived. Jpsephus, book i, chap. 3, informs us, that SETH erected two pillars, one of brick, and the other of ftone, and inscribed upon them their astronomical observations, and other improvements, (See CHALDEAN, No. 4, page 31, of this work) ; which shews that there did exist such an opinion of the antiquity of the art of writing.

Among the European nations we do not find any who pretend to the invention of letters. All of them derived the art from the Romans, except the Turks, who had it from the Arabians. The Romans never claimed the discovery, but confessed their knowledge to have been received from the Greeks, who owned that they had it from the Phenicians, who, as well as their, colonists the Carthaginians, spoke a dialed of the Hebrew scarcely varying from the original. The Coptic resembles the Greek in most of its characters, and is therefore referred to the same original. The Chaldean, Syriac, and latter Samaritan, are

dialed!

xvl PREFACE.

dialects of the Hebrew, without any considerable deviation, of many additional words.

The Ethiopia differs more from the Hebrew, but less from the Arabic ; all these languages have issued from the same stock, as the similarity of their formation, and the numberless words com- mon to them all, sufficiently evince. Alterations would natur- ally be produced, in proportion to the civilization of the several nations, and their intercourse with others, which will account for the superior copiousness of some above the rest. It appears then, that all the languages in use among men that have been conveyed in alphabetical characters, have been those of people connected ultimately or immediately with the Hebrews, to whom we are indebted for the earliest specimens of the commu- nication of ideas by writing.

This proposition will be farther confirmed, by considering the sameness of the artificial denominations of the letters in the Oriental, Greek and Latin languages, accompanied by a similar arrangement, as alpha, beta, &c. It may still be objected, how- ever, that the characters employed by the ancients to discrimi- nate their letters, are entirely dissimilar: it maybe urged, why should not one nation adopt from another the mode of ex- ptessing the art, as well as the art itself? Such an effect would not be very likely to take place, before the art of printing had established an uniformity of character.

The old Samaritan is precisely the same as the Hebrew lan- guage; and the Samaritan Pentateuch does not vary a single letter in twenty words from the Hebrew : but the characters are very different ; for the Jews adopted the Chaldaic letters during their captivity at Babylon, instead of those of their fore- fathers.

What we know of those nations who have continued for many centuries unconnected with the rest of the world, strongly mili- tates against the hypothesis of the human invention of alpha- betical writing. The experiment has been fairly made upon the ingenuity of mankind, both Chinese and savage, for a longer period than that which is supposed to have produced alphabetic writing by regular gradations, which decidedly concludes against this art being of human invention.

the

PREFACE. XTii

The Chinese, a people famous for their discoveries and mechanical genius, have made some advances towards the de- lineation of their ideas, by arbitrary signs ; nevertheless, have been unable to accomplish this exquisite device; and, after so long a trial to no purpose, we may reasonably infer, that their mode of writing, which is growing more intricate and volu- minous every day, will never terminate in so clear, so compara- tively simple, an expedient, as that of alphabetical characters.

We shall consider the argument on which the commonly re- ceived supposition entirely depends ; that is, the natural grada- tion through the several species of symbols acknowledged to have been in use with various people, terminating by an easy transition, in the detection of alphabetical characters : we be- lieve the strength of this argument will be fairly appreciated from the following representation.

The first method of embodying ideas would be by drawing a representation of the images themselves : the impression of which method is very obvious, both on account of it's tediousness, and inability to go beyond external appearances, or to denote the abstract ideas of the mind.

The next method would be somewhat more general, and would substitute two or three circumstances for the whole trans- action : so two Kings, for example, engaging each other with military weapons, might convey the idea of a war between two nations. This abbreviated method would be more expe- ditious than the former; but what is gained in conciseness would be lost in perspicuity. It is a description more compendious indeed, but still a description of outward objects alone ; to which head may be referred the picture-writing of the Mexi- cans.

The next advance would be to the use of symbols — the in- corporation, as it were, of abstract and complex ideas in figuref, more or less generalized in proportion to the improvement of it. Thus, in the earlier stages of this device, a circle might express the sun, or a semicircle the moon, which is only a contraction of the foregoing method. This symbol-writing, in it's advanced state, would become more refined, but enigmatical and myste- rious in proportion to that refinement : hence it would be less

fit

xvlii PREFACE.

fit for common use — therefore more particularly appropriate to philosophy and religion.

This method being still too subtile and complicated for general use, the only plan to be pursued was a reduction of the first stage of the preceeding; thus a dot instead of a circle might stand for the sun, and a similar abbreviation might be ex- tended to all the symbols. On this scheme, every object and idea would have it's appropriate mark, which might be multi- plied in proportion to the works of nature and the operations of the mind. This plan was also practised by the Egyptians, but has been carried to greater perfection by the Chinese ; the vo- cabulary of the latter is therefore capable of being extended to any imaginary length. But if we compare this tedious and awkward contrivance with the astonishing brevity and perspi- cuity of alphabetical writing, we must be persuaded that no two things can be more dissimilar ; and that the transition from a scheme constantly enlarging itself, and growing daily more in- tricate, to the expression of every possible idea by a modified arrangement of twenty-four marks, is not so very easy and per- ceptible as may be imagined : indeed, this seems still to be rather an expression of things, in a manner similar to the second stage of symbol-writing, than the notification of ideas by arbitrary signs.

To all this we shall subjoin the following remarks, to give strength to the foregoing reasoning, viz.

ist, Pliny asserts the use of letters to have been eternal; which shews the antiquity of the practice to have extended be- yond the era of authentic history.

ad, The cabalistic doctors of the Jews maintain, that alpha- betic writing was one of the ten things which GOD created on the evening of the sabbath.

3d, Most of the profane authors of antiquity ascribe the use of alphabetical characters to the Egyptians, who, according to some, received them from Mercury ; or, as others suppose, from their god Tenth.

These are mere conjectures and fables.

Many pious and learned authors have contended, that the alphabet was first given with the law from Mount Sinai ; but we

presume

PREFACE. xix

presume the following state of fafts will invalidate such an opinion.

The firft mention of Writing recorded in Scripture, will be found in Exod. xvii. 14. " And the LORD said unto Moses, Write " this for a memorial, in a book ; and rehearse it in the ears of " Joshua ; for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalck " from under Heaven." This command was given immediately after the defeat of the Amalekites near Horeb, and before the arrival of the Israelites at Mount Sinai.

It is observable that there is not the least hint to induce us to believe that writing was then newly invented ; on the contrary, we may conclude that Moses understood what was meant by •writing in a book; otherwise the ALMIGHTY would have in- stru&ed him, as he did Noah in building the ark ; for he would not have commanded him to write in a book, if he had been ig- norant of the art of writing : but Moses did not express any difficulty of comprehension when he received this command. — We also find, that Moses wrote all the words, and all the judge- ments of the LORD, contained in the 2ist and two following chapters of Exodus, before the two written tables of stone were so much as promised. The delivery of the tables is not mentioned till the 1 8th verse of the 3ist chapter, after GOD had made an end of communing with him on the Mount, though the ten commandments were promulgated immediately after his third descent.

It is also observable, that Moses no where mentions that the alphabet was a new thing in his time, much less that he was the inventor of it ; on the contrary, he speaks of the art of writing, as a thing well known, and in familiar use ; for Exod. xxviii. 21, he says, " And the stones mall be with the names of the chil- " dren of Israel, Twelve', according to their names, like the " engravings of a signet, every one with his name, shall they be, " according to the twelve tribes." And again, v. 36, " And " thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like " the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD." — Can language be more expressive ? Would it not be absurd to deny, that this sentence muft have been in words and letters ? But writing was known and practised by the people in general,

xx PREFACE.

in the time of Moses, as appears from the following texts, Deut. vi. 9, xi. 20, xvii. 18, xxiv. i, xxvii. 3, 8. By the last text the people were commanded to write the law on stones ; and it is to be noticed, that some of the above texts relate to trans- actions pre vlous to the delivery of the law at Mount Sinai.

If we call the different dialects of the various nations that inhabit the known parts of the Globe, languages, the number is truly great ; and vain and useless would be his ambition who should attempt to learn them. We shall begin with naming the principal, which are four, and may be termed the original or mother-tongues, and seem to have given birth to all that are spoken in Europe, viz. the Latin, Celtic, Gothic and Sclavo- nian. It will not, however, be imagined, from the term original given to these languages, that we believe them to have been handed to us without any alteration, from the confusion of tongues at the building of the tower of Babel. We have ex- pressed our opinion, that there was but one truly original lan- guage, from which all others are derivations variously modified. The four tongues just mentioned are original only, as being the immediate parents of those now spoken in Europe.

From the Latin came The Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and French ; and

From the Celtic,

The Welch, Erse or Gaelic, Irish, Bretagne or Aremorican, and that of the Waldenses.

From the Gothic,

The High and Low Dutch ; the English, which is also en- riched with the spoils of many other languages ; the Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, and the Icelandic or Runic.

From the Sclavonian,

The Polish, Lithuanian, Bohemian, Vandalian, Croatian, Russian, Garnish, Dalmatian, Lusatian, Moldavian, and many others.

The languages at present generally spoken in Asia are, The Turkish, Tartarian, Persian and modern Arabic, Georgian, Armenian, modern Indian, Formosan, Indos- anic, Tamoulic or Malabaric, the Chinese, Japonese, &c. Here we have enumerated only such Asiatic languages, of

which

PREFACE. xxi

•which we have some knowledge by alphabets, grammars, or other books ; there are, doubtless, many other tongues and dialects in those vast regions and adjacent islands, of which we are not able to give any account.

The principal languages of Africa are,

The Egyptian, Fetuitic, or of the kingdom of Fetu, the Mauritanian or Moroccan, and the jargon of those savage nations inhabiting the deserts. — The people on the coast of Barbary speak a corrupt dialecl; of the Arabic : to these may be added the Chilhic, or Tamazeght, the Negritian, and that of Guinea, the Abyssinian, and that of the Hottentots.

The languages of the American nations are but little known in Europe. Those of the Mexicans and Peruvians seem to be the most regular and polished ; there is also one, called Pocon- chi, used in the bay of Honduras, the words and rules of which are known to us. The languages of North America are, in general, the Algonhic, the Apalachian, Mohawk, and those of Savannah, Virginia, and Mexico. In South America, the Peruvian, the Caribic, the Cairic, and the Tucumanian, with the languages of Chili, Paraguay, Brasil, and Guiana. But there can be no doubt that in North America the English and French, and in South America the Spanish languages, pre- vail more extensively than any others.

Having already observed that it would be a vain undertaking for any man to attempt the study of all these languages, and to make his head an universal dictionary ; so it would be absurd in us to offer any analysis of them in this place : but a few reflec- tions may, perhaps, be permitted.

Among the modern languages of Europe, the French de- serves great attention : it is elegant and pleasing ; and is there- fore become so general, that with it we may make the tour of this quarter of the globe without much need of an interpreter.

The German and Italian likewise merit particular notice ; as does the English, perhaps above all, for it's many and great excellencies. — See p. 60 of this work.

The other languages of Europe have their beauties and ex- cellencies ; but the greatest difficulty in all living languages is in the pronunciation, which is scarcely possible for any one to

attain,

xxii PREFACE.

attain, unless he were born or educated in the country where it is spoken ; and it is very difficult to extend our knowledge so far as to be able to form a critical judgment of them.

Those that are derived from the Latin have the advantage of adopting, without restraint, and without offending the ear, Greek and Latin words and expressions ; which privilege is forbidden the Germans, who, in their best compositions, dare not use any foreign word, unless it be some technical term in case of great necessity.

Such is the general sketch of the origin and diffusion of languages and alphabets, which we apprehend will be deemed sufficientjto shew the extent and importance of the subject. We shall now proceed with some account of the execution of the work.

The design of this work is to promote the diffusion of Sci- ence, which is effected in all cases, by facilitating the communi- cation of ideas, at present done by means of oral or written language only.

The limits prescribed to this Volume render it impossible for the Author to enter into minute details or anecdotes, even of the most important languages : his view is rather to give an outline of the subject, to shew what is commonly known, and to put it into the power of philologists to extend the sphere of our know- ledge ; and to furnish them with a centre of communication, to which their researches and discoveries may be directed. He has, therefore, only given what he promised ; hoping it will enable both his friends and critics to state the errors, omissions, re- dundancies^ &c. which he will endeavour to rectify on some future occasion. No extensive work was ever brought to per- fection at once ; but something must be begun to form a ground for criticism and improvement.

Secret alphabets, or methods of conducting private cor- respondences, admit of infinite diversity; and as no one method has ever obtained generally in any country, they were not judged admissible in a work of this kind. The only, or, at least, most impenetrable method of secret correspondence, is by means of the same edition of a printed or manuscript book, possessed by each correspondent ; so that the word intended may be found, by quoting the page, line, and word of that line,

which

PREFACE. xxiii

which may be conducted in such a manner as to frustrate all the principles of decyphering.

The note respecting each alphabet or specimen contains the time when it was used ; the inventor or patron ; the time it con- tinued in use or flourished ; and the authorities for these several circumstances, as far as could be collected.

We cannot vouch for the authenticity of the ancient alpha- bets, as those of Adam, Noah, Ninus, &c. ; but in a work pro- fessing to exhibit all, it was thought proper to give those met with on respectable authority.

There is no doubt that all the alphabets in the world are very imperfect, in point of letters, for the several simple or usual sounds in those languages ; as, perhaps, no tongue can express it's words with less than about forty characters.

For the reason above alleged, we have not attempted to give short hand, or secret alphabets, the most approved systems of which are Holdsworth and Aldridge, Gurney, Hodgson, Blanchard and Byrom.

The principal object of an undertaking of this nature is to exhibit correct copies or representations of those alphabets which are at present known : for this purpose, the Author has spared no pains nor expense in procuring the most authentic originals and engraved copies which have come to his know- ledge. He cannot omit this opportunity of expressing his grateful acknowledgments to those liberal and enlightened Antiquaries who have so kindly communicated their stores with him. From these sources he has copied every character with his own hand, and with all the exactness in his power.

With respect to the sound or force of each letter, the Author has collected them from the same respectable authorities ; but it will be obvious to his learned readers, that no combination of letters in one language, can exactly represent the pronunciation of those of another : for instance, no letters in the English can represent the sound of the French u, eu, en, &c. If the Author could not, in the compass allotted to this work, enter into a dis- cussion of the pronunciation of the letters of the several alpha- bets, still less would it have been consistent with his plan, had he been qualified for the tafk, to enter upon the grammatical construction or peculiarities of the different languages.—

Though

xxir PREFACE.

Though oral languages are not striaiy connected with an exhibition of alphabets, yet the Author concluded that it would be a considerable gratification to his readers to see the diversity of diale&s which have arisen from the original tongue, if any such existed.

The alphabetical arrangement of the matter of this work has been preferred to any other mode with an index, and we trust it will be generally most approved ; but great care has been taken to place alphabets, or languages of one name, in chronological order. Many alphabets and dialects having received a variety of names, all of which could not, with propriety, be introduced under the alphabetic titles, a Table of Synonymes is added, to facilitate the finding of any article : which Table the reader is referred to, if he find himself at any loss in this respect : for ex- ample, Sanskrita is not found in the alphabetical arrangement, but under the more appropriate name Nagari, &c.

We have given a list of those Subscribers who have favoured us with permission to insert their names ; and feel grateful for this public testimony of their approbation of the under- taking. The support of so many known friends to Litera- ture and the Arts, has animated the Author to exertions which he could not have made on the suggestions of his own solitary opinion. His warmest acknowledgments are also due to those Gentlemen, distinguished by their learning and science in antiquities, by whose assistance he has added to the collection upwards of seventy articles since the publication of the Prospectus. If his feeble endeavours may be hereafter found to have been in any degree of service to the Literary World, and a future amended edition of, or a supplement to, the Pantographia, may meet encouragement, as the Plan is now before the Public ; he will solicit the kind assistance of the Antiquary, the Virtuoso, and of every Gentleman possessed of an alphabet, or specimen of oral language, of good authority, which shall be faithfully given in the work. He is sensible that, in a work of this kind, the candid Critic may find many opportunities for the display of his learning and acumen ; but he hopes the novelty, extent, and importance of the subject, will shield his errors or omissions from the severity of censure.

TABLE

[ XXV ]

TABLE of SYNONYM ES.

For Belgic, .... See Low Dutch.

Bramin, Nagari.

Bretagne, .... Arf-morican. Chancery text, . . . English 1 6. Church text, . . . Ditto 20. Court or Exchequer, . Ditto 18. Damot Agow, . . . Ethiopia I.

Erse, Celtic.

Etrurian, . . . Etruscan. Engrossing or Secretary, English zi.

Falasha, Ethiopic r .

Gaelic, . . * . . Celtic.

Gafat, Ethiopic i.

Galla, Ditto.

Geez, Ditto.

Hibernian, .... Irish.

Iberian, ..... Georgian.

Kufic, ...... Arabic I.

Moroccan, .... Ditto 4.

Pali, Bali.

Papuan, New Guinea.

Pelasgic, .... Greek i, 2, and 3. Rhaetian, . . . , . Grisons. Sanskrita, .... Nagari.

Swiss, Helvetian.

Tcheratz Agow, . . . Ethiopic 1. Tufcan, . . . - . Etruscan.

C^T Under Samaritan, Hebrew, Chaldean, Greek, Latin, &c. will be found several varieties of character, distinguished by particular names, which were not thought necessary to be enu- merated in this place*

AuTHO-

[ XXYi ]

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Aynslic, Lord Charles, Littleharle Tower, Northumberland.

Adair, Alexander, Esq.

Alers, William, Esq. Fenchurch Street.

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Arch, J. and A. booksellers, i 2 copie*.

Ash, Gregory, Bristol.

Bute, Marquis of Bute, F. A. S.

Banks, Sir Joseph, Bart. K. B. President of the Royal Society, F.A.S. &c. &c.

Boddington, Samuel, Esq. Mark Lane.

Barnes, John, Esq. Thirlby.

Barnes, Rev. John, M. A. Master of St. Bee's School, Cum- berland.

Barclay, Robert, F. L. S. Clapham Terrace.

Babington, William, M.D. Basinghall Street.

Baldwin, Henry, Esq. Bridge Street.

Bradley, Thomas, M.D. De La Hay Street, Westminster.

Brand, Rev. John, M. A. Secretary to the Society of Anti- quaries.

Barry, Bartholomew, Bristol.

Bawcutt, Martin, Esq. Coventry.

Barfield, John, printer, London.

B. Rev. P. L.L.D. Deal.

Bensley, Thomas, printer, London.

Birch, Thomas, Esq.

Boys, William, Esq. F.A.S. Walmer.

Boucher,

SUBSCRIBERS. xxxi

Boucher, Rev. Jonathan, A. M. F. A. S. Bulgin, William, Bristol. Bishop, William, Basingstoke. Bye, Deodatus, printer, London. Bulmer, William, printer, London. Bloomer, Samuel, Esq. Kingsland Crescent. Brickwood, John, Esq. Billiter Square.

