G H A
195
£ H A
the Character deftin'd to fignify to drink, an EnglifJj- man fhould read to drink ; a Frenchman boire ; a Latin bibere ; a Gr^fc mvuv, a y<?-iu ilCti 1 ; a German triucken ; and fo of the reft : In the fame manner as feeing a Hotfe, each People exprefies it after their own manner 5 but all mean the fame Animal.
This Real Character is no Chimera ; the Chinefe and Japonefe have already fomewhat like it. They have a common Character, which each of thofe Nations under- ftand alike in their feveral Languages ; though they pro- nounce them with fuch different Sounds, that they don't underftand a Tittle of one another in [peaking.
The firft, and moil considerable Attempts for a Real Character, or Philofophical Language in Europe, are thofe of Biftiop Wilktns, and lialgarme : But thefe, with how much Art foever they were contriv'd, have yet prov'd inef- feaual.
M. Leibnitz, had fome Thoughts the fame way ; he thinks thofe great Men did not hit the right Method. 'Twas probable, indeed, that by their means, People, who don't underftand one another, might eafily have a Commerce together ; but they han't hit on true, Real Characters.
According to him, the Characters mould referable thofe us'd in Algebra; which, in effect, are very fimple, yet ve- ry expreffive ; without any thing fuperfluous or equivocal ; and contain all the Varieties reasonable.
The Real Character of Bifhop Wdkins has its real Ap- plaufe : Dr. Hook recommends it on his own Knowledge and Experience, as a moft excellent Scheme ; and to en- gage the World to the Study thereof, publifhes fome fine Inventions of his own therein.
M. Leibnitz tells us, he had under Cohfideration an Alphabet of Human 'thoughts ; in order to a new Philo- fophical Language, on his own Scheme : but his Death prevented its being brought to Maturity.
M. Lodwic, in the 'Philofophical tranfattions, gives us a Plan of an Univerfal Alphabet, or Character of ano- ther Kind : This was to contain an Enumeration of all fuch fingle Sounds, or Letiers, as are us'd in any Language; by means whereof, People ftiould be enabled to pronounce truly and readily any Language ; to defcribe the Pronun- ciation of any Language that mail be pronoune'd in their hearing ; fo, as others accuftom'd to this Language, tho they had never heard the Language pronoune'd', ihall at firft be able truly to pronounce it : And, laftly, this Cha- racter to ferve as a Standard to perpetuate the Sounds of any Language.
In the Journal Liter aire, Anno 1720, we have a very ingenious Projefl for an Univerfal Character : The Author, after obviating the Objections that might be made againft the Feafiblenefs of fuch Schemes in the general, propofes his own : His Characters ate to be the common Arabic, or numeral Figures. The Combinations of thefe nine are fufficient to exprefs distinctly an incredible Quantity of Numbers, much more than we fhall need Terms to fig- nify our Action-, Goods, Evils, Duties, Paffions, f$c. Thus is all the Trouble of framing and learning any new Character at once fav'd : the Arabic Figures having already all the Univerfaiity requir'd.
The Advantages are immenfe : for i°, We have here a liable, faithful Interpreter ; never to be corrupted or chang'd, as the popular Languages continually are. 2.% Whereas the Difficulty of pronouncing a foreign Language, is fuch as ufually gives the Learner the greater! Trouble, and there are even fome Sounds which Foreigners never attain to; in the Character here propos'dthis Difficulty has no place : Every Nation is to pronounce them according to the particular Pronunciation that already obtains among them. All the Difficulty is, theaccuftomingthe Pen and the Eye to affix certain Notions to Characters, that don't, at firft fight, exhibit 'em. But this Trouble is no more than we find in the Study of any Language whatever.
The Inflections of Words, to be exprefs'd by the common Letters : for Inftance, the fame Character Ihall exprefs a Filly, or a Colt, a Horfe or a Mare, an old Horfe, or an old Mare, as accompany'd with this or that distinctive Letter, which ihall (hew the Sex, Youth, Maturity, or old Age: a Letter alfo to exprefs the Bignefs or Size of Things ; thus, v.g. a Man with this or that Letter, to fignify a great Man, or a little Man, &c.
The Effefl of thefe Letters belongs to the Grammar which once well underftood, would abridge the Vocabulary' exceedingly. An Advantage of this Grammar, is, that it would only have one Declenfion and one Conjugation : Thofe numerous Anomalies of Grammarians are exceed- ing troublefome, and arife hence, That the common Lan- guages are conducted by the People, who never reafon on what is beft : but in the Character here propos'd, Men of Reafon having the Introduction of it, would have a new ground, whereon to build regularly.
But the Difficulty is not in inventing the moft fimple, eafy, and commodious Character, but in engaging the fe-
veral Nations to ufe it ; there being nothing they ai»ree lefs in, than the understanding and purfuing their common Intcrcft.
Literal Characters, again, may be divided with refpeft to the Nations among whom they have been invented and us'd, into Greek Characters, Roman Characters, Hcbre-M Characters, Sic.
The Character now ordinarily us'd throughout Europe is the Latin Character of the Antients.
The Latin Character was form'd from the Greek, and that from the \Thenician, which Cadmus brought into Greece.
The \Thenician Character was the fame with that of the antient Hebrew, which fubfilted to the Time of the Saby- tonijb Captivity ; after which they us'd that of the AJfy- rians, which is the fquare Hebrew, now in ufe ; the an- tient being only found on fome Hebrew Medals, commonly call'd Samaritan Medals. See Samaritan.
'poftellus and others fhew, 1 hat befide the \Thenician ; the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic Characters were likewife form'd from the antient Hebrew.
The French were the firft who, with the Latin Office of St. Gregory, admitted the Form of the Latin Characters. In a Piovincial Synod, held in toor, at Leon in Spain, the ufe of the Gothic Characters invented by Ulfilas, was abo* lifh'd, and the Latin ones ettablifh'd.
Medallifts obferve, that the Greek Character, confining only of majufcuie Letters, has preferv'd its Uniformity on all Medals, as low as the Time of Gallian ; there being no Alteration found in the Turn of the Character, notwith- ftanding the many confidetable ones both in the Ufe and Pronunciation. From the Time of Gallian, it appears fomewhat weaker and rounder : From the Time of Con- jlantine to Michael, the fpace of ;oo Years, we find only Latin Characters ; and after Michael, the Greek Charac- ters re-commence: but from that Time they begin to alter with the Language, which was then a Mixture of Greek and Latin. See Greek.
The Latin Medals preferve both their Character and Language, as low as the Tranflation of rhe Seat of the Empire to Conftantinople. Towards the Time of Deems the Character. began to alter, and to lose of its Roundnefs and Beauty : Some time after it retriev'd it felf, and fub- fifted tolerably to the Time of fuflin ; when it fell into the laft Barbarity mention'd, under Michael ; tho it after- wards grew worfe, and degenerated into the Gothic : So that the rounder and better form'd the Character, the greater Pretence it has to Antiquity.
Numeral Characters, are thofe us'd to" exprefs Numbers. See Number.
There are two Kinds of Figures, or Numeral Charac- ters, chiefly in ufe ; the common Characters, and the Ro- man ; to which may be added a third, call'd the French Characters.
The common Character is that ordinarily call'd the Arabic, as fuppos'd to have been invented by the /Irab Aftro- nomers : tho the Arabs themfelves call it the Indian Cha- racter ; as if they had borrow'd it from the People of In- dia. This indeed is pretty certain, that the Orientals are the Authors of it : which is confirm'd, as by other Circum- ftances, fo from the manner of writing them, from left to right ; which has been confeffedly the manner of writing in all Ages in the Eaft.
The Arabic Characters are ten, viz. 1,1,5,4,5, (1,7,8,0,0; the laft call'd Cypher. See Cys-her.
The Arabic Character is us'd almoft throughout Europe, and that on almoft all Occafions ; in Commerce, in Mea- furing, in Aftronomical Calculations, iSc.
Roman Characters confift of the Uncial or Majufcuie Letters of the Roman Alphabet ; whence probably its Name : or, perhaps, from its being us'd by the antient Remans on their Coins, and in the Infcriptions of their pub- lick Monuments, erected in honour of thCir Gods and great Men ; on their Sepulchres, 2?c.
The Numeral Lerters that compofe the Roman Charac- ter are in Number feven, viz. I,V,X,L,C,D,M.
The I denotes one, V five, X ten, L fifty, C a hun- dred, D five hundred, and M a thoufand.
The I tepeated twice, makes two, II ; thrice, three, III ; four is exprefs'd thus, IV. I before V or X, taking an Unit from the Number exprefs'd by each of thofe Letters.
To exprefs fix, an I is added to a V, VI ; for feven, two, VII ; and for eight, three VIII : nine is exprefs'd by an I before X, IX. agreeable to the preceding Remark.
The like Remark may be made of the X before L or C, except that the Diminution is by Tens, not Units: thus, XL fignifies forty, and XC ninety ; an L follow'd with an X fixty, LX, Z£c. The C before D or M, dimi- nifties each by a hundred.
Befides the Letter D, which exprefles five hundred, the Number may alfo be exprefs'd. by an I before a C inverted, thus Iq ; and thus, in lieu of the M, which fignifies a
thoufand,
