Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 2.djvu/296

 278 A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud^a. Hittite hieroglyphs which they beheld everywhere in the monu- ments erected by the Hittites, and which even now we can read, after so many centuries of exposure to the elements ? To these may be added small objects with Hittite emblems, brought by trading caravans from the table-land, be it hematite cylinders, plaques, bowls, or seals applied to bales of merchandise. A vessel covered all over with Hittite symbols was lately found at Babylon ; ^ others have been exhumed in various parts of Asia Minor, warranting the inference that they were of common occur- rence some centuries before Homer. A certain degree of attention was thus forcibly directed to this peculiar system of signs, by means of which interchange of thought could be carried on. An ardent desire was thus aroused in those young communities, full of ferment and eager for progress, to possess themselves of so precious a boon. In which of these were Phoenician letters first applied to the Greek language ? We shall probably never know ; but this is certain, that they came in after an older writing, which prevailed throughout Asia Minor. Had the Cadmaean alphabet been first in date, no other would have been sought ; since it is not conceivable that a scheme, almost perfect in its simplicity, would have been abandoned for a clumsy unwieldy one. To the Hittites, therefore, must be ascribed the singular honour of having been the inventors of a system of signs from which were derived the Lycian, Carian, Cappadocian, and Cypriote alphabets. In their modified form they served to create the language known to us in the immortal works of the great Greek writers. This of itself is sufficient claim to our gratitude, and justifies in full our having essayed to revive the memory of their name, and rescue them from oblivion. ^ Wright, Tke Empire, Plate XXV.