Cavendish, Henry, Esq. F.R.S. F.A.S. Trust. Brlt.Mus.

Clayton, Sir Richard, Bart. Adlington, Lancashire.

Cuthbert, J. R. Esq.

Cunnington, William, Esq. Heytesbury.

Carter, Rev. J. M.A. F.A.S. head master of the Grammar

school, Lincoln.

Creser, Thomas, Fenchurch Street. Caslon, Elizabeth, Chiswell Street. Cooper, Joseph, printer, London.

Crachrode, Rev.C. M. M.A. F.R.S. F.A.S. Trust. Brit. Mus. Cruttwell, Richard, Bath. Clarke, J. C. Esq. Barbican. Capper, Jasper, Gracechurch Street. Catley, Stephen, Esq. Cockfield, Joseph, Upton. Chalmers, Alex. Esq. Throgmorton Street.

Durham, Bishop of.

Disney, John. D. D. F.A.S.

Denman, Thomas, M. D.

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xxxii SUBSCRIBERS.

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Forbes, James, Esq. Stanmore.

Ford, Thomas, Esq.

Fry, Nicholas Lacy, Esq. New Court House, Topshara.

Fry, Anna, Bristol.

Fry, Joseph Storrs, ditto.

Fry, William Storrs, Mildred's Court.

Fry, John, junior, South Street, Finsbury.

French, P. W. Reading.

Flower, B. Cambridge, 2 copies.

Fardon, William, Reading.

Garthshore, Maxwell, M.D. F.R.S. F.A.S. F.R.S. Edinb.

Galton, Samuel, F.R.S. Birmingham.

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Gilpin, Joshua.

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Grant, Andrew, Esq. Fenchurch Street.

Henniker Major, John, Esq. M. P. F.R. S. F.A.S.

Henley, Rev. Samuel, M.A. F.A.S.

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Holloway, Thomas, ditto.

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Hazard, Samuel, Bath, 6 copies.

Harford, Richard, Esq. F.A.S.

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Heydinger, Charles, Plumtree Street.

Hobson, William, Esq. Stamford Hill.

Holt, Daniel, printer, Newark.

Hough,

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Hough, Thomas, Esq. Percy Street. Hancock, Joseph, Basinghall Street. Harwood, John, Esq. Dean, Hants. How, Richard, Woburn, Bedfordshire. Hodgkin, John, Pentonville. Hill, John, L.L.D. University, Edinburgh.

Jermyn, George, Ipswich.

Jones, Joseph, printer, London.

Johnson, Edward, Whitechapel Road.

Juitt, George, Caddick's Row, Whitechapel.

Irton, Edmund Lamplugh, Esq. Irton Hall, Cumberland.

Kirkpatrick, Thomas, Esq. Hamburgh. Kettle, Godfrey, Esq. Gower Street. Knowles, George, Ely Place. King, Thomas, junior, bookseller.

Lefevre, Charles Shaw, Esq. M. P. F.R.S. F.A.S,

Lettsom, J.C. M.D. F.R.S. F.A.S.

Lane, Edward, Esq. Basingstoke.

Lewis, William, Esq.

Lee, Captain.

Lunn, W. H. Cambridge, 6 copies.

Lee, John, Hatton Garden.

Lawson, Sir Wilfrid, Bart. Brayton, Cumberland.

Lackington, Allen and Co. 6 copies.

Marsh, Charles, Esq. F. A.S. M. R. I. A.

Marsden, William, Esq. L.L.D. F.R.S. F.A.S. M.R.I.A. M. Asiat. S.

Morton, Charles, M.D. F.R.S. F.A.S. &c.

Mason, Rev. Henry Cox, A. M. Bermondsey.

Maltby, Rev. , Norwich.

Marsh, Rev. T. Orlebar, F. L. S. Vicar of Stevington, Bed- fordshire.

More,

xxxiv SUBSCRIBERS.

More, Samuel, Esq. Adelphi. Mainstone, James, Esq. Essex Street.

Morgan, , Esq. Southgate.

Martyn, Thomas. Morton, William, Shoe Lane. Meredith, Thomas, Crescent, Kingsland. Mountford, Richard, Esq. Barbican.

Northumberland, Duke of, F. R.S. F.A.S. Nichols, John, Esq. F. A. S. Edinburgh and Perth, Noble, Richard, printer, London. Newenham, George, Esq. Cork.

Ouseley, Major, Upper Norton Street.

Prime, Samuel, Esq. F.R.S. F.A.S.

Person, Richard, Esq. Greek Professor, Cambridge,

Pearson, George, M. D. F.R.S.

Paynter, F. Esq. Trekenning, Cornwall.

Pole, Thomas, surgeon, Leadenhall Street.

Prichard, Thomas, Bristol.

Pine, William, ditto.

Phillips, James, George Yard.

Phillips, William, ditto.

Phillips, John, engraver.

Paas, Cornelius, Holborn,

Ray, Robert, Esq. New Court House, Topsham, Ridout, J. G. 33, Paternoster Row. Ring, Thomas, surgeon, Reading. Reynolds, Deborah, Clapham. Reynolds, Thoma.s, Carshalton. Reynolds, William Foster, Clapham, Reynolds, Jacob Foster, Carfhalton. Rpsser, Robert, Bristol,

Spenceri

SUBSCRIBERS. xxxv

Spencer, Earl, F.R.S. F.A.S. Trust. Br. Mus.

Stamford and Warrington, Earl of.

Sulivan, Rich. Jos. Esq. M.P. F.R.S. F.A.S.

Strahan, Andrew, Esq. M. P.

Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and

Commerce.

Smirnove, Rev. J. Chaplain to the Russian Ambassador. Saunders, George, Esq. Sims, James, M. D. Lawrence Lane. Smith, Thomas WoodroufFe, Great Saint Helens. Stuart, Charles, Tower Street. Sael, George, bookseller. Sabine, Thomas, priqter. Stephenson, Simon, Esq. Great San&uary, Shipley, Richard, Esq. Horsleydovyn, Sibly, Ebenezer, M. D. ,:.:! Simpson, Robert, Bristol.

Stackhouse, John, Esq. F. L. S. Pendarvis, Cornwall, Steele, Isaac, Type Street. Skirven, John, printer, London. Smeeton, Joseph, printer, London. Stewart, James, perfumer, Broad Street.

Trinity College, Cambridge.

Tooke, Rev. William, F. R. S. Member of the Imperial Aca-

demy of Sciences, and of the free Economical Society at

Petersburgh.

Thomason, Rev. Thomas, A. M. Cambridge. Tomlins, T. E. Esq. Inner Temple. Terrett, William, L.L.D. Bettor's Commons. Thomas, W. H. surgeon, Basingstoke. Taylor, Josiah, Architectural Library, Holborn,

Valangin, F. de, M. D. Fore Street. Valpy, Richard, D. D, Reading. Vansittart, N. Esq,

West,

xxxvi SUBSCRIBERS.

West, Benjamin, Esq. President of the Royal Academy.

Walker, John, Esq. F.R.S. F.A.S.

Wilkins, Charles, Esq. F.R.S. M.AsIat.S.

Ware, John, printer of the Cumberland Pacquet, Whitehaven,

6 copies.

White, Sampson, Esq. Gough Square. Whitmarsh, George, surgeon, Wilton. Workman, M. surgeon, Basingstoke. Walford, Thomas, Esq. Whitley Birdbrook. Williams, Rev. J. Basingstoke. Woolston, T. Adderbury. Wilkinson, Thomas, Esq. Barbican. Wilkes, John, Esq. Mllland-house, Sussex. Wilkes, John, junior, Esq. Inner Temple. Watts, Joseph, printer^ Gosport. Windover, Nicholas, Basingstoke. Were, Robert, Garratt, Surry. Were, William, Wandsworth. Were, Samuel, Union Street, Southwark. Wilson, Andrew, printer, London.

Young, Thomas, M.D, F.R.S.

PANTOGRAPHIA.

ABYSSINIAN.

Abbahn schirfifu. Selenskgi zebonsha. Meff- haq spirsa. Ischir jergash. Semskan hirman egahquahn. Parchon pmlegron; ha parchons phlegonaos. Ne hibli kan scepi kha. Erupn ihapsa. Abbahn schirfifu. Selenskgi zebon- sha, Meffahq spirsa. Ischir jergash. Semskan hirman egahquahn. Parchon pmlegron.

AMHARIC.

Abatatyn bassamaj jalach. Jynzalyn mangys- tcha. Fakadychm jyhuyn bassamaj yndalach- schig bamydram. Sisajatyn yjaylatu zare sy- tan. Badalatyn myharan ynjam jabadalanan yndo nymhyr. Hamansut nygaba matan at- tawan. Adhanan yndu kabis nagar. Ysma ziaka jyy'ti mengy'st hajl wasybhat laalama a

ANGOLAN.

Tola a monte. 1. Hosa azure. 2. Macla agisa. 3. Anfonsa ara quereola azureta o amano. 4. Afonnimonte iouro toma mon- tiouro a fauco. 5. O augamont plecha mon almont augumos plechomont. 6. Ouan- mont-cault plutech. 7. Si auermont moiue. Amin.

ABYSSINIAN.

This is the language of one of the provinces of Ethiopia, of which there are many, all varying much in their dialect, but using the same character.— See ETHIOPIC.

The fpecimen given is a version of the Lord's Prayer.

Orat. Dom. p. 26.

AMHARIC.

This is also one of the provincial tongues of Ethiopia, which are particularly noticed in Bruce's Travels, vol. 1, p. 401. — It is a version of the Lord's Prayer.

Orat. Dom. p. 15.

ANGOLAN.

The Lord's Prayer.

Orat. Dom. p. 2£

ARABIC 1.

lei tchzvhdgba

ch th tz sc r k ts ph hh s n m

la gc thz dz dh ARABIC 2.

J •_* k_> X j

B

D

(ja.

S

D Ch

Hh

(^^ y-*»* />J /

Sj S Z R

Ai

J, ,5 X J eC

L C

DTD

uJ£ 6 X S *Ji o i 3

K F

H

W

N

M

ARABIC 1.

The most ancient Arabic Letters are the Kufic, so named from the City of Kufa on the Euphrates ; (Encyc. Franc, des Alph. anc. et mod. PI. 3.) but they do not appear to be in use at this time."~~This alphabet was communicated to Dr. Morton of the British Museum, by Dr. Hunt, Hebrew and Arabic Professor at Oxford, from the Bodleian Library.

Dr. Morton's Tables.

ARABIC 2.

These modern Characters are the invention of the Vizier Molach, who flourished about 933 of the Christian ^Era, with which he wrote the Koran three times, and in a man- ner so fair and correct, as to be considered a perfect model of writing it.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 278.

This is the common character of the TURKS and PER- SIANS, but these people have five more letters than the ARABS, (Fourn. v. 2. p. 278J which I shall give in their proper places. This is the alphabet in present use, in which are expressed the Initials, Medials, and Finals ; with their powers subjoined.

ARABIC 3.

1.

Olfl 2.

liisl? iL:iif iILl 4.

O- JO -

UTULlki UJjir^ 5 LiLoJ ij 6.

ARABIC 4.

ch

v hdg ba

hhs n ml cit

thz dz dh sc r k ts ph

ARABIC 3.

Is the Lord's Prayer in the same character, of which the literal reading is to be seen in No. 6.

Oral. Dora, p. 16,

ARABIC 4.

Or Maurltanian. This alphabet is used in Morocco and Fez, and the northern parts of Africa.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 279.

ARABIC 5.

lei tchzvhdgba

£#;*#£"* 4*0 CW^.P

gc tz dz sc r k ts ph hh s n m

dh ch th tz

ARABIC 6.

Ya Abanalladi phissamawati. Yatakaddasu smoca. Tati malacutoca. Tacuno mashiatoca Cama phissamai wa ala'l ardi. Chubzana'Iladi lil gadi ahtinaol yaum. Waghphir lana ma a- leina. Cama naghphiro nahno liman lana al- cihi. Wala tudkilna hagiarib. Lakin naggina minnash shirriti. Lianna leka'lmulka, va'lkou

ARMENIAN 1.

t? Z-

bgdiez eethji 1

£ u F ^^asuTj^L^

ch dz k h ds gh tc m i n sch p

r^LrLutin t f T f> £

o tch dch rr s w t r ts y ph f

ARABIC 5.

Known by the general name of African.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 279.

ARABIC 6.

The literal reading of the Lord's Prayer, which is in the original character in No. 3.

Wilk. Ess. p. 43,5.

ARMENIAN 1.

The Armenian language approaches near to the Chaldean and Syriac ; many parts of it are common with other ori- entals, the Greek, and that of the Gauls, which renders the pronunciation difficult. It is used, not only in Great and Little Armenia, but in Asia Minor, Syria, Tartary, Persia, and other nations. Duret, p. 725.

This is the character used for the fine printing of this language.

Dr. Morton's Tables.

10

ARMENIAN 2.

a bgdieze ethj ich

?h<£l1*?<WQ\>£(\'Z

dz k h ds gh tc m i n sch o tch

ii&mj^sp8M>^cft

p dch rr s w t r ts y ph kh f

ARMENIAN 3.

abgdiezeethj i 1

Mr% * &^t/-£>^2>

ch dz k h ds gh tc m i n sch o

tch p dch rr s w t r ts y ph kh

ARMENIAN 4.

^ a t r # >> f i

abgdiezeethj i 1

fc &K A 5 xs J*J X t4*

ch dz k h ds gh tc m i n sch o

L ? I*1-*" <r*»»tf *f /<* X

tch p dch rr s w t r ts y ph kh

11

ARMENIAN 2.

This letter was used to ornament the frontispieces and titles of books; also for public inscriptions, whence the French have given it the name of Lapidaire.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 2y6.

ARMENIAN 3.

These are the capital letters of their common writing, taken from their books. Some authors suppose that this character was invented by St. Chrysostom, who was ba- nished by the Emperor, from Constantinople into Armenia, where he died.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 276.

ARMENIAN 4.

The lower- case alphabet, or small letters to the preceding.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 276.

12

ARMENIAN 5.

ab gdiezej

th j i 1 ch dz k h

ds h tc m i n sch t

tsch p dsch rr s w t

ts y ph kh f o ARMENIAN 6.

abgdiezej thzil

e ds q h x gl gh m i n sh o

z p sc rh s w t r tz y ps ch

13

ARMENIAN 5.

These letters are termed blooming or flowery, and are used in titles of books, and as two-line letters in the be- ginnings of chapters. They represent flowers, and the fi- gures of men and animals, and in shape are formed like the Lapidairf, No. 2.

Encyc. Fr. pi. 12 and 13.

ARMENIAN 6.

In Schroder's Thesaurus Linguae Armenicae, the French Encyclopedic in folio, and other books, we meet with the five preceding Armenian alphabets only, but Duret gives this as the first used by this people, taken from the letters of an inscription over a large entrance into the castle of Curcho.

Duret, p. 725.

14

ARMENIAN 7.

Hair mer or iercins des. Surb eglizzianun cho. Eceszzae archaiuthai cho. Eglizzin cam cho. Orpes jercins en jercri. Zhazt mer ha- napazord rue mez aisaur. Eu thogl mez zpa- artis mer. Orpas eu mech thoglumch merozt partpanazt. Eu mi tanir zmezi phorxuthai. Ail pharceai zmez izarae. Amin.

AREMORICAN 1.

Hon tat pehing son in acou'n. Oth hano be- zet san&ifiet. De vel de ompho rouantelez. Ha volonte bezet gret voar an douar evel en coun. Roit dezomp hinou hor bara bemdezi- er, ha pardon nil dezomp hon offancon evel ma pardon nomp d'ac re odeus hon offancet. Ha n'hon diga£it quel e tentation. Hogen de livrit a drove. Amen.

AREMORICAN 2.

Hon tad pehudij sou en efaou, da hanou be- zet san&ifiet. Devet aornomp da rouantelaez Da eol bezet graet en douar, eual maz eon en euf. R6 dimp hyziou hon bara pemdeziec. Pardon dimp hon pechedou, eual ma pardo- nomp da nep pegant ezomp offanzet. Ha na dilaes quet a hanomp en temptation. Hoguen

15

ARMENIAN 7.

The Lord's Prayer.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

AREMORICAN 1. AND 2.

Two versions of the Lord's prayer, formerly used in that part of France called Aremorica; (Orat. Dom. p. 51,) lately Brittany, or Bretagne ; but now forming the five departments of the North-coast, Finisterre, Ilk and Vil- taine, Lower Loire, and Morblham.

16

ATOOI

Tehaia	Where	He oho	The hair
E poo	The head	Matta	The eye
Haieea	Fish	Waheine	A woman
Haire	Togo	Tooanna	A brother
Erooi	To puke	Too	Sugar cane
My, ty	Good	Matou	I
Oohe	Yams	Booa	A hog
Tanata	A man	Pahoo	A drum
Eeneeoo	Cocoa nuts Ehoora	A dance
Eroemy	Fetch it	Ooroo	Breadfruit
Matte	Dead	Aoonai	Presently
Paha	Perhaps	Ai	Yes
Noona	Above	Poore	A prayer
Tahouna	A priest	Aiva	A harbour
Motoo	An island	Hai, raa	The sun
Hairanee	The sky	Harre	A house
Eatooa	A god	Homy	Give me

BALI.

ca kha kha ga ta da ta

na tha da ba ua ka kaa ki

1234567 89

17 ATOOI.

Is one of the Sandwich Islands in the South Seas, disco- vered by Captain Cook ; they consist of a group, extend- ing in lat. from 18° 54' to 22° 15' north; and in long. from 199 36' to 2059 6' east. This specimen of the language is taken from the vocabulary.

Cook's laft Voy. vol. 3. p. 549.

BALI.

Is an island north of Java, populous and abounding with rice and fruits.— Lat. 7° 10' fouth; long. 215° 50' eaft.

This character is taken from the Encyc. Franc, des Alph. anc. et mod. pi. 21.

18

BASTARD.

be defg h

MlfOhit/ltt^o^m

i k 1 m n o p q

r s t uvxyz& BENGALLEE.

tho to iun zho z5 sho so uang

gho g5 kho ko bho bo pho no

B

dho do tho to ano dho do khio

BERRYAN.

Nouestre pere que sias dins Fou Ciel, vouestre nom siet santifia. Oue vouestre royame nous arribe. Que vouestre volonta siet fache, a la comme a ou Ciel. Dona nous aujourdhuy nuestre pan quotidien. Et perdona nos nues- tros offenses, como nos outros pardonem a na quoties que nous en offensa. Et ne nous lais-

19 BASTARD.

This letter was in common use in France in the 14th and 15th centuries, and called Bastard, or Mongrel, being de- rived from the Lettres de forme, which it resembles, but has most of its angles cut off, or much lessened. It was first made by a German, named Heilmann, in 1490.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 265.

BENGALLEE.

This is the character used in the extensive country of Bengal, now subject to the English East-India Company. It was copied from pi. 18 of the Encyc. Franc, des Alph. anc. et mod.

BERRYAN.

Berry was a province of France, but now forms the two departments of Cher and Indre ; it is very fertile in corn, wine, fruits, hemp, and flax.

The specimen given is the Lord's Prayer, (Orat. Dom. p. 39,) which seems to be only a dialect of the French.

20

BlSCAYAN.

Cure aita cerue tan aicena. Sanctifica bedi hire ieena. Et hoz bedi hire rehuma. Eguin bedi hire vozondatea cervan be cala lurrean ere. Cure egoneco oguia igue egun. Eta quit ta jetrague gure cozrac: Nola gucre gure cozduney quittatzen baitra vegu. Eta ezgai zalasar eracitenta tentacione tan. Baima de- libza gaitzac gaich totic.

BOHEMIAN.

Otozie nass genz syna nebesich. Oszwiet se meno twe. Przid kralowstwii twe. Bud wule twa. Yakona nebi tak y na zeni. Chleb nasz wezdeyssi dey nam dnes. Yodpust nam nasse winy. Yako y my odpaustime nassim wini- kom. Y ne uwod nasz do pokussenii. Ale zbaw nas od zleho.

ANCIENT BRITISH 1.

Eyen taad rhuvn wytyn y neofoedodd ; San- teiddier yr hemuv tau : De vedy dyrnas dau: Guueler dy wollys arryddayar megis agyn y nefi. Eyn bara beunydda vul dyro inniheddi- vu: Ammaddeu ynny evn deledion, megis agi maddevu in deledvvir ninaw : Agna tho- wys ni in brofedigaeth : Namyn gvvaredni

21

Bl SCAYAN.

Biscay is a province of Spain, but the language seems not to have any affinity to that of the nation. The Biscay - ers are of Celtic extraction, and still preserve their pecu- liar language, the Basque, which is different from any other in Europe.

Walker's Gazetteer.

The specimen given is the Lord's Prayer.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

BOHEMIAN.

The Lord's Prayer.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

ANCIENT BRITISH 1.

The Lord's Prayer.

Orat. Dom. p. 50.

ANCIENT BRITISH 2.

Ein tad yr hwn wytl yn y nesoedd. Sanftedi- dier dy enw. Deued dy deyrnas. Bid dy ew- yllys ar yddaiar, megis y mae yn y nefoed. Dyro i ni heddyw ein bara beunyddiol, amad deu i ni ein dyledion, fel a maddeuwn ni in dyledwgr. Ac nac arwain ni i brofe digaeth. Eithr gwared ni rhag drwg. Amen.

BULGARIAN.

ab vgdexz

* £ fcr eft ?? 3 8 <F

dzi kl mno p

r s t y f ps sch ia

BULLANTIC.

B C D

G H I K L M

n-o- fl-

N O P Q R

23 ANCIENT BRITISH 2.

The Lord's Prayer, given as more modern than the former.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

BULGARIAN.

Bulgaria is a province of Turkey ; the character favors much of the Illyrian, (Fourn. v. 2. p. 275,) but the dialect K Sclavonian.

BULLANTIC*

Capital ornamented letters in use for the dispatch of the Apoftolic Bulls.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 269.

24

CADEAUX.

-e ©

BCDEGH

KLM NOP Q

,£ -fcl? 96 2 3

R S T V X Y Z

GARNISH.

Ozha nash kir si v'nebesih. Posvezhenu bodi iime tvoie. Pridi k'nam kraylestvu tvoie. S'i- dise volia tvoia. Kakor nanebi taku nasemlij. Kruh nash usak dainii dai nam dones. Inu odpusti nam dulge nashe. Kakor tudi mi od- pustimo dulshnikom nashim. Inu neupelai nas v'iskushno. Tamazh reshi nass od slega. Sakai tvoje je krailestvu, muzh, zhhast veko-

CATALONIAN.

Pare nostro, que estau en lo eel. San&ificat sea el vostre sant nom. Vinga en nos altres el vostra saint reine. Fasas la vostra voluntat, axi en la terra como se fa en lo eel. El pa nostre de cada dia da nous lo gui. I perdo- nau nos nostres culpes ; axi como nos altres perdonam a nostres deudores. I no permetau

25 CADEAUX.

Capital flourishing letters used in ancient French writ- ings of the 5th century.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 269.

GARNISH.

Or, of the Carni, inhabitants of CARNIOLA, a province of Germany.

This is the Lord's Prayer.

Wilk. Ess, p. 435.

CATALONIAN.

The Lord's Prayer.

Orat. Dom. p. 36.

26

CELTIC.

JS e guth anaim mo ruin a tha 'nn, O! 's ainmach gu aislin Mhalmhin' thu, Fosgluibh-se talla nan speur, Aithra Oscair nan cruaidh-bheum ; Fosgluibh-se doirsa nan nial, Tha ceumma Mhalmhine go dian. Chualam guth a' m' aislin fein, Tha fathrum mo chleibh go ard. C' uime thanic an Ossag a' m' dheigh O dhubh-shiubhal na linne od thall ?

Bha do sgiath shuimnach ann gallan aon- Shiubhall aislin Mhalmhine go dian, £aich, Ach chunic is' a run ag aomadh, 'S a cheo-earradh ag aomadh m' a chliabh: Bha dearsa na greine air thaobh ris, Co boisgal ri or nan daimh.

'S e guth anaim mo ruin a tha 'nn, O! 's ainmach gu m' aislin fein thu. 'S comhnuidh dhuit anam Mhalmhine, Mhic Ossain is treine lamh.

CERAM.

Oeenta Olooa Otoloo Opatoo Oleema 12345

Oloma Opeeto Oaloo Oteeo Opooloo "6 7 8 9 10

27 CELTIC.

This language, under all it's disadvantages from the sub- jecting powers of Greece and Rome; and afterwards from Saxon innovations in this country, is still spoken with much purity upon a great part of the continent, and in the islands of Scotland ; and it exists at this day one of the greatest living monuments of antiquity.

The annexed specimen of it is taken from Malvina s Dream, by OSSIAN, of which the following is a transla- tion in English.

Shaw's Anal. p. 157.

TRANSLATION:

" It was the voice of my love! few are his visits to the Dreams of Malvina! Open your airy halls, ye fathers of mighty Toscar! unfold the gates of your clouds. — The steps

* of Malvina's departure are nigh. — I have heard a voice in

< my dream. — I feel the fluttering of my soul. — Why didst thou ' come, O blast, from the dark rolling of the lake ? Thy rust- { ling was in the trees, the dream of Malvina departed. — But ' she beheld her love, when his robe of mist flew on the wind ; « the beam of the sun was on his skirts, they glittered like the

* gold of the stranger. — It was the voice of my love ; few are

< his visits to Malvina.

" But thou dwellest in the soul of Malvina, son of mighty

< Ossian."

CERAM

Is one of the Molucca isles. — Sydney Parkinson gives the annexed vocabulary of numeration, but is silent as to

their general language.

P. 200.

28

CHALDEAN 1.

hh T. v hd gb a

o s n m 1 k i th

W H T,X o9

t sch r q ts p

CHALDEAN 2.

hhzv hdg b a

[7 ^ ^ A9 > O ^ ^

o s n m 1 k i th

:E ^^ 3>^> rs

t sch r q ts p

CHALDEAN 3.

hhz vh dgba

3^^ 1^/V<^

o s n m Ik i th

>r ^ T ^ ?

t sch r q ts p

29 CHALDEAN.

CHALDEA, or BABYLONIA, a kingdom of Asia, and the most ancient in the world, was founded by Nimrod, the son of Cush, and grandson of Ham, who, according to some historians, built Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.

Philologists are much divided in their sentiments or opi- nions, respecting the antiquity of this language.

Pliny informs us, that Gellius attributed letters to the Egyptian Mercury, and others, to the Syrians.

The learned Roman just mentioned, supposed that the Assyrian letters were prior to any record of history, and by these he undoubtedly meant the Chaldean : it should seem most probable, that the language used by the ante- diluvian Patriarchs, bore the greatest analogy to this, es- pecially when it is universally allowed that they inhabited that part of the globe, whence many have thought the Chaldean to have been prior to the Samaritan and Hebrew.

See PREFACE. CHALDEAN 1.

Called Ccelestlal; said to have been composed by the ancient astrologers, from the figures of certain stars ; and represented in two hemispheres. Gaffarel, p. 1.

CHALDEAN 2.

Theseus Ambrosius asserts, that this character was brought from Heaven by the Angel RAPHAEL, by whom it was communicated to ADAM, who used it in composing Psalms after his expulsion from the terrestrial paradise.

Some authors pretend that MOSES and the prophets used this letter, and that they were forbidden to divulge it to mortal men. Duret, p. 119.

CHALDEAN 3.

This character is also said to have been used by ADAM.

Spanh. Dissert, p. 80. Dr. Morton's Tables.

30

CHALDEAN 4.

17 ^1TJ7 C 1

v x y m *L e N ^

CHALDEAN 5.

hh z v h d g b

^73 h 3 /- > 'V <2p

0 s n m 1 k i th

-4 >T T P T ?

t sch r q ts p

CHALDEAN 6.

hhzvhdgba

aa s n m

1 k i th

A/ W f

t sch r q ts p

/ , 31

CHALDEAN 4.

Brought from the Holy Land to Venice, when the christfan princes made war against the infidels; this is a handsome letter, and it is said, was the same that SETH engraved upon the two columns, mentioned in chap. 4 of the first book of Josephus. It it also said, that there is, in Ethiopia, a treatise on divine subjects, written in this character by ENOCH, which is preserved with great care, and considered as canonical.

This is given as a Hebrew, but without any explanation of the power of each letter.

Duret, p. 127.

CHALDEAN 5.

This character is said to have been used by NOAH.

Spanh. Dissert, p. 80.

CHALDEAN 6.

Attributed to NINUS, the first King of the Assyrians.

Spanh. Dissert, p. 80.

32

CHALDEAN 7.

X *T 9( 4

hhz v hd

aa s n m 1 k i th

/" \ ^ .P 71? 2

t sch r q ts p

CHALDEAN 8.

n i ^Ti

hhz vhdgba

jr 0 \ » >5

aa s n m 1 k i th

. a ^ ^ 'P V q

t sch r q ts p

CHALDEAN 9.

m. v A N rr

hhz vhdgb

A" °fH°V H J J

o s n m 1 k i th

* x

.sch r q ts p ph

33 CHALDEAN 7.

This is said to have been used by Abraham.

Spanh. Dissert, p. 80.

CHALDEAN 8.

Copied from ancient marbles brought from the Holy Land, and are asserted to have been used by Abraham.

Duret, p. 126.

CHALDEAN 9.

This character is represented as the same on which the tables of the law that were given to Moses, were written, and are known to the Hebrews under the name of Mala- chim, or Melachim.

Duret, p. 123.

34

CHALDEAN 10.

* A

hhzvhdgb a

X £ °7 0 3 ^

os n m 1 k i th

t sch r q ts p

CHALDEAN 11.

^K^a^if

hhzvhdgb

v / ^ 3 /: v N

gn s n m 1 k

d

t sch r q ts p

CHALDEAN 12.

hh z v h d g b

aa s n m 1 k i th

>l JM IP 3 3

t sch r q ts p

35 CHALDEAN 10.

Sigismond Fante says, that this alphabet is of very great antiquity, having been used by the Hebrews in the wil- derness, in the time of MOSES.

De Sivry's Recherches, p. 191.

Duret, p. 124, says, this character was given to ABRA- HAM, when he departed from Chaldea for the Land of Canaan.

CHALDEAN 11.

Fournier calls this a Phenician alphabet, but attributes it to MOSES.

Vol. 2, p. 280.

CHALDEAN 12.

Or ancient Hebrew, which is also supposed to have been used in the time of MOSES, and from which, most of the other Chaldean alphabets are derived.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 280.

36

CHALDEAN 13.

hhzvhdgba

4* X *C A *C 5£ &J2

s n m 1 1 k i th

t sch r q ts p o

CHALDEAN 14.

hhzvhdba

s n ml k i th

7? 6 ^> *o ^7 ^ ^P

t sch r q ts p o

CHALDEAN 15.

hhz vhdgba

V % > A A 3V&

s n m 1 1 k i th

^ A "V 0>^^e

t sch r q ts p o

37 CHALDEAN 13.

This character is used by a nation of Mesopotamia, called JSagadet, now under the Turkish dominion.

Duret, p. 345. Fourn. v. 2. p. 279.

CHALDEAN 14.

Theseus Ambrosius, in his treatise on various languages and characters, calls this Judaic.

Duret, p. 335.

Fournier, v. 2. p. 279, fays, that it was used by the Jews during their captivity in Babylon.

CHALDEAN 15.

This character was much used in Persia and Media, and by the Jewish inhabitants of Babylon.

Duret, p. 344. Fourn. v. 2. p. 278.

38

CHALDEAN 16.

a b g d ezh th

tr t* S A.5 8 2r 3

iklmnxo p

o- O«& Uj^t 6 C ?C

r s t u ph ch ps 6

CHALDEAN 17.

P S, Z 7

v zvzd gve

a o £> j< *> A^

f pnl h ch t

trsrka sp

CHALDEAN 18.

39 CHALDEAN 16.

This alphabet was found in the Grimani library at Venice, and contrary to all other Chaldeans, is written from left to right.

Some authors assert that this is the character of the Ma- ronites, inhabitants of Asia, on the borders of the Red Sea.

Duret, p. 346.

CHALDEAN 17.

Jean Baptiste Palatin, a Roman citizen, in one of his books in Italian, upon the manner of writing all sorts of letters, both ancient and modern, gives this as an ancient Chaldean.

Duret, p. 347.

CHALDEAN 18.

The copy of a Chaldean inscription, very curiously cut

in the square stones of the tower of Baych, over one of

the gates of the very ancient city of Panormus, in Sicily.

Fazelli Rer. Sicular, p. 149.

40

CHALDEAN 19.

KZMD jraEa KIDS •Din 6 paan :*-*DYa

CHALDEAN 20.

Abhouna debhischmaija ; jithkaddasch sche- mach; tethe malchouthach -, jeheveh tsibhja- nach kma bhischmaija knema bh-ar-a; habh- lan lahhma dmissetana bhjoma; uschebuk Ian hhobai kma anan schbhakna behhai jabhai ; v'al thaalan lenissajona; ella phza jathan min bischa; m'toul dedhilach iteeh malchutha ve- hhela vetheschbuhha 1'a'lmin. Amen.

CHARLEMAGNE 1.

ZJ -f >l

abed e fg h

TiTTimr JXVA

ik 1 mno 4

&

41 CHALDEAN 19.

The Load's Prayer,

Orat. Dpm. p. 11.

CHALDEAN 20.

The literal version of the above.

Orat. Dora. p. It.

CHARLEMAGNE 1.

This great Emperor, who restored learning to Italy, France, and Germany, encouraged the formation of good letters in his dominions ; those in use having degenerated into bad imitations of the shape of the Lombard, Saxon, and Franco-Gallic.

These three alphabets are attributed to this monarch, and bear his name ; they appeared early in the ninth century.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 272.

We observe that he did not think the distinction of ca- pitals and small letters necessary in his alphabets.

42

CHARLEMAGNE 2.

abcdefgh

^X.^^^ V *

i k 1 m n o p q

r s t u x y z &

CHARLEMAGNE 3.

8. I 9 6 R^f X ¥

abcdefg h

T 8 A. 3 9 <*> H

i k 1 m n o p q

rs tuxyz& CHINESE 1.

Ngo tern fu che tsay thiaen. Ngo tern yuen ul niun chim xim. Ul gue lin. Ul chi chim him. Yu ty su sim thyaen. Ngo teng uwang uul kyn jun ngo ngo zie Jong leang. Uul my aen ong-o tsi ay. Ziu ngo ije ssa tou ngo tsi ay tsie. Yeeu pu ngo chiu chi eu iu ieau can Nay kyeea ngo yu chiu'o.

43 CHARLEMAGNE 2 and 3.

See the last article.

CHINESE 1.

Version of the Lord's Prayer.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

44

CHINESE 2.

tchi ma tai tche se vang

min ko tchoui tfeou t£ao yang

ting cao yu 196 hou yob

kou pieou tsing chin tchong lao COPTIC 1.

£7 f*J O "TT*

P Cv t3 s\^

a bgdezsh

/^v> o -^y XT' ao err ci r~i VA!, O \v> «A. ^} OV o vJ

th i k 1 m n x o

p r s t y ph ch ps

45 CHINESE 2.

, This language has no alphabet, being composed of a great number of very limited sounds, and it would be im- possible to understand it in any other character. It has but 328 sounds, and all monosyllables, applicable to 80,000 characters, of which this language is composed.

There are also 214 keys, or radical characters, the whole of which are given, correctly and beautifully engraved, in the Encyc. Franc, pi. 25, whence the annexed specimen is copied.

COPTIC 1.

This character, which Fournier calls an ancient Coptic, was used by the inhabitants of a city of Egypt, called COPTOS ; whence the Cophtites derived their origin. They were Christians, and flourished in great numbers in the time of Dioclesian, who put many to death, and sent the rest into exile.

V. 2. p. 274.

Duret, p. 755*

46

COPTIC 2.

th i k 1 m

IIiTPp CcT*^r

p r s t u ph ch ps

COPTIC 3.

Theut habh atast en ornos. Plenspliah arich eho. Abspinth bahl eho. Erup vlid heo ah en orna, si ben isi. Beko bibh pueum, thet hio memah. Fib affhla ihos gipsa hio; omsh afflom gipsam hia. Sib auk quarb en zharaf- hi, as afsh hio malach. Amin.

COPTIC 4.

Peniot etchennipheoui. Mareftoubonje pec- ran. Maresinje tecme touro. Netehnacmar- efshopi. Phredichentphenemhijenpicahi. Fe- noiki terasti meifnanphoou. Ouohchanieter- on nanebolmphretitio. Tenchoebol neete. Ouo omper tenechou epirasmos. Alia nah menebolch enpipethmou.

47 COPTIC 2.

This character has a very great affinity to the Greek, from which it evidently appears to have been formed, and was introduced into Egypt, under the successors of Alex- ander. The Coptic language, which is only to be met with in the books of the Christians of Egypt, is a mixture of the Greek, and the ancient Egyptian tongue, and was used by them in their translations of the sacred writings, church books, &c.

Enc. Franc, pi. 7. Fourn. v. 2. p. 274.

COPTIC 3.

The Lord's Prayer.

Orat. Dom. p. 25.

COPTIC 4.

The Lord's Prayer.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

48

CORNISH.

Ny taz ez yn neau. Bonegas yw tha hanaw. Tha Gwlakath doaz. Tha bonogath bogweez en nore pocoragen neau. Roe thenyen dyth- ma gon dyth bara givians. Ny gan rabn wee- ry cara ny givians mens. O cabin ledia ny nara idn tentation. Buz dilver ny thart doeg. Amen.

CROATIAN.

Ozhe nash ishe efina nebesih. Svetise jme tu- oe. Pridi cesa rastvo tvuoe. Budi volia tvoja Jako na niebesih j tako nasemlij. Hlib nash usag danni dai nam danas. Jodpusti nam dlgi nashe. Jaco she imi odpushzhamo dishnikom nashim. Ine isbavi nas od nepriasni. Dais ba- vi nas od sla.

DALMATIAN 1.

rfi £ QU^ ffb 9 ffn

a bvgdexz

Bn V X FFPA.tfbJR Y

tz i i y k 1 m n

a F "K £ 3B £» $ 1J

0 p r s t u ph ch

49 CORNISH.

The Lord's Prayer.

Orat. Dom. p. 52.

CROATIAN.

The Lord's Prayer.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

The character used by the Croats is the same as the IL- LYRIAN 1, which see.

The languages of this people, the DALMATIANS, IL- LYRIANS, SCLAVONS, &c., situated in this part of Europe, are pronounced much like that of Italy.

DALMATIAN 1.

This character is said to have been invented by St. Je- rom. It is very difficult to pronounce, yet many mis- sals, and the breviary from the Latin ; and even the Old and New Testaments, have been translated into it from the Hebrew and Greek.

Duret, p. 738.

50

DALMATIAN 2.

Otsce nas koyi-yessina nebissih. Szvetisse gy- me tvoye. Pridi kralyess tvo tvoze. Budi vo- lya tvoya: kako na nebu, tako ina zemlyi. Kruh nas ssvagdanyni day nam danass. Jod pussti naam duge nase. Kako i my odpusch- yamo duxnikom nassim. Ine naass uvediu-na- passt. Da osslobodi naas od assla. Amen.

DANISH.

Pader vor du som est i himmelen. Helligt vorde dit naffn. Til komme dit rige. Borde din billie ; saa paa jorden som hand er i him- melen. Giff oz i dag vort daglige brod. Oc forlad oz skyld; som wi forlade vore skylden- er. Oc leed oz icke voi fristelse. Men frels oz fra ont. Thi rigit er dit, oc krafft, oc herlig- ved ewighed. Amen.

DOMESDAY.

cen inline tyj lecone. T. R,. B. 7 111 fe ^cffc f>. xi Ini. Tra. e. xi. car. In ^o e una car. 7 JcV. uillt 7 xim. feori) cu. x. car. Iti. in. lerui. j ti. molini ^c. VW. folid. 7 Vui. ac <^ti-filva <tp;v e in cbenu. Ricl?ar^> ^»e Tonenri^e ccn ^»e roc tn una uir^acacn filva. afcflnlic cufcicum ni it)i nvrnehac. No

51 DALMATIAN 2.

The Lord's Prayer.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

DANISH.

The Lord's Prayer.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435. Orat. Dom. p. 55.

DOMESDAY.

This character was cut by the late ingenious Thomas Cotterel, the letter founder, for the folio edition of Domes- day book.

The specimen given is taken from Luckombe's history of the origin and progress of printing; 8vo. Lond. 1770. p. 174.

52

HIGH DUTCH.

Unser Vater, der du bist im himmel, geheili- get werd dein name. Zukomme dein reich. Dein wille geschehe, wie im himmel also auch auf erden. Unser taglich brodt gib uns heute. Und vergib uns unser schuld, als wir verge- ben unsern schuldigern. Unde fuhre uns nict in versuchung. Sondern erlo se uns von dem bosen. Den dein is das reich, und die krafft,

Low DUTCH 1.

Onse vader die in den hemelin ; uwen naem werde geheylight; uw coninckrijcke icome; uwen wille geschiede, gelijck in den hemel oockop der aerden; ons daghelijcks broot gheeft ons heden; ende vergheeft ons onse scoulden, gelijck vock wy vergheven onsen, schuldenaren ; ende en leydtons nict in ver-

Low DUTCH 2.

Onse Vader, die in de hemelin zyn uwen na- am worde geheylight; uw'koningryk kome; uwe wille geschiede gelyck in den hemel zoo ook op den arden, ons dagelicks broot geef ons heeden endevergeeft onse schulden gelyk ook wy vergeeven onso schuldenaaren : ende en laat ons neet in versoer kingemaer vertost on van der hoosen. Amen.

53 HIGH DUTCH.

Or the German, is a dialect of the Teutonic.

The specimen given is the Lord's Prayer in the modern

tongue.

Guthrie, p. 746.

Low DUTCH 1.

The Lord's Prayer.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

This language is spoken in the Seven United Provinces, and is compounded of the Teutonic, French, and Latin.

Guthrie, p. 728.

Low DUTCH 2.

The Lord's Prayer, as spoken at the present time.

Guthrie, p. ?28.

54

EGYPTIAN 1.

bcdefgh

tLVSbO

i k 1 m n o p

r s t v x y z th

EGYPTIAN 2.

bcde fgh

L^xS^O^T

i k 1 m n o p q

rs tvxyzth

EGYPTIAN 3.

b c d e f g n

) <h* S V" YL K, A

i k 1 m n o p q

kA & ">? k Q, ^

f^ G^ O> O ^Cn *J

r s t u x y

55 EGYPTIAN 1.

The Egyptians, before their knowledge of letters and characters, expressed their thoughts by the representation of the forms of various animals, trees, plants, herbs, and even of several of their own members, which they called Hieroglyphic. They had also letters which were used by the Ethiopians, approaching to the Hebrew, but we have no certainty as to their language or writing.

Theseus Ambrosius, in his Appendice des langues " Chaldaique, Syriaque, et Armenienne," gives this as the most ancient Egyptian.

Duret, p. 380.

_, o

EGYPTIAN 2.

This is given, on the authority of Theseus, as the se- cond Egyptian alphabet.

Duret, p. 381.

EGYPTIAN 3.

Fournier calls this Isiac-Egyptien, which, he informs , is attributed to Isis, the Egyptian Goddess.

Vol. 2. p. 273.

56

EGYPTIAN 4.

be de fgh

N k 1 m n o p q r\ "Q

r s t u x y z

EGYPTIAN 5.

O 1L Tr& •& T

abcde fgh

3 °Z -L J=r ? rt £ &

i klmnopq

£J n,.S A Z,^ a S

r stvxyzz EGYPTIAN 6.

y -A 1 / v\

aabdhvzhh

t * ^ -v o r

I m n s aa q

"p V V / •

q r sh t

57 EGYPTIAN 4.

Fournier calls this Lcttres Sacrees, and says they are at- tributed to the Mercury Thot.

Vol. 2. p. 273.

EGYPTIAN 5.

This alphabet has generally been received as hierogly- phic, according to Ambrosius, but there does not appear sufficient reason for it.

Duret, p. 382. Fourn. v. 2. p. 273.

EGYPTIAN 6.

This alphabet was discovered by the late Abbe Barthe- lemi, from whose sagacity and enquiries there can be no doubt of it's being Egyptian ; and being found under a monument in Egypt, had never been decyphered before.

Encyc. Franc, pi. «5.

58

EGYPTIAN 7.

hgfed cba

qponm

lki

th z yxutsr

NEW ENGLAND.

Nooshun kesukquot, quittiana tamunach koo wesuonk; peyaumooutch kukketassootamo- onk, kuttenantamoonk, nen nach ohkeit nean kesukqut; nummeet uongash asekesukokish, assamatineau yeuyeu kesukod; kah ahquon- tamatinneau numat cheseongash, neane mat- chenehu queagig nuta quontamounnonog ;

59 EGYPTIAN 7.

This character is different from every other of this name, being written from right to left.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 273.

EGYPTIAN 8.

Remarkable hieroglyphics engraved on the chair of a colossal statue near LUXXOR and CARNAC.

Norden's Antiquities of Egypt and Nubia, v. 2. p. 1 1 1 .

NEW ENGLAND.

The Lord'vS Prayer.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

60

ENGLISH-.

There is not, perhaps, any language in the world, which has experienced so many revolutions as this ; and, like the political constitution of the country, it seems to have gained both strength and energy by every change.

\Ve may conclude, from Caesar's account of this island, and it's inhabitants, that about the beginning of the Chris- tian ./Era, the language of the ancient Britons was the same, or very similar, to that of Gaul, or France, at that time, and which is now believed to have been the parent of the Celtic, Erse, Gaelic, or Welch; for the intercourse between this island and Gaul, in Caesar's time, as well as their relative situations, render it more than probable, that Britain was peopled from that part of the continent, as both Caesar and Tacitus affirm and prove, by many strong and conclusive arguments.

There are now but few remains of the ancient British tongue, except in Wales, Cornwall, the Isles and High- lands of Scotland, part of Ireland, and some provinces of prance ; which will not appear strange, when we consider that Julius Caesar, some time before the birth of our Sa- viour, made a descent on Britain ; and in the time of Clau- dius, about A. D. 45, Aulus Plautius was sent over with some Roman forces, who overcame the two kings of the Britons, Togodumnus and Charactacus, when the southern parts of the island were reduced to the form of a Roman province ; after which, Agricola subdued the island, as far as Scotland; whereupon a great number of the Britons re- tired into Wales, Scotland, and the Isles, carrying their language with them. The greatest part of Britain being thus become a Roman province, the Legions who resided in the island above 200 years, undoubtedly disseminated the Latin tongue ; and the people being afterwards governed by laws written in Latin, must necessarily create a mix- ture of languages.

61 ENGLISH.

Thus the British tongue continued, for some time, mixed with the provincial Latin, 'till the Roman Legions being called home, the Scots and Picts took the opportunity to attack and harrass England : upon which,' Vortigern about 440, called the Saxons to his assistance, for which he re- warded them with the Isle of Thanet, and the whole County of Kent; but they growing powerful, and discontented, dispossessed the inhabitants of all the country eastward of the Severn ; by which means the Saxon language was in- troduced.

In the beginning of the 9 th century, the Danes invaded England, and became sole masters of it in about 200 years, whereby the British language obtained a tincture of the Danish ; but this did not make so great an alteration in the Anglo-Saxon, as the revolution in 1066 by William the First, who, as a monument of the Norman conquest, and in imitation of other conquerors, endeavoured to make the language of his own country as generally received as his commands ; thus the ancient English became an entire medley of Celtic, Latin, Saxon, Danish, and Norman-. French.

Since the restoration of learning, the sciences have been cultivated with such success in this island, that in astro- nomy, anatomy, natural history, natural philosophy, che- mistry, medicine, and the fine arts, innumerable terms have been borrowed from that inexhaustible source, the GREEK. Italy, Spain, Holland, and Germany, have also contributed something, so that the present English may be considered as a selection from all the languages of Europe.

The alphabets now in use will be found under the arti- cles ROMAN and ITALIC.

62

ENGLISH 1.

On ftaejie tibe J?e Irotan op 81^8111 pij? Romana pi ice gepm upahopon. ^ mij> he- opia cynmgum. Raebjota anb Gallejiica pae- pion hotne. Romane bujaij abjiaecon. ^ eall Italia pice j5 ij- betpux J>am muntum tl 8ici- lia ^am ealonbe in anpalb jejiehton. ^ J?a aejteji }>am po^ej-ppecenan cynm^um De- obpic peng to J?am ilcan jiice. j-e Deobjiic paej: Smulm^a. he paep Erjiiften. J>eah he on J?an T^jijiianij'can jebpolan ^ujihpunobe. ^e genet Romanum hij- pjieonbj-cipe. j-pa j? hi mojitan heojia ealbjiihta pyjVfte beon. 'Kc he J>a jehat: j-pi^e ypele jelaej-te. "3

ENGLISH 2.

J?e ]cmj 8tephne opeji j-ge to Nopmanbi. "3 ]?eji pej- unbeji-^an^en. jzo^i •^ hi penben j? he j-culbe ben alpuic alj-e ]?e eom pep. *U jroji he habbe jet hip tjiepoji. ac he to-belb it ^ pcatejieb potlice. OQicel habbe ^enjii Jcmj jabejieb jolb ^ pylueji. anb na job ne bibe me poji hip paule J>api op. Da J?e Junj 8tephne to Gnjla lanb com J?a macob he hip jabepimj aet Oxene-popib. ^ J>api he nam J>e bipcop Rojepi op 8epiep- bepii. *3 TClexanbepi bipcop op Lincoln. ^ te Gancelepi Rojepi hipe neuep. ^ bibe selle in

63 ENGLISH 1.

Doctor Johnson, in his history of the English language, being the preface to his Quarto Dictionary, 1785, gives the annexed as the earliest specimen of it, taken from King Alfred's Paraphrase, or imitation of Boethius, which is here given in the Saxon character as used at that time.

See SAXON.

ENGLISH 2.

About 1150, in the reign of King Stephen, according to Dr. Johnson, the Saxon language began to take the form in which the present English was plainly discovered. The specimen I have given is extracted from Gibson's Saxon Chronicle, of the date of 1137, p. 238.

64

ENGLISH 3.

Ure fadyr in heaven rich,

Thy name be hallyed ever lich,

Thou bring us thy michell blisse :

Als hit in heaven y doe,

Evar in yearth beene it also.

That holy bread that lasteth ay,

Thou send it ous this ilke day,

Forgive ous all that we have don,

As we forgivet uch other mon :

Ne let ous fall into no founding,

Ac shield ous fro the fowle thing. Amen.

ENGLISH 4.

Fadir ur that es in hevene, Halud be thi Nam to nevene : Thou do us thi rich rike, Thi Will erd be wroght elk : As it is wroght in Heven ay, Ur ilk Day Brede give us to Day : Forgive thou all us dettes urs As we forgive till ur detturs And ledde us in na fanding But sculd us fra ivel Thing.

65 ENGLISH 3.

About 1160, in the reign of King Henry II. the an- nexed Lord's Prayer was rendered in rhyme, and sent from Rome by Pope Adrian, an Englishman.

Wilk. Ess. p. 7.

Orat. Dom. p. 68.

ENGLISH 4.

About 1250, in the reign of Henry III. we find it thus rendered also in rhyme.

Martin's Inst. p. 15.

66

ENGLISH 5.

Fader that art in heavin riche,

Thin helge nam it wurth the blisse,

Cumen and mot thy kingdom,

Thin holy will it be all don,

In heaven and in erdh also,

So it shall bin full well Ic tro.

Gif us all bread on this day,

And forgif us ure sinnes,

As we do ure wider winnes :

Let us not in fonding fall,

Oac fro evil thu syld us all. Amen.

ENGLISH 6.

Oure Fadir that art in Hevenes, halowid be thi Name. Thi Kingdom come to. Be thi Will doon in erthe as in hevene : Geve to us this dai our breed over othir Substance. And forgeve to us our dettis as we forgeven to our dettouris. And lede us not into Temptacionn but deliver us from yvel. Amen.

67 ENGLISH 5.

In the year 1260, in the reign of King Henry III. the annexed translation of the Lord's Prayer is also given in

rhyme.

Wilk. Ess. p. 7.

ENGLISH 6*

This specimen of the gradual improvement of our lan- guage, is handed to us from Wickliffe's translation of the New Testament in the year 1380, and in the reign of

Richard II.

Martin s Inst. p. 15.

68

ENGLISH 7.

Oure Fadir that art in Hevenes, halewid be thi Name, thi Kingdom com to thee, be thi will don in Eerthe as in Hevene, give to us this Day oure Breed over othre Substanc; and forgive to us oure Dettis, as we forgiven oure Dettouris, and lede us not into Temptation, but deliver us from ivel. Amen.

ENGLISH 8.

Our Father which art in Heven, halowed be thy Name. Let thy Kingdom come ; thy will be fulfilled as well in Earth as it is in Heven. Geve us this daye in dayly bred ; and forgeve us oure detters. And leade us not into Temp- tation ; but delyver us from evyll. For thyne is the Kyngdom, and the power and the glo- rye for ever. Amen.

ENGLISH 9.

O oure Father which artein heven halowed be thy name. Let thy kingdome come. Thy will be fulfilled, as well in erth, as it is in heven. Geve us this daye oure dayly bred. And for- geve us our treaspases, even as we forgeve oure trespacers. And lead us not into tempta- cion, but delyver us from evyll. Amen.

69

ENGLISH 7.

About the year 1430, in the reign of Henry VI. as ap- pears by a large MS. vellum Bible in the Oxford Library, which was given by this King to the Carthusians, at Lon- don, the Lord's Prayer was thus rendered.

Wilk. Ess. p. 8.

ENGLISH 8.

We find the first version of the Lord's Prayer, with the doxology, in Tyndale's translation, in the year 1526, in the reign of Henry VIII.

Martin's Inst. p. 16.

ENGLISH 9.

About ten years after, and in the same reign, we meet with another Bible, set forth by the King's license, and translated by Thomas Mathew, in which the Lord's Prayer is thus differently given.

Wilk. Ess. p. 8.

70

ENGLISH 10.

Our father which art in heaven, halowed be thy name, Let thy Kingdom come, Thy will be fulfilled, as well in earth as it is in heaven : Give ous this day our dayly bread : And for- give ous our trespasses, even as we forgive our trespassers : And lead ous not into temp- tation, But delyver ous from evyl. Amen.

ENGLISH 11.

O our father which art in heauen halowed be thy name. Let thy kingdome come. Thy wyll be done, as well in earth, as it is in heauen. Give vs this Day our dayly breade. And for- gyue vs our dettes, as we forgyue our detters. And leade vs not into temptation, but deliuer vs from euill : for thine is the kingdome, and the power, and the glorie, for euer. Amen.

ENGLISH 12.

Our Father which art in Heaven hallowed bee thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will bee done even in Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this Day our daily Bread and forgive us our Dettes, as wee also forgive our Detters. And leade us not into Temptation but deliver us from evil: for thine is the Kingdom, and the Power and the Glory for ever. Amen.

71

ENGLISH 10.

This version is handed to us as a translation by Sir John Cheke, Professor of Greek in the University of Cambridge, in the reign of Edward VI.

Orat. Dom. p. 69.

ENGLISH 11.

The annexed Lord's Prayer is taken from Archbishop Cranmer's Bible, in the author's possession, which was printed in 1575, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

ENGLISH 12.

In 1610, in the time of James I. we find it in a Bible, printed at London by Barker, rendered thus.

Martin's Inst. p. 16.

72

ENGLISH 13.

Our Father who art in Heaven, sacredly re- verenced be thy Name; Let thy Kingdom come; may thy Will be done, even on Earth according as in Heaven; Give us our daily bread to day; and forgive us our trespasses, as we also forgive those that trespass against us; and do not bring us into trial, but deli- ver us from wickedness ; since the Kingdom, Power and Glory is thine for ever : so let it be.

ENGLISH 14.

Our father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven ; give us this day our daily bread ; and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors: and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil : for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever. Amen.

ENGLISH 15.

c BD Ce jff f t ) 2l ft it

73 ENGLISH 13.

The annexed reading of the Lord's Prayer is taken from Anthony Purver's new and literal translation of the Old and New Testament, published in 1764, corrected by him- self. Matth. VI. v. 9, #c.

