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Tbefìrfl Principle of Communication. Book I.

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all (Малыши/{п} in Grammar; becaufe the Art‘fwas futed'to Lan Vlßíuf ibid. cap. g.

guage, and not Language to the Art. Platbis faidto be the Erft that con rayamvirgil. lidered Grammar : 'Ari/tatie the Erft that by writing.' did reduce it into lib.i.cap.1.

an Art : and' Epienrm :he lirftthat publickly taught yit amongft the Grecianr.

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And for the Latin, Crater Mallatcr, Embaíiador to the Ronan Senate

from King ‚шт, betwi-xt the (econd and third Panic War, prefently af ter the death of Enniu, U. C. 583. was the Erft that brought in the'Art of Grammar amongli the Romanr,.faith Snetoniwf. l s Thefe being fome of the Defeŕ’ts orlmperfetïtìons in thofe Letters or

Languages,which are already known, mayafford diret‘l-ion, what is to be

avoided by thofe who propofe to thernfelves the Invention of a new (baraò'le’or Language, which being thoprìncipal end of this Difcourfe, I (hall in the next place proeeedtolay-zdown;the lirft Foundations 0f it.

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As men do generally agree inthe lame Principle of Reafon, fo do tìiey likewife agree in' the fame Internal Notion or“ Apprebetyíon af t ingr.

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The ExternalExpre :on of thefe Mental notions, whereby men сот municate their thoughts to one another, is either to the Ear , or to the Eje.

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T5 the Ear by Sonndr, and шоке particularly by Articulate Vaiee and War r.

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To the Eje by any thing that is w’ßble, Motion, Light, Colour, Figure, _ and more particularly by Writing. That conceit which men have in their minds concerning a Ног‘: or Tree, is the Notion or mental Image of that Beafl‘, or natural thing, of

fuch a nature,Íhape and ufe- The Name: given to фей: in feveral Lan guagesßre fuc'h arbitrary ouml: or шаг-‘11,25 Nations of men have agreed upon, either cafually or efignedly, to exprefs their Mental notions of them. The Written word is the ligure or piöture of that Sound. 8o that if men lhould generally confent upon the fame way 0r man

ner of Expreßïan, as they do agree in the fame Notion, we lhould then be freed from that Curfe in the Confulion of Tongues, with all_ the unhap ‚ ру confequences of it.

Now this can onely‘be done, either by труда‘ fome one Language and Character to be univerfally learnt and praétiled, (which is not to be

expeéted, till fome erfon attain to the Univerßl Monarch) 5 and per haps would not be one then :) or elfe by prapfjíngfome fuch way as,

by its facility and ufefulnefs, (without the impolition of Authority)

,might invite and ingage men to the learning of it;` which is the thing here attempted.

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In order to this, The lirl't thing to be conlidered and enquired into is, Concerning a juli Enumeration and defcription of fueh things or notions as are to have Markt or Name: aíïigned to them. The chiefDiñi'culty and Labour will be fo to contrive the Enumera tion of things and'notions, as that they may be full and adequate, without

any Redundancy or Dfcienc) as to the Number of them, and regular as to their Place and Order. f «

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