Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/102

 General History of Europe an alphabet appeared in Europe for the first time. By 700 B.C. the Greek potters had be- gun to write their names on the jars which they painted, and writing shortly afterward be- came common among Greeks of all classes. From the alphabet which the Phoenicians brought to the Greeks all the al- phabets of the civilized world have been derived, including our own. Along with the alpha- bet the equipment for using it that is, pen, ink, and paper for the first time came into Europe. The Greeks received all their paper from Egypt through the Phoenicians ; hence the word "paper," derived from papyrus. The Greeks also called papy- rus byblos, after the Phoenician city of Byb- los, from which they received it. The Greek word for books is biblia, and hence our word "Bible." Thus the English word "Bible," originally the name of a Phoenician city, reminds us of the way in which books and paper were first introduced into Europe. I u III IV V z gf a X y Z S 1

H J 8 j * W """ o J E X K 13 H " H w " J " A A A A ^ s a 6 B B 7 1 r CG C.G A A A D D s 4 I E E Y 1 K FV F.V.U 3T I I Z w B B H E.H

9

TH.PH ^ } 5 1 1 y H K K.KH 6 V/-M U/ L L y ^1 r M M i M H N N &

5 X X

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1 1 p p p F- 1^ M s 9 <P <? Q Q <fl 1 P R R vV J ? S S X T T T T TABLE SHOWING HOW THE PHCENICIA-N LETTERS PASSED THROUGH GREEK AND LATIN FORMS TO REACH THEIR PRESENT ENGLISH FORMS