ENGLISH 14.

This is the modern reading of the Lord's Prayer, as given in the Bibles and Testaments now published in our Universities, taken from the Gofpel of St. Matthew, chap* VI. v. 9, &c.

ENGLISH 15.

This character, which is derived from the Gothic, is cal- led by the French Lettres de forme; by us it is known under the name of Old English, or Black Letter : it was the first used by Guttemberg and Faust at Mentz, and was by them and the printers denominated Lettres Bourgeoises*

74

ENGLISH 16.

ENGLISH 17.

75 ENGLISH 16.

Set Chancery. This alphabet began to take place in this country about the decline of the fourteenth century, and is, with the following, or Running Chancery, used in the enrollments of letters patent, charters, &c. and in the ex- emplification of recoveries.

Astle on Writing, p. 145.

ENGLISH 17.

Running Chancery.

See the above note.

76

ENGLISH 18.

E

ENGLISH 19.

$ B tf 9 © f

1 s e in ti ^

ENGLISH 20.

a r^ P F t ]&. I m » 0 jp n

ret

77 ENGLISH 18.

Court or Exchequer Text. The Court of Exchequer was erefled by William the Conqueror, it's model being taken from a similar one established in Normandy long be- fore his time.

These charafters were invented by the English lawyers about 1550, and continued in use 'till the beginning of the late reign, when it was abolished by a£l of Parliament.

Astle on Writing, p. 145. ^

ENGLISH 19.

The lower case or small letters corresponding with the. above.

ENGLISH 20.

Church Text. As the lawyers had alphabets appropriated to various purposes, it seemed reasonable that Ecclesiastics should not be behind in invention, especially as they were esteemed the curators of all learning for five centuries; they therefore invented this alphabet for the use of the church.

78

ENGLISH 21.

dlub

of a&iciH'mtwt %tatiHQ baft OH or arouf tnt wxtn bau or in t&t yitai or out olotb ouffaHb t>t<otw

aub tiq&tu &C&M wabt o o

JFtu owl

ECCLEMACH.

A friend The beard The teeth No	Nigefech Iscotre Aour	A bow To dance Seal Yes	Pagounach Mej'pa Opobabos
Father	Aoi	Mother	Atzia
Star One	Aimoulas	Night Six	Toumanes Pekoulana
Two	Oulach	Seven	Houlakoala
Three Four	Amnahou	Eight Nine	Koulefala Kamakoual
Five	Pemaka	Ten	Tomoila

79 ENGLISH 21.

Secretary; invented in the 16th century, and has been used ever since by English lawyers, in engrossing their conveyances and legal instruments.

Astle on Writing, p. 146.

ECCLEMACH.

This is the language of a colony of North California, which differs widely from those of all their neighbours, and possesses more resemblance to our European tongues, than to those of North America.

The specimen given is extracted from the vocabulary. Perouse, Vol. 2. p. 245.

80

ESQUIMAUX.

The hair Eye-brow The ear The neck	New-rock The eye Coop-loot The nose Se-u-teck The chin Coon-e-soke The arm	Ehich Cring-yauk Taplow Telluk
The hand The foot	Alguit E-te-ket	The leg The sun	Ki-naw-auk Suek-ki-nuc
The moon	Tac-cock	Fire	Ekoma
A house A paddle The breast One Two	Tope~uck A canoe Pow Iron Suck-ke-uc Arrows Attouset Six Mardluk Seven	Kirock Shaveck Caucjuck Arbanget Attausek
Three Four	Pingasut Sissamat	Eight Nine	Mardlik Kollin illoe
Five	Tellimat	Ten	Kollit

ESTHONIC.

Issa meddi ke sinna ollet Taiwas, pohitzetut sakut sunno nimmi. Tulckut meile sunno ric- kus. Sunno tachtminne sundkut, kui Taiwas, ninda kahs mah pehl. Meddi iggapeiwase lei- ba anna meile tennapeiw. Nink anna meile andix meddi wolgkat, kudt meie andix anna- me meddi wolgkaleisille. Nink erra satameid kinsatusse sisze. Erranis erhapehsta meid kei- ckest kurjast. Sest sunno on se rickus, nink se weggi, nink se auw, iggawest. Amen.

81

ESQUIMAUX.

The Esquimaux inhabit that vast traft of country called Labrador, or New Britain, in North America. The spe- cimen given is taken from the vocabulary of the language. Cook's Last Voy. v. 3. p. 554.

ESTHONIC.

Esthonia is a Russian government, on the east of the Baltic. The specimen given is the Lord's Prayer.

Orat. Dom. p. 43.

ETHIOPIC 1. AfM:

: HAA: dAt*: Uftf:

AH: AM: A5

ETHIOPIC 2.

Abuna xabashamajath. Yithkadash shimacha Thymtsa mangystcha. Yichun phachadacha. Bachama bashamai wabamdyrni. Shishajana zalala ylathana habana yom. Hydyglana aba shana. Chama nyhhnani nyhadyg laxa abasha lana. Waithabyana wysh tha manshuthi, ala adychnana balhhanana ymkulu ychui.

ETRUSCAN 1.

ft 3 1 d 3 ^ 3 B

abgdefze

O / > v7 rt \A S 1

th i k I m n 6 p

q z t 2 *

r s t ph ps

83 ETHIOPIC 1.

Called also AMHARIC, from Amhara, the chief city of Abyssinia. The dialefts of this language vary in the dif- ferent provinces subjeft to Ethiopia; but the same charac- ter or letter, which Bruce calls the GEEZ, is used to ex- press the several tongues of AMHARA, GEEZ, FALASHA, GALLA, DAMOT AGOW, TCHERATZ AGOW, and GA- FAT; and that it was invented by a Cushite shepherd.

Bruce, vol. 1. p 401.

The specimen given is the Lord's Prayer in the Ethiopic

character.

Orat. Dom. p. 14.

ETHIOPIC 2.

This is a literal reading of the above.

Wilk.Ess. p.435.

ETRUSCAN 1.

The Etruscans, or Etrurians, as Latin history informs us, were the most ancient people of Italy. Some authors assert, that, soon after the universal deluge, Noah esta- blished there twelve cities, or tribes, who used the same letters or characters, which were entrusted to the priests alone, who varied them according. to their pleasure, as to .their order, and value or import ; writing them sometimes from left to right, or the reverse. There is no doubt but the Etruscan and Pelasgic alphabets, (which see,) are to be traced to the same origin. See Astle on these alphabets.

The specimen given is copied from the Encyc. Franc.

pi. VIII.

Duret, p- 757.

84

ETRUSCAN 2.

UM3 I X / 8

bcde fgh

k 1 m n o p

.X.Y;* T A H

r s t u x y ETRUSCAN 3.

f V % 3 K, Z d

h gfedcba

AH-^tLMtf J V

qponml ki

y ^ z ^r v TT z

il ch z x v t s

k

FINLAND.

Isa meiden joca olet taivvaisa, pyhittetty stol- con sinum nymes ; la he stolcon sinum vval- dacunda, olcon sinum tahtos nyen maasa cuj- non taivvas, anna meille tana paivvan ; mei- den jo capaivvainen leipam : la anna meidan vvelcamme andexi, ninquin me andexi anna- me meiden vvelgolisten, ja ala johdata mei ta ]dn sauxen ; mutta paasta meita paastha, silla

85 ETRU SCAN 2.

This character, which is written from left to right, The- seus Ambrosius says, is to be found in many libraries in Italy.

Duret, p. 757. '

Le Clabart, p. 624.

ETRUSCAN 3.

On the above authority we have also this character, which is written from right to left.

Duret, p. 758. Le Clabart, p. 623.

FINLAND.

The Sclavon tongue was formerly used in this country, but since it came under the dominion of the kings of Swe- den, they have spoken two languages ; the Sclavon in one part, and the Swedish in another ; but in the interior of the country, they have a proper one, of which the an- nexed is the Lord's Prayer.

Duret, p. 868. Orat. Dom. p. 44.

86

FLEMISH.

FORMOSA N.

Diameta ka tu vullum lulugniang ta nanang oho, maba tongal ta tao tu goumoho, mam- talto ki kamoienhu tu nai mama tu vullum : pecame ka cangniang wagi katta. Hamieca- me ki varaviang mamemiang mamia ta varau ki tao ka mouro ki riich emitang. Inecame poudangadangach souaia mecame ki litto, ka imhouato ta gumaguma kallipuchang kasasa- magang, mikaqua. Amen.

FRANCO-GALLIC.

g

i Imnopqr

s t; ti OK y %

s t u x y z

abcdef

87 FLEMISH.

This is the proper character of the Austrian and French Netherlands, and is used in their common printing.

FORMOSAN.

This is the Lord's Prayer, in the native language of this island.

Oral. Dom. p. 62.

FRANCO-GALLIC.

This character was used under the first race of die kings of France, in their public afts. It was so named, because the French mixed their letters with those of the Gauls, whom they had conquered.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 270.

88

FRANKS 1.

3 8 T4<D

abcdefgh

*f V VTH Z O E P

i k 1m no P r

C 5 STA # HA 8

s t x y ph ch ps o

FRANKS 2.

a b cd ef-g h

I K I cr. kl o P CX

ik Imnopq

1* J T V JT Y

r s t u x y

FRENCH 1.

abcdef gh

1 1C L M N O P Q

i kl mnopq

R. ^ T V TS Y

r s t u x y

89 FRANKS 1.

The Franks, who survived the destruction of Troy about 1140, B. C. came and settled in the low countries of Ger- many, under Marcomin their leader, where the Saxons afforded them an asylum near the mouths of the Rhine ; whence, after some time, they made frequent and vigorous attacks upon their neighbours, and were in continual wars against the Romans and Gauls upwards of 900 years ; and extended their empire over great part of Europe, according to Hunibauld, who informs us, that Vuastbal wrote in this character an account of their conquests, and every thing remarkable during 758 years. This alphabet is also given on the authority of the Abbe Triteme.

Duret, p. 865.

FRANKS 2.

The language of this people, called Lingua Franca, is a kind of jargon spoken on the Mediterranean, particu- larly the coasts of the Levant, composed of Italian, Spa- nish, French, vulgar Greek, and other tongues.

Massey, p. 103.

FRENCH 1.

This alphabet was used in France in the fifth century, under the first race of their kings.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 268.

90

FRENCH 2.

Nostre pere qui es es cieulx, ton nom soitsan- tifie; ton royaume advenie; ta volonte soit fafte, ainsi en la terre comme au cieulx ; nos- tre pain quotidiain donne nous aviourdhuy; et pardonne nous noz faultes, comme nous pardonnons a ceulx qui nous ont offenzes ; et ne nous induy point en tentation, mais deli- ure nous de mal. Amen.

FRENCH 3.

Notre Pere qui es aux cieux, ton nom soit sanclifie. Ton regne vienne. Ta volonte soit faite en la terre comme au ciel. Donne-nous aujourd'hui notre pain quotidien. Pardonne- nous nos offenses, comme nous pardonnons a ceux qui nous ont offenses. Et ne nous in- duis point en la tentation, mais nous delivre de mal. Amen.

FRISIC.

Ws Haita duu derstu biste yne hymil, dyn name wird heiligt, dyn ryck tokomme, dyn wille moet schoen, opt yrtryck as yne hy- mil. Ws deilix brae jov ws juved; in verjou ws,, vvs schylden, as wy vejac ws schyldnirs ; In lied ws na6l in versieking: Din fry ws vin it quaed : Dan dyn is it ryck, de macht,

91 FRENCH 2.

The Lord's Prayer.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

FRENCH 3.

The Lord's Prayer in the language as spoken at this day.

Guthrie, p. 849.

FRISIC.

The Lord's Prayer.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

92

FRIENDLY ISLES.

Ve faine Koeea Fooee vy Etooa Etarre Efangoo Tangooroo Etolle Enoo Eao Fooo Matangee Elango Kaee Veenaga Eeegee Elangee Ao '

A woman Yes The leg The back To cough To sneeze To snore A hatchet A belt A hat A nail Wind Afly No Charming A chief The sky Clouds

Maiee Fooroo Eboore Elelo Hengatoo Moe Ekatta Aiee Etovee Poooree Epallo Tamadje Efonno Moeha Totto Eatooa Elaa Laa

Breadfruit The hair The breast The tongue Cloth Sleep To laugh A fan A club Night A rat A child A turtle More Blood God The sun A sail

FRIULIAN.

Pari nestri ch'ees in cijl, see sandificaat la to nom ; vigna lu to ream, see fatta la too vo- luntaat, sice' in cijl, et in tierra : Da nus hu'- el nestri pan cotidian; et perdonni nus glu nestris debiz, sicu noo perduin agl nestris de- betoors. E no nus menaa in tentation; ma libora nus dal mal. Amen.

93

FRIENDLY ISLES.

These are a cluster of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, and were so named by Capt. James Cook in 1773; they are situated between 20 and 23 degrees of south latitude, and between 170 and 180 degrees of west longitude.

This specimen of the language is taken from the voca- bulary.

Cook's Voy. Vol. 3. p. .531.

FRIULIAN.

Or Forojulian; this specimen of the language is the Lord's Prayer.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

94

GAMBIA.

Killing One Sae Eight

Foola Two Conunte Nine

Saba Three Tang Ten

Nane Four Tangkillin Eleven

Looloo Five Emva Twenty

GEORGIAN 1.

& B r A E &> Z H

abgd etzzh

0 J K 9v MN £ O

th i k 1 m n x o

p r s t u ph ch ps GEORGIAN 2.

7

a b gh d e v sz h th i

L

ch Imni opsgr s

t v f k ghh cq sc c zz z

F &C Yfi, a

zz cc chh hh g hha hho

95 GAMBIA.

Taken from the vocabulary of numeration of the negroes on the river Gambia in Africa ; but no mention is made

of their peculiar language.

Park. Voy. p. 206.

GEORGIAN 1.

This alphabet is formed from the Greek, according to Postellus, who says, that the Georgians use that language in their prayers, but on other occasions they employ the Tartarian and Armenian letters. This specimen is almost Greek, both by name and figure, and was taken from an ancient book of voyages to the Holy Land, by a Monk named Nicolle Hues, A. D. 1487.

Duret, p. 749.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 221 .

GEORGIAN 2.

This, and the two succeeding alphabets, according to the Encyc. Franc, are in use among the Georgians, and are written from left to right; but Fournier says, that the name is taken from the Martyr St. George, whom the Iberians have chosen for their patron, and regard as their Apostle.

The alphabets, of which these are only the capital letters, are called sacred, from their having been used in transcrib- ing their Holy Books.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 276.

Encyc. Franc, pi. XIV.

GEORGIAN 3.

96

a b gh d e v sz h th i

k m Z ft $ tm Ug? ill A

ch 1 m n i o p sg r s

?/ Hi/ ??Z4, tfz t/ 0" £ ft dt

t v f k ghh cq sc c zz z

TK 3- p y jf wit ^

zz cc chh hh g hha hho

GEORGIAN 4.

a b gh d e v sz h th i

3 «•> 9 6 o o> i i<£ (>

chlmniopsgr s

t v f k ghh cq sc c zz z

^ 6= b 3 * 1 *

zz cc chh hh g hha hha

97 GEORGIAN 3.

This alphabet is only the small or lower case letters to the former.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 276. Encyc. Franc, pi. XIV.

GEORGIAN 4.

This is the cursive, or common running hand of the Georgians, and is in use at the present time.

Encyc. Franc, pi. XIV. Fourn. v. 2. p. 276.

98

GEORGIAN 5.

Mamao cjueno romeli chbar zzahta sciua. Tzmida ikachn sa-chheli sceni. Sceni move- din suphocha sceni. Ikachn neba sceni os za- tha scina eghre kue-chanisa szeda. Puri cju- eni arsobisa momez cjuens dges da. Momith- even cjuenthana nadebni cjueni os cjuen mi- utevebth thana mjebtha math cjuentha. Ala michsneb cjuen borothifagan. Amin.

GERMAN 1.

GERMAN 2

oBc ^>e ij I T tw n D 51 q i n f>

99 GEORGIAN 5,

The literal reading of the Lord's Prayer.

Orat. Dom. p. 31.

GERMAN 1.

A specimen of this language is already given under the article HIGH DUTCH, (which see). This alphabet shews the capital letters in use for their general printing.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 267.

Encyc. Franc, pi. X.

GERMAN 2.

These are the lower case or small letters to the above.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 267. Encyc. Franc, pi. X,

100

GOTHIC 1.

bcdefgh

i klmnop q

R. SL 4- A 0 0*L,L

r s t v x y z GOTHIC 2.

\B-rA£F<7Tl

a bgdefgh

y> t K A M N x n

thiklmno p

^J^Trxo^Yz

qrs t uwx yz GOTHIC 3.

a b c b ( f g tklmnoj) q

101

. GOTHIC.

In the history of the North, we are informed that Ul- philas, or Gulphila, bishop of the Goths, who lived in Maesia about A. D. 370, was the first who invented the letters or characters of his nation ; and that he translated the holy scriptures out of the Greek into his proper lan- guage. Jean le Grand gives him full credit for the latter, but insists that the letters were in use before the bishop's time. Other historians assert, that the Goths always had the use of letters, and what confirms this sentiment is, that Le Grand, in his history of Gothic characters, says, that before, or very soon after the flood, there were found, engraved in letters on large stones, the memorable afts of great men.

Olaus Magnus, brother to Le Grand, assures us, that the Goths wrote upon wood, and upon the bark of trees, worked into sheets, and sometimes on skins ; and that they used ink made of coal finely ground, with milk or water.

It is asserted by different authors, that they wrote the Celtic and Teutonic.

Duret, p. 862. Olaus Mag. p. 14.

GOTHIC 1.

This is given as the earliest Gothic, and seems to have great affinity to the Runic,

Fourn. v. 2. p. 271.

Duret, p. 862.

Le Clabart, p. 379.

GOTHIC 2.

This character, which is formed of the Greek and Latin, is attributed to Ulphilas, bishop of the Goths above men- tioned, who is said to have invented them about A. D 388.

Spanh. Dissert, p. 114. ' Dr. Morton's Tables. •Massey, p. 103.

GOTHIC 3.

This alphabet, which is much like the German, has been a long time in use in France : It is attributed to Albert Durer, who flourished early in the sixteenth century.

Encyc. Franc, pi. IX.

102

GOTHIC 4.

Atta unsar thu in himinam; veihnai namo thein; Quimai thiudinassus theins, vairthai vilja theins, sve in himina, jah ana airthai. Hlaif unsarana thana sinteinan gif uns him- madaga. Jah aflet uns thatei sculans sijaima sua sue jah veis afletam thaim skulam unsa- raim; jah ni briggais uns in fraistubnjai. Ak lausei uns af thamma ubilin. Amen.

GOTHIC.

