( 3 8 ° )

per Sence and Monosyllabical Name , and tiio’ the Meaning os eachCharacter be an Ingredient in the Notion of that Compounded Chara-cter.

But whatever we may judge of Langn age, ’ris past Dispute that Writingwas e ver Artistcial, how Ancicntly seever it were in Use; and was the In-vention os s me Thinking and Studious Men. ' Tis also Evident that therehave been varhus ways thought of for Exprefling Significancy, accord-ing to the sevtral Genii of the Persors that were the Inventors: As may begueffed by the is£gyptian Hieroglyphicks , the Chinese Cbarallers, the Mext-xan Chronology, and the Literai c haralters of several Kations; each ofwhich seem to proceed upon Differing Methods and from DifferingThoughts of Invention.

Which of thcse ways is the most Ancient, is hard to prove. The cAlgy-ftian Mummys ar.d Obelisks prove a greac Antiquiry of the Hieroglyphicks ;b t yec the Chm<fe Chronology ( is to be Crecliud ) ouittrips the <J±.yyptian

in prctcnce to Antiquiry. For the Chinese nuke Fehl the first King of

China to be the Inv< ntor of their Charaller And account him to have lived2950 Tears betöre the Time ot Christ ; dtiring all which Time they Pre-tend to have a Certain and Writtcn Account in their Book-. But theil Ac-count of the Times Preceding, they efleem more Hypothetical and Fabu-lous; depending chiefly upon Fiction and Oral Tradition: As you willeasily believe, when you underitand how many Tears they ntake it lincetheCreatien of the World to the present Tear 1686. whith by the Account there-of in Mr. Greaves his Translation of XJlng. Beig. will be tound to be no

lesi than 88640102 Solar Tears ; there having been run out ftnee the

Creati n 8864 Ven. of Years (tvery Vtn containing 10000 sich Years)and of the present Ven. this Year 1686 is the io2(l. Which Account isabundantly more txtravagant than the zsEgyptian: but this need not inva-lidate their History fince Fohi\ by which tc appears that their Charallerwas Invented beforethe Time of Moses about 14.00 Years, and even beforeMenes the First King of AEgypt ab out 500 Years. So that the Chinese In-vention of IPrt'tng or CharaBers, seenis to be the most Ancient of thatkind : and the Book Tekim , said to be « ritten by Eobi, the most AncientBook.

These Accounts made me the more destr us to understand somewhat ofthe Reality and Truth of whar is rtlated concerning the Knowledge of Li-ter atnre and Manual Alrts, which tluse People of China are seid to havepofl’effed so long a time in so great Perfectiori, and without Alteration fromthe Primitive Institution ; efpecially upon the Account ot their Art of Frint-iog which gave a Hint so the Inventors of that admirable and most uscsullof all lnventions (for the Common-Wealth of Learning) the way of Print-ing here in Europe. For Paulus Jovius affirms that the first Occadon ofthat Invention in Germany, v/as a German Merchant, who returning out ofChina into h : s own Ccuntry, related whar he had obsirvcd concerning thePractice of it as used in that Country. And tho’ the Chinese way, be whollyDiffering as tothe Method of Compofing, from what was Invented and Per-

fected