A B r e^e 1= 9 h

a b g d e f gj h

i k 1 m n o p hp

tC S T ¥ a V X X

r s t th q w ch z

•

GRANDAN.

a I ou rou lou e o am

J 2u _ju ^ /Z£c9" ^ O

kha gha tcha ja jha igna ta tha

2O ^TSj ^J oj /TJ © 2-»

da na pa ba ya ra la va

103 GOTHIC 4.

This is the literal reading of the Lord's Prayer.

Orat. Dom. p. 21. Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

MJESO GOTHIC.

This letter is also attributed to Ulphilas, and was used m the translation of the holy scriptures.

Encyc. Franc, pi. IX. Fourn. v. 2. p. 271.

GRANDAN.

An Indian alphabet, said to be in use at Pondicherry, but it seems to be incomplete.

Encyc. Franc. pL XVI.

104

GREENLAND.

Angut A man Iglo A house

Kaiak A canoe Pautik A paddle

Aglikak Darts Nag No

Illisve Yes Attousek One

Arlak Two Pingajuah Three

Sissamat Four Tellimat Five

GRISONS,

Bab nos quel tii ist in eschil, santifichio saia ilgtes num ; ilgtes ariginam uigna ter nus, la thia uoeglia d'uainta, in terra sco la fo in esc- hil ; do a nus nos paun houtz & in miinchia di; parduna a nus nos dbits, sco nus fain a. nos dbitaduors ; nun ens mener in mel apro- uaimaint ; dimpersemaing spendra nus da tu- ots mels. Amen.

GUELDERLAND.

Onse Vayer, die ghey seit in den hemel ; ge- heylicht sey uwen naem ; wu reyck ons toe- coem, uwen will geschieh up erden, als in de hemel ; geeft ons heuyen ons daghelichs broot: ende vergeeft ons onse sculdt, als wey verge- ven onse sculdengers ; ende enleyt ons met in becooringhe; sondern verloest ons van al- ien quaden. Amen*

105 GREENLAND.

Taken from the table, shewing the affinity between the languages spoken at OONALASHKA and NORTON SOUND, and those of the GREENLANDERS and ESQUIMAUX.

Cook's Voy. Vol. 3. p. 554.

GRISONS.

A small republic of Italy, inhabiting the Alps. This specimen of their language is the Lord's Prayer.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

GUELDERLAND. This is also the Lord's Prayer.

Orat. Dom. p. 56.

106

GREEK.

The alphabets given under this title were those ori- ginally in use over all Europe. Even those countries which did not speak the Greek language, employed the characters of it. Czesar found them in use among the ancient Gauls, and there can be no doubt but the Roman language and characters were derived from the same sources as the Greek.

Before the victories of Alexander, this language Was principally confined to Turkey in Europe, Sicily, Dal- matia, Anatolia, and the islands of the Archipelago ; his generals and successors extended it over many parts of Asia and Egypt; so that from the time of Alexander, to that of Pompey, it may be considered as having been the most general language of the world; and what is truly astonishing, it continues to be spoken in a manner, which would have been intelligible to the ancient inhabitants of Greece.

This is, perhaps, an instance of the greatest longevity of language ; few others having continued living and in- telligible more than <500, whereas the Greek has survived 3500 years.

The causes of this will be found in the structure of the language itself, the extent of it's use, and the great merit of the authors who have written in it ; as historians, orators, poets, philosophers, mathematicians, and theolo- gians : the New Testament, as well as the early fathers, are also written in Greek.

In this, the terms of art are very significant, which is the reason that modern languages borrow so many tech- nical terms from it. When any new invention, instru- ment, machine, &c. is discovered, recourse is generally had to the Greek for a name,' the facility with which words are compounded, affording such as are expressive of it's use; viz. Pantographia, music, barometer, eidouranion, philosophy, &c. &c.

107 GREEK.

Besides the copiousness and significancy of this lan- guage, wherein it excels most, if not all, others, it has three numbers, viz. a singular, dual, and plural ; also abun- dance of tenses in it's verbs, making a variety in discourse, and prevents that dryness always accompanying too great an uniformity, and renders it peculiarly proper for all kinds of poetry.

It is not an easy matter to assign the precise interval between the modern and ancient Greek, which is to be distinguished by the terminations of the nouns, pronouns, verbs, &c. not unlike what obtains between some of the dialefts of the Italian and Spanish.

There are also, in the modern Greek, many new words, not to be met with in the ancient: we may therefore dis- tinguish three ages of this tongue, the first of which ends at the time when Constantinople became the capital of the Roman empire, about A. D. 360; from which period the second continued 'till the taking of that city by the Turks, in 1453; and the third from that to the present time.

When we compare the ancient Greek with the Phenician and Samaritan alphabets, no doubt can remain of their ori- gin ; and it is probable, that the use of letters travelled, pro- gressively, from Chaldea to Phenicia, and thence along the coast of the Mediterranean, to Crete and Ionia, whence it might readily have passed over into Greece.

As Inachus and Cecrops were said to have been Egyp- tians, as was Agenor, the father of Cadmus, some have supposed that the Greeks received their alphabet from Egypt : if this be true, we must confess that the Egyp- tians at that time used the same letters with the Phenicians.

The opinion most generally received is, that Cadmus, the Phenician, introduced the first Greek alphabet into Bceotia, where he settled B. C. 1500; and this sentiment is supported on the authorities of Herodotus, Diogenes Laertius, Pliny, Plutarch, and others among the ancients,

108

GREEK.

and on those of Scaliger, Salmasius, Vossius, Bochart, and other moderns.

Many believe however, and not without weighty argu- ments on their side, that the Greeks had an alphabet before the time of Cadmus*. Josephus, on the other hand, in his answer to Apion, about the antiquities of the Jews, says, that the Greeks having failed in producing any authentic me- morial of the antiquity of their alphabet, it became after- wards a question, whether the use of their letters was so much as known at the time of the Trojan war, which was decided in the negative.

The original alphabets, as will be shewn, contained only the letters essentially necessary ; other single consonants, the double ones, and the long vowels, being the result of subsequent improvement.

The opinion of Montfaucon appears highly probable, that the original alphabet of Cadmus consisted only of the sixteen following letters :

ABTAEIKAMNOIIPZTT together with the extra characters used for numerals, viz. ^ or F for 6, and in the ^,olic dialeft for V or W, and fol- lows E ; ^ after II for 900 ; and Cj or CJ for 90, before P ; which three chara61ers are evidently from the Phenician al- phabet, where they hold the same places.

The honor of adding the other eight is differently assigned by different authors. Montfaucon contents himself with saying, that it seems as probable an opinion as any, that Palamedes, during the Trojan war, added

0 E * X and Simonides, long afterwards, the remaining four, viz.

z H#a

But Westenius, de lingua Grceca, tells us, that Pythago- ras invented the T of the original alphabet, as a represen- tation of the path of life.

* See Astle on the origin of writing.

109

GREEK.

Epicharmus, the Sicilian, is also said to have invented the 0 and X, which others give to Palamedes.

I agree with Chishull in considering the H aspirate, as an original radical letter, not only because it is found in all the ancient alphabets, but because there is no other ra- dical from which it could have been derived.

Diodorus Siculus, a writer of great authority, contends that the Pelasgic letters were prior to the Cadmean ; hence it is inferred, that the Pelasgic Argive, and the Attic, were of the same origin, and the Cadmean the same with the ^Eolian and Ionian, which is confirmed by the application of the letters to numbers. This inference, however, ap- pears to be opposed by the general confession, that the Latin, (which we would naturally conclude to have been derived from the Etruscan) is undoubtedly the offspring of the Doric dialeft of the Greek. The discussion, however, of this question cannot be expected in a work of this kind.

The alphabets of all languages, as well as the laws of all nations, ought to be in a state of progressive improve- ment. * It is probable, that the first alphabets were very defective in the number of their characters, and that ad- . ditions were successively made, when the same letter was observed to represent different sounds.

Greece and Etruria appear to have been the first parts of Europe in which alphabets were used.

The first European alphabet is proved to have been the Pelasgic, or Etruscan, of which the original or radical let- ters are given in No. 1. and 2.

Astle on the radical letters of the Pelasgians, p. 5. in- forms us, that " the alphabet, which the Pelasgi first brought " into Italy, and which has been called their original al- " phabet, was probably carried out of Phenicia before the " Phenicians themselves had augmented the number of ra- " dical letters, of which it was originally composed. This

* See Astle on the radical letters of the Pelasgi and Etruscans.

110

GREEK 1.

A0VV843A

i h f f f f . e a

-T e q i M M -4 3

tsrpnml k

GREEK 2.

M <J 4 X ) I 3 ft

m 1 k k k i e a

vvvtsrp n

GREEK 3..

befgzhth

]4 2 1 8

klmnspph

ch r ps t

Ill

GREEK.

" alphabet consisted of thirteen letters, according to Dr. " Swinton ; but according to Father Gori, who .appears " to have been better informed, the original alphabet con- • " sisted only of twelve letters. As these authors differ " materially, it may be proper to give both alphabets."

GREEK 1.

The most ancient inscriptions in the Pelasgian characters and language, are those found at Eugubium, a city in Umbria, in the Apennines, A. D. 1456.

Astle on Writing, p. 64.

This is Dr. Swinton's radical Pelasgian alphabet, and has thirteen characters or sounds.

Astle on the Pelasgian character, p. 5.

GREEK 2.

The radical Pelasgian alphabet of Father Gori, contain- ing twelve characters or sounds, which Astle supposes to be

the most correft.

Astle on the Pelasgian character, p. 5.

Astle in the same work, p. 13. thinks the additional letters were derived from the radicals in the following man- ner, viz.

K diminished, produced the Roman C and Greek F. II augmented or condensed, became B and aspirated O. 2 becomes Z in most languages. T naturally produces A and ©. F or T produced O and fi, and perhaps &. H is K 2, and * is II 2. The X was doubtless the guttural sound of Gh or Ch.

GREEK 3.

This Pelasgian alphabet is also taken from the Eugubian tables, and contains twenty letters.

Encyc. Franc, pi. VIII.

112

GREEK 4.

AB r A E F Z H

abgdefzh

Of t KAMNE

thi ik Imnx

o T js> <r 9 p i T

opssqq r s t

GREEK 5.

& AAV^M H //

b g d e eh

m

I I K>l Usl

th i k 1

on PP q <i /> 83 ;

6 p r s

ZT7-VH9-H OJl

t u ph ch 6

113

GREEK 4.

The alphabet of Cadmus, or the Ionic, B. C. 1500; formed from the Phenician reversed ; taken from the coins

of Sicily, Bceotia, Attica, &c.

Dr. Barnard's Tables.

Spanheim, p. 82.

GREEK 5.

THIS alphabet (the deficient letters being supplied on the authority of Chishull) is taken from the Sigean in- scription*, so called from the promontory and town of Sigeum, near Troy, where it was found. It is engraved on a pillar of beautifully white marble, nine feet high, two feet broad, and eight inches thick; which, as appears by an excavation in the top, and the tenor of the inscription, supported a bust or statue of Phanodicus, whose name it bears ; and was undoubtedly erefted before the time of Si- monides, who flourished 500 years before Christ.

The antiquity of it is evinced by it's being read alter- nately from left to right, and from right to left ; as well as by the state of the Greek alphabet at that time : for we ob- serve, that Simonides had not then introduced the use of the H for the long E, nor the fi for the long O. Some time after the pillar had been creeled, and most probably after the town of Sigeum had come under the power of the Athenians, which happened about 590 years B. C., the first part of the inscription was again engraven near the top of the pillar, with the H and fi ; which, in the original, are supplied by E and O, and where the H is used only as an aspirate, as in modern languages.

Chishull, p. 4.

* Qiia nulla in toto Orbe speftabilior, neque genuinae unquam antiquitatis certioribus indiciis claruit. CHISHULL, p. 3.

114

GREEK 6.

E V

115 GREEK 6.

Is the original inscription; the reading of which, in the common small Greek letter, is here given, observ- ing that every second line of the original is read from right to left ; which manner of writing was called /3»ff?go<p7)$ov, as imitating the turn of the oxen at the- end of each furrow. This union of the European and Eaftern manner of writing in the same piece, was very rarely used after the time of Solon, who probably adopted it, to give his laws an air of antiquity. We cannot imitate this manner of writing, without types cast on purpose, which appears to be un- necessary, as the original is given.

In the common Greek character it runs thus :

QoMollKO £l(JU TO Hs^O^OLTOg TO

xoi-yo x%ofl££OL mrnvToflov mi Us flf-cov eq IM£(J(.& 2/ysuftiov. Eav $s TI £o vfysieg mi (JLenoeiffsv Houwxog

Chishull, p. 4.

GREEK 7.

Is that part of the inscription which was copied after Simonides had completed the Greek alphabet, and is as follows, reading every second line from right to left ;

£(JLl TO(JLOXOLT£Oq TO

XOU VTFQXWTVIlW KO/Ll

This secondary inscription varies from the original in one whole word only, viz. ytfoxg^rj^ov for E7n<T7o!?ov, which does not alter the sense ; and the omission of the words xayw and wny*a. ; but we observe the regular use of the long vowels, and the omission of the aspirate H.

116

GREEK 8.

GREEK 9.

A B r A E FZH

abgdefze

6 I K A At N = O

thi k . 1 m nx 6

FM P 1TY0JX

pqr stupho

GREEK 10.

A

0 I

th i

d e

M N N o r

1 m n o p

fi 4 * T Y S

r s t u chi

K

k

117

GREEK.

The S in the original has the two most ancient forms of that letter ; in the other, that of the Scythian bow.

We also remark a few errors of the workmen, who cut each of the inscriptions ; but the orthography of the last word in No. VII. is either very erroneous, or confirms the opinion that the Greek K had sometimes the force of the T or the Latin C.

Chishull, p. 4.

GREEK 8.

Contains the real form and magnitude of the letters upon the Sigean marble, viz. the EFI2 or SIGE read from right to left in the sixth line of No. 6.

Chishull, p. 4.

GREEK 9.

This is the completed Greek alphabet of Simonides, as used on coins and inscriptions in Attica, about B. C. <500. the three last letters are unintentionally omitted.

Dr. Barnard's Tables. Spanh. Dissert, p. 82.

GREEK 10.

The Nemean. This alphabet is taken from ancient mar- bles, on which it is said to have been engraved before the Peloponnesian war, which happened about B. C. 430.

Massey, p. 79.

118

GREEK 11.

0

a d e th i k 1 m

N 0 0 S T K 0-

n or s t u ph GREEK 12.

A A A 4 E I 0 I

a g d e e th i

K V M NOTTPfc

k 1 m n 6 p r

STY <P X V O I

s t u ph ch ps 6

GREEK 13.

abgdezeth

i k 1 m n x 6 p

R, ^P ^ A r jc

r s t u ph ch ps o

119 GREEK 11.

The Delian. On mount Cynthus, in the isle of Delos, in the Archipelago, are the remains of a stately building ; and from inscriptions, (from which this character is taken,) discovered some time since, which mention a vow made to Iris, Serapis, and Anubis, it is conjeftured that there stood a temple dedicated to those Egyptian deities, B. C» circa 430.

Encyc. Britan. v. 5. p. 722. Massey, p. 79.

This alphabet and the preceding furnish us with the origin of the Roman S. £ ^.X -^S-

GREEK 12.

The Athenian. Wachteri naturae, et scripturse concor- dia, No. 259, 260, gives this alphabet the same high anti- quity as the preceding.

Massey, p. 79.

Duret, p. 670.

Le Clabart, p. 603.

GREEK 13.

The Molian. Theseus Ambrosius gives this alphabet as very ancient, and under this name. B. C. circa 400.

Duret, p. 650. Le Clabart, p. 604. Fourn. v. 2. p. 217.

120

CD #

a b

i k

GREEK 14.

g d e z e th

<L m, \\z ojm

1 • m n x op

s t u ph ch ps 6

GREEK 15.

bg dezeth

k 1 m n x 6 p

r s t u ph ch ps 6

GREEK 16.

A B r A EX H 0

abgdez eth

I KAMN=OTT

i k 1 m n x 6 p

P S T Y 0 X Jl

r s t u ph ch 6

121

GREEK 14.

Att'tck. So called by Fournier, v. 2. p. 217. Le Cla- bart, p. 491 and 604, says, this alphabet is taken from an- cient medals, inscriptions, and bronzes. Duret, p. 670, gives it the title of Grec Anclen, about B. C. 400.

GREEK 15.

Dorick. Le Clabart, p. 605, and Duret, p. 670, in- form us, that this chara&er was brought from the Levant by curious polygraphists and antiquarians. Fournier, v. 2. p. 217, calls it Dorick, B. C. 400.

GREEK 16.

Teian. Taken from marbles said to have been of the same antiquity as the Nemean, about B. C. 430.

Massey, p. 79,

122

123

GREEK 17.

Copy of the inscription upon the base of the statue oF Jupiter Urius, the sender of favorable winds, erefted at Chalcedoti, near the entrance of the Bosphorus, by Philb4 the statuary* the son of Antipater, who was patronized by Hephestionj the friend of Alexander the Great.

The following is a correft reading of it in the modern Greek character, with an English translation.

Ougtov ex. TrgVfAvyg rig

Zyvot, K<x}ot. Tgojoruv Etr 6?n KVOIVSKS Sivoit; Sgoftog, ev9& Horeiouv

KotpTrvXov etXitrtrsi Kvpa Trotgoc, EITS KO.

rov EUotvTiflov otsi Qeov, AvjiTTarpv iXuv9 ot.yot.Qqi; <rvp£o\

See Chishull's corrections at the end of his work. Edit. 1728.

TRANSLATION.

Whoever hence expands his sails, let him from the stern invoke the protection of

Jupiter Urius.

Whether towards the Euxine he bend his course, Where Neptune rolls the curling wave among the sands,

Or seek his return towards the jEgean ;

To this statue let him offer the votive cake.

In this interesting attitude,

Philo, the son of Antipater,

Represented the benign Deity,

As an omen of a prosperous voyage.

124

GREEK 18.

abgdefze

01 1C A M N H 0

th i k 1 m n x 6

p r s t u ph ch ps

GREEK 19.

AB r A E Z H S

abgdezeth

i , K A M N £ O H

i klmnxop

P rTYtpX^.0.

r s t u ph ch ps 6

GREEK 20.

-r

a bgdezeth

ik 1 m nxo p

& ^^2c4X^t

r s t u ph ch ps 6

125 GREEK 18.

This alphabet was in use in the time of Alexander the

Great, B. C. 330.

Dr. Barnard's Table.

Spanh. Dissert, p. 82. Dr. Morton's Table.

GREEK 19.

Taken from the coins of the Antiochi, kings of Syria, three of which name, viz. Antiochus Soter, Antiochus Theos, and Antiochus the Great, reigned from the year 242 to 187, B. C. also on those of the Arsasidas and other eastern monarchs, as well as some states of Greece.

The French virtuosi call them Medatlles perlees.

Montf. Pal Gr. p. 143.

GREEK 20.

Of Virgil. Supposed to have been invented by this poet, who wrote much on magical subjects, but always in an un- known character.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 222. LeClabart, p. 622.

126

G*EEK 21.

bgdezeth

r;m £ £3:>c*

i k 1 m n x o p

JFtfXT ^^£ XT

r s t u ph ch ps 6

GREEK 22.

^B r^,es% H

abgdefz e

01 K A M NT 2 O

th i k 1 m n x 6

n?PCTY4>X

p q r s t u ph ch

GREEK 23.

TTefHMCJDNOeNTOICOYNOIC XriXCeHTCDTOONOMXCOy.

exeeTCDHBXcixeixcoy. reNH

eHTOTOeHXHMXCOyCDC

eno YNCJD i<\i ern PHC. TON

Xp TON HMCJDN TON GTTIO YCIO

HMCJDN . KXI r\f\ YTOI XCf)/OMe

127 GREEK 21.

Of Apollonlus, a celebrated impostor, and Pythagorean philosopher, a few years before Christ.

Fourn. v.2. p. 222. Duret, p. 132. Le Clabart, p. 620.

GREEK 22.

Of Constantine the Great, A. D. 306.

Drs. Barnard and Morton's Tables. Spanh. Dissert, p. 82. Massey, p. 99.

GREEK 23.

Afac simile of that ancient and valuable manuscript of the New Testament in the British Museum, presented to King Charles I. in 1628, by Cyrillus Lucaris, patriarch of Alexandria, and is supposed to have been written up- wards of 1400 years.

The author was favored with this note a few years ago by the late Dr. Woide.

128

GREEK 24.

<NB r A 6 S % H

abgdefz e

01 K A M N £ p

th i k 1 m n x 6

IT £ P C T y Km

pq r stucho

GREEK 25.

A E r A.e S Z H

a bgdefz e

G I R A M N ^ O

th i k 1 m n x 6

n ff ? G TY <l> X

p q r s t u ph ch GREEK 26.

abgdefz

t

th i k 1 m n x 5

P <x T Vo8 DC

p q r s t u ph ch

129 GREEK 24.

Of Justinian the Great, A. D. 527.

Drs. Barnard and Morton's Tables. Massey, p. 99.

GREEK 25.

Of Heradlus, A. D. 610.

Drs. Barnard and Morton's Tables. Massey, p. 99.

GREEK 26.

Of Leo haurus, A. D. 716.

Drs. Barnard and Morton's Tables. Massey, p. 99.

130

GREEK 27.

$ v abgdestze

-& 5 kXp/yJ o

th i k 1 m n x 6

0* p CT T V 0 X oo

ii r s t u ph ch 6

GREEK 28.

abgdezeth

I K IV U H 5. O

ik Imnxop

P O T Y 4> X -t O)

r s t u ph ch ps 6

GREEK 29.

abgdefze

fKi/^MiNL

th i k 1 m n x 6

Tq p OTT<J>o

p q r s t u ph ch

131 GREEK 27.

This is the earliest specimen of small Greek letters that we have met with, and is found in the Murbac manuscript ; in which it is observable, that the ^ obtains the sixth place, agreeably to the ancient alphabets ; and the iota has the form of the inverted eta, and the up si Ion follows the omi- cron as well as the tau. A. D. 800.

Montf. Pal. Gr. p. 222.

GREEK 28.

This alphabet is taken from the Colbertine MS. of the

eighth century.

Montf. Pal. Gr. p. 229.

GREEK 29.

This character is copied from Massey, p. 99, and was used in the ninth century in the time of Charlemagne.

Drs. Barnard and Morton's Tables.

132

GREEK 30.

\ B r A e z; H e

abgd e z eth

i K A M N z * 'n

i k 1 m n x 6 p

r s t u ph ch ps 6 GREEK 31.

abgdef z e

i it r\n n % 6

thiklmn xo

4 t s * 7 f <X

p q r s t u ph ch

GREEK 32.

opyiiur

O T*V cwxffviq Oujitov xa/ ^xUS^r cijrOp oo lul^ro^r ubo

ony ica^nruxLcrSoocr1 yn

yotf for;

133 GREEK 30.

This alphabet is taken from a fragment communicated by Anselm Bandurius, supposed to be of the eighth or ninth century.

Momf • Pal Grace, p. 234.

GREEK 31.

The Greek of Basil and Constantine, about A. D. 900- Drs. Barnard and Morton's Tables. Massey, p. 99.

GREEK 32.

This specimen of small Greek letters, joined together in manuscript, is taken from a copy of Chrysostom s ho- milies on the psalms, in the French King's library ; to which I have subjoined the reading in the modern character. This manner of joining the letters in writing was generally used about A. D. 900.

Montf. Pal. Grace, p. 274.

134

GREEK 33.

Aa B/3£ FyfAS Ee Ztf HH a b g -d e z e th

I/ Kx AA M|u Nv S£ Oo HTTW iklmnxo p

Pp? S(V$ XT? Tu *(p X^ *4 Qco r s t u ph ch ps 6

GREEK 34.

^cov o a/ TO/$ «f fltvo/^, ay/affflvjTco TO c- <r». fA^erco KI fiouritetot, cry yfwjS'/jrco TO w^ fv y^otvco, xou ftf/ T^^ yn^. TOV

TOV

tug

. OT/ (7« f C/V

GREEK 35.

An(pv<; aiotcov, o fcro1/ fv/ Tot a^/^; oytfwfcfrw T«- veto, fA^fTCo a /3ac7/Af/a T£u, yf/votffOco T'

Tov faffxefw otjUjitfcov TOV emwiov

Ka/ CtTTe^ OtjU/V TOt

135 GREEK 33.

The alphabet of capitals and small letters, as used at the present time; and cast at the Type Street Foundery, where there are eight sizes of the modern character.

GREEK 34.

An authentic copy of the Lord's Prayer, from MAT- THEW VI. v. 9, &c. taken from the best editions of the Greek Testament.

Orat. Dom. p. 5.

GREEK 35.

This copy of the Lord's Prayer is formed by a combina- tion of various dialefts, and differs from classical Greek, nearly as our provincial dialefts differ from the stile of our best authors.

Orat. Dom. p. 6.

136

GREEK*

. Kou JLW

TCO

GREEK 36,

, OTTO/©" IffS £VJ£ TW£ #£0tV«£. Ay/-

TO

vflt y/vfTot/ /T« fv TH y^, w^ 5/5 rev . To

viyLCLq TOL X^IJLOLTOL KIWWV, /T^« xot/

sig TO

OtWO TO HOMO. AfJL&l.

GREEK 37.

0 7T

va/ ay/#o>tevov TO ovOjitiX cr«;

BLOL (7«, o$ yev^ TO S'f Atijitot (7», coouv yivsTou siq

TOV y^avov ST£/ xa/ f/^ TJIV yviv. Ao£

^ov 7o xflt$£|ic£f/vov jLtot^ -^w^/. Kot;

0 7TQV

?r«fflW|Ltov. AAAoc g hsvSsgws \JLcnq OLKO

TOV TTOVVJ^OV. A/fltT/ f^/ XOt/ CT« f /Vflt/ J1 j3flW/Af/flt, XOt/ VJ

137 GREEK 36.

This is the version of Hieronymus Megiserus, in Spe- clmine quinquaginta linguarum, A. D. 1603.

Orat. Dom. p. 6.

GREEK 37.

This reading of the Lord's Prayer is taken from the manuscript of Dan. Castrosius.

Orat. Dom. p. 7.

138

GREEK 38.

, o

TO TO

fT^vj xot/ f/5 TUV yw. To p/vov, ^05 j^a? TO wi(JL£gav.

. K&i

OT/ f^a f/vflt/ vi siq T&q

TOV TO

siq

CtTTO TOV

mi vi Buv^pc/?, mi

Ancient

V'JV

xuoov

CREEK 39.

Modern

VOL

va

English

to enter a lord now to go white a lie a coal a horse to assemble that is a dog the teeth

139

GREEK 38.

The Lord's Prayer, taken from the Venice edition of Maximus Gallipolita, which is commonly used in Greece' at this time.

Orat. Dom, p. 7.

GREEK 39.

A great majority of the words in the modern, are the very same as in the ancient, or classical Greek ; in cases where the ancients had two or more words of the same sig- nification, the moderns have sometimes retained only the best, sometimes the worst, and sometimes equal, as love, for ancient E§WJ; aXXor another, for sregof; to love, for (pjXstv; x§ov°y a year, for e-roj ; va Xsyn to read, for Xsyeiv, &c. In a considerable number of instances, however, they have introduced new words, and if ever the states of Greece, in the revolutions of empires, should flourish again in population and elegance, it may become a subjeft of learned speculation to trace their origin.

A few examples are given on the annexed page.

140

NEW GUINEA,

God	Wat	A man	Sononman
The devil	Sytan	A woman	Binn
One	Oser	Fish	Een
Two	Serou	Coco nut	Sery
Three	Kior	A slave	Omin
Four	Tiak	Pearls	Mustiqua
Five ,	Rim	Beads	Fin/in
Six	Onim	Iron	Ukanmom
Seven	Tik	An axe	Amkan
Eight	War	Gold	Bulowan
Nine	Siou	Silver	Plat
Ten	Samfoor	Copper	Ganetra
A house	Rome	Brass	Kasnar
A knife	Ensy	Fire	For
A musquet Piddy	Water	War
A cannon	Piddybebo,	i A dog	Naf
The sun	Rass	A cat	Mow
The moon	Pyik	A rat	Py

HELVETIAN.

Vatter unser, der du hist in himmlen, gehey- ligt werd dyn nam; zukumm uns dijn rijch, dyn will geschahe, wie im himmel, also auch ufferden: gib uns hut unser taglich brot: and vergib uns unsere schulden, wie auch wir ver- gaben unsern schuldneren ; and fuhr uns nicht in versuchnyss, sunder erlos uns von dem bosen. Amen.

141

NEW GUINEA.

This island is also known by the name of Papua. This specimen of the language of the inhabitants is ta- ken from the vocabulary.

Forrest's Voy. p. 401.

HELVETIAN.

Swiss. The Lord's Prayer.

Orat. Dom. p. 47.

142

HEBREW.

Whatever disputes may have arisen among the learned, respecting the antiquity of the Hebrew alphabet, or the manner of writing it, little doubt appears to have been en- tertained of the antiquity of the language itself. The writings of Moses, and the book of Job, are undoubtedly the most ancient compositions acknowledged in Europe. Both these works exhibit a language arrived at a great degree of perfection, and which must have been in use, as a written, as well as an oral tongue, long before these wri- tings were published, or it would have been useless to have written where none could read. *

Besides a great number of words in the Greek, Arabic, and Celtic, which appear to have been derived from the Hebrew, the very structure of the language points it out as an original one.

The radical words very uniformly consist of two or three letters, and the derivatives branch out from them in a manner best calculated to produce precision, and con- ciseness of expression.

The question, respecting the original Hebrew charac- ters, has undergone abundance of discussion, from the times of the first fathers of the Christian church, down to this day. Origen and Jerom, on the authority of the old Rabbis ; and among the moderns, Scaliger, Montfaucon, Chishull, and Dr. Sharpe in his treatise on this subject ; contend, that the Samaritan was the original Hebrew cha- i after, and that the present alphabet was invented after the captivity.

Origen speaks to this effeft : In the more accurate co- pies of the Old Testament, he says, the sacred name of Je- hovah is aftually written, but in the ancient Hebrew let-

* Astle on the origin and progress of writing, p. is.

143 HEBREW.

ters, and not in those in use at present, which Esdras is Said to have introduced after the captivity.

St. Jerom, in his preface to the books of Kings, puts this matter in a still stronger light : he says, the Samaritans often copy the five books of Moses, in the same number of letters as the Jews do, but their letters differ in form, and the use of points ; for it is certain, that Esdras, the Scribe, and a teacher of the law, after the taking of Je- rusalem, and the restoration of the temple under Zoroba- bel, invented those other letters which we now use ; whereas, before that time, the letters of the Samaritans and Hebrews were the same.

From these passages of Origen and Jerom, we may very certainly conclude, that this was the opinion of the ancient Rabbis and Jewish doftors : but it is very singular, and worthy of notice, that Origen says, that even in his time, the sacred name, in the more accurate copies of the bible used by the Jews themselves, was written in the an- cient or Samaritan, not in the Hebrew or modern alphabet, for both Esdras, and the other rulers of the synagogue, who patronized the use of the new characters, believed them- selves conscientiously bound to preserve the name of Je- hovah in the same letters in which they first received it.

In support of the opposite opinion, the modern Rabbis, the two Buxtorfs, Wasmuth, Schickard, Lightfoot, and P. Allix, (Spanh. p. 69,) &c. contend, that the alphabet now in use among the Jews, is the same that the Law and Old Testament were origjnally written in from the time of Moses.

Having stated the nature of the dispute, and some of the principal authors on both sides of the question, I think it right to remind my readers, that it is no part of the design of this work to enter minutely into controversies of this kind.

144

HEBREW 1.

HI 1 TT 1

hhzvhdgba

# d a fc ^ J -1 ID

aa s n m 1 k i th

*t n icr ~i p y E> ';"

t sch r q tz p

HEBREW 2.

hhz/vhdg b a

£ ^U> ^ f H

aa s n m 1 k i th

j t5 ma a 2

t sch r q tz p HEBREW 3.

hhzv hdg b a

x f £ <c e <?

aa s n m Ik i th

K # < n 3 c

t seh r q tz p

145 HEBREW 1.

When the ten tribes revolted from Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, they placed themselves under the direftion of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and settled in Judea, where they preserved their ancient letters ; but Esdras, or his son Jesus, who were in the true religion, invented this, from which the present Hebrew is said to be taken.

Duret, p. 129.

HEBREW 2 and 3.

These two alphabets are attributed to King Solomon, by Theseus Ambrosius, in his Appendlce des differentes lettres, et des differentes langues; but he does not offer any autho- rity. He also asserts, that that prince had many treatises written in them, of which, Apollpnius Thianeus was the

translator and commentator.

Duret, p. 132

.

1

146

HEBREW 4.

T 1

hh z v h d g b a

y A j x 3 a * v

aa s n m 1 k i th

' SI W 7 ? 3 £>

» t sch r q tz p

HEBREW 5.

n t i T 7 j. j <>

hhzvhdg b a

y o 1 ^ 3 3 * v

aa s n m 1 k i th

> O 3 1? 3 j/

i sch r q tz p

HEBREW 6.

zv hdgba

•ff^toj^^ «

aa s n m 1 k i th

sch r q tz p

147 HEBREW 4<

This charafter was very early used by the Jewish Rabbis in Germany, by whom it was much esteemed, as a hand- some current letter, and easy to be written on account of its roundness, wherefore they generally used it in their com- mentaries- and translations.

Duret, p. 132.

HEBREW 5.

This alphabet was used for the same purposes as the pre- ceding, by the Jews of Spain. That both these alphabets were employed for these purposes, is confirmed by Sebas- tian Munster in his Chaldean grammar.

Duret, p. 132.-

HEBREW 6.

This charaftef is taken from an ancient Persian manu- script, but is supposed to be spurious.

Christ. Ravis.

148

HEBREW 7.

n t i n i j a N

hhzvh d g b a

V D 3 » S 3 i ID

aa s n m 1 k i th

' n IP "i p i; a -

t sch r q tz p

HEBREW 8.

mi3:ii msten "i1? ^3 r

HEB'REW 9.

P 7 » t> 7 a J »

hhzvhdgba

JJ t) ^ /? i S * V

aa s n m 1 k i th

Y r

t sch r q tz

149 HEBREW 7.

The modern Hebrew alphabet. This character was cut at the Type-Street Letter Foundery, under the dire&ion of some very learned Rabbis of the Portuguese synagogue in this city.

HEBREW 8.

The Lord's Prayer, from the Hebrew edition of Muns-

T.

Orat. Dom. p. 9.

HEBREW 9.

The alphabet of Rabbinical Hebrew, of which there are three sizes at die Type-Street Foundery.

150

HEBREW 10.

•JIJPI 1P31 1PP Pfl'P pfc>1 : pfo flfa O'PDP

»PM ")if> 'P' o'pif> ivfa : O'PP op iy PPPIP o»pif> pni OIPH op

i?3'1 P'lP P6 0'pifiDUM :

D'PP '31 l?'") J7PPP ")Df» O'PP

HEBREW 11.

Abhmu schebbaschschamajim; jikkadhesch schemecha ; tabho malchutecha ; jehi rezone- cha caascher baschschamajim vechen baarez. lachmenu dhebhar jom bejomo then lanu haj- jom ; uselach lanu eth chobhothenu caascher salachnu lebhaale chobhothenu ; veal tebhie- nu lenissajon; ki-im hazzilenu mera ; ki lecha hamalchuth ughebhura vechabodh leolam ol- amim. Amen.

HUNGARIAN.

Mi Atyanc ki vagy az mennyekben, ssentel- tessec mega te neved: jojon elaz te orssagod legyen mega te akaratod, mint az menyben, ugy itt ez foldonis ; az mi mindennappi keny- eriinketadd meg nekiincma; es boczasd meg minekiine az mi vetkeinket, mikeppen miis megboczatunc azoknac, az kic mi elleniinc vetkeztenec: es ne vigy minket azkisertetbe.

151 HEBREW 10.

This is a specimen of the Rabbinical Hebrew, taken from the beginning of the Pentateuch.

HEBREW 11.

The literal reading of the Lord's Prayer, No. 8.

Orat. Dom. p. 9.

HUNGARIAN.

The Lord's Prayer, from Molnar's Hungarian grammar.

Wilk Ess. p. 435. Orat. Dom. p. 45.

152

HOTTENTOT.

One Koise Bread Ere

Two Kamse Butter Bingbl

Three Aruse Cow Go's, Goosa

Four Gna To I Cow's milk Gosbip

Five Metuka Good day Dabete

Six Krubi Horse Hakva

Seven Gna tigna Table Heid

Eight Gninka Water Kamma

Nine TuminkmaMouth Kam

Ten Gomatse Man Kupp

Father Ambup Warm Sang

Mother Andes Knife Nor op

Brother Carup House Omma

Sister Cans Eye Mu

Give Mare Money Mari

Eyes Mum Breasts Samma,

Mare //*wj Cap 7^3^

Fox Giep Tiger Gvassup

GC A

h g

HUNS.

n m 1

H X

cs

153 HOTTENTOT.

Taken from the vocabulary of the language.

Thunberg's Travels, Vol. L

HUNS.

This people came out of Scythia into Europe, and in the time of Valentinian, A. D. 376, under Attila, made great ravages in France and Italy ; but afterwards at the instance of Pope Leo, settled in Pannonia, which, from the Huns, is now called Hungary.

This alphabet is copied from Fournier, v. 2. p. 209.

154

NEW HOLLAND.

A man

A woman

A father

A son

Bamboo

The sun

The clouds Wulgar

A stone Walba

A canoe

A basket

Bamma

Mootjel

Dunjo

Tumurre

Nampar

Galan

The head The eyes Bones Blood Wood Fire Earth A lance

Maragau To eat Yendoo To drink

To dance Mingooree To swim To paddle Pelenyo Asleep Sand Toowal Fish

Plantains Wolbit A fly A branch Maiye The beard A dog Cotta The back

Wageegec

Meiil

Baityebai

Garmbe

Zoocoo

Maianang

Poapoa

Gulka

Boota

Chuchala

Mailelel

Wonananeo

Poteea

Tabugga

Waller

Mocoo

JACOBITE.

_&. ^ e\ ^

bgdetzsh

6 K 2±JZ & "5 O

th iklmn x o

t u ph ch ps

155 NEW HOLLAND.

Taken from the vocabulary of this language.

Parkinson, p. 148.

JACOBITE.

The Jacobites have arranged their alphabet by the Greek, both in name and form, tho' it is much corrupted; they use it chiefly in their holy services ; but, for other purpo- ses employ a character between the Armenian and Tarta- rian ; but this is proper to them.

Duret, p. 753.

They are not a nation, but a seel:; after one JACOB a heretic, and disciple of a patriarch of Alexandria, attached

to the errors of Ne&torius.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 277.

IMPERIAL.

156

ab cdefgh

iklmnopq

"K"* "^^ cta ^/ VP °\ 5J-P ^^

r s tuxyz&

JAPONESE 1.

4? &•'*'$ r;& ? ^ A tl

a je i o u fa fe fi

fo fu ka ke ki ko ku ma

me mi mo mu ssa sse ssi sso

H & W %> & <& t <-

ssu ja je ji jo ju da de

^ S'2^>tt6^7?')9

dsi do tzu ra re ri ro ru

na ne ni no nu n'a n'e n'i

157 IMPERIAL.

This alphabet is a fourth, attributed to Charlemagne, in the beginning of the ninth century, but seems to have been written for some particular purpose.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 272.

JAPONESE 1.

The Japonese have three different alphabets, two of which are in general use among the natives ; the other only at court, and among the great.

The specimen we have given is the most common, and, like the Chinese, is written from top to bottom.

Encyc. Franc, pi. XXIV.

158

JAPONESE 2.

Animal	Kedamono	Lion	Sis
Arrow	>	Laughable	Okaski
Back	Senaka	Man	Momo
Breast	Mone	Mother	Fasa
Carpenter	Daiku	Naked	Hadaka
Child	Kodoma	Nutmeg	Nikusuk
Daughter	Musme	Oil	Abura
Devil	Oni	Oysters	Otjigaki
Earth	Tji	Parents	Riofin
£gg	Tomago	Pretty	Migotto
Face	Kawo	Quarrel	Ijou
Freeze	Kogusuru.	Quick	Faijo
Girl	Komusme	Rainbow	Nisi
GOD	Sin, kami	River	Kawa
Hand	Te	Scratch	Kesuru
Heaven	Gokurakv	Sun	Fi, nitji
Interpreter	Tsusi	Tongue	Sta.Jita
Itch	Kasa	Town	Matji

ICELANDIC 1.

Fader vor thu som ert a himnum, helgest thitt nafn ; tilkome thitt riike, verde thinn vilie, so a jordu, sem a himne: gieffthu oss i dag vort daglegt braud ; og fiergieff oss vorar skulder, so sem vier fiergiefum vorum skuldinautum ; og inleid oss ecke i freistne, heldr frelsa thu oss fra illu; thuiad thitt et riiked, og maatr, og dyrd, in alld er allda. Amen..

159 JAPONESE 2.

This specimen is taken from a very copious vocabulary of the language.

Thunberg, Vol. 3. p. 1.

In many of the Japonese words I observe the Roman u, when the rest are in Italic ; as the author is silent respefting them, I presume they have a peculiar sound, for which there is no European accent.

^ ICELANDIC 1.

The language of this island has been preserved so pure, that even the poorest natives can read, and most of them understand the history of their own country.

Guthrie, p. 454.

The alphabet used by the Icelanders is the Runic, which see.

The specimen annexed is the Lord's Prayer.

Oral. Dora. p. 23.

160

ICELANDIC 2.

Gret ylgur Ragnvald rytto Rom-stamir haukar fromast Kund Lodbrokar; kiendo Kuillinda valir illra : Kuoldrido klarar hreldost Kueid ari mar fast reidar Tijd fiello tar af giodi Tafnlausir aepto hrafnar.

Thuarr og vid theingils dauda Thydur morg brad, i hijdi Skreidast thui bersi skiaedur Skiott marti grads, of otta : Ox odum falu faxa Frar miog or leiptri tara Huarma beckur ad hrockin Hraut gron a baudar nauti.

ILLYRIAN 1.

B TP ^DTi S M tfi

bvgdex s

m

161 ICELANDIC 2.

This island having been celebrated for great poets, the annexed stanzas which I have taken from Van Troil's let- ters on Iceland, p. 215, may be pleasing to some of my readers.

ILLYRIAN 1.

John Baptist Palatin asserts that the Illyrians have two alphabets : the provinces on the eastern side used that which most resembled the Greek, said to have been invented by St. Cyril ; those on the west, that of St. Jerom, who is reported to be the author of the annexed ; but Aventinus, in the fourth book of his annals, says, that about the time of Christ, a certain person named Methodius, a bishop and native of Illyrium, invented this alphabet ; and trans- lated the holy scriptures into it, persuading the people to discontinue the use of the Latin, and the ceremonies of the Roman church. See CROATIAN.

Duret, p. 741.

162

ILLYRIAN 2.

A S KF A EX L

ab vgdexz

H & AM tt 0 II P

i klmnopr

C IH 5 $ X it Tin

s t u f h sch ps sci

INDIAN 1.

hhz vhdg b a

^^^^i^ <* %

aa s n ml k i th

t sc r q ts p

, INDIAN 2.

a b gdh vzhh

th i k 1 m n s aa

4* fr'*® SLJfr

p tz q r sc t

163 ILLYRIAN 2.

This alphabet is asserted by Palatin, to have been invent- ed by St. Cyril ; it is called Sclavonic, and has much af- finity to the Russian.

Duret, p. 738.

INDIAN 1.

Nubian. This is thought to have been the original true character of the Abyssinians, but there is some doubt re- specting it.

Duret, p. 383.

Le Clabart, p. 614, says, it was taken from the Grimani library at Venice, and brought to Rome in the time of Sixtus IV. in 1482.

INDIAN 2.

Modern travellers (1619) inform us, that the oriental Indians, the Chinese, Japonese, &c. form their letters upon this model, writing from top to bottom. Jerome Osorius, book 2 of his history of Portugal, says, the In- dians use neither paper nor parchment, but mark with a pointed tool upon the leaves of the wild palm, and that they have very ancient books composed in this manner.

Duret, p. 884.

IRISH 1.

164

b 1 f s n h d t

< X & Y A/T O :*

c cc m g ng i r a

X ^ 3 *

o u e i

1=

1

IRISH 2.

n t s

=1

d

q m g ng sd r a o u e i

IRISH 3.

A

b 1 f

s r

h d t c

m

n r a o u e

g. ng P 1 1 -v\""

a a

i eoi ua eg feo oai oai

165 IRISH.

General Valiancy, in his essay on the antiquity of this language, has given a full comparative vocabulary of Irish and Punic-Maltese words, with their significations : also a comparative declension of a noun of each tongue, of the same meaning; and he is decidedly of opinion, that it is, through the Poeni or Carthaginians, derived from the Phenician ; that, on a collation of this language with the Celtic, Punic, Phenician, and Hebrew, the strongest affinity (nay perfect identity in very many words) will appear; and that it may therefore be deemed a Punic- Celtic compound.

IRISH 1.

This is the most ancient Irish alphabet, and is said to be named Bobelotk, from certain masters who assisted in form- ing the Japhetian language, but it is obviously denominated from Bobel, Loth, it's two first letters.

Ledwich's Antiquities, p. 98.

IRISH 2 and 3.

These two alphabets, called Irish Ogums, the first named Croabh, and the other 0' Sullivan's, being derivatives from Roman notes, were first stenographic, then steganographic, then magical, and lastly alphabetic. Oga, Ogum, and Ogma are old Celtic words, implying letters written in cypher, and, indireftly, an occult science. Ogan, in

Welch, is augury, divination.

Ledwich, p. 90, £c.

166

IRISH 4.

£ B P D d J /I

abed de efg

XI ft h^X^

h i k 1 m n o p IRISH 5.

1 W n T 5 T 1)

b 1 n n f s s h

dtcmmgpr

/t A K 6 U y ^

r. a aouue i IRISH 6.

bo coil <x^ <xn ctdldm, m<x/i<xe bo nicg;i <ifi neam. Q(/< noi^ou? tdbcftnxut tabon/tb by^n ^ nm. Ql^uy m<ut bum <xji tp<xc<x, m<x/t mi jiKUtmubfle ba^i bpeiCgiDn^b pem. Qfguy n<x leijt pn <x cccitugAb, Q|y y<xo/i in o olc. Oi^i i^t leoi pem otn ^no^f

7( men.

167 IRISH 4.

This alphabet, which is but an imperfeft one, is called Marcomannic Runes ; the latter word being equivalent in sense, and having the same origin as Ogum.

Wormius declares, that it agreed with the Runic, both

in shape and names.

Ledwich, p. 97.

IRISH 5.

This character bears strong marks of a barbarous age, and is, no doubt, the remains of an old magical alphabet ; it is called Bethluhnion na Ogma, or the alphabet of magical or mysterious letters, the first three of which are Beth, Luis, Nion, whence it is named.

Ledwich, p. 99.

IRISH 6.

The Lord's Prayer in the Bethlulsnion character, " Ex

editione Boyleana. Lond."

Orat. Dom. p. 57.

This letter wa« cast at the Letter Foundery in Type Street.

168

IRISH 7.

Ar nathair ata ar neamb, naomhthar hainm : tigeadh do rioghachd, deuntar do thoil ar an ttalamh, mar do nithear ar neamb ; ar naran laeathamhail tabhair dhiiinn a niu ; agus ma- ith dhuinn ar bhfiacha, mar mhaithm idne dar bhfeitheamnuibh fein : agus na leig sinn a ca thughadh, achd saor inn 6 olc : oir is leachd

ITALIAN 1. •

Padre nostro, che sei ne' cieli, sia santificato il tuo nome ; il tuo regno venga ; la tua volun- ta sia fatta, si come in cielo, cosi an che in ter- ra : dacci hoggi il nostro pane cotidiano ; e ri- mettici i nostri debiti, si come noi anchora gli rimettiamo a' nostri debitori : e non c'indurci in tentatione, ma liberaci dal maligno : perci-

ITALIAN. 2.

Padre nostro, che sei nel cielo, sia sanftificato il tuo nome ; il tuo regno venga ; la tua vo- lunta sia fatta, sic come in cielo cosi anche in terra : dacci oggi il nostro pane cotidiano : e remittici i nostri debiti, sic come noi ancora rimittiamo a nostri debitori; e non inducici in tentazione ; ma liberaci dal maligno ; per- cio che tuo e il regno, e la potenza, e la glo- ria in sempiterno. Amen.

169

IRISH 7.

The reading of the Lord's Prayer, from the Biblia Hibernica, Lond. 1690.

.Orat. Dom. p. 57. Vallancey, p, 62.

ITALIAN 1.

The Lord's Prayer; Edit. Genev. 1607.

Wilk. Ess. p. 435.

ITALIAN 2.

The Italian language of the present age is much admired for it's softness, and is spoken by the accomplished in most parts of Europe ; it is derived from the ancient Ro- man or Latin. It would require a volume to trace the changes which gradually converted the old Roman into the language of the present Italians, which is now so polished in point of sound, and rendered so harmonious, as to be thought the best adapted to poetry and music, of any lan- guage in the world. The Italian states have different dia- lefts, of which the Tuscan is esteemed the most correft and elegant.

The annexed is the modern reading of the Lord's Prayer.

170

ITALIC.

ABCDEFGHI}KLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abed efg h ij k I mn op q rfs tuvwxyz&

KAMTCH ATKA.

GOD Kutcha The head Ktchuin

The sky Keis The nose Kayakan

Father Inich The eye Leila

Mother Lachtcha The ear Ilia

Son Pacha The mouth Chauua

Daughter SchuguindK tongue Etchella

Brother Tuiya A beard Luulla

Sister Milichlch Shoulders Tuinuinga

Husband Kamjam The hand Chkatch

Wife Ikitch A finger Pkotcha

Boy Panaktcha The belly Haltki

Man UtschkaryaThe back Higatch

A leg /%i^ The flesh

171

ITALIC.

The capital and lower-case letters, as now in general use in Europe. This alphabet was called Venetian, from it's having been originally cut at Venice ; also Lettres Al- dines, from Aldus Manutius, who invented it about 1512. It is now universally known by the name of Italic.

Fourn. v. 2. p. 264.

KAMTCHATKA.

This specimen of the language is taken from the Voca- bularia linguarum totius orbis comparative, collected by command of the late Empress of Russia. 2 vols. 4to. Petersburg, 1786.

172

LATIN 1.

A B C D E f *C H

I K L M N o P Q. R S T *V +X +Y £,

LATIN 2.

AB^OEFCH

i K. ix H N o P a

K S T V X T *

LATIN 3,

-\BCD EF6H

T K I At N 0 f Q.

1^ ^ T V X T %

173 LATIN.

The language of the ancient inhabitants of Italy appears to have had the same origin as that of Greece. See ETRUS- CAN and GREEK.

It obtained the name of Latin from that part of Italy, formerly called Latium, whence the Romans were ambi- tious of deducing their descent. As this people devoted themselves almost entirely to wars, for the purpose of ex- tending their empire, and exalting the glory of the Roman name, they paid little attention to the fine arts, 'till they had nearly enslaved the whole world and themselves : this was, doubtless, the reason that they were contented with the Greek alphabet in it's original unimproved state. <4 Pliny, Book VII. chap. 58, says, " The original Greek " alphabet was nearly the same as the present Latin, as ap- " pears by the Delphic inscription." Tacitus, Book XI. of his annals, says, " the form of the Latin letters is the " same as that of the most ancient Greek."

It is unnecessary to inform the historical reader, that the Romans extended their conquests, and planted a very perceptible portion of their language in every cultivated part of Europe, Asia, and Africa ; and that the present Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and French, are only dia- lefts of it.

LATIN 1.

This appears to be the most ancient Latin alphabet, and is called Ionic, the five letters marked * excepted, which have been added since. This character was used about B. C. 714.

Drs. Barnard and Morton's Tables. Spanheim, p. 114.

LATIN 2.

This alphabet was called Ionic and Attic, on account of their derivation from the Greeks of these names, and were in use between six and seven hundred years before Christ. It is said to be the foundation of the Roman alphabet now universally adopted.

Fourn. v, 2. p. 268

LATIN 3.

This alphabet was in use at the beginning of the Chris- tian JE,ra,

Drs. Barnard and Morton's Tables, Spanheim, p. 114.

174

LATIN 4.

A BCDtfGH I K L M N 0 ? d

R ,s r v

LATIN 5.

s T ^

LATIN 6.

71 J T XI

175 LATIN 4.

This alphabet appears to have been generally used about A.D. 306.

Drs. Barnard and Morton's Tables. Spanheim, p. 114.

LATIN 5.

This charafter, exhibiting a gradual improvement, was employed A. D. 400.

Drs. Barnard and Morton's Tables. Spanheim, p. 114.

LATIN 6.

We find this alphabet in use about the year A. D. 500. Drs. Barnard and Morton's Tables. Spanheim, p. 114.

176

LATIN 7.

Abode F 9 h

I K: L CY) N o p *\

R s T* UL x

LATIN 8.

I X t, H \ 5 0 P

Q A ,y r

LATIN 9.

Pater noster, qui es in coelis : san&ificetur no- men tuum : adveniat regnum tuum, fiat vo- luntas tua, sicut in ccelo, et in terra; panem nostrum supersubstantialem da nobis hodie: et dimitte . nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris : et ne nos indu- cas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo, quia tuum est regnum, et potentia, et gloria in se- cula seculorum, Amen.

177 LATIN 7.

This Latin alphabet appears to have been used in the se- venth century.

Montf. Pal. Graec. p. 216.

LATIN 8.

This alphabet is taken from the Eugubian tables, and is called Arcadian, it being supposed to have been brought from that country by Evander, into Latium.

Encyc. Franc, pi. VIII.

LATIN 9.

The Lord's Prayer, from the celebrated vulgate edition of St. Jerom.

Orat. Dom. p. 33.

178

LATIN 10.

Pater noster qui es in ccelis, san&ificetur no men tuum ; veniat regnum tuum : fiat volun^ tas tu a, quemadmodum in ccelo, sic etiam in terra: panem nostrum quotidianum da nob is hodie : et remitte nob is debita nostra, sicut et nos remittimus debitoribus nostris : et ne indu- cas nos in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo, quia tuum est regnum, et potentia, et gloria, in secula. Amen.

LATIN 11.

Pater noster, qui es in ccelis, san&e colatur nomen tuum ; veniat regnum tuum ; fiat vo- luntas tua, ut in ccelo, sic in terra ; et remitte nobis debita nostra, ut et nos remittimus de- bitoribus nostris : neve nos in tentationem in- ducito, sed a malo tuere; quoniam tuum est regnum, et potentia, et gloria, in sempiternum. Ament

LATIN 12.

Pater noster, qui es in ccelis, sanftificetur no- men tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum ; fiat vo- luntas tua, ut in ccelo, ita etiam in terra. Pa- nem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie. Et remitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos remit- timus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera no ab illo improbo quia tuum est regnum, et potentia, et gloria, in secula. Amen.

179

LATIN 10.

This reading of the Lord's Prayer is copied from the Novum Testamentum Jesu Christi filii Dei, ex Versione Erasmi. Basil. 1570.

LATIN ll.

Copied from Castellio's Biblia Sacra. Frankf. 1697.

LATIN 12.

The Lord's Prayer, taken from Beza's folio edition, Genev. 1598.

180

LAPLAND.

Isa meidhen, joko oledh tajuahissa; puhettu olkohon siun nimesi: tul kohon siun vvalta- kunta ; si olkohon siun tahtosi, kwuin tai va- hissa, nyn man'palla, meiden jokapaivven lei- pa anna mehilen tana paivvane, ja anna ante- ixe meiden syndia ; kwuin moe annamma vas- tahan rickoillen : ja ale sata mei ta kin sauxen

LETTICE.

Musso taswss kass eeksch daebbaesim. Swaet- tizlay toop tauwss wardz. Laey eenak mumss tawa kiaemna walstiba, tawss yraatz lay note- ek ta wirss saene maess kaeeksch daebbaesim. Musu deenisku maisi dod mumss schoden : un pedod mums mussus paraduss ka maess peedo- dam muussim paradneekim. Un nae eewaedd

LITHUANIAN.

Tewe musu kursey esi danguy, szweskis war- das tawo ; ateyk karaliste tawo, buk wala ta- wo kayp and dangaus teyp ir andziam es : do- nos musu wisu